Mr. Gammon was taken quite by surprise by this calmness and resolution on the part of the earl; and while his Lordship spoke, and for some moments afterwards, gazed at him sternly, yet irresolutely, his faculties strained to their utmost, to determine upon the course he should take, in so totally unexpected an emergency. He was not long, however, in deciding.

"Since your Lordship desires information from me, let me request you to be seated," said he, in a tone and with an air of profound courtesy, such as, in its turn, took his n.o.ble companion by surprise; and he slowly resumed his seat, Gammon also sitting down nearly opposite to him. "May I, in the first place, venture to inquire to what circ.u.mstance I am indebted, my Lord, for the honor of this visit?" he inquired.

"Oh, sir--sir--by the way--indeed you may well ask--you must have heard"--suddenly and vehemently interrupted the earl, whose mind could hold but one important matter at a time.

"To what does your Lordship allude?" inquired Gammon, who knew perfectly well all the while. Having had a hint that matters were going wrong with the Artificial Rain Company, he had contrived to creep out of it, by selling such shares as he held, at a little loss certainly--and he would have done the same for the earl had it been practicable; but his Lordship's sudden journey into Hertfordshire had prevented his communicating with his Lordship, till the time for acting had pa.s.sed.

Now, therefore, he resolved to be taken by surprise.

"To what do I allude, sir!" echoed the earl, with much agitation, taking the newspaper from his pocket--"The Artificial Rain Company, sir"----

"Well, my Lord!"--exclaimed Gammon, impatiently.

"Sir, it is gone! Blown up! Entirely disappeared, sir!"

"Gone! Blown up! The Artificial Rain Company? Oh, my Lord, it's impossible!" cried Gammon, with well-feigned amazement.

"Sir--it is clean gone. Sir Sharper Bubble has absconded!" His Lordship handed the paper to Mr. Gammon, who read the paragraph (which he had perused some hour or two before in bed, where his own copy of the _Morning Growl_ was at that moment lying) with every appearance of horror, and the newspaper quite shook in his trembling hands!

"It cannot--it _cannot_ be true, my Lord!" said he, his eyes glued to the paper.

"Sir, it _is_. I have been myself to the Company's office--it is quite closed--shut up; there is only an old woman there, sir! And, at the bankers', the only answer is--'Account closed!'"

"Then I am nearly a couple of thousand pounds poorer--my G.o.d! what shall I do? Do, my Lord, let us drive off instantly to Sir Sharper Bubble's house, and see if he be really gone. It may be a villainous fabrication altogether--I never will believe that such a man--How miserable that both your Lordship and I should have been out of town yesterday!"

Thus Gammon went on, with great eagerness, hoping to occupy Lord Dreddlington's thoughts exclusively with the matter; but he was mistaken. The earl, after a little pause, reverted to the previous subject, and repeated his inquiry as to the rent-charge, with an air of such serious determination as soon satisfied Gammon that there was no evading the crisis which had so suddenly arisen. With the topic, his Lordship also unconsciously changed his manner, which was now one of offended majesty.

"Sir," said he, with stately deliberation, "what you have said to myself personally, cannot be unsaid; but I desire a plain answer, Mr. Gammon, to a plain question. Is the doc.u.ment which I had in my hand, an instrument giving you--gracious Heaven!--a charge of two thousand pounds a-year upon my son-in-law's estate? Sir, once for all, I peremptorily insist on an answer before I leave your chambers; and, if I do not obtain it, I shall instantly cause a rigorous inquiry to be set on foot."

["You drivelling obstinate old fool!" thought Gammon, _looking_, the while with mild anxiety, at the earl, "if you were _to drop down dead at my feet_, now, at this moment, what vexation you would save me! Did it ever before fall to the lot of mortal man to have to deal with two such idiots as you and t.i.tmouse?"]

"Well, then, my Lord, since you are so pertinacious on the point--retaining my strong opinion concerning the very unwarrantable means which enable you to put the question to me--I disdain equivocation or further concealment," he continued with forced composure, "and distinctly admit that the doc.u.ment which was lately in your Lordship's hands, _is_ an instrument completely executed with all due form, having the effect which it professes to have. It gives me, my Lord, a rent-charge for the term of my life, of two thousand pounds a-year upon Mr. t.i.tmouse's estate of Yatton."

"Good G.o.d, sir!" exclaimed the earl, gazing at Gammon, as if thunderstruck with an answer which, nevertheless, he could not but have calculated upon--and which was indeed inevitable.

"That is the fact, my Lord, undoubtedly," said Gammon, with the air of a man who has made up his mind to encounter something very serious.

"There never was such a thing heard of, sir! Two thousand pounds a-year given to his solicitor by my son-in-law! Why, he is a mere boy"----

"He was old enough to marry the Lady Cecilia, my Lord," interrupted Gammon, calmly, but very bitterly.

"That may be, sir," replied the earl, his face faintly flushing--"but he is ignorant of business, sir--of the world--or you must have taken advantage of him when he was intoxicated."

"Nothing--nothing of the kind, my Lord. Never was Mr. t.i.tmouse more sober--never in fuller possession of his faculties--never less in liquor--never did he do anything more deliberately, than when he signed that conveyance."

"Why, have you purchased it, sir? Given consideration for it?" inquired the earl, with a perplexed air.

"Why did not your Lordship make that inquiry before you felt yourself at liberty to make the harsh and injurious comments which you have"----

"Sir, you evade my question."

"No, my Lord--I do not wish to do so. I _have_ given value for it--full value; and Mr. t.i.tmouse, if you ask him, will tell you so."

The earl paused.

"And is the consideration recorded in the deed, sir?"

"It is, my Lord--and truly."

"I must again ask you, sir--do you mean to tell me that you have given full value for this rent-charge?"

"Full value, my Lord."

"Then, why all this mystery, Mr. Gammon?"

"Let me ask, in my turn, my Lord, why all these questions about a matter with which you have nothing to do? Would it not be much better for your Lordship to attend to _your own_ affairs, just now, after the very alarming"----

"Sir--sir--I--I--that is--_my_ concern," stammered the earl, very nearly thrust out of his course by this stroke of Gammon's; but he soon recovered himself--for the topic they were discussing had taken a thorough hold of his mind. "Did you give a pecuniary consideration, Mr.

Gammon?"

"I gave a large sum in ready money; and the remainder is expressed to be, my long and arduous services to Mr. t.i.tmouse, in putting him into possession of his property."

"Will you, then, favor me with a copy of this deed, that I may examine it, and submit it to competent"----

"No, my Lord, I will do no such thing," replied Gammon, peremptorily.

"You will not, sir?" repeated the earl, after a pause, his cold blue eye fixed upon that of Gammon, and his face full of stern and haughty defiance.

"No, my Lord, I will not. Probably _that_ answer is explicit enough!"

replied Gammon, returning Lord Dreddlington's look with unwavering steadfastness. There was a pause.

"But one conclusion can be drawn, then, from your refusal, sir--one highly disadvantageous to you, sir. No one can avoid the inference that there has been foul play, and fraud of the grossest descrip"----

"You are a peer of the realm, Lord Dreddlington; try to be a _gentleman_," said Gammon, who had turned deadly pale. The earl's eye continued fixed on Gammon, and his lip slightly quivered. He seemed amazed at Gammon's audacity.

"Let me recommend your Lordship to be more cautious and measured in your language," said Gammon, visibly struggling to speak with calmness--"especially concerning matters on which you are utterly--profoundly ignorant"----

"I will not long remain so, Mr. Gammon; you may rely upon it," replied the earl, with sustained firmness and hauteur.

["Shall I? shall I? _shall_ I prostrate you, insolent old fool! soul and body?" thought Gammon.]

"I will instantly seek out Mr. t.i.tmouse," continued the earl, "and will soon get at the bottom of this--this--monstrous transaction."

"I cannot, of course, control your Lordship's motions. If you _do_ apply to Mr. t.i.tmouse, you will in all probability receive the information you seek for--that is, if Mr. t.i.tmouse _dare_, without first consulting _me_"----

"If--Mr.--t.i.tmouse--_dare_, sir?" echoed the earl, calmly and scornfully.

"Yes--_dare_!" furiously retorted Gammon, his eye, as it were, momentarily flashing fire.