Chapter Seven.
The assertion made by the stranger, which had so unexpectedly raised the siege of the Hall, created the most painful doubts in the minds of Mr and Mrs Clavering. At the time of their child’s birth Mr Clavering had been away, and his conscience told him that it had been for the sake of his own gratification and amusement. The housekeeper and several other servants in the Hall at the time had been dismissed for misconduct, and, from circumstances which occurred, Mrs Clavering had no proof or certainty whatever that her child had not been changed. Seldom has a mother been placed in a more painful position. Another circumstance which gave the statement a greater air of truth was, that the woman Hobby had been employed at the Hall at the time Mrs Clavering’s child was born, that she herself was said to have given birth to an infant shortly afterwards, and that certainly a boy had been brought up by her who was now known as John Hobby. She was by some means or other better off than her neighbours. Young Hobby was always well dressed and well cared for, and had been sent to the best village school the neighbourhood afforded; so that, considered only a cottager’s child, he soon became the associate on equal terms of the sons of the well-to-do farmers in the neighbourhood. Mrs Hobby had not spoiled him; and John Hobby the elder, who was a conscientious man, had, to the best of his power, done his duty by him, and given him such religious instruction as he was able. He was also a firm, mild-tempered man, and had never failed firmly and gently to punish him whenever he committed a fault.
The morning after the events which have been described, Mr Clavering met his guests at the breakfast-table with a calmer countenance than could have been expected.
“You all heard the strange assertion made last night, and saw the effect it produced,” he observed. “In its truth I am not inclined to believe, though I shall, of course, make the most searching inquiry as to the origin of the report. I have sent for the youth, the supposed rival of Ralph, and I am endeavouring to discover the person who last night made the statement which probably saved the Hall from destruction. I cannot look upon him otherwise than as a friend.”
“Then, uncle, I will tell you who he is,” exclaimed Lilly, eagerly; “I recognised his voice. He is Arnold the gipsy. I was certain of it the moment he began speaking.”
“Those gipsies pick up strange tales, which can seldom be relied on,” observed one of the guests.
“I should think not,” exclaimed Ralph Clavering, whose features had been much agitated since he took his seat at the table, but who had endeavoured to preserve a calm demeanour. “You are not going to discard me as your son, I hope, merely from the assertion of a vagabond gipsy?”
“No, indeed, Ralph, my dear boy; but you would surely wish the report to be inquired into,” said Mr Clavering, calmly.
Lilly had come round, and put her hand on his shoulder.
“Whatever is the case, dear Ralph, I will be your sister-cousin as long as we live,” she said, in her sweet, gentle voice. “Endeavour to bear this great trial well; you can if you strive properly.”
Ralph bent his head down between his hands, and bursting into tears, murmured—
“But it is very hard to bear.”
It was the first time in his life that he had ever shown signs of a softened heart, and it made Lilly inwardly rejoice, for she had expected to see him fly out, and abuse Hobby as a vile impostor, and, as it were, strike right and left at any one who ventured to question that he was the lawful heir of Clavering Hall. She observed, also, that during the day, though occasionally moody, he was far less dictatorial and haughty in his manner towards others than usual, while to her he was especially gentle and polite.
Mr Clavering attended the magistrates’ meeting, and not unmindful of his promise to his niece, succeeded in getting the young gipsy, Arnold’s son, discharged, though the evidence against him would, perhaps, have been sufficient in those days, to convict him, had he not had a friend to speak in his favour.
In the evening young John Hobby, with Mrs Hobby, arrived at the Hall. She was given in charge of the housekeeper, with strict orders to prevent her from communicating with any one. John was habited in his Sunday suit, and with his good looks and modest and unassuming yet unembarrassed manners, he won many sympathisers. He was extremely astonished to find himself at the Hall, for he had not heard the report promulgated by Arnold, nor had he nor Mrs Hobby been told why they had been sent for.
When the young gipsy had been discharged, Mr Clavering told him that he wished to see his father; but it was not till another day had nearly passed that Arnold made his appearance. There could be little doubt that he was well aware of the object for which he had been requested to come to the Hall, though Mrs Hobby and John had been kept out of his way.
A lawyer had come down from London, and two or three other friends remained at the Hall to assist Mr Clavering in investigating the case. Arnold was first brought up. His story was very simple. He had no personal interest whatever in young Hobby. He had obtained the information through his wife, who, in the course of her calling of fortune-telling, had got it from Mrs Hobby herself. He considered the secret of value, but had not intended to make use of it, though he was induced to do so for the purpose of saving the Hall from destruction.
Mrs Hobby’s evidence was next taken. She stated that neither of the children about whom this question had arisen was her own; that Mrs Duffy, the housekeeper at the Hall, had brought her an infant, stating that it was the child of Mrs Clavering; that it would never be reared if brought up by its mother, and that to save its life she had taken it away, and substituted another in its stead. She owned that she had her doubts as to the propriety of the proceeding, but that her scruples had been quieted by a sum of money, and that she was told she would receive a similar sum every year as long as she did not betray the secret. The gipsy wife had, however, wormed it out of her, and this year the looked-for sum had not arrived at the usual time.
Although there were some discrepancies, and even improbabilities, in the details of the statement, it still appeared possible that the story might in the main be true; and, at all events, it wore an air of sufficient probability to make the positions of the two youths extremely painful. Ralph came forward in a way which was little expected, but which gave Lilly great satisfaction. He earnestly begged that John Hobby might remain at the Hall, and be treated in all respects as he had been, and that he might accompany him to his tutor, and obtain the education which would fit him for the position in life he might possibly be destined to gain. No conclusion could possibly be arrived at, however, it appeared, unless Mrs Duffy and her accomplices could be found; and what had become of her no one knew. Another question also arose: if Ralph was not the heir of Clavering Hall, who was he? Again, should he be proved to be the son of Mr and Mrs Clavering, who was John Hobby? For the present, however, Mr Clavering’s legal adviser assured him that the law would in no way interfere with the right of his supposed son Ralph as heir of Clavering Hall.
John Hobby himself made no claim, while the whole story rested on the assertions of a gipsy and an ignorant woman, who had no proofs to bring forward in its support. The persons who suffered most were Mr and Mrs Clavering. They had looked upon Ralph as their son, and had loved him as such, too blindly indeed; and now they felt that they might possibly have been bestowing this love on a stranger, and neglecting their own offspring. As they saw young Hobby, indeed, they could not help acknowledging that he was worthy of the love of any parents, though they could discover no likeness in him to themselves, or any of their near relatives, while Ralph had always been considered the very image of Mr Clavering. Thus they continued in the most painful state of uncertainty as to which was their son, without any possibility of solving the mystery.