That he himself was culpable in the matter did not affect him; sufficient that he was not punishable; and if it came to the value of one man's word against another's, he knew full well that, in this instance, he held the winning card. He was an old man, and he was tired of servitude. He had saved sufficient money to pass the remainder of his days in comfort; and perhaps, for the peculiar service he was enabled to render Arthur Temple--a service the nature of which held no place in Arthur's mind--the young man would generously remember him. Then, again, it was an act of justice which chance had placed in his hands the power to perform; such an act, brought about by himself, might condone for many a piece of dirty work in the past. It is not necessary to pause and inquire by what process of reasoning these thoughts, leading to a definite and startling course of action, formed themselves in his mind. They came at a time when most men in shackles, having the power to free themselves, would gladly have availed themselves of the power. There were reasons which, in the conclusion he was arriving at, undoubtedly played an important part. One of these was that it was possible, if he did not make himself the principal instrument of rendering atonement for a great wrong, the discovery might be made in a manner disadvantageous to himself. Another reason, although he was scarcely conscious of it, was that he had been deeply touched by the beauty of the Duchess, and it is not unlikely that, if Arthur Temple had not stepped forward, he would have taken upon himself the task of rescuing her from the clutches of an unscrupulous villain.
While he was engaged in these reflections, Arthur Temple paced the room excitedly.
"She must be saved, Richards. There is a mystery here which it has fallen to my lot to clear up. Your story being true, this man has imposed upon me as well as robbed me. He told me, before I engaged him to accompany me to England, that there was a woman at home whom he had loved for years, and to see whom would complete the happiness of his life. The trickster! As for the money, let it go. But his villainy to an innocent girl shall not escape punishment. Once again, will you assist me, or must I work alone?"
Richards adopted the chivalrous course; partly for the reasons already given, and partly because of the excitement it would afford.
"I will assist you, sir," he said.
[CHAPTER XXIX.]
Ned Chester fulfilled the promise he gave to the Duchess that he would see Mrs. Lenoir safely to her home. When the exhausted woman recovered from her fainting condition and was sufficiently strong to lean on his arm and walk slowly along, he said to her:
"You may thank your stars I was near you when you fell. I am going to help you home. Where do you live?"
The strange voice and the rough manner of the man--for Ned was not always on his holiday behaviour, and the worse side of his nature invariably exhibited itself when there was nothing to be gained--caused Mrs. Lenoir to shrink from him; but, deprived of his support, she almost fell to the ground again.
"Don't be a fool!" cried Ned; "you are not strong enough to stand alone. Where do you live?"