One thing, however, they were in a position to give him, although he had his doubts as to its value, seeing that it bore date nineteen years back, and that was the address of Kirby Griggs, the lawyer’s clerk, who had recognised the portrait of the self-styled Mrs. Montmorenci-Vane as that of his unmarried sister, Martha Griggs. Miss Matilda had found the address after her brother’s death in his private memorandum book.
When, after Everard was gone, Tamsin took in the supper tray, she had to set her mouth hard in order to suppress the smile which would otherwise have puckered it. In place of the morning’s agitations and tears, the sisters were now complacently discussing the important question of what material Ethel’s wedding-dress should be made! “And now to come to the pecuniary part of the affair,” said Miss Matilda. “I should not like our dear girl to go to her husband quite empty-handed.”
“Certainly not, sister. The same thought has been in my own mind. I do not suppose that Mr. Lisle’s position is a specially lucrative one.”
“For my part, I should be quite willing to settle on Ethel my half-share of the rental of Vale View House, which, now that Mrs. Loftus has taken it on a seven years’ lease, will be a sure source of income for that length of time.”
“It would make me very happy to do the same with my half-share. Now that we have grown used to our humbler style of living, we really don’t need the rent money. And in future there will be only our two selves, you know, sister.”
“No, only our two selves,” echoed Miss Matilda, sadly.
That night, when Tamsin went upstairs to her own room, she took out of a drawer her savings bank book and refreshed her memory as to the sum which stood there to her credit, and represented the savings of many laborious years. That sum she made up her mind should be very considerably depleted before she was much older. To what better use could she put the money than in buying a wedding-present for the child who had been, and would ever be, as dear to her rugged, but tender old heart as she could possibly be to the heart of Miss Matilda or Miss Jane!
CHAPTER XLV.
“COME BACK TO ME”
Everard left St. Oswyth’s by the six o’clock train on Saturday morning. Four hours later he was in Liverpool. Taking a cab for himself and his portmanteau, he proceeded direct to the shipping office and there booked a berth on board the Arbaces for New York. Thence he was driven to the landing-stage, where he found the tender whose duty it was to transfer the passengers and their luggage on board the huge liner anchored out in mid-stream.
On reaching the Arbaces Lisle at once made his way to the stateroom which had been allotted him. He knew already that he would have to share it with a fellow-passenger, and when, on entering it, he found there a dressing-case and a small portmanteau, a natural curiosity to ascertain the name of the person who, for the next week or more would be his nightly, if not his daily companion, led him to turn up one of the labels and read what was written thereon. Rarely, perhaps never, in his life had Everard Lisle been more amazed than he was when his eyes took in these words: “John Alexander, Esq. Passenger to New York.” By one of those singular coincidences, which are far more common than the generality of people imagine them to be, he and the man of whom he was in pursuit, and on whom he had not expected to set eyes till after a journey of close upon four thousand miles, had crossed each other’s path at the outset. Yet, but for the chance of his having read the address label when he did, they would probably have been shipmates for some time before discovering the relation in which each stood to the other, and, in any case, as the Arbaces did not call at Queenstown, they would have been compelled in their own despite to make the voyage out and home again.