The Secret of Wyvern Towers

by T. W. Speight

"You are quite right in your assumption. As you are aware, Miss Drelincourt is here under my sole charge, and it rests with me to safeguard her by every means in my power. That being the case, I am fully justified in demanding of you with what purpose you have been at the trouble of tracing her to this remote village, and then of contriving stealthy meetings with her at a time when you knew I was laid up and not there to look after her. That, Mr. Guy Ormsby, is what I am justified in demanding to know."

There was no trace of excitement either in her voice or manner, but the very quietude of her demeanor lent her words an added impressiveness. Evidently Mrs. Jenwyn was not a woman to be trifled with.

Guy cleared his voice before replying. "Your demand, as you term it, Mrs. Jenwyn, certainly lacks nothing on the score of frankness," he said, "and I will endeavor to be equally frank in my reply to it. I have been at the pains of tracing Miss Drelincourt, and of following her to this place, because I am deeply and sincerely in love with her, and because it is my dearest hope to be able to win her for my wife."

This was probably no more than Mrs. Jenwyn had expected to be told; indeed, on the assumption that he was a man of honor, no other plea of justification was open to him.

"You know, as you must have known from the date of your visit to Wyvern Towers, if not before then, all about poor Anna's mental affliction, and yet in the face of this terrible visitation you tell me that you love her and would fain make her your wife! To me such a thing seems inconceivable. You must be very differently constituted from others of your sex, Mr. Ormsby--very differently indeed."

"Say what you please, Mrs. Jenwyn, think what you choose--I am perfectly sincere in what I have told you. I love Anna, and I am here with the purpose of winning her for my wife. Besides, I believe, with my poor dead and gone sister, that Anna will grow out of her affliction, as you call it. If I am not mistaken, that was the opinion of Dr. Pounceby, the celebrated specialist."

Mrs. Jenwyn shook her head sadly. "I wish I could discern any grounds for such a belief," she said, "but at present I see none whatever." Then, after a pause, "Tell me this, Mr. Ormsby: Seeing you were so bent on making love to Anna, why, after you had discovered her retreat, did you not come direct to Rosemount, send in your card, and ask to see her?"

A faint tinge of color flushed his cheeks for a moment, but he answered quite coolly, "I will tell you why, Mrs. Jenwyn. Because, if I had presented myself at Rosemount, I should not have been allowed to see Miss Drelincourt--at least, not alone. I should have had no opportunity afforded me of pressing my suit, or of saying a twentieth part of what I wanted to say to her. You, my dear madam, would have taken jolly good care of that. Such being the state of affairs, no course was open to me save to act as I did."

Mrs. Jenwyn's thin lips came together for a moment. "You are quite right, Mr. Ormsby. I should have opposed your suit by every means in my power. It would have been my duty to do so. Before coming near Rosemount, you ought to have gone to Mr. Drelincourt, or, at any rate, have written to him, asking him to sanction your suit with his sister."

"A sanction I should never have succeeded in obtaining--of that I am quite sure. Besides, Anna is only his half sister, and there's nothing in her father's will which gives him the least control over either her or her property."