“Why,” exclaimed he, too much taken aback almost to find words, “what does it mean? How do you come—”
“Oh, I’ll tell you,” said the girl; “I don’t care what they do to me. I’d sooner be sent to prison than go on at it. He told me to do it, and threatened me all sorts of things if I didn’t. Oh dear! oh dear!”
“Who told you?”
“Why, Mr Shuckleford. He said Mr Reginald was a convict, or something, and if I didn’t mind every letter that came to the house from Liverpool I’d get sent to prison too for abetting him. I’m sure I don’t want to abet no one, and I can’t help if they do lock me up.”
“You mean to say Mr Shuckleford told you to do this?” said—or rather roared—Horace.
“Yes, he did; and he had them all before that one,” said the girl, pointing to the letter from Reginald. “But he’s never been for these, and I didn’t dare not to keep them for him. Please, sir, look over it this time.”
Horace was too agitated to heed her tears or entreaties. He rushed from the house with the letters in his hand, and made straight for the Shucklefords’ door. But, with his hand on the bell, he hesitated. Mrs Shuckleford and her daughter had been good to his mother; he could not relieve his mind to Samuel in their presence. So he resolved to postpone that pleasure till he could find the young lawyer alone, and meanwhile hurried back to his mother and rejoiced her heart with the good news of Reginald contained in Harker’s letter.
How and when Horace and Shuckleford settled accounts no one exactly knew, but one evening, about a week afterwards, the latter came home looking very scared and uncomfortable, and announced that he was getting tired of London, the air of which did not agree with his constitution. He intended to close with an offer he had received some time ago from a firm in the country to act as their clerk; and although the sacrifice was considerable, still the country air and change of scene he felt would do him good.
So he went, much lamented by his mother and sister and club. But of all his acquaintances there was only one who knew the exact reason why, just at that particular time, the country air promised to be so beneficial for his constitution.