Doctor Syn on the High Seas - Thorndike Russell (читать лучшие читаемые книги TXT) 📗

was in the outside of the lock, but as all her thoughts were set on

comforting her lover, she saw nothing suspicious in that. She closed

the door herself, and followed the butler down a short flight of stairs,

along a corridor with a door at the far end. This the butler opened,

and signed for her to go through.

“Thank you,” she whispered, and went in on tiptoe.

Her first view of the room, which was brilliantly lighted with

candles, astonished her, for instead of the bedroom she had expected she

found herself

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in a spacious oak-paneled sitting-room with a great round card-table in

the centre. Before she had recovered from her surprise, she heard the

door close behind her, and turning saw not the butler, who had gone, but

a richly dressed gentleman locking the door on the inside and putting

the key in his pocket.

“What is the meaning of this, sir?” she asked. “And where is Doctor

Syn?”

The Squire of Iffley turned and faced her with a chuckle. Instantly

she recognized him, and gasped with terror.

“Quite right, my dear girl,” he said. “You are trapped. Your mother

is locked in her room, so if you scream you will but add to her alarm.

Since Doctor Syn, who is back in Oxford all the time, thought fit to

make you scorn my hospitality, I have been forced to go my own way to

work. You are now at Iffley in my Manor, and here you will stay till

you have consented to all my demands.”

“And what are they, sir?” she asked haughtily.

“First that you will discontinue this absurd love affair with Doctor

Syn,” he answered.

“In order that you may force me to marry your nephew, sir?” she

demanded.

“Spit me, no,” he laughed. “There is no love lost between us, I

assure you, and why should I help him to what I most desire for myself?

I would rather leave my money and estate to our children, my dear, than

to that fool of a nephew who has failed to carry you off.”

“Our children?” repeated the girl in horror. “How dare you even

think of such a thing?”

“For the same reason that I shall accomplish it. I want you for my

wife, and willy-nilly you shall marry me. Of that I am so certain that

I urge you for your own sake not to fight against it. Many a woman

would envy you. I am a bachelor , and rich. I am not without

accomplishments. No man in the country rides harder, fights harder, or

drinks harder. I can hold my own with much younger men. And although I

have never married, women admire me because of my settled determination.

Whatever I ant, I get. So school your mind, little Miss, to forget this

young parson, and accept my wooing.”

“I shall do nothing of the sort,” replied Imogene.

“Oh yes, you will, because I shall force you to it. I have the means

here to compel your obedience. That is why I have kidnapped your

mother. You will not care to see her starved and tortured, while I

surround you with every luxury? If you refuse to be sensible, I shall

strike at you through her. We will talk now for an hour or so, and then

unless you relent, her persecution will commence, and I warrant her

screams will move you.”

“Doctor Syn will suspect you,” said Imogene coldly. “He will come

and free me when he finds that we have gone from White Frairs. He will

know that the story of his accident was a base lie.”

“Of course he will,” laughed the Squire. “He’ll know it tonight. I

have written him a letter to his Chambers. The servant who brought you

your letter is now on his way to deliver another another to the parson.

In it I have stated that you have changed your mind, and have, with your

mother’s consent, arranged for yourself a happier match than to become a

parson’s wife. Of course, he may believe this. If he does we shall not

be troubled with him.”

“He will not believe it,” replied Imogene. “How can you think it?”

“To be quite frank, I never did,” said the Squire, with a smile. “I

think—nay, I hope—he will come up here. And when he does he will not

leave here alive. Unless, of course, you so convince him that my le tter

is the truth. In that case I will spare him, and you will have the

satisfaction of saving

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his life. I confess that my words will sound conceited, but I could not

help crowing a good deal over the success of my revenge. Now will you

drink a glass of wine?”

“Nothing,” she answered coldly.

“Will you come and sit beside me on this comfortable settee?”

“I will not.”

“Very well,” he went on in his bantering tone, “you may stand there

while I sit and drink. I am perfectly content to gloat upon you for an

hour. Then you will not only be willing to sit, but you will sit upon

my knee and sip the wine from my glass.”

“I shall do nothing of the kind, you conceited devil.” she said.

“Oh yes, you will. In an hour. In one hour precisely. Do you know

why?”

“I do not care to know.”

“And yet it is my duty to tell you,” he replied pleasantly. “I must

save my future wife from shock. And in one hour you will hear your

mother’s first scream of pain and terror. I have servants here who are

very expert at that kind of treatment. There is a clock. Watch it.

One hour.” And he sipped his wine and watched her standing there.

Chapter 6

The Duel

Now, the moment Cragg had seen the butler close the hall door

safely upon the ladies he proceeded immediately to Queen’s College,

aroused the porter and inquired whether Doctor Syn had yet retired to

bed. The porter informed him that the Reverend Gentleman was abroad at

the house of the Chancellor. Cragg said that he had a very important

letter to be delivered to the Reverend Gentleman and would the porter be

seeing him on his return? The porter assured Cragg that he would, since

it was his duty to unlock the gate to anyone abroad after closing hour.

So Cragg left the note, crossed the road, went down a side street, came

back by another, and waited to watch in the shadows.

Both Cobtree and Syn stayed a long time with the Chancellor, who had

been delighted to see them, since many a rumor of the adventure in St.

Giles’ had reached him, and he was anxious to have the truth of the

affair. The young men were relieved to find him very sympathetic, and

indeed entirely upon their side. He agreed with them that the

neighbourhood would be the cleaner if cleared of such a rascal, but he

did not desire any scandal to fall upon the University. He pointed out

that whereas Mr. Cobtree was perfectly entitled to take up the bully’s

challenge, since he was free of the ties of studentship, Doctor Syn was

in different case.

To this Doctor Syn ha d raised objections. “Do you mean, sir, that

because one is an official of the University, any bully can insult one

with impunity?”

“I mean this, my good young Doctor,” the old man replied. “No man of

sense could call in question the honour of anyone in Holy Orders who

declined to give satisfaction, or ask it, from a noted duelist. You

have chosen a profession which must ever put the Word before the

sword.”

“And yet, sir,” argued the Doctor, “Christ Himself whipped the

moneylenders from the Temple.”

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“I am not saying that I should not be the first to applaud you were

you to give the rascal a good thrashing. But should we once countenance

dueling within College walls, why, we should have every high -spirited

young gentleman under our ch arge killing one another. No, Doctor Syn,