The Last Chronicle of Barset (117 page)

‘Say something to your father about the property after dinner,' said Mrs Grantly to her son when they were alone together.

‘About what property?'

‘About this property, or any property; you know what I mean – something to show that you are interested about his affairs. He is doing the best he can to make things right.' After dinner, over the claret, Mr Thorne's terrible sin in reference to the trapping of foxes was accordingly again brought up, and the archdeacon became beautifully irate, and expressed his animosity – which he did not in the least feel – against an old friend with an energy which would have delighted his wife, if she could have heard him. ‘I shall tell Thorne my mind, certainly. He and I are very old friends; we have known each other all our lives; but I cannot put up with this kind of thing – and I will not. It's all because he's afraid of his own gamekeeper.' And yet the archdeacon had never ridden after a fox in his life, and never meant to do so; nor had in truth been always so very anxious that foxes should be found in his covers. That fox which had been so fortunately trapped just outside the Plumstead property afforded a most pleasant escape for the steam of his anger. When he began to talk to his wife that evening about Mr Thorne's wicked gamekeeper, she was so sure that all was right, that she said a word of her extreme desire to see Grace Crawley.

‘If he is to marry her, we might as well have her over here,' said the archdeacon.

‘That's just what I was thinking,' said Mrs Grantly. And thus things at the rectory got themselves arranged.

On the Sunday morning the expected letter from Venice came to hand, and was read on that morning very anxiously, not only by Mrs Grantly and the major, but by the archdeacon also, in spite of the sanctity of the day. Indeed the archdeacon had been very stoutly anti-sabbatarial
¹
when the question of stopping the Sunday post to
Plumstead had been mooted in the village, giving those who on that occasion were the special friends of the postman to understand that he considered them to be numskulls, and little better than idiots. The postman, finding the parson to be against him, had seen that there was no chance for him, and had allowed the matter to drop. Mrs Arabin's letter was long and eager, and full of repetitions, but it did explain clearly to them the exact manner in which the cheque had found its way into Mr Crawley's hand. ‘Francis came up to me,' she said in her letter – Francis being her husband, the dean – ‘and asked me for the money, which I had promised to make up in a packet. The packet was not ready, and he would not wait, declaring that Mr Crawley was in such a flurry that he did not like to leave him. I was therefore to bring it down to the door. I went to my desk, and thinking that I could spare the twenty pounds as well as the fifty, I put the cheque into the envelope, together with the notes, and handed the packet to Francis at the door. I think I told Francis afterwards that I put seventy pounds into the envelope, instead of fifty, but of this I will not be sure.
At any rate, Mr Crawley got Mr Soames's cheque from me
.' These last words she underscored, and then went on to explain how the cheque had been paid to her a short time before by Dan Stringer.

‘Then Toogood has been right about the fellow,' said the archdeacon.

‘I hope they'll hang him,' said Mrs Grantly. ‘He must have known all the time what dreadful misery he was bringing upon this unfortunate family.'

‘I don't suppose Dan Stringer cared much about that,' said the major.

‘Not a straw,' said the archdeacon, and then all hurried off to church; and the archdeacon preached the sermon in the fabrication of which he had been interrupted by his son, and which therefore barely enabled him to turn the quarter of an hour from the giving out of his text. It was his constant practice to preach for full twenty minutes.

As Barchester lay on the direct road from Plumstead to Hogglestock, it was thought well that word should be sent to Mr Toogood, desiring him not to come out to Plumstead on the Monday morning.
Major Grantly proposed to call for him at ‘The Dragon,' and to take him on from thence to Hogglestock. ‘You had better take your mother's horses all through,' said the archdeacon. The distance was very nearly twenty miles, and it was felt both by the mother and the son, that the archdeacon must be in a good humour when he made such a proposition as that. It was not often that the rectory carriage-horses were allowed to make long journeys. A run into Barchester and back, which altogether was under ten miles, was generally the extent of their work. ‘I meant to have posted from Barchester,' said the major. ‘You may as well take the horses through,' said the archdeacon. ‘Your mother will not want them. And I suppose you might as well bring your friend Toogood back to dinner. We'll give him a bed.'

‘He must be a good sort of man,' said Mrs Grantly; ‘for I suppose he has done all this for love?'

‘Yes; and spent a lot of money out of his own pocket too!' said the major enthusiastically. ‘And the joke of it is, that he has been defending Crawley in Crawley's teeth. Mr Crawley had refused to employ counsel; but Toogood had made up his mind to have a barrister, on purpose that there might be a fuss about it in court. He thought that it would tell with the jury in Crawley's favour.'

‘Bring him here, and we'll hear all about that from himself,' said the archdeacon. The major, before he started, told his mother that he should call at Framley Parsonage on his way back; but he said nothing on this subject to his father.

‘I'll write to her in a day or two,' said Mrs Grantly, ‘and we'll have things settled pleasantly.'

Major Grantly made an early start, knowing that he had a long day's work before him. He had written over-night to Mr Toogood, naming the hour at which he would reach ‘The Dragon,' and was there punctual to the moment. When the attorney came out and got into the open carriage, while the groom held the steps for him, it was plain to be seen that the respect in which he was held at ‘The Dragon' was greatly increased. It was already known that he was going to Plumstead that night, and it was partly understood that he was engaged with the Grantly and Arabin faction in defending Mr Crawley the clergyman against the Proudie faction. Dan Stringer, who was still at the inn, as he saw his enemy get into the Plumstead carriage, felt himself to be one of the palace party, and felt that if Mrs Proudie had only lived till after the assizes all this heavy trouble would not have befallen him. The waiter with the dirty napkin stood at the door and bowed, thinking perhaps that as the Proudie party was going down in Barchester, it might be as well to be civil to Mr Toogood. The days of the Stringers were probably drawing to a close at ‘The Dragon of Wantly,' and there was no knowing who might be the new landlord.

Henry Grantly and the lawyer found very little to say to each other on their long way out to Hogglestock. They were thinking, probably, much of the coming interview, and hardly knew how to express their thoughts to each other. ‘I will not take the carriage up to the house,' said the major, as they were entering the parish of Hogglestock; ‘particularly as the man must feed the horses.' So they got out at a farmhouse about half a mile from the church, where the offence of the carriage and livery-servant would be well out of Mr Crawley's sight, and from thence walked towards the parsonage. The church, and the school close to it, lay on their way, and as they passed by the school door they heard voices within. ‘I'll bet twopence he's there,' said Toogood. ‘They tell me he's always either in one shop or
the other. I'll slip in and bring him out.' Mr Toogood had assumed a comfortable air, as though the day's work was to be good pastime, and even made occasional attempts at drollery. He had had his jokes about Dan Stringer, and had attempted to describe the absurdities of Mr Crawley's visit to Bedford Row. All this would have angered the major, had he not seen that it was assumed to cover something below of which Mr Toogood was a little ashamed, but of which, as the major thought, Mr Toogood had no cause to be ashamed. When, therefore, Toogood proposed to go into the school and bring Mr Crawley out, as though the telling of their story would be the easiest thing in the world, the major did not stop him. Indeed he had no plan of his own ready. His mind was too intent on the tragedy which had occurred, and which was now to be brought to a close, to enable him to form any plan as to the best way of getting up the last scene. So Mr Toogood, with quick and easy steps, entered the school, leaving the major still standing in the road. Mr Crawley was in the school – as was also Jane Crawley. ‘So here you are,' said Toogood. ‘That's fortunate. I hope I find you pretty well?'

‘If I am not mistaken in the identity, my wife's relative, Mr Toogood?' said Mr Crawley, stepping down from his humble desk.

‘Just so, my friend,' said Toogood, with his hand extended, ‘just so; and there's another gentleman outside who wants to have a word with you also. Perhaps you won't mind stepping out. These are the young Hogglestockians; are they?'

The young Hogglestockians stared at him, and so did Jane. Jane, who had before heard of him, did not like him at first sight, seeing that her father was clearly displeased by the tone of the visitor's address. Mr Crawley was displeased. There was a familiarity about Mr Toogood which made him sore, as having been exhibited before his pupils. ‘If you will be pleased to step out, sir, I will follow you,' he said, waving his hand towards the door. ‘Jane, my dear, if you will remain with the children I will return to you presently. Bobby Studge has failed in saying his Belief. You had better set him on again from the beginning. Now, Mr Toogood.' And again he waved with his hand towards the door.

‘So that's my young cousin, is it?' said Toogood, stretching over
and just managing to touch Jane's fingers – of which act of touching Jane was very chary. Then he went forth, and Mr Crawley followed him. There was the major standing in the road, and Toogood was anxious to be the first to communicate the good news. It was the only reward he had proposed to himself for the money he had expended and the time he had lost and the trouble he had taken. ‘It's all right old fellow,' he said, clapping his hand on Mr Crawley's shoulder. ‘We've got the right sow by the ear
¹
at last. We know all about it.' Mr Crawley could hardly remember the time when he had been called an old fellow last, and now he did not like it; nor, in the confusion of his mind, could he understand the allusion to the right sow. He supposed that Mr Toogood had come to him about his trial, but it did not occur to him that the lawyer might be bringing him news which might make the trial altogether unnecessary. ‘If my eyes are not mistaken, there is my friend, Major Grantly,' said Mr Crawley.

‘There he is, as large as life,' said Toogood. ‘But stop a moment before you go to him, and give me your hand. I must have the first shake of it.' Hereupon Crawley extended his hand. ‘That's right. And now let me tell you we know all about the cheque – Soames's cheque. We know where you got it. We know who stole it. We know how it came to the person who gave it to you. It's all very well talking, but when you're in trouble always go to a lawyer.'

By this time Mr Crawley was looking full into Mr Toogood's face, and seeing that his cousin's eyes were streaming with tears began to get some insight into the man's character, and also some very dim insight into the facts which the man intended to communicate to himself. ‘I do not as yet fully understand you, sir,' said he, ‘being perhaps in such matters somewhat dull of intellect, but it seemeth to me that you are a messenger of glad tidings, whose feet are beautiful upon the mountains.'
²

‘Beautiful!' said Toogood. ‘By George, I should think they are beautiful! Don't you hear me tell you that we have found out all about the cheque, and that you're as right as a trivet?' They were still on the little causeway leading from the school up to the road, and Henry Grantly was waiting for them at the small wicket-gate. ‘Mr Crawley,' said the major, ‘I congratulate you with all my heart. I could
not but accompany my friend, Mr Toogood, when he brought you this good news.'

‘I do not even yet altogether comprehend what has been told to me,' said Crawley, now standing out on the road between the other two men. ‘I am doubtless dull – very dull. May I beg some clearer word of explanation before I ask you to go with me to my wife?'

‘The cheque was given to you by my aunt Eleanor.'

‘Your aunt Eleanor!' said Crawley, now altogether in the clouds. Who was the major's aunt Eleanor? Though he had, no doubt, at different times heard all the circumstances of the connexion, he had never realised the fact that his daughter's lover was the nephew of his old friend, Arabin.

‘Yes; by my aunt, Mrs Arabin.'

‘She put it into the envelope with the notes,' said Toogood – ‘slipped it in without saying a word to anyone. I never heard of a woman doing such a mad thing in my life before. If she had died, or if we hadn't caught her, where should we all have been? Not but what I think I should have run Dan Stringer to ground too, and worked it out of him.'

‘Then, after all, it was given to me by the dean?' said Crawley drawing himself up.

‘It was in the envelope, but the dean did not know it,' said the major.

‘Gentlemen,' said Mr Crawley, ‘I was sure of it. I knew it. Weak as my mind may be – and at times it is very weak – I was certain that I could not have erred in such a matter. The more I struggled with my memory, the more fixed with me became the fact – which I had forgotten but for a moment – that the document had formed a part of that small packet handed to me by the dean. But look you, sirs – bear with me yet for a moment. I said that it was so, and the dean denied it.'