The Two Admirals (33 page)

"Rotherham—vicar—poor St. James—gone; yes—Mr.—Rotherham—vicar."

The clause was written, the sum of £1000 was inserted, and the whole was
read and approved.

"This still leaves us some £5000 more to deal with, my dear sir?"

A long pause succeeded, during which time Sir Wycherly was deliberating
what to do with the rest of his ready money. At length his wandering eye
rested on the pale features of Mrs. Dutton; and, while he had a sort of
liking, that proceeded from habit, for her husband, he remembered that
she had many causes for sorrow. With a feeling that was creditable to
his own heart, he uttered her name, and the sum of £2000. The clause was
written, accordingly, read and approved.

"We have still £3000 certainly, if not £4000," added Sir Gervaise.

"Milly—dear little—Milly—pretty Milly," stammered out the baronet,
affectionately.

"This must go into a codicil, Sir Gervaise," interrupted Atwood; "there
being already one legacy in the young lady's favour. Shall it be one,
two, three, or four thousand pounds, Sir Wycherly, in favour of Miss
Mildred, to whom you have already bequeathed £3000."

The sick man muttered the words "three thousand," after a short pause,
adding "codicil."

His wishes were complied with, and the whole was read and approved.
After this, Sir Gervaise inquired if the testator wished to make any
more devises. Sir Wycherly, who had in effect bequeathed, within a few
hundred pounds, all he had to bestow, bethought himself, for a few
moments, of the state of his affairs, and then he signified his
satisfaction with what had been done.

"As it is possible, Sir Wycherly, that you may have overlooked
something," said Sir Gervaise, "and it is better that nothing should
escheat to the crown, I will suggest the expediency of your making some
one residuary legatee."

The poor old man smiled an assent, and then he succeeded in muttering
the name of "Sir Reginald Wychecombe."

This clause, like all the others, was written, read, and approved. The
will was now completed, and preparations were made to read it carefully
over to the intended testator. In order that this might be done with
sufficient care for future objections, the two admirals and Atwood, who
were selected for the witnesses, each read the testament himself, in
order to say that nothing was laid before the testator but that which
was fairly contained in the instrument, and that nothing was omitted.
When all was ready, the will was audibly and slowly read to Sir
Wycherly, by the secretary, from the beginning to the end. The old man
listened with great attention; smiled when Mildred's name was mentioned;
and clearly expressed, by signs and words, his entire satisfaction when
all was ended. It remained only to place a pen in his hand, and to give
him such assistance as would enable him to affix his name twice; once to
the body of the instrument; and, when this was duly witnessed, then
again to the codicil. By this time, Tom Wychecombe thought that the
moment for interposing had arrived. He had been on thorns during the
whole proceeding, forming desperate resolutions to sustain the bold
fraud of his legitimacy, and thus take all the lands and heirlooms of
the estate, under the entail; still he well knew that a subordinate but
important question might arise, as between the validity of the two
wills, in connection with Sir Wycherly's competency to make the last. It
was material, therefore, in his view of the case, to enter a protest.

"Gentlemen," he said, advancing to the foot of the bed; "I call on you
all to observe the nature of this whole transaction. My poor, beloved,
but misled uncle, no longer ago than last night, was struck with a fit
of apoplexy, or something so very near it as to disqualify him to judge
in these matters; and here he is urged to make a will—"

"By whom, sir?" demanded Sir Gervaise, with a severity of tone that
induced the speaker to fall back a step.

"Why, sir, in my judgment, by all in the room. If not with their
tongues, at least with their eyes."

"And why should all in the room do this? Am I a legatee?—is Admiral
Bluewater to be a gainer by this will?—
can
witnesses to a will be
legatees?"

"I do not wish to dispute the matter with you, Sir Gervaise Oakes; but I
solemnly protest against this irregular and most extraordinary manner of
making a will. Let all who hear me, remember this, and be ready to
testify to it when called on in a court of justice."

Here Sir Wycherly struggled to rise in the bed, in evident excitement,
gesticulating strongly to express his disgust, and his wish for his
nephew to withdraw. But the physicians endeavoured to pacify him, while
Atwood, with the paper spread on a port-folio, and a pen in readiness,
coolly proceeded to obtain the necessary signatures. Sir Wycherly's hand
trembled so much when it received the pen, that, for the moment, writing
was out of the question, and it became necessary to administer a
restorative in order to strengthen his nerves.

"Away—out of sight," muttered the excited baronet, leaving no doubt on
all present, that the uppermost feeling of the moment was the strong
desire to rid himself of the presence of the offensive object. "Sir
Reginald—little Milly—poor servants—brothers—all the rest, stay."

"Just be calming the mind, Sir Wycherly Wychecombe," put in Magrath,
"and ye'll be solacing the body by the same effort. When the mind is in
a state of exaltation, the nervous system is apt to feel the influence
of sympathy. By bringing the two in harmonious co-operation, the
testamentary devises will have none the less of validity, either in
reality or in appearances."

Sir Wycherly understood the surgeon, and he struggled for self-command.
He raised the pen, and succeeded in getting its point on the proper
place. Then his dim eye lighted, and shot a reproachful glance at Tom;
he smiled in a ghastly manner, looked towards the paper, passed a hand
across his brow, closed his eyes, and fell back on the pillow, utterly
unconscious of all that belonged to life, its interests, its duties, or
its feelings. In ten minutes, he ceased to breathe.

Thus died Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, after a long life, in which general
qualities of a very negative nature, had been somewhat relieved, by
kindness of feeling, a passive if not an active benevolence, and such a
discharge of his responsible duties as is apt to flow from an absence of
any qualities that are positively bad; as well as of many of material
account, that are affirmatively good.

"Come ye, who still the cumbrous load of life
Push hard up hill; but at the farthest steep
You trust to gain, and put on end to strife,
Down thunders back the stone with mighty sweep,
And hurls your labours to the valley deep;—"

THOMSON.

The sudden, and, in some measure, unlooked-for event, related in the
close of the last chapter, produced a great change in the condition of
things at Wychecombe Hall. The first step was to make sure that the
baronet was actually dead; a fact that Sir Gervaise Oakes, in
particular, was very unwilling to believe, in the actual state of his
feelings. Men often fainted, and apoplexy required
three
blows to
kill; the sick man might still revive, and at least be able to execute
his so clearly expressed intentions.

"Ye'll never have act of any sort, testamentary or matrimonial, legal or
illegal, in this life, from the late Sir Wycherly Wychecombe of
Wychecombe Hall, Devonshire," coolly observed Magrath, as he collected
the different medicines and instruments he had himself brought forth for
the occasion. "He's far beyond the jurisdiction of My Lord High
Chancellor of the college of Physicians and Surgeons; and therefore,
ye'll be acting prudently to consider him as deceased; or, in the light
in which the human body is placed by the cessation of all the animal
functions."

This decided the matter, and the necessary orders were given; all but
the proper attendants quitting the chamber of death. It would be far
from true to say that no one lamented Sir Wycherly Wychecombe. Both Mrs.
Dutton and Mildred grieved for his sudden end, and wept sincerely for
his loss; though totally without a thought of its consequences to
themselves. The daughter did not even once think how near she had been
to the possession of £6000, and how unfortunately the cup of comparative
affluence had been dashed from her lips; though truth compels us to avow
that the mother did once recall this circumstance, with a feeling akin
to regret. A similar recollection had its influence on the
manifestations of sorrow that flowed from others. The domestics, in
particular, were too much astounded to indulge in any very abstracted
grief, and Sir Gervaise and Atwood were both extremely vexed. In short,
the feelings, usual to such occasions were but little indulged in,
though there was a strict observance of decorum.

Sir Reginald Wychecombe noted these circumstances attentively, and he
took his measures accordingly. Seizing a favourable moment to consult
with the two admirals, his decision was soon made; and, within an hour
after his kinsman's death, all the guests and most of the upper servants
were assembled in the room, which it was the usage of the house to call
the library; though the books were few, and seldom read. Previously,
there had been a consultation between Sir Reginald and the two admirals,
to which Atwood had been admitted,
ex officio
. As every thing,
therefore, had been arranged in advance, there was no time lost
unnecessarily, when the company was collected; the Hertfordshire baronet
coming to the point at once, and that in the clearest manner.

"Gentlemen, and you, good people, domestics of the late Sir Wycherly
Wychecombe," he commenced; "you are all acquainted with the unfortunate
state of this household. By the recent death of its master, it is left
without a head; and the deceased departing this life a bachelor, there
is no child to assume his place, as the natural and legal successor. In
one sense, I might be deemed the next of kin; though, by a
dictum
of
the common law I have no claim to the succession. Nevertheless, you all
know it was the intention of our late friend to constitute me his
executor, and I conceive it proper that search should now be made for a
will, which, by being duly executed, must dispose of all in this house,
and let us know who is entitled to command at this solemn and important
moment. It strikes me, Sir Gervaise Oakes, that the circumstances are so
peculiar as to call for prompt proceedings."

"I fully agree with you, Sir Reginald," returned the vice-admiral; "but
before we proceed any further, I would suggest the propriety of having
as many of those present as possible, who have an interest in the
result. Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, the reputed nephew of the deceased, I do
not see among us."

On examination, this was found to be true, and the man of Tom
Wychecombe, who had been ordered by his master to be present as a spy,
was immediately sent to the latter, with a request that he would attend.
After a delay of two or three minutes, the fellow returned with the
answer.

"Sir Thomas Wychecombe's compliments, gentlemen," he said, "and he
desires to know the object of your request. He is in his room, indulging
in natural grief for his recent loss; and he prefers to be left alone
with his sorrows, just at this moment, if it be agreeable to you."

This was taking high ground in the commencement; and, as the man had his
cue, and delivered his message with great distinctness and steadiness,
the effect on the dependants of the household was very evident. Sir
Reginald's face flushed, while Sir Gervaise bit his lip; Bluewater
played with the hilt of his sword, very indifferent to all that was
passing; while Atwood and the surgeons shrugged their shoulders and
smiled. The first of these persons well knew that Tom had no shadow of a
claim to the title he had been in so much haste to assume, however, and
he hoped that the feebleness of his rights in all particulars, was
represented by the mixed feebleness and impudence connected with this
message. Determined not to be bullied from his present purpose,
therefore, he turned to the servant and sent him back with a second
message, that did not fail of its object. The man was directed to inform
his master, that Sir Reginald Wychecombe was in possession of facts
that, in his opinion, justified the course he was taking, and if "Mr.
Thomas Wychecombe" did not choose to appear, in order to look after his
own interests, he should proceed without him. This brought Tom into the
room, his face pale with uncertainty, rather than with grief, and his
mind agitated with such apprehensions as are apt to beset even the most
wicked, when they take their first important step in evil. He bowed,
however, to the company with an air that he intended to represent the
manner of a well-bred man acknowledging his duties to respected guests.

"If I appear remiss in any of the duties of a host, gentlemen," he said,
"you will overlook it, I trust, in consideration of my present feelings.
Sir Wycherly was my father's elder brother, and was very dear, as he was
very
near
to me. By this melancholy death, Sir Reginald, I am suddenly
and unexpectedly elevated to be the head of our ancient and honourable
family; but I know my own personal unworthiness to occupy that
distinguished place, and feel how much better it would be filled by
yourself. Although the law has placed a wide and impassable barrier
between all of your branch of the family and ourselves, I shall ever be
ready to acknowledge the affinity, and to confess that it does us quite
as much honour as it bestows."

Sir Reginald, by a great effort, commanded himself so far as to return
the bow, and apparently to receive the condescending admissions of the
speech, with a proper degree of respect.