The Nine of Hearts. Farjeon Benjamin Leopold
Beach used to call them a lot of something fools. I heard a great deal about 'swells,' as Mr. Beach called them, being ruined by backing horses, and I knew that that was the way he had grown rich. He used to say that he had got a lot of stuck-up swells under his thumb. 'I can arrange Mr. Layton's business with papa,' my mistress said; and when I found her practising songs at the piano, out of time and out of tune-for she had no ear for music-I knew that she was making up to him. It came about as she wished, and one night she told me she was the happiest woman in the world-that Mr. Layton had proposed and she had accepted him."
The Attorney-general. "Were there rejoicings in the house?"
Witness. "A good many big dinners were given, but I can't say much for the company. My mistress was sometimes very happy, and sometimes very miserable. To-day she complained that he was cold to her, to-morrow she would go on in the most ridiculous way because he gave her a flower, as though it was better than a big diamond."
The Attorney-general. "Did he seem to be wanting in attention to her during the courtship?"
Witness. "He wasn't a very warm lover, as far as I could see. But my mistress was so much in love that she put up with anything. He had only to give her a smile or a pleasant word, and you would think she was in heaven."
The Attorney-general. "How did the prisoner get along with Mr. Beach?"
Witness. "I know they had words on two or three occasions."
The Attorney-general. "About what?"
Witness. "About the settlements. My mistress told me, and she said her father was a screw."
The Attorney-general. "A screw! What was meant by the word?"
Witness. "That he was mean and sharp, that was what she meant."
The Attorney-general. "Go on. That her father was a screw-"
Witness. "And wanted to bind Mr. Layton down too tight. He had conversations with her about it."
The Attorney-general. "He! Who?"
Witness. "Mr. Layton."
The Attorney-general. "Did he seek these conversations?"
Witness. "Oh no; they were of her seeking. She was afraid that something might occur to break off the engagement. She said to me more than once, 'If anything goes wrong, I sha'n't care to live.' I never in all my life saw a woman so madly in love as she was."
The Attorney-general. "Do you know the result of those conversations about the settlements between the prisoner and your mistress?"
Witness. "Both Mr. Beach and Mr. Layton stood out, and I don't believe either of them would have given way if my mistress had not taken it up. She and her father had some warm scenes."
The Attorney-general. "By 'warm' do you mean 'angry?'"
Witness. "Yes."
The Attorney-general. "Whose money was it that was in dispute?"
Witness. "Mr. Beach's. He was rich; Mr. Layton had no money to settle. My mistress used to say, 'I know that I am not very handsome, but I can make Mr. Layton comfortable all his life, and I am sure we shall get along very well together. Papa shall do whatever I want.'"
The Attorney-general. "Then is it your impression that the prisoner paid court to her for her money?"
Witness. "I don't think he would have looked at her else."
The Attorney-general. "And that your mistress was aware of it?"
Witness. "She must have had some notion of it, but it couldn't have been a pleasant thing for her to talk much about, and it seemed to me that she was glad to avoid it. She didn't think she was as plain as she was. No woman does."
The Attorney-general. "How was the matter finally arranged?"
Witness. "The money was settled upon my mistress, and after her death it was to go to Mr. Layton."
The Attorney-general. "Do you know what the amount was?"
Witness. "My mistress told me it was £20,000."
The Attorney-general. "Which would come absolutely into the prisoner's possession when his wife died?"
Witness. "I understood so. My mistress did say something else about the settlement. 'There's one thing I would like put in about the money,' she said, 'and that is, that it shouldn't be his if he married again; but I would not dare to mention it.'"
The Attorney-general. "Did she give you a reason for not daring to mention it?"
Witness. "Yes; that he would break the engagement."
The Attorney-general. "Now, about the wedding. Was it a private or public wedding?"
Witness. "Not private-oh no, not at all! there were at least a hundred at the wedding breakfast, and any amount of champagne was opened."
The Attorney-general. "What kind of company?"
Witness. "Mixed-very much mixed."
The Attorney-general. "Be more explicit. Were there many of Mr. Beach's set there?"
Witness. "They were all of his set."
The Attorney-general. "But some of the prisoner's friends were there as well?"
Witness. "Not one. There were words about it."
The Attorney-general. "On the wedding-day?"
Witness. "Yes."
The Attorney-general. "Words between whom?"
Witness. "Between Mr. Beach and Mr. Layton. I heard Mr. Beach say, I gave you thirty invitations to fill up and Mr. Layton answered, didn't fill up one of them. I didn't intend that a friend of mine should meet such a crew as I knew you would get together.' 'Not good enough for you, I suppose?' said Mr. Beach. 'No,' said Mr. Layton, 'decidedly not good enough,' and then he walked away."
The Attorney-general. "Did your mistress make any remark on the subject?"
Witness. "No she was too happy to find fault with anything. She was delighted, too, with the wedding presents. There was nearly a room full of them."
The Attorney-general. "Many of them from the prisoner's friends?"
Witness. "Not one."
The Attorney-general. "Do you mean to inform the court that not a single friend or relative of the prisoner's was present, and that among the wedding presents there was not a single token from his connections?"
Witness. "Not a single one."
The Attorney-general. "Well, they were married, and they went away?"
Witness. "Yes; they took the night train to Paris."
The Attorney-general. "Did you accompany them?"
Witness. "No."
The Attorney-general. "Did your mistress's mother die before they left?"
Witness. "No; some hours afterwards, and a telegram was sent on to them in Paris, at the Hotel Bristol."
The Attorney-general. "What is the next thing you remember?"
Witness. "A telegram arrived from Mr. Layton, requesting me to come to Paris immediately. We received the telegram at about two o'clock on the day after the wedding, and I went by the night train."
The Attorney-general. "Did any person meet you?"
Witness. "Yes; Mr. Layton. He said my mistress was very ill, and he took me to the hotel. She was in bed, and she remained there for several weeks. I attended her the whole of the time."
The Attorney-general. "Did she have good doctors?"
Witness. "The best that could be got."
The Attorney-general. "Was the prisoner attentive to her?"
Witness. "Pretty well; I shouldn't have liked it."
The Attorney-general. "What do you mean by that?"
Witness. "Well, he never sat by her bedside for any length of time; he never held her hand; he never kissed her. Oh, it is easy to tell when a man loves a woman!"
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