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Page 27
CHAPTER VIII
TERMS
Mrs. Mallathorpe, left to face the situation which Pratt had revealed to
her in such sudden and startling fashion, had been quick to realize its
seriousness. It had not taken much to convince her that the clerk knew
what he was talking about. She had no doubt whatever that he was right
when he said that the production of John Mallathorpe's will would mean
dispossession to her children, and through them to herself. Nor had she
any doubt, either, of Pratt's intention to profit by his discovery. She
saw that he was a young man of determination, not at all scrupulous,
eager to seize on anything likely to turn to his own advantage. She was,
in short, at his mercy. And she had no one to turn to. Her son was weak,
purposeless, almost devoid of character; he cared for nothing beyond
ease and comfort, and left everything to her so long as he was allowed
to do what he liked. She dared not confide in him--he was not fit to be
entrusted with such a secret, nor endowed with the courage to carry it
boldly and unflinchingly. Nor dare she confide it to her daughter--Nesta
was as strong as her brother was weak: Mrs. Mallathorpe had only told
the plain truth when she said to Pratt that if her daughter knew of the
will she would go straight to the two trustees. No--she would have to do
everything herself. And she could do nothing save under Pratt's
dictation. So long as he had that will in his possession, he could make
her agree to whatever terms he liked to insist upon.
She spent a sleepless night, resolving all sorts of plans; she resolved
more plans and schemes during the day which followed. But they all ended
at the same point--Pratt. All the future depended upon--Pratt. And by
the end of the day it had come to this--she must make a determined
effort to buy Pratt clean out, so that she could get the will into her
own possession and destroy it. She knew that she could easily find the
necessary money--Harper Mallathorpe had such a natural dislike of all
business matters and was so little fitted to attend to them that he was
only too well content to leave everything relating to the estate and the
mill at Barford to his mother. Up to that time Mrs. Mallathorpe had
managed the affairs of both, and she had large sums at her disposal, out
of which she could pay Pratt without even Harper being aware that she
was paying him anything. And surely no young man in Pratt's position--a
mere clerk, earning a few pounds a week--would refuse a big sum of ready
money! It seemed incredible to her--and she went into Barford towards
evening hoping that by the time she returned the will would have been
burned to grey ashes.
Mrs. Mallathorpe used some ingenuity in making her visit to Pratt.
Giving out that she was going to see a friend in Barford, of whose
illness she had just heard, she drove into the town, and on arriving
near the Town Hall dismissed her carriage, with orders to the coachman
to put up his horses at a certain livery stable, and to meet her at the
same place at a specified time. Then she went away on foot, and drew a
thick veil over her face before hiring a cab in which she drove up to
the outskirt on which Pratt had his lodging. She was still veiled when
Pratt's landlady showed her into the clerk's sitting-room.
"Is it safe here?" she asked at once. "Is there no fear of anybody
hearing what we may say?"
"None!" answered Pratt reassuringly. "I know these folks--I've lived
here several years. And nobody could hear however much they put their
ears to the keyhole. Good thick old walls, these, Mrs. Mallathorpe, and
a solid door. We're as safe here as we were in your study last night."
Mrs. Mallathorpe sat down in the chair which Pratt politely drew near
his fire. She raised her veil and looked at him, and the clerk saw at
once how curious and eager she was.
"That--will!" she said, in a low voice. "Let me see it--first."
"One moment," answered Pratt. "First--you understand that I'm not going
to let you handle it. I'll hold it before you, so you can read it.
Second--you give me your promise--I'm trusting you--that you'll make no
attempt to seize it. It's not going out of my hands."
"I'm only a woman--and you're a strong man," she retorted sullenly.
"Quite so," said Pratt. "But women have a trick of snatching at things.
And--if you please--you'll do exactly what I tell you to do. Put your
hands behind you! If I see you make the least movement with them--back
goes the will into my pocket!"
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