Chapter XXVII:
The Arrival of the Councess
One sunshiny afternoon Lord Dubley escorted Lucretia upon a ramble by the seashore. When they returned about six o'clock Lucretia was laughing and looking more like herself than she had for the last four months. When they reached the castle they were greeted upon entering the hall by a tall blonde in a soft clinging mourning gown.
Lord Dubley introduced the stranger to Lucretia as her cousin Georgiana.
The countess was a very handsome woman and wore her very tasteful and expensive clothes with a graceful and well studied poise. Her charm of manner and ready smile soon won for her the center of attraction wherever she held her court.
"You see, my dear, the Count died last week and I thought that there would be no need of distressing mother or disturbing this quiet family circle, so that I decided I should come and visit you two turtle doves in your quiet island home while I am mourning and retired from society," Georgiana repeated as she smiled into Lucretia's face.
Lucretia welcomed her handsome cousin and could not help but fall under her charm as she pitied her husband for his hasty marriage.
The Countess had not lost her art of coquetry during her long exile from the society world she so dearly loved. She resented the conventionalism which demanded that she should retire for a mourning period from the gay social life, and the promptings of her old feelings for Lord Winslow and a desire to test her old influence and compare her charms with the inexperienced girl wife, offered a pleasant diversion. She decided that it would be best to come unannounced, because her parents would have given up the idea of the proposed yachting trip and returned with her to Montroy Castle or some quiet country seat.
Once at the Winslow castle she soon over-ruled her mother's objections and began her flirting campaign against her young hostess.
Lord Winslow was very surprised when he received the Countess as a guest.
He had outgrown the boyish passion and understood the selfish and heartless nature of the beautiful widow as no one except her parents could suspect.
But he would not permit his personal feelings to cause him to forget the duties of host to a young widowed cousin. And he had to admit that the castle had lived up and that the countess was a rare and charming conversationalist.
She spared no pains to please Lord Winslow and knowing his favorite themes she exerted herself to intelligently discuss them; sometimes Lord Winslow thought that the discipline of the old Count had broadened her ideas and changed her for the better.
But she kept him attending her constantly so much so that some of the friends who called at the castle remarked about the flirtation and expressed their disapproval.
Lucretia pined and became more reserved, always endeavoring to hide the terrible secret with a smile.
But Lord Winslow misunderstood her aloofness and thought that she preferred the companionship of her uncle and that he was doing her a favor to relieve her of the society of the Countess, who was becoming rather burdensome.
He often compared his innocent young wife with the worldly woman and thanked his kind fate that had directed his final choice.
The Earl of Dubley watched the drama and understood his selfish daughter's plans. He therefore spent less time with Lucretia and endeavored to make a third party to their chats.
Zina had also noticed the change and grieved in her helplessness to aid her silent mistress. One day Lucretia wandered down to the beach and Zina followed and, approaching, said: "My lady, it breaks my heart to see you so sad. Why don't you send that woman away?"
"Hush, Zina, do not say anything against the Countess. It was all my fault, I was too young to marry. Oh mother," she sobbed as she opened her heart to her beloved maid.
"I must go back to Africa. If we could only get to Rev. Jones; but I am afraid we could not locate him. I should be afraid to go to the convent because Sister Theresa would send me back. I could bear it if I alone were unhappy, but just think how poor Reginald must suffer when he looks at me and regrets that we married so early," Lucretia confided to Zina.
"Why not return to Freetown and have old Sally George, our laundress, to find a quiet place for us to live?" Zina suggested.
"But who knows where Sally lives? She thought a great deal of me, but everybody did that in Africa. Oh, if we could find Yanga! I wonder if she might not have returned to Freetown," Lucretia replied.
"I have visited Sally's house; it is on the Fura Bay Road and I could easily find it again," Zina added.
A few days after the conversation, Zina was walking up the southeast coast, where she frequently visited in the hope of arranging for their flight. As she walked along the seashore, she noticed the body of a drowned young woman washed upon the shore. The light brown curls and face somehow reminded her of Lucretia. As she stood looking upon it she saw old Lowe approaching. He was a dumb fisherman who lived in a cabin behind the cliffs near which the body was lying.
She motioned him to assist her in carrying it to the cabin. After paying and cautioning him to secrecy she hastened towards the castle.
She met Lucretia walking out alone and told her of her discovery and plans.
"Oh, but Zina, that would be too horrible! I would like them to believe me to be dead, but I could not exchange clothes with a dead woman and deceive them so cruelly," Lucretia exclaimed in an expression of horror.
"I don't want you to wear her clothes, but to exchange your clothes for a boy's suit I have at the cabin, and try to take a ship for France disguised as a young man and wire me where to meet you later. You don't have to see the woman unless you want to. If we leave together as we first planned, they will soon find us and you will have to explain your reason for leaving to your husband and uncle," Zina replied to Lucretia's objections.
"But I have not over ten sovereigns in my purse. I should have to return to the castle and it would be too late before I could come out again," Lucretia remarked.
"You may take my purse. I have £120 (or $587) in it I have saved from your generous presents. Don't lose time, it is 1.30 p.m. now, and it will take an hour to reach the cabin," Zina urged.
"No, Zina, I cannot imagine poor uncle mourning over another person and thinking it was his unhappy niece. And for poor Reginald and Georgiana, it would be most unpleasant. Oh, no, suppose they think that I committed suicide. Your plan is impossible," she sobbed.
"You are committing slow suicide already and cannot live much longer at this rate. You will cause me to murder that read-haired, snake-eyed woman," Zina said in a towering passion.
Lucretia was really frightened as she had never seen Zina in such a temper, and she read the pent-up fury which had reached its limit of endurance.
Zina had completely forgotten her position and looked upon Lucretia as her childhood friend who was being slowly murdered.
"Let us go, Zina; I shall do as you say, but you must promise me upon your oath that you will not harm the Countess or any one else for my sake," Lucretia replied, as she walked towards the southeast.
"The fisherman will rent his boat, which we will cap-size so as to have them think that the drowning was accidental," Zina assured Lucretia in her natural voice.
When they reached the shack, Lucretia refused to look upon the corpse but entered an adjoining room and donned the ill-fitting suit Zina had secured.
Zine hesitated and tried to think of a way to avoid cutting the heavy locks of hair. Lucretia decided that the sacrifice would be the only thing to do under the circumstances, so that Zina braided the hair in two long thick braids and clipped them closely. When she covered with a cap which partly hid the poorly barbered hair.
Lucretia placed the two locks in her bosom and Zina recalled the leopard's claw.
"Do not forget the claw."
"His lordship would look for that the first thing," Zina repeated.
"I cannot part with it, Zina, but what you say is quite true. Oh, what shall I do? Mother dear, do guide your poor unhappy child," Lucretia sobbingly cried.
Zina patted and soothed her as if she were a child.
"My dear father will forgive me for trying to make dear Reggie happy. Unloosen it, Zina, and let me go away from here," she cried almost hysterically.
Pulling the chain from her neck she dropped it into Zina's hand and ran away from the cabin.
Keeping in an easterly direction she almost ran into Mr. Wilson, a Chicago millionaire aviator, who was walking impatiently up and down the beach a few paces from his biplane, which was out of its hangar.
He was dressed in his flying outfit, and was about to make an angry remark, when Lucretia meekly apologized and asked if he were about to fly to France.
"Yes, I should have started ten minutes ago if my companion had any idea of time" he impatiently replied.
"Will you take me along? I must reach France this evening," she asked.
"Yes, jump in; I won't wait another second for Harris. He will have to take a boat," Mr. Wilson replied in his usual impetuous manner.
They flew over the Channel and landed at Boulogne near the Central Station. It was then four o'clock, but the late spring afternoon was bright and balmy.
After the machine had landed and Mr. Wilson assisted his passenger from the machine he noticed the very poor hair cut and the ill-fitting clothes on the girlish form. His impatience to reach the continent in the time he had planned, and the delay caused by his tardy friend had so absorbed his mind that he had paid no attention to the young lad whose timid voice was so very effeminate.
He thought perhaps he was a young French student who was attending school in England and wanted to spend the week with his parents. But when he noticed Lucretia closely, he concluded that he had assisted in an elopement.
"Are you expecting a friend to meet you, little one," he asked very kindly.
"No, I am going on to Paris," Lucretia replied.
Mr. Wilson accompanied her to a waiting room at the station.
"Is this an elopement, Kid? Let me into the secret, since I have assisted Cupid," he said to Lucretia as he seated her and stood before her.
"An elopement?" she asked in genuine alarm and sur price.
Mr. Wilson was convinced of his mistake and became alarmed at what might happen to the unprotected girl masquerading in a boy's clothes in the city of Paris.
"Have you relatives or close friends in Paris?" he asked.
"No, this is my first visit," Lucretia truthfully replied.
"Great Scott! What have I done. Say, little girl, you must tell me why you are masquerading in boys' clothes and going to Paris."
"I cannot tell you any more than I have and must beg you please accept my thanks for crossing me in your machine. I must be securing my ticket and therefore bid you adieu," Lucretia replied as she arose.
She was surprised that her secret was detected and anxious to make her escape from her inquisitive companion.
"Wait a minute; I will secure tickets for both of us. Will you tell me your name? I am Wilson, of Chicago," Mr. Wilson stated in the hope that he would be able to communicate with her parents.
"Montcrief is my name," Lucretia replied, as she held out her hand boyishly.
When Mr. Wilson left for the ticket office, Lucretia looked around for means of escape because she suspected that he would recognize the name and try to communicate with her uncle.