CHECKMATE
BY THE SAME AUTHOR GUY DEVERELL
ALL IN THE DARK
THE WYVERN MYSTERY THE COCK AND ANCHOR WYLDER'S HAND
THE WATCHER CHECKMATE
ROSE AND THE KEY TENANTS OF MALLORY WILLING TO DIE GOLDEN FRIARS
THE EVIL GUEST Checkmate
BY
J. S. LE FANU
Downey & Co.
12 York St. Covent Garden.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. MORTLAKE HALL, 1
II. MARTHA TANSEY, 7
III. MR. LONGCLUSE OPENS HIS HEART, 13
IV. MONSIEUR LEBAS, 17
V. A CATASTROPHE, 22
VI. TO BED, 26
VII. FAST FRIENDS, 31
VIII. CONCERNING A BOOT, 38
IX. THE MAN WITHOUT A NAME, 43
X. THE ROYAL OAK, 48
XI. THE TELEGRAM ARRIVES, 55
XII. SIR REGINALD ARDEN, 62
XIII. ON THE ROAD, 68
XIV. MR. LONGCLUSE'S BOOT FINDS A TEMPORARY ASYLUM, 72
XV. FATHER AND SON, 79
XVI. A MIDNIGHT MEETING, 84
XVII. MR. LONGCLUSE AT MORTLAKE HALL, 91
XVIII. THE PARTY IN THE DINING-ROOM, 96
XIX. IN MRS. TANSEY'S ROOM, 103
XX. MRS. TANSEY'S STORY, 108
XXI. A WALK BY MOONLIGHT, 115
XXII. MR. LONGCLUSE MAKES AN ODD CONFIDENCE, 120
XXIII. THE MEETING, 125
XXIV. MR. LONGCLUSE FOLLOWS A SHADOW, 129
XXV. A TETE-A-TETE, 133
XXVI. THE GARDEN AT MORTLAKE, 137
XXVII. WINGED WORDS, 141
XXVIII. STORIES ABOUT MR. LONGCLUSE,147
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XXIX. THE GARDEN PARTY, 153
XXX. HE SEES HER, 158
XXXI. ABOUT THE GROUNDS, 161
XXXII. UNDER THE LIME-TREES, 167
XXXIII. THE DERBY, 171
XXXIV. A SHARP COLLOQUY, 174
XXXV. DINNER AT MORTLAKE, 179
XXXVI. MR. LONGCLUSE SEES A LADY'S NOTE, 183
XXXVII. WHAT ALICE COULD SAY, 188
XXXVIII. GENTLEMEN IN TROUBLE, 192
XXXIX. BETWEEN FRIENDS, 196
XL. AN INTERVIEW IN THE STUDY, 199
XLI. VAN APPOINTS HIMSELF TO A DIPLOMATIC POST, 203
XLII. DIPLOMACY, 206
XLIII. A LETTER AND A SUMMONS, 209
XLIV. THE REASON OF ALICE'S NOTE, 213
XLV. COLLISION, 219
XLVI. AN UNKNOWN FRIEND, 224
XLVII. BY THE RIVER, 229
XLVIII. SUDDEN NEWS, 232
XLIX. VOWS FOR THE FUTURE, 236
L. UNCLE DAVID'S SUSPICIONS, 239
LI. THE SILHOUETTE, 244
LII. MR. LONGCLUSE EMPLOYED, 248
LIII. THE NIGHT OF THE FUNERAL, 252
LIV. AMONG THE TREES, 258
LV. MR. LONGCLUSE SEES A FRIEND, 262
LVI. A HOPE EXPIRES, 266
LVII. LEVI'S APOLOGUE, 272
LVIII. THE BARON COMES TO TOWN, 276
LIX. TWO OLD FRIENDS MEET AND PART, 281
LX. "SAUL," 286
LXI. A WAKING DREAM, 290
LXII. LOVE AND PLAY, 295
LXIII. PLANS, 300
LXIV. FROM FLOWER TO FLOWER, 304
LXV. BEHIND THE ARRAS, 311
LXVI. A BUBBLE BROKEN, 313
LXVII. BOND AND DEED, 317
LXVIII. SIR RICHARD'S RESOLUTION, 322
LXIX. THE MEETING, 326
LXX. MR. LONGCLUSE PROPOSES, 329
LXXI. NIGHT, 332
LXXII. MEASURES, 336
LXXIII. AT THE BAR OF THE "GUY OF WARWICK," 341
LXXIV. A LETTER, 346
LXXV. BLIGHT AND CHANGE, 351
LXXVI. PHOEBE CHIFFINCH, 356
LXXVII. MORE NEWS OF PAUL DAVIES, 360
LXXVIII. THE CATACOMBS, 364
LXXIX. RESURRECTIONS, 371
LXXX. ANOTHER, 376
LXXXI. BROKEN, 379
LXXXII. DOPPELGANGER, 384
LXXXIII.A SHORT PARTING, 388
LXXXIV. AT MORTLAKE, 393
LXXXV. THE CRISIS, 399
LXXXVI. PURSUIT, 406
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LXXXVII. CONCLUSION, 412
CHECKMATE. CHAPTER I.
MORTLAKE HALL.
HERE stands about a mile and a half beyond Islington, unless it has come down within the last two years, a singular and grand old house. It belonged to the family of Arden, once distinguished in the Northumbrian counties. About fifty acres of ground, rich with noble clumps and masses of old timber, surround it; old-world fish-ponds, with swans sailing upon them, tall yew hedges, quin-cunxes, leaden fauns and goddesses, and other obsolete splendours surround it. It rises, tall, florid, built of Caen stone, with a palatial flight of steps, and something of the grace and dignity of the genius of Inigo Jones, to whom it is ascribed, with the shadows of ancestral trees and the stains of two centuries upon it, and a vague character of gloom and melancholy, not improved by some indications not actually of decay, but of something too like neglect.
It is now evening, and a dusky glow envelopes the scene. The setting sun throws its level beams, through tall drawing-room windows, ruddily upon the Dutch tapestry on the opposite walls, and not unbecomingly lights up the little party assembled there.
Good-natured, fat Lady May Penrose, in her bonnet, sips her tea and chats agreeably. Her carriage waits outside. You will ask who is that extremely beautiful girl who sits opposite, her large soft grey eyes gazing towards the western sky with a look of abstraction, too forgetful for a time of her company, leaning upon the slender hand she has placed under her cheek. How silken and golden-tinted
the dark brown hair that grows so near her brows, making her forehead low, and marking with its broad line the beautiful oval of her face! Is there carmine anywhere to match her brilliant lips? And when, recollecting something to tell Lady May, she turns on a sud-den, smiling, how soft and pretty the dimples, and how even the little row of pearls she discloses!
This is Alice Arden, whose singularly handsome brother Richard, with some of her tints and outlines translated into masculine beauty, stands leaning on the back of a prie-dieu chair, and chatting gaily.
But who is the thin, tall man--the only sinister figure in the group--with one hand in his breast, the other on a cabinet, as he leans against the wall? Who is that pale, thin-lipped man, "with cadaverous aspect and broken beak," whose eyes never seem to light up, but maintain their dismal darkness while