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The Black Robe-Part9_WILKIE COLLINS (1824-1899)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

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Father Benwell presented his young friend. "Arthur Penrose, my

lord. I ventured to suggest that he should call here to-day, in



case you wished to put any questions to him."

"Quite needless, after your recommendation," Lord Loring



answered, graciously. "Mr. Penrose could not have come here at a

more appropriate time. As it happens, Mr. Romayne has paid us a



visit today--he is now in the picture gallery."

The priests looked at each other. Lord Loring left them as he



spoke. He walked to the opposite door of the library--opened

it--glanced round the hall, and at the stairs--and returned



again, with the passing expression of annoyancevisible once

more. "Come with me to the gallery, gentlemen," he said; "I shall



be happy to introduce you to Mr. Romayne."

Penrose accepted the proposal. Father Benwell pointed with a



smile to the books scattered about him. "With permission, I will

follow your lordship," he said.



"Who was my lord looking for?" That was the question in Father

Benwell's mind, while he put some of the books away on the



shelves, and collected the scattered papers on the table,

relating to his correspondence with Rome. It had become a habit



of his life to be suspicious of any circumstances occurring

within his range of observation, for which he was unable to



account. He might have felt some stronger emotion on this

occasion, if he had known that the conspiracy in the library to



convert Romayne was matched by the conspiracy in the picture

gallery to marry him.



Lady Loring's narrative of the conversation which had taken place

between Stella and herself had encouraged her husband to try his



proposed experiment without delay. "I shall send a letter at once

to Romayne's hotel," he said.



"Inviting him to come here to-day?" her ladyship inquired.

"Yes. I shall say I particularly wish to consult him about a



picture. Are we to prepare Stella to see him? or would it be

better to let the meeting take her by surprise?"



"Certainly not!" said Lady Loring. "With her sensitive

disposition, I am afraid of taking Stella by surprise. Let me



only tell her that Romayne is the original of her portrait, and

that he is likely to call on you to see the picture to-day--and



leave the rest to me."

Lady Loring's suggestion was immediately carried out. In the



first fervor of her agitation, Stella had declared that her

courage was not equal to a meeting with Romayne on that day.



Becoming more composed, she yielded to Lady Loring's persuasion

so far as to promise that she would at least make the attempt to



follow her friend to the gallery. "If I go down with you," she

said, "it will look as if we had arranged the thing between us. I



can't bear even to think of that. Let me look in by myself, as if

it was by accident." Consenting to this arrangement, Lady Loring



had proceeded alone to the gallery, when Romayne's visit was

announced. The minutes passed, and Stella did not appear. It was



quite possible that she might shrink from openly presenting

herself at the main entrance to the gallery, and might



prefer--especially if she was not aware of the priest's presence

in the room--to slip in quietly by the library door. Failing to



find her, on putting this idea to the test, Lord Loring had

discovered Penrose, and had so hastened the introduction of the



younger of the two Jesuits to Romayne.

Having gathered his papers together, Father Benwell crossed the



library to the deep bow-window which lighted the room, and opened

his dispatch-box, standing on a small table in the recess. Placed



in this position, he was invisible to any person entering the

room by the hall door. He had secured his papers in the



dispatch-box, and had just closed and locked it, when he heard

the door cautiously opened.



The instant afterward the rustling of a woman's dress over the

carpet caught his ear. Other men might have walked out of the



recess and shown themselves. Father Benwell stayed where he was,

and waited until the lady crossed his range of view.






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