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034 - Ch 34 - False and True · North and South (version 2)

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  Speaker 1: Chapter thirty four of North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.
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  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read by Marianne,
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  Speaker 1: chapter thirty four. False and true truth will never fail thee, Never,
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  Speaker 1: though thy bark be tempest driven, though each plank be
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  Speaker 1: rent and riven, truth will bear thee on forever anonymous.
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  Speaker 1: The bearing up better than likely was a terrible strain
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  Speaker 1: upon Margaret. Sometimes she thought she must give way and
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  Speaker 1: cry out with pain as the sudden, sharp thought came
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  Speaker 1: across her, even during her apparently cheerful conversations with her father,
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  Speaker 1: that she had no longer a mother. About Frederick, too,
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  Speaker 1: there was great uneasiness. The Sunday Post intervened and interfered
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  Speaker 1: with their London letters, and on Tuesday Margaret was surprised
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  Speaker 1: and disheartened to find that there was still no letter.
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  Speaker 1: She was quite in the dark as to his plans,
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  Speaker 1: and her father was miserable at all this uncertainty. It
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  Speaker 1: broke in upon his lately acquired habit of sitting still
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  Speaker 1: in one easy chair for half a day together, he
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  Speaker 1: kept pacing up and down the room, then out of it,
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  Speaker 1: and she heard him upon the landing, opening and shutting
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  Speaker 1: the bedroom doors without any apparent object. She tried to
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  Speaker 1: tranquilize him by reading aloud, but it was evident he
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  Speaker 1: could not listen for long together. How thankful she was
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  Speaker 1: then that she had kept to herself the additional cause
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  Speaker 1: for anxiety produced by their encounter with Leonards. She was
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  Speaker 1: thankful to hear mister Thornton announced his visit would force
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  Speaker 1: her father's thoughts into another channel. He came up straight
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  Speaker 1: to her father, whose hands he took and wrung without
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  Speaker 1: a word, holding them in his for a minute or two,
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  Speaker 1: during which time his face, his eyes, his look told
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  Speaker 1: of more sympathy than could be put into words. Then
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  Speaker 1: he turned to Margaret. No better than likely did she look.
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  Speaker 1: Her stately beauty was dimmed with much watching and with
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  Speaker 1: many tears. The expression on her countenance was of gentle
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  Speaker 1: patient sadness, nay of positive present suffering. He had not
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  Speaker 1: meant to greet her otherwise than with his late, studied
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  Speaker 1: coldness of demeanor, but he could not help going up
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  Speaker 1: to her as she stood a little aside, rendered timid
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  Speaker 1: by the uncertainty of his manner of late, and saying
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  Speaker 1: the few necessary commonplace words in so tender a voice
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  Speaker 1: that her eyes filled with tears, and she turned away
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  Speaker 1: to hide her emotion. She took her work and sat down,
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  Speaker 1: very quiet and silent. Mister Thornton's heart beat quick and strong,
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  Speaker 1: and for the time he utterly forgot the outwood lane.
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  Speaker 1: He tried to talk to mister Hale, and his presence
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  Speaker 1: always a certain kind of pleasure to mister Hale, as
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  Speaker 1: his power and decision made him and his opinions a
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  Speaker 1: safe sure port was unusually agreeable to her father, as
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  Speaker 1: Margaret saw presently, Dixon came to the door and said,
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  Speaker 1: miss Hale, you are wanted. Dixon's manner was so flurried
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  Speaker 1: that Margaret turned sick at heart. Something had happened to Fred.
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  Speaker 1: She had no doubt of that. It was well that
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  Speaker 1: her father and mister Thornton were so much occupied by
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  Speaker 1: their conversation. What is it, Dixon asked Margaret, the moment
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  Speaker 1: she had shut the drawing room door. Come this way,
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  Speaker 1: miss said Dixon, opening the door of what had been
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  Speaker 1: missus Hale's bed chamber now Margaret's, for her father refused
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  Speaker 1: to sleep there again after his wife's death. It's nothing,
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  Speaker 1: miss said Dixon, choking a little. Only a police inspector.
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  Speaker 1: He wants to see you, miss, But I dare say
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  Speaker 1: it's about nothing at all. Did he name, asked Margaret,
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  Speaker 1: almost inaudibly. No, Miss, he named nothing. He only asked
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  Speaker 1: if you lived here, and if he could speak to you.
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  Speaker 1: Martha went to the door and let him in. She
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  Speaker 1: has shown him into master's study. I went to him
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  Speaker 1: myself to try if that would do. But no, it's you, miss,
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  Speaker 1: he wants. Margaret did not speak again till her hand
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  Speaker 1: was on the lock of the study door. Here she
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  Speaker 1: turned round and said, take care, Papa does not come down.
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  Speaker 1: Mister Thornton is with him now. The inspector was almost
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  Speaker 1: daunted by the haughtiness of her manner as she entered.
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  Speaker 1: There was something of indignation expressed in her countenance, but
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  Speaker 1: so kept down and controlled that it gave her a
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  Speaker 1: superb air of disdain. There was no surprise, no curiosity.
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  Speaker 1: She stood awaiting the opening of his business. There not
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  Speaker 1: a question, did she ask. I beg your pardon, ma'am,
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  Speaker 1: but my duty obliges me to ask you a few
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  Speaker 1: plain questions. A man has died at the infirmary in
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  Speaker 1: consequence of a fall received at Outwood station between the
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  Speaker 1: hours of five and six on Thursday evening, the twenty
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  Speaker 1: sixth instant. At the time, this fall did not seem
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  Speaker 1: of much consequence, but it was rendered fatal, the doctors say,
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  Speaker 1: by the presence of some internal complaint and the man's
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  Speaker 1: own habit of drinking. The dark eyes gazing straight into
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  Speaker 1: the inspector's face dilated a little. Otherwise there was no
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  Speaker 1: motion perceptible to his experienced observation. Her lips swelled out
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  Speaker 1: into a richer curve than ordinary, owing to the enforced
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  Speaker 1: tension of the muscles, but he did not know what
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  Speaker 1: was their usual appearance, so as to recognize the unwonted,
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  Speaker 1: sullen defiance of the firm sweeping lines. She never blenched
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  Speaker 1: or trembled. She fixed him with her eye. Now as
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  Speaker 1: he paused before going on, she said, almost as if
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  Speaker 1: she were encouraging him in telling his tale, Well go on.
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  Speaker 1: It is supposed that an inquest will have to be held.
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  Speaker 1: There is some slight evidence to prove that the blow
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  Speaker 1: or push or scuffle that caused the fall was provoked
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  Speaker 1: by this poor fellow's half tipsy impertinence to a young
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  Speaker 1: lady walking with the man who pushed the deceased over
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  Speaker 1: the edge of the platform. This much was observed by
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  Speaker 1: some one on the platform, who, however, thought no more
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  Speaker 1: about the matter, as the blow seemed of slight consequence.
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  Speaker 1: There is also some reason to identify the lady with yourself,
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  Speaker 1: in which case I was not there, said Margaret, still
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  Speaker 1: keeping her expressionless eyes fixed on his face with the
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  Speaker 1: unconscious look of a sleep walker. The inspector bowed but
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  Speaker 1: did not speak. The lady standing before him showed no emotion,
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  Speaker 1: no fluttering fear, no anxiety, no desire to end the interview.
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  Speaker 1: The information he had received was very vague. One of
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  Speaker 1: the porters, rushing out to be in readiness for the train,
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  Speaker 1: had seen a scuffle at the other end of the
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  Speaker 1: platform between Leonards and a gentleman accompanied by a lady,
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  Speaker 1: but heard no noise, and before the train had got
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  Speaker 1: to its full speed after starting, he had been almost
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  Speaker 1: knocked down by the headlong run of the enraged, half
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  Speaker 1: intoxicated Leonards, swearing and cursing awfully. He had not thought
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  Speaker 1: any more about it till his evidence was routed out
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  Speaker 1: by the inspector, who, on making some farther inquiry at
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  Speaker 1: the railway station, had heard from the station master that
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  Speaker 1: a young lady and gentleman had been there about that hour,
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  Speaker 1: a lady remarkably handsome, and said by some grocer's assistant
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  Speaker 1: present at the time to be a miss Hale living
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  Speaker 1: at Crampton, whose family dealt at his shop. There was
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  Speaker 1: no certainty that the lady and gentlemen were identical with
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  Speaker 1: the other pair, but there was great probability Leonards himself
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  Speaker 1: had gone half mad with rage and pain to the
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  Speaker 1: nearest gin place for comfort, and his tipsy words had
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  Speaker 1: not been attended to by the busy waiters there. They, however,
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  Speaker 1: remembered his darting up and cursing himself for not having
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  Speaker 1: sooner thought of the electric telegraph for some purpose unknown,
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  Speaker 1: and they believed that he left with the idea of
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  Speaker 1: going there. On his way, overcome by pain or drink,
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  Speaker 1: he had laid down in the road, where the police
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  Speaker 1: had found him and taken him to the infirmary. There.
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  Speaker 1: He had never recovered sufficient consciousness to give any distinct
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  Speaker 1: account of his fall, although once or twice he had
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  Speaker 1: glimmerings of sense sufficient to make the authorities send for
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  Speaker 1: the nearest magistrate in hopes that he might be able
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  Speaker 1: to take down the dying man's deposition of the cause
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  Speaker 1: of his death. But when the magistrate had come, he
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  Speaker 1: was rambling about being at sea, and mixing up names
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  Speaker 1: of captains and lieutenants in an indistinct manner with those
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  Speaker 1: of his fellow porters at the railway, And his last
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  Speaker 1: words were a curse on the Cornish trick, which had
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  Speaker 1: he said, made him a hundred pounds poorer than he
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  Speaker 1: ought to have been. The inspector ran all this over
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  Speaker 1: in his mind, the vagueness of the evidence to prove
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  Speaker 1: that Margaret had been at the station, the unflinching, calm
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  Speaker 1: denial which she gave such a supposition. She stood, awaiting
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  Speaker 1: his next word with a composure that appeared supreme. Then, ma'am,
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  Speaker 1: I have your denial that you were the lady accompanying
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  Speaker 1: the gentleman who struck the blow or gave the push
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  Speaker 1: which caused the death of this poor man. A quick,
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  Speaker 1: sharp pain went through Margaret's brain. Oh God, that I
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  Speaker 1: knew Frederick were safe. A deep observer of human countenances
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  Speaker 1: might have seen the momentary agony shoot out of her
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  Speaker 1: great gloomy eyes, like the torture of some creature brought
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  Speaker 1: to bay. But the inspector, though a very keen, was
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  Speaker 1: not a very deep observer. He was a little struck, notwithstanding,
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  Speaker 1: by the form of the answer, which sounded like a
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  Speaker 1: mechanical repetition of her first reply, not changed and modified
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  Speaker 1: in shape so as to meet his last question. I
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  Speaker 1: was not there, said she slowly and heavily, And all
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  Speaker 1: this time she never closed, her eyes, never ceased from
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  Speaker 1: that glassy, dreamlike stare. His quick suspicions were aroused by
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  Speaker 1: this dull echo of her former denial. It was as
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  Speaker 1: if she had forced herself to one untruth and had
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  Speaker 1: been stunned out of all power of varying it. He
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  Speaker 1: put up his book of notes in a very deliberate manner.
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  Speaker 1: Then he looked up. She had not moved any more
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  Speaker 1: than if she had been some great Egyptian statue. I
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  Speaker 1: hope you will not think me impertinent when I say
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  Speaker 1: that I may have to call on you again. I
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  Speaker 1: may have to summon you to appear on the inquest
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  Speaker 1: and provide an alibi. If my witnesses it was but
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  Speaker 1: one who had recognized her persist in deposing to your
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  Speaker 1: presence at the unfortunate event, He looked at her sharply.
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  Speaker 1: She was still perfectly quiet, no change of color or
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  Speaker 1: darker shadow of guilt on her proud face. He thought
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  Speaker 1: to have seen her WinCE. He did not know Margaret Hale.
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  Speaker 1: He was a little abashed by her regal composure. It
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  Speaker 1: must have been a mistake of identity, he went on.
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  Speaker 1: It is very unlikely, ma'am, that I shall have to
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  Speaker 1: do anything of the kind. I hope you will excuse
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  Speaker 1: me for doing what is only my duty, although it
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  Speaker 1: may appear impertinent. Margaret bowed her head as he went
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  Speaker 1: towards the door. Her lips were stiff and dry. She
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  Speaker 1: could not speak even the common words of farewell. But
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  Speaker 1: suddenly she walked forwards and opened the study door, and
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  Speaker 1: preceded him to the door of the house, which she
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  Speaker 1: threw wide open for his exit. She kept her eyes
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  Speaker 1: on him in the same dull, fixed manner until he
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  Speaker 1: was fairly out of the house. She shut the door
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  Speaker 1: and went half way into the study, then turned back,
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  Speaker 1: as if moved by some passionate impulse, and locked the
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  Speaker 1: door inside. Then she went into the study, paused, tottered forward,
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  Speaker 1: paused again, swayed for an instant where she stood and
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  Speaker 1: fell prone on the floor in a dead swoon end
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  Speaker 1: of chapter thirty four