At the mention of this name, Marie blanched and seemed about to swoon. Her lips paled but, controlling herself with an effort, she stood with downcast eyes before her employer.
“I thought that name would touch home!” cried Lord Roxboro with a satisfied air. “My suspicions, I see, are well grounded. You know him, do you?”
“Yes, sir,” answered Marie, her answer barely audible to Caroline as she listened at the peephole.
“And this man, this man Montgomery, was he your lawfully wedded husband? Is this right, Marie?”
“Yes, sir,” she answered again, clenching her hands until the knuckles whitened, twitching about as she tried to evade her employer's stem and inquiring glance.
“And you, the lawfully wedded spouse of this man Montgomery, ran away and deserted him? And when decamping, took all of his money and his watch and other valuables?” the lord shot at the shrinking girl.
“Oh, that is untrue, sir!” she replied with flashing eyes. “He beat me and starved me and made me leave him! I never wanted to be his wife and the act of marriage was against my will. I was forced into a union with the detestable creature!”
Lord Roxboro cast a sensual glance mingled with pure admiration at the beautiful creature as she stood radiant in her youthful beauty, denying the aspersions cast upon her honesty.
“Easy now, Marie,” he soothed her. “You left him, at least, and took with you when you left the money and the jewelry that I have just mentioned. Is that not right?”
“Yes, my lord,” she answered in a low tone.
“And you came into my employ and lied to me about these happenings, knowing very well that this husband of yours, this Mr. Montgomery, had already filed charges with the authorities against you for theft and that at this very moment the authorities are in search of you? Have you been honest and fair with me, I ask you?”
“Oh, no, sir,” she sobbed. “I could never bring myself to tell you of those dreadful happenings. Has he really filed charges against me, as you say, and are the police in search of me?” Here she clasped her tiny hands together and glanced beseechingly at his lordship.
“They are hunting for you at this very moment,” said Lord Roxboro sternly. “And if I should perform my duty as a landowner, I would call them at once and allow them to convey you back to Middleboro, to jail, where you rightfully belong, you shameless creature!” At this his eyes glowed with righteous indignation.
“Oh, master!” cried Marie, throwing herself on her knees and clasping Lord Roxboro's hand as it lay on the arm of the chair, casting her beautiful eyes, now bedimmed with tears of crystal, upon him. “Oh, master, I beg of you! Do not turn me off like this, do not give me up! Montgomery was a devil, indeed! I married him at seventeen, knowing nothing of the world or its evil devices! I have suffered for my sins, and I have been so happy during the short time I have worked for you and only want to stay here. Be fair with me, if this doesn't please you, and take into consideration the faithful services that I have rendered to you; and if you will not allow me to remain, at least allow me to depart from here in peace! Anywhere will I flee to escape the machinations of this dreadful nemesis, the man who was my husband! I have been a true servant and have tried to do my best. Forgive me if I lied to you before; what I say now is the truth!”
“Yes, but you have lied to me once, Marie,” replied the lord. “Who knows whether you are truthful with me now or not?” Upon her continued protestations that she was indeed telling the truth, he arose and paced the floor nervously.
“Then you don't deny that you stole the things mentioned, Marie?” he said, turning to her as she softly sobbed, her head buried in the chair. “You stole them?”
“Yes, my lord,” she sobbed, “I stole just enough to enable me to leave him. He would give me no money and I could not stand his brutal ways any longer. He whipped and beat me!”
“How old are you now, Marie?”
“Eighteen, last month,” she said, turning her tear-dimmed eyes upward to him as he questioned her.
“Go to my desk and procure me ink and paper,” he commanded. She scrambled to her feet, went to the desk and procured the articles, placing them upon the table before which he stood, then took her station a few feet away. The lord wrote rapidly for a moment or two, then, reading over what he had written and making a few changes, extended the pen to the maid.
“Marie, I have written an outline of the charges that have been preferred against you. They are here on this paper and I wish you to sign it. It is what you might term a sort of confession. Come, sign.”
“But, my lord,” she remonstrated, “you aren't going to turn me over to the police, are you? You wouldn't make me go back to that beast, Montgomery, would you? Why are you asking me to sign that paper?”
“That remains to be seen, Marie,” he replied. “You have confessed here to me, just a moment ago, that you are guilty of the crime charged against you. I really should have turned you over to the police at once. If you will kindly sign this document, I may give you another chance and allow you to continue here in my employ. Of course, you may use your own judgment. I can summon the police if you wish it,” and he turned to the bell cord as if to pull it.
“No, no, sir,” cried the panic-stricken Marie, seizing the pen and scribbling her name at the lower part of the document. “I will do as you wish, my lord; you allow me another chance to prove my faithfulness. Oh, thank you so much. There you are, sir, I have signed it as you directed!” and throwing the pen on the table, she burst into a torrent of heartbreaking sobs.
Lord Roxboro made no answer, but picking up the paper, he again read it over carefully, and walking to the side of the room where the safe stood, he twirled the knob and opened the heavy door. Depositing the paper in one of the smaller drawers, he closed the door and twirled the knob. Caroline was a breathless spectator to all of this and stood with her eye glued to the peephole, wondering what would happen next.
Lord Roxboro again seated himself in the armchair, placing his hand on top of Marie's head as she knelt sobbing upon the floor at his side, patting it for a moment, allowing his fingers to run through the fine tendrils of her dark hair and said in a gentle voice:
“Come, Marie, arise and seat yourself on the arm of this chair. I have several things I want to ask you about.”
The weeping girl arose from her kneeling posture on the floor and, following her employer's directions, seated herself alongside him upon the arm of the chair and with a tiny wisp of linen handkerchief attempted to dry her luminous eyes.
“To think that you, my little maid, Marie, were married!” said Lord Roxboro, grasping one of the girl's tiny hands in his own and softly patting it. “Why, Marie, I thought that you knew little or nothing about such things. Were you with your husband any great length of time?”
“Nearly a year,” she answered, “but it seemed a lifetime.”
“Don't think, Marie,” he continued, “that because I do not turn you over to the police that you are entirely free. You have committed theft and you should be properly punished. You must either work out your salvation here with me, or in the workhouse. I assure you, my girl, that I have no present intention of letting you off scot-free. No, not in the least. You must understand that, don't you, Marie?”
“Yes, my lord,” she answered penitently. “I am extremely grateful for your generosity in this matter, and assure you that you will have no reason to regret it. I will work for you as I have never worked before. I will do my best to please you. You certainly may depend upon it, my lord.”
“Work!” laughed Lord Roxboro. “It is not a question of work, my dear girl. I desire you to clearly understand the situation. I have the power, if I wish to exercise it, whenever I desire it, to turn you over to the proper authorities. That little bit of paper that is securely held in that safe, attested with your name, is sufficient to convict you in any court in the land and to bring you a long term in the reformatory. Realize that part of it clearly, Marie! You and I must have no misunderstanding along that line. You are fully and completely in my power. Your punishment for this cold-blooded thievery must be fixed and regulated by myself, your master. Remember that!”