Murder at Mansfield Park - Lynn Shepherd [87]
‘Forgive the intrusion at this late hour,’ said Henry, ‘but am I correct in supposing that I am addressing Mr Charles Maddox? I am but recently arrived at the parsonage, and have only now been informed about—’
‘We have no need of your sympathy, Mr Crawford,’ said Mrs Norris, drawing herself up more stiffly than ever. ‘Who knows, or cares, for what you have to say? The death of Miss Price is a private family affair, and can have nothing whatsoever to do with such as you.’
‘I beg to differ, madam,’ said Henry, coldly. ‘I rode up here directly, as soon as I heard the news. It became absolutely necessary that you should all know the full truth, and from my own lips.’
‘What truth, sir?’ demanded Mrs Norris, peremptorily.
‘The truth that Fanny—’
‘Fanny? Fanny?’ she gasped. ‘By what right, sir, do you dare to call Miss Price by her Christian name?’
Henry stood his ground, and did not flinch. ‘The best right in the world, madam. A husband’s right.’
There was a instant of terrible silence, then she threw up her hands before her face, uttered a piercing shriek, and sank down prostrate on the floor. Maddox had anticipated the revelation by some moments, and knowing some thing of Mrs Norris, and conjecturing pretty well what a blow this must be to the family’s pride and repute, he feared that she might succumb to a fit. But Mrs Norris had a strong constitution, and quickly found a vent for her fury and indignation in a vehement bout of crying, scolding, cursing, and abuse.
‘You are a scoundrel,’ she screamed, pointing her finger in Henry’s face, ‘a felon—a lying, despicable blackguard—the most infamous and depraved villain that ever debauched innocence and virtue—’
This invective being interspersed by screams so loud as must soon alarm the whole house, Maddox made haste to lift Mrs Norris to her feet, and turning to the butler, interposed with all necessary authority, ‘I think, Baddeley, that Mrs Norris would benefit from a glass of water and some moments lying down; perhaps the footmen might attend her to the parlour? See that her ladyship’s maid is called, and inform Mr Bertram and Mr Norris, if you would be so good, that I will beg some minutes’ conversation with them after dinner. I will be with Mr Crawford in Sir Thomas’s room.’
The door closed and peace restored, Maddox poured two glasses of wine, and handed one to his companion, noting, without surprise, that he held it in his right hand. He then took up a position with his back to the fire. Crawford was standing at the French windows, looking out across the park; the sky was beginning to darken, but it would still be possible for him to make out the alterations that had already been imposed on the landscape at his behest; the transformation about to be wrought inside the house might prove to be even more momentous. Maddox wondered how long it would be before the news of Miss Price’s scandalous marriage had spread throughout the whole household, and made a wager with himself that the last and least of the housemaids would know the whole sorry story long before most of the family had the first notion of the truth about to burst upon them. He wondered, likewise, whether he might now be on the point of elucidating this unfortunate affair, but abstained from assailing his companion with questions, however much he wished to do so. He had long since learned the power of silence, and knew that most men would hurry to fill such a void, rather than allow it to prolong to the point of discomfiture. He was not mistaken; Henry Crawford stood the trial longer than most men Maddox had known in his position, but it was he who broke the silence at last.
‘You will expect me to be particular.’
Maddox took out his snuff-box and tapped it against the mantel. ‘Naturally. If you would be so good.’
‘Very well,’ Crawford said steadily, taking a seat before the fire. ‘I will be as meticulous as possible.’
He was