第33章 CHAPTER VII MR. KNIGHT AND DUTY(1)
The pair returned to Kleindorf by the evening diligence， and among the passengers was that same priest who had been their companion on the day of Godfrey's arrival. As usual he was prepared to be bellicose， and figuratively， trailed the tails of his coat before his ancient enemy. But the Pasteur would not tread on them. Indeed， so mild and conciliatory were his answers that at last the priest， who was a good soul at bottom， grew anxious and inquired if he were ill.
"No， no，" said a voice from the recesses of the dark coach， "Monsieur le Pasteur has come into money. Oh， I have heard！"
"Is it so？ Now I understand，" remarked the priest with a sniff， " I feared that he had lost his health."
Then they arrived at Kleindorf， and the conversation ended with mutual bows.
Great was the excitement of Madame and Juliette at the news which they brought with them. To their ears Godfrey's inheritance sounded a tale of untold wealth， nearly 300，000 francs！ Why， they did not know anyone in the neighbourhood of Kleindorf who owned so much. And then that fine house， with its gardens and lovely furniture， which was the talk of Lucerne. And the Pasteur with his 5，000 francs clear to be paid immediately， plus an income of 2，500 for the next eight years. Here were riches indeed. It was wonderful， and all after an acquaintance of only a few months. They looked at Godfrey with admiration. Truly he must be a remarkable youth who was thus able to attract the love of the wealthy.
An idea occurred to Madame. Why should he not marry Juliette？ She was vivacious and pretty， fit in every way to become a great lady， even perhaps to adorn the lovely Villa Ogilvy in future years. She would have a word with Juliette， and show her where fortune lay. If the girl had any wit it should be as good as assured， for with her opportunities----
And so， doubtless， it might have chanced had it not been for a certain determined and unconventional young woman far away in England， of whom the persistent memory， however much he might flirt， quite prevented Godfrey from falling in love， as otherwise he ought to， and indeed， probably must have done at his age and in his circumstances.
Perhaps Miss Juliette， who although young was no fool， also had ideas upon the subject， at any rate at this time， especially as she had found /l'Hibou/ always attractive， notwithstanding his star-gazing ways， and the shower of wealth that had descended on him as though direct from the /Bon Dieu/， did not lessen his charms. If so， who could blame her？ When one has been obliged always to look at both sides of a sou and really pretty frocks， such as ladies wear， are almost as unobtainable as Godfrey's stars， money becomes important， especially to a girl with an instinct for dress and a love of life.
Thenceforward， at least， as may be imagined， Monsieur Godfrey became a very prominent person indeed in the Boiset establishment. All his little tastes were consulted； Madame moved him into the best spare bedroom， on the ground that the one he occupied would be cold in winter， which， when he was out， Juliette made a point of adorning with flowers if these were forthcoming， or failing them with graceful sprays of winter berries. Also she worked him some slippers covered with little devils in black silk， which she said he must learn to tread under foot， though whether this might be a covert allusion to his spiritualistic experiences or merely a flight of fancy on her part， Godfrey did not know.
On the evening of the reading of the will， prompted thereto by the Pasteur， that young gentleman wrote a letter to his father， a task which he always thought difficult， to tell him what had happened. As he found explanations impossible， it was brief， though the time occupied in composing drafts， was long. Finally it took the following form：--
"My dear Father，--I think I told you that I travelled out here with a lady named Miss Ogilvy， whom I have often seen since. She has just died and left me， as I understand， about ā12，000， which I am to get when I am twenty-five. Meanwhile I am to have the income， so I am glad to say I shall not cost you any more. Also she has left me a large house in Lucerne with a beautiful garden and a lot of fine furniture， and some money to keep it up. As I can't live there， I suppose it will have to be let.
"I hope you are very well. Please give my love to Mrs. Parsons and tell her about this. It is growing very cold here， and the mountains are covered with snow， but there has been little frost.
I am getting on well with my French， which I talk with Mademoiselle Juliette， who knows no English， although she thinks she does. She is a pretty girl and sings nicely. Madame， too， is very charming. I work at the other things with the Pasteur， who is kind to me. He will write to you also and I will enclose his letter.
"Your affectionate son， "Godfrey."
The receipt of this epistle caused astonishment in Mr. Knight， not unmixed with irritation. Why could not the boy be more explicit？ Who was Miss Ogilvy， whose name， so far as he could recollect， he now heard for the first time， and how did she come to leave Godfrey so much money？ The story was so strange that he began to wonder whether it were a joke， or perhaps， an hallucination. If not， there must be a great deal unrevealed. The letter which Godfrey said the Pasteur would write was not enclosed， and if it had been， probably would not have helped him much as he did not understand French， and could scarcely decipher his cramped calligraphy. Lastly， he had heard nothing from any lawyers or trustees.