Lord Arthur Savile's Crime

Chapter 3

When Lord Arthur woke it was twelve o'clock, and the midday sun was

streaming through the ivory-silk curtains of his room. He got up

and looked out of the window. A dim haze of heat was hanging over

the great city, and the roofs of the houses were like dull silver.

In the flickering green of the square below some children were

flitting about like white butterflies, and the pavement was crowded

with people on their way to the Park. Never had life seemed

lovelier to him, never had the things of evil seemed more remote.

Then his valet brought him a cup of chocolate on a tray. After he

had drunk it, he drew aside a heavy portiere of peach-coloured

plush, and passed into the bathroom. The light stole softly from

above, through thin slabs of transparent onyx, and the water in the

marble tank glimmered like a moonstone. He plunged hastily in, till

the cool ripples touched throat and hair, and then dipped his head

right under, as though he would have wiped away the stain of some

shameful memory. When he stepped out he felt almost at peace. The

exquisite physical conditions of the moment had dominated him, as

indeed often happens in the case of very finely-wrought natures, for

the senses, like fire, can purify as well as destroy.

After breakfast, he flung himself down on a divan, and lit a

cigarette. On the mantel-shelf, framed in dainty old brocade, stood

a large photograph of Sybil Merton, as he had seen her first at Lady

Noel's ball. The small, exquisitely-shaped head drooped slightly to

one side, as though the thin, reed-like throat could hardly bear the

burden of so much beauty; the lips were slightly parted, and seemed

made for sweet music; and all the tender purity of girlhood looked

out in wonder from the dreaming eyes. With her soft, clinging dress

of crepe-de-chine, and her large leaf-shaped fan, she looked like

one of those delicate little figures men find in the olive-woods

near Tanagra; and there was a touch of Greek grace in her pose and

attitude. Yet she was not petite. She was simply perfectly

proportioned--a rare thing in an age when so many women are either

over life-size or insignificant.

Now as Lord Arthur looked at her, he was filled with the terrible

pity that is born of love. He felt that to marry her, with the doom

of murder hanging over his head, would be a betrayal like that of

Judas, a sin worse than any the Borgia had ever dreamed of. What

happiness could there be for them, when at any moment he might be

called upon to carry out the awful prophecy written in his hand?

What manner of life would be theirs while Fate still held this

fearful fortune in the scales? The marriage must be postponed, at

all costs. Of this he was quite resolved. Ardently though he loved

the girl, and the mere touch of her fingers, when they sat together,

made each nerve of his body thrill with exquisite joy, he recognised

none the less clearly where his duty lay, and was fully conscious of

the fact that he had no right to marry until he had committed the

murder. This done, he could stand before the altar with Sybil

Merton, and give his life into her hands without terror of

wrongdoing. This done, he could take her to his arms, knowing that

she would never have to blush for him, never have to hang her head

in shame. But done it must be first; and the sooner the better for

both.

Many men in his position would have preferred the primrose path of

dalliance to the steep heights of duty; but Lord Arthur was too

conscientious to set pleasure above principle. There was more than

mere passion in his love; and Sybil was to him a symbol of all that

is good and noble. For a moment he had a natural repugnance against

what he was asked to do, but it soon passed away. His heart told

him that it was not a sin, but a sacrifice; his reason reminded him

that there was no other course open. He had to choose between

living for himself and living for others, and terrible though the

task laid upon him undoubtedly was, yet he knew that he must not

suffer selfishness to triumph over love. Sooner or later we are all

called upon to decide on the same issue--of us all, the same

question is asked. To Lord Arthur it came early in life--before his

nature had been spoiled by the calculating cynicism of middle-age,

or his heart corroded by the shallow, fashionable egotism of our

day, and he felt no hesitation about doing his duty. Fortunately

also, for him, he was no mere dreamer, or idle dilettante. Had he

been so, he would have hesitated, like Hamlet, and let irresolution

mar his purpose. But he was essentially practical. Life to him

meant action, rather than thought. He had that rarest of all

things, common sense.

The wild, turbid feelings of the previous night had by this time

completely passed away, and it was almost with a sense of shame that

he looked back upon his mad wanderings from street to street, his

fierce emotional agony. The very sincerity of his sufferings made

them seem unreal to him now. He wondered how he could have been so

foolish as to rant and rave about the inevitable. The only question

that seemed to trouble him was, whom to make away with; for he was

not blind to the fact that murder, like the religions of the Pagan

world, requires a victim as well as a priest. Not being a genius,

he had no enemies, and indeed he felt that this was not the time for

the gratification of any personal pique or dislike, the mission in

which he was engaged being one of great and grave solemnity. He

accordingly made out a list of his friends and relatives on a sheet

of notepaper, and after careful consideration, decided in favour of

Lady Clementina Beauchamp, a dear old lady who lived in Curzon

Street, and was his own second cousin by his mother's side. He had

always been very fond of Lady Clem, as every one called her, and as

he was very wealthy himself, having come into all Lord Rugby's

property when he came of age, there was no possibility of his

deriving any vulgar monetary advantage by her death. In fact, the

more he thought over the matter, the more she seemed to him to be

just the right person, and, feeling that any delay would be unfair

to Sybil, he determined to make his arrangements at once.

The first thing to be done was, of course, to settle with the

cheiromantist; so he sat down at a small Sheraton writing-table that

stood near the window, drew a cheque for 105 pounds, payable to the

order of Mr. Septimus Podgers, and, enclosing it in an envelope,

told his valet to take it to West Moon Street. He then telephoned

to the stables for his hansom, and dressed to go out. As he was

leaving the room he looked back at Sybil Merton's photograph, and

swore that, come what may, he would never let her know what he was

doing for her sake, but would keep the secret of his self-sacrifice

hidden always in his heart.

On his way to the Buckingham, he stopped at a florist's, and sent

Sybil a beautiful basket of narcissus, with lovely white petals and

staring pheasants' eyes, and on arriving at the club, went straight

to the library, rang the bell, and ordered the waiter to bring him a

lemon-and-soda, and a book on Toxicology. He had fully decided that

poison was the best means to adopt in this troublesome business.

Anything like personal violence was extremely distasteful to him,

and besides, he was very anxious not to murder Lady Clementina in

any way that might attract public attention, as he hated the idea of

being lionised at Lady Windermere's, or seeing his name figuring in

the paragraphs of vulgar society--newspapers. He had also to think

of Sybil's father and mother, who were rather old-fashioned people,

and might possibly object to the marriage if there was anything like

a scandal, though he felt certain that if he told them the whole

facts of the case they would be the very first to appreciate the

motives that had actuated him. He had every reason, then, to decide

in favour of poison. It was safe, sure, and quiet, and did away

with any necessity for painful scenes, to which, like most

Englishmen, he had a rooted objection.

Of the science of poisons, however, he knew absolutely nothing, and

as the waiter seemed quite unable to find anything in the library

but Ruff's Guide and Bailey's Magazine, he examined the book-shelves

himself, and finally came across a handsomely-bound edition of the

Pharmacopoeia, and a copy of Erskine's Toxicology, edited by Sir

Mathew Reid, the President of the Royal College of Physicians, and

one of the oldest members of the Buckingham, having been elected in

mistake for somebody else; a contretemps that so enraged the

Committee, that when the real man came up they black-balled him

unanimously. Lord Arthur was a good deal puzzled at the technical

terms used in both books, and had begun to regret that he had not

paid more attention to his classics at Oxford, when in the second

volume of Erskine, he found a very interesting and complete account

of the properties of aconitine, written in fairly clear English. It

seemed to him to be exactly the poison he wanted. It was swift--

indeed, almost immediate, in its effect--perfectly painless, and

when taken in the form of a gelatine capsule, the mode recommended

by Sir Mathew, not by any means unpalatable. He accordingly made a

note, upon his shirt-cuff, of the amount necessary for a fatal dose,

put the books back in their places, and strolled up St. James's

Street, to Pestle and Humbey's, the great chemists. Mr. Pestle, who

always attended personally on the aristocracy, was a good deal

surprised at the order, and in a very deferential manner murmured

something about a medical certificate being necessary. However, as

soon as Lord Arthur explained to him that it was for a large

Norwegian mastiff that he was obliged to get rid of, as it showed

signs of incipient rabies, and had already bitten the coachman twice

in the calf of the leg, he expressed himself as being perfectly

satisfied, complimented Lord Arthur on his wonderful knowledge of

Toxicology, and had the prescription made up immediately.

Lord Arthur put the capsule into a pretty little silver bonbonniere

that he saw in a shop window in Bond Street, threw away Pestle and

Hambey's ugly pill-box, and drove off at once to Lady Clementina's.

'Well, monsieur le mauvais sujet,' cried the old lady, as he entered

the room, 'why haven't you been to see me all this time?'

'My dear Lady Clem, I never have a moment to myself,' said Lord

Arthur, smiling.

'I suppose you mean that you go about all day long with Miss Sybil

Merton, buying chiffons and talking nonsense? I cannot understand

why people make such a fuss about being married. In my day we never

dreamed of billing and cooing in public, or in private for that

matter.'

'I assure you I have not seen Sybil for twenty-four hours, Lady

Clem. As far as I can make out, she belongs entirely to her

milliners.'

'Of course; that is the only reason you come to see an ugly old

woman like myself. I wonder you men don't take warning. On a fait

des folies pour moi, and here I am, a poor rheumatic creature, with

a false front and a bad temper. Why, if it were not for dear Lady

Jansen, who sends me all the worst French novels she can find, I

don't think I could get through the day. Doctors are no use at all,

except to get fees out of one. They can't even cure my heartburn.'

'I have brought you a cure for that, Lady Clem,' said Lord Arthur

gravely. 'It is a wonderful thing, invented by an American.'

'I don't think I like American inventions, Arthur. I am quite sure

I don't. I read some American novels lately, and they were quite

nonsensical.'

'Oh, but there is no nonsense at all about this, Lady Clem! I

assure you it is a perfect cure. You must promise to try it'; and

Lord Arthur brought the little box out of his pocket, and handed it

to her.

'Well, the box is charming, Arthur. Is it really a present? That

is very sweet of you. And is this the wonderful medicine? It looks

like a bonbon. I'll take it at once.'

'Good heavens! Lady Clem,' cried Lord Arthur, catching hold of her

hand, 'you mustn't do anything of the kind. It is a homoeopathic

medicine, and if you take it without having heartburn, it might do

you no end of harm. Wait till you have an attack, and take it then.

You will be astonished at the result.'

'I should like to take it now,' said Lady Clementina, holding up to

the light the little transparent capsule, with its floating bubble

of liquid aconitine. I am sure it is delicious. The fact is that,

though I hate doctors, I love medicines. However, I'll keep it till

my next attack.'

'And when will that be?' asked Lord Arthur eagerly. 'Will it be

soon?'

'I hope not for a week. I had a very bad time yesterday morning

with it. But one never knows.'

'You are sure to have one before the end of the month then, Lady

Clem?'

'I am afraid so. But how sympathetic you are to-day, Arthur!

Really, Sybil has done you a great deal of good. And now you must

run away, for I am dining with some very dull people, who won't talk

scandal, and I know that if I don't get my sleep now I shall never

be able to keep awake during dinner. Good-bye, Arthur, give my love

to Sybil, and thank you so much for the American medicine.'

'You won't forget to take it, Lady Clem, will you?' said Lord

Arthur, rising from his seat.

'Of course I won't, you silly boy. I think it is most kind of you

to think of me, and I shall write and tell you if I want any more.'

Lord Arthur left the house in high spirits, and with a feeling of

immense relief.

That night he had an interview with Sybil Merton. He told her how

he had been suddenly placed in a position of terrible difficulty,

from which neither honour nor duty would allow him to recede. He

told her that the marriage must be put off for the present, as until

he had got rid of his fearful entanglements, he was not a free man.

He implored her to trust him, and not to have any doubts about the

future. Everything would come right, but patience was necessary.

The scene took place in the conservatory of Mr. Merton's house, in

Park Lane, where Lord Arthur had dined as usual. Sybil had never

seemed more happy, and for a moment Lord Arthur had been tempted to

play the coward's part, to write to Lady Clementina for the pill,

and to let the marriage go on as if there was no such person as Mr.

Podgers in the world. His better nature, however, soon asserted

itself, and even when Sybil flung herself weeping into his arms, he

did not falter. The beauty that stirred his senses had touched his

conscience also. He felt that to wreck so fair a life for the sake

of a few months' pleasure would be a wrong thing to do.

He stayed with Sybil till nearly midnight, comforting her and being

comforted in turn, and early the next morning he left for Venice,

after writing a manly, firm letter to Mr. Merton about the necessary

postponement of the marriage.