"Back again so soon, Mr Rolleston?" said the Doctor, as Denis presented
himself before the father and daughter; Veronica having risen from her
seat and laid her hand upon her father's shoulder, reading at once in
their visitor's eyes that something serious was the cause of his visit.
"Yes, sir: I have come to say good-bye to you both."
"For good?" said the Doctor, taking his child's hand and pressing it
warmly.
"I hope for good," said Denis, smiling encouragingly at Veronica. "I am
going abroad."
"What for?"
"The same reason that others go for, sir. To make my fortune."
"You! I thought you were Lord Pinemount's heir."
"So I am, sir; but my father may live twenty or thirty years,--I hope he
may,--and I have nothing now except what I earn."
"Humph! then you have come to an open rupture with him?"
"No, sir; he has come to an open rupture with me."
"Because you come here?"
"Because I refuse to obey him and make matrimonial overtures to a lady I
dislike."
"Overture to a very bad opera, eh?"
"I could not do it, sir. It would be base, contemptible, and--There--
you know."
"Humph! Then you have beggared yourself because you think you care for
Veronica?"
"No, sir; I am ordered away till I go and beg pardon and promise to
marry as my father orders; so there is a breach that will never be
healed."
"Better go and heal it. This is all very fresh. Very will soon forget
you, and you'll forget her."
"Doctor Salado!"
"Well, I know the world, sir. Sad thing for a young man like you to
sacrifice his prospects."
"I don't agree with you, sir. It is the best thing that could have
happened, and will make a man of me. I shall go to Canada or Vancouver,
I think; and in justice to Miss Salado I have come to say that I bind
her by no promise,--I only trust in her faith. Some day I shall return
to ask her to be my wife. Till then--"
He could not finish, but stood with his lips compressed.
"Humph! Well, I think you are quite right, sir. Come, Very, be a
woman. How much capital have you to take with you?"
"None, sir."
"Then you'll want some five hundred or a thousand. I have the latter
amount, and no particular use for it. I'll lend it to you at five per
cent."
"Thank you, sir," said Denis warmly, "but I must decline. I'll go and
fight the battle for myself, and prove to my father that I am not the
weak boy he thinks."
"Quite right. Go and fight the battle for yourself."
"Papa!" whispered Veronica, with a look of agony in her eyes.
"Yes, my dear; it's the best thing he can do. You both feel a bit sore,
but you will soon forget the trouble. Good-bye, Denis Rolleston.
You're more of a man than I thought you. Write to me now and then, and
let me hear how you are getting on. We shall both be very pleased to
hear of your welfare. It's a pity your father is so severe; but there--
all fathers are. I am. Good-bye, my lad. I'd select a good ship, and
I wouldn't go steerage."
"Why not?" said Denis, through his set teeth. "Better begin at the
bottom, sir."
"Well, yes, my lad, perhaps you had. Now, Very, my dear, say good-bye
to him like a woman, and wish him well. Some day in the future you two
will meet at dinner and laugh at this rosy-posy boy-and-girl love
business. And by the way, Rolleston, my lad, keep your eyes open, and
send me any little natural history specimen you find."
"Good-bye, Veronica," said Denis, who did not seem to hear the Doctor's
words.
"Good-bye," she said, giving him a wistful look; and her voice was
almost inaudible, while her eyes looked dull and her cheeks ashy pale.
He took her cold limp hand, held it for a few moments in his, then
turned and rushed out of the house.
"Papa! Father!"
Only two words; but their tone was enough for the Doctor, who caught her
to his heart, then placed her in a chair and turned to the window.
"Hi! Denis!" he roared; and the young man turned, coming back in
obedience to the signals the Doctor made, and standing once more in the
room.
"Look here, sir, you had better have that money: you'll want it over
yonder."
"Did you call me back for that, sir?" said the young man bitterly--"to
go through this agony again? No: I will make the money I want myself."
"Bravo!" cried the Doctor, seizing his hand. "But you sha'n't go!"
Denis stared.
"Do you think I am going to have my little pet here die of a broken
heart, for the sake of you, you ugly young scoundrel? No! you sha'n't
go. Here: you stop and comfort Very, and I'll go over to the Manor and
bring my Lord Pinemount to his knees."
"Doctor Salado!" cried Denis excitedly. "No, no: it is impossible. You
must not go. You would be insulted."
"Then I'll insult him. Here, Very, my pretty: I'm not to let this boy
go, am I?"
For answer the girl flung herself upon Denis' breast, and clung there
sobbing.
"This--this is too hard, sir!" cried Denis passionately.
"I am only man, after all."
"Well, what do you want to be, boy? There, I don't like you, and I
don't like your father; but I'm not going to let that stand in the way.
I'm going over to the Manor to bring my lord to his knees."
"You don't know what you are saying," cried Denis. "Veronica, he must
not go."
"I do know what I'm saying. Am I not Doctor Salado--a moral magician in
my way? Did I not make him give up cutting down the trees?"
"Yes, sir; but you cannot make him retract from driving me off the
family tree for a time," said Denis, with a sad smile. "I am only a
beggar now, and I must go."
"Indeed you will not. And as for being a beggar, Very here will have
plenty for you both."
"Which I could not take."
"Then, confound you, sir!" cried the Doctor, with mock fury, "I'll bring
an action against you for breach of promise of marriage. There, pet,
don't cry: you shall have your pretty boy."
"Doctor Salado, you must not go. You don't know my father."
"Thoroughly, my lad. There--take heart, both of you. Denis, my lad,
you sha'n't be a pensioner on my bounty. Come, I'll bet you five pounds
that your father and mother dine here with us to-night, and talk to my
Very here as if she were their child, as she has to be."
"Doctor Salado, are you mad?"
"Yes, my lad. I have been all my life, but I'm not at all dangerous.
God bless you, my lad! I believe in you, and when I come back you'll
believe in me."