"Oh, do go on--don't stop. I shall be miserable till I know what John
Holland and Anne decided."
"But I don't know myself. That's as far as I've written. I was going to
ask _you_ what you thought they should do. What do you think?"
Flint laid the sheets of manuscript, the George Thomas Romance, on the
wicker table that stood between himself and his hostess. The two were
seated on the balcony, though it was late in the morning. Rain had
fallen over-night, and the temperature was lowered for the present--not
that the monsoon had actually broken up-country, but reports were
hopeful, and for the past few days there had been a welcome gathering of
clouds culminating in a heavy downpour. Still the fear remained that the
clouds might yet disperse, to leave the district parched and arid as
before.
The desert steamed like a gigantic hot-bed, the atmosphere was
reminiscent of an orchid house, but at least there was temporary respite
from imprisonment in closed and darkened rooms, and the air wafted from
a hand-punkah, wielded with vigour by a youthful coolie, was
comparatively cool and refreshing. Philip Flint, set free from the
tortures of the Rest House, had quickly recovered condition despite a
recurrence of fever--just a sufficient recurrence to justify
prolongation of his stay with the Crayfields, a short extension of
idleness encouraged by his unsuspecting Chief. To-morrow he intended to
return to his uncomfortable quarters; work must be resumed; meanwhile he
had lived in a golden dream, oblivious of the future that now loomed
before him like a grey, empty tomb, compared with the rapturous present.
As he gazed unceasingly at Stella nothing seemed to matter if only he
could hear from her lips that she cared for him. Beloved! how perfect
she was from the sheen of her pretty head as she bent over some trifling
needlework, to the tips of her little arched feet; and her nature was as
sweet and tender and white as her slim body----
"Well, what do you think?" he persisted recklessly; and in repeating the
question he knew he was heading for danger, as a rider might put a
runaway horse to an impossible fence that the inevitable crash should
come quickly, prove neck or nothing.
She hesitated, sighed. "Oh! I don't know. To begin with, you see, Anne
was married, and her husband, though she hated him, was fighting like
John, under George Thomas. Would it have meant trouble, disgrace, for
John if----"
"If they had bolted? Perhaps; though in those days it might have been
different. But apart from that--what about the marriage question? If you
had been Anne?"
"I should have done what was best for John."
"Even if it meant parting from him for ever?"
"Of course!" she said stoutly.
"Not simply because you were married?"
She raised her eyes from the foolish strip of embroidery engaging her
fingers.
"Stella!"
There! The fence was taken, the crash had come. Now they must both face
the truth, outwardly self-controlled because--what bathos! because of
the punkah coolie and the open doors. Philip cursed the fact that
privacy in India was next to impossible; he saw that Stella's eyes were
brimming with tears. How her hands trembled! Yet he did not dare give
her comfort by taking her in his arms. As in his dream, she was far from
him, inapproachable as her namesake, a star.
The silence that fell between them was tense; the swish of the punkah
went steadily on, the heat grew heavier, more saturating; in the hazy
sky a vulture alternately sailed and dipped, hung motionless as though
suspended by an invisible wire, on the outlook for some carrion prize
below.
Then Philip found himself speaking rapidly, in a low voice; his hands
gripped the edge of the table so tightly that his knuckles showed white
and hard through the skin. He scarcely knew what he was saying,
self-mastery was gone, and in the flood of his passionate declaration
Stella shivered and blanched. He saw love in her eyes, but fear
also--fear and helpless despair. He paused, drew in his breath sharply,
but so far he felt no penitence, no remorse for having let himself go;
he was conscious only of a wild exultation, for he knew that in heart
and in soul she was his. He craved to hear from her lips that she loved
him; she must tell him--not with her eyes alone. That it was cruel to
force the admission he did not, in his madness, consider.
"Speak to me, Stella--just say it, say it once. _Tell_ me."
Her lips moved, he bent forward. But before he could catch the whisper
she had risen abruptly, to pass with swift steps into the house. He rose
in his turn to stay her flight, and was confronted on the threshold of
the open doorway by Sher Singh.
Disconcerting as was the man's unexpected appearance, it was to Philip
merely an accidental, if enraging, check to his intention; it accounted
for Stella's sudden retreat--from where she had sat she must have caught
sight of Sher Singh's approach. But relief quickly followed exasperation
as he realised how narrow had been their escape from an equivocal
situation, for next moment Colonel Crayfield was in the room. Sher
Singh's unwelcome intrusion had, after all, been timely, and thanks to
the numerous exits of an Indian habitation Stella had vanished just a
second or two before the entry of her husband....
The rest of the morning was charged for them both with repressed
emotion. They sat at the breakfast table outwardly composed, inwardly
fearful of meeting each other's gaze. Stella's mental disturbance was
increased by the conviction that Sher Singh was on the watch; he must
have observed that she and Philip were engaged in no ordinary
conversation when he surprised them on the balcony, must have noted her
confusion as she passed him in her flight. Now she realised her folly in
not having held her ground; she should have remained in her seat and
given warning to Philip by speaking promptly to Sher Singh, since of
course the man shared Champa's belief that a guilty understanding was
afoot between herself and "Fer-lint sahib." No doubt it was he who, in
the first place, had suggested the idea to Champa. Her fears in
connection with Mrs. Antonio's warnings had dwindled during the days of
Philip's visit, but now mental torment returned with the feeling that
Sher Singh was but biding his time for mischief with the deadly patience
of the Oriental. Dread lest he should lead Robert to scent the situation
that had arisen between herself and Philip turned her sick.
Deeming it more prudent to avoid Philip for the immediate present, she
sat in her room while Robert rested, her mind in confusion as she
pretended to read. To ignore Philip's outpouring, to continue as if
nothing disturbing had occurred, was clearly impossible. Philip must be
warned; but how to contrive that warning without risk of being spied
upon was a problem. Even could she accomplish it safely she shrank from
facing the days to come with this secret between them. She contemplated
appealing to Robert to allow her to take advantage of Mrs. Cuthell's
invitation, on the score that she could endure the heat no longer; but
should he refuse, as was more than probable, could Philip be induced to
apply for leave, however short, on the plea of health? Something must be
done, and without delay, that she might gain time to set her mind in
order, free from continual trepidation. If only she could secure the
chance of a long private talk with Philip....
Wearily she sat in the drawing-room before the tea-table that afternoon,
awaiting the two men. Robert, when he went to his dressing-room, had
said that if the courts were not too damp for tennis, and if Flint felt
up to it, they might try a game. He was the first to appear, and
evidently he was not in a good humour. Stella's heart sank at sight of
his frown, but bounded next moment with relief when she heard the cause.
It seemed that Sher Singh, as well as herself, desired "leave of
absence."
"Confound the fellow," Robert grumbled, "he's just had a telegram, and
says he must go off at once to see to the funeral of some near
relation."
"How long does he want?"
"He says only two or three days, but with natives that may mean
anything."
Stella trusted privately that in this case it might mean two or three
weeks.
"He suggested that if Flint were staying on with us for the present his
man could look after me for the time."
"But Mr. Flint has arranged to go back to the Rest House to-morrow----"
"Then he'd better alter his arrangements. He's no trouble, and it's far
more comfortable for him here. Don't you want him to stay?"
"I don't care particularly one way or the other, but on the whole I'd
rather we were alone."
Oh, shades of conscience! Stella bent over the tea things, ashamed of
her hypocrisy.
Robert's face cleared. He beamed complacently. "We can't always expect
to be alone, little selfish one!"
"When does Sher Singh want to go?"
"By this time he's gone, I imagine. He intended to catch the afternoon
train."
"Well, it can't be helped," said Stella, "and of course if you wish it,
I'll press Mr. Flint to stay. Now he can be at work again I shan't have
to entertain him----"
"Or listen to his eternal novel."
"I don't mind that; but it's a bore making conversation."
"Yes, I understand. Well, anyway it's a charity to put him up for a bit
longer, and he can sing for his supper by trying to beat me at tennis
every day. Here he comes----"
Stella looked up. There was Philip in flannels; his expression was sad,
dispirited, as though he too had been ground in the mill of mental
perplexity during the last two or three hours. There came a singing in
her ears, a mist clouded her vision. How horrible for them both to be
forced to play a part--a part so ignoble, opposed to her whole nature,
and, she felt assured, to his also.
"Enter Mr. Flint!" declaimed Robert with jovial intonation. "The
memsahib and I were just talking about you, my son."
"What were you saying? Nothing nasty, I hope?" He avoided Stella's eyes
as he seated himself and took the cup she held out to him.
"Quite the contrary," puffed Robert. "We were planning to persuade you
to stay on with us, especially as my bearer has demanded short leave,
and yours, with your permission, might fill the gap for the time being!"
Stella noted a slight flicker of Philip's eyelids, and her ear caught
the echo of self-control in his voice as he answered: "You are very
kind--and of course if my man can be of the slightest use----"
"Very well then, that's settled." Robert attacked the eatables, talking
the while of rain and crops and the uncertainty of the outlook. "Unless
things improve pretty soon there is a difficult time ahead," he
predicted.
And Stella repeated the foreboding in her heart, though from a very
different standpoint.
Tennis, after all, proved impossible. The courts were a swamp, and as
Robert clamoured for exercise the three set off eventually for a late
and, to Stella, a tedious ride. She was too troubled even to find
pleasure in the after-effect of the rain upon the scenery, though she
could not but observe the wondrous vermilion and purple of the sky, the
great clouds massed on the horizon like some angry army awaiting the
word to press forward, or to retire; the colour reflections on the long
streaks of water that still lay upon the earth's hard surface; the rows
of birds gathered on the edges of the miniature lakes, suggesting, in
the distance, broken borders of white stones. The trees were washed of
their drab veiling of dust, and foliage shone in the light of the
sinking sun; an odour of earth refreshed rose in the thick, hot air....
But the mighty magnificence above, the glow flung over the flat,
interminable landscape, served but to increase her sense of helpless
despondence.
There seemed so little hope of safe conference with Philip, and, though
the strain of his presence held for her as much happiness as fear, it
was imperative that some plan of separation should be devised unless
they were to embark on a course of intrigue and deception that, even
apart from any question of conscience, must involve risk of disaster....
Bewildered, unbalanced, as she rode between her husband and the man she
loved, she felt that her life was broken and stained already.
Next day the two men were out in the district on duty from morning to
evening. Stella passed the period of their absence in a state bordering
on stupefaction; each hour that went by, devoid of an opportunity for
clear understanding with Philip, seemed to widen the zone of danger.
That night as she dressed for dinner the reflection of her face in the
mirror appalled her--what a scarecrow, how white and haggard and
hideous! Limp though she felt from the moist heat, oppressed as she was
with her tribulation of mind, she made a brave effort to amend her
appearance--rearranged her hair, bade Champa get out a becoming pink
frock, stockings and shoes to go with it, opened her jewel-box, meaning
to wear her pearl necklace....
The pearl necklace was not in its case. At first unperturbed Stella
searched among her trinkets, only gradually to realise that the necklace
was undoubtedly gone. Champa when questioned of course knew nothing
about it, she might almost have been unaware that her mistress possessed
any jewels at all! Then she suggested that the memsahib might have lost
the necklace out riding, and in response to Stella's derisive rejection
of such an absurd idea she dissolved into tears, protesting that she, at
least, was no thief, however wicked the rest of the servant-people might
be.
"Go and tell the Sahib I wish to speak to him," commanded Stella
severely; it was not that she suspected Champa for one moment of having
stolen the necklace, but the woman's cowardly attitude incensed her. She
understood nothing of the prevalent fear among native servants of false
accusation contrived by some colleague intent upon personal purpose,
whether vengeful or in the hope of advancement, no matter at whose
expense. Champa sidled muttering from the room, and presently Robert
came in half dressed. His face shone with perspiration, his neck, minus
a collar, reminded his wife of a chunk of raw meat, and suddenly she
felt indifferent as to whether the necklace he had given her was lost
irretrievably or not; she wished she had not summoned him.
"What's the matter, you're not ill?" he inquired.
"My pearl necklace has gone," she said, much as she might have announced
the disappearance of some trivial article.
"Good God!" Robert pounced upon the jewel-box, turning the contents over
with ruthless hands.
"It's not there," Stella told him.
"Then where the devil is it? When did you wear it last?"
"I can't remember."
"Nonsense! You often wear it in the daytime as well as in the
evening--you must have missed it before now, if it had been gone any
time. It's worth hundreds. Where have you looked? It may be among your
clothes----"
"I always put it back in the case. I haven't looked anywhere else."
"Good Heavens, then do so at once! Where's the ayah, what has she got to
say?"
"She doesn't know any more than I do what has happened to it. I suppose
I ought to have kept the box locked."
"And if you had you'd have left the key lying about. You're so
infernally careless."
Robert raved and stormed, while Stella and Champa ransacked drawers and
wardrobes without result. The necklace was not forthcoming. Dinner was
postponed, every servant in the establishment was called up, and the
whole staff was threatened with dismissal, imprisonment, punishment,
unless the pearls were produced.