AT THE CAFÉ MOSCOW
During the few days which had preceded Dick's visit to the Countess
Olga's house, he had been very depressed. The excitement which he had at
first felt in going to the House of Commons as the Member for Eastroyd
had gone. He found, too, that the "Mother of Parliaments" was different
from what he had expected.
The thing that impressed him most was the difficulty in getting anything
done. The atmosphere of the place was in the main lethargic. Men came
there for the first time, enthusiastic and buoyant, determined to do
great things; but weeks, months, years passed by, and they had done
nothing. In their constituencies crowds flocked to hear them, and
applauded them to the echo; but in the House of Commons they had to
speak to empty benches, and the few who remained to hear them, yawned
while they were speaking, and only waited because they wanted to catch
the Speaker's eye.
Dick had felt all this, and much more. It seemed to him that as a
legislator he was a failure, and that the House of Commons was the most
disappointing place in the world. Added to this he was heart-sore and
despondent. His love for Beatrice Stanmore was hopeless. News of her
engagement to Sir George Weston had been confirmed, and thus joy had
gone out of his life.
Why it was, Dick did not know; but he knew now that he had loved
Beatrice Stanmore from the first time he had seen her. He was constantly
recalling the hour when she first came into his life. She and her
grandfather had come to Wendover when he was sitting talking, with
Romanoff, and he remembered how the atmosphere of the room changed the
moment she entered. His will-power was being sapped, his sense of right
and wrong was dulled; yet no sooner did she appear than his will-power
came back, his moral perceptions became keen.
It was the same at her second visit. He had been like a man under a
spell; he had become almost paralysed by Romanoff's philosophy of life,
helpless to withstand the picture he held before his eyes; yet on the
sudden coming of this bright-eyed girl everything had changed. She made
him live in a new world. He remembered going outside with her, and they
had talked about angels.
How vivid it all was to him! Everything was sweeter, brighter, purer,
because of her. Her simple, childish faith, her keen intuition had made
his materialism seem so much foolishness. Her eyes pierced the dark
clouds; she was an angel of God, pointing upward.
He knew the meaning of it now. His soul had found a kindred soul, even
although he had not known it; he had loved her then, although he was
unaware of the fact. But ever since he had learnt the secret of his
heart he had understood.
But it was too late. He was helpless, hopeless. She had given her heart
to this soldier, this man of riches and position. Oh, what a mockery
life was! He had seen the gates of heaven, he had caught a glimpse of
what lay beyond, but he could not enter, and in his disappointment and
hopelessness, despair gnawed at his heart like a canker.
Thus Dick Faversham was in a dangerous mood. That was why the siren-like
presence of Olga Petrovic acted upon his senses like an evil charm. Oh,
if he had only known!
At half-past seven on the Friday night he called at her flat, and he had
barely entered the room before she came to him. Evidently she regarded
it as a great occasion, for she was resplendently attired. Yet not too
much so. Either she, or her maid, instinctively knew what exactly suited
her kind of beauty; for not even the most critical could have found
fault with her.
What a glorious creature she was! Shaped like a goddess, her clothes
accentuated her charms. Evidently, too, she was intent on pleasing him.
Her face was wreathed in smiles, her eyes shone with dangerous
brightness. There was witchery, allurement in her presence--she was a
siren.
Dick almost gave a gasp as he saw her. A girl in appearance, a girl with
all the winsomeness and attractiveness of youth, yet a woman with all a
woman's knowledge of man's weakness--a woman bent on being captivating.
"Do I please your Majesty?" and her eyes flashed as the words passed her
lips.
"Please me!" he gasped. "You are wonderful, simply wonderful."
"I want you to be pleased," she whispered, and Dick thought he saw her
blush.
They entered the motor-car together, and as she sat by his side he felt
as though he were in dreamland. A delicate perfume filled the air, and
the knowledge that he was going to dine with her, amidst brightness and
gaiety, made him forgetful of all else.
They were not long in reaching The Moscow, one of the most popular and
fashionable restaurants in London. He saw at a glance, as he looked
around him, that the wealth, the beauty, the fashion of London were
there. The waiter led them to a table from which they could command
practically the whole room, and where they could be seen by all. But he
took no notice of this. He was almost intoxicated by the brilliance of
the scene, by the fascination of the woman who sat near him.
"For once," she said, "let us forget dull care, let us be happy."
He laughed gaily. "Why not?" he cried. "All the same, I wonder what my
constituents at Eastroyd would say if they saw me here?"
She gave a slight shrug, and threw off the light gossamer shawl which
had somewhat hidden her neck and shoulders. Her jewels flashed back the
light which shone overhead, her eyes sparkled like stars.
"Let us forget Eastroyd," she cried; "let us forget everything sordid
and sorrowing. Surely there are times when one should live only for
gladness, for joy. Is not the music divine? There, listen! Did I not
tell you that some of the most wonderful artists in London play here?
Do you know what it makes me think of?"
"I would love to know," he responded, yielding to her humour.
"But I must not tell you--I dare not. I am going to ask a favour of you,
my friend. Will you grant it, without asking me what it is?"
"Of course I will grant it."
"Oh, it is little, nothing after all. Only let me choose the wine
to-night."
"Why not? I am no wine drinker, and am no judge of vintages."
"Ah, but you must drink with me to-night. To-night I am queen, and you
are----"
"Yes, what am I?" asked Dick with a laugh, as she stopped.
"You are willing to obey your queen, aren't you?"
"Who would not be willing to obey such a queen?" was his reply.
The waiter hovered around them, attending to their slightest wants. Not
only was the restaurant noted as being a rendezvous for the beauty and
fashion of London, but it boasted the best _chef_ in England. Every dish
was more exquisite than the last, and everything was served in a way to
please the most captious.
The dinner proceeded. Course followed course, while sweet music was
discoursed, and Dick felt in a land of enchantment. For once he gave
himself over to enjoyment--he banished all saddening thoughts. He was in
a world of brightness and song; every sight, every sound drove away dull
care. To-morrow he would have to go back to the grim realities of life;
but now he allowed himself to be swept along by the tide of laughter and
gaiety.
"You seem happy, my friend," said the woman presently. "Never before did
I see you so free from dull care, never did I see you so full of the joy
of life. Well, why not? Life was given to us to be happy. Yes, yes, I
know. You have your work to do; but not now. I should feel miserable for
days if I thought I could not charm away sadness from you--especially
to-night."
"Why to-night?"
"Because it is the first time we have ever dined together. I should pay
you a poor compliment, shouldn't I, if when you took me to a place where
laughter abounded I did not bring laughter to your lips and joy to your
heart. Let us hope that this is the first of the many times we may dine
together. Yes; what are you thinking about?"
"That you are a witch, a wonder, a miracle of beauty and of charm.
There, I know I speak too freely."
He ceased speaking suddenly.
"I love to hear you speak so. I would rather--but what is the matter?"
Dick did not reply. His eyes were riveted on another part of the room,
and he had forgotten that she was speaking. Seated at a table not far
away were three people, two men and a woman. The men were Sir George
Weston and Hugh Stanmore. The woman was Beatrice Stanmore. Evidently the
lover had brought his fiancée and her grandfather there that night. It
seemed to Dick that Weston had an air of proprietorship, as he acted the
part of host. He watched while the baronet smiled on her and spoke to
her. It would seem, too, that he said something pleasant, for the girl
laughed gaily, and her eyes sparkled with delight.
"You see someone you know?" and Olga Petrovic's eyes followed his gaze.
"Ah, you are looking at the table where that pretty but rather
countrified girl is sitting with the old man with the white hair, and
the other who looks like a soldier. Ah yes, you know them, my friend?"
"I have seen them--met them," he stammered.
"Ah, then you know who they are? I do not know them, they are strangers
to me; but I can tell you about them. Shall I?"
"Yes." His eyes were still riveted on them, and he did not know he had
spoken.
"The girl is the younger man's fiancée. They have lately become engaged.
Don't you see how he smiles on her? And look how she smiles back. She is
deeply in love with him, that is plain. There, don't you see--she has a
ring on her engagement finger. They are very happy. I think the man has
brought the girl and the old man here as a kind of celebration dinner.
Presently they will go to some place of amusement. She seems a poor
simpering thing; but they are evidently deeply in love with each other.
Tell me, am I not right?"
Dick did not reply. What he had seen stung him into a kind of madness.
He was filled with reckless despair. What matter what he did, what
happened to him? Of course he knew of the engagement, but the sight of
them together unhinged his mind, kept him from thinking coherently.
"You seem much interested in them, my friend; do you know them well? Ah,
they have finished dinner, I think. There, they are looking at us; the
girl is asking who we are, or, perhaps, she has recognised you."
For a moment Dick felt his heart stop beating; yes, she was coming his
way. She must pass his table in order to get out.
With a kind of despairing recklessness he seized the wineglass by his
side and drained it. He was hardly master of himself; he talked rapidly,
loudly.
The waiter appeared with liqueurs.
"Yes," cried the Countess, with a laugh; "I chose the wine--I must
choose the liqueurs also. It is my privilege."
The waiter poured out the spirits with a deft hand, while the woman
laughed. Her eyes sparkled more brightly then ever; her face had a look
of set purpose.
"This is the only place in London where one can get this liqueur," she
cried. "What is it? I don't know. But I am told it is exquisite. There!
I drink to you!"
She lifted the tiny glass to her lips, while her eyes, large, black,
bold, seductive, dangerous, flashed into his.
"Drink, my friend," she said, and her voice reached some distance around
her; "it is the drink of love, of _love_, the only thing worth living
for. Drain it to the bottom, and let us be happy."
He lifted the glass, but ere it reached his lips he saw that Beatrice
Stanmore and her companions were close to him, and that she must have
heard what Olga Petrovic had said. In spite of the fact that he had
drunk of rich, strong wine, and that it tingled through his veins like
some fabled elixir, he felt his heart grow cold. He saw a look on the
girl's face which startled him--frightened him. But she was not looking
at him; her eyes were fixed on his companion.
And he saw the expression of terror, of loathing, of horror. It made him
think of an angel gazing into the pit of hell. But Olga Petrovic seemed
unconscious of her presence. Her eyes were fixed on Dick's face. She
seemed to be pleading with him, fascinating him, compelling him to think
only of her.
Meanwhile Hugh Stanmore and Sir George Weston hesitated, as if doubtful
whether they should speak.
Dick half rose. He wanted to speak to Beatrice. To tell her--what, he
did not know. But he was not master of himself. He was dizzy and
bewildered. Perhaps it was because he was unaccustomed to drink wine,
and the rich vintage had flown to his head--perhaps because of
influences which he could not understand.
"Beatrice--Miss Stanmore," he stammered in a hoarse, unnatural voice, so
hoarse and unnatural that the words were scarcely articulated,
"this--this _is_ a surprise."
He felt how inane he was. He might have been intoxicated. What must
Beatrice think of him?
But still she did not look at him. Her eyes were still fixed on Olga's
face. She seemed to be trying to read her, to pierce her very soul. Then
suddenly she turned towards Dick, who had dropped into his chair again,
and was still holding the tiny glass in his hand.
"You do not drink, Dick," said Olga Petrovic, and her voice, though low
and caressing, was plainly to be heard. "You must drink, because I chose
it, and it is the drink of love--the only thing worth living for," and
all the time her eyes were fixed on his face.
Almost unconsciously he turned towards her, and his blood seemed turned
to fire. Madness possessed him; he felt a slave to the charms of this
bewitching woman, even while the maiden for whom his heart longed with
an unutterable longing was only two or three yards from him. He lifted
the glass again, and the fiery liquid passed his lips.
Again he looked at Beatrice, and it seemed to him that he saw horror and
disgust in her face. Something terrible had happened; it seemed to him
that he was enveloped in some form of black magic from which he could
not escape.
Then rage filled his heart. The party passed on without further notice
of him, and he saw Beatrice speak to Sir George Weston. What she said to
him he did not know, but he caught a part of his reply.
"I heard of her in Vienna. She had a curious reputation. Her _salon_ was
the centre of attraction to a peculiar class of men. Magnificent,
but----"
That was all he heard. He was not sure he heard even that. There was a
hum of voices, and the sound of laughter everywhere, and so it was
difficult for him to be sure of what any particular person said. Neither
might the words apply to the woman at his side.
Bewildered, he turned towards Olga again, caught the flash of her eyes'
wild fire, and was again fascinated by the bewildering seductiveness of
her charms. What was the matter with him? He did not seem master of
himself. Everything was strange--bewildering.
Perhaps it was because of the wine he had drunk, perhaps because that
fiery liquid had inflamed his imagination; but it seemed to him that
nothing mattered. Right! Wrong! What were they? Mere abstractions, the
fancies of a diseased mind. Wild recklessness filled his heart. He had
seen Beatrice Stanmore smile on Sir George Weston, and he had heard the
woman at his side say that she, Beatrice, wore this Devonshire squire's
ring.
Well, what then? Why should he care?
And all the time Olga Petrovic was by his side. She had seemed
unconscious of Beatrice's presence; she had not noticed the look of
horror and loathing in the girl's eyes. She was only casting a spell on
him--a spell he could not understand.
Then he had a peculiar sensation. This mysterious woman was bewitching
him. She was sapping his will even as Romanoff had sapped it years
before. Why did he connect them?
"Countess," he said, "do you know Count Romanoff?"
The woman hesitated a second before replying.
"Dick," she said, "you must not call me Countess. You know my name,
don't you? Count Romanoff? No, I never heard of him."
"Let us get away from here," he cried. "I feel as though I can't
breathe."
"I'm so sorry. Let us go back home and spend the evening quietly. Oh, I
forgot. Sir Felix and Lady Fordham are calling at ten o'clock. You don't
mind, do you?"
"No, no. I shall be glad to meet them."
A few minutes later they were moving rapidly towards Olga Petrovic's
flat, Dick still excited, and almost irresponsible, the woman with a
look of exultant triumph on her face.