THE POLLARD-TREES.
Next Camus, reverend sire, went footing slow--
His mantle hairy and his bonnet sedge,
Inwrought with figures dim, and on the edge
Like to that sanguine flower inscribed with woe.
--Lycidas.
Miss Vanborough walked on; she seemed to know the way by some instinct;
sometimes she looked at the water, but it gave her a sort of vertigo.
Tom looked at Dolly with some admiration as she passed along the bank,
with her clear-cut face and stately figure, following the narrow
pathway. They came at last to a bend of the river where some boats were
lying high and dry in the grass, and where a little boat-house stood
upon a sort of jutting-out island among tall trees upspringing suddenly
in the waste: tall sycamore, ivy-grown stumps, greens of every autumnal
shade, golden leaves dropping in lazy showers on the grass or drifting
into the sluggish stream, along which they floated back to Cambridge
once more. It was a deserted-looking grove, melancholy and romantic. But
few people came there. But there was a ferryman and a black boat-house,
and a flat ferry-boat anchored to the shore. Some bird gave a cry and
flew past, otherwise the place was still with that peculiar river
silence of tall weeds straggling, of trees drooping their green
branches, of water lapping on the brink.
'Is this the place you wanted?' said Tom, 'or was it the other
boat-house after all?'
Dolly walked on, without answering him. She beckoned to the boatman; and
then, as he came towards her, her heart began to beat so that she could
scarcely speak or ask the question that she had in her mind to ask. 'Has
my brother been here? Where is his letter? Is the _Wave_ safe in your
little boat-house?' This was what she would have said, only she could
not speak. Some strange fever had possessed her and brought her so far:
now her strength and courage suddenly forsook her, and she stopped
short, and stood holding to an old rotten post that stood by the
river-side.
'Take care,' said Tom; 'that ain't safe. You might fall in, and the
river is deep just here.'
She turned such a pale face to him that the young man suddenly began to
wonder if there was more in it all than he had imagined.
'It's perfectly safe I mean,' he said. 'Why, you don't mean to say----'
He turned red; he wished with all his heart that he had never brought
her there--that he could jump into the river--that he had stayed to dine
in Hall. To his unspeakable relief unexpected help appeared.
'Why, there is Mr. Raban!' said Tom, as Raban came out of the
boat-house, and walked across under the trees to meet them.
Dolly waited for the two men to come up to her, as she stood by her
stump among the willow-trees. Raban did not seem surprised to see her.
He took no notice of Tom, but he walked straight up to Dolly.
'You have come,' he said; 'I had just sent you a telegraphic message.'
His manner was so kind and so gentle that it frightened her more than if
he had spoken with his usual coldness.
'What is it?' she said, 'and why have you come here? Have you too
heard...?'
She scanned his face anxiously.
Then she looked from him to the old boatman, who was standing a few
steps off in his shabby red flannel-shirt, with a stolid brown face and
white hair: a not unpicturesque figure standing by the edge of the
stream. Winds and rain and long seasons had washed all expression out of
old Miller's bronzed face.
'George came here on Tuesday,' said Raban to Dolly; 'I only heard of it
this morning. Miller tells me he gave him a letter or a paper to keep.'
'I know it,' said Dolly, turning to the old boatman. 'I am Mr.
Vanborough's sister; I have come for the letter,' she said quickly, and
she held out her hand.
'This gentleman come and asked me for the paper,' said the old man,
solemnly, 'and he stands by to contradict me if I speak false; but if
the right party as was expected to call should wish for to see it, my
wish is to give satisfaction all round,' said the old man. 'I knows your
brother well, Miss, and he know me, and my man too, for as steady a
young man and all one could wish to see. The gentleman come up quite
hearty one morning, and ask Bill and me as a favour to hisself to sign
the contents of the paper; and he seal it up, and it is safe, as you
see, with the seal compact;' and then from his pockets came poor
George's packet, a thin blue paper folded over, and sealed with his
ring. 'Mr. Vanbug he owe me two pound twelve and sixpence,' old Miller
went on, still grasping his paper as if loth to give it up, 'and he said
as how you would pay the money, Miss.'
Dolly's hands were fumbling at her purse in a moment.
'I don't want nothing for my trouble,' said the old fellow. 'I knows Mr.
Vanbug well, and I thank you, Miss, and you will find it all as the
gentleman wished, and good-morning,' said old Miller, trudging hastily
away, for a passenger had hailed him from the opposite shore.
'I know what it is,' said Dolly. 'See, he has written my name upon it,
Mr. Raban: it is his will. He told me to come here. He is gone. I found
his letter.' She began to quiver. 'I don't know what he means.'
'Don't be frightened,' said Raban smiling, and very kindly. 'He was seen
at Southampton quite well and in good spirits. He has enlisted. That is
what he means. You have interest, we must get him a commission; and if
this makes him more happy, it is surely for the best.'
'Perhaps you are right,' she said, struggling not to cry. 'How did you
hear? How kind you have been. How shall we ever thank you!' Her colour
was coming and going.
'It was a mere chance,' Raban said. (It was one of those chances that
come to people who have been working unremittingly to bring a certain
result to pass.) 'Don't thank me,' he continued in a low voice; 'you
have never understood how glad I am to be allowed to feel myself your
friend sometimes.'
Raban might have said more, but he looked up, and saw Robert's black
face frowning down upon them. Robert was the passenger who had hailed
old Miller. For an instant Frank had forgotten that Robert existed. He
turned away hastily, and went and stared into the water at a weed
floating by. The old boatman waiting by the punt sat on the edge of the
shore, watching the little scene, and wondering what the pretty lady's
tears might be about. Tom also assisted, open-mouthed--the Morgan family
were not used to tears. Mrs. Morgan never cried; not even when Tom broke
his leg upon the ice.
Robert was greatly annoyed. He had come all the way, along the opposite
bank, looking for Dolly, who had not waited for him; who had gone off
without a word from the place where he had expected to find her. Not
even her incoherent 'Oh, Robert, I am so sorry--I have heard, Mr. Raban
has heard--he has found George for us!' not even her trustful, gentle
look, as she sprang to meet him, seemed to mollify him. He looked
anything but sympathising as he said, 'I have been looking for you
everywhere.'
('Brown must have told him,' thought Tom Morgan, who was wondering how
he had found them out.)
'You really must not run off in this way. I told you all along that all
this--a--anxiety was quite unnecessary. George is well able to take care
of himself. If I had not met Professor Brown, I really don't know
now----'
'But what is to be done, Robert? Listen,' interrupted Dolly. 'He has
enlisted; he was at Southampton yesterday.'
And together they told Henley what had happened. Robert took it very
coolly.
'Of course he has turned up,' said Robert, 'and we must now take the
matter into our own hands, and see what is best to be done. I really
think' (with a laugh) 'he has done the best thing he could do.'
Dolly was hurt again by his manner. Raban had said the same thing, but
it had not jarred upon her.
'I see you do not agree with me,' continued Robert. 'Perhaps, Raban, you
will give me the name of the person who recognised George Vanborough? I
will see him myself.'
'He is a man whom we all know,' said Raban, gravely, '--Mr. Penfold, my
late wife's father,' and he looked Robert full in the face.
Dolly wondered why Robert flushed and looked uncomfortable.
'Come,' he said, suddenly drawing her hand through his arm with some
unnecessary violence, 'shall we walk back, Dora? There are some other
things which I must see about and I should be glad to consult you
immediately.' And he would have walked away at once, but she hung back
for a moment to say one more grateful word to Frank.
Then Robert impatiently dragged her off, and Raban, with his foot,
kicked at a stone that happened to be lying in the path, and it fell
with a circling plash into the river.
Meanwhile, Robert was walking away, and poor Dolly, who had not yet
recovered from her agitation, was stumbling alongside, weary and
breathless. He had her arm in his; he was walking very rapidly; she
could hardly keep up with his strides.
This was the moment chosen by Robert Henley to say:--'I want you now to
bring your mind to something which concerns myself, Dora, and you. I
came here to-day, not only to please you, but also because I had
business to attend to. The Vice-Chancellor has, really in the most
pleasant and flattering manner, been speaking to me about my
appointment, and I have brought a letter for you.'
'I am so confused, Robert,' said Dolly.
'I will read it to you, then,' said Robert: and immediately, in a clear,
trumpet-like voice, he began to do so, stopping every now and then to
give more emphasis to his sentences.
The letter was from the Board of Management of the College of
Boggleywollah. They seemed to be in a difficulty. The illness of Mr.
Martindale had already caused great delay and inconvenience; the number
of applications had never been so numerous; the organisation never so
defective. In the event of Mr. Henley's being able to anticipate his
departure by three weeks, the Board was empowered to offer him a
quarter's additional salary, dating from Midsummer instead of from
Michaelmas: it would be a very great assistance to them if he could fall
in with this proposal. A few lines of entreaty from Mr. Martindale were
added.
'It will have to come sooner or later,' said Henley; 'it is unfortunate
everything happening just now. My poor Dora, I am so sorry for all the
anxiety you have had,' he said, 'and yet I am not sure that this is the
best thing that could happen under the circumstances;' and he attempted
to take her hand and draw her to him.
Dolly stood flushed and troubled, and unresponding. She hardly took
Robert's meaning in, so absorbed had she been in other thoughts. For a
moment after he spoke she stood looking away across the river to the
plain beyond.
'The college must wait,' said she, wearily; then suddenly--'You know I
couldn't leave them now, Aunt Sarah and every one, and you, Robert,
couldn't leave me. Don't let us talk about it!'
Robert did not answer immediately. 'It is no use,' he said deliberately,
'shirking disagreeable subjects. My dearest Dora, life has to be faced,
and one's day's work has to be done. My work is to organise the College
at Boggleywollah; you must consider that; and a woman's work is to
follow her husband. Every woman, when she marries, must expect to give
up her old ties and associations, or there could be no possible union
otherwise; and my wife can be no exception to the general rule----'
'Robert, don't talk in this way,' said Dolly, passionate and nervous. 'I
don't want you to frighten me.'
'You are unreasonable again, dearest,' said Robert, in his usual
formula. 'You must be patient, and let me settle for us both.'
Robert might have been more touched if Dolly had spoken less angrily and
decidedly.
'If I put off going,' said Robert, soothingly, 'I lose a great deal more
than a quarter's salary--I lose the prestige; the great advantage of
finding Martindale. I lose three months, which in the present state of
affairs may cause irreparable hindrance. Three months?--six months! Lady
Sarah's illness may last any indefinite period: who can say how long it
may last? and Lady Sarah herself, I am convinced, would never wish you
to change your plans, and your mother will soon have her husband to
protect her. You would not have the heart to send me off alone, Dolly.
Is the alternative so very painful to you?' he said again. And Robert
smiled with a calm and not very anxious expression, and looking down at
her.
Suddenly it all rushed over Dolly. He was in earnest!--in
earnest!--impossible. He meant her to go off now,--directly--without
seeing George; without hearing from him again; while her aunt was lying
on her sick bed. How could she go? He should not have asked such a
sacrifice. She did not pause to think.
'No, a thousand times no, Robert!' she cried passionately. 'You _can't_
go. If you love me, stay,' she said, with great agitation. 'I know you
love me. I know you will do as I wish--as it is right to do. Don't go.
Dearest Robert, you _mustn't_ go.' Her voice faltered; she spoke in her
old soft tone, with imploring looks, and trembling hands put out. Robert
Henley might have hesitated, but the '_must not_' had spoilt it all.
'You know what pain it gives me to refuse your request, said Robert;
'but I have considered the subject as anxiously on your account as mine.
I--really I cannot give up my career at this juncture. You have promised
to come with me. If you love me you will not hesitate. You can do your
aunt no real good by remaining. You can do George no good; and, besides,
you belong to me,' said Robert, growing more and more annoyed. 'As I
told you before, I must now be your first consideration; otherwise----'
He stopped.
'Otherwise what?' said Dolly.
'Otherwise you would not be happy as my wife,' he said, beating his foot
upon the gravel, and looking steadily before him.
'Robert!' said Dolly, blushing up, 'you would not wish me to be
ungrateful.'
'To whom?' said Robert. 'You propose to postpone everything
indefinitely, at a time when I had fully calculated upon being settled
in life; when I had accepted an appointment chiefly with a view to our
speedy marriage. There is no saying how long your conscience may detain
us,' cried Henley, getting more and more provoked; 'nor how many people
may fall ill, nor how often George may think proper to make off. You do
not perceive how matters stand, dear Dora.'
Was this all he had to say? Her heart began to beat with a swift
emotion.
'I understand you quite well,' she said, in a low voice. 'But, Robert,
I, too, have made up my mind, and I cannot leave them, not even for you.
You should never have asked it of me,' she cried, with pardonable
indignation.
'I am not aware that I have ever asked anything that was not for your
good as well as my own,' said Henley, in an offended tone. 'I begin to
think you have never loved me, Dora, or you would not reproach me with
my love for you. Who has influenced you?' said he, jealously. 'What does
it all mean?'
She stopped short, and stood looking at him steadily, wistfully--not as
she used to look once, but with eyes that seemed to read him through and
through, until the tears came once more to blind their keen sight.
Raban, who had crossed by the ferry, and who was walking back along the
opposite side, saw the two standing by the river-side, a man and a
woman, with a plain beyond, and a city beyond the plain.
The sun was setting sadly grey and russet; the long day's mists
dispersing; light clouds were slowly rising; turf and leaves stood out
against the evening; it was all clear and sweet, and faintly coloured: a
tranquil peace seemed to have fallen everywhere. It was not radiance,
but peace and subdued calm. Who does not know these evenings? are they
sad? are they happy? A break in the shadow. A passing medley of the
lights of heaven and earth, of sweet winds and rising vapours.... The
cool breeze came blowing into their faces, and Dolly turned her head
away and looked across the river to the opposite bank. When she spoke
again she was her old self once more.
She was quite calm now; her eyes no longer wet. 'Robert,' she said, 'I
have something to tell you. I have been thinking things over, and I see
that it is right that you should go; but it is also right that I should
stay,' said Dolly, looking him steadily in the face; 'and perhaps in
happier times you will let me come to you, or come back for me, and you
must not--you will not--think I do not love you because of this.'
What was it in her voice that seemed to haunt him--to touch, to thrill
that common-place man for one instant into some emotion? She was so
simple and so sad; she looked so fair and wistful.
But it was only for an instant. 'Do you mean that you wish to break the
engagement?' he asked in his coldest voice.
'If we love each other what does it matter that we are free?' said
Dorothea, with a very sweet look in her face. 'You need fear no change
in me,' she said, 'but I want you to be free.' Her voice failed, and she
began to walk on quickly.
'Remember, it is your own doing,' she heard him say, as Tom Morgan, who
had lingered behind, caught them up. 'But we will speak of all this
again,' he added.
Dolly bent her head, she could not trust herself to answer.