THE MUSIC OF TWO COURTYARDS
And so it was that Paul and Sara did not spend their honeymoon in Paris
as they had at first intended, but travelled direct through without
stopping to the Casa di Corleone on the banks of Lake Como.
It was in the purple and crimson of a sunset that Paul first saw the
courtyard, and the golden oranges among their dark green leaves, and
the marble fauns and nymphs, and heard the plashing of the fountain.
The crimson light from the sky was touching the white marble of the
figures, transforming them momentarily to the warm flush of life. Sara
and Paul passed between them and up the steps of the old house into
the great hall where the smiling Italian servants were ready to greet
them, and where from the gallery above the haughty ladies of the house
of Corleone looked down upon the two, and where from among them the
portrait of the now true owner of the place glowed like a great blue
sapphire.
And a couple of hours later they came into the dining-room, where
shaded lamps filled the place with a soft mellow light, and shed their
glow on the white damask cloth, on the shining glass and silver, on
decanters of red wine, and on dishes of golden oranges. Soft-footed
low-voiced servants waited on them. It was a magic scene, over which
the gods of Love and Joy reigned supreme.
And later still, the moon rose in the night sky, bathing the lake in
silver, touching the marble statues to unearthly whiteness, and finding
its way through a great window where two figures stood together looking
at its light upon the sleeping lake. Behind them the room was full of
flickering lights and shadows from a fire of fir-cones burning on the
hearth.
And at last Sara turned from the strange beauty of the scene, and saw
Paul's eyes upon her.
"Are you--content?" she asked.
"Beloved of my heart," he said, and his arms closed round her.
And so the Music of the Heart again filled the room, playing in
glorious and most perfect harmony for the two whom the Gods had blessed.
* * * * *
And far away in England, in a studio in another courtyard, Aunt Olive
was putting a question to Barnabas, while Pippa was lying asleep in the
inner room.
"Now that Paul and Sara will have reached the Casa di Corleone," she
said, "and Alan and Aurora are cooing together, and Jasper and Bridget
have found happiness, I wonder what is going to become of you and Dan
and Michael."
"You want to wind us up tidily, too," said Barnabas, smiling.
"I was just wondering," she said.
"Well," said Barnabas, "Michael has his music and his drawing, and, at
last, an ideal which will be his throughout his life. Dan will always
be what he is now--big, silent, making harmless love to all women (he
has been flirting disgracefully with Bridget, and Jasper has been
quite refreshingly jealous), and always he will be a staunch friend of
those who need him. And I, for the next few years, will turn my whole
attention to your candidates for the School of a Wonderful Chance, and
later----" he stopped.
"And later?" asked Aunt Olive.
"And later," said Barnabas, "I hope to ask you for Pippa."
And through the half-open window the little faun heard the words. And
under the stars he piped a tune of the fairy tale of life, a tune of
love and laughter, whose notes reached the soul of the sculptor who had
fashioned him, and hearing the music he was glad.
* * * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Minor changes have been made to correct typesetter errors and to
regularize hyphenation; variant spellings have been retained.