It seems wellnigh impossible that an English maid could look with such
equanimity upon the prospect of marriage with a man, an Eastern, of
whom she knew nothing outside the tales and anecdotes recounted to her
of his exploits and prowess, the which stood good to rival even the
adventures of Haroun al Raschid.
As if an English girl, you will say, could ever _dream_ of such a
thing--a girl brought up in England's best society!
True! brought up within a wall of convention, with her ears for ever
filled with the everlasting tag, "It's not done, you know," that
shibboleth which for stultifying all original effort surpasses even the
mythical but revered sway of Mrs. Grundy. A girl whose brain, and
originality, and deep passions, must under the said circumstances and
environment inevitably culminate in the same silver-haired,
pink-cheeked, grandchildren-adoring old lady, who sees the regulation
ending in England of the _brilliant_ girl, just as she sees the end of
the girl whose brain registers the fact that the seaside is a place to
be visited only in August; whose originality finds vent in the
different coloured ribbons with which she adorns her dogs and her
lingerie; whose passions--oh well! who bothers about the little placid
stream flowing without a ripple between the mud flats of that drear
country habit?
No doubt about it, if money troubles had not given her the opportunity
for which she had always craved, Jill _would_ have finally
metamorphosed her brilliant self into that dear old dame who is as
beloved and ubiquitous and uniform as the penny bun. But seeing her
chance she had clutched at it with eager out-stretched hands, and in
all these months she had not had one single regret, or one moment of
longing for peaceful, grey-tinted England, or the friends with whom she
had visited and hunted and done the hundred and one trivial things
wealthy beautiful girls are accustomed to do in England, and who in her
case had continued their social career without breaking their hearts or
engagements on account of the monetary _débâcle_ of their one time
companion. Her instinct had not failed her in regard to the man who,
without consulting her in any way, was even at that hour starting forth
to arrange their marriage, and she troubled not her head with the
thought of what _might_ have happened to her _if_ her instinct had
failed her, though the chances are that rather than have even the outer
petals of her womanhood bruised by the closing of a trap into which she
might have placed her feet, she would have sent the vessel of her soul
afloat down the great wide river ending in the ocean of eternity.
She was that most interesting and most rare cross-bred result of the
elusive something, be it soul, imagination, or ecstasy which had turned
a woman ancestress, created for the great honour of bearing children,
into the nun, whose maternal instincts had feigned find solace in the
marble or plaster child-image, and even that out of reach of those
hands which should have trembled over swaddling clothes; and that
passion for love and light which had driven the dancing wayward feet of
a Belle Marquise ancestress from love to love, until they had come to a
standstill before Madame la Guillotine, who bothered not herself with
those two minute extremities.
So that on waking after sweet slumber, Jill kissed the misshapen slave
upon the cheek and told her the news, whereupon the dusky little woman
raised her eyes and hands heavenwards, gibbering like a monkey, albeit
she had just left an excited coterie of serving folk who, in the
mysterious native way, had become acquainted with the news of the
impending function without the uttering of one word from those most
interested in an event which would mean fulfilment of dreams to more
than one of those who had, for months past, pondered and commented on
the strangeness of their master's love-affair.
And Jill in the softest pink raiment sat like the perfect heart of a
perfect rose in the scented coolness of the pink chamber, and passed
the days designing garments of which it is useless to give a
description, seeing that the womenfolk in Northern climes have only two
notes on which to ring the changes of their wardrobe; the long,
shroud-looking thing in silk or crepe de Chine or good honest nainsook,
picked out in different coloured ribbons, or the romance killing,
stove-pipe giving effect of the masculine pyjama.
From camel back Jill had watched the departure of the first caravan of
swiftest camels, laden with gifts on their way to Cairo. The jangling
of bells, the musical cries of the drivers, and the roaring and
grumbling of the beasts, causing her to laugh aloud from sheer
happiness; whilst the natives, many of whom had not seen the mystery
woman their master was about to take to wife, fumbled with the packs so
as to get a good look at the little figure, who, Allah! had intercourse
with the man before the wedding.
"And may the blessings of Allah fall upon her, for it is not for us to
inquire into the strange ways of our master upon whom may the sun
shine, and beside whose path may a stream of purest water for ever run
for long years has he lived alone, knowing no woman; may she whom he
hath chosen be fruitful, bearing many sons, so that our children may
live in the blessed shadow of our master's children for generation
after generation."
That was the outlook of the happy oasis upon the most untoward
proceedings, for in the East the betrothed child passes her life in the
seclusion of her family until the very moment of the wedding, the man
depending absolutely upon the words of his mother or female relatives
as to the appearance and character of his future partner.
On the second day started, another caravan of camels, laden with the
household goods with which the wealthy Eastern always travels, yet more
caravans following, carrying the wherewithal of the enormous retinue
with which Hahmed the Arab saw fit to surround his bride; the ensuing
days passing in the preparation of the greatest caravan of all, that
which was to take Jill to the place where, steam up, the great white
yacht at the water's edge was waiting.
Hahmed and Jill were on the broad balcony the night before the start,
the Arab lying at the feet of the woman sitting in an ebony chair
covered with cushions of every shade of purple, with the faint haze of
incense about her little head, and the light of a great love in the
softness of her eyes.
Holding the hem of her cloak in his hands he made love to her by words
alone, for in all the time since their first meeting, his hands had not
held hers, neither had their lips met; but the music of his words
served to send the blood surging to her face, then to draw it back to
her heart, leaving her as white as the crescent moon above her.
"Tell me, O! Hahmed," she suddenly exclaimed softly, after a long
silence, "will not your people think it strange that I, a bride, should
have lived these many months with you? Will they _believe_ that I am
pure, will they not think harm of me, throwing your good name in
shadow?"
The man raised himself so that his face was on a level with hers as he
laid one hand upon her chair.
"Woman, I speak not in pride when I say that I, Hahmed the Arabian,
have never sought and never desired the opinion of those about me. I
do as my heart inclineth, let that suffice. Were I a poorer man these
things could not be, but with my wealth I have bought my freedom,
loosening the iron shackles of convention from about my feet with a key
of gold. Wealth can accomplish all things.
"This oasis is mine because I was the only bidder with wealth enough to
pay the exorbitant prices demanded, other oases are mine, and villages
and tracts of rich lands. Also the respect of my neighbours, also are
their tongues tied on account of my riches.
"I live for years without wife, or woman or child, they say no word.
"I marry a Christian and a white woman, and they will say no word; that
she is _my wife_ will suffice them, though doubtless whispers in the
harems will not be all sweet, seeing that for years the quarry has
eluded the traps laid by the henna-tipped fingers of relentless hunters
and huntresses. Wealth! It buys peace and freedom, O! woman, so let
not your thoughts disturb you. You will be the greatest woman in all
Egypt and Arabia--but listen, some one sings the bridal song, which has
come down to us unchanged from the time of the great Sesostris."