In the matter of an early marriage, both Derrick's father and he whom we
have known as the Marquess, were on Derrick's side; indeed, the sick man
was, if possible, more anxious than the others that the wedding should
take place without delay.
"I want everything settled before--before I go, Wilfred," he said.
"Something of the burden on my mind--not all! Ah, not all--will be
lifted, if I can know that I shall, under Providence, leave the
succession settled. You and I are old men, Wilfred--I am very near the
grave. It is our duty to see, as far as lies within our power, that the
future of the house is set upon a sound foundation. Your son, Derrick,
will be a worthy successor; Celia--I need say nothing in her praise; she
has won all our hearts, and she will lend a lustre to the title that
will come to her."
A fortnight is not a long time in which to prepare the trousseau of a
future Marchioness; but, with Lady Gridborough's enthusiastic
assistance, Celia did her best; though, it must be confessed, she did
not attach so much importance to this matter of the trousseau as it
usually demands and receives from the bride elect; in fact, though Lady
Gridborough has been described as an assistant, she bore the lion's
share of the business, while Celia, as Lady Gridborough expressed it, in
homely language, "gadded about, and mooned" with her lover.
She wanted a quiet wedding, but the church was full, and some ardent
spirits had insisted upon decorating it, and an avenue of children,
clothed in white and armed with flower blossoms to throw upon the
pathway of the bride. Reggie was best man; and, consciously or
unconsciously, had the air of one who had brought about the whole
affair.
"If you had fixed the date a day later," he confided to Derrick, as he
helped him into the regulation frock coat, and impressed upon him the
solemn fact that the wedding ring was in the right-hand pocket of his
waistcoat, "you'd have had to find another best man; for Susie and I are
going to be married to-morrow at a quiet little church not a hundred
miles from here. Ours is going to be really a quiet wedding: bride and
bridegroom; parson, pew-opener and perhaps two sniffling children. We
are going straight to France; address uncertain. And we're going to live
there--that's one of the advantages of my profession, one of the
precious few advantages; you can carry it on anywhere."
"I'm glad," said Derrick, as he wrung Reggie's hand. "No wonder you look
so happy to-day: and I thought it was on my account!"
"So it is--partly," said Reggie. "You see, you're filling the bill so
eminently satisfactorily. Between you and me, it isn't often that the
hero in real life--in real life and out of fiction, mind you!--finishes
up the last chapter looking absurdly happy in a frock coat and lavender
trousers. You're the most satisfying 'hero' I've ever met with. And as
to the bride--well, you wouldn't be married this morning, old chap, if I
sat down right here and told you what I think of her."
"But you've told me already," said Derrick, laying his hand on Reggie's
shoulder and shaking him affectionately.
To Lady Gridborough's intense satisfaction and delight, the sun shone
brightly on Celia who, as the oldest inhabitant declared, was the most
beautiful bride that had ever stood before the altar of the old church.
One wedding is monotonously similar to another; and on this occasion
there was nothing to distinguish Derrick's and Celia's, save the fact
that the bridegroom had only just been acquitted of a criminal charge
and had been discovered to be the heir to a marquisate; but the crowd
which filled the church and gathered outside, felt these facts to be
important ones, and they cheered the bride and bridegroom as they
emerged from the church, husband and wife.
In the circumstances, it was not possible that there should be any
festivities at the Hall--they would come later, all felt, when the happy
couple returned from their honeymoon. There was an affecting scene when
Derrick and Celia stood beside the bed of the injured man. But as he
took Derrick's hand, and signed to Celia to bend down that he might kiss
her, there was, plainly, an expression of relief in the dying man's
wasted face. The great wrong had been set right; the elder brother
restored to his own, his son, this handsome, erect young fellow, with
the frank and honest eyes, established, or on the way to being
established, as the heir.
The old man, lying there, a statesman and an aristocrat, recognized the
responsibilities of his position, all that was due to the great family
of which he had supposed himself the head; and that due was now being
paid. As he blessed them both, his hand sought that of his elder
brother, whom he had put in his proper place, and his eyes turned
affectionately, restfully, to his.
Of course, Lady Gridborough and Reggie had been invited to the
breakfast, which was disposed of somewhat hurriedly; for there was a
train to catch. There were no speeches; they were not necessary; Lady
Gridborough did most of the talking, breaking off now and then,
sometimes to smile happily at Derrick and Celia, at others to wipe her
eyes; for Lady Gridborough, at a wedding, was always hovering between
smiles and tears.
They gathered in the hall, waiting for Celia to appear in her travelling
dress; and presently she came down, radiant, blushing; but, before she
went to her husband, she drew Reggie aside.
"I want to ask you to take a message from me to Susie," she whispered.
"Tell her that I saw her in the church this morning; tell her that I
shall always love her, and that some time--before long, I hope--we shall
meet." Reggie, very red, and looking very happy, nodded. "And will you
give her this as a wedding present?"
He opened the small case she slipped into his hand, and saw a pendant in
the form of a ruby heart set round with diamonds. It was not a very
costly gift, though doubtless it would seem so in Susie's eyes. But
Reggie understood all it meant; the emblem of affection, warm and
glowing; and again he could only nod.
Derrick's last word was with his father. The two men stood, with hands
enclasped, looking at each other in a mute exchange of affection and
trust.
"You will not be away too long?" said the father. "You are needed here."
He glanced upwards towards his brother's room. "And I need you too,
Derrick--my son that was lost and is found." He paused, then he added,
"Tell her that it shall rest with her."
Derrick gave the hand a pressure of comprehension.
As the carriage was starting, Celia's eyes wandered over the group
gathered to see them off: Mrs. Dexter, as well as Lady Gridborough,
between tears and smiles. Mr. Douglas, holding back Roddy, who was
making frantic efforts to follow the carriage; but Derrick's eyes were
fixed on his father.
* * * * *
In due course--how ecstatically happy was that course!--Derrick and
Celia reached the ranch. On the steps stood Donna Elvira, his mother,
awaiting them, with a kind of proud patience. She had drawn herself up
to her full height, was evidently fighting for self-composure; but, at
the sight of her son, her hauteur melted, and, with a cry, she clasped
him in her arms; but, the next moment, with a Spanish courtesy which
swiftly melted to tenderness, she turned to the rather pale and
trembling girl, and embraced her. With a hand of each in hers, she drew
them into the house. There are moments too sacred for intrusion; such
moments were those which passed between these three. At first sight, the
Donna's heart had gone out to her son's beautiful young wife; and it was
with a sigh that she said, after much talk had passed between them,
"Yes, you must not forget, dearest child, that you have a mother, and
another home, here in the South. You will come sometimes? And for a long
visit? The journey is so short nowadays, is it not? You will not forget
altogether the lonely woman who has found a son--and a daughter?"
It was not until he and his mother were alone together that Derrick
delivered his father's message; and he did so gently, tenderly, with his
hand laid in hers. Donna Elvira was silent for a long time; then she
said, in a low voice,
"We will leave it to time, Derrick. You say, in your language, that Time
heals all things. And the wound is now almost healed. We will
wait----Yes, we will leave it to time."
And with that Derrick had to be satisfied.
It was towards the close of their stay at the ranch that Derrick
received a letter from his father containing the news of the death of
him who had been known so long to the world as the Marquess of Sutcombe.
The last days of the stricken man had passed in peacefulness and
forgetfulness. He had never spoken of his son, had seemed to remember
nothing of the terrible tragedy which had cast its shadow over all their
lives; all his conscious thought had been of the brother whose place he
had usurped, at first innocently, but whom now he had restored to his
own. The letter closed with a hint that Derrick's father found the
responsibility of his titles and honours somewhat hard to bear; and
Derrick knew that the old man needed him.
This letter brought their visit--already a long one--to an end, and
Derrick and Celia started for home. Nothing shall be said of their
reception; indeed, the most eloquent pen could not attempt to vie with
the glowing periods in which the great event was enshrined in the
columns of the local paper; suffice it that, after a progress through
many triumphal arches, much cheering; some speechifying on the part of
Derrick--which was by no means particularly happy but was received with
delirious enthusiasm--the carriage conveyed them to the Hall, where
Derrick's father and Celia's old friend stood, leaning on his stick, and
awaited them.
"Thank God you've come back, Derrick!" said his father, fervently. "You
and Celia are wanted here, very badly. You see," he added, with a touch
of pathos, "I have been away from all this so long, I am so unused to
everything----My dear, will you believe me"--he turned to Celia with a
smile that had not a little pathos in it--"I sometimes long for the
quietude, the--the bareness of 'The Jail'!"
"I know," said Celia in a low voice, and with a glance at Derrick beside
her.
For she and Derrick, on their way home, had stopped for a night in
London and had gone back to "The Jail." They had slept in her old room,
and they had stood, hand in hand, in his, where first they had met,
where she had come to him, an angel of rescue.
There were festivities enough now and to spare. The whole place seemed
permeated by their happiness, and Derrick was wondering how long the
rollicking would last and when he should be able to take up the duties
which devolved upon him. One evening it chanced that he and Celia were
walking through the village, on their way from Lady Gridborough's,
engaged in earnest converse about those same duties; and, in the middle
of a sentence, Celia broke off, and, catching at his arm, exclaimed,
"Derrick! Oh, Derrick, look!"
Derrick followed the direction of her eyes, and saw a huge tent with a
number of persons bustling about it. It was a circus tent; and,
moreover, it was Bloxford's Mammoth Circus itself. He stopped and
stared; then he laughed.
"Why, it's old Bloxford!" he cried, brightly. "Celia, this is a piece of
luck. Think of his coming here--here, of all places! By George! how glad
I shall be to see him; and I've an idea he'll be glad to see me! We'll
go--no, not now"--stopping short--"I'll go to the show to-night."
"You'll take me, Derrick?" she said, eagerly. "I want to see him so
badly."
Restraining the desire to go there and then, they had an early dinner
and, on foot, made their way to the circus. The tent was crammed; the
performance had just begun; Derrick and Celia got seats in the best
part, and, exchanging glances of pleasure, they looked on. The whole
company was there in force; and when Isabel rode into the ring on her
black charger, Celia pressed Derrick's arm and whispered
enthusiastically,
"What a splendid woman, Derrick! Oh, she's really grand! And how she
rides!"
"Yes," responded Derrick, a trifle confusedly; for--well, while
recounting his adventures to Celia, he had omitted any mention of the
Isabel episode. "She is a great friend of mine. And so is that
fine-looking chap who is going to do the trapeze act presently. There he
is, standing by the entrance, where they come into the arena. His name
is Sidcup: splendid fellow, isn't he?"
"Splendid," murmured Celia, admiringly. "How clever they all are!"
"Here, come, let's go round at once, now," said Derrick, as the
performance came to an end and the band played "God save the King." He
led her round to the performers' tent, and almost ran against Mr.
Bloxford. Needless to say, he wore his fur coat. At sight of Derrick's
smiling face and outstretched hand, Mr. Bloxford started and stared, in
a bewildered fashion, then he recognised Derrick and, grasping the hand,
shook it heartily.
"Why, dash my stars and stripes, if it isn't Sydney Green!" he
exclaimed, with so evident a pleasure that Celia's eyes glowed and she
smiled upon him; and Mr. Bloxford, as if drawn by the smile, turned to
her, and, sweeping off his hat, said,
"And I take it you're his young lady, miss?"
"I'm his wife," said Celia, with unabashed pride.
"You don't say!" commented Mr. Bloxford, his admiration eloquently
expressed in his staring, Simian eyes. "Well, Mr. Green, you've taken
the cake! Lor' bless my soul, what a picture you'd make in the
high-stepping act! And you're well, and doing well, I should say, by the
look of you, Mr. Green," he said to Derrick, who, indeed, looked
absurdly happy and proud at that moment. "Well, you deserve it. Look
here, ma'am, I could tell you a sight about this big gentleman of yours.
You take it from me that he's a topper, a tip-topper. Here, just step in
here, and I'll tell you how he saved the whole show from a wrecking out
there in that darned dingo-land, Buenos Aires."
"I should like to hear it very much, Mr. Bloxford," said Celia, still
glowing on him; "though my husband has already told me about it."
"Oh, well, you don't want to hear it from me; though, mind you, it was
one of the coolest things I've ever seen done. Oh, he's grit all
through, is that good man of yours."
"I know he is," said Celia, her face radiant, her smile fascinating and
bewildering.
"But, look here!" he said. "The company will want to see you. Here, come
along! I tell you, ma'am"--over his shoulder to Celia, as he led the way
to the "Green Room"--"he is the most popular man we've ever had. And got
a head as well as a heart; the best head _I_ ever saw. Here, ladies and
gentlemen," he cried to the medley group in the performers' tent,
"here's an old friend come to pay you a visit. Here's Mr. Sydney Green,
_and_ his missis!"
They all turned and stared for a moment in silence. Isabel's face went
pale, but not so pale as Alice's. Isabel was the first to recover. With
a flush on her face now, she came forward with her graceful swing and
held out her hand, first to Derrick and then, after a momentary pause,
to Celia; her hand was grasped warmly by both. An excited interchange of
talk ensued; and presently, in the midst of it, Derrick felt a hand on
his arm, and Sidcup, to whom he had spoken already, signed to him.
Derrick went out of the tent with him.
"I can't tell you how glad I am to see you, Sidcup," he began; but
Sidcup interrupted him with a nod and a smile.
"I wanted to get you away for a moment, to tell you that it's--all
right," said Sidcup, colouring a little and looking just a trifle
embarrassed, and yet with a tone of pride in his voice. "Isabel and I
have fixed it up. Yes; we were spliced before we left South America.
It's all right, old boy! Congratulate me!"
Derrick shook his hand until Sidcup winced, and they both laughed like a
couple of boys.
"Congratulate you! I should think I do!" said Derrick. "I wish you could
have heard my wife just now, expressing her admiration for yours. She is
more beautiful than ever."
"Oh, well," said Sidcup, with a modest pride; "come to that, you've got
a beauty too. Tell you what, Green, we're both of us deuced lucky men."
"You never spoke a truer word in your life," said Derrick; "and you, at
any rate, deserve your luck."
They returned to the tent, talking as they went; and there, lo and
behold! they found the future Marchioness of Sutcombe the centre of a
laughing and talking group, the hearts of all of which she had conquered
at first sight. For, consider: she was now a future Marchioness, but not
long since she had been Celia Grant, living on a pound a week in Brown's
Buildings--as she told them. Derrick tore her away at last, leaving the
circus company ignorant of the exalted position of their guests; but,
half an hour afterwards, they were astounded beyond words to receive an
invitation to dine next night at Thexford Hall; an invitation from
Sydney Green and his wife, otherwise, Lord and Lady Heyton.
That dinner is marked with a white stone in the history of Derrick and
Celia.
* * * * *
One is reluctant to strike a discordant note, a note of squalid tragedy,
in the harmony to which the lives of Celia and Derrick moved; but this
record would not be complete without an account of the ending of the man
who was known as Lord Heyton. Such an ending as his was inevitable. He
died in a drunken brawl in a Chinese doss-house in Manchuria. For months
before his death he had been a cause of trouble and anxiety to the
authorities of the district; in such a place villainy and roguery have
full scope; but poor Heyton never rose to the height of either. Small
and petty offences only were those which came within his capacity.
For some time he had been connected with a gang of card-sharpers, living
under an alias, and depending for his food and drink upon the small wits
which Providence had vouchsafed him. It was during a dispute in one of
the lowest doss-houses in the place that he met his death. There had
been a quarrel, a scuffle, a death-thrust with a knife by a cold-blooded
Chinaman, and it was not until the authorities had searched the body,
that his identity had been discovered.
Derrick received the news of the death of Miriam's husband, the one-time
recognised heir to the title and estate, from the British Consul; and he
received the grim tidings with something like relief. His was the task
to convey the tragic information to Miriam. Of that interview nothing
shall be said. She also had received the account of her husband's death
with something like relief; for, to her, he had been dead long since. At
one point only did she shed tears; it was when she tried, in faltering
accents, to express to Derrick her gratitude for all that he and Celia
had done, and were doing, to render her life free from care.
The interview, painful as it necessarily had been, saddened Derrick; but
his face cleared as, on his return to the Hall, he met Celia and took
her in his arms; and, as her lips clung to his, he asked himself, as he
had often asked himself in odd moments of his happiness, "What have I
done to deserve my luck?"