WE ARRIVE AT A CRISIS
I remained there, pressed into one corner, unable to move, scarcely
venturing to breathe, her skirt brushing my leg, the strands of her
hair, loosened by the night wind, almost in my face. She was gazing
straight out into the night, utterly unconscious of my presence, so
deeply buried in her own trouble that all else seemed as nothing. For a
moment she remained motionless, silent; then her hands pressed against
her forehead, and her lips gave utterance to a single exclamation:
"Oh, God! I can never, never stand it! What shall I do?"
Perhaps I moved, perhaps some sense of the occult revealed my presence,
for she turned swiftly, with a sharp gasp of the breath, and looked
straight into my eyes. The recognition was instant, bewildering, a shock
which left her speechless, choking back the cry of alarm which rose into
her throat. She gripped the rail and stared as though at a ghost.
"Don't cry out," I entreated quickly. "Surely you know whom I am."
"Yes, yes," struggling to regain her voice. "I--know; but why are you
here? How long have you been here?"
"It is a story too complex to repeat," I said earnestly, "but I have
been here since your father first came--don't blame me, for I couldn't
get away."
"Then--then you heard--"
"Yes; I heard everything. I tried not to; I pledge you my word it was
all an accident. I was here for another purpose, a military purpose. I
did not even know this was your home. I am trapped on this balcony, and
dare not attempt to get away--I had to listen. You will believe what
I say?"
I was pleading so desperately that she stopped me, one hand grasping my
sleeve.
"Yes, of course. I am sure you could never do that purposely. But I do
not know what to say, how to explain. You must go at once. Can you not
realize my position if you are discovered here? What--what Captain Le
Gaire would say?"
"Very easily," my voice insensibly hardening at the memory, "and I
should like to remain to meet him, if that were the only danger. No,
please stand exactly where you are, Miss Hardy, so as to keep me in the
shadow. Thank you. There is a man sitting on a bench yonder just within
the orchard. He has been there for the last twenty minutes, and it is
his presence which has made it impossible for me to get away. Can I
escape in any manner through the house?"
She shook her head, her glance wandering from the lighted room out again
into the night.
"No; there is only the one door."
"Who are here besides Le Gaire and your father?"
"A half-dozen officers, two from the Louisiana regiment, the rest
belonging to the staff; they are just ending up a feast in the
dining-room."
"And is the house under guard?"
She hesitated, looking me now squarely in the eyes, her face clearly
revealed as the light from within fell upon it.
"Why do you ask?--for military reasons?"
"No; that is all passed and gone. We came hoping to capture General
Johnston, as scouts informed us this was his headquarters for the night.
But he is not here, and you will do your cause no harm by telling me
all I ask."
"I do not think there are any guards posted," she answered, convinced
that I spoke the truth. "I have not been out, but I am sure there are no
soldiers about the place, except the officers' servants at the stable
with the horses. The general departed before dark, and took his
bodyguard with him."
She had no reason to deceive me, and her sincerity was beyond question.
This was better than I had dared hope, and instantly a new plan leaped
into my mind, the very audacity of which made me gasp. Yet it might
work, carried out with sufficient boldness, although only to be resorted
to as a last desperate necessity. As I stood there, revolving this new
thought swiftly through my mind, the old fear seemed to return to her.
"Did--did you hear--everything?" she asked again.
"I am afraid I did," I confessed humbly, "but I am going to forget."
"No, that is not necessary. I am not sure I am altogether sorry that you
overheard."
"But I am--at least, a part of what I overheard struck me rather hard."
"What was that?"
"Your reference to me. Billie, I had been dreaming dreams."
Her eyes dropped, the long lashes shading them.
"But I had previously warned you," she said at last, very soberly. "You
knew how impossible such a thought was; you were aware of my
engagement."
"Yes, and I also knew Le Gaire. All I hoped for was time, sufficient
time for you to discover his character. He is no bug-a-boo to me any
longer, nor shall any tie between you keep me from speaking. As I have
told you I did not come here expecting to meet you--not even knowing
this was your home--yet you have been in my mind all through the night,
and what has occurred yonder between you and that fellow has set me
free. Do you know what I mean to do?"
"No, of course not; only--"
"Only I must believe what you said about me to him; only I must continue
to respect an agreement which has been wrung out of you by threat. I
refuse to be bound. I know now the one thing I wanted most to know,
Billie--that you do not love him. Oh, you can never make me think
that again--"
"Stop!" and she was looking straight at me again. "I shall listen to you
no longer, Lieutenant Galesworth. I cannot deny the truth of much which
you have said, but it is not generous of you to thus take advantage of
what was overheard. It was merely a quarrel, and not to be taken
seriously. He is coming back, and--and I am going to marry him."
There was a little catch in her voice, yet she finished the sentence
bravely enough, flinging the words at me in open defiance.
"When? To-night?"
"Yes, immediately, as soon as Captain Le Gaire can confer with my
father."
I smiled, not wholly at ease, yet confident I knew her struggle.
"You might deceive some one else, Miss Billie," I said quietly, "and
perhaps if I were not here this programme might indeed be carried out--I
believe Le Gaire is cur enough to insist upon it. But I am here, and you
are not going to marry him, unless you tell me with your own lips that
you love the man."
She stared into my eyes, as though doubting my sanity.
"Will you consent to say that?"
"I deny your right to even ask."
"Yet I shall take silence as a negative, and act accordingly. No, you
will not hate me for it; you may imagine you do for the moment, but the
time will come when your heart will thank me for interference, for
saving you from a foolish sacrifice. You do not love Le Gaire; you
cannot look me in the eyes and say that you do."
"You are impertinent, ungentlemanly. I simply refuse to answer a
question you have no right to ask."
"I assume the right in accordance with a law as old as man."
"What law?"
"The law of love," I returned earnestly, "the love of a man for the one
woman."
I could see her slight form sway as the full significance of these words
came to her; her cheeks flamed, but there was no shadowing of her eyes.
"I am going in, Lieutenant Galesworth," she said finally, drawing back
to the open window. "You have forgotten yourself, forgotten the
respect due me."
"But I have not, Billie," and in my earnestness I neglected all caution,
stepping forward into the full glare of light. "The highest respect is
the basis of true love, and, little girl, I love you."
She clung to the frame of the window, rendered speechless by my
audacity, struggling with herself.
"Oh, don't say that! I cannot listen; I must not. Believe me, Lieutenant
Galesworth, I do not altogether blame you, for I have been indiscreet,
foolish. I--I have not meant to be; I merely endeavored to prove kind
and friendly, never once dreaming it would come to this. Now it must
end, absolutely end; even if you despise me for a heartless coquette,
there is no other way. My path is laid out for me, and I must walk in
it. It may not be altogether pleasant, but I made my choice, and it is
too late now for retreat. I want you to help me, not make it
any harder."
"By going away, you mean? By leaving you to be coerced?"
"I was not coerced; it was my own free choice."
We were both so interested as to forget everything except ourselves,
utterly oblivious to the situation, or to what was occurring without. My
eyes were upon her face, endeavoring to read the real truth, and I knew
nothing of the two men at the edge of the orchard. Like a shot out of
the night broke in a voice:
"Billie, who is that you have with you?"
I saw her reel against the side of the window, every trace of color
deserting her face, her eyes staring down into the darkness. She gasped
for breath, yet answered, before a thought flashed through my brain:
"Only a friend, papa. Did you suppose I would consent to remain alone
long?"
"Le Gaire said he just left you."
She leaned out over the rail, half concealing me from view.
"Oh, that must have been fifteen minutes ago," and she laughed. "It is
never safe to leave me as long as that. You know that, papa, and now I
warn Captain Le Gaire."
The older man echoed her laugh, striking his companion lightly on the
shoulder.
"I fear the little witch is right, Gerald," he said pleasantly. "Come,
we'll go in, and uncover the whole conspiracy."
Their backs were toward us, and she straightened up, grasping me by the
hand. She was shaking from head to foot, even her voice trembled.
"You must not be found here, and we have but a moment. Drop to the
ground as soon as they turn the corner. Don't hesitate; don't
compromise me."
"But what will you tell them?"
"Oh, I do not know--anything that comes into my head. Don't mind me,
I'll take care of myself."
"But you will not; that is the whole trouble--if I go now I lose you
forever. Billie, let me stay!"
She broke from me, stepping back into the room, yet there was a look in
her eyes which made me desperate. She did not love Le Gaire, she
despised him. I was certain of that, and more than half convinced her
heart was already mine. Should I run from the fight like a coward, sneak
away in the night, leaving her to be sacrificed? The very thought
sickened me. Better to meet the issue squarely--and I believed I knew
how it could be done. I grasped the curtain, drew it down twice in
signal, and stepped into the room.
"I am going to take command here now, Billie," I said with new
sternness. "All you need to do is obey orders."