Leonora did all her errands--or as many as she said could be done in so
short a time. There were a great many things, she explained, which she
could order when they were settled, but which would be in the way at
present. Julius bought her a box, and wrote a label for it, and pasted
it on the cover. She began to find out that, besides his other
qualities, he was a very practical man, and understood travelling better
than any courier she had ever had.
They had spent a few hours in Ischia as they had intended, and had then
come over to Naples in a small steamer which plied daily between the
island and the city. Julius paid something to have his boat towed
across, and when he was in Naples he paid the men a month's wages in
advance, and told them to go back to Genoa and wait for him there. They
might steal the boat--or they might not, he did not care. The thing had
to be sent somewhere, and if it ever reached Genoa so much the better.
He drove with Leonora up and down the Toledo for hours, stopping at all
manner of shops, and buying all manner of things. Now and then he would
succeed in paying for something, but she generally insisted on using
her own money. It was fortunate that she had taken it, she thought, as
it would have been so awkward to let him pay for everything. He
remonstrated.
"All that I have is yours, darling," he said. "You must not begin with
such ideas."
"I do not mean to be a burden to you, Julius," answered Leonora. "I am
sure I must be much richer than you. Nobody ever made himself rich by
writing books." She laughed, and he laughed with her. It was so very
amusing to talk to each other about what they possessed.
"Ideas about being rich are comparative," said Julius. "If I sent Worth
two or three hundred pounds for a dress every other week, I should
certainly not be very well off. But"--
"Oh, Julius--what an idea! There is no one so cheap as Worth in the long
run."
"I was going to say something very pretty," remarked Julius.
"Oh, I would not have interrupted you if I had known. What was it?"
"I was going to say that I must be richer than you--since I have got
you, and you have only got me."
"You always say things like that," said Leonora, laughing lightly. "Be
sure that you always do--I like them very much."
"Ah," said Julius, gravely, "I will sit up all night and make them for
you."
"They ought to be spontaneous," said Leonora.
"Everything that is pretty in the world is spontaneous to you, my dear.
But I have to work hard to make pretty things, because I am only a man."
"That is really not bad," said she, laughing again.
She wondered vaguely whether he would always be the same. Her husband
used to talk much like that at first. But he grew so dull, and when he
said things he never looked as if he quite meant them. Julius said
sometimes a few words--just what any one might have said; but there was
a tone in his voice, and his eyes were so fiery. She loved the fire; it
used to frighten her at first.
"We cannot stay here," said Julius, when they sat over their dinner at
the hotel on the Chiaja. "It is altogether too ridiculously hot; it is a
perfect caricature of a summer, with all its worst points exaggerated."
"Yes; but where shall we go?" asked Leonora.
"I had thought of a charming place," said Julius. "It is away in the
Piedmontese Alps--all mountains and chestnut woods and waterfalls. An
old convent built over a torrent. Only the people from Turin go there."
"That sounds cool," said Leonora, fanning herself, though whatever she
might suffer from the heat she never looked hot. "Let us go. When were
you there?"
"Years and years ago," said Julius. "I used to catch trout with
caddis-worms, and write articles about Italian politics. You may imagine
how much I knew of what was going on, shut up in an old convent in the
mountains. But it made no difference. Writing about Italian politics is
very like fishing with worms."
"Why?"
"You sit on a bank with a red, white, and green float to your line. You
have not the least idea what is going on under the water. Now and then
the float dips a little, and then you write that the national sentiment
of honour is disturbed. That is a bite. By and by the float disappears
and your line is pulled tight, and you think you have got a fine fish.
Then you write that a revolution is imminent, and you haul up the line
cautiously, and find that a wretched little roach or a stickleback has
swallowed your hook. The red, white, and green float waves over your
head like a flag while you get the hook out and bait it again. You make
another cast, and you write home that order has been restored. On the
other side of the bank sits another fellow, with a float painted red,
white, and blue. He is the French correspondent. Sometimes you get his
fish, and sometimes he gets yours. It is very lively."
"You used to say that a simile was an explanation and not an argument,"
said Leonora, rather amused at his description. She always remembered
what he said, and enjoyed quoting him against himself.
"So it is. What I told you was an illustration of a correspondent's
life, not an argument against the existence of very fine fish in the
stream."
"You are too quick," said Leonora, laughing.
"One has to be quick in order not to appear too awfully slow in
comparison with you, dear," answered Julius at once.
"Again,--there is no stopping you!"
It amused her to talk to him, he was so ready; and always with something
well turned, that pleased her. There was something, too, that was
refreshing in hearing the small talk of a celebrity, often a little
doubtful in grammar, and interspersed now and then with a little
generous exaggeration that she liked. She had read his books, and knew
what he could do with the language when he pleased. And most of all she
liked to speak and to be spoken to in English,--it seemed so much more
natural.
It was no trouble to Julius to talk to her. With some people he was as
silent as the grave, which produced the impression that he was very
profound. With others he was ready for a laugh and a jest at any moment,
and they thought him brilliant; but there were very few with whom he
talked seriously. Leonora saw all his phases in turn, for she felt that
if she did not know his character, she was in sympathy with his mind and
understood him.
But Julius was anxious to reach the spot he had chosen, in order to let
Carantoni know of his whereabouts. He suggested to Leonora that if it
was quite convenient to her they might go the next day, when she had
had a good night's rest. She assented readily enough. To tell the truth,
with all her gayety and enjoyment of the novel situation, she disliked
Naples, and she hated to feel that in the morning she should look out of
her window across the bay and see Sorrento, and think of her husband as
being there. She did not know that when she laid her head on her pillow
that night Marcantonio would be in the station in Naples, on his way to
Rome, and not half a mile away from her.
"Are you ever seasick?" asked Julius suddenly.
"Oh, Julius! You know I am not," she said reproachfully. He laughed.
"No? I mean in a steamer. Boats are quite different."
"I don't know," said Leonora. "I have often crossed the Channel, and I
was never ill at all."
"Oh, then of course it's all right!" he said. "You would not mind in the
least. We had better go to Genoa in the steamer; it is very decent and
much cooler than all those miles of rail and dust."
"Oh yes, far pleasanter," said Leonora.
And so they made their arrangements, and the next day--the day when
Marcantonio was engaging the detectives in Rome--they went on board the
"Florio" steamer and left Naples, and Sorrento, and Ischia, and all the
countless reminiscences that attached to the glorious bay, and were
carried up the coast.
"The dear place," said Leonora, looking astern as she sat in her
arm-chair under the awning on deck, "I shall always love it."
"But you are glad to leave it, darling, are you not?" asked Batiscombe,
who stood beside her, and was looking more at her than at the coast,
though he held a glass in his hand.
It was a curious question to ask, one might have thought, and yet it was
natural enough, and did not jar on Leonora's thoughts. She was not
sensitive in that way in the least. She did not mind his referring to
the past in any way he chose.
"Glad? Of course I am glad," she answered, looking up into his face.
"How could I not be glad?" She seemed almost vexed at the simplicity of
the question.
"Then I am happy," said Julius, sitting down beside her.
And he spoke the truth; for the time he was utterly and supremely happy.
He felt indeed the grave and serious mood, which the bravest man must
feel when he knows that in a very few days his life will be at stake.
But his vanity told him he was going to fight for her, and that gave him
a happiness apart; so he concealed the serious tendency of his thoughts,
talking easily and gayly. It was his vanity that helped him most,
telling him it was for her; and, as always in his life, the prospect of
a woman's praise was a supreme incentive. He did not reflect that he was
not to fight for Leonora's honour, but for the greatest dishonour the
world held for her.
The broad sun poured down on the water, but the west wind fanned their
faces and the awning kept the heat from them. Leonora lay back with
half-closed eyes, now and then carefully opening and shutting a fan she
held. She was wonderful to look at, her marvellous skin, and the masses
of her red hair--the true red of the Venetian women--contrasting
strongly with her soft dark dress, and a Sorrento handkerchief of
crimson silk, just knotted about her dazzling throat. She was a
marvellous specimen of vital nature, of pure living litheness and
elasticity, gloriously human and alive. And the man beside her was
almost as singular in a different way: he was so quiet, and moved so
easily, and his bright blue eyes were so fiery and clear, his skin so
bronzed and even in colour; there was strength about him too; and the
passengers as they came and went would steal a glance at the couple, and
make remarks, quite audible to Julius and Leonora, about the beauty of
those Inglesi.
"Which do you like best, dear," asked Julius presently, "the day or the
night?"
"Oh--that night was so beautiful," said Leonora; "I love the moon, and
the freshness, and the white sails, and all."
"Does 'all' include anything especial?" asked Julius smiling.
"What do you think?" asked she, instead of answering. Her red lips
remained just parted with a loving smile.
"I don't think," said Julius. "I leave the thinking to you, my dear. You
can do it much better. But I like the sunlight, the broad, good
sunlight, far more than the moon. It is so hot and splendid."
"Yes; I suppose it is like you to prefer it. All men like the sun--and I
suppose all women like the moon. At least I do. But you must always like
what I like now, you know."
"Including myself, I suppose?"
"Bah, my dear," laughed Leonora, "you will find that very easy!"
How very unhappy she must have been, thought Julius. She had not a
regret in the world, it seemed; and the only fear she had shown had been
when she stumbled on the descent, so that he took her up and carried
her.
"Tell me," said he, "what did you do in all those dreadful days when we
could not meet?"
"I did nothing but write letters to you--very nice letters too. You have
never shown yourself properly grateful."
"No," said Julius, "I have not had time."
"What do you mean?" asked Leonora with a little frown.
"Why--it must take a long time to show you how grateful I am. A long
time," he added, his voice sinking to a deeper tone, that Leonora loved
to hear. "It will take my whole lifetime, darling."
"Thanks, dear one," said she quietly, laying her hand on his. She did
not mind the passengers,--why should she? She would never mind the world
again, as long as she lived, for the world would never care what she did
any more.
Her experience of the world--or of what she understood by the term--had
not been very happy, though it had not been the reverse. She remembered
chiefly the mere technicalities of society, so to speak. She had enjoyed
them after a fashion, inveighing all the while against their emptiness
and vanity, and now when she looked back she saw only a confused
perspective of brilliantly lighted, noisy parties, of more or less
solemn dinners, of endless visits to people who bored her, and of an
occasional cotillion with a man she liked, in return for numberless
dances with individuals who seemed to be trying to get dancing lessons
gratis, or who tore furiously up and down the room till she was out of
breath, or who caught their spurs in her skirts, and scratched her arms
with their decorations. She did not remember how she had enjoyed motion
for motion's sake, and had rarely refused to go out, in spite of the
aforesaid annoyances. She did not remember the little thrills of
pleasure she had felt, as Marcantonio was gradually attracted to her,
till he was always the first to greet her and to put his name on her
card for a turn, and was always the last to bid her good-night, devoting
himself to her mother when she was engaged with some one else. She did
not remember the delight she had often experienced in discussing society
with her philosophical friends, bowling over institutions with a phrase
and destroying characters with an adjective. There were many things
which Leonora did not remember but which had given her great pleasure a
few months ago; but most of them reminded her of her husband, and she
did not wish to be reminded of him in the least.
There was continually a sort of unconscious comparison going on between
him and Julius Batiscombe; she could not help it, and it had been
perhaps the earliest phase of her love. Even at the moment when
Marcantonio offered himself to her, Julius was standing in the doorway,
and she had wondered what he would have said if he had been making the
same proposal. She knew, now. She thought she knew the difference
between the intonation of the man who loved, and of the man who merely
wanted to marry. Ah--if she had only known in time, things would have
been different. She would have refused Marcantonio, after all his
devotion, and she would have married Julius.
She did not understand that Julius would never have fallen in love with
her then; that the mere possibility of being led into marriage reared an
impassable barrier between him and the whole of youngladydom. He had
made up his mind that he would not marry, and young ladies said he was
the most obstinate bore they knew; which was very unkind, for he kept
out of their way, and only bored them when he was obliged to talk to
them, doing it systematically and successfully in self-defence. But
Leonora innocently supposed that if Julius had met her more intimately,
in time, he would have fallen in love with her just as he had done now,
and would have proposed after six weeks' acquaintance, and they would
have been happy forever after. She chanced to think of this now, and she
sighed.
"What is the matter, sweetheart?" asked Julius.
"Nothing," said she, "I was thinking of something,--that is all."
"Tell me, dear," said he, bending towards her. She hesitated a moment,
looking into his eyes.
"I was thinking," she said at last, "of something that happened once. Do
you remember, at that ball, when you stood in the doorway and looked so
dreadfully bored, and I was sitting not far off with--with the
marchese?"
"Of course," said Julius, calmly, "I imagined he was just proposing to
you."
"Yes," said Leonora, in a low voice, "he was."
"I wish he had been at the bottom of the sea," said Julius, fiercely.
Indeed, the idea disgusted him, being as much in love as he was.
Nevertheless, he thought she was a singular woman to refer to the
thing,--so very soon. He had at first expected that she would never wish
to mention her husband to him; at least, not for very long; but she
seemed rather to seek the subject than to avoid it. He mused for a
moment, looking out under his half-closed lids, as was his habit when he
was thinking. Suddenly a smile came into his face.
"Do you remember, dear, when you and he raced me in the boat on the bay,
one afternoon, ever so long ago?" It was not much more than six weeks.
"Yes--perfectly," said she. "Why?"
"Have you any idea where I was going?" asked Julius, laughing a little.
"Not the least. You were not going anywhere; you were out for a row, I
suppose, because you wanted the air." She looked a little puzzled.
"If you had not overtaken me, I should never have seen you again," he
said, looking at her affectionately.
"What do you mean?" she asked, rather startled.
"Simply this, I was running away. I was engaged to dine with you that
evening, and I was going to Naples to get out of it. I would have sent a
telegram about urgent business--or anything."
"What an idea!" she exclaimed, laughing. "Why did you do that?"
"Because I knew what would happen if I stayed," said he, softly.
"But you did not care for me then?" she asked, quickly.
"Oh, yes, I did," he answered; "and I knew I should care a great deal
more." His eyes burned in the bright light of the afternoon.
"But I did not love you in the least then," said Leonora, demurely.
"No, of course not--and I did not flatter myself that you would. But I
knew I was going to love you with all my heart."
Again their hands met for a moment, and a couple of sailors, who watched
them from a distance, nudged each other and grinned.
"When did you first begin to care, dear?" he said presently.
"Seriously? What a silly question, Julius. How can I tell?"
"It was after I found you in the church, was it not?"
"Yes, indeed. Ever so long after that!"
"About two days?" he suggested gravely.
"How absurd, Julius," she said with a little air of offended dignity
that was charming. "You know it was ever so long."
"I wonder what you thought of me, when you turned round and saw me
looking at you in the church," said he. He really had not an idea, and
was curious to know.
"I thought you were very rude," said she. "And afterwards I thought you
were very nice."
"I did not mean to be rude," said Julius, "but I could not help going
in. I was in love with you, and I knew you were there."
"In love--already?" asked Leonora.
"Why--yes--it was at least a week after I tried to run away," said
Julius innocently.
"It was exactly two days," said Leonora.
They both laughed, for it was quite true. It was very pleasant to recall
the beginnings of their love, for it had all been sweet, and easy; it
seemed so to them, at least, as the foreshore hid Sorrento from their
sight, and with it the scene of all they were discussing.
It was a beautiful voyage, along the coast in the summer sea. There was
always enough breeze in the daytime, and there was the moon at night,
and they always felt that if they were quite alone, on land, it would be
even more charming, if possible. It is a great thing in happiness to
know that there is to be more of it, and more and more, till at last the
heart has its fill of joy.
They reached Genoa, and rested themselves for a day and a night in the
glorious rooms of an old palace, turned into an hotel by the profane
requirements of modern travellers. But it is very agreeable for
travellers to sleep in palaces, by whatever names they are called, and
it is foolish to say that moderns should build new buildings instead of
making use of old ones when they have them ready to hand.
There is a set of people in the world who deal in cheap sentiments, and
get themselves a reputation for taste by abusing everything modern and
kneeling in rows before everything that is old. They grind out little
mediæval tunes with an expression of ravished delight, and tell you
there is no modern music half so good,--in fact, that there is no modern
music at all! Or they garnish themselves in queer white robes and toddle
through a vile travesty of some ancient drama; or they build houses of
strange appearance and hideous complication of style, having neither
beauty without nor comfort within: and last of all, they say to
themselves, Verily, we are the most artistic people in the world!
One of these persons could not have passed an hour in the old palace
which the Genoese have turned into an hotel. The bare idea of such
profanity would have produced artistic convulsions at once, and untold
suffering in the future by the mere memory of it. But neither Batiscombe
nor Leonora were people of that sort. Julius took a very different view
of life, believing to some extent in the simple theory that useful
things are good and useless things are bad, and that everything that
really fulfils its purpose must have some beauty of its own. Moreover,
Julius had very little reverence, but a profound intelligence of the
comfortable; he would have slept as well in a king's tomb as in an
American hotel, provided the furniture were to his taste in respect of
length and breadth and upholstery. As for Leonora, she had been brought
up chiefly in Italy, and never troubled herself with the intricacies of
the art question in that country, taking everything to be natural so
long as she always had the very best of it. And at present, being wholly
in love, and having her heart's desire, she would even have been willing
to put up with less luxury than usual. Her talent for supremacy, as
Julius used to call it, had taken a person for its object, and found the
dominion of a heart more interesting than the dominion of fashionable
luxury, the finest horses, or even Mr. Worth.
"I used to hate hotels," said she to Julius, late in the evening, "but
they seem very pleasant after all. There is never any fuss about
anything; and I always seem to get just what I want."
"Oh--hotels are very well, if one understands them," he answered. He did
not explain to her that her comfort was chiefly due to his forethought.
"You would soon find it a great bore, though," he added.
"I am sure I should not," said she. "You are so clever that you make
everything seem easy for me."
Julius laughed, out of sheer satisfaction. These were just the little
speeches he loved most from women, and, most of all, from Leonora. It
would seem a harmless vanity of itself, but it leads to doing acts of
forethought and courtesy for the sake of the praise instead of for the
sake of the woman.
"It is very good of you to say so, my dear," he answered, modestly. "But
we will change all that, by and by. When the heat is over we will go
away, and live in the Greek islands. There are places worth going to,
there."
"Oh, of all things how delightful!" cried Leonora, carried away by the
new idea. "And have a house by the sea, and a boat, and Greek
servants,--how lovely!"
"Meanwhile, dear," said Julius, "we will go and be cool in the old
Carthusian monastery. It does not take long from here."
And so they left Genoa and reached Turin, where Batiscombe found his
box--the one that Marcantonio intended to watch so carefully--and took
it away; thence they went to a place called Cuneo, a little southwards
by the railway, in the Maritime Alps, which Leonora said were beautiful;
and then they drove in an ancient diligence to the Certosa di Pesio, an
old Carthusian monastery, as Julius had said, built over a wonderful
mountain torrent, and surrounded with ancient chestnut-trees. Through
the valley that opens away to northward you can catch a glimpse of Monte
Rosa, when the setting sun gilds the snow, and the breeze brings down
with it the freshness of the Alps. Leonora was enchanted with the place,
with Batiscombe's choice, with him, with everything.
"And to-morrow you will show me where you used to catch fish, and write
your articles on Italian politics?" said she, as they came in from a
short walk late in the evening.
That night Batiscombe dispatched a letter to Rome.
CERTOSA DI PESIO, CUNEO,
MARITIME ALPS, _August 31_.
The Marchese Carantoni will find Mr. Julius Batiscombe at the above
address, with a friend.
That was all, but it gave Julius infinite satisfaction to send it. He
had grudged the days that had passed before he could send Carantoni the
information. As for the "friend," he had seen two or three cavalry
officers about the place as soon as he arrived, and he knew that he
could rely on the assistance of some of them. Duels are easily arranged
in Italy.