GWLADYS.
The week that followed Gwynne Ellis's induction to his new living had
been too full of business to allow him to call upon his near
neighbours, the most influential member of his congregation, Mrs.
Besborough Power of Carne Hall; but soon afterwards he began to look
around him and make acquaintance with his parishioners.
The Vicarage was large and his ideas of furnishing were limited, so
that after arranging and rearranging every room in the house he still
looked at them with a dissatisfied air.
"I don't know how it is, father; in spite of all this handsome
furniture you have given me, there seems something wanting, doesn't
there?"
"Don't see it," said the old man, "unless it is that wonderful piece of
furniture--a wife--you want."
"Perhaps, but that will have to wait," and as he drew his handkerchief
over the shining face of the sideboard he thought within himself,
"Where shall I find one? There are not two Valmai's in the world, and
I declare she has spoiled me for every other woman. By the by, I must
call on Mrs. Besborough Power, and see if I can't bring her visitor
into a better frame of mind."
The next day saw him entering the pleasant drawing-room at Carne Hall,
where Mrs. Power was as usual dozing in her arm-chair, with a piece of
wool-work in her hand, upon which she sometimes worked a few stitches
while she purred a little remark to Gwladys, who sat nearer the window,
making believe to work also. She had already remarked, "Auntie, this
is the new Vicar, I am sure," when the door opened and Gwynne Ellis
entered.
Having shaken hands with Mrs. Power, he turned to Gwladys with a smile
of greeting.
"Valmai!" he said, "I beg pardon--Mrs.--"
"No," said Gwladys, drawing herself up, "I am Gwladys Powell, Valmai's
sister--but do you know her?"
"Know her? well!" said Gwynne Ellis; "but I have never seen such an
extraordinary likeness."
"Yes," said Mrs. Power, "they are twins, and apart, it is almost
impossible to distinguish one from the other."
"Where is she?" he asked, "is she here?"
"No," answered Gwladys, "she has been here, but is now staying with
some friends of ours in Radnorshire."
"Ah! I see, I am sorry; I should like to have seen her, but I can
scarce say I miss her while you are present, for I certainly see no
difference between you."
Gwladys was more talkative than usual. She and Mrs. Power were
pleasantly impressed, and congratulated themselves upon having gained
an agreeable addition to their very limited social circle in the person
of their new Vicar.
"This is a charming neighbourhood. I saw by a little glint of
sunshine, as I came up the drive, that you have a pond or lake in that
firwood; and that is always tempting to an artist. Do you draw, Miss
Powell?"
"Yes," said Gwladys. "My efforts are very humble, but I have one
drawing of the lake." And she fetched it from a portfolio.
"Show him all your drawings, dear," said Mrs. Power; "or, better still,
would you like to see the lake, Mr Ellis?"
"If it would not tire Miss Powell to show it me--"
"Oh, no! I can take you by it to the west gate, it will shorten your
way home."
"But not yet, here is tea," said Mrs. Power; and they were soon
chatting over all the parish news.
At last Ellis rose to go, and Gwladys, putting on a broad-brimmed straw
hat, passed out before him through the window--Mrs. Power detaining
them with endless directions as to where to stop, where to turn to look
at the sun through the fir trees, where to look back for a view of the
house, etc., etc.
"This walk is lovely," said Ellis, as he watched the graceful movements
of his companion, who glided over the velvet carpet of moss with
noiseless footsteps, reminding him of a guardian spirit who walked
silently beside some hum-drum man of the world.
"I wonder Valmai never mentioned you to me," she said.
"Did she not?" he asked thoughtfully. "Did she never mention
Abersethin, Brynderyn, and the Berwen?"
"No, they are all strange names to me, except Abersethin; she lived
there after her return from Patagonia."
Ellis was lost in thought again. "I should like to have seen her; I
have something important to discuss with her."
"She is coming here the week after next, and then you can speak to her
about this interesting subject," said Gwladys.
And Ellis thought he saw a look of displeasure on the lovely face.
Certainly he had never seen that in Valmai; but then, on the contrary,
there was a high-souled nobility of purpose in his present companion's
looks which was absent in Valmai.
"I daresay when I have seen her she will tell you about all these
places."
"My sister shall do as she pleases," said Gwladys, a sweet smile
chasing away the momentary look of anger; "it will make no difference
in our love for each other--she is part of me, and the best part; I am
part of her, and the worst part."
When they reached the west gate, both were surprised to find that
half-an-hour had slipped away.
"I will bring my portfolio," said Ellis, as he took his leave, "and you
will help me to find the best view of the lake."
During the next fortnight, Mrs. Power received frequent calls from the
new Vicar; she was delighted with her neighbour, and did everything in
her power to make his visits as pleasant to him as they were to
herself. His paintings were a never-ending source of interest and
admiration to her, and when he proposed to make a sketch of the lake,
with its background of fir trees, and glint of blue sky, she was
charmed with the idea, and almost every day she and Gwladys accompanied
him down the "Velvet Walk" and settled him to his painting, and Gwladys
was sent on frequent journeys of inspection during the afternoon.
"Go and see how he is progressing, dear." And she would go and linger
over the picture with comments and praise; but it must be confessed
that the drawing progressed more rapidly during her absence than during
these visits of inspection.
One afternoon she came running down the "Velvet Walk" with an open
letter in her hand, and a distressed look in her eyes.
"Oh, Mr. Ellis! such a disappointment! Valmai is not coming this week.
She has been feeling unwell lately, and the doctor advises a thorough
change for her, so she and Mifanwy Meredith are thinking of going to
Switzerland. Hear what she says:--'Mifanwy is longing for the Swiss
lakes and mountains, and wishes me to accompany her. I suppose I may
as well do so; but I must first make a hurried journey down to
Abersethin, and to see you on my way back. I hear from Dr. Francis
that dear old Nance is very ill, and it will depend upon how I find her
whether I go to Switzerland or not."
"Now, isn't that vexing! You would feel for me if you knew what Valmai
is to me! I seem to love her with all the accumulation of love which
had missed its object for so many long years before we met."
Gwynne Ellis was looking seriously into the distance.
"I do feel for you, Miss Powell; but don't think me a brute if I say I
am not sorry she's gone--something good may come of it."
"I can't understand you," she said, seating herself on a log in front
of him. "You have never told me how you became acquainted with her.
Have you known her from childhood?"
"Oh, dear, no," said Ellis, laying aside his painting, and stretching
himself on the mossy bank. "I will tell you all about it; it is very
simple. Being rather out of health about two years ago, I went down to
Abersethin to stay at the Vicar's house, he being an old friend of my
father's. I found his son, Caradoc Wynne, a fine fellow--a splendid
specimen of a Welsh country gentleman--and he and I became great
friends during the three months that I spent there."
Gwladys's blue eyes opened in astonishment.
"Caradoc Wynne?" she said, in an anxious tone, which surprised her
companion.
"Yes. Generally known as Cardo Wynne at Abersethin. I found him over
head and ears in love with Valmai Powell--your sister, it seems, though
I had no idea she had a sister. His rhapsodies about her amused me at
first; but when I saw how deeply in earnest he was, I sympathised with
him, and took a great interest in the progress of their courtship. His
father and her uncle--one being the Vicar of the parish, and the other
a Methodist preacher--hated each other with a deadly hatred--but you
are looking pale," he said anxiously. "What is it? Am I saying
anything to disturb you?"
"Oh, yes! but go on. Tell me about this Cardo Wynne."
"Well, it's a sad story. They were married; I married them without the
knowledge of the two opinionated old men--I hope I sha'n't fall too low
in your estimation, Miss Powell."
"Oh! no, no! go on, please. Every word you say is like water to a
thirsty man. They were married?"
"Yes, safe enough; and straight from the church porch they separated,
for he was leaving for Australia that afternoon at his father's earnest
request, with the idea of making peace between him and a brother whom
he had offended many years ago. Well, I heard no more of Cardo for
nearly two years, when I received a letter from him from Australia,
telling me of the series of misfortunes which had detained him there so
long. First of all, a serious attack of typhoid fever, and a blow on
the head which occasioned concussion of the brain. He was carried
unconscious to a hospital, and remained there many months, utterly
oblivious of all around him, as no operation had been attempted on his
skull, nobody knowing of the blow he had received. One of the visiting
doctors at the hospital took him home with him as an 'interesting
case,' and then he discovered the indented bit of bone which was
pressing upon the brain, and causing first the unconsciousness, and
afterwards a complete lapse of memory. Poor old Cardo! the jolliest
fellow in the world. What must he have felt when memory returned after
a successful operation, and he realised that Valmai and his father were
utterly ignorant of his whereabouts."
"Oh, stop, stop," said Gwladys, "oh! what shall I do? Mr. Ellis, I
dread to hear the end, and yet I must; go on, please."
"Well, it's very sad. Poor old Cardo returned home at once, and
finding Valmai gone from Abersethin made his way up here. Did you see
him?"
Gwladys could scarcely gasp "Yes!"
"Then no doubt you know how she repulsed him, and taunted him with
wilful desertion of her--desertion, indeed! that honest Cardo, whose
very soul was bound up in her! Had I not heard it from his own lips, I
could never have believed that Valmai would have used the words 'base
and dishonourable' to Cardo Wynne. He is broken-hearted, and really,
if she perseveres in this unwarranted indignation, I think it will kill
him; and that is why I wanted to see her, for I still believe there
must be some mistake."
"Mistake! yes, yes, a horrible mistake. She never saw him at all. It
was I who spoke those cruel words to him!"
"Miss Powell! you! how can I believe such a thing?"
"Yes, yes, you must believe," she said, wringing her hands, "it is I
who have broken my sister's heart--the sister whom I would die to save
a moment's pain." And she rose to her feet, though her limbs trembled
with excitement. "It is my turn now to tell my story, and when I have
finished you will despise me, and you will have good reason."
"Never!" he said, "I can never feel anything towards you but--but--what
I must not dare to tell you."
A vivid blush swept over Gwladys's face; but the troubled look
returned, as Ellis, gently taking her hand, led her back to the log of
wood, and sitting beside her, said:
"Now, tell me everything."
"I must go a long way back," she said, "and begin with my own
uninteresting affairs. You know that Mrs. Power looks upon me as her
own daughter, and has expressed her intention of leaving me all her
money. Money! hateful money! the one thing I never cared about. I
should be happier far in a little cottage than I am here surrounded by
all these luxuries--it is true, Mr. Ellis, my tastes are simple."
"Certainly, you would grace a cottage or a palace alike," he said,
almost under his breath; "but we must all accept the position in which
we are placed, and do our best in that."
"Well," resumed Gwladys, "I have had three proposals of marriage, and
on each occasion my aunt pressed me to accept the offer. I refused to
do so, unless I were allowed time and opportunity to make the most
exhaustive inquiries as to my disinterested lover's antecedents. My
heart not being touched, I was able to do so dispassionately, and in
each case I discovered something dishonourable in their characters.
One I found was on the brink of pecuniary ruin, I therefore considered
I had a right to think he loved my fortune and not myself. The next,
though a man of honour and probity, I found had such an ungovernable
temper that his own sisters failed to live with him. The third was a
widower. He had broken his wife's heart by his cruelty, and since her
death his life had been one long scene of dissipation. Was it any
wonder that I rejected them all? and learnt to distrust and almost to
hate every man?
"When Valmai came here I soon found out enough of her story to prove to
me, as I thought, that she had been weak where I had been strong; that
she had given her heart, with all its precious love, to one of the same
type of manhood as it had been my ill-fortune to meet; and when, one
evening as I walked here by the lake, a young man followed me and
addressed me as Valmai, the only feeling that rushed into my mind and
possessed my whole being might be expressed in these words--'Here is
the murderer of my sister's happiness; at any risk I will keep him from
her. She is happy and calm now; he shall never again disturb her peace
of mind, if I can help it.'
"He was so completely under the illusion that I was Valmai that I had
no occasion to tell a lie, and I only spoke the truth when I told him
that I hated him, and that my greatest desire was never to see his face
again. He was wounded to the quick. I saw it, I realised it all, and,
oh, I felt for him, for there was something open and winsome about
him--something that tempted me to trust him; but I hardened my heart,
and I added him to my list of unworthy men. I left him here and went
into the house, feeling utterly miserable; but I comforted myself with
the thought that I had done Valmai good service. And now--oh, now!--I
am more miserable than ever; for I see what harm I have done. I meant
to do good, Mr. Ellis, believe me. I thought I was doing dear Valmai a
real kindness, and now what shall I do? I have ruined her hopes of
happiness, and I have lost your good opinion and friendship."
"Never!" said Ellis. "I see exactly how you felt, and can enter into
your feelings thoroughly; it only grieves me to think what a low
opinion you have formed of men in general."
"You see," said Gwladys, bending her head, "I have led such a retired
life, and have known so few men--none intimately, except those three."
"Let me dare, then, to hope that in time you will come to believe that
all men are not like the miserable specimens whom you have met. Will
you believe that _I_, at least, am only _sorry_ to hear you will be so
rich? I cannot expect you to believe me, but it is the truth."
"Yes, I believe you," she said.
"Then let us see what we can do to retrieve your mistake. Will you
take my word for it that Cardo Wynne is all that is honourable and
true?"
"Yes, oh, yes; I am sure he would not be your friend if he were not so."
"Then the path is easy and plain before us. You will write to Valmai,
and I will write to Cardo, and the cloud that has darkened their path
lately will be swept away, and your hand and mine will be permitted to
let in the light."
"I don't deserve such happiness," she said.
Ellis felt tempted to say, "Yes, your deep love for your sister made
you do this, and it richly deserves this fulfilment of its endeavours,"
but he did not, and the omission was noticed by Gwladys, but it did not
tell against him.
They sat some time in silent thought, Gwladys's little foot tossing up
the moss.
"I have not told auntie, but I should like to do so now."
"I think you are right," said Ellis, gathering his painting
paraphernalia together; "let us go and tell her at once."
There was something delightful even in the simple fact of "going
together" to tell Mrs. Power the story of Valmai's sorrow and Gwladys's
mistake, and when he left it was with the clear understanding that they
should not let a day pass without enlightening Cardo and Valmai.