"Florence," repeated Royal Ainsley, his face white as death, his teeth
chattering, "order the servants not to answer the bell!"
But it was too late; the door had already swung back on its hinges. An
instant later the servant appeared with a card.
"A gentleman, miss," he said. "I told him you were not at home, as you
requested."
Florence St. John held the card in her white fingers.
"You see, it was not a lady," she said, half amused at his agitation.
He drew a breath of intense relief.
"Pardon me, Florence," he said. "I--I--thought it was one of your girl
friends who was about to share your attention with me. I gave way to my
annoyance. Be kind, and forget it. Remember the old adage: 'One finds
much to pardon in a man who is in love.'"
His explanation of the matter satisfied her. Very young girls are
never suspicious. The remembrance of that one evening always stood
out bright and clear in Florence St. John's life. She gave herself
up to happiness, and when Royal urged her to name an early day, she
laughingly consented.
"All the ladies in our family have been married in April," she declared.
"That is almost four months from now, my darling," he groaned. "Do not
ask me to wait so long. So much might take place within that time!"
He was about to add "to part us," but stopped himself just in time.
"A lady has to have a _trousseau_ prepared," she said, archly. "And
when you put yourself in the hands of these _modistes_, you are at
their mercy; they will not be hurried. Mamma, I am sure, would not
consent to an earlier marriage than that. I hope that I may persuade
her to do so."
"You will allow me to persuade her differently, if I can?" he asked,
eagerly.
"Yes, if you can," she answered.
"I will try to settle it before I leave the house this very night,"
he declared. "Ah, here comes your mother now! If you will make some
kind of an excuse to absent yourself from the room, my darling, for a
few moments, I will urge my suit so eloquently that she will find it
difficult to say 'no' to me."
Mrs. St. John greeted the young man pleasantly as she entered. She was
too thoroughly a woman of the world to greet him effusively, knowing,
had she done so, it would be sure to make him too confident of success.
Royal Ainsley laid himself out to please the mother as he had never
attempted to please an elderly woman before.
"You asked me to play over a new piece of music for you when you
came. If you will please excuse me for a moment, I will get it," said
Florence, glancing up shyly at him with laughing eyes, as much as to
say, "I am going to give you a chance for the longed-for interview with
mamma"--a look which Royal Ainsley answered with a nod. Florence had
scarcely reached the upper landing ere Royal Ainsley left his seat, and
walked eagerly over to Mrs. St. John's side.
"My dear lady," he began, dropping into a seat opposite her, "I want
to tell you a little story and hear your opinion about it."
Mrs. St. John was wise enough to know what was coming, but she did not
betray more than the usual interest.
"It is the story of a young man who wished to possess a treasure which
belonged to another. He yearned for it with all his soul.
"My dear lady, not to beat further round the bush, let me say I am the
young man who wishes to possess the treasure which you hold as sacred.
That treasure is your beautiful daughter Florence, my dear lady. I love
her with all my heart. I want your consent to make her my wife."
"Dear, dear me!" exclaimed Mrs. St. John, apparently greatly
frustrated. "I hope you have not spoken a word of this to the dear
child."
"Yes, I have, and we have both determined to abide by your decision, as
to how long we shall have to wait, though we both hope you will set as
early a day as possible."
"Remember that my Florence is only a school-girl yet," declared the
mother. "I could not think of parting from her yet."
"Dear, dear lady!" cried Royal Ainsley, "do not doom me to such pitiful
suspense, I beg of you! There are some men who could wait with much
patience, but I am not one of them. I should have to go away and travel
incessantly."
This was exactly what Mrs. St. John did not wish to happen. The gilded
youth before her was too good a catch in the matrimonial market to lose.
Every mother is always glad to have her daughter make a good match. She
was no exception to the rule.
And when she read in the paper, a few months later, of that uncle's
death, and that he had left his vast wealth to his nephew, Royal
Ainsley, she was determined that no effort should be spared to make him
fall in love with her daughter.
He grew eloquent in his pleading. Ere ten minutes more had elapsed, he
had drawn from Mrs. St. John's lips the promise that the wedding should
take place in four months' time at the very latest.
He made up his mind to accept this decision for the present, but he
would certainly depend upon his own eloquence and persuasive powers in
the near future to overcome her scruples and influence her to name an
earlier day.
He left the house that night buoyant of spirits and gay of heart. It
was strange that in that hour he thought of Ida May.