AN UNDERSTANDING.
"Pappy dear," said Miss White to her father, in a playful way, although
it was a serious sort of playfulness, "I have a vague feeling that there
is a little too much electricity in the atmosphere of this place just at
present. I am afraid there may be an explosion; and you know my nerves
can't stand much of a shock. I should be glad to get away."
By this time she had quite made up that little difference with her
father--she did not choose to be left alone at a somewhat awkward
crisis. She had told him she was sure he had not meant what he said
about her; and she had expressed her sorrow for having provoked him; and
there an end. And if Mr. White had been driven by his anger to be for
the moment the ally of Macleod, he was not disinclined to take the other
side now and let Miss White have her own will. The vast amount of
training he had bestowed on her through many long years was not to be
thrown away after all.
"I told him last night," said she, "of my having signed an engagement
till Christmas next."
"Oh, indeed!" said her father, quickly; looking at her over his
spectacles.
"Yes," said she, thoughtfully, "and he was not so disturbed or angry as
I had expected. Not at all. He was very kind about it. But I don't
understand him."
"What do you not understand?"
"He has grown so strange of late--so sombre. Once, you know, he was the
lightest-hearted young man--enjoying every minute of his life, you
know--and really, pappy, I think--"
And here Miss White stopped.
"At all events," said she, quickly, "I want to be in a less dangerously
excited atmosphere, where I can sit down and consider matters calmly. It
was much better when he and I corresponded, then we could fairly learn
what each other thought. Now I am almost afraid of him--I mean, I am
afraid to ask him a question. I have to keep out of his way. And if it
comes to that, pappy, you know, I feel now as if I was called on to act
a part from morning till night, whereas I was always assured that if I
left the stage and married him it was to be my natural self, and I
should have no more need to pose and sham. However, that is an old
quarrel between you and me, pappy, and we will put it aside. What's more
to the purpose is this--it was half understood that when we left Castle
Dare he was to come with us through at least a part of the Highlands."
"There was a talk of it."
"Don't you think," said Miss White, with some little hesitation, and
with her eyes cast down--"don't you think that would be a little
inconvenient?"
"I should say that was for you to decide," he answered, somewhat coldly;
for it was too bad that she should be continually asking his advice and
then openly disregarding it.
"I should think it would be a little uncomfortable," she said, demurely.
"I fancy he has taken that engagement till Christmas a little more to
heart than he chooses to reveal--that is natural--I knew it would be a
disappointment; but then, you know, pappy, the temptation was very
great, and I had almost promised the Lemuels to do what I could for the
piece. And if I am to give up the stage, wouldn't it be fine to wind up
with a blaze of fireworks to astonish the public?"
"Are you so certain you will astonish the public?" her father said.
"I have the courage to try," she answered, readily. "And you are not
going to throw cold water on my endeavors, are you, pappy? Well, as I
was saying, it is perhaps natural for Sir Keith Macleod to feel a bit
annoyed; and I am afraid if he went travelling with us, we should be
continually skating on the edge of a quarrel. Besides, to tell you the
truth, pappy--with all his kindness and gentleness, there is sometimes
about him a sort of intensity that I scarcely like--it makes me afraid
of him. If it were on the stage, I should say it was a splendid piece of
acting--of the suppressed vehement kind, you know; but really--during a
holiday-time, when one naturally wishes to enjoy the fine weather and
gather strength for one's work--well, I do think he ought not to come
with us, pappy."
"Very well; you can hint as much without being rude."
"I was thinking," said she, "of the Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin who were in
that Newcastle company, and who went to Aberdeen. Do you remember them,
pappy?"
"The low comedian, you mean?"
"Yes. Well, at all events they would be glad to see us. And so--don't
you think?--we could let Macleod understand that we were going to see
some friends in the North? Then he would not think of coming with us."
"The representation would scarcely be justifiable," observed Mr. White,
with a profound air, "in ordinary circumstances. But, as you say, it
would be neither for his comfort nor for yours that he should go with
us."
"Comfort!" she exclaimed. "Much comfort I have had since I came here!
Comfort I call quiet, and being let alone. Another fortnight at this
place would give me brain fever--your life continually in danger either
on the sea or by the cliffs--your feelings supposed to be always up at
passion pitch--it is all a whirl of secret or declared emotions that
don't give you a moment's rest. Oh, pappy, won't it be nice to have a
day or two's quiet in our own home, with Carry and Marie? And you know
Mr. Lemuel will be in town all the summer and winter. The material for
_his_ work he finds within himself. He doesn't need to scamper off like
the rest of them to hunt out picturesque peasants and studies of
waterfalls--trotting about the country with a note-book in hand--"
"Gerty, Gerty," said her father, with a smile, "your notions are
unformed on that subject. What have I told you often?--that the artist
is only a reporter. Whether he uses the pencil, or the pen, or his own
face and voice, to express the highest thoughts and emotions of which he
is conscious, he is only a reporter--a penny-a-liner whose words are
written in fire. And you--don't you carry your note-book too?"
"I was not comparing myself with an artist like Mr. Lemuel, pappy. No,
no. Of course I have to keep my eyes open, and pick up things that may
be useful. His work is the work of intense spiritual contemplation--it
is inspiration--"
"No doubt," the father said; "the inspiration of Botticelli."
"Papa!"
Mr. White chuckled to himself. He was not given to joking: an epigram
was not in consonance with his high sententiousness. But instantly he
resumed his solemn deportment.
"A picture is as much a part of the world as a human face: why should I
not take my inspiration from a picture as well as from a human face?"
"You mean to say he is only a copyist--a plagiarist!" she said, with
some indignation.
"Not at all," said he. "All artists have their methods founded more or
less on the methods of those who have gone before them. You don't expect
an artist to discover for himself an entirely new principle of art, any
more than you expect him to paint in pigments of his own invention. Mr.
Lemuel has been a diligent student of Botticelli--that is all."
This strange talk amidst the awful loneliness and grandeur of
Glen-Sloich! They were idly walking along the rough road: far above them
rose the giant slopes of the mountains retreating into heavy masses of
cloud that were moved by the currents of the morning wind. It was a gray
day; and the fresh-water lake here was of a leaden hue, and the browns
and greens of the mountain-side were dark and intense. There was no sign
of human life or habitation; there was no bird singing; the deer was far
away in the unknown valleys above them, hidden by the mystic cloud
phantoms. There was an odor of sweet-gale in the air. The only sound was
the murmuring of the streams that were pouring down through these vast
solitudes to the sea.
And now they reached a spot from whence, on turning, they caught sight
of the broad plain of the Atlantic--all wind-swept and white. And the
sky was dark and low down, though at one place the clouds had parted,
and there was a glimmer of blue as narrow and keen as the edge of a
knife. But there were showers about; for Iona was invisible, and Staffa
was faintly gray through the passing rain; and Ulva was almost black as
the storm approached in its gloom. Botticelli! Those men now in that
small lugsailed boat--far away off the point of Gometra--a tiny dark
thing, apparently lost every second or so amidst the white Atlantic
surge, and wrestling hard with the driving wind and sea to reach the
thundering and foam-filled caverns of Staffa--they were not thinking
much of Botticelli. Keith Macleod was in that boat. The evening before
Miss White had expressed some light wish about some trifle or other, but
had laughingly said that she must wait till she got back to the region
of shops. Unknown to her, Macleod had set off to intercept the steamer:
and he would go on board and get hold of the steward; and would the
steward be so kind as to hunt about in Oban to see if that trifle could
not be found? Macleod would not intrust so important a message to any
one else: he would himself go out to meet the _Pioneer_.
"The sky is becoming very dark," Mr. White said; "we had better go back,
Gerty."
But before they had gone far the first heavy drops were beginning to
fall, and they were glad to run for refuge to some great gray boulders
which lay in the moist moorland at the foot of the mountain-slopes. In
the lee of these rocks they were in comparative safety; and they waited
patiently until the gale of wind and rain should pass over. And what
were these strange objects that appeared in the gray mists far along the
valley? She touched her father's arm--she did not speak; it was her
first sight of a herd of red-deer; and as the deer had doubtless been
startled by a shepherd or his dog, they were making across the glen at a
good speed. First came the hinds, running almost in Indian file, and
then, with a longer stride, came one or two stags, their antlered heads
high in the air, as though they were listening for sounds behind them
and sniffing the wind in front of them at the same time. But so far away
were they that they were only blurred objects passing through the
rain-mists; they passed across like swift ghosts; there was no sound
heard at all. And then the rain ceased, and the air grew warm around
them. They came out from the shadow of the rock--behold! a blaze of hot
sun on the moist moors, with a sudden odor of bracken, and young
heather, and sweet-gale all about them. And the sandy road quickly grew
dry again; and the heavens opened; and there was a flood of sunlight
falling on that rushing and breezy Atlantic. They walked back to Dare.
"Tuesday, then, shall we say, pappy?" she remarked, just before
entering.
"Very well."
"And we are going to see some friends in Aberdeen."
"Very well."
After this Miss White became a great deal more cheerful; and she was
very complaisant to them all at luncheon. And quite by accident she
asked Macleod, who had returned by this time, whether they talked Scotch
in Aberdeen.
"Because, you know," said she, "one should always be learning on one's
travels; and many a time I have heard people disputing about the
pronunciation of the Scotch; and one ought to be able to read Burns with
a proper accent. Now, you have no Scotch at all here; you don't say 'my
dawtie,' and 'ben the hoose,' and ''twixt the gloaming and the mirk.'"
"Oh no," said he, "we have none of the Scotch at all, except among those
who have been for a time to Glasgow or Greenock; and our own language,
the Gaelic, is unknown to strangers; and our way of speaking
English--that is only made a thing to laugh at. And yet I do not laugh
at all at the blunders of our poor people in a strange tongue. You may
laugh at us for our way of speaking English--the accent of it; but it is
not fair to laugh at the poor people when they will be making mistakes
among the verbs. Did you ever hear of the poor Highlander who was asked
how he had been employing himself, and, after a long time, he said, 'I
wass for two years a herring fish and I wass for four months or three
months a broke stone on the road?' Perhaps the Highlanders are not very
clever at picking up another language; but all the same that did not
prevent their going to all parts of the world and fighting the battles
of other people. And do you know that in Canada there are descendants of
the Highlanders who went there in the last century; and they are proud
of their name and their history; and they have swords that were used at
Falkirk and Culloden: but these Macnabs and Mackays, and Camerons, they
speak only French! But I think, if they have Highland blood in them,
and if they were to hear the '_Failte Phrionsa!_' played on the pipes,
they would recognize that language. And why were you asking about
Aberdeen?"
"That is not a Highland but a Scotch way of answering my question," said
she, smiling.
"Oh, I beg your pardon," said he, hastily; "but indeed I have never been
to Aberdeen, and I do not know what it is they speak there; but I should
say it was likely to be a mixture of Scotch and English, such as all the
big towns have. I do not think it is a Highland place, like Inverness."
"Now I will answer your question," said she. "I asked you because papa
and I propose to go there before returning to England." How quickly the
light fell from his face! "The fact is, we have some friends there."
There was silence. They all felt that it was for Macleod to speak; and
they may have been guessing as to what was passing in his mind. But to
their surprise he said, in almost a gay fashion,--
"Ah, well, you know they accuse us Highland folk of being rather too
importunate as hosts; but we will try not to harass you; and if you have
friends in Aberdeen, it would not be fair to beg of you to leave them
aside this time. But surely you are not thinking of going to Aberdeen
yet, when it is many a place you have yet to see about here? I was to
take you in the _Umpire_ to Skye; and we had many a talk about the
Lewis, too."
"Thank you very much," said she, demurely. "I am sure you have been most
kind to us; but--the fact is--I think we must leave on Tuesday."
"On Tuesday!" said he; but it was only for an instant that he winced.
Again he roused himself--for he was talking in the presence of his
mother and the cousin Janet--"You have not been quite fair to us," said
he cheerfully; "you have not given yourself time to make our
acquaintance. Are you determined to go away as you came--the Fionaghal?
But then, you know, Fionaghal came and stayed among us before she began
to write her songs about the Western Isles; and the next time you come
that must be for a longer time, and you will get to know us all better,
and we will not frighten you any more by taking you on the sea at night
or into the cathedral ruins. Ah!" said he, with a smile lighting up his
face--but it was a constrained gayety altogether. "Do I know now why you
are hurrying away so soon? You want to avoid that trip in the _Umpire_
to the island where I used to think I would like my grave to be--"
"Keith!" said Lady Macleod, with a frown. "How can you repeat that
nonsense! Miss White will think you are mad!"
"It was only an old fancy, mother," said he, gently. "And we were
thinking of going out to one of the Treshnish islands, anyway. Surely it
is a harmless thing that a man should choose out the place of his own
grave, so long as he does not want to be put into it too soon."
"It will be time for you to speak of such things thirty years hence,"
said Lady Macleod.
"Thirty years is a long time," said he; and then he added, lightly, "but
if we do not go out to the Treshnish islands, we must go somewhere else
before the Tuesday; and would you go round to Loch Sunart now? or shall
we drive you to-morrow to see Glen More and Loch Buy? And you must not
leave Mull without visiting our beautiful town--and capital--that is
Tobermory."
Every one was quite surprised and pleased to find Macleod taking the
sudden departure of his sweetheart in this fashion; it showed that he
had abundant confidence in the future. And if Miss White had her own
thoughts about the matter, it was at all events satisfactory to her that
outwardly Macleod and she were parting on good terms.
But that evening he happened to find her alone for a few moments; and
all the forced cheerfulness had left his eyes, and there was a dark look
there--of hopeless anxiety and pain.
"I do not wish to force you, Gerty--to persecute you," said he. "You are
our guest. But before you go away, cannot you give me one definite word
of promise and hope--only one word?"
"I am quite sure you don't want to persecute me, Keith," said she, "but
you should remember there is a long time of waiting before us, and there
will be plenty of opportunity for explaining and arranging everything
when we have leisure to write--"
"To write!" he exclaimed. "But I am coming to see you, Gerty! Do you
think I could go through another series of long months, with only those
letters, and letters, and letters to break one's heart over? I could not
do it again. Gerty. And when you have visited your friends in Aberdeen,
I am coming lo London."
"Why, Keith, there is the shooting!"
"I do not think I shall try the shooting this year--it is an anxiety--I
cannot have patience with it. I am coming to London, Gerty."
"Oh, very well, Keith," said she, with an affectation of cheerful
content; "then there is no use in our taking a solemn good-by just
now--is there? You know how I hate scenes. And we shall part very good
friends, shall we not? And when you come to London, we shall make up all
our little differences, and have everything on a clear understanding. Is
it a bargain? Here comes your cousin Janet--now show her that we are
good friends, Keith! And, for goodness' sake, don't say that you mean to
give up your shooting this year, or she will wonder what I have made of
you. Give up your shooting! Why, a woman would as soon give up her right
of being incomprehensible and whimsical and capricious--her right of
teasing people, as I very much fear I have been teasing you, Keith. But
it will be all set right when you come to London."
And from that moment to the moment of her departure Miss White seemed to
breathe more freely, and she took less care to avoid Keith Macleod in
her daily walks and ways. There was at last quite a good understanding
between them, as the people around imagined.