MARK ACCEPTS A DISAGREEABLE DUTY.
Vincent had his misgivings, as he walked towards Campden Hill, that at
such a period of the London season his journey would most probably be
a fruitless one. But as he approached the house he found one or two
carriages waiting outside, the horses troubling the hot afternoon
stillness with the sharp clinking of harness as they tossed their
impatient heads; and by the time he had reached the gate the clatter
of china and the sustained chorus of female voices coming through the
open windows made it plain enough that Mabel was 'at home,' in a sense
that was only one degree less disappointing than what he had dreaded.
He was almost inclined to turn back or pass on, for he was feeling ill
and weak--the heat had brought on a slight tendency to the faintness
which still reminded him occasionally of his long prostration in
Ceylon, and he had a nervous disinclination just then to meet a host
of strangers. The desire to see Mabel again prevailed, however, and he
went in. The pretty double drawing-room was full of people, and as
everyone seemed to be talking at once, Vincent's name was merely an
unimportant contribution to the general hubbub. He saw no one he knew,
he was almost the only man there, and for a time found himself penned
up in a corner, reduced to wait patiently until Mabel should discover
him in the cool half-light which filtered through the lowered
sunblinds.
He followed her graceful figure with his eyes as often as it became
visible through the crowd. It was easy to see that she was happy--her
smile was as frank and gay as ever. The knowledge of this should have
consoled him, he had expected it to do so, and yet, to tell the truth,
it was not without its bitterness. Mabel had been his ideal of women,
his fair and peerless queen, and it pained him--as it has pained
unsuccessful lovers before--to think that she could contentedly accept
pinchbeck for gold. It was inconsistent on his part, since he had
sacrificed much for the very object of concealing from her the
baseness of Mark's metal. He forgot, too, the alchemy of love.
But one cannot be always consistent, and this inconsistency of
Vincent's was of that involuntary and mental kind which is not
translated into action.
She saw him at last and welcomed him with an eager impulsiveness--for
she knew now that she had been unjust to him at Laufingen. They talked
for some minutes, until Vincent said at last, 'I hear you are going to
play Beaumelle?'
'Oh, yes,' said Mabel. 'Isn't it presumption? But Mrs. Featherstone
(you've met her once or twice at our house, you know)--Mrs.
Featherstone would not hear of my refusing. Mark, I believe, thinks
the part hardly suited to me, but I mean to try and astonish him, even
though I may not carry out his own idea. I love Beaumelle in the book
so much that I ought not to be quite a failure in the play.'
'No, you will not fail,' said Vincent, and dared not say more on that
point. 'I--I should like very much to see this play,' he said, a
little awkwardly. 'Could it be managed?'
'I will try,' said Mabel. 'I am sure Mrs. Featherstone will give me a
card for you if she can. But I warn you, Vincent, it's not a good
play. There's one strong scene in the third act, and the rest is a
long succession of _tête-à-tête_--like a society "Punch and Judy." It
will bore you.'
'I think not,' said Vincent, 'and you won't forget, will you?'
'Of course not,' she replied. 'There is Mrs. Featherstone coming in
now. I will ask her at once.'
But Mrs. Featherstone had an air of suppressed flurry and annoyance
which was discouraging, and Gilda's handsome face was dark and a
little defiant, as she followed her mother into the room.
'Can you get away from all these people for two minutes?' said Mrs.
Featherstone, after the first greetings; 'I've something to tell you.'
Mabel took her through the rooms out upon a balcony overlooking the
garden and screened from the sun by a canvas awning. 'We shall be
quiet here,' she said.
Mrs. Featherstone did not speak for some moments. At last she said:
'Oh, my dear, I don't know how to tell you--I can't talk about it with
ordinary patience yet--only think, our foolish, self-willed Gilda told
us this morning that _that_ Mr. Caffyn had proposed to her and she had
accepted him--after all the offers she has refused--isn't it too
shocking to think of? And she won't listen to a word against him, the
silly child is perfectly infatuated!'
'What does Mr. Featherstone say?' asked Mabel, to whom the news was
scarcely a surprise.
'My dear, he knows very well it is all his fault, and that if he
hadn't taken the young man up in that ridiculous way all this would
never have happened--so, of course, he pretends not to see anything so
very unsuitable about the affair--but he doesn't like it, really. How
can he? Gilda might have married into the peerage--and now she is
going to do this! I'm almost afraid these theatricals have brought it
on.'
Mabel was sincerely sorry. She was fond of Gilda, and thought her far
too good for Harold. 'It may come to nothing after all,' she said, as
the only form of consolation she could think of.
'If I could hope so!' sighed the distressed mother, 'but she is so
headstrong. Still, he's not in a position to marry at present--unless
Robert is insane enough to advance him to one. Would you speak to her?
It would be so sweet of you if you only would!'
But Mabel felt obliged to decline so delicate a mission, and excused
herself. Then, as they re-entered the room she mentioned Holroyd's
petition. Mrs. Featherstone recollected him faintly, and was rather
flattered by his anxiety to see her play; but then he was quite a
nonentity, and she was determined to have as brilliant and
representative an audience as possible for the performance.
'My dear,' she said, 'I would if I could, but it's quite out of the
question; my list is overfull as it is, and I haven't an idea where we
shall put all the people who will come; there's so much talk about it
everywhere that we have had next to no refusals. But if he's only
anxious to see the play, and doesn't mind not being seen at it, he
could get some idea of the treatment next Friday if he cares to come
to the dress rehearsal. You know we arranged to run right through it
for the first time. We thought of a small impromptu dance after the
rehearsal, so if Mr. Holroyd would like to come a little earlier I
shall be charmed to see him.'
So Vincent was brought up to the lady, who repeated the invitation to
the rehearsal, which he accepted, as it practically gave him the
opportunity he had desired.
Meanwhile Gilda had drawn Mabel aside towards one of the windows.
'Well,' she said, 'so you have been told the great news?'
Mabel admitted this, and added something as nearly approaching to
congratulation as her conscience allowed.
'Ah,' said Gilda, 'you're on mamma's side.'
'I am on no side,' said Mabel, 'provided he makes you happy.'
'Which you think rather doubtful?' replied Gilda, with a jarring
little laugh. 'Really, Mabel, I do think you might resign him a little
more gracefully!'
'I'm afraid I don't understand you,' said Mabel, proudly.
'No?' said Gilda. 'You are very innocent, dear. I can't undertake to
explain--only I am not altogether blind.'
'I hope not,' said Mabel, and left her. She was afraid that if she
stayed she might be tempted to say what could do no possible good now.
Mrs. Featherstone had gone, with a gracious reminder to Vincent of his
promise to come to the rehearsal. It was late in the afternoon, and
everyone seemed suddenly alarmed at the idea of being the last to go,
the consequence being that the rooms were cleared in an astonishingly
short time. Mabel stopped Vincent as he too was preparing to take his
leave. 'You must stay till Mark comes back, Vincent. He has taken
Dolly to the Academy, really, I believe, to get away from all this.
You haven't seen Dolly since you came back, and she's staying with me
for a few days. You won't go away without seeing her?'
Vincent had been disappointed at not seeing her at the Langtons' the
day before, and waited willingly enough now. It would be some comfort
to know that the child had not forgotten him, and would be glad to see
him. He had not long to wait. A hansom drove up, and the next minute
Dolly came into the room with all her old impetuosity. 'I've come
back, Mab,' she announced, to prevent any mistake on that head. 'We
drove home all the way in a black cab with yellow wheels--didn't you
see it? Oh, and in the Academy there was a little girl with a dog just
like Frisk, and I saw a lot of people I knew, and----'
'Don't you see someone you used to know?' said Mabel, breaking in on
her stream of reminiscences.
'Have you forgotten me, Dolly?' said Vincent, coming forward out of
the shade. His voice was a little harsh from emotion.
The change in the child's face as she saw him was instantaneous and
striking; all the light died out of her face, she flushed vividly, and
then turned deadly pale.
'You knew Vincent wasn't dead really, Dolly?' said Mabel.
'Yes,' whispered Dolly, still shrinking from him, however.
'And is this all you have to say to me, Dolly?' said Vincent, who was
cut to the heart by this reception. Nothing was the same--not even the
love of this child.
Dolly had not been long in recovering from the effect of Caffyn's last
act of terrorism; for a day or two she had trembled, but later, when
she heard of Vincent as away in Italy, she could feel safe from his
anger, and so in time forgot. Now it all revived again; he had sprung
suddenly from nowhere--he was demanding what she had to say for
herself--what should she do?
She clung to Mabel for protection. 'Don't _you_ be cross too!' she
cried. 'Promise me you won't and I'll tell you all about it ... you
don't know.... Harold said you didn't. And I never meant to burn
Vincent's letter. Don't let him be angry!'
Vincent was naturally completely bewildered. 'What is she talking
about?' he asked helplessly.
'I can guess,' said Mabel. 'Come away with me, Dolly, and you shall
tell me all about it upstairs;' and as Dolly was not unwilling to
unburden herself this time, they left Vincent with Mark, who had just
joined them. Mark was uncomfortable and silent for some time when they
were alone, but at last he said: 'I suppose you have been told of
the--the theatricals? I--I couldn't very well help it, you know. I
hope you don't mind?'
'Mind!' said Vincent. 'Why should I mind? What is it to me--now? I
thought that was finally settled at Laufingen.'
'I felt I must explain it, that's all,' said Mark, 'and--and I've a
great deal to bear just now, Holroyd. Life isn't all roses with me, I
assure you. If you could remember that now and then, you might think
less hardly of me!'
'I will try,' Vincent had said, and was about to say more, when Mabel
returned alone. Her eyes were brilliant with anger. Children can
occasionally put the feats of the best constructed phonograph
completely in the shade; everything that Caffyn had told her about
that unfortunate burnt letter Dolly had just reproduced with absolute
fidelity.
'I know what happened to your letter now, Vincent,' Mabel said. 'Mark,
you never would see anything so very bad in the trick Harold played
Dolly about that wretched stamp--see if this doesn't alter your
opinion.' And she told them the whole story, as it has been already
described, except that the motives for so much chicanery were
necessarily dark to her. A little comparison of dates made it clear
beyond a doubt that an envelope with the Ceylon stamp had been burnt
just when Vincent's letter should in the ordinary course have arrived.
'And Dolly says he told her himself it _was_ your letter!' concluded
Mabel.
'Ah,' said Vincent, 'not that that proves it. But I think this time he
has spoken truth; only _why_ has he done all this? Why suppress my
letter and turn Dolly against me?'
'Malice and spite, I suppose,' said Mabel. 'He has some grudge against
you, probably; but go up now, Vincent, and comfort Dolly--you'll find
her in my little writing-room, quite broken-hearted at the idea that
you should be angry with her.'
Vincent went up at once, and was soon able to regain Dolly's complete
confidence. When he had gone, Mabel said to Mark: 'Harold has been
here very often lately, dear. I tried to think better of him when I
saw you wished it--but I can't go on after this, you see that
yourself, don't you?'
Mark was angry himself at what he had heard. Now he knew how Harold
had contrived to get rid of Dolly that afternoon in South Audley
Street, it made him hot and ashamed to think that he had profited by
such a device. He certainly had, from motives he did not care to
analyse himself, persuaded Mabel to tolerate Caffyn as a guest, but
lately even Mark could no longer pretend that his visits were not far
more frequent than welcome.
Something of the old uneasiness in Caffyn's presence had begun to
return, though Mark did not know why. At times before his marriage he
had had moments of panic or mistrust, but he always succeeded in
forgetting the incidents which had aroused them. If Caffyn suspected
anything about 'Illusion' he would have spoken long before, he told
himself. After the interview with Holroyd at Laufingen, he had ceased
to think about the matter--he was safe now. What harm could anyone's
mere suspicion do him? And yet, for all that, he was not sorry to free
himself from further intrusions of a visitor in whose glance he
sometimes surprised a subtle mockery, almost as if his friend had
actually detected his secret and was cynically enjoying the humour of
the thing. It was only imagination on his own part, but it was not a
pleasant fancy.
'He's an infernal scoundrel!' he said, with an indignation that was
only very slightly exaggerated. 'You are right, darling, you shall not
have to see any more of him.'
'But can't he be _punished_, Mark?' asked Mabel, and her eyes shone.
Mark coughed. If this affair were brought to light, some of its later
stages might not appear entirely to his own credit.
'I don't quite see what he could be punished for,' he said.
'Not for stealing a letter?' she asked. 'It was no less.'
'Rather difficult to bring home to him,' he said: 'couldn't be done
without a frightful amount of--of scandal and unpleasantness.'
'No,' said Mabel, thoughtfully, 'I suppose nothing can be done--and
yet, poor Gilda! Do you know she is actually engaged to him? It's
dreadful to think of that now. At least he shall never come here
again, and mother must be told too when I take Dolly back. You will
tell him, Mark, when you meet him that he must not call himself a
friend of ours any longer. You will make him understand that, won't
you?'
'Can't you tell him yourself at one of the rehearsals?' asked Mark.
'I would rather you told him, dear,' she said, 'and there are no
rehearsals till Friday.'
'Oh,' said Mark, 'very well, darling, I will--of course I will!'
He was already beginning to feel that the interview might not be
altogether agreeable.