Before morning Falconer became delirious. He did not rave nor shout, but
he talked incessantly, with his eyes wide open and fixed vacantly, and
his long hand plucking at the bedclothes. Nell stole in from her room,
though she had promised to rest and leave the night duty to the village
nurse, and, sitting beside him, held his hand.
At the touch of her cool fingers he became quiet for a moment or two,
and something like a smile crossed his pain-lined face; but presently he
began again. Sometimes he was back at the Buildings, and he hummed a bar
or two of music while his fingers played on the counterpane as if it
were a piano. Once or twice he murmured her name in a tone which brought
the color to Nell's face and made her heart ache. But it did not need
the whisper of her name to tell her Falconer's secret. She knew that he
loved her, for he had told her so at the moment when Drake had seen them
walking together in the garden.
And as she sat and held his hand, she tried to force her mind from
dwelling on Drake, and to remember the devotion of the stricken man
beside her.
Though he had confessed his love, he had asked for nothing in return. He
had said that he knew that his passion was hopeless, but that he could
not help loving her, that he must continue to do so while life lasted.
"I will never speak of it again," he had said. "You need not be afraid.
I don't know why I told you now; it slipped out before I knew----No,
don't be afraid. All I ask is that you should still look upon me as a
friend, that you will still let me be near you as often as is possible.
It is too much to ask? If so, I will go away--somewhere, and cease to
trouble you with the sight of me!"
And Nell, with tears in her eyes--as Drake had seen--had given him her
hand in silence, for a moment or two, and then, almost inaudibly, had
answered:
"I am sorry--sorry! Oh, why did you tell me? No, no; forgive me! But you
must not go. I--I could not afford to lose your--friendship!"
"That you shall not do!" he had said, very quietly, and with a brave
smile. "Please remember that I said I knew there was no hope for me. How
could there be? How could it be possible for you--you!--to care for me?
But a weed may dare to love the sun, Miss Lorton, though it is only a
weed and not a stately flower. I ought not to have told you; but that
little success of mine, and the prospect it has opened out, must have
turned my head. But you have forgiven me, have you not? and you will try
and forget that I was mad enough to show you my heart?"
He had not waited for her to respond, but had left her at once, and, so
that she should not think him quite heartbroken, had hummed an air as he
went.
And now that he lay here 'twixt life and death, Nell's heart ached for
him, and she longed, with a longing beyond all words, that she could
have returned the love he bore her.
But alas, alas! she had no love to give. Drake had stolen it long ago,
there at Shorne Mills; and though he had flung it from him, it could not
come back to her.
Even as she sat, with Falconer's hand in hers, she could not keep her
mind from dwelling on Drake, though the failure of her attempt to do so
covered her with shame. She had been in his arms again, had heard his
voice, and the glamour of his presence and his touch were upon her.
His face hovered before her in the dim light of the sick room, and
filled her with the aching longing of unsatisfied love.
Oh, why could she not forget him? Why could she not bring herself to
accept, to return, the love of the man who loved her with all his heart
and soul? He was all that was good, he was a genius, and a brave man to
boot! Surely any woman might be proud to possess him for a husband,
might learn to love him!
She turned and looked at him as he lay, his head tossing restlessly on
the pillow, his lips moving deliriously; but though her whole being was
stirred with pity for him, pity is not love, though it may be nearly
akin, and one cannot force love as one forces a hothouse plant.
After a while he became weaker, and the rambling, incoherent talk
ceased; but she was still holding his hand when Dick and the doctor came
in again. She sought the latter's face eagerly, but he merely smiled
encouragingly.
"He has had a better night than I expected," he said, "and the
temperature is not exceedingly high. You had better get some rest, Miss
Lorton; you have been sitting up, I see."
Dick drew Nell out of the room.
"Drake--confound it! Lord Angleford, I mean!--has sent for Sir William.
Is--is he going to die, do you think. Nell?"
Nell shook her head, her eyes filling.
"I don't know; I hope not. You--you have seen Dra--Lord Angleford,
Dick?"
"Just now. He came to inquire. Nell, I can't understand it, though he
has tried to explain why he hid his real name; and--and--Nell--he didn't
tell me why you and he broke it off."
She flushed for a moment.
"There was no need," she said. "It does not matter."
Dick sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
"No, I suppose it doesn't; but it's a mysterious affair. I hear he is
going to marry that fair woman, Lady Luce."
Nell inclined her head, her lips set tightly.
"It's a pity we can't get away from here," he said gloomily. "It's jolly
awkward. Though Drake was more than friendly with me last night and just
now. He's awfully changed."
They were standing by the window of the sitting room, and Nell was
looking out with eyes that saw nothing.
"Changed?"
"Yes; he looks years older, and he's stern and grave as if----Well, he
doesn't look the same man, and it strikes me that he's anything but
happy, though he is the Earl of Angleford, and going to marry one of the
most beautiful woman in England."
Nell stood with compressed lips and eyes fixed on vacancy.
"He got a nasty blow last night," said Dick, after a pause.
Her manner changed in a moment, and her eyes flew round to him.
"He was hurt?" she said, with a catch in her breath.
Dick nodded.
"Yes; that ruffian struck him with the revolver or something. And I
say, Nell, I haven't heard your share in this affair yet. Drake told me
that the fellow struck you."
"Did he?" she said indifferently. "I--I don't remember. Was Lord
Angleford badly hurt? Tell me."
"Oh, no; I think not; not badly," replied Dick. "There's a bruise on his
temple; but what's that to the damage poor Falconer suffered? Drake says
that it was the pluckiest thing he's seen. Oh, Lord! what a sickening
business it is! Thank goodness, they've got the fellow. It will be a
lifer for him, that's one consolation."
Nell shuddered.
"And they've got the jewels back, that's another," said Dick, more
cheerily. "Though I'd rather the fellow had got off with them than poor
Falconer should have been hurt. What beastly bad luck, just after he'd
struck oil and got a start! Drake says that Falconer will be a
celebrity, if he lives; and you may depend Drake will do his best to
make his words good. There'll be a 'Falconer boom,' mark my words. I
never saw any one so concerned about a man as Drake is about him. He was
here outside talking with the doctor before it was light. The whole of
the remainder of the big house is to be placed at our disposal. In
short, if it had been Drake himself who was stabbed, there couldn't be
more concern shown. Here's the breakfast, and for the first time in my
life, I don't want it. Why the deuce can't the swells look after their
blessed diamonds?"
Nell gave him his coffee, and then stole up to her own room and flung
herself on the bed.
Drake was hurt. It might have been Drake instead of Falconer lying
between life and death. Her heart throbbed with thankfulness; but the
next moment she hid her face in her hands for very shame. She tried to
sleep, but she could not, and it was almost a relief when the servant
knocked and said that two ladies from the Hall were downstairs.
"But I was not to disturb you if you was asleep, miss," she added, with
naivete.
Nell bathed her face and smoothed her hair quickly, and went down; and,
as she entered the sitting room, was taken into Lady Wolfer's embrace.
"My dear, dear Nell!" she cried, in the subdued tones due to the sick
room above. "Why, it's like a fairy story! Why didn't I or some of us
know you were here, till last night? You remember Lady Angleford, dear?"
The countess came forward and held out her hand with her friendly and
gentle smile.
"Come to the light and let me look at you," Lady Wolfer went on, drawing
Nell to the window; "though it's scarcely fair, after all you have gone
through. Nell, who would have thought that we were entertaining a
heroine unawares? We knew you were an angel, of course; but a heroine--a
heroine of romance! You dear, brave girl!"
Nell colored painfully.
"The whole place, the whole county, by this time, to say nothing of
London and every other place where a telegraph wire runs, is full of
it."
"Oh, I am sorry!" said poor Nell, aghast.
Lady Angleford smiled.
"It is the penalty one pays for heroism, Miss Lorton," she said; "and
you must forgive me for being grateful to you for saving Lord
Angleford's life."
"Oh, but I didn't--indeed I didn't!" exclaimed Nell, in distress.
"Oh, but indeed you did!" retorted Lady Wolfer. "Lord Angleford says so,
and he ought to know. He says that but for you the wretch would have
shot him--he was quite close."
Nell's face was white again now, and the countess came to her aid.
"We are forgetting one of the objects of our visit," she said. "You know
how anxious we are about Mr. Falconer, Miss Lorton. I hope he is in no
danger, my dear?"
She took Nell's hand as she spoke, and pressed it, and Nell colored
again under the sympathy in the countess' eyes.
"When I heard that he had been injured, I wished with all my heart that
the man had got clear off with the miserable diamonds--I was going to
say 'my' miserable diamonds, but they are only mine for a time. But I am
sure Lord Angleford joins me in that wish. All the diamonds in the world
are not worth rescuing at such a price as Mr. Falconer--and you--have
paid. I hope you can tell us he is better. We are all terribly anxious
about him."
Now, even in the stress and strain of the moment, Nell noticed a certain
significance in the countess' tone, a personal sympathy with herself,
conveyed plainly by the "and you," and it puzzled her. But she put the
faint wonder aside.
"I don't know," she said simply. "He is very ill--he was badly stabbed.
He has been delirious most of the night----"
"My poor Nell!" murmured Lady Wolfer, pressing her hand.
"I hope the nurse you have in to help you is a good one," said the
countess, as if she took it for granted that Nell was also nursing him.
"If not, we will send to London for one; indeed, Sir William may bring
one with him. I don't know what Lord Angleford telegraphed."
"I wish we could do something for you, Nell," whispered Lady Wolfer.
"Only last night, before the burglary, we were arranging that we would
come down here and carry you--by main force, if necessary--up to the
Hall. And now----But, dear, you must not lose heart! He may not be badly
hurt; and the surgeons do such wonderful things now. Perhaps, when Sir
William comes, he may tell you that there is no danger whatever, and
that you will have him well again before very long."
Her eyes dwelt on Nell's with tender pity and womanly sympathy; and
Nell, still puzzled, could only remain silent. As if she could not say
enough, Lady Wolfer drew her to the window, and continued, in a lower
voice:
"I meant to congratulate you, Nell, and I do. I--we all admired him so
much the other night, little guessing the truth; and now that he has
proved himself as brave as he is clever, one can understand your losing
your heart to him. All the same, dear, I think he is a very--very lucky
man."
The red stained Nell's face, and then left it pale again. She opened her
lips to deny that she and Falconer were engaged, but at that moment a
dogcart drove through the gate and stopped at the lodge.
"Here is Drake!" said the countess. "He has been to Angleford to see the
police."
Nell drew away from the window quickly, and the countess went out as
Drake got down from the cart.
"How is he?" Nell heard him ask. Though she had moved from the window,
she could see him. He looked haggard and tired, and she saw the bruise
on his temple. Her heart beat fast, and she turned away and leaned her
arm on the mantelshelf. "And--and Miss Lorton?" he inquired, after the
countess had replied to his first question.
She lowered her voice.
"She looks very ill, but she is bearing up wonderfully. It is a terrible
strain for her, poor girl."
Drake nodded gloomily.
"Tell her that Sir William will be down by the midday train. And tell
her not to give up hope. I saw the wound, and----"
"Hush! She may hear," whispered the countess.
He glanced toward the window, and the color rose to his face.
"Is she there?" he asked.
"Yes. Would you like to see her?"
He hesitated for a moment, his eyes fixed on the ground; then he said,
rather stiffly:
"No; she might think it an intrusion"--the countess stared at him. "No;
I won't trouble her. But please tell her that everything shall be done
for--him."
The countess accompanied him to the gate.
"You have been to the police?"
He nodded almost indifferently.
"Yes; the man is well known. We were flattered by the attentions of a
celebrated cracksman. I've seen the detective in charge of the case, and
given him all the particulars. He says that the men were assisted by
some one inside the house--one of the servants, he suggests."
The countess looked startled.
"Surely not, Drake! Who could it be?"
He shrugged his shoulders with the same indifference.
"Can't tell. It doesn't matter. I've sent the things to the bank, and
the other people will look after their jewels pretty closely after this.
I wouldn't worry myself, countess."
"But you are worrying, Drake!" she said shrewdly, as she looked at his
haggard face. "About this poor Mr. Falconer, of course!"
He started slightly, but he was too honest to assent.
"Partly; but there is no need for you to follow my example. I'll go on
now."
He got up and drove off, but slowly, and he put the horse to a walk as
he neared the house.
He had not seen Luce that morning, for he had been out, inquiring at the
lodge at six, and had gone straight on to Anglebridge, where he had
breakfasted.
In his heart he had been glad of the excuse for his absence, for the few
hours of reprieve. But he would have to see her now, would have to ask
her to be his wife--while his heart ached with love for Nell!
As he drove up to the door, one of the Angleford carriages came round
from the stables. He glanced at it absently, and entered the hall
slowly, draggingly, and was amazed to find Lord Turfleigh, in overcoat
and hat, standing beside a pile of luggage.
"By George! just in time, Drake!" he exclaimed, his thick voice
quavering with suppressed excitement, his hands shaking as he tugged at
his gloves. "Just had bad news--deuced bad news!"
But though he described the intelligence as bad, there was a note of
satisfaction in his voice.
"I'm sorry. What is it?" asked Drake.
"Buckleigh--Buckleigh and his boy gone down in that infernal yacht of
his!" said Lord Turfleigh hoarsely.
He turned aside as he spoke to take a brandy and soda which the footman
had brought.
The Marquis of Buckleigh was Lord Turfleigh's elder brother, and, if the
news were true, Lord Turfleigh was now the marquis, and a rich man.
Drake understand the note of satisfaction in the whisky-shaken voice.
"Just time to catch the train!" said the new marquis. "Where the devil
is Luce? I always said Buckleigh would drown himself----Where is Luce?
She thinks I'll go without her; but I won't!" He swore.
At that moment Lady Luce came down the stairs. She was coming down
slowly, reluctantly, her fair face set sullenly; but at sight of Drake
her expression changed, and she ran down to him. There might yet be time
for the one word.
"Drake!" she cried, in a low voice, "I am going----You have heard?"
"Yes, yes," her father broke in testily. "I've told him. Get in. It will
be a near thing as it is. Come on, I tell you!" and he shambled down the
steps to the carriage.
She held Drake's hand and looked into his eyes appealingly.
"You see! I must go!" she murmured.
He nodded gravely.
"But you will come back?" he said, as gravely. "Come back as soon as you
can."
Her face lit up, and she breathed softly. She was now the daughter of a
rich man, but she wanted Drake, none the less.
"The Fates are against me, Drake," she whispered; "but I will come
back."
"Where the devil is that confounded maid of yours, Luce?" Turfleigh
called to her.
Burden came down the stairs. Her veil was drawn over the upper part of
her face, but the lower part was white to the lips.
"I'm half inclined to leave her behind," said Lady Luce irritably. "Pray
be quick, Burden!"
Burden got up on the box seat without a word.
Drake put Lady Luce in, held her hand for a moment, then the carriage
started, and he was standing alone, staring after it half stupidly.
He was still free!