A STRANGE REQUEST
As a weather prophet Masters proved more reliable than those who fill a
like mission on the daily papers.
It rained heavily all the afternoon. His landlady when she brought in
his tea remarked that it was pouring cats and dogs--the latter,
presumably, of the Skye terrier breed.
A temporary clearance of the weather came about in the evening. Masters
was glad; he went to Ivy Cottage. The bungalow-like building was
curiously situate in its own square piece of grass land, fronting the
sea. The back of the house looked on to the road leading to the railway
station a little distance away. Admission to the cottage was gained by
doors at back and front of it.
The house agent entrusted with the letting of the place had described it
as possessed of advantages not to be passed over lightly. There was
one--an unsurpassed convenience in the matter of not missing a
train--that certainly was undeniable and evident.
So close was the back of the house to the railway that from the windows
an approaching train could be seen in time enough to allow of easy
walking to catch it. Masters walked up the gravel path to the front
door. Touched the push of the bell.... A trim maid-servant responded. He
enquired:
"Miss Mivvins--is she within?"
The girl started. Hesitated as she looked at him
closely--doubtfully--for a moment. Then opened a side door in the hall,
requesting him to enter and be seated.
It was a charmingly arranged room to which he was thus introduced.
Evidenced woman in every insignificant little detail; her gentle touch
was visible in all things. He thought of the touch of one woman in
particular.
Miss Mivvins' spirit seemed to have impressed itself in every fold of
the curtains; in all the quiet harmony of colouring; in the inexpensive
simplicity of the whole--as distinct from cheapness.
Expensive simplicity often stamps the quality of a room; it was not to
be seen here. There was nothing cheap about the furnishing; nothing
meretricious; nothing to catch the eye. Nothing of the enamel paint and
varnish description; all in that apartment was plainly and simply what
it represented itself to be; its keynote: truth.
Masters was astonished. Because he had no idea that such signs of
refinement existed in Wivernsea. But then he knew its lodging houses
only--where the great god is Aspinall and an uneasy chair the only
attempt at comfort.
He sat some moments waiting. Whilst doing so, he thought again of the
curious way in which the maid had looked at him. Perhaps Miss Mivvins
was in a less comfortable place than he had thought. He had judged by
the freedom she enjoyed, that no possible harm could result from his
visit to her. Was he wrong?
Perhaps that accounted for her hesitation, when he had suggested calling
with the books. What a fool he had been, not to think of that! Perhaps
she would get into trouble by reason of his visit to her employer's
house.
The more he thought of this the more uncomfortable he became. As a
result of his deliberations, determined that he would make his stay a
short and formal one. There could surely be no harm accrue to her from
that.
The rustle of a woman's dress warned him of her approach. Presently she
entered. The moment his eyes rested on her he was amazed: she was
dressed so perfectly. No scrap of colour; no scintillation of a jewel.
He had a mere man's eye for woman's dress--sensible of the tout
ensemble, not of detail--but he did not despise it. It seemed fitting to
him that graceful women should be gracefully attired.
All harmony was grateful to his soul; it did not seem unnatural for Miss
Mivvins to be gowned in accordance with her beauty. Still he experienced
astonishment, grave astonishment, when she entered.
For the life of him he could not have defined the impression which took
hold of him. But he knew that her gown was of some soft, rich, silken,
costly texture. Resultant upon that was the belief that her place must
be an easier one than he had begun to think it.
The extension of her hand to him. Once more with it in his own, he felt
thrilled. That feeling and his previous resolve to hurry away did not
blend well. The thrill remained; the resolve faded.
He produced the books he had promised to bring with him. On the fly-leaf
of each he had written her name; beneath it had appended his signature.
So many people bothered him for autograph copies of his books, that it
was a pardonable vanity if he had begun to think there was something
around his signature which enhanced the value of his works. So he had
penned the words, _With kindest regards, from the Author_, between her
name and his own.
At sight of what he had written she laughed. At first, gently; a
gentleness which passed into real hearty mirth. Then, catching sight of
his face, the laugh died away ashamedly! Had she whipped him he could
not have looked more hurt. His hyper-sensitive nature was suffering.
That laughter acted on Masters as if the ceiling had opened and a shower
of cold water had fallen--his face showed it. To be the subject of mirth
was a novelty to him. He was glad that that was so. Felt that it was not
a pleasant sensation to experience. That a very little of it went an
extremely long way.
She flushed with annoyance at her own rudeness; with shame for having
wounded the feelings of her visitor. He had not the faintest idea why
she laughed, of course; want of knowledge so often leads to
misunderstanding. She said hurriedly:
"I hope you do not--oh, how can I explain what I was laughing at? Mr.
Masters, don't, pray don't--I beg of you--think I was rude--intended to
be rude--or that I was laughing at anything even remotely connected with
these books, which, believe me, I shall always value, always prize."
That earnest humble little speech of hers did not sponge away the look
from his face. In her eagerness to acquit herself she placed her hand on
his arm--it was for the second time that day. It was a habit of hers
when moved. Was quite an innocent gesture; but there was--in his
estimation, anyway--a distinct piquancy about its naturalness.
"Oh--Mr. Masters!"
She got as far as that. Then stood at a loss for words. She had spoken
in such dead earnest tones that it would have been absurd to think her
lying. Finding her tongue again, she continued:
"Pray, pray believe me! I was stupid, I know, but don't be so hard as to
think me capable of insulting you. Don't! Please, don't!"
His forgiveness was hers that moment. The wonder remained what she could
have laughed at--but all else was forgotten. She had looked into his
eyes--a pretty woman's trick, mostly always successful. When performed
with such eyes as Miss Mivvins' failure was absolutely impossible.
"I don't think you rude. Don't think you insulting. I could not think
any ill thing of you if I tried."
She had badly wanted to hear just some such thing. But there was that in
the tone in which he spoke it that made her flush again. She drew in her
breath; drew back a little.
"I am so glad!"
Miss Mivvins spoke impetuously--nervously. She to be nervous! And that,
too, in speaking to such a boyish, ingenuous individual as was Masters!
It was quite too absurd! She continued:
"I--I should not like you to think badly of me."
She was obviously ill at ease--the obviousness was the worst part of it.
She knew that herself; knew quite well. It was because he believed in
her! Because he trusted her so implicitly; had an almost childlike faith
in her.
With all the other men she had known, on whom she had exerted the power
of her fascination, her woman's ways and wiles had seemed fair and
fitting. They were but part of the game, and understood by both sides of
it. The men had been men of the world--her world--armed and armoured
against her coquetry and charm.
Flirtation in those instances had been carried to the point of a fine
art--it was part of the life she lived. But it had been flirtation, pure
and simple. Though it was amusing enough while it lasted, it had been
fencing with blunt points.
No one had any wounds--not a scratch. Experience had taught them all to
play the game skilfully. No one had been deceived into taking things
seriously. No soul was a scrap the worse.
But Masters was of another world than hers. Superficiality seemed
unknown to him; he put his heart into what he said and did. Playing with
life was evidently a thing unknown to him; he was in earnest; always
would be; that was his temperament. Honest himself, he believed her to
be likewise.
What a character! Of course it appealed to her--she would not have been
a woman if it had not. He would face her woman's weapons--even her most
innocent little deceptions--unsuspecting; unarmed. To shower on him the
full force of her artillery would be grossly unfair.
She was constrained to throw off the conventional. To don the mantle of
guilelessness--such as he wore himself. He made it impossible for her to
act otherwise. But the experience was quite a new one to her; it was the
novelty that made her nervous. To be trusted--implicitly--was
delightfully disconcerting.
Her manner filled Masters with wonder. The key to the mysterious
nervousness was not in his possession. Again there flitted across his
mind the idea that it arose from his visit to her employer's house.
His resolution to stay but a little time occurred to him. It would be
best to go. Yet he abhorred the idea of so speedy a parting; if only he
could----He paused. Thought a moment. Risked it; said tentatively:
"The rain has ceased. It is damp below but bright above."
A pause. His reference to the weather seemed out of place. She did not
know the difficulty he was experiencing in screwing his courage to the
sticking place. He continued:
"I am walking to the end of the parade and back."
Having voiced as much, his conversational powers failed him. He somehow
hoped that she would suggest joining him in his walk. That his ignorance
of women was of vast magnitude was evidenced by the nature of that hope.
He was very transparent--so much so that there was no difficulty in
guessing his thoughts. She smiled. Ingenuousness was scarcely the word
for him! He should have known the impossibility of her offering to
accompany him, however much she might desire to do so. As she did not
speak he went even further, saying, with nervous awkwardness:
"It is a warm evening--will you walk with me?"
The smile left her face and her eyes opened wide. She was startled at
the suddenness of his request. Still more at the nature of it. Then
remembered the nature of the man. Felt too that there was owing to him
something for that unkind laugh of hers. Then there was the trend of her
own feelings! After a moment she tossed discretion to the winds; said:
"I shall be glad to--if you wish it!"
The words spoken, she was amazed at their utterance. Her ready
acquiescence pleased him. It voiced that honesty he thought so precious
in her, which was so sadly lacking in other women. He suspected that
another member of her sex would have raised scruples, merely that he
might flatter himself that he had overcome them.
The absence of such coquetry in Miss Mivvins was refreshing--refreshing
as the rays of the sun after electric light. So he likened her womanhood
to other women's. He little knew what a whited sepulchre she felt
herself to be. His admiration of what she did not possess positively
hurt her.
Leaving the room for outdoor covering, she presently returned with a
long warm cloak and her hat. Had got them from the hall; came back with
them over her arm. Having agreed to accompany him, she lost no time.
He assisted her to put on the cloak: an expensive, fur-lined wrap. He
could not but notice that as, with trembling fingers--a nervousness born
of his touch of her--he helped to button the garment down the front.
Microbes multiply in darkness; sunlight kills them. Her natural manner,
open as day, crushed the germ of suspicion. They left the house and
walked along the parade: in the direction of the seat at the end of it.