The following morning, as Matilda accompanied Annys on an errand of
mercy, she noticed his haggard face.
"I have passed the night in prayer," was all he vouchsafed to her
anxious inquiries. He did not tell her what his prayer had been.
Indeed, now that the morning had come, and Matilda was by his side, the
long, sleepless night seemed as an evil dream.
They were on their way to an old man who was lying on the point of
death, kept alive only by his strong yearning to be shrived by Robert
Annys. Matilda had paid daily visits to the old man during the poor
priest's absence. As Annys looked down on the good, strong woman by his
side, he felt himself possessed by a new strength. He believed he would
be able to shake off the spell that had come over him. He must keep
near Matilda, he must not let her go from him. There was medicine in
her perfect companionship.
As they paused before a dilapidated house on the edge of the woods,
Rose came by.
"Ever going about comforting others," she hailed them in her light way;
"in truth, wings will yet grow on the pair of you."
Matilda laughed, but Annys kept his eyes gravely on the door which
stood ajar before him. A horrid, gasping sound came from within. Rose
shuddered. "Ugh!" she cried, "how canst thou, Matilda, poke about in
those filthy places? See, it is a perfect day. Come with me into the
woods and go nutting."
Then as Matilda shook her head, she added in a sanctimonious tone,
"Hast no pity for the poor nuts a-rotting on the cold hard ground?"
The words were addressed to Matilda, yet the man by her side read the
invitation in them, his senses all astir.
"Oh, Rose, Rose," expostulated Matilda, "thou dost love to make thyself
out far worse than thou art. Cease these gibes and enter with us; a
sight of thy pretty face will gladden the poor soul."
But a look of disgust passed over Rose's face. "Go in there? I? B'r'r!
Go near that horrid old man who fastens one rheumy eye on you while his
slobbery chin shakes like a huge jelly? B'r'r!"
Annys's face was tense and hard. He never turned his eyes from the
door, yet the golden brown of her dancing eyes quivered before him,
the scarlet of her full lips scorched into him. He was aware of every
inch of her disdainful, impish presence as she stood there watching him
from a corner of one eye. But without turning he bade Matilda follow
him, and the two were swallowed up in the dim interior of the hovel.
The girl outside shook with suppressed laughter, yet she bit her lip in
some impatience and puffed out her cheeks in an odd little grimace.
Within, the old man lavishly poured blessings upon them both; upon
Matilda for keeping her promise to bring the poor priest, upon him for
coming.
"Never would I have seen this day," he declared, "but for her. She did
come every day, cheering me and helping me wait."
Annys smiled tenderly on Matilda who stood blushing by his side. But
even as he smiled, he was conscious of a strange red glow dancing
before his eyes. Suddenly the old man sat up, and seizing Matilda's
hand in his bony fingers, placed it within the poor priest's hand.
"That is right," he whispered as he did so. "Bless you both--a pair of
saints!"
Annys started violently and snatched his hand away before he was
aware of it. He was maddened by that glow which was everywhere, on the
walls, on Matilda, on the straw where the old man lay, on the ghastly,
emaciated face. He tried to recover his composure and sought to take
Matilda's hand and press it, but she was visibly offended and withdrew
from the bedside.
The invalid's sudden spark of vitality died down, leaving him barely
conscious. Matilda left sadly, and Annys sank on his knees by the
pallet, praying for the departing soul. When, half an hour later, he
left the hut, it was to walk to the other end of the village where
another sufferer awaited him. He walked on, his head bowed. He tried
to fix his thoughts on the patient young girl whose last hours he was
about to soothe, but the face that hovered before him had none of the
pallor of death. Suddenly he was roused by a slight stirring before
him, and he looked up startled to find himself in the thick of the
woods, under a great chestnut tree, while before him was the bent form
of Rose, gathering the nuts into a little basket. So, then, his feet
had carried him there to her against his will! His face was even a
shade paler than its wont, and his hands were clenched fiercely, as he
turned about and walked rapidly in the opposite direction.
He had not been quick enough, however, to escape being seen, for as
he left, the girl straightened herself and gazed after him. For a few
seconds her shoulders shook with laughter, then suddenly her face
sobered, and she bit her lips in vexation.