A week later Arthur's picnic came off under circumstances of unusual
_eclat_. The extravagant fellow had arranged everything on so luxurious
a scale that Mellicent sat in a dream of happiness, building castles in
the air, in which she continually drove about in dog-carts, travelled in
reserved carriages, and ate luncheons provided by Buzzard. Her plump
face assumed quite a haughty aspect, as she mentally acknowledged the
salutations of the crowd, and issued orders to flunkies, gorgeous in
powder and knee-breeches. It was enough happiness just to sit and think
of it, and munch the delicious chocolates which Arthur dispensed among
his guests.
It was a pretty scene--that group of young people in the Pullman
carriage, the girls in their white dresses, the tall, handsome men, the
cheery little chaperon in the centre. The professor and Esther sat by a
window whispering earnestly together, for having been separated for a
weary length of ten whole days, they had naturally large arrears of talk
to make up. Arthur pointed out the various objects of interest to
Eunice, as the train whizzed past, and Peggy sat glued to the side of
Mrs Bryce, determined not to be monopolised by Hector thus early in the
day. Rob had come with his brother, but she felt little satisfaction in
his presence, knowing that he had tried to refuse the invitation, and
had only yielded on Arthur's assertion that he was needed for help, not
ornament, and must come whether he liked it or not, to lend a hand with
the oars. He looked pre-occupied and solemn, but was absolutely
friendly in his manner, rejoicing in the fineness of the weather, and
congratulating Peggy on the success of her dressmaking experiment, of
which he had heard from his brother. To explain that Hector's report
was entirely prejudiced, seemed but a tacit acknowledgment of his
infatuation, and Peggy blushed in sheer anger at the perversity of Fate,
the while she gave the true version of the affair, and dilated on her
own sufferings.
"It will be a lesson to me for life not to interfere with the business
of others, and take the bread out of the mouths of professionals by
amateur interference," she concluded grandiloquently, and Rob smiled in
his grave, kindly fashion. It seemed to Peggy that there was an added
kindliness in his smile of late, and several times during the morning
she looked up suddenly, to discover his eyes fixed upon her with a
scrutiny at once so tender, so anxious, and so searching, that she was
obliged to turn aside to conceal her tears.
When the train arrived at its destination, a couple of carriages
conveyed the travellers on the next stage of their journey, and with
their arrival at the little fishing village came the first hitch in the
programme. Arthur had written in advance to ask that two of the best
boats should be reserved for his party, and that a fisherman should be
in readiness to go in each, so that his friends need not exert
themselves more than they felt inclined. It is one thing, however, to
despatch an order to the depths of the country, and quite another to
find it fulfilled. As a matter of fact, the letter was even now lying
unopened in the village post-office, and Arthur was confronted with the
intelligence that men and boats had departed _en masse_ to attend a
regatta which was taking place some miles along the coast. Only a few
of the oldest and most unwieldy boats had been left behind, and neither
man nor boy could be found to row them. Here was a fine predicament! A
snapshot taken of the party at this moment would have been an eloquent
study in disappointment, and each one looked expectantly at Arthur,
waiting for him to find a solution of the difficulty.
"Here is a fine pickle! I'm furious with myself, and yet I don't see
what more I could have done. There are two alternatives before us, so
far as I can see--either we must get into one of these old tubs and row
ourselves across, or give up the island altogether, and spend the day
where we are."
At this there was a groan of dismay, for, truth to tell, the village was
of an uninteresting character, and the sands felt like an oven in the
shadeless noon. To spend the day here would indeed be waste of time,
while only a few miles off lay the island of their dreams--that
wonderful island, with the blue waves splashing its shores, the kindly
trees shading its crest.
"The island! the island!" cried the girls in chorus, while the men
looked at each other, braced themselves up, and said:
"We can do it. Why not? It will be a stiff pull, but the day is our
own. We can take our time, and rest when we are tired. Let us go at
once and choose a boat."
It was Dobson's choice, however, or very nearly so, for the only boats
left were tubs indeed, in which a score of passengers could have been
accommodated as easily as eight. Large as they were, however, there was
one member of the party who seemed diffident about their sea-going
quality, and, wonderful to relate, that person was Peggy herself.
"Is it safe?" she kept asking. "Is it safe? Are you quite sure it is
safe?"--and her companions stared in amazement at this sudden access of
nervousness.
"Why, Peggy, you are surely not turning coward in your old age!" Arthur
cried laughingly, as he dragged at the unwieldy bulk. "If you are
afraid of this old bark, I don't know when you would feel safe. It is
like going to sea in a pantechnicon!"
"And after a voyage to India, too! How funny! I am not a bit afraid,
and I have never been out of England in my life. Are you afraid of
being drowned?" chimed in Mellicent, with an air of superiority which
goaded Peggy past endurance.
"I was not thinking of myself. It is possible sometimes to be nervous
for another," she blurted out, and the next moment wished her tongue had
been bitten off before she had uttered such a rash remark; for what
could Rob think, or his companions either, but that the person for whom
she was anxious was present among them? They had not heard Mrs
Asplin's words of entreaty, or seen the strained expression on her face
as she murmured, "Remember, dear! Oh, be sure to remember!"
She turned and walked along the shore by herself, clasping her hands in
a passion of longing and pity.
"I gave her my promise, and I'll keep it, whatever they think. It will
be my fault if anything goes wrong. I know, and they don't!"
It was one o'clock before the island was reached, for the row out took a
long time, despite the fact that the amateur oarsmen were all fairly
proficient at their work. Even the professor pulled with a will, while
to see haughty Hector in his shirt sleeves, with his hair matted on his
forehead, was indeed a novel experience. Arthur was stroke, and
Mellicent sat in front and coached him in his duty, to the amusement of
the company and his own unspeakable delight, and Eunice dabbled her hand
in the water, and sent little showers of spray tossing up into the air.
Every now and then, when Arthur made a reply to Eunice more professedly
deferential than usual, her eyes met his, and they smiled at each
other--that smile of happy, mutual understanding which had grown common
between them in the last few months. Peggy intercepted one of the
glances, and felt at once rejoiced and sorrowful; rejoiced because it
was good to see Arthur started on the way she would have him go,
sorrowful because she realised, as many another had done before her,
that his gain must also be her loss, and that just in proportion as
Eunice became necessary to him her own importance must decrease.
When all was said and done, however, it was impossible to indulge in low
spirits in the hours that followed. Oh, the delights of that island,
the dear, shingly beach with its little pools full of a hundred briny
treasures, the long trails of seaweeds, which were credited with the
gift of foretelling weather as well as any barometer; the tiny crabs
that burrowed among the stones; the sea anemones, the jelly-fish, so
innocent to regard, so deadly to encounter. They were all there, with
tiny little pink-lined shells, and pebbles of marvellous transparency
which must surely, surely, be worth taking to a lapidary to examine!
What cries of delight followed the landing, what hasty summoning of the
whole party to witness some fresh discovery; what trippings on slippery
stones, and splashing of fresh white dresses! Then, too, the long-
checked pangs of hunger asserted themselves, and would no longer be
restrained, and the men were hardly allowed time to fasten the boat, go
imperiously were they hurried on shore with the precious freight of
hampers.
Lunch was spread beneath the tree, and was no sooner finished than
Mellicent inquired, "When's tea?" a request which the hearers felt bound
to deride, though in reality it found an echo in every heart.
Astonishing as it may appear, a picnic lunch invariably seems to create
a longing for the cup which cheers, and on this occasion the sea air had
a sleepifying influence which increased that desire.
"I re-ally think we had better have it soon. I can hardly keep from y-
awning all the time!" cried Mrs Bryce, suiting the action to the word,
and such was the result of infection that two pairs of hands went up to
as many mouths even as she spoke.
"Very well, then, say four o'clock. Can't possibly have it before
then," said Arthur, struggling vainly to keep his jaws together. "Oh,
this will never do. Come down to the rocks, all of you, and get a good
blow to freshen you up. I never saw such a company of sleepers!"
Eunice and Mellicent followed obediently enough, while the lovers seated
themselves in a quiet corner, and Rob lay down on the sand beside one of
the little pools, to watch the movements of the crawling insects. His
trained glance was quick to understand the purport of what would have
seemed aimless fittings to and fro to an ordinary observer, and soon out
came notebook and pencil, and he was hard at work chronicling a dozen
interesting discoveries. Peggy lingered behind to offer her help to
Mrs Bryce, but that good lady, being secretly anxious to indulge in
forty winks, seconded Hector Darcy's protest in so emphatic a manner
that she had no loophole for delay. She strolled with him down to the
shore, following Arthur and his companions, but not so closely that
there was not a distance of several yards between the two big stones
which had been selected as resting-places. So far as privacy of
conversation was concerned, the yards might have been miles, for the
waves dashed up with a continual murmur, and the breeze seemed to carry
the sound of the voices far out to sea. Peggy clasped her hands on her
knee, and gazed before her with dreamy eyes. Her little face looked
very sweet and thoughtful, and Hector Darcy watched her beneath the brim
of his hat, and built his own castle in the air, a castle which had
grown dearer and more desirable ever since his return to England. The
opportunity for which he had been waiting had come at last, and surely
it was an omen for good that it had come by the side of that sea which
had witnessed their meeting; which, if all went well, would witness
their start together on the new life!
"I shall be going back to India soon, Peggy," he said softly. "The time
is drawing near;" and Peggy looked in his face, and realised that what
she had dreaded was at hand, and could not be avoided. She heard her
own voice murmur words of conventional regret, but Hector took no notice
except to look still deeper into her eyes.
"Am I to go alone, Peggy?" he asked gently. "I have been an independent
fellow all my life, and thought I needed no one but myself, but that is
all altered since I met you! I should get along badly now without you
to help me, and share my lot!"
"Oh, Hector, no! Don't say so. It's all a mistake. How could I help
you? I have been a hindrance, not a help. It was owing to my
carelessness that you hurt yourself, and it was only your generosity
which made light of it. Father says it is a serious thing for a soldier
to sprain his ankle, for it is never so strong again, and may fail him
at a critical moment. I know quite well how much harm I have done you."
"Do you, Peggy? I don't agree with you there; but if it is so, is not
that all the more reason why you should do me a good turn now? I don't
mind your blaming yourself, dear, if it makes you the more inclined to
be generous. I have loved you ever since we met, and it would be
impossible to part from you now. I need you, Peggy; come to me! Be my
wife, and give me the happiness of having you always beside me."
He spoke with a whole-hearted earnestness which brought the tears into
Peggy's eyes, but she shook her head none the less firmly.
"I can't! I can't! It would be doing you a worse injury than the
first. I should be no help to you, Hector, for I don't care for you in
the way you mean, and I could never marry a man unless I loved him with
all my heart. It is all a mistake--indeed it is. You only imagine that
you care for me because you have seen a great deal of me lately, and I
seem part of home and the old life. When you have gone back to India,
you will forget all about me, or be glad that I did not take you at your
word."
Hector pressed his lips together and gave a strained attempt at a smile.
"I am not a boy, Peggy. I know what I want, but you--you are so young,
how can you be sure of yourself yet? I am not going to take `No' for an
answer. I will wait--ask for an extension of leave--come home for you
later on. You shall have time, plenty of time, but I will not let you
decide at once. You don't know your own mind!"
"Oh, Hector!" Even at that critical moment a gleam of fun twinkled in
Peggy's eyes. "Oh, Hector, how can you? No one has ever accused me
before of not knowing my own mind. I know it only too well, and I will
not let you wait on, to gain nothing but a second disappointment. I
should not change, and listen, Hector--it would be a bad thing if I did!
I like you very much--far, far better than I ever believed I could do
when we first met, for you seemed so different then, so haughty and
self-satisfied, that if you had not been Rob's brother I should have
disliked you outright. I see now that I judged you too quickly, but
there is still so much difference between us that we should never be
happy together. You are a man of the world, and like to live in the
world, and conform to its ways, and at heart I am nothing but a
Bohemian. I have no respect for the rules and regulations of Society,
and the only feeling they arouse in me is a desperate desire to break
through them and shock Mrs Grundy. I am erratic, and careless, and
forgetful. I am ashamed of it, and honestly mean to improve, but, oh,
poor Hector, how you would suffer if you had to put up with me during
the process! You ought to marry a clever woman who would keep your
house as you would like it kept, and help you on by her gracious ways,
not a madcap girl who has not learned to manage herself, much less other
people. Dear Hector, I thank you with all my heart for thinking so
kindly of me and paying me such an honour, but, indeed, indeed, it
cannot be."
She laid her hand on his as she spoke with a pretty, winsome gesture,
and Hector just touched it with his own, and then let it drop. His
expression had altered completely while she was speaking, and he had
lost his air of assurance. Those few words which had dropped out so
unconsciously had convinced him of the hopelessness of his cause more
entirely than any argument. "If you had not been Rob's brother." She
would have disliked him if he had not been Rob's brother. She could not
dislike one who was Rob's brother! Innocent Peggy little suspected the
eloquence of that confession, but Hector understood, and read in it the
downfall of his hopes. He sat gazing out to sea, while she looked at
him with anxious eyes, and for a long time neither spoke a word.
Then--"I could have loved you very dearly, Peggy," he said softly, "very
dearly!" The strong chin trembled, and Peggy's heart yearned pitifully
over him, but she noticed with relief that he spoke in problematical
fashion, as if the love were more a possibility of the future than a
present fact. Men of Hector Darcy's type set an exaggerated value on
anything which belongs to themselves, the while they unconsciously
depreciate what is denied them. Peggy understood that the very fact of
her refusal of himself had lessened her attractions in his sight, and
the knowledge brought with it nothing but purest satisfaction.
It was a relief to both when the summons to tea relieved them from their
painful _tete-a-tete_, but if they flattered themselves that their
disturbed looks escaped the notice of their friends, they were quite
mistaken. Each member of the party, even to Mellicent herself, was
aware that some development of the situation had taken place since
lunch, and pondered anxiously as to what it could be. At the one moment
it seemed that they must surely be engaged; at the next it was as
evident that they were not; and Mellicent composed imaginary interviews
the while she demolished cakes and biscuits, in which she heard Peggy's
voice murmuring alternate vows of love and friendship.
"He has proposed to her, I'm certain of it!" she told herself, "and oh,
how I wish I had been there! I'd simply love to have heard him do it.
I'm glad women don't have to ask men to marry them, it must be so
embarrassing to be refused! Now, if Hector Darcy had proposed to me, I
should have said `Yes' out of sheer fright, but Peggy would refuse a
prince to-morrow, if she got the chance. I wonder what she said to him!
In books the girl always says, `I cannot give you my love, but I will
always be your friend.' I should be so cross, if she said that to me,
that I should want to shake her. How could you be friends with a person
who had made you so miserable? ... Now she is smiling at him as
pleasantly as ever ... They _must_ be engaged! I'll be bridesmaid
again, and get a nice present! I wonder what Rob--"
But at this interesting moment Arthur broke in upon her surmises by
calling attention to the current which was sweeping round the island.
"Just look at that water rushing past!" he cried. "We didn't notice
anything like that when we rowed across. It was slack tide then, I
suppose, and now it is rising. It is running strong! I say, what about
that boat? We had better look after her at once."
Rob leapt to his feet before the words were well spoken, and ran
hurriedly forward. His companions watched him go, saw him cross the
plot of grass, come out from beneath the shadow of the trees, and stand
for a moment silhouetted against the sky; then he stopped short, and
threw up his hands with a gesture of dismay. It was indeed a sight to
fill the onlooker with dismay, for the tide had reached the spot where
the boat was moored, and was drifting her rapidly towards the shore!