Peggy's faith was justified, for though the way was long, and the
current often swept him aside, Rob struggled on gallantly until, after
what seemed an interminable period of suspense, his friends saw him
clamber into the boat as she lay on the sandbank. Then for some minutes
there was no movement, and though it was to be expected that he would
need a rest after his exertions, the faces on shore began to lengthen as
time passed by, and brought no sign of an advance.
"I don't know how he is going to move her now that he _is_ there! Rob
is strong enough, but one man is little use in a boat of that size. How
can he expect to row her back alone?"
"Against the tide, too! He would wear himself out, and make no
progress. I expect he recognises that by this time, and will not
attempt it. It would not help us much to see him carried away."
"He cannot be in a condition to do much pulling, poor fellow! He must
be pretty well played out. I'm afraid after all it has been a waste of
energy."
"Rob would not have gone if he had not had some plan in his head. He
always thinks before he acts. He would never have risked his life to
get to the boat if he had no means of moving her," said Peggy proudly;
and even as she spoke a simultaneous exclamation of delight went up from
the watchers, as the end of a sail flapped in the breeze. They were at
too great a distance to distinguish the mast, but all had noticed its
presence in the bottom of the boat as they rowed out to the island, and
now realised in a flash its value under the circumstances. Rob would
have no struggling with the oars, he would trust to the sail to carry
him back, and so experienced a yachtsman might be trusted to make the
most of the opportunity. Arthur tossed his cap into the air, and
shouted aloud in pure gladness of heart. Though he had tried to make
the best of the situation, he had been oppressed by dread, and each
moment, as it passed, had seemed to bring with it some fresh possibility
of disaster. The fishermen might not return from their regatta until
the following day; the flymen might not be able to organise a search;
the weather might change, and turn to rain or wind. The very thought of
the consequences of a night spent on the island made him grind his teeth
in despair, while Rob's hazardous expedition had appeared a veritable
last straw. But now, in a moment, everything was changed; what before
had seemed a hopeless, almost criminal attempt, had become practical
certainty, as, borne by the friendly sail, the boat drew nearer and
nearer to her goal. Rob's figure could now be plainly discerned, and
presently even his face was distinguishable as he waved back
acknowledgments of the cheers sent to him across the water. Half-a-
dozen eager hands were waiting to help with the boat as she ran ashore,
and there he stood, the water dripping from his clothes, his hair
ruffled into a veritable mop of dark brown curls, his face beaming with
pleasure and triumph.
"Got her at last!" he gasped. "Got her at last! Bundle in! Bundle in!
We'll catch our train yet. I'll give you a hand with the hampers." He
had no thought for his own drenched condition, but Arthur shook him
affectionately by the shoulders and cried:
"You'll do nothing of the kind! We have still ten minutes to spare
before we need start, and you'll just come apart with me and have a good
rub down! You have done your share of the work. Let the others look
after the hampers."
"And you shall have a cup of tea--a good hot cup the moment you are
ready for it!" cried Mrs Bryce, nodding her cheery head in his
direction. "You are a hero, Mr Darcy, and you shall write your name in
my autograph volume as a reward for valour. This is the first adventure
I've ever had, and I shall brag about it all the rest of my life."
"And so shall I!" affirmed Mellicent truthfully. "Only I wish I had
swum out myself. It's stupid having an adventure when you are not the
hero." But Peggy said only three short words: "Thank you, Rob!" and
pressed his fingers in an eager grip.
Ten minutes later they had left the island, and Rob was pulling at the
oars as vigorously as if he felt no fatigue from his previous exertions.
Truth to tell, he did not, for the mind has a more powerful influence
over the body than many of us suspect, and the last hour had revealed a
secret which made it seem impossible ever again to feel tired or
discouraged. Peggy loved him! The doubts of the past weeks had been
but ugly dreams, and he was awake once more, and in the sunshine.
Throughout the drive to the station and the railway journey home, he
kept intentionally apart, not trusting himself to speak to her in the
presence of strangers; but if he seemed neglectful, Arthur abundantly
made up for his absence by hanging lovingly round his little sister, and
waiting upon her with a persistency which seemed to betray some inner
remorse. At last, as they were left together for a few minutes at the
end of the corridor carriage, his discomfort forced itself into words,
and he said uneasily:
"I feel as if I had neglected you, Peg, and thought too little of you in
the midst of my excitement. If any one had told me that we should be in
danger, and that my first thought would not be of you, I should have
knocked him down for his pains, but--but you saw how it was, and you
can't be more astonished than I am myself! I never thought I was that
kind of fellow. Can you understand how a man could be so weak and
fickle as to believe himself in love with one woman, and then suddenly
discover--"
"I can understand that a man might believe that he had found his ideal
in one place, and discover that he had made a mistake, and that in
reality it was waiting for him somewhere else; and I call that open-
minded and enlightened--not in the least weak or fickle!" cried Peggy in
reply; whereat Arthur smiled at her with kindly eyes.
"You nice little dear!" he said. "How refreshing it is to hear one's
conduct described in the right terms! You are a prejudiced judge, I
fear, Peg, but I like your verdict. Don't leap to conclusions now in
your usual impetuous fashion, and believe that everything is settled,
because it isn't, and won't be for a long time to come. I will not pay
_her_ the poor compliment of seeming to regard her as a solace for the
old disappointment. I will wait and work, and try to make myself more
worthy of her, and then if she will allow me, I'll try to pay her back a
little for all she has done for me. There's a good time coming, Peg!
Yes, yes, I feel it! Some day I shall look back, and see that all the
disappointments I have had to bear have worked together to bring you to
the place where I should meet the greatest blessing of my life. So now,
Peggikins, I have made my confession, and I don't know that I should
have done it even to you, but that my conscience upbraided me for having
treated you shabbily to-day."
"But bless your innocent heart, I knew it long ago. So did Mrs Asplin,
so did mother. So did every one with a head on his shoulders. You
can't go about _staring_ at a person, and keeping your eyes _glued_ on a
person, and looking as if you could never take your eyes _off_ a person
without attracting _some_ attention among intelligent onlookers, my
love! Now, now at this very moment while you are talking to me you are
twisting your head over your shoulder and trying to see what--"
But at this Arthur fled precipitately to the other end of the carriage,
and Peggy laughed softly to herself, not without a sigh of relief at
having escaped any reproaches on her own account. Her eye followed the
dear, handsome fellow, and her heart swelled with thankfulness at the
thought that his troubles seemed indeed to be drawing to an end and a
brighter day dawning before him. There was little doubt what Eunice's
answer would be when the right time came, while Mr Rollo's enthusiastic
appreciation of Arthur seemed to promise that he also would be pleased
to welcome him into his family.
"And he will help Arthur on, as he can do so well, and he will become
famous and celebrated, as we always knew he would. I shall see him yet,
my own brother, with every one crowding around and doing him honour!"
she cried to herself in a little rapture of delight, for old dreams die
hard, and she had not yet outgrown the regret for the scarlet coat, the
plumed hat, the array of medals at the breast.
When the train stopped at the quiet station, a fly and two dog-carts
were in waiting to convey the travellers to their homes, but the
professor and Esther elected to walk, and then the unexpected happened,
for, as Peggy was preparing to drive with the rest, Rob's big figure
loomed suddenly beside her, and his voice said:
"We will walk, too, Peggy!" and Peggy turned without a word and walked
away by his side. Her little face looked very white in the moonlight,
and the meekness with which she had agreed to his command was so unusual
that Rob looked down at her with an anxious scrutiny.
"You sha'n't walk all the way," he said, "only just as far as the
vicarage, then you can take Mellicent's seat, but I wanted to have you
to myself for a few minutes first. I want to speak to you."
"And I to you. Oh, Rob, I have not thanked you half enough, and yet I
want to scold you too. When I asked you to help me, I never meant for a
moment that you should risk your own life--"
"I know that, Peg; but it was not so great a risk as you think, for I am
almost as much at home in the water as on land, and even if my strength
had given out, I could have floated ashore with the tide. It was well
worth risking, after what you told me."
"Ah, yes, you have saved Mrs Asplin a terrible experience. You may
have saved her life--and think how much that means to every one who
knows her! You couldn't have a better reward, Rob."
"I have pleased you, Peggy!" said Rob simply. He made no protestation,
but Peggy understood all that the words implied, and her heart beat fast
with happiness. They had taken the path across the fields, following
the lead of the lovers, whose figures could be seen ahead like two dark
shadows, flitting through the trees, and after these words of Rob's they
walked in silence until the first stile was reached. Rob was over in
one spring, for his long legs found no difficulty in leaping so low a
barrier, but Peggy made three steps of it, and in the last of the three
found her way blocked by a tall, black figure. Rob's hands clasped
hers, Rob's eyes looked into her face, and Rob's voice cried with a
tremor of nervousness in the deep tones:
"Is this _my_ Peggy? Does she belong to me?"
"Yes, Rob, always! She always did; but you--you didn't trust her,"
replied Peggy, with a firmness which ended in a sob. "You took for
granted--"
"Peggy, I didn't!" cried Rob earnestly. "Don't think so poorly of me.
I know to what you refer--that afternoon in the library--and now I can
explain all that has troubled you. I had a talk with Hector after you
left, and we discovered that we both wanted the same thing. He thought
he had the first claim, and that it was my duty to stand aside until he
had had his chance, and I agreed that he was right. Not because he was
the older! I would not have acknowledged such a plea in this matter,
but because he had so much more to offer you. Compared to myself he is
a rich man, and you would have been better off with him. I promised to
stand aside and put no obstacle in his way, and having given a promise I
tried to keep it unselfishly, and to show you that I cared for your
happiness before my own by remaining friendly and pleasant."
Peggy's grimace of disfavour was an eloquent comment. "I hated your
pleasantness!" she said tersely. "I hated your friendship! I wanted
you to be furious, and rage, and storm, and demand an explanation. You
made me very wretched with your `pleasantness,' I can tell you that!"
"Not half so wretched as I made myself. I wouldn't live through the
last month again for any inducement you could offer; but you are not
altogether free from blame yourself, for you have no idea what a little
poker of dignity you have been to me all the time. Only to-day, when
you asked my help, my own little Peggy came back, and then in the train
Hector gave me a hint of what had happened. Poor old fellow, it's rough
on him, but I can't pity him as I ought, for I am so outrageously happy!
Partners, Mariquita! We are going to be partners all our lives. It
seems too good to be true! I shall have to give up all thought of
journeys to unknown lands; but, thank goodness! work seems to open out
more and more at home, and we will be as happy as sandboys in a little
home near your parents, working together and helping one another as we
can do so well."
"We will! We will! You shall supply the facts, and I will write them
up. You do write such commonplace English, dear--not one bit
picturesque! Wait until I have worked up your articles for you; you
won't know them, they will be so altered!"
"I believe you there!" said Rob demurely; but Peggy was launched on the
stream of eloquence, and oblivious of sarcasm.
"Oh, oh! It will be lovely!" she cried. "We will have the dearest
little house, with a study for you, and a study for me, and a garden,
and a pony cart, and a conservatory, and immaculate servants who do
everything they should do, and never need looking after. And we will
trot about together, and work and play, and do everything just exactly
as we like, and have no one to order us about. Think of it! We shall
be master and mistress--no one can interfere--no one can find fault. If
I forget all about dinner some fine day, there won't be a soul who will
have the right to blame me, or fly into a temper."
"Oh, won't there just! Don't make any mistake about that!" cried Rob.
"If you forget your duties, you will have me to reckon with, and I am
not too amiable when I'm hungry. It will be my business to help you to
overcome your failings, just as it will be yours to help me with mine."
"You haven't got any," said Peggy quickly. "At least--I mean, yes, you
have--lots--but I like them. They will keep mine company. No,
seriously, Rob, I'll try to be good. I made up my mind to-day that if
you came back safe, I would try with all my strength to be a better
girl, and overcome my careless ways. And now I have more reason than
before to persevere. I'll begin at once, and try so hard that by the
time we are married I shall be quite a staid, responsible housewife."
"Humph!" said Rob in ungrateful fashion. "Don't try too hard. I don't
want my Peggy altered out of recognition. There are thousands of staid,
responsible housewives in existence, but Peggy Savilles are rare. I
prefer her of the two."
"And yet you want to be rid of her! Poor, dear, little thing! If you
get your way, she won't be in existence much longer. How can you make
up your mind to be so cruel?"
"I shall love Peggy Darcy better," said Rob firmly, and at that Peggy
gave a gulp and relapsed into silence. Peggy _Darcy_! The name brought
with it a dozen thrilling reflections. Rosalind's sister, Hector's
sister, daughter to Lady Darcy, and the dear, kind old lord, and, oh,
most wonderful of all, Rob's wife! His partner for ever, in the truest
sense of the word! The sound of that eloquent word had thrilled through
Rob also, and silenced the word on his lips. His clasp tightened on
Peggy's fingers, and they walked hand in hand through the fields
together, in a blissful trance of happiness which has no need for
speech.
When the vicarage gates were reached the carriage was already in sight;
but Peggy hung back, and Rob called a passing direction to the coachman
to stop on his way back after leaving Mellicent at the door. Neither he
nor Peggy felt inclined to encounter even the oldest of friends in the
first flush of their happiness, but they stood together watching the
scene which greeted the return of the travellers, and rejoicing in the
ease of mind which they had been instrumental in securing.
The door opened, and the light of the lamps streamed out into the
darkness. They saw the figure of the Vicar standing upon the threshold,
and that of his wife by his side: they saw Esther and Mellicent run up
the steps, and the mother's arms stretched wide to receive them; then
the door shut once more, and the light died out. The moonlight seemed
cold and wan after that bright ray, but not so cold as it had been
before, for some of the atmosphere of love and kindness for which that
home was famous seemed to have escaped through the open door, and warmed
the hearts of those who looked on.
"If we can make a home like that, Peg, we shall never be poor, however
little money we may have to spend. We shall have found the greatest
treasure the world can give," said Rob softly; and "Amen!" sighed Peggy
Saville beneath her breath.