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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Reason Why, by Elinor Glyn
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Reason Why
+
+Author: Elinor Glyn
+
+Release Date: May 26, 2004 [EBook #12450]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE REASON WHY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Suzanne Shell, Shawn Cruze and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: "Not by a glance or a turn of the head did he let his
+bride see how wildly her superlative attraction had kindled the fire in
+his blood."]
+
+
+
+THE REASON WHY
+
+
+BY ELINOR GLYN
+
+1911
+
+Author of "His Hour," "Three Weeks," etc.
+
+
+ILLUSTRATED BY EDMUND FREDERICK
+
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+"Not by a glance or a turn of his head did he let his bride see how
+wildly her superlative attraction had kindled the fire in his blood"
+
+"The whole expression of her face changed as he came and leaned upon the
+piano"
+
+"With his English self-control and horror of a scene, he followed his
+wife to the door"
+
+"'Zara!' he said distractedly ...'Can I not help you?'"
+
+
+
+
+
+THE REASON WHY
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+People often wondered what nation the great financier, Francis Markrute,
+originally sprang from. He was now a naturalized Englishman and he
+looked English enough. He was slight and fair, and had an immaculately
+groomed appearance generally--which even the best of valets cannot
+always produce. He wore his clothes with that quiet, unconscious air
+which is particularly English. He had no perceptible accent--only a
+deliberate way of speaking. But Markrute!--such a name might have come
+from anywhere. No one knew anything about him, except that he was
+fabulously rich and had descended upon London some ten years previously
+from Paris, or Berlin, or Vienna, and had immediately become a power in
+the city, and within a year or so, had grown to be omnipotent in certain
+circles.
+
+He had a wonderfully appointed house in Park Lane, one of those smaller
+ones just at the turn out of Grosvenor Street, and there he entertained
+in a reserved fashion.
+
+It had been remarked by people who had time to think--rare cases in
+these days--that he had never made a disadvantageous friend, from his
+very first arrival. If he had to use undesirables for business purposes
+he used them only for that, in a crisp, hard way, and never went to
+their houses. Every acquaintance even was selected with care for a
+definite end. One of his favorite phrases was that "it is only the fool
+who coins for himself limitations."
+
+At this time, as he sat smoking a fine cigar in his library which looked
+out on the park, he was perhaps forty-six years old or thereabouts, and
+but for his eyes--wise as serpents'--he might have been ten years
+younger.
+
+Opposite to him facing the light a young man lounged in a great leather
+chair. The visitors in Francis Markrute's library nearly always faced
+the light, while he himself had his back to it.
+
+There was no doubt about this visitor's nation! He was flamboyantly
+English. If you had wished to send a prize specimen of the race to a
+World's Fair you could not have selected anything finer. He was perhaps
+more Norman than Saxon, for his hair was dark though his eyes were blue,
+and the marks of breeding in the creature showed as plainly as in a
+Derby winner. Francis Markrute always smoked his cigars to the end, if
+he were at leisure and the weed happened to be a good one, but Lord
+Tancred (Tristram Lorrimer Guiscard Guiscard, 24th Baron Tancred, of
+Wrayth in the County of Suffolk) flung his into the grate after a few
+whiffs, and he laughed with a slightly whimsical bitterness as he went
+on with the conversation.
+
+"Yes, Francis, my friend, the game here is played out; I am thirty, and
+there is nothing interesting left for me to do but emigrate to Canada,
+for a while at least, and take up a ranch."
+
+"Wrayth mortgaged heavily, I suppose?" said Mr. Markrute, quietly.
+
+"Pretty well, and the Northern property, too. When my mother's jointure
+is paid there is not a great deal left this year, it seems. I don't mind
+much; I had a pretty fair time before these beastly Radicals made things
+so difficult."
+
+The financier nodded, and the young man went on: "My forbears got rid of
+what they could; there was not much ready money to come into and one had
+to live!"
+
+Francis Markrute smoked for a minute thoughtfully.
+
+"Naturally," he said at last. "Only the question is--for how long? I
+understand a plunge, if you settle its duration; it is the drifting and
+trusting to chance, and a gradual sinking which seem to me a poor game.
+Did you ever read de Musset's 'Rolla'?"
+
+"The fellow who had arrived at his last night, and to whom the little
+girl was so kind? Yes: well?"
+
+"You reminded me of Jacques Rolla, that is all."
+
+"Oh, come! It is not as bad as that!" Lord Tancred exclaimed--and he
+laughed. "I can collect a few thousands still, even here, and I can go
+to Canada. I believe there is any quantity of money to be made there
+with a little capital, and it is a nice, open-air life. I just looked in
+this afternoon on my way back from Scotland to tell you I should be
+going out to prospect, about the end of November and could not join you
+for the pheasants on the 20th, as you were good enough to ask me to do."
+
+The financier half closed his eyes. When he did this there was always
+something of importance working in his brain.
+
+"You have not any glaring vices, Tancred," he said. "You are no gambler
+either on the turf or at cards. You are not over addicted to expensive
+ladies. You are cultivated, for a sportsman, and you have made one or
+two decent speeches in the House of Lords. You are, in fact, rather a
+fine specimen of your class. It seems a pity you should have to shut
+down and go to the Colonies."
+
+"Oh, I don't know! And I have not altogether got to shut down," the
+young man said, "only the show is growing rather rotten over here. We
+have let the rabble--the most unfit and ignorant--have the casting vote,
+and the machine now will crush any man. I have kept out of politics as
+much as I can and I am glad."
+
+Francis Markrute got up and lowered the blind a few inches--a miserable
+September sun was trying to shine into the room. If Lord Tancred had not
+been so preoccupied with his own thoughts he would have remarked this
+restlessness on the part of his host. He was no fool; but his mind was
+far away. It almost startled him when the cold, deliberate voice
+continued:
+
+"I have a proposition to make to you should you care to accept it. I
+have a niece--a widow--she is rather an attractive lady. If you will
+marry her I will pay off all your mortgages and settle on her quite a
+princely dower."
+
+"Good God!" said Lord Tancred.
+
+The financier reddened a little about the temples, and his eyes for an
+instant gave forth a flash of steel. There had been an infinite variety
+of meanings hidden in the exclamation, but he demanded suavely:
+
+"What point of the question causes you to exclaim 'Good God'?"
+
+The sang-froid of Lord Tancred never deserted him.
+
+"The whole thing," he said--"to marry at all, to begin with, and to
+marry an unknown woman, to have one's debts paid, for the rest! It is a
+tall order."
+
+"A most common occurrence. Think of the number of your peers who have
+gone to America for their wives, for no other reason."
+
+"And think of the rotters they are--most of them! I mayn't be much
+catch, financially; but I have one of the oldest names and titles in
+England--and up to now we have not had any cads nor cowards in the
+family, and I think a man who marries a woman for money is both. By
+Jove! Francis, what are you driving at? Confound it, man! I am not
+starving and can work, if it should ever come to that."
+
+Mr. Markrute smoothed his hands. He was a peculiarly still person
+generally.
+
+"Yes, it was a blunder, I admit, to put it this way. So I will be frank
+with you. My family is also, my friend, as old as yours. My niece is all
+I have left in the world. I would like to see her married to an
+Englishman. I would like to see her married to you of all Englishmen
+because I like you and you have qualities about you which count in life.
+Oh, believe me!"--and he raised a protesting finger to quell an
+interruption--"I have studied you these years; there is nothing you can
+say of yourself or your affairs that I do not know."
+
+Lord Tancred laughed.
+
+"My dear old boy," he said, "we have been friends for a long time; and,
+now we are coming to hometruths, I must say I like your deuced
+cold-blooded point of view on every subject. I like your knowledge of
+wines and cigars and pictures, and you are a most entertaining
+companion. But, 'pon my soul I would not like to have your niece for a
+wife if she took after you!"
+
+"You think she would be cold-blooded, too?"
+
+"Undoubtedly; but it is all perfectly preposterous. I don't believe you
+mean a word you are saying--it is some kind of a joke."
+
+"Have you ever known me to make such jokes, Tancred?" Mr. Markrute asked
+calmly.
+
+"No, I haven't, and that is the odd part of it. What the devil do you
+mean, really, Francis?"
+
+"I mean what I say: I will pay every debt you have, and give you a
+charming wife with a fortune."
+
+Lord Tancred got up and walked about the room. He was a perfectly
+natural creature, stolid and calm as those of his race, disciplined and
+deliberate in moments of danger or difficulty; yet he never lived under
+self-conscious control as the financier did. He was rather moved now,
+and so he walked about. He was with a friend, and it was not the moment
+to have to bother over disguising his feelings.
+
+"Oh, it is nonsense, Francis; I could not do it. I have knocked about
+the world as you know, and, since you are aware of everything about me,
+you say, you have probably heard some of my likings--and dislikings. I
+never go after a woman unless she attracts me, and I would never marry
+one of them unless I were madly in love with her, whether she had money
+or no; though I believe I would hate a wife with money, in any
+case--she'd be saying like the American lady of poor Darrowood: 'It's my
+motor and you can't have it to-day.'"
+
+"You would marry a woman then--if you were in love, in spite of
+everything?" Francis Markrute asked.
+
+"Probably, but I have never been really in love; have you? It is all
+story-book stuff--that almighty passion, I expect. They none of them
+matter very much after a while, do they, old boy?"
+
+"I have understood it is possible for a woman to matter," the financier
+said and he drew in his lips.
+
+"Well, up to now I have not," Lord Tancred announced, "and may the day
+be far off when one does. I feel pretty safe!"
+
+A strange, mysterious smile crept over Mr. Markrute's face.
+
+"By the way, also, how do you know the lady would be willing to marry
+me, Francis? You spoke as if I only had to be consulted in the affair."
+
+"So you have. I can answer for my niece; she will do as I wish, and, as
+I said before, you are rather a perfect picture of an English nobleman,
+Tancred. You have not found women recalcitrant, as a rule--no?"
+
+Lord Tancred was not inordinately vain, though a man, and he had a sense
+of humor--so he laughed.
+
+"'Pon my word it is amusing, your turning into a sort of matrimonial
+agent. Can't you see the fun of the thing yourself?"
+
+"It seems quite natural to me. You have every social advantage to offer
+a woman, and a presentable person; and my niece has youth, and some
+looks, and a large fortune. But we will say no more about it. I shall be
+glad to be of any service I can to you, anyway, in regard to your
+Canadian scheme. Come and dine to-night; I happen to have asked a couple
+of railway magnates with interests out there, and you can get some
+information from them."
+
+And so it was arranged, and Lord Tancred got up to go; but just at the
+door he paused and said with a laugh:
+
+"And shall I see the niece?"
+
+The financier had his back turned, and so he permitted the flicker of a
+smile to come over his mouth as he answered:
+
+"It might be; but we have dismissed the subject of the niece."
+
+And so they parted.
+
+At the sound of the closing of the door Mr. Markrute pressed the button
+of a wonderful trifle of Russian enamel and emeralds, which lay on his
+writing table, and a quiet servant entered the room.
+
+"Tell the Countess Shulski I wish to speak to her here immediately,
+please," he said. "Ask her to descend at once."
+
+But he had to walk up and down several times, and was growing impatient,
+before the door opened and a woman came slowly into the room.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+The financier paused in his restless pacing as he heard the door open
+and stood perfectly still, with his back to the light. The woman
+advanced and also stood still, and they looked at one another with no
+great love in their eyes, though she who had entered was well worth
+looking at, from a number of points of view. Firstly, she had that
+arresting, compelling personality which does not depend upon features,
+or coloring, or form, or beauty. A subtle force of character--a
+radiating magnetism--breathed from her whole being. When Zara Shulski
+came into any assemblage of people conversation stopped and speculation
+began.
+
+She was rather tall and very slender; and yet every voluptuous curve of
+her lithe body refuted the idea of thinness. Her head was small and her
+face small, and short, and oval, with no wonderfully chiseled features,
+only the skin was quite exceptional in its white purity--not the purity
+of milk, but the purity of rich, white velvet, or a gardenia petal. Her
+mouth was particularly curved and red and her teeth were very even, and
+when she smiled, which was rarely, they suggested something of great
+strength, though they were small and white. And now I am coming to her
+two wonders, her eyes and her hair. At first you could have sworn the
+eyes were black; just great pools of ink, or disks of black velvet, set
+in their broad lids and shaded with jet lashes, but if they chanced to
+glance up in the full light then you knew they were slate color, not a
+tinge of brown or green--the whole iris was a uniform shade: strange,
+slumberous, resentful eyes, under straight, thick, black brows, the
+expression full of all sorts of meanings, though none of them peaceful
+or calm. And from some far back Spanish-Jewess ancestress she probably
+got that glorious head of red hair, the color of a ripe chestnut when it
+falls from its shell, or a beautifully groomed bright bay horse. The
+heavy plaits which were wound tightly round her head must have fallen
+below her knees when they were undone. Her coiffure gave you the
+impression that she never thought of fashion, nor changed its form of
+dressing, from year to year. And the exquisite planting of the hair on
+her forehead, as it waved back in broad waves, added to the perfection
+of the Greek simplicity of the whole thing. Nothing about her had been
+aided by conscious art. Her dress, of some black clinging stuff, was
+rather poor, though she wore it with the air of a traditional empress.
+Indeed, she looked an empress, from the tips of her perfect fingers to
+her small arched feet.
+
+And it was with imperial hauteur that she asked in a low, cultivated
+voice with no accent:
+
+"Well, what is it? Why have you sent for me thus peremptorily?"
+
+The financier surveyed her for a moment; he seemed to be taking in all
+her points with a fresh eye. It was almost as though he were counting
+them over to himself--and his thoughts ran: "You astonishingly
+attractive devil. You have all the pride of my father, the Emperor. How
+he would have gloried in you! You are enough to drive any man mad: you
+shall be a pawn in my game for the winning of my lady and gain
+happiness for yourself, so in the end, Elinka, if she is able to see
+from where she has gone, will not say I have been cruel to you."
+
+"I asked you to come down--to discuss a matter of great importance: Will
+you be good enough to be seated, my niece," he said aloud with
+ceremonious politeness as he drew forward a chair--into which she sank
+without more ado and there waited, with folded hands, for him to
+continue. Her stillness was always as intense as his own, but whereas
+his had a nervous tension of conscious repression, hers had an
+unconscious, quiet force. Her father had been an Englishman, but both
+uncle and niece at moments made you feel they were silent panthers,
+ready to spring.
+
+"So--" was all she said.
+
+And Francis Markrute went on:
+
+"You have a miserable position--hardly enough to eat at times, one
+understands. You do not suppose I took the trouble to send for you from
+Paris last week, for nothing, do you? You guessed I had some plan in my
+head, naturally."
+
+"Naturally," she said, with fine contempt. "I did not mistake it for
+philanthropy."
+
+"Then it is well, and we can come to the point," he went on. "I am sorry
+I have had to be away, since your arrival, until yesterday. I trust my
+servants have made you comfortable?"
+
+"Quite comfortable," she answered coldly.
+
+"Good: now for what I want to know. You have no doubt in your mind that
+your husband, Count Ladislaus Shulski, is dead? There is no possible
+mistake in his identity? I believe the face was practically shot away,
+was it not? I have taken the precaution to inform myself upon every
+point, from the authorities at Monte Carlo, but I wish for your final
+testimony."
+
+"Ladislaus Shulski is dead," she said quietly, in a tone as though it
+gave her pleasure to say it. "The woman Feto caused the fray, Ivan
+Larski shot him in her arms; he was her lover who paid, and Ladislaus
+the _amant du coeur_ for the moment. She wailed over the body like a
+squealing rabbit. She was there lamenting his fine eyes when they sent
+for me! They were gone for ever, but no one could mistake his curly
+hair, nor his cruel, white hands. Ah! it was a scene of disgust! I have
+witnessed many ugly things but that was of the worst. I do not wish to
+talk of it; it is passed a year ago. Feto heaped his grave with flowers,
+and joined the hero, Larski, who was allowed to escape, so all was
+well."
+
+"And since then you have lived from hand to mouth, with those others."
+And here Francis Markrute's voice took on a new shade: there was a cold
+hate in it.
+
+"I have lived with my little brother, Mirko, and Mimo. How could I
+desert them? And sometimes we have found it hard at the end of the
+quarter--but it was not always as bad as that, especially when Mimo sold
+a picture--"
+
+"I will not hear his name!" Francis Markrute said with some excitement.
+"In the beginning, if I could have found him I would have killed him, as
+you know, but now the carrion can live, since my sister is dead. He is
+not worth powder and shot."
+
+The Countess Shulski gave the faintest shrug of her shoulders, while her
+eyes grew blacker with resentment. She did not speak. Francis Markrute
+stood by the mantelpiece, and lit a cigar before he continued; he knew
+he must choose his words as he was dealing with no helpless thing.
+
+"You are twenty-three years old, Zara, and you were married at
+sixteen," he said at last. "And up to thirteen at least I know you were
+very highly educated--You understand something of life, I expect."
+
+"Life!" she said--and now there was a concentrated essence of bitterness
+in her voice. "_Mon Dieu!_ Life--and men!"
+
+"Yes, you probably think you know men."
+
+She lifted her upper lip a little, and showed her even teeth--it was
+like an animal snarling.
+
+"I know that they are either selfish weaklings, or cruel, hateful brutes
+like Ladislaus, or clever, successful financiers like you, my uncle.
+That is enough! Something we women must be always sacrificed to."
+
+"Well, you don't know Englishmen--"
+
+"Yes, I remember my father very well; cold and hard to my darling
+mother"--and here her voice trembled a little--"he only thought of
+himself, and to rush to England for sport--and leave her alone for
+months and months: selfish and vile--all of them!"
+
+"In spite of that I have found you an English husband whom you will be
+good enough to take, madame," Francis Markrute announced
+authoritatively.
+
+She gave a little laugh--if anything so mirthless could be called a
+laugh.
+
+"You have no power over me; I shall do no such thing."
+
+"I think you will," the financier said with quiet assurance, "if I know
+you. There are terms, of course--"
+
+She glanced at him sharply: the expression in those somber eyes was
+often alert like a wild animal's, about to be attacked; only she had
+trained herself generally to keep the lids lowered.
+
+"What are the terms?" she asked.
+
+And as she spoke Francis Markrute thought of the black panther in the
+Zoo, which he was so fond of going to watch on Sunday mornings, she
+reminded him so of the beast at the moment.
+
+He had been constrained up to this, but now, the question being one of
+business, all his natural ease of manner returned, and he sat down
+opposite her and blew rings of smoke from his cigar.
+
+"The terms are that the boy Mirko, your half-brother, shall be provided
+for for life. He shall live with decent people, and have his talent
+properly cultivated--"
+
+He stopped abruptly and remained silent.
+
+Countess Shulski clasped her hands convulsively in her lap, and with all
+the pride and control of her voice there was a note of anguish, too,
+which would have touched any heart but one so firmly guarded as Francis
+Markrute's.
+
+"Ah, God!" she said so low that he could only just hear her, "I have
+paid the price of my body and soul once for them. It is too much to ask
+it of me a second time--"
+
+"That is as you please," said the financier.
+
+He seldom made a mistake in his methods with people. He left nothing to
+chance; he led up the conversation to the right point, fired his bomb,
+and then showed absolute indifference. To display interest in a move,
+when one was really interested, was always a point to the adversary. He
+maintained interest could be simulated when necessary, but must never be
+shown when real. So he left his niece in silence, while she pondered
+over his bargain, knowing full well what would be the result. She got up
+from her chair and leaned upon the back of it, while her face looked
+white as death in the dying afternoon's light.
+
+"Can you realize what my life was like with Ladislaus?" she hissed. "A
+plaything for his brutal pleasures, to begin with; a decoy duck to trap
+the other men, I found afterwards; tortured and insulted from morning to
+night. I hated him always, but he seemed so kind beforehand--kind to my
+darling mother, whom you were leaving to die."--Here Francis Markrute
+winced and a look of pain came into his hard face while he raised a hand
+in protest and then dropped it again, as his niece went on--"And she
+was beginning to be ill even at that time and we were so poor--so I
+married him."
+
+Then she swept toward the door with her empress air, the rather shabby,
+dark dress making a swirl behind her; and as she got there she turned
+and spoke again, with her hand on the bronze tracery of the fingerplate,
+making, unconsciously, a highly dramatic picture, as a sudden last ray
+of the sinking sun shot out and struck the glory of her hair, turning it
+to flame above her brow.
+
+"I tell you it is too much," she said, with almost a sob in her voice.
+"I will not do it." And then she went out and closed the door.
+
+Francis Markrute, left alone, leant back in his chair and puffed his
+cigar calmly while he mused.
+
+What strange things were women! Any man could manage them if only he
+reckoned with their temperaments when dealing with them, and paid no
+heed to their actual words. Francis Markrute was a philosopher. A number
+of the shelves of this, his library, were filled with works on the
+subject of philosophy, and a well-thumbed volume of the fragments of
+Epicurus lay on a table by his side. He picked it up now and read: "He
+who wastes his youth on high feeding, on wine, on women, forgets that he
+is like a man who wears out his overcoat in the summer." He had not
+wasted his youth either on wine or women, only he had studied both, and
+their effects upon the thing which, until lately, had interested him
+most in the world--himself. They could both be used to the greatest
+advantage and pleasure by a man who apprehended things he knew.
+
+Then he turned to the _Morning Post_ which was on a low stand near, and
+he read again a paragraph which had pleased him at breakfast:
+
+"The Duke of Glastonbury and Lady Ethelrida Montfitchet entertained at
+dinner last night a small party at Glastonbury House, among the guests
+being--" and here he skipped some high-sounding titles and let his eye
+feast upon his own name, "Mr. Francis Markrute."
+
+Then he smiled and gazed into the fire, and no one would have recognized
+his hard, blue eyes, as he said softly:
+
+"Ethelrida! _belle et blonde!_"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+While the financier was contentedly musing in his chair beside the fire,
+his niece was hurrying into the park, wrapped in a dark cloak and thick
+veil. She had slipped out noiselessly, a few minutes after she left the
+library. The sun had completely set now and it was damp and cold, with
+the dead leaves, and the sodden autumn feeling in the air. Zara Shulski
+shivered, in spite of the big cloak, as she peered into the gloom of the
+trees, when she got nearly to the Achilles statue. The rendezvous had
+been for six o'clock; it was now twenty minutes past, and it was so bad
+for Mirko to wait in the cold. Perhaps they would have gone on. But no;
+she caught sight of two shabby figures, close up under the statue, when
+she got sufficiently near.
+
+They came forward eagerly to meet her. And even in the half light it
+could be seen that the boy was an undersized little cripple of perhaps
+nine or ten years old but looking much younger; as it could also be seen
+that even in his worn overcoat and old stained felt hat the man was a
+gloriously handsome creature.
+
+"What joy to see you, Cherisette!" exclaimed the child. "Papa and I have
+been longing and longing all the day. It seemed that six would never
+come. But now that you are here let me eat you--eat you up!" And the
+thin, little arms, too long for the wizened body, clasped fondly round
+her neck as she lifted him, and carried him toward a seat where the
+three sat down to discuss their affairs.
+
+"I know nothing, you see, Mimo," the Countess Shulski said, "beyond that
+you arrived yesterday. I think it was foolish of you to risk it. At
+least in Paris Madame Dubois would have let you stay and owe a week's
+rent. But here--among these strangers--"
+
+"Now do not scold us, Mentor," the man answered, with a charming smile.
+"Mirko and I felt the sun had fled when you went last Thursday. It
+rained and rained two--three--days, and the Dubois canary got completely
+on our nerves; and, heavens above! the Grisoldi insisted upon cooking
+garlic in his food at every meal!--we had thought to have broken him of
+the habit, you remember?--and up, up it came from his stove. Body of
+Bacchus! It killed inspiration. I could not paint, my Cherisette, and
+Mirko could not play. And so we said: 'At least--at least the sun of the
+hair of our Cherisette must shine in the dark England; we, too, will go
+there, away from the garlic and the canary, and the fogs will give us
+new ideas, and we shall create wonderful things.' Is it not so, Mirko
+mio?"
+
+"But, of course, Papa," the boy echoed; and then his voice trembled with
+a pitiful note. "You are not angry with us, darling Cherisette? Say it
+is not so?"
+
+"My little one! How can you! I could never be angry with my Mirko, no
+matter what he did!" And the two pools of ink softened from the
+expression of the black panther into the divine tenderness of the
+Sistine Madonna, as she pressed the frail, little body to her side and
+pulled her cloak around it.
+
+"Only I fear it cannot be well for you here in London, and if my uncle
+should know, all hope of getting anything from him may be over. He
+expressly said if I would come quite alone, to stay with him for these
+few weeks, it would be to my advantage; and my advantage means yours, as
+you know. Otherwise do you think I would have eaten of his hateful
+bread?"
+
+"You are so good to us, Cherisette," the man Mimo said. "You have,
+indeed, a sister of the angels, Mirko mio; but soon we shall be all rich
+and famous. I had a dream last night, and already I have begun a new
+picture of grays and mists--of these strange fogs!"
+
+Count Mimo Sykypri was a confirmed optimist.
+
+"Meanwhile you are in the one room, in Neville Street, Tottenham Court
+Road. It is, I fear, a poor neighborhood."
+
+"No worse than Madame Dubois'," Mimo hastened to reassure her, "and
+London is giving me new ideas."
+
+Mirko coughed harshly with a dry sound. Countess Shulski drew him closer
+to her and held him tight.
+
+"You got the address from the Grisoldi? He was a kind little old man, in
+spite of the garlic," she said.
+
+"Yes, he told us of it, as an inexpensive resting place, until our
+affairs prospered, and we came straight there and wrote to you at once."
+
+"I was greatly surprised to receive the letter. Have you any money at
+all now, Mimo?"
+
+"Indeed, yes!" And Count Sykypri proudly drew forth eight bits of French
+gold from his pocket. "We had two hundred francs when we arrived. Our
+little necessities and a few paints took up two of the twenty-franc
+pieces, and we have eight of them left! Oh, quite a fortune! It will
+keep us until I can sell the 'Apache.' I shall take it to a picture
+dealer's to-morrow."
+
+Countess Shulski's heart sank. She knew so well of old how long eight
+twenty-franc pieces would be likely to last! In spite of Mirko's care
+and watching of his father that gentleman was capable of giving one of
+them to a beggar if the beggar's face and story touched him, and any of
+the others could go in a present to Mirko or herself--to be pawned
+later, when necessity called. The case was hopeless as far as money was
+concerned with Count Sykypri.
+
+Her own meager income, derived from the dead Shulski, was always
+forestalled for the wants of the family--the little brother whom she had
+promised her dead and adored mother never to desert.
+
+For when the beautiful wife of Maurice Grey, the misanthropic and
+eccentric Englishman who lived in a castle near Prague, ran off with
+Count Mimo Sykypri, her daughter, then aged thirteen, had run with her,
+and the pair had been wiped off the list of the family. And Maurice
+Grey, after cursing them both and making a will depriving them of
+everything, shut himself up in his castle, and steadily drank himself to
+death in less than a year. And the brother of the beautiful Mrs. Grey,
+Francis Markrute, never forgave her either. He refused to receive her or
+hear news of her, even after poor little Mirko was born and she married
+Count Sykypri.
+
+For on the father's side, the Markrute brother and sister were of very
+noble lineage; even with his bar sinister the financier could not brook
+the disgrace of Elinka. He had loved her so--the one soft side of his
+adamantine character. Her disgrace, it seemed, had frozen all the
+tenderness in his nature.
+
+Countess Shulski was silent for a few moments, while both Mimo and Mirko
+watched her face anxiously. She had thrown back her veil.
+
+"And supposing you do not sell the 'Apache,' Mimo? Your own money does
+not come in until Christmas; mine is all gone until January, and it is
+the cold winter approaching--and cold is not good for Mirko. What then?"
+
+Count Sykypri moved uneasily. A tragic look grew in his handsome face;
+his face that was a mirror of all passing emotions; his face that had
+been able to express love and romance, devotion and tenderness, to wile
+a bird from off a tree or love from the heart of any woman. And even
+though Zara Shulski knew of just how little value was anything he said
+or did yet his astonishing charm always softened her irritation toward
+his fecklessness. So she repeated more gently:
+
+"What then?"
+
+Mimo got up and flung out his arms in a dramatic way.
+
+"It cannot be!" he said. "I must sell the 'Apache!' Besides, if I don't:
+I tell you these strange, gray fogs are giving me new, wonderful
+thoughts--dark, mysterious--two figures meeting in the mist! Oh! but a
+wonderful combination that will be successful in all cases."
+
+Mirko pressed his arm round his sister's neck and kissed her cheek,
+while he cooed love words in a soft Slavonic language. Two big tears
+gathered in Zara Shulski's deep eyes and made them tender as a dove's.
+
+She drew out her purse and counted from it two sovereigns and some
+shillings which she slipped into Mirko's small hand.
+
+"Keep these, pet, for an emergency," she said. "They are all I have, but
+I will--I must--find some other way for you soon: and now I shall have
+to go. If my uncle should suspect I am seeing you I might be powerless
+to help further."
+
+They walked with her to the Grosvenor Gate, and reluctantly let her
+leave them; and then they watched her, as she sped across the road
+between the passing taxi-cabs. When they saw the light from the opening
+door and her figure disappearing between the tall servants who had come
+to open it, the two poor, shabby figures walked on with a sigh, to try
+to find an omnibus which would put them down somewhere near their dingy
+bedroom in Neville Street, Tottenham Court Road. And as they reached the
+Marble Arch there came on a sharp shower of icy rain.
+
+Countess Shulski, however poorly dressed, was a person to whom servants
+were never impertinent; there was something in her bearing which
+precluded all idea of familiarity. It did not even strike Turner, or
+James, that her clothes were what none of the housemaids would have
+considered fit to wear when they went out. The remark the lordly Turner
+made, as he arranged some letters on the hall table, was:
+
+"A very haughty lady, James--quite a bit of the Master about her, eh?"
+
+But she went on to the lift, slowly, and to her luxurious bedroom, her
+heart full of pain and rage against fate. Here she sat down before the
+fire, and, resting her chin on her two hands, gazed steadily into the
+glowing coals.
+
+What pictures did she see of past miseries there in the flames? Her
+thoughts wandered right back to the beginning. The stern, peculiar
+father, and the gloomy castle. The severe governesses--English and
+German--and her adorable, beautiful mother, descending upon the
+schoolroom like a fairy of light, always gay and sweet and loving. And
+then of that journey to a far country, where she saw an old, old, dying
+gentleman in a royal palace, who kissed her, and told her she would
+grow as beautiful as her grandmother with the red, red hair. And there
+in the palace was Mimo, so handsome and kind in his glittering
+aide-de-camp's uniform, who after that often came to the gloomy castle,
+and, with the fairy mother, to the schoolroom. Ah! those days were happy
+days! How they three had shrieked with laughter and played hide-and-seek
+in the long galleries!
+
+And then the blank, hideous moment when the angel fairy had gone, and
+the stern father cursed and swore, and Uncle Francis' face looked like a
+vengeful fiend's. And then a day when she got word to meet her mother in
+the park of the castle. How she clung to her and cried and sobbed to be
+taken, too! And they--Mimo and the mother--always so kind and loving and
+irresponsible, consented. And then the flight; and weeks of happiness in
+luxurious hotels, until the mother's face grew pinched and white, and no
+letters but her own--returned--came from Uncle Francis. And ever the
+fear grew that if Mimo were absent from her for a moment Uncle Francis
+would kill him. The poor, adored mother! And then of the coming of
+Mirko and all their joy over it; and then, gradually, the skeleton of
+poverty, when all the jewels had been sold and all Mimo's uniform and
+swords; and nothing but his slender income, which could not be taken
+from him, remained. How he had worked to be a real artist, there in
+Paris! Oh! poor Mimo. He had tried, but everything was so against a
+gentleman; and Mirko such a delicate baby, and the mother's lovely face
+so often sad. And then the time of the mother's first bad illness--how
+they had watched and prayed, and Mimo had cried tears like a child, and
+the doctor had said the South was the only thing to help their angel's
+recovery. So to marry Ladislaus Shulski seemed the only way. He had a
+villa in the sun at Nice and offered it to them; he was crazy about
+her--Zara--at that time, though her skirts were not quite long, nor her
+splendid hair done up.
+
+When her thoughts reached this far, the black panther in the Zoo never
+looked fiercer when Francis Markrute poked his stick between its bars to
+stir it up on Sunday mornings.
+
+The hateful, hateful memories! When she came to know what marriage
+meant, and--a man! But it had saved the sweet mother's life for that
+winter. And though it was a strain to extract anything from Ladislaus,
+still, in the years that followed, often she had been able to help until
+his money, too, was all gone--on gambling and women.
+
+And then the dear mother died--died in cold and poverty, in a poor
+little studio in Paris--in spite of her daughter's and Mimo's frantic
+letters to Uncle Francis for help. She knew now that he had been far
+away, in South Africa, at the time, and had never received them, until
+too late; but then, it seemed as if God Himself had forsaken them. And
+now came the memory of her solemn promise. Mirko should never be
+deserted--the adored mother could die in peace about that. Her last
+words came back now--out of the glowing coals:
+
+"I have been happy with Mimo, after all, my Cherisette, with you and
+Mimo and Mirko. It was worth while--" And so she had gasped--and died.
+
+And here the tears gathered and blurred the flaming coals. But Zara's
+decision had come. There was no other way. To her uncle's bargain she
+must consent.
+
+She got up abruptly and flung her hat on the bed--her cloak had already
+fallen from her--and without further hesitation she descended the
+stairs.
+
+Francis Markrute was still seated in his library; he had taken out his
+watch and was calculating the time. It was twenty-five minutes to eight;
+his guests would be coming to dine at eight o'clock and he had not begun
+to dress. Would his niece have made up her mind by then?
+
+That there could be any doubt about the fact that she would make up her
+mind as he wished never entered his head. It was only a question of time
+but it would be better, for every reason, if she arrived at the
+conclusion at once.
+
+He rose from his chair with a quiet smile as she entered the room. So
+she had come! He had not relied upon his knowledge of a woman's
+temperament in vain.
+
+She was very pale. The extra whiteness showed even on her gardenia skin,
+and her great eyes gleamed sullenly from beneath her lowering brows of
+ink.
+
+"If the terms are for the certain happiness of Mirko I consent," she
+said.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+The four men--the two railway magnates, Francis Markrute, and Lord
+Tancred--had all been waiting a quarter of an hour before the
+drawing-room fire when the Countess Shulski sailed into the room. She
+wore an evening gown of some thin, black, transparent, woolen stuff,
+which clung around her with the peculiar grace her poorest clothes
+acquired. Another woman would have looked pitifully shabby in such a
+dress, but her distinction made it appear to at least three of the men
+as the robe of a goddess. Francis Markrute was too annoyed at the delay
+of her coming to admire anything; but even he, as he presented his
+guests to her, could not help remarking that he had never seen her look
+more wonderful, nor more contemptuously regal.
+
+They had had rather a stormy scene in the library, half an hour before.
+Her words had been few, but their displeasure had been unconcealed. She
+would agree to the bare bargain, if so be this strange man were willing,
+but she demanded to know the reason of his willingness.
+
+And when she was told it was a business matter between the two men, and
+that she would be given a large fortune, she expressed no more surprise
+than a disdainful curl of the lips.
+
+For her, all men were either brutes--or fools like poor Mimo.
+
+If she had known that Lord Tancred had already refused her hand and
+that her uncle was merely counting upon his own unerring knowledge of
+human nature--and Lord Tancred's nature in particular--she might have
+felt humiliated, instead of full of impotent rage.
+
+The young man, for his part, had arrived exactly on the stroke of eight,
+a rare effort of punctuality for him. Some underneath excitement to see
+his friend Markrute's niece had tingled in his veins from the moment he
+had left the house.
+
+What sort of a woman could it be who would be willing to marry a
+perfect stranger for the sake of his title and position? The
+quarter-of-an-hour's wait had not added to his calm. So when the door
+had eventually opened for her entry he had glanced up with intense
+interest, and had then drawn in his breath as she advanced up the room.
+The physical part of the lady at all events was extremely delectable.
+
+But when he was presented and his eyes met hers he was startled by the
+look of smoldering, somber hate he saw in them.
+
+What could it all mean? Francis must have been romancing. Why should she
+look at him like that, if she were willing to marry him? He was piqued
+and interested.
+
+She spoke not a word as they went down to dinner, but he was no raw
+youth to be snubbed thus into silence. His easy, polished manner soon
+started a conversation upon the usual everyday things. He received "Yes"
+and "No" for answers. The railway magnate on her other side was hardly
+more fortunate, until the entrees were in full swing, then she unfroze a
+little; the elderly gentleman had said something which interested her.
+
+The part which particularly irritated Lord Tancred was that he felt sure
+she was not really stupid--who could be stupid with such a face? And he
+was quite unaccustomed to being ignored by women. A like experience had
+not occurred to him in the whole of his life.
+
+He watched her narrowly. He had never seen so white a skin; the
+admirably formed bones of her short, small face caused, even in a side
+light, no disfiguring shadows to fall beside the mouth and nose, nor on
+the cheeks; all was velvety smooth and rounded. The remote Jewish touch
+was invisible--save in the splendor of the eyes and lashes. She filled
+him with the desire to touch her, to clasp her tightly in his arms, to
+pull down that glorious hair and bury his face in it. And Lord Tancred
+was no sensualist, given to instantly appraising the outward charm of
+women.
+
+When the grouse was being handed, he did get a whole sentence from her;
+it was in answer to his question whether she liked England.
+
+"How can one say--when one does not know?" she said. "I have only been
+here once before, when I was quite a child. It seems cold and dark."
+
+"We must persuade you to like it better," he answered, trying to look
+into her eyes which she had instantly averted. The expression of
+resentment still smoldered there, he had noticed, during their brief
+glance.
+
+"Of what consequence whether I like it or no," she said, looking across
+the table, and this was difficult to answer! It seemed to set him upon
+his beam-ends. He could not very well say because he had suddenly begun
+to admire her very much! At this stage he had not decided what he meant
+to do.
+
+An unusual excitement was permeating his being; he could not account for
+how or why. He had felt no sensation like it, except on one of his lion
+hunts in Africa when the news had come into camp that an exceptionally
+fine beast had been discovered near and might be stalked on the morrow.
+His sporting instincts seemed to be thoroughly awakened.
+
+Meanwhile Countess Shulski had turned once more to Sir Philip Armstrong,
+the railway magnate. He was telling her about Canada and she listened
+with awakening interest: how there were openings for every one and great
+fortunes could be made there by the industrious and persevering.
+
+"It has not come to a point, then, when artists could have a chance, I
+suppose?" she asked. Lord Tancred wondered at the keenness in her voice.
+
+"Modern artists?" Sir Philip queried. "Perhaps not, though the rich men
+are beginning to buy pictures and beautiful things, too; but in a new
+country it is the man of sinew and determination, not the dreamer, who
+succeeds."
+
+Her head then drooped a little; her interest now seemed only mechanical,
+as she answered again, "Yes" and "No."
+
+Lord Tancred wondered and wondered; he saw that her thoughts were far
+away.
+
+Francis Markrute had been watching things minutely while he kept up his
+suave small talk with Colonel Macnamara on his right hand. He was well
+pleased with the turn of events. After all, nothing could have been
+better than Zara's being late. Circumstance often played into the hand
+of an experienced manipulator like himself. Now if she only kept up this
+attitude of indifference, which, indeed, she seemed likely to do--she
+was no actress, he knew--things might be settled this very night.
+
+Lord Tancred could not get her to have a single continued conversation
+for the remainder of dinner; he was perfectly raging with annoyance, his
+fighting blood was up. And when at the first possible moment after the
+dessert arrived she swept from the room, her eyes met his as he held the
+door and they were again full of contemptuous hate.
+
+He returned to his seat with his heart actually thumping in his side.
+
+And all through the laborious conversation upon Canada and how best to
+invest capital, which Francis Markrute with great skill and apparently
+hearty friendship prolonged to its utmost limits, he felt the attraction
+and irritation of the woman grow and grow. He no longer took the
+slightest interest in the pros and cons of his future in the Colony, and
+when, at last, he heard the distant tones of Tschaikovsky's _Chanson
+Triste_ as they ascended the stairs he came suddenly to a determination.
+She was sitting at the grand piano in the back part of the room. A huge,
+softly shaded lamp shed its veiled light upon her white face and rounded
+throat; her hands and arms, which showed to the elbow, seemed not less
+pale than the ivory keys, and those disks of black velvet gazed in front
+of them, a whole world of anguish in their depths.
+
+For this was the tune that her mother had loved, and she was playing it
+to remind herself of her promise and to keep herself firm in her
+determination to accept the bargain, for her little brother Mirko's
+sake.
+
+She glanced at Lord Tancred as he entered. Count Ladislaus Shulski had
+been a very handsome man, too. She did not know enough of the English
+type to judge of Lord Tancred morally. She only saw that he was a
+splendid, physical creature who would be strong--and horrible
+probably--like the rest.
+
+The whole expression of her face changed as he came and leaned upon the
+piano. The sorrow died out of her eyes and was replaced by a fierce
+defiance; and her fingers broke into a tarantella of wild sounds.
+
+"You strange woman!" Lord Tancred said.
+
+"Am I strange?" she answered through her teeth. "It is said by those who
+know that we are all mad--at some time and at some point. I have, I
+think, reason to be mad to-night." And with that she crashed a final
+chord, rose from her seat, and crossed the room.
+
+"I hope, Uncle Francis, your guests will excuse me," she said, with an
+imperial, aloof politeness, "but I am very tired. I will wish you all a
+good-night." She bowed to them as they expressed their regrets, and then
+slowly left the room.
+
+"Goodnight, madame," Lord Tancred said, at the door. "Some day you and I
+will cross swords."
+
+But he was rewarded by no word, only an annihilating glance from her
+sullen eyes, and he stood there and gazed at her as she passed up the
+stairs.
+
+"An extraordinary and beautiful woman--your niece--eh, my dear
+Markrute?" he heard one of the pompous gentlemen say, as he returned to
+the group by the fire, and it angered him--he could not have told why.
+
+Francis Markrute, who knew his moments, began now to talk about her,
+casually; how she was an interesting, mysterious character; beautiful?
+well, no, not exactly that--a superlative skin, fine eyes and hair, but
+no special features.
+
+"I will not admit that she is beautiful, my friend," he said. "Beauty
+suggests gentleness and tenderness. My niece reminds me of the black
+panther in the Zoo, but one could not say--if she were tamed."
+
+Such remarks were not calculated to allay the growing interest and
+attraction Lord Tancred was feeling. Francis Markrute knew his audience;
+he never wasted his words. He abruptly turned the conversation back to
+Canada again, until even the two magnates on their own ground were bored
+and said goodnight. The four men came downstairs together. As the two
+others were being assisted into their coats by Turner and his satellites
+the host said to Lord Tancred:
+
+"Will you have a cigar with me, Tancred, before you go on to your supper
+party?" And presently they were both seated in mammoth armchairs in the
+cozy library.
+
+"I hope, my dear boy, you have all the information you want about
+Canada," Mr. Markrute said. "You could not find two more influential
+people than Sir Philip and the Colonel. I asked--" but Lord Tancred
+interrupted him.
+
+"I don't care a farthing more about Canada!" he flashed out. "I have
+made up my mind. If you really meant what you said to-day, I will marry
+your niece, and I don't care whether she has a penny or no."
+
+The financier's plans had indeed culminated with a rush!
+
+But he expressed no surprise, merely raised his eyebrows mildly and
+puffed some blue rings of smoke, as he answered:
+
+"I always mean what I say, only I do not care for people to do things
+blindly. Now that you have seen my niece are you sure she would suit
+you? I thought, after all, perhaps not, to-night: she is certainly a
+difficult person. It would be no easy task for any man to control
+her--as a wife."
+
+[Illustration: "The whole expression of her face changed as he came and
+leaned upon the piano."]
+
+"I don't care for tame women," Lord Tancred said. "It is that very
+quality of difficulty which has inspired me. By George! did you ever see
+such a haughty bearing? It will take a man's whole intelligence to know
+which bit to use."
+
+"She may close her teeth on whatever bit you use, and bolt with it. Do
+not say afterwards that I let you take her blindly."
+
+"Why does she look at me with such hate?" Lord Tancred was just going to
+ask--and then he stopped himself. It was characteristic of him that now
+he had made up his mind he would not descend to questions or details--he
+would find all out later for himself--but one thing he must know: had
+she really consented to marry him? If so, she had her own reasons, of
+course, and desire for himself was not among them; but, somehow, he felt
+sure they were not sordid or paltry ones. He had always liked dangerous
+games--the most unbroken polo ponies to train in the country, the
+freshest horses, the fiercest beasts to stalk and kill--and why not a
+difficult wife? It would add an adorable spice to the affair. But as he
+was very honest with himself he knew, underneath, that it was not wholly
+even this instinct, but that she had cast some spell over him and that
+he must have her for his own.
+
+"You might very well ask her history," Francis Markrute said. He could
+be so gracious when he liked, and he really admired the wholehearted
+dash with which Lord Tancred had surrendered; there was something big
+and royal about it--he himself never gambled in small sums either. "So
+as I expect you won't," he continued, "I will tell you. She is the
+daughter of Maurice Grey, a brother of old Colonel Grey of Hentingdon,
+whom everybody knew, and she has been the widow of an unspeakable brute
+for over a year. She was an immaculate wife, and devoted daughter before
+that. The possibilities of her temperament are all to come."
+
+Lord Tancred sprang from his chair, the very thought of her and her
+temperament made him thrill. Was it possible he was already in love,
+after one evening?
+
+"Now we must really discuss affairs, my dear boy," the financier went
+on. "Her dower, as I told you, will be princely."
+
+"That I absolutely refuse to do, Francis," Lord Tancred answered. "I
+tell you I want the woman for my wife. You can settle the other things
+with my lawyer if you care to, and tie it all up on her. I am not
+interested in that matter. The only thing I really wish to know is if
+you are sure she will marry me?"
+
+"I am perfectly sure." The financier narrowed his eyes. "I would not
+have suggested the affair to-day if I had had any doubt about that."
+
+"Then it is settled, and I shall not ask why. I shall not ask any thing.
+Only when may I see her again and how soon can we be married?"
+
+"Come and lunch with me in the city to-morrow, and we will talk over
+everything. I shall have seen her, and can then tell you when to present
+yourself. And I suppose you can have the ceremony at the beginning of
+November?"
+
+"Six whole weeks hence!" Lord Tancred said, protestingly. "Must she get
+such heaps of clothes? Can't it be sooner? I wanted to be here for my
+Uncle Glastonbury's first shoot on the 2nd of November, and if we are
+only married then, we shall be off on a honeymoon. You must come to that
+shoot, by-the-way, old boy, it is the pleasantest of the whole lot he
+has; one day at the partridges, and a dash at the pheasants; but he only
+asks the jolliest parties to this early one, for Ethelrida's birthday,
+and none of the bores."
+
+"It would give me great pleasure to do so," Francis Markrute said. And
+he looked down so that Lord Tancred should not see the joy in his eyes.
+
+Then they shook hands most heartily, and the newly made fiance said
+good-night, with the happy assurance in his ears that he might claim his
+bride in time to be back from a week's honeymoon for the Glastonbury
+shoot.
+
+When he had gone Francis Markrute's first act was to sit down and write
+a four-figure check for the Cripple Children's Hospital: he believed in
+thankofferings. Then he rubbed his hands softly together as he went up
+to his bed.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+Then Lord Tancred left the house in Park Lane he did not go on to the
+supper party at the Savoy he had promised to attend. That sort of
+affair had bored him, now for several years. Instead, he drove straight
+back to his rooms in St. James' Street, and, getting comfortably into
+his pet chair, he steadily set himself to think. He had acted upon a
+mad impulse; he knew that and did not argue with himself about it, or
+regret it. Some force stronger than anything he had hitherto known had
+compelled him to come to the decision. And what would his future life
+be like with this strange woman? That could not be exactly guessed.
+That it would contain scenes of the greatest excitement he did not
+doubt. She would in all cases look the part. His mother herself--the
+Lady Tancred, daughter of the late and sister of the present Duke of
+Glastonbury--could not move with more dignity: a thought which reminded
+him that he had better write to his parent and inform her of his
+intended step. He thought of all the women he had loved--or imagined he
+had loved--since he left Eton. The two affairs which had convulsed him
+during his second year at Oxford were perhaps the most serious; the
+Laura Highford, his last episode, was fortunately over and had always
+been rather tiresome. In any case none of those ladies of the world--or
+other world--had any reasons to reproach him, and he was free and
+happy. And if he wished to put down a large stake on the card of
+marriage he was answerable to no one.
+
+During the last eight hundred years, ever since Amaury Guiscard of that
+house of Hauteville whose daring deeds gave sovereigns to half Europe,
+had come over with his Duke William, and had been rewarded by the gift
+of the Wrayth lands--seized from the Saxons--his descendants had
+periodically done madly adventurous things. Perhaps the quality was
+coming out in him!
+
+Then he thought of his lady, personally, and not of the
+extraordinariness of his action. She was exasperatingly attractive. How
+delicious it would be when he had persuaded her to talk to him, taught
+her to love him, because she certainly must love him--some day! It was
+rather cold-blooded of her to be willing to marry him, a stranger; but
+he was not going to permit himself to dwell upon that. She could not be
+really cold-blooded with that face: its every line bespoke capability of
+exquisite passion. It was not the least cunning, or calculating, either.
+It was simply adorable. And to kiss! But here he pulled himself together
+and wrote to his mother a note, short and to the point, which she
+received by the first post next morning at her small, house in Queen
+Street, Mayfair; and then he went to bed. The note ran:
+
+"My Dear Mother:
+
+"I am going to be married at last. The lady is a daughter of Maurice
+Grey (a brother of old Colonel Grey of Hentingdon who died last year),
+and the widow of a Pole named Shulski, Countess Shulski she is called."
+
+(He had paused here because he had suddenly remembered he did not know
+her Christian name!)
+
+"She is also the niece of Francis Markrute whom you have such an
+objection to--or had, last season. She is most beautiful and I hope you
+will like her. Please go and call to-morrow. I will come and breakfast
+with you about ten.
+
+"Your affectionate son, Tancred."
+
+And this proud English mother knew here was a serious letter, because he
+signed it "Tancred." He usually finished his rare communications with
+just, "love from Tristram."
+
+She leaned back on her pillows and closed her eyes. She adored her son
+but she was, above all things, a woman of the world and given to making
+reasonable judgments. Tristram was past the age of a foolish
+entanglement; there must be some strong motive in this action. He could
+hardly be in love. She knew him so well, when he was in love! He had
+shown no signs of it lately--not, really, for several years--for that
+well conducted--friendship--with Laura Highford could not be called
+being in love. Then she thought of Francis Markrute. He was so immensely
+rich, she could not help a relieved sigh. There would be money at all
+events. But she knew that could not be the reason. She was aware of her
+son's views about rich wives. She was aware, too, that with all his
+sporting tastes and modern irreverence of tradition, underneath he was
+of a proud, reserved nature, intensely proud of the honor of his ancient
+name. What then could be the reason for this engagement? Well, she would
+soon know. It was half-past eight in the morning, and Tristram's "about
+ten" would not mean later than, half-past, or a quarter to eleven. She
+rang the bell for her maid, and told her to ask the young ladies to put
+on dressing-gowns and come to her.
+
+Soon Lord Tancred's two sisters entered the room.
+
+They were nice, fresh English girls, and stood a good deal in awe of
+their mother. They kissed her and sat down on the bed. They felt it was
+a momentous moment, because Lady Tancred never saw any one until her
+hair was arranged--not even her own daughters.
+
+"Your brother Tristram is going to be married," she said and referred to
+the letter lying on the coverlet, "to a Countess Shulski, a niece of
+that Mr. Markrute whom one meets about."
+
+"Oh! Mother!" and "Really!" gasped Emily and Mary.
+
+"Have we seen her?"
+
+"Do we know her?"
+
+"No, I think we can none of us have seen her. She certainly was not with
+Mr. Markrute at Cowes, and no one has been in town, except this last
+week for Flora's wedding. I suppose Tristram must have met her in
+Scotland, or possibly abroad. He went to Paris, you remember, at Easter,
+and again in July."
+
+"I wonder what she is like," said Emily.
+
+"Is she young?" asked Mary.
+
+"Tristram does not say," replied Lady Tancred, "only that she is
+beautiful."
+
+"We are so surprised," both girls gasped together.
+
+"Yes, it is unexpected, certainly," agreed their mother, "but Tristram
+has judgment; he is not likely to have chosen any one of whom I should
+disapprove. You must be ready to call with me, directly after lunch.
+Tristram is coming to breakfast, so you can have yours now--in your
+room. I must talk to him."
+
+And the girls, who were dying to ask a hundred thousand questions, felt
+that they were dismissed, and, kissing their dignified parent, they
+retired to their own large, back room, which they shared, in common
+with all their pleasures and little griefs, together.
+
+"Isn't it too wonderful, Em?" Mary said, when they were back there, both
+curled up in the former's bed waiting for their breakfast. "One can see
+Mother is very much moved; she was so stern. I thought Tristram was
+devoted to Laura Highford, did not you?"
+
+"Oh! he has been sick of that for ages and ages. She nags at him--she is
+a cat anyway and I never could understand it, could you, Mary?"
+
+"Men have to be like that," said Mary, wisely, "they must have some one,
+I mean, to play with, and they are afraid of girls."
+
+"How I hope she will like us, don't you?" Emily said. "Mr. Markrute is
+very rich and perhaps she is, too. How lovely it will be if they are
+able to live at Wrayth. How lovely to have it opened again--to go and
+stay there!"
+
+"Yes, indeed," said Mary.
+
+Lady Tancred awaited her son in the small front morning-room. She was
+quite as much a specimen of an English aristocrat as he was, with her
+brushed-back, gray hair, and her beautiful, hard, fine-featured face.
+She was supremely dignified, and dressed well and with care. She had
+been brought up in the school which taught the repression of all
+emotion--now, alas! rapidly passing away--so that she did not even tap
+her foot from the impatience which was devouring her, and it was nearly
+eleven o'clock before Tristram made his appearance!
+
+He apologized charmingly, and kissed her cheek. His horse, Satan, had
+been particularly fresh, and he had been obliged to give him an extra
+canter twice round the Row, before coming in, and was breakfast
+ready?--as he was extremely hungry! Yes, breakfast was ready, and they
+went into the dining-room where the old butler awaited them.
+
+"Give me everything, Michelham," said his lordship, "I am ravenous. Then
+you can go. Her ladyship will pour out the coffee."
+
+The old servant beamed upon him, with a "glad to see your lordship's
+well!" and, surrounding his plate with hot, covered, silver dishes,
+quietly made his exit, and so they were alone.
+
+Lady Tancred beamed upon her son, too. She could not help it. He looked
+so completely what he ought to look, she thought--magnificently healthy
+and handsome, and perfectly groomed. No mother could help being proud of
+him.
+
+"Tristram, dear boy, now tell me all about it," she said.
+
+"There is hardly anything to tell you, Mother, except that I am going to
+be married about the 25th of October--and--you will be awfully nice to
+her--to Zara--won't you?" He had taken the precaution to send round a
+note, early in the morning, to Francis Markrute, asking for his lady's
+full name, as he wished to tell his family; so the "Zara" came out quite
+naturally! "She is rather a peculiar person, and--er--has very stiff
+manners. You may not like her at first."
+
+"No, dear?" said Lady Tancred hesitatingly, "Stiff manners you say? That
+at least is on the right side. I always deplore the modern
+free-and-easy-ness."
+
+"Oh, there is nothing free-and-easy about her!" said Tristram, helping
+himself to a cutlet, while he smiled almost grimly. His sense of humor
+was highly aroused oven the whole thing; only that overmastering
+something which drew him was even stronger than this.
+
+Then he felt that there was no use in allowing his mother to drag
+information from him; he had better tell her what he meant her to know.
+
+"You see, Mother, the whole thing has been arranged rather suddenly. I
+only settled upon it last night myself, and so told you at once. She
+will be awfully rich, which is rather a pity in a sense--though I
+suppose we shall live at Wrayth again, and all that--- but I need not
+tell you I am not marrying her for such a reason."
+
+"No, I know you," Lady Tancred said, "but I cannot agree with you about
+its being a pity that she is rich. We live in an age when the oldest and
+most honored name is useless without money to keep up its traditions,
+and any woman would find your title and your position well worth all her
+gold. There are things you will give her in return which only hundreds
+of years can produce. You must have no feeling that you are accepting
+anything from her which you do not equalize. Remember, it is a false
+sentiment."
+
+"Oh, I expect so--and she is well bred, you know, so she won't throw it
+in my teeth." And Lord Tancred smiled.
+
+"I remember old Colonel Grey," his mother continued; "years ago he drove
+a coach; but I don't recollect his brother. Did he live abroad,
+perhaps?"
+
+This was an awkward question. The young fiance was quite ignorant about
+his prospective bride's late father!
+
+"Yes," he said hurriedly. "Zara married very young, she is quite young
+now--only about twenty-three. Her husband was a brute, and now she has
+come to live with Francis Markrute. He is an awfully good fellow,
+Mother, though you don't like him; extremely cultivated, and so quaintly
+amusing, with his cynical views on life. You will like him when you know
+him better. He is a jolly good sportsman, too--for a foreigner."
+
+"And of what nation is Mr. Markrute, Tristram, do you know?" Lady
+Tancred asked.
+
+Really, all women--even mothers--were tiresome at times with their
+questions!
+
+"'Pon my word, I don't." And he laughed awkwardly. "Austrian, perhaps,
+or Russian. I have never thought about it; he speaks English so well,
+and he is a naturalized Englishman, in any case."
+
+"But as you are marrying into the family, don't you think it would be
+more prudent, dear, to gather some information on the subject?" Lady
+Tancred hazarded.
+
+And then she saw the true Tancred spirit come out, which she had often
+vainly tried to combat in her husband during her first years of married
+life, and had desisted in the end. Tristram's strong, level eyebrows
+joined themselves in a frown, and his mouth, clean-shaven and chiseled,
+shut like a vice.
+
+"I am going to do what I am going to do, Mother," he said. "I am
+satisfied with my bargain, and I beg of you to accept the situation. I
+do not demand any information, and I ask you not to trouble yourself
+either. Nothing any one could say would change me--Give me some more
+coffee, will you, please."
+
+Lady Tancred's hand trembled a little as she poured it out, but she did
+not say anything, and there was silence for a minute, while his lordship
+went on with his breakfast, with appetite unimpaired.
+
+"I will take the girls and call there immediately after lunch," she said
+presently, "and I am to ask for the Countess Shulski. You pronounce it
+like that, do you not?"
+
+"Yes. She may not be in, and in any case, perhaps, for to-day only leave
+cards. To-morrow or next day I'll go with you, Mother. You see, until
+the announcement comes out in the _Morning Post_, everything is not
+quite settled--I expect Zara would like it better if you did not meet
+until after then."
+
+That was probably true, he reflected, since he had not even exchanged
+personal pledges with her yet himself!
+
+Then, as his mother looked stiffly repulsed, his sense of humor got the
+better of him, and he burst into a peal of laughter, while he jumped up
+and kissed her with the delightful, caressing boyishness which made her
+love him with a love so far beyond what she gave to her other children.
+
+"Darling," she murmured, "if you are so happy as to laugh like that I am
+happy, too, and will do just what you wish." Her proud eyes filled with
+mist and she pressed his hand.
+
+"Mum, you are a trump!" he said, and he kissed her again and, holding
+her arm, he led her back into the morning-room.
+
+"Now I must go and change these things," he announced, as he looked down
+at his riding clothes. "I am going to lunch with Markrute in the City to
+discuss all the points. So good-bye for the present. I will probably see
+you to-night. Call a taxi," he said to Michelham who at that moment came
+into the room with a note. He had kissed his mother and was preparing to
+leave, when just as he got to the door he turned and said:
+
+"Don't say a word to any one, to-day, of the news--let it come out in
+the _Morning Post_, to-morrow. I ask it--please?"
+
+"Not even to Cyril? You have forgotten that he is coming up from Uncle
+Charles' to go back to Eton," his mother said, "and the girls already
+know."
+
+"Oh! Cyril. By Jove! I had forgotten! Yes, tell him; he is a first class
+chap, he'll understand, and, I say"--and he pulled some sovereigns from
+his pocket--"do give him these from me for this term."
+
+Then with a smile he went.
+
+And a few minutes afterwards a small, slender boy of fourteen, with only
+Eton's own inimitable self-confidence and delicious swagger printed upon
+his every line, drove up to the door, and, paying for the taxi in a
+lordly way, came into his mother's morning-room. There had been a gap in
+the family after Tristram's appearance, caused by the death, from
+diphtheria, of two other boys; then came the two girls of twenty and
+nineteen respectively and, lastly, Cyril.
+
+His big, blue eyes rounded with astonishment and interest when he heard
+the important news. All he said was:
+
+"Well, she must be a corker, if Tristram thinks her good enough. But
+what a beastly nuisance! He won't go to Canada now, I suppose, and we
+shan't have that ranch."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+Francis Markrute also saw his niece at breakfast--or rather--just after
+it. She was finishing hers in the little upstairs sitting-room which he
+had allotted to her for her personal use, when he tapped at the door and
+asked if he might come in.
+
+She said "yes," and then rose, with the ceremonious politeness she
+always used in her dealings with him--contemptuous, resentful politeness
+for the most part.
+
+"I have come to settle the details of your marriage," he said, while he
+waved her to be seated again and took a chair himself. At the word
+"marriage" her nostrils quivered, but she said nothing. She was always
+extremely difficult to deal with, on account of these silences of hers.
+She helped no one out. Francis Markrute knew the method himself and
+admired it; it always made the other person state his case.
+
+"You saw Lord Tancred last night. You can have no objection to him on
+the ground of his person, and he is a very great gentleman, my niece, as
+you will find."
+
+Still silence.
+
+"I have arranged with him for you to be married in October--about the
+25th, I suppose. So now comes the question of your trousseau. You must
+have clothes to fit you for so great a position. You had better get them
+in Paris." Then he paused, struck by the fact which he had only just
+noticed, that the garments she had been wearing and those she now wore
+were shabby enough. He realized the reason he had not before remarked
+this--her splendid carriage and air of breeding--and it gave him a
+thrill of pride in her. After all, she was his own niece.
+
+"It will be a very great joy to dress you splendidly," he said. "I would
+have done so always, if I had not known where the money would go; but we
+are going to settle all that now, and every one can be happy."
+
+It was not in her nature to beg and try to secure favors for her brother
+and Mimo without paying for them. She had agreed upon the
+price--herself. Now all she had to do was to obtain as much as possible
+for this.
+
+"Mirko's cough has come back again," she said quietly. "Since I have
+consented I want him to be able to go into the warmth without delay.
+They are here in London now--he and his father--in a very poor place."
+
+"I have thought it all out," Francis Markrute answered while he frowned,
+as he always did, at the mention of Mimo. "There is a wonderfully clever
+doctor at Bournemouth where the air is perfect for those delicate in the
+lungs. I have communicated with him; and he will take the child into his
+own house, where he will be beautifully cared for. There he can have a
+tutor, and when he is stronger he can return to Paris, or to Vienna, and
+have his talent for the violin cultivated. I want you to understand," he
+continued, "that if you agree to my terms your brother will not be
+stinted in any way."
+
+And her thoughts said, "And Mimo?" but she felt it wiser not to ask
+anything about him just then. To have Mirko cared for by a really clever
+doctor, in good air, with some discipline as to bedtime, and not those
+unwholesome meals, snatched at odd hours at some restaurant, seemed a
+wonderfully good thing. If the little fellow would only be happy
+separated from his father; that was the question!
+
+"Are there children in the house?" she asked. Mirko was peculiar, and
+did not like other little boys.
+
+"The doctor has an only little girl of about your brother's age. He is
+nine and a half, is it not so? And she is delicate, too, so they could
+play together."
+
+This sounded more promising.
+
+"I would wish to go down and see the doctor first--and the home," she
+said.
+
+"You shall do so, of course, when you like. I will set aside a certain
+sum every year, to be invested for him, so that when he grows up he will
+have a competence--even a small fortune. I will have a deed drawn out
+for you to sign; it shall be all _en regle_."
+
+"That is well," she said. "And now give me some money, please, that I
+may relieve their present necessities until my brother can go to this
+place. I do not consent to give myself, unless I am certain that I free
+those I love from anxieties. I should like, immediately, a thousand
+francs. Forty pounds of your money, isn't it?"
+
+"I will send the notes up in a few minutes," Francis Markrute said. He
+was in the best of tempers to-day. "Meanwhile, that part of the
+arrangement being settled, I must ask you to pay some attention to the
+thought of seeing your fiance."
+
+"I do not wish to see him," she announced.
+
+Her uncle smiled.
+
+"Possibly not, but it is part of the bargain. You can't marry the man
+without seeing him. He will come and call upon you this afternoon, and,
+no doubt, will bring you a ring. I trust to your honor not to show so
+plainly your dislike that no man could carry through his side. Please
+remember your brother's welfare depends upon your actual marriage. If
+you cause Lord Tancred to break off the match the bargain between you
+and me is void."
+
+The black panther's look again appeared in her eyes, and an icy
+stillness settled upon her. But she began to speak rather fast, with a
+catch in the breath between the sentences.
+
+"Then, since you wish this so much for your own ends, which I cannot
+guess, I tell you, arrange for me to go to Paris, alone, away from him,
+until the wedding day. He must hate the thought as much as I do. We are
+probably both only marionettes in your hands. Explain to the man that I
+will not go through the degradation of the pretence of an engagement,
+especially here in this England, where, _Maman_ said, they parade
+affections, and fiances are lovers. _Mon Dieu!_ I will play my part--for
+the visits of ceremony to his family, which I suppose must take place
+even here--but beyond that, after to-day, I will not see him alone nor
+have any communication with him. Is it understood?"
+
+Francis Markrute looked at her with growing admiration. She was
+gorgeously attractive in this mood. He obtained endless pleasure out of
+life by his habit of abstract observation. He was able to watch people
+in the throes of emotion, like a master seeing his hunters being put
+through their paces.
+
+"It shall be understood," he said. He knew it was wiser to insist upon
+no more; her temper would never brook it. He knew he could count upon
+her honor and her pride to fulfill her part of the bargain if she were
+not exasperated beyond bearing.
+
+"I will explain everything to Lord Tancred at luncheon," he said, "that
+you will receive him this afternoon, and that then you are going to
+Paris, and will not return until the wedding. You will concede the
+family interviews that are absolutely necessary, I suppose?"
+
+"I have already said so; only let them be few and short."
+
+"Then I will not detain you longer now. You are a beautiful woman,
+Zara," Francis Markrute said, as he rose and kissed her hand. "None of
+the royal ladies, your ancestresses, ever looked more like a queen." And
+he bowed himself out of the room, leaving her in her silence.
+
+When she was alone she clenched her hands and walked up and down for a
+few moments, and her whole serpentine body writhed with passionate anger
+and pain.
+
+Yes, she was a beautiful woman, and had a right to her life and joys
+like another--and now she was to be tied, and bound again to a husband!
+
+_"Les Infames!"_ she hissed aloud. "But for that part, I will not bear
+it! Until the wedding I will dissemble as best I can--but afterwards--!"
+
+And if Lord Tancred could have seen her then he would have known that
+all the courage he had used when he faced the big lion would be needed
+soon again.
+
+But before a servant brought up the envelope with the notes she had
+calmed herself and was preparing to go out. The good part of the news
+must be told to the two poor ones in their Tottenham Court Road retreat.
+
+As she sped along in the taxi--her uncle had placed one of his several
+motors at her disposal, but it was not for such localities--she argued
+with herself that it would be wiser not to give Mimo all the money at
+once. She knew that that would mean not only the necessary,
+instantaneous move to a better lodging, but an expensive dinner at the
+nearest restaurant as well, and certainly bonbons and small presents for
+Mirko, and new clothes; twice as much would be spent, if credit could be
+obtained; and then there would be the worry of the bills and the
+anxiety. If only Mirko would consent to be parted from his fond and
+irresponsible parent for a time it would be so much better for his
+health, and his chance of becoming of some use in the world. Mimo always
+meant so kindly and behaved so foolishly! With the money she personally
+would get for her bargain Mimo should, somehow, be made comfortable in
+some studio in Paris where he could paint those pictures which would not
+sell, and might see his friends--he had still a few who, when his
+clothes were in a sufficiently good state, welcomed him and his
+charming, debonair smile. Mimo could be a delightfully agreeable guest,
+even though he was changed by years and poverty.
+
+And Mirko would be in healthy surroundings; surely it was worth it,
+after all!
+
+The taxi drew up in the mean street and she got out, paid the man, and
+then knocked at the dingy door.
+
+A slatternly, miserable, little general servant opened it. No, the
+foreign gentleman and the little boy were not in, they said they would
+be back in a few minutes--would the lady step up and wait? She followed
+the lumpy, untidy figure upstairs to a large attic at the top. It was
+always let as a studio, apparently. It had a fine northern light from a
+big window, and was quite clean, though the wretched furniture spoke of
+better days.
+
+Cleanliness was one of Count Sykypri's peculiarities; he always kept
+whatever room he was in tidy and clean. This orderly instinct seemed at
+variance with all the rest of his easy-going character. It was the
+fastidiousness of a gentleman, which never deserted him. Now Zara
+recognized the old traveling rug hung on two easels, to hide the little
+iron beds where he and Mirko slept. The new wonder, which would be bound
+to sell, was begun there on a third easel. It did not look extremely
+promising at its present stage. Mirko's violin and his father's, in
+their cases, were on a chair beside a small pile of music; the water-jug
+had in it a bunch of yellow chrysanthemums probably bought off a barrow.
+
+The Countess Shulski had been through many vicissitudes with these two
+since her husband's death, but seldom--only once perhaps--had they gone
+down to such poverty-stricken surroundings. Generally it was some small
+apartment in Paris, or Florence, that they occupied, with rather scanty
+meals when the end of the quarter came. During Count Shulski's life she
+had always either lived in some smart villa at Nice, or led a wandering
+existence in hotels; and for months at a time, in later years, when he
+disappeared, upon his own pleasures bent, he would leave her in some old
+Normandy farmhouse, only too thankful to be free from his hateful
+presence. Here Mimo and Mirko would join her, and while they painted and
+played, she would read. Her whole inner life was spent with books. Among
+the shady society her husband had frequented she had been known as "The
+Stone." She never unbent, and while her beauty and extraordinary type
+attracted all the men she came across they soon gave up their pursuit.
+She was quite hopeless, they said--and half-witted, some added! No woman
+could sit silent like that for hours, otherwise. Zara thought of all
+these things, as she sat on the rickety chair in the Neville Street
+lodging. How she had loathed that whole atmosphere! How she loathed
+bohemians and adventurers, no words could tell.
+
+While her mother had lived there had been none of them about. For all
+her personal downfall, Elinka, Markrute's sister, and an emperor's
+daughter, remained an absolute _grande dame_--never mixing or mingling
+with any people but her own belongings.
+
+But now that she was dead, poor Mimo had sometimes gone for company into
+a class other than his own.
+
+As yet Zara's thoughts had not turned upon her new existence which was
+to be. She had drawn a curtain over it in her mind. She knew but vaguely
+about life in England, she had never had any English friends. One or two
+gamblers had often come to the Nice villa, but except that they were
+better looking types and wore well made clothes, she had classed them
+with the rest of her husband's acquaintances. She had read numbers of
+English classics but practically no novels, so she could not very well
+picture a state of things she was ignorant about. Sufficient for the day
+was the evil thereof.
+
+She was getting slightly impatient when at last the two came in.
+
+They had been told of her arrival; she knew that by their glad, hurried
+mounting of the stairs and the quick opening of the door.
+
+"Cherisette, Angel! But what joy!" And Mirko hurled himself into her
+arms, while Mimo kissed her hand. He never forgot his early palace
+manners.
+
+"I have brought you good news," she said, as she drew out two ten-pound
+notes. "I have made my uncle see reason. Here is something for the
+present. He has such a kind and happy scheme for Mirko's health. Listen,
+and I will tell you about it."
+
+They clustered around her while she explained in the most attractive
+manner she could the picture of the boy's future, but in spite of all
+that, his beautiful little face fell as he grasped that he was to leave
+his father.
+
+"It will only be for a time, darling," Zara said, "just until you get
+quite well and strong, and learn some lessons. All little boys go to
+school, and come home for the holidays. You know _Maman_ would have
+wished you to be educated like a gentleman."
+
+"But I hate other boys, and you have taught me so well. Oh! Cherisette,
+what shall I do? And to whom play my violin, who will understand?"
+
+"Oh, but Mirko mio, it is a splendid offer! Think, dear child, a
+comfortable home and no anxieties," Mimo said. "Truly your sister is an
+angel, and you must not be so ungrateful. Your cough will get quite
+well; perhaps I can come and lodge in the town, and we could walk
+together."
+
+But Mirko pouted. Zara sighed and clasped her hands.
+
+"If you only knew how hard it has been to obtain this much," she said,
+with despair in her voice. "Oh, Mirko, if you love me you will accept
+it! Can't you trust me that I would not ask you to go where they are
+hard or cruel? I am going down to the place to-morrow, to see it and
+judge for myself. Won't you be good and try to please me?"
+
+Then the little cripple fell to sobbing and kissing her, nestling in her
+arms with his curly head against her neck.
+
+But in the end she comforted him, the never varying gentleness toward
+him which she showed would have soothed the most peevish invalid.
+
+So at last she was able to feel that her sacrifice, of which they must
+always remain ignorant, would not be all in vain; Mirko appeared
+reconciled to his fate, and would certainly benefit by more healthy
+surroundings. Instinct told her there would be no use even suggesting to
+her uncle that the child should stay with Mimo, the situation would have
+become an _impasse_ if the boy had held out, and between them they would
+have had only this forty pounds until Christmas--and then very little
+more--and the life of hand-to-mouth poverty would have gone on and on,
+while here were comfort and probable health, with a certainty of
+welfare, and education, and a competence in the future. And who knows
+but Mirko might grow into a great artist one day!
+
+This possible picture she painted in glowing colors until the child's
+pathetic, dark eyes glistened with pleasure.
+
+Then she became practical; they must change their lodging and find a
+better one. But here Mimo interfered. They were really very comfortable
+where they were, he urged, humble though it looked, and changing was
+unpleasant. If they were able to buy some linen sheets and a new suit of
+clothes for each it would be much better to stay for the present, until
+Mirko's going to Bournemouth should be completely settled. "And even
+then," Count Sykypri said, "it will do for me. No one cooks garlic here,
+and there is no canary!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+Neither Lord Tancred nor Francis Markrute was late at the appointment in
+the city restaurant where they were to lunch, and they were soon seated
+at a table in a corner where they could talk without being interrupted.
+They spoke of ordinary things for a moment. Then Lord Tancred's
+impatience to get at the matter which interested him became too great to
+wait longer, so he said laconically:
+
+"Well?"
+
+"I saw her this morning and had a talk"--the financier said, as he
+placed some caviare on his toast. "You must not overlook the fact, which
+I have already stated to you, that she is a most difficult problem. You
+will have an interesting time taming her. For a man of nerve, I cannot
+imagine a more thrilling task. She is a woman who has restricted all her
+emotion for men, and could lavish it all upon _the_ man, I imagine. In
+any case that is 'up to you,' as our friends, the Americans, say--"
+
+Lord Tancred thrilled as he answered:
+
+"Yes, it shall be 'up to me.' But I want to find out all about her for
+myself. I just want to know when I may see her, and what is the
+programme?"
+
+"The programme is that she will receive you this afternoon, about
+tea-time, I should say; that you must explain to her you realize you are
+engaged. You need not ask her to marry you; she will not care for
+details like that--she knows it is already settled. Be as businesslike
+as you can--and come away. She has made it a condition that she sees you
+as little as possible until the wedding. The English idea of engaged
+couples shocks her, for, remember, it is, on her side, not a love-match.
+If you wish to have the slightest success with her afterwards be careful
+_now_. She is going to Paris, immediately, for her trousseau. She will
+return about a week before the wedding, when you can present her to your
+family."
+
+Tristram smiled grimly and then the two men's eyes met and they both
+laughed.
+
+"Jove! Francis!" Lord Tancred exclaimed, "isn't it a wonderful affair! A
+real dramatic romance, here in the twentieth century. Would not every
+one think I was mad, if they knew!"
+
+"It is that sort of madmen who are often the sanest," Francis Markrute
+answered. "The world is full of apparently sane fools." Then he passed
+on to a further subject. "You will re-open Wrayth, of course," he said.
+"I wish my niece to be a Queen of Society, and to have her whole life
+arranged with due state. I wish your family to understand that I
+appreciate the honor of the connection with them, and consider it a
+privilege, and a perfectly natural thing--since we are foreigners of
+whom you know nothing--that we should provide the necessary money for
+what we wish."
+
+Lord Tancred listened; he thought of his mother's similar argument at
+breakfast.
+
+"You see," the financier went on reflectively, "in life, the wise man
+always pays willingly for what he really wants, as you are doing, for
+instance, in your blind taking of my niece. Your old nobility in England
+is the only one of any consequence left in the world. The other
+countries' system of the titles descending to all the younger sons, _ad
+infinitum_, makes the whole thing a farce after a while. A Prince in the
+Caucasus is as common as a Colonel in Kentucky, and in Austria and
+Germany there are poor Barons in the streets. There was a time in my
+life when I could have had a foreign title, but I found it ridiculous,
+and so refused it. But in England, in spite of your amusing radicalism
+the real thing still counts. It is a valid asset--a tangible security
+for one's money--from a business point of view. And Americans or
+foreigners like myself and my niece, for instance, are securing
+substantial property and equal return, when we bring large fortunes in
+our marriage settlements to this country. What satisfaction comparable
+to the glory of her English position as Marchioness of Darrowood could
+Miss Clara D. Woggenheimer have got out of her millions, if she had
+married one of her own countrymen, or an Italian count? Yet she gives
+herself the airs of a benefactress to poor Darrowood and throws her
+money in his teeth, whereas Darrowood is the benefactor, if there is a
+case of it either way. But to me, a sensible business man, the bargain
+is equal. You don't go to an art dealer's and buy a very valuable
+Rembrandt for its marketable value, and then, afterwards, jibe at the
+picture and reproach the art dealer. Money is no good without position,
+and here in England you have had such hundreds of years of freedom from
+invasion, that you have had time, which no other country has had, to
+perfect your social system. Let the Radicals and the uninformed of other
+lands rail as they will, your English aristocracy is the finest body of
+thinkers and livers in the world. One hears ever of the black sheep, the
+few luridly glaring failures, but never of the hundreds of great and
+noble lives which are England's strength."
+
+"By Jove!" said Lord Tancred, "you ought to be in the House of Lords,
+Francis! You'd wake them up!"
+
+The financier looked down at his plate; he always lowered his eyes when
+he felt things. No one must ever read what was really passing in his
+soul, and when he felt, it was the more difficult to conceal, he
+reasoned.
+
+"I am not a snob, my friend," he said, after a mouthful of salad. "I
+have no worship for aristocracy in the abstract; I am a student, a
+rather careful student of systems and their results, and, incidentally,
+a breeder of thoroughbred live stock, too, which helps one's
+conclusions: and above all I am an interested watcher of the progress of
+evolution."
+
+"You are abominably clever," said Lord Tancred.
+
+"Think of your uncle, the Duke of Glastonbury," the financier went on.
+"He fulfills his duties in every way, a munificent landlord, and a
+sound, level-headed politician: what other country or class could
+produce such as he?"
+
+"Oh, the Duke's all right," his nephew agreed. "He is a bit hard up like
+a number of us at times, but he keeps the thing going splendidly, and my
+cousin Ethelrida helps him. She is a brick. But you know her, of course,
+don't you think so?"
+
+"The Lady Ethelrida seems to me a very perfect young woman," Francis
+Markrute said, examining his claret through the light. "I wish I knew
+her better. We have few occasions of meeting; she does not go out very
+much into general society, as you know."
+
+"Oh, I'll arrange that, if it would interest you. I thought you were
+perfectly cynical about and even rather bored with women," Lord Tancred
+said.
+
+"I think I told you--was it only yesterday?--that I understood it might
+be possible for a woman to count--I have not time for the ordinary
+parrot-chatterers one meets. There are three classes of the species
+female: those for the body, those for the brain, and those for both. The
+last are dangerous. The other two merely occupy certain moods in man.
+Fortunately for us the double combination is rare."
+
+Lord Tancred longed to ask under which head Francis Markrute placed his
+niece, but, of course, he restrained himself. He, personally, felt sure
+she would be of the combination; that was her charm. Yes, as he thought
+over things, that was the only really dangerous kind, and he had so
+seldom met it! Then his imagination suddenly pictured Laura Highford
+with her tiny mouth and pointed teeth. She had a showy little brain,
+absolutely no heart, and the senses of a cat or a ferret. What part of
+him had she appealed to? Well, thank God, that was over and done with,
+and he was perfectly free to make his discoveries in regard to Zara, his
+future wife!
+
+"I tell you what, Francis," he said presently, after the conversation
+had drifted from these topics and cigars and liqueurs had come, "I would
+like my cousin Ethelrida to meet Countess Shulski pretty soon. I don't
+know why, but I believe the two would get on."
+
+"There is no use suggesting any meetings until my niece returns from
+Paris," the financier said. "She will be in a different mood by then.
+She had not, when she came to England, quite put off her mourning; she
+will then have beautiful clothes, and be more acquiescent in every way.
+Now she would be antagonistic. See her this afternoon and be sensible;
+make up your mind to postpone things, until her return. And even then be
+careful until she is your wife!"
+
+Lord Tancred looked disappointed. "It is a long time," he said.
+
+"Let me arrange to give a dinner at my house, at which perhaps the Duke
+and Lady Ethelrida would honor me by being present, and your mother and
+sisters and any other member of your family you wish, let us say, on the
+night of my niece's return" (he drew a small calendar notebook from his
+pocket). "That will be Wednesday, the 18th, and we will fix the wedding
+for Wednesday the 25th, a week later. That gets you back from your
+honeymoon on the 1st of November; you can stay with me that night, and
+if your uncle is good enough to include me in the invitation to his
+shoot we can all three go down to Montfitchet on the following day. Is
+all this well? If so I will write it down."
+
+"Perfectly well," agreed the prospective bridegroom--and having no
+notebook or calendar, he scribbled the reminder for himself on his cuff.
+Higgins, his superb valet, knew a good deal of his lordship's history
+from his lordship's cuffs!
+
+"I don't think I shall wait for tea-time, Francis," he said, when they
+got out of the restaurant, into the hall. "I think I'll go now, and get
+it over, if she will be in. Could I telephone and ask?"
+
+He did so and received the reply from Turner that Countess Shulski was
+at home, but could not receive his lordship until half-past four
+o'clock.
+
+"Damn!" said that gentleman as he put the receiver down, and Francis
+Markrute turned away to hide his smile.
+
+"You had better go and buy an engagement ring, hadn't you?" he said. "It
+won't do to forget that."
+
+"Good Lord, I had forgotten!" gasped Tristram.
+
+"Well, I have lots of time to do it now, so I'll go to the family
+jewelers, they are called old-fashioned, but the stones are so good."
+
+So they said good-bye, the young man speeding westwards in a taxi, the
+lion hunter's excitement thrilling in his veins.
+
+The financier returned to his stately office and passed through his
+obsequious rows of clerks to his inner sanctum. Then he lit another
+cigar and gave orders that he was not to be disturbed for a quarter of
+an hour. He reposed in a comfortable chair and allowed himself to dream.
+All his plans were working; there must be no rush. Great emergencies
+required rush, but to build to the summit of one's ambitions, one must
+use calm and watchful care.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+Countess Shulski was seated in her uncle's drawing-room when Lord
+Tancred was announced.
+
+It was rather a severe room, purely French, with very little furniture,
+each piece a priceless work of art. There were no touches of feminine
+influence, no comfortable sofas as in the morning-room or library, all
+was stiff, and dignified, and in pure style.
+
+She had chosen to receive him there, on purpose. She wished the meeting
+to be short and cold. He came forward, a look of determination upon his
+handsome face.
+
+Zara rose as he advanced, and bowed to him. She did not offer to shake
+hands, and he let his, which he had half outstretched, drop. She did not
+help him at all; she remained perfectly silent, as usual. She did not
+even look at him, but straight out of the window into the pouring rain,
+and it was then he saw that her eyes were not black but slate.
+
+"You understand why I have come, of course?" he said by way of a
+beginning.
+
+"Yes," she replied and said nothing more.
+
+"I want to marry you, you know," he went on.
+
+"Really!" she said.
+
+"Yes, I do." And he set his teeth--certainly she was difficult!
+
+"That is fortunate for you, since you are going to do so."
+
+This was not encouraging; it was also unexpected.
+
+"Yes, I am," he answered, "on the 25th of October, with your
+permission."
+
+"I have already consented." And she clasped her hands.
+
+"May I sit down beside you and talk?" he asked.
+
+She pointed to a Louis XVI. _bergere_ which stood opposite, and herself
+took a small armchair at the other side of the fire.
+
+So they sat down, she gazing into the blazing coals and he gazing at
+her. She was facing the gloomy afternoon light, though she did not think
+out these things like her uncle, so he had a clear and wonderful picture
+of her. "How could so voluptuous looking a creature be so icily cold?"
+he wondered. Her wonderful hair seemed burnished like dark copper, in
+the double light of fire and day, and that gardenia skin looked fit to
+eat. He was thrilled with a mad desire to kiss her; he had never felt so
+strong an emotion towards a woman in his life.
+
+"Your uncle tells me you are going away to-morrow, and that you will be
+away until a week before our wedding. I wish you were not going to be,
+but I suppose you must--for clothes and things."
+
+"Yes, I must."
+
+He got up; he could not sit still, he was too wildly excited; he stood
+leaning on the mantelpiece, quite close to her, for a moment, his eyes
+devouring her with the passionate admiration he felt. She glanced up,
+and when she saw their expression her jet brows met, while a look of
+infinite disgust crept over her face.
+
+So it had come--so soon! He was just like all men--a hateful, sensual
+beast. She knew he desired to kiss her--to kiss a person he did not
+know! Her experience of life had not encouraged her to make the least
+allowance for the instinct of man. For her, that whole side of human
+beings was simply revolting. In the far back recesses of her mind she
+knew and felt that caresses and such things might be good if one
+loved--passionately loved--but in the abstract, just because of the
+attraction of sex, they were hideous. No man had ever had the conceded
+tip of her little finger, although she had been forced to submit to
+unspeakable exhibitions of passion from Ladislaus, her husband.
+
+For her, Tristram appeared a satyr, but she was no timid nymph, but a
+fierce panther ready to defend herself!
+
+He saw her look and drew back--cooled.
+
+The thing was going to be much more difficult than he had even thought;
+he must keep himself under complete control, he knew now. So he turned
+away to the window and glanced out on the wet park.
+
+"My mother called upon you to-day, I believe," he said. "I asked her not
+to expect you to be at home. It was only to show you that my family will
+welcome you with affection."
+
+"It is very good of them."
+
+"The announcement of the engagement will be in the _Morning Post_
+to-morrow. Do you mind?"
+
+"Why should I mind?" (her voice evinced surprise). "Since it is true,
+the formalities must take place."
+
+"It seems as if it could not be true. You are so frightfully frigid," he
+said with faint resentment.
+
+"I cannot help how I am," she said in a tone of extreme hauteur. "I have
+consented to marry you. I will go through with all the necessary
+ceremonies, the presentations to your family, and such affairs; but I
+have nothing to say to you: why should we talk when once these things
+are settled? You must accept me as I am, or leave me alone--that is
+all"--and then her temper made her add, in spite of her uncle's warning,
+"for I do not care!"
+
+He turned now; he was a little angry and nearly flared up, but the sight
+of her standing there, magnificently attractive, stopped him. This was
+merely one of the phases of the game; he should not allow himself to be
+worsted by such speeches.
+
+"I expect you don't, but I do," he said. "I am quite willing to take you
+as you are, or will be."
+
+"Then that is all that need be said," she answered coldly. "Arrange with
+my uncle when you wish me to see your family on my return; I will carry
+out what he settles. And now I need not detain you, and will say
+good-bye." And bowing to him she walked towards the door.
+
+"I am sorry you feel you want to go so soon," he said, as he sprang
+forward to open it for her, "but good-bye." And he let her pass without
+shaking hands.
+
+When he was alone in the room he realized that he had not given her the
+engagement ring, which still reposed in his pocket!
+
+He looked round for a writing table, and finding one, sat down and wrote
+her a few words.
+
+"I meant to give you this ring. If you don't like sapphires it can be
+changed. Please wear it, and believe me to be
+
+"Yours,
+
+"Tancred."
+
+He put the note with the little ring-case, inclosed both in a large
+envelope, and then he rang the bell.
+
+"Send this up to the Countess Shulski," he said to the footman who
+presently came. "And is my motor at the door?"
+
+It was, so he descended the stairs.
+
+"To Glastonbury House," he ordered his chauffeur. Then he leaned back
+against the cushions, no look of satisfaction upon his face.
+
+Ethelrida might be having tea, and she was always so soothing and
+sympathetic.
+
+Yes, her ladyship was at home, and he was shown up into his cousin's own
+sitting-room.
+
+Lady Ethelrida Montfitchet had kept house for her father, the Duke of
+Glastonbury, ever since she was sixteen when her mother had died, and
+she acted as hostess at the ducal parties, with the greatest success.
+She was about twenty-five now, and one of the sweetest of young women.
+
+She was very tall, rather plain, and very distinguished.
+
+Francis Markrute thought her beautiful. He was fond of analyzing types
+and breeds, and he said there were those who looked as if they had been
+poured into more or less fine or clumsy mould, and there were others who
+were sharply carved as with a knife. He loved a woman's face to look
+_ciselee_, he said. That is why he did not entirely admire his niece,
+for although the mould was of the finest in her case, her small nose was
+not chiseled. Numbers of English and some Austrians were chiseled, he
+affirmed--showing their race--but very few of other nations.
+
+Now some people would have said the Lady Ethelrida was too chiseled--she
+might grow peaky, with old age. But no one could deny the extreme
+refinement of the young woman.
+
+She was strikingly fair, with silvery light hair that had no yellow in
+it; and kind, wise, gray eyes. Her figure in its slenderness was a thing
+which dressmakers adored; there was so little of it that any frock could
+be made to look well on it.
+
+Lady Ethelrida did everything with moderation. She was not mad about any
+sport or any fad. She loved her father, her aunt, her cousins of the
+Tancred family, and her friend, Lady Anningford. She was, in short, a
+fine character and a great lady.
+
+"I have come to tell you such a piece of news, Ethelrida," Tristram said
+as he sat down beside her on the chintz-covered sofa. Ethelrida's tastes
+in furniture and decorations were of the simplest in her own room.
+"Guess what it is!"
+
+"How can I, Tristram? Mary is really going to marry Lord Henry?"
+
+"Not that I know of as yet, but I daresay she will, some day. No, guess
+again; it is about a marriage."
+
+She poured him out some tea and indicated the bread and butter.
+Tristram, she knew, loved her stillroom maid's brown bread and butter.
+
+"A man, or a woman?" she asked, meditatively.
+
+"A man--ME!" he said, with reckless grammar.
+
+"You, Tristram!" Ethelrida exclaimed, with as much excitement as she
+ever permitted herself. "You going to be married! But to whom?"
+
+The thing seemed too preposterous; and her mind had instantly flown to
+the name, Laura Highford, before her reason said, "How ridiculous--she
+is married already!"--so she repeated again: "But to whom?"
+
+"I am going to be married to a widow, a niece of Francis Markrute's; you
+know him." Lady Ethelrida nodded. "She is the most wonderfully
+attractive creature you ever saw, Ethelrida, a type not like any one
+else. You'll understand in a minute, when you see her. She has stormy
+black eyes--no, they are not really black; they are slate color--and red
+hair, and a white face, and, by Jove! a figure! And do you know, my dear
+child, I believe I am awfully in love with her!"
+
+"You only 'believe,' Tristram! That sounds odd to be going to be married
+upon!" Lady Ethelrida could not help smiling.
+
+He sipped his tea and then jumped up. He was singularly restless to-day.
+
+"She is the kind of woman a man would go perfectly mad about when he
+knew her well. I shall, I know." Then, as he saw his cousin's humorous
+expression, he laughed boyishly. "It does sound odd, I admit," he said,
+"the inference is that I don't know her well--and that is just it,
+Ethelrida, but only to you would I say it. Look here, my dear girl, I
+have got to be comforted this afternoon. She has just flattened me out.
+We are going to be married on the 25th of October, and I want you to be
+awfully nice to her. I am sure she has had a rottenly unhappy life."
+
+"Of course I will, Tristram dear," said Lady Ethelrida, "but remember, I
+am completely in the dark. When did you meet her? Can't you tell me
+something more? Then I will be as sympathetic as you please."
+
+So Lord Tancred sat down on the sofa beside her again, and told her the
+bare facts: that it was rather sudden, but he was convinced it was what
+he wanted most to do in life; that she was young and beautiful, rich,
+and very reserved, and rather cold; that she was going away, until a
+week before the wedding; that he knew it sounded all mad, but his dear
+Ethelrida was to be a darling, and to understand and not reason with
+him!
+
+And she did not. She had gathered enough from this rather incoherent
+recital to make her see that some very deep and unusual current must
+have touched her cousin's life. She knew the Tancred character, so she
+said all sorts of nice things to him, asked interested but not
+indiscreet questions. And soon that irritated and baffled sense left
+him, and he became calm.
+
+"I want Uncle Glastonbury to ask Francis Markrute to the shoot on the
+2nd of November, Ethelrida," he said, "and you will let me bring
+Zara--she will be my wife by then--although I was asked only as a
+bachelor?"
+
+"It is my party, not Papa's, you dear old goose, you know that," Lady
+Ethelrida said. "Of course you shall bring your Zara and I myself will
+write and ask Mr. Markrute. In spite of Aunt Jane's saying that he is a
+cynical foreigner I like him!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+Society was absolutely flabbergasted when it read in the _Morning Post_
+the announcement of Lord Tancred's engagement! No one had heard a word
+about it. There had been talk of his going to Canada, and much chaff
+upon that subject--so ridiculous, Tancred emigrating! But of a
+prospective bride the most gossip-loving busybody at White's had never
+heard! It fell like a bombshell. And Lady Highford, as she read the
+news, clenched her pointed teeth, and gave a little squeal like a stoat.
+
+So he had drifted beyond her, after all! He had often warned her he
+would, at the finish of one of those scenes she was so fond of creating.
+It was true then, when he had told her before Cowes that everything must
+be over. She had thought his silence since had only been sulking! But
+who was the creature? "Countess Shulski." Was it a Polish or Hungarian
+name? "Daughter of the late Maurice Grey." Which Grey was that? "Niece
+of Francis Markrute, Esquire, of Park Lane." Here was the reason--money!
+How disgusting men were! They would sell their souls for money. But the
+woman should suffer for this, and Tristram, too, if she could manage it!
+
+Then she wept some tears of rage. He was so adorably good looking and
+had been such a feather in her cap, although she had never been really
+sure of him. It was a mercy her conduct had always been of such an
+immaculate character--in public--no one could say a word. And now she
+must act the dear, generous, congratulating friend.
+
+So she had a dose of sal volatile and dressed, with extra care, to lunch
+at Glastonbury House. There she might hear all the details; only
+Ethelrida was so superior, and uninterested in news or gossip.
+
+There was a party of only five assembled, when she arrived--she was
+always a little late. The Duke and Lady Ethelrida, Constance Radcliffe,
+and two men: an elderly politician, and another cousin of the family.
+She could certainly chatter about Tristram, and hear all she could.
+
+They were no sooner seated than she began:
+
+"Is not this wonderful news about your nephew, Duke? No one expected it
+of him just now, though I as one of his best friends have been urging
+him to marry, for the last two years. Dear Lady Tancred must be so
+enchanted."
+
+"I am sure you gave him good counsel," said the Duke, screwing his
+eyeglass which he wore on a long black ribbon into his whimsical old
+blue eye. "But Tristram's a tender mouth, and a bit of a bolter--got to
+ride him on the snaffle, not the curb."
+
+Lady Highford looked down at her plate, while she gave an answer quite
+at variance with her own methods.
+
+"Snaffle or curb, no one would ever try to guide Lord Tancred! And what
+is the charming lady like? You all know her, of course?"
+
+"Why, no," said His Grace. "The uncle, Mr. Markrute, dined here the
+other night. He's been very useful to the Party, in a quiet way and
+seems a capital fellow--but Ethelrida and I have never met the niece. Of
+course, no one has been in town since the season, and she was not here
+then. We only came up, like you, for Flora's wedding, and go down
+to-morrow."
+
+"This is thrilling!" said Lady Highford. "An unknown bride! Have you not
+even heard what she is like--young or old? A widow always sounds so
+attractive!"
+
+"I am told that she is perfectly beautiful," said Lady Ethelrida from
+the other side of the table--there had been a pause--"and Tristram seems
+so happy. She is quite young, and very rich."
+
+She had always been amiably friendly and indifferent to Laura Highford.
+It was Ethelrida's way to have no likes and dislikes for the general
+circle of her friends; her warm attachment was given to so very few, and
+the rest were just all of a band. Perhaps if she felt anything definite
+it was a tinge on the side of dislike for Laura. Thinking to please
+Tristram at the time she had asked her to this, her birthday party, when
+they had met at Cowes in August, and now she was faced with the problem
+how to put her off, since Tristram and his bride would be coming. She
+saw the glint in the light hazel eyes as she described the fiance and
+her kind heart at once made her determine to turn the conversation.
+After all, it was perfectly natural for poor Laura to have been in love
+with Tristram--no one could be more attractive--and, of course, it must
+hurt her--this marriage. She would reserve the "putting off," until they
+left the dining-room and she could speak to her alone. So with her
+perfect tact and easy grace she diverted the current of conversation to
+the political situation, and luncheon went on.
+
+But this was not what Lady Highford had come for. She wanted to hear
+everything she could about her rival, in order to lay her plans; and the
+moment Ethelrida was engaged with the politician and the Duke had
+turned to Mrs. Radcliffe, she tackled the cousin, in a lower voice.
+
+He, Jimmy Danvers, had only read what she had, that morning. He had seen
+Tristram at the Turf on Tuesday after lunch--the day before
+yesterday--and he had only talked of Canada--and not a word of a lady
+then. It was a bolt from the blue. "And when I telephoned to the old boy
+this morning," he said, "and asked him to take me to call upon his
+damsel to-day, he told me she had gone to Paris and would not be back
+until a week before the wedding!"
+
+"How very mysterious!" piped Laura. "Tristram is off to Paris, too,
+then, I suppose?"
+
+"He did not say; he seemed in the deuce of a hurry and put the receiver
+down."
+
+"He is probably only doing it for money, poor darling boy!" she said
+sympathetically. "It was quite necessary for him."
+
+"Oh, that's not Tristram's measure," Sir James Danvers interrupted.
+"He'd never do anything for money. I thought you knew him awfully well,"
+he added, surprised. Apprehension of situations was not one of his
+strong qualities.
+
+"Of course I do!" Laura snapped out and then laughed. "But you men!
+Money would tempt any of you!"
+
+"You may bet your last farthing, Lady Highford, Tristram is in
+love--crazy, if you ask me--he'd not have been so silent about it all
+otherwise. The Canada affair was probably because she was playing the
+poor old chap,--and now she's given in; and that, of course, is
+chucked."
+
+Money, as the motive, Lady Highford could have borne, but, to hear
+about love drove her wild! Her little pink and white face with its
+carefully arranged childish setting suddenly looked old and strained,
+while her eyes grew yellow in the light.
+
+"They won't be happy long, then!" she said. "Tristram could not be
+faithful to any one."
+
+"I don't think he's ever been in love before, so we can't judge," the
+blundering cousin continued, now with malice prepense. "He's had lots of
+little affairs, but they have only been 'come and go.'"
+
+Lady Highford crumbled her bread and then turned to the Duke--there was
+nothing further to be got out of this quarter. Finally luncheon came to
+an end, and the three ladies went up to Ethelrida's sitting-room. Mrs.
+Radcliffe presently took her leave to catch a train, so the two were
+left alone.
+
+"I am so looking forward to your party, dear Ethelrida," Lady Highford
+cooed. "I am going back to Hampshire to-morrow, but at the end of the
+month I come up again and will be with you in Norfolk on the 2nd."
+
+"I was just wondering," said Lady Ethelrida, "if, after all, you would
+not be bored, Laura? Your particular friends, the Sedgeworths, have had
+to throw us over--his father being dead. It will be rather a family sort
+of collection, and not so amusing this year, I am afraid. Em and Mary,
+Tristram and his new bride,--and Mr. Markrute, the uncle--and the rest
+as I told you."
+
+"Why, my dear child, it sounds delightful! I shall long to meet the new
+Lady Tancred! Tristram and I are such dear friends, poor darling boy! I
+must write and tell him how delighted I am with the news. Do you know
+where he is at the moment?"
+
+"He is in London, I believe. Then you really will stick to us and not be
+bored? How sweet of you!" Lady Ethelrida said without a change in her
+level voice while her thoughts ran: "It is very plucky of Laura; or, she
+has some plan! In any case I can't prevent her coming now, and perhaps
+it is best to get it over. But I had better warn Tristram, surprises are
+so unpleasant."
+
+Then, after a good deal of gush about "dear Lady Tancred's" prospective
+happiness in having a daughter-in-law, and "dear Tristram," Lady
+Highford's motor was announced, and she went.
+
+And when she had gone Lady Ethelrida sat down and wrote her cousin a
+note. Just to tell him in case she did not see him before she went back
+to the country to-morrow that her list, which she enclosed, was made up
+for her November party, but if he would like any one else for his bride
+to meet, he was to say so. She added that some friends had been to
+luncheon, and among them Laura Highford, who had said the nicest things
+and wished him every happiness.
+
+Lady Ethelrida was not deceived about these wishes, but she could do no
+more.
+
+The Duke came into her room, just as she was finishing, and warmed
+himself by her wood fire.
+
+"The woman is a cat, Ethelrida," he said without any preamble. These two
+understood each other so well, they often seemed to begin in the middle
+of a sentence, of which no outsider could grasp the meaning.
+
+"I am afraid she is, Papa. I have just been writing to Tristram, to let
+him know she still insists upon coming to the shoot. She can't do
+anything there, and they may as well get it over. She will have to be
+civil to the new Lady Tancred in our house."
+
+"Whew!" whistled the Duke, "you may have an exciting party. You had
+better go and leave our cards to-day on the Countess Shulski, and
+another of mine, as well, for the uncle. We'll have to swallow the whole
+lot, I suppose."
+
+"I rather like Mr. Markrute, Papa," Ethelrida said. "I talked to him the
+other night for the first time; he is extremely intelligent. We ought
+not to be so prejudiced, perhaps, just because he is a foreigner, and in
+the City. I've asked him on the 2nd, too--you don't mind? I will leave
+the note to-day; Tristram particularly wished it."
+
+"Then we'll have to make the best of it, pet. I daresay you are right,
+and one ought not to be prejudiced about anything, in these days."
+
+And then he patted his daughter's smoothly brushed head, and went out
+again.
+
+Lady Ethelrida drove in the ducal carriage (the Duke insisted upon a
+carriage, in London), to Park Lane, and was handing her cards to her
+footman to leave, when Francis Markrute himself came out of the door.
+
+His whole face changed; it seemed to grow younger. He was a fairly tall
+man, and distinguished looking. He came forward and said: "How do you
+do," through the brougham window.
+
+Alas! his niece had left that morning _en route_ for Paris--_trousseaux_
+and feminine business, but he was so delighted to have had this chance
+of a few words with her--Lady Ethelrida.
+
+"I was leaving a note to ask you to come and shoot with my father at
+Montfitchet, Mr. Markrute," she said, "on the 2nd of November. Tristram
+says he hopes they will be back from the honeymoon in time to join us,
+too."
+
+"I shall be delighted, and my niece will be delighted at your kindness
+in calling so soon."
+
+Then they said a few more polite things and the financier finished
+by:--"I am taking the great liberty of having the book, which I told you
+about, rebound--it was in such a tattered condition, I was ashamed to
+send it to you--do not think I had forgotten. I hope you will accept
+it?"
+
+"I thought you only meant to lend it to me because it is out of print
+and I cannot buy it. I am so sorry you have had this trouble," Lady
+Ethelrida said, a little stiffly. "Bring it to the shoot. It will
+interest me to see it but you must not give it to me." And then she
+smiled graciously; and he allowed her to say good-bye, and drive on. And
+as he turned into Grosvenor Street he mused,
+
+"I like her exquisite pride; but she shall take the book--and many other
+things--presently."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Meanwhile Zara Shulski had arrived at Bournemouth. She had started early
+in the morning, and she was making a careful investigation of the house.
+The doctor appeared all that was kind and clever, and his wife gentle
+and sweet. Mirko could not have a nicer home, it seemed. Their little
+girl was away at her grandmother's for the next six weeks, they said,
+but would be enchanted to have a little boy companion. Everything was
+arranged satisfactorily. Zara stayed the night, and next day, having
+wired to Mimo to meet her at the station, she returned to London.
+
+They talked in the Waterloo waiting-room; poor Mimo seemed so glad and
+happy. He saw her and her small bag into a taxi. She was going back to
+her uncle's, and was to take Mirko down next day, and, on the following
+one, start for Paris.
+
+"But I can't go back to Park Lane without seeing Mirko, now," she said.
+"I did not tell my uncle what train I was returning by. There is plenty
+of time so I will go and have tea with you at Neville Street. It will be
+like old times, we will get some cakes and other things on the way, and
+boil the kettle on the fire."
+
+So Mimo gladly got in with her and they started. He had a new suit of
+clothes and a new felt hat, and looked a wonderfully handsome foreign
+gentleman; his manner to women was always courteous and gallant. Zara
+smiled and looked almost happy, as they arranged the details of their
+surprise tea party for Mirko.
+
+At that moment there passed them in Whitehall a motorcar going very
+fast, the occupant of which, a handsome young man, caught the most
+fleeting glimpse of them--hardly enough to be certain he recognized
+Zara. But it gave him a great start and a thrill.
+
+"It cannot be she," he said to himself, "she went to Paris yesterday;
+but if it is--who is the man?"
+
+He altered his plans, went back to his rooms, and sat moodily down in
+his favorite chair--an unpleasant, gnawing uncertainty in his heart.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+Mirko, crouched up by the smoldering fire, was playing the _Chanson
+Triste_ on his violin when the two reached the studio. He had a
+wonderful talent--of that there was no doubt--but his health had always
+been too delicate to stand any continuous study. Nor had the means of
+the family ever been in a sufficiently prosperous condition, in later
+years, to procure a really good master. But the touch and soul of the
+strange little fellow sounded in every wailing note. He always played
+the _Chanson Triste_ when he was sad and lonely. He had been nearly
+seven when his mother died, and he remembered her vividly. She had so
+loved Tschaikovsky's music, and this piece especially. He had played it
+to her--from ear then--the afternoon she lay dying, and for him, as for
+them all, it was indissolubly connected with her memory. The tears were
+slowly trickling down Mirko's cheeks. He was going to be taken away from
+his father, his much loved Cherisette would not be near him, and he
+feared and hated strangers.
+
+He felt he was talking to his mother with his bow. His mother who was in
+heaven, with all the saints and angels. What could it be like up there?
+It was perhaps a forest, such as Fontainebleau, only there were sure to
+be numbers of birds which sang like the nightingales in the Borghese
+Gardens--there would be no canaries! The sun always shone and _Maman_
+would wear a beautiful dress of blue gauze with wings, and her lovely
+hair, which was fair, not red like Cherisette's, would be all hanging
+down. It surely was a very desirable place, and quite different from the
+Neville Street lodging. Why could he not get there, out of the cold and
+darkness? Cherisette had always taught him that God was so good and kind
+to little boys who had crippled backs. He would ask God with all the
+force of his music, to take him there to _Maman_.
+
+The sound of the familiar air struck a chill note upon Mimo and Zara, as
+they came up the stairs; it made them hasten their steps--they knew very
+well what mood it meant with the child.
+
+He was so far away, in his passionate dream-prayer, that he did not hear
+them coming until they opened the door; and then he looked up, his
+beautiful dark eyes all wet with tears which suddenly turned to joy when
+he saw his sister.
+
+"_Cherisette adoree_!" he cried, and was soon in her arms, soothed and
+comforted and caressed. Oh, if he could always be with her, he really,
+after all, would wish for no other heaven!
+
+"We are going to have such a picnic!" Zara told him. "Papa and I have
+brought a new tablecloth, and some pretty cups and saucers, and spoons,
+and knives, and forks--and see! such buns! English buns for you to
+toast, Mirko mio! You must be the little cook, while I lay the table."
+
+And the child clapped his hands with glee and helped to take the papers
+off; he stroked the pretty roses on the china with his delicate, little
+forefinger--he had Mimo's caressing ways with everything he admired and
+loved. He had never broken his toys, as other children do; accidental
+catastrophes to them had always caused him pain and weeping. And these
+bright, new flowery cups should be his special care, to wash, and dry,
+and guard.
+
+He grew merry as a cricket, and his laughter pealed over the paper cap
+Mimo made for him and the towel his sister had for an apron. They were
+to be the servants, and Mimo a lordly guest.
+
+And soon the table was laid, and the buns toasted and buttered; Zara had
+even bought a vase of the same china, in which she placed a bunch of
+autumn red roses, to match those painted on it and this was a particular
+joy.
+
+"The Apache," which had not yet found a purchaser, stood on one easel,
+and from it the traveling rug hung to the other, concealing all
+unsightly things, and yesterday Mimo had bought from the Tottenham Court
+Road a cheap basket armchair with bright cretonne cushions. And really,
+with the flowers and the blazing fire when they sat down to tea it all
+looked very cozy and home-like.
+
+What would her uncle or Lord Tancred have thought, could they have seen
+those tempestuous eyes of Zara's glistening and tender--and soft as a
+dove's!
+
+After tea she sat in the basket chair, and took Mirko in her arms, and
+told him all about the delightful, new home he was going to, the kind
+lady, and the beautiful view of the sea he would get from his bedroom
+windows; how pretty and fresh it all looked, how there were pine woods
+to walk in, and how she would--presently--come down to see him. And as
+she said this her thoughts flew to her own fate--what would her
+"presently" be? And she gave a little, unconscious shiver almost of
+fear.
+
+"What hast thou, Cherisette?" said Mirko. "Where were thy thoughts
+then?--not here?"
+
+"No, not here, little one. Thy Cherisette is going also to a new home;
+some day thou must visit her there."
+
+But when he questioned and implored her to tell him about it she
+answered vaguely, and tried to divert his thoughts, until he said:
+
+"It is not to _Maman_ in heaven, is it, dear Cherisette? Because there,
+there would be enough place for us both--and surely thou couldst take me
+too?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When she got back to Park Lane, and entered her uncle's library he was
+sitting at the writing table, the telephone in his hand. He welcomed her
+with his eyes and went on speaking, while she took a chair.
+
+"Yes, do come and dine.--May you see her if by chance she did not go to
+Paris?" He looked up at Zara, who frowned. "No--she is very tired and
+has gone to her room for the evening.--She has been in the country
+to-day, seeing some friends.--No--not to-morrow--she goes to the country
+again, and to Paris the following night--To the station? I will ask her,
+but perhaps she is like me, and dislikes being seen off," then a
+laugh,--and then, "All right--well, come and dine at eight--good-bye."
+The financier put the receiver down and looked at his niece, a whimsical
+smile in his eyes.
+
+"Well," he said, "your fiance is very anxious to see you, it seems. What
+do you say?"
+
+"Certainly not!" she flashed. "I thought it was understood; he shall not
+come to the train. I will go by another if he insists."
+
+"He won't insist; tell me of your day?"
+
+She calmed herself--her face had grown stormy.
+
+"I am quite satisfied with the home you have chosen for Mirko and will
+take him there to-morrow. All the clothes have come that you said I
+might order for him, and I hope and think he will be comfortable and
+happy. He has a very beautiful, tender nature, and a great talent. If he
+could only grow strong, and more balanced! Perhaps he will, in this
+calm, English air."
+
+Francis Markrute's face changed, as it always did with the mention and
+discussion of Mirko--whose presence in the world was an ever-rankling
+proof of his loved sister's disgrace. All his sense of justice--and he
+was in general a just man--could never reconcile him to the idea of ever
+seeing or recognizing the child. "The sins of the fathers"--was his
+creed and he never forgot the dying Emperor's words. He had lost sight
+of his niece for nearly two years after his sister's death. She had
+wished for no communication with him, believing then that he had left
+her mother to die without forgiveness, and it was not until he happened
+to read in a foreign paper the casual mention of Count Shulski's murder,
+and so guessed at Zara's whereabouts, that a correspondence had been
+opened again, and he was able to explain that he had been absent in
+Africa and had not received any letters.
+
+He then offered her his protection and a home, if she would sever all
+connection with the two, Mimo and Mirko, and she had indignantly
+refused. And it was only when they were in dire poverty, and he had
+again written asking his niece to come and stay with him for a few
+weeks, this time with no conditions attached, that she had consented,
+thinking that perhaps she would be able in some way to benefit them.
+
+But now that she looked at him she felt keenly how he had trapped her,
+all the same.
+
+"We will not discuss your brother's nature," he said, coldly. "I will
+keep my side of the bargain scrupulously, for all material things; that
+is all you can expect of me. Now let us talk of yourself. I have
+ventured to send some sables for your inspection up to your sitting room;
+it will be cold traveling. I hope you will select what you wish. And
+remember, I desire you to order the most complete trousseau in Paris,
+everything that a great lady could possibly want for visits and
+entertainments; and you must secure a good maid there, and return with
+all the _apanages_ of your position."
+
+She bowed, as at the reception of an order. She did not thank him.
+
+"I will not give you any advice what to get," he went on. "Your own
+admirable taste will direct you. I understand that in the days of your
+late husband you were a beautifully dressed woman, so you will know all
+the best places to go to. But please to remember, while I give you
+unlimited resources for you to do what I wish, I trust to your honor
+that you will bestow none of them upon the--man Sykypri. The bargain is
+about the child; the father is barred from it in every way."
+
+Zara did not answer, she had guessed this, but Mirko's welfare was of
+first importance. With strict economy Mimo could live upon what he
+possessed, if alone and if he chose to curtail his irresponsible
+generosities.
+
+"Do I understand I have your word of honor about this?" her uncle
+demanded.
+
+Her empress' air showed plainly now. She arose from the chair and stood
+haughtily drawn up:
+
+"You know me and whether my spoken word 'is required or no," she said,
+"but if it will be any satisfaction to you to have it I give it!"
+
+"Good--Then things are settled, and, I hope, to the happiness of all
+parties."
+
+"Happiness!" she answered bitterly. "Who is ever happy?" Then she turned
+to go, but he arrested her.
+
+"In two or three years' time you will admit to me that you know of four
+human beings who are ideally happy." And with this enigmatic
+announcement ringing in her ears, she went on up the stairs to her
+sitting-room.
+
+Who were the _four_ people? Herself and himself and Mimo and Mirko? Was
+it possible that after all his hardness towards them he meant to be
+eventually kind? Or was the fourth person not Mimo, but her future
+husband? Then she smiled grimly. It was not very likely _he_ would be
+happy--a beast, like the rest of men, who, marrying her only for her
+uncle's money, having been ready to marry her for that when he had never
+even seen her--was yet full enough of the revolting quality of his sex
+to be desirous now to kiss her and clasp her in his arms!
+
+As far as she was concerned he would have no happiness!
+
+And she herself--what would the new life mean? It appeared a blank--an
+abyss. A dark curtain seemed to overhang and cover it. All she could
+feel was that Mirko was being cared for, that she was keeping her word
+to her adored mother. She would fulfill to the letter her uncle's wishes
+as to her suitable equipments, but beyond that she refused to think.
+
+All the evening, when she had finished her short, solitary dinner, she
+played the piano in her sitting-room, her white fingers passing from one
+divine air to another, until at last she unconsciously drifted to the
+_Chanson Triste_, and Mirko's words came back to her:
+
+"There, there would be enough place for us both"--Who knows--that might
+be the end of it!
+
+And the two men heard the distant wail of the last notes as they came
+out of the dining-room, and, while it made the financier uncomfortable,
+it caused Tristram a sharp stab of pain.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+The next three weeks passed for Lord Tancred in continuously growing
+excitement. He had much business to see to for the reopening of Wrayth
+which had been closed for the past two years. He had decided to let Zara
+choose her own rooms, and decorate them as she pleased, when she should
+get there. But the big state apartments, with their tapestry and
+pictures, would remain untouched.
+
+It gave him infinite pleasure--the thought of living at his old house
+once again--and it touched him to see the joy of the village and all the
+old keepers and gardeners who had been pensioned off! He found himself
+wondering all sorts of things--if he would have a son some day soon, to
+inherit it all. Each wood and broad meadow seemed to take on new
+interest and significance from this thought.
+
+His home was so very dear to him though he had drilled himself into a
+seeming indifference. The great, round tower of the original Norman keep
+was still there, connected with the walls of the later house, a large,
+wandering edifice built at all periods from that epoch upwards, and
+culminating in a shocking early-Victorian Gothic wing and porch.
+
+"I think we shall pull that wretched bit down some time," he said to
+himself. "Zara must have good taste--she could not look so well in her
+clothes, if she had not."
+
+His thoughts were continually for her, and what she would be likely to
+wish; and, in the evening, when he sat alone in his own sanctum after a
+hard day with electricians and work-people, he would gaze into the
+blazing logs and dream.
+
+The new electric light was not installed yet, and only the big, old
+lamps lit the shadowy oak panelling. There in a niche beside the
+fireplace was the suit of armor which another Tristram Guiscard had worn
+at Agincourt. What little chaps they had been in those days in
+comparison with himself and his six feet two inches! But they had been
+great lords, his ancestors, and he, too, would be worthy of the race.
+There were no wars just now to go to and fight for his country--but he
+would fight for his order, with his uncle, the Duke, that splendid, old
+specimen of the hereditary legislator. Francis Markrute who was a good
+judge had said that he had made some decent speeches in the House of
+Lords already, and he would go on and do his best, and Zara would help
+him. He wondered if she liked reading and poetry. He was such a
+magnificently healthy sportsman he had always been a little shy of
+letting people know his inner and gentler tastes. He hoped so much she
+would care for the books he did. There was a deep strain of romance in
+his nature, undreamed of by such women as Laura Highford, and these
+evenings--alone, musing and growing in love with a phantom--drew it
+forth.
+
+His plan was to go to Paris--to the Ritz--for the honeymoon. Zara who
+did not know England would probably hate the solemn servants staring at
+her in those early days if he took her to Orton, one of the Duke's
+places which he had offered him for the blissful week. Paris was much
+better--they could go to the theater there--because he knew it would not
+all be plain sailing by any means! And every time he thought of that
+aspect, his keen, blue eyes sparkled with the instinct of the chase and
+he looked the image of the Baron Tancred who, carved in stone, with his
+Crusader's crossed feet, reposed in state in the church of Wrayth.
+
+A lissom, wiry, splendid English aristocrat, in perfect condition and
+health, was Tristram Guiscard, twenty-fourth Baron Tancred, as he
+lounged in his chair before the fire and dreamed of his lady and his
+fate.
+
+And when they were used to one another--at the end of the week--there
+would be the party at Montfitchet where he would have the joy and pride
+of showing his beautiful wife--and Laura would be there;--he suddenly
+thought of her. Poor old Laura! she had been awfully nice about it and
+had written him the sweetest letter. He would not have believed her
+capable of it--and he felt so kindly disposed towards her--little as she
+deserved it if he had only known!
+
+Then when these gayeties were over, he and Zara would come here to
+Wrayth! And he could not help picturing how he would make love to her in
+this romantic setting; and perhaps soon she, too, would love him. When
+he got thus far in his picturings he would shut his eyes, stretch out
+his long limbs, and call to Jake, his solemn bulldog, and pat his
+wrinkled head.
+
+And Zara, in Paris, was more tranquil in mind than was her wont. Mirko
+had not made much difficulty about going to Bournemouth. Everything was
+so pretty, the day she took him there, the sun shining gayly and the sea
+almost as blue as the Mediterranean, and Mrs. Morley, the doctor's wife,
+had been so gentle and sweet, and had drawn him to her heart at once,
+and petted him, and talked of his violin. The doctor had examined his
+lungs and said they certainly might improve with plenty of the fine air
+if he were very carefully fed and tended, and not allowed to catch cold.
+
+The parting with poor Mimo had been very moving. They had said good-bye
+to him in the Neville Street lodging, as Zara thought it was wiser not
+to risk a scene at the station. The father and son had kissed and
+clasped one another and both wept, and Mimo had promised to come to see
+him soon, soon!
+
+Then there had been another painful wrench when she herself left
+Bournemouth. She had put off her departure until the afternoon of the
+following day. Mirko had tried to be as brave as he could; but the
+memory of the pathetic little figure, as she saw it waving a hand to her
+from the window, made those rare tears brim up and splash on her glove,
+as she sat in the train.
+
+In her short life with its many moments of deep anguish she had seldom
+been able to cry; there were always others to be thought of first, and
+an iron self-control was one of her inheritances from her grandfather,
+the Emperor, just as that voluptuous, undulating grace, and the red,
+lustrous hair, came from the beautiful opera dancer and great artiste,
+her grandmother.
+
+She had cautioned Mrs. Morley, if she should often hear Mirko playing
+the _Chanson Triste_, to let her know, and she would come to him. It was
+a sure indication of his state of mind. And Mrs. Morley, who had read in
+the _Morning Post_ the announcement of her approaching marriage, asked
+her where she could be found, and Zara had stiffened suddenly and
+said--at her uncle's house in Park Lane, the letters to be marked "To be
+forwarded immediately."
+
+And when she had gone, Mrs. Morley had told her sister who had come in
+to tea how beautiful Countess Shulski was and how very regal looking,
+"but she had on such plain, almost shabby, black clothes, Minnie dear,
+and a small black toque, and then the most splendid sable wrap--those
+very grand people do have funny tastes, don't they? I should have liked
+a pretty autumn costume of green velveteen, and a hat with a wing or a
+bird."
+
+The financier had insisted upon his niece wearing the sable wrap--and
+somehow, in spite of all things, the beautiful, dark, soft fur had given
+her pleasure.
+
+And now, three weeks later, she was just returning from Paris, her
+beauty enriched by all that money and taste could procure. It was the
+eighteenth of October, exactly a week before her wedding.
+
+She had written to Mimo from Paris, and told him she was going to be
+married; that she was doing so because she thought it was best for them
+all; and he had written back enchanted exclamations of surprise and joy,
+and had told her she should have his new picture, the London fog--so
+dramatic with its two meeting figures--for his wedding gift. Poor Mimo,
+so generous, always, with all he had!
+
+Mirko was not to be told until she was actually married.
+
+She had written to her uncle and asked him as a great favor that she
+might only arrive the very day of the family dinner party, he could
+plead for her excess of trousseau business, or what he liked. She would
+come by the nine o'clock morning train, so as to be in ample time for
+dinner; and it would be so much easier for every one, if they could get
+the meeting over, the whole family together, rather than have the ordeal
+of private presentations.
+
+And Francis Markrute had agreed, while Lord Tancred had chafed.
+
+"I _shall_ meet her at the station, whatever you say, Francis!" he had
+exclaimed. "I am longing to see her."
+
+And as the train drew up at Victoria, Zara caught sight of him there on
+the platform, and in spite of her dislike and resentment she could not
+help seeing that her fiance was a wonderfully good-looking man.
+
+She herself appeared to him as the loveliest thing he had ever seen in
+his life, with her perfect Paris clothes, and air of distinction. If he
+had thought her attractive before he felt ecstatic in his admiration
+now.
+
+Francis Markrute hurried up the platform and Tristram frowned, but the
+financier knew it might not be safe to leave them to a tete-a-tete drive
+to the house! Zara's temper might not brook it, and he had rushed back
+from the city, though he hated rushing, in order to be on the spot to
+make a third.
+
+"Welcome, my niece!" he said, before Lord Tancred could speak. "You see,
+we have both come to greet you."
+
+She thanked them politely, and turned to give an order to her new French
+maid--and some of the expectant, boyish joy died out of Tristram's face,
+as he walked beside her to the waiting motor.
+
+They said the usual things about the crossing--it had been smooth and
+pleasant--so fortunate for that time of the year--and she had stayed on
+deck and enjoyed it. Yes, Paris had been charming; it was always a
+delightful spot to find oneself in.
+
+Then Tristram said he was glad she thought that, because, if she would
+consent, he would arrange to go there for the honeymoon directly after
+the wedding. She inclined her head in acquiescence but did not speak.
+The matter appeared one of complete indifference to her.
+
+In spite of his knowledge that this would be her attitude and he need
+not expect anything different Tristram's heart began to sink down into
+his boots, by the time they reached the house, and Francis Markrute
+whispered to his niece as they came up the steps:
+
+"I beg of you to be a little more gracious--the man has some spirit, you
+know!"
+
+So when they got into the library, and she began to pour out the tea for
+them, she made conversation. But Tristram's teeth were set, and a steely
+light began to grow in his blue eyes.
+
+She looked so astonishingly alluring there in her well-fitting, blue
+serge, traveling dress, yet he might not even kiss her white, slender
+hand! And there was a whole week before the wedding! And after
+it?--would she keep up this icy barrier between them? If so--but he
+refused to think of it!
+
+He noticed that she wore his engagement ring only, on her left hand, and
+that the right one was ringless, nor had she a brooch or any other
+jewel. He felt glad--he would be able to give her everything. His mother
+had been so splendid about the family jewels, insisting upon handing
+them over, and even in the short time one or two pieces had been reset,
+the better to please the presumably modern taste of the new bride of the
+Tancreds. These, and the wonderful pearls, her uncle's gift, were
+waiting for her, up in her sitting-room.
+
+"I think I will go and rest now until dinner," she said, and forced a
+smile as she moved towards the door.
+
+It was the first time Tristram had ever seen her smile, and it thrilled
+him. He had the most frantic longing to take her in his arms and kiss
+her, and tell her he was madly in love with her, and wanted her never to
+be out of his sight.
+
+But he let her pass out, and, turning round, he found Francis Markrute
+pouring out some liqueur brandy from a wonderful, old, gold-chased
+bottle, which stood on a side-table with its glasses. He filled two, and
+handed one to Tristram, while he quoted Doctor Johnson with an
+understanding smile:
+
+"'Claret for boys, port for men, but brandy for heroes!' By Jove! my
+dear boy," he said, "you are a hero!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+
+Lady Tancred unfortunately had one of her very bad headaches, and an
+hour before dinner, in fact before her son had left the Park Lane house,
+a telephone message came to say she was dreadfully sorry, it would be
+impossible for her to come. It was Emily who spoke to Francis Markrute,
+himself.
+
+"Mother is so disappointed," she said, "but she really suffers so
+dreadfully. I am sure Countess Shulski will forgive her, and you, too.
+She wants to know if Countess Shulski will let Tristram bring her
+to-morrow morning, without any more ceremony, to see her and stay to
+luncheon."
+
+Thus it was settled and this necessitated a change in the table
+arrangements.
+
+Lady Ethelrida would now sit on the host's right hand, and Lady
+Coltshurst, an aunt on the Tancred side, at his left, while Zara would
+be between the Duke and her fiance, as originally arranged. Emily
+Guiscard would have Sir James Danvers and Lord Coltshurst as neighbors,
+and Mary her uncle, the Duke's brother, a widower, Lord Charles
+Montfitchet, and his son, "Young Billy," the Glastonbury heir--Lady
+Ethelrida was the Duke's only child.
+
+At a quarter before eight Francis Markrute went up to his niece's
+sitting-room. She was already dressed in a sapphire-blue velvet
+masterpiece of simplicity. The Tancred presents of sapphires and
+diamonds lay in their open cases on the table with the splendid
+Markrute yards of pearls. She was standing looking down at them, the
+strangest expression of cynical resignation upon her face.
+
+"Your gift is magnificent, Uncle Francis," she said, without thanking
+him. "Which do you wish me to wear? Yours--or his?"
+
+"Lord Tancred's, he has specially asked that you put his on to-night,"
+the financier replied. "These are only his first small ones; the other
+jewels are being reset for you. Nothing can be kinder or more generous
+than the whole family has been. You see this brooch, with the large drop
+sapphire and diamond, is from the Duke."
+
+She inclined her head without enthusiasm, and took her own small pearls
+from her ears, and replaced them by the big sapphire and diamond
+earrings; a riviere of alternate solitaire sapphires and diamonds she
+clasped round her snowy throat.
+
+"You look absolutely beautiful," her uncle exclaimed with admiration. "I
+knew I could perfectly trust to your taste--the dress is perfection."
+
+"Then I suppose we shall have to go down," she said quietly.
+
+She was perfectly calm, her face expressionless; if there was a
+tempestuous suggestion in her somber eyes she generally kept the lids
+lowered. Inwardly, she felt a raging rebellion. This was the first
+ceremony of the sacrifice, and although in the abstract her fine senses
+appreciated the jewels and all her new and beautiful clothes and
+_apanages_, they in no way counterbalanced the hateful degradation.
+
+To her it was a hideous mockery--the whole thing; she was just a
+chattel, a part of a business bargain. She could not guess her uncle's
+motive for the transaction (he had a deep one, of course), but Lord
+Tancred's was plain and purely contemptible. Money! For had not the
+whole degrading thing been settled before he had ever seen her? He was
+worse than Ladislaus who, at all events, had been passionately in love,
+in his revolting, animal way.
+
+She knew nothing of the English customs, nor how such a thing as the
+arrangement of this marriage, as she thought it was, was a perfectly
+unknown impossibility, as an idea. She supposed that the entire family
+were aware of the circumstances, and were willing to accept her only for
+her uncle's wealth--she already hated and despised them all. Her idea
+was, "_noblesse oblige_," and that a great and ancient house should
+never stoop to such depths.
+
+Francis Markrute looked at her when she said, "I suppose we shall have
+to go down," with that icy calm. He felt faintly uneasy.
+
+"Zara, it is understood you will be gracious? and _brusquer_ no one?"
+
+But all the reply he received was a glance of scorn. She had given her
+word and refused to discuss that matter.
+
+And so they descended the stairs just in time to be standing ready to
+receive Lord and Lady Coltshurst who were the first to be announced. He
+was a spare, unintelligent, henpecked, elderly man, and she, a stout,
+forbidding-looking lady. She had prominent, shortsighted eyes, and she
+used longhandled glasses; she had also three chins, and did not resemble
+the Guiscards in any way, except for her mouth and her haughty bearing.
+
+Zara's manner was that of an empress graciously receiving foreigners in
+a private audience!
+
+The guests now arrived in quick succession. Lord Charles and his son,
+"Young Billy," then Tristram and his sisters, and Jimmy Danvers, and,
+lastly, the Duke and Lady Ethelrida.
+
+They were all such citizens of the world there was no awkwardness, and
+the old Duke had kissed his fair, prospective niece's hand when he had
+been presented, and had said that some day he should claim the privilege
+of an old man and kiss her cheek. And Zara had smiled for an instant,
+overcome by his charm, and so she had put her fingers on his arm, and
+they had gone down to dinner; and now they were talking suavely.
+
+Francis Markrute had a theory that certain human beings are born with
+moral antennae--a sort of extra combination beyond the natural of the
+senses of sight, smell, hearing and understanding--which made them
+apprehend situations and people even when these chanced to be of a
+hitherto unknown race or habit. Zara was among those whose antennae were
+highly developed. She had apprehended almost instantaneously that
+whatever their motives were underneath, her future husband's family were
+going to act the part of receiving her for herself. It was a little
+ridiculous, but very well bred, and she must fall in with it when with
+them collectively like this.
+
+Before they had finished the soup the Duke was saying to himself that
+she was the most attractive creature he had ever met in his life, and no
+wonder Tristram was mad about her; for Tristram's passionate admiration
+to-night could not have been mistaken by a child!
+
+And yet Zara had never smiled, but that once--in the drawing-room.
+
+Lady Ethelrida from where she sat could see her face through a gap in
+the flowers. The financier had ordered a tall arrangement on purpose:
+if Zara by chance should look haughtily indifferent it were better that
+her expression should escape the observation of all but her nearest
+neighbors. However, Lady Ethelrida just caught the picture of her
+through an oblique angle, against a background of French panelling.
+
+And with her quiet, calm judgment of people she was wondering what was
+the cause of that strange look in her eyes? Was it of a stag at bay? Was
+it temper, or resentment, or only just pain? And Tristram had said their
+color was slate gray; for her part she saw nothing but pools of jet ink!
+
+"There is some tragic story hidden here," she thought, "and Tristram is
+too much in love to see it." But she felt rather drawn to her new
+prospective cousin, all the same.
+
+Francis Markrute seemed perfectly happy--his manner as a host left
+nothing to be desired; he did not neglect the uninteresting aunt, who
+formed golden opinions of him; but he contrived to make Lady Ethelrida
+feel that he wished only to talk to her; not because she was an
+attractive, young woman, but because he was impressed with her
+intelligence, in the abstract. It made things very easy.
+
+The Duke asked Zara if she knew anything about English politics.
+
+"You will have to keep Tristram up to the mark," he said, "he has done
+very well now and then, but he is a rather lazy fellow." And he smiled.
+
+"'Tristram,'" she thought. "So his name is 'Tristram'!" She had actually
+never heard it before, nor troubled herself to inquire about it. It
+seemed incredible, it aroused in her a grim sense of humor, and she
+looked into the old Duke's face for a second and wondered what he would
+say if she announced this fact, and he caught the smile, cynical though
+it was, and continued:
+
+"I see you have noticed his laziness! Now it will really be your duty to
+make him a first-rate fighter for our cause. The Radicals will begin to
+attack our very existence presently, and we must all come up to the
+scratch."
+
+"I know nothing as yet of your politics," Zara said. "I do not
+understand which party is which, though my uncle says one consists of
+gentlemen, and the other of the common people. I suppose it is like in
+other countries, every one wanting to secure what some one above him has
+got, without being fitted for the administration of what he desires to
+snatch."
+
+"That is about it," smiled the Duke.
+
+"It would be reasonable, if they were all oppressed here, as in France
+before the great revolution, but are they?"
+
+"Oh! dear, no!" interrupted Tristram. "All the laws are made for the
+lower classes. They have compensations for everything, and they have
+openings to rise to the top of the tree if they wish to. It is wretched
+landlords like my uncle and myself who are oppressed!" and he smiled
+delightedly, he was so happy to hear her talk.
+
+"When I shall know I shall perhaps find it all interesting," she
+continued to the Duke.
+
+"Between us we shall have to instruct you thoroughly, eh, Tristram, my
+boy? And then you must be a great leader, and have a salon, as the
+ladies of the eighteenth century did: we want a beautiful young woman to
+draw us all together."
+
+"Well, don't you think I have found you a perfect specimen, Uncle!"
+Tristram exclaimed; and he raised his glass and kissed the brim, while
+he whispered:
+
+"Darling, my sweet lady--I drink to your health."
+
+But this was too much for Zara--he was overdoing the part--and she
+turned and flashed upon him a glance of resentment and contempt.
+
+Beyond the Duke sat Jimmy Danvers, and then Emily Guiscard and Lord
+Coltshurst, and the two young people exchanged confidences in a low
+voice.
+
+"I say, Emily, isn't she a corker?" Sir James said. "She don't look a
+bit English, though, she reminds me of a--oh, well, I'm not good at
+history or dates, but some one in the old Florentine time. She looks as
+if she could put a dagger into one or give a fellow a cup of poison,
+without turning a hair."
+
+"Oh, Jimmy! how horrid," exclaimed Emily. "She does not seem to me to
+have a cruel face, she only looks peculiar and mysterious,
+and--and--unsmiling. Do you think she loves Tristram? Perhaps that is
+the foreign way--to appear so cold."
+
+At that moment Sir James Danvers caught the glance which Zara gave her
+fiance for his toast.
+
+"Je-hoshaphat!" he exclaimed! But he realized that Emily had not seen,
+so he stopped abruptly.
+
+"Yes--one can never be sure of things with foreigners," he said, and he
+looked down at his plate. That poor devil of a Tristram was going to
+have a thorny time in the future, he thought, and he was to be best man
+at the wedding; it would be like giving the old chap over to a tigress!
+But, by Jove!--such a beautiful one would be worth being eaten by--he
+added to himself.
+
+And during one of Francis Markrute's turnings to his left-hand neighbor
+Lord Coltshurst said to Lady Ethelrida:
+
+"I think Tristram's choice peculiarly felicitous, Ethelrida, do not you?
+But I fear her ladyship"--and he glanced timidly at his wife--"will not
+take this view. She has a most unreasonable dislike for young women with
+red hair. 'Ungovernable temperaments,' she affirms. I trust she won't
+prejudice your Aunt Jane."
+
+"Aunt Jane always thinks for herself," said Lady Ethelrida. She
+announced no personal opinion about Tristram's fiance, nor could Lord
+Coltshurst extort one from her.
+
+As the dinner went on she felt a growing sense that they were all on the
+edge of a volcano.
+
+Lady Ethelrida never meddled in other people's affairs, but she loved
+Tristram as a brother and she felt a little afraid. She could not see
+his face, from where she sat--the table was a long one with oval
+ends--but she, too, had seen the flash from Zara which had caused Jimmy
+Danvers to exclaim: "Jehoshaphat!"
+
+The host soon turned back from duty to pleasure, leaving Lady Coltshurst
+to Lord Charles Montfitchet. The conversation turned upon types.
+
+Types were not things of chance, Francis Markrute affirmed; if one could
+look back far enough there was always a reason for them.
+
+"People are so extremely unthinking about such a number of interesting
+things, Lady Ethelrida," he said, "their speculative faculties seem only
+to be able to roam into cut and dried channels. We have had great
+scientists like Darwin investigating our origin, and among the Germans
+there are several who study the atavism of races, but in general even
+educated people are perfectly ignorant upon the subject, and they expect
+little Tommy Jones and Katie Robinson, or Jacques Dubois and Marie
+Blanc, to have the same instincts as your cousin, Lord Tancred, and you,
+for instance. Whatever individual you are dealing with, you should
+endeavor to understand his original group. In moments of great
+excitement when all acquired control is in abeyance the individual
+always returns to the natural action of his group."
+
+"How interesting!" said Lady Ethelrida. "Let us look round the table and
+decide to what particular group each one of us belongs."
+
+"Most of you are from the same group," he said meditatively.
+"Eliminating myself and my niece, Sir James Danvers has perhaps had the
+most intermixtures."
+
+"Yes," said Lady Ethelrida, and she laughed. "Jimmy's grandmother was
+the daughter of a very rich Manchester cotton spinner; that is what
+gives him his sound common sense. I am afraid Tristram and the rest of
+us except Lord Coltshurst have not had anything sensible like that in us
+for hundreds of years, so what would be your speculation as to the
+action of our group?"
+
+"That you would have high courage and fine senses, and highly-strung,
+nervous force, and chivalry and good taste, and broad and noble aims in
+the higher half and that in the lower portion you would run to the
+decadence of all those things--the fine turned to vices--yet even so I
+would not look for vulgarity, or bad taste, or cowardice in any of you."
+
+"No," said Lady Ethelrida--"I hope not. Then, according to your
+reasoning it is very unjust of us when we say, as perhaps you have heard
+it said, that Lady Darrowood is to blame when she is noisy and
+assertive and treats Lord Darrowood with bad taste?"
+
+"Certainly--she only does those things when she is excited and has gone
+back to her group. When she is under her proper control she plays the
+part of an English marchioness very well. It is the prerogative of a new
+race to be able to play a part; the result of the cunning and strength
+which have been required of the immediate forbears in order to live at
+all under unfavorable conditions. Now, had her father been a Deptford
+ox-slaughterer instead of a Chicago pig-sticker she could never have
+risen to the role of a marchioness at all. This is no new country; it
+does not need nor comprehend bluff, and so produces no such type as Lady
+Darrowood."
+
+At this moment Lady Ethelrida again caught sight of Zara. She was silent
+at the instant, and a look of superb pride and disdain was on her face.
+Almost before she was aware of it Ethelrida had exclaimed:
+
+"Your niece looks like an empress, a wonderful, Byzantine, Roman
+empress!"
+
+Francis Markrute glanced at her, sideways, with his clever eyes; had she
+ever heard anything of Zara's parentage, he wondered for a second, and
+then he smiled at himself for the thought. Lady Ethelrida was not likely
+to have spoken so in that case--she would not be acting up to her group.
+
+"There are certain reasons why she should," he said. "I cannot answer
+for the part of her which comes from her father, Maurice Grey, a very
+old English family, I believe, but on her mother's side she could have
+the passions of an artist and the pride of a Caesar: she is a very
+interesting case."
+
+"May I know something of her?" Ethelrida said, "I do so want them to be
+happy. Tristram is one of the simplest and finest characters I have ever
+met. He will love her very much, I fear."
+
+"Why do you say you _fear?_"
+
+Lady Ethelrida reddened a little; a soft, warm flush came into her
+delicate face and made it look beautiful: she never spoke of love--to
+men.
+
+"Because a great love is a very powerful and sometimes a terrible thing,
+if it is not returned in like measure. And, oh, forgive me for saying
+so, but the Countess Shulski does not look as if--she loved
+Tristram--much."
+
+Francis Markrute did not speak for an instant, then he turned and gazed
+straight into her eyes gravely, as he said:
+
+"Believe me, I would not allow your cousin to marry my niece if I were
+not truly convinced that it will be for the eventual great happiness of
+them both. Will you promise me something, Lady Ethelrida? Will you help
+me not to permit any one to interfere between them for some time, no
+matter how things may appear? Give them the chance of settling
+everything themselves."
+
+Ethelrida looked back at him, with a seriousness equal to his own as she
+answered, "I promise." And inwardly the sense of some unknown
+undercurrent that might grow into a rushing torrent made itself felt,
+stronger than before.
+
+Meanwhile Lady Coltshurst, who could just see Zara's profile all the
+time when she put up those irritating, longhandled glasses of hers, now
+gave her opinion of the bride-elect to Lord Charles Montfitchet, her
+neighbor on the left hand.
+
+"I strongly disapprove of her, Charles. Either her hair is dyed or her
+eyes are blackened; that mixture is not natural, and if, indeed, it
+should be in this case then I consider it uncanny and not what one would
+wish for in the family."
+
+"Oh, I say, my lady!" objected Lord Charles, "I think she is the most
+stunning-looking young woman I've seen in a month of Sundays!"
+
+Lady Coltshurst put up her glasses again and glared:
+
+"I cannot bear your modern slang, Charles, but 'stunning,' used
+literally, is quite appropriate. She does stun one; that is exactly it.
+I fear poor Tristram with such a type can look forward to very little
+happiness, or poor Jane to any likelihood that the Tancred name will
+remain free from scandal."
+
+Lord Charles grew exasperated and retaliated.
+
+"By George! A demure mouse can cause scandal to a name, with probably
+more certainty than this beauty!"
+
+There was a member of Lady Coltshurst's husband's family whom she
+herself, having no children, had brought out, and who had been
+perilously near the Divorce Court this very season: and she was a dull,
+colorless little thing.
+
+Her ladyship turned the conversation abruptly, with an annihilating
+glance. And fortunately, just then Zara rose, and the ladies filed out
+of the room: and so this trying dinner was over.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+Nothing could exceed Zara's dignity, when they reached the drawing-room
+above. They at first stood in a group by the fire in the larger room,
+and Emily and Mary tried to get a word in and say something nice in
+their frank girlish way. They admired their future sister-in-law so
+immensely, and if Zara had not thought they were all acting a part, as
+she herself was, she would have been touched at their sweetness. As it
+was she inwardly froze more and more, while she answered with
+politeness; and Lady Ethelrida, watching quietly for a while, grew
+further puzzled.
+
+It was certainly a mask this extraordinary and beautiful young woman was
+wearing, she felt, and presently, when Lady Coltshurst who had remained
+rather silently aloof, only fixing them all in turn with her long
+eyeglasses, drew the girls aside to talk to her by asking for news of
+their mother's headache, Ethelrida indicated she and Zara might sit down
+upon the nearest, stiff, French sofa; and as she clasped her thin, fine
+hands together, holding her pale gray gloves which she did not attempt
+to put on again, she said gently:
+
+"I hope we shall all make you feel you are so welcome, Zara--may I call
+you Zara? It is such a beautiful name I think."
+
+The Countess Shulski's strange eyes seemed to become blacker than
+ever--a startled, suspicious look grew in them, just such as had come
+into the black panther's on a day when Francis Markrute whistled a
+softly caressing note outside its bars: what did this mean?
+
+"I shall be very pleased if you will," she said coldly.
+
+Lady Ethelrida determined not to be snubbed. She must overcome this
+barrier if she could, for Tristram's sake.
+
+"England and our customs must seem so strange to you," she went on. "But
+we are not at all disagreeable people when you know us!" And she smiled
+encouragingly.
+
+"It is easy to be agreeable when one is happy," Zara said. "And you all
+seem very happy here--_sans souci_. It is good."
+
+And Ethelrida wondered. "What can make you so unhappy, you beautiful
+thing, with Tristram to love you, and youth and health and riches?"
+
+And Zara thought, "This appears a sweet and most frank lady, but how can
+I tell? I know not the English. It is perhaps because she is so well
+bred that she is enabled to act so nicely."
+
+"You have not yet seen Wrayth, have you?" Ethelrida went on. "I am sure
+you will be interested in it, it is so old."
+
+"Wr--ayth--?" Zara faltered. She had never heard of it! What was Wrayth?
+
+"Perhaps I do not pronounce it as you are accustomed to think of it,"
+Ethelrida said kindly. She was absolutely startled at the other's
+ignorance. "Tristram's place, I mean. The Guiscards have owned it ever
+since the Conqueror gave it to them after the Battle of Hastings, you
+know. It is the rarest case of a thing being so long in one family, even
+here in England, and the title has only gone in the male line, too, as
+yet. But Tristram and Cyril are the very last. If anything happened to
+them it would be the end. Oh! we are all so glad Tristram is going to be
+married!"
+
+Zara's eyes now suddenly blazed at the unconscious insinuation in this
+speech. Any one who has ever watched a caged creature of the cat tribe
+and seen how the whole gamut of emotions--sullen endurance, suspicion,
+resentment, hate and rage, as well as contentment and happiness--can
+appear in its orbs without the slightest aid from lids or eyebrows,
+without the smallest alteration in mouth or chin, will understand how
+Zara's pools of ink spoke while their owner remained icily still.
+
+She understood perfectly the meaning of Ethelrida's speech. The line of
+the Tancreds should go on through her! But never, never! That should
+never be! If they were counting upon that they were counting in vain.
+The marriage was never intended to be anything but an empty ceremony,
+for mercenary reasons. There must be no mistake about this. What if Lord
+Tancred had such ideas, too? And she quivered suddenly and caught in her
+breath with the horror of this thought.
+
+And who was Cyril? Zara had no knowledge of Cyril, any more than of
+Wrayth! But she did not ask.
+
+If Francis Markrute had heard this conversation he would have been very
+much annoyed with himself, and would have blamed himself for stupidity.
+He, of course, should have seen that his niece was sufficiently well
+coached, in all the details that she should know, not to be led into
+these pitfalls.
+
+Ethelrida felt a sensation of a sort of petrified astonishment. There is
+a French word, _ahuri_, which expresses her emotion exactly, but there
+is no English equivalent. Tristram's fiance was evidently quite ignorant
+of the simplest facts about him, or his family, or his home! Her eyes
+had blazed at Ethelrida's last speech, with a look of self-defence and
+defiance. And yet Tristram was evidently passionately in love with her.
+How could such things be? It was a great mystery. Ethelrida was thrilled
+and interested.
+
+Francis Markrute guessed the ladies' lonely moments would be most
+difficult to pass, so he had curtailed the enjoyment of the port and old
+brandy and cigars to the shortest possible dimensions, Tristram aiding
+him. His one desire was to be near his fiance.
+
+The overmastering magnetic current which seemed to have drawn him from
+the very first moment he had seen her now had augmented into almost
+pain. She had been cruelly cold and disdainful at dinner whenever she
+had spoken to him, her contempt showing plainly in her eyes, and it had
+maddened and excited him; and when the other men had all drunk the
+fiances' health and wished them happiness he had gulped down the old
+brandy, and vowed to himself, "Before a year is out I will make her love
+me as I love her, so help me God!"
+
+And then they all had trooped up into the drawing-room just as Ethelrida
+was saying,
+
+"The northern property, Morndale, is not half so pretty as Wrayth--"
+
+But when she saw them enter she rose and ceded her place to Tristram who
+gladly sank into the sofa beside his lady.
+
+He was to have no tete-a-tete, however, for Jimmy Danvers who felt it
+was his turn to say something to the coming bride came now, and leant
+upon the mantelpiece beside them.
+
+"I am going to be the most severe 'best man' next Wednesday, Countess,"
+he said. "I shall see that Tristram is at St. George's a good half-hour
+before the time, and that he does not drop the ring; you trust to me!"
+And he laughed nervously, Zara's face was so unresponsive.
+
+"Countess Shulski does not know the English ceremony, Jimmy," Tristram
+interrupted quickly, "nor what is a 'best man.' Now, if we were only
+across the water we would have a rehearsal of the whole show as we did
+for Darrowood's wedding."
+
+"That must have been a joke," said Jimmy.
+
+"It was very sensible there; there was such a lot of fuss, and
+bridesmaids, and things; but we are going to be quite quiet, aren't we,
+Zara? I hate shows; don't you?"
+
+"Immensely," was all she answered.
+
+Then Sir James, who felt thoroughly crushed, after one or two more
+fatuous remarks moved away, and Zara arose in her character of hostess,
+and spoke to Lady Coltshurst.
+
+Tristram crossed over to the Duke and rapidly began a political
+discussion, but while his uncle appeared to notice nothing unusual, and
+entered into it with interest, his kind, old heart was wrung with the
+pain he saw his favorite nephew was suffering.
+
+"Mr. Markrute, I am troubled," Lady Ethelrida said, as she walked with
+the host to look at an exquisite Vigee le Brun across the room. "Your
+niece is the most interesting personality I have ever met; but,
+underneath, something is making her unhappy, I am sure. Please, what
+does it mean? Oh, I know I have promised what I did at dinner, but are
+you certain it is all right? And can they ever be really at peace
+together?"
+
+Francis Markrute bent over, apparently to point to a _bibelot_ which
+lay on a table under the picture, and he said in a low, vibrating tone.
+
+"I give you my word there is some one, who is dead--whom I loved--who
+would come back and curse me now, if I should let this thing be, with a
+doubt in my heart as to their eventual happiness."
+
+And Lady Ethelrida looked full at him and saw that the man's cold face
+was deeply moved and softened.
+
+"If that is so then I will speculate no more," she said. "Listen! I will
+trust you!"
+
+"You dear, noble English lady," the financier replied, "how truly I
+thank you!" And he let some of the emotion which he felt, gleam from his
+eyes, while he changed the conversation.
+
+A few minutes after this, Lady Coltshurst announced it was time to go,
+and she would take the girls home. And the Duke's carriage was also
+waiting, and good nights were said, and the host whispered to Jimmy
+Danvers,
+
+"Take Tancred along with you, too, please. My niece is overtired with
+the strain of this evening and I want her to go to bed at once." And to
+Tristram he said,
+
+"Do not even say good night, like a dear fellow. Don't you see she is
+almost ready to faint? Just go quietly with the rest, and come for her
+to-morrow morning to take her to your mother."
+
+So they all left as he wished, and he himself went back upstairs to the
+big drawing-room and there saw Zara standing like a marble statue,
+exactly as they had left her, and he went forward, and, bending, kissed
+her hand.
+
+"Most beautifully endured, my queenly niece!" he said; and then he led
+her to the door and up to her room. She was perfectly mute.
+
+But a little while afterwards, as he came to bed himself, he was
+startled and chilled by hearing the _Chanson Triste_ being played in her
+sitting-room, with a wailing, passionate pathos, as of a soul in
+anguish.
+
+And if he could have seen her face he would have seen her great eyes
+streaming with tears, while she prayed:
+
+"_Maman_, ask God to give me courage to get through all of this, since
+it is for your Mirko."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+Satan was particularly fresh next morning when Tristram took him for a
+canter round the Park. He was glad of it: he required something to work
+off steam upon. He was in a mood of restless excitement. During the
+three weeks of Zara's absence he had allowed himself to dream into a
+state of romantic love for her. He had glossed over in his mind her
+distant coldness, her frigid adherence to the bare proposition, so that
+to return to that state of things had come to him as a shock.
+
+But, this morning, he knew he was a fool to have expected anything else.
+He was probably a great fool altogether, but he never changed his mind,
+and was prepared to pay the price of his folly. After all, there would
+be plenty of time afterwards to melt her dislike, so he could afford to
+wait now. He would not permit himself to suffer again as he had done
+last night. Then he came in and had his bath, and made himself into a
+very perfect-looking lover, to present himself to his lady at about
+half-past twelve o'clock, to take her to his mother.
+
+Zara was, if anything, whiter than usual when she came into the library
+where he was waiting for her alone. The financier had gone to the City.
+She had heavy, bluish shadows under her eyes, and he saw quite plainly
+that, the night before, she must have been weeping bitterly.
+
+A great tenderness came over him. What was this sorrow of hers? Why
+might he not comfort her? He put out both hands and then, as she
+remained stonily unresponsive, he dropped them, and only said quietly
+that he hoped she was well, and his motor was waiting outside, and that
+his mother, Lady Tancred, would be expecting them.
+
+"I am ready," said Zara. And they went.
+
+He told her as they flew along, that he had been riding in the Park that
+morning, and had looked up at the house and wondered which was her
+window; and then he asked her if she liked riding, and she said she had
+never tried for ten years--the opportunity to ride had not been in her
+life--but she used to like it when she was a child.
+
+"I must get you a really well-mannered hack," he said joyously. Here was
+a subject she had not snubbed him over! "And you will let me teach you
+again when we go down to Wrayth, won't you?"
+
+But before she could answer they had arrived at the house in Queen
+Street.
+
+Michelham, with a subdued beam on his old face, stood inside the door
+with his footmen, and Tristram said gayly,
+
+"Michelham, this is to be her new ladyship; Countess Shulski"--and he
+turned to Zara. "Michelham is a very old friend of mine, Zara. We used
+to do a bit of poaching together, when I was a boy and came home from
+Eton."
+
+Michelham was only a servant and could not know of her degradation, so
+Zara allowed herself to smile and looked wonderfully lovely, as the old
+man said,
+
+"I am sure I wish your ladyship every happiness, and his lordship, too;
+and, if I may say so, with such a gentleman your ladyship is sure to
+have it."
+
+And Tristram chaffed him, and they went upstairs.
+
+Lady Tancred had rigidly refrained from questioning her daughters, on
+their return from the dinnerparty; she had not even seen them until the
+morning, and when they had both burst out with descriptions of their
+future sister-in-law's beauty and strangeness their mother had stopped
+them.
+
+"Do not tell me anything about her, dear children," she had said. "I
+wish to judge for myself without prejudice."
+
+But Lady Coltshurst could not be so easily repressed. She had called
+early, on purpose to give her views, with the ostensible excuse of an
+inquiry about her sister-in-law's health.
+
+"I am afraid you will be rather unfavorably impressed with Tristram's
+choice, when you have seen her, Jane," she announced. "I confess I was.
+She treated us all as though _she_ were conferring the honor, not
+receiving it, and she is by no means a type that promises domestic
+tranquillity for Tristram."
+
+"Really, Julia!" Lady Tancred protested. "I must beg of you to say no
+more. I have perfect confidence in my son, and wish to receive his
+future wife with every mark of affection."
+
+"Your efforts will be quite wasted, then, Jane," her sister-in-law
+snapped. "She is most forbidding, and never once unbent nor became
+genial, the whole evening. And besides, for a lady, she is much too
+striking looking."
+
+"She cannot help being beautiful," Lady Tancred said. "I am sure I shall
+admire her very much, from what the girls tell me. But we will not
+discuss her. It was so kind of you to come, and my head is much
+better."
+
+"Then I will be off!" Lady Coltshurst sniffed in a slightly offended
+tone. Really, relations were so tiresome! They never would accept a word
+of advice or warning in the spirit it was given, and Jane in particular
+was unpleasantly difficult.
+
+So she got into her electric brougham, and was rolled away, happily
+before Tristram and his lady appeared upon the scene; but the jar of her
+words still lingered with Lady Tancred, in spite of all her efforts to
+forget it.
+
+Zara's heart beat when they got to the door, and she felt extremely
+antagonistic. Francis Markrute had left her in entire ignorance of the
+English customs, for a reason of his own. He calculated if he informed
+her that on Tristram's side it was purely a love match, she, with her
+strange temperament, and sense of honor, would never have accepted it.
+He knew she would have turned upon him and said she could be no party to
+such a cheat. He with his calm, calculating brain had weighed the pros
+and cons of the whole matter: to get her to consent, for her brother's
+sake in the beginning, under the impression that it was a dry business
+arrangement, equally distasteful personally to both parties--to leave
+her with this impression and keep the pair as much as possible apart,
+until the actual wedding; and then to leave her awakening to
+Tristram--was his plan. A woman would be impossibly difficult to please,
+if, in the end, she failed to respond to such a lover as Tristram! He
+counted upon what he had called her moral antennae to make no mistakes.
+It would not eventually prejudice matters if the family did find her a
+little stiff, as long as she did not actually show her contempt for
+their apparent willingness to support the bargain. But her look of
+scorn, the night before, when he had shown some uneasiness on this
+score, had reassured him. He would leave things alone and let her make
+her own discoveries.
+
+So now she entered her future mother-in-law's room, with a haughty mien
+and no friendly feelings in her heart. She was well acquainted with the
+foreign examples of mother-in-law. They interfered with everything and
+had their sons under their thumbs. They seemed always mercenary, and
+were the chief agents in promoting a match, if it were for their own
+family's advantage. No doubt Uncle Francis had arranged the whole affair
+with this Lady Tancred in the first instance, and she, Zara, would not
+be required to keep up the comedy, as with the uncle and cousins. She
+decided she would be quite frank with her if the occasion required, and
+if she should, by chance, make the same insinuation of the continuance
+of the Tancred race as Lady Ethelrida had innocently done, she would
+have plainly to say that was not in the transaction. For her own ends
+she must be Lord Tancred's wife and let her uncle have what glory he
+pleased from the position; if that were his reason, and as for Lord
+Trancred's ends, he was to receive money. That was all: it was quite
+simple.
+
+The two women were mutually surprised when they looked at one another.
+Lady Tancred's first impression was, "It is true she is a very
+disturbing type, but how well bred and how beautiful!" And Zara thought,
+"It is possible that, after all, I may be wrong. She looks too proud to
+have stooped to plan this thing. It may be only Lord Tancred's
+doing--men are more horrible than women."
+
+"This is Zara, Mother," Tristram said.
+
+And Lady Tancred held out her hands, and then drew her new
+daughter--that was to be--nearer and kissed her.
+
+And over Zara there crept a thrill. She saw that the elder lady was
+greatly moved, and no woman had kissed her since her mother's death.
+Why, if it were all a bargain, should she tenderly kiss her?
+
+"I am so glad to welcome you, dear," Lady Tancred said, determining to
+be very gracious. "I am almost pleased not to have been able to go last
+night. Now I can have you all to myself for this, our first little
+meeting."
+
+And they sat down on a sofa, and Zara asked about her head; and Lady
+Tancred told her the pain was almost gone, and this broke the ice and
+started a conversation.
+
+"I want you to tell me of yourself," Lady Tancred said. "Do you think
+you will like this old England of ours, with its damp and its gloom in
+the autumn, and its beautiful fresh spring? I want you to--and to love
+your future home."
+
+"Everything is very strange to me, but I will try," Zara answered.
+
+"Tristram has been making great arrangements to please you at Wrayth,"
+Lady Tancred went on. "But, of course, he has told you all about it."
+
+"I have had to be away all the time," Zara felt she had better say--and
+Tristram interrupted.
+
+"They are all to be surprises, Mother; everything is to be new to Zara,
+from beginning to end. You must not tell her anything of it."
+
+Then Lady Tancred spoke of gardens. She hoped Zara liked gardens; she
+herself was a great gardener, and had taken much pride in her herbaceous
+borders and her roses at Wrayth.
+
+And when they had got to this stage of the conversation Tristram felt he
+could safely leave them to one another, so, saying he wanted to talk to
+his sisters, he went out of the room.
+
+"It will be such happiness to think of your living in the old home," the
+proud lady said. "It was a great grief to us all when we had to shut it
+up, two years ago; but you will, indeed, adorn it for its reopening."
+
+Zara did not know what to reply. She vaguely understood that one might
+love a home, though she had never had one but the gloomy castle near
+Prague; and that made her sigh when she thought of it.
+
+But a garden she knew she should love. And Mirko was so fond of flowers.
+Oh! if they would let her have a beautiful country home in peace, and
+Mirko to come sometimes, and play there, and chase butterflies, with his
+excited, poor little face, she would indeed be grateful to them. Her
+thoughts went on in a dream of this, while Lady Tancred talked of many
+things, and she answered, "Yes," and "No," with gentle respect. Her
+future mother-in-law's great dignity pleased her sense of the fitness of
+things; she so disliked gush of any sort herself, and she felt now that
+she knew where she was and there need be no explanations. The family,
+one and all, evidently intended to play the same part, and she would,
+too. When the awakening came it would be between herself and Tristram.
+Yes, she must think of him now as "Tristram!"
+
+Her thoughts had wandered again when she heard Lady Tancred's voice,
+saying,
+
+"I wanted to give you this myself," and she drew a small case from a
+table near and opened it, and there lay a very beautiful diamond ring.
+"It is my own little personal present to you, my new, dear daughter.
+Will you wear it sometimes, Zara, in remembrance of this day and in
+remembrance that I give into your hands the happiness of my son, who is
+dearer to me than any one on earth?"
+
+And the two proud pairs of eyes met, and Zara could not answer, and
+there was a strange silence between them for a second. And then Tristram
+came back into the room, which created a diversion, and she was enabled
+to say some ordinary conventional things about the beauty of the stones,
+and express her thanks for the gift. Only, in her heart, she determined
+never to wear it. It would burn her hand, she thought, and she could
+never be a hypocrite.
+
+Luncheon was then announced, and they went into the dining-room.
+
+Here she saw Tristram in a new light, with only "Young Billy" and Jimmy
+Danvers who had dropped in, and his mother and sisters.
+
+He was gay as a schoolboy, telling Billy who had not spoken a word to
+Zara the night before that now he should sit beside her, and that he was
+at liberty to make love to his new cousin! And Billy, aged nineteen--a
+perfectly stolid and amiable youth--proceeded to start a laborious
+conversation, while the rest of the table chaffed about things which
+were Greek to Zara, but she was grateful not to have to talk, and so
+passed off the difficulties of the situation.
+
+And the moment the meal was over Tristram took her back to Park Lane.
+He, too, was thankful the affair had been got through; he hardly spoke
+as they went along, and in silence followed her into the house and into
+the library, and there waited for her commands.
+
+Whenever they were alone the disguises of the part fell from Zara, and
+she resumed the icy mien.
+
+"Good-bye," she said coldly. "I am going into the country to-morrow for
+two or three days. I shall not see you until Monday. Have you anything
+more it is necessary to say?"
+
+"You are going into the country!" Tristram exclaimed, aghast. "But I
+will not--" and then he paused, for her eyes had flashed ominously. "I
+mean," he went on, "must you go? So soon before our wedding?"
+
+She drew herself up and spoke in a scathing voice.
+
+"Why must I repeat again what I said when you gave me your ring?--I do
+not wish to see or speak with you. You will have all you bargained for.
+Can you not leave my company out of the question?"
+
+The Tancred stern, obstinate spirit was thoroughly roused. He walked up
+and down the room rapidly for a moment, fuming with hurt rage. Then
+reason told him to wait. He had no intention of breaking off the match
+now, no matter what she should do; and this was Thursday; there were
+only five more days to get through, and when once she should be his
+wife--and then he looked at her, as she stood in her dark, perfect
+dress, with the great, sable wrap slipping from her shoulders and making
+a regal background, and her beauty fired his senses and made his eyes
+swim; and he bent forward and took her hand.
+
+"Very well, you beautiful, unkind thing," he said. "But if you do not
+want to marry me you had better say so at once, and I will release you
+from your promise. Because when the moment comes afterwards for our
+crossing of swords there will be no question as to who is to be
+master--I tell you that now."
+
+And Zara dragged her hand from him, and, with the black panther's
+glance in her eyes, she turned to the window and stood looking out.
+
+Then after a second she said in a strangled voice,
+
+"I wish that the marriage shall take place.--And now, please go."
+
+And without further words he went.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+
+On her way to Bournemouth next day, to see Mirko, Zara met Mimo in the
+British Museum. They walked along the galleries on the ground floor
+until they found a bench near the mausoleum of Halicarnassus. To look at
+it gave them both infinite pleasure; they knew so well the masterpieces
+of all the old Greeks. Mimo, it seemed, had been down to see his son ten
+days before. They had met secretly. Mirko had stolen out, and with the
+cunning of his little brain fully on the alert he had dodged Mrs. Morley
+in the garden, and had fled to the near pine woods with his violin; and
+there had met his father and had a blissful time. He was certainly
+better, Mimo said, a little fatter and with much less cough, and he
+seemed fairly happy and quite resigned. The Morleys were so kind and
+good, but, poor souls! it was not their fault if they could not
+understand! It was not given to every one to have the understanding of
+his Cherisette and his own papa, Mirko had said, but so soon he would be
+well; then he would be able to come back to them, and in the meantime he
+was going to learn lessons, learn the tiresome things that his
+Cherisette alone knew how to teach him with comprehension. The new tutor
+who came each day from the town was of a reasonableness, but no wit!
+"Body of Bacchus!" the father said, "the poor child had not been able to
+make the tutor laugh once--in a week--when we met."
+
+And then after a while it seemed that there was some slight care upon
+Mimo's mind. It had rained, it appeared, before the end of their stolen
+meeting. It had rained all the morning and then had cleared up
+gloriously fine, and they had sat down on a bank under the trees, and
+Mirko had played divinely all sorts of gay airs. But when he got up he
+had shivered a little, and Mimo could see that his clothes were wet, and
+then the rain had come on immediately again, and he had made him run
+back. He feared he must have got thoroughly soaked, and he had had
+nothing since but one postcard, which said that Mirko had been in bed,
+though he was now much better and longing--longing to see his
+Cherisette!
+
+"Oh, Mimo! how could you let him sit on the grass!" Zara exclaimed
+reproachfully, when he got thus far. "And why was I not told? It may
+have made him seriously ill. Oh, the poor angel! And I must stay so
+short a while--and then this wedding--" She stopped abruptly and her
+eyes became black. For she knew there was no asking for respite. To
+obtain her brother's possible life she must be ready and resigned, at
+the altar at St. George's, Hanover Square, on Wednesday the 25th of
+October, at 2 o'clock, and, once made a wife, she must go with Lord
+Tancred to the Lord Warren Hotel at Dover, to spend the night.
+
+She rose with a convulsive quiver, and looked with blank, sightless eyes
+at an Amazon in the frieze hard by. The Amazon--she saw, when vision
+came back to her--was hurling a spear at a splendid young Greek. That is
+how she felt she would like to behave to her future husband. Men and
+their greed of money, and their revolting passions!--and her poor little
+Mirko ill, perhaps, from his father's carelessness--How could she leave
+him? And if she did not his welfare would be at an end and life an
+abyss.
+
+There was no use scolding Mimo; she knew of old no one was sorrier than
+he for his mistakes, for which those he loved best always had to suffer.
+It had taken the heart out of him, the anxious thought, he said, but,
+knowing that Cherisette must be so busy arranging to get married, he had
+not troubled her, since she could do nothing until her return to
+England, and then he knew she would arrange to go to Mirko at once, in
+any case.
+
+He, Mimo, had been too depressed to work, and the picture of the London
+fog was not much further advanced, and he feared it would not be ready
+for her wedding gift.
+
+"Oh, never mind!" said Zara. "I know you will think of me kindly, and I
+shall like that as well as any present."
+
+And then she drove to the Waterloo station alone, a gnawing anxiety in
+her heart. And all the journey to Bournemouth her spirits sank lower and
+lower until, when she got there, it seemed as if the old cab-horse were
+a cow in its slowness, to get to the doctor's trim house.
+
+"Yes," Mrs. Morley said as soon as she arrived, "your little brother has
+had a very sharp attack."
+
+He escaped from the garden about ten days before, she explained, and was
+gone at least two hours, and then returned wet through, and was a little
+light-headed that night, and had talked of "Maman and the angels," and
+"Papa and Cherisette," but they could obtain no information from him as
+to why he went, nor whom he had seen. He had so rapidly recovered that
+the doctor had not thought it necessary to let any one know, and she,
+Mrs. Morley--guessing how busy one must be ordering a trousseau--when
+there was no danger had refrained from sending a letter, to be forwarded
+from the given address.
+
+Here Zara's eyes had flashed, and she had said sternly,
+
+"The trousseau was not of the slightest consequence in comparison to my
+brother's health."
+
+Mirko was upstairs in his pretty bedroom, playing with a puzzle and the
+nurse; he had not been told of his sister's proposed coming, but some
+sixth sense seemed to inform him it was she, when her footfall sounded
+on the lower stairs, for they heard an excited voice shouting:
+
+"I tell you I will go--I will go to her, my Cherisette!" And Zara
+hastened the last part, to avoid his rushing, as she feared he would do,
+out of his warm room into the cold passage.
+
+The passionate joy he showed at the sight of her made a tightness round
+her heart. He did not look ill, only, in some unaccountable way, he
+seemed to have grown smaller. There was, too, even an extra pink flush
+in his cheeks.
+
+He must sit on her lap and touch all her pretty things. She had put on
+her uncle's big pearl earrings and one string of big pearls, on purpose
+to show him; he so loved what was beautiful and refined.
+
+"Thou art like a queen, Cherisette," he told her. "Much more beautiful
+than when we had our tea party, and I wore Papa's paper cap. And
+everything new! The uncle, then, is very rich," he went on, while he
+stroked the velvet on her dress.
+
+And she kissed and soothed him to sleep in her arms, when he was ready
+for his bed. It was getting quite late, and she sang a soft, Slavonic
+cradle song, in a low cooing voice, and, every now and then, before the
+poor little fellow sank entirely to rest, he would open his beautiful,
+pathetic eyes, and they would swim with love and happiness, while he
+murmured, "Adored Cherisette!"
+
+The next day--Saturday--she never left him. They played games together,
+and puzzles. The nurse was kind, but of a thickness of understanding,
+like all the rest, he said, and, with his sister there, he could
+dispense with her services for the moment. He wished, when it grew dusk
+and they were to have their tea, to play his violin to only her, in the
+firelight; and there he drew forth divine sounds for more than an hour,
+tearing at Zara's heart-strings with the exquisite notes until her eyes
+grew wet. And at last he began something that she did not know, and the
+weird, little figure moved as in a dance in the firelight, while he
+played this new air as one inspired, and then stopped suddenly with a
+crash of joyous chords.
+
+"It is _Maman_ who has taught me that!" he whispered. "When I was ill
+she came often and sang it to me, and when they would give me back my
+violin I found it at once, and now I am so happy. It talks of the
+butterflies in the woods, which are where she lives, and there is a
+little white one which flies up beside her with her radiant blue wings.
+And she has promised me that the music will take me to her, quite soon.
+Oh, Cherisette!"
+
+"No, no," said Zara faintly. "I cannot spare you, darling. I shall have
+a beautiful garden of my own next summer, and you must come and stay
+with me, Mirko mio, and chase real butterflies with a golden net."
+
+And this thought enchanted the child. He must hear all about his
+sister's garden. By chance there was an old number of _Country Life_
+lying on the table, and, the nurse bringing in the tea at the moment,
+they turned on the electric light and looked at the pictures; and by the
+strangest coincidence, when they came to the weekly series of those
+beautiful houses she read at the beginning of the article, "Wrayth--the
+property of Lord Tancred of Wrayth."
+
+"See, Mirko," she said in a half voice; "our garden will look exactly
+like this."
+
+And the child examined every picture with intense interest. One of a
+statue of Pan and his pipe, making the center of a star in the Italian
+parterre, pleased him most.
+
+"For see, Cherisette, he, too, is not shaped as other people are," he
+whispered with delight. "Look! And he plays music, also! When you walk
+there, and I am with _Maman_, you must remember that this is me!"
+
+It was with deep grief and foreboding that Zara left him, on Monday
+morning, in spite of the doctor's assurance that he was indeed on the
+turn to get quite well--well of this sharp attack--whether he would ever
+grow to be a man was always a doubt but there was no present
+anxiety--she could be happy on that score. And with this she was obliged
+to rest content.
+
+But all the way back in the train she saw the picture of the Italian
+parterre at Wrayth with the statue of Pan, in the center of the star,
+playing his pipes.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+
+The second wedding day of Zara Shulski dawned with a glorious sun. One
+of those autumn mornings that seem like a return to the spring--so fresh
+and pure the air. She had not seen her bridegroom since she got back
+from Bournemouth, nor any of the family; she had said to her uncle that
+she could not bear it.
+
+"I am at the end of my forces, Uncle Francis. You are so clever--you can
+invent some good excuse. If I must see Lord Tancred I cannot answer for
+what I may do."
+
+And the financier had realized that this was the truth. The strings of
+her soul were strained to breaking point, and he let her pass the whole
+day of Tuesday in peace.
+
+She signed numbers of legal documents concerning her marriage
+settlements, without the slightest interest; and then her uncle handed
+her one which he said she was to read with care. It set forth in the
+wearisome language of the law the provision for Mirko's life, "in
+consideration of a certain agreement" come to between her uncle and
+herself. But should the boy Mirko return at any time to the man Sykypri,
+his father, or should she, Zara, from the moneys settled upon herself
+give sums to this man Sykypri the transaction between herself and her
+uncle regarding the boy's fortune would be null and void. This was the
+document's sense.
+
+Zara read it over but the legal terms were difficult for her. "If it
+means exactly what we agreed upon, Uncle Francis, I will sign it," she
+said, "that is--that Mirko shall be cared for and have plenty of money
+for life."
+
+And Francis Markrute replied,
+
+"That is what is meant."
+
+And then she had gone to her room, and spent the night before her
+wedding alone. She had steadily read one of her favorite books: she
+could not permit herself for a moment to think.
+
+There was a man going to be hanged on the morrow, she had seen in the
+papers; and she wondered if, this last night in his cell, the condemned
+wretch was numb, or was he feeling at bay, like herself?
+
+Then, at last she opened the window and glanced out on the moon. It was
+there above her, over the Park, so she turned out the lights, and,
+putting her furs around her, she sat for a while and gazed above the
+treetops, while she repeated her prayers.
+
+And Mimo saw her, as he stood in the shadow on the pavement at the other
+side of Park Lane. He had come there in his sentimental way, to give her
+his blessing, and had been standing looking up for some time. It seemed
+to him a good omen for dear Cherisette's happiness, that she should have
+opened the window and looked out on the night.
+
+It was quite early--only about half-past ten--and Tristram, after a
+banquet with his bachelor friends on the Monday night, had devoted this,
+his last evening, to his mother, and had dined quietly with her alone.
+
+He felt extremely moved, and excited, too, when he left. She had talked
+to him so tenderly--the proud mother who so seldom unbent. How marriage
+was a beautiful but serious thing, and he must love and try to
+understand his wife--and then she spoke of her own great love for him,
+and her pride in their noble name and descent.
+
+"And I will pray to God that you have strong, beautiful children,
+Tristram, so that there may in years to come be no lack of the Tancreds
+of Wrayth."
+
+When he got outside in the street the moonlight flooded the road, so he
+sent his motor away and decided to walk. He wanted breathing space, he
+wanted to think, and he turned down into Curzon Street and from, thence
+across Great Stanhope Street and into the Park.
+
+And to-morrow night, at this time, the beautiful Zara would be his! and
+they would be dining alone together at Dover, and surely she would not
+be so icily cold; surely--surely he could get her to melt.
+
+And then further visions came to him, and he walked very fast; and
+presently he found himself opposite his lady's house.
+
+An impulse just to see her window overcame him, and he crossed the road
+and went out of the gate. And there on the pavement he saw Mimo, also
+with face turned, gazing up.
+
+And in a flash he thought he recognized that this was the man he had
+seen that day in Whitehall, when he was in his motor car, going very
+fast.
+
+A mad rage of jealousy and suspicion rushed through him. Every devil
+whispered, "Here is a plot. You know nothing of the woman whom to-morrow
+you are blindly going to make your wife. Who is this man? What is his
+connection with her? A lover's--of course. No one but a lover would gaze
+up at a window on a moonlight night."
+
+And it was at this moment that Zara opened the window and, for a second,
+both men saw her slender, rounded figure standing out sharply against
+the ground of the room. Then she turned, and put out the light.
+
+A murderous passion of rage filled Lord Tancred's heart.
+
+He looked at Mimo and saw that the man's lips were muttering a prayer,
+and that he had drawn a little silver crucifix from his coat pocket,
+and, also, that he was unconscious of any surroundings, for his face was
+rapt; and he stepped close to him and heard him murmur, in his
+well-pronounced English,
+
+"Mary, Mother of God, pray for her, and bring her happiness!"
+
+And his common sense reassured him somewhat. If the man were a lover, he
+could not pray so, on this, the night before her wedding to another. It
+was not in human, male nature, he felt, to do such an unselfish thing as
+that.
+
+Then Mimo raised his soft felt hat in his rather dramatic way to the
+window, and walked up the street.
+
+And Tristram, a prey to all sorts of conflicting emotions, went back
+into the Park.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It seemed to Francis Markrute that more than half the nobility of
+England had assembled in St. George's, Hanover Square, next day, as,
+with the beautiful bride on his arm, he walked up the church.
+
+She wore a gown of dead white velvet, and her face looked the same
+shade, under the shadow of a wonderful picture creation, of black velvet
+and feathers, in the way of a hat.
+
+The only jewels she had on were the magnificent pearls which were her
+uncle's gift. There was no color about her except in her red burnished
+hair and her red, curved mouth.
+
+And the whole company thrilled as she came up the aisle. She looked like
+the Princess in a fairy tale--but just come to life.
+
+The organ stopped playing, and now, as in a dream she knew that she was
+kneeling beside Tristram and that the Bishop had joined their hands.
+
+She repeated the vows mechanically, in a low, quiet voice. All the sense
+of it that came to her brain was Tristram's firm utterance, "I, Tristram
+Lorrimer Guiscard, take thee, Zara Elinka, to be my wedded wife."
+
+And so, at last, the ceremony was over, and Lord and Lady Tancred walked
+into the vestry to sign their names. And as Zara slipped her hand from
+the arm of her newly-made husband he bent down his tall head and kissed
+her lips; and, fortunately, the train of coming relations and friends
+were behind them, as yet, and the Bishops were looking elsewhere, or
+they would have been startled to observe the bride shiver, and to have
+seen the expression of passionate resentment which crept into her face.
+But the bridegroom saw it, and it stabbed his heart.
+
+Then it seemed that a number of people kissed her: his mother and
+sisters, and Lady Ethelrida, and, lastly, the Duke.
+
+"I am claiming my privilege as an old man," this latter said gayly, "and
+I welcome you to all our hearts, my beautiful niece."
+
+And Zara had answered, but had hardly been able to give even a
+mechanical smile.
+
+And when they got into the smart, new motor, after passing through the
+admiring crowds, she had shrunk into her corner, and half closed her
+eyes. And Tristram, intensely moved and strained with the excitement of
+it all, had not known what to think.
+
+But pride made his bride play her part when they reached her uncle's
+house.
+
+She stood with her bridegroom, and bowed graciously to the countless,
+congratulatory friends of his, who passed and shook hands. And, when
+soon after they had entered Lady Tancred arrived with Cyril and the
+girls, she had even smiled sweetly for one moment, when that gallant
+youth had stood on tiptoe and given her a hearty kiss! He was very small
+for his age, and full of superb self-possession.
+
+"I think you are a stunner, Zara," he said. "Two of our fellows, cousins
+of mine, who were in church with me, congratulated me awfully. And now I
+hope you're soon going to cut the cake?"
+
+And Tristram wondered why her mutinous mouth had quivered and her eyes
+become full of mist. She was thinking of her own little brother, far
+away, who did not even know that there would be any cake.
+
+And so, eventually, they had passed through the shower of rice and
+slippers and were at last alone in the motorcar again; and once more
+she shrank into her corner and did not speak, and he waited patiently
+until they should be in the train.
+
+But once there, in the reserved saloon, when the obsequious guard had
+finally shut the door from waving friends and last hand shakes, and they
+slowly steamed out of the station, he came over and sat down beside her
+and tenderly took her little gray-gloved hand.
+
+But she drew it away from him, and moved further off, before he could
+even speak.
+
+"Zara!" he said pleadingly.
+
+Then she looked intensely fierce.
+
+"Can you not let me be quiet for a moment?" she hissed. "I am tired
+out."
+
+And he saw that she was trembling, and, though he was very much in love
+and maddeningly exasperated with everything, he let her rest, and even
+settled her cushion for her, silently, and took a paper and sat in an
+armchair near, and pretended to read.
+
+And Zara stared out of the window, her heart beating in her throat. For
+she knew this was only a delay because, as her uncle had once said, the
+English nobility as a race were great gentlemen--and this one in
+particular--and because of that he would not be likely to make a scene
+in the train; but they would arrive at the hotel presently, and there
+was dinner to be got through, alone with him, and then--the afterwards.
+And as she thought of this her very lips grew white.
+
+The hideous, hideous hatefulness of men! Visions of moments of her first
+wedding journey with Ladislaus came back to her. He had not shown her
+any consideration for five minutes in his life.
+
+Everything in her nature was up in arms. She could not be just; with her
+belief in his baseness it seemed to her that here was this man--her
+husband--whom she had seen but four times in her life, and he was not
+content with the honest bargain which he perfectly understood; not
+content with her fortune and her willingness to adorn his house, but he
+must perforce allow his revolting senses to be aroused, he must desire
+to caress her, just because she was a woman--and fair--and the law would
+give him the right because she was his wife.
+
+But she would not submit to it! She would find some way out.
+
+As yet she had not even noticed Tristram's charm, that something which
+drew all other women to him but had not yet appealed to her. She saw on
+the rare occasions in which she had looked at him that he was very
+handsome--but so had been Ladislaus, and so was Mimo; and all men were
+selfish or brutes.
+
+She was half English herself, of course, and that part of her--the calm,
+common sense of the nation, would assert itself presently; but for the
+time, everything was too strained through her resentment at fate.
+
+And Tristram watched her from behind his _Evening Standard_, and was
+unpleasantly thrilled with the passionate hate and resentment and all
+the varying; storms of feeling which convulsed her beautiful face.
+
+He was extremely sensitive, in spite of his daring _insouciance_ and his
+pride. It would be perfectly impossible to even address her again while
+she was in this state.
+
+And so this splendid young bride and bridegroom, not understanding each
+other in the least, sat silent and constrained, when they should have
+been in each other's arms; and presently, still in the same moods, they
+came to Dover, and so to the Lord Warden Hotel.
+
+Here the valet and maid had already arrived, and the sitting-room was
+full of flowers, and everything was ready for dinner and the night.
+
+"I suppose we dine at eight?" said Zara haughtily, and, hardly waiting
+for an answer, she went into the room beyond and shut the door.
+
+Here she rang for her maid and asked her to remove her hat.
+
+"A hateful, heavy thing," she said, "and there is a whole hour
+fortunately, before dinner, Henriette, and I want a lovely bath; and
+then you can brush my hair, and it will be a rest."
+
+The French maid, full of sympathy and excitement, wondered, while she
+turned on the taps, how _Miladi_ should look so disdainful and calm.
+
+"_Mon Dieu!_ if _Milor_ was my Raoul! I would be far otherwise," she
+thought to herself, as she poured in the scent.
+
+At a quarter to the hour of dinner she was still silently brushing her
+mistress's long, splendid, red hair, while Zara stared into the glass in
+front of her, with sightless eyes and face set. She was back in
+Bournemouth, and listening to "_Maman's_ air." It haunted her and rang
+in her head; and yet, underneath, a wild excitement coursed in her
+blood.
+
+A knock then came to the door, and when Henrietta answered it Tristram
+passed her by and stepped into his lady's room.
+
+Zara turned round like a startled fawn, and then her expression changed
+to one of anger and hauteur.
+
+He was already dressed for dinner, and held a great bunch of gardenias
+in his hand. He stopped abruptly when he caught sight of the exquisite
+picture she made, and he drew in his breath. He had not known hair could
+be so long; he had not realized she was so beautiful. And she was his
+wife!
+
+"Darling!" he gasped, oblivious of even the maid, who had the discretion
+to retire quickly to the bathroom beyond. "Darling, how beautiful you
+are! You drive me perfectly mad."
+
+Zara held on to the dressing-table and almost crouched, like a panther
+ready to spring.
+
+"How dare you come into my room like this! Go!" she said.
+
+It was as if she had struck him. He drew back, and flung the flowers
+down into the grate.
+
+"I only came to tell you dinner was nearly ready," he said haughtily,
+"and to bring you those. But I will await you in the sitting-room, when
+you are dressed."
+
+And he turned round and left through the door by which he had come.
+
+And Zara called her maid rather sharply, and had her hair plaited and
+done, and got quickly into her dress. And when she was ready she went
+slowly into the sitting-room.
+
+She found Tristram leaning upon the mantelpiece, glaring moodily into
+the flames. He had stood thus for ten minutes, coming to a decision in
+his mind.
+
+He had been very angry just now, and he thought was justified; but he
+knew he was passionately in love, as he had never dreamed nor imagined
+he could be in the whole of his life.
+
+Should he tell her at once about it? and implore her not to be so cold
+and hard? But no, that would be degrading. After all, he had already
+shown her a proof of the most reckless devotion, in asking to marry her,
+after having seen her only once! And she, what had her reasons been?
+They were forcible enough or she would not have consented to her uncle's
+wishes before they had even ever met; and he recalled, when he had asked
+her only on Thursday last if she would wish to be released, that she had
+said firmly that she wished the marriage to take place. Surely she must
+know that no man with any spirit would put up with such treatment as
+this--to be spoken to as though he had been an impudent stranger
+bursting into her room!
+
+Then his tempestuous thoughts went back to Mimo, that foreign man whom
+he had seen under her window. What if, after all, he was her lover and
+that accounted for the reason she resented his--Tristram's--desire to
+caress?
+
+And all the proud, obstinate fighting blood of the Guiscards got up in
+him. He would not be made a cat's-paw. If she exasperated him further he
+would forget about being a gentleman, and act as a savage man, and seize
+her in his arms and punish her for her haughtiness!
+
+So it was his blue eyes which were blazing with resentment this time,
+and not her pools of ink.
+
+Thus they sat down to dinner in silence--much to the waiters' surprise
+and disgust.
+
+Zara felt almost glad her husband looked angry. He would then of his own
+accord leave her in peace.
+
+As the soup and fish came and went they exchanged no word, and then that
+breeding that they both had made them realize the situation was
+impossible, and they said some ordinary things while the waiters were in
+the room.
+
+The table was a small round one with the two places set at right angles,
+and very close.
+
+It was the first occasion upon which Zara had ever been so near
+Tristram, and every time she looked up she was obliged to see his face.
+She could not help owning to herself, that he was extraordinarily
+distinguished looking, and that there were strong, noble lines in his
+whole shape.
+
+At the end of their repast, for different reasons, neither of the two
+felt calm. Tristram's anger had died down, likewise his suspicions;
+after a moment's thought the sane point of view always presented itself
+to his brain. No, whatever her reasons were for her disdain of him,
+having another lover was not the cause. And then he grew intoxicated
+again with her beauty and grace.
+
+She was a terrible temptation to him; she would have been so to any
+normal man--and they were dining together--and she was his very own!
+
+The waiters, with their cough of warning at the door, brought coffee and
+liqueurs, and then bodily removed the dinner table, and shut the doors.
+
+And now Zara knew she was practically alone with her lord for the night.
+
+He walked about the room--he did not drink any coffee, nor even a
+Chartreuse--and she stood perfectly still. Then he came back to her, and
+suddenly clasped her in his arms, and passionately kissed her mouth.
+
+"Zara!" he murmured hoarsely. "Good God! do you think I am a stone! I
+tell you I love you--madly. Are you not going to be kind to me and
+really be my wife?"
+
+Then he saw a look in her eyes that turned him to ice.
+
+"Animal!" she hissed, and hit him across the face.
+
+And as he let her fall from him she drew back panting, and deadly white;
+while he, mad with rage at the blow, stood with flaming blue eyes, and
+teeth clenched.
+
+"Animal!" again she hissed, and then her words poured forth in a torrent
+of hate. "Is it not enough that you were willing to sell yourself for my
+uncle's money--that you were willing to take as a bargain--a woman whom
+you had never even seen, without letting your revolting passions exhibit
+themselves like this? And you dare to tell me you love me! What do such
+as you know of love? Love is a true and a pure and a beautiful thing,
+not to be sullied like this. It must come from devotion and knowledge.
+What sort of a vile passion is it which makes a man feel as you do for
+me? Only that I am a woman. Love! It is no love--it is a question of
+sense. Any other would do, provided she were as fair. Remember, my lord!
+I am not your mistress, and I will not stand any of this! Leave me. I
+hate you, animal that you are!"
+
+He stiffened and grew rigid with every word that she said, and when she
+had finished he was as deadly pale as she herself.
+
+"Say not one syllable more to me, Zara!" he commanded. "You will have no
+cause to reprove me for loving you again. And remember this: things
+shall be as you wish between us. We will each live our lives and play
+the game. But before I ask you to be my wife again you can go down upon
+your knees. Do you hear me? Good night."
+
+And without a word further he strode from the room.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+
+The moon was shining brightly and a fresh breeze had risen when Tristram
+left the hotel and walked rapidly towards the pier. He was mad with rage
+and indignation from his bride's cruel taunts. The knowledge of their
+injustice did not comfort him, and, though he knew he was innocent of
+any desire to have made a bargain, and had taken her simply for her
+beautiful self, still, the accusation hurt and angered his pride. How
+dared she! How dared her uncle have allowed her to think such things! A
+Tancred to stoop so low! He clenched his hands and his whole frame
+shook.
+
+And then as he gazed down into the moonlit waves her last words came
+back with a fresh lashing sting. "Leave me, I hate you, animal that you
+are!" An animal, forsooth! And this is how she had looked at his love!
+
+And then a cold feeling came over him--he was so very just--and he
+questioned himself. Was it true? Had it, indeed, been only that? Had he,
+indeed, been unbalanced and intoxicated merely from the desire of her
+exquisite body? Had there been nothing beyond? Were men really
+brutes?--And here he walked up and down very fast. What did it all mean?
+What did life mean? What was the truth of this thing, called love?
+
+And so he strode for hours, reasoning things out. But he knew that for
+his nature there could be no love without desire--and no desire without
+love. And then his conversation with Francis Markrute came back to him,
+the day they had lunched in the city, when the financier had given his
+views about women.
+
+Yes, they were right, those views. A woman, to be dangerous, must appeal
+to both the body and brain of a man. If his feeling for Zara were only
+for the body then it was true that it was only lust.
+
+But it was _not_ true; and he thought of all his dreams of her at
+Wrayth, of the pictures he had drawn of their future life together, of
+the tenderness with which he had longed for this night.
+
+And then his anger died down and was replaced by a passionate grief.
+
+His dream lay in ruins, and there was nothing to look forward to but a
+blank, soulless life. It did not seem to him then, in the cold
+moonlight, that things could ever come right. He could not for his
+pride's sake condescend to any further explanation with her. He would
+not stoop to defend himself; she must think what she chose, until she
+should of herself find out the truth.
+
+And then his level mind turned and tried to see her point of view. He
+must not be unjust. And he realized that if she thought such base things
+of him she had been more or less right. But, even so, there was some
+mystery beyond all this--some cruel and oppressing dark shadow in her
+life.
+
+And his thoughts went back to the night they had first met, and he
+remembered then that her eyes had been full of hate--resentment and
+hate--as though he, personally, had caused her some injury.
+
+Francis Markrute was so very clever: what plan had he had in his head?
+By what scorpion whip had he perhaps forced her to consent to his wishes
+and become his--Tristram's--wife? And once more the disturbing
+remembrance of Mimo returned, so that, when at last dawn came and he
+went back to the hotel, tired out in body and soul, it would not let him
+rest in his bed. His bed--in the next room his wife!
+
+But one clear decision he had come to. He would treat her with cold
+courtesy, and they would play the game. To part now, in a dramatic
+manner, the next day after the wedding, was not in his sense of the
+fitness of things, was not what was suitable or seemly for the Tancred
+name.
+
+And when he had left her Zara had stood quite still. Some not understood
+astonishment caused all her passion to die down. For all the pitifully
+cruel experiences of her life she was still very young--young and
+ignorant of any but the vilest of men. Hitherto she had felt when they
+were kind that it was for some gain, and if a woman relented a second
+she would be sure to be trapped. For her self-respect and her soul's
+sake she must go armed at all points. And after her hurling at him all
+her scorn, instead of her husband turning round and perhaps beating her
+(as, certainly, Ladislaus would have done), he had answered with dignity
+and gone out of the room.
+
+And she remembered her father's cold mien. Perhaps there was something
+else in the English--some other finer quality which she did not yet
+understand.
+
+The poor, beautiful creature was like some ill-treated animal ready to
+bite to defend itself at the sight of a man.
+
+It spoke highly for the strength and nobility of her character that,
+whereas another and weaker woman would have become degraded by the
+sorrows of such a life, she had remained pure as the snow, and as cold.
+Her strong will and her pride had kept completely in check every
+voluptuous instinct which must certainly have always lain dormant in
+her. Every emotion towards man was frozen to ice.
+
+There are some complete natures which only respond to the highest touch;
+when the body and soul are evenly balanced they know all that is divine
+of human love. It is those warped in either of the component parts who
+bring sorrow--and lust.
+
+The perfect woman gives willingly of herself, body and soul, to the _one
+man_ she loves.
+
+But of all these things Zara was ignorant. She only knew she was
+exhausted, and she crept wearily to bed.
+
+Thus neither bride nor bridegroom, on this their wedding night, knew
+peace or rest.
+
+They met next day for a late breakfast. They were to go to Paris by the
+one o'clock boat. They were both very quiet and pale. Zara had gone into
+the sitting-room first, and was standing looking out on the sea when her
+husband came into the room, and she did not turn round, until he said
+"Good morning," coldly, and she realized it was he.
+
+Some strange quiver passed over her at the sound of his voice.
+
+"Breakfast should be ready," he went on calmly. "I ordered it for eleven
+o'clock. I told your maid to tell you so. I hope that gave you time to
+dress."
+
+"Yes, thank you," was all she said; and he rang the bell and opened the
+papers, which the waiters had piled on the table, knowing the delight of
+young bridal pairs to see news of themselves!
+
+And as Zara glanced at her lord's handsome face she saw a cynical,
+disdainful smile creep over it, at something he read.
+
+And she guessed it was the account of their wedding; and she, too, took
+up another paper and looked at the headings.
+
+Yes, there was a flaming description of it all. And as she finished the
+long paragraphs she raised her head suddenly and their eyes met. And
+Tristram allowed himself to laugh--bitterly, it was true, but still to
+laugh.
+
+The lingering fear of the ways of men was still in Zara's heart and not
+altogether gone; she was not yet quite free from the suspicion that he
+still might trap her if she unbent. So she frowned slightly and then
+looked down at the paper again; and the waiters brought in breakfast at
+that moment and nothing was said.
+
+They did not seem to have much appetite, nor to care what they ate, but,
+the coffee being in front of her, politeness made Zara ask what sort her
+husband took, and when he answered--none at all--he wanted tea--she was
+relieved, and let him pour it out at the side-table himself.
+
+"The wind has got up fiercely, and it will be quite rough," he said
+presently. "Do you mind the sea?"
+
+And she answered, "No, not a bit."
+
+Then they both continued reading the papers until all pretense of
+breakfast was over; and he rose, and, asking if she would be ready at
+about half-past twelve, to go on board, so as to avoid the crowd from
+the London train, he went quietly out of the room, and from the windows
+she afterwards saw him taking a walk on the pier.
+
+And for some unexplained psychological reason, although she had now
+apparently obtained exactly the terms she had decided were the only
+possible ones on which to live with him, she experienced no sense of
+satisfaction or peace!
+
+No pair could have looked more adorably attractive and interesting than
+Lord and Lady Tancred did as they went to their private cabin on the
+boat an admiring group of Dover young ladies thought, watching from the
+raised part above where the steamer starts. Every one concerned knew
+that this thrilling bride and bridegroom would be crossing, and the
+usual number of the daily spectators was greatly increased.
+
+"What wonderful chinchilla!" "What lovely hair!" and "Oh! isn't he just
+too splendid!" they said. And the maid and the valet, carrying the jewel
+case, dressing bags, cushion and sable rug, followed, to the young
+ladies' extra delight.
+
+The _apanages_ of a great position, when augmented by the romance of a
+wedding journey, are dear to the female heart.
+
+They had the large cabin on the upper deck of the _Queen_, and it was
+noticed that until the London train could be expected to arrive the
+bridal pair went outside and sat where they could not be observed, with
+a view towards Dover Castle. But it could not be seen that they never
+spoke a word and that each read a book.
+
+When it seemed advisable to avoid the crowd Tristram glanced up and
+said,
+
+"I suppose we shall have to stay in that beastly cabin now, or some cad
+will snapshot us. Will you come along?"
+
+And so they went.
+
+"It is going to be really quite rough," he continued, when the door was
+shut. "Would you like to lie down--or what?"
+
+"I am never the least ill, but I will try and sleep," Zara answered
+resignedly, as she undid her chinchilla coat.
+
+So he settled the pillows, and she lay down, and he covered her up; and
+as he did so, in spite of his anger with her and all his hurt pride he
+had the most maddeningly strong desire to kiss her and let her rest in
+his arms. So he turned away brusquely and sat down at the farther end,
+where he opened the window to let in some air, and pulled the curtain
+over it, and then tried to go on with his book. But every pulse in his
+body was throbbing, and at last he could not control the overmastering
+desire to look at her.
+
+She raised herself a little, and began taking the finely-worked,
+small-stoned, sapphire pins out of her hat. They had been Cyril's gift.
+
+"Can I help you?" he said.
+
+"It is such soft fur I thought I need not take it off to lie down," she
+answered coldly, "but there is something hurting in the back."
+
+He took the thing with its lace veil from her, and the ruffled waves of
+her glorious hair as she lay there nearly drove him mad with the longing
+to caress.
+
+How, in God's name, would they ever be able to live? He must go outside
+and fight with himself.
+
+And she wondered why his face grew so stern. And when she was settled
+comfortably again and the boat had started he left her alone.
+
+It was, fortunately, so rough that there were very few people about, and
+he went far forward and leant on the rail, and let the salt air blow
+into his face.
+
+What if, in the end, this wild passion for her should conquer him and he
+should give in, and have to confess that her cruel words did not hinder
+him from loving her? It would be too ignominious. He must pull himself
+together and firmly suppress every emotion. He determined to see her as
+little as possible when they got to Paris, and when the ghastly
+honeymoon week, that he had been contemplating with so much excitement
+and joy should be over, then they would go back to England, and he would
+take up politics in earnest, and try and absorb himself in that.
+
+And Zara, lying in the cabin, was unconscious of any direct current of
+thought; she was quite unconscious that already this beautiful young
+husband of hers had made some impression upon her, and that, underneath,
+for all her absorption in her little brother and her own affairs, she
+was growing conscious of his presence and that his comings and goings
+were things to remark about.
+
+And, strengthened in his resolve to be true to the Tancred pride,
+Tristram came back to her as they got into Calais harbor.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+
+The servants at the Ritz, in Paris, so exquisitely drilled, made no
+apparent difference, when the bride and bridegroom arrived there about
+half-past seven o'clock, than if they had been an elderly brother and
+sister; and they were taken to the beautiful Empire suite on the Vendome
+side of the first floor. Everything was perfection in the way of
+arrangement, and the flowers were so particularly beautiful that Zara's
+love for them caused her to cry out,
+
+"Oh! the dear roses! I must just bury my face in them, first."
+
+They had got through the railway journey very well; real, overcoming
+fatigue had caused them both to sleep, and in the automobile, coming to
+the hotel, they had exchanged a few stiff words.
+
+"To-morrow night we can dine out at a restaurant," Tristram had said,
+"but to-night perhaps you are tired and would rather go to bed?"
+
+"Thank you," said Zara. "Yes, I would." For she thought she wanted to
+write her letters to Mirko and tell him of her new name and place. So
+she put on a tea-gown, and at about half-past eight joined Tristram in
+the sitting-room. If they had not both been so strained their sense of
+humor would not have permitted them to refrain from a laugh. For here
+they sat in state, and, when the waiters were in the room, exchanged a
+few remarks. But Zara did notice that her husband never once looked at
+her with any directness, and he seemed coldly indifferent to anything
+she said.
+
+"We shall have to stay here for the whole, boring week," he announced
+when at last coffee was on the table and they were alone. "There are
+certain obligations one's position obliges one to conform to. You
+understand, I expect. I will try to make the time as easy to bear for
+you as I can. Will you tell me what theaters you have not already seen?
+We can go somewhere every night, and in the daytime you have perhaps
+shopping to do; and--I know Paris quite well. I can amuse myself."
+
+Zara did not feel enthusiastically grateful, but she said, "Thank you,"
+in a quiet voice, and Tristram, rang the bell and asked for the list of
+the places of amusement, and in the most stiff, self-contained manner he
+chose, with her, a different one for every night.
+
+Then he lit a cigar deliberately, and walked towards the door.
+
+"Good-night, Milady," he said nonchalantly, and then went out.
+
+And Zara sat still by the table and unconsciously pulled the petals off
+an unoffending rose; and when she realized what she had done she was
+aghast!
+
+It was not until about five o'clock the next day that he came into the
+sitting-room again.
+
+_Milor_ had gone to the races, and had left a note for _Miladi_ in the
+morning, the maid had said.
+
+And Zara, as she lay back on her pillows, had opened it with a strange
+thrill.
+
+"You won't be troubled with me to-day," she read. "I am going out with
+some old friends to Maisons Liafitte. I have said you want to rest from
+the journey, as one has to say something. I have arranged for us to
+dine at the Cafe de Paris at 7:30, and go to the Gymnase. Tell Higgins,
+my valet, if you change the plan." And the note was not even signed!
+
+Well, it appeared she had nothing further to fear from him; she could
+breathe much relieved. And now for her day of quiet rest.
+
+But when she had had her lonely lunch and her letters to her uncle and
+Mirko were written, she found herself drumming aimlessly on the window
+panes, and wondering if she would go out.
+
+She had no friends in Paris whom she wanted to see. Her life there with
+her family had been entirely devoted to them alone. But it was a fine
+day and there is always something to do in Paris--though what then,
+particularly, she had not decided; perhaps she would go to the Louvre.
+
+And then she sank down into the big sofa, opposite the blazing wood
+fire, and gradually fell fast asleep. She slept, with unbroken deepness,
+until late in the afternoon, and was, in fact, still asleep there when
+Tristram came in.
+
+He did not see her at first; the lights were not on and it was almost
+dark in the streets. The fire, too, had burnt low. He came forward, and
+then went back again and switched on the lamps; and, with the blaze,
+Zara sat up and rubbed her eyes. One great plait of her hair had become
+loosened and fell at the side of her head, and she looked like a rosy,
+sleepy child.
+
+"I did not see you!" Tristram gasped, and, realizing her adorable
+attractions, he turned to the fire and vigorously began making it up.
+
+Then, as he felt he could not trust himself for another second, he rang
+the bell and ordered some tea to be brought, while he went to his room
+to leave his overcoat. And when he thought the excuse of the repast
+would be there, he went back.
+
+Zara felt nothing in particular. Even yet she was rather on the
+defensive, looking out for every possible attack.
+
+So they both sat down quietly, and for a few moments neither spoke.
+
+She had put up her hair during his absence, and now looked wide-awake
+and quite neat.
+
+"I had a most unlucky day," he said--for something to say. "I could not
+back a single winner. On the whole I think I am bored with racing."
+
+"It has always seemed boring to me," she said. "If it were to try the
+mettle of a horse one had bred I could understand that; or to ride it
+oneself and get the better of an adversary: but just with sharp
+practices--and for money! It seems so common a thing, I never could take
+an interest in that."
+
+"Does anything interest you?" he hazarded, and then he felt sorry he had
+shown enough interest to ask.
+
+"Yes," she said slowly, "but perhaps not many games. My life has always
+been too ordered by the games of others, to take to them myself." And
+then she stopped abruptly. She could not suppose her life interested him
+much.
+
+But, on the contrary, he was intensely interested, if she had known.
+
+He felt inclined to tell her so, and that the whole of the present
+situation was ridiculous, and that he wanted to know her innermost
+thoughts. He was beginning to examine her all critically, and to take in
+every point. Beyond his passionate admiration for her beauty there was
+something more to analyze.
+
+What was the subtle something of mystery and charm? Why could she not
+unbend and tell him the meaning in those fathomless, dark eyes?--What
+could they look like, if filled with love and tenderness? Ah!
+
+And if he had done as he felt inclined at the moment the ice might have
+been broken, and at the end of the week they would probably have been in
+each other's arms. But fate ordered otherwise, and an incident that
+night, at dinner, caused a fresh storm.
+
+Zara was looking so absolutely beautiful in her lovely new clothes that
+it was not in the nature of gallant foreigners to allow her to dine
+unmolested by their stares, and although the tete-a-tete dinner was
+quite early at the Cafe de Paris, there happened to be a large party of
+men next to them and Zara found herself seated in close proximity to a
+nondescript Count, whom she recognized as one of her late husband's
+friends. Every one who knows the Cafe de Paris can realize how this
+happened. The long velvet seats without divisions and the small tables
+in front make, when the place is full, the whole side look as if it were
+one big group. Lord Tancred was quite accustomed to it; he knew Paris
+well as he had told her, so he ought to have been prepared for what
+could happen, but he was not.
+
+Perhaps he was not on the alert, because he had never before been there
+with a woman he loved.
+
+Zara's neighbor was a great, big, fierce-looking creature from some wild
+quarter of the South, and was perhaps also just a little drunk. She knew
+a good deal of their language, but, taking for granted that this
+Englishman and his lovely lady would be quite ignorant of what they
+said, the party of men were most unreserved in their remarks.
+
+Her neighbor looked at her devouringly, once or twice, when he saw
+Tristram could not observe him, and then began to murmur immensely
+_entreprenant_ love sentences in his own tongue, as he played with his
+bread. She knew he had recognized her. And Tristram wondered why his
+lady's little nostrils should begin to quiver and her eyes to flash.
+
+She was remembering like scenes in the days of Ladislaus, and how he
+used to grow wild with jealousy, in the beginning when he took her out,
+and once had dragged her back upstairs by her hair, and flung her into
+bed. It was always her fault when men looked at her, he assured her. And
+the horror of the recollection of it all was still vivid enough.
+
+Then Tristram gradually became greatly worried; without being aware that
+the man was the cause, he yet felt something was going on. He grew
+jealous and uneasy, and would have liked to have taken her home.
+
+And because of the things she was angrily listening to, and because of
+her fear of a row, she sat there looking defiant and resentful, and
+spoke never a word.
+
+And Tristram could not understand it, and he eventually became annoyed.
+What had he said or done to her again? It was more than he meant to
+stand, for no reason--to put up with such airs!
+
+For Zara sat frowning, her mouth mutinous and her eyes black as night.
+
+If she had told Tristram what her neighbor was saying there would at
+once have been a row. She knew this, and so remained in constrained
+silence, unconscious that her husband was thinking her rude to him, and
+that he was angry with her. She was so strung up with fury at the
+foreigner, that she answered Tristram's few remarks at random, and then
+abruptly rose while he was paying the bill, as if to go out. And as she
+did so the Count slipped a folded paper into the sleeve of her coat.
+
+Tristram thought he saw something peculiar but was still in doubt, and,
+with his English self-control and horror of a scene, he followed his
+wife to the door, as she was walking rapidly ahead, and there helped her
+into the waiting automobile.
+
+But as she put up her arm, in stepping in, the folded paper fell to the
+brightly lighted pavement and he picked it up.
+
+He must have some explanation. He was choking with rage. There was some
+mystery, he was being tricked.
+
+"Why did you not tell me you knew that fellow who sat next to you?" he
+said in a low, constrained voice.
+
+"Because it would have been a lie," she said haughtily. "I have never
+seen him but once before in my life."
+
+"Then what business have you to allow him to write notes to you?"
+Tristram demanded, too overcome with jealousy to control the anger in
+his tone.
+
+She shrank back in her corner. Here it was beginning again! After all,
+in spite of his apparent agreement to live on the most frigid terms with
+her he was now acting like Ladislaus: men were all the same!
+
+"I am not aware the creature wrote me any note," she said. "What do you
+mean?"
+
+"How can you pretend like this," Tristram exclaimed furiously, "when it
+fell out of your sleeve? Here it is."
+
+"Take me back to the hotel," she said with a tone of ice. "I refuse to
+go to the theater to be insulted. How dare you doubt my word? If there
+is a note you had better read it and see what it says."
+
+[Illustration: "With his English self-control and horror of a scene, he
+followed his wife to the door."]
+
+So Lord Tancred picked up the speaking-tube and told the chauffeur to go
+back to the Ritz.
+
+They both sat silent, palpitating with rage, and when they got there he
+followed her into the lift and up to the sitting-room.
+
+He came in and shut the door and strode over beside her, and then he
+almost hissed,
+
+"You are asking too much of me. I demand an explanation. Tell me
+yourself about it. Here is your note."
+
+Zara took it, with infinite disdain, and, touching it as though it were
+some noisome reptile, she opened it and read aloud,
+
+_"Beautiful Comtesse, when can I see you again?"_
+
+"The vile wretch!" she said contemptuously. "That is how men insult
+women!" And she looked up passionately at Tristram. "You are all the
+same."
+
+"I have not insulted you," he flashed. "It is perfectly natural that I
+should be angry at such a scene, and if this brute is to be found again
+to-night he shall know that I will not permit him to write insolent
+notes to my wife."
+
+She flung the hateful piece of paper into the fire and turned towards
+her room.
+
+"I beg you to do nothing further about the matter," she said. "This
+loathsome man was half drunk. It is quite unnecessary to follow it up;
+it will only make a scandal, and do no good. But you can understand
+another thing. I will not have my word doubted, nor be treated as an
+offending domestic--as you have treated me to-night." And without
+further words she went into her room.
+
+Tristram, left alone, paced up and down; he was wild with rage, furious
+with her, with himself, and with the man. With her because he had told
+her once, before the wedding, that when they came to cross swords there
+would be no doubt as to who would be master! and in the three encounters
+which already their wills had had she had each time come off the
+conqueror! He was furious with himself, that he had not leaned forward
+at dinner to see the man hand the note, and he was frenziedly furious
+with the stranger, that he had dared to turn his insolent eyes upon his
+wife.
+
+He would go back to the Cafe de Paris, and, if the man was there, call
+him to account, and if not, perhaps he could obtain his name. So out he
+went.
+
+But the waiters vowed they knew nothing of the gentleman; the whole
+party had been perfect strangers, and they had no idea as to where they
+had gone on. So this enraged young Englishman spent the third night of
+his honeymoon in a hunt round the haunts of Paris, but with no success;
+and at about six o'clock in the morning came back baffled but still
+raging, and thoroughly wearied out.
+
+And all this while his bride could not sleep, and in spite of her anger
+was a prey to haunting fears. What if the two had met and there had been
+bloodshed! A completely possible case! And several times in the night
+she got out of her bed and went and listened at the communicating doors;
+but there was no sound of Tristram, and about five o'clock, worn out
+with the anxiety and injustice of everything, she fell into a restless
+doze, only to wake again at seven, with a lead weight at her heart. She
+could not bear it any longer! She must know for certain if he had come
+in! She slipped on her dressing-gown, and noiselessly stole to the door,
+and with the greatest caution unlocked it, and, turning the handle,
+peeped in.
+
+Yes, there he was, sound asleep! His window was wide open, with the
+curtains pushed back, so the daylight streamed in on his face. He had
+been too tired to care.
+
+Zara turned round quickly to reenter her room, but in her terror of
+being discovered she caught the trimming of her dressing-gown on the
+handle of the door and without her being aware of it a small bunch of
+worked ribbon roses fell off.
+
+Then she got back into bed, relieved in mind as to him but absolutely
+quaking at what she had done and at the impossibly embarrassing position
+she would have placed herself in, if he had awakened and known that she
+had come!
+
+And the first thing Tristram saw, when some hours later he was aroused
+by the pouring in of the sun, was the little torn bunch of silk roses
+lying close to her door.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+
+He sprang from bed and picked them up. What could they possibly mean?
+They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown
+that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the
+gardenias. And they certainly had not been there when at six o'clock he
+had come in. He would in that case have seen them against the pale
+carpet.
+
+For one exquisite moment he thought they were a message and then he
+noticed the ribbon had been wrenched off and was torn.
+
+No, they were no conscious message, but they did mean that she had been
+in his room while he slept.
+
+Why had she done this thing? He knew she hated him--it was no
+acting--and she had left him the night' before even unusually incensed.
+What possible reason could she have, then, for coming into his room? He
+felt wild with excitement. He would see if, as usual, the door between
+them was locked. He tried it gently. Yes, it was.
+
+And Zara heard him from her side, and stiffened in her bed with all the
+expression of a fierce wolfhound putting its hackles up.
+
+Yes, the danger of the ways of men was not over! If she had not
+unconsciously remembered to lock the door when she had returned from her
+terrifying adventure he would have come in!
+
+So these two thrilled with different emotions and trembled, and there
+was the locked harrier between them. And then Tristram rang for his
+valet and ordered his bath. He would dress quickly, and ask casually if
+she would breakfast in the sitting-room. It was so late, almost eleven,
+and they could have it at twelve upstairs--not in the restaurant as he
+had yesterday intended. He must find out about the roses; he could not
+endure to pass the whole day in wonder and doubt.
+
+And Zara, too, started dressing. It was better under the circumstances
+to be armed at all points, and she felt safer and calmer with Henriette
+in the room.
+
+So a few minutes before twelve they met in the sitting-room.
+
+Her whole expression was on the defensive: he saw that at once.
+
+The waiters would be coming in with the breakfast soon. Would there be
+time to talk to her, or had he better postpone it until they were
+certain to be alone? He decided upon this latter course, and just said a
+cold "Good morning," and turned to the _New York Herald_ and looked at
+the news.
+
+Zara felt more reassured.
+
+So they presently sat down to their breakfast, each ready to play the
+game.
+
+They spoke of the theaters--the one they had arranged to go to this
+Saturday night was causing all Paris to laugh.
+
+"It will be a jolly good thing to laugh," Tristram said--and Zara
+agreed.
+
+He made no allusion to the events of the night before, and she hardly
+spoke at all. And at last the repast was over, and the waiters had left
+the room.
+
+Tristram got up, after his coffee and liqueur, but he lit no cigar; he
+went to one of the great windows which look out on the Colonne Vendome,
+and then he came back. Zara was sitting upon the heliotrope Empire sofa
+and had picked up the paper again.
+
+He stood before her, with an expression upon his face which ought to
+have melted any woman.
+
+"Zara," he said softly, "I want you to tell me, why did you come into my
+room?"
+
+Her great eyes filled with startled horror and surprise, and her white
+cheeks grew bright pink with an exquisite flush.
+
+"I?"--and she clenched her hands. How did he know? Had he seen her,
+then? But he evidently did know, and there was no use to lie. "I was
+so--frightened--that--"
+
+Tristram took a step nearer and sat down by her side. He saw the
+confession was being dragged from her, and he gloried in it and would
+not help her out.
+
+She moved further from him, then, with grudging reluctance, she
+continued,
+
+"There can be such unpleasant quarrels with those horrible men. It--was
+so very late--I--I--wished to be sure that you had come safely in."
+
+Then she looked down, and the rose died out of her face, leaving it very
+white.
+
+And if Tristram's pride in the decision he had come to, on the fatal
+wedding night, that she must make the first advances before he would
+again unbend, had not held him, he would certainly have risked
+everything and clasped her in his arms. As it was, he resisted the
+intense temptation to do so, and made himself calm, while he answered,
+
+"It mattered to you, then, in some way, that I should not come to harm?"
+
+He was still sitting on the sofa near her, and that magnetic essence
+which is in propinquity appealed to her; ignorant of all such emotions
+as she was she only knew something had suddenly made her feel nervous,
+and that her heart was thumping in her side.
+
+"Yes, of course it mattered," she faltered, and then went on coldly, as
+he gave a glad start; "scandals are so unpleasant--scenes and all those
+things are so revolting. I had to endure many of them in my former
+life."
+
+Oh! so that was it! Just for fear of a scandal and because she had known
+disagreeable things! Not a jot of feeling for himself! And Tristram got
+up quickly and walked to the fireplace. He was cut to the heart.
+
+The case was utterly hopeless, he felt. He was frozen and stung each
+time he even allowed himself to be human and hope for anything. But he
+was a strong man, and this should be the end of it. He would not be
+tortured again.
+
+He took the little bunch of flowers out of his pocket and handed it to
+her quietly, while his face was full of pain.
+
+"Here is the proof you left me of your kind interest," he told her.
+"Perhaps your maid will miss it and wish to sew it on." And then without
+another word he went out of the room.
+
+Zara, left alone, sat staring into the fire. What did all this mean? She
+felt very unhappy, but not angry or alarmed. She did not want to hurt
+him. Had she been very unkind? After all, he had behaved, in comparison
+to Ladislaus, with wonderful self-control--and--yes, supposing he were
+not quite a sensual brute she had been very hard. She knew what pride
+meant; she had abundance herself, and she realized for the first time
+how she must have been stinging his.
+
+But there were facts which could not be got over. He had married her for
+her uncle's money and then shown at once that her person tempted him,
+when it could not be anything else.
+
+She got up and walked about the room. There was a scent of him
+somewhere--the scent of a fine cigar. She felt uneasy of she knew not
+what. Did she wish him to come back? Was she excited? Should she go out?
+And then, for no reason on earth, she suddenly burst into tears.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+They met for dinner, and she herself had never looked or been more icy
+cold than Tristram was. They went down into the restaurant and there, of
+course, he encountered some friends dining, too, in a merry party; and
+he nodded gayly to them and told her casually who they were, and then
+went on with his dinner. His manner had lost its constraint, it was just
+casually indifferent. And soon they started for the theater, and it was
+he who drew as far away as he could, when they got into the automobile.
+
+They had a box--and the piece had begun. It was one of those impossibly
+amusing Paris farces, on the borderland of all convention but so
+intensely comic that none could help their mirth, and Tristram shook
+with laughter and forgot for the time that he was a most miserable young
+man. And even Zara laughed. But it did not melt things between them.
+Tristram's feelings had been too wounded for any ordinary circumstances
+to cause him to relent.
+
+"Do you care for some supper?" he said coldly when they came out. But
+she answered. "No," so he took her back, and as far as the lift where he
+left her, politely saying "Good night," and she saw him disappear
+towards the door, and knew he had again gone out.
+
+And going on to the sitting-room alone, she found the English mail had
+come in, and there were the letters on the table, at least a dozen for
+Tristram, as she sorted them out--a number in women's handwriting--and
+but two for herself. One was from her uncle, full of agreeable
+congratulations subtly expressed; and the other, forwarded from Park
+Lane, from Mirko, as yet ignorant of her change of state, a small,
+funny, pathetic letter that touched her heart. He was better, and again
+able to go out, and in a fortnight Agatha, the little daughter of the
+Morleys, would be returning, and he could play with her. That might be a
+joy--girls were not so tiresome and did not make so much noise as boys.
+
+Zara turned to the piano, which she had not yet opened, and sat down and
+comforted herself with the airs she loved; and the maid who listened,
+while she waited for her mistress to be undressed, turned up her eyes in
+wonder.
+
+_"Quel drole de couple!"_ she said.
+
+And Tristram reencountered his friends and went off with them to sup.
+
+Her ladyship was tired, he told them, and had gone to bed. And two of
+the Englishwomen who knew him quite well teased him and said how
+beautiful his bride was and how strange-looking, and what an iceberg he
+must be to be able to come out to supper and leave her alone! And they
+wondered why he then smiled cynically.
+
+"For," said one to the other on their way home, "the new Lady Tancred is
+perfectly beautiful! Fancy, Gertrude, Tristram leaving her for a minute!
+And did you ever see such a face? It looks anything but cold."
+
+Zara was wide-awake when, about two, he came in. She heard him in the
+sitting-room and suddenly became conscious that her thoughts had been
+with him ever since she went to bed, and not with Mirko and his letter.
+
+She supposed he was now reading his pile of correspondence--he had such
+numbers of fond friends! And then she heard him shut the door, and go
+round into his room; but the carpets were very thick and she heard no
+more.
+
+If she could have seen what happened beyond that closed door, would it
+have opened her eyes, or made her happy? Who can tell?
+
+For Higgins, with methodical tidiness, had emptied the pockets of the
+coat his master had worn in the day, and there on top of a letter or two
+and a card-case was one tiny pink rose, a wee bud that had become
+detached from the torn bunch.
+
+And when Tristram saw it his heart gave a great bound. So it had stayed
+behind, when he had returned the others, and was there now to hurt him
+with remembrance of what might have been! He was unable to control the
+violent emotion which shook him. He went to the window and opened it
+wide: the moon was rather over, but still blazed in the sky. Then he
+bent down and passionately kissed the little bud, while a scorching mist
+gathered in his eyes.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+
+So at last the Wednesday morning came--and they could go back to
+England. From that Saturday night until they left Paris Tristram's
+manner of icy, polite indifference to his bride never changed. She had
+no more quaking shocks nor any fear of too much ardor! He avoided every
+possible moment of her society he could, and when forced to be with her
+seemed aloof and bored.
+
+And the freezing manner of Zara was caused no longer by haughty
+self-defense but because she was unconsciously numb at heart.
+
+Unknown, undreamed-of emotion came over her, whenever she chanced to
+find him close, and during his long absences her thoughts followed
+him--sometimes with wonderment.
+
+Just as they were going down to start for the train on the Wednesday
+morning a telegram was put into her hand. It was addressed "La Baronne
+de Tancred," and she guessed at once this would be Mimo's idea of her
+name. Tristram, who was already down the steps by the concierge's desk,
+turned and saw her open it, with a look of intense strain. He saw that
+as she read her eyes widened and stared out in front of them for a
+moment, and that her face grew pale.
+
+For Mimo had wired, "Mirko not quite so well." She crumpled the blue
+paper in her hand, and followed her husband through the bowing personnel
+of the hotel into the automobile. She controlled herself and was even
+able to give one of her rare smiles in farewell, but when they started
+she leaned back, and again her face went white. Tristram was moved. Whom
+was her telegram from? She did not tell him and he would not ask, but
+the feeling that there were in her life, things and interests of which
+he knew nothing did not please him. And this particular thing--what was
+it? Was it from a man? It had caused her some deep emotion--he could
+plainly see that. He longed to ask her but was far too proud, and their
+terms had grown so distant he hardly liked to express even solicitude,
+which, however, he did.
+
+"I hope you have not had any bad news?"
+
+Then she turned her eyes upon him, and he saw that she had hardly heard
+him; they looked blank.
+
+"What?" she asked vaguely; and then, recollecting herself confusedly,
+she went on, "No--not exactly--but something about which I must think."
+
+So he was shut out of her confidence. He felt that, and carefully
+avoided taking any further notice of her.
+
+When they got to the station he suddenly perceived she was not following
+him as he made way for her in the crowd, but had gone over to the
+telegraph office by herself.
+
+He waited and fumed. It was evidently something about which she wished
+no one to see what she wrote, for she could perfectly well have given
+the telegram to Higgins to take, who would be waiting by the saloon
+door.
+
+She returned in a few moments, and she saw that Tristram's face was very
+stern. It did not strike her that he was jealous about the mystery of
+the telegram; she thought he was annoyed at her for not coming on in
+case they should be late, so she said hurriedly, "There is plenty of
+time."
+
+"Naturally," he answered stiffly as they walked along, "but it is quite
+unnecessary for Lady Tancred to struggle through this rabble and take
+telegrams herself. Higgins could have done it when we were settled in
+the train."
+
+And with unexpected meekness all she said was, "I am very sorry."
+
+So the incident ended there--but not the uneasy impression it left.
+
+Tristram did not even make a pretense of reading the papers when the
+train moved on; he sat there staring in front of him, with his handsome
+face shadowed by a moody frown. And any close observer who knew him
+would have seen that there was a change in his whole expression, since
+the same time the last week.
+
+The impossible disappointment of everything! What kind of a nature could
+his wife have, to be so absolutely mute and unresponsive as she had
+been? He felt glad he had not given her the chance to snub him again.
+These last days he had been able to keep to his determination, and at
+all events did not feel himself humiliated. How long would it be before
+he should cease to care for her? He hoped to God--soon, because the
+strain of crushing his passionate desires was one which no man could
+stand long.
+
+The little, mutinous face, with its alluring, velvet, white skin, her
+slightly full lips, all curved and red, and tempting, and anything but
+cold in shape, and the extraordinary magnetic attraction of her whole
+personality, made her a most dangerous thing; and then his thoughts
+turned to the vision of her hair undone that he had had on that first
+evening at Dover. He had said once to Francis Markrute, he remembered,
+that these great passions were "storybook stuff." Good God! Well, in
+those days he had not known.
+
+He thought, as he returned from his honeymoon this day, that he could
+not be more frightfully unhappy, but he was really only beginning the
+anguish of the churning of his soul--if he had known.
+
+And Zara sat in her armchair, and pretended to read; but when he glanced
+at her he saw that it was a farce and that her expressive eyes were
+again quite blank.
+
+And finally, after the uncomfortable hours, they arrived at Calais and
+went to the boat.
+
+Here Zara seemed to grow anxious again and on the alert, and, stepping
+forward, asked Higgins to inquire if there was a telegram for her,
+addressed to the ship. But there was not, and she subsided once more
+quietly and sat in their cabin.
+
+Tristram did not even attempt to play the part of the returning
+bridegroom beyond the ordinary seeing to her comfort about which he had
+never failed; he left her immediately and remained for all the voyage on
+deck.
+
+And when they reached Dover Zara's expectancy showed again, but it was
+not until they were just leaving the station that a telegram was thrust
+through the window and he took it from the boy, while he could not help
+noticing the foreign form of address. And a certainty grew in his brain
+that it was "that same cursed man!"
+
+He watched her face as she read it, and noticed the look of relief as,
+quite unconscious of his presence, his bride absently spread the paper
+out. And although deliberately to try and see what was written was not
+what he would ever have done, his eyes caught the signature, "Mimo,"
+before he was aware of it.
+
+Mimo--that was the brute's name!
+
+And what could he say or do? They were not really husband and wife, and
+as long as she did nothing to disgrace the Tancred honor he had no valid
+reason for questions or complaints.
+
+But he burnt with suspicion, and jealousy, and pain.
+
+Then he thought over what Francis Markrute had said the first evening,
+when he had agreed to the marriage. He remembered how he had not felt it
+would be chivalrous or honorable to ask any questions, once he had
+blindly gone the whole length and settled she should be his; but how
+Francis had gratuitously informed him that she had been an immaculate
+wife until a year ago, and married to an unspeakable brute.
+
+He knew the financier very well, and knew that he was, with all his
+subtle cleverness, a man of spotless honor. Evidently, then, if there
+was anything underneath he was unaware of it. But was there anything?
+Even though he was angry and suspicious he realized that the bearing of
+his wife was not guilty or degraded. She was a magnificently proud and
+noble-looking creature, but perhaps even the noblest women could stoop
+to trick from--love! And this thought caused him to jump up
+suddenly--much to Zara's astonishment. And she saw the veins show on the
+left side of his temple as in a knot, a peculiarity, like the horseshoe
+of the Redgauntlets, which ran in the Tancred race.
+
+Then he felt how foolish he was, causing himself suffering over an
+imaginary thing; and here this piece of white marble sat opposite him in
+cold silence, while his being was wrung! He suddenly understood
+something which he had never done before, when he read of such things
+in the papers--how, passionately loving, a man could yet kill the thing
+he loved.
+
+And Zara, comforted by the telegram, "Much better again to-day," had
+leisure to return to the subject which had lately begun unconsciously to
+absorb her--the subject of her lord!
+
+She wondered what made him look so stern. His nobly-cut face was as
+though it were carved in stone. Just from an abstract, artistic point of
+view, she told herself, she honestly admired him and his type. It was
+finer than any other race could produce and she was glad she was half
+English, too. The lines were so slender and yet so strong; and every
+bone balanced--and the look of superb health and athletic strength.
+
+Such must have been the young Greeks who ran in the Gymnasium at Athens,
+she thought.
+
+And then, suddenly, an intense quiver of unknown emotion rushed over
+her. And if at that moment he had clasped her and kissed her, instead of
+sitting there glaring into space, the rest of this story need never have
+been written!
+
+But the moment passed, and she crushed whatever it was she felt of the
+dawning of love, and he dominated the uneasy suspicions of her fidelity;
+and they got out of the train at Charing Cross--after their remarkable
+wedding journey.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+
+Francis Markrute's moral antennae upon which he prided himself informed
+him that all was not as it should be between this young bride and
+bridegroom. Zara seemed to have acquired in this short week even an
+extra air of regal dignity, aided by her perfect clothes; and Tristram
+looked stern, and less joyous and more haughty than he had done. And
+they were both so deadly cold, and certainly constrained! It was not one
+of the financier's habits ever to doubt himself or his deductions. They
+were based upon far too sound reasoning. No, if something had gone wrong
+or had not yet evolutionized it was only for the moment and need cause
+no philosophical _deus ex machina_ any uneasiness.
+
+For it was morally and physically impossible that such a perfectly
+developed pair of the genus human being could live together in the bonds
+of marriage, and not learn to love.
+
+Meanwhile, it was his business as the friend and uncle of the two to be
+genial and make things go on greased wheels.
+
+So he exerted himself to talk at dinner--their dinner _a trois_--. He
+told them all the news that had happened during the week--Was it only a
+week--Zara and Tristram both thought!
+
+How there were rumors that in the coming spring there might be a general
+election, and that the Radicals were making fresh plots to ruin the
+country; but there was to be no autumn session, and, as usual, the
+party to which they all had the honor to belong was half asleep.
+
+And then the two men grew deep in a political discussion, so as soon as
+Zara had eaten her peach she said she would leave them to their talk,
+and say "Good night," as she was tired out.
+
+"Yes, my niece," said her uncle who had risen. And he did what he had
+not done since she was a child, he stooped and kissed her white
+forehead. "Yes, indeed, you must go and rest. We both want you to do us
+justice to-morrow, don't we, Tristram? We must have our special lady
+looking her best."
+
+And she smiled a faint smile as she passed from the room.
+
+"By George! my dear boy," the financier went on, "I don't believe I ever
+realized what a gorgeously beautiful creature my niece is. She is like
+some wonderful exotic blossom--a mass of snow and flame!"
+
+And Tristram said with unconscious cynicism,
+
+"Certainly snow--but where is the flame?"
+
+Francis Markrute looked at him out of the corners of his clever eyes.
+She had been icy to him in Paris, then! But his was not the temperament
+to interfere. It was only a question of time. After all, a week was not
+long to grow accustomed to a perfect stranger.
+
+Then they went back to the library, and smoked for an hour or so and
+continued their political chat; and at last Markrute said to his new
+nephew-in-law blandly,
+
+"In a year or so, when you and Zara have a son, I will give you, my dear
+boy, some papers to read which will interest you as showing the mother's
+side of his lineage. It will be a fit balance, as far as actual blood
+goes, to your own."
+
+In a year or so, when Zara should have a son!
+
+Of all the aspects of the case, which her pride and disdain had robbed
+him of, this, Tristram felt, was perhaps--though it had not before
+presented itself to him--the most cruel. He would have no son!
+
+He got up suddenly and threw his unfinished cigar into the grate--that
+old habit of his when he was moved--and he said in a voice that the
+financier knew was strained,
+
+"That is awfully good of you. I shall have to have it inserted in the
+family tree--some day. But now I think I shall turn in. I want to have
+my eye rested, and be as fit as a fiddle for the shoot. I have had a
+tiring week."
+
+And Francis Markrute came out with him into the passage and up to the
+first floor, and when they got so far they heard the notes of the
+_Chanson Triste_ being played again from Zara's sitting-room. She had
+not gone to bed, then, it seemed!
+
+"Good God!" said Tristram. "I don't know why, but I wish to heaven she
+would not play that tune."
+
+And the two men looked at one another with some uneasy wonder in their
+eyes.
+
+"Go on and take her to bed," the financier suggested. "Perhaps she does
+not like being left so long alone."
+
+Tristram went upstairs with a bitter laugh to himself.
+
+He did not go near the sitting-room; he went straight into the room
+which had been allotted to himself: and a savage sense of humiliation
+and impotent rage convulsed him.
+
+The next day, the express which would stop for them at Tylling Green,
+the little station for Montfitchet, started at two o'clock, and the
+financier had given orders to have an early lunch at twelve before they
+left. He, himself, went off to the City for half an hour to read his
+letters, at ten o'clock, and was surprised when he asked Turner if Lord
+and Lady Tancred had break-fasted to hear that her ladyship had gone out
+at half-past nine o'clock and that his lordship had given orders to his
+valet not to disturb him, in his lordship's room--and here Turner
+coughed--until half-past ten.
+
+"See that they have everything they want," his master said, and then
+went out. But when he was in his electric brougham, gliding eastwards,
+he frowned to himself.
+
+"The proud, little minx! So she has insisted upon keeping to the
+business bargain up till now, has she!" he thought. "If it goes on we
+shall have to make her jealous. That would be an infallible remedy for
+her caprice."
+
+But Zara was not concerned with such things at all for the moment. She
+was waiting anxiously for Mimo at their trysting-place, the mausoleum of
+Halicarnassus in the British Museum, and he was late. He would have the
+last news of Mirko. No reply had awaited her to her telegram to Mrs.
+Morley from Paris, and it had been too late to wire again last night.
+And Mrs. Morley must have got the telegram, because Mimo had got his.
+
+Some day, she hoped--when she could grow perhaps more friendly with her
+husband--she would get her uncle to let her tell him about Mirko. It
+would make everything so much more simple as regards seeing him, and
+why, since the paper was all signed and nothing could be altered, should
+there be any mystery now? Only, her uncle had said the day before the
+wedding,
+
+"I beg of you not to mention the family disgrace of your mother to your
+husband nor speak to him of the man Sykypri for a good long time--if you
+ever need."
+
+And she had acquiesced.
+
+"For," Francis Markrute had reasoned to himself, "if the boy dies, as
+Morley thinks there is every likelihood that he will, why should
+Tristram ever know?"
+
+The disgrace of his adored sister always made him wince.
+
+Mimo came at last, looking anxious and haggard, and not his debonair
+self. Yes, he had had a telegram that morning. He had sent one, as he
+was obliged to do, in her name, and hence the confusion in the answer.
+Mrs. Morley had replied to the Neville Street address, and Zara wondered
+if she knew London very well and would see how impossible such a
+locality would be for the Lady Tancred!
+
+But Mirko was better--decidedly better--the attack had again been very
+short. So she felt reassured for the moment, and was preparing to go
+when she remembered that one of the things she had come for was to give
+Mimo some money in notes which she had prepared for him; but, knowing
+the poor gentleman's character, she was going to do it delicately by
+buying the "Apache!" For she was quite aware that just money, for him to
+live, now that it was not a question of the welfare of Mirko, he would
+never accept from her. In such unpractical, sentimental ways does
+breeding show itself in some weak natures!
+
+Mimo was almost suspicious of the transaction, and she was obliged to
+soothe and flatter him by saying that he must surely always have
+understood how intensely she had admired that work; and now she was rich
+it would be an everlasting pleasure to her to own it for her very own.
+So poor Mimo _was_ comforted, and they parted after a while, all
+arrangements having been made that the telegrams--should any more
+come--were to go first, addressed to her at Neville Street, so that the
+poor father should see them and then send them on.
+
+And as it was now past eleven o'clock Zara returned quickly back to Park
+Lane and was coming in at the door just as her husband was descending
+the stairs.
+
+"You are up very early, Milady," he said casually, and because of the
+servants in the hall she felt it would look better to follow him into
+the library.
+
+Tristram was surprised at this and he longed to ask her where she had
+been, but she did not tell him; she just said,
+
+"What time do we arrive at your uncle's? Is it five or six?"
+
+"It only takes three hours. We shall be in about five. And, Zara, I want
+you to wear the sable coat. I think it suits you better than the
+chinchilla you had when we left."
+
+A little pink came into her cheeks. This was the first time he had ever
+spoken of her clothes; and to hide the sudden strange emotion she felt,
+she said coldly.
+
+"Yes, I intended to. I shall always hate that chinchilla coat."
+
+And he turned away to the window, stung again by her words which she had
+said unconsciously. The chinchilla had been her conventional "going
+away" bridal finery. That was, of course, why she hated the remembrance
+of it.
+
+As soon as she had said the words she felt sorry. What on earth made her
+so often wound him? She did not know it was part of the same instinct of
+self-defense which had had to make up her whole attitude towards life.
+Only this time it was unconsciously to hide and so defend the new
+emotion which was creeping into her heart.
+
+He stayed with his back turned, looking out of the window; so, after
+waiting a moment, she went from the room.
+
+At the station they found Jimmy Danvers, and a Mr. and Mrs. Harcourt
+with the latter's sister, Miss Opie, and several men. The rest of the
+party, including Emily and Mary, Jimmy told them, had gone down by the
+eleven o'clock train.
+
+Both Mrs. Harcourt and her sister and, indeed, the whole company were
+Tristram's old and intimate friends and they were so delighted to see
+him, and chaffed and were gay, and Zara watched, and saw that her uncle
+entered into the spirit of the fun in the saloon, and only she was a
+stranger and out in the cold.
+
+As for Tristram, he seemed to become a different person to the stern,
+constrained creature of the past week, and he sat in a corner with Mrs.
+Harcourt, and bent over her and chaffed and whispered in her ear, and
+she--Zara--was left primly in one of the armchairs, a little aloof. But
+such a provoking looking type of beauty as hers did not long leave the
+men of the party cold to her charms; and soon Jimmy Danvers joined her
+and a Colonel Lowerby, commonly known as "the Crow," and she held a
+little court. But to relax and be genial and unregal was so difficult
+for her, with the whole contrary training of all her miserable life.
+
+Hitherto men and, indeed, often women were things to be kept at a
+distance, as in one way or another they were sure to bite!
+
+And after a while the party adjusted itself, some for bridge and some
+for sleep; and Jimmy Danvers and Colonel Lowerby went into the small
+compartment to smoke.
+
+"Well, Crow," said Jimmy, "what do you think of Tristram's new lady?
+Isn't she a wonder? But, Jehoshaphat! doesn't she freeze you to death!"
+
+"Very curious type," growled the Crow. "Bit of Vesuvius underneath, I
+expect."
+
+"Yes, that is what a fellow'd think to look at her," Jimmy said, puffing
+at his cigarette. "But she keeps the crust on the top all the time; the
+bloomin' volcano don't get a chance!"
+
+"She doesn't look stupid," continued the Crow. "She looks stormy--expect
+it's pretty well worth while, though, when she melts."
+
+"Poor old Tristram don't look as if he had had a taste of paradise with
+his houri, for his week, does he? Before we'd heartened him up on the
+platform a bit--give you my word--he looked as mum as an owl," Jimmy
+said. "And she looked like an iceberg, as she's done all the time. I've
+never seen her once warm up."
+
+"He's awfully in love with her," grunted the Crow.
+
+"I believe that is about the measure, though I can't see how you've
+guessed it. You had not got back for the wedding, Crow, and it don't
+show now."
+
+The Crow laughed--one of his chuckling, cynical laughs which to his dear
+friend Lady Anningford meant so much that was in his mind.
+
+"Oh, doesn't it!" he said.
+
+"Well, tell me, what do you really think of her?" Jimmy went on. "You
+see, I was best man at the wedding, and I feel kind of responsible if
+she is going to make the poor, old boy awfully unhappy."
+
+"She's unhappy herself," said the Crow. "It's because she is unhappy
+she's so cold. She reminds me of a rough terrier I bought once, when I
+was a lad, from a particularly brutal bargeman. It snarled at every one
+who came near it, before they could show if they were going to kick or
+not, just from force of habit."
+
+"Well?" questioned Jimmy, who, as before has been stated, was rather
+thick.
+
+"Well, after I had had it for a year it was the most faithful and the
+gentlest dog I ever owned. That sort of creature wants oceans of
+kindness. Expect Tristram's pulled the curb--doesn't understand as yet."
+
+"Why, how could a person who must always have had heaps of
+cash--Markrute's niece, you know--and a fine position be like your dog,
+Crow? You _are_ drawing it!"
+
+"Well, you need not mind what I say, Jimmy," Colonel Lowerby went on.
+"Judge for yourself. You asked my opinion, and as I am an old friend of
+the family I've given it, and time will show."
+
+"Lady Highford's going to be at Montfitchet," Jimmy announced after a
+pause. "She won't make things easy for any one, will she!"
+
+"How did that happen?" asked the Crow in an astonished voice.
+
+"Ethelrida had asked her in the season, when every one supposed the
+affair was still on, and I expect she would not let them put her off--"
+And then both men looked up at the door, for Tristram peeped in.
+
+"We shall be arriving in five minutes, you fellows," he said.
+
+And soon they drew up at the little Tylling Green station, and the
+saloon was switched off, while the express flew on to King's Lynn.
+
+There were motor cars and an omnibus to meet them, and Lady Ethelrida's
+own comfortable coupe for the bridal pair. They might just want to say a
+few words together alone before arriving, she had kindly thought. And
+so, though neither of the two were very eager for this tete-a-tete, they
+got in and started off. The little coupe had very powerful engines and
+flew along, so they were well ahead of the rest of the party and would
+get to the house first, which was what the hostess had calculated upon.
+Then Tristram could have the pleasure of presenting his bride to the
+assembled company at tea, without the interruptions of the greetings of
+the other folk.
+
+Zara felt excited. She was beginning to realize that these English
+people were all of her dead father's class, not creatures whom one must
+beware of until one knew whether or not they were gamblers or rogues.
+And it made her breathe more freely, and the black panther's look died
+out of her eyes. She did not feel nervous, as she well might have
+done--only excited and highly worked up. Tristram, for his part, wished
+to heaven Ethelrida had not arranged to send the coupe for them. It was
+such a terrible temptation for him to resist for five miles, sitting so
+near her all alone in the dusk of the afternoon! He clenched his hands
+under the rug, and drew as far away from her as he could; and she
+glanced at him and wondered, almost timidly, why he looked so stern.
+
+"I hope you will tell me, if there is anything special you wish me to
+do, please?" she said. "Because, you see, I have never been in the
+English country before, and my uncle has given me to understand the
+customs are different to those abroad."
+
+He felt he could not look at her; the unusual gentleness in her voice
+was so alluring, and he had not forgotten the hurt of the chinchilla
+coat. If he relented in his attitude at all she would certainly snub him
+again; so he continued staring in front of him, and answered ordinarily,
+
+"I expect you will do everything perfectly right, and every one will
+only want to be kind to you, and make you have a good time; and my uncle
+will certainly make love to you but you must not mind that."
+
+And Zara allowed herself to smile as she answered,
+
+"No, I shall not in the least object to that!"
+
+He knew she was smiling--out of the corner of his eye--and the
+temptation to clasp her to him was so overpowering that he said rather
+hoarsely, "Do you mind if I put the window down?"
+
+He must have some air; he was choking. She wondered more and more what
+was the matter with him, and they both fell into a constrained silence
+which lasted until they turned into the park gates; and Zara peered out
+into the ghostly trees, with their autumn leaves nearly off, and tried
+to guess from the lodge what the house would be like.
+
+It was very enormous and stately, she found when they reached it, and,
+she walking with her empress air and Tristram following her, they at
+last came to the picture gallery where the rest of the party, who had
+arrived earlier, were all assembled in the center, by one of the big
+fireplaces, with their host and hostess having tea.
+
+The Duke and Lady Ethelrida came forward, down the very long, narrow
+room (they had quite sixty feet to walk before they met them), and
+then, when they did, they both kissed Zara--their beautiful new
+relation!--and Lady Ethelrida taking her arm drew her towards the party,
+while she whispered,
+
+"You dear, lovely thing! Ever so many welcomes to the family and
+Montfitchet!"
+
+And Zara suddenly felt a lump in her throat. How she had misjudged them
+all in her hurt ignorance! And determining to repair her injustice she
+advanced with a smile and was presented to the group.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+
+There was a good deal of running into each other's rooms before dressing
+for dinner among the ladies at Montfitchet, that night. They had, they
+felt, to exchange views about the new bride! And the opinions were
+favorable, on the whole; unanimous, as to her beauty and magnetic
+attraction; divided, as to her character; but fiercely and venomously
+antagonistic in one mean, little heart.
+
+Emily and Mary and Lady Betty Burns clustered together in the latter's
+room. "We think she is perfectly lovely, Betty," Emily said, "but we
+don't know her as yet. She is rather stiff, and frightens us just a
+little. Perhaps she is shy. What do you think?"
+
+"She looks just like the heroines in some of the books that Mamma does
+not let me read and I am obliged to take up to bed with me. Don't you
+know, Mary--especially the one I lent you--deeply, mysteriously tragic.
+You remember the one who killed her husband and then went off with the
+Italian Count; and then with some one else. It was frightfully
+exciting."
+
+"Good gracious! Betty," exclaimed Emily. "How dreadful! You don't think
+our sister-in-law looks like that?"
+
+"I really don't know," said Lady Betty, who was nineteen and wrote lurid
+melodramas--to the waste of much paper and the despair of her mother. "I
+don't know. I made one of my heroines in my last play have just those
+passionate eyes--and she stabbed the villain in the second act!"
+
+"Yes, but," said Mary, who felt she must defend Tristram's wife, "Zara
+isn't in a play and there is no villain, and--why, Betty, no one has
+tragedies in real life!"
+
+Lady Betty tossed her flaxen head, while she announced a prophecy, with
+an air of deep wisdom which positively frightened the other two girls.
+
+"You mark my words, both of you, Emily and Mary--they will have some
+tragedy before the year is out! And I shall put it all in my next play."
+
+And with this fearful threat ringing in their ears Tristram's two
+sisters walked in a scared fashion to their room.
+
+"Betty is wonderful, isn't she, darling?" Mary said. "But, Em, you don't
+think there is any truth in it, do you? Mother would be so horribly
+shocked if there was anything like one of Betty's plays in the family,
+wouldn't she? And Tristram would never allow it either!"
+
+"Of course not, you goosie," answered Emily. "But Betty is right in one
+way--Zara has got a mysterious face, and--and, Mary--Tristram seemed
+somehow changed, I thought; rather sarcastic once or twice."
+
+And then their maid came in and put a stop to their confidences.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"She is the most wonderful person I have ever met, Ethelrida," Lady
+Anningford was just then saying, as she and the hostess stopped at her
+door and let Lady Thornby and the young Countess of Melton go on.--"She
+is wickedly beautiful and attractive, and there is something odd about
+her, too, and it touches me; and I don't believe she is really wicked a
+bit. Her eyes are like storm clouds. I have heard her first husband was
+a brute. I can't think who told me but it came from some one at one of
+the Embassies."
+
+"We don't know much about her, any of us," Lady Ethelrida said, "but
+Aunt Jane asked us all in the beginning to trust Tristram's judgment: he
+is awfully proud, you know. And besides, her uncle, Mr. Markrute, is so
+nice. But, Anne--" and Lady Ethelrida paused.
+
+"Well, what, dear? Tristram is awfully in love with her, isn't he?" Lady
+Anningford asked.
+
+"Yes," said Lady Ethelrida, "but, Anne, do you really think Tristram
+looks happy? I thought when he was not speaking his face seemed rather
+sad."
+
+"The Crow came down in the train with them," Lady Anningford announced.
+"I'll hear the whole exact impression of them after dinner and tell you.
+The Crow is always right."
+
+"She is so very attractive, I am sure, to every man who sees her, Anne.
+I hope Lord Elterton won't begin and make Tristram jealous. I wish I had
+not asked him. And then there is Laura--It was awful taste, I think, her
+insisting upon coming, don't you?--Anne, if she seems as if she were
+going to be horrid you will help me to protect Zara, won't you?--And now
+we really must dress."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In another room Mrs. Harcourt was chatting with her sister and Lady
+Highford.
+
+"She is perfectly lovely, Laura," Miss Opie said. "Her hair must reach
+down to the ground and looks as if it would not come off, and her skin
+isn't even powdered--I examined it, on purpose, in a side light. And
+those eyes! Je-hoshaphat! as Jimmy Danvers says."
+
+"Poor, darling Tristram!" Laura sighed sentimentally while she inwardly
+registered her intense dislike of "the Opie girl." "He looks melancholy
+enough--for a bridegroom; don't you think so, Kate?" and she lowered her
+eyes, with a glance of would-be meaning, as though she could say more,
+if she wished. "But no wonder, poor dear boy! He loathed the marriage;
+it was so fearfully sudden. I suppose the Markrute man had got him in
+his power."
+
+"You don't say so!" Mrs. Harcourt gasped. She was a much simpler person
+than her sister. "Jimmy assured me that Lord Tancred was violently in
+love with her, and that was it."
+
+"Jimmy always was a fool," Lady Highford said, and as they went on to
+their rooms Lily Opie whispered,
+
+"Kate, Laura Highford is an odious cat, and I don't believe a word about
+Mr. Markrute and the getting Lord Tancred into his power. That is only
+to make a salve for herself. The Duke would never have Mr. Markrute here
+if there was anything fishy about him. Why, ducky, you know it is the
+only house left in England, almost, where they have only US!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Tristram was ready for dinner in good time but he hesitated about
+knocking at his wife's door. If she did not let him know she was ready
+he would send Higgins to ask for her maid.
+
+His eyes were shining with the pride he felt in her. She had indeed come
+up to the scratch. He had not believed it possible that she could have
+been so gracious, and he had not even guessed that she would condescend
+to speak so much. And all his old friends had been so awfully nice
+about her and honestly admiring; except Arthur Elterton--_he_ had
+admired rather too much!
+
+And then this exaltation somewhat died down. It was after all but a very
+poor, outside show, when, in reality, he could not even knock at her
+door!
+
+He wished now he had never let his pride hurl forth that ultimatum on
+the wedding night, because he would have to stick to it! He could not
+make the slightest advance, and it did not look as if she meant to do
+so. Tristram in an ordinary case when his deep feelings were not
+concerned would have known how to display a thousand little tricks for
+the allurement of a woman, would have known exactly how to cajole her,
+to give her a flower, and hesitate when he spoke her name--and a number
+of useful things--but he was too terribly in earnest to be anything but
+a real, natural man; that is, hurt from her coldness and diffident of
+himself, and iron-bound with pride.
+
+And Zara at the other side of the door felt almost happy. It was the
+first evening in her life she had ever dressed without some heavy burden
+of care. Her self-protective, watchful instincts could rest for a while;
+these new relations were truly, not only seemingly, so kind. The only
+person she immediately and instinctively disliked was Lady Highford who
+had gushed and said one or two bitter-sweet things which she had not
+clearly nor literally understood, but which, she felt, were meant to be
+hostile.
+
+And her husband, Tristram! It was plain to be seen every one loved
+him--from the old Duke, to the old setter by the fire. And how was it
+possible for them all to love a man, when--and then her thoughts
+unconsciously turned to _if_--he were capable of so base a thing as his
+marriage with her had been? Was it possible there could be any mistake?
+On the first opportunity she would question her uncle; and although she
+knew that gentleman would only tell her exactly as much as he wished her
+to know, that much would be the truth.
+
+Dinner was to be at half-past eight. She ought to be punctual, she knew;
+but it was all so wonderful, and refined, and old-world, in her charming
+room, she felt inclined to dawdle and look around.
+
+It was a room as big as her mother's had been, in the gloomy castle near
+Prague, but it was full of cozy touches--beyond the great gilt state
+bed, which she admired immensely--and with which she instinctively felt
+only the English--and only such English--know how to endow their
+apartments.
+
+Then she roused herself. She _must_ dress. Fortunately her hair did not
+take any time to twist up.
+
+"_Miladi_ is a dream!" Henriette exclaimed when at last she was ready.
+"_Milor_ will be proud!"
+
+And he was.
+
+She sent Henriette to knock at his door--his door in the passage--not
+the one between their rooms!--just on the stroke of half-past eight. He
+was at that moment going to send Higgins on a like errand! and his sense
+of humor at the grotesqueness of the situation made him laugh a bitter
+laugh.
+
+The two servants as the messengers!--when he ought to have been in there
+himself, helping to fix on her jewels, and playing with her hair, and
+perhaps kissing exquisite bits of her shoulders when the maid was not
+looking, or fastening her dress!
+
+Well, the whole thing was a ghastly farce that must be got through; he
+would take up politics, and be a wonderful landlord to the people at
+Wrayth; and somehow, he would get through with it, and no one should
+ever know, from him, of his awful mistake.
+
+He hardly allowed himself to tell her she looked very beautiful as they
+walked along the great corridor. She was all in deep sapphire-blue
+gauze, with no jewels on at all but the Duke's splendid brooch.
+
+That was exquisite of her, he appreciated that fine touch. Indeed, he
+appreciated everything about her--if she had known.
+
+People were always more or less on time in this house, and after the
+silent hush of admiration caused by the bride's entrance they all began
+talking and laughing, and none but Lady Highford and another woman were
+late.
+
+And as Zara walked along the white drawing-room, on the old Duke's arm,
+she felt that somehow she had got back to a familiar atmosphere, where
+she was at rest after long years of strife.
+
+Lady Ethelrida had gone in with the bridegroom--to-night everything was
+done with strict etiquette--and on her left hand she had placed the
+bride's uncle. The new relations were to receive every honor, it seemed.
+And Francis Markrute, as he looked round the table, with the perfection
+of its taste, and saw how everything was going on beautifully, felt he
+had been justified in his schemes.
+
+Lady Anningford sat beyond Tristram, and often these two talked, so Lady
+Ethelrida had plenty of time, without neglecting him, to converse with
+her other interesting guest.
+
+"I am so glad you like our old home, Mr. Markrute," she said. "To-morrow
+I will show you a number of my favorite haunts. It seems sad, does it
+not, as so many people assert, that the times are trending to take all
+these dear, old things away from us, and divide them up?"
+
+"It will be a very bad day for England when that time comes," the
+financier said. "If only the people could study evolution and the
+meaning of things there would not be any of this nonsensical class
+hatred. The immutable law is that no one long retains any position
+unless he, or she, is suitable for it. Nothing endures that is not
+harmonious. It is because England is now out of harmony, that this
+seething is going on. You and your race have been fitted for what you
+have held for hundreds of years; that is why you have stayed: and your
+influence, and such as you, have made England great."
+
+"Then how do you account for the whole thing being now out of joint?"
+Lady Ethelrida asked. "As my father and I and, as far as I know, numbers
+of us have remained just the same, and have tried as well as we can to
+do our duty to every one."
+
+"Have you ever studied the Laws of Lycurgus, Lady Ethelrida?" he asked.
+And she shook her sleek, fine head. "Well, they are worth glancing at,
+when you have time," he went on. "An immense value was placed upon
+discipline, and as long as it lasted in its iron simplicity the Spartans
+were the wonder of the then known world. But after their conquest of
+Athens, when luxury poured in and every general wanted something for
+himself and forgot the good of the state, then their discipline went to
+pieces, and, so--the whole thing. And that, applied in a modern way, is
+what is happening to England. All classes are forgetting their
+discipline, and, without fitting themselves for what they aspire to,
+they are trying to snatch from some other class. And the whole thing is
+rotten with mawkish sentimentality, and false prudery, and abeyance of
+common sense."
+
+"Yes," said Lady Ethelrida, much interested.
+
+"Lycurgus went to the root of things," the financier continued, "and
+made the people morally and physically healthy, and ruthlessly expunged
+the unfit--not like our modern nonsense, which encourages science to
+keep, among the prospective parents for the future generation, all the
+most diseased. Moral and physical balance and proportion were the ideas
+of the Spartans. They would not have even been allowed to compete in the
+games, if they were misshapen. And the analogy is, no one unfitted for a
+part ought to aspire to it, for the public good. Any one has a right to
+scream, if he does not obtain it when he is fitted for it."
+
+"Yes, I see," said Lady Ethelrida. "Then what do you mean when you say
+every class is trying to snatch something from some other class? Do you
+mean from the class above it? Or what? Because unless we, for
+instance--technically speaking--snatched from the King from whom could
+we snatch?"
+
+The financier smiled.
+
+"I said purposely, 'some other class,' instead of 'some class above it,'
+for this reason: it is because a certain and ever-increasing number of
+your class, if I may say so, are snatching--not, indeed, from the
+King--but from all classes _beneath them_, manners and morals, and
+absence of tenue, and absence of pride--things for which their class was
+not fitted. They had their own vices formerly, which only hurt each
+individual and not the order, as a stain will spoil the look of a bit of
+machinery but will not upset its working powers like a piece of grit.
+What they put into the machine now is grit. And the middle classes are
+snatching what they think is gentility, and ridiculous pretenses to
+birth and breeding; and the lower classes are snatching everything they
+can get from the pitiful fall of the other two, and shouting that all
+men are equal, when, if you come down to the practical thing, the
+foreman of some ironworks, say--where the opinions were purely
+socialistic, in the abstract--would give the last joined stoker a sound
+trouncing for aspirations in his actual work above his capabilities;
+because he would know that if the stoker were then made foreman the
+machinery could not work. The stokers of life should first fit
+themselves to be foremen before they shout."
+
+Then, as Lady Ethelrida looked very grave, and Francis Markrute was
+really a whimsical person, and seldom talked so seriously to women, he
+went on, smiling,
+
+"The only really perfect governments in the world are those of the Bees,
+and Ants, because they are both ruled with ruthless discipline and no
+sentiment, and every individual knows his place!"
+
+"I read once, somewhere, that it has been discovered," said Lady
+Ethelrida gently--she never laid down the law--"that the reason why the
+wonderful Greeks came to an end was not really because their system of
+government was not a good one, but because the mosquitoes came and gave
+them malaria, and enervated them and made them feeble, and so they could
+not stand against the stronger peoples of the North. Perhaps," she went
+on, "England has got some moral malarial mosquitoes and the scientists
+have not yet discovered the proper means for their annihilation."
+
+Here Tristram who overheard this interrupted:
+
+"And it would not be difficult to give the noisome insects their English
+names, would it, Francis? Some of them are in the cabinet."
+
+And the three laughed. But Lady Ethelrida wanted to hear something more
+from her left-hand neighbor, so she said,
+
+"Then the inference to be drawn from what you have said is--we should
+aim at making conditions so that it is possible for every individual to
+have the chance to make himself practically--not theoretically--fit for
+anything his soul aspires to. Is that it?"
+
+"Absolutely in a nutshell, dear lady," Francis Markrute said, and for a
+minute he looked into her eyes with such respectful, intense admiration
+that Lady Ethelrida looked away.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+
+In the white drawing-room, afterwards, Lady Highford was particularly
+gushing to the new bride. She came with a group of other women to
+surround her, and was so playful and charming to all her friends! She
+must be allowed to sit next to Zara, because, she said, "Your husband
+and I are such very dear, old friends. And how lovely it is to think
+that now he will be able to reopen Wrayth! Dear Lady Tancred is so
+glad," she purred.
+
+Zara just looked at her politely. What a done-up ferret woman! she
+thought. She had met many of her tribe. At the rooms at Monte Carlo, and
+in another class and another race, they were the kind who played in the
+smallest stakes themselves, and often snatched the other people's money.
+
+"I have never heard my husband speak of you," she said presently, when
+she had silently borne a good deal of vitriolic gush. "You have perhaps
+been out of England for some time?"
+
+And Lady Anningford whispered to Ethelrida, "We need not worry to be
+ready to defend her, pet! She can hold her own!" So they moved on to the
+group of the girls.
+
+But at the end of their conversation, though Zara had used her method of
+silence in a considerable degree and made it as difficult as she could
+for Lady Highford, still, that artist in petty spite had been able to
+leave behind her some rankling stings. She was a mistress of innuendo.
+So that when the men came in, and Tristram, from the sense of "not
+funking things" which was in him, deliberately found Laura and sat down
+upon a distant sofa with her, Zara suddenly felt some unpleasant feeling
+about her heart. She found that she desired to watch them, and that, in
+spite of what any one said to her, her attention wandered back to the
+distant sofa in some unconscious speculation and unrest.
+
+And Laura was being exceedingly clever. She scented with the cunning of
+her species that Tristram was really unhappy, whether he was in love
+with his hatefully beautiful wife or not. Now was her chance; not by
+reproaches, but by sympathy, and, if possible, by planting some venom
+towards his wife in his heart.
+
+"Tristram, dear boy, why did you not tell me? Did you not know I would
+have been delighted at anything--if it pleased you?" And she looked
+down, and sighed. "I always made it my pleasure to understand you, and
+to promote whatever seemed for your good."
+
+And in his astonishment at this attitude Tristram forgot to recall the
+constant scenes and reproaches, and the paltry little selfishnesses of
+which he had been the victim during the year their--friendship--had
+lasted. He felt somehow soothed. Here was some one who was devoted to
+him, even if his wife were not!
+
+"You are a dear, Laura," he said.
+
+"And now you must tell me if you are really happy--Tristram." She
+lingered over his name. "She is so lovely--your wife--but looks very
+cold. And I know, dear" (another hesitation over the word), "I know you
+don't like women to be cold."
+
+"We will not discuss my wife," he said. "Tell me what you have been
+doing, Laura. Let me see, when did I see you last--in June?"
+
+And the venom came to boiling-point in Laura's adder gland. He could not
+even remember when he had said good-by to her! It was in July, after the
+Eton and Harrow match!
+
+"Yes, in June," she said sadly, turning her eyes down. "And you might
+have told me, Tristram. It came as such a sudden shock. It made me
+seriously ill. You must have known, and were probably engaged--even
+then."
+
+Tristram sat mute; for how could he announce the truth?
+
+"Oh, don't let us talk of these things, Laura. Let us forget those old
+times and begin again--differently. You will be a dear friend to me
+always, I am sure. You always were--" and then he stopped abruptly. He
+felt this was too much lying! and he hated doing such things.
+
+"Of course I will, dar--Tristram," Laura said, and appeared much moved.
+
+And from where Zara was trying to talk to the Duke she saw the woman
+shiver and look down provokingly and her husband stretch his long limbs
+out; and a sudden, unknown sensation of blinding rage came over her, and
+she did not hear a syllable of the Duke's speech.
+
+Meanwhile Lady Anningford had retired to a seat in a window with the
+Crow.
+
+"Is it all right, Crow?" she asked, and one of his peculiarities was to
+understand her--as Lady Ethelrida understood the Duke--and and not ask
+"What?"
+
+"Will be--some day--I expect--unless they get drowned in the current
+first."
+
+"Isn't she mysterious, Crow? I am sure she has some tragic history. Have
+you heard anything?"
+
+"Husband murdered by another man in a row at Monte Carlo."
+
+"Over her?"
+
+"I don't know for a fact, but I gather--not. You may be certain, Queen
+Anne, that when a woman is as quiet and haughty as Lady Tancred looks,
+and her manners are as cold and perfectly sure of herself as hers are,
+she has not done anything she is ashamed of, or regrets."
+
+"Then what can be the cause of the coolness between them? Look at
+Tristram now! I think it is horrid of him--sitting like that talking to
+Laura, don't you?"
+
+"A viper, Laura," growled the Crow. "She's trying to get him again in
+the rebound."
+
+"I cannot imagine why women cannot leave other women's husbands alone.
+They are hateful creatures, most of them."
+
+"Natural instinct of the chase," said Colonel Lowerby.
+
+But Lady Anningford flashed.
+
+"You are a cynic, Crow."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"And you will really show me your favorite haunts to-morrow, Lady
+Ethelrida?" Francis Markrute was saying to his hostess. He had contrived
+insidiously to detach her conversation from a group to himself, and drew
+her unconsciously towards a seat where they would be uninterrupted. "One
+judges so of people by their tastes in haunts."
+
+Lady Ethelrida never spoke of herself as a rule. She was not in the
+habit of getting into those--abstract to begin with, and personal to go
+on with--thrilling conversations with men, which most of the modern
+young women delight in, and which were the peculiar joy of Lily Opie.
+
+It was because for some unacknowledged reason the financier personally
+pleased her that she now drifted where he wished.
+
+"Mine are very simple, I fear, nothing for you to investigate," she said
+gently.
+
+"So I should have thought--" and he again as he had done at dinner
+permitted himself to look into her eyes, and going on after an
+imperceptible pause he said softly, "simple, and pure, and sweet ...I
+always think of you, Lady Ethelrida, as the embodiment of sane things,
+balanced things--perfection." And his last word was almost a caress.
+
+"I am most ordinary," she said; and she wondered why she was not angry
+with him, which she quite well could have been.
+
+"It is only perfect balance in all things, if we but know it, which
+appeals to the sane eye," he went on, pulling himself up. "All weariness
+and satiety are caused in emotion; in pleasure in persons, places, or
+things; by the want of proportion in them somewhere which, like all
+simple things, is the hardest to find."
+
+"Do you make theories about everything, Mr. Markrute?" she asked, and
+there was a smile in her eye.
+
+"It is a wise thing to do sometimes; it keeps one from losing one's
+head."
+
+Lady Ethelrida did not answer. She felt deliciously moved. She had often
+said to her friend, Anne Anningford, when they had been talking, that
+she did not like elderly men; she disliked to see their hair getting
+thin, and their chins getting fat, and their little habits and
+mannerisms growing pronounced. But here she found herself tremendously
+interested in one who, from all accounts, must be quite forty-five if
+not older, though it was true his brown colorless hair was excessively
+thick, and he was slight of build everywhere.
+
+Now she felt she must turn the conversation to less personal things, so:
+
+"Zara looks very lovely to-night," she said.
+
+"Yes," replied the financier, with an air of detaching himself
+unwillingly from a thrilling topic, which was, indeed, what he felt.
+"Yes, and I hope some day they will be exceedingly happy."
+
+"Why do you say some day?" Lady Ethelrida asked quickly. "I hoped they
+were happy now."
+
+"Not very, I am afraid," he said. "But you remember our compact at
+dinner? They will be ideally so if they are left alone," and he glanced
+casually at Tristram and Laura.
+
+Ethelrida looked, too, following his eyes.
+
+"Yes," she said. "I wish I had not asked her--" and then she stopped
+abruptly, and grew a deep pink. She realized what the inference in her
+speech was, and if Mr. Markrute had never heard anything about the silly
+affair between her cousin and Lady Highford what would he think! What
+might she not have done!
+
+"That won't matter," he said, with his fine smile. "It will be good for
+my niece. I meant something quite different."
+
+But what he meant, he would not say.
+
+And so the evening passed smoothly. The girls, and all the young men and
+the Crow, and Young Billy, and giddy, irresponsible people like that,
+had gathered at one end of the room; they were arranging some especial
+picnic for the morrow, as only some of them were going to shoot. And
+into their picnic plans they drew Zara, and barred Tristram out, with
+chaff.
+
+"You are only an old, married man now, Tristram," they teased him with.
+"But Lady Tancred is young and comes with us!"
+
+"And I will take care of her," announced Lord Elterton, looking
+sentimental--much to Tristram's disgust.
+
+Ethelrida seemed to have collected a lot of rotters, he thought to
+himself, although it was the same party he had so enjoyed last year!
+
+"Lady Thornby and Lady Melton and Lily Opie and her sister are going out
+to the shooters' lunch," Laura said sweetly. "As you are going to be
+deprived of your lovely wife, Tristram, I will come, too."
+
+And so, finally good nights were said and the ladies retired to their
+rooms; and Zara could not think why she no longer found the atmosphere
+of hers peaceful and delightful, as she had done before she went down.
+
+For the first time in her life she felt she hated a woman.
+
+And Tristram, her husband, when he came up an hour or so later, wondered
+if she were asleep. Laura had been perfectly sweet, and he felt greatly
+soothed. Poor old Laura! He supposed she had really cared for him
+rather, and perhaps he had behaved casually, even though she had been
+impossible, in the past. But how had he ever even for five minutes
+fancied himself in love with her? Why, she looked quite old to-night!
+and he had never remarked before how thin and fluffed out her hair was.
+Women ought certainly to have beautifully thick hair.
+
+And then all the pretenses of any healing of his aches fell from him,
+and he went and stood by the door that separated him from his loved one,
+and he stretched out his arms and said aloud, "Darling, if only you
+could understand how happy I would make you--if you would let me! But I
+can't even break down this hateful door as I want to, because of my
+vow."
+
+And then for most of the rest of the night he tossed restlessly in his
+bed.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+
+The next day did not look at all promising as regards the weather, but
+still the shooters, Tristram among them, started early for their sport.
+And after the merriest breakfast at little tables in the great
+dining-room the intending picnickers met in conclave to decide as to
+what they should do.
+
+"It is perfectly sure to rain," Jimmy Danvers said. "There is no use
+attempting to go to Lynton Heights. Why don't we take the lunch to
+Montfitchet Tower and eat it in the big hall? There we wouldn't get
+wet."
+
+"Quite right, Jimmy," agreed the Crow, who, with Lady Anningford, was to
+chaperon the young folk. "I'm all for not getting wet, with my rheumatic
+shoulder, and I hear you and Young Billy are a couple of firstclass
+cooks."
+
+"Then," interrupted Lady Betty enthusiastically, "we can cook our own
+lunch! Oh, how delightful! We will make a fire in the big chimney. Uncle
+Crow, you are a pet!"
+
+"I will go and give orders for everything at once," Lady Ethelrida
+agreed delightedly. "Jimmy, what a bright boy to have thought of the
+plan!"
+
+And by twelve o'clock all was arranged. Now, it had been settled the
+night before that Mr. Markrute should shoot with the Duke and the rest
+of the more serious men; but early in the morning that astute financier
+had sent a note to His Grace's room, saying, if it were not putting out
+the guns dreadfully, he would crave to be excused as he was expecting a
+telegram of the gravest importance concerning the new Turkish loan,
+which he would be obliged to answer by a special letter, and he was
+uncertain at what time the wire would come. He was extremely sorry, but,
+he added whimsically, the Duke must remember he was only a poor,
+business-man!
+
+At which His Grace had smiled, as he thought of his guest's vast
+millions, in comparison to his own.
+
+Thus it was that just before twelve o'clock when the young party were
+ready to start for their picnic. Mr. Markrute, having written his letter
+and despatched it by express to London, chanced upon Lady Ethelrida in a
+place where he felt sure he should find her, and, expressing his
+surprise that they were not already gone, he begged to be allowed to
+come with them. He, too, was an excellent cook, he assured her, and
+would be really of use. And they all laughingly started.
+
+And if she could have seen the important letter concerning the new
+Turkish loan, she would have found it contained a pressing reminder to
+Bumpus to send down that night certain exquisitely bound books!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Above all, the young ladies had demanded they should have no servants at
+their picnic--everything, even the fire, was to be made by themselves.
+Jimmy was to drive the donkey-cart, with Lady Betty, to take all the
+food. The only thing they permitted was that the pots and pans and the
+wood for the fire might be sent on.
+
+And they were all so gay and looked so charming and suitably clad, in
+their rough, short, tweed frocks.
+
+Zara, who walked demurely by Lord Elterton, had never seen anything of
+the sort. She felt like a strange, little child at its first party.
+
+Before he had started in the morning Tristram had sent her a note (he
+could not stand the maid and valet as verbal messengers--it made him
+laugh too bitterly), it was just a few lines:
+
+"You asked me to tell you anything special about our customs, so this is
+to say, just put on some thick, short, ordinary suit, and mind you have
+a pair of thick boots."
+
+And it was signed "Tancred"--not "Tristram."
+
+She gave a little quiver as she read it, and then asked and found his
+lordship had already gone down. She was to breakfast later with the
+non-shooters. She would not see him, then, for the entire day. And that
+odious woman with whom he was so friendly would have him all to herself!
+
+These thoughts flashed into her mind before she was aware of it, and
+then she crushed them out--furious with herself. For of what possible
+matter could her husband's doings be to her? And yet, as she started,
+she found herself hoping it would rain, so that the five ladies who
+intended joining the guns in the farmhouse, for luncheon at two, would
+be unable to go. For just as she had come into the saloon where some of
+the party were writing letters that morning she had heard Lady Highford
+say to Mrs. Harcourt, in her high voice, "Yes, indeed, we mean to finish
+the discussion this afternoon after luncheon.--Dear Tristram! There is a
+long wait at the Fulton beat; we shall have plenty of time alone." And
+then she had turned round, and seemed confused at seeing her--Zara--and
+gushed more than the night before.
+
+But she did not get the satisfaction of perceiving the bride turn a
+hair, though as Zara walked on to the end of the room she angrily found
+herself wondering who was this woman, and what had she been to Tristram?
+What was she _now_?
+
+Lord Elterton had already fallen in love. He was a true _cavalier_
+servant; he knew, like the financier, as a fine art, how to manipulate
+the temperaments of most women. He prided himself upon it. Indeed, he
+spent the greater part of his life doing nothing else. Exquisite
+gentleness and sympathy was his method. There were such heaps of rough,
+rude brutes about that one would always have a chance by being the
+contrast; and husbands, he reasoned, were nearly always brutes--after a
+while--in the opinion of their wives! He had hardly ever known this plan
+to fail with the most devoted wife. So although Lady Tancred had only
+been married a week he hoped to render her not quite indifferent to
+himself in some way. He had seen at once that she and Tristram were not
+on terms of passionate love, and there was something so piquant about
+flirting with a bride! He divided women as a band into about four
+divisions. The quite impossible, the recalcitrant, the timid, and the
+bold. For the impossible he did not waste powder and shot. For the
+recalcitrant he used insidious methods of tickling their fancies, as he
+would tickle a trout. For the timid he was tender and protective; and
+for the bold subtly indifferent: but always gentle and nice!
+
+He was not sure yet in which of the four divisions he should have to
+place his new attraction--probably the second--but he frankly admitted
+he had never before had any experience with one of her type. Her strange
+eyes thrilled him: he felt, when she turned the deep slate, melting
+disks upon him, his heart went "down into his bloomin' boots," as Jimmy
+Danvers would have described the sensation. So he began with extreme
+gentleness and care.
+
+"You have not been long in this country, Lady Tancred, have you? One can
+see it--you are so exquisitely _chic_. And how perfectly you speak
+English! Not the slightest accent. It is delicious. Did you learn it
+when very young?"
+
+"My father was an Englishman," said Zara, disarmed from her usual
+chilling reserve by the sympathy in his voice. "I always spoke it until
+I was thirteen, and since then, too. It is a nice, honest language, I
+think."
+
+"You speak numbers of others, probably?" Lord Elterton went on,
+admiringly.
+
+"Yes, about four or five. It is very easy when one is moving in the
+countries, and certain languages are very much alike. Russian is the
+most difficult."
+
+"How clever you are!"
+
+"No, I am not a bit. But I have had time to read a good deal--" and then
+Zara stopped. It was so against her habit to give personal information
+to any one like this.
+
+Lord Elterton saw the little check, and went on another tack. "I have
+been an idle fellow and am not at all learned," he said. "Tristram and I
+were at Eton together in the same house, and we were both dunces; but he
+did rather well at Oxford, and I went straight into the Guards."
+
+Zara longed to ask about Tristram. She had not even heard before that he
+had been to Oxford! And it struck her suddenly how ridiculous the whole
+thing was. She had sold herself for a bargain; she had asked no
+questions of any one; she had intended to despise the whole family and
+remain entirely aloof; and now she found every one of her intentions
+being gradually upset. But as yet she did not admit for a second to
+herself that she was falling in love. It would be such a perfectly
+impossible thing to do in any case, when now he was absolutely
+indifferent to her and showed it in every way. It made the whole thing
+all the more revolting--to have pretended he loved her on that first
+night! Yes, with certain modifications of classes and races men were all
+perfectly untrustworthy, if not brutes, and a woman, if she could relax
+her vigilance, as regards the defense of her person and virtue, could
+not afford to unbend a fraction as to her emotions!
+
+And all the time she was thinking this out she was silent, and Lord
+Elterton watched her, thrilled with the attraction of the unobtainable.
+He saw plainly she had forgotten his very presence, and, though piqued,
+he grew the more eager.
+
+"I would love to know what you were thinking of," he said softly; and
+then with great care he pulled a bramble aside so that it should not
+touch her. They had turned into a lane beyond the kitchen garden and the
+park.
+
+Zara started. She had, indeed, been far away!
+
+"I was thinking--" she said, and then she paused for a suitable lie but
+none came, so she grew confused, and stopped, and hesitated, and then
+she blurted out, "I was thinking was it possible there could ever be any
+one whom one could believe?"
+
+Lord Elterton looked at her. What a strange woman!
+
+"Yes," he said simply, "you can believe me when I tell you I have never
+been so attracted by any one in my life."
+
+"Oh! for that!" she answered contemptuously. _"Mon Dieu!_ how often I
+have heard of that!"
+
+This was not what he had expected. There was no empty boast about the
+speech, as there would have been if Laura Highford had uttered it--she
+was fond of demonstrating her conquests and power in words. There was
+only a weariness as of something banal and tiring. He must be more
+careful.
+
+"Yes, I quite understand," he said sympathetically. "You must be bored
+with the love of men."
+
+"I have never seen any love of men. Do men know love?" she asked, not
+with any bitterness--only as a question of fact. What had Tristram been
+about? Lord Elterton thought. Here he had been married to this divine
+creature for a whole week, and she was plainly asking the question from
+her heart. And Tristram was no fool in a general way, he knew. There was
+some mystery here, but whatever it was there was the more chance for
+him! So he went on very tactfully, trying insidiously to soothe her, so
+that at last when they had arrived Zara had enjoyed her walk.
+
+Montfitchet Tower was all that remained of the old castle destroyed by
+Cromwell's Ironsides. It was just one large, square room, a sort of
+great hall. It had stood roofless for many years and then been covered
+in by the old Duke's father, and contained a splendid stone chimney
+piece of colossal proportions. It had also been floored, and had the
+raised place still, where the family had eaten "above the salt." The
+rest of the old castle was a complete ruin, and at the Restoration the
+new one had been rebuilt about a mile further up the park.
+
+Lady Ethelrida had collected several pieces of rough oak furniture to
+put into this great room which in height reached three stories up, and
+the supports of the mantelpieces of the upper floors could be seen on
+the blackened stone walls. It was here she gave her school treats and
+tenants' summer dances, because there was a great stretch of green,
+turfy lawn beyond, down to the river, where they could play their games.
+
+And on a wet day it was an ideal picnic place.
+
+A bright wood fire was already blazing on top of the ashes that for many
+years had never been cleared out, and a big jack swung in front of
+it--for appearance sake! What fun every one seemed to be having, Zara
+thought, as from an oak bench she watched them all busy as bees over
+their preparations for the repast. She had helped to make a salad, and
+now sat with the Crow, and surveyed the rest.
+
+Jimmy Danvers had turned up his sleeves and was thoroughly in earnest
+over his part; and he and Young Billy had gathered some brown bracken,
+and put it sprouting from a ham, to represent, they said, the peacock.
+For, they explained, a banquet in a baronial hall had to have a peacock,
+as well as a boar's head, and an ox roasted whole!
+
+And suddenly Zara thought of her last picnic, with Mimo and Mirko in the
+Neville Street attic, when the poor little one had worn the paper cap,
+and had taken such pleasure in the new rosy cups. And the Crow who was
+watching her closely, wondered why this gay scene should make the lovely
+bride look so pitifully sad. "How _Maman_ would have loved all this!"
+she was thinking, "with her gay, tender soul, and her delight in
+make-believe and joyous picnics." And her father--he had known all these
+sorts of people; they were his own class, and yet he had come to live in
+the great, gloomy castle, out of his own land, and expected his
+exquisite, young wife to stay there alone, most of the time. The hideous
+cruelty of men!
+
+And there was her Uncle Francis, in quite a new character!--helping Lady
+Ethelrida to lay the table, as happily as a boy. Would she herself ever
+be happy, she wondered, ever have a time free from some agonizing strain
+or care? And then, from sorrow her expression changed to one of strange
+slumberous resentment at fate.
+
+"Queen Anne," said the Crow, as they sat down to luncheon, "there is
+some tragedy hanging over that young woman. She has been suffering like
+the devil for at least ten minutes, and forgot I was even beside her and
+pretending to talk. You and Lady Ethelrida have two not altogether
+unkind hearts. Can't you find out what it is, and comfort her?"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+
+After luncheon, which had been carried through with all the proper
+ceremonies of the olden time according to Jimmy Danvers and Young
+Billy's interpretation of them, it came on to pour with rain; so these
+masters of the revels said that now the medieval dances should begin,
+and accordingly they turned on the gramophone that stood in the corner
+to amuse the children at the school treats. And Mary and her admirer,
+Lord Henry Burns, and Emily and a Captain Hume, and Lady Betty and Jimmy
+Danvers, gayly took the floor, while Young Billy offered himself to the
+bride, as he said he as the representative of the Lord of the Castle had
+a right to the loveliest lady; and, with his young, stolid
+self-confidence, he pushed Lord Elterton aside.
+
+Zara had not danced for a very long time--four years at least--and she
+had not an idea of the two-steps and barn-dances and other sorts of
+whirling capers that they invented; but she did her best, and gradually
+something of the excitement of the gay young spirits spread to her, and
+she forgot her sorrows and began to enjoy herself.
+
+"You don't ever dance, I suppose, Mr. Markrute?" Lady Ethelrida asked,
+as she stopped, with the gallant old Crow, flushed and smiling by the
+dais, where the financier and Lady Anningford sat. "If you ever do, I,
+as the Lady of the Castle, ask you to 'tread a measure' with me!"
+
+"No one could resist such, an invitation," he answered, and put his arm
+around her for a valse.
+
+"I do love dancing," she said, as they went along very well. She was so
+surprised that this "grave and reverend signor," as she called him,
+should be able to valse!
+
+"So do I," said Francis Markrute--"under certain circumstances. This is
+one of them." And then he suddenly held her rather tight, and laughed.
+"Think of it all!" he went on. "Here we are, in thick boots and country
+clothes capering about like savages round their fire, and, for all sorts
+of reasons, we all love it!"
+
+"It is just the delicious exercise with me," said Lady Ethelrida.
+
+"And it has nothing at all to do with that reason with me," returned her
+partner.
+
+And Lady Ethelrida quivered with some sort of pleasure and did not ask
+him what his reason was. She thought she knew, and her eyes sparkled.
+They were the same height, and he saw her look; and as they went on, he
+whispered:
+
+"I have brought you down the book we spoke of, you know, and you will
+take it from me, won't you? Just as a remembrance of this day and how
+you made me young for an hour!"
+
+They stopped by one of the benches at the side and sat down, and Lady
+Ethelrida answered softly,
+
+"Yes, if--you wish me to--"
+
+Lord Elterton had now dislodged Young Billy and was waltzing with Zara
+himself: his whole bearing was one of intense devotion, and she was
+actually laughing and looking up in his face, still affected by the
+general hilarity, when the door of the wooden porch that had been built
+on as an entrance opened noiselessly, and some of the shooters peeped
+into the room. It had been too impossibly wet to go on, and they had
+sent the ladies back in the motors and had come across the park on their
+way home, and, hearing the sound of music, had glanced in. Tristram was
+in front of the intruders and just chanced to catch his bride's look at
+her partner, before either of them saw they were observed.
+
+He felt frightfully jealous. He had never before seen her so smiling, to
+begin with, and never at all at himself. He longed to kick Arthur
+Elterton! Confounded impertinence!--And what tommyrot--dancing like
+this, in the afternoon with boots on! And when they all stopped and
+greeted the shooters, and crowded round the fire, he said, in a tone of
+rasping sarcasm--in reply to Jimmy Danvers' announcement that they were
+back in the real life of a castle in the Middle Ages:
+
+"Any one can see that! You have even got My Lady's fool. Look at
+Arthur--with mud on his boots--jumping about!"
+
+And Lord Elterton felt very flattered. He knew his old friend was
+jealous, and if he were jealous then the charming, cold lady must have
+been unbelievingly nice to him, and that meant he was getting on!
+
+"You are jealous because your lovely bride prefers me, Young Lochinvar,"
+and he laughed as he quoted:
+
+     "'For so faithful in love and so dauntless in war--
+     There ne'er was a gallant like Young Lochinvar!'"
+
+And Zara saw that Tristram's eyes flashed blue steel, and that he did
+not like the chaff at all. So, just out of some contrariness--he had
+been with Lady Highford all day so why should she not amuse herself,
+too; indeed, why should either of them care what the other did--so just
+out of contrariness she smiled again at Lord Elterton and said:
+
+     "'Then tread we a measure, my Lord Lochinvar.'"
+
+And off they went.
+
+And Tristram, with his face more set than the Crusader ancestor's in
+Wrayth Church, said to his uncle, Lord Charles, "We are all wet through:
+let us come along."
+
+And he turned round and went out.
+
+And as he walked, he wondered to himself how much she must know of
+English poetry to have been able to answer Arthur like that. If only
+they could be friends and talk of the books he, too, loved! And then he
+realized more strongly than ever the impossibility of the situation--he,
+who had been willing to undertake it with the joyous self-confidence
+with which he had started upon a lion hunt!
+
+He felt he was getting to the end of his tether; it could not go on. Her
+words that night at Dover, had closed down all the possible sources he
+could have used for her melting.
+
+And a man cannot in a week break through a thousand years of inherited
+pride.
+
+Before the Canada scheme had presented itself he had rather thought of
+joining with a friend for another trip to the Soudan: it might not be
+too late still, when they had got over the Wrayth ordeal, the tenants'
+dinners, and the speeches, and the cruel mockery of it all. He would
+see--perhaps--what could be done, but to go on living in this daily
+torture he would not submit to, for the "loving her less" had not yet
+begun!
+
+And when he had left, although she would not own it to herself, Zara's
+joy in the day was gone.
+
+The motors came to fetch them presently, and they all went back to the
+Castle to dress and have tea.
+
+Tristram's face was still stony and he had sat down in a sofa by Laura,
+when a footman brought a telegram to Zara. He watched her open it, with
+concentrated interest. Whom were these mysterious telegrams from? He saw
+her face change as it had done in Paris, only not so seriously; and then
+she crushed up the paper into a ball and threw it in the fire. The
+telegram had been: "Very slightly feverish again," and signed "Mimo."
+
+"Now I remember where I have seen your wife before," said Laura. And
+Tristram said absently,
+
+"Where?"
+
+"In the waiting-room at Waterloo station--and yet--no, it could not have
+been she, because she was quite ordinarily dressed, and she was talking
+very interestedly to a foreign man." She watched Tristram's face and saw
+she had hit home for some reason; so she went on, enchanted: "Of course
+it could not have been she, naturally; but the type is so peculiar that
+any other like it would remind one, would it not?"
+
+"I expect so," he said. "It could not have been Zara, though, because
+she was in Paris until just before the wedding."
+
+"I remember the occasion quite well. It was the day after the engagement
+was announced, because I had been up for Flora's wedding, and was going
+down into the country."
+
+Then in a flash it came to him that that was the very day he himself had
+seen Zara in Whitehall, the day when she had not gone to Paris. And
+rankling, uncomfortable suspicions overcame him again.
+
+Laura felt delighted. She did not know why he should be moved at her
+announcement; but he certainly was, so it was worth while rubbing it in.
+
+"Has she a sister, perhaps? Because--now I come to think of it--the
+resemblance is extraordinary. I remember I was rather interested at the
+time because the man was so awfully handsome and as you know, dear boy,
+I always had a passion for handsome men!"
+
+"My wife was an only child," Tristram answered. What was Laura driving
+at?
+
+"Well, she has a double then," she laughed. "I watched them for quite
+ten minutes, so I am sure. I was waiting for my maid, who was to meet
+me, and I could not leave for fear of missing her."
+
+"How interesting!" said Tristram coldly. He would not permit himself to
+demand a description of the man.
+
+"Perhaps after all it was she, before she went to Paris, and I may be
+mistaken about the date," Laura went on. "It might have been her
+brother--he was certainly foreign--but no, it could not have been a
+brother." And she looked down and smiled knowingly.
+
+Tristram felt gradually wild with the stings her words were planting,
+and then his anger rebounded upon herself. Little natures always
+miscalculate the effect of their actions, as factors in their desires,
+for their ultimate ends.
+
+Laura only longed--after hurting Tristram as a punishment--to get him
+back again; but she was not clever enough to know that to make him mad
+with jealousy about his wife was not the way.
+
+"I don't understand what you wish to insinuate, Laura," he said in a
+contemptuous voice; "but whatever it is, it is having no effect upon me.
+I absolutely adore my wife, and know everything she does or does not
+do."
+
+"Oh! the poor, angry darling, there, there!" she laughed, spitefully,
+"and was It jealous! Well, It shan't be teased. But what a clever
+husband, to know all about his wife! He should be put in a glass case in
+a museum!" And she got up and left him alone.
+
+Tristram would like to have killed some one--he did not know whom--this
+foreign man, "Mimo," most likely: he had not forgotten the name!
+
+If his pride had permitted him he would have gone up to Zara, who had
+now retired to her room, and asked straight out for an explanation. He
+would if he had been sensible have simply said he was unhappy, and he
+would have asked her to reassure him. It would all have been perfectly
+simple and soon ended if treated with common sense. But he was too
+obstinate, and too hurt, and too passionately in love. The bogey of his
+insulted Tancred pride haunted him always, and, like all foolish things,
+caused him more suffering than if it had been a crime.
+
+So once more the pair dressed to go down to the ducal dinner, with
+deeper estrangement in their hearts. And when Tristram was ready
+to-night, he went out into the corridor and pretended to look at the
+pictures. He would have no more servants' messages!--and there he was,
+with a bitter smile on his face, when Lady Anningford, coming from her
+room beyond, stopped to talk. She wondered at his being there--a very
+different state of things to her own with her dear old man, she
+remembered, who, after the wedding day, for weeks and weeks would hardly
+let her out of his sight!
+
+Then Henriette peeped out of the door and saw that the message she was
+being sent upon was in vain, and went back; and immediately Zara
+appeared.
+
+Her dress was pale gray to-night--with her uncle's pearls--and both Lady
+Anningford and Tristram noticed that her eyes were slumberous and had in
+them that smoldering fierceness of pain. And remembering the Crow's
+appeal Lady Anningford slipped her hand within her arm, and was very
+gentle and friendly as they went down to the saloon.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+
+Now if the evening passed with pain and unrest for the bride and
+bridegroom, it had quite another aspect for Francis Markrute and Lady
+Ethelrida! He was not placed by his hostess to-night at dinner, but when
+the power of manipulating circumstances with skill is in a man, and the
+desire to make things easy to be manipulated is in a woman, they can
+spend agreeable and numerous moments together.
+
+So it fell about that without any apparent or pointed detachment from
+her other guests Lady Ethelrida was able to sit in one of the embrasures
+of the windows in, the picture gallery, whither the party had migrated
+to-night, and talk to her interesting new friend--for that he was growing
+into a friend she felt. He seemed so wonderfully understanding, and was
+so quiet and subtle and undemonstrative, and, underneath, you could feel
+his power and strength.
+
+It had been his insidious suggestion, spread among the company, which
+had caused them to be in the picture gallery to-night, instead of in one
+of the great drawing-rooms. For in a very long narrow room it was much
+easier to separate people, he felt.
+
+"Of course this was not built at the time the house was, in about 1670,"
+Lady Ethelrida said. "It was added by the second Duke, who was
+Ambassador to Versailles in the time of Louis XV, and who thought he
+would like a 'galerie des glaces' in imitation of the one there. And
+then, when the walls were up, he died, and it was not decorated until
+thirty-five years later, in the Regent's time, and it was turned into a
+picture gallery then."
+
+"People's brands of individuality in their houses are so interesting,"
+Francis Markrute said. "I believe Wrayth is a series of human fancies,
+from the Norman Castle upwards, is it not? I have never been there."
+
+"Oh! Wrayth is much more interesting than this," she answered. "Parts of
+it are so wonderfully old; there are stone floors in the upper rooms in
+one of the inner courtyards. They did not suffer, you see, from the
+hateful Puritans, because the then Tancred was only an infant when the
+civil war began; and his mother was a Frenchwoman, and they stayed in
+France all the time, and only came back when Charles II returned. He
+married a Frenchwoman, too. She was a wonderful person and improved many
+things. Wrayth has two long galleries and a chapel of Henry the
+Seventh's time, and numbers of staircases in unexpected places, and then
+a fine suite of state rooms, built on by Adam, and then the most awful
+Early-Victorian imitation Gothic wing and porch which one of those
+dreadful people, who spoilt such numbers of places, added in 1850."
+
+"It sounds wonderful," said the financier.
+
+"Lots of it is very shabby, of course, because Tristram's father was
+always very hard up; and nothing much had been done either in the
+grandfather's time--except the horrible wing. But with enough money to
+get it right again, I cannot imagine anything more lovely than it could
+be."
+
+"It will be a great amusement to them in the coming year to do it all,
+then. Zara has the most beautiful taste, Lady Ethelrida. When you know
+her better I think you will like my niece."
+
+"But I do now," she exclaimed. "Only I do wish she did not look so sad.
+May I ask it because of our bargain? "--and she paused with gentle
+timidity--"Will you tell me?--do you know of any special reason to-day
+to make her unhappy? I saw her face at dinner to-night, and all the
+while she talked there was an anxious, haunted look in her eyes."
+
+Francis Markrute frowned for a moment; he had been too absorbed in his
+own interests to have taken in anything special about his niece. If
+there were something of the sort in her eyes it could only have one
+source--anxiety about the health of the boy Mirko. He himself had not
+heard anything. Then his lightning calculations decided him to tell Lady
+Ethelrida nothing of this. Zara's anxiety would mean the child's
+illness, and illness, Doctor Morley had warned him, could have only one
+end. He wished the poor little fellow no harm, but, on the other hand,
+he had no sentiment about him. If he were going to die then the disgrace
+would be wiped away and need never be spoken about. So he answered
+slowly:
+
+"There is something which troubles her now and then. It will pass
+presently. Take no notice of it."
+
+So Lady Ethelrida, as mystified as ever, turned the conversation.
+
+"May I give you the book to-morrow morning before we go to shoot?" the
+financier asked after a moment. "It is your birthday, I believe, and all
+your guests on that occasion are privileged to lay some offering at your
+feet. I wanted to do so this afternoon after tea, but I was detained
+playing bridge with your father. I have several books coming to-morrow
+that I do so want you to have."
+
+"It is very kind of you. I would like to show you my sitting-room, in
+the south wing. Then you could see that they would have a comfortable
+home!"
+
+"When may I come?"
+
+This was direct, and Lady Ethelrida felt a piquant sensation of
+interest. She had never in her life made an assignation with a man. She
+thought a moment.
+
+"They will start only at eleven to-morrow, because the first covert is
+at a corner of the park, quite near, and if it is fine we are all coming
+out with you until luncheon which we have in the house; then you go to
+the far coverts in the motors. When, I wonder, would be best?"--It
+seemed so nice to leave it to him.
+
+"You breakfast downstairs at half-past nine, like this morning?"
+
+"Yes, I always do, and the girls will and almost every one, because it
+is my birthday."
+
+"Then if I come exactly at half-past ten will you be there?"
+
+"I will try. But how will you know the way?"
+
+"I have a bump of locality which is rather strong, and I know the
+windows from the outside. You remember you showed them to me to-day as
+we walked to the tower."
+
+Lady Ethelrida experienced a distinct feeling of excitement over this
+innocent rendezvous.
+
+"There is a staircase--but no!"--and she laughed--"I shall tell you no
+more. It will be a proof of your sagacity to find the clue to the
+labyrinth."
+
+"I shall be there," he said, and once again he looked into her sweet,
+gray eyes; and she rose with a slightly faster movement than usual and
+drew him to where there were more of her guests.
+
+Meanwhile Lord Elterton was losing no time in his pursuit of Zara. He
+had been among the first to leave the dining-room, several paces in
+front of Tristram and the others, and instantly came to her and
+suggested a tour of the pictures. He quite agreed with the
+financier--these long, narrow rooms were most useful!
+
+And Zara, thankful to divert her mind, went with him willingly, and soon
+found herself standing in front of an immense canvas given by the
+Regent, of himself, to the Duke's grandfather, one of his great friends.
+
+"I have been watching you all through dinner," Lord Elterton said, "and
+you looked like a beautiful storm: your dress the gray clouds, and your
+eyes the thunder ones--threatening."
+
+"One feels like a storm sometimes," said Zara.
+
+"People are so tiresome, as a rule; you can see through them in half an
+hour. But no one could ever guess about what you were thinking."
+
+"No one would want to--if they knew."
+
+"Is it so terrible as that?" And he smiled--she must be diverted. "I
+wish I had met you long ago, because, of course, I cannot tell you all
+the things I now want to--Tristram would be so confoundedly
+jealous--like he was this afternoon. It is the way of husbands."
+
+Zara did not reply. She quite agreed to this, for of the jealousy of
+husbands she had experience!
+
+"Now if I were married," Lord Elterton went on, "I would try to make my
+wife so happy, and would love her so much she would never give me cause
+to be jealous."
+
+"Love!" said Zara. "How you talk of love--and what does it mean?
+Gratification to oneself, or to the loved person?"
+
+"Both," said Lord Elterton, and looked down so devotedly into her eyes
+that the old Duke, who was near, with Laura, thought it was quite time
+the young man's innings should be over!
+
+So he joined them.
+
+"Come with me, Zara, while I show you some of Tristram's ancestors on
+his mother's side."
+
+And he placed her arm in his gallantly, and led her away to the most
+interesting pictures.
+
+"Well, 'pon my soul!" he said, as they went along. "Things are vastly
+changed since my young days. Here, Tristram--" and he beckoned to his
+nephew who was with Lady Anningford--"come here and help me to show your
+wife some of your forbears." And then he went on with his original
+speech. "Yes, as I was saying, things are vastly changed since I brought
+Ethelrida's dear mother back here, after our honeymoon!--a month in
+those days! I would have punched any other young blood's head, who had
+even looked at her! And you philander off with that fluffy, little
+empty-pate, Laura, and Arthur Elterton makes love to your bride! A
+pretty state of things, 'pon my soul!" And he laughed reprovingly.
+
+Tristram smiled with bitter sarcasm as he answered, "You were absurdly
+old-fashioned, Uncle. But perhaps Aunt Corisande was different to the
+modern woman."
+
+Zara did not speak. The black panther's look, on its rare day of
+slumberous indifference when it condescends to come to the front of the
+cage, grew in her eyes, but the slightest touch could make her snarl.
+
+"Oh! you must not ever blame the women," the Duke--this _preux
+chevalier_--said. "If they are different it is the fault of the men.
+I took care that my duchess wanted me! Why, my dear boy, I was jealous
+of even her maid, for at least a year!"
+
+And Tristram thought to himself that he went further than that and was
+jealous of even the air Zara breathed!
+
+"You must have been awfully happy, Uncle," he said with a sigh.
+
+But Zara spoke never a word. And the Duke saw that there was something
+too deeply strained between them, for his kindly meant _persiflage_
+to do any good; so he turned to the pictures, and drew them into lighter
+things; and the moment he could, Tristram rejoined Lady Anningford by
+one of the great fires.
+
+Laura Highford, left alone with Lord Elterton up at the end of the long
+picture gallery, felt she must throw off some steam. She could not keep
+from the subject which was devouring her; she knew now she had made an
+irreparable mistake in what she had said to Tristram in the afternoon,
+and how to repair it she did not know at present, but she must talk to
+some one.
+
+"You will have lots of chance before a year is out, Arthur," she said
+with a bitter smile. "You need not be in such a hurry! That marriage
+won't last more than a few months--they hate each other already."
+
+"You don't say so!" said Lord Elterton, feigning innocence. "I thought
+they were a most devoted couple!"--Laura would be a safe draw, and
+although he would not believe half he should hear, out of the bundle of
+chaff he possibly could collect some grains of wheat which might come in
+useful.
+
+"Devoted couple!" she laughed. "Tristram is by no means the first with
+her. There is a very handsome foreign gentleman, looking like Romeo, or
+Rizzio--"
+
+"Or any other 'O,'" put in Lord Elterton.
+
+"Exactly--in whom she is much more interested. Poor Tristram! He has
+plenty to discover, I fear."
+
+"How do you come to know about it? You are a wonder, Lady
+Highford--always so full of interesting information!"
+
+"I happened to see them at Waterloo together--evidently just arrived
+from somewhere--and Tristram thought she was safe in Paris! Poor dear!"
+
+"You have told him about it, of course?"--anxiously.
+
+"I did just give him a hint."
+
+"That was wise." And Lord Elterton smiled blandly and she did not see
+the twinkle in his eye. "He was naturally grateful?" he asked
+sympathetically.
+
+"Not now, perhaps, but some day he will be!"
+
+Laura's light hazel eyes flashed, and Lord Elterton laughed again as he
+answered lightly,
+
+"There certainly is a poor spirit in the old boy if he doesn't feel
+under a lifelong obligation to you for your goodness. I should, if it
+were me.--Look, though, we shall have to go now; they are beginning to
+say good night."
+
+And as they found the others he thought to himself, "Well, men may be
+poachers like I am, but I am hanged if they are such weasels as women!"
+
+Lady Anningford joined Lady Ethelrida that night in her room, after they
+had seen Zara to hers, and they began at once upon the topic which was
+thrilling them all.
+
+"There is something the matter, Ethelrida, darling," Lady Anningford
+said. "I have talked to Tristram for a long time to-night, and, although
+he was bravely trying to hide it, he was bitterly miserable; spoke
+recklessly of life one minute, and resignedly the next; and then asked
+me, with an air as if in an abstract discussion, whether Hector and
+Theodora were really happy--because she had been a widow. And when I
+said, 'Yes, ideally so,' and that they never want to be dragged away
+from Bracondale, he said, so awfully sadly, 'Oh, I dare-say; but then
+they have children.' It is too pitiful to hear him, after only a week!
+What can it be? What can have happened in the time?"
+
+"It is not since, Anne," Ethelrida said, beginning to unfasten her
+dress. "It was always like that. She had just the look in her eyes the
+night we all first met her, at Mr. Markrute's at dinner--that strange,
+angry, pained, sorrowful look, as though she were a furnace of
+resentment against some fate. I remember an old colored picture we had
+on a screen--it is now in the housekeeper's room--it was one of those
+badly-drawn, lurid scenes of prisoners being dragged off to Siberia in
+the snow, and there was a woman in it who had just been separated from
+her husband and baby and who had exactly the same expression. It used to
+haunt me as a child, and Mamma had it taken out of the old nursery. And
+Zara's eyes haunt me now in the same way."
+
+"She never had any children, I suppose?" asked Lady Anningford.
+
+"Never that I heard of--and she is so young; only twenty-three now."
+
+"Well, it is too tragic! And what is to be done? Can't you ask the
+uncle? He must know."
+
+"I did, to-night, Anne--and he answered, so strangely, that 'yes, there
+was something which at times troubled her, but it would pass.'"
+
+"Good gracious!" said Anne. "It can't be a hallucination. She is not
+crazy, is she? That would be worse than anything."
+
+"Oh, no!" cried Ethelrida, aghast. "It is not that in the least, thank
+goodness!"
+
+"Then perhaps there are some terrible scenes, connected with her first
+husband's murder, which she can't forget. The Crow told me Count Shulski
+was shot at Monte Carlo, in a fray of some sort."
+
+"That must be it, of course!" said Ethelrida, much relieved. "Then she
+will get over it in time. And surely Tristram will be able to make her
+love him, and forget them. I do feel better about it now, Anne, and
+shall be able to sleep in peace."
+
+So they said good night, and separated--comforted.
+
+But the object of their solicitude did not attempt to get into her bed
+when she had dismissed her maid. She sat down in one of the big gilt
+William-and-Mary armchairs, and clasped her hands tightly, and tried to
+think.
+
+Things were coming to a crisis with her. Destiny had given her another
+cross to bear, for suddenly this evening, as the Duke spoke of his wife,
+she had become conscious of the truth about herself: she was in love
+with her husband. And she herself had made it impossible that he could
+ever come back to her. For, indeed, the tables were turned, with one of
+those ironical twists of Fate.
+
+And she questioned herself--Why did she love him? She had reproached him
+on her wedding night, when he had told her he loved her, because in her
+ignorance she felt then it could only be a question of sense. She had
+called him an animal! she remembered; and now she had become an animal
+herself! For she could prove no loftier motive for her emotion towards
+him than he had had for her then: they knew one another no better. It
+had not been possible for her passion to have arisen from the reasons
+she remembered having hurled at him as the only ones from which true
+love could spring, namely, knowledge, and tenderness, and devotion. It
+was all untrue; she understood it now. Love--deep and tender--could leap
+into being from the glance of an eye.
+
+They were strangers to each other still, and yet this cruel, terrible
+thing called love had broken down all the barriers in her heart, melted
+the disdainful ice, and turned it to fire. She felt she wanted to caress
+him, and take away the stern, hard look from his face. She wanted to be
+gentle, and soft, and loving--to feel that she belonged to him. And she
+passionately longed for him to kiss her and clasp her to his heart.
+Whether he had consented originally to marry her for her uncle's money
+or not, was a matter, now, of no further importance. He had loved her
+after he had seen her, at all events, and she had thrown it all away.
+Nothing but a man's natural jealousy of his possessions remained.
+
+"Oh, why did I not know what I was doing!" she moaned to herself, as she
+rocked in the chair. "I must have been very wicked in some former life,
+to be so tortured in this!"
+
+But it was too late now. She had burnt her ships, and nothing remained
+to her but her pride. Since she had thrown away joy she could at least
+keep that and never let him see how she was being punished.
+
+And to-night it was her turn to look in anguish at the closed door, and
+to toss in restless pain of soul, on her bed.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+
+A bombshell, in the shape of Lady Betty Burns, burst into the bedroom of
+Emily and Mary next morning, while the two girls were sitting up in
+their great bed at about eight o'clock, reading their letters and
+sipping their tea.
+
+"May I come in, darlings?" a voice full of purpose said, and a flaxen
+head peeped in.
+
+"Why, Betty, of course!" both girls answered and, in a blue silk
+dressing-gown and a long fair plait of hair hanging down, Lady Betty
+stalked in.
+
+None of the Council of Three, going to deliver secret sentence, could
+have advanced with more dignity or consciousness of the solemnity of the
+occasion. Emily and Mary were thrilled.
+
+"Be prepared!" she said dramatically, while she climbed to the foot of
+the bed and sat down. "It is just what I told you. She's been the
+heroine of a murder--if she did not do it herself!"
+
+"Heavens! Betty, who?" almost screamed the girls.
+
+"Your sister-in-law! I had to come at once to tell you, darlings. Last
+night, Aunt Muriel (the young Lady Melton was her uncle's second wife
+and chaperoning her to the party) would drag me into her room, and I
+could not get to you. You would have been asleep when I at last escaped,
+so I determined to come the first thing this morning and tell you my
+news."
+
+Four round eyes of excited horror fixed themselves upon her, so with
+deep importance of voice and manner, Lady Betty went on:
+
+"I sat with Captain Hume in the picture gallery, just before we went to
+bed. Believe me, I have not been able to sleep all night from it, dears!
+Well, we had been speaking of that fighting scene by Teniers in a beer
+house, you know, the one which hangs by the big Snuyders. The moon--no,
+it could not have been the moon. It must have been the arc light over
+the entrance which shines in from the angle. Anyway, it felt as if it
+were the moon, when I drew aside the blind; and it struck my heart with
+a cold foreboding, as he said such things, fights, happened now
+sometimes, and he was at Monte Carlo when Count Shulski was shot; and,
+though it was hushed up by the authorities and no one hardly heard of it
+much, still it made a stir. And," continued Lady Betty, now rising
+majestically and pointing an accusing forefinger at Emily and Mary,
+"Countess Shulski was your sister-in-law's name!"
+
+"Oh, hush, Betty!" said Emily, almost angrily. "You must not say such
+things. There might have been a lot of Count Shulskis. Foreigners are
+all counts."
+
+But Lady Betty shook her head with tragic sorrow and dignity, much at
+variance with her sweet little childish turned-up nose.
+
+"Alas, darlings, far be it from me to bring the terrible conviction home
+to you!" Great occasions like this required a fine style, she felt. "Far
+be it from me! But Captain Hume went on to say, that, of course, was the
+reason of Lady Tancred's dreadfully mysterious and remorseful look."
+
+"It is perfectly impossible, Betty," Mary cried excitedly. "But even if
+her husband were shot, it does not prove she had anything to do with
+it."
+
+"Of course it does!" said Lady Betty, forgetting for a moment her style.
+"There's always a scene of jealousy, in which the husband stabs the
+other man, and then falls dead himself. Unless," and this new bright
+thought came to her, "she were a political spy!"
+
+"Oh, Betty!" they both exclaimed at once. And then Emily said gravely,
+
+"Please do tell us exactly what Captain Hume really said. Remember, it
+is our brother's wife you are speaking of, not one of the heroines in
+your plays!"
+
+Thus admonished, Lady Betty got back on to the bed, and gradually came
+down to facts, which were meager enough. For Captain Hume had instantly
+pulled himself up, it appeared; and he had merely said that, as her
+first husband had been killed in a row, Lady Tancred had cause to have
+tragedy imprinted upon her face.
+
+"Betty, dearest," Emily then said, "please, please don't tell anything
+of your exciting story to any one else, will you? Because people are so
+unkind."
+
+At this, Lady Betty bounced off again offendedly.
+
+"You are an ungrateful pair," she flashed. "Before I brave meeting Jimmy
+Danvers in the passage again, in my dressing-gown, to come and tell you
+delicious things, I'll be hanged!"
+
+And it was with difficulty that Emily and Mary mollified her, and got
+her to re-seat herself on the bed and have a bit of their
+bread-and-butter. She had fled to announce her thrilling news before her
+own tea had come.
+
+"I do think men look perfectly horrid with their hair unbrushed in the
+morning, don't you, Em?" she said, presently, as she munched, while
+Mary poured her out some tea into the emptied sugar-basin and handed it
+to her. "Henry's fortunate, because his is curly"--Here Mary
+blushed--"and I believe Jimmy Danvers gets his valet to glue his down
+before he goes to bed. But you should see what Aunt Muriel has to put up
+with, when Uncle Aubrey comes in to talk to her, while I am there. The
+front, anyhow, and a lock sticking up in the back! There is one thing I
+am determined about. Before I'm married, I shall insist upon knowing how
+my husband stands the morning light."
+
+"I thought you said just now Jimmy's was quite decent and glued down,"
+Emily retorted slyly.
+
+"Pouff!" said Lady Betty, with superb calm. "I have not made up my mind
+at all about Jimmy. He is dying to ask me, I know; but there is Bobby
+Harland, too. However, this morning--"
+
+"You've seen Jimmy this morning, Betty!" Mary exclaimed.
+
+"Well, how could I help it, girls?" Lady Betty went on, feeling that she
+was now a heroine. "I had to come to you. It was my bounden duty; and
+it's miles away, for Aunt Muriel always will have me in the
+dressing-room next her, when she takes me to stay out, and Uncle Aubrey
+across the passage; and it makes him so cross. But that's not it. I
+mean, it is not my fault, if the Duke has only arranged three new
+bathrooms down the bachelors' wing, and people are obliged to be waiting
+about for their turn, and I had to pass the entrance to that passage,
+and it happened to be Jimmy's, and he was just going in, when he saw me
+and rushed along, and said 'Good morning,' not a bit put out! I thought
+it would look silly to run, so I said 'Good morning,' too; and then we
+both giggled, and I came on. But I am rather glad after all, because
+now I've seen him; and he looks better--like that--than I am sure Bobby
+would have done, so perhaps, after all, I'll marry him! And you will be
+my bridesmaids, darlings, and now I must run!"
+
+Upon such slender threads--the brushing of his hair--how often does the
+fate of man hang! If he but knew!
+
+Almost every one was punctual for breakfast. They all came in with their
+gifts for Lady Ethelrida; and there was much chaffing and joking, and
+delightful little shrieks of surprise, as the parcels were opened.
+
+Every soul loved Lady Ethelrida, from the lordly Groom of the Chambers
+to the humblest pantry boy and scullery maid; and it was their delight
+every year to present her, from them all, with a huge trophy of flowers,
+while the post brought countless messages and gifts of remembrance from
+absent friends. No one could have been more sweet and gracious than her
+ladyship was; and underneath, her gentle heart was beating with an extra
+excitement, when she thought of her rendezvous at half-past ten o'clock.
+Would he--she no longer thought of him as Mr. Markrute--would he be able
+to find the way?
+
+"I must go and give some orders now," she said, about a quarter past
+ten, to the group which surrounded her, when they had all got up and
+were standing beside the fire. "And we all assemble in the hall at
+eleven." And so she slipped away.
+
+Francis Markrute, she noticed, had retired some moments before.
+
+"Heinrich," he had said to his Austrian valet, the previous evening, as
+he was helping him on with his coat for dinner, "I may want to know the
+locality of the Lady Ethelrida's sitting-room early to-morrow. Make it
+your business to become friendly with her ladyship's maid, so that I
+can have a parcel of books, which will arrive in the morning, placed
+safely there at any moment I want to, unobserved. Unpack the books,
+leaving their tissue papers still upon them, and bring them in when you
+call me. I will give you further orders then for their disposal. You
+understand?"
+
+It was as well to be prepared for anything, he thought, which was most
+fortunate, as it afterwards turned out. He had meant to make her ask him
+to her sitting-room in any case, and his happiness was augmented, as
+they had talked in the picture gallery, when she did it of her own
+accord.
+
+Lady Ethelrida stood looking out of her window, in her fresh,
+white-paneled, lilac-chintzed bower. Her heart was actually thumping
+now. She had not noticed the books, which were carefully placed in a
+pile down beside her writing table. Would he ever get away from her
+father, who seemed to have taken to having endless political discussions
+with him? Would he ever be able to come in time to talk for a moment,
+before they must both go down? She had taken the precaution to make
+herself quite ready to start--short skirt, soft felt hat, thick boots
+and all.
+
+Would he? But as half-past ten chimed from the Dresden clock on the
+mantelpiece, there was a gentle tap at the door, and Francis Markrute
+came in.
+
+He knew in an instant, experienced fowler that he was, that his bird was
+fluttered with expectancy, and it gave him an exquisite thrill. He was
+perfectly cognizant of the value of investing simple circumstances with
+delightful mystery, at times; and he knew, to the Lady Ethelrida, this
+trysting with him had become a momentous thing.
+
+"You see, I found the way," he said softly, and he allowed something of
+the joy and tenderness he felt to come into his voice.
+
+And Lady Ethelrida answered a little nervously that she was glad, and
+then continued quickly that she must show him her bookcases, because
+there was so little time.
+
+"Only one short half-hour--if you will let me stay so long," he pleaded.
+
+In his hand he carried the original volume he had spoken about, a very
+old edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets, from which he had carefully had
+one or two removed. It was exquisitely bound and tooled, and had her
+monogram worked into a beautiful little medallion--a work of art. He
+handed it to her first.
+
+"This I ventured to have ordered for you long ago," he said. "Six weeks
+it is nearly, and I so feared until yesterday that you would not let me
+give it to you. It does not mean for your birthday: it is our original
+bond of acquaintance."
+
+"It is too beautiful," said Lady Ethelrida, looking down.
+
+"And over there by your writing table"--he had carefully ascertained
+this locality from Heinrich--"you will find the books that are my
+birthday gift, if you will give me the delight of accepting them."
+
+She went forward with a little cry of surprise and pleasure, while,
+instantaneously, the wonder of how he should know where they would be
+presented itself to her mind.
+
+They were about six volumes. A Heine, a couple of de Musset's, and then
+three volumes of selected poems, from numbers of the English poets.
+Lady Ethelrida picked them up delightedly. They, too, were works of art,
+in their soft mauve morocco bindings, _chiffre_, with her monogram like
+the other, and tooled with gold.
+
+"How enchanting!" she said. "And look! They match my room. How could you
+have guessed--?" And then she broke off and again looked down.
+
+"You told me, the night I dined with you at Glastonbury House, that you
+loved mauve as a color and that violets were your favorite flower. How
+could I forget?" And he permitted himself to come a step nearer to her.
+
+She did not move away. She turned over the leaves of the English volume
+rather hurriedly. The paper was superlatively fine and the print a gem
+of art. And then she looked up, surprised.
+
+"I have never seen this collection before," she said wonderingly. "All
+the things one loves under the same cover!" And then she turned to the
+title-page to see which edition it was; and she found that, as far as
+information went, it was blank. Simply,
+
+  "To The Lady Ethelrida Montfitchet
+                       from
+                              "F.M."
+
+was inscribed upon it in gold. A deep pink flush grew on her delicate
+face, and she dared not raise her eyes.
+
+It would be too soon yet to tell her everything that was in his heart,
+he reasoned. All could be lost by one false step. So, with his masterly
+self-control, he resisted all temptation to fold her in his arms, and
+said gently:
+
+"I thought it would be nice to have, as you say, 'all the bits one
+loves' put together; and I have a very intelligent friend at my
+book-binder's, who, when I had selected them, had them all arranged and
+printed for me, and bound as I thought you might wish. It will gratify
+me greatly, if it has pleased you."
+
+"Pleased me!" she said, and now she looked up; for the sudden conviction
+came to her, that to have this done took time and a great deal of money;
+and except once or twice before, casually, she had never met him until
+the evening, when, among a number of her father's political friends, he
+had dined at their London house. When could he have given the order and
+what could this mean? He read her thoughts.
+
+"Yes," he said simply. "From the very first moment I ever saw you, Lady
+Ethelrida, to me you seemed all that was true and beautiful, the
+embodiment of my ideal of womanhood. I planned these books then, two
+days after I dined with you at Glastonbury House; and, if you had
+refused them, it would have caused me pain."
+
+Ethelrida was so moved by some new, sudden and exquisite emotion that
+she could not reply for a moment. He watched her with growing and
+passionate delight, but he said nothing. He must give her time.
+
+"It is too, too nice of you," she said softly, and there was a little
+catch in her breath. "No one has ever thought of anything so exquisite
+for me before, although, as you saw this morning, every one is so very
+kind. How shall I thank you, Mr. Markrute? I do not know."
+
+"You must not thank me at all, you gracious lady," he said. "And now I
+must tell you that the half-hour is nearly up, and we must go down.
+But--may I--will you let me come again, perhaps to-morrow afternoon? I
+want to tell you, if it would interest you, the history of a man."
+
+Ethelrida had turned to look at the clock, also, and had collected
+herself. She was too single-minded to fence now, or to push this new,
+strange joy out of her life, so she said,
+
+"When the others go out for a walk, then, after lunch, yes, you may
+come."
+
+And without anything further, they left the room. At the turn in the
+corridor to the other part of the house, he bent suddenly; and with deep
+homage kissed her hand, then let her pass on, while he turned to the
+right and disappeared towards the wing, where was his room.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+
+Zara had, at first, thought she would not go out with the shooters. She
+felt numb, as if she could not pluck up enough courage to make
+conversation with any one. She had received a letter from Mimo, by the
+second post, with all details of what he had heard of Mirko. Little
+Agatha, the Morleys' child, was to return home the following day; and
+Mirko himself had written an excited little letter to announce this
+event, which Mimo enclosed. He seemed perfectly well then, only at the
+end, as she would see, he had said he was dreaming of _Maman_ every
+night; and Mimo knew that this must mean he was a little feverish again,
+so he had felt it wiser to telegraph. Mirko had written out the score of
+the air which _Maman_ always came and taught him, and he was longing to
+play it to his dear Papa and his Cherisette, the letter ended with.
+
+And the pathos of it all caused Zara a sharp pain. She did not dare to
+look ahead, as far as her little brother was concerned. Indeed, to look
+ahead, in any case, meant nothing very happy.
+
+She was just going up the great staircase at about a quarter to eleven,
+with the letter in her hand, when she met Tristram coming from his room,
+with his shooting boots on, ready to start. He stopped and said
+coldly--they had not spoken a word yet that day--
+
+"You had better be quick putting your things on. My uncle always starts
+punctually."
+
+Then his eye caught the foreign writing on the letter, and he turned
+brusquely away, although, as he reasoned with himself a moment
+afterwards, it was ridiculous of him to be so moved, because she would
+naturally have a number of foreign correspondents. She saw him turn
+away, and it angered her in spite of her new mood. He need not show his
+dislike so plainly, she thought. So she answered haughtily,
+
+"I had not intended to come. I am tired; and I do not know this sport,
+or whether it will please me. I should feel for the poor birds, I
+expect."
+
+"I am sorry you are tired," he answered, contrite in an instant. "Of
+course, you must not come if you are. They will be awfully disappointed.
+But never mind. I will tell Ethelrida."
+
+"It is nothing--my fatigue, I mean. If you think your cousin will mind,
+I will come." And she turned, without waiting for him to answer, and
+went on to her room.
+
+And Tristram, after going back to his for something he had forgotten,
+presently went on down the stairs, a bitter smile on his face, and at
+the bottom met--Laura Highford.
+
+She looked up into his eyes, and allowed tears to gather in hers. She
+had always plenty at her command.
+
+"Tristram," she said with extreme gentleness, "you were cross with me
+yesterday afternoon, because you thought I was saying something about
+your wife. But don't you know, can't you understand, what it is to me to
+see you devoted to another woman? You may be changed, but I am always
+the same, and I--I--" And here she buried her face in her hands and went
+into a flood of tears.
+
+Tristram was overcome with confusion and horror. He loathed scenes.
+Good heavens! If any one should come along!
+
+"Laura, for goodness' sake! My dear girl, don't cry!" he exclaimed. He
+felt he would say anything to comfort her, and get over the chance of
+some one seeing this hateful exhibition.
+
+But she continued to sob. She had caught sight of Zara's figure on the
+landing above, and her vengeful spirit desired to cause trouble, even at
+a cost to herself. Zara had been perfectly ready, all but her hat, and
+had hurried exceedingly to be in time, and thus had not been five
+minutes after her husband.
+
+"Tristram!" wailed Laura, and, putting up her hands, placed them on his
+shoulders. "Darling, just kiss me once--quickly--to say good-bye."
+
+And it was at this stage that Zara came full upon them, from a turn in
+the stairs. She heard Tristram say disgustedly, "No, I won't," and saw
+Lady Highford drop her arms; and in the three steps that separated them,
+her wonderful iron self-control, the inheritance of all her years of
+suffering, enabled her to stop as if she had seen nothing, and in an
+ordinary voice ask if they were to go to the great hall.
+
+"The woman," as she called Laura, should not have the satisfaction of
+seeing a trace of emotion in her, or Tristram either. He had answered
+immediately, "Yes," and had walked on by her side, in an absolutely
+raging temper.
+
+How dare Laura drag him into a disgraceful and ridiculous scene like
+this! He could have wrung her neck. What must Zara think? That he was
+simply a cad! He could not offer a single explanation, either; indeed,
+she had demanded none. He did blurt out, after a moment,
+
+"Lady Highford was very much upset about something. She is hysterical."
+
+"Poor thing!" said Zara indifferently, and walked on.
+
+But when they got into the hall, where most of the company were, she
+suddenly felt her knees giving way under her, and hurriedly sank down on
+an oak chair.
+
+She felt sick with jealous pain, even though she had plainly seen that
+Tristram was no willing victim. But upon what terms could they be, or
+have been, for Lady Highford so to lose all sense of shame?
+
+Tristram was watching her anxiously. She must have seen the humiliating
+exhibition. It followed, then, she was perfectly indifferent, or she
+would have been annoyed. He wished that she had reproached him, or said
+something--anything--but to remain completely unmoved was too maddening.
+
+Then the whole company, who were coming out, appeared, and they started.
+Some of the men were drawing lots to see if they should shoot in the
+morning or in the afternoon. The party was primarily for Lady
+Ethelrida's birthday, and the shoot merely an accessory.
+
+Zara walked by the Crow, who was not shooting at all. She was wearied
+with Lord Elterton; wearied with every one. The Crow was sententious and
+amused her, and did not expect her to talk.
+
+"You have never seen your husband shoot yet, I expect, Lady Tancred,
+have you?" he asked her; and when she said, "No," he went on, "Because
+you must watch him. He is a very fine shot."
+
+She did not know anything about shooting, only that Tristram looked
+particularly attractive in his shooting clothes, and that English
+sportsmen were natural, unceremonious creatures, whom she was beginning
+to like very much. She wished she could open her heart to this quaint,
+kind old man, and ask him to explain things to her; but she could not,
+and presently they got to a safe place and watched.
+
+Tristram happened to be fairly near them; and, yes, he was a good
+shot--she could see that. But, at first, the thud of the beautiful
+pheasants falling to the ground caused her to wince--she, who had looked
+upon the shattered face of Ladislaus, her husband, with only a quiver of
+disgust! But these creatures were in the glory of their beauty and the
+joy of life, and had preyed upon the souls of no one.
+
+Her wonderful face, which interested Colonel Lowerby so, was again
+abstracted. Something had brought back that hateful moment to her
+memory; she could hear Feto, the dancer's shrieks, and see the blood;
+and she shivered suddenly and clasped her hands.
+
+"Do you mind seeing the birds come down?" the Crow asked kindly.
+
+"I do not know," she said. "I was thinking of some other shooting."
+
+"Because," the Crow went on, "the women who rage against sport forget
+one thing,--the birds would not exist at all, if it were not for
+preserving them for this very reason. They would gradually be trapped
+and snared and exterminated; whereas, now they have a royal time, of
+food and courtship and mating, and they have no knowledge of their
+coming fate, and so live a life of splendor up to the last moment."
+
+"How much better! Yes, indeed, I will never be foolish about them again.
+I will think of that." Then she exclaimed, "Oh, that was wonderful!" for
+Tristram got two rocketters at right and left, and then another with
+his second gun. His temper had not affected his eye, it seemed.
+
+"Tristram is one of the best all-round sportsmen I know," the Crow
+announced, "and he has one of the kindest hearts. I have known him since
+he was a toddler. His mother was one of the beauties, when I first put
+on a cuirass."
+
+Zara tried to control her interest, and merely said, "Yes?"
+
+"Are you looking forward to the reception at Wrayth on Monday? I always
+wonder how a person unaccustomed to England would view all the speeches
+and dinners, the bonfire, and triumphal arches, and those things of a
+home-coming. Rather an ordeal, I expect."
+
+Zara's eyes rounded, and she faltered,
+
+"And shall I have to go through all that?"
+
+The Crow was nonplussed. Had not her husband, then, told her, what every
+one else knew? Upon what terms could they possibly be? And before he was
+aware of it, he had blurted out, "Good Lord!"
+
+Then, recollecting himself, he said,
+
+"Why, yes. Tristram will say I have been frightening you. It is not so
+very bad, after all--only to smile and look gracious and shake hands.
+They will be all ready to think you perfect, if you do that. Even though
+there are a lot of beastly radicals about, Old England still bows down
+to a beautiful woman!"
+
+Zara did not answer. She had heard about her beauty in most European
+languages, since she was sixteen. It was the last thing which mattered,
+she thought.
+
+Then the Crow turned the conversation, as they walked on to the next
+stand.
+
+Did she know that Lady Ethelrida had commanded that all the ladies were
+to get up impromptu fancy dresses for to-night, her birthday dinner, and
+all the men would be in hunt coats? he asked. Large parties were coming
+from the only two other big houses near, and they would dance afterward
+in the picture gallery. "A wonderful new band that came out in London
+this season is coming down," he ended with; and, then, as she replied
+she had heard, he asked her what she intended to be. "It must be
+something with your hair down--you must give us the treat of that."
+
+"I have left it all to Lady Ethelrida and my sisters-in-law," she said.
+"We are going to contrive things the whole afternoon, after lunch."
+
+Tristram came up behind them then, and the Crow stopped.
+
+"I was telling your wife she must give us the pleasure of seeing her
+hair down, to-night, for the Tomfools' dinner, but I can't get a promise
+from her. We will have to appeal to you to exert your lordly authority.
+Can't be deprived of a treat like that!"
+
+"I am afraid I have no influence or authority," Tristram answered
+shortly, for with a sudden pang he thought of the only time he had seen
+the glorious beauty of it, her hair, spread like a cloak around her, as
+she had turned and ordered him out of her room at Dover. She remembered
+the circumstance, too, and it hurt her equally, so that they walked
+along silently, staring in front of them, and each suffering pain; when,
+if they had had a grain of sense, they would have looked into each
+other's eyes, read the truth, and soon been in each other's arms. But
+they had not yet "dree'd their weird." And Fate, who mocks at fools,
+would not yet let them be.
+
+So the clouds gathered overhead, as in their hearts, and it came on to
+pour with rain; and the ladies made a hurried rush to the house.
+
+The hostess did not stand near Francis Markrute during the shooting.
+Some shy pleasure made her avoid him for the moment. She wanted to hug
+the remembrance of her great joy of the morning, and the knowledge that
+to-morrow, Sunday, after lunch, would bring her a like pleasure. And for
+the time being there was the delight of thinking over what he had said,
+the subtlety of his gift, and the manner of its giving.
+
+Nothing so goes to the head of a woman of refined sensibilities as the
+intoxicating flattery of thought-out action in a man, when it is to lay
+homage at her feet, and the man is a grave and serious person, who is no
+worshiper of women.
+
+Ethelrida trod on air, and looked unusually sweet and gracious.
+
+And Francis Markrute watched her quietly, with great tenderness in his
+heart, and not the faintest misgiving. "Slow and sure" was his motto,
+and thus he drew always the current of success and contentment.
+
+His only crumpled roseleaf was the face of his niece, which rather
+haunted him. There seemed no improvement in the relations of the pair,
+in spite of Zara having had ample cause to feel jealous about Lady
+Highford since their arrival. Elinka, too, had had strange and
+unreasonable turns in her nature, that is what had made her so
+attractive. What if Zara and this really fine young Englishman, with
+whom he had mated her, should never get on? Then he laughed, when he
+thought of the impossibility of his calculations finally miscarrying. It
+was, of course, only a question of time. However, he would tell her
+before she left for her "home-coming" at Wrayth on Monday, what he
+thought it was now safe and advisable that she should know, namely,
+that on her husband's side the marriage had been one of headlong desire
+for herself, after having refused the bargain before he had seen her.
+That would give her some bad moments of humiliation, he admitted, which
+perhaps she had not deserved, though it would certainly bring her to her
+knees and so, to Tristram's arms.
+
+But for once, being really quite preoccupied with his own affairs and a
+little unbalanced by love as well, he miscalculated the force of a
+woman's pride. Zara's one idea now was to hide from Tristram the state
+of her feelings, believing, poor, bruised, wounded thing, that he no
+longer cared for her, believing that she herself had extinguished the
+torch of love.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+
+There was an air of restrained excitement, importance and mystery among
+the ladies at luncheon. They had got back to the house in time to have
+their conclave before that meal, and everything was satisfactorily
+settled. Lady Anningford, who had not accompanied them out shooting, had
+thought out a whole scheme, and announced it upon their return amidst
+acclamations.
+
+They would represent as many characters as they could from the "Idylls
+of the King," because the style would be such loose, hanging kinds of
+garments, the maids could run up the long straight seams in no time. And
+it would be so much more delightful, all to carry out one idea, than the
+usual powdered heads and non-descript things people chose for such
+impromptu occasions. It only remained to finally decide the characters.
+She considered that Ethelrida should undoubtedly be _Guinevere_; but,
+above all, Zara must be _Isolt_!
+
+"Of course, of course!" they all cried unanimously, while Zara's eyes
+went black. "_Tristram_ and _Isolt_! How splendid!"
+
+"And I shall be _Brangaine_, and give the love potion," Lady Anningford
+went on. "Although it does not come into the 'Idylls of the King,' it
+should do so. It is just because Tennyson was so fearfully, respectably
+Early Victorian! I have been looking all the real thing up in the 'Morte
+d' Arthur' in the library, and in the beautiful edition of 'Tristram
+and Yseult' in Ethelrida's room."
+
+"How perfectly enchanting!" cried Lady Betty. "I must be the _Lady of
+the Lake_--it is much the most dramatic part. And let us get the big
+sword out of the armory for _Excalibur_! I can have it, and brandish it
+as I enter the room."
+
+"Oh, nonsense, Betty darling!" Ethelrida said. "You are the very picture
+of _Lynette_, with your enchanting nose 'tiptilted like the tender petal
+of a flower,' and your shameful treatment of poor Jimmy!"
+
+And Lady Betty, after bridling a little, consented.
+
+Then the other parts were cast. Emily should be _Enid_ and Mary,
+_Elaine_, while Lady Melton, Lady Thornby and Mrs. Harcourt should be
+the _Three Fair Queens_.
+
+"I shall be _Ettarre_," said Lily Opie. "The others are all good and
+dull; and I prefer her, because I am sure she wasn't! And certainly Lady
+Highford must be _Vivien_! She is exactly the type, in one of her
+tea gowns!"
+
+Laura rather liked the idea of _Vivien_. It had _cachet_, she thought.
+She was very fond of posing as a mysterious enchantress, the mystic
+touch pleased her vanity.
+
+So, of the whole party, only Zara did not feel content. Tristram might
+think she had chosen this herself, as an advance towards him.
+
+Then the discussion, as to the garments to be worn, began. Numbers of
+ornaments and bits of tea-gowns would do. But with her usual practical
+forethought, Lady Anningford had already taken time by the forelock, and
+asked that one of the motors, going in to Tilling Green on a message,
+should bring back all the bales of bright and light-colored merinos and
+nunscloths the one large general shop boasted of.
+
+And, amidst screams of delighted excitement from the girls, the immense
+parcel was presently unpacked.
+
+It contained marvels of white and creams, and one which was declared the
+exact thing for _Isolt_. It was a merino of that brilliant violent shade
+of azure, the tone which is advertised as "Rickett's Paris blue" for
+washing clothes. It had been in the shop for years, and was unearthed
+for this occasion--a perfect relic of later Victorian aniline dye.
+
+"It will be simply too gorgeously wonderful, with just a fillet of gold
+round her head, and all her adorable red hair hanging down," Lady
+Anningford said to Ethelrida.
+
+"We shan't have to wear a stitch underneath," Lady Betty announced
+decidedly, while she pirouetted before a cheval glass--they were all in
+Lady Anningford's room--with some stuff draped round her childish form.
+"The gowns must have the right look, just long, straight things, with
+hanging sleeves and perhaps a girdle. I shall have cream, and you, Mary,
+as _Elaine_, must have white; but Emily had better have that mauve for
+_Enid_, as she was married."
+
+"Why must _Enid_ have mauve because she is married?" asked Emily, who
+did not like the color.
+
+"I don't know why," Lady Betty answered, "except that, if you are
+married, you can't possibly have white, like Mary and me, who aren't.
+People are quite different--after, and mauve is very respectable for
+them," she went on. Grammar never troubled her little ladyship, when
+giving her valuable opinion upon things and life.
+
+"I think _Enid_ was a goose," said Emily, pouting.
+
+"Not half as much as _Elaine_," said Mary. "She had secured her
+_Geraint_, whereas _Elaine_ made a perfect donkey of herself over
+_Lancelot_, who did not care for her."
+
+"I like our parts much the best, Lily's and mine," said Lady Betty. "I
+do give my Jim--Gareth?--a lively time, at all events! Just what I
+should do, if it were in real life."
+
+"What you do do, you mean, not what you would do, Minx!" said her aunt,
+laughing.
+
+And at this stage the shooters were seen advancing across the park, and
+the band of ladies, full of importance, descended to luncheon.
+
+Lady Anningford sat next the Crow and told him what they had decided, in
+strict confidence, of course.
+
+"We shall have the most delightful fun, Crow. I have thought it all out.
+At dessert I am going to hand one of the gold cups in which we are going
+to put a glass of some of the Duke's original old Chartreuse, to the
+bridal pair, as if to drink their health; and then, when they have drunk
+it, I am going to be overcome at the mistake of having given them a
+love-potion, just as in the real story! You can't tell--it may bring
+them together."
+
+"Queen Anne, you wonder!" said the Crow.
+
+"It is such a deliciously incongruous idea, you see," Lady Anningford
+went on. "All of us in long pre-mediaeval garments, with floating hair,
+and all of you in modern hunt coats! I should like to have seen Tristram
+in gold chain armor."
+
+The Crow grunted approval.
+
+"Ethelrida is going to arrange that they go in to dinner together. She
+is going to say it will be their last chance before they get to _King
+Mark_. Won't it all be perfect?"
+
+"Well, I suppose you know best," the Crow said, with his wise old head
+on one side. "But they are at a ticklish pass in their careers, I tell
+you. The balance might go either way. Don't make it too hard for them,
+out of mistaken kindness."
+
+"You are tiresome, Crow!" retorted Lady Anningford. "I never can do a
+thing I think right without your warning me over it. Do leave it to me."
+
+So, thus admonished, Colonel Lowerby went on with his luncheon.
+
+Zara's eyes looked more stormy than ever, when her husband chanced to
+see them. He was sitting nearly opposite her, and he wondered what on
+earth she was thinking about. He was filled with a concentrated
+bitterness from the events of the morning. Her utter indifference over
+the Laura incident had galled him unbearably, although he told himself,
+as he had done before, the unconscionable fool he was to allow himself
+to go on being freshly wounded by each continued proof of her disdain of
+him. Why, when he knew a thing, should he not be prepared for it? He had
+a strong will; he _would_ overcome his emotion for her. He could, at
+least, make himself treat her, outwardly with the same apparent insolent
+indifference, as she treated him.
+
+He made a firm resolve once again, he would not speak to her at all, any
+more than he had done the last three days in Paris. He would accept the
+position until the Wrayth rejoicings were over, and then he would
+certainly make arrangements to go and shoot lions, or travel, or
+something. There should be no further "perhaps" about it. Life, with the
+agonizing longing for her, seeing her daily and being denied, was more
+than could be borne.
+
+There was something about Zara's type, the white, exquisite beauty of
+her skin, her slenderly voluptuous shape, the stormy suggestion of
+hidden passion in her slumberous eyes, which had always aroused
+absolutely mad emotions in men. Tristram, who was a normal Englishman,
+self-contained and reserved, and too completely healthy to be
+highly-strung, felt undreamed-of sensations rise in him when he looked
+at her, which was as rarely as possible. He understood now what was
+meant by an obsession--all the states of love he had read of in French
+novels and dismissed as "tommyrot." She did not only affect him with a
+thrilling physical passion. It was an obsession of the mind as well. He
+suffered acutely; as each day passed it seemed as if he could not bear
+any more, and the next always brought some further pain.
+
+They had actually only been married for ten days! and it seemed an
+eternity of anguish to both of them, for different reasons.
+
+Zara's nature was trying to break through the iron bands of her life
+training. Once she had admitted to herself that she loved her husband,
+her suffering was as deep as his, only that she was more practiced in
+the art of suppressing all emotion. But it was no wonder that they both
+looked pale and stern, and quite unbridal.
+
+The sportsmen started immediately after lunch again, and the ladies
+returned to their delightful work; and, when they all assembled for tea,
+everything was almost completed. Zara had been unable to resist the
+current of light-hearted gayety which was in the air, and now felt
+considerably better; so she allowed Lord Elterton to sit beside her
+after tea and pour homage at her feet, with the expression of an empress
+listening to an address of loyalty from some distant colony; and the
+Crow leant back in his chair and chuckled to himself, much to Lady
+Anningford's annoyance.
+
+"What in the world is it, Crow?" she said. "When you laugh like that, I
+always know some diabolically cynical idea is floating in your head,
+and it is not good for you. Tell me at once what you mean!"
+
+But Colonel Lowerby refused to be drawn, and presently took Tristram off
+into the billiard-room.
+
+It was arranged that all the men, even the husbands, were to go down
+into the great white drawing-room first, so that the ladies might have
+the pleasure of making an entrance _en bande_, to the delight of every
+one. And when this group of Englishmen, so smart in their scarlet hunt
+coats, were assembled at the end, by the fireplace, footmen opened the
+big double doors, and the groom of the chambers announced,
+
+"Her Majesty, _Queen Guinevere_, and the Ladies of her Court."
+
+And Ethelrida advanced, her fair hair in two long plaits, with her
+mother's all-round diamond crown upon her head, and clothed in some
+white brocade garment, arranged with a blue merino cloak, trimmed with
+ermine and silver. She looked perfectly regal, and as nearly beautiful
+as she had ever done; and to the admiring eyes of Francis Markrute, she
+seemed to outshine all the rest.
+
+Then, their names called as they entered, came Enid and Elaine, each
+fair and sweet; and Vivien and Ettarre; then Lynette walking alone, with
+her saucy nose in the air and her flaxen curls spread out over her cream
+robe, a most bewitching sight.
+
+Several paces behind her came the _Three Fair Queens_, all in
+wonderfully contrived garments, and misty, floating veils; and lastly,
+quite ten paces in the rear, walked _Isolt_, followed by her
+_Brangaine_. And when the group by the fireplace caught sight of her,
+they one and all drew in their breath.
+
+For Zara had surpassed all expectations. The intense and blatant blue of
+her long clinging robe, which would have killed the charms of nine women
+out of ten, seemed to enhance the beauty of her pure white skin and
+marvelous hair. It fell like a red shining cloak all round her, kept in
+only by a thin fillet of gold, while her dark eyes gleamed with a new
+excitement. She had relaxed her dominion of herself, and was allowing
+the natural triumphant woman in her to have its day. For once in her
+life she forgot everything of sorrow and care, and permitted herself to
+rejoice in her own beauty and its effect upon the world before her.
+
+"Jee-hoshaphat!" was the first articulate word that the company heard,
+from the hush which had fallen upon them; and then there was a chorus of
+general admiration, in which all the ladies had their share. And only
+the Crow happened to glance at Tristram, and saw that his face was white
+as death.
+
+Then the two parties, about twenty people in all, began to arrive from
+the other houses, and delighted exclamations of surprise at the splendor
+of the impromptu fancy garments were heard all over the room, and soon
+dinner was announced, and they went in.
+
+"My Lord Tristram," Ethelrida had said to her cousin, "I beg of you to
+conduct to my festal board your own most beautiful _Lady Isolt_.
+Remember, on Monday you leave us for the realm of _King Mark_, so make
+the most of your time!" And she turned and led forward Zara, and placed
+her hand in his; she, and they all, were too preoccupied with excitement
+and joy to see the look of deep pain in his eyes.
+
+He held his wife's hand, until the procession started, and neither of
+them spoke a word. Zara, still exalted with the spirit of the night,
+felt only a wild excitement. She was glad he could see her beauty and
+her hair, and she raised her head and shook it back, as they started,
+with a provoking air.
+
+But Tristram never spoke; and by the time they had reached the
+banqueting-hall, some of her exaltation died down, and she felt a chill.
+
+Her hair was so very long and thick that she had to push it aside, to
+sit down, and in doing so a mesh flew out and touched his face; and the
+Crow, who was watching the whole drama intently, noticed that he
+shivered and, if possible, grew more pale. So he turned to his own
+servant, behind his chair, who with some of the other valets, was
+helping to wait, and whispered to him, "Go and see that Lord Tancred is
+handed brandy, at once, before the soup."
+
+And so the feast began.
+
+On Zara's other hand sat the Duke, and on Tristram's, Brangaine--for so
+she and Ethelrida had arranged for their later plan; and after the
+brandy, which Tristram dimly wondered why he should have been handed, he
+pulled himself together, and tried to talk; and Zara busied herself with
+the Duke. She quite came out of her usual silence, and laughed, and
+looked so divinely attractive that the splendid old gentleman felt it
+all going to his head; and his thoughts wondered bluntly, how soon, if
+he were his nephew, he would take her away after dinner and make love to
+her all to himself! But these modern young fellows had not half the
+mettle that he had had!
+
+So at last dessert-time came, with its toasts for the _Queen Guinevere_.
+And the bridal pair had spoken together never a word; and Lady
+Anningford, who was watching them, began to fear for the success of her
+plan. However, there was no use turning back now. So, amidst jests of
+all sorts in keeping with the spirit of Camelot and the Table Round, at
+last _Brangaine_ rose and, taking the gold cup in front of her, said,
+
+"I, _Brangaine_, commissioned by her Lady Mother, to conduct the _Lady
+Isolt_ safely to _King Mark_, under the knightly protection of the _Lord
+Tristram_, do now propose to drink their health, and ye must all do
+likewise, Lords and Ladies of Arthur's court." And she sipped her own
+glass, while she handed the gold cup to the Duke, who passed it on to
+the pair; and Tristram, because all eyes were upon him, forced himself
+to continue the jest. So he rose and, taking Zara's hand, while he bowed
+to the company, gave her the cup to drink, and then took it himself,
+while he drained the measure. And every one cried, amidst great
+excitement, "The health and happiness of _Tristram_ and _Isolt_!"
+
+Then, when the tumult had subsided a little, _Brangaine_ gave a
+pretended shriek.
+
+"Mercy me! I am undone!" she cried. "They have quaffed of the wrong cup!
+That gold goblet contained a love-potion distilled from rare plants by
+the Queen, and destined for the wedding wine of _Isolt_ and _King Mark_!
+And now the _Lord Tristram_ and she have drunk it together, by
+misadventure, and can never be parted more! Oh, misery me! What have I
+done!"
+
+And amidst shouts of delighted laughter led by the Crow--in frozen
+silence, Tristram held his wife's hand.
+
+But after a second, the breeding in them both, as on their wedding
+evening before the waiters, again enabled them to continue the comedy;
+and they, too, laughed, and, with the Duke's assistance, got through the
+rest of dinner, until they all rose and went out, two and two, the men
+leading their ladies by the hand, as they had come in.
+
+And if the cup had indeed contained a potion distilled by the Irish
+sorceress Queen, the two victims could not have felt more passionately
+in love.
+
+But Tristram's pride won the day for him, for this one time, and not by
+a glance or a turn of his head did he let his bride see how wildly her
+superlative attraction had kindled the fire in his blood. And when the
+dancing began, he danced with every other lady first, and then went off
+into the smoking-room, and only just returned in time to be made to lead
+out his "_Isolt_" in a final quadrille--not a valse. No powers would
+have made him endure the temptation of a valse!
+
+And even this much, the taking of her hand, her nearness, the sight of
+the exquisite curves of her slender figure, and her floating hair,
+caused him an anguish unspeakable, so that when the rest of the company
+had gone, and good nights were said, he went up to his room, changed his
+coat, and strode away alone, out into the night.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+
+Every one was so sleepy and tired on Sunday morning, after their night
+at Arthur's Court, that only Lady Ethelrida and Laura Highford, who had
+a pose of extreme piety always ready at hand, started with the Duke and
+Young Billy for church. Francis Markrute watched them go from his
+window, which looked upon the entrance, and he thought how stately and
+noble his fair lady looked; and he admired her disciplined attitude, no
+carousal being allowed to interfere with her duties. She was a rare and
+perfect specimen of her class.
+
+His lady fair! For he had determined, if fate plainly gave him the
+indication, to risk asking her to-day to be his fair lady indeed. A man
+must know when to strike, if the iron is hot.
+
+He had carefully prepared all the avenues; and had made himself of great
+importance to the Duke, allowing his masterly brain to be seen in
+glimpses, and convincing His Grace of his possible great usefulness to
+the party to which he belonged. He did not look for continued opposition
+in that quarter, once he should have assured himself that Lady Ethelrida
+loved him. That he loved her, with all the force of his self-contained
+nature, was beyond any doubt. Love, as a rule, recks little of the
+suitability of the object, when it attacks a heart; but in some few
+cases--that is the peculiar charm--Francis Markrute had waited until he
+was forty-six years old, firmly keeping to his ideal, until he found
+her, in a measure of perfection, of which even he had not dared to
+dream. His theory, which he had proved in his whole life, was that
+nothing is beyond the grasp of a man who is master of himself and his
+emotions. But even his iron nerves felt the tension of excitement, as
+luncheon drew to an end, and he knew in half an hour, when most of the
+company were safely disposed of, he should again find his way to his
+lady's shrine.
+
+Ethelrida did not look at him. She was her usual, charmingly-gracious
+self to her neighbors, solicitous of Tristram's headache. He had only
+just appeared, and looked what he felt--a wreck. She was interested in
+some news in the Sunday papers, which had arrived; and in short, not a
+soul guessed how her gentle being was uplifted, and her tender heart
+beating with this, the first real emotion she had ever experienced.
+
+Even the Crow, so thrilled with his interest in the bridal pair, had not
+scented anything unusual in his hostess's attitude towards one of her
+guests.
+
+"I think Mr. Markrute is awfully attractive, don't you, Crow?" said Lady
+Anningford, as they started for their walk. To go to Lynton Heights
+after lunch on Sunday was almost an invariable custom at Montfitchet. "I
+can't say what it is, but it is something subtle and extraordinary, like
+that in his niece--what do you think?"
+
+Colonel Lowerby paused, struck from her words by the fact that he had
+been too preoccupied to have noticed this really interesting man.
+
+"Why, 'pon my soul--I haven't thought!" he said, "but now you speak of
+it, I do think he is a remarkable chap."
+
+"He is so very quiet," Lady Anningford went on, "and, whenever he
+speaks, it is something worth listening to; and if you get on any
+subject of books, he is a perfect encyclopaedia. He gives me the
+impression of all the forces of power and will, concentrated in a man. I
+wonder who he really is? Not that it matters a bit in these days. Do you
+think there is any Jew in him? It does not show in his type, but when
+foreigners are very rich there generally is."
+
+"Sure to be, as he is so intelligent," the Crow growled. "If you notice,
+numbers of the English families who show brains have a touch of it in
+the background. So long as the touch is far enough away, I have no
+objection to it myself--prefer folks not to be fools."
+
+"I believe I have no prejudices at all," said Lady Anningford. "If I
+like people, I don't care what is in their blood."
+
+"It is all right till you scratch 'em. Then it comes out; but if, as I
+say, it is far enough back, the Jew will do the future Tancred race a
+power of good, to get the commercial common sense of it into them--knew
+Maurice Grey, her father, years ago, and he was just as indifferent to
+money and material things, as Tristram is himself. So the good will come
+from the Markrute side, we will hope."
+
+"I rather wonder, Crow--if there ever will be any more of the Tancred
+race. I thought last night we had a great failure, and that nothing will
+make that affair prosper. I don't believe they ever see one another from
+one day to the next! It is extremely sad."
+
+"I told you they had come to a ticklish point in their careers," the
+Crow permitted himself to remind his friend, "and, 'pon my soul, I could
+not bet you one way or another how it will go. 'I hae me doots,' as the
+Scotchman said."
+
+Meanwhile, Ethelrida, on the plea of letters to write, had retired to
+her room; and there, as the clock struck a quarter past three, she
+awaited--what? She would not own to herself that it was her fate. She
+threw dust in her own eyes, and called it a pleasant talk!
+
+She looked absurdly young for her twenty-six years, just a dainty slip
+of a patrician girl, as she sat there on her chintz sofa, with its fresh
+pattern of lilacs and tender green. Everything was in harmony, even to
+her soft violet cloth dress trimmed with fur.
+
+And again as the hour for the trysting chimed, her lover that was to be,
+entered the room.
+
+"This is perfectly divine," he said, as he came in, while the roguish
+twinkle of a schoolboy, who has outwitted his mates sparkled in his fine
+eyes. "All those good people tramping for miles in the cold and damp,
+while we two sensible ones are going to enjoy a nice fire and a friendly
+chat."
+
+Thus he disarmed her nervousness, and gave her time.
+
+"May I sit by you, my Lady Ethelrida?" he said; and as she smiled, he
+took his seat, but not too near her--nothing must be the least hurried
+or out of place.
+
+So for about a quarter of an hour they talked of books--their
+favorites--hers, all so simple and chaste, his, of all kinds, so long as
+they showed style, and were masterpieces of taste and balance. Then, as
+a great piece of wood fell in the open grate and made a volley of
+sparks, he leaned forward a little and asked her if he might tell her
+that for which he had come, the history of a man.
+
+The daylight was drawing in, and they had an hour before them.
+
+"Yes," said Ethelrida, "only let us make up the fire first, and only
+turn on that one soft light," and she pointed to a big gray china owl
+who carried a simple shade of white painted with lilacs on his back.
+"Then we need not move again, because I want extremely to hear it--the
+history of a man."
+
+He obeyed her commands, and also drew the silk blinds.
+
+"Now, indeed, we are happy; at least, I am," he said.
+
+Lady Ethelrida leant back on her muslin embroidered cushion and prepared
+herself to listen with a rapt face.
+
+Francis Markrute stood by the fire for a while, and began from there:
+
+"You must go right back with me to early days, Sweet Lady," he said, "to
+a palace in a gloomy city and to an artiste--a ballet-dancer--but at the
+same time a great _musicienne_ and a good and beautiful woman, a woman
+with red, splendid hair, like my niece. There she lived in a palace in
+this city, away from the world with her two children; an Emperor was her
+lover and her children's father; and they all four were happy as the day
+was long. The children were a boy and a girl, and presently they began
+to grow up, and the boy began to think about life and to reason things
+out with himself. He had, perhaps, inherited this faculty from his
+grandfather, on his mother's side, who was a celebrated poet and
+philosopher and a Spanish Jew. So his mother, the beautiful dancer, was
+half Jewess, and, from her mother again, half Spanish noble; for this
+philosopher had eloped with the daughter of a Spanish grandee, and she
+was erased from the roll. I go back this far not to weary you, but that
+you may understand what forces in race had to do with the boy's
+character. The daughter again of this pair became an artist and a
+dancer, and being a highly educated, as well as a superbly beautiful
+woman--a woman with all Zara's charm and infinitely more chiseled
+features--she won the devoted love of the Emperor of the country in
+which they lived. I will not go into the moral aspect of the affair. A
+great love recks not of moral aspects. Sufficient to say, they were
+ideally happy while the beautiful dancer lived. She died when the boy
+was about fifteen, to his great and abiding grief. His sister, who was a
+year or two younger than he, was then all he had to love, because
+political and social reasons in that country made it very difficult,
+about this time, for him often to see his father, the Emperor.
+
+"The boy was very carefully educated, and began early, as I have told
+you, to think for himself and to dream. He dreamed of things which might
+have been, had he been the heir and son of the Empress, instead of the
+child of her who seemed to him so much the greater lady and queen, his
+own mother, the dancer; and he came to see that dreams that are based
+upon regrets are useless and only a factor in the degradation, not the
+uplifting of a man. The boy grew to understand that from that sweet
+mother, even though the world called her an immoral woman, he had
+inherited something much more valuable to himself than the Imperial
+crown--the faculty of perception and balance, physical and moral, to
+which the family of the Emperor, his father, could lay no claim. From
+them, both he and his sister had inherited a stubborn, indomitable
+pride. You can see it, and have already remarked it, in Zara--that
+sister's child.
+
+"So when the boy grew to be about twenty, he determined to carve out a
+career for himself, to create a great fortune, and so make his own
+little kingdom, which should not be bound by any country or race. He had
+an English tutor--he had always had one--and in his studies of
+countries and peoples and their attributes, the English seemed to him to
+be much the finest race. They were saner, more understanding, more full
+of the sense of the fitness of things, and of the knowledge of life and
+how to live it wisely.
+
+"So the boy, with no country, and no ingrained patriotism for the place
+of his birth, determined he, being free and of no nation, should, when
+he had made this fortune, migrate there, and endeavor to obtain a place
+among those proud people, whom he so admired in his heart. That was his
+goal, in all his years of hard work, during which time he grew to
+understand the value of individual character, regardless of nation or of
+creed; and so, when finally he did come to this country, it was not to
+seek, but to command." And here Francis Markrute, master of vast wealth
+and the destinies of almost as many human souls as his father, the
+Emperor, had been, raised his head. And Lady Ethelrida, daughter of a
+hundred noble lords, knew her father, the Duke, was no prouder than he,
+the Spanish dancer's son. And something in her fine spirit went out to
+him; and she, there in the firelight with the soft owl lamp silvering
+her hair, stretched out her hand to him; and he held it and kissed it
+tenderly, as he took his seat by her side.
+
+"My sweet and holy one," he said. "And so you understand!"
+
+"Yes, yes!" said Ethelrida. "Oh, please go on"--and she leaned back
+against her pillow, but she did not seek to draw away her hand.
+
+"There came a great grief, then, in the life of the boy who was now a
+grown man. His sister brought disgrace upon herself, and died under
+extremely distressful circumstances, into which I need not enter here;
+and for a while these things darkened and embittered his life." He
+paused a moment, and gazed into the fire, a look of deep sorrow and
+regret on his sharply-cut face, and Ethelrida unconsciously allowed her
+slim fingers to tighten in his grasp. And when he felt this gentle
+sympathy, he stroked her hand.
+
+"The man was very hard then, sweet lady," he went on. "He regrets it
+now, deeply. The pure angel, who at this day rules his life, with her
+soft eyes of divine mercy and gentleness, has taught him many lessons;
+and it will be his everlasting regret that he was hard then. But it was
+a great deep wound to his pride, that quality which he had inherited
+from his father, and had not then completely checked and got in hand.
+Pride should be a factor for noble actions and a great spirit, but not
+for overbearance toward the failings of others. He knows that now. If
+this lady, whom he worships, should ever wish to learn the whole details
+of this time, he will tell her even at any cost to his pride, but for
+the moment let me get on to pleasanter things."
+
+And Ethelrida whispered, "Yes, yes," so he continued:
+
+"All his life from a boy's to a man's, this person we are speaking of
+had kept his ideal of the woman he should love. She must be fine and
+shapely, and noble and free; she must be tender and devoted, and
+gracious and good. But he passed all his early manhood and grew to
+middle age, before he even saw her shadow across his path. He looked up
+one night, eighteen months ago, at a court ball, and she passed him on
+the arm of a royal duke, and unconsciously brushed his coat with her
+soft dove's wing; and he knew that it was she, after all those years, so
+he waited and planned, and met her once or twice; but fate did not let
+him advance very far, and so a scheme entered his head. His niece, the
+daughter of his dead sister, had also had a very unhappy life; and he
+thought she, too, should come among these English people, and find
+happiness with their level ways. She was beautiful and proud and good,
+so he planned the marriage between his niece and the cousin of the lady
+he worshiped, knowing by that he should be drawn nearer his star, and
+also pay the debt to his dead sister, by securing the happiness of her
+child; but primarily it was his desire to be nearer his own worshiped
+star, and thus it has all come about." He paused, and looked full at her
+face, and saw that her sweet eyes were moist with some tender, happy
+tears. So he leaned forward, took her other hand, and kissed them both,
+placing the soft palms against his mouth for a second; then he whispered
+hoarsely, his voice at last trembling with the passionate emotion he
+felt:
+
+"Ethelrida--darling--I love you with my soul--tell me, my sweet lady,
+will you be my wife?"
+
+And the Lady Ethelrida did not answer, but allowed herself to be drawn
+into his arms.
+
+And so in the firelight, with the watchful gray owl, the two rested
+blissfully content.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+
+When Lady Ethelrida came down to tea, her sweet face was prettily
+flushed, for she was quite unused to caresses and the kisses of a man.
+Her soft gray eyes were shining with a happiness of which she had not
+dreamed, and above all things, she was filled with the exquisite emotion
+of having a secret!--a secret of which even her dear friend Anne was
+ignorant--a blessed secret, just shared between her lover and herself.
+And Lady Anningford, who had no idea that she had spent the afternoon
+with the financier, but believed she had religiously written letters
+alone, wondered to herself what on earth made Ethelrida look so joyous
+and not the least fatigued, as most of the others were. She really got
+prettier, she thought, as she grew older, and was always the greatest
+dear in the whole world. But, to look as happy as that and have a face
+so flushed, was quite mysterious and required the opinion of the Crow!
+
+So she dragged Colonel Lowerby off to a sofa, and began at once:
+
+"Crow, do look at Ethelrida's face! Did you ever see one so idiotically
+blissful, except when she has been kissed by the person she loves?"
+
+"Well, how do you know that is not the case with our dear Ethelrida?"
+grunted the Crow. "She did not come out for a walk. You had better count
+up, and see who else stayed at home!"
+
+So Lady Anningford began laughingly. The idea was too impossible, but
+she must reason it out.
+
+"There was Lord Melton but Lady Melton stayed behind, too, and the
+Thornbys--all impossible. There was no one else except Tristram, who I
+know was in the smoking-room, with a fearful headache, and Mr.
+Markrute, who was with the Duke."
+
+"Was he with the Duke?" queried the Crow.
+
+"Crow!" almost gasped Lady Anningford. "Do you mean to tell me that you
+think Ethelrida would have her face looking like that about a foreigner!
+My dear friend, you must have taken leave of your seven senses--" and
+then she paused, for several trifles came back to her recollection,
+connected with these two, which, now that the Crow had implanted a
+suspicion in her breast, began to assume considerable proportions.
+
+Ethelrida had talked of most irrelevant matters always during their
+good-night chats, unless the subject happened to be Zara, and she had
+never once mentioned Mr. Markrute personally or given any opinion about
+him; and yet, as Anne had seen, they had often talked. There must be
+something in it, but that was not enough to account for Ethelrida's
+face. A pale, rather purely colorless complexion like hers did not
+suddenly change to bright scarlet cheeks, without some practical means!
+And, as Anne very well knew, kisses were a very practical means! But her
+friend Ethelrida would never allow any man to kiss her, unless she had
+promised to marry him. Now, if it had been Lily Opie, she could not have
+been so sure, though she hoped she could be sure of any nice girl; but
+about Ethelrida she could take her oath. It followed, as Ethelrida had
+been quite pale at lunch and was not a person who went to sleep over
+fires, something extraordinary must have happened--but what?
+
+"Crow, dear, I have never been so thrilled in my life," she said, after
+her thoughts had come to this stage. "The lurid tragedy of the honeymoon
+pair cannot compare in interest to anything connected with my sweet
+Ethelrida, for me, so it is your duty to put that horribly wise, cynical
+brain of yours to work and unravel me this mystery. Look, here is Mr.
+Markrute coming in--let us watch his face!"
+
+But, although they subjected the financier to the keenest good-natured
+scrutiny, he did not show a sign or give them any clue. He sat down
+quietly, and began talking casually to the group by the tea-table, while
+he methodically spread his bread and butter with blackberry jam. Such
+delicious schoolroom teas the company indulged in, at the hospitable
+tea-table of Montfitchet! He did not seem to be even addressing
+Ethelrida. What could it be?
+
+"I believe we have made a mistake after all, Crow," Lady Anningford said
+disappointedly. "Look--he is quite unmoved."
+
+The Crow gave one of his chuckles, while he answered slowly, between his
+sips of tea:
+
+"A man doesn't handle millions in the year, and twist and turn about
+half the governments of Europe, if he can't keep his face from showing
+what he doesn't mean you to see! Bless your dear heart, Mr. Francis
+Markrute is no infant!" and the chuckle went on.
+
+"You may think yourself very wise, Crow, and so you are," Lady
+Anningford retorted severely, "but you don't know anything about love.
+When a man is in love, even if he were Machiavelli himself, it would be
+bound to show in his eye--if one looked long enough."
+
+"Then your plan, my dear Queen Anne, is to look," the Crow said,
+smiling. "For my part, I want to see how the other pair have got on.
+They are my pets; and I don't consider they have spent at all a suitable
+honeymoon Sunday afternoon--Tristram, with a headache in the
+smoking-room, and the bride, taking a walk and being made love to by
+Arthur Elterton, and Young Billy, alternately. The kid is as wild about
+her as Tristram himself, I believe!"
+
+"Then you still think Tristram is in love with her, do you, Crow?" asked
+Anne, once more interested in her original thrill. "He did not show the
+smallest signs of it last night then, if so; and how he did not seize
+her in his arms and devour her there and then, with all that lovely hair
+down and her exquisite shape showing the outline so in that dress--I
+can't think! He must be as cold as a stone, and I never thought him so
+before, did you?"
+
+"No, and he isn't either, I tell you what, my dear girl, there is
+something pretty grim keeping those two apart, I am sure. She is the
+kind of woman who arouses the fiercest passions; and Tristram is in the
+state that, if something were really to set alight his jealousy, he
+might kill her some day."
+
+"Crow--how terrible!" gasped Anne, and then seeing that her friend's
+face was serious, and not chaffing, she, too, looked grave. "Then what
+on earth is to be done?" she asked.
+
+"I don't know, I have been thinking it over ever since I came in. I
+found him in the smoking-room, staring in front of him, not even
+pretending to read, and looking pretty white about the gills; and when
+he saw it was only me, and I asked him if his head were worse, and
+whether he had not better have a brandy and soda, he simply said: 'No,
+thanks, the whole thing is a d---- rotten show.' I've known him since he
+was a blessed baby you know, so he didn't mind me for a minute. Then he
+recollected himself, and said, yes, he would have a drink; and when he
+poured it out, he only sipped it, and then forgot about it, jumped up,
+and blurted out he had some letters to write, so I left him. I am
+awfully sorry for the poor chap, I can tell you. If it is not fate, but
+some caprice of hers, she deserves a jolly good beating, for making him
+suffer like that."
+
+"Couldn't you say something to her, Crow, dear? We are all so awfully
+fond of Tristram, and there does seem some tragedy hanging over them
+that ought to be stopped at once. Couldn't you, Crow?"
+
+But Colonel Lowerby shook his head.
+
+"It is too confoundedly ticklish," he grunted. "It might do some good,
+and it might just do the other thing. It is too dangerous to interfere."
+
+"Well, you have made me thoroughly uncomfortable," Lady Anningford said.
+"I shall get hold of him to-night, and see what I can do."
+
+"Then, mind you are careful, Queen Anne--that is all that I can say,"
+and at that moment, the Duke joining them, the tete-a-tete broke up.
+
+Zara had not appeared at tea. She said she was very tired, and would
+rest until dinner. If she had been there, her uncle had meant to take
+her aside into one of the smaller sitting-rooms, and tell her the piece
+of information he deemed it now advisable for her to know; but as she
+did not appear, or Tristram, either, he thought after all they might be
+together, and his interference would be unnecessary. But he decided, if
+he saw the same frigid state of things at dinner, he would certainly
+speak to her after it; and relieved from duty, he went once more to
+find his lady love in her sitting-room.
+
+"Francis!" she whispered, as he held her next his heart for a moment.
+"You must not stay ten minutes, for Lady Anningford or Lady Melton is
+sure to come in--Anne, especially, who has been looking at me with such
+reproachful eyes, for having neglected her all this, our last
+afternoon."
+
+"I care not for a thousand Annes, Ethelrida mine!" he said softly, as he
+kissed her. "If she does come, will it matter? Would you rather she did
+not guess anything yet, my dearest?"
+
+"Yes--" said Ethelrida, "--I don't want any one to know, until you have
+told my father,--will you do so to-night--or wait until to-morrow? I--I
+can't--I feel so shy--and he will be so surprised." She did not add her
+secret fear that her parent might be very angry.
+
+They had sat down upon the sofa now, under the light of their kindly
+gray owl; and Francis Markrute contented himself with caressing his
+lady's hair, as he answered:
+
+"I thought of asking the Duke, if I might stay until the afternoon
+train, as I had something important to discuss with him, and then wait
+and see him quietly, when all the others have gone, if that is what you
+would wish, my sweet. I will do exactly as you desire about all things.
+I want you to understand that. You are to have your own way in
+everything in life."
+
+"You know very well that I should never want it, if it differed from
+yours, Francis." What music he found in his name! "You are so very wise,
+it will be divine to let you guide me!" Which tender speech showed that
+the gentle Ethelrida had none of the attitude of the modern bride.
+
+And thus it was arranged. The middle-aged, but boyishly-in-love, fiance
+was to tackle his future father-in-law in the morning's light; and
+to-night, let the household sleep in peace!
+
+So, after a blissful interlude, as he saw in spite of the joy they found
+together, his Ethelrida was still slightly nervous of Lady Anningford's
+entrance, he got up to say good night, as alas! this would probably be
+the last chance they would have alone before he left.
+
+"And you will not make me wait too long, my darling," he implored, "will
+you? You see, every moment away from you, will now be wasted. I do not
+know how I have borne all these years alone!"
+
+And she promised everything he wished, for Francis Markrute, at
+forty-six, had far more allurements than an impetuous young lover. Not a
+tenderness, a subtlety of flattery and homage, those things so dear to a
+woman's heart, were forgotten by him. He really worshiped Ethelrida and
+his fashion of showing his feeling was in all ways to think first of
+what she would wish; which proved that if her attitude were unmodern, as
+far as women were concerned, his was even more so, among men!
+
+Tristram had gone out for another walk alone, after the Crow had left
+him. He wanted to realize the details of the coming week, and settle
+with himself how best to get through with them.
+
+He and Zara were to start in their own motor at about eleven for Wrayth,
+which was only forty miles across the border into Suffolk. They would
+reach it inside of two hours easily, and arrive at the first triumphal
+arch of the park before one; and so go on through the shouting
+villagers to the house, where in the great banqueting hall, which still
+remained, a relic of Henry IV's time, joined on to the Norman keep, they
+would have to assist at a great luncheon to the principal tenants, while
+the lesser fry feasted in a huge tent in the outer courtyard.
+
+Here, endless speeches would have to be made and listened to, and joy
+simulated, and a general air of hilarity kept up; and the old
+housekeeper would have prepared the large rooms in the Adam wing for
+their reception; and they would not be free to separate, until late at
+night, for there would be the servants' and employes' ball, after a
+tete-a-tete dinner in state, where their every action would be watched
+and commented upon by many curious eyes. Yes, it was a terrible ordeal
+to go through, under the circumstances; and no wonder he wanted the
+cold, frosty evening air to brace him up!
+
+At the end of his troubled thoughts he had come to the conclusion that
+there was only one thing to be done--he must speak to her to-night, tell
+her what to expect, and ask her to play her part. "She is fortunately
+game, even if cold as stone," he said to himself, "and if I appeal to
+her pride, she will help me out." So he came back into the house, and
+went straight up to her room. He had been through too much suffering and
+anguish of heart, all night and all day, to be fearful of temptation. He
+felt numb, as he knocked at the door and an indifferent voice called
+out, "Come in!"
+
+He opened it a few inches and said: "It is I--Tristram--I have something
+I must say to you--May I come in?--or would you prefer to come down to
+one of the sitting-rooms? I dare say we could find one empty, so as to
+be alone."
+
+"Please come in," her voice said, and she was conscious that she was
+trembling from head to foot.
+
+So he obeyed her, shutting the door firmly after him and advancing to
+the fireplace. She had been lying upon the sofa wrapped in a soft blue
+tea-gown, and her hair hung in the two long plaits, which she always
+unwound when she could to take its weight from her head. She rose from
+her reclining position and sat in the corner; and after glancing at her
+for a second, Tristram turned his eyes away, and leaning on the
+mantelpiece, began in a cold grave voice:
+
+"I have to ask you to do me a favor. It is to help me through to-morrow
+and the few days after, as best you can, by conforming to our ways. It
+has been always the custom in the family, when a Tancred brought home
+his bride, to have all sorts of silly rejoicings. There will be
+triumphal arches in the park, and collections of village people, a lunch
+for the principal tenants, speeches, and all sorts of boring things.
+Then we shall have to dine alone in the state dining-room, with all the
+servants watching us, and go to the household and tenants' ball in the
+great hall. It will all be ghastly, as you can see." He paused a moment,
+but he did not change the set tone in his voice when he spoke again, nor
+did he look at her. He had now come to the hardest part of his task.
+
+"All these people--who are my people," he went on, "think a great deal
+of these things, and of us--that is--myself, as their landlord, and you
+as my wife. We have always been friends, the country folk at Wrayth and
+my family, and they adored my mother. They are looking forward to our
+coming back and opening the house again--and--and--all that--and--" here
+he paused a second time, it seemed as if his throat were dry, for
+suddenly the remembrance of his dreams as he looked at Tristram
+Guiscard's armor, which he had worn at Agincourt, came back to him--his
+dreams in his old oak-paneled room--of their home-coming to Wrayth; and
+the mockery of the reality hit him in the face.
+
+Zara clasped her hands, and if he had glanced at her again, he would
+have seen all the love and anguish which was convulsing her shining in
+her sad eyes.
+
+He mastered the emotion which had hoarsened his voice, and went on in an
+even tone: "What I have to ask is that you will do your share--wear some
+beautiful clothes, and smile, and look as if you cared; and if I feel
+that it will be necessary to take your hand or even kiss you, do not
+frown at me, or think I am doing it from choice--I ask you, because I
+believe you are as proud as I am,--I ask you, please, to play the game."
+
+And now he looked up at her, but the terrible emotion she was suffering
+had made her droop her head. He would not kiss her or take her
+hand--from choice--that was the main thing her woman's heart had
+grasped, the main thing, which cut her like a knife.
+
+"You can count upon me," she said, so low he could hardly hear her; and
+then she raised her head proudly, and looked straight in front of her,
+but not at him, while she repeated more firmly: "I will do in every way
+what you wish--what your mother would have done. I am no weakling, you
+know, and as you said, I am as proud as yourself."
+
+He dared not look at her, now the bargain was made, so he took a step
+towards the door, and then turned and said:
+
+"I thank you--I shall be grateful to you. Whatever may occur, please
+believe that nothing that may look as if it was my wish to throw us
+together, as though we were really husband and wife, will be my fault;
+and you can count upon my making the thing as easy for you as I can--and
+when the mockery of the rejoicings are over--then we can discuss our
+future plans."
+
+And though Zara was longing to cry aloud in passionate pain, "I love
+you! I love you! Come back and beat me, if you will, only do not go
+coldly like that!" she spoke never a word. The strange iron habit of her
+life held her, and he went sadly from the room.
+
+And when he had gone, she could control herself no longer and, forgetful
+of coming maid and approaching dinner, she groveled on the white
+bearskin rug before the fire, and gave way to passionate tears--only to
+recollect in a moment the position of things. Then she got up and shook
+with passion against fate, and civilization, and custom--against the
+whole of life. She could not even cry in peace. No! She must play the
+game! So her eyes had to be bathed, the window opened, and the icy air
+breathed in, and at last she had quieted herself down to the look of a
+person with a headache, when the dressing-gong sounded, and her maid
+came into the room.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+
+This, the last dinner at Montfitchet, passed more quietly than the rest.
+The company were perhaps subdued, from their revels of the night before;
+and every one hates the thought of breaking up a delightful party and
+separating on the morrow, even when it has only been a merry gathering
+like this.
+
+And two people were divinely happy, and two people supremely sad, and
+one mean little heart was full of bitterness and malice unassuaged. So
+after dinner was over, and they were all once more in the white
+drawing-room, the different elements assorted themselves.
+
+Lady Anningford took Tristram aside and began, with great tact and much
+feeling, to see if he could be cajoled into a better mood; and finally
+got severely snubbed for her trouble, which hurt her more because she
+realized how deep must be his pain than from any offense to herself.
+Then Laura caught him and implanted her last sting:
+
+"You are going away to-morrow, Tristram,--into your new life--and when
+you have found out all about your wife--and her handsome friend--you may
+remember that there was one woman who loved you truly--" and then she
+moved on and left him sitting there, too raging to move.
+
+After this, his uncle had joined him, had talked politics, and just at
+the end, for the hearty old gentleman could not believe a man could
+really be cold or indifferent to as beautiful a piece of flesh and blood
+as his new niece, he had said:
+
+"Tristram, my dear boy,--I don't know whether it is the modern
+spirit--or not--but, if I were you, I'd be hanged if I would let that
+divine creature, your wife, out of my sight day or night!--When you get
+her alone at Wrayth, just kiss her until she can't breathe--and you'll
+find it is all right!"
+
+With which absolutely sensible advice, he had slapped his nephew on the
+back, fixed in his eyeglass, and walked off; and Tristram had stood
+there, his blue eyes hollow with pain, and had laughed a bitter laugh,
+and gone to play bridge, which he loathed, with the Meltons and Mrs.
+Harcourt. So for him, the evening had passed.
+
+And Francis Markrute had taken his niece aside to give her his bit of
+salutary information. He wished to get it over as quickly as possible,
+and had drawn her to a sofa rather behind a screen, where they were not
+too much observed.
+
+"We have all had a most delightful visit, I am sure, Zara," he had said,
+"but you and Tristram seem not to be yet as good friends as I could
+wish."
+
+He paused a moment, but as usual she did not speak, so he went on:
+
+"There is one thing you might as well know, I believe you have not
+realized it yet, unless Tristram has told you of it himself."
+
+She looked up now, startled--of what was she ignorant then?
+
+"You may remember the afternoon I made the bargain with you about the
+marriage," Francis Markrute went on. "Well, that afternoon Tristram,
+your husband, had refused my offer of you and your fortune with scorn.
+He would never wed a rich woman he said, or a woman he did not know or
+love, for any material gain; but I knew he would think differently when
+he had seen how beautiful and attractive you were, so I continued to
+make my plans. You know my methods, my dear niece."
+
+Zara's blazing and yet pitiful eyes were all his answer.
+
+"Well, I calculated rightly. He came to dinner that night, and fell
+madly in love with you, and at once asked to marry you himself, while he
+insisted upon your fortune being tied up entirely upon you, and any
+children that you might have, only allowing me to pay off the mortgages
+on Wrayth for himself. It would be impossible for a man to have behaved
+more like a gentleman. I thought now, in case you had not grasped all
+this, you had better know." And then he said anxiously, "Zara--my dear
+child--what is the matter?" for her proud head had fallen forward on her
+breast, with a sudden deadly faintness. This, indeed, was the filling of
+her cup.
+
+His voice pulled her together, and she sat up; and to the end of his
+life, Francis Markrute will never like to remember the look in her eyes.
+
+"And you let me go on and marry him, playing this cheat? You let me go
+on and spoil both our lives! What had I ever done to you, my uncle, that
+you should be so cruel to me? Or is it to be revenged upon my mother for
+the hurt she brought to your pride?"
+
+If she had reproached him, stormed at him, anything, he could have borne
+it better; but the utter lifeless calm of her voice, the hopeless look
+in her beautiful white face, touched his heart--that heart but newly
+unwrapped and humanized from its mummifying encasements by the
+omnipotent God of Love. Had he, after all, been too coldly calculating
+about this human creature of his own flesh and blood? Was there some
+insurmountable barrier grown up from his action? For the first moment in
+his life he was filled with doubt and fear.
+
+"Zara," he said, anxiously, "tell me, dear child, what you mean? I let
+you go on in the 'cheat,' as you call it, because I knew you never would
+consent to the bargain, unless you thought it was equal on both sides. I
+know your sense of honor, dear, but I calculated, and I thought rightly,
+that, Tristram being so in love with you, he would soon undeceive you,
+directly you were alone. I never believed a woman could be so cold as to
+resist his wonderful charm--Zara--what has happened?--'Won't you tell
+me, child?"
+
+But she sat there turned to stone. She had no thought to reproach him.
+Her heart and her spirit seemed broken, that was all.
+
+"Zara--would you like me to do anything? Can I explain anything to him?
+Can I help you to be happy? I assure you it hurts me awfully, if this
+will not turn out all right--Zara," for she had risen a little
+unsteadily from her seat beside him. "You cannot be indifferent to him
+for ever--he is too splendid a man. Cannot I do anything for you, my
+niece?"
+
+Then she looked at him, and her eyes in their deep tragedy seemed to
+burn out of her deadly white face.
+
+"No, thank you, my uncle,--there is nothing to be done--everything is
+now too late." Then she added in the same monotonous voice, "I am very
+tired, I think I will wish you a good night." And with immense dignity,
+she left him; and making her excuses with gentle grace to the Duke and
+Lady Ethelrida, she glided from the room.
+
+And Francis Markrute, as he watched her, felt his whole being wrung with
+emotion and pain.
+
+"My God!" he said to himself. "She is a glorious woman, and it will--it
+must--come right--even yet."
+
+And then he set his brain to calculate how he could assist them, and
+finally his reasoning powers came back to him, and he comforted himself
+with the deductions he made.
+
+She was going away alone with this most desirable young man into the
+romantic environment of Wrayth. Human physical passion, to say the least
+of it, was too strong to keep them apart for ever, so he could safely
+leave the adjusting of this puzzle to the discretion of fate.
+
+And Zara, freed at last from eye of friend or maid, collapsed on to the
+white bearskin in front of the fire again, and tried to think. So she
+had been offered as a chattel and been refused! Here her spirit burnt
+with humiliation. Her uncle, she knew, always had used her merely as a
+pawn in some game--what game? He was not a snob; the position of uncle
+to Tristram would not have tempted him alone; he never did anything
+without a motive and a deep one. Could it be that he himself was in love
+with Lady Ethelrida? She had been too preoccupied with her own affairs
+to be struck with those of others, but now as she looked back, he had
+shown an interest which was not in his general attitude towards women.
+How her mother had loved him, this wonderful brother! It was her abiding
+grief always, his unforgiveness,--and perhaps, although it seemed
+impossible to her, Lady Ethelrida was attracted by him, too. Yes, that
+must be it. It was to be connected with the family, to make his position
+stronger in the Duke's eyes, that he had done this cruel thing. But,
+would it have been cruel if she herself had been human and different? He
+had called her from struggling and poverty, had given her this splendid
+young husband, and riches and place,--no, there was nothing cruel in it,
+as a calculated action. It should have given her her heart's desire. It
+was she, herself, who had brought about things as they were, because of
+her ignorance, that was the cruelty, to have let her go away with
+Tristram, in ignorance.
+
+Then the aspect of the case that she had been offered to him and
+refused! scourged her again; then the remembrance that he had taken her,
+for love. And what motive could he imagine she had had? This struck her
+for the first time--how infinitely more generous he had been--for he had
+not allowed, what he must have thought was pure mercenariness and desire
+for position on her part to interfere with his desire for her
+personally. He had never turned upon her, as she saw now he very well
+could have done, and thrown this in her teeth. And then she fell to
+bitter sobbing, and so at last to sleep.
+
+And when the fire had died out, towards the gray dawn, she woke again
+shivering and in mortal fright, for she had dreamed of Mirko, and that
+he was being torn from her, while he played the _Chanson Triste_. Then
+she grew fully awake and remembered that this was the beginning of the
+new day--the day she should go to her husband's home; and she had
+accused him of all the base things a man could do, and he had behaved
+like a gentleman; and it was she who was base, and had sold herself for
+her brother's life, sold what should never be bartered for any life,
+but only for love.
+
+Well, there was nothing to be done, only to "play the game"--the
+hackneyed phrase came back to her; he had used it, so it was sacred.
+Yes, all she could do for him now was, to "play the game"--everything
+else was--too late.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+
+People left by all sorts of trains and motors in the morning; but there
+were still one or two remaining, when the bride and bridegroom made
+their departure, in their beautiful new car with its smart servants,
+which had come to fetch them, and take them to Wrayth.
+
+And, just as the Dover young ladies on the pier had admired their
+embarkation, with its _apanages_ of position and its romantic look, so
+every one who saw them leave Montfitchet was alike elated. They were
+certainly an ideal pair.
+
+Zara had taken the greatest pains to dress herself in her best. She
+remembered Tristram had admired her the first evening they had arrived
+for this visit, when she had worn sapphire blue, so now she put on the
+same colored velvet and the sable coat--yes, he liked that best, too,
+and she clasped some of his sapphire jewels in her ears and at her
+throat. No bride ever looked more beautiful or distinguished, with her
+gardenia complexion and red burnished hair, all set off by the velvet
+and dark fur.
+
+But Tristram, after the first glance, when she came down, never looked
+at her--he dared not. So they said their farewells quietly; but there
+was an extra warmth and tenderness in Ethelrida's kiss, as, indeed,
+there was every reason that there should be. If Zara had known! But the
+happy secret was still locked in the lovers' breasts.
+
+"Of course it must come all right, they look so beautiful!" Ethelrida
+exclaimed unconsciously, waving her last wave on the steps, as the motor
+glided away.
+
+"Yes, it must indeed," whispered Francis, who was beside her, and she
+turned and looked into his face.
+
+"In twenty minutes, all the rest will be gone except the Crow, and
+Emily, and Mary, and Lady Anningford, who are staying on; and oh,
+Francis, how shall I get through the morning, knowing you are with
+Papa!"
+
+"I will come to your sitting-room just before luncheon time, my
+dearest," he whispered back reassuringly. "Do not distress yourself--it
+will be all right."
+
+And so they all went back into the house, and Lady Anningford, who now
+began to have grave suspicions, whispered to the Crow:
+
+"I believe you are perfectly right, Crow. I am certain Ethelrida is in
+love with Mr. Markrute! But surely the Duke would never permit such a
+thing! A foreigner whom nobody knows anything of!"
+
+"I never heard that there was any objection raised to Tristram marrying
+his niece. The Duke seemed to welcome it, and some foreigners are very
+good chaps," the Crow answered sententiously, "especially Austrians and
+Russians; and he must be one of something of that sort. He has no
+apparent touch of the Latin race. It's Latins I don't like."
+
+"Well, I shall probably hear all about it from Ethelrida herself, now
+that we are alone. I am so glad I decided to stay with the dear girl
+until Wednesday, and you will have to wait till then, too, Crow."
+
+"As ever, I am at your orders," he grunted, and lighting a cigar, he
+subsided into a great chair to read the papers, while Lady Anningford
+went on to the saloon. And presently, when all the departing guests
+were gone, Ethelrida linked her arm in that of her dear friend, and drew
+her with her up to her sitting-room.
+
+"I have heaps to tell you, Anne!" she said, while she pushed her gently
+into a big low chair, and herself sank into the corner of her sofa.
+Ethelrida was not a person who curled up among pillows, or sat on rugs,
+or little stools. All her movements, even in her most intimate moments
+of affection with her friend, were dignified and reserved.
+
+"Darling, I am thrilled," Lady Anningford responded, "and I guess it is
+all about Mr. Markrute--and oh, Ethelrida, when did it begin?"
+
+"He has been thinking of me for a long time, Anne--quite eighteen
+months--but I--" she looked down, while a tender light grew in her face,
+"I only began to be interested the night we dined with him--it is a
+little more than a fortnight ago--the dinner for Tristram's engagement.
+He said a number of things not like any one else, then, and he made me
+think of him afterwards--and I saw him again at the wedding--and since
+he has been here--and do you know, Anne, I have never loved any one
+before in my life!"
+
+"Ethelrida, you darling, I know you haven't!" and Anne bounded up and
+gave her a hug. "And I knew you were perfectly happy, and had had a
+blissful afternoon when you came down to tea yesterday. Your whole face
+was changed, you pet!"
+
+"Did I look so like a fool, Anne?" Ethelrida cried.
+
+Then Lady Anningford laughed happily, as she answered with a roguish
+eye,
+
+"It was not exactly that, darling, but your dear cheeks were scarlet,
+as though they had been exquisitely kissed!"
+
+"Oh!" gasped Ethelrida, flaming pink, as she laughed and covered her
+face with her hands.
+
+"Perhaps he knows how to make love nicely--I am no judge of such
+things--in any case, he makes me thrill. Anne, tell me, is that--that
+curious sensation as though one were rather limp and yet quivering--is
+that just how every one feels when they are in love?"
+
+"Ethelrida, you sweet thing!" gurgled Anne.
+
+Then Ethelrida told her friend about the present of books, and showed
+them to her, and of all the subtlety of his ways, and how they appealed
+to her.
+
+"And oh, Anne, he makes me perfectly happy and sure of everything; and I
+feel that I need never decide anything for myself again in my life!"
+
+Which, taking it all round, was a rather suitable and fortunate
+conviction for a man to have implanted in his lady love's breast, and
+held out the prospect of much happiness in their future existence
+together.
+
+"I think he is very nice looking," said Anne, "and he has the most
+perfect clothes. I do like a man to have that groomed look, which I must
+say most Englishmen have, but Tristram has it, especially, and Mr.
+Markrute, too. If you knew the despair my old man is to me with his
+indifference about his appearance. It is my only crumpled rose leaf,
+with the dear old thing."
+
+"Yes," agreed Ethelrida, "I like them to be smart--and above all, they
+must have thick hair. Anne, have you noticed Francis' hair? It is so
+nice, it grows on his forehead just as Zara's does. If he had been bald
+like Papa, I could not have fallen in love with him!"
+
+So once more the fate of a man was decided by his hair!
+
+And during this exchange of confidences, while Emily and Mary took a
+brisk walk with the Crow and young Billy, Francis Markrute faced his
+lady's ducal father in the library.
+
+He had begun without any preamble, and with perfect calm; and the Duke,
+who was above all a courteous gentleman, had listened, first with silent
+consternation and resentment, and then with growing interest.
+
+Francis Markrute had manipulated infinitely more difficult situations,
+when the balance of some of the powers of Europe depended upon his
+nerve; but he knew, as he talked to this gallant old Englishman, that he
+had never had so much at stake, and it stimulated him to do his best.
+
+He briefly stated his history, which Ethelrida already knew; he made no
+apology for his bar sinister; indeed, he felt none was needed. He knew,
+and the Duke knew, that when a man has won out as he had done, such
+things fade into space. And then with wonderful taste and discretion he
+had but just alluded to his vast wealth, and that it would be so
+perfectly administered through Lady Ethelrida's hands, for the good of
+her order and of mankind.
+
+And the Duke, accustomed to debate and the watching of methods in men,
+could not help admiring the masterly reserve and force of this man.
+
+And, finally, when the financier had finished speaking, the Duke rose
+and stood before the fire, while he fixed his eyeglass in his eye.
+
+"You have stated the case admirably, my dear Markrute," he said, in his
+distinguished old voice. "You leave me without argument and with merely
+my prejudices, which I dare say are unjust, but I confess they are
+strongly in favor of my own countrymen and strongly against this
+union--though, on the other hand, my daughter and her happiness are my
+first consideration in this world. Ethelrida was twenty-six yesterday,
+and she is a young woman of strong and steady character, unlikely to be
+influenced by any foolish emotion. Therefore, if you have been fortunate
+enough to find favor in her eyes--if the girl loves you, in short, my
+dear fellow, then I have nothing to say.--Let us ring and have a glass
+of port!"
+
+And presently the two men, now with the warmest friendship in their
+hearts for one another, mounted the staircase to Lady Ethelrida's room,
+and there found her still talking to Anne.
+
+Her sweet eyes widened with a question as the two appeared at the door,
+and then she rushed into her father's arms and buried her face in his
+coat; and with his eyeglass very moist, the old Duke kissed her
+fondly--as he muttered.
+
+"Why, Ethelrida, my little one. This is news! If you are happy, darling,
+that is all I want!"
+
+So the whole dreaded moment passed off with rejoicing, and presently
+Lady Anningford and the fond father made their exit, and left the lovers
+alone.
+
+"Oh, Francis, isn't the world lovely!" murmured Ethelrida from the
+shelter of his arms. "Papa and I have always been so happy together, and
+now we shall be three, because you understand him, too, and you won't
+make me stay away from him for very long times, will you, dear?"
+
+"Never, my sweet. I thought of asking the Duke, if you would wish it, to
+let me take the place from him in this county, which eventually comes to
+you, and I will keep on Thorpmoor, my house in Lincolnshire, merely for
+the shooting. Then you would feel you were always in your own home, and
+perhaps the Duke would spend much time with us, and we could come to him
+here, in an hour; but all this is merely a suggestion--everything shall
+be as you wish."
+
+"Francis, you are good to me," she said.
+
+"Darling," he whispered, as he kissed her hair, "it took me forty-six
+years to find my pearl of price."
+
+Then they settled all kinds of other details: how he would give Zara,
+for her own, the house in Park Lane, which would not be big enough now
+for them; and he would purchase one of those historic mansions, looking
+on The Green Park, which he knew was soon to be in the market.
+Ethelrida, if she left the ducal roof for the sake of his love, should
+find a palace worthy of her acceptance waiting for her.
+
+He had completely recovered his balance, upset a little the night before
+by the uncomfortable momentary fear about his niece.
+
+She and Tristram had arranged to come up to Park Lane for two nights
+again at the end of the week, to say good-bye to the Dowager Lady
+Tancred, who was starting with her daughters for Cannes. If he should
+see then that things were still amiss, he would tell Tristram the whole
+history of what Zara had thought of him. Perhaps that might throw some
+light on her conduct towards him, and so things could be cleared up. But
+he pinned his whole faith on youth and propinquity to arrange matters
+before then, and dismissed it from his mind.
+
+Meanwhile, the pair in question were speeding along to Wrayth.
+
+Of all the ordeals of the hours which Tristram had had to endure since
+his wedding, these occasions, upon which he had to sit close beside her
+in a motor, were the worst. An ordinary young man, not in love with her,
+would have found something intoxicating in her atmosphere--and how much
+more this poor Tristram, who was passionately obsessed.
+
+Fortunately, she liked plenty of window open and did not object to
+smoke; but with the new air of meekness which was on her face and the
+adorably attractive personal scent of the creature, nearly two hours
+with her, under a sable rug, was no laughing matter.
+
+At the end of the first half hour of silence and nearness, her husband
+found he was obliged to concentrate his mind by counting sheep jumping
+over imaginary stiles to prevent himself from clasping her in his arms.
+
+It was the same old story, which has been chronicled over and over
+again. Two young, human, natural, normal people fighting against iron
+bars. For Zara felt the same as he, and she had the extra anguish of
+knowing she had been unjust, and that the present impossible situation
+was entirely her own doing.
+
+And how to approach the subject and confess her fault? She did not know.
+Her sense of honor made her feel she must, but the queer silent habit of
+her life was still holding her enchained. And so, until they got into
+his own country, the strained speechlessness continued, and then he
+looked out and said:
+
+"We must have the car opened now--please smile and bow as we go through
+the villages when any of the old people curtsey to you; the young ones
+won't do it, I expect, but my mother's old friends may."
+
+So Zara leaned forward, when the footman had opened the landaulette top,
+and tried to look radiant.
+
+And the first act of this pitiful comedy began.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+
+Every sort of emotion convulsed the new Lady Tancred's heart, as they
+began to get near the park, with the village nestling close to its gates
+on the far side. So this was the home of her love and her lord; and they
+ought to be holding hands, and approaching it and the thought of their
+fond life together there with full hearts,--well, her heart was full
+enough, but only of anguish and pain. For Tristram, afraid of the
+smallest unbending, maintained a freezing attitude of contemptuous
+disdain, which she could not yet pluck up enough courage to break
+through to tell him she knew how unjust and unkind she had been.
+
+And presently they came through cheering yokels to the South Lodge, the
+furthest away from the village, and so under a triumphant arch of
+evergreens, with banners floating and mottoes of "God Bless the Bride
+and Bridegroom" and "Health and Long Life to Lord and Lady Tancred." And
+now Tristram did take her hand and, indeed, put his arm round her as
+they both stood up for a moment in the car, while raising his hat and
+waving it gayly he answered graciously:
+
+"My friends, Lady Tancred and I thank you so heartily for your kind
+wishes and welcome home."
+
+Then they sat down, and the car went on, and his face became rigid
+again, as he let go her hand.
+
+And at the next arch by the bridge, the same thing, only more
+elaborately carried out, began again, for here were all the farmers of
+the hunt, of which Tristram was a great supporter, on horseback; and the
+cheering and waving knew no end. The cavalcade of mounted men followed
+them round outside the Norman tower and to the great gates in the
+smaller one, where the portcullis had been.
+
+Here all the village children were, and the old women from the
+almshouse, in their scarlet frieze cloaks and charming black bonnets;
+and every sort of wish for their happiness was shouted out. "Bless the
+beautiful bride and bring her many little lords and ladies, too," one
+old body quavered shrilly, above the din, and this pleasantry was
+greeted with shouts of delight. And for that second Tristram dropped his
+lady's hand as though it had burnt him, and then, recollecting himself,
+picked it up again. They were both pale with excitement and emotion,
+when they finally reached the hall-door in the ugly, modern Gothic wing
+and were again greeted by all the household servants in rows, two of
+them old and gray-haired, who had stayed on to care for things when the
+house had been shut up. There was Michelham back at his master's old
+home, only promoted to be groom of the chambers, now, with a smart
+younger butler under him.
+
+Tristram was a magnificent orderer, and knew exactly how things ought to
+be done.
+
+And the stately housekeeper, in her black silk, stepped forward, and in
+the name of herself and her subordinates, bade the new mistress welcome,
+and hoping she was not fatigued, presented her with a bouquet of white
+roses. "Because his lordship told us all, when he was here making the
+arrangements, that your ladyship was as beautiful as a white rose!"
+
+And tears welled up in Zara's eyes and her voice trembled, as she
+thanked them and tried to smile.
+
+"She was quite overcome, the lovely young lady," they told one another
+afterwards, "and no wonder. Any woman would be mad after his lordship.
+It is quite to be understood."
+
+How they all loved him, the poor bride thought, and he had told them she
+was a beautiful white rose. He felt like that about her then, and she
+had thrown it all away. Now he looked upon her with loathing and
+disdain, and no wonder either--there was nothing to be done.
+
+Presently, he took her hand again and placed it on his arm, as they
+walked through the long corridor, to the splendid hall, built by the
+brothers Adam, with its stately staircase to the gallery above.
+
+"I have prepared the state rooms for your ladyship, pending your
+ladyship's choice of your own," Mrs. Anglin said. "Here is the boudoir,
+the bedroom, the bathroom, and his lordship's dressing-room--all en
+suite--and I hope your ladyship will find them as handsome, as we old
+servants of the family think they are!"
+
+And Zara came up to the scratch and made a charming little speech.
+
+When they got to the enormous bedroom, with its windows looking out on
+the French garden and park, all in exquisite taste, furnished and
+decorated by the Adams themselves, Tristram gallantly bent and kissed
+her hand, as he said:
+
+"I will wait for you in the boudoir, while you take off your coat. Mrs.
+Anglin will show you the toilet-service of gold, which was given by
+Louis XIV to a French grandmother and which the Ladies Tancred always
+use, when they are at Wrayth. I hope you won't find the brushes too
+hard," and he laughed and went out.
+
+And Zara, overcome with the state and beauty and tradition of it all,
+sat down upon the sofa for a moment to try to control her pain. She was
+throbbing with rage and contempt at herself, at the remembrance that
+she, in her ignorance, her ridiculous ignorance, had insulted this
+man--this noble gentleman, who owned all these things--and had taunted
+him with taking her for her uncle's wealth.
+
+How he must have loved her in the beginning to have been willing to give
+her all this, after seeing her for only one night. She writhed with
+anguish. There is no bitterness as great as the bitterness of loss
+caused by oneself.
+
+Tristram was standing by the window of the delicious boudoir when she
+went in. Zara, who as yet knew very little of English things, admired
+the Adam style; and when Mrs. Anglin left them discreetly for a moment,
+she told him so, timidly, for something to say.
+
+"Yes, it is rather nice," he said stiffly, and then went on: "We shall
+have to go down now to this fearful lunch, but you had better take your
+sable boa with you. The great hall is so enormous and all of stone, it
+may be cold. I will get it for you," and he went back and found it lying
+by her coat on the chair, and brought it, and wrapped it round her
+casually, as if she had been a stone, and then held the door for her to
+go out. And Zara's pride was stung, even though she knew he was doing
+exactly as she herself would have done, so that instead of the meek
+attitude she had unconsciously assumed, for a moment now she walked
+beside him with her old mien of head in the air, to the admiration of
+Mrs. Anglin, who watched them descend the stairs.
+
+"She is as haughty-looking as our own ladyship," she thought to herself.
+"I wonder how his lordship likes that!"
+
+The great hall was a survival of the time of Henry IV with its dais to
+eat above the salt, and a magnificent stone fireplace, and an oak screen
+and gallery of a couple of centuries later. The tables were laid down
+each side, as in the olden time, and across the dais; and here, in the
+carved oak "Lord" and "Lady" chairs, the bride and bridegroom sat with a
+principal tenant and his wife on either side of them, while the powdered
+footmen served them with lunch.
+
+And all the time, when one or two comic incidents happened, she longed
+to look at Tristram and laugh; but he maintained his attitude of cold
+reserve, only making some genial stereotyped remark, when it was
+necessary for the public effect.
+
+And presently the speeches began, and this was the most trying moment of
+all. For the land-steward, who proposed their healths, said such nice
+things; and Zara realized how they all loved her lord, and her anger at
+herself grew and grew. In each speech from different tenants there was
+some intimate friendly allusion about herself, too, linking her always
+with Tristram; and these parts hurt her particularly.
+
+Then Tristram rose to answer them in his name and hers. He made a
+splendid speech, telling them that he had come back to live among them
+and had brought them a beautiful new Lady--and here he turned to her a
+moment and took and kissed her hand--and how he would always think of
+all their interests in every way; and that he looked upon them as his
+dear old friends; and that he and Lady Tancred would always endeavor to
+promote their welfare, as long as the radicals--here he laughed, for
+they were all true blue to a man--would let them! And when voices
+shouted, "We want none of them rats here," he was gay and chaffed them;
+and finally sat down amidst yells of applause.
+
+Then an old apple-cheeked farmer got up from far down the table and made
+a long rambling harangue, about having been there, man and boy, and his
+forbears before him, for a matter of two hundred years; but he'd take
+his oath they had none of them ever seen such a beautiful bride brought
+to Wrayth as they were welcoming now; and he drank to her ladyship's
+health, and hoped it would not be long before they would have another
+and as great a feast for the rejoicings over the son and heir!
+
+At this deplorable bit of bucolic wit and hearty taste, Tristram's face
+went stern as death; and he bit his lips, while his bride became the
+color of the red roses on the table in front of her.
+
+Thus the luncheon passed. And amidst countless hand-shakes of affection,
+accelerated by port wine and champagne, the bride and bridegroom,
+followed by the land-steward and a chosen few, went to receive and
+return the same sort of speeches among the lesser people in the tent.
+Here the allusions to marital felicity were even more glaring, and Zara
+saw that each time Tristram heard them, an instantaneous gleam of bitter
+sarcasm would steal into his eyes. So, worn out at last with the heat in
+the tent and the emotions of the day, at about five, the bridegroom was
+allowed to conduct his bride to tea in the boudoir of the state rooms.
+Thus they were alone, and now was Zara's time to make her confession, if
+it ever should come.
+
+Tristram's resolve had held him, nothing could have been more gallingly
+cold and disdainful than had been his treatment of her, so perfect, in
+its acting for 'the game,' and, so bitter, in the humiliation of the
+between times. She would tell him of her mistake. That was all. She must
+guard herself against showing any emotion over it.
+
+They each sank down into chairs beside the fire with sighs of relief.
+
+"Good Lord!" he said, as he put his hand to his forehead. "What a
+hideous mockery the whole thing is, and not half over yet! I am afraid
+you must be tired. You ought to go and rest until dinner--when, please
+be very magnificent and wear some of the jewels--part of them have come
+down from London on purpose, I think, beyond those you had at
+Montfitchet."
+
+"Yes, I will," she answered, listlessly, and began to pour out the tea,
+while he sat quite still staring into the fire, a look of utter
+weariness and discouragement upon his handsome face.
+
+Everything about the whole thing was hurting him so, all the pleasure he
+had taken in the improvements and the things he had done, hoping to
+please her; and now, as he saw them about, each one stabbed him afresh.
+
+She gave him his cup without a word. She had remembered from Paris his
+tastes in cream and sugar; and then as the icy silence continued, she
+could bear it no longer.
+
+"Tristram," she said, in as level a voice as she could. At the sound of
+his name he looked at her startled. It was the first time she had ever
+used it!
+
+She lowered her head and, clasping her hands, she went on constrainedly,
+so overcome with emotion she dared not let herself go. "I want to tell
+you something, and ask you to forgive me. I have learned the truth, that
+you did not marry me just for my uncle's money. I know exactly what
+really happened now. I am ashamed, humiliated, to remember what I said
+to you. But I understood you had agreed to the bargain before you had
+ever seen me. The whole thing seemed so awful to me--so revolting--I am
+sorry for what I taunted you with. I know now that you are really a
+great gentleman."
+
+His face, if she had looked up and seen it, had first all lightened with
+hope and love; but as she went on coldly, the warmth died out of it, and
+a greater pain than ever filled his heart. So she knew now, and yet she
+did not love him. There was no word of regret for the rest of her
+taunts, that he had been an animal, and the blow in his face! The
+recollection of this suddenly lashed him again, and made him rise to his
+feet, all the pride of his race flooding his being once more.
+
+He put down his tea-cup on the mantelpiece untasted, and then said
+hoarsely:
+
+"I married you because I loved you, and no man has ever regretted a
+thing more."
+
+Then he turned round, and walked slowly from the room.
+
+And Zara, left alone, felt that the end had come.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+
+A pale and most unhappy bride awaited her bridegroom in the boudoir at a
+few minutes to eight o'clock. She felt perfectly lifeless, as though she
+had hardly enough will left even to act her part. The white satin of her
+dress was not whiter than her face. The head gardener had sent up some
+splendid gardenias for her to wear and the sight of them pained her, for
+were not these the flowers that Tristram had brought her that evening of
+her wedding day, not a fortnight ago, and that she had then thrown into
+the grate. She pinned some in mechanically, and then let the maid clasp
+the diamonds round her throat and a band of them in her hair. They were
+so very beautiful, and she had not seen them before; she could not thank
+him for them even--all conversation except before people was now at an
+end. Then, for her further unhappiness, she remembered he had said:
+"When the mockery of the rejoicings is over then we can discuss our
+future plans." What did that mean? That he wished to separate from her,
+she supposed. How could circumstance be so cruel to her! What had she
+done? Then she sat down for a moment while she waited, and clenched her
+hands. And all the passionate resentment her deep nature was capable of
+surged up against fate, so that she looked more like the black panther
+than ever, and her mood had only dwindled into a sullen smoldering
+rage--while she still sat in the peculiar, concentrated attitude of an
+animal waiting to spring--when Tristram opened the door, and came in.
+
+The sight of her thus, looking so unEnglish, so barbaric, suddenly
+filled him with the wild excitement of the lion hunt again. Could
+anything be more diabolically attractive? he thought, and for a second,
+the idea flashed across him that he would seize her to-night and treat
+her as if she were the panther she looked, conquer her by force, beat
+her if necessary, and then kiss her to death! Which plan, if he had
+carried it out, in this case, would have been very sensible, but the
+training of hundreds of years of chivalry toward women and things weaker
+than himself was still in his blood. For Tristram, twenty-fourth Baron
+Tancred, was no brute or sensualist, but a very fine specimen of his
+fine, old race.
+
+So, his heart beating with some uncontrollable excitement, and her heart
+filled with smoldering rage, they descended the staircase, arm in arm,
+to the admiration of peeping housemaids and the pride of her own maid.
+And the female servants all rushed to the balustrade to get a better
+view of the delightful scene which, they had heard whispered among them,
+was a custom of generations in the family--that when the Lord of Wrayth
+first led his lady into the state dining-room for their first dinner
+alone he should kiss her before whoever was there, and bid her welcome
+to her new home. And to see his lordship, whom they all thought the
+handsomest young gentleman they had ever seen, kiss her ladyship, would
+be a thrill of the most agreeable kind!
+
+What would their surprise have been, could they have heard him say icily
+to his bride as he descended the stairs:
+
+"There is a stupid custom that I must kiss you as we go into the
+dining-room, and give you this little golden key--a sort of ridiculous
+emblem of the endowment of all the worldly goods business. The servants
+are, of course, looking at us, so please don't start." Then he glanced
+up and saw the rows of interested, excited faces; and that
+devil-may-care, rollicking boyishness which made him so adored came over
+him, and he laughed up at them, and waved his hand: and Zara's rage
+turned to wild excitement, too. There would be the walk across the hall
+of sixty paces, and then he would kiss her. What would it be like? In
+those sixty paces her face grew more purely white, while he came to the
+resolve that for this one second he would yield to temptation and not
+only brush her forehead with his lips, as had been his intention, but
+for once--just for this once--he would kiss her mouth. He was past
+caring about the footmen seeing. It was his only chance.
+
+So when they came to the threshold of the big, double doors he bent down
+and drew her to him, and gave her the golden key. And then he pressed
+his warm, young, passionate lips to hers. Oh! the mad joy of it! And
+even if it were only from duty and to play the game, she had not
+resisted him as upon that other occasion. He felt suddenly, absolutely
+intoxicated, as he had done on the wedding night. Why, why must this
+ghastly barrier be between them? Was there nothing to be done? Then he
+looked at his bride as they advanced to the table, and he saw that she
+was so deadly white that he thought she was going to faint. For
+intoxication, affects people in different ways; for her, the kiss had
+seemed the sweetness of death.
+
+"Give her ladyship some champagne immediately," he ordered the butler,
+and, still with shining eyes, he looked at her, and said gently, "for
+we must drink our own healths."
+
+But Zara never raised her lids, only he saw that her little nostrils
+were quivering, and by the rise and fall of her beautiful bosom he knew
+that her heart must be beating as madly as was his own--and a wild
+triumph filled him. Whatever the emotion she was experiencing, whether
+it was anger, or disdain, or one he did not dare to hope for, it was a
+considerably strong one; she was, then, not so icily cold! How he wished
+there were some more ridiculous customs in his family! How he wished he
+might order the servants out of the room, and begin to make love to her
+all alone. And just out of the devilment which was now in his blood he
+took the greatest pleasure in "playing the game," and while the solemn
+footmen's watchful eyes were upon them, he let himself go and was
+charming to her; and then, each instant they were alone he made himself
+freeze again, so that she could not say he was not keeping to the
+bargain. Thus in wild excitement for them both the dinner passed. With
+her it was alternate torture and pleasure as well, but with him, for the
+first time since his wedding, there was not any pain. For he felt he was
+affecting her, even if she were only "playing the game." And gradually,
+as the time went on and dessert was almost come, the conviction grew in
+Zara's brain that he was torturing her on purpose, overdoing the part
+when the servants were looking; for had he not told her but three hours
+before that he _had_ loved her--using the past tense--and no man
+regretted a thing more! Perhaps--was it possible--he had seen when he
+kissed her that she loved him! And he was just punishing her, and
+laughing at his dominion over her in his heart; so her pride took fire
+at once. Well, she would not be played with! He would see she could
+keep to a bargain; and be icy, too, when the play was over. So when at
+last the servants had left the room, before coffee was brought, she
+immediately stiffened and fell into silence; and the two stared in front
+of them, and back over him crept the chill. Yes, there was no use
+deceiving himself. He had had his one moment of bliss, and now his
+purgatory would begin again.
+
+Thus the comedy went on. Soon they had to go and open the ball, and they
+both won golden opinions from their first partners--hers, the stalwart
+bailiff, and his, the bailiff's wife.
+
+"Although she is a foreigner, Agnes," Mr. Burrs said to his life's
+partner when they got home, "you'd hardly know it, and a lovelier lady I
+have never seen."
+
+"She couldn't be too lovely for his lordship," his wife retorted. "Why,
+William, he made me feel young again!"
+
+The second dance the bridal pair were supposed to dance together; and
+then when they should see the fun in full swing they were supposed to
+slip away, because it was considered quite natural that they might wish
+to be alone.
+
+"You will have to dance with me now, I am afraid, Zara," Tristram said,
+and, without waiting for her answer, he placed his arm round her and
+began the valse. And the mad intoxication grew again in both of them,
+and they went on, never stopping, in a wild whirl of
+delight--unreasoning, passionate delight--until the music ceased.
+
+Then Zara who, by long years of suffering, was the more controlled,
+pulled herself together first, and, with that ingrained instinct to
+defend herself and her secret love, and to save his possible true
+construction of her attitude, said stiffly:
+
+"I suppose we can go now. I trust you think that I have 'played the
+game.'"
+
+"Too terribly well," he said--stung back to reality. "It shows me what
+we have irreparably lost." And he gave her his arm and, passed down the
+lane of admiring and affectionate guests to their part of the house; and
+at the door of the boudoir he left her without a word.
+
+So, with the bride in lonely anguish in the great state bed, the night
+of the home-coming passed, and the morrow dawned.
+
+For thus the God of Pride makes fools of his worshipers.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It poured with rain the next day, but the same kind of thing went on for
+the different grades of those who lived under the wing of the Tancred
+name, and neither bride nor bridegroom failed in their roles, and the
+icy coldness between them increased. They had drawn upon themselves an
+atmosphere of absolute restraint and it seemed impossible to exchange
+even ordinary conversation; so that at this, their second dinner, they
+hardly even kept up a semblance before the household servants, and,
+being free from feasting, Zara retired almost immediately the coffee had
+come. One of the things Tristram had said to her before she left the
+room was:
+
+"To-morrow if it is fine you had better see the gardens and really go
+over the house, if you wish. The housekeeper and the gardeners will
+think it odd if you don't! How awful it is to have to conform to
+convention!" he went on. "It would be good to be a savage again. Well,
+perhaps I shall be, some day soon."
+
+Then as she paused in her starting for the door to hear what he had
+further to say, he continued:
+
+"They let us have a day off to-morrow; they think, quite naturally, we
+require a rest. So if you will be ready about eleven I will show you the
+gardens and the parts my mother loved--it all looks pretty dreary this
+time of the year, but it can't be helped."
+
+"I will be ready," Zara said.
+
+"Then there is the Address from the townspeople at Wrayth, on Thursday,"
+he continued, while he walked toward the door to open it for her, "and
+on Friday we go up to London to say good-bye to my mother. I hope you
+have not found it all too impossibly difficult, but it will soon be over
+now."
+
+"The whole of life is difficult," she answered, "and one never knows
+what it is for, or why?" And then without anything further she went out
+of the door, and so upstairs and through all the lonely corridors to the
+boudoir. And here she opened the piano for the first time, and tried it;
+and finding it good she sat a long time playing her favorite airs--but
+not the _Chanson Triste_--she felt she could not bear that.
+
+The music talked to her: what was her life going to be? What if, in the
+end, she could not control her love? What if it should break down her
+pride, and let him see that she regretted her past action and only
+longed to be in his arms. For her admiration and respect for him were
+growing each hour, as she discovered new traits in him, individually,
+and began to understand what he meant to all these people whose lord he
+was. How little she had known of England, her own father's country! How
+ridiculously little she had really known of men, counting them all
+brutes like Ladislaus and his friends, or feckless fools like poor
+Mimo! What an impossible attitude was this one she had worn always of
+arrogant ignorance! Something should have told her that these people
+were not like that. Something should have warned her, when she first saw
+him, that Tristram was a million miles above anything in the way of his
+sex that she had yet known. Then she stopped playing, and deliberately
+went over and looked in the glass. Yes, she was certainly beautiful, and
+quite young. She might live until she were seventy or eighty, in the
+natural course of events, and the whole of life would be one long,
+dreary waste if she might not have her Love. After all, pride was not
+worth so very much. Suppose she were very gentle to him, and tried to
+please him in just a friendly way, that would not be undignified nor
+seem to be throwing herself at his head. She would begin to-morrow, if
+she could. Then she remembered Lady Ethelrida's words at the dinner
+party--was it possible that was only three weeks ago this very
+night--the words that she had spoken so unconsciously, when she had
+showed so plainly the family feeling about Tristram and Cyril being the
+last in the male line of Tancred of Wrayth. She remembered how she had
+been angered and up in arms then, and now a whole education had passed
+over her, and she fully understood and sympathized with their point of
+view.
+
+And at this stage of her meditations her eyes grew misty as they gazed
+into distance, and all soft; and the divine expression of the Sistine
+Madonna grew in them, as it grew always when she held Mirko in her arms.
+
+Yes, there were things in life which mattered far, far more than pride.
+And so, comforted by her resolutions, she at last went to bed.
+
+And Tristram sat alone by the fire in his own sitting-room, and stared
+at that other Tristram Guiscard's armor. And he, too, came to a
+resolution, but not of the same kind. He would speak to Francis Markrute
+when they arrived on Friday night and he could get him quietly alone. He
+would tell him that the whole thing was a ghastly failure, but as he had
+only himself to blame for entering into it he did not intend to reproach
+any one. Only, he would frankly ask him to use his clever brain and
+invent some plan that he and Zara could separate, without scandal, until
+such time as he should grow indifferent, and so could come back and
+casually live in the house with her. He was only a human man, he
+admitted, and the present arrangement was impossible to bear. He was
+past the anguish of the mockery of everything to-night--he was simply
+numb. Then some waiting fiend made him think of Laura and her last
+words. What if there were some truth in them after all? He had himself
+seen the man twice, under the most suspicious circumstances. What if he
+were her lover? How could Francis Markrute know of all her existence,
+when he had said she had been an immaculate wife? And gradually, on top
+of his other miseries, trifles light as air came and tortured him until
+presently he had worked up a whole chain of evidence, proving the lover
+theory to be correct!
+
+Then he shook in his chair with rage, and muttered between his teeth:
+"If I find this is true then I will kill him, and kill her, also!"
+
+So near to savages are all human beings, when certain passions are
+aroused. And neither bride nor bridegroom guessed that fate would soon
+take things out of their hands and make their resolutions null and
+void.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+
+The gardens at Wrayth were famous. The natural beauty of their position
+and the endless care of generations of loving mistresses had left them a
+monument of what nature can be trained into by human skill. They had
+also in the eighteenth century by some happy chance escaped the hand of
+Capability Brown. And instead of pulling about and altering the taste of
+the predecessor the successive owners had used fresh ground for their
+fancies. Thus the English rose-garden and the Dutch-clipped yews of
+William-and-Mary's time were as intact as the Italian parterre.
+
+But November is not the time to judge of gardens, and Tristram wished
+the sun would come out. He waited for his bride at the foot of the Adam
+staircase, and, at eleven, she came down. He watched her as she put one
+slender foot before the other in her descent, he had not noticed before
+how ridiculously inadequate they were--just little bits of baby feet,
+even in her thick walking-boots. She certainly knew how to dress--and
+adapt herself to the customs of a country. Her short, serge frock and
+astrakhan coat and cap were just the things for the occasion; and she
+looked so attractive and chic, with her hands in her monster muff, he
+began to have that pain again of longing for her, so he said icily:
+
+"The sky is gray and horrid. You must not judge of things as you will
+see them to-day; it is all really rather nice in the summer."
+
+"I am sure it is," she answered meekly, and then could not think of
+anything else to say, so they walked on in silence through the courtyard
+and round under a deep, arched doorway in the Norman wall to the
+southern side of the Adam erection, with its pillars making the
+centerpiece. The beautiful garden stretched in front of them. This
+particular part was said to have been laid out from plans of Le Notre,
+brought there by that French Lady Tancred who had been the friend of
+Louis XIV. There were traces of her all over the house--Zara found
+afterwards. It was a most splendid and stately scene even in the dull
+November gloom, with the groups of statuary, and the _tapis vert_, and
+the general look of Versailles. The vista was immense. She could see far
+beyond, down an incline, through a long clearing in the park, far away
+to the tower of Wrayth church.
+
+"How beautiful it all is!" she said, with bated breath, and clasped her
+hands in her muff. "And how wonderful to have the knowledge that your
+family has been here always, and these splendid things are their
+creation. I understand that you must be a very proud man."
+
+This was almost the longest speech he had ever heard her make, in
+ordinary conversation--the first one that contained any of her thoughts.
+He looked at her startled for a moment, but his resolutions of the night
+before and his mood of suspicion caused him to remain unmoved. He was
+numb with the pain of being melted one moment with hope and frozen again
+the next; it had come to a pass now that he would not let himself
+respond. She could almost have been as gracious as she pleased, out in
+this cold, damp air, and he would have remained aloof.
+
+"Yes, I suppose I am a proud man," he said, "but it is not much good to
+me; one becomes a cynic, as one grows older."
+
+Then with casual indifference he began to explain to her all about the
+gardens and their dates, as they walked along, just as though he were
+rather bored but acting cicerone to an ordinary guest, and Zara's heart
+sank lower and lower, and she could not keep up her little plan to be
+gentle and sympathetic; she could not do more than say just "Yes," and
+"No." Presently they came through a door to the hothouses, and she had
+to be introduced to the head gardener, a Scotchman, and express her
+admiration of everything, and eat some wonderful grapes; and here
+Tristram again "played the game," and chaffed, and was gay. And so they
+went out, and through a clipped, covered walk to another door in a wall,
+which opened on the west side--the very old part of the house--and
+suddenly she saw the Italian parterre. Each view as she came upon it she
+tried to identify with what she had seen in the pictures in _Country
+Life_, but things look so different in reality, with the atmospheric
+effects, to the cold gray of a print. Only there was no mistake about
+this--the Italian parterre; and a sudden tightness grew round her heart,
+and she thought of Mirko and the day she had last seen him. And Tristram
+was startled into looking at her by a sudden catching of her breath, and
+to his amazement he perceived that her face was full of pain, as though
+she had revisited some scene connected with sorrowful memories. There
+was even a slight drawing back in her attitude, as if she feared to go
+on, and meet some ghost. What could it be? Then the malevolent sprite
+who was near him just now whispered: "It is an Italian garden, she has
+seen such before in other lands; perhaps the man is an Italian--he
+looks dark enough." So instead of feeling solicitous and gentle with
+whatever caused her pain--for his manners were usually extremely
+courteous, however cold--he said almost roughly:
+
+"This seems to make you think of something! Well, let us get on and get
+it over, and then you can go in!"
+
+He would be no sympathetic companion for her sentimental musings--over
+another man!
+
+Her lips quivered for a moment, and he saw that he had struck home, and
+was glad, and grew more furious as he strode along. He would like to
+hurt her again if he could, for jealousy can turn an angel into a cruel
+fiend. They walked on in silence, and a look almost of fear crept into
+her tragic eyes. She dreaded so to come upon Pan and his pipes. Yes, as
+they descended the stone steps, there he was in the far distance with
+his back to them, forever playing his weird music for the delight of all
+growing things.
+
+She forgot Tristram, forgot she was passionately preoccupied with him
+and passionately in love, forgot even that she was not alone. She saw
+the firelight again, and the pitiful, little figure of her poor, little
+brother as he poured over the picture, pointing with his sensitive
+forefinger to Pan's shape. She could hear his high, childish voice say:
+"See, Cherisette, he, too, is not made as other people are! Look, and he
+plays music, also. When I am with _Maman_ and you walk there you must
+remember that this is me!"
+
+And Tristram, watching her, knew not what to think. For her face had
+become more purely white than usual, and her dark eyes were swimming
+with tears.
+
+God! how she must have loved this man! In wild rage he stalked beside
+her until they came quite close to the statue in the center of the
+star, surrounded by its pergola of pillars, which in the summer were gay
+with climbing roses.
+
+Then he stepped forward, with a sharp exclamation of annoyance, for the
+pipes of Pan had been broken and lay there on the ground.
+
+Who had done this thing?
+
+When Zara saw the mutilation she gave a piteous cry; to her, to the
+mystic part of her strange nature, this was an omen. Pan's music was
+gone, and Mirko, too, would play no more.
+
+With a wail like a wounded animal's she slipped down on the stone bench,
+and, burying her face in her muff, the tension of soul of all these days
+broke down, and she wept bitter, anguishing tears.
+
+Tristram was dumbfounded. He knew not what to do. Whatever was the
+cause, it now hurt him horribly to see her weep--weep like this--as if
+with broken heart.
+
+For her suffering was caused by remembrance--remembrance that, absorbed
+in her own concerns and heart-burnings over her love, she had forgotten
+the little one lately; and he was far away and might now be ill, and
+even dead.
+
+She sobbed and sobbed and clasped her hands, and Tristram could not bear
+it any longer.
+
+"Zara!" he said, distractedly. "For God's sake do not cry like this!
+What is it? Can I not help you--Zara?" And he sat down beside her and
+put his arm round her, and tried to draw her to him--he must comfort her
+whatever caused her pain.
+
+But she started up and ran from him; he was the cause of her
+forgetfulness.
+
+[Illustration: "'Zara!' he said distractedly.... 'Can I not help
+you?'"]
+
+"Do not!" she cried passionately, that southern dramatic part of her
+nature coming out, here in her abandon of self-control. "Is it not
+enough for me to know that it is you and thoughts of you which have
+caused me to forget him!--Go! I must be alone!"--and like a fawn she
+fled down one of the paths, and beyond a great yew hedge, and so
+disappeared from view.
+
+And Tristram sat on the stone bench, too stunned to move.
+
+This was a confession from her, then--he realized, when his power came
+back to him. It was no longer surmise and suspicion--there was some one
+else. Some one to whom she owed--love. And he had caused her to forget
+him! And this thought made him stop his chain of reasoning abruptly. For
+what did that mean? Had he then, after all, somehow made her feel--made
+her think of him? Was this the secret in her strange mysterious face
+that drew him and puzzled him always? Was there some war going on in her
+heart?
+
+But the comforting idea which he had momentarily obtained from that
+inference of her words went from him as he pondered, for nothing proved
+that her thoughts of him had been of love.
+
+So, alternately trying to reason the thing out, and growing wild with
+passion and suspicion and pain, he at last went back to the house
+expecting he would have to go through the ordeal of luncheon alone; but
+as the silver gong sounded she came slowly down the stairs.
+
+And except that she was very pale and blue circles surrounded her heavy
+eyes, her face wore a mask, and she was perfectly calm.
+
+She made no apology, nor allusion to her outburst; she treated the
+incident as though it had never been! She held a letter in her hand,
+which had come by the second post while they were out. It was written by
+her uncle from London, the night before, and contained his joyous news.
+
+Tristram looked at her and was again dumbfounded. She was certainly a
+most extraordinary woman. And some of his rage died down and he decided
+he would not, after all, demand an explanation of her now; he would let
+the whole, hideous rejoicings be finished first and then, in London, he
+would sternly investigate the truth. And not the least part of his pain
+was the haunting uncertainty as to what her words could mean, as
+regarded himself. If by some wonderful chance it were some passion in
+the past and she now loved him, he feared he could forgive her--he
+feared even his pride would not hold out over the mad happiness it would
+be to feel her unresisting and loving, lying in his arms!
+
+So with stormy eyes and forced smiles the pair sat down to luncheon, and
+Zara handed him the epistle she carried in her hand. It ran:
+
+"MY DEAR NIECE:
+
+"I have to inform you of a piece of news that is a great gratification
+to myself, and I trust will cause you, too, some pleasure.
+
+"Lady Ethelrida Montfitchet has done me the honor to accept my proposal
+for her hand, and the Duke, her father, has kindly given his hearty
+consent to my marriage with his daughter, which is to take place as soon
+as things can be arranged with suitability. I hope you and Tristram will
+arrive in time to accompany me to dinner at Glastonbury House on Friday
+evening, when you can congratulate my beloved fiance, who holds you in
+affectionate regard.
+
+"I am, my dear niece, always your devoted uncle,
+
+"FRANCIS MARKRUTE."
+
+
+When Tristram finished reading he exclaimed:
+
+"Good Lord!" For, quite absorbed in his own affairs, he had never even
+noticed the financier's peregrinations! Then as he looked at the letter
+again he said meditatively:
+
+"I expect they will be awfully happy--Ethelrida is such an unselfish,
+sensible, darling girl--"
+
+And it hurt Zara even in her present mood, for she felt the contrast to
+herself in his unconscious tone.
+
+"My uncle never does anything without having calculated it will turn out
+perfectly," she said bitterly--"only sometimes it can happen that he
+plays with the wrong pawns."
+
+And Tristram wondered what she meant. He and she had certainly been
+pawns in one of the Markrute games, and now he began to see this object,
+just as Zara had done. Then the thought came to him.--Why should he not
+now ask her straight out--why she had married him? It was not from any
+desire for himself, nor his position, he knew that: but for what?
+
+So, the moment the servants went out of the room to get the
+coffee--after a desultory conversation about the engagement until then,
+he said coldly:
+
+"You told me on Monday that you now know the reason I had married you:
+may I ask you why did you marry me?"
+
+She clasped her hands convulsively. This brought it all back--her poor
+little brother--and she was not free yet from her promise to her uncle:
+she never failed to keep her word.
+
+A look of deep, tragic earnestness grew in her pools of ink, and she
+said to him, with a strange sob in her voice:
+
+"Believe me I had a strong reason, but I cannot tell it to you now."
+
+And the servants reentered the room at the moment, so he could not ask
+her why: it broke the current.
+
+But what an unexpected inference she always put into affairs! What was
+the mystery? He was thrilled with suspicious, terrible interest. But of
+one thing he felt sure--Francis Markrute did not really know.
+
+And in spite of his chain of reasoning about this probable lover some
+doubt about it haunted him always; her air was so pure--her mien so
+proud.
+
+And while the servants were handing the coffee and still there Zara
+rose, and, making the excuse that she must write to her uncle at once,
+left the room to avoid further questioning. Then Tristram leant his head
+upon his hands and tried to think.
+
+He was in a maze--and there seemed no way out. If he went to her now and
+demanded to have everything explained he might have some awful
+confirmation of his suspicions, and then how could they go through
+to-morrow--and the town's address? Of all things he had no right--just
+because of his wild passion in marrying this foreign woman--he had no
+right to bring disgrace and scandal upon his untarnished name: "noblesse
+oblige" was the motto graven on his soul. No, he must bear it until
+Friday night after the Glastonbury House dinner. Then he would face her
+and demand the truth.
+
+And Zara under the wing of Mrs. Anglin made a thorough tour of the
+beautiful, old house. She saw its ancient arras hangings, and panellings
+of carved oak, and heard all the traditions, and looked at the
+portraits--many so wonderfully like Tristram, for they were a strong,
+virile race--and her heart ached, and swelled with pride, alternately.
+And, last of all, she stood under the portrait that had been painted by
+Sargent, of her husband at his coming of age, and that master of art
+had given him, on the canvas, his very soul. There he stood, in a
+scarlet hunt-coat--debonair, and strong, and true--with all the promise
+of a noble, useful life in his dear, blue eyes. And suddenly this proud
+woman put her hand to her throat to check the sob that rose there; and
+then, again, out of the mist of her tears she saw Pan and his broken
+pipes.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+
+Tristram passed the afternoon outdoors, inspecting the stables, and
+among his own favorite haunts, and then rushed in, too late for tea and
+only just in time to catch the post. He wrote a letter to Ethelrida, and
+his uncle-in-law that was to be. How ridiculous that sounded! He would
+be his uncle and Zara's cousin now, by marriage! Then, when he thought
+of this dear Ethelrida whom he had loved more than his own young
+sisters, he hurriedly wrote out, as well, a telegram of affection and
+congratulation which he handed to Michelham as he came in to get the
+letters--and the old man left the room. Then Tristram remembered that he
+had addressed the telegram to Montfitchet, and Ethelrida would, of
+course, he now recollected, be at Glastonbury House, as she was coming
+up that day--so he went to the door and called out:
+
+"Michelham, bring me back the telegram."
+
+And the grave servant, who was collecting all the other letters from the
+post-box in the hall, returned and placed beside his master on the table
+a blue envelope. There were always big blue envelopes, for the sending
+of telegrams, on all the writing tables at Wrayth.
+
+Tristram hurriedly wrote out another and handed it, and the servant
+finally left the room. Then he absently pulled out his original one and
+glanced at it before tearing it up; and before he realized what he did
+his eye caught: "To Count Mimo Sykypri"--he did not read the
+address--"Immediately, to-morrow, wire me your news. Cherisette."
+
+And ere his rage burst in a terrible oath he noticed that stamps were
+enclosed. Then he threw the paper with violence into the fire!
+
+There was not any more doubt nor speculation; a woman did not sign
+herself "Cherisette"--"little darling"--except to a lover! Cherisette!
+He was so mad with rage that if she had come into the room at that
+moment he would have strangled her, there and then.
+
+He forgot that it was time to dress for dinner--forgot everything but
+his overmastering fury. He paced up and down the room, and then after a
+while, as ever, his balance returned. The law could give him no redress
+yet: she certainly had not been unfaithful to him in their brief married
+life, and the law recks little of sins committed before the tie. Nothing
+could come now of going to her and reproaching her--only a public
+scandal and disgrace. No, he must play his part until he could consult
+with Francis Markrute, learn all the truth, and then concoct some plan.
+Out of all the awful ruin of his life he could at least save his name.
+And after some concentrated moments of agony he mastered himself at last
+sufficiently to go to his room and dress for dinner.
+
+But Count Mimo Sykypri would get no telegram that night!
+
+The idea that there could be any scandalous interpretations put upon any
+of her actions or words never even entered Zara's brain; so innocently
+unconscious was she of herself and her doings that that possible aspect
+of the case never struck her. She was the last type of person to make a
+mystery or in any way play a part. The small subtly-created situations
+and hidden darknesses and mysterious appearances which delighted the
+puny soul of Laura Highford were miles beneath her feet. If she had even
+faintly dreamed that some doubts were troubling Tristram she would have
+plainly told him the whole story and chanced her uncle's wrath. But she
+had not the slightest idea of it. She only knew that Tristram was stern
+and cold, and showed his disdain of her, and that even though she had
+made up her mind to be gentle and try to win him back with friendship,
+it was almost impossible. She looked upon his increased, icy contempt of
+her at dinner as a protest at her outburst of tears during the day.
+
+So the meal was got through, and the moment the coffee was brought he
+gulped it down, and then rose: he could not stand being alone with her
+for a moment.
+
+She was looking so beautiful, and so meek, and so tragic, he could not
+contain the mixed emotions he felt. He only knew if he had to bear them
+another minute he should go mad. So, hardly with sufficient politeness
+he said:
+
+"I have some important documents to look over; I will wish you good
+night." And he hurried her from the room and went on to his own
+sitting-room in the other part of the house. And Zara, quite crushed
+with her anxiety and sorrow about Mirko, and passionately unhappy at
+Tristram's treatment of her, once more returned to her lonely room. And
+here she dismissed her maid, and remained looking out on the night. The
+mist had gone and some pure, fair stars shone out.
+
+Was that where _Maman_ was--up there? And was Mirko going to her soon,
+away out of this cruel world of sorrow and pain? As he had once said,
+surely there, there would be room for them both.
+
+But Zara was no morbidly sentimental person, the strong blood ran in her
+veins, and she knew she must face her life and be true to herself,
+whatever else might betide. So after a while the night airs soothed her,
+and she said her prayers and went to bed.
+
+But Tristram, her lord, paced the floor of his room until almost dawn.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The next day passed in the same kind of way, only, it was nearly all in
+public, with local festivities again; and both of the pair played their
+parts well, as they were now experienced actors, and only one incident
+marked the pain of this Thursday out from the pains of the other days.
+It was in the schoolhouse at Wrayth, where the buxom girl who had been
+assistant mistress, and had married, a year before, brought her
+first-born son to show the lord and lady--as he had been born on their
+wedding day, just a fortnight ago! She was pale and wan, but so
+ecstatically proud and happy looking; and Tristram at once said,
+they--he and Zara--must be the god-parents of her boy; and Zara held the
+crimson, crumpled atom for a moment, and then looked up and met her
+husband's eyes, and saw that they had filled with tears. And she
+returned the creature to its mother--but she could not speak, for a
+moment.
+
+And finally they had come home again--home to Wrayth--and no more
+unhappy pair of young, healthy people lived on earth.
+
+Zara could hardly contain her impatience to see if a telegram for her
+from Mimo had come in her absence. Tristram saw her look of anxiety and
+strain, and smiled grimly to himself. She would get no answering
+telegram from her lover that day!
+
+And, worn out with the whole thing, Zara turned to him and asked if it
+would matter or look unusual if she said--what was true--that she was so
+fatigued she would like to go to bed and not have to come down to
+dinner.
+
+"I will not do so, if it would not be in the game," she said.
+
+And he answered, shortly:
+
+"The game is over, to-night: do as you please."
+
+So she went off sadly, and did not see him again until they were ready
+to start in the morning--the Friday morning, which Tristram called the
+beginning of the end!
+
+He had arranged that they should go by train, and not motor up, as he
+usually did because he loved motoring; but the misery of being so close
+to her, even now when he hoped he loathed and despised her, was too
+great to chance. So, early after lunch, they started, and would be at
+Park Lane after five. No telegram had come for Zara--Mimo must be
+away--but, in any case, it indicated nothing unusual was happening,
+unless he had been called to Bournemouth by Mirko himself and had left
+hurriedly. This idea so tortured her that by the time she got to London
+she could not bear it, and felt she must go to Neville Street and see.
+But how to get away?
+
+Francis Markrute was waiting for them in the library, and seemed so full
+of the exuberance of happiness that she could not rush off until she had
+poured out and pretended to enjoy a lengthy tea.
+
+And the change in the reserved man struck them both. He seemed years
+younger, and full of the milk of human kindness. And Tristram thought of
+himself on the day he had gone to Victoria to meet Zara, when she had
+come from Paris, and he had given a beggar half a sovereign, from sheer
+joy of life.
+
+For happiness and wine open men's hearts. He would not attempt to speak
+about his own troubles until the morning: it was only fair to leave the
+elderly lover without cares until after the dinner at Glastonbury House.
+
+At last Zara was able to creep away. She watched her chance, and, with
+the cunning of desperation, finding the hall momentarily empty,
+stealthily stole out of the front door. But it was after half-past six
+o'clock, and they were dining at Glastonbury House, St. James's Square,
+at eight.
+
+She got into a taxi quickly, finding one in Grosvenor Street because she
+was afraid to wait to look in Park Lane, in case, by chance, she should
+be observed; and at last she reached the Neville Street lodging, and
+rang the noisy bell.
+
+The slatternly little servant said that the gentleman was "hout," but
+would the lady come in and wait? He would not be long, as he had said
+"as how he was only going to take a telegram."
+
+Zara entered at once. A telegram!--perhaps for her--Yes, surely for her.
+Mimo had no one else, she knew, to telegraph to. She went up to the
+dingy attic studio. The fire was almost out, and the little maid lit one
+candle and placed it upon a table. It was very cold on this damp
+November day. The place struck her as piteously poor, after the grandeur
+from which she had come. Dear, foolish, generous Mimo! She must do
+something for him--and would plan how. The room had the air of
+scrupulous cleanness which his things always wore, and there was the
+"Apache" picture waiting for her to take, in a new gold frame; and the
+"London Fog" seemed to be advanced, too; he had evidently worked at it
+late, because his palette and brushes, still wet, were on a box beside
+it, and on a chair near was his violin. He was no born musician like
+Mirko, but played very well. The palette and brushes showed he must have
+put them hurriedly down. What for? Why? Had some message come for him?
+Had he heard news? And a chill feeling gripped her heart. She looked
+about to see if Mirko had written a letter, or one of his funny little
+postcards? No, there was nothing--nothing she had not seen except, yes,
+just this one on a picture of the town. Only a few words: "Thank
+Cherisette for her letter, Agatha is _tres jolie_, but does not
+understand the violin, and wants to play it herself. And heavens! the
+noise!" How he managed to post these cards was always a mystery; they
+were marked with the mark of doubling up twice, so it showed he
+concealed them somewhere and perhaps popped them into a pillar-box, when
+out for a walk. This one was dated two days ago. Could anything have
+happened since? She burned with impatience for Mimo to come in.
+
+A cheap, little clock struck seven. Where could he be? The minutes
+seemed to drag into an eternity. All sorts of possibilities struck her,
+and then she controlled herself and became calm.
+
+There was a large photograph of her mother, which Mimo had colored
+really well. It was in a silver frame upon the mantelpiece, and she
+gazed and gazed at that, and whispered aloud in the gloomy room:
+
+"_Maman, adoree!_ Take care of your little one now, even if he must come
+to you soon."
+
+And beside this there was another, of Mimo, taken at the same time, when
+Zara and her mother had gone to the Emperor's palace in that far land.
+How wonderfully handsome he was then, and even still!--and how the air
+of _insouciance_ suited him, in that splendid white and gold uniform.
+But Mimo looked always a gentleman, even in his shabbiest coat.
+
+And now that she knew what the passion of love meant herself, she better
+understood how her mother had loved. She had never judged her mother, it
+was not in her nature to judge any one; underneath the case of steel
+which her bitter life had wrought her, Zara's heart was as tender as an
+angel's.
+
+Then she thought of the words in the Second Commandment: "And the sins
+of the fathers shall be visited upon the children." Had they sinned,
+then? And if so how terribly cruel such Commandments were--to make the
+innocent children suffer. Mirko and she were certainly paying some
+price. But the God that _Maman_ had gone to and loved and told her
+children of, was not really cruel, and some day perhaps she--Zara--would
+come into peace on earth. And Mirko? Mirko would be up there, happy and
+safe with _Maman_.
+
+The cheap clock showed nearly half-past seven. She could not wait
+another moment, and also she reasoned if Mimo were sending her a
+telegram it would be to Park Lane. He knew she was coming up; she would
+get it there on her return, so she scribbled a line to Count Sykypri,
+and told him she had been--and why--and that she must hear at once, and
+then she left and hurried back to her uncle's house. And when she got
+there it was twenty minutes to eight.
+
+Her maid had been dreadfully worried, as she had given no orders as to
+what she would wear--but Henriette, being a person of intelligence, had
+put out what she thought best,--only she could not prevent her anxiety
+and impatience from causing her to go on to the landing, and hang over
+the stairs at every noise; and Tristram, coming out of his room already
+dressed, found her there--and asked her what she was doing.
+
+"I wait for _Miladi_, _Milor_, she have not come in," Henriette said.
+"And I so fear _Miladi_ will be late."
+
+Tristram felt his heart stop beating for a second--strong man as he was.
+_Miladi_ had not come in!--But as they spoke, he perceived her on the
+landing below, hurrying up--she had not waited to get the lift--and he
+went down to meet her, while Henriette returned to her room.
+
+"Where have you been?" he demanded, with a pale, stern face. He was too
+angry and suspicious to let her pass in silence, and he noticed her
+cheeks were flushed with nervous excitement and that she was out of
+breath; and no wonder, for she had run up the stairs.
+
+"I cannot wait to tell you now," she panted. "And what right have you to
+speak to me so? Let me pass, or I shall be late."
+
+"I do not care if you are late, or no. You shall answer me!" he said
+furiously, barring the way. "You bear my name, at all events, and I have
+a right because of that to know."
+
+"Your name?" she said, vaguely, and then for the first time she grasped
+that there was some insulting doubt of her in his words.
+
+She cast upon him a look of withering scorn, and, with the air of an
+empress commanding an insubordinate guard, she flashed:
+
+"Let me pass at once!"
+
+But Tristram did not move, and for a second they glared at one another,
+and she took a step forward as if to force her way. Then he angrily
+seized her in his arms. But at that moment Francis Markrute came out of
+his room and Tristram let her go--panting. He could not make a scene,
+and she went on, with her head set haughtily, to her room.
+
+"I see you have been quarreling again," her uncle said, rather
+irritably: and then he laughed as he went down.
+
+"I expect she will be late," he continued; "well, if she is not in the
+hall at five minutes to eight, I shall go on."
+
+And Tristram sat down upon the deep sofa on the broad landing outside
+her room, and waited: the concentrated essence of all the rage and pain
+he had yet suffered seemed to be now in his heart.
+
+But what had it meant--that look of superb scorn? She had no mien of a
+guilty person.
+
+At six minutes to eight she opened the door, and came out. She had
+simply flown into her clothes, in ten minutes! Her eyes were still black
+as night with resentment, and her bosom rose and fell, while in her
+white cheeks two scarlet spots flamed.
+
+"I am ready," she said, haughtily, "let us go," and not waiting for her
+husband she swept on down the stairs, exactly as her uncle opened the
+library door.
+
+"Well done, my punctual niece!" he cried genially. "You are a woman of
+your word."
+
+"In all things," she answered, fiercely, and went towards the door,
+where the electric brougham waited.
+
+And both men as they followed her wondered what she could mean.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+
+The dinner for Ethelrida's betrothal resembled in no way the one for
+Zara and Tristram; for, except in those two hearts there was no bitter
+strain, and the fiances in this case were radiantly happy, which they
+could not conceal, and did not try to.
+
+The Dowager Lady Tancred arrived a few minutes after the party of three,
+and Zara heard her mother-in-law gasp, as she said, "Tristram, my dear
+boy!" and then she controlled the astonishment in her voice, and went on
+more ordinarily, but still a little anxiously, "I hope you are very
+well?"
+
+So he was changed then--to the eye of one who had not seen him since the
+wedding--and Zara glanced at him critically, and saw that--yes, he was,
+indeed, changed. His face was perfectly set and stern, and he looked
+older. It was no wonder his mother should be surprised.
+
+Then Lady Tancred turned to Zara and kissed her. "Welcome back, my dear
+daughter," she said. And Zara tried to answer something pleasant: above
+all things, this proud lady who had so tenderly given her son's
+happiness into her keeping must not guess how much there was amiss.
+
+But Lady Tancred was no simpleton--she saw immediately that her son must
+have gone through much suffering and strain. What was the matter? It
+tore her heart, but she knew him too well to say anything to him about
+it.
+
+So she continued to talk agreeably to them, and Tristram made a great
+effort, and chaffed her, and became gay. And soon they went in to
+dinner. And Lady Tancred sat on Francis Markrute's other side, and tried
+to overcome her prejudice against him. If Ethelrida loved him so much he
+must be really nice. And Zara sat on one side of the old Duke, and Lady
+Anningford on the other, and on her other side was Young Billy who was
+now in an idiotic state of calf love for her--to the amusement of every
+one. So, with much gayety and chaff the repast came to an end, and the
+ladies, who were all old friends--no strangers now among them--disposed
+themselves in happy groups about one of the drawing-rooms, while they
+sipped their coffee.
+
+Ethelrida drew Zara aside to talk to her alone.
+
+"Zara," she said, taking her soft, white hand, "I am so awfully happy
+with my dear love that I want you to be so, too. Dearest Zara, won't you
+be friends with me, now--real friends?"
+
+And Zara, won by her gentleness, pressed Ethelrida's hand with her other
+hand.
+
+"I am so glad, nothing my uncle could have done would have given me so
+much pleasure," she said, with a break in her voice. "Yes, indeed, I
+will be friends with you, dear Ethelrida. I am so glad--and
+touched--that you should care to have me as your friend." Then Ethelrida
+bent forward and kissed her. "When one is as happy as I am," she said,
+"it makes one feel good, as if one wanted to do all the kind things and
+take away all sorrow out of the world. I have thought sometimes, Zara
+dear, that you did not look as happy as--as--I would like you to look."
+
+Happy! the mockery of the word!
+
+"Ethelrida," Zara whispered hurriedly--"don't--don't ask me anything
+about it, please, dear. No one can help me. I must come through with it
+alone--but you of Tristram's own family, and especially you whom he
+loves so much, I don't want you ever to misjudge me. You think perhaps I
+have made him unhappy. Oh, if you only knew it all!--Yes, I have. And I
+did not know, nor understand. I would die for him now, if I could, but
+it is too late; we can only play the game!"
+
+"Zara, do not say this!" said Ethelrida, much distressed. "What can it
+be that should come between such beautiful people as you? And Tristram
+adores you, Zara dear."
+
+"He did love me--once," Zara answered sadly, "but not now. He would like
+never to have to see me again. Please do not let us talk of it;
+please--I can't bear any more."
+
+And Ethelrida, watching her face anxiously, saw that it wore a hopeless,
+hunted look, as though some agonizing trouble and anxiety brooded over
+her. And poor Zara could say nothing of her other anxiety, for now that
+Ethelrida was engaged to her uncle her lips, about her own sorrow
+concerning her little brother, must be more than ever sealed.
+Perhaps--she did not know much of the English point of view yet--perhaps
+if the Duke knew that there was some disgrace in the background of the
+family he might forbid the marriage, and then she would be spoiling this
+sweet Ethelrida's life.
+
+And Ethelrida's fine senses told her there was no use pressing the
+matter further, whatever the trouble was this was not the moment to
+interfere; so she turned the conversation to lighter things, and,
+finally, talked about her own wedding, and so the time passed.
+
+The Dowager Lady Tancred was too proud to ask any one any questions,
+although she talked alone with Lady Anningford and could easily have
+done so: the only person she mentioned her anxiety to was her brother,
+the Duke, when, later, she spoke a few words with him alone.
+
+"Tristram looks haggard and very unhappy, Glastonbury," she said simply,
+"have you anything to tell me about it?"
+
+"My dear Jane," replied the Duke, "it is the greatest puzzle in the
+world; no one can account for it. I gave him some sound advice at
+Montfitchet, when I saw things were so strained, and I don't believe he
+has taken it, by the look of them to-night. These young, modern people
+are so unnaturally cold, though I did hear they had got through the
+rejoicings, in fine style."
+
+"It troubles me very much, Glastonbury--to go abroad and leave him
+looking like that. Is it her fault? Or what--do you think?"
+
+"'Pon my soul, I can't say--even the Crow could not unravel the mystery.
+Laura Highford was at Montfitchet--confound her--would come; can she
+have had anything to do with it, I wonder?"
+
+Then they were interrupted and no more could be said, and finally the
+party broke up, with the poor mother's feeling of anxiety unassuaged.
+Tristram and Zara were to lunch with her to-morrow, to say good-bye, and
+then she was going to Paris--by the afternoon train.
+
+And Francis Markrute staying on to smoke a cigar with the Duke, and,
+presumably, to say a snatched good night to his fiance, Tristram was
+left to take Zara home alone.
+
+Now would come the moment of the explanation! But she outwitted him,
+for they no sooner got into the brougham and he had just begun to speak
+than she leaned back and interrupted him:
+
+"You insinuated something on the stairs this evening, the vileness of
+which I hardly understood at first; I warn you I will hear no more upon
+the subject!" and then her voice broke suddenly and she said,
+passionately and yet with a pitiful note, "Ah! I am suffering so
+to-night, please--please don't speak to me--leave me alone."
+
+And Tristram was silenced. Whatever it was that soon she must explain,
+he could not torture her to-night, and, in spite of his anger and
+suspicions and pain, it hurt him to see her, when the lights flashed in
+upon them, huddled up in the corner--her eyes like a wounded deer's.
+
+"Zara!" he said at last--quite gently, "what is this, awful shadow that
+is hanging over you?--If you will only tell me--" But at that moment
+they arrived at the door, which was immediately opened, and she walked
+in and then to the lift without answering, and entering, closed the
+door. For what could she say?
+
+She could bear things no longer. Tristram evidently saw she had some
+secret trouble, she would get her uncle to release her from her promise,
+as far as her husband was concerned at least,--she hated mysteries, and
+if it had annoyed him for her to be out late she would tell him the
+truth--and about Mirko, and everything.
+
+Evidently he had been very much annoyed at that, but this was the first
+time he had even suggested he had noticed she was troubled about
+anything, except that day in the garden at Wrayth. Her motives were so
+perfectly innocent that not the faintest idea even yet dawned upon her
+that anything she had ever done could even look suspicious. Tristram
+was angry with her because she was late, and had insinuated something
+out of jealousy; men were always jealous, she knew, even if they were
+perfectly indifferent to a woman. What really troubled her terribly
+to-night Was the telegram she found in her room. She had told the maid
+to put it there when it came. It was from Mimo, saying Mirko was
+feverish again--really ill, he feared, this time.
+
+So poor Zara spent a night of anguish and prayer, little knowing what
+the morrow was to bring.
+
+And Tristram went out again to the Turf, and tried to divert his mind
+away from his troubles. There was no use in speculating any further, he
+must wait for an explanation which he would not consent to put off
+beyond the next morning.
+
+So at last the day of a pitiful tragedy dawned.
+
+Zara got up and dressed early. She must be ready to go out to try and
+see Mimo, the moment she could slip away after breakfast, so she came
+down with her hat on: she wanted to speak to her uncle alone, and
+Tristram, she thought, would not be there so early--only nine o'clock.
+
+"This is energetic, my niece!" Francis Markrute said, but she hardly
+answered him, and as soon as Turner and the footman had left the room
+she began at once:
+
+"Tristram was very angry with me last night because I was out late. I
+had gone to obtain news of Mirko, I am very anxious about him and I
+could give Tristram no explanation. I ask you to relieve me from my
+promise not to tell him--about things."
+
+The financier frowned. This was a most unfortunate moment to revive the
+family skeleton, but he was a very just man and he saw, directly, that
+suspicion of any sort was too serious a thing to arouse in Tristram's
+mind.
+
+"Very well," he said, "tell him what you think best. He looks
+desperately unhappy--you both do--are you keeping him at arm's length
+all this time, Zara? Because if so, my child, you will lose him, I warn
+you. You cannot treat a man of his spirit like that; he will leave you
+if you do."
+
+"I do not want to keep him at arm's length; he is there of his own will.
+I told you at Montfitchet everything is too late--"
+
+Then the butler entered the room: "Some one wishes to speak to your
+ladyship on the telephone, immediately," he said.
+
+And Zara forgot her usual dignity as she almost rushed across the hall
+to the library, to talk:--it was Mimo, of course, so her presence of
+mind came to her and as the butler held the door for her she said, "Call
+a taxi at once."
+
+She took the receiver up, and it was, indeed, Mimo's voice--and in
+terrible distress.
+
+It appeared from his almost incoherent utterances that little Agatha had
+teased Mirko and finally broken his violin. And that this had so excited
+him, in his feverish state, that it had driven him almost mad, and he
+had waited until all the household, including the nurse, were asleep,
+and, with superhuman cunning, crept from his bed and dressed himself,
+and had taken the money which his Cherisette had given him for an
+emergency that day in the Park, and which he had always kept hidden in
+his desk; and he had then stolen out and gone to the station--all in the
+night, alone, the poor, poor lamb!--and there he had waited until the
+Weymouth night mail had come through, and had bought a ticket, and got
+in, and come to London to find his father--with the broken violin
+wrapped in its green baize cover. And all the while coughing--coughing
+enough to kill him! And he had arrived with just enough money to pay a
+cab, and had come at about five o'clock and could hardly wake the house
+to be let in; and he, Mimo, had heard the noise and come down, and there
+found the little angel, and brought him in, and warmed him in his bed.
+And he had waited to boil him some hot milk before he could come to the
+public telephone near, to call her up. Oh! but he was very ill--very,
+very ill--and could she come at once--but oh!--at once!
+
+And Tristram, entering the room at that moment, saw her agonized face
+and heard her say, "Yes, yes, dear Mimo, I will come now!" and before he
+could realize what she was doing she brushed past him and rushed from
+the room, and across the hall and down to the waiting taxicab into which
+she sprang, and told the man where to go, with her head out of the
+window, as he turned into Grosvenor Street.
+
+The name "Mimo" drove Tristram mad again. He stood for a moment,
+deciding what to do, then he seized his coat and hat and rushed out
+after her, to the amazement of the dignified servants. Here he hailed
+another taxi, but hers was just out of sight down to Park Street, when
+he got into his.
+
+"Follow that taxi!" he said to the driver, "that green one in front of
+you--I will give you a sovereign if you never lose sight of it."
+
+So the chase began! He must see where she would go! "Mimo!" the "Count
+Sykypri" she had telegraphed to--and she had the effrontery to talk to
+her lover, in her uncle's house! Tristram was so beside himself with
+rage he knew if he found them meeting at the end he would kill her. His
+taxi followed the green one, keeping it always in view, right on to
+Oxford Street, then Regent Street, then Mortimer Street. Was she going
+to Euston Station? Another of those meetings perhaps in a waiting-room,
+that Laura had already described! Unutterable disgust as well as blind
+fury filled him. He was too overcome with passion to reason with himself
+even. No, it was not Euston--they were turning into the Tottenham Court
+Road--and so into a side street. And here a back tire on his taxi went,
+with a loud report, and the driver came to a stop. And, almost foaming
+with rage, Tristram saw the green taxi disappear round the further
+corner of a mean street, and he knew it would be lost to view before he
+could overtake it: there was none other in sight. He flung the man some
+money and almost ran down the road--and, yes, when he turned the corner
+he could see the green taxi in the far distance; it was stopping at a
+door. He had caught her then, after all! He could afford to go slowly
+now. She had entered the house some five or ten minutes before he got
+there. He began making up his mind.
+
+It was evidently a most disreputable neighborhood. A sickening,
+nauseating revulsion crept over him: Zara--the beautiful, refined
+Zara--to be willing to meet a lover here! The brute was probably ill,
+and that was why she had looked so distressed. He walked up and down
+rapidly twice, and then he crossed the road and rang the bell; the taxi
+was still at the door. It was opened almost immediately by the little,
+dirty maid--very dirty in the early morning like this.
+
+He controlled his voice and asked politely to be taken to the lady who
+had just gone in. With a snivel of tears Jenny asked him to follow her,
+and, while she was mounting in front of him, she turned and said: "It
+ain't no good, doctor, I ken tell yer; my mother was took just like
+that, and after she'd once broke the vessel she didn't live a hour." And
+by this time they had reached the attic door which, without knocking
+Jenny opened a little, and, with another snivel, announced, "The doctor,
+missis."
+
+And Tristram entered the room.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX
+
+
+And this is what he saw.
+
+The poor, mean room, with its scrupulous neatness slightly disturbed by
+the evidences of the boiling of milk and the warming of flannel, and
+Zara, kneeling by the low, iron bed where lay the little body of a
+child. For Mirko had dwindled, these last weeks of his constant fever,
+so that his poor, small frame, undersized for his age at any time,
+looked now no more than that of a boy of six years old. He was evidently
+dying. Zara held his tiny hand, and the divine love and sorrowful agony
+in her face wrung her husband's soul. A towel soaked with blood had
+fallen to the floor, and lay there, a ghastly evidence of the "broken
+vessel" Jenny had spoken of. Mimo, with his tall, military figure
+shaking with dry sobs, stood on the other side, and Zara murmured in a
+tender voice of anguish: "My little one! My Mirko!" She was oblivious in
+her grief of any other presence--and the dying child opened his eyes and
+called faintly, "Maman!"
+
+Then Mimo saw Tristram by the door, and advanced with his finger on his
+quivering lips to meet him.
+
+"Ah, sir," he said. "Alas! you have come too late. My child is going to
+God!"
+
+And all the manhood in Tristram's heart rose up in pity. Here was a
+tragedy too deep for human judgment, too deep for thoughts of vengeance,
+and without a word he turned and stole from the room. And as he
+stumbled down the dark, narrow stairs he heard the sound of a violin as
+it wailed out the beginning notes of the _Chanson Triste_, and he
+shivered, as if with cold.
+
+For Mirko had opened his piteous eyes again, and whispered in little
+gasps:
+
+"Papa--play to me the air _Mamam_ loved. I can see her blue gauze
+wings!" And in a moment, as his face filled with the radiance of his
+vision he fell back, dead, into Zara's arms.
+
+When Tristram reached the street he looked about him for a minute like a
+blinded man; and then, as his senses came back to him, his first thought
+was what he could do for her--that poor mother upstairs, with her dying
+child. For that the boy was Zara's child he never doubted. Her
+child--and her lover's--had he not called her "_Maman_." So this was the
+awful tragedy in her life. He analyzed nothing as yet; his whole being
+was paralyzed with the shock and the agony of things: the only clear
+thought he had was that he must help her in whatever way he could.
+
+The green taxi was still there, but he would not take it, in case she
+should want it. He walked on down the street and found a cab for
+himself, and got driven to his old rooms in St. James's Street: he must
+be alone to think.
+
+The hall-porter was surprised to see him. Nothing was ready for his
+lordship--but his wife would come up--?
+
+But his lordship required nothing, he wished to find something alone.
+
+He did not even notice that there was no fire in the grate, and that the
+room was icy cold--the agony of pain in his mind and soul made him
+unconscious of lesser ills. He pulled one of the holland sheets off his
+own big chair, and sat down in it.
+
+Poor Zara, poor, unhappy Zara!--were his first thoughts--then he
+stiffened suddenly. This man must have been her lover before even her
+first marriage!--for Francis Markrute had told him she had married very
+soon. She was twenty-three years old now, and the child could not have
+been less than six; he must have been born when she was only seventeen.
+What devilish passion in a man could have made him tempt a girl so
+young! Of course this was her secret, and Francis Markrute knew nothing
+of it. For one frightful moment the thought came that her husband was
+not really dead and that this was he: but no, her husband's name had
+been Ladislaus, and this man she had called "Mimo," and if the boy were
+the child of her marriage there need then have been no secret about his
+existence. There was no other solution--this Count Sykypri had been her
+lover when she was a mere child, and probably the concealment had gone
+through all her first married life. And no doubt her reason for marrying
+him, which she admitted was a very strong one, had been that she might
+have money to give to the child--and its father.
+
+The sickening--sickening, squalid tragedy of it all!
+
+And she, Zara, had seemed so proud and so pure! Her look of scorn, only
+the night before, at his jealous accusation, came back to him. He could
+not remember a single movement nor action of hers that had not been that
+of an untarnished queen. What horrible actresses women were! His whole
+belief had crumbled to the dust.
+
+And the most terrible part of it all to him was the knowledge that in
+spite of everything he still loved her--loved her with a consuming,
+almighty passion that he knew nothing now could kill. It had been put
+to the bitterest proof. Whatever she had done he could love no other
+woman.
+
+Then he realized that his life was over. The future a blank,
+unutterable, hopeless gray which must go on for years and years. For he
+could never come back to her again, nor even live in the house with her,
+under the semblance of things.
+
+Then an agonizing bitterness came to him, the hideous malevolence of
+fate, not to have let him meet this woman first before this other man;
+think of the faithfulness of her nature, with all its cruel actions to
+himself! She had been absolutely faithful to her lover, and had defended
+herself from his--Tristram's--caresses, even of her finger-tips. What a
+love worth having, what a strong, true character--worth dying for--in a
+woman!
+
+And now, he must never see her again; or, if once more, only for a
+business meeting, to settle things without scandal to either of them.
+
+He would not go back to Park Lane, yet--not for a week; he would give
+her time to see to the funeral, without the extra pain of his presence.
+
+The man had taken him for the doctor, and she had not even been aware of
+his entrance: he would go back to Wrayth, alone, and there try to think
+out some plan. So he searched among the covered-up furniture for his
+writing table, and found some paper, and sat down and wrote two notes,
+one to his mother. He could not face her to-day--she must go without
+seeing him--but he knew his mother loved him, and, in all deep moments,
+never questioned his will even if she did not understand it.
+
+The note to her was very short, merely saying something was troubling
+him greatly for the time, so neither he nor Zara would come to luncheon;
+and she was to trust him and not speak of this to any one until he
+himself told her more. He might come and see her in Cannes, the
+following week.
+
+Then he wrote to Zara, and these were his words:
+
+"I know everything. I understand now, and however I blame you for your
+deception of me you have my deep sympathy in your grief. I am going away
+for a week, so you will not be distressed by seeing me. Then I must ask
+you to meet me, here or at your uncle's house, to arrange for our future
+separation.
+
+"Yours,
+
+"Tancred."
+
+Then he rang for a messenger boy, and gave him both notes, and, picking
+up the telephone, called up his valet and told him to pack and bring his
+things here to his old rooms, and, if her ladyship came in, to see that
+she immediately got the note he was sending round to her. Francis
+Markrute would have gone to the City by now and was going to lunch with
+Ethelrida, so he telephoned to one of his clerks there--finding he was
+out for the moment--just to say he was called away for a week and would
+write later.
+
+She should have the first words with her uncle. Whether she would tell
+him or no she must decide, he would not do anything to make her
+existence more difficult than it must naturally be.
+
+And then when all this was done the passionate jealousy of a man
+overcame him again, and when he thought of Mimo he once more longed to
+kill.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XL
+
+
+It was late in the afternoon when Zara got back to her uncle's house.
+She had been too distracted with grief to know or care about time, or
+what they would be thinking of her absence.
+
+Just after the poor little one was dead frantic telegrams had come from
+the Morleys, in consternation at his disappearance, and Mimo, quite
+prostrate in his sorrow, as he had been at her mother's death, had left
+all practical things to Zara.
+
+No doctor turned up, either. Mimo had not coherently given the address,
+on the telephone. Thus they passed the day alone with their dead, in
+anguish; and at last thought came back to Zara. She would go to her
+uncle, and let him help to settle things; she could count upon him to do
+that.
+
+Francis Markrute, anxious and disturbed by Tristram's message and her
+absence, met her as she came in and drew her into the library.
+
+The butler had handed her her husband's note, but she held it listlessly
+in her hand, without opening it. She was still too numb with sorrow to
+take notice of ordinary things. Her uncle saw immediately that something
+terrible had happened.
+
+"Zara, dear child," he said, and folded her in his arms with
+affectionate kindness, "tell me everything."
+
+She was past tears now, but her voice sounded strange with the tragedy
+in it.
+
+"Mirko is dead, Uncle Francis," was all she said. "He ran away from
+Bournemouth because Agatha, the Morleys' child, broke his violin. He
+loved it, you know _Maman_ had given it to him. He came in the night,
+all alone, ill with fever, to find his father, and he broke a blood
+vessel this morning, and died in my arms--there, in the poor lodging."
+
+Francis Markrute had drawn her to the sofa now, and stroked her hands.
+He was deeply moved.
+
+"My poor, dear child! My poor Zara!" he said.
+
+Then, with most pathetic entreaty she went on,
+
+"Oh, Uncle Francis, can't you forgive poor Mimo, now? _Maman_ is dead
+and Mirko is dead, and if you ever, some day, have a child yourself, you
+may know what this poor father is suffering. Won't you help us? He is
+foolish always--unpractical--and he is distracted with grief. You are so
+strong--won't you see about the funeral for my little love?"
+
+"Of course I will, dear girl," he answered. "You must have no more
+distresses. Leave everything to me." And he bent and kissed her white
+cheek, while he tenderly began to remove the pins from her fur toque.
+
+"Thank you," she said gently, as she took the hat from his hand, and
+laid it beside her. "I grieve because I loved him--my dear little
+brother. His soul was all music, and there was no room for him here. And
+oh! I loved _Maman_ so! But I know that it is better as it is; he is
+safe there, with her now, far away from all his pain. He saw her when he
+was dying." Then after a pause she went on: "Uncle Francis, you love
+Ethelrida very much, don't you? Try to look back and think how _Maman_
+loved Mimo, and he loved her. Think of all the sorrow of her life, and
+the great, great price she paid for her love; and then, when you see
+him--poor Mimo--try to be merciful."
+
+And Francis Markrute suddenly felt a lump in his throat. The whole
+pitiful memory of his beloved sister stabbed him, and extinguished the
+last remnant of rancor towards her lover, which had smoldered always in
+his proud heart.
+
+There was a moisture in his clever eyes, and a tremulous note in his
+cold voice as he answered his niece:
+
+"Dear child, we will forget and forgive everything. My one thought about
+it all now, is to do whatever will bring you comfort."
+
+"There is one thing--yes," she said, and there was the first look of
+life in her face. "Mirko, when I saw him last at Bournemouth, played to
+me a wonderful air; he said _Maman_ always came back to him in his
+dreams when he was ill--feverish, you know--and that she had taught it
+to him. It talks of the woods where she is, and beautiful butterflies;
+there is a blue one for her, and a little white one for him. He wrote
+out the score--it is so joyous--and I have it. Will you send it to
+Vienna or Paris, to some great artist, and get it really arranged, and
+then when I play it we shall always be able to see _Maman_."
+
+And the moisture gathered again in Francis Markrute's eyes.
+
+"Oh, my dear!" he said. "Will you forgive me some day for my hardness,
+for my arrogance to you both? I never knew, I never understood--until
+lately--what love could mean in a life. And you, Zara, yourself, dear
+child, can nothing be done for you and Tristram?"
+
+At the mention of her husband's name Zara looked up, startled; and then
+a deeper tragedy than ever gathered in her eyes, as she rose.
+
+"Let us speak of that no more, my uncle," she said. "Nothing can be
+done, because his love for me is dead. I killed it myself, in my
+ignorance. Nothing you or I can do is of any avail now--it is all too
+late."
+
+And Francis Markrute could not speak. Her ignorance had been his fault,
+his only mistake in calculation, because he had played with souls as
+pawns in those days before love had softened him. And she made him no
+reproaches, when that past action of his had caused the finish of her
+life's happiness! Verily, his niece was a noble woman, and, with deepest
+homage, as he led her to the door he bent down and kissed her forehead;
+and no one in the world who knew him would have believed that she felt
+it wet with tears.
+
+When she got to her room she remembered she still carried some note, and
+she at last looked at the superscription. It was in Tristram's writing.
+In spite of her grief and her numbness to other things it gave her a
+sharp emotion. She opened it quickly and read its few cold words. Then
+it seemed as if her knees gave way under her, as at Montfitchet that day
+when Laura Highford had made her jealous. She could not think clearly,
+nor fully understand their meaning; only one point stood out distinctly.
+He must see her to arrange for their separation. He had grown to hate
+her so much, then, that he could not any longer even live in the house
+with her, and all her grief of the day seemed less than this thought.
+Then she read it again. He knew all? Who could have told him? Her Uncle
+Francis? No, he did not himself know that Mirko was dead until she had
+told him. This was a mystery, but it was unimportant. Her numb brain
+could not grasp it yet. The main thing was that he was very angry with
+her for her deception of him: that, perhaps, was what was causing him
+finally to part from her. How strange it was that she was always
+punished for keeping her word and acting up to her principles! She did
+not think this bitterly, only with utter hopelessness. There was no use
+in her trying any longer; happiness was evidently not meant for her. She
+must just accept things--and life, or death, as it came. But how hard
+men were--she could never be so stern to any one for such a little
+fault, for _any_ fault--stern and unforgiving as that strange God who
+wrote the Commandments.
+
+And then she felt her cheeks suddenly burn, and yet she shivered; and
+when her maid came to her, presently, she saw that her mistress was not
+only deeply grieved, but ill, too. So she put her quickly to bed, and
+then went down to see Mr. Markrute.
+
+"I think we must have a doctor, monsieur," she said. "_Miladi_ is not at
+all well."
+
+And Francis Markrute, deeply distressed, telephoned at once for his
+physician.
+
+His betrothed had gone back to the country after luncheon, so he could
+not even have the consolation of her sympathy, and where Tristram was he
+did not know.
+
+For the four following days Zara lay in her bed, seriously ill. She had
+caught a touch of influenza the eminent physician said, and had
+evidently had a most severe shock as well. But she was naturally so
+splendidly healthy that, in spite of grief and hopelessness, the
+following Thursday she was able to get up again. Francis Markrute
+thought her illness had been merciful in a way because the funeral had
+all been got over while she was confined to her room. Zara had accepted
+everything without protest. She had not desired even to see Mirko once
+more. She had no morbid fancies; it was his soul she loved and
+remembered, not the poor little suffering body.
+
+It came to her as a comfort that her uncle and Mimo had met and shaken
+hands in forgiveness, and now poor Mimo was coming to say good-bye to
+her that afternoon.
+
+He was leaving England at once, and would return to his own country and
+his people. In his great grief, and with no further ties, he hoped they
+would receive him. He had only one object now in life--to get through
+with it and join those he loved in some happier sphere.
+
+This was the substance of what he said to Zara when he came; and they
+kissed and blessed one another, and parted, perhaps for ever. The
+"Apache" and the "London Fog," which would never be finished now he
+feared--the pain would be too great--would be sent to her to keep as a
+remembrance of their years of life together and the deep ties that bound
+them by the memory of those two graves.
+
+And Zara in her weakness had cried for a long time after he had left.
+
+And then she realized that all that part of her life was over now, and
+the outlook of what was to come held out no hope.
+
+Francis Markrute had telegraphed to Wrayth, to try and find Tristram,
+but he was not there. He had not gone there at all. At the last moment
+he could not face it, he felt; he must go somewhere away alone--by the
+sea. A great storm was coming on--it suited his mood--so he had left
+even his servant in London and had gone off to a wild place on the
+Dorsetshire coast that he knew of, and there heard no news of any one.
+He would go back on the Friday, and see Zara the next day, as he had
+said he would do. Meanwhile he must fight his ghosts alone. And what
+ghosts they were!
+
+Now on this Saturday morning Francis Markrute was obliged to leave his
+niece. His vast schemes required his attention in Berlin and he would be
+gone for a week, and then was going down to Montfitchet. Ethelrida had
+written Zara the kindest letters. Her fiance had told her all the
+pitiful story, and now she understood the tragedy in Zara's eyes, and
+loved her the more for her silence and her honor.
+
+But all these thoughts seemed to be things of naught to the sad
+recipient of her letters, since the one and only person who mattered now
+in her life knew, also, and held different ones. He was aware of all,
+and had no sympathy or pity--only blame--for her. And now that her
+health was better and she was able to think, this ceaseless question
+worried her; how could Tristram possibly have known all? Had he followed
+her? As soon as she would be allowed to go out she would go and see
+Jenny, and question her.
+
+And Tristram, by the wild sea--the storm like his mood had lasted all
+the time--came eventually to some conclusions. He would return and see
+his wife and tell her that now they must part, that he knew of her past
+and he would trouble her no more. He would not make her any reproaches,
+for of what use? And, besides, she had suffered enough. He would go
+abroad at once, and see his mother for a day at Cannes, and tell her his
+arrangements, and that Zara and he had agreed to part--he would give her
+no further explanations--and then he would go on to India and Japan.
+And, after this, his plans were vague. It seemed as if life were too
+impossible to look ahead, but not until he could think of Zara with
+calmness would he return to England.
+
+And if Zara's week of separation from him had been grief and suffering,
+his had been hell.
+
+On the Saturday morning, after her uncle had started for Dover, a note,
+sent by hand, was brought to Zara. It was again only a few words, merely
+to say if it was convenient to her, he--Tristram--would come at two
+o'clock, as he was motoring down to Wrayth at three, and was leaving
+England on Monday night.
+
+Her hand trembled too much to write an answer.
+
+"Tell the messenger I will be here," she said; and she sat then for a
+long time, staring in front of her.
+
+Then a thought came to her. Whether she were well enough or no she must
+go and question Jenny. So, to the despair of her maid, she wrapped
+herself in furs and started. She felt extremely faint when she got into
+the air, but her will pulled her through, and when she got there the
+little servant put her doubts at rest.
+
+Yes, a very tall, handsome gentleman had come a few minutes after
+herself, and she had taken him up, thinking he was the doctor.
+
+"Why, missus," she said, "he couldn't have stayed a minute. He come away
+while the Count was playin' his fiddle."
+
+So this was how it was! Her thoughts were all in a maze: she could not
+reason. And when she got back to the Park Lane house she felt too feeble
+to go any further, even to the lift.
+
+Her maid came and took her furs from her, and she lay on the library
+sofa, after Henriette had persuaded her to have a little chicken broth;
+and then she fell into a doze, and was awakened only by the sound of the
+electric bell. She knew it was her husband coming, and sat up, with a
+wildly beating heart. Her trembling limbs would not support her as she
+rose for his entrance, and she held on by the back of a chair.
+
+And, grave and pale with the torture he had been through, Tristram came
+into the room.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLI
+
+
+He stopped dead short when he saw her so white and fragile looking. Then
+he exclaimed, "Zara--you have been ill!"
+
+"Yes," she faltered.
+
+"Why did they not tell me?" he said hurriedly, and then recollected
+himself. How could they? No one, not even his servant, knew where he had
+been.
+
+She dropped back unsteadily on the sofa.
+
+"Uncle Francis did telegraph to you, to Wrayth, but you were not there,"
+she said.
+
+He bit his lips--he was so very moved. How was he to tell her all the
+things he had come to say so coldly, with her looking so pitiful, so
+gentle? His one longing was to take her to his heart and comfort her,
+and make her forget all pain.
+
+And she was so afraid of her own weakness, she felt she could not bear
+to hear her death-knell, yet. If she could only gain a little time! It
+was characteristic of her that she never dreamed of defending herself.
+She still had not the slightest idea that he suspected Mimo of being her
+lover. Tristram's anger with her was just because he was an
+Englishman--very straight and simple--who could brook no deception! that
+is what she thought.
+
+If she had not been so lately and so seriously ill--if all her fine
+faculties had been in their full vigor--perhaps some idea might have
+come to her; but her soul was so completely pure it did not naturally
+grasp such things, so even that is doubtful.
+
+"Tristram--" she said, and there was the most piteous appeal in her
+tones, which almost brought the tears to his eyes. "Please--I know you
+are angry with me for not telling you about Mirko and Mimo, but I had
+promised not to, and the poor, little one is dead. I will tell you
+everything presently, if you wish, but don't ask me to now. Oh! if you
+must go from me soon--you know best--I will not keep you, but--but
+please won't you take me with you to-day--back to Wrayth--just until I
+get quite well? My uncle is away, and I am so lonely, and I have not any
+one else on earth."
+
+Her eyes had a pleading, frightened look, like a child's who is afraid
+to be left alone in the dark.
+
+He could not resist her. And, after all, her sin was of long ago--she
+could have done nothing since she had been his wife--why should she not
+come to Wrayth? She could stay there if she wished, for a while after he
+had gone. Only one thing he must know.
+
+"Where is Count Sykypri?" he asked hoarsely.
+
+"Mimo has gone away, back to his own country," she said simply,
+wondering at his tone. "Alas! I shall perhaps never see him again."
+
+A petrifying sensation of astonishment crept over Tristram. With all her
+meek gentleness she had still the attitude of a perfectly innocent
+person. It must be because she was only half English, and foreigners
+perhaps had different points of reasoning on all such questions.
+
+The man had gone, then--out of her life. Yes, he would take her back to
+Wrayth if it would be any comfort to her.
+
+"Will you get ready now?" he said, controlling his voice into a note of
+sternness which he was far from feeling. "Because I am sure you ought
+not to be out late in the damp air. I was going in the open car, and to
+drive myself, and it takes four hours. The closed one is not in London,
+as you know." And then he saw she was not fit for this, so he said
+anxiously, "But are you sure you ought to travel to-day at all? You look
+so awfully pale."
+
+For there was a great difference in her present transparent, snowy
+whiteness, with the blue-circled eyes, to her habitual gardenia hue;
+even her lips were less red.
+
+"Yes, yes, I am quite able to go," she said, rising to show him she was
+all right. "I will be ready in ten minutes. Henriette can come by train
+with my things." And she walked towards the door, which he held open for
+her. And here she paused, and then went on to the lift. He followed her
+quickly.
+
+"Are you sure you can go up alone?" he asked anxiously. "Or may I come?"
+
+"Indeed, I am quite well," she answered, with a little pathetic smile.
+"I will not trouble you. Wait, I shall not be long." And so she went up.
+
+And when she came down again, all wrapped in her furs, she found
+Tristram had port wine ready for her, poured out.
+
+"You must drink this--a big glass of it," he said; and she took it
+without a word.
+
+Then when they got to the door she found instead of his own open motor
+he had ordered one of her uncle's closed ones, which with footwarmer and
+cushions was waiting, so that she should be comfortable and not catch
+further cold.
+
+"Thank you--that is kind of you," she said.
+
+He helped her in, and the butler tucked the fur rug over them, while
+Tristram settled the cushions. Then she leaned back for a second and
+closed her eyes--everything was going round.
+
+He was very troubled about her. She must have been very ill, even in the
+short time--and then her grief,--for, even though she had been so much
+separated from it, a mother always loves her child. Then this thought
+hurt him again. He hated to remember about the child.
+
+She lay there back against the pillows until they had got quite out of
+London, without speaking a word. The wine in her weak state made her
+sleepy, and she gradually fell into a doze, and her head slipped
+sideways and rested against Tristram's shoulder, and it gave him a
+tremendous thrill--her beautiful, proud head with its thick waves of
+hair showing under her cap.
+
+He was going to leave her so soon, and she would not know it--she was
+asleep--he must just hold her to him a little; she would be more
+comfortable like that. So, with cautious care not to wake her, he
+slipped his arm under the cushion, and very gently and gradually drew
+her into his embrace, so that her unconscious head rested upon his
+breast.
+
+And thus more than two hours of the journey were accomplished.
+
+And what thoughts coursed through his brain as they went!
+
+He loved her so madly. What did it matter how she had sinned? She was
+ill and lonely, and must stay in his arms--just for to-day. But he could
+never really take her to his heart--the past was too terrible for that.
+And, besides, she did not love him; this gentleness was only because
+she was weak and crushed, for the time. But how terribly, bitterly sweet
+it was, all the same! He had the most overpowering temptation to kiss
+her, but he resisted it; and presently, when they came to a level
+crossing and a train gave a wild whistle, she woke with a start. It was
+quite dark now, and she said, in a frightened voice, "Where am I? Where
+have I been?"
+
+Tristram slipped his arm from round her instantly, and turned on the
+light.
+
+"You are in the motor, going to Wrayth," he said. "And I am glad to say
+you have been asleep. It will do you good."
+
+She rubbed her eyes.
+
+"Ah! I was dreaming. And Mirko was there, too, with _Maman_, and we were
+so happy!" she said, as if to herself.
+
+Tristram winced.
+
+"Are we near home--I mean, Wrayth?" she asked.
+
+"Not quite yet," he answered. "There will be another hour and a half."
+
+"Need we have the light on?" she questioned. "It hurts my eyes."
+
+He put it out, and there they sat in the growing darkness, and did not
+speak any more for some time; and, bending over her, he saw that she had
+dozed off again. How very weak she must have been!
+
+He longed to take her into his arms once more, but did not like to
+disturb her--she seemed to have fallen into a comfortable position among
+the pillows--so he watched over her tenderly, and presently they came to
+the lodge gates of Wrayth, and the stoppage caused her to wake and sit
+up.
+
+"It seems I had not slept for so long," she said, "and now I feel
+better. It is good of you to let me come with you. We are in the park,
+are we not?"
+
+"Yes, we shall be at the door in a minute."
+
+And then she cried suddenly,
+
+"Oh! look at the deer!" For a bold and valiant buck, startled and
+indignant at the motor lights, was seen, for an instant, glaring at them
+as they flashed past.
+
+"You must go to bed as soon as you have had some tea," Tristram said,
+"after this long drive. It is half-past six. I telegraphed to have a
+room prepared for you. Not that big state apartment you had before, but
+one in the other part of the house, where we live when we are alone; and
+I thought you would like your maid next you, as you have been ill."
+
+"Thank you," she whispered quite low.
+
+How kind and thoughtful he was being to her! She was glad she had been
+ill!
+
+Then they arrived at the door, and this time they turned to the left
+before they got to the Adam's hall, and went down a corridor to the old
+paneled rooms, and into his own sitting-room where it was all warm and
+cozy, and the tea-things were laid out. She already looked better for
+her sleep; some of the bluish transparency seemed to have left her face.
+
+She had not been into this room on her inspection of the house. She
+liked it best of all, with its scent of burning logs and good cigars.
+And Jake snorted by the fire with pleasure to see his master, and she
+bent and patted his head.
+
+But everything she did was filling Tristram with fresh bitterness and
+pain. To be so sweet and gentle now when it was all too late!
+
+He began opening his letters until the tea came. There were the
+telegrams from Francis Markrute, sent a week before to say Zara was ill,
+and many epistles from friends. And at the end of the pile he found a
+short note from Francis Markrute, as well. It was written the day
+before, and said that he supposed he, Tristram, would get it eventually;
+that Zara had had a very sad bereavement which he felt sure she would
+rather tell him about herself, and that he trusted, seeing how very sad
+and ill she had been, that Tristram would be particularly kind to her.
+So her uncle knew, then! This was incredible: but perhaps Zara had told
+him, in her first grief.
+
+He glanced up at her; she was lying back in a great leather chair now,
+looking so fragile and weary, he could not say what he intended. Then
+Jake rose leisurely and put his two fat forepaws up on her knees and
+snorted as was his habit when he approved of any one. And she bent down
+and kissed his broad wrinkles.
+
+It all looked so homelike and peaceful! Suddenly scorching tears came
+into Tristram's eyes and he rose abruptly, and walked to the window. And
+at that moment the servants brought the teapot and the hot scones.
+
+She poured the tea out silently, and then she spoke a little to Jake,
+just a few silly, gentle words about his preference for cakes or toast.
+She was being perfectly adorable, Tristram thought, with her air of
+pensive, subdued sorrow, and her clinging black dress.
+
+He wished she would suggest going to her room. He could not bear it much
+longer.
+
+She wondered why he was so restless. And he certainly was changed; he
+looked haggard and unhappy, more so even than before. And then she
+remembered how radiantly strong and splendid he had appeared, at dinner
+on their wedding night, and a lump rose in her throat.
+
+"Henriette will have arrived by now," she said in a few minutes. "If you
+will tell me where it is I will go to my room."
+
+He got up, and she followed him.
+
+"I expect you will find it is the blue, Chinese damask one just at the
+top of these little stairs." Then he strode on in front of her quickly,
+and called out from the top, "Yes, it is, and your maid is here."
+
+And as she came up the low, short steps, they met on the turn, and
+stopped.
+
+"Good night," he said. "I will have some soup and suitable things for an
+invalid sent up to you; and then you must sleep well, and not get up in
+the morning. I shall be very busy to-morrow. I have a great many things
+to do before I go on Monday. I am going away for a long time."
+
+She held on to the banisters for a minute, but the shadows were so
+deceiving, with all the black oak, that he was not sure what her
+expression said. Her words were a very low "Thank you--I will try to
+sleep. Good night."
+
+And she went up to her room, and Tristram went on, downstairs--a deeper
+ache than ever in his heart.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLII
+
+
+It was not until luncheon time that Zara came down, next day. She felt
+he did not wish to see her, and she lay there in her pretty, old, quaint
+room, and thought of many things, and the wreck of their lives, above
+all. And she thought of Mirko and her mother, and the tears came to her
+eyes. But that grief was past, in its bitterness; she knew it was much
+better so.
+
+The thought of Tristram's going tore her very soul, and swallowed up all
+other grief.
+
+"I cannot, cannot bear it!" she moaned to herself.
+
+He was sitting gazing into the fire, when she timidly came into his
+sitting-room. She had been too unhappy to sleep much and was again
+looking very pale.
+
+He seemed to speak to her like one in a dream. He was numb with his
+growing misery and the struggle in his mind: he must leave her--the
+situation was unendurable--he could not stay, because in her present
+softened mood it was possible that if he lost control of himself and
+caressed her she might yield to him; and, then, he knew no resolutions
+on earth could hold him from taking her to his heart. And she must never
+really be his wife. The bliss of it might be all that was divine at
+first, but there would be always the hideous skeleton beneath, ready to
+peep out and mock at them: and then if they should have children? They
+were both so young that would be sure to happen; and this thought, which
+had once, in that very room, in his happy musings, given him so much
+joy, now caused him to quiver with extra pain. For a woman with such a
+background should not be the mother of a Tancred of Wrayth.
+
+Tristram was no Puritan, but the ingrained pride in his old name he
+could not eliminate from his blood. So he kept himself with an iron
+reserve. He never once looked at her, and spoke as coldly as ice; and
+they got through luncheon. And Zara said, suddenly, she would like to go
+to church.
+
+It was at three o'clock, so he ordered the motor without a word. She was
+not well enough to walk there through the park.
+
+He could not let her go alone, so he changed his plans and went with
+her. They did not speak, all the way.
+
+She had never been into the church before, and was struck with the fine
+windows, and the monuments of the Guiscards, and the famous tomb of the
+Crusader in the wall of the chancel pew where they sat; and all through
+the service she gazed at his carven face, so exactly like Tristram's,
+with the same, stern look.
+
+And a wild, miserable rebellion filled her heart, and then a cold fear;
+and she passionately prayed to God to protect him. For what if he should
+go on some dangerous hunting expedition, and something should happen,
+and she should never see him again! And then, as she stood while they
+sang the final hymn, she stopped and caught her breath with a sob. And
+Tristram glanced at her in apprehension, and he wondered if he should
+have to suffer anything further, or if his misery were at its height.
+
+The whole congregation were so interested to see the young pair, and
+they had to do some handshakings, as they came out. What would all these
+good people think, Tristram wondered with bitter humor, when they heard
+that he had gone away on a long tour, leaving his beautiful bride alone,
+not a month after their marriage? But he was past caring what they
+thought, one way or another, now.
+
+Zara went to her room when they got back to the house, and when she came
+down to tea he was not there, and she had hers alone with Jake.
+
+She felt almost afraid to go to dinner. It was so evident he was
+avoiding her. And while she stood undecided her maid brought in a note:
+
+"I ask you not to come down--I cannot bear it. I will see you to-morrow
+morning, before I go, if you will come to my sitting-room at twelve."
+
+That was all.
+
+And, more passionately wretched than she had ever been in her life, she
+went to bed.
+
+She used the whole strength of her will to control herself next morning.
+She must not show any emotion, no matter how she should feel. It was not
+that she had any pride left, or would not have willingly fallen into his
+arms; but she felt no woman could do so, unsolicited and when a man
+plainly showed her he held her in disdain.
+
+So it was, with both their hearts breaking, they met in the
+sitting-room.
+
+"I have only ten minutes," he said constrainedly. "The motor is at the
+door. I have to go round by Bury St. Edmunds; it is an hour out of my
+way, and I must be in London at five o'clock, as I leave for Paris by
+the night mail. Will you sit down, please, and I will be as brief as I
+can."
+
+She fell, rather than sank, into a chair. She felt a singing in her
+ears; she must not faint--she was so very weak from her recent illness.
+
+"I have arranged that you stay here at Wrayth until you care to make
+fresh arrangements for yourself," he began, averting his eyes, and
+speaking in a cold, passionless voice. "But if I can help it, after I
+leave here to-day I will never see you again. There need be no public
+scandal; it is unnecessary that people should be told anything; they can
+think what they like. I will explain to my mother that the marriage was
+a mistake and we have agreed to part--that is all. And you can live as
+you please and I will do the same. I do not reproach you for the ruin
+you have brought upon my life. It was my own fault for marrying you so
+heedlessly. But I loved you so--!" And then his voice broke suddenly
+with a sob, and he stretched out his arms wildly.
+
+"My God!" he cried, "I am punished! The agony of it is that I love you
+still, with all my soul--even though I saw them with my own eyes--your
+lover and--your child!"
+
+Here Zara gave a stifled shriek, and, as he strode from the room not
+daring to look at her for fear of breaking his resolution, she rose
+unsteadily to her feet and tried to call him. But she gasped and no
+words would come. Then she fell back unconscious in the chair.
+
+He did not turn round, and soon he was in the motor and gliding away as
+though the hounds of hell were after him, as, indeed, they were, from
+the mad pain in his heart.
+
+And when Zara came to herself it was half an hour later, and he was many
+miles away.
+
+She sat up and found Jake licking her hands.
+
+Then remembrance came back. He was gone--and he loved her even though he
+thought her--that!
+
+She started to her feet. The blood rushed back to her brain. She must
+act.
+
+She stared around, dazed for a moment, and then she saw the time
+tables--the Bradshaw and the A.B.C. She turned over the leaves of the
+latter with feverish haste. Yes, there was a train which left at 2:30
+and got to London at half-past five; it was a slow one--the express
+which started at 3:30, did not get in until nearly six. That might be
+too late--both might be too late, but she must try. Then she put her
+hand to her head in agony. She did not know where he had gone. Would he
+go to his mother's, or to his old rooms in St. James's Street? She did
+not know their number.
+
+She rang the bell and asked that Michelham should come to her.
+
+The old servant saw her ghastly face, and knew from Higgins that his
+master intended going to Paris that night. He guessed some tragedy had
+happened between them, and longed to help.
+
+"Michelham," she said, "his lordship has gone to London. Do you know to
+what address? I must follow him--it is a matter of life and death that I
+see him before he starts for Paris. Order my motor for the 2:30
+train--it is quicker than to go by car all the way."
+
+"Yes, my lady," Michelham said. "Everything will be ready. His lordship
+has gone to his rooms, 460 St. James's Street. May I accompany your
+ladyship? His lordship would not like your ladyship to travel alone."
+
+"Very well," she said. "There is no place anywhere, within driving
+distance that I could catch a train that got in before, is there?"
+
+"No, my lady; that will be the soonest," he said. "And will your
+ladyship please to eat some luncheon? There is an hour before the motor
+will be round. I know your ladyship's own footman, James, should go with
+your ladyship, but if it is something serious, as an old servant, and,
+if I may say so, a humble and devoted friend of his lordship's, I would
+beg to accompany your ladyship instead."
+
+"Yes, yes, Michelham," said Zara, and hurried from the room.
+
+She sent a telegram when at last she reached the station--to the St.
+James's Street rooms.
+
+"What you thought was not true. Do not leave until I come and explain. I
+am your own Zara."
+
+Then the journey began--three hours of agony, with the constant
+stoppages, and the one thought going over and over in her brain. He
+believed she had a lover and a child, and yet he loved her! Oh, God!
+That was love, indeed!--and she might not be in time.
+
+But at last they arrived--Michelham and she--and drove to Tristram's
+rooms.
+
+Yes, his lordship had been expected at five, but had not arrived yet; he
+was late. And Michelham explained that Lady Tancred had come, and would
+wait, while he himself went round to Park Lane to see if Lord Tancred
+had been there.
+
+He made up a splendid fire in the sitting-room, and, telling Higgins not
+to go in and disturb her even with tea, the kind old man started on his
+quest--much anxiety in his mind.
+
+Ten minutes passed, and Zara felt she could hardly bear the suspense.
+The mad excitement had kept her up until now. What if he were so late
+that he went straight to the train? But then she remembered it went at
+nine--and it was only six. Yes, he would surely come.
+
+She did not stir from her chair, but her senses began to take in the
+room. How comfortable it was, and what good taste, even with the
+evidences of coming departure about! She had seen two or three telegrams
+lying on the little hall table, waiting for him, as she came in--hers
+among the number, she supposed. A motor stopped, surely!--Ah! if it
+should be he! But there were hundreds of such noises in St. James's
+Street, and it was too dark and foggy to see. She sat still, her heart
+beating in her throat. Yes, there was the sound of a latch key turning
+in the lock! And, after stopping to pick up his telegrams, Tristram, all
+unexpecting to see any one, entered the room.
+
+She rose unsteadily to meet him, as he gave an exclamation of surprise
+and--yes--pain.
+
+"Tristram!" she faltered. It seemed as if her voice had gone again, and
+the words would make no sound. But she gathered her strength, and, with
+pitiful pleading, stretched out her arms.
+
+"Tristram--I have come to tell you--I have never had a lover: Mimo was
+at last married to _Maman_. He was her lover, and Mirko was their
+child--my little brother. My uncle did not wish me to tell you this for
+a time, because it was the family disgrace." Then, as he made a step
+forward to her, with passionate joy in his face, she went on:
+
+"Tristram! You said, that night--before you would ever ask me to be your
+wife again, I must go down upon my knees--See--I do!--for Oh!--I love
+you!" And suddenly she bent and knelt before him, and bowed her proud
+head.
+
+But she did not stay in this position a second, for he clasped her in
+his arms, and rained mad, triumphant kisses upon her beautiful, curved
+lips, while he murmured,
+
+"At last--my Love--my own!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Then when the delirium of joy had subsided a little,--with what
+tenderness he took off her hat and furs, and drew her into his arms, on
+the sofa before the fire.--The superlative happiness to feel her resting
+there, unresisting, safe in his fond embrace, with those eyes, which had
+been so stormy and resentful, now melting upon him in softest passion.
+
+It seemed heaven to them both. They could not speak coherent sentences
+for a while--just over and over again they told each other that they
+loved.--It seemed as if he could not hear her sweet confession often
+enough--or quench the thirst of his parched soul upon her lips.
+
+Then the masterfulness in him which Zara now adored asserted itself. He
+must play with her hair! He must undo it, and caress its waves, to blot
+out all remembrance of how its forbidden beauty had tortured him.--And
+she just lay there in his arms, in one of her silences, only her eyes
+were slumberous with love.
+
+But at last she said, nestling closer,
+
+"Tristram, won't you listen to the story that I must tell you? I want
+there never to be any more mysteries between us again--"
+
+And, to content her, he brought himself back to earth--
+
+"Only I warn you, my darling," he said, "all such things are side
+issues for me now that at last we have obtained the only thing which
+really matters in life--we know that we love each other, and are not
+going to be so foolish as to part again for a single hour--if we can
+help it--for the rest of time."
+
+And then his whole face lit up with radiant joy, and he suddenly buried
+it in her hair. "See," he inurmured, "I am to be allowed to play with
+this exquisite net to ensnare my heart; and you are not to be allowed to
+spend hours in state rooms--alone! Oh! darling! How can I listen to
+anything but the music of your whispers, when you tell me you love me
+and are my very own!"
+
+Zara did, however, finally get him to understand the whole history from
+beginning to end. And when he heard of her unhappy life, and her
+mother's tragic story, and her sorrow and poverty, and her final reason
+for agreeing to the marriage, and how she thought of men, and then of
+him, and all her gradual awakening into this great love, there grew in
+him a reverent tenderness.
+
+"Oh! my sweet--my sweet!" he said. "And I dared to be suspicious of you
+and doubt you, it seems incredible now!"
+
+Then he had to tell his story--of how reasonable his suspicions looked,
+and, in spite of them, of his increasing love. And so an hour passed
+with complete clearing up of all shadows, and they could tenderly smile
+together over the misunderstandings which had nearly caused them to ruin
+both their lives.
+
+"And to think, Tristram," said Zara, "a little common sense would have
+made it all smooth!"
+
+"No, it was not that," he answered fondly, with a whimsical smile in his
+eyes, "the troubles would never have happened at all if I had only not
+paid the least attention to your haughty words in Paris, nor even at
+Dover, but had just continued making love to you; all would have been
+well!--However," he added joyously, "we will forget dark things, because
+to-morrow I shall take you back to Wrayth, and we shall have our real
+honeymoon there in perfect peace."
+
+And, as her lips met his, Zara whispered softly once more,
+
+_"Tu sais que je t'aime!"_
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Oh! the glorious joy of that second home-coming for the bridal pair! To
+walk to all Tristram's favorite haunts, to wander in the old rooms, and
+plan out their improvements, and in the late afternoons to sit in the
+firelight in his own sitting-room, and make pictures of their future
+joys together. Then he would tell her of his dreams, which once had
+seemed as if they must turn to Dead Sea fruit, but were now all bright
+and glowing with glad promise of fulfillment.
+
+His passionate delight in her seemed as if it could not find enough
+expression, as he grew to know the cultivation of her mind and the pure
+thoughts of her soul.--And her tenderness to him was all the sweeter in
+its exquisite submission, because her general mien was so proud.
+
+They realized they had found the greatest happiness in this world, and
+with the knowledge that they had achieved their desires, after anguish
+and pain, they held it next their hearts as heaven's gift.
+
+And when they went to Montfitchet again, to spend that Christmas, the
+old Duke was satisfied!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Now, all this happened two years ago. And on the
+second anniversary of the Tancred wedding Mr. Francis
+and Lady Ethelrida Markrute dined with their nephew
+and niece.
+
+And when they came to drinking healths, bowing to Zara her uncle raised
+his glass and said,
+
+"I propose a toast, that I prophesied I would, to you, my very dear
+niece--the toast of four supremely happy people!"
+
+And as they drank, the four joined hands.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Reason Why, by Elinor Glyn
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+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE REASON WHY ***
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