Part 51 (1/2)

”Yes,” she said quietly, ”come when you wish.”

Then her sister, knowing that she was beaten, drew her firmly away.

They went out and Prescott sat down, feeling that he had done right and yet half ashamed of his reserve, for he had seen that Muriel had expected him to claim her and was ready to acknowledge him before her friends.

This, however, was when she was overstrung and under the influence of strong excitement; the sacrifice she did not shrink from making was a heavy one, and she must have an opportunity for considering it calmly. He was not long left undisturbed, for men flocked in, anxious for an account of the affair, but he put them off with evasive answers and, making his escape, hurried to the livery-stable where he hired a team.

The next afternoon he drove to Leslie's in a quietly exultant mood. His long fight was over; nature had beaten him, and he was glad to yield, though he had not done so under sudden stress of pa.s.sion. During his search for Jernyngham and afterward sitting by his stove on bitter nights, he had come to see that if the girl he desired loved him, no merely prudential reasons ought to separate them. He had feared to drag her down, to rob her of things she valued, but he now saw that she might, after all, hold them of little account. He was, for his station, a prosperous man; his wife need suffer no real deprivation; he had a firm belief in the future of his adopted country, and knew that in a little while all the amenities of civilized life could be enjoyed in it.

Wandle's trial would free him of suspicion; when he had stood facing Jernyngham, Muriel had revealed her love for him, and since it could not be doubted, he need not hesitate. It was her right to choose whether she would marry him. Only she must clearly realize all that this would imply.

He had expected some opposition from Mrs. Colston, but, when it was inevitable, she could gracefully bear defeat. Moreover, she had never agreed with Jernyngham's suspicions of Prescott, and in some respects he impressed her favorably. There was no reserve in her greeting when he reached the homestead.

”The less that is said about last night, the better, but I can't pa.s.s over it without expressing our grat.i.tude for the position you took,” she said. ”Harry has driven Jernyngham out in the sleigh--he has been in a curious limp state all morning--and Gertrude has not yet got over the shock.”

”It must have been very trying for Miss Jernyngham.”

”No doubt.” There was not much pity in Mrs. Colston's voice, for she could guess how matters stood. ”However, I am disengaged and I believe Muriel will be here directly.”

Prescott followed her into a room and made an effort to talk to her until she rose and went out as Muriel entered. The girl, to his surprise, was dressed in furs, and he felt his heart beat when she looked at him with a shy smile.

”I have been expecting you,” she said, giving him her hand.

”I wonder,” he asked gravely, ”whether you can guess why I have come?”

”Yes,” she answered in a steady voice; ”I think I can. But we'll go out, Jack.”

He followed her, puzzled, but not questioning her wish, and they walked silently down the beaten trail that stretched away, a streak of grayish blue, across the glittering snow. Brilliant suns.h.i.+ne streamed down on them and the nipping air was wonderfully clear. When they pa.s.sed a birch bluff that hid them from the house; Prescott stopped.

”Muriel,” he said, ”I think you know that I love you.”

There was a warm color in her face, but for a moment she met his eyes squarely.

”Yes; I knew it some time ago, though perhaps I should have shrunk from confessing that so frankly, if it hadn't been for last night. But why were you afraid of telling me, Jack?”

He read surrender in her face and yielding pose, and with a strange humility that tempered the wild thrill of delight he placed his arm about her. Then, as she crept closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder, every feeling was lost in a delirious sense of triumph. It was brief, for he remembered how he was handicapped, and he held her from him, looking gravely down at her.

”Dear, there is something to be said.”

”Yes,” she rejoined with tender mockery; ”you either took a great deal for granted or there was one important thing you were willing to leave in doubt. Now take my hands and hold them fast. You know I have suffered something--fears and anxieties because of you--I want to feel safe.”

He did as she bade him and she looked up.

”Now listen, Jack dear. All that I have to give, my love, my closest trust, is yours, and because you said I saved your life, that belongs to me. I think it's all that matters.”

He was silent for a few moments, overwhelmed by a sense of his responsibility.

”Still,” he urged, ”you must understand what you are risking. I should have told you first.”

Muriel released her hands, and her glance was grave.

”Yes; you had better continue, Jack. I suppose we must speak of these things now, and then forget them forever.”