Part 32 (1/2)
He was one of the first to land, and Miss Carleton, watching from the deck, saw, almost as soon as he had reached the pier, a fine-looking gentleman in the prime of life step quickly out from, the crowd, and, grasping him cordially by the hand, enter at once into earnest conversation. Harold Mainwaring turned towards the steamer for a parting salute, and, as both gentlemen raised their hats, she recognized in the new-comer, Alfred Barton, the junior member of the firm of Barton & Barton. She watched them until they disappeared in the crowd, then, turning to rejoin her companions, she noted, standing at a little distance, the slender, dark-eyed individual whom she had observed on previous occasions, also watching the scene with a smile of quiet satisfaction, much like that which Mr. Merrick's face had worn at the beginning of the Voyage.
CHAPTER XVII
LOVE FINDS A WAY
Less than three weeks later, Harold Mainwaring entered Miss Carleton's private drawing-room in Mr. Thornton's London home.
Soon after her arrival in the city she had received from him a brief note of apology, stating that unexpected business of the greatest importance would render it impossible for him to call as early as he had antic.i.p.ated; hence this was their first meeting since the leave-taking on board the ”Campania.”
As Miss Carleton stepped forward with cordial smile and hand extended to welcome her visitor, she was shocked at the change in his appearance. He was pale, almost haggard, and deep lines about the mouth and eyes told of some intense mental strain. She gave a low cry of astonishment, for it seemed as though years, instead of only a few weeks, had intervened since she had seen that face.
”Mr. Mainwaring, you have been ill!” she exclaimed.
”No, Miss Carleton,” he replied, his face lighting with a rare smile; ”I have been perfectly well, but loss of sleep and constant care and anxiety have told rather severely on me. Nothing more serious, I a.s.sure you.”
”Anxiety!” she repeated, at the same time motioning him to a seat by her side. ”Surely you do not antic.i.p.ate any difficulty in establis.h.i.+ng your claim?”
”No difficulty so far as its validity is concerned. My attorneys a.s.sure me there can be no question as to that with such irrefutable proofs in my possession, but some unlooked-for complications have arisen, and we have had to prepare ourselves to meet them. But I did not call to burden you with my perplexities, Miss Carleton.
Tell me of yourself. I trust you have been well since I last saw you.”
”Yes, I am usually well,” said Miss Carleton, who thought she detected on the part of her visitor an avoidance of any details concerning himself; ”but I have been rather bored of late.” Then, in answer to his look of inquiry, she continued, ”Of course, on account of Hugh Mainwaring's death, we have been living very quietly since our return, but, notwithstanding that fact, society has been paying due homage to the prospective increase of fortune and added social position of the Mainwarings. I am not particularly fond of society in the ordinary sense of the word, you know, and I have found it exceedingly tiresome.”
”From reports, I should judge 'society' to be very fond of yourself,”
he remarked, with a smile.
”After its own fas.h.i.+on,” she replied, smiling in return; ”but it becomes very monotonous. It is the same old round, you know, only that just now it bows a little lower than formerly, while it mingles condolences and congratulations in the most absurd manner. One hears, 'Such a dreadful affair! so shocking, don't you know!' and 'Such delightful fortune! I quite envy you, my dear!' all in the same breath. I am only awaiting what society will say when the real facts become known.”
Harold Mainwaring made no reply, but a strange pallor overspread his already pale face, at which Miss Carleton wondered.
”I have thought very often of you during these past weeks,” she continued, ”and felt quite impatient to learn how you were progressing, and your note was so brief, you know. It left so much unsaid. I fear you forget how interested I am in all that concerns yourself.”
”No,” he replied, slowly, ”I do not forget; and I appreciate your interest in me even though I may not seem to,--even though I am forced, as you say, to leave so much unsaid which I had hoped to say.”
Something in his manner, more than in what he said, thrilled her with a vague, undefinable sense of impending evil, and, during the slight pause which followed, she dreaded his next words, lest they should in some way confirm her apprehensions. He said nothing further, however, and when she spoke it was with an a.s.sumed lightness and cheerfulness which she was far from feeling.
”I hoped to have the pleasure of meeting you often ere this, and my uncle and cousin would have been so glad to welcome you to their home during your stay in London, but they have just gone out of town for a few days.”
”Ordinarily, Miss Carleton,” he replied, quietly, ”I should be pleased to meet them, but on the present occasion, as I sail, to-morrow, I naturally care to see no one but yourself.”
”To-morrow!” she exclaimed, while her own cheek suddenly paled.
”Do you return so soon?”
”Yes,” he replied, observing her emotion, and speaking rapidly to conceal his own feelings; ”my business is at last completed. I have been detained longer than I expected, and I found the situation more complex than I antic.i.p.ated, but I shall return well equipped for the battle.”
”And you will win, I am sure. Tell me something regarding your plans,” she added, with a wistful smile that touched her companion for more than he cared to betray.
”Mr. Alfred Barton goes with me to America,” he said, speaking cheerfully; ”and we have already cabled instructions to Mr.