Part 92 (1/2)

”Don't be distressed!” he said, ”I will never do it again. I am now--and always--your trusty friend.”

And with that he rose in his slow way, paused to light another cigarette, smiled again upon her, and softly went indoors.

CHAPTER XXVI

THE LAST SUMMONS

There is nought in life more solemn than the waiting hush that falls before the coming of that great Change which men call Death. And it is to the watchers rather than to the pa.s.sing soul itself that the wonder seems to draw most close. To stand before the veil, to know that very soon it must be lifted for the loved one to pa.s.s beyond, to wait for the glimpse of that spirit-world from which only the frail wall of mortality divides even the least spiritual, to watch as it were for the Gate of Death to open and the great Revelation to flash for one blinding moment upon the dazzled eyes that may not grasp the meaning of what they see; this is to stand for a s.p.a.ce within the very Sanctuary of G.o.d.

The awe of it and the wonder hung night and day over the little rose-covered house on the heath above the sea where Isabel was breathing forth the last of her broken earthly life. Dinah moved in that strange atmosphere as one in a dream. She spent most of her time with Scott in a silent companions.h.i.+p in which no worldly thoughts seemed to have any part. The things of earth, all worry, all distress, were in abeyance, had sunk to such infinitesimal proportions that she was scarcely aware of them at all. It was as though they had climbed the steep mountain with Isabel, and not till they turned again to descend could they be aware of those things which lay so far below.

Without Scott, both doubts and fears would have been her portion, but with him all terrors fell shadow-like away before her. She hardly realized all that his presence meant to her during those days of waiting, but she leaned upon him instinctively as upon a sure support. He never failed her.

Of Eustace she saw but little. From the very first it was evident that his place was nearer to Isabel than Scott's had ever been. He did not shoulder Scott aside, but somehow as a matter of course he occupied the position that the younger brother had sought to fill for the past seven years. It was natural, it was inevitable. Dinah could have resented this superseding at the outset had she not seen how gladly Scott gave place.

Later she realized that the ground on which they stood was too holy for such considerations to have any weight with either brother. They were united in the one supreme effort to make the way smooth for the sister who meant so much to them both; and during all those days of waiting Dinah never heard a harsh or impatient word upon the elder's lips. All arrogance, all hardness, seemed to have fallen away from him as he trod with them that mountain-path. Even old Biddy realized the change and relented somewhat towards him though she never wholly brought herself to look upon him as an ally.

It was on a stormy evening at the beginning of July that Dinah was sitting alone in the little creeper-grown verandah watching the wonderful greens and purples of the sea when Eustace came soft-footed through the window behind her and sat down in a chair close by, which Scott had vacated a few minutes before.

Scott had just gone to the village post-office with some letters, but she had refused to accompany him, for it was the hour when she usually sat with Isabel. She glanced at Eustace swiftly as he sat down, half-expecting a message from the sick-room. But he said nothing, merely leaning back in the wicker-chair, and fixing his eyes upon the sombre splendour of endless waters upon which hers had been resting. There was a ma.s.sive look about him, as of a strong man deliberately bent to some gigantic task. A little tremor went through her as furtively she watched him. His silence, unlike the silences of Scott, was disquieting. She could never feel wholly at ease in his presence.

He turned his head towards her after a few seconds of absolute stillness, and in a moment her eyes sank. She sat in palpitating silence, as one caught in some disgraceful act.

But still he did not speak, and the painful colour flooded her face under his mute scrutiny till in sheer distress she found herself forced to take the initiative.

”Is--Isabel expecting me?” she faltered. ”Ought I to go?”

”No,” he said quietly. ”She is dozing. Old Biddy is with her.”

It seemed as if the intolerable silence were about to fall again. She cast about desperately for a means of escape. ”Biddy was up and down during the night. I think I will relieve her for a little while and let her rest.”

She would have risen with the words, but unexpectedly he reached forth a detaining hand. ”Do you mind waiting a minute?” he said. ”I will not say--or do--anything to frighten you.”

He spoke with a faint smile that somehow hurt her almost unbearably. She remained as she was, leaning forward in her chair. ”I--am not afraid,”

she murmured almost inaudibly.

His hand seemed to plead for hers, and in a moment she laid her own within it. ”That's right,” he said. ”Dinah, will you try and treat me as if I were a friend--just for a few minutes?”

The tone of his voice--like his smile--pierced her with a poignancy that sent the quick tears to her eyes. She forced them back with all her strength.

”I would like to--always,” she whispered.

”Thank you,” he said. ”You are kinder than I deserve. I have done nothing to win your confidence, so it is all the more generous of you to bestow it. On the strength of your generosity I am going to ask you a question which only a friend could ask. Dinah, is there any understanding of any sort--apart from friends.h.i.+p--between you and Scott?”

She started slightly at the question, and in a moment firmly, with a certain authority, his hand closed upon hers.

”You needn't be afraid to speak on Scott's account,” he said, with that rather grim humility that seemed so foreign to his proud nature that every sign of it stabbed her afresh. ”I am not such a dog in the manger as that and he knows it.”

”Oh no!” Dinah said, and her words came with a rush. ”But--I told you before, didn't I?--he doesn't care for me like that. He never has--never will.”