Part 12 (1/2)
”No; we can only suppose that the conclusions the rescue party came to were correct. But all that we found relating to the week or two before the separation spoke of the courageous struggle that your brother made and his generosity in sending the others away.”
She bent her head.
”That,” she said quietly, ”is only what one would have expected. He left a diary; you must come over and see it.”
”I should like to, if it wouldn't be painful to you.”
”No,” she replied; ”I shall be glad to show it to you.”
She left him shortly after this and strolled out on to the terrace, thinking about him. The little she had seen of him had pleased her; he had earnest eyes and a resolute air, and she liked the men who lived in the open. He was direct, and perhaps a little rudimentary without being awkward, which was in his favor, for subtlety of any kind was distasteful to her. Still, in one respect, she was disappointed--he had in no way amplified Nasmyth's story, and she had expected to hear a little more of the expedition from him.
CHAPTER IX
LISLE GATHERS INFORMATION
Nasmyth's dinner was over and he lay, pipe in hand, in an easy-chair in his smoking-room, with Lisle lounging opposite him. They had been walking up partridges among the higher turnip fields all day, and now both were pleasantly tired and filled with languid good-humor. Nasmyth's house was old--it had been built out of the remains of a Border pele--and the room was paneled to the ceiling and very simply furnished. It had an ancient look and an ancient smell, and the few articles of plain oak furniture harmonized with it. The window stood wide open, and the fragrance of a grove of silver firs outside drifted in. The surroundings had their effect on Lisle, who had not been accustomed to dwellings of that kind.
”You have been here a fortnight and must have formed a few opinions about us,” Nasmyth remarked at length. ”You needn't be shy about expressing them, and I've no doubt there are things you'd like to ask.”
”As a whole, my opinion's highly favorable,” Lisle announced with a smile. ”I'd be uncommonly hard to please if it weren't.”
”That's flattering. But I'm not sure that I meant as a whole; I had a few particular instances in my mind. Bella Crestwick, for example; I'm curious to hear what you think of her. She seems quite favorably impressed with you.”
”She's interesting,” Lisle replied. ”A type that's new to me; the latest development, isn't it? Anyway, I like her--whatever the admission's worth--though I must say that I found her rather startling at first.
She's honest, I think, and that counts for a good deal.”
”I suppose you're not aware that she's desirably rich?”
”I wasn't. It's not a fact of any moment to me. Besides, I've a suspicion that it's Gladwyne's scalp she's after.”
Nasmyth nodded.
”You're pretty shrewd. Though I've had much greater opportunities for observation, that idea has only lately occurred to me. Of course, in a general way, I shouldn't discuss my acquaintances in this casual fas.h.i.+on, but as you are likely to see a good deal of us there are things you'd better know.”
”I'll explain my point of view,” said Lisle, refilling his pipe. ”You have seen something of the kind of life I've led. Half my time, I suppose, has been spent in primeval surroundings; the rest in contact with the latest efforts of a rather unfinished civilization. Well, what you have to show me here is vastly different. These old houses, your smoothed-down ways, are a revelation to me. The polish on some of your furniture has taken several hundred years to put on; that in my Victoria quarters smells of the factory, and the board walls of other hotels I've lived in rend into big cracks because they're fresh from the mill. I'm full of interest; everything's new to me. But so far my curiosity's impersonal; I'm taking no hand in anything.”
His companion's face grew grave.
”The trouble is that you may not be able to avoid it later. You're here, and some part will probably be forced on you. However, as I said, I think you're right about Bella.”
”But her money would be no great inducement to Gladwyne.”
”That's not certain. Clarence has a way of squandering money, and you may as well understand that there's very little to be derived from agricultural property. George had his mother's money, but he left it to Millicent; Clarence got only the land. That's what made a match between them seem so desirable.”
”Desirable!” Lisle broke out. ”It's impossible! Not to be contemplated!”
”Yes,” Nasmyth agreed quietly. ”If necessary, it will have to be prevented. I was only stating popular opinion.”
There was something curious in his tone and Lisle looked hard at him.