Part 19 (2/2)
He could scarcely breathe. ”You do not deny it?” she questioned gently.
”Please do not fear me.”
”I do not fear you,” he half whispered, sinking his chin in his hands.
Another long silence.
”There are some circ.u.mstances and conditions under which a woman should not be condemned for running away,” she said in a strained, faraway voice. ”Has--has she children?”
”Good Heaven!” cried Hugh, leaping to his feet, horror-struck.
CHAPTER XII
THE HARLEQUIN'S ERRAND
Lady Huntingford, alarmed by his manner, arose and steadied herself against the deck-house. His exclamation rang in her ears, filling them with its horror. At length he roughly grasped her arm, thrusting his face close to hers, fairly grated out the words:
”You think she is a wife?”
”I feared so.”
”She is not! Do you hear me? She is not!” he cried so fiercely that there was no room for doubt. ”She is the purest, dearest girl in the world, and she has done all this for me. For G.o.d's sake, do not expose us.” He dropped back in the chair. ”It's not for my sake that I ask it, but for hers,” he went on quickly.
”I'm sure I have wronged her and I have wronged you. Will you believe me?”
He did not answer at once. His turbulent brain was endeavoring to find words with which to convince her of the innocence of the escapade.
Looking up into her eyes, he was struck by their tender staunchness.
Like a flash came to him the decision to tell her the true story, from beginning to end.
”Lady Huntingford, I will tell you everything there is to tell. It is not a long tale, and you may say it is a very foolish one. I am sure, however, that it will interest you.”
”You shall not tell me a word if you do so in order to appease my curiosity,” she began earnestly.
”I think it is best that you should know,” he interrupted. ”One favor first. You will earn my eternal grat.i.tude if you do not allow Grace to feel that you have discovered our secret.”
”You have my promise. I have kept many secrets, Mr. Ridge.” He drew his chair quite close to hers. Then he told her the full story of the adventure, from first to last. She scarcely breathed, so deeply was her interest centred in this little history of an impulse. He spoke hurriedly, excitedly. Not once did she take her eyes from his earnest face, almost indistinguishable in the darkness; nor could he remove his from hers.
”And here we are approaching Aden, your Ladys.h.i.+p,” he concluded. Her big dark eyes had held him enthralled, inspiring him to paint in glorious colors every detail of the remarkable journey. As he drew to a close, her hand fell involuntarily on his knee. A tremor dashed through his veins, and his heart throbbed fiercely.
”How glorious it must be to love like that,” she almost whispered. There was a catch in her voice, as she uttered that soft, dreamy sentence, almost a sigh. She turned her face away suddenly and then arose, crying in tones so low and despairing that he could hardly believe they came from the usually merry lips: ”Oh, how I envy her this life and love!
How wonderful it all is!”
”It has its drawbacks,” he lamented. ”As a brother I am a nonent.i.ty, Lady Huntingford; it's not altogether relishable, you know. It's a sort of pantomime, for me, by Jove. I'm the fool, and this seems to be the fool's errand.”
”If you will play a part in the pantomime, Mr. Ridge, let an Englishwoman suggest that you be the harlequin. How I loved the harlequin in the Drury Lane pantomimes at Christmas time! He was always the ideal lover to me, for there was no trick, no prank this bespangled hero could not play to success. He always went incognito, for he wore his narrow mask of black. He performed the most marvellous things for his Columbine,--and was she not a worthy sweetheart? No, no, Mr.
Ridge:--not the fool, I pray. Please be the harlequin,” she cried in rare good humor.
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