Night and Day Part 26

'We shall find him,' Mary repeated.

Mary had no doubt but that somehow or other they would find him. But suppose they did find him? She began to think of Ralph with a sort of strangeness, in her effort to understand how he could be capable of satisfying this extraordinary desire. Once more she thought herself back to her old view of him and could, with an effort, recall the haze which surrounded his figure, and the sense of confused, heightened exhilaration which lay all about his neighbourhood, so that for months at a time she had never exactly heard his voice or seen his face-or so it now seemed to her. The pain of her loss shot through her. Nothing would ever make up-not success, or happiness, or oblivion. But this pang was immediately followed by the a.s.surance that now, at any rate, she knew the truth; and Katharine, she thought, stealing a look at her, did not know the truth; yes, Katharine was immensely to be pitied.

The cab, which had been caught in the traffic, was now liberated and sped on down Sloane Street.dq Mary was conscious of the tension with which Katharine marked its progress, as if her mind were fixed upon a point in front of them, and marked, second by second, their approach to it. She said nothing, and in silence Mary began to fix her mind, in sympathy at first, and later in forgetfulness of her companion, upon a point in front of them. She imagined a point distant as a low star upon the horizon of the dark. There for her too, for them both, was the goal for which they were striving, and the end for the ardours of their spirits was the same: but where it was, or what it was, or why she felt convinced that they were united in search of it, as they drove swiftly down the streets of London side by side, she could not have said. Mary was conscious of the tension with which Katharine marked its progress, as if her mind were fixed upon a point in front of them, and marked, second by second, their approach to it. She said nothing, and in silence Mary began to fix her mind, in sympathy at first, and later in forgetfulness of her companion, upon a point in front of them. She imagined a point distant as a low star upon the horizon of the dark. There for her too, for them both, was the goal for which they were striving, and the end for the ardours of their spirits was the same: but where it was, or what it was, or why she felt convinced that they were united in search of it, as they drove swiftly down the streets of London side by side, she could not have said.

'At last,' Katharine breathed, as the cab drew up at the door. She jumped out and scanned the pavement on either side. Mary, meanwhile, rang the bell. The door opened as Katharine a.s.sured herself that no one of the people within view had any likeness to Ralph. On seeing her, the maid said at once: 'Mr Denham called again, miss. He has been waiting for you for some time.'

Katharine vanished from Mary's sight. The door shut between them, and Mary walked slowly and thoughtfully up the street alone.

Katharine turned at once to the dining-room. But with her fingers upon the handle, she held back. Perhaps she realized that this was a moment which would never come again. Perhaps, for a second, it seemed to her that no reality could equal the imagination she had formed. Perhaps she was restrained by some vague fear or antic.i.p.ation, which made her dread any exchange or interruption. But if these doubts and fears or this supreme bliss restrained her, it was only for a moment. In another second she had turned the handle and, biting her lip to control herself, she opened the door upon Ralph Denham. An extraordinary clearness of sight seemed to possess her on beholding him. So little, so single, so separate from all else he appeared, who had been the cause of these extreme agitations and aspirations. She could have laughed in his face. But, gaining upon this clearness of sight against her will, and to her dislike, was a flood of confusion, of relief, of certainty, of humility, of desire no longer to strive and to discriminate, yielding to which, she let herself sink within his arms and confessed her love.

CHAPTER x.x.xII.

n.o.bODY ASKED KATHARINE ANY questions next day. If cross-examined she might have said that n.o.body spoke to her. She worked a little, wrote a little, ordered the dinner, and sat, for longer than she knew, with her head on her hand piercing whatever lay before her, whether it was a letter or a dictionary, as if it were a film upon the deep prospects that revealed themselves to her kindling and brooding eyes. She rose once, and going to the bookcase, took out her father's Greek dictionary and spread the sacred pages of symbols and figures before her. She smoothed the sheets with a mixture of affectionate amus.e.m.e.nt and hope. Would other eyes look on them with her one day? The thought, long intolerable, was now just bearable.

She was quite unaware of the anxiety with which her movements were watched and her expression scanned. Ca.s.sandra was careful not to be caught looking at her, and their conversation was so prosaic that were it not for certain jolts and jerks between the sentences, as if the mind were kept with difficulty to the rails, Mrs Milvain herself could have detected nothing of a suspicious nature in what she overheard.

William, when he came in late that afternoon and found Ca.s.sandra alone, had a very serious piece of news to impart. He had just pa.s.sed Katharine in the street and she had failed to recognize him.

'That doesn't matter with me, of course, but suppose it happened with somebody else? What would they think? They would suspect something merely from her expression. She looked-she looked'-he hesitated-'like some one walking in her sleep.'

To Ca.s.sandra the significant thing was that Katharine had gone out without telling her, and she interpreted this to mean that she had gone out to meet Ralph Denham. But to her surprise William drew no comfort from this probability.

'Once throw conventions aside,' he began, 'once do the things that people don't do-' and the fact that you are going to meet a young man is no longer proof of anything, except, indeed, that people will talk.

Ca.s.sandra saw, not without a pang of jealousy, that he was extremely solicitous that people should not talk about Katharine, as if his interest in her were still proprietary rather than friendly. As they were both ignorant of Ralph's visit the night before they had not that reason to comfort themselves with the thought that matters were hastening to a crisis. These absences of Katharine's, moreover, left them exposed to interruptions which almost destroyed their pleasure in being alone together. The rainy evening made it impossible to go out; and, indeed, according to William's code, it was considerably more d.a.m.ning to be seen out of doors than surprised within. They were so much at the mercy of bells and doors that they could hardly talk of Macaulay with any conviction, and William preferred to defer the second act of his tragedy until another day.

Under these circ.u.mstances Ca.s.sandra showed herself at her best. She sympathized with William's anxieties and did her utmost to share them; but still, to be alone together, to be running risks together, to be partners in the wonderful conspiracy, was to her so enthralling that she was always forgetting discretion, breaking out into exclamations and admirations which finally made William believe that, although deplorable and upsetting, the situation was not without its sweetness.

When the door did open, he started, but braved the forthcoming revelation. It was not Mrs Milvain, however, but Katharine herself who entered, closely followed by Ralph Denham. With a set expression which showed what an effort she was making, Katharine encountered their eyes, and saying, 'We're not going to interrupt you,' she led Denham behind the curtain which hung in front of the room with the relics. This refuge was none of her willing, but confronted with wet pavements and only some belated museum or Tube station for shelter, she was forced, for Ralph's sake, to face the discomforts of her own house. Under the street lamps she had thought him looking both tired and strained.

Thus separated, the two couples remained occupied for some time with their own affairs. Only the lowest murmurs penetrated from one section of the room to the other. At length the maid came in to bring a message that Mr Hilbery would not be home for dinner. It was true that there was no need that Katharine should be informed, but William began to inquire Ca.s.sandra's opinion in such a way as to show that, with or without reason, he wished very much to speak to her.

From motives of her own Ca.s.sandra dissuaded him.

'But don't you think it's a little unsociable?' he hazarded. 'Why not do something amusing?-go to the play, for instance? Why not ask Katharine and Ralph, eh?' The coupling of their names in this manner caused Ca.s.sandra's heart to leap with pleasure.

'Don't you think they must be-?' she began, but William hastily took her up.

'Oh, I know nothing about that. I only thought we might amuse ourselves, as your uncle's out.'

He proceeded on his emba.s.sy with a mixture of excitement and embarra.s.sment which caused him to turn aside with his hand on the curtain, and to examine intently for several moments the portrait of a lady, optimistically said by Mrs Hilbery to be an early work of Sir Joshua Reynolds.dr Then, with some unnecessary fumbling, he drew aside the curtain, and with his eyes fixed upon the ground, repeated his message and suggested that they should all spend the evening at the play. Katharine accepted the suggestion with such cordiality that it was strange to find her of no clear mind as to the precise spectacle she wished to see. She left the choice entirely to Ralph and William, who, taking counsel fraternally over an evening paper, found themselves in agreement as to the merits of a music-hall. This being arranged, everything else followed easily and enthusiastically. Ca.s.sandra had never been to a music-hall. Katharine instructed her in the peculiar delights of an entertainment where Polar bears follow directly upon ladies in full evening dress, and the stage is alternately a garden of mystery, a milliner's band-box, and a fried-fish shop in the Mile End Road. Then, with some unnecessary fumbling, he drew aside the curtain, and with his eyes fixed upon the ground, repeated his message and suggested that they should all spend the evening at the play. Katharine accepted the suggestion with such cordiality that it was strange to find her of no clear mind as to the precise spectacle she wished to see. She left the choice entirely to Ralph and William, who, taking counsel fraternally over an evening paper, found themselves in agreement as to the merits of a music-hall. This being arranged, everything else followed easily and enthusiastically. Ca.s.sandra had never been to a music-hall. Katharine instructed her in the peculiar delights of an entertainment where Polar bears follow directly upon ladies in full evening dress, and the stage is alternately a garden of mystery, a milliner's band-box, and a fried-fish shop in the Mile End Road.ds Whatever the exact nature of the programme that night, it fulfilled the highest purposes of dramatic art, so far, at least, as four of the audience were concerned. Whatever the exact nature of the programme that night, it fulfilled the highest purposes of dramatic art, so far, at least, as four of the audience were concerned.

No doubt the actors and the authors would have been surprised to learn in what shape their efforts reached those particular eyes and ears; but they could not have denied that the effect as a whole was tremendous. The hall resounded with bra.s.s and strings, alternately of enormous pomp and majesty, and then of sweetest lamentation. The reds and creams of the background, the lyres and harps and urns and skulls, the protuberances of plaster, the fringes of scarlet plush, the sinking and blazing of innumerable electric lights, could scarcely have been surpa.s.sed for decorative effect by any craftsman of the ancient or modern world.

Then there was the audience itself, bare-shouldered, tufted and garlanded in the stalls, decorous but festal in the balconies, and frankly fit for daylight and street life in the galleries. But, however they differed when looked at separately, they shared the same huge, lovable nature in the bulk, which murmured and swayed and quivered all the time the dancing and juggling and love-making went on in front of it, slowly laughed and reluctantly left off laughing, and applauded with a helter-skelter generosity which sometimes became unanimous and overwhelming. Once William saw Katharine leaning forward and clapping her hands with an abandonment that startled him. Her laugh rang out with the laughter of the audience.

For a second he was puzzled, as if this laughter disclosed something that he had never suspected in her. But then Ca.s.sandra's face caught his eye, gazing with astonishment at the buffoon, not laughing, too deeply intent and surprised to laugh at what she saw, and for some moments he watched her as if she were a child.

The performance came to an end, the illusion dying out first here and then there, as some rose to put on their coats, others stood upright to salute 'G.o.d Save the King',dt the musicians folded their music and encased their instruments, and the lights sank one by one until the house was empty, silent, and full of great shadows. Looking back over her shoulder as she followed Ralph through the swing doors, Ca.s.sandra marvelled to see how the stage was already entirely without romance. But, she wondered, did they really cover all the seats in brown holland the musicians folded their music and encased their instruments, and the lights sank one by one until the house was empty, silent, and full of great shadows. Looking back over her shoulder as she followed Ralph through the swing doors, Ca.s.sandra marvelled to see how the stage was already entirely without romance. But, she wondered, did they really cover all the seats in brown hollanddu every night? every night?

The success of this entertainment was such that before they separated another expedition had been planned for the next day. The next day was Sat.u.r.day; therefore both William and Ralph were free to devote the whole afternoon to an expedition to Greenwich, which Ca.s.sandra had never seen, and Katharine confused with Dulwich.dv On this occasion Ralph was their guide. He brought them without accident to Greenwich. On this occasion Ralph was their guide. He brought them without accident to Greenwich.

What exigencies of state or fantasies of imagination first gave birth to the cl.u.s.ter of pleasant places by which London is surrounded is matter of indifference now that they have adapted themselves so admirably to the needs of people between the ages of twenty and thirty with Sat.u.r.day afternoons to spend. Indeed, if ghosts have any interest in the affections of those who succeed them they must reap their richest harvests when the fine weather comes again and the lovers, the sightseers, and the holiday-makers pour themselves out of trains and omnibuses into their old pleasure-grounds. It is true that they go, for the most part, unthanked by name, although upon this occasion William was ready to give such discriminating praise as the dead architects and painters received seldom in the course of the year. They were walking by the river bank, and Katharine and Ralph, lagging a little behind, caught fragments of his lecture. Katharine smiled at the sound of his voice; she listened as if she found it a little unfamiliar, intimately though she knew it; she tested it. The note of a.s.surance and happiness was new. William was very happy. She learnt every hour what sources of his happiness she had neglected. She had never asked him to teach her anything; she had never consented to read Macaulay; she had never expressed her belief that his play was second only to the works of Shakespeare. She followed dreamily in their wake, smiling and delighting in the sound which conveyed, she knew, the rapturous and yet not servile a.s.sent of Ca.s.sandra.

Then she murmured, 'How can Ca.s.sandra-' but changed her sentence to the opposite of what she meant to say and ended, 'how could she herself have been so blind?' But it was unnecessary to follow out such riddles when the presence of Ralph supplied her with more interesting problems, which somehow became involved with the little boat crossing the river, the majestic and careworn City, and the steamers homecoming with their treasury, or starting in search of it, so that infinite leisure would be necessary for the proper disentanglement of one from the other. He stopped, moreover, and began inquiring of an old boatman as to the tides and the ships. In thus talking he seemed different, and even looked different, she thought, against the river, with the steeples and towers for background. His strangeness, his romance, his power to leave her side and take part in the affairs of men, the possibility that they should together hire a boat and cross the river, the speed and wildness of this enterprise filled her mind and inspired her with such rapture, half of love and half of adventure, that William and Ca.s.sandra were startled from their talk, and Ca.s.sandra exclaimed, 'She looks as if she were offering up a sacrifice! Very beautiful,' she added quickly, though she repressed, in deference to William, her own wonder that the sight of Ralph Denham talking to a boatman on the banks of the Thames could move any one to such an att.i.tude of adoration.

That afternoon, what with tea and the curiosities of the Thames tunneldw and the unfamiliarity of the streets, pa.s.sed so quickly that the only method of prolonging it was to plan another expedition for the following day. Hampton Court was decided upon, in preference to Hampstead, for though Ca.s.sandra had dreamt as a child of the brigands of Hampstead, she had now transferred her affections completely and for ever to William III. and the unfamiliarity of the streets, pa.s.sed so quickly that the only method of prolonging it was to plan another expedition for the following day. Hampton Court was decided upon, in preference to Hampstead, for though Ca.s.sandra had dreamt as a child of the brigands of Hampstead, she had now transferred her affections completely and for ever to William III.1 Accordingly, they arrived at Hampton Court about lunch-time on a fine Sunday morning. Such unity marked their expressions of admiration for the red-brick building that they might have come there for no other purpose than to a.s.sure each other that this palace was the stateliest palace in the world. They walked up and down the Terrace, four abreast, and fancied themselves the owners of the place, and calculated the amount of good to the world produced indubitably by such a tenancy. Accordingly, they arrived at Hampton Court about lunch-time on a fine Sunday morning. Such unity marked their expressions of admiration for the red-brick building that they might have come there for no other purpose than to a.s.sure each other that this palace was the stateliest palace in the world. They walked up and down the Terrace, four abreast, and fancied themselves the owners of the place, and calculated the amount of good to the world produced indubitably by such a tenancy.

'The only hope for us,' said Katharine, 'is that William shall die, and Ca.s.sandra shall be given rooms as the widow of a distinguished poet.'2 'Or-' Ca.s.sandra began, but checked herself from the liberty of envisaging Katharine as the widow of a distinguished lawyer. Upon this, the third day of junketing,dx it was tiresome to have to restrain oneself even from such innocent excursions of fancy. She dared not question William; he was inscrutable; he never seemed even to follow the other couple with curiosity when they separated, as they frequently did, to name a plant, or examine a fresco. Ca.s.sandra was constantly studying their backs. She noticed how sometimes the impulse to move came from Katharine, and sometimes from Ralph; how, sometimes, they walked slow, as if in profound intercourse, and sometimes fast, as if in pa.s.sionate. When they came together again nothing could be more unconcerned than their manner. it was tiresome to have to restrain oneself even from such innocent excursions of fancy. She dared not question William; he was inscrutable; he never seemed even to follow the other couple with curiosity when they separated, as they frequently did, to name a plant, or examine a fresco. Ca.s.sandra was constantly studying their backs. She noticed how sometimes the impulse to move came from Katharine, and sometimes from Ralph; how, sometimes, they walked slow, as if in profound intercourse, and sometimes fast, as if in pa.s.sionate. When they came together again nothing could be more unconcerned than their manner.

'We have been wondering whether they ever catch a fish ... ' or, 'We must leave time to visit the Maze.'dy Then, to puzzle her further, William and Ralph filled in all interstices Then, to puzzle her further, William and Ralph filled in all intersticesdz of meal-times or railway journeys with perfectly good-tempered arguments; or they discussed politics, or they told stories, or they did sums together upon the backs of old envelopes to prove something. She suspected that Katharine was absent-minded, but it was impossible to tell. There were moments when she felt so young and inexperienced that she almost wished herself back with the silkworms at Stogdon House, and not embarked upon this bewildering intrigue. of meal-times or railway journeys with perfectly good-tempered arguments; or they discussed politics, or they told stories, or they did sums together upon the backs of old envelopes to prove something. She suspected that Katharine was absent-minded, but it was impossible to tell. There were moments when she felt so young and inexperienced that she almost wished herself back with the silkworms at Stogdon House, and not embarked upon this bewildering intrigue.

These moments, however, were only the necessary shadow or chill which proved the substance of her bliss, and did not damage the radiance which seemed to rest equally upon the whole party. The fresh air of spring, the sky washed of clouds and already shedding warmth from its blue, seemed the reply vouchsafed by nature to the mood of her chosen spirits. These chosen spirits were to be found also among the deer, dumbly basking, and among the fish, set still in mid-stream, for they were mute sharers in a benignant state not needing any exposition by the tongue. No words that Ca.s.sandra could come by expressed the stillness, the brightness, the air of expectancy which lay upon the orderly beauty of the gra.s.s walks and gravel paths down which they went walking four abreast that Sunday afternoon. Silently the shadows of the trees lay across the broad sunshine; silence wrapt her heart in its folds. The quivering stillness of the b.u.t.terfly on the half-opened flower, the silent grazing of the deer in the sun, were the sights her eye rested upon and received as the images of her own nature laid open to happiness and trembling in its ecstasy.

But the afternoon wore on, and it became time to leave the gardens. As they drove from Waterloo to Chelsea, Katharine began to have some compunction about her father, which, together with the opening of offices and the need of working in them on Monday, made it difficult to plan another festival for the following day. Mr Hilbery had taken their absence, so far, with paternal benevolence, but they could not trespa.s.s upon it indefinitely. Indeed, had they known it, he was already suffering from their absence, and longing for their return.

He had no dislike of solitude, and Sunday, in particular, was pleasantly adapted for letter-writing, paying calls, or a visit to his club. He was leaving the house on some such suitable expedition towards tea-time when he found himself stopped on his own doorstep by his sister, Mrs Milvain. She should, on hearing that no one was at home, have withdrawn submissively, but instead she accepted his half-hearted invitation to come in, and he found himself in the melancholy position of being forced to order tea for her and sit in the drawing-room while she drank it. She speedily made it plain that she was only thus exacting because she had come on a matter of business. He was by no means exhilarated at the news.

'Katharine is out this afternoon,' he remarked. 'Why not come round later and discuss it with her-with us both, eh?'

'My dear Trevor, I have particular reasons for wishing to talk to you alone ... Where is Katharine?'

'She's out with her young man, naturally. Ca.s.sandra plays the part of chaperone very usefully. A charming young woman that-a great favourite of mine.' He turned his stone between his fingers, and conceived different methods of leading Celia away from her obsession, which, he supposed, must have reference to the domestic affairs of Cyril as usual.

'With Ca.s.sandra,' Mrs Milvain repeated significantly. 'With Ca.s.sandra.'

'Yes, with Ca.s.sandra,' Mr Hilbery agreed urbanely, pleased at the diversion. 'I think they said they were going to Hampton Court, and I rather believe they were taking a protege of mine, Ralph Denham, a very clever fellow, too, to amuse Ca.s.sandra. I thought the arrangement very suitable.' He was prepared to dwell at some length upon this safe topic, and trusted that Katharine would come in before he had done with it.

'Hampton Court always seems to me an ideal spot for engaged couples. There's the Maze, there's a nice place for having tea-I forget what they call it-and then, if the young man knows his business he contrives to take his lady upon the river. Full of possibilities-full. Cake, Celia?' Mr Hilbery continued. 'I respect my dinner too much, but that can't possibly apply to you. You've never observed that feast, so far as I can remember.'

Her brother's affability did not deceive Mrs Milvain; it slightly saddened her; she well knew the cause of it. Blind and infatuated as usual!

'Who is this Mr Denham?' she asked.

'Ralph Denham?' said Mr Hilbery, in relief that her mind had taken this turn. 'A very interesting young man. I've a great belief in him. He's an authority upon our mediaeval inst.i.tutions, and if he weren't forced to earn his living he would write a book that very much wants writing.'

'He is not well off, then?' Mrs Milvain interposed.

'Hasn't a penny, I'm afraid, and a family more or less dependent on him.'

'A mother and sisters?-his father is dead?'

'Yes, his father died some years ago,' said Mr Hilbery, who was prepared to draw upon his imagination, if necessary, to keep Mrs Milvain supplied with facts about the private history of Ralph Denham since, for some inscrutable reason, the subject took her fancy.

'His father has been dead some time, and this young man had to take his place-'

'A legal family?' Mrs Milvain inquired. 'I fancy I've seen the name somewhere.'

Mr Hilbery shook his head. 'I should be inclined to doubt whether they were altogether in that walk of life,' he observed. 'I fancy that Denham once told me that his father was a corn merchant. Perhaps he said a stockbroker. He came to grief, anyhow, as stockbrokers have a way of doing. I've a great respect for Denham,' he added. The remark sounded to his ears unfortunately conclusive, and he was afraid that there was nothing more to be said about Denham. He examined the tips of his fingers carefully. 'Ca.s.sandra's grown into a very charming young woman,' he started afresh. 'Charming to look at, and charming to talk to, though her historical knowledge is not altogether profound. Another cup of tea?'

Mrs Milvain had given her cup a little push, which seemed to indicate some momentary displeasure. But she did not want any more tea.

'It is Ca.s.sandra that I have come about,' she began. 'I am very sorry to say that Ca.s.sandra is not at all what you think her, Trevor. She has imposed upon your and Maggie's goodness. She has behaved in a way that would have seemed incredible-in this house of all houses-were it not for other circ.u.mstances that are still more incredible.'

Mr Hilbery looked taken aback, and was silent for a second.

'It all sounds very black,' he remarked urbanely, continuing his examination of his finger-nails. But I own I am completely in the dark.'

Mrs Milvain became rigid, and emitted her message in little short sentences of extreme intensity.

'Who has Ca.s.sandra gone out with? William Rodney. Who has Katharine gone out with? Ralph Denham. Why are they for ever meeting each other round street corners, and going to music-halls, and taking cabs late at night? Why will Katharine not tell me the truth when I question her? I understand the reason now. Katharine has entangled herself with this unknown lawyer; she has seen fit to condone Ca.s.sandra's conduct.'

There was another slight pause.

'Ah, well, Katharine will no doubt have some explanation to give me,' Mr Hilbery replied imperturbably. 'It's a little too complicated for me to take in all at once, I confess-and, if you won't think me rude, Celia, I think I'll be getting along towards Knightsbridge.'

Mrs Milvain rose at once.

'She has condoned Ca.s.sandra's conduct and entangled herself with Ralph Denham,' she repeated. She stood very erect with the dauntless air of one testifying to the truth regardless of consequences. She knew from past discussions that the only way to counter her brother's indolence and indifference was to shoot her statements at him in a compressed form once finally upon leaving the room. Having spoken thus, she restrained herself from adding another word, and left the house with the dignity of one inspired by a great ideal.

She had certainly framed her remarks in such a way as to prevent her brother from paying his call in the region of Knightsbridge. He had no fears for Katharine, but there was a suspicion at the back of his mind that Ca.s.sandra might have been, innocently and ignorantly, led into some foolish situation in one of their unshepherded dissipations. His wife was an erratic judge of the conventions; he himself was lazy; and with Katharine absorbed, very naturally-Here he recalled, as well as he could, the exact nature of the charge. 'She has condoned Ca.s.sandra's conduct and entangled herself with Ralph Denham.' From which it appeared that Katharine was not absorbed, or which of them was it that had entangled herself with Ralph Denham? From this maze of absurdity Mr Hilbery saw no way out until Katharine herself came to his help, so that he applied himself, very philosophically on the whole, to a book.

No sooner had he heard the young people come in and go upstairs than he sent a maid to tell Miss Katharine that he wished to speak to her in the study. She was slipping furs loosely on to the floor in the drawing-room in front of the fire. They were all gathered round, reluctant to part. The message from her father surprised Katharine, and the others caught from her look, as she turned to go, a vague sense of apprehension.

Mr Hilbery was rea.s.sured by the sight of her. He congratulated himself, he prided himself, upon possessing a daughter who had a sense of responsibility and an understanding of life profound beyond her years. Moreover, she was looking to-day unusual; he had come to take her beauty for granted; now he remembered it and was surprised by it. He thought instinctively that he had interrupted some happy hour of hers with Rodney, and apologized.

'I'm sorry to bother you, my dear. I heard you come in, and thought I'd better make myself disagreeable at once-as it seems, unfortunately, that fathers are expected to make themselves disagreeable. Now, your Aunt Celia has been to see me; your Aunt Celia has taken it into her head apparently that you and Ca.s.sandra have been-let us say a little foolish. This going about together-these pleasant little parties-there's been some kind of misunderstanding. I told her I saw no harm in it, but I should just like to hear from yourself. Has Ca.s.sandra been left a little too much in the company of Mr Denham?'

Katharine did not reply at once, and Mr Hilbery tapped the coal encouragingly with the poker. Then she said, without embarra.s.sment or apology: 'I don't see why I should answer Aunt Celia's questions. I've told her already that I won't.'

Mr Hilbery was relieved and secretly amused at the thought of the interview, although he could not license such irreverence outwardly.

'Very good. Then you authorize me to tell her that she's been mistaken, and there was nothing but a little fun in it? You've no doubt, Katharine, in your own mind? Ca.s.sandra is in our charge, and I don't intend that people should gossip about her. I suggest that you should be a little more careful in future. Invite me to your next entertainment.'

She did not respond, as he had hoped, with any affectionate or humorous reply. She meditated, pondering something or other, and he reflected that even his Katharine did not differ from other women in the capacity to let things be. Or had she something to say?

'Have you a guilty conscience?' he inquired lightly. 'Tell me, Katharine,' he said more seriously, struck by something in the expression of her eyes.

'I've been meaning to tell you for some time,' she said. 'I'm not going to marry William.'

'You're not going-!' he exclaimed, dropping the poker in his immense surprise. 'Why? When? Explain yourself, Katharine.'

'Oh, some time ago-a week, perhaps more.' Katharine spoke hurriedly and indifferently, as if the matter could no longer concern any one.

'But may I ask-why have I not been told of this-what do you mean by it?'

'We don't wish to be married-that's all.'

'This is William's wish as well as yours?'

'Oh yes. We agree perfectly.'

Mr Hilbery had seldom felt more completely at a loss. He thought that Katharine was treating the matter with curious unconcern; she scarcely seemed aware of the gravity of what she was saying; he did not understand the position at all. But his desire to smooth everything over comfortably came to his relief. No doubt there was some quarrel, some whimsey on the part of William, who, though a good fellow, was a little exacting sometimes-something that a woman could put right. But though he inclined to take the easiest view of his responsibilities, he cared too much for his daughter to let things be.

'I confess I find great difficulty in following you. I should like to hear William's side of the story,' he said irritably. 'I think he ought to have spoken to me in the first instance.'

'I wouldn't let him,' said Katharine. 'I know it must seem to you very strange,' she added. 'But I a.s.sure you, if you'd wait a little-until mother comes back.'

This appeal for delay was much to Mr Hilbery's liking. But his conscience would not suffer it. People were talking. He could not endure that his daughter's conduct should be in any way considered irregular. He wondered whether, in the circ.u.mstances, it would be better to wire to his wife, to send for one of his sisters, to forbid William the house, to pack Ca.s.sandra off home-for he was vaguely conscious of responsibilities in her direction too. His forehead was becoming more and more wrinkled by the multiplicity of his anxieties, which he was sorely tempted to ask Katharine to solve for him, when the door opened and William Rodney appeared. This necessitated a complete change, not only of manner, but of position also.

'Here's William,' Katharine exclaimed, in a tone of relief. 'I've told father we're not engaged,' she said to him. 'I've explained that I prevented you from telling him.'

William's manner was marked by the utmost formality. He bowed very slightly in the direction of Mr Hilbery, and stood erect, holding one lapel of his coat, and gazing into the centre of the fire. He waited for Mr Hilbery to speak.

Mr Hilbery also a.s.sumed an appearance of formidable dignity. He had risen to his feet, and now bent the top part of his body slightly forward.

'I should like your account of this affair, Rodney-if Katharine no longer prevents you from speaking.'

William waited two seconds at least.

'Our engagement is at an end,' he said, with the utmost stiffness.

'Has this been arrived at by your joint desire?'

After a perceptible pause William bent his head, and Katharine said, as if by an afterthought: 'Oh yes.'

Mr Hilbery swayed to and fro, and moved his lips as if to utter remarks which remained unspoken.

'I can only suggest that you should postpone any decision until the effect of this misunderstanding has had time to wear off. You have now known each other-' he began.

'There's been no misunderstanding,' Katharine interposed. 'Nothing at all.' She moved a few paces across the room, as if she intended to leave them. Her preoccupied naturalness was in strange contrast to her father's pomposity and to William's military rigidity. He had not once raised his eyes. Katharine's glance, on the other hand, ranged past the two gentlemen, along the books, over the tables, towards the door. She was paying the least possible attention, it seemed, to what was happening. Her father looked at her with a sudden clouding and troubling of his expression. Somehow his faith in her stability and sense was queerly shaken. He no longer felt that he could ultimately entrust her with the whole conduct of her own affairs after a superficial show of directing them. He felt, for the first time in many years, responsible for her.

'Look here, we must get to the bottom of this,' he said, dropping his formal manner and addressing Rodney as if Katharine were not present. 'You've had some difference of opinion, eh? Take my word for it, most people go through this sort of thing when they're engaged. I've seen more trouble come from long engagements than from any other form of human folly. Take my advice and put the whole matter out of your minds-both of you. I prescribe a complete abstinence from emotion. Visit some cheerful seaside resort, Rodney.'

He was struck by William's appearance, which seemed to him to indicate profound feeling resolutely held in check. No doubt, he reflected, Katharine had been very trying, unconsciously trying, and had driven him to take up a position which was none of his willing. Mr Hilbery certainly did not overrate William's sufferings. No minutes in his life had hitherto extorted from him such intensity of anguish. He was now facing the consequences of his insanity. He must confess himself entirely and fundamentally other than Mr Hilbery thought him. Everything was against him. Even the Sunday evening and the fire and the tranquil library scene were against him. Mr Hilbery's appeal to him as a man of the world was terribly against him. He was no longer a man of any world that Mr Hilbery cared to recognize. But some power compelled him, as it had compelled him to come downstairs, to make his stand here and now, alone and un-helped by any one, without prospect of reward. He fumbled with various phrases; and then jerked out: 'I love Ca.s.sandra.'

Mr Hilbery's face turned a curious dull purple. He looked at his daughter. He nodded his head, as if to convey his silent command to her to leave the room; but either she did not notice it or preferred not to obey.

'You have the impudence-' Mr Hilbery began, in a dull, low voice that he himself had never heard before, when there was a scuffling and exclaiming in the hall, and Ca.s.sandra, who appeared to be insisting against some dissuasion on the part of another, burst into the room.

'Uncle Trevor,' she exclaimed, 'I insist upon telling you the truth!' She flung herself between Rodney and her uncle, as if she sought to intercept their blows. As her uncle stood perfectly still, looking very large and imposing, and as n.o.body spoke, she shrank back a little, and looked first at Katharine and then at Rodney. 'You must know the truth,' she said, a little lamely.