Peter's Mother Part 10

"You have forgiven him?" she cried joyfully, yet almost incredulously.

He paused, and then said with solemnity: "I have forgiven him, Mary.

It is not the moment for me to cherish resentment, least of all against my only son."

"Ah, thank G.o.d! Then you will come to Southampton?"

"That is impossible. But I will telegraph my forgiveness and the blessing which he has not sought that he may receive it before the ship sails."

"I am grateful to you for doing even so much as that, Timothy, and for not being angry. Then I must go alone?"

"No, no."

"Understand me," said Lady Mary, in a low voice, "for I am in earnest.

I have never deceived you. I will not defy you in secret, like Peter; but I _will_ go and bid my only son G.o.d-speed, though the whole world conspired to prevent me. _I will go!_"

There was a pause.

"You speak," said Sir Timothy, resentfully, "as though I had habitually thwarted your wishes."

"Oh, no," said his wife, softly, "you never even found out what they were."

He did not notice the words; it is doubtful whether he heard them.

"It has been my best endeavour to promote your happiness throughout our married life, Mary, so far as I considered it compatible with your highest welfare. I do not pretend I can enter into the high-flown and romantic feelings engendered by your reprehensible habit of novel-reading."

"You've scolded me so often for that," said Lady Mary, half mockingly, half sadly. "Can't we--keep to the subject in hand, as you said just now?"

"I have a reason, a strong reason," said Sir Timothy, "for wishing you to remain at home to-morrow. I had hoped, by concealing it from you, to spare you some of the painful suspense and anxiety which I am myself experiencing."

Lady Mary laughed.

"How like a man to suppose a woman is spared anything by being kept in the dark! I knew something was wrong. Dr. Blundell and Canon Birch are in your confidence, I presume? They kept exchanging glances like two mysterious owls. Your sisters are not, or they would be sighing and shaking their heads. And John--John Crewys? Oh, he is a lawyer. When does a visitor ever come here except on business? He has something to do with it. Ah, to advise you for nothing over your purchase of the Crown lands! You have got into some difficulty over that, or something of the kind? You brought him down here for some special purpose, I am sure; but I did not know him well enough, and I knew you too well, to ask why."

"Mary, what has come to you? I never knew you quite like this before.

I dislike this extraordinary flippancy of tone very much."

"I beg your pardon," said Lady Mary; make allowance for me this once.

I learnt ten minutes ago that my boy was going to the war. I must either laugh or--or cry, and you wouldn't like me to do that; but it's a way women have when their hearts are half broken."

"I don't understand you," he said helplessly.

Lady Mary looked at him as though she had awakened, frightened, to the consciousness of her own temerity.

"I don't quite understand myself, I think," she said, in a subdued voice. "I won't torment you any more, Timothy; I will be as calm and collected--as you wish. Only let me go."

"Will you not listen to my reason for wishing you to remain at home?"

he said sternly. "It is an important one."

"I had forgotten," she said indifferently. "How can there be any business in the world half so important to _me_ as seeing my boy once more before he sails?"

The colour of Sir Timothy's ruddy face deepened almost to purple, his grey eyes glowered sullen resentment at his wife.

"Since you desire to have your way in opposition to my wishes, _go!_"

he thundered. "I will not hinder you further."

But his sonorous wrath was too familiar to be impressive.

Lady Mary's expression scarcely changed when Sir Timothy raised his voice. She turned, however, at the foot of the staircase, and spoke to him again.

"Let me just go and give the order for my things to be packed, Timothy, and tell Ash to go and find out about the trains, and I will return and listen to whatever you wish--I will, indeed. I could not pay proper attention to anything until I knew that was being done."

Sir Timothy did not trust himself to speak. He bowed his head, and the slender figure pa.s.sed swiftly up the stairs.

Sir Timothy walked twice deliberately up and down the empty hall, and felt his pulse. The slow, steady throb rea.s.sured him. He opened the door of the study.

"John," said Sir Timothy, "would you kindly come out here and speak to me for a moment? Dr. Blundell, would you have the goodness to await me a little longer? You will find the London papers there."

"I have them," said Dr. Blundell, from the armchair by the study fire.

John Crewys closed the door behind him, and looked rather anxiously at his cousin. It struck him that Sir Timothy had lost some of his ruddy colour, and that his face looked drawn and old.

But the squire placed himself with his back to the log fire, and made an effort to speak in his voice of everyday. His slightly pompous, patronizing manner returned upon him.

"You are doubtless accustomed, John, in the course of your professional work," he said, "to advise in difficult matters. You come among us a stranger--and unprejudiced. Will you--er--give me the benefit of your opinion?"

"To the best of my ability," said John. He paused, and added gently, "I am sorry for this fresh trouble that has come upon you."

"That is the subject on which I mean to consult you. Do you consider that--that her husband or her child should stand first in a woman's eyes?"

"Her husband, undoubtedly," said John, readily, "but--"

"But what?" said Sir Timothy, impatiently. A gleam of satisfaction had broken over his heavy face at his cousin's reply.

"I speak from a man's point of view," said John. "Woman--and possibly Nature--may speak differently."

"Your judgment, however, coincides with mine, which is all that matters," said Sir Timothy. He did not perceive the twinkle in John's eyes at this reply. "In my opinion there are only two ways of looking at every question--the right way and the wrong way."

"My profession teaches me," said John, "that there are as many different points of view as there are parties to a case."

"Then--from _my_ point of view," said Sir Timothy, with an air of waving all other points of view away as irrelevant, "since my wife, very naturally, desires to see her son again before he sails, am I justified in allowing her to set off in ignorance of the ordeal that awaits me?"

"Good heavens, no!" cried John. "Should the operation prove unsuccessful, you would be entailing upon her a lifelong remorse."

"I did not look upon it in that light," said Sir Timothy, rather stiffly. "The propriety or the impropriety of her going remains in any, case the same, whether the operation succeeds or fails. I feared that it would be the wrong thing to allow her to go at all; that it might cause comment were she absent from my side at such a critical juncture."

"I see," said John. His mobile, expressive face and bright hazel eyes seemed to light up for one instant with scorn and wonder; then he recollected himself. "It is natural you should wish for her sustaining presence, no doubt," he said.

"I trust you do not suppose that I should be selfishly considering my own personal feelings at such a time," said Sir Timothy, in a lofty tone of reproof. "I am only desirous of doing what is right in the matter. I am asking your advice because I feel that my self-command has been shaken considerably by this unexpected blow. I am less sure of my judgment than usual in consequence. However, if you think my wife ought to be told"--John nodded very decidedly--"let her be told.

I am bound to say Dr. Blundell thought so too, though his opinion is neither here nor there in such a matter, but so long as you understand that my only desire is that both she and I should do what is most correct and proper." He came closer to John. "It is of vital importance for me to preserve my composure," said Sir Timothy. "I am not fitted for--for any kind of scene just now. Will you undertake for me the task of explaining to--to my dear wife the situation in which I am placed?"