The Joy of Captain Ribot Part 23

Cristina was sitting down, her face hidden in her hands. I went up to her.

"Forgive me for coming in here. I was not master of myself."

"You did exactly right; thank you," she murmured, without changing her position.

We remained silent. Presently, rising abruptly, she exclaimed:

"Come, let us go in! let us go in!"

And emerging from the glorieta, she went hastily towards the house. I followed her, and catching up with her, suggested the propriety of not presenting herself in such a disturbed state to Emilio.

She did not reply to me, but she changed her direction, and turned her steps towards a narrow acacia path, where the light of the moon could scarcely penetrate. I soon lost sight of her. I paused a moment, debating whether to go on to the house or follow her. I decided upon the last, because I was afraid she might stumble anew upon Castell.

I followed the path, and saw her as she came out in front of the little pavilion that bore her name. I joined her and advised her to rest there a moment.

The salon, profusely adorned with statues and vases, offered at this hour a mysterious enchantment. The moon shone through the crystalline windows. The polished furniture, the porcelains, the pictures hanging on the wall, reflected the moonlight mournfully. The marble statues threw huge dark shadows upon the walls, tragic and threatening.

Cristina dropped upon a sofa, and I sat down beside her.

We remained silent for some time.

"When, for the first time," I said at last, "I had the pleasure to enter your house, I felt as if I saw a little bit of heaven below--joy, cordiality, serene and innocent happiness, the tender love of a wife who inspires respect, the restful felicity of a husband free from any of the suspicions that embitter existence--a yoke of love and peace; and about you plenty, riches, all the good gifts of life. Shall I surprise you if I say that among the leaf.a.ge of so many joys I have seen uplifted the head of the serpent?"

"I do not doubt it," she replied pensively, looking out at the heavens through the crystal-clear windows.

"If I could not see your face, I should still be able to divine what you are feeling. Your eyes are not able to conceal what pa.s.ses in your soul. How happy you would have made me by confiding to me your troubles!

I am a new friend, I know, but the affection that you and Emilio inspire in me could not be more sincere."

"Thank you, thank you, Captain Ribot," she murmured, "but it is not possible."

"It is not possible, truly. How could it be when I lack skill to persuade you of the sincerity of my sentiments? I confess that there have been reasons why you should not give me your confidence. I have repented with all my soul, and I beg your forgiveness."

As if these words agitated her, she rose, pushed aside a hanging curtain, went to the piano that stood open, ran her fingers over the keys, then came and sat down again.

"I understand by what I overheard," I said, after a pause, "that Castell has some hold over you--that you are in his debt."

"Our entire fortune is in his hands."

"What!"

"Emilio has been to him for money to use in his business, which was ruined."

"And this was given in the hope of obliging you to accept his devotion?"

"It is possible. Castell is more of a business man than a lover. No matter what he pretends, buying and selling is his business. He has always had the idea of getting absolute control of the steamboat line."

"I suppose that after what has been overheard, he will desist for a little in trying to get possession of it."

"I don't know."

She sat thoughtful for a few moments. Then, as if she were talking to herself, she said in a dull voice:

"The day that Emilio and I were married he was at my house from the hour of the ceremony until I went to change my dress. We were going to Madrid to spend a few days. When I came down, I stumbled upon him waiting for me on the stairs. He made some gallant speeches to me at that time, and begged a spray of my orange flowers, which he put next his heart. I gave it to him against my will, from bashfulness, from timidity. He was repulsive to me from the first moment. Later, when we were at the station, and he came to give me his hand for good-by, he said, almost in my ear, 'If some day it chances that you get tired of him, remember that he has friends who admire you as much or more than he does.'"

"What insolence!"

"I did not like to say anything to my husband then; I have not wished to since. The friendship that united them was strong, and I hesitated to break it. How many times since then I have asked myself if I did right or wrong!"

"And before that he had not addressed you especially?"

"Yes, and no. Once we were at Denia. Castell was there, and I danced with him at a ball at the house of some friends; it was several months before I knew Emilio. That evening he made a little love to me and almost declared himself. I took that for what it was, the diversion of a traveller who does everything he can think of to keep from being bored.

And, indeed, he left Denia, and Spain, and spent nearly two years in travelling. When he came back, I was going to be married to Emilio. It was only a fortnight before the wedding."

"Providence has been cruel placing such a man in your pathway, and giving him power to cause you so much trouble."

She did not answer. She remained thoughtful for a while; at last, looking at me with her great eyes full of interest, said:

"But you are so very, very good, Ribot. Don't let us talk any more about my troubles, but think of those that _you_ have to bear."

"Bah! 'tis quite the contrary with me. I should give thanks to G.o.d that I have been undeceived in time. Somehow I have always suspected that the girl was in love with Castell, although Emilio and Sabas were so certain of something else. And, to be frank, I also love someone else better."

"Then why don't you marry her?"

"Because, because--I don't know why; that is to say, if I knew and if you also knew--but there are things that I do not care to confess to myself."

These words made her look troubled. I was repentant at once, as the rays of the moon let me see on her forehead that frown dreaded of yore.

"No, Cristina, no!" I hastened to say vehemently, "I beg you not to think that which I read in your eyes. I have been through bitter struggles, despairing conflicts with myself. I have stumbled, and fallen too, but I have risen; and--I can say it without pride--never shall treachery find shelter in my breast. I have not Castell's brilliant qualities. I am far from possessing the advantages that make that man admired and sought after; but if I possessed them all, I swear I would not use them to stab a friend in the back. Far more than the satisfactions of love, more than all the enjoyments of earth--and even those of heaven if they were offered me--I hold the peace of my own conscience."

The warmth of my tones and the sincerity of expression with which I uttered these words made her lift her head and look at me in a slight amaze. Her brow grew calm, and a sweet smile lingered upon her lips.

"Yes, I have already come to see that you are more original in that way than could at first have been imagined. I think it much better this way."

And saying so, she graciously held out her hand to me, and I pressed it with as much respect as emotion. At this moment a shadow fell across us, then one appeared before us, saying:

"Good-evening."

Both Cristina and I were painfully startled.

"You here, Emilio? I thought you had gone to bed," she said, instantly controlling herself.

"No, no; I didn't go to bed. I felt the heat, like the rest of you, and came out for a turn in the garden. I heard the sound of conversation, so I came in."

In spite of the natural voice he made a point of using, there was something in his manner and a strangeness in his tones that disquieted us immensely.

"It is a very beautiful night," he went on, beginning to walk up and down the place with his hands in his pockets. "The month of September has not fallen behind August. Even in the mornings it is scarcely cool yet. I found I had no desire to go to bed."

I replied to him in words as unimportant as his own. He gave no sign of having heard me. He went on walking up and down in an absorbed manner, and at last he went over to the balcony and stood motionless looking out through the gla.s.s. Then he opened one of the windows and stepped outside to get more of the cool night air.