The Laughing Mill and Other Stories Part 13

"She gave a charming impromptu laugh. 'I wasn't quite a nun--I don't want to make you believe that! Only I was brought up in a convent near Paris; educated there, as many young ladies are. I was there seven years--wasn't that long? and I only got out a little while ago.'

"'It must have been awfully dull.'

"'Oh, I liked it in a sort of way; they were very kind to me there; but then I didn't know how pleasant it was outside! You would never believe how delightful the world is, if you were only told about it. My papa used to tell me about it sometimes; and he is a great traveller--he has been everywhere. But I didn't realise it until I saw for myself.'

"'Have you been to America since leaving the Convent?'

"'Oh yes. I went to New York, and saw my cousins there. Papa went with me, but he came back to Paris first, and I followed later. I met him again in Paris only a week ago. He will be surprised to see you here, Mr. Gainsborough. What a funny way you have chosen to go from Paris to Rome--through Dresden!'

"'Yes, I--but, by-the-bye, how did you know I was going to Rome? and why will your papa be surprised----?'

"Again she laughed, and regarded me with so delightfully mischievous a glance that I felt convinced I must in some way be making a fool of myself. What did it all mean? I bit my lip, and the colour came into my face from provocation at my own evident thick-headedness.

"'If you had only waited a little longer in Paris,' she continued, still smiling enigmatically, 'perhaps we might have met in a more regular way, and perhaps, then, you would have let me have had a look at your--diamonds!'

"My diamonds! That explained the mystery in a flash.

"'Is your father Mr. Birchmore?'

"'I am Miss Birchmore, if you please, sir. You never asked me for my card, and I didn't like to force it on you. It was so kind of you to take me on trust, without making sure that I was all right first. I thought Englishmen were more cautious and reserved.'

"I could now join in the laugh against myself with full appreciation of the excellence of the jest. Mr. Birchmore, then, had been a married man after all. Of course he was; why had I not before remarked the strong family likeness between him and his daughter? Take her on trust, forsooth! How I longed to retort that I was ready to take her for better for worse, then and there, if she would have me. If she were a fair specimen of American girls, what a nation of houris they must be, indeed! But, then, they were not all brought up in French convents. It was that that added to Miss Birchmore the last irresistible charm.

That it was that gave her that navete, that innocent frankness, that unconscious freedom. And this lovely creature had actually known me, by report, before we met. Her father had told her of me, and evidently he had not given me a bad character. And this accounted for the favourable change in her manner when she saw my card. Well, it was altogether delightful; I had been guided by a happy destiny; thank fortune I had so conducted myself as at least not to prejudice Miss Birchmore against me. Verily, good manners are never thrown away; and, moreover, I prided myself (as I fancy most gentlemen do) on my ability to detect a true lady at a glance.

"We now resumed our conversation on a still more confidential footing than heretofore. Miss Birchmore related many amusing anecdotes of her late experience in New York, as well as of her earlier days in the Convent, and even some pa.s.sages of her child-life previous to the latter epoch. I observed, however, that ever and anon she would check herself, seeming to pa.s.s over certain pa.s.sages in her history in silence; and this reminded me of the similar behaviour which I had noted in her father. That secret--that mystery, whatever it was, that weighed upon him--had cast its shadow over her young heart likewise. Honestly did I sympathise with her unknown trouble, and ardently did I long--all vulgar curiosity aside--to have the knowledge of it imparted to me. Few calamities are so heavy as that, by earnest and friendly help, they may not be lightened. What could it be? In vain I asked myself that question. Here was this lovely girl, in the first fresh bloom of existence, just beginning to taste, with eager uncloyed palate, all the sweet joys and novelties of life--health, youth, a happy temperament, and ample wealth ranked on her side; and yet this bitterness of a misfortune, not by rights her own, must needs communicate its blighting influence to her! It was tragical to think of. Yes, ever and anon I could mark its traces in her vivid face and winning bearing. A pa.s.sing gloom of sadness in those wonderful eyes; a quiver of apprehension about the lips; an involuntary gesture of nervousness or la.s.situde; many trifling signs, scarcely perceptible, perhaps, to a regard less keen and watchful than mine had already become. Already?--but time in an acquaintance like this is not to be measured by hours or minutes. It is a trite saying, and yet how true, that those who are under the influence of a strong emotion may live years in a few heart-beats.

"'Please--oh, please don't look so solemn, Mr. Gainsborough! What has happened? I should think, to look at you, that you had been robbed of your diamonds at the very least?'

"'No; they are safe enough,' said I, calling up as cheerful a tone and aspect as I could muster, and putting my hand over the inner pocket as I spoke. 'Are you fond of diamonds?'

"'Oh, did you ever hear of a girl who wasn't? I think there is nothing so beautiful. Papa has a great many, but he says I mustn't wear them until after I am married. Isn't that hard?'

"'But perhaps you think of being married before long?' I inquired, with positively a jealous throb at my heart.

"'No; that's the trouble; I know I shall never be married.' These words were uttered in a lower and graver tone, and once more I thought I could discern the flitting traces of that mysterious melancholy. But she brightened up when I said:

"'Well, he won't object to your seeing my diamonds, at any rate; not even to your putting them on, perhaps!'

"'Just for a minute--may I? that will be splendid! Papa says that some of them are the finest he ever saw.'

"'For longer than a minute, Miss Birchmore, if you are willing--I mean if he----' What did I mean, pray? Was I going to make an offer of my hand, heart, and diamonds, on less than an hour's acquaintance, in a railway carriage? and was I going to forget that the diamonds did not belong to me at all, but to my respected mother, who would probably see me cut off with a shilling before granting me the disposal of them?

Luckily for my self-possession and self-respect, the train drew up just then at the station known as Krippen, on the bank of the river immediately opposite Schandau. The guard opened the door; we alighted, and the first person we saw was Mr. Birchmore, and close behind him a short, ungainly, beetle-browed fellow, a valet or footman apparently, with a campstool, an umbrella, and a small basket of fruit on his arm.

IV.

"Mr. Birchmore shook my hand cordially, yet I fancied that he betrayed signs of embarra.s.sment or uneasiness. He seemed glad to meet me on my own account, and yet to feel constrained by my presence. Had he any reason for wishing to conceal from me the fact that he had a daughter?

It now occurred to me for the first time that in her conversation with me Miss Birchmore had never alluded to her mother. Perhaps her mother was dead--had died in her child's infancy. Perhaps the silence concerning her arose from some other and less avowable cause; there might be some matrimonial disgrace or tragedy at the bottom of the father and daughter's reserve. The idea had a certain plausibility, and yet I found it unsatisfactory. The true explanation of the mystery might not be worse than this, but I fancied it must be different--it must be something more unusual and strange.

"'This is an unexpected pleasure,' said I, for the sake of saying something, as we descended the steps down the river embankment to the ferry-boat.

"'The world is not so large a place as people pretend,' replied Mr.

Birchmore. 'Have you been long in Dresden?'

"'A week or so. I've been doing the neighbourhood, and was told that Saxon Switzerland must not be left out of the list. I came near going by the boat----' Here I suddenly recollected that if Mr. Birchmore had gone by boat, as his daughter said he had, his presence in Schandau before us was wholly inexplicable. 'How did you manage to get here so quickly?'

I exclaimed; 'the steamer can't be due for three hours yet!'

"He looked at me in apparent perplexity; Miss Birchmore seemed to share my own surprise. There was a pause of a few moments; then she said in a low tone:

"'You know, papa, I got word that, from some misunderstanding, you had taken the steamer instead of the train.'

"'Ah, to be sure,' he rejoined, with a short laugh; 'I see the difficulty. You must look upon me, I suppose, as a sort of magician, able to transport myself about the country on some new telegraphic principle. Well, I'm afraid I can't lay claim to any such supernatural power. I shall lose credit by the explanation, but you shall have it nevertheless.'

"'No, no! give us room for the exercise of our imagination,' cried I, laughing. The fact was, I felt as if my query had been in some way unfortunate. There was a certain effort in Mr. Birchmore's manner, and a want of spontaneity in his laugh. In my ignorance of the true lay of the land, I was continually making some irritating blunder; and the more I tried to make myself agreeable, the worse was my success.

"Mr. Birchmore, notwithstanding that I deprecated it, chose to make his explanation. 'Kate was right,' said he; 'my first intention was to go by train. Afterwards I decided on the boat, and left the hotel with the purpose of getting our pa.s.sage that way, and sending Kate word to meet me at the landing. But the boat turned out to be so crowded that I changed my mind again: it was then so late that I hadn't time to reach the central railway station; my only chance of catching the train was to jump into a droschkey at the steamboat landing and drive as the _kutcher_ never drove before, for the lower station, which was half-a-mile nearer. I got there barely in time; and Kate, it seems, was waiting at the central all the while!'

"'And of course,' added Miss Birchmore, 'the people at the hotel fancied he _had_ gone by the boat, and sent me word so. Oh yes, I understand it all now; don't you, Mr. Gainsborough?'

"'I don't take it kindly of your father to strip away the illusions from life so pitilessly,' returned I, in a humorous tone; 'I should have been much happier in believing that he had flown through the air on the Arabian king's wishing-carpet.' This sally sufficed to raise the smile of which we all seemed so greatly in want, and so we got into the ferry-boat in a comparatively easy frame of mind.

"The valet to whom I have already alluded sat on a thwart near the bows, in such a position that I had a full view of him. A more unconciliating object I have seldom beheld. His body and arms were long, but his legs were short, and bowed outwards. His features were harsh, forbidding, and strongly marked; but there was an expression of power stamped upon them which fascinated my gaze in spite of the ugliness which would otherwise have made me glad to look away. It was not the power of intellect, for although there was plenty of a saturnine kind of intelligence in the countenance, it was not to be supposed that a fellow in his position of life would be remarkable for brains. No, this power was of another kind; I do not know how to describe it; but I believe some people would get out of the difficulty by calling it magnetic. Whatever it was, it produced a very disagreeable impression on me, and I could not but wonder that Mr. Birchmore should have chosen to take such a creature into his employ. I had the sense, however, on this occasion to keep my speculations to myself; I was resolved not to make a fool of myself again if I could help it--at least, not with this particular family. I noticed that whenever Mr. Birchmore had occasion to address this man, he did so in a peculiarly severe and peremptory tone, very different from his usual low-voiced style. There was seemingly no great affection for him on his master's part, therefore; and certainly the valet looked incapable of a tender feeling towards any human creature. Possibly, however, he was invaluable as a servant, and his unpropitiating exterior might cover an honest and faithful heart. Only should such turn out to be the case, I would never again put faith either in physiognomy or my own instinct of aversion. I disliked to think of this ill-favoured mortal being in daily a.s.sociation with my lovely Kate Birchmore--for already, in my secret soul, I called her mine! and I made up my mind that if ever fortune granted me the privilege of making her what I called her, I would see to it that monsieur the valet formed a part of anyone's household rather than ours.

"Meanwhile the ferryman had poled and paddled us across the river, on the sh.o.r.e of which a swarm of hotel-porters stood ready to rend us limb from limb. But Mr. Birchmore put them all aside save one, to whom he pointed out my trunk, and gave him some directions which I did not hear.

"'I take the liberty,' he then said, turning to me, 'to so far do the honours of this place as to recommend you to the most agreeable hotel in it--the Badehaus, at the farther end of the village, and about half a mile up the valley. These hotels that front the river would give you better fare, perhaps, and less unpretending accommodation; but if quiet and coolness are what you are after--not to mention the medicinal spring water and a private bra.s.s band--the Badehaus is the thing.'

"'The Badehaus be it, by all means.' This attention surprised me, not because I mis...o...b..ed my friend's courtesy, but because I had imagined that his courtesy would not stand in the way of an un.o.btrusive attempt to withdraw himself and his daughter from my immediate companionship.

Yet so far was this from being the case, that he had taken some pains to secure our being together--for of course the Badehaus must be his own quarters. I glanced at Kate, who had taken her father's arm, and was pacing beside him thoughtfully, with downcast eyes. Was she glad as well as I?

"We pa.s.sed through a narrow alley between two friendly buildings, which seemed strongly inclined to lean on one another's shoulders; crossed the rough cobble-stones of the little market-place, and, gaining the farther side of the bridge, found ourselves on a broad level walk which skirted the southern side of the small valley wherein the village lies. On our right hand was a series of stuccoed villas, built against the steep side of the hill; on our left a strip of meadow, with a brook brawling through it; and beyond this again the straggling array of the village, and the hill on the other side. Overhead, the spreading branches of low trees kept off the glare of the sun. Had Kate and I been there alone, methought, the charm of the place would have been complete.

"'What delightful little villas these are!' I exclaimed. 'Aren't they better than any hotel--even the Badehaus?'

"'If you think of spending any great time here--I believe they don't let for less than a week. But probably these are all full at this season.

Higher up the valley, two or three miles beyond the hotel, you would find detached farmhouses, whose owners no doubt would be glad of a lodger. If you are not broken in to a traveller's hardships, though, you'll prefer the Badehaus.'

"'I think I shall prefer it as long as you are there.'

"'Well, I'm sorry to say that won't be long--we shall move to-morrow morning. If I had expected you, I--I should have been happy to have arranged matters otherwise. But the fact is, I have engaged rooms at one of the farmhouses I spoke of, and to-morrow they will expect us.'

"My spirits fell at this news like a feather in a vacuum, and I daresay my face showed it. There could be no doubt now that Mr. Birchmore was resolved to get rid of me. That he would go to-morrow to some distant farmhouse I did not question; but as to his having intended any such thing before he saw me alight from the train, I confess I didn't believe it. It was an unpremeditated expedient; and his inviting me up to the Badehaus was only a polite mitigation of the shock.

"'I am very sorry!' was all I could say.

"Kate turned her face a little towards me at the words, and her eyes met mine sidelong. Only that look--she did not speak; but I saw, or thought I saw, enough in it to make our parting at such brief notice a sentimental impossibility. At whatever sacrifice of the laws of ceremony and civilised reserve, I determined that my acquaintance with her, so well begun, should not thus be nipped in the bud. I would sooner win her as a barbarian than lose her as a man of the world. How to execute my determination was a problem to be solved at my leisure.

"We sauntered on to the hotel, chatting discursively; my mind was too much preoccupied to be thoroughly aware what we were talking about.