The Lost Girl Part 74

"Yes," she said coldly. Anything for a quiet emergence from this scene.

He fumbled feverishly in his pocket with one hand, holding her still fast by the other arm. And with one hand he managed to extract the ring from its case, letting the case roll away on the floor. It was a diamond solitaire.

"Which finger? Which finger is it?" he asked, beginning to smile rather weakly. She extricated her hand, and held out her engagement finger. Upon it was the mourning-ring Miss Frost had always worn.

The doctor slipped the diamond solitaire above the mourning ring, and folded Alvina to his breast again.

"Now," he said, almost in his normal voice. "Now I know you love me." The pleased self-satisfaction in his voice made her angry. She managed to extricate herself.

"You will come along with me now?" he said.

"I can't," she answered. "I must get back to my work here."

"Nurse Allen can do that."

"I'd rather not."

"Where are you going today?"

She told him her cases.

"Well, you will come and have tea with me. I shall expect you to have tea with me every day."

But Alvina was straightening her crushed cap before the mirror, and did not answer.

"We can see as much as we like of each other now we're engaged," he said, smiling with satisfaction.

"I wonder where the matron is," said Alvina, suddenly going into the cool white corridor. He followed her. And they met the matron just coming out of the ward.

"Matron!" said Dr. Mitch.e.l.l, with a return of his old mouthing importance. "You may congratulate Nurse Houghton and me on our engagement--" He smiled largely.

"I may congratulate _you_, you mean," said the matron.

"Yes, of course. And both of us, since we are now one," he replied.

"Not quite, yet," said the matron gravely.

And at length she managed to get rid of him.

At once she went to look for Alvina, who had gone to her duties.

"Well, I _suppose_ it is all right," said the matron gravely.

"No it isn't," said Alvina. "I shall _never_ marry him."

"Ah, never is a long while! Did he hear me come in?"

"No, I'm sure he didn't."

"Thank goodness for that."

"Yes indeed! It was perfectly horrible. Following me round on his knees and shouting for me to love him! Perfectly horrible!"

"Well," said the matron. "You never know what men will do till you've known them. And then you need be surprised at nothing, _nothing_. I'm surprised at nothing they do--"

"I must say," said Alvina, "I was surprised. Very unpleasantly."

"But you accepted him--"

"Anything to quieten him--like a hysterical child."

"Yes, but I'm not sure you haven't taken a very risky way of quietening him, giving him what he wanted--"

"I think," said Alvina, "I can look after myself. I may be moved any day now."

"Well--!" said the matron. "He may prevent your getting moved, you know. He's on the board. And if he says you are indispensable--"

This was a new idea for Alvina to cogitate. She had counted on a speedy escape. She put his ring in her ap.r.o.n pocket, and there she forgot it until he pounced on her in the afternoon, in the house of one of her patients. He waited for her, to take her off.

"Where is your ring?" he said.

And she realized that it lay in the pocket of a soiled, discarded ap.r.o.n--perhaps lost for ever.

"I shan't wear it on duty," she said. "You know that."

She had to go to tea with him. She avoided his love-making, by telling him any sort of spooniness revolted her. And he was too much an old bachelor to take easily to a fondling habit--before marriage, at least. So he mercifully left her alone: he was on the whole devoutly thankful she wanted to be left alone. But he wanted her to be there. That was his greatest craving. He wanted her to be always there. And so he craved for marriage: to possess her entirely, and to have her always there with him, so that he was never alone. Alone and apart from all the world: but by her side, always by her side.

"Now when shall we fix the marriage?" he said. "It is no good putting it back. We both know what we are doing. And now the engagement is announced--"

He looked at her anxiously. She could see the hysterical little boy under the great, authoritative man.

"Oh, not till after Christmas!" she said.

"After Christmas!" he started as if he had been bitten. "Nonsense!

It's nonsense to wait so long. Next month, at the latest."

"Oh no," she said. "I don't think so soon."

"Why not? The sooner the better. You had better send in your resignation at once, so that you're free."

"Oh but is there any need? I may be transferred for war service."

"That's not likely. You're our only maternity nurse--"

And so the days went by. She had tea with him practically every afternoon, and she got used to him. They discussed the furnishing--she could not help suggesting a few alterations, a few arrangements according to _her_ idea. And he drew up a plan of a wedding tour in Scotland. Yet she was quite certain she would not marry him. The matron laughed at her certainty. "You will drift into it," she said. "He is tying you down by too many little threads."

"Ah, well, you'll see!" said Alvina.

"Yes," said the matron. "I _shall_ see."