"Then some one else did. Answer me some questions. What is my name?"
"Marjory Anita Drake."
"Am I poor?"
"In the way of money, no."
"Right! Why did I leave America?"
"To run away from the fire
works and the Joan of Arc business."
"Right again; but that sounds mighty like Sam Adams. Well, that's allright; now we may begin. I want to tell you something which you don'tknow." She paused. Half in delight and half in fear, for her appearanceof purpose alarmed me, I set myself to listen.
CHAPTER XIX
ON CHANGING ONE'S NAME
With a smile Marjory began:
"You are satisfied that it was because of the fireworks and Joan of Arcbusiness that I came away?"
"Oh yes!"
"And that this was the final and determining cause?"
"Why certainly!"
"Then you are wrong!" I looked at her in wonder and in some secretconcern. If I were wrong in this belief, then why not in others? IfAdams's belief and my acceptance of it were erroneous, what new mysterywas there to be revealed? Just at present things had been looking sowell for the accomplishment of my wishes that any disturbance must beunwelcome. Marjory, watching me from under her eyelashes, had by thistime summed me up. The stern look which she always had when her browswere fixed in thought, melted into a smile which was partly happy,partly mischievous, and wholly girlish.
"Make your mind easy, Archie" she said, and oh! how my heart leaped whenshe addressed me by my Christian name for the first time. "There isn'tanything to get uneasy about. I'll tell you what it was if you wish."
"Certainly I wish, if you don't dislike telling me."
So she went on:
"I did not mind the fireworks; that is I did mind them and liked themtoo. Between you and me, there has to be a lot of fireworks for one toobject to them. People may say what they please, but it's only those whohave not tasted popular favour that say they don't like it. I don't knowhow Joan of Arc felt, but I've a pretty cute idea that she was likeother girls. If she enjoyed being cheered and made much of as well asI did, no wonder that she kept up the game as long as she could. Whatbroke me all up was the proposals of marriage! It's all very wellgetting proposed to by people you know, and that you don't dislike. Butwhen you get a washing basket full of proposals every morning by thepost; when seedy looking scallywags ogle you; when smug young men withsoft hats and no chins wait outside your door to hand you their ownpoems; and when greasy cranks stop your carriage to proffer their heartsto you before your servants, it becomes too much. Of course you can burnthe letters, though there are some of them too good and too honest notto treat their writers with respect. But the cranks and egotists, andscallywags and publicans and sinners, the loafers that float round onelike an unwholesome miasma; these are too many and too various, and tooawful to cope with. I felt the conviction so driven in to me that thegirl, or at any rate her personality, counts for so little, but that hermoney, or her notoriety, or celebrity or whatever it is, counts for somuch, that I couldn't bear to meet strangers at all. Burglars and ghostsand tigers and snakes and all kinds of things that dart out on youare bad enough; but I tell you that proposers on the pounce are a holyterror. Why, at last I began to distrust everyone. There wasn't anunmarried man of my acquaintance that I didn't begin to suspect of somedesign; and then the funny part of it was that if they didn't come upto the scratch I felt aggrieved. It was awfully unfair wasn't it? But Icould not help it. I wonder if there is a sort of moral jaundice whichmakes one see colours all wrong! If there is, I had it; and so I justcame away to get cured if I could.
"You can't imagine the freedom which it was to me not to be made muchof and run after. Of course there was a disappointing side to it;I'm afraid people's heads swell very quick! But, all told, it wasdelightful. Mrs. Jack had come with me, and I had covered up my tracksat home so that no one would be worried. We ran up to Canada, and atMontreal took a steamer to Liverpool. We got out, however, at Moville.We had given false names, so that we couldn't be tracked." Here shestopped; and a shy look grew over her face. I waited, for I thought itwould embarrass her less to tell things in her own way than to be askedquestions. The shy look grew into a rosy blush, through which came thatdivine truth which now and again can shine from a girl's eyes. She saidin quite a different way from any in which she had spoken to me as yet;with a gentle appealing gravity:
"That was why I let you keep the wrong impression as to my name. Icouldn't bear that you, who had been so good to me, should, at the verystart of our--our friendship, find me out in a piece of falsity. Andthen when we knew each other better, and after you had treated me withso much confidence about the Second Sight and Gormala and the Treasure,it made me feel so guilty every time I thought of it that I was ashamedto speak." She stopped and I ventured to take her hand. I said in asconsolatory a way as I could:
"But my dear, that was not any deceit--to me at any rate. You tookanother name to avoid trouble before ever I even saw you; how then couldI be aggrieved. Besides" I added, feeling bolder as she did not make anyeffort to draw away her hand, "I should be the last person in the worldto object to your changing your name!"
"Why?" she asked raising her eyes to mine with a glance which shotthrough me. This was pure coquetry; she knew just as well as I did whatI meant. All the same, however, I said:
"Because I too want you to change it!" She did not say a word, butlooked down.
I was now sure of my ground, and without a word I bent over and kissedher. She did not draw back. Her arms went round me; and in an instant Ihad a glimpse of heaven.
Presently she put me away gently and said:
"There was another reason why I did not speak all that time. I can tellit to you now."
"Pardon me" I interrupted "but before you tell me, am I to take itthat--well, what has just been between us--is an affirmative answer tomy question?" Her teeth flashed as well as her eyes as she answered:
"Have you any doubt? Was there any imperfection in the answer? If so,perhaps we had better read it as 'no.'"