My answer was not verbal; but it was satisfactory to me. Then she wenton:
"I can surely tell you now at all events. Have you still doubts?"
"Yes" said I, "many, very many, hundreds, thousands, millions, all ofwhich are clamouring for instant satisfaction!" She said quietly andvery demurely, at the same time raising that warning hand which Ialready well knew, and which I could not but feel was apt to have aninfluence on my life, though I had no doubt but that it would always befor good:
"Then as there are so many, there is not the slightest use trying todeal with them now."
"All right" I said "we shall take them in proper season and deal withthem seriatim." She said nothing, but she looked happy.
I felt so happy myself that the very air round us, and the sunshine,and the sea, seemed full of joyous song. There was music even in thescreaming of the myriad seagulls sweeping overhead, and in the wash ofthe rising and falling waves at our feet. I kept my eyes on Marjory asshe went on to speak:
"Oh, it is a delight to be able to tell you now what a pleasure it wasto me to know that you, who knew nothing of me, of my money, or my ship,or all the fireworks and Joan of Arc business--I shall never forget thatphrase--had come to me for myself alone. It was a pleasure which I couldnot help prolonging. Even had I had no awkwardness in telling my name,I should have kept it back if possible; so that, till we had made ourinner feelings known to each other, I should have been able to revel inthis assurance of personal attraction;" I was so happy that I felt Icould interrupt:
"That sounds an awfully stilted way of putting it, is it not?" I said."May I take it that what you mean is, that though you loved me alittle--of course after I had shown you that I loved you a greatdeal--you still wished to keep me on a string; so that my ignorance ofyour extrinsic qualities might add a flavour to your enjoyment of mypersonal devotion?"
"You talk" she said with a joyful smile "like a small book with giltedges! And now, I know you want to know more of my surroundings, wherewe are living and what are our plans."
Her words brought a sort of cold shiver to me. In my great happiness Ihad forgotten for the time all anxiety for her safety. In a rush thereswept over me all the matters which had caused me such anguish of mindfor the last day and a half. She saw the change in me, and with poeticfeeling put in picturesque form her evident concern:
"Archie, what troubles you? your face is like a cloud passing over acornfield!"
"I am anxious about you" I sai
d. "In the perfection of happinesswhich you have given me, I forgot for the moment some things that aretroubling me." With infinite gentleness, and with that sweet tendernesswhich is the sympathetic facet of love, she laid her hand on mine andsaid:
"Tell me what troubles you. I have a right to know now, have I not?" Foranswer I raised her hand and kissed it; then holding it in mine I wenton:
"At the same time that I learned about you, I heard of some other thingswhich have caused me much anxiety. You will help to put me at ease,won't you?"
"Anything you like I shall do. I am all yours now!"
"Thank you, my darling, thank you!" was all I could say; her sweetsurrender of herself overwhelmed me. "But I shall tell you later; in themeantime tell me all about yourself, for that is a part of what I waitfor." So she spoke:
"We are living, Mrs. Jack and I, in an old Castle some miles back in thecountry from here. First I must tell you that Mrs. Jack is my old nurse.Her husband had been a workman of my father's in his pioneer days. WhenDad made his own pile he took care of Jack--Jack Dempsey his name was,but we never called him anything but Jack. His wife was Mrs. Jack then,and has been so ever since to me. When mother died, Mrs. Jack, who hadlost her husband a little while before, came to take care of me. Thenwhen father died she took care of everything; and has been like a motherto me ever since. As I dare say you have noticed, she has never got overthe deferential manner which she used to have in her poorer days. ButMrs. Jack is a rich woman as women go; if some of my proposers had anidea of how much money she has they would never let her alone till shemarried some one. I think she got a little frightened at the way I wastreated; and there was a secret conviction that she might be the next tosuffer. If it hadn't been for that, I doubt if she would ever, even toplease me, have fallen in with my mad scheme of running away under falsenames. When we came to London we saw the people at Morgan's; and thegentleman who had charge of our affairs undertook to keep silence as tous. He was a nice old man, and I told him enough of the state of affairsfor him to understand that I had a good reason for lying dark. I thoughtthat Scotland might be a good place to hide in for a time; so we lookedabout amongst the land agents for a house where we would not be likelyto be found. They offered us a lot; but at last they told us of onebetween Ellon and Peterhead, way back from the road. We found it in adip between a lot of hills where you would never suspect there was ahouse at all, especially as it was closely surrounded with a wood. It isin reality an old castle, built about two or three hundred years ago.The people who own it--Barnard by name, are away, the agent told us, andthe place was to let year after year but no one has ever taken it. Hedidn't seem to know much about the owners as he had only seen theirsolicitor; but he said they might come some time and ask to visit thehouse. It is an interesting old place, but awfully gloomy. There aresteel trellis gates, and great oak doors bound with steel, that rumblelike thunder when you shut them. There are vaulted roofs; and windows inthe thickness of the wall, which though they are big enough to sit in,are only slits at the outside. Oh! it is a perfect daisy of an oldhouse. You must come and see it! I will take you all over it; that is,over all I can, for there are some parts of it shut off and locked up."
"When may I go?" I asked.
"Well, I had thought," she answered, "that it would be very nice if youwere to get your wheel and ride over with me to-day."
"Count me in every time! By the way what is the name of the place?"
"Crom Castle. Crom is the name of the little village, but it is a coupleof miles away." I paused a while thinking before I spoke. Then with mymind made up I said:
"Before we leave here I want to speak of something which, howeverunimportant you may think it, makes me anxious. You will let me at thebeginning beg, won't you, that you do not ask me who my informant is, ornot to tell you anything except what I think advisable." Her face grewgrave as she said:
"You frighten me! But Archie, dear, I trust you. I trust you; and youmay speak plainly. I shall understand."
CHAPTER XX
COMRADESHIP
"I want you to promise me that you will not hide yourself where I cannotfind you. I have grave reason for the request. Also, I want you, ifyou will, to let some others know where you are." At first there wasinstinctive defiance in her mouth and nostrils. Then her brows wrinkledin thought; the sequence was an index to character which I could not butnotice. However the war was not long; reason, whatever was the outcomeof its dominance, triumphed over impulse. I thought I could understandthe logical process which led to her spoken conclusion:
"You want to report me to 'Uncle Sam'."
"That's about it!" I answered, and hurried on to give her a reasonbefore she made up her mind to object.
"Remember, my dear, that your nation is at war; and, though you areat present safe in a country friendly to both belligerents, there areevil-minded people in all countries who will take advantage of anythingunusual, to work their own ends. That splendid gift of yours to thenation, while it has made you a public favourite and won for youmillions of friends--and proposals--has yet made for you a host ofenemies. It is not as if you had given a hospital-ship or an ambulance.Your gift belongs to the war side and calls out active hatred; and nodoubt there are men banded together to do you harm. This cannot beallowed. Your friends, and the nation as a whole, would take any stepto prevent such a thing; but they might all be powerless if you werehidden anywhere where they could not find you." As I spoke, Marjorylooked at me keenly, not with hostility, but with genuine interest. WhenI had finished she said quietly: