"Yes," I replied, "I have seen it and opened it. I told you so."
"Ah! then you can tell me," he cried excitedly, "what was in the safe?"
"I"m afraid I cannot; I opened the safe at the request of the old lady, who, at that time, was lying sorely wounded on her bed. I opened it hastily, took out what I was directed to take by a note within, then closed the safe again."
"But the safe was not empty?"
"No, I think I can go so far as to say that there appeared, as well as I recollect from the hasty glance I had, to be other doc.u.ments and parcels behind those which I took away."
"Very good," Don Juan replied; "now tell me something more. In whose charge is that house in the street of Monmouth. Do you happen to know?"
"When I left Bath," I replied, "the house was in charge of a sergeant of police and his wife; they were caretakers."
"Very good, very good indeed," answered the old man, apparently much relieved; "now tell me one thing more. When does the ship by which you came return to England?"
"The _Oceana_ returns in about a fortnight"s time."
"Do you think now, if I used my best endeavours to make that fortnight very agreeable to you, and to show you during that time more, perhaps, than you would see of Aquazilia in a month in the ordinary way, that I could induce you to return to England with me by that ship?"
At first I thought that by agreeing with his request I should be leaving Dolores behind, then I remembered that I could induce him perhaps to take her with him.
I hesitated for a time and he pressed me.
"Come, now, Mr. Anstruther," he said, "give me your answer."
"I am perfectly certain," I said hesitatingly, for I was not going to give myself away, "that you will make our stay delightful, but I think, before I answer, I had better let you into a little secret.
"I happen to know that my cousin, Lord St. Nivel, and his sister, Lady Ethel Vanborough, intend asking you and Donna Dolores to spend some time with them in England. Could you not make this visit answer both purposes?"
"That would necessitate my taking my daughter with me," he said rather dubiously; then a light seemed to break in upon him, and a smile hovered about his lips to which the colour was just returning.
"Should my daughter have no objection," he replied guardedly, "I see no reason why she should not accompany us."
I know my face lighted up with pleasure. I could not control it.
"We shall spend Christmas with you," I said cheerfully at last, "at any rate, and Christmas in Valoro will be a great novelty both to my cousins and myself, I have no doubt."
"Christmas and the New Year are the gayest times with us of the whole twelve months," he answered, "and you will be able to be present at them both."
"The prospect," I cried, "is delightful, and I will return with you, Don Juan, with pleasure. I should be most ungrateful to refuse your kind offer. I think I can answer for my cousins too, as they have really only taken this trip to please me."
"Very well, then," he said rising, "that"s settled; now we will go and find the ladies. I have no doubt your cousins have arrived by this time. I sent an automobile for them."
As I followed him, I flattered myself that I could persuade Dolores to take that return journey with us to Europe, if any persuasion were indeed necessary, by which it will be seen that I was acquiring a certain amount of confidence in my powers over that young lady.
CHAPTER XV
THE ABBOT OF SAN JUAN
The two weeks which followed const.i.tuted, I have no hesitation in saying, the gala fortnight of my existence.
I never could have imagined it possible that so much pleasure could have been crowded into such a short time. But can it not be easily believed that everything then was to me gilded with that supreme fine gold, the glamour of a young love? Yes, I think even the old Don himself saw it, and at any rate did not forbid it.
I went about with Dolores everywhere, even to church, at which she was a regular attendant, and I flatter myself behaved very creditably there, for though I was not a Roman Catholic like herself, yet I had attended the Sunday evening ministrations of the monks of Bath, and knew a good deal about it through the said monks" discourses.
I hope I don"t make a mistake in calling them monks--if I do, I ask their pardon. I certainly understood them to _say_ they were monks.
Be that as it may. I did not disgrace Dolores when I went with her to the great cathedral in Valoro.
But our time there was by no means entirely spent in going to church.
Day after day the old Don engaged special trains in which we flew about the Republic faring sumptuously everywhere, and on our return there would generally be a dinner-party, followed by the theatre or the opera--a magnificent house and performance--and as likely as not a ball after that. Much more of it would have killed us all.
But the gay life mercifully drew towards a close, and Dolores and I began to contemplate a pleasurable voyage back on that very ship on which we had first met and loved.
Yes, loved; we were plighted lovers now; there was no secret, no hiding anything from one another.
By Dolores" wish I only waited to reach England to tell her father of my love for her and ask him for her.
"And do you think he will give you to me, darling?" I asked one beautiful night, when we were sitting out a waltz at a ball at the house of a grandee at Valoro. "Do you think he will give you to an Englishman?"
"Considering that he gave his sister away to an Englishman I don"t see how he can refuse me to you, dearest," she answered. "At any rate I think I can persuade him."
Yes, I believed she could, she looked capable of persuading the angels themselves, in her dress of white silk, cut rather low, with a string of pearls round her neck worth about the value of the winner of the Derby.
Towards the last few days of our stay in Aquazilia, when we were all, even Lady Ethel, surfeited with dancing, and St. Nivel and I began to look askance at banquets, Don Juan came to me one day and took me aside into his garden.
I purposely led him away from the direction of the reptile houses of which I had a holy horror, and we sauntered down a shady avenue of palms.
"There is one place of interest near Valoro, Mr. Anstruther," he said, "which I should much like to show you and Lord St. Nivel if he cares to come, and that is the great Trappist Monastery at San Juan del Monte, about ten miles from here."
"By Jove!" I answered, "that is the very place I should like to see!
I"m your man at any time."
"If you can be up by seven to-morrow morning," continued the old man, "we can motor over in the cool of the day. I know it is asking a good deal of you, because we have this evening to attend the reception of your minister, and then go on to the ball at Donna Elvira della Granja"s. At the earliest we shall not be in bed till two, I fear."
"Never mind," I answered, "a cold tub usually puts me straight after a late night, and I am particularly anxious to see some real live monks in real cells."
"You will see both there in dozens," replied d"Alta; "there are nearly three hundred monks there."
Despite the dissipation of the night, six o"clock the next morning saw me out of bed, and 7.45 found me dressed for the road and as fresh from my cold bath as if His Britannic Majesty"s Minister at Valoro had not given a reception at all, and Donna Elvira della Granja"s ball had never taken place, though I certainly put in an appearance at the former, sitting in a corner with Dolores and listening to her description of all the political notabilities present, and at the latter I certainly did my duty as an Englishman, as many a black-eyed donna could testify, albeit I had all the best waltzes with Dolores, and of course took her in to supper.
I think every one in Valoro by this time put us down as an engaged couple; especially as old Don Juan seemed a consenting party or discreetly blind to our proceedings.
St. Nivel told me afterwards of a conversation he overheard between two American attaches at Donna Elvira"s.