"I know nothing, except what I have seen of your brave fight, my child.
All the information I have had about you, from outside, was contained in that valuable little note of introduction from Griswold."
In spite of her tears and agitation she smiled, but looked puzzled, as I afterward recalled she always did when I mentioned his name, or spoke as if she knew him well.
"I have not watched you for nothing. And I never treat a patient without first diagnosing his case. I do not say that I am _always_ right. I am not vain of the methods nor of the progress of my profession; but I am, at least, not blind, and I have always been interested in you. I should like to help you, if you will let me. I can do nothing for you in the dark." Then dropping my voice, significantly: "Does _he_ know where you are? Does _he_ know you are ill?"
There was a long silence. I did not know but that she was offended. She was struggling for command of her voice, and for courage. Presently she said, in a hoa.r.s.e whisper, which evidently shocked her as much as it startled me, so unnatural did it sound:
"Who? My husband?"
"Your _husband!_" I exclaimed. "Are you--is there--I did not know you were married. Why did you always allow me to call you _Miss_ Campbell?"
"I do not know," she said, wearily. "It made no difference to me, and it seemed to please your fancy to treat me as a child.. But I never really noticed that you did always call me Miss. If I had, I should not have cared. What difference could it make to me--or to you--what prefix you put to my name?"
"But I did not know you were married," I said almost sharply.
She looked up, startled for a moment; but recovering, as from some vague suspicion, in an instant she said, smiling a little, and with evident relief, plunging into a new opening:
"That had nothing to do with my case. There was no need to discuss family relations. I never thought of whether _you_ were married or not. You were my doctor--I your patient. What our family relations, wardrobes, or political affiliations might be seem to me quite aside from that. We may choose to talk of them together, or we may not, as the case may be. And in my case, it would not be--edifying." There was a moment"s pause, then she said, rather impatiently, but as if the new topic were a relief to her: "The idea that a woman must be ticketed as married or unmarried, to every chance acquaintance, is repellent to me.
Men are not so ticketed--and that is right. It is vulgar to suppose a sign is needed to prevent trespa.s.s, or to tempt approach. "Miss Jones, this is Mr. Smith." What does it tell?" She was talking very rapidly now--nervously. "It tells her, "Here is a gentleman to whom I wish to introduce you. If you find him agreeable you will doubtless learn more of him later on." It tells him, "Here is a lady. _She is not married._ Her family relations--her most private affairs--are thrust in his face before she has even said good evening to him. I think it is vulgar, and it is certainly an unnecessary personality. What his or her marital relations may be would seem to come a good deal later in the stage of acquaintance, don"t you think so, doctor?" She laughed, but it was not like herself. Even the laugh had changed. She was fighting for time.
"It is a new idea to me," I said, "and I confess I like it. Come to think of it, it _is_ a trifle premature--this thrusting a t.i.tle intended to indicate private relations onto a name used on all public occasions.
By Jove! it is absurd. I never thought of it before; but it is _never_ done with men, is it? "General," "Mr." "Dr."--none of them. All relate to him as an individual, leaving vast fields of possibilities all about him. "Mrs." "Miss"--they tell one thing, and one only. That is of a private nature--a personal a.s.sociation. You have started me on a new line of thought, and," said I, taking her hand again, "you have given me so much that is new to think of to-night that I will go home to look over the budget. You are tired out. Go to bed now. Order your tea brought up. Here is an order to see to anything you may ask, promptly.
Beesley, the manager, is an old friend of mine. Any order you may give, if you send it down with this note from me, will be obeyed at once. I shall come to-morrow. Good-night."
I put the order on the table, at her side. I know my voice was husky.
It startled me, as I heard it. She sat perfectly still, but she laid her other hand on top of mine, with a light pressure, and her voice sounded tired and full of tears.
"Good-night. You are very kind--very thoughtful. I will be brave to-morrow. Good-night." That night I drove past and saw a light in her window at one o"clock. "Poor child!" I said; "will she be brave enough to tell me to-morrow, or will she die with her burden, and her gay little laugh on her lips?"
IV.
The next day I called earlier than usual. I had spent an almost sleepless night, wondering what I could do for this beautiful, lovable woman, who seemed to be all alone in the world, and who evidently felt that she must remain apart and desolate.
What had caused her to leave her husband? Or had he left her? What for?
What kind of a man was he? Did she love him, and was she breaking her heart for him? or did he stand between her and some other love? Had she married young, and made a mistake that was eating her life out? Whose fault was it? How could I help her?
All these and a thousand other questions forced themselves upon me, and none of the answers came to fit the case. Answers there were in plenty, but they were not for these questions nor for this woman--not for this delicate flower of her race.
As I stepped into the hotel office to send my card to "Parlor 13," as was my custom, the clerk looked up with his perfunctory smile and said, "Go" morning, doctor. Got so in the habit "coming here lately, s"pose it"ll take quite a while to taper off. That about the size of it?"
I stared at the young man in utter bewilderment.
"Ha! ha! ha! I believe you"d really forgot already she"d gone;"
and then, with a quick flash of surprise and intelligent, detective shrewdness, "You knew she was going, doctor? She did not skip her little bill, did she? Of course not. Her husband was in such a deuce of a hurry to catch the early train, the night-clerk said he was ringing his bell the blessed night for fear they"d get left. Front! take water to 273.
You hadn"t been gone five minutes last night, when he came skipping down here with your check and order, and we just had to make things hum to get cash enough together to meet it for her; but we made it, and so they got off all right."
"Have you got my check here yet?" asked I, in in a tone that arrested the attention of the other clerk, who looked up in surprise.
"Good heavens! no. Do you think we"re made of ready money, just because you are? That check was in the bank and part of the cash in that desk the first thing after banking hours," said he, opening out the register and reaching for a bunch of pens behind him. "You see it cleaned us out last night. I couldn"t change two dollars for a man this morning. I told Campbell last night that you must think hotels were run queer, to expect us to cash a five-thousand dollar check on five minutes" notice.
Couldn"t "a" done it at all if "t hadn"t been pay-night for servants and the rest of us. We all had to wait till to-day. But the old man"ll tell you. Here he comes."
"Why, h.e.l.lo! doctor, old boy," said Beesley, coming up from behind and clapping me vigorously on the shoulder. "Didn"t expect to see the light of your countenance around here again so soon. Thought we owed it all to your professional ardor for that charming patient of yours up in 13.
They got off all right, but if any other man but you had sent that order and check down here for us to cash last night I"d have told him to make tracks. Of course, I understood that they were called away suddenly--unexpectedly, and all that. He told me all about it, and that you did not finish the trade till the last minute; but--"
"_Trade?_" gasped I, in spite of my determination to hear all before disclosing anything. "Trade?"
"Oh, come off. Don"t be so consumedly skittish about the use of English, I suppose you want me to say that the "transaction between you was not concluded," etc., etc. Oh, you"re a droll one, doctor." He appeared to notice a change on my face, which he evidently misconstrued, and he added, gayly. "Oh, it was all right, my boy, as long as it was you--glad to do you a good turn any day; but what a queer idea for that little woman to marry such a man! How did it happen? I"d like to know the history! Every time I saw him come swelling around I made up mind to ask you about them, and then I always forgot it when I saw you. When he told me you had been his wife"s guardian I thought some of kicking you the next good chance I got, for allowing the match, and for not telling me you had such a pretty ward. You always were a deep rascal--go off!" He rattled on.
Several times I had decided to speak, but as often restrained myself. My blank face and unsettled manner appeared to touch his sense of humor.
He concluded that it was good acting. I decided to confirm the mistake, until I had time to think it all over. Finally, I said, as carelessly as I could:
"How long had this--a--husband been here? That is--when did he get back?"
"Been here! get back! Been here all the time; smoked more good cigars and surrounded more wine than any other one man in the house. Oh, he was a Jim-dandy of a fellow for a hotel!" Then, with sudden suspicion: "Why?
Had he told you he"d go away before? Oh! I--see! _That_ was the trade?
Paid him to skip, hey? M--m--m--yes! I think I begin to catch on." He could hardly restrain his mirth, and winked at me in sheer ecstasy.
I went slowly out. When I arrived at the house I directed the servant to say to anyone who might call that the doctor was not at home. I went to my room and wrote to Dr. Griswold, asking him for information about Florence Campbell, the fair patient he had sent me. "Who was she? What did he know of her? Where were her friends?" I told him nothing of this last development, but asked for an immediately reply, adding--"for an important reason."
Three days later a telegram was handed to me as I drove up to my office.
It was this:
"Never heard of her. Why? Griswold?"
I did not sleep that night. For the first time my faith in Florence Campbell wavered. Up to that time I had blamed her husband for everything. I had woven around her a web of plausible circ.u.mstances which made her the unwilling victim of a designing villain--an expert forger, no doubt, who used her, without her own knowledge, as a decoy--a man of whom she was both ashamed and afraid, but from whom she could not escape.
But how was all that to be reconciled with this revelation? Griswold did not know her. How about his introduction and that "sulph. 12"? I looked through my desk for Griswold"s note. It was certainly his handwriting; but I noticed, for the first time, that it did not mention her name.
Perhaps this was a loop-hole through which I might bring my fair patient--in whom I was beginning to fear I had taken too deep an interest--without discredit to herself.
Might she not have changed her name since Griswold treated her? I determined to give her the benefit of this doubt until I could be sure that it had no foundation.
I felt relieved by this respite, and, heartily ashamed of the unjust suspicion of the moment before, I gave no hint of it in the letter I now wrote Griswold, describing the lady, and in which I enclosed his letter of introduction to me.
The next few days I went about my practice in a dream, and it was no doubt due to fortuitous circ.u.mstances rather than to my skill that several of my patients still live to tell the tale of their suffering and of my phenomenal ability to cope with disease in all its malignant power.
V.
In due time Griswold"s letter came. I went into my office to read it. I told myself that I had no fears for the good name of Florence Campbell.
I knew that some explanation would be made that would confirm me in my opinion of her; but, for all that, I locked the door, and my hand was less steady than I liked to see it, as I tore the end of the envelope.
I even remember thinking vaguely that I usually took time to open my letters with more precision and with less disregard for the untidy appearance of their outer covering afterward. I hesitated to read beyond the first line, although I had so hastened to get that far. I read: "My dear old friend," and then turned the letter over to see how long it was--how much probable information it contained. There were four closely written pages. I wondered if it could all be about Florence Campbell, and was vaguely afraid that it was--and that it was _not_. I remembered looking at the clock when I came into the office. It was nearly six o"clock. I laid the letter down and went to the cooler and got out a bottle of Vichy. I sat it and (placed) some wine by my elbow on the desk, and took up the letter.