But these precautions were taken in vain, for not ten minutes had elapsed before Sherman was summoned to the drawing-room, there to meet the stranger, who introduced himself, told a most manly and straightforward story, and, having produced an excellent impression of sincerity on his host, left with profuse apologies.
Sherman returned to his sister with a quizzical smile on his face.
"Carol," he said, "what have you been doing?"
Carolina"s reply was prompt and to the point.
"I own to being reckless, of trying to conceal my recklessness, under a mistaken sense that I was clever enough to cover my tracks. I vainly endeavoured to spare you an hour"s anxiety, and I feel that I am a fool for my pains."
Her brother laughed.
"The man is unmistakably a gentleman. He is in deep trouble over a young woman, not his sister, who has run away, presumably with a man.
He tried to trace them and failed."
"Failed?"
"Failed. If she is his wife, may G.o.d help her when he catches her, for there was danger in that man"s eye. But his pride forbade him to give me more than the bare facts necessary to explain his extraordinary action in surprising you into lending him my horse."
"Was that the way he put it?" asked Carolina.
"It was."
"He is a gentleman!"
She waited a moment, hesitated, and then said:
"Did he say anything else, anything about--"
"About the woman in the case? Not a word about anything more than I have told you. He seemed to take it for granted, however, that you were my wife."
"And didn"t you deny it?" demanded Carolina, with such spirit that she surprised herself. She felt her cheeks grow hot.
"He didn"t give me time."
"And you let him go, still thinking it?"
"I didn"t let him do anything. He mastered the situation, and carried it off with such ease that I almost felt grateful to him for borrowing the dogcart."
Carolina opened her lips to say something, then changed her mind.
"It is of no importance," she said lightly. But there was an odd sinking at her heart which belied her words. She had never believed in love at first sight, yet she had watched this stranger at a distance all one evening, and at their first meeting in the throng leaving the opera, she had not been mistaken in the look of--well, of welcome, she had felt. Their second meeting had been equally striking, and Carolina calmly said to herself that she would meet this man again, and the third time it would be even more strange. She was so sure of this that she would not allow her mind to be disturbed by the two blundering conclusions Sherman had forced--one that the man was in pursuit of a runaway wife or love and the other that she was the wife of the master of the horse. She was so sure of her own premises that she overlooked the possibility that the stranger might have put the supposition tentatively to Sherman and had been misled by her brother"s lack of denial.
In fact, Carolina at this time was a very self-centred young woman. It was so of necessity. She had never been taught self-denial, nor permitted to be unselfish. Her father and mother, in yielding to every whim, had quite overlooked the fact that the pretty child"s character needed discipline, so that Carolina was selfish without knowing it.
Quite unconsciously she placed her own wishes before those of any other, and regarded the carrying of her point as the proper end to strive for.
No one had ever taught her differently. Cousin Lois had pampered her even more than her parents had done, and when she became dissatisfied with life, offered, as a remedy, change of scene.
Now the girl possessed an inherently unselfish nature, and for this reason--that she never had been called upon to sacrifice her own will--she was not happy. Although she possessed much that young girls envied in wealth and the freedom to travel, the two things which would have made her happiest, a permanent home and some one--father or mother or lover--upon whom to lavish her heart"s best love, were lacking. Not being of an a.n.a.lytical turn of mind, she had never realized her lack, until suddenly she had been given a glimpse of both, and then both had been s.n.a.t.c.hed away.
Opposition always made the girl more spirited. Guildford lost was more to be desired than Guildford idle and only waiting for her to reclaim and restore it. This dominant stranger interested in another woman--Carolina lifted her chin. It was her way.
Her brother saw it and smiled. It was a pretty trick she had inherited from the Lees. It was a gage of battle. It betokened unusual interest.
It meant that their blood was fired and their pride roused. He mistook the cause, that was all. He was so engrossed in his own thoughts and so pleased by his efforts to gain something which his sister actually desired, that he had forgotten the episode of the strange visitor. So that when he said:
"So that is the way you feel, is it?" Carolina started violently and blushed. She was diplomatic enough to make no reply, so that Sherman"s next remark saved her from further embarra.s.sment.
"Do you really care for Guildford so much?"
"How do you know I am thinking of Guildford?" asked Carolina, quickly.
"I have not spoken of it."
"Ah," said her brother, lifting his hand, "I can read your thoughts. I notice that you only have that look on your face when you are thinking of something you love. But I wouldn"t waste such a blush on a measure of cold earth, even if they are your ancestral acres."
"My ancestral acres!" repeated Carolina, softly. "How beautiful that sounds! Oh, Sherman, tell me if we can save them!"
Sherman hesitated a moment and knit his brow. Then he lifted his head and looked Carolina in the eyes.
"I will do what I can," he said. "You may be sure of that."
Carolina had all a strong woman"s belief in the power of a man to do anything he chose. His words were not particularly rea.s.suring, but his manner, as she afterwards thought it over, was vaguely comforting.
It was the more comforting, because, deep down in her heart, she intended to supplement his efforts, weak or strong, and win victory even from defeat.
Guildford?
She _would_ have it!
CHAPTER VII.
MORTAL MIND
Therefore, when the blow fell and Sherman had written her a letter, not daring to see her, telling her as gently as he could, but with an air of finality which there was no mistaking, that the mortgage on Guildford had been bought and foreclosed by Colonel Yancey, and therefore, in his opinion, it was lost to the Lees for ever, Carolina realized for the first time how tenacious had been her hold on the hope of possessing it.
In an instant, with her woman"s instinct, she saw what it had taken years for Sherman to discover. Colonel Yancey had, as Carolina found, learned that it was Captain Lee"s and Carolina"s dearest wish to restore Guildford. The two men had talked intimately. Both were Southern, although Colonel Yancey was a Georgian, but with the confidence in each other"s integrity, which is typical of most Southern men, and which has led to the ruin of many an honest man, Captain Lee confided his hopes to Colonel Yancey, who profited by them to secure Guildford for himself, and thus gain a hold over Carolina.
It was so easy to do this, in the most ordinary business manner, with Sherman both unsuspicious of him and his sister"s love for the place, that at times Colonel Yancey almost had the grace to be ashamed of himself.
Carolina saw the whole vile plot, and the shock and disappointment put her fairly beside herself. She was so sure that she had got at the root of the matter that she at once disbelieved that part of Sherman"s story which said that Colonel Yancey was a fugitive from justice. If he had cheated this syndicate, he had done it in such a manner that it left no illegal entanglements, and she was sure that he was free to return to this country whenever he chose. If not, her whole theory fell to the ground, for she knew that Colonel Yancey would not dare to offer her a reputation which the law had power to smirch.
It never was Carolina"s way to wax confidential, but one day Kate surprised her in a particularly desperate mood. Carolina was in her habit, waiting for her horse to be brought around, and when Kate entered, she was walking up and down the peaceful blue and silver boudoir like an outraged lioness.
"It"s no use, Kate!" she cried, when her friend began to remonstrate.
"I have come to the end of my rope. You don"t know the truth because I have been afraid to tell you. You couldn"t have understood if I had told you. Even if I should sit down now and spend a whole day trying to explain why I adored Guildford and why I am so upset over its loss, at the end of the time you would only shake your head and say, "Poor Carolina," without in the least understanding me. No one ever did understand about Guildford except dear Daddy, and since he died, I"ve been afraid to let even G.o.d know how much I wanted it, because I knew if He did, He would take it away from me! He takes everything away from me that I love! That is His way of showing His vaunted kindness. He is indeed a G.o.d of vengeance! He punishes His children as no earthly father would be mean enough to do. Oh, I won"t hush! But the end has come, Kate, to even G.o.d"s power to hurt me. I have nothing left for Him to take. Let Him be satisfied with His revenge. I wouldn"t care if He took my life now, so He is practically powerless! He has reached His limit!"
"Oh, Carolina!" almost screamed Kate. "Do be careful how you blaspheme!
Goodness knows I am not religious, but I am a member of the Church and I am not wicked!"