The girl shook her head. She was too good a judge of human nature to be so easily deceived.
"I can"t believe it," she said quietly. "I don"t believe it."
"At all events," said the lawyer, "we dare not risk taking him into our confidence any more. Listen, I"ve raised the money, and I"m going to see Wratchett to-night."
"Why did they arrest you?"
"Because I overlooked the formality of having a certificate of shares endorsed over to me. As soon as I could get word to my friend, who loaned me the securities, he came down and the magistrate released me at once, but the stigma of arrest, of accusation, of prison, is there.
That"s what Cooley wants--to discredit me in court. Cooley knows that if he throws enough mud some of it is bound to stick."
The young girl made a gesture of discouragement. Sinking down in a chair at the table, she said wearily:
"Oh, I"m so tired of it all. Let"s give it up, Mr. Ricaby. Let"s go to my uncle and make the best bargain we can. I was hasty before. I"ll be more patient this time."
The lawyer shook his head.
"Now that I have the sinews of war?" he cried. "No! We"ll win out; you"ll see. They must be pretty desperate when they resort to such tactics as false arrest. No, by G.o.d! I"m going to stick to them now."
Paula walked to the window, and, drawing aside the curtain, gazed thoughtfully into the street below.
"Isn"t there some way out of it?" she demanded. "If, for instance, I married--my husband----"
The lawyer started, choked back something that rose in his throat, and hesitatingly said:
"No, you must obtain the consent of the Court or of your guardian. It would make new complications, application of annulment--oh, innumerable opportunities to hara.s.s you. No--I--I am opposed to the idea of marriage, Paula."
"I hope you don"t think that I have Mr. Parkes in mind?" she smiled.
"Pshaw!" he exclaimed impatiently. "Do you suppose I pay any attention to that old woman"s idle chatter? I don"t know whom you have in your mind, but I have too much respect for your intelligence to imagine for a moment that it is Mr. Parkes."
He stopped and looked wistfully at her. Did he dare reveal to this girl what had been so long in his heart? At last, summoning up courage, he said in a low, diffident tone:
"If I could only think that it was I----"
Startled, she looked at him in amazement. Impulsively, he went on:
"There! I have spoken at last, Paula, after all these years. I didn"t intend to say anything. This is no time to speak of such matters, but----"
Eagerly he scanned her delicate and sensitive face, trying to read there some response that would satisfy his longing, but her manner was grave and her voice perfectly calm and pa.s.sionless, as she answered kindly:
"I had no idea that you thought of me in that way. I am sorry, Mr.
Ricaby. I have regarded you as a life-long friend--nothing more. I can never forget what you have done for me. I shall always be grateful for your friendship and untiring devotion. That I can never repay."
Chilled, the lawyer drew back instinctively. There was no mistaking that indifferent, matter-of-fact tone. Bitterly he said:
"Yes, I understand. I have always felt that. I have inspired you with feelings of kindliness, grat.i.tude, friendship. But love? No. That you reserve for some more fortunate man."
"Don"t say that, Mr. Ricaby," she replied gently. "There is no other man, I a.s.sure you. I would not hurt your feelings for the world, but you know we can"t always control these things ourselves. I admire you immensely--I respect you more than any man I know."
Eagerly he darted forward and took her hand.
"Do you give me hope?" he murmured.
She turned away her head as she answered:
"Don"t let us speak of this now. You can understand that in this present moment of great anxiety I hardly know what I am doing or saying. I can never forget what I owe you. Any woman should be proud to be your wife."
The lawyer shook his head.
"A woman who really loves does not stop to reason. You might be willing to repay what I"ve done for you by making me happy, but that is not what I ask. What I have done for you is nothing. It is not such a debt that you should sacrifice your whole life in repaying it. If there can be no other consideration than that, I prefer that our relations should remain as they are." Suddenly turning on her, he demanded:
"Are you sure there is no other?"
The girl shook her head.
"No," she said positively. "There is no other."
"Then I"ll hope against hope," he said hoa.r.s.ely, "and until your suit is settled I promise you not to mention the subject again."
Going to the table he took his hat and gloves. Then coming back to where she was, he held out his hand:
"Good-bye," he said. "I am going now to Albany. It is a trip that I can"t put off any longer. I can"t stop to explain what the business is, but it is important and concerns your case. Of course, my every movement is watched, and while I am away they may try to take advantage of my absence by annoying you in some way, so you"d better keep in the house.
Bolt yourself in and decline to see anyone, no matter who it is. Above all, don"t have anything to do with Mr. Chase. Instinctively I distrust that man."
"Do you? I"m sorry for that," she said, shaking her head. With a deep sigh, she added: "I"m beginning to dread being here alone. I think I"ll leave this place. I"m not myself at all lately. Come back as soon as you can. Sometimes I think it would be best for me to go to my uncle and put an end to the whole wretched proceedings."
The lawyer shook his head in protest, and, taking his hat and coat, went towards the door.
"No, we"re going to win out, Paula," he said decisively. "You"ll see. I trusted to ordinary legal procedure, to the equity and justice of the case. Now I"ll adopt their tactics and fight them with their own weapons. Cheer up, Paula, we"re in sight of victory. Good-bye."
"Good-bye, Mr. Ricaby," she said, holding out her hand. "Don"t worry about me--I shall be all right."
"Good-bye, Paula," he said, with a smile. "Wish me a safe return."
"G.o.d knows I do, dear friend!" she said earnestly.
The young girl carefully bolted the door after him, and, returning to the window, stood looking after her attorney until he disappeared from view. The weather was threatening. Big drops of rain, driven slantwise by gusts of wind, were making the pa.s.sers-by run hastily to cover.
She was sorry he had spoken. Never had she dreamed that he thought of her in that way. She was sorry for him, because he deserved to be happy.
She was grateful to him, but in her heart she knew well that it was useless to hold out any hope. She could never love him. It was too bad that he had spoken. Now their relations would not be so pleasant. There would be embarra.s.sment on both sides. The delightful friendly intimacy of the past must cease. She had lost her best friend.
Was any girl so unfortunate and so unhappy before? Here she was locked up in this depressing boarding house, afraid to go out for fear that her uncle might try to kidnap her and do her some harm. For some unexplained reason she felt horribly nervous and low-spirited. Whether it was because Mr. Ricaby had left her all alone she did not know, but she felt herself growing more and more nervous. If only Tod would come to cheer her up. Suddenly, as she stood looking disconsolately through the window, her gaze became riveted on a figure which she noticed standing in a doorway opposite. It was a man with a slouch hat pulled well down over his eyes, and it seemed to her that she recognized Dr. Zacharie. He appeared to be watching the house. Instinctively, she shrank back and when she looked again he had disappeared.
She laughed nervously to herself. How foolish she was! Why should Dr.
Zacharie watch the house? She was surely mistaken. No doubt it was some stranger sheltering from the rain. If she kept seeing things like that she would soon make herself ill. With a forced effort at gaiety she essayed to throw off her melancholy by humming a song, but soon stopped, unable to continue. Sitting down at the piano, her fingers had just touched the keys when all at once there was a knock at the door. Paula rose and opened. It was Mrs. Parkes.
"You"re wanted at the telephone, my dear," said the landlady.
"Who is it?" demanded Paula.