"It"s true, Todhetley," said Mr. Brandon, nodding his head. "You may judge, therefore, whether she is a nice kind of person for you to be seen beauing about Oxford streets in the face and eyes of the dons." And Tod winced again, and bit his lips.
Mr. Brandon rose, taking both Tod"s hands in his, and said a few solemn words in the kindest tone I had ever heard him speak; wrung his hands, nodded good-night to me, and was gone. Tod walked about the room a bit, whistling softly to make a show of indifference, and looking miserably cut up.
"Is what he said true?" he asked me presently, stopping by the mantelpiece again: "about the emeralds?"
"Every word of it."
"Then why on earth could you not open your mouth and tell me, Johnny Ludlow?"
"I thought you knew it. I"m sure you were told of it at the time. Had I brought up the matter again later, you"d have been fit to punch me into next week, Tod."
"Let"s hear the details--shortly."
I went over them all; shortly, as he said; but omitting none. Tod stood in silence, never once interrupting.
"Did the Whitneys know of this?"
"Anna did."
"Anna!"
"Yes. Anna had suspected Sophie from the first. She saw her steal out of Miss Deveen"s room, and saw her sewing something into her stays at bed-time. But Anna kept it to herself until discovery had come."
Tod could frown pretty well on ordinary occasions, but I never saw a frown like the one on his brow as he listened. And I thought--I thought--it was meant for Sophie Chalk.
"Lady Whitney, I expect, knows it all now, Tod. Perhaps Helen also.
Old Brandon went over to the Hall to spend the day, and it was in consequence of what he heard from Lady Whitney and Miss Deveen that he came down here to look us up."
"Meaning _me_," said Tod. "Not us. Use right words, Johnny."
"They did not know, you see, that Sophie Chalk was married. And they must have noticed that you cared for her."
Tod made no comment. He just leaned against the shelf in silence. I was stacking my books.
"Good-night, Johnny," he quietly said, without any appearance of resentment; and went into his room.
The next day was Palm Sunday. Tod lay in bed with a splitting headache, could not lift his head from the pillow, and his skin was as sallow as an old gander"s. "Glad to hear it," said Mr. Brandon, when I told him; "it will give him a quiet day for reflection."
A surprise awaited me that morning, and Mr. Brandon also. Miss Deveen was at Oxford, with Helen and Anna Whitney. They had arrived the evening before, and meant to stay and go up with Bill and with us. I did not tell Tod: in fact, he seemed too ill to be spoken to, his head covered with the bedclothes.
You can"t see many a finer sight than the Broad Walk presents on the evening of Palm Sunday. Every one promenades there, from the dean downwards. Our party went together: Miss Deveen, Helen, and Anna; Bill, I, and Mr. Brandon.
We were in the middle of the walk; and it was at its fullest, when Tod came up. He was better, but looked worn and ill. A flush of surprise came into his face when he saw who we had with us, and he shook hands with the ladies nearly in silence.
"Oxford has not mended your looks, Mr. Todhetley," said Miss Deveen.
"I have one of my bad headaches to-day," he answered. "I get them now and then."
The group of us were turning to walk on, when in that moment there approached Sophie Chalk. Sophie in a glistening blue silk, and flowers, and jingling ornaments, and kid gloves. She was coming up to us as bold as bra.s.s with her fascinating smile, when she saw Miss Deveen, and stopped short. Miss Deveen pa.s.sed on without notice of any kind; Helen really did not see her; Anna, always gentle and kind, slightly bowed.
Even then Madam Sophie"s native impudence came to her aid. She saw they meant to shun her, and she nodded and smiled at Tod, and made as though she would stop him for a chat. He took off his cap to her, and went on.
Anna"s delicate face had flushed, and his own was white enough for its coffin.
Miss Deveen held Tod"s hand in parting. "I am so glad to have met you again," she cordially said; "we are all glad. We shall see you often, I hope, until we go up together. And all you young people are coming to me for a few days in the Easter holidays. Friends cannot afford too long absences from one another in this short life. Good-bye; and mind you get rid of your headache for to-morrow. There; shake hands with Helen and Anna."
He did as he was bid. Helen was gay as usual; Anna rather shy. Her pretty blue eyes glanced up at Tod"s, and he smiled for the first time that day. Sophie Chalk might have fascinated three parts of his heart away, but there was a corner in it remaining for Anna Whitney.
I did not do it intentionally. Going into our room the next day, a sheet of paper with some writing on it lay on the table, the ink still wet.
Supposing it was some message just left for me by Tod, I went up to read it, and caught the full sense of the lines.
"DEAR MRS. EVERTY,
"I have just received your note. I am sorry that I cannot drive you out to-day--and fear that I shall not be able to do so at all. Our friends, who are staying here, have to receive the best part of my leisure time.
"Faithfully yours, "J. TODHETLEY."
And I knew by the contents of the note, by its very wording even, that the crisis was past, and Tod saved.
"Thank you, Johnny! Perhaps you"ll read your own letters another time.
That"s mine."
He had come out of his room with the envelopes and sealing-wax.
"I beg your pardon, Tod. I thought it was a message you had left for me, seeing it lie open."
"You"ve read it, I suppose?"
"Yes, or just as good. My eyes seemed to take it all in at once; and I am as glad as though I had had a purse of gold given to me."
"Well, it"s no use trying to fight against a stream," said he, as he folded the note. "And if I had known the truth about the emeralds, why--there"d have been no bother at all."
"Putting the emeralds out of the question, she is not a nice person to know, Tod. And there"s no telling what might have come of it."
"I suppose not. When the two paths, down-hill and up-hill, cross each other, as Brandon put it, and the one is pleasant and the other is not, one has to do a bit of battle with one"s self in choosing the right."
And something in his face told me that in the intervening day and nights, he had battled with himself as few can battle; fought strenuously with the evil, striven hard for the good, and come out a conqueror.
"It has cost you pain."
"Somewhat, Johnny. There are few good things in the way of duty but what do cost man pain--as it seems to me. The world and a safe conscience will give us back our recompense."
"And heaven too, Tod."
"Ay, lad; and heaven."
THE END.