Let"s have a peep, Simon. It can"t be. Is that really like me?"
The colour had come back to her face, the light to her eye. She was pleased, flattered, half amused to find herself so beautiful. He looked from the picture to the original, and with all his enthusiasm for art awarded the palm to nature.
"It _was_ like you a minute ago," said he, in his grave, gentle tones.
"Or rather, I ought to say you were like _it_. But you change so, that I am often in despair of catching you, and, somehow, I always seem to love the last expression best."
There was something in his voice so admiring, so reverential, and yet so tender, that she glanced quickly, with a kind of surprise, in his face; that face which to an older woman, who had known suffering and sorrow, might have been an index of the gentle heart, the n.o.ble, chivalrous character within, which, to this girl, was simply pale and worn, and not at all handsome, but very dear nevertheless, as belonging to her kind old Simon, the playmate of her childhood, the brother, and more than brother, of her youth.
Those encounters are sadly unequal, and very poor fun for the m.u.f.fled fighter, in which one keeps the gloves on, while the other"s blows are delivered with the naked fist.
Miss Algernon was at this time perhaps more attached to Simon Perkins than to any other creature in the world; that is to say, she did not happen to like anybody else better. How different from him, to whom she represented the very essence of that spiritual life which, in our several ways, we all try to live, which so few of us know how to attain by postponing its enjoyment for a few short troubled years.
It is probable that, if the painter had thrown down his brush at this juncture, and asked simply, "Nina, will you be my wife?" she would have answered, "Thank you kindly, yes, I will!" but although his judgment told him he was likely to succeed, his finer instincts warned him that an affirmative would be the sacrifice of her youth, her illusions, her possible future. Such sacrifice it was far more in Simon"s nature to make than to accept.
"Will she ever know me thoroughly?" he used to think. "Will the time ever come when I can say to her, "Nina, I am sure you care for me now, and therefore I am not afraid to tell you how dearly I loved you all through"? Such a time would be well worth waiting for, ay, though it never came for seven years, and seven more to the back of that. Then I should feel her happiness depended on mine. Now I often think the prince in the fairy tale will ride past our Putney villa some summer"s day, like Launcelot through the barley sheaves (I"ll paint Launcelot when I"ve time, with the ripe ears reddened in the sun, and the light flashing off his harness), ride by and take Nina"s heart away with him, and what will be left for me then? I could bear it! Yes, I could bear it if I knew she was happy. My darling, my darling! so that you walk on in joy and triumph, it matters little what becomes of me!"
The sentiment was perhaps overstrained. It is not thus that women are won. The fruit that drops into people"s mouths is usually over-ripe, and the Sabine maiden would have thought less of her Roman lover, though doubtless she would have taken the initiative rather than miss him altogether, had it been necessary to pounce on him in the vineyard and desire him straightway to carry her home. But the bird of prey must have its natural victim, and such hearts as our poor generous painter possessed are destined for the talons and the beak. Ah! those who value them least win the great prizes in the lottery. Fortune smiles on the careless player--gold goes to the rich--streams run to the river, and if you have more mutton than you know what to do with, be sure that in your folds will be found the poor man"s ewe-lamb. Put a ribbon round her neck, and be kind to her as _he_ was. It is the least you can do!
"You"ve taken a deal of pains, Simon," says the sitter, after a long and well-pleased scrutiny. "Tell me, no flattery now, why should I be so difficult to paint?" Why, indeed, you saucy innocent coquette!
Perhaps, because, all the while, you are turning the poor artist"s head, and driving pins and needles into his heart.
"I _ought_ to make a good likeness of you," answers Simon rather sadly. "I"m sure, Nina, I know your face by heart. But I"m determined to take enormous pains with this picture. It"s to be my great work. I want them to admire it at the Academy. I want all London to come and look at it. I want the critics, who know nothing, to say it"s well drawn; and the artists, who do know something, to say it"s well treated; and the public to declare my fairy queen is the loveliest, and the sweetest, and the dearest face they ever beheld. You see I"m very--very--_ambitious_, Nina!"
"Yes, I suppose all painters are," replies Miss Algernon, with a little gasp of relief, accompanied by a little chill of something not quite unlike disappointment. "But you ought to be tired of working, and I know I am tired of sitting. Hand me my bonnet, Simon--not upside down--why that"s the top where the rose is, of course! And let"s walk back through the Park. It will be nearly full by this time."
So they walked back through the Park, and it _was_ full--full to overflowing; nevertheless, amongst all the riders, drivers, sitters, strollers, and idlers, there appeared neither of the smart-looking gentlemen who had roused Nina"s indignation by bowing to her in the morning without having the honour of her acquaintance.
CHAPTER XIV
THE OFFICERS" MESS
A gigantic sentry of her Majesty"s Household Cavalry paces up and down in front of the officers" quarters at Knightsbridge Barracks some two hours before watch-setting. It is fortunate that constant use has rendered him insensible to admiration. Few persons of either s.e.x pa.s.s under his nose without a glance of unqualified approval. They marvel at his stature, his spurs, his carbine, his overalls, his plumed helmet, towering high above their heads, and the stupendous moustaches, on which this gentleman-private prides himself more than on all the rest of his heroic attributes put together.
Beyond a shade of disciplined weariness, there is no expression whatever on his handsome face, yet it is to be presumed that the man has his thoughts too, like another. Is he back in c.u.mberland amongst his dales, a stalwart stripling, fishing some lonely stream within the hills, watching a bout at "knurr-and-spell" across the heather, or wrestling a fall in friendly rivalry with his cousin, a son of Anak, tall as himself? Does that purple sunset over Kensington Gardens remind him of Glaramara and Saddleback? Does that distant roar of wheels in Piccadilly recall the rush and ripple of the Solway charging up its tawny sands with the white horses all abreast in a spring-tide?
Perhaps he is wishing he was an officer with no kit to keep in order, no fatigue-duty to undergo, sitting merrily down to as good a dinner as luxury can provide, or a guest, of whom he has seen several pa.s.s his post in starched white neckcloths and trim evening clothes.
Perhaps he would not change with any of these, after all, when he reflects on his own personal advantages, his social standing amongst his comrades, his keen appreciation and large consumption of beer and tobacco, with the innumerable conquests he makes amongst maids and matrons in the middle and lower ranks of life. Such considerations, however, impress themselves not the least upon his outward visage. A statue could not look more imperturbable, and he turns his head but very slightly, with supreme indifference, when peals of laughter, more joyous than common, are wafted through the open windows of the mess-room, where some of our friends have fairly embarked on that tide of good-humour and hilarity which sets in with the second gla.s.s of champagne.
It is a full mess; the colonel himself sits at dinner, with two or three friends, old brothers-in-arms, whose soldier-like bearing and manly faces betray their antecedents, though they may not have worn a uniform for months. A lately-joined cornet looks at these with a reverence that I am afraid could be extorted from him by no other inst.i.tution on earth. The adjutant and riding-master, making holiday, are both present--"to the front," as they call it, enjoying exceedingly the jests and waggeries of their younger comrades. The orderly-officer, conspicuous by his belt, sits at one end of the long table. Lord Bearwarden occupies the other, supported on either side by his two guests, Tom Ryfe and d.i.c.k Stanmore. It is the night of Mrs.
Stanmore"s ball, and these last-named gentlemen are going there, with feelings how different, yet with the same object. d.i.c.k is full of confidence, elated and supremely happy. His entertainer experiences a quiet comfort and _bien-etre_ stealing over him, to which he has long been a stranger, while Tom Ryfe with every mouthful swallows down some emotion of jealousy, humiliation, or mistrust. Nevertheless, he is in the highest spirits of the three.
"I tell you nothing can touch him, my lord, when hounds run," says he, still harping on the merits of the horse he sold Lord Bearwarden in the Park. Of course half the party are talking of hunting, the other half of racing, soldiering, and women. "He"d have been thrown away on most of the fellows we know. He wants a good man on his back, for if you keep him fiddling behind, it breaks his heart. I always said you ought to have him--you or Mr. Stanmore. He"s just the sort for both of you. I"m sorry to hear yours are all coming up at Tattersall"s," adds Tom, with a courteous bow to the opposite guest. "Hope it"s only to make room for some more."
d.i.c.k disclaims. "No, indeed," says he, "it"s a _bona fide_ sale--without reserve, you know--I am going to give the thing up!"
"Give up hunting!" expostulates a very young subaltern on d.i.c.k"s left.
"Why, you"re not a soldier, are you? What shall you do with yourself?
You have nothing to live for."
Overcome by this reflection, he empties his gla.s.s and looks feelingly in his neighbour"s face.
"Are you so fond of it too?" asks d.i.c.k with a smile.
"Fond of it! I believe you!" answers the boy. "What is there to be compared to it?--at least that I"ve tried, you know. I think the happiest fellow on earth is a master of fox-hounds, particularly if he hunts them himself: there"s only one thing to beat it, and that"s soldiering. I"d rather command such a regiment as this than be Emperor of China. Perhaps I shall, too, some day."
The real colonel, sitting opposite, overhears this military sentiment, and smiles good-humouredly at his zealous junior. "When you _are_ in command," says he, "I hope you"ll be down upon the cornets--they want a deal of looking up--I"m much too easy with them." The young soldier laughed and blushed. In his heart he thought the "chief," as he called him, the very greatest man in the world, offering him that respect combined with affection which goes so far to const.i.tute the efficiency of a regiment, hoping hereafter to tread in his footsteps and carry out his system.
For ten whole minutes he held his tongue--and this was no small effort of self-restraint--that he might listen to the commanding officer"s conversation with his guests, savouring strongly of professional interests, as comprising Crimean, Indian, and continental experiences, all tending to prove that cavalry ma.s.sed, kept under cover, held well in hand, and "offered" at the critical moment, was _the_ force to render success permanent and defeat irretrievable.
When they got into a dissertation on shoeing, with the comparative merits of "threes" and "sections" at drill, the young man refreshed himself liberally with champagne, and turned to more congenial discourse.
Of this there seemed no lack. The winner of the St. Leger was as confidently predicted as if the race were already in his owner"s pocket. A match was made between two splendid dandies, called respectfully by their comrades "n.o.bby" and "The Dustman," to walk from Knightsbridge Barracks to Windsor Bridge that day week--the odds being slightly in favour of "The Dustman," who was a peer of the realm. A moderate dancer was freely criticised, an exquisite singer approved with reservation, and the style of fighting practised by our present champion of the prize-ring unequivocally condemned. Presently a deep voice made itself heard in more sustained tones than belong to general conversation, and during a lull it became clear that the adjutant was relating an anecdote of his own military experience. "It"s a wonderful country," said he, in reply to some previous observation. "I"m not an Irishman myself, but I"ve observed that the most conspicuous men in all nations are pure Irish or of Irish extraction. Look at the service. Look at the ring--prize-fighters and book-makers. I believe the Slasher"s mother was born in Connaught, and nothing will convince me but that Deerfoot came from Tipperary--east and west the world"s full of them--they swarm, I"m told, in America, and I can answer for them in Europe. Did ye ever see a Turk in a vineyard? He"s the very moral of Pat in a potato-garden: the same frieze coat--the same baggy breeches--the same occasional smoke, every five minutes or so--and the same rooted aversion to hard work. Go on into India--they"re all over the place. Shall I tell you what happened to myself? We were engaged on the right of the army, getting it hot and heavy, all the horses with their heads up, but the men as steady as old Time. I was in the Lancers then, under Sir Hope. The Sikhs worked their guns beautifully, and presently we got the word to advance. It wasn"t bad ground for manoeuvring, and we were soon into them. The enemy fought a good one--those Sikhs always do. There was one fine old white-bearded patriarch stuck to his gun to the last. His people were all speared and cut down, but he never gave back an inch. I can see him now, looking like the pictures of Abraham in my old Sunday-school book. I thought I"d save him if I could. Our chaps had got their blood up, and dashed in to finish him with their lances, but I kept them off with some difficulty, and offered him "quarter." I was afraid he wouldn"t understand my language. "Quarter," says he, in the richest brogue you"ll hear out of Cork--"quarter! you b.l.o.o.d.y thieves! will you stick a countryman, an" a comrade, ye murtherin" villains, like a _boneen_ in a butcher"s shop!" He"d have gone on, I dare say, for an hour, but the men had their lances through him before you could say "knife." As my right-of-threes, himself a Paddy, observed--he was discoorsin"
the devil in less than five minutes. The man was a deserter and a renegade, so it served him right, but being an Irishman, you see, he distinguished himself--that"s all I mean to infer."
The young officer was exceedingly attentive to an anecdote which, thus told by its bronzed, war-worn, and soldier-like narrator, possessed the fascination of romance with the interest of reality.
Lord Bearwarden and his guests had also broken off their conversation to listen--they returned to the previous subject.
"There are so many people come to town now-a-days," said his lordship, "that the whole thing spoils itself. Society is broken up into sets, and even if you belong to the same set, you cannot insure meeting any particular person at any particular place. Just the same with clubs.
I might hunt you two fellows about all night, from Arthur"s to the Arlington--from the Arlington to White"s--from White"s to the Carlton--from the Carlton back to St. James"s Street--and never run into you at all, unless I had the luck to find you drinking gin and soda at Pratt"s." Tom Ryfe, belonging only to the last-named of these resorts, looked gratified. d.i.c.k Stanmore was thinking of something else.
"Now, to-night," continued Lord Bearwarden, turning to the latter, "although the ball is in your own step-mother"s house, I"ll take odds you don"t know three-fourths of the people you"ll meet, and yet you"ve been as much about London as most of us. Where they come from I can"t think, and they"re like the swallows, or the storks, or the woodc.o.c.ks, only they"re not so welcome. Where they"ll go to when the season"s over I neither know nor care."
Tom Ryfe would have given much to feel equally indifferent. Something like a pang shot through him as he reflected that for him the battle must be against wind and tide--a fierce struggle, more and more hopeless, to grasp at something drifting visibly out of reach. He was not a man, however, to be beat while it was possible to persist.
Believing d.i.c.k Stanmore the great obstacle in his way, he watched that preoccupied gentleman as a cat watches a mouse.
"I don"t want to be introduced to any more people," said d.i.c.k rather absently. "In my opinion you can"t have too few acquaintances and too many friends."
"One ought to know lots of _women_," said Mr. Ryfe, a.s.suming the air of a fine gentleman, which fitted him, thought Lord Bearwarden, as ill as his uniform generally fits a civilian. "I mean women of position--who _give_ things--whom you"d like to be seen talking to in the Park. As for girls, they"re a bore--there"s a fresh crop every season--they"re exactly like each other, and you have to dance with "em all!"
"Confound his impudence!" _thought_ Lord Bearwarden; "does he hope to impose on _me_ with his half-bred swagger and Brummagem a.s.surance?"
but he only _said_, "I suppose, Tom, you"re in great request with them--all ranks, all sorts, all ages! You fellows have such a pull over us poor soldiers; you can be improving the time while we"re on guard."
Tom looked as if he rather believed he could. But he only _looked_ it. Beneath that confident manner, his heart was sad and sinking. How bitter he felt against Miss Bruce, and yet he loved her, in his own way, too, all the while.
"Champagne to Mr. Stanmore!" said his entertainer, beckoning to a servant. "You"re below the mark, Stanmore, and we"ve a heavy night before us. You"re thinking of your pets at Tattersall"s next week.
Cheer up. Their future masters won"t be half so hard on them, I"ll be bound. But I wouldn"t a.s.sist at the sacrifice if I were you. Come down to the Den with me; we"ll troll for pike, and give the clods a cricket-match. Then we"ll dine early, set trimmers, and console ourselves with claret-cup under affliction."
d.i.c.k laughed. Affliction, indeed, and he had never been so happy in his life! Perhaps that was the reason of his silence, his abstraction.
At this very moment, he thought, Maud might be opening the packet he made such sacrifices to redeem. He had arranged for her to receive the diamonds all reset and glittering at the hour she would be dressing for the ball. He could almost fancy he saw the beautiful face flushed with delight, the dark eyes filled with tears. Would she press those jewels to her lips, and murmur broken words of endearment for _him_?
Would she not love him _now_, if, indeed, she had not loved him before? Horses, forsooth! What were all the horses that ever galloped compared to one smile of hers? He would have given her his right arm, his life, if she wanted it. And now, perhaps, he was to obtain his reward. Who could tell what that very night might bring forth?
Mr. Stanmore"s gla.s.s remained untasted before him, and Lord Bearwarden observing that dinner was over, and his guests seemed disinclined to drink any more wine, proposed an adjournment to the little mess-room to smoke.