She hesitated, for a reflective frown was deepening on Curtis"s face.
"Now you recognize my name!" she cried. "Have you seen anything about me in the newspapers?"
"You are Lady Hermione Grandison?" he said, meeting her watchful eyes frankly.
"Yes."
"Daughter of the Earl of Valletort?"
"Yes."
"And about a month ago you were reported missing from some apartment in the Rue de Rivoli, on the eve of your marriage with--with some Hungarian prince?"
"Yes, Count Ladislas Va.s.silan."
"So you came here--with Monsieur Jean de Courtois?"
"I brought him here, and paid him for his services. I have no desire to minimize his friendly aid, but I was buying the security of his name as my husband, and he had given me his guarantee that, when it suited my purposes, he would help me to dissolve the marriage."
Curtis disregarded a perceptible coldness in her tone. He was too busy sweeping away the mists.
"What sort of guarantee?" he asked.
"His promise, his word of honor."
"Was he--a gentleman?"
"Not socially, but in every other sense. He was my music-master in Paris."
Curtis put his next question hurriedly. He was anxious to avoid the least suspicion on the girl"s part that he might be crediting Jean de Courtois with motives which would not pa.s.s muster before a jury of cool-headed men so readily as they seemed to have satisfied an impetuous and frightened girl.
"How did your father ascertain that you were in New York?" he said.
"Oh, it seems that a certain period of residence was necessary before a marriage license could be obtained, and it was unavoidable that my name should be found out by those whom he hired to track me."
"But why were you not married under an a.s.sumed name?"
"Monsieur de Courtois a.s.sured me that such a thing would render the marriage invalid."
"He was wrong," said Curtis dryly. "It subjected you to some small legal penalty, but you would be just as effectually married if you called yourself Jane Smith."
"I really think you are mistaken. Monsieur de Courtois made the most exhaustive inquiries."
"Were you not leaving the ceremony to the latest possible hour?" went on Curtis, divided now between the fear of shocking her and the paramount importance of learning the truth about the curiously scrupulous Jean de Courtois.
"We were to have been married two days ago, but the license was stolen."
"So it is rather by accident than otherwise that Lord Valletort and Count Va.s.silan, who, I take it, is with your father on board the _Switzerland_, have not arrived in time to prevent the marriage--that is, if they were able to prevent it?"
"No, I think not. Poor Monsieur de Courtois was here this afternoon, and he was jubilant because we had plenty of time, provided we were married this evening."
"Where was the ceremony to take place?"
"I--I don"t know. I left everything in the hands of Monsieur de Courtois."
A very real and active doubt of the Frenchman"s good faith was beginning to peep up in Curtis"s mind. Rather to account for the thoughtful lines on his forehead than for any reason connected with the license, he took that doc.u.ment from the table, where it had lain since he produced it, and affected to examine it judiciously. Therefore, he was really surprised when he found an endors.e.m.e.nt on the back which read;--"Issued in duplicate. This license is not available if the original has been used."
"Oh!" he said, and the monosyllable might mean much or little.
"What have you discovered there?" said the girl, rising and coming nearer, to stoop over the table and scrutinize the paper with him.
"The original license certainly seems to have disappeared," said Curtis, who had suddenly become aware that the propinquity of a charming woman was one of the subtle joys of life.
"Ah me!" sighed Lady Hermione, straightening her supple form, and turning slightly aside.
There was a little pause. Curtis, whose enunciation was usually distinguished by its ease and clearness, found some slight difficulty in resuming the conversation. He resolved firmly that, in future, he would eschew liqueurs after champagne.
"I hate to act the role of inquisitor, Lady Hermione," he said, rather huskily as to the first few words, "but would you mind telling me why you are so opposed to Count Ladislas Va.s.silan as a husband?"
"First, because I do not want to marry any man; secondly, because Count Va.s.silan is a vile person, both in appearance and repute; and thirdly, because my father is only urging this match to serve his own ends. Our unhappy history is so widely known that there is no harm in telling you that my mother and he were separated during many years, and when mamma died three years ago she left all her money to me, absolutely under my control. I was young, only seventeen, but I managed to retain it, though goodness only knows how, and this horrid Hungarian prince wants it--to help him to regain a throne, he says--but I don"t believe him."
"You could not be forced into matrimony," said Curtis, with a slow gravity that was lost on his dejected hearer.
"You cannot have lived in France, or you would not say that," was the bitter answer. "Everyone, everything, was opposed to me. I was a minor, and one against many. The laws seemed to conspire with my relatives to force me into the power of a beast. . . . Yes, it sounds horrid on my lips, but the man is really a beast," and she stamped an emphatic foot on the floor; Curtis could see the white circles over the tiny knuckles as her hands clenched in protest. They were such pretty hands, too. He had often smiled at the notion of a man kissing a woman"s hand, but it did not strike him now as a specially foolish act.
"Let us forget him," he agreed.
"But how can I forget him? He will be here to-morrow. Once my father and he have found me, what am I to do? Die, I suppose! . . . I would rather die than marry Count Va.s.silan, and again I would rather die than figure in a vulgar brawl, such as the newspapers would take a delight in. My father is well aware of that, and will play on my weakness. . . . B-but--I may--be able--to defeat them--in another way."
Curtis stood up. The sound of her grief maddened him, and he threw prudence to the winds.
"The first reason you gave was the most convincing one, so far as you personally are concerned, Lady Hermione," he said, making the effort of his life to speak calmly. "You said you did not want to marry any man."
"Y-yes, it is true. I d-don"t."
"Still, there is only one way out of your trouble. You must marry me--to-night."
The girl whirled round on him; her eyes were glistening with tears, but her face was radiant.
"Do you really mean that?" she cried.
"I do."
"Then never let anyone tell me that the age of chivalry has pa.s.sed."
"I fancy it has just begun," he said, though the jest nearly choked him.
"But why should you do this kind and gracious thing for a girl you have been acquainted with only a brief half-hour? You see, I understand that you are a gentleman--I realize that, although I have plenty of money, I cannot offer to recompense you as I did that poor Jean de Courtois."