Arden started and a look of something almost like fear came into his face. He could hardly speak.
"Love?" he repeated, and he felt he could say nothing more.
"Yes, I mean it." So she chose her fate.
She thought there was a touch of the divine in poor Arden"s expression as he heard the words. Then his face grew pale, the light faded from his eyes, and his head sank on his breast. Laura did not at first realise what had happened. She felt so strongly herself, that nothing in his manner would have surprised her. She heard nothing of the hum of the voices in the room, or if she did, she heard the harmony of a happy hymn, and the great branches of candles were the tapers upon an altar in some sacred place.
Still Arden did not move. Laura bent down and looked at his face.
"Lord Herbert!" She called him softly. "Herbert, what is the matter?"
No answer came. She looked round wildly for help. At that moment the dance was just over and Ghisleri pa.s.sed near her with Donna Adele on his arm. Laura rose and overtook him swiftly, touching his arm in her excitement.
"Lord Herbert has fainted--for heaven"s sake, help him!" she cried, in a low voice.
Pietro Ghisleri glanced at the sofa.
"Excuse me," he said hastily to Donna Adele, and left her standing in the middle of the room. He bent down and felt Arden"s forehead and hands.
"Yes, he has fainted," he said to Laura. "Show me the way to a quiet place."
Thereupon he took his unconscious friend in his arms and followed Laura quickly through the surging crowd that already filled the room, escaping in haste from the heat as soon as the dance was over in the ball-room beyond.
For a few seconds one of those total silences fell upon the party which always follow an accident. Then, as Ghisleri disappeared with his burden, every one began to talk at once, speculating upon the nature of Lord Herbert Arden"s indisposition. Heart disease--epilepsy--nervous prostration--most things were suggested.
"Probably too much champagne," laughed Donna Adele in the ear of the lady nearest to her.
CHAPTER III.
It is perhaps useless to attempt to trace and recapitulate the causes which had led Laura Carlyon to the state of mind in which she had found courage to tell Arden that she loved him. There might be harder moments in store for her, but this had been the hardest she had known hitherto.
Nothing short of a real and great love, she believed, could have carried her through it, and she had been conscious for some days that if the opportunity came she meant to do what she had done. In other words, she had been quite sure that Arden loved her and that she loved him. This being granted, it was in accordance with her character to take the initiative. With far less sympathy than she felt in all her thoughts, she would have understood that a man of his instincts would never speak of his love to her unless almost directly bidden to do so. Laura was slow to make up her mind, sure of her decision when reached, and determined to act upon it without consulting any one. Many people said later that she had sacrificed herself for Lord Herbert"s expected fortune, or for his position. A few said that she was a very good woman and that, finding herself neglected, she had decided to devote her life to the happiness of a very unhappy man for whom she felt a sincere friendship. That was at least the more charitable view. But neither was at all the right one. She honestly and really believed that she loved the man: she saw beyond a doubt that he loved her, and she took the shortest and most direct way of ending all doubts on the subject. On that same night when Arden had quite recovered and had gone home with Ghisleri, she spoke to her mother and told her exactly what had happened.
The Princess of Gerano opened her quiet brown eyes very wide when she heard the news. She was handsome still at five and forty, a little stout, perhaps, but well proportioned. Her light brown hair was turning grey at the temples, but there were few lines in her smooth, calm face, and her complexion was still almost youthful, though with little colouring. She looked what she was, a woman of the world, very far from worldly, not conscious of half the evil that went on around her, and much given to inward contemplation of a religious kind when not actively engaged in social duty. She had seen Laura"s growing appreciation of Arden and had noticed the frequency of the latter"s visits to the house.
But she had herself learned to like him very much during the last month, and it never suggested itself to her that he could wish to marry Laura nor that Laura could care for him, considering that he was undeniably a cripple. It was no wonder that she was surprised.
"Dear child," she said, "I do not know what to say. Of course I have found out what a really good man he is, though he is so fond of that wild Ghisleri--they are always together. I have a great admiration for Lord Herbert. As far as position goes, there is nothing better, and I suppose he is rich enough to support you, though I do not know. You see, darling, you have nothing but the little I can give you. But never mind that--there is only that one other thing--I wish he were not--"
She checked herself, far too delicate to hurt her daughter by too direct a reference to Arden"s physical shortcomings. But Laura, strange to say, was not sensitive on that point.
"I know, mother," she said, "he is deformed. It is of no use denying it, as he says himself. But if I do not mind that--if I do not think of it at all when I am with him, why should any one else care? After all, if I marry him, it is to please myself, and not the people who will ask us to dinner."
The young girl laughed happily as she thought of the new life before her, and of how she would make everything easy for poor Arden, and make him quite forget that he could hardly walk. Her mother looked at her with quiet wonder.
"Think well before you act, dear," she said. "Marriage is a very serious thing. There is no drawing back afterwards, and if you were to be at all unkind after you are married--"
"O mother, how can you think that of me?"
"No--at least, you would never mean it. You are too good for that. But it would break the poor man"s heart. He is very sensitive, it is not every man who faints when he finds out that a young girl loves him--fortunately, not every man," she added with a smile.
"If every one loved as we do, the world would be much happier," said Laura, kissing her mother. "Do not be afraid, I will not break his heart."
"G.o.d grant you may not break your own, dear!" The Princess spoke in a lower voice, and turned away her face to hide the tears that stood in her eyes.
"Mine, mother!" Laura bent over her as she sat in her dressing-chair.
"What is it?" she asked anxiously, as she saw that her mother"s cheek was wet.
"You are very dear to me, child," murmured the Princess, drawing the young head down to her breast, and kissing the thick black hair.
So the matter was settled, and Laura had her way. It is not easy to say how most mothers would have behaved under the circ.u.mstances. There are worldly ones enough who would have received the news far more gladly than the Princess of Gerano did; and there are doubtless many who would refuse a cripple for a son-in-law on any condition whatever. Laura"s mother did what she thought right, which is more than most of us can say of our actions.
The Prince was almost as much surprised as his wife when he learned the news, but he was convinced that he had nothing to say in the matter.
Laura was quite free to do as she pleased, and, moreover, it was a good thing that she should marry a man of her own faith, and ultimately live among her own people, since nothing could make either a Catholic or a Roman of her. But he was not altogether pleased with her choice. He had an Italian"s exaggerated horror of deformity, and though he liked Lord Herbert, he could never quite overcome his repulsion for his outward defects. There was nothing to be done, however, and on the whole the marriage had much in its favour in his eyes.
The engagement was accordingly announced with due formality, and the wedding day was fixed for the Sat.u.r.day after Easter, which fell early in that year. Not until the day before the Princess told the news to every one did Arden communicate it to Ghisleri. He had perfect confidence in his friend"s discretion, but having said that he would not speak of the engagement to any one until the Princess wished it, he kept his word to the letter. He asked Pietro to drive with him, far out upon the campagna. When they had pa.s.sed the last houses and were in the open country he spoke.
"I am going to marry Miss Carlyon," he said simply, but he glanced at Ghisleri"s face to see the look of surprise he expected.
"Since you announce it, my dear friend, I congratulate you with all my heart," answered Pietro. "Of course I knew it some time ago."
"You knew it?" Arden was very much astonished.
"It was not very hard to guess. You loved each other, you went constantly to the house and you spent your evenings with her in other people"s houses, there was no reason why you should not marry--accordingly, I took it for granted that you would be married. You see that I was right. I am delighted. Ask me to the wedding."
Arden laughed.
"I thought you would never enter one of our churches!" he exclaimed.
"I did not know that I had such a reputation for devout obedience to general rules," answered Ghisleri.
"As for your reputation, my dear fellow, it is not that of a saint. But I once saw you saying your prayers."
"I dare say," replied Pietro, indifferently. "I sometimes do, but not generally in the Corso, nor on the Pincio. How long ago was that? Do you happen to remember?"
"Six or seven years, I fancy--oh, yes! It was in that little church in Dieppe, just before you went off on that long cruise--you remember it, too, I fancy."
"I suppose I thought I was going to be drowned, and was seized with a pa.s.sing ague of premature repentance," said Ghisleri, lighting a cigarette.
"What a queer fellow you are!" observed Arden, striking a light in his turn. "I was talking with Miss Carlyon about you some time ago, and I told her you were a sinner, but a righteous one."
"A shade worse than others, perhaps, because I know a little better what I am doing," answered Ghisleri, with a sneer, evidently intended for himself.
He was looking at the tomb of Cecilia Metella, as it rose in sight above the horses" heads at the turn of the road, and he thought of what had happened to him there years ago, and of the consequences. Arden knew nothing of the a.s.sociations the ruin had for his friend, and laughed again. He was in a very happy humour on that day, as he was for many days afterwards.
"I can never quite make you out," he said. "Are you good, bad, or a humbug? You cannot be both good and bad at once, you know."