"What"s so wonderful?" Gregory retorted. "I saw that she wanted them that day when the shoe peddler was here. I could see it, and you could."
"Yes."
"I went across into the woods, and the man overtook me with his wagon. I was tempted, and I bought the slippers of him. I wanted to give them to her then, but I resisted, and I thought I should never give them.
To-day, when I heard that she was going to that dance, I sent them to her anonymously. That"s all there is about it."
The clerk had a moment of bitterness. "If she"d known it was you, she wouldn"t have given them back."
"That"s to be seen. I shall tell her, now. I never meant her to know, but she must, because she"s doing you wrong in her ignorance."
Gregory was silent, and Fane was trying to measure the extent of his own suffering, and to get the whole bearing of the incident in his mind. In the end his attempt was a failure. He asked Gregory, "And do you think you"ve done just right by me?"
"I"ve done right by n.o.body," said Gregory, "not even by myself; and I can see that it was my own pleasure I had in mind. I must tell her the truth, and then I must leave this place."
"I suppose you want I should keep it quiet," said Fane.
"I don"t ask anything of you."
"And she wouldn"t," said Fane, after reflection. "But I know she"d be glad of it, and I sha"n"t say anything. Of course, she never can care for me; and--there"s my hand with my word, if you want it." Gregory silently took the hand stretched toward him and Fane added: "All I"ll ask is that you"ll tell her I wouldn"t have presumed to send her the shoes. She wouldn"t be mad at you for it."
Gregory took the box, and after some efforts to speak, he went away.
It was an old trouble, an old error, an old folly; he had yielded to impulse at every step, and at every step he had sinned against another or against himself. What pain he had now given the simple soul of Fane; what pain he had given that poor child who had so mistaken and punished the simple soul! With Fane it was over now, but with Clementina the worst was perhaps to come yet. He could not hope to see the girl before morning, and then, what should he say to her? At sight of a lamp burning in Mrs. Atwell"s room, which was on a level with the veranda where he was walking, it came to him that first of all he ought to go to her, and confess the whole affair; if her husband were with her, he ought to confess before him; they were there in the place of the child"s father and mother, and it was due to them. As he pressed rapidly toward the light he framed in his thought the things he should say, and he did not notice, as he turned to enter the private hallway leading to Mrs.
Atwell"s apartment, a figure at the door. It shrank back from his contact, and he recognized Clementina. His purpose instantly changed, and he said, "Is that you, Miss Claxon? I want to speak with you. Will you come a moment where I can?"
"I--I don"t know as I"d betta," she faltered. But she saw the box under his arm, and she thought that he wished to speak to her about that, and she wanted to hear what he would say. She had been waiting at the door there, because she could not bear to go to her room without having something more happen.
"You needn"t be afraid. I shall not keep you. Come with me a moment.
There is something I must tell you at once. You have made a mistake. And it is my fault. Come!"
Clementina stepped out into the moonlight with him, and they walked across the gra.s.s that sloped between the hotel and the river. There were still people about, late smokers singly, and in groups along the piazzas, and young couples, like themselves, strolling in the dry air, under the pure sky.
Gregory made several failures in trying to begin, before he said: "I have to tell you that you are mistaken about Mr. Fane. I was there behind the letter boxes when you came in, and I know that you left these shoes because you thought he sent them to you. He didn"t send them."
Clementina did not say anything, and Gregory was forced to ask: "Do you wish to know who sent them? I won"t tell you unless you do wish it."
"I think I ought to know," she said, and she asked, "Don"t you?"
"Yes; for you must blame some one else now, for what you thought Fane did. I sent them to you."
Clementina"s heart gave a leap in her breast, and she could not say anything. He went on.
"I saw that you wanted them that day, and when the peddler happened to overtake me in the woods where I was walking, after I left you, I acted on a sudden impulse, and I bought them for you. I meant to send them to you anonymously, then. I had committed one error in acting upon impulse-my rashness is my besetting sin--and I wished to add a species of deceit to that. But I was kept from it until-to-day. I hoped you would like to wear them to the dance to-night, and I put them in the post-office for you myself. Mr. Fane didn"t know anything about it. That is all. I am to blame, and no one else."
He waited for her to speak, but Clementina could only say, "I don"t know what to say."
"You can"t say anything that would be punishment enough for me. I have acted foolishly, cruelly."
Clementina did not think so. She was not indignant, as she was when she thought Fane had taken this liberty with her, but if Mr. Gregory thought it was so very bad, it must be something much more serious than she had imagined. She said, "I don"t see why you wanted to do it," hoping that he would be able to tell her something that would make his behavior seem less dreadful than he appeared to think it was.
"There is only one thing that could justify it, and that is something that I cannot justify." It was very mysterious, but youth loves mystery, and Clementina was very young. "I did it," said Gregory solemnly, and he felt that now he was acting from no impulse, but from a wisely considered decision which he might not fail in without culpability, "because I love you."
"Oh!" said Clementina, and she started away from him.
"I knew that it would make me detestable!" he cried, bitterly. "I had to tell you, to explain what I did. I couldn"t help doing it. But now if you can forget it, and never think of me again, I can go away, and try to atone for it somehow. I shall be guided."
Clementina did not know why she ought to feel affronted or injured by what he had said to her; but if Mr. Gregory thought it was wrong for him to have spoken so, it must be wrong. She did not wish him to feel badly, even if he had done wrong, but she had to take his view of what he had done. "Why, suttainly, Mr. Gregory," she answered. "You mustn"t mind it."
"But I do mind it. I have been very, very selfish, very thoughtless. We are both too young. I can"t ask you to wait for me till I could marry--"
The word really frightened Clementina. She said, "I don"t believe I betta promise."
"Oh, I know it!" said Gregory. "I am going away from here. I am going to-morrow as soon as I can arrange--as soon as I can get away.
Good-night--I"--Clementina in her agitation put her hands up to her face. "Oh, don"t cry--I can"t bear to have you cry."
She took down her hands. "I"m not crying! But I wish I had neva seen those slippas."
They had come to the bank of the river, whose current quivered at that point in a scaly ripple in the moonlight. At her words Gregory suddenly pulled the box from under his arm, and flung it into the stream as far as he could. It caught upon a shallow of the ripple, hung there a moment, then loosed itself, and swam swiftly down the stream.
"Oh!" Clementina moaned.
"Do you want them back?" he demanded. "I will go in for them!"
"No, no! No. But it seemed such a--waste!"
"Yes, that is a sin, too." They climbed silently to the hotel. At Mrs.
Atwell"s door, he spoke. "Try to forget what I said, and forgive me, if you can."
"Yes--yes, I will, Mr. Gregory. You mustn"t think of it any moa."
XII.
Clementina did not sleep till well toward morning, and she was still sleeping when Mrs. Atwell knocked and called in to her that her brother Jim wanted to see her. She hurried down, and in the confusion of mind left over from the night before she cooed sweetly at Jim as if he had been Mr. Gregory, "What is it, Jim? What do you want me for?"
The boy answered with the disgust a sister"s company manners always rouse in a brother. "Motha wants you. Says she"s wo"ked down, and she wants you to come and help." Then he went his way.
Mrs. Atwell was used to having help s.n.a.t.c.hed from her by their families at a moment"s notice. "I presume you"ve got to go, Clem," she said.
"Oh, yes, I"ve got to go," Clementina a.s.sented, with a note of relief which mystified Mrs. Atwell.
"You tied readin" to Mr. Milray?"
"Oh, no"m-no, I mean. But I guess I betta go home. I guess I"ve been away long enough."
"Well, you"re a good gul, Clem. I presume your motha"s got a right to have you home if she wants you." Clementina said nothing to this, but turned briskly, and started upstairs toward her room again. The landlady called after her, "Shall you speak to Mis" Milray, or do you want I should?"
Clementina looked back at her over her shoulder to warble, "Why, if you would, Mrs. Atwell," and kept on to her room.