"You must allow me to introduce myself, Miss Fregelius," he said with an old-fashioned and courtly bow, "and to explain that I have the honour to be my son"s father."
She bowed and answered: "Yes, I think I should have known that from the likeness."
"Hum!" said the Colonel. "Even at my age I am not certain that I am altogether flattered. Morris is an excellent fellow, and very clever at electrical machines; but I have never considered him remarkable for personal beauty--not exactly an Adonis, or an Apollo, or a Narcissus, you know."
"I should doubt whether any of them had such a nice face," replied Stella with a smile.
"My word! Now, that is what I call a compliment worth having. But I hear the gentleman himself coming. Shall I repeat it to him?"
"No, please don"t, Colonel Monk. I did not mean it for compliment, only for an answer."
"Your wish is a command; but may I make an exception in favour of Miss Porson, who prospectively owns the nice face in question? She would be delighted to know it so highly rated;" and he glanced at her sharply, the look of a man of the world who is trying to read a woman"s heart.
"By all means," answered Stella, in an indifferent voice, but recognising in the Colonel one who, as friend or foe, must be taken into account. Then Morris came in, and they went to dinner.
Here also Colonel Monk was very pleasant. He made Stella tell the story of the shipwreck and of her rescue, and generally tried to draw her out in every possible way. But all the while he was watching and taking note of many things. Before they had been together for five minutes he observed that this couple, his son and their visitor, were on terms of extreme intimacy--intimacy so extreme and genuine that in two instances, at least, each antic.i.p.ated what the other was going to say, without waiting for any words to be spoken. Thus Stella deliberately answered a question that Morris had not put, and he accepted the answer and continued the argument quite as a matter of course. Also, they seemed mysteriously to understand each other"s wants, and, worst of all, he noted that when speaking they never addressed each other by name.
Evidently just then each of them had but one "you" in the world.
Now, the Colonel had not pa.s.sed through very varied experiences and studied many sides and conditions of life for nothing; indeed, he would himself explain that he was able to see as far into a brick wall as other folk.
The upshot of all this was that first he thought Morris a very lucky fellow to be an object of undoubted admiration to those beautiful eyes. (It may be explained that the Colonel throughout life had been an advocate of taking such goods as the G.o.ds provided; something of a worshipper, too, at the shrine of lovely Thais.) His second reflection was that under all the circ.u.mstances it seemed quite time that he returned home to look after him.
"Now, Miss Fregelius," he said, as she rose to leave the table, "when Morris and I have had a gla.s.s of wine, and ten minutes to chat over matters connected with his poor uncle"s death, I am going to ask you to do me a favour before I go up to smoke a cigar with your father. It is that you will play me a tune on the violin and sing me a song."
"Did Mr. Monk tell you that I played and sang?" she asked.
"No, he did not. Indeed, Mr. Monk has told me nothing whatsoever about you. His, as you may have observed, is not a very communicative nature.
The information came from a much less interesting, though, for aught I know, from a more impartial source--the fat page-boy, Thomas, who is first tenor in the Wesleyan chapel, and therefore imagines that he understands music."
"But how could Thomas----" began Morris, when his father cut him short and answered:
"Oh, I"ll tell you, quite simply. I had it from the interesting youth"s own lips as he unpacked my clothes. It seems that the day before the news of your uncle"s death reached this place, Thomas was aroused from his slumbers by hearing what he was pleased to call "hangels a-"arping and singing." As soon as he convinced himself that he still lingered on the earth, drawn by the sweetness of the sounds, "just in his jacket and breeches," he followed them, until he was sure that they proceeded from your workshop, the chapel.
"Now, as you know, on the upstair pa.s.sage there still is that queer slit through which the old abbots used to watch the monks at their devotions.
Finding the shutter unlocked, the astute Thomas followed their example, as well as he could, for he says there was no light in the chapel except that of the fire, by which presently he made out your figure, Miss Fregelius, sometimes playing the violin, and sometimes singing, and that of Morris--again I must quote--"a-sitting in a chair by the fire with his "ands at the back of "is "ead, a-staring at the floor and rocking "imself as though he felt right down bad." No, don"t interrupt me, Morris; I must tell my story. It"s very amusing.
"Well, Miss Fregelius, he says--and, mind you, this is a great compliment--that you sang and played till he felt as though he would cry when at last you sank down quite exhausted in a chair. Then, suddenly realising that he was very cold, and hearing the stable clock strike two, he went back to bed, and that"s the end of the tale. Now you will understand why I have asked you this favour. I don"t see why Morris and Thomas should keep it all to themselves."
"I shall be delighted," answered Stella, who, although her cheeks were burning, and she knew that the merciless Colonel was taking note of the fact, on the whole had gone through the ordeal remarkably well. Then she left the room.
As soon as the door closed Morris turned upon his father angrily.
"Oh! my dear boy," the Colonel said, "please do not begin to explain.
I know it"s all perfectly right, and there is nothing to explain. Why shouldn"t you get an uncommonly pretty girl with a good voice to sing to you--while you are still in a position to listen? But if you care to take my advice, next time you will see that the shutter of that hagioscope, or whatever they call it, is locked, as such elevated delights "a deux" are apt to be misinterpreted by the vulgar. And now, there"s enough of this chaff and nonsense. I want to speak to you about the executorship and matters connected with the property generally."
Half an hour later, when the Colonel appeared in the drawing-room, the violin was fetched, and Stella played it and sang afterwards to a piano-forte accompaniment. The performance was not of the same standard, by any means, as that which had delighted Thomas, for Stella did not feel the surroundings quite propitious. Still, with her voice and touch she could not fail, and the result was that before she had done the Colonel grew truly enthusiastic.
"I know a little of music," he said, "and I have heard most of the best singers and violinists during the last forty years; but in the face of all those memories I hope you will allow me to congratulate you, Miss Fregelius. There are some notes in your voice which really reduce me to the condition of peeping Thomas, and, hardened old fellow that I am, almost make me feel inclined to cry."
CHAPTER XV
THREE INTERVIEWS
The next day was a Sunday, and the Colonel went to church, wearing a hat-band four inches deep. Morris, however, declined to accompany him, saying that he had a letter to write to Mary; whereon his father, who at first was inclined to be vexed, replied that he could not be better employed, and that he was to give her his love. Then he asked if Miss Fregelius was coming, but somewhat to his disappointment, was informed that she wished to stay with her father.
"I wonder," thought the Colonel to himself as he strolled to the church, now and again acknowledging greetings or stopping to chat with one of the villagers--"I wonder if they are going to have a little sacred music together in the chapel. If so, upon my soul, I should like to make the congregation. And that pious fellow Morris, too--the blameless Morris--to go philandering about in this fashion. I hope it won"t come to Mary"s ears; but if it does, luckily, with all her temper, she is a sensible woman, and knows that even Jove nods at times."
After the service the Colonel spoke to various friends, accepted their condolences upon the death of Mr. Porson, and finally walked down the road with Eliza Layard.
"You must have found that all sorts of strange things have happened at the Abbey since you have been away, Colonel Monk," she said presently in a sprightly voice.
"Well, yes; at least I don"t know. I understand that Morris has improved that blessed apparatus of his, and the new parson and his daughter have floated to our doors like driftwood. By the way, have you seen Miss Fregelius?"
"Seen her? Yes, I have seen her."
"She is a wonderfully captivating girl, isn"t she? So unusual, with those great eyes of hers that seem to vary with the light----"
"Like a cat"s," snapped Eliza.
"The light within--I was going to say."
"Oh! I thought you meant the light without. Well, she may be fascinating--to men, but as I am only a woman, I cannot be expected to appreciate that. You see we look more to other things."
"Ah. Well, so far as I am a judge she seemed to me to be pretty well set up in them also. She has a marvellous voice, is certainly a first-cla.s.s violinist, and I should say extremely well-read, especially in Norse literature."
"Oh! I daresay she is a genius as well as a beauty."
"I gather," said the Colonel with a smile, "that you do not like Miss Fregelius. As my acquaintance with her is limited, would you think me rude if I asked why?"
"How can I be expected to like her, seeing----" and she paused.
"Seeing what, Miss Layard?"
"What, haven"t you heard? I thought it was common property."
He shook his head. "I have heard nothing. Go on, pray, this is quite interesting."
"That she led on that silly brother of mine until he proposed to her--yes, proposed to her!--and then refused him. Stephen has been like a crazy creature ever since, moaning, and groaning, and moping till I think that he will go off his head, instead of returning thanks to Providence for a merciful escape."
The Colonel set his lips as though to whistle, then checked himself.
"Under the circ.u.mstances, presuming them to be accurately stated, I am not prepared to say who is to be congratulated or who should thank Providence. These things are so individual, are they not? But if one thing is clear, whatever else she is or is not, Miss Fregelius cannot be a fortune-hunter, although she must want money."
"She may want other things more."
"Perhaps. But I am very stupid, I am afraid I do not understand."