"You don"t want them to take me for a fool, Little Ann. You"re standing up for me; that"s it."
"You can stand up for yourself, Mr. Temple Barholm, if you"re not taken by surprise," she said confidently. "If you understand things a bit, you won"t be."
His feelings almost overpowered him.
"G.o.d bless your dear little soul!" he broke out. "Say, if this goes on, that dog of your grandmother"s wouldn"t have a show, Ann. I should bite him before he could bite me."
"I won"t go on if you can"t be sensible, Mr. Temple Barholm. I shall just go away and not come back again. That"s what I shall do." Her tone was that of a young mother.
He gave in incontinently.
"Good Lord! no!" he exclaimed. "I"ll do anything if you"ll stay. I"ll lie down on the mat and not open my mouth. Just sit here and tell me things. I know you won"t let me hold your hand, but just let me hold a bit of your dress and look at you while you talk." He took a bit of her brown frock between his fingers and held it, gazing at her with all his crude young soul in his eyes. "Now tell me," he added.
"There"s only one or two things about the people who"ll come to Temple Barholm. Grandmother"s talked it over with me. She knew all about those that came in the late Mr. Temple Barholm"s time. He used to hate most of them."
"Then why in thunder did he ask them to come?"
"He didn"t. They"ve got clever, polite ways of asking themselves sometimes. He couldn"t bear the Countess of Mallowe. She"ll come.
Grandmother says you may be sure of that."
"What"ll she come for?"
Little Ann"s pause and contemplation of him were fraught with thoughtfulness.
"She"ll come for you," at last she said.
"She"s got a daughter she thinks ought to have been married eight years ago," announced Hutchinson.
Tembarom pulled at the bit of brown tweed he held as though it were a drowning man"s straw.
"Don"t you drive me to drink, Ann," he said. "I"m frightened. Your grandmother will have to lend ME the dog."
This was a flightiness which Little Ann did not encourage.
"Lady Joan--that"s her daughter--is very grand and haughty. She"s a great beauty. You"ll look at her, but perhaps she won"t look at you.
But it"s not her I"m troubled about. I"m thinking of Captain Palliser and men like him."
"Who"s he?"
"He"s one of those smooth, clever ones that"s always getting up some company or other and selling the stock. He"ll want you to know his friends and he"ll try to lead you his way."
As Tembarom held to his bit of her dress, his eyes were adoring ones, which was really not to be wondered at. She WAS adorable as her soft, kind, wonderfully maternal girl face tried to control itself so that it should express only just enough to help and nothing to disturb.
"I don"t want him to spoil you. I don"t want anything to make you-- different. I couldn"t bear it."
He pulled the bit of dress pleadingly.
"Why, Little Ann?" he implored quite low.
"Because," she said, feeling that perhaps she was rash-- "because if you were different, you wouldn"t be T. Tembarom; and it was T.
Tembarom that--that was T. Tembarom," she finished hastily.
He bent his head down to the bit of tweed and kissed it.
"You just keep looking after me like that," he said, "and there"s not one of them can get away with me."
She got up, and he rose with her. There was a touch of fire in the forget-me-not blue of her eyes.
"Just you let them see--just you let them see that you"re not one they can hold light and make use of." But there she stopped short, looking up at him. He was looking down at her with a kind of matureness in his expression. "I needn"t be afraid," she said. "You can take care of yourself; I ought to have known that."
"You did," he said, smiling; "but you wanted to sort of help me. And you"ve done it, by gee! just by saying that thing about T. Tembarom.
You set me right on my feet. That"s YOU."
Before they went away they paid a visit to Strangeways in his remote, undisturbed, and beautiful rooms. They were in a wing of the house untouched by any ordinary pa.s.sing to and fro, and the deep windows looked out upon gardens which spring and summer would crowd with loveliness from which clouds of perfume would float up to him on days when the sun warmed and the soft airs stirred the flowers, shaking the fragrance from their full incense-cups. But the white fog shut out to- day even their winter bareness. There were light and warmth inside, and every added charm of rich harmony of deep color and comfort made beautiful. There were books and papers waiting to be looked over, but they lay untouched on the writing-table, and Strangeways was sitting close to the biggest window, staring into the fog. His eyes looked hungry and hollow and dark. Ann knew he was "trying to remember"
something.
When the sound of footsteps reached his ear, he turned to look at them, and rose mechanically at sight of Ann. But his expression was that of a man aroused from a dream of far-off places.
"I remember you," he said, but hesitated as though making an effort to recall something.
"Of course you do," said Little Ann. "You know me quite well. I brought you here. Think a bit. Little--Little--"
"Yes," he broke forth. "Of course, Little Ann! Thank G.o.d I"ve not forgotten." He took her hand in both his and held it tenderly. "You have a sweet little face. It"s such a wise little face!" His voice sounded dreamy.
Ann drew him to his chair with a coaxing laugh and sat down by him.
"You"re flattering me. You make me feel quite shy," she said. "You know HIM, too," nodding toward Tembarom.
"Oh, yes," he replied, and be looked up with a smile. "He is the one who remembers. You said you did." He had turned to Tembarom.
"You bet your life I do," Tembarom answered. "And you will, too, before long."
"If I did not try so hard," said Strangeways, thoughtfully. "It seems as if I were shut up in a room, and so many things were knocking at the doors--hundreds of them--knocking because they want to be let in.
I am d.a.m.nably unhappy-- d.a.m.nably." He hung his head and stared at the floor. Tembarom put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a friendly shake.
"Don"t you worry a bit," he said. "You take my word for it. It"ll all come back. I"m working at it myself." Strangeways lifted his head.
"You are the one I know best. I trust you." But there was the beginning of a slight drag in his voice. "I don"t always --quite recollect--your name. Not quite. Good heavens! I mustn"t forget that."
Little Ann was quite ready.
"You won"t," she said, "because it"s different from other names. It begins with a letter--just a letter, and then there is the name.
Think."
"Yes, yes," he said anxiously.
Little Ann bent forward and fixed her eyes on his with concentrated suggestion. They had never risked confusing him by any mention of the new name. She began to repeat letters of the alphabet slowly and distinctly until she reached the letter T.