"Oh, you know, it is the only chance for her recovery. She is _so_ delicate."
The Baron looked at Mrs. Willoughby with a pale face, upon which there was real suffering and real misery.
"Can"t I do something?" he gasped. "Won"t you take a message to her?
It ought to do her good. Perhaps she thinks I"m neglecting her.
Perhaps she thinks I ain"t here enough. Tell her I"m ready to give up my office, and even my t.i.tle of n.o.bility, and come and live here, if it"ll be any comfort to her."
"Oh, really, Sir, you _quite_ mistake her," said Mrs. Willoughby. "It has no reference to you whatever. It"s a nervous affection, accompanied with general debility and neuralgia."
"Oh no, you don"t know her," said the Baron, incredulously. "I _know_ her. I know what it is. But she walks, don"t she?"
"Yes, a little--just across the room; still, even that is too much.
She is _very, very_ weak, and must be _quite_ kept free from excitement. Even the excitement of your visits is bad for her. Her pulse is--is--always--accelerated--and--she--I--Oh, dear me!"
While Mrs. Willoughby had been making up this last sentence she was startled by a rustling on the stairs. It was the rustle of a female"s dress. An awful thought occurred to her, which distracted her, and confused her in the middle of her sentence, and made her scarce able to articulate her words. And as she spoke them the rustle drew nearer, and she heard the sound of feet descending the stairs, until at last the footsteps approached the door, and Mrs. Willoughby, to her utter horror, saw Minnie herself.
Now as to the Baron, in the course of his animated conversation with Mrs. Willoughby, and in his excited entreaties to her to carry a message up to the invalid, he had turned round with his back to the door. It was about the time that Lady Dalrymple had begun to beat a retreat. As she advanced the Baron saw her, and, with his usual politeness, moved ever so far to one side, bowing low as he did so.
Lady Dalrymple pa.s.sed, the Baron raised himself, and as Mrs.
Willoughby was yet speaking, and had just reached the exclamation which concluded her last remark, he was astounded by the sudden appearance of Minnie herself at the door.
The effect of this sudden appearance was overwhelming. Mrs. Willoughby stood thunder-struck, and the Baron utterly bewildered. The latter recovered his faculties first. It was just as Lady Dalrymple was pa.s.sing out. With a bound he sprang toward Minnie, and caught her in his arms, uttering a series of inarticulate cries.
"Oh, Min! and you did come down, did you? And you couldn"t stay up there, could you? I wanted to send a message to you. Poor little Min!
you"re so weak. Is it any thing serious? Oh, my darling little Min!
But sit down on this here seat. Don"t stand; you"re too weak. Why didn"t you send, and I"d have carried you down? But tell me now, honest, wasn"t it _me_ that brought this on? Never mind, I"ll never leave you again."
This is the style which the gallant Baron adopted to express his sentiments concerning Minnie; and the result was that he succeeded in giving utterance to words that were quite as incoherent as any that Minnie herself, in her most rambling moods, had ever uttered.
The Baron now gave himself up to joy. He took no notice of any body.
He sat by Minnie"s side on a sofa, and openly held her hand. The Reverend Saul Tozer looked on with an approving smile, and surveyed the scene like a father. Mrs. Willoughby"s soul was on fire with indignation at Minnie"s folly and the Baron"s impudence. She was also indignant that her little conventional falsehoods had been suddenly disproved by the act of Minnie herself. Yet she did not know what to say, and so she went to a chair, and flung herself into it in fierce anger.
As for Minnie herself, she had come down to the Baron, and appeared rather to enjoy the situation. She talked about Rome and Naples, and asked him all about himself, and the Baron explained his whole situation down to the minutest detail. She was utterly indifferent to her sister. Once or twice the Baron made a move to go, but did not succeed. He finally settled himself down apparently for the rest of the day; but Mrs. Willoughby at last interposed. She walked forward.
She took Minnie"s hand, and spoke to her in a tone which she but seldom used.
"You shall _not_ stay here any longer!" she cried. "Come."
And Minnie obeyed at once.
The Baron insisted on a tender adieu. Mrs. Willoughby stood by, with flashing eyes and heaving breast.
Minnie followed her up stairs in silence.
"You silly child!" she cried. "Are you mad? What made you come down?
You broke your promise!"
"Well--well--I couldn"t help it, and he is so deliciously rude; and do you know, Kitty dearest, I really begin to feel quite fond of him."
"Now listen, child. You shall never see him again."
"I don"t see why not," whimpered Minnie.
"And I"m going to telegraph to papa. I wouldn"t have the responsibility of you another week for the world."
"Now, Kitty, you"re horrid."
CHAPTER XVII.
THE BARON"S a.s.sAULTS.
On the eventful afternoon when the Baron had effected an entrance into the heart of the enemy"s country, another caller had come there--one equally intent and equally determined, but not quite so aggressive.
This was the Count Girasole. The same answer was given to him which had been given to the Baron, but with far different effect. The Baron had carelessly brushed the slight obstacle aside. To the Count it was an impenetrable barrier. It was a bitter disappointment, too; for he had been filled with the brightest hopes and expectations by the reception with which he had met on his last visit. That reception had made him believe that they had changed their sentiments and their att.i.tude toward him, and that for the future he would be received in the same fashion. He had determined, therefore, to make the most of this favorable change, and so he at once repeated his call. This time, however, his hopes were crushed. What made it worse, he had seen the entrance of the Baron and the Reverend Saul, and knew by this that instead of being a favored mortal in the eyes of these ladies, he was really, in their estimation, placed below these comparative strangers.
By the language of Lord Hawbury on his previous call, he knew that the acquaintance of the Baron with Mrs. Willoughby was but recent.
The disappointment of the Count filled him with rage, and revived all his old feelings and plans and projects. The Count was not one who could suffer in silence. He was a crafty, wily, subtle, scheming Italian, whose fertile brain was full of plans to achieve his desires, and who preferred to accomplish his aims by a tortuous path, rather than by a straight one. This repulse revived old projects, and he took his departure with several little schemes in his mind, some of which, at least, were destined to bear fruit afterward.
On the following day the Baron called once more. The ladies in the mean time had talked over the situation, but were unable to see what they were to do with a man who insisted on forcing his way into their house. Their treatment would have been easy enough if it had not been for Minnie. She insisted that they should not be unkind to him. He had saved her life, she said, and she could not treat him with rudeness.
Lady Dalrymple was in despair, and Mrs. Willoughby at her wit"s end, while Ethel, to whom the circ.u.mstance was made known, was roused by it from her sadness, and tried to remonstrate with Minnie. All her efforts, however, were as vain as those of her friends. Minnie could not be induced to take any decided stand. She insisted on seeing him whenever he called, on the ground that it would be unkind not to.
"And will you insist on seeing Girasole also?" asked Mrs. Willoughby.
"I don"t know. I"m awfully sorry for him," said Minnie.
"Well, then, Captain Kirby will be here next. Of course you will see him?"
"I suppose so," said Minnie, resignedly.
"And how long do you think this sort of thing can go on? They"ll meet, and blood will be shed."
"Oh dear! I"m afraid so."
"Then I"m not going to allow it. I"ve telegraphed to papa. He"ll see whether you are going to have your own way or not."
"I"m sure I don"t see what dear papa can do."
"He won"t let you see those horrid men."
"He won"t be cruel enough to lock me up in the house. I do wish he would come and take me away. I don"t want them. They"re all horrid."
[Ill.u.s.tration: "MIN, IT"S ME!"]
"This last one--this Gunn--is the most terrible man I ever saw."
"Oh, Kitty dearest! How _can_ you say so? Why, his rudeness and violence are perfectly irresistible. He"s charming. He bullies one so deliciously."