"Sure! As sure as I am of my own existence. Why, the way she looks at me is enough! She has a look of helpless trust, an innocent confidence, a tender, child-like faith and love, and a beseeching, pleading, imploring way that tells me she is mine through and through."
Hawbury was a little surprised. He thought he had heard something like that before.
"Oh, well," said he, "that"s the chief thing, you know. If you"re sure of the girl"s affections, the battle"s half won."
"Half won! Ain"t it all won?"
"Well, not exactly. You see, with us English, there are ever so many considerations."
"But with us Americans there is only one consideration, and that is, Do you love me? Still, if her relatives are particular about dollars, I can foot up as many thousands as her old man, I dare say; and then, if they care for rank, why, I"m a Baron!"
"And what"s more, old boy," said Hawbury, earnestly, "if they wanted a valiant, stout, true, honest, loyal soul, they needn"t go further than Rufus K. Gunn, Baron de Atramonte."
The Baron"s face flushed.
"Hawbury," said he, "that"s good in you. We"ve tried one another, haven"t we? You"re a brick! And I don"t need _you_ to tell _me_ what you think of me. But if you could get a word into the ear of that cantankerous old lady, and just let her know what _you_ know about me, it might move her. You see you"re after her style, and I"m not; and she can"t see any thing but a man"s manner, which, after all, varies in all countries. Now if you could speak a word for me, Hawbury--"
"By Jove! my dear fellow, I"d be glad to do so--I swear I would; but you don"t appear to know that I won"t have the chance. They"re all going to leave Rome to-morrow morning."
The Baron started as though he had been shot.
"What!" he cried, hoa.r.s.ely. "What"s that? Leave Rome?"
"Yes."
"And to-morrow morning?"
"Yes; Miss Fay told me herself--"
"Miss Fay told you herself! By Heaven! What do they mean by that?" And the Baron sat trembling with excitement.
"Well, the holy week"s over."
"Darn it all, that"s got nothing to do with it! It"s me! They"re trying to get her from me! How are they going? Do you know?"
"They are going in a carriage by the way of Civita Castellana."
"In a carriage by the way of Civita Castellana! Darn that old idiot of a woman! what"s she up to now? If she"s running away from me, she"ll wish herself back before she gets far on that road. Why, there"s an infernal nest of brigands there that call themselves Garibaldians; and, by thunder, the woman"s crazy! They"ll be seized and held to ransom--perhaps worse. Heavens! I"ll go mad! I"ll run and tell them.
But no; they won"t see me. What"ll I do? And Minnie! I can"t give her up. She can"t give me up. She"s a poor, trembling little creature; her whole life hangs on mine. Separation from me would kill her. Poor little girl! Separation! By thunder, they shall never separate us!
What devil makes the old woman go by that infernal road? Brigands all the way! But I"ll go after them; I"ll follow them. They"ll find it almighty hard work to keep her from me! I"ll see her, by thunder! and I"ll get her out of their clutches! I swear I will! I"ll bring her back here to Rome, and I"ll get the Pope himself to bind her to me with a knot that all the old women under heaven can never loosen!"
"What! You"re going? By Jove! that"s odd, for I"m going with a friend on the same road."
"Good again! Three cheers! And you"ll see the old woman, and speak a good word for me?"
"If I see her and get a chance, I certainly will, by Jove!"
CHAPTER XXI.
AN EVENTFUL JOURNEY.
On the day following two carriages rolled out of Rome, and took the road toward Florence by the way of Civita Castellana. One carriage held four ladies; the other one was occupied by four lady"s-maids and the luggage of the party.
It was early morning, and over the wide Campagna there still hung mists, which were dissipated gradually as the sun arose. As they went on the day advanced, and with the departing mists there opened up a wide view. On either side extended the desolate Campagna, over which pa.s.sed lines of ruined aqueducts on their way from the hills to the city. Here and there crumbling ruins arose above the plain--some ancient, others medieval, none modern. Before them, in the distance, arose the Apennines, among which were, here and there, visible the white outlines of some villa or hamlet.
For mile after mile they drove on; and the drive soon proved very monotonous. It was nothing but one long and unvarying plain, with this only change, that every mile brought them nearer to the mountains. As the mountains were their only hope, they all looked forward eagerly to the time when they would arrive there and wind along the road among them.
Formerly Mrs. Willoughby alone had been the confidante of Minnie"s secret, but the events of the past few days had disclosed most of her troubles to the other ladies also, at least as far as the general outlines were concerned. The consequence was, that they all knew perfectly well the reason why they were traveling in this way, and Minnie knew that they all knew it. Yet this unpleasant consciousness did not in the least interfere with the sweetness of her temper and the gentleness of her manner. She sat there, with a meek smile and a resigned air, as though the only part now left her in life was the patient endurance of her unmerited wrongs. She blamed no one; she made no complaint; yet there was in her att.i.tude something so touching, so clinging, so pathetic, so forlorn, and in her face something so sweet, so sad, so reproachful, and so piteous, that she enforced sympathy; and each one began to have a half-guilty fear that Minnie had been wronged by her. Especially did Mrs. Willoughby feel this. She feared that she had neglected the artless and simple-minded child; she feared that she had not been sufficiently thoughtful about her; and now longed to do something to make amends for this imaginary neglect. So she sought to make the journey as pleasant as possible by cheerful remarks and lively observations. None of these things, however, produced any effect upon the att.i.tude of Minnie. She sat there, with unalterable sweetness and unvarying patience, just like a holy martyr, who freely forgave all her enemies, and was praying for those who had despitefully used her.
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE PROCESSION ACROSS THE CAMPAGNA.]
The exciting events consequent upon the Baron"s appearance, and his sudden revelation in the role of Minnie"s lover, had exercised a strong and varied effect upon all; but upon one its result was wholly beneficial, and this was Ethel. It was so startling and so unexpected that it had roused her from her gloom, and given her something to think of. The Baron"s debut in their parlor had been narrated to her over and over by each of the three who had witnessed it, and each gave the narrative her own coloring. Lady Dalrymple"s account was humorous; Mrs. Willoughby"s indignant; Minnie"s sentimental. Out of all these Ethel gained a fourth idea, compounded of these three, which again blended with another, and an original one of her own, gained from a personal observation of the Baron, whose appearance on the stairs and impatient summons for "Min" were very vividly impressed on her memory.
In addition to this there was the memory of that day on which they endeavored to fight off the enemy.
That was, indeed, a memorable day, and was now alluded to by them all as the day of the siege. It was not without difficulty that they had withstood Minnie"s earnest protestations, and intrenched themselves.
But Mrs. Willoughby was obdurate, and Minnie"s tears, which flowed freely, were unavailing.
Then there came the first knock of the impatient and aggressive visitor, followed by others in swift succession, and in ever-increasing power. Every knock went to Minnie"s heart. It excited an unlimited amount of sympathy for the one who had saved her life, and was now excluded from her door. But as the knocks grew violent and imperative, and Minnie grew sad and pitiful, the other ladies grew indignant. Lady Dalrymple was on the point of sending off for the police, and only Minnie"s frantic entreaties prevented this. At last the door seemed almost beaten in, and their feelings underwent a change. They were convinced that he was mad, or else intoxicated. Of the madness of love they did not think. Once convinced that he was mad, they became terrified. The maids all hid themselves. None of them now would venture out even to call the police. They expected that the concierge would interpose, but in vain. The concierge was bribed.
After a very eventful day night came. They heard footsteps pacing up and down, and knew that it was their tormentor. Minnie"s heart again melted with tender pity for the man whose love for her had turned his head, and she begged to be allowed to speak to him. But this was not permitted. So she went to bed and fell asleep. So, in process of time, did the others, and the night pa.s.sed without any trouble. Then morning came, and there was a debate as to who should confront the enemy.
There was no noise, but they knew that he was there. At last Lady Dalrymple summoned up her energies, and went forth to do battle. The result has already been described in the words of the bold Baron himself.
But even this great victory did not rea.s.sure the ladies. Dreading another visit, they hurried away to a hotel, leaving the maids to follow with the luggage as soon as possible. On the following morning they had left the city.
Events so very exciting as these had produced a very natural effect upon the mind of Ethel. They had thrown her thoughts out of their old groove, and fixed them in a new one. Besides, the fact that she was actually leaving the man who had caused her so much sorrow was already a partial relief. She had dreaded meeting him so much that she had been forced to keep herself a prisoner. A deep grief still remained in her heart; but, at any rate, there was now some pleasure to be felt, if only of a superficial kind.
As for Mrs. Willoughby, in spite of her self-reproach about her purely imaginary neglect of Minnie, she felt such an extraordinary relief that it affected all her nature. The others might feel fatigue from the journey. Not she. She was willing to continue the journey for an indefinite period, so long as she had the sweet consciousness that she was bearing Minnie farther and farther away from the grasp of "that horrid man." The consequence was, that she was lively, lovely, brilliant, cheerful, and altogether delightful. She was as tender to Minnie as a mother could be. She was lavish in her promises of what she would do for her. She chatted gayly with Ethel about a thousand things, and was delighted to find that Ethel reciprocated. She rallied Lady Dalrymple on her silence, and congratulated her over and over, in spite of Minnie"s frowns, on the success of her generalship. And so at last the weary Campagna was traversed, and the two carriages began to ascend among the mountains.
Several other travelers were pa.s.sing over that Campagna road, and in the same direction. They were not near enough for their faces to be discerned, but the ladies could look back and see the signs of their presence. First there was a carriage with two men, and about two miles behind another carriage with two other men; while behind these, again, there rode a solitary horseman, who was gradually gaining on the other travelers.
Now, if it had been possible for Mrs. Willoughby to look back and discern the faces of the travelers who were moving along the road behind her, what a sudden overturn there would have been in her feelings, and what a blight would have fallen upon her spirits! But Mrs. Willoughby remained in the most blissful ignorance of the persons of these travelers, and so was able to maintain the sunshine of her soul.
At length there came over that sunny soul the first cloud.
The solitary horseman, who had been riding behind, had overtaken the different carriages.
The first carriage contained Lord Hawbury and Scone Dacres. As the horseman pa.s.sed, he recognized them with a careless nod and smile.
Scone Dacres grasped Lord Hawbury"s arm.
"Did you see him?" he cried. "The Italian! I thought so! What do you say now? Wasn"t I right?"
"By Jove!" cried Lord Hawbury.