"You have done what is proper in warning my sister first," Miss Graham remarked; but Mrs. Dalton was silent for a few moments.
"You imply that Helen doesn"t know," she said.
"She does not; I"ve been careful not to give her a hint," Festing declared. "I was afraid to alarm her by, so to speak, rushing things.
You"re not used to it in England."
Miss Graham"s amus.e.m.e.nt was plainer. "The caution you exercised must have cost you something."
"After all, you haven"t known Helen long," Mrs. Dalton resumed.
"That"s so, in a way, but five minutes was long enough. I knew I"d never marry anybody else when I saw her in the garden the first day I came."
He thought Miss Graham gave him an approving look, but he turned to Mrs.
Dalton.
"I hope you will give your consent; but, of course, if you object, or there"s anything you want to ask----"
Mrs. Dalton roused herself. She felt breathless, as if she had been carried along at an unusual pace.
"To begin with," she said quietly, "I cannot object to you. We know something about your character; you helped my son, helped him more than you perhaps thought. But there is something I must ask." She hesitated and then resumed: "You have seen the life Helen leads with us. She has never had to use much self-denial. What have you to offer her in Canada?"
"Not much. In fact, that"s partly why I came first to you. I felt you should be warned; that"s really what I meant."
"You are honest," Miss Graham interposed. "You want my sister"s approval, but don"t think it essential."
Festing looked at Mrs. Dalton. "If you refused, I wouldn"t be altogether daunted. I might wait, but that is all. This is a matter Helen must decide."
"Yes. All the same, it is my duty to guard her from a possible mistake."
"Very well; I"ll make matters as plain as I can. To begin with, I haven"t much money, and although I"m building a good homestead, a Western farm is very different from the Scar. There"s none of the refinement you have round you; a man must work from sunrise until it"s dark, and there are many demands upon a woman. For all that, I can guard against Helen suffering actual hardship. In fact, she shall suffer nothing I can save her from. It"s the pressure of things one can"t control and her own character that may cause the strain. If I know her, she won"t stand by and watch when there"s much that ought to be done."
"She would not. But how long do you expect the strain to last?"
"Not very long. Two years, three years; I can"t tell. When you break new land you work hard and wait. The railroad throws out branches, elevators are built, small towns spring up, and while you improve your holding comfort and often prosperity comes to you."
"But in the meantime a little capital would help?"
"Of course," said Festing. "The trouble is I haven"t much, but I think I have enough to provide all that"s strictly necessary."
He thought Mrs. Dalton gave her sister a warning glance, but she said: "Well, you have my consent to ask Helen; but if she is willing to run the risk, there is a stipulation I must make."
"So long as you consent, I"ll agree to anything," Festing declared. "I can"t repay you for your trust, but I"ll try to deserve it."
Mrs. Dalton told him where Helen had gone, and setting off to meet her, he presently saw her come round a bend in a lane. The sun had set and tall oaks, growing along the hedgerows, darkened the lane, but a faint crimson glow from the west shone between the trunks. To the east, the quiet countryside rolled back into deepening shadow. For a moment Festing hesitated as he watched the girl advance. It was rash to uproot this fair bloom of the sheltered English garden and transplant it in virgin soil, swept by the rushing winds. Then he went forward resolutely.
Helen gave him her hand and moved on with disturbed feelings, for there was something different in his look.
"If you don"t mind, we"ll stop a minute; I have something to say. To begin with, I"m going back to Canada."
She looked up sharply and then waited with forced calm until he resumed: "That precipitates matters, because I must learn if I"ve hoped for too much before I go. I was a stranger when I came here, and you were kind--"
"You were not a stranger," Helen said quietly. "George told us about you, and for his sake--"
"I don"t want you to be kind for George"s sake, but my own. I"d sooner you liked me for what I am, with all my faults."
"If it"s any comfort, I think I really do like you," Helen admitted with a strained smile.
"Well enough to marry me?"
Helen colored, but gave him a level glance. "Ah," she said, "aren"t you rash? You hardly know me yet."
"I"m not rash at all; I knew you long ago. Your portrait hung in Charnock"s house and I used to study it on winter nights. It told me what you were, and when I saw you under the copper beech I knew you very well. Still now I have seen you, your picture had lost its charm."
"Then you have it?" Helen asked.
Festing gave her a Russia leather case and her face flushed red.
"Did Bob give you this?"
"No," said Festing quietly; "I stole it."
"And the case?"
"The case was made in Montreal. I went to Winnipeg, but could get nothing good enough."
Helen turned her head. It was a long way to Winnipeg from the prairie bridge, and she was moved that he had made the journey to find a proper covering for her picture.
"You must have valued the portrait," she remarked shyly.
"I did, but it won"t satisfy me now. As soon as I met you I fell in love with you. Somehow I think you must have seen--"
"Yes," said Helen quietly, "I did see."
Festing summoned his self-control. "You must know what you decide. I must live in Canada; my homestead may seem rude and bare after your mother"s beautiful house, and I tried to show you what a prairie farm is like."
"I think I know," Helen said, and gave him a quick tender look. "Still, such things don"t really matter----"
Then Festing stepped forward and took her in his arms.
An hour later he sat talking to Mrs. Dalton and Miss Graham in the drawing-room.
"I am glad you have agreed to wait and come back for Helen in the spring, but I ought to tell you something now, because it may make a difference in your plans," Mrs. Dalton remarked "You admitted that some of the difficulties you and Helen would have to meet might be avoided if you had a little more capital."
"It would certainly make a difference, but I have got no more."
"Helen has some money," Mrs. Dalton replied.
Festing knitted his brows. "I didn"t suspect this!"