"What is all this?" he said. "_What_ do you want me to tell you, Wych?"
"I thought? Nothing," she said rather hastily retreating within herself again. "But I did not quite understand you, Mr. Rollo."
"What do you consider the proper thing to do, when you do not understand me?"
A little inarticulate sound seemed to say that the course might vary in different cases. "Generally," said Hazel, "I wait and puzzle it out by myself."
"I would _always_ like to help you."
She laughed a little, shyly, as if _asking_ help were quite another matter, especially about unknown things. But pondering this one a minute?it looked so harmless,?out it came, in Hazel"s usual abrupt fashion.
"What you said about "comfort" Mr. Rollo,?I did not suppose you had ever wanted comfort in your life."
"Didn"t you?"? He did not want much just now!
"Well, what did you mean?"
"You suppose that I have been in a contented state of mind all summer, for instance?"
"The point in hand is, why you are less contented to-day," said Hazel preserving her gravity.
"What made you faint at Gyda"s??and why have you slept three whole days since?" he said gravely. "You had better not bring it up, Wych, or I shall want comfort again."
"O?these three days?" said Hazel. "I have just been having my own way; as I told Mr. Falkirk; and it has agreed with me splendidly. It was no doing of mine, to send for Dr. Maryland?but Byo always fidgets over me."
"And the fainting??and the walk over the hill? over rough and smooth, where your little feet must have had a hard time of it;?
and you laid it up against me?"
What had Gyda told him? Not _that_, for that was not true. But what? Hazel"s head drooped lower.
"Mr. Rollo," she said seriously, "if you do not cure yourself of your habit of making statements, some day you will acquire the habit of making mistakes."
"No, I shall not," he said coolly. "You will not let me."
If _that_ were one, Hazel made no attempt to correct it; having no mind just then to deal with any of his mistakes, in any shape; remembering too exactly what some of them had been. So she sat very still, looking down at the two small folded hands, and wondered to herself if Mr. Rollo had cross-questioned Gyda? if he meant to cross-question her??and if he did, where she should hide? That fainting, that walk across the hill!?even now, with three long days of oblivion between, and the sorrow and the doubt all pushed aside; even now, she could hardly bear the recollection; and just caught the deep sigh that was coming, and shut her lips tight, and kept it back.
And _that_ was what had troubled him! The colour flitted and changed in her cheeks, in the sort of _live_ way Wych Hazel"s colour had, and then the brown eyes gave a swift sidelong glance, to see what the owner of the grey ones was about?
He was studying her, as if he had a mind to find out all her thoughts in their secret hiding-places. But his attention was diverted now to something in his fingers, which he was unfolding and unwrapping; and presently he took one of the little folded hands, the left one, and put upon the forefinger a ring set with a very large emerald. The ring fitted; the stone was superb. Rollo laid the little hand, so beringed, in his own palm, and looked at it there; then his eye met Hazel"s with a bright, sweet, peculiar smile.
"We shall never misunderstand each other again, Wych! Shall we?"
It was queer, to see the colour recede and get out of sight, as if gathering strength for its vivid return. But Hazel did not look at him, nor at the ring, not at anything,?did not see anything, probably, just then. She caught her breath a little, finding her words one by one?
"But ?I?never?misunderstood?you," she said.
"Would you like to stand an examination on that point?"
Hazel considered a little.
"I am willing to hear any?statements."
"I thought just now you objected to them. However, it will be necessary for me to make a good many, sooner or later, just to make sure that you know what you are about in marrying me. But to begin with this emerald.?Do you know what it means?"
It did occur to the girl, as she went on a foray after her thoughts, that she had no immediate intention of marrying anybody! But to use her own words, that was not the point in hand.
"Means?" she repeated,?which of all the five hundred and forty things that it meant did Mr. Rollo wish to have set forth!?"But you are to make statements?not ask questions," she said.
"It is an old jewel that I have had reset for you. I preferred it to a diamond, because it is a finer stone than any diamond in my possession, and because of the meaning, as I said. In the description of John"s vision in the Revelation, it is said "there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like to an emerald."?In Ezekiel"s vision the word is, "as the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain." "
Partly shielding her face with her other hand, Hazel sat studying the ring, her eyes intent and grave and wide open as a child"s.
"What does the rainbow mean?" he asked.
"It was a promise against desolation?at first," she said slowly; very unconsciously betraying what already the emerald was to her.
"The promise was against desolation?the bow was the sign for the faithfulness of the promiser. Where is your Bible??"
He went on, talking purposely to let Hazel find her composure, for he saw she was scarcely able to take her part in any conversation.
So he went on. He knew she was listening.
"Do you see??the rainbow "like to an emerald"?the rainbow "round about the throne,"?that is the same as, "_thy faithfulness round about thee_," "O Lord,? who is like unto thee, or to thy faithfulness round about thee!" So that is what the emerald means;?faithfulness. First, your faith, and mine; and then, the strength and repose of that other faithfulness, which is round us both; in which?we will _both_ walk, Hazel, shall we not?"
He could not tell what she was thinking of. Not of him, apparently, for the look on the face was far away, as if thought had followed his words quite out of sight; yet more to something past than towards other things to come. So leaning her head on her hand she sat, and then?still full of her thought?looked up at him, the same child"s look of intentness, with words all ready on her lips.
"Then in those days," she began? But then came the sudden recollection of whom she was speaking to, and what a stranger he was, and that he was not a stranger at all; with probably some quick realization of what she was going to say; for the scarlet flushed up all over her face again, and her head went down on her hand, and she was silent.
"What "in those days?"?I want the rest of it."
"O, the rest of it is more than you think," said Hazel. "And it is a great way off. I should have to take you miles and miles. And I would rather?not."
He smiled at her, seeing the beautiful shyness that did not separate her from him, but only put such a bloom on the fruit?such a fragrance in the flower. He was content. The freedom and fearlessness of older affection would come in time, and it would be pleasant to see it come. He would not hurry her; indeed, as he once had told her he never asked for what he could not have, so neither did he care for what was enforced in the giving. Better a free smile than a kiss bestowed to order. He saw now that she was hardly ready for many things he had it in his heart to say. He could wait.
The readiness was there, only latent. He played with the hand and the ring while he was thinking these things.
But now all through the old house rang out the sweet bugle call; signal for luncheon. No bells, as has been remarked, were heard at Chickaree. Just a moment"s hesitation came over the young mistress, with visions of Dingee and possibilities of Mr. Falkirk, and one glance at her ring. Then she turned to Mr. Rollo, giving her timid invitation as she rose up. "You will come?" she said,?
and flitted off quick to lead the way, having no sort of mind to go in state. Rollo followed more slowly, smiling to himself.
"Do you often have company from the cottage at this time?" he inquired when he had again caught up with Wych Hazel in the dining room.
"Sometimes?but I gave Mr. Falkirk such a talk at breakfast that I shall hardly see him again before dinner. Dingee, where is the coffee? You know Mr. Rollo never touches chocolate."
"Know dat_ sartain," said Dingee; "but Mas" Rollo come in so??"
"Go fetch the coffee," said Hazel, cutting him short.
Rollo remarked as he seated himself at the table, that he "didn"t feel as if he could stand Mr. Falkirk to-day."
"He is very much the same as on most days," said Hazel. "I thought you always rather enjoyed "standing" him, Mr. Rollo?"