"I am not a very round-about person," she said. "And if he had had either honour or conscience or feeling, there would have been no need for my speaking at all. And Josephine had just a.s.sured me that last year he wanted my fortune?so I asked him how much he would like to have now. In effect."
"With the understanding that he might have what he spoke for?"
"O yes. Of course," she added with a flush and a glance, "he knew that I could only mean within certain limits. I did not tell him what they were."
Rollo looked at her for a moment almost sternly; but then he broke into a laugh. "It is like Wych Hazel!" he said.
"Was it absurd?" said the girl, the crimson starting again. "But I do not see why. I suppose that is like me too," she added with a half laugh.
"I do not think you absurd," said Rollo, laughing still. "Perhaps?
just a trifle?unbusinesslike."
"But I thought it was good business to say exactly what you mean?"
"If you were practised in rifle shooting, I should tell you that you forgot to allow for the wind."
"Well, as I am not?"?said Wych Hazel looking up at him.
"For instance. You are practising at a mark, perhaps eight hundred yards off; the first time you aim for the bull"s eye, and hit it.
Between the first shot and the second however, a breeze has sprung up. That alters the case. The second time you will not aim at the bull"s eye, but perhaps?according to the force of the wind?
a dozen feet to one side of it."
"Did that ever happen in your shooting?"
"Such a thing has happened in my shooting."
"And you hit it, that second time?"
"I hit it?yes."
Wych hazel looked soberly into the fire. "You will never make a sharp-shooter of me, Olaf," she said. "I think nothing will ever make me learn calculation."
"What did Nightingale answer you?"
"He said?or intimated?that I thought I had my old power still,"
said Hazel slowly.
"He is one of the men that have their price. But you forgot that his pride must have its price too."
"Pride? Can he have any pride left? It was just because?because he used to like to do what I said, that he would not now."
"I do not understand yet how he came to be driving with you."
"Didn"t I say that? Why," said Wych Hazel running rapidly over details, "Annabella did not have their own carriage, but a hack and a tipsy driver,?for Josephine"s sake, you know. And when we left Josephine he set off up north to see where the snow came from.
And we made him turn round, and then jumped out when we got back to Fort Washington. And there we ran against that man again."
"How came you in Fort Washington?" Rollo asked, his eyes snapping in the midst of the very grave intentness with which he was listening.
"That is where Josephine has hid away."
"Nightingale drove in from Fort Washington with you?"
"Yes."
"Does anybody know about this business?" Rollo asked after a slight pause. "Not Josephine"s mother?"
"n.o.body. Annabella thought I might have some influence?but if I could not keep her from marrying Charteris in the first place?
What _can_ be done?"
"I will try. But Wych, I am going to make one regulation."
"Yes. Well?" said Wych Hazel, with a certain sheer at the name of "regulations."
"Whenever you go out in a carriage, here or in the country, I wish you always to be attended by a trustworthy servant?either Lewis, or Byrom, or Reo."
"But my dear friend, in this case I could not have taken either.
Don"t you see?"
"I do not see anything," said Rollo lazily. "Not even that I am your dear friend."
"I have known you fail on that point before," said Wych Hazel demurely. "But the thing to see is that Mr. Rollo"s regulations cannot always be carried out."
"I cannot think of a case where I should allow the exception."
"I"ll tell you as they come. Then will you try what you can do with that wretch?" she went on eagerly.
"I think we can manage him. But I shall not see him myself, Wych; that would be to start his pride again; and of all human pa.s.sions pride is the strongest that I know?unless possibly jealousy. I must have a medium, and I think I know the right one. I propose to offer him, not carte blanche, but, say, five thousand a year for five years; on condition that during that time he neither joins nor is joined by Josephine, wherever he may be. He wants money badly, as you say. I think he will accept my offer."
"You had better say for life," said Wych Hazel quickly.
"No," said Rollo smiling; "that would be bad economy. Some day you will know what economy is; in the mean while, believe me.
He is not worth more than twenty-five thousand dollars; and _she_ is not. And if she is obliged to wait five years, she will never go to him after that. As to the rest,"?and Rollo bent his head caressingly by the side of Wych Hazel"s?"where my regulations cannot be carried out, Hazel,?do not go."
"But Olaf?"
"Well, Wych?" he said, looking at her with the grey eyes full of love, and full of delight in her, and full of admiration of her; not the less, soft as they were, full also of that expression which is called masterful when people do not like it. Wych Hazel looked up and then down, silently knotting her fingers in and out. Rollo put his lips down to hers, but waited for what she had to say. It did not come at once.
"I am trying to push myself out of sight," she said frankly with one of her sweet laughs. "And I am a hard one to push, sometimes. But for my work?suppose I have something to do which cannot be done so?"
"Don"t do it."
"Really? Suppose it ought to be done?"
"It is quite plain that in such a case, it ought not to be done by you."
"You leave me no more room for discretion, than Mr. Rollo did in the old time," said Wych Hazel soberly. "Well?I hope you will succeed with that man," she went on in her former tone; "but he was not in a pretty mood to-day."
"We shall succeed with him. And when you get into any perplexity, what hinders Mrs. Rollo from applying to her husband? Or in a case of need, employing him?"