CHAPTER VI.
When next the Tenor saw Angelica after he had learnt that she was the Boy"s sister, he felt that a new interest had been added to her attractions.
It was on a Sat.u.r.day afternoon in the cathedral, as usual, and she came in late. But almost as soon as she had taken her seat she looked at the Tenor with an earnest, anxious glance that reminded him of her brother, and her colour deepened. The Boy had told her then, the Tenor thought, and he was glad she knew that they had met; it was a bond of union which seemed to bring her nearer.
He noticed now how like in feature the brother and sister were. The girl looked taller as well as older, and was altogether on a larger scale, her figure being amply developed for her age, while the Boy"s was fragile to a fault; her hair was dark too, while his was light; but with these slight differences there was likeness enough to show that they were twins. They both had the same shaped eyes, the same straight, well-defined, dark eyebrows and long lashes, the same features, the same clear skin and even teeth; but the expression was different. There was never any devilment in the girl"s face; it was always pale and tranquil, almost to sadness, as the Tenor saw it, standing out in fair relief against the dark oak carving of the stalls. Her movements were all made, too, with a certain quiet dignity that seemed habitual. In the Boy, on the contrary, there was no trace of that graceful attribute. He threw himself about, lolled, lollopped, and gesticulated, with as much delight in the free play of his muscles as if he were only let out to exercise them occasionally; and it seemed as if he must always be at daggers drawn with dignity. But such a slender intellectual creature could not without absurdity acquire the ponderous movements and weight of manner of smaller wits and duller brains. In the girl, quiescence was the natural outcome of womanly reserve; in the Boy, it would have been mere affectation. His lightness and brightness were his great charm at present, a charm, however, which was much enhanced by moments of thoughtfulness, which gave glimpses of another nature beneath, with more substantial qualities. The Tenor had soon perceived that he was not all mischief, romp, and boyishness; all that was on the surface; but beneath there was a strong will at work with some purpose, or the Tenor, was much mistaken; and there was daring, and there was originality. This was the Tenor"s first impression, and further acquaintance only confirmed it.
Having formed his opinion of the Boy"s abilities, the Tenor began to make plans for his future, and the selflessness of the man"s nature showed itself in nothing more clearly, perhaps, than in the consideration he gave to the lad"s career. His own had not cost him so much as a thought for years; but now he roused himself and became ambitious all at once for the Boy! He believed that there was the making of a distinguished man in him, and he allowed the hope of being able to influence him in some worthy direction to become as much a part of his daily life as another hope had become--a hope which was strongly felt but not yet acknowledged, except in so far as it took the form of a desire to see her, and made known its presence with force in the pang of disappointment which he suffered if by chance she failed to come as usual to the service on Sat.u.r.day afternoon.
He saw in the girl an ideal, and had found soul enough in the laughter-loving Boy to make him eager to befriend him.
And thus into the Tenor"s life two new interests had found their way, and something which had hitherto been wanting to make the music of it perfect was heard at last in his wonderful voice when he sang.
CHAPTER VII.
About this time the weather changed; the nights were wet for a week, and when it cleared up the Tenor had begun to do some work for the dean which kept him at home in the evenings, so that he had no opportunity of seeing the Boy, who only seemed to come abroad at night, for some little time. He saw his sister, however, in the cathedral regularly once a week, and always she gave him a friendly glance, by which his days were rounded as by a blessing, and he felt content. His being so was entirely characteristic. Another man in his place would have lost the charm of the present in anxiety to reach some future which should be even more complete. But the Tenor took no thought for the morrow; each day as it came was a joy to him, and his hopes, if he had any, were a part of his peace.
The work he was doing for the dean was interesting. He was making drawings to ill.u.s.trate a history of Anglo-Norman times which the dean was writing.
He drew well and with great facility; but these drawings, many of which were architectural, required special care and accuracy, with the closest attention to detail, which made the work fatiguing, particularly as he had to do it at night, his only leisure time just then; and more than once he had tired himself out, and been obliged to put it away and rest. On one of these occasions, instead of going to bed, he stretched himself in an easy-chair beside the open French window which looked out upon the cathedral, and prepared to indulge in the quiet luxury of a pipe while he rested his weary eyes. The great cathedral towered above him, and from where he sat the Tenor caught a beautiful glimpse of it anglewise, of the south transept and tower and spire; the rich perpendicular windows of the clerestory, the bold span of the flying b.u.t.tresses rising out of the plain but solid Norman base, every detail of which he knew and appreciated.
It was a fair, still, starry night without, and the light air that blew in upon him was sweet and refreshing. His mind wandered from subject to subject--a sleepy sign--as he smoked, and presently he put down his pipe and closed his eyes. He thought then that he had fallen asleep and was dreaming, and in his dream he fancied he heard himself sing. "This is a queer dream," he was conscious of saying. "That is my voice exactly. I have often wondered how it sounded to other people, and now I am listening to it myself, which is strange." But the strangest part of it was that the words to which the music shaped itself in his mind were not the words of any song he knew, but that expression of human nature which contains in itself some of the grandest harmony in the language:
"These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits, and Are melted into air, into thin air: And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capp"d towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself; Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve; And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a wreck behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep."
The last words repeated themselves over and over again, on different notes and in another key each time, and with such powerful emphasis that at last it aroused the Tenor, upon whose sleepy brain the fact that it was not a voice but a violin to which he had been listening, dawned gradually, while his trained ear further recognized the tone of a rare instrument, and the touch of a master hand. He got up and went to the window. "Oh!" he exclaimed, "is it you?" and there was a world of pleasure in the exclamation. "Come in."
The Boy, who was standing in the road, opened the little garden gate, and entered. "I am glad you have relented," he said; "for I meant to play until I had softened your heart, and had persuaded you to take me in; and the hope deferred was making me sick."
"I was asleep," the Tenor answered. "Why didn"t you come in? You must have known you would be welcome. Here is an easy-chair. Sit down. And, tell me, why do we only meet at night? What do you do with yourself all day?"
"I am not a daylight beauty," the Boy declared. "I look best at night."
"But seriously?" the Tenor persisted.
"Oh, my tutor, you know--Sandhurst--exams--and that kind of thing."
"You are going into the army then?"
But the Boy, smiling, put the question by. The easy, pleasure-loving, sensuous side of his nature was evidently uppermost, and when that was the case it was so natural for him to shirk a disagreeable subject, that the Tenor had not the heart to pursue it further.
"Won"t you take your hat off?" he said presently.
The Boy put up both hands to it. "My head"s a queer shape," he said, tapping it. "You won"t want to examine it phrenologically, will you?"
"No," the Tenor answered, smiling. "Not if you object."
"I do object. I don"t like to be touched."
The Tenor, still smiling, watched, him as he carefully removed his hat.
His head was rather a peculiar shape. It was too broad at the back, and too large altogether for his slight frame, though probably the thickness of his fluffy light hair, which stood up all over it, innocent of parting as the Tenor"s own, added considerably to this last defect. There was nothing so very extraordinary about it, however, and the Tenor did not see why he should be sensitive on the subject, and rather suspected that the boy was gravely poking fun at him; but as he could not be sure of this, and would not have hurt his feelings for the world, he forebore to make any remark.
The Boy glanced round the room. "What a wealthy luxurious fellow you are,"
he observed.
"These appearances of wealth, as you call it, are delusive," the Tenor answered. "I just happened to have money enough to furnish my house when I came here; but I am a very poor man now. I have little or nothing, in fact, but my salary for singing in the choir."
"Oh," said the Boy. "And you might be so rich with your voice."
The Tenor brushed his hand back over his hair.
"Are you lazy?" the Boy demanded.
"No." he answered, smiling again. The Boy kept him smiling perpetually.
"What is it, then? Why don"t you work?"
"Well, I do work," the Tenor answered him.
"I mean, why don"t you make money?"
"Oh--because I have no one to make it for."
"If you had"--and the Boy leant forward eagerly--"would you? Would you work for a lady who loved you if she gave herself to you?"
"I would work for my wife," said the Tenor.
"Are you engaged?" the Boy asked. There seemed no limit to his capacity for asking.
The Tenor shook his head, and shook the ashes out of his pipe at the same time.
"Are you in love?" the Boy persisted.
The Tenor made no reply to this impertinence, but a glow spread over his face, forehead and chin and throat.
The Boy, whom nothing escaped, leant back satisfied. "I know what it is,"
he said, "She"s married, and you don"t like to ask her to run away with you. I expect she would, you know, if you did."
The Tenor threw himself back in his chair and laughed.
His mirth seemed to jar on the Boy, who got up and began to pace about the room, frowning and dissatisfied.
"You look pale," the Tenor said. "Have you been ill since; I saw you?"
"No--yes," the Boy answered. "I had a bad cold. I was very sorry for myself."