A FAINT knock at her bedroom door several nights after their picnic in the woods startled Jean. It was half-past twelve o"clock, and thirty minutes before all the guests in the castle had gone to their own apartments, an informal dance having made them more tired than usual.
But Jean was not a coward, and, still brushing her hair, walked over to her door. Immediately she heard Jack"s voice on the outside.
"Please let me in, Jean dear, I hope I haven"t frightened you." Then Jack slipped inside and stood irresolutely in the center of the big chamber. She was ready for retiring, clad in a pink dressing gown, with her hair hanging in two braids over her shoulders.
"I was kind of lonely," she explained. "It is very grand for each one of us to have an apartment to ourselves, but I am not used to it."
She sank down on a low cushion in front of the big open fire and in a few moments was staring into it, having apparently forgotten her cousin"s presence in her own room.
However, without speaking, Jean went on quietly undressing. Then, when she had finished, she too got into a kimona and piled her grate high with fresh logs. The next moment she had placed herself on another cushion by the side of her unexpected visitor.
But Jean asked no questions.
"I hope you are not very sleepy, dear," Jacqueline remarked finally. "Of course you know that I wouldn"t have disturbed you at such an unholy hour except that there was something important I felt I must talk to you about."
"It isn"t--" Jean began. But to her intense relief Jack immediately shook her head.
"No, it isn"t and never will be again. And the sooner that all of my family forget my miserable mistake, the happier you will make me. It is something different and yet it is such a kind of intimate, personal thing, I can"t decide whether I have the right to mention it even to you."
"Ruth and Jim?" the other girl queried. For the second time Jack demurred.
"No." But she kept on gazing at the fire rather than at her confidante.
"See here, Jean," she inquired suddenly. "I wonder if it has ever occurred to you that Frank Kent cared, well, cared more than just an ordinary lot for Olive? Perhaps it does not seem exactly square of me to be prying into Frank"s and Olive"s feelings for each other, but on my honor I have a real reason for wishing to know."
Jean"s big brown eyes opened wide with amazement. Was there any question in the world farther from her imagination than this unexpected one?
Notwithstanding, Jean gave the subject a few moments of serious consideration. "No," she replied at length, "I have been thinking over all the time I can recall from Olive"s and Frank"s first acquaintance with each other. And I don"t remember a single occasion when he seemed more than just a good friend of hers. To tell you the truth, Jack, I personally should never have dreamed of Frank"s being in love with Olive in a thousand years! Whatever put it into your mind? Why you and Frank, after you got over your first prejudice against his being the guest of our old enemies, the Nortons, were much more intimate than the rest of us. I always took it as a matter of course that he liked you best until you had that quarrel in Rome. Lately, though, you seem to have made up."
Jack frowned. "Oh, certainly we were more intimate then. But in those days Olive was too shy to reveal her real self or her emotions to anyone except us. Besides, we were only children. Still, I used to notice even then that Olive grew more cheerful and animated when Frank was around.
And afterwards in Rome and the last month since our arrival in England, why haven"t you _seen_ the change in her? Please think, Jean dear, for it may be of the very greatest importance what you tell me. You see, I am so stupid and make such dreadful mistakes about people caring or not caring for each other; but somehow you are wiser. I feel I may trust to your judgment. Do you think Olive--" Jack stumbled a little bit over the fashion for putting her next question. "Do you think that Olive likes Frank Kent better than anybody else?"
The silence was longer this time and Jean did not happen to catch a glimpse of her cousin"s face, being too deeply concerned over her inquiry.
"I should never have conceived of such a thing myself, Jack," she declared after pondering for two or three minutes, "but as you have put it into my mind, why, possibly Olive _may_ be interested in Frank. He has always been awfully good to her ever since their first meeting, and he thinks her wonderfully beautiful and charming. I can"t say, though, that I am at all convinced that her feeling is serious. Oh, dear me, why can"t you two girls be as frivolous over affairs of the heart as I am! I should like at least a dozen romances before I settle upon one."
"Well, I presume you are in a fair way to have them, sweet cousin,"
Jacqueline returned. "And tonight I feel as though I could almost echo your wicked wish. But, Jean dearest, I have _got_ to find out how Olive really feels. I can"t tell you why now, yet it is of more interest to me to know than anything else in the world."
And suddenly Jack"s face flushed with such a wonderful, radiant color that Jean caught her breath.
What she saw, however, made her turn her eyes away.
"I will find out for you if I possibly can, Jack," she then replied quietly, without asking any further questions or attempting to probe the mystery of why Olive"s att.i.tude toward their host should be of such vital import to Jacqueline Ralston.
"You know though that Olive is desperately shy and reserved," Jean added, "and has never confided in anybody except you and Miss Winthrop.
Don"t you think, after all, perhaps Olive likes Donald Harmon more than we guess? She and Don would be such a suitable match and her grandmother is so anxious for it."
But Jack shook her head. "No, I am afraid not," she returned and was not aware of how much the word "afraid" meant to her cousin"s ears. "Olive told me yesterday that Don had asked her to marry him and that she had refused him. She told him that she would take the whole responsibility for the refusal upon her shoulders, that she would write her grandmother and explain that Don had done his best. The opposition to the plan had been hers. So Madame Van Mater must do as she had threatened and leave Don the larger share of the fortune. Poor Don was dreadfully broken up over Olive"s thinking that he had asked her on account of her grandmother"s desire, or because of the money that they were to share if she accepted him. Don honestly loves Olive, I think, though I don"t believe she returns it in the least. Indeed, Olive told me that she had never given up her old plan of going out west to teach the Indians as soon as she feels she has learned enough through her studying with Miss Winthrop at Primrose Hall. Actually she announced that she was going to take a teacher"s place there next winter for the experience it would give her. But of course I don"t think that Olive means this not if she cares--if she cares for Frank." Jack got up from the floor. "Dear, I won"t keep you awake any longer. Only there is one more favor I should like to beg. Will you stay with me as much as possible until you can find out what I have asked you?"
And Jean only nodded, as her cousin kissed her good-night and went away.
She sat for some time gazing into the fire instead of getting into bed.
Not a particularly good mathematician in her school days, still Mistress Jean had rather a talent for putting two and two together under certain circ.u.mstances. She had not felt it fair to ask questions of Jack, yet there could be nothing disloyal in trying to penetrate a mystery for herself. Especially as she should never betray her conclusions.
Jean pondered. In the first place there was not the least doubt in her own mind that among the four Ranch girls Frank Kent certainly liked Jack best. He always had liked her and it was perfectly plain how much her unfortunate affair with Captain Madden and her unkind treatment of him had hurt him, although he was not the type of man to betray himself so openly as Donald Harmon had. Jack"s feeling for Frank, Jean had believed until tonight to be merely friendly. They had many of the same interests, both loved horses, animals of all kinds, and the business that went with the running of a big place like their old ranch or the immense estate, which had been in the Kent family for many generations.
However, since the last hour, Jean was no longer a.s.sured of Jack"s impersonal att.i.tude. There was no doubt that her cousin had in her mind at present two fears--one that Olive, her dearest friend, cared for Frank, the other that Frank, instead of returning Olive"s affection, was beginning to fall in love with her. Something must have recently occurred to give Jack this impression. Jean did not believe that she would ever have attempted to probe Olive"s emotions unless this had been the case.
So here was the difficulty of the situation according to her train of thought. If Olive really did care for Frank Kent, Jean understood Jacqueline Ralston well enough to realize that nothing could induce her to accept his suit. For Jack would never accept her own happiness at the price of another"s; and surely not when the other person was her dearest friend, for whom she had always felt a kind of protecting devotion.
Yet if Olive did not love Frank, and Jack felt herself able to return his affection, it would be both cruel and unnecessary to refuse to listen to him.
At last Jean tumbled into her big, four-posted bed; but even then she could not go at once to sleep. What a delicate mission she had taken upon herself and how ever was she to perform it? For Olive must never suspect any possible motive behind her questioning.
CHAPTER XXII
OLIVE"S ANSWER
JEAN BRUCE"S task did not prove any simpler than she had antic.i.p.ated.
For one thing, events at the castle left little time for leisure or for making individual plans of one"s own. Almost every hour there were visits from the neighbors of surrounding country estates, calls to be returned, riding parties, dinners and dances. For the Kents seemed determined to give Ruth and the Ranch girls as agreeable an impression as possible of English country life. And the time was short, since Ruth and Jim were soon to be married.
Undoubtedly Frank"s family had taken a decided fancy to his American friends, but if one of the number was a greater favorite than the others, a.s.suredly it was Jim Colter.
At first Jim had strenuously resented becoming a visitor at Kent Castle.
The idea of having to hobn.o.b with t.i.tles, as he put it, was extremely distasteful. He was sure that he would turn out to be an embarra.s.sment to Ruth and the girls, and that Frank would be sorry for having invited him. Nevertheless, when Ruth, and therefore the four Ranch girls, positively refused to leave without him, Jim was compelled to give in.
And now, when there was no opportunity for the overseer of the Rainbow ranch to be with Ruth, he and Lord Kent were inseparable. The two men were as unlike as any two extremes could be, and yet they were alike in that each man was absolutely himself. Lord Kent represented all that money, education and a high position can do; Jim only what good sense, a strong heart and energy can accomplish. Yet so far had Jim Colter learned to forgive Lord and Lady Kent, that actually he had consented that his marriage to Ruth take place from their home and that the ceremony be performed at the little English church nearby. He and Ruth had both been unwilling to delay their wedding until their return home and had also objected to the strangeness of a wedding in London. So now everything had been delightfully arranged. They were to be married at high noon with the Ranch girls as their attendants and only a few intimate friends of their host and hostess present.
Yet, in spite of their expressed wish to have "no fuss or feathers,"
according to Jim"s description, necessarily there were many reasons why Jean found it peculiarly hard just then to have her quiet interview alone with Olive. Especially when the interview must appear as an entirely accidental one.
Nevertheless, Jean did manage to keep one of her promises to her cousin.
She did very often succeed in interfering with any situation which would apparently throw Frank and Jack together without the rest of the party.
And many times in the face of this, Frank would then seek out Olive"s companionship. So that in the days of her watchfulness Jean herself became more and more puzzled and anxious. Finally, however, came her desired opportunity.
Frank had begged as a particular favor that the house party ride or drive as they preferred to a famous old ruin in the neighborhood. And just as they were about to leave Olive had suddenly pleaded a headache, entreating to be left behind. To Jack"s and Ruth"s requests to remain with her, Olive had insisted that she would be far more apt to recover if she might stay alone. And as this was a perfectly sensible statement, both her friends agreed. Jean, however, made no such offer, said nothing of her own intentions, but simply, when the party started, could not be found. Nevertheless, she had left a proper explanation with one of the servants, so that no time was lost in searching for her.
As Olive had looked really ill, Jean first went for a long walk, hoping to give her a chance to recover before having their talk.
Tip-toeing softly in at about four o"clock in the afternoon, she found her friend lying on the bed with a shawl thrown over her. And even in the semi-light of the great oak chamber Jean could see that Olive"s face was white, and that there were circles about her eyes.
"I would not have let you come in if I had known who you were. I thought you were one of the maids," Olive protested querulously. And her manner was so unlike her usual gentle one that the other girl"s heart sank.
"I didn"t know; I am sorry. I thought you were better or that I might do something for you," Jean explained hurriedly, making up her mind not to approach the subject she had antic.i.p.ated for anything in the world.