"Is this all, then? Is it the end?"
"It"s--whatever it is. I can"t get over the thought of her. Once I thought I could, but now I see that I can"t. It seems to grow worse.
Sometimes I feel as if it would drive me crazy."
He sat looking at her with lackl.u.s.tre eyes. The light suddenly came back into them. "Do you think I could love you if you had been false to her? I know you have been true to her, and truer still to yourself.
I never tried to see her, except with the hope of seeing you too. I supposed she must know that I was in love with you. From the first time I saw you there that afternoon, you filled my fancy. Do you think I was flirting with the child, or--no, you don"t think that! We have not done wrong. We have not harmed any one knowingly. We have a right to each other----"
"No! no! you must never speak to me of this again. If you do, I shall know that you despise me."
"But how will that help her? I don"t love HER."
"Don"t say that to me! I have said that to myself too much."
"If you forbid me to love you, it won"t make me love her," he persisted.
She was about to speak, but she caught her breath without doing so, and merely stared at him. "I must do what you say," he continued. "But what good will it do her? You can"t make her happy by making yourself unhappy."
"Do you ask me to profit by a wrong?"
"Not for the world. But there is no wrong!"
"There is something--I don"t know what. There"s a wall between us. I shall dash myself against it as long as I live; but that won"t break it."
"Oh!" he groaned. "We have done no wrong. Why should we suffer from another"s mistake as if it were our sin?"
"I don"t know. But we must suffer."
"Well, then, I WILL not, for my part, and I will not let you. If you care for me----"
"You had no right to know it."
"You make it my privilege to keep you from doing wrong for the right"s sake. I"m sorry, with all my heart and soul, for this error; but I can"t blame myself, and I won"t deny myself the happiness I haven"t done anything to forfeit. I will never give you up. I will wait as long as you please for the time when you shall feel free from this mistake; but you shall be mine at last. Remember that. I might go away for months--a year, even; but that seems a cowardly and guilty thing, and I"m not afraid, and I"m not guilty, and I"m going to stay here and try to see you."
She shook her head. "It won"t change anything? Don"t you see that there"s no hope for us?"
"When is she coming back?" he asked.
"I don"t know. Mother wants father to come and take her out West for a while."
"She"s up there in the country with your mother yet?"
"Yes."
He was silent; then he said desperately--
"Penelope, she is very young; and perhaps--perhaps she might meet----"
"It would make no difference. It wouldn"t change it for me."
"You are cruel--cruel to yourself, if you love me, and cruel to me.
Don"t you remember that night--before I spoke--you were talking of that book; and you said it was foolish and wicked to do as that girl did.
Why is it different with you, except that you give me nothing, and can never give me anything when you take yourself away? If it were anybody else, I am sure you would say----"
"But it isn"t anybody else, and that makes it impossible. Sometimes I think it might be if I would only say so to myself, and then all that I said to her about you comes up----"
"I will wait. It can"t always come up. I won"t urge you any longer now. But you will see it differently--more clearly. Good-bye--no!
Good night! I shall come again to-morrow. It will surely come right, and, whatever happens, you have done no wrong. Try to keep that in mind. I am so happy, in spite of all!"
He tried to take her hand, but she put it behind her. "No, no! I can"t let you--yet!"
XX.
AFTER a week Mrs. Lapham returned, leaving Irene alone at the old homestead in Vermont. "She"s comfortable there--as comfortable as she can be anywheres, I guess," she said to her husband as they drove together from the station, where he had met her in obedience to her telegraphic summons. "She keeps herself busy helping about the house; and she goes round amongst the hands in their houses. There"s sickness, and you know how helpful she is where there"s sickness. She don"t complain any. I don"t know as I"ve heard a word out of her mouth since we left home; but I"m afraid it"ll wear on her, Silas."
"You don"t look over and above well yourself, Persis," said her husband kindly.
"Oh, don"t talk about me. What I want to know is whether you can"t get the time to run off with her somewhere. I wrote to you about Dubuque.
She"ll work herself down, I"m afraid; and THEN I don"t know as she"ll be over it. But if she could go off, and be amused--see new people----"
"I could MAKE the time," said Lapham, "if I had to. But, as it happens, I"ve got to go out West on business,--I"ll tell you about it,--and I"ll take Irene along."
"Good!" said his wife. "That"s about the best thing I"ve heard yet.
Where you going?"
"Out Dubuque way."
"Anything the matter with Bill"s folks?"
"No. It"s business."
"How"s Pen?"
"I guess she ain"t much better than Irene."
"He been about any?"
"Yes. But I can"t see as it helps matters much."
"Tchk!" Mrs. Lapham fell back against the carriage cushions. "I declare, to see her willing to take the man that we all thought wanted her sister! I can"t make it seem right."
"It"s right," said Lapham stoutly; "but I guess she ain"t willing; I wish she was. But there don"t seem to be any way out of the thing, anywhere. It"s a perfect snarl. But I don"t want you should be anyways ha"sh with Pen."
Mrs. Lapham answered nothing; but when she met Penelope she gave the girl"s wan face a sharp look, and began to whimper on her neck.
Penelope"s tears were all spent. "Well, mother," she said, "you come back almost as cheerful as you went away. I needn"t ask if "Rene"s in good spirits. We all seem to be overflowing with them. I suppose this is one way of congratulating me. Mrs. Corey hasn"t been round to do it yet."