"There is nothing to forgive, for I consider you are in no way to blame, Hugh--I mean, Mr. Trethowen."
"No, no; call me Hugh, as you did in the old days. Why need there be any formalities?"
"You are not to blame, Hugh," she repeated ingenuously. "That woman fascinated you as she enmeshed many other men, all of whom paid dearly for the privilege of bestowing their affections upon her. Think of Jack--of your brother, Douglas! Did she not entice them both into her coils, so that she might use them for her own ends? Hubert Holt she ensnared in the same manner, she--"
"Why was he so obedient to her will?" asked Hugh interrupting.
"Gabrielle told me all about it a few days ago. It appears that when he was a fellow-student with Jack he also admired Valerie. In order to supply her with money he forged a cheque at her instigation, the proceeds of which, amounting to something like twenty thousand francs, he handed over to her, thinking thereby to secure her good graces. But she treated him the same as the others. Though he abandoned Art and entered the church, she did not allow the crime to fade from his memory, for at intervals she compelled him to perform services for her which were revolting to one who was trying to atone and lead a better life.
Now, fearing exposure and detection, he has fled to South America, where, I believe, he has been joined by that old scoundrel, Graham, whom Valerie paid handsomely for his services. It is not likely that they will ever return to England."
"And you really forgive me for all the trials and torture I have brought upon you?" he asked earnestly, with a slight pressure on the little hand he held.
"Of course I do," she said frankly, raising her fine, wide-open eyes to his.
"Before I met that woman I flirted with you, Dolly," he said, in a low, intense tone. "You were not averse to flattery or sly whispers in the studio when Jack"s back was turned, and I, having nothing else to do, amused myself in your company. Indeed, it was not before that night when, being on the verge of ruin, I came to wish you farewell, that I discovered you really cared for me. Then I blamed myself for being so cruel as to let you see that I loved you--"
"Hugh!" she cried in astonishment. "Why, what do you mean?"
"Listen, and I"ll tell you, dearest," he answered, looking earnestly into her eyes. "It was soon after my brother"s death that I met Valerie. Prior to that, however, I had grown to love you, because I knew that, although you lived in an atmosphere that was somewhat questionable as regards morals, you were nevertheless pure and good. I was on the point of asking you to become my wife when Valerie crossed my path. You know the rest. She was no fairer, no better-looking than you are at this moment, but with that fatal, irresistible power she possessed she drew me to her, and I became her slave and as helpless as a child. Now and then you and I met, and as you did not appear to notice the coldness I exhibited, I congratulated myself that you no longer entertained any affection for me."
"What caused you to think that?" she demanded in dismay.
"To tell the truth," he responded hesitatingly, "I believed those repeated warnings you gave me against Valerie were merely the rancorous fictions of a jealous heart, and that is why I took no heed of them."
"Ah!" she exclaimed, with sadness, "I tried hard but could never bring you to understand that my woman"s power of perception was keener than yours. You were so credulous, and did not suspect treachery. Although Jack"s secret sealed his lips, yet I knew from the manner in which he spoke that if you attached yourself to her, ruin would quickly follow."
"Yes," he admitted gloomily, "you told me so, but I was too blind an idiot to believe it. Had I taken your advice how much pain and sorrow would have been avoided!"
"Of what use is regret? She is dead--and you free!"
"Free--free to marry you!" he said in a deep, earnest voice, pressing her hand to his lips at the same moment.
She glanced inquiringly at him, as if unable to grasp his meaning, and tried to withdraw her hand.
"To marry me?" she repeated.
"Yes. Will you be my wife, Dolly?" he urged pa.s.sionately. "We have been friends for so long that we ought to know each other"s peculiarities of temperament by this time. I know I have no right to make this request after the heartless manner in which I cast you aside.
On the other hand, you have pa.s.sed the ordeal and been true to me, trying to rescue me from ignominy and ruin, even when I ridiculed your affection. For that reason I love you now more than ever, and I cannot refrain from asking you to make me happy."
"It is true that you left me, preferring Valerie," she said reflectively. "But you should not forget that you thought her a woman in your own sphere, whereas I was only an artist"s model. It was but natural you should consider her a more fitting wife than myself; and, although I loved you so well!"
"Did you love me, then?"
She blushed.
"But do you still care for me?" he asked with earnestness, putting his arm around her slim waist and pressing her to his breast. "Promise me, Dolly," he pleaded--"promise me that you will be my wife!"
"Do you love me sufficiently?"
"Can you doubt me?"
"No," she replied, in a tremulous voice; "I do not doubt you, Hugh. I will be your wife."
Then she bent her fair head, and hid from him her tears of happiness.
The only light that can show us the road to better things is that which shines within us. The words he uttered were tender and rea.s.suring, and for a long time they stood together talking of the new, bright, and unclouded life that lay before them.
Meanwhile the exquisite gradations of colour on sea and land had faded, the glow upon the horizon had disappeared, the wind had fallen, and all was calm and still in the mystic gloom of the dying day.
Startled by hearing voices behind them, they turned and faced Jack and Gabrielle, who had approached unnoticed.
After a hearty laugh and some good-natured chaff in English, the purport of which was not thoroughly understood by mademoiselle, Hugh grasped the artist"s hand, and, wringing it warmly exclaimed--
"Congratulate me, old fellow! I"m beginning life afresh from to-day.
Dolly has consented to become my wife."
"By Jove, is that so?" Egerton cried, in pleasant surprise. "Well, you have my heartiest wishes, Hugh." Then he added, after a moment"s hesitation: "Strangely enough, I, too, have to make a similar announcement."
"What?" cried Hugh and Dolly simultaneously. "Gabrielle has resolved to give up the stage and become Mrs. Egerton," he answered, with a happy smile. "We knew one another years ago in Paris, and although no word of affection was then spoken, we have to-day discovered that we love one another."
"Yes," added Gabrielle, her accent making her voice sound pleasant to English ears. "Having released him from the thrall of `La Pet.i.te Hirondelle," and proving that he was not guilty of the crime he believed he had committed, I am going to many him. It is as it should be--eh?"
And she laughed contentedly.
After many mutual congratulations and expressions of surprise, they crossed the stile, and continued their stroll through the dell towards the village, where the scattered lights had already commenced to twinkle.
The two men walked together at a little distance behind.
"Hugh, old fellow," the artist remarked confidentially, "I"m glad Dolly is to be your wife. I feel confident that you"ll never regret the step; for I know, perhaps better than any one, how pure and honest she is, how dearly she loves you, and how acutely she suffered when you forsook her."
"Don"t mention the past again, Jack, old fellow. We both played dice with the devil, expecting to throw sixes," said Hugh, as they stepped out upon the broad highway. Then he added, "I feel a.s.sured we shall now be happy and contented. Let us look only to a bright and prosperous future, and let us forget forever the grim shadow that fell upon us, the shadow of The Temptress."
The End.