They were at his door then; and touching her lightly on the elbow he guided her past the porter"s lodge, up the staircase and into his rooms.
Masters bade her sit down and tell him how matters stood. Neaera took care that her version of the story should, by keeping herself in the shade, throw the whole responsibility on Chairo and Balbus. Masters, however, plied her with questions which she parried with skill. At last Masters exclaimed:
"But you are blameless in the matter; they cannot mean to arrest you; and if they do, you will be immediately released."
"I am afraid," answered Neaera, "you are inclined to believe others as frank and generous as yourself."
"I don"t understand," said Masters, a little uncomfortable under the flattery implied in Neaera"s words--for he liked neither flattery nor those who used it.
"I have not lived very long," said she, "but I have lived long enough to know that failure brings discord between the best of friends. I have believed that we could effect our reforms best through const.i.tutional measures; and the very fact that I have been right will unite them all against me now. Of course I have done a great deal of the writing--generally at the dictation of others"; Neaera, as she said this, congratulated herself on having utilized the absence of all from the offices except herself in destroying every shred of paper that could compromise her, and even fabricating some that would exonerate her. She paused a little, and then went on: "I don"t even know who has survived the disaster; some of them I could trust to the end; but others are capable of any treachery. And then mamma"--Neaera"s chin twitched a little--"mamma does not know how far I am involved in the matter--and she is so alone----"
And here Neaera"s grief became uncontrollable; she jumped up from her chair and burst into a flood of tears. As she stood there, her face in her hands and her soft and rounded figure convulsed by sobs, compa.s.sion filled the heart of Masters; all his nascent fondness for her suddenly burst into a flame; he went to her, took her by the shoulders, and said:
"Don"t cry, Neaera; I am very fond of you; it hurts me to see you cry; tell me about it; let me help you; I can help you and I will--if you will let me."
As he e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed these sentences he gently pressed her shoulders to give emphasis to them; and Neaera yielded to his pressure, so that at the end she was very close to him and her bowed head rested against his breast.
When Masters felt the pressure of her head against him, a rush of love for her pa.s.sed beyond his control. Looking down at her he observed the delicate whorl of a small ear like a pink sh.e.l.l and a soft neck so inviting that, bending his own head, he pressed his lips against it.
Neaera burst away from him and threw herself upon a chair.
"Masters, Masters," she said reproachfully, "you should not have done that!"
He had often heard stories of Neaera to her disadvantage and at that culminating moment her reproach became a conviction in him that those stories were false. She was looking at him now with tearful eyes wide open; Masters felt contrite; he had taken advantage of her at a time when she was at his mercy; of a woman, too, whose talents and conspicuousness had made of her a mark for envy and malice; she was down now; anyone could hurl a stone at her; she had thrown herself upon his generosity, and he had responded by insulting her. There was only one reparation he could make, and that reparation his heart was already urging him to make.
He threw himself on one knee by the side of Neaera as she sat, put both his arms on her lap, and looking straight into her reproachful eyes, said:
"Only one thing could have justified it; I love you, Neaera; have indeed loved you long----"
Neaera bowed her head and said nothing.
There was a long pause. But Neaera allowed him to remain there, very close to her, with his arms upon her lap. Then Masters moved his head slowly nearer to her until it rested on her bosom. And Neaera folded her soft round arms about his neck.
CHAPTER XIV
"I CONSENTED"
When I reached our chambers I found them empty. At the bath, however, though Ariston was not there I learned the incidents of the day. Almost immediately after my interview with Balbus he had headed the attempt to rescue Chairo; it had been carefully planned, for exactly at three o"clock there converged upon the House of Detention from every side no less than six different lines of attack, which took shape only within a few yards of the house itself, so as to avoid conflicts at points other than the one upon which the attack was concentrated. But the cult had taken precautions. Some machine guns had been put into position and Balbus and his followers were blown out of existence, leaving a ma.s.s of wounded men and but few unwounded survivors. The constables that day sworn in had at once repaired to the _Liberty_ offices where I had met them. Ariston was doubtless at that moment conferring with Chairo and the authorities as to how far this act of violence was to affect the procedure.
Ariston did not appear at our chambers until after midnight, and he was then so weary that I did not press him for details. He informed me, however, that my message to Balbus would probably const.i.tute the pivotal fact in his defense of Chairo; that Balbus was shot to pieces; and that the question whether Chairo was to be kept in confinement would probably be heard within a week.
The next morning Ariston had a long conference with me over the whole situation, which was a complicated one. The courts, though fair, were undoubtedly strongly Demetrian in their tendencies, and Ariston did not believe they would set Chairo at liberty; but he felt it his duty as Chairo"s counsel to make the effort. Ariston did not conceal from me, however, his conviction that Chairo was insisting on the effort being made in order to use the decision of the courts on the political arena, where the issue must be ultimately decided. He, Ariston, doubted the wisdom of his appearing as Chairo"s counsel under the circ.u.mstances, for on the political issue Ariston would fight Chairo to a finish, and Chairo knew this. But Chairo had declined to release Ariston. He claimed that Ariston having offered to act for him, and he having accepted the offer, Ariston was no longer free to withdraw except for better reason than he could give.
The importance of the testimony I could give, and the fact that I was a lawyer admitted me into all the conferences that were held. Chairo"s case was to come up on habeas corpus, and I undertook to prepare an affidavit as to the message sent through me by Chairo to Balbus. In the preparation of this affidavit I was confronted with the question whether it was necessary to introduce Neaera"s name; there was in me a strong repugnance to doing so. If by involving Neaera I could save an innocent man I should have been guilty in omitting her intervention in my interview with Balbus; but the only person that to my mind could be affected by her intervention was Balbus, and Balbus was dead. Nor would his memory gain much by testimony that would tend to prove that the incriminating act was done at the bidding of a woman.
Three days after Chairo"s arrest I was still hesitating over this question when I received a message from Masters asking for an interview.
I readily accorded one, and we met in Chairo"s chambers which were put at my disposal during his detention.
Masters opened the conversation by telling me confidentially that Neaera had promised to marry him, and that he was naturally, therefore, anxious to exonerate her from responsibility as regarded the rash attempt at rescue. I let him speak preferring to hold my tongue till I learned the story Neaera had told him. He admitted that Neaera had taken a strong stand in favor of Chairo and all that Chairo stood for, but explained the enormous difference between const.i.tutional opposition and appeal to force. Neaera had told him that no word of writing that she could remember--save such as might have been written at the dictation of others--could possibly compromise her, but that she did not know how far some of the survivors might not seek to escape punishment by throwing responsibility on her. Neaera had particularly asked Masters to see me and find out how far this was to be feared.
I recognized the fine work of our astute friend in the story told by Masters, and anxious to know just how far Masters was committed to Neaera, I asked:
"When do you expect to be married?"
Masters lowered his voice as he answered:
"Confidentially, we are already married. I found her wandering aimlessly about the street expecting arrest; so I took her at once to Washington and married her there. I have left her among friends in a neighboring state till this matter blows over."
The marriage having taken place, there was clearly no duty upon me to enlighten Masters, so I said to him:
"a.s.sure Neaera from me that I shall keep you informed of how matters move and particularly if any witness testifies in a manner to compromise her. No such testimony has been given as yet to my knowledge--but then, none of the survivors of the rescue party have yet been examined."
I worded my answer in a manner to rea.s.sure Neaera so far as I myself was concerned and Masters left me satisfied. _He_ deserved sympathy, at any rate.
Ariston was extremely busy endeavoring to obtain affidavits from the survivors as to Chairo"s non-complicity in the attack, and asked me therefore to see Lydia and explain to her the importance of silence at this juncture. Accordingly I went to see her and found Aunt Tiny in a state of great excitement. Lydia was ill and her mother was with her.
Aunt Tiny wanted to take the whole matter on her shoulders.
"Lydia will do just what I tell her to do," a.s.sured Aunt Tiny, nodding her curls gravely at me.
"I think I ought to see Lydia myself if it can be managed," I answered.
"But she is so ill." Her lisp was childish and I unconsciously smiled a little. My smile put the little woman in quite a flutter.
"I"ll manage it," she said confidently. "You"ll see; I"ll manage it"; and the busy little body, in spite of her age, tripped out of the room.
Presently she returned radiant. "It"s all right," she said. "You can come; I told you I should manage it"; and she showed me to Lydia"s room.
Lydia was lying on a couch with a shawl thrown over her knees; but the chiton loosely fastened over her right shoulder showed all the beauty of her bare arm. Very different, indeed, did she look from the girl I awoke to find bending over me on the hill on Tyringham. The warm color of the sun had left her skin, which was now white and extremely delicate. Her head, then strong and erect, now leaned upon a pillow so gently that it seemed
"A petal of blown roses on the gra.s.s."
Her mother was standing as I entered and pushed a chair for me by Lydia"s side. I sat upon it, and taking Lydia"s hand, kissed it. A tear came in her eye at this act of sympathy and she said:
"I am glad you have come to see me."
"I would not have dared to come," said I, "were it not that I have to warn you in Chairo"s interest and in your own to say nothing for the present."
"Say nothing!" she exclaimed, raising her head erect. "What! does Chairo wish me to say nothing when I can by a word exonerate him altogether!"
"How so?" I asked.
"I consented," she said. "If the charge is that he carried me away it must fall when I say that I consented."
"Lydia!" exclaimed her mother. "Do be careful! Our friend here can be depended on; but such an admission might be used against you; it may be no crime in law to have consented, but in the cult you will be disgraced forever."