"Excuse me, dear," said the Boy, "the Israelites were not allowed to parley."
"You need not parley," said Miss Charteris; "you are requested merely to listen. You may smoke if you like. I understand cigarette smoke is fatal to black-beetles. Possibly it has the same effect on garden insects. Russell tells me we are overrun by snails. Smoke, Boy, if you like."
"Dear," said the Boy, his head thrown back, his hands thrust deep into his coat pockets, "I never have the smallest desire to smoke in your presence. I should feel as if I were smoking in church."
"Oh, you dear amazing altogether absurd boy! Don"t look at me like that. And don"t say such unexpected things, or I shall be unable to parley satisfactorily."
"When _I_ went to school," remarked the Boy, "and you were an engaging little girl in a pigtail, I was taught to say: "Do not look at me _thus_"; at least, masters frequently appeared to think it necessary to make that remark to me. I can"t imagine why; because they were not specially worth looking at; excepting that a very large person, in a very angry condition, always presented a spectacle of extreme interest to my juvenile mind. It was so fascinating to watch and see what they would do next. They were like those wooden monkeys and bears you buy in Swiss shops, don"t you know? You pull a hanging string, and their legs and arms jump about unexpectedly. One always felt a really angry grown-up was a mere puppet. Unseen fingers were pulling the string; and it was funny to watch. There was an exciting element of danger, too; because sometimes a hand jerked up and boxed your ears."
"Little Boy Blue," she said, "it must have been quite impossible ever to be _mildly_ angry with you. Either one would have waxed impotently furious; or one would have wanted to--to hug you!"
The Boy leapt up.
"Sit down," said Miss Charteris, "or I shall send you away. And I do not wish to do that; because I have quite made up my mind to tell you to-day, a thing which I suppose I ought to have told you long ago; and I tried to do so, Boy; but somehow you always made it impossible. I want to--to tell you about--the Professor." She paused.
It was so very difficult. It was like rolling a heavy stone up a steep hill. And the Boy made no attempt to help her. He lay back with an exaggerated display of resignation. He looked at her with sleepy, amused eyes. And he asked no questions. The army of Israel obviously declined to parley.
"I have long felt I ought to tell you about the Professor," continued Miss Charteris.
The Boy sighed. "I think I jolly well know all there is to know about professors," he said.
"Not about this one," explained Miss Charteris. "He is _my_ Professor."
"Oh, if he"s _your_ Professor," said the Boy, sitting up, "of course I am interested. But I am not sure that I approve of you having a tame Professor; especially when it arrives in goloshes, and leaves them in the hall."
"I am afraid n.o.body will ask whether you approve or not, Little Boy Blue. The Professor has been a great friend of mine during nearly twelve years; and I think I am possibly--in fact, very probably--going to marry the Professor."
"Really?" said the Boy. "May I ask when he proposed?"
"He has not proposed, Boy."
The Boy produced his pocket-book, took out a calendar, and studied it attentively.
"Then I"m afraid you will have some time to wait," he said. "It will not be leap year again until 1912."
This sounded impertinent; but the Boy could no more have been guilty of intentional impertinence toward her, than he could have picked her pocket; and Miss Charteris knew it. There was one thing of which those who had dealings with Christobel Charteris could always be sure--absolute justice. She had seen the Boy"s face whiten suddenly, to a terrible pallor, beneath his tan. She knew he was making a desperate fight for self-control. How best could she help? Her own part seemed almost more than she could manage.
"Come here, Boy dear," she said, holding out her hand.
He hesitated one instant; then rose unsteadily to his feet, and came--not to his usual place at the side, bending over her; but in front of her, on one knee, silently waiting.
She bent forward. "Take my hand, Boy."
He took it, in a firm unhesitating clasp. They held each other so, in silence. The colour came back into the Boy"s face. The dumb horror died out of his eyes. They smiled into hers again.
"Now promise me, Boy dear, that you will let me tell you all; and that you will try not to misunderstand."
"My dearest," said the Boy, "I promise. But I do not need to say I will try not to misunderstand. I could not misunderstand you, if I tried."
"Then go back to your chair, Boy."
He went. His eyes were bright again.
"Boy, please to understand that I am not engaged to the Professor. Of course, had that been the case, I should have told you, long ago. He has never said one word to me of love or marriage. But he has been a great friend--an intimate friend, intellectually; and I have reason to know that he wishes--has wished for years--a good deal more than he has ever expressed to me. He has waited, Boy; and when anybody has waited nearly twelve years, could one fail them?"
"Why, of course!" cried the Boy, eagerly. "If a man could wait twelve years--good heavens, why shouldn"t he wait twenty! A man has no business to wait; or to be able to wait; or to keep a woman waiting.
Twelve years? Oh, I say! I didn"t wait twelve days. Now, did I?"
She smiled. "You break all speed records, Boy, always. But cannot you understand that all men have not fifty thousand a year, and the world at their feet? Had you been penniless, Boy, you--even you--would have had to wait."
"Not a bit!" said the Boy, stoutly. "I would drive a cab, I would sweep a crossing, I would _do_ anything, or _be_ anything; but I wouldn"t wait for the woman I loved; nor would I"--his voice dropped almost to a whisper--"keep the woman who loved me, waiting."
"But suppose she had a comfortable little income of her own; and you had less--much less--to offer her? Surely, Boy, proper pride would keep you from asking her to marry you, until your income at least equalled hers?"
"Not a bit!" said the Boy. "That sort of rot isn"t proper pride. It"s just selfish false pride. However much a woman had, when a man--a _man_, mind you, not an old woman, or a _thing_ with no pluck or vertebra--when a man gives a woman his whole love, his whole life, the worship of his whole body, heart, and soul, he has given her that which no money could buy; and were she a millionairess she would still be poor if, from false pride, he robbed her of that gift which was his to give her--and perhaps his alone."
"Boy dear," she said, gently; "it sounds very plausible. But it is so easy to be plausible with fifty thousand a year in the background. Let me tell you about the Professor. He has, of course, his fellowship, and is quite comfortably off now, living as a bachelor, in rooms. But he practically supports his unmarried sister, considerably older than himself, who lives in a tiny little villa, and keeps one maid. The Professor could not afford to marry, and set up a larger establishment, on his present income; at least he apparently thinks he could not. And your theory of robbing the woman who--the woman he loves, does not appear to have occurred to him. But, during all these years he has been compiling an Encyclopedia--I don"t suppose you know what an Encyclopedia is, Boy."
"Oh, don"t I?" said the Boy. "It"s a thing you pile up on the floor to stand upon when you want to fix a new pipe-rack."
Miss Charteris ignored this trying definition of an Encyclopedia.
"The Professor is compiling a wonderful book," she said, with dignity; "and, when it is completed and published, he will be in a position to marry."
"Has he told you so?" inquired the Boy.
"No, Boy. He has never mentioned the subject of marriage to me. But he has told his sister; and she has told me."
"Ha!" said the Boy. "Miss _H_ann, I suppose. I must say, I distrust Miss _H_ann."
"What do _you_ know of Miss Ann?" inquired Christobel, astonished.
"Only that she"s always a-_h_egging of "em on," said the Boy, calmly.
The indignant blood rushed into the fair proud face.
"Boy! You"ve been gossiping with Martha."
"I have, dear; I admit it. You see, I arrived early, on the third day; found the garden empty; went gaily into the house to look for you. Ran up into the hall; when up got a pair of old goloshes--eh, what? Oh, sorry--up got a pair of _new_ goloshes, and hit me in the eye! A professor"s cap and gown hung up, as if at home; and while I meditated upon these things, the voice of my Beloved was uplifted in loud and sonorous Greek, exclaiming: "Avaunt, rash youth! Thou impudent intruder!" Can you wonder that I avaunted--to Martha?"
"You will please tell me at once all Martha said to you."
"Of course I will, dear. Don"t be vexed. I always meant to tell you, some time or other. I asked her whose were the goloshes; the umbrella with the--er--decided figure; the suspended cap and gown. Martha said they were the Professor"s. I inquired whether the Professor stayed to tea. You really can"t blame me for asking that; because I had gone to the kitchen for the express purpose of carrying out the tea-tray, yours and mine; but _not_ the Professor"s. No possible pleasure could have resulted, either to you, or to me, or to the Professor, from my unexpected appearance with the tea-tray, if the Professor had been there. Now could it? I think it would be nice of you, dear, and only fair, if, remembering the peculiar circ.u.mstances of that afternoon, you just said: "No; it couldn"t."
"Well, I asked Martha whether the Professor stayed to tea, and heard that "Thank goodness, no!" we drew the line at that, except when Miss _H_ann came too. With the awful possibility of Miss _H_ann "coming too," on one of my priceless days, I naturally desired a little light thrown on Miss _H_ann. I was considerably relieved to learn that Miss _H_ann suffers from the peculiar complaint--mental, I gather--of "fancying herself in a bath-chair." This might be no hindrance to the "_h_egging on" propensities, but it certainly diminished the chances of the "coming too." That was all, dear."
"Boy, you ought to have been ashamed of yourself!"