"I shall not ask her to bear poverty, father. If I had been a poor man I should have gone back west, long ago."
Peter looked inquisitively at his son, and Antony answered his query.
"I have said nothing so far about money; because in your house it seemed mean to talk of my riches. I know that you have worked so hard for the competence you possess; and my good fortune has been simple luck. I had a few thousand dollars, and because the care of them troubled me, I made some investments without much consideration. Every one was flushed with success. Then I made others, and again others, and I suppose my very ignorance induced fortune to bring in my ship for me. At any rate, she did steer it into a good harbor."
"I am glad! I am very glad, Antony! But why do you say "fortune"?"
"Somehow--I did not like to say G.o.d--as if He looked after a man"s real estate speculations."
"He looks after everything. The silver and the gold are His; the world and the fulness thereof. I have never read, nor yet ever heard tell, that He has grown weary of watching; or that His arm is shortened or weakened, or that He has delegated to fortune, or chance, or fate, or destiny, or any other power, His own work of shaping a man"s life. If I did not know this, I should feel as all disbelievers must feel--alone and abandoned in the vast universe."
"In great things, father."
"In everything. Can you tell what things are great, and what things are little? From the most apparently trifling affairs have come wars and revolutions, which have turned the earth upside down, and "glutted the throat of h.e.l.l with ghosts." G.o.d gave you every dollar you have; and to Him you will have to render an account of its usage. Now, as to Miss Filmer. If you have money, I see no reason to fear you will not be acceptable. You are both branches from the same root--though she may be a bit the highest up; and I do think you are as good a man, and as handsome a man, as I know anywhere."
Praise so distinct and unqualified was a rare gift from Peter; and Antony looked into his father"s face with grateful pleasure. The old man nodded slightly, as if to reaffirm his opinions, and then continued, "Talk to Mr. Filmer at once. It is the best plan."
"It is too early yet. I must have permission from Rose to go on that message. There is nothing definite between us."
"It is a pity. She goes to the city--into the world--other young men will seek her."
"Good! She must choose freely. I may only have been a country makeshift, and I do not care to be Hobson"s choice with any girl. I would rather be left altogether."
"Right. Suppose you ride to Grey"s Gate with me? There is a horse for sale there that I would like to buy."
So the two men went away together, and Yanna, sitting sewing at the window, lifted her head as they pa.s.sed, and gave them a smile like sunshine. "She is a good, brave girl," thought Peter, and for a moment he was tempted to tell Antony about Harry Filmer"s proposal. But he thought better of silence than of confidence, and he kept silence. In the end, Harry was sure to do all that was right to the woman he loved; and if the way to that end was shadowed and hard, it would not be mended by their discussing it. Besides, he felt that Yanna would be averse to such a discussion; and again Antony"s own confidence with regard to Rose bespoke a caution and reticence concerning affairs in which there were complications it might be unwise to trouble.
In about an hour the Filmer dog-cart came at a rattling speed up the avenue. Rose was driving, and her pace and air indicated to Yanna her reckless high spirits.
"I am so glad to get shelter here, Yanna," she said. "At Filmer they are turning the house outside the windows; there is not a quiet corner to sit in, and think things over. Has Antony told you about the ball?"
"I think you were "the ball" to Antony. He has named no one else."
"Yanna, he looked splendid last night; just like a hero out of a book.
I made up my mind to completely conquer him, and he was so masterful, so not-to-be-gainsaid, or contradicted, that I could not manage him.
In fact, he managed me. He made me say that I loved him. I do not know "how" he did it; but he made me speak; and, the truth is, I liked it."
"Dear Rose, do not go back upon your word. That would be mean and cruel, for I am sure Antony has stayed in Woodsome all this summer only for your sake."
"Suppose he has! That is nothing! If a man wants you to live with him all his life, or all your life, one summer is a very little trial."
"Did you promise to be his wife?"
"Nothing so rapid, my dear. I do not give an inch and a mile in the same hour. I simply admitted that I might--could--would--or should--love him--perhaps. That was as much happiness as he was able to carry. It went to his heart like twenty bottles of champagne to the head. He is a delightful lover, Yanna! He will not take "No." You cannot say "No." His words are like flame, and you feel that he means every one of them. I have had lovers--oh, yes!--and their polite compliments and placid emotions were to Mr. Antony"s eager seeking as the moonshine is to the noonday sunshine."
"Then be fair and true to him."
"Certainly! I intend to be so--in the long run. So we shall be really sisters, Yanna! And we shall not have to learn to love one another. It must be pretty hard on a girl to give up her brother, and learn to love another girl at the same time."
"I never found it hard to love you, Rose. How soon will you give Antony----"
"I have given Antony all I mean to give him for some time. Mamma has made great preparations for me this season, and I intend to take the full benefit of them. It would be an awful disappointment to her if she found out that my heart was not my own. There is a sea of pleasure before me, and I mean to be in the full tide of the swim."
"And if in that "swim" your foot tips the tangles, take care, dear Rose. You can never tell what depths there are beneath them."
"What do you mean by "tangles"?"
"I mean unwise or unworthy lovers and companions--too much pleasure in any form--dancing, dressing, flirting, champagne drinking, and things of that kind. You know."
"Champagne drinking! Yes, it is delightful. It makes me feel as if my blood were made of flame. I am half divine after a gla.s.s of champagne.
But I never take more than one gla.s.s. I know better."
"I would not take that one. If a thing is dangerous in large quant.i.ty, it is not safe in small quant.i.ty. I would not touch it at all."
"I could not induce Antony to taste with me, though I drank from the gla.s.s myself."
"Your drinking would only grieve him; it would not tempt him. Did you persuade him to dance?"
"He persuaded me to go into the conservatory with him, instead. I did not really care to dance. It was nicer to listen to Antony. Well, we are going away the day after to-morrow, and then, "When shall we two meet again?" How soon can you come to New York?"
"It will not be soon, Rose. There are so many things to look after that only I understand. Father is lost without me, especially in the winter. In the summer, he has his garden."
"Where is Antony this afternoon? I expected to find him at home."
"Just before you came, I saw father and Antony drive away in the buggy. Remove your bonnet and cloak, and take tea with us. They are sure to be back by tea-time."
"Thank you for the invitation. I was just going to ask you to ask me.
I will stay. It will be dark after tea; but then, Antony can drive me home."
"Antony can drive you home. And you know there will be plenty of moonlight."
"Do you remember that exquisite moonlight night last August, when we sent the carriage home, and you and Harry, and I and Antony, walked together through the woods? The air was full of the resinous odor of the pines, and it was sweeter than a rose garden. And the moonlight was like--I do not know what it was like, Yanna."
"Like the moonlight of "_The Midsummer Night"s Dream_." If we had not unpeopled the fairy world, we could that night have believed in _Peas-Blossom_ and _Mustard Seed_. Could we not, Rose?"
Rose sighed. "It was during that walk I began to love Antony. What heavenly murmurings there were in the pine tops! and we stood still to hear a little bird repeating its song in its dream. And the sound of the waterfall! And the brush of the owlet"s wing in the darksome path!
Do you remember, Yanna?"
"I remember."
"And now, to think I am going into a world so different; a world where the milliner, and the modiste, and the tailor "are throned powers, and share the general state." Is that correctly quoted? Then, too, Harry will be in Wall Street; and you know what that means?"
"I do not think I do, Rose."
"It means men rushing through life, pushing and being pushed, splashing and being splashed, caring for nothing but money, willing to give up every book that was ever written, from Homer to Kipling, for a "rise" of twenty cents. I will except the Bible; for your broker, as a general thing, respects G.o.d, though he does give his life to Mammon."
Thus they chattered on every subject which touched, or was likely to touch, their lives. And just before dark Yanna rose and lit the lamps, and Betta came in and swept the hearth, and piled more logs on the fire, and then brought in the tea tray. It was not then long before Peter and Antony came in together, and found Rose snugly resting herself in Peter"s big chair. Her fair head made a light among its crimson shadows, and her little feet were stretched out before the blaze on a crimson cushion. The position was not an accidental one.
Rose knew it was becoming, and when Antony stood entranced and speechless, he only paid her the compliment she expected. Then there was a pretty little scene with Peter. She acknowledged her invasion of his rights, and insisted on placing him in his own chair; and this she did with so many charming words and att.i.tudes that both Peter and Antony were delighted to be obedient to the lovely despot.
In fact, she had purposely come to win all hearts, and to leave behind herself a memory without a shadow; and Yanna was womanly and sweet, and divined her intent, and helped her to accomplish it. She put out of her mind her own disappointment; she rose to her highest cheerfulness, she made opportunities for Rose to exhibit all the best and cleverest sides of her character; and until she had sent her away shawled, and wrapped, and safely tucked in by Antony"s side, she never suffered her heart to fail her.