CHAPTER IV
THE TALE OF A POSTMARK
"Yes," said Lady Deane, "we leave today week: Roger has to be back thefirst week in May, and I want to stop at one or two places en route."
"Let's see. To-day's the 19th, no, the 20th; there's nothing to remindone of time here. That'll be the 27th. That's about my date; we mightgo together if you and Deane have no objection."
"Oh, I should be delighted, General; and shall you stay at all inParis?"
"A few days--just to show Dolly the sights."
"How charming! And you and I must have some expeditions together.Roger is so odd about not liking to take me."
"We'll do the whole thing, Lady Deane," answered General Bellairs,heartily. "Notre Dame, the Versailles, the Invalides, Eiffel Tower."
Lady Deane's broad white brow showed a little pucker.
"That wasn't quite what I meant," said she. "Oh, but Roger could takeDora to those, couldn't he, while you and I made a point of seeing someof the real life of the people? Of studying them in their ordinaryresorts, their places of recreation and amusement."
"Oh, the Francais, and the opera, and so on, of course."
"No, no, no," exclaimed Lady Deane, tapping her foot impatiently andfixing her gray eyes on the General's now puzzled face. "Not the sameold treadmill in Paris as in London! Not that, General!"
"What then, my dear lady?" asked he. "Your wish is law to me," and itwas true that he had become very fond of his earnest young friend."What do you want to see? The Chamber of Deputies?"
Sir Roger's voice struck in.
"I'm not a puritanical husband, Bellairs, but I must make a standsomewhere. Not the Chamber of Deputies."
"Don't be silly, Roger dear," said Lady Deane, in her usual tone ofdispassionate reproof.
"I can't find out where she does want to go to," remarked the General.
"I can tell you," said Sir Roger, and he leant down and whispered aname; in the General's ear. The General jumped.
"Good heavens!" he exclaimed. "I haven't been there since the fifties.Is it still like what it used to be?"
"How should I know?" inquired Sir Roger. "I'm not a student of socialphenomena. Maud is, so she wants to go."
Lady Deane was looking on with a quiet smile.
"She never mentioned it," protested the General.
"Oh, of course if there's a worse place now!" conceded Sir Roger.
"I'll make up my mind when we arrive," observed Lady Deane. "Anyhow Ishall rely on you, General."
The General looked a little uncomfortable.
"If Deane doesn't object----."
"I shouldn't think of taking my wife to such places."
Suddenly Dora Bellairs rushed up to them.
"Have you seen Mr. Ellerton?" she cried. "Where is he?"
"In the smoking-room," answered Sir Roger. "Do you want him?"
"Would you mind? I can't go in there: it's full of men."
"After all we must be somewhere," pleaded Sir Roger as he went on hiserrand.
"Dolly," said the General, "I've just made a charming arrangement.Lady Deane and Sir Roger start for Paris to-day week, and we're goingwith them. You said you'd like another week here."
"It's charming our being able to go together, isn't it?" said LadyDeane. Dora's face did not express rapture, yet she liked the Deanesvery much.
"Oh, but----" she began.
"Well?" asked her father.
"I rather want to go a little sooner."
"I'm afraid," said Lady Deane, "we shan't get Roger to move beforethen. He's bent on seeing the tennis tournament through. When did youwant to go, Dora?"
"Well, in fact--to--night."
"My dear Dolly, what a weathercock you are! It's impossible. I'mdining with the Grand Duke on Monday. You must make up your mind tostay, young woman."
"Oh, please, papa----."
"But why do you want to go?" asked the General, rather impatiently.
Dora had absolutely no producible reason for her eagerness to go. Andyet--Oh, if they only knew what was at stake! "We're to be married in afortnight!" She could see the words dancing before her eyes. And shemust waste a precious week here!
"Do you want me, Miss Bellairs?" asked Charlie Ellerton, coming up tothem.
"Yes. I want--oh, I want to go to Rumpelmayer's."
"All right. Come along. I'm delighted to go with you."
They walked off in silence. Dora was in distress. She saw that theGeneral was immovable.
Suddenly Charlie turned to her and remarked,
"Well, it's all over with me, Miss Bellairs."
"What? How do you mean?"
"My chance is gone. They're to be married in a fortnight. I had aletter to say so this morning."
Dora turned suddenly to him.
"Oh, but it's too extraordinary," she cried. "So had I!"
"What?"
"Why, a letter to say they were to be married in a fortnight."
"Nonsense!"
"Yes. Mr. Ellerton--who--who is your friend?"
"Her name's Mary Travers."
"And who is she going--to marry?"
"Ah! She hasn't told me that."
A suspicion of the truth struck them both. Charlie produced his letter.
"She writes," he said, showing the postmark, "from Dittington."
"It is! It is!" she cried. "It must be Mary Travers that Mr. Ashforthis going to marry!"
"Is that your friend?"
"Yes. Is she pretty, Mr. Ellerton?"
"Oh, awfully. What sort of a fellow is he?"
"Splendid!"
"Isn't it a deuced queer thing?"
"Most extraordinary. And when we told one another we never thought----."
"How could we?"
"Well, no, we couldn't, of course."
A pause followed. Then Charlie observed: "I suppose there's nothing tobe done."
"Nothing to be done, Mr. Ellerton! Why if I were a man I'd leave forEngland tonight."
"And why can't you?"
"Papa won't. But you might."
"Ye--es, I suppose I might. It would look rather odd, wouldn't it?"
"Why, you yourself suggested it!"
"Yes, but the marriage was a long way off then."
"There's the more reason now for haste."
"Of course, that's true, but----."
"Oh, if papa would only take me!" A sudden idea seemed to strikeCharlie; he assumed an air of chivalrous sympathy. "When shall you go?"he asked. "Not till to-day week," she said. "We shan't get to Englandtill three or four days before it." Dora knew nothing of the proposedstay in Paris.
"Look here, Miss Bellairs," said Charlie, "we agreed to stand by oneanother. I shall wait and go when you do."
"But think----."
"I've thought."
"You're risking everything."
"If she'll break it off ten days before, she'll do the same four daysbefore."
"If she really loves you she will."
"Anyhow we'll stand or fall together."
"Oh, I oughtn't to let you, but I can't refuse. How kind you are!"
"Then that's settled," said Charlie, "And we must try to console oneanother till then."
"The suspense is awful, isn't it?"
"Of course. But we must appear cheerful. We mustn't betray ourselves."
"Not for the world! I can never thank you enough. You'll come with usall the way?"
"Yes."
"Thank you again."
She gave him her hand, which he pressed gently.
"Hullo!" said he. "We seem to have got up by the church somewhere.Where were we going to?"
"Why, to Rumpelmayer's."
"Oh, ah! Well, let's go back to the hotel."
Wonderings on the extraordinary coincidence, with an occasionalreference to the tender tie of a common sorrow which bound themtogether, beguiled the journey back, and when they reached the hotelDora was quite calm. Charlie seemed distinctly cheerful, and when hiscompanion left him he sat down b
y Deane and remarked in a careless way,just as if he neither knew nor cared what the rest of them were goingto do, "Well, I shall light out of here in a few days. I supposeyou're staying some time longer?"
"Off in a week," said Sir Roger.
"Oh, by Jove, that's about my mark. Going back to England?"
"Yes, I suppose--so--ultimately. We shall stay a few days in Paris enroute. The Bellairs' go with us."
"Oh, do they?"
Sir Roger smiled gently.
"Surprised?" he asked.
Charlie ignored the question.
"And you aren't going to hurry?" he inquired.
"Why should we?"
Charlie sat silent. It was tolerably plain that, unless the few daysen route were very few indeed, John Ashforth and Mary Travers were in afair way to be prosperously and peacefully married before Dora Bellairsset foot in England. And if he stayed with the Bellairs', before hedid, either! Charlie lit a cigarette and sat puffing and thinking.
"Dashed nice girl, Dora Bellairs," observed Sir Roger.
"Think so?"
"I do. She's the only girl I ever saw that Laing was smitten with."
"Laing!" said Charlie.
"Well, what's the matter? He's an uncommon good chap, Laing--one of thebest chaps I know--and he's got lots of coin. I don't expect she'dsneeze at Laing."
It is, no doubt, taking a very serious responsibility to upset anarrangement arrived at deliberately and carried almost to a conclusion.A man should be very sure that he can make a woman happy--happier thanany other man could-before he asks her to face the turmoil and thescandal of breaking off her marriage only a week before itscelebration. Sure as he may be of his own affection, he must be equallysure of hers, equally sure that their mutual love is deep andpermanent. He must consider his claims to demand such a sacrifice. Whatremorse will be his if, afterwards, he discovers that what he did wasnot, in truth, for her real happiness! He must be on his guard againstmere selfishness or mere vanity masquerading in the garb of a genuinepassion.
As these thoughts occurred to Charlie Ellerton he felt that he was at acrisis of his life. He also felt glad that he had still a quiet week atCannes in which to revolve these considerations in his mind. Above all,he must do nothing hastily.
Dora came out, a book in her hand. Her soft white frock fluttered inthe breeze, and she pushed back a loose lock of dark hair that caressedher check.
"A dashed nice girl, upon my honor," said Sir Roger Deane.
"Oh, very."
"I say, old chap, I suppose you're in no hurry. You'll put in a fewdays in Paris? We might have a day out, mightn't we?"
"I don't know yet," said Charlie, and, when Deane left him, he sat onin solitude.
Was it possible that in the space of a week--? No, it was impossible.And yet, with a girl like that----.
"I did the right thing in waiting to go with her, anyhow," saidCharlie, comforting himself.