CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
A week after her return to Yew Hedge, Peggy was on her way to tea at thevicarage, when she was joined by Rob Darcy, who jumped over a wall ather approach, and exhibited an extraordinary amount of surprise atseeing her, considering how long he had been on the outlook for justsuch an event.
"Where are you going, my pretty maid?" he demanded, "and--"
"I'm going to the vicarage, sir," she said promptly, with anaccompaniment of old-fashioned curtsey which brought the twinkle intoRob's eyes.
However solemn he might be, he never could resist a smile at Peggy'ssaucy ways, and to-day indeed he did not appear solemn at all, butunusually beaming and radiant.
"Then I'll go with you, my pretty maid, for I've been asked too, in abreathless note from Mellicent, with neither beginning nor ending, norcomma nor full stop. If any one else had written in such a state ofagitation, I should have thought something thrilling had occurred, butMellicent is guaranteed to go off her head on the slightest provocation.Probably it is nothing more exciting than a cake or a teacloth which isto be used for the first time. She said that I _must_ come, whateverhappened, for it was dreadfully important, but I have really not thoughtmuch about what it could be, for I am accustomed to receiving violentsummonses which mean nothing at all. The first time I ran nearly halfthe way, and arrived with a purple face and such a stitch in my side asnearly finished my mortal career, and she said: `Oh, have you come? Ididn't think you would. I want to show you my new hat!' Another timeshe was out, and had forgotten that she had asked me at all; but as shehas asked you too, that will hardly be the case to-day."
Peggy threw back her head and regarded Rob with a curious scrutiny."Methinks I perceive an air of unusual festivity in my venerable friend.It takes a great deal to rouse him to any sign of feeling, so one mustneeds conclude that some important event had occurred. May one inquireits nature?"
"Peggy may, if she cares to hear it!" returned Rob briefly. "I have hadone or two pieces of good luck lately, Mariquita, which have cheered meup. That's all. I want to earn some money, you know, and not dependentirely on what the father allows me. My books and papers have donewell in one sense, though there's not much money to be made out ofscientific writing, but now I believe I see my way to making a goodthing out of my plants. I think I told you before that I have sold someof the specimens which I brought home at a very good price, and I haveone shrub in particular which is bringing in quite a little income.It's a species of broom which I discovered in the most accidentalfashion. I was on a hunting expedition one day when I was in Africa,and was hiding behind a clump of broom, when I noticed that one bush wasdifferent from the rest. They were plain, but it was mottled in twodistinct shades of the same colour. It was evidently a freak, a diseaseof some sort, as such variations generally are, but it was uncommonlypretty all the same. I had never seen anything of the kind before, and,without conceit, I may say that I know a good deal more about plantsthan the ordinary professional gardener. Well, I examined it, and itoccurred to me, Peg, that it would be a much better day's work to securethat shrub than to go on with my sport. I unloaded my gun, marked thespot, and had a look round, to see if I could find any furtherspecimens, but no, all the rest were the ordinary type. The first bushwas the one exception. Luckily it was not very big, and I managed todig it up and get it home alive, and after that there was no difficulty,for it is healthy enough, and grows almost as well as the commonspecies. I set to work striking cuttings, and, after waiting until Ihad a good supply on hand, sent specimens of the bloom to several bignurserymen. They took it up at once with the utmost keenness, and I amnow able to sell cuttings as fast as I can strike them, and for a verygood price into the bargain. Of course this won't last for ever,because by degrees other people will get their own stock, but luckilythe plant is a slow grower, and meantime they are obliged to come to me,and I have the monopoly of the market. So my travels have turned outmore of a success in a monetary sense than I expected, and I ambeginning to realise that a man who understands botany, and who has alsoa love for roaming about forbidden lands, may discover unknowntreasures, and do well for himself by bringing them home. It is a happydiscovery for me, for I have no chance in the beaten lines, and it willbe a solution of many difficulties if I can make a little money in thisway."
"You will go away, you mean? You will leave England and go abroad?"queried Peggy, with a feeling that the foundations of the earth weregiving way beneath her, and that life itself was a delusion, since, at amoment's notice, the pillar of strength on which she had depended aboveall others could calmly announce its own purpose of withdrawal. "Do youmean that you will settle there altogether, and never come home anymore?" She was under the impression that she had put the question in acalm and impersonal manner, but in reality there was a wistful tremor inthe voice which Rob was quick to catch.
"I shall be able to answer that question better later on, Mariquita," hesaid quietly. "It depends on--circumstances! But, so far as I can see,these journeys must form an important part of my life; I must come andgo, and as there will necessarily be a certain amount of dangerinvolved, you needn't speak of it in public at present. It will be timeenough to tell the others, when I am about to start, for they will thenhave so much less time to worry. I tell you now because--because Ialways _did_ tell you all my plans, I suppose. It's an old habit."
"And you know that I am too sensible to worry. I promise to be dulyanxious when the time comes, but I really can't agitate myself aboutlions' jaws in an English lane, or feel apprehensive of any more savageassault, than we shall receive at the vicarage if you persist indawdling along at this rate! It's very kind of you to make an exceptionin my favour, but it's an honour I could have done very well without.It's a poor thing, I must say, to come home from India, and have oldfriends begging you to settle down among them, and then immediatelyturning round and saying, `I'm off to Africa!' as if your presence inthe same hemisphere was more than they could bear. You are a championwet blanket, Rob! Your items of good news are calculated to drive yourfriend into melancholy madness. I hope Mellicent's disclosures will beof a more agreeable nature, or I shall be sorry I came out at all."
"I _do_ love to see you in a temper, Mariquita. You are a capitallittle spitfire. Go on abusing me, do! You can't think how I enjoyit!" returned Rob promptly; which request, needless to say, wassufficient to seal Miss Peggy's lips until the vicarage gate wasreached.
Two eager faces appeared pressed against a window, and Mrs Asplin andMellicent hurried out into the hall to greet their visitors and escortthem into the schoolroom with an air of suppressed excitement. Tea waslaid on the centre table in the old-time fashion which Peggy approved,and the vicar was standing before the empty grate, trying to lookdignified and proper, with the most comical expression of amusementtwitching his long lean face and twinkling out of his eyes.
"What do you think?" began Mrs Asplin tragically, seating herself instate in an old armchair and endeavouring to keep up an imposing front,despite the fact that the absence of the fourth castor sent her tiltingfirst to one side and then to the other. "_What_ do you think we havegot to show you in the drawing-room?"
"What do you think? What do you think?" echoed Mellicent all in onebreath; and the two visitors glanced at each other in mischievousamusement. These dear, simple-minded people so intensely enjoyed theirlittle mysteries and excitements that it would be cruel indeed not toindulge them. Rob ruffled his locks and frowned bewilderment, whilePeggy rolled her eyes to the ceiling and cried:
"I've _no_ idea, but don't tell; let me guess it! Animal or mineral?"
"Animal."
"Fine or superfine?"
"Not fair! Not fair! You can only put questions that can be answeredby `Yes' or `No.'"
"How strict you are, to be sure! Well, then, is it mineral? No!Vegetable? No! Animal? Yes! Ornamental? It _must_ be ornamental, oryou wouldn't be so proud of it!"
Mellicent and her mother looked a
t one another and queried with upliftedeyebrows. The girl formed a vigorous "No!" The woman smiledindulgently and said:
"I think it is! I think it is _very_ pretty!" and the vicar could throwno further light on the subject than to say that he agreed with both.
"It is useful then?" queried Peggy next; but this question fared nobetter than the first.
"Not a bit," cried Mellicent. "It used to be, or, at least, _part_ ofit did, but now it can do nothing at all but just--"
"Be careful, dear! You will give them a clue. Oh yes, I think we cansay it is useful. Its general characteristic is usefulness, and it willsoon settle down again into its old ways."
Peggy turned to Rob with a gesture of despair, and then started afreshon a different tack.
"Is it an article in general use? Do you find one in every house?"
"No, no!"
"In our house?"
Giggles from Mellicent, reproving glances from her father, a decided"No!" from Mrs Asplin.
"In Rob's house?"
"N-ot at present!"
"Could you have more than one in any house at the same time?"
Flutters of consternation and alarm--mysterious chuckles of laughter.
"You _could_, but one at a time is enough for most people. Two or threewould be rather embarrassing!"
"Especially in a small house, because where should we sit in theevening? There would be no room for us!" said Mellicent meaningly, atwhich mysterious reply the listeners grew more mystified than ever.
"It must be _very_ large!" they murmured thoughtfully. "What can it be?We shall never guess, so we might as well give it up at once and letyou tell us. What _is_ the wretched thing?"
"It's not wretched at all! It is very, very happy! It is--take hold ofyour chair, Peg, and hold tight! It is--_An Engaged Couple_!"
"A _wh-wh-what_?" Peggy let her muscles slacken and leant back, limpand shapeless, against the cushions, while Rob, in his turn, gave awhistle of amazement.
"An engaged couple! Oh, I say! Has that deep old Rex stolen a march onus behind our backs, and brought his _fiancee_?"
"No, indeed! Nothing of the sort! Rex has no sweetheart except his oldmother. I'd be delighted if he had--that's to say, if he could find agirl worthy of him, but I've never seen her yet. Guess again, dears!You are very hot, but it's not Rex."
"Rosalind!" was Peggy's first thought; but no, it could not be Rosalind.That, of course, was impossible, while Oswald was already a marriedman, and Mellicent obviously out of the question. Who could it be?Peggy mentally summoned before her every member of the old merry party,and hazarded yet another suggestion.
"Not Fraulein? Good old Fraulein, come back from Germany with a long-bearded professor in her train?"
"Not Fraulein, no, but the professor might apply. Nearer home, child!You have not guessed every member of the family yet. You have notthought of--"
"Esther!" screamed Peggy, and instantly read confirmation in the smilesof assent. "It is! It is! Esther and the man with the dusty coat!Oh, how lovely! How perfectly, deliciously lovely and quaint! Not anold maid, after all, but the first to be engaged and married! Oh,Esther, Esther! Who would have thought it? Who would have believedthat you could condescend to such foolishness?"
"Ha! ha! ha!" guffawed Rob, in rolling, subterranean laughter. "What ajoke! I'll have something to say to Miss Esther on this subject! Shemust be made to realise the inconsistency of her conduct. What aboutthe ladies' school?"
"Is she fond of him? Is he fond of her? When did it happen? When didthey come? How did they break it to you? Did they walk in together,hand in hand, and kneel down before you, so that you could say, `Blessyou, my children,' in approved stage fashion?"
"Yes, they did," cried Mellicent gushingly. "At least, if they didn't,it was almost as good. She was coming home over Sunday, you know, andhe met her in town, and--and _asked_ her, you know, and then he got intothe train, and intended to go as far as the first station, and he wenton and on, until suddenly here they were, and father and mother and Iwere standing on the platform to receive them. And _she_ got out and_he_ got out, and they looked so silly and she said, `M-m-my friend,Professor Reid,' and he tried to shake hands with mother three separatetimes over, and couldn't find her hand, he was so horribly embarrassed,and then we all drove home in the most horrible silence, and came intothe drawing-room, and Esther went crimson in the face, and said, `Fatherand mother, I want to tell you--Professor Reid has asked me--I have per-omised to be his wife,' and he scraped his feet on the floor and blurtedout funny short sentences, three words at a time, `Love her dearly,'`Feel much honoured,' `Object of life,' `Make her happy,' and mothersaid, `Oh, my dear child, I am so glad! I am so thankful for yourhappiness!' and set to work and cried all the rest of the evening, andfather wriggled about in his coat and looked horribly uncomfortable, andsaid, `Hum--hum--hum. Come into the study, and have a smoke!'"
"My dear Mellicent! You have a most uncomfortable memory! Yourcapacity for unimportant detail is truly astounding!" cried the vicarprotestingly; but Mellicent's description had been received with so muchinterest by the visitors that the snub had but little effect. Sheproceeded to enlarge on the appearance, manner, and eccentricities ofthe brother-to-be, while Peggy gasped, gurgled, and exclaimed with afervour great enough to satisfy the most exacting of gossips.
"I never, no, never, heard anything so exciting. Did she tell you thatI met them in London? I remarked on the condition of his coat--inchesthick in dust, I do assure you, and she was haughty, and gave me tounderstand that he had something better to do than brush his clothes. Ihope she won't bear me a grudge for my indiscretion. It will be alesson to me not to make personal remarks for the future. Dear, dearme, how I do long to peep in at the drawing-room window! Do you thinkthey would mind very much, if they looked up and saw my face flattenedagainst the pane? When are we going to see them, and to what class ofengaged couples do they belong? Proper? Mediocre? Gushingly loving?"
"H'm!" deliberated Mellicent uncertainly. "He calls her, `My dear.' IfI were engaged, and a man called me `My dear,' I should break it off onthe spot; but I believe he likes her all the same. He kept handing herthe butter and cruet at breakfast every other minute, and he jumps up toopen the door for her, and asks if she doesn't feel the draught. And asfor her, she perfectly scowls at you if you dare to breathe in hispresence. She thinks he is the most wonderful man that ever lived."
"Quite right too! I mean to be very proud of him myself; for he is tobe my own son. I don't know him yet, but from all we have heard I amsure it will be easy to take him into our hearts. Peggy dear, we have aquarter of an hour before tea, and we must not disturb the poor dearsuntil then, so come into the garden and have a walk round with me. Wehaven't had a chat to ourselves for an age of Sundays."
No, Peggy reflected, this was quite true; but there had been reasons whyshe, at least, had avoided _tete-a-tete_ interviews, and she hadbelieved that Mrs Asplin would be even more anxious than herself toleave the dreaded subject untouched. Such, however, was evidently notthe case, for no sooner was the garden reached than she burst intoimpetuous speech.
"Oh, Peggy, child, isn't this delightful? Isn't it beautiful? Isn't itjust the most wonderful and unexpected answer to my prayers? Here haveI been troubling my foolish head about what was to become of all thesedear people when I was not here, and now this smooths every difficultyaway. It troubled me to think of my dear girl working for herself, andfinding the fight grow harder and harder as the years passed, as allwomen must, and of Austin left to Mellicent's scatter-brained care; butyou see I might have had more faith, for my fears were needless Esther'shome will be a stronghold for the family, and Professor Reid is socongenial in his tastes that Austin will find unending interest in hissociety. Of course they could not live together, but you know the vicarhas decided that he cannot keep on his parish much longer, as he is notstrong enough to do justice to the work, and when the break comes itwould be
delightful if he and Mellicent could take a little house nearEsther in Oxford, where they could see her constantly and have thebenefit of her wise advice. It would be a great thing for `Chubby,'too, for she has as much worldly wisdom as a baby, and indeed her dearfather is little better. It's no wonder I am pleased, is it, Peggy,when I think of all that this engagement means?"
Peggy looked at her wonderingly. Flushed cheeks, radiant smiles, eyesashine with happiness, and all this pleasure at the thought of what wasto happen after her own death! Twenty-one drew a breath of dismay, andcried reproachfully:
"I don't know how you _can_ talk so! I don't know how you can bear todiscuss such things in that complacent fashion. I won't _think_ of iteven, but you seem quite calm about it. You can talk, and even_laugh_--"
"Yes!" cried Mrs Asplin quickly. "I can! I'm thankful for it. Many atime in these last few weeks, Peggy, I've thanked my old father for thegift of his irrepressible Irish spirit, and I've thanked God too, dear,that, old and weary as I am, I can still look on the bright side, andkeep a cheery heart. It's a great blessing, Peg, a wonderful blessing,for it helps not only ourselves, but those around us, over many a dismalroad. You have the gift, so see that you cultivate it, child, and neverlet yourself imagine that you are pleasing God by going about with agloomy face and a furnace of sighs. The world wants all the sunshine itcan get, and deary me! what a pleasure it is to see a smiling face!It's just a real help and lift on the way."
"It's a help to see _you_. I always feel better for it," returned Peggyearnestly. There was a moment's silence, then suddenly she clasped herhands round the other's arm with an eager question. "Tell me, what doesit feel like to be face to face with death as you are now? To live withthe expectation of it with you day and night? To know for a certaintythat it is near? Tell me, how does it feel?"
Mrs Asplin stood still in the middle of the path and drew a longfluttering breath. Her eyes grew rapt, and she clasped the girl's handin an ecstasy of emotion.
"Peggy, it's--_wonderful_!" she sighed. "It is like being suddenlylifted on to a plateau and seeing life above the clouds! Everything isdifferent, everything is altered! Things that were forgotten beforeseem now to fill in the whole view; things that were large and looming,seem, oh, so small, so mean and trifling! I look back, and can hardlyunderstand how I worried myself about useless trifles--littleshabbinesses about the house, upset of arrangements, clothes and foodand holiday-making. When you once realise the uncertainty of life, theyseem of such unutterable unimportance. And it helps one to be gentle,too, because if by chance it should happen to be the last day one had tolive, how sad it would be to speak hasty words, or to leave some onesorrowing because of neglect or unkindness! It makes one long to dokind things and say cheering words, and oh, so terrified of losing anopportunity which may never come again! The doctor's verdict was agreat shock to me at first, but I am gradually coming to look upon it asone of the greatest of blessings, for it's a hasty, impetuous creatureI've been all my days, and this quiet waiting time is going to teach memany lessons. I ought to be grateful and happy that it has been grantedme."
Peggy bit her lips and looked at the ground. She could not trustherself to speak, but in her heart she was saying:
"And after all, she may live longer than I! Every life is uncertain._I_ ought to feel like that too. I ought to climb up to that highground above the clouds. It's because she is a Christian that she feelslike that. I used always to think that very good people must be dulland gloomy, but Mrs Asplin is the happiest creature I know, and so fullof fun... We used to go to her for help in all our school-day pranks,and now when she knows she is going to die, she is happy still, andquite calm and bright. I should like--oh, I should like to be good likethat! One can't always be young, and pretty, and happy, and strong; andif I am going to be a Christian at all, I want to begin now, and notwait until the troubles begin. That would feel mean! I wouldn't treatany one on earth like that--ignore him altogether so long as everythingwent well, and fly to him for help the moment I was in difficulties...That awful night when Arthur told us that the doctors would not pass himfor the Army, Mrs Asplin said that there were more ways than one ofbeing a soldier, and I knew what she meant. `A soldier of Christ!' _I_could be that as well as Arthur, and I have been longing to fight all mylife... How does it go? ...
"`Soldiers of Christ arise, And put your armour on, Strong in the strength which God supplies Through His Eternal Son!'
"Oh, what a glorious army! What an honour to belong to it! I'm only apoor little recruit, but if Christ would train me--"
Peggy's heart swelled with longing, and she clasped her hands nervouslytogether. It was a great moment, and her wonted self-confidence failedher on this threshold of another life. The downcast fame grew soanxious and troubled that Mrs Asplin became distressed at the sight,and, as usual, took the blame upon herself.
"Dear child," she said fondly, "I'm afraid I have oppressed you with theweight of my burdens. It seems a strange thing that I should havechosen a young thing like you as _confidante_, but at the time mythoughts seemed to turn naturally to you. If Esther had known how weakI was, she would have felt it her duty to give up her situation and comehome, and I was most unwilling to interfere with what I then believed tobe her life's work. Mellicent would have been quite overwhelmed, poorchild; and as for my boy, he would have worried himself to death, whenhe needs all his courage to help him through these years of waiting.But you were here, almost like a second daughter, and yet living so muchapart that you would not be constantly shadowed by the remembrance, andso it came to pass that to you, dear, I opened my heart. You have beenall sweetness and consideration, and for my own sake I have no regrets,but I shall be miserable if I see you depressed. No more sighs, Peggy,_please_! I tell you honestly, dear, that I am better in health than Iwas two months ago! Rest and care, and freedom from suspense, have donegood work already, so don't begin to lament too soon, for I may cheatthe doctors yet. Now smile and look like yourself, for we can allow nodoleful faces to-day. It is a happy day for me, for once more I havetwo sons to love and be proud of. There goes the bell, and we must goin to tea and to entertain the lovers. Don't be _too_ severe, darling,for they are very new and most amusingly self-conscious. I am sure poordear Esther will feel it quite an ordeal to face you."
Peggy smiled at that, as it had been intended she should, and the nextmoment Mellicent came flying down the path, her eyes dancing withexcitement.
"They've come!" she cried. "They are in the schoolroom waiting for you.The professor is standing in the middle of the floor smiling into spacelike a china image, and Esther is horribly embarrassed. I told her thatPeggy was here, and she _q-quailed_! Literally quailed before me. Isaw her do it!"
"She may well quail!" cried Peggy meaningly. She threw back her head,peaked her brows over eyes of solemnest reproof, and marched into thehouse with a Mariquita stride.