CHAPTER THREE.
A fortnight later the passengers on board the steamer werecongratulating themselves on having accomplished half their journey, andbeing within ten days' sail of England. The waters of the Mediterraneansurrounded them, clear and blue as the sky overhead, a healthful breezesupplanted the calm, and the spirits of the travellers rose ever higherand higher. Homeward bound is a very different thing from outwardbound, and every soul on board had some dear one waiting for them in OldEngland, some one who had loved them faithfully through the years ofabsence, and who was even now counting the days until their return. Themothers boasted to each other concerning the doings of the children whomthey had left at school, and in the midst of laughter turned asidesuddenly to conceal their tears; the men thought lovingly of the wivesfrom whom they had parted years before; and one or two radiantbridegrooms exhibited photographs of the brides whom they were going tocarry back to cheer their exile.
After a fortnight at sea the company on board this particular steamermight be said to be divided into four distinct cliques--namely, membersof military and diplomatic services, Civil Service employees, second-class passengers, and--Miss Mariquita Saville. The young lady must betaken as representing a class by herself, because while each of theother divisions kept, or was kept, severely to itself, Peggy mixedimpartially with all, and was received with equal cordiality wherevershe turned. The little person had made such a unique position forherself that there is no doubt that if a vote had been taken to discoverthe most popular person on board, she would have headed the list by alarge majority; but whether her unfailing affability was due more topride or humility, Hector Darcy, among others, found it difficult todetermine.
Major Darcy had attached himself to the Saville party with adetermination hardly to be expected in so languid a man, had evenlowered his dignity to the extent of asking the fellow-passenger whooccupied the coveted seat at table to exchange places with himself, sothat breakfast, lunch, and dinner found him seated at Peggy's side,finding ever-fresh surprises in her society. Sometimes the surprise wasthe reverse of pleasant, for Miss Saville was a prickly little person,and upon occasion would snap him up in the middle of an argument with alack of respect which took away his breath. When any difference arosebetween them, she never seemed to have a shadow of a doubt that she wasin the right, and as Hector was equally positive about his own position,relationships frequently grew so strained that Peggy would rise from thetable half-way through the meal, and stalk majestically out of thesaloon. She invariably repented her hastiness by the time she reachedthe deck, for dessert was the part of the meal which she most enjoyed,so that when the major followed ten minutes later on, bearing a plate ofcarefully selected fruit as a peace-offering, he was sure of a graciouswelcome.
"But you must never contradict me on Tuesdays, I can't support it!" shesaid on one of these occasions, as he seated himself beside her, andwatched her raising the grapes to her lips with her little finger cockedwell in the air. "Especially when I am in the right, as you mustadmit--"
"I admit nothing; but I pray and beseech you not to begin the discussionover again. I am nine years older than you, and must surely be supposedto know a little more."
"If you only realised it, that is just the reason why you don't. Theworld advances so rapidly with every decade, that you of the lastgeneration have necessarily enjoyed fewer opportunities than myself andmy contemporaries, and are therefore behind the times. It's not yourfault, of course, and I don't advance it in any way as a reproach, butstill--"
Major Darcy stared at her, struck dumb by an insinuation of age whichwas even more hurtful than that of inferior knowledge; but before he hadrecovered himself sufficiently to reply, his companion had finished herdessert, presented him calmly with the empty plate, and risen to takeher departure.
"Where are you going?" he queried in an injured tone; for it was one ofhis pet grievances that the girl refused to be appropriated by himselfwhenever he wished to enjoy her society. "Can't you sit still for anhour at least? You have been rushing about all the morning. Surely nowyou can take a rest!"
But Peggy shook her head.
"Impossible! I'm engaged straight away from now until tea-time. Thenurse of those peevish little Mortons is worn out, for the mother isill, and can't help her at all, so I promised to amuse the children foran hour after lunch while she takes a nap. Then I have to play a gameof halma with old Mr Schute, and help Miss Ranger to dress and come ondeck. She thinks she can manage it to-day, and it will do her a worldof good to get some fresh air."
"But why need you fag yourself for all these people? Surely there issome one else who can do it. Can you not send your maid to look afterthe children, at least, and take that hour to yourself?"
Peggy smiled with complacent satisfaction.
"They would scream themselves hoarse. Of all the spoilt, bad-temperedlittle ruffians you ever encountered, they are the worst, and there isnot a soul on board who can manage them except myself. Yesterday theygot so cross that I was almost in despair, and it was only by pretendingto be a wild buffalo, and letting them chase me and dig pencils into mefor spears, that I could keep them in any sort of order. When they grewtired of the buffalo, I changed into a musical-box, and they groundtunes out of me until my throat was as dry as leather. It kept us goingfor a long time, however, for they all wanted to hear their ownfavourite tunes, and were so charmed with the variations. I wish youcould have heard the variations! I was so proud of them. The scalesran up and down just like a real musical-box, the tremolo and arpeggiochords were fine, and as for the trills, they were simply entr-r-rancing!" Peggy rolled the `r' with a self-satisfied enjoyment whichmade Hector laugh in spite of his displeasure, and finished up with anexplanatory, "I could never expect Parker to pose as a wild buffalo.She has far too much sense of dignity!"
"Oh, of course, I acknowledge that you have a wonderful knack withchildren! Every one sees that," allowed Hector unwillingly. "It isvery kind and delightful of you to bother about other people as you do;but what I complain of is the extent of your services, and--aw--thenature of the recipients! Miss Ranger, for instance, is an impossibleperson. What she calls herself I don't know, but she doesn't even beginto be a lady. I heard her talking the other day, and she has a vileaccent, and not an `h' in her composition."
"She has enough responsibilities without them at present, poor soul, soperhaps it's just as well. She has been ill ever since we started, andhas no friend nor servant to look after her. She fell on the floor in afaint one day while she was trying to dress, and lay there helplessuntil the stewardess happened to go in and find her. That sort of thingsha'n't happen twice on board this ship, if _I_ can help it!" criedPeggy with a straightening of the slim little back which seemed to add acouple of inches to her height, and a toss of the head which convincedMajor Darcy that it was no use arguing further on this point. It wasastonishing how often he was forced to retire from post to post inarguments with Miss Saville, and the consciousness that this was thecase gave him courage to enter yet a third protest.
"Well, at least, old Schute is hearty enough! There is no necessity topity him; and, really, don't you know, he is hardly the right sort offriend for you. Do you know who he is? The proprietor of one of thebig drapers' shops in Calcutta."
"It was a very good shop," said Peggy reflectively. "They were mostobliging in sending patterns. Two of the assistants were in a classmother held for English girls, and they said he was so kind andconsiderate, and had even paid to send some of them to the hill, afterthey had been ill. I've a great respect for Mr Schute."
"Quite so; but that's not exactly a reason why you should play halmawith him. I've a respect for him also, if what you say is true, but heis not in our class, as he himself would acknowledge, and it's not thething for you to be seen talking to him. There are certain restrictionswhich we must all observe."
"Excuse me--I don't observe them. I am Mariquita Saville. Nothing thatI can do can alter that fac
t, or take from me the position to which Iwas born," replied Peggy, with that air of overweening pride in herbelongings which had a distinctly humorous aspect in the eyes of hercompanion, for though a county name and some well-won decorations are,no doubt, things to be valued, nothing short of a pedigree traced directfrom the Flood itself would have justified the ineffable assurance ofher manner.
He was not rash enough, however, to put such a reflection into words, sohe stood in silence until once again the girl turned to leave him, whenhe found his tongue quickly enough.
"You are really going then?"
"Certainly I'm going!"
"You'll tire yourself out with those children, and get a headache intothe bargain in the stuffy cabins."
"I think it's extremely probable."
"Then why will you be obstinate, and go in spite of all I can, say?"
"Shall I tell you why?" Peggy raised her head and stared at him withbrilliant eyes. "I must go and help these poor people because _you_--and others like you--refuse to do it! I can't bear to see themneglected, but I should be delighted to share the work with some oneelse. Major Darcy, will you do me a favour? Mr Schute is very lonely;no one speaks to him, and his eyes are so weak that he can't amusehimself by reading. He is a very interesting old man, and I assure youhis `h's' are above reproach. Will you have a game of halma with himthis afternoon instead of me, and so set me free from my promise?"
Haughty Hector's stare of amazement was a sight to behold. He, HectorDarcy, play a game with a tradesman in the saloon of a steamship?Associate on terms of intimacy with a member of a class who, accordingto his ideas, existed for no other reason than to minister to his needsand requirements? He was breathless with astonishment that such arequest should have been made, and made no concealment of his annoyance.
"Really," he said loftily, "anything in reason that I could do to assistyou would be too great a pleasure, but what you ask is impossible. Youmust see for yourself--"
"You will not do it, then?"
"If you will think for one moment, you will realise that you could notexpect--"
Peggy threw back her head and surveyed him deliberately from the crownof his head to the tip of his shoes, from his shoes up again until thehazel eyes met his with a mocking light.
"I did not expect--I _hoped_; but I see that even that was a mistake!Good afternoon, Major Darcy, and many thanks for your polite assurances!It is gratifying to discover exactly how much they are worth."
She sailed away with her head in the air, leaving Hector to pace thedeck with a frown of thunderous ill-temper disfiguring his handsomecountenance. It was annoying to be worsted by an antagonist of suchsmall dimensions, but, astonishing as it appeared, he invariably got theworst of it in a conflict with Peggy Saville!