CHAPTER XIV
THE CAT IS AWAY
Robins's face was glowing with excitement. He put his hands in histrousers pockets and nervously jingled the coins therein, all the whileregarding his Minister of Police with speculative eyes. Then he turnedto the window and continued to stare down into the Place Vendome forseveral minutes, obviously turning something over in his mind beforecoming to a decision. The Baron waited. None knew better than he how towait. He realised that a great deal hung upon the next few sentences tobe uttered in that room, and yet he could be patient.
At last Robin faced him, but without speaking. An instant later heimpulsively withdrew the letter from his pocket and held it out to theBaron, who strode across the room and took it from his hand. Without aword, he extracted the single sheet of paper and read what was writtenthereon.
"I gather from the nature of the invitation that you are expected toenjoy stolen fruit, if I may be so bold as to put it in just that way,"said he grimly. "Apparently Miss Guile finds the presence of a duennaunnecessarily wise."
"There's no harm in a quiet little excursion such as she suggests,Baron," said Robin, defensively.
"You forget that I have seen the beautiful Miss Guile," said Gouroudrily. "I take it, then, that you approve of the young lady's scheme."
"Scheme sounds rather sinister, doesn't it?"
"Trick, if it please you more than the other. Moreover, I cannot saythat she _suggests_ the quiet little excursion. It occurs to me thatshe commands, your highness." He held the missive to the light andread, a tender irony in his voice: "'My motor will call for you atthree this afternoon, and we will run out to St. Cloud for tea; at thePavilion Bleu. Mrs. Gaston is spending the day with relatives atChampigny, and we may as well be mice under the circumstances. If youhave another engagement, pray do not let it interfere with the pleasureI am seeking.' Nothing could be more exacting, my dear Prince. Shesigns herself 'B. Guile,' and I am sure she is magnificently beguiling,if you will pardon the play on words."
"You wouldn't adopt that tone of suspicion if you knew Miss Guile,"said Robin stiffly. "I am sure nothing could be more frank andabove-board than her manner of treating the--"
"And nothing so cock-sure and confident," put in the Baron. "It wouldserve her right if you ignored the letter altogether."
"If I were as old as you, Baron, I haven't the least doubt that Ishould do so," said Robin coolly. "And by the same token, if you wereas young as I, you'd do precisely the thing that I intend to do. I'mgoing to St. Cloud with her."
"Oh, I haven't been in doubt about that for an instant," said Gourou."At your age I greatly favoured the clandestine. You will not pretendto assume that this is not a clandestine excursion."
"It's a jolly little adventure," was all that Robin could say, in hisyouthfulness.
The Baron was thoughtful. "There is something behind this extraordinarybehaviour on the part of a lady generally accredited with sense andrefinement," said he after a moment. "I think I have it, too. She isdeliberately putting you to a rather severe test."
"Test? What do you mean?"
"She is trying you out, sir. Miss Guile,--or possibly Miss Blithers,--istaking a genuine risk in order to determine whether you are a realgentleman or only a make-believe. She is taking a chance with you. Youmay call it a jolly little adventure, but I call it the acid test.Young women of good breeding and refinement do not plan such adventureswith casual, ship-board acquaintances. She intends to find out _what_,not _who_, you are. I must say she's exceedingly clever and courageous."
Robin laughed. "Thank you, Baron. Forewarned is forearmed. I shallremain a gentleman at any cost."
"She is so shrewd and resourceful that I am almost convinced she can beno other than the daughter of the amazing Mr. Blithers. I believe heachieved most of his success through sheer impudence, though it iscommonly described as daring."
"In any case. Baron, I shall make it a point to find out whether she isthe lady who defies the amazing Mr. Blithers, and goes into print aboutit."
"She has merely denied that she is engaged to the Prince of Graustark.Pray do not come back to us with the news that she is engaged to R.Schmidt," said Gourou significantly.
Robin smiled reflectively. "That _would_ make a jolly adventure of it,wouldn't it?"
At three o'clock, a big limousine swung under the porte cochere at theRitz and a nimble footman hopped down and entered the hotel. Robin waswaiting just inside the doors. He recognised the car as the one thathad taken Miss Guile away from the Gare St. Lazare, and stepped forwardinstantly to intercept the man.
"For Mr. Schmidt?" he inquired.
"Oui, M'sieur."
Thrilled by a pleasurable sense of excitement, the Prince of Graustarkentered the car. He was quick to observe that the curtains in the sidewindows were partially drawn across the glass. The fact that sheelected to journey to the country in a limousine on this hot day didnot strike him as odd, for he knew that the comfort loving Frenchpeople prefer the closed vehicle to the wind-inviting, dust-gatheringtouring body of the Americans and British. He observed the singleletter L in gold in the panel of the door, and made mental note of thesmart livery of the two men on the front seat.
A delicate perfume lingered in the car, convincing proof that MissGuile had left it but a few minutes before its arrival at the Ritz. Asa matter of fact, she was nearer than he thought, for the car whirledinto the Rue de la Paix and stopped at the curb not more than a hundredyards from the Place Vendome.
Once more the nimble footman hopped down and threw open the door. Aslender, swift-moving figure in a blue linen gown and a wide hat fromwhich sprung two gorgeous blue plumes, emerged from the door of adiamond merchant's shop, and, before Robin could move from his corner,popped into the car and sat down beside him with a nervous little laughon her lips--red lips that showed rose-like and tempting behind a thickchiffon veil, obviously donned for an excellent reason. The exquisitefeatures of Miss Guile were barely distinguishable beneath the surfaceof this filmy barrier. The door closed sharply and, almost before thePrince had recovered from his surprise, the car glided off in thedirection of the Place de l'Opera.
"Isn't it just like an elopement?" cried Miss Guile, and it was quiteplain to him that she was vastly pleased with the sprightlyintroduction to the adventure. Her voice trembled slightly and she satup very straight in the wide, comfortable seat.
"Is it really you?" cried Robin, and he was surprised to find that hisown voice trembled.
"Oh," she said, with a sudden diffidence, "how do you do? What must youthink of me, bouncing in like that and never once speaking to you?"
"If I were to tell you what I think of you, you'd bounce right outagain without speaking to me," said he, smiling. "How do you do?" Heextended his hand, but it was ignored. She sank back into the cornerand looked at him for a moment as if uncertain what to say or do next.The shadowy red lips were smiling and the big dark eyes were eloquent,even through the screen.
"I may as well tell you at the outset, Mr. Schmidt, that I'venever--_never_--done a thing like this before," she said, an uneasynote in her voice.
"I am quite sure of that," said he, "and therefore confess to a vastwealth of satisfaction."
"What _do_ you think of me?"
"I think that you are frightened almost out of your boots," said heboldly.
"No, I'm not," said she resolutely. "I am only conscious of feelingextremely foolish."
"I shouldn't feel that way about stealing off for a cup of tea," saidhe. "It's all quite regular, you know, and is frequently done in thevery best circles when the cat's away."
"You see, I couldn't quite scrape up the courage to go directly to thehotel for you," she said. "I know several people who are stopping thereand I--I--well, you won't think I'm a dreadful person, will you?"
"Not at all," he declared promptly. Then he resolved to put one of thequestions he had made up his mind to ask at the first opportunity. "Doyou mind telling me why you abandoned me so completely, so heartlessly
on the day we landed?"
"Because there was no reason why I should act otherwise, Mr. Schmidt,"she said, the tremor gone from her voice.
"And yet you take me to St. Cloud for tea," he said pointedly.
"Ah, but no one is to know of this," she cried warmly. "This is asecret, a very secret adventure."
He could not help staring. "And that is just why I am mystified. Why isto-day so different from yesterday?"
"It isn't," she said. "Doesn't all this prove it?"
His face fell. "Don't you want to be seen with me, Miss Guile? Am Inot--"
"Wait! Will you not be satisfied with things as they are and refrainfrom asking unnecessary questions?"
"I shall have to be satisfied," said he ruefully.
"I am sorry I said that, Mr. Schmidt," she cried, contrite at once."There is absolutely no reason why I should not be seen with you. Butwon't you be appeased when I say that I wanted to be with you aloneto-day?"
He suddenly remembered the Baron's shrewd conjecture and let theopportunity to say something banal go by without a word. Perhaps it wasa test, after all. He merely replied that she was paying him a greatercompliment than he deserved.
"There are many things I want to speak about, Mr. Schmidt, and--and youknow how impossible it is to--to get a moment to one's self when one isbeing watched like a child, as I am being watched over by dear Mrs.Gaston. She is my shield and armour, my lovely one-headed dragon. Iplaced myself in her care and--well, she is a very dependable person.You _will_ understand, won't you?"
"Pray do not distress yourself, Miss Guile," he protested. "The lastword is spoken. I am too happy to spoil the day by doubting itsintegrity. Besides, I believe I know you better than you think I do."
He expected her to reveal some sign of dismay, but she was suddenly onguard.
"Then you will not mind my eccentricities," she said calmly, "and weshall have a very nice drive, some tea and a--lark in place of the moredelectable birds prescribed by the chef at the Pavilion Bleu."
As the car turned into the Boulevard des Capucines Robin suppressed anexclamation of annoyance on beholding Baron Gourou and Dank standing onthe curb almost within arm's length of the car as it passed. The formerwas peering rather intently at the two men on the front seat, andevinced little or no interest in the occupants of the tonneau.
"Wasn't that your friend Mr. Dank?" inquired Miss Guile with interest.He felt that she was chiding him.
"Yes," said he, and then turned for another look at his compatriots.Gourou was jotting something down on his cuff-band. The Prince mentallypromised him something for his pains. "But let us leave dull carebehind," he went on gaily.
"He isn't at all dull," said she.
"But he _is_ a care," said he. "He is always losing his heart, MissGuile."
"And picking up some one else's, I fancy," said she.
"By the way, who was the good-looking chap that came to Cherbourg tomeet you?"
"A very old friend, Mr. Schmidt. I've known him since I was that high."(That high was on a line with her knee.)
"Attractive fellow," was his comment.
"Do you think so?" she inquired innocently, and he thought sheover-played it a little. He was conscious of an odd sense ofdisappointment in her. "Have you never been out to St. Cloud? No? Inever go there without feeling a terrible pity for those poor prodigalswho stood beside its funeral pyre and saw their folly stripped down tothe starkest of skeletons while they waited. The day of glory is short,Mr. Schmidt, and the night that follows is bitterly long. They saypossession is nine points of the law, but what do nine points mean tothe lawless? The rich man of to-day may be the beggar of to-morrow, andthe rich man's sons and daughters may be serving the beggars ofyesterday. I have been told that in the lower east side of New YorkCity there are men and women who were once princes and princesses,counts and countesses, dukes and duchesses. Why doesn't some one writea novel about the royalty that hides its beggary in the slums of thatgreat city?"
"What's this? Epigrams and philosophy, Miss Guile?" he exclaimedwonderingly. "You amaze me. What are you trying to convey? That someday you may be serving yesterday's beggar?"
"Who knows!" she said cryptically. "I am not a philosopher, and I'msorry about the epigrams. I loathe people who make use of them. Theyare a cheap substitution for wisdom. Do you take sugar in your tea?" Itwas her way of abandoning the topic, but he looked his perplexity. "Ithought I'd ask now, just for the sake of testing my memory later on."She was laughing.
"Two lumps and cream," he said. "Won't you be good enough to take offthat veil? It seriously obstructs the view."
She complacently shook her head. "It doesn't obstruct mine," she said."Have you been reading what the papers are saying about your friend Mr.Blithers and his obstreperous Maud?"
Robin caught his breath. In a flash he suspected an excellent reasonfor keeping the veil in place. It gave her a distinct advantage overhim.
"Yes. I see that she positively denies the whole business."
"Likewise the prospective spouse," she added. "Isn't it sickening?"
"I wonder what Mr. Blithers is saying to-day," said he audaciously."Poor old cock, he must be as sore as a crab. By the way, it isreported that she crossed on the steamer with us."
"I am quite certain that she did, Mr. Schmidt," said she.
"You really think so?" he cried, regarding her keenly.
"The man who came to meet me knows her quite well. He is confident thathe saw her at Cherbourg."
"I see," said he, and was thoroughly convinced. "I may as well confessto you. Miss Guile, that I also know her when I see her."
"But you told me positively that you had never seen her, Mr. Schmidt,"she said quickly.
"I had not seen her up to the second day out on the _Jupiter_," heexplained, enjoying himself immensely.
"It was after that that you--"
"I know," he said, as she hesitated; "but you see I didn't know she wasMiss Blithers until sometime after I had met you." There was achallenge in his manner amounting almost to a declaration.
She leaned forward to regard him more intently.
"Is it possible, Mr. Schmidt, that you suspect _me_ of being thathorrid, vulgar creature?"
Robin was not to be trapped. There was something in the shadowy eyesthat warned him.
"At least, I may say that I do not suspect you of being a horrid,vulgar creature," he said evasively.
"What else can this Miss Blithers be if not that?"
"Would you say that she is vulgar because she refuses to acknowledge acondition that doesn't exist? I think she did perfectly right indenying the engagement."
"You haven't answered my question, Mr. Schmidt."
"Well," he began slowly, "I don't suspect you of being Miss Blithers."
"But you did suspect it."
"I was pleasantly engaged in speculation, that's all. It is generallybelieved that Miss Blithers sailed under an assumed name--literally,not figuratively."
"Is there any reason why you should imagine that my name is not Guile?"
"Yes. Your luggage is resplendently marked with the second letter inthe alphabet--a gory, crimson B."
"I see," she said reflectively. "You examined my luggage, as they sayin the customs office. And you couldn't put B and G together, is thatit?"
"Obviously."
"If you had taken the trouble to look, you would have found an equallyresplendent G on the opposite end of each and every trunk, Mr.Schmidt," she said quietly.
"I did not examine your luggage, Miss Guile," said he stiffly. Shehadn't left much for him to stand upon. "Rather unique way to put one'sinitials on a trunk, isn't it?"
"It possesses the virtue of originality," she admitted, "and it neverfails to excite curiosity. I am sorry you were misled. Nothing could bemore distressing than to be mistaken for the heroine of a story andthen turn out to be a mere nobody in the end. I've no doubt that if theamiable Miss Blithers were to hear of it, she'd rush into print andbelabour me with the largest
type that money could buy."
"Oh, come now, Miss Guile," he protested, "it really isn't fair to MissBlithers. She was justified in following an illustrious example. Youforget that the Prince of Graustark was the first to rush into printwith a flat denial. What else could the poor girl do?"
"Oh, I am not defending the Prince of Graustark. He behaved abominably,rushing into print as you say. Extremely bad taste, I should call it."
Robin's ears burned. He could not defend himself. There was nothingleft for him to do but to say that it "served him jolly well right, theway Miss Blithers came back at him."
"Still," she said, "I would be willing to make a small wager that thewell-advertised match comes off in spite of all the denials. Given adetermined father, an ambitious mother, a purse-filled daughter and anempty-pursed nobleman, and I don't see how the inevitable can beavoided."
His face was flaming. It was with difficulty that he restrained theimpulse to put her right in the matter without further ado.
"Are you sure that the Prince is so empty of purse as all that?" hemanaged to say, without betraying himself irretrievably.
"There doesn't seem to be any doubt that he borrowed extensively of Mr.Blithers," she said scornfully. "He is under some obligations to hiswould-be-father-in-law, I submit, now isn't he?"
"I suppose so, Miss Guile," he admitted uncomfortably.
"And therefore owes him something more than a card in the newspapers,don't you think?"
"Really, Miss Guile, I--I--"
"I beg your pardon. The Prince's affairs are of no importance to you,so why should I expect you to stand up for him?"
"I confess that I am a great deal more interested in Miss Blithers thanI am in the Prince. By the way, what would you have done had you beenplaced in her position?"
"I think I should have acted quite as independently as she."
"If your father were to pick out a husband for you, whether or no, youwould refuse to obey the paternal command?"
"Most assuredly. As a matter of fact, Mr. Schmidt, my father hasexpressed a wish that I should marry a man who doesn't appeal to me atall."
"And you refuse?"
"Absolutely."
"More or less as Miss Blithers has done," he said pointedly.
"Miss Blithers, I understand, has the advantage of me in one respect. Iam told that she wants to marry another man and is very much in lovewith him."
"A chap named Scoville," said Robin, unguardedly.
"You know him, Mr. Schmidt?"
"No. I've merely heard of him. I take it from your remark that youdon't want to marry anybody--at present."
"Quite right. Not at present. Now let us talk of something else. _Abas_ Blithers! Down with the plutocrats! Stamp out the vulgarians! Isthere anything else you can suggest?" she cried gaily.
"Long live the Princess Maud!" said he, and doffed his hat. Thesatirical note in his voice was not lost on her. She startedperceptibly, and caught her breath. Then she sank back into the cornerwith a nervous, strained little laugh.
"You think she will marry him?"
"I think as you do about it, Miss Guile," said he, and she was silenced.