CHAPTER XIX
Derrick was awakened the next morning by a servant-man who brought him acup of fragrant coffee and the accompanying cigarette. Derrick dressedquickly and went in search of Don Jose, to get some information whichwould enable the newly-appointed engineer to set about his duties; onthe way, he met the major-domo, and inquired after Donna Elvira. The mansaid that her Excellency's maid had told him that her mistress had spenta bad night and was now trying to get some sleep. The major-domo wasextremely respectful in his manner towards Derrick, and Don Jose, whenDerrick met him in the patio, greeted him with marked consideration.
In response to Derrick's inquiries, Don Jose shrugged his shoulders and,twisting his lips into a smile, intimated that, so far as he wasconcerned, Derrick was free to do, or not to do, anything he pleased;but he led the young man to a shed which he designated as the machineroom, and opening the door, with a wave of his hand, presented toDerrick's view a mass of machinery very much out of date and inexceedingly bad order, and intimating, with another shrug and wave, thatDerrick was free of the concern, walked off. Derrick strolled round theantiquated engine and rusty pump and chaff-cutters, then took off hiscoat, turned up his sleeves and proceeded to make a detailedexamination; wondering why the worn boiler had not burst and blown thewhole kit, and anyone who happened to be near, into smithereens.
It was some time since he had had the handling of machinery, and, forseveral hours, he enjoyed himself thoroughly, emerging at lunch-time,very hot, and as grimy and soot-laden as a chimney sweep. On his waytowards the house he looked up at the windows, and at one of them hesaw, or fancied he saw, through a partially-drawn curtain, the face ofDonna Elvira; but the curtain was drawn so swiftly that he could not besure that it was the Donna who had been looking down at him.
She did not appear that day, and Derrick went about his work with asense of satisfaction and enjoyment which he had not experienced duringthe execution of his duties at the circus: to the engineer the handlingof machinery is as sweet as is the touch of a brush to an artist, thepen to an author. He was interested not only in his work, but in thestrange and novel life going on around him. It was unlike anything withwhich he had come in contact hitherto; not only was the place overrunwith servants, but, on every side, were evidences of a wealth and statewhich were almost regal and yet barbaric; the magnificent mansion itselfwas at some distance from the farm building, and the serenity of thehouse and its surroundings was not intruded upon by the business ofwhich Donna Elvira was the head.
Derrick could not help being struck by the fact that his favourablereception and appointment had aroused no surprise and very littlecuriosity on the part of the household; and he concluded that DonnaElvira's rule was so despotic that her law passed unquestioned, and thatno action of hers was received with astonishment. His position wasaccepted by everyone without question or remark; the man who had broughthim his coffee had evidently been told off as his body-servant, and heserved Derrick's meals in a little room adjoining the bedroom, or on theverandah; as the young fellow showed some intelligence, Derrick took himon as an assistant, much to the peon's delight and pride, and initiatedhim into the elementary mysteries of machinery.
Long before his examination had finished, Derrick had come to theconclusion that it would be necessary to scrap the existing machineryand set up new in its place; and he was anxious to consult Donna Elvira;but though he learnt that she had sustained no injury from the accidentin the salon, she did not make her appearance until three days hadelapsed. On the evening of the third, as he was sitting on the verandah,smoking a cigarette after an excellent dinner, and dreaming, as theexile must dream, however flourishing his position, of the land he hadleft, he saw her coming towards the verandah. He sprang to his feet,and, bare-headed, hastened to meet her and give her his hand to ascendthe steps. She was dressed in black, and her lace mantilla, worn inSpanish fashion, half-shrouded her face, which was paler and even moreworn than when he had first seen it.
"I hope your Excellency has quite recovered?" he said, as he led her toa chair and set a cushion for her feet; and he performed the little actwith a courtesy which was as genuine as strange in Derrick, who, likemost men of his class, was not given to knightly attentions; but, everytime he had seen this proud and sorrowful woman, some tender chord hadbeen touched in his heart and given forth a note of pity and respect. "Ican't blame myself enough for not keeping an eye on that lamp. I hopeyou were not burned?"
"No, it was nothing," she said in a low voice, her eyes covered by theirlids, her lips set. "It was the shock, nothing more. I came to speak toyou here because it is cooler, and I wished to see that youwere--comfortable; that is the English word, is it not?"
"Yes," rejoined Derrick, with a laugh. "And it's the most important onein the language nowadays. Comfort is the one thing everybody goes for;we've made it our tin god, and we worship it all the time; it's becausemoney means comfort that we're all out for it."
"And yet you are poor," said her Excellency, musingly. "And you arehappy?"
There was a note of interrogation in her voice, and Derrick checked asigh as he shrugged his shoulders, a trick which everybody about theplace possessed, and he was acquiring unconsciously; he was dreadingthat, in time, he should come to spread out his hands and gesticulatelike the rest of them.
"Count no man happy till he's dead," he said, a trifle wistfully; and,at that moment, the scene before him, fair as it was, assumed a drearyaspect, and he longed for the grimy London streets, the hustle of thecrowd, the smell of the asphalt; and, above all, the stone staircase andthe gaol-like corridors of Brown's Buildings. "At any rate, if I'm nothappy, it is not your fault, Donna Elvira. Owing to your kindness, Ihave fallen on clover--pardon! I mean that I've got an excellentsituation. And, speaking of that, I'm very glad to see you. I'm afraidyou'll think I'm a nuisance, and that, like a new broom, I want to sweepeverything clean; but I'm obliged to tell you that the machinery you'vegot out there is played out, and that it is absolutely necessary to havea new plant. It will cost you a great deal of money, and I don't knowwhere it is to come from--straight from England, I suppose."
She made a movement of her hand, indicating what seemed to Derricksublime indifference.
"It shall be as you say," she said. "You have been working very hard, isit not? Oh, I have seen you coming from the shed; you looked tired andso----Is it necessary, senor, to get so dirty?"
"'Fraid it is," said Derrick, with a laugh; "the worst of it is, themachinery is even dirtier than I am. 'Pon my word, I don't believe it'shad a good over-haul for years."
"Possibly," said Donna Elvira, absently. "The last man who had charge ofit was too fond of the wine."
"I can believe it," said Derrick; "anyway, he kept his machinery thirstyenough. What shall I do about it?"
She pondered for a moment or two; then, with a sudden raising of her sadeyes, she said, slowly,
"It must come from England, you said. It is possible to order it fromthence?"
"Oh, yes," said Derrick, hesitatingly. "Of course, it would be better ifone could buy it on the spot."
"That is so," she agreed. There was silence for awhile, then she saidslowly, "Are you content to remain here--Mr. Dene?"
It was the first time she had addressed him by his name, and she did sowith an hesitation that Derrick attributed to her uncertainty of thepronunciation.
"Well, I am as content as I should be anywhere out of England," he said,with a candour compelled by her kindness.
She glanced at him with an earnest regard, and said softly, butsuddenly,
"It means that you have left your heart there?"
Derrick coloured and lit another cigarette. Again, he felt as if he wereobliged to open his heart to this sorrowful, sympathetic woman.
"That is so," he said, gravely.
"You have no father or mother," she murmured, her eyes downcast; "thenit must be the girl you love--a sweetheart?"
Derrick nodded.
"Yes, it's a girl I love," he
said, with a thrill as he made theconfession, and was impressed by the spoken words with the depths of hislove for that girl. "Oh, don't misunderstand! It's true that I--loveher; but she doesn't love me; it's all on my side, she doesn't even knowthat I care for her. You'll be surprised to hear that I saw her onlyonce in my life, and then only for a few minutes."
"That is the Spanish way of loving, not the English," she said, with along breath like a sigh, as she looked at him. "No; I am not surprised.Love is a strange thing, Derrick--pardon!--Mr. Dene; and it comessometimes, more often than not with the people of my nation, at firstsight. Will you think me curious, if I ask her name?"
"Not at all. I don't know it," said Derrick, with a grim laugh.
She looked at him with surprise in her mournful eyes.
"Oh, look here!" said Derrick, more to himself than to the listenerwhose sympathy affected him strangely and forced his confidence. "I'vegot to tell you everything, if you care to hear it. You are so clever,'cute--I beg your Excellency's pardon!--that you will have guessed, asold Bloxford guessed, that I had good reason, or, rather, bad, forleaving England; besides, I hinted it the other night. I'll tell youwhat that is, if you care to hear it."
"Tell me," she said, in a low voice. "I--I am a lonely woman; I haveneither husband nor child; you have interested me"--her voice sank for amoment--"Yes, tell me. I--I may help you----"
"I'm afraid I'm beyond even your help," said Derrick; "but this is howit is."
He told her the story of the forged cheque, suppressing all names, andDonna Elvira listened, as immovable as a statue, looking straight beforeher, her brows drawn, her lips set. She sighed as he finished, and said,
"The woman you did this for--you cared for her?"
"I did, at one time--or, I thought I did," said Derrick; "but, when Imet that other girl, the girl who stepped in like an angel and saved mefrom suicide, I cared for her no longer. It was as if she had gone outof my life, out of my heart, and another woman had stepped into herplace. Do you understand, Donna Elvira?"
"It is not difficult," she said, with a faint smile. "The woman for whomyou made so foolish, so wicked a sacrifice was not worthy of you. It iswell that you should have forgotten her. This other girl--I do not knowher; but I think she must be good and true."
"She's all that," said Derrick, fervently. "If you had seen only just asmuch of her as I have, you'd know that you were right. She is not a girlwho would jilt a man who cared for her, to marry another man for hisrank. She's good and true, as you say; as true as steel. Why, think ofit: a slip of a girl, scarcely out of her teens, facing, alone, amadman, with a revolver! The sight of the thing gave her the horrors, Icould see; but there she stood, firm as a rock, pleading, arguing,insisting, until she'd saved the silly fool. A girl like that is--oh, Ican't talk about her. And, what's it matter? I shall never see heragain. Besides, it isn't possible that a girl so beautiful, so charming,should be free for long. I may meet her again; but it's long odds that,when I do, it will be to find that she's married, got children--I begyour pardon, your Excellency; you've been very kind to listen to allthis and very patient. You see how hopeless it is. I must try to forgether. But that's impossible." He laughed ruefully. "I think of her everyday: I fall asleep thinking of her. But that's enough! About themachinery?"
"We will talk of it some other time," she said, rising. "Good-night."
For several days Derrick saw Donna Elvira at a distance only; but,somehow, he was conscious that she was watching him; for now and again,when he was going to or from the shed, he caught sight of the pale face,with its white hair, at a window, or saw her moving across the court;but he did not venture to intrude upon her. While he was waiting for herdecision, respecting the new plant, he employed himself in making a kindof survey of the house and the buildings; and he drew up a schedule ofthe repairs that were necessary and made some suggestions for variousalterations. But though her Excellency did not grant him anotherinterview, it was evident that she had not forgotten him, and he knewthat it was to her he owed several comfortable additions in and abouthis rooms, and the increased respect and attention of the servants.
One evening, about a week later, his servant came to him with a message:he was to attend her Excellency in the salon. With a sense of relief,and of pleasure, Derrick hastened to obey the summons. The frail, yetproudly-erect figure was seated in the big chair; she looked thinner andmore haggard; and Derrick, as he stood before her, feared that she wasstill suffering from the shock of the overturned lamp. She held out herhand, for the first time; and as Derrick took it, he felt it trembleunder the pressure of his.
"You sent for me, your Excellency?" he said.
"Yes," she answered in a low voice, as she waved him to a chair whichhad been placed, either accidentally or by her orders, near her. "I havearrived at a decision--about--the machinery. I wish you to go to Englandfor it."
Derrick could not repress a start, and he stared at her, somewhataghast.
"Want me to go----?" he said, changing colour. "But I'm afraid--have youforgotten what I told you about--about the trouble of the cheque?"
"No, I have not forgotten," she said, in the same low voice. "I do notthink you have any need to fear. I think that you were unwise to flyEngland. And yet I am glad; for--for, if you had not done so, I shouldnot--you would not have come here."
"I'm glad enough that I did come here, your Excellency," said Derrick,warmly. "And I shall be very sorry to leave you, putting aside thisquestion of my safety."
"You will be quite safe, or I would not ask you to go. I have beenthinking over your story. I have not always lived in this out-of-the-waypart of the world. I have had experience; and I see more clearly thanyou. I do not think you would have been prosecuted. They are clever,these lawyers, and they would have got the truth out of you. A word or alook on your part would have given them the clue. Besides, this otherman; they would have questioned him, and he would have exposed himself."
"That's true enough; that's what I told Heyton----" began Derrick; inhis eagerness, unwittingly letting slip Heyton's name, as he had theother evening let slip his own. He broke off and looked down, biting hislip. If he had still kept his eyes on the face of the woman beside him,he could not have failed to see the sudden change which came to thatface, the expression of amazement, of fear, of intense excitement. Shedid not speak, she did not utter a word, but her lips writhed and herthin, long white hands closed and opened spasmodically.
"I'm sorry," muttered Derrick, regretfully, and frowning at his boots."The name slipped out before I knew it." He laughed ruefully. "It seemsas if I were unable to conceal anything from you."
"There is no cause for fear," she said in a tremulous voice. "You mayspeak to me as you would to a father confessor; as you would toa--mother."
"Oh, I know that," said Derrick, and his own voice shook a little."Strangely enough--I'm afraid you'll think I'm pretty impudent--but eversince I saw you I have felt----Oh, well, I can't explain." He leantforward with profound respect and a warmer feeling he could notunderstand. "I suppose it was because you were so good to me; perhapsbecause you were so lonely, here amongst all these people----Oh, I_can't_ explain, and I'm afraid I'm distressing you," he went onremorsefully; for the frail figure was trembling, and the tears hadgathered in the dark eyes. "I'm a blundering kind of idiot, and I'mworrying you with my tuppenny-ha'penny affairs. Forgive me!"
She drew her hand across her eyes; then slowly, hesitatingly, laid thehand on his arm.
"There is nothing to forgive," she murmured. "But tell me. I too havefelt--I am a lonely woman; you--you are young enough--you mightbe--shall we say that I have been drawn to you as you say you have beendrawn to me--you said so, did you not?--that I have felt as if Iwere--your mother."
"I wish to God you were!" said Derrick, huskily, and feeling, withamazement, and an Englishman's annoyance, that his own eyes were moist.
"Let us pretend that we are--mother and son," she said, in so low avoice as to be almost inaudible. "Therefore, as a s
on, you need concealnothing from me. Tell me, who is this man whose name escaped you?"
As she asked the question, she made an evident effort to control heragitation, and her voice and manner were well-nigh calm, and infinitelytender and persuasive.
"Oh, Heyton!" said Derrick, feeling that he would be quite safe to tellher everything. "He is the eldest, the only, son of the Marquess ofSutcombe; and, of course, he will be the next Marquess; and, of course,that's the reason why Miriam--Miriam Ainsley--chucked me and marriedhim."
"This Lord Heyton, what manner of man is he?" she said.
"Oh, I'm afraid he's a bad lot; you'll see that, or he wouldn't haveplayed this low down trick on me. He's a weak sort of fellow who hasplayed the fool pretty thoroughly. I met him at the place where theAinsleys lived, a little village called Bridgeford; and though--it'seasy to be wise after the event--I didn't like him much, we got to bekind of friends. He's full of low cunning and I'd no idea he was afterMiriam until it was too late. You see the sort of man he is."
"And he will be the Marquess," she said, musingly.
"Oh, yes, nothing can prevent that," assented Derrick, with a shortlaugh.
"It is a pity," she said.
"A thousand pities," agreed Derrick; "but there you are! It's our systemof primogeniture, eldest son, you know."
"If you go to England, you will keep out of his way," she said.
"Rather!" said Derrick, grimly. "If I go to England--and, of course, Ishall if you wish it--I shall keep out of everybody's way. I shall usemy assumed name, Sydney Green."
"It will be well to do so," she said, gravely. It was evident that shewas considering the matter with all a woman's acuteness. "Yes; I wishyou to go to England. There are other reasons--it will be better for youto see the machinery."
"All right, your Excellency," said Derrick, promptly; for he felt as ifhe had placed himself in her hands. "When would you like me to start?"
"To-morrow," she said. She raised her eyes and looked at him wistfully."If you are to go, it is better for me--for you--for affairs, that yougo at once."
As she spoke, she opened a despatch-box lying on the table beside herand took out two packets. She held one out to him.
"In this you will find some money; sufficient, I hope, to pay allexpenses; if it is not, if you should need more, you will addressyourself to the branch of the Bank of Spain in England, where I shallplace some to your credit. Do not hesitate to use the money; I do notmean for the machinery only, but for any purpose for which you may wantit. It is at your entire disposal. You will write to me----"
"Of course," said Derrick. "I shall send your Excellency a regularreport at frequent intervals."
"The carriage is ordered, and you will be driven to the stationto-morrow. Write to me as soon as you arrive."
Derrick rose to bid her good-bye; but she stayed him with a slight,hesitating gesture and held out the second packet.
"Take this," she said. "It contains instructions for your conduct in--incertain events."
"Sealed instructions," said Derrick, with a smile, as he noticed thatthe package was thus secured.
"Yes," she said. "You will break the seals and read the enclosedinstructions if, at any time, during your absence, you shouldbe in any great difficulty or danger. Do you think this is verystrange--mysterious?" she asked, her eyes fixed upon him with ahalf-apprehensive regard.
"I've not the least doubt you have good reasons for giving me this,"said Derrick; "I will not open it unless, as you say, I am in a fix."
"That is well," she said. "You have good reason--a reason I cannotexplain," she added hurriedly, and with some agitation, "for trustingme."
"I'd trust you with my life," said Derrick, impelled to the burst offervour by something in her manner and voice.
She held out her hand, and Derrick took it and pressed it; there wassomething so melting in the tenderness of her gaze that again he wasimpelled by a strange influence, and he bent and kissed the hand. As hedid so, she laid her other one upon his bent head; it was a touch softas thistle-down, as caressing as that of a mother; and as he felt it,something tugged at Derrick's heart-strings. He turned away and left theroom quickly.
Some time after he had reached his own quarters, and had pondered overthe singular emotion which had been aroused in him during the scene, heopened the first packet. It contained a large sum of money, greatly inexcess of his possible needs. The generosity of this great lady wasamazing. He stowed the notes in his belt and then turned to the otherpacket. This he sewed up inside his waistcoat; it was too precious to becommitted to so commonplace a depository as the purse of a belt.
The following morning, as he stepped into the carriage--Donna Elvira'sown carriage of state!--he looked round on the chance and in the hope ofseeing her. She was nowhere in sight as the carriage started; but whenit was turning the bend of the road, still looking back earnestly, hesaw the tall figure standing on the steps of the patio. From the blackmantilla which shrouded her, she waved a hand.