CHAPTER XX.
In the neat rooms which Rufinus' wife had made ready for her sick guestsperfect peace reigned, and it was noon. A soft twilight fell through thethick green curtains which mitigated the sunshine, and the nurses hadlately cleared away after the morning meal. Paula was moistening thebandage on the Masdakite's head, and Pulcheria was busy in the adjoiningroom with Mandane, who obeyed the physician's instructions withintelligent submission and showed no signs of insanity.
Paula was still spellbound by her past dream. She was possessed by suchunrest that, quite against her wont, she could not long remain quiet,and when Pulcheria came to her to tell her this or that, she listenedwith so little attention and sympathy that the humble-minded girl,fearing to disturb her, withdrew to her patient's bed-side and waitedquietly till her new divinity called her.
In fact, it was not without reason that Paula gave herself up to acertain anxiety; for, if she was not mistaken, Orion must necessarilypresent himself to hand over to her the remainder of her fortune; andthough even yesterday, on her way from the cemetery, she had said toherself that she must and would refuse to meet him, the excitementproduced by Katharina's story and her subsequent dream had confirmed herin her determination.
Perpetua awaited Orion's visit on the ground-floor, charged to announcehim to Rufinus and not to her mistress. The old man had willinglyundertaken to receive the money as her representative; for Philippus hadnot concealed from her that he had acquainted him with the circumstancesunder which Paula had quitted the governor's house, describing Orion asa man whom she had good reason for desiring to avoid.
By about two hours after noon Paula's restlessness had increased so muchthat now and then she wandered out of the sick-room, which looked overthe garden, to watch the Nile-quay from the window of the anteroom; forhe might arrive by either way. She never thought of the security of herproperty; but the question arose in her mind as to whether it were notactually a breach of duty to avoid the agitation it would cost her tomeet her cousin face to face. On this point no one could advise her,not even Perpetua; her own mother could hardly have understood all herfeelings on such an occasion. She scarcely knew herself indeed; forhitherto she had never failed, even in the most difficult cases, to knowat once and without long reflection, what to do and to leave undone,what under special circumstances was right or wrong. But now she feltherself a yielding reed, a leaf tossed hither and thither; and everytime she set her teeth and clenched her hands, determined to thinkcalmly and to reason out the "for" and "against," her mind wanderedaway again, while the memory of her dream, of Orion as he stood by hisfather's grave--of Katharina's tale of "the other," and the fearfulpunishment which he had to suffer, nay indeed, certainly hadsuffered--came and went in her mind like the flocks of birds over theNile, whose dipping and soaring had often passed like a fluttering veilbetween her eye and some object on the further shore.
It was three hours past noon, and she had returned to the sick-room,when she thought that she heard hoofs in the garden and hurried to thewindow once more. Her heart had not beat more wildly when the doghad flown at her and Hiram that fateful night, than it did now as shehearkened to the approach of a horseman, still hidden from her gaze bythe shrubs. It must be Orion--but why did he not dismount? No, it couldnot be he; his tall figure would have overtopped the shrubbery which wasof low growth.
She did not know her host's friends; it was one of them very likely. Nowthe horse had turned the corner; now it was coming up the path from thefront gate; now Rufinus had gone forth to meet the visitor--and it wasnot Orion, but his secretary, a much smaller man, who slipped off a mulethat she at once recognized, threw the reins to a lad, handed somethingto the old man, and then dropped on to a bench to yawn and stretch hislegs.
Then she saw Rufinus come towards the house. Had Orion charged thismessenger to bring her her possessions? She thought this somewhatinsulting, and her blood boiled with wrath. But there could be noquestion here of a surrender of property; for what her host was holdingin his hand was nothing heavy, but a quite small object; probably, nay,certainly a roll of papyrus. He was coming up the narrow stairs, so sheran out to meet him, blushing as though she were doing something wrong.The old man observed this and said, as he handed her the scroll:
"You need not be frightened, daughter of a hero. The young lord is nothere himself, he prefers, it would seem, to treat with you by letter;and it is best so for both parties."
Paula nodded agreement; she took the roll, and then, while she tore thesilken tie from the seal, she turned her back on the old man; forshe felt that the blood had faded from her face, and her hands weretrembling.
"The messenger awaits an answer," remarked Rufinus, before she began toread it. "I shall be below and at your service." He left; Paula returnedto the sick-room, and leaning against the frame of the casement, read asfollows, with eager agitation:
"Orion, the son of George the Mukaukas who sleeps in the Lord, to hiscousin the daughter of the noble Thomas of Damascus, greeting.
"I have destroyed several letters that I had written to you before thisone." Paula shrugged her shoulders incredulously. "I hope I may succeedbetter this time in saying what I feel to be indispensable for yourwelfare and my own. I have both to crave a favor and offer counsel."
"Counsel! he!" thought the girl with a scornful curl of the lips, as shewent on. "May the memory of the man who loved you as his daughter, andwho on his death-bed wished for nothing so much as to see you--averse ashe was to your creed--and bless you as his daughter indeed, as his son'swife,--may the remembrance of that just man so far prevail over yourindignant and outraged soul that these words from the most wretched manon earth, for that am I, Paula, may not be left unread. Grant me thelast favor I have to ask of you--I demand it in my father's name."
"Demand!" repeated the damsel; her cheeks flamed, her eye sparkledangrily, and her hands clutched the opposite sides of the letter asthough to tear it across. But the next words: "Do not fear," checkedher hasty impulse--she smoothed out the papyrus and read on with growingexcitement:
"Do not fear that I shall address you as a lover--as the man for whomthere is but one woman on earth. And that one can only be she whom Ihave so deeply injured, whom I fought with as frantic, relentless, andcruel weapons as ever I used against a foe of my own sex."
"But one," murmured the girl; she passed her hand across her brow, and afaint smile of happy pride dwelt on her lips as she went on:
"I shall love you as long as breath animates this crushed and wretchedheart."
Again the letter was in danger of destruction, but again it escapedunharmed, and Paula's expression became one of calm and tender pleasureas she read to the end of Orion's clearly written epistle:
"I am fully conscious that I have forfeited your esteem, nay even allgood feeling towards me, by my own fault; and that, unless divine loveworks some miracle in your heart, I have sacrificed all joy on earth.You are revenged; for it was for your sake--understand that--for yoursake alone, that my beloved and dying father withdrew the blessings hehad heaped on my remorseful head, and in wrath that was only too justat the recreant who had desecrated the judgment-seat of his ancestors,turned that blessing to a curse."
Paula turned pale as she read. This then was what Katharina had meant.This was what had so changed his appearance, and perhaps, too, his wholeinward being. And this, this bore the stamp of truth, this could not bea lie--it was for her sake that a father's curse had blighted his onlyson! How had it all happened? Had Philippus failed to observe it, or hadhe held his peace out of respect for the secrets of another?--Poor man,poor young man! She must see him, must speak to him. She could nothave a moment's ease till she knew how it was that her uncle, a tenderfather.--But she must go on, quickly to the end:
"I come to you only as what I am: a heart-broken man, too young to givemyself over for lost, and at the same time determined to make use ofall that remains to me of the steadfast will, the talents, and theself-respect of my forefathers to render me wor
thy of them, and Iimplore you to grant me a brief interview. Not a word, not a look shallbetray the passion within and which threatens to destroy me.
"You must on no account fail to read what follows, since it is of nosmall real importance even to you. In the first place restitution mustbe made to you of all of your inheritance which the deceased was ableto rescue and to add to by his fatherly stewardship. In these agitatedtimes it will be a matter of some difficulty to invest this capitalsafely and to good advantage. Consider: just as the Arabs drove out theByzantines, the Byzantines might drive them out again in their turn. ThePersians, though stricken to the earth, the Avars, or some other peoplewhose very name is as yet unknown to history, may succeed our presentrulers, who, only ten years since, were regarded as a mere handfulof unsettled camel-drivers, caravan-leaders, and poverty-strickendesert-tribes. The safety of your fortune would be less difficult toprovide for if, as was formerly the case here, we could entrust it tothe merchants of Alexandria. But one great house after another is beingruined there, and all security is at an end. As to hiding or buryingyour possessions, as most Egyptians do in these hard times, it isimpossible, for the same reason as prevents our depositing it oninterest in the state land-register. You must be able to get it at theshortest notice; since you might at some time wish to quit Egypt inhaste with all your possessions.
"These are matters with which a woman cannot be familiar. I wouldtherefore propose that you should leave the arrangement of them tous men; to Philippus, the physician, Rufinus, your host--who is, I amassured, an honest man--and to our experienced and trustworthy treasurerNilus, whom you know as an incorruptible judge.
"I propose that the business should be settled tomorrow in the house ofRufinus. You can be present or not, as you please. If we men agree inour ideas I beg you--I beseech you to grant me an interview apart. Itwill last but a few minutes, and the only subject of discussion will bea matter--an exchange by which you will recover something you value andhave lost, and grant me I hope, if not your esteem, at any rate aword of forgiveness. I need it sorely, believe me, Paula; it is asindispensable to me as the breath of life, if I am to succeed in thework I have begun on myself. If you have prevailed on yourself to readthrough this letter, simply answer 'Yes' by my messenger, to relieve mefrom torturing uncertainty. If you do not--which God forefend for bothour sakes, Nilus shall this very day carry to you all that belongsto you. But, if you have read these lines, I will make my appearanceto-morrow, at two hours after noon, with Nilus to explain to the othersthe arrangement of which I have spoken. God be with you and infuse someruth into your proud and noble soul!"
Paula drew a deep breath as the hand holding this momentous epistledropped by her side; she stood for some time by the window, lost ingrave meditation. Then calling Pulcheria, she begged her to tend herpatient, too, for a short time. The girl looked up at her with raptadmiration in her clear eyes, and asked sympathetically why she was sopale; Paula kissed her lips and eyes, and saying affectionately: "Good,happy child!" she retired to her own room on the opposite side of thehouse. There she once more read through the letter.
Oh yes; this was Orion as she had known him after his return till theevening of that never-to-be-forgotten water-party. He was, indeed, apoet; nature herself had made it so easy to him to seduce unguardedsouls into a belief in him! And yet no! This letter was honestly meant.Philippus knew men well; Orion really had a heart, a warm heart. Not themost reckless of criminals could mock at the curse hurled at him bya beloved father in his last moments. And, as she once more read thesentence in which he told her that it was his crime as an unjust judgetowards her that had turned the dying man's blessing to a curse, sheshuddered and reflected that their relative attitude was now reversed,and that he had suffered more and worse through her than she had throughhim. His pale face, as she had seen it in the Necropolis, came backvividly to her mind, and if he could have stood before her at thismoment she would have flown to him, have offered him a compassionatehand, and have assured him that the woes she had brought upon him filledher with the deepest and sincerest pity.
That morning she had asked the Masdakite whether he had besought Heavento grant him a speedy recovery, and the man replied that Persians neverprayed for any particular blessing, but only for "that which was good;"for that none but the Omnipotent knew what was good for mortals. Howwise! For in this instance might not the most terrible blow that couldfall on a son--his father's curse--prove a blessing? It was undoubtedlythat curse which had led him to look into his soul and to start onthis new path. She saw him treading it, she longed to believe in hisconversion--and she did believe in it. In this letter he spoke of hislove; he even asked her hand. Only yesterday this would have roused herwrath; to-day she could forgive him; for she could forgive anything tothis unhappy soul--to the man on whom she had brought such deep anguish.Her heart could now beat high in the hope of seeing him again; nay, iteven seemed to her that the youth, whose return had been hailed withsuch welcome and who had so powerfully attracted her, had only now grownand ripened to full and perfect manhood through his sin, his penitence,and his suffering.
And how noble a task it would be to assist him in seeking the right way,and in becoming what he aspired to be!
The prudent care he had given to her worldly welfare merited hergratitude. What could he mean by the "exchange" he proposed? The "greatlove" of which he had spoken to Katharina was legible in every line ofhis letter, and any woman can forgive any man--were he a sinner, and ascarecrow into the bargain--for his audacity in loving her. Oh! that hemight but set his heart on her--for hers, it was vain to deny it, wasstrongly drawn to him. Still she would not call it Love that stirredwithin her; it could only be the holy impulse to point out to him thehighest goal of life and smooth the path for him. The pale horseman whohad clutched her in her dream should not drag her away; no, she wouldjoyfully lift him up to the highest pinnacle attainable by a brave andnoble man.
So her thoughts ran, and her cheeks flushed as, with swift decision, sheopened her trunk, took out papyrus, writing implements and a seal, andseated herself at a little desk which Rufinus had placed for her in thewindow, to write her answer.
At this a sudden fervent longing for Orion came over her. She made agreat effort to shake it off; still, she felt that in writing to him itwas impossible that she should find the right words, and as she replacedthe papyrus in the chest and looked at the seal a strange thing happenedto her; for the device on her father's well-known ring: a star above twocrossed swords--perchance the star of Orion--caught her eye, withthe motto in Greek: "The immortal gods have set sweat before virtue,"meaning that the man who aims at being virtuous must grudge neithersweat nor toil.
She closed her trunk with a pleased smile, for the motto round the starwas, she felt, of good augury. At the same time she resolved to speakto Orion, taking these words, which her forefathers had adopted fromold Hesiod, as her text. She hastened down stairs, crossed the garden,passing by Rufinus, his wife and the physician, awoke the secretary whohad long since dropped asleep, and enjoined him to say: "Yes" to hismaster, as he expected. However, before the messenger had mounted hismule, she begged him to wait yet a few minutes and returned to the twomen; for she had forgotten in her eagerness to speak to them of Orion'splans. They were both willing to meet him at the hour proposed and,while Philippus went to tell the messenger that they would expect hismaster on the next day, the old man looked at Paula with undisguisedsatisfaction and said:
"We were fearing lest the news from the governor's house should havespoilt your happy mood, but, thank God, you look as if you had just comefrom a refreshing bath.--What do you say, Joanna? Twenty years ago suchan inmate here would have made you jealous? Or was there never a placefor such evil passions in your dove-like soul?"
"Nonsense!" laughed the matron. "How can I tell how many fair beings youhave gazed after, wanderer that you are in all the wide world far away?"
"Well, old woman, but as sure as man is the standard of all things,nowhere that I hav
e carried my staff, have I met with a goddess likethis!"
"I certainly have not either, living here like a snail in its shell,"said Dame Joanna, fixing her bright eyes on Paula with ferventadmiration.