CHAPTER XXIII.
Orion and Paula had had much to talk about, since the young man hadarrived. The discussion over the safe keeping of the girl's money hadbeen tedious. Finally, her counsellors had decided to entrust half ofit to Gamaliel the jeweller and his brother, who carried on a largebusiness in Constantinople. He happened to be in Memphis, and theyhad both declared themselves willing each to take half of the sum inquestion and use it at interest. They would be equally responsible forits security, so that each should make good the whole of the propertyin their hands in case of the other stopping payment. Nilus undertookto procure legal sanction and the necessary sixteen witnesses to thistransaction.
The other half of her fortune was, by the advice of Philippus, to beplaced in the hands of a brother of Haschim's, the Arab merchant, whohad a large business as money changer in Fostat, the new town onthe further shore, in which the merchant himself was a partner. Thisinvestment had the advantage of being perfectly safe, at any rate solong as the Arabs ruled the land.
After all this was settled Nilus departed with that half of the moneywhich Orion was to hand over to the keeping of the Moslem money changeron the following morning.
Paula, though she had taken no part in the men's discussion, hadbeen present throughout, and had expressed her grateful consent. Theclearness, gravity, and decision which Orion had displayed had notescaped her notice; and though the treasurer's shrewd remarks, brieflyand modestly made, had in every case proved final, it was Orion'sreasoning and explanations that had most come home to her, for itseemed to her that he was always prompted by loftier, wider, and morestatesmanlike considerations than the others.
When this was over she and Orion were left together, and neither shenor the young man had been able to escape a few moments of anxiousheart-beating.
It was not till the governor's son had summoned up his courage and,sinking on his knees, was imploring her pardon, that she recovered somefirmness and reminded him of the letter he had sent her. But her heartdrew her to him almost irresistibly, and in order not to yield to itsurgent prompts, she hastily enquired what he had meant by the exchangehe had written about.
At this he went up to her with downcast eyes, drew a small box outof the breast of his robe, and took out the emerald with the damagedsetting. He held them towards her with a beseeching gesture, exclaiming,with all the peculiar sweetness of his deep voice:
"It is your property! Take it and give me in return your confidence,your forgiveness."
She drew back a little, looking first at him and then at the stone andits setting--surprised, pleased, and deeply moved, with a bright lightin her eyes. The young man found it impossible to utter a single word,only holding the jewel and the broken setting closer to her, and yetcloser, like some poor man who makes bold to offer the best he has to awealthy superior, though conscious that it is all too humble a gift tofind favor.
And Paula was not long undecided; she took the proffered gem and feastedher glistening eyes with glad thankfulness on her recovered treasure.
Two days ago she had thought of it as defiled and desecrated; it hadgratified her pride to fancy that she had cast the precious jewel at thefeet, as it were, of Neforis and her son, never to see it again. So hardis it to forego the right of hating those who have basely brought griefinto our lives and anguish to our souls!--and yet Paula, who would nothave yielded this right at any price a short time since, now waivedit of her own free will--nay, thrust it from her like some tormentingincubus which choked her pulses and kept her from breathing freely. Inthis gem she saw once more a cherished memorial of her lost mother, thehonorable gift of a great monarch to her forefathers; and she was happyto possess it once more. But it was not this that gave life to the warm,sunny glow of happiness which thrilled through her, or occasioned itsquick and delightful growth; for her eye did not linger on the large andglittering stone, but rested spellbound on the poor gold frame which hadonce held it, and which had cost her such hours of anguish. This brokenand worthless thing, it is true, was powerful to justify her in theopinions of her judges and her enemies; with this in her hand she wouldeasily confute her accusers. Still, it was not that which so greatlyconsoled her. The physician's remark, that there was no greater joy thanthe discovery that we have been deceived in thinking ill of another,recurred to her mind; and she had once loved the man who now stoodbefore her open to every good influence, deeply moved in her presence;and her judgment of him had been a hundred, a thousand times too hard.Only a noble soul could confidently expect magnanimity from a foe andhe, he had put himself defenceless into the power of her who had beenmortally stricken by the most fateful, and perhaps the only disgracefulact of his life. In giving up this gold frame Orion also gave himselfup; with this talisman in her possession she stood before him asirresistible Fate. And now, as she looked up at him and met his largeeyes, full of life and intellect but sparkling through tears of violentagitation, she felt absolutely certain that this favorite of Fortune,though he had indeed sinned deeply and disastrously, was capable ofthe highest and greatest aims if he had a friend to show him what liferequired of him and were but ready to follow such guidance. And such afriend she would be to him!
She, like Orion, could not for some time speak; but he, at last, wasunable to contain himself; he hastened towards her and pressed her handto his lips with fervent gratitude, while she--she had to submit; nay,she would have been incapable of resisting him if, as in her dream, hehad clasped her in his arms, to his heart. His burning lips had restedfervently on her hand, but it was only for an instant that she abandonedherself to the violent agitation that mastered her. Then with a greateffort her instinct and determination to do right enabled her to controlit; she pushed him from her decisively but not ungently, and then, withsome emotion and an arch sweetness which he had never before seen inher, and which charmed him even more than her noble and lofty pride, shesaid, threatening him with her finger.
"Take care, Orion! Now I have the stone and the setting; yes, that verysetting. Beware of the consequences, rash man!"
"Not at all. Say rather: Fool, who at last has succeeded in doingsomething rational," he replied joyfully. "What I have brought you isnot a gift; it is your own. To you it can be neither more nor less thanit was before; but to me it has gained inestimably in value since itplaces my honor, perhaps my life even, in your keeping; I am in yourpower as completely as the humblest slave in the palace is in that ofthe Emperor. Keep the gem, and use it and this fateful gold trifle tillthe day shall come when my weal and woe are one with yours."
"For your dead father's sake," she answered, coloring deeply, "your weallies already very near my heart. Am not I, who brought upon you yourfather's curse, bound indeed to help you to free yourself from theburden of it? And it may perhaps be in my power to do so, Orion, if youdo not scorn to listen to the counsels of an ignorant girl?"
"Speak," he cried; but she did not reply immediately. She only beggedhim to come into the garden with her; the close atmosphere of the roomhad become intolerable to both, and when they got out and Katharinahad first caught sight of them their flushed cheeks had not escaped herwatchful eye.
In the open air, a scarcely perceptible breath from the river moderatedthe noontide heat, and then Paula found courage to tell him whatPhilippus had called his apprehension in life. It was not new to him;indeed it fully answered to the principles he had laid down for thefuture. He accepted it gratefully: "Life is a function, a ministry, aduty!" the words were a motto, a precept that should aid him in carryingout his plans.
"And the device," he exclaimed, "will be doubly precious to me as havingcome from your lips.--But I no longer need its warning. The wisest andmost practical axioms of conduct never made any man the better. Who doesnot bring a stock of them with him when he quits school for the worldat large? Precepts are of no use unless, in the voyage of life, a manlywill holds the rudder. I have called on mine, and it will steer me tothe goal, for a bright guiding star lights the pilot on his way. Youknow that star; it is...."
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"It is what you call your love," she interposed, with a deepblush.--"Your love for me, and I will trust it."
"You will!" he cried passionately. "You allow me to hope...."
"Yes, yes, hope!" she again broke in, "but meanwhile...."
"Meanwhile," he said, "'do not press me further,' ought to end yoursentence. Oh! I quite understand you; and until I feel that you havegood reason once more to respect the maniac who lost you by his ownfault, I, who fought you like your most deadly foe, will not even speakthe final word. I will silence my longing, I will try...."
"You will try to show me--nay, you will show me--that in you, my foe andpersecutor, I have gained my dearest friend!--And now to quite anothermatter. We know how we stand towards each other and can count on eachother with glad and perfect confidence, thanking the Almighty for havingopened out a new life to us. To Him we will this day...."
"Offer praise and thanksgiving," Orion joyfully put in.
And here began the conversation relating to little Mary which Katharinahad overheard.
They had gone out of hearing again when Orion explained to Paula thatall arrangements for the little girl must be postponed till the morrow,as he had business now with Amru, on the other shore of the Nile.He decisively confuted her fears lest he should allow himself to beperverted by the Moslems to their faith; for though he ardently desiredto let the Patriarch feel that he had no mind to submit patiently to theaffront to his deceased father, he clung too firmly to his creed, andknew too well what was due to the memory of the dead, and to Paulaherself, ever to take this extreme step. He spoke in glowing terms as hedescribed how, for the future, he purposed to devote his best powers tohis hapless and oppressed country, whether it were in the service of theKhaliff or in some other way; and she eagerly entered into his schemes,quite carried away by his noble enthusiasm, and acknowledging toherself with silent rapture the superiority of his mind and the soaringloftiness of his soul.
When, presently, they began talking again of the past she asked himquite frankly, but in a low voice and without looking up, what hadbecome of the emerald he had taken from the Persian hanging. He turnedpale at this, looked at the ground, and hesitatingly replied that he hadsent it to Constantinople--"to have it set--set in an ornament--worthyof her whom--whom he...."
But here he broke off, stamped angrily with his foot, and lookingstraight into the girl's eyes exclaimed:
"A pack of lies, foul and unworthy lies!--I have been truthful by natureall my life; but does it not seem as though that accursed day forced meto some base action every time it is even mentioned? Yes, Paula; the gemis really on its way to Byzantium. But the stolen gift was never meantfor you, but for a fair, gentle creature, in nothing blameworthy, whogave me her heart. To me she was never anything but a pretty plaything;still, there were moments when I believed--poor soul!--I first learntwhat love meant through you, how great and how sacred it is!--Now youknow all; this, indeed, is the truth!"
They walked on again, and Katharina, who had not been able to gatherthe whole of this explanation, could plainly hear Paula's reply in warm,glad accents:
"Yes, that is the truth, I feel. And henceforth that horrible day isblotted out, erased from your life and mine; and whatever you tell me inthe future I shall believe."
And the listener heard the young man answer in a tremulous voice:
"And you shall never be deceived in me. Now I must leave you; and I go,in spite of my griefs, a happy man, entitled to rejoice anew. O Paula,what do I not owe to you! And when we next meet you will receive me,will you not, as you did that evening on the river after my return?"
"Yes, indeed; and with even more glad confidence," replied Paula,holding out her hand with a lovely graciousness that came from herheart; he pressed it a moment to his lips, and then sprang on to hishorse and rode off at a round trot, his slave following him.
"Katharina, child, Katharina!" was shouted from Susannah's house ina woman's high-pitched voice. The water-wagtail started up, hastilysmoothing her hair and casting an evil glance at her rival, "the other,"the supplanter who had basely betrayed her under the sycamores; sheclenched her little fist as she saw Paula watching Orion's retreatingform with beaming eyes. Paula went back into the house, happy andwalking on air, while the other poor, deeply-wounded child burst intoviolent weeping at the first hasty words from her mother, who was not atall satisfied with the disorder of her dress; and she ended by declaringwith defiant audacity that she would not present the flowers to thepatriarch, and would remain in her own room, for she was dying ofheadache.--And so she did.