Godfrey was late for dinner, very late, and what was worse, his father_had_ waited for him.
"I suppose you forgot that I dined at seven, not at eight," was hiscold greeting, for Mr. Knight, a large eater like many teetotallers,was one of those people who make a fetish of punctuality at meals, andalways grow cross when they are hungry.
Godfrey, whose mind had not been steadied by the events of theafternoon, became confused and replied that he was extremely sorry, butthe fact was he had met Isobel and, in talking to her, had not noticedthe time.
"Isobel!" exclaimed his father, whose voice was now icy. "What Isobel?"
"I never knew but one, Father."
"Oh! I suppose you mean Miss Blake. I had no idea she was here; indeed,I thought she was still in Mexico. But doubtless you were betterinformed."
"No, Father, I met her accidentally. She has returned to England."
"That is obvious, Godfrey----"
"She has come down," he continued in a hurry, "to get the house readyfor Sir John, who arrives shortly."
"Oh! has she? What a strange coincidence! All the years of ourseparation while you were way she was away, but within two days of yourreturn she returns."
"Yes, it does seem odd," agreed the flustered Godfrey, "but it's lucky,isn't it, for, of course, I am glad to see her again."
Mr. Knight finished carving himself a helping of beef, and let theknife fall with a clatter into the dish. Then he said in carefullychosen words:
"You may think it lucky--or well arranged--but I must differ. I tellyou at once that I consider Miss Blake a most pernicious young woman,and as your father I can only express the hope that you do not intendto allow her to re-assert her evil influence over you."
Godfrey was about to answer with wrath, but changed his mind andremained silent. So the topic dropped, but that it stood very straightupon its feet in Mr. Knight's mind was clear from the compression ofhis thin lips and the ill-humour of his remarks about the coldness andoverdone character of the beef and sundry other household matters. Assoon as the meal was concluded and he had washed it down with a lastglass of water and with a very wry face thanked Providence for all thathe had received, he retired into his study and was seen no more tillprayer-time.
Nor was he seen then by Godfrey, who had gone out to smoke his pipesince his father could not bear the smell of tobacco in the house, andwandered unconsciously towards the Hall. There he stood, gazing at alight which he knew came from Isobel's window, and lost in thisunfruitful contemplation, once more forgot the time. When he arrivedhome it was to find the house in darkness and a note in his father'shandwriting on the hall table requesting him to be careful to lock thedoor, as everyone had gone to bed.
He went, too, but could not sleep, for, strangely enough, thatdisturbance of body and spirit which had afflicted Isobel possessed himalso. It seemed wonderful to him that he should have found her again,whom he thought to be so utterly lost, and grown so sweet and dear. Howcould he have lived all this while without her, he wondered, and,another thought, how could he bear to part with her once more? Oh! shewas his life, and--why should they part? She had not minded when hekissed her hands, at which, of course, she might have been angry;indeed, she left them to be kissed for quite a long while, though nothalf long enough. Perhaps she did not wish that they should parteither, or perhaps she only desired that they should be just friends asbefore. It seemed almost impossible that they could become more thanfriends, even if she cared to do so, which he could scarcely hope.
What was he? A young fellow, twenty, with only a little money and allhis way to make in the world. And what was she? A grand young lady,rather younger than himself, it was true, but seeming years older, whowas a great heiress, they said, and expected to marry a lord, someoneborn with a silver spoon in his mouth, whose fortune had been made forhim by other people. Moreover, his father hated her because theirreligious views were different, and her father hated him, or used to,for other reasons.
Yes, it was quite impossible--and yet Nature seemed to take no accountof that: Nature seemed to tell him that it was absolutely possible, andindeed right, and what she, Nature, wished. Also this same persistentNature seemed to suggest to him that Isobel was her most willing andobedient pupil, and that perhaps if he could look into her heart hewould find that she did care, and very much more than for the wealthand the hypothetical lord.
Nature seemed to suggest, too, that Isobel's thoughts were with him atthat moment; that she was uncommonly near to him in soul if not inbody; that she was thinking about him as he was thinking about her, andsaying much the same things to herself as he was saying to himself.Indeed, he even began a whispered conversation with her, of a sort hewould not have ventured upon had she been there, pausing between thesentences for her answers, which, as he imagined them, were verysatisfactory indeed.
By degrees, however, question and answer grew less frequent and furtherapart as he dozed off and finally sank into a deep sleep. So deep wasit, indeed, that he was awakened only by the clamour of the breakfastbell, and when he arrived downstairs, to be confronted by some coldbacon on an uncovered dish, his father had departed to the DiocesanConference. Well, this fact had its consolations, and bacon, howevercold, with contentment is better than bacon hot where contention is.
So he ate it and anything else he could find with appetite, and thenwent upstairs to shave and do his hair nicely and to put on a new suitof clothes, which he considered became him. Also, as he had stillthree-quarters of an hour to spare, he began to write a little poemabout Isobel, which was a dismal failure, to tell the truth, since hecould think of no satisfactory rhyme to her name, except "O well!"which, however he put it, sounded silly.
At last, rather too early, he threw the sheet of paper into thefireplace and started, only to find that although it still lacked aquarter of an hour to eleven, Isobel was already seated on that tree.
"What have you been doing to yourself?" she asked, "putting on thosesmart London clothes? I like the old grey things you had on last nightever so much better, and I wanted you to climb a tree to get me someyoung jackdaws. And--good gracious! Godfrey, your head smells like awhole hairdresser's shop. Please come to the other side, to leeward ofme."
He murmured something about liking to look tidy, and then remarked thatshe seemed rather finely dressed herself.
"It's only my Mexican hat," she answered, touching the big sombrero,woven from the finest Panama grass, which she was wearing, "and thenecklace is made of little gold Aztec idols that were found in a grave.They are very rare; a gentleman gave them to me, and afterwards I washorrified to find that he had paid an awful lot for them, L200, Ibelieve. Do you understand about the Aztec gods? If not I will explainthem all to you. This big one in the middle is Huitzilcoatl, the godof----"
"No, no," interrupted Godfrey, "I don't and I don't want to. I thinkthem very ugly, and I always understood that ladies did not accept suchexpensive presents from gentlemen. Who was he?"
"An American millionaire who didn't wear armour," she answered blandly.Then she changed the subject with the original remark that the swallowswere flying higher than they had done on the previous evening, whenthey looked as though one could almost catch them with one's hand.
Godfrey reflected to himself that other things which had seemed quiteclose on the previous night were now like the swallows, far out ofreach. Only he took comfort in the remembrance that swallows, howevernear, are evasive birds, not easy to seize unless you can find themsleeping. Next she began to tell him all about the Mexican gods,whether he wanted to listen or not, and he sat there in the glory ofhis new clothes and brilliantined hair, and gazed at her till she askedhim to desist as she felt as though she were being mesmerised.
This led him to his spiritualistic experiences of which he told her allthe story, and by the time it was finished, behold! it was the luncheonhour.
"It is very interesting," she said as they entered the Hall, "and Ican't laugh at it all as I should have done once, I don't quite kn
owwhy. But I hope, Godfrey, that you will have no more to do withspirits."
"No, not while----" and he looked at her.
"While what?"
"While--there are such nice bodies in the world," he stammered,colouring.
She coloured also, tossed her head, and went to wash her hands.
The afternoon they spent in hunting for imaginary young jackdaws in atotally nebulous tree. Isobel grew rather cross over its non-discovery,swearing that she remembered it well years ago, and that there werealways young jackdaws there.
"Perhaps it has been cut down," suggested Godfrey. "I am told that yourfather has been improving the place a great deal in that kind of way,so as to make it up to date and scientific and profitable, and all therest of it. Also if it hasn't, there would have been no young jackdaws,since they must have flown quite six weeks ago."
"Then why couldn't you say that at once, instead of making us waste allthis time?" asked Isobel with indignation.
"I don't know," replied Godfrey in a somewhat vacuous fashion. "It wasall the same to me if we were hunting for young jackdaws or the man inthe moon, as long as we were together."
"Godfrey, it is evident that you have been overworking and are growingfoolish. I make excuses for you, since anybody who passed first out ofSandhurst must have overworked, but it does not alter the fact. Now Imust go home and see about that house, for as yet I have arrangednothing at all, and the place is in an awful state. Remember that myfather is coming down presently with either six or eight terriblepeople, I forget which. All I know about them is that they areextremely rich and expect to be what is called 'done well.'"
"Must you?" remarked Godfrey, looking disappointed.
"Yes, I must. And so must you. _Your_ father is coming back by the fiveo'clock train, and I advise you to be there to meet him. Perhaps Ishall see you to-morrow some time."
"I can't," exclaimed Godfrey in a kind of wail. "I am to be taken offto a school in some town or other, I forget which, that my father hasbeen examining. I suppose it is the speech day, and he proposes tointroduce me as a kind of object lesson because I have passed first inan examination."
"Yes, as a shining example and--an advertisement. Well, perhaps weshall meet later," and without giving him an opportunity of saying moreshe vanished away.