III.
While the malignant tongues had been playing havoc with Somerset'sfame in the ears of Paula and her companion, the young man himself wasproceeding partly by rail, partly on foot, below and amid the olive-cladhills, vineyards, carob groves, and lemon gardens of the Mediterraneanshores. Arrived at San Remo he wrote to Nice to inquire for letters,and such as had come were duly forwarded; but not one of them was fromPaula. This broke down his resolution to hold off, and he hasteneddirectly to Genoa, regretting that he had not taken this step when hefirst heard that she was there.
Something in the very aspect of the marble halls of that city, which atany other time he would have liked to linger over, whispered to him thatthe bird had flown; and inquiry confirmed the fancy. Nevertheless, thearchitectural beauties of the palace-bordered street, looking as ifmountains of marble must have been levelled to supply the materialsfor constructing it, detained him there two days: or rather a featof resolution, by which he set himself to withstand the drag-chain ofPaula's influence, was operative for that space of time.
At the end of it he moved onward. There was no difficulty in discoveringtheir track northwards; and feeling that he might as well return toEngland by the Rhine route as by any other, he followed in the coursethey had chosen, getting scent of them in Strassburg, missing them atBaden by a day, and finally overtaking them at Carlsruhe, which town hereached on the morning after the Power and De Stancy party had takenup their quarters at the ancient inn above mentioned. When Somersetwas about to get out of the train at this place, little dreaming whata meaning the word Carlsruhe would have for him in subsequent years, hewas disagreeably surprised to see no other than Dare stepping out of theadjoining carriage. A new brown leather valise in one of his hands, anew umbrella in the other, and a new suit of fashionable clothes onhis back, seemed to denote considerable improvement in the young man'sfortunes. Somerset was so struck by the circumstance of his being onthis spot that he almost missed his opportunity for alighting.
Dare meanwhile had moved on without seeing his former employer, andSomerset resolved to take the chance that offered, and let him go. Therewas something so mysterious in their common presence simultaneouslyat one place, five hundred miles from where they had last met, thathe exhausted conjecture on whether Dare's errand this way could haveanything to do with his own, or whether their juxtaposition a secondtime was the result of pure accident. Greatly as he would have likedto get this answered by a direct question to Dare himself, he did notcounteract his first instinct, and remained unseen.
They went out in different directions, when Somerset for the first timeremembered that, in learning at Baden that the party had flitted towardsCarlsruhe, he had taken no care to ascertain the name of the hotelthey were bound for. Carlsruhe was not a large place and the point wasimmaterial, but the omission would necessitate a little inquiry. Tofollow Dare on the chance of his having fixed upon the same quarterswas a course which did not commend itself. He resolved to get some lunchbefore proceeding with his business--or fatuity--of discovering theelusive lady, and drove off to a neighbouring tavern, which did nothappen to be, as he hoped it might, the one chosen by those who hadpreceded him.
Meanwhile Dare, previously master of their plans, went straight to thehouse which sheltered them, and on entering under the archway from theLange-Strasse was saved the trouble of inquiring for Captain De Stancyby seeing him drinking bitters at a little table in the court. HadSomerset chosen this inn for his quarters instead of the one in theMarket-Place which he actually did choose, the three must inevitablyhave met here at this moment, with some possibly striking dramaticresults; though what they would have been remains for ever hidden in thedarkness of the unfulfilled.
De Stancy jumped up from his chair, and went forward to the new-comer.'You are not long behind us, then,' he said, with laconic disquietude.'I thought you were going straight home?'
'I was,' said Dare, 'but I have been blessed with what I may call asmall competency since I saw you last. Of the two hundred francs yougave me I risked fifty at the tables, and I have multiplied them, howmany times do you think? More than four hundred times.'
De Stancy immediately looked grave. 'I wish you had lost them,' he said,with as much feeling as could be shown in a place where strangers werehovering near.
'Nonsense, captain! I have proceeded purely on a calculation of chances;and my calculations proved as true as I expected, notwithstanding alittle in-and-out luck at first. Witness this as the result.' He smackedhis bag with his umbrella, and the chink of money resounded from within.'Just feel the weight of it!'
'It is not necessary. I take your word.'
'Shall I lend you five pounds?'
'God forbid! As if that would repay me for what you have cost me! Butcome, let's get out of this place to where we can talk more freely.' Heput his hand through the young man's arm, and led him round the cornerof the hotel towards the Schloss-Platz.
'These runs of luck will be your ruin, as I have told you before,'continued Captain De Stancy. 'You will be for repeating and repeatingyour experiments, and will end by blowing your brains out, as wiserheads than yours have done. I am glad you have come away, at any rate.Why did you travel this way?'
'Simply because I could afford it, of course.--But come, captain,something has ruffled you to-day. I thought you did not look in the besttemper the moment I saw you. Every sip you took of your pick-up as yousat there showed me something was wrong. Tell your worry!'
'Pooh--I can tell you in two words,' said the captain satirically. 'Yourarrangement for my wealth and happiness--for I suppose you still claimit to be yours--has fallen through. The lady has announced to-day thatshe means to send for Somerset instantly. She is coming to a personalexplanation with him. So woe to me--and in another sense, woe to you, asI have reason to fear.'
'Send for him!' said Dare, with the stillness of complete abstraction.'Then he'll come.'
'Well,' said De Stancy, looking him in the face. 'And does it make youfeel you had better be off? How about that telegram? Did he ask you tosend it, or did he not?'
'One minute, or I shall be up such a tree as nobody ever saw the likeof.'
'Then what did you come here for?' burst out De Stancy. ''Tis my beliefyou are no more than a--But I won't call you names; I'll tell you quiteplainly that if there is anything wrong in that message to her--whichI believe there is--no, I can't believe, though I fear it--you have thechance of appearing in drab clothes at the expense of the Governmentbefore the year is out, and I of being eternally disgraced!'
'No, captain, you won't be disgraced. I am bad to beat, I can tell you.And come the worst luck, I don't say a word.'
'But those letters pricked in your skin would say a good deal, itstrikes me.'
'What! would they strip me?--but it is not coming to that. Look here,now, I'll tell you the truth for once; though you don't believe mecapable of it. I DID concoct that telegram--and sent it; just as apractical joke; and many a worse one has been only laughed at by honestmen and officers. I could show you a bigger joke still--a joke ofjokes--on the same individual.'
Dare as he spoke put his hand into his breast-pocket, as if the saidjoke lay there; but after a moment he withdrew his hand empty, as hecontinued:
'Having invented it I have done enough; I was going to explain it toyou, that you might carry it out. But you are so serious, that I willleave it alone. My second joke shall die with me.'
'So much the better,' said De Stancy. 'I don't like your jokes, eventhough they are not directed against myself. They express a kind ofhumour which does not suit me.'
'You may have reason to alter your mind,' said Dare carelessly. 'Yoursuccess with your lady may depend on it. The truth is, captain, wearistocrats must not take too high a tone. Our days as an independentdivision of society, which holds aloof from other sections, are past.This has been my argument (in spite of my strong Norman feelings) eversince I broached the subject of your marrying this girl, who representsboth intellect and wealth--all,
in fact, except the historical prestigethat you represent. And we mustn't flinch at things. The case is evenmore pressing than ordinary cases--owing to the odd fact that therepresentative of the new blood who has come in our way actually livesin your own old house, and owns your own old lands. The ordinary reasonfor such alliances is quintupled in our case. Do then just think andbe reasonable, before you talk tall about not liking my jokes, and allthat. Beggars mustn't be choosers.'
'There's really much reason in your argument,' said De Stancy, with abitter laugh: 'and my own heart argues much the same way. But, leavingme to take care of my aristocratic self, I advise your aristocraticself to slip off at once to England like any hang-gallows dog; and ifSomerset is here, and you have been doing wrong in his name, and it allcomes out, I'll try to save you, as far as an honest man can. If youhave done no wrong, of course there is no fear; though I should beobliged by your going homeward as quickly as possible, as being betterboth for you and for me.... Hullo--Damnation!'
They had reached one side of the Schloss-Platz, nobody apparently beingnear them save a sentinel who was on duty before the Palace; but turningas he spoke, De Stancy beheld a group consisting of his sister, Paula,and Mr. Power, strolling across the square towards them.
It was impossible to escape their observation, and putting a bold frontupon it, De Stancy advanced with Dare at his side, till in a few momentsthe two parties met, Paula and Charlotte recognizing Dare at once as theyoung man who assisted at the castle.
'I have met my young photographer,' said De Stancy cheerily. 'What asmall world it is, as everybody truly observes! I am wishing he couldtake some views for us as we go on; but you have no apparatus with you,I suppose, Mr. Dare?'
'I have not, sir, I am sorry to say,' replied Dare respectfully.
'You could get some, I suppose?' asked Paula of the interesting youngphotographer.
Dare declared that it would be not impossible: whereupon De Stancy saidthat it was only a passing thought of his; and in a few minutes the twoparties again separated, going their several ways.
'That was awkward,' said De Stancy, trembling with excitement. 'I wouldadvise you to keep further off in future.'
Dare said thoughtfully that he would be careful, adding, 'She is a prizefor any man, indeed, leaving alone the substantial possessions behindher! Now was I too enthusiastic? Was I a fool for urging you on?'
'Wait till success justifies the undertaking. In case of failure it willhave been anything but wise. It is no light matter to have a carefullypreserved repose broken in upon for nothing--a repose that could neverbe restored!'
They walked down the Carl-Friedrichs-Strasse to the Margrave's Pyramid,and back to the hotel, where Dare also decided to take up his stay. DeStancy left him with the book-keeper at the desk, and went upstairs tosee if the ladies had returned.