about two weeks after the death of the baby dr. belford called upon noel. it was absolutely necessary, he said, to do something to rouse christine from her state of hopeless lethargy. he had accordingly laid his plans to do this. he had discovered, through eliza, that all the money furnished for the support of the establishment for some time past had come from christine, and that dallas even applied to his wife for money for tobacco and car-fares, pretending he went out looking for work.
“as far as i can understand,” said dr. belford, “the creature has no strong vices—he is too bloodless and inane for them. even when he had money it doesn’t appear that he gambled, and i don’t believe he drinks. he is simply wanting in principle, feeling and everything. eliza says he has scarcely spoken to his wife, or she to him, since the baby died. indeed she never speaks a word to any one beyond what is strictly necessary. this state of things cannot go on. i told eliza yesterday to go and ask her for money, which she did. on the heels of it i went to her and told her you wanted to begin a new picture and could find no model so suitable as herself. i asked her if she would agree. she told me then that eliza had come to her for money to carry on the house, and that she felt she must, in some way, earn it, as she would not owe tradespeople, who could not afford to lose by her. so she asked me to tell you she would begin the sittings to-morrow.”
“what a friend you are, doctor, to her and to me!” said noel, grasping his companion’s hand.
the doctor held his hand in a resolute pressure as he looked at him keenly and said:
“i think i know my man. at all events i’m going to trust you. i haven’t much belief in saints, but unless you’re a double-dyed scoundrel you will never betray this trust.”
noel answered nothing. the two men grasped hands a second longer and then, each satisfied with each, they parted.
when christine came the next morning the pity that noel felt for her almost overcame him. it was evident that the sight of the place brought up the saddest memories, and she appeared at the door empty-armed, instead of weighted down by her helpless little burden. the look on her face, as she threw back her veil, was almost more than he could bear. by a mute little gesture she seemed to implore him not to speak of what filled the minds of both, and he obeyed her. she gave him both her hands. he felt like falling on his knees before her, and controlled himself only by a strong effort. it seemed inhuman not to do something to help her, but what could he do?
“i’m so sorry for you,” was all he could say.
“don’t speak. don’t make me speak. you know i thank you for everything. i can’t talk.”
then, loosing his hands, she walked off to a window and stood looking out, while noel chose a different canvas and busied himself with preparations for work. presently she came and placed herself calmly, and noel began to draw. occasionally he said some little thing, and she assented, but they both soon felt that silence was the only thing. there was no suggestion of tears in her eyes, but their look was the sadder for that. when the sitting was ended noel tried to make her take a glass of wine or some fruit, but she turned from them almost with distaste. as she was leaving, however, she asked if she might have the roses on the table. when noel eagerly said yes she took the great bunch in her hand and went off—he well knew where!
after that she came daily, and the picture progressed, but she, the beautiful model, remained unchanged in her hopeless apathy and misery.
one day at the close of the sitting noel, as usual, went from the studio to his law-office. the season was dull and his partner was out of town, so it devolved on him to [pg 131]read and attend to the mail. he had read half through the little pile of letters which he found awaiting his attention when he took up one bearing the name and address of a law firm in a western town, with whom he and his partner had, from time to time, transacted business. he opened it abstractedly and began to run over the contents rather listlessly, when a name caught his eye that arrested his attention. the lawyers proposed to his partner and himself to cooperate with them in a case of bigamy. they had worked it up satisfactorily, they said, their client being the first wife of a man said to be now living with a second one in the city of noel’s residence. the man’s name was robert dallas.
noel sprang to his feet, while a dizziness that made him almost unconscious took possession of him. he fell back into his chair again, a chill running through all his veins. if it should be the man christine had married so hastily in a foreign country—the father of her child! the horror of it overcame him so that for several moments he remained transfixed. then he reflected that the name might be a mere coincidence, and took up the letter to finish it.
every word he read strengthened the conviction that it was the robert dallas that he knew. there was a minute description of him, which corresponded perfectly, and the lawyer added that he had sent, by express, a photograph and specimens of his handwriting. noel looked about him. an express parcel, which he had not noticed, lay on the table. he hastily cut the twine and opened it. there were papers and memoranda, and in an envelope a photograph. he tore it open and the weak, handsome face of the father of christine’s child confronted him. there was no longer a doubt of it; christine, the innocent, the guileless, the confiding, the pure and sweet and lovely, had been betrayed, and by this creature, this miserable excuse for a man, whose dull and feeble beauty looked to him hideous as leprosy. what would become of her? how would she bear it? who would take care of her when the great shock fell?
a sudden strength came into him. a force that had lain as silent and reserved as the force of steam in water surged forth at the fiery touch of the thought that had first come to him. he got up hastily and put the lawyer’s letters and the parcel of papers into his iron safe and locked it. the photograph only he left out, and this he thrust into the inner pocket of his coat. as he was doing so it caught on something. it was his cross. a thought thrilled him. he was her knight of the legion of honor, and he felt that he had kept his trust!
he went out of the office, called a cab, and had himself driven to a street and number in a remote suburb of the city. in a quiet, pretty little house, overrun with vines, and facing a green and grassy public square as fresh and lovely as it was unfashionable, he stayed a long time, and when he emerged from it an elderly lady, dressed in black and with a white widow’s cap set above her smoothly-brushed hair, came to the door with him and pressed his hand with a fervent “god bless you” as he was leaving her.
it was evident that he had inspired her with some of the ardent spirit that was animating him, for she looked eager and full of interest, and as she turned back within the house, when he had driven off, she had the manner of a person who had work to do that called forth her best energies and sympathies. noel had the same air as he caused himself to be driven from place to place, in pursuance of some purpose which kept him occupied until far into the night.
