our lovers took a tender farewell of each other.
no other course had been open to sir gilbert than to assume that, after leaving the chase, his son would book himself by an early steamer back to america. should such prove to be the case, lisle would be only a few days behind him. everard calculated that if he were fortunate enough to light on "mr. john alexander" immediately after his arrival at pineapple city, he might count upon being back at the chase in a day or two under three weeks. he would write to ethel as soon as he landed at new york, and again on reaching pineapple city, but he would have to console himself as best he could without any news of, or from, her between the date of his departure and that of his return.
he left mapleford at an early hour next morning, which was that of friday. he had already settled in his mind to sail by the arbaces, which was timed to leave liverpool at noon on saturday. thus he had the whole intervening day to himself, and he determined to devote it to a purpose about which he said no word to anyone at the chase--not even to ethel.
he had been greatly struck with the story told him by ethel that afternoon as they wandered together by the margin of the haunted pool, and since then he had thought about it much and often. it was a mystery the solution of which, as it seemed to him, would have to be sought for in the united states. it was from there ethel had been brought as an infant, and it could scarcely be doubted that she had been born there. now that he was bound for america on another matter, he had made up his mind, before sailing, to run down to st. oswyth's, interview the miss thursbys, and satisfy himself as to whether there was, or was not, a possibility of eliciting from them sufficient information to enable him to build up a case worth investigating whilst he was in the states.
ethel had not failed to tell her aunts in her letters about her meeting with everard lisle, nor of her surprise at finding that he was in the service of sir gilbert clare, who was none other than first cousin to lady pell, and thereafter his name found a mention in nearly all her letters. the sisters were glad that it should be so, and told themselves that it must be pleasant for ethel to be associated with someone who came from st. oswyth's, and that the two doubtless found many subjects in common to talk about. not a suspicion of what was presently to happen ever found lodgment in their minds until ethel informed them of her actual engagement, subject to their approval. it was a letter full of love and dutiful affection to the aunts, though every word proved that for all time she had given away her heart to everard lisle.
the important epistle was delivered at rose mount just as the sisters had finished breakfast, and was brought in by tamsin when she came to clear the table. "from miss ethel," said the old woman as she laid it down in front of miss matilda, whose turn to enact the part of elder sister it happened to be. ethel's letters always arrived about breakfast-time and were read aloud by one or other of the sisters, and, somehow, tamsin generally contrived to be present at the reading--a privilege tacitly accorded her by her mistresses.
miss matilda, with characteristic precision, proceeded to slit open the envelope with the tiny pair of scissors which she always carried in a case in her pocket. tamsin, with dilatory fingers, was removing the breakfast things one by one on to the tray which she had brought in with her.
miss matilda read the first few lines aloud, and then paused in a tremor of agitation. a low cry escaped from miss jane.
the sisters gazed at each other across the table, the same expression of consternation and distress on the faces of both. "engaged to everard lisle! oh! who would have thought it?" they exclaimed at the same moment, for not only their thoughts on any given subject, but very often the words by which they gave expression to them, were identical. then for a minute or more both seemed unable to find another word to say.
"i should have thought," said miss matilda at length in her most dignified tone, in which there was yet an unwonted quaver, as she gave a tug at the little knitted shawl which she always wore at breakfast time: "i should have thought that, after the wretched experience ethel went through so recently, she would have shunned the other sex most assiduously, if not for ever, in any case for a very long time to come."
miss matilda took up the letter again and read aloud to the end. tamsin had transferred the breakfast things to her tray, and had deposited the latter on the sideboard; she now proceeded to draw the cloth off the table and to slowly fold it. not a word escaped her.
"i am afraid, sister, that we can but bow to the inevitable," said miss matilda with a sigh as she folded the letter. "it seems to me that we have no right, even if we had the will, to withhold our approval of the step she has chosen to take."
"my own view exactly," replied miss jane with a sorrowful shake of the head. "and yet--oh, dear!--we shall only have the dear girl back at home to lose her permanently after a little while. and i was looking forward---- oh! i was looking forward to so many things."
and then before more could be said tamsin's voice broke suddenly in. "and is it not a right and proper thing that miss ethel should marry and have a home of her own?" demanded the old woman in tones which had something of an injured ring in them. "why should she not have a husband to love and cherish her--some good man to whose life she--in her turn--will be a blessing? ay, and he is a good man, is mr. everard lisle--very different from that other one! if some of us have missed it, is there any reason why we should begrudge it to her? i trow not, indeed--i trow not!"
she and her tray were gone before miss matilda had sufficiently recovered from her astonishment to find a word to say.
"really, the way tamsin presumes on our good nature and her own length of service is at times most trying. i am afraid that one of these days we shall be under the necessity of giving her notice." it was not the first time miss matilda had spoken to the same effect; but no one knew better than she how empty was the threat.
"it seems to me, sister," remarked miss jane timidly, "that we have been justly rebuked for our selfishness. we have been thinking more of our own loss than of the dear girl's happiness. that is not as it should be."
miss matilda did not answer for a little while. she seemed intent on tearing up the envelope of ethel's letter into the tiniest of fragments. then she said gently: "you are right, sister. it is the child's happiness that we ought to consider first of all. but"--with a sigh--"we are growing old, and the house will seem very lonely without her."
then, somehow, tears sprang to the eyes of both, and for a little space they wept silently.
but there were no traces of tears in their eyes when, about four o'clock the same afternoon, just as they had agreed between themselves that if ethel must marry, there was no one to whom they would sooner entrust her than to everard lisle, they were startled by seeing lisle himself marching up the garden-path and making direct for the front door.
nor were the sisters less surprised when he informed them of the special purpose which had brought him there. they willingly entered into all the details of the story which ethel had told him, going over it with him step by step; but in the result he found that he had been unable to add anything of real consequence to that which he knew already.
one thing, however, they were in a position to give him, although he had his doubts as to its value, seeing that it bore date nineteen years back, and that was the address of kirby griggs, the lawyer's clerk, who had recognised the portrait of the self-styled mrs. montmorenci-vane as that of his unmarried sister, martha griggs. miss matilda had found the address after her brother's death in his private memorandum book.
when, after everard was gone, tamsin took in the supper tray, she had to set her mouth hard in order to suppress the smile which would otherwise have puckered it. in place of the morning's agitations and tears, the sisters were now complacently discussing the important question of what material ethel's wedding-dress should be made! "and now to come to the pecuniary part of the affair," said miss matilda. "i should not like our dear girl to go to her husband quite empty-handed."
"certainly not, sister. the same thought has been in my own mind. i do not suppose that mr. lisle's position is a specially lucrative one."
"for my part, i should be quite willing to settle on ethel my half-share of the rental of vale view house, which, now that mrs. loftus has taken it on a seven years' lease, will be a sure source of income for that length of time."
"it would make me very happy to do the same with my half-share. now that we have grown used to our humbler style of living, we really don't need the rent money. and in future there will be only our two selves, you know, sister."
"no, only our two selves," echoed miss matilda, sadly.
that night, when tamsin went upstairs to her own room, she took out of a drawer her savings bank book and refreshed her memory as to the sum which stood there to her credit, and represented the savings of many laborious years. that sum she made up her mind should be very considerably depleted before she was much older. to what better use could she put the money than in buying a wedding-present for the child who had been, and would ever be, as dear to her rugged, but tender old heart as she could possibly be to the heart of miss matilda or miss jane!
