major maltravers had taken a “hunting-box” early in the year in perilous proximity to gabingly castle. maltravers had remained a god above the clouds through the autumn and early winter, both for expediency’s sake and to prevent any unnecessary linking-up of incidents. his name had not appeared in the cause of justice, for gabriel’s undefended suit had led to no ransacking of evidence on ophelia’s side. the soldier had soon become popular in the neighborhood, and he was even formally introduced to ophelia on the hunting-field by miss mabel saker, who posed as a mutual friend. maltravers, being an excellent horseman and a good man at the flask, had soon won the esteem of the “young bloods” of the neighborhood. his keen, jockey-like face and trim, tailor-made figure were to the fore in many a gusty gallop, and his voice rang as clear as the huntsman’s horn.
ophelia had ridden to many a meet, sitting her thoroughbred like a queen, and staring full in the whole world’s face. there was no wavering of her vivid eyes, no tinge of discomfort upon her cheeks. had she not been proved an honest woman, one who had been wronged and whom the law had righted? a fair dame she seemed with her coat buttoned tight over her smooth, full bust, her rich hair closely plaited under her hat. men saw that maltravers was often beside her, twirling his mustachios, staring in her face. her friends whispered that she would soon be comforted for the loss of a husband and a home.
yet human schemes come often to naught when the raw elements are in the ascendant. as the year wore on towards the spring a pair of brown eyes had challenged the blue. miss mabel saker had been established at gabingly since the autumn as ophelia gusset’s bosom friend. it was noted by the vigilant at the “meets” that maltravers’ black horse stood more often beside miss saker’s bay mare. the soldier was one of those mutable beings whose honor was “blinkered” by an immoderate vanity. as for miss saker, she was his very twin in such sentiments as cheated the heart.
possibly none of the sweet gossips of the neighborhood saw much in the drama to point a moral, for, superficial as is the veil that covers deceit, it is rarely rent by the professional gossip, but rather by the hand that scorns all guile. there is more error in habitual prejudice than in that calm sincerity which is slow to condemn, and the pessimist sees his own sour face reflected in all things, be they foul or clean. maltravers’ name had never entered the zone of scandal that had played about gabriel’s honor. he was considered to be a mere sportsman who had heard of the excellence of the rilchester pack and had come for a gallop over the mallan meadows.
whatever the reasons might be, the fact remained that maltravers was less ophelia’s hero than he had been when she was gabriel’s wife. possibly she had expected too much from a man whose vigorous egoism clashed with her own. such a passion as theirs was utterly selfish, and as such was doomed to no true consummation.
ophelia was the last woman in the world to abide a rival, even in the minor matter of dress. moreover, she had always considered miss mabel saker as a protégée and a disciple, a foil to her own more lavish beauty. she had never been jealous of her friend, for the simple reason that she had never possessed sufficient respect for miss saker’s fascination to inspire the passion. hence she had been slow at first to realize the change in maltravers’ humor, nor did she suspect him of any inward disloyalty to herself.
there was no great vice in mabel saker. she was mischief personified, a vain, merry creature, with a mind like a spice-box and eyes like amber. if a man admired her, she had neither the heart nor the character to treat him with surliness. being so inured to sentimental pleasantries, she was not easily frightened by anything she might see in a man’s eyes. flirtation was merely a recreation with her, an amusement no more serious than fly-fishing or the aesthetic appreciation of a musical comedy. she was a woman of no ideals, few convictions. she lived her sensuous, merry existence in the sun, and never delved around her for the problems that yawn like primeval forests about the fair meads of life.
maltravers jested with her, and she took his jests as she would have taken a flask of scent or many such trifles, in delicate acknowledgment of her own charms. she did not consider ophelia’s powerful pride or her aggressive egoism that could suffer no shadow. hence she was unable at first to comprehend ophelia’s change of temper, her petulance, the true reason of their frequent bickerings. miss saker had much of the vixen in her, in the spiteful sense. she was too shallow and boisterous to appreciate the negative passions in a friend; she had too little sympathy to treat seriously and honorably the injured pride of a fellow-woman. hence she tossed her head and bridled at what she was pleased to call ophelia’s “whims.” and, being a creature of contradictory impulses, she took pleasure in aggravating her friend’s impatience and in playing the tormentor with true feminine agility.
gay swimmer that she was, miss saker soon discovered herself beyond the shallows of her frivolous philosophy. the climax came with an abruptness that startled even her futile soul. and since mabel saker was a woman who heartily detested any troubling of her sensuous good-humor, she was soon every whit as bitter as ophelia and as reasonless as a frightened ape.
the storm broke one evening after a dinner-party at the castle. maltravers had lavished his fascinations in miss saker’s service and had left ophelia to a casual friend. by the fatefulness of coincidence, ophelia had come upon the pair seated under the palms in a corner of the conservatory. moreover, she had seen maltravers take the flower the brunette had pinned over her heart.
about midnight, the very night after joan had taken lodging in widow milton’s cottage, mabel saker was in her bedroom unravelling her dark hair. to her came ophelia fully dressed, her face pale as china, her lips almost bloodless, her eyes peculiarly bright. there was a restrained fury in her look, an atmosphere about her that boded ill for the friendship between the two.
it was a woman’s quarrel that night, swift, malicious, and contemptible. as is the case in some such feminine fracas, the disputants grew the more bitter, the more icily eager with every word. gibe stabbed at gibe and taunt at taunt. there was no generosity in their passion to give human pathos to the scene.
ophelia leaned against an escritoire and watched with her hard blue eyes the flushed and dishevelled woman before her. they were both breathless for the moment, like two duellists who shrink back dazed after some fierce locking of their swords. the younger woman tossed back her hair, her bosom rising and falling rapidly as in an ecstasy of unspeakable anger.
“are you mad?” she said. “this is too utterly ridiculous.”
ophelia laughed, her white face shining with her scorn.
“it is the fashion to think others ridiculous,” she retorted, “when all the folly is one’s own.”
“tell me, whose fault is it?”
“i am asking you the same question.”
“because a man pays me small attentions am i to snub him like a barmaid?”
“small attentions—well phrased, indeed!”
“is it my fault if he prefers me to you?”
“is it his fault if you throw yourself under his feet every hour of the day? leave him alone, or you shall pay for it.”
miss saker sat up stiffly in her chair, her face quivering as the words smote her.
“this is your gratitude after i have been such a friend to you! oh, my god, i will be even with you, and that quickly. what of gabriel strong, and the girl you ruined? what of jim’s cunning and bribery? don’t i know all about this? pay for it, indeed!”
miss saker recovered her composure of a sudden, went to the glass and began to braid her hair. she held the pins between her quivering lips, her hands working feverishly, her eyes hot and strained. ophelia watched her as though half repentant, more from fear of what might follow than out of pity for her friend.
“what are you doing, mab?”
mabel saker paid no heed to her, but went to the wardrobe, drew out a morning gown and coat, donned them, and took a hat from the bonnet rack.
“have i hurt you, mab?”
the brunette turned on her with eyes afire. she was a woman out of whose heart all pity and forgiveness had fled. nothing but infinite resentment ruled her impulses.
“i will not stay in this house another hour.”
“but it is midnight; what will people say?”
“i don’t care. you have insulted me too badly, and you shall pay for it.”
she started aside towards the wall and seized the bell-rope that hung beside the bed. ophelia moved towards her with hand outstretched. she was too late, however, either for penitence or intimidation. ten times or more mabel saker had jerked at the cord, and the bell clamored distantly in the silence of the house.
