kāra went straight to aneth’s apartments, insisting that he must see her.
the girl was much distressed by this sudden visit, and, thinking that the egyptian wished merely to renew his protestations and appeals, tried hard to evade the ordeal of an interview. mrs. everingham was with her at the time, and in her perplexity aneth confided to her in a few brief words kāra’s infatuation, and asked her advice how to act under such trying circumstances.
mrs. everingham was a woman of strong character and shrewd judgment. she was tall and admirably formed, with undoubted claims to beauty and a carriage queenly and dignified. the wife of a prominent engineer, she had lived much in the orient and was accustomed to its unconventionalities as well as to its most representative social life. although so much older than aneth, the lady had manifested a fondness for the lonely girl from their first meeting, and had gladly taken her, as she expressed it, “under her wing,” as well as to her sympathetic heart; so that aneth had come to rely upon her friend in many ways, and now turned to her in this emergency.
“i think it will be best for you to see him,” advised mrs. everingham, after a thoughtful consideration of{188} the case. “if you evade the explanation he doubtless wishes to force upon you, he is the sort of man to annoy you persistently until you grant him an interview. better have it over at once; and be positive with him, my dear, as well as gentle, so that you leave no hope alive to warrant his renewing his suit.”
“won’t you stay with me, lola?” begged aneth.
“that would hardly be fair to prince kāra,” smiled mrs. everingham, “for my presence would embarrass and humiliate him unnecessarily. no; i will withdraw into the next room, where i shall be within call, but invisible. be brave, aneth dear. these disagreeable duties are often thrust upon women who, like yourself, have a faculty of unconsciously winning men’s hearts, and are exacted as inevitable penalties. i am sorry for the poor prince, but he is not of our race and had no business to fall in love with an english girl.”
then she kissed her protégé and retired to the adjoining room, taking pains to leave the door ajar. aneth sighed, and called her arab to admit kāra.
when the egyptian entered, his manner in no way indicated the despair of a rejected lover, or even the eagerness of one who hoped to successfully appeal his case. instead, he bowed coldly, but with profound deference, and said:
“you must pardon me, miss aneth, for forcing this interview upon you; but it was necessary.”
“forgive me, also, prince kāra,” faltered the girl.{189} “i am sorry you came, for my answer was final. i can never—”
he waved his hand with a gesture of insolent indifference that arrested her words.
“you will not be called upon to repeat the dismissal conveyed in your letter,” said he. “i may ask you to reverse your decision, but it will be a matter of business between us, in which inclination will have no part.”
“sir,” she replied, shrinking back before his stern look, “i—i fear i do not understand you!”
“be seated,” he requested, “and i will explain.”
she obeyed silently, with a partial recovery of her self-control. strange as the egyptian’s words proved, they were, after all, more bearable than his endearing protestations would have been, and in her ignorance she welcomed any topic but love.
kāra spoke with brutal frankness.
“the scandal caused by your father’s dishonesty is too recent for you to have yet escaped its contamination,” he began. “lord consinor has left cairo owing me money, a matter of some ten thousand pounds. that you may have no cause to doubt my word, please to examine this note of hand. it is witnessed by two respectable gentlemen residing in this city.”
he handed her the paper and she took it mechanically, wondering what it meant.
“according to our laws,” he resumed, “i can bring an action to recover this money against any member{190} of consinor’s family. i am assured such an action would ruin lord roane completely.”
she was afraid of him now, but drew herself up proudly.
“that will not matter in the least, sir,” she replied. “lord roane will gladly meet any just obligation, even though it may leave him penniless to do so.”
“my lord does not express himself quite so honorably as that,” replied kāra, with an open sneer. “but this note of hand is really unimportant. i merely mentioned it to emphasize the debt that you and your grandfather already owe me. your father has cleverly escaped the result of his misdeeds by absconding. unfortunately, lord roane is unable to do the same thing.”
“no one will blame lord roane for his son’s faults,” she protested, greatly distressed by the cruelty of kāra’s remarks.
“that is not my meaning,” he replied. “roane’s own misdeeds are so much more serious than those of his son that, when they are discovered, he cannot escape a prison cell.”
aneth gasped in horror. the accusation was at first beyond belief; but kāra’s tone was positive and a sudden recollection of her grandfather’s doubtful life flashed over her and made her dread to question further.
it was not needful. the man continued calmly to enlighten her concerning mcfarland’s crime and her grandfather’s participation in it, while the girl sat with wide-open eyes and a look of despair upon her white face.{191}
finally kāra produced a second paper.
“this, miss aneth,” he said, more gently, “is the receipt signed by lord roane for his share of the stolen money. it is proof positive against him, and you will, of course, recognize his signature. besides, i can produce two witnesses to the crime—a crime for which the penalty is, as i have hinted, a long term of imprisonment as well as dishonor through all the ages to come. but this is only for discovery. there is no penalty exacted for an undiscovered crime. personally, i do not wish to see lord roane disgraced and sent to prison, or your invalid mother impoverished, and you, yourself, left to the mercies of a reproachful world; so i have come here to-day to save you all from these consequences of roane’s folly, if you will let me.”
aneth tried to control her bewilderment. she wanted to think calmly. so vividly had kāra described lord roane’s offense, that she saw it all before her as in a dream, and knew that the old man’s feet were stumbling at the edge of a bottomless pit. but the last words of the egyptian, if she heard them aright, seemed to promise a chance of her awakening and exorcising the nightmare.
“how can you save us?” she asked, wearily.
“by making you my wife,” he answered. “it all rests with you, miss aneth. i alone can protect lord roane from any possibility of discovery, and i will do so if you now promise to marry me. more than that, i will pay off all the mortgages on your grandfather’s{192} estates, so that he may live in comfort during the remainder of his life, honored and respected by all. and you shall have your father’s note of hand for the ten thousand pounds as soon as i receive your promise, as an earnest of my good faith.”
“and if i refuse?” she suggested, trembling.
“then you render me powerless to aid, and plunge your aged grandfather into prison, disgraced and humiliated beyond any hope of redemption.”
“no, no! i cannot do that,” she wailed, miserably. “he has been so good to me and loved me so fondly that i dare not—i will not—sacrifice him to secure my own happiness!”
“it is as i hoped,” said kāra, a note of triumph in his voice. “do you promise, sacredly and on your honor, that you will marry me in return for my shielding your grandfather from the consequences of his crime?”
“yes,” she answered, clasping her hands with a shudder.
“and you will come to me any day and hour that i may appoint?”
“yes.”
“aneth! aneth! what have you said? what have you done?” cried mrs. everingham, running from her hiding-place to clasp the terrified girl in her arms.
“what have i done?” repeated aneth, vacantly. “why, lola, i have saved my dear grandfather from disgrace and ruin.”
image unavailble: “you shall not keep that promise!” declared the woman
“you shall not keep that promise!” declared the woman
{193}
“you shall not keep that promise!” declared the woman, turning fiercely to confront kāra. “it was wrung from you by threats—by blackmail—and this scoundrel is playing upon your generous and loving heart. you shall never keep so absurd a promise.”
“yes,” returned aneth, bravely; “i have given my word, and i shall keep it.”
kāra laid a paper upon the table.
“there is your father’s note, miss aneth. you may destroy it.” he hesitated an instant, and then added the second paper. “and here is your grandfather’s receipt for the stolen money. so fully do i trust to your good faith that i leave the incriminating evidence all in your own hands. good afternoon, miss aneth.”
with a bow, grave and courteous, he passed from the room, and mrs. everingham lifted the girl in her strong arms and carried her into the adjoining chamber to lay her tenderly upon her bed. the strain had been severe, and aneth had fainted.
