第114章

But to the feminine and more cautious mind the very value of the trinket made its position out there on the bench, within the grasp of any dishonest gardener, a burden to her. She could not reconcile it to her conscience that it should be so left. The diamond was a large one, and she had heard it spoken of as a stone of great value,--so much so, that Silverbridge had been blamed for wearing it ordinarily. She had asked for it in a joke, regarding it as a thing which could not be given away. She could not go down herself and take it up again; but neither could she allow it to remain. As she went to her room she met Mrs Jones already coming from hers. 'You will keep us waiting,' said the hostess.

'Oh, no;--nobody ever dressed so quickly. But, Mrs Jones, will you do me a favour?'

'Certainly.'

'Any will you let me explain something?'

'Anything you like;--from a hopeless engagement down to a broken garter.'

'I am suffering neither from one or the other. But there is a most valuable ring lying out in the garden. Will you send for it?'

Then of course the story had to be told. 'You will, I hope, understand how I came to ask for it foolishly. It was because it was the one thing which I was sure he would not give away.'

'Why not take it?'

'Can't you understand? I wouldn't for the world. But you will be good enough,--won't you, to see that there is nothing else in it?'

'Nothing of love?'

'Nothing in the least. He and I are excellent friends. We are cousins, and intimate, and all that. I thought I might have had my joke, and now I am punished for it. As for love, don't you see that he is head and ears in love with Miss Boncassen?'

This was very imprudent on the part of Lady Mabel, who, had she been capable of clinging to her policy, would not now in a moment of strong feeling have done so much to raise obstacles in her own way. 'But you will send for it, won't you, and have it put on his dressing-table tonight?' When he went to bed Lord Silverbridge found it on his table.

But before that time came he had twice danced with Miss Boncassen.

Lady Mabel having refused to dance with him. 'No;' she said. 'I am angry with you. You ought to have felt that it did not become you as gentleman to subject me to inconvenience by throwing upon me the charge of that diamond. You may be foolish enough to be indifferent about its value, but as you have mixed me up with it I cannot afford to have it lost.'

'It is yours.'

'No, sir; it is not mine, nor will it ever be mine. But I wish you to understand that you have offended me.'

This made him so unhappy for the time that he almost told the story to Miss Boncassen. 'If I were to give you a ring,' he said, 'would not you accept it?'

'What a question!'

'What I mean is, don't you think all those conventional rules about men and women are absurd?'

'As a progressive American, of course I am bound to think all conventional rules are an abomination.'

'If you had a brother and I gave him a stick he'd take it.'

'Not across his back, I hope.'

'Or if I gave your father a book?'

'He'd take books to any extent, I should say.'

'And why not you a ring?'

'Who said I wouldn't? But after all this you mustn't try me.'

'I was not thinking of it.'

'I'm so glad of that! Well;--if you'll promise me that you'll never offer me one, I'll promise that I'll take it when it comes.

But what does all this mean?'

'It is not worth talking about.'

'You have offered someone somebody a ring, and somebody hasn't taken it. May I guess?'

'I had rather you did not.'

'I could, you know.'

'Never mind about that. Now come and have a turn. I am bound not to give you a ring; but you are bound to accept anything else I may offer.'

'No, Lord Silverbridge;--not at all. Nevertheless we'll have a turn.'

That night before he went up to his room he had told Isabel Boncassen that he loved her. And when he spoke he was telling her the truth. It had seemed to him that Mabel had become hard to him, and had over and over again rejected the approaches to tenderness which he had attempted to make in his intercourse with her. Even though she were to accept him, what would that be worth to him if she did not love him? So many things had been added together! Why had Tregear gone to Grex, and having gone there why had he kept his journey a secret? Tregear he knew was engaged to his sister;--but for all that, there was a closer intimacy between Mabel and Tregear than between Mabel and himself. And surely she might have taken his ring!

And then Isabel Boncassen was so perfect! Since he had first met her he had heard her loveliness talked of on all sides. It seemed to be admitted that so beautiful a creature had never before been seen in London. There is even a certain dignity attached to that which is praised by all lips. Miss Boncassen as an American girl, had she been judged to be beautiful only by his own eyes,--might perhaps have seemed to him to be beneath his serious notice. In such a case he might have felt himself unable to justify so extraordinary a choice. But there was an acclamation of assent as to this girl! Then came the dancing,--the one dance after another; the pressure of the hand, the entreaty that she would not, just on this occasion, dance with any other man, the attendance on her when she took her glass of wine, the whispered encouragement of Mrs Montacute Jones, the half-resisting and yet half-yielding conduct of the girl. 'I shall not dance at all again,' she said when he asked to stand up for another. 'Think of all the lawn-tennis this morning.'

'But you will play tomorrow?'

'I thought you were going.'

'Of course I shall stay now,' he said, and as he said it he put his hand on her hand, which was on his arm. She drew it away at once. 'I love you so dearly,' he whispered to her, 'so dearly.'

'Lord Silverbridge!'

'I do. I do. Can you say that you will love me in return?'

'I cannot,' she said slowly. 'I have never dreamed of such a thing. I hardly know now whether you are in earnest.'

'Indeed, indeed I am.'

'Then I will say good-night, and think about it. Everybody is going. We shall have our game tomorrow at any rate.'

When he went to his room he found the ring on his dressing-table.