unconsciously, charlock had tightened his grip on his wife's bare arm. a cry of pain escaped her, a murmuring, uncomplaining cry which drew a hum of sympathy from the onlookers. the red band on the white flesh was plainly visible. rent, standing by the table, ventured a word of expostulation. charlock saw that he was a handsome man, with a clean-shaven, sensitive face, though the eyes were resolute, and the firm lines about the mouth denoted strength of character. so much the better. as to the rest, he wore the dress coat of modern civilisation. this was kate's sympathetic friend. there was something like a sneer on charlock's face as he turned to rent.
"i am extremely sorry," he said. "you will forgive me, but i am quite out of place here. and in that respect i ought to have your sympathy and support, my dear sir."
the other man's face flushed, and he bit his lip. the retort was so obvious, so keen and pungent, that many of the onlookers made no efforts to restrain their amusement. kate charlock rose from the table and turned to the stranger.
"would you mind getting my wrap for me, mr. rent?" she said. "i am sure, john, that mrs. bromley-martin will excuse you, and i know you would prefer to wait outside for me."
charlock muttered something, and turned upon his heel. it was no time now for nice conventionalities. after the close and stuffy atmosphere the outer air was cool and refreshing. charlock passed his hand across his eyes. he was trying to realise what had happened during the last few minutes. he could remember nothing of what he had said and done. there was but one picture uppermost in his mind—the picture of a tiny figure lying white and motionless upon a bed. that was all charlock's world to-night.
while he stood waiting, kate charlock lingered in the hall for a moment with arnold rent. there was an angry gleam in the man's eyes as he folded the wrap round his companion's shoulders.
"you poor, dear child," he burst out. "so that is your husband? you will forgive me for daring to speak like this——"
"one forgives everything when it is dictated by kindness such as yours," kate charlock murmured. "but i assure you it is nothing. it is only his manner. if you think i am in danger you are mistaken."
"but his face," rent protested. "the look in his eyes. i was watching him when he caught sight of you. i saw murder written there. i could not rest if i stayed here. you will not mind if i follow you as far as your house? i will take care not to be seen. you may think this is an extraordinary suggestion, but we have been friends for a considerable time, and you know that i would do anything for you."
there was passion as well as sincerity in the speaker's tones, and a tinge of colour crept into kate charlock's cheeks. she raised a pair of dewy eyes to her companion's face.
"you are more than kind," she murmured, "but i know your life is one long self-sacrifice. i know what penance it must be to you to spend a long evening among shallow, heartless people such as these, but your mission lies with people like us——"
"but you do not identify yourself with them, surely?" rent cried. "no, no, you are a broken-hearted, disappointed woman, striving to forget your unhappiness. i confess i am sorry to see you here to-night, but your future is in no danger. if we had only met before——"
"hush, hush," kate charlock said hastily. "you must not talk like that. i—i dare not listen to you. as you would not be faithless to your own vows, you would not have me faithless to mine. and so long as i can come here, and forget my miseries, so long as i can meet you, i feel that i am safe."
arnold rent thrilled with a curious feeling as he listened to those impassioned words. it was impossible to doubt the sincerity of them, impossible to be anything but sorry for the beautiful, unhappy speaker. her voice was dangerously low. there was an appeal in her eyes that set rent fairly trembling.
"i must come and see you," he said. "you will tell me the whole of your sad story. and now i must not detain you longer, seeing that your husband is waiting for you. but i am going to follow you home, all the same."
again came the look of gratitude in kate charlock's dark eyes. then she turned away, as if afraid to trust herself further, and joined john charlock in the garden. the pearly mists had rolled away. there was a deep, roseate flush in the eastern sky, but as yet the sun had not risen. a distant church clock struck the hour of three.
john charlock strode along with his hands in his pockets, his sombre eyes fixed upon the ground. the silence was growing intolerable. it seemed to kate that she must speak, that she could not endure it longer.
"how did you find out?" she asked.
"i went to your room," charlock explained. "i found your maid fast asleep, and i compelled her to tell me where you had gone. did i make a fool of myself to-night?"
"you were not polite," the woman murmured, "and——"
"and all your friends are profoundly sorry for you. it must be a terrible thing for a woman of your temperament to be allied to a brute like myself. and to think that i should humiliate you by dragging you home like this! your lot is indeed a hard one. think how happy we might have been had i only been blessed with a more amiable temperament! think how you have helped me in my work, and how unflinchingly you have spent my money!"
kate charlock shivered and trembled, the tears gathered in her eyes, and the scarlet mouth was quivering.
"what have i done?" she protested. "why shouldn't i go out? if i had told you i was going, you would have been annoyed with me, you might even have forbidden me. and all this because you fancy that the boy's life is in danger. it seems singular that a hard, unfeeling man like you should make such a ridiculous fuss over a child. it was kinder on my part to slip away without saying anything. it isn't as if the poor little fellow is any worse than he was yesterday."
charlock clenched his hands behind his back. he was trembling from head to foot with an overmastering passion. a red mist floated before his eyes, and something seemed to oppress his breathing. it was only for a moment; then he was his grim self again.
"the boy is better," he said, "far better. in fact, there is no cause for anxiety any more. i will never trouble you about him again. why, you will know presently. now you will oblige me by coming this way.... there, fond mother! look at that!"
the woman stood just for a moment, beginning dimly to comprehend. she placed her hand to her head. a moaning cry escaped her lips. with faltering steps she crossed the room and laid a long, slim hand on the child's face. for a while she neither spoke nor moved. no cry escaped her lips. then, at length, she turned to face her husband. but he was gone.
he had shown her enough, and more than enough. in the face of the tragedy any word of his would be superfluous. if she did not benefit by such a lesson as this, assuredly he could teach her nothing. she had nothing to learn.
his heart was very sore and heavy within him as he walked out of the house and down the garden. here was the garden of his dreams—the place he had planned in his mind when fame should come to him. it was here in this perfect spot that he and kate were going to dwell for ever in their floral paradise.
what a fool he had been! yet that fair face and those pensive eyes would have deceived a more polished man of the world than john charlock. he knew now for a certainty that he had given up everything for beauty devoid of heart. and one of the worst features was that the woman who cared nothing for him was wasting his money with a lavish hand. he ought to be happy and comfortable, instead of which he was up to his neck in debt and difficulty. he almost smiled as he looked at the ancient sundial which he had given so much for, merely to please his wife, but he regretted his folly now. the price of a portrait had gone to purchase that white marble. charlock walked towards it in a sour frame of mind. he could have found it in his heart to destroy the whole thing. and yet, even in the moment of his trouble, he saw that the fountain was no longer playing in the carved basin round the base of the dial. some dark object lay there. he fancied he could see a dress fluttering in the wind.
he moved forward more quickly. at the same moment one of the gardeners came down the path. the man came in response to charlock's call. together they bent over the object in the basin. charlock's face grew pale. the gardener shouted in open-mouthed dismay. they had the object out on the grass now—a black, wet, horrible thing, with pale, sodden face.
"hortense, my wife's maid!" charlock whispered. "how did she get here? how could she have fallen in?"
"excuse me, sir," the gardener said huskily, "but it looks to me like foul play. a grown person would hardly drown in so little water. and look at that ugly bruise on her forehead. you may depend upon it, there has been mischief here."
