without looking up, kate felt the girl coming. the capitulation had been even more swift than she had expected. she knew now that she had made a powerful friend in mrs. rent's household. in those brief moments the recollection of john charlock's trouble and the words that he had spoken were wiped clean from ethel hargrave's memory. this was not in the least like the picture she had conjured up of mrs. charlock. beauty and grace she had expected, but either the hard, cold beauty of the calculating woman, or the sensuous loveliness of the circe. and here was a very woman, broken and bent by trouble, who had fallen into dire folly because she could stand the strain no longer. and, after all, it was only natural that any woman should give her heart to arnold rent.
"i hope i did not appear to be hard," ethel murmured. "but, you see, this is really a dreadful business. nothing of the kind has ever come to alton lee before. we never dreamt that arnold would do anything that was not right and proper. perhaps we are a little old-fashioned and inclined to take an exaggerated view of the situation. i daresay, in time, when we come to know you better——"
"please don't say any more," kate charlock replied. "it is enough for me that i have your sympathy. you are acquainted with my husband; indeed, i saw you together just now. perhaps a little knowledge of him would be the best excuse i could have. it was unfortunate he should have come here at this time, but i will do him the justice to say that he could not have known——"
"oh, he didn't," ethel cried. "and he has gone. he could not remain at alton lee——"
"no, no, i understand. and therefore he has gone. we may leave him out of our reckoning for the present. but that does not make things any the easier for me. i begin to see that it was wrong for me to come here at all. i started on the spur of the moment, not realising till just a short time ago that my presence under this roof is little less than an outrage. indeed, mrs. rent as good as told me so. i could fall at your feet and die of shame when i think how indelicate this must seem to you. and as i stood here just now i could not help overhearing certain words which passed between arnold and his mother. her dictates of hospitality are too fine for her to turn us out to-night. but one of us will have to go, and that one must be me."
ethel murmured something sympathetic. she saw the speaker's point and liked her all the better for it.
"of course, it must be arnold," she said. "indeed, there is no other alternative. there is no accommodation for you in the village. you are a stranger here. won't you come into the drawing-room with me? and i will do my best to set matters straight."
kate charlock shuddered and shrank back as if the mere idea were abhorrent to her. tears were still in her eyes.
"i think not," she said. "i have been too sorely tried to-night to be able to stand any more, and mrs. rent doubts me. do you know what she is going to do? from to-morrow arnold practically ceases to be her son. she turns him out into the world to shift for himself. we are to face the future as best we can. perhaps at the expiration of four or five years, when i have proved my single-mindedness and sincerity, we may be taken back to the fold again. just as if there were need for doubt, as if the love of a man like arnold were not enough for any woman."
the words were spoken with sincerity and passion, but they cut into ethel's heart like a knife.
"i must be loyal to my dear aunt," she said. "it seems to me that she has done quite right, though i am sure it will be a bitter wrench, for she is acting against every impulse of her kindly nature. and if you can show her that she is wrong, why, then, it will be a great triumph for you. it will go far to bring the happiness back to alton lee again. and now, if you will come with me into the drawing-room——"
"no, no," kate cried. "let me know how you have settled it, and then perhaps you will be so kind as to find me somewhere to sleep, for i am weary and worn out. let me go into the library and wait till you come back."
there was no more to be said. kate charlock flung herself back in an armchair and closed her eyes. when she opened them again she was alone. her tears had vanished. the fatigue she had spoken of seemed to fall from her like a garment. she crossed rapidly over to the writing-table, and in her clear, bold hand began a letter. it was a fairly long letter, but it was finished at length and addressed to mrs. rent. kate proceeded to put it in a conspicuous place and very quietly passed into the hall and took down her hat and long travelling wrap. a few moments later she was walking rapidly down the avenue in the direction of the road. her face was clear and bright. there was something like a smile in her starry eyes; her heart was free from fear.
meanwhile, the conference in the drawing-room was finished. arnold was standing pale and stern by the side of his mother as ethel entered. he hardly appeared to notice her at all, beyond a sullen nod which brought the blood flaming to the girl's face. very quietly she made her explanation.
"oh, we have settled that," arnold laughed bitterly. "it is i who am going away. i can walk as far as the station and stay in the waiting-room for the early express. then, to-morrow, mrs. charlock must do as she pleases. i am certain that she will lose no time in ridding you of her detestable presence."
"i do not like to hear you speak like that," mrs. rent said. "ethel, will you go and ask the lady if she will come this way for a moment? i should like her to feel——"
there was an uncomfortable pause for a few moments till ethel came back with a letter in her hand.
"i cannot understand it at all," she said. "mrs. charlock has disappeared. her wraps have vanished from the hall, too. she seems to have left this letter behind, which is addressed to you, aunt. after the way she spoke to me just now i am not surprised to find that she has not felt equal to the ordeal of staying here even for a single night."
"it was a fatal mistake," arnold said hoarsely. "i see it all now. only it is too late to rectify matters."
mrs. rent reached for the letter and slowly broke the seal. she read aloud so that the others could hear:
"all i can say is, forgive me. it was wrong to come, and i can stay no longer. though i am without friends, i am not without resources, for i have a little to assist me. and yet i am glad to have seen you all, even if it has been only to convince you that i am not the hard, brazen, calculating creature you took me to be. i am going away till i am free. i shall not look upon any of you again till i am ready to send for arnold. i want no money or favour now, nor in the future. i want to show that i have given my heart to one who will be able to support me without help from anyone. to be in receipt of your favours would ruin the whole romance of the situation. perhaps later, when i have proved myself, it may be possible—but i can write no more."
the paper slipped from mrs. rent's fingers and lay upon the carpet. the eyes that she turned upon her son were troubled and haggard. he turned away with a passionate gesture.
"ah, yes," he murmured hoarsely, "she was right to go. all the same, mother, you have done a cruel thing."
after all, mrs. rent was a woman. she had lived long enough as my lady bountiful in that quiet country village to have become imbued with the idea that hospitality and generosity were two of the leading virtues which led directly to the reward of heaven. she had never before listened unmoved to a tale of distress. she had never refused food or shelter to the most undeserving object. and now she had more or less deliberately turned a human being out of her own house to face the night, unaided and alone. and, to make things worse, she had acted with studied cruelty to a woman who, whatever her faults might be, was defenceless.
"i could not have expected this," she murmured. "to confess freely, i had not looked for such pride and independence of spirit. you are right, arnold."
"of course i am," rent said grimly. "but perhaps you will tell me what is to be done."
"you must try to find her," mrs. rent went on. "bring her back here and do your best to induce her to see that i have a point of view as well as herself. there will be plenty of time in the morning to decide as to the future; indeed, it is always well to sleep upon troubles like these."
arnold rent waited no more. he strode from the room and out into the darkness of the night, leaving his mother to commune with her own anxious thoughts. she was distracted and torn this way and that. a thousand doubts assailed her.
"what could i have done else?" she murmured. "what other way was there out of this bitter trouble?"
