miss huxham did not credit for one moment the story which pence had told her. it was ridiculous to think that her father would even hint at the murder of an unoffending man whom he had never seen, and to hesitating, timid silas, of all people. bella remembered that, months previously, when she had mentioned a chance meeting with lister—then a stranger—at the cottage of the marshely school-mistress, captain huxham had not only forbidden her to bring him to bleacres, which the young man desired to see, but had ordered her to discontinue the acquaintance. evidently the retired mariner deemed this prohibition sufficient, for he made no further mention of the matter. that he gave no reason for his tyrannical edict, did not trouble him; but because of this very omission, his daughter took her own way. by stealth, it is true, lest huxham should exhibit annoyance—for annoyance with him meant wild-beast rage.
now the girl felt puzzled. according to silas, her father knew that she had disobeyed him, and she returned to the manor in a somewhat nervous state of mind, quite prepared to do battle for her lover. but, to her surprise, captain huxham made no remark, and behaved much the same as usual, save that at odd times he was more observant of her comings and goings. in the face of his newly-acquired knowledge this very unusual demeanour should have made bella more circumspect, but, being high-spirited, she did not change her life in any way. also she believed that silas had greatly exaggerated the captain's anger, and argued from his quietness that he cared very little what she did. she had reason to take this view, for huxham was not an affectionate parent, and, save when things interfered with his own comfort, usually ignored his daughter. and on her side, bella could not subscribe to the fifth commandment. it was impossible to honour king log, who had an unpleasant way of becoming king henry viii. when contradicted.
several times, bella, needing sympathy, was on the point of reporting pence's conversation to mrs. coppersley, so as to learn her opinion as to the truth of the preacher's preposterous statement. but the buxom widow was too much taken up with her own love-affairs to trouble about those of her niece, for whom she displayed no great affection. she attended to the house-keeping, cajoled her brother into a good humour when necessary, and nearly every evening slipped out to meet henry vand, who usually awaited her arrival on the hither side of the boundary channel. he did not dare to venture nearer to the lion's den, as captain huxham, aware of his sister's desire to contract a second marriage, discouraged the idea. the captain being aggressively selfish, did not intend to lose mrs. coppersley, whose services were necessary to his comfort. besides, as she managed everything connected with the domestic arrangement of bleacres, assisted by bella, huxham was spared the necessity of paying a servant. it was better, from the captain's point of view, to have two slaves who asked for no wages, and who could be bullied when he felt like playing the tyrant.
to a young girl in the first strong flush of womanhood, life at the solitary farm was extremely dreary, captain huxham rose early and strolled round his wealthy acres until breakfast, which for him was a gargantuan meal. he then shut himself for the whole morning in his den, where he laboured at his accounts, with a locked door. in the afternoon he ordinarily walked to marshely and conversed over strong drink with cronies at the village public-house. he returned to walk around the farm again, and after supper again sought his room to smoke and drink rum until bedtime, at ten o'clock. the routine of the captain's life never varied in any particular, even to seeking the quarter-deck once a day for the purpose, apparently, of viewing the results of his life's work. also from his eyrie, the captain, armed with a long telescope, could gaze at outward and homeward-bound ships, and so enjoy vicariously the sea-life he had abandoned these ten years. of bella he took scarcely any notice.
it was indeed a dull life, especially as bella was intellectual, and felt that she required food for her active brain. for some odd reason, which did not suit with his rough nature, huxham had given his neglected daughter a first-class education, and only within the last two years had she returned from a fashionable hampstead school to live this uneventful, unintellectual life on an essex farm. she possessed a few books, and these she read over and over again. huxham was not actively unkind, and gave her plenty of frocks, ribbons, hats, gloves, and such-like things, which he presumed were what the ordinary girl wanted. but he overlooked the fact that bella was not an ordinary girl, and that she hungered for a more moving life, or, at least, for one which would afford her an opportunity of displaying her social abilities. bella sang excellently, and played the piano unusually well; but her uncouth father did not care for music, and mrs. coppersley scorned it also. the girl therefore allowed her talents to lie dormant, and became a silent, handsome image of a woman, moving ghost-like through the dreary mansion. but her chance meeting with the clever young man aroused all her disused capabilities; aroused also her womanly coquetry, and stimulated her into exhibiting a really fascinating nature. warned that her father would have no strangers coming to the manor, by his own lips, she kept secret the delightful meetings with lister, and only when the two met at the cottage of miss ankers could they speak freely. bella thought that her secret attachment was unknown, whereas everyone in the village watched the progress of lister's wooing. it came as has been seen, to pence's jealous ears, and he reported the same to captain huxham. knowing this, bella was more perplexed than ever, that, as time went on, huxham did nothing and said nothing. at one time he had been peremptory, but now he appeared inclined to let her act as she chose. and the mere fact that he did so, made bella feel more than ever what an indifferent father she possessed.
for quite a week after his interview with the captain, and his futile wooing of bella, the lovesick preacher kept away from the farm and attended sedulously to his clerical duties in connection with little bethel. the truth was, that he felt afraid of huxham, now knowing what use the captain desired to make of him. for this reason also, silas did not report that bella was engaged to lister. he feared lest huxham, in a rage at such disregard of his wishes, should slay the young journalist, and perhaps might, in his infernal cunning, lay the blame on silas himself. at all events, pence was wise enough to avoid the danger zone of the farm, and although, after reflection, aided by jealousy, he was not quite so shocked at the idea of thrusting lister to a muddy death, he yet thought it more judicious to keep out of huxham's way. the old mariner, as pence knew, possessed a strong will, and might force him to be his tool in getting rid of the journalist. silas was wiser than he knew in acting so discreetly, for the sailor-turned farmer was a more dangerous man than even he imagined, despite the glimpse he had gained of huxham's possible iniquity.
things were in this position when bella, rendered reckless by her father's indifference, actually met cyril lister in a secluded nook of the corn-field, and on the sacred ground of bleacres itself. usually the lovers met in miss ankers' cottage, or in mrs. tunks' hut, but on this special occasion the weather was so hot that lister proposed an adjournment to the open field. "you will be ruth, and i boaz," suggested the young man, with a smile.
bella shivered even in the warm air into which she had stepped out of the malodorous gloom of mrs. tunks' hut. "what an unlucky comparison," she said, leading the way along the bank of the boundary channel.
"ruth left her people and her home, to go amongst strangers, and earn her living as a gleaner."
"but she found a devoted husband in the end," cyril reminded her.
"peace and happiness also, i hope," sighed bella. "i have plenty of peace, but very little happiness, save of the vegetable sort."
"when we are married," began lister, then stopped short, biting his moustache—"we shall be very happy," he ended lamely, seeing that bella looked inquiringly at him.
"that is obvious, since we love one another," she said somewhat tartly, for his hesitation annoyed her. "why did you change the conclusion of your sentence?"
lister threw himself down on the hard-baked ground and under the shadow of the tall blue-green corn stalks. "it just struck me that our marriage was very far distant," he said gloomily.
bella sat beside him shoulder to shoulder, and hugged her knees. "why should it be far distant?" she inquired. "if i love you, and you love me, no power on earth can keep us apart."
"your father——"
"i shall disobey my father if it be necessary," she informed him serenely.
lister looked at her through half-shut eyes, and noticed the firmness of her mouth and the clear, steady gaze of her eyes. "you have a strong will, i think, dear," he murmured admiringly.
"i have, cyril—as strong as that of my father. when our two wills clash"—she shrugged—"there may be murder committed."
"bella!"—the young man looked startled—"what dreadful things you say."
"it is the truth," she insisted quietly; "why shirk obvious facts? for some reason, which i cannot discover, my father detests you."
"by jove!" cyril sat up alertly. "and why? he has never seen me, as i have kept well out of his way after your warning. but i have had a sly glimpse of him, and he seems to be a jolly sort of animal—i beg your pardon for calling him so."
"man is an animal, and my father is a man," said the girl coolly, "a neolithic man, if you like. you are a man also, cyril—the kind of firm, bold, daring man i like. yet if you met with my father, i wonder——" she paused, and it flashed across her brain that her father and her lover would scarcely suit one another. both were strong-willed and both masterful. she wondered if they met, who would come out top-dog; so she phrased it in her quick brain. then abruptly she added, before cyril could speak. "be quiet for a few minutes. i wish to think."
lister nodded, and, leaning on one elbow, chewed a corn-stalk and watched her in silence. he was a slim, tall, small-boned young man of the fairskinned type, with smooth brown hair, and a small, drooping brown moustache. his present attitude indicated indolence, and he certainly loved to be lazy when a pretty girl was at his elbow. but on occasions he could display wonderful activity, and twice had been chosen as war correspondent to a london daily, when one or two of the little wars on the fringe of the empire had been in progress. he was not particularly good-looking, but the freshness of his five-and-twenty years, and the virility of his manner, made women bestow a great deal of attention on him. much more than he deserved, in fact, as, until he met with bella, he had given very little attention to the sex. he had flirted in many countries, and with many women; but this was the first time he had made genuine love, or had felt the genuine passion. and with a country maiden, too, unsophisticated and pathetically innocent. so he meditated as he watched her, until, struck by the firm curve of the chin and the look of resolve on the tightly-closed lips, he confessed privately that if this country maiden were placed in the forefront of society, the chances were that she would do more than hold her own. there were joan-of-arc-like possibilities in that strongly-featured face.
"but, upon my word, i am quite afraid," he said aloud, following up his train of thought and speaking almost unconsciously.
"of what?" asked bella, turning quickly towards him.
"of you. such a determined young woman, as you are. if i make you my wife, i know who will be master."
"my dear," she said quietly, "in marriage there should be neither a master nor a mistress. it's a sublime co-partnership, and the partners are equal. one supplies what the other lacks, and two incomplete persons are required to make one perfect being."
lister opened his brown eyes. "who told you all this?"
"no one. i have ample time to think, and—i think."
"you asked me to be quiet, so that you could think," he remarked lazily; "may i ask what you have been considering?"
she surveyed him quietly. "you may ask; but i am not sure if i will reply."
"see here, my dearest"—cyril struggled to his knees, and took her hand firmly within his own—"you are altogether too independent a young woman. you always want your own way, i perceive."
"it will never clash with yours," said bella, smiling.
"why not?"
"because you will always wish to do what i desire, and i will always be anxious to act as you indicate. you have your line of life, and i have mine, but the two are one."
"humph! at school i learned that two parallel straight lines never met."
"ah, euclid was a bachelor, and ignorant. they meet in marriage, for then the two lines blend into one. what's the matter?"
she asked this question because cyril suddenly let go her hands and swerved, blinking his eyes rapidly. "a sudden flash almost blinded me. some one is heliographing hereabouts." he stood up, considerably taller than the already tall corn, and stared in the direction of the manor, shading his eyes with one slim hand. "there's someone on the roof there and——"
bella pulled the sleeve of his coat, with a stifled cry. "oh, sit down, do sit down," she implored. "it must be my father on his quarter-deck. the flash, perhaps, came from his telescope, and if he sees you—do sit down."
cyril laughed and relapsed into a sitting position. "dearest, your father cannot harm me in any way. i have heard of his quarter-deck. i suppose he has it to remind him of the bridge of a steamer when he was skipper."
"i hope he hasn't seen you," said bella anxiously, "for then he would come straight here, and——"
"let him come, and then i shall ask him to let me marry you."
"he will refuse. he wants me to marry mr. pence."
"what!" lister frowned. "that half-baked psalm-singer? what nonsense, and what cheek. the idea of that pence creature aspiring to your hand. i wish we could marry at once. but——" he paused, and shook his head. lines appeared on his forehead, and a vexed look in his eyes. "it's impossible," he said with a deep breath.
"why is it impossible?" asked bella imperiously and very directly.
"my dear, i am very poor, and just make enough to keep my head above water. besides, there is another reason."
"what is it?"
"i can't tell you," he said in low voice, and becoming suddenly pale; "no one but the wearer knows where the shoe pinches, you know."
"cyril." bella wreathed her arms around his neck. "you have a secret. i have noticed several times that you have been worried. sometimes you forget everything when we are together, and your face becomes like that of an old man. i must know your secret, so that i can help you."
"god forbid." lister removed her arms, and grew even paler than he was. "the kindest way i can act towards you, bella, is to go out of your life, and never see you again."
"cyril, how can you when i love you so?"
"would you love me if you knew of my troubles?"
"try me. try me," she implored, clasping his hand warmly.
"there are some things which can't be told to a woman," he said sternly.
"tell them to a comrade, then. i wish to be your comrade as well as your wife. and i love you so that anything you say will only make me love you the more. tell me, cyril, so that i can prove my love."
"upon my soul, i believe you'd go to hell with me," said lister strongly.
"yes, i would. i demand, by the love which exists between us, to be told this secret that troubles you so greatly."
lister frowned, and meditated. "i cannot tell you everything—yet," he remarked, after a painful pause, "but i can tell you this much, that unless i have one thousand pounds within a week, i can never marry you."
"one thousand pounds. but for what purpose?"
"you must not ask me that, bella," and his mouth closed firmly.
"'trust me all in all, or not at all,'" she quoted.
"then i trust you not at all."
"oh!" she drew back with a cry of pain like a wounded animal.
in a moment he was on his knees, holding her hands to his beating heart. "my dearest, if i could i would. but i can't, and i am unable just now to give you the reason. save that i am a journalist, and your devoted lover, you know nothing about me. later i shall tell you my whole story, and how i am situated. then you can marry me or not, as you choose."
"i shall marry you, in any case," she said quickly.
"do you think that i am a poor, weak fool, who demands perfection in a man. whatever your sins may be, to me you are the man i have chosen to be my husband. we are here, in the corn-fields, and you just now called me ruth. then, like ruth, i can say that 'your people will be my people, and your god will be my god.'"
"dearest and best," he kissed her ardently, "what have i done to deserve such perfect love? but do not think me so very wicked. it is not myself, so much as another. then you——"
"is it a woman?" she asked, drawing back.
lister caught her to his breast again. "no, you jealous angel, it is not a woman. the thousand pounds i must have, to save—but that is neither here nor there. you must think me but a tardy lover not to carry you off, forwith, and——" he rose, with bella in his arms—"oh, it's impossible!"
"do carry me off," she whispered, clinging to him. "let us have a sabine wedding. as your wife, you can tell me all your secrets."
"bella, bella, i cannot. i am desperately poor."
"so am i, and if i marry you my father will leave all his money to my aunt, for he told mr. pence so. but what does poverty matter, so long as we love one another with all our hearts and souls."
"oh!" cyril clenched his hands desperately. "do not tempt me. only one thousand pounds stands between us. if i had that i could make you my wife within a week. i would steal, or murder, or do anything in the world to get the money and remove the barrier. but"—he pushed her away almost brutally, and frowned—"you are making me talk rubbish. we must wait."
"until when, cyril?" she asked sadly.
"until destiny is kinder."
"you will tell me——"
"i tell you nothing. give me one kiss, and then good-bye for——"
he bent to touch her lips, but was caught and hurled back. bella uttered a cry of astonishment and dread, for between cyril and herself stood captain huxham, purple with anger.
