Hearts Afire (4 page)

After
Harleigh's
departure,
he shut the door of his office, walked outside, and stood there some minutes,
clasping and unclasping his large hands, like a man full of grief and
perplexity. Ere long he remembered his friend Elder Van
Heemskirk
.
This trouble concerned him also, for if
Harleigh
were
informed of the marriage arranged between Charlotte and Sir Edward, he would no
doubtless feel himself bound in honor to seek revenge on Sir Edward.
Joris
put himself in
Harleigh's
place; and he was certain, that, under the same circumstances, he would feel it
disgraceful not interfere with the love-affairs of his wife to be.

He found Elder Van
Heemskirk
with his hat in his
hand, giving his last orders before leaving the office for the day; but when
Joris
said, “There is trouble, and your advice I want,” he
returned with him to the back of the office, where, through half-opened
shutters, the sunshine and the warm-breeze stole into an atmosphere laden with
the aromas of tea and coffee and West Indian produce.

In a few short, strong sentences,
Joris
put the
case before Elder Van
Heemskirk
. The latter stroked
his right knee thoughtfully, and listened. But his first words were not very
comforting: “I must say, that it is mostly your own fault,
Joris
.
You have given
Harleigh
but a half welcome, and you
should have made things plain and to the point to Charlotte. Such
skimble-skamble
, why didn’t you say to her, out and out, 'I
have promised you to Sir Edward, my lass. He'll make you the best of husbands;
you'll marry him at the New Year, and you'll get gold and silver and all things
suitable?”

“I hadn’t the time yet, Elder.”

There are men who can talk their troubles away:
Joris
was not one of them. He was silent when in sorrow or perplexity; silent, and
ever looking around for something to
do
in the matter. As they walked
homewards, the elder talked, and
Joris
pondered, not
what was said, but the thoughts and purposes that were slowly forming in his
own mind. He was later than usual for lunch, and the tea and the cakes had
passed their prime condition; but, when
Lysbet
saw
the trouble in his eyes, she thought them not worth mentioning. But Charlotte
fretted about her father's delay, and it was at her
Joris
first looked. The veil had now been taken from his eyes; and he noticed her
pretty dress, her restless glances at the clock,
her
ill-concealed impatience at the slow movement of the afternoon meal.

When it was over,
Lysbet
Morgan rose to put away
her silver and china. “So warm as it is!” said Charlotte. “Into the garden I am
going, mother.”

“Well, then, there are weeds to pull. The dish take with you.”

Joris
rose then, and laying his hand on
Charlotte's shoulder said, “There is something to talk about. Sit down,
Lysbet
; the door shut close, and listen to me.”

It was impossible to mistake the stern purpose on her husband's face, and
Lysbet
silently obeyed the order.

“
Charlotte
, this morning there comes to my office the young man,
Harleigh
. To thy father he said many ill words. To him thou
shalt never speak again. Thy promise give to me.”

Charlotte sat silent, with dropped eyes, and cheeks as red as the
pomegranate flower at her breast.

“
No man
, shall speak to me that way.”

Weeping bitterly, Charlotte rose and went to her mother, and laid her head
upon
Lysbet's
shoulder.

“Look now,
Joris
. One must know the “why” and the
“wherefore.” What mean you?”

“This I mean,
Lysbet
. No more meetings with
Harleigh
will I have. No love secrets will I bear. Danger
is with them; yes, and sin too.”

“
Joris
, if he has spoken to you, then where is the
secret?”

“Too late he spoke. When worked was his own selfish way, to tell me of his
triumph he comes. It is a shameful wrong. Forgive it? No, I will not,—never!”

No one answered him; only Charlotte's low weeping
broke the silence, and for a few moments
Joris
paced
the room sorrowful and amazed. Then he looked at
Lysbet
,
and she rose and gave her place to him. He put his arms around his darling, and
kissed her fondly.

“
Charlotte
, listen to me thy father. It is for thy happy life here,
it is for thy eternal life, I speak to thee. This man for whom thou art now
weeping is not good for thee. He is not of thy breeding, he is an uneducated
man; none of thy equal, he talks of fashion, of loose talk, of principles still
more loose. If with the hawk a singing-bird might mate happily, then this
scoundrel thou might safely marry. My Charlotte, do I love thee?”

“My father!”

“Do I love thee?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Dost thou, then, love me?”

She put her arms round his neck, and laid her cheek against his, and kissed
him many times.

“Wilt thou go away and leave me, and leave thy mother,
in our old age? My heart thou would break. My gray hairs to the grave would go
in sorrow. Charlotte, my dear, dear child, what for me, and for thy mother,
wilt thou do?”

“Thy wish—if I can.”

Then he told her of the provision made for her future. He reminded her of
Sir Edward's long affection, and of her satisfaction with it until
Harleigh
had wooed her from her love and her duty. And,
remembering the elder's reproach on his want of explicitness, he added,
“Tomorrow, about thy own house, I will take the first step. Near my house it
shall be; and when I walk in my garden, in thy garden I will see thee, and only
a little fence shall be between us. And at the
new year’s
feast thou shalt be married. And money, plenty of money, I will give thee; and
all that is proper thy mother and thee shall buy. But no more, no more at all,
shalt thou see or speak to that bad man who has so beguiled thee.”

At this remark Charlotte sadly shook her head; and
Lysbet's
face so plainly expressed caution, that
Joris
somewhat modified his last order, “That is, little one, no more until the new
year’s feast. Then thou wilt be married and then it is good, if it is safe, to
forgive all wrongs, and to begin again with all the world in peace and good
living. Wilt thou these things promise me? Me and thy mother?”

“My promise shall I give. But,
Harleigh
I must see
once more. That is what I ask.”

“
Harleigh
! Must you thrust the dagger in your
father’s heart?”

She did not answer; and
Joris
rose, and looked at the girl's mother inquiringly. Her face expressed assent;
and he said reluctantly, “Well, then, I will as easy make it as I can. Once
more, and for one hour, thou may see him. But I lay it on thee to tell him the
truth, for this and for all other time.”

“
Now
may I go? He is nigh. His
apointed
time at the
Semple
House is at hand;” and Charlotte
stood up, intent, listening, with her fair head lifted, and her wet eyes fixed
on the distance.

“Well, be it so. Go.”

With the words she slipped from the room; and
Joris
called his
servent
to bring him some hot coals, and
began to fill his pipe. As he did so, he watched
Lysbet
with some anxiety. She had offered him no sympathy, she evinced no disposition
to continue the conversation; and, though she kept her face from him, he
understood that all her movements expressed a rebellious temper. In and out of
the room she passed, very busy about her own affairs, and apparently
indifferent to his anxiety and sorrow.

At first
Joris
felt some natural anger at her
attitude; but, as the Virginia
tobbaco
calmed and
soothed him, he remembered that he had told her nothing of the details of his
interview with
Harleigh
, and that she might be
feeling and reasoning from a different standpoint from himself. Then the
sweetness of his nature was at once in the ascendant, and he said, “
Lysbet
, come then, and talk with me about the child.”

She turned the keys in her press slowly, and stood by it with them in her
hand. “What has been told thee,
Joris
, today? And who
has spoken? Tongues
venimous
and envious, I am sure
of that.”

“Thou art right. The young man to me spoke himself.
He said, 'I love your daughter. I want to marry her.'“

“Well, then, he did no wrong. And as for Charlotte, it is in nature that a
young girl should want a lover. It is in nature she should choose the one she
likes best. That is what I say.”

“That is what I say,
Lysbet
. It is in nature,
also, that we want too much food and wine, too much sleep, too much pleasure,
too little work. It is in nature that our own way we want. It is in nature that
the good we hate, and the sin we love. My
Lysbet
, to
us God gives his own good grace, that the things that are in nature we might
put below the reason and the will.”

“So hard that is,
Joris
.”

“No, it is not; so far thou hast done the right way. When Charlotte was a
babe, it was in nature that with the fire she wanted to make play. But thou
said, 'There is danger, my precious one; and in thy arms thou carried her out
of the temptation. When older she grew, it was in nature she said, 'I like not
the school, and my Heidelberg is hard, and I cannot learn it.' But thou
answered, For thy good is the school, and go thou every day; Now then, it is in
nature the child should want this handsome stranger; but with me thou wilt
certainly say, He is not fit for thy happiness; he has not the true faith, he
gambles, he fights duels, he is a
waster
, he lives
badly, he will take thee far from thy own people and thy own home.'“

Lysbet
drew close to him, and laid her arm across
his broad shoulders; and he took his pipe from his lips and turned his face to
her. “Kind and wise art thou, my husband; and whatever is thy wish, that is my
wish too.”

“A good woman thou art. And what pleasure would it be to thee if Charlotte
was a countess, and went to the court, and bowed down to the king and the
queen? Thou would not see it; and, if thou spoke of it, thy neighbors they
would hate thee, and mock thee behind thy back, and say, How proud is Elder Van
Heemskirk
of his noble son-in-law that comes never
once to see him! And dost thou believe he is an earl? Not I.”

“That is where the mother's love is best,
Joris
.
What my neighbors said would be little care to me, if my Charlotte was well and
was happy. With her sorrow would I buy my own pleasure? No; I would not so
selfish be.”

“Would I,
Lysbet
? Right am
I, and I know I am
right.
And I think that Sir Edward
will be a very great person. Already, as a man of affairs, he is much spoken
of. He is handsome and of good morality. The elders in the kirk look to such
young men as Sir Edward to fill their places when they are no more in them. On
the judge's bench he will sit down yet.”

“A good young man he may be, but he is a very bad lover; that is the truth.
If a little less wise he could only be! A young girl likes some foolish talk.
It is what women understand. Little fond words, very strong they are! Thou
thyself said them to me.”

“That is right. To Sir Edward I will talk a little. A man must seek a good
wife with more heart than he seeks gold. Yes, yes; her price above rubies is.”

When Elder Van
Heemskirk
arrived at home, he found
that his wife was out making calls with Mistress Gordon, so he had not the
relief of a marital conversation. He took his solitary tea, and fell into a
nap, from which he awoke in a querulous, uneasy temper. Sir Edward was walking
about the terrace, and he joined him.

“You are stepping in a very majestic way, Sir Edward; what's in your
thoughts, I wonder?”

“I have a speech to make tomorrow, sir. My thoughts were on the law, which
has a certain majesty of its own.”

“You'd better be thinking of a speech you ought to
make tonight, if you care at all about saving yourself with Charlotte Morgan;
and I am certain it will be an extraordinary case that is worth more than
gold.”

The elder was not in the habit of making unmeaning speeches, and Sir Edward was
instantly alarmed. In his own way, he loved Charlotte with all his soul. “Yes,”
continued the old man, “you have a rival, sir.
Harleigh
Daly asked
Joris
Morgan for his daughter hand.”

“What a dirty scoundrel he is!—to feather his nest with my straw.”

“Take your time, Sir Edward, and you won't lose your judgment. How was he to
know that Charlotte Morgan was your sweetheart? You made little fuss over the
lass, very little, I may say. Lawyer-like you may be, but none could call you
lover-like. I'll have no fighting with him—you have only yourself to blame, you
should of laid claim to your love instead of laying bout your law books. Take a
word of advice now,—I'll give it without a fee,—you are fond enough to plead
for others, go and plead an hour for yourself. Certain! When I was your age, I
was noted for my persuading way. Your father, Sir Edward, never left a square
on the picnic blanket for a rival. And I can tell you this: a woman isn’t to be
counted yours, until you have her inside a wedding-ring.”