"I was afraid I might frighten you, dear." I knew I could truthfullyreassure her as to that, so I proceeded to do so:
"Do not worry yourself, my dear. I am not by nature timid. I come of afighting stock which has sent out heroes, and I belong to a familywherein is the gift of Second Sight. Why should we fear? We know!Moreover, I saw you in that dress before. Teuta, I saw you and Rupertmarried!" This time she herself it was that seemed disconcerted.
"Saw us married! How on earth did you manage to be there?"
"I was not there. My Seeing was long before! Tell me, dear, what day,or rather what night, was it that you first saw Rupert?" She answeredsadly:
"I do not know. Alas! I lost count of the days as I lay in the tomb inthat dreary Crypt."
"Was your--your clothing wet that night?" I asked.
"Yes. I had to leave the Crypt, for a great flood was out, and thechurch was flooded. I had to seek help--warmth--for I feared I mightdie. Oh, I was not, as I have told you, afraid of death. But I hadundertaken a terrible task to which I had pledged myself. It was for myfather's sake, and the sake of the Land, and I felt that it was a part ofmy duty to live. And so I lived on, when death would have been relief.It was to tell you all about this that I came to your room to-day. Buthow did you see me--us--married?"
"Ah, my child!" I answered, "that was before the marriage took place.The morn after the night that you came in the wet, when, having beentroubled in uncanny dreaming, I came to see if Rupert was a'richt, I lostremembrance o' my dreaming, for the floor was all wet, and that took offmy attention. But later, the morn after Rupert used his fire in his roomfor the first time, I told him what I had dreamt; for, lassie, my dear, Isaw ye as bride at that weddin' in fine lace o'er yer shrood, andorange-flowers and ithers in yer black hair; an' I saw the stars in yerbonny een--the een I love. But oh, my dear, when I saw the shrood, andkent what it might mean, I expeckit to see the worms crawl round yerfeet. But do ye ask yer man to tell ye what I tell't him that morn.'Twill interest ye to know how the hairt o' men can learn by dreams. Hashe ever tellt ye aught o' this?"
"No, dear," she said simply. "I think that perhaps he was afraid thatone or other of us, if not both, might be upset by it if he did. Yousee, he did not tell you anything at all of our meeting, though I am surethat he will be glad when he knows that we both know all about it, andhave told each other everything."
That was very sweet of her, and very thoughtful in all ways, so I saidthat which I thought would please her best--that is, the truth:
"Ah, lassie, that is what a wife should be--what a wife should do.Rupert is blessed and happy to have his heart in your keeping."
I knew from the added warmth of her kiss what I had said had pleased her.
_Letter from Ernest Roger Halbard Melton_, _Humcroft_, _Salop_, _toRupert Sent Leger_, _Vissarion_, _Land of the Blue Mountains_.
_July_ 29, 1907.
MY DEAR COUSIN RUPERT,
We have heard such glowing accounts of Vissarion that I am coming out to see you. As you are yourself now a landowner, you will understand that my coming is not altogether a pleasure
. Indeed, it is a duty first. When my father dies I shall be head of the family--the family of which Uncle Roger, to whom we were related, was a member. It is therefore meet and fitting that I should know something of our family branches and of their Seats. I am not giving you time for much warning, so am coming on immediately--in fact, I shall arrive almost as soon as this letter. But I want to catch you in the middle of your tricks. I hear that the Blue Mountaineer girls are peaches, so don't send them _all_ away when you hear I'm coming!
Do send a yacht up to Fiume to meet me. I hear you have all sorts of craft at Vissarion. The MacSkelpie, I hear, said you received her as a Queen; so I hope you will do the decent by one of your own flesh and blood, and the future Head of the House at that. I shan't bring much of a retinue with me. _I_ wasn't made a billionaire by old Roger, so can only take my modest "man Friday"--whose name is Jenkinson, and a Cockney at that. So don't have too much gold lace and diamond-hilted scimitars about, like a good chap, or else he'll want the very worst--his wyges ryzed. That old image Rooke that came over for Miss McS., and whom by chance I saw at the attorney man's, might pilot me down from Fiume. The old gentleman-by-Act-of-Parliament Mr. Bingham Trent (I suppose he has hyphened it by this time) told me that Miss McS. said he "did her proud" when she went over under his charge. I shall be at Fiume on the evening of Wednesday, and shall stay at the Europa, which is, I am told, the least indecent hotel in the place. So you know where to find me, or any of your attendant demons can know, in case I am to suffer "substituted service."
Your affectionate Cousin, ERNEST ROGER HALBARD MELTON.
_Letter from Admiral Rooke to the Gospodar Rupert_.
_August_ 1, 1907.
SIR,
In obedience to your explicit direction that I should meet Mr. Ernest R. H. Melton at Fiume, and report to you exactly what occurred, "without keeping anything back,"--as you will remember you said, I beg to report.
I brought the steam-yacht _Trent_ to Fiume, arriving there on the morning of Thursday. At 11.30 p.m. I went to meet the train from St. Peter, due 11.40. It was something late, arriving just as the clock was beginning to strike midnight. Mr. Melton was on board, and with him his valet Jenkinson. I am bound to say that he did not seem very pleased with his journey, and expressed much disappointment at not seeing Your Honour awaiting him. I explained, as you directed, that you had to attend with the Voivode Vissarion and the Vladika the National Council, which met at Plazac, or that otherwise you would have done yourself the pleasure of coming to meet him. I had, of course, reserved rooms (the Prince of Wales's suite), for him at the Re d'Ungheria, and had waiting the carriage which the proprietor had provided for the Prince of Wales when he stayed there. Mr. Melton took his valet with him (on the box-seat), and I followed in a _Stadtwagen_ with the luggage. When I arrived, I found the _maitre d'hotel_ in a stupor of concern. The English nobleman, he said, had found fault with everything, and used to him language to which he was not accustomed. I quieted him, telling him that the stranger was probably unused to foreign ways, and assuring him that Your Honour had every faith in him. He announced himself satisfied and happy at the assurance. But I noticed that he promptly put everything in the hands of the headwaiter, telling him to satisfy the milor at any cost, and then went away to some urgent business in Vienna. Clever man!
I took Mr. Melton's orders for our journey in the morning, and asked if there was anything for which he wished. He simply said to me:
"Everything is rotten. Go to hell, and shut the door after you!" His man, who seems a very decent little fellow, though he is as vain as a peacock, and speaks with a Cockney accent which is simply terrible, came down the passage after me, and explained "on his own," as he expressed it, that his master, "Mr. Ernest," was upset by the long journey, and that I was not to mind. I did not wish to make him uncomfortable, so I explained that I minded nothing except what Your Honour wished; that the steam-yacht would be ready at 7 a.m.; and that I should be waiting in the hotel from that time on till Mr. Melton cared to start, to bring him aboard.
In the morning I waited till the man Jenkinson came and told me that Mr. Ernest would start at ten. I asked if he would breakfast on board; he answered that he would take his _cafe-complet_ at the hotel, but breakfast on board.
We left at ten, and took the electric pinnace out to the _Trent_, which lay, with steam up, in the roads. Breakfast was served on board, by his orders, and presently he came up on the bridge, where I was in command. He brought his man Jenkinson with him. Seeing me there, and not (I suppose) understanding that I was in command, he unceremoniously ordered me to go on the deck. Indeed, he named a place much lower. I made a sign of silence to the quartermaster at the wheel, who had released the spokes, and was going, I feared, to make some impertinent remark. Jenkinson joined me presently, and said, as some sort of explanation of his master's discourtesy (of which he was manifestly ashamed), if not as an amende:
"The governor is in a hell of a wax this morning."
When we got in sight of Meleda, Mr. Melton sent for me and asked me where we were to land. I told him that, unless he wished to the contrary, we were to run to Vissarion; but that my instructions were to land at whatever port he wished. Whereupon he told me that he wished to stay the night at some place where he might be able to see some "life." He was pleased to add something, which I presume he thought jocular, about my being able to "coach" him in such matters, as doubtless even "an old has-been like you" had still some sort of an eye for a pretty girl. I told him as respectfully as I could that I had no knowledge whatever on such subjects, which were possibly of some interest to younger men, but of none to me. He said no more; so after waiting for further orders, but without receiving any, I said: