The Man and the Moment Part 9

More than a week went by, and it seemed quite natural now to Lord Fordyce to shape his days according to the plans of the American party, and when they met at the Schlossbrunn in the morning at half-past seven, and he and Mr. Cloudwater and the Princess had drunk their tumblers of water together, their custom was to go on down to the town and there find Sabine, who had bought their slices of ham and their rolls, and awaited them at the end of the Alte Weise with the pink paper bags, and then the four proceeded to walk to the Kaiser Park to breakfast.

This meal was so merry, Mrs. Howard tantalizing the others by having cream in her coffee and sugar upon her wild strawberries, while they were only permitted to take theirs plain.

During the stroll there it was Sabine's custom persistently to adhere to the side of Mr. Cloudwater, leaving the other two tete-a-tete--and, delightful as Lord Fordyce found the Princess, this irritated him. He discovered himself, as the days advanced, to be experiencing a distinct longing to know what was pa.s.sing in that little head, whose violet eyes looked out with so much mystery and shadow in their depths. He could not tell himself that she avoided him; she was always friendly and casual and perfectly at her ease, but no extra look of pleasure or welcome for him personally ever came into her face, and never once had he been able to speak to her really alone. Mr. Cloudwater and the two ladies drove back from breakfast each day, and he was left to take his exercises and his bath. Now and then he had encountered the Princess in the near woods just before luncheon, returning from the Kaiserbad, but Mrs. Howard never--and when he inquired how she spent her time, she replied however she happened to fancy, which gave him no clue as to where he might find her--and with all her frank charm, she was not a person to whom it was easy to put a direct question. Lord Fordyce began to grow too interested for his peace of mind. When he realized this, he got very angry with himself. He had never permitted a woman to be anything but a mild recreation in his life, and at forty it was a little late to begin to experience something serious about one.

They often motored in the afternoon to various resorts not too far distant, and there took tea; and for two whole days it had been wet and, except at meals, the ladies had lain _perdues_.

However fate was kind on a Sat.u.r.day morning, and allowed Lord Fordyce to chance upon Mrs. Howard, right up at the Belvedere in the far woods, looking over the valley. She was quite alone, and her slender figure was outlined against the bright sunlight as she leaned on the bal.u.s.trade gazing down at the exquisite scene.

Henry could have cried aloud in joy, "At last!" but he restrained himself, and instead only said a casual "Hullo!" Mrs. Howard turned and looked at him, and answered his greeting with frank cordiality.

"Have you never been here before? I think it is one of the most lovely spots in the whole woods, and at this time there is never any one--what made you penetrate so far?"

"Good fortune! The jade has been unkind until now."

They leant on the bal.u.s.trade together.

"I always like being up on a high mountain and looking down at things, don't you?" she said.

"No, not always--one feels lonely--but it is nice if one is with a suitable companion. How have you, at your age, managed to become self-sufficing?"

"Circ.u.mstance, I expect, has taught me the beauty of solitude. I spend months alone in Brittany."

"And what do you do--read most of the time?"

He was so enchanted that she was not turning the conversation into ba.n.a.l things, he determined not to say anything which would cause her again to draw down the blind of bland politeness.

"Yes, I read a great deal. You see, Moravia and I were at a convent together, and there, beyond teaching us to spell and to write and do a few sums and learn a garbled version of French history, a little music, and a great deal of embroidery, they left us totally ignorant--one must try to supply the deficiencies oneself. It is appalling to remain ignorant once one realizes that one is."

"Knowledge on any subject is interesting--did you begin generally--or did you specialize?"

"I always wanted to be just--and to understand things. The whole of life and existence seemed too difficult--I think I began trying to find some key to that and this opened the door to general information, and so eventually, perhaps, one specializes."

He was wise enough not to press the question into what her specializing ran. He adored subtleties, and he noted with delight that she was not so completely indifferent as usual. If he could keep her attention for a little while, they might have a really interesting investigation of each other's thoughts.

"I like thinking of things, too--and trying to discover their meanings and what caused them. We are all, of course, the victims of heredity."

"That may be," she agreed, "but the will can control any heredity. It can only manifest itself when we let ourselves drift. The tragedy of it is that we have drifted too far sometimes before we learn that we could have directed the course if we had willed. Ignorance is seemingly the most cruel foe we have to encounter, because we are so defenseless, not knowing he is there."

She sighed unconsciously and looked out over the beautiful tree-tops, down to where the Kaiser Park appeared like a little doll's chalet set among streams and pastures green.

Lord Fordyce was much moved. She was prettier and sweeter than he had even fancied she would be could he ever contrive to find her all alone.

He watched her covertly; the exquisite peachy skin with its pure color, and her soft brown hair dressed with a simplicity which he thought perfection, all appealed to him, and those strange violet eyes rather round and heavily lashed with brown-shaded lashes, darker at the tips.

The type was not intense or of a studious mould. Circ.u.mstance must indeed have formed an exotic character to have grafted such deep meaning in their innocent depths. She went on presently, not remarking his silence.

"It is heredity which makes my country women so nervous and unstable as a rule. You don't like them, as I know," and she smiled, "and I think, from your point of view, you are right. You see, we are nearly all mushroom growths, sprung up in a night--and we have not had time for poise, or the acceptance with calmness of our good fortune. We are as yet unbalanced by it, and don't know what we want."

"You are very charming," and he looked truthful, and at that moment felt so.

"Yes, I know--we can be more charming than any other women because we have learnt from all the other nations and play which ever part we wish to select."

"Yes," he admitted, rather too quickly--and her rippling laugh rang out.

He had hardly ever heard her laugh, and it enchanted him, even though he was nettled at her understanding of his thought.

"It remains for men to make us desire to play the same part always--if they find it agreeable."

Again he said "Yes"--but this time slowly.

"Now you Englishmen have the heredity of absolute phlegm to fight. While we ought to be trying to counteract jumping from one role to another, you ought to try to teach yourselves that versatility is a good thing, too, in its way."

"I am sure it is. I wish you would teach me to understand it--but you yourself seem to be restful and stable. How have you achieved this?"

"By studying the meaning of things, I suppose, and checking myself every time I began to want to do the restless things I saw my countrywomen doing. We have wonderful wills, you know, and if we want a thing sufficiently, we can get anything. That is why Moravia says we make such successful great ladies in the different countries we marry into. Your great ladies, if they are nice, are great naturally, and if they are not, they often fail, even if they are born aristocrats. We do not often fail, because we know very well we are taking on a part, and must play it to the very best of our ability all the time--and gradually we play it better than if it were natural."

"What a little cynic! 'Out of the mouths of babes'!" and he laughed.

"I am not at all a cynic! It is the truth I am telling you. I admire and respect our methods far more than yours, which just 'growed' like Topsy!"

"But cynicism and truth are, unfortunately, synonymous. Only you are too young, and ought not to know anything about either!"

"I like to know and do things I ought not to!" Her eyes were merry.

"Tell me some more about your countrywomen. I'm awfully interested, and have always been too frightened of their brilliancy to investigate myself."

"We are not nearly so bothered with hearts as Europeans--heredity again.

Our mothers and fathers generally sprang from people working too hard to have great emotions--then we arrive, and have every luxury poured upon us from birth; and if we have hardy characters we weather the deluge and remain very decent citizens."

"And if you have not?"

"Why, naturally the instincts for hard work, which made our parents succeed, if they remain idle must make some explosion. So we grow restless in our palaces, and get fads and nerves and quaint diseases--and have to come to Carlsbad--and talk to sober Englishmen!"

The look of mischief which she vouchsafed him was perfectly adorable. He was duly affected.

"You take us as a sort of cure!"

"Yes----!"

"How do you know so much about us and our faults? I gathered, from what you said last night at dinner, that you have never been in England but once, for a month, when you were almost a child."

"The rarest specimens come abroad," and a dimple showed in her left cheek, "and I read about you in your best novels--even your authors unconsciously give you away and show your selfishness and arrogance and self-satisfaction."

"Shocking brutes, aren't we?"

"Perfectly."

Then they both laughed, and Sabine suggested it was time they returned to luncheon.

"It is quite two miles from here, and Mr. Cloudwater, although the kindest dear old gentleman, begins to get hungry at one o'clock."

So they turned and sauntered downwards through the lovely green woods, with the warm hum of insects and the soft summer, glancing suns.h.i.+ne. And all of you who know the beauties of Carlsbad, or indeed any other of those Bohemian spas, can just picture how agreeable was their walk, and how conducive to amiable discussion and the acceleration of friends.h.i.+p.