What a Man Wills Part 12

The Dream Woman had come to life!

From the bank the stepping-stones had disappeared from sight, and to the dazzled eyes of the onlookers it seemed as though two disembodied spirits came walking towards them across the waters, their faces lit with an unearthly radiance.

When the bank was reached, they turned, and made their way towards the house, unconscious of the existence of the watchers. Hand in hand they crossed the bridge and mounted the sloping path...

The Innkeeper hitched his shoulders and drew a trembling breath.

"It was a near thing, look you! As near a shave as ever I seen... That was a good thing, missy, that you caught sight of her just at the right moment!"

Lilith's heavy eyelids drooped over her eyes.

"Yes," she said sleepily, "the very right moment!"

CHAPTER FIVE.

THE GIRL WHO WISHED FOR POWER.

Two men proposed to Lilith Wastneys at the same ball and in the same palm-shaded retreat. She was not surprised, because she had willed that they should speak, and people had a habit of doing as Lilith willed.

Very early in her life she had discovered that if she said nothing, and thought hard, that thought had a power to mould others to her will.

It was not often that she put forth her power, for her att.i.tude towards her fellows was one of lofty detachment. They were commonplace creatures--weak, vacillating creatures, swayed to and fro by the emotions of the hour. Lilith had never in her life been swayed; never for the fraction of a second had she been uncertain of her own mind; all the temptations in the world could not lure her a step from a premeditated path, but because Nature had cast her in a fragile mould, and given her flaxen hair and a baby skin, and minute morsels of hands and feet, the world adopted protective airs towards her and spoke of her approvingly as "sweet and gentle."

Francis Manning, the first of the two men to make a declaration of love, was a big giant of a man with a handsome face, an amiable disposition, and a supreme concern for his own well-being. He had reached the age and position when it seemed desirable to marry, and, that being the case, there was no doubt upon whom his choice would fall.

For years past Lilith Wastneys had stood to Francis as a type of all that was sweet and desirable in women. In his eyes she was beautiful, though in reality she had no claim to the t.i.tle. The love-light in his eyes transformed her pale locks into gold, her colourless eyes into deepest blue; her height was to him "just as high as my heart"; her low voice, her drooping lids, her noiseless movements--each and all appeared to him the perfection of their kind.

Francis was whole-heartedly in love, but it was not in his nature to be otherwise than leisurely. While a more impetuous lover would have hastened to put his fate to the test, he was content to continue the even tenor of his way, indulge in confident dreams of the future, and leave it to fate to decide the moment of avowal. Nothing on earth was farther from his suspicions than the fact that it was Lilith herself, who, in the ultimate moment, played the part of fate.

She wore a white dress. Lilith invariably wore white in the evening,-- simple, little white satin frocks devoid of ornament, save for a soft swathing of tulle, from which her shoulders arose, fair and rounded.

Whatever might be the fas.h.i.+on of the day, that soft swathe of tulle was in its place; however puffed and waved might be the coiffure of the other women in the room, Lilith's flaxen locks were always smooth and demure. There was a distinction in such simplicity. People looked at her and questioned. They watched her with puzzled eyes. Was she pretty? Certainly not pretty. Did they admire her? They were not at all sure that they did. _But there was something about her_!

It was Lilith who led the way into the palm-shaded retreat, and chose the most secluded corner. She and Francis were engaged to dance the next number together, but she pleaded fatigue, and they sat alone in the dimness.

"Who was that dissipated-looking fellow who took you in to supper? I wanted to take you myself, but he was too quick for me. Rather a striking-looking head, if he were not such a terrible waster!"

"His name is Lowther."

Francis straightened himself, startled into vivid attention.

"_Lowther_! Hereward Lowther--_that's_ how I knew his face! I've seen it in caricatures. The idea of meeting Lowther here! I should not have thought dances were in his line."

"He does not dance."

"Then why on earth does he trouble to come?"

Lilith did not answer. She knew; but had no intention of sharing her knowledge, and Francis was too much engrossed in his own reflections to pursue the question.

"So that is Lowther! Good heavens, how excited I should have been two or three years ago at the idea of meeting him in the same room! Sad how that man has fizzled out! He promised such big things, bigger things than any other man of his day. I've heard him singled out a score of times as the man who was going to save England, and now"--he shrugged, and flicked his large fingers--"it's all over; nothing left but the wreck of a man. Drugs, they say. Something of the sort evidently; he carries it in his face. Not the sort of man for you to have anything to do with, little girl!"

Francis's voice dropped to a tender note as he spoke the last words, and Lilith lifted her heavy lids and smiled at him with gentle sweetness.

It was seldom that he had obtained more than a glimpse of those downcast eyes, but now they met his and held them in a lingering look which sent the blood racing through his veins. Suddenly, imperatively, the patience of years was broken, and hot words flowed from his lips. He loved her; she was the sweetest, the dearest of women. For years he had loved her; he would love her all his life; would live only to serve her.

It was his own feelings on which he enlarged; his own feelings, which were obviously of the first importance. In his ardour there was no hint of anxiety. He was in love, but confidently in love. He had but to speak, and she would come fluttering to his arms.

But he wooed her well, denying her no t.i.ttle of her woman's kingdom. He held her hands in his, and his big voice softened tenderly as he made his vows.

"I will take care of you,--such care as was never taken of a woman before! You are not fit to stand alone; you are too gentle and fragile.

You want a big fellow like me to stand between you and the world. It shall be my work in life to s.h.i.+eld you, and keep you sheltered and safe.

Only trust yourself to me, and you will see. You _will_ trust yourself, won't you, darling? I'm not rich, but we should be comfortable enough. You are not the sort of girl to be ambitious, and, you _do_ love me, Lilith!"

Lilith smiled, but she left her hand in his, and a tinge of colour showed in the pale cheeks.

"I think I _do_ love you, Francis!" she said slowly.

Francis pressed her hand in acknowledgment. Unbroken confidence had deprived him of the great thrill which comes to most men at the knowledge that they are beloved; but one cannot have everything in this world, and if the choice had been his, he would unhesitatingly have plumped for the greater ease. He pressed her hand, and bent over her tenderly.

"My darling girl! You make me very happy. You shall never regret it, I'll promise you that... Look at your little mite of a hand lying in mine!--I could crush it to pieces with one clutch from my big paw. They are a type of the difference between us--those two hands--I so big, and strong, and you such a little slip of a weak, helpless thing."

Lilith bent her head on one side, and looked down with a smile. She lifted her tiny fingers and softly stroked the giant hand.

"Why do you love me, Francis?"

"Because I can't help it!" returned Francis promptly. "Good heavens, Lilith, if you knew how thankful a fellow is to meet a good old-fas.h.i.+oned girl! I'm fed up with these modern specimens, who set themselves up to be equal with men, and push and drive to force themselves to the front, instead of being content with the place which Nature has given them. I couldn't stick a modern woman. I want a wife who will let me judge for her, and be thankful to have my protection-- like you, you little darling! You are everything that a woman ought to be... And why do you love me?"

"Because you are so big, and so handsome, and so"--Lilith laughed, a tinkling, girlish laugh, which took the sting from the word--"_stupid_!"

She bent nearer to him, with a caressing gesture, and Francis slipped his arm round her waist, and laughed in sympathy. The dear, wee mite!

What nonsense she did talk!

"I don't care what is your reason, so long as you _do_ love me. And how soon will you be ready to marry your stupid man?"

"Do people always marry the people they love?" Lilith asked innocently; and Francis said they did; of course they did. What else was there for them to do?

He remembered afterwards that though the conversation which followed was entirely agreeable to his feelings, Lilith had persistently avoided a definite promise.

The next morning a letter was handed in at the door of his chambers. It was in Lilith's writing, and ran as follows:

"Dear Francis--

"I want you to know that I am engaged to be married to Hereward Lowther. He asked me last night, just after you, and I said 'Yes.'

Thank you so much for all your kindness. It would have been very nice, but I feel sure that we should not have suited.

"Yours affectionately,

"Lilith Wastneys."

The engagement of Hereward Lowther caused some excitement in the political world, across which he had made so meteoric a flight. Of no one of the younger men in the House had so much been hoped. His first speech was still quoted as the most brilliant effort of the kind within the memory of the present generation, while his tact and his charm had seemed little inferior to his ability. Poor, brilliant, unhappy Lowther, his was but another name added to the list of the men of genius who have been their own worst enemies! So rapid had been his downfall, so flagrant his avoidance of duty, that his friends were convinced that his const.i.tuency would not return him a second time.

And now, with the shock of the unexpected, came the news of his matrimonial engagement. The chorus of disapproval was loud, but the Chief frowned thoughtfully, and reserved his opinion.