Doctor Claudius, A True Story Part 22

"It is a great invention," he said quietly. And when they were seated in the long airy car, he looked out of the window, and asked whether the people in the first stories of the houses did not find it very disagreeable to have trains running by their windows all day.

"The social and munic.i.p.al economy of New York," explained Mr. Barker, "consists in one-third of the population everlastingly protesting against the outrageous things done by the other two-thirds. One-third fights another third, and the neutral third takes the fees of both parties. All that remains is handed over to the deserving poor."

"That is the reason, I suppose, why there are so few poor in New York,"

observed the Doctor with a smile.

"Exactly," said Barker; "they go West."

"I would like to discuss the political economy of this country with you, when I have been here six months."

"I hope you will not. And when you have been here six months you will be willing to pay a large sum rather than discuss it with any one."

And so they went up town, and Claudius watched everything with interest, and occasionally made a remark. Barker was obliged to go on, and he put Claudius out on the platform at the station nearest his hotel, and which was in fact at the same cross-street. As Claudius ascended the steps he was overtaken by the Duke, who was breathless with running.

"I--am afraid--it is too late," he panted; "come along," and he seized Claudius by the arm and dragged him to the corner of Fifth Avenue, before he could ask any questions.

"What is the matter?" asked the Doctor, looking about.

"He is gone," said the Duke, who had recovered his speech, "I knew he would, but I thought there was time. I was with a friend of mine, and I had just left him when I saw you, and as I have asked him to dinner I wanted to introduce you first. But he is always in such a hurry. Nowhere to be seen. Probably down town by this time." They turned back and went in. The Duke asked for the ladies. The Countess and her companion had gone to drive in the park, but Lady Victoria was upstairs.

"Vick, I am going to have a man to dinner--of course we will all dine together the first night ash.o.r.e--a man you have heard me speak of; you will like him amazingly."

"Who is he?"

"He is the uncle of the whole human race."

"Including the peerage?" laughed Lady Victoria.

"Peerage? I should think so. The whole of Debrett and the _Almanach de Gotha_. n.o.bility and gentry, the Emperor of China and the North American Indians."

"That will suit Miss Skeat. She is always talking about the North American Indians. I think I know who it is."

"Of course you do, and now he is coming." There was a pause. "Vick, may I smoke?"

"Oh yes, if you like." His Grace lit a cigarette.

"Vick, I am afraid you have had a dreadfully stupid time of it on this trip. I am so sorry. Those people turned out rather differently from what I had expected." The Duke was fond of his sister, though she was much younger than he, and he began to reflect that she had been poorly provided for, as he had engaged Barker most of their time.

"Not at all. You know I am so fond of the sea and the open air, and I have enjoyed it all so much. Besides--"

"It is awfully good of you to say so, my dear, but I don't believe a word of it. 'Besides'--you were going to say something."

"Was I? Oh yes. Besides, you could not have had another man, you know, because it would have spoiled the table."

"No, but I was so selfish about Barker, because he can play cards, and Claudius would not, or could not."

"I am not sorry for that, exactly," said Lady Victoria. "You remember, we talked about him once. I do not like Mr. Barker very much."

"Oh, he is no end of a good fellow in his way," said her brother. "Have you--a--any reason for not liking him, Vick?"

"I think he is spiteful. He says such horrid things."

"Does he? What about?" said the Duke indifferently, as he tore a bit of charred paper from the end of his cigarette, which had burned badly. She did not answer at first. He inspected the cigarette, puffed it into active life again, and looked up.

"What about, Vick?"

"About his friend--about Doctor Claudius. I like Doctor Claudius." Lady Victoria smoothed her rebellious brown hair at the huge over-gilt pier-gla.s.s of the little drawing-room which she and Margaret had in common.

"I like him too," said the Duke. "He is a gentleman. Why don't you do your hair like the American women--all fuzzy, over your eyes? I should think it would be much less trouble."

"It's not neat," said her ladys.h.i.+p, still looking into the gla.s.s. Then suddenly, "Do you know what I think?"

"Well?"

"I believe Mr. Barker would like to marry Margaret himself."

"Pshaw! Victoria, don't talk nonsense. Who ever heard of such a thing!

The Duke rose and walked once up and down the room; then he sat down again in the same place. He was not pleased at the suggestion.

"Why is it such nonsense?" she asked.

"Any number of reasons. Besides, she would not have him."

"That would not prevent him from wis.h.i.+ng to marry her."

"No, of course not, but--well, it's great stuff." He looked a little puzzled, as if he found it hard to say exactly why he objected to the idea.

"You would be very glad if Claudius married her, would you not?" asked his sister.

"Glad--I don't know--yes, I suppose so."

"But you pretend to like Mr. Barker a great deal more than you like Doctor Claudius," said she argumentatively.

"I know him better," said the Duke; "I have known Barker several years."

"And he is rich--and that, and why should he not think of proposing to Margaret?"

"Because--well I don't know, but it would be so deuced inappropriate,"

in which expression the honest-hearted Englishman struck the truth, going for it with his head down, after the manner of his people.

"At first he was very nice," said Lady Victoria, who had gained a point, though for what purpose she hardly knew; "but after a while he began to say disagreeable things. He hinted in all sorts of ways that Claudius was not exactly a gentleman, and that no one knew where he came from, and that he ought not to make love to Margaret, and so on, till I wanted to box his ears;" and she waxed warm in her wrath, which was really due in great part to the fact that Mr. Barker was personally not exactly to her taste. If she had liked him she would have thought differently of the things he said. But her brother was angry too by this time, for he remembered a conversation he had had with Barker on the same topic.

"I told Barker once that Claudius was a gentleman, every inch of him, and I should think that was enough. As if I did not know--it's too bad, upon my word!" And the ducal forehead reddened angrily. The fact was that both he and his sister had taken an unaccountable fancy to this strange Northman, with his quiet ways and his unaffected courtesy, and at the present moment they would have quarrelled with their best friends rather than hear a word against him. "My guest, too, and on my yacht,"

he went on; and it did his sister good to see him angry--"it's true he brought him, and introduced him to me." Then a bright idea struck him.

"And if Claudius were not a gentleman, what the deuce right had Barker to bring him to me at all, eh? Wasn't it his business to find out? My word! I would like to ask him that, and if I find him I will." Lady Victoria had no intention of making mischief between her brother and Mr.

Barker. But she did not like the American, and she thought Barker was turning the Duke into a miner, or a farmer, or a greengrocer, or something--it was not quite clear. But she wished him out of the way, and fate had given her a powerful weapon. It was just that sort of double-handedness that the Duke most hated of all things in the earth.

Moreover, he knew his sister never exaggerated, and that what she had told him was of necessity perfectly true.