Chapter XII

“Alas, that the longest hill
Must end in a vale; but still
Who climbs with toil, whereso’er
Shall find wings waiting there.”

H. C. BEECHING.

“It does seem right natural to see you here,” said Bert Russell. He himself had been up and out at six o’clock, and finding even the large garden too restricted for him, had passed out into the fields. It was here that, an hour later, he met Katherine; she seemed the very spirit, and freshness of the morning.

“I don’t see why!” said Katherine a little ungraciously. He was the last person she had expected, or wanted to see.

“There was a kind of goddess, I seem to remember,” he said, “who came out of the earth with the spring, bringing flowers in her hand, didn’t she? And the earth was ever so glad to see her. It broke right out into summer, and everything that was down below came up to have a look at her. It must have been pretty poor fun down below, I guess, after she’d gone.”

Katherine frowned impatiently. “I came here to be alone,” she said.

“Why, so did I,” he replied, “but I’m ever so glad it didn’t happen; still, if you want it to, I’ll go right away.”

Katherine looked at him and found that, without her knowledge, or even her wish, he was telling her something. He had tremendously taking silences. The articulate seemed only the ripple, to cover the expression of an infinite number of other things that went on below; and it seemed to her that what he was trying to express, was something very kind and friendly indeed, and something of a help to her, but she would not listen.

“Thank you,” she said, “I want to be alone.”

“May I ask you a question before I go?” he said quite gravely, and with his bright, kind eyes still on hers.

“Yes,” said Katherine.

“If I can be of any use to you or to Miss Daphne, will you let me be?” he said.

“I should like you to tell me what sort of a man David Grey is?” said Katherine thoughtfully.

“Well, I think he’s a very good sort of fellow,” said Bert Russell, “in the smoking-room.”

“Thank you,” said Katherine. They stood for a moment silent. “But you wouldn’t like him to marry your sister?” Katherine continued.

“Why, you’re asking me some very hard questions,” he said at last.

“I am not asking them for fun,” she said impatiently, “nor because I want to talk to you!”

“Oh, no!” said Bert Russell with a whimsical smile, “I wasn’t expecting an encore, Miss Linton, but no one likes taking a man’s character away without good reason.”

“I have a good reason,” said Katherine.

“Then I would be quite willing for Grey to marry my sister if she were a barmaid, and I didn’t have to support them both afterwards,” he said.

“That’s all I wanted to know,” said Katherine.

“Then I’ll go out into the cold, cold world, to seek my fortune,” he said lifting his hat to her, “but before I go, perhaps you’ll let me say that this grass is the wettest thing out, and that I hope you’ve got thick shoes on.”

“I haven’t got any shoes on at all,” she replied briefly, “nor stockings,” she added as an afterthought.

“Well, it must feel good,” said Bert Russell cordially, and he left her.

Katherine waited till he was out of sight, then she swung herself on to a stile, and sat for an hour thinking about Daphne. She had a simple soul and saw things very much as they are. The consequence was, she made fewer mistakes than most people, and had never felt afraid. She did not feel afraid now, but she was puzzled. It struck her that Daphne, for whom she meant to do things, would not like the things she meant to do, and yet she meant to do them all the same.

Katherine loved Daphne, with all the love in her heart. She did not think that Daphne had behaved well, but that did not make the slightest difference. If Daphne had behaved far worse, Katherine would have acted on the same basis, but she would have suffered a good deal more.

The American wandered back into the park again, he found himself very much amused with Katherine, American girls do not take their shoes and stockings off, to go into wet fields, nor could they have told him they had done so, with such calm eyes.