CHAPTER XVI
"To-morrow," the Princess said softly, "we shall have been here afortnight."
Cecil de la Borne came and sat by her side upon the sofa.
"I am afraid," he said, "that leaving out everything else, you havebeen terribly bored."
"I have been nothing of the sort," she answered. "Of course, the lastweek has been a strain, but we are not going to talk any more aboutthat. You prepared us for semi-barbarism, and instead you have madeperfect sybarites of us. I can assure you that though in one way to gowill be a release, in another I shall be very sorry."
"And I," he said, in a low tone, "shall always be sorry."
He let his hand fall upon hers, and looked into her eyes. The Princessstifled a yawn. This country style of love-making was a thing which shehad outgrown many years ago.
"You will find other distractions very soon," she said, "and besides,the world is a small place. We shall see something of you, I suppose,always. By the by, you have not been particularly attentive to mystepdaughter during the last few days, have you?"
"She gives me very little chance," he answered, in a slightly aggrievedtone.
"She is very young," the Princess said, "too young, I suppose, to takethings seriously. I do not think that she will marry very early."
Cecil bent over his companion till his head almost touched hers.
"Dear lady," he said, "I am afraid that I am not very interested inyour stepdaughter while you are here."
"Absurd!" she murmured. "I am nearly twice your age."
"If you were," he answered, "so much the better, but you are not. Doyou know, I think that you have been rather unkind to me. I havescarcely seen you alone since you have been here."
She laughed softly, and took up her little dog into her arm as thoughto use him for a shield.
"My dear Cecil," she said earnestly, "please don't make love to me. Ilike you so much, and I should hate to feel that you were boring me.Every man with whom I am alone for ten minutes thinks it his duty tosay foolish things to me, and I can assure you that I am past it all. Afew years ago it was different. To-day there are only three things inthe world I care for--my little spaniel here, bridge, and money."
His face darkened a little.
"You did not talk like this in London," he reminded her.
"Perhaps not," she admitted. "Perhaps even now it is only a mood withme. I can only speak as I feel for the moment. There are times when Ifeel differently, but not now."
"Perhaps," he said jealously, "there are also other people with whomyou feel differently."
"Perhaps," she admitted calmly.
"When I came into the room the other day," he said, "Forrest washolding your hand."
"Major Forrest," she said, "has been very much upset. He needed alittle consolation. He has some other engagements, and he ought to haveleft before now, but, as you know, we are all prisoners. I wonder howlong it will last."
"I cannot tell," Cecil answered gloomily. "Forrest knows more about itthan I do. What does he say to you?"
"He thinks," the Princess said slowly, "that we may be able to leave ina few days now."
"Then while you do stay," Cecil begged, "be a little kinder to me."
She withdrew her hand from her dog and patted his for a moment.
"You foolish boy," she said. "Of course I will be a little kinder toyou, if you like, but I warn you that I shall only be a disappointment.Boys of your age always expect so much, and I have so little to give."
"Why do you say that?" he asked.
She shrugged her shoulders.
"Because it is the truth," she answered. "You must not expect anythingmore from me than the husk of things. Believe me, I am not a poseuse. Ireally mean it."
"You may change your mind," he said.
"I may," she answered. "I have no convictions, and my enemies wouldadd, no principles. If any one could make me feel the things which Ihave forgotten how to feel, I myself am perfectly willing! But don'thope too much from that. And do, there's a dear boy, go and stop mymaid. I can see her on her way down the drive there. She has sometelegrams I gave her, and I want to send another."
Cecil hurried out, and the Princess, moving to the window, beckoned toForrest, who was lounging in a wicker chair with a cigarette in hismouth.
"Nigel," she said, "how much longer?"
Forrest looked despondently at his cigarette.
"I cannot tell," he answered. "Perhaps one day, perhaps a week,perhaps--"
"No!" the Princess interrupted, "I do not wish to hear thateventuality."
"You know that the Duke is still about?" Forrest said gloomily. "I sawhim this morning. There has been a fellow, too--a detective, ofcourse--enquiring about the car and who was able to drive it."
"But that," the Princess interrupted, "is all in our favour. You wereseen to bring it back up the drive about ten o'clock in the morning."
Forrest nodded.
"Don't let's talk about it," he said. "Where is Jeanne? Do you know?"
The Princess pointed toward the lawn to where Cecil and Jeanne werejust starting a game of croquet. Forrest watched them for a few minutesmeditatively.
"Ena," he said, dropping his voice a little, "what are you going to dowith that child? I have never quite understood your plans. You promisedto talk to me about it while we were down here."
"I know," the Princess answered, "only this other affair has driveneverything out of our minds. What I should like to do," she continued,"is to marry her before she comes of age, if I can find any one willingto pay the price."
"The price?" he repeated doubtfully.
The Princess nodded.
"Supposing," she continued, "that her fortune amounted to nearly fourhundred thousand pounds, I think that twenty-five thousand pounds wouldbe a very moderate sum for any one to pay for a wife with such a dowry."
"Have you any one in your mind?" he asked.
The Princess nodded.
"I have a friend in Paris who is making some cautious inquiries," sheanswered. "I am expecting to hear from her in the course of a few days."
"So far," he remarked, "you have made nothing out of your guardianshipexcept a living allowance."
She nodded.
"And a ridiculously small one," she remarked. "All that I have had istwo thousand a year. I need not tell you, my dear Nigel, that that doesnot go very far when it has to provide dresses and servants and a homefor both of us. Jeanne is content, and never grumbles, or her lawyersmight ask some very inconvenient questions."
"Supposing," he asked, "that she won't have anything to do with thisman, when you have found one who is willing to pay?"
"Until she is of age," the Princess answered, "she is mine to do what Ilike with, body and soul. The French law is stricter than the Englishin this respect, you know. There may be a little trouble, of course,but I shall know how to manage her."
"She has likes and dislikes of her own," he remarked, "and fairlypositive ones. I believe if she had her own way, she would spend allher time with this fisherman here."
The Princess smoothed the lace upon her gown, and gazed reflectively atthe turquoises upon her white fingers.
"Jeanne's father," she remarked, "was bourgeois, and her mother hadlittle family. Race tells, of course. I have never attempted toinfluence her. When there is a great struggle ahead, it is as well tolet her have her own way in small things. Hush! She is coming. Isuppose the croquet has been a failure."
Jeanne came across to them, swinging her mallet in her hand.
"Will some one," she begged, "take our too kind host away from me? Hefollows me everywhere, and I am bored. I have played croquet with him,but he is not satisfied. If I try to read, he comes and sits by my sideand talks nonsense. If I say I am going for a walk, he wants to comewith me. I am tired of it."
The Princess looked at her stepdaughter critically. Jeanne was dressedin white, with a great red rose stuck through her waistband. She waspaler even than usual, her eyes were dark and luminous,
and the curveof her scarlet lips suggested readily enough the weariness of which shespoke.
The Princess shrugged her shoulders and gathered up her skirts.
"Do what you like, my dear," she said. "I will tell Cecil to leave youalone. But remember that he is our host. You must really be civil tohim."
She strolled across the lawn to where Cecil was still knocking thecroquet balls about. Jeanne sank into her place, and Forrest looked ather for a few moments attentively.
"You are a strange child," he said at last.
She glanced towards him as though she found his speech an impertinence.Then she looked away across the old-fashioned, strangely arrangedgarden, with its irregular patches of many coloured flowers, itswind-swept shrubs, its flag-staff rising from the grassy knoll at theseaward extremity. She watched the seagulls, wheeling in from the sea,and followed the line of smoke of a distant steamer. She seemed to findall these things more interesting than conversation.
"You do not like me," he remarked quietly. "You have never liked me."
"I have liked very few of my stepmother's friends," she answered, "anymore than I like the life which I have been compelled to lead since Ileft school."
"You would prefer to be back there, perhaps?" he remarked, a littlesarcastically.
"I should," she answered. "It was prison of a sort, but one was atleast free to choose one's friends."
"If," he suggested, "you could make up your mind that I was a person atany rate to be tolerated, I think that I could make things easier foryou. Your stepmother is always inclined to follow my advice, and Icould perhaps get her to take you to quieter places, where you couldlead any sort of life you liked."
"Thank you," she answered. "Before very long I shall be my ownmistress. Until then I must make the best of things. If you wish to dosomething for me you can answer a question."
"Ask it, then," he begged at once. "If I can, I shall be only too glad."
"You can tell me something which since the other night," she said, "hasbeen worrying me a good deal. You can tell me who it was that droveLord Ronald to the station the morning he went away. I thought that hesent his chauffeur away two days ago, and that there was no one herewho could drive the car."
Forrest was momentarily taken aback. He answered, however, withscarcely any noticeable hesitation.
"I did," he answered. "I didn't make much of a job of it, and the carhas been scarcely fit to use since, but I managed it somehow, or ratherwe did between us. He came and knocked me up about five o'clock, andbegged me to come and try."
She looked at him with peculiar steadfastness. There was nothing in hereyes or her expression to suggest belief or disbelief in his words.
"But I have heard you say so often," she remarked, "that you knewabsolutely nothing about the mechanism of a car, and that you would notdrive one for anything in the world."
He nodded.
"I am not proud of my skill," he answered, "but I did try at Homburgonce. There was nothing else to do, and I had some idea of buying asmall car for touring in the Black Forest. If you doubt my words, youcan ask any of the servants. They saw me bring the car up the avenuelater in the morning."
"It was being dragged up," she reminded him. "The engine was not going."
He looked a little startled.
"It had only just gone wrong," he said. "I had brought it all the wayfrom Lynn."
She rose to her feet.
"Thank you for answering my question," she said. "I am going for a walknow."
He leaned quite close to her.
"Alone?" he asked suggestively.
She swept away without even looking at him. He shrugged his shouldersas he resumed his seat.
"I am not sure," he said reflectively, as he lit a cigarette, "that Enawill find that young woman so easy to deal with as she imagines!"
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