CHAPTER XXII
DR. ROB TO THE RESCUE
Into the somewhat oppressive silence which followed the addressing andclosing of the envelope, broke the cheery voice of Dr. Rob.
"Which is the patient to-day? The lady or the gentleman? Ah, neither, Isee. Both flaunt the bloom of perfect health and make the doctor shy.It is spring without, but summer within," ran on Dr. Rob gaily,wondering why both faces were so white and perturbed, and why there wasin the air a sense of hearts in torment. "Flannels seem to call upboating and picnic parties; and I see you have discarded the merino,Nurse Gray, and returned to the pretty blue washables. More becoming,undoubtedly; only, don't take cold; and be sure you feed up well. Inthis air people must eat plenty, and you have been perceptibly losingweight lately. We don't want TOO airy-fairy dimensions."
"Why do you always chaff Miss Gray about being small, Dr. Rob?" askedGarth, in a rather vexed tone. "I am sure being short is in no waydetrimental to her."
"I will chaff her about being tall if you like," said Dr. Rob, lookingat her with a wicked twinkle, as she stood in the window, drawn up toher full height, and regarding him with cold disapproval.
"I would sooner no comments of any kind were made upon her personalappearance," said Garth shortly; then added, more pleasantly: "You see,she is just a voice to me--a kind, guiding voice. At first I used toform mental pictures of her, of a hazy kind; but now I prefer toappropriate in all its helpfulness what I DO know, and leave unimaginedwhat I do not. Did it ever strike you that she is the only person--barthat fellow Johnson, who belongs to a nightmare time I am quicklyforgetting--I have yet had near me, in my blindness, whom I had notalready seen; the only voice I have ever heard to which I could not puta face and figure? In time, of course, there will be many. At presentshe stands alone to me in this."
Dr. Rob's observant eye had been darting about during this explanation,seeking to focus itself upon something worthy of minute examination.Suddenly he spied the foreign letter lying close beside him on thetable.
"Hello!" he said. "Pyramids? The Egyptian stamp? That's interesting.Have you friends out there, Mr. Dalmain?"
"That letter came from Cairo," Garth replied; "but I believe MissChampion has by now gone on to Syria." Dr. Rob attacked his moustache,and stared at the letter meditatively. "Champion?" he repeated."Champion? It's an uncommon name. Is your correspondent, by any chance,the Honourable Jane?"
"Why, that letter is from her," replied Garth, surprised. "Do you knowher?" His voice vibrated eagerly.
"Well," answered Dr. Rob, with slow deliberation, "I know her face, andI know her voice; I know her figure, and I know a pretty good deal ofher character. I know her at home, and I know her abroad. I've seen herunder fire, which is more than most men of her acquaintance can claim.But there is one thing I never knew until to-day and that is herhandwriting. May I examine this envelope?" He turned to thewindow;--yes, this audacious little Scotchman had asked the question ofNurse Rosemary. But only a broad blue back met his look of inquiry.Nurse Rosemary was studying the view. He turned back to Garth, who hadevidently already made a sign of assent, and on whose face was clearlyexpressed an eager desire to hear more, and an extreme disinclinationto ask for it.
Dr. Mackenzie took up the envelope and pondered it.
"Yes," he said, at last, "it is like her,--clear, firm, unwavering;knowing what it means to say, and saying it; going where it means togo, and getting there. Ay, lad, it's a grand woman that; and if youhave the Honourable Jane for your friend, you can be doing without afew other things."
A tinge of eager colour rose in Garth's thin cheeks. He had been sostarved in his darkness for want of some word concerning her, from thatouter light in which she moved. He had felt so hopelessly cut off fromall chance of hearing of her. And all the while, if only he had knownit, old Robbie could have talked of her. He had had to question Brandso cautiously, fearing to betray his secret and hers; but with Dr. Roband Nurse Gray no such precautions were needed. He could safely guardhis secret, and yet listen and speak.
"Where--when?" asked Garth.
"I will tell you where, and I will tell you when," answered Dr. Rob,"if you feel inclined for a war tale on this peaceful spring morning."
Garth was aflame With eagerness. "Have you a chair, doctor?" he said."And has Miss Gray a chair?"
"I have no chair, sir," said Dr. Rob, "because when I intend thoroughlyto enjoy my own eloquence it is my custom to stand. Nurse Gray has nochair, because she is standing at the window absorbed in the view. Shehas apparently ceased to pay any heed to you and me. You will veryrarely find one woman take much interest in tales about another. Butyou lean back in your own chair, laddie, and light a cigarette. And awonderful thing it is to see you do it, too, and better than poundingthe wall. Eh? All of which we may consider we owe to the lady whodisdains us and prefers the scenery. Well, I'm not much to look at,goodness knows; and she can see you all the rest of the day. Now that'sa brand worth smoking. What do you call it--'Zenith'? Ah, and'Marcovitch.' Yes; you can't better that for drawing-room and gardenpurposes. It mingles with the flowers. Lean back and enjoy it, while Ismell gun-powder. For I will tell you where I first saw the HonourableJane. Out in South Africa, in the very thick of the Boer war. I hadvolunteered for the sake of the surgery experience. She was out there,nursing; but the real thing, mind you. None of your dabbling ineau-de-cologne with lace handkerchiefs, and washing handsome faces whenthe orderlies had washed them already; making charming conversation tomen who were getting well, but fleeing in dread from the dead or thedying. None of that, you may be sure, and none of that allowed in herhospital; for Miss Champion was in command there, and I can tell youshe made them scoot. She did the work of ten, and expected others to doit too. Doctors and orderlies adored her. She was always called 'TheHonourable Jane,' most of the men sounding the H and pronouncing thetitle as four syllables. Ay, and the wounded soldiers! There was many alad out there, far from home and friends, who, when death came, diedwith a smile on his lips, and a sense of mother and home quite near,because the Honourable Jane's arm was around him, and his dying headrested against her womanly breast. Her voice when she talked to them?No,--that I shall never forget. And to hear her snap at the women, andorder along the men; and then turn and speak to a sick Tommy as hismother or his sweetheart would have wished to hear him spoken to, was alesson in quick-change from which I am profiting still. And that big,loving heart must often have been racked; but she was always brave andbright. Just once she broke down. It was over a boy whom she tried hardto save--quite a youngster. She had held him during the operation whichwas his only chance; and when it proved no good, and he lay backagainst her unconscious, she quite broke down and said: 'Oh, doctor,--amere boy--and to suffer so, and then die like this!' and gathered himto her, and wept over him, as his own mother might have done. Thesurgeon told me of it himself. He said the hardest hearts in the tentwere touched and softened. But, it was the only time the HonourableJane broke down."
Garth shielded his face with his hand. His half-smoked cigarette fellunheeded to the floor. The hand that had held it was clenched on hisknee. Dr. Rob picked it up, and rubbed the scorched spot on the carpetcarefully with his foot. He glanced towards the window. Nurse Rosemaryhad turned and was leaning against the frame. She did not look at him,but her eyes dwelt with troubled anxiety on Garth.
"I came across her several times, at different centres," continued Dr.Rob; "but we were not in the same departments, and she spoke to me onlyonce. I had ridden in, from a temporary overflow sort of place where wewere dealing with the worst cases straight off the field, to the mainhospital in the town for a fresh supply of chloroform. While theyfetched it, I walked round the ward, and there in a corner was MissChampion, kneeling beside a man whose last hour was very near, talkingto him quietly, and taking measures at the same time to ease his pain.Suddenly there came a crash--a deafening rush--and another crash, andthe Honourable Jane and her patient were covered with dust andsplinters. A Boer shell had gone clean
through the roof just over theirheads. The man sat up, yelling with fear. Poor chap, you couldn't blamehim; dying, and half under morphine. The Honourable Jane never turned ahair. 'Lie down, my man,' she said, 'and keep still.' 'Not here,'sobbed the man. 'All right,' said the Honourable Jane; 'we will soonmove you.' Then she turned and saw me. I was in the most nondescriptkhaki, a non-com's jacket which I had caught up on leaving the tent,and various odds and ends of my outfit which had survived the wear andtear of the campaign. Also I was dusty with a long gallop. 'Here,serjeant,' she said, 'lend a hand with this poor fellow. I can't havehim disturbed just now.' That was Jane's only comment on the passing ofa shell within a few yards of her own head. Do you wonder the menadored her? She placed her hands beneath his shoulders, and signed tome to take him under the knees, and together we carried him round ascreen, out of the ward, and down a short passage; turning unexpectedlyinto a quiet little room, with a comfortable bed, and photographs andbooks arranged on the tiny dressing-table. She said: 'Here, if youplease, serjeant,' and we laid him on the bed. 'Whose is it?' I asked.She looked surprised at being questioned, but seeing I was a stranger,answered civilly: 'Mine.' And then, noting that he had dozed off whilewe carried him, added: 'And he will have done with beds, poor chap,before I need it.' There's nerve for you!--Well, that was my onlyconversation out there with the Honourable Jane. Soon after I had hadenough and came home."
Garth lifted his head. "Did you ever meet her at home?" he asked.
"I did," said Dr. Rob. "But she did not remember me. Not a flicker ofrecognition. Well, how could I expect it? I wore a beard out there; notime to shave; and my jacket proclaimed me a serjeant, not a surgeon.No fault of hers if she did not expect to meet a comrade from the frontin the wilds of--of Piccadilly," finished Dr. Rob lamely. "Now, havingspun so long a yarn, I must be off to your gardener's cot in the wood,to see his good wife, who has had what he pathetically calls 'anincrease.' I should think a decrease would have better suited the sizeof his house. But first I must interview Mistress Margery in thedining-room. She is anxious about herself just now because she 'cannaeat bacon.' She says it flies between her shoulders. So erratic adeviation from its normal route on the part of the bacon, undoubtedlyrequires investigation. So, by your leave, I will ring for the goodlady."
"Not just yet, doctor," said a quiet voice from the window. "I want tosee you in the dining-room, and will follow you there immediately. Andafterwards, while you investigate Margery, I will run up for my bonnet,and walk with you through the woods, if Mr. Dalmain will not mind anhour alone."
When Jane reached the dining-room, Dr. Robert Mackenzie was standing onthe hearth-rug in a Napoleonic attitude, just as on the morning oftheir first interview. He looked up uncertainly as she came in.
"Well?" he said. "Am I to pay the piper?"
Jane came straight to him, with both hands extended.
"Ah, serjeant!" she said. "You dear faithful old serjeant! See whatcomes of wearing another man's coat. And my dilemma comes from takinganother woman's name. So you knew me all the time, from the firstmoment I came into the room?"
"From the first moment you entered the room," assented Dr. Rob.
"Why did you not say so?" asked Jane.
"Well, I concluded you had your reasons for being 'Nurse RosemaryGray,' and it did not come within my province to question youridentity."
"Oh, you dear!" said Jane. "Was there ever anything so shrewd, and sowise, and so bewilderingly far-seeing, standing on two legs on ahearth-rug before! And when I remember how you said: 'So you havearrived, Nurse Gray?' and all the while you might have been saying.'How do you do, Miss Champion? And what brings you up here undersomebody else's name?"
"I might have so said," agreed Dr. Rob reflectively; "but praise be, Idid not."
"But tell me" said Jane "why let it out now?"
Dr. Rob laid his hand on her arm. "My dear, I am an old fellow, and allmy life I have made it my business to know, without being told. Youhave been coming through a strain,--a prolonged period of strain,sometimes harder, sometimes easier, but never quite relaxed,--a strainsuch as few women could have borne. It was not only with him; you hadto keep it up towards us all. I knew, if it were to continue, you mustsoon have the relief of some one with whom to share the secret,--someone towards whom you could be yourself occasionally. And when I foundyou had been writing to him here, sending the letter to be posted inCairo (how like a woman, to strain at a gnat, after swallowing such acamel!), awaiting its return day after day, then obliged to read it tohim yourself, and take down his dictated answer, which I gathered fromyour faces when I entered was his refusal of your request to come andsee him, well, it seemed to me about time you were made to realise thatyou might as well confide in an old fellow who, in common with all themen who knew you in South Africa, would gladly give his right hand forthe Honourable Jane."
Jane looked at him, her eyes full of gratitude. For the moment shecould not speak.
"But tell me, my dear," said Dr. Rob, "tell me, if you can: why doesthe lad put from him so firmly that which, if indeed it might be hisfor the asking, would mean for him so great, so wonderful, socomforting a good?"
"Ah, doctor," said Jane, "thereby hangs a tale of sad mistrust andmistake, and the mistrust and mistake, alas, were mine. Now, while yousee Margery, I will prepare for walking; and as we go through the woodI will try to tell you the woeful thing which came between him and meand placed our lives so far apart. Your wise advice will help me, andyour shrewd knowledge of men and of the human heart may find us a wayout, for indeed we are shut in between Migdol and the sea."
As Jane crossed the hall and was about to mount the stairs, she lookedtowards the closed library door. A sudden fear seized her, lest thestrain of listening to that tale of Dr. Rob's had been too much forGarth. None but she could know all it must have awakened of memory tobe told so vividly of the dying soldiers whose heads were pillowed onher breast, and the strange coincidence of those words, "A mereboy--and to suffer so!" She could not leave the house without beingsure he was safe and well. And yet she instinctively feared to intrudewhen he imagined himself alone for an hour.
Then Jane, in her anxiety, did a thing she had never done before. Sheopened the front door noiselessly, passed round the house to theterrace, and when approaching the open window of the library, trod onthe grass border, and reached it without making the faintest sound.
Never before had she come upon him unawares, knowing he hated anddreaded the thought of an unseen intrusion on his privacy.
But now--just this once--
Jane looked in at the window.
Garth sat sideways in the chair, his arms folded on the table besidehim, his face buried in them. He was sobbing as she had sometimes heardmen sob after agonising operations, borne without a sound until theworst was over. And Garth's sob of agony was this: "OH, MY WIFE--MYWIFE--MY WIFE!"
Jane crept away. How she did it she never knew. But some instinct toldher that to reveal herself then, taking him at a disadvantage, when Dr.Rob's story had unnerved and unmanned him, would be to ruin all. "IFYOU VALUE YOUR ULTIMATE HAPPINESS AND HIS," Deryck's voice alwayssounded in warning. Besides, it was such a short postponement. In thecalm earnest thought which would succeed this storm, his need of her,would win the day. The letter, not yet posted, would be rewritten. Hewould say "COME"--and the next minute he would be in her arms.
So Jane turned noiselessly away.
Coming in, an hour later, from her walk with Dr. Rob, her heart filledwith glad anticipation, she found him standing in the window, listeningto the countless sounds he was learning to distinguish. He looked soslim and tall and straight in his white flannels, both hands thrustdeep into the pockets of his coat, that when he turned at her approachit seemed to her as if the shining eyes MUST be there.
"Was it lovely in the woods?" he asked. "Simpson shall take me up thereafter lunch. Meanwhile, is there time, if you are not tired, Miss Gray,to finish our morning's work?"
Five letters were dictated and a
cheque written. Then Jane noticed thathers to him had gone from among the rest. But his to her lay on thetable ready for stamping. She hesitated.
"And about the letter to Miss Champion?" she said. "Do you wish it togo as it is, Mr. Dalmain?"
"Why certainly," he said. "Did we not finish it?"
"I thought," said Jane nervously, looking away from his blank face, "Ithought perhaps--after Dr. Rob's story--you might--"
"Dr. Rob's story could make no possible difference as to whether Ishould let her come here or not," said Garth emphatically; then addedmore gently: "It only reminded me--"
"Of what?" asked Jane, her hands upon her breast.
"Of what a glorious woman she is," said Garth Dalmain, and blew a long,steady cloud of smoke into the summer air.
The Rosary Page 24
