Through stained glass
Page 32
CHAPTER XXXII
Within two weeks of Lewis's departure for South America, Leightonreturned from his shooting-trip. Despite the fact that he had notwritten telling Lewis he was coming, he felt a great chagrin at findingthe flat deserted except for the ever-faithful Nelton.
"Where's the boy?" was Leighton's first question. Even as he steppedacross the threshold he felt that he stepped into an empty house.
"South America," said Nelton, relieving his master of hat, stick, andgloves.
"South America!" cried Leighton, dismayed, and then smiled. "Well, he'sgetting his dad's tricks early. What for?"
"Don't know, sir. Mr. Lewis said as you'd get it from her ladyship."
Lady Derl was out of town. Leighton followed her, stayed two days,decided her momentary entourage was not to his taste, and returned toLondon. He reached the flat in the afternoon, just in time to receive acaller. The caller was Vi.
"Hallo!" said Leighton as Nelton showed her in, "this is fortune. Takeoff your things and stay."
"I will--some of them," drawled Vi; "but not just yet." She sat down.
"What on earth are you doing in town?" asked Leighton.
"Well," said Vi, "up to three weeks ago I was here at the beck and callof your son. Then he suddenly took French leave." She turned and facedLeighton. "Where has he gone? It isn't like one of you to be rude inlittle things."
"I don't think Lew meant to be rude," said Leighton. "He's gone to SouthAmerica. He heard about some cousins he 'd lost track of, and he justbolted the next morning."
"Cousins!" said Vi. "I didn't know any one still went in for family tiesto the extent of South America, short of a fat death."
"No," said Leighton, smiling; there's no money in this trip. Why wereyou at his beck and call?"
"Model," said Vi, coolly. "He's been doing me."
"Doing _you_!" said Leighton, looking at her curiously.
"There, there," said Vi, "don't let your imagination run away with you.Not in the nude. By the way, can you let me have the key? I leftsomething in the studio, and I didn't like to go to Nelton."
"Certainly," said Leighton. "I'll walk by there with you."
Vi gave a shrug of protest, but Leighton's back was already turned. Hefetched the key, and together they walked over to Lewis's atelier. Whenthey had climbed the stairs and were at the door, Vi said a littlebreathlessly and without a drawl:
"Do you mind very much not coming in? I won't be but a minute."
Leighton glanced at her, surprised. "Not at all," he said, and handedher the key. He took out a cigarette and lit it as she opened the doorand closed it behind her. He started pacing up and down the bare hall.Presently he grew impatient, and glanced at his watch; then he stoppedshort in his tracks. From behind the closed door came unmistakably thesound of a woman sobbing.
Leighton did not hesitate. He threw open the door and walked in. Exceptfor Vi, curled up in a little heap on the couch, the atelier was verystill, vast, somber. In its center shone a patch of light. In the patchof light, on a low working pedestal, stood a statue. On the floor were atumbled cloth and a fallen screen. Leighton stood stock-still andstared.
The sculptured figure was that of a woman veiled in draperies that weremerely suggested. Her face, from where Leighton stood, was turned away.Her right arm was half outstretched, her left hung at her side, but itwas peculiarly turned, as though to draw the watcher on. Then there wasthe left thigh. Once the eye fell on that, all else was forgotten. Intothis sinking sweep had gone all the artist's terrific force ofexpression and suggestion. No live man would have thought of the figureas "Woman Leading the Way," once his eyes had fallen on that thigh. Tosuch a one the statue named itself with a single flash to the brain, andthe name it spoke was "Invitation."
Leighton's first impulse was one of unbounded admiration--the admirationwe give to unbounded power. Then realization and a frown began to comeslowly to his face. Vi, crumpled up on the couch, and sobbing hard, drysobs,--the sobs that bring age,---helped him to realization. Lewis, hisboy, had done a base thing.
Without moving, Leighton glanced about the room till his eyes fell onthe mallet. Then he stepped quickly to it, picked it up, and crossed tothe statue. Beneath his quick blows the brittle clay fell from theskeleton wires in great, jagged chunks. With his foot he crushed a fewof them to powder. He tossed the mallet aside, and glanced at Vi. Shewas still crying, but she had half risen at the sound of his blows, andwas staring at him through wet eyes.
Leighton started walking up and down, the frown still on his brow.Finally he came to a stop before the couch.
"Vi," he said--"Vi, listen! You must tell me something. It isn't a fairquestion, but never mind that."
She lifted a tear-stained face.
"Vi," said Leighton, tensely, "did he follow?"
Vi raised herself on her arms and stared at him for a moment before shegasped:
"You fool, do you suppose I would have cared if he had followed?" Thenshame gripped her, and she threw herself full-length again, face down.Her shoulders shook, but she made no sound.
Leighton waited half an hour. He spent the time walking up and down andsmoking cigarettes. He was no longer frowning. At the end of thehalf-hour he caught Vi by the arms and lifted her to her feet.
"Come on," he said.
Vi stared at him as one half-awakened.
"I don't want to go anywhere," she said. "I'm very well here."
"Nonsense!" said Leighton, "you don't realize what you're doing toyourself. On my word, you look positively puttyish."
"Puttyish!" cried Vi, a flush of anger rising to her face. "Grapes,you're brutal! Since when have you learned to trample on a woman?"
"That's better," said Leighton, coolly. "I thought it would rouse you abit."
Vi almost smiled at herself. She laid her hand on Leighton's arm andturned him toward the door.
"And they still say that no man knows women," she said. She paused andlooked back at the fragments of the statue. Her lips twisted. "Evenboys," she added, "pick out our naked souls and slap them in our faces."
As they walked slowly toward the flat, Vi said:
"I know why you had to ask that question. I'm glad you did. You weremisjudging Lew. But you can be sure of one thing: no one but us threeever saw that statue; I know now that no one but just Lew and myselfwere ever meant to see it. He didn't want to model me that way. When Iasked for it, he hesitated, then suddenly he gave in." She paused for amoment, then she added, "I believe it's part of a man's job to know whento trample on women."