‘Take a rest, my beloved,’ he whispered softly, ‘it will refresh thee; to-morrow I will come and stay awhile beside thee; when I trust thy friend Geometrus will not favour us with his presence. Evidently, by his dark looks he would fain annihilate me, if that were possible.’
‘Ah, yes,’ returned Mercia, with a sigh and a smile intermixed; ‘we two must have explanations. That talking-machine has made things awkward for me. But for that tell-tale instrument I owed him no apologies, seeing that the nature of our friendship had never been discussed between us. Since then I have learnt that which the concentrated wisdom of all the schools could not impart by theory; for it is the realisation and knowledge of what the poets of all ages have made their universal theme; but experience only can reveal the reality.’
‘And it is as fresh to us as if utterly unknown hitherto! It is our new discovery!’ cried Swami in a rapture as he caught her in his arms.
‘But we can’t take out a patent for it!’ Mercia was in the act of replying, when her words were smothered by the warm kisses pressed upon her lips.
‘And must we really part?’ exclaimed she, while playfully holding his hands prisoners.
‘It will seem an eternity till the morrow,’ he murmured, making no effort to escape.
‘When I sleep I shall dream of thee, Swami,’ and her liquid eyes looked softly into his.
‘My day dream shuts out the visions of the night; for my happiness is too great for the waters of Lethe to cover. With thee to concentre my thought upon, I ask no other refreshment,’ uttered Swami softly.
When fame is won, leisure is lost, Mercia quickly discovered; for no sooner had Swami left than she found herself surrounded by crowds of persons who had come to offer their congratulations. Of course the sincerity of those demonstrative ones was not to be doubted, nevertheless the visits of a goodly percentage were prompted more by curiosity to see the woman who might have displaced their Empress, had she been so minded, and the Divorce Courts sufficiently obliging, than anything else. Consequently, Mercia had a livelier time of it for several hours than she was prepared for. People to whom she was a perfect stranger poured in upon her, until at length fairly wearied out with the strain she gave orders to admit no more.
As soon as the apartments were fairly cleared of their visitors she sank down on a sofa exhausted; and was in the act of uttering an exclamation of thankfulness when Geometrus put in an appearance.