When she looked beyond him and saw how many others there were in the room, she seemed to recoil a little. “Father,” she said, speaking quietly but steadily, “you sent for me!”
The Speaker slowly drew his great shoulders in through the window and turned around. “Come in, Eva,” he ordered in an equable voice, “come in and sit down. These are all friends here, and you need not be ashamed before them.” She advanced with short steps, sat in Jeremy’s chair, which stood empty, and arranged the hem of her gown about her feet and the collar about her throat. Then, before fixing her eyes on the old man, she cast a candid and ardent regard of affection at Jeremy. He was discomposed by it, and only with an effort could he compel his eyes to meet hers and answer them. She seemed for a moment to be troubled; but her face cleared to an expression of eager intentness as her father began to address her.
“This is the first time I have ever asked you to help me, Eva,” he said with kindly and matter-of-fact briskness. “Perhaps I should have done so before; but now at least I think you can do something for us that no one else can do. There is another war in front of us: I need not tell you now how or why it has arisen. It will be nothing at all if we face it properly; and therefore I have designed that your promised husband here shall command the army. He refuses; I do not know why—perhaps modesty ... perhaps....” He shrugged his shoulders, pursed his lips and spread out his hands, palms uppermost. “I sent for you because I thought that to-night you might be able to sway him, as I cannot.”
During this speech Jeremy’s anger had been rising fast, and now he interrupted. “This is most unfair, sir,” he cried, coming forward from the shadows in which he had been hiding.
“Be quiet, Jeremy,” said the Speaker, without raising his voice, but with a note of sternness. Then he went on smoothly: “My girl, I ask you to remember that the safety of all of us, of you and of your mother and of myself, no less than of the country, depends on our leaving nothing undone to protect ourselves. I am persuaded that Jeremy Tuft should be our leader, but I cannot convince him. I put our case in your hands.”
The girl leant forward a little towards him, breathing quickly, her eyes wide open and her lips parted. A shade as of thought passed over her face; but Jeremy broke in again, still looking at the old man.
“You won’t understand me, sir,” he protested anxiously. “God knows I would do what you ask if I thought it for the best. But I know what I can’t do and you don’t. You exaggerated what I did this morning. You don’t know anything about it, sir, indeed you don’t. There’s only one man here who ought to do it, and that is Thomas Wells. You ought to appoint him. I will serve under him and ... and....” He stopped, a little frightened by what in his eagerness he had been about to say. While he had been talking desperately, seeing no signs of help on the faces around him, he had discovered suddenly his deepest objection to the proposal. The Canadian, damn him! was the man for the job. He had the gusto for war, for bloodshed and death, which commanders need: he was the only true soldier among them. And he hated Jeremy. Jeremy continued his pause, shying at this last, this fatal argument. Then on an impulse he chanced it, concluding suddenly with a gulp, “And he won’t serve under me.” The ghost of a chuckle came from the Canadian bunched up in his chair.
The Lady Eva swung around to him impetuously. “Thomas Wells,” she murmured, her voice thrilling with an intense desire to persuade, “you won’t mind, will you? Help me to get him to accept.”
“I won’t make any difficulties, Lady Eva,” pronounced the Canadian levelly, straightening himself and pulling the edge of his robe down from his mouth. “Any one who commands the army is at liberty to—to make what use of me he can—while I’m your guest here. I’m not stuck on commanding. I guess these little troubles of yours aren’t any business of mine. Anyway, I ought to be going back home soon, since I can’t go and stay with the Chairman of Bradford, as I promised him once. My word, sir, but it’s getting on towards morning! I’m beginning to feel cold,” he finished inconsequently, turning to the Speaker.
“It isn’t fair,” Jeremy begun again. He was very tired. His body ached all over, and his eyelids were beginning to droop. His determination was not weakened, but he dreaded the effort of keeping up a firm front much longer. He felt too weak now to force his own view on the stubborn old man.