It was a lovely summer night. The air was still, the sea calm. Stars shone brightly in the cloudless sky. Juliet elected to remain on deck. Algernon found a sheltered seat for her, and wrapped her warmly from the night air. Then he talked tenderly to her, trying to depict in glowing colours the future that lay before her. His spirits seemed to rise as the shore of England receded in the distance. But Juliet's depression only deepened. The hues in which he painted his pictures of the coming days seemed to her dead and cold. Only once did she display any eagerness.
"Algernon," she said suddenly, "you will not forget what you promised me? That as soon as we have a home of our own, mother shall share it with us?"
"Certainly, dearest, certainly," he said; "it shall be as you wish." He was ready to promise anything concerning so far-off an event, as long as she remained tranquil, and did not draw the attention of their fellow-passengers to them by any display of excitement.
She said little after that, and it being difficult to maintain a conversation to which she would supply only monosyllables, he too became silent.
Juliet was looking at the stars twinkling brightly overhead. She had always loved to watch the stars; but to-night, it seemed to her that they looked down on her with a reproachful gaze. Did they know all the history of her life up to this moment of self-assertion and flight? Did they look on her as a selfish, hard-hearted, ungrateful child? Ah, and they were looking down on her home too—on her mother, who perhaps at this hour was praying God to bless her wayward child. A sob broke from Juliet at the thought.
"Oh," she murmured, scarcely above a whisper, "I am doing what is very selfish and wrong! Only evil can come of it."
"Nonsense, Juliet," Algernon responded impatiently. "This all comes of your puritanical bringing up. One must act for oneself in this life. For my part, I pity the man or woman who is not selfish. If you do not look after your own interests, it is certain no one else will."
Juliet made no reply, and almost immediately afterwards came the bustle of landing at Calais.
There was a brief delay at Calais, of which most of the travellers availed themselves to get refreshment. Algernon procured a cup of coffee for Juliet, which she drank; but he could not persuade her to eat anything. In a short time, they were in the train speeding along towards Paris.
There were many persons travelling, and the compartment was very full. Most of the passengers grumbled at the discomfort, as they tried to compose themselves to sleep. But to Juliet, it did not seem to matter that her position was not a restful one. She felt not the least inclination to sleep.