“In this instance it might happen that the girl had a house of her own! Did it never strike you that you would be doubling your chances if you linked them together?”
“I am not a fool, sir! Of course I realised as much from the first, and have wondered if it was part of your scheme. My idea of marriage, however, is to be able to keep my wife, not to accept support. It may be a weakness in my nature, which makes me wish to be head of my own household; but weakness or not, there it is, and I can’t get rid of it. It would be detestable to me to marry an heiress, and if I were a girl I should despise a man who was content to live on his wife’s money.”
“Just so—just so! Very praiseworthy sentiments, no doubt; but I should have been glad to know that the child had a protector. The stepfather is a broken reed, and the mother is a child herself; however, you place your pride and your prejudice first, and that’s the end of the business. You will go back to town, she to the North—a very effectual separation!”
He shrugged his shoulders expressively; but Jack’s eyes gave out a sudden flash, he straightened himself, and cried eagerly—
“There are trains, there are boats—if it comes to that, it is only two hundred miles. If she were in trouble, one could walk! It would make no difference if the woman one wanted were at the end of the world—one would get to her somehow when the hour arrived! Difficulty is an inspiration, sir, when one is young!”
“Yes, yes; when one is young—when one is young!” The smile which had lightened the old man’s face died away at the sound of those last words. He raised his hand and pushed the thin locks from his brow. “Well, it is your own life—you must live it in your own way! I cannot benefit you against your will. If your mind is made up I have no strength to argue the point. You had better arrange to leave to-morrow afternoon, and give instructions to that effect to the servants.”
Jack’s start of surprise was entirely disagreeable. He had not expected to be dismissed in this summary fashion, and the thought of so speedy a break with the new life came upon him with a positive shock. To-morrow! To-morrow, then, at this very hour he would be back in the dingy lodgings which did duty for home, preparing to sit down to a solitary meal, to spend a solitary evening, to sleep and wake up to a day’s work in the stifling City, where the thought of green fields and rose-gardens, and wide, stretching lawns would seem as unreal as a dream. A weight of depression settled on him, as he exclaimed—
“To-morrow! But—unless you wish it, there is no hurry—I could wait until the end of the week. If I left on Saturday, I could still begin work on Monday.”
“For what object? Since you have decided not to remain, it is better for all reasons that you should return at once. You have put your work before everything else—then why delay in getting back to it? For my own part, since you refuse to consent to my conditions, it would simplify matters if you returned at once. The position is difficult, and my strength is rapidly failing. I should have been glad if you had consented to grant me these few weeks out of your life, but, since it is not to be, I prefer to finish the matter once for all.” He held out his hand as he spoke. “Good-bye, Melland—my best wishes! I shall not see you in the morning!”
Jack took the proffered hand, and held it in silence, his face a study of perplexity and remorse. An Englishman hates to express his emotions, but to a generous nature the sting of ungratefulness is even more abhorrent. At that moment it seemed a little thing to spare a few months of strong, young life to gratify the whim of a dying man. Jack’s heart reproached him, and he spoke in eager accents.