“Mildred, I think you are beginning to care for me,” he said in a low voice.
In answer her hand moved towards him and lay there; but she did not speak.
CHAPTER VII
Edward Drake walked the whole way back from Park Lane to Whitechapel. He was one of the many men whose brains work more quickly when the limbs are in motion, and he had much to occupy his thoughts. At first sight it seemed ludicrous to imagine that Gaunt would fulfill a resolution made under such circumstances. The issue was stupendous, and would change his life in every detail if it were carried out conscientiously. But although he had known Gaunt for a short time, he had come to the conclusion that Gaunt was a man of no ordinary character. Most men would have calmly forgotten their promise, and it was to his credit that he had remembered it seriously. In addition, Gaunt had sent for him, and had made a proposal in a quiet businesslike manner. Therefore to all appearances he had decided to keep his side of the bargain.
Before he had reached home Drake had decided that Gaunt’s offer was honestly meant, and that it was not merely a salve to his conscience, to be thrown aside at the first opportunity.
There were people waiting in his house, and it was typical of the man that he at once started work, and for the time, dismissed from his mind the subject that had been engrossing him. It was late before he had finished, and after supper he settled himself comfortably before the fire, for the purpose of thoroughly thrashing out the problem.
Curiously enough he imagined that he could see in the brightly burning coals a face, and it was not that of Gaunt, but of Lady Ethel. A smile twitched at his mouth for it was pleasant to remember so radiant a young beauty. Of women Drake knew nothing, for as a youth he had been too shy to enjoy their company; and the shyness had only vanished after he had become acquainted with so many real tragedies of life. One who lives habitually in the midst of intense human suffering must naturally lose all consciousness of self.
He found it quite an effort to banish the memory of her from his mind, and to concentrate his thoughts upon the problem before him.
It was true that Edward Drake was a Priest in Holy Orders, but above all he was a Christian and to him creeds were of little value. It was his honest endeavor to live as he believed Christ would have him live.
His ambition was to do the greatest amount of good to the greatest number of people in the time that was at his disposal. His work in the East End was of benefit to many, but he believed that there were others who could carry it on as efficiently as himself. Therefore he was in no way tied to it. Having settled this to his own satisfaction, the next question concerned the seriousness of the intentions of John Gaunt. If the millionaire meant what he had said at their interview, there could be no doubt that it was his duty to help him to carry out his intentions to the best of his ability.