The two lovers wandered, arm in arm, through the gardens. Their happiness was apparently restored, but Hilda Muirhead had received the first shock to her ideals. The wound was there. Would it be allowed to heal for ever, or would the malignant curse of the long years ago enter into her young life also?
Their progress was slow, and there was little conversation between them. Here and there a gardener saluted them, and inwardly envied the young master and his bride “that was to be.” Lady Remington watched them from the library window as, occasionally, they came into view. To her, also, happiness had, in part, returned after the distressing incidents of the morning. Her heart ached for her wayward son, and the future was fraught with danger. She loved Hilda already with a mother’s love, and she was very anxious lest Raife’s vagaries should destroy the peace of the young girl’s life. She descended the broad staircase and met them as they sauntered along the terrace. She was the first to speak, with the intuitive knowledge that, by doing so, she might save embarrassment. She addressed herself to Raife:
“Wasn’t it strange, Raife, that Mr Brookman should come from Cincinnati, and be married to Hilda’s old college friend? What was her name, Hilda?”
Raife winced, blushed, and stammered: “You didn’t tell me he was married.”
Hilda replied, with some show of spirit: “No, Raife, you didn’t give me a chance. In any case, I don’t see that need make any difference. If Mr Brookman, or any other fellow countryman in distress, were unmarried, I should feel it my duty to be civil to them.”
Every word, uttered with an accentuated intonation, was a stab to Raife, who cursed himself for his foolish impetuosity.
Hilda concluded: “Yes, Harold Brookman married my college chum, Lottie Devine. They’ve been married about four years. They have two children and are very happy. Lottie wouldn’t be my chum if she were not a nice girl, and if Harold Brookman were not a nice man, he wouldn’t have married Lottie. He’s over here training for a Transatlantic air race, and I hope he’ll win.”
Raife Remington’s discomfiture was complete.