The Broken Thread Page 17

meeting had been cunninglyplanned by Doctor Malsano.

  For long they talked. Gilda exercised her fascinating arts, and Raifesuccumbed more completely than ever. The conquest was complete, andRaife arranged to meet her in town, where they should run less risk ofobservation, and each should enjoy their own society unmolested by theinquisitive.

  During all this strange courtship the ordinary caresses, in which loversfreely indulge, had been few indeed. Now, to-day, when Fate seemedpropitious, their caresses were less restrained, and, for the firsttime, Raife kissed Gilda passionately. The fire of youthful kisses willdestroy discretion. The sight of a neatly-costumed nurse beingpassionately embraced by the youthful owner of Aldborough Park wouldhave made an interesting film for a cinema. In real life the casual oraccidental witness of such a scene, is liable to be shocked. In thisinstance the genial old landlord of the "Blue Boar" was ascending thestairs, and saw sufficient of the impassioned incident, through amirror, to encourage him to give a loud and friendly cough. The processof disentanglement was instant and complete. Most of us are familiarwith it. With a discreet tap at the door, which had been, with aninadvertence which was frequent on such occasions, left partly open, theold man announced: "If you please, Sir Raife, Lady Remington is comingupstairs and would like to see you."

  Raife merely exclaimed, in a tone that indicated panic, and theexclamation consisted of one word only--a characteristically Englishutterance, "What!" Hastily pushing the old man out of the room, and,closing the door, he stood for a moment bewildered. Then Raifeejaculated in short, disjointed sentences: "Good heavens! The mater!What brings her here? How did she know?"

  Gilda stood calmly. She had been well trained to avoid panic in anemergency.

  A man ceases to be an aristocrat when he allows panic to be more thanmomentary. Sir Raife Remington, Bart., was an aristocrat. Gilda'spractised eye looked at the window and calculated the drop.

  With a discretion inherited through generations of "service," Twisegoodhad descended the old staircase.

  Lady Remington, with the instinct of a mother, ascended the staircase.Her rather "exalted" tones sounded from without:

  "Is this the room, Twisegood?" Her hand was upon the handle of thedoor.

  Then did inspiration seize Raife.

  Whispering hurriedly: "You go down this staircase," pointing to thesecret exit, "into the loose box at the bottom and wait your chance."

  To Gilda, who had shown such dexterity in descending by a silken ropefrom the library window at Aldborough Park, it was easy to find a "wayout" by a staircase, even if it did lead her into a loose box in astable!

  When Lady Remington explained that the horse in her brougham had cast ashoe, and that Twisegood's man was attending to it--and that Twisegoodhad said that Sir Raife was upstairs, it became easier to understand whyLady Remington was climbing those stairs at that unpropitious moment.

  Sir Raife expressed his opinion of affairs to Twisegood at a later date.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

  HAUNTED BY THE SPIRIT OF THE RIVER.

  There are brief times of happiness in the careers of most people, and itis a fortunate circumstance that, in the majority of instances, memoryreverts to happiness rather than to misery.

  The gambler prefers to remember the times when he won. The joys of ouryouth linger in our minds until we approach the border-line of dotage.Among the joys of the youth of most of us are the joys of love. Thereare few who cannot remember the thrill that accompanied the first kisseswith the girl we loved. The happy moments when the world was a vista ofpromised pleasure! There is happiness in the quiet content of drabsurroundings, and there is the delirious happiness of forced gaiety.The pleasure spots of this world are many and varied. "The Great WhiteWay" of New York has its thrills and excitements. Paris, Berlin,Vienna, and the Riviera all possess their pleasure atmosphere and zones,but the vast swing and swirl of London gaiety is a thing apart.

  Raife Remington and Gilda Tempest came to London to enter into what theydetermined should be the love zone of pleasure, which should completetheir lives. By a tacit understanding, now that the first and mostimportant stages of conquest had been acquired, the doctor did notappear more than necessary. Raife was rich enough for a full indulgencein the round of gaiety that London offers, especially to those who areto the manner born. Raife was to the manner born, and he possessed thegift of selecting those varied entertainments which appeal to mostyouth, but more especially to young and beautiful women.

  Gilda, now to a considerable extent away from the depressing andexacting influence of her uncle, experienced, for the first time, thejoys of love and of comparative freedom. Her lightest whims weregratified, and together, light-heartedly, they joined the gay whirl ofentertainment. Dressed in the richest attire and bejewelled, she wasthe observed of all, and envied by most women. By men she was admired.By the man to whom she had given her heart she was adored, and Raife hadacquired a wonderful skill in courtly admiration. He was living in hisold-world suite of rooms in Duke Street, St James's, and Gilda and heruncle occupied a suite in a new Bloomsbury hotel.

  September, and even October, are frequently the most kindly months inEngland, in the matter of genial climate, and ate more suggestive ofperfect summer weather than that afforded by July.

  On a night in September, Raife and Gilda were dining at the Savoy Hotel.He had chosen a table, and, prior to dinner, they were overlooking theriver and the embankment, with the long sweep of lights that leadmysteriously into gloom, whilst the flickering reflections of the murkySurrey side sparkled in the swiftly-moving stream at high tide. He wassupremely happy. She appeared to be, but it was not possible to fathomthe depths of a heart and mind that had been subordinated to thesinister workings of a hard and cruel disposition. There are few whohave looked upon that ancient waterway who have not been influenced byits fascination. To-night its mystery entered into the spirit of Raife,and for a brief while he was affected by the outlook. His had been agreat happiness for two weeks now, and he had chased away every grimthought in connection with Doctor Malsano and Gilda. They whispered abrief love-talk and then entered the salon, and crossed to the tablewhich was awaiting them. The waiters performed those mystic evolutionswhich indicate the relative rank of the diners who are to occupy theirtables. It appeared evident that Raife was a person of importance.Apart from this testimony from the waiters, he and she were evidentlythe cynosure of the rest of the richly-clad diners. With a gay laugh hespoke softly across the table.

  "Gilda, that view of the river depressed me for a while. There wassomething of gloom and hidden mystery about it. Shall we drink somechampagne to-night?"

  "Yes, Raife, by all means. Don't let a horrid river depress you. I'mnever depressed now that you are mine."

  The soft light from the shaded lamp fell on her lovely form. A pinkglow suffused her bare arms and heaving breast. The jewels that deckedher sparkled, and her wonderful, lustrous eyes looked at him with astrange, tender look as she uttered those last words, "Now that you aremine." He answered: "Yes, Gilda, I am yours." There seemed to be stillsome sense of foreboding, in spite of all the happiness of the last twoweeks and the luxurious gaiety of their present surroundings. Thespirit of that ancient river had left a sense of sadness which Raifecould not alter. The waiter arrived opportunely with the wine, and theyboth drank a glass of the sparkling champagne, the wine which has mademuch merriment and led to much sadness.

  The dinner progressed with all the stateliness of service, and theexquisite choice of food which is associated with a restaurant whose_chef_ receives the salary of a statesman.

  Gilda said, during one of those intervals, when a _piece de resistance_,which is to follow, has justified a delay:

  "Oh, Raife, uncle said to-day--"

  With a gesture of impatience he interrupted: "Don't tell me what youruncle said. I don't want to know what he says. I only want to knowwhat you say."

  Then he smiled, as many another lover has smiled, wh
o was tempted into alapse of perfect and complete adoration of his loved one. Even in thesehappy conditions, where everything seemed favourable to a perfectcourtship, love was on tenterhooks.

  The dinner was finished, and those supplementary accompaniments to themodern meal were in progress. Cigarettes--cigars--liqueurs, were incourse of leisurely consumption by some people. Others were leaving, tocontinue their round of pleasure at theatre--revue--music-hall, or inone of the hundreds of haunts where the leisured ones congregate atnight-time. Among those who were leaving were two men, both of whomcarried a distinction with them. One, who was the personification ofperfectly-dressed dandydom, with a drawl, nudged his companion's elbowand indicated Raife and Gilda at their table. He whispered to hiscompanion "I will tell you something about them presently." The otherreplied: "Do, old chap! They're a deuced