The Puppet Crown Part 29

"What! you are silent? Is there, after all, a woman somewhere in your life?"

"Yes." He continued to tap the pipe. His gaze wandered to the candles, strayed back to the window, then met hers steadfastly, so steadfastly, that she could not resist. She was annoyed.

"Tell me about her."

"My vocabulary is too limited. You would laugh at me."

"I? No; love is sacred." She had boasted to Maurice that she was without conscience; she had only smothered it. "Come; is she beautiful?"

"Yes." These questions disturbed him.

"Certainly she must be worthy or you would not love her. She is rich?"

"That does not matter; I am." He was wis.h.i.+ng that Maurice would hurry back; the desire to fly was returning.

"And she rejected you and sent you to the army?"

"She has not rejected me, though I dare say she would, had I the presumption to ask her."

"A faint heart, they say--"

"My heart is not faint; it is my tongue." He rose and wandered about the room. Her breath was like orris, and went to his head like wine.

"Monsieur," she said, "is it possible that you have succ.u.mbed to the charms of Madame the countess?"

He laughed. "One may admire exquisite bric-a-brac without loving it."

"Bric-a-brac! Poor Elsa!" and Madame laughed. "If it were the countess I could aid you."

"Love is not merchandise, to traffic with."

Madame's cheeks grew warm. Sometimes the trick of fence is beaten down by a tyro's stroke.

"Eh, bien, since it is not the countess--"

He came toward her so swiftly that instinctively she rose and moved to the opposite side of her chair. Something in his face caused her to s.h.i.+ver. She had no time to a.n.a.lyze its meaning, but she knew that the s.h.i.+ver was not unmixed with fear.

"Madame, in G.o.d's name, do not play with me!" he cried.

"Monsieur, you forget yourself," for the moment forgetting her part.

"Yes, there is no self in my thoughts since they are all of you! You know that I love you. Who could resist you? Thirteen years? They are well wasted, in the end to love a woman like you."

Before she could withdraw her hands from the top of the chair he had seized them.

"Monsieur, release me." She struggled futilely.

"I love you." He began to draw her from behind the chair.

"Monsieur, Monsieur!" she, cried, genuinely alarmed; "do not forget that you are a gentleman."

"I am not a gentleman now; I am a man who loves."

Madame was now aware that what she had aroused could not be subdued by angry words.

"Monsieur, you say that you love me; do not degrade me by forcing me into your arms. I am a woman, and weak, and you are hurting me."

He let go her hands, and they stood there, breathing deeply and quickly.

But for her it was a respite. She had been too precipitate. She brought together the subtle forces of her mind. She could gain nothing by force; she must use cunning. To hold him at arm's length, and yet to hold him, was her desire. She had reckoned on wax; a man stood before her. All at once the flutter of admiration stirred in her heart. She was a soldier's daughter, the daughter of a man who loved strong men. And this man was doubly strong because he was fearless and honest. She read in his eyes that a moment more and he had kissed her, a thing no man save her father had ever done.

"O, Monsieur," she said lightly, "you soldiers are such forward lovers!

You have not even asked me if I love you." He made a move to regain her hands. "No, no!" darting behind the chair. "You must not take my hands; you do not realize how strong you are. I am not sure that my heart responds to yours."

"Tell me, what must I do?" leaning across the chair.

"You must have patience. A woman must be wooed her own way, or not at all. What a whirlwind you are!"

"I would to heaven," with a gesture indicative of despair, "that you had kept me behind bars and closed doors." He dropped his hands from the chair and sought the window, leaning his arms against the central frame.

Madame had fully recovered her composure. She saw her way to the end.

"It is true," she said, "that I do not love you, but it is also true that I am not indifferent to you. What proof have I that you really love me? None, save your declaration; and that is not sufficient for a woman such as I am. Shall I place my life in your hands for better or for worse, simply because you say you love me?"

"My love does not reason, Madame."

She pa.s.sed over this stroke. "I do not know you; it is not less than natural for me to doubt you. What proof have I that your declaration of love is not a scheme to while away your captivity at my expense?

My heart is not one to be taken by storm. There is only one road to my affections; it is narrow. Other men have made love to me, but they have hesitated to enter upon this self-same road."

"Love that demands conditions? I have asked none."

Madame blushed. "A man offers love; a woman confers it."

"And what is this narrow road called which leads to your affections? Is your heart a citadel?"

"It is called sacrifice. Those who dwell in my heart, which you call a citadel, enter by that road."

"Sacrifice?" Fervor lighted his face again. "Do you wish my fortune? It is yours. My life? It is yours. Do you wish me to lead the army of the d.u.c.h.ess into Bleiberg? It shall be done. Sacrifice? I have sacrificed the best years of youth for nothing; my life has been made up of sacrifices."

"Monsieur, if I promised to listen to you here-after, if I promised a heart that has never known the love of man, if I promised lips that have never known the lips of any man save my father--" She moved away from the chair, within an arm's length of him. "If I promised all these without reservation, would you aid me to give back to the d.u.c.h.ess her own?"

Instantly her arms were pinioned to her sides, and he had drawn her so close that she could feel his heart beat against her own.

"Have no fear," he said. The voice was unfamiliar to her ears. "I shall not kiss you. Let me look into your eyes, Madame, your eyes, and read the lie which is written there. My fortune and my life are not enough.

Keep your love, Madame; I have no wish to purchase it. What! if I surrender my honor it is agreed that you surrender yours? A love such as mine requires a wife. You would have me break my word to the dead and to the living, and you expect me to believe in your promises! Faugh!" He pushed her from him, and resumed his stand by the window.

The hate of a thousand ancestors surged into her heart, and she would have liked to kill him. Mistress! He had dared. He had dared to speak to her as no other man living or dead had dared. And he lived. All that was tigerish in her soul rose to the surface; only the thought of the glittering goal stayed the outburst. She had yet one weapon. A minute went by, still another; silence. A hand was laid tremblingly on his arm.

"Forgive me! I was wrong. Love me, love me, if you must. Keep your honor; love me without conditions. I--" She stumbled into the chair, covered her eyes and fell to weeping.