The Great Secret
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E. Phillips Oppenheim >> The Great Secret
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"You!" she exclaimed. "Where are you going?"
"America, I hope," I answered. "And you? I did not see your name on the
passengers' list."
"I am going--home," she answered. "I made up my mind, at the last moment,
to come on this steamer, to cross with my stepmother."
I did not like the way she said it. It was too apt--a little too
mechanical. And yet I could not get it out of my head that her surprise
was natural.
A little, fair woman, wearing a magnificent fur cloak, and with an
eyeglass dangling at her bosom, suddenly bore down upon us.
"Adele!" she exclaimed, "have you seen my woman? I've forgotten the
number of my state-room."
"It is opposite mine," Adele answered. "I can show it to you."
They passed on together. The fair, little lady had favored me with a very
perfunctory and somewhat insolent glance; Adele herself left me without a
word. I went into the saloon, took my place for dinner, and then sought
the deck for some fresh air. I felt that I needed it.
A slight, drizzling rain was falling, but I took no notice of it. I
walked backwards and forwards along the promenade deck, my pipe in my
mouth, my hands clasped behind me. The appearance of Adele had been
so utterly unexpected that I felt myself almost unnerved. For six days we
should be living in the close intimacy which fellow passengers upon a
steamer find it almost difficult to avoid. Our opportunities for
conversation would be practically unlimited. If indeed Guest's suspicions
as to the reason of her presence here were well founded, a single slip on
my part might mean disaster. And yet, beneath it all, I knew quite well
that her near presence was a delight to me! My blood was running more
warmly, my heart was the lighter for the thought of her near presence.
Danger might come of it, the success of our undertaking itself might be
imperilled--yet I was glad. I leaned over the vessel's side, and gazed
through the gathering twilight at the fast receding shores, with their
maze of yellow lights. Life had changed for me during the last few weeks.
The old, placid days of content were over; already I was in a new world,
a world of bigger things, where the great game was being played, with the
tense desperateness of those who gamble with life and death. I had not
sought the change! Rather it had been forced upon me. I had no ambitions
to gratify; the old life had pleased me very well. I had quitted it
simply upon compulsion. And here I was with unfamiliar thoughts in my
brain, groping my way along paths which were strange to me, face to face
now with the greatest happening which Heaven or Hell can let loose upon a
man. It was a queer trick this, which fortune had played me.
After all we are very human. The dressing bugle brought me back to
the present, and I remembered that I was hungry. I descended into my
state-room, and found all my things neatly laid out, and Guest sitting on
the opposite bunk regarded them critically.
"You shouldn't have bothered about my clothes, Guest," I protested.
"Nonsense," he answered curtly. "I can't play the part without a few
rehearsals. What about Miss Van Hoyt?"
"She is on board," I answered.
"You have spoken to her?"
"Yes!"
"Did she offer any explanations as to her presence?"
"She appeared to be surprised to see me," I answered. "She said that she
was going home."
Guest nodded thoughtfully.
"Her stepmother is an American," he remarked. "I don't suppose you knew
that?"
"I did not," I admitted. "I wish you would tell me all that you know of
Miss Van Hoyt."
"No time now," he answered. "You will be late for dinner as it is. Don't
seem too eager about it, but remember it is absolutely necessary that you
get an introduction to Mrs. Van Reinberg."
I nodded.
"I'll do my best," I promised.
CHAPTER XXI
"FOR YOU!"
I found that a place had been allotted to me about half-way down the
captain's table, on the right-hand side. My immediate neighbors were an
Englishman, on his way to the States to buy some commodity in which he
dealt, and a very old lady, quite deaf, in charge of a spinster daughter.
Neither of them imposed upon me the necessity for conversation. I had,
therefore, plenty of time to look around me, and take note of the people
in whom I was interested.
They were all seated together, at a small table in the far corner of the
saloon. At the head of that table was a man whom I had not yet seen, but
whom I at once knew to be Mr. de Valentin. He was tall, rather sallow,
with a pointed, black beard, and he continually wore an eyeglass, set in
a horn rim, with a narrow, black ribbon. On his right was the woman to
whom Adele had spoken upon the stairs. She wore a plain but elegant
dinner-gown of some dark material. She was exquisitely coiffured, and
obviously turned out by a perfectly trained maid. There were two girls at
the table, whom I judged to be her daughters, and--Adele.
Adele was seated so that I could see only her profile. I noticed,
however, that she seemed to be eating little, and to be taking but a very
small part in the conversation. Once or twice she leaned back in her
chair, and looked round the saloon as though in search of some one. On
the last of these occasions our eyes met, and she smiled slightly. Mrs.
Van Reinberg, who was sitting opposite to her, leaned forward and asked
some question. I judged that it concerned me, for immediately afterwards
that lady herself raised her gold eyeglass, and favored me with a
somewhat deliberate stare. Then she leaned forward again and made some
remark to Adele, the purport of which I could not guess.
Dinner lasted a long time, but I was all the while interested. I was
facing Adele and her friends, so I could observe them all the time
without being myself conspicuous. I was able to take note of the somewhat
wearied graciousness of Mr. de Valentin, who seemed always to be
struggling with a profound boredom; the almost feverish amiability of
Mrs. Van Reinberg, and, in a lesser degree, her daughters; and the
undoubted reserve with which Adele seemed to protect herself from Mr. de
Valentin's attentions. When at last they rose and left the saloon, I
quickly followed their example.
I put on an ulster, lit a cigar, and went up on deck. I found my chair on
the sheltered side of the ship, and wrapping myself in a rug, prepared to
spend a comfortable half-hour. But I had scarcely settled down before a
little group of people came along the deck and halted close to me. A
smooth-faced manservant, laden with a pile of magnificent rugs, struck a
match and began to examine the labels on the chairs. Its flickering light
was apparently sufficient for Adele to recognize my features.
"So you are going to join the fresh-air brigade, Mr. Courage," she
remarked. "I think you are very wise. We found the music-room
insufferable."
"I can assure you that the smoke-room is worse, Miss Van Hoyt," I
answered, struggling to my feet. "Can I find your chair for you?"
"Thanks, the deck steward is bringing it," she answered. "Let me
introduce you to my friends--Mrs. Van Reinberg--my stepmother, Miss Van
Reinberg, Miss Sara Van Reinberg, Mr. de Valentin--Mr. Hardross Courage."
I bowed collectively. Mr. de Valentin greeted me stiffly, Mrs. Van
Reinberg and the Misses Van Reinberg, with a cordiality which somewhat
surprised me.
"I met your cousin, Sir Gilbert, in London, I think, Mr. Courage," she
remarked. "He was kind enough to give us tea on the terrace at the House
of Commons."
I bowed.
"Gilbert is rather fond of entertaining his friends there," I remarked.
"It is the one form of frivolity which seems to appeal to him."
"He was very kind," she continued. "He introduced a number of interesting
people to us. The Duke of Westlingham is a relation of yours, is he not?"
"My second cousin," I remarked.
"Is this your first visit to America?" she asked.
"I was once in Canada," I answered. "I have never been in the States."
She smiled at me a little curiously. All the time I felt somehow that she
was taking very careful note of my answers.
"We say in my country, you know," she remarked, "that you Englishmen come
to us for one of two things only--sport or a wife!"
"I hope to get some of the former, at any rate," I answered. "As for the
latter!"
"Well?"
"I have always thought of myself as a bachelor," I said; "but one's good
fortune comes sometimes when one least expects it."
I looked across at Adele, and Mrs. Van Reinberg followed the direction of
my eyes. She laughed shrilly, but she did not seem displeased.
"If you Englishmen only made as good husbands as you do acquaintances,"
she said, "I should settle down in London with my girls and study
matchmaking. I am afraid, though, that you have your drawbacks."
"Tell me what they are," I begged, "and I will do my best to prove myself
an exception."
"You have too much spare time," she declared. "And you know what that
leads to?"
"Mr. Courage has not," Adele interrupted. "He works really very hard
indeed."
"Works!" Mrs. Van Reinberg repeated incredulously.
"At games!" Adele declared. "He plays in cricket matches that last three
days long. I saw him once at Lord's, and I can assure you that it looked
like very hard work indeed."
Mrs. Van Reinberg turned away with a laugh, and settled herself down into
the little nest of rugs which her maid had prepared.
"You young people can walk about, if you like," she said. "I am going to
be comfortable. My cigarette case, Annette, and electric lamp. I shall
read for half an hour."
She dismissed us all. Adele and I moved away as though by common consent.
Mr. de Valentin followed with the two other girls, though I had noticed
that his first impulse had been to take possession of Adele. She avoided
the others skilfully, however, and we strolled off to the farther end of
the ship.
"Your stepmother," I remarked, "seems to be a very amiable person!"
"She can be anything she likes," Adele answered--"upon occasions."
We turned on to the weather side of the ship, which was almost deserted.
Adele glanced behind. Mr. de Valentin and the two girls were still within
a few feet of us.
"Do you mind walking on the lower deck?" she asked. "I want to talk to
you, and I am sure that we shall be disturbed here."
"With pleasure!" I answered quickly. "I, too, have something to say to
you."
We descended in silence to the promenade deck. Here we had the place
almost to ourselves. Adele did not beat about the bush.
"Mr. Courage," she said, "tell me what you thought when you saw me on
this steamer!"
She looked me full in the face. Her beautiful eyes were full of anxiety.
There was about her manner a nervousness which I had never before
noticed. Her cheeks were paler, and with these indications of emotion,
something of the mystery which had seemed to me always to cling to her
personality had departed. She was more natural--more lovable.
"I thought," I answered, "that it was part of the game!--that you were
here to watch me. Isn't that the natural conclusion?"
"Mr. Courage," she said, "please look at me."
I faced her at once. Her eyes were fixed upon mine.
"I am not here to watch you," she said quietly. "I came because I have
decided to go back to my home in America, and live there quietly for a
time. Whatever share I had in the events which led to Leslie Guest's
death, these things do not interest me any more. I have finished."
"I congratulate you," I answered.
"I cannot tell you anything about those events, or my connection with
them," she went on, "but I want you to believe that I have no longer any
association with those who planned them. I am not here to spy upon you. I
am not in communication with any one to whom your actions are of any
interest. Will you believe this?"
I hesitated for a moment. Her eyes held mine. It was not possible for me
to disbelieve her.
"I am glad to hear this," I said seriously.
"You do not doubt me?"
"I cannot," I answered.
She drew a little sigh of relief.
"And now," she said, "about yourself. Be as frank with me as I have been
with you. Are you really the legatee of Guest's secret?"
"You know that he told me certain things--before he died," I answered
slowly.
"Yes! But what are you going to do with the knowledge? Are you going to
be wise and let fate take its course, or are you going to meddle in
affairs which you know nothing about? Don't do it, Mr. Courage!" she
exclaimed, with a sudden catch in her voice. "Leslie Guest was a
diplomatist and a schemer all his life, and you know the penalty he paid.
You have not the training or the disposition for this sort of thing. You
would be foredoomed to failure. Don't do it!"
I turned and looked at her. She was so much in earnest that her whole
expression was transformed. The mysterious smile which was so often upon
her lips, half supercilious, half mocking, was gone, and with it
something of that elusiveness which had so often puzzled me! Her eyes met
mine frankly and pleadingly, her fingers were upon my arm, and she was
swaying a little towards me with the motion of the boat, so that I was
tempted almost beyond measure to take her into my arms, and, with my lips
upon hers, promise whatever she would have had me promise. It was only a
moment of madness. The memory of other things came back to me.
"It is very good of you," I said slowly, "to warn me. I know that I am
not made of the stuff that Guest was. It is possible that I may--"
"It is true, then," she interrupted breathlessly, "you are really meaning
to go with his schemes?"
"You take too much for granted," I answered.
"Oh! don't let us misunderstand one another," she begged. "Tell me why
you are on your way to America! Tell me why you are on this steamer, of
all others."
"I am going to shoot--out West," I said, "and I want to know something of
your wonderful country-people!"
She let her fingers slip from my arm.
"You will tell me no more than that," she murmured.
"I have nothing more to tell you," I answered.
Once more she leaned towards me. The wind was blowing around us, she
came closer as though seeking for the shelter of my body. I could smell
the crushed violets, which she was still wearing at her bosom; her eyes
were soft and bright, her lips were slightly parted. I took her into my
arms--she clung to me for a moment--one long, delicious moment.
"I have given it all up," she whispered, "for you! If I had told the
truth, if I had told them that you knew, it would have meant death! You
must forget, you must swear to forget."
I held her tightly.
"Dear Adele," I whispered, "you are a woman who understands. Life and
death come to all of us, but a coward could never deserve your love--you
could never stoop to care for a man who thought of his life before his
honor."
"You are pledged!" she cried.
"I must do what I can," I answered.
She staggered away from me.
"God help us both!" she murmured.
I would have caught her to me again, but a dark figure was coming slowly
down the deck. A little, yapping bark came from the deck at her feet.
Nagaski was leaping up at his mistress. She stooped and picked him up. He
showed me his teeth and snarled.
"You really must make friends with Nagaski, Mr. Courage," she remarked,
turning away. "Come, we must go back to the others! My stepmother will
think that I am lost."
CHAPTER XXII
"LOVED I NOT HONOR MORE"
I told Guest exactly what had passed between Adele and myself, leaving
out only the personal element, at which I allowed him to guess. He was
thoughtful for some time afterwards.
"What is to be the end of it between you and her?" he asked me presently.
"Exactly on what terms do you stand at present?"
"Some day," I answered, "I shall marry her--or no other woman. As regards
other matters, I believe that she is neutral."
"You do not think, then, that she will obstruct our plans?" he asked. "Of
course, a word from her, and our journey to America can only end in
failure."
"She will not speak it," I answered confidently. "I do not know, of
course, how deeply she was involved in the schemes of those whom we may
call our enemies, but I am perfectly certain that she has finished with
them now."
Guest nodded.
"I hope so," he remarked shortly. "At any rate, it is one of the risks
which we must take."
We said no more about the subject then, and I very soon perceived that
the intimacy between Adele and myself was likely to be of the greatest
use to us. For the next two days neither of us referred to those things
which lay in the background. We walked and sat together, played
shuffleboard, and in every way made the most of all those delightful
opportunities of _tete-a-tetes_ which a sea voyage affords. Mrs. Van
Reinberg, for some reason or other, watched our intimacy with increasing
satisfaction. Mr. de Valentin, on the other hand, though he concealed his
feelings admirably, seemed to find it equally distasteful. Gradually the
situation became clear to me. Mrs. Van Reinberg desired to reserve the
whole interest of Mr. de Valentin for herself and her daughters; he, on
the other hand, had shown signs of a partiality for Adele. The fates were
certainly working for me.
On the third night out we were all together on deck after dinner. I was
standing near Mrs. Van Reinberg, who had been exceedingly gracious to me.
"Tell me, Mr. Courage," she asked, "what are your plans when you land?"
"I thought of using some of my letters of introduction," I answered, "and
going West after Christmas. I have been told that the country round Lenox
and Pittsfield is very beautiful just now, and I shall stay, I expect,
with a man I know fairly well, who lives up there--Plaskett White."
"Why, isn't that strange?" Mrs. Van Reinberg exclaimed. "The Plaskett
Whites are our nearest neighbors. If you really are coming that way, you
must stay with us for a week, or as long as you can manage it. We are
going straight to Lenox."
"I shall be delighted," I answered heartily.
Mr. de Valentin dropped his eyeglass and polished it deliberately. His
usually expressionless face was black with anger. Even the two girls
looked a little surprised at their mother's invitation. I felt that the
situation was a delicate one.
"I should not be able to intrude upon you for more than a day or two," I
remarked, a little diffidently, "but if you will really put me up for
that length of time, I shall look forward to my visit with a great deal
of pleasure."
Mrs. Van Reinberg was looking across at Mr. de Valentin with a very
determined expression on her pale, hard face. She was obviously a woman
who was accustomed to have her own way, and meant to have it in this
particular instance.
"It is settled, then, Mr. Courage," she declared. "Come whenever you
like. We can always make room for you."
I bowed my gratitude, and, to relieve the situation, I took Adele away
with me for a walk. We were scarcely out of hearing, before I heard Mr.
de Valentin's cold but angry voice.
"My dear Madame, do you consider that invitation of yours a prudent
one? ..."
We walked on the other side of the deck. Adele was silent for several
moments. Then she turned towards me, and the old smile was upon her
lips--the smile which had always half fascinated, half irritated me.
"So," she remarked, "I have become your unwilling ally."
"In what way?" I asked.
"I suppose," she said, "that an invitation to Lenox _was_ necessary to
your plans, wasn't it?"
"I had fairly obvious reasons for hoping for one," I answered, smiling.
She passed her arm through mine, and leaned a little towards me. It was
at such moments that I found her so dangerously sweet.
"Ah!" she murmured, "I wish that that were the only reason!"
I pressed her arm to mine, but I said nothing. When I could avoid it, I
preferred not to discuss those other matters. We walked to the ship's
side, and leaned over to watch the phosphorus. Suddenly she whispered in
my ear, her lips were so close to my cheek that I felt her warm breath.
"Jim," she said, "do you love me very much?"
I would have kissed the lips which dared to ask such a question, but she
drew a little away. It was not that which she wanted--just then.
"Listen," she murmured, "but do not look at me. Watch that star there,
sinking down towards the sea--there near the horizon. Now listen. When
we land at New York, let us run away from everything, from everybody. We
can go west to Mexico and beyond! There are beautiful countries there
which I have always wanted to see. Let us lose ourselves for a year, two
years--longer even. I will not let you be weary! Oh! I promise you that.
I will give you myself and all my life. Think! We can only live once, and
you and I have found what life is. Don't let us trifle with it. Jim, will
you come?"
Soft though her voice was, there was passion quivering in every sentence.
When I turned to look at her, her eyes and face seemed aflame with it.
The color had streamed into her cheeks, she had drifted into my arms, and
her clinging lips yielded unresistingly to mine.
"Oh! Jim," she murmured, "the rest isn't worth anything. Tell me that you
will come."
I did not answer her at once, and she seemed content to lie where she
was. My own senses were in a wild tumult of delight, but there was a pain
in my heart. Presently she drew a little away. There was a new note in
her tone--a note of half-alarmed surprise.
"Answer me, Jim! Oh! answer me please," she begged. "Don't let me
think--that you mean to refuse."
I held her tightly in my arms. The memory of that moment might have to
last me all my life.
"My dear heart," I whispered, "it would be Paradise! Some day we will do
it. But in your heart, you know very well that you would love me no more
if I forgot my honor and my duty--even for the love of you!"
"It is not your task," she pleaded. "Tell what you know, and leave it to
others. You are too honest to play the spy. You will fail, and it will
cost you your life."
"I shall not fail," I answered steadfastly, "and my life is insured in
Heaven for the sake of the things I carry with me. Have faith in me,
Adele. I swear that I will do my duty and live to realize--everything."
She shook her head sadly.
"There are others," she said, "who could do what you are doing. But for
me there is no one else in the world."
"You shall not need any one else," I declared. "Mine is, after all, a
simple task. You know that I went to see Lord Polloch in London."
"Well?"
"He would not believe me. Why should he? My story sounded wild enough,
and I had no proofs. I only need to gather together a few of these loose
ends, to weave something tangible out of them and show him the results,
and my task is finished."
"Do you suppose," she asked quietly, "that you will be allowed to do
that?"
"I must do my best,"' I answered. "It is inevitable. There will be more
Mr. Stanleys and such like, no doubt. They may hinder me, but I think
that, in the end, I shall pull through. And I promise you, dear, that
when I have something definite to show, I shall have finished with the
whole business. It is no more to my liking than yours."
"I cannot move you then," she murmured.
"You must not try," I answered.
She laughed a little unnaturally.
"I do not feel any longer," she said, "that you belong to me. There is
something else which comes first."
"Without that something, dear," I answered, "I should not be worthy of
your love."
"With men, there is always something else," she said sadly. "It is the
woman only who realizes what love is, who puts it before body and soul
and honor. A man cannot do that."
"No!" I answered softly, "a man cannot do that."
She turned away, and I walked by her side in silence. When she reached
the companion-way, she stepped inside a little abruptly.
"I am going to my state-room," she said. "Good night!"
"You are not angry with me, Adele?" I asked anxiously.
"No! not that," she answered. "Of course, you are right. Only I have been
a little mad, and I dreamed a beautiful dream. It is all impossible, of
course; but I don't feel like bridge or my stepmother's questions. Say I
am coming up again. It will save trouble!"
I played bridge later with Mrs. Van Reinberg for a partner. Mr. de
Valentin's manner to me was coldly frigid, and a general air of restraint
seemed to indicate that the evening had scarcely been a cheerful one. I
myself did not feel much like contributing towards a more hilarious state
of affairs. We had one rubber only, and then Mrs. Van Reinberg, who as a
rule hated to go to bed before midnight, announced her intention of
retiring. She accepted my escort to the door, and bade Mr. de Valentin a
cold good-night.
"I hope you will understand, Mr. Courage," she said, as we shook hands,
"that I shall expect you at Lenox. You won't disappoint us?"
"There isn't the faintest chance that I shall do so, Mrs. Van Reinberg,"
I answered. "I have the best of reasons for wishing to come."
She smiled at me encouragingly.
"May I guess at the attraction?" she asked.
"I fancy," I answered, "that it is fairly apparent. May I, by the way,
Mrs. Van Reinberg," I continued, "ask you a question?"
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