The World Masters
Page 33
EPILOGUE
The short Northern summer was drawing rapidly to its close whenChrysie and Hardress were pronounced fit to travel. Hardress had had avery narrow shave, for one of the count's bullets had grazed the rightlung, and the wound had brought on an acute attack of pleuralinflammation.
Chrysie's wounds had healed within a fortnight, and as soon as she wasable to get about she did her best to supplant Lady Olive as nurse inthe sickroom.
"You may be his sister," she said, in answer to a strong protest fromLady Olive, "and you're just as good a sister as a man wants to have;but I hope I'm going to be something more than a sister; and so, ifhe's going to be mine and I'm going to be his, I want to do the rest.After all, you see it's only a sort of looking after one's ownproperty."
Just at this moment Hardress woke up and turned a languid head and apair of weary and yet eager eyes upon the two girls.
"Chrysie," he said, in a thick, hoarse whisper, and yet throughsmiling lips, "in the speech of your own country, you've got it inonce. There's just one thing I want now to make me well. You know whatit is. Come and give it me."
"Why, you mean thing!" said Chrysie, going towards the bed, "I believeyou've heard everything we've been saying."
"Some of it," he whispered. "What about that reserve--that territory,you know, that I was supposed to have an option on in Buffalo?"
"Buffalo's not Boothia, Shafto," she replied, using his Christian namefor the first time since they had known each other; "but the reserve'sall right. I guess you've only got to take up your option when youwant it."
"Then I'll take it now," he whispered again, looking weariedly and yetwith an infinite longing into her eyes.
"And so you shall," she said, leaning down over the bed. "You havedone the work--you and Lord Orrel and poppa. You've done everythingthat you said you would; you're masters of the world, and, as far asmortals can be, controllers of human destiny--you and Doctor Lamson.He began it, didn't he? If it hadn't been for him and his knowledgeyou'd have done nothing at all. And he's got his reward too. That'sso; isn't it, Olive? Yes; you can tell the story afterwards, but youand I are going to marry two of the world masters, and we're each ofus going to have a world master for father, and--well, I guess that'sabout all there is in it. And now I'm going to seal the contract."
She bent her head and kissed Hardress's pale but still smiling lips,and just at that moment there was a knock at the door. Lady Olivealmost involuntarily said, "Come in," and Doctor Lamson, who had, nextto Emil Fargeau, been the working genius of the whole vast schemewhich the dead savant had worked out in his laboratory at Strassburg,came in.
Miss Chrysie, flushing and bright-eyed, straightened herself up,looking most innocently guilty. Doctor Lamson looked at her for amoment and then at Lady Olive. His own clear, deep-set grey eyes litup with a flash, and his clean-cut lips curved into a smile, as hesaid:
"I hope I'm not intruding, as a much more distinguished person thanmyself once said; but, as Hardress is so much better, havingapparently found a most potent, though unqualified, physician, Ithought you would like to hear the latest news from Europe. The Powershave surrendered at discretion. As they can't fight, they are willingto make peace. They have accepted King Edward as arbitrator, and he,like the good sportsman that he is, has decided that in future, if acountry wants to fight another, it shall submit the _casus belli_to a committee of the Powers not concerned in the quarrel. If they areall concerned in it, the tribunal is to consist of the Pope, theArchbishop of Canterbury, and the Archimandrite of the Greek Church.If either of the belligerents refuse arbitration after the dispute hasbeen thoroughly gone through, or begins fighting before the decisionis delivered, it will have the same experiences as Europe had in thelate war--which, of course, was no war."
"Because we stopped it," said Lady Olive, looking straight across theroom into Doctor Lamson's eyes.
"Well, yes, _we_," said Chrysie, standing up beside the bed. "Ireckon, all things considered, we four have had about as much to dowith stopping this war and teaching the nations to behave decently asanybody else on earth. We are here on the throne of the world, kingsand queens from pole to pole!"
"But, my dear Chrysie," exclaimed Lady Olive, flushing from hershapely chin to her temples, and making a move towards the door,"surely you don't mean----"
"I don't mean any more than we all mean in our hearts," interruptedChrysie, taking Hardress's hand in hers. "What's the use of worldmasters and world mistresses trying to hide things from each other? Wefour people here in this room run the world. I want to run this man,and you want to run that one; and they, of course, think they'll runus, which they won't! Anyhow, we're all willing to try that, and Ithink the best thing we can do is to sign, seal, and deliver thecontract of the offensive and defensive alliance right here and now.You kiss, and we'll kiss, and that's all there is to it."
And they kissed.
_The Riverside Press Limited Edinburgh_
A Catalogue of the Books Published by Mr. John Long
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March, 1903
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