Charles Rex

by Ethel M. Dell

  CHAPTER XIII

  THE END OF THE GAME

  She cried out sharply as he caught her, and then she struggled and foughtlike a mad creature for freedom. But Bunny held her fast. He had beenhard pressed, and now that the strain was over, all the pent passion ofthat long stress had escaped beyond control. He held her,--at first as aboy might hold a comrade who had provoked him to exasperation; then, asdesperately she resisted him, a new element suddenly rushed like firethrough his veins, and he realized burningly, overwhelmingly, that forthe first time in his life he held a woman in his arms.

  It came to him like a blinding revelation, and forth-with it seemed tohim that he stepped into a new world. She had tried him too far, hadthrown him off his balance. He was unfit for this further and infinitelygreater provocation. His senses swam. The touch of her intoxicated him asthough he had drunk a potent draught from some goblet of the gods. Heheard himself laugh passionately at her puny effort to resist him and thenext moment she was at his mercy. He was pressing fevered kisses upon hergasping, quivering lips.

  But she fought against him still. Though he kissed her, she would havenone of it. She struck at him, battering him frantically with her hands,stamping wildly with her feet, till he literally swung her off theground, holding her slender body against his breast.

  "You little madcap!" he said, with his hot lips against her throat. "Howdare you? Do you think I'd let you go--now?"

  The quick passion of his voice or the fiery possession of his holdarrested her. She suddenly ceased to battle with him, and stiffened inhis grasp as if turned to stone.

  "Let me go!" she said tensely.

  "I will not," said Bunny.

  He was mad with the fever of youth; he held her with a fierce exultation.There could be no returning now, nor did he wish to return.

  "You little wild butterfly!" he said, and kissed the throbbing whitethroat again. "I've caught you now and you can't escape."

  "You've--had your revenge," Toby flung back gaspingly. "You--you--you'rea skunk if you take any more."

  Oddly that sobered him as any protest more feminine would have failed todo. He set her on her feet, but he held her still.

  "I haven't done with you," he said, with a certain doggedness.

  "Oh, I know that," she returned very bitterly. "You're like all the men.You can't play fair. Men don't know how."

  That stung him. "Fair or unfair, you've done all the playing so far," hesaid. "If you thought I was such a tame fool as to put up with it--well,that's not my fault."

  "No, it's never your fault," said Toby. She made a little vehementmovement to extricate herself, but finding him obdurate, abandonedthe attempt. "You're not a fool, Bunny Brian. You're a beast and acoward,--there!"

  "Be careful!" warned Bunny, his dark eyes gleaming ominously.

  But she uttered a laugh of high defiance. "Oh, I'm not afraid of you.You're not full-grown yet. You're ashamed of yourself already."

  He coloured deeply at the taunt, but he maintained his hold upon her.

  "All right," he said. "Say I did it all! It doesn't matter how you putit. The fact remains."

  "What fact?" said Toby swiftly.

  He clasped her a little closer. "Well,--do you think I'm going to let yougo--after this?"

  She caught her breath sharply. "What do you mean? I--I--I don't know whatyou mean!"

  There was quick agitation in her voice. Again she sought to free herself,and again he frustrated her. But the violence had gone out of his hold.There was even a touch of dignity about him as he made reply.

  "I mean, you little wild butterfly, that now I've got you, I'm going tokeep you. You'll have to marry me and make the best of me."

  "Marry you!" said Toby as one incredulous.

  "Yes. What's the matter with the idea? Don't you want to?" Bunny'sgood-looking young face came close to hers. He was laughing, but therewas a half-coaxing note in his voice as well.

  Toby was silent for a moment. Then: "You're mad!" she said tersely.

  "I'm not!" said Bunny. "I'm perfectly serious. Don't you understand thatwhen this kind of thing gets hold of you, there's no getting away fromit? We can't possibly go back to where we were before--behave as ifnothing had happened. You wouldn't want to, would you?"

  There was a hint of pleading in his tone now. Toby made a curious littlegesture that seemed to express a measure of reassurance. But, "I don'tknow," she said somewhat dubiously.

  "You aren't angry, are you?" said Bunny softly.

  She hesitated. "I was."

  "Yes, but not now--when you've begun to realize what a jolly thing lifetogether would be. It isn't as if we'd never met before. We're palsalready."

  "Yes; we're pals," said Toby, but still her voice was dubious.

  "I say, be a sport!" the boy urged suddenly. "You said you weren't afraidof me. Don't chuck the best thing in life for want of a little ordinarycourage!"

  "What is--the best thing in life?" said Toby.

  His hold grew close again, but it remained gentle. "You marry me," hesaid, "and I'll show you!"

  There was something sublime rather than ridiculous in his assurance. Tobycaught her breath again as if about to laugh, and then quite suddenly,wholly unexpectedly, she began to cry.

  "You poor little darling!" said Bunny.

  She leaned her head upon his shoulder, fighting great sobs thatthreatened to overwhelm her. It was not often that Toby cried, and thiswas no mere child's distress. Indeed there was about it something thatfilled her companion with a curious kind of awe. He held her closelyand comfortingly, but for some reason he could not speak to her, couldnot even attempt to seek the cause of her trouble. As his sister had donebefore him, though almost unconsciously, he sensed a barrier that hemight not pass.

  Toby regained her self-command at last, stood for a space in silence, herface still hidden, then abruptly raised it and uttered a little quiveringlaugh.

  "You great big silly!" she said. "I'm not going to marry you, so there!Now let me go!"

  Her tone and action put him instantly at his ease. This was the Toby heknew.

  "Yes, you are going to marry me. And I shan't let you go," he said. "Sothere!"

  She looked him straight in the face. "No, Bunny!" she said, with a littlecatch in her breath. "You're a dear to think of it, but it won't do."

  "Why not?" demanded Bunny.

  She hesitated.

  He squeezed her shoulders. "Tell me why not!"

  "I don't want to tell you," said Toby.

  "You've got to," he said with decision.

  In the dimness his eyes looked into hers. A little shiver went throughToby. "I don't want to," she said again.

  "Go on!" commanded Bunny, autocratically.

  She turned suddenly and set her hands against his breast. "Well then,because I'm years and years older than you are--"

  "Rot!" interjected Bunny.

  "And--I'm not good enough for you!" finished Toby rather tremulously.

  "Rats!" said Bunny.

  "No, it isn't rats." She contradicted him rather piteously. "You'veturned a silly game into deadly earnest, and you shouldn't--youshouldn't. I wouldn't have done it if I'd known. It's such amistake--it's always such a great mistake--to do that. You say wecan't go back to where we were before, but we can--we can. Let'stry--anyway!"

  "We can't," said Bunny with decision. "And there's no reason why weshould. Look here! You don't want to marry anyone else, do you?"

  "I don't want to marry at all," said Toby.

  He laughed at that. "Darling, of course you'll marry. Come! You might aswell have me first as last. You won't get any other fellow to suit youhalf as well. What? Say you'll have me! Come, you've got to. You don'thate me, do you?"

  Again the pleading note was in his voice. She responded to it almostinvoluntarily. Her hands slipped upwards to his shoulders.

  "But--I'm not good enough," she said again, catching back a sob.

  His arms enfolded her, closely and tenderly. "Oh, skip that!" he said
. "Iwon't listen."

  "You--you--you're very silly," murmured Toby, with her head against hisneck.

  "No. I'm not. I'm very sensible. Look here, we're engaged now, aren'twe?" said Bunny.

  "No--no--we're not!" Her voice came muffled against his coat. "You're notto think of such a thing for ages and ages and ages."

  "Oh, rot!" he said again with impatience. "I hate a waitinggame--especially when there's nothing to wait for. You're not goingto give me the go-by now."

  His face was close to her again. She put her hand against his chin andsoftly pushed it away. "Bunny!" she said.

  "Well, dear?" He stood, not yielding, but suffering her check.

  "Bunny!" she said again, speaking with obvious effort. "I've got to saysomething. You must listen--just for a minute. Jake,--Jake won't want youto be engaged to me."

  "What?" Bunny started a little, as one who suddenly remembers a thingforgotten. "Jake!" Then hotly. "What the devil has it got to do withJake?"

  "Stop!" said Toby. "Jake's quite right. He knows. He--he's older than youare. You--you--you'd better ask him."

  "Ask Jake!" Bunny's wrath exploded. "I'm my own master. I can marry whomI like. What on earth should I ask Jake for?"

  Toby uttered a little sigh. "You needn't if you don't want to. But ifyou're wise, you will. He understands. You wouldn't. You see, I've beento a lot of different schools, Bunny--foreign ones--and I've learnt aheap of--rather funny things. That's why I'm so much older than you are.That's why I don't want to get married--as most girls do. I never oughtto marry. I know too much."

  "But you'll marry me?" he said swiftly.

  "I don't know," she said. "Not anyway yet. If--if you can stick to me forsix months--I--p'raps I'll think about it. But I think you'll come toyour senses long before then, Bunny." A desolate little note of humoursounded in her voice. "And if you do, you'll be so glad not to have tothrow me over."

  "You're talking rot," he interposed.

  "No, I'm not. I'm talking sense--ordinary common sense. I wouldn't getengaged to any man on the strength of what happened to-night. You hadn'teven thought of me in that way when we came up here."

  "I'm not so sure of that," said Bunny. "Anyway, the mischief is done now.And you needn't be afraid I shall throw you over because--" an unexpectedthrob came into his voice--"I know now I've simply got to have you."

  Toby sighed again. "But if--if I'm not worth waiting for, I'm not worthhaving," she said.

  "But why wait?" argued Bunny.

  "For a hundred reasons. You're not really in love with me for one thing."Toby spoke with conviction.

  "Yes, I am." Stubbornly he contradicted her.

  "No, you're not. Listen, Bunny! Love isn't just a passion-flower thatblooms in a single night and then fades. You're too young really tounderstand, but I know--I know. Love is more like a vine. It takes along while to ripen and come to perfection, and it has a lot to gothrough first."

  Again a sense of strangeness came to Bunny. Surely this was a grown womanspeaking! This was not the wild little creature he knew. But--perhaps itwas from perversity--her warning only served to strengthen hisdetermination.

  "You can go on arguing till midnight," he said, "you won't convince me.But look here, if you don't want anyone to know, we'll keep it toourselves for a little while. Will that satisfy you? We'll meet and havesome jolly times together in private. Will that make you any happier?"

  "We shan't be engaged?" questioned Toby.

  "Not if you'll kiss me without," said Bunny generously.

  "Oh, I don't mind kissing you--" she lifted her lips at once, "if itdoesn't mean anything."

  He stooped swiftly and met them with his own. His kiss was close andlingering, it held tenderness; and in a moment her arms crept round hisneck and she clung to him as she returned it. He felt a sob run throughher slight frame as he held her though she shed no tears and made nosound, and he was stirred to a deeper chivalry than he had ever knownbefore.

  "It does mean one thing, darling," he said softly. "It means that we loveeach other, doesn't it?"

  She did not answer him for a moment; then: "It may mean that,"she whispered back. "I don't know--very much about--love. No oneever--really--loved me before."

  "I love you," he said. "I love you."

  "Thank you," she murmured.

  He held her still. "You'll never run away from me again? Promise!"

  She shook her head promptly with a faint echo of the elfin laughter thathad so maddened him a little earlier. "No, I won't promise. But I'll showyou where I was hiding if you like. Shall I?"

  "All right. Show me!" he said.

  She freed herself from him with a little spring, and turned to the stonebuttress against which he had found her. He followed her closely, halfafraid of losing her again, but she did not attempt to elude him.

  "See!" she said, with a funny little chuckle. "I found this ledge."

  The ledge she indicated was on a level with the parapet and not more thansix inches wide. It ran square with the buttress, which on the outer sidedropped sheer to the terrace.

  Bunny looked and turned sick. "You never went along there!" he said.

  She laughed again. "Yes, I did. It's quite easy if you slide your feet.I'll show you."

  "You'll do nothing of the sort!" He grabbed her fiercely. "What inheaven's name were you thinking of? How did you learn to do thesethings?"

  She did not answer him. "I wanted to tease you," she said lightly. "And Idid it too, didn't I? I pretended I was Andromeda when I got round thecorner, but no Perseus came to save me. Only an angry dragon rampedabout behind."

  Bunny stared at her as if he thought her bewitched. "But you were over bythat north wall once. I'll swear you were over there."

  "Oh, don't swear!" she said demurely. "It's so wrong. I wasn't therereally. I only sent my voice that way to frighten you."

  "Good heavens!" gasped Bunny.

  She laughed again with gay _insouciance_. "Haven't I given you a splendidevening's entertainment? Well, it's all over now, and the curtain's down.Let's go!"

  She turned with her hand in his and led him back to the turret-door.

  Reaching it, he sought to detain her. "You'll never do it again?Promise--promise!"

  "I won't promise anything," she said lightly.

  "Ah, but you must!" he insisted. "Toby, you might have killed yourself."

  Her laugh suddenly had a mocking sound. "Oh, no! I shall never killmyself on Lord Saltash's premises," she said.

  "Why do you say that?" questioned Bunny.

  "Because--_que voulez-vous_?--he would want me neither dead nor alive,"she made reckless answer.

  "A good thing too!" declared Bunny stoutly.

  The echoes of Toby's laughter as she went down the chill, dark stairwayhad an eerie quality that sent an odd shiver through his heart. Somehowit made him think of the unquiet spirit that was said to haunt theplace--a spirit that wandered alone--always alone--in the utterdesolation.

  PART III