The Path to Honour

by Sydney C. Grier

  CHAPTER XXI.

  FAINT HEART AND FAIR LADY.

  "My dear, I fear you will think I have been indiscreet."

  Mrs James Antony looked up, and caught her husband's humourouslydeprecating expression. "Oh, James, I know that means you have donesomething dreadful, and want me to get you out of the difficulty!" shesighed. "Well, love, what is it?"

  "I have sent a _kasid_ to meet poor Gerrard, to tell him he is to come tous, and we will take no refusal. As soon as the man was gone, Iremembered that you would probably object to his being thrown into MissCinnamond's company."

  "But surely you must see for yourself, love, that it would be mostawkward for both of them? I almost think I had better ask Mrs Jardine totake in dear Honour for the time. She would be delighted, I am sure."

  "You know best, my dear. If Lady Cinnamond would not mind findingherself under such an obligation to Mrs Jardine, it is not for me to makeobjections."

  "She would dislike it extremely, love, as you well know. But what elseis there to be done?"

  "I don't myself see why there should be any awkwardness at all," saidJames Antony sturdily. "If Miss Cinnamond is going to marry Gerrard,they had better come to an understanding and get it over, and ifnot--why, they will have to meet in the future, and they may as wellbegin now. If the girl chooses to be silly about it, she had better goback to her mother."

  "But, James, love, you don't consider. How could I let her go back,knowing that poor dear Mrs Cowper has taken such a dislike to her sister?Now that she has lost her babe, it would be terrible if they met beforetime had softened her grief a little. And it is not as if dear Honourwere in the least to blame. I am sure she was keeping house for herfather most beautifully when he was compelled to take the field. We areindebted to the Cinnamonds for so many civilities that it would be hardindeed if we could not help them out of a difficulty by entertaining thepoor girl for a while."

  "Quite so, my dear, but it would also be hard if the poor girl could nothelp us by assisting to entertain a fellow-guest for a while. In fact, Iconsider that by bringing them to a mutual understanding we should bedoing a kindness not only to the young people themselves but to theGeneral and Lady Cinnamond."

  "Certainly they have no objection to Lieutenant Gerrard," said Mrs Antonymeditatively.

  "None whatever, my dear, so that we shall positively be furthering theirwishes. Come, Jane; ain't I only wise in bringing my indiscretions toyou to set right, since you are such a dab at getting me out of a mess?"

  "Fie, James, what slang! Indeed I don't wonder you affect to consult me,since it seems to me you will get your own way undisturbed."

  James Antony might go on his way with his great laugh, and his wife shakeher head at him in purely simulated reproof, but the results of theirinvoluntary diplomacy were hardly as satisfactory to the objects thereofas to themselves. Gerrard's heart gave an ecstatic bound when his hostmentioned casually on meeting him that Miss Cinnamond was staying at theResidency during the absence of her father at the front and her mother inthe hills. All the way from the camp within sight of Agpur, during thehot voyage diversified with interludes of sniping from the river-banks,he had assured himself persistently that nothing should induce him totake advantage of Bob's generosity. But these good resolutions wereforgotten as he lay in the palanquin which conveyed him from thelanding-place to the Residency, listening, without comprehending what wassaid, to James Antony's gruff voice firing off items of latestintelligence like minute-guns. In a few moments he would see Honour,look into her frank eyes, hold her cool hand, begin the siege of herheart in which his faithful love--freed from the disturbing influence ofCharteris's presence--must surely succeed in breaking down the rampart ofmaiden coldness within which she had entrenched herself. Yes, he wasglad of Charteris's absence; thankful for it. Bob had bidden him of hisown free will to go ahead, and was he to waste the opportunity for whichhe had so long yearned in vain?

  But disappointment was waiting for him at the Residency. Honour remainedso persistently in the background behind Mrs Antony that it seemed almostas if she was hiding. Her hand barely touched Gerrard's, her eyesshunned his, and her manner was constrained--almost awkward. BeforeGerrard had crossed the verandah he had divined a reason for this change:she had read her own heart at last, and it was Bob Charteris that sheloved. And here was he, lagging miserably superfluous on the stage forthree or four weeks, while Charteris was held fast by his duties beforeAgpur, and was as unaware of his good fortune as he was unable to profitby it.

  Second thoughts brought, if not a degree of hope, at least a lesscomplete yielding to despair. Perhaps it was not Charteris whose imageblinded Honour to the presence of her other lover. It might only be thatpeople had been talking, that Mrs Jardine had presumed to offer Honoursome advice inconsistent with the delicate nature of the situation,perhaps urged her to terminate it in Gerrard's favour, since she had,unasked, taken his candidature under her wing. That would be quitesufficient to account for the girl's coolness and constraint. The battlewas not, then, absolutely lost, and it might even yet be possible to turnit into a victory. Gerrard would be very cautious, very diplomatic, andwould keep their intercourse on the safe ground of their commonpreferences in prose and poetry, until he had enabled her to dissociatehim in her mind from his too zealous champions.

  Save in one respect, Honour responded to this treatment with a readinessthat was almost embarrassing. Her novel shyness fell from her when itbecame clear that Gerrard was not intending immediately to speak to herof love, and in discussing the new Dickens and the latest Tennyson sherevealed herself to him almost as freely as of old. James Antonyagonized his wife by portentous nods and winks behind their backs,indicative of the complete and final understanding now in course ofaccomplishment, but Mrs Antony was not so well satisfied, though she wasunaware of the exact nature of the rift in Gerrard's lute. One dayHonour broke into a deep discussion of the social and educational topicstouched on in the _Princess_ with a question which had no relation tothem whatever. It was clear that her thoughts were far from Gerrard'sexposition of his views, or why should she suddenly have asked how longit took him to reach Charteris at Kardi with the guns after receiving hisnote entreating him to hasten? Gerrard set his teeth. It was Charteris,then. He answered the question fully, and also the others by which itwas followed. Honour's curiosity on the subject of the unauthorisedoperations in Agpur seemed insatiable, and bit by bit she drew from himthe whole history of the campaign. Following her lead, he made a loyalendeavour to keep Charteris in the forefront of his narrative, smilingbitterly to himself when once or twice she questioned him directly abouthis own doings. This was mere politeness, of course, it was Charteris inwhom she was really interested.

  The irony of his own anticipations struck Gerrard forcibly after afortnight or so principally spent in talking about Charteris. Outsidethe air was filled with wars and rumours of wars, with reports that theGranthi army was moving on Ranjitgarh, or that this or the other Sirdarwas about to cut the communications with Agpur, and in the society ofJames Antony and his intimates these were the topics that everybodydiscussed. But spending the mid-day hours in the damp heat of thedrawing-room, where paper grew mouldy and the covers peeled off books,under the influence of the rains, with Mrs Antony occupied at a discreetdistance with reading or letter-writing, Gerrard endured what would havebeen martyrdom but for the bitter-sweet sense of Honour'spresence--possessing which he could not be wholly miserable. Continuallythere forced itself on him the change in her since the days when they hadlamented together the supposed death of Charteris. She was restless,prone to a curious impatience, and the literary interests which had firstdrawn them together satisfied her no more. Only one explanation couldfit the facts. Bob Charteris was not literary in his tastes, and Honour,with her heart awakened, had learnt to know that life was more than books.

  As the time approached for Gerrard's return to active service, it struckhim that she had perceived her unconsci
ous cruelty, and was endeavouringto atone for it. He loved her the better for the thought, though it madehim all the more miserable, since the tenderness in her voice, the tearshe sometimes surprised in her eyes, must spring from a pity that was notat all akin to love. No doubt, too, she was thinking of Charteris,keeping the field in the rains, and extensively abused on all sides asthe cause of the war, and Gerrard would have liked to assure her that heunderstood, and to prophesy a general revulsion of feeling when the Agpurbusiness had been brought to a successful conclusion. But apparentlysympathy was at a discount with Honour, for the slightest attempt toapproach the subject--even an honest effort to assure her that Bob'ssafety should be his first care in the future, for her sake--brought backat once the sense of constraint, and made her manner hard and impatient,not to say snappish. Their final parting took place in public, but thiswas Gerrard's own fault, for he could not trust himself alone with her.He might have been a weak fool to hang about her for so long, but tooffer himself as a bearer of tender messages for Charteris was beyondhim. She was very pale, and seemed to find difficulty in speaking, andhe guessed at once that she was envying him his good fortune in seeingher lover so soon. But his selfishness in refusing to volunteer as amessenger was rightly punished, for Mrs Jardine, who had seen fit toappear at the Residency to borrow a fancy-work pattern from Mrs Antony,just as he was about to start, was not minded to leave things longer inthe uncertainty which had tried her so deeply.

  "What! no message for poor Mr Charteris?" she inquired archly, asHonour's hand touched Gerrard's to the accompaniment of a single murmuredword of farewell.

  "Miss Cinnamond knows that I should feel honoured in carrying any messageof hers," he said stiffly.

  Honour blushed red, though she looked annoyed. "Oh, give him my bestwishes, please!" she said lightly.

  "Very distant and suitable, I'm sure!" muttered Mrs Jardine, muchdisappointed, but Honour did not hear her.

  "_You_ have not asked for any message--for yourself," she murmured,looking at Gerrard's sword-belt as if she had never seen one quite likeit before.

  "I did not venture--it is only your kindness that makes you think of it,"he stammered.

  "Perhaps you would rather not have it?" She raised her eyes for aninstant and looked at him bravely. "My very best wishes--to you."

  "_Bus, bus!_" shouted James Antony from the foot of the steps. "Don't beall day binding ladies' favours on your helm, Gerrard, my boy. Get itover; it ain't as bad as it looks."

  He ran up the steps again, and his great hand descended heavily onGerrard's shoulder, and Gerrard, thrilled through by the glance Honourhad turned upon him, and with all his preconceived ideas shattered andclashing under the impact of a wholly new thought, must perforce allowhimself to be hurried away, vaguely aware that Mrs Jardine, baulked ofher expected sensation, was apostrophizing the acting-Resident as a"naughty man!" At the foot of the steps he turned suddenly. One wordwith Honour, even in Mrs Jardine's hearing, and his doubts would beresolved for ever. But James Antony fairly dragged him on.

  "No looking back now, my dear fellow. You must make me your messenger ifyou have anything to say. Do you forget that they are waiting for you atthe _ghat_?"

  Gerrard mounted his pony reluctantly, then looked eagerly round.Honour's face might end his doubts as easily as her voice. But she wasnot to be seen; Mrs Jardine was nodding and smiling alone in theverandah, rather to the disgust of Mrs Antony, who was dimly visible inthe doorway of the drawing-room. Gerrard could not detect the formcrouched behind her spreading skirts, the face peering under her fallingsleeve, and once again doubt attained mastery over his mind. If Honourhad meant really to rebuke him for his backwardness, then was he indeedthe most blessed of men, but perhaps she was only mildly chaffingCharteris's friend. It was not like her, but could one moment at partinggive the lie to the experience, the settled certainty, of weeks of closeintercourse? And she had not cared to wait to see him ride away!

  During the river voyage, despite the ample opportunity he enjoyed forforming definite conclusions, Gerrard remained balanced between twocontradictory opinions, and he was still much tumbled up and down in hismind when he landed and fell into the eminently bracing company ofCharteris. British troops and siege-guns--not now to be spared fromGranthistan--had come and were still coming up from Bombay, and the lineswhich had been fortified by the Darwanis and Habshiabad force were nowonly part of an extensive position. Charteris pointed out the variousspots, much changed now since the battle in which Gerrard had receivedhis wound, as they rode up to the camp.

  "Then you are under the yoke again, Bob?" said Gerrard.

  "Rayther, just a very few! The Brigadier has determined in his own mindthat I am dead set upon presuming, so, to make it impossible, he snaps myhead off every time he sees me, and at once."

  "Hard luck, old boy!"

  "Oh, I share it with my betters. By the bye, is it true that theGovernor-General has been powdering Sir Edmund's wig?"

  "In a way. Antony wanted to promise Sher Singh his life if he wouldsurrender, and the G.-G. came down upon him like a hundred of bricks.Told him that if he had put forth any such proclamation he would have torecall it, I believe, but happily things had not gone so far."

  "I'm sorry for Sir Edmund, but I back Blairgowrie--which is jollyhandsome behaviour, since he has written some uncommon nasty things aboutme. 'Pon my word, Hal, I'm right glad that they refused us oursiege-guns, and left us here tied by the leg for the hot weather."

  Gerrard looked at him in astonishment. "But if we had been able to stampout Sher Singh's rebellion--as we could have done if they had supportedus properly--it would have saved this second Granthi War, Bob."

  "That's just it. We should have gone on trying to govern through theDurbar, and declaring that we were merely taking care of the countryuntil Lena Singh comes of age, knowing that if he ever reigned alone itwould mean the destruction of all we had done. But now the farce is atan end, and they must annex Granthistan. Our _ikbal_[1] stands fairlyhigh, but it can't take the risk of a war bad enough to drag the C.-in-C.from his Olympian retirement every two or three years. I'm sorry for SirEdmund, who has done his very best to bolster up the Durbar, but factsare too strong for him."

  "He will take it hard," said Gerrard. "Here is my camp, I see--my_campoo_,[2] I should say," as they were met by a cluster of salaamingHabshiabadis, who testified loudly their joy at his return. "But whyshouldn't I report myself to the Brigadier at once, Bob, and then comeback and settle in?"

  "Because you ain't wanted, my boy. You don't go dropping in on yourGeneral in that promiscuous style. You wait till it's convenient to himto send for you, and then you apologize for your existence in the mostabject terms at your command. I happen to know--friend at court, yousee--that you'll be summoned about sunset, and if you behave very nicely,and answer prettily when you're spoken to, you may even be honoured by aninvitation to dinner."

  "Learning one's place!" said Gerrard, with a wry look.

  "Exactly--as I have been doing. Our days of independent action are over,old boy. If we had been allowed to capture Agpur it might have beendifferent, but I don't know. Who wouldn't go from governing kingdoms totake up regimental work again?"

  Gerrard did not possess the art of banishing unpleasantness with a jest,and his brow was clouded as they rode up to his tent between the lines ofthe Habshiabadis. For them, however, he had nothing but praise,rejoicing their hearts by admiration of their discipline, and learning,as he expected, that Charteris had continued their military educationduring his absence. General Desdichado was still maintaining a judiciousseclusion, owing to a fresh attack of illness, it seemed, and Charterisremarked on the curious character of the ailment, which invariably becameacute when there was a question of the General's coming in contact withany British officer.

  "Scandal says that nothing but Sadiq Ali's direct command keeps him inthe field at all," he added. "Otherwise he would sneak back toHabshiabad, and drink himself to deat
h there in peace."

  They were inside the tent now, and Charteris turned suddenly on hisfriend. "Well, Hal, what news? Is that blessing of mine wanted, or not?"

  "It's no good pretending I don't know what you mean, but on my life, Bob,I can't tell you."

  "Can't tell--in a matter of this kind? Nonsense!"

  "It's this way. Almost the whole of the time I was there I could havesworn she cared for you. We talked of nothing but you and your doings."

  "Precious little in that. You did just the same when you thought I wasdead, and it meant absolutely nothing."

  "But it makes every possible difference when we both know you are alive.At any rate, I was too jolly downhearted to court another refusal. Butjust as I came away, she looked at me in a way that made me think--andsomething that she said----"

  "And you didn't make sure? My young friend, it strikes me that you fearyour fate a good deal."

  "Our Mr James hurried me away. But I am afraid--and I don't mind sayingso--of risking my last chance."

  "Why your last? I wish I were coxcomb enough to be sure it was yourlast, and that you would lose it."

  "But even if she refused us both again, you can't go on persecuting agirl who has said no to you three times."

  "Why not? I shall go on asking her, if she says no a hundred times.It's for her own good. No girl can really wish to be an old maid."

  "Rather than marry you or me, perhaps."

  "That shows how little she knows about it. But I give you my word sheain't going to lose a good husband through any slackness of mine. Youwon't find me wasting my opportunities as you have been doing."

  "You pitch it pretty strong, Bob, but I believe I deserve it. Still, itwas not my fault that I could not settle things that last moment. Willyou do this for me, old boy? When we get back to Ranjitgarh, leave mefree to speak to her if I meet her first. If I find that it is you afterall, I promise you to make no attempt to persuade her, and if you meether first, of course you will find out for yourself."

  "I believe you, my boy! And I only hope we may find out definitely.This uncertainty plays the very mischief with a man when he has time tothink of it."

  "My dear Bob, you don't mean to say you would rather know that all was upwith you than be able to go on hoping?"

  "That I would! One can set one's teeth then, and grin and bear it, butit's horrid disturbing, when you're trying to give your mind to regularhard grinding work, for the thought of all that kind of thing to bealways intruding."

  "If I didn't know you better than you know yourself, old boy, I shouldsay not only that you didn't care a pin for her, but that you couldn't.Why, how could one carry on work at all without those very thoughts tohelp one?"

  "You're getting libellous, Hal. It's the uncertainty, not the thoughts,that I find disturbing. If she would take me--bless her!--I'll lay youanything you like she would be the Commander-in-Chief's lady in theshortest time on record."

  "Bob, it's precious hard on both of us. Whichever gets her, one of usmust be miserable."

  "Let us make quite sure that she's happy, then. But it's a little lateto be talking like this, ain't it? What I find most cause to blame inyou, Hal, is a tendency to the sentimental. Turn your mind strictly tobusiness--namely, to receiving the orderly who is about to summon you tothe presence of the high and mighty Speathley."

  After the warning he had received, Gerrard was not likely to be late forhis appointment, but when he arrived at Major-General Speathley'sheadquarters, it was evident that the Brigadier thought it salutary forjunior officers to cool their heels a little in his anteroom. A numberof other men were hanging about, and a low buzz of conversation filledthe tent. Gerrard was known by name to most of those present, and he wassoon in possession of the chief item of interest which was agitating thecamp. That morning's reconnaissance had been pushed as far as RatanSingh's tomb, which had been occupied without opposition, and a carefulsearch had revealed the shallow grave in which the dishonoured remains ofNisbet and Cowper had been hastily hidden after the tragedy in the spring.

  "The old man swears he will turn out Ratan Singh--whoever he may havebeen--and give the poor chaps a _pucca_ funeral in the shrine itself,"said one youth.

  "I was not aware that we fought with the dead," said Gerrard, ratherdisgusted.

  "Seems rayther a spicy idea to me," drawled another. "They do ourfellows out of a grave, so we prig one of theirs for 'em."

  "Surely we can do better for them than a second-hand tomb," said Gerrard,more emphatically than he realised. "Wouldn't it be more to the purposeto leave Ratan Singh in peace, since he has done us no injury, and punishthe living who deserve it?"

  "Eh--what?" demanded an explosive voice behind the group. "And who mayyou be, young sir, who think your opinion so well worth hearing?"

  Gerrard turned to confront a short choleric man in uniform, whom he hadno difficulty in recognising to be the Brigadier. "My name is Gerrard,sir, and I am attached to the Habshiabad force."

  "Oho!" General Speathley drew out with some difficulty an eyeglass, andfixing it in his eye, looked up at Gerrard as though he had been toosmall to see without it. "So this is another of the sucking Caesars whocommand armies in Granthistan! And what, pray, may be the nature of yourvery valuable suggestion, sir?"

  "I have acted as Resident at Agpur, sir, and know something about thepeople, and I was about to say that they would be far more impressed withthe retribution if we buried our glorious dead in the very midst of thecity from which they were driven rather than in an old tomb outside it."

  The astonishment on the General's face was reflected on those around him.Clearly it was not often that Brigadier Speathley heard an opiniondifferent from his own. "Proceed, sir, proceed!" he snapped ferociously."I'll be bound we haven't been favoured with the full extent of yourviews yet."

  The tone was intolerable, and Gerrard grew white with suppressed wrath."I have no more to say, sir, if the petty and unchristian course ofturning a dead man out of his grave has already been decided upon."

  "I thought so!" cried the General in triumph. "Antony's cursedsentimental notions, of course--might have known it. You are one ofthose who prefer the blackfellows to your own people, sir, who think thelives of the Company's servants are nothing compared with the fear ofdispleasing the natives."

  "At least, sir, I placed myself at Mr Charteris's disposal to rescue oravenge Captain Cowper and Mr Nisbet, or your army might not have beenhere to-day. And you will permit me to add that I still consider my planlikely to be more impressive, if less disgusting, to the natives thanyours."

  "And you'll permit me to say, sir," roared the General, whose eyes wereprotruding from his head, "that my plan will be carried out if everypestilent political in Granthistan is opposed to it. It's high time youcame back to duty, sir. You seconded subalterns think no small beer ofyourselves, I know, but you'll learn better here, I can tell you, andyou'll find---- Eh, what's that?"

  An unobtrusive aide-de-camp was presenting a paper at his elbow, and ashe read it his face changed, but by no means cleared. "Hum--ha!" hemuttered, "it seems you have some fancy status here--political trick, Isuppose--some quibble about Habshiabad lying outside Granthistan. Butit's all one. If you ain't under my command, you don't get mentioned inmy despatches--see? Eh, how does that suit you, sir?"

  "I am honoured by the omission, sir," said Gerrard.

  [1] Prestige.

  [2] Native force under European leadership.