V
At six bells there was a tap on the cardinal's door.
"Come in," he said.
The head steward entered. He had exchanged the white duck of theafternoon for the black of evening. He was now the major-domo. He woresilk stockings and about his neck was a silver chain, and at the end ofthe chain hung a key.
"Your eminence's servant has come on board," he said.
"Pietro?" asked the cardinal.
"I do not know his name," said the steward, "but he is most anxious tosee your eminence."
"Let him come in at once," said the cardinal. The steward backed out,bowing.
There was a loud knock upon the door. "Enter," said the cardinal. Pietrocame in. He carried a portmanteau.
"What is it?" exclaimed the cardinal. "Is any one dying? Am I needed?"
"No, your eminence," said Pietro, "the public health is unusually good.I have come to dress you for dinner with the English."
"They are not English," said the cardinal; "they are Irish."
"In that event," said Pietro, "you will do as you are."
"No," laughed the cardinal, "since you have brought my finery I will putit on."
Pietro opened the portmanteau with a sigh. "I thought they wereEnglish," he said. "The Irish are as poor as the Italians. If I dressyour eminence as I had intended they will not appreciate it."
"Do not fear," said the cardinal. "Do your best."
At seven bells there was another knock at the cardinal's door. Pietroopened it.
"Shall dinner be served, your eminence?" asked the head steward.
"Whenever the ladies are ready," replied the cardinal.
"They are already on deck, your eminence."
"At once, then," said the cardinal, and he went up the companion-way,leaning on Pietro's arm. The after-deck was lighted by scores ofincandescent lamps, each shaded by a scarlet silken flower. The tablestood, white and cool, glittering with silver and crystal. In its centrewas a golden vase, and in the vase were four scarlet roses. The deck wascovered with a scarlet carpet, a strip of which ran forward to thegalley-hatch, so that the service might be noiseless.
Lady Nora was dressed in white and wore no jewels. Miss O'Kelly waspartially clad in a brocaded gown, cut as low as even the indiscretionof age permits. A necklace of huge yellow topazes emphasized the spacethey failed to cover.
The cardinal came into the glow of the lights. His cassock was black,but its hem, its buttons, and the pipings of its seams were scarlet; sowere his stockings; so was the broad silk sash that circled his waist;so were the silk gloves, thrust under the sash; so was the birettina,the little skullcap that barely covered his crown and left to view afringe of white hair and the rebellious lock upon his forehead. The laceat his wrists was Venice point. His pectoral cross was an antique thatwould grace the Louvre. Pietro had done his work well.
The cardinal came into the zone of light, smiling. "Lady Nora," he said."Ireland is the home of the fairies. When I was there I heard much ofthem. Early in the morning I saw rings in the dew-laden grass and wastold that they had been made by the 'little people,' dancing. You,evidently, have caught a fairy prince and he does your bidding. Withinan hour you have converted the after-deck into fairy-land; you have--"
Just then, out of the blue darkness that lay between the yacht andVenice, burst the lights of a gondola. They darted alongside and, amoment after, the Earl of Vauxhall came down the deck.
"Serve at once," whispered Lady Nora to the major-domo.
"Pardon me, your eminence," she said, "you were saying--"
"I was merely remarking," said the cardinal, "that you seem to have afairy prince ready to do your bidding. It seems that I was right. Herehe is."
Lady Nora smiled. "What kept you, Bobby," she said, "a businessengagement, or did you fall asleep?"
"Neither," said the earl; "I lost a shirt-stud."
"Your eminence is served," said the major-domo.
They stood while the cardinal said grace, at the conclusion of which,all, except the earl, crossed themselves.
"Was it a valuable jewel, my lord?" asked Miss O'Kelly, in an intervalof her soup.
"No," said the earl; "a poor thing, but mine own."
"How did it happen?" asked Miss O'Kelly; "did your man stale it?"
"Dear, no," said the earl; "it happened while I was putting on myshirt."
Miss O'Kelly blushed, mentally, and raised her napkin to her face.
"It twisted out of my fingers," continued the earl, "and rolled away,somewhere. I moved every piece of furniture in the room; I got down onall fours and squinted along the floor; I went to the dressing-table tolook for another; my man, after putting out my things, had locked upeverything and gone to his dinner. I couldn't dine with you, likefreedom, 'with my bosom bare'--"
"No," said Miss O'Kelly, glancing down at her topazes, "you couldn't dothat."
"Certainly not," said the earl, "and so I put on my top-coat and wentout to Testonni's in the Piazza, and bought a stud. I was lucky to findthem open, for it was past closing time. They told me they were workinglate on a hurry order. I put the stud in my shirt, raced across to themolo, jumped into a gondola, and here I am. Am I forgiven?"
"Yes," said Lady Nora; "you were only five minutes late and your excuseis, at least, ingenious. You could not have come unadorned."
"Unadorned!" exclaimed the earl; "it was a question of comingunfastened."
Pietro began to refill the cardinal's glass, but his master stopped him.Pietro bent and whispered. The cardinal laughed. "Pietro tells me," hesaid, "that this is better wine than that which I get at home and that Ishould make the most of it. The only difference I remark in wines isthat some are red and some are white."
"That minds me of one night when Father Flynn dropped in to dine," saidMiss O'Kelly--"'twas he had the wooden leg, you remember, Nora,dear--and he and Phelim sat so late that I wint in with fresh candles.'I call that good whiskey,' says the father as I came in. '_Good_whiskey?' exclaimed Phelim; 'did ever you see any whiskey that was_bad_.' 'Now that you mintion it,' says his riverince, 'I never did; butI've seen some that was scarce.' 'Another bottle, Aunt Molly,' saysPhelim, 'his riverince has a hollow leg.' When I came back with thebottle they were talking to a little, wild gossoon from the hills. Hewas barefooted, bareheaded, and only one suspinder was between him andthe police. 'Is your mother bad?' asked his riverince. 'Dochtor saysshe'll die afore mornin',' says the gossoon. 'Will you lind me a horse,Phelim?' asked his riverince. 'You ride a horse, with that leg!' saysPhelim. 'No, I'll drive you, in the cart;' and he went off to thestables. In five minutes he came back with the dog-cart and the graymare. His riverince got up, with the aid of a chair, the little gossoonclimbed up behind, and the gravel flew as the gray mare started. Theywint a matter of ten rods and then I saw the lamps again. They hadturned, and they stopped before the porch--the gray mare on herhaunches. 'Phelim,' I says, 'what ails you, you've a light hand whinyou're sober.' His riverince leaned over and whispered--'The oil cruet,Miss Molly, and don't let the gossoon see it,' I wint in, came out withthe cruet in a paper, and handed it to him. 'All right, Phelim,' hesays, and the gray mare started. At six in the mornin' I heard thegravel crunch, and I wint to the door. There stood the gray mare, herhead down, and her tail bobbin'. 'You've over-driven her, Phelim,' saysI. 'Perhaps,' says he, 'but I knew you were sittin' up for me. The curseof Ireland,' says he, 'is that her women sit up for her men.' 'How isthe poor woman?' I says. 'She's dead,' says Phelim; 'Father Flynn iswaiting for the neighbors to come.' 'And the little gossoon?' says I.Phelim leaned down from the dog-cart; 'Aunt Molly,' says he, 'we can'tafford to keep what we have already, can we?' 'No,' says I. 'Thin,' saysPhelim, 'we can just as well afford to keep one more; so I told him tocome to us, after the funeral.'"
"I don't quite follow that reasoning," said the earl.
"I am more sure than ever, that I should like Phelim," said thecardinal. "Why do you not have him on?"
"He's six foot three," explained Miss
O'Kelly; "the yacht wouldn't fithim. He couldn't stand up, below. There is six foot seven between decks,but the electric lights project four inches. Then the beds--there isn'tone more than six foot six. We had Phelim on board and tried him. Hestayed one night. 'Aunt Molly,' he said, in the mornin', 'Nora has abeautiful boat, plenty of towels, and a good cook. I should like to gowith you, but I'm scared. I kept awake last night, with my knees drawnup, and all went well, but if ever I fall asleep and straighten out,I'll kick the rudder out of her.' We couldn't have Phelim aboard, yourimminence; he'd cancel the marine insurance."
While Miss O'Kelly had been running on, the cardinal had been politelylistening. He had also been discreetly observing. He had the attributeof politicians and ecclesiastics--he could exercise all his sensestogether. While he was smiling at Miss O'Kelly he had seen Lady Noratake from the gold vase one of the scarlet roses, press it, for aninstant, to her lips and then, under cover of the table, pass it to theearl. He had seen the earl slowly lift the rose to his face, feigning toscent it while he kissed it. He had seen quick glances, quivering lipsthat half-whispered, half-kissed; he had seen the wireless telegraphy oflove flashing messages which youth thinks are in cipher, known only tothe sender and the recipient; and he, while laughing, had tapped thewire and read the correspondence.
"It is all over," he said to himself. "They are in love. The littlenaked boy with the bow has hit them both."
Promptly at nine, Pietro announced the barca. The cardinal made hisadieus. "My lord," he said to the earl, "if you are for the shore, Ishould be honored by your company."
"Thank you," said the earl, "but I ordered my gondola at ten."
Lady Nora and the earl stood watching the cardinal's lantern as it spedtoward Venice. It was soon lost in the night. Lady Nora's hand restedupon the rail. The earl covered it with his own. She did not move.
"Have you bought the cup, Bobby," she asked.
"Not yet," he answered, "but I shall have it. The treasury is closed forthe annual cleaning."
"When you bring it," she said, "you will find me here. I should like youto give it me on the Tara. There is your gondola light. Aunt Molly seemsto be asleep in her chair. You need not wake her to say good-night."
"I sha'n't," said the earl.
Her hand still rested upon the rail--his hand still covered hers. Shewas gazing across the harbor at the countless lights of Venice. The warmnight breeze from the lagoon dimpled the waters of the harbor until thereflected lights began to tremble. There was no sound, save the tinkleof the water against the side and the faint cry of a gondolier, in thedistance.
"Bobby," said Lady Nora, finally, "it is nice to be here, just you andI."
He made a quick motion to take her in his arms, but she started back."No, no," she said, "not yet; not till you earn me. There may be many aslip 'twixt the cup and"--she put her fingers to her lips.
Miss O'Kelly's chin fell upon her topazes so sharply that she wakenedwith a start.
"Nora, darlin'?" she cried, looking about her.
"Here I am," said Lady Nora, coming into the light.
"Ah," said her aunt, "and Lord Robert, too. I thought he had gone. Imust have had forty winks."
"I was only waiting," said the earl, "to bid you good-night."
"An Irishman," said Miss O'Kelly, "would have taken advantage of meslumbers, and would have kissed me hand."
"An Englishman will do it when you are awake," said the earl.
"That's nice," said Miss O'Kelly; "run away home now, and get yourbeauty-sleep."
The Turquoise Cup, and, the Desert Page 5