Miss Gregory

“ Miss Gregory, for some reason, was a little touched. It occurred to her that here, after all her adventures, she had come upon the real adventurer. This neat, reserved child, stamped with the seal of secure English middle-class life, had married her man and linked herself to his life in the harsh, barbarous outskirts of Europe, and exchanged the play fellows of her home for this gaunt cripple with the bitter, wry mouth, and eyes of a faithful dog. ”

“ He looked like a man on the verge of a discovery; the aptness of it struck Miss Gregory with a thrill. The watch which she wore in a strap upon her wrist showed her that the hour was three in the morning; it was close upon the time when the man on the angareb would catch his breath with a little astonished gasp, as if the discovery were made, and thereafter would cease to breathe at all. The plague in the last of its stages keeps time like a clock.
A friendly eye might have noted certain changes in Miss Gregory, as she sat, hunched upon her camp-stool, waiting for that final moment. ”

“ The men at each side of her treated her with a grave ceremoniousness; she had no share in the light freedom of intercourse that prevailed among her companions. "She's entrenched," thought Miss Gregory, watching her. "She's had enough of being a woman: she means to be a lady." ”

“ The accents of wisdom were distinguishable.
"She ain't no tramp," floated back to her, as she sat down again on the hay.
The woman who slept beside her woke later and cried a little, and had to be comforted and hushed. Miss Gregory's soothing hand was seized by her and held tightly, and she was silent again, but with uneven breath and twitchings of her limbs. It seemed a long time since the man had been dispatched for the doctor—so long that any crisis of the woman's trouble might be imminent, with only Miss Gregory at hand to aid her. ”

“ The mere weirdness of the affair was the aspect of it which was most clearly visible to Miss Gregory. The lantern made heavy shadows about her. The prostrate woman, but for her harsh breathing, might have been a corpse; the three half-clad men were at once comical and terrible; and, beyond the little area of ground which they were converting into a battle-field she could see the mass of the house, with its upper window yet lighted, the white wall bordering the road, and. the trees. The scene dwarfed the drama and made it ridiculous.
Bill was yet in the doorway when she let the scythe drop. ”

“ Miss Gregory stood awhile to look at it. It was not that she had to make up her mind, for according to the plain standards of her life her way was clear. Alternatives were not for her; weak creatures who hesitate between two paths are not of her world. She looked across the water in the tideway at the silent houses, bunched together about a single minaret, speculatively. ”

“ Andreitch kissed her hand, and Eva her face, and both stood at the door, the girl within the man's arm, and called adieux and smiled after her till the bend in the stair interposed.
"One would imagine," thought Miss Gregory, "that they were never going to see me again."
Miss Gregory was before all things a woman of the world, equipped with self-possession against emotional surprises. She placed a meager value on caresses as a means of intercourse; but somehow the tenderness of that farewell in the flat stuck in her mind like a splinter. ”

“ At dinner they were all together, as cordial as ever, as lavish of smiles, acquiescing in and applauding each word that she uttered, with the same undertone of falsity and insincerity stultifying all their genial pretense. But of their purpose in all this no word had yet been spoken.
They unmasked their batteries on the following morning. Miss Gregory, descending toward the world and its inhabitants, would easily have spared a meeting with Mr. Gould, but he was in waiting for her. ”

“ Orloff was leaning against a pillar, with his hands clasped over the circumference of his stomach, his face torpid and benign. His companion stood a couple of paces from him, ill at ease and impatient; and Miss Gregory, passing serenely between them, took occasion to examine him. A man in civilian clothes that fitted him ill, she saw; a narrow, intolerant face; a way of standing with the shoulders braced back that would have rendered any disguise futile to so shrewd and experienced an eye as Miss Gregory's. The whole person of the man bespoke the promoted policeman ”

“ Impossible to be more obliging than the Goulds. Miss Gregory looked round on the smiling circle, and beheld each countenance radiant and prodigal of sunshine, and in each the same constrained and hungry eyes bent upon her as if in calculation. It made her wonder what a real raw Gould was like.
"They want something," she concluded warily. "They're not crawling like this and stroking my back for love. ”

“ She came slowly toward him until she stood in the firelight, so near that he could have put out his hand and touched her. He saw the brown arms reflecting the wavering fire, the dark braids, the full, round throat, her eyes even, deep and earnest. And something he glimpsed in their quiet depths sent a quick pain to his heart.
"Yes," she answered as if he had spoken. "I heard. I listened outside. I heard every word." She broke off, only her hands clasping each other tightly showing him that the calmness of her still figure was forced over a tumult within. ”

“ Miss Gregory was, all the time.
"Somehow, that emptied the spirit out of me. I went out slow and dignified, but with the feeling that I had no chance; I was handicapped in the very doorway by four hundred and seventeen marks. It was n't fair; it did n't leave me time. I went out toward the busier streets, but there was no hope left in me. There's only one way a woman can scoop in money at short notice in a place like Berlin, and—well, when it came to that, I bought laudanum. ”

“ Then Gregory sat down in the lamp-light on the other side of the curtain, and heard the pencil move on the paper. When he looked round the curtain she was lying on the pillow musing. The open letter lay at her side; she glanced at it with soft eyes. The man with the languid eyelids must have been strangely moved before his hand set down those words:
“Let me come back to you! My darling, let me put my hand round you, and guard you from all the world. As my wife they shall never touch you. I have learnt to love you more wisely, more tenderly, than of old; you shall have perfect freedom. ”

“ Miss Gregory drew her breath. "Capital," she murmured.
Thus she came to Andjerreh, seeing it first in the only aspect which does it credit. By noon she had tested its charm and found it lacking. It was a commonplace little shore town, split in halves by a broad tideway which was dry at low tide and a communal sewer at high. In her costume of travel—the slack flannel coat which gave room for her shoulders, the business-like tweed skirt, and the felt hat with a silk puggaree—she explored the seaward side of the town with her usual energy and made a deep impression upon the inhabitants. ”

“ Miss Gregory felt herself reddening in the lantern-light. It was plain that she had failed to impress Gruden; he was merely playing with her, and believing her not at all. It would have been fine to produce a purse forthwith and flatten him with a show of unlimited gold for the mere satisfaction of seeing him grovel. But she gathered herself for a last effort.
"Look here," she said strongly; "you can spare yourself the trouble of trying to be impertinent. If you can't see that you 're not dealing with a tramp, you are a fool. ”

“ Most people, in fact, have a lot of happiness."
"Have they?" said the Princess. "But that is strange."
Food and a glass of wine had helped Miss Gregory back to optimism.
"You won't find it strange soon," she declared. "Only let us get word to Mr. Van Cuyp, and your happiness will begin, too."
The Princess blinked like a puzzled child.
"Ah, Daniel!" she said. "Yes, if I could find Daniel——"
"You must eat something," said Miss Gregory. "You need it. And drink some of this wine. And then we'll go and see if Daniel has arrived. No; we can't go till you have eaten something." ”

“ It was rather funny to watch, and Miss Gregory was interested. She failed to notice that the dog, whose memory of Mr. Blake was not less accurate than hers, was interested too.
Mr. Blake's conscience had smitten him at the moment of her flight from the wharf. No honest man lacks the seeds of chivalry, however he may lack the art of it. ”

“ A great deal depends on him. He is worth a hundred of me."
"My dear boy," said Miss Gregory, "I wouldn't sell your little finger for a thousand Orloffs."
Sandorf laughed. "A woman to perceive a man's value," he said. "I kiss your hands, Miss Gregory."
"Don't dare," said Miss Gregory.
She went away soon after that, bearing with her the memory of Orloff like a bad taste in the mouth. The sight of Eva at his feet, of Andreitch leaning over the back of his chair, of all the young men and girls gathered about him, attentive and admiring, filled her with disgust. ”

“ Somewhere in the recesses of Madame Blum's being there dwelt a culinary conscience and the soul of a cook, which had survived the stress of a career that closed in the pension at Brussels. The meal was simple and excellent, as distinctive in its way as the people who ate it. The small man who was on Miss Gregory's right needed but a glance to wake into smiles and an eager, polite volubility.
"Madame is not to remain here?" he inquired. "No, merely a visit? We are unfortunate, for one sees in Madame the intelligence and sympathy of a woman of the world. ”

“ Miss Gregory stared. "They understood enough to clear Lawrence, at any rate," she said.
Marcelle shook her head. "No," she said. "For Lawrence and I knew that he was guilty."
"Good Lord!" exclaimed Miss Gregory.
"It would be easy to take what they offer," the girl went on. "Very easy! But Lawrence is an honest man. Before he asked me to marry him, he told me everything. So now—we shall not go to England, and we shall never bother you again. We are going to America, to take another name and work for ourselves; there is perhaps a place for people who are honest and will work." ”

“ Women like Miss Gregory have not common anywhere; among her acquaintances in various lands were some few who professed to find this fact consolation for her existence; but Andjerrah saw her the first time, a woman walking abroad unveiled, taking the middle of the way, daunting grown men with looks of criticism and appraisement.
She saw the great house of the Governor at the end of a little square, flanked by a mosque. A couple of ruffianly soldiers, one in uniform, the other nearly naked, lounged at its gate. The other side of the square was open ”

“ THE HONEST MAN
"BRUSSELS," wrote Miss Gregory in her diary, "is a fine, sleek city; but, at present it seems to be inhabited chiefly by members of the Gould family."
It was to be her last halt before crossing to England, a lingering out of the flavor of travel before proceeding to the process of digestion; but, in the Goulds, it seemed as if England were thrusting forward to meet her. ”

“ Gould. "You see now how it is, Miss Gregory. Nothing that we can do will move him; he treats us as strangers. But he always liked and admired you. When I saw you here, I thought Providence must have sent you specially."
"I see," said Miss Gregory drily. She really couldn't allow Mr. Gould to draw out his pious stop. "I suppose you want me to go and see him? Is that it?"
"Oh, if you would, Miss Gregory," cried Mrs. Gould, "you would earn a mother's blessing!"
"Thanks," said Miss Gregory. "But where is he to be found?"
"The house is the Pension Blum," replied Mr. Gould, and gave the address. ”

“ At the fat officer's howl, Miss Gregory started back; she was just in time to see a spirited action-picture dissolve into its ingredients. The wharf became a theatre in a moment, with the dog as the villain of the piece. The fat officer hopped on his unbitten leg and shouted broken phrases in four tongues, and everybody threw things at the dog and looked at the money on the ground.
"Pat," called Miss Gregory. "Pat! Here, boy."
She judged it was useless to offer compensation; the blood of the dog was what the stout officer required. ”

“ Mr. Van Cuyp? Of course I knew him," answered Mrs. Seton-Howe. "He had a beard. I didn't like him. But—why!"
She turned to Miss Gregory.
"You were in Paris when the Czar was there?" she said. "Of course you were. Then you must remember Mr. Van Cuyp, too?"
"Van Cuyp!" repeated Miss Gregory. "A Dutchman?"
"No; an American. Don't you remember him?"
"It's so long ago," said Miss Gregory apologetically.
Mrs. Seton-Howe looked at her thoughtfully. "Yes," she said. "And did n't you accompany your brother, the General, on that mission to the Kronberg Court? You must have seen her too?" ”

“ Gould. "Lawrence, when he fled, came here to Brussels. He secured employment, and has not been unsuccessful. But his exile has made a change in him. He has become embittered, distrustful of his own family; he received us, when we went to him, in the strangest manner; and he refused in the most positive manner to return to England."
"Did he?" said Miss Gregory. "That's queer."
"It's awful," cried the invalid. "Think, dear Miss Gregory! If he doesn't go back now, what will people say?"
"Oh, that doesn't matter," said Miss Gregory. "He's sore and rather revengeful, no doubt; who wouldn't be? ”