October 13, 2025 • 26 mins
16 - The Best Man by Grace Livingston Hill.
Cyril Gordon, a young and handsome secret service agent is running from pursuers who desperately want the information he holds. He hides out from them in a church, and then finds himself married to a woman he’s never seen before. A sweet and sometimes, funny, romance, with several exciting chases.
Cyril Gordon, a young and handsome secret service agent is running from pursuers who desperately want the information he holds. He hides out from them in a church, and then finds himself married to a woman he’s never seen before. A sweet and sometimes, funny, romance, with several exciting chases.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Chapter sixteen of the Best Man. This LibriVox recording is
in the public domain. Recording by Gale Mattern. The Best
Man by Grace livingstone Hill, chapter sixteen. The room was
very still. The girl did not even sob He turned
after a moment and went back to that bowed golden
(00:22):
head there in the deep Crimson chair. Look here, he said.
I know you can't ever forgive me. I don't expect it,
I don't deserve it. But please don't feel so awfully
about it. I'll explain it all to every one. I'll
make it all right for you. I'll take every bit
of blame on myself and get plenty of witnesses to
(00:43):
prove all about it. The girl looked up with sorrow
and surprise in her wet eyes. Why I do not
blame you, she said mournfully. I cannot see how you
were to blame. It was no one's fault. It was
just an unusual happening, a strange set of circumstances. I
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could not blame you. There is nothing to forgive, and
if there were, I would gladly forgive it. Then what
on earth makes you look so white and feel so distressed?
He asked in a distracted voice, as a man will
sometimes look and talk to the woman he loves when
she becomes a tearful problem of despair to his obtuse eyes.
(01:26):
Oh don't you know, No, I don't, he said. You're
surely not mourning for that brute of a man to
whom you had promised to sacrifice your life. She shook
her head and buried her face in her hands. Again.
He could see that the tears were dropping between her fingers,
and they seemed to fall red hot upon his heart.
(01:48):
Then what is it? His tone was almost sharp in
its demand, but she only cried the harder. Her slender
shoulders were shaking with her grief. Now he put his
hand down softly and touched her bowed head. Won't you
tell me, dear, he breathed, and, stooping nowt beside her.
The sobs ceased, and she was quite still for a moment,
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while his hand still lay on her hair with that gentle,
pleading touch. It is because you married me in that
that way, without knowing. Oh can't you see how terrible, Oh,
the folly and blindness of love. Gordon got up from
(02:30):
his knees, as if she had stung him. You need
not feel bad about that any more, he said, in
a hurt tone. Did I not tell you I would
set you free at once? Surely no one in his
senses could call you bound after such circumstances. She was
very still for an instant, as if he had struck her,
and then she raised her golden head and a pair
(02:52):
of sweet eyes suddenly grown haughty. You mean that I
will set you free, she said coldly. I could not
think of letting you be bound by a misunderstanding when
you are under great stress of mind. You are in
no wise to blame. I will set you free as
you please, he retorted, bitterly, turning toward the window. Again,
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it all amounts to the same thing. There is nothing
for you to feel bad about. Yes, there is, she answered,
with a quick rush of feeling that broke through her
assumed haughtiness. I shall always feel that I have broken
in upon your life. You have had a most trying
experience with me, and you never can quite forget it.
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Things won't be the same, she paused, and the quiet
tears chased each other eloquently down her face. No, said Gordon,
still bitterly. Things will never be the same for me.
I shall always see you sitting there in my chair.
I shall always be missing you from it. But I
am glad, glad. I would never have known what I
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missed if it had not been for this. He spoke,
almost savagely. He did not look around, but she was
staring at him in astonishment, her blue eyes suddenly alight.
What do you mean, she asked softly. He wheeled round
upon her. I mean that I shall never forget you,
that I do not want to forget you. I should
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rather have had these two days of your sweet company
than all my lifetime in any other companionship. Oh, she breathed. Then,
then why did you say what you did about being free?
I didn't say anything about being free that I remember.
It was you that said that. I said I would
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set you free. I could not, of course, hold you
to a bond you did not want, But I did
not say I did not want it. I said I
would not hold you if you did not want to stay.
Do you mean that if you had known me a
little that is just as much as know me now,
and had come in there and found out your mistake
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before it was too late, that you would have wanted
to go on with it? She waited for his answer breathlessly.
If you had known me just as much as you
do now, and had looked up and seen that it
was I and not George Hayne you were marrying, would
you have wanted to go on and be married? Her
cheeks grew rosy and her eyes confused. I asked you first,
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she said, with just a flicker of a smile. He
caught the shimmer of light in her eyes and came
toward her eagerly, his own face all aglow. Now with
a dawning understanding, darling, he said, I can go farther
than you have asked. From the first minute my eyes
rested upon your face under that mist of white veil.
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I wished with all my heart that I might have
known you before any other man had found and won you.
When you turned and looked at me with that deep
sorrow in your eyes, you pledged me with every fiber
of my being to fight for you. I was yours
from that instant, and when your little hand was laid
in mine, my heart went out in longing to have
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it stay in mind forever. I know now, as I
did not understand then, that the real reason for my
not doing something to make known. My identity at that
instant was not because I was afraid of any of
the things that might happen, or any scene I might make,
but because my heart was fighting for the right to
keep what had been given me out of the unknown.
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You are my wife by every law of heaven and earth.
If your heart will but say yes, I love you
as I never knew a man could love. And yet
if you do not want to stay with me, I
will set you free. But it is true that I
should never be the same, for I am married to
you in my heart and always shall be. Darling, look
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up and answer my question. Now he stood before her
with outstretched arms, and for answer she rose and came
to him, slowly, with downcast eyes. I do not want
to be set free, she said. Then gently, tenderly, he
folded his arms about her, as if she were too
precious to handle roughly, and laid his lips upon hers.
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It was the shrill, insistent clang of the telephone that
broke in upon their bliss. For a moment, Gordon let
it ring, but its merciless clatter was not to be denied, So,
drawing Celia close within his arm, he made her come
with him. To the phone. To his annoyance, the haughty
voice of miss Bentley answered him from the little black
distance of the phone. His arm was about Celia, and
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she felt his whole body stiffen with formality. Oh, miss Bentley,
good morning. Your message? Why? No, Ah, well, I have
but just come in a pause, during which Celia, panic stricken,
handed him the paper on which she had written Julia's message. Ah, oh, yes,
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I have the message. Yes, it is very kind of you,
he murmured stiffly. But you will have to excuse me. No, really,
it is utterly impossible. I have another engagement. His arm
stole closer around Celia's waist and caught her hand, holding
it with a meaningful pressure. He smiled with a grimace
toward the telephone, which gladdened her heart. Pardon me, I
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didn't hear that, he went on, Oh, give up my
engagement and come not possibly. His voice rang with a glad,
decided force, and he held still closer the soft fingers
in his hand. Well, I'm sorry you feel that way
about it. I certainly am not trying to be disagreeable. No,
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I could not come tomorrow night either. I cannot make
any plans for the next few days, I may have
to leave town again. It is quite possible I may
have to return to New York. Yes, business has been
very pressing. I hope you will excuse me. I am
sorry to disappoint you. No, of course I didn't do
it on purpose. I shall have some pleasant news to
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tell you when I see you again, or with a
glance of deep love at Celia, perhaps I shall find
means to let you know of it before I see you.
The color came and went in Celia's cheeks. She understood
what he meant and nestled closer to him. No, no,
I could not tell it over the phone. No, it
will keep good. Things will always keep if they are
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well cared for. You know. No, really I can't, and
I'm very sorry to disappoint you tonight, but it can't
be helped. Good Bye. He hung up the receiver with
a sigh of relief. Who is miss Bentley, asked Celia
with natural interest. She was pleased that he had not
addressed her as Julia. Why she is a friend, I
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suppose you would call her. She has been taking possession
of my time lately, rather more than I really enjoyed. Still,
she is a nice girl. You'll like her, I think,
but I hope you'll never get too intimate. I shouldn't
like to have her continually around she he paused, and
finished laughing. She makes me tired. I was afraid from
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her tone when she phoned you that she was a
very dear friend, that she might be someone you cared for.
There was a sort of proprietorship in her tone. Yes,
that's the very word, proprietorship, he laughed. I couldn't care
for her. I never did. I tried to consider her
in that light one day, because I've been told repeatedly
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that I ought to settle down. But the thought of
having her with me always was well intolerable. The fact
is you reigned supreme in a heart that has never
loved another girl. I didn't know there was such a
thing as love like this. I knew I lacked something,
but I didn't know what it was. This is greater
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than all the gifts of life, This gift of your love,
and that it should come to me in this beautiful,
unsought way seems too good to be true. He drew
her to him once more and looked down into her
lovely face as if he could not drink enough of
its sweetness and to think you are willing to be
my wife. My wife, and he folded her clothes again.
(11:21):
A discreet tap on the door announced the arrival of
the man Henry, and Gordon roused to the necessity of
ordering lunch. He stepped to the door with a happy
smile and held it open. Come in a minute, Henry,
he said, this is my wife. I hope you will
henceforth take her wishes as your special charge, and do
for her as you have done so faithfully for me.
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The man's eyes shone with pleasure as he bowed low
before the gentle lady. A is very glad to hear it, sir,
and I offer you my congratulations, sir, and a lady too.
She can't find no better man in the whole United
States than Mars Gordon. I's mighty glad you done got, mad, sir,
and I hopes you both have a mighty fine life.
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The luncheon was served in Henry's best style, and his
dark face shone as he stepped noiselessly about, putting silver
and china and glass in place, and casting admiring glances
at the lady who stood holding the little miniature in
her hand and asking questions with a gentle voice. Your mother,
you say, how dear she is, And she died so
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long ago you never knew her. Oh, how strange and
sweet and pitiful to have a beautiful girl mother like that.
She put out her hand to his in the shelter
of the deep window, and they thought Henry did not
see the look and touch that passed between them, But
he discreetly averted his eyes and smiled benignly at the
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salt cellars and the celery he was arranging. Then he
hurried out to a floris next door, and returned with
a dozen white roses, which he arranged in a queer,
little crystal pitcher, one of the few articles belonging to
his mother that Gordon possessed. It had never been used before,
except to stand on the mantel. It was after they
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had finished their delightful luncheon, and Henry had cleared the
table and left the room that Gordon remarked, I wonder
what has become of George Hayne. Do you suppose he
means to try to make trouble? Celly's hands fluttered to
her throat with a little gesture of fear. Oh, she said,
I had forgotten him. How terrible he will do something.
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Of course, he will do everything. He will probably carry
out all his threats. How could I have forgotten? Perhaps
Mamma is now in great distress. What can we do?
What can I do? She looked up at him helplessly,
and his heart bounded at the thought that she was
his to protect as long as life should last, and
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that she already depended upon him. Don't be frightened, he
soothed her. He cannot do anything very dreadful, and if
he tries, will soon silence him. What he has written
in those letters is blackmail. He is simply a big
coward who will run and hide as soon as he
is exposed. He thought you did not understand law, and
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so took advantage of you. I'm sure I can silence him.
Oh do you think so? But mamma, poor mamma. It
will kill her, and George will stop at nothing when
he is crossed. I have known him too long. It
will be terrible if he carries out his threat. Tears
were in her eyes, agony was in her face. We
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must telephone your mother at once and set her hard
at rest. Then we can find out just what ought
to be done, said Gordon soothingly. It was unforgivably thoughtless
of me not to have done it before. Celie's face
was radiant at the thought of speaking to her mother. Oh,
how beautiful. Why didn't I think of that before? For
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what perfectly dear things telephones are? With one accord, they
went to the telephone table. Shall you call them up?
Or shall I? He asked, You call and then I
will speak to mamma, She said, her eyes shining with
her joy in him. I want them to hear your
voice again. They can't help knowing you are all right
when they hear your voice. For that, he gave her
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a glance very much worth having. Just how do you
accome for the fact that you didn't think I was
all right yesterday afternoon? I have a very realizing sense
that you didn't. I used my voice to the best
of my ability, but it did no good. Then, Well,
you see that was different. There were those letters to
(15:45):
be accounted for. Mamma. Jeff don't know anything about the letters,
And what are you going to tell them now? She
drew her brows down a minute and thought, you'd better
find out how much they already know? He suggested, If
this do, Lord Hayne hasn't turned up yet. Perhaps you
can wait until you can write, or we might be
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able to go up tomorrow and explain it ourselves. Oh
could we How lovely I think we could, said Gordon.
I'm sure I can make it possible. Of course, you know,
a wedding journey isn't exactly in the program of the
Secret Service, but I might be able to work them
for one. I surely can in a few days. If
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this Holman business doesn't hold me up, I may be
needed for a witness. I'll have to talk with the
chief first. Oh, how perfectly beautiful. Then you call them
up and just say something pleasant, anything you know, and
then say I'll speak to mamma. She gave him the number,
and in a few minutes a voice from New York said, Hello, Hello,
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called Gordon. Is this mister Jefferson Hathaway. Well, this is
your new brother in law. How are you all? Your
mother recovered from all the excitement and weariness? That's good?
What's that You've been trying to phone us in Chicago?
But we're not in Chicago. We changed our minds and
came to Washington instead. Yes, we're in Washington. The Harris apartments.
(17:12):
We have been very selfish not to have communicated with
you sooner. At least I have. Celia hasn't had any
choice in the matter. I've kept her so busy. Yes,
she's very well and seems to look happy. She wants
to speak for herself. I'll try to arrange to bring
her up tomorrow for a little visit. I want to
see you too. We've a lot of things to explain
(17:33):
to you. Here's Celia. She wants to speak to you. Celia,
her eyes shining, her lips quivering with suppressed excitement, took
the receiver. Oh, Jeff, dear, it's good to hear your voice,
she said. Is everything all right? Yes, I've been having
a perfectly beautiful time, and I've something fine to tell you.
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All those nice things you said to me just before
you got off the train A true yes, he's just
as nice as you said, and a great deal nicer besides. Oh, yes,
I'm very happy and I want to speak to mamma, please, Jeff,
Is she all right? Is she perfectly well and not
fretting a bit? You know you promised to tell me
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what's that? She thought? I looked sad? Well, I did,
but that's all gone now everything is perfectly beautiful. Tell
mother to come to the phone, please. I want to
make her understand. I'm going to tell her, dear, she whispered,
looking up at Gordon, I'm afraid George will get there
before we do and make her worry for answer. He
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stooped and kissed her, his arm encircling her and drawing
her clothes. Whatever you think best, dearest, he whispered back,
is that you, mamma, With a happy smile. She turned
back to the phone. Dear, mamma, Yes, I'm all safe
and happy, and I'm so sorry you have worried. We
won't let you do it again. But listen, I've got
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something to tell you. A surprise, Mamma. I did not
marry George Hayne at all. No, I say I did
not marry George Hayne at all. George Hayne is a
wicked man. I can't tell you about it over the phone,
but that was why I looked so sad. Yes, I
was married, all right, but not to George. He's oh
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so different. Mother. You can't think he's right here beside
me now. And mother, he's just as dear. You'd be
very happy about him if you could see him. What
did you say? Didn't I mean to marry George? Why? Mother?
I never wanted to. I was awfully unhappy about it,
and I knew I made you feel so, too, though
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I tried not to. But I'll explain all about it.
You'll be perfectly satisfied when you know all about it. No,
there's nothing whatever for you to worry about. Everything is
right now, and life looks more beautiful to me than
it ever did before. What's his name? Oh? She looked
up at Gordon with a funny little expression of dismay
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she had forgotten, and he whispered it in her ear. Cyril,
it's Cyril, mother. Isn't that a pretty name? Which name? Oh?
The first name, of course, the last name, Gordon, he
supplied in her ear again, Cyril Gordon, Mother, she said,
giggling in spite of herself at her strange predicament. Yes, mother,
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I am very very happy. I couldn't be happier unless
I had you and Jeff too. And she paused, hesitating
at the unaccustomed name. And Cyril says, we're coming to
visit you tomorrow. We'll come up and see you and
explain everything. And you're not to worry about George Hayne.
If he comes, just let Jeff put him off by
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telling him you have sent for me or something of
the sort, and don't pay any attention to what he says.
What you say. He did come, how strange, and he
hasn't been back. I'm so thankful. He's dreadful. Oh mother,
you don't know what I've escaped. And Cyril is good
and dear what you want to speak to him? All right?
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He's right here. Goodbye, mother, dear till tomorrow, and you'll
promise not to worry about anything. All right, here's Cyril.
Gordon took the receiver. Mother. I'm taking good care of her,
just as I promised, and I'm going to bring her
for her flying visit up to see you tomorrow. Yes,
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I'll take good care of her. She is very dear
to me, the best thing that ever came into my life.
Then a mother's blessing came thrilling over the wires and
touched the handsome, manly face with tenderness. Thank you, he said,
I shall try always to make you glad you said
those words. They returned to looking in each other's eyes.
(21:57):
After the receiver was hung up, as if they had
been hearted a long time. It seemed somehow, as if
their joy must be greater than any other married couple,
because they had all the according yet to do. It
was beautiful to think of what was before them. There
was so much on both sides to be told, and
to be told over again, because only half had been told,
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And there were so many hopes and experiences to be exchanged,
so many opinions to compare and to rejoice over because
they were alike on many essentials. Then there were the
rooms to be gone through, and Gordon's pictures and favorite
books to look at and talk about, and plans for
the future to be touched upon, just barely touched upon.
(22:42):
The apartment would do until they could look about and
get a house, Gordon said, his heart swelling with the
proud thought that at last he would have a real
home like his other married friends, with a real princess
to preside over it. Then Celia had to tell all
about the horror of the last three months, with the
unpleasant shadows of the preceding years back of it. She
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told this in the dusk of evening, before Henry had
come in to light up, and before they had realized
that it was almost dinner time. She told it with
her face hidden on her husband's shoulder and his arms
close about her to give her comfort at each revelation
of the story. They tried also to plan what to
do about George Hayne. And then there was the whole
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story of Gordon's journey and commission, from the time the
old Chief had called him into the office until he
came to stand beside her at the church altar and
they were married. It was told in careful detail, with
all the comical, exasperating and pitiful incidents of white Dog
and little Newsboy. But the strangest part about it all
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was that Gordon never said one word about Julia Bentley
and her imaginary presence with him that first day, and
he never even knew that he had left out in
important detail. Clia laughed over the White Dog and declared
they must bring him home to live with them, And
she cried over the story of the brave little Newsboy,
and was eager to visit him in New York, promising
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herself all sorts of pleasure in taking him gifts and
permanently bettering his condition. And it was in this way
that Gordon incidentally learned that his wife had a fortune
in her own right, a fact that for a time
gave him great uneasiness of mind, until she had soothed
him and laughed at him for an hour or more.
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For Gordon was an independent creature and had ideas about
supporting his wife by his own toil. Besides, it seemed
an unfair advantage to have taken a wife and a fortune,
as it were unaware. But Celia's fortune had not spoiled her,
and she soon made him see that it had always
been a mere incident in her scheme of living, comfortable
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and pleasant, incident, to be sure, but still an incident
to be kept all in the background, and never for
a moment to be a cause for self congratulation or pride.
Gordon found himself dreading the explanation that would have to
come when he reached New York and faced his wife's
mother and brother. Celia had accepted his explanations because somehow,
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by the beautiful ways of the spirit, her soul had
found and believed in his soul before the truth was
made known to her. But would her mother and brother
be able also to believe? And he fell to planning
with Celia just how he should tell the story, and
this led to his bringing out a number of letters
and papers that would be worth while, showing as credentials,
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and every step of the way. As Celia got a
glimpse after glimpse into his past, her face shone with joy,
and her heart leaped with the assurance that her lot
had been cast in goodly places. For she perceived not
only that this man was honored and respected in high places,
but that his early life had been particularly pure and true.
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The strange loneliness that had surrounded his young manhood seemed
suddenly to have broken ahead of him, and to have
opened out into the glory of the companionship of one
peculiarly fitted to fill the need of his life. Thus
they looked into one another's eyes, reading their life joy,
and entered into the beautiful miracle of acquaintanceship. End of
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Chapter sixteen.
Chapter sixteen of the Best Man. This LibriVox recording is
in the public domain. Recording by Gale Mattern. The Best
Man by Grace livingstone Hill, chapter sixteen. The room was
very still. The girl did not even sob He turned
after a moment and went back to that bowed golden
(00:22):
head there in the deep Crimson chair. Look here, he said.
I know you can't ever forgive me. I don't expect it,
I don't deserve it. But please don't feel so awfully
about it. I'll explain it all to every one. I'll
make it all right for you. I'll take every bit
of blame on myself and get plenty of witnesses to
(00:43):
prove all about it. The girl looked up with sorrow
and surprise in her wet eyes. Why I do not
blame you, she said mournfully. I cannot see how you
were to blame. It was no one's fault. It was
just an unusual happening, a strange set of circumstances. I
(01:03):
could not blame you. There is nothing to forgive, and
if there were, I would gladly forgive it. Then what
on earth makes you look so white and feel so distressed?
He asked in a distracted voice, as a man will
sometimes look and talk to the woman he loves when
she becomes a tearful problem of despair to his obtuse eyes.
(01:26):
Oh don't you know, No, I don't, he said. You're
surely not mourning for that brute of a man to
whom you had promised to sacrifice your life. She shook
her head and buried her face in her hands. Again.
He could see that the tears were dropping between her fingers,
and they seemed to fall red hot upon his heart.
(01:48):
Then what is it? His tone was almost sharp in
its demand, but she only cried the harder. Her slender
shoulders were shaking with her grief. Now he put his
hand down softly and touched her bowed head. Won't you
tell me, dear, he breathed, and, stooping nowt beside her.
The sobs ceased, and she was quite still for a moment,
(02:10):
while his hand still lay on her hair with that gentle,
pleading touch. It is because you married me in that
that way, without knowing. Oh can't you see how terrible, Oh,
the folly and blindness of love. Gordon got up from
(02:30):
his knees, as if she had stung him. You need
not feel bad about that any more, he said, in
a hurt tone. Did I not tell you I would
set you free at once? Surely no one in his
senses could call you bound after such circumstances. She was
very still for an instant, as if he had struck her,
and then she raised her golden head and a pair
(02:52):
of sweet eyes suddenly grown haughty. You mean that I
will set you free, she said coldly. I could not
think of letting you be bound by a misunderstanding when
you are under great stress of mind. You are in
no wise to blame. I will set you free as
you please, he retorted, bitterly, turning toward the window. Again,
(03:16):
it all amounts to the same thing. There is nothing
for you to feel bad about. Yes, there is, she answered,
with a quick rush of feeling that broke through her
assumed haughtiness. I shall always feel that I have broken
in upon your life. You have had a most trying
experience with me, and you never can quite forget it.
(03:36):
Things won't be the same, she paused, and the quiet
tears chased each other eloquently down her face. No, said Gordon,
still bitterly. Things will never be the same for me.
I shall always see you sitting there in my chair.
I shall always be missing you from it. But I
am glad, glad. I would never have known what I
(03:59):
missed if it had not been for this. He spoke,
almost savagely. He did not look around, but she was
staring at him in astonishment, her blue eyes suddenly alight.
What do you mean, she asked softly. He wheeled round
upon her. I mean that I shall never forget you,
that I do not want to forget you. I should
(04:21):
rather have had these two days of your sweet company
than all my lifetime in any other companionship. Oh, she breathed. Then,
then why did you say what you did about being free?
I didn't say anything about being free that I remember.
It was you that said that. I said I would
(04:41):
set you free. I could not, of course, hold you
to a bond you did not want, But I did
not say I did not want it. I said I
would not hold you if you did not want to stay.
Do you mean that if you had known me a
little that is just as much as know me now,
and had come in there and found out your mistake
(05:03):
before it was too late, that you would have wanted
to go on with it? She waited for his answer breathlessly.
If you had known me just as much as you
do now, and had looked up and seen that it
was I and not George Hayne you were marrying, would
you have wanted to go on and be married? Her
cheeks grew rosy and her eyes confused. I asked you first,
(05:27):
she said, with just a flicker of a smile. He
caught the shimmer of light in her eyes and came
toward her eagerly, his own face all aglow. Now with
a dawning understanding, darling, he said, I can go farther
than you have asked. From the first minute my eyes
rested upon your face under that mist of white veil.
(05:50):
I wished with all my heart that I might have
known you before any other man had found and won you.
When you turned and looked at me with that deep
sorrow in your eyes, you pledged me with every fiber
of my being to fight for you. I was yours
from that instant, and when your little hand was laid
in mine, my heart went out in longing to have
(06:10):
it stay in mind forever. I know now, as I
did not understand then, that the real reason for my
not doing something to make known. My identity at that
instant was not because I was afraid of any of
the things that might happen, or any scene I might make,
but because my heart was fighting for the right to
keep what had been given me out of the unknown.
(06:32):
You are my wife by every law of heaven and earth.
If your heart will but say yes, I love you
as I never knew a man could love. And yet
if you do not want to stay with me, I
will set you free. But it is true that I
should never be the same, for I am married to
you in my heart and always shall be. Darling, look
(06:53):
up and answer my question. Now he stood before her
with outstretched arms, and for answer she rose and came
to him, slowly, with downcast eyes. I do not want
to be set free, she said. Then gently, tenderly, he
folded his arms about her, as if she were too
precious to handle roughly, and laid his lips upon hers.
(07:16):
It was the shrill, insistent clang of the telephone that
broke in upon their bliss. For a moment, Gordon let
it ring, but its merciless clatter was not to be denied, So,
drawing Celia close within his arm, he made her come
with him. To the phone. To his annoyance, the haughty
voice of miss Bentley answered him from the little black
distance of the phone. His arm was about Celia, and
(07:40):
she felt his whole body stiffen with formality. Oh, miss Bentley,
good morning. Your message? Why? No, Ah, well, I have
but just come in a pause, during which Celia, panic stricken,
handed him the paper on which she had written Julia's message. Ah, oh, yes,
(08:02):
I have the message. Yes, it is very kind of you,
he murmured stiffly. But you will have to excuse me. No, really,
it is utterly impossible. I have another engagement. His arm
stole closer around Celia's waist and caught her hand, holding
it with a meaningful pressure. He smiled with a grimace
toward the telephone, which gladdened her heart. Pardon me, I
(08:25):
didn't hear that, he went on, Oh, give up my
engagement and come not possibly. His voice rang with a glad,
decided force, and he held still closer the soft fingers
in his hand. Well, I'm sorry you feel that way
about it. I certainly am not trying to be disagreeable. No,
(08:45):
I could not come tomorrow night either. I cannot make
any plans for the next few days, I may have
to leave town again. It is quite possible I may
have to return to New York. Yes, business has been
very pressing. I hope you will excuse me. I am
sorry to disappoint you. No, of course I didn't do
it on purpose. I shall have some pleasant news to
(09:06):
tell you when I see you again, or with a
glance of deep love at Celia, perhaps I shall find
means to let you know of it before I see you.
The color came and went in Celia's cheeks. She understood
what he meant and nestled closer to him. No, no,
I could not tell it over the phone. No, it
will keep good. Things will always keep if they are
(09:28):
well cared for. You know. No, really I can't, and
I'm very sorry to disappoint you tonight, but it can't
be helped. Good Bye. He hung up the receiver with
a sigh of relief. Who is miss Bentley, asked Celia
with natural interest. She was pleased that he had not
addressed her as Julia. Why she is a friend, I
(09:51):
suppose you would call her. She has been taking possession
of my time lately, rather more than I really enjoyed. Still,
she is a nice girl. You'll like her, I think,
but I hope you'll never get too intimate. I shouldn't
like to have her continually around she he paused, and
finished laughing. She makes me tired. I was afraid from
(10:14):
her tone when she phoned you that she was a
very dear friend, that she might be someone you cared for.
There was a sort of proprietorship in her tone. Yes,
that's the very word, proprietorship, he laughed. I couldn't care
for her. I never did. I tried to consider her
in that light one day, because I've been told repeatedly
(10:37):
that I ought to settle down. But the thought of
having her with me always was well intolerable. The fact
is you reigned supreme in a heart that has never
loved another girl. I didn't know there was such a
thing as love like this. I knew I lacked something,
but I didn't know what it was. This is greater
(10:57):
than all the gifts of life, This gift of your love,
and that it should come to me in this beautiful,
unsought way seems too good to be true. He drew
her to him once more and looked down into her
lovely face as if he could not drink enough of
its sweetness and to think you are willing to be
my wife. My wife, and he folded her clothes again.
(11:21):
A discreet tap on the door announced the arrival of
the man Henry, and Gordon roused to the necessity of
ordering lunch. He stepped to the door with a happy
smile and held it open. Come in a minute, Henry,
he said, this is my wife. I hope you will
henceforth take her wishes as your special charge, and do
for her as you have done so faithfully for me.
(11:44):
The man's eyes shone with pleasure as he bowed low
before the gentle lady. A is very glad to hear it, sir,
and I offer you my congratulations, sir, and a lady too.
She can't find no better man in the whole United
States than Mars Gordon. I's mighty glad you done got, mad, sir,
and I hopes you both have a mighty fine life.
(12:06):
The luncheon was served in Henry's best style, and his
dark face shone as he stepped noiselessly about, putting silver
and china and glass in place, and casting admiring glances
at the lady who stood holding the little miniature in
her hand and asking questions with a gentle voice. Your mother,
you say, how dear she is, And she died so
(12:29):
long ago you never knew her. Oh, how strange and
sweet and pitiful to have a beautiful girl mother like that.
She put out her hand to his in the shelter
of the deep window, and they thought Henry did not
see the look and touch that passed between them, But
he discreetly averted his eyes and smiled benignly at the
(12:51):
salt cellars and the celery he was arranging. Then he
hurried out to a floris next door, and returned with
a dozen white roses, which he arranged in a queer,
little crystal pitcher, one of the few articles belonging to
his mother that Gordon possessed. It had never been used before,
except to stand on the mantel. It was after they
(13:12):
had finished their delightful luncheon, and Henry had cleared the
table and left the room that Gordon remarked, I wonder
what has become of George Hayne. Do you suppose he
means to try to make trouble? Celly's hands fluttered to
her throat with a little gesture of fear. Oh, she said,
I had forgotten him. How terrible he will do something.
(13:35):
Of course, he will do everything. He will probably carry
out all his threats. How could I have forgotten? Perhaps
Mamma is now in great distress. What can we do?
What can I do? She looked up at him helplessly,
and his heart bounded at the thought that she was
his to protect as long as life should last, and
(13:55):
that she already depended upon him. Don't be frightened, he
soothed her. He cannot do anything very dreadful, and if
he tries, will soon silence him. What he has written
in those letters is blackmail. He is simply a big
coward who will run and hide as soon as he
is exposed. He thought you did not understand law, and
(14:16):
so took advantage of you. I'm sure I can silence him.
Oh do you think so? But mamma, poor mamma. It
will kill her, and George will stop at nothing when
he is crossed. I have known him too long. It
will be terrible if he carries out his threat. Tears
were in her eyes, agony was in her face. We
(14:39):
must telephone your mother at once and set her hard
at rest. Then we can find out just what ought
to be done, said Gordon soothingly. It was unforgivably thoughtless
of me not to have done it before. Celie's face
was radiant at the thought of speaking to her mother. Oh,
how beautiful. Why didn't I think of that before? For
(15:01):
what perfectly dear things telephones are? With one accord, they
went to the telephone table. Shall you call them up?
Or shall I? He asked, You call and then I
will speak to mamma, She said, her eyes shining with
her joy in him. I want them to hear your
voice again. They can't help knowing you are all right
when they hear your voice. For that, he gave her
(15:24):
a glance very much worth having. Just how do you
accome for the fact that you didn't think I was
all right yesterday afternoon? I have a very realizing sense
that you didn't. I used my voice to the best
of my ability, but it did no good. Then, Well,
you see that was different. There were those letters to
(15:45):
be accounted for. Mamma. Jeff don't know anything about the letters,
And what are you going to tell them now? She
drew her brows down a minute and thought, you'd better
find out how much they already know? He suggested, If
this do, Lord Hayne hasn't turned up yet. Perhaps you
can wait until you can write, or we might be
(16:05):
able to go up tomorrow and explain it ourselves. Oh
could we How lovely I think we could, said Gordon.
I'm sure I can make it possible. Of course, you know,
a wedding journey isn't exactly in the program of the
Secret Service, but I might be able to work them
for one. I surely can in a few days. If
(16:25):
this Holman business doesn't hold me up, I may be
needed for a witness. I'll have to talk with the
chief first. Oh, how perfectly beautiful. Then you call them
up and just say something pleasant, anything you know, and
then say I'll speak to mamma. She gave him the number,
and in a few minutes a voice from New York said, Hello, Hello,
(16:49):
called Gordon. Is this mister Jefferson Hathaway. Well, this is
your new brother in law. How are you all? Your
mother recovered from all the excitement and weariness? That's good?
What's that You've been trying to phone us in Chicago?
But we're not in Chicago. We changed our minds and
came to Washington instead. Yes, we're in Washington. The Harris apartments.
(17:12):
We have been very selfish not to have communicated with
you sooner. At least I have. Celia hasn't had any
choice in the matter. I've kept her so busy. Yes,
she's very well and seems to look happy. She wants
to speak for herself. I'll try to arrange to bring
her up tomorrow for a little visit. I want to
see you too. We've a lot of things to explain
(17:33):
to you. Here's Celia. She wants to speak to you. Celia,
her eyes shining, her lips quivering with suppressed excitement, took
the receiver. Oh, Jeff, dear, it's good to hear your voice,
she said. Is everything all right? Yes, I've been having
a perfectly beautiful time, and I've something fine to tell you.
(17:55):
All those nice things you said to me just before
you got off the train A true yes, he's just
as nice as you said, and a great deal nicer besides. Oh, yes,
I'm very happy and I want to speak to mamma, please, Jeff,
Is she all right? Is she perfectly well and not
fretting a bit? You know you promised to tell me
(18:16):
what's that? She thought? I looked sad? Well, I did,
but that's all gone now everything is perfectly beautiful. Tell
mother to come to the phone, please. I want to
make her understand. I'm going to tell her, dear, she whispered,
looking up at Gordon, I'm afraid George will get there
before we do and make her worry for answer. He
(18:39):
stooped and kissed her, his arm encircling her and drawing
her clothes. Whatever you think best, dearest, he whispered back,
is that you, mamma, With a happy smile. She turned
back to the phone. Dear, mamma, Yes, I'm all safe
and happy, and I'm so sorry you have worried. We
won't let you do it again. But listen, I've got
(19:01):
something to tell you. A surprise, Mamma. I did not
marry George Hayne at all. No, I say I did
not marry George Hayne at all. George Hayne is a
wicked man. I can't tell you about it over the phone,
but that was why I looked so sad. Yes, I
was married, all right, but not to George. He's oh
(19:23):
so different. Mother. You can't think he's right here beside
me now. And mother, he's just as dear. You'd be
very happy about him if you could see him. What
did you say? Didn't I mean to marry George? Why? Mother?
I never wanted to. I was awfully unhappy about it,
and I knew I made you feel so, too, though
(19:43):
I tried not to. But I'll explain all about it.
You'll be perfectly satisfied when you know all about it. No,
there's nothing whatever for you to worry about. Everything is
right now, and life looks more beautiful to me than
it ever did before. What's his name? Oh? She looked
up at Gordon with a funny little expression of dismay
(20:06):
she had forgotten, and he whispered it in her ear. Cyril,
it's Cyril, mother. Isn't that a pretty name? Which name? Oh?
The first name, of course, the last name, Gordon, he
supplied in her ear again, Cyril Gordon, Mother, she said,
giggling in spite of herself at her strange predicament. Yes, mother,
(20:29):
I am very very happy. I couldn't be happier unless
I had you and Jeff too. And she paused, hesitating
at the unaccustomed name. And Cyril says, we're coming to
visit you tomorrow. We'll come up and see you and
explain everything. And you're not to worry about George Hayne.
If he comes, just let Jeff put him off by
(20:50):
telling him you have sent for me or something of
the sort, and don't pay any attention to what he says.
What you say. He did come, how strange, and he
hasn't been back. I'm so thankful. He's dreadful. Oh mother,
you don't know what I've escaped. And Cyril is good
and dear what you want to speak to him? All right?
(21:14):
He's right here. Goodbye, mother, dear till tomorrow, and you'll
promise not to worry about anything. All right, here's Cyril.
Gordon took the receiver. Mother. I'm taking good care of her,
just as I promised, and I'm going to bring her
for her flying visit up to see you tomorrow. Yes,
(21:34):
I'll take good care of her. She is very dear
to me, the best thing that ever came into my life.
Then a mother's blessing came thrilling over the wires and
touched the handsome, manly face with tenderness. Thank you, he said,
I shall try always to make you glad you said
those words. They returned to looking in each other's eyes.
(21:57):
After the receiver was hung up, as if they had
been hearted a long time. It seemed somehow, as if
their joy must be greater than any other married couple,
because they had all the according yet to do. It
was beautiful to think of what was before them. There
was so much on both sides to be told, and
to be told over again, because only half had been told,
(22:19):
And there were so many hopes and experiences to be exchanged,
so many opinions to compare and to rejoice over because
they were alike on many essentials. Then there were the
rooms to be gone through, and Gordon's pictures and favorite
books to look at and talk about, and plans for
the future to be touched upon, just barely touched upon.
(22:42):
The apartment would do until they could look about and
get a house, Gordon said, his heart swelling with the
proud thought that at last he would have a real
home like his other married friends, with a real princess
to preside over it. Then Celia had to tell all
about the horror of the last three months, with the
unpleasant shadows of the preceding years back of it. She
(23:05):
told this in the dusk of evening, before Henry had
come in to light up, and before they had realized
that it was almost dinner time. She told it with
her face hidden on her husband's shoulder and his arms
close about her to give her comfort at each revelation
of the story. They tried also to plan what to
do about George Hayne. And then there was the whole
(23:27):
story of Gordon's journey and commission, from the time the
old Chief had called him into the office until he
came to stand beside her at the church altar and
they were married. It was told in careful detail, with
all the comical, exasperating and pitiful incidents of white Dog
and little Newsboy. But the strangest part about it all
(23:48):
was that Gordon never said one word about Julia Bentley
and her imaginary presence with him that first day, and
he never even knew that he had left out in
important detail. Clia laughed over the White Dog and declared
they must bring him home to live with them, And
she cried over the story of the brave little Newsboy,
and was eager to visit him in New York, promising
(24:11):
herself all sorts of pleasure in taking him gifts and
permanently bettering his condition. And it was in this way
that Gordon incidentally learned that his wife had a fortune
in her own right, a fact that for a time
gave him great uneasiness of mind, until she had soothed
him and laughed at him for an hour or more.
(24:32):
For Gordon was an independent creature and had ideas about
supporting his wife by his own toil. Besides, it seemed
an unfair advantage to have taken a wife and a fortune,
as it were unaware. But Celia's fortune had not spoiled her,
and she soon made him see that it had always
been a mere incident in her scheme of living, comfortable
(24:55):
and pleasant, incident, to be sure, but still an incident
to be kept all in the background, and never for
a moment to be a cause for self congratulation or pride.
Gordon found himself dreading the explanation that would have to
come when he reached New York and faced his wife's
mother and brother. Celia had accepted his explanations because somehow,
(25:18):
by the beautiful ways of the spirit, her soul had
found and believed in his soul before the truth was
made known to her. But would her mother and brother
be able also to believe? And he fell to planning
with Celia just how he should tell the story, and
this led to his bringing out a number of letters
and papers that would be worth while, showing as credentials,
(25:40):
and every step of the way. As Celia got a
glimpse after glimpse into his past, her face shone with joy,
and her heart leaped with the assurance that her lot
had been cast in goodly places. For she perceived not
only that this man was honored and respected in high places,
but that his early life had been particularly pure and true.
(26:04):
The strange loneliness that had surrounded his young manhood seemed
suddenly to have broken ahead of him, and to have
opened out into the glory of the companionship of one
peculiarly fitted to fill the need of his life. Thus
they looked into one another's eyes, reading their life joy,
and entered into the beautiful miracle of acquaintanceship. End of
(26:28):
Chapter sixteen.
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