PR 6031 E^ D6 1903 
 UNIVERSITY Of CflUFORNIA SAN DIEGO 
 
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 IBRARY 
 
 DIVERSITY OF 
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 DOCTOR XAVIER
 
 " He bent toward her and appeared to exert all that indomitable 
 power of his will which few were able to resist."
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 BY 
 
 MAX PEMBERTON 
 
 WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS 
 BY MAURICE GREIFFENHAGEN 
 
 SECOND EDITION 
 
 LONDON: HODDER AND 
 STOUGHTON ^ ^ 27 
 PATERNOSTER ROW 1903
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 "he bent toward her and appeared to 
 exert all that indomitable power 
 of his will which few were able 
 TO RESIST" .... Facing p' 52 
 
 " THE DOCTOR HIMSELF HELD A GLASS IN 
 
 HIS HAND "....„ 88 
 
 " TAKING ADVANTAGE OF HER HUSBAND's 
 ABSENCE, PROFFERED AN ASSISTANCE 
 ENTIRELY UNNECESSARY " . . ,, 154 
 
 " SOMEBODY SNATCHED THE WHIP FROM HIS 
 
 HAND, AND BEAT HIM UNMERCIFULLY " . ,, 174 
 
 " * IT IS I, YUSSUF, SENORITA ' " . . „ 191 
 
 " SHE PERCEIVED A GROUP OF OFFICERS IN 
 
 uniform" . . . . „ 204 
 
 CHESTNUT HORSE, HIS WHITE UNIFORM 
 
 CATCHING THE GOLDEN LIGHT " . „ 234 
 
 "MY wife! my wife!" . , . ,, 297 
 
 vii
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 The press about the doors of the theatre increased 
 as the day wore on ; and many of those waiting 
 in the front ranks of the queue gave place to new- 
 comers and abandoned their advantage. It was 
 a hot day of July, and the sun poured down 
 fiercely upon the torrid steppes of the Strand. 
 Whirling dust and a venomous breath of the 
 drought bore witness to the enduring heat and 
 its harvest of flagging energies and leaden steps. 
 The bevy of young girls lingering about the stage- 
 door of the Casino Theatre envied its sisters who 
 had gained admission to the sheltered corridor, 
 and waited their turn before the dread tribunal. 
 Voices were to be tried to-day ; new engagements 
 made for the great dramatic spectacle which 
 should delight London during the autumn 
 months. Advertisements for artistes attracted 
 many aspirants. From suburban purlieus, from 
 offices, from remote country parsonages, even 
 from the kitchen and the scullery, the would-be 
 famous came. All types, all conditions of girl- 
 hood and womanhood were to be observed in the 
 throng. Bedraggled mothers, abandoning hope 
 upon the threshold, but too weak to draw back, 
 
 2
 
 2 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 stood elbow to elbow with stylish " soubrettes " 
 trained to the business and vulgar in their display. 
 Timid creatures hid their faces and seemed already 
 ashamed of their mission. But here and there, 
 one frankly ambitious spoke of chance and 
 opportunity, of her great desire to " appear," and 
 of her belief in a vocation. But for the most 
 part a tacit truce of rivalry prevailed. Each 
 knew that the other's gain might be her loss. 
 The battle was often for bread. 
 
 Esther Venn had arrived at the theatre at a 
 quarter-past ten, and finding many already in the 
 corridor before her, she took a place by the iron 
 gates and waited patiently until she might be 
 called. Tall and countrified and very quietly 
 dressed, she was at once the subject of remark ; 
 and the poodle dog which sat so patiently upon 
 the edge of her skirt did not escape some pleasant 
 comment from the light-hearted girls who would 
 have made friends with him. Some said, not 
 unkindly, that dogs nowadays earn more money 
 upon the stage than human beings ! while one 
 dark-eyed beauty from Clapham expressed the 
 opinion that if justice were done she would be 
 riding in a carriage with a King Charles spaniel 
 upon her knee. To these and others Esther 
 answered with what kindness she could, that the 
 dog would never leave her ; and being strange to 
 London she had thought it would be no harm 
 to take him to the theatre — a confession which 
 provoked some merriment and not a little instruc- 
 tive chatter. 
 
 **Ah," said one, "you'll have many things to
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 3 
 
 learn about the profession, miss, and no mistake 
 neither ! 'Tisn't all what the people in front see 
 of it, believe me. You ask Clara over there what 
 they paid her for fourteen calls at the Temple, 
 and notices up on the Saturday. Oh, it was 
 different when I first began. Every young lady 
 didn't want to play the lead then and rob poor 
 girls of their daily bread. As true as the Lord's 
 above me, I've been twenty-two weeks waiting 
 for this job, and here I am no better than the 
 rest, and just as likely to wait twenty more." 
 
 " Don't frighten the young lady," said another, 
 less pessimistic and more vulgar; "she's all right, 
 she is — they want ' tails ' for the front row, and 
 she's just the height. I could have gone on last 
 May if I'd a bin as tall as she is ; but there, it's 
 always something. Come to that, I shall drive a 
 chariot at the Folly, and a pretty job, too, at 
 sixteen a week and shout your lungs out. Oh, 
 the profession, what it's coming to, I don't 
 know ! " 
 
 " It's the amatoors as ruins it," said a substantial 
 lady, who obviously suffered much by reason of 
 the heat. " Just think, my dear, here I am away 
 from home at nine, and eleven o'clock's gone and 
 my glass of stout with it ! What I'm going to do, 
 I really don't know." 
 
 She volunteered other information, both about 
 the number of her children and the importance of 
 those occasions upon which she had caused her 
 husband to make a distressing appearance before 
 a magistrate. Esther Venn, drawing back 
 ashamed for the publicity which was thrust upon
 
 4 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 her, wondered if these dreadful people were 
 indeed typical of a London theatre and its people. 
 She had gone there as a last resource. Penniless, 
 friendless, she knew not whither to turn for 
 shelter or for bread. Pride had carried her from 
 her quiet home in Exeter ; pride forbade a return 
 to its inhospitable portals. She came to the theatre 
 as to some final tribunal which would pronounce 
 a verdict of the supreme moment. So much she 
 had hoped of it, so greatly believed those fabulous 
 tales of its opportunities and rewards. And now 
 she stood in this vulgar company, where every 
 word jarred upon a sensitive ear, and the rouged 
 cheeks, the brazen gestures and the laughing, 
 pencilled eyes spoke of a world of which she had 
 not even dreamed. Vain errand, indeed; London's 
 solitude was more kind than this place of blank 
 despair, Esther would have drawn back even 
 then had the throng permitted. But the crowd was 
 too deep and firmly wedged in the narrow passage. 
 A commissionaire had all he could do to maintain 
 even a little discipline in those serried ranks. 
 
 " Come, young ladies," he said, kindly enough, 
 " pushing won't help you, don't you think it will. 
 First come, first served ; that's our motto. The 
 theatre won't run away, so there's no need for you 
 to look so sharp after it. Stand back there and 
 keep quiet, will you." 
 
 His last words were addressed in severer tones 
 to a fro ward girl in the second rank, who related 
 at quite unnecessary length, and in an exceedingly 
 unpleasant voice the precise circumstances which 
 had induced her to refuse the part of principal
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 6 
 
 boy in a country pantomime. The difference of 
 opinion was at its height when the door at the 
 end of the corridor opened and shut very quickly, 
 and, a slender girl passing out with buoyant step, 
 the commissionaire astonished Esther by touching 
 her upon the shoulder, and saying, — 
 
 " Your turn next, miss." 
 
 She had waited long hours for this summons ; 
 but now when the ordeal was at hand and all 
 must be won or all lost in one deciding moment, 
 the rashness of her act and the improbability of 
 success robbed her of that little self-possession 
 which remained to her. She followed the com- 
 missionaire with faltering step, vainly racking her 
 troubled head for a word or story which should 
 help her in such a dilemma. Of theatrical 
 managers she knew nothing — her knowledge of 
 the stage was such as she had learned from 
 travelling companies as a spectator in a provincial 
 theatre. The dim splendour, the tawdry pre- 
 tentiousness of the stage which she now crossed 
 revealed to her the draped mysteries of an 
 unknown kingdom. It seemed to Esther that she 
 went down into some pit, where the walls were 
 daubed with sickly green paint and the sunshine 
 veiled by whitewashed windows. The darkened 
 theatre oppressed her with a sense of its immensity. 
 Stalls and galleries were covered up by druggets, 
 each of which might have harboured its particular 
 ghost. Flaring gas jets illuminated dusty corners. 
 Nothing was new, nothing whole. The stage 
 manager's room helped this harmony of disorder. 
 It was very poor, very insufficient, very dirty.
 
 6 DOCTOR XAYIER 
 
 The man himself proved to be but an ordinary 
 person. He sat before a little table dictating 
 letters to a driven clerk. A third person stood in 
 a patch of shadow cast by a crazy screen, and 
 appeared anxious to disguise his identity. The 
 manager himself finished dictating his letter before 
 he so much as noticed Esther or in any way 
 recognised her presence. When he did so, it was 
 to stare at her for many minutes, as he would 
 have stared at some curiosity offered for purchase 
 or approval. 
 
 " Well," he asked at length, in a quick, restless 
 way, *' and who are you, young lady ? " 
 
 "My name is Esther Venn," she said quietly. 
 " I wrote to you about an engagement." 
 
 He laughed softly — perhaps at the idea that he 
 should read a letter of this kind. 
 
 " And is it for yourself or your dog that you 
 desire employment ? " 
 
 Esther answered quite frankly. 
 
 '* Oh, which you please. I am sure my dog 
 will not refuse an engagement." 
 
 The retort amused him, and he stretched out 
 a hand to beckon Mouton to his chair ; but the 
 poodle, a judge of men, showed his teeth and 
 began to growl. Esther held him firmly by the 
 collar; she was afraid of the consequences. 
 
 "He doesn't like strangers," she said, apolo- 
 getically. " I'm afraid he's given to first 
 impressions." 
 
 "With a desire apparently to leave them upon 
 my calf ! The dog is not engaged. Miss — er, let 
 me see, you said your name was "
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 7 
 
 " Esther Venn," she repeated quietly, hushing 
 Mouton at her feet ; " Esther Venn, of Exeter." 
 
 " Who is now anxious to be Esther Venn of 
 the Casino Theatre. A common ambition, young 
 lady ; I hope you have more than the common 
 talents." 
 
 "I should be very surprised if I had," said 
 Esther, in spite of herself. 
 
 " Come, that's not a bad beginning. Most of 
 the people who come here are Calves in disguise. 
 Can you sing at all? " 
 
 " My friends say that I can." 
 
 "Ah, one's friends generally do — when one is 
 listening! Have you brought any songs?" 
 
 "None; but I can remember some." 
 
 " To your own accompaniments? " 
 
 " Oh, yes ! " 
 
 " Then go to that piano and do your best." 
 
 He indicated an open cottage piano drawn 
 across that corner of the room which was nearest 
 to the door, and composing himself in his chair 
 he sat like one resigned to a painful ordeal. In 
 spite of her ready answers, Esther was in such 
 a state of nervous agitation that her hands 
 trembled when she tried to draw off her gloves, 
 and the few introductory chords found her fingers 
 heavy as lead. Presently, however, she began to 
 sing a dainty chansonette in a voice of singular 
 freshness and charm. Music was wont to carry 
 her out of herself, but its spell to-day seemed 
 absent, and she had no heart for it. Her singing 
 was without verve or any depth of expression ; 
 she knew its shortcomings. Perhaps an anticipa-
 
 8 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 tion of failure already deprived her of the will to 
 make an effort. She understood the consequences 
 of refusal. If she did not obtain an engagement 
 this very day, to-morrow might find her without 
 a roof above her head. She said that she must 
 do her best ; and saying it she did her worst. 
 The freezing tones in which she had been com- 
 manded to sing were in some measure responsible 
 for this. She felt already that she hated the 
 perfumed and larded man who sat at the writing- 
 table. And his friend, the unknown who stood 
 in the shadow of the screen, what was he doing 
 there ? Esther believed that he came out while 
 she was singing and stood at the table. It was 
 quite a relief when a voice said — 
 
 " Thank you, that is enough." 
 
 The unknown was in the shadows again when 
 she rose from the piano. 
 
 "It's shocking, isn't it?" she exclaimed, with 
 a hard laugh. " I really think I left my voice in 
 Exeter." 
 
 Otto Hemming, the manager, did not take the 
 same view ; he was more courteous — indeed, 
 almost deferential when she had ceased to sing. 
 She knew that she had done very badly, and 
 could not understand it at all. For an instant 
 she really believed that the coveted engagement 
 was hers. The man was quite polite. 
 
 "You have a pretty voice but it needs training," 
 he said, in a way that she felt to be not altogether 
 unflattering. "I suppose you have had a local 
 master ? " 
 
 " I was taught by a poor Frenchman at a half
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 9 
 
 a crown a lesson. Major Venn, my father, died 
 when I was a child," she replied quietly. "There 
 is not any conservatoire in Exeter, at least, none 
 that I could afford to attend. My stepfather 
 keeps the library there " 
 
 " I see ; your pages were mostly in waiting. 
 And so you thought you'd come to London to 
 make a living on the stage?" 
 
 " Indeed I didn't ! I came to make a living by 
 my pen." 
 
 " Worse and worse ! The editors thanked you, 
 I suppose, and the manuscripts came back ; oh, I 
 know, I know ! and now you come to my theatre 
 without any qualifications at all just because there 
 isn't anywhere else to go to ! Isn't that the 
 truth. Miss Venn, just the truth?" 
 
 She began to put on her gloves and to button 
 them maladroitly. The great ordeal was over, 
 then ! She had failed. London and its solitudes 
 were before her ! She tried to answer bravely, 
 but her throat was husky and her Hps dry. 
 
 "It's the truth," she said at last, "the simple 
 truth ; I came to you because I failed elsewhere. 
 There is no need to say anything more, I think?" 
 
 "Not the shghtest. Miss Venn. I wish you 
 better fortune. You have the presence for the 
 stage but not the voice. Frankly, the employ- 
 ment that I could offer you is not such as you 
 would care to take. Your better instinct, your 
 education, would compel you to revolt against it. 
 I am led to speak frankly for your own sake. If 
 you will leave me your address, it is just possible 
 that I may communicate with you again. Do not
 
 10 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 rely upon it, but regard it as a possibility. Your 
 case interests me, and I will do what I can." 
 
 Esther said " Thank you very much," and 
 drawing off her glove again, she took the pen 
 which he offered her and wrote her name and 
 address upon a little slip of paper. Another 
 applicant was already in the room before she had 
 finished; and receiving an abrupt dismissal she 
 crossed the bare stage again to the light of the 
 day. The throng of applicants still pressed close 
 in the corridor ; the stout lady still aired her 
 bibulous grievances. No one spoke to Esther or 
 so much as noticed her; and calling Mouton to 
 her side she went out to the tropical heat of the 
 Strand and knew that she was alone.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 She was alone, utterly alone. Of all those 
 thousands who went hurrying eastward, west- 
 ward, of all the toilers, all the idlers, what was 
 her trouble to any one ? Esther, indeed, believed 
 that this was the end of it all, the end of those 
 harassing years of neglect and slavery, in her step- 
 father's house ; of the strife, the hope, the ambi- 
 tion which had carried her to London to seek her 
 fortune. She had but a few shillings left in all 
 the world. Until the rent of her dismal garret 
 was paid, she had no right even to the daily 
 bread of which her need was so great. She was 
 without friends or even acquaintances of whom 
 she might crave the most trifling hospitality. 
 Three months ago she had come to London 
 believing that there, at least, some simple employ- 
 ment would be open to a cultured girl. Her 
 mother's death in the winter of the year severed 
 the last tie which bound her to the cathedral 
 city. An unsympathetic stepfather, whose 
 poverty and sloth had made her home intolerable, 
 permitted her to go to London without scruple or 
 doubt. Even at the bitterest moment of failure, 
 
 pride forbade her to renew that servitude. As 
 
 n
 
 12 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 she had sown, so would she reap. In London she 
 had suffered ; if need be in London she would 
 end her suffering. 
 
 She walked along the Strand, westward, toward 
 Charing Cross and the Parks. The heat was 
 almost tropical ; the dust choking. She envied 
 those who could afford the luxury of a penny 'bus. 
 The meanest restaurant, with its poor display, 
 offered to her eyes the menu for a king. She had 
 never known what hunger was before ; but to-day 
 the word had a new meaning for her. She was 
 afraid to look in the confectioners' shops ; afraid 
 to linger near the eating-houses lest she should 
 be tempted to draw upon that little store, and to 
 find herself without a roof when night came. 
 Every step cost her an effort. She was com- 
 pelled to stand motionless, even to rest against a 
 befriending door lest she should reel and fall 
 upon the pavement. In St. James's Park she 
 sat at last by the water's edge and uttered a low 
 cry which was wrung from her very heart. 
 
 " What shall I do ? Dear God, what shall I 
 do?" 
 
 Mouton, faithful dog, pressed close to his mis- 
 tress like one who knew her trouble, and for many 
 minutes she sat with his face held up to her own, 
 and all consciousness gone of that seething world 
 wherein she had failed so supremely. Scarcely a 
 voice of London's life spoke to her in the parks. 
 The whirling sea-gulls circled about her vainly ; 
 a boat drifted by with laughing passengers ; there 
 were idlers upon the iron bridge ; but she beheved 
 herself to be far away from the city, in the sunny
 
 DOCTOK XAVIER 13 
 
 lanes of Devon where her childhood had known 
 its only pleasures. How many years had passed 
 since she was a child ! What dark hours she had 
 lived ! How little sunshine had there been in all 
 those days of poverty and struggle. And now it 
 must end in this ! Esther looked at the water, 
 and believed that she could sleep. She nestled 
 closer to Mouton as though for protection. Yes, 
 it would be good to sleep, to rest, to dream, as 
 she had dreamed in the days of long ago. A 
 sense of final surrender overpowered her; she 
 could do nothing more, she thought. If this 
 were destiny, so let it be. She had done her 
 best. 
 
 A hand touched her upon the shoulder and she 
 started up like one surprised in a guilty act. The 
 green park, the shrubs, the water, the trees, took 
 shape again as though at some magic touch; 
 and beyond them she beheld the spires and roofs 
 of London. Quite a long while passed, however, 
 before she could collect her wandering thoughts ; 
 and then, for the first time, she became aware 
 that a stranger was standing at her side and 
 waited to speak to her. Esther looked at the 
 man questioningly. Something in his manner 
 invited her confidence, and she did not turn away. 
 He was exceedingly well-dressed ; his clothes 
 were faultless ; but it was the face of the man 
 which attracted her, not as one is attracted by 
 mere good looks, but by the consciousness of 
 force and will. Esther had never seen a pair of 
 eyes which could at once express so much kind- 
 ness or so quickly win her trust. She was not
 
 14 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 afraid, not in any way alarmed. The musical 
 voice was a pleasure to her. 
 
 "Accept my most humble pardon for this 
 intrusion, Miss Venn." 
 
 She started when she heard her own name, and 
 put her hand upon Mouton's collar. 
 
 " I do not know you, sir," she said. 
 
 "But you are about to, I hope. My name is 
 Doctor Xavier. I have taken the liberty to follow 
 you from the theatre." 
 
 She did not know what to say, was confused, 
 and not a little embarrassed. The stranger, again 
 apologising, seated himself upon the bench and 
 began to speak quickly. 
 
 " I have followed you from the theatre, because 
 I believe that I can help you," he said. " For- 
 give me, I was in the room during your interview 
 with Otto Hemming. I heard you sing — a very 
 pretty voice, Miss Venn ; but it must be trained. 
 I heard you say that you desire an engagement in 
 the theatre. Allow me to say that you are not 
 fitted for that ; you are too sensitive, too clever, 
 too ready to despise the trivialities of life. Your 
 success will be made another way ; it will be in an 
 honourable employment which will give you 
 pleasure. I came from the theatre to offer it to 
 you — in my service, in that also of my sister. 
 You are wise enough and clever enough not to 
 regard this as an impertinent intrusion. I am 
 sure you will permit me to continue." 
 
 He waited for her to speak ; but she did not 
 know what answer to make to him. Conflicting 
 ^notions of surprise and joy forbade her to ex-
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 15 
 
 press herself as she wished to do. She sat with 
 heightened colour and beating heart, unable to 
 thank him or even to say " Yes." He understood 
 her difficulty ; he did not misconstrue it. 
 
 "You do not answer me," he continued; "I 
 appreciate your silence. London is a terrible city 
 for those who fail, Miss Venn. The successful 
 know little of its darker side : it is left to the 
 unsuccessful to discover it. The Casino Theatre 
 could write a history which few would have the 
 courage to read. I heard many pitiful stories 
 there this morning. They are better forgotten. 
 Whatever we may do or wish, there will always 
 be countless human beings in the world whom we 
 cannot help. The pleasure of helping even one 
 should be a privilege. If you decide to help me, 
 please regard it in that light." 
 
 She turned earnest eyes upon him ; the compli- 
 ment both surprised and pleased her. 
 
 " To help you ! " she cried, amazed. " Oh, no! 
 it is you who are offering to help me ! " 
 
 " Not so. Miss Venn ; nothing of the kind. 
 Your loss of a possible career will be my gain. I 
 am asking for all your time, your talent, your 
 fidelity — I do not offer you any great reward. 
 The only return I can make is the shelter of my 
 sister's house, a home, friendship, the society of 
 cultured people. If you consent to my proposal, 
 the rest will be ea^y. We will settle it at home 
 in five minutes. My carriage is over there by the 
 palace gates. 
 
 Esther looked toward the spot he indicated and 
 perceived there an elegant single brougham drawn
 
 16 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 by two roan horses. She felt instinctively that 
 she was at some crisis in her life. She believed 
 with the religious faith of her childhood that this 
 encounter had been foreordained for her salvation 
 and security. Willing to say " Yes," and to say 
 it from her very heart, nevertheless a certain 
 prudence restrained her. Why had this man 
 come to her ? whither would he lead her ? There 
 was so much to ask him. She did not know how 
 to begin, fearing greatly that a question might 
 give offence. 
 
 "Your offer is very kind," she said nervously. 
 " Will you think me ungrateful if I ask you some- 
 thing?" 
 
 " You have every right to do so." 
 
 " You speak of employment in your sister's 
 house. What should I be expected to do 
 there ? " 
 
 " You would be expected to assist a man who is 
 trying to do what he can for the human race — 
 especially for your sex." 
 
 " You are a doctor ; is it in connection with 
 your profession ? " 
 
 He rested his arms upon the broad handle of 
 his ebony cane and looked a little Mdstfully across 
 the waters. 
 
 " I am not a doctor — I am a pupil. My page 
 is not in the written book, it is in the life, the 
 light, the humanity about us. The earth is my 
 school, the heavens are my university. I do not 
 study men's bodies ; I seek to know their minds. 
 All that the field of Nature can give for the happi- 
 ness of mankind, that is my subject. No, I am
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 17 
 
 not a doctor, Miss Venn — I am a child, groping 
 blindly for the light which is hidden." 
 
 " And you think that I could be of service to 
 you in your studies, sir? " 
 
 " I am sure of it. That is why I am here. 
 Consider, you are familiar with books — books are 
 meat and drink to me. You like beautiful things 
 — I cannot live without them. You are cast out, 
 a stranger in this city — I am an exile from my 
 home and country. You have talent to offer — I 
 have money to buy. Is it not what the world 
 calls business ? Let us begin with that. Busi- 
 ness first and friendship afterwards, yes, it must 
 be friendship afterwards, Miss Venn." 
 
 He laid a gentle hand upon her arm as though 
 to bid her follow him. When Esther looked up, 
 she beheld a pair of kindly eyes which seemed to 
 say, ''I have need of you." Mouton, her dog, 
 laid his shaggy head upon the stranger's knee and 
 began to make friends with him. She accepted 
 the omen and made up her mind without further 
 delay. 
 
 " I will go and see your sister," she said.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 The carriage waited near the gates of Buckingham 
 Palace ; and a footman, in a neat black livery, 
 summoned it when the doctor appeared. Esther 
 was not accustomed to the formal and exaggerated 
 politeness with which Doctor Xavier now treated 
 her ; indeed, she had never ridden in such a carriage 
 before, and her sensations were those which she 
 could neither describe nor wholly enjoy. Had 
 she been quite sure of the wisdom of the step she 
 was taking, the experience would have been alto- 
 gether pleasurable ; but the offer had come to 
 her with such dramatic suddenness, it was so 
 surprising and unexpected, that she neither 
 realised it nor believed altogether in its good 
 faith. True, the immediate necessity, the dread- 
 ful despair which had tormented her an hour ago, 
 were already of the past and forgotten. She was 
 going to a home, whatever it might have in store 
 for her. No longer would it be necessary to 
 scheme for her daily bread in the garret which 
 sheltered her. Grateful always, she was very 
 grateful for this respite. The excitement of the 
 journey fascinated her and was not to be resisted. 
 Again and again she asked herself, " Where are 
 
 18
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 19 
 
 we going; what does he really want of me?" 
 Doctor Xavier, on his part, said nothing to abate 
 this curiosity. He treated her from the first with 
 a deference to which she was quite unaccustomed. 
 The polished manners, the courteous phrases of 
 the born gentleman pleased her and were not to 
 be resisted. Her knowledge of men hitherto had 
 been gained from the provincial city. This man 
 was unlike any other she had known. She could 
 not imagine her title to his homage and regard. 
 He addressed her as one no less learned than 
 himself. 
 
 " We think alike," he said, while they drove 
 rapidly northward toward Oxford Street and 
 Marylebone. " I can see that we observe 
 Nature from the same standpoint ; it is a good 
 beginning and will help us. You, at this present 
 moment, are telling yourself how beautiful the 
 park is looking ; I am saying that it would be 
 beautiful if there were no people in it. Reflect 
 how men and women are robbing the world of 
 beauty to-day. They multiply and spread ; the 
 city thrusts out its arms ; the woods, the rivers, 
 the pastures perish. In time this England will 
 be one stifling city. Those who love solitude 
 will find it after many days. A thousand years 
 ago a forest thrived on this very spot. You could 
 have built a hut and lived a week without seeing 
 a man. Nowadays, there are twenty families in 
 the hut and a man must go far afield if he would 
 be away from other men. We shall make the 
 journey together and study as we go. I will show 
 you solitudes of mountain and valley which years
 
 20 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 of travel and labour have purchased. The book 
 of Nature is in many volumes, Miss Venn : few 
 read it through. We should all be the better if 
 v^e did. We should not write such stuff as that 
 — we should despise it ! " 
 
 He took a yellow-backed volume from the leather- 
 case before him and turned its pages scornfully. 
 It was a work upon the decadence of the century ; 
 the triumph of a gloomy German. 
 
 " This fellow has gone to the letter S," the 
 stranger went on ; "he writes of the human 
 swamp. He should have begun at A, and 
 written of the art of life, which thinking men 
 make their own. If you showed him the sun, it 
 would blind him. We live in an age which does 
 not like the sunshine. The majority is always 
 looking downward, backward ; but the new 
 generation will lift its eyes to the heavens, it 
 will rend the veil and enter the unknown. If 
 it no longer believes in death, it will be because 
 science has taught it that life is eternal, indestruc- 
 tible the spirit of the celestial scheme. I am a 
 pupil, but those who come after me will be the 
 masters. Let us help them to come quickly. It 
 is possible to do so ! " 
 
 Esther had never heard any one talk like this. 
 She did not realise at first, perhaps, how much 
 the personal magnetism of the speaker attracted 
 her, or how very closely she was listening to him ; 
 but she was conscious of a desire to listen and of 
 a sense of mental inferiority which she had rarely 
 experienced in the presence of any other man. 
 Her suspicion that the Doctor talked merely to
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 21 
 
 avoid her own curiosity was quickly put aside ; 
 for his earnestness convinced her, and she could 
 not resist the spell of his voice. For that matter, 
 the journey was all too short ; and when the 
 carriage stopped, she had quite forgotten her 
 doubts. It remained for the house itself to 
 awaken them. 
 
 Esther knew little of London, and had lost her 
 reckoning in the excitement of an experience so 
 new; but she was aware that the carriage had 
 crossed Oxford Street and thence had driven 
 northward towards Regent's Park. When at 
 last it stopped, they were at the doors of a low- 
 pitched house which stood behind high walls and 
 was shut in by heavy wooden gates. A Httle 
 garden faced the door and displayed a wealth of 
 common gilly-flowers and sweet-smelling shrubs. 
 In shape as many dwellings round about, Esther's 
 sharp eyes at once observed in what way the 
 Doctor's house differed from them. It had no 
 windows, she said ; at least the windows 
 were all bricked-up. This circumstance of 
 itself troubled her not a little, and she could 
 not imagine the reason of it. Why should any 
 one fear the sunlight, a scientist of all others ! 
 She was still trying to satisfy herself, when the 
 Doctor, standing at the carriage door, surprised 
 her by anticipating the question. 
 
 " You are wondering why I have no windows ? " 
 he asked, with a laugh. *' Well, come inside and 
 I will show you." 
 
 He held out his hand, and she entered the 
 house with him. An elderly butler, English and
 
 22 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 well-trained, took his master's hat and cane and 
 asked him if he had lunched. Esther heard 
 the carriage driving away on the gravel path 
 and then the heavy oaken door was shut with a 
 clang behind her. She trembled a little at the 
 somid, for she had never seen so curious a hall as 
 that in which she now stood ; the vision of the 
 garden beyond was like that of a fairyland. 
 
 " You are anxious about my windows," said 
 the Doctor, lightly; "well, you see, we like an 
 Eastern light. Miss Venn, and make one. It is 
 not pleasant to have neighbours who count the days 
 when your curtains go to the wash ! Observe ! 
 you have never seen the sunlight shine so softly — 
 is it not beautiful? " 
 
 Esther perceived now that the house was built 
 in the Italian style — a quadrangle about a spacious 
 garden. Two great windows lighted the hall ; but 
 they were unlike any windows she had ever seen 
 or read of. An exquisite glass of the faintest 
 roseate hue permitted the rays of light to stream 
 down through a device of crystal and green leaves, 
 so cunningly placed that the whole apartment 
 glowed with a gentle radiance of the softest 
 tints, more restful to the eye, more pleasing 
 than any light that could be imagined. Else- 
 where all was fantastic and surprising. Master- 
 pieces of art caught the rays of electric lights, 
 cunningly placed, and showed their finest details. 
 The mats were Eastern and of surprising softness. 
 Flowers stood everywhere : the rarest orchids, the 
 loveliest blooms, so perfectly chosen, so artistic- 
 ally matched, that the colour scheme was never
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 23 
 
 marred or vulgarised, Esther said that she had 
 entered a wonderland. A fountain splashing in 
 the garden shed a delicious perfume upon the air. 
 Her weariness, her hunger, left her at the door. 
 The very silence was bewitching. London 
 seemed so far away. When the Doctor spoke 
 again, she started at the sound of his voice. 
 
 "I can see that you like my house," he said, 
 well pleased. "Women are always the children 
 of first impressions ; and you are no exception. 
 When we have had lunch, I will show you some 
 of my curiosities ; but first I must introduce you 
 to my sister; she is very much alone here, and 
 will be glad of a companion." 
 
 He struck a gong twice while he spoke, and 
 the reverberations had hardly died away when a 
 well-dressed woman descended the stairs and 
 came up to him with outstretched hands. Esther 
 judged that she was about thirty years old, a 
 brunette, with a Spanish type of face, an abun- 
 dance of black hair and the whitest of teeth which 
 showed a little prominently when she smiled. 
 Her eyes were deep-set and dark and her manner 
 buoyant and almost girlish. Doctor Xavier kissed 
 her affectionately and then led her forward to 
 Esther. 
 
 " My sister Julia," he said; "this is Miss Venn, 
 Miss Esther Venn. You must learn to know 
 each other quickly— you will have so many hours 
 to pass together." 
 
 Julia took Esther's hands in both her own and 
 welcomed her with quite effusive pleasure. 
 
 " So you have come to help my brother — you
 
 24 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 cannot think how glad I am. Esther Venn — 
 Esther Venn, oh, what a pretty name ! And you 
 are tired, my dear, I can see that you are tired. 
 Come upstairs and let us begin to know each 
 other. I'm sure you are just dying for your 
 lunch ! " 
 
 She would not hear a denial, and led the way 
 upstairs to a pretty bedroom, from whose windows 
 the garden of roses and the fountain dreamily 
 splashing in the sunlight were more plainly to be 
 seen. Of other houses there was not a trace. 
 Esther might have been in an old French chdteau 
 a hundred miles from cities and men. 
 
 " My brother loves beautiful things," Julia said, 
 helping her to take off her hat, and pouring 
 water for her in a basin of the daintiest French 
 china. " He must have them wherever he is. 
 The garden is his own creation. It is only a 
 httle thing, but in Spain and France he will show 
 you others. Everything in this house is here 
 because it is beautiful. He devotes his fortune to 
 the study. I will show you some of his treasures 
 afterwards. You are tired now, and there is the 
 lunch gong." 
 
 Musical bells chimed softly from the hall 
 below, an octave deep and sonorous and pleasing, 
 like the chimes from an Italian Campanile. 
 Esther had little preparation to make, and she 
 tidied herself quickly, and said that she was ready. 
 She felt that she ought to be ashamed of her 
 shabby black gown ; but the kindness of these 
 people, their simplicity and friendship, forbade 
 any thought of that kind, and she went down-
 
 DOCTOR XAVIEU 25 
 
 stairs with a confidence which quite surprised her. 
 Luncheon, she discovered, was ah-eady served in 
 the dining-room upon the ground floor. The 
 scheme of this room was entirely white, with 
 chairs and curtains and carpet of the richest 
 crimson. Here, as in the hall, bewitching effects 
 of light were contrived by fantastic windows. A 
 few sketches hung upon the walls, and each had 
 its own lamp above, that its finer work might not 
 be lost. The glass was Venetian, green as a 
 tulip's leaf. Esther noticed how brightly the 
 silver shone, and how rarely chased was the great 
 goblet by the Doctor's plate. The whole room 
 impressed her with a sense of luxury carried to 
 the last point, but not vulgarly nor obtrusively. 
 The wine she drank was the golden Valdepenas ; 
 it stimulated her flagging energy, encouraged her 
 sense of happiness, and renewed her unspoken 
 expression of gratitude. What had she done to 
 deserve this change of fortune, so sudden, so 
 supreme? But an hour ago she believed that 
 her life had been lived ; and now a young girl's 
 courage lifted her up to new scenes of success and 
 ambition. How she would work for such friends 
 as these ! How she would serve them ! 
 
 Ah, if she had known what days awaited her in 
 the Doctor's house ! 
 
 The talk was all of common things during the 
 luncheon hour. Doctor Xavier ate little and drank 
 less ; but he had a fund of anecdote which was 
 inexhaustible ; and he gossiped now of Europe, 
 now of America, in a way which delighted Esther, 
 though much of it was beyond her understanding.
 
 26 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 She gathered from it that he had been a traveller 
 in many countries, and that his residence in 
 England was but accident, which, in some way, he 
 lamented. He spoke of the possibility that he 
 would not remain long in the city ; and, turning 
 to her, he asked her how she would like to go to 
 Spain. 
 
 "It is my country," he said, "although I am 
 an exile at this moment. My English was learned 
 in America, at Harvard University, to which I 
 owe my education. I say education, but no man 
 is educated at a university. His education is 
 Nature's task. She teaches him every day while 
 he lives. I have asked you to my house. Miss 
 Venn, to help me in such self-imposed studies. 
 We will charter a university together. My sister 
 shall be the bursar and feed us." 
 
 " It is the only merit he allows me," said Julia 
 gaily. " If I wish to make my brother angry, I 
 ask him what he will have for dinner. Oh, my 
 dear, just think what we women have suffered 
 because of men's dinners ! You are lucky to be 
 in the laboratory ! I envy Francis his books 
 sometimes." 
 
 "And yet she will not read them for five minutes 
 together," said the Doctor, not unkindly. "There 
 are no novels there. Miss Venn. Beautiful 
 princes do not expire at the feet of languishing 
 damsels. I have not a single book which bewails 
 the loss of the baron's diamonds, or extols the 
 gentleman who stole them. Pity my misfortunes ! 
 I told you that I was a pupil ; it is for you to 
 teach me."
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 27 
 
 He turned the subject with a laugh, and went 
 on to ask his sister of her day and its programme. 
 Would she be at home to dinner ? Was she going 
 to the theatre afterwards ? As for Esther she 
 would, perhaps, be glad to rest to-day. The 
 Doctor suggested a hammock in the garden amid 
 the roses ; tea should be served there at five 
 o'clock. Esther must ask for anything she 
 wished ; the whole house was at her disposal. 
 When he had suggested other plans for her com- 
 fort, he withdrew to his library, and left the girls 
 together. Julia, in spite of herself, appeared to 
 be more at ease in his absence ; she took Esther 
 by the hand, and went out into the garden with 
 her. 
 
 It must have been three o'clock then, and the 
 delicious hush of the summer afternoon was 
 everywhere to be felt. Esther thought the garden 
 not less beautiful than she had imagined it. The 
 grass, she said, was the softest she had ever 
 trodden upon. The masses of roses were be- 
 wildering; rare blooms, some of them familiar, 
 some unfamiliar, shed a delicious fragrance upon 
 the balmy air. The fountain cast a spray of an 
 unknown essence, which cooled the atmosphere 
 and added to its perfume. The silence was in- 
 tense, and in some way almost unnatural. You 
 could not hear any sound at all from the streets 
 around. The quaint windows of the pavilion 
 looked down upon you from every side. It might 
 have been an uninhabited house ; and yet Esther 
 quickly discovered that it was not. Indeed, she 
 was still gazing curiously at these oddly-shaped
 
 28 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 windows, when a face appeared suddenly at one 
 of them, and instantly arrested her curiosity. It 
 was the face of a young woman, a hideous, dis- 
 torted, and yet singularly pitiful face. For an 
 instant the figure appeared at the casement, and 
 was then dragged back as though by an unseen 
 hand. Esther, she knew not why, started at this 
 sudden apparition. It was just as though a voice 
 had said to her, " Beware ! " Who was this 
 girl ? What was she doing in the house ? 
 
 Now, it chanced that Julia still wrestled with 
 the ropes of the hammock during this momentary 
 scene ; and so both her companion's astonishment 
 and the subject of it were not observed by her. 
 Esther, troubled as she was, had already made up 
 her mind to say nothing about it. A shrewd wit 
 told her that if she were really in danger, confes- 
 sion would not help her. She could not imagine 
 that such a man as Doctor Xavier would trap a 
 young girl for any felonious purpose. Neverthe- 
 less, there was something about the house and its 
 people which baffled her understanding and awak- 
 ened her suspicions. Terrible as her situation 
 had been but an hour ago, she was not quite sure 
 that this change was for the better, and very 
 greatly apprehensive and doubtful, she listened to 
 the merry Julia and her gossip. 
 
 " There's one thing we're expected to do in this 
 house, and that is to make ourselves comfortable," 
 she said, sinking down upon a pile of cushions 
 and arranging her books upon her knee. " The 
 Doctor believes in the art of life, and while it 
 gives me what I want I am his faithful disciple.
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 29 
 
 You do not know what a clever man he is, dear. 
 I often read in the papers about other scientists, and 
 wonder if they know half as much as Francisco 
 Xavier. Beautiful things have been the passion 
 of his life. Day and night he lives for them. 
 There is not any beautiful art of which he does 
 not know something. Those sketches you saw in 
 the dining-room, they were all his work. He has 
 written music which has been performed in the 
 theatres of Milan and Paris. While you and I 
 sleep here this afternoon he will be in his labora- 
 tory and perhaps— you never can tell — discover- 
 ing something which may astonish the world 
 to-morrow. It is my misfortune, I try to interest 
 myself in all these things, but I am just a help- 
 less creature, and it cannot be helped. You, I 
 believe, will take my place ; I know he wishes it. 
 A woman can help sometimes where a man is 
 useless." 
 
 "I shall do what I can to be useful," said 
 Esther, a little eagerly. "It was very kind of 
 Doctor Xavier to offer me this engagement, and I 
 am only too desirous to prove myself grateful. 
 But, you see, he has never asked me what I can do, 
 and I fear I'm not as clever as he thinks me. My 
 education has been all my own. I taught myself 
 in the library which my stepfather used to keep 
 at Exeter. Except for this visit to London, I 
 have never been anywhere or seen anything. Of 
 course, I could write Doctor Xavier's letters and, 
 perhaps, help him with his books ; but I really 
 have no talents, Miss Julia. I am not a clever 
 girl."
 
 no DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 " The Doctor doesn't want a clever girl ; he 
 wants a willing one. Your only duty is to obey 
 him, my dear. Whatever he asks you, obey him 
 always. He is very kind and good ; but I never 
 wish you to see him angry. Remember, when he 
 is cross, that he has suffered much. His own 
 country has not treated him well. I do not think 
 he will ever go back there. You and I must make 
 his home happy in England. I am sure we can 
 do that if we try." 
 
 Esther had hoped that she would speak more 
 of the Doctor, and particularly of her own duties ; 
 but Julia Xavier could never talk for more than 
 five minutes together on any one subject ; and 
 now she went rambling off to speak of theatres 
 and singers and of the world of restless fashion 
 wherein her own part was so well played. They 
 spent the sunny afternoon in such careless talk, 
 and at five o'clock tea was served to them in an 
 arbour by the lawn. Esther did not see Doctor 
 Xavier again until dinner-time ; and although 
 she looked up often to the windows of the pavilion, 
 the figure which had so frightened her did not re- 
 appear. She fell to wondering at last if it had 
 been merely her imagination. Nevertheless, the 
 impression remained. She knew that there was 
 some secret of this house she had yet to fathom. 
 Perhaps in her heart she believed that it was an 
 awful secret.
 
 CHAPTEK IV 
 
 Madame Julia, as all the household called her, 
 had insisted upon sending for Esther's luggage 
 early in the afternoon, and she would not hear of 
 any one but herself arranging with the landlady. 
 From the first she played the part of an elder 
 sister, who wished to put her guest entirely at 
 ease ; indeed, she lent Esther a pretty gown for 
 dinner and laughingly declared that at last it had 
 found a worthy owner. 
 
 "Do not thank me," she said; "you look so 
 pretty in it. Ah, my dear, what a thing it is not 
 to be anxious about your figure. Mine quarrels 
 with my dressmaker every time we meet ; I 
 haven't, positively, the energy to scold it ! I am 
 just born for an armchair and Mudie's ! " 
 
 She went on to say that a maid should be 
 engaged especially for Esther; but, meanwhile, 
 Georgine, her own girl, would do what she could. 
 In the bedroom, everything that a woman of 
 fashion might desire was laid out. Mirrors 
 panelled the doors of an old French wardrobe; 
 little lamps, cunningly shaded, flattered the plain 
 and enhanced the prettiness of the more fortunate 
 
 31
 
 32 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 tenants. The brushes were heavily wrought in 
 silver ; bottles of essence, pots of cream, unknown 
 preparations, of which Esther had not the smallest 
 need, littered the table before her glass. She 
 dressed herself with such simplicity as she could, 
 combing out that soft brown hair which was the 
 best gift of her beauty, and confessing to herself, 
 perhaps, that her eyes had already regained some- 
 thing of their brightness, her cheeks of their 
 colour. In the drawing-room she found Doctor 
 Xavier, dressed as any civilised Englishman at 
 such an hour ; and, there being no other guests, 
 they went into dinner without delay. 
 
 The meal was simple, but served with necessary 
 elegance. Two of the dishes, at least, Esther had 
 never tasted before ; she drank but little wine ; 
 nevertheless, she was astonished to find that the 
 food had stimulated her in a way quite beyond her 
 experience. From a sense of doubt and mistrust 
 she passed gradually to one of confidence and 
 quiet mental exhilaration. The desire to talk 
 came naturally; and she found herself, much to 
 her own astonishment, possessed of an eloquence 
 of which she had never dreamed. The Doctor, in 
 his turn, seemed not a little surprised both at her 
 learning and her knowledge ; and, turning the 
 subjects skilfully, he led her from book to book 
 with the skill of an old diplomatist, who has a 
 purpose to serve. In the drawing-room afterwards 
 Julia sang to them, in a low full contralto voice 
 which the conservatoires both of Leipzig and 
 Paris had trained. Esther had rarely heard any 
 one sing with such delicate phrasing or such depth
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 33 
 
 of expression ; and when Doctor Xavier himself 
 took a vioHn in his hand and began to play one of 
 Chopin's nocturnes, even her untrained ear could 
 recognise the master. By and by, the Doctor put 
 the instrument down for a little while that he 
 might talk to her of the music of southern coun- 
 tries, but chiefly of Spain. 
 
 " That which we call the finest music," he said, 
 "is a matter of temperament. I hear the Swan 
 Song, but it does not move me, because I am not 
 a Saxon ; but I would not belittle it. The man 
 who belittles great things has no instinct of great- 
 ness. I admit that the German music is great, 
 but I would give it all for one bolero from my 
 own Spain. If we are true patriots, it must 
 always be the same. Put an Englishman in the 
 wilds of America and ask him what tune the wan- 
 dering minstrel is to play — shall it be the ' Song 
 of the Evening Star,' or just your ' Auld Lang 
 Syne.' Ah, I seem to know what he would 
 say!" 
 
 He took up the violin again and began to play 
 an old-time Spanish dance. The music held him 
 as by some magic spell he could not resist. His 
 emotions were transparent and easily to be read — 
 love of country, the pathos of exile, the futility of 
 regret. In the end, anger appeared suddenly to 
 master him, and he ceased abruptly and threw the 
 fiddle from him. 
 
 "Ah, my poor Spain!" he cried; "if you 
 will not have me living, you shall have me 
 dead." 
 
 Julia viewed this distress with some alarm ; but
 
 34 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 she did not try to explain it to Esther. Seating 
 herself at her brother's side, she took his hand in 
 both of hers and conversed with him very rapidly 
 in the Spanish tongue. He heard her at first 
 reluctantly, then with some interest ; until, at 
 last, he took her suddenly in his arms and kissed 
 her. 
 
 "Yes, yes," he said in English, "the day 
 will come — I am hastening it. We will go 
 together." 
 
 Esther viewed this little scene with trepida- 
 tion, for it suggested some new mystery of a house 
 which already had been fruitful in mysteries. She 
 was quite wise enough, however, to feign indiffe- 
 rence, and, going to the piano, she played a noc- 
 turne pianissimo that the others might not be 
 embarrassed by her presence. "When she looked 
 up again, Doctor Xavier had left the room and 
 she was alone with his sister, who appeared 
 anxious to apologise for him. 
 
 " My brother is very brave," she said ; " but 
 these years of exile cost him much. He was once 
 a great man in Spain, my dear — not in Spain 
 exactly, that is, but in his own kingdom of Cadi. 
 The people would gladly have him back, but he 
 has quarrelled with his prince, and I fear it will 
 never be made up again. You, perhaps, may help 
 him where I am useless. We are both hoping 
 that. He has asked you to his house because he 
 believes so much in your cleverness. I must not 
 tell you to-night exactly what you can do, because 
 he wishes to tell vou himself : but believe me that 
 he is very good and gentle, and will never bring
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 35 
 
 you to any harm. You will serve him faithfully, 
 dear Esther, you will do it for my sake." 
 
 Esther did not at all understand how a young 
 and penniless girl, whose education was her own, 
 and who had so little knowledge, even of her own 
 country, could help a stranger in such a matter. 
 She said as much, but not as one who appeared 
 unwilling. 
 
 " I am not clever ; I fear the Doctor is mistaken 
 in me," she protested. " Of course I am very 
 anxious to know what he wishes me to do, but if 
 you tell me that I am to wait, I will do as you 
 desire. At least I could never forget his kindness 
 to me this morning." 
 
 " He is kind to every one," Julia replied ; " he 
 can almost break his heart over little starving 
 children in the streets. Believe me, dear Esther, 
 you will never have anything to fear from Fran- 
 cisco Xavier. Whatever happens, remember that 
 he desires you to be happy, and will be disap- 
 pointed if you are not." 
 
 She laid a little emphasis on the words, almost 
 as one who would utter a warning, and this was 
 not lost upon Esther. Indeed, when she went up 
 to her own bedroom at eleven o'clock and found 
 herself alone, the whole events of that strange 
 day recurred to her one by one like the pages 
 of some exciting story she had read in her child- 
 hood. How different it had been yesterday ! 
 Then she stood upon the brink of a woman's 
 supreme temptation. No certain home was 
 open to her, no prospects in this great heart- 
 less city. She had been driven from door to door
 
 36 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 like an outcast whom none would harbour. All 
 her fine schemes of success and advancement in 
 London turned to ashes, and were blown away 
 upon the winds of despair. The long hours at 
 the doors of the theatre, her rejection there, the 
 bitterness of failure, were of too recent occurrence 
 to be forgotten. She knew that she had suffered 
 greatly, and from suffering had passed almost 
 with fabulous swiftness to the extreme of joy. 
 Employment, shelter, good friends, of these the 
 Doctor had spoken when he invited her to his 
 house. And was it a true message ? Could she 
 believe it ? This silent beautiful house appeared 
 to invite her to rest and forgetfulness. Might 
 she trust in that appearance ? Was there nothing 
 beyond it which a woman must dread ? Esther 
 did not dare to deceive herself so far. There 
 must be a secret, she thought. 
 
 She undressed at her leisure and reluctantly 
 turned out the lamp by her bedside. It was so 
 absolutely quiet in the room, the summer's night 
 fell so still that not a leaf seemed to stir in the 
 garden, nor a whisper of the trees to make itself 
 heard. For quite a long while she lay seeking to 
 win sleep, but failing to compose herself. Once 
 she thought she heard a soft footstep upon the 
 landing outside, and she started up in affright 
 and listened intently for many minutes. Re- 
 assured by the silence she laughed at herself for 
 such babyish alarms, and lay back to dream again. 
 It must have been very late when at last she fell 
 into a gentle slumber, and she had not been asleep 
 very long when she awoke again, but without fear,
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 37 
 
 and not unwillingly. Very greatly to her surprise 
 she discovered that her room was now lighted up 
 by a soft mellow light, which at first she believed 
 to be moonlight shining down upon her bed. In 
 this, however, she was mistaken, and when she 
 had lain a little time, bewitched by the translucent 
 beams, she perceived that they fell from an 
 aperture in the wall in a spreading arc of green- 
 white light, so soft and gentle to the eyes that 
 Esther seemed almost to be in some dreamland, 
 where everything entranced and pleased her. 
 Anon, she felt that the light compelled her to 
 sleep in spite of her desire to remain awake. 
 She closed her eyes and opened them again, 
 tossed and turned a little restlessly, tried to 
 wake up, but failed to do so. The spell was 
 irresistible. She had no will to resist it, and 
 was on the point of sleeping, when she became 
 aware that a face regarded her from the open 
 door, and that a man with the complexion and 
 dress of a Moor peered in at her as she lay. Had 
 Esther believed that this apparition was anything 
 but that of a dream, she would have fled the 
 house upon the instant and never re-entered it, 
 but a confidence she could not explain, some 
 spell of the light deprived her, for the time being, 
 both of the power to rise and of the wit to think. 
 Surprising as it was she did not feel in any way 
 alarmed. The face did not frighten her, she had 
 no fear of the man who watched by her bedside ; 
 and teUing herself that it was all imagination, 
 she fell suddenly into so heavy a sleep that all the 
 scene was instantly blotted out, and not one
 
 38 DOCTOR XAVIER ,^ 
 
 memory of it remained. "When she awoke the 
 birds were singing in the garden, and the foun- 
 tain splashed merrily. Sunlight fell upon the 
 western wing, and busy servants were crossing 
 the quadrangle. Esther scarcely remembered 
 that she had dreamed, or if she did, she never 
 doubted that it was a dream.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 A PRETTY gown of French muslin had been laid 
 upon a chair in Esther's dressing-room while she 
 slept, and she found other witnesses to her maid's 
 industry and the forethought of those who har- 
 boured her. Everything had been prepared for 
 her upon the lavish scale which the later day art 
 of luxury demands in a rich man's house. Esther 
 was so unaccustomed to anything but the barest 
 necessaries, that this profusion bewildered her, 
 and she dressed timidly like one who is afraid 
 of a gift and the price which must be paid for it. 
 Nor could she fail to contrast her fortunes of 
 to-day with those of yesterday. Then she put 
 on her shabby gown in a dismal attic overlooking 
 the Tottenham Court Road. Her neighbours had 
 been the poor tenants of the mean houses, the 
 poverty-stricken, and the starving. The very 
 breezes came to her laden with the city's grime. 
 The green lanes of her own Devonshire seemed 
 so far away. To-day she awoke in a palace of 
 the story books. Marble, exquisitely white, 
 panelled her bath-room; water ran clear as 
 crystal in her bath of porcelain; the fragrance 
 of roses perfumed the sweet air of morning; 
 
 39
 
 40 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 the lawns below her window caught up the 
 dancing beams of light and hid them in a heart 
 of emerald. A sense of rest and happiness 
 possessed her, and was not apart from gratitude. 
 "What right had she to be in such a house, or to 
 enjoy such luxuries? To what end were they 
 offered her ? She could not answer. There must 
 be the secret, she thought. 
 
 Esther had no watch, and she did not know 
 what time it was, nor if the others were already 
 about. When she had dressed herself, and taken 
 one last peep in the glass, without any great 
 thought of her appearance, she went downstairs 
 a little doubtfully, half believing that it was very 
 early, and that she would find none but the ser- 
 vants in the dining-room. In this, however, she 
 was mistaken, as an English chubby-faced boy- 
 in-buttons, whom she discovered in the hall, 
 hastened to assure her. Esther could not alto- 
 gether account for it, but the presence of this 
 English lad reassured her. She asked him who 
 he was, and he answered loquaciously — 
 
 " I'm Billy, miss ; I blacks the boots." 
 
 " Then please to tell me what time it is, 
 Billy?" 
 
 Billy wiped a very black hand upon a cheek 
 scarcely whiter. 
 
 "It's ten o'clock," said he, "or eleven — call it 
 somewhere betwixt and between, miss." 
 
 The intelhgence was a little vague; its defi- 
 ciencies did not occur to Billy. 
 
 "They won't say anything to you, 'cause j'ou're 
 new," he went on. "I always gets up when I
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 41 
 
 wakes, but that ain't early enough for 'em ! 
 You'll excuse me not blacking your boots, miss, 
 'cause they're brown. I know I ain't done right 
 — Billy never does ! " 
 
 Esther assured Billy that he was a paragon of 
 wisdom and went on into the dining-room. 
 Madame Julia, whose ample figure carried a 
 dark green riding-habit well enough, sat already 
 at the table reading her letters ; but Doctor 
 Xavier was not there, nor had a place been laid 
 for him. Esther had been prepared to apologise 
 for her late appearance, but Julia would not hear 
 of it, saying that it was Liberty Hall, and that 
 every one came down exactly when he or she 
 pleased. 
 
 **I never dress until I wake; that's Irish, my 
 dear, but true. When you get to my age, you'll 
 snatch every hour of sleep you can and be glad 
 of it. Imagine it, I am thirty-three next March, 
 and every hair of my head is beginning to say, 
 ' Passe ! PassS ! ' In five years' time it will be 
 somebody else's hair, and I shall be resigned." 
 
 Esther laughed with her and felt greatly re- 
 lieved. Whatever her doubts had been when 
 she was alone in her own room, the presence of 
 these gentlepeople invariably banished them. 
 Here was a woman, whom she had seen for the 
 first time yesterday, treating her with greater 
 kindness than she had ever known in her life. 
 The refinements of the household, the luxury of 
 her surroundings, never once troubled Esther 
 with any recognition of social inferiority or de- 
 pendence. She was received just like any
 
 42 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 honoured guest. Madame Julia posed as a 
 merry woman of the world, who had an old 
 friend to entertain. She talked of balls and 
 theatres, and of the friends she had met in the 
 Bow that morning. She promised Esther that 
 they should drive together at five o'clock. 
 
 "We'll go into the Park before dinner; and I 
 must try and persuade the Doctor to take us to 
 the theatre afterwards. He is dreadfully difficult, 
 my dear. When you are as old as I am, you will 
 say that all men are. If you will, they won't; 
 and if you won't — well, it depends upon their 
 will ! I am one of the miserables who have to 
 obey. I often wonder if any one in this world is 
 brave enough to contradict my brother Fran- 
 cisco ! " 
 
 She did not know what these few simple words 
 meant to the young girl who heard her. When 
 that wooden door closed upon Esther yesterday 
 with such a dismal clang, it had seemed like the 
 door of some prison opening rarely to the world 
 without. But if they were to drive in Hyde 
 Park, if they were to go to the theatre, what 
 possible cause had she for alarm, Esther asked 
 herself. Could she not leave the house any day, 
 go back if she would to London's solitude and the 
 vortex of her misfortunes ? She knew that she 
 could. She was half afraid of her liberty. The 
 remembrance of that garret was like that of 
 some prison cell from which a friendly hand had 
 delivered her. She prayed God that she might 
 never go back there. 
 
 "We will meet at lunch, my dear," Julia con-
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 43 
 
 tinued, when breakfast was done, and the last of 
 the long letters had been twice read. " You must 
 go to my brother this morning and see if you 
 cannot help him. He is waiting for you in the 
 laboratory. If you do not feel equal to it, please 
 tell me so, and it shall be another day. But I am 
 sure he would be very glad if you went this 
 morning." 
 
 Esther said at once that she would be delighted 
 to go. She had come to the house to make her- 
 self useful, and her habits of industry did not 
 brook delay. To this Julia answered that her 
 brother would be well pleased ; and waiting only 
 to gather up her untidy letters, she conducted 
 Esther at once across the quadrangle, and they 
 stood at the door of the laboratory. Esther has 
 confessed in later years that this morning of wait- 
 ing at the Doctor's door was one she would never 
 forget to her life's end. Hitherto, she had been 
 unable to imagine, in any way, the services which 
 Doctor Xavier claimed of her. That they were of 
 a common kind, the house and its appointments 
 forbade her to believe. If they were secretarial 
 duties, nothing would have been easier than to 
 say so at the first interview ; but deeper matters 
 were hinted at, and now they were to be made 
 known. Esther trembled in spite of herself when 
 she entered that strange room. She knew from 
 the first that it was a clever man's holy of holies ; 
 but the reality surpassed her imagination. 
 
 Let us follow her to a vast apartment, window- 
 less but gloriously lighted, though the lamps 
 which illumined it were invisible. A mellow
 
 44 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 radiance, white and pleasing, flowed down 
 through a frieze of crystal, fantastically cut into 
 shapes like those of fabulous diamonds. Hang- 
 ings of gold-green silk fell in many folds and hid 
 the panelled walls behind them. The oddest 
 statues, bizarre, fantastic, sometimes horrible, 
 figures brought from the distant East, brazen 
 gods from Burmah, the finer work of European 
 artists, filled the corners and decorated the ledge 
 between the frieze. Of the common appurtenances 
 of a scientist few were visible. A microscope stood 
 by the Doctor's table. In an alcove, to which a 
 flight of steps led up, a dome-shaped roof covered 
 a great telescope and its machinery. There were 
 Eastern lamps finely wrought in silver, whose 
 wicks floated in baths of perfumed oil. An 
 immense circular mirror, swinging upon a bright 
 steel chain, stood close to the writing-table, and 
 Esther perceived near by it that which looked like 
 a magic lantern of unusual size. The carpet was 
 green in tint and very soft to the tread ; the chairs 
 matched it, large and luxurious and inviting sleep. 
 The writing-table was Chinese, oddly carved, but 
 singularly beautiful. Esther noticed in one of 
 the corners a bent figure, emblematical of life; 
 and this appeared to be falling downwards to the 
 ground with a hand outstretched to mark the 
 hours upon a silver disc. This she thought to 
 be a clock, and she was not mistaken. Doctor 
 Xavier himself seemed amused at the impression 
 which his study made upon her. 
 
 " Yes," he said, anticipating her question, ** I 
 tell the time by that. When the figure droops
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 45 
 
 and sleeps, my day's work is done. It reminds 
 me that I am hmnan, and that if I ask of my 
 humanity too much, I shall fall as that inanimate 
 thing ; but, unlike it, shall not rise again. Come, 
 Miss Venn, that's not a bad lesson to begin with. 
 Please to sit in that armchair and think of it a 
 moment. I have a letter to write." 
 
 Esther sat down in the chair without saying a 
 word. The room did not invite loud words. 
 Even Madame Julia scarcely dared to venture 
 there ; she stood with one hand upon the knob 
 of the door until her brother had spoken. Then 
 she nodded encouragingly to Esther and withdrew. 
 For many minutes doctor and patient might have 
 been in ignorance of each other's presence. The 
 silence at length was broken by the Spaniard, 
 who turned suddenly in his chair and asked a 
 question. 
 
 " Well," he said, " I find an exemplary patient. 
 She is full of curiosity and she does not say a 
 word. She sees that this is a very strange room 
 and is too polite to remark it. Is not that so, 
 Miss Venn? You are saying that it is an un- 
 comfortable place?" 
 
 " I was thinking it," replied Esther frankly ; 
 " it is not uncomfortable, but pecuHar." 
 
 " Exactly, pecuhar. The abode of a man who 
 does not like the sunlight. Yes, I see that you 
 are concerned about my windows. I shut out the 
 day — why ? Because the day annoys me." 
 
 He cast a pen aside, and rising began to pace 
 the room with his hands behind his back, the 
 figure of a master introducing himself to his
 
 46 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 pupil. Esther was delighted to listen. Her 
 desire to know became almost impatience. 
 
 "Yes," he went on, "I am a peculiar person, 
 Miss Venn, principally because I shun my fellows. 
 Imagine a case ! I have an abstruse subject. I 
 believe that I am on the threshold of some dis- 
 covery which will be helpful to my fellow-men. 
 For the time being I live in the heavens. Then 
 a gardener crosses my lawn, supposing there are 
 windows, and I ask myself why he is going home 
 to dinner at half-past eleven o'clock. Bathos, 
 you say? I admit it. Unless we go into the 
 desert, we cannot escape it. Some day, if you 
 are willing, we will go there together ; but it will 
 be of your free consent, not upon compulsion." 
 
 He threw himself into one of the great arm- 
 chairs near to the sofa upon which she was sitting, 
 and stared at her in a way that she could have 
 resented from any other. For the first time now 
 she could analyse his features and form her own 
 ideas of his age and character. She said that he 
 would be nearing his fortieth year. Not a single 
 vein of grey could be detected in the thick black 
 hair which fell in natural curls about his well- 
 shaped head. His skin was clear and fresh, 
 almost like a boy's. The wonderful eyes did not 
 impress her less than when she had first looked 
 into them. In any assembly of men, she thought. 
 Doctor Xavier would have been a commanding 
 presence, both by right of intellect and natural 
 gifts. Power the face suggested and with power 
 the will to command obedience and to ensure it, 
 the right to lead other men and to enjoy their
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 47 
 
 confidence. Esther was not afraid to return the 
 glance of such a man, she never doubted him. At 
 the same time she did not beheve that he could 
 wholly win a woman's affection. 
 
 " I shall be very glad to help you, Doctor Xavier, 
 if I can," she began, determined to bring him to 
 the point. " Will you please to tell me exactly 
 what I am to do for you ? I think it would be 
 better to begin that way." 
 
 He turned in his chair and rested his chin upon 
 his elbow. 
 
 "Yes," he said, " that is necessary. Let me be 
 as brief. You are here to assist me with scien- 
 tific experiments, Miss Venn ; to benefit by them, 
 I hope." 
 
 Esther's heart quickened a little when she heard 
 these ominous words. Scientific experiments 
 might mean so much. Her experience suggested 
 to her that they could not be unattended with 
 danger. 
 
 " I am quite ignorant of science," she said, after 
 a pause. "If there is anything that I can do — 
 write your letters or look after your books, I am 
 sure I should do it very willingly. Is it help of 
 that kind you want ? " 
 
 The Doctor shook his head, he was amused at 
 her offer. 
 
 " No," he said, " it is not help of that kind, Miss 
 Venn. It is a service which, if we are successful, 
 will make my name beloved by woman. It is a 
 gift to humanity, I put it in a word, it is the gift 
 of beauty." 
 
 Esther had heard many times in her life of
 
 48 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 people who had claimed to make women beautiful 
 for ever; but they were always spoken of as 
 impostors, and many of them, she knew, had 
 been justly sent to prison. While it was impos- 
 sible to believe altogether that Doctor Xavier was 
 such an one, nevertheless, she was greatly 
 frightened by his confession, and this she did 
 not attempt to hide from him. 
 
 " Oh, but Doctor," she said, with almost 
 childish simplicity, "how could I help you in 
 that?" 
 
 He had looked for just such an answer from 
 such a subject ; indeed, it seemed to please him, 
 and with great gentleness he continued — 
 
 "Pray hear me to the end, Miss Venn, and 
 permit me to ask another question. Is it wrong 
 to take the cripple and to give him limbs ? Is it 
 wrong to graft a flower that you may make it 
 more beautiful ? Is it wrong to bring the glory 
 of the heavens nearer to us that we may know 
 something of the heavenly truths ? Is all the 
 quest of the beautiful in art and literature and 
 music a crime? Am I wrong at this moment 
 when I hold in yonder flask a remedy for one of 
 the most awful diseases to which humanity is a 
 victim ? Shall I hesitate to cure the leper because 
 in health he will be less repulsive ? Ah, no ; you 
 will never say that ! Like all young people, your 
 judgments are impulsive, and the argument comes 
 afterwards. At this moment you are telling your- 
 self that I am a common quack who would sell a 
 powder or a paint to a credulous public. It is the 
 poorest compliment you could pay me ; but your
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 49 
 
 young experience is sufficient apology. Under- 
 stand that if you decide to be my fellow-worker, 
 it must be of your own free will and not upon 
 compulsion. I am a servant of science and I 
 would make disciples. If I attempt to do some- 
 thing which no scientist has done before, it will 
 not be as a charlatan but as pioneer. The simile 
 of the grafted flower is the simplest that I can put 
 before you. I would add to Nature's gifts ; but I 
 would add naturally. The beauty that I can win 
 from the light and the water and the earth is to 
 be won by a natural law which I shall make 
 known in due course to other students. In my 
 operating room I believe there are profound secrets. 
 When you have thought it over, you shall tell me 
 if you wish to master them with me." 
 
 Esther's face blanched when she heard the 
 words " operating room " ; for it suggested to her 
 the stone floors and the dreaded tables which she 
 had once seen in a hospital. She but half realised 
 the logical sequence of the Doctor's argument, 
 and the impression that what he proposed was 
 forbidden still troubled her. 
 
 " I will think it over willingly," she said. " I 
 fear I am very stupid, Doctor. But then, you see, 
 I never thought very much about my appearance. 
 Do you really believe it is possible to make a 
 woman beautiful by natural means ? " 
 
 *' I believe it is so, I am not sure. You are 
 very plain with me, and I will try to be no less 
 honest. Twice already I have failed in my ex- 
 periment. You say, perhaps, that I have no 
 right, therefore, to continue. If I believed that 
 
 5
 
 50 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 the failure was my own and not that of the 
 patient, I should accept your view. But I do 
 nothing of the kind. I have failed because those 
 who worked with me could not think as I think, 
 could not surrender themselves wholly to the ideas 
 which I followed. From the first they were 
 governed by vulgar desires ; they wished money, 
 place, love ; mentally they opposed themselves to 
 the physical law. With such subjects I could do 
 nothing. She whom I choose must be one apart 
 from the world, for the time being, at any rate. 
 She must be willing to live the simplest life. She 
 must see beauty in all things about her. She 
 must regard herself as the apostle of the creed 
 which, in due course, will be joyfully accepted by 
 the world. She must be kind and gentle, lifting 
 her eyes to the heavens, desiring to see the greater 
 glories beyond. She will be no servant of pride 
 or self-conceit ; she will know that she is but the 
 instrument of this message. Her confidence will 
 be absolute ; she will regard me as a brother who 
 wishes her happiness. She will let me carry all 
 her burdens in distress — if that were possible 
 beneath my roof — she will come to me, and I 
 shall share her most trifling doubts. She will be 
 honoured in this house and make it her home. 
 Miss Venn, may I say this of you?" 
 
 Esther clasped her hands upon her knees, and 
 regarded the Doctor with a troubled look. The 
 plain truth was that while his words should have 
 satisfied her just doubts, that which she had seen 
 — and especially the face at the window — were 
 present in her mind to perplex and distract her.
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 51 
 
 Nothing that the Doctor had proposed, she thought, 
 might not be undertaken by an honest girl ; but 
 he had spoken of failure. Was it possible that 
 the face she had seen from the garden was to be 
 connected with this ! 
 
 " I should be very sorry to appear ungrateful," 
 she exclaimed suddenly; "but I really do not 
 know what to say. I am a little frightened, 
 Doctor, and I cannot help it. You said some- 
 thing to me about those who helped you before. 
 Would it be very dreadful to fail? " 
 
 He divined her difficulty instantly. She has 
 seen something in the house, he thought. He 
 knew that it made it more difficult. 
 
 "Ah," he said, "I put it clumsily. I talk of 
 operating rooms, and you think of a hospital. I 
 speak of failure, and you imagine personal suffer- 
 ing — perhaps illness and disease. See how a man 
 who desires to be frank may misrepresent himself. 
 You believe that I am asking much — courage to 
 face dreadful things, penalties, distress. Let me 
 here and now assure you, as I am a man of 
 honour, that none of these things exist. If I 
 fail, you will remain with me if you wish, or go 
 to your friends, the same gentle young lady that 
 I have found you. Others have not done so, I 
 admit ; but their own foUies were responsible for 
 their misfortunes. They would not submit, and 
 they suffered for it. Science, Miss Venn, is not 
 to be trifled with. She demands all or nothine:. 
 Those who have assisted me would have taken 
 the middle way. For the time being they are 
 punished ; but the punishment will pass, and as
 
 52 DOCTOR XAYIER 
 
 they came to me, so, at length, will they go, 
 neither better nor wiser. For you, I fear no such 
 failure. Once your mind is made up, you will 
 succeed. I am as sure of it as I am of myself." 
 
 He bent toward her and appeared to exert all 
 that indomitable power of his will which few were 
 able to resist. Esther decided, she knew not why, 
 that this man would never harm her. He com- 
 pelled her already in some measure to share his 
 own enthusiasm. The quest of beautiful things, 
 the right enjoyment of God's gifts could never, 
 she thought, be wrong. And yet she had so much 
 to ask him. She was convinced that she could 
 never quite express her doubts. 
 
 " I wish I could believe in myself as you believe 
 in me," she confessed at last. "It is all so new, 
 so strange. I would like to say ' yes,' but all sorts 
 of silly things prevent me. You see. Doctor, I 
 have not the least idea what you really want me 
 to do. How can I help your experiments? I 
 have no knowledge except the little I have got 
 from my father's books : it would seem childish 
 to you. If I were clever, it might be otherwise. 
 I should be so frightened of my stupidity ; perhaps 
 it would spoil everything." 
 
 He laughed at this frank avowal, believing that 
 he had won her. 
 
 "When the flowers bud in the suns of May," 
 he asked, " what cleverness of theirs helps them ? 
 "When the sky at sunset is aflame with a golden 
 arc, is it Nature's gift or man's accomplishment ? 
 You can help me by submission. Miss Venn ; you 
 can help me by doing nothing. Come, I will show
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 53 
 
 you the operating room ; it will frighten you very 
 much, but afterwards you will be braver." 
 
 He crossed the room, and drawing a curtain 
 back disclosed a panelled door of which he held 
 the key already in his hand. Esther had started 
 up at the words, " operating room," for she half 
 believed that it would justify her evil anticipation, 
 while, in the same breath, she could tell herself 
 that she was silly to be afraid. The Doctor, per- 
 ceiving her hesitation, threw the door wide open 
 and bade her enter. 
 
 "Come," he said, "it is not so very dreadful. 
 I am sure your courage will be equal to it." 
 
 Something in his tone reassured her, and, 
 calling upon her courage, she went over and 
 stood at his side. Ah, that dreadful theatre! 
 It was smothered in Gloire-de-Dijon roses from 
 floor to ceiling. Esther's wildest dream could 
 not have surpassed the surprise of it. A fragrant 
 perfume, rich and pungent, came to her through 
 the open door, and would have been overpowering 
 but for a delicious spray, like a shower of sweet 
 rain, absorbed by the air almost before the marble 
 fountain cast it out. Gentle breezes of the 
 summer day stirred amid those gold-white leaves, 
 and were sucked in by the silent fans. Long 
 windows, giving upon the sheltered lawns, per- 
 mitted a vista of tree and flower and bush, like 
 a scene remote from men in a forest's heart. 
 Indeed, a wizard's hand might have created this 
 picture for a fable of the splendid ages. Esther 
 could but stand entranced, fearing to set foot 
 upon that carpet of flowers or to disturb the
 
 54 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 perfect beauty of that chamber of roses. It was 
 not real, it could not be, she thought ; while the 
 Doctor, in his turn, did not take his eyes from 
 her. Surprise and delight were written upon her 
 astonished eyes. She had a young girl's imagin- 
 ation, and could people this quaint retreat with 
 the figures of a forgotten dreamland. When the 
 Doctor told her that the room was her own, 
 nothing could keep back her cry of delight. 
 
 " My own room — mine ! " she said. 
 
 He took her hand and led her into it. 
 
 " Your own — to be the mistress of it ; to come 
 and go when you will, sometimes, perhaps, to 
 invite others; but your own, first and foremost. 
 Let me see you take possession of it. Come, this 
 sofa is just the place to think out a difficulty." 
 
 He led her across the room to an ivory sofa, 
 which was but a shell smothered in roses to such 
 a depth that, when Esther sat, she appeared to 
 sink in a very bed of leaves. Her quick eyes were 
 already examining every nook and cranny of this 
 new and rare possession. The walls, she saw, 
 were paperless, but wreaths of the yellow roses 
 hid their nakedness. There was no carpet but 
 that of the glorious flowers. A table of jasper, 
 in the centre of the room, carried a huge bouquet 
 of the sweetest blooms. By her side stood an 
 immense lamp of silver, so placed that the light 
 of it must fall upon the sleeper's face. The 
 marble of the fountain, which played in an alcove 
 near the window, was white as snow, unblemished 
 in its purity. A hanging book-rack swung from 
 a silver chain, so close to Esther's hand that she
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 55 
 
 could take a book from it without risin^^. A 
 cottage piano in satin-wood, inlaid and richly 
 painted, faced her when she entered. A flagon 
 of the clearest crystal had been filled with yellow 
 wine ; a goblet stood near it upon its little table. 
 Except for the door to the Doctor's study, and 
 the long French windows which gave upon the 
 lawn, Esther could detect no other entrance to 
 the room. The laburnum trees by the wall and 
 the bushes round about forbade her to see that 
 side of the house wherein the living rooms were 
 built. She might have been in the heart of a 
 garden a hundred miles from any city. Birds 
 from many countries hopped from wreath to 
 wreath of the roses above her, and showed no 
 fear at her presence. The murmur of water 
 falling was restful to the ear and like a lullaby. 
 The Doctor did not fail to observe its effect upon 
 her. 
 
 "This is your room," he repeated, "and you 
 will be the mistress of it. I see that you would 
 like to be alone and to think of all I have said to 
 you. The morning is the friend of clear thought, 
 Miss Venn ; to-night at dinner you shall give me 
 your answer — yes or no." 
 
 He quitted the room, closing the door sharply 
 behind him. Esther was left alone to hear the 
 splash of the fountain in the marble basin, the 
 twittering of the birds in the silent garden.
 
 CHAPTEE VI 
 
 At five o'clock upon the same afternoon Julia, 
 remembering her promise, drove out with Esther 
 in a pretty victoria drawn by two roan horses, 
 and as they went the loquacious creature had a 
 hundred things to talk of. Scarcely had the 
 gates closed behind them than she confessed that 
 she had seen her brother and had been delighted 
 to hear of Esther's acquiescence in his plans. Of 
 this, she said, she had been sure from the first. 
 
 " I knew it, my dear — I knew you would never 
 be so silly as to throw away such a golden oppor- 
 tunity. Francis believes that he can make you 
 the most beautiful woman in the world. He is 
 not the man to deceive himself. What he says 
 he can do, he will do ; and just think how happy 
 your consent makes him. We are to be more than 
 friends now; we are to be sisters. I shall call 
 you Esther, and you will call me Julia. There 
 will be so much to do between this and the end 
 of the season, and we sha'n't have a minute to 
 spare. Oh, my dear child, just think of the gowns 
 you must buy ! Here's Homburg not a month 
 off, and after Homburg our shooting party at 
 Douvaine, and then the Villa Cara for the winter ; 
 
 56
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 57 
 
 and after that — who knows, it may even be my 
 own dear Spain and our palace at Cadi. And 
 you must have gowns for all of them — oh, the 
 joy of it, to begin with nothing ! And I have 
 such a wardrobe full that I could clothe a city ! 
 I envy you ! " 
 
 Esther was a little surprised that her consent 
 to the Doctor's proposal should thus be taken for 
 granted, for she had not said a word that would 
 imply consent ; and, indeed, her answer was still 
 to be made. She judged, however, that it was 
 not the time to speak of it, and, avoiding the 
 subject, she endeavoured to question her com- 
 panion for her own enlightenment. 
 
 " I am sure that Doctor Xavier is both clever 
 and kind," she said, in a winningly simple way. 
 " What I fear, dear Julia, is whether one is right 
 to do as he wishes. I have always been taught 
 to be afraid of vanity; and, indeed, I am very 
 happy as I am. Even if your brother succeeded 
 in his experiments, surely I am not the best 
 subject he could choose." 
 
 Julia took her hand in her own and drew her 
 close, as though some new bond of love already 
 united them. 
 
 " Nonsense, nonsense ! " she protested, "What- 
 ever my brother does is for the good of humanity. 
 Don't you see, you dear little child, how much 
 happiness would come into the world if women 
 could be made more beautiful? And you — you 
 are the sweetest subject a man could have ! We 
 shall be so proud of you, Esther ; you will always 
 be remembered as the brave girl who did this
 
 58 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 service for your sisters. Ah, my dear, if it is 
 wrong to desire beautiful things, then we are very 
 wicked people ! But I shall never believe it ; I 
 shall always say that Francisco Xavier is a leader 
 among men." 
 
 Esther did not quite trust this ready woman of 
 the world, believing her shallow and possibly a 
 little fickle ; but the arguments themselves were 
 very plausible, and, indeed, a similar process of 
 reasoning had guided her that day. After all, she 
 said, if it were really with scientific truths that 
 the Doctor wished to experiment, and she would 
 suffer no harm because of them, there was no 
 good cause why her consent should be withheld. 
 A lover of compromise always, it occurred to 
 Esther that she might give a conditional answer, 
 keeping to herself the right to withdraw it if 
 anything were done of which her woman's instinct 
 might be ashamed. In plain words, she deter- 
 mined to tell the Doctor that she would try to 
 serve him, but that the right must remain to her 
 to say "no" when his experiments offended her. 
 Nevertheless she was not prepared to confess as 
 much to Julia, and she took refuge from the 
 argument in silence. 
 
 There had been a few light showers earlier in 
 the day, but a delicious fragrance of the later 
 afternoon accounted for a splendid park and for 
 a very cavalcade of open carriages. London's 
 gaieties had almost exhausted themselves in these 
 later days of July ; people were glad to drive in 
 the fresh air, and so to make their plans for 
 Homburg or the Solent. Esther used to trudge
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 59 
 
 the gravel paths by the Achilles statue when first 
 she came to London, and now she remembered 
 how she had admired the rich equipages and the 
 wonderful gowns of the great women who looked 
 down upon her. The change which a day had 
 brought into her life was almost beyond her 
 comprehension. Here she sat dressed as those 
 others whose names were on every tongue. She, 
 too, could now look down on many a poor creature 
 who welcomed the shelter of the trees because she 
 dreaded the discoveries of the garish sunshine. 
 The carriage in which she rode had come from 
 Paris, and had sent many an order to its fashion- 
 able builder. The roans had cost Doctor Xavier 
 seven hundred guineas. Esther observed that 
 her companion was everywhere recognised and 
 saluted. Women stared after the carriage a little 
 enviously; the men regarded it with obvious 
 favour. Esther was glad that she was not com- 
 pelled to speak to any of these people. She was 
 greatly afraid that when the carriage stopped 
 by Rotten Row some chattering woman would 
 be presented to her, and, perhaps, wish to know 
 her story. None troubled them, however, for 
 quite a long time, and while Julia's eyes were 
 everywhere, and she nodded continually to her 
 friends and named them for this great person or 
 that, Esther was very willing to be a faithful 
 listener, and to hide herself from observation, if 
 that were possible. She had, indeed, just con- 
 gratulated herself that they would escape with 
 the merest recognition, when she observed her 
 companion flush suddenly, whether with surprise
 
 60 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 or pleasure she could not tell; and immediately 
 afterwards a young man, dressed as other idlers 
 about him, but remarkable even in their company, 
 stepped up to the carriage and held out his hand 
 like one well pleased at an unexpected recognition. 
 
 " Mademoiselle Julia ! " he cried, " is it really 
 Mademoiselle Julia?" 
 
 Julia had turned away for a moment, as though 
 she did not wish to be seen, but when the young 
 man thus addressed her, she turned toward him, 
 and answering in French, she said — " Oh, your 
 Highness! — can it really be you in London?" 
 
 The new-comer laughed good-humouredly, and, 
 leaning upon the dashboard of the carriage, he 
 fixed his eyes not upon Julia, but upon Esther 
 by her side. She, on her part, tried to avoid his 
 glance and to appear preoccupied ; but something 
 in the face attracted her, and she discovered her- 
 self, to her annoyance, staring at him continually. 
 
 " Yes," he went on, still in French, but so 
 slowly that she could understand him without 
 difficulty, " yes, I am in London, mademoiselle. 
 You, perhaps, will know the reason why." 
 
 Julia did not respond immediately to this 
 appeal. She appeared to be much distressed, 
 and anxious to terminate the interview. 
 
 "I do not know the reason. Prince," she pro- 
 tested, and then she added, " I am sure my 
 brother is no wiser." 
 
 The young man's face clouded at the words, 
 and he could not conceal the embarrassment 
 which her answer put upon him. 
 
 *' I thought your brother would have written
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 61 
 
 before," he continued, almost reproachfully; 
 "but there is some explanation, no doubt. If 
 the Doctor would care to make it to me, I am 
 at Claridge's Hotel. Please take my message 
 to him, mademoiselle; it would be in three 
 words — ' The Prince regrets.' Can you re- 
 member that — ' The Prince regrets ' ? " 
 
 Julia's face regained some of its lost colour and 
 she appeared to win back her confidence. 
 
 "You cannot regret as he regrets, Highness. 
 I am afraid it is all too late now — the past has 
 made the future. But I shall deliver the messag-e 
 — oh, yes, it would be just to you both." 
 
 She drew herself up with a dignity which 
 astonished Esther not a little ; while the Prince 
 — for thus he had been addressed — hesitatinor 
 for a few minutes, turned to Esther at last 
 and said — 
 
 "Pray present me to your charming com- 
 panion." 
 
 Julia had forgotten even that she had a com- 
 panion, and she started at the mention of her 
 name. 
 
 " How rude of me — how very rude ! Of course, 
 I will present her. This is my friend, Miss Venn 
 — Esther dear, His Highness, the Prince of 
 Cadi." 
 
 Esther had never been so troubled in all her 
 life. She did not know what to say, what to do. 
 She was not sure whether she should offer her 
 hand or withhold it. Very wisely therefore, she 
 said nothing, and the Prince, after a few com- 
 monplace remarks, bowed and withdrew. Julia
 
 62 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 at once ordered the coachman to return, and they 
 drove away rapidly towards Regent's Park. It 
 was evident to Esther that her friend was greatly 
 troubled. The meeting had quite upset her. She 
 admitted as much by and by. 
 
 " This will be very unpleasant news for the 
 Doctor, my dear. He has dreaded something 
 of this kind ever since he came to London. 
 You must, like a good girl, just go away to 
 your own room when I tell him. He and the 
 Prince were old friends, child. They quarrelled 
 a year ago ; I have never known why, but I am 
 sure my brother was not in the wrong. You 
 can imagine how much it grieves him. I am 
 trembling like a child at the thought of telling 
 him." 
 
 Esther saw that it was true ; and she was very 
 glad when the carriage entered the drive of their 
 house, and the doors once more closed upon her. 
 The butler said that his master was in the 
 study, and Julia went there at once ; while 
 Esther ran up to her own room, and finding 
 Mouton, her dog, waiting wistfully by the 
 window, she sat down in a low chair and took 
 him upon her knees. 
 
 " Oh, my pet, what strange things are hap- 
 pening to us!" she said, in her childishly 
 philosophical way. " Where are we going to, 
 Mouton — what's to become of us? Who are 
 these people ? Will they be our friends ? — tell 
 me, Mouton, tell me, tell me ! " 
 
 The dog laid his paws upon her lap, and looked 
 up into her face as only a dog can look. Across
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 63 
 
 the court Esther heard the sound of voices, but 
 chiefly that of Francisco Xavier himself, now 
 rising as in a hurricane of anger, anon dying 
 away to tremulous silence. In the garden long 
 shadows fell upon the closing blooms and the 
 restless leaves. Esther's thoughts went hither, 
 thither : now to the bower of roses which was 
 her own to live and dream in if she willed : anon 
 to the momentous choice she must make, and 
 from that to the stranger who had spoken to her 
 in the carriage. She had not seen many men in 
 her uneventful life, but this one she thought she 
 would remember, however long she lived. It 
 was not a mere question of fine presence ; 
 he was so unlike any man she had ever known. 
 His dignity of manner, the quiet gentle acts, his 
 kind and thoughtful face remained firmly set in 
 her memory. She knew she could repeat every 
 word he had spoken. She saw him again with 
 his elbow resting upon the dashboard, and his 
 dark eyes searching her own, and that indefinable 
 something which is the first link in the chain of 
 a woman's affection. She hoped that it was not 
 by any right of birth that he had thus earned a 
 claim upon her memory. She did not think that 
 it was. She knew that he would already have for- 
 gotten her, if, indeed, he ever gave her a second 
 thought. And this she confessed to Mouton with 
 just a little sadness. 
 
 " We are nothing, my dear — we have our bread 
 to get, Mouton, and we must do our duty. Oh, 
 help me, my pet, help me to do right ! " 
 
 Mouton gave her an answer in a warm caress,
 
 64 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 pressing his shaggy face close to her own. 
 Together they watched the twiHght fall ; and 
 thinking still, it came to Esther suddenly that 
 if she remained in the house, she might see the 
 Prince of Cadi again.
 
 CHAPTEE VII 
 
 DocTOE Xavier was not at the dinner table, nor 
 did Julia offer any explanation of his absence. 
 Esther imagined that she did not wish to speak 
 of it before the servants, and in this she was 
 right ; for when coffee had been served in the 
 white and gold boudoir, and the exceedingly 
 loneful-iooking butler had withdrawn from the 
 room, the loquacious Julia at once began to 
 satisfy her curiosity. 
 
 " There's been a dreadful scene, my dear. I 
 knew there would be. Francis believed that the 
 Prince was in Madrid, and he is very angry with 
 him for coming to London. He neglects his 
 country, my dear, and it will end in ruin. I 
 told you how they quarrelled ; and I am dread- 
 fully frightened that harm may come of it. If 
 the Prince should call here, I dare not think 
 what they would do. You must be his good 
 angel, Esther; you must be kind to my brother 
 now." 
 
 It was like the chapter of a romance to Esther, 
 and she was surprised at the interest with which 
 she found herself listening to this candid admis- 
 sion. That some mystery attended the presence 
 
 6 65
 
 66 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 of the young Prince in London, had been evident 
 to her from the beginning ; and these fragments 
 of the truth but whetted her appetite for more. 
 She was ashamed to tell herself that her interest 
 was in the man and not in his country, of which 
 she knew nothing ; but she was aware that this 
 was the case, and she tried to hide it from Julia. 
 
 " You said that Doctor Xavier and the Prince 
 were old friends, dear Julia," she answered pre- 
 sently. " Will they never be reconciled ? I 
 don't understand it, of course ; but I always 
 think that when people have quarrelled it is 
 better for them to meet and speak to each other. 
 I am sure that your brother would not bear 
 animosity against any one." 
 
 Julia shook her head. 
 
 " The kindest of men are the slowest to forgive, 
 Esther. My brother has suffered much at the 
 Prince's hands ; he has been patient — too patient 
 — for years. I do not think he will ever forgive 
 him. If he does, it will be because you ask him 
 to." 
 
 The words astonished Esther more than she 
 could say. 
 
 ' ' Because I ask him, dear Julia ! How can it 
 concern me? Oh, I am sure that I should never 
 ask him ! " 
 
 " Never be sure of anything, child. I used to 
 be sure of things a few years ago, but I am not so 
 rash now. Francis is hoping so much in you. 
 He would not hear me at all until I mentioned 
 your name and told him how pleased I was that 
 you were to stay with us. That made him for-
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 67 
 
 get his trouble. He will have something to work 
 for now. He will not think of Spain all day." 
 
 She went on to say that science had always 
 been the Doctor's recreation. Even when he had 
 governed a kingdom he had given his leisure to 
 scientific pursuits. Medicine owed him much ; 
 he had discovered many new drugs and employed 
 them successfully. In the medicinal use of elec- 
 tricity he was a master. He hoped to confer 
 many benefits upon the human race before he 
 died ; and he now gave his whole time to the 
 work. 
 
 "We shall stay in London until the season is 
 over — of course I would not leave before, dear — 
 and then we shall go to Homburg and the moun- 
 tains. I envy you who have never been to my 
 own dear South ! Here, in England, you do not 
 know what sunshine is : it is cold and flat, and, 
 oh, so dull ! We live in the South ; we are 
 musicians, artists, singers ; we gather flowers in 
 the valleys and breathe on the hills. This London 
 suffocates me. If it were not for my brother, I 
 would go away to-morrow. But he admires your 
 doctors. He says he can study here. The 
 libraries help him. And now he has you — oh, 
 my dear little Esther, I love you for saying 
 ' yes ' ! " 
 
 Esther, in fact, had never said "yes" at all; 
 but she was not courageous enough to disturb 
 her friend's happiness, and she began to see that 
 her own " yes " or " no " went for very little, and 
 that these people already took her consent for 
 granted. Indeed, when Doctor Xavier entered
 
 68 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 the boudoir at a later hour, he at once crossed the 
 room to her and thanked her for that which she 
 had never promised. 
 
 " My sister has made me very glad to-night," 
 he said, laying a hand upon Esther's shoulder 
 and almost whispering the words. " I knew that 
 I had found a little friend and comrade, but I 
 wished her to tell me so. We shall begin our 
 work to-morrow morning. I trust that you will 
 never forget it, camarade.'' 
 
 Esther scarcely knew what reply to make to 
 him. His face was unusually pale, and there 
 were dark rings beneath his piercing eyes. She 
 imagined that he had suffered much in the few 
 hours which had passed since they returned to 
 the house ; but she had no heart to answer him 
 unkindly. For that matter, her mind was already 
 made up to remain in a house where so much 
 kindness was shown her, and she permitted the 
 Doctor to assume her consent, merely saying, 
 " I trust not ; indeed, I am quite confident of it. 
 You will find me a willing pupil. Doctor Xavier. 
 I could never forget what you have done for me." 
 
 " You will forget it at once," he said, protest- 
 ingly. " It is my first command. The favour is 
 on my side ; it is I who should say, ' thank you.' 
 We will discuss it no more. The piano is open — 
 sing to me, little camarade ; I like to hear your 
 voice." 
 
 Esther went to the piano obediently ; and 
 while she sang she perceived that the Doctor 
 sank back upon the sofa and closed his eyes like 
 a man trying to win rest. Truth to tell, a little
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 69 
 
 weariness had fallen upon them all, and when 
 eleven o'clock came, even Julia was ready for 
 bed. 
 
 In spite of her new anxieties, and of the 
 unknown future looming before her so mys- 
 teriously, Esther slept a dreamless sleep from 
 which the sun of morning alone awoke her. Her 
 first thought when she awoke was one of relief 
 that no silly imaginings had troubled her sleep. 
 The false moonlight must, after all, have been 
 pure imagination. The Moor, whose face she 
 thought to have seen at her door, was surely a 
 creature of her fatigue and trouble. She dressed 
 this morning with greater confidence ; and when 
 she opened her window, and the sunshine fell into 
 the room, and the perfume of the roses floated up 
 upon the sweet breeze of the day, she confessed 
 that it would be difficult to find so beautiful a 
 home, or one in which a young girl might make 
 herself so happy. 
 
 She dressed at leisure, knowing that she was in 
 good time to-day. Her work would begin after 
 breakfast, and her anxiety that there should be 
 no delay had awakened her at an early hour. In 
 the garden below gardeners were gathering the 
 rose leaves and watering the lawns. Esther fell 
 to wondering how many servants there were in 
 the house, and was busy with her reckoning when 
 some one knocked upon her door, and beHeving 
 it to be the maid, she said, " Come in." To this 
 invitation, however, no one responded, and when 
 the knock was repeated, she crossed the room 
 quickly and opened the door.
 
 70 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 " Who is it ? " she asked. 
 
 A voice answered her out of the darkened 
 corridor — 
 
 " Sefiorita — the bath is ready." 
 
 She peered into the gloom, afraid to credit her 
 senses. At the first glance she could only dis- 
 tinguish the long white robe and the piercing 
 black eyes of a stranger ; but, anon, the face took 
 shape. She detected a brown skin and gleaming 
 white teeth ; and lower down, the long, bony 
 hands of the Arab. Esther knew that she had 
 seen this man before. His were the eyes which 
 had watched her while she slept. She recognised 
 all too clearly the oval face and the bronzed 
 features — and she recognised them with a fear 
 she dared not express. Indeed, her heart beat 
 rapidly, and the room seemed to swim before her 
 eyes when she said — 
 
 " What do you mean — what do you want with 
 me?" 
 
 It were as though this silent, threatening figure 
 devoured her with a glance. As she receded, the 
 man advanced. Esther had never been so 
 frightened in all her life. 
 
 " The bath is ready, sefiorita. I am Yussuf, 
 His Excellency's servant. The girl breakfasts — 
 I come to tell you. Please to follow me." 
 
 For a little while Esther neither moved nor 
 spoke. Why had this man dared to enter her 
 room last night, she was asking herself. Why 
 had the Doctor permitted it ? What reason could 
 he give ? She was angry, dazed, and not a little 
 terrified. Her first idea was that she would quit
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 71 
 
 the house at once, fly from it as from an abode of 
 drager which she had no right to face. Then her 
 simple womanly logic came to her aid. Why 
 should she not question the man? 
 
 "I have seen you before," she said. "You 
 were here last night. Why did you take the 
 liberiy?" 
 
 The Moor showed a row of gleaming white 
 teeth and smiled all over his sun-bronzed face. 
 After all, he did not look a very dangerous 
 person. 
 
 " Do not be afraid, senorita. I am a very 
 old man. I have heap wife in Morocco. His 
 Excellency wished you to sleep. Old Yussuf 
 must obey. He lights the sleep-lamp. He makes 
 the bath, sefiorita. Follow him and he will show 
 you where." 
 
 It was an incoherent story, but Esther took 
 heart at it. Certainly, this Moor was a very old 
 man. Esther remembered the moonbeams which 
 had fallen upon her while she slept. It would be 
 natural, she thought, that Doctor Xavier should 
 employ strange agents. And he would not 
 employ one whom he could not trust. She 
 determined to tell him the whole story directly 
 they met. 
 
 " Is it Doctor Xavier's orders that I am to go 
 to the bath now?" she asked, determined that 
 the man should not find her afraid. 
 
 The Moor nodded and led the way down the 
 corridor. 
 
 "Yes, yes, now," he said; "His Excellency 
 wishes it. You are to go to the bath three times
 
 72 DOCTOR XAVIBR 
 
 every day. His Excellency's order. I will con- 
 duct you." 
 
 He had turned to the right at the end of the 
 passage, and following another corridor he showed 
 her a quarter of the house which she had not yet 
 visited. She was still very much perplexed by 
 all that had happened ; but the new scenes to 
 which she was introduced quickly put it out of 
 her mind and occupied her interest. For the 
 Moor had descended a flight of marble steps 
 which brought them to a low-arched gate of 
 bronze oddly decorated with figures of nymphs 
 and centaurs. Upon this gate he knocked twice, 
 and when some one unseen opened to him, he 
 said — " Enter, senorita, if you please. They 
 wait for you." 
 
 It was evident that he was to leave her here ; 
 and she confessed herself not unwilling to be 
 relieved of his presence ; indeed, she counted 
 the bath in which she now found herself as not 
 the least of the many surprises of that strange 
 house. Esther at first believed it to be a Turkish 
 bath, although one of unusual magnificence ; for 
 she had read accounts of these in her father's 
 books, and had known women who had ventured 
 into such a bath in her own city. Her curiosity 
 was instantly awakened, and she found herself 
 impatient to gratify it. A rotunda of consider- 
 able altitude, panelled entirely with white marble, 
 lay just beyond the gates, and Esther observed 
 with pleasure the clear cool water of a plunge 
 bath stirred into gentle ripples by a murmuring 
 spray, which fell from a Cupid's wings. A luxu-
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 73 
 
 rious couch, heaped up with cushions, offered 
 rest to the bather ; while Httle tables at its side 
 were Httered with books and ivory knick-knacks. 
 The ceiling itself was dome-shaped and gilded ; 
 windows of rich stained glass permitted a chang- 
 ing light to fall upon the tesselated pavement. 
 Facing the entrance, Esther observed a flight of 
 steps leading from the frigidarium to a smaller 
 apartment wherein water flowed in silver basins, 
 and here were marble benches for the bathers 
 with douches and other apparati. One of the 
 attendants of the bath, quite a young girl dressed 
 in a long blue wrapper, had received Esther at 
 the bronze gates ; and while she spoke English it 
 was with some foreign accent which made her a 
 Httle diflicult to understand. There were others 
 with her, young also and similarly attired ; but 
 they appeared to be Japanese, and Esther did not 
 hear them speak. Her guide quickly intimated 
 that which she wished her to do. 
 
 " We will have the drill first, mademoiselle, and 
 then the vapour. The Doctor has prescribed this 
 in your case. You will please to undress and put 
 on your gown. Another day you can come 
 straight to us from your bedroom. It is proper 
 to rest as much as possible in the bath. You can 
 ask me any questions ; but please do not talk 
 more than is necessary." 
 
 Esther undressed as she was instructed, and 
 having put on a loose robe of muslin and felt 
 slippers, such as are worn in Eastern baths, she 
 followed the attendant down the stairs and 
 through the lavatorium to a bright open room,
 
 74 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 which served the purpose of the Doctor's gym- 
 nasium. The accessories of this were such as 
 Esther had always associated with gymnastic 
 exercises ; but when she came to use them, she 
 observed the difference. The Indian clubs, which 
 the attendant now put into her hands, were pro- 
 vided with soft sponge-like grips, saturated with 
 some liquid which had a pungent odour. Esther 
 remembered the Arabian Nights, and how that a 
 doctor had cured a king by such an old device as 
 this. She did not, however, use the clubs with 
 any less confidence ; and when her body was in a 
 glow, the attendant led her to a curious swing, 
 wherein, seated in a wicker cradle with her feet 
 resting upon a second bar, she was bidden to 
 swing herself for a specified time. From this she 
 passed to a fatiguing exercise, where light weights 
 were lifted gradually from the floor and as slowly 
 set down again. The grips of these also were 
 found to be saturated with the same pungent 
 liquid. These exercises continued at intervals 
 for some twenty minutes ; and when they were 
 finished she was given a glass of milk with which 
 some drug, whose taste she recognised, was 
 mingled. Esther said that the same medicine, 
 whatever it was, had been administered in one 
 of the sweets at dinner yesterday. The flavour 
 was not unpleasant, and the effect of it was to 
 induce a slight sense of languor and the desire to 
 rest. Just as at the mid-day meal she had been 
 stimulated, so this morning and last night at 
 dinner sleep had been invited. Indeed, the 
 attendant at once led her from the gymnasium
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 75 
 
 to a low, vaulted mosque-like apartment upon 
 which it gave, and here informed her that the 
 bath was to begin. 
 
 " There are three processes, mademoiselle," 
 she said: "first the vapour, then the massage, 
 and then the electricity. Try to rest here, and to 
 sleep if you can. The bath will do you a great 
 deal of good. You will be very much refreshed 
 afterwards." 
 
 She made a sign to one of her assistants, and 
 instantly the room was filled by a soft vapour of 
 steam, grateful to the lungs and pleasant to 
 breathe. Esther reposed upon one of the long 
 marble couches with a wooden pillow beneath 
 her head, and she now folded her hands upon her 
 breast, and inhaled the refreshing steam. The 
 benefit of this was both immediate and remark- 
 able. Esther had never known, she thought, 
 what it was to fill the lungs to their utmost 
 capacity with air that both soothed and stimu- 
 lated her. She breathed for the very pleasure of 
 the act, long, satisfying draughts which expanded 
 her chest and sent the blood coursing swiftly 
 through her veins. Her skin, at first harsh and 
 dry, anon became soft and pleasingly moist. She 
 experienced that pleasant content with all the 
 world which follows rest properly employed. 
 That any one should resent such treatment as 
 this, or deem it to be empirical, never occurred 
 to her for a moment. The Doctor had promised 
 her that she should be the servant of science. 
 She admitted that he was keeping his promise, 
 aud she knew already that she had to deal with a
 
 76 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 master-mind. It was very still and silent in the 
 room, and the serenity of mind with which she 
 could view her past and the future she had chosen 
 for herself astonished Esther. She fell to won- 
 dering what success would mean. They had not 
 called her pretty at home, paying her that poor 
 compliment of saying that her face was "pleas- 
 ing." She knew that she had unusually beautiful 
 hair, and that her skin was naturally fair and soft; 
 but she did not believe herself to be what the 
 world would call " good-looking." Should the 
 Doctor justify himself at all, her future might be 
 greatly changed. Esther had always understood 
 the power which beauty bestows upon a woman. 
 She would have been untrue to her sex had she 
 not wished very much in her heart that the Doctor 
 might succeed. His experiments already inter- 
 ested her beyond her hopes. Her curiosity had 
 been awakened, and she would have been very 
 sorry to have drawn back. 
 
 The half of an hour passed in these silent medi- 
 tations, and at the end of that time the attendant 
 returned and invited her to go to the lavatorium. 
 Here the Japanese girls were waiting, and they at 
 once took possession of Esther ; and placing her 
 beneath a refreshmg spray of luke-warm water, 
 they began to massage her. Esther had not 
 understood until that time what massage meant ; 
 but she quickly became aware ot its beneficent 
 results, and of the skill of the operators. Nimble 
 fingers chafed every muscle of her body. Flasks 
 of perfumed oils were opened and rubbed gently 
 upon her skin. The face especially mterested
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 77 
 
 those about her; and one of them, apparently 
 chosen because of her greater cleverness, sat 
 down at Esther's side, and bidding her shut her 
 eyes, she entered upon the task like an artist who 
 has a picture to make. For a full hour, at least 
 the work went on. Esther did not fret at the 
 delay, nor find the process tedious. Her body 
 was now in a warm glow, like the body of one 
 who has been engaged in active and healthy 
 exercises. She felt stronger, capable of exertion 
 and mentally alert. A second glass of the milk 
 being administered to her, she was then led to 
 that which her attendant called " the chamber of 
 lights." Here electricity proved to be the agent 
 of those experiments in which the Doctor had so 
 greatly interested himself. Esther perceived that 
 the walls of this room were toned to a delicate 
 shade of green. A single armchair, placed in the 
 centre of the apartment, had for its neighbour 
 that which looked like a giant magic lantern. 
 From a switch-board attached to one of the walls, 
 many electric wires fed little lamps in shape like 
 telescopes. All the attendants grouped themselves 
 about Esther when she entered this room, and 
 began to fix the lamps on iron stands and to 
 focus their rays upon her. Presently she sat in a 
 very bath of light. Beams of intense brightness, 
 like those from miniature searchHghts, warmed 
 her flesh and seemed to pierce her through. The 
 exquisite colours which dazzled the eyes were in 
 themselves a pleasure to behold. Esther thought 
 that all the hues of the spectrum were shown to 
 her while she sat there. Now golden, now deep
 
 78 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 purple, anon a radiant blue, bewitching shadows 
 of pink, the whole gamut of the beauty of colour 
 revealed itself to her. When her eyes were 
 dazzled by the light they covered her head with 
 a silken veil, and so played with the beams upon 
 her neck and arms. She was conscious of great 
 warmth, but never of a temperature that was 
 hurtful. A stimulating current of electricity 
 coursed through her body and acted upon every 
 organ. Mentally, the effect was bewildering in 
 its swiftness. Esther felt that she could face any 
 peril, dare any venture by the help of that unseen 
 force which now animated her. Her natural 
 timid and retiring disposition gave place to a 
 courage and self-reliance most welcome to her. 
 And this was the remarkable thing, that these 
 attributes did not at once pass away when the 
 bath was finished. Upstairs in the frigidarium, 
 the young girls dressed her anew in a long morn- 
 ing gown from Paris. They gathered up her 
 hair, and bound it with a garland of flowers. A 
 jewelled brooch, with the word " remerciments " 
 set in brilliants, she received without question, 
 although she knew it was the Doctor's morning 
 gift to her. By what process of reasoning it 
 came about, she could not say ; but she began to 
 have a great delight in the very risks of those 
 experiments. The luxury, the exhilaration of it 
 all cast a spell for good or ill upon her. The long 
 mirror showed her a face she never would have 
 known. She began to say that Doctor Xavier 
 might yet make good his words, and confer upon 
 her a gift whose price she did not dare to estimate.
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 79 
 
 In the frigidarium she rested for a full hour. 
 It was twelve o'clock when they opened the 
 bronze gates and told her that the task was over. 
 She had not breakfasted, and was very hungry ; 
 and she heard with pleasure her attendant's final 
 instructions. 
 
 " Breakfast is served in your own room, made- 
 moiselle. The rest of the day is your own. 
 Doctor Xavier is away to-day — you are your own 
 mistress." 
 
 Esther crossed the sunny garden, scarcely 
 knowing if she were awake or dreaming. No 
 one appeared, and the absence both of the Doctor 
 and the loquacious Julia confirmed the attendant's 
 words. In her own little room she found a 
 harvest of roses no less rich than of yesterday. 
 The fountain still murmured and cast a refresh- 
 ing spray upon the cooling breezes. But more 
 welcome still was the breakfast set out on its 
 snowy cloth — the golden wine, the luscious fruit, 
 the snow-white bread. Esther sat at the table 
 and began to eat with healthy appetite. The 
 scene, perhaps, was still unreal to her, the change 
 beyond her imagination. She would have been 
 entirely happy in it, and no longer regretted the 
 consent she had given, but for that silent voice 
 which still would ask, "Must no price be paid; 
 is there indeed no secret? " 
 
 She knew not ; she knew nothing — how could 
 she ? — of the terrible days before her.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Doctor Xavier did not return to his house for 
 fifteen days, nor was there any word from him. 
 Such news as Esther received she found upon the 
 morning of the second day in a closely written 
 letter from the loquacious Julia. It was a 
 rambling epistle, written in the characteristically 
 pointed hand of the foreigner, and Esther blessed 
 the education which had led her in Exeter City 
 to master the amazing caligraphy of Deans and 
 Chapters. She read the letter twice, and even 
 then was scarcely enlightened. Julia spoke of grave 
 events, which, for the moment, had compelled 
 her to leave London. Her brother, she said, was 
 greatly occupied by the affairs of his own country. 
 She had hoped that he had done with them for 
 ever ; but new circumstances had arisen, and they 
 claimed his attention. For herself she was at 
 Dinard, playing a little, bathing a little, flirting 
 a little. 
 
 " Bear with me patiently, my dear Esther," she 
 went on, " when I tell you that I have actually 
 had an offer of marriage. He is fifty-two and not 
 ashamed of bis age. He calls himself the Comte 
 de Magnac-Lavat, and he is quite bald. It was 
 
 80
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER SI 
 
 pathetic to refuse him ; but, my dear, a husband 
 for Julia, the sister of Francisco Xavier ! Try to 
 imagine her adding up accounts and crying about 
 the halfpennies — of which (be gentle to her, Miss 
 Prudence) she has lost a large number at a horrid 
 game they call petits chevaux." 
 
 Another page spoke of Esther's comfort and of 
 her natural surprise at the absence of her hostess. 
 Julia appeared to be very anxious to set her at her 
 ease. " You really must not be dull while we are 
 away," she said. "The house is Liberty Hall, 
 and you are to regard it as your own. I have told 
 the coachman that you will require the horses ; 
 and when Francis returns I am sure he will take 
 you to the theatre. I shall try to be in London 
 by the end of July and then we will be able to go 
 to the lakes together. Oh, these northern winds, 
 how they make me shiver ! It will be different 
 in Switzerland, chere amie. I shall have so much 
 to show you there, and it will be nothing but 
 sunshine and flowers. So a hientot, ma petite — 
 with much love from your friend and sister, Julia 
 de Montalvan. 
 
 Esther read the letter with eager interest, and 
 particularly the signature, which was new to her. 
 She had understood the Doctor's name to be 
 simply Xavier — which, indeed, was but one of 
 his Christian names commonly employed by him 
 when travelling. But now she remembered again 
 that he was a Spaniard by birth and probably the 
 descendant of some old Spanish family of note. 
 In this respect Julia's letter was not unsatis- 
 factory. There was so much to do, so many 
 
 7
 
 82 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 surprises awaited her daily in that house of 
 wonders, that she grasped at any straw of argu- 
 ment which would permit her to remain there 
 with confidence. Each day, in the early morning, 
 she went to the bath as she had been ordered. 
 New marvels, new wonders of the water and the 
 lamps were revealed to her upon each succeeding 
 visit. From day to day the physical exercises 
 developed and the curriculum was varied. Esther 
 lived in a dreamland of flowers and light. They 
 taught her to swim and float upon the limpid 
 water; it appeared to be their object to familiarise 
 her with beautiful scenes and beautiful objects. 
 In her own room the picture was ever changing. 
 She discovered fresh blooms there every day. 
 The food that she ate was delicious and wisely 
 chosen. She would roam for hours in the rose 
 garden and enjoy the dreamy silence of those 
 verdant walks. Eest more absolute could not 
 have been forced upon any human being. She 
 had no cares save those of her imagination. The 
 days came and went as precious moments of the 
 glorious summer time. She did not care to 
 venture into the turmoil of the city, though often 
 invited by the servants who waited upon her to 
 do so. Sometimes she would catch a glimpse of 
 old Yussuf, the Moor, watching her from an angle 
 of the courtyard or lurking in the shadow of the 
 trees. She was not afraid of this man, but his 
 presence, none the less, would cause her to start 
 and to remember the circumstances under which 
 she had first seen his evil face. But in spite of 
 him she spent the long afternoons in a cushioned
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 83 
 
 hammock with books to her hand and the note of 
 the singing bird in her ears. Once or twice 
 London and its unadorned reahty stood before 
 her in the presence of Billy, the page. 8he liked 
 Billy, and invariably called him to her side ; but 
 Mouton, the poodle, with a finer taste, used to 
 growl at him and show forbidding teeth. 
 
 "What do you do in this house, Billy — what is 
 your work? " she asked him one day as he stood 
 biting his nails on the grass before her. Billy 
 answered without hesitation — 
 
 " Oh, I bowls at 'em in the park. Me and 
 Dick goes up to the pitch every night except 
 when it's boot-blacking! " 
 
 Esther knew something of cricket and she tried 
 to interest Billy. 
 
 " What's your average, Billy ; how many runs 
 can you make ? " she asked him. 
 
 Billy scratched his head. 
 
 "I ought to make lots, but I don't make none," 
 he said. " Dick, he bowls curly ones. I put the 
 ball in my pocket larst night and come 'ome. 
 He thought it was lost — but it wasn't, you see ! 
 Fine times, miss, he had, 'unting of it among the 
 babies!" 
 
 " Oh, but that wasn't honest, Billy. You'll never 
 make a cricketer if you play like that ! Does the 
 Doctor approve of your being out so much? " 
 
 " Don't know, miss ; never ask him. You see, 
 I'd have to go to foreign countries to do that. 
 Why, he isn't here— no, not three months a year ! " 
 
 " Then who takes care of the house when he's 
 away? "
 
 84 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 " Why, old Fatty— Spencer, the butler." 
 " And is there no one here but him ? " 
 " Well, there was the young women — but they 
 got the sack ! My eye ! they did carry on ! " 
 
 "What young women are you speaking of, 
 Billy ; who were they ? " 
 
 Billy would have answered, perhaps, but catch- 
 ing sight of the Moor, who was crossing the 
 lawn, he darted away suddenly and left Esther's 
 curiosity ungratified. When she came to think 
 of it she imagined that she had seen the face of 
 one of these girls at the window on the day of her 
 arrival. It did not alarm Esther so much when 
 she remembered that Doctor Xavier had spoken 
 of previous experiments and of his failure. She 
 quite understood that disposition and the will to 
 succeed must be given to experiments. The 
 others, he said, had destroyed his work by their 
 own obstinacy. Esther determined that, in her 
 own case, no such charge should be made. Day 
 by day now her interest in this momentous under- 
 taking increased. Was it possible, was it right, 
 she would ask herself, that a woman should 
 desire such success or labour for it ? And against 
 this she would pit the Doctor's argument and 
 remember that everything which contributed to 
 the happiness of humanity contributed also to its 
 beauty. The laws of health, upon which later 
 day civilisation insisted, the unceasing battle with 
 disease and death, what were they but instru- 
 ments to make mankind more beautiful ? Some- 
 times she would steal to the mirror and look at 
 herself furtively as though afraid of her own
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 85 
 
 temerity. The face that she beheld there won 
 some new gift of health and prettiness every day. 
 Colour, she said, had returned to her cheeks. 
 Her eyes were wonderfully bright. She had a 
 clearness of skin which was in itself a dower of 
 great price. Often when the vision of the glass 
 was accidental she would start back from it as 
 from a revelation of beauty which almost be- 
 witched her. Was this the Esther she had 
 known? By what miracle had such a change 
 come about ? Was it merely that of luxury and 
 dress? Esther could not believe that it was 
 wholly so. The gowns with which the Doctor's 
 liberality had supplied her were, indeed, the 
 masterpieces of a French costumier's art. From 
 time to time in the privacy of her bedchamber 
 she would put on some perfect melange of silk 
 and chiffon ; and, amazed and fearful, would 
 ask herself if any of those who had once known 
 her would say that this was the old Esther. 
 Nevertheless, the question "why" was asked 
 vainly. Why had she been chosen ? For what 
 purpose? Ah, if she could but have answered 
 that! 
 
 We have said that fifteen days passed and found 
 Doctor Xavier still absent. It was upon the 
 fifteenth night that Esther heard of his return, 
 and heard of it in a way that at once startled and 
 perplexed her. It had been a wet afternoon, with 
 a heavy thunderstorm about six o'clock. The 
 close air and great heat resulted in such a nervous 
 headache as the old time used to give her, and 
 Esther went to bed at an early hour, and for a
 
 86 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 little while slept restfully. When she awoke, she 
 thought it must be the middle of the night, for 
 the moon shone full and golden, and the beams 
 revealed the arbour of the garden like a glen at 
 a forest's heart. Esther would have slept again, 
 and was dozing off, when she heard a murmur of 
 distant voices like those of monks chanting an 
 office. Anon, a wild haunting melody arose, fitful 
 and weird ; and to this there succeeded a harsh 
 guttural intonation, which again gave place to the 
 sweeter music. Esther, believing that Doctor 
 Xavier was still away, and that none but the 
 servants remained in the house, started up when 
 first she heard the singing, and sat, amazed, in 
 her bed until the last wild chord had floated away 
 upon the still night air. Anxious to learn who 
 the singers were, she put on her dressing-gown, 
 and, going to her bedroom window, she opened it 
 very quietly and peered thence into the garden. 
 For many minutes neither sight nor sound re- 
 warded her. The bricked-up windows of the 
 Doctor's study forbade her to ascertain whether 
 he occupied it or no. Her own little room, near 
 to it, had the windows shut and the blinds drawn. 
 Esther could not detect a hght anywhere in the 
 house. She could hear no voices. She would 
 have returned to her bed, baffled by the mystery, 
 but for a sudden cry which arose upon the far 
 side of the quadrangle, and was answered by a 
 low guttural exclamation, and then by the heavy 
 thud of a falling body. Esther did not at once 
 understand the meaning of tliis, nor could she 
 account for the presence of strangers in the
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 87 
 
 garden. She imagined that the servants would 
 be awakened presently and the alarm be raised ; 
 but when no one appeared and no voice was 
 raised, her growing dread of some veiled mystery 
 became a fear surpassing words. She did not 
 dare to move from the window ; she feared that 
 some one would detect her there and resent her 
 presence. Anon, she thought that she observed 
 figures moving among the trees, and, then, as the 
 greater surprise, she beheld Yussuf, the Moor, 
 carrying a candle, which his long bony hand 
 sheltered from the wind. Her curiosity now was 
 raised to the highest pitch. She remarked that the 
 Moor crossed the quadrangle to that corner of the 
 garden whence the cry had come. Another, and he 
 a stranger, followed at Yussuf's heels and carried 
 a second silver candlestick; and, together, the 
 men stooped at last as though over some object 
 which lay hidden by the trees. In this supreme 
 moment Esther first learned the truth. A man 
 had been struck down in the garden, she said ; 
 he was dying, perhaps dead. She could see the 
 Moor staunching a wound with a handkerchief 
 that fluttered in the breeze. Fascinated, although 
 her heart beat wildly, and her fear remained 
 unabated, she did not move from the window. 
 It was her ardent hope that Doctor Xavier 
 might be in the house ; and when she heard his 
 voice, a great weight seemed to be lifted from 
 her mind. What could have happened, she 
 asked. She judged that it must be something 
 terrible. 
 
 Many minutes passed in this intolerable
 
 88 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 suspense. She perceived figures moving to and 
 fro between the trees and anxious messengers 
 running from the house to the garden and back 
 again. No one appeared to accuse another or to 
 defend himself. But once did Esther identify 
 Doctor Xavier ; and this was at the moment 
 when the Moor Hfted a candle and the whole 
 picture stood out like a vignette in the darkness. 
 In that instant the scene was fully revealed. A 
 man lay upon the grass and four stood about him. 
 Esther observed that he was in evening dress; 
 and that they had torn his shirt open to staunch 
 a wound in his side. The Doctor himself held 
 a glass in his hand, and put it from time to time 
 to the prone man's lips. At a little distance apart 
 the moon's beams discovered another actor in this 
 gi'im drama. He appeared to be a foreigner, and 
 a loose Spanish cloak covered him to the knees. 
 In defiant attitude he leaned against one of the 
 silver birches, as though entirely unconcerned at 
 that which was passing so near to him. Anon, 
 he approached the kneeling figures, and Esther 
 heard him asking questions. This man, she 
 imagined, had struck the blow. The dreadful 
 mystery of it all appalled her. What was this 
 house in which such things were done? Why 
 had she entered it ? In despair of any answer she 
 turned away at last and lay shivering upon her 
 bed. The reaction was intense. She was punished, 
 she thought, for her vain ambitions. She deter- 
 mined, if it were possible, to quit the house to- 
 morrow. And then, she heard her own name. 
 The Doctor called her from the lawn beneath her
 
 "The Doctor himself held a glass in his hand."
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 89 
 
 window. She answered him at once, for she was 
 glad to hear his voice. 
 
 " What is it— who is there ? " 
 
 " It is I, Esther. Please dress and come down 
 to me. I see you cannot sleep — it is imprudent 
 to stand at the window after rain." 
 
 She knew, then, that she had not escaped detec- 
 tion ; and, greatly hoping that he would be able 
 to calm her shattered nerve and to offer her some 
 reassuring explanation, Esther dressed herself 
 quickly and went down into the hall. It was with 
 no little hesitation that she stood upon the thres- 
 hold of a scene of which every detail still haunted 
 her. She feared that she would never have the 
 courage to approach that place of death or even to 
 look upon it collectedly. When, at length, she 
 summoned her courage to her and opened the long 
 window giving upon the lawn, she discovered that 
 the Doctor was alone and that the others had 
 vanished. Not a trace remained of deed or actors. 
 Doctor Xavier himself smoked a cigar with ap- 
 parent nonchalance. 
 
 " Come," he said, approaching her directly, " I 
 wish to talk to you. It shall be in your own 
 room, Esther. The night air is not good for us. 
 You should have put a shawl about your head." 
 
 Esther was too much interested to answer him, 
 and she followed timidly at his side while he 
 crossed the lawn and lighted a silver lamp in her 
 boudoir. Here everything was as she had left it 
 but a few hours ago. Her own sketches lay un- 
 touched upon the table ; the books she had been 
 reading were still open. The fountain splashed
 
 90 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 almost with a weird sound in the silence of the 
 night. One fact, however, permitted Esther to 
 form an instant conclusion as to the events which 
 had so greatly agitated her. The door between 
 her own room and the Doctor's study was no 
 longer locked as it had been during his absence. 
 Evidently some one had entered her boudoir and 
 had forgotten to close the door upon leaving. It 
 now stood so much open that Esther perceived 
 the soft green carpet and the polished tables of 
 the great room beyond. Cards littered the floor; 
 decanters of wine were plainly visible in the soft 
 mellow light which flowed down from unseen 
 lamps. Doctor Xavier's first act was to close 
 this door and then to draw the heavy brocade 
 curtains across the window of her boudoir. 
 
 " Now," he said, motioning her to the sofa, " if 
 you will permit me to finish my cigar, I should 
 like to have a chat. Miss Venn." 
 
 Esther obeyed him, as she always did, and sat 
 down, not a little awed, waiting for him to speak. 
 No words of hers, she thought, were called for, 
 nor would they help him. 
 
 " You were at the window," he began, directly 
 she was seated, " and you are aware of the unfor- 
 tunate accident which has happened in this house 
 to-night. I can quite admit, Miss Venn, that any 
 young girl might be alarmed. It is never good 
 for a woman to be the witness of men's difl^er- 
 ences. In the case of my own nation, our 
 quarrels, unfortunately, do not, like yours in this 
 country, begin and end with words. Let me say 
 at once that two of my friends quarrelled in this
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 91 
 
 house to-night and that one of them, unhappily, 
 has some occasion to repent his hastiness. I do 
 not think that his wound is serious; but I am 
 exceedingly sorry that he should have received it 
 under my roof. A philosopher, no doubt, w^ould 
 remember the old apothegm about a gambler's 
 folly and its consequences. I say nothing, because 
 I regard life as a gamble from the cradle to the 
 grave. If we do not play with cards, we find 
 more dangerous tools — men, women, nations, 
 powers and principalities, our own ambitions, the 
 follies of our friends. Cards are responsible for 
 many pitiful misfortunes ; but they are not often 
 of the graver kind. I hope they will not prove to 
 be so to-night. Lorenzo, my cousin, is more 
 frightened than hurt. I regret the misfortune 
 chiefly for your sake ; but you will be wise to 
 remember that such a thing is not likely to 
 happen here again." 
 
 Esther listened patiently, for he seemed to be 
 offering her an apology for the distress she had 
 suffered. Observing that she was expected to 
 answer him, she took refuge in a general confes- 
 sion rather than a specific assent. 
 
 " I heard some one singing in the house and 
 that woke me up," she said, naturally enough. 
 " Then, while I stood at the window, a man cried 
 out, and, of course, I was very much afraid. I 
 did not know what to think." 
 
 " Certainly, you would not. The friends who 
 visited me to-night were from the country of Cadi, 
 Miss Venn ; some of them are Spanish moun- 
 taineers ; others are of the republic of Andorra.
 
 92 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 They sang at my request. You hesitate to believe, 
 perhaps, that I am a romantic person ; but the 
 reverse is very much the case. The note of a 
 song, the perfume of a flower can recreate a 
 country for me. When I hear such a wild hill 
 song as you heard to-night, I quit the cities and 
 become a free man of the woods again. My heart 
 is in Spain and will ever be so. Some day, let 
 your happiness and opportunities be what they 
 may, you may know the same longing for your 
 own country — for a lane in that pretty Devonshire 
 you have left, or a scene associated with your 
 childhood — as I have known to-night. I could 
 wish you no better fortune than to hope that you 
 will be able to gratify such a natural desire. 
 There is nothing on earth quite so bitter as expa- 
 triation from the land of your birth." 
 
 It was plain to Esther that he suffered much in 
 this admission ; and while the vague innuendoes 
 of his promise perplexed her, and she could not 
 imagine under what circumstances she might be 
 an exile from England, she perceived that his 
 regret was very real, and that all this splendour 
 of home and power of riches meant nothing to 
 him if it might not lead him back ultimately to 
 the land of his fathers. 
 
 ** I could never leave my own country for ever," 
 she exclaimed, sympathetically. " Whatever new 
 ties might bind me, I should think of Devonshire 
 and my childhood. If you wish me to go abroad 
 with you, please let it be on the understanding 
 that I can come home when I wish. I could not 
 consent to go otherwise, Doctor Xavier."
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 93 
 
 He looked at her in a kindly way, and smiled at 
 her womanly stipulation. 
 
 " My child," he said," when the day comes that 
 you are really an exile from England, it will not 
 be for me to say ' yes ' or ' no ' to your request. 
 In that day, you will have forgotten the very name 
 of Francisco Xavier. I speak enigmatically ; but 
 at the moment I cannot speak otherwise. If you 
 admit that all my schemes are for your good, you 
 will not question me. Other things you may see 
 and hear in this house, or in some other house of 
 mine, which will disquiet or alarm you. Believe 
 me, as I am a man of honour, that you yourself 
 are as safe here as in your father's home. I can 
 say no more. Your welfare could not be dearer 
 to me if it were that of my own daughter." 
 
 She believed him absolutely, even when she 
 could not wholly understand him. The master- 
 mind wrestled with her own and did with it 
 what it would. That he was keeping something 
 from her, she had known from the first ; but 
 what it was, whether of good or ill, she had 
 not the wit to imagine. Nor did he permit her 
 any continued opportunity for reflection ; but 
 passing swiftly to other subjects, he began to 
 question her upon that which had happened 
 during his absence. 
 
 " Yussuf gives me a good account of you. I 
 hear that you are a willing pupil, and are follow- 
 ing my prescriptions faithfully. The alarm which 
 you suffered to-night will be useful if it teaches 
 you that courage is one of the finest gifts of your 
 womanhood. There are many things to alarm us
 
 94 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 in life, if we do not use our brains and ask 
 ourselves if we are right to be afraid. Of that, 
 however, I do not wish to speak any more. 
 The men who have quarrelled must settle their 
 own differences. They are nothing to me. I am 
 more concerned in your own experiences, Miss 
 Venn. You must forgive me if I question you 
 a little closer." 
 
 Esther said that she was very willing to answer 
 him ; and in her own simple way tried to tell 
 him of the treatment she had undergone and of 
 its effects as she realised them. 
 
 "I am much stronger and very happy. Doctor," 
 she said. " The baths do me a great deal of 
 good. Of course, it is very quiet and restful 
 here, and I feel as though all the cares of life 
 had been suddenly taken from me. I do not 
 want to go away ; and yet I have the energy 
 to do all sorts of mad things. The garden is 
 a fairyland ; sometimes I wonder if I really am 
 Esther Venn or somebody else. Every one has 
 been so kind to me. I cannot speak too well 
 of the servants." 
 
 He nodded his head ; and taking a lamp from 
 a bracket, he held it high above her head that 
 he might see her face more clearly. 
 
 "Let me look at you, Esther," he said; "let 
 me see if I can believe you." 
 
 She looked up at him, a little ashamed at his 
 scrutiny ; but understanding it, nevertheless. 
 For quite a long time he regarded her as a sculptor 
 might have regarded a statue upon which he was 
 working. The result, apparently, gratified him.
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 95 
 
 He set down the lamp and went on with his 
 questions. 
 
 " You say that you can rest here : it is a good 
 sign. A disposition to rest is one of the secrets 
 of health ; and health is indispensable to our 
 success, Miss Venn. For the present we will 
 go on as we have begun. When we have left 
 England for the mountains, it will be time 
 enough to speak of change. If I am gratified 
 with what has been done, at the same time, I 
 make no rash promises. Your obedience is 
 a kindness to me and earns my gratitude. Add 
 to it by permitting me to make yet one more 
 observation — I think it will interest you." 
 
 He turned upon his heel, and entering his own 
 study Esther heard him unlock a bureau and 
 afterwards lock it again. When he returned, he 
 carried upon his arm a long blue robe with 
 a hood attached and a girdle trailing upon the 
 ground. This he asked her to put on, and helped 
 her to do with an interest that he could not 
 conceal. Esther perceived that the cloak was 
 of a strange fashion and apparently old ; she 
 had never seen a more perfect shade of blue or 
 one so rich and pleasing. Why she should be 
 asked to wear such a robe, or for what purpose, 
 she could not conceive. That it came from Spain 
 she never doubted. She had seen a picture by 
 Murillo in the National Gallery, and the Madonna 
 there was gowned in such a cloak as this. More- 
 over, a cross of diamonds adorned the hood and 
 there were other religious emblems in gold and 
 jewels, while a short cape falling from the shoulders
 
 96 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 was embroidered with passion flowers. When 
 Esther had put the robe on, she discovered that 
 it was too long for her, and fell in folds about her 
 feet ; but the Doctor had no sooner fastened the 
 silver clasp beneath her chin than he uttered 
 a loud cry of astonishment and stepped back 
 like one delighted at his handiwork. 
 
 "Inez del Cadi! — it is Inez del Cadi!" he 
 muttered, again and again ; and as though to 
 convince himself beyond doubt, he lit up other 
 lamps, which the roses shielded, until a dazzling 
 light fell upon them and gave a newer radiance 
 to the splendid blue and the sheen of the glittering 
 cross, 
 
 "It is a miracle, mademoiselle — nothing less 
 than a miracle ! " the Doctor went on, enraptured. 
 " Some day you shall profit by it. I cannot tell 
 you now ; you would not understand." 
 
 Esther confessed that understanding was im- 
 possible ; nevertheless, she would have ventured 
 a question but for the sudden clang of a bell in the 
 outer courtyard and an answering echo of foot- 
 steps heard upon the gravel paths. This tinkhng 
 signal immediately arrested Doctor Xavier's atten- 
 tion, and listening intently for a minute, he 
 appeared to be the possessor of some new idea. 
 
 " Stay," he exclaimed, "my friends return — I 
 must not refuse them. Wait here — it is lucky 
 and may help us." 
 
 He left her wondering at his agitation; and 
 when he was gone, she leaned back upon her 
 couch of roses and tried to master the secret 
 which appealed more strongly to her troubled
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 97 
 
 curiosity every hour that she remained in that 
 house of mysteries. The vain task left her 
 vs^eary and fatigued. A quarter of an hour passed 
 and the Doctor did not return — she heard a dis- 
 tant church clock strike one and still he did not 
 come. Fatigued and overwrought, she succumbed 
 at last and fell into a gentle slumber. From this 
 she was awakened by the rustle of a brocaded 
 curtain and some hushed cry of surprise at her 
 window ; and looking up, she beheld a face she 
 recognised. It was that of the young man whom 
 Julia had named '* The Prince of Cadi." 
 
 8
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 When Esther awoke in her own room upon the 
 following morning, she discovered a strange maid 
 at her bedside. The girl said that her name was 
 Suzanne, and that she had been engaged by 
 Madame Julia to accompany them to the South. 
 Esther liked her face and did not hesitate to 
 invite her confidence. 
 
 " Do you come from Paris, Suzanne? " 
 "From Aries, mademoiselle; but I was with 
 Monsieur at the Chateau St. Paul, and I am to 
 accompany you there to-day. All your things are 
 packed, and the tickets are taken. We are going 
 from Charing Cross at eleven o'clock." 
 
 Esther could scarcely believe her ears. Doctor 
 Xavier, she remembered had often spoken of his 
 chateau on the borders of Spain; but that he 
 contemplated such an early departure from Lon- 
 don was never in her thoughts. The events of 
 last night undoubtedly inspired such a hasty 
 change of plans. They quitted London because 
 of that unhappy affair in the garden ; and their 
 journey, in some way, resembled a flight. This 
 reflection troubled her not a little. The news 
 
 98
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 99 
 
 was so unlocked for that she could not at once 
 realise it. 
 
 "Does the Doctor accompany us, Suzanne?" 
 she asked, dressing hastily and with little care. 
 " He did not speak of this last night, and I had 
 no idea we were going away so soon. I certainly 
 did not think it would be until Madame Julia 
 returned." 
 
 Suzanne had no time for explanations. She 
 busied herself about the room as though all the 
 responsibility of an anxious day were hers. 
 
 "We shall find Madame at Paris," she said, 
 stolidly. "It would be a pity that she should 
 return when we are going. Monsieur has left the 
 house already and will meet us at the chateau, 
 He asked me to say that he is sorry we must go 
 alone; but we shall do very well, you and I, 
 mademoiselle, for, of course, it is my own country 
 and I shall not lose myself there. Monsieur has 
 left a letter for you in your own room. We have 
 not any time to lose, but we need not hurry. Ah, 
 mademoiselle, we are lucky to go to the Chateau 
 St. Paul — it is the most beautiful house in all the 
 world ! Such flowers, such gardens ; and Toulouse 
 so near, when one begins to want the shops. 
 You know Toulouse, mademoiselle — no? Then 
 Monsieur will drive you there, and you will say 
 that it is Paris at the foot of the mountains. 
 I love the South ! This England is so cold 
 and sad. When summer comes, it only teases 
 you and goes away again before you know it is 
 here. It is always summer at the Chateau St. 
 Paul."
 
 100 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 She went babbling on while she flitted hither 
 and thither, now snatching up a gown, now pack- 
 ing a portmanteau with the dexterity which only 
 a long training could arrive at. With whatever 
 agitated thoughts the prospect of this long journey 
 filled Esther, it meant nothing to her sprightly 
 maid. Suzanne would cross Europe as readily as 
 she crossed Eegent Street. Paris or London, she 
 made no complaint. Esther's acquiescence she 
 took for granted. Why should any one in the 
 world refuse to go to the Chateau St. Paul if the 
 opportunity were offered ? That would be a 
 gaucherie, indeed. As for Esther, she was too 
 perplexed either to argue or acquiesce. That her 
 prospects would be changed in France she could 
 not assume. She had received many kindnesses 
 at the Doctor's hands. Why should she now look 
 for other treatment? Self-reliant always, she 
 believed that, at the worst, she could win her 
 way back to England again if any misfortune 
 overtook her. And in France, was it not possible 
 that she might meet, and come to know more 
 intimately, a man who, twice seen, she desired 
 ardently to see once more. 
 
 Suzanne had spoken of a letter from Doctor 
 Xavier ; and this was delivered to Esther at the 
 breakfast table. She found it couched in affec- 
 tionate words, but brief, as the maid's instructions. 
 The Doctor said, shortly, that business of the 
 gravest importance had called him from London 
 and would detain him for some days. He was 
 disappointed that they should not make the 
 journey to Chateau St. Paul together ; but
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 101 
 
 Esther, he "was sure, would excuse him, and 
 would hasten to his sister who awaited her in 
 Paris. 
 
 "London has nothing left," he wrote; "why 
 should we linger there ? We shall breathe in the 
 mountains, camarade. The purpose we have set 
 ourselves to achieve needs God's fresh air and the 
 breezes of the hill-lands. "We shall find them 
 at the Chateau St. Paul. I count upon your 
 interest and fidelity. To-night at the Eitz Hotel 
 in Paris you will find my sister Julia. She will 
 be your guide until I come. For the rest, the 
 maid has all things necessary. Do not speak of 
 the little gift I am leaving for you — these things 
 are business, and friendship must not make 
 them impossible. I greet my little colleague 
 fraternally, and am her devoted, Xavier de 
 Montalvan." 
 
 The gift of which he spoke was an ivory purse 
 containing English gold and banknotes to the 
 value of a hundred pounds. Esther did not 
 resent this gift nor was she unwilling to make 
 use of it. She had never hidden it from herself 
 that she might be the instrument of her patron's 
 enduring fame ; and furthermore, the idea of 
 being alone upon the Continent without money, 
 had at once occurred to her as something even 
 her courage could not face. The tenor of the 
 letter, indeed, invited her confidence ; and she 
 began to be not unpleasantly agitated at the 
 thought of seeing other countries and other cities. 
 When Suzanne announced that the carriage was 
 at the door, she put on her cloak and hat with
 
 102 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 the expectations of one who is going upon some 
 unlooked-for holiday ; and from that time until 
 her arrival in Paris at half-past five o'clock, she 
 confessed that she had no interest but those of 
 the changing pictures about her. The sunny 
 scene, the lake-like Channel, Calais with its babel 
 of tongues, the dreary sand-dunes by Boulogne, 
 Amiens and its tunnels, the hedgeless monotonous 
 plains of Northern France ; and lastly the grim 
 fortifications, the towering houses, the busy 
 streets, the bewildering labyrinths of that Paris 
 she had imagined so often, carried her as in a 
 dream to her journey's end. And how Suzanne 
 chattered — how France inspired her ! Esther 
 said such a talker she had never listened to ; but 
 she was none the less glad that Suzanne was 
 with her at the Gare du Nord to order about the 
 chattering porters and to lead her safely through 
 that deafening maze. 
 
 " Is it a big hotel, Suzanne ? " she asked, when 
 they had left the station and were clattering 
 away toward the boulevards. " Shall we get a 
 room, do you think ? " 
 
 Suzanne was almost too amazed to speak. As 
 if any one who had not got a room, would go to 
 the Kitz Hotel ! 
 
 " Monsieur Xavier telegraphed this morning, 
 as if he would not, mademoiselle ! In France, he 
 can command anything, oh, all the world knows 
 Monsieur de Montalvan ! There will be the best 
 rooms for him ; and we shall find Madame Julia 
 there to tell us what to do. Look yonder; that's 
 a cafe, mademoiselle. You have none in England
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 103 
 
 — ah, you don't know how to live ! How should 
 you when you have no cafes ! " 
 
 They had turned into the great boulevard by 
 this time, and all the garish life of Paris went 
 crying, laughing, rolling before their eyes. 
 Esther had read something of the city in the 
 guide-books years ago ; but the reaHty was so 
 very different from her childish conceptions. 
 She wondered if there were one sad person in this 
 Paris of actuality. The shaded walks, the noisy 
 boulevards, cafes, shops, churches, suggested a 
 scene which a novelist might depict but which 
 could not exist. Esther found herself asking a 
 hundred questions ; she cried out with delight at 
 every changing pageant. The journey was, in 
 truth, too short; and when the cab stopped 
 before the doors of the Eitz Hotel, she was almost 
 sorry that it was over. 
 
 "Is it here, Suzanne, is this the hotel?" she 
 asked. 
 
 "It is the *Ritz,' mademoiselle. You have 
 never seen anything like it. I will go and find out 
 which rooms you are to have." 
 
 Esther knew little of hotels save those in her 
 own city of Exeter ; and this hotel, she imagined, 
 would be much like the best with which she was 
 acquainted. She entered it without curiosity; 
 but no sooner had she passed the doors than the 
 magnificence of the corridor, the vista of court 
 and fountain and of a vestibule which has no 
 equal in Paris both startled and awed her. That 
 any passer-by might claim the hospitaUty of such 
 a place as this was beyond belief ; and yet she
 
 104 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 was claiming it. Esther had never seen those 
 who are the leaders of cosmopolitan society 
 before, and the pretty women of many nation- 
 alities, carrying themselves with the courage and 
 the confidence of wealth and position, and 
 gowned as only Paris or Vienna can gown the 
 fortunate, presented a pageant in which she felt 
 she could play no part. Her own travelling 
 dress, good as she had thought it that morning, 
 now looked shabby and out of place. Some 
 instinct of the days of poverty and strife held her 
 back and robbed her of courage. Esther used to 
 tell Doctor Xavier at a later day that but for 
 Suzanne she would have run away from the Eitz 
 Hotel. " I never could have faced all those 
 women," she said. And he would laugh at her 
 and answer, " They would have given all they 
 possessed, my child, for those black eyes of 
 yours ! " 
 
 Suzanne discovered that their rooms were upon 
 the first floor, a little suite overlooking the 
 fountain and the courtyard. The dainty taste of 
 the old French furniture captivated Esther ; the 
 privacy consoled her ; and when the girl unpacked 
 a taking gown of silk and chiffon and had dressed 
 her hair to the best advantage, she could admit 
 that after all the ordeal below might not be so 
 terrible. So far, she was without tidings either 
 of Madame Julia or the Doctor ; but a telegram 
 delivered at half-past six o'clock explained their 
 absence. Julia telegraphed that she had lost the 
 train from Dinard and would not arrive until to- 
 morrow morning ; and while the news was little
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 105 
 
 comforting, Esther made the best of it. She was 
 even persuaded to dine in th'e white and crimson 
 room below; and coming at length to perceive 
 that she was at no disadvantage at all even in 
 such a company, she made bold afterwards to 
 take a seat in the corridor and there to enjoy 
 the music of the Hungarian band. No one would 
 know her, none ask her name, she thought ; but 
 in this she was mistaken, for the band had hardly 
 begun to play when some one addressed her ; 
 and, turning, she found herself face to face with 
 the Prince of Cadi. 
 
 He was in evening dress, with a light black 
 cape hanging loosely from his shoulders. Esther 
 imagined that he had not dined at the hotel, but 
 had returned to it from some other house. The 
 button of an Order showed beneath the lapel of 
 his cape. His white waistcoat had no ornament 
 of gold button or watch-chain. He was in the 
 act of drawing off his white kid gloves when he 
 addressed Esther, and in her surprise she looked 
 up swiftly at him, and could not conceal the 
 pleasure of her recognition. Then, for the first 
 time, perhaps, she understood why his face 
 had seemed familiar to her even upon their 
 first meeting. Once in an old history she had 
 seen a picture of a Spanish king, an engraving 
 after one of Velasquez's masterpieces ; and 
 although it represented an older man, none the 
 less the young Spaniard before her might have 
 been its subject. The upturned moustache she 
 found particularly characteristic of his country- 
 men; his crisp curly hair, parted in the centre,
 
 106 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 had been well brushed back from a pleasing 
 forehead. Very clear lustrous eyes spoke of 
 exercise and healthy habits. His skin was un- 
 usually fair for one of a Southern race. She 
 judged him to be almost six feet in height, but 
 not quite. He had an easy, graceful manner, 
 although it was a little masterful, by reason of 
 an old habit of authority and privilege. "When 
 she came to know him better, Esther discovered 
 that the Prince could not brook contradiction. 
 His own master from an early age, he regarded 
 men, and women too, as his servants; and this 
 service he rewarded with a generosity which was 
 often as foolish as it was undeserved. He had 
 many talents, but rarely chose to apply them 
 patiently or with perseverance. One by one he 
 visited the cities of Europe, and made his dwel- 
 ling there until he had exhausted the city's 
 pleasures. At the present moment he was in 
 Paris until some new adventure should engage 
 him ; and this sudden unlooked-for encounter 
 with her whom he called " the pretty English 
 girl" at least amused him. Simply saying, 
 " Permit me," he drew a chair to the table, and 
 at once ordered a waiter to bring them coffee. 
 "When he had lighted a cigarette, he asked her 
 of the Doctor. 
 
 " I have come to Paris to see him, and I hear 
 he has gone to Marseilles. There are very few 
 men whom I would travel a mile to see. The 
 Duke of Montalvan happens to be the excep- 
 tion." 
 
 Esther started at the words. She was not
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 107 
 
 a little interested in the favour shown to her 
 by one who occupied so great a position ; 
 but her curiosity quickly got the better of her 
 surprise. 
 
 "Why do you speak of the Duke of Mon- 
 talvan? Are you referring to Doctor Xavier, 
 Prince ? " 
 
 He regarded her with some amazement. 
 
 "Ah, then you are ignorant of his incognito, 
 Miss Venn?"' 
 
 " I only know him as Doctor Xavier." 
 
 The Prince laughed. " I must introduce him 
 to you. He is concealing something," he con- 
 tinued lightly. " You can never trust middle age. 
 Miss Venn ; it is only youth which is entirely 
 frank." 
 
 Esther looked at him with very serious eyes. 
 
 " Do you think it is always wise to be 
 frank?" 
 
 "Oh, I — I never think about it! Thank 
 heaven, I am not a diplomatist. My dictionary 
 is ' yes ' or * no.' You must put it down to my 
 education. I was never taught lying as a fine 
 art. If we sit here long enough, you will get all 
 old Francisco's secrets out of me. Are you very 
 much attached to him, Miss Venn? " 
 
 Esther leant her chin upon her hand, and asked 
 herself if she were. 
 
 " Can we be attached to people whom we have 
 known only a little while? " 
 
 " Oh, if you press it, I must say ' yes.' Let's 
 see, it was fifteen days ago that we first 
 met."
 
 108 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 " Yes, yes ; but I was speaking of Doctor 
 Xavier, Prince. I have only known him a few 
 weeks." 
 
 *' And have yet to discover all his infamies. I 
 detected them long ago. He loves me so much 
 that if I died to-morrow he would wear roses in 
 his hair. Seriously, are you a friend of his 
 sister's?" 
 
 Esther blushed deeply at the question. She 
 knew that she dare not tell this stranger why she 
 was in Doctor Xavier's house. 
 
 "No, I cannot say that. I think Madame 
 Julia likes me; but it could scarcely be friendship 
 yet. I am old-fashioned, you know ; I don't 
 believe that one can be friends in a day." 
 
 "I will call you an acquaintance, then. They 
 tell me that she is expected here to-morrow 
 morning. Will you present her with my regrets 
 that I am called away exactly an hour before she 
 arrives." 
 
 Esther understood that he was jesting ; but the 
 jest had a sting which he could not conceal. His 
 own bravade apparently struck him as an im- 
 prudence; for, anon, he became more serious, and 
 then Esther listened with interest. 
 
 "Are you an old traveller, Miss Venn — do you 
 know much of Europe? " 
 
 " I know nothing, Prince ; I have never been 
 out of England before." 
 
 "Ah, what luck, to have it all before you ! I 
 am blasS, you know. There is a stage in a 
 traveller's life when he realises that the world 
 has nothing left to show him. He wishes to
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 109 
 
 escape the marvellous ; he positively does not 
 want to see the deepest waterfall or the highest 
 mountain. Five years of travel have taught me 
 that its future is more than its present. We do 
 not realise great scenes truly until we have left 
 them. We remember a few, and they remain 
 unforgetable pictures while we live. Each has 
 his own Eldorado — mine is in Spain. I have 
 been twice round the world, and would give it 
 all for a little chateau in the hills, whose doors 
 are shut to-day and whose rooms are empty. 
 Cities enable me to forget. That which appeals 
 to the ear wearies less than that which appeals to 
 the eye. You can always cull some new emotion 
 from Wagner's music ; but if you stop for a 
 month at a mountain's foot, you are simply 
 bored. Is not that your own experience ? " 
 
 " I will tell you when I have seen a mountain, 
 Prince. Of course, music does appeal very much 
 to emotional people ; I know that from my own 
 experience. When I have been for a month in 
 the Pyrenees, I shall consider myself no less an 
 authority upon mountains. Some day, perhaps, 
 I will tell you all about it." 
 
 " ' Some day! ' — ah, that dreadful 'some day.' 
 It is the curse of life. We see a lovely face and 
 say that some day we may find it again. Do not 
 deceive yourself with ' some day,' Miss Venn. 
 The man who enjoys life is the one who has no 
 manana. I am a Spaniard, and my nation has 
 sold its birthright for to-morrow. The same pro- 
 crastination finds me in this hotel to-night, when 
 I should be the first among my people. Be
 
 110 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 warned in time — have nothing to do with ' some 
 day.'" 
 
 A deeper meaning lay behind his words, but 
 Esther could only take the larger sense of 
 them. 
 
 " I will not forget your warning," she said, 
 " but you would not have me promise to tell 
 you to-day, when I do not go to the chateau 
 until to-morrow ? That would be Irish, you 
 know." 
 
 " Then I prefer the Irish manner. Let us cul- 
 tivate exactness. In one month from this day I 
 will come to your house and you shall answer me 
 yourself. Do you forbid it ? " 
 
 He leaned across the table so far that Esther 
 could almost feel his breath upon her cheek. A 
 true instinct had told her from the first that 
 destiny intended this man to play some part 
 in her own life. What part it might be she did 
 not dare to think. She knew only that she was 
 attracted by him as she had never been by any 
 other living being. She felt that if he commanded 
 her, she would obey; it might even be would 
 follow where he willed. And he, in his turn, 
 schooled to read women truly, was not ignorant 
 of his power. She was charming, he thought, 
 this little English girl ; he must know more of 
 her. 
 
 " Will you permit me? " he repeated. " Will 
 you permit me to come to the chateau?" 
 
 "How can I forbid it. Prince? I am Doctor 
 Xavier's guest, and, of course, he would be glad 
 to see you."
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 111 
 
 He laughed ironically at her simplicity. 
 
 " Glad — when he is crossing Europe to avoid 
 me ! Oh, no ; your friend, the Doctor, does not 
 tell you the truth. Miss Venn, if he says that he 
 is glad to see Arthur of Cadi ! Naturally, he says 
 nothing. He would not wish you to think that 
 he stands between me and my people ; he would 
 not admit that because of him I must lose a king- 
 dom and a home ! No, I do not fear him : it is 
 not that. But as I am cursed, as my nation is 
 cursed, with the fatality of delay, I do not prac- 
 tise what I preach. An idle stream invites me to 
 drift upon it, and I let my barque go where it will. 
 Some day it will be different — ah ! that splendid 
 * some day' ! " 
 
 Esther had but the vaguest ideas of these 
 momentous matters to which he referred, nor 
 would she speak of them. That some grave 
 quarrel had driven the two men apart was very 
 evident, but how it had come about, or of its 
 nature, she could not form any impression. The 
 stranger's confidence invited her own. She did 
 not fear to interrogate him in her turn. 
 
 " Have you known Doctor Xavier long. Prince ? 
 "Was he once a friend of yours ? " 
 
 " I will not deny it — I could not fairly. The 
 fault is neither his nor mine — it is caprice and a 
 woman, Miss Venn, the fomit and origin of every 
 quarrel that man takes part in. Have nothing to 
 do with either. Abjure the crimes of your sex. 
 Let me find a man's heart and a woman's eyes 
 when I come to the chateau. Is it a promise — is 
 it agreed that I am to come ? "
 
 112 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 She was conscious of a new note in his address ; 
 and her heart beat a little quickly when she 
 said — 
 
 " Shall I promise for * some day ' then ? " 
 
 " No," he said ; " for to-night, that you will be 
 my friend ! " 
 
 He held out his hand to her, repeating the 
 words. She did not know what to say. Desir- 
 ing his friendship exceedingly, she could but 
 stammer — 
 
 " I will tell you in Spain, Prince — some day — 
 some day " 
 
 When he had left her, she remembered for the 
 first time that she had forgotten to call him 
 "Highness." 
 
 • • • • • 
 
 Madame Julia arrived at the hotel in time for 
 dSjeuner on the following morning. Esther had 
 thought much of the Prince's words during the 
 night, but she hesitated to speak of their meeting 
 until she discovered that Julia was already aware 
 both of his arrival in Paris and of the encounter 
 in the corridor. For the first time since she had 
 known her, Esther perceived that this fickle 
 woman was displeased with her and strangely 
 capricious. She did not complain, she uttered 
 no accusation, but sullenly retired to her own 
 room and forbade any one to come to her. Not 
 until they were together in the train for the South 
 did she seem to repent of her outbreak ; and then, 
 bursting of a sudden into tears, she kissed Esther 
 passionately and protested that she wished her 
 happiness.
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 113 
 
 " You were right to see him, dear. Of course, 
 you know my brother's wish. You are to be his 
 wife some day. Why should you not have met 
 him ! " 
 
 Esther could not answer her. She trembled 
 like one grown suddenly cold. She did not know 
 whether it were with pleasure or fear.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 We have shown under what circumstances Esther 
 quitted Paris, and how that, in the company of 
 Doctor Xavier and his sister, she paid her first 
 visit to the Chateau of St. Paul. With her Hfe in 
 Spain, and afterwards in France and Italy, this 
 story concerns itself but little. We know that 
 she lived in close seclusion for nearly five months; 
 we hear of her in the mountains and the cities; 
 but her life is always uneventful, and it is not 
 until the month of the following January that she 
 appears with dramatic suddenness upon the social 
 horizon of Paris, and instantly is the foremost 
 figure in that capital of enthusiasms. Such a 
 change in a young girl's life can find few parallels 
 in the story of woman, nor does the account of it 
 lose force by the most modest estimates of the 
 sensation which attended her rentree. Unknown, 
 unsought, she had gone out. She returned to 
 hear herself called the most beautiful woman in 
 France, to be the spoiled child of the salon and 
 the theatre, to have the social world at her feet. 
 If she, herself, remained the attractive girl that 
 Francisco Xavier had found her, if she were uncon- 
 scious both of her influence and her beauty, this 
 
 114
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 115 
 
 happy circumstance owed not a little to her own 
 decided character and the good common-sense she 
 had inherited. Vanity at any time was repellent 
 to her. None the less, she knew that some miracle 
 had influenced her life — a miracle so simple and 
 true that faith could not be withheld. 
 
 She had come to Paris secretly, accompanied by 
 the loquacious Julia, and unaware of the object of 
 the unexpected visit. Five months of the soli- 
 tudes left her unprepared for this surprise. At 
 the Chateau St. Paul, in the Pyrenees, at Thonon 
 by Lake Geneva, at Rome, at Venice she had 
 been the willing slave of Francisco Xavier. All 
 that the Spaniard's mystery of science could do 
 for her had been done unsparingly. The restful 
 life, the exquisite scenes by lake and mountain had 
 won her content and quieted her doubts. She no 
 longer believed that her master had other aims 
 than those he declared to her. Perhaps she even 
 dreaded the day when his work should be done 
 and success must crown it. The solitudes fasci- 
 nated her always ; she quitted them with regret. 
 She was never more surprised than when, at 
 Lausanne upon that memorable day of January, 
 Doctor Xavier spoke once more of the city and 
 the world. 
 
 " The mountains can give us no more," he had 
 said. "We are like bees who have sucked up the 
 last drop of honey. Come, we will return to Paris 
 without delay. It may be the last journey we 
 shall ever make as students together." 
 
 Esther was perplexed at the enigma of his 
 words, but obedience was now a habit to her,
 
 116 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 and slir accompanied him to the North without 
 question. In Paris, as we have told, she played 
 for a brief while her part in that social comedy of 
 which the French are such consummate masters. 
 Everywhere — at the opera, in the Bois, in the 
 houses of the privileged — she bore unconscious 
 witness to the truth of the Spaniard's claims. 
 Men said that she was the most beautiful woman 
 that Paris had ever seen ; even women raved 
 about her. As indifferent to the praises of the 
 one as to the envy of the other, Esther carried 
 her own secret and hid it from the world as a 
 precious thing. Good sense forbade her to re- 
 member the one romance of her life, and yet she 
 wished to remember it. That she would see the 
 Prince of Cadi sooner or later she never doubted. 
 When she met him after many days in the house 
 of the Spanish Duque de Rina, she accepted the 
 encounter as inevitable. The Prince lived in 
 Paris now, and naturally, would meet her. He 
 was not greatly changed, she thought ; certainly 
 he had lost nothing of that attractive personality 
 which so won her interest five months ago. 
 
 The night was a memorable one for Esther in 
 many ways. She had been introduced by Doctor 
 Xavier to splendid scenes abundantly since she 
 arrived in Paris ; but this scene at the house of 
 the Duque de Rina surpassed them all. Nominally 
 a soiree musicale for the nomadic aristocracy ox 
 the French capital, to Esther it was chiefly a 
 vision of immense rooms and brilliant women, 
 of soldiers and statesmen and priests, but pre- 
 eminently of a glittering throng which divided
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 117 
 
 as she entered upon Doctor Xavier's arm, and 
 watched her almost in silence as she swept up 
 to the da'is whereon the Duke and Duchess 
 received their guests. For the first time then, 
 perhaps, she knew that the master-key of a 
 woman's power had been entrusted to her. 
 This buzz of tongues, these envious eyes, could 
 not be mistaken. Everywhere in that immense 
 salon men were saying, " Marvellous ! " women 
 were exclaiming, "Who is she?" Esther, in 
 her simplicity, did not dare to ask if the triumph 
 were wholly hers, or in part that of curiosity 
 awakened by some tale of the marvellous. She 
 was dazed, it may be frightened, by the very 
 applause which the master-mind had earned for 
 her ; and when one by one the leaders of Paris 
 were introduced to her, she answered them, 
 scarce knowing what she said. In her own 
 words she felt that she was playing a part, was 
 not the Esther of the old time; nay, that she 
 had become the victim of some entrancing dream 
 from which she would awake to stern reality 
 presently. Everywhere she went she heard the 
 whispered murmurs of surprise and admiration. 
 The voices of strangers rang harshly in her ears, 
 the music exhilarated her to an unusual degree. 
 She dreaded the moment at which her friend 
 would leave her; and when that moment came 
 she was like a child lost and frightened. And 
 what more natural that another should hasten 
 to take the Doctor's place. Esther was but half 
 surprised to find herself face to face with the 
 only other man she had ever known in Paris,
 
 118 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 The Prince had been standing in the door 
 of the great conservatory which gives off the 
 Duchess's boudoir. He wore a white uniform 
 of a Spanish regiment of hussars, and while his 
 eyes had followed Esther restlessly since she 
 entered the room, he made no movement to 
 recognise her until she was alone. Then, with- 
 out hesitation, he crossed the room and held out 
 his hand. 
 
 " At last ! " he said. 
 
 She looked up quickly and coloured at his 
 ardent glance. The five months which had 
 elapsed since she saw him had added some- 
 thing of dignity to his manner, and robbed 
 him of a little of his boyish imperiousness. But 
 the change was for the better. Esther could 
 admit that no salon of Paris had shown her a 
 figure more distinguished. He, in his turn, was 
 unable to take his eyes from her face. He knew 
 not what to think or say. Her very beauty found 
 him silent. 
 
 "You are the good Samaritan," she said, a 
 little imploringly. " The Doctor has left me, 
 and the rest pass by on the other side." 
 
 He recovered himself with an effort and offered 
 her his arm, 
 
 " Old Xavier, at least, is a generous thief," he 
 said; "he leaves the treasure behind him. Let 
 us go into the conservatory. Miss Venn; I will 
 promise you wine if there is no oil." 
 
 He opened a passage for her through the 
 press of men, and discovering a giant palm in 
 a secluded corner, and a low couch behind it, he
 
 DOCTOR XAYIER 119 
 
 sat at once and began to talk with that easy 
 famiharity which the years had made a habit. 
 
 "You are greatly changed, Miss Venn; I 
 hardly knew you. If I did not wish to pay you 
 a comphment, I would ask you to be angry. We 
 do not recognise those who become famous ; we 
 want to be recognised by them. If old Xavier 
 had not taken himself off, I should have been 
 afraid. He can spare me ten minutes, I am 
 sure." 
 
 Esther answered very naturally. 
 
 " Ten minutes ! Oh, but that's a long time ! 
 And he will be looking for me. I should be ter- 
 rified if I missed him, Prince. Imagine being 
 lost in Paris, and advertised for in the news- 
 papers ! Doctor Xavier might not think I was 
 worth a reward, you know ! " 
 
 He hastened to contradict her with a Spaniard's 
 graciousness. 
 
 " Old Xavier's riches would not be reward 
 enough," he said. " The Bank of France would 
 be ruined, Miss Venn ! I have been three years 
 trying to lose Francisco Xavier, and I have not 
 succeeded. It is impossible to lose such a man, 
 I assure you. He has enjoyed your society for 
 five months — is it not so ? Then I shall not ask 
 his permission for my ten minutes. Let us be 
 serious and ask what you have been doing. You 
 were going to Spain when I saw you last. You 
 must tell me that you like my country. It is 
 the one subject upon which I am a bigot." 
 
 Esther was able to tell him that, and she did 
 so very prettily.
 
 120 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 "We were at the Chateau St. Paul for five 
 weeks," she said. " The Pyrenees are very 
 grand, more beautiful even than Switzerland. 
 Perhaps it is because there are not any people 
 there. Travel is so much vanity, that we like a 
 country which few others have seen. But I have 
 never really been in Spain, you know ; only on 
 the frontier." 
 
 "You were at the gates of Paradise, then." 
 
 " Of Paradise ? Oh, but it was very hot. We 
 used to go up into the mountains every day 
 simply to breathe. I think your Spanish 
 summers are trying — you won't hate me for 
 that?" 
 
 "Not at all. The English nation knows so 
 little of the sun. By and by, when you live 
 in Spain, you will forget your prejudices. If 
 there were more sun in England, you would 
 not all work so hard and look so gloomy. 
 We Spaniards do nothing and sing upon it. 
 We are easily contented : it is our supreme 
 virtue." 
 
 " And yet you live out of Spain, Prince? " 
 
 His face clouded for an instant and he looked 
 away from her. 
 
 " I — oh, I am a unit and I speak of the nation. 
 It is more difficult to practise than to preach. 
 My country is much to me ; I live in Paris to 
 defend it from evil tongues — besides, the French 
 cooking is so excellent." 
 
 He turned it with a laugh and went on to 
 discuss her experiences in Switzerland. 
 
 "You have learned old Xavier's secret," he
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 121 
 
 said. " Paris will not rest till she shares it with 
 you. I am very serious when I say that he is a 
 wonderful man. Years ago in Spain I knew that 
 he would do much. Do you understand, Miss 
 Venn, how much he has achieved already? 
 Possibly not. You cannot realise that all the 
 city is busy with your name. You cannot 
 realise that you are the most beautiful woman 
 in the world." 
 
 She turned away, unwilling to think of it. 
 
 " I love the country, and am always happy 
 there," she said. " Doctor Xavier is very clever 
 and he deserves his fame. I am sure there can 
 be no one like him. Some day all the world will 
 ask his help. I have never understood why he 
 chose me." 
 
 " He chose you because he could not find a 
 better subject. Forgive my frankness. I know 
 something of his work ; I knew it long ago in 
 Spain. It would never be possible to call him 
 a charlatan. Y"ou, yourself, are naturally un- 
 willing to give up his secrets. The work has 
 been one of months — and travel, too, has im- 
 proved you. I speak as a man who knows 
 many women. You have gained much by 
 association with others." 
 
 Esther shook her head. 
 
 "No," she said, "if I have gained anything, 
 it has been by reflection. It is true that I have 
 travelled much, but I have spoken to very few 
 people." 
 
 " And your reflections — ah, your reflections, I 
 should like to share them!"
 
 122 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 ** They would not interest you — you would not 
 remember them," 
 
 She looked at him for an instant a little archly; 
 and in that moment, he remembered the promise 
 he had made in Paris five months ago. 
 
 "Yes," he said, " I have a splendid capacity for 
 forgetting. But there are redeeming features. I 
 visited Spain in spirit — and you forgive me, I see 
 that you do, since you are wearing my roses." 
 
 Her cheeks reddened, and she made an impul- 
 sive gesture as though to cover the betraying 
 flowers with a white-gloved hand. Some one 
 had placed the roses that afternoon upon her 
 dressing-table, a pretty bouquet carried in a 
 jewelled holder. She had not inquired whence 
 they came ; she simply wore them. 
 
 "You have been very busy, Prince?" she 
 asked, avoiding the more dangerous ground. 
 
 He answered her with a shrug, and took a 
 cigarette from a little gold case. 
 
 "Permit me," he said; "it is a habit of mine 
 to smoke when any one speaks of business. As 
 for that, yes ; my weeks have been laborious. I 
 shot at Chantilly with the Duke ; October found 
 me at Trouville. We could have steamed from 
 there to Bayonne and come across to you ; but, 
 after all, we might have been too late. Regrets 
 are useless. Life is short and travel is tedious. 
 I remember that energy is really very trouble- 
 some ; it earns a statue in a market-place or a 
 tomb in a cathedral — I desire neither. Admit 
 the logic." 
 
 "I don't admit it at all, Prince. Others are
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 123 
 
 better, surely, for our work ; and are we not all 
 in some great scheme of things, each with his 
 own part to play? You make fun of it, or I 
 would argue with you. I can see that you are 
 not serious." 
 
 He blew a little cloud of smoke into the still 
 air, and seemed to muse for a little while ; then 
 he said — 
 
 " Perhaps I am not. The day will come which 
 will find me awake. Let me postpone it as long 
 as possible while I tell you that you would make 
 an excellent priest ii you were not too pretty. 
 Believe me, Miss Esther, I am dumb with 
 surprise." 
 
 Esther read a deeper meaning in his compli- 
 ment, and did not resent it. She thought that 
 she understood this man wholly as she had never 
 understood a hmnan being in her life. When she 
 vv^as v^ith Francisco Xavier there had often been 
 a sense of the obscure and the unrevealed, and it 
 perplexed and restrained her. This young Spaniard 
 of the cities never once left her in doubt. A child 
 would have understood him — he was utterly unable 
 to hide his impulses either for good or evil. Esther 
 knew to-night that he loved her; she read his 
 story in every glance. 
 
 "Yes," he continued impulsively, throwing 
 away his cigarette and bending over her until 
 she could feel his hot breath upon her cheek, 
 "You are the most beautiful thing in all the 
 ■world ! Paris has told you so, but it is the 
 truth. Your face haunts me — it haunts me, I 
 say ! I shall come to the Avenue Hoche to-
 
 124 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 morrow — I shall follow you wherever you go ; I 
 defy you to forbid me " 
 
 She was a little afraid of his sudden ardour, 
 and she stood up to escape a gesture which was 
 almost a caress. 
 
 "I have no right to see you," she protested. 
 "And there is Doctor Xavier — he is looking for 
 me!" 
 
 The Doctor, indeed, had already returned, and 
 stood now in the door of the conservatory, watch- 
 ing her with that close scrutiny of which she was 
 conscious sometimes even when she could not see 
 his face. A little to her surprise, he did not address 
 her companion, nor did the Prince wait for him 
 to do so. Simply saying, " Until to-morrow ! " 
 the young man bowed and left her, and she went 
 up, in some confusion, to her friend. 
 
 "I have been waiting for you," she pleaded. 
 " It must be very late." 
 
 A contented smile crossed his face, and he drew 
 her arm through his own." 
 
 " It is time for us to go home, camarade" he 
 said ; " our work is done." 
 
 She did not read the meaning of his words 
 aright, nor could she quite understand that almost 
 pathetic kindness with which he had treated her 
 since they quitted Spain. The vast rooms were 
 still crowded when she returned to them. Eyes 
 followed her now as they followed her two hours 
 ago. She heard the echo of voices, the music of 
 the violins ; and then she passed out to the 
 crowded courtyard, and, finding their brougham, 
 she asked why they were alone.
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 125 
 
 " My sister has gone on to the house of the 
 Comte de Fleury," was his answer. " Do not be 
 anxious about her, camarade, she is old enough 
 to take care of herself. I wish to talk to you a 
 httle while to-night ; we shall have few oppor- 
 tunities." 
 
 The carriage rolled out into the broad Faubourg 
 St. Germain, and the darkness of the gloomy 
 street fell upon them. Esther became aware 
 that the Doctor was still holding her hand and 
 regarding her with those deep-set eyes which, 
 she thought, could read her very soul. For five 
 months now she had been as closely associated 
 with this strange personality as any daughter 
 with the father of her house; nevertheless she 
 could say that he was almost a stranger still. 
 Moods of gentleness or of irritation, absent moods, 
 the zeal of the scientist, sometimes the passion of 
 the fanatic and the exile baffled and repelled her. 
 To-night his voice was caressing as a child's. He 
 held her hand affectionately while he spoke. She 
 understood that he had to tell of grave matters. 
 
 " Esther," he said presently, " I made a promise 
 to you in London six months ago. Say, camarade, 
 have I kept it or have I failed ? " 
 
 " You have kept it — kept it a hundred times ! " 
 she exclaimed reproachfully. " I have known 
 nothing but happiness in your house. You have 
 shown me another world. How can you ask such 
 a question ! " 
 
 He turned away and looked at the shimmering 
 pavement upon which a few flakes of the drifting 
 snow had begun to melt.
 
 126 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 " Yes," he said, " I made a promise, and I have 
 redeemed it. You are the most beautiful woman 
 in Paris to-night. The world is open to you. 
 You have in your hands a power which is the 
 most subtle a woman can possess. Use it for the 
 good of those who win your love and confidence. 
 In my own time, we will bestow our secret upon 
 others, but that day is not yet. Perhaps it may 
 never be. Destiny plays strange tricks with us 
 when opportunity is our need. I am more con- 
 cerned to-night, Esther, that you should call me 
 friend. It may mean something in the days to 
 come." 
 
 His mood alarmed her not a little. All the best 
 instincts of her generous nature were awakened 
 by this appeal. She felt like one who is asked by 
 a father, "Do you trust me?" She longed to 
 tell him much, but could say so little. 
 
 " You have given me life itself ! " she exclaimed. 
 " I could never thank you enough ! I have no 
 words to thank you. You are the best, the only 
 friend I have ever known ! " 
 
 He drew her to him and kissed her. 
 
 " Call me that always, caviar ade — call me that 
 whatever befall." 
 
 The carriage stopped with his words, and they 
 ahghted quickly and went up to the splendid 
 apartment he had engaged for her in the Avenue 
 Hoche. Esther has never forgotten that great 
 white salon dimly lighted by shaded lamps, so 
 full of riches, so dainty in its minutest ornament ; 
 that salon in which she stood to say " Good- 
 night " to her friend and benefactor. For a
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 127 
 
 moment she saw him, his kindly eyes beaming 
 upon her, his cloak thrown back, his white glove 
 crushed between his iron fingers; then, without 
 a word, he was gone, and Suzanne, her maid, 
 stood at her elbow.
 
 CHAPTEE XI 
 
 Esther slept but little that night. Despite her 
 desire to sleep, the scene she had quitted haunted 
 her and she could not escape it. In some measure, 
 too, the ominous " good-night " which Doctor 
 Xavier had spoken warned her of impending 
 change and of some new way of life at present 
 undeclared. She feared that such a change might 
 not be without its dangers. The fortune which 
 had come to her might, said an evil voice of 
 foreboding, be taken away. In moods of depres- 
 sion she would imagine herself helpless, friendless, 
 the inconspicuous figure of the theatre's door. 
 From such depression the mirror was her habitual 
 refuge. She knew that she had become a very 
 beautiful woman. 
 
 She could not sleep, and the strange room con- 
 tributed to her unrest. It was very tasteful, very 
 complete; but its old French furniture, its parquet 
 flooring, the long stiff glasses and the pictureless 
 walls robbed it of homeliness and suggested the 
 visit. Esther regretted in some way the pretty 
 chalet at Thonon and the life in the country of 
 the vines. At the worst, she thought, they would 
 spend a few weeks in Paris before returning to 
 
 123
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 129 
 
 the sunshine and the South. If she had any 
 consolation it was in her own precious secret, 
 but half confessed even to herself. Here in this 
 city, from whose sights and sounds the hill-lands 
 had taught her to shrink, the romance of her life 
 had been found. Esther, recalling the scene at 
 the Duke's house, closed her eyes, and like one 
 who dreamed while waking, she repeated Arthur's 
 words. 
 
 " He loves me," she said, " he loves me — and 
 to-morrow I shall see him ! " 
 
 There is no hour more supreme in a young 
 girl's life than this. Content in her dreams 
 Esther fell asleep at last and did not wake until 
 the morning was far advanced, and a newer, 
 stronger voice of Paris echoed in the avenue 
 beneath her window. She knew that it was very 
 late, and in that suspicion the untiring Suzanne 
 confirmed her when she came bustling into the 
 room with the steaming coffee and the dainty 
 bath-gown. 
 
 " Ah, mademoiselle, you sleep well ! It is 
 almost time for dejeuner. And the Doctor left so 
 early. Do you know that it is eleven o'clock — of 
 course not ; we never know what time it is when 
 we are asleep." 
 
 Esther admitted the truth of this sage reflection, 
 and chiding herself for idleness she dressed without 
 delay and went into the salon to find her breakfast 
 already waiting for her. Despite the month of 
 January the morning was warm and sunny. 
 People moved briskly beneath the limes of the 
 avenue as though welcoming an unlooked-for day 
 
 10
 
 130 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 of premature spring. Esther could not resist the 
 influence of this sunny morning, and when she 
 reflected upon the liberty she was likely to enjoy 
 in Paris, and upon the fateful days that might 
 await her there, all her fears of the night were 
 forgotten and she abandoned herself to the delight 
 of the passing hour. 
 
 "At what time did Madame Julia return, 
 Suzanne ? " she asked of the bustling maid ; " it 
 was very late, I am sure." 
 
 Suzanne, skimming about the room like a bird, 
 answered gaily — 
 
 "Ah, she was late enough, mademoiselle, for 
 she is not yet returned. It is always like that in 
 Paris. You walk, you drive, you laugh, you eat 
 — but sleep ! — heaven, who would sleep here ! 
 There's so much to see. It would be a betise to 
 sleep, mademoiselle." 
 
 Esther laughed at her drollery, but she was, 
 none the less, troubled at Julia's absence. 
 
 "Did Madame leave no message, Suzanne? 
 She must be staying at a friend's house. Perhaps 
 I ought not to have my breakfast until she comes; 
 it seems so selfish to go on." 
 
 " Not selfish at all, mademoiselle. Every one 
 * goes on ' in Paris. Perhaps Madame Julia will 
 never come back at all. I do not know. There 
 is the Doctor's letter." 
 
 She indicated an envelope upon the large 
 writing-table at the further end of the room, and 
 Esther recognised at once the strange hand- 
 writing of her friend and master. She had been 
 not a little mystified last night by the enigmatical
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 131 
 
 words which Doctor Xavier addressed to her, and 
 now when she heard that he had quitted the 
 house and that this letter was his message, she 
 opened it very anxiously and read it through to 
 the end as something at present beyond her under- 
 standing. The formality of it startled her. She 
 had not read many lines when she realised that it 
 was a letter of farewell. 
 
 *' 14, Avenue Hoche, 
 
 "At midnight. 
 
 " Deae Miss Venn, — 
 
 " Your determination to consider me still as 
 your friend will allow something to that necessity 
 which compels me to quit Paris so abruptly, and 
 will forgive the brief farewell which alone is 
 possible in this emergency. Such facts of my 
 life as have become known to you during the 
 pleasant months we have laboured together in a 
 common cause have taught you that, if science is 
 much to me, my country is more. Events, 
 changing and swift, call an exile from his retreat 
 and command his service. My fellow-countrymen 
 summon me and I go to them, whether it be for 
 good or ill I know not ; but as a patriot and a 
 servant I accept the call. The same cause compels 
 me, for the moment, to restore to you that in- 
 dependence of life and action which I asked of 
 you six months ago. We have set ourselves an 
 aim and we have reached it. More eloquent than 
 any words of mine must be that voice of Paris 
 which you have heard so unmistakably and will 
 hear again in those happy days which I trust 
 await you. The gift which you possess is the
 
 132 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 rarest and most precious which women can win. 
 It will open every door to you, set no confines 
 to your ambition, save those which your own 
 character and actions may trace. Use it as 
 becomes your wise discretion and your gentle 
 disposition. Eemember that there is nothing 
 beyond your reach if wisdom is your master. 
 Some day, it may be, your destiny and mine will 
 draw us together again. I leave that to the 
 unwritten future, but for the present I say that 
 the man of science thanks you, that the friend 
 remembers you. The rooms which you occupy 
 in Paris are your own, for your occupation or 
 disposal as you may think fit. And, furthermore, 
 the Bank of France has my instructions to pay to 
 you upon the first days of January and July in 
 each year the sum of twenty-five thousand francs, 
 that you may be deprived of nothing to which 
 my own way of life has accustomed you. This 
 trifling obligation you will permit to a man whose 
 vanity you have flattered and whose scientific 
 fame you have assured. Believe me that his 
 farewell is not spoken lightly or without a sense 
 of that kindness and patience he has enjoyed at 
 your hands, and you will find him always in 
 memory and grateful homage, 
 
 " Your devoted, 
 "Xavier de Montalvan." 
 
 Esther put the letter down, and standing at the 
 open window she watched the people in the sunny 
 Avenue below. Her first thought was that they 
 were strangers to her, and that she had been left
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 133 
 
 utterly alone in this great city. That Doctor 
 Xavier would change his mind, or return, she 
 knew to be impossible. Every sentence in that 
 letter spoke finality, the end of those months of 
 wonder and surprise. The play was done with ; 
 she must face the world alone. So instantaneous 
 a change of fortune could neither be appreciated 
 nor realised in the first moments of its declaration. 
 Esther moved from place to place in her room, 
 mechanically and dreaming. The magnificence 
 of the ornaments with which that apartment had 
 been furnished conveyed no sense of riches, 
 perhaps did not even please her. She passed 
 from bureau to bureau, here opening a drawer, 
 there looking at a picture, but saying all the time, 
 " I am alone — alone in all the world ! " Suzanne's 
 voice, heard in her bedroom, recalled an affection 
 for this lighthearted girl which, hitherto, she had 
 not admitted. After all, there was Suzanne ! 
 And Doctor Xavier had been very generous to her. 
 Esther pressed her hands to her forehead like one 
 incapable of clear thought, while she asked herself 
 many times what she should do, whither turn, 
 where seek a friend ! Was it all real, or were 
 those months of mystery but creatures of imagin- 
 ation ? Would she awake in London in her 
 garret, the unknown, uncared-for, country girl? 
 The glass forbade that hallucination. Her own 
 beauty was a precious thing to her now. And 
 none could rob her of it. Esther stood suddenly 
 and asked herself if that were so ! Would 
 Francisco Xavier's gift endure? Some whisper 
 of an evil premonition told her that it might not.
 
 134 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 Suzanne came into the room anon and asked 
 her what she wished to do. The girl was 
 evidently aware of her master's departure ; but 
 she waited for Esther to speak of it. 
 
 There is the carriage, mademoiselle, and the 
 Bois. It is not good to be in the house when the 
 sun is shining. You must make friends in Paris — 
 ah ! you will not be long about that ! When one 
 is beautiful all the doors are open ! Take my 
 advice, mademoiselle, and drive to-day. We can 
 think about England afterwards. Oh, the good 
 God forbid that it does not snow when we go 
 there ! " 
 
 Esther heard her patiently and then asked of 
 the Doctor. 
 
 " What time did he leave, Suzanne? " 
 
 "Very early, mademoiselle — at six o'clock this 
 morning." 
 
 " And Madame Julia ? " 
 
 " He met her at the Gare, mademoiselle." 
 
 "Did he leave any other message for me, 
 Suzanne? " 
 
 " He said Au revoir, mademoiselle. Of course 
 it would be that. And we are to enjoy ourselves — 
 we are to eat, dance, laugh, drive. As if one 
 would cry in Paris ! He has left you the carriage, 
 and Philip is to drive — ah ! the villain ! but he 
 can drive well. Shall it be for half -past two, 
 mademoiselle ? The days are short, and we must 
 catch the sun." 
 
 Esther, acting still like one in a dream, said that 
 it might be as Suzanne dictated ; and afterwards 
 she dressed herself, deliberately and but half
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 135 
 
 aware of that which she was doing. In the park 
 her carriage was second to none. She knew that 
 men turned and stared at her, that women 
 whispered when she passed them by. But their 
 homage meant Httle. Two questions agitated her 
 unceasingly. Why had Doctor Xavier left her in 
 Paris ? What was her own future to be ? The 
 generous allowance of which the letter had 
 spoken was a recompence, in some way unearned ; 
 and yet in others her due. She was wise enough 
 to see that she had large claims upon her bene- 
 factor. For six months she had devoted herself, 
 heart and soul, to his service. Some humiliations 
 were inseparable from such an aim as he pursued. 
 Esther had given unstintingly, and this was her 
 reward. She was quite a long while before she 
 understood that her allowance was to be two 
 thousand pounds a year, and that the furniture 
 and the rooms in the Avenue Hoche were her 
 own. When she returned to those rooms at five 
 o'clock the drive had refreshed her, and her first 
 perturbation had passed. She was alone, truly ; 
 but how fortunate in her loneliness. A letter 
 from the Bank of France informed her that the 
 sum of one thousand pounds stood there to her 
 credit. The whole world was open to her if she 
 did not care to make Paris her home. Perhaps 
 she thought of Devonshire and of the cathedral 
 city, and of the lanes and gardens of her own 
 country. But if she had any mind to visit them, 
 an influence more potent restrained her. She 
 remembered the Prince — was he not still in 
 Paris ? Esther's cheeks were burning when she
 
 136 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 reflected that he might come to her. But it was 
 not with fear, for she knew that he loved her. 
 
 He came at half-past five, driving a pair of 
 horses in a light mail-phaeton, and wearing a 
 long coat trimmed with sable, and a cap to match 
 it. The night had set in chill and cold ; filmy 
 flakes of snow began to fall as soon as the sun 
 had set. Esther was in the very act of assuring 
 Suzanne that she could not possibly dine at a 
 restaurant, when the bell rang loudly, and that 
 blithe maid went hurrying away to answer it. 
 
 There had been many callers in the Avenue 
 Hoche since they came to Paris — the flat had 
 been besieged by idlers abundantly ; but Esther 
 knew, with a woman's instinct, that this was 
 no formal visitor, sent there at the dictates of 
 curiosity. She was not at all surprised when the 
 Prince entered without ceremony, and at once 
 informed her that he knew of Doctor Xavier's 
 absence. 
 
 "I defied you to forbid me," he said gaily, "and 
 here I am. It is snowing outside, and my horses 
 are gone. You are far too generous to send me 
 away, Miss Venn. I appeal to your instincts of 
 pity." 
 
 He slipped off his fur coat, upon which the 
 glistening drops of snow were melting, and de- 
 lighted, apparently, by her embarrassment, he 
 spoke of Francisco Xavier. 
 
 " So II Demonio has gone to Spain," he said; 
 " I heard the news in the Jockey Club this morn- 
 ing. Naturally my friends in Paris hasten to 
 remind me of my misfortunes. ' Your cause is
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 137 
 
 lost,' they tell me, just at the moment when I am 
 saying that it is won ! Permit me a cigarette, 
 and I will tell you all about it. I am sure you 
 are anxious." 
 
 She did not tell him that she was not. His 
 attack was so swift, his manner so irresistible, 
 that she had neither the opportunity to forbid nor 
 the will to deny him. For the first time since 
 the Doctor had left her, she realised that she was 
 not alone in Paris. Why should she send away 
 the one friend she had found ? 
 
 " Doctor Xavier went away very early," she said, 
 offering him the only possible explanation. "I 
 had no idea he was going, or I should not have 
 allowed you to call upon me. He has gone to 
 Spain ; the affairs of his country call him there." 
 
 "Of his country and of mine; of course. Do 
 you know what I am asking myself just now, Miss 
 Venn? I see that you do not. Well, I am 
 asking myself precisely how far Francisco Xavier 
 has played upon your credulity." 
 
 "Upon mine? Oh, please do not say that. 
 I have never doubted Doctor Xavier's honour." 
 
 " Then you are probably the first person who 
 has paid him such a compliment. I came here 
 to-night to recite a little page of history. Do not 
 imagine that I am the hero of the story — far from 
 it ; I am the dupe. Francisco Xavier shall get 
 his deserts, no more, no less. I will tell you the 
 truth about him," 
 
 It was plain to Esther that a great deal of 
 honesty dictated this hasty confession. She 
 perceived now that the Prince had come to her
 
 138 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 apartments determined to tell her the story of 
 his life. She thought she understood why he 
 wished to make her his confidant. If she were 
 ill at ease and a little absent in her manner, the 
 unusual circumstances of his visit contributed to 
 her agitation. After all, Doctor Xavier's depar- 
 ture was not an accident, but part of a subtler 
 design to bring her face to face with the man who 
 had been his friend. With what object she could 
 not say. She listened with engrossing interest 
 while the Prince spoke. At last the master- 
 key of this grave secret might be entrusted to 
 her. 
 
 ** I have always believed Doctor Xavier to be 
 my friend," she confessed with some concern. 
 "If I do not know anything of his past, I cannot 
 blame him. Why should he have told me, 
 Prince ? What have I to do with it ? " 
 
 He leaned back upon the cushions of the sofa 
 and laughed a little ironically. 
 
 "What have you to do with it? Yes, as 
 your Shakespeare says, ' That is the question.' 
 Why did he quit Spain and go to England? Why 
 am I an idler in Paris when I should be at the 
 head of my people ? Is it not all a splendid 
 puzzle, a game of chess with human figures ? 
 Oh, do not think that he is not clever ! There is 
 not a finer head in Europe ! I am no more able 
 to stand against him than the shingle against the 
 sea. But I make a move, nevertheless : that is 
 why I am here to-night." 
 
 The riddle of it silenced her. She could neither 
 answer nor help him. When Suzanne carried in
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 139 
 
 the tea-tray, she was relieved. She dreaded, she 
 knew not why, that which must come after. 
 
 **Do you take tea, Prince? " she asked, inter- 
 rupting him with a commonplace. He threw 
 away his cigarette and held out his hand. 
 
 "From you it will be nectar. We Spaniards 
 poison ourselves with chocolate ; but you will 
 make me your English tea in Spain, and we shall 
 call ' five o'clock ' a fashion. Let us take that 
 which is best from both countries and begin with 
 ourselves." 
 
 He laughed at his own idea and began to sip 
 the steaming tea. His jest brought the blood to 
 Esther's cheeks. She was sure that she ought to 
 protest, but she had not a word to say for herself. 
 
 " I have always heard that the English are 
 unpopular in Spain," she remarked, aimlessly. 
 "Why should I be the exception?" 
 
 " Because you are the individual and not the 
 nation. It is only a lunatic who quarrels with 
 others because they are not fellow-countrymen. 
 I have been twice round the globe, and it seems 
 to me that a man who is born in San Francisco 
 is at heart much the same as the man who is 
 born in Paris. He eats, drinks, and sleeps ; he 
 loves and is loved — lucky man ! Let us leave 
 him for a moment and return to Spain. I have 
 not a time-table with me or I would have looked 
 out our train ; but I think it will be the Sud 
 express. Miss Venn, at half -past seven in the 
 evening." 
 
 She put down her cup, determined to be 
 serious.
 
 140 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 " Why do you speak like this, Prince," she pro- 
 tested ; " why do you offend me ? " 
 
 "Then you are offended? No, I refuse to 
 beheve it. You are merely unaware of the cir- 
 cumstances. I will tell you about them ; I came 
 to do so, if you do not forbid me ? " 
 
 " No, I am anxious to hear them." 
 
 He settled himself upon the sofa and watched 
 her face intently while he spoke. 
 
 " Then let us go back a little way, and I will 
 ask you a question. What do you know of my 
 country — what do you know of Cadi, Miss 
 Venn?" 
 
 " I know little. Prince, practically nothing." 
 
 "As I thought ; it is scarcely, I imagine, a name 
 to you." 
 
 " It certainly is no more.'' 
 
 " In your school days, perhaps, you saw it 
 marked as a little yellow spot upon the maps of 
 Spain and France. You heard that a Prince 
 ruled it under the suzerainty of the Republic. 
 You have read that its people were Spanish, wild 
 mountaineers, hardy fellows of the hills. If you 
 had been a reader of travellers' books — which 
 heaven grant you are not ! — you would have 
 known that it is a rich country because of its 
 mines ; and that in its capital, the town of Cadi, 
 there is the life, the gaiety and the society of an 
 older Paris. All that is the schoolmaster's prepa- 
 ration for our parable. One would have had to 
 read the newspaper very closely to write the 
 inner story of that fascinating State, I am not 
 a historian — no, I know more about a racehorse
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 141 
 
 than diplomacy; but I will try to be your his- 
 torian to-night. Cadi, Miss Venn, has had many 
 princes. I am the last of them. My father died 
 when I was thirteen years old, and, by the laws 
 of my country, a Regent was appointed. That 
 Regent was Francisco Xavier, your friend. He 
 educated me, he was my guardian, friend, until 
 my twentieth year. I trusted him like a brother. 
 From my earliest days I had been taught that the 
 loyalty of my people w^as unalterable. Judge of 
 my awakening when I discovered in my twentieth 
 year that if I were the Prince of Cadi in name, 
 Francisco Xavier was in deed ! He had won the 
 allegiance my youth lost me. A united State was 
 united no longer. My friends were the youth, 
 the romance of my country ; his were the wisdom, 
 the balance, the sagacity. Twelve months later 
 they called me to the throne. I found myself a 
 splendid nonentity. The very cries in the streets 
 were for Xavier de Montalvan. The papers that 
 I signed were his handiwork ; the laws were his 
 laws. But the army was mine ! I drove him 
 out of Cadi, and France approved. Henceforth 
 I was my own master in name and deed — you 
 are interested, Miss Venn. I do not weary you ? " 
 
 Esther, unable to take her eyes from his face, 
 showed how great her interest was. 
 
 " But you, yourself, Prince — why are you not 
 at Cadi now? " 
 
 "I will tell you in a word. Because I have 
 not fulfilled Cadi's law." 
 
 He shifted uneasily in his seat and turned away 
 from her while he spoke.
 
 142 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 " By the custom of a thousand years," he said, 
 " the princes of my country must marry within a 
 year of their accession. That year is up in ten 
 days from this day. If I let the tenth day pass 
 and remain as I am, my kingdom goes to another 
 — my rights, my possessions, my authority are 
 taken from me. Francisco Xavier is banished, 
 but his name remains beloved of his friends. In 
 ten days he will achieve his ends. Do you know 
 why he quitted Paris this morning? " 
 
 He turned his ardent eyes upon her, but she 
 could not meet that steadfast gaze, and stammer- 
 ing a commonplace would have concealed her 
 agitation thus. 
 
 " I am very sorry for you. Prince. If I had 
 known " 
 
 " How should you ? It is not old Xavier's 
 habit to make a confidant of his friends. Even I 
 sometimes fail to understand him. Why, for 
 instance, has he left you in Paris ? Shall I say 
 it is because he wishes you to be my wife ? " 
 
 "No, no! indeed no!" she cried, drawing 
 away from him ; but he held her hand and drew 
 her toward him in spite of herself. 
 
 " Let us make an end of the riddles," he said. 
 " You know that I love you, you have known it 
 since that night I first found you in this city and 
 spoke the promise. Can such a man as I am be 
 mistaken ? If I were a boy, the son of one city 
 — yes, I might deceive myself ; but I, who have 
 travelled twice round the world, who have known 
 the best and the worst of men and women — 
 Esther, could I deceive myself? No, no, I love
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 143 
 
 you with all a man's heart— I shall love you to 
 my life's end ! Esther, you can save me — you 
 can save my country. Come with me, come to 
 Cadi as my wife ! " 
 
 She tried to silence him, but the words failed 
 her; and overwhelmed and trembling, she let him 
 close his arms about her and felt his lips upon 
 her own, and knew that this was her destiny.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 The marriage of the reigning Prince of Cadi to 
 one whom Paris had ah-eady learned to call " La 
 Belle Inconnue," was the brief sensation of a 
 winter month. People discussed little else for 
 many days. A beautiful woman had come to the 
 city ; she had been seen, she had conquered. 
 The pretty romance made gossip for the cafes 
 while it entertained the salons with eloquent 
 mendacities. From the chroniques scandaleuses 
 you got a hundred versions, every one of them a 
 lie. Some said that the bride was an American 
 of fabulous wealth ; others declared that her 
 English was acquired, and that she came from 
 Spain. There were twenty apologies for the 
 hasty marriage, and each of them more false than 
 the other. 
 
 In the end, Paris came to the conclusion that 
 it really was a young man's story. It remained 
 for the Prince's friends to declare that he had 
 sold himself for good bank notes, and that his 
 repentance would be speedy. 
 
 Esther knew nothing of this, nor did any 
 unkind word reach her ears. She had promised 
 to marry Prince Arthur, because she believed that 
 
 Hi
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 145 
 
 by marriage he would save his kingdom. So 
 httle, until this moment of decision, had she 
 dared to consider the question, that even until 
 the end she could not wholly understand how 
 greatly she loved and was beloved in her turn. 
 She lived, indeed, amidst surprises and excite- 
 ments which denied her leisure. Though she 
 had been willing to reflect, opportunity forbade 
 her. Sometimes in the silence of the night she 
 would ask herself whither she was going, to what 
 unknown land or people. But the days were all 
 too short for scruples ; and if any hidden logic 
 guided her, it was this : that she had found a 
 friend and that he would be faithful to her. In 
 her lover's presence, she never doubted her own 
 wisdom. He approached her with a passionate 
 ardour which forbade even protestation. She had 
 never believed that a woman could mean so much 
 to a man, could so change his life and influence 
 his will. From the moment when she had said, 
 "I will be your wife," scarce an hour of the 
 waking day found him absent from her side. 
 The morning brought his roses ; together they 
 breakfasted at Durand's, or one of the greater 
 cafes. The afternoon found them driving in the 
 Bois ; there were dinners and theatres at night. 
 What time had she for that preparation so 
 necessary ! If it had not been for the Prince's 
 friend, the untiring, laughing, scheming Pauline, 
 Baronne d'Arbois, Esther declared that she would 
 never have been married at all. 
 
 Pauline, Baronne d'Arbois has been a leading 
 figure in the later-day world of Paris. The 
 
 11
 
 146 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 Church, the State, the salon, the theatre, have, in 
 turn, been ruled by her. Prince Arthur had no 
 friend more enthusiastic, perhaps none so 
 frequently embarrassing. When Pauline heard of 
 his approaching marriage, when she learned that 
 his bride was alone and friendless in the city, no 
 carriage was fast enough to carry her to Esther's 
 side. 
 
 "Ah, my child!" she exclaimed in rapture, 
 "what a splendid secret — and all Paris knows of 
 it ! I have come here at dear Arthur's request. 
 You must let me be a sister to you. You must 
 positively leave everything in my hands." 
 
 Esther was overawed by this well-schooled 
 woman of the world, and cheerfully gave up her 
 independence. She had exacted from Arthur a 
 promise that their marriage should be in some part 
 a secret, and he had acquiesced willingly enough. 
 
 " Secret or public, what does it matter if it 
 gives me Esther ! " he answered. " I will be 
 married in a cellar, if it please you. Of course 
 we must not forget your English birth. There 
 will be a ceremony at the Embassy, and after- 
 wards at St. Eustache. The Baronne will be 
 there — no gate in Paris could shut her out. We 
 shall have to tolerate her because we are going to 
 her house to breakfast afterwards. I have 
 thought about all the rest, and it is quite settled. 
 We shall take the Sud express to my chalet at 
 St. Girons ; Gaudarez, the Captain of my Civil 
 Guard and my oldest friend, will go on to Cadi 
 with the news. If, as I expect, the people 
 receive it with acclamation, we shall spend a
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 147 
 
 fortnight at the chateau and then visit our capital. 
 You need not ask if I look forward to that day ! 
 Ah, to take you to them, Esther, to take the most 
 beautiful woman in all the world ! " 
 
 She had nothing to urge against it, although 
 the doubt he had expressed remained in her 
 thoughts. He, however, was full of his scheme, 
 and chiefly of that part of it which concerned his 
 kingdom, 
 
 " Old Xavier believes that he has outwitted 
 me ; but we shall see ! " he said, like one anxious 
 to be convinced. " You owe him much, Esther, 
 and we must be kind to him. I have always 
 been willing to honour him if he would consent 
 to serve. But he desires to be the master. He 
 believes that he can rule in Cadi and that the 
 people will banish me, I imagine he is greatly 
 mistaken. You see that I am doing exactly as 
 he wished me to do. It remains to be known if I 
 am wise." 
 
 He did not admit to Esther the grave doubt 
 which harassed him; in truth, his object appeared 
 to be so to occupy her time that she should have 
 neither the leisure to repent nor the will to draw 
 back. And in this he easily succeeded. It 
 seemed to her but yesterday that he had said, " I 
 love you ! " and the words were still in her ears 
 when Suzanne awoke her upon her wedding day. 
 From that moment her impressions were blurred 
 and vague. She remembered the sunny streets 
 of Paris, the white satin clinging to her subtle 
 limbs, the orange blossom twining about her 
 splendid veil — but distantly, as in a dream.
 
 148 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 Paris said that the Church of St. Eustache had 
 rarely been so crowded. Esther recollected little 
 of that service. She recalled the press of figures, 
 lights against a background of gold ; towering 
 palms, the face of a priest, another face — that of 
 the man she loved, close to her own, and whisper- 
 ing often, Je Vaime ! The concluding scenes 
 were at the church door, where the beggars of 
 Paris pressed close upon the skirts of the rich. 
 Esther remembered driving away in the 
 Baroness's brougham to the H6tel d'Ai'bois, in the 
 Faubourg St. Germain. A hundred women 
 kissed her there, men pressed her hands ; she 
 heard the music of a string band ; she saw her 
 husband everywhere, his uniform of white and 
 gold conspicuous even in that abode of colour. 
 Then, swiftly, the scene changed. Maids were 
 busy over her. She put on a pretty gown of 
 green and gold with sable about the neck of it. 
 Congratulations were showered upon her. She 
 passed down the immense staircase where the 
 soldiers of the serried ranks were those of the 
 guards of Paris. A carriage conveyed her quickly 
 to the station. She remembered that Gaudarez, 
 the captain, chaffed her husband about the 
 tickets. A bell rang, a horn was blown, the train 
 steamed out of the station upon its way to the 
 South. She was alone with her husband at last. 
 The coupe which had been engaged for them 
 seemed so full of flowers that Esther thought 
 their very odour insupportable. Arthur's first act 
 was to let down one of the windows a little way 
 and to speak of his friend Gaudarez.
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 149 
 
 " He is a splendid fellow," he exclaimed, 
 waving a hand to a distant figure on the platform, 
 " and he follows us to-night. Of course, our 
 people must know at once. He will go on to 
 Cadi to-morrow. It is a long journey, and I 
 could not take you there without a rest. Come, 
 little wife, there are none to see — I must kiss 
 you ! — must ! must ! " 
 
 He covered her face with passionate kisses, and 
 holding her close with a Spaniard's ardour, he 
 made the confession due to her. 
 
 "Ah," he said, "my people will forgive me 
 when they see you — I never doubted it ! They 
 must forgive me ! ' ' 
 
 She looked up at him, a little troubled. 
 
 " Are they so very terrible, then, your people, 
 Arthur?" 
 
 " They are not terrible, they are merely foolish. 
 But the law is there; and I am the first man 
 who has ever broken it." 
 
 " I do not understand you, dearest ; please tell 
 me." 
 
 "There is nothing to tell," he continued, with 
 a gaiety which was so plainly forced that it did 
 not deceive her. " By the law of Cadi I am 
 supposed to marry a Spaniard. I have not done 
 so. Very well, my people will be amused. At 
 first, perhaps, they will grumble ; but afterwards, 
 when they see you, little wife — ah, then " 
 
 He kissed her again, like one who would thus 
 silence her suspicions. He did not tell her that 
 by the law of Cadi the penalty for that which he 
 had done was death.
 
 150 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 " You should have told me before, dear," she 
 pleaded, with a gentle protest. " I do not think 
 it was right of you to have kept it from me." 
 
 He mocked her fears, but so caressingly that 
 she did not resist him. 
 
 " The girl who has reigned in Paris will cer- 
 tainly reign in my own country," he said. "Are 
 you not the most beautiful woman in all the world? 
 Let them search Europe — where would they find 
 such a wife for me ? You know that they could 
 not, Esther — the glass tells you so every day ! 
 You are mine — mine ! and I would not give you 
 up for all the kingdoms of the world ! " 
 
 He went on to blame himself for his candour, 
 assuring her that the very law had long been 
 forgotten in Spain, and promising her that when 
 he met old Xavier again, she would be the 
 mistress and not the pupil. 
 
 "Mine is a free people, but they love their Prince. 
 While he observes the common law, nothing is 
 denied to him. They will fete us to the end of 
 time, little wife. We shall dine all day and feast 
 all night. You must like Cadi ! I say that it is 
 the greatest city in Europe, and the palace has 
 been the treasure-house of kings. Gaudarez goes 
 on to make everything ready for us. I have 
 ordered carriages to meet us at Foix to-morrow 
 at dawn, and we shall reach St. Girons in time 
 for breakfast. Ah, ma mie, what days of love 
 before us — what days of love ! " 
 
 She listened patiently, although her suspicions 
 were awakened. From the first she had told 
 herself that sooner or later a cloud would darken
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 151 
 
 the horizon of her happiness. Here was the 
 truth at last. Esther would not hide it from 
 herself that if this law of Cadi were strictly- 
 enforced, her marriage could be nothing but 
 morganatic. Spain would not recognise her; 
 she would occupy the least enviable position that 
 can fall to a wife. 
 
 " If your people like me," she said, expressing 
 all her doubt. *' Are you sure of it, dear Arthur? 
 Have you thought what the consequences of dis- 
 like might be for us ? " 
 
 He leant back upon the cushions and tried to 
 play the philosopher. 
 
 " I never quarrel with the present, Esther," he 
 said. "We lose half the happiness of life when 
 we ask questions about to-morrow. Does it 
 really concern us, except sentimentally? I am 
 a rich man ; and whether I make my home in 
 France or in Spain you will share it. That is 
 enough for me. If Gaudarez comes back and 
 tells me unpleasant things, I shall not cross the 
 frontier. The lamb who lies down with the wolf 
 is not accustomed to dine upon mutton. If Cadi 
 says ' no,' very well ; we will return to Paris and 
 shake the snow off our heels. But it is foolish to 
 anticipate that which may not happen. My 
 people are romantic and our little story will 
 please them. I have implored Gaudarez to lose 
 no time. He understands how much depends 
 upon him. The rest of the programme is our own. 
 "We arrive at Foix about sunrise ; it is a long 
 drive through the hills, but my horses can do it 
 in eight hours. We should be at St. Girons in
 
 152 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 time for dinner. The place is bleak enough, and 
 I regard it merely as a stage. If Gaudarez 
 hurries, he can let us have the news on the 
 third day. We shall then ride on to Oust, and if 
 we have any luck we should be in the palace 
 within the week. I want to show you the palace, 
 Esther. My ancestors have lived there for more 
 than a thousand years — but do not think you will 
 see any ghosts. We have built a new wing, and 
 furnished it in the French style. You must choose 
 your own rooms and send to Paris for decorations. 
 Of course, I do not mean you to live in a mountain 
 city all the year round. We shall spend three 
 months there, and earn our holiday. Some day I 
 will take you to Devonshire, and you wuU show 
 me the pretty places. Oh, I know ! all you English 
 people are homesick, and you will be no exception. 
 If I wish to make you happy I must take you to 
 England — and, of course, I wish it, heart and 
 soul, because I love you ! Yes, I love you, and 
 would defy all the world for you ! " 
 
 Esther could not but respond affectionately to 
 such a faith in her own future. She had lived 
 too long in a wonder world to quarrel with her 
 present fortune or to anticipate the loss of it. 
 Her husband's promises did not appeal in vain 
 to a responsive imagination. She was always a 
 willing listener when he spoke of his home and 
 people. Despite her desire, she could not depict 
 the city of Cadi, nor imagine its circumstance. 
 Her idea of a palace was such as London and 
 Exeter had given her. She did not believe that 
 the house to which she was going would in any
 
 DOCTOK XAVIER 153 
 
 way resemble the palaces either of bishops or of 
 kings. If the plain truth were told, Arthur had 
 been so much the lover and so little the prince, 
 that she forgot sometimes that very gulf which 
 the social law would place between them. He 
 loved her ; she was his wife. The rest must be 
 in his hands. She cared not what it might be if 
 thereby he won happiness. 
 
 They dined at Orleans at half-past six, in the 
 restaurant car there attached to the express. 
 The wooded country through which they had 
 passed delighted Esther and gave her a truer 
 understanding of the beauties of Western France. 
 The quaint villages suggested a rural seclusion 
 which even Switzerland had failed to show her. 
 But here and there, a crucifix or an image, 
 catching a glow of the sinking sun, bore witness 
 to the peasants' faith and a creed unchanged. As 
 night fell and the train rolled onward toward the 
 South, even the villages became rarer and the 
 towns more distant. Occasionally, through the 
 night, Esther would look out of her windows to 
 see figures upon a station platform and to hear 
 the clanging of bells and the blowing of horns ; 
 but the hum of wheels and the cradle-like motion 
 of the carriage won sleep for her, and when she 
 awoke at last they were at Toulouse, and another 
 train awaited them. Thence, during the early 
 hours of morning, they sped on toward Foix and 
 the mountains. Day was just glimmering in the 
 heavens when the first stage of that long journey
 
 154 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 came to its end ; and stepping out upon a wide 
 platform, Esther knew that she was at Foix. 
 
 " We shall find my servants here, and the 
 carriages," Arthur had said while he helped her 
 to the platform and stacked their dressing-bags 
 beside her. " We must have some hot coffee and 
 then get on. I told them to put fur rugs in the 
 carriage and two of my heavy coats. We'll make 
 a soldier of you, Esther ; you won't complain of 
 the uniform when you get up into the hills." 
 
 She was but half awake, and not a little afraid 
 of the strange eyes which here stared at her so 
 curiously. Though it was then a little after six 
 o'clock in the morning, quite a number of people 
 had gathered upon the platform at Foix to meet 
 the express ; and they bustled hither and thither, 
 shouting and pushing and exchanging their effu- 
 sive greetings in a way quite characteristic of a 
 Southern race. Some of them, Esther observed, 
 were soldiers, and these she disliked cordially, for 
 they stared her out of countenance, and taking 
 advantage of her husband's absence, proffered an 
 assistance entirely unnecessary. She had feared 
 that some demonstration of welcome would have 
 awaited them at Foix, and it was not without 
 satisfaction that she found herself just an ordinary 
 traveller ahghting at a country station and doing 
 battle with the difficulties of a terminus. Arthur, 
 however, was anxious that she should not mis- 
 understand such apparent neglect, and he offered 
 her explanations over their hurried meal. 
 
 *' I knew that you would be tired ; and, besides, 
 we are in a hurry," he said. '* These people
 
 _ "Taking advantage of her 
 assistance entirely unnecessary." 
 
 husband's absence, proffered 
 
 an
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 155 
 
 would make speeches for a month if we gave 
 them any encouragement. We shall have enough 
 of that sort of thing to go through when we arrive 
 at the palace. It is a long drive from here and I 
 don't want my little girl to be dreadfully tired. 
 Come, drink up your coffee, Esther ; drink it 
 while it is hot. We sha'n't get such a chance 
 again until we reach St. Girons." 
 
 She obeyed him meekly, expressing her recogni- 
 tion of his consideration. 
 
 "You are very thoughtful, dear Arthur," she 
 said. "I am sure I should run away and hide 
 myself if any one presented me with an address. 
 You must please ask them not to — even at Cadi." 
 
 He laughed and helped her to fruit. When 
 breakfast was done, he went out to summon his 
 servants, and Esther was left alone for a brief 
 while in the corridor of the station. She did not 
 know what instinct made her turn suddenly, or 
 why she should have been conscious of some 
 presence there which was not friendly; but it 
 chanced that as she turned, she perceived a man 
 almost at her elbow, and recognising the bright 
 dress and the white bernouse of the Eastern, she 
 saw that it was Yussuf, the Moor, Doctor Xavier's 
 servant. For an instant she beheld his keen, 
 piercing black eyes regarding her ominously. 
 Then he vanished as mysteriously as he had 
 come, without word or sign, and almost before 
 she had realised how greatly his presence fright- 
 ened her. Arthur found her still flushed and 
 agitated, and it was difficult to tell him exactly 
 what had happened.
 
 156 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 "The Moor they call Yussuf, Doctor Xavier's 
 servant — I have just seen him in the corridor! " 
 she stammered, a little wildly. 
 
 He laughed at her fears, and instantly reassured 
 her. 
 
 " Of course you vi^ould. He is going to Cadi, as 
 we are. What are you afraid of, Esther ? What 
 has the man got to do with you? " 
 
 She could not tell him. She would not say 
 how much she feared the omen. 
 
 In the courtyard of the station they found an 
 old-fashioned barouche, and with it a fourgon for 
 their luggage. Esther noticed that the liveries of 
 the men-servants had once been showy, but were 
 now a little worn and faded. The carriage itself 
 suggested the France of the Empire; but the 
 horses were magnificent, and what was more, 
 there were four of them. 
 
 "It is eight years since I was at St. Girons," 
 Arthur said, like one a little dubious about the 
 reception awaiting them in his house. "To be 
 frank, I have almost forgotten what the place is 
 like. The steward says that it needs a fortune 
 spending on it. Most of these old castles in 
 Spain do ; but as no one has a fortune, they 
 remain uncared for. I have ordered the house- 
 keeper to light fires in every room, and to do the 
 best she can. If you were a sportsman, Esther 
 we would go and hunt ibex to-morrow. The men 
 here come of a hardy stock, and make splendid 
 hunters. Some day I will show you the Pyrenees, 
 and yoii will laugh at the Alps afterwards. There 
 is nothing in all the world like Garvarnie, at least
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 157 
 
 I think so ! We do not let off fireworks, and we 
 do not love German bands at St. Girons ; but we 
 are none the worse for that. Switzerland has 
 copied the Champs de Mars and is done for. At 
 St. Girons you may live as the old knights lived 
 a thousand years ago. Does it tempt you? Not 
 a bit? You are asking for the young knights 
 already ! " 
 
 He ran on, anxious to please her, and pointing 
 out the many beautiful scenes of that magnificent 
 country. Esther had visited Switzerland, but she 
 could already admit the remoter grandeur of the 
 Spanish mountains. The scenery was the superb 
 realisation of one of Gustave Dore's pictures, she 
 thought : vast, gloomy and awe-inspiring, and, 
 upon that, bewitching and speaking of eternal 
 summer. The road wound ever upward, here 
 above a splendid valley, there through the forests 
 of pine ; amid mighty crags, or upon the border 
 of abysses so terrible that the eye could not 
 fathom their gloomy depths. There were villages 
 on the verdant plains below : clusters of red- 
 roofed houses hke dots upon a chart of green ; 
 churches from whose steeple sweet bells called 
 the peasants to Mass. At the valley's heart a 
 little river went leaping and foaming in a bed of 
 black and forbidding rocks. The snow-capped 
 peaks crowned all — a distant range of giants, so 
 far away, so stupendous in their grandeur that 
 they might have marked the boundaries of the 
 unknown world. 
 
 • • • • • 
 
 They reached the castle at five o'clock that
 
 158 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 afternoon. For an hour at least darkness had 
 shut out those fantastic pictures of gorge and 
 height which the long afternoon gave them so 
 abundantly. Esther lay in her husband's arms 
 and lost all sense of time or place. When she 
 awoke he was lifting her from the carriage, and 
 the light of a lantern flashed in her face. Night 
 had come down in earnest now ; the wind whistled 
 dolefully through the caverns of the hills, and 
 Esther, but half awake, believed at the first that 
 some accident had overtaken them. A moment 
 later, however, she perceived the narrow windows 
 of some building above her, and could distinguish 
 a cluster of spires and a great arched gate, through 
 which the barouche drove away. The sound of 
 strange voices, too, fell upon her ears ; and then, 
 out of this bitter night she was carried swiftly to 
 the warmth and the light of some vast room, and 
 waking thoroughly she knew that the journey was 
 ended and that this was Arthur's home. 
 
 " Come," he said gaily, brushing the snowflakes 
 off his coat, and holding his hands to the ruddy 
 blaze, " come and warm yourself, little wife ! 
 You are really at St. Girons — you are home at 
 last ! " 
 
 She loosened her cloak and bent toward the 
 flaming logs. The room in which they sat was 
 ill-lighted enough, but she could see something 
 of its immensity and of that strange melange of 
 riches and poverty it displayed. The chimney- 
 piece, she thought, must be the largest in the 
 world. You could have roasted an ox upon the 
 hearth, and high above the ingle bizarre figures.
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 159 
 
 carved in jet-black oak, lifted a baldachino to the 
 very ceiling. A buffet, just as odd, matched this 
 giant chimney-piece. The v^^alls were hung vi^ith 
 torn and tattered tapestry. Chairs and tables of 
 oak might have been hacked by the swords of an 
 army. 
 
 There was no carpet on the floor, but the candle- 
 sticks were of pure silver and worthy a king's 
 house. Esther's first impression of this room 
 was of its homeliness in spite of all. The 
 weird scenes she had quitted in the mountains 
 had left her a little awed and afraid. She was 
 like one who had found a haven from the night. 
 It was all shut out now — all behind her; these 
 amazing walls were her defence. Her lover stood 
 beside her; the blazing fire brought the blood 
 back to her stiffened limbs. 
 
 " I am sure that I shall like it, Arthur," she 
 exclaimed upon an impulse of her gratitude. 
 " How kind you are to me ! Imagine being 
 alone on that dreadful road ! I shall never let 
 you out of my sight while I am here! " 
 
 He knelt beside her and took both her hands in 
 his own. 
 
 "Never!" he said, "it is a promise — never 
 until my life's end." 
 
 They dined alone in the great hall, the old 
 steward, Martinez, waiting upon them. When 
 dinner was done, Arthur showed her a prettier 
 room, furnished in the fashion of France, with 
 Louis XV. ornaments and an old piano, which, 
 like all old pianos, had once been the property of 
 Chopin. Here for an hour she played to him, and
 
 160 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 then at his bidding (for her fatigue was un- 
 mistakable) she followed an old woman of the 
 house up a narrow winding stairway to her bed- 
 room, and was left for the time being alone. 
 That sense of homeliness she had discovered 
 below was not lacking upstairs, despite walls of 
 white stone, and windows which recalled the 
 years of chivalry. Blazing logs upon an open 
 hearth suffused a gentle warmth, and cast their 
 welcome glow upon the high groined ceiling. 
 The bed was curtained with dimity, white and 
 spotless. Many candles stood upon a wide 
 dressing-table ; there were even fresh roses from 
 the valleys in vases of Sevres. From the 
 windows, which were little more than loopholes 
 in tremendous walls of stone, a vista of the pass 
 could be seen, and the road by which they had 
 come up to the castle. 
 
 The night fell calm and still, and the wailing 
 wind had ceased. A moon, waxing full and 
 enshrouded in golden mist, rose up between 
 two frowning peaks and pointed the untrodden 
 snow with gems of fire. The sky itself was 
 luminously blue and altogether bereft of cloud. 
 Esther perceived that the castle stood upon a 
 spur of rock and thence thrust out its Moorish 
 gables above an immense abyss. The road to 
 Foix resembled nothing so much as a winding 
 stairway, zigzagging from peak to peak, and 
 oft so narrow that she wondered a carriage 
 might follow it safely. Vivid as her impressions 
 were of the country to which the day had intro- 
 duced her, this moonlight scene surpassed all the
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 161 
 
 grandeur of its changing shapes and the variety 
 of its weird defiles. Mighty precipices abounded 
 there at the height of the pass. Black basins of 
 rock, prodigiously deep and surmounted by spires 
 and pinnacles which evil spirits might have 
 shaped, suggested a nether world, unknown and 
 profoundly mysterious. The snow-caps them- 
 selves won beauty of the moonlight; some of 
 them were but rounded domes, gentle to the eye 
 and pleasing ; others, jagged and twisted, leaned 
 at such odd angles and were so tilted from the 
 perpendicular that you might have thought a 
 touch of the hand would have sent them headlong 
 into the valleys below. 
 
 Esther found this scene of gorge and crag so 
 alluring that she delayed undressing for many 
 minutes to enjoy it. She was alone in the room 
 and none troubled her. Her maid, Suzanne, was 
 to follow them from Paris to-morrow — the 
 willing housekeeper spoke Spanish with amazing 
 volubility, but had no other tongue. Esther was 
 very pleased when the old woman went about 
 her business and left her to herself. She had 
 never been a lover of strange faces, and at such 
 an hour she did not desire them at all. If amid 
 the natural excitement of that night her thoughts 
 passed in any way from her present occupations, 
 it was to remind her how far she had journeyed 
 from England, and in what circumstances of 
 isolation and dependence. Arthur's love meant 
 so much to her in this lonely house. She clung 
 to it as to something which would safeguard her 
 wherever they might be, and sooner or later 
 
 12
 
 162 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 would carry her back to the world again. If she 
 had ever questioned the meaning of her love, this 
 night answered her finally. She was naturally a 
 girl of great courage, but she joined to this a 
 disposition to rely both upon the fidelity and the 
 affection of the friend she trusted. This gaunt 
 castle, so silent, so remote, asked of her those 
 qualities of mind and heart which were most 
 characteristic of her girlhood. 
 
 She had changed her dress when first she 
 entered the room, and put on a rose-pink dressing- 
 gown in its place, allowing her abundant hair to 
 fall upon her pretty shoulders and trying to feel 
 at her ease. The glass showed her a rosy face, 
 and arms and shoulders superbly white. If her 
 thoughts wandered from the entrancing present, 
 it was to remind her of the hand which had 
 showered these gifts upon her and had made 
 her future possible. She could not think hardly 
 of Doctor Xavier, nor believe him to be her 
 husband's enemy. She was so supremely happy 
 herself that she desired the happiness of others 
 and of all who had befriended her loneliness. 
 
 Such reflections caused her to be a little pre- 
 occupied and to undress at her leisure. She 
 awoke from them suddenly to remember what a 
 long time she had been, and was about to make 
 greater haste when, looking from the window 
 by chance, she beheld something upon the 
 mountain path which instantly arrested her 
 attention and, she knew not why, excited a 
 swift suspicion. But a quarter of an hour ago the 
 utter loneliness of that road and the solitude of
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 163 
 
 the pass spoke eloquently of the winter's night ; 
 but now, observing it for the second time, she 
 perceived that there were horsemen upon it, a 
 straggling company riding up in single file and 
 making, as far as she could judge, for the postern 
 of the castle. The moonlight showed her these 
 figures with great distinctness. Effulgent beams 
 scintillated upon the bright barrels of their rifles 
 and silvered bit and spur, and all their stern 
 accoutrement. She thought that she could place 
 their captain, a cautious horseman, who turned 
 from time to time to address a trooper near to 
 him, or who halted for whole minutes together to 
 observe the gate he approached. Esther could 
 not imagine why those men came to St. Girons or 
 what their business there might be. If she leaped 
 to some wild idea of the truth, her own pre- 
 carious past was not altogether unconcerned 
 with it. From the first she could not believe 
 that such happiness as had come to her could 
 endure. There must be a price, a surprise and 
 a rude awakening. Here, upon the road to 
 Foix was the witness to the justice of that 
 scepticism. The silent cloaked horsemen, the 
 untrodden snow, the glittering peaks above, 
 towers and turrets in the gloom below, helped 
 her imagination in its new alarm. She was sure 
 that danger menaced her. Nothing could banish 
 that premonition — and stubborn in her submission 
 she began quickly but with some composure to 
 dress again. When next she looked from the 
 window, the Bartizan Tower hid the men from 
 her sight. Esther bound up her hair, pinned it
 
 164 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 loosely, and trying to tell herself that she was 
 foolish to be afraid, she went to her bedroom door 
 and opened it. The narrow winding stair by 
 which she had ascended was in darkness now. 
 She distinguished voices — that of her husband 
 and, as she believed of the steward Martinez — 
 and somewhat reassured by these she withdrew 
 into her room, and for a little while heard 
 nothing but the sound of her own heart beating. 
 
 These suspicions — ^unjustified but girlish — 
 endured for a full five minutes. Esther was quite 
 ready to tell herself that her acts were very 
 ridiculous, and that the horsemen were no other 
 than travellers crossing by night to Spain, when 
 a quick step upon the stair turned her eyes to the 
 door again, and she was about to open it when 
 her husband burst in unceremoniously and by 
 word and manner at once confirmed her doubts. 
 
 "Where are you, Esther?" he asked; and 
 then perceiving her, exclaimed, " why, you are 
 still dressed ! " 
 
 She told him everything, without disguise. 
 
 "It is very silly of me, but I have been 
 frightened — and Arthur, what does it mean — 
 why are those men at St. Girons ? " 
 
 He asked her "what men?" pretending to be 
 ignorant of it ; but she persisted — 
 
 " I went to my window and the snow was 
 untrodden — then I looked again and there were 
 soldiers riding up ! What is it, dear ; please tell 
 me?" 
 
 He made a brave effort, but he could not con- 
 ceal his apprehensions from her ; and so, holding
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 165 
 
 both her hot hands in his and kissing her, he put 
 the best face he could upon it. 
 
 " Something has happened — perhaps it is 
 Gaudarez who has news for me. I have sent 
 Martinez to the gate. You must lock your door 
 and wait until I come up. Of course there is no 
 danger, but it is as well to be careful in this wild 
 place. You must not be frightened, Esther. 
 The people about here are all my friends ; they 
 would do anything for me." 
 
 He broke off abruptly and dropped her hands. 
 A woman's wild scream, ringing through the hall 
 below, gave him the lie and left in his eyes the 
 wild look of a hunted man. He kissed Esther 
 passionately, his pulse throbbed in every vein. 
 
 " I will soon settle this," he cried ; " wait till I 
 come." And without another word he went 
 down the stairs and she was alone again. 
 
 She did not lock the door, it occurred to her 
 even then that he might be driven back and 
 return to her. Holding a candle in her hand she 
 took up a position at the stairs' head and waited 
 more fearfully than she had ever done in all her 
 life. The suspense was intolerable ; the shadows 
 upon the winding stair she peopled with dreadful 
 figures. The worst was known now — the swift 
 cataclysm in which life, happiness, all might be 
 lost. From the hall below came the sound of 
 angry argument and of swords trailing upon 
 the boards. Arthur's voice, clear and distinct 
 above the others, was raised from time to time in 
 command or entreaty ; but it gave place suddenly 
 to a sharp cry like tha,t of a man stricken down
 
 166 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 unawares. Esther believed that they had killed 
 her lover ; she reeled half swooning against the 
 wall; the light fell from her hands and she 
 waited in utter darkness. What awful crime had 
 been committed ? The uncertainty drove her 
 as with a goad. She could hear the clash of 
 swords, the deep breathing of men in anger, the 
 shuffling and gasping cry of those who fight 
 for life. Hoarse shouts filled the house ; they 
 died down as suddenly, and silence, profound and 
 meaning, followed upon the uproar. In the ebb 
 of the storm the messenger of death spoke clearly. 
 A body fell with a heavy thud, unmistakable, 
 dreadful to hear. Esther could control herself 
 no longer. She ran wildly down the stairs and 
 broke in upon the scene. 
 
 Twenty men were grouped about the hearth in 
 the great hall, and the swords of three of them 
 were unsheathed. Such light as fell upon the 
 room shone upward from the reddening embers of 
 the logs. Capricious rays, they flashed out upon 
 forbidding faces and grim figures, leaving as in 
 the shadow of the grave the body of a man who 
 had fallen dead across the table. Esther's silent 
 tread had been heard by none, but the cry which 
 escaped her lips when she entered the hall brought 
 every eye upon her and sent the swords to the 
 sheaths. A burly man, fat and squat and 
 threatening, strode towards her without ceremony. 
 
 "Ah," he said in broken French, "you save us 
 the trouble, then, senorita ! " 
 
 She shuddered at his touch, but her courage 
 did not leave her.
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 167 
 
 " Where is my husband ? " she asked. "What 
 have you done with him ? " 
 
 The man dragged her to the Hght and laughed 
 in bravado. 
 
 " The Prince sends his compliments, senorita. 
 He is called away. Yon fellow had a message 
 but is too lazy to speak it. Come, we were waiting 
 for you. It is time to be going, senorita." 
 
 She snatched her hand from the man and, 
 covering her face, shut out the figure of the dead. 
 It was not Arthur but another who lay so still in 
 the shadows. Her rehef was intense ; she turned 
 to the men, imploring their pity. 
 
 " Where is my husband ? — oh, in God's name, 
 take me to him." 
 
 No one seemed very willing to answer this 
 pitiful appeal, but when she repeated it with 
 tears in her eyes and her hands outstretched to 
 them, a young trooper stepped forward and 
 said — 
 
 "By the Virgin, senorita, but I will do what 
 you want." 
 
 It was a chivalrous boast but vain. Scarcely 
 had he spoken the words when another — a 
 wild hill-man, drunk and reckless — pulled a dagger 
 from his girdle and drove it to the youth's heart. 
 He rolled headlong, almost to Esther's feet, and 
 while his life's blood gushed out upon the floor 
 she lost all consciousness and fell, swooning, by 
 his side.
 
 CHAPTEE XIII 
 
 A FRESH wind of dawn blowing coldly upon her 
 face awoke Esther from her dream-like swoon. 
 She opened her eyes and became aware that the 
 sun was shining upon her face and that the night 
 had passed. Anon, her situation shaped more 
 clearly, and she understood that she was strapped 
 upon a horse's back and that the animal's un- 
 certain step rocked her as in the rudest cradle. 
 She was very ill and her brain burned, defying all 
 clear thought. If she remembered anything of 
 yesterday, it was at first indistinctly as something 
 which she would well forget. One by one, how- 
 ever, events shaped themselves. She recalled her 
 arrival at Foix, the scene at the station, the 
 drive through the hills, the silent gorge, the 
 castle perched upon the height. She dwelt upon 
 Arthur's passionate tenderness when they were 
 together at their journey's end. She recalled her 
 musings in the bedroom, the picture of the snow- 
 bound road, and then, as in a flash, the whole 
 story of the tragedy ! Her despair at such a 
 moment was beyond words to describe. She 
 knew not whence the outrage had come, or why. 
 At one time she was willing to think that these 
 
 168
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 169 
 
 men were brigands of the hills who would carry 
 her to their hiding-places where she might expect 
 a fate worse than death. But this thought she 
 quickly rejected. No mere hill-thief would 
 venture an attack upon her husband's house. 
 She must find her answer in a subtler plan — nor 
 could she separate her misfortunes from the story 
 of Arthur's kingdom and of his months of exile. 
 He himself had warned her that all might not be 
 as he would wish it. This hour of crisis was the 
 justification of his doubts. 
 
 She suffered terribly from the cold, though 
 they had wrapped fur coats about her and even 
 covered her face with a woollen shawl. The 
 bonds which bound her to the saddle were cruelly 
 tight and left her hands and feet white and blood- 
 less. She could have cried for very pain of it, 
 and yet suffered in silence. That many accom- 
 panied her upon this strange journey the circum- 
 stances of the hour denied. From time to time 
 she heard a harsh voice encouraging a horse or 
 cursing a loiterer, but the voice was never 
 answered and it always ended in guttural self- 
 approval. The road itself told her nothing. She 
 perceived a mighty wall of rock upon her left 
 hand, rising sheer, as it were, to the very 
 heavens. Her eyes could not fathom the abyss 
 below and she understood that they were upon 
 the ledge of a precipice, decending to the valley's 
 heart. Thus, for a full hour, she endured her 
 torture with a woman's unbroken courage. They 
 could but kill her, she said. She could be content 
 to die if she knew that Arthur lived.
 
 170 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 The cortege, if such it might be called, halted 
 at last, and for the first time Esther beheld the 
 face of one of her captors. This man she recog- 
 nised at once for the burly ruffian who led the 
 troop last night. His uniform was blue with 
 metal buttons. He wore an odd-shaped busby 
 and carried an ancient sword at his belt. As last 
 night so now, his air of self-importance was tre- 
 mendous, and not less ridiculous than the French 
 tongue he delighted to misuse. 
 
 " So," he said, crying out in mock surprise, 
 " Her Highness is awake ! Come here, Pablo, 
 come and help me to pay my respects." 
 
 He lumbered from his horse and tugged 
 clumsily at the ropes which bound her. She 
 was so faint and bloodless that she could scarcely 
 stand when her feet touched the ground ; the 
 touch of the man's hand was loathsome to her, 
 and she drew away from him, clinging to the 
 horse. *' Please leave me," she exclaimed, " please 
 leave me alone. I do not want your help." 
 
 He laughed loudly, and, breaking into Spanish, 
 addressed her in a long speech of which she could 
 not understand a single word. When he remem- 
 bered his broken French again it was to excuse 
 himself upon a pretence of necessity, but with 
 the air of one who would say, "I do what I 
 please ! " 
 
 "The ropes were tight? yes, would you fall 
 down the mountain? I, Alonzo, I make it my 
 business to save your life. You are cold, but the 
 wine will warm you. Here is the posada of 
 Vic-Dessos. We shall eat and drink, senorita —
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 171 
 
 ay, can you eat and drink ? Well, I can, if you 
 will not ! " 
 
 The sunshine and the softer air of the valley 
 brought the blood back to Esther's tingling limbs, 
 and although she felt very sick and giddy and her 
 heart sank at every word, she did not answer the 
 man nor again appeal to his pity. The place they 
 had come to was a little grassy knoll above the 
 bed of a mountain cascade. Here was a rude 
 inn built of planks. Peasants sat at a little table 
 beneath the shelter of a clump of pines. The 
 valley itself spread out far and wide upon her 
 left hand, disclosing a pleasing scene of field and 
 pasture and nestling villages. Now that she could 
 count the number of her escort, she perceived that 
 the company was five in all, and that one of them 
 was the man who had struck her befriender down 
 last night. Not a shred of romance could she 
 now permit these roving bandits. The less kindly 
 sunlight declared many a rent in their tattered 
 uniforms and showed their accoutrement as but 
 a metal sham. They were indescribably dirty, 
 ferocious in mien and obviously drunken. Whither 
 they were taking her or to what end, she knew no 
 more than the dead. Wild stories of the Pyrenees 
 and its mountain bands had been told her often in 
 Doctor Xavier's house. She believed that her 
 story was the simplest — she had fallen into the 
 hands of the hill-men and would be lucky to escape 
 them with her life. 
 
 They led her to a seat before the inn door, and 
 there left her to rest her weary limbs. A Spanish 
 woman, fat but not unkindly, set a bottle of harsh
 
 172 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 wine before her and a mess of kid's flesh from 
 which she turned with loathing. Her escort, mean- 
 while, drank deep and quarrelled no less liberally. 
 The leader himself, the man they named Alonzo, 
 appeared to Esther to have a genius for long 
 speeches which was altogether remarkable. From 
 time to time he addressed her as though she had 
 been an audience of ten thousand, in a tongue 
 entirely foreign to her and with an emphasis 
 absolutely unnecessary. His fellows, meanwhile, 
 played a game with greasy cards and pointed their 
 remarks from time to time with a fine display of 
 Spanish knives. The intruding peasants, taking 
 in the situation at a glance, went off one by one, 
 and left the robbers in possession of the inn. No 
 scene of contrasts more picturesque could have 
 been discovered or imagined. Yonder on the 
 heights was the glory and the solitude of sternest 
 winter ; here in the valley the murmur of streams, 
 the rustling of leaves, the pasture land, the first- 
 fruits of a Southern spring. When the bellowing 
 voice permitted her to hear it, Esther was con- 
 scious of that buzz of insect life which ever 
 follows abundant sunshine. The cascade, leaping 
 down from boulder to boulder, gave a weird music 
 whose note was plaintive and not a little melan- 
 choly. 
 
 Esther's brave demeanour both perplexed and 
 angered the leader of the band. He had sent the 
 landlord hither, thither, in quest of such meagre 
 entertainment as the inn could afford ; and when 
 Esther would do no more than sip her wine, and 
 turned sick and faint from the mess of food they
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 173 
 
 offered her, he was alternately threatening and 
 persuasive. 
 
 "Ah," he said, "we must teach you to be 
 obedient, sefiorita. You wish to frighten us. 
 Look at me, Alonzo Delarez — am I one to be 
 afraid ? By the Virgin of Cadi, I am not fright- 
 ened at all ! Here is a little whip, sefiorita. If 
 you make me, I shall know how to use it. Observe 
 my features ; do you detect any weakness there ? 
 Holy Image ! I have known some obstinate 
 females in my time. It is like a woman to die 
 for spite— but you shall not die, not just yet, 
 seiiorita, so please to eat. Do not compel me 
 to forget myself." 
 
 She did not look at him, did not say a word. 
 He carried a riding whip in his hand, and he 
 gripped the leather of it tightly, while with the 
 other hand he pushed the dish toward her. 
 
 " Do you hear? " he repeated, " I am ordering 
 you to eat ! " 
 
 Again she did not answer, did not make a 
 movement. Chagrined at her obstinacy, he 
 caught her by the wrist and raised his whip 
 suddenly. 
 
 "None of your fine airs here! " he exclaimed, 
 with the bully's deHght at her helplessness. 
 " Will you eat that meat or will you not ? " 
 
 She beheved that he would strike her, and she 
 did not shrink from the blow. The others ap- 
 plauded him, crying, "Well done, old Alonzo!" 
 The woman of the posada stood with folded arms 
 watching the scene indifferently. The question 
 had been put for the third time ; Esther beheved
 
 174 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 that nothing could save her from this terrible 
 ignominy of a blow, when, without any warning, 
 a loud clatter of hoofs was heard upon the path, 
 and before any man could stir hand or foot a 
 troop of cavalry swept down the defile and reined 
 back in a dramatic halt at the very door of the 
 inn. For an instant Esther did not know whether 
 the newcomers were friends or foes. She perceived 
 many bright blue uniforms and heard an officer 
 talking angrily. Then she understood that the 
 ruffian, Alonzo, was excusing himself as best he 
 could ; but he had not uttered many words when 
 some one snatched the whip from his hand and 
 beat him unmercifully. Esther saw the blood 
 running from his face while he grovelled upon 
 his knees before a burly trooper ; she beheld the 
 remaining bandits flying wildly to the hills ; then 
 some one spoke to her, and she burst into a flood 
 of tears. 
 
 " Good God, mademoiselle ! what does this 
 mean — who are you? How did you come to 
 this place? " 
 
 She raised her eyes, and found herself face to 
 face with a man of fine presence, and apparently 
 of some thirty years of age. He wore the uniform 
 of a regiment of hussars, bright blue in colour and 
 heavily laced with gold. His white-gloved hand 
 rested lightly upon the gold hilt of his sword. 
 His words seemed well meant ; he offered her a 
 soldier's homage. 
 
 " Do not be afraid, I beg of you," he said. " I 
 am the Comte de Foix ; these are my men. You 
 have nothing to fear from them."
 
 "Somebody snatched the wiiip from his hand, and beat 
 unmercifully." 
 
 lum
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 175 
 
 She dried her tears and answered him quite 
 frankly — 
 
 "My home is at St. Girons — I arrived there 
 from Paris yesterday — if you could send a message 
 there, my husband would be very grateful to you." 
 
 He turned and called a trooper to him. Nothing 
 was easier than to do as she asked. 
 
 "You are staying with the Prince, then, 
 madame?" he asked. 
 
 "'I am his wife," she said. 
 
 The Count regarded her with a look expressing 
 both amazement and incredulity. 
 
 " The wife of my Prince, madame ! — impossible ! 
 This is his own regiment. Please do not jest with 
 me. I am one of His Highness's oldest friends." 
 
 "Sir," she said, "I would ask you if anyone 
 in my circumstances would wish to jest. If you 
 doubt me, send to St. Girons at once. I do not 
 know whether my husband is alive or dead. You 
 can understand what I suffer." 
 
 He did not seem to hear her; his hesitation 
 was not to be disguised. Some of the hussars, by 
 this time, had dismounted from their horses and 
 they held them in a circle about the inn door. 
 The landlady had gone flying into the house at 
 the first word spoken. The bandit, Alonzo, hung 
 limp and dead above the moaning cascade. They 
 hanged him without pity from a branch of the 
 oak in the garden of the inn. When the Count 
 next spoke, he gave an order which sent six of 
 the troopers at the gallop toward St. Girons. 
 
 " Let me have tidings before sunset. The 
 Prince is to know that I have ridden to the
 
 176 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 frontier with this lady. If you find any stranger 
 in the castle, hang him without question ; say 
 that the Comte de Foix is your authority. You 
 others, get a litter ready. Madame cannot walk. 
 Let a file go on to Merens and prepare breakfast. 
 We shall be there in an hour." 
 
 They obeyed him with that rare dispatch which 
 characterises a well-drilled troop. East and west 
 horsemen went clattering up the pass. Others 
 entered the inn and emerged with wood and ropes 
 and sheeting. Esther, whose tears were still un- 
 dried upon her face, watched them with eager 
 eyes. She was not thinking of herself but of six 
 who rode headlong to St. Girons. The Count had 
 said that he was taking her to Cadi. She was 
 sure that she was not mistaken. She wondered 
 if his will were adamantine. 
 
 "You are ill, madame," he said, with charac- 
 teristic sympathy. " Please tell me exactly what 
 has happened. I may be very stupid, but I am 
 still in ignorance." 
 
 She told him from the beginning. 
 
 **I am the adopted daughter of Doctor Xavier 
 of Cadi. I was married to Prince Arthur in Paris 
 two days ago. We came to Foix by train and 
 then drove to St. Girons. It must have been 
 eleven o'clock at night when these men entered 
 the castle. I saw them from my window and 
 told my husband. He made hght of it, and left 
 me — I have not seen him since. When I went 
 down to the hall he was not there. I must have 
 swooned. I remembered nothing more until I 
 awoke almost at this inn door."
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 177 
 
 " Your anxiety is unnecessary," he replied, 
 suavely. I have no doubt whatever of the 
 Prince's safety. These men are vulgar thieves. 
 They will scatter directly a troop appears in the 
 hills. I imagine they were in ignorance that the 
 Prince was at St. Girons. They certainly have 
 not courage enough to do him an injury ! " 
 
 With this and similar assurances he did his 
 best to persuade her. She thought it a little odd 
 that he had never once spoken of her marriage or 
 appeared to recognise it. He addressed her as a 
 stranger, it may be as one who had shared the 
 hospitality of St. Girons ; but of her act and its 
 consequences he was careful not to speak. 
 
 "In any case we shall not be long in doubt," 
 he said ; " my men have definite instructions and 
 will obey them to the letter. If you feel equal to 
 it, we will now go on to Merens ; I am sure it is 
 the wiser course, madame." 
 
 It was plain to her that he would insist upon 
 it, and the futility of further protest being evident, 
 she gave her reluctant consent and thanked him 
 for his solicitude. Troopers had, by this time, 
 contrived a rude litter of poles and sheeting and 
 in this they carried her from the inn — for she was 
 far too weak to walk, and even the most trifling 
 exertion caused her an effort. Esther wondered, 
 in spite of all, if any English girl had ever crossed 
 the mountains in such a fashion — escorted by a 
 hundred Spanish hussars who had snatched her 
 from insult or from death. The troopers' jangling 
 arms, the bugle's deep note, the tossing plumes, 
 the capering horses suggested some wild pageant 
 
 13
 
 178 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 of the hills which no story-book surpassed. Her 
 imagination would have delighted in such a 
 spectacle but for that vivid doubt which followed 
 every step and harassed her unpityingly. Was 
 Arthur alive ? When and where would he come 
 to her ? Had her love-dream ended for ever ? 
 She knew not. Some crisis of her fate had over- 
 taken her, and the future lay in God's hands. 
 Esther, troubled in her new security, lay back 
 upon the pillow and let the sunshine fall upon her 
 tired face. In the end she slept, and in her sleep 
 she heard her lover's voice.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 It was twelve o'clock when the cavalry rode into 
 the hamlet of Merens, and some quarter of an 
 hour later when Esther herself arrived at the inn 
 door and was at once shown up to a spick-and-span 
 bedroom upon the first floor. The kindness of 
 those into whose hands she had fallen, and the 
 refusal to believe that ill-news of her husband was 
 possible had done not a little to restore her 
 strength ; and although her wrists were still red 
 where the cords had bound them, and her cheeks 
 had lost their rosy colour, her desire to be active 
 caused her to make light of these troubles, and to 
 assure the Comte de Foix that all was well with 
 her. The inn itself stood a picture for the eye — 
 white and clean and conspicuous in a pretty 
 village. A little girl who had once been in 
 England, and was a great celebrity upon that 
 account, attended Esther to her room and could 
 not do enough for her. 
 
 "It is my Uncle Jose who keeps the inn," she 
 said, delighted at a chance of airing a foreign 
 tongue. " I have been three years in England, 
 miss, in Regent Park. Some day I hope to go 
 there again. The English come to Merens when 
 it is summer time, and I speak to them. It is 
 
 179
 
 180 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 funny to hear their Spanish, miss ; they say, ' Si, 
 si, seiiorita,' and think it means everything. 
 Have you come from Garvarnie ? — no ! Oh, but 
 you should see Garvarnie ! It is the most beautiful 
 place in the world. And all the English go there. 
 Will you have hot vi^ater, miss ? Wait, then, and 
 I will run ! " 
 
 She raced away like a hare, glad to be occupied, 
 and more particularly to tell her friends below 
 that miss was really EngHsh, Esther meanwhile 
 laid aside her black mantilla — the robbers' legacy 
 — and when she had bathed her face in clear, cold 
 water and arranged her disordered dress, she 
 opened a folding glass above the washing-stand, 
 and so beheld herself for the first time since she 
 had quitted St. Girons. The change in her ap- 
 pearance both distressed and surprised her. She 
 had not believed it possible that one night could 
 so alter her or leave such traces of its events. 
 None would call her beautiful to-day, not even in 
 flattery. The ghastly pallor of her face, and the 
 deep black rings beneath her eyes, recalled in an 
 instant the Esther of seven months ago, the 
 Esther of the garret and the theatre door. Never- 
 theless she could not at once believe in the truth 
 which the glass disclosed to her, and she said 
 that such a punishment of her imprudence would 
 be greater than she could bear. Was Franciso 
 Xavier but a charlatan after all ! The mirror 
 could not lie. Esther buried her face in her 
 hands and would not look in the glass again. 
 
 This fit of despondency did not long endure. 
 There are depths of despair which, when fathomed,
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 181 
 
 leave the mind calm and uncritical. Never from 
 the first had Esther wanted a v^oman's courage, 
 or proved herself unworthy of that self-confidence 
 which is life's surest staff. Eeflection told her 
 that no woman could go through what she had 
 gone through and come out unscathed. She was 
 ill, weak, anxious. Let there be good news from 
 St. Girons and the colour would come back to her 
 cheeks, the brightness to her eyes. This she did 
 not doubt ; and greatly helped by her own good 
 common-sense, she made what toilet she could 
 and went down to the salle a manger. Here a 
 tempting breakfast awaited her. Not in vain 
 had the little Spanish girl spent six months in 
 " Eegent Park." Tea was the national drink of 
 England, therefore it must be ready for the 
 English miss, and ready it was, poor yellow stuff, 
 boiling and tasteless. But the bread was spotless ; 
 the omelet, the eggs, the mutton, excellent. And 
 to these the Comte de Foix, who sat with her, 
 added words of good cheer. He promised her to 
 wait at Merens until they had the news from the 
 hills. 
 
 " It is in my mind," he said, " that the Prince 
 was not in the house when these rogues left it. 
 Possibly he had gone to the nearest post for 
 assistance. If that is so a few hours should bring 
 him to us. You must really make an effort to get 
 well before he comes, madame. I have a great 
 responsibility, and it is my duty to remember it. 
 Please to drink all the wine in that bottle, and 
 when you have drunk it, I will order another to 
 be opened."
 
 182 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 He pushed a bottle of white wine to her, joining 
 in her amusement at his proposal. She was a 
 little astonished that he avoided discussing those 
 events of which she knew he was thinking deeply. 
 Here, as upon the high road, no mention was 
 made of her marriage to the Prince ; and yet the 
 omission was so discreet that she could not resent 
 it. The Count displayed the urbanity and the 
 polish of a cosmopolitan. He had been much in 
 England, had raced his horses there, had shot a 
 Yorkshire moor, was a member of half the Jockey 
 clubs, and numbered many acquaintances in the 
 social world. Esther could not help wondering 
 what he would say if he knew her story, her 
 simple life in the old cathedral city, her bitter 
 days of poverty and struggle. But she was quite 
 wise enough to say nothing about them. She 
 encouraged him to talk. 
 
 " I know all the cities of Europe," he said, with 
 some pardonable vanity ; '* but, really, I would 
 change none of them for this little provincial 
 town of Cadi to which we are going. It has all 
 the advantages of Paris, and is not one-fifth the 
 size. Its theatre is one of the finest in Europe. 
 When there is only one playhouse in a city, a man 
 does not spend an hour in the morning asking 
 what he shall see at night. Those who are fond 
 of old buildings discover that our cathedral is as 
 old as the Romans. I suppose it is an advantage 
 to have things very old, especially when one is 
 referring to one's female relatives and their for- 
 tunes. In Cadi you go to a Roman church at 
 eight o'clock in the morning and to an English
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 183 
 
 racecourse at twelve. There is five o'clock tea at 
 Dumine's, one of the finest restaurants in Europe ; 
 and for a fortnight at least in every year Jean de 
 Eeszke at the opera afterwards. Our women are 
 the prettiest in the South : there are so many of 
 them that we do not quarrel. We have a breed 
 of horses which few countries can surpass. If 
 you like riding you will like Cadi. Tell me that 
 you paint, and I will show you Murillo's master- 
 pieces for your models. If you sing, there is 
 Felipe Marcia, who will give you the execution of 
 an angel and the abuse of a jockey. Our people 
 are quick in their affections, but changeable. 
 We cry ' Viva ' to-night, and hang the man to- 
 morrow. Duels are to be arranged at all hours of 
 the day and night. You can get a man killed for 
 sixpence, and buy the judge for threepence-half- 
 penny. Perhaps that is why we are so happy. A 
 careless race, readily victimised by an adventurer 
 — such a people is difficult to govern. It demands 
 many qualities in a ruler — will, firmness, an 
 appeal to its romantic side, singular patriotism. 
 Our Prince has already been too long away from 
 us. I am very glad to hear that he is returning." 
 She listened to him with eager ears. Arthur 
 had already told her much of his countrymen; 
 but he viewed them from another standpoint 
 than this flippant man of the world. The Count's 
 confidence, however, was greatly to her liking. 
 Even at the luncheon table she would listen from 
 time to time for any sound upon the road which 
 would speak of tidings and the messenger. She 
 was not ungrateful to her companion for his
 
 184 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 brave effort to divert her thoughts and compel 
 forgetfulness. 
 
 " I wish I could share your faith," she exclaimed 
 dubiously in answer to his repeated assurances; 
 but it is all like a nightmare to me. Imagine it, 
 Count ; I was married in Paris the day before 
 j^esterday, and here to-day I do not know whether 
 my husband is alive or dead." 
 
 He did not appear to hear her, and it was plain 
 that he would not discuss her history. 
 
 "Do you think I should be sitting here at my 
 breakfast if I thought the Prince was in danger?" 
 he asked with an honesty he meant to be trans- 
 parent. " You have been the victim of an impu- 
 dent outrage ; but the Civil Guards will see that 
 justice is done. We make short work with such 
 fellows on the frontier. The Civil Guard shoots 
 them at sight if it cannot catch them ; a rope is 
 all they get when they are taken. Come, let us 
 forget it if we can, and go out into the garden. 
 I will show you the hills above Cadi, and we shall 
 see my messenger coming over the pass." 
 
 His confidence was infectious and not to be 
 resisted. She went with him to a little garden 
 behind the inn, and there beneath the shadow of 
 a plane tree, coffee was served to them, and they 
 delighted in such a panorama of height and valley 
 and fertile fields as only the Pyrenees can show. 
 In the village below them, hussars were gossiping 
 with the maids or loitering before the windowless 
 shop. The door of a neighbouring chapel stood 
 open, and peasants went in and out, as the 
 musical bells called them. The quiet and repose
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 185 
 
 of it all would have appealed greatly to Esther if 
 her question had been answered ; but it was 
 three o'clock before the horseman appeared at the 
 height of the pass, and half-past three when he 
 came clattering up to the inn door. 
 
 " The news is good or he would not be in such 
 a hurry," said the Count, starting to his feet and 
 striding out. "Do not move ; I will lose no time." 
 
 He went away, and was gone, as she thought, 
 an interminable time. Distressed to the last 
 degree, the victim of an agitation she could not 
 control, Esther rose from her seat and restrained 
 herself with difficulty from following him. She 
 counted the minutes of his absence, and losing 
 reckoning she started to count them again. The 
 suspense was intolerable. Wlien the Count 
 returned he told her with a laugh that he had not 
 been a full minute away. 
 
 "Yes, yes ! " she cried, entreaty written in her 
 pleading eyes, " but Arthur, my husband, what 
 has happened " 
 
 "Absolutely nothing, madame ! It is just as I 
 thought. The Prince had gone to the station 
 when you were taken from his house. He is 
 perfectly well and approves of what I have done. 
 You are to accompany me to Cadi without delay. 
 He will follow us as soon as may be." 
 
 She would have said, " Thank God ! " but 
 something in the Count's manner alarmed her; 
 and searching his face with her shrewd eyes she 
 told herself that he lied ; and so she did not say a 
 word, but turned from him like one who must be 
 alone with her grief.
 
 186 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 They found a travelling carriage at Merens and 
 a sturdy team of horses to drag them across the 
 pass. Esther thought their progress all too 
 leisurely ; but the road was steep and winding 
 and the hussars were in no hurry. It was four 
 o'clock when they quitted the village, and half- 
 past five when they crossed the frontier which 
 divides the kingdom of Cadi from the territory of 
 France. Here had been set up a guard station, 
 and formidable officials regarded the traveller 
 with not a little curiosity, though neither by word 
 nor gesture did they offer her incivility. The 
 country itself was singularly beautiful and less 
 rugged than that about St. Girons. Gentle 
 grassy slopes showed many a picturesque chalet 
 or grazing herd. Cattle bells jingled in the silent 
 glades. The snow peaks were far away like a 
 haze of fantastic cloud beneath an azure sky. 
 Such travellers as they passed spoke of a sturdy 
 race, clean and quick and busy. Anon, the pass 
 carried them into the heart of a forest where 
 giant trees filtered the welcome sunlight, and 
 many a knoll and thicket might have borne wit- 
 ness to an English summer. 
 
 The Comte de Foix, riding by Esther's carriage, 
 did not fail to point out the natural beauties of 
 the pass nor to dwell upon them patriotically. 
 
 "It is a wonderful country," he said, " and I 
 wonder that so few English visit it. Forgive me 
 for saying so, but you are not a people of ideas 
 where travel is concerned. You go to the Eiviera 
 and the sirocco kills you ; or j'ou hibernate at 
 Biarritz and bewail your gloom. Here in Cadi,
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 187 
 
 you may take winter or summer as you choose, 
 the snow on the heights, the roses in the valleys. 
 There is no climate so severe, none so gentle in 
 the world. Our invalids go five hundred yards up 
 the hills and laugh at the doctors. Consumption 
 is unknown among us. If a man coughs, he is a 
 curiosity. We are simple, gay, rich, hospitable 
 to strangers, and, as you will gather from my 
 words, exceedingly modest. In another hour, j^ou 
 shall see the city itself ; I hope it will be a sur- 
 prise to you ; I feel convinced it will." 
 
 "At least, I hope to find my husband there," 
 she exclaimed, caring little that she interrupted 
 him. ** If Cadi puts an end to my anxiety, I 
 shall always be grateful to it." 
 
 " It cannot fail to," he responded gaily. " No 
 one is anxious in this country. We shall not 
 permit you to be the exception." 
 
 She thought it to be an evasive answer, and was 
 greatly harassed by the persistency with which 
 lie ignored her own position and the station to 
 which marriage had entitled her. That his 
 polished manner concealed something from her 
 she had been sure since she quitted Merens. 
 Yet what it was, or what subtle conspiracy 
 prompted his actions, was beyond her power to 
 imagine. The Count, meanwhile, had a hundred 
 stories to divert her ; and presently breaking off 
 from them when they emerged from the defile he 
 indicated a house upon the hillside and asked her 
 to regard it particularly. 
 
 "As a friend of its owner," he said, "you will 
 be interested in that place. It is very old but
 
 188 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 very beautiful ; the house of a man who has done 
 much for Cadi. I am referring, of course, to the 
 minister, the Duke of Montalvan." 
 
 Esther was greatly interested. The house he 
 indicated stood in a cleft between the hills, with 
 great woods in tiers behind it and a pretty lake in 
 the hollow of its park. Massive ramparts, flank- 
 ing towers, the keep and bastion of a castle justi- 
 fied its claim to great antiquity. She wondered 
 if Doctor Xavier were there now. Her sense of 
 isolation was lost when she reflected that she was 
 at the gates of her benefactor's house and that the 
 night might bring him to her. 
 
 " I should greatly like to see Doctor Xavier," 
 she said with animation. " It is not a fortnight 
 ago that he left me in Paris. He was very kind 
 to me in England, as I think you know ; I lived 
 more than six months in his house. Of course he 
 would be very surprised to see me. We said good- 
 bye like those who will never meet again. Per- 
 haps it was not all so purposeless as it appeared. 
 But I cannot flatter myself that I am the subject 
 of Doctor Xavier's intentions. You would under- 
 stand that. Count ? " 
 
 " I can admit nothing," he said cavalierly. 
 " The man who leaves woman out of his calcula- 
 tion is a poor fellow; his political arithmetic 
 cannot be worth much. Let us say that the 
 Duke did not consider Cadi quite as amusing for 
 you as Paris. He would naturally remember that 
 since you say he is your friend." 
 
 " I have beheved him to be so, Count ; ajriend 
 to me and to my husband."
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 189 
 
 It was a direct invitation to him to speak ; but 
 the old diplomatist skilfully avoided the dangerous 
 ground. Esther could detect hesitation in every 
 Vi'ord he spoke. 
 
 " Cadi owes the Duke much," he said reflec- 
 tively, "perhaps her very existence as a nation. 
 If she has been saved from the French, it is 
 Francisco Xavier who has saved her. I speak 
 of matters with which you cannot be familiar. 
 There must always be one dominating mind in 
 the councils of a Government. A minority of my 
 countrymen has found that mind in the person of 
 the Duke de Montalvan. The rest do not think ; 
 they are the children of the sun, idlers, living for 
 to-day. An appeal to their intellect goes for 
 nothing. You must appeal to their heart and 
 sentiment, and the scientific mind fails in this. 
 When the Prince returns, I trust that we shall 
 unite these factions. His absence has been 
 greatly resented ; but fortunately for him we 
 have short memories in Cadi. You observe how 
 little I touch upon our merits, madame. At the 
 corner by the inn yonder I will leave the city to 
 speak for itself. It will not be very long now 
 before you hear the Duke in his own defence." 
 He spoke as one who would say, " My duty is 
 done " ; and when he had reined in an instant 
 to look back at the road they had traversed, as 
 though to assure himself that none followed, he 
 put his horse to the canter and pressed on like 
 one who would overtake the leaders of the troop. 
 The cavalcade had entered a pleasant wood by 
 this time, and many a shady glen caught up the
 
 190 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 evening light and gave an entrancing vista of grove 
 and thicket and the forest's heart. Beyond this 
 wood, w^here the trees opened out and disclosed a 
 stately avenue, there stood a crazy inn upon the 
 hillside ; and from the plateau before its doors 
 Esther first beheld the spires and roofs of that 
 city wherein she was to suffer so much. The sun 
 was setting now, and it flashed crimson stars from 
 many a window above the towering ramparts and 
 splashed with gold the lazy river at the city's heart. 
 The road itself wound about the hillside like a 
 silver thread upon a field of green. Esther could 
 admit that the scene was a bewitching one, sur- 
 passing all that she had imagined of Cadi and its 
 capital. The gentle hills, the bordering forests, 
 the multitude of houses, the spires and turrets 
 upstanding through the centuries, the hum of the 
 busy life revealed to her a world of which she 
 had never dreamed. And in this city she would 
 find the man she loved, would answer those tor- 
 menting questions which never ceased to present 
 themselves. Of other ideas she had none. Her 
 own position as the wife of Cadi's Prince must 
 not be remembered, nor would she permit herself 
 to consider it. Esther believed that she was 
 going to her husband and that to-night she would 
 find him. All else must give place to this ; her 
 love was predominating. 
 
 The Count had left her at the crest of the hill, 
 nor did she see anything further of her escort 
 until the city's gate was reached. The night fell 
 suddenly, as ever in the Pyrenees. A cold wind 
 swept down from the hills ; lights began to
 
 •"It is 1, Yiiisuf, Scnorita.'
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 191 
 
 twinkle in many a homestead ; the Angelus rang 
 out from every steeple. As the twilight deepened 
 and shadows fell across the road, Esther became 
 aware that some one had ridden up to her car- 
 riage ; and when she turned her head, thinking it 
 to be the Count, and wondering that she had not 
 seen him fall back, she perceived, with no little 
 alarm, the white bernouse and the ill-omened face 
 of Yussuf, the Moor. Very surprised to find him 
 in such a place and, it may be, not a little alarmed, 
 she wrapped her mantilla more closely about her 
 face and sat back in the carriage to avoid his 
 glance ; but he rode up boldly to her side ; and, 
 bending over from the saddle of a great black 
 horse, he insisted upon being heard. 
 
 "It is I, Yussuf, senorita; please to listen." 
 " What do want with me ? " she cried ; " why 
 are you here ?" 
 
 " Because I am your friend, lady." 
 " Yes, yes ; then what do you wish to say ? " 
 " That your husband must not come to Cadi — 
 I, Yussuf, know it. Keep him away, lady; he 
 must not come — they will kill him." 
 
 She sat very still, fumbling with the veil about 
 her face. From the first this Moor had been a 
 figure of ill-omen. Why should she pay any atten- 
 tion to such a madman's story. Nevertheless, her 
 heart beat quickly ; she felt that she must hear 
 him to the end. 
 
 " I do not believe you," she replied with great 
 composure ; " what has my husband done ? " 
 
 " He has married a foreigner, lady. He has 
 broken the law. Do not let him return to his
 
 192 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 judges. They are bringing you here because they 
 know that he will follow. Keep him out of the 
 trap — they will kill him." 
 
 She uttered a low cry, and the veil fell from her 
 face. At the same moment the carriage swept up 
 to the city's gate; guards surrounded it; she 
 heard many voices in argument ; saw the lights 
 and the life of the streets beyond the barrier. 
 But the Moor had disappeared in the press of the 
 people. Esther knew not whether he were friend 
 or enemy. The shadows seemed to be closing 
 about her life. She entered her husband's city, 
 and it seemed to her that the gate of some mighty 
 prison closed behind her as she went.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 Arthur of Cadi was too well acquainted with 
 the character of his countrymen to doubt for a 
 moment the meaning of the attack upon St. 
 Girons or what the outcome of it was likely 
 to be. No sooner had Martinez, the steward, 
 informed him that there were horsemen at the 
 gate of the castle and that they were set upon 
 an entry, than he named them the servants of 
 Francisco Xavier and of that party which was 
 hostile to him in the councils of his Government. 
 None the less, his wit was unable to say precisely 
 what part they had been hired to play ; and while 
 he did not fear for his life nor for the life of the 
 woman he loved, he understood the hazard of the 
 game and entered upon it with the courage of 
 his race. 
 
 "It must be Alonzo of Vic-Dessos and his 
 band," he said, leaping to his feet and listening 
 to the frenzied blows upon the gate. " I had 
 never thought of that, Martinez. What, in 
 God's name, do they want here?" 
 
 The steward answered with the quiet cynicism 
 which thirty years of that dangerous servitude 
 had taught him. 
 
 14 193
 
 194 DOCTOH XAVIER 
 
 " They will tell you when they have blown 
 open the locks, Highness," he said cynically. 
 " Listen to that ; they are upon the drawbridge 
 already." 
 
 It was at this moment that Arthur ran up hur- 
 riedly to Esther's room and made such provision 
 as he could for her safety. A quick thinker, it 
 occurred to him at once that his old enemy, the 
 Duke, had struck this blow with a Spaniard's 
 subtlety and more than a Spaniard's swiftness. 
 Under cover of these hired ruffians, whose com- 
 plicity could be so lightly purchased, he had veiled 
 an attack which opportunity elsewhere denied to 
 him. Arthur said at once that his marriage was 
 the key to this open declaration of hostility. 
 That they would, if they could, carry him to 
 Cadi, there to answer his enemies in the city, 
 he never doubted ; and it flashed upon him that 
 he must outwit them at any cost, even at the 
 cost, as it would appear, of cowardice and flight. 
 This was in his mind when he commanded Esther 
 to lock her door. If he could but reach the guard 
 at the post upon the summit of the pass, this 
 bandit's crew would get short shrift and the rest 
 would be easy. Thus it came about that, risking 
 all upon a supreme venture, he fled from the 
 house to the stables, and bridling the first horse 
 he found there he leaped upon his back and set 
 him at a gallop for the station on the heights. 
 Such a counterstroke was not within the calcula- 
 tions of Alonzo and his fellows. They had posted 
 a man at the stable gate, it is true ; but a slash 
 of the whip across his face sent him flying from
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 195 
 
 his saddle, and before he could recover himself, 
 Arthur was a hundred yards up the pass, and, 
 roused by the outcry, his enemies raced after him 
 in hot pursuit. 
 
 An inexpressible tenderness toward little Esther 
 was the first inspiration of this wild ride. Since 
 first he saw her in London, nearly seven months 
 ago, Arthur had found her different from all other 
 women; had been aware of a mutual sympathy 
 which waxed strong with the days and had 
 culminated in complete abandonment to the 
 impulses of a passionate affection. If he had 
 wronged her, love must plead for him. At 
 the worst, he thought, Cadi could refuse to 
 recognise his marriage and leave him his 
 liberty. They would be exiles together, caring 
 nothing for that which they had lost. This 
 reality of a momentous night brought home to 
 him in an instant the deeper responsibilities he 
 had ignored. He began to perceive that he was 
 face to face with an ambitious and a relentless 
 enemy, with one who would stand at nothing 
 which opposed his ambitions and his ends. 
 Arthur knew that he himself possessed none 
 of those gifts which make the subtle statesman 
 or the successful diplomatist. He had only a 
 man's good courage, a birthright to the affec- 
 tion of his people ; but these, he said, might yet 
 suffice. A certain joy of that antagonism filled 
 him as he galloped wildly up the pass. He knew 
 that a woman had roused him to effort at last. 
 The old indifferent life was done with : he would 
 remember his manhood for Esther's sake.
 
 196 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 "We have said that a number of the hill-men 
 followed him upon the pass ; but of these several 
 quickly abandoned the pursuit, leaving such glory 
 as was to be got to their more courageous fellows. 
 The perils of the road might, indeed, have de- 
 terred men of sterner courage, for it was often 
 but a bridle track above the gorges, a ribbon 
 winding about the higher peaks. One stumble 
 upon the snow, one false step, and a man would 
 have gone headlong down five thousand feet to 
 an unknown grave in the black abyss below. 
 Arthur, a horseman from his very childhood, 
 cared nothing for the danger. The snow flying 
 from his horse's hoofs, the black shadows, the 
 cries behind him braced his nerve as to some 
 combat of which the prize was liberty. Yonder, 
 high up above this world of silence and the night, 
 there flashed the hghts of that station which was 
 his goal. Let him reach its doors, he said, and 
 Francisco Xavier were answered indeed. He 
 called to his good horse and laughed at the 
 sounds behind him. And yet they were drawing 
 nearer — that thud of hoofs was more clearly 
 to be heard ; the race was not won. It had 
 scarcely begun. 
 
 He had taken a horse at hazard from the stable, 
 ignorant that the beast was one of those which 
 had drawn the carriage from Foix that day. 
 Already over-driven, the rigours of this road left 
 it so utterly exhausted that its brave gallop de- 
 generated anon into a mere canter and ultimately 
 was little beyond a trot. This alarming truth 
 came to the rider suddenly at the very moment
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 197 
 
 when he was flushed with success ; and drawing 
 rein because he must, he began to think that 
 the game was with old Xavier after all. There 
 below on the winding road the first of his pur- 
 suers emerged from the shadows. Arthur knew 
 not how many followed him from the castle ; but 
 he perceived that flight would help him no longer; 
 and saying that he would sell his life dearly, he 
 permitted his horse to walk and so waited for the 
 men. 
 
 This relaxation of effort brought with it a clear 
 understanding of his position and a darker side to 
 a mental picture from which he could not turn. 
 His quick survey of height and gorge failed to 
 inspire him with an idea. Upon his left hand 
 the rocks went up sheer to their snowy peaks 
 in the azure above. No eye could find the bed 
 of the gorge below him. The winding road shut 
 out that flash of the station's lights which so 
 cheered him five minutes ago. He believed that 
 the end must be here, and wheeling his horse 
 regardless of the peril, he prepared to meet it. 
 It was a moment of intense suspense, for he was 
 an unarmed man and he believed that many 
 followed him from the house. An intent ear, 
 magnifying the echoes, said that numbers trod 
 the path. He could scarcely believe his eyes 
 when but one man emerged from the shadows 
 and halted prudently. He was but an advance 
 guard, he thought — and yet he was alone. As 
 for the fellow himself, he appeared to be a burly 
 hunter, thick-set and bearded. He carried an old 
 shot-gun slung at his waist ; showed a belt brim-
 
 198 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 ming over with pistols. Stumbling npon his 
 quarry it were difficult to say whether he were 
 the more surprised or afraid. 
 
 "Halt there!" he cried with sham bravado; 
 " halt there, or I shall certainly fire ! " 
 
 Arthur laughed contemptuously ; and de- 
 liberately taking a cigarette from a little gold 
 case, he lighted it and blew a cloud of smoke 
 on the still night air. The moonlight showed 
 the figures of the two silhouetted against the 
 silvered rocks. The silence was intense. A 
 stone falling to the gorge below raised echoes 
 which had the magnitude of thunder. 
 
 "Well," cried Arthur, at last, "and who the 
 devil are you? " 
 
 The man, reining back his horse a little way 
 
 as though to avoid a fierce onslaught, was so 
 
 taken by surprise that he answered truthfully — 
 
 "I am Eamon of Vic-Dessos, senor. You 
 
 must come back to the house with me ! " 
 
 "What! — to see you hanged? Do you know 
 that if I raise my voice, I can bring the guard ? 
 Let me give you a little advice, Eamon of Vic- 
 Dessos — get home to your bed before I throw you 
 down the gorge ! " 
 
 He did not wait for any reply, but leaping 
 nimbly from his horse, ran toward the man and 
 seized his bridle rein. 
 
 " Come, now, rascal ! " he cried, " I am in a 
 hurry. Go back before I flog you — do you hear 
 me?" 
 
 Such a threat, so unlooked-for a reversal of the 
 parts they were to play, left the hill-man speech-
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 199 
 
 less with surprise. For a little while he sat 
 unable to utter a word, and it was not until he 
 perceived that his horse was actually being 
 backed toward the edge of the precipice, that he 
 snatched a pistol from his belt and tried to cock 
 it. But he was clumsy and maladroit, and a 
 heavy blow from the butt end of Arthur's riding 
 whip sent the weapon from his grasp. It 
 discharged as it fell and a loud report echoed 
 through the hills. 
 
 " Come, come, Don Eamon, you will certainly 
 shoot yourself ! Do you not know that pistols 
 are dangerous things ? I must protect you from 
 yourself. Get down now if you value your 
 precious life ! " 
 
 Arthur spoke and acted like one who enjoyed 
 some paltry jest ; his contempt provoked the hill- 
 man to a frenzy of rage and panic. Vainly he 
 bent down from his saddle and would have 
 gripped his antagonist by the throat, but sure 
 hands kept him back ; he could feel them like 
 iron about his ribs, and his startled horse 
 plunging forward he fell heavily upon the very 
 brink of the abyss. An arena more hazardous 
 never invited wrestlers to the contest — upon the 
 one hand the rocky wall, upon the other the 
 frightful precipice. Of this, however, neither 
 stopped to think. They were locked together 
 henceforth, arms binding arms, nails gripping the 
 flesh, sweat upon their faces, their muscles like 
 cords ; feet, loins and thighs wrestling for the 
 mastery. Life was the stake they played for — 
 Bamon of Vic-Dessos that the guard might not
 
 200 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 shoot him at dawn, the Prince that Esther might 
 not wait for him in vain. And so they rocked to 
 and fro, now against the sheer wall, now so close 
 to death that one touch would have sent them 
 down together. Jagged rocks, uplifted in the 
 cascade below, awaited the issue. One would 
 feed them anon. 
 
 It had been plain from the first that the 
 peasant was the stronger man ; and that if his 
 grip had been sure, his strength must soon 
 prevail. But Ramon of Vic-Dessos had been 
 taken at a disadvantage, and having little 
 purchase upon his antagonist, he could but force 
 him toward the abyss by that sheer strength 
 which the mountains gave him. Inch by inch 
 and foot by foot he appeared to be accomplishing 
 his purpose. With death staring him in the face, 
 and a death terrible to contemplate, it was 
 singular, Arthur would say, that he should think 
 less of what such an end might mean than of the 
 home he had quitted and the young wife waiting 
 for him there. So much, in truth, could the 
 name of Esther nerve him that his wits were 
 with him to the end ; and even when it seemed 
 that nothing could save him from the abyss, he 
 remembered a trick he had learned in the Salle 
 d'Armes at Paris, and had the courage to employ 
 it. Exerting all his strength for a brief moment, 
 he as swiftly relaxed every muscle, and sinking 
 upon his knee he slipped right under his enemy's 
 body. The trick found Ramon of Vic-Dessos 
 utterly at a loss. Believing that his antagonist 
 was utterly exhausted, he made a supreme effort,
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 201 
 
 hurled his body forward, lost his balance, and 
 plunged forward headlong to the depths with a 
 lingering cry. Arthur watched his body, it 
 seemed for an age, bounding from crag to crag, 
 until it fell bent and broken into the shadows of 
 the pit. Then, reeling and dizzy, he turned to 
 call his horse. The captain of the station, called 
 out by the pistol shot, answered his cry. 
 
 • • • • • 
 
 They rode back to St. Girons together, 
 recklessly and ignoring the danger. A sobbing 
 dame met them upon the threshold and related, 
 with what coherence she could command, the 
 story of Alonzo's flight. Martinez, the steward, 
 showing a gaping wound, added his tale and 
 besought his master not to leave the house. 
 
 "It is a trap, Highness," he said, "nothing 
 but a trap. Do not fall into it. You have 
 enemies in Cadi — why forget it ? In God's name 
 I ask you to be prudent." 
 
 Arthur answered them by ordering a horse to 
 be saddled. 
 
 "I shall follow my wife," he said, "let the 
 road carry me where it will."
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 Cadi was ablaze with lights when Esther's 
 carriage drove through its busy streets. It was 
 the diner's hour, and many a window disclosed an 
 animated scene, many a restaurant reminded her 
 of Paris. The avenue they followed deserved 
 its title " boulevard." Cafes and restaurants 
 abounded on either hand, electric trams flashed 
 by crowded with a prosperous poor returning to 
 their homes. There were broughams which 
 might have appeared without shame in Bond 
 Street, smart phaetons hurrying from the parks, 
 well-dressed men and women walking abroad as 
 upon a summer's night. The air itself blew soft 
 and fresh, such an air as one might breathe in 
 England upon a night in spring. Esther had 
 heard much of this city, but the reality filled her 
 with amazement. Spain, the books told her, was 
 an exhausted land ; its people sunk in wretched- 
 ness and bigotry, its ideals gone, its art dead. 
 This mountain city, thrusting itself in as a wedge 
 between France and Spain, gave the welcome lie 
 to such an account of Arthur's kingdom. The 
 garish shops, the stately houses spoke of wealth 
 and luxury. There were churches which had all 
 
 202
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 203 
 
 the massive grandeur of a splendid antiquity, 
 factories, theatres, markets, the soHd witnesses to 
 continued prosperity. Such hfe and bustle 
 helped Esther to enjoy her own obscurity, and 
 left her glad that she was alone. From the 
 moment when the Moor had disappeared at the 
 western gate, none challenged or addressed her. 
 The coachman drove doggedly like one who 
 obeyed a distant master ; the hussars were left 
 behind ; she entered the city like a simple tourist, 
 and went on unrecognised to an unknown 
 destination. 
 
 Their way lay by the boulevard for nearly a 
 mile, and thence, quitting it, carried them to a 
 spacious park and ultimately to the Prado ; an 
 open square with a cathedral and a palace upon 
 either hand. Here Esther observed with some 
 interest a gathering of the people, which she 
 imagined must be waiting for the passing of some 
 procession or spectacle. It was quite out of her 
 thoughts that the idlers had come together to 
 witness her arrival in the capital, and for some 
 minutes she paid no attention to the group, nor 
 asked herself what its presence signified. Such 
 indifference the crowd did not long permit her. 
 Running with the carriage, the outposts of the 
 mob anon began to jeer and mock her, some cast 
 stones which rattled in the wheels — even well- 
 dressed loiterers pointed a finger at her and 
 seemed to approve the outcry. It was so sudden, 
 so unlooked for, so cruel, that Esther had scarcely 
 time to be afraid. The hussars coming up at a 
 gallop closed about her carriage and beat the
 
 204 DOCTOR XAYIER 
 
 ruffians off; she sank back, asking what it could 
 mean or what she had done to these people that 
 they should judge her so harshly. Iron courage 
 alone can stand against the hostility of an angry 
 crowd — and Esther, brave as she was, felt her 
 heart sink within her. Of what was this the 
 omen ; what fate awaited her in the city which 
 could so receive her ? The future loomed dark, 
 indeed — she remembered that she was but one 
 against a nation, a helpless girl in the hands of 
 men without heart or scruple. 
 
 The hussars had come up at the first alarm, 
 and their presence, if it did not quieten the 
 rioters, at least left them vdth no better weapons 
 than their tongues. Hissing and hooting, they 
 stood to let the carriage pass into the quadrangle 
 of the palace ; and even there Esther could hear 
 their savage cries like the murmur of some 
 human storm drifting away upon the breezes. 
 Her own interests, however, had passed to those 
 whom she must now face, and to the news which 
 she believed awaited her. The building at whose 
 gate she stood was of immense size, square in 
 design and freely decorated with canopy and 
 statue. A blaze of light shone out from an open 
 door ; she perceived a group of officers in uniform, 
 and almost before her carriage had stopped, an 
 elderly man, whose cuirass and helmet were of 
 silver, stood at her side and offered her a frigid 
 welcome. 
 
 " This is the palace, madame," he said suavely. 
 " I am Colonel Varez, and I am commanded by 
 the Duke, my master, to welcome you in his name."
 
 "She perceived a group of officers in uniform.
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 205 
 
 She answered liim with dignity, for she was 
 determined that she would show no fear. She 
 had never lacked a certain stately grace of act 
 and speech, and this did not desert her when 
 she permitted the Colonel to help her from the 
 carriage, and then followed him up a flight of 
 stone steps and into a great hall beyond. The 
 barren grandeur of this vestibule chilled her as 
 with a sudden breath of the night air. 
 
 Not a carpet, not a picture relieved the mono- 
 tony of its marble decorations nor gave colour to 
 the cold stone in which its many statues were 
 chiselled. Esther declared afterwards that it was 
 as though she had blundered into the hall of some 
 national museum and there had found herself face 
 to face with a whole army of obsequious footmen 
 who advanced together and bowed at her approach. 
 Nor could such homage deceive her. From the 
 moment of her arrival at Cadi's palace to the 
 final hour of her sufferings there she did not 
 mistake the treatment she received, or fail to 
 estimate its meaning. Her humihation would 
 have been absolute, perhaps insupportable, if she 
 had not reflected that it must be brief. Behef in 
 her lover sustained her to the end. She answered 
 the Colonel without fear or shame. 
 
 " I have no alternative but to obey you. The 
 Duke, your master, can scarcely wish to put any 
 fresh affront upon me. I am in his power, but I 
 am an Englishwoman." 
 
 He bowed and avoided the charge. 
 
 " The Duke will speak for himself, madame," 
 he said. " Meanwhile, everything in this house
 
 206 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 is at your disposal. Please to follow this lady. 
 She will wait upon you." 
 
 He turned to introduce a young girl who waited 
 at his side — a mere child she was, but indis- 
 putably pretty. 
 
 " This is Mademoiselle Desjardins — permit me 
 to make her known to you." 
 
 Esther liked her face, and felt less strange for 
 her presence. Mademoiselle Desjardins herself 
 did not hesitate to make advances. 
 
 "I am sure you must be tired after your journey," 
 she began. " It is such a long way from Foix, 
 and the roads are so bad. Won't you come 
 upstairs at once, your room is quite ready." 
 
 Esther was not sorry to escape the prying eyes 
 which watched her from every side of the hall, 
 and she went upstairs very willingly. The bed- 
 room to which Mademoiselle Desjardins intro- 
 duced her was almost as cold and bare as the 
 stone corridor she had left. A bed of ridiculously 
 meagre proportions lifted a huge canopy of carved 
 wood almost to the ceiling. The dressing-table 
 was in gilt, stiff and pretentious. A Louis XV. 
 mirror above the fireplace reflected the back of a 
 marble clock and of candelabras without lights. 
 The wardrobe was in satin - wood, exceedingly 
 handsome, but out of place. A single strip of 
 carpet, new and ugly, covered a few feet of the 
 parquet floor at the bed's head. A glass chande- 
 lier with unshaded electric lamps diffused an 
 unbecoming light. There were painted figures 
 upon the ceiling, but damp and dirt had almost 
 effaced their outline. The one merit which the
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 207 
 
 room possessed for Esther was the fact that she 
 might call it her own ; and no sooner was the door 
 shut than she unloosed her wrap and sank into a 
 chair with a deep sigh of relief. Mademoiselle 
 Desjardins, in her turn, did not attempt to dis- 
 guise anything. She stood at Esther's side and 
 quickly declared herself. 
 
 " I am sorry for you — indeed sorry ! Is there 
 anything I can do ? " 
 
 Esther brushed back the hair from her face, 
 and tried if it were possible to understand her 
 presence in that place and the significance of 
 her reception. 
 
 " Why should you be sorry for me, mademoi- 
 selle?" she asked disingenuously. "Please tell 
 me who you are, and why they have brought me 
 to this house ? " 
 
 She was answered as frankly — 
 
 " I am Marguerite, the daughter of Gustave 
 Desjardins, the French Notary here. My father 
 is the Duke's friend. We have apartments in the 
 palace, and he asked me to help you. I know 
 that you are in trouble, my father said so. The 
 people have been coming to the palace all day, 
 the soldiers send them away. There have been 
 dreadful things done. They killed Ferdinand 
 Morez in the market-place this morning. He 
 w^as Prince Arthur's friend. The newspapers 
 say it is a revolution. I cannot tell you every- 
 thing. I should be afraid." 
 
 Esther said that she wished to be told. 
 
 " Do you know, Marguerite, that I am Prince 
 Arthur's wife?"
 
 208 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 Marguerite turned away her face. 
 
 " Yes, yes," she said ; " but they will not call 
 you that in Cadi. Oh, I am very sorry for you — 
 I cannot tell you how much ! If one loves, one 
 knows. Please let me be your friend : you will 
 have so few in this house." 
 
 Esther stooped and kissed her. She began to 
 perceive, if it were but dimly, the true danger of 
 her perilous position. She knew now what answer 
 had been given to Gaudarez and his message. 
 The city refused to recognise her marriage. She 
 blamed herself that she had made such a refusal 
 possible. Her own hasty surrender to Arthur's 
 impetuous will earned this swift punishment. 
 She did not hide it from herself. 
 
 " I do not understand it; it is all a dreadful 
 mystery to me. Marguerite," she said, rising and 
 going to the glass. " Why have they brought me 
 here if they deny my marriage ? Has my hus- 
 band, then, no friends left? Have they all turned 
 against him ? Surely it cannot be true that he 
 has none on his side." 
 
 "He has many friends, dear madame, many 
 friends, but they dare not speak for him. Since 
 the Duke returned, every one is afraid. The 
 newspapers say that Prince Arthur has betrayed 
 his country. The soldiers turn against him 
 because they are bought with money ; the women 
 are jealous of you. If he should return — but no, 
 he will not do that, he is too clever, he knows 
 that they would kill him." 
 
 They were almost the words which the Moor 
 had used at Cadi's gate, and Esther could not
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 209 
 
 turn a deaf ear to them any longer. She did not 
 ask how it came about that she had won the 
 friendship of this mysterious Eastern. Enough 
 to know that he spoke the truth — that the trap 
 indeed stood open, and that the end was near. 
 Helplessness could but add to her self-reproach. 
 Reason told her from the first that she was a 
 prisoner in the city; relentless enemies surrounded 
 her. What would her own life weigh, she could 
 ask, against the ambition of such a man as 
 Francisco Xavier ? Nay, the gloom of the palace 
 impressed her with a sense of her own weakness 
 and impotency ; and while she would admit that 
 she had been foolish, no justice, she argued, could 
 set such a price upon her folly. 
 
 "You must help me to be brave, Marguerite," 
 she said. " My friends in England will not 
 forget me. I shall return to my own country 
 and tell my story. English people will not judge 
 me hardly. I am not afraid to tell them every- 
 thing." 
 
 Marguerite shook her head. 
 
 "If you could!" she exclaimed with excite- 
 ment. And then lowering her voice she added, 
 " We must not speak of it, dear madame, they 
 are listening to us." 
 
 ■ • • • • 
 
 They dined in an adjoining room, and were 
 waited upon by an old man-servant in a shabby 
 uniform. The food was excellent, the wine 
 abundant. From time to time there came up 
 to them from the adjacent courtyard the sound of 
 troops upon the march and of bugles blowmg, 
 
 15
 
 210 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 mingled ever and anon with the tumultuous and 
 more distant cries of a great concourse of people 
 giving tongue to its excitement. The omens 
 spoke of a waking city and a night of events ; but 
 Esther's thoughts were far away, carrying her to 
 St. Girons and the mountain road. She prayed 
 to God with all the earnestness she could com- 
 mand that her husband had not quitted the castle. 
 For her own misfortunes she cared nothing. She 
 did not believe, in spite of little Marguerite's 
 convictions, that any greater harm could overtake 
 her in the city than that she had already suffered 
 upon her journey. She was an Englishwoman, 
 and pride of race defied already this puny country 
 and its insignificant people. Far from desiring 
 to avoid the issue she would have faced it at once, 
 and her wish was to stand before her judges and 
 to ask of what they accused her. Perhaps she 
 could remember, too, that her forefathers had been 
 soldiers ; and that if imprudence had given her a 
 youth of poverty, none the less had kinsmen of 
 hers carried their Queen's commission and laid 
 down their lives in their country's service. A 
 mood of defiance buoyed her up. Come what 
 might, she determined that these people should 
 not find her afraid ; and when, almost as soon as 
 dinner was done. Colonel Varez returned, she met 
 him with dignity, nor did she flinch before his 
 interrogation. 
 
 "Madame," he said, " I must apologise for this 
 intrusion." 
 
 She bowed her head. He continued rapidly — 
 " The Bureau of Security has some questions
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 211 
 
 to ask you, and their officers are here. I must 
 ask you to favour them." 
 
 She cut him short ; the quiet irony of her 
 response amazed him. 
 
 " I am sure that the Bureau of Security is far 
 too important to be kept waiting," she said hghtly. 
 " Please let the officers come in." 
 
 He stared at her for a moment with cold steely 
 eyes, which seemed to ask what such a change of 
 front might mean; then, without a word, bade 
 her follow him. In an adjoining room, she found 
 two men seated before a great table, with a single 
 lamp between them. They wore uniforms of 
 dark blue, their peak caps lay upon a chair at 
 their side ; one held a document in his hand, the 
 other a pen. When Colonel Varez had left her 
 with them, they subjected her for some while to 
 shrewd and puckered glances, and many minutes 
 passed before she was called upon to answer. 
 But she did not mistake their vocation, they were 
 police officers, she said. The man who spoke to 
 her put his question so abruptly and in such a 
 formal manner that she would have laughed at 
 him under other circumstances. 
 
 "Your name and age, if you please," he asked. 
 She started from a reverie and replied with great 
 composure — 
 
 " Since I bear my husband's name, I call myself 
 Esther de Medina Cell ; my age is twenty-three." 
 
 Both the men looked at her with heavy eyes 
 which seemed to resent her answer. 
 
 " Yes, that is all very well ; but your Enghsh 
 name, madame ; we want that, if you please,"
 
 212 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 " Then my name is Venn — Esther Venn, the 
 daughter of Major Venn, an English officer." 
 
 They wrote her answer down laboriously with 
 scratching pens. The second question concerned 
 her husband. 
 
 " Be pleased to inform us under what circum- 
 stances you met His Highness, Prince Arthur." 
 
 "I met him at the house of my friend, the 
 Duke of Montalvan." 
 
 "You were the Duke's secretary for some 
 months, I think; he employed you?" 
 
 " I was not his secretary, I was companion to 
 his sister. It is true that I helped him in his 
 laboratory, but I do not consider that I was his 
 servant." 
 
 " The companion to his sister, but not his 
 servant ! And during your companionship, 
 madame, you found the means to become 
 acquainted with His Highness, Prince Arthur? " 
 
 " Not so ; the Prince found the means to 
 become acquainted with me. He was introduced 
 to me by Doctor Xavier." 
 
 " By whom, madame ? " 
 
 Esther had forgotten that they were not aware 
 of the Duke's incognito. 
 
 " By Doctor Xavier — the Duke ; really you are 
 very stupid ! " 
 
 They put their heads together and discussed 
 it in a whisper. When they had written three 
 or four lines upon the paper, one of them con- 
 tinued — 
 
 " No doubt you saw a great deal of His High- 
 ness, madame — he was much in your company ? "
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 213 
 
 " I saw him once in London and three times in 
 Paris before I was engaged to him." 
 
 " Permit me to suggest that you lost no 
 time." 
 
 " You may be as rude as you please ; I am 
 quite defenceless." 
 
 "I beg to differ from you; your answers are 
 your best defence. Be careful what you say, 
 your words will be repeated before your judges." 
 
 "Is it necessary, then, to take all this trouble." 
 
 " It is most necessary. We must understand, 
 madame, under what circumstances you have 
 inveigled His Highness into this absurd marriage." 
 
 Esther flinched at the base charge. 
 
 " When I am called upon to defend myself, it 
 must be before gentlemen," she said hotly. 
 
 " Then you refuse to answer ? " 
 
 " Absolutely." 
 
 He wrote it down upon the paper, apparently 
 pleased at her obstinacy. The next question 
 concerned the place of her marriage. 
 
 " We understand that a ceremony was per- 
 formed in the church of St. Eustache. You are 
 quite aware that such a contract is null and void 
 in Spain?" 
 
 " I know nothing about Spain. From the 
 little I have seen I am proud of my ignorance." 
 
 " We shall enlighten you, madame." 
 
 " Then please begin. You will find me a good 
 pupil. I have so much to learn." 
 
 " Remembering that some studies are danger- 
 
 ous." 
 
 " I do not forget it. Please to say that I am
 
 214 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 an Englishwoman and that I was married at the 
 British Embassy. Your judges will wish to 
 know that — I think they will be interested." 
 
 The men stared at each other a little blankly. 
 This was not the kind of information they had 
 come there to procure. But it was written down, 
 nevertheless, in a flourishing scrawl and with 
 several blots. 
 
 " You were married in Paris, madame, and you 
 proceeded thence to the castle of St. Girons. 
 "Was it your intention to remain there or to 
 return to your own country?" 
 
 " My intentions were my husband's. They are 
 still so. Really, you waste time." 
 
 " We are not in a hurry, madame ; there is 
 plenty of time — perhaps more than you desire." 
 
 " Am I to understand that you threaten me ? " 
 
 " If you compel us to — yes." 
 
 "And with what?" 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " With justice, madame." 
 
 " That must be an unusual punishment in this 
 country ! " 
 
 "You are insolent." 
 
 "No, I am truthful." 
 
 The Spaniard put down his pen angrily. He 
 was not quick at repartee and he could not riposte 
 to such lightning thrusts. Defeated and cha- 
 grined he sat for a little while silent ; then taking 
 up his pen again, he proceeded — 
 
 " If you were set at liberty, madame, would 
 you give us your assurance not to molest His 
 Highness again ? "
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 215 
 
 " To molest His Highness ! — my assurance ! 
 Do you know what you are saying? " 
 
 " Perfectly, madame ; we require your 
 assurance." 
 
 She rose from her chair with calm deliberation. 
 Her face was crimson, but the shaded light did 
 not permit them to detect it. 
 
 " Then you shall have it — here and now : 
 that I decline to answer you another word ! " 
 
 Her temper left them amazed. She had crossed 
 the room to the door and tried to open it, but 
 it was locked, and so she stood there, tapping the 
 floor with her foot and in vain trying to stifle her 
 emotion. The two, meanwhile, spoke in low 
 whispers. Presently one of them folded up the 
 documents. 
 
 " Very well, madame, your decision will be 
 reported in the proper quarter. We find you 
 obstinate and insolent. It is plain that you 
 are not telling us the truth. Until you choose to 
 do so you will please consider yourself under 
 arrest." 
 
 She made no response. Her hand fumbled 
 with the lock. She would not speak a word. 
 They rose from the table, and the younger man 
 struck a little bell. When the door opened 
 Colonel Varez entered and took in the situation 
 at a glance. 
 
 "You would have been wiser to answer the 
 questions these gentlemen put to you," was his 
 suave comment. " We desire to do you justice, 
 madame, but you must be frank with us." 
 
 "Your desire touches me!" she answered
 
 216 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 ironically. " I have never met so many friends 
 of justice in one day before." 
 
 *' Madame," he said, "I thought you would 
 have been more prudent." 
 
 She resented the suggestion of folly. 
 
 " Permit me, at least, to be the judge, since 
 I am the only one concerned ! " 
 
 "Not so, madame; your answers to-night may 
 concern another more deeply than you think." 
 
 " Then since they are true, they shall stand for 
 him and for me — if the truth is of any value in 
 Spain." 
 
 " Madame," he said, "I will see that it is so. 
 Do not blame me because I do my duty." 
 
 He stood aside, and she perceived that two 
 troopers had come with him to the door of 
 the ante-chamber. Whatever their presence por- 
 tended, however greatly it alarmed her, Esther 
 did not betray herself even by a gesture. 
 
 " You will not be permitted to leave the palace 
 until the Council have decided your case," the 
 Colonel resumed. " Those are my orders, 
 madame — I am sorry that I must enforce 
 them." 
 
 " I do not blame you," she said. " In England 
 we are not so very much afraid of a woman." 
 
 • • • • • 
 
 The troopers conducted her to the door of her 
 apartment and there left her. The lamps were 
 still lighted in the room, but little Marguerite 
 had disappeared. In her place, a shrewish 
 woman, Spanish surely, offered Esther her 
 assistance. She answered that she did not
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 217 
 
 desire help, and dismissing the woman she 
 locked her door and was grateful to be alone. 
 From the quadrangle without no sounds now came 
 up to her but those of the moaning wind and 
 shivering trees. A mist had settled upon the 
 city and obscured its lights — the sentries paced 
 the corridor with measured tread, Esther 
 counted their steps like one who listened to the 
 rhythm of an omen.
 
 CHAPTEE XVII 
 
 She heard the hour of midnight struck upon 
 the city's clocks, and still she did not sleep. 
 The indignity which had been put upon her 
 must be repeated again and again like some 
 premonition of evil of which the mind cannot free 
 itself. She remembered that she was one against 
 a nation, but would not be dismayed thereby. 
 Her love was so honest, so loyal, that for a lover's 
 sake she knew that she would drink the bitter cup 
 to the very dregs. Not heroically but logically 
 she could persuade herself that she might yet win 
 her ovTn liberty and her husband's ; for she was 
 free-born, and he but the servant of his people. 
 A fitful sleep gave her many dreams at last. 
 She was in London again, in Paris, in Switzer- 
 land ; she knocked at the theatre's door ; a voice 
 called her in the hour of her distress ; she re- 
 created her bower of roses, slept in the path 
 of radiant moonbeams, perceived the face of 
 the Moor and believed him to be near her. 
 This latter hallucination no common-sense could 
 baffle. As in London, so here, in a city of the 
 mountains, Esther declared her behef that 
 Yussuf, the Moor, watched her while she slept, 
 
 218
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 219 
 
 that the dreamy black eyes looked down upon 
 her from the shadows, and that a silver lantern 
 cast the gold green rays upon her tired face. 
 Then as now the figure of the dream left her 
 unafraid. She could not account for the faith 
 which was in her, nevertheless, since he had 
 met her at Cadi's gate she numbered this silent 
 Eastern among her friends, even, it may be, 
 desired his friendship. The omen of the dream 
 contented her. 
 
 She lay back upon her pillow, and uttering 
 a deep sigh she surrendered herself to that spell 
 she could not resist. Not since she had quitted 
 Switzerland for Paris in Francisco Xavier's 
 company had such a refreshing sleep been hers. 
 The morning hours found her so still that she 
 scarcely seemed to breathe. Marguerite Desjardins, 
 running into the room at seven o'clock, must 
 touch her v^dth the hand before she opened her 
 eyes or answered that impetuous herald of the 
 day. 
 
 " I bring you roses, dear madame," she said, 
 ** roses of Cadi. And I have news for you when 
 you are awake. Oh, please, it is seven o'clock 
 and I have been to church." 
 
 She chattered ceaselessly, flitting from place to 
 place, now placing her roses in the empty vases, 
 now giving Esther news which greatly surprised 
 her. 
 
 ** They have sent to St. Girons for your 
 luggage; and it will be here directly. Colonel 
 Varez remembered it — he frightens me, but he 
 thinks of things. Your friend, Madame Julia,
 
 220 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 is coming to breakfast with you — but there, we 
 shall never be ready. Captain Pecha of the 
 Hussars told me — I am forbidden to see him, and 
 so I go to church. Have you ever met a friend 
 in church, and tried to pray when he was looking 
 at you ? You can't do it, dear Esther — I've 
 tried often and I know. It is quite, quite im- 
 possible !" 
 
 The child's brightness was infectious, and 
 Esther found herself dressing and laughing at 
 the same time. She was the better for her long 
 sleep, and when she looked in the glass, she was 
 astonished to find that there was a little flush 
 of colour in her cheeks, and that her eyes 
 were clear and bright. The morning itself broke 
 clear and fine. A fresh breeze lifted the misty 
 curtain from the higher peaks; the air was so 
 pure and rare that the distant ice fields shone like 
 so many beds of jewels. In the valleys below 
 them hills and woods caught up the freshets 
 of the dew, and were radiantly green in the 
 morning light. Nearer to her window, the quad- 
 rangle of the palace showed Esther a company of 
 infantrymen brisk at their drill. Sentries stood 
 at every gate — tall fellows in white tunics and 
 silver helmets ; a military band played in the 
 great square by the cathedral. The people wore 
 a gay air, and went with buoyant step ; there was 
 no sign anywhere of that unrest which had 
 disturbed the city yesterday. 
 
 "They think the Prince will come to-day," 
 Marguerite said as though answering an un- 
 spoken question; "but no one quite knows what
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 221 
 
 will happen. My father declares it all depends 
 upon the anny. Of course, there are a great 
 many who would be loyal to Prince Arthur if they 
 dared, but I think he is too clever to come back 
 just now. The people will laugh at the Duke 
 if he does not come — some of them laugh already. 
 I shall run here at once with the news if there 
 is any — I want to be your friend, dear Esther ! " 
 
 Esther thanked her with a little pressure of the 
 hand, and continued to dress herself hastily. She 
 did not dare to tell this child how much those 
 few words of doubt meant to her. Her own 
 belief that Arthur would come could not be 
 denied — at the same time she had but the vaguest 
 ideas of the laws which menaced him, or of the 
 intrigue which sought his downfall. Destiny had 
 caught her up in the meshes of the net, and 
 nothing but a miracle, she imagined, could set 
 her free. 
 
 She dressed quickly, and breakfasted in a small 
 room of that suite of apartments allocated to her 
 in the palace. Little Marguerite had promised 
 her a visit from Madame Julia, and this came 
 about swiftly after breakfast, when a servant 
 announced the arrival of Madame herself, and 
 that loquacious personage swept into her room 
 and embraced her with the ardour of an effusive 
 race. 
 
 "My dear little Esther!" was her almost 
 tearful greeting, " that we should meet like 
 this — that it positively should be you ! " 
 
 Esther suffered herself to be kissed on either 
 cheek ; but she was not deceived by this clever
 
 222 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 actress ; and she listened to her hysterical chatter 
 without emotion. 
 
 "I thank you very much," she said; "of 
 course I knew that you would come." 
 
 Julia began at once to excuse herself. 
 
 " Ah, my dear child, that we should be the 
 cause of your misfortunes — we who loved you so ! 
 I reproach myself bitterly ! When I look at you 
 and see how greatly you are changed — when I 
 remember our happy days in Thonon, I hate 
 myself for letting you go. But no one would 
 listen to me ; I begged Francis not to leave you 
 in Paris — he would not hear me ! * She will 
 suffer for it,' I said ; I was wiser than he ! " 
 
 She had contrived in a few short moments to 
 insinuate that Esther must suffer and that she 
 was greatly changed. Malice in the cloak of pre- 
 tentious affection is ever an ugly thing. Julia de 
 Montalvan could not make it pretty. 
 
 " So you are really his wife — yes, the telegraph 
 told us so ! My brother published it at once in 
 the newspapers. He could not foresee that it 
 would be so dreadfully resented. Cadi is a little 
 kingdom, and its spirit is Republican. Imagine, 
 my dear, the stupidity of a free country which 
 does not permit its Prince to choose his own wife ! 
 What does it matter, if you are not of noble birth 
 or Spanish born ! You have enjoyed my brother's 
 friendship, and that should be enough. The city 
 must be lost to all sense of reason when it behaves 
 as it is doing — mobs in the street all day and 
 such dreadful things done that I dare not tell you of 
 them ! And now they talk of sending the Prince
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 223 
 
 to his trial ! God help us all, I say, and keep 
 Arthur in the mountains ! If he comes here he 
 is lost ! " 
 
 Esther turned the subject with an awkward 
 question. 
 
 " I am relying upon Doctor Xavier's influence," 
 she said. " Since it was through him that I 
 have brought this trouble upon my husband, his 
 honour will compel him to help me. AVere it not 
 for that, I should be distressed indeed ! But you 
 must not ask me to forget that the Duke is my 
 friend." 
 
 Madame Julia took her handkerchief from her 
 eyes and looked at her a little suspiciously. 
 
 " My brother is the soul of honour," she 
 declared. " You owe it to him that you are here 
 in the palace when the Council would have sent 
 you to the prison. What he can do will be done. 
 You forget, my dear, that he has but one voice ; 
 and that there are many against him. The 
 Government will hear nothing in the Prince's 
 favour. It says that his position does not put 
 him above the laws. My brother has worn him- 
 self to a shadow in the cause of friendship — it 
 was such a dreadful surprise to him ! He left 
 you in Paris believing that you were going to be 
 very happy. You know how much he valued 
 your good opinion of him — and now it has come 
 to this ! Ah, my dear, life is very cruel for some 
 of us ! " 
 
 "None the less," persisted Esther, "Doctor 
 Xavier can help me if he will. I shall hope to 
 see him here to-day."
 
 224 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 " It would be madness for him to come. He 
 must not declare himself — positively must not ! 
 What he can do for you will be done when Arthur 
 is tried — for his Hfe, my child ; I fear it is for 
 that!" 
 
 " Would you have me to believe, then, that 
 marriage is a question of life or death in this 
 country? " 
 
 " There are other charges. He has not been 
 true to his position. He spent a whole year 
 abroad — they accuse him of extravagance — even 
 of treachery. But you shall hear it — I promise 
 you, you shall hear his defence. Ah, you love 
 him ! and it will be a dreadful thing to hear ! 
 But we must learn to be brave : it is all that a 
 woman can be ! " 
 
 Esther made no reply. The duplicity of which 
 she was the victim could not be hidden either by 
 civil words or by these almost vulgar protestations 
 of good-will. When Madame Julia went on pry- 
 ingly to ask her of the wedding ceremony at St. 
 Eustache and of her journey to St. Girons, she 
 answered briefly and without interest. Julia was 
 quite unable to disguise her own motives. She 
 had loved this man. The day of his judgment 
 would be a triumph for her. 
 
 " We had begun to believe that he would never 
 marry," she said, aping the simplicity of a child. 
 ' ' He has had so many affaires ! You must make 
 him tell you of them some day, though. London 
 knows more about his life than you will ever 
 learn. He always admired English women. At 
 the best the Court will declare your marriage
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 225 
 
 invalid and keep him a prisoner in the citadel. I 
 hope it will permit you to go to London and live 
 there. We must always try to put the best face 
 on things ! If Arthur were really clever, he would 
 not have come to Cadi now." 
 
 " Then he has come ? " Esther asked wildly. 
 
 " I wish that I knew. He may and he may 
 not. If he does, you shall be the first to hear of 
 it. Eeally, my dear Esther, you will need all 
 your courage." 
 
 She went on to reiterate her own promises and 
 to invent upon the spot quite imaginary events as 
 the witness of her friendship. With tears in her 
 eyes she deplored the absence of the English 
 Consul from Cadi. He had gone to Switzerland 
 upon a holiday, and was not expected back until 
 the end of the month. Her brother had visited 
 the Consulate directly he received the fateful 
 news. He was both annoyed and distressed at 
 the Consul's absence. 
 
 "After all," she protested, "one man cannot 
 persuade a nation. Francis is much beloved 
 here, but love does not rob a people of their 
 pride. The Spanish faction chose Arthur's wife 
 for him a year ago ; they wished him to marry 
 into the royal house. We knew that they would 
 be disappointed. If this were a great European 
 country, all the nonsense they talk would be 
 intelhgible ; but it is only a province, child, not 
 much larger than one of your English counties, 
 and they are making themselves ridiculous. The 
 worst of it is that while they are ridiculous they 
 are not less dangerous. We are true Spaniards 
 
 16
 
 226 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 in pride and temper, as Arthur will find to his 
 cost if he puts his head into the lion's mouth. I 
 do not believe he will do any such thing. Francis 
 has sent messengers to the hills, and they will 
 stop him. That was my prayer before the altar 
 this morning — that our friends may be in time. 
 I dare not think what would happen if he should 
 come." 
 
 It was all a rodomontade, false and sham. 
 Madame Julia had not been to church that morn- 
 ing, and no messengers had ridden out to the 
 hills ; indeed, the deception was as childish as it 
 was unnecessary, although it achieved its baser 
 purpose of inflicting pain upon its victim. Had 
 Esther known her own mind less well, she might 
 have suffered a certain humiliation in remember- 
 ing how little worthy she was of that station to 
 which marriage had lifted her. But this was far 
 from being the case. 
 
 "Doctor Xavier must come to me," she said 
 firmly, "and I shall then be able to explain every- 
 thing to him. I do not think you will prevent 
 Arthur riding in. What happens to me does not 
 matter at all. I shall try to do my duty, Julia ; 
 it would be no compliment to your country to 
 believe that its men are cowards — at least, until 
 they prove themselves so. There are other ways 
 of telling people in London — perhaps I shall find 
 one of them." 
 
 Julia could believe no such thing. 
 
 " You poor child ! " she said, " how little you 
 know — how very little ! " 
 
 With this and other vague consolations she
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 227 
 
 took her farewell. Esther saw no one else that 
 day, not even httle Marguerite. The night found 
 her searching the distant hills with anxious eyes. 
 Would Arthur come ? Had they warned him ? 
 What would to-morrow bring ? She could not 
 tell. Slowly but surely the ordeal was robbing 
 her of her will and resolution. She drew the 
 curtains reluctantly at last, and shut out that dim 
 vista of the range and pass which stood up so for- 
 midably between herself and liberty. The palace, 
 itself, was as silent as the grave. She might 
 have believed, but for the sentry's footfall, that 
 she was the one living being within it.
 
 CHAPTEE XVIII 
 
 Night had fallen upon the sleeping city, a glorious 
 night of a Southern winter, with an azure heaven 
 of stars above and the gentle breath as of a 
 summer eve upon the shrouded earth below. In 
 Cadi itself the unrest which had troubled the 
 capital for many days appeared to have subsided. 
 The rage of parties ended for a moment in a truce 
 of doubt. None believed that the Prince would 
 return. A higher tribute was paid to his wisdom. 
 This had been the state of things when Madame 
 Julia visited Esther at the palace ; but as night 
 wore on, it happened that a messenger rode in to 
 the commanding General's quarters, and thence 
 clattering through the city cried his news, what- 
 ever it was, at the houses of the senators and the 
 ministry. A majority of the inhabitants had gone 
 to its bed by this time ; but a few loiterers, hear- 
 ing the bugle call ("boot and saddle "), in the 
 cavalry barracks, were drawn thither by a waking 
 curiosity ; and these passing the tidings to others, 
 the sleeping populace presently aroused itself, and 
 the news went, as upon the wind, that the Prince 
 had crossed the frontier, and was riding down to 
 the northern gate. Such a surprising turn was 
 
 228
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 229 
 
 the very last which the city had expected. Even 
 when cavalry appeared in the great square, and 
 messengers passed breathlessly from house to 
 house, the most sagacious were unconvinced. 
 
 " They go on a fool's errand ! " was the cry. 
 "Some one has hoaxed them — wait and see! 
 They will look foolish by and by ! " But others 
 said, "It is certainly true; for the Duke has 
 ridden to the citadel." The less probable story 
 gained ground every moment. Excited both by 
 the hour and the event, a considerable mob began 
 to gather in the market place, and to cry out for 
 torches. Demonstrations were made before the 
 Duke's house, and at the gates of the citadel. 
 The cafes took down their shutters and lighted 
 their lamps; throngs went hither, thither, sing- 
 ing national airs or crying for the Duke ; the 
 tocsin bell in the cathedral tower boomed out its 
 deep and heavy note. And this bell waked Esther 
 in the palace. She lay for a long time wondering 
 if it were the morning call to prayer, or why, if it 
 were not, she had not heard it yesterday. 
 
 She was not conscious at first of other events, 
 nor did the omens reach her ears. That deep, 
 booming bell, reverberating and mournful, pre- 
 vailed above all other sounds ; and it was not 
 until she had listened for many minutes, her eyes 
 shut and sleep still wrestling with curiosity, that 
 she distinguished the greater uproar, and became 
 aware that the city stirred. From this moment a 
 medley of alarms penetrated to her silent room. 
 Now it would be a clatter of hoofs, a jangling of 
 arms in the square before the palace gate ; or
 
 230 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 again the bugle's blast and the rolling of the 
 drums. By and by she began to distinguish the 
 fervid cries of the senseless mob. She heard her 
 husband's name, uttered in derision. She could 
 distinguish the shouts following many a minister 
 on his way to the citadel. She was aware that 
 many cried for the Duke, and that he was the 
 hero of the night. If the palace had accustomed 
 her to the hysterical attitude of this passionate 
 people, nevertheless the hour and the circumstance 
 mystified one freshly waked from sleep, and for- 
 bade her to guess the truth. She rose from her 
 bed under the idea, it may be, that she had slept 
 over long, and that the curtains shut out the day. 
 When she drew them back, the distant panorama 
 of peak and pass was enveloped in darkness, and 
 she could not distinguish even the ice fields on 
 the summit. But the city itself was like a great 
 cauldron, whence tongues of golden light cast their 
 iridescence upon the curtain of the sky. A thou- 
 sand torches now blazed in the hands of the 
 rioters. So brightly was the sky illuminated that 
 you could follow the moving throngs from place 
 to place, and say when they halted and when they 
 marched on. And loud above all the uproar one 
 name was to be heard. Esther turned quickly 
 from the window when she heard it. Her dread 
 of this had surpassed all. She knew that Arthur 
 had come to the city — she believed that he was 
 already a prisoner. 
 
 The mob ran hither, thither for fully an hour, 
 oftentimes without purpose or again rallied by the 
 bibulous eloquence of half-intoxicated demagogues.
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 231 
 
 In the end, one of these led a multitude to the 
 palace, and defying the sentries by numbers the 
 rioters pressed in to the quadrangle, and grouped 
 themselves beneath Esther's very windov^s. 
 There, when they were not crying insults upon 
 her name they fell to cursing her husband, and 
 clamouring that she should show herself to them. 
 She had no knowledge of the Spanish language 
 nor of that patois, half French, half Spanish, 
 which was spoken in Cadi ; but the demeanour of 
 those who insulted her was not to be mistaken. 
 Their voices rose and fell like the thunder of an 
 angry sea ; they terrified her, made her afraid of 
 herself, so that she turned out the lights in her 
 room, and crouching in her bed, tried to be deaf 
 to the uproar, and to shut the picture of it from 
 her eyes. 
 
 No realisation of its monstrous injustice could 
 blind Esther to the folly of that day upon which 
 she had given herself to Arthur in Paris. This 
 overwhelming, malignant hostihty opened her 
 eyes and wrecked the pretty logic which had 
 buoyed her up since the gate of a royal prison 
 closed behind her. She began to see now how 
 great a wrong she had done the man she loved by 
 surrendering to his will. These people, she said, 
 would have been loyal subjects but for that act of 
 theirs, which had so hurt their pride and destroyed 
 their ambitions. And to this was added a great 
 fear, a fear of things unknown and passing ex- 
 perience. Esther believed that the mob would 
 force the palace gates and drag her out. She 
 cowered in the darkness, silent and afraid. Every
 
 232 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 sound within the palace, the sentry's footfall, the 
 rustle of a curtain, the creaking of a board, could 
 set her heart beating wildly. It occurred to her 
 quick mind that this visit might not be so acci- 
 dental as it appeared, and that her enemies in the 
 city might have sent the people to the gate. The 
 circumstances justified her worst apprehensions. 
 If the mob broke into the palace, she did not 
 doubt that it would kill her without pity. She 
 quailed before the outburst, scarce daring to 
 breathe or move. Anon, words were not suffi- 
 cient for her accusers, and the mob ceased to be 
 content with curses and defiance. Some one 
 cried out that the palace should be taken, and 
 upon this a volley of stones smashed the heavy 
 glass of the windows and sent a debris of jagged 
 flint and splintered woodwork in a shower about 
 her bed. For a moment, perhaps, she did not 
 quite realise what had happened, so loud was the 
 uproar when the windows were broken ; but the 
 crashing sounds, the current of cold air, the cloud 
 of dust within the room quickly undeceived her. 
 She had the idea that men were climbing up to 
 the verandah, and would burst in upon her pre- 
 sently to take her life. Stones rattled upon the 
 casements like hail which a tempest drives ; she 
 could hear the thunder of voices, raging and fear- 
 ful ; and this ferocious hate affrighted her more 
 than the dread of death. Had the mob been 
 accusing an oppressor it could not have roused 
 itself to a greater fury than that which it now 
 vented upon a defenceless girl. Esther suffered 
 a torture of doubt so enduring that she did not
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 233 
 
 believe any mere physical pain would be compared 
 with it. When the clamour ceased as suddenly 
 as it had begun, she hid her face in the pillow and 
 would not believe that such a miracle had come 
 to pass. Her limbs were cold and trembling. 
 She thought still to hear the voices ; the darkness 
 shaped new mysteries for her. 
 
 The mob had fled; reluctant as she was to 
 credit her ears, this miracle was the truth. 
 Drawn away by some sudden and more potent 
 appeal to curiosity, the rioters flocked like sheep 
 toward the doors of the cathedral, and there, 
 gathering in serried ranks, they uttered a new 
 name and waited for a new face. It was that 
 of their Prince, then riding to the northern 
 gate and proceeding under escort to the 
 citadel. Esther heard the rushing footsteps, 
 and, asking why the people had gone away, she 
 rose at last from her bed and put on her dressing- 
 gown. It was very cold in her room and when 
 she turned up the electric light, but three globes 
 of twenty were left unshattered. The long 
 windows opening upon the verandah had been 
 utterly wrecked by the stones. Curtains were 
 torn ; tables, chairs, and carpet powdered with 
 the glass the volleys had crushed; but the broken 
 casement gave her a clear view of gate and court- 
 yard, and from that place she beheld her husband 
 upon his way to the citadel, and, seeing him, she 
 understood the miracle. 
 
 It was a weird picture, distinct and unforgetable. 
 Countless torches, casting their bountiful rays
 
 234 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 upon upturned faces and looming buildings, and 
 
 all those serried ranks of expectant people gave a 
 
 scene to which night lent its cloak of mystery. 
 
 The tocsin of the cathedral still rang mournfully ; 
 
 cries rose and fell in the moments of waiting like 
 
 the murmurings of storm. But clear above the 
 
 figures of the multitude were the horsemen in 
 
 their golden cuirasses, the pennons of the lancers, 
 
 the helmets of the guard, and last of all the figure 
 
 of one who rode alone upon a chesnut horse, and 
 
 before whom, meeting him thus face to face, his 
 
 people fell to silence. Esther declared afterwards 
 
 that she was conscious of Arthur's presence even 
 
 before she saw him. A passionate desire to go to 
 
 him, to stand at his side, to answer the people for 
 
 him, mocked her helplessness and filled her eyes 
 
 with tears. Her pride in him declared that he 
 
 was a worthy figure for the homage of a populace. 
 
 Tall and manly, sitting his horse to perfection, 
 
 his white uniform catching the golden light, his 
 
 demeanour fearless and unconcerned, even the 
 
 multitude had the will to forget ; and many a 
 
 voice which erstwhile had cursed now blessed 
 
 him. Cheers broke out and were with difficulty 
 
 suppressed by an obedient soldiery. Those who 
 
 had gathered stones dropped them shamefacedly. 
 
 Young men cried "Viva!" and cared nothing 
 
 for the consequences. The cavalcade swept by 
 
 unaccused by the citizens; but Esther lingered 
 
 still at her window as though some miracle of the 
 
 night would carry her message to him she loved. 
 
 Some one knocked upon her door a little timidly,
 
 " Last of all one who rode upon a chestnut horse, his white uniform 
 catching the golden light."
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 235 
 
 and she opened it, knowing that help had come to 
 her at last. Her astonishment was great when 
 she discovered that her visitor was Colonel Varez, 
 anxious to apologise for that which she had 
 suffered. 
 
 " Madame," he said, with unaccustomed 
 eloquence, " I cannot find words in which to 
 express my regret." 
 
 Esther had not liked this man, but he had the 
 air of an honest soldier, and she would not do him 
 the injustice to believe that his regrets were un- 
 real. A man of few words, he continued to repeat 
 his apologies, and so earnestly that she accepted 
 them without question. 
 
 " I have been more frightened than hurt," she 
 admitted candidly. " Of course it was very alarm- 
 ing. It will be time enough to-morrow morning 
 to ask what I am to do. Please be careful, or you 
 will cut yourself with the glass ; it seems to be 
 everywhere." 
 
 He flung the door wide open and invited her 
 into the ante-chamber. 
 
 " I will order them to prepare another room at 
 once," he said; "meanwhile, we are all so very 
 much awake, perhaps you would allow the Duke 
 to add his apologies to mine. He is waiting in 
 the salon, madame. He drove here at once when 
 he learned what had happened." 
 
 The news was the best that Esther could have 
 heard. Her desire to meet Doctor Xavier face 
 to face had been with her since she crossed the 
 frontier. Bightly or wrongly, she hoped much 
 from that friendship by which both fortune and
 
 236 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 troubles had come to her. Francisco Xavier would 
 never range himself finally upon the side of her 
 enemies, she argued ; and so she followed the 
 Colonel with confidence, not a little excited and 
 not a little glad. The salon to which he conducted 
 her was half in darkness when she entered it, but 
 there was light enough for her quick eyes, and she 
 recognised her benefactor at once — a cloaked figure 
 in the shadows. He did not rise to greet her, did 
 not for the moment appear aware of her presence ; 
 but, instructing the Colonel briefly, desired him to 
 withdraw. 
 
 " I am engaged for an hour, Varez — admit no 
 one. 
 
 The soldier saluted and withdrew, and when 
 the door was shut and Esther had advanced a 
 little way into the room, the doctor put his hand 
 upon a switch by his chair and instantly flooded 
 the room with a blaze of light. 
 
 " Come here, camarade; come here, and let me 
 have a look at you ! " 
 
 Esther had never known what it was to disobey 
 him, and, despite the somewhat brutal masterful- 
 ness of his demeanour, she crossed the room and 
 stood before him, while he, throwing himself back 
 in his chair, regarded her closely. 
 
 "Yes," he said slowly, "as I thought — the 
 petals fall but the flowers remain. Do you know 
 that a month has greatly changed you, camarade ? 
 Time laughs at our little schemes, I see, and yet 
 Time is sometimes wiser than we. When politics 
 give me time to return to my laboratory, I will 
 set down time and trouble among my enemies."
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 237 
 
 Hg appeared to muse upon it, clasping his 
 hands and unclasping them several times before 
 he could bring his mind to the present circum- 
 stances. 
 
 " Let me see : it is not twenty days since I left 
 you in Paris ! " he resumed at length ; " much has 
 happened since then, camarade — for one thing, 
 you have been very foolish ; for another, I have 
 been premature." 
 
 Esther protested ; the first word she had spoken 
 to him. 
 
 " Why did you leave me?" she asked, a little 
 passionately ; " why did you bring this trouble 
 upon me when I believed you to be my 
 friend?" 
 
 He had expected her reproach, but it did not 
 distress him. After all she was but a pawn in the 
 great game he had played. He bad still use for 
 her, however. 
 
 " I left you in Paris because my own people 
 had need of me. Do me the justice to admit 
 that it was an excellent reason. I saw my 
 country neglected by the man in whom she had 
 put her trust, the victim of charlatans, the tool of 
 France, and I knew that I could save her. So I 
 returned to Cadi — the occupations of my leisure 
 were forgotten. If I am to-day, as yesterday, the 
 servant of science, devoted heart and soul to the 
 tasks which nature sets me, duty has a greater 
 claim. You, last of all, will blame me for that ; 
 I am here as a patriot — I have no other interests. 
 That is my story in a word. It is a simple story, 
 camarade — as simple as the story of your own
 
 238 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 misfortunes, which I am waiting to hear. Please 
 sit down and tell me all about it ; I can see that 
 you are very tired." 
 
 She sat, as he directed, in a high-backed chair 
 upon the opposite side of the table. The light 
 shone down upon her face and declared its pallor. 
 He thought her beautiful even in her distress ; but 
 the beauty was her own and owed nothing now to 
 his art. 
 
 " Since you know that my story is a simple one, 
 why do you ask me to tell it?" she exclaimed, a 
 little petulantly. " We are not children, and do 
 not wish to deceive ourselves. When you left 
 me in Paris you knew that I should become 
 Arthur's wife. Your sister told me as much " 
 
 " Then my sister had done better to hold her 
 tongue — let us begin with that. It is the mis- 
 fortune of women that their economics do not 
 concern their confidences. They should be seen 
 and not heard, camarade. There should be a 
 decree of silence for them. My sister had no 
 right to tell you any such thing " 
 
 " Then you did not wish it. Doctor Xavier." 
 
 He rested his arm upon the table and searched 
 her eyes with his own as though to catch her 
 closest thoughts. 
 
 "I answer neither 'yes' nor 'no,'" he said 
 frankly ; " with any other than a Medina Celi, I 
 would have said * yes.' But I know men, and I 
 am beginning to know women. Let me read 
 your thoughts for you, cajnarade. You are saying 
 that I inveigled you to my house that this intrigue 
 might help me. Is it not so — ah, see how your
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 239 
 
 sex betrays you ! Behold the conspirator against 
 whom such things are charged." 
 
 He laughed softly at his own humour, and 
 the bright light appearing to trouble him, 
 he turned out the lamps again until but one 
 was burning. 
 
 "No," he resumed, "it was not altogether 
 that, my friend — I pledge you my honour. I 
 took you to my house that I might gratify 
 a curiosity with which my laboratory troubled 
 me. I found you a willing worker — let it be 
 admitted. You have helped me to say that, 
 under certain conditions, what we call beauty 
 lies within the reach of every woman. To-night 
 I go a step further and discover how elusive that 
 possession is. I say that twenty hours of trouble 
 will undo the work of many months. I find you, 
 camarade, as I found you in London ; but I am 
 honest enough to allow that you are still a beau- 
 tiful woman, perhaps more beautiful because you 
 are yourself. So does grief play its part ; but my 
 secrets are yours, and when grief is forgotten the 
 gift will remain. Whether that day is near or 
 distant depends largely upon your own common- 
 sense. It would be unflattering to your sagacity 
 to remind you that your precipitate haste has 
 wrought great mischief both for your husband 
 and yourself. Had I foreseen it, I certainly 
 should not have left you with him in Paris. 
 As it is, I say that there is no time to be lost. 
 We must save him, you and I, caJiiarade — save 
 him from himself ! " 
 
 He appeared to rouse himself to some warmth
 
 240 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 of regard for the friend who was in danger, and 
 Esther, reciprocating his interest gladly, did not 
 fear to be grateful. 
 
 " I was sure from the first it would be that," 
 she said, excited already by his implied promise. 
 "You did not come here to speak of his past; 
 you came to tell me that you are his friend. 
 Everything else is waste of time. Arthur has 
 always such faith in you. I know it will be 
 justified ! You can save him if you will, Doctor 
 Xavier ! " 
 
 She looked him straight in the face like one 
 who would trust him without question; but he 
 could not meet the gaze of her ardent eyes, and 
 she knew then that she had been premature. 
 
 "I did not come here to speak of your hus- 
 band's past— true," he said slowly; "that will 
 speak for itself, and it must be heard, camarade. 
 Let us continue with our confessions ; they may 
 guide us to a better understanding. When I 
 first perceived, in London, that you had in- 
 terested a man whom many women had tried 
 to interest and failed, I dismissed the observa- 
 tion as a fallacious one. The circumstances, I 
 said, were unreal, the impression false. You ask 
 me why, and I will tell you as bluntly. We are 
 a superstitious people and the vulgar among us 
 find our consolation in a lie. Our rehgion, which 
 is the people's Hfe, conveys many truths of human 
 nature ; one of them is the truth of womanhood 
 and maternity which we embody in that gentle 
 figure we call ' The Virgin of Cadi.' From the 
 earliest days until this nineteenth century our
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 241 
 
 painters have vied with each other in beautifying 
 that figure and perpetuating it. I, myself, stand 
 apart from superstitions, I believe that they have 
 their place in the human scheme. I neither mock 
 them nor accept them. And yet I will confess 
 that there was a day in London when, had I been 
 a superstitious man, I should have found an omen 
 for my guidance. It was the day upon which I 
 met Esther Venn in the manager's room at the 
 Casino Theatre." 
 
 He paused as though waiting for her question ; 
 but she answered nothing, and he resumed : " I 
 had gone there upon another affair altogether — a 
 trifling matter concerned with one of my sister's 
 compositions. You will Judge of my astonish- 
 ment when, thinking of anything but the country 
 of my birth, I saw before me one whose face 
 compelled me against my will to recall the fables 
 and their figures. The rest is known to you. 
 The interest you had awakened reminded me of 
 my own studies. I asked why you should not 
 take the place of those who had brought so little 
 faith to my assistance. That your intellect was 
 not of the common order was evident to me from 
 the first. I admitted your candour, your courage, 
 your resolution. I believed that you would 
 humour a scientist's whim — it might be, would 
 help him to a very great work. That which 
 happened afterwards was not of my seeking. 
 I did not ask Prince Arthur to my house; I 
 did not intend that you should meet." 
 
 She uttered an exclamation of protest, but he 
 continued quickly — 
 
 17
 
 242 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 ' ' When circumstances brought you together, 
 and he told me he must know more of you, I 
 laughed at his request and dismissed it as a folly. 
 But it would not be dismissed ; events compelled 
 me to recognise it. I recognised that a man in 
 whom my country hoped must either be faithful 
 to his great position or abandon it finally. This 
 man had been tried in the fire of the world, and 
 had failed. I wished him well, but I knew that 
 his happiness would be found in the gentler arts 
 rather than the strenuous things of life. It 
 was in my mind that this country might deal 
 generously with him, releasing him from his 
 obhgations and bidding another take them up. 
 In love and marriage, I said, Arthur of Cadi will 
 find his true vocation. So I took up the chal- 
 lenge and began my work. When I left you in 
 Paris my purpose was to be your husband's friend 
 before the Senate of this city. I determined to 
 obtain for him a princely allowance, to give him 
 his freedom, to say in the Senate's name, * The 
 Treaty between us is at an end : you have your 
 liberty.' You know what hasty circumstances 
 have defeated that object. Your husband enters 
 the trap which his enemies have set for him. By 
 you, camarade, they would strike at him. Their 
 agents inveigle you here, knowing that he will 
 follow — you have heard their triumph in the 
 streets to-night. With me you ask what his 
 friends can do. I answer you : there are two 
 who can save him." 
 
 He delivered this defence in a low pleasing 
 voice which held Esther fascinated. The story
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 243 
 
 of lier life for the past seven months seemed to 
 be recited page by page by one who knew and 
 understood every Hne of it. This man, so subtle, 
 so plausible, defied her keenest scrutiny. Posing 
 there as the devoted friend of the husband she 
 loved so passionately, she yet could be sensible 
 of that reservation which marred the con- 
 fidence and awakened her suspicions. For 
 many minutes, indeed, her perplexity silenced 
 her and she did not reply. She believed that 
 the whole truth had yet to be told — and in this 
 she was right. 
 
 "Two, Doctor!" she said at last; "no, there 
 is only one — only one ! " 
 
 He turned to her suddenly, stretching out his 
 hand to point at her. 
 
 " In a sense I grant it ; there is only one — it is 
 you, camarade ! " 
 
 "I— I! Ah, if it were ! " 
 
 " I mean it ; you are the one person in Cadi to- 
 night who can save its Prince." 
 
 She began to breathe quickly and tried to be calm. 
 
 " You know that I am helpless," she said. 
 
 He contradicted her with a laugh. 
 
 " Helpless — not so ! As I am a man of honour, 
 it is the truth. You can save him this night, 
 here, and now ! " 
 
 She shut her lips tightly, fearing that she might 
 betray herself. The truth was about to be told ; 
 she dreaded it. When she spoke at last it was 
 almost in a whisper. 
 
 " You see that I do not understand ! " she said 
 " I beg you to be plain with me."
 
 244 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 He leant over the table and spoke rapidly. 
 
 " I will be plain," he said ; " the time has come 
 for it. Your husband is a prisoner in the citadel 
 — the people cry for his life. The Senate is ready 
 to condemn him ; the Army deserts him. France, 
 under whose suzerainty we are, will not lift a 
 hand in such an affair as this. It is our own for 
 our people to settle. "We shall try this man on a 
 capital charge and he will be shot unless — ah, 
 unless, guided by your wisdom, he resigns all, 
 abdicates of his own will, leaves this kmgdom 
 which he has betrayed. Is it clear to you, 
 madame : do you understand it now?" 
 
 He had not called Esther " madame " before, 
 and the sudden change of demeanour from that of 
 the kindly persuasive friend to the dictatorial 
 manner of the politician and the schemer de- 
 clared the true part he was playing. She saw it 
 all now ; there could be no disguise. Arthur's 
 life depended upon this abject surrender of his 
 kingdom and his birthright. Nothing less would 
 satisfy those relentless enemies whose intrigues 
 had been so subtle and so sure. He must give up 
 all, become an exile from the land of his birth 
 and permit his cloak to fall upon the shoulders of 
 another. Esther knew already what his answer 
 would be. And her own ? She buried her face 
 in her hands, afraid to speak ! She heard the 
 almost impatient question, and did not dare to 
 answer it. 
 
 " Come, madame, I wait for you ; is it possible 
 that you hesitate? Am I to assume that this 
 man's life is nothing to you? Will you sacrifice
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 245 
 
 it for a sentiment — no, you are too shrewd ! Cadi 
 has no interest for you ; in Paris or in London 
 the generosity of my country will permit your 
 husband to live under those circumstances of 
 luxury and liberty to which prudence entitles 
 him. Will you sacrifice that for a chimera of 
 power ? — no, I do not believe it ! You will save 
 your husband because you love him — a noble task, 
 a woman's task, madame ! " 
 
 She looked up at the words and replied with a 
 dignity which surprised him. 
 
 "I love my husband; but he shall speak for 
 himself. Is it a woman's task to rob him of his 
 birthright ? I have answered you, Doctor Xavier : 
 I shall never answer otherwise." 
 
 He heard her without surprise ; he had expected 
 no other response. The bargain he offered her 
 was so little understood. Time must be on his 
 side ; and there were other weapons ! For her 
 own suffering he cared nothing. It was not to be 
 hidden from him that his words tortured her ; he 
 intended that they should. 
 
 "You speak in haste," he said, "Of course 
 your husband must answer for himself since the 
 question will be put to him and not to you. But, 
 madame, have you no part to play, no counsel to 
 offer him ; are you dumb when he is alone ? I 
 think not ; I know you better. When you discuss 
 it with him " 
 
 " Oh ! " she cried, " you speak in riddles! " 
 
 " Not so ; I speak of facts. When you leave 
 this room and drive to the citadel, when you see 
 the circumstances in which he is placed, when
 
 246 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 you understand that if he is foolish he may not 
 see the sun rise to-morrow — ah, then, I think, 
 you may have something to say to him ! Is it not 
 so, madame ? Will you refuse the opportunity ? " 
 
 " To go to my husband ?" she asked bewildered. 
 
 " Yes ! " he cried, with something of that pose 
 which always characterised him, " to go to your 
 husband."
 
 CHAPTEK XIX 
 
 The citadel of Cadi lies a little way beyond the 
 ramparts upon the high road to Barcelona. It 
 was built by the Moors seven hundred years ago 
 upon the summit of a precipitous cliff at whose 
 foot runs a tributary of the river Ter. Styled 
 impregnable for many centuries, it is now but a 
 relic of the Moorish occupation, of so little 
 account in any scheme of a nation's defence that 
 neither fort nor artillery defends it. And yet the 
 city is proud of this once goodly palace, and 
 writers descant upon the beauty of court and 
 fountain, and antiquaries delight in its traceries. 
 View it whence you will, it dominates the valley, 
 uplifting its towers and battlements above the 
 deep abyss, and defying you at any distance to 
 say by what bridle path horsemen made its gates 
 in the days of long ago. There are pine woods 
 on the slopes behind it ; cascades silver its 
 massive enceinte; domes and minarets, whence 
 the Muezzin's voice once called the faithful to 
 prayer, stand up beyond its ramparts. Smooth- 
 tongued guides point out to romantic lovers the 
 cloisters of the desecrated harem, from whose 
 fountain a mountain spring still sprays its limpid 
 
 247
 
 248 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 jet. Time has dealt kindly with the citadel's 
 walls, and shading them to the rock-brown hues 
 has cast man's work and Nature's in the one 
 mould of its mellow harmonies. The curious 
 traveller upon the valley road would pass the 
 ramparts by but for that gilded dome, beneath 
 which the Mohammedan once acclaimed his 
 Prophet. 
 
 There is no garrison in this citadel, nor does 
 the government deem it necessary to maintain 
 there, in common times, more than a faithful 
 seneschal and those who assist him in his leisured 
 tasks. From the day when the Moors were 
 driven out of Spain until Cadi arrested her Prince 
 and charged him with treason, the ramparts went 
 undefended and the gates stood open. But this 
 policy of the years passed in an hour in the face 
 of revolution and its animosities. Through the 
 long night which carried Esther upon so strange 
 an errand, troops swarmed up the bridle path and 
 peopled the deserted courtyards and shut the 
 mighty doors. Torches were to be seen on every 
 outstanding crag which commanded the pre- 
 cipitous track to keep and bastion. Gunners, 
 delighting in the novel task, dragged mountain 
 cannon from point to point until they had them 
 upon the ramparts. Within the citadel an 
 activity no less significant soon changed the face 
 of things and declared its purpose. Apartments, 
 long given over to the winds and the rain, were 
 hastily screened by tapestries carried up from the 
 treasure-house of the city. Lanterns glowed in 
 court and cloister, fires were kindled upon open
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 249 
 
 hearths. The great cliff, upon which the castle 
 stood, might have been visited by vast fire-flies, 
 which hovered like jewels upon its outstanding 
 crags, while a glimmering light upon the sky 
 above could speak of upleaping flames and the 
 mountain's activity. 
 
 They had brought the Prince, under escort, to 
 this busy scene a little after the hour of 
 midnight ; but dawn was shimmering upon the 
 Eastern sky when a carriage set down Esther at 
 the cliff's foot and Colonel Varez curtly bade her 
 follow him to the heights. 
 
 "It is a treacherous path, madame," he said 
 bluntly ; "if you are frightened, do not hesitate 
 to tell me so. I will give you a hand at the 
 dangerous places, but you must be careful." 
 
 She answered him that she was not afraid. 
 The knowledge that she would see her husband, 
 that, perchance, he knew of her coming, gave her 
 a false courage and steeled her nerves. 
 
 "I learned to climb in Switzerland," she said ; 
 " I am sure I shall not mind it. Please go on ; I 
 am naturally very anxious." 
 
 He turned without a word, and began to stride 
 up a rocky path which bridged many a chasm and 
 bordered many a black abyss. Torches in giant 
 crannies diffused their shifting light upon that 
 dizzy road, and, weaving shadows, they helped 
 the climber to deceive himself. By here and 
 there, where the track turned and a false step 
 would have sent the traveller down headlong to 
 the crags below. Colonel Varez offered Esther his 
 hand and dragged her up. The valley shaped
 
 250 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 below them clear and distinct in the wan light ; a 
 city in a mighty cup, a haze of smoke, a river 
 linking range to range with its chain of rippling 
 silver. These fearsome sights Esther shut out 
 from her eyes with more than a woman's 
 resolution. Her desire to be with her husband 
 defied all danger. She had the will to run ; the 
 delay tortured her; she was not conscious of 
 fatigue ; a cold breeze blowing down from the 
 snows brought the blood to her cheeks and gave 
 her strength. When, at the gate. Colonel Varez 
 waited to tell her that the journey was done, he 
 asked himself why he had not noticed her beauty 
 before. She found him more sympathetic 
 henceforth. 
 
 " The Duke looks for your answer at the end 
 of an hour, madame," he said, while they crossed 
 the drawbridge and stood upon the threshold of 
 the keep. " He desires me to say that this is the 
 only interview which will be permitted you. If 
 you accept this condition, there is no other 
 stipulation." 
 
 She said, " Yes, yes, I quite understand ; " 
 and a trooper at the Moorish gate, drawing 
 back heavy bolts, admitted them within the 
 precincts. Here a whole company of the guard 
 loitered at its ease about the fires which the cooks 
 had kindled ; artillerymen upon the ramparts 
 were breakfasting by the side of their guns. The 
 number and importance of the guard impressed 
 Esther as no mere words or threats could have 
 done. She understood how closely Arthur was 
 watched, how definite was his loss of liberty.
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 251 
 
 And this truth the very buildings themselves 
 could impress upon her. Gate upon gate opened 
 at their advance ; vast walls were tunnelled that 
 they might reach other walls not less vast. 
 The galleries, which once had echoed the 
 Muezzin's call, now answered to the sentry's 
 tread. At any other time she would have said 
 that it was a picture from the dead ages, recalled 
 from the glory of the East to reanimate these 
 deserted cloisters and re- write their story; but 
 doubt forbade her. She pressed on as though 
 delay were unendurable ; the end was so near, 
 
 They had lodged the Prince in an inner court 
 of the citadel, named in the guide books "The 
 Court of the Alberca," upon either side of which 
 there stood a capacious hall crowned by its cupola 
 and paved with snow-white marble. Splendid 
 draperies, deep blue in tone and wrought with 
 Eastern figures, defended the arches to the 
 cloisters and shut out the mountain winds. A 
 fountain splashed in the centre of the peristyle 
 and cast its jet into a marble basin. Touched 
 with the first rays of the morning sun the 
 exquisite tracery of arch and pillar could not be 
 hidden even from the unobservant eye. Esther 
 was like one carried suddenly into some scene 
 of the Moorish fables ; and when her guide 
 drew the curtain back, and showed her the room 
 in which Arthur waited, she hesitated for a 
 moment upon the threshold as though uncertain 
 of herself and of the truth. The hall itself had 
 but the scantiest furniture : a low couch served 
 for chair and bed ; an Eastern table showed a
 
 252 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 battered coffee-pot cheek by jowl with a common 
 cup. One great rug spread out upon the floor lent 
 the colour so sadly needed. Light streamed 
 dimly through the veiHng cupola ; it fell upon 
 the face of a sleeping man, whose cloak covered 
 his tired limbs, whose hand rested knuckle 
 downwards upon the pavement. He did not 
 hear the intruders, his sleep was dreamless ; but 
 burning lips upon his own waked him, and, 
 starting up, he caught the little figure in his arms. 
 
 " Esther ! it is Esther ! Of course it would 
 be ! And I fell asleep — yes, I have been waking 
 for thirty hours ; and the bed is soft. Say that I 
 am a brute ! I did not even dream ! " 
 
 He laughed boyishly, and still holding her 
 hands he sprang up and drew her to the light. 
 She feared his gaze, for she knew how greatly she 
 was changed, and hiding her face upon his breast 
 she would not look at him. 
 
 " Let me read your story ! " he cried, raising 
 her chin with a gentle hand. " Yes, you have 
 been doubting, too, little wife — you cannot hide 
 it from me — the eyes tell me so ! You have been 
 saying, ' If ! ' You are changed, sweet — but it 
 gives you something which you never had. Yes, 
 I do not flatter you ; there is life in your eyes 
 now ; once there was only the dream." 
 
 She hid her face from him again, knowing not 
 how to speak her message ; but he led her out 
 into the sunlight, and putting his arm about her 
 began to pace the courtyard as though no secret 
 lay between them and this was a common day of 
 an uneventful life.
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 253 
 
 " I expected that they would send you — you 
 are their natural messenger. They would play 
 upon your love for me and use it for their own 
 ends. Of course they threaten me. Don't be 
 afraid to say so, Esther. Old Xavier told you to 
 come — he is waiting at the palace for you to 
 bring him an answer'? " 
 
 She admitted that it was so. 
 
 "He offers you your liberty if you will leave 
 Cadi, Arthur. I could not answer for you — God 
 knows I would not ! Have I not brought trouble 
 enough already upon you ? Shall I let your love 
 for me cost you so much ? Oh, I cannot, dear 
 husband, I cannot " 
 
 He silenced her with a new caress. 
 
 " I forbid you to speak of it, little wife. They 
 are brave men to strike at me through you — 
 chivalrous gentlemen, and I will tell them so. 
 It has all been a plot from the beginning. Think 
 of it as that and say that we must laugh at it. 
 Oh, I have friends left yet — I shall still trouble 
 them " 
 
 He appeared to be thinking deeply, and com- 
 forting her with a lover's assurance he began to 
 recite their story again like one who believed that 
 recital would supply the link in that chain of 
 thought he forged. 
 
 " They sent hill-men to St. Girons and then 
 disowned them. You can hire ruffians in the 
 mountains at sixpence a dozen and get some 
 change out ! They give it out that my house was 
 robbed by a roving band of gipsies while their own 
 agents are really the aggressors. They pretend to
 
 254 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 rescue you and pose as knight errants. Having 
 got you in the city, they know that I will follow — 
 and here I am, not at all alarmed, dear wife, 
 believe me ! A man must have very good cards 
 when he plays for a kingdom : he must be sure of 
 his finesses. I do not think that old Xavier's 
 hand is as strong as he imagines it ! To-day will 
 show us. I shall appeal to my countrymen — I do 
 not believe in vain. There is only one man 
 against me. It is he or I. This Endymion is a 
 little tired of the moonshine ; he wakes up in a 
 hurry and wants to climb the hills. Tell me, 
 Esther, how have they treated you — what 
 happened to you on the road ? " 
 
 He broached a new subject thus quickly to 
 forestall her questions. A clever actor, the peril 
 of the role he played insisted upon a hearing ; 
 and the changing expression of his face, the 
 puckered brow and the quick glances to right and 
 left in their turn betrayed his reservations. 
 Esther knew how much they had to talk about, 
 and yet the heart of the subject defied her. 
 Arthur fenced too adroitly for that. He desired 
 that she should speak chiefly of herself. 
 
 " Tell me," he persisted, " what happened upon 
 the road — how did you leave the castle — who 
 brought you here ? " 
 
 She answered as directly. 
 
 "When you left me in the bedroom, I did not 
 lock my door — I was too anxious. Some one 
 cried out in the hall and I thought it was you. 
 Then I went down. The whole house was full of 
 soldiers, and they were quarrelling. I saw one
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 255 
 
 who was quite a boy stabbed before my eyes. I 
 must have fainted. The next thing I remember 
 is being upon the back of a horse and seeing one 
 of the men riding at my side. At Vic-Dessos we 
 stopped at the inn and they gave me breakfast. 
 I do not think I was frightened of them. It 
 seemed to me that they were the servants of 
 some one else." 
 
 " Of course they were ! Old Xavier bought 
 them for a capful of coppers and rewarded their 
 fidehty with a rope. He'll hang the lot if he 
 catches them, to show his gratitude. At Vic- 
 Dessos, I suppose, some one turned up — hussars 
 in a hurry and an officer who swore by the gods 
 that it was an outrage! Who was he, Esther? 
 What was his name ? " 
 
 " The Count of Foix — at least, he said so, but 
 he told me so many untruths that I am sure I do 
 not know who it was." 
 
 " It would be the Count, all the same. 
 Spaniards are good liars : it is one of the national 
 accomplishments. He is not really a bad fellow, 
 and may yet be caught. Most of these officers 
 have been bribed ; but I do not think he would 
 take the money. Corruption is a pleasant thing 
 when it gives you some one else's house and 
 receipts your bills. Old Xavier is wading in 
 money just now, but there may be something 
 better. I like the Count ; I believe he would 
 come over if I could see him." 
 
 " Then I must not say unkind things of him. 
 Certainly he was very good to me — and I do not 
 think I have ever been so glad to see a man in all 
 my life."
 
 256 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 " In all your life ? " 
 
 " You know what I mean, dearest. Just con- 
 sider ; I did not even know if you were alive or 
 dead ! " 
 
 He kissed her, grateful for her solicitude. Her 
 troubles were in his mind before his own. 
 
 " Women are always anxious at the wrong 
 time ; they do not measure the probabilities. If 
 you had been a politician you would have known 
 better. My death would not have served old 
 Xavier as well as my life. A popular sentiment 
 is a dangerous thing ; it forgives much to a man 
 who is dead, and there are his heirs to consider. 
 My brother. Prince Ferdinand, would have 
 appealed to France. As it is, the old fox will 
 find the better way. Oh, yes, I see it quite 
 clearly. There will be a mock trial at the Hotel 
 de Ville ; I shall be accused of State offences ; the 
 Duke will pose as my friend — a new kind of 
 devil's advocate ! If he can work the people up 
 to it, he may strike at my life — it depends upon 
 his pluck and the French Government. I do not 
 care a fig for banishment now, Esther ; but I 
 should be a coward to give up my country with- 
 out a struggle. That is where the danger lies. 
 I must call my friends to my side and the issue 
 will be the sword. It cannot be anything else — 
 you would be the last to wish it ! " 
 
 She surrendered to the spirit of this masterful 
 confidence. There is nothing that a woman so 
 much admires in a man as courage ; and what- 
 ever else he lacked, Arthur of Cadi was never 
 charged with a craven's part. She herself knew
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 257 
 
 so little of his people or of their affairs that much 
 which he debated left her perplexed and hesi- 
 tating. If she had a premonition, it was that 
 one who was brave and headstrong pitted himself 
 against the subtle craft of the diplomatist and the 
 schemer ; and when she permitted herself to think 
 of this she trembled for his safety. 
 
 " The last, the very last to wish it, dear hus- 
 band," she said with unwonted earnestness. 
 " Promise me that whatever happens it shall not 
 be — well, because you love me. Oh, I know what 
 this costs you ! Sometimes I could say, let me 
 go away, forget me, forget that I have lived ! Is 
 not your happiness sufficient for me " 
 
 He did not permit her to continue ; but clasping 
 her suddenly in his arms, forbade the promise. 
 
 " No ! " he said, " not that — I will not hear it ! 
 If I have learned to play a man's part, was it not 
 your lesson ? Shall I give up the most precious 
 thing in life for a chimera, a pretence of place 
 and power so empty that, but for you, I would 
 turn my back on it for ever? No, no, dearest 
 wife, we will face the world together ! The 
 meanest ray of sunlight that falls on me shall 
 light your sweet face too ! Let the end be well 
 or ill, my home is here, in the heart of the woman 
 I love ! " 
 
 She did not argue with him, nor had she the 
 courage to insist. His passionate love for her 
 had been so much the dictator of her actions since 
 Doctor Xavier left her in Paris that the day 
 seemed to have passed when she could either 
 withstand or deny it. She knew that he spoke 
 
 18
 
 258 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 the truth, that she was all to him, and that with- 
 out her life had no gift. 
 
 " I have no will but yours, dearest," she said. 
 " God help us to do that which is right ! And 
 yet I must answer them to-day — ah, what shall I 
 say ? what shall I tell them ? " 
 
 " That they are cowards to send my wife to me 
 — that I laugh at their threats and deny their 
 authority. Tell them that. Say that I count 
 upon my friends and the honour of my country, 
 and that I shall know how to defend those who 
 are faithful to me. If any one insults you, 
 remember his name, for I swear that he shall 
 answer me ! Can you remember that, little 
 Esther?" 
 
 " I remember nothing but your love," she 
 pleaded. 
 
 The appointed hour drew swiftly to its close. 
 Lovers still in the first dream of surrender, they 
 lost themselves in the promise of to-morrow and 
 brushed aside so lightly the reality of to-day. 
 Each in his own heart said, "The worst cannot 
 be ; we shall find a way." Lips pressed to lips, 
 hands locked in hands, they were like children of 
 springtime, hoping ever and faithful to the dawn- 
 ing summer. If Esther remembered the shadow, 
 if the truth came frowning in the sunshine, eyes 
 were closed to it and ears deafened. It could not 
 be that destiny would so deal with them, saying, 
 " Here must the eternal farewell be spoken." 
 "When Colonel Varez surprised them, their
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 259 
 
 laughter echoed in the courtyard. A painter, he 
 said, would have named the picture priceless. 
 
 He was a man of traditions, doing his duty 
 stubbornly, and yet not incapable, when duty 
 were done, of enthusiasms and the recreation of 
 the partisan. His fidelity to the Prince was just 
 such as the law of his country permitted. He 
 carried the Council's authority and never ques- 
 tioned it. Obedience to the letter of the law was 
 his guiding principle — he returned to the court- 
 yard when sixty minutes exactly had expired, and 
 asking no questions nor permitting any, he bade 
 Esther follow him, and drove straight-forth to 
 the palace. 
 
 The city was awake by this time, and many a 
 gossip at a cafe's door, many an old woman upon 
 her way to church, discussed the events of that 
 waking night and the greater act which the day 
 must witness. Troops seemed to be everywhere 
 — here drilling in square or barracks, there 
 marching with flags flying and drums rolling, 
 now escorting a minister or riding at a canter to 
 the rendezvous before the great Hotel de Ville. 
 The air of unrest was universal. Esther's quick 
 eyes detected the barricades before the shops ; 
 she read men's faces, and imagined that but one 
 story occupied their minds. They were asking 
 what verdict must be pronounced by Arthur's 
 judges to-day. Would it be Hfe or death, sun- 
 shine or the darkness, the judgment of mercy or 
 the pitiless decree of the dictator and the rebel ? 
 Would this kingdom renounce the son of those 
 who for five hundred years had preserved her
 
 260 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 freedom, or would she recall the tradition of her 
 loyalty and save him even yet ? Esther knew 
 not. She could learn nothing from those active 
 scenes and troubled faces. The soldier by her 
 side sat stern and silent. A day of gentle breezes 
 and dazzling sunlight mocked the passions which 
 stirred all hearts. 
 
 The carriage went rapidly, as though the driver 
 feared recognition. In the courtyard of the 
 palace Esther perceived for the first time that 
 her destination was not the apartment she had 
 quitted. They drove her to the southern wing, 
 to an old quarter of the palace which, though she 
 knew it not, was called " the prison." Massive 
 walls, loopholed windows, spoke of the antiquity 
 of this habitation. It had been the home of the 
 Princes of Cadi five hundred years ago, and in 
 the days of Spain's bigotry many an offender had 
 breathed his last within those gloomy portals. 
 Here, upon the first floor, in that which once had 
 been the bartizan of the fortress, an apartment 
 was prepared for Esther, so cheerless, so bare, 
 that no prison cell would have spoken more 
 eloquently of captivity. Damp-stained walls dis- 
 played no other ornament than that of their 
 wheels of swords and rusted armour. Save for 
 one little casement overlooking the square before 
 the Hotel de Ville, the windows were but loop- 
 holes in battlements of rock. A gigantic fireplace, 
 with a rude oaken ingle, nursed a smouldering 
 fire of steaming logs. The air reeked of damp 
 and disuse. One solitary chair set against a table 
 that would not have adorned a kitchen. The
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 261 
 
 sunbeams falling upon the cold stone pavement 
 focussed rays of prismatic light in which the 
 dust of ages floated. But everywhere the nature 
 of the room was declared: it was a prison, 
 neither more nor less ; even Colonel Varez 
 admitted that. 
 
 "The Duke, my master, is greatly distressed 
 that the Ministry permits you no better accom- 
 modation, madame. His influence has not been 
 able to order it otherwise. I will not disguise it 
 from you that your relations with the French 
 Government are responsible for this severity. 
 You will be asked questions concerning that 
 presently ; but until they are put to you, I 
 am commanded to hold you a prisoner in this 
 house." 
 
 He stood aside to permit her to enter the 
 dismal cell, and for a little while she regarded 
 it with open-eyed astonishment. Logically, 
 perhaps, she preferred this open declaration of 
 hostihty to the sham courtesies of yesterday. 
 Now, at last, she knew the truth of her position ; 
 and her sense of humour remaining to her, 
 she could laugh at the folly which named her as a 
 servant of France. 
 
 "Your Ministry is most discreet!" she re- 
 torted. " I am glad to see that I am so im- 
 portant a personage. When this preposterous 
 charge is a little more definite, I shall be quite 
 ready to defend myself. Eeally, I must be a very 
 clever woman ! " 
 
 He bowed gravely, for no man had seen 
 Colonel Varez smile ; and calling to a trooper
 
 262 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 who waited upon the staircase, he bade him 
 bring paper and pens. 
 
 " I am merely the servant, madams ; permit 
 me to decHne any argmnent. The Duke awaits 
 your answer in a matter which is more urgent. 
 Please make it as soon as possible : I will return 
 in half an hour." 
 
 He strode from the room, and the heavy door 
 shut with a clang which re-echoed through the 
 empty building. A trooper had left a sheet of 
 paper with pen and ink upon the table, and for a 
 little while Esther stood wondering what she 
 should write and with what unknown con- 
 sequences. She was still wearing the winter 
 cloak in which she had gone up to the citadel, 
 and her first act was to loose it and to throw 
 it over the wooden chair, where its bright Hning 
 of pink silk gave a patch of welcome colour 
 to that dismal place. Thereafter she knelt before 
 the fire and warmed her chilled fingers and 
 shuddered a little in that atmosphere of damp 
 and evil humours. The plain fact that the gates 
 of a prison had closed upon her at last troubled 
 her less than the base intrigue which would have 
 made her the agent of her husband's compliance. 
 Though she had been prepared for threats and 
 entreaties, a certain confidence in the ultimate 
 triumph of justice had upheld her until this time ; 
 but here, within this cell, hope defied her and 
 she would not barter with it. Her love-dream, 
 so brief, was surely done with now! She saw 
 herself cast out to the world to mourn eternally 
 the man without whom life had no meaning.
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 263 
 
 When she staggered up from her knees the pallor 
 of death was upon her face, her eyes were blind 
 so that she could scarcely find the paper. She 
 sank heavily into the chair, and for many minutes 
 did not raise her face from those arms which hid 
 it from the light. 
 
 What should she write? What must her 
 answer be to him who so tortured her, who 
 had found her out in London but seven months 
 ago and saved her for this ! Better, she said, 
 that it had ended then ; better the degradation, 
 the poverty, the humiliation, than this vision of 
 the dream, this knowledge of love and light and 
 the surpassing hour of woe. She had not asked 
 the help of any man. Destiny might have spared 
 her so easily ! And now she must repay to the 
 uttermost farthing for her brief respite. If she 
 could but stand with Arthur before his judges 
 to answer them as he would answer them, 
 hear their judgment and suffer it, then, in- 
 deed, might this self-accusation avail her. But 
 she knew that the wish was vain. The dread 
 thought came to her that the eternal farewell 
 might have been spoken. She sobbed aloud, 
 heart-broken and believing the worst. 
 
 The minutes passed slowly in a silence upon 
 which neither the city's voice nor any sound 
 within the prison intruded. Esther could hear 
 her own heart beating as she took up the pen and 
 set it down again upon an empty page. What 
 should she write ? How should she answer them ? 
 Should she say that her husband counted upon 
 the justice of his countrymen ? Should she
 
 264 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 defend him ? or should it be the bold defiance, 
 threat for threat, the braver resolution ? The 
 cleverness which compelled her to answer at all 
 was not overlooked. She foresaw that this very 
 paper might be used in evidence against the 
 man they would condemn She feared to commit 
 herself, feared her refusal. The thread of an 
 answer would be caught up in her mind to be 
 lost immediately in a tangle of her arguments. 
 Had she but one friend in Cadi, then might word 
 have been sent to Paris and its Government. 
 But she knew that she had none. Never had she 
 been more utterly alone. 
 
 The pen tumbled from her unwilling fingers — 
 she said that she could answer nothing. Colonel 
 Varez found her new resolve unshaken when 
 he returned at the appointed time. He had not 
 expected it, for, like many in the city, he believed 
 that she was an adventuress and would sell her- 
 self for money. 
 
 " I fear you did not understand me, madame," 
 he said. " The Duke is waiting for his answer." 
 
 She stood up bravely and all her dignity 
 helping her she pointed to the paper. 
 
 "It is there. Colonel." 
 
 He did not reproach her ; his surprise mastered 
 him, and he folded up the paper deliberately and 
 with method. 
 
 "Madame," he asked at last, "are j'ou aware 
 what this meams? " 
 
 " I am quite aware, Colonel." 
 
 "That I am carrying your husband's death- 
 warrant y "
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 265 
 
 She did not flinch. 
 
 "I know it," she said, unshaken. 
 
 He took a step toward her and held out his 
 hand. 
 
 " I salute a brave woman ! " he said. 
 
 She did not speak. Her Hps were twitching, 
 her eyes dilated and turned full upon his own. 
 Not until he left her did she break down utterly 
 and burst into a passionate flood of tears.
 
 CHAPTEE XX 
 
 Colonel Varez carried her message to the 
 Ministry at seven o'clock, and at eight the 
 trooper entered her cell with coffee and bread. 
 She welcomed this intrusion and was grateful for 
 the food he offered her. Her grief had left her 
 weak and cold ; and when the first passion of it 
 was over, she sat for a full hour oblivious of her 
 surroundings and their significance. 
 
 " The bread is bad but the coffee is good, 
 madame," the fellow said. " I will see the cook 
 by and by and do better for you to-morrow. My 
 mother, Guanares, will be up here just now, and 
 then she will make us comfortable. Your bed- 
 room is at the top of that little flight of stairs. 
 If you want to see what is going on at the Hotel 
 de Ville you have only to look out of your window. 
 They say the Prince is to be there by and by — 
 God forbid, say I ! " 
 
 He was a cheery gossip, who bustled about the 
 room and performed unnecessary services in an 
 unnecessarily clumsy way. Knowing something 
 of the circumstances in which an English lady 
 had become a prisoner in the Bartizan Tower, he 
 yet pretended ignorance, and chattered on as 
 
 266
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 267 
 
 though it were a fete day in the joys of which he 
 could not participate. 
 
 " You haven't thought of it, I suppose, madame, 
 or it would not be news to you," he said. " The 
 first thing I do when I go to a new house is to 
 look out of the window. You never know what 
 may happen. Now, if you will please stand over 
 there, you will see as well as the best of them. 
 We shall have trouble by and by, and some one 
 will be killed. They say there are two thousand 
 guards in the square. I do not know, I have not 
 counted them. But you can see it all, madame, if 
 you care for such things." 
 
 Esther heard with surprise. From her window 
 she could look down upon the square before the 
 Hotel de Ville, and upon the crowds already 
 gathered there ; and she wondered that curiosity 
 had not sent her there before. Though the scene 
 was viewed from afar, no detail of its picture 
 escaped her. Every window, every roof, tree and 
 wall and fountain, contributed its quota to that 
 mighty audience, always picturesque and entirely 
 heterogeneous. The display of colour was worthy 
 of a Southern race, she said. Flags, bannerets, 
 gay tapestries covered up the white stone of the 
 loftiest buildings. The steps of the hotel were a 
 glittering sheen of rainbow hues, to which the 
 crimson robes of the judges and the white uniforms 
 of the guard lent their staring contrasts. The 
 crowd itself swayed hke a shimmering field of 
 human corn. Fierce but brief tumults declared 
 the latent passion of angry parties. The gendarmes 
 were everywhere, cajoling, threatening, beating
 
 268 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 the people back with the flats of their swords. 
 All seemed to wait for some figure necessary to 
 the pageant and its story. Esther knew that they 
 waited for her husband. She needed no logician's 
 wit to understand that she had been imprisoned 
 in that very apartment to be the spectator of 
 Arthur's humiliation. Such a shallow device 
 earned her just scorn. She resolved that she 
 would yield nothing to persecution or to threats, 
 and withdrawing from the window she sat again 
 at the table and drank her coffee and ate the 
 sour bread, and shut her ears to the ominous 
 cries. 
 
 The bells of the cathedral, muffled by those 
 tremendous walls, chimed the hour of eleven 
 before her brief repast was over. If she had any 
 consolation of suspense, it was that the ordeal 
 must be brief. She could see it so clearly in 
 her mind : the dimly-lighted court, the blazing 
 uniforms, the scarlet robes, the stern figures — one 
 man against a nation, and he alone ! Loyalty to 
 her ideals said that the prisoner would play a 
 brave part, answering lies with scorn and con- 
 spiracy with indifference. When a volley of 
 applause from the square heralded some greater 
 event, she forgot her resolution and ran to the 
 window, believing that the end had come ; but 
 the scene was unchanged, the mob, if anything, 
 more dense ; the sunshine more brilliant. The 
 outcry died down as suddenly as it had arisen. 
 The people waited patiently when the knife did 
 not clinch their arguments. 
 
 She returned to the fireside, and stirring the
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 269 
 
 lagging embers drew her chair close to them. 
 Ages seemed to pass before the merry trooper 
 returned, full of the story of the morning. She 
 questioned him eagerly, forgetful of her dignity, 
 desirous only to know. He replied as readily, for 
 he was proud of the authority of knowledge. 
 
 The Prince, he said, carried himself splendidly. 
 His appearance in the streets pleased the people. 
 The priests were on his side, but the bourgeoisie 
 were against him. His judges took their orders 
 from the Duke of Montalvan and were not to be 
 trusted. The Prince's answers had embarrassed 
 them exceedingly. They charged him with 
 receiving money from the French Government 
 and intriguing with the Carlists. But the count 
 of treachery was one upon which they chiefly 
 relied. He would have sold Cadi to France, they 
 said, in return for a command in the French Army 
 and the income of a Prince. Of the more 
 personal indictment this honest fellow had the 
 sense to say nothing. He did not tell her that 
 her own name had moved the crowd to a frenzy 
 of anger, that she was spoken of as one in the pay 
 of the French Government, styled " a well-known 
 adventuress, by whose intrigue the Prince had 
 been inveigled to England." An honest fellow, 
 he held his tongue about this. Why should he 
 grieve her? He believed that she would have 
 enough to suffer by and by. 
 
 " Mother Guanares is in the kitchen," he said. 
 " I promise you something good for breakfast. 
 The wine in the cellar here is as old as the 
 bishop's. We will drink the Prince's health —
 
 270 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 he'll beat them yet, be sure of it ! He's a tongue 
 in his head and knows how to use it." 
 
 Esther thanked him for his devotion, though 
 she could not share his faith. When he brought 
 her an excellent breakfast, she tried to eat with 
 appetite, but it was a mere pretence. The 
 intolerable day dragged out its depressing hours. 
 It would never end, she thought. 
 
 The court pronounced its judgment at five 
 o'clock in the afternoon, and five minutes later a 
 thunder of sounds in the great square winged a 
 message to the lonely prisoner. At first Esther 
 understood those triumphant cries of joy to be the 
 heralds of acquittal, and, rising with beating 
 heart, she went to the window and looked out 
 once more upon the turbulent scene. It was full 
 dark by this time, and lights twinkled in all the 
 windows of the square. Monstrous arc lamps 
 cast their pale glow upon the swaying multitudes, 
 and from the Hotel itself there poured forth an 
 unbroken human stream of soldiers and citizens 
 and the audience of trial. By every corner, in all 
 the doorways, even at the windows of the houses, 
 men argued with men and debated the tremendous 
 news ; while troopers backed their horses through 
 the serried ranks and began to drive the people to 
 their homes. Passion dominated the scene and 
 even claimed its dead, but no one spoke that 
 word which had been as a gift of life or death 
 to the figure at the window. Though she pressed 
 her burning eyes close to the misted glass and 
 listened intently to that babel of voices, the 
 torture of the doubt remained. Was Arthur
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 271 
 
 guilty or innocent, a free man or a prisoner, 
 condemned or applauded ? Vain hope ! For 
 every hundred voices that cried his name five 
 hundred acclaimed the Duke of Montalvan and 
 bade him show himself. Carriage after carriage 
 drove at a gallop through those shifting ranks ; 
 but in none of them was there any face which 
 told the story. And so there came to her reluc- 
 tantly the dread thought, " He is condemned — 
 Arthur is condemned ! " and from that moment 
 she shut the sights from her eyes, and, falling 
 upon her knees, she prayed for her lover's hfe. 
 
 The hours found her attitude unchanged. She 
 was unconscious of time or place, obhvious of self. 
 An excited imagination painted for her anew the 
 terrible story of the day and corrected the brighter 
 picture. She beheld the crowded court, the set 
 faces of the judges, the beloved figure at the bar ; 
 she heard the music of a voice, the monotone of 
 counsel, the judgment, "He is guilty ! " And 
 then her prayer would be raised anew and she 
 would say, "Folly, folly! it is not true — he is 
 free — he will come to me." 
 
 The crowd without dispersed quickly when 
 judgment had been pronounced — the women to 
 their homes, the men to the cafes. If an un- 
 wonted restlessness stirred the city, but little ex- 
 pression of it was permitted in the streets. By 
 nine o'clock the square before the Hotel de Ville 
 had resumed its normal aspect save for the patrol 
 of the guard and the vigilant gendarmes. Night 
 came down in the mantle of Spring ; a gentle 
 breeze wafted the music of bells ; the moonbeams
 
 272 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 fathomed the crabbed streets and shone gloriously 
 in the open squares. Within the prison there 
 was no sound save that of the chapel bell and the 
 sentry's foot. As the night wore on and none 
 visited her, Esther's anguish passed all words. 
 Would they never tell her — would none take pity 
 on her ? This torturing question was answered 
 all unexpectedly by none other than Francisco 
 Xavier himself, who came to the palace at ten 
 o'clock, carrying a lantern and unheralded. 
 Esther said that he entered her cell like a figure 
 of some evil dream, but she did not shrink from 
 him ; he found her the mistress of herself and of 
 her dignity. And his first word was characteris- 
 tically apologetic. 
 
 "Madame," he said, "I am very sorry to find 
 you in this place." 
 
 She bowed her head and waited for him to go 
 on. When the trooper had brought a pair of 
 candles and set them one at each side of his 
 lantern, the Duke bade her seat herself. 
 
 " The Ministry compels it," he said, folding his 
 hands behind his back and pacing the stone floor 
 like one thinking deeply. " I have protested, but 
 they will not hear me. Evil tongues have been 
 at v/ork, madame ; they pay you the compliment 
 of calling you a spy." 
 
 She laughed a little bitterly. 
 
 " I am flattered," she said. " I did not know 
 that I possessed the brains for that." 
 
 " Then you are singularly modest, madame. I 
 should say that you have too much brains to be 
 any such thing and I am a judge of brains."
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 273 
 
 The assumption of a new virtue flattered him 
 and he stood before her to repeat it. 
 
 " Yes," he continued, like one convincing him- 
 self of a pleasant attribute, " a judge of brains, 
 madame. I know wise men and I know wise 
 women. Knowledge brings me here to-night — 
 a plain man of business to make a business 
 bargain." 
 
 He fell to the measured step again, regarding 
 her with half-closed eyes which told him how 
 greatly she suffered. She would have given years 
 of her life to have had her question answered, 
 but of him she could ask nothing. When he 
 halted before her for the second time his manner 
 changed to one of unusual insolence. 
 
 " You are clever enough for anything," he said, 
 " clever enough and pretty enough for anything, 
 my little EngHsh lady. Yes, I said that when I 
 saw you for the first time seven months ago — a 
 pretty woman who can be made beautiful, a wise 
 head which will fascinate, rule, lead any man who 
 has not the will to resist it — my diagnosis was 
 correct, madame. You have served me faithfully 
 — I could not have found a better instrument in 
 all Europe." 
 
 He laughed softly, and, holding the candle 
 aloft, would have looked upon her face ; but she 
 turned with an angry gesture, and in spite of her 
 resolution, she asked him the question. 
 
 " I would to God that I were a man ! " she 
 cried bitterly ; "it is so safe to insult a woman 
 who has no friends. If my husband were 
 
 free " 
 
 19
 
 274 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 " You are aware that he is free, then." 
 
 For an instant a wild light of hope illumined 
 her eyes. Had he come to tell her this? Was 
 the brutality but a veil ? She had no pride left 
 when she saw that it might be so. 
 
 "I know nothing," she retorted; "how could 
 I? Who cares that I should know? " 
 
 " I care, madame ; my solicitude brought me to 
 this room to-night." 
 
 " Then your solicitude finds no thanks." 
 
 She turned and faced him. He set down the 
 candle and snuffed the wick with his fingers. His 
 task was proving more difficult than he had ima- 
 gined it. Her self-command baffled him." 
 
 " I came," he said at length, " not as the bearer 
 of ill news " 
 
 " Ah, it is ill news, then ; I see — I see, you 
 would not be here if it were not. They condemn 
 my husband, and you are the first to tell me of 
 it. Thank you, I am very much obliged." 
 
 Her voice had grown a little hysterical, and the 
 irony of grief showed her to less advantage. 
 Xavier welcomed his opportunity ; he believed 
 that he could profit by it. 
 
 " You are pleased to misunderstand my 
 motives," he said, like one greatly wronged; "it 
 is true that I should not be here if my Prince had 
 been acquitted; why should I? Prudence, madame, 
 would have carried me to London on the wings of 
 the wind. I am not a martyr in the cause of 
 nations — far from it. My personal safety is dear 
 to me, I assure you. No, truly, acquittal would 
 not have found me your benefactor to-night."
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 275 
 
 "Benefactor! Are we children, that you use 
 the word?" 
 
 "We are always children, madame — those of 
 us who succeed in life. The world is very simple, 
 believe me. The greatest men are those who 
 rightly understand the simplicity of the majority 
 of their fellows. In England you call it common- 
 sense. In Spain we espy the devil " 
 
 She interrupted him with a low cry which 
 betrayed the anger of impatience. Her voice was 
 broken and unnatural. But for an iron will she 
 would have fallen sobbing at his feet. 
 
 "Doctor Xavier," she said, " if you are indeed 
 my benefactor, tell me of my husband." 
 
 He unloosed his cloak and let it fall back from 
 his shoulder. A flare of the embers upon the 
 hearth cast out a ruddy flame and set his face in a 
 frame of the brown-gold light. The whole figure 
 was sinister and yet not unimpressive. It might 
 have been that of a great man surprised in the 
 hour of a crime. 
 
 "Your husband, madame," he said, in a tone 
 so low that she could scarcely hear him, "your 
 husband has been found guilty by his judges and 
 will be shot at dawn." 
 
 She tried to speak, but her voice failed. 
 Though her face was turned from him he could 
 hear her sobbing hke a child in the silence of the 
 night. Her distress did not embarrass him. He 
 waited patiently, standing beside her at the table. 
 His tone had changed when he spoke again, and 
 he employed that caressing note of which he was 
 the master.
 
 276 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 " That is the judgment of the Court," he 
 repeated unctiously; "it may or may not be 
 final, madame." 
 
 "I understand you — God help me ! " she said. 
 
 He was not displeased that she should meet 
 him frankly. Like a shrewd merchant he knew 
 that this was the hour of sale and barter. He 
 had much to offer ; she had something to give. 
 
 " Let me see you sitting down," he exclaimed, 
 with a new intonation which implied leisure ; "I 
 have much to say, and you are tired. Let us be 
 at our ease ; if I prefer to stand, it is my habit. 
 Come, that is better." 
 
 She drew the chair to the fireside at his bidding 
 and sat there, her chin resting upon her hands, 
 her arms upon her knees. The ebb and flow of a 
 flickering blaze touched her pale face with the 
 tides of light. Her eyes were tearless, her nerves 
 quivering. He understood what silence cost her. 
 
 " I shall not trouble you with any particulars," 
 he resumed, falling to the monotonous step again 
 like one upon a quest of words ; " the Court has 
 heard the evidence and has found our friend guilty. 
 The rest is our work. I told you this morning 
 when I sent you to the citadel that you could save 
 the Prince ; you chose to ignore my warning. It 
 would be a craven act to remember that you did 
 so ; I forget it, madame. I am content that we 
 begin anew a task which the night must finish." 
 
 He paused, believing that her curiosity would 
 interrupt him, but she had nothing to say, and 
 he resumed — 
 
 "Yes, a task which the night must finish or
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 277 
 
 the day will find for ever undone. I fear it is 
 that, madame — to say ' yes,' or ' no ' before the 
 sunrise or to hold our tongues for ever." 
 
 She quailed at the threat, but she did not lift 
 her eyes or protest that it v^as otherwise. Her 
 hesitation satisfied him. He continued in a more 
 decided tone — 
 
 " When I sent you to the citadel this morning 
 it was in my head that you would achieve nothing. 
 The circumstances were changing, the end un- 
 certain. I foresaw that you would be guided by 
 events. The verdict might be in your favour or 
 the people vacillating ; there was still a hope of 
 French action. The day has altered all that ; we 
 are confronted with fresh facts and must con- 
 sider them. At least you will admit that it is 
 different?" 
 
 " I admit nothing," she said ; my husband has 
 answered you once for all." 
 
 " Then your husband is an obstinate fool, lady. 
 Will he sacrifice his life for an empty throne 
 which he has no desire to fill ? I do not believe 
 it. He has too much sense — he knows that we 
 are wise enough to be generous. I, myself, will 
 answer for his honour before Europe. WTiat 
 more does he ask ? I tell you that he is mad to 
 refuse." 
 
 " He asks for justice," was her quiet response ; 
 " what right have you to judge him ? None — you 
 have none ! " 
 
 He crossed the room and laid a paper upon the 
 table before her. 
 
 " This is my authority, madame," he cried, as
 
 278 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 one aping the manner of the theatre. " Oblige 
 me by admitting it ! " 
 
 Esther took the paper in her nervous fingers 
 and turned to the table to read it. The light was 
 dim and uncertain ; he held a candle that she 
 might see, and, holding it could detect the rapid 
 beating of her heart and the hot blood which 
 flushed her cheeks while she read. 
 
 " It is not in English," she exclaimed presently; 
 I do not understand Spanish, Doctor Xavier." 
 
 He laughed at his own mistake and took 
 another paper from the pocket of his cape. 
 
 "I had forgotten," he said; "that is the 
 document. Read it carefully and note that there 
 is a line left blank. Some one must sign the 
 paper presently ; ah ! you cannot see — shall I 
 read, it, then ? " 
 
 She pushed the parchment from her, for she 
 knew that when it was signed Arthur would not 
 have an hour to live. Such a challenge failed 
 utterly if it were meant to shake her resolution. 
 She left the paper upon the table and resumed her 
 old attitude. 
 
 "Why do you show me that?" she asked, a 
 little absently ; " what has that to do with me'? " 
 
 ' ' So much that at a word from you I will burn 
 it in yonder embers." 
 
 She regarded him unflinchingly. 
 
 " And the word ? Oh, I understand that I 
 must pay. You offer me something : what is 
 it?" 
 
 "Your husband's life, your own liberty, an 
 honourable position in England, a generous
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 279 
 
 recompence from my Government — those are my 
 proposals." 
 
 "You have made that offer before." 
 "Under other circumstances. Consider: your 
 husband is obeying a foolish hallucination. He 
 will go to the scaffold for a tradition five hundred 
 years too old for the age ; one person alone can 
 save him. The city names you as the agent of 
 his downfall ; it refuses to regard you as his wife. 
 If you persist the law must take it course. This 
 man, who has been your friend, will lose his life 
 at dawn ; you will be sent across the frontier, 
 penniless and branded as an adventuress. There 
 will be another President — we need not speak of 
 him ; he will be generous to you. Renounce your 
 title to this man's protection." 
 
 " To his protection — how dare you? " 
 " Bear with me. In the history of every Court 
 there is such a story as yours — the wife whom 
 Governments will not recognise and princes must 
 forget. I am compelled to speak frankly. You 
 can save my Prince from the scaffold ; why should 
 I beat about the bush ? Resign your claims upon 
 him, say that he is free, keep your secret, return 
 to your own country; my oath shall be your 
 security. I swear to you upon the Cross that we 
 will keep faith with him. Let it be here and 
 now the solemn bond between us — ah ! folly, you 
 ask his life, then — you send him to the open 
 grave." 
 
 He stepped back, the words broken abruptly 
 upon his lips. Her cry of anger and shame 
 echoed hke a low moan in the silence of the
 
 280 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 night. Until that moment he had never under- 
 stood her truly ; but when she confronted him 
 for the last time, with blazing eyes and heaving 
 breast, and hands clenched and cheeks on fire, he 
 knew the woman and said that he had failed. 
 
 " Go ! " she cried, a passion of hate and despair 
 breaking her voice ; "if it were my last word, I 
 
 say, go ! " 
 
 Her anger frightened him. It had been no 
 surprise to him if she had fallen dead at his feet. 
 Nevertheless, he did not spare her — he had 
 expected such an outbreak, 
 
 "Since that is your answer, madame," he said 
 deliberately, " I will return you mine. Here are 
 pens and ink — I am going to sign this document 
 without delay." 
 
 She stood to watch him, quivering like a leaf 
 which a hot wind of night is blowing. He did 
 not take his eyes from her face while he spread 
 out the paper and felt for the mouth of the ink- 
 stand with the pen which the trooper had 
 provided. When he had signed the paper and 
 dried the ink at the candle's flame, he would have 
 continued had he not been aware that the door of 
 the cell stood open and that some one had entered 
 in silently. A premonition of danger for which 
 he could not account stilled the word upon his lips 
 and sent his hand to his sword. A figure from 
 the shadows advanced with shuffling step. It 
 was that of a woman, gaunt and wan and terrible. 
 
 She shuffled up to him and her face took shape 
 in the aureole of the Hght. No word was spoken ; 
 she did not accuse him— asked nothing, declared
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 281 
 
 no intention. Some dreadful apparition might 
 have loomed up out of the stilly night to break 
 the word from the man's lips and hold a young 
 girl fascinated. Esther, indeed, moved neither 
 hand nor hmb. A scene long forgotten was being 
 enacted again before her startled eyes. Once 
 again she waited in the garden of roses ; the 
 fountain splashed in the sunshine ; a vain woman 
 babbled vainly; a face looked down upon her 
 from a window ; she was afraid but silent. And 
 now she saw the face again, the hollow cheeks, 
 the hectic flush, the withered skin, the out- 
 standing bones, the lust of vengeance in the 
 staring eyes. And the man, no less, shrank back ; 
 the pen tumbled from his hand, great drops of 
 sweat stood upon his forehead. 
 
 " Who are you ? what do you want ? " he cried, 
 hoarsely. 
 
 The woman answered with a resounding shriek 
 heard far beyond the prison walls — a knife flashed 
 in the air; she struck at his throat and the 
 blood gushed out upon her arms and tattered 
 gown. 
 
 "The curse of God be upon your palsied limbs ! " 
 — a maniac spoke and laughed horribly — " as you 
 sowed so shall you reap — now — now " 
 
 He fell headlong and she stabbed the prone 
 body again and again. The lantern crashed upon 
 the stone pavement ; the table was overturned ; 
 the room lay in darkness save for the ebbing glow 
 of the waning fire. None intruded upon the 
 scene; none came between the woman and the 
 man. The awful laughter subsided anon in a low
 
 282 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 groaning sound as of a mother fondling a child. 
 To this silence succeeded : the shuffling step was 
 heard descending the stairs one by one as though 
 escape were a labour. 
 
 Night engulphed the messenger of death ; 
 Esther was alone, and the door of her prison 
 stood open.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 A LAMBENT flame twining about a log which the 
 scuffle had dislodged, penetrated the shadows 
 with a generous beam of light and revealed the 
 hidden shapes and all the evidences of strife. It 
 showed Esther that to which her eyes had been 
 bhnded in the moment of the deed. For to her 
 tragedy had been swift and paralysing, robbing 
 her of her common faculties and stilling her 
 tongue. She had seen a face in the golden 
 aureole, had heard an echo of mad laughter ; and 
 then the dead man lay at her feet and the lantern 
 went out and the darkness of the supreme 
 mystery enveloped her. For many minutes 
 thereafter she did not stir from the place. The 
 horrible apparition hovered about her still. She 
 believed that she heard the dead man breathing ; 
 once she thought that the body trembled 
 convulsively; but she did not dare to stoop and 
 touch it with her hands. When reaction came, 
 it overwhelmed her as with a freshet of fear. 
 She had the idea to escape the room at any cost, 
 to fly from it and to give the alarm. The break- 
 ing bud of the flame declared her road and 
 showed her everything as in some ghastly 
 
 283
 
 284 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 silhouette — the broken lantern, the table over- 
 turned, the shrouded face beneath. 
 
 She fled from the room and ran wildly down 
 the stairs, If the unknown had passed out, what 
 should forbid her ? An iron-clamped door at the 
 stairs foot mocked her confidence, and though 
 she beat upon it with clenched hands and found 
 her voice and cried hysterically for help, none 
 answered her. The vain blows echoed vainly in 
 the empty vault above. She sank upon a step, 
 crouching as though afraid of that which must 
 come after. Who watched in the darkness ? she 
 asked. Who had let the woman out ? What 
 friend had been her confederate ? 
 
 Night passed and found her still hiding from 
 the truth. She had lost the power to reason or 
 to associate her own fortunes with this supreme 
 tragedy. Distant bells chimed the watching 
 hours, but none called to her prison. The 
 lagging moments were as a chapter in her life. 
 Impatience gave her a strange idea that the day 
 would never come, and that she would be found 
 dead where she sat. She shrank from the scene 
 behind her as from a crime still being acted 
 before her haunted eyes. Though liberty itself 
 had been the reward, she would not have 
 returned to the woful room. Nor did any sound 
 come down from the cell above ; the palace might 
 have been deserted, the guard recalled. 
 
 It was bitterly cold upon the staircase, and 
 when the reluctant dawn came straggling through 
 the loopholed windows, she stood up with 
 numbed limbs and bloodless fingers, saying that
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 285 
 
 day must bring release. Already a faint murmur 
 of the city's wakening life sent its message even 
 to that close retreat. She heard the reveille 
 sounded in the distant barracks. JangHng bells 
 summoned the peasantry to Mass ; a sergeant's 
 voice commanded the changing of the guard. 
 For the second time she would have raised the 
 alarm, and beating loudly upon the door she 
 thought to make the sentries hear her ; but none 
 responded, none answered to her knock. 
 
 Esther remembered at this time the merry 
 trooper, and how he had spoken of the mother 
 Guanares and of her promise in the prison. It 
 was her consolation to assure herself that the 
 man would return to her cell at daybreak, 
 bringing her chocolate and the gossip of the 
 barrack-room. She counted the minutes until he 
 should come, feverishly afraid even of the 
 morning light and half believing that the dead 
 man still lived. "When she heard a voice at last, 
 she believed that the trooper spoke and she 
 staggered to her feet and responded like one 
 snatched from a living tomb. 
 
 " Yes, yes — who is it ? — I am here ! " 
 The summons came, oddly enough, not from 
 the courtyard before the Bartizan Tower, but 
 from that room of shadows she had fled in such 
 terror. For an instant a terrible suspicion almost 
 stilled her heart. Was it Xavier who spoke, or 
 another? She peered into the envelope of 
 darkness, vainly trying to discern a face. A man 
 was descending the narrow staircase with stealthy 
 tread. His white bernouse took shape in the
 
 286 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 straggling light ; his long brown robe trailed 
 upon the stairs. She knew that it was Yussuf, 
 the Moor; the man who, unknown to her, had 
 watched her as his own child since she set foot in 
 Cadi ; the man who loved her with the dogged, 
 hopeless persistence of his race ; and she stretched 
 out her hands to him and bade him hasten. 
 
 "It is I — Esther — I am here ! They have 
 killed Doctor Xavier — please help me ! " 
 
 The Moor caught the outstretched hand in an 
 iron grip, and held up the fragile figure which fell 
 swooning in his arms. He lifted it as a trivial 
 burden and flung a cloak about its face. Keys at 
 his girdle opened the heavy door and admitted 
 him to the courtyard. None challenged him 
 in the sunny court without. The sentry read his 
 passport as the merest formality. 
 
 " So France has saved the little Enghsh 
 woman ! " 
 
 It was the man's only comment. 
 
 In a carriage driven swiftly away from the 
 southern ramparts of Cadi, Esther opened her 
 eyes when a quarter of an hour had passed and 
 perceived that the sun was shining. A swarthy 
 figure upon the seat before her regarded her with 
 a woman's tender eyes. She did not know why 
 the Moor sat there or recollect the circumstance 
 of her deliverance. 
 
 " Senora ! " he said, " look up — it is the day ! " 
 
 She sat up and pressed her fingers to her 
 
 burning forehead. Memory deceived her, and 
 
 shut out the intervening hours of tragedy. She
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 287 
 
 went back to the moment of the dread document 
 and the writing on the page. 
 
 " Where am I ? " she asked wildly. " What is 
 it, Yussnf, what has happened? " 
 
 The changeless face betrayed none of its 
 emotions. The Moor looked out of the window 
 like one drawing near a destination. 
 
 " Senora," he said quietly, "much has 
 happened. A man is dead who deserved to die. 
 I know his life ; he deserved to die. You — you 
 know nothing ; you were not as the others! " 
 
 She did not understand him ; her thoughts 
 were inconsequent and capricious. The present 
 compelled her questions. What had happened ? 
 How had she escaped the cell ? 
 
 " You must tell me everything," was her 
 passionate command ; " 1 have the right to 
 know. Where is my husband — where are you 
 taking me? " 
 
 "To him, Seiiora, in my own time. Listen: 
 the French have forbidden his death, but the 
 people may demand it. I do not know ; the day 
 will tell us. Yussuf is your friend — he has been 
 your friend many months. Obey him and he 
 will be your servant. Here is the inn — we shall 
 breakfast, Sehora." 
 
 The carriage stopped as he spoke before the 
 door of an inn which lay a mile to the south of 
 the city's ramparts. The road had carried them 
 upward toward the pine forests and the pass. 
 Countless white tents of the regiments, called in 
 to quell the tumults, dotted the grassland ; and 
 troopers moved briskly from door to door, their
 
 288 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 blue uniforms looking brighter in the sunshine. 
 The city itself lay wreathed still in the morning 
 mists ; bells chimed the Angelus, muffled and 
 indistinctly. A wind of day sweeping down from 
 the snowfields invigorated Esther as with a 
 breath of life itself. Hope, unjustified, possessed 
 her heart anew. It seemed as though some one 
 led her out of the shadows and she looked up 
 to the golden East and dared to believe that 
 this was the fateful hour. 
 
 Her obedience to the Moor was unquestioning. 
 Odd, indeed, that of all the friends whom fortune 
 had sent, this man alone remained to befriend 
 her. Her faith in him was absolute. She 
 believed that he would take her to her husband. 
 
 " We need all our strength," he said, as one 
 who loved a mystery. " We shall breakfast at 
 this inn, Sefiora. The hours are few — they must 
 find us faithful! " 
 
 A Spanish girl came out of the inn and set 
 a little table prettily with snowdrops and violets 
 gathered in the glens, and crisp new bread and 
 flasks of Spanish wine and luscious fruit with the 
 bloom upon it. She chattered incessantly of the 
 soldiers in the camp ; they were there to protect 
 the city — ah, what dreadful things were happen- 
 ing ! And some said that the Prince must die. 
 She did not believe it — no, no ! he was too good 
 for that ! Her solicitude for Esther was touching 
 and generous. Everything that might tempt she 
 brought from their store. The Moor stood like a 
 statue behind the wicker chair. He watched 
 the valley closely, and appeared to be waiting
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 280 
 
 some signal from the walls. When his charge 
 had breakfasted, he touched her upon the 
 shoulder and asked her if she would follow 
 him. 
 
 " Senora," he said, "let your courage help you. 
 I take you to your husband. Come, we are 
 already late. It is fixed for nine o'clock. God 
 help us to be in time, Senora ! " 
 
 She paled at his words, and stood up at once. 
 She knew of what he spoke. The word recalled 
 instantly the threat of yesternight, the trial, the 
 document. 
 
 " Take me to him — now ! " she exclaimed. 
 
 His eyes lighted with a certain pleasure at her 
 impatience. 
 
 "We must not go alone; the air is keen, 
 Senora. Please wrap your cloak about you — 
 closer — closer. Let me see how well you look in 
 it — ah, the cheeks are bright now, the eyes 
 speak again. Eise up, Senora — the hour has 
 come ! " 
 
 She understood but little of that which he did. 
 The bright blue cloak in which he had wrapped 
 her was familiar and recalled an impression of 
 the past. She had worn it before — but where, 
 she asked. Memory, gathering strength of her im- 
 patience, told her at last; she had worn it in 
 FranciscoXavier'shouse on the night when Arthur 
 came! She remembered how he had called her 
 Inez of Cadi, and had watched her amid the roses. 
 And now the same cloak served her in this 
 remote place ! Its hood was drawn over her head, 
 its ample folds fell upon the ground at her feet. 
 
 20
 
 290 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 The Moor regarded her approvingly . . . the 
 black eyes expressed pleasure. 
 
 " Senora," he said, " here is your horse. It is 
 time for us to show ourselves to the people." 
 
 A man brought a v^hite horse from a stable 
 near by, and a pillion being already upon its back, 
 Esther was lifted there and took the reins 
 between her nerveless fingers. She knew nothing 
 of that which they would do, nor had she any 
 hope other than that which would carry her 
 speedily to Arthur's side. When they began to 
 go very carefully down the hillside toward the 
 white tents below she believed that the road lay 
 to the city and the prison. In the camp itself, a 
 new activity drew the troopers from their tents 
 and sent the officers pell-mell for arms and 
 horses. News of the Spaniard's death had but 
 just come to these outposts, and it passed as 
 tidings of a visitation which would re-write their 
 nation's story. The autocrat was dead, then ! 
 Vengeance had struck him down ; his enemies 
 had triumphed ; his voice had been heard in the 
 city's councils for the last time. Prophets 
 predicted that reaction would be swift to come. 
 Others, who were no prophets, allowed the 
 magnitude of the blow and its possible con- 
 sequences. " It will help the Prince," they said; 
 " it may give him all ! " The more timid 
 reminded themselves that Arthur of Cadi was 
 to be shot at nine o'clock ; they heard the 
 cathedral bell summoning the city to hear his 
 last Mass. And by these the figure of the woman 
 was first perceived. They touched each other
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 291 
 
 upon the arm, crying, " Look yonder ! " A white 
 horse upon the hillside, a blue robe, a fragile 
 figure, a face of surpassing sweetness — there was 
 nothing here to command alarm ; nevertheless 
 the curious pressed about the travellers and 
 crossed themselves in awe. Fanatics exclaimed, 
 " It is Inez of Cadi, a miracle, a miracle ! " A 
 priest fell upon his knees and touched the earth 
 with his forehead. The doubting had the will to 
 laugh, but held their tongues notwithstanding. 
 To all of whom the Moor answered nothing, nor 
 would he open his lips to any man. His way lay 
 to the colonel's tent. Esther herself but vaguely 
 understood what legend awed the troopers or why 
 they crossed themselves at her coming. Moment 
 by moment the buzz of wonder and surprise lifted 
 a stronger voice and became a violent clamour. 
 Men stretched out their hands to touch the hem 
 of her garment. Many tried to run at the horse's 
 head and to lead him ; but the Moor beat them 
 back. When he spoke they heard him with 
 wonder. 
 
 "I bring you the wife of your Prince," he 
 said. 
 
 They answered, " Viva, Viva ! " All the 
 teaching of their race predisposed them to belief. 
 The more ignorant prostrated themselves before 
 that which they deemed a miracle. The wiser, 
 hearing the name, believed it was an omen. A 
 thousand excited men clamoured about the horse 
 when the Moor demanded admittance to the 
 colonel's tent. Like news of a triumph the word 
 went from ear to ear, " Inez of Cadi rides down
 
 292 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 from the mountains ! " Salvoes of welcome were 
 heard on the distant ramparts ; the guard beat 
 the mob back with the butts of their muskets. 
 
 " I must see your colonel," the Moor said with 
 the lofty utterance of one who has a mandate. 
 ** Let him know that I am here." 
 
 They called the colonel out, and Esther looked 
 up quickly when she heard his voice. Varez 
 stood before her — Varez, the silent, the masterful. 
 He carried papers in his hand ; his head was bare. 
 News of Xavier's death had just come to him ; 
 his sword lay in the balance ; and he cast it from 
 scale to scale like a man doubtful of the issues. 
 For he knew that the night had changed all, and 
 that it might yet save the Prince. When he 
 perceived the figure upon the horse, the blue robe 
 and the golden stars, .the faith of his youth 
 brought the blood to his cheeks and sent a 
 nervous hand to the hilt of his sword. For the 
 moment even he could not read the riddle. 
 
 "Speak!" he cried; "what does this woman 
 do here?" 
 
 A thousand voices lifted the cry, "Viva, 
 Inez ! " 
 
 He looked about him at the wonderstruck faces, 
 the kneeling fanatics, and the old priest's uplifted 
 arms. So he understood. 
 
 "Madame," he said in a low voice, "what do 
 you ask of me?" 
 
 Esther pushed back her hood and regarded him 
 with ardent eyes. 
 
 " My husband's life ! " she said. 
 
 He cast down his eyes and stood irresolute.
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 293 
 
 His troops caught the saying, and repeated it 
 from man to man. 
 
 "She is the Prince's wife — an omen, friends! 
 Heard you that ? She asks his hfe ! " Anon 
 they shouted altogether, " Grace, grace ! lead us 
 down ! " 
 
 The stern face wore a more kindly look when 
 next it was lifted to Esther's. 
 
 "Madame," he said, "how shall I answer 
 these men? " 
 
 "As a faithful friend to one who will 
 remember! " 
 
 " You shall lead them ! " he said. 
 
 He turned to the troops and repeated her 
 saying,— 
 
 "Here is one who will lead you to your 
 Prince ; how shall it be, my men — will you 
 follow her?" 
 
 A mighty shout justified him. 
 
 "Viva, Inez!" they cried, "we follow — we 
 follow ! " 
 
 • • « • • 
 
 The troops entered the city at eight o'clock. 
 Rumours of the miracle heralded their ap- 
 proach, and brought anxious faces to every 
 window. The doors of the churches stood open 
 now, and priests there awaited confirmation of 
 the wonder. The very poor accepted the story 
 without question, saying that Inez of Cadi had 
 come down from the mountains to save their 
 Prince's life ! Beggars bared their sores, cripples 
 dragged themselves to the pavement's edge and 
 lay there blinking in the sunshine. For the
 
 294 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 strife of parties ceased at the momentous news of 
 Xavier's death ; and the temper of reaction began 
 to make itself felt. A volte-face worthy of a 
 Southern race alarmed the partisan and 
 encouraged the loyal. Men said that no ministry 
 would dare to go on until events shaped more 
 clearly and the ground of opinion was proved. 
 The people were dazed before this sequence of 
 alarms. Some said that Xavier's party would 
 stake all upon the throw, and hurrying the 
 condemned to execution would profit by his 
 death. Others hoped in France and had rumour 
 at their back. Day found a waking city agape 
 for the tides of fate. Almost with the dawn a 
 considerable throng pressed about the cathedral 
 doors and waited for that solemn moment when 
 the man they had sworn to serve should hear the 
 holy office for the last time. The market-place, 
 the park, the piazza swarmed with troops looking 
 for an hne^Ue. Bells tolled dismally ; the crowd 
 spoke in timid whispers. The caf^s were 
 shuttered, the shops all closed. 
 
 To this city, careworn and resolute, the mes- 
 sengers came down at the zenith of the hour. 
 " Inez of Cadi rides in at the head of two 
 thousand ! " they said. The news went as a 
 voice of winds. Born in superstition, the igno- 
 rant prostrated themselves before the omen and 
 ran fanatically to greet it. The wiser shook their 
 heads and knew not what the saying might mean. 
 Priests called for their robes and bade the faithful 
 be patient. Unrest and expectancy were every- 
 where ; little groups gathered at all the corners,
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 295 
 
 and were moved on by a stern soldiery. Many a 
 roof was black with people; the great piazza 
 before the cathedral could not contain the 
 multitude. 
 
 For a full hour the burning curiosity of these 
 throngs went unsatisfied. Some denied the 
 messengers, some scoffed, a very few were in- 
 different. Doubt had wrestled with desire and 
 won the throw . . . but upon this the distant 
 roUing of drums was heard, and a low volley of 
 human voices welcomed the figure of the miracle. 
 From street to street in one splendid crescendo of 
 applause the salvo of greeting was rolled. Men 
 upon the watch-towers gave to those below the 
 story of the pilgrimage. 
 
 " Varez rides in ! " they said, and then, "It is 
 not Varez, but another ! " 
 
 Soon the pageant shaped itself; the sunlight 
 fell upon the silver lances, the silver and gold of 
 that shining caparison. Those above who had 
 said that Varez was at the head of the troop 
 recalled their words, and named another for the 
 leader. 
 
 " It is a woman ! " they exclaimed. And then 
 louder, " It is Inez of Cadi ! " 
 
 A roar of sounds hailed the truth and confessed 
 the legend. Many knelt and were half crushed 
 with the press ; priests raised their hands in 
 blessing ; strong men were ' silent and awed. 
 Minute by minute the cavalcade drew nearer, 
 the music of the bands swelled out in cadences 
 more solemn, the pennons fluttered on the breeze 
 in increasing numbers. The moments of waiting
 
 296 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 were intolerable by this time. Who came then ? 
 What story was this ? A young girl riding upon 
 a white horse. What did she there ? With one 
 resounding note the people named her. " Inez of 
 Cadi ! " they wailed, " it is Inez of Cadi ! " The 
 salvoes followed her to the cathedral door. She 
 entered there like one whom all would worship. 
 
 ■ « • • • 
 
 Esther has confessed that her memory of this 
 last great scene is but fitful and unsure. From 
 the moment when Yussuf, the Moor, carried her 
 from the prison, she was scarcely the mistress of 
 her own actions, and she heard and saw all things 
 as in a picture of her sleep. Even the words she 
 spoke were forgotten. She could recollect nothing 
 of her appeal to Colonel Varez, or the act which 
 had placed her at the head of his troops. There- 
 after she lived for an hour in wonderland. The 
 madness of worship sounded in her ears like the 
 murmur of a distant sea. She beheld countless 
 faces, and carried the image of some of them — the 
 faces of loving women, of beggars by the wayside, 
 of old priests at their church doors. Elsewhere 
 the panorama changed too quickly for her to 
 recollect it. Street succeeded to street, throng to 
 throng ; she perceived the multitudes above ; the 
 multitudes below ; she heard the swelling music, 
 the clatter of the hoofs. But her thoughts were 
 always carrying her forward, over the throngs as 
 upon the wings of impatience to the great church- 
 yard and its golden altars. They told her after- 
 wards that men would have lifted her from her 
 horse at the church door, but that she denied
 
 
 '" My wife! My wile!'
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 297 
 
 their right ; and, riding in, entered without 
 question, as one whose Journey was not yet 
 done. In the cathedral itself twenty thousand 
 worshippers heard the ringing hoofs upon the 
 marble flags and bent their heads before the 
 vision. Blue-robed priests at the altar stayed 
 their ministrations and turned to see who came. 
 One man alone awaited the messenger with confi- 
 dence ; his sword trailed upon the marble floor, 
 beams of the radiant light fell through the crimson 
 glass and struck down upon his gold cuirass ; his 
 face was flushed, his arms outstretched to the 
 figure of his salvation. He it was who lifted the 
 figure from the horse, he who held the trembhng 
 girl in his strong arms and cried — 
 
 "My wife! my wife ! " 
 
 They knelt together before the altar, and the 
 old priest blessed them. Sunshine was upon 
 their faces, joy in their hearts. To the God of 
 their destinies they offered their hearts and their 
 lives. But the people still cried, " A miracle ! "
 
 CHAPTEK XXII 
 
 The story of Esther Venn and of her relations 
 with the kingdom of Cadi is too recent in its more 
 public phase that we should carry it any further 
 in these pages. Standing with her husband before 
 the altar of the cathedral of St. Ignatius, she 
 herself has answered those evil tongues which a 
 woman's victory must ever loosen. Henceforth 
 her life is to be lived in that old-world palace, 
 wherefrom for a thousand years the princes of her 
 city have ruled a willing people. By faith she 
 conquered, by love will she be justified. She was 
 a woman, and her womanhood led her through 
 the valley of the shadows. Europe has listened 
 to her story and judged her character wisely. 
 The aftermath is her own, to be reaped by her 
 affections. 
 
 We say that by her own act in the cathedral of 
 St. Ignatius she saved her husband's life, and this 
 claim the years have justified. Though she knew 
 it not, a straw had turned the people's temper 
 upon the day of his miraculous deliverance. 
 Francisco Xavier's tragic end found a ministry 
 unready and a senate bewildered. While the 
 timid w^ould have abandoned all, shielding them- 
 
 298
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 299 
 
 selves behind the law, the more resolute planned 
 a tour de force which knew no rule but that 
 of might. Thus it befel that while one party 
 would annul the judgment and open the prison 
 gates, the other stood resolutely to its pur- 
 pose and demanded that the law should take 
 its course. It is true that the French Govern- 
 ment had already determined to depart from its 
 accepted practice, and to interfere for the first 
 time in twenty years in the affairs of this little 
 kingdom. But diplomacy is slow and riot speedy. 
 At the best the mandate of France would have 
 saved Prince Arthur from the scaffold if it had 
 saved him at all. His life hung upon a thread. 
 The French secretary, Alfonse Manin, has ad- 
 mitted in a letter to the Minister in Paris that 
 the thread had snapped but for a woman's courage 
 and the faithful friendship which served in that 
 nour of need. 
 
 " Colonel Varez has saved the day," the 
 secretary wrote. " The allies he found could 
 exist nowhere but in this city of legends. It is 
 early yet to estimate precisely the extent to which 
 the people have acted upon their superstitions and 
 the part which common-sense has played in their 
 decision. Esther Venn, whose marriage must 
 now be recognised by Europe, appealed success- 
 fully to a people long taught to admire her race 
 and to imitate it. She is clever, quick, undoubt- 
 edly courageous, and her beauty will become a 
 tradition. I count it not a little remarkable that 
 a pupil of the dead man, Xavier de Montalvan, 
 should be the agent of his undoing. It will be
 
 300 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 known to Your Excellency that this man's story 
 is largely one of those intrigues which blackened 
 an extraordinary character and prostrated genius at 
 the footstool of infamy. That he was the posses- 
 sor of a vast intellect, I do not deny ; that he was 
 the enemy of woman is equally true. For years 
 his leisure appears to have been devoted to 
 effeminate studies which, by their very nature, 
 unfitted him for the healthier tasks. It is clear 
 that when first he met the English girl he had no 
 other objects than those which must have been 
 apparent to all the world ; but the arrival of 
 Prince Arthur at his house, and the interest 
 which was awakened by a very beautiful protegS 
 diverted his aims and furthered this conspiracy. 
 I have no doubt that he believed the Prince's ruin 
 would be consummated by marriage. It was his 
 object to keep His Highness permanently away 
 from Cadi. When he found that prudence 
 guided his master less than inclination, and that 
 he would return here in spite of all, then, and not 
 until then, he resolved upon his trial, and it may 
 be, his death, I have already informed Your 
 Excellency of the circumstances which have 
 conspired to defeat him. That he should fall by a 
 woman's hand is a just Nemesis with which none 
 will quarrel. I believe him to have been the 
 enemy of French interests and the paid servant of 
 Spain. Now that he is dead none regrets him. 
 The city has been drugged for many months past 
 by smooth-tongued agitators, who applauded 
 bondage and cried Heaven to witness that a 
 dictator would save the State. . . . Their
 
 DOCTOR XAVIER 301 
 
 influence being removed, the spontaneous loyalty 
 of a servile race is very ready to assert itself. 
 Writing to-night in my room overlooking the 
 Church of St. Ignatius, I must turn to a dead age 
 to recall a scene of national rejoicing so abandoned 
 and so picturesque. Modernity has lost its 
 enthusiasms. We can wave a flag and ring a bell, 
 perhaps dine over well at the Cafe Anglais or sup 
 with a becoming air of dissipation at any 
 restaurant which robbery has made famous. But 
 this abandonment of joy, this surrender to the 
 primitive instincts is found only amongst half- 
 civilised people. Here in the streets before my 
 eyes are hill-men dressed as their forefathers were 
 in the days of the Crusaders. Women dance 
 about the beacon-fires, and their jet-black hair 
 streams out like bannerets upon the wind. The 
 fountains are running wine — so at least the reeling 
 figures lead me to believe. I count a hundred 
 torches in a space of as many yards. The sky 
 above glows crimson with the flaming lights. 
 Every cafe is open, every table crowded ; men 
 embrace for joy ; young girls rave hysterically ; 
 soldiers, priests, rich and poor, noble and peasant 
 swarm together in this frenzy of the night. The 
 palace is a blaze of light from end to end ; throngs 
 press to its doors to hail the Prince, and when 
 their torches fail them are replaced by others no 
 less delirious. Bands blare in every public place. 
 The confines of the city are too narrow for this 
 pageant of a nation's madness. I see the beacons 
 on the distant hills like crimson stars upon a far 
 horizon, and they link up a mighty girdle em-
 
 302 DOCTOR XAVIER 
 
 bracing height and chasm, lighting the silvered 
 ice-fields or showing the heart of sleeping woods. 
 From gorge to gorge and pass to pass the tidings 
 go, ' Long live the Prince ! ' They join a name 
 to his and utter it as one endeared to them —yes, 
 the little English girl has won all hearts. I salute 
 her ; she is worthy of the tribute ! " 
 
 ■ • • • • 
 
 He sealed his letter and sent it to France to be 
 her witness. If he would have added aught, it had 
 been that the dawn broke upon a sleepless city, 
 and that the voice of the multitude was Esther's 
 lullaby. The sunshine fell upon her tired face 
 and found her dreaming. She slept upon her 
 lover's heart. 
 
 The End. 
 
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 book has the charm of being a faithful picture, evidently drawn 
 by one who knows it well, of a life which is yearly attracting 
 more of our young men. But, apart from this, its literary 
 qualities arc enough to ensure it a hearty welcome." — Manchester 
 Guardian. 
 
 Black Rock 
 
 A TALE OF THE SELKIRKS 
 
 Crown %vo. Gilt top. 6s. 
 
 " Ralph Connor is probably something better than a literary 
 man. And as we cannot all hope to meet him in his canoe, it 
 is the more fortunate that we can meet him in his book. For 
 his enthusiasm creates sympathy, and he will find few readers 
 who do not wish him well. It has been said that the author of 
 ' Black Rock ' is anonymous ; one would like to hope that it 
 may make him a name." — Scotiinan. 
 
 " The author veils his identity under the assumed name of 
 ' Ralph Connor.' lie need not be ashamed of his handiwork. 
 It has rarely been our good fortune to come across a book in 
 which the freshest humour, the truest pathos, and the most 
 exquisite tenderness are so freely displayed. His story is real, 
 his characters are real men and women, his parson is a real 
 hero— and we are the better for making their acquaintance. 
 There is not a lay figure in the book, nor a dull page. It is 
 merely the history of a crusade against drink in North-West 
 Canacla, and yet it is as full of life, and tears, and laughter, and 
 all the essence of good literature, as any novel we have seen this 
 year. " — Literature.
 
 27, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON 
 RALPH CONNOR 
 
 Glengarry Days 
 
 Crown Svo. Cloth. 6s. 
 
 " What a gift ! To be able to write a book that throbs in 
 sympathy with nature in all her moods, that touches human 
 nature, and disentangles from it all that is noblest, that appeals 
 to boys, and women, and strong men, that glorifies a woman's 
 daily round and common task, and carves a saint out of a pine- 
 knot, and makes a boy understand the glory of truth and trust 
 and courage and honest play ; that cheerfully turns the play as 
 well as the school-time of a young fellow's life into a true 
 preparation for the highest of all ministries. Of its kind, we do 
 not know a book finer in spirit — stronger, more touching, more 
 manly — than this last book from the pen of Ralph Connor." — 
 Methodist Recorder. 
 
 The Man from Glengarry 
 
 Crown 8vo. Cloth. 6s. 
 
 "Decidedly Ralph Connor is a man to read. Books more 
 bracing in tone than these I have never read. They are full of 
 life and full of the best kind of life." — "Claudius Clear" in 
 the British Weekly. 
 
 "Ralph Connor's book is a manly and very fine piece of 
 work, and will, we venture to assert, do more good than many 
 ordinary sermons." — Guardian. 
 
 Gilbert Parker, M.P., writes: — "I have seldom read 
 anything that has given me a greater thrill than the story of 
 the fight between Macdonald's gang and Murray's gang on the 
 Scotch river. Also I have seldom been attracted to characters 
 more than to the two Macdonalds, Macdonald Bhain and 
 Black Hush." 
 
 •"t,"' 
 
 " With this book Mr. Connor steps into the assured position 
 of a thoroughly ' practised hand ' who has found his public and 
 gauged its taste to a nicety. His two previous novels were 
 very successful, and ' The Man from Glengarry ' attained success 
 before the day of publication. The book is workmanlike ; it 
 has a sure and self-confident touch, and one is glad to see a 
 popular novel with some shapeliness and craftsmanship to its 
 credit." — Academy.
 
 HODDER AND STOUGHTON 
 ADELINE SERGEANT 
 
 Sylvia's Ambition 
 
 By Adeline SergeAx\t. 
 Crown Svo. Cloth, ds. 
 " A charmingly told story." — Court Circular. 
 "The story is pleasantly told, the tone of it is high and 
 pure." — Queett. 
 
 "A very pleasing tale— fresh, light, and of healthy tone."— 
 Scotsman. 
 
 The Conscience of Gilbert 
 Pollard 
 
 Crown 8vo. Cloth, ds. 
 
 " An interesting, wholesome story. The story is thoroughly 
 human, and we therefore enjoyed it, more especially as it has the 
 merit of being well and carefully written." — Fall Mall Gazette. 
 
 "Miss Sergeant is never dull, the opening is decidedly 
 striking, and the theme worked out with the author's habitual 
 fertility of resource and fluency of style." — Spectator. 
 
 " Miss Sergeant has excelled herself in this charmingly 
 written story, which will increase the number of her admirers. 
 There is admirable character-delineation in the story. We 
 heartily commend Miss Sergeant's new novel, which is both 
 entertaining and wholesome." — Aberdeen Free Press. 
 
 Near Relations 
 
 Crown 8vo. Cloth. 6s. 
 
 " ' Near Relations ' is a charming tale. ... Is drawn with 
 pathos and skill. The healthy sentiment of the story is as 
 pleasing as it is unforced." — Glasgow Herald. 
 
 "A pleasing story, told in Miss Sergeant's best manner." 
 — Literary World. 
 
 " Well written, interesting, and very wholesome in tone, and 
 quite up to the standard of Miss Sergeant's previous works." 
 — Church Family Newspaper. 
 
 "The story is replete with a bright, wholesome humanity 
 that is characteristic of Miss Sergeant's works, and in the 
 unfolding of the plot she displays much fluency and distinction 
 of style." — Publishers' Circular. 
 
 /6 
 
 London : HODDER & STOUGHTON, 27, PATERNOSTER Row
 
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 UC SOUTHERN RFGIONAL I IBRARY FACILITY 
 
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