The Stone Dragon and Other Tragic Romances
THE STONE DRAGON
CHAPTER 2
By Murray Gilchrist
When I reached home it was to find father dead Had I arrived an hour sooner I should have had the gratification of holding his hand in mine during the parting moments and have heard his last words But my act of disobedience had prevented this and by my secret visit to Furnivaux I had lost what would have been one of the dearest recollections of my life He had died thinking of me and as the last struggle began had stammered out that I was to yield myself entirely to the written instructions conJ tained in the secret drawer of his writing desk and intended for my eyes alone Therein I found myself directed to spend the years intervening before my coming of age at a tiny estate in northern Italy He had purchased it several months before his death and such use for it in view had furnished the comfortably and revived the faded glories of library Bound by a solemn command I was live retired from the world and not to myself at Furnivaux whilst Lady Barbara lived The manuscript concluded mystically I known that in your youth she will cross path an unscrupulous woman who cares nought so long as her heart's desire is fulfilled The stars declare it Perhaps even as I write she may be weaving the fatal web that is destroy life and happiness But the line of runs on straightway I cannot tell for the destiny may overpower you what to advise let justice and love ever sway you and that earth's joy is nought in comparison with which follows Beware Ralph of her I write of wherever she be Overpowered with grief my first impulse was petulant and unreasonable fury against those whom I had passed that delicious summer morning So angry was I with the cause of my disobedience that I did not even write to Barbara and after my father's funeral I at once for the home he had chosen Here I passed seven years of irresolute work The management of the estate was entirely in my own hands and I worked in a desultory amongst my people earning their affection being as happy as any man who has no aim in I had always my ideals and my recollections think of and I never felt a desire for interests At last came a time when all this ceased and became terribly depressed Who can trust I have had so many so many and so many false that I have alternately and disbelieved in the supernatural powers which foolish people place such absolute We spend many hours in mourning over phies that never occur whilst at the time that greatest possible disasters are affecting our we are plunged into the lightest ecstasy Yet I must confess that when I received from the Verelstfs lawyer that on the opening my great aunt's will he had discovered a codicil by which I was compelled to marry Rachel or Mary or to suffer the estates to entirely from our branch of the family a vista of ills opened before me and I bitterly because of the craftiness and self will the old woman who would not believe that but worldly interest was necessary for marriage At first I determined not to go but as knowledge came that unless I did so my would be plunged into poverty I gave tions for my trunk to be packed and left everything in the hands of a steward It was considerable trepidation that I pondered over meeting and as I looked farewell on the of my house on the vineyards and the river execrated the memory of the old make plot In four days I was on the platform at station watching with a sort of amazement train that had brought me disappearing at curve and wondering whether the letter I written from Dover had forewarned the ladies when a withered groom advanced and touched hat in antiquated style Be ye Mr Rafe 1 he said Why bless me what am I sayin as if I couldn t him from his likeness to Mr Alston 1 Yes I responded laughingly I am Eyre You are from Furnivaux Castle 1 wore the old fawn livery with pelicans on the buttons and a high white crape was tied around his neck You are surely Stephen whom my father spoke of so often That I be he cried I remembered him perfectly now from father's description In my boyhood I had told that he was at least ninety yet he was straight as a staff Miss Rachel s waiting outside in the carriage sir he said Train s nigh upon an hour late With this gentle hint that his mistress might be growing impatient he seized my luggage and led me to the gate where stood a large green chariot A woman's voice accosted me I bid you welcome cousin 1 And before I could speak I felt my hand taken and held The sunlight was gleaming so fiercely that I could scarcely distinguish the features that smiled beneath the crown of red golden hair but when I did so it was with a start of astonishment for Rachel Verelsfs beauty had become transcendent She leaned back against the soft olive velvet cushions and after insisting on my sitting at her side she gave the order and we were driven through the stretches of woodland and moor and over the miles of park road that lead to Furni vaux Half bewildered I continually turned to look at my companion Strange to say she did not wear mourning but a gown of yellow tulle worked in high relief with golden flowers and the outline of her splendidly proportioned figure was visible through the gauzy folds Whether it was that my arrival had excited her or that it was her ordinary motion I could not tell but her heart was beating wildly beneath its coverings and floods of a rich colour sped to and from her cheeks Her bizarre conversation related much to the object of my visit The peculiarity of the circumstances she took little heed of and having at the first moment leaped into the familiarity of an old friend she tacitly refused to vacate the position How delightful it is she remarked as we passed through the Headless Cross wood to meet a man who knows something of the outer world O the stupidity of our country gentlemen whose noblest aspiration is to dine well whose noblest possibility is to hide the mark of the ploughman and the lout How definitely you refresh me Rafe Your presence here has already done me a world of good If you only knew how stagnant how wearisome life is Bah but you don t sympathise This last observation was made because I had not replied but to tell the truth I did not wish my voice to break the musical echo hers had left in my ears I expressed a hope that she would not regard me as laconic but rather as overwhelmed by the gladness of reunion Whilst I spoke the turrets of Furnivaux just touched by the purple rays of the setting sun gleamed above a cluster of gnarled elms The mists from the sloping woods had ascended to the parapet of the roof and given it the aspect of a terrace in the clouds A gaily coloured flag fluttered in the Giant's Tower and I could distinctly see the crest wrought in flagrant contradiction to the laws of blazonry Twas I who did it Rachel said in your honour Mary wanted to embroider the pelican but it was all my own idea and I would not let her However she prevailed on me concerning the motto see you can just catch a glimpse of her Nourrit par son sang in azure letters 1 The carriage stopped in front of the portico and Stephen opened the door My cousin laid her hand on my arm and we entered the great hall together As I paused to look up at the domed roof with its pargeting of wyverns and cockleshells a feeling of chilliness made me shiver My dear Rafe Rachel said the change of climate tries you Had I imagined that the place would be so cold I would have ordered a fire to be lighted This is the way to the dining room I wonder where my sister is ah you are there Mary 1 One dressed in the plainest of white muslins stood in an open doorway She shrank visibly at the sight of my outstretched hand and it was only by an effort that she placed her own in it to lie there for too brief a space Her figure was slight and insignificant and she had not a feature worthy of comparison with her brilliant sister's Rachel had taken away all the awkwardness of 19 my involuntary visit Mary had forced it back again and I mentally accused her of inhospi tality Rachel seeing that I was hurt turned with the intention of diverting my thoughts Pray do not change your clothes this evening she said We are very unconventional here and it is nearly dinner time I will show you the state bedroom it is at your disposal So saying she led me to an immense upper chamber with a gilt bedstead hung with watchet blue Grotesque lacquered cabinets lined the walls and in each corner stood a dark green monster from Nankin Here I made a few hasty alterations in my toilet and after slipping a spray of honeysuckle from a bowl on the dressing table into my button hole I hurried down to the drawing room Mary sat within her knees covered by a long piece of lawn which she was embroidering It fell to the floor and she turned very pale as I entered Cousin Mary I said reproachfully why do you treat me so coldly Have I offended you Her eyes were slowly lifted to mine and I beheld in them despite her timidity a look of the keenest pleasure She held out her hand tentatively and seemed relieved when I grasped it I am sorry that you should have misunderstood me 1 she murmured The anticipation of 20 this meeting has been so painful I am not as strong as Rachel and anything disconcerts me 1 Rachel's entrance prevented any further remarks She had taken advantage of the short time to doff her yellow gown for one of pale green gauze of the same hue as the sea where the sunlight falls over shallows A pair of fancifully worked gloves were fastened to her girdle they were made of a claret coloured semi transparent skin With a laughing reminder of the ceremony we had used as boy and girl at our first meeting she accompanied me to the table where the meal passed in delicious interchange of thought during which although Mary neither spoke nor seemed to listen I could well understand that she was appreciative When I returned to the drawing room Rachel's look was mischievous Mary had evidently been reproving her You shall judge me Rate 1 she cried holding up her hands so that I might see what she had done The gloves she had worn at her belt covered them now They were awkwardly made and on the back of each was worked a silk picture of a dagger and a vial They are tragic accompaniments 1 she said Mary has been scolding me for wearing them she declares that they will bring me ill luck Do you believe in such nonsense She did not wait for my reply but continued They were made of the skin of a murderess gibbeted in these parts a hundred and twenty years ago Old Barnard Verelst insisted on having a piece he wanted to cover a book with it but his wife whom tradition reports as a real she devil insisted on having these gloves instead Between ourselves the result was that she poisoned her lord but as he was very old nobody was much the worse 1 And mirthfully arching her mouth she passed the glpves into my hand A strong repugnance to touch them made me immediately drop them on a side table Rachel's originality carried her into strange humours I was not sorry when the lamps were brought They were of curious Venetian make with round shades of silver lattice work filled in with cubes of gold coloured glass Their soft and pleasant light enhanced Rachel's personal charm She went to the piano soon and calling me to her side began to play Never had I heard such wild and fantastical music as the first three melodies They were Russian savage rough airs which fretted me to unhealthy excess of inquietude After the third by which the soul is wrought to such a pitch that it is hard to refrain from shrieking she began a plaintive air with a grotesque rhythm This is the tune the gnomes dance to on the hillside she said Here they emphasise the step now they float round and round in rings now the king is performing alone and they are all watching My favourite is that one with the white slashed doublet and crooked face with a moustache so long that it pricks the others Ah well with hands brought down dashingly they must all creep through the bronze door Sof Then playing another unfamiliar melody she began to sing Shelley's Love's Philosophy 1 I scarcely dare attempt to describe her voice Poets have dreamed of its likes heard them I may swear never it was almost unearthly in its pathos and tears were streaming from my eyes ere the first verse was ended How she could sing so purely I cannot tell but it seemed as if to the accompaniment of music all the dross were purged from her spiritual nature and an innocence left unsullied as that of our first mother ere she sinned As the song went on a fuller harmony sustained her and looking around I saw that Mary's hands swept delicately over the strings of a harp that stood in shadow I leaned back delivered to perfect delight but just as my head pressed the cushion a sob came from Rachel's lips and rising hastily she pressed her hands over her face and hurried from the room Mary followed her but returned almost immediately Cousin Rafe she said nervously forget that Rachel has broken down her singing often overpowers her she feels everything too acutely She begs you to pardon her absence for the rest of the evening Recent events my aunt's illness and sudden death amongst them have unnerved her you must remember what great store they set on each other 1 The revulsion was very distressing I had begun to regard Rachel as a woman of iron will endowed with an intellect nothing could quail This sign of weakness coming so unexpectedly surprised and pained me Had I been more closely connected with her I would have sought her chamber and drawn her head to my breast As I sat the moon began to rise over the further hills The rays slanted into the Italian garden where seven years before Mary and I had played like young children She had returned to her harp and was drawing forth soft chords The night however became so beautiful that I felt I must breathe the outer air Let us walk together I said Show me the dragon and the maze where we ran and the lilies and flowing rushes The heat of the room oppresses me 1 She led me silently down the broad stone stairs The dragon was unchanged We will sit here she said and you can tell me everything that has happened in the last few years I have nothing to give in return for my life has been placid from the very beginning and the only great excitement I ever had was when you visited Furnivaux before Rachel says that I have a small soul it must be so for the quiet content of this place suits me well I suppose that I am one of those weeds that root themselves firmly anywhere Each thing about here I love as if it were a part of me Now forgive me for my tediousness and tell me everything Thus bidden I began the story of how I had spent the intervening time There was little worth telling It was a brief and simple record of dormant faculties and aspirations when my highest desire had been for undisturbed sleep Mary listened in silence and when I had finished looked up But the awakening has come now she said very gently A new future is thrust upon you your life will no longer be as it was 1 Somehow as she spoke my head moved nearer hers and before she could draw back my lips had pressed her cheek She rose gasping then turning on me a look of surprise and wonder she hurried away Perhaps some reminiscence of our former racing came to her for I heard her laugh light and long and silvery as her gown glimmered through the yews When I retired to my room it was not to sleep A conflict was raging in heart and brain Rachel was undeniably the more beautiful indeed she was by far the most beautiful woman I had ever seen and her wit and power of fascination were incomparably superior to Mary's She evidently believed that I must choose her and so I had fully intended to do until a tone in Mary's voice and a quick responsive beating of my own heart told me that it could not be Mary had never imagined that I should take her in preference but I knew now that whatever love lay in my nature must be placed in her keeping I had discovered that I wanted no mental stronghold to surround me but a wife tender loving and dependent Uncertain whether a declaration would or not be premature I decided to leave the castle early next morning and to reflect for at least a month on my decision Rachel had acquired a strong influence over me and I dared not venture to free myself from her bonds without tightening my armour So rising almost before daybreak I set out in secret from the village inn despatching a short note My dear Rachel Do not attempt to fathom the motive which compels me to leave Fumivaux Impute it if you will to flightiness I was always fond of doing strange things I shall return in a month a month to day Ralph Eyre 1 My meditating place was Northen Hall a small manor house situated about two hundred miles away I had inherited it from my mother It stands in a little park outside an antiquated market town I had installed Jeffreys my father's old friend and he was living out the remainder of his years in ease and solitude He was standing in the walled rose garden when I reached the place Half his time since my father's death had been spent with me in Italy but the climate had proved unsuited to him and he had been compelled to return to England The affection he greeted me with was very touching Although I had always been very tiresome I have no doubt that he loved me deeply A suite of rooms had been kept in readiness for me and I was soon made comfortable therein I had much writing to do and for some days worked hard so that I might drive away the thought of my dilemma But after awhile when I was idle again the remembrance of Mary's timid loveliness haunted me from morning to night and I began to long for the time of my return The momentous day came at last Rachel Verelst like another Fiammetta clad in a gown of dull dark green with scarlet lilies at the neck met me on the terrace There was a slightly puzzled look in her eyes when I did not give her the warm greeting she evidently expected but she slipped her arm into mine with as much graceful ease as if she were already my wife There was no sign of Mary and when I inquired for her Rachel replied evasively Not until I went to the drawing room after dinner did I see her She was alone sitting near a window with a book in her hands She gave a sudden start when she saw me O Rafe she cried when did you come I did not know you were here Rachel would not tell me anything about you either where you were or why you went and I have only just come in from riding to watch the sunset 1 Before she had done speaking I had clasped her in my arms and was showering kisses on her lips Mary 1 I whispered I have come back for you She began to extricate herself but before I had released her the door opened and Rachel herself entered
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