Ranching For Sylvia Volume-554 by Harold Bindloss (chrome ebook reader .TXT) 📕

Whole, Inclined To Pity Captain Bland; But He Was A Stranger And George

Was A Friend.  If Sylvia Must Choose Between Them, It Would Be Much

Better That She Should Take The Soldier.  For All That, Ethel Had An

Uncomfortable Feeling That She Was Assisting In A Piece Of Treachery

When She Set Off Soon After Lunch On A Fine Autumn Day; And The Car Had

Gone Several Miles Before She Began To Enjoy The Ride.

For A While The Straight White Road, Climbing Steadily, Crossed A Waste

Of Moors.  The Dry Grass Gleamed Gray And Silver Among The Russet Fern;

Rounded, White-Edged Clouds Floated, Scarcely Moving, In A Sky Of

Softest Blue.  The Upland Air Was Gloriously Fresh, And The Speed

Exhilarating.

By And By They Ran Down Into A Narrow Dale In The Depths Of Which A

River Brawled Among The Stones, And Climbed A Long Ascent, From Which

They Could See A Moving Dust-Cloud Indicating That Mrs. Kettering's Car

Was Only A Mile Or Two Behind.  After That There Was A League Of Brown

Heath, And Then They Sped Down To A Wide, Wooded Valley, In The Midst

Of Which Rose The Gray Walls Of An Ancient Town.  On Reaching It, Ethel

Alighted In The Market-Square, Hard By The Lofty Abbey, And Turned To

Bland.

"I Have One Or Two Calls To Make After I've Finished Shopping, But If

It Takes Longer Than I Expected Or You Can't Get Here In Time, I'll Go

Back By Train," She Said.  "In That Case, You Must Bring Me Home From

The Station."

Bland Promised, And Ethel Watched The Car With A Curious Expression

Until It Vanished Under A Time-Worn Archway.  She Was Vexed With

Herself For Playing Into Sylvia's Hands, Though She Had Only Done So In

What She Regarded As George's Interest.  If Sylvia Married Bland, The

Blow Would No Doubt Be A Heavy One To George, But It Would Be Better

For Him In The End.

In The Meanwhile, The Car Sped On Up The Valley Until It Reached An

Ancient House Built On To A Great Square Tower, Where Bland Was

Welcomed By A Lady Of High Importance In The District.  Afterward He

Was Familiarly Greeted By Several Of Her Guests, Which Sylvia, Who Had

Strong Ambitions, Duly Noticed; These People Occupied A Different

Station From The One In Which She Had Hitherto Moved.  When Bland Was

Called Away From Her, She Was Shown To A Place At Some Distance From

Mrs. Kettering's Party, And She Sat Down And Looked About With

Interest.  From The Smooth Lawn And Still Glowing Borders Before The

Old Gray House, A Meadow Ran Down To The River That Wandered, Gleaming,

Through The Valley, And Beyond It The Brown Moors Cut Against The Clear

Blue Sky.  In The Meadow, A Large, Oval Space Was Lined With Groups Of

Smartly-Dressed People, And In Its Midst Rose Trim Pavilions Outside

Which Grooms Stood Holding Beautiful Glossy Horses.  Everything Was

Prettily Arranged; The Scene, With Its Air Of Gayety, Appealed To

Sylvia, And She Enjoyed It Keenly, Though She Was Now And Then

Conscious Of Her Somber Attire.

Then The Entertainment Began, And She Admitted That Bland,

Finely-Mounted, Was Admirable.  He Took His Part In Several

Competitions, And Through Them All Displayed A Genial Good-Humor And

Easy Physical Grace.  He Had For The Most Part Younger Men As

Antagonists, But Sylvia Thought That None Of Them Could Compare With

Him In Manner Or Bearing.

After A While Sylvia Noticed With A Start Of Surprise And Annoyance

That Herbert Lansing Was Strolling Toward Her.  He Took An Unoccupied

Chair At Her Side.

"What Brought You Here?" She Asked.

"That," He Said, "Is Easily Explained.  I Got A Kind Of Circular Of

Invitation, And As I've Had Dealings With One Or Two Of These People, I

Thought It Advisable To Make An Appearance And Pay My Half-Guinea.

Then There's A Man I Want A Talk With, And I Find That The Atmosphere

Of An Office Has Often A Deterrent Effect On Those Unused To It.  But I

Didn't Expect To Find You Here."

"Susan And Some Of The Others Have Come; I've No Doubt You'll Meet Her."

The Explanation Appeared Adequate On The Face Of It, But A Moment Later

Herbert Glanced At Bland, Who Was Dexterously Controlling His Restive

Horse.

"The Man Looks Well In The Saddle, Doesn't He?" He Said.

"Yes," Assented Sylvia In An Indifferent Tone, Though She Was Slightly

Disturbed.  Herbert Was Keen-Witted, And She Would Rather Not Have Had

Him Take An Interest In Her Affairs.

"I'm Inclined To Think It's Fortunate I Didn't Bring Muriel," He

Resumed With A Smile.  "She's Rather Conventional, And Has Stricter

Views Than Seem To Be General Nowadays."

"I Can't See Why I Should Remain In Complete Seclusion; It's An

Irrational Idea.  But I've No Intention Of Concealing Anything I Think

Fit To Do."

"Of Course Not.  Are You Going To Mention That You Attended This

Entertainment When You Write To Muriel?"

Sylvia Pondered Her Reply.  In Spite Of Its Dullness, Mrs. Lansing's

House Was A Comfortable And Secure Retreat.  She Would Have To Go Back

To It Presently, And It Was Desirable That She Should Avoid Any Cause

Of Disagreement With Her Hostess.

"No," She Said Candidly; "I Don't See Any Need For That; And I May Not

Write For Some Time.  Of Course, Muriel Doesn't Quite Look At Things As

I Do, And On One Or Two Points She's Unusually Sensitive."

Herbert Looked Amused.

"You're Considerate; And I Dare Say You're Right.  There Doesn't Seem

To Be Any Reason Why Muriel Should Concern Herself About The Thing,

Particularly As You're In Susan's Hands."

The Implied Promise That He Would Not Mention His Having Seen Her

Afforded Sylvia Some Relief, But When He Went Away To Speak To Mrs.

Kettering, She Wished She Had Not Met Him.  Herbert Was Troubled By

None Of His Wife's Prejudices, But On Another Occasion He Had Made Her

Feel That She Owed Him Something For Which He Might Expect Some Return,

And Now The Impression Was More Marked; Their Secret, Though Of No

Importance, Had Strengthened His Position.  Herbert Seldom Granted A

Favor Without An End In View; And She Did Not Wish Him To Get Too Firm

A Hold On Her.  The Feeling, However, Wore Off, And She Had Spent A

Pleasant Afternoon When Bland Came For Her As The Shadows Lengthened.

He Reminded Her Of Ethel:

"We'll Have To Get Off, If We're To Pick Up Miss West."

Sylvia Said That She Was Ready, Though She Felt It Would Have Been More

Satisfactory Had Ethel Been Allowed To Go Back By Train.  They Began

The Journey, But After A Few Miles The Car Stopped On A Steep Rise.

The Driver With Some Trouble Started The Engine, But Soon After They

Had Crossed The Crest Of The Hill It Stopped Again, And He Looked Grave

As He Supplied Bland With Some Details That Sylvia Found Unintelligible.

"You Must Get Her Along Another Mile; Then You Can Go Back On A Bicycle

For What You Want," Bland Told Him, And Turned To Sylvia.  "We'll Be

Delayed For An Hour Or So, But He Can Leave Word For Miss West, And

There's An Inn Not Far Off Where They'll Give Us Tea While We're

Waiting."

They Reached It After Turning Into Another Road, Though The Car Made

Alarming Noises During The Journey.  Sylvia Viewed The Old Building

With Appreciation.  It Stood, Long And Low And Cleanly White-Washed, On

The Brink Of A Deep Ghyll Filled With Lichened Boulders And Russet

Ferns, With A Firwood Close Behind It, And In Front A Wide Vista Of

Moors And Fells That Stood Out Darkly Blue Against The Evening Light.

Near The Stone Porch, A Rustic Table Stood Beside A Row Of Tall Red

Hollyhocks.

"It's A Charming Spot," Sylvia Exclaimed.  "Can't We Have Tea Outside?"

Bland Ordered It And They Sat Down To A Neatly-Served Meal.  The

Evening Was Warm And Very Still And Clear.  A Rattle Of Wheels Reached

Them From Somewhere Far Down The Road And They Could Hear The Faint

Splash Of Water In The Depths Of The Ravine.

"This Is Really Delightful," Murmured Sylvia, When The Table Had Been

Cleared.  "I Like The Quietness Of The Country When It Comes As A

Contrast, After, For Example, Such An Afternoon As We Have Spent."

"Then You're Not Sorry You Came?"

"Sorry?  You Wouldn't Suggest It, If You Knew How Dull My Days Often

Are.  But I Mustn't Be Doleful.  You May Smoke, If You Like."

Bland Did Not Particularly Wish To Smoke, But He Lighted A Cigarette.

It Seemed To Banish Formality, To Place Them On More Familiar Terms.

"What Is The Matter With The Car?" Sylvia Asked.

"I'm Afraid I Can't Tell You.  It Can't Be Got Along Without Something

The Man Has Gone Back For."

"They Do Stop Sometimes.  Is This One In The Habit Of Doing So?"

"I Can't Say, As It Isn't Mine.  Why Do You Ask?"

"Oh!" Said Sylvia, "I Had My Suspicions.  The Man Didn't Seem In The

Least Astonished Or Annoyed, For One Thing.  Then It Broke Down In Such

A Convenient Place."

Bland Laughed; Her Boldness Appealed To Him.

"Well," He Declared, "I'm Perfectly Innocent; Though I Can't Pretend

I'm Sorry."

"You Felt You Had To Say That."

"No," He Declared, With A Direct Glance; "I Meant It."

Sylvia Leaned Back In Her Chair And Glanced Appreciatively At The Moor.

"After All," She Said, "It's Remarkably Pretty Here, And A Change Is

Nice.  I'll Confess That I Find Susan's Friends A Little Boring."

The Implication Was That She Preferred Bland's Society, And He Was

Gratified.

"That Struck Me Some Time Ago," He Rejoined.  "I Wonder If You Can

Guess Why I Thought It Worth While To Put Up With Them?"

Sylvia Smiled As She Looked At Him.  She Liked The Man; She Thought

That He Had A Good Deal She Valued To Offer Her; But As Yet She Desired

Only His Captivation.  She Must Not Allow Him To Go Too Far.

"You Might Have Had A Number Of Motives," She Said Carelessly.  "I

Don't Feel Much Curiosity About Them."

Bland Bore The Rebuff Good-Humoredly.  Patience Was One Of His Strong

Points, And Since His Conversation With Ethel West On The Terrace He

Had