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

For All That, I Think You'll Get A Shock If Edgar Brings Her Home."

"That Is Not George's Opinion.  We Wrote To Him."

Sylvia Laughed.

"He Would Believe In Anybody Who Looked Innocent And Pretty."

Ethel's Expression Hardened; Sylvia Had Not Been Considerate.

"I Don't Think That's True.  He's Generous, And Though He Has Made

Mistakes, It Was Only Because His Confidence Was Misled With A Highly

Finished Skill.  One Wouldn't Look For The Same Ability In A Girl

Brought Up In A Primitive Western Town."

"After All," Said Sylvia Tranquilly, "She Is A Girl, And No Doubt Edgar

Is Worth Powder And Shot From Her Point Of View."

"It Doesn't Seem To Be A Commercial One," Ethel Retorted.  "Stephen Had

A Very Straightforward Letter From This Storekeeper.  But I'm Inclined

To Think I Had Better Go On With My Writing."

Sylvia Moved Away.  She Had No Reason For Being Gracious To Ethel, And

She Took Some Pleasure In Irritating Her.

In A Few Minutes Bland Came In.  The Hall Was Large, And Ethel Was

Hidden From Him In The Recess.  He Strode Toward Sylvia Eagerly, But

She Checked Him With A Gesture.

"You Have Come Back Early," She Said.  "Wasn't The Sport Good?  What

Has Become Of Kettering And The Others?"

The Man Looked A Little Surprised.  This Was Hardly The Greeting He Had

Expected, After Having Been Promised A Quiet Half-Hour With Sylvia;

But, Looking Round, He Saw The Skirt Of Ethel's Dress And Understood.

Had It Been George She Wished To Warn, She Would Have Used Different

Means; But Bland, She Was Thankful, Was Not Hypercritical.

"The Sport Was Poor," He Told Her.  "The Pheasants Aren't Very Strong

Yet, And It Was Hard To Drive Them Out Of The Covers.  As I'd Only A

Light Water-Proof, I Got Rather Wet Outside The Last Wood And I Left

The Others.  Kettering Wanted To See The Keeper About To-Morrow's Beat,

But I Didn't Wait."

"Since You Have Been In The Rain All Day, You Had Better Have Some

Tea," Said Sylvia.  "They'll Bring It Here, If You Ring."

He Followed Her To A Small Table Across The Hall, And After A Tray Had

Been Set Before Them They Sat Talking In Low Voices.  Presently Bland

Laid His Hand On Sylvia's Arm.

"You Know Why I Came Down," He Said.  "I Must Go Back To-Morrow And I

Want The Announcement Made Before I Leave."

Sylvia Blushed And Lowered Her Eyes.

"Oh, Well," She Conceded, "You Have Really Been Very Patient, And

Perhaps It Would Be Hardly Fair To Make You Wait Any Longer."

Bland Took Her Hand And Held It Fast.

"You Are Worth Waiting For!  But There Were Times When It Was Very Hard

Not To Rebel.  I'd Have Done So, Only I Was Afraid."

"You Did Rebel."

"Not To Much Purpose.  Though No One Would Suspect It From Your Looks,

You're A Very Determined Person, Sylvia.  Now I Don't Know How To

Express My Feelings; I Want To Do Something Dramatic, Even If It's

Absurd, And I Can't Even Speak Aloud.  Couldn't You Have Got Rid Of

Miss West By Some Means?"

"How Could I Tell What You Wished To Say?" Sylvia Asked With A Shy

Smile.  "Besides, Ethel Wouldn't Go.  She Stuck There In The Most

Determined Fashion!"

"Then We'll Have To Disregard Her.  It Must Be Early Next Year, Sylvia.

I'll See Lansing To-Morrow."

He Continued In A Quietly Exultant Strain, And Sylvia Felt Relieved

That Her Fate Was Decided.  She Had Some Time Ago Led Him To Believe

She Would Marry Him; But She Had, With Vague Misgivings And Prompted By

Half-Understood Reasons, Put Off A Definite Engagement.  Now She Had

Given Her Pledge, And Though She Thought Of George With Faint Regret,

She Was On The Whole Conscious Of Satisfaction.  Bland, She Believed,

Had A Good Deal To Offer Her Which She Could Not Have Enjoyed With His

Rival.

Presently A Servant Brought Ethel Something On A Salver, And A Few

Moments Later She Approached The Other Two With A Telegram In Her Hand.

"I Thought I Had Better Tell You, Sylvia," She Explained.  "Stephen Has

Just Got A Letter From Edgar, Written A Day Or Two Before He Sailed.

He Should Arrive On Saturday, And George Is With Him."

Sylvia Had Not Expected This And She Was Off Her Guard.  She Started,

And Sat Looking At Ethel Incredulously, With Something Like

Consternation.

"It's Quite True," Said Ethel Bluntly.  "He'll Be Here In Three More

Days."

Then Sylvia Recovered Her Composure.

"In That Case, I'll Have To Let Muriel Know At Once; He'll Go Straight

There, And She's Staying With Lucy.  Perhaps I Had Better Telegraph."

She Rose And Left Them; And Bland Sought Mrs. Kettering And Acquainted

Her Of His Engagement, And Begged Her To Make It Known, Which She

Promised To Do.  He Failed To Find Sylvia Until She Was Coming Down To

Dinner, When She Beckoned Him.

"Have You Told Susan Yet?" She Asked.

"Yes," Bland Beamed; "I Told Her At Once.  I Should Have Liked To Go

About Proclaiming The Delightful News!"

Sylvia Looked Disturbed; Bland Could Almost Have Fancied She Was Angry.

As A Matter Of Fact, Troubled Thoughts Were Flying Through Her Mind.

Executor's Duty.  What Made Him Undertake It?"

Kettering Smiled.

"It's An Open Secret--You're Bound To Hear It--That He Had An

Admiration For Sylvia.  Still, There's No Ground For Jealousy.  Lansing

Hadn't A Chance From The Beginning."

Bland Concealed His Feelings.

"How Is That?  He Must Be An Unusually Good Fellow If He Stayed Out

There To Look After Things So Long."

"For One Reason, He's Not Sylvia's Kind.  It Was Quite Out Of The

Question That She Should Ever Have Married Him."

Feeling That He Had, Perhaps, Said Too Much, Kettering Began To Talk Of

The Next Day's Sport; And Soon Afterward Bland Left Him And Went Out On

The Terrace To Smoke And Ponder.  Putting What He Had Learned Together,

He Thought He Understood The Situation, And It Was Not A Pleasant One,

Though He Was Not Very Indignant With Sylvia.  It Looked As If She Made

An Unfair Use Of Lansing's Regard For Her, Unless, In Spite Of

Kettering's Opinion, She Had Until Lately Been Undecided How To Choose

Between Them.  Nevertheless, Bland Could Not Feel That He Had Now Been

Rudely Undeceived, For He Had Always Recognized Some Of Sylvia's

Failings.  He Did Not Expect Perfection; And He Could Be Generous, When

He Had Won.

He Asked Sylvia No Injudicious Questions When They Met The Next

Morning, And During The Day He Called On Herbert Lansing, Who Was Back

In His Office.  The Latter Heard Him Explain His Errand With Somewhat

Mixed Feelings, For There Were Certain Rather Troublesome Facts That

Must Be Mentioned.

"Well," He Said, "I Have, Of Course, No Objections To Make; But, As One

Of Her Trustees, It's My Duty To Look After Sylvia's Interests.  As You

Know, She Is Not Rich."

"I Suppose These Points Must He Talked Over," Bland Said, With

Indifference.

"It's Usual, And In The Present Case, Necessary.  What Provision Are

You Able To Make?"

Bland Looked A Little Uncomfortable.  "As A Matter Of Fact, I'd Find It

Difficult To Make Any Provision.  I Get Along Fairly Well, As It Is,

But I've Only About Four Hundred A Year Besides My Pay."

"How Far Does Your Pay Go?" Herbert Asked Dryly.

"It Covers My Mess Bills And A Few Expenses Of That Nature."

Herbert Leaned Back In His Chair With A Smile.

"Hasn't It Struck You That You Should Have Chosen A Wife With Money?"

"Now," Said Bland Rather Sternly, "I Don't Want To Lie Open To Any

Misconception, But I Understood That Mrs. Marston Had Some Means.  I'm

Quite Prepared To Hear They're Small."

"That's Fortunate, Because It May Save You A Shock.  Sylvia Owns A Farm

In Canada, Which Did Not Repay The Cost Of Working It Last Year.

During The Present One There Has Been An Improvement, And We Expect A

Small Surplus On The Two Years' Operations.  The Place Has Been Valued

At--But Perhaps I Had Better Give You A Few Figures, Showing You How

Matters Stand."

Opening A Drawer, He Handed A Paper To Bland, Who Studied It With A

Sense Of Dismay.

"I'll Confess That This Is An Unpleasant Surprise," He Said At Length;

And Then, While Herbert Waited, He Pulled Himself Together With A

Laugh.  "After That Admission, I Must Add That The Mistake Is The

Result Of My Having A Sanguine Imagination; Sylvia Scarcely Mentioned

Her Canadian Property.  Now, However, There's Only One Thing To Be

Done--To Face The Situation As Cheerfully As Possible."

"It Can't Be An Altogether Attractive One." Herbert Admired His Courage

And The Attitude He Had Adopted.

"I Shall Certainly Have To Economize," Bland Admitted; "And That Is A

Thing I'm Not Accustomed To; But I May Get Some Appointment, And By And

By A Small Share In Some Family Property Will Revert To Me.  Though I

Must Go Straight Back To My Garrison Duties Now, I'll Come Down For An

Hour Or Two And Explain Things To Sylvia, As Soon As I Can."  He Paused

And Broke Into A Faint Smile.  "I Dare Say The Surprise Will Be Mutual;

She May Have Believed My Means To Be Larger Than They Are."

"I Should Consider It Very Possible," Replied Herbert Dryly.  "As I

Must See Sylvia, I'll Give Her An Idea How Matters Stand And Clear The

Ground For You."

Bland Said That He Would Be Glad Of This; And After Some Further

Conversation He Took His Leave And Walked To The Station,