The Nonesuch

Her voice rose on every repetition of the command, and Laurence, in the liveliest dread of being precipitated into a scandalous scene, swallowed his spleen, and adopted a conciliatory tone. “Now, listen!” he begged. “You don’t want for sense, and you must see that I can’t go away, leaving you here alone! What the deuce would you do? Tell me that! And don’t say you’ll go to London, because for one thing you haven’t enough blunt to pay for the hire of a chaise, and for another I’d lay you long odds there ain’t a postmaster living that would be such a clunch as to oblige you! If you was to try to tip him a rise, he’d be bound to think you was running away from school, or some such thing, and a rare hobble he’d be in if he aided and abetted you! What he’d do would be to send for the constable, and then your tale would be told!” He perceived that her eyes had widened in dismay, and at once enlarged on this theme. “Before you knew where you were you’d be taken before a magistrate, and if you refused to tell him who you was he’d commit you. A pretty piece of business that would be!”

“Oh, no!” she said, shuddering. “He wouldn’t—he couldn’t!”

“Oh, yes, he would!” said Laurence. “So, if you don’t want everyone to know you tried to run away, and had to be bailed out of prison, you’d best come home with me now. No need to fear I’ll tell a soul what happened! I won’t.”

She did not answer for a minute or two, but sat staring at him. Miss Trent would instantly have recognized the expression on her face; Laurence was less familiar with it, and waited hopefully for her capitulation. “But if I were to go on the stagecoach, or the Mail,” she said thoughtfully, “no one would try to stop me. I know that,because several of the girls used to come to Miss Climping’s school on the stage. I’m very much obliged to you for warning me! Yes, and the Mail coaches travel all night, so I shan’t have to put up at a posting-house! How much will it cost me to buy a ticket, if you please?”

“I don’t know, and it don’t signify, because I’m not going to let you go to London, post, stage, or Mail!”

She got up, and began to draw on her gloves. “Oh, yes! You can’t prevent me. I know just what to do if you try to—and it won’t be of the least use to stand leaning against the door like that, because if you don’t open it for me at once I shall scream for help, and when people come I shall say that you are abducting me!”

“What, in an open carriage, and you hopping down in the yard as merry as a cricket? That won’t fadge, you little pea-goose!”

“Oh, I shall say that you deceived me, and I never knew what your intentions were until—until you made violent love to me, just now!” said Tiffany, smiling seraphically.

Laurence moved away from the door. It seemed more than likely that she would put this threat into execution; and although it would be open to him to explain the true circumstances to such persons as came running to her rescue, not only did he shrink from taking any part at all in so vulgar and embarrassing a scene, but he doubted very much whether his story would be believed. He would not have believed it himself, for a more improbable story would have been hard to imagine. On the other hand, Tiffany’s story, backed by her youth, her staggering beauty, and the private parlour, was all too probable. He said mildly: “No need to kick up a dust! I ain’t stopping you. But the thing is that it will cost you a deal of money to buy a seat on the Mail, and I can’t frank you—haven’t above a couple of guineas in my purse!”

“Then I shall go by the stage. Or even in a carrier’s cart!” replied Tiffany, her chin mulishly set.

“Wouldn’t take you,” said Laurence. “Of course, you could go by the stage, but they’re deucedly slow, you know. Bound to be overtaken. Nothing that cousin of yours would like better than to go careering after a stage-coach in that phaeton of his!”

“No! How should he guess where I was going? Unless you told him, and surely you wouldn’t be so wickedly treacherous?”

“Well, I should have to tell him! Dash it all—”

“Why?” she demanded. “You don’t care what becomes of me!”

“No, but I care what becomes of me,”said Laurence frankly.

Some dim apprehension that she had met her match dawned on Tiffany. She regarded Laurence with a mixture of indignation and unwilling sympathy, annoyed with him for considering no interest but his own, yet perfectly able to appreciate his point of view. After a reflective pause, she said slowly: “People would blame you? I see! But you’d help me if no one knew, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes, but they’re bound to know, so—”

“No, they won’t. I’ve thought of a capital scheme!” interrupted Tiffany. “You must say that I hoaxed you!”

“I shall. It’s just what you did do,” said Laurence.