第3章 Brian Falls in Love (3)

Her anger had passed, but still, as she paced round and round her small domain, her heart was very heavy.Life seemed perplexing to her; but her mother had somehow struck the right key-note when she had spoken of the vexations which might be shared.There was something inspiriting in that thought, certainly, for Erica worshipped her father.By degrees the trouble and indignation died away, and a very sweet look stole over the grave little face.

A smutty sparrow came and peered down at her from the ivy-colored wall, and chirped and twittered in quite a friendly way, perhaps recognizing the scatter of its daily bread.

"After all," though Erica, "with ourselves and the animals, we might let the rest of the world treat us as they please.I am glad they can't turn the animals and birds against us! That would be worse than anything."Then, suddenly turning from the abstract to the practical, she took out of her pocket a shabby little sealskin purse.

"Still sixpence of my prize money over," she remarked to herself;"I'll go and buy some scones for tea.Father likes them."Erica's father was a Scotchman, and, though so-called scones were to be had at most shops, there was only one place where she could buy scones which she considered worthy the name, and that was at the Scotch baker's in Southampton Row.She hurried along the wet pavements, glad that the rain was over, for as soon as her purchase was completed she made up her mind to indulge for a few minutes in what had lately become a very frequent treat, namely a pause before a certain tempting store of second-hand books.She had never had money enough to buy anything except the necessary school books, and, being a great lover of poetry, she always seized with avidity on anything that was to be found outside the book shop.Sometimes she would carry away a verse of Swinburne, which would ring in her ears for days and days; sometimes she would read as much as two or three pages of Shelley.No one had every interrupted her, and a certain sense of impropriety and daring was rather stimulating than otherwise.It always brought to her mind a saying in the proverbs of Solomon, "Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant."For three successive days she had found to her great delight Longfellow's "Hiawatha." The strange meter, the musical Indian names, the delightfully described animals, all served to make the poem wonderfully fascinating to her.She thought a page or two of "Hiawatha" would greatly sweeten her somewhat bitter world this afternoon, and with her bag of scones in one hand and the book in the other she read on happily, quite unconscious that three pair of eyes were watching her from within the shop.

The wrinkled old man who was the presiding genius of the place had two customers, a tall, gray-bearded clergyman with bright, kindly eyes, and his son, the same Brian Osmond whom Erica had charged with her umbrella in Gower Street.

"An outside customer for you," remarked Charles Osmond, the clergyman, glancing at the shop keeper.Then to his son, "What a picture she makes!"Brian looked up hastily from some medical books which he had been turning over.

"Why that's my little Gower Street friend," he exclaimed, the words being somehow surprised out of him, though he would fain have recalled them the next minute.

"I don't interrupt her," said the shop owner."Her father has done a great deal of business with me, and the little lady has a fancy for poetry, and don't get much of it in her life, I'll be bound.""Why, who is she?" asked Charles Osmond, who was on very friendly terms with the old book collector.

"She's the daughter of Luke Raeburn," was the reply, "and whatever folks may say, I know that Mr.Raeburn leads a hard enough life."Brian turned away from the speakers, a sickening sense of dismay at his heart.His ideal was the daughter of Luke Raeburn! And Luke Raeburn was an atheist leader!

For a few minutes he lost consciousness of time and place, though always seeing in a sort of dark mist Erica's lovely face bending over her book.The shop keeper's casual remark had been a fearful blow to him; yet, as he came to himself again, his heart went out more and more to the beautiful girl who had been brought up in what seemed to him so barren a creed.His dream of love, which had been bright enough only an hour before, was suddenly shadowed by an unthought of pain, but presently began to shine with a new and altogether different luster.He began to hear again what was passing between his father and the shop keeper.

"There's a sight more good in him than folks think.However wrong his views, he believes them right, and is ready to suffer for 'em, too.Bless me, that's odd, to be sure! There is Mr.Raeburn, on the other side of the Row! Fine-looking man, isn't he?"Brian, looking up eagerly, fancied he must be mistaken for the only passenger in sight was a very tall man of remarkably benign aspect, middle-aged, yet venerable--or perhaps better described by the word "devotional-looking," pervaded too by a certain majesty of calmness which seemed scarcely suited to his character of public agitator.The clean-shaven and somewhat rugged face was unmistakably that of a Scotchman, the thick waves of tawny hair overshadowing the wide brow, and the clear golden-brown eyes showed Brian at once that this could be no other than the father of his ideal.

In the meantime, Raeburn, having caught sight of his daughter, slowly crossed the road, and coming noiselessly up to her, suddenly took hold of the book she was reading, and with laughter in his eyes, said, in a peremptory voice: