Listening Valley (8 page)

“I'm quite sure,” declared Tonia, and indeed she was, for at that moment Robert Norman seemed a refuge and a sure tower.

“But it's a splendid match!” exclaimed Mrs. Melville, gazing at her daughter with something like awe. “Robert Norman! I never thought for a moment…could he really have meant it?”

“What on earth are you talking about?” demanded Mr. Melville.

“I mean, Tonia is so—
so
silly.
Perhaps she misunderstood. I can hardly believe—”

“It's you who are silly, Ella,” interrupted her husband. “As a matter of fact, I know all about it. Norman spoke to me the other day.”

“Spoke to
you
?”

“I'm the girl's father,” said Mr. Melville with elaborate patience. “At least so I've been led to believe. I thought it very proper that he should speak to me. He was extremely nice about it. Of course the whole thing depends on Tonia. Nobody is going to force her into it.”

“I've made up my mind,” said Tonia firmly.

Mrs. Melville was still incredulous. “I can hardly believe it,” she repeated, looking at Tonia as she spoke.

This had been Mr. Melville's own reaction when he had first heard of the affair, but he had forgotten that now. “Why can't you believe it?” he inquired. “Tonia is a very attractive girl—a thorough Melville. The Melville women all marry young—except poor old Aunt Antonia, of course. Yes, they all marry young. It's a tradition in the Melville family.”

For once in her life Ella failed to rise to the bait.

Henry Melville drank two glasses of port after his dinner, for it was a special occasion, and then he rose and walked about the room. He was restless and he could not sit still. Presently he decided that the right thing to do was to go around and visit his prospective son-in-law. It was a dark night and there was rain in the chill wind as he crossed the Dean Bridge, but the house in Belgrave Crescent was pleasantly warm and Robert Norman's study as comfortable a place as you could wish for.

“Well, Robert,” said Henry Melville (for he had decided that this was now the correct manner of address). “Well, Robert, here I am. I felt I had to come around—don't really know whether it's the right thing to congratulate you or what!” He laughed jovially. He was too excited to notice anything strange in his host's demeanor.

“I don't know, either,” said Robert Norman doubtfully.

“I'm damned glad, anyway. Girls are a bit of an anxiety these days.”

“Yes, I daresay.”

“For instance, Lou took the bit in her teeth and bolted. It was perfectly all right, of course,” added Mr. Melville, feeling he had been rather indiscreet. “I mean, she married the fellow—it was young Skene—but there was a sort of family feud and Ella was upset about it.”

“So I gathered.”

“Tonia's quite different, of course,” added Mr. Melville.

“Yes,” agreed Robert. He was still pretty much in the dark, so it was better to say as little as possible and let Melville ramble on.

Melville rambled on quite happily. He accepted a whisky and soda and a large cigar. “Tonia is
quite
different,” he said. “She's quiet and—and obedient. She—but you know all that already.”

“Yes…but you didn't say anything to her, did you?” inquired Robert anxiously. He was a little startled at the word “obedient.”

“Say anything! Good Lord, no! It was Tonia who did all the saying. She came out with it quite suddenly at dinner. Created quite a sensation.”

“What did she say?” asked Robert.

“She just said—in a matter-of-fact sort of voice—‘Robert and I are going to be married quite soon.' That was all,” declared Mr. Melville, laughing. “Ha-ha, that was all, but it was quite enough.”

“She said that?” said Robert, trying not to sound incredulous.

“Just that. You should have seen Ella's face. I hadn't said a word to Ella, of course.”

“I hope Mrs. Melville was pleased—”

“Oh yes, she was pleased. Who wouldn't be? It was just that she was surprised. The fact is Ella doesn't get on too well with Tonia, hasn't much opinion of her, you know…of course Tonia takes some understanding; she isn't everybody's meat,” added Mr. Melville hastily.

“Yes—no,” agreed Robert. He was feeling very bewildered, for he had made up his mind that Antonia was not for him. She had received his proposal with such amazement and had betrayed so much embarrassment and distress that he had decided it was hopeless. He had decided to let the matter drop and to try to win back her confidence. She should have his friendship if she did not want his love, and now it appeared that she did want his love, or at least his protection. He was astute enough to realize quite clearly that something must have happened to make Antonia change her mind. In a way that was a pity. It would have been more felicitous if Antonia had accepted him because she loved him and if he could have heard the news from her own lips, but you could not have everything in this very imperfect world, especially when you were nearly sixty. Quite suddenly, Robert was full of surging gladness. Nothing really mattered except that Antonia was his for the taking. He could make her happy, he was sure of it—he could give her the earth.

Robert seized Mr. Melville's hand and shook it heartily. “Of course you must congratulate me,” he cried. “I'm the happiest man alive.”

“It's all a dream,” said Tonia, as she stood at her husband's side and watched the coast of England fade and vanish in the evening mist. “It's either a dream or else I'm not me. Which is it, Robert?”

“Let's dream together,” he replied.

“Let's not wake up,” she added, slipping her hand through his arm. It was sheer happiness to be with Robert, for he was so strong and kind and so even tempered. He was never moody or cross, and you could say what you liked without weighing your words or wondering if he would understand. Tonia was no longer afraid of doing something silly (in Robert's eyes she could do no wrong), and, because she admired him so much, his belief in her gave her confidence and poise.

They were going to India for their honeymoon; they were going to see Lou, because this was what Tonia wanted more than anything and Robert was delighted to think that he could give it to her. But, although Lou was waiting at the end of the voyage, Tonia was not impatient, for the voyage itself was the most entrancing experience. There were long, slow, lazy days of sunshine and blue sky and calm blue seas and there were wonderful places to be seen (places Tonia had read about and dreamed of) and there were pleasant people on board who were eager to be friendly with the tall good-looking man and his young and pretty wife. Robert encouraged Tonia to join in the social life, for it was no part of his intention to keep her to himself. He noticed that many of their fellow passengers were imbued with the idea that Tonia was his daughter and this distressed him a little—though he was aware that it was unreasonable to be distressed. The mistake did not worry Tonia; she always put it right immediately, saying with an air of grave dignity: “I'm Mrs. Norman. Robert and I are married.”

It was a halcyon voyage, and they were happy. Any qualms that Robert had felt faded and disappeared…and every day Tonia gained more self-confidence and laughed more merrily and put on weight.

“Do you think Lou will be the same?” asked Tonia one evening when they were walking up and down the deck together.

“Do you think you're the same?” inquired Robert quite seriously.

She was silent for a few moments. Of course she was different. Even her feeling for Lou had undergone a change. Lou had been her first, her only, friend—and now there was Robert.

“Take people as you find them,” continued Robert. He was a trifle anxious about this meeting and was trying to save Tonia from disappointment. “It isn't very easy sometimes. Our natures are too apt to be possessive.”

“I must wait and see,” said Tonia thoughtfully. “I shan't expect too much…and I shan't ask for anything. That's what you mean, isn't it?”

“It's exactly what I mean,” replied Robert.

***

There was no need for Robert's anxiety. Lou was the same in every way that mattered. She was waiting on the steps of the veranda when the car drew up and in a moment the two sisters were in each other's arms, clinging to each other and babbling hysterically. Jack and Robert smiled at each other and shook hands.

“Better come in and have a drink,” said Jack. “Better leave them to it. We shan't get any sense out of them for a bit.”

“It doesn't look like it,” agreed Robert. He liked Jack at once and liked him all the better because he was friendly and natural and treated one as a contemporary. Robert had a feeling that it was difficult for Jack to refrain from calling him “sir” but, if so, Jack managed to overcome the difficulty.

They had no sooner arrived than they were caught up in a whirl of gaiety, for Jack and Lou had definite ideas on entertaining guests. There were dances and picnics and evening parties at the mess and polo matches and race meetings. Robert had bought a car on his arrival at Bombay, and as it was a powerful car it increased their orbit of activities. “Let's go over and see the Whittakers,” Lou would say, and Robert would discover that the town in which the Whittakers were stationed was about a hundred miles away.

Robert found the constant gaiety very tiring. He would have preferred a quiet visit with time to prowl about the native quarter and make interesting discoveries and purchases, but he did not want to spoil Tonia's fun, so he took his part in everything. He had believed himself perfectly fit and extremely strong, but it was an effort to keep up with the easy buoyant stride of youth. What Jack and Lou and Tonia accomplished without turning a hair required a big effort from Robert, but this was just one of the drawbacks of marrying a child, thought Robert a trifle ruefully. It was the first time Robert had felt his age, and he did not like it. He did not like it when Tonia asked him if he was tired, for he was determined to keep up with the others, so he merely replied that the heat bothered him a little and made a bigger effort to join in all the fun.

Robert got on splendidly with Jack and liked him more and more. Jack was not brilliant, perhaps, but he was sound and dependable—a good fellow in the best sense of the words. Lou was not quite so easy to get on with, Robert found. She was very pleasant to Robert, but he could sense an undercurrent of hostility beneath her friendly manner. He ignored it, of course, for it was the only thing to do.

“You like Lou, don't you?” Tonia asked. She asked him the same question several times, and each time Robert assured her that he liked Lou immensely, adding that she was beautiful to look at—which was perfectly true.

“Lou likes you very much indeed,” said Tonia.

“That's splendid!” Robert declared.

Tonia was happy. She had Robert and she had Lou. It was extraordinary to meet Lou in this strange foreign land. The last time she had seen Lou was in the nursery at home, going off to her singing lesson with her music case under her arm, and now, here was Lou thousands of miles away! Here was Lou moving about the bungalow, perfectly at home, giving orders to the native servants and comporting herself as a memsahib should; but Lou, herself, was just the same—her face, her expressive hands, the way she turned her head suddenly, the way she crinkled her eyes when she laughed—all these things were familiar and dear. Yes, Tonia was very happy—she loved the bright colors of life and enjoyed the gaiety and friendliness with which she was surrounded.

“You know,” said Jack one day, looking from his wife to his sister-in-law with admiring eyes. “You know there isn't a girl in the place to touch you two for looks. Don't you agree, Robert?”

Robert agreed most heartily.

“Yes,” continued Jack. “I remember something Aunt Daisy said the first time you came to tea. She said, ‘They go together so well.' It was true then and it's true now. Apart you're both extremely pretty and easy on the eye, but together you're irresistible.”

It was a joke, of course, and they all laughed, but many a true word is spoken in jest, thought Robert. The two were alike in feature and complexion and they both had strangely deep-blue eyes, but Lou's curls were fair and fluffy and Antonia's were dark with a shade of auburn in their darkness. Lou was perhaps the more taking of the two, for she was gay and sparkled with life and energy, but Antonia's loveliness went deeper (Robert thought). There was more expression in her face. She was sometimes thoughtful and dreamy and sometimes eager and intelligent, but she was always gentle and full of spiritual grace. Now that she had filled out a little and lost that queer hunted look, Antonia was really beautiful, thought Robert, looking at her tenderly.

After dinner that same night Robert found himself sitting on the veranda beside his hostess. The moon was shining with unnatural brilliance and the scent of the jasmine, which hung in masses on the pillars of the veranda, was sweet and strong. They were alone—which was unusual—and Robert had a feeling that Lou had maneuvered skillfully for this
tête–à–tête.
He wondered what Lou wanted to say to him.

“I was angry with you at first,” said Lou suddenly. “I suppose you wondered why—”

“No,” replied Robert. “I knew why you were angry. I'd like to know why you have changed your mind.”

Lou was silent for a few moments. He was going too fast for her and had put her out of her stride. She had rehearsed this conversation beforehand, but it was not going according to plan. “You're very clever,” she said at last.

“I've had a good deal of experience,” Robert pointed out.

“Experience doesn't always make people clever.”

“Not always,” agreed Robert, hiding a smile.

Lou hesitated. At last she said, “I thought at first you were too old for Tonia. I thought it was wrong of you to have married her, but you've made her happy, and that's all that matters.”

“Not quite all that matters. It's important that we should understand each other, I think.”

“I think so too,” declared Lou. “That was why I wanted to tell you—”

“And that's why I want to tell you,” said Robert firmly. “I married Antonia so that I could try to repair the damage done to her by you.”

“Robert, what
do
you mean!”

“We're speaking quite frankly, aren't we?”

“You seem to be!”

“I thought that was the idea.”

“But I don't understand,” declared Lou. “Tonia and I have always adored each other!”

“You adored each other but not as equals. You made Antonia dependent upon you—”

“Robert, you must be mad!” cried Lou, who was completely taken aback at this reversal of the tables.

“You made her dependent upon you instead of trying to bring her forward and encouraging her to stand on her own feet, and then, quite suddenly, without the slightest warning, you went away and left her.”

“You
are
mad,” declared Lou.

“Those are the facts, Lou,” said Robert in a quite pleasant tone of voice. “I don't for a moment suggest that you intended to make Antonia dependent upon you and then desert her and leave her to her fate, but that is exactly what you did.”

“I loved Jack—”

“Of course, and you had every right to marry Jack. But you had no right to overshadow Antonia—”

“Did Tonia tell you that?”

“No, of course not,” replied Robert. “She adores you and thinks you can do no wrong. You are quite perfect in her eyes. You were always so clever, so capable, so full of life. You could do everything well—and she could do nothing.”

“How could I have helped it!” cried Lou.

“I think you could have helped it,” replied Robert thoughtfully. “I think you're quite clever enough to have helped it. I think you could have given her more self-confidence instead of taking away the little she had. Something might have been done about her hands, for instance—”

“They've improved,” said Lou quickly.

“I know,” he agreed. “That shows their helplessness was largely psychological. She has gained a little confidence in herself. Of course I shall take her to a specialist when we go home, but I feel pretty certain he will find nothing wrong—nothing that massage and exercises won't cure.”

“Robert, look here—”

“So that's why I married her,” continued Robert, still in that pleasant easy tone. “I thought I should like you to know the facts, so I've told you. I love Antonia dearly. I love her more now than I did when I married her, which is saying a good deal, but I certainly would not have married her under ordinary circumstances—it wouldn't have been fair. She needed help so badly that I took the risk. That's what I meant when I said I had tried to repair the damage done by you.”

“You wouldn't have married her!”

“No,” said Robert firmly. “You see, Lou, in one way you were right—your feeling was right. It isn't natural for a man of my age to marry a young girl. There are all sorts of complications. For instance I shall be an old man when Antonia is still quite young—that's one of the dragons I have to face. I considered that and other possible eventualities very carefully; I faced them and weighed them in the balance. They weighed pretty heavily, of course, but not so heavily as Antonia's need of love and protection…so far everything is perfectly all right and we're both very happy.” He had finished now. He lay back in his chair and lit a cigarette.

There was a very long silence. Lou was thinking. At first she had been angry, of course, but Robert had spoken so quietly and confidently that she was obliged to consider his words. He's straight, anyhow, thought Lou. She was straight herself and prided herself on her sincerity and on the fact that she liked plain speaking, so she could hardly complain that Robert had spoken too plainly. She considered his words. Perhaps there was just a tiny grain of truth in what he had said. Perhaps she had overshadowed Tonia a little and protected her and shielded her just a little too much. So you could be too kind, thought Lou in surprise, or was it more true to say you could be kind in a wrong way? All sorts of long-forgotten incidents sprang into Lou's mind, trivial incidents, perhaps, but all tending in the same direction: incidents at school, in the nursery, in the drawing room when Mother had visitors and she and Tonia went downstairs to hand around cakes, occasions when people had spoken to Tonia and Lou had replied. Yes, Lou had always gone forward herself and dragged Tonia after her. And Lou had felt pleased with herself, very pleased and complacent, because she was taking care of poor little Tonia. She had prided herself on being stronger and wiser than Tonia, on being able to do everything better than Tonia. She had actually prided herself on the fact that Tonia couldn't get on without her, and then Jack had appeared on the scene and she had left Tonia stranded.

“What a beast I am!” exclaimed Lou in a low voice.

Robert looked at his beautiful sister-in-law and smiled. “Just a little thoughtless, that's all,” said Robert in a friendly tone.

***

It was while they were here with Jack and Lou that a lawyer's letter arrived addressed to Miss Antonia Melville. It had been following them about for some time before catching up with them. Somehow or other Tonia was frightened when she saw it, so she took it to Robert and asked him to open it.