第96章 Lady Caroline's Dinner (6)

And society is grossly unfair.A word, a breath, a false libel in a newspaper is quite sufficient.It will never trouble itself to inquire minutely into the truth, but will pronounce its hasty judgment, and then ostracize.

Erica began to listen attentively to the conversation, and it must be owned that it was not very edifying.Then she studied the faces and manners of her companions, and, being almost in the middle of the table, she had a pretty good view.Every creature she studied maliciously, keenly, sarcastically, until she came to the end of the table, and there a most beautiful face brought her back to herself for a minute with a sort of shock.Where had she seen it before? A strong, manly face of the Roman type, clean-shaven, save for a very slight mustache, which did not conceal the firm yet sensitive mouth; dark eyes, which even as she wondered met hers fully for an instant, and gave her a strange feeling of protection.

She knew that at least one person in the room did not shudder at the idea of sitting at table with Luke Raeburn's daughter.

Better thoughts returned to her, she grew a little ashamed of her malice, and began to wonder who that ideal man could be.

Apparently he was one of the distinguished guests, for he had taken down Lady Caroline herself.Erica was just too far off to hear what he said, and in another moment she was suddenly recalled to Mr.Cuthbert.He was talking to the old gentleman on her left hand, who had been silently surveying her at intervals as though he fancied she could not be quite human.

"Have you been following this Kellner trial?" asked Mr.Cuthbert.

"Disgraceful affair, isn't it?"

Then followed references to Eric Haeberlein, and veiled hints about his London friends and associates more dangerous to the country than say foreigners, "traitors, heady, high-minded," etc., etc.

Such evil-doers always managed to keep within the letter of the law; but, for his part, he thought they deserved to be shut up, more than most of those who get penal servitude for life.

Erica's wrath blazed up again.Of course the veiled hints were intended to refer to her father, and the cruelty and insolence of the speaker who knew that she understood his allusions scattered all her better thoughts.It required a strong effort of will to keep her anger and distress from becoming plainly visible.Her unwillingness to give Mr.Cuthbert such a gratification could not have strengthened her sufficiently, but love and loyalty to her father and Eric Haeberlein had carried her through worse ordeals than this.

She showed no trace of embarrassment, but moved a very little further back in her chair, implying by a sort of quiet dignity of manner, that she thought Mr.Cuthbert exceedingly ill-mannered to talk across her.

Feeling that his malicious endeavor had entirely failed, and stung by her dignified disapproval, Mr.Cuthbert struck out vindictively.

Breaking the silence he had maintained toward her, he suddenly flashed round upon her with a question.

"I suppose you are intimately acquainted with Eric Haeberlein?"He tried to make his tone casual and seemingly courteous, but failed.

"What makes you suppose that?" asked Erica, in a cool, quiet voice.

Her perfect self-control, and her exceedingly embarrassing counter-question, quite took him aback.At that very minute, too, there was the pause, and the slight movement, and the glance from Lady Caroline which reminded him that he was the only clergyman present, and had to return thanks.He bent forward, and went through the usual form of "For what we have received," though all the time he was thinking of the "counter-check quarrelsome" he had received from his next-door neighbor.When he raised his head again he found her awaiting his answer, her clear, steady eyes quietly fixed on his face with a look which was at once sad, indignant, and questioning.

His question had been an insulting one.He had meant it to prick and sting, but it is one thing to be indirectly rude, and another to give the "lie direct." Her quiet return question, her dignity, made it impossible for him to insult her openly.He was at her mercy.He colored a little, stammered something incoherent about "thinking it possible.""You are perfectly right," replied Erica, still speaking in her quietly dignified voice."I have known Herr Haeberlein since I was a baby, so you will understand that it is quite impossible for me to speak with you about him after hearing the opinions you expressed just now."For once in his life Mr.Cuthbert felt ashamed of himself.He did not feel comfortable all through dessert, and gave a sigh of relief when the ladies left the room.

As for Erica's other neighbor, he could not help reflecting that Luke Raeburn's daughter had had the best of it in the encounter.

And he wondered a little that a man, whom he had known to do many a kindly action, should so completely have forgotten the rules of ordinary courtesy.