CHAPTER XXV
COMPROMISE
ELLEN watched her father putter about the room in a hopeless sort of way without knowing exactly what he was trying to do. It cut her to the heart to see his abject surrender. There was something about his manner that told he would not rally. She thought with a shudder of the possibility of his death from the blow which she had given him. She must get him out of this dangerous mood. The afternoon April sun was shining in her windows with unusual warmth. She decided to throw on a negligee, go down to the library and cheer him up.
He protested feebly at first, but yielded to her firm decision.
“Run along, daddy dear, and I’ll be down in a minute.”
She kissed him at the door.
“Be a good boy, now, and I’ll cheer you up.”
He made no response and she found him ten minutes later seated in an armchair staring into space.
She took her seat at the piano and played for him for half an hour. He was fond of music and had always been proud of her skill as a musician. When she rose from the piano he was still staring blankly into space. He had scarcely moved a muscle.
“Did I play as well as I used to, dad?” she asked.
He looked at her with a start.
“What--did--you--say?”
“Did you like the music?”
“Oh, yes, child; you always play divinely,” he replied without interest.
He pressed his hand to his forehead.
“I--have--forgotten something I meant to tell you--oh--yes--the mail. You have a lot of mail.”
He rose, went to her desk and drew out a pile of letters.
She glanced through them quickly and her eye rested on one with a Long Island post-mark dated the day following her collapse. In the upper left hand corner was the crest of Edwin Brown.
She opened and read it with a flutter of excitement,
DEAR MISS WEST:
A bolt of lightning suddenly struck me this morning when I read the announcement of the marriage of Mr. Manning and your niece. It was incredible, but it brought me the first hour of real happiness I have known in a long time. You have tried the high ideal of your creed and met with tragedy.
The biggest thing that ever came into my life is my love for you. With you by my side I can do something worth while in the world. Can’t we compromise? I’ll give up the flesh if you will give up the spirit. Will you marry me immediately?
EDWIN BROWN.
Ellen rose and walked to the window, her brain in a tumult. Life is made up of compromises after all. Why not? It would make her old father foolishly happy. To his mind Brown was one of the greatest figures of the city. He would strut over those beautiful grounds on Long Island the balance of his life with the vanity of a peacock.
She looked at his forlorn figure slouched low in dumb misery.
She returned to her desk and glanced through the mail again.
Another letter from Brown lay at the bottom of the pile. It was post-marked a week later. It was just a line to express his anxiety at her illness. He would await her reply with patience.
She called his telephone on Long Island. The butler answered and instantly connected her with Brown’s room. He evidently had orders to await this call.
“Yes, yes, Miss West!” was the eager answer.
“Could you call at my apartment and meet my father, Captain Burke West?”
“At once. I’ll be there within an hour; you--you--got my letters?”
“Yes.”
“Within an hour--I’ll be there!”
The boyish ring to his voice was pleasant to hear after the knocks her pride had received of late.
She laid her hand on her father’s shoulder and roused him from his stupor.
“Wouldn’t you like to meet Mr. Edwin Brown, dad?” she asked.
“Who?”
“Mr. Edwin Brown.”
“The millionaire sportsman and newspaper man?”
“Yes.”
“Why--I should consider it a very great pleasure to meet such a man. I have heard so much about him--why, of course, yes----”
He paused and frowned.
“No--no--I wasn’t thinking of what I was saying. I don’t want to meet him--no!”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to--he’s on his way here now.”
He shot a look of ugly suspicion that cut her to the quick.
“I won’t see him,” he snapped.
“Don’t be silly, dad.”
“To hell with him, I tell you; I won’t see him!”
She made no further protest, but read her mail until Brown came.
She took his hand with a quiet smile and led him into the room. The old man rose awkwardly and tried to pass them on his way to the balcony stairs.
Ellen caught his arm and led him back.
“This, father, is my fiancé, Mr. Edwin Brown. We are to be married in June.”
The wrinkled face flushed with surprise.
“What?” he gasped.
“Yes, it’s time you made his acquaintance.”
The old man extended his hand and Brown grasped it, laughing.
“You have brought me luck, Captain West!” he cried heartily.
“I’ve been your daughter’s humble suitor for more than four years. She has just accepted me. May I have your congratulations?”
“With all my heart, sir!” he said, choking back the tears.
“This makes me very--very--happy, I assure you!”
He took Ellen in his arms and held her a long time in silence.