The White Rose of Memphis

“‘Not another moment will I give you to make an answer to such a sensible request; any girl whose judgment was not choked with a foolish infatuation would be able to answer such a reasonable demand without a moment’s reflection. Do you wish to tie yourself to a man who is anxious to get rid of you?’

“‘No, no! a thousand times, no, papa; and no one knows this better than you.’

“‘Then, Lottie, for the last time, I demand authority from you to cancel this foolish engagement; will you, or will you not, give it?’

“‘Not unless Eddie wishes it,’ was the calm reply.

“At last the man of iron lost his temper:

“‘Then, Miss Wallingford, you will oblige me by seeking a home elsewhere.’

“‘Oh, papa, dear, darling papa! please unsay those cruel words! I am not afraid of hardships; neither am I afraid of poverty, but it is your displeasure that I dread more than all. I love you truly, earnestly, devotedly, as much as any child ever loved a parent. Oh, papa, revoke those cruel words!’

“‘Leave me, leave me!’ thundered the lawyer, as he pushed Lottie away from him rather roughly. She retreated to the farther end of the room and stared at Mr. Rockland with astonishment, while a mysterious change came over her. She approached the table, took a seat, and hastily penned a note to Edward Demar:

“‘DEAR EDDIE – Come to me as quickly as you can. I wish to consult you on important business. Yours,

“‘LOTTIE.’

“Then she touched a little silver bell that lay on the table and a man-servant bowed himself in at the door.

“‘Did you ring, miss?’ inquired the servant.

“‘Take this note to Mr. Edward Demar without delay; you’ll find him at Doctor Dodson’s drug-store. Tell Burley to come to me instantly.’

“‘The man servant had scarcely passed the veranda when Burley, a mulatto woman, appeared at the door.

“‘Did you send for me, miss?’

“‘Pack my clothes in the large trunk, Burley; then get Archie to help you bring it down; set the trunk on the front portico; tell Archie to put my parrot in his cage, and to bring all my pets and place them by my trunk. Tell him to tie a string round old Bob’s neck, so I can lead the poor blind friend along while I am seeking a new home. Old Bob and I have been tramps many days together, and we’ll not part now.’

“‘Oh, Lottie, my darling, come to your old cruel papa’s arms! I give up – I surrender – I take back all I have said. Marry Eddie if you will, but don’t leave me – I can’t live without you; you shall have your own way in everything.’

“Lottie, of course, went into Mr. Rockland’s arms, and covered his brow with kisses. That was what I call a triumph of woman’s rights. Here was a lawyer who commanded money, influenced courts, directed banks, intimidated witnesses, cleared guilty clients, compelled judges to bow to his great talent; and then in comes a weak little girl and rules him, the same as a raw recruit is ruled, by the commanding general. She bids him go, and he goes – she commands him to come, and he comes. Talk about woman’s rights! What on earth do women want with any more rights than they have? They have complete control of the world – because they control man, and through him the world.”

“There is the gong for lunch,” observed the queen, “and you may suspend until it is over. It is our wish, though, that our friends re-assemble here immediately after luncheon, to hear more of the story.”

CHAPTER XI

“Suppose you and I don’t go down to luncheon,” said Scottie to Ivanhoe; “I am not a bit hungry, and would very much prefer remaining up here; how is it with you?”

“That’s my fix, exactly; I’m glad you mentioned it. Take my arm, and let us have a walk and a talk both.”

“Agreed; now what did your spy report, a moment ago, about the two detectives?”

“I shall find out everything that is going on. It is such rare sport, too, to be tracking detectives who imagine themselves to be so clever!”

“Oh, bother the clever detectives! tell me what you know.”

“Now, Scottie, don’t you begin to lose your temper; you know I have made a confidante of you.”

“I think you and I ought to be very good friends.”

“So do I.”

“I think we ought to know more about each other.”

“So do I.”

“When do you intend to tell me who you are, Scottie?”

“As soon as the queen gives her consent.”

“What has the queen got to do with it, I should like to know?”

“No doubt you would; but I have given my solemn promise not to reveal her name nor my own to any person without her permission; and she has promised that as soon as Ingomar’s story is finished all secrecy may be discarded. But now I want to hear what you have discovered about the two seedy men.”

“They are going to arrest Ingomar, and take him off at Vicksburg; he is charged with a bloody murder (so the seedy men say). They state that he committed the crime somewhere in Mississippi, and while in jail awaiting trial managed to make his escape. The friends of the murdered man offered a large reward for the capture of the perpetrator, and then the State added another large sum to that offered by the friends of the deceased, and those two seedy men are officers from Mississippi who have got Ingomar spotted.”

“Does Ingomar know they are watching him?”

“No, I think not.”

“Then why not warn him of the danger?”

“That would be wrong, because if he is guilty he ought to suffer; if he is innocent he is in no danger.”

“Do you believe he is guilty?”

“I can’t say that I do, for I know nothing about it. I shall therefore accept the legal theory, which regards every man innocent until the contrary is established by competent proof.”

“It would require a pile of evidence as high as Pike’s Peak to make me believe that Ingomar is a murderer.”

“So it would to convince me.”

“What have you discovered about the mysterious lady in the black domino?”

“Ah, my spy has met her match there! With all her cleverness, the black domino is too much for her. One circumstance, however, has been brought to the surface; the black domino is shadowing Ingomar too, and the strangest thing about it is, that she is not in any manner working with the seedy men – it’s a separate game.”

“Goodness gracious! what on earth can it all mean?”

“I’m sure I don’t know; I wish I did.”

“Perhaps she is the wife of the murdered man; or she may be his sister, or his sweetheart, who is watching him.”

“Can’t say as to that; but it is certain that she is shadowing him. One circumstance connected with her, however, tends to prove your theory about it. The lady in the black domino seems to be unusually melancholy all the time – has often been seen weeping, and never speaks to any one. That goes to prove that she has lost a dear friend or relative; and it may be, as you say, that she was related to the man who was murdered.”

“The truth is, I can’t stand this suspense much longer; I shall die of mere curiosity if things don’t change soon.”

“I beg you not to make a die of it, Scottie, before I get a look at your face.”

“And pray why should you wish to see my face?”

“I am sure I should like it.”

“Suppose you did like it – what would that signify?”

“It might bring about a coincidence, you know.”

“Look, look! there comes the black domino; see how she follows Ingomar! I saw her pointing at him just now, and whispering something in her uncle’s ear. The whirlwind is going to burst on us ere long; don’t you think so?”

“Indeed I do! There is a strange game being played on this boat – it may end in a tragedy.”

“Pray don’t talk that way – you frighten me. I think I had better mention the matter to the queen, and have this nonsense ended at once.”

“No, no! don’t do that, by any means, I beseech you. Our best plan is to remain silent and wait for the denouement.”

“Be it so, then, sir knight. You shall be my champion when the war begins.”

“I shall be proud of the honor – I’ll emblazon my banner with the name of Scottie, in letters of gold, and fight the world in arms in defense of my lady-love. Then I’ll imitate the brave Spanish king, when he met Sir Roderick Dhu on Clanalpine’s lofty height. You know he threw himself against a rock – which I’ll do when the fight opens.”

“But there are no rocks here, you see.”

“Oh, never mind that; I’ll make the pilot-house answer for the rock. I’ll just throw myself against it while you can hide inside, and then hear me cry:

“‘Come one, come all! this rock shall fly

From its firm base as soon as I.’”

“Brave, bravo! my gallant knight. I’ll swap my domino for a laurel crown, to deck the brow of my brave champion.”

“There, there, Scottie, I cry enough! Come, let us join our friends – they are waiting for us yonder. Don’t you see the queen is beckoning to you?”

“When I received Lottie’s note requesting me to come to her immediately, you may guess how my heart fluttered – for I thought something serious had surely occurred, and but very few moments elapsed before I was at the gate in front of Mr. Rockland’s residence. It was a considerable walk from the drug-store to his residence, and I was compelled to halt in order to rest a moment before entering, as I wished to appear composed. While I was leaning against a tree wiping the perspiration from my face and panting with fatigue, I saw Lottie coming rapidly toward me. She had been watching for me.

“‘Oh, Eddie, it’s all settled!’ she exclaimed, as she caught both my hands in hers. I made a move as if I were going to take her in my arms. She gently pushed me back. ‘Don’t be quite so familiar, Eddie – can’t you see papa looking at us? Oh, such a storm as we have had here to-day! Papa ordered me to go away from his home because I wouldn’t let him tell you that I wanted our engagement broken off.”

“‘Well, why didn’t you take him at his word? you knew where you could find another home.’

“‘I did, but the good, dear old darling relented before I could pack my things, and fell to hugging and kissing me, and wouldn’t let me go.’

“‘Lottie, Mr. Rockland is really a good man, and I respect him very much – mainly because he loves you.’

“‘Indeed he is! and my heart was most broken when he ordered me to go away; but did you wish to have our engagement broken off?’

“‘No, you know I did not! What could have put such an idea as that into your mind? Mr. Rockland did not tell you I wished it ended, did he?’

“‘He didn’t say that you said so, but he said you were willing to cancel it if I would consent to it.’

“‘Ah, I see now how it is: Mr. Rockland put the case very strong in favor of his side. That was a good stroke of policy, you see, Lottie; you didn’t believe for a moment that I wanted to have the engagement canceled?’

“‘No, I did not.’

“‘I declare, Lottie, I never saw you look so pretty before.’

“‘I am truly glad that you think so; it makes me very happy to please you.’

“‘Ah! how could I be otherwise than well pleased when I know Lottie loves me? I feel like a new man since I found it out. Will my Lottie always love me?’

“‘Yes, of course I will; I am so very, very happy when you are with me, and so miserable when you are away from me. What shall become of poor me when my Eddie goes away to Philadelphia?’

“‘Let us look forward to the happy day that brings me back to my love. Let us keep our minds on the bright future, when we shall be always together.’

“‘I wish I could do that, but I cannot; I shall all the time be thinking you are ill, or that something has gone wrong with you. I should die if you were to fall ill among strangers!’

“‘I’ll take good care of myself for your sake; I’ll be prudent in all things, and let you know if anything goes wrong; but you must do the same.’

“‘Let us go in; I see Mr. Rockland waiting for you – he is going to talk to you about our engagement, and you must be careful not to offend him.’

“‘Fear nothing on that score; I think we will now come to an understanding entirely satisfactory to all parties concerned.’

“Mr. Rockland met me on the portico with his cold, placid smile, and directed me to follow him into the library. He also asked Lottie to go with us. Pointing to a seat, he requested me to take it; Lottie stood calmly by my chair, while Mr. Rockland took his usual seat on the opposite side of the table.

“‘Mr. Demar,’ he began, with his austere tone of voice, ‘I have had an interview with Lottie on the subject about which we were speaking a short while ago.’

“‘So Lottie told me, Mr. Rockland.’

“‘Her views and mine differed somewhat; but we have managed to reconcile them to some extent; and we may therefore reasonably hope to have all things amicably settled.’

“‘I am truly glad to hear it, Mr. Rockland.’

“‘Thank you, Edward; are you willing to promise me that the marriage shall be deferred until the end of two years from this date?’

“‘Indeed, Mr. Rockland, I should like very much to be able to comply with your request, but why not let the marriage be solemnized when I return from Philadelphia in the spring?’

“‘Lottie would be too young to marry then.’

“‘Grant papa’s request, Eddie,’ said Lottie; ‘I am very willing to put it off indefinitely, if you can be with me often.’

“That settled the question; so it was agreed that Lottie should be my wife at the end of two years.

“‘Come,’ said Lottie, as she took my arm, and looking up at me, her sweet little mouth puckered up in a comical shape; ‘we’ll go to the study now, as everything has been settled between you and papa; I want to show you some new flowers that I have secured; oh, they are such nice ones! They flourish better in the fall season than they do in the spring.’

“She led me through her flower garden, stopping occasionally to point out the different plants, giving a graphic description of their nature and the manner of their culture; and when we came near the summer-house the old parrot began to chatter:

“‘Ah, ha! Lottie! here we come – here we come!’

“‘Can’t he say anything but that, Lottie?’ I inquired.

“‘Oh, yes, he can talk a great deal when he takes a notion. Did you know I had a letter from Viola, Eddie?’

“‘No, have you?’

“‘Yes; let me read it to you; she writes such a nice, smooth hand, and her letter is so friendly; but here it is:

“‘New York, Aug. 16.

“‘DEAR LOTTIE – I must first offer an apology to you for neglecting to answer your last letter. You must not for a moment think that the delay was caused by a lack of love for you on my part. When your letter came I had not returned from my boarding school, but as soon as I came home and found your darling letter I lost no time in answering it. Oh, Lottie, I am so happy just now that I cannot find words to tell you as I should like to do. Papa has consented to let me spend the winter in Memphis, and you may look for me by the last of September. Oh, isn’t that delightful? Won’t we have lots of fun? I often think of you and your heroic little brother – but I ought not to speak of him as your little brother now, I suppose, because he must be a man by this time. I have his picture, you know, Lottie, and oh, how much I do think of it! I keep it next to my heart all the time. All the gold in California could not buy it from me. I expect Harry has changed very much since we parted – you know I was only a little child then, but now I am a great, overgrown mushroom – and as green as a half-grown gourd. Dear papa says I am pretty, but you know evidence of that kind is unreliable; still I confess I should like to know it was true. You may tell Harry – I suppose I ought to say Mr. Wallingford – that I have not forgotten him, and I don’t think I ever shall. I was so glad to hear that he was going to make a great lawyer of himself. Mr. Rockland says, in his letters to papa, that Mr. Wallingford possesses great talent, and will be sure to distinguish himself some day. Would you believe it, I shed lots of joyful tears when papa read the letter to me? I envy you; how happy you must be! how proud of such a brave, heroic, talented brother! You see, I am well posted in everything that concerns you and your noble brother. I often wonder if he ever thinks of the little foolish girl he kept from being crushed to death by the engine? I wonder if he has forgotten how he and I went rolling and tumbling down the embankment together! I was so much delighted at your description of your flower garden; I know I shall enjoy it very much. You people of the dear sunny South have great advantages over us in that respect. I think I should like to live in the South all the time. I suppose you knew I had a darling little brother – yes, I know you did, because I remember now that I told you of it in my other letters. Poor little fellow, he is not a healthy child at all; he is now nearly five years old, and looks like a mere baby, though papa says he will come out all right after a while. Did I ever tell you what his name was? I don’t think I did. Well, you see mamma and papa couldn’t agree on a name for him, and, to keep peace in the family, it was agreed that I should have the honor of selecting his name. What do you think I did? I named him after your heroic brother. We call him Wallie. That, you know, is an abbreviation of Wallingford. He was baptized as “Harry Wallingford Bramlett,” and papa and mamma were both delighted with the good selection I made. But I must close now, because I fear I have made this letter too long, anyway. Present my highest regards to your brother, and accept my best, truest love for yourself, and write soon to

“‘Your true friend,“‘VIOLA.’

“‘That’s a splendid letter, Lottie, for a girl of sixteen to write,’ said I, when it was read through.

“‘She is not quite sixteen yet, either,’ said Lottie.

“‘That document conveys the best news, my darling, that I have heard since you told me you would be mine.’

“‘To what part of it do you refer?’

“‘That wherein she says she is going to spend the winter with you. It will be a great consolation for me to know, when I am so far from you, that you will have such a sweet friend for a companion. I was thinking of the long, dreary winter days and nights that you would be compelled to pass through all alone, but now how could you be lonely with such a lively little cricket as Viola?’

“‘I dare say she will prove a great comfort to me, yet she cannot fill the aching void that will be caused by your absence.’

“As she said this her large dreamy eyes were glancing up at me, while a tear trembled in each, and I drew her head against my breast, too happy to speak. I led her to a seat, letting her fair cheek remain resting on my heart, while my mind went straying into the future. A thousand thoughts of various kinds intruded on me – some pleasant, others very different. What if Mr. Rockland should resort to strategy, during my absence, to entrap my Lottie into a marriage with Heartsell? What if he should throw his great intellect, with his vast wealth and influence into the balance against me? Would my Lottie be able to withstand it? Would she be able to do battle successfully against such odds? These unwelcome questions forced themselves upon me, causing a shudder to dart through my body. Lottie felt the shock, and exclaimed:

“‘What’s the matter? why do you tremble so? I declare, your heart made a violent jump just now, then began to flutter and knock against your breast; what does it mean?’

“‘I was thinking how I should feel if you were to cease loving me, when I went away, and should marry Mr. Heartsell!’

“She started up, looking at me reproachfully: ‘How can you talk so; didn’t you know I had rejected Mr. Heartsell’s offer?’

“‘Indeed I did not; I was not aware of the fact that he had made it, though I knew he intended to do so.’

“‘Well, he has done it, and you may be easy now.’

“‘Tell me what he said, and what you said.’

“‘Mr. Heartsell, I think, is a very nice, good man, and worthy of a true woman’s love; but I had no heart for him, because you, like a good old thief, went and stole it. I felt highly honored by Mr. Heartsell’s partiality, and told him so; but I thought it my duty to tell him the truth at once, which I did. I told him my hand and heart belonged to another. Poor fellow! he wept when I told him I loved another, and could not love him. He said he would not give me up, but would wait until I should think better of him; and he seemed to think that I would change my mind and love him after all; but don’t you know that I can never change?’

“‘I can’t express my admiration, Lottie, for your extraordinary prudence; not one girl in a hundred would have taken the proper view in such an emergency. Of course you did right to tell Mr. Heartsell the whole truth; most girls under similar circumstances would have evaded the truth, and left the man a reasonable hope.’

“‘By the by, have you ever mentioned our engagement to brother Harry?’

“‘Oh, yes, I named it to him before I did to any one else.’

“‘And what did he think of it?’

“‘He was glad of it – said it was just what he expected and desired – congratulated me heartily – said I was a lucky fellow to be the winner of such a heart – said he knew you loved me, all the time – told me that if ever I caused you trouble he would kill me – and, to tell you the truth, Lottie, I believe he would kill any one who would bring trouble on you.’

“‘Oh, he is such a noble, generous, heroic brother! Viola loves him, and I hope they will make a match of it.’

“‘Ah, Lottie, that will never happen.’

“‘May I know the reason why you think so?’

“‘Viola is a great heiress, and you know how proud Harry is; no matter how much he might love her, he would never tell her of it. Do you know that I think the only fault Harry has is his unprecedented pride? I have been acquainted with many proud men, but there is something in Harry’s pride that places it beyond anything I ever have witnessed in other people. No, Lottie, let me advise you not to build your pyramid of hopes on a foundation of that sort.’

“‘Is Mr. Bramlett very wealthy?’

“‘Mr. Rockland tells me that he is a millionaire, and you know he has only two children.’

“‘Then I must confess that I don’t think Harry would be doing exactly right were he to seek Viola’s hand in marriage. If that’s what you refer to when you speak of his pride, I am fully prepared to indorse it.’

“The dreadful day for my departure had come at last; the awful moment in which I was to part from Lottie had come and gone. The parting words had been uttered – the bitter tears had been shed, the farewell kiss given; the long, loving embrace was over. I had handed dear Lottie, fainting, into Mrs. Rockland’s arms, and was on my way to Philadelphia.”

CHAPTER XII

“I arrived in New York City in due time, and set about the work which Doctor Dodson had charged me with. When I reached Philadelphia I found a long letter from Lottie. Here it is:

“‘DEAR EDDIE – Your letter was received yesterday, and if you knew how happy it made me you would write me one every day. I have read it through at least a dozen times, and every dear expression is engraved on my heart. I beseech you to take good care of yourself, and you must be sure to tell me if you ever feel the least ill. But lest I should bore you with so much talk about love matters, I will tell you something about Viola. She has been with me nearly three weeks, and is the sweetest, prettiest little cricket that any one ever looked upon – not so little, however, as you might think, for she is as tall as I am. She has a most charming disposition – as gentle as a dove – and can sing, oh, so sweetly! It would make you weep to hear her play on the guitar, while singing one of her plaintive songs. She is complete mistress of the piano and guitar. I had been flattering myself that I was a pretty good musician, but when I heard Viola play my conceit oozed out. She is in love with Harry, but just as I expected, he is too proud to let her know how he loves her. He maintains a dignified stiffness of manner, when with her, that chills me to the heart and frightens her. I wonder if this hateful money of Mr. Bramlett’s is going to break these two young, loving hearts? Viola has Harry’s picture – wears it in her bosom all the time; I saw her kissing it the other day and crying over it, when she thought no one was near. What a darling little wife she would make for Harry, if he would only ask her! I wish I had a gold mine, so I could give it to him, and make his fortune equal to hers. I believe he loves her fervently, and would tell her so, but for the hateful gulf that Mr. Bramlett’s gold has placed between them. I fear that much sorrow is in store for both of them; but let us hope for the best. Viola and I are rooming together; poor old Bob dozes on the hearth in my room all the time since the weather got too cold for him to stay in his house. He has quit quarreling with old Roderick, and they have become very good friends now. The parrot comes up to my room every night, and takes his snooze in the closet. He has learned to speak several new words since you went away. It would amuse you to hear him try to say Philadelphia; but he can’t do it – the word is too big for him. I was trying to teach him to tell where you were living, and when he failed to say Philadelphia we compromised on New York, because he can say that as plainly as I can.