Farewell, Nikola | Page 7

quite made up my mind. "Surely to see him once more could do no
harm? Good heavens! what an extraordinary fellow he is! Fancy you or
I being afraid of any other man as we are afraid of him, for mind you, I
know that you stand quite as much in awe of him as I do. Why, do you
know when my eyes fell upon him this afternoon, I felt a return of the
old dread his presence used to cause in me five years ago! The effect he
had upon Miss Trevor was also very singular, when you come to, think
of it."
"By the way, Hatteras, talking of Miss Trevor, what an awfully nice
girl she is. I don't know when I have ever met a nicer. Who is she?"
"She is the daughter of the Dean of Bedminster," I answered; "a
splendid old fellow."
"I like his daughter," the Duke remarked. "Yes, I must say that I like
her very much."
I was glad to hear this, for I had my own little dreams, and my wife,
who, by the way, is a born matchmaker, had long ago come to a similar
conclusion.
"She is a very nice girl," I replied, "and what is more, she is as good as
she is nice." Then I continued: "He will be indeed a lucky man who

wins Gertrude Trevor for his wife. And now, since our cigars are
finished, what do you say to bed? It is growing late, and I expect you
are tired after your journey."
"I am quite ready," he answered. "I shall sleep like a top. I only hope
and pray that I shall not dream of Nikola."

CHAPTER II.
WHETHER it was our excursion upon the canal that was responsible
for it, I cannot say; the fact, however, remains, that next morning every
member of our party was late for breakfast. My wife and I were the first
to put in an appearance, Glenbarth followed shortly after, and Miss
Trevor was last of all. It struck me that the girl looked a little pale as
she approached the window to bid me good morning, and as she prided
herself upon her punctuality, I jestingly reproved her for her late rising.
"I am afraid your gondola excursion proved too much for you," I said,
in a bantering tone, "or perhaps you dreamt of Doctor Nikola."
I expected her to declare in her usual vehement fashion that she would
not waste her time dreaming of any man, but to my combined
astonishment and horror her eyes filled with tears, until she was
compelled to turn her head away in order to hide them from me. It was
all so unexpected that I did not know what to think. As may be
supposed, I had not the slightest intention of giving her pain, nor could
I quite see how I managed to do so. It was plain, however, that my
thoughtless speech had been the means of upsetting her, and I was
heartily sorry for my indiscretion. Fortunately my wife had not
overheard what had passed between us "Is he teasing you again,
Gertrude?" she said, as she slipped her arm through her friend's. "Take
my advice and have nothing to do with him. Treat him with contempt.
Besides, the coffee is getting cold, and that is a very much more
important matter. Let us sit down to breakfast."
Nothing could have been more opportune. We took our places at the

table, and by the time the servant had handed the first dishes Miss
Trevor had recovered herself sufficiently to be able to look me in the
face, and to join in the conversation without the likelihood of a
catastrophe. Still there could be no doubt that she was far from being in
a happy frame of mind. I said as much to my wife afterwards, when we
were alone together.
"She told me she had had a very bad night," the little woman replied.
"Our meeting with Doctor Nikola yesterday on the piazza upset her for
some reason or another She said that she had dreamt of nothing else. As
you know, she is very highly strung, and when you think of the
descriptions we have given her of him, it is scarcely to be wondered at
that she should attach an exaggerated importance to our unexpected
meeting with him. That is the real explanation of the mystery. One
thing, however, is quite certain; in her present state of mind she must
see no more of him than can be helped. It might upset her altogether.
Oh, why did he come here to spoil our holiday?"
"I cannot see that he has spoilt it, my dear," I returned, putting my arm
round her waist and leading