FullReads

He looked down at her again suddenly and searchingly; but her clear eyes never flinched from his. They were pleading and a little troubled, but wholly unafraid.

“Perhaps you won’t believe me,” she said. “You’ll think you know best. But Rosa Mundi wasn’t bad always–not at the beginning. Her dancing began when she was young–oh, younger than I am. It was a dreadful uphill fight. She had a mother then–a mother she adored. Did you ever have a mother like that, I wonder? Perhaps it isn’t the same with men, but there are some women who would gladly die for their mothers. And–and Rosa Mundi felt like that. A time came when her mother was dying of a slow disease, and she needed things–many things. Rosa Mundi wasn’t a success then. She hadn’t had her chance. But there was a man–a man with money and influence–who was willing to offer it to her–at–at–a price. She was dancing for chance coppers outside a San Francisco saloon when first he made his offer. She–refused.”

Rosemary’s soft eyes were suddenly lowered. She did not look like a child any longer, but a being sexless, yet very pitiful–an angel about to weep.

Courteney watched her, for he could not turn away.

Almost under her breath, she went on: “A few days later her mother began to suffer–oh, terribly. There was no money, no one to help. She went again and danced at the saloon entrance. He–the man–was there. She danced till she was tired out. And then–and then–she was hungry, too–she fainted.” The low voice sank a little lower. “When she came to herself, she was in his keeping. He was very kind to her–too kind. Her strength was gone, and–and temptation is harder to resist when one is physically weak too. When she went back to her mother she had accepted–his–offer. From that night her fortune was made.”

Two tears gathered on the dark lashes and hung there till she put up a quick hand and brushed them away.

The man’s face was curiously softened; he looked as if he desired to dry those tears himself.

Without looking up she continued. “The mother died–very, very soon. Life is like that. Often one pays–in vain. There is no bargaining with death. But at least she never knew. That was Rosa Mundi’s only comfort. There was no turning back for her then. And she was so desolate, so lonely, nothing seemed to matter.

“She went from triumph to triumph. She carried all before her. He took her to New York, and she conquered there. They strewed her path with roses. They almost worshipped her. She tried to think she was happy, but she was not–even then. They came around her in crowds. They made love to her. She was young, and their homage was like a coloured ball to her. She tossed it to and fro, and played with it. But she made game of it all. They were nothing to her–nothing, till one day there came to her a boy–no, he was past his boyhood–a young man–rich, well-born, and honourable. And he–he loved her, and offered her–marriage. No one had ever offered her that before. Can you realize–but no, you are a man!–what it meant to her? It meant shelter and peace and freedom. It meant honour and kindness, and the chance to be good. Perhaps you think she would not care for that. But you do not know her. Rosa Mundi was meant to be good. She hungered for goodness. She was tired–so tired of the gaudy vanities of life, so–so–what is the word–so nauseated with the cheap and the bad. Are you sorry for her, I wonder? Can you picture her, longing–oh, longing–for what she calls respectability? And then–this chance, this offer of deliverance! It meant giving up her career, of course. It meant changing her whole life. It meant sacrifice–the sort of sacrifice that you ought to be able to understand–for she loved her dancing and her triumphs, just as you love your public–the people who read your books and love you for their sake. That is different, isn’t it, from the people who follow you about and want to stare at you just because you are prosperous and popular? The people who really appreciate your art–those are the people you would not disappoint for all the world. They make up a vast friendship that is very precious, and it would be a sacrifice–a big–sacrifice–to give it up. That is the sort of sacrifice that marriage meant to Rosa Mundi. And though she wanted marriage–and she wanted to be good–she hesitated.”