THE STORY OF HERMIONE

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 1193.

When Richard Armstrong, explorer1 and mountaineer2,
disappeared in a blizzard in the Karakoram3, his only daughter
Hermione was just turned twenty4. He bequeathed5 her a good
deal of unusual experience gathered in remote parts of the
world, but very little else. For more tangible aids to living6 she
had to look to her Uncle Paul, who was in a position to supply
them on a very lavish scale7. Paul Armstrong had confined
his explorations to the square mile of the earth's surface lying
east of Temple Bar8 and found them extremely fruitful.
Hermione was a slender, fragile creature, with observant
blue eyes, a determined chin and a small mouth that remained
closed unless speech was absolutely necessary. She gave
her uncle and aunt no sort of trouble, submitted quietly to
the horse-play9 which passed for humor with her tall, athletic cousins Johnny and Susan, and kept her own counsel10.
In that cheerful, noisy household she passed almost unob­served.

In the following winter Susan Armstrong was killed by a fall in the hunting field. Six months later, Johnny, playing a ridiculous game of leap-frog with Hermione on the spring­board of his parents' swimming-bath, slipped, crashed into the side of the bath and broke his neck. Paul and his wife had worshipped their children with uncritical adoration. The double blow deprived them of all motive for living, and when shortly afterwards they fell victims to an influenza epidemic they made not the slightest resistance.

Even with death duties11 at the present level, Hermione was a considerable heiress12. With the calm deliberation that had always characterized her she set out to look for a husband suitable to her station in life. After carefully consid­ering the many applicants for the post, she finally selected Freddy Fitzhugh. It was an altogether admirable choice. Fred­dy was well-to-do, well connected, good-looking and no fool13. Their courtship was unexciting but satisfactory, the engage­ment was announced and on a fine spring morning they went together to Bond Street14 to choose a ring.

Freddy took her to Garland's, those aristocrats among jewelers, and the great Mr. Garland himself received them in his private room behind the shop. Hermione examined the gems which he showed her with dispassionate care and discussed them with an expertise that astonished Freddy as much as it delighted Mr. Garland. She ended by choosing a diamond as superior to the rest as Freddy had been to his rival suitors, and they took their leave.

Meanwhile, the shop outside had not been idle. Shortly after the door of Mr. Garland's room closed on15 Freddy and his beloved, two thick-set men entered and asked the assistant at the counter to show them some diamond bracelets. They proved to be almost as difficult to please as Hermione, without displaying her knowledge of precious stones, and before long there were some thousands of pounds worth of brilliants16 on the counter for their inspection.

To the bored assistant it began to seem as though they would never come to a decision. Then, just as Mr. Garland was bowing Freddy and Hermione out of the shop17, everything began to happen at once. A large saloon car slowed down in the street outside, and paused with its engine running. At the same moment one of the men with lighting speed scooped up, half a dozen bracelets and made for the door, while his companion sent the door keeper flying18 with a vicious blow to the stomach.

Freddy, who had stopped to exchange a few words with Mr. Garland, looked round and saw to his horror that Hermione was standing alone in front of the doorway, directly in the path of the man. She made no attempt to avoid him as he bore down upon19 her. It flashed across Freddy's mind that she was too paralyzed by fear to move. Hopelessly, he started to run forward as the man crashed an enormous list into Hermione's face.

The blow never reached its mark. With a faintly superior smile, Hermione shifted her position slightly at the last moment. An instant later the raider was flying through the air to land with a splintering of glass head first against the show case. The whole affair had only occupied a few seconds of time.

“You never told me you could do Ju-Jutsu20, Hermione,” said Freddy, when they eventually left the shop.

“Judo”, Hermione corrected him. “My father had me taught by an expert. It comes in handy21 sometimes. Of course, I'm rather out of practice”.

“I see”, said Freddy. “You know, Hermione, there are quite a few things22 about you I didn't know”.

They parted. Hermione had an appointment with her hairdresser. Freddy went for a quiet stroll in the park. Then he took a taxi to Fleet Street, where he spent most of the afternoon browsing23 in the files of various newspapers.

They met again at dinner that evening. Freddy came straight to the point24.

“I've been looking at the reports of the inquest on your cousin Johnny”, he said.

“Yes?” said Hermione with polite interest.

“It was very odd the way he shot off the spring-board on to the edge of the bath. How exactly did it happen?”

“I explained it all to the coroner. I just happened to move at the critical moment and he cannoned off25 me”.

“Hard luck on Johnny26.”

“Very.”

“Hard luck on that chap this morning that you just happened to move at the critical moment. I don't think you told the coroner that you could do this Judo stiff?”

“Of course, not.”

“Hard luck on Susan, too, taking that fall out hunting.”

“That”, said Hermione flatly, “was pure accident. I told her she couldn't hold the horse.”

Freddy sighed.

“I'll have to give you the benefit of the doubt27 over that one.” He said. But I'm afraid the engagement's off.

Hermione looked at the diamond on her finger and screwed her hand into a tight little fist.

“I can't stop you breaking it off, Freddy,” she said. “But you'll find it very expensive”.

He did. Very expensive indeed. But he thought it well worth the money28. As has been said, Freddy was no fool.