XVIII.
IN THE NIGHT WATCHES.
"Shall I not take mine ease in mine inn?"
--HEN. IV.
"What doth gravity out of his bed at midnight?"
--HEN. IV.
"It has been the most delightful evening I have ever passed," said Mrs.Sylvester, as she threw aside her rich white mantle in her ampleboudoir. "Sarah, two loops on that dolman to-morrow; do you hear? Ithought my arms would freeze. Such an elegant gentleman as the Count deFrassac is! He absolutely went wild over you, Paula, but notunderstanding a word of English--O there, if that horrid little wretchdidn't drop his spoon on my dress after all! He swore it never touched athread of it, but just look at that spot, right in the middle of apleating too. Paula, your opinion in regard to the lavendar was correct.I heard Mrs. Forsyth Jones whisper behind my back that lavendar alwaysmade blondes look _fade_. Of course I needed no further evidence toconvince me that I had entirely succeeded in eclipsing her pale-faceddaughter. Her daughter!" and the lazy gurgle echoed softly through theroom, "As if every white-haired girl in the city considered herselfentitled to be called a blonde!" She stopped to listen, examiningherself in the glass near by. "I thought I heard Edward. It was veryprovoking in him to leave us in the cavalier manner in which he did. Iwas just going to introduce him to the count, not that he would haveesteemed it much of an honor, Edward I mean, but when one has agood-looking husband--Sarah, that curtain over there hangs crooked, pullit straight this instant. Did you try the oysters, Paula? They wereperfection, I shall have to dismiss Lorenzo without ceremony and procureme a cook that can make an oyster fricassee. By the way did younotice--" and so on and on for five minutes additional. Presently sheburst forth with--"I do believe I know what it is to be thoroughlysatisfied at last. The consideration which one receives as the wife ofthe president of the Madison bank is certainly very gratifying. If I hadknown I would feel such a change in the social atmosphere, I would haveadvocated Edward's dropping speculation long ago. Beauty and wealth mayhelp one up the social ladder, but only a settled position such as hehas now obtained, can carry you safely over the top. I feel at last asif we had reached the pinnacle of my ambition and had seen the ladder bywhich we mounted thrown down behind us. If I get my costume from Worthin time, I shall give a German next month."
Paula from her stand at the door--for some minutes she had beenendeavoring to escape to her room--surveyed her cousin in wonder. Shehad never seen her look as she did at that moment. Any one who speaksfrom the heart, acquires a certain eloquence, and Ona for once wasspeaking from her heart. The unwonted emotion made her cheeks burn, andeven her diamonds, ten thousand dollars worth as we have heard declared,were less brilliant than her eyes. Paula left her station on thedoor-sill and glided rapidly back to her side. "O Ona," said she, "ifyou would only look like that when--" she paused, what right had she toventure upon giving lessons to her benefactor.
"When what?" inquired the other, subsiding at once into her naturallylanguid manner. Then with a total forgetfulness of the momentarycuriosity that had prompted the question, held out her head to theattendant Sarah, with a command to be relieved of her ornaments. Paulasighed and hastened to her room. She could not bring herself to mentionher anxiety in regard to the still absent master of the house, to thislazily-smiling thoroughly satisfied woman.
But none the less did she herself sit up in the moonlight, listeningwith bended head for the sound of his step on the walk beneath. Shecould not sleep while he was absent; and yet the thoughts that disturbedher and kept her from her virgin pillow could not have been entirely forhim, or why those wandering smiles that ever and anon passed flittingover her cheek, awakening the dimples that slumbered there, until shelooked more like a dreamy picture of delight than a wakeful vision ofapprehension. Not entirely for him--yet when somewhere towards threeo'clock, she heard the long delayed step upon the stoop, she started upwith eager eyes and a nervous gesture that sufficiently betrayed howintense was her interest in her benefactor's welfare and happiness. "Ifhe goes to Ona's room it is all right," thought she; "but if he keeps onupstairs, I shall know that something is wrong and that he needs acomforter."
He did not stop at Ona's room; and struck with alarm, Paula opened wideher door and was about to step out to meet him, when she caught a sightof his face, and started back. Here was no anxiety, that she couldpalliate! The very fact that he did not observe her slight form standingbefore him in the brilliant moonlight, proved that a woman's look ortouch was not what he was in search of; and shrinking sensitively to oneside, she sat down on the edge of her dainty bed, dropping her cheekinto her hand with a weary troubled gesture from which all the delighthad fled and only the apprehension remained. Suddenly she startedalertly up; he was coming down again, this time with a gliding muffledtread. Sliding past her door, he descended to the floor below. She couldhear the one weak stair in the heavy staircase creak, and--What! he haspassed Ona's room, passed the bronze figure of Luxury on the platformbeneath, is on his way to the front door, has opened it, shut it softlybehind him and gone out again into the blank midnight streets. What didit mean? For a moment she thought she would run down and awaken Ona, butan involuntary remembrance of how those lazy eyes would open, starepeevishly and then shut again, stopped her on the threshold of her door;and sitting down again upon the side of her bed, she waited, this timewith opened eyes eagerly staring before her, and quivering form thatstarted at each and every sound that disturbed the silence of the greatechoing house. At six o'clock she again rose; he had just re-entered andthis time he stopped at Ona's room.