CHAPTER XVI
AN EXPECTED GUEST
The three girls spent a delightful morning exploring the old Chateau,and its park and garden. The clear air was brisk and keen, and a fewhours out of doors sent them back into the house with rosy cheeks andbright eyes.
They discovered a delightful room that they had not seen before, whichwas built out from one of the wings, and whose walls and ceiling wereentirely of glass.
"This is something like your room at home, Elise," said Patty, as theyseated themselves there.
"Not very much; my room is glass, to be sure, but it's square, and thiscircular apartment is quite a different matter. And did you ever seesuch exquisite furniture? I can quite believe myself an Empress when Isit gracefully on this gilded blue satin sofa."
"I'm glad you think you're sitting gracefully," said Rosamond, laughingat Elise, who, in her favourite position, had one foot tucked up underher.
"I don't care," said Elise. "Probably Josephine would have liked to siton her foot, only she didn't dare."
"Her empire would have tottered if she had done such a thing as that,"observed Patty, "but as it tottered anyway, she might as well have satas she pleased."
Ma'amselle joined the young people at luncheon time, and although shecalled it breakfast, the repast was quite as elaborate and formal inits way as dinner had been. But the girls brought to it three healthyyoung appetites, that did full justice to the exquisite viands setbefore them.
At the table, Ma'amselle announced to the girls her plans for theirentertainment.
It seemed that she expected her nephew that evening, to spend a fewdays, and as the next day would be the great festival of New Year'sDay, she had planned a celebration of the event.
So she proposed that except for a short automobile drive that afternoonthe girls should rest and keep themselves fresh for dinner-time, whenshe expected the arrival of her paragon of a nephew.
From her description of the young man, the girls were led to think thathe must be a sort of fairy prince in disguise,--and not very muchdisguised, either.
So in the afternoon the three girls and Ma'amselle went for a drive inone of the great touring cars, of which Ma'amselle had several.
Patty begged to be allowed to sit in front with the chauffeur, andrather astonished that impassive factotum by asking to be allowed todrive.
He was very much disinclined to grant her request, lest it shoulddisplease the old Ma'amselle, of whom all her servants stood greatly inawe; but when Patty appealed to her hostess, and received a not verywilling permission, the chauffeur allowed her to change seats with him,and really drive the car.
He was greatly surprised at Patty's skill, and became more than everconvinced that Americans were a strange race.
Their route lay past the railway station and along the beautifulterrace which skirts the forest of St. Germain on one side, andcommands such a marvellous view of the valley and the Seine.
Returning home, the girls were left to their own devices untildinner-time, when they were adjured to array themselves appropriatelyto do homage with the wonderful Henri.
"Henri must be something out of the ordinary," declared Elise, when thegirls were alone.
"Probably not," said Patty; "only Ma'amselle thinks him so."
"At any rate I'm anxious to see him," declared Elise, "for I don't knowany real live French boy except that Pauvret who was on the steamer,and he was too lackadaisical for any use."
"Well, I don't apprehend M'sieu Henri will be much better," said Patty;"I don't care much about Frenchmen, anyway. What are you going to wear,girls?"
"I shall wear my red chifon," said Rosamond; "it's most becoming to me;I'm a perfect dream in it, and I shall quite cut out you other girlswith our foreign prince."
"Pooh!" said Elise; "he won't look at you when he sees me in my whitetulle. I'm the Frenchiest thing in that you ever saw!"
"Oh girls," cried Patty, "I'm going to wear my light blue crepe dechine. And then we'll be red, white and blue! Won't that be a gracefulcompliment to the French colours, as well as to our own dear flag!"
"Long may it wave!" cried Rosamond, and then following Patty's lead,the girls sang the "Star Spangled Banner" with true American heartinessand patriotism. This they followed up with the "Marseillaise," in whichthey were interrupted by the appearance of one of the maids in a greatstate of excitement.
In breathless haste, which made her French difficult for them tounderstand, she explained that Ma'amselle had had a telegram ofdreadful import, and would the young ladies attend upon her at once.
The maid ushered the wondering girls to Ma'amselle's apartments andfound her in her dressing-room, in the hands of her maid, who wasassisting her in a hasty toilette.
The tears were rolling down the old lady's cheeks, and she seemed to bein a state of trembling agitation.
"Ah, mes enfants" she cried, "but it is news of the most dreadful! MonHenri, my well-beloved nephew,--his arm,--it is broken! Ah the sadnessfor the poor boy. Me, I fly to him at once,--but at once! You, but youwill excuse me, you will forgive, because of the dear boy! I go toParis, but I return, bringing my boy with me."
It was rather a mixed-up explanation, but the girls finally gatheredthat Henri had had the misfortune to break his arm, and had sent forhis aunt to come to Paris and spend the New Year Day with him insteadof taking his intended trip to St. Germain.
Henri had not known that his aunt had the young ladies visiting her,and so had no idea that he was disarranging her plans to such an extent.
"He can come!" she exclaimed; "bah, it is not his legs; it is but hisarm. Of a certainty, one does not walk on one's arm! But the dear boy!I shall go to him and explain all. Then we will return, and there shallbe feasting and happiness. A broken arm is not so much,--it willmend,--but to him I must fly!"
Patty endeavoured to find out definitely the old lady's plan, but shecould only gather that there was no time to be lost, that Ma'amsellemust catch the seven o'clock train.
To be sure of this, she must leave the house at half-past six.
And so she started, in her swift touring car, accompanied by her maidand a groom, in addition to her capable and trusty chauffeur.
Away they went, and the girls returned to the drawing-room to considerthe situation.
"It was all over so quickly," said Patty, "that I hardly know whetherI'm on my head or my heels. What a whirlwind Ma'amselle is!"
"Yes, she flew around like a hen with its head off, or whatever Frenchhens do," said Rosamond; "if she whisks that broken-armed boy home asfast as she whisked herself off they'll be here in a minute."
"She can't," said the practical Elise. "If she takes that seven o'clocktrain, she won't get to Paris until nearly eight, and then, I don'tknow where the interesting invalid lives, but anyway, to kidnap him andget back here again is a matter of several hours. I don't expect to seethem before midnight."
"What shall we do?" said Patty; "shall we have our dinner?"
"I don't believe we'll have any say in the matter," volunteered Elise."I think that waxwork butler, and the 'feetmen,' as Rosamond callsthem, will arrange our lives for us, and we'll be simply under orders."
"What an exciting experience," exclaimed Patty; "to think of us threeAmerican girls, alone except for the servants, in a gorgeous old FrenchChateau! I feel as if I must do something to live up to my privileges."
"Suppose anything should happen that Ma'amselle never came back,"suggested Rosamond; "we could take possession of the place and livehere forever."
"I don't think much of that plan," declared Patty; "New York is goodenough for me, as a permanent residence. But I do want to do somethinkin keeping with the atmosphere of this place. If there's a dungeon keepon the premises, I think I'll throw you two girls into it, after havingfirst bound you in chains."
"You mean a donjon keep, Patty," said Elise; "you're so careless withyour mediaeval diction."
A noise in the hall, as of an arrival, startled the girls, and risingimpuls
ively, they flew out to see what it was all about.
To their astonishment, they found the footmen holding open the greatfront doors, while three stalwart young men entered.
The middle one, who was partly supported by the other two, had his armin a sling, and as he was undoubtedly a Frenchman, the girls were sureat once that he was no other than the worshipful Henri.
At sight of the three astonished girls the three young men lookedequally amazed, and whipping off their caps, they made profound bows tothe strangers.
It was a comical situation, for doubtless Henri had expected to see hisaunt, and was instead confronted by three unmistakably American misses.
Of the six, quick-witted Patty grasped the situation first.
"You are Monsieur Henri Labesse, is it not so?" she said, advancingtoward the broken-armed one.
In her haste and bewilderment, Patty spoke in English, forgetting thatthe young man might not understand her native tongue.
But he answered in English quite as good as her own, though with adecided French accent, "Yes, Mademoiselle, I am Henri Labesse. I makeyou my homage, These are my two friends, Cecil Villere and PhilippeBaring."
"We are glad to welcome you," said Patty, in her pretty, frank way;"these are my friends, Mademoiselle Farrington and MademoiselleBarstow. We are guests of your aunt."
"Ah, my aunt!" said Henri, as the other boys acknowledged theintroductions, "where is she? Did she not get my telegram?"
"She did, indeed," returned Patty, smiling, "and she went flying off toParis."
"But my second telegram; I wired again, saying I would come here."
"No, she did not get your second telegram,--only the first oneannouncing your accident."
"And she has gone! oh how dreadful! but can we not stop her? Let ussend post haste after her."
"It's no use," said Elise; "she has been gone about ten minutes, and inher fast car she is now more than half way to the station."
"Did you boys come in an automobile?" asked Patty.
"No," replied Mr. Villere; "we came in a rickety old cab from thestation, and it has gone back."
Patty's thoughts were flying rapidly. It seemed dreadful to let the oldMa'amselle go to Paris on a wild-goose chase, when if she could but bestopped, and brought back home, it would save the long and troublesomejourney and be a delight to them all.
She not only thought quickly, but she determined to act quickly.
"Can either of you boys drive an automobile?" she demanded of the twouninjured guests.
With voluble lamentations the two confessed their inability in thatdirection.
"Elise," cried Patty, turning upon her a look, which Elise well knewdemanded implicit obedience, "you stay right here and play you're thehostess of this Chateau, and see that you do it properly. Rosamond, youcome with me!"
Without a further glance at the astonished young men, without a word tothe pompous butler who was hovering in the background, Patty graspedRosamond by the arm and pulled her away with her.