The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters

  19. ETHELBERTA'S DRAWING-ROOM

  Picotee's heart was fitfully glad. She was near the man who had enlargedher capacity from girl's to woman's, a little note or two of youngfeeling to a whole diapason; and though nearness was perhaps not initself a great reason for felicity when viewed beside the completerealization of all that a woman can desire in such circumstances, it wasmuch in comparison with the outer darkness of the previous time.

  It became evident to all the family that some misunderstanding had arisenbetween Ethelberta and Mr. Julian. What Picotee hoped in the centre ofher heart as to the issue of the affair it would be too complex a thingto say. If Christopher became cold towards her sister he would not cometo the house; if he continued to come it would really be as Ethelberta'slover--altogether, a pretty game of perpetual check for Picotee.

  He did not make his appearance for several days. Picotee, being apresentable girl, and decidedly finer-natured than her sisters belowstairs, was allowed to sit occasionally with Ethelberta in the afternoon,when the teaching of the little ones had been done for the day; and thusshe had an opportunity of observing Ethelberta's emotional condition withreference to Christopher, which Picotee did with an interest that theelder sister was very far from suspecting.

  At first Ethelberta seemed blithe enough without him. One more day went,and he did not come, and then her manner was that of apathy. Another daypassed, and from fanciful elevations of the eyebrow, and long breathings,it became apparent that Ethelberta had decidedly passed the indifferentstage, and was getting seriously out of sorts about him. Next morningshe looked all hope. He did not come that day either, and Ethelbertabegan to look pale with fear.

  'Why don't you go out?' said Picotee timidly.

  'I can hardly tell: I have been expecting some one.'

  'When she comes I must run up to mother at once, must I not?' said cleverPicotee.

  'It is not a lady,' said Ethelberta blandly. She came then and stood byPicotee, and looked musingly out of the window. 'I may as well tell you,perhaps,' she continued. 'It is Mr. Julian. He is--I suppose--my lover,in plain English.'

  'Ah!' said Picotee.

  'Whom I am not going to marry until he gets rich.'

  'Ah--how strange! If I had him--such a lover, I mean--I would marry himif he continued poor.'

  'I don't doubt it, Picotee; just as you come to London without caringabout consequences, or would do any other crazy thing and not mind in theleast what came of it. But somebody in the family must take a practicalview of affairs, or we should all go to the dogs.'

  Picotee recovered from the snubbing which she felt that she deserved, andcharged gallantly by saying, with delicate showings of indifference, 'Doyou love this Mr. What's-his-name of yours?'

  'Mr. Julian? O, he's a very gentlemanly man. That is, except when he isrude, and ill-uses me, and will not come and apologize!'

  'If I had him--a lover, I would ask him to come if I wanted him to.'

  Ethelberta did not give her mind to this remark; but, drawing a longbreath, said, with a pouting laugh, which presaged unreality, 'The ideaof his getting indifferent now! I have been intending to keep him onuntil I got tired of his attentions, and then put an end to them bymarrying him; but here is he, before he has hardly declared himself,forgetting my existence as much as if he had vowed to love and cherish mefor life. 'Tis an unnatural inversion of the manners of society.'

  'When did you first get to care for him, dear Berta?'

  'O--when I had seen him once or twice.'

  'Goodness--how quick you were!'

  'Yes--if I am in the mind for loving I am not to be hindered by shortnessof acquaintanceship.'

  'Nor I neither!' sighed Picotee.

  'Nor any other woman. We don't need to know a man well in order to lovehim. That's only necessary when we want to leave off.'

  'O Berta--you don't believe that!'

  'If a woman did not invariably form an opinion of her choice before shehas half seen him, and love him before she has half formed an opinion,there would be no tears and pining in the whole feminine world, and poetswould starve for want of a topic. I don't believe it, do you say? Ah,well, we shall see.'

  Picotee did not know what to say to this; and Ethelberta left the room tosee about her duties as public story-teller, in which capacity she hadundertaken to appear again this very evening.