CHAPTER VII
Visitors Again
By itself an occurrence like this would have been unnerving enough.Visitors on the afternoon of a party, and such visitors! But that theLeightons should all be more or less in a pickle in regard to themayonnaise and Lance's foolery seemed to take things altogether over thebarrier of ordinary life, and land everybody in a perfect fizzle. TheDudgeons must have called to see Cuthbert, who had never been down yeton these occasions when Mrs. Leighton and Mabel and Jean with perfectpropriety had received them. Mabel had had her innings as the eldest ofthe house, but had retained an enormous reserve when speaking to MissDudgeon. Not so Jean, who believed in getting to know people at once.Elma and Betty had never ventured near them since that dreadful day whenthey all did the wrong thing at the wrong moment.
"Anyhow, the drawing-room is a perfect dream with flowers. They canlook at that for a bit," said Jean, as they began to remove the regimentof bottles. Dr. Harry's mayonnaise was creamy and perfect, and Mabel wasin high fettle correspondingly.
"Do you know," she said, "I don't care tuppence for the Dudgeons justnow. Let's go in and give them a decent reception for once." Itreflected the feeling of all, that nothing could disturb their gaiety onthis day.
Elma was reminded again how right her father was in declaring that onceone had an absorbing object in front of one, trifles dwindled down totheir proper level. Why should any of them be afraid of the StoryBooks? Certainly not at all, on a day when they were about to have aripping party, and the mayonnaise at last had "mayed." Cuthbert gave abig jolly laugh at Mabel's speech.
"Come along, all of you," he said. "What about those oily fingers ofyours, Harry? What a jewel of a husband you'll be! You, Lance, get offthese togs and behave yourself."
Lance promised abjectly to be an ornament to the household for the restof the afternoon. Something in his look as he went off reminded Mabelof other promises of Lance.
"Be good," she called out to him.
"Yes, mother," exclaimed Lance, evidently at work already tearing offthe skirt, and looking demure and mournful. He seemed very ridiculousstill, and they went off merrily to the drawing-room.
"Cuthbert," whispered Elma, "I'm so frightened. Take me in."
"I'm frightened too," whispered Cuthbert.
This made her laugh, so that as she held on to his arm she approachedAdelaide Maud in admirable spirits. The party invaded the drawing-roomas a flood would invade it--or so it seemed to the Dudgeons, who weretalking quietly to Mrs. Leighton. The whole room sprouted Leightons.Mrs. Dudgeon resorted entirely to her lorgnette, especially when sheshook hands with Cuthbert. He stood that ordeal bravely, also theordeal of the speech that followed.
"You see the two very shy members of the family," he said, bowinggravely and disregarding some sarcastic laughter from the background."May I introduce my young sister Elma."
Here was honour for Elma. She shook hands with crimson cheeks. Thencame Adelaide Maud. She gave her hand to Cuthbert without a word, butwhen Elma's turn came she said with rather sweet gravity, "This is thelittle lady, isn't it, who plays to Miss Grace?"
Elma was thunderstruck; but Cuthbert, the magnificent, seemed verypleased.
"Oh--Miss Grace didn't tell you?" asked Elma.
"No, I heard you one day, and Miss Annie told me it was you."
Adelaide Maud sat down on a low chair, and drew Elma on to the arm.
"What was it you were playing?" she asked.
"One is called 'Anything you like,' and one is 'A little thing of myown,' and the others are just anything," said Elma.
Adelaide Maud laughed.
The room was filled with chattering voices, and Mrs. Dudgeon had claimedCuthbert, so that it became a very easy thing for them to beconfidential without any one's noticing.
"It's quite stup--stup----" Elma stopped.
"Stupid?" asked Adelaide Maud.
"No, stup-endous," said Elma thankfully, "for me to be talking all alonewith you." Her fright had run away, as it always did whenever any onelooked kindly at her. The sweet eyes of Adelaide Maud disarmed her, andshe worshipped on the spot. "I've always been so afraid of you," shesaid simply. "It ought to be Hermione, but I know it will always beyou."
"Who is Hermione?" asked Adelaide Maud.
Elma suddenly woke up.
"Oh, I daren't tell you," said she.
Adelaide Maud looked about her in a constrained way.
"I wish you would play to me, dear," she said.
Was this really to be believed!
"I could in the schoolroom," said Elma, "but not here."
"Take me to the schoolroom," said Adelaide Maud.
Elma placed her hand in that of the other delicately gloved one withouta tremor.
"Don't let them see us go," she begged.
Three people did, however: Cuthbert with a bounding heart, Mabel withthankfulness that the house was really in exhibition order, and Jeanwith blank amazement. Elma had walked off in ten minutes intimatelywith the flower that Jean had, as it were, been tending carefully forweeks, and had not dared to pluck. There was something of the darkhorse about Elma.
They were much taken up with Miss Steven however. She was very fair andpetite, and had pretty ways of curving herself and throwing back herhead, and of spreading her hands when she talked. She seemed to like tohave the eyes of the room fixed on her. Quite different from theDudgeons, who in about two ticks stared one out of looking at them atall. Mr. Leighton came in also, and what might be called her last thawwas undergone by Mrs. Dudgeon in the pleasure of meeting him. If shehad her ideas on beaded cushions, she had certainly no objections to Mr.Leighton. In five minutes he was explaining to her that sea trout areto be discovered in fresh water lakes at certain seasons of the year.
Unfortunately, just then Mrs. Dudgeon happened to look out of thewindows. There were three long ones, and each opened out on that sunnyday to the lawn at the side of the house. If Mrs. Dudgeon had kept hereye on the Louis Seize clock or the famous Monticelli, all might havegone well, but she preferred to look out of the window. In spite of thegeneral hilarity of the party around her, her action in looking outseemed to impress them all. Everybody except Mr. Leighton looked outalso, and then came an ominous silence.
Mr. Maclean giggled.
This formed a link to a burst of conversation. Jean turned to MissSteven and engaged her in a whirlwind of talk. Cuthbert vainlyendeavoured to move the stony glance of Mrs. Dudgeon once more in thedirection of his father. Dr. Harry wildly asked Mabel to playsomething.
Mabel never forgave him.
Mrs. Dudgeon immediately became preternaturally polite, said she hadoften heard of the musical proclivities of the Misses Leighton, andMabel had really to play.
"Oh, Harry," she exclaimed, "I never played with a burden like this onmy mind, never in all my life. The party to-night--and that mayonnaise(it will keep maying, won't it?)--and Elma goodness knows where withAdelaide Maud, and those kids in the garden--couldn't Cuthbert go andslay them?"
She dashed into a Chopin polonaise.
The kids in the garden were what had upset Mrs. Dudgeon. There weretwo--evidently playing "catch me if you can" with one of themaid-servants--the one who had shown them in. She rushed about in amanner which looked very mad. This exhibition on the drawing-room sideof the house! Really--these middle class people!
Mrs. Dudgeon extended the lorgnette to looking at them once more.
A horizontal bar was erected in a corner of the lawn. Towards this theeccentric maid-servant seemed to be making determined passes,frantically prevented every now and again by the two young girls. Thechords of the "railway polonaise" hammered out a violent accompaniment.Mabel could play magnificently when in a rage. Little Miss Steven wasenchanted.
Nearer came the maid-servant to the horizontal bar. At last she reachedit. May and Betty sat down plump on the lawn in silent despair. Lancepulled himse
lf gently and gracefully up. Not content with gettingthere, he kissed his hand to the unresponsive drawing-room windows. Todo him justice, there was little sign for him that any one saw him, andMabel's piano playing seemed to envelop everything. He did somegraceful things towards the end of the polonaise, but with the lastchords became violently mischievous again. With a wild whirl he turneda partial somersault. Mrs. Dudgeon shrieked. "Oh, that woman," saidshe. Just then Lance stopped his whirlings and sent his feet straightinto the air. His skirts fell gracefully over his face. Dr. Harrylaughed a loud laugh, and at last Mr. Leighton asked what was thematter.
"It's Lance," said Jean. "He has been playing tricks all theafternoon."
Everything might have been forgiven except that Mrs. Dudgeon had beentaken in. She had screamed, "That woman."
She began to look about for Adelaide Maud.
"Will you be so kind as to tell my daughter that we must be going," shesaid to Mr. Leighton.
Cuthbert volunteered to look for her.
Dr. Harry really did the neat thing. He went out for Lance and broughthim in with Betty and May. He hauled Lance by the ear to Mrs. Dudgeon.
"Here you see a culprit of the deepest dye."
Lance looked very rosy and mischievous, and Miss Steven, who had beenimmersed in hysterical laughter since his exploit on the bar, wasdelighted with him.
"I am so sorry," said Lance gravely, encouraged by this appreciation,"but I promised mother that I should be an ornament to the company thisafternoon."
"Oh, Lance," said May, "how can you!"
"By 'mother,' of course I mean Mabel," said Lance to Mrs. Dudgeon in anexplanatory fashion. "She has grown so cocky since she put her hairup."
Mrs. Dudgeon determined to give up trying to unravel the middle classes.
Mr. Maclean broke in. "Everybody spoils Lance, Mrs. Dudgeon. It isn'tquite his own fault; look at Miss Steven."
Miss Steven, always prompt to appreciate a person's wickedest mood, hadmade an immediate friend of Lance.
"They are a great trial to us, these young people," said Mr. Leightongently.
The speech wafted her back to her gracious mood, and for a little whilelonger she forgot that she had sent for Adelaide Maud.
Meanwhile Cuthbert endeavoured to discover what had happened to that"delicious" person.
With swishing skirts, and gleam of golden hair under a white hat, Elmahad seen herself escort Adelaide Maud from the drawing-room to theschoolroom. Adelaide Maud sat on a hassock in the room where "You don'tmean to say you were all babies," and Elma played "Anything you like" toher.
Adelaide Maud's face became of the dreamy far-away consistency of MissGrace's--without the cap, and Elma felt her cup of happiness run over.
"Does your sister play like that?" asked Adelaide Maud.
"Far better," said Elma simply.
They heard the bars of the railway polonaise, and the schoolroom, beingjust over the drawing-room, they had also the full benefit of Lance'sexploit.
Adelaide Maud laughed and laughed.
"Oh, what will Mrs. Dudgeon say?" asked Elma.
She told Adelaide Maud about the party, a frightful "breach ofetiquette," as Mabel informed her later. Adelaide Maud's face grewserious and rather sad.
"What a pity you live in another ph--phrase of society," sighed Elma,"or you would be coming too, wouldn't you?"
"Would you really ask me?" asked Adelaide Maud.
Ask her?
Did Adelaide Maud think that if the world were made of gold and onecould help one's self to it, one wouldn't have a little piece now andagain! She was just about to explain that they would do anything in theworld to ask her, when Cuthbert came into the room. Adelaide Maud gotso stiff at that moment, that immediately Elma understood that it wouldnever do to ask her to the party.
Cuthbert explained that Mrs. Dudgeon had sent him to fetch Miss Dudgeon.
"Oh," said Adelaide Maud.
She did not make the slightest move towards leaving, however.
She looked straight at Cuthbert, and Elma could have sworn she saw herlip quiver.
"I believe I have to apologize to you," she said in a very cold voice."I cut out a dance, didn't I--at the Calthorps'!"
"Did you?" asked Cuthbert.
Elma wondered that he could be so negligent in speaking to AdelaideMaud. She never could bear to see Cuthbert severe, and it had theeffect of terrifying her a trifle and making her take the hand ofAdelaide Maud in a defensive sort of manner.
Adelaide Maud held her hand quite tightly, as though Elma were really afriend of some standing.
"I didn't intend to, but I know it seemed like it," said Adelaide Maudin perfectly freezing tones.
Cuthbert looked at her very directly, and seemed to answer the freezingside more than the apologizing one.
"Oh--a small thing of that sort, what does it matter"? he said grandly.
Adelaide Maud turned quite pale.
"Thank you," said she. "It's quite sweet of you to take it like that,"and she marched out of the schoolroom with her skirts swishing and herhead high. No--it would never do to invite Adelaide Maud to the party.
Elma however had seen another side to this very dignified lady, and soran after her and took her hand again.
"You aren't vexed with me, are you?" she whispered.
Adelaide Maud at the turn of the stairs, and just at the point whereCuthbert, coming savagely behind, could not see, bent and kissed Elma.
"What day do you go to Miss Grace's?" she asked.
"To-morrow at three," whispered Elma, with her plans quite suddenlyarranged.
"Don't tell," said Adelaide Maud, "I shall be there."
Mrs. Dudgeon departed with appropriate graciousness. The irrepressiblegaiety of the company round her had merely served to make her moreunapproachable. She greeted Adelaide Maud with a stare, and strove tomake her immediate adieus. Mr. Maclean, always ready to notice adeficiency, remembered that Mr. Leighton had never met Adelaide Maud,and forthwith introduced her. Adelaide Maud took this introductionshyly, and Mr. Leighton was charmed with her. With an unfalteringestimate of character he appraised her then as being one in a hundredamongst girls. Adelaide Maud, on her part, showed him gentle littleasides to her nature which one could not have believed existed. Mrs.Dudgeon grew really impatient at the constant interruptions whichimpeded her exit.
"Mr. Leighton has just been telling me," she said by way of getting outof the drawing-room, "that a little party is to be celebrated hereto-night. I fear we detain you all." Nothing could have been moregracious--and yet! Mabel flushed. It seemed so like a children'saffair--that they should be having a party, and that the reallyimportant people were actually clearing out in order to allow it tooccur.
Miss Steven said farewell with real regret.
"I don't know when I have had such a jolly afternoon," she said. "Ithink I must get knocked over oftener. Though I don't want Mr. Leightonto break his ribs every time. Do you know," she said in a mostheart-breaking manner, "I've been hardly able to breathe for thinking ofit. You can't think how nice it is to see you all so jolly after all."
When they had got into the Dudgeons' carriage, and were rolling swiftlyhomewards, she yawned a trifle.
"What cures they are," she said airily.
Adelaide Maud, in her silent corner of the carriage, felt her third pangof that memorable afternoon.