CHAPTER V.
THE NEW LIFE.
'But, Stella, you have not to be at your office till ten o'clock! Whatwill you do with yourself for this half-hour?' asked Vava next morningas her sister left her at the gates of the City School for Girls fiveminutes before school opened, which was half-past nine.
The two sisters had walked together to the City along the Embankment. Togirls used to tramping miles over the moors, the walk was nothing,though they found that the pavements tired their feet.
'I shall take a walk, or go into a shop and have a bun,' replied Stella,for on second thoughts she shunned a walk alone through these streetscrowded with men, who looked curiously, though not disrespectfully, atthe tall, slight, beautiful girl, who walked with a leisurely,unbusiness-like air through the City.
'Yes, go and have a bun, and I will come to the office at half-pastthree and wait for you in the sitting-room,' said Vava, who felt for hersister being stared at so.
'I don't think there will be much of a sitting-room to wait in, Vava;but when you come to fetch me, just take one of your lesson-books andread quietly until I come down; and, remember, don't talk to any one,'Stella admonished her sister.
Vava looked astonished and as if she were going to argue the question;but the school-bell rang at that moment, and she ran off, turning roundto wave her hand to her sister, who stood watching her until she joineda group of girls, with whom she seemed to be conversing in a mostfriendly way, and not in the least as if it were the first time in herlife that she had ever seen them.
With a sigh, Stella turned away; she could not be like that, she couldnot help being stiff and reserved. Vava was quite different, and herelder sister found herself hoping fearfully that she would not get toointimate with these 'City girls.' However, she consoled herself with thethought that it could only be in school-hours, and that even in thedinner interval she would be with the young teacher who was to takespecial care of her, and who, at all events, would be an educated woman.
And then, as she felt somehow that her sauntering walk attracted toomuch attention, she turned into a baker's shop, and, addressing thepleasant-faced woman behind the counter, said, 'May I have a bun,please, and rest here for half-an-hour until my office opens?'
'Indeed you may, miss, and if you like to step into my parlour you'llfind a fire there; it's no weather to be walking about the streets, andnone too pleasant for a young lady like you, not but what I say if youshow respect to yourself others will show it to you; still, my parlour'sthe best place on a day like this,' said the baker's wife; for it was acold, frosty January day.
Stella thanked her kindly Samaritan, who little knew how nervous andmiserable her self-contained and dignified visitor felt as she satthere, nor how reluctantly she rose to go to Baines, Jones & Co.'soffice.
The junior partner of the firm was not often so punctual at his officeas he was on this morning, on which ten o'clock found him sitting in hisprivate room, much to the perturbation of the clerks, who hurried in ator just after the hour of ten.
'There's a lady to see you, sir,' said a young clerk, handing him acard.
'Oh--er, yes; show her into this room,' said the junior partner, with anembarrassment which amazed the clerk, who forthwith went and informedhis fellow-clerks that the young boss's best girl had called upon him,and 'he doesn't seem too pleased, though she's handsome enough in allconscience--a regular beauty, and no mistake, and a cut above him too;though what she means by running after him to the City goodness knows!'
'There's no knowing what girls will do nowadays,' said a wise youth ofsixteen, who was promptly told to shut up.
But Stella, quite unconscious of these criticisms on her conduct, walkedquietly into the junior partner's room, and, bowing gravely, said, 'I amMiss Wharton;' and waited for him to speak.
The junior partner rose from his seat and put a chair for her. 'I amvery glad to see you, Miss Wharton. I hope you had a pleasantrun--journey south?'
Stella might almost have been carved in stone as she answered, 'Yes,thank you. Will you kindly tell me my duties?'
If her employer felt snubbed he did not show it, but told her what hewanted her to do, and then showed her the room in which she was to work,which was through the clerks' room. Suddenly a thought seemed to strikehim. 'There is another door to this room, and by it you could come alongthe corridor to me when necessary without coming through the clerks'office; and that is the housekeeper's room opposite. She will make youtea, and give you hot water or anything you want,' he said, opening adoor on to the corridor.
Stella gravely bowed her thanks. She was grateful for the thought, andshe found her new employer very quiet and civil. When the morning wasover, and she took him his letters, which he was thankful to findcorrectly done, he showed his kindness further by saying, 'There is aladies' club near here where lady-clerks can go and lunch veryreasonably and comfortably; the housekeeper will show you the way, ifyou like. You will find it convenient to stay there till two o'clock;the City is a dull place for young ladies.'
Stella thanked him again, and took his advice; but when she had left theroom the junior partner got up, stretched his long limbs, for he was atall, athletic man, who looked more as if he should have been on a yachtthan in a City office. 'Whew! what an iceberg! And to think that thatimperial beauty is my clerk, and that I have to give her orders from tento four, and be repressed and snubbed by her! As if I wanted to take aliberty! Why, I dare not even mention the weather! Well, so be it; she'sa good typist, and has a good business head for all it's sopretty.--Well, Mrs. Ryan, what is it? Come in. Did you take Miss Whartonto the Enterprise Club--isn't that its name?'
'Yes, sir, I did, and right glad she was to be in such a place, sobright and comfortable, poor, sweet young lady. But I came to ask you,sir, couldn't she begin at half-past nine and stop at half-past three?'inquired the kind-hearted Irishwoman, explaining about Vava and herhours.
'H'm, it would suit her better, no doubt; but I don't know about me. Ohyes, I could leave her work to do. By all means. Thanks for telling me;I'll arrange it,' said the junior partner kindly, and added, 'And takethe little sister into your room if we have not quite finished, Mrs.Ryan; the waiting-room is no place for her, if she is anything like hersister.'
'The City's no place for either of them, Mr. James; but they could nothave found a better master than you, go where they might,' said the goodwoman.
Mr. James laughed; but he did not like to hear himself spoken of asStella's master, and thought with a grim smile how angry she would havebeen if she had heard the expression.
The clerks meanwhile had a subject for conversation which kept theirtongues wagging in an undertone, to the neglect of their work.
'The new lady-clerk! Who would have believed it? And she gave me hercard for all the world like a duchess.' Here there was a snigger, andone of his fellow-clerks asked how duchesses gave their cards. And thenthe buzz went on, and all were on the _qui vive_ for the door to open;but, as is known, Stella did not pass through the room again, and thenext time they met her she was with the housekeeper, to whom she wastalking quite pleasantly. So that she could condescend when she liked,they discovered.
All the same, Stella might have been set down as proud and stuck-up, andbeen more unpopular than she was, though that probably would havetroubled her little but for what occurred that afternoon, which, much asit annoyed her, was a very good thing.
The junior partner, it will be remembered, had had to wait for histypist while she packed up and took leave of her Highland home, and thenmotored leisurely to town, and certain foreign letters had got inarrears, and the junior partner was anxious to get through them.
Consequently, when Vava called for her sister the latter was very busy.The girl knew where the office was, but she did not know which door sheought to knock at; then she saw 'Baines, Jones & Co.--Clerks' Room.' Oneof the girls at school had called Stella a 'clerk,' when Vava had said'secretary,' which sounded better. So at this door the girl knocked, andin answer t
o a loud 'Come in!' she entered.
Twenty heads were lifted and looked at her; but Vava was notself-conscious. She went forward, and with a friendly smile said, 'Ihave called for my sister. May I sit here till she is ready?'
'Certainly--that is, yes. Take a seat, miss, till I tell the boss,' saida youth, stammering rather, for it was awkward to refuse a young lady;but that was not the place for her to wait.
'No, don't tell any one. Stella said I was not to interrupt her, asshe's only a paid servant like you; so just you go on with your work,and don't waste your time like the idle apprentice in the tale.'
Vava had not spoken loud, and did not know that her words were overheardby the whole room; still less was she aware that the young man of aboutthirty who had come in while she was speaking was the young boss and hersister's employer.
The boy to whom she had spoken had his back to him, and answered inrather an aggrieved tone, 'I'm not wasting my time; I had to answer you,and I must tell Mr. Jones, for I don't know that he'd like you to waithere; this isn't the lady's waiting-room, you know!'
'Mr. Jones won't mind,' said that gentleman, coming forward, and adding,'So you are Miss Wharton's sister?'
'Yes, but I don't want to be in the way; you all seem very busy. Can Ihelp you? I can write an awfully good hand, just like Stella's; shetaught me, you know,' said Vava.
A smile went round the room; but Mr. Jones said quite gravely, 'That isvery kind of you, and perhaps when we are hard pressed I shall takeadvantage of that offer; but your sister has done so much to-day that Ithink she will soon be ready for you.'
'Oh are you Mr. Jones?' said Vava, holding out her hand. 'I know somemore Joneses, only they are'----
'Yes, it's a very common name, almost the commonest in England andWales--rather a nuisance. But come along with me, and I will take you toyour sister,' he said.
'Good-bye,' said Vava, nodding to the boy she had called the 'idleapprentice.'
'So the beauty's name is Stella!' observed one of the young men.
But he got no further. 'Shut up, Jim, and don't be such a cad as to takeadvantage of that youngster's friendly ways. If ever I hear any of youmaking free with Miss Wharton's name he'll regret it,' said the clerk incharge of the room, and his feelings on the subject were evidentlyshared by the rest of his fellow-clerks, for one or two of them said, byway of agreement, 'Yes, she's a nice little girl; evidently just up fromthe country, and not used to this kind of life, and in mourning too.'
So Stella was allowed to come and go, with no more attention or noticethan the raising of their hats as they passed her, and it is to bedoubted whether she could at the end of six months have recognised oneof them if she had been required for any reason to do so.
Mr. Jones meanwhile took Vava into his own room, and sitting down beganto talk to her of her new school and schoolfellows.
'They're all right, and the school is all right, and I like themistresses, especially the one that takes my class--she looks sohonest,' announced Vava.
'Don't the others look honest?' inquired Mr. Jones, looking amused. Hehad noticed that Vava spoke a little evasively of the school and itspupils as being 'all right,' which sounded qualified praise, and he was,or appeared to be, very much interested in her conversation.
'Oh I don't know; I didn't mean anything. I just liked Miss Courteney'sface best, and I shall get to like the girls when I can understandthem.' Here Vava laughed. 'They say some words so funnily;' and shetried to imitate them.
Mr. James Jones laughed heartily, and Vava, encouraged by him, wastaking off some of her schoolfellows when Stella came to the door. Herface was a study, and both Mr. Jones and Vava jumped up with the air ofculprits, as if they had been discovered doing wrong.
'I have brought the letters.--Vava, go into the housekeeper's room,please; you are interrupting Mr. Jones,' said the elder sister, holdingopen the door 'like an avenging angel,' as the junior partner afterwardssaid.