minutes still; I will undertake to get youperfectly ready in the time that remains. I have got out nearlyeverything you will want, and you are to wear exactly what I havechosen."
Evelyn smiled submissively.
"I must just say one thing, Phil," she began again, "and that is foryour satisfaction. I do believe the Headforts would have been perfectlyaghast if I had come without a maid. And that reminds me--how do youthink you are going to bear it? Will it be endurable?"
"Much better than endurable," said Philippa, "but I will tell you aboutit afterwards. The housekeeper is a dear old woman. And on your sideyou must notice everything, to amuse me. I shall want to know all aboutthe other people staying in the house."
Then she resolutely turned away, and busied herself afresh withcompleting the preparations for her sister's evening toilet.
At the appointed time came Miss Headfort's tap at the door, and inresponse to Evelyn's "come in," the eldest daughter of the house madeher appearance. Philippa looked at her with considerable interest--adouble interest, indeed; she was both curious to have a better view ofMiss Headfort herself, and also most anxious to observe the effect uponher of the charming personality before her. Mingled with her sisterlypride in Evelyn, there was now what one may almost call the pride of theartist in his handiwork, and for both there was good cause.
Evelyn had left herself entirely to her sister's mercies, and the resultwas such that even Felicia Headfort's melancholy eyes lighted up withpleasure at the sight of her cousin's wife, whose lovely fairness wasshown to great advantage by the pale, blush-rose tint of her dress. Hernaturally beautiful hair owed much also to Philippa's carefulmanipulation, all the more deft and clever in that there was not theslightest appearance of studied art about it--the little bow of pinkvelvet to match her dress really looking as if it had flown down ofitself to nestle among the wavy coils. Evelyn's stock of jewellery waslimited; for this important occasion she wore the one good ornamentwhich her Duke had, with much unsuspected self-denial, gathered togetherenough money to procure for her--a string of fair-sized pearls.
"My dear," said Miss Headfort, impulsively, "your dress is quitecharming, and you do not look the least tired now. You will quitebewitch my father, I am sure." Evelyn smiled.
"How nice you look yourself," she said to her cousin, gently strokingthe sleeve of Felicia's soft, grey velvet bodice, for though far morethan the orthodox term of black attire for the loss of their twobrothers had passed, the Headfort sisters had not yet--if indeed theyever would discard it--worn anything but half-mourning.
Miss Headfort looked very handsome in her velvet and rich old lace;handsomer than Philippa had expected from her former glimpse of her.And the two figures together harmonised from their very dissimilarity.The sight was gratifying to the girl's sensitive perceptions of beauty;but as she stood there in the background in her plain, black dress anddisfiguring spectacles, unnoticed, and in a sense unthought of, even byher sister, it would be untrue to human nature, to girl natureespecially, to say that no shadow of mortification passed over her asshe again realised, and this time more fully than hitherto, the abnormalposition she had placed herself in.
But almost simultaneously her vigorous resolution of character, greatlyassisted in the present case by her vivid sense of humour, reasserteditself. There was a considerable amount of triumph, too, in the successof her plan.
"I do believe," she thought, "that I shall be able to carry it throughperfectly to the--no, I won't say `bitter end'--but till the curtaindrops for ever, I hope, for I am quite sure I shall have had enough ofmy role by then, as `Phillis Ray, lady's-maid.' Though but for her,goodness only knows what Mrs Marmaduke Headfort would have been lookinglike at the present moment--as to her headgear above all!"
A glance of affectionate gratitude from Evelyn as she followed herconductress out of the room, added to Philippa's self-congratulation.Still more so, a word or two from Miss Headfort which caught her earsas, suddenly discovering that her sister's fan was still reposing on thedressing-table, she ran after her with it, a few steps down thepassage--"very clever maid yours seems to be; she must--" But the restof the sentence was deferred, as Evelyn turned to take the fan held outto her.
"Poor Phil," thought Mrs Marmaduke, as she entered the drawing-room,with a curious mingling of pride in her sister, and regret almostamounting to irritation at the state of things she had brought about, "Ireally can't bear to think of her up there alone! For I do feel as ifit were all going to be very nice, and that, but for her, I could reallyenjoy myself. So I must just try not to think of her for the time. Iam sure it is what she would wish."
And acting on this comfortable determination, she was able to respondwith unembarrassed graciousness to the cordial, though somewhat formal,greeting of her host, who came forward to meet them as soon as he caughtsight of his elder daughter's entrance into the room.
And, as Felicia had predicted, the charm of Evelyn's half-appealing yetdignified manner, added to her extreme prettiness, did its work. Fromthat moment the old man's subjugation was complete.
That it was so, was from the first a source of satisfaction to his wifeand daughters. For they were not only good, high-principled women--theywere personally unselfish, and superior to all petty, femininejealousies, and with much latent tenderness of nature, unsuspected bythose who only judged them by the surface stiffness of manner.
Christine, the second Miss Headfort, though some years younger than hersister, scarcely appeared so. She was less handsome in features, but somuch brighter in complexion and colouring that at first sight she wasthe most striking; but in spite of Wyverston Manor and its traditions,there was a touch of the "advanced woman" about her, which showed itselfunpleasingly in a rather obtrusive "superiority" to her dress andgeneral appearance.
"I am plain-looking," she was wont to inform her friends, with a certainpride, "and no longer young, and I am not going to pretend to beotherwise. And I am splendidly strong, and intend to keep my health atall costs, so I do not care in the least about my complexion or myfigure. I go out in all weathers, and ignore the existence of whaleboneand steel."
But she was a very agreeable woman, nevertheless--her bark infinitelyworse than her bite--full of real kindness of heart. And if a trifledictatorial in her way of showing this, and perhaps irritatinglyconvinced that a Miss Headfort of Wyverston could "do no wrong," it waseasy to forgive and even forget those foibles in one so ready to putherself aside whenever called upon to do so for the sake of others; sogenuinely compassionate to the suffering or oppressed. She loved allanimals, and was loved by them in return; she would have loved littlechildren had she known more about them; thus with her, too, Evelyn'sfragile and almost childlike appearance only prepossessed her in theyoung wife's favour.
CHAPTER EIGHT.
A MORNING RAMBLE.
The party this evening was not a very large one; still, a comparativelysmall number of people is enough to be somewhat confusing to anew-comer, to whom they are all absolute strangers. More especiallywhen the new-comer in question is in such a position as was EvelynHeadfort on this occasion in the Wyverston drawing-room, where, as arecognised member of the family, to whom honour was due, it behoved herhost and hostess to introduce with considerable formality all the otherguests.
To all appearance she stood this little ordeal well, considerably toMrs Headfort's satisfaction.
"Though she looks so young," thought the elder woman, "she has plenty ofself-possession as well as charming manners."
But inwardly Evelyn had been feeling considerable trepidation, and itwas not without some relief that she found herself and the man allottedto her safely on their way to the dining-room. _His_ name her memoryhad retained, though she was in a state of mystification as to those ofmost of the others. She glanced up at her cavalier. She was notpeculiarly small, but he seemed to tower above her, and had to bend hishead to catch some little commonplace remark which she felt it due toherself to volunteer, "for fear," as she afterwards confesse
d toPhilippa, "he should have thought me shy."
"Certainly," was the reply; "quite so," but that was all, and Evelyn'slittle feeler, which she had sent out in hopes of its breaking the ice,had no effect beyond that of making her wish she had left the sentenceunsaid.
Seated at table, however, where she found herself, to her alarm, at herhost's left hand, she hazarded a second observation--anything, thesilliest speech in the world was better than for her new relations tothink her in any sense unequal to the occasion.
"I beg your pardon," said Mr Gresham, for such was his name; and as hebent slightly towards her, she was struck for the first time by hisreally remarkable good looks, enhanced by a gentleness of expressionwhich