CHAPTER XXIII
Granny had no opportunity to know what would happen if old Peter Simmonswas late for his golden wedding for he came striding in long before theclock struck twelve on the twenty-second of July. Young Mrs. Simmonswith Mrs. Hiram Bingham and Mrs. Joshua Cabot were assisting the maidsin the pleasant task of arranging the quantities of yellow and whiteflowers which came pouring in.
Rebecca Mary in a pretty pink gingham, lent a hand wherever she could,but she really wasn't of very much help for her thoughts would stray toRichard and to Count Ernach de Befort. She couldn't keep them on theyellow and white flowers, and every time her thoughts strayed the colorin her cheeks grew pinker than the color in her frock. She was, oh, soashamed and mortified when she remembered that she had locked CountErnach de Befort in Major Martingale's office and she told herself thatshe hated Richard Cabot when she remembered that he had found herclinging to the door. She should have been grateful to Richard, but sheinsisted that she wasn't, not a bit. Richard had diagnosed her case asthat of a goose, a dear little goose, but she did not agree with him atall. She told herself that she had been a fool, a perfectly idioticfool. And she told herself, also, that she hoped she would never seeeither Richard or Frederick Befort again for she wanted to forget what aperfectly idiotic fool she had been. She wanted to see young Peter andWallie and Ben. The line of her lips softened when she thought of them.What fun they had had at Riverside! She wondered if they had thought ofher at all or if they had been too busy with the great experiment tothink of any girl. With her thoughts roving from Waloo to Riverside itwas no wonder that Rebecca Mary was not of more assistance and that sheput the white flowers where Judy Bingham had planned to place the yellowflowers.
When old Peter Simmons came striding in like a conqueror, Granny wasjust coming down the stairs, and she looked more like an old saint inher white linen house gown than she did like a woman who had ever runaway from her husband's question.
"HELLO, KITTY!"]
"Where's Mrs. Simmons? Where's my bride?" demanded old Peter Simmonsalmost before he crossed the threshold, and then he saw her on thestairs. "Hello, Kitty!" He met her at the foot of the stairs withoutstretched hands. "You don't look a day older than you did fifty yearsago. And you don't act half as old. Aren't you ashamed of the way you'vebeen running about the country?" He gave her a little shake before hekissed her.
"You need stronger glasses, Peter, dear, if you think I don't look olderthan I did when we were married. Goodness knows I don't feel as old! Ishould say I didn't! Then I was eighteen on the outside and felt atleast seventy on the inside, and now I'm sixty-eight on the outside, andI don't feel more than eighteen on the inside. But I look sixty-eight.Yes, Peter, I do, and you look seventy-one. Perhaps a person can cheatold Time on the inside, but he can't do it on the outside. There aretattle tales here--and here." And her finger touched the wrinkles whichseparated old Peter Simmons' two grizzled eyebrows and the lines whichran from the corners of his nose to the corners of his mouth. "Youdidn't have those when you married me, Peter Simmons!"
Old Peter Simmons laughed as if it were a huge joke to have wrinkles onhis golden wedding day. "I've a lot now that I didn't have when Imarried you, old lady. Well, we've had fifty pretty fair yearstogether, haven't we?" He looked down at her fondly. "Want fifty more?"
Granny never hesitated the fraction of a second. "Mercy, no!" shedeclared quickly. "That would be far too much of a good thing, a regulargilding of a beautiful lily. Just a few more years, Peter, dear, andwe'll be through. We've earned our rest."
"Rest!" roared old Peter. "What does a flighty young thing like you wantof a rest? I heard of your scandalous doings, Mrs. Simmons, running offin the middle of the night, being locked up by the government. I camevery near letting you celebrate your golden wedding by yourself." Hepinched her cheek. "But Dick Cabot told me a man couldn't do that." Heroared again as he remembered the worried face Richard had worn when hetold him that he must, he simply must, be on time for his own goldenwedding; he couldn't leave Granny to go through that alone. "So I cameback."
"You didn't come empty handed?" demanded Granny quickly. "Don't tell meyou came empty handed, Peter Simmons?"
"No, I didn't do that. I didn't dare. I was afraid you would run awayagain, and I need you in this big old house. The only way to keep somewives is to give 'em trinkets." He bent to kiss Granny again before heput his hand in his pocket. "I hadn't any idea what you wanted." Hiseyes twinkled. "You wouldn't tell me----"
Granny watched him eagerly, anxiously. "I did tell you," sheinterrupted. "We've talked it over together a hundred times since oursilver wedding. You know we have. You didn't forget, Peter?" Her voicetold him that she could forgive almost anything but his failure toremember what they had planned first on their silver wedding day.
"Twenty-five years is a long time for a man to remember a little thinglike a golden wedding present," went on old Peter Simmons in a teasingvoice, and he winked at Rebecca Mary over his wife's head. "I haven'tlost it, have I?" He was feeling in all of his pockets. "I wassure--Dick saw that I had---- No, here it is!" And from one of the manypockets he took a long envelop.
Granny gave a little scream which made the decorators draw closer. Theywere all interested in Granny's golden wedding present for Granny hadmade the gift seem so important.
"And here's mine," she said, and she took a long envelop from the pocketof her skirt. It was tied with yellow ribbon while old Peter Simmons'long envelop had a practical rubber band around it. Granny fairlythrust her envelop into her husband's hands and snatched his from him ina way which was quite inexcusable in any one, in even a bride of fiftyyears. "Peter, you never----you did! If this isn't the greatest! You olddarling!" And she laughed until the tears ran down her cheeks.
Old Peter looked at what was in his envelop, and he laughed, too, untilthe tears stood in his eyes. "You didn't trust me, old lady!" He shookhis head at Granny. "You thought I had forgotten!"
"I did!" Granny frankly admitted her thought. "You just the same as toldme you had forgotten when you kept asking that foolish question--'Whatdo you want?' I didn't trust you, and I made up my mind that I shouldn'tbe disappointed even if I had to carry out alone the plan we madetogether so I went down to Judge Graham yesterday and had him fix thingsup. I was so afraid that you'd give me a diamond necklace or a string ofpearls." She sighed happily because he hadn't given her either diamondsor pearls.
He stopped in the middle of another laugh, and looked at her with afunny expression as if he wasn't sure, not at all sure. "H-m," was allhe said.
"H-m," replied Granny. "Why did you pester me so if you remembered?"
Old Peter finished his interrupted laugh and had another one before hepulled her gray hair as he undoubtedly had pulled her brown hair in thedays when she was eighteen on the outside and felt seventy on theinside. "Because I like to tease you, old lady. You go up in the airquicker than any one I ever knew, and I like to see you rise. It's meatand drink to me. You always come down gracefully. I must say that foryou," he added admiringly.
"Not this time," she told him honestly. "I didn't land gracefully thistime, Peter. You got the better of me all around. But whoever would haveimagined that when I ran away from you I should run right into you?"
"It was Fate," old Peter told her emphatically. "And it means that youcan't get away from me, no matter where you run."
Granny kissed his brown wrinkled cheek. "Yes," she said soberly. "Iguess that's what it means. And I'm glad of it!" she went on firmly, "Icould go farther and fare worse even if you are the biggest tease onearth, Peter Simmons!"
Young Mrs. Simmons and Judy Bingham and Sallie Cabot could bear thesuspense no longer. They had heard so much about the golden weddingpresent which Granny wished to receive that they just had to see it.
"What did father give you, Mother Simmons?" Young Mrs. Simmons was animpatient spokeswoman. "What did she give you, Father Simmons?"
"Yes, what did you give her?" Sallie Cabot drew Rebecca Mary in
to thering around Granny and old Peter Simmons.
Joan did not wait to be drawn, she ran in herself for she, too, waseager to see what Granny had wanted so much that she had run away fromold Mr. Simmons so that he would be sure to give it to her. It was afunny way to obtain a present. Joan did not understand the method.Perhaps she would if she could see the gift.
Granny was laughing so that she could scarcely tell them what it was. Sowas old Peter Simmons.
"You see, dears," began Granny, breaking a laugh in two and wiping thetears from her eyes, "we felt older twenty-five years ago than we donow, didn't we, Peter? And we wanted to do something for the world thathad been so good to us. We had had twenty-five as perfect years as a manand woman could have together, and we wanted to show that we appreciatedthem. Peter thought of a trade school, and I thought of a children'shome because women naturally think of children, you know, and then wehad an inspiration. I don't remember which thought of it first, do you,Peter?"
"I expect you did," old Peter suggested handsomely.
"Well, perhaps I did, but it doesn't matter, for when two people livetogether for twenty-five years they grow to think the same things. Yes,they do, Rebecca Mary, as you'll see some day. I often catch myselfthinking of contracts. But this time we thought of a home for oldcouples. We were so sorry for the old couples who couldn't grow oldertogether that we decided that we'd give them a home when we had beenmarried fifty years and were an old couple ourselves. A home forfriendless old couples. We shouldn't wait until we were dead and someone would look after it for us. We'd do it ourselves and get to knowsome of the old couples. That was why we bought Seven Pines, wasn't it,Peter? And that was why I wanted to take you to Seven Pines, RebeccaMary. I wanted to go there to stay for a few days before my goldenwedding. We've talked and planned a lot about it, and I was a silly oldfool to let Peter tease me with his question. I should have known you,Peter, but perhaps it was because it meant so much to me that I wasfrightened to death for fear you had forgotten or changed your mind. Butyou hadn't for---- See!" She held up the envelop old Peter had givenher, and her face was radiant as she told them what was in it. "Here isthe deed all ready for me to sign for the Katherine Simmons Home for OldCouples."
"And here," old Peter Simmons held up the envelop which had been givento him, "here is the deed for the Peter Simmons Home for Old Couples allready for me to sign. We'll have to compromise on the name, Kitty, andmerge it into the Simmons Home."
"Is that all the present is?" Joan had never been more disappointed inher life. She could not join in the chorus of admiring approval. But shecould understand why Granny cried. She would want to cry if old PeterSimmons gave her an old home for old people. There was only one thingwhich would make it right to Joan, and she pulled Granny's sleeve. "Willyou give the old couples young hearts, Granny?" she whispered eagerly.
"We'll try," Granny whispered back. "That's exactly what we are going totry to do, Joan, to make tired old hearts younger. The world would be somuch happier if there were not so many old hearts in it. You keep yoursyoung, Joan, as long as you live," she advised quite confidentially."Bless my soul!" she exclaimed as she heard a machine puff up thedriveway. "Is that young Peter with our jailor? I've been so taken upwith our golden wedding presents, Peter, dear, that I never asked howyour experiment worked. Was it a success?"
"It was a big success." Old Peter Simmons looked as if he was more thansatisfied with the way the great experiment had worked. "We've given itevery sort of try out and it can't go wrong. If we hadn't made sure ofthat I couldn't have come to your golden wedding, Kitty. I should havehad to send my regrets." He winked at Rebecca Mary and tickled Joanunder her chin. "Some day, Miss Wyman," he told her more soberly, "youwill be proud to remember that you were a prisoner at Riverside whenBefort's big idea was worked out."
"What will it do?" Joan wanted to know at once. "What can you do with myfather's idea, Mr. Simmons?"
Mr. Simmons tickled her under her chin again. "That would be telling,"he whispered with a great show of secrecy. "And then you wouldn't becurious any longer. There is only one way to keep people interested andthat is to keep them guessing," he went on with a twinkle. "If you knewwhat to-morrow was going to bring you wouldn't care whether you had ato-morrow or not. You'd never want to go to bed to-night."
"I'm not going to bed to-night, anyway not until the old people do.Granny said I needn't, that I could stay up until the last minute of thegolden wedding!" Joan drew herself up with proud importance. "But I'lltell my father what you said about the way to keep people interested,and I'll tell Miss Wyman, too," as if she thought old Peter Simmonswanted his recipe circulated as rapidly as possible.
Old Peter Simmons chuckled. "You may tell your father if you want to,but I rather think that Miss Wyman knows. The knowledge is born in somegirls. That's what makes them such a puzzle to us men. How about it,Miss Wyman?" he said teasingly to Rebecca Mary. "You don't need to betold, do you?"
CHAPTER XXIV
Granny's golden wedding celebration was a very informal affair althoughmany important people came to offer their congratulations and to askGranny where on earth she had been and to tell her how much she had beenmissed. Although she had been married at noon Granny had chosen to haveher party in the evening, and July the twenty-second offered her awonderful evening, cool and pleasant as a July evening can beoccasionally.
Old Peter Simmons was continually leaving his place beside Granny todraw Rebecca Mary into a corner and ask her if she thought that Grannyreally was satisfied to have a home for old couples for her goldenwedding present or if Rebecca Mary thought Granny would rather have hadsomething more personal.
"I always have given her something personal," he explained, "ever sincethe Christmas when she gave me a carpet sweeper. For years before thatI'd showered her with rugs and library tables and a brass bed and otherhousehold furniture. She said then she guessed the house was mine asmuch as it was hers and it was only fair for me to take my share of thestuff. And she was right. But that made me suspicious ever after. Andnow--of course, she planned this aged home herself, but women do changeand you heard what she said. Do you think she would rather have had astring of pearls?" Granny had given old Peter Simmons something to thinkof when she had said she was so afraid that he was going to give herpearls or diamonds for a golden wedding present.
"What is that about pearls?" And there was Granny herself. She hadfollowed them to ask old Peter Simmons why he couldn't stand beside herand say thank you when people told him how lucky he had been to have hadher to live with for fifty years instead of rushing off into cornerswith Rebecca Mary. "Indeed, I do want that Simmons Home for OldCouples," she declared when old Peter Simmons had stammered "Why." "Ishould have been broken-hearted if you had brought me anything but thatdeed. Pearls!" she sniffed scornfully. "What would I do with a string ofpearls? I should only put it away for young Peter's wife."
"But young Peter hasn't any wife!" objected Joan, who, of course, was atRebecca Mary's elbow.
"He will have some day," laughed young Peter, who had been drawn to thelittle group in the corner. "Won't he, Rebecca Mary?"
Rebecca Mary was furious because she colored when Peter asked her if hewouldn't have a wife some day, and she was more furious when shestammered in her answer. Why should she always be so horriblyself-conscious? If she had known how charming she was as she colored andstammered she wouldn't have been so angry.
"Most men have," was all she said.
"Not all men," insisted Joan. "There's my father. He hasn't any wife."
"He has had one, and one is enough for any man," Peter told her.
"I don't think it's enough for my father. He always wants two ofeverything, roast beef and ice cream and handkerchiefs and pencilsand--and everything," she declared, and Peter pulled her hair and askedher how she dared to compare a wife to roast beef before he went away todance with Doris.
Rebecca Mary looked across the room at the man who wanted two ofeverything. He was standing by the windo
w, and he wore the absent-mindeddetached expression which Rebecca Mary and Granny had seen him wear atRiverside. Only a part of Frederick Befort was at that moment atGranny's golden wedding party. But as Rebecca Mary looked at him heraised his head and their eyes met. Rebecca Mary blushed again. Oh,dear, wouldn't she ever overcome that silly conscious habit? But shejust had to blush as she remembered that she had thought he was a spy.The absent-minded expression slipped from Frederick Befort's face as allof him came to the party, and he started toward Rebecca Mary. She turnedaway quickly. She couldn't speak to him. She was glad to have SallieCabot stop beside her, although Sallie Cabot's words were far fromquieting.
"What have you done to my Cousin Richard?" Sallie demanded with a laugh."I used to say he was like a piano, grand, upright and square, butlately he has quite a ukelele look. What have you done to him?"
Rebecca Mary blushed a third time as she involuntarily looked at Richardas he stood talking to two most important men. She couldn't detect anyukelele look, she thought indignantly. He looked as he had alwayslooked, perfectly splendid, to her. What did Mrs. Cabot mean? But Mrs.Cabot drifted away, she did not wait to explain, and Rebecca Mary wasleft alone with her question.
She felt rather forlorn and neglected for it was a long time since shehad been left alone. There had been a young man to ask her to do thisand another young man to ask her to do that. But now young Peter wasdancing with Doris and Wallie was talking to Martha Farnsworth andGeorge was in a corner with Helen Lester. So they had been devoted toher at Riverside just because she was the only girl there. She had knownthat all the time, she told herself, but it did hurt a bit to have itproved so conclusively. But there was one thing she did have, shethought stoutly, and that was the memory of the good time she had had atRiverside. That couldn't be taken from her--ever! And as if the memoryof a good time had soothed the little feeling of neglect which had hurther she slipped out of her corner and made herself very pleasant to thepeople she found neglected in other corners. Many eyes followed RebeccaMary as she moved here and there, for she wore a new crisp organdiefrock with pink ribbons exactly where pink ribbons should be and tinyblue forget-me-nots tied in with the pink rosebuds. It was a verycharming frock and Rebecca Mary was very charming in it. Young Petertold her so as soon as his dance with Doris was finished.
"Rebecca Mary," he said sternly, "I hope you are as good as you are goodlooking."
Rebecca Mary laughed and then she sighed. "I'm not," she said with alittle quiver of her lower lip. "At least, I'm not good, Peter. I'menvious and jealous and all sorts of horrid things."
"Glad of it." Peter did not seem at all shocked to hear how horrid shewas behind her good looks. "If you weren't a few of those things youwouldn't be down here with me. You would be up in the blue sky tuningyour harp. I like a girl, especially a pretty girl, to be human."
"I guess I'm awfully human." And Rebecca Mary sighed again.
"Who is calling you names?" And Wallie and George stopped to ask herwhat she had meant by running away from Riverside and leaving themwithout a girl to play with. They never could tell her how they hadmissed her--every hour.
"Pooh," laughed Rebecca Mary. "You were too busy with your greatexperiment to miss me for a minute."
They pretended to be cut to the quick by her doubt of their veracity,and Rebecca Mary was once again the center of a merry chattering group.It was such fun to laugh and joke with them again. She hoped they hadmissed her. And then she caught her breath with a frightened little gaspfor Frederick Befort was coming toward her again, and this time he didnot look as if he could be evaded.
"May I speak to you?" he asked Rebecca Mary with a serious directnesswhich made Peter and Wallie and George murmur a few words and driftaway, although Rebecca Mary did try to clutch Peter's sleeve.
Rebecca Mary did not wish to be alone with Frederick Befort for aminute. She was so afraid that he knew that she had locked him in MajorMartingale's office at Riverside, that she had taken him for a spy. Shehad avoided him all day, and she would have avoided him now if it hadbeen possible. She was very uncomfortable as she went with him to theporch and dropped down among the pillows of the swinging seat. Her heartwas beating so loud that she was sure he would hear it.
Frederick Befort stood in front of her and looked down at her. He didnot say a word. Rebecca Mary shivered among the cushions and tried tosay something.
"It is a lovely golden wedding, isn't it?" she said, and she could haveslapped herself when she heard her voice shake.
Frederick Befort drew himself up, clicking his heels together in the waywhich had roused Rebecca Mary's suspicions, and looked straight into hereyes.
"Miss Wyman," he said very formally, "I beg that you will honor me bybecoming my wife?"
"Wh-a-t?" Rebecca Mary slipped from among the cushions and stood staringat him with wide-open-startled eyes. She had expected him to berate herfor taking him for a spy and he had asked her to marry him. She hadnever been more astonished in her life. She dropped weakly back amongthe cushions.
"You touched my heart at once by your kindness to my little Joan,"Frederick Befort went on swiftly, and his voice was like a caress as hetook her hand and raised it to his lips. "Whenever I think of Mrs.Muldoon I am in such a rage that it is well that she is not near me.What would have happened to my little girl if it had not been for yourheavenly sweetness and generosity!" He shivered as he thought of whatmight have happened to Joan.
Rebecca Mary shivered, too. "Oh," she gasped faintly. She couldn't sayanother word. She could only stare at him with big unbelieving eyes.
"And always you were kind to every one," Frederick Befort went on inthat soft low voice which was so like a caress. "Kindness means much tome now. I have seen so much--unkindness. To-morrow I go to Washingtonwith Mr. Simmons and Major Martingale to make a report on our work atRiverside, and then I must go home. I did not think I ever would goback. I thought I was through with empires and kings. I wanted to livewhere a man could be himself and not just one of a pattern. But I have aduty over there, I must go back. May I come for you first, and will yougo with me and Joan to my poor changed Luxembourg? Will you?" His graveeyes searched her face.
Rebecca Mary kept her eyes on the fingers which fumbled so nervouslywith an end of pink ribbon. It couldn't be true that this man, who hadonce been to her like the prince in the fairy tale, really had asked herto marry him. She must be dreaming. Countess Ernach de Befort! Thatdidn't sound a bit like Rebecca Mary Wyman. She couldn't make it soundlike Rebecca Mary Wyman. And then she remembered that he never once hadsaid a word which is usually mentioned in a proposal of marriage. With arelief so great that it almost choked her, Rebecca Mary understood thatFrederick Befort had asked her to marry him because she had been, as hehad said, heavenly kind to Joan, and not because he loved her so thathe could not live without her. Rebecca Mary believed firmly that love isthe only reason for marriage. And she did not love Count Ernach deBefort. There had been a time when he had fascinated her, when she haddreamed that perhaps he might some day ask her to marry him, but thattime was past, and anyway fascination was not love. She tried to thinkhow she could tell him that it wasn't without hurting his--his pride,for she felt that she had done him an almost irreparable injury inquestioning his honor. Oh, she never could be grateful enough to RichardCabot if he hadn't told Frederick Befort that she had questioned hishonor. Perhaps it was the thought of Richard which gave her courage toraise her eyes to the grave face above her.
"I'm--I'm so sorry," she stammered, and she put her little hand on hissleeve. "But you don't really want me. It's just for Joan. You don'tcare for me and--I don't care for you. You know you don't really care?"
Frederick Befort drew his heels together again and bowed ceremoniouslyover the small white hand he had taken from his sleeve. "I, too, amsorry," and his voice sounded sorry, so sorry that just for a secondRebecca Mary thought she might have been mistaken. "But if I cannothave your love I hope always to have your friendship?"
"You shall!" she
promised quickly, glad that she could give himsomething that he wanted. "You shall always have my friendship--you andJoan."
He raised her hand to his lips again and went away, taking with him theonly chance Rebecca Mary ever would have to be a countess.
Richard passed him as he came looking for Rebecca Mary, and he stoppedto regard him with suspicion. "What did he want? Did he ask you to marryhim, Rebecca Mary?" he demanded so anxiously that Rebecca Mary could notresent the question.
"He was just telling me how grateful he was for what I did for Joan."Rebecca Mary quite truthfully translated what Frederick Befort had saidto her, and which she had been clever enough to understand. "I couldn'tmarry him," she went on quickly. "We belong to different countriesand--and everything. Once I thought I should like to," she confessedwith an adorable blush. "It would have been so romantic to be acountess. He has taught me a lot about--about Luxembourg and things, buthe doesn't want me to marry him. He is just grateful for what I did forJoan, you know."
"I LOVE YOU, REBECCA MARY"]
The jealousy died out of Richard's face and in its place was an eagerexpectation. "Well, I love you, Rebecca Mary," he said quickly. "I carefor you a lot. Could you--do you care for me?" He took her hands andlifted her to her feet so that she stood before him.
And Rebecca Mary confessed that she did, that she cared a lot for him,she had ever since that day at the bank.
"You were always so--so good to me," she murmured as if she just had tohave a reason.
"Good to you!" Richard choked as he took her in his arms and kissed her."Good to you, sweetheart! How could a man be anything but good to you? Iwant to be good to you all the rest of your life!"
Through the open window they could hear Granny's voice; evidently shewas giving a toast for she said--"To all those who keep their heartsyoung for they shall live forever!"
"That means me," Joan said shrilly. "For I have a young heart, and I'mgoing to keep it young forever."
"That means us, too," Richard whispered, his lips very close to RebeccaMary's pink ear. "Our hearts are young, aren't they?"
"Yes." Rebecca Mary spoke dreamily, for she felt as if she must be ina dream world. She couldn't be wide awake and be in Richard's arms. "Aslong as we have love in our hearts they can't grow old."
"I'm going to live forever!" Joan danced out to tell them her news."Granny said I should. Are you, dear Miss Wyman? Do you like the goldenwedding? I'm disappointed in it," she confessed loudly. "It's just likeany grown-up party. I don't see exactly why Granny wanted it so much."
"Oh, don't you, miss?" And there was Granny. "It wasn't like anygrown-up party to me, not a bit! You just have one wedding, Joan, andthen you'll understand why I've wanted fifty. You understand, don't you,Rebecca Mary?" She put her arm around Rebecca Mary and hugged her afterher keen eyes had searched Rebecca Mary's tell-tale rosy face.
"But Miss Wyman hasn't had one wedding." Joan didn't see why RebeccaMary should understand so much more than she could.
"No, but Miss Wyman is engaged," Granny told her as if it were a greatsecret.
But every one heard her, and every one was astonished. No one was moreastonished than Rebecca Mary unless perhaps it was Richard.
"Rebecca Mary engaged!" Young Peter couldn't believe it. "That wasn'tfair, Rebecca Mary, not to tell a fellow."
"What is she engaged to?" asked Joan jealously, although she didn'tunderstand what being engaged meant.
Granny told them that, too, before Rebecca Mary could open her mouth.
"To a four-leaf clover. Aren't you, Rebecca Mary?" And then she toldthem what had happened to Rebecca Mary the afternoon when she went tothe Waloo for tea, that some one had thrust a four-leaf clover intoRebecca Mary's hand. Consequently by all the laws of romance RebeccaMary was engaged to that some one.
"But who was it?" Joan expressed the curiosity which was on every face.
"I wish I knew!" Rebecca Mary had quite forgotten the mystery of thefour-leaf clover in the greater mystery of Richard's love.
"Don't you know?" Richard asked in a queer sort of a voice. Was hejealous?
She shook her head. No, she didn't know. She never had known where thatclover leaf had come from but it had brought her luck. Yes, it had! Andshe would keep it to her dying day. But she should like to know who hadgiven it to her.
Richard laughed. "Granny," he said, "come and confess."
"Granny!" What had Granny to do with it? A gray-haired old Granny wasnot according to the laws of romance.
Granny realized that, and she made her explanation apologetically as ifshe understood that it might not be wholly satisfactory.
"You were such a dear scowling thunder cloud that afternoon that I wassorry for you. It seemed such a wicked waste of a perfectly good girlthat I simply had to offer a little first aid. Richard and I talked youover"----
"Richard!" Rebecca Mary remembered very vividly how curiously Richardhad regarded her over his sandwich.
"And we decided, I did at least, that you needed a little mystery inyour life. You looked as if you had been fed entirely too long on sternreality. It was easy enough to diagnose your case, but we didn't knowhow to get the prescription to you until we were all jammed together atthe door. I had the clover leaves in my corsage bouquet, old PeterSimmons had sent them to me, and I made Richard push one into your hand.He didn't want to do it. He said it was silly and impertinent." Oh, thescorn in Granny's soft voice. "But I have a very persuasive way with meat times," she added as Rebecca Mary stared at her, her mouth and eyesall wide open. "I told him if he didn't do it I should, and I'd tell youthat he did it."
Rebecca Mary swung around to look at Richard. "Then you--you----" butwords failed her. It was so altogether as she wanted it to be.
"Yes, I did," admitted Richard with some shame, for there are those whomight think it unseemly for a bank vice-president to slip four-leafclovers into the hands of strange scowling girls. "Granny has, as shesaid, a very persuasive way with her. I never before did such a thing,"he explained unnecessarily. "And I shouldn't have done it then if Ihadn't been so sure that she would make her threat good." His voicesounded as if even yet he could not understand how he had let Grannycoerce him. "I'll never do it again," he promised with a rare twinkle inhis eyes. "But I did do it that afternoon. Are you sorry?"
Rebecca Mary looked from him to Granny and then back at him again. Butbefore she could find breath with which to tell him that she wasanything but sorry Granny said slowly, as if she were still visualizingthe Waloo tea room:
"You were with such a dear looking woman that afternoon."
"Yes," dimpled Rebecca Mary, all flushed and sparkling at theastonishing news she had heard. "My insurance agent. She was trying topersuade me to take out a policy," she giggled.
"And did you?" Joan always wanted to know whether one did or didn't.
"Did I!" Rebecca Mary drew a deep breath as she thought of the policyshe had taken out and the long record of payments she had made on it. "Ishould say I did!"
"That's all very interesting," Richard broke in after she had told thema little more about her memory insurance and they had laughed andtrooped away again, "but it interrupted a question that I wish to askyou. What I want to know is, are you going to marry me?" He put thequestion in his best vice-presidential manner, although there was atwinkle in the far corner of his eyes.
Rebecca Mary laughed and twinkled, too. The old negative phrase nevercame near her lips. Her cheeks were as pink as pink and her eyes werelike stars as Richard's arm slipped around her shoulders and drew hercloser.
"Will you marry me, sweetheart?" he asked her again, very gently thistime, not a bit like a bank vice-president.
Rebecca Mary caught her breath. She put up her hand and clutched theedge of his coat with trembling fingers as if to keep him near her untilshe could answer him. Her eyes crinkled and the corners of her mouthtilted up. My! but she was glad that Cousin Susan had told her what sheshould say.
"Y-yes," she stuttered, half laughing
, half crying. "Y-yes, thank you!"
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