truth ofher prediction that she would be equally happy if she danced little ormuch.
Mr Gresham was her most frequent partner; but from their previousacquaintance this seemed only natural. And he in no way obtruded thefact. He had no desire to make any gossip about himself or his affairsprematurely, and till he had entirely and completely decided that inMiss Raynsworth he had at last found his ideal, he would have consideredany behaviour calling for such comment decidedly ill-judged and in badtaste.
Nevertheless he managed to appropriate to himself a good deal of thegirl's time and attention. And the result of the ball at the Hotel ---,at which Philippa's bearing and the admiration she excited fulfilled hisbest anticipations, was such as to make him all but own to himself thatin Miss Raynsworth he had found something very nearly approachingperfection.
The evening did not, however, pass, as has been said, without a sting ofannoyance to poor Philippa. Among the maids deputed to attend to theladies in the cloak-room was Mrs Worthing's "Bailey."
On arrival, the room being crowded and the attendants busy, Philippa didnot notice the maid's presence. But later in the evening a slightaccident happened to her dress, a frill of which was torn. AlineWorthing was standing near her at the time, and good-naturedly offeredto go with her to have it mended, and without the least misgiving, MissRaynsworth thanked her, and went with her to the cloak-room, nowcomparatively deserted.
"Bailey must be here; our maid, I mean," said Aline, glancing round.She was a little near-sighted. And at the name, Philippa's heart for amoment seemed to stand still.
"Oh, pray don't trouble to find your maid," she said, eagerly. "Any onecan do what is required; a few pins indeed are all that is necessary."
But Miss Worthing, in the sort of enthusiasm she had conceived for hernew friend, was not satisfied with half measures.
"Bailey! Bailey!" she called, as she caught sight of her attendant atthe other end of the room; "come quick. I want you to mend MissRaynsworth's skirt!"
The woman hastened towards the two girls; but as she drew near them acurious change came over her face, which had hitherto expressed onlygood-natured readiness to attend to her young lady's summons. It grewhard and almost repellent in expression, with a look in the eyes ofsomething so nearly approaching insolence that it made Philippa shudder.Yet Bailey was not a bad or vindictive woman. She was simply one ofher class; perhaps specially prone, as Mrs Shepton had warned Philippa,to jealousy of any one younger or better-looking than herself, and, as anot unnatural result of this, to suspicion.
She smiled slightly as she addressed Aline, but the smile was not apleasant one, and she seemed to avoid looking at Philippa, as if shewished to obtrude her ignoring of her.
"Yes, ma'am," she said; "what is it I can do? Have you torn yourdress?" and she glanced at Aline's draperies with a kind of affectationof concern.
"No, no," said the girl, impatiently, "didn't you hear what I said? Itis Miss Raynsworth's dress that is torn, not mine. Get a needle andthread and mend it as quickly as you can."
"Miss--Miss _Ray's_ dress?" said Bailey, slowly; "no, Miss Aline, I didnot understand that Miss Ray was a friend of yours."
And now, almost as if indifferent whether Miss Worthing noticed herextraordinary manner or not, she stared hard at Philippa, with the samehalf-impertinent, half-contemptuous smile on her face.
Philippa grew white; Aline grew red with shame.
"Bailey," she said, indignantly, "what is the matter with you? Are yougoing out of your mind? Or have you been asleep and don't know what youare saying?"
The maid in her turn reddened a little. She was evidently notaccustomed to be spoken to so sharply, and it mortified her.
"I did not understand," she muttered, confusedly, and she drew a thimbleand needle-case out of her pocket. "If you will show me--" she began.
But Philippa by this time had quite recovered her self-possession.Every nerve in her body tingled with proud indignation. Whether wiselyor unwisely, she felt that there was but one course possible for her topursue.
"She shall not dare to think that I am afraid of her," she said toherself.
And she fixed her eyes undauntedly on Bailey with a gesture of repellingher now offered services.
"No," she said, icily. "I am much obliged to you, Miss Worthing, but Ishould much prefer one of the other maids mending my skirt," and sheturned away and walked slowly across the room to where one of the Frenchchamber-maids was standing, looking rather astonished at the littlescene, though she had no idea what it was all about. And just for amoment Bailey felt staggered. _Could_ she have made a mistake as to theidentity of this young lady and Phillis Ray, the maid, whom she had metand disliked at Wyverston? The very idea frightened her; what _would_her mistress say to her if "Miss Aline" told of her rudeness? Bailey'simagination was well stocked with sensational fiction; she had read ofextraordinary likenesses, leading to still more extraordinary mistakes.But no, a moment's reflection satisfied her again. There were othercoincidences--here, at Cannes, this girl was figuring as MissRaynsworth, sister to Mrs Marmaduke Headfort (for Bailey knew all thesmall talk and gossip of the place already); there, at Wyverston, shehad been the same lady's _maid_. There was some mystery, some secret,and Bailey's sensational novels came in handy again, as suggestingreasons and clues by the score. She had _not_ made a mistake.
All this passed through her mind so rapidly that she was quite preparedwith an answer when Aline, waiting an instant till Philippa was out ofearshot, turned upon her again hotly.
"Bailey," she said, "I am utterly ashamed of you. I do not know whathas come over you, but I warn you I shall tell mamma all about it."
Somewhat to her surprise, Bailey did not seem impressed by what shesaid. Aline was in general very mild and gentle, and Bailey was an oldservant. Miss Worthing would not have dared to speak so strongly toher, had she not herself for once been really angry, and she was halfprepared for something rude in reply. But the maid answered calmlyenough:
"Of course, miss, you must tell your mamma what you like. But I shallhave something to tell her too--something that will surprise her morethan anything you tell her of _my_ behaviour. And I take blame tomyself that I have not spoken out before; so particular as your mammahas always been about you."
"What do you mean, Bailey? Say what you mean, or I will go straightinto the ball-room and bring mamma here," said Aline, beginning to bevaguely frightened as well as angry.
"As you like, Miss Aline," returned the maid, curtly; "but--"
Aline, glancing round, saw at this moment Philippa, her skirt repaired,coming slowly towards her. Something in Miss Raynsworth's cool andstately bearing at once reassured the younger girl, and afraid of the_possibility_ of repeated insolence on Bailey's part, she hurriedforward to meet her companion.
"Thank you so much for waiting for me," said Philippa. "I hope you willnot have missed all this dance."
"Oh, no; I don't mind," said Aline, confusedly. "Miss Raynsworth," shewent on, "I don't know what to say. I don't know how to apologise toyou for Bailey's insolence. I don't know what has come over her, unlessshe is going out of her mind. She was never like that before. I shalltell mamma about it at once."
"Oh, pray don't," said Philippa. "Do not spoil the evening by anythingdisagreeable. Wait till you are in your own rooms afterwards. It isreally making too much of it to say anything to Mrs Worthing at all,but still I can understand your feeling about it."
It would be worse than useless she well knew to persuade the girl not totell her mother, even could she herself have condescended to do so. Forshe now felt little doubt that Bailey would communicate her suspicions,whatever form they had taken, to her mistress; and any check fromherself as to Aline's account of the strange occurrence would only lowerher position.
"I can't understand _her_" repeated Aline. "She really looked at you asif she hated you, Miss Raynsworth. Can she be confusing you with someone else? Now I come to think of it, she spoke of you as `Miss
Ray,'did she not?"
"Yes," said Philippa, "I think she did. I daresay she did take me for--for another person."
"There _are_ very strange likenesses sometimes between people who havenothing to do with each other," said Aline, looking perplexed.
But by this time they were entering the ball-room, and Mr Gresham, whohad been waiting about the door for Philippa's return, came forward toclaim a dance, and at the same time Captain Bertram asked Aline to makeup a Lancers set with him. So the two girls were separated. Nor didthey meet again, except for a hurried good-bye at the end.
Poor Philippa, she would gladly have
Philippa Page 35
