Grace Harlowe's Problem
Page 7
CHAPTER VII
HER OWN WAY
The Service Bureau lost no time in preparing and posting notices on thecollege bulletin board, and on those of the various campus houses, tothe effect that they were prepared to take care of any requests forgeneral services that might be made, and the immediate response withwhich their venture met was gratifying in the extreme. Certain of theclub members found their spare time fully occupied in tutoring freshmen,while those who were skilled needlewomen were kept busy mending, makingsilk blouses, kimonos and even simple styles of gowns. Grace hadthoughtfully placed a second sewing machine in the sewing room, and itnever stood idle. There were requests for all sorts of services such ashair dressing, manicuring and countless small labors which affluentstudents were glad to turn over to their needy classmates.
Grace and Louise Sampson spent many hours of time and thought upon thenew venture. It required tact and judgment to select the various girlsfor the various labors. First there was the customer to please. Secondthe fact that each member of the club was anxious to be given theopportunity to earn a little extra money. It was wonderful, too, theamount of hitherto undiscovered ability which came to light at the callfor service, and it was not long before Nettie Weyburn had acquiredconsiderable reputation as a manicurist, while Ethel Hilton gainedlasting laurels as a hair dresser and Mary Reynolds proved herself acompetent tutor. Hilda Moore became a fad among certain girls wholoathed letter writing and willingly paid her for taking their dictationand typing their home letters, while Cecil Ferris stood alone as anexpert mender of silk stockings. Louise Sampson made silk blouses.Several members specialized on kimonos. Two girls were kept constantlybusy on hand-painted post cards, posters and cunning little luncheonfavors. There were also occasional requests for a maid or companion forsome special affair. In fact the high standard of excellence which theService Bureau aimed for, and obtained, caused its popularity toincrease rapidly.
There was but one member of this earnest and busy household to whom theBureau meant nothing. That member was Jean Brent. So far she haddiscovered absolutely nothing she could do to earn money. She had notthe patience to tutor, she loathed the bare idea of performing personalservices for others, and she could not sew a stitch. Nevertheless thefact that she needed money perpetually stared her in the face. True shehad written to Miss Lipton for a loan, and the money had been promptlysent her. She had repaid Grace and Evelyn the small sums they hadadvanced her, but the remainder of the money had dwindled away sorapidly she could hardly have given an account of the way in which ithad been spent.
Now her thoughts turned to her trunks of unused finery. What possibleobjection could Miss Harlowe have to her selling what was rightfullyhers? If she wished to dispose of certain of her own possessions it wassurely no one's affair save her own. Althea Parker, who was Evelyn'sfriend, and the leader of a clique of the richest girls at Overton, hadbeen given an opportunity to see the contents of one of the trunks andhad gone into ecstacies over the dainty hats and frocks Jean haddisplayed for her benefit. "For goodness' sake _where_ did you get suchlovely things?" had been Althea's curious question. "They must have costa lot of money."
"Do you think the girls in your set would be interested in them?" Jeanhad asked, ignoring the other girl's question. "I--I should like to sellthem to any one who wants them. I must have some money. I need it atonce."
"Sell them?" Althea's eye-brows had been elevated in surprise. "Howfunny." Then her natural selfishness coming strongly to the surface, shehad said hastily. "I'd love to have that green chiffon evening gown.It's never been worn, has it?" She decided it was not her business ifMiss Brent chose to sell her clothes. Jean had gravely assured her thateverything in the trunk was perfectly new and fresh, and Althea had,then and there, bargained for almost a hundred dollars' worth of finery,and promised to interest the girls of her set in Jean's possessions.
It was not until after Althea had gone that Jean remembered Grace'sobjection to her proposed sale. She decided that she could not have thesale after all. She would sell Althea the things she wished and tell herthe circumstances. But when she laid the matter before Althea the latterhad said lightly, "Oh, don't let a little thing like that worry you.It's none of Miss Harlowe's business. Besides, I've told my friends, andthey are dying to see your things. Evelyn told me to-day that MissHarlowe was going to New York City on Friday night. You can have thegirls come up here on Saturday afternoon. I'll invite Evelyn to luncheonand keep her away until after six o'clock. She wouldn't like it if sheknew. She's a regular goody-goody this year. What you must do is to getthe things out of the other trunks. Then the girls can see them. I'llcome to-morrow for these things I've selected; so have them wrapped upfor me. If we manage it quietly no one need be the wiser, for the girlswon't breathe a word of it to a soul."
Actuated by her need of money, Jean swallowed her scruples and obeyedAlthea's commands implicitly. Under the pretext of rearranging herwardrobe, she spent her spare time in the trunk room going over hereffects and picking out those articles most likely to appeal to hercustomers, and by Saturday everything was in readiness for the sale.Evelyn, unsuspecting and jubilant over her luncheon engagement withAlthea, who had so far this term held herself rather aloof from her,hurried off to keep her appointment, leaving Jean a clear field.
Locking the door, this strange girl began laying out her wares. Therewere exquisite evening gowns, with satin slippers and silk stockings tomatch, and there were afternoon and morning frocks, walking suits,separate coats, hats, gloves, fans, scarfs, everything in fact todelight the heart of a girl. Jean handled them all mechanically, andwithout interest. It was only when she heard the murmur of girls'voices outside her door that a deep flush mounted even to her smoothforehead. She drew a deep breath and braced herself as for an ordeal,then answered the peremptory knock on the door.
There were little delighted cries from the ten girls who came to thesale as they examined Jean's beautiful wardrobe. Being of medium height,her gowns fitted most of her customers, who exulted over the fact oftheir absolute freshness. They were indeed bargains, and, as each girlhad come prepared to buy to the limit of her ample allowance, the moneyfairly poured into Jean's hands.
For the rest of the afternoon a great trying-on of gowns ensued, and intheir eager appreciation of the pretty things before them they chatteredlike a flock of magpies, arousing not a little curiosity among a numberof the Harlowe House girls who in passing through the hall heard themurmur of voices and subdued laughter. It was after six o'clock when thelast girl, bearing a huge bundle and a suit case, had departed. Jean satdown amidst the wreck of her possessions and sighed wearily. She sprangup the next moment, however, and began feverishly to bundle the variousgarments lying about on the bed and chairs into the open trunk. She hadsold many of her possessions. Those that were left would all go into theone trunk. She must hurry them in before Evelyn returned. She waslikely to come in at almost any moment. Jean had saved a beautiful frockof yellow crepe for Evelyn. She intended to give it to her for aChristmas present. There were shoes, stockings and scarf to match, alongwith a wonderful white evening coat, trimmed with wide bands of whitefur and lined with palest pink brocade. In the short time she had knownEvelyn she had become greatly attached to her, and although unlike indisposition, they had, so far, managed to get along together asroommates.
Jean knew, however, that Evelyn, who was devoted heart and soul to GraceHarlowe, could not fail to disapprove of her high-handed disregard ofGrace's authority. She, therefore, determined to remove all traces ofthe sale and trust to luck and the honor of the girls who had taken partin it. If, later, Evelyn should recognize any of the various articles asJean's, it would do no particular harm. She would, no doubt, be shocked,but still past lapses of good conduct never disturbed one as did thoseof the present. Feeling that, in her case, at least, the end justifiedthe means, Jean bundled the last tell-tale effect into the trunk andbanged down the lid, resolving to meet Evely
n as though nothing hadhappened, and let the future take care of itself.