The Camp Fire Girls in Glorious France

by Margaret Vandercook

  CHAPTER XVII An Unexpected Intrusion

  One morning about two weeks later Bettina Graham entered her Camp Fireguardian's small private sitting-room bearing a note in her hand.

  The sitting-room adjoined Mrs. Burton's bed-room and was at the front ofthe house on the second floor. Indeed the two rooms were the choice onesof the entire house so that Mrs. Burton had objected to Miss Patricia'snot occupying them herself. The house was hers and she was also theoldest member of the household.

  However, Miss Patricia had at once protested that not only were the roomsnot particularly desirable, but that they were too cluttered withartistic paraphernalia for her to endure living in them. She had thenestablished herself in a severely plain bed-room on the third floor,after having a great part of the furniture which the room had previouslycontained removed to other bed-rooms.

  Knowing that Miss Patricia would probably not have been comfortable amidher present surroundings, afterwards Mrs. Burton allowed herself theprivilege of thoroughly enjoying them.

  The two rooms evidently had been designed for a woman of luxurious andexquisite taste. The walls of both rooms were of a delicate robin's eggblue with panelings of French oak. The furniture was of French oakupholstered in the same shade of blue tapestry and the curtains were ofheavy, blue satin damask.

  Mrs. Burton was curled up in a large blue chair, writing a letter upon aportfolio which she balanced shakily in her lap.

  "I was afraid you might be Aunt Patricia, Bettina. She would undoubtedlyreproach me for writing a letter on my lap instead of upon that ornatedesk in the corner so plainly intended for the purpose. Don't tell on me,I know it is reprehensible, but I have always hated doing the rightthings in the right places at the right time.

  "My husband is unhappily aware of this trait of my character. I amwriting him now. He joins us in a short time and I expect to go toEngland with him on a government mission before we sail for home. We maybe in England for months. I wonder if you Camp Fire girls would like tospend the summer with us? Aunt Patricia will soon return to thedevastated French country to continue the reclamation work there. Herwhole thought is absorbed in it, and I believe Vera Lagerloff and AliceAshton wish to return with her.

  "But pardon my talking at such length, Bettina. Was there not somethingyou specially wished to say to me?"

  Mrs. Burton straightened herself in her chair trying to appear in aslightly more dignified attitude, and quite unconscious of the small spotof ink which decorated one of her cheeks.

  She was also wearing a faded blue cotton morning dress, which she hadformerly worn at the farmhouse on the Aisne, which was entirely unsuitedto her present surroundings. But she had dressed in a hurry and hadforgotten to change her costume.

  Bettina smiled.

  "It is all right, Tante, I won't tell, only let me take care of yourportfolio while I talk to you and please don't allow Aunt Patricia to seeyou in your present toilet. She is too funny! She used to be so extremelysevere in the past over any expression of frivolity, either on your partor on ours. Now she seems to wish us to keep perfectly dressed all thetime, so as to be in harmony with this lovely house I suppose! Besides,you know she insists that since your maid, Marie, left you finally tomarry Mr. Jefferson Simpson, after having refused to consider him intheir early acquaintance in the west, that you are unable properly totake care of yourself. This is an unfortunate reputation for a Camp Fireguardian! I won't keep you a moment; I only want you to read this notefrom Mr. Hale. He has written to say that he has written for permissionfor us to visit the Queen's little secret garden a second time and thistime will you please come with us? You will, won't you, Tante? I want tosee the garden again and I would not wish to go alone with Mr. Hale andwould rather have you with us than one of the Camp Fire girls."

  Before replying Mrs. Burton looked at Bettina searchingly. Bettina wasolder than the other Camp Fire girls, not so much in years as in certainphases of character, although in others she was peculiarly candid andchildlike.

  Ever since their original meeting David Hale had been a frequent guest atMiss Patricia's home and although on extremely friendly terms with theentire group of American Camp Fire girls, it had seemed to Mrs. Burtonthat he appeared to have an especial liking for Bettina. Yet Mrs. Burtoncould not be sure; of late she had observed him talking to MargueriteArnot as frequently as to Bettina.

  At present there was nothing in Bettina's expression in the least selfconscious or confused.

  "Why don't you answer, Tante? Would you rather not join us? I think itwill be worth while. The little garden has haunted me, even after seeingit on a winter day, with the promise of what it might be in thespringtime!"

  Mrs. Burton gave a tiny, impatient shake to her shoulders.

  "Why of course, Bettina, I want to go with you; haven't I answered you? Iam really anxious to see the little secret garden and would have beenenvious of you had you gone without me. Put down Mr. Hale's note, I willread it later. I must have Captain Burton's letter ready for the nextpost."

  And Bettina departed, having placed her letter, which she had taken outof its envelope and left half open upon Mrs. Burton's table in the centerof her sitting-room.

  After she had gone, Mrs. Burton finished her own letter, then dressed andwent downstairs for a walk. She did not regard the reading of Bettina'snote from Mr. Hale as of immediate importance, as she already knew itscontents.

  Five minutes after Mrs. Burton's departure, some one else knocked at herdoor. When there was no reply from the inside it was slowly opened. Thiswas not an intrusion; the young French girl, Julie Dupont, had been toldto leave Mrs. Burton's gown in her room, even if she were not there toreceive it.

  These instructions had been given Julie by Marguerite Arnot, who had beenaltering a costume which Mrs. Burton had said she wished to wear later inthe day.

  Therefore, there was no objection to Julie's entering the sitting-room,or having entered it, to stand quietly in the room and study it indetail.

  By a chance the little French girl, who was the latest addition to MissPatricia Lord's household, had never been in Mrs. Burton's room before.Now its luxury and typically French appearance, fascinated her. It wastrue that Julie had seen such rooms before; she had not been apprenticedto a fashionable dressmaker without having been sent on errands which hadtaken her to French homes of nearly the same character as Miss Lord'spresent temporary one. But Julie was too intensely French herself to findtheir fascination grow less.

  At present she appreciated details in the furnishings of the sitting-roomas no one of the American Camp Fire girls could have appreciated them. AsJulie's eyes swept from the beautifully shaded blue walls to examine eachseparate article of furniture, her eyes rested upon the note to Bettinain David Hale's handwriting. She recognized the writing. He had recentlyloaned Marguerite Arnot books in which he had written his own name and afew lines as well.

  Julie was able to read only a very little English which she had acquiredat school.

  Nevertheless, she at once picked up the letter, with an expression ofeager curiosity.

  To her surprise she first discovered Bettina's name. She had notanticipated this, presuming the note had been written to Mrs. Burton.Instantly she became more interested.

  The note was also written in French and not English.

  Julie devoted no time to puzzling over this fact. However, theexplanation was simple, Bettina and David Hale had been studying Frenchtogether and therefore David had written in French.

  At first Julie read the note idly, but with no compunction, and withouteven glancing toward Mrs. Burton's door as if she were fearful ofinterruption. She really scarcely appeared to appreciate the fact thatone did not read a note addressed to another person without that person'sconsent. Later she grew more absorbed.

  But to understand the young girl's apparent lack of principle, one needsto know something of her history and also of the state of mind which herstay in Miss Patricia Lord's househol
d had engendered.

  Julie's mother had died when she was a baby; after a careless fashion shehad been brought up by her father, who was a Bohemian and ne'er-do-well.Never for any length of time had her father worked long at any task, orJulie been sure of sufficient food. But always she had shared herfather's confidence and a certain shallow affection and had nevercriticized or reproached him. Indeed, he was the only person for whom shehad ever cared until after her father's death when she had first learnedto know Marguerite Arnot.

  When war was declared, Robert Dupont, Julie's father, had gone off tofight and had been killed in so gallant a manner at Verdun, that one mustforgive his weaknesses.

  Yet can one ever escape the consequence of weakness? Julie had been leftbehind, without training, without a natural sense of honor, to repeat hismistakes, unless some one would help her to a new ideal of life. So farthere had been no such influence for good in the young French girl'slife.

  Marguerite Arnot, Julie cared for devotedly, nevertheless, although thismay not have appeared upon the surface, of the two girls Julie Dupontpossessed the stronger nature.

  Meeting by chance in the tiny hall between their two apartments in theold house in Paris, it was Julie who had first made the advances. It wasJulie who had done more for Marguerite's happiness and comfort than theolder girl had done for her. Instinctively Julie had recognized thatwhile Marguerite was beautiful and gentle, she was not strong and neededsome one to care for her. And Julie had always cared for her father;after his death her strong, clever, but misguided nature had reallyrequired some one upon whom she could lavish her affection.

  In her friendship with Marguerite Arnot, Julie's dreams of the future,absurd and fanciful as dreams often are, were always for Marguerite'sfuture and not for her own. Believing Marguerite beautiful and charmingenough for the most fortunate experience, and yet without the ability tofight for herself, Julie had come to regard herself in the light ofMarguerite's fairy godmother. As soon as possible she must manage torescue her from the hardships of her present life. Marguerite wasnineteen and sufficiently old for a change in her fortune. Yet Julie'sromantic promptings toward arranging for her friend's future were of thevaguest character, until her visit in Miss Patricia's home and hermeeting with David Hale.

  She had not dared speak of her dream openly to any one, least of all toMarguerite Arnot. Yet daily as she sat at her sewing Julie hadentertained herself with the thought of Marguerite and David Halelearning to care for each other and the happy future they might spendtogether.

  There had been no foundation for her fancy beyond the fact that David hadseemed interested to talk to Marguerite and had admired her beauty andgentle manners. However, Julie knew nothing of the frank and friendlyattitude which is a matter of course between young people in the UnitedStates. Her only annoyance was, that David Hale appeared equallyinterested in Bettina Graham.

  After reading Bettina's note, instantly Julie decided that Bettina andDavid Hale must not visit the Queen's garden unless Marguerite Arnotaccompanied them. The fact that Marguerite had not been invited mighthave appeared as an obstacle to most persons, but not to Julie.

  Her plan was conceived at once undeterred by the necessity for falsehood.She would go and tell Marguerite Arnot that Bettina and David Haledesired her to join them for the afternoon's expedition to the Queen'ssecret garden at Versailles.

  Julie Arnot was a student of human nature. Discovering that Margueritebelieved herself to have been invited and was eager for the pleasure,neither Bettina nor David would be sufficiently unkind to reveal thetruth.