Woven with the Ship: A Novel of 1865
Page 23
CHAPTER XX
RIVALS MEETING
Revere reached the house just as the carriage drew up before the door.He assisted his mother and Josephine to descend therefrom, and the twoladies walked up the steps to the porch and were formally presented tothe old admiral.
In honor of the occasion, for, as he said, he did not often have theprivilege of entertaining guests of such distinction, the veteran haddressed himself in the old uniform in which he had fought his battles.The lace was faded and tarnished, and the coat hung loosely enoughabout his thin and shrunken figure; but the ancient uniform seemed tomark the age of the old man, typifying that past, forever gone, ofwhich he had been so splendid a figure. The huge chapeau, the highstock, the ruffled shirt, the tight breeches, and the half-boots mighthave incited laughter in the irreverent; but to Richard and hismother, and to Josephine as well, they seemed entirely appropriate.
They were formally presented to the old admiral]
And the admiral's manner--gracious, courteous--was quite in accordwith his garments. It was distinctly old-fashioned in its gallantryand exquisite in its deference. Mrs. Revere, a grand dame herself, wasevidently charmed with him; while on her own part she made a not lessfavorable impression upon the old gentleman, who, in his day, hadalways mingled with the best. It was long since the admiral had beenin the society of such a woman, and he keenly delighted in the littleconversation that ensued. Josephine, too, came in for a due share ofattention, and, as any young girl would have done, she fell promptlyin love with this charming old sailor.
The talk naturally enough turned upon Richard's adventure, and hismother could not say enough in her endeavor to express her gratitudeand thankfulness for his rescue. The servant had announced that MissEmily would be out presently, and the two women waited withunconcealed interest for her appearance.
Some natural anxiety filled the heart of Revere. He had no doubt as tothe qualities of the woman he loved, but he wondered how she wouldstrike his mother. She certainly was not like the young Boston womenof his mother's social circle. Just as high bred as, and, in his mind,infinitely more beautiful than, Josephine Remington, yet she was of soentirely different a type that he could not restrain some misgivings.Of course he meant to marry Emily under any circumstances, and he hadno fear, in spite of the quarrel which had temporarily overcast theirhappiness, but that she would marry him as well; but he was the onlyson of his mother, and it would be pleasanter all around if she shouldbe attracted to Emily and be willing to welcome her within theprecincts of her exclusive family.
He could see that she was delighted with the admiral, as, indeed, whocould fail to be? When the old man informed her that he had known herhusband's father intimately, and that the old commodore had cruisedwith him when he was a lieutenant; and when he said pleasant thingsabout the commodore, who was deservedly held in high esteem in thefamily, and told her some charming little anecdotes illustrating hiscourage and ability, her heart was quite won.
The moments passed in pleasant conversation, therefore, until thequick ear of Richard recognized a light footfall in the hall. The dooropened and Emily stepped out on the porch. With the bright sunlight ofthe afternoon falling upon her as she stood, clad in a simple whitedress, against the dark background of the closed room, seen throughthe door-way, she made so charming a picture of virginal lovelinessthat he could scarcely repress a cry of admiration and delight.
At the sound of the opening of the door, Mrs. Revere turned andcritically surveyed the girl through her lorgnette, and criticism atonce gave place to approbation. The admiral instantly rose, and asEmily diffidently stepped toward him,--poor girl, it was quite anordeal to her, this meeting,--he took her by the hand and presentedher in due and ancient form to his two guests, bowing low, with thegrace of a finished gentleman in spite of his age, as he did so.
The dress the girl wore, while of the finest material, was decidedlyold-fashioned in its cut,--a fact both women had been quick to notice;but when she accompanied the admiral's bow by involuntarily dropping asweeping courtesy, after a fashion much older than her dress, whichwent back almost to the days of her grandfather's uniform, infact,--for he had taught her how to do it,--the effect was altogethercharming. A little exclamation broke from the lips of the older woman.The lorgnette dropped from her hand, and, instead of shaking handsformally, as she had anticipated, Mrs. Revere rose and took the girlin her arms.
"My dear," she said, "how can I thank you for saving my boy's life?Why, I cannot believe that you did it! You do not look--you areso--forgive an old woman--so daintily beautiful, I don't understandwhere you got the strength to----"
"She did it, though, mother," interrupted Richard, joyfully, delightedat the turn of affairs.
"And she did it well," added the admiral, proudly; "no one could havedone it better."
"It was nothing, madam," said Emily, blushing at these tributes; "Imean--Captain Barry did the most of it--did it all, in fact. I onlysteered the boat and held on to--Mr. Revere. Anybody could have doneit."
"Nobody but you did, though," said Richard, promptly; "and if you hadnot been here, Miss Emily, I should have ended all my cruising then."
"I think it was a most splendid action, Miss Sanford," said Josephine,warmly, "and as an old friend of Richard I want to thank you, too."
"And this Captain Barry of whom you spoke," asked Mrs. Revere. "Whereis he? I should like to thank him also. Who is he?"
"Just a common sailor, madam, a bo's'n's mate, long attached to myfortunes, and his father before him. Worthy men, both," answered theadmiral. "He has been busy with the ship all day, but you will see himpresently, doubtless. He has been trying to patch the old hulk up sothat it may last a little longer. He watches over it as he watchesover me--and my granddaughter. I sometimes think the ship and he and Iwill go together, and I have been greatly anxious as to what wouldbecome of this child then."
Mrs. Revere was not given to impulsive action. She was generally veryself-contained, and usually carefully considered what she said beforeshe spoke, but on this occasion she answered instantly,--
"Your granddaughter will never want a friend so long as I live,admiral, and I shall be happy, indeed, if I can repay some of the debtI owe her for Richard in that way."
"Mother," said Richard, "I have something to say to you. Admiral, youwill pardon me if I ask Miss Emily to take Miss Josephine into thehouse for a few moments? No, sir; don't you go, please," he continued,as the admiral made a motion to rise; "I want you to hear, too."
"Certainly, certainly, my lad. Emily, show Miss Remington thetreasures of your room, the model of the _Susquehanna_----"
"And the sword of the _Constitution_," interrupted Richard; "that isthe rarest treasure of them all."
"Come, then, Miss Remington," said Emily, extending her hand toJosephine, "since we are dismissed."
Josephine instantly divined the meaning of Richard's request. She shota glance at him of mingled amusement and annoyance, and found time towhisper as she passed him standing by the door, which he had openedfor them,--
"You do love her, then? Traitor! Well, I do not wonder."
This was certainly magnanimous in her, yet she was not particularlyhappy over the situation. Not that she loved Revere, but a woman neverforgives the defection of an old admirer. Although she may have beenmarried for twenty years, when her sometime lover follows her example,she always feels that it is an evidence of masculine depravity anddisloyalty.
However, Josephine could not justly reproach him in view of herdeclared affection for Charles Van Dorn. Yet he might have had thedecency to wait a little longer, she thought, somewhat bitterly, asshe left the porch. She was a generous girl, though, and had a goodheart. When they were alone, she slipped her arm around Emily's waist,which was an unusual and remarkable familiarity under anycircumstances on her part, and whispered in her ear,--
"Tell me, do you love him very much?"
"I--we quarrelled a few minutes ago about----"
"About me, I'll w
arrant," shrewdly.
"Yes," shamefacedly.
"You knew he was engaged to me, then?"
"Yes; he told me so."
"And you knew the engagement was broken this morning?"
"Yes, but----"
"Well, there is nothing to quarrel about. Tell me, now, honestly, doyou love him very much?"
"More than anything under the sun," said Emily, burying her face onJosephine's shoulder; "don't you love him yourself?"
"I? Not a bit," laughed the older girl. "Oh, I mean, yes, of course, agreat deal. I like and admire him immensely; but, you see, I happen tolove--somebody else."
"I don't understand how you could love anybody else after having beenengaged to Richard. Are you sure you don't?" ingenuously.
"Perfectly sure," complacently.
"And you are not giving him up for my sake?"
"Child, I had never a thought of you when I gave him up. I did itbecause I loved somebody else, and that's all. I would never have donefor Dick, anyway; but you, I think, will suit him exactly. I hope youwill be very happy, I'm sure."
"Do you think his mother----?" anxiously.
"I'm sure of that, too," answered Josephine, reassuringly. "We aregoing to be great friends, I know."
"I never had a friend,--a girl friend, that is,"--returned Emily; "Ihave missed one so much. You can't confide everything to yourgrandfather and a sailor-man like Captain Barry, you know."
"I should think not," laughed Josephine. "And I shall be so glad to befriends with you."
"And are you sure you do not love Dick?" doubtfully.
"I am quite sure of it," decidedly.
"It is so very hard for me to believe that, you know; I do not see howyou could help it," innocently.
"Wait until you see Charlie--Mr. Van Dorn, I mean."
"I am sure that would make no difference," returned Emily,confidently.