The Girl Next Door
Page 11
CHAPTER XI
THE LIFTED VEIL
Next morning Marcia and Janet sallied forth to make their promised visitto Cecily. They were armed with a box of quinine pills, two glasses ofcurrant jelly, a new magazine, Marcia's violin in its case, and, last,but not least, the two filigree bracelets. And they were literallybursting with news and excitement.
Miss Benedict opened the gate for them as before, and to their inquiriesreplied that Cecily seemed a little better. If she noticed thesuppressed excitement in their manner, she did not comment upon it, butonly led the way to Cecily's room without further words. She wasbonneted and veiled as usual. At the door she left them, saying shewould not go in.
"Cecily, Cecily!" cried Marcia, immediately; "we have news--such strangenews for you!" Cecily was at once all eagerness and animation.
"Oh, tell me, quickly!" she exclaimed, sitting up in the bed. "I feel somuch better. I'm going to get up to-day. But how can you have anynews--about me?"
"Cecily," said Janet, sitting down on the edge of the bed, "have youbeen thinking, all this time, that Miss Benedict knew everything aboutyou, and why you came here, and all that?"
"Why, of course!" cried Cecily, opening her eyes wide. "She has neverexplained it to me, and she's so--_queer_ that I never liked to ask her.But I always thought she _knew_!"
"Well, she doesn't--not a thing, apparently," replied Janet, and thenrepeated to her all the strange conversation at the gate on the daybefore.
When she had finished, Cecily sat as if stunned--quiet and rigid andstaring out of the window. So much had it appeared to affect her thatJanet was suddenly sorry she had said a word about it.
"Then--what does it all mean?" murmured Cecily, at last. "I'm herewhere I've no right to be. Nobody knows me--or wants me. How did it allhappen? Don't I belong to _anybody_?" She looked so bewildered, sofrightened, so unhappy, that Janet and Marcia both put their arms abouther.
"It's all right, Cecily; it's _sure_ to be all right--in the end. _We_would love you and want you if nobody else did. And I'm sure MissBenedict must care for you too. She really acts so. But the question is,how did you ever come to be sent here at all? Didn't your mother eversay anything to you about this place or any of the people over here?"
"No," said Cecily, in a hushed voice. It was evident from her mannerthat her grief over the loss of her mother was very keen, and she hadonly once voluntarily referred to it or to anything connected with it.
"My mother never, never mentioned the name of Benedict to me,--I neverheard of it before."
"But couldn't Miss Benedict possibly have been some connection--somedistant connection that she never thought of or mentioned?" persistedMarcia.
"No--my mother's people were all English," declared Cecily, "and theywere all dead. We had no relatives living."
"Well, your father, then?" supplemented Janet. "What about him?"
"I never knew him to remember him. Mother said he died when I was a babya year or two old. He hadn't any relatives, either."
"Well, here's something else we have to tell you, and it's the strangestthing yet," began Janet. "Can you tell us where you got that bracelet,Cecily,--the one you were so lovely as to send to us?"
"Why, I always had it," answered Cecily. "Even when I was a tiny littlegirl and it was much too big for me, it seemed to be mine. Mother keptit in a box, but she let me play with it once in a while. Then when Iwas older and it fitted me better, she let me wear it. I _think_ shesaid my father gave it to me. I don't remember very clearly. I don'tbelieve I ever thought much about it, although I realized it was ratherunusual. But why do you ask?"
"Did she ever say it had a mate--that there was a pair of them?"questioned Marcia.
"Oh, no! I'm sure she never said anything about another."
"What do you think of this, then?" Marcia drew the two bracelets out ofher bag, and laid them side by side on the bed.
"Why, how very, very _queer_!" cried Cecily, incredulously. "Where _did_you get the other?"
Marcia outlined its history. "You see, there isn't a shadow of doubtthat there was once a pair of them," she ended, "and that they bothbelonged to the same person. Now _who_ could that person be?"
"It must have been some one connected with you, Cecily," added Janet."Everything points that way. Well, one thing is certain: if we couldfind out the truth about these two bracelets, I believe we'd find outabout Cecily, too--why she is here and the whole mystery!"
All three were very silent for a moment, considering.
"I know one thing," ventured Marcia, at length. "Cecily, you must _not_give this bracelet away. It was dear and sweet of you to think of it inthe first place--and we'll keep the little coral pendant for both of usif you like. But the bracelet is something that may mean a great deal toyou yet, and you ought to have it. Don't you agree with me, Janet?"
"I certainly do," added Janet, heartily; "and what's more, I've thoughtof something else. When Captain Brett comes home next time, he _may_ beable to tell us something more about the other bracelet. When do youexpect him, Marcia?"
"Not for two or three months," replied Marcia, ruefully. "I'd giveanything if it could only be sooner. It seems as if we _never_ couldwait that long!"
"Well, let's not think of it just now," comforted Janet. "I don'tsuppose we can find out anything till he _does_ come, so there's no usefretting. How would you like to hear some music, Cecily? Marcia'sbrought her violin."
"How good of you!" cried Cecily, an almost pathetic eagerness in hervoice. "It will be wonderful to hear it near by!"
So Marcia opened the case and took out the instrument, tuned it, tuckedit lovingly under her chin, and slipped into a rollicking Hungariandance by Brahms, while her little audience listened spellbound.
"Oh, something else, please!" sighed Cecily, blissfully, when it wasended. And Marcia, changing the theme, gave them the lullaby from"Jocelyn," and after that Beethoven's Minuet in G.
"Just _one_ more," begged Cecily; "that is--if you're not too tired. Theone I--I like so much!"
"I know--the 'Traeumerei,'" nodded Marcia, and once more laid her bowacross the strings.
When the last note had died away, they were all suddenly startled by astrange sound just outside the door--a sound that was partly a sob andpartly a half-stifled exclamation.
Before she quite realized what she was doing, Janet, who happened to besitting near the door, sprang up and threw it open.
"In the sudden light of the open door she stoodrevealed"]
In the hall outside stood Miss Benedict, her hands clasped tensely infront of her. But, strangest of all, her veil was thrown back from herface, and in the sudden light of the open door she stood revealed! In aninstant they realized that Cecily had not exaggerated the beauty of hersingularly lovely face. She plainly had been listening, captivated, tothe music within the room, and something about it must have stirred herstrangely.
All this they noticed in the fraction of a moment, for, as she saw them,she pulled down her veil with a hasty movement, murmuring somethingabout having heard music and coming to see what it was.
But she did not pull it down quickly enough to hide one fact from thegaze of the two girls--that her beautiful gray eyes were brimming withtears!