CHAPTER XIV
GOOD-NIGHT
When the three young people had been sitting for half an hour on the widepiazza of Cobhurst, enjoying the moonlight effects and waiting for thereturn of Dr. Tolbridge, Miriam, who was reclining in a steamer chair,ceased making remarks, but very soon after she became silent she washeard again, not speaking, however, but breathing audibly and with greatregularity. Ralph and Dora turned toward her and smiled.
"Poor little thing," said the latter in a low voice; "she must betired out."
"Yes," said Ralph, also speaking in an undertone, "she was up very earlythis morning, and has been at some sort of work ever since. I do notintend that this shall happen again. You must excuse her, MissBannister,--she is a girl yet, you know."
"And a sweet one, too," said Dora, "with a perfect right to go to sleepif she chooses. I should be ashamed of myself if I felt in the leastdegree offended. Do not let us disturb her until the doctor comes; thenap will do her good."
"Suppose, then," said Ralph, "that we take a little turn in themoonlight. Then we need not trouble ourselves to lower our voices."
"That will be very well," said Dora, "but I am afraid she may take cold,although the night air is so soft. I think I saw a lap robe on a tablein the hall; I will spread that over her."
Ralph whispered that he would get the robe, but motioning him back, andhaving tiptoed into the hall and back again, Dora laid the light coveringover the sleeping girl so gently that the regular breathing was not inthe least interrupted. Then they both went quietly down the steps, andout upon the lawn.
"She is such a dear girl," said Dora, as they slowly moved away, "andalthough we only met to-day, I am really growing very fond of her, and Ilike her the better because there is still so much of the child left inher. Do not you like her the better for that, Mr. Haverley?"
Ralph did agree most heartily, and it made him happy to agree on anysubject with a girl who was even more beautiful by moonlight than byday; who was so kind, and tended to his sister, and whose generousdisposition could overlook little breaches of etiquette when there wasreason to do so.
As they walked backward and forward, not very far away from the piazza,and sometimes stopping to admire bits of the silver-tinted landscape,Dora, with most interesting deftness, gave Ralph further opportunity ofknowing her. With his sister as a suggesting subject, she talked aboutherself; she told him how she, too, had lost her parents early in life,and had been obliged to be a very independent girl, for her stepmother,although just as good as she could be, was not a person on whom she couldrely very much. As for her brother, the dearest man on earth, she hadalways felt that she was more capable of taking care of him, at least inall matters in home life, than he of her.
"But I have been very happy," she went on to say, "for I am so fond ofcountry life, and everything that belongs to it, that the more I have todo with it, the better I like it, and I really begrudge the time that Ispend in the city. You do not know with what pleasure I look forward tohelping Miriam get breakfast to-morrow morning. I consider it a positivelark. By the way, Mr. Haverley, do you like rolled omelets?"
Ralph declared that he liked everything that was good, and had no doubtthat rolled omelets were delicious.
"Then I shall make some," said Dora, "for I know how to do it. And Ithink you said, Mr. Haverley, that the coffee to-night was too strong."
"A little so, perhaps," said Ralph, "but it was excellent."
"Oh, it shall be better in the morning. I am sure it will be well for oneof us to do one thing, and the other another. I will make the coffee."
"You are wonderfully kind to do anything at all," said Ralph, and as hespoke he heard the clock in the house strike ten. It was agreeable in thehighest degree to walk in the moonlight with this charming girl, but hefelt that it was getting late; it was long past Miriam's bedtime, and hewondered why the doctor did not come.
Dora perceived the perturbations of his mind; she knew that he thought itwas time for the little party to break up, but did not like to suggestit. She knew that the natural and proper thing for her to do was to wakeup Miriam, and that the two should bid Ralph good-night, and leave him tosit up and wait for the doctor as long as he felt himself called upon todo so, but she was perfectly contented with the present circumstances,and did not wish to change them just yet. It was a pleasure to her towalk by this tall, broad-shouldered young fellow, who was so handsome andso strong, and in so many ways the sort of man she liked, and to let himknow, not so much by her words, as by the incited action of his ownintelligence, that she was fond of the things he was fond of, and thatshe loved the life he led.
As they still walked and talked, the thought came to Dora, and it was avery pleasing one, that she might act another part with this younggentleman; she had played the cook, now for a while she could play themistress, and she knew she could do it so gently and so wisely that hewould like it without perceiving it. She turned away her face for amoment; she felt that her pleasure in acting the part of mistress ofCobhurst, even for a little time, was flushing it.
"Suppose," she said, "we walk down to the road, and if we see or hear thedoctor coming, we can wait there and save him the trouble of driving in."
They went out of the Cobhurst gateway, but along the moonlighted highwaythey saw no approaching spot, nor could they hear the sounds of wheels.
"I really think, Mr. Haverley," said Dora, turning toward the house,"that I ought to go and arouse Miriam, and then we will retire. It is apositive shame to keep her out of her bed any longer."
This suggestion much relieved Ralph, and they walked rapidly to theporch, but when they reached it they found an empty steamer chair and noMiriam anywhere. They looked at each other in much surprise, andentering the house they looked in several of the rooms on the lowerfloor. Ralph was about to call out for his sister, but Dora quicklytouched him on the arm.
"Hush," she said, smiling, "do not call her. Do you see that lap robe onthe table? I will tell you exactly what has happened; while we were downat the road she awoke, at least enough to know that she ought to go tobed, and I really believe that she was not sufficiently awake to rememberthat I am here, and that she simply got up, brought the robe in with her,and went to her room. Isn't it funny?"
Ralph was quite sure that Dora's deductions were correct, for when Miriamhappened to drop asleep in a chair in the evening, it was her habit, whenaroused, to get up and go to bed, too sleepy to think about anythingelse; but he did not think it was funny now. He was mortified that MissBannister should have been treated with such apparent disrespect, and hebegan to apologize for his sister.
"Now, please stop, Mr. Haverley," interrupted Dora. "I am so glad to haveher act so freely and unconventionally with me, as if we had always beenfriends. It makes me feel almost as if we had known each other always,and it does not make the slightest difference to me. Miriam wanted togive me another room, but I implored her to let me sleep with her in thatsplendid high-posted bedstead, and so all that I have to do is to slip upto her room, and, if I can possibly help it, I shall not waken her. Inthe morning I do not believe she will remember a thing about having goneto bed without me. So good-night, Mr. Haverley. I am going to be up veryearly, and you shall see what a breakfast the new cook will give you. Iwill light this candle, for no doubt poor Miriam has put out her lamp, ifshe did not depend entirely on the moonlight. By the way, Mr. Haverley,"she said, turning toward him, "is there anything I can do to help you inshutting up the house? You know I am maid of all work as well as cook.Perhaps I should go down and see if the kitchen fire is safe."
"Oh, no, no!" exclaimed Ralph; "I attend to all those things,--at least,when we have no servant."
"But doesn't Miriam help you?" asked Dora, taking up the candle which shehad lighted.
"No," said he; "Miriam generally bids me good-night and goes upstairs anhour before I do."
"Very well," said Dora; "I will say only one more thing, and that is thatif I were the lord of the manor, who had been work
ing in the hay-fieldall day, I would not sit up very long, waiting for a wandering doctor."
Ralph laughed, and as she approached the door of the stairway, he openedit for her.
"Suppose," she said, stopping for a moment in the doorway, and shieldingthe flame of the candle from a current of air with a little hand thatwas so beautifully lighted that for a moment it attracted Ralph's eyesfrom its owner's face, "you wait here for a minute, and I will go up andsee if she is really safe in her own room. I am sure you will be bettersatisfied if you know that."
Ralph looked his thanks, and softly, but quickly, she went up the stairs.At a little landing she stopped.
"Do you know," she whispered, looking back, with the candle throwing herhead and hair into the prettiest lights and shadows, "I think thisstairway is lovely;" and then she went on and disappeared.
In a few minutes she leaned over the upper part of the banisters andsoftly spoke to him.
"She is sleeping as sweetly and as quietly as the dearest of angels. I donot believe I shall disturb her in the least. Good-night, Mr. Haverley."And with her face thrown into a new light,--this time by the hall lampbelow,--she smiled ever so sweetly, and then drew back her head. In halfa minute it reappeared. She was right; he was still looking up.
"I forgot to say," she whispered, "that all the windows in Miriam's roomare open. Do you think she was too sleepy to notice that, or is sheaccustomed to so much night air?"
"I really do not know," said Ralph, in reply.
"Very well, then," said Dora; "I will attend to all that in my own way.Good-night again, Mr. Haverley;" and with a little nod and a smile, shewithdrew her face from his view.
If she had come back within the next minute, she would have found himstill looking up. She felt quite sure of this, but she could think of nogood reason for another reappearance.
Ralph lighted a pipe and sat down on the piazza. He looked steadily infront of him, but he saw no grass, no trees, no moonlighted landscape, nosky of summer night. He saw only the face of a young girl, leaning overand looking down at him from the top of a stairway. It was the face of agirl who was so gentle, so thoughtful for others, so quick to perceive,so quick to do; who was so fond of his sister, and so beautiful. He satand thought of the wondrous good fortune that had brought this girlbeneath his roof, and had given him these charming hours with her.
And when his pipe was out, he arose, declared to himself that, no matterwhat the doctor might think of it, he would not wait another minute forhim, and went to bed,--his mind very busy with the anticipation of thecharming hours which were to come on the morrow.
The Girl at Cobhurst Page 14
