CHAPTER XXVIII
THE GAME IS CALLED
In her notions and schemes regarding the person and estate of RalphHaverley, the good cook, La Fleur, lacked one great advantage possessedby her rival planner and schemer Miss Panney; for she whose cause wasespoused by the latter old woman was herself eager for the fray anddesirous of victory, whereas Cicely Drane had not yet thought of marryinganybody, and outside of working hours was devoting herself to getting allthe pleasure she could out of life, not regarding much whether it was hermother or Miriam or Mr. Haverley who helped her get it. Moreover, theadvantages of co-residence, which La Fleur naturally counted upon, werenot so great as might have been expected; for Mrs. Drane, havingperceived that Ralph was fond of the society of young ladies to a degreewhich might easily grow beyond her ideas of decorous companionshipbetween a gentleman of the house and a lady boarder, gently interferedwith the dual apple gatherings and recreations of that nature. For this,had she been aware of it, Dora Bannister would have been most grateful.
Ralph had gone twice to see Congo, and to talk to Miss Bannister abouthim, but he had not taken the dog home. Dora said she would take him toCobhurst the first time she drove over there to see Miriam. Congo wouldfollow her and the carriage anywhere, and this would be so muchpleasanter than to have him forced away like a prisoner.
The gig shafts had now been repaired, and Ralph urged his sister to gowith him to Thorbury and attend to her social duties; but Miriam dislikedthe little town and loved Cobhurst. As to social duties, she thought theyought to be attended to, of course, but saw no need to be in a hurryabout them; so Ralph, one day, having business in Thorbury, prepared togo in again by himself. He had been lately riding Mrs. Browning, who wasstill his only available horse for family use; but she was not veryagreeable under the saddle, and he now proposed to take the gig. He hadthought it might be a good idea to take a little drive out of the town,and see if Congo would follow him. Perhaps Miss Bannister would accompanyhim, for she was very anxious that the dog should become used to Ralphbefore leaving his present home; and her presence would help very much inteaching the animal to follow.
But although Miriam declined to go with her brother, she took muchinterest in his expedition, and came out to the barn to see him harnessMrs. Browning.
"Are you going to Dora Bannister's again?" she asked.
"Yes," said Ralph; "at least I think I shall stop in to see the dog. Youknow the oftener I do that, the better."
"I think it is a shame," said Miriam, "that you should be driving to townalone, when there are other people who wish so much to go, and you haveno use at all for that empty seat."
"Who wants to go?" asked Ralph, quickly.
"Cicely Drane does. She has got into trouble over the doctor'smanuscript, and says she can't go on properly without seeing him. She hasbeen expecting him here every day, but it seems as if he never intendedto come. She asked me this morning how far it was to Thorbury, and Ithink she intends to walk in, if he does not come to-day."
"Why didn't you tell me this before?" asked Ralph. "I would have sent herinto town or taken her."
"I had not formulated it in my mind," said Miriam. "Will you take herwith you to-day? I know that she has made up her mind she cannot wait anylonger for the doctor to come."
"Of course I will take her," said Ralph. "Will you ask her to get ready?Tell her I shall be at the door in ten or fifteen minutes."
Ralph's tone was perfectly good-humored, but Miriam fancied that sheperceived a trace of disappointment in it. She was sorry for this, forshe could not imagine why any man should object to have Cicely Drane as acompanion on a drive, unless his mind was entirely occupied by some othergirl; and if Ralph's mind was thus occupied, it must be by DoraBannister, and that did not please her. So she resolutely put aside allCicely's suggestions that it might be inconvenient for Mr. Haverley totake her with him, and deftly overcame Mrs. Drane's one or two impromptu,and therefore not very well constructed, objections to the acceptance ofthe invitation; and in the gig Cicely went with Ralph to Thorbury.
After having left the secretary to attend to her business at thedoctor's house, Ralph drove to the Bannister's; but Dora would not seehim, and technically was not at home. Alas! She had seen him driving pastwith Miss Drane, and she was angry. This was contrary to the plan ofaction she had adopted; but her eighteen-year-old spirit rebelled, andshe could not help it. A more hideous trap than that old gig could not beimagined, but she had planned a drive in it with Ralph on some of thequiet country roads beyond Cobhurst. They would take Congo with them, andthat would be such a capital plan to teach the dog to follow his newmaster. And now it was the Drane girl who was driving with him in hisgig. She could not go down and see him and meet him in the way she likedto meet him.
Miss Panney, on the other side of the street, had been passing theTolbridge house at the moment when Ralph and Cicely drove up. Shestopped for a moment, her feelings absolutely outraged. It was notuncommon for her to pass places at times when people were doing thingsin those places which she thought they ought not to do; but this was acase which roused her anger in an unusual manner. Whatever else mighthappen at Cobhurst, she did not believe that that girl would begin sosoon to go out driving with him.
She had left her phaeton at a livery stable, and was on her way to theBannister house to have a talk with Dora on a subject in which they werenow both so much interested. She had been very much surprised when thegirl had come to her and freely avowed her feelings and hopes, but shehad been delighted. She liked a spirit of that sort, and it was a joy toher to work with one who possessed it. But she knew human nature, and shewas very much afraid that Dora's purpose might weaken. It was quitenatural that a young person, in a moment of excitement and pique, shouldfiguratively raise her sword in air and vow a vow; but it was also quitenatural, when the excitement and pique had cooled down, that the youngperson should experience what might be called a "vow-fright," and feelunable to go through with her part. In a case such as Dora's, this wasvery possible indeed, and all that Miss Panney had planned to say on herpresent visit was intended to inspire the girl, if it should be needed,with some of her own matured inflexibility and fixedness of purpose. Butif the man were doing this sort of thing already and Dora should know it,she would have a right to be discouraged.
Before the old lady reached the Bannisters' gate, she saw Mr. Haverley,in his gig, drive away. This brightened her up a little.
"He comes here, anyway," she thought; "what a pity Dora is not in."
Nevertheless, she went on to the Bannister house; and when she found Dorawas in, she began to scold her.
"This will never do, will never do," she said. "Get angry with him if youchoose, but don't show it. If you do that, you may crash him too low orbounce him too high, and, in either case, he may be off before you knowit. It is too early in the game to show him that he has made you angry."
"But if he doesn't want me, I don't want him," said Dora, sulkily.
"If you think that way, my dear," said Miss Panney, "you may as well makeup your mind to make a bad match, or die an old maid. The right man veryseldom comes of his own accord; it is nearly always the wrong one. If youhappen to meet the right man, you should help him to know that he oughtto come. That is the way to look at it. That young Haverley does not knowyet who it is that he cares for. He is just floating along, waiting forsome one to thrust out a boat-hook and pull him in."
"I shall marry no floating log," said Dora, stiffly.
The old lady laughed.
"Perhaps that was not a very good figure of speech," she said; "butreally, my dear, you must not interfere with your own happiness byshowing temper; and if you look at the affair in its proper light, youwill see it is not so bad, after all. Ten to one, he brought her to townbecause she wanted to come with him,--probably on some patched-up errand;but he came here because he wanted to come. There could be no otherreason; and, instead of being angry with him, you should have given himan extraordinary welcome. For the very r
eason that she has so manyadvantages over you, being so much with him, you should be very carefulto make use of the advantages you have over her. And your advantages arethat you are ten times better fitted to be his wife than she is; and thegreat thing necessary to be done is to let him see it. But her chancesmust come to an end. Those Dranes must be got away from Cobhurst."
"I don't like that way of looking at it," said Dora, leaning back in herchair, with a sigh. "It's the same thing as fishing for a man, though Isuppose it might have been well to see him when he came."
Now Miss Panney felt encouraged; her patient was showing good symptoms.Let her keep in that state of mind, and she would see that the lovercame. She had made a mistake in speaking so bluntly about getting theDranes out of Cobhurst. Although she would not say anything more to Doraabout that important piece of work, she would do it all the same.
This little visit had been an important one to Miss Panney; it hadenabled her to understand Dora's character much better than she hadunderstood it before; and she perceived that in this case of matchmakingshe must not only do a great deal of the work herself, but she must do itwithout Dora's knowing anything about it. She liked this, for she was notmuch given to consulting with people.
Miss Panney had another call to pay in the neighborhood, and she hadintended, for form's sake, to spend a little time with Mrs. Bannister;but she did neither. She went back by the way she had come, wishing tolearn all she could about the movements of the Cobhurst gig.
Approaching the Tolbridge house, she saw that vehicle standing beforethe door, with the sleepy Mrs. Browning tied to a post, and as she drewnearer, she perceived Ralph Haverley sitting alone on the vine-shadedpiazza. The old lady would not enter the Tolbridge gate, but she stood onthe other side of the street, and beckoned to Ralph, who, as soon as hesaw her, ran over to her.
Ralph walked a little way with Miss Panney, and after answering her mostfriendly inquiries about Miriam, he explained how he happened to besitting alone on the piazza; the doctor and Miss Drane, whom he hadbrought to town, were at work at some manuscript, and he had preferred towait outside instead of indoors.
"I called on Miss Bannister," he said, "but she was not at home, so Icame back here."
"It is a pity she was out," said Miss Panney, carelessly, "and now thatyou have mentioned Miss Bannister, I would like to ask you something; whydoes not your sister return her visits? I saw Dora not very long ago, andfound that her feelings had been a little hurt--not much, perhaps, but alittle--by Miriam's apparent indifference to her. Dora is a verysensitive girl, and is slow to make friends among other girls. I neverknew any friendship so quick and lively as that she showed for Miriam.You know that Dora is still young; it has not been long since she leftschool; there is not a girl in Thorbury that she cares anything about,and her life at home must necessarily be a lonely one. Her brother isbusy, even in the evenings, and Mrs. Bannister is no companion for alively young girl."
"I had thought," said Ralph, "that Miss Bannister went a good dealinto society."
"Oh, no," answered Miss Panney; "she sometimes visits her relatives, whoare society people; but in years and disposition she is too young forthat sort of thing. Society women and society men would simply bore her.At heart she is a true country girl, and I think it was because Miriamhad country tastes, and loved that sort of life, that Dora's affectionswent out so quickly to her. I wish your sister had the same feelingstoward her."
"Oh, Miriam likes her very much," exclaimed Ralph, "and is alwaysdelighted to see her; but my little sister is wonderfully fond of stayingat home. I have told her over and over again that she ought to returnMiss Bannister's calls."
"Make her do it," said the old lady. "It is her duty, and I assure you,it will be greatly to her advantage. Miriam is a most lovely girl, buther character has not hardened itself into what it is going to be, andassociation with a thoroughbred girl, such as Dora Bannister, admirablyeducated, who has seen something of the world, with an intelligence andwit such as I have never known in any one of her age, and more than allwith a soul as beautiful as her face, cannot fail to be an inestimablebenefit to your sister. What Miriam most needs, at this stage of herlife, is proper companionship of her own age and sex."
Ralph assented. "But," said he, "she is not without that, you know. MissDrane, who with her mother now lives with us, is a most--"
Miss Panney's face grew very hard.
"Excuse me," she interrupted, "I know all about that. Of course theDranes are very estimable people, and there are many things, especiallyin the way of housekeeping, which Mrs. Drane could teach Miriam, if shechose to take the trouble. But while I respect the daughter's efforts tosupport herself and her mother, it must be admitted that she is aworking-girl--nothing more or less--and must continue to be such. Herpresent business, of course, can only last for a little while, and shewill have to adopt some regular calling. This life she expects, and ispreparing herself for it. But a mind such as hers is, or must speedilybecome, is not the one from which Miriam's young mind should receive itsimpressions. The two will move in very different spheres, and neither canbe of any benefit to the other. More than that I will not say; but I willsay that your sister can never find any friend so eager to love her, andso willing to help and be helped by her in so many ways in which girlscan help each other, as my dear Dora. Now bestir yourself, Mr. Haverley,and make Miriam look at this thing as she ought to. I don't pretend todeny that I have spoken to you very much for Dora's sake, for whom I havean almost motherly feeling; but you should act for your sister's sake.And please don't forget what I have said, young man, and give Miriam mybest love."
When Ralph walked back to the Tolbridge piazza he found the working-girlsitting there, waiting for him. His mind was not in an altogethersatisfactory condition; some things Miss Panney had said had pleased andeven excited him, but there were other things that he resented. If shehad not been such an old lady, and if she had not talked so rapidly, hemight have shown this resentment. But he had not done so, and now themore he thought about it, the stronger the feeling grew.
As for Cicely Drane, she was a great deal more quiet during the drivehome, than she had been when going to Thorbury. Her mind was in anunsatisfactory condition, and this had been occasioned by an interviewwith La Fleur, who had waylaid her in the hall as she came out of thedoctor's office.
The good cook had been in a state of enthusiastic delight, since, lookingout of the kitchen window where she had been sitting, with a manuscriptbook of recipes in her lap, planning the luncheon and dinner, she hadseen the lord of Cobhurst drive up to the gate with dear Miss Cicely. Itwas a joy like that of listening to a party of dinner guests, who wereeating her favorite ice. With intense impatience she had awaited theappearance of Cicely from the doctor's office; and, having drawn her toone side, she hastily imparted her sentiments.
"It's a shabby gig, Miss Cicely," she said, "such as the farmers use inthe old country, but it's his own, and not hired, and the big house ishis own, and all the broad acres. And he's a gentleman from head to heel,living on his own estate, and as fine a built man as ever rode in theQueen's army. Oh, Miss Cicely, your star is at the top of the heavensthis time, and I want you to let me know if there is anything you want inthe way of hats or wraps or clothes, or anything of that kind. Itdoesn't make the least difference to me, you know, just now, and we'llsettle it all after a while. It is the Christian duty for every younglady to look the smartest, especially at a time like this."
Cicely, her face flushed, drew herself away.
"La Fleur," she said, speaking quickly and in a low voice, "you ought tobe ashamed of yourself." And she hurried away, fearing that Mr. Haverleywas waiting for her.
La Fleur was not a bit ashamed of herself; she chuckled as she went backto the kitchen.
"She's a young thing of brains and beauty," said she to herself, "and Idon't doubt that she had the notion in her own mind. But if it wasn'tthere, I have put it there, and if it was there, I've dished it anddressed it, and it will be
like another thing to her. As for the rest ofit, he'll attend to that. I haven't a doubt that he is the curly-headed,brave fellow to do that; and I'll find out from her mother if she needsanything, and not hurt her pride neither."
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