"I am willing to accept that explanation," said Sylvia, politely,
"but you must help me out now that the embarrassing accident has
happened."
Nor did it avail Mrs. Witherspoon to plead her guests and their
score. "You may be sure they don't care about the score," said
Sylvia. "They'd much prefer you stayed here, so that you can tell
them how Frank and I behaved."
And then, while Mrs. Witherspoon was getting herself together,
Sylvia turned upon the other conspirator. "We will now hold one of
my eugenics classes," she said, and added, to Frank, "Mrs. Armistead
told me that you wanted to join my class."
"I don't understand," replied Frank, at a loss.
"I will explain," said Sylvia. "It is not a very refined joke they
have in the town. Mrs. Armistead meant to say that she credits a
disgraceful story that was circulated about you when we were
engaged, and which my people made use of to make me break our
engagement. I am glad to have a chance to tell you that I have
investigated and satisfied myself that the story was not true. I
want to apologise to you for ever having believed it; and I am sure
that Mrs. Armistead may be glad of this opportunity to apologise for
having said that she believed it."
"I never said that I believed it!" cried Sallie Ann.
"No, you didn't, Mrs. Armistead--you would not be so crude as to say
it directly. You merely dropped a hint, which would lead everybody
to understand that you believed it."
Sylvia paused, just long enough to let the wicked lady suffer, but
not long enough to let her find a reply. "When you tell your friends
about this scene," she continued, "please make clear that I did not
drop hints about anything, but said exactly what I meant--that the
story is false, so far as it implies any evil done by Mr. Shirley,
and that I am deeply ashamed of myself for having ever believed it.
It is all in the past now, of course--we are both of us married, and
we shall probably never meet again. But it will be a help to us in
future to have had this little talk--will it not, Frank?"
There was a pause, while Sallie Ann Armistead recovered from her
dismay, and got back a little of her fighting power. Suddenly she
rose: "Virginia," she said, firmly, "you are neglecting your
guests."
"I don't think you ought to go until Frank has got himself
together," said Sylvia. "Frank, can you sort your cards now?"
"Virginia!" commanded Sallie Ann, imperiously. "Come!"
Mrs. Witherspoon rose, and so did Sylvia. "We can't stay here
alone," said she. "Frank, will you take Mrs. Witherspoon in?" And
she gently but firmly took Mrs. Armistead's arm, and so they marched
back into the drawing-room.
Dolly and Emma had progressed to separate tables, it developed, so
that the ordeal of Frank and Sylvia was over. Through the remainder
of the evening Sylvia chatted and played, and later partook of
refreshments with Malcolm McCallum, and mildly teased that
inconsolable bachelor, quite as in the old days. Now and then she
stole a glance at Frank Shirley, and saw that he was holding up his
end; but he kept away from her, and she never even caught his eye.
At last the company broke up, and Sylvia thanked her hostess for a
most enjoyable evening. She stepped into the motor with Celeste, and
sat with compressed lips, answering in monosyllables her "little
sister's" flood of excited questions--"Oh, Sylvia, didn't you feel
perfectly _terrible?_ Oh, sister, I felt _thrills_ running up and
down my back! Sister, what _did_ you say to him? Sister, do you know
old Mr. Perkins kept leaning over me and asking what was happening;
and how could I shout into his deaf ear that everybody was stopping
to hear what you were saying to Frank Shirley?"
At the end of the ride, there was Aunt Varina waiting up as
usual--to renew her own youth in the story of the evening, what this
person had worn and what that person had said. But Sylvia left her
sister to tell the story, and fled to her room and locked the door,
and flung herself upon the bed and gave way to a torrent of weeping.
Half an hour later Celeste went up, and finding that the door
between her room and Sylvia's was unlocked, opened it softly, and
stood listening. Finally she stole to her sister's side and put her
arm about her. "Never mind, sister dear," she whispered, solemnly,
"I know how it is! We women all have to suffer!"
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Sylvia's Marriage Page 24
