"Of course. I know that, or I shouldn"t have asked them."
"Oh, Le, you know you can always ask whoever you please to this house. You know it, Le!"
"Oh, yes, of course I do. I only meant to say that I would not have asked those two ladies if I had not known that they would be welcome. But I am going to tell how it was that I did ask them."
"Yes! Very well."
"You see, I went to Grandieres" first, and gave the pressing invitation, and, I tell you, the young ones jumped at it. They did not keep me waiting long while they got ready, and girls and boys soon tumbled up into the break."
"Yes, I will warrant that they did," said Odalite.
"Then I drove on to Grove Hill, where I found Miss Sibby spending the day.
Roland had just brought her there in their mule wagon. I gave my message.
There was a great meeting and great excitement between the Grandieres and the Elks. Rosemary and her little cousins, Erny and Melly, were wild to come. But the stately Miss Susannah declared that they could not go without a chaperon. So I invited her; then I could not "make a bridge over Miss Sibby"s nose," so I invited her, also."
"I am very glad you did!" said Odalite.
"But all was not settled yet! Miss Grandiere declared that she and her nieces were not ready, and could not get ready for an hour to come; and, besides that, the addition of five more pa.s.sengers to the seven we had already in the break would crowd us too much and be too heavy a load, even for our strong draft horses to draw so long a way over such rough roads."
"And that last was an undeniable fact."
"Of course it was! So I offered to take my party on and return later for the others. But Miss Grandiere urged that that would be too late for them."
"She was right again."
"Certainly! But then Roland came to the rescue, and offered to drive the second party over here in the mule cart, and so it was settled that he should do so. While we were talking, Mrs. Elk came in, and, of course, I had to invite her."
"She never goes out in the evening," said Odalite.
"No, of course not. And so she explained, and we excused her. And there they all come now! I hear the cart! I must go and see to them."
"And I, too," said Odalite, "must go and take the ladies and children upstairs."
And the young pair left the room together to receive the visitors, who had, by this time, entered the hall.
"Ah, this is just as it should be," said Miss Grandiere to Miss Bayard, as they saw Leonidas and Odalite approaching together.
"Yes, and a heap better than it might have been. If you knew as much as I do, you would say so, too!"
"What do you mean?" inquired Miss Grandiere, in a low voice.
"Hush! Here they are!" whispered Miss Bayard, as the two young people came up, with outstretched hands and eager voices, to welcome the visitors.
"You are in very good time! the dancing has not yet commenced," said Odalite, after the first greetings were pa.s.sed.
"It is not yet seven o"clock," added Le.
And Odalite took off the two ladies and the three children to the warm dressing room to lay off their wraps, while Le carried off Roland to his own den, to brush his hair.
"My dear Odalite, I am so glad to see you looking so well," said Miss Grandiere, when they had reached the chamber.
"I haven"t seen her looking so bright for weeks. And that is right, sez I," added Miss Sibby.
"Thank you. Everybody tells me that," said Odalite, smiling.
Miss Grandiere was dressed in a rich, black silk, with a white lace fichu and white lace cuffs, and her black hair was plaited and wound into a roll at the top of her head and fastened with a very high back comb. Her front hair was divided in the middle and wound into curls, two down each temple.
Miss Sibby wore a plain black silk and a book-muslin cap, with a full lace border and white satin bows and strings.
The two little Elk girls, aged ten and twelve, were slender, dark-eyed, dark-haired, red-cheeked la.s.ses, dressed in the most brilliant of Scotch plaids, with neatly crimped muslin ruffles around their throats and wrists and amber necklaces and bracelets.
But Rosemary Hedge"s dress was the quaintest costume that the law--of society--allowed. It was a sage-green velvet, made out of one of Miss Grandiere"s own old-fashioned gowns, and decorated all around the bottom of the skirt, the belt, the sleeves and the neck with crimson cypress vines, blue forget-me-nots and yellow crocuses, worked by Miss Grandiere"s own fingers.
Rosemary wore no trinkets, her only ornament being her blue-black hair curled in ringlets all around her pretty head.
When the visitors were ready to go down, Odalite conducted them to the drawing room, where now, at one end, the negro musicians were seated on chairs raised upon a long, broad bench, and were beginning to tune their instruments, preparatory to playing up an inspiring quadrille tune.
As soon as Mrs. Anglesea saw the newcomers, she made a dash across the room at them, and accosted them with effusion.
"So glad to see you all! And there"s my gay, young sailor lad! Mind you, Roland Bayard, I won"t take you away from the young uns all the time, because it is their party, but you must manage to give me half a dozen dances during the evening," she said.
"With the greatest pleasure, Mrs. Anglesea," said the gallant tar, "though I didn"t know that you danced."
"Thought I was too large and heavy, eh? Well, I may be large, but I ain"t heavy! A balloon is large, but it is light! I am also large, but I am light--on my feet! You shall see!"
"Well, will you give me the pleasure of your hand in this set?" he inquired.
"You bet!" she replied, placing her plump, yellow-gloved hand in his.
He led her to the head of the quadrille that was just forming.
Miss Meeke and young Dr. Ingle, who had "just happened in and been prevailed upon to stay," stood up together _vis-a-vis_ to the California lady and her partner.
They were the head and foot couples. Ned Grandiere and Wynnette were on the right, Sam Grandiere and Elva were on the left. This was the form of the first set in the front half of the drawing room.
Mr. Force led Miss Grandiere to the head of another set at the back of the long room. Leonidas took Miss Sibby--who adored dancing--to the foot.
Odalite stood with Erna Elk on the right hand, and Mrs. Force with Melly Elk on the left hand.
And the two included the whole company, with the exception of Rosemary Hedge and the four Grandiere girls.
The music struck up the favorite, old-fashioned "Coquette," and the dance began.
And, oh Terpsich.o.r.e, how the lady from Wild Cats" did foot it away! And she danced well--only, perhaps, just a little too vigorously for good taste.
The "Coquette" was followed by the "Basket," and then by "Malbrook," and lastly by the "Fire Brigade," which finished the set.
When Mrs. Anglesea, out of breath with her great exertions, was being led to her seat by her handsome, young partner, she pa.s.sed Miss Sibby, who was sitting in an armchair, actively fanning herself with a hand screen.