Dr. Drayton smiled, as he said, "And you are Miss Marion Berkley, I presume?"
"Yes," replied Marion, offering him a chair, and seating herself at the same time. "Rachel is staying with me; she has gone out riding with mamma. She did not expect you until to-morrow morning; but when the servant told me a gentleman was down here, I thought it must be you, but was sure I was mistaken when I saw you."
"And why, may I ask?" inquired Dr. Drayton.
"Oh!" laughed Marion, a trifle confused, "because I thought you were quite an old gentleman; at least old enough to be my father."
"And so I am, almost," replied Dr. Drayton, smiling; "but tell me, does Rachel want to see me?"
"Indeed she does; she has talked about you every day this summer, and has hardly been able to wait for you to get here. But how did you mistake me for her? We are not in the least alike."
"You must remember it is ten years since I saw her; then she was a little, dark-eyed thing with golden hair, something like yours; your black dress, too, misled me."
"Golden hair!" exclaimed Marion, wishing she had put on her mother"s bright bow, thus saving herself all her embarra.s.sment,--"golden hair, I can"t imagine such a thing; she has jet-black now."
"I dare say I don"t remember it very correctly; has she grown much?"
"She is very tall; much taller than I am."
"I thought you were very tall just now when you ordered me out of the house," said Dr. Drayton, with an amused smile.
"I beg you will never allude to the subject again," said Marion, raising her head involuntarily, with a slightly haughty gesture, as she invariably did when she was annoyed, but did not wish to appear so; "it was a mistake for which I sincerely beg your pardon."
"As you said to me," replied Dr. Drayton, "no apology is needed. I promise never to allude to the subject again without your permission."
"Which I certainly shall never grant," laughed Marion, ashamed of her unnecessary hauteur. "Now I shall be able to apply to you my one great test of the worth of humanity, that is, try your powers of keeping a secret."
"I am willing to stand the test," laughed Dr. Drayton, "and feel sure that before morning I shall have no secret to keep, for by that time you will have told Rachel all about it."
"I shall do no such thing," replied Marion, warmly; "but there is the carriage. Excuse me, Dr. Drayton, and I will tell Rachel you are here."
The meeting between Dr. Drayton and Rachel was far different from his interview with Marion. Rachel had longed for his coming, for although she could not remember him very distinctly, she could not feel him to be a stranger to her; her father was very fond of his younger brother, and had always been in the habit of talking with his daughter a great deal about her Uncle Robert, until he had become almost a hero in her eyes.
She had been in the habit of a.s.sociating him in her mind with her father, so that she had quite forgotten he was many years his junior, and was not prepared to find so young a man; in fact, only thirty-two, although his beard gave him the appearance of being a few years older.
There was a certain sense of strength and power about him, which led her to look upon him with the same feelings of deference and respect with which she would look upon an older man, while at the same time, the fact of his being younger put her upon an easier, more familiar footing with him; in short, Rachel was delighted with him, and felt she would receive from him all the affection and watchful care of a father, combined with the more demonstrative attentions of an elder brother.
CHAPTER XXII.
DR. DRAYTON"S HOUSE-KEEPER.
"Mrs. Berkley, I"m in a dilemma," said Dr. Drayton, as he entered the library one morning where that lady was sitting, and took a chair near her.
"Can I help you out of it?"
"If you can"t, I don"t know of any one else to go to," said Dr. Drayton, who had become a daily visitor at the Berkleys". "I have bought a house, and now I want a house-keeper. Even if I felt inclined to brave the opinion of Mrs. Grundy, and settle down with Rachel at the head of my establishment, I would not do it; she is too young to have so much care on her shoulders; I want the rest of her life to be as bright and happy as it is possible for me to make it. My idea is to get some cultivated, refined, middle-aged lady to come and take the care of the house-keeping, and be a person who would make it pleasant for Rachel, and any young friends she might wish to have with her. But how can I get such a person? I answered two advertis.e.m.e.nts last week, and had interviews with the females themselves at the Tremont House. One of them was old and thin, and had a sharp voice that sent a chill through me every time she spoke,--would be about as cheerful a member of society as an animated skeleton; the other fair, fat, and forty, but an incessant talker, and looked as if she had not brushed her hair for a week. Now, Mrs. Berkley, what shall I do? Here I am, a poor, forlorn bachelor, who throws himself on your hands. You must help me somehow or other."
"Well, the best thing I can advise," replied Mrs. Berkley, with an amused smile, "is for you to cease to be a bachelor."
Dr. Drayton shrugged his shoulders. "Impossible, madame!"
"And why, I should like to know? You certainly are not bad-looking; your name is quite surrounded by a fast-increasing halo of fame,--something which is always attractive to the young ladies, you know,--and, what would be above all to many, you have money."
"Exactly," replied Dr. Drayton, with considerable energy. "When I first settled down in Berlin, through some very influential friends the very first society of the place was open to me, and I found myself the recipient of marked attention from the heads of several families. I was delighted with them. Such cordiality! such hospitality! I really felt proud of myself for calling it forth, for then I was young, and the little halo which you speak of had not shed its benign influence over me; of course it was to my personal attractions, and nothing else, I owed my popularity. I happened to speak to a young American friend of mine, of the attentions I was constantly receiving,--invitations to this, that, and the other house, and wondered why it was he was not equally fortunate. "My dear fellow," said he, "don"t you know I haven"t got any money?" His answer was certainly a damper to my feelings; but it was a good thing for me. I gave less time to b.a.l.l.s and parties, and more to my profession; gradually, as I showed myself less and less in society, I received fewer invitations, and those from gentlemen all having marriageable daughters. No, Mrs. Berkley, don"t ask me to get married; at least not at present. I don"t know anything about American girls; but I suppose they are all very much the same as other young ladies, and not until I can find one who will love me for myself, and not my money, will there ever be a Mrs. Drayton at the head of my table."
"That is certainly a good resolution," replied Mrs. Berkley, laughing; "but I am afraid I could find you a wife much easier than a house-keeper, such as you want. Of course you will want to put your house in order, and furnish it; meanwhile we are delighted to keep Rachel with us."
"You are very kind, very kind indeed, and I certainly shall benefit myself by your offer, for I don"t like the idea of taking her to a hotel. But you haven"t asked me where my house is."
"Sure enough," replied Mrs. Berkley; "but my mind has been too full of your house-keeper to think of your house. Where is it?"
"That house on the corner of Beacon Street and the street just below here, I can"t recall the name."
"The free-stone house we noticed for sale the other day?" inquired Mrs.
Berkley.
"Yes, that is the one. It is larger than I really need; but the arrangement of the ground-floor suits me admirably, for I must have an office."
"Then you intend to practise?"
"Certainly, I should be ashamed of myself if I gave up my profession; but I do not intend to do anything out of office-hours, so it will not confine me at all. I intend to take the entire charge of Rachel"s property until she is of age; meanwhile I want to give her a clear idea of the value of money, so that she may be able to make a good use of her immense fortune."
"I will look about me," said Mrs. Berkley, "and if I hear of any lady that I think will suit you in every way, I will let you know; but here come the girls; they have been out to see Florence Stevenson."
Rachel was delighted with the house her uncle had bought, for it was only a few moments" walk from Mr. Berkley"s, and she would be able to be with Marion every day. The two girls commenced making plans for the winter, Rachel deciding that the first thing she would do, when they got into their new house, would be to have Florence in for a long visit.
A few days after the conversation between Mrs. Berkley and Dr. Drayton, Mr. Berkley received a letter from a distant cousin of his, a lonely widow, who having lost her property, had written to him to see if he could get her a situation as house-keeper in some refined family. Upon showing this letter to his wife, she at once exclaimed that the lady was the very person for Dr. Drayton.
The necessary arrangements were soon made; the house was put in perfect order, and elegantly furnished; and Dr. Drayton took his niece to as delightful a home as one could wish to have, for Mrs. Marston proved to be all that he desired. Cultivated and agreeable, she soon won his heartfelt esteem, and Rachel loved her from their very first meeting.
After the new household had got fairly settled, Dr. Drayton proposed to Rachel that she should continue her German and French under his direction. He spoke both languages as fluently as he did English, and suggested that the lessons should consist entirely of conversation, and reading aloud from some of the best French and German authors. Rachel was very much pleased at his proposition, and asked if Marion might not join with them.
"Yes, if she likes," replied Dr. Drayton, in answer to her request; "but I"m afraid her head will be too full of b.a.l.l.s and parties, for her to ever keep up a regular course of studies."
"Why, Uncle Robert!" indignantly cried Rachel; "you don"t know Marion at all, or you would not say that!"
"I don"t pretend to," quietly replied the doctor; "but I suppose she is very much like all other young ladies."
"Indeed she is not," replied Rachel, energetically. "I don"t know of a girl that has as much strength of character as Marion."
"Not even excepting Miss Florence?"
"No, not even excepting her. I love Florence dearly; she is a lovely girl, but there is something about Marion which _she_ has not got."
"I should say so, decidedly," replied Dr. Drayton, with provoking coolness.