"So we"ve met again," said he, "and a pretty lecture I"ve had on your account."
"Why on my account?" asked Rosamond; and Ben, who never kept a thing to himself, told her in substance all his mother had said.
"She always wakes in the wrong time," said he, "and she saw me just as I was about to give you a little bit of a hug--so"--and he proceeded to demonstrate.
Rosamond"s temper was up, and equally indignant at mother and son, she started to her feet, exclaiming, "I"d thank you, sir, to let me alone."
"Whew-ew," whistled Ben. "s.p.u.n.ky, ain"t you. Now I rather like that.
But pray don"t burst a blood vessel. I"ve no notion of making love to you, if mother does think so. You are too small a girl."
"Too small a girl," repeated Rosamond, scornfully. "I"m _fourteen_ to- morrow--quite too old to be insulted," and she darted away, followed by the merry laugh of the good-humored Ben.
Two hours before, Rosamond would not have been so excited, for though nearly fourteen, she was in thought and feeling a very child, as was proved by her asking to kiss her benefactor"s hand; but Mrs. Van Vechten"s remarks, repeated to her by Ben, had wrought in her a change, and, in some respects, transformed her into a woman at once.
She did not care so much for the liberties Ben had attempted to take, but his mother"s words rankled in her bosom, awakening within her a feeling of bitter resentment; and when, next day, the lady"s bell rang out its summons for her to come, she sat still upon the doorsteps and gave no heed.
"Rosamond," said Mrs. Peters, "Mrs. Van Vechten is ringing for you."
"Let her ring, I"m not going to wait on her any more," and Rosamond returned to the book she was reading.
Meantime, flurried and impatient, the lady above stairs pulled at the bell-rope, growing more nervous and angry with every pull, until at last, as she heard her brother"s step in the hall, she went out to him and said, "I wish you"d send that girl to me. I"ve rung at least fifty times; and dare say she"s enticing Ben again. I knew it would be so."
Going hurriedly down the stairs, Mr. Browning sought out Rosamond and said to her, "My sister is ringing for you."
"I know it, sir;" and the brown eyes, which heretofore had seemed so soft and gentle, flashed upon him an expression which puzzled him.
"Then why do you not go?" he asked; and the young girl replied, "I shall not wait upon, her any more."
"_Rosamond!_" said Mr. Browning. There was severity in the tone of his voice, and Rosamond roused at once.
"She says I am _vulgar_, and _low-born_, and have designs upon Ben,"
said she, "and it"s a falsehood. My mother was as much a lady as she.
I am _not_ vulgar, and I hate Ben, and I won"t stay here if I must wait on _her_. Shall I go away?"
If Rosamond left, the life of the house went with her. This Mr.
Browning knew; but man-like, he did not wish to be conquered by a woman, and after questioning her as to the nature of Mrs. Van Vechten"s offence, he answered, "My sister says some foolish things, I know, but it is my request that you attend to her while she stays, and I expect to be obeyed."
That last word was unfortunate, for Rosamond had a strong will of her own, and tapping her little foot upon the ground, she said saucily, "And suppose you are not obeyed?"
He did not tell her she must leave Riverside, but he said, "You must answer for your disobedience to me, who have certainly some right to control you;" then, fearing that his own high temper might be tried more than he chose to have it, he walked away just in time to avoid hearing her say, "she cared less for him than for his sister!"
Rosamond was too impulsive not to repent bitterly of her conduct; and though she persisted in leaving Mrs. Van Vechten to herself, and refused to speak to Ben, whose face, in consequence, wore a most melancholy expression, she almost cried herself sick, and at last, startled Mrs. Peters, just as that lady was stepping into bed, by declaring that she must see Mr. Browning before she slept.
Mr. Browning sat in his library, alone. He did not usually retire early, but this night he had cause for wakefulness. The burst of pa.s.sion he had witnessed in his protegee, had carried him back to a time when another than little Rosamond Leyton had laughed his wishes to scorn.
"And is it ever thus with them?" he said. "Are all women furies in disguise?--and Rosamond seemed so gentle, so good."
He did not hear the low knock on his door, for his thoughts were far away in the south-land, where he had learned his first lesson of womankind. Neither did he hear the light footfall upon the floor, but when a sweet, tearful voice said to him, "Mr. Browning, are you feeling so badly for me?" he started, and on a ha.s.sock at his feet saw Rosamond Leyton. The sight of her was unexpected, and it startled him for a moment, but soon recovering his composure, he said gently: "Why are you here? I supposed you were in bed."
Rosamond began to cry, and with her usual impetuosity replied, "I came to tell you how sorry I am for behaving so rudely to you. I do try to govern my temper so hard, but it sometimes gets the mastery. Won"t you forgive me, sir? It wasn"t Rosamond that acted so--it was a vile, wicked somebody else. Will you forgive me?" and in her dread that the coveted forgiveness might be withheld, she forgot that he was only _twenty-four_, and laid her head upon his knee, sobbing like a little child.
"Had _she_ done like this, how different would my life have been,"
thought Mr. Browning, and involuntarily caressing the curly head, he was about to speak, when Rosamond interrupted him, saying,
"I won"t deceive you, Mr. Browning, and make you think I"m better than I am. I am sorry I acted so to you, but I don"t believe I"m sorry about Mrs. Van Vechten. I don"t like her, for she always treats me as though I were not near as good as she, and I can"t wait on her any more. Must I? Oh, don"t make me," and she looked beseechingly into his face.
He could not help respecting her for that inborn feeling, which would not permit herself to be trampled down, and though he felt intuitively that she was having her own way after all, he a.s.sured her of his forgiveness, and then added: "Mrs. Van Vechten will not require your services, for she received a letter to-night, saying her presence was needed at home, and she leaves us to-morrow."
"_And Ben?_" she asked--"does he go, too?"
"He accompanies his mother to New York," Mr. Browning said, "and I believe she intends leaving him there with a friend, until his school commences again."
In spite of herself, Rosamond rather liked Ben, and feeling that she was the cause of his banishment from Riverside, her sympathy was enlisted for him, and she said, "If I were not here, Ben would stay.
Hadn"t you rather send me away?"
"No, Rosamond, no;--I need you here," was Mr. Browning"s reply, and then as the clock struck eleven, he bade her leave him, saying it was time children like her were in bed.
As he had said, Mis. Van Vechten was going away, and she came down to breakfast next morning in her traveling dress, appearing very unamiable, and looking very cross at Rosamond, with whom she finally parted without a word of reconciliation. Ben, on the contrary, was all affability, and managed slyly to kiss her, telling her he should come there again in spite of his mother.
After their departure the household settled back into its usual monotonous way of living, with the exception that Rosamond, being promoted to the position of an equal, became, in many respects, the real mistress of Riverside, though Mrs. Peters nominally held the reins, and aside from superintending her work, built many castles of the future when her protegee would be a full grown woman and her master still young and handsome!
CHAPTER IV
ROSAMOND"S EDUCATION
One year has pa.s.sed away since Mrs. Van Vechten departed for the South, and up the locust lined avenue which leads to Riverside, the owner of the place is slowly riding. It is not pleasant going home tonight, and so he lingers by the way, wondering why it is that the absence of a _child_ should make so much difference in one"s feelings!
During the year Rosamond had recited her lessons to him, but with many others he fancied no girl"s education could be finished unless she were _sent away_--and two weeks before the night of which we write he had taken her himself to At.w.a.ter Seminary, a distance of more than two hundred miles, and then, with a sense of desolation for which he could not account, he had returned to his home, which was never so lonely before. There was no merry voice within the walls,--no tripping feet upon the stairs,--no soft, white hand to bathe his forehead when suffering from real or fancied headaches,--no slippers waiting by his chair,--no flowers on the mantel,--no bright face at the window,--no Rosamond at the door.
Of all this was he thinking that November afternoon, and when at last he reached his house, he went straight to his library, hoping to find a letter there, telling him of her welfare. But letter there was none, and with a feeling of disappointment he started to the parlor. The door was ajar and he caught glimpses of a cheerfully blazing fire within the grate. The shutters, too, were open and the curtains were put back just as they used to be when _she was there_. It seemed like the olden time, and with spirits somewhat enlivened he advanced into the room. His favorite chair stood before the fire, and so near to it that her head was leaning on its arm, sat a young girl. Her back was turned toward him, but he knew that form full well, and joyfully he cried: "Rosamond, how came you here?"
Amid her smiles and tears, Rosamond tempted to tell him the story of her grievances. She was homesick, and she could not learn half so much at the At.w.a.ter Seminary as at home--then, too, she hated the strait- jacket rules, and hated the lady-boarder, who pretended to be sick, and wouldn"t let the school-girls breathe, especially Rosamond Leyton, for whom she seemed to have conceived a particular aversion.
Pleased as Mr. Browning was to have Rosamond with him again, he did not quite like her reasons for coming back, and he questioned her closely as to the cause of her sudden return.
"I shouldn"t have come, perhaps," said Rosamond, "if that sick woman hadn"t been so nervous and disagreeable. She paid enormous sums for her board, and so Mrs. Lindsey would hardly let us breathe for fear of disturbing her. My room was over hers, and I had to take off my shoes and walk on tiptoe, and even then she complained of me, saying I was rude and noisy, when I tried so hard to be still. I made some hateful remark about her in the hall, which she overheard, and when Mrs.
Lindsey scolded me for it, saying she was a very wealthy lady from Florida, and accustomed to every attention at home, I said back some pert things, I suppose, for she threatened to write and tell you, and so I thought I"d come and tell you myself."
There was a dizzy whirl in Mr. Browning"s brain--a pallor about his lips--for a terrible suspicion had flashed upon him, and leaning forward, he said in a voice almost a whisper, "What was the Florida lady"s name?"
"Potter, or Porter--yes, _Miss Porter_, that was it. But what is the matter? Are you sick?" Rosamond asked, as she saw how white he was.
"Only a sudden faintness. It will soon pa.s.s off," he said. "Tell me more of her. Did she see you? Were you near her?"
"No," answered Rosamond. "She was sick all the time I was there, and did not leave her room. The girls said, though, that she was rather pretty, but had big, black, evil-looking eyes. I don"t know why it was, but I felt afraid of her--felt just as though she was my evil genius. I couldn"t help it--but you _are_ sick, Mr. Browning--you are pale as a ghost. Lie down upon the sofa, and let me bring the pillows, as I used to do."