Wych Hazel made another plunge after sealskin jacket and cap; turned over a box of gloves till she matched her ribbands; gave Mrs. Byw.a.n.k a laugh and a flash from her eyes, and was off. But that carriage it seemed had rolled by, and there was no one at the meeting place in the woods when the girl seated herself there to await her guests.
" "Do you think Dane will like to have you dress as you do?" "?so ran her thoughts. "Well,?how do I dress?"
She sat looking into the soft silence of the October air, feeling that for her life was changing fast. The old bounds to her action had somehow now stretched out to take in her will; her own pleasure now often in the mood to wait, uncertain of its choice, till she knew the pleasure of somebody else. There was the least bit of rebellion at this here and there; and yet on the whole Wych Hazel by no means wished herself back in the old times when n.o.body cared. Ah how lonely she had been!?and how full the world seemed now, with that secret sense of happiness pervading all things! Meanwhile, as Prim had said, what was she going to do about dress?
It happened that the first interruption to her meditations came from a visiter who did not intend to be a guest. No less than Gov.
Powder; a portly, gentlemanly, somewhat imposing personage, who was less known to society than were his wife and daughters.
However, without wife and daughters, here he was.
"Good morning, my dear, good morning!" he began blandly, shaking Wych Hazel"s hand with a sort of paternal-official benignity. "Your guardian has not come upon the scene yet? I thought I should find him here. Why how cool you look, for October!"
"Yes, sir?I like to look cool," said Hazel, conscious that she could not always accomplish the feat. "Especially when I have the world on my hands. Just now I am undefended., Gov. Powder; but I suppose both my guardians will be here by and by."
"What do you do with two guardians, eh? Keep "em both in good humour?"
"One at a time is as much as I often try for," said Hazel. "But Gov.
Powder, I wish you would let me have a little fun right over the heads of them both."
"I?" said the ex-governor, somewhat surprised. "Eh? It does not often happen to me now-a-days to have the honour of such an appeal?unless from my own mad daughters. In what direction do you want me to come over your guardians, Miss Kennedy? and which of them?"
"O it is nothing mad at all, in my case," said Hazel. "And neither of them must know. But will you walk a little way down the wood with me, sir? I do not want them even to see a consultation."
A man must be much set in his own purposes who would not go more than "a little way" after such a voice; and Gov. Powder was but an ordinary man. So, finding the white ruffles a very pretty sort of a convoy, the ex-governor strolled down among the golden hickories and ruddy oaks, and never once guessed that he had a siren at his elbow.
"Last winter," Hazel began, speaking fast now, to keep pace with the minutes, "I had quite a large legacy left to me."
"Somebody who wanted to protect you against misfortune, eh?"
said the governor.
"Or who did not believe in guardians, sir; for mine were to have no control over it whatever."
"I see!" said the governor. "Pocket money to purchase sugar-plums."
"But perhaps you know, sir, that we girls like sugar-plums of many sorts."
"Miss Kennedy, do you know my daughters?"
"Well sir," said Hazel weighing her words, wondering to herself whether diplomats get along without telling fibs; and if they do, _how_ they do,?"it would be quite a novelty of a bonbon to invest this money in some splendid way, all by myself. Not the whole of it, you know, sir,?only a few thousands." She was so eager! and so terribly afraid of shewing her eagerness.
"That is a sort of bonbon that is very tempting to old fellows like me; but, pardon me, I should think it was more in Mr. Falkirk"s way than in yours?"
"Mr. Falkirk may admire it afterwards, if he chooses, but _I_ want to make the investment. And I learned from somebody," said Hazel, careful of her words, "that the best thing I could do, was to buy that bit of land of yours, Gov. Powder, lying just at the head of the Hollow. It is not worth more than twenty thousand, is it?" she went on, suggestively. "And I was told, sir, that you were ready to dispose of it."
"Somebody spoke too fast," said the governor, looking unmistakably surprised this time. "Really, I am in no hurry to dispose of that piece of land. Its value is in its water power. You don"t want to build mills, do you?"
"No, sir,?the whole of my legacy would not cover _that_. And I would rather not invest more than twenty thousand at first."
"Twenty thousand" has a pleasant sound to a man with "mad"
daughters, and other expenses! Nevertheless the governor looked steadily into the face of facts.
"My dear Miss Kennedy, I must remark to you, that if you do not want to put mills on that ground, it would be a very poor investment for your twenty thousand. The water power is all the value there. And Paul Charteris has been trying to get it of me for his own purposes. Now I know what _he_ wants; but I do not see what you want with land in Mill Hollow."
"Why Governor Powder," said Hazel, "Mr. Falkirk would go to sleep in luxury, if he could only see _why_ I want things! One might as well be a man?or Mr. Paul Charteris?at once!"
"Isn"t Paul Charteris a man?" inquired Gov. Powder laughing. Hazel laughed too, but returned to the charge.
"I shall not invest in him," she said, "even so much as an opinion.
What I want is the land, and the water power, and the fun."
Gov. Powder stepped back and took a survey of the little lady.
"You mustn"t break your teeth with a bonbon," said he. "Suppose you let me speak to my friend Mr. Falkirk about it?"
"No indeed, sir! Mr. Falkirk never approves of anything he does not suggest himself. All great men have their weak points, Gov.
Powder," said Wych Hazel.
"Well, let us say Rollo then. I think he is a wild man with his own fortune; but I reckon he would look out for yours. By the way! he may want the land for himself? eh?"
"Of course he may," said Wych Hazel, "but not half so much as I do.
To consult him, would be saying no to me, Gov. Powder. And you know you are going to say yes."
"I don"t understand doing business with ladies!" said the poor governor, shaking his head. "I can get along with my own sort.
Miss Kennedy, there are certain complications, which I cannot explain to you. Paul Charteris has been at me to get those very acres that you want. What would he say, if I threw him over and sold them to you? I guess you must let me settle with him first."
"Tell him you sold the land to somebody who offered more," said Hazel. "That is easy enough. How much would he give, sir?"
"Ah but, the thing is, there are complications,?there are complications," repeated the governor. "Give? He don"t want to give above the half of your twenty thousand; and I couldn"t in conscience take the whole. The land is not worth so much as that, Miss Kennedy. But young ladies don"t understand complications,"
he added with a smile. "I can"t just throw Paul over, without a word."
"Push him off," said Hazel. "n.o.body can teach me anything about complications!?Push him off, sir. Just give him a negative and do not say why."
"What do you want it for?"
"Just now," said Hazel, "I want to get ahead of Mr. Charteris."
"I may tell him I have an offer of twelve thousand?" said the governor, who was badly in want of money.
"Certainly, sir. If you will first say three words to make sure Mr.
Charteris shall not get ahead of me."
"Well, well!" said the governor?"here come people, Miss Kennedy,?he shall not get ahead of you. At any rate, I"ll settle nothing with him without letting you know. He can"t outbid you?
you"re pretty safe. Do I understand that you want this affair kept private, between you and me?"
"O yes, sir!" cried Hazel softly,?"it is to be _terribly_ private. And if you will only let women vote, Gov. Powder, I will certainly vote for you.?Mr. Falkirk, if you knew how long Gov. Powder has been impatient for you, you would be grieved to have left him so long with me!"?And Miss Kennedy flitted off, with eyes in a sparkle that was dangerous to come near. I think Gov. Powder"s eyes sparkled a little too, poor man; they had grown a little dull with looking so long into ways and means.
And after this little bit of business, the pleasure of the day set in with a flood tide. You have all seen such days. Nature had laid out a wonderful entertainment, to begin with; and put no hindrances in the way; and it appeared that every creature came with spirits and hopes on tiptoe. Dresses were something captivating, so much attention and invention had been exercised upon them. And the facilities for flirtations which the scene and the sport afforded, were most picturesque. The parties in the trees could display their agility; the parties on the ground could show their costumes in charming att.i.tudes. For a time the care of the hostess was needed in a.s.signing the people to their proper posts of usefulness or pleasure; but when all were come and all was in train, the thing would run itself, and Wych Hazel became as free as anybody else.
"Look here," cried Josephine Powder, "I"ve been waiting all day to speak to you. n.o.body wants you now, Hazel; come here and sit down. I"m in awful trouble."