Van Buren smiled and shook his head. In its way it was a handsome head in the fair, clean-shaven American style, with shining blond hair. He had very broad shoulders, and a very thin waist, and that nave worldliness of air so captivating in many of his countrymen.
Except that he wore a b.u.t.tonhole of Parma violets, he was dressed in every particular exactly like Harry. But no one would have believed it--he looked so much better dressed.
"That"s your chaff, Harry. I"m not a Gibson man, and I don"t pretend to be."
He looked at his hands, which were small and white, the finger-tips brilliantly polished, and said meditatively--
"I"m very much looking forward to meeting your cousin, Harry. I expect she"s the ideal of a young English lady. Dark, did you say?"
"Rather dark, and very pretty."
"It"s a curious thing, Harry, that to me a broonette has always more fascination than a blonde. It seems--I may be wrong--as though there"s more piquancy, more character."
"I quite agree with you," said Harry. "Now the sister--the married one--is very fair."
"And she"s quite what you call a professional beauty, isn"t she?" asked Van Buren with great relish.
"My dear fellow, I don"t call anyone a professional beauty, and you mustn"t either. There"s no such thing. I can"t think how in America you get hold of these prehistoric phrases! The expression must have been dead long before either of us was born!... Still, she is a beauty all the same."
"Is that so? Mind you, Harry, there"s something very attractive about a blonde, too. To me golden hair and blue eyes suggest gentleness and womanliness.... What is Mrs. Wyburn like?"
"Well, she"s rather like an angel on a Christmas card, with her hair down--I mean she was, as a little girl," said Harry quickly. "Now she"s considered like "Love among the Roses" by Burne-Jones."
"Do you really mean that, Harry? Why, she must be more beautiful than Miss de Freyne!"
"I wouldn"t worry about her, if I were you," Harry said.
"Why not, Harry?"
"Well, you see she"s got a husband," said Harry, looking at the ceiling as he puffed his cigarette.
"And a cousin," replied Van Buren with unexpected quickness. He then burst out laughing.
"What do you mean?" asked Harry, not laughing.
"Harry, I do beg of you to forgive my indiscretion. I"m afraid you"ll think it shows great want of delicacy on my part. It was only meant for English chaff. Don"t be angry, Harry." Van Buren was quite distressed.
"That"s all right, old chap."
"You see, I know you painted her portrait, and if you _had_ felt a little sentiment for her, who could blame you? Of course, I"m well aware that you"re far too much a man of high principle to come any way between a woman and her husband, or even to let her know if you had a fancy in that direction.... I thoroughly do you justice there, Harry."
"I regard them as sisters," answered Harry.
Van Buren went to the window and stood looking out for a few minutes.
"Well, they are sisters.... What a wonderful place your London is!" he said. "Now there"s the sort of thing I never can understand, which has just happened. A lady called a taxicab. Just as it came up a man--at least I suppose he calls himself a man--opened the door. I thought he meant to help her in. No! He got in himself and drove away.--Now, Harry, how do you account for that?"
"I suppose he could walk quicker," said Harry.
"It"s the one fault I have to find with you Englishmen, Harry--the single fault. You"re not gallant enough to the ladies. Nor is there, in my opinion, quite enough respect shown to them. I am always astonished, I admit, that they don"t resent it. Why, in New York----."
"My dear fellow, they complain bitterly that there"s too much respect shown to them already," said Harry. "A little more, and they"d do without us altogether!"
Van Buren laughed cheerily, and clapped Harry on the shoulder.
"What a fellow you are for chaff! Now, will you come around and have lunch with me?"
"When? Now? Thanks, old chap."
"That"s real good, Harry," said Van Buren, his eyes sparkling with joy, "and we"ll walk down Piccadilly together. I must say ..."
"What?"
"I shan"t feel we"re real pals till you call me Mat!"
Harry shivered ostentatiously.
They went out, both laughing with great cordiality.
At the corner Van Buren stopped to throw away his b.u.t.tonhole. He saw they were not being worn.
CHAPTER IV
THE ELDER MRS. WYBURN
Romer"s mother usually received him with a sarcastic remark, such as "Oh, so you remember that I"m not dead yet?" or "I wonder you find time to come at all," or something of the same nature, calculated to cast a gloom over any visit.
The widow of a rich brewer, Mrs. Wyburn lived in a bad-tempered looking old house in Curzon Street, with a hara.s.sed footman, a domineering maid, a cross cook, and other servants that were continually changing. She was one of those excellent housekeepers who spend most of their time "giving notice" and "taking up" characters. She nearly always wore a hard-looking black silk dress. She had parted black hair, long earrings, and a knot of rare old imitation lace at her throat. Eagerness, impatience, love of teasing and sharp wit were visible in her face to one who could read between the lines. But, notwithstanding this, as she had a soft heart and plenty of hard cash, she was not altogether unpopular. People enjoyed going to hear the nasty things she said about their friends. She had a real _succes de scandale_ on her Wednesdays, notwithstanding the fact that a more highly respectable lady had never existed in the world.
She adored Romer, although his slow speech and long pauses often drove her to the very verge of violence.
"Thought I"d look in," he remarked, rather heavily taking a seat in the dark drawing-room, and he proceeded by slow stages to tell her that he was coming to dinner on Thursday because Valentia was going out.
She gave him a quick look, combined of motherly pride and annoyance.
"Delighted, of course, dear. Who did you say was Valentia"s hostess?"
"She"s going with Daphne. Harry"s dinner. At some restaurant."
"Oh, indeed!... Well, if you approve of these Bohemian arrangements it"s not _my_ business. I have my own opinion of Harry de Freyne; I always have had--and I shall keep it."
"Do," said Romer, unconsciously epigrammatic.
She waited a minute and then said--