Under the Country Sky.
by Grace S. Richmond.
CHAPTER I
HEART BURNINGS
She did not want to hate the girls; indeed, since she loved them all, it would go particularly hard with her if she had to hate them; love turned to hate is such a virulent product! But, certainly, she had never found it so hard to be patient with them.
They were all five her college cla.s.smates, of only last year"s cla.s.s, and it was dear and kind of them to drive out here into the country to see her, coming in Phyllis Porter"s great family limousine, the prettiest, jolliest little "crowd" imaginable. They had been thoughtful enough to warn her that they were coming, too, so that she could set the old manse living-room in its pleasantest order, build a crackling apple-wood fire in the fireplace, and get out her best thin china and silver with which to serve afternoon tea--she made it chocolate, with vivid recollection of their tastes; and added deliciously substantial though delicate sandwiches, with plenty of the fruitiest and nuttiest kinds of little cakes. She had donned the one real afternoon frock she possessed, a clever make-over out of nothing in particular. Altogether, when she greeted her guests, as they ran, fur-clad and silk-stockinged after the manner of their kind, into her welcoming arms, she had seemed to them absolutely the old Georgiana.
They had brought her a wonderful box of red roses--and Phyllis had caught her kissing one of the great, silky buds as she put it with the rest in a bowl. "I don"t believe she"s seen a hothouse rose since she left college," thought Phyllis, with a stab of pity at her tender heart.
But for the first hour of their stay Georgiana had been her gay and brilliant self, flinging quips and jests broadcast, asking impertinent questions, making saucy comments, quite as of old. It was only when Dot Manning, toward the end of the visit, began a sober tale of the misfortunes which had come thronging into the life of one of their cla.s.smates, that Georgiana"s face, sobering into sympathetic gravity, betrayed to her companions a curious change which had come upon it since they saw it last.
Meanwhile, in answer to her questioning, they had told her all about themselves. Phyllis Porter and Celia Winters were having a glorious season in society. Theo Crossman was deep in settlement work--"crazy over it" was, of course, the phrase. Dot Manning was going abroad next week for a year of travel in all sorts of beguiling, out-of-the-way places. As for Madge Sylvester, who was getting ready to be married after Easter, the first of the cla.s.s, she sat mostly in a dreamy, smiling silence, looking into the fire while the others talked.
No, Georgiana did not want to hate the girls, but before their stay was over she found herself coming dangerously near it--temporarily, at least. They were dears, of course, but they were so content with themselves and so pitiful of her. Not, of course, that they meant to let her see this, but it showed in spite of them. They wanted to know what she did with herself, whether there were any young people, and any good times going on--Georgiana led them to the window, just at this point, and pointed out to them a vigorous young man striding by in ulster and soft hat, who looked up and waved as he pa.s.sed, showing one of those fine and manly young faces, glowing with health and hopefulness, which always challenge interest from girlhood.
"Oh, have you many like that?" Celia had asked, and when Georgiana had owned that James Stuart was the only one precisely "like that," Dot had inquired if Mr. Stuart belonged to Georgiana, and, being answered in the negative, shook her head and sighed: "One swallow _may_ make a summer, Jan, but I doubt it!"
Theodora Crossman, the settlement worker, inquired particularly whether Georgiana were doing anything worth while, using that pregnant modern phrase which has been decidedly overworked, yet which hardly can be spared from the present-day vocabulary.
"Worth while!" cried Georgiana, flashing into flame in an instant in the way they knew so well. "Worth while--yes! You haven"t seen my father, have you, ever? It"s a pity this happens to be one of his bad, spine-achey days, for he"d be a good and sufficient answer to that question. Father Davy is one of the Lord"s own saints on earth, and he possesses a magnificent sense of humour, which not all saints do, you know. To love him is a liberal education, and to take care of him is better "worth while" than to have any number of fingers in other people"s pies."
"Of course, dear," Theo had answered soothingly. "We know there"s nothing in the world so well worth while as looking after one"s father and mother. Your mother died long ago, didn"t she, dear? And your father would be dreadfully lonely without you. At the same time, it doesn"t seem as if he could absorb all your energies. You remember the splendid things Professor Nichols used to say about the duty of the college girl, after college, particularly in a small town? I suppose you have no foreigners here, but I thought perhaps you might find quite a wonderful field for your endeavour in stimulating the women of the place into clubs for study and work. It"s----"
A curious exclamation from her hostess caused Miss Crossman to pause.
In fact, they all stared wonderingly at Georgiana. She stood upon the hearthrug, her colour, usually ready to glow in her dusky face, now receding suggestively, her dark eyes sparkling dangerously. "The only trouble with that sort of thing," she answered with suspicious quietness, "or rather the two troubles with it are these: In the first place, the women have pretty nearly a club apiece already, which suits them much better than anything I could "stimulate" them to; and, in the second place, I have "quite a wonderful field for my endeavour," as you call it, Theo--did you crib that phrase?--in the upper regions of my own home. I--in fact, I may be said to belong to the I. W. W.; I"m one of the industrial workers of the world!"
"Jan, you haven"t gone into anything crazy----" Dot was beginning, when Georgiana, obeying an impulse, walked away from her hearthrug toward the door, beckoning her guests to follow.
"Come on," she invited. "Since you have so poor an opinion of the possibilities for serious labour in a world of woe offered by my residence in a small country village, you may come and see for yourselves."
They came after her, with a rustle and flutter of frocks and a patter of smartly shod feet, up the old spindle-railed staircase, through a chilly and unfurnished upper hall, and up a still chillier narrow second staircase, into an attic region which could hardly be properly characterized as chilly, for the reason that the atmosphere there was frankly freezing.
As near as possible to the gable window stood a monster structure the nature of which the beholders did not instantly recognize. Phyllis was the first to cry out: "A loom! It must be a very old one, too. Oh, how fascinating! What do you make, Jan--fabrics?"
"Rugs," explained Georgiana, pulling at a pile upon the floor. "Such rugs as these. Good looking? Yes, dear cla.s.smates?"
"Stunning!" cried Madge Sylvester, with a smothered shiver at the penetrating cold of the place.
"Simply wonderful!" "Too clever for anything!" and, "Oh, Jan, do you make them to sell?" "Can I buy this one?" "I"m wild over this dull blue and Indian red!" came tumbling from the mouths of the eager girls, as in the fading light from the attic window they examined the hand-woven rugs. There was sincerity in their voices; Georgiana had known there would be; she was sure of the art and skill plainly to be found in her product.
"I"m afraid not, Phyl. These are all orders, and I"m weeks behind. They go to certain exclusive city shops, and I have all I can do."
"You must have struck a gold mine. I"m so glad!" congratulated warm-hearted Phyllis.
"Well, not exactly. It"s rather slow work, when you do housework, too,"
acknowledged Georgiana. "However, it does very well; it keeps us in firewood--and oysters--for the winter."
She instantly regretted this speech, for it led, presently, as she might have known it would, to delicately worded expressions of hope that she would in the future give her friends the pleasure of purchasing her wares.
Down by the fireplace again Georgiana turned upon them in her old jesting way, which yet had in it, as they all felt, a quality which was new. "Stop it, girls. No, I"ll not sell one of you a rug of any size, shape, or colour. I"m far behind, as I told you. But--I"ll send Madge a gorgeous one for a wedding present, if she"ll tell me her preferences, and I"ll do the same for each of you, when you meet your fates. Now stop talking about it. I only showed you to demonstrate that this is a busy world for me as well as for you, and that I"m very content in it. Dot, don"t you want just one more of these fruitkins? By the way, since you like them so much, I"ll give you the recipe. I made it up--wasn"t it clever of me?"
"You"re much the cleverest of us all, anyway," murmured Dot meekly, nibbling at the delicious morsel, while her hostess rapidly wrote out a little formula and gave it to her with a smile.
They were soon off after that, for the early winter twilight was upon them, and the lights in the waiting car outside suddenly came on with a suggestive completeness. Georgiana a.s.sisted her guests into luxurious coats and capes made of or lined with chinchilla, with otter, with sable; handed gloves and m.u.f.fs; and listened to all manner of affectionate parting speeches, every one of which contained pressing invitations for visits, short or long. Each girl made promises of future calls, and professed herself eager to come and stay with Georgiana at any time. Then the whole group went away on a little warm breeze of good-fellowship and human kindness.
"They are dears," admitted Georgiana, as she waved her arm at the departing car; "but, oh!--_oh!_ I can"t stand having them sorry for me!
The old manse _is_ shabby, and every girl of them knew how many times this frock has been made over--I saw Celia recognize it even through its dye. No wonder, when it"s been at every college tea she ever gave. But I won"t--_I won"t_--be pitied!"
The door opened, and a slender figure in an old-fashioned dressing-gown came slowly into the firelit room.
Georgiana turned quickly. "Father Davy! Do you feel better? If I"d known it, I"d have brought you in to meet the girls. They would have enjoyed you so."
"I"m not quite up to meeting the girls perhaps, daughter, but decidedly better and correspondingly cheerful. Have you had a good time?"
He placed himself as carefully as possible upon the couch by the fire, and his daughter tucked him up in an old plaid shawl which had lain folded upon it. She dropped upon the hearthrug and sat looking into the fire, while her father regarded the picture she made in the dyed frock, now a soft Indian red, a hue which pleased his eye and brought out all her gypsy colouring.
The head upon the couch pillow was topped with a soft ma.s.s of curly gray hair, the face below was thin and pale, but the eyes which rested upon the girl were the clearest, youngest blue-gray eyes that ever spoke mutely of the spirit"s triumph over the body. One had but to glance at David Warne to understand that here was a man who was no less a man because he had to spend many hours of every day upon his tortured back.
It was three years since he had been forced to lay aside the care of the village-and-country parish of which he had been minister, but he had given up not a whit of his interest in his fellowmen, and now that he could seldom go to them he had taught them to come to him, so that the old manse was almost as much a centre of the village"s interest and affection as it had been when its master went freely in and out. A new manse had been built nearer the church, for the new man, and the old house left to Mr. Warne"s undisputed possession--proof positive of his place in the hearts of the community.
"A good time?" murmured Georgiana, in answer to the question. "No, a hateful, envious, black-browed time, disguised as much as might be under a frivolous manner. The girls were lovely--and I was a perfect fiend!"
Mr. Warne did not seem in the least disconcerted by this startling statement. "The sounds I heard did not strike me as indicating the presence of any fiend," he suggested.
"Probably not. I managed to avoid giving in to the temptation to s.n.a.t.c.h Phyl"s sumptuous chinchilla coat, Madge"s perfectly adorable hat, Theo"s bronze shoes, Dot"s embroidered silk handbag, and Bess"s hand-wrought collar and cuffs."
"It was a matter of clothes, then? How much heart-burning men escape!"
mused Mr. Warne. "Now, I can never recall hearing any man, young or old, express a longing to denude other men of their apparel."
Georgiana shot him a look. "No, men merely envy other men their acres, their horses, their motors--and their books. Own up, now, Father Davy, have you never coveted any man"s library?"
The blue-gray eyes sent her back a humorous glance. "Now you have me,"
he owned. "But tell me, daughter--it was not only their clothes which stirred the fiend within you? Confess!"
She looked round at him. "I don"t need to," she said. "You know the whole of it--what I want for you and me--what they have--_life_! And lots of it. You need it just as badly as I do--you, a suffering saint at fifty-five when other men are playing golf! And I--simply bursting with longing to take you and go somewhere--anywhere with you--and see things--and do things--and _live_ things! And we as poor as poverty, after all you"ve done for the Lord. Oh, I----"
She brought her strong young fist down on the nearly threadbare rug with a thump that reddened the fine flesh, and thumped again and yet again, while her father lay and silently watched her, with a look in his eyes less of pain than of utter comprehension. He said not a word, while she bit her lip and stared again into the fire, clenching the fist that had spoken for her bitterly aching heart. After a time the tense fingers relaxed, and she held up the hand and looked at it.
"I"m a brute!" she said presently. "An abominable little brute. How do you stand me? How do you _endure_ me, Father Davy! I just bind the load on your poor back and pull the knots tight, every time I let myself break out like this. If you were any minister-father but yourself, you"d either preach or pray at me. How can you keep from it?"
He smiled. "I never liked to be preached or prayed at myself, dear," he said. "I have not forgotten. And the Lord Himself doesn"t expect a young caged lioness to act like a caged canary. He doesn"t want it to. And some day--He will let it out of the cage!"
She shook her head, and got up. She kissed the gray curls and patted the thin cheek, said cheerfully: "I"m going to get your supper now," and went away out of the room.
In the square old kitchen she flung open an outer door and stood staring up at the starry winter sky.