It was the afternoon of Grizel Beverley's first "At Home" celebration.
The drawing-room had been made ready for the occasion with the aid of
what seemed to Martin a very army of workmen, and, as Grizel pointed out
triumphantly, it looked as if it had been lived in for generations. Not
a single new object marred the mellowed perfection of the whole. Old
cabinets stood outlined against white walls, the floor was bare of the
superfluity of little tables and flower-stands which characterise so
many bride's apartments; with one striking exception the general effect
was austere in tone. The exception was found in a deep recess, on one
side of the fire-place, the walls of which were hung with a gorgeous
Chinese embroidery which made a feast of colour against the surrounding
white and brown, and proclaimed to an understanding eye that the
mistress of the house had appropriated the favoured niche for her own
use.
Against the wall stood a huge old sofa, showing delicate touches of
brass on the carved woodwork, and piled with a profusion of cushions to
match the tapestries in tone. There was a table also of carved Chinese
wood, littered with books, and a surprising number of odds and ends
considering the very short period in which it had been in use; a bureau
of dull red lacquer, littered to match, and a great blue enamel bowl
containing a few, but only a few, spring flowers.
When Grizel did a thing at all she did it thoroughly, and when the
drawing-room was finished to a thread, she herself dressed to match it
in a cream lace robe of fallacious simplicity, caught together with a
clasp of turquoise and diamonds, and a blue snood tied about her head.
When the crucial moment arrived, she intended to seat herself
sultana-like on her couch and burst in full splendour upon the admiring
throngs. Martin was convinced that no living thing could fail to be
subjugated by that gown, but he was equally convinced that Chumley would
disapprove of the snood, which it would call a bandage, and consider
theatrical and out of place. He knew his business better than to say
so, however, and was at the moment abundantly occupied in trying to lure
his wife from the window, where she had taken up her position,
field-glasses in hand, to watch the approach of the first group of
visitors up the lane leading to the gate.
"The Campbells are coming. Hurrah! Hurrah! Three of 'em. One stout
person in green, one thin person in black, one girl with large feet.
Girl with feet has fair hair. Who do you know, Martin, with fair hair
and large feet?"
"Dozens of 'em." Martin threw a quick look over his wife's shoulder and
recognised the group at a glance. "Mrs Mallison, wife of Major
Mallison, retired Army man--the Seaforths. Eldest daughter Mary, dull
and domestic. Second daughter Teresa, sporting. They are quite near
the gate now, dearest. Don't, please, let them see..."
Grizel put down the field-glasses, crossed to the couch, and seated
herself thereon in an attitude of prunes and prisms propriety. The bell
rang, and the three ladies were shown into the room. There was an air
of diffidence, almost of shyness in their demeanour, for this was not an
ordinary afternoon call, upon an ordinary bride. This bride had been a
well-known personage in society, her marriage had been a subject of
almost international interest, and the fleeting glimpses which Chumley
had had of her, on previous visits to Martin's sister Katrine, had
confirmed all that rumour had to say touching the puzzling variability
of her nature. It was impossible for these first callers to restrain a
thrill of nervousness as to the nature of the reception before them.
When the door opened to give a momentary glimpse of a white figure
sitting outlined against a background of Oriental splendour, the
nervousness deepened still more. They advanced tentatively, cautious of
the polished floor, so tentatively that Grizel met them more than
half-way, sailing gracefully forward with an infinity of assurance which
had the unexpected result of daunting them still further. They were
requested to sit down; they sat down, and stared...
"So good of you to come to see me! You are my very first callers."
"I trust--not _too_ early." Mrs Mallison felt a pang of disquietude.
"We were so anxious to meet you. You are feeling quite settled down, I
hope. How do you like Chumley?"
"Oh, thank you, _so_ much! I adore everything. You do, don't you, when
you are newly married?"
Mrs Mallison and her eldest daughter looked indulgent, but shocked. It
was quite natural, quite desirable indeed that a bride should entertain
such sentiments, but to express them so openly and to absolute
strangers, savoured almost of indelicacy. Teresa was occupied in taking
in the details of Grizel's costume, in condemning the blue snood, and
determining to try the effect on her own hair immediately on her return
home. She found time, however, to give a quick glance at Martin as
Grizel made her pronouncement, and noted the quiver of feeling which
passed over his face. The understanding which comes of fellow-feeling
revealed the meaning of that quiver. She understood why the man lowered
his eyes and gave no glance of response. He was afraid that he might
reveal too much!
After that, other visitors arrived quick and fast. Bells rang, doors
were opened, and in twos and threes the representatives of Chumley
society were announced, and made their bow. They had come together for
the sake of companionships or the sake also of being able to compare
notes on the way home. They all wore their new spring costumes, and
looked--the majority at least--personable enough, yet Martin realised
with mingled pain and pride the gulf of difference which yawned between
them and his wife. They were practical, commonplace women, leading
practical, commonplace lives; to call them ill-bred or uncultivated
would have been untrue. They came of good stock, had cultivated their
brains and turned them to account, but there was one side of their
nature which had not been developed, and that was the side which, in
Grizel's set, had been considered all-important. They had been brought
up to discount appearances, and to view with suspicion any person of
marked personal charm. They worshipped the god of convention, and its
priestess Mrs Grundy. Grizel considered that a woman's first duty was
to charm, and her second,--if a second remained, worth speaking about,--
to defy convention, and be a law unto oneself.
Seated in her niche of glowing colour, she looked as much out of place
as an orchid in a field of wild flowers, and Martin watching the face of
each new-comer, saw reflected upon it the same surprise, the same
disapproval, the same unease. He realised that Chumley was a little
shocked by the unconventionality of the drawing-room, and still more by
the unconventionality of the bride herself. In the last ten years of
his life he had remained supremely indifferent of what his neighbours
might say or think, but--these good women would be Grizel's neighbours,
out of love for himself she had cast her lot among them; he was almost
painfully anxious that she should have such small compensations as would
result from liking, and being liked in return. Surely among them all
must be found some congenial spirit!
"And are you happily settled with your maids, Mrs Beverley?" enquired
Mrs Ritchards, wife of a City lawyer, who might almost be called
retired, since he went up to town only two or three times a week. Mrs
Ritchards had two subjects of conversation--her garden, and her
servants, and had already unsuccessfully tackled the bride on the former
topic. To her relief the second venture proved a decided draw, for
Grizel leant her elbows on the table, cupped her chin in her hands, and
puckered her face into a network of lines.
"Oh, yes, do let's talk about servants! I'm so interested. I'm making
all sorts of horrible discoveries. My cook wants to go out! A night
out every week. She told me so to-day. She said she'd always been used
to it. I said if it came to that, I'd always been used to having my
dinner. I never knew that cooks _expected_ to go out! Who is to cook
one's dinner if the cook goes out? She said she was accustomed to
prepare a stew, and cold shapes. `Cold Shapes'!" Grizel's voice
dropped to a thrilling note, she lifted her chin, her outstretched
fingers curved and wriggled in expressive distaste. "_Cold Shapes_!
Gruesome sound! It makes one think of the Morgue!"
A shudder passed through the room, followed by a diffident laugh.
Teresa Mallison and a few of the younger women giggled, the elders
forbore on principle to smile at such an allusion, and the Vicar's wife
entered on a forbearing explanation.
"They are human creatures like ourselves, Mrs Beverley, and the fire is
so trying! I encourage my cook to go out, as a matter of health. You
are not limited to shapes, of course. There are so many nice cold
sweets."
Grizel shook her head. "Grace has not been given to me to eat cold
sweets. Not on _those_ nights! I should have a carnal craving for
omelettes. We must keep two cooks!" Her little nod waved aside the
subject as settled and done with, and the matrons of Chumley exchanged
stealthy glances of condemnation. Mrs Ritchards, however, warmed to
the attack.
"Why not a kitchen-maid, who could make herself useful upstairs in the
morning? There is a young girl in my daughter's Sunday School Class who
might suit you. Very respectable, but short. Of course, if she were
expected to wait when the housemaid is out, that might be an objection."
She paused enquiringly, and Grizel's face fell.
"The parlourmaid too! Do they _all_ go out? Then how can one possibly
be fed? There will be nothing for it, Martin, but to go up to town two
nights a week." The suggestion would appear to have had a cheering
effect, for she flashed once more into smiles, looking round the circle
of watching faces with eyes a-sparkle with mischief. "It's such fun
trying to keep house when one knows nothing whatever about it! Like
starting out on a voyage of adventure! I have the most thrilling
experiences..."
Mrs Ritchards smiled with friendly encouragement.
"You will find it much more interesting when you _do_ understand! I
always say that to run a household, economically and well, is as
satisfactory work as a woman need ask. It's like everything else, Mrs
Beverley, the more you study it, the more interesting it becomes. I
have been at it for years, and I pride myself that there is very little
that I do not know."
"Ah!" cried Grizel deeply. She leant her elbow on her knee and bent
forward, her expression one of breathless eagerness. "Then you are the
very person I've been looking for! You can tell me something I've been
dying to know... What is your opinion about Lard?"
Mrs Ritchards gasped, the other listeners gasped also. Martin choked,
turned the choke into a cough, and became suddenly engrossed in the
china on the mantelpiece.
"Lard! Lard!" Mrs Ritchards struggled with the inevitable disability
to define a well-known article. "But surely... surely... In what
respect did you want my opinion?"
"About allowing it, of course, and if one should. Cook asked if I did,
and it seemed such a complex question, and there was an implication
about dripping--and the colour of something,--dark versus light. I got
hopelessly confused!"
Mrs Ritchards did not allow lard. "It's a question of sufficient
heat," she maintained. "If they get the dripping hot enough, it does
perfectly well. It must boil till you see a blue smoke..."
Grizel seized an ivory tablet, and made a hurried note. "Till you see a
blue smoke...! I'll bring that in to-morrow, and confound her with my
knowledge. Thank you so much. That's quite a relief." She pushed
aside the tablet, straightened her back and looked around with a bright,
challenging glance. The subject of lard was exhausted, and she was
ready to pass on to pastures new.
"Are you fond of games, Mrs Beverley?" Teresa asked, eager to secure
another member for her various clubs, and feeling that the moment was a
convenient one for introducing the subject. "We have a good tennis
club, and ladies can play golf every day but Saturday, on the Links. It
would be so nice if you would join. We have tea every afternoon. The
members take it in turns to provide the cakes."
"How nice!" cried Grizel with a gush. "I adore cakes. I'll join
certainly, if you'll promise I need never play. It bores me so to run
about after balls. I never can catch them, and I don't want to, so why
should I try? Really"--she dropped her chin sententiously--"it's a
waste of time!"
The Vicar's wife saw _her_ opportunity, and grasped it.
"I agree with you, Mrs Beverley. The tendency of the age is to spend
far too much time over games. My husband considers that it is a
national danger. There are so many other things better worth doing!"
"Oh, yes," cried Grizel promptly. "There's bridge." The strain of the
conversation was beginning to tell, and she told herself impatiently
that she would _not_ be "preached."
"Bridge is so comfy; you can sit still, and have a cushion to your back,
and smoke, and talk between the deals. It's quite a good way of getting
through the afternoon. What stakes do you play for here?"
The women in the company who played for money looked at the Vicar's wife
and were silent. Those who did not, felt virtuous, and looked it.
"At our house we make a point of playing for love," Mrs Ritchards
announced. "My husband disapproves of anything in the nature of
gambling. Of course, when one has young people coming in and out, there
_is_ a responsibility. Personally I should object very strongly to
taking another person's money. Don't you feel an awkwardness, Mrs
Beverley--from your own guests?"
"Not a bit. I love it!" declared Grizel naughtily. "But I hate to
lose. I hope someone will be wicked enough to play for money with me.
I suppose there _are_ some wicked people in the neighbourhood?"
"They do at the Court. I go up there sometimes. Lady Cassandra loves
bridge," Teresa said with a pride which overcame shyness. Was she not
the only girl in Chumley who could boast of anything like intimacy with
the big house? She watched her hostess' face for a brightening of
interest, and felt aggrieved when it failed to appear.
"That's good. I'm glad there's someone. I must ask her about it," said
Grizel nonchalantly, taking a future acquaintance for granted with a
calmness which at once irritated and impressed her hearer. At the
bottom of her heart Teresa felt the birth of a jealous dread; and found
herself hoping that Cassandra would not call, would at any rate delay
doing so for months to come, as was her custom with Chumley
acquaintances. And then once again the door was thrown open, and with
an accent of satisfaction the parlourmaid announced--Lady Cassandra
Raynor.
She had come already! On the very first day on which Mrs Beverley was
at home,--as quickly, as eagerly, as the humblest among them! Every
woman in the room felt the same sense of amaze, the same rankling
remembrance of the different manner in which she herself had been
treated. Their eyes turned as on one pivot towards the door.
Cassandra entered, a vision of delight in grey velvet and chinchilla
furs, her face with its delicately vivid bloom half hidden by the latest
eccentricity in hats. Her dress was very tight, her hat was very large;
from an artistic point of view the lines of both were abominable, but
Cassandra considered them ravishing, and, being one of the happy people
who look well despite their clothes, succeeded in mesmerising her
audience into a like belief. She advanced, walking with short, mincing
footsteps, while her eyes swept the room. Grizel rose from the sofa to
greet her, and a glance was exchanged between them, a swift, appraising
glance. The lookers-on heard the exchange of a few society phrases,
pronounced, it appeared to them, with an unnecessary amount of "gush,"
but in the moment in which the two hands clasped, and the hazel eyes
looked into the blue, the two women realised that for them there need be
no intermediate stage; they were not strangers, they were already
friends.
Martin came forward and shook hands in his turn, and Cassandra seated
herself, bending her head in a smiling greeting, intended to embrace the
whole room. She had timed her visit in the hope that most of the guests
would be ready to depart, and noticed with satisfaction the empty
teacups, but every woman in the room with one exception, was at that
moment forming a mental resolution to stay and listen to what passed
between this interesting pair.
"Your house looks so beautifully settled, Mrs Beverley. I hope you
haven't been bored over the upset. It's so impossible to get things
done in the country!"
"Oh, thanks. I'm not on speaking terms with a workman in the
neighbourhood, but I _did_ get things done as I wished! I always do.
We parted on the worst of terms, and I gave them a heart-to-heart talk,
and told them I hoped the Germans would come soon, and drill them into
something like intelligence. It would really be an admirable thing for
the country!"
The Vicar's wife arose with heavy dignity. With a whole parish waiting
on her ministrations she had no time to waste listening to such
nonsense. Unpatriotic into the bargain. Yet despite her disapproval,
there was an indefinable something in the bride's personality which
touched her heart. Perhaps it was the radiant happiness of her mien,
perhaps it was that deep musical note which at times softened her voice,
suggesting depths below the surface; perhaps it was simply her fragility
and charm. Hannah Evans did not trouble to analyse her feelings, she
merely held out a plump gloved hand, and smiled kindly into Grizel's
face.
"I must be running away, Mrs Beverley. My husband is hoping to call
upon you very soon. This afternoon he has a class for confirmation. I
must hurry home to give him tea. He comes in so tired. Good afternoon.
So pleased to welcome you among us! I hope we may often meet."
Her voice rang true, there was a kindliness written on the large, plain
face to which Grizel's heart made instant response. She brought her own
left hand to join the right, clasping the grey glove with an
affectionate pressure, and smiled back the while with a winsome
friendliness. There was silence in the room while the onlookers looked
with critical eyes at the two figures, so typical of youth and age. The
bulky woman, with her jet bonnet and capacious black silk coat, the
nymph-like form of the bride. Every ear listened for the response.
"Oh, you will; indeed you will! I shall often be running over to the
Vicarage to see you."
"That will be very nice." Mrs Evans smiled complacently. "I hope you
will. And I must not forget--I made a note to ask you before I left.--
It would give us great pleasure if you could see your way to take up a
little work. We are sadly in need of helpers. I was going to ask if
you would join our Mothers' Meeting?"
"Oh, give me time!" cried Grizel reproachfully. "Give me time!"
In answer to after reprisals she justified herself by the assertion that
she had spoken on the impulse of the moment, and in absolute good faith.
Besides, what else could the old thing have meant? And even if she
didn't, why need the silly creatures be shocked? She did not attempt to
deny that they were shocked, the flutter of dismay had indeed been so
real a thing as to obtrude itself on ears, as well as eyes. Gasps of
astonishment, of horror, of dismay, sounded to right and left; rustling
of silk; hasty, inoperative coughs. Grizel still saw in remembrance the
petrifaction on the large kind face looking down into her own, the
scarlet mounting swiftly into Teresa's cheeks. Only one person laughed,
and that laugh had had the effect of heightening the general
condemnation. It was Cassandra Raynor who laughed.