But before Anne could get into the hall Athalie had stormed up the
stairs and there ensued such greetings as made the old house sound like
a vaudeville show behind the scenes. The girls in various stages of
disarray opened doors to call to her, the boys issued from a cloud of
cigarette smoke on the third floor by way of the old mahogany stair rail
and came shooting into their midst amid howls and screams and pretended
running to cover. Anne hurried up to do something about it and resembled
an old hen running from the person who was trying to catch it while she
clucked at her young to get out of the way but she made no impression
whatever on the young people until suddenly a great stalwart youth
discovered her in his way and stooping over said:
“Here, auntie, what are you doing here!” and picking her up like a child
ran fleetly down the stairs with her in his arms, depositing her on the
console in the hall and vanishing up again in three strides.
Anne, when she recovered her breath crept fearsomely into the pantry
white and spent, her dignity drooping like a broken feather, and while
she stood panting, her hand on her heart, her back against the swing
door, a gentle hand pushed it, and Silver’s voice said:
“It’s only me, Anne. What is the matter upstairs?”
“It’s a ’ouse party!” sobbed Anne, and buried her face in Silver’s neck.
“They’ve took the master’s room, and Miss Lavinia’s. I don’t know what
the master’ll say when he comes. And your things! They maul everything
they lay their hands on, Miss Silver. Oh, I oughtta have prevented this!
I oughtta! I oughtta! I’m no housekeeper at all to let this come behind
his back. I’m getting old! I’m no good any more—”
“There, there, Anne, don’t feel so badly. There isn’t any harm done.
They are only a parcel of kids out having a good time, and it’s gone to
their heads. Don’t worry. Father won’t blame you. It’s Athalie, I
suppose. Let’s try to see what we can do to make everything move off
quietly. How long are they going to stay? Just for dinner?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know! She said a ’ouse party, that first one that
come. How long does that last? As long as the ’ouse stays together I’m
thinking, and that’ll not be long if they carry on as they have been
goin’. They’ve slid down my nice polished stair rails, and there’ll be
scratches on everything. And I’ve kept it all so nice all the years! Oh
dear, oh dear!”
“Never mind, Anne, it won’t be half so bad as it seems. Cheer up and get
dinner ready. Are you going to try to have tea?”
“Deary knows! Miss Athalie ordered cake made before she left this
morning. And me athinkin’ she was that good a girl to please her father
an’ invite the neighbors’ children home from school to have a good time
an’ make ’em forget how she treated ’em Saturday afternoon!”
“Well, never mind. I’ll go upstairs and see if I can’t stop that noise.”
Silver went, but her arrival proved no more than if she had been a fly
on the wall. The girls and boys were having a scuffle in the hall, and
one girl’s dress was half pulled off of her. They did not even glance at
Silver as she hurried by them to take refuge in her room and think what
she ought to do. But two other girls were in there attired in lacy
lingerie and one was smoking a cigarette.
“I beg your pardon,” she said pleasantly, “I think someone has made a
mistake. This room is occupied. If you will let me help you gather up
your things I will show you to another room.”
Silver did this, not because she was so disturbed at having her room
taken as because Anne had felt so strongly about Miss Lavinia’s sacred
chamber being desecrated.
The girls simply stared.
“Who are you?” asked the girl who was powdering her face at the glass.
“I am Miss Greeves. Athalie’s sister. You must be her school friends.”
“Oh, I know who you are. You’re that baby that was given away. Your name
isn’t Greeves at all. It’s Jarvis. Ath told us all about you. You
needn’t bother about us, she put us here and we’d rather stay. You can
take your own things out if you want to.” The girl turned back to the
mirror with an air of having dismissed her. Silver reflected for an
instant. What chance had she to maintain her rights against such
insolence? She would frustrate her desire of quieting the company and
getting control of things if she was not a perfect lady. She was amazed
that girls could say such things. There must be a whole school of them,
bred in the same atmosphere.
The color had fluttered into her face at the insulting words, but her
sense of humor came to her assistance and as once before she had foiled
insolence by her silvery laugh, so now she let it forth again, until the
visiting girls turned and stared. They even grew a little red. They had
intended to make her angry, and lo she laughed!
With a quick turn Silver went out of the room and closed the door.
“Boys!” she said placing a firm hand on the arm of the scuffling
gentlemen nearest her, “I know where there’s some awfully good cake. If
you’ll follow me and be perfectly quiet about it I’ll get it for you!”
Instantly every boy of the six was surrounding her and clamoring with
all his might, even attempting to lift her off her feet and bear her
down the stairs.
But there was something about Silver when she chose to be so that awed
every boy in the vicinity. Her spirit face suddenly could become grave
and stern, with a power of command that arrested the attention and
demanded respect.
“No, you’ve got to be perfectly quiet!” she said smilingly, “the spell
won’t work unless you do! No quiet, no cake!”
Athalie had forgotten when she summoned all these gorgeous young
hoodlums to dissipate her gloom, and informed them well about her
unbeloved sister, that Silver was a girl and that a boy will “fall for
anything” sometimes, as she said with a shrug that very evening. To the
amazement of the other girls the boys became tame at once and Silver led
them all off quietly down the stairs and to the drawing room where she
rang the bell and said in low tone:
“Anne, dear, would you bring that cake now?”
The “Anne dear” got it. Anne brought the cake in bountiful supply, and
Silver improving the brief and shining hour got all their names and made
quite a little ceremony learning them so she would remember.
The boys were quite pleased with her, and she held them there with talk
about things boys like. Dogs and athletics, and national games. She had
seen some big ones. She talked familiarly about some of the fraternities
they longed to be bid to join, she spoke of college, and with just that
rare flattery of smile and camaraderie that touches a boy of seventeen
and brings him to her feet, she sat on a low divan and chatted with them
bringing burst after burst of gruff laughter, and winning them
thoroughly as her friends.
In the midst of an exciting recital of how a famous baseball nine got
ahead of an opposing team that was employing unfair means to win the
game, they all became aware of a hostile presence standing on the
stairs.
Athalie had come down in gorgeous array in a brief frock of gold tissue
strapped over the shoulders and down the skirt in floating panels with
peacock feathers. Around her forehead was bound a frontlet of green and
blue sequins, and the gold tissue of which her stockings were composed
was so exceedingly sheer as to give the effect of bare skin above the
tiny jeweled gold slippers. Nobody would have bought such a rig for a
young girl, but Lilla had been regal in it once upon a time, and the
long pendulum earrings that dangled from the ears of her daughter and
gave her such an Egyptian-princess effect had been especially designed
in jewels to match the costume for some great occasion. It might be
possible that Lilla on the high seas knew nothing of the whereabouts of
some of her most valued possessions. Athalie had helped herself as she
chose before her departure.
But Athalie’s face was marked with disdain, jealousy, hate in startling
lines. Silver arose quickly with a smile that faded as she saw the
girl’s fixed look as if she were not there at all. Athalie was
determined to ignore her among these her friends. How could she put up
any kind of a front against that? And yet she must for her father’s
sake, and keep things within bounds if possible until his return. It
occurred to her that she might telephone Bannard and ask him to dinner.
He would help her and know what to do, but supposing anything unforeseen
should occur, anything out of the conventional order, that should get
abroad, it might not be well that the minister should be known to have
been there. She had been brought up to think of those things. She had
not been a minister’s granddaughter for nothing. Therefore she shut her
firm young lips and determined to fight it out alone.
She was wearing a crêpe de chine dress of soft gray the right tint to
bring out the pink in her cheeks, and the gold in her hair and lashes.
It was simple of line and girded with a sash of itself heavily fringed
and knotted at one side hanging a little below the deep hem of her
skirt. She wore no ornaments and the elbow sleeves and round neck were
without decoration. It was scarcely a dinner gown for a formal affair,
yet she could not have changed if she wished since the invasion of her
room, and she would not if she could. There were more important affairs
on hand.
Her sister’s attitude plainly dismissed her, but she rose and
deliberately turned her conversation to one of the boys nearest her,
ignoring the look, and finally Athalie spoke, as one speaks to an
inferior:
“You don’t need to eat with us Alice Jarvis. It will make an uneven
number. We have just men enough to go round.”
“Oh, that’s all right,” said Silver with a careless smile, “father’ll be
here pretty soon you know,” and went on talking to the admiring boy,
although her heart was beating wildly and she wished herself far away
from this scene of dissension and frivolity.
“Oh, very well. Suit yourself!” said Athalie with her haughtiest voice,
and began to devote herself to the entire group, and attract them all
from Silver.
Silver slipped out of the room and went back upstairs. If she could keep
the bunches of girls and boys apart till dinner was ready it might help.
She went from room to room offering help. Had they all the towels they
needed? Could she help them with their dresses, or play ladies’ maid in
any way? Would they like ice water? Her insistent, pleasant
serviceableness met with no response except silence. They whispered
behind her back and exchanged glances. She saw that the way ahead was to
be most unpleasant, but she went steadily on ignoring the meaning of
their attitude. She was the pleasant elder sister waiting on her younger
sister’s guests.
But she had committed what was to them an unpardonable sin. She had
taken their devoted admirers away from them and interested them herself.
That could never be forgiven.
Silver was very tired when at last the scene changed to the dinner
table. She had placed herself at the head and was there as they came
into the room, acting the part of hostess. Athalie stopped and looked
furiously at her, but finally decided to get her revenge some other way
and leaving the other end seat unoccupied proceeded to seat her guests
to suit her own purposes.
The chairs were all filled but one.
“Marcy! Where are you? You sit at the corner next dad’s seat. Hurry. I’m
starved.”
Marcella Mason who had just tripped down stairs and was entering from
the hall paused a moment lifting up a monocle on a long silk cord.
“Good evening, gents and women!” she saluted elegantly, “so glad you all
could come!”
Every eye turned toward the doorway and then a shout arose gradually
growing into a roar.
“Marcy! Marcy! Look at Marcy!”
For Marcella Mason was attired in Patterson Greeves’ full dress suit,
broad white shirt front, patent leather shoes and all, and looked the
very personification of impudence and daring.
Silver and Anne Truesdale had agreed before dinner was served that
whatever happened they would keep their composure and not look shocked
nor horrified. Poor Anne Truesdale scuttled hurriedly into the pantry.
This was too much for her. Silver struggled with her irritation and
mastered a grave little smile. It was rude of course, impudent, but only
a prank after all. It was not for her to deal with a thing like this.
Her father would be here pretty soon. Oh, that he might arrive at once!
From the start the hilarity was uproarious. Several times bits of bread
went whizzing back and forth across the board that had for years seen
gathered around it grave and dignified and honored men and women. Anne
trembled for the delicate long stemmed glasses in which the delicious
fruit nectar was served.
The dinner progressed through a rich cream soup, roast chicken, with
vegetables, home-made ice cream with crushed strawberries, and great
plates of delectable cake.
The little cups of black coffee were being served when Athalie reached
under her chair and brought forth a lacquered box which she passed
around. Cigarettes! Strange Silver had not thought that might happen!
And the guests were all taking them, girls too, and lighting them.
Little curls of smoke rose delicately in the stately dining room, and
six little flappers pursed their painted lips and blew six more wreaths
of smoke into the air.
Silver took her coffee cup and toyed with it thoughtfully. What would
her father say to this? She was not quite sure whether the time had come
for her to take a stand or not. But when at a signal from Athalie one of
the boys arose and stepping out of the room brought back two tall
bottles of dark liquid, then she knew her time had come. He had pulled
out the cork and was filling an empty glass by one of the girl’s plates.
The fumes of the liquor arose hotly to her sensitive nostrils. What
chance had she against so many? Her face was white and stern like a
spirit as she rose from her chair and faced them. “Stop!” she commanded
to the astonished boy who held the bottle, “Joe, will you remove these
bottles at once? And Anne, will you kindly take that tray and gather up
the cigarettes and throw them out? My father does not allow such things
to go on in his house nor around his table!” she said addressing the
company in a clear ringing voice. “If you want to smoke and drink you
must go elsewhere!”
Then Athalie arose suddenly with her glass of water in her hand and
flung its contents at her sister.
“Shut up!” she said roughly. “It’s none of your business what we do.
This is my party and I’m the _daughter_ in this house!”
“_Athalie!_ What does all this mean?”
Patterson Greeves was standing in the doorway his hat still on his head,
his hands still cluttered with packages of books as he had come in, his
face stern with anger.