And so the weeks went by, and the eventful evening came round at last.
Hope attired herself in the white dress in which she looked charming
enough to enrapture any audience, seated herself in a cab, and drove
away through the crowded streets, a poor little trembling Columbus going
forth to discover new worlds! At Belgrave Square an awning was erected
over the doorway, a babel of noise filled the air, and the big rooms
were crowded with dainty little forms dancing about on long white legs,
and groups of boys in Eton jackets standing by themselves and looking
bored and superior. Mrs Welsby rustled forward to meet Hope with a
glance and a smile, which made the girl's heart leap with painful
remembrance, and seemed unfeignedly rejoiced at her arrival.
"Oh, Miss Charrington, so charmed to see you! We have been playing
games for an hour, and I am quite exhausted. What exacting little
wretches they are! I will take them into the drawing-room and get them
seated; and will you begin at once, please? I have really come to the
end of my resources."
She was so smiling and friendly that Hope's shyness disappeared on the
spot, and she helped to marshal the children to their seats, and took
her stand on the little platform by the piano as the last few rows of
chairs were being filled. A hasty glance around had discovered no sign
of Mr Merrilies; but his absence, bitter disappointment though it was,
brought an increase of self-confidence for the task ahead. Experience
in the mission-rooms had shown that not a moment must be lost in
engaging wandering attention, so no sooner had the last little white
frock taken her seat than she clapped her hands to call for silence, and
looking smilingly around, began her story:
"Once upon a very long time ago there lived a king and queen, who had
the most beautiful little princess daughter that was ever seen. Her
true name was Marie Theresa Louisa Alberta Maud Victoria Patricia
Josephine, but as it was a very busy country, where the people were
always going to war and having discussions among themselves, no one had
time to call her by so many names, except on Sundays and bank holidays
and Christmas Day. On ordinary working days she was called Princess
Chrystal, because her eyes were so clear and sparkling and her laugh
like a chime of bells. She had seven fairy godmothers, and they all
came to her christening, and brought her the most wonderful presents you
can imagine. I am going to sing you a song which tells all about the
godmothers and their presents, and I want you to listen very carefully
to the first verse, and to join in the chorus when I hold up my hand."
She stepped down from the platform to seat herself at the piano, and
even the superior gentlemen in Eton jackets were obliged to join in with
the rest when they discovered that the words were set to the well-known
rollicking tune of "Seven Little Nigger Boys." Though the story began
in the orthodox fashion, its development was decidedly original, and the
numerous songs and choruses prevented attention from wandering. When it
came to the turn of the Giant with his "Fe-fo-fum," the boys in the back
rows stamped with their feet to emphasise the words, and it was the
prettiest thing in the world to see Hope shaking with laughter even as
she sang, and nodding encouragement with her golden head.
"Pretty dear!" said the hostess to some one who stood well back in the
shadow of the doorway. "How _blase_ you men are! The idea of
describing her to me in that callous manner! I could sit and look at
her all night."
"Very pleasant for you; but, if I might make a suggestion, this must be
tiring work for her. When Princess Chrystal is safely married I'll take
her downstairs and administer refreshment. As I suggested this
entertainment, I am anxious to hear how it is catching on, and I haven't
seen her since she left The Shanty."
Mrs Welsby looked up keenly, but the dark face beside her was as
inscrutable as ever. It was not like Ralph to trouble himself about a
girl, still less to volunteer excuses for his actions, and she watched
curiously to see the meeting between the pair at the conclusion of the
story-telling.
"You!" cried Hope, in astonishment, as she made her way past the
applauding children and came out into the refreshing coolness of the
hall. She stood still, looking at him with wide, startled eyes. "I
never saw you. I thought you were not here."
"I kept out of sight on purpose, in case it might make you nervous to
see some one whom you knew. Now, will you come downstairs and let me
get you some refreshment after your arduous labours! I am sure you must
need it."
Hope looked round with uncertain glance. "I--I think I do, but will it
be right? Do you think I _ought_?"
"Right! Ought! Miss Charrington, what do you mean? Take my arm now,
at any rate, and explain when you are comfortably seated. A matter of
conscience cannot be discussed in this deafening noise. There is a
grandfather's chair in the corner of the dining-room, which I can
confidently recommend."
It was like a revival of old times to be waited upon with such care and
consideration, and being ordered not to speak a word until she had been
fed and rested. Hope sipped her wine and ate sandwiches in a dream of
happiness. Mr Merrilies had not forgotten her question, however, and
presently she found herself called upon for an explanation.
"I'm so new to this business that I don't quite know `my place,'" she
said, smiling at him in mischievous fashion. "Last Tuesday I had my
first social engagement. I arrived at the hour appointed, and found
that the children were dancing, and that a conjurer was engaged as well
as myself. We waited our turn together, the conjurer and I, in a dreary
little room, with a dreary little gas fire that sent all its warmth up
the chimney. We waited nearly an hour and no one came near us, and it
was very cold. We talked and talked, and he showed me tricks to keep up
my spirits, for he saw how nervous I was."
Reggie Blake would have said, "Happy conjurer!" but Ralph Merrilies was
not given to compliments. He knitted his brows and inquired brusquely:
"What sort of a fellow was he? A decent sort?"
"At first I thought he was detestable. He was not, to put it mildly,
_quite_ a gentleman, and he was very familiar. I was stiff and haughty
for a few minutes, and then I began to reflect that, after all, we were
in the same position, trying to earn our living, and that if I snubbed
him I should be as great a snob as the woman who had cared so little for
our comfort. I was quite nice after that, and he really was a dear
little vulgar thing. He had an invalid wife at home--and he spoke so
tenderly of her--and two little conjurer boys who knew his tricks almost
as well as he did himself, and a delicate daughter, for whom I have
plans in the future. We exchanged addresses, and he volunteered to find
me engagements, and thought we might do a very good `j'int business.'"
Hope laughed at the remembrance, but Ralph frowned more fiercely than
before, and bending forward with his chin supported on his hands, stared
fixedly at her face.
"I hate to hear of your having such experiences--of your having to work
at all. I wish I had never suggested it. Do you mean to say you
_enjoy_ it yourself?"
"I enjoy it very much when I am well started, and see all the dear
little faces looking at me; but I hate it beforehand, and am, oh, so
frightened and nervous! And I love getting the money. I paid a
coal-bill yesterday with my very own earnings, and I never enjoyed
anything more in all my life!"
He pressed his lips together and was silent, and when he spoke again it
was to start an entirely new subject.
"How are you going home to-night?"
"In a four-wheeler. I shall get the man to whistle for one presently."
"Alone?"
"Of course. I am a working woman, Mr Merrilies; I have to take care of
myself."
"Well, there is no need to-night, at any rate. I shall go with you and
see you safely home. If you won't let me come inside, I shall sit on
the box. It is for you to decide."
The pale, disconcerted glance which the girl turned on him in reply
would have depressed a more confident lover than himself; for the
suggestion had awakened Hope to the danger of her position, and filled
her tender conscience with dread lest she had already been disloyal to
her vow. How much she would have enjoyed the prolonged _tete-a-tete_
can be well imagined, but there were half-a-dozen reasons which made it
unadvisable. Mrs Welsby would naturally prefer her brother to remain
until the end of the evening; it would be discourteous to accept his
escort and still refuse an invitation to the flat; yet such an
invitation once granted might mean unlimited suffering in the future!
Hope was still hesitating over a reply, when a reprieve came in the
shape of a summons from her hostess, who beckoned to her brother from
the doorway, and cried pleadingly, "Ralph, can you possibly go upstairs?
The conjurer wants to begin, and the children are scrambling over the
chairs in the most hopeless fashion. Do go to the rescue, like a good
fellow."
The "good fellow's" expression was the reverse of amiable as he prepared
to obey. A low "I'll see you later, then; that is settled," reached
Hope's ears; then Mrs Welsby rustled forward and took possession of the
vacant seat.
In the five minutes' conversation which followed Mrs Welsby was all that
was gracious and charming, but Hope had an uncomfortable conviction that
she was not altogether pleased with the _tete-a-tete_ which she had
interrupted, and that she herself was being very closely scrutinised.
And then came an unexpected blow. After the usual compliments, and a
promise to recommend the entertainment to her friends, Mrs Welsby said
blandly:
"And now we must not detain you any longer. You look tired, and must be
longing to rest. I am going to ask you to do me a favour--to take
charge of a little girl who is crying to go home, and who will not be
sent for for another hour. It would not be much out of your way, and
you would be in time to stop the carriage from coming. I will send for
your cloak, and John shall whistle for a four-wheeler."
Poor Hope--poor, miserable, deluded Hope! A minute before she had been
so wise, so prudent, so satisfied that she preferred to decline Ralph's
offer; but now that escape was made easy, a wave of bitter
disappointment, of wild, incredulous rebellion, took the place of the
former calm. She searched desperately for an excuse, an evasion, but
short of confessing the previous engagement, there was nothing to be
said. Theo would have been equal to the occasion; Madge would even have
enjoyed it; but Hope found herself murmuring polite acquiescence, and
five minutes later was driving away from the door, as miserable a young
woman as could be found in the length and breadth of London. The little
girl was still crying weakly; the big girl hugged her and cried in
sympathy. "He will think I did it on purpose," she sobbed to herself.
"He will never want to speak to me again."
Ten minutes later Ralph Merrilies asked his sister the whereabouts of
Miss Charrington, for whom he had been searching in vain. "She has gone
home," was the calm reply: "drove off in a cab directly after you went
upstairs."
The glance which accompanied the reply was keenly observant; for, though
Mrs Welsby was less worldly-minded than most women of her class, it did
not coincide with her plans that her brother should fall in love with a
girl who was working for her living. She wondered if he would show
signs of disappointment; but Ralph had his feelings well under control,
and gave no visible signs of the blow which her words had inflicted.
"The second time!" he said sternly to himself. "The second rebuff.
That ought to be enough for any fellow. Poor little girl, her life is
hard enough as it is. I'm a brute if I worry her any longer."