HAUTEUR.
Gertrude would have declined, and made her attendance upon Emily an
excuse for non-compliance; but Emily, believing that the exercise would
be beneficial to Gertrude, interfered, and begged her to agree to
Kitty's proposal; and, on the latter declaring that the expedition must
otherwise be given up, she consented to join it. To change her slippers
for thick walking boots occupied a few minutes only; a few more were
spent in a vain search for her flat hat, which was missing from the
closet where it usually hung.
"What are you looking for?" said Emily, hearing Gertrude twice open the
door of the closet.
"My hat! but I don't see it. I believe I shall have to borrow your
sun-bonnet again," and she took up a white sun-bonnet, the same she had
worn in the morning, and which now lay on the bed.
"Certainly, my dear," said Emily.
"I shall begin to think it mine before long," said Gertrude, gaily, as
she ran off, "I wear it so much more than you do." Emily now called from
the staircase, "Gertrude, my child, have you thick shoes? It is always
very wet in the meadow beyond Thornton place." Gertrude assured her that
she had; but fearing that the others were less carefully equipped,
inquired of Mrs. Graham whether Belle and Kitty were insured against the
dampness they might encounter.
Mrs. Graham declared they were not. "I have some very light
india-rubbers," said Gertrude; "I will take them with me, and Fanny and
I shall be in time to warn them before they come to the place."
It was an easy matter to overtake Belle and the lieutenant, for they
walked very slowly, and seemed not unwilling to be left in the rear. The
reverse was the case with Mr. Bruce and Kitty, who appeared purposely to
keep in advance; Kitty hastening her steps from her reluctance to allow
an agreeable _tete-a-tete_ to be interfered with, and Ben from a desire
to give Gertrude a fair opportunity to observe his devotion to Kitty,
which increased the moment _she_ came in sight.
They had now passed the Thornton farm, and only one field separated them
from the meadow, which was in the centre a complete quagmire, and only
passable to the thickly-shod, by keeping close to the wall, and thus
skirting the field. Gertrude and Fanny were some distance behind, and
nearly out of breath with a pursuit in which the others had gained so
great advantage. As they were passing the farm-house, Mrs. Thornton came
to the door and addressed Gertrude, who, foreseeing that she would be
detained some minutes, bade Fanny run on, acquaint her brother and Kitty
with the nature of the soil in advance, and begged them to wait at the
bars until the rest of the party came up. Fanny was too late,
notwithstanding the haste she made; they were half across the meadow
when she reached the bars, proceeding in perfect safety, for Mr. Bruce
was conducting Kitty by the only practicable path, close under the wall,
proving to Gertrude, who in a few moments joined Fanny, that he was no
stranger to the place. When they were half-way across, they encountered
some obstacle, for Kitty stood poised on one foot and clinging to the
wall, while Mr. Bruce placed a few stepping-stones across the path. He
then helped her over, and they went on, their figures soon disappearing
in the grove beyond.
Isabel and the lieutenant were so long making their appearance that
Fanny became very impatient, and urged Gertrude to leave them to their
fate. They at last turned the corner near the farm-house, and came on,
Belle maintaining her leisurely pace. "Are you lame, Miss Clinton?"
called out Fanny, so soon as they were within hearing.
"Lame!" said Belle; "what do you mean?"
"Why, you walk so slow," said Fanny; "I thought something must be the
matter with your feet."
Belle disdained any reply, and, tossing her head, entered the damp
meadow, in close conversation with her devoted young officer, not
deigning even to look at Gertrude, who, without appearing to notice her
haughtiness, took Fanny's hand, and, turning away from the direct path,
to make the circuit of the field, said to Belle, with calm courtesy of
manner, "This way, if you please, Miss Clinton; we have been waiting to
guide you through this wet meadow."
"Is it wet?" asked Belle, in alarm, glancing down at her delicate
slipper. She then added, in a provoked tone, "I should have thought you
would have known better than to bring us this way. I shan't go across."
"Then you can go back," said the pert Fanny; "nobody cares."
"It was not my proposition," remarked Gertrude, mildly, though with a
heightened colour; "but I think I can help you through the difficulty.
Mrs. Graham was afraid you had worn thin shoes, and I brought you a pair
of india-rubbers."
Belle took them, and, without the grace to express any thanks, said, as
she unfolded the paper in which they were wrapped, "Whose are they?"
"Mine," replied Gertrude.
"I don't believe I can keep them on," muttered Belle; "they'll be
immense, I suppose."
"Allow me," said the lieutenant; and, taking one of the shoes, he
stooped to place it on her foot, but found it difficult to do so, as it
was too small. Belle, perceiving it, bent down to perform, the office
for herself, and treated Gertrude's property with such angry violence
that she snapped the strap which passed across the instep, and even
then only succeeded in partially forcing her foot into the shoe.
Meantime, as she bent forward, Fanny's attention was attracted by a very
tasteful broad-brimmed hat, which she wore jauntily on one side of her
head, and which Fanny recognised as Gertrude's. It was a somewhat
fanciful article of dress, that Gertrude would hardly have thought of
purchasing for herself, but which Mr. Graham had brought home to her the
previous summer to replace a common garden hat which he had accidentally
crushed. As the style of it was simple and in good taste, she had been
in the habit of wearing it often in her country walks, and kept it hung
in the closet, where it had been found and appropriated by Belle. It had
been seen by Fanny in Gertrude's room at Mrs. Warren's; she had also
been permitted to wear it on one occasion, when she took part in a
charade. Having heard Gertrude say it was missing, she was astonished to
see it adorning Belle; and, as she stood behind her, made signs to
Gertrude, and performed a series of pantomimic gestures expressive of an
intention to snatch it from Miss Clinton's head, and place it on that of
its rightful owner.
Gertrude's gravity nearly gave way. She shook her head at Fanny, held up
her finger, made signs to her to forbear, and, with a face whose
laughter was only concealed by the deep white bonnet which she wore,
took her hand, and hastened with her along the path, leaving Belle and
her beau to follow.
"Fanny," said she, "you must not make me laugh so; if Miss Clinton had
seen us she would have been very much hurt."
"She has no business to wear your hat," said Fanny, "and she shan't."
"Yes, she shall," replied Gertrude; "she looks beautiful in it, I am
delighted to have her wear it, and you must not intimate to her that it
is mine."
The walk through the woods was delightful, and Gertrude and her young
companion, in the quiet enjoyment of it, had almost forgotten that they
were members of a gay party, when they suddenly came in sight of Kitty
and Mr. Bruce. They were sitting at the foot of an old oak, Kitty
earnestly engaged in the manufacture of an oak-wreath, which she was
just fitting to her attendant's hat; while he himself, when Gertrude
first caught sight of him, was leaning against the tree in a careless
attitude. But as soon as he perceived their approach, he bent forward,
inspected Kitty's work, and when they came within hearing, was uttering
a profusion of thanks and compliments, which he took care should reach
Gertrude's ears, and Kitty received with manifest pleasure--a pleasure
which was still further enhanced by her perceiving that Gertrude had
apparently no power to withdraw his attention from her. Poor, simple
Kitty! she believed him honest while he bought her heart with
counterfeits. "Miss Gertrude," said Fanny, "I wish we could go into some
pine woods, so that I could get some cones to make baskets and frames
of."
"There are plenty of pines in that direction," said Gertrude, pointing
with her finger.
"Why can't we go and look for cones?" asked Fanny; "we could get back by
the time Belle Clinton reaches this place."
Gertrude and Fanny started off, having first tied their bonnets to the
branch of a tree. They were gone some time, for Fanny found plenty of
cones, but was at a loss how to carry them home. "I have thought," said
she, at last; "I will run back and borrow brother Ben's handkerchief;
or, if he won't let me have it, I'll take my own bonnet and fill it
full." Gertrude promised to await her return, and she ran off. When she
came near the spot where she had left Kitty and Mr. Bruce, she heard
several voices and loud laughter. Belle and the lieutenant had arrived,
and they were having great sport about something. Belle was standing
with the white cape bonnet in her hand. She had bent it completely out
of shape, so as to give it the appearance of an old woman's cap, had
adorned the front with white-weed and dandelions, and finally pinned on
a handkerchief to serve as a veil. She held it up on the end of the
lieutenant's cane, and was endeavouring to obtain a bid for Miss Flint's
bridal bonnet.
Fanny listened a moment with an indignant countenance, then advanced
with a bound, as if just running from the woods. Kitty caught her frock
as she passed, and exclaimed, "Why, Fanny, are you here? Where's
Gertrude?"
"Oh, she's in the pine woods!" replied Fanny, "and I'm going back; she
only sent me to get her hat, the sun's so warm where we are."
"Ah, yes!" said Belle, "her Paris hat. Please give it to her, with our
compliments."
"No, that isn't hers," said Fanny; "_that_ is Miss Emily's. _This_ is
hers;" and she laid her hand upon the straw head-dress which the
gentlemen had but a moment before been assuring Belle was vastly
becoming, and, without ceremony, snatched it from her head.
Belle's eyes flashed angrily. "What do you mean?" said she; "you saucy
little creature! Give me that hat!" and she stretched out her hand to
take it.
"I shan't do any such thing!" said Fanny; "it's Gertrude's hat. She
looked for it this afternoon, but concluded it was either lost or
stolen, and so borrowed Miss Emily's cape-bonnet; but she'll be very
glad to find it, and I'll carry it to her. I rather think," said she,
looking over her shoulder, as she ran off, "I rather think Miss Emily
would be willing you should wear her bonnet home, if you'll be careful,
and not bend it."
A few moments of anger to Belle, laughter from Kitty and Mr. Bruce, and
concealed amusement on Lieutenant Osborne's part, and Gertrude came
hastily from the woods, with the hat in her hand, Fanny following her;
and, taking advantage of Belle's position, with her back towards her,
resumed her pantomimic threats and insinuations. "Miss Clinton," said
Gertrude, as she replaced the hat in her lap, "I am afraid Fanny has
been very rude in my name. I did not send her for either hat or bonnet,
and shall be pleased to have you wear this as often as you like."
"I don't want it," said Belle, scornfully; "I'd no idea it belonged to
you."
"Certainly not; I am aware of it," said Gertrude. "But I trust that will
not prevent you making use of it for to-day, at least." Without urging
the matter further, she proposed that they should hasten on to the top
of the hill, which they could not otherwise reach before sunset; and set
the example by moving forward in that direction, Fanny accompanying her,
and busying herself as she went by stripping the decorations from
Emily's despised bonnet; Belle tying an embroidered handkerchief under
her chin; and Mr. Bruce swinging on his arm the otherwise neglected
hat.
Belle did not recover her temper during the evening; the rest found
their excursion agreeable, and it was nearly dark when they reached the
Thornton farm on their return. Here Gertrude left them, telling Fanny
that she had promised to stop and see Jenny Thornton, one of her
Sunday-school class, who was in a fever, and refusing to let her remain,
as her mother might not wish her to enter the house, where several of
the family were sick. About an hour after, as Gertrude was walking home
in some haste, she was joined near Mr. Graham's house by Mr. Bruce, who,
with her hat still hanging on his arm, seemed to have been awaiting her
return. She started on his abruptly joining her, for it was so dark that
she did not at once recognise him, and supposed it might be a stranger.
"Miss Gertrude," said he, "I hope I don't alarm you."
"Oh no," said she, reassured by the sound of his voice; "I did not know
who it was."
He offered his arm, and she took it; for his recent devotion to Kitty
had served in some degree to relieve her of any fear she had felt lest
his attentions carried meaning with them; and concluding that he liked
to play beau-general, she had no objection to his escorting her home.
"We had a very pleasant walk this evening," said he; "at least, I had.
Miss Kitty is a very entertaining companion."
"I think she is," replied Gertrude; "I like her frank, lively manners
much."
"I am afraid you found Fanny rather poor company. I should have joined
you occasionally, but I could hardly find an opportunity to quit Miss
Kitty, we were so much interested in what we were saying."
"Fanny and I are accustomed to each other, and very happy together,"
said Gertrude.
"Do you know we have planned a delightful drive for to-morrow?"
"No; I was not aware of it."
"I suppose Miss Kay expects I shall ask her to go with me; but
supposing, Miss Gertrude, I should give you the preference, and ask you,
what should you say?"
"That I was much obliged to you, but had an engagement to take a drive
with Miss Emily," replied Gertrude, promptly.
"Indeed!" said he, in a suppressed and provoked tone; "I thought you
would like it; but Miss Kitty, I doubt not will accept. I will go in and
ask her. Here is your hat."
"Thank you," said Gertrude, and would have taken it; but Ben still held
it by one string, and said----
"Then you won't go, Miss Gertrude?"
"My engagement with Miss Emily cannot be postponed on any account,"
answered Gertrude, thankful that she had so excellent a reason for
declining.
"Nonsense!" said Mr. Bruce; "you could go with me if you chose; and if
you don't, I shall certainly invite Miss Kitty."
The weight he seemed to attach to this threat astonished Gertrude. "Can
it be possible," thought she, "that he expects thus to pique and annoy
me?" and she replied by saying, "I shall be happy if my declining prove
the means of Kitty's enjoying a pleasant drive; she is fond of variety,
and has few opportunities here to indulge her taste."
They now entered the house. Mr. Bruce sought Kitty in the recess of the
window, and Gertrude, not finding Emily present, stayed but a short time
in the room--long enough, however, to observe Mr. Bruce's exaggerated
devotion to Kitty, which was marked by others beside himself. Kitty
promised to accompany him the next day, and did so. Mrs. Graham, Mrs.
Bruce, Belle, and the lieutenant, went also in another vehicle, and
Emily and Gertrude took a different direction, and driving white Charlie
in the old-fashioned buggy, rejoiced in their quiet independence.