PAUL.
They slept for two nights on the tip of the steamer's nose, and they
did not roll off. They had a long, delightful day at sea, no more
troubled with seasickness than were the gulls to which they had
compared themselves, and full of inquiring interest for each of the
ports they touched at, and for all the little novelties of a first
voyage. They became great friends with the captain and crew, and with
some children who were amongst the passengers (the ladies of the party
were indisposed to fraternise with them, not being able to reconcile
themselves to the cut and quality of the faded blue gingham gowns,
or to those eccentric sleeping arrangements, both of which seemed to
point to impecuniosity--which is so closely allied to impropriety, as
everybody knows). They sat down to their meals in the little cabin with
wonderful appetites; they walked the deck in the fine salt wind with
feet that were light and firm, and hearts that were high and hopeful
and full of courage and enterprise. Altogether, they felt that the
story was beginning pleasantly, and they were eager to turn over the
pages.
And then, on the brightest of bright summer mornings, they came to
Melbourne.
They did not quite know what they had expected to see, but what they
did see astonished them. The wild things caught in the bush, and
carried in cages to the Eastern market, could not have felt more
surprised or dismayed by the novelty of the situation than did these
intrepid damsels when they found themselves fairly launched into the
world they were so anxious to know. For a few minutes after their
arrival they stood together silent, breathless, taking it all in; and
then Patty--yes, it _was_ Patty--exclaimed:
"Oh, _where_ is Paul Brion?"
Paul Brion was there, and the words had no sooner escaped her lips
than he appeared before them. "How do you do, Miss King?" he said, not
holding out his hand, but taking off his hat with one of his father's
formal salutations, including them all. "I hope you have had a pleasant
passage. If you will kindly tell me what luggage you have, I will take
you to your cab; it is waiting for you just here. Three boxes? All
right. I will see after them."
He was a small, slight, wiry little man, with decidedly brusque, though
perfectly polite manners; active and self-possessed, and, in a certain
way of his own, dignified, notwithstanding his low stature. He was not
handsome, but he had a keen and clever face--rather fierce as to the
eyes and mouth, which latter was adorned with a fierce little moustache
curling up at the corners--but pleasant to look at, and one that
inspired trust.
"He is not a bit like his father," said Patty, following him with
Eleanor, as he led Elizabeth to the cab. Patty was angry with him for
overhearing that "Where is Paul Brion?"--as she was convinced he had
done--and her tone was disparaging.
"As the mother duck said of the ugly duckling, if he is not pretty he
has a good disposition," said Eleanor. "He is like his father in that.
It was very kind of him to come and help us. A press man must always be
terribly busy."
"I don't see why we couldn't have managed for ourselves. It is nothing
but to call a cab," said Patty with irritation.
"And where could we have gone to?" asked her sister, reproachfully.
"For the matter of that, where are we going now? We haven't the least
idea. I think it was very stupid to leave ourselves in the hands of a
chance young man whom we have hardly ever seen. We make ourselves look
like a set of helpless infants--as if we couldn't do without him."
"Well, we can't," said Eleanor.
"Nonsense. We don't try. But," added Patty, after a pause, "we must
begin to try--we must begin at once."
They arrived at the cab, in which Elizabeth had seated herself, with
the bewildered Dan in her arms, her sweet, open face all smiles and
sunshine. Paul Brion held the door open, and, as the younger sisters
passed him, looked at them intently with searching eyes. This was a
fresh offence to Patty, at whom he certainly looked most. Impressions
new and strange were crowding upon her brain this morning thick and
fast. "Elizabeth," she said, unconscious that her brilliant little
countenance, with that flush of excitement upon it, was enough to
fascinate the gaze of the dullest man; "Elizabeth, he looks at us as
if we were curiosities--he thinks we are dowdy and countryfied and it
amuses him."
"My dear," interposed Eleanor, who, like Elizabeth, was (as she herself
expressed it) reeking with contentment, "you could not have seen his
face if you think that. He was as grave as a judge."
"Then he pities us, Nelly, and that is worse. He thinks we are queer
outlandish creatures--_frights_. So we are. Look at those women on the
other side of the street, how differently they are dressed! We ought
not to have come in these old clothes, Elizabeth."
"But, my darling, we are travelling, and anything does to travel in.
We will put on our black frocks when we get home, and we will buy
ourselves some new ones. Don't trouble about such a trifle _now_,
Patty--it is not like you. Oh, see what a perfect day it is! And think
of our being in Melbourne at last! I am trying to realise it, but it
almost stuns me. What a place it is! But Mr. Paul says our lodgings
are in a quiet, airy street--not in this noisy part. Ah, here he is!
And there are the three boxes all safe. Thank you so much," she said
warmly, looking at the young man of the world, who was some five
years older than herself, with frankest friendliness, as a benevolent
grandmamma might have looked at an obliging schoolboy. "You are very
good--we are very grateful to you."
"And very sorry to have given you so much trouble," added Patty, with
the air of a young duchess.
He looked at her quickly, and made a slight bow. He did not say that
what he had done had been no trouble at all, but a pleasure--he did not
say a word, indeed; and his silence made her little heart swell with
mortification. He turned to Elizabeth, and, resting his hands on the
door-frame, began to explain the nature of the arrangements that he had
made for them, with business-like brevity.
"Your lodgings are in Myrtle Street, Miss King. That is in East
Melbourne, you know--quite close to the gardens--quite quiet and
retired, and yet within a short walk of Collins Street, and handy for
all the places you want to see. You have two bedrooms and a small
sitting-room of your own, but take your meals with the other people of
the house; you won't mind that, I hope--it made a difference of about
thirty shillings a week, and it is the most usual arrangement. Of
course you can alter anything you don't like when you get there. The
landlady is a Scotchwoman--I know her very well, and can recommend her
highly--I think you will like her."
"But won't you come with us?" interposed Elizabeth, putting out her
hand. "Come and introduce us to her, and see that the cabman takes us
to the right place. Or perhaps you are too busy to spare the time?"
"I--I will call on you this afternoon, if you will permit me--when
you have had your lunch and are rested a little. Oh, I know the
cabman quite well, and can answer for his taking you safely. This is
your address"--hastily scribbling it on an envelope he drew from his
pocket--"and the landlady is Mrs. M'Intyre. Good morning. I will do
myself the pleasure of calling on you at four or five o'clock."
He thereupon bowed and departed, and the cab rattled away in an
opposite direction. Patty deeply resented his not coming with them,
and wondered and wondered why he had refused. Was he too proud, or too
shy, or too busy, or too indifferent? Did he feel that it was a trouble
to him to have to look after them? Poor Paul! He would have liked
to come, to see them comfortably housed and settled; but the simple
difficulty was that he was afraid to risk giving them offence by paying
the cab fare, and would not ride with them, a man in charge of three
ladies, without paying it. And Patty was not educated to the point of
appreciating that scruple. His desertion of them in the open street was
a grievance to her. She could not help thinking of it, though there was
so much else to think of.
The cab turned into Collins Street and rattled merrily up that busy
thoroughfare in the bright sunshine. They looked at the brilliant
shop windows, at the gay crowd streaming up and down the pavements,
and the fine equipages flashing along the road-way at the Town Hall,
and the churches, and the statues of Burke and Wills--and were filled
with admiration and wonder. Then they turned into quieter roads, and
there was the Exhibition in its web of airy scaffolding, destined to be
the theatre of great events, in which they would have their share--an
inspiring sight. And they went round a few corners, catching refreshing
glimpses of green trees and shady alleys, and presently arrived at
Myrtle Street--quietest of suburban thoroughfares, with its rows of
trim little houses, half-a-dozen in a block, each with its tiny patch
of garden in front of it--where for the present they were to dwell.
Mrs. M'Intyre's maid came out to take the parcels, and the landlady
herself appeared on the doorstep to welcome the new-comers. They
whispered to themselves hurriedly, "Oh, she has a nice face!"--and then
Patty and Elizabeth addressed themselves to the responsible business of
settling with the cabman.
"How much have we to pay you?" asked Patty with dignity.
"Twelve shillings, please, miss," the man gaily replied.
Elizabeth looked at her energetic sister, who had boasted that they
were quite sharp enough to know when they were being cheated. Upon
which Patty, with her feathers up, appealed to the landlady. Mrs.
M'Intyre said the proper sum due to him was just half what he had
asked. The cabman said that was for one passenger, and not for three.
Mrs. M'Intyre then represented that eighteen-pence apiece was as much
as he could claim for the remaining two, that the luggage was a mere
nothing, and that if he didn't mind what he was about, &c. So the sum
was reduced to nine shillings, which Elizabeth paid, looking very grave
over it, for it was still far beyond what she had reckoned on.
Then they went into the house--the middle house of a smart little
terrace, with a few ragged fern trees in the front garden--and Mrs.
M'Intyre took them up to their rooms, and showed them drawers and
cupboards, in a motherly and hospitable manner.
"This is the large bedroom, with the two beds, and the small one opens
off it; so that you will all be close together," said she, displaying
the neat chambers, one of which was properly but a dressing-closet;
and our girls, who knew no luxury but absolute cleanliness, took note
of the whiteness of the floors and bedclothes, and were more than
satisfied. "And this is your sitting-room," she proceeded, leading the
way to an adjoining apartment pleasantly lighted by a French window,
which opened upon a stone (or, rather, what looked like a stone)
balcony. It had a little "suite" in green rep like Mrs. Hawkins's, and
Mrs. Dunn's ideal cedar-wood chiffonnier; it had also a comfortable
solid table with a crimson cloth, and a print of the ubiquitous Cenci
over the mantelpiece. The carpet was a bed of blooming roses and
lilies, the effect of which was much improved by the crumb cloth that
was nailed all over it. It was a tiny room, but it had a cosy look, and
the new lodgers agreed at once that it was all that could be desired.
"And I hope you will be comfortable," concluded the amiable landlady,
"and let me know whenever you want anything. There's a bathroom down
that passage, and this is your bell, and those drawers have got keys,
you see, and lunch will be ready in half-an-hour. The dining-room is
the first door at the bottom of the stairs, and--phew! that tobacco
smoke hangs about the place still, in spite of all my cleaning and
airing. I never allow smoking in the house, Miss King--not in the
general way; but a man who has to be up o' nights writing for the
newspapers, and never getting his proper sleep, it's hard to grudge him
the comfort of his pipe--now isn't it? And I have had no ladies here to
be annoyed by it--in general I don't take ladies, for gentlemen are so
much the most comfortable to do for; and Mr. Brion is so considerate,
and gives so little trouble--"
"What! Is Mr. Paul Brion lodging here?" broke in Patty impetuously,
with her face aflame.
"Not now," Mrs. M'Intyre replied. "He left me last week. These rooms
that you have got were his--he has had them for over three years. He
wanted you to come here, because he thought you would be comfortable
with me"--smiling benignly. "He said a man could put up anywhere."
She left them, presently; and as soon as the girls found themselves
alone, they hurriedly assured each other that nothing should induce
them to submit to this. It was not to be thought of for a moment. Paul
Brion must be made to remove the mountainous obligation that he had put
them under, and return to his rooms instantly. They would not put so
much as a pocket handkerchief in the drawers and cupboards until this
point had been settled with him.
At four o'clock, when they had visited the bathroom, arranged their
pretty hair afresh, and put on the black print gowns--when they had had
a quiet lunch with Mrs. M'Intyre (whose other boarders being gentlemen
in business, did not appear at the mid-day meal), prattling cheerfully
with the landlady the while, and thinking that the cold beef and salads
of Melbourne were the most delicious viands ever tasted--when they had
examined their rooms minutely, and tried the sofas and easy-chairs, and
stood for a long while on the balcony looking at the other houses in
the quiet street--at four o'clock Paul Brion came; and the maid brought
up his card, while he gossiped with Mrs. M'Intyre in the hall. He had
no sooner entered the girls' sitting-room than Elizabeth hastened to
unburden herself. Patty was burning to be the spokeswoman for the
occasion, but she knew her place, and she remembered the small effect
she had produced on him in the morning, and proudly held aloof. In her
sweet and graceful way, but with as much gravity and earnestness as if
it were a matter of life and death, Elizabeth explained her view of the
situation. "Of course we cannot consent to such an arrangement," she
said gently; "you must have known we could never consent to allow you
to turn out of your own rooms to accommodate us. You must please come
back again, Mr. Brion, and let us go elsewhere. There seem to be plenty
of other lodgings to be had--even in this street."
Paul Brion's face wore a pleasant smile as he listened. "Oh, thank
you," he replied lightly. "But I am very comfortable where I am--quite
as much so as I was here--rather more, indeed. For the people at No. 6
have set up a piano on the other side of that wall"--pointing to the
cedar chiffonnier--"and it bothered me dreadfully when I wanted to
write. It was the piano drove me out--not you. Perhaps it will drive
you out too. It is a horrible nuisance, for it is always out of tune;
and you know the sort of playing that people indulge in who use pianos
that are out of tune."
So their little demonstration collapsed. Paul had gone away to please
himself. "And has left _us_ to endure the agonies of a piano out of
tune," commented Patty.
As the day wore on, reaction from the mood of excitement and exaltation
with which it began set in. Their spirits flagged. They felt tired and
desolate in this new world. The unaccustomed hot dinner in the evening,
at which they sat for nearly an hour in company with strange men who
asked them questions, and pressed them to eat what they didn't want,
was very uncongenial to them. And when, as soon as they could, they
escaped to their own quarters, their little sitting-room, lighted with
gas and full of hot upstairs air, struck them with its unsympathetic
and unhomelike aspect. The next door piano was jingling its music-hall
ditties faintly on the other side of the wall, and poor Dan, who had
been banished to the back yard, was yelping so piteously that their
hearts bled to hear him. "We must get a house of our own at once,
Elizabeth--at _once_," exclaimed Eleanor--"if only for Dan's sake."
"We will never have pets again--never!" said Patty, with something like
an incipient sob in her voice, as she paced restlessly about the room.
"Then we shall not have to ill-treat them and to part from them." She
was thinking of her little bear, and the opossum, and the magpies, who
were worse off than Dan.
And Elizabeth sat down at the table, and took out pencil and note-book
with a careworn face. She was going to keep accounts strictly, as
Mr. Brion had advised her, and they not only meant to live within
their income, as a matter of course, but to save a large part of
it for future European contingencies. And, totting up the items of
their expenditure for three days--cost of passage by steamer, cost of
provisions on board, cab fare, and the sum paid for a week's board and
lodging in advance--she found that they had been living for that period
at the rate of about a thousand a year.
So that, upon the whole, they were not quite so happy as they had
expected to be, when they went to bed.