KIND-HEARTED LONDONERS.
'Oh Stella, it's a mist, a blacky-yellow mist--I mean a fog! How horrid!
What shall I do here all by myself while you are in the City? And how
will you get there? I shall be so frightened all the morning, thinking
you are lost. Can't I come with you? I will sit quite quietly in your
room while you are writing, and perhaps I could help you!' cried Vava on
the second Saturday morning, when she woke up to find London quite dark
and enveloped in a yellow fog.
'I can't take you with me, Vava; it would never do. That is not my room;
it is Messrs Baines & Jones's room. If I brought you there to help me it
would look as if I had too much to do, which is not true,' replied
Stella.
'Then let me stop with Mrs. Ryan. I will do my lessons, and sew that
horrid piece of needlework I have to get done by next sewing-lesson.
Don't leave me in this poky little place by myself,' pleaded Vava.
As a matter of fact, Stella hated these Saturdays, when she had to go to
the City alone, because Vava had no school that day, and to-day she was
really nervous of the fog. So she said doubtfully, 'If you promise to
stop quietly in Mrs. Ryan's room, and not go out of it on any excuse
until I come to fetch you, I will take you, though it is rather
extravagant, for we shall have to go by omnibus.'
'Never mind, it will be my Saturday's treat,' said Vava; and the two set
out for the City.
Mrs. Ryan held up her hands at sight of them. 'There's brave young
ladies! Not one of the young ladies of Philips's downstairs have come
yet, and three of them that live some way off have sent telephone
messages to say it's too thick their way, and they want to be excused.'
'I want to be excused for bringing Vava. She would not be left alone,
and was sure you would not mind her sitting quietly in your room doing
her lessons. I hope you will not mind?' said Stella.
'Mind! Why, I'm only too glad of a bit of company, and Miss Vava's as
welcome as the sunshine would be, for it's what she reminds me of!'
cried Mrs. Ryan heartily.
Mr. James looked up in surprise at sight of Stella. 'Miss Wharton! I did
not expect you to-day; it is one of the worst fogs we have had for
years. I wonder you found your way, as you are not used to London!' he
exclaimed.
'The omnibus took me all the way,' said Stella gravely, and opened her
note-book to take down her instructions; and Mr. James, who very seldom
ventured to make even a remark like that, turned to business; but when
his secretary had gone, and the darkness became thicker still, he looked
uneasily out of the window, and then rang for the housekeeper.
'Mrs. Ryan, the fog is getting worse; I don't think that Miss Wharton
ought to go home alone,' he began, looking disturbed.
'She's not alone, sir, begging your pardon; her little sister is here in
my room,' observed the housekeeper.
The young man looked relieved. 'That's a good thing; she has really got
more sense than the elder one in some ways. But how on earth are they to
get back? I'd offer to take them in my car, only she'd fly down my
throat,' he said with an aggrieved air.
'And begging your pardon again, sir, I think the more of Miss Wharton
for her proper pride; but if I might make so bold as to suggest it, you
might send the motor back for them,' suggested Mrs. Ryan.
'By all means; they're welcome to it as much as they like. I'll tell you
what, Mrs. Ryan, they'll have to stop till it comes back. Suppose you
give them lunch? I'll have it sent in, and you will tell them it's the
custom of the firm. I'd like to give that little girl some pleasure; I'm
sure her life's dull enough. I hear her sister won't let her make
friends with the girls at school, and they don't know a soul else in
London, for she told Miss Upjohn so,' said Mr. James, who talked to Mrs.
Ryan very freely, as she was an old servant of the family.
Mrs. Ryan was only too pleased to do anything for the Misses Wharton, to
whom she had taken a great fancy, and promised to see to the lunch.
Vava sat and learnt her lessons very conscientiously while Mrs. Ryan
went about her duties. After a while Mr. James, who had a message to
give the housekeeper, and probably found time hang heavy on his hands
this morning--for it was not a day for callers--came to the
housekeeper's room.
'Well, and what have you got to say about our English climate?' was his
greeting.
Vava put down her English grammar with relief. 'Nothing good,' she said,
laughing and shaking her head.
'It's like swallowing nasty-tasting flannel, isn't it?' he agreed.
'Yes, and it's getting worse; it was bad enough getting here, and how on
earth we are going to get back nobody knows,' said Vava, as she looked
out of the window at the fog, which got thicker and thicker, and was
enough to frighten any country-bred girl, though Vava would not own it.
'Then I must be "nobody," because I know,' he said.
Vava looked up in surprise, and then guessing that he meant to take them
home, a kindness she knew Stella would not accept, she said, 'We shall
go in a bus, thank you, and I'm not as afraid as you think, for I've
often been out in a mist at home, and they are more dangerous than this,
for they come on suddenly, and you can't see a thing.'
'Mrs. Ryan does not approve of the bus; besides, they do not seem to be
running. So she suggests your going in my car, which will come back for
you after it has taken me home. Will you tell your sister it's the only
thing to do?' asked Mr. James.
It did not strike Vava that the junior partner might have given his own
message to his secretary, and agreed to deliver it; and, as Mrs. Ryan
backed her up, Stella gave way.
'Baines & Jones are a very good firm to work for, and they look after
their people well. After all, why shouldn't they? They're rich enough,
and it's good policy, for they get well served; so you may eat this
lunch quite comfortably, for they say you are the best lady they've had
for a long time; you know French so well, and you write first-rate
business letters. So you've earned your lunch for that, if you hadn't
earned it by coming through such an awful fog to-day,' explained Mrs.
Ryan, as she served lunch for the two sisters.
Mrs. Ryan would not exactly say, as her master told her, that it was the
custom to give lunch; in fact, at sight of the menu she was told to get
she was half-afraid Miss Wharton would refuse it, for chicken and
cherry-tart with cream, followed by coffee and dessert, was rather a
grand lunch to send in for a City clerk.
But Stella in her ignorance supposed it was usual; City dinners always
were rich, like the givers, she knew.
'Isn't this lovely? I wish it would often be a fog; this is better than
going to a stuffy restaurant,' announced Vava; and Mrs. Ryan determined
to tell the kind-hearted giver of the pleasure his lunch had given.
But there was more pleasure to come. In about an hour the motor came
back for them, and they started off very slowly. After a quarter of an
hour they came to a stop, owing to a block at one of the bridges over
the Thames.
'It's funny it should be so thick here; it's lovely a few miles out,'
said the chauffeur, turning to address his passengers.
'How I wish we were a few miles out too, then!' cried Vava impulsively.
The two girls did not see a half-amused look that came into the staid
and respectable man's eyes as he replied, 'Well, miss, I have to take a
run down to Brighton, and if you would let me turn off south over this
bridge I could take you there almost as soon as I could take you home at
the rate we're going, and perhaps by the time we got back it would be
fine again?'
Put like this, it sounded almost a favour to the chauffeur to let him
get his business over first; though, perhaps, if they had had time to
think, Stella at least would have bethought her that Brighton was
slightly out of the way from the City to Westminster!
But Vava's cry of 'Oh do, Stella, do! I should so like to see the sea
again,' settled it.
'There's plenty of rugs there, miss,' said the man, as he turned over
the bridge with the same amused smile, and, as he had said, soon brought
them into a better atmosphere, and finally to Brighton, where the sun
was shining.
'If you'll let me know what time you wish to go back, miss, I'll meet
you wherever you like,' said the chauffeur, touching his hat.
'As soon as your business is done, of course,' said Stella.
'Oh well'--here the man coughed--'yes, of course. Well, my business
won't take long; but I haven't to get back for anything to-day, and my
master said I could stop a bit. But, of course, if you are in a
hurry'----he replied.
Stella looked doubtful, and consulted her watch. It was half-past three;
they had another hour and a half of daylight, and it was very nice by
the sea.
'There's no hurry at all, Stella; there's lots to see and do
here.--You'll want to have some dinner, won't you?' Vava added, turning
to the man.
'I'd be glad to see some friends I've got down here, and they'll look
after me. Would seven o'clock suit you, young ladies?'
Again Stella agreed; but a feeling, which she could not define, that she
was being managed somehow came over her. But she forgot it in the
pleasure of the brisk walk by the sea, the visit to the aquarium, and,
finally, listening to the band on the pier.
'Stella, I've come to the conclusion that we are wrong about London
people,' announced Vava, as they sat in a sheltered corner listening to
the music.
'How, Vava?' asked her sister.
'Nursie always used to say they were hard and selfish and suspicious,
and I find that they are very kind. First there were the Montague
Joneses, and now there's Mrs. Ryan and your Mr. Jones and this
chauffeur, all being as kind as can be,' explained Vava.
'He's not my Mr. Jones,' said Stella sharply, taking up the offensive
words. Then she continued, 'Yes, they are kind; but I do not much like
accepting kindnesses we cannot return.'
'But we do return it by enjoying ourselves and thanking them, and you
heard Mrs. Ryan say that the firm wanted to reward your good work, or,
at least, that was what she meant, and you do work hard, and do overtime
too sometimes; and I am going to knit a Shetland shawl for Mrs. Ryan, so
that will be doing her a kindness in return,' declared Vava.
Stella sighed. 'I wish I were like you, able to enjoy everything, Vava,'
she said half-sadly. To the proud, reserved girl, her present life was
intolerable.
'Oh don't, Stella! Fancy, if you were like me, really! We should get
into all sorts of muddles; besides, people would not be so kind to us!'
she added shrewdly.
Stella refrained from asking her what she meant; for she knew too, and,
funnily enough, resented the attention which her beauty brought her.
However, Vava's words did good; and Stella, whatever she might say, did
enjoy the trip. And she thanked the chauffeur so prettily that the man
was quite captivated.
'I am sure, miss, it's been a pleasure, and I only hope I shall have the
same pleasure again;' and he would have said more, but on the whole he
thought it wiser not to do so.
'This has been the nicest day we have spent since we came to London,'
Vava assured the man, smiling and nodding at him as he respectfully took
his leave.
Stella looked very grave as she put her latch-key into the front-door of
their lodgings. 'I am not sure that it is a wise thing to take these
treats; it only seems to make you dissatisfied with the outings that I
can afford.'
'Indeed it does not, only I liked seeing the sea, and I do love rushing
through the country in a motor; but I enjoyed the Tower very much, and I
shall enjoy the Houses of Parliament next Saturday all the more for
having had a change in between. Besides, it was delightful to get out of
that awful fog; we could not have done anything to-day if we had stayed
in London except sit in this little room with the gas lit. It was kind
of Mr. James.'
'Yes,' agreed Stella; but she did not think it necessary to tell Vava
that she was not going to accept such kindnesses in future, however much
Mrs. Ryan might say it was 'the custom of the firm.'