At this critical moment Ethel came in. Mrs. Doctor Cockburn was raging
secretly. She had turned up at the Arboretum, dutifully prepared to
help her mother through a situation a little trying perhaps to the
nerve of inexperience and behold! there was Gertrude, smiling and pat,
going through it all without turning a hair and palpably not in need of
the least assistance from any one. The mortified Ethel, having missed a
Sunday at Strathfieldsaye, had not been in a position to realize that
her mother was going to be so weak as to allow Gerty, who as usual had
masked her intentions very cleverly, to take her place. It was such a
pity! Miss Heber-Knollys who was there, had said it was such a pity!
Ethel, an old and successful pupil of that distinguished lady, had
been carried off to tea by her at the end of the proceedings. And Miss
Heber-Knollys had expressed herself as a little disappointed. She
was sure the Girl Scouts had been so looking forward to having the
Mayoress with them that afternoon; at any rate, Miss Heber-Knollys
had, although of course she had no pretensions to speak for the Girl
Scouts; but speaking as a public, a semi-public woman of Blackhampton,
although born in Kent and educated at Girham, speaking therefore,
as a quasi-public and naturalized woman of Blackhampton with an M.A.
degree, she looked to the Mayoress to take a strong lead in all matters
relating to the many-sided activities of the City's feminine life.
Ethel quite saw that. And she now proceeded fully and pointedly to
report Miss Heber-Knollys for the future guidance of her father, the
admonition of her mother and for the confusion and general undoing of
the designing Gertrude. Mrs. Doctor Cockburn was far from realizing the
critical nature of the moment at which she had chanced to arrive, but
the general effect of her presence was just as stimulating as if she
had. The lawful Mayoress was in sore need of mental and moral support
if she was to prevail against the Schemer.
Ethel was in the nick of time, but yet it was by no means certain that
she was not too late to keep Gerty from the Floral Hall. The Floral
Hall would depend on Doctor Tremlett, bluntly remarked Josiah.
"Doctor Tremlett!" said Mrs. Doctor Cockburn sternly.
"Your man has got the sack." The Mayor indulged in an obvious wink at
Gerty who was looking as if butter would not melt in her mouth.
"But," said the horrified Ethel, "there's no comparison between Horace
and Doctor Tremlett. Horace belongs to the modern school; Doctor
Tremlett's an old fossil."
"Your Ma seems to think Doctor Tremlett understands her," said Josiah
bluntly. "And Doctor Tremlett says she's got to be very careful of her
heart or she'll have to lie up and have a trained nurse."
"But Horace declares there is nothing the matter with it."
"That's where Horace don't know his business as well as Doctor
Tremlett. Your Ma has got to be very careful, indeed, and I'm going
to arrange with Aylett for her to have a deputy for the whole of the
coming year. You see if anything happened to her she'd _have_ to have a
deputy, so it may be wise to take steps beforehand."
"Nonsense, Father! Horace says there's nothing the matter with her. He
says it's stage fright. You ought not to encourage her. Certainly it
isn't right that Gerty should be taking her place. Miss Heber-Knollys
says it may make a bad impression."
"Don't know, I'm sure, what business it is of hers." His worship spoke
with considerable asperity.
"Besides, if any one must deputize, surely it should be me."
There was a little pause and then said Gerty in her meek and dovelike
voice, "We all thought, dear, that just now you would not care to take
part in a public display. Perhaps after Christmas ... when the new
little one has safely arrived."
The other ladies realized that the Fox of a Gertrude had scored a
bull's-eye. At Christmas it was fondly hoped in the family that the
Mayor would at last have a grandson. Certainly, Mrs. Doctor could not
be expected to take an active part at the Floral Hall.
There were occasions, however, when Mrs. Doctor was visited by some
of her father's driving force and power of will. And this was one of
them. If a calamity of the first magnitude was to be averted--Gerty
as Deputy-Mayoress was unthinkable!--there must be no half measure.
"Horace says it will do Mother good to distribute the prizes at the
Floral Hall, and if she doesn't I am sure that quite a lot of people
will be disappointed."
Even for Ethel this was rather cynical. She was well aware that she had
greatly overrated the public's power of disappointment; at the same
time it was clearly a case for strong action. "You'll go to the Floral
Hall, Mother. And I'll come with you."
"_You_, dear?" Gerty spoke in a melodramatic whisper.
"I shall sit just behind her ... in the second row. We can't have
people talking. And I shall put on my fur coat."
It was a blow on the sconce for the specious Gertrude, but she took
it with disarming meekness, smiling, as Ethel mentally described her,
"like a prize Angora" down her long, straight, rather adventurous nose.
"It's your duty, Mother." Mrs. Doctor proceeded to administer a mental
and moral shaking. "The women of the city look up to you, they expect
you to set an example. Miss Heber-Knollys feels that very strongly. And
Horace, who is a far cleverer man than Doctor Tremlett, says all you
have to do is to keep yourself up."
"In other words, Maria," cooed Gerty in the voice of the dove, "you
must show Spirit. And that is what I always tell you."
There were times when Gerty was amazing. Her audacity took away the
breath even of Ethel. As for Maria she felt a little giddy. She was
fascinated.
The She serpent.