In the months that followed the eating of the omelet, Alwynne would have
agreed that the cynic who said that "an entirely successful love-affair
can only be achieved by foundlings" should have included friendship in
his dictum. For relations ... well, everybody knew what everybody meant
when relations were mentioned in that particular tone; and Elsbeth,
dearest of maiden aunts, was nevertheless at times aggressively a
relation: privileged to wet-blanket enthusiasms.
Elsbeth made, indeed, no stand against the alliance that had sprung
mushroom-like into existence; was courteous, in her sweet silent
fashion, to Clare Hartill at their occasional meetings; but she remained
subtly uninterested. But when, again, had that suppressed and
self-effacing personality shown interest in any living thing save
Alwynne herself?
Alwynne, shrugging her shoulders, and ignoring, as youth must, the
affectionate prevision that had lapped her all her life, supposed that
she must not expect too much of poor, dear Elsbeth.... (It was
characteristic of their relationship that she never called her guardian
"Aunt.") Elsbeth, darling Elsbeth--but a little limited, perhaps? Hardly
to be expected that she should appreciate a Miss Hartill....
Elsbeth, though Alwynne never guessed it, quite understood what went on
in her niece's mind: was resigned to it. She knew that she was not a
clever woman. She had been too much occupied, all her life, in smoothing
the way for other people, to have had leisure for her own cultivation,
physical or mental. Her two years of teaching, in the uncertificated
'eighties, had but served to reveal to herself her ingrained incapacity
for government. She had never forgotten the humiliation of those months
when Clare Hartill, a pitiless fourteen-year-old girl, had headed one
successful revolt after another against her. It had been an episode;
with the advent of Alwynne she had returned to domesticity; but the
experience had intensified her innate lack of self-esteem. There were
times when she seriously debated whether, in bringing up her orphaned
niece, she were indulging herself at the expense of her duty. She knew
quite well, and rejoiced shamefacedly in the knowledge, that Alwynne,
her beautiful, brilliant, headstrong girl, could twist the old aunt
round her little finger. And that, of course, could not be good for
Alwynne.
Alwynne was, to do her justice, extremely fond of her aunt. Till the
advent of Clare Hartill, Elsbeth had been the pole-star of her world.
All the more disconcerting of Elsbeth, receiver of confidences,
therefore, to be so entirely uninterested in the comet that was
deflecting Alwynne from her accustomed orbit.
She wondered occasionally what her aunt's history had been. Elsbeth was
reticent: never a woman of reminiscences. Her relations were distant
ones, whom she rarely mentioned and apparently more rarely missed.
Alwynne was the more surprised one breakfast, when, retailing the
school's latest scandal, she was interrupted by an exclamation of
pleasure.
"Alwynne! The Lumsdens are coming back!" Elsbeth rustled foreign paper
delightedly.
Alwynne wrinkled her brows.
"The Lumsdens? Oh--those cousins of yours?"
"Yes. The youngest, Rosemary, only died last year. Don't you remember?
They've lived abroad for years on account of her health, and her son
Roger always went out to her for his holidays."
"Roger? Is that the velveteen boy in the big album?"
Elsbeth laughed.
"He must be thirty by now. The estate went to him. It was let, you know,
and the Great House at Dene--to a school, I believe. They had lost
money. And Rosemary was always extravagant. Roger went to America for a
time. But still he's well enough off. He came home when his mother died
last year, and now, it seems, he's taken a house close to their old
home, and settled down as a market-gardener. The Lumsdens are to come
and keep house for him. He's very fond of his aunts, I know. Well! To
think of seeing Jean and Alicia again after all these years. They want
us to come and stay when they've settled down."
"You'll enjoy that?" Alwynne eyed her aunt curiously. Elsbeth's pale
cheeks were pink, her faded eyes dreamy. Her unconscious hand was
rapping out its tune upon the tablecloth--the only symptom of excitement
that Elsbeth ever showed. "Were you fond of them? Why haven't you ever
been to see them, Elsbeth?"
"Time flies. And I certainly can't afford to gad about the Riviera. And
there was you, you know. Besides----" she hesitated.
"Besides what?"
Elsbeth did not seem to hear.
"You'll like Dene, Alwynne. Oh, yes, I know it well. I used to stay with
them--before the Great House was let. Years ago. And Roger--I hope
you'll get on with Roger. I haven't seen him since he was five. A jolly
little fellow. And from what Alicia says----"
But Alwynne would not take any interest in Roger. He had a snub nose in
the photograph; and besides, she hated men. So dull. As Clare
said----Indeed, she wasn't always quoting Clare! She didn't always set
up Clare's judgment against Elsbeth's! Elsbeth needn't get huffy! She
would like to go down to Dene very much, if Elsbeth wanted to, some time
or other.
But when the holidays came and the formal invitation, Alwynne was less
amenable.
Why couldn't Elsbeth go alone? Elsbeth couldn't expect her to go and
stay with utter strangers. She hated strangers. Besides, there was
Clare. (It was "Clare" and "Alwynne" by that time.) She and Clare had
planned out every day of the holidays. Everything fixed. She really
couldn't ask Clare to upset all her arrangements. It wouldn't be fair.
Awfully sorry, of course, but why couldn't Alwynne's dear Elsbeth go by
herself? She, Alwynne, could keep house. Oh, perfectly well! She wasn't
a fool! She wouldn't dream of spoiling Elsbeth's holiday, but Elsbeth
must see that there was no need for Alwynne to share it.
But Elsbeth was unusually obstinate. Elsbeth, it appeared, wanted
Alwynne with her; wanted to show Alwynne to these old friends; wanted to
show these old friends to Alwynne; wouldn't enjoy the visit without
Alwynne at her elbow; refused utterly to be convinced of
unreasonableness. Alwynne would enjoy the change, the country--didn't
Alwynne love the country?--and if she herself, and Alicia, and Jean,
were not of Alwynne's generation, there was always Roger! By all
accounts Roger was very nice; witness the aunts who adored him.
Alwynne snorted.
She argued the matter mercilessly, length, breadth, depth and back
again, and ended, as Elsbeth knew she would, by getting her own way. But
Elsbeth did not go to Dene by herself. There she was mulish. Go visiting
and leave the housekeeping to Alwynne's tender mercies? Heaven forbid!
There was more in housekeeping than dusting a bedroom, making peppermint
creams, or wasting four eggs on an omelet.
So Alwynne spent her pleasant holidays in and out of Clare Hartill's
pocket and Elsbeth stayed at home. But Elsbeth had learned her lesson.
It was many a long day before she again suggested a visit to Dene.