It was only half-past eight, and Angelica didn’t know what to do with
herself. She was in a rebellious and malicious mood; she had been fired
by Courtland’s attitude, and she, too, wished to keep some rich person
waiting. It was the attitude which is the despair of employers--the
spirit in which the young workman comes sauntering in, insolently late,
not because he wishes to lose his job or because he is, as they put it,
looking for trouble, but because, for this one day, this one hour, he
must assert himself, must be a man, must delude himself that he is not
inferior, not helpless, not driven.
So Angelica, this morning, was ready to assert that servants were in all
ways better than those they served, that poor people were all good and
rich ones all bad. She felt a warm glow of friendliness toward the
subordinate class, and a profound hostility toward their oppressors. She
wanted to swagger about it, to tell Mrs. Russell, loudly, that those
jolly, comprehensible people in the kitchen were vastly superior to her
in every respect.
She went defiantly about the lower floor, into the library, into the
breakfast-room, where the remains of Mr. Eddie’s meal still stood, into
the music-room, even into the august drawing-room, where she had never
before set foot.
"_I_ don’t care!" she said. "If they don’t like it, they can tell me!"
But she met no one. Thwarted of a victim, she went out upon the veranda
and sat down in a rocking-chair, facing the prospect already so
monotonous to her--the neat, smooth lawns, the orderly trees, the
dignified houses.
"Makes me sick!" she said, aloud. "Nothing to look at--nothing to do!"
Suddenly her chair was tilted back and a hand laid over her eyes--a
soft, cool hand. She pushed at it, roughly, and it was lifted, and she
saw bending over her the bland, smiling face of the doctor. He was in
flannels, well cut, quite correct, but with an air obnoxiously dapper.
His white head was bare, and he wore a flower in his coat.
"You let me alone!" said Angelica.
"I can’t!"
"I guess you can!" she observed grimly.
"But you’re so pretty! You’ve no business to be so pretty."
"I dare say I’ll get over that in the course of time."
"Seriously," he said, "I don’t think I’ve ever seen finer eyes. Have you
ever thought of going on the stage? And as far as I can judge, you have
a beautiful figure. Of course I don’t _know_----”
"None of that now!" she cried, flushing angrily. "Get away from the back
of my chair. I don’t want you hanging around me, anyway."
"You’re very hard," he said. "Very! Don’t you like me, Miss Angelica?"
"Not much."
"But why?"
"Go and look in the glass, grandpa," she answered.
He reddened.
"I suppose I do seem old--in your eyes," he said; "but after all, it’s
only a question of how you _feel_; and I feel as young as you do. It
takes a man of experience and maturity to appreciate a woman. Boys can’t
understand, but a man of my age has learned how a woman likes to be
treated."
"Well, he’s learned too late, then," said Angelica. "They’ll never give
him a chance to show off what he knows."
"Oh, yes, they do," he retorted, preening himself. "I could tell you of
more than one little girl who doesn’t think I’m too old. You, too, when
you know me better, you’ll find me just as----”
"Now, look here, grandpa," said Angelica. "What are you leading up to?
Because if you think you can get fresh with me, you’ve made a big
mistake. Guess again, grandpa!"
"Don’t call me that!" he protested. "It’s vulgar."
She looked at him scornfully, then turned her back upon him and once
more regarded the tiresome view. The doctor, after a glance at her
severe profile, gave up his attempt and changed his attitude. He sat
down jauntily astride of a chair and began joking. She never tired of
that, and although he did, although he grew painfully weary of this
rough and silly jesting, he was compensated by the sight of her
brilliant face.
But inevitably he began to grow bolder again.
"My dear, your shoe’s untied!" he said suddenly.
He threw himself on his knees before her and clasped her ankle in his
hand. She gave him a vigorous push with her foot that sent him rolling
over backward, knocking his white head against a chair. She laughed
immoderately, with abandon, all the more because he was so furious, her
head thrown back, her eyes closed.
And it was just at this minute that Eddie came out, to see his
father-in-law struggling to his feet, while Angelica shrieked with
laughter.
"What’s this?" he demanded severely.
No one answered, but Angelica’s mirth was checked.
"What has happened?" he asked again, with still greater displeasure.
"I slipped," said the doctor. "Where’s your mother, my boy?"
This was an attempt to disarm Eddie by reminding him that the doctor was
his mother’s husband, and therefore venerable; but it was not
successful. He received no reply, and went sauntering off with
exaggerated jauntiness, watched by Eddie till he was out of sight.
Then Eddie turned to Angelica.
"I’m sorry," he said gravely.
"Oh, it don’t matter!" she answered. "I can take care of myself all
right."
"I wasn’t apologizing for my father-in-law’s conduct. I meant I was
sorry that _you_----”
"Me?" she cried, indignantly. "I didn’t do anything!"
"I hate to think of you stooping to this sort of thing--this silly
vulgarity. It isn’t like you. It isn’t worthy of you!"
The former factory girl, with her long memory of scenes so much more
vulgar and silly than this--of faces slapped and insults replied to with
most forcible language--stared, astounded, at Eddie, at his displeased
and disappointed face.
"You ought to be more dignified," he said. "You say you want to improve
yourself. Then, in that case, this sort of thing----”
She really had seen nothing reprehensible in her conduct, nothing to be
censured. She knew, of course, that a girl in her situation mustn’t
spend her time in "fooling" with the men of the household; but to
disapprove it on high moral grounds ...!
However, the word "dignified" gave her a clue. It was those magnificent
women he had in mind! She was falling short of their standard, and
therefore disappointing Eddie. She wasn’t being magnificent.
She looked up at him.
"I see!" she said thoughtfully. "All right! I’ll try!"
"That’s right," he said. "I knew--if it were pointed out to you--that
that sort of thing is so out of keeping with your character----”
"With your face," he meant. He meant, without being aware of it, that
any sort of coarseness in a girl so lovely and desirable was a shocking
offense to him.
Angelica left him, inspired by the loftiest thoughts. She was resolved
to redeem this day begun so inauspiciously, breakfasting with the
servants, knocking over the white-haired doctor. She pictured a new
Angelica, stately and aloof.
"He does me good--that feller!" she reflected.