As a result of my suggestion, Mr Hallett has taken Mr Thorold to
several concerts, and as a crowning effort actually lured him to a
week-end at Brighton. That was last week; and as the day was mild and--
almost!--sunny, I suggested to the little girls that we should go
holiday-making on our own account, and pay a visit to the Zoo.
The proposal excited great enthusiasm, and an early lunch was ordered so
that we could set forth in good time, so as to have a couple of hours
with the animals before adjourning to a confectioner's for tea. I
remembered my own childhood too well to suggest returning home for the
meal. To drink tea out of strange cups, in a strange room, to have a
practically unlimited choice of strange cakes--this is a very orgie of
bliss to anything "in one figure," and when the tea is followed by a
drive home in a taxi, satisfaction approaches delirium. I remembered
Mr Thorold's pathetic "Make them happy!" and determined that, if it
were in my power, this should be a day to be remembered.
Lunch was finished, I dressed the little girls in their new hats and
coats, wriggled their fingers into new gloves, saw to it that there was
not a crease in their stockings nor a chink in the lacing of their
boots, and had just settled them on the sofa in the drawing-room to wait
quietly until I rushed through my own hasty toilette, when--the door
opened, and who should walk in but Ralph Maplestone himself!
For different reasons his appearance struck consternation into the
breasts of all three beholders. I was naturally overcome with
embarrassment as to what he had come for now; the little girls were
seized with a devastating fear lest his arrival should interfere with
their treat. They leapt to their feet, and rent the air with
protestations.
"Oh, oh! It's the Same Man!"
"We're going out! We're going out! We've got on our hats."
"To the Zoo! So's Miss Harding. She's just going to put on her hat."
"It's our treat. Father's away. He's having a treat, and she
promised--she promised we could go!"
Tears sounded in the voices, showed in suspicious redness round the
eyes. Mr Maplestone smiled--like many grave people he has a beautiful
smile--he laid one big hand on the top of each little hat, and swayed
them gently to and fro.
"Well, and why not? Of course you are going! All good little girls go
to the Zoo, and ride on the elephants, and throw buns to the bears. You
are extra good little girls, and so you can see something else--a little
bird, not much bigger than a canary, who can talk and say words almost
as well as you can yourselves. And think of the monkeys!"
He withdrew one hand and held it out to me across the children's heads,
smiling and apologetic.
"I'm afraid I am looked upon as an obstacle. Please don't let me detain
you. I would not disappoint them for the world. I can call another
day."
But by this time fear had given place to gratitude and the quick
affection which children show to grown-ups who understand! Winifred and
Marion leapt at his arms, clung, wheedled, and implored.
"You come too! You come too! Show us the bird that talks. We want
you. We want you to come with us. Miss Harding wants you. You _do_
want him, don't you, Miss Harding?"
The leap of my heart showed that I did! The very suggestion had been
enough to give an altogether different aspect to the expedition; to
invest it with a spice of adventure, not to say romance, which was most
refreshing to a spinster living in a basement flat! I fought down an
inclination to laugh, _hoped_ that I conquered an inclination to blush,
and said primly:--
"My dears, you must not be exacting. Mr Milestone has no doubt
engagements--"
"Not one!" he contradicted eagerly. "Not one! Please let me come, Miss
Harding. It would be a charity, for if you turn me away I shall be at a
loose end all the afternoon. I am like a fish out of water in town!"
"You should return to the country," I said sternly. "It is wasting time
to remain here."
The children caught at the last sentence, naturally applied it to their
own plans, and pranced with renewed impatience.
"Yes! Yes! You said directly after lunch. Put on your hat, Miss
Harding--do put it on! We want to see the bird."
He looked at me, lifted his eyebrows, and smiled as if to say that
further protest was useless, and indeed it seemed that it was. There
was nothing for it but to retire to my room, and put on the boat-shaped
hat, the thick, unbecoming veil, and the badly-cut coat, which aided my
outdoor disguise.
I looked plain to a degree. Nothing in the world can disfigure a woman
more successfully than an unbecoming hat and a cheap black veil, which
imparts a dingy, leaden tint to the complexion. I had every reason to
be satisfied with my disguise that afternoon, but I wasn't. Not a bit!
I felt cross, and irritated, and balked!
We took a taxi and drove straight to the Albert Road entrance, made our
way down the steep incline, under the bridge, and up again towards the
lion houses. Marion and Winifred hung, one on each of Ralph's arms,
chattering in a continuous stream. Child-like, they ignored me in the
fascinations of a new friend; also--and this interested me very much!--
he was charming with them, hitting just the right combination of sense
and nonsense, entering into their ideas, and adapting himself with an
enjoyment which was obviously real, not feigned. I reminded myself that
this was the first time I had seen him in the company of children.
_Mem_. Every woman ought to see a man in several circumstances before
she accepts him as a husband.