FIVE AND ONE MAKE SIX.
A LONG hush followed these few words of explanation. Gertrude was too
stunned to ask further questions. Mechanically she moved toward her
room, and took off her hat and coat; but all the time she was washing
her hands and smoothing her hair, her ears were strained for sounds from
Georgie's room, which was next her own. There was very little to be
heard,--only a low, continuous murmur of conversation, broken now and
then by a louder word; but all so subdued that Candace, sitting on the
staircase seat, caught nothing. Marian, rushing up after her mother, had
been stopped by the explanation that Georgie was not well, and wanted to
be alone with mamma. After a little natural outburst of impatience, she
too seemed to catch the vague sense of crisis that was in the air, and
settled down quietly, with her head on Candace's knee, to wait.
It was a long waiting. The red sunset sky faded into pallor, and the
stars came out. Gertrude, restless with suspense, joined the other two.
Both she and Candace were too nervous for ordinary talk, and Marian's
presence precluded any mention of the subject with which their thoughts
were full; so the trio sat mostly in silence. Frederic was heard to pass
down the upper entry and announce dinner; but Mrs. Gray only answered by
the word "Presently," and did not open the door. The shadows grew darker
as the dusk deepened, till after a while the gas in the hall was
lighted, when they fled to the remoter corners, and consoled themselves
by casting an added blackness wherever they were permitted to fall,--the
only consolation possible to shadows.
To the anxious watchers on the window bench the time seemed very long;
and in fact it was nearly eight o'clock before Georgie's door was heard
to open, and Mrs. Gray to pass across the hall to her own room. She only
stayed there a few minutes. The girls sprang up to receive her as she
came downstairs, and the older ones looked anxiously in her face. She
was tired and paler than usual, and her eyes showed that she had been
crying; but her smile was brave and clear as she put her arm round
Candace, and gave her a long kiss.
"You must be half starved, my dears," she said. "Georgie has a bad
headache, and I have sent her to bed. She won't come down again
to-night; we will have dinner at once."
They went to dinner, accordingly. Marian held fast to her mother's hand;
but Mrs. Gray kept the other arm round Candace, and there was a warmth
and tenderness in the touch which thrilled through Cannie's heart. She
felt, without asking why, that Cousin Kate loved her more than usual
that night, and it made her happy.
Jane had been deeply aggrieved at the long delay of the dinner; but she
was a woman of resources as well as principle, and, as a member in good
and regular standing of the Second Baptist Church, knew that forgiveness
of injuries was a branch of Christian duty. She reminded herself,
beside, that "Missis wasn't often that inconsiderate, and most probably
there was reasons this time," which made it easier to overlook her
offence. So she kept some things back, and took some things off, and
managed to send in the food in an eatable condition, instead of letting
it calcine into cinders as a less conscientious and capable cook would
have done.
Marian went to bed; but still Mrs. Gray said not a word about Georgie
and her confession. She looked weary and preoccupied, and Gertrude
fancied--but perhaps it was only fancy--that there was a shade of
coldness in her mother's manner towards herself. They were all glad when
the time came to separate; but before she slept that night, Mrs. Gray
sent a telegram to her husband.
Mr. Gray appeared next day on the earliest possible train. There was a
long consultation in the library, in which Georgie took a part. She came
out with her eyes red with crying, but somehow looking relieved, too,
and with a peaceful look in her face which had been absent from it of
late. Candace, passing her on the stairs, averted her eyes shyly, and
was altogether astonished at being caught in a tight embrace and kissed
several times.
"It's all right," Georgie whispered. "Papa has been, oh, so kind! and
mamma is like an angel to me. You were just right; and I never can thank
you enough, you dear!"
"Oh, how glad I am!" cried Cannie, clasping her hands together in sudden
relief.
Georgie said no more; she gave Cannie another kiss, and hurried away.
What steps Mr. Gray took to get rid of Alexander, the girls never knew;
but whatever they may have been, they were effectual. He disappeared
from Newport the very next day, and neither Berry Joy nor Georgie ever
saw or heard of him again. It is only on women and girls, and men who
are as weak and uninstructed as women, that rascals of his low stamp
venture to practise their arts. The moment a man of boldness and
resource appears on the scene, one who knows the laws and is not afraid
to invoke their protection, black-mailers quail and vanish.
Such an affair cannot, however, be made straight without a good deal of
suffering to all concerned. Georgie was forgiven. She was saved from the
consequences of her own folly and imprudence; but she could not forgive
herself, nor could she forget the deep pain and mortification she had
given to the parents she loved, or ignore the fact that she had
forfeited something of their good opinion, and that it would take her a
long time to regain it. Gertrude, too, had her share to endure. She had
a strong sense of honor and a high opinion of her own powers; yet in
this the first real test of her life, she had failed miserably, and not
only given Georgie no assistance, but had helped to confirm her in her
error. Berenice Joy received her portion of punishment in the shape of
an interview, which she found most disagreeable, with Mr. Gray. At her
urgent entreaty, he gave up his intention of telling the story to her
mother, but she felt that she was disgraced in his eyes and in those of
Mrs. Gray; and though she cried, and looked very pretty, and was
properly grateful and distressed, and assured Mr. Gray that she should
never forget how good he had been to her, and that he couldn't imagine
how much she and Georgie had suffered just for a moment of
thoughtlessness, she was aware all the time that her tears and her
gratitude made no impression, and that he did not believe in her. She
was sure that all intimacy between herself and Georgie would be
discouraged thenceforward; and this was a real punishment, for Berry
counted a good deal on the Grays, and had built some social hopes on her
position as their friend. Her forebodings proved true. Her little gush
of thankfulness and penitence did not touch Mr. Gray's heart in the
least. He saw that Berry was a dangerous friend for his soft-hearted,
easily influenced Georgie, and told his wife that he decidedly objected
to the girls' having anything more to do with her. Mrs. Gray agreed with
him in opinion; and though there was no open rupture between the
families, Berry found herself after that placed on the footing of an
ordinary acquaintance, and was never able to regain her old position
with any of the Gray family.
But before this conversation took place it was finally settled that
Candace was to stay always, and be Cousin Kate's fourth daughter, and a
sister to her three cousins.
Parents, sisters, home,--this was a rich endowment, indeed, for a
lonely, orphaned girl to fall heir to. But Cannie had earned her good
fortune, and every member of the family had learned to value and to wish
to keep her.
It was Mrs. Gray who broke the happy news to her.
"Shall you like it? Will you be content to stay with us always?" she
asked.
"Why, Cousin Kate, what a question! How could I help liking it? I never
knew what happy meant, till I came to you," answered Cannie, flushed
with emotion and pleasure. "It's only that it seems too good to be true!
Why, only yesterday I was counting the days till the fifteenth of
October; because, you know, you are going back to town then, and I
thought you would send me back to Aunt Myra, and I said, 'I shall only
be happy for twenty-four days more, perhaps only twenty-three,'--for,
you see, I didn't feel sure that you could keep me till the very last
day. And now there is going to be no end to the happy times. I can't see
what makes you so good to me, Cousin Kate."
"I think we can understand that better than you can," her cousin
replied. "We need you, Cannie, as much as you need us. The benefit will
be mutual."
"Need _me_! when you have Cousin Court and the girls?"
"Cousin Court and the girls need you too.--Don't we, Georgie? Come in
and help me explain to Candace that all of us want her, and all of us
are glad to have her stay."
"Indeed, we do. Cannie, I can't talk about it, for it's like a bad dream
from which I have waked up, and I don't like to recall it; but I never
shall forget how good you were to me that horrible day. It was you who
persuaded me to go to mamma. I never should have gone if you hadn't
somehow swept me up and made me. And, oh, if I hadn't!--How could I be
afraid of you, dear, darling mamma?--She was just what you said she
would be, Cannie. She knew just what to do; she understood in a moment.
She was so kind! I feel as if Trinity Church had been rolled off my
mind. It was all your doing, and I never can forget it."
"Georgie is right," said Mrs. Gray. "Don't look so bewildered, dear. You
did her a real service in persuading her to be brave and frank. I don't
know why it is so hard for children to trust their parents. It is the
parents' fault somehow, no doubt."
"Oh, mother, _no_! It was only that I dreaded to have you think ill of
me."
"Not quite," said Mrs. Gray, shaking her head. "I must blame myself a
little. I must have made some mistake with you all, when even Gertrude
could not believe that I would not be harsh and unforgiving. But we have
had our lesson, Georgie, and we will not do so badly again, especially
as there will be this dear little new sister of yours to help us to keep
straight. We need not talk any more about it, but, Cannie, we all feel
that to have you with us will be good for us all. There is nothing in
the world so rare and so precious as clear truth, and the courage to
hold fast by it; and we have proved that you possess both."
"And don't you think that it will be good for me?" said Cannie, her eyes
shining with grateful tears.
"Yes; we can help you too. It is one of the good things in this world
that help is almost always on both sides.--Marian," as that small person
passed the door, "what do you think of having Cannie permanently for a
sister?"
"Really! Will she stay? Oh, how perfectly--daisy!" And Marian threw her
arms round Candace's neck, and gave her a squeeze which left no doubt as
to her approval of the plan.
Only one cloud now remained on Candace's horizon of happiness. Mrs. Gray
had become like a very mother to her. Her bright, perpetual,
all-understanding tenderness was like daily food to Candace's hungering
heart. Mr. Gray had taken her into the highest favor. He had always
liked Cannie and been kind to her, but now he petted her almost as much
as he petted Marian. He scarcely ever came back from New York without
bringing her some little gift,--a book, a trinket, a box of bonbons,--as
a proof that she had been in his thoughts. The latest and prettiest of
these was on her finger now,--a pearl ring with the word "Truth"
engraved inside its golden circlet. Georgie and Marian had welcomed her
heartily; but Gertrude,--Gertrude had said nothing. She was always
cordial now, and a sort of added respect and liking had appeared in her
manner since the Alexander episode; but about the new arrangement which
made Candace one of the family, she had not spoken a word. Till she did,
till she was sure that Gertrude too was content to have her stay,
Cannie's happiness could not be complete.
The fourteenth of October at length arrived. It was the last day of
their Newport season, but Candace no longer dreaded the break-up. It did
not mean separation and loneliness now, only the change to a new and
different scene, which might be as delightful in its way as the summer
had been. Yet Newport was still in full beauty, and it seemed a pity to
leave it. No frosts had fallen to dim the glory of the flowers. The
honeysuckles were still starred with their white, gold-anthered
blossoms; the geranium beds looked as gay, the foliage plants as superb
as ever; while the green of the grass was as fresh as in July. Here and
there a little drift of yellow leaves lay under the trees, but it was
the only sign of autumn. Georgie gathered a great basketful of
nasturtiums, heliotrope, and mignonette to carry down to Miss Gisborne,
and Marian was sent off in the village-cart with a similar basketful for
Mrs. Frewen. The house was all in a confusion of packing. Frederic was
wrapping tissue-paper round the picture-frames, Elizabeth counting linen
and silver, the gardeners emptying the balcony boxes. Mrs. Gray proposed
that Gertrude and Candace should go for a last walk on the Cliffs, and
so be out of the way of these discomforts.
"There is nothing for you to do," she said. "Only don't stay too late,
and come in before it grows dark. We are to have a 'thick tea' at
half-past six, in place of a regular dinner. I thought it would be less
trouble on this busy day."
It was to Pulpit Rock that the two cousins bent their way. The Cliffs
were even lonelier now than they had been when Candace first visited
them. There were no bathers in the surf; no carriages were drawn up on
the higher part of the beach, and the road leading around Easton's Point
showed only a few scattered figures and one solitary horseman on its
entire length. Here and there along the windings of the Cliff Walk a
single walker appeared, dark against the brightness of the sky, or two
girls were seen pacing the smooth gravel, with fluttering dresses, and
hair blown by the soft October wind. The sea was as beautiful in color
as ever, but it had changed with the change of the season. The blue
seemed more rarefied, the opalescent tints more intense; deep purple
reflections lay in the shadows made by the rocky points, and there was a
bright clearness of atmosphere quite unlike the dream-like mistiness of
the summer.
The cousins sat side by side on the big rock, just where they had sat on
that June day which seemed to Candace so long ago. Gertrude was no
longer critical or scornful. She sat a little farther back than Candace,
and from time to time glanced at her side-face with a sort of puzzled
expression. Cannie, happening to turn, caught the look; it embarrassed
her a little, and to hide the embarrassment she began to talk.
"Did you know that Cousin Kate is going to let me live with you always?"
she asked.
"Yes; mamma told me."
"Isn't she good?" went on Candace, impulsively. "I can hardly believe
yet that it is true. What makes you all so very, very kind to me, I
can't think."
"I haven't been particularly kind," said Gertrude, suddenly.
"Candace,--I might as well say it at once, for it's been a good deal on
my mind lately,--I wish you would forget how nasty I was when you first
came to us."
"Were you nasty?" said Candace, trying to speak lightly, but with a
flush creeping into her face.
[Illustration: THE CLIFFS.
"I shall always love this rock," said Candace.--PAGE 281.]
"Yes, I was; very nasty. I didn't care to have you come, in the first
place; and I thought you seemed awkward and countrified, and I didn't
like your clothes, and I was afraid the girls here would laugh at you.
It was a mean sort of feeling, and the worst thing is that I didn't
see that it was mean. I was ashamed of you; but now I am ashamed,
dreadfully ashamed, of myself. I felt so much wiser and more knowing
than you then; and yet when Georgie, my own sister, got into this
dreadful trouble and came to me for help, I had none to give her. I was
as much a coward as she was. I gave her bad advice; and it was you, whom
I laughed at and was unkind to, who saw what she ought to do, and was
brave and really helped. When I think of it all, I feel as if I couldn't
forgive myself."
"Why, Gertrude dear, don't!" cried Cannie; for Gertrude was almost
crying. "I don't wonder you didn't care for me at first. I was
dreadfully awkward and stupid. And you never were nasty to me. Don't say
such things! But"--with a shy longing to remove beyond question the
doubt which had troubled her--"you _do_ like me now? You are not sorry
that I am to stay and live with you?"
"Sorry! No; I am very, very glad. You are the best girl I know. It will
do me heaps of good to have you in the house."
"Oh, how delightful!" cried Cannie. "Now I haven't a thing to wish for.
It is all nonsense about my doing you good, but I am so glad you want me
to stay."
The two girls nestled closer and kissed each other, with a new sense of
friendship and liking. The west wind blew past, making little quick
eddies on the surface of the water. The gulls flew lower, their white
wings flashing close to the flashing surf; sails far out at sea gleamed
golden in the level rays of the sunset; a yellow light enveloped the
farther point.
"I shall always love this rock," said Candace.
Gertrude began the downward climb; but Candace paused a moment on the
summit, and turned for a last look at the water. Every glittering
foam-cap, every glinting sail, seemed to her to wave a signal of glad
sympathy and congratulation. "Good-by," she softly whispered. "But I
shall come back. You belong to me now." She kissed her hand to the far
blue horizon; then with a smile on her face, she turned, and followed
Gertrude down the steep rock-face, a happy girl.
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Transcriber's Notes:
Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
Page 7, "Canonicut" changed to "Conanicut" (beyond Conanicut and)
Page 171, "Our" changed to "our" (our own insignificance)
Page 260, "smoothe" changed to "smooth" (smooth the tangled)
Page 286, "Mas" changed to "Mass." (Boston, Mass.)