THE days that followed were full of bliss and peace to Betty. With
Hutton safely confined in the distant city, and a comfortable sum of her
accumulated allowance in the Tinsdale bank, with a thorough
understanding between herself and her trustees and the knowledge that
her estate was large enough to do almost anything in reason that she
wished to do with it, and would be hers in three weeks, life began to
take on a different look to the poor storm-tossed child. The days in the
Carson home were all Thanksgivings now, and every member of the family
was as excited and happy as every other member. There were arguments
long and earnest between Betty and her benefactor as to how much she
might in reason be allowed to do for the family now that she had plenty
of money, but in the end Betty won out, declaring that she had wished
herself on this family in her distress, and they took her as a man does
when he marries, for better for worse. Now that the worse had passed by
she was theirs for the better, and she intended to exercise the
privilege of a daughter of the house for the rest of her natural life.
Bi Gage was worried. He was still trying to get something out of the
estate for his part in the exercises, and he vibrated between Tinsdale
and Warren Reyburn's office working up his case. The five-thousand-dollar
reward was as yet unpaid, and the papers he held didn't seem to impress
the functionaries nearly so much as he had expected. It began to look as
though Bi had missed his chances in life once more, and when he took his
old seat in the fire-house and smoked, he said very little. Popular
Opinion was still crouching with her eye in his direction and it
behooved him to walk cautiously and do nothing to offend. So while he
smoked he cogitated in his cunning little brain, and hatched out a plan
by which he might get in with the heiress later, perhaps, when things
had quieted down a little and she had her money.
Betty received a pitiful letter from her stepmother, trying to explain
away her part in the affair and professing to be so relieved at the news
that Betty was still alive and well that she cared nothing about
anything else, not even the fact that poor dear Herbert was landed in
jail, or that the fortune which she had schemed so long to keep in her
own power was wrested from her so ignominiously. She begged Betty to
come back to their home and "be happy again together."
But Betty was so happy where she was that she could afford to be
generous and try to forget her wrongs. She wrote a decent little note
gently but firmly declining to come "home" ever again, making it quite
plain that she was no longer deceived by honeyed phrases, and closing
with a request that if in future any communication might be necessary it
should be made through her lawyer, Mr. Warren Reyburn.
This same Warren Reyburn had returned to his city office in a very much
exalted state of mind. He could not get away from that little hand of
Betty's that had been laid so tremblingly and confidingly in his; and
yet how could he, a poverty-stricken lawyer with absolutely no prospects
at all, ever dare to think of her, a lady of vast estates. Still, there
was some comfort in the fact that he had still some business to transact
for her, and would have to return to Tinsdale again. He might at least
see her once more. So he solaced himself on his return trip, feeling
that he had done some good work, and that he would have a pleasant
report to give to Jane Carson when he called upon her, as he meant to do
the next day.
He arrived at home to find James Ryan in a great state of excitement. A
pile of mail had arrived, and he had memorized the return addresses on
the outside of all the envelopes. One was from a big corporation, and
another bore a name widely spoken of in the circles of the world of
finance, Jimmie in close council with Jane Carson, had decided that it
must be from that person who called up twice on the 'phone and swore
such terrible oaths when he found that Reyburn was away.
Jimmie hovered nervously about, putting things to rights, while Reyburn
read his mail. He had come to the smallest envelope of all, a plain
government envelope now, and nothing had developed. Jimmie saw his first
place fast slipping away from him and his heart grew heavy with fear.
Perhaps after all nothing good had turned up yet.
Suddenly Reyburn sprang up and came toward him with an open letter,
holding out his hand in a joyous greeting:
"Read that, Ryan! We're made at last, and I shan't have to let you go
after all!"
Ryan read, the letters dancing before his delighted eyes, every one
wearing an orange blossom on its brow. It was from an old established
and influential firm, asking Reyburn to take full charge of all their
law business, and saying they had been referred to him by two old
friends in Boston, who by the way were Betty's two trustees.
"Come on, Ryan, come out to lunch with me! We've got to celebrate," said
Reyburn. "I have a hunch somehow that you have been the one that brought
me this good luck. You and a Miss Jane Carson. You both share alike, I
guess, but you were the first with your five-thousand-dollar reward
story."
"Jane Carson!" said Jimmie mystified. "Why, _she's_ my _girl_!"
"Your girl?" said Reyburn, a queer look coming in his eyes. "You don't
say! Well, you're in some luck, boy, with a girl like that! And, by the
way, next time you see her, ask her to show you her wedding dress!"
And not another word would Reyburn tell him, though he recurred
frequently to the subject during the very excellent lunch which they had
together in friendly companionship.
They spent the afternoon composing the brief and comprehensive letter in
response to the momentous one of the morning, and in the evening
together they sought out Jane Carson, Reyburn staying only long enough
to outline the ending of the Elizabeth Stanhope story, while Jimmie
remained to hear the beginning, and get a glimpse of the wedding gown,
which Reyburn assured Jane he was sure she need never return. He said he
thought if the owner of it was married ever in the future she would be
likely to want a gown that had no unpleasant associations.
Great excitement prevailed in Tinsdale as the weeks went by. Betty had
bought the lots either side of the Carson house, and wonderful
improvements were in progress. A windmill was being erected and water
pipes laid scientifically. Workmen arrived, some of them from the
village, some from the city. Extensive excavations went on about the old
house, and stone arrived. It began to be whispered about that "Miss
Stanhope," as Betty was now called, was going to build the house all
over and all of stone.
The work went forward rapidly as work can go when there is money enough
behind it, and the family, living in the little old part of the house,
and still using the faithful tin bath-tub and shower of Bob's
manufacture, now looked forward to real bathrooms on the bedroom floor,
with tiled floors and porcelain fittings. Large windows cropped out on
the new walls that were going up, a wide stone chimney and porches. A
charming little stone affair in the back yard that went up so quietly it
was hardly noticed until it was done suddenly became the home of a big
gray car that arrived in town one morning. Betty gave up her position at
the Hathaways so that she could have more time to superintend the work
and see that it was just as she wanted it, and she and Bob spent hours
going over the plans together, he making many wise suggestions. Mrs.
Hathaway called her "Miss Stanhope" with elaborate ceremony, and made
Elise kiss her whenever she met her.
Betty went to a near-by town and bought some pretty clothes, and a lot
of things for Ma and Emily and Bob. A beautiful new piano came by
express and took the place of Mrs. Barlow's tinpanny one.
Then Betty went up to the city and bought more things, furniture and
silver and curtains and rugs, and brought Jane back with her to take a
rest and see the little old house once more before it became the big new
house, and stay until she was ready to be married; for Betty was
determined to have the house ready for Jane's wedding.
When all the new beautiful things began to arrive Betty told Ma that she
had taken her in when she was poor and homeless and absolutely
penniless, and now all these things were her reward, and Betty couldn't
do enough ever to thank her for what she had done for her. They had
offered a five-thousand-dollar reward for news of her, and Ma had done
more than ten thousand and thousands of thousands of dollars' worth of
holding back news about her, and she was never going to get done giving
her her reward.
Of course Betty brought Nellie home, too, and established her in a
lovely new room just fit for a young girl, and began to pet her and fix
her up with pretty things as any loving sister might do if she had money
of her own.
All this time Reyburn had much business to transact in Tinsdale, for
Betty had asked him to look after all the little details about the
building for her, and he had to come down every week-end and look things
over to see that she was not being cheated. And once he brought Jimmie
down with him for Ma to look over and approve and they had a wonderful
time with the two best hens in the hen-coop for dinner. Ryan
incidentally gave his approval to Betty.
During these visits Reyburn was making great strides in the wisdom and
the knowledge of the love of God. One could not be in that family over
Sunday and not feel the atmosphere of a Christian home. Even Jimmie felt
it and said he liked it; that he wanted his house to be that way when
he had one. He went obediently to church with Jane, and marveled at the
way social classes were getting all muddled up in his world.
The Christmas time was coming on when the house finally got itself
completed and was ready for living, and with holly and mistletoe and
laurel they made it gay for the wedding. Betty spent several days with
Jane in New York picking out Jane's "trooso" things, and then a few more
days doing some shopping of her own, and at last the wedding day
arrived.
Nobody thought it queer, though Jimmie felt just the least bit shy when
the two trustees of Betty's estate arrived the night before from Boston
and incorporated themselves into the wedding party. Ma seemed to think
it was all right, so nobody said anything about it.
But after the ceremony when Jane and Jimmie were happily married, Jane
looking very young and pretty indeed in Betty's old wedding gown, veil
and slippers and all, and standing under the holly bell in the laurel
arch to be congratulated just as it had been arranged, there suddenly
came a hush over everybody. Jane noticed for the first time that Betty
was not anywhere in the room. Then everybody's eyes went to the wide
staircase, and here came Betty trailing down the stairs on the arm of
Reyburn, wearing still the little white organdie she had worn a few
minutes before as a bridesmaid, only she had thrown aside the
rose-colored sash and put over her brow a simple tulle veil, and her
arms were full of little pink rosebuds and lilies of the valley.
Up they walked in front of the minister just where the others had stood,
and were married with the same sweet simple service, and everybody was
so surprised and delighted and excited and breathless that Bob simply
couldn't stand it. He slipped into the little music room where the piano
had been installed, turned a handspring on the floor, and then sat down
and played chopsticks on the piano with all the pedals on, till Ma had
to send Emily in to stop him.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes:
Obvious punctuation errors have been corrected.
Repeated book title was removed.
Page 30, "posible" changed to "possible" (the feathers as possible)
Page 36, "Pood" changed to "Poor" (Poor soul! Candy!)
Page 71, "beter" changed to "better" (you better go to)
Page 77, "ominious" changed to "ominous" (the ominous silence)
Page 90, repeated word "an" removed from text. Original read (by an an
inch and)
Page 121, "hrurrying" changed to "hurrying" (said Ma, hurrying)
Page 131, "wante" changed to "wanted" (I kind of wanted)
Page 131, "l" changed to "look". The space was there it just was not
printed. (It doesn't look)
Page 131, as above, "wh" changed to "when you" (you know, when you)
Page 196, "suspicians" changed to "suspicions" (these suspicions which)
Page 199, "tiptoing" changed to "tiptoeing" (and tiptoeing to the door)
Page 220, "disapointment" changed to "disappointment" (great
disappointment of Bi)