Rob stayed behind after Peggy left the room, and had a long talk with
his brother. He refused to stay to dinner, it is true, but showed no
signs of ill-temper, and was more gentle than usual in his manner with
Hector, towards whom he usually adopted an air of superiority. He came
over the following day to inquire about the progress of the sprained
ankle, and seemed so anxious to soothe Peggy's embarrassment, so
laboriously pleasant and affectionate, that he succeeded in plunging her
into confusion worse confounded. If only he would scold, storm, rage,
express disgust, or demand apology, how easy it would be to wipe away
the misunderstanding! but it was impossible to offer an explanation of
what was never questioned. The very thought of referring to the subject
of her own accord made Peggy's cheeks burn. The most she could do was
to give Rob an opportunity of speaking, which she did without delay,
walking with him to the gate, and keeping purposely silent the while;
but it was of no use, for he seemed resolved to avoid personal subjects,
would not mention Hector's name, and discoursed on vegetable life to an
audience inclined to wish that such a thing as plant or flower had never
existed!
Why was not he angry? Peggy asked herself drearily, as she returned to
the house. Another girl might have realised that Rob had not the right
to be angry, seeing that she was in no wise pledged to himself; but at
heart Peggy considered herself pledged, and felt sore and wounded that
Rob did not realise her position.
Care for another man while Rob was near? Impossible! Share her life
with another, and leave Rob lonely and uncared for? The very thought
sent a pang to her heart. Rob and she had held together since they were
children, they had always belonged to each other; he should have
realised as much, and not have insulted her by believing for a moment
that she could be false to her trust. Peggy's little head tilted back
to a defiant angle, and her lips closed in determined line. Very well,
then; if Rob were not angry, she was! If he chose to take things for
granted, he could do as he pleased. Let him go on being magnanimous and
complacent. Two could play at that game. Never should it be said that
Peggy Saville ran after a man who seemed pleased at the prospect of
getting rid of her. And then, as the drive took a turn which brought it
in sight of the road, Miss Peggy waved her hand towards the library
window, and quickened her pace into a run. There was nobody in the
window, it is true, but then there might have been, and if people chose
to build up theories of their own, it was really a kindness to provide
them with materials!
So far as Hector himself was concerned, the episode of Rob's unexpected
appearance put an effectual stop to those _tete-a-tetes_ which he had
anticipated. Peggy was as slippery as an eel, and as his ankle kept him
confined to one room, he was obliged to put up with her caprices, and
resign himself to solitude during those hours when host and hostess were
engaged. She would talk to him, read to him, play games with him, amuse
him by a dozen quaint representations and monologues, providing always
that a third person was in the room, but directly they were left alone
together, sudden business summoned her to another part of the house, and
she whisked away before he had time to protest. He longed for his ankle
to be well enough to allow pursuit; but when that time came Arthur and
Eunice were due, and he must needs return to The Larches to make way for
their arrival. It was disappointing, but he reminded himself that he
had at least made one step in advance. Peggy knew what he wished; she
would have time to get accustomed to the idea, and within the next month
he would certainly find his opportunity.
To Peggy, jarred and wounded with the strain of acting a double part,
what a relief it was to see Arthur's beloved face again, and to discover
at the first glimpse that Rosalind's engagement had had no power to
shadow the radiance of his smile. Whatever he had suffered he had borne
in secret, as his manner was, keeping a brave front to the world, and
seeming to lift the burden of others by the very magnetism of his cheery
presence. Peggy had driven to the station in the lowest possible stage
of dejection, but she felt life worth living again, as Arthur pinched
her arm in acknowledgment of a new coat, gave a dexterous little jerk to
her elbow, which sent her parasol flying along the platform, and
murmured plaintively:
"Still scattering possessions broadcast! How do you think I can afford
to buy you fineries, if you throw them about in that slipshod fashion?"
"You may pick it up yourself--I won't!" cried Peggy haughtily; but
before Arthur had a chance of disputing the point, Eunice had stepped
into the breach, and was presenting at once the parasol and her own
smiling face for Peggy's greeting. The shy glance of the grey eyes
affected Peggy with all the old pleasure, for they were so eloquent of
their owner's enjoyment, so charmingly diffident as to the feelings of
others.
"You dear little Eunice, how are you again? Welcome to Yew Hedge. Such
a pleasah to see you!" cried Peggy, falling into quite a society drawl
in her amiable condescension, and smiling at her friend with a
graciousness unaffected by the fact that her own head came barely up to
Eunice's ear. It was delightful to have a girl visitor! The worst of
Arthur's visits was that he was always running away on some unsociable
masculine pursuit, fishing, shooting, and the like, instead of staying
at home like a sensible fellow and amusing his sister. But Eunice would
be different, for she was the most womanly of womanly women. No
shooting-boots for her, no divided skirts, nor hard felt hats! She was
a remnant of that good old type of which our mothers and grand mothers
were made, timid and nervous in everyday affairs, yet with an unexpected
store of courage which showed itself when danger menaced the welfare of
those she loved. Peggy felt that she had much to learn from this sweet
new friend, and fulfilled her intention of consulting her on household
topics on the first possible occasion. She gave a dramatic recital of
her misadventures, and once more Eunice proved herself a delightful
hearer, for she sighed and groaned at exactly the right points, kept her
eyes fixed attentively on the speaker's face, and while confessing the
utmost horror at the _contretemps_ described, was convinced that she
herself would have fared even worse.
"For by your own account, Peggy, you managed extremely well when you did
remember. Even cook praised you! Now, I should not forget, because I
happen to have a good memory, but I should provide hopelessly badly from
first to last. I should have no idea what to order, or how to choose,
or make a variety. I have never had anything of the sort to do, you
see. We have a housekeeper who looks after all such things, and I am in
utter ignorance about them!"
Here was a delightful confession! When you have abased yourself before
a friend, have confessed your own shortcomings, and braced yourself to
bear reproaches, what can be more delightful than to hear that her own
ignorance is greater than yours? Peggy was overjoyed to find herself
restored to a position of superiority, and as usual made the most of the
opportunity.
"My love," she croaked, "my love!" and up went both hands in elderly
gestures. "But what a lamentable confession! The sphere of a true
woman is Home, and it should be her first duty to master those arts
which are necessary for its comfort. What hired hands can ever minister
to our dear ones so deftly, so efficiently, as those which love has
trained and dutiful affection called to service?"
Eunice gasped and blinked her eyes, overwhelmed by the flood of Peggy's
eloquence, but when she had abstracted the meaning from the high-flown
phrase, her expression altered into one of dubious protest.
"I am not so sure! I am afraid a dinner cooked by my loving hands would
not please father nearly so well as the ones he gets from his hired
domestics. I don't think it can always follow--"
But Peggy was launched on the flood of eloquence, and could not be thus
lightly checked.
"You must learn!" she cried. "You must educate yourself until you are
so efficient that you could fill every domestic position. Even if you
never do the work yourself, you cannot be a good mistress unless you
understand enough of each maid's work to give instructions, and point
out the remedy for defects. A man, my dear, expects to come home to a
comfortable meal, and it is right that he should get it! We women are
above such considerations, but trifling discomforts are more trying to a
man's temper than more serious offences, and they are apt to become
impatient and irritable."
"They are! They are! You should just hear father when--" interrupted
Eunice eagerly, but Peggy silenced her with a wave of the hand. When
she herself had smarted beneath her mother's words of reproach, she had
never imagined that she could have the satisfaction of hurling those
same words at the head of another, and she was enjoying herself so
intensely that she was anxious to prolong the experience.
"Exactly so; and it should be our mission in life to prevent such
friction. There are girls in the present day who sneer at Home Life,
and profess to consider domestic duties as a slavery demeaning to a
woman's dignity, but for my own part I ask no higher sphere. To be
Queen of a Home, Guardian of its happiness, its Architect, Ruler, and
Controller, the Reins of Government grasped within my hands, what more
could I desire?" She gave a toss to her sleek little head, then wheeled
round at the sound of a stifled chuckle, met the grey eyes swimming in
tears, and demanded sternly, "You seem amused! May I ask at what you
are laughing?"
"He--he--he!" sniggered Eunice softly. "You--you looked so fierce, and
you gave such a tug to the reins! I couldn't help thinking what a hard
driver you would be! You say it is impossible to be a good mistress
unless you are first a good servant, but you don't seem to be very
expert yourself, and yet you can order people about better than any one
I know. I noticed that from the first. People always seem to do what
you want. How do you reconcile that with your argument?" She smiled as
she spoke, not without a spice of triumph at having cornered the
redoubtable Peggy; but she had yet to learn the extraordinary manner in
which that young woman could twist and turn, arguing first in one
direction and then in the other, as suited the convenience of the
moment. On the present occasion she beamed acknowledgment of the
compliment, and cried airily:
"Some are born to command, and some to serve! It would be idle to deny
that I belong to the former species. If I cannot do the work myself, I
can at least help others to do it, and point out their faults in a
convincing manner. I should like to have a large household of servants,
and make them pass before me in turns, while I sat in an easy-chair and
issued orders, and I should consider that my share of the labour
exceeded theirs, for brain toil is more exhausting than manual. It
takes a great deal of study to manage a household, and as a rule girls
in our position give no thought to the matter. They are engrossed with
the pleasures of society, but a butterfly life would never satisfy me.
My leanings are Domestic. I have an ever-growing desire to become
Domestic!"
"Oh, so have I!" cried Eunice eagerly. "So have I! Let us be domestic
together, Peggy, do! Let us begin now, while I am here. It would be so
much nicer than trying alone. Do--do let us begin at once!"
She was quite excited. The grey eyes were shining, and there was a
pretty pink flush on the pale cheeks. Peggy smiled at her, and patted
her knee, with the kindly amusement with which one receives the
petitions of an eager child.
"Well," she said graciously, "suppose we do! It would be quite amusing.
I am willing, dear, if you will suggest in what way you would like to
begin."
"We might ask your cook to give us lessons in cooking!"
"No, my dear, we might not. I couldn't consent to it. Most injudicious
to display your ignorance before a person whom you have to command. You
must think of something else."
"We might go marketing, and learn what everything costs, and how much
one ought to buy, and--"
"No use, my dear! We get nothing but meat and fish from the village.
Fruit and vegetables come from the garden, and all the groceries from
town."
"We might sew."
"Ha! I have it!" cried Peggy dramatically. "We'll dress-make! What a
joke! We'll each make a blouse, and wear them at dinner one evening.
It will be delightful. Every girl ought to be able to make her own
clothes, and it's so simple, so easy."
"Is it?" Eunice arched her brows in surprise. "Have you ever tried?"
"Not exactly, but they were always doing it at the vicarage, and I used
to help. I always drew the designs, and criticised the things when they
were done. It's quite easy. You get a pattern, pin it to the stuff,
cut it out, run it up, and there you are."
"And you really think I could manage?"
"Of course you could. We will work together, and I'll help you. That's
to say, if you would like to try."
"Oh, I should indeed. Fancy wearing something I had made myself! I'd
be so proud. I'll have mine very, very simple, as plain as possible."
"I sha'n't! Mine shall be elaborate and fussy and mysterious--one of
those things in which you cannot see any fastenings, or imagine how on
earth the owner gets in or out. There's a model in this week's _Queen_
which will be just the thing, and I have a piece of flowered pink silk
upstairs which will do for you as well as for me. It is a remnant which
I bought in Paris. I have a mania for remnants. I always think they
will come in usefully, but somehow they don't. This will be the
exception, however, and it will be nice to be alike!"
"Thank you so much; but you won't tell any one what we are going to do,
will you? We had better not say anything yet, in case we don't
succeed."
"Don't succeed, indeed! Don't let me hear such words, my dear, I beg!
To imagine failure is to invite defeat!" Peggy shook her head with her
most copy-book air. "We shall succeed, and therefore it would be
selfish to keep our plans to ourselves. It will be quite an excitement
in prospect. Let me see: to-day is Tuesday. How would it be if we said
Saturday night?"
"Too soon! Too soon! I should say a week at the very soonest. We
can't manage in less."
"Oh yes, we can if we try. We will give up our mornings to work, and
the afternoons to pleasure. There is very little making in a blouse--
three seams, and the sleeves, that's all! Four days are quite enough;
besides, it is really five, for we will begin this morning."
"Now? At once? But I haven't thought, I haven't planned, nothing is
ready! Surely it would be wise to wait, and think it over first?"
But impetuous Peggy could not be brought to acknowledge that
procrastination could ever be wise. If she had had her way, she would
have been hard at work hacking out her blouse within ten minutes of its
first suggestion; but fortunately for all concerned Arthur appeared upon
the scene at this minute, and put down his foot at the mention of
sewing.
"Not if I know it, on a beautiful summer afternoon! Leave that until it
rains, or I don't need your society. Now I do. I want you to come over
to the vicarage with me, while I pay my congratulations to the bride.
I've got an offering for her too. Something I brought from town, and I
want you to carry it for me."
"So likely, isn't it?" sniffed Peggy scornfully. "It shall never be
said of me that I trained my brother so badly that I carried even an
umbrella in his company! What is it, Arthur? Do tell us? What have
you got?"
But Arthur refused to tell. He slung the box on the crook of his stick,
and led the way across the fields, smiling enigmatically at the girls'
inquiries, but vouchsafing no clue to satisfy their curiosity. There
was evidently some mystery afoot, and the expectation of its unravelment
gave a spice of excitement to the coming visit. The box contained
something nice; Peggy felt sure of that, for when Arthur gave a present
he gave something worth having. How pleased Esther would be, and how
embarrassed! What fun it would be to witness the presentation, and help
out her acknowledgments by appropriate cheers and interjections!