The Honorable Miss: A Story of an Old-Fashioned Town Page 9

  CHAPTER IX.

  THE GHOST IN THE AVENUE.

  Rosendale Manor had heaps of rooms. It was an old house, added to atmany times; added to by builders, who had little or no knowledge oftheir craft, who were prodigal of space, and illiberal in all matters ofconvenience.

  The Manor was the sort of house which might best be described asinadequate for the wants of ordinary people. For instance, itsdrawing-rooms were large out of all proportion, whereas its dining-room,morning-room and library were ridiculously small. It had a spacious halland wide landings, but its stairs were steep and narrow, and there wasnot even one decent-sized bedroom in the house. All the rooms had lowceilings and were small. Their only virtue was that there were such anumber of them.

  Catherine and Mabel liked the bedrooms at the Manor, because beingrather distinct in their tastes, and decidedly given to quarrel over thearrangements of their separate properties, it was impossible for them tosleep together. Each girl had a room of her own, and these rooms did noteven touch, for Mabel slept near her mother, and Catherine away in awing by herself. This wing could only be reached by a spiral staircase,and was pronounced by the timid Mabel to be odiously lonely.

  Catherine, however, knew no fears, and enjoyed the privacy of her quaintlittle bedroom with its sloping roof and lattice window.

  She bade her brother and sister good-night, and went up to it, now.

  "You'll go to bed at once, won't you, Kitty?" said Mabel, whose eyeswere half-shut. "Perhaps it _was_ only a rabbit I heard. Only whydid it flash white, and why did it sigh? Well, I won't think of it anymore. Good-night, Kitty, how wide awake you look."

  Catherine kissed her sister and sought her distant chamber. She waiteduntil all was silent in the house, then slowly and cautiously sheunbarred her door and went downstairs.

  In the large square entrance hall she took a white shawl from a stand.She hung it across her arm, and still walking very softly reached thehall door, drew back its bolts, removed its chain, opened it, and wentout into the porch.

  Her mother had stood in that porch two nights fgo. Catherine thought ofher now. The remembrance of her mother's face caused her to sigh andshiver as if she had been struck with sudden cold. Leaving the hall doorajar she wrapped the white shawl about her shoulders, and then walked alittle way across the wide gravel sweep in front of the house.

  Her footsteps crunched the gravel, but her brother and sister slept indistant bedrooms and could hear nothing. The moon was riding full andhigh in the heavens, and its reflection caused intense light and darkshadows. Catherine's own shadow stalked heavy and immense by her side.

  She walked a little way down the avenue, listening intently. Even thecrunching of the gravel disturbed her, so she stepped on the grass, andwalked noiselessly on its velvet path.

  Suddenly she stopped, threw up her head, flung her shawl off, and with amovement quick as lightning, put out her hand and caught something.

  She was holding a girl's slender and round arm. She drew her forward,pushed back her somewhat tawdry hat, and looked into her face.

  "What are you doing here? What is your name? Speak at once. Tell me thetruth."

  The girl had queer, half-wild eyes. She looked down and began to muttersomething indistinct. The next instant she went on her knees, caughtCatherine's white dress and pressed it to her lips.

  "Don't," said Miss Bertram, with a movement both of decision andrepulsion. "You aren't even clean. Don't touch my dress. What are youdoing here?"

  "I have travelled a long way. I am only dirty because I am travel-sore.I have come to see the lady, your mother. I have come from far to seeher. I have a message for her. Is she at home?"

  "Would she see you, if she were at home, at this hour? Tell me your namefirst, and then go away. You cannot see my mother."

  "You are Miss Bertram, are you not?"

  "Yes--and Rosendale Manor is my home. It is not yours. Go away. Nevercome back here again. You are not to see my mother."

  The girl rose to her feet. Her dress was dirty, her face was begrimedwith the dirt of travel, but Catherine noticed that the dress was whole,not patched anywhere, also that her accent was pure, and almost refined.

  "Miss Bertram," she said, "I must see the lady, your mother. I have animportant message for her; I am not a spy, and I don't come in anyunkindness, but I must see the lady who lives here, and who is yourmother. I have waited for hours in the avenue, hours and hours. I willwait until morning. The nights are not cold, and I shall do very well.Let me see your mother then."

  "You cannot. She is from home. It was you then, who bribed Tester tokeep the lodge gate open?"

  "I gave the man a shilling. Yes, I confess it. I am doing no harm here.Put yourself in my place."

  "How dare you? How can you?" said Catherine, stepping away from thetravel-stained figure.

  "Ah, you are very proud, but there's a verse of Scripture that fits you.'Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.' I know yourage--you are just seventeen, I'm only nineteen, just two years olderthan you. You have no feeling for me. Suppose I had none for you?"

  The refinement of the girl's voice became more and more apparent toCatherine. There was a thrill and a quality in it which both repelledand fascinated. This queer waif and stray, this vagabond of thewoodside, was at least as fearless as herself.

  "I don't know what you mean," she said, in a less imperious tone thanshe had hitherto used.

  "I could explain what I mean, but I won't. I have too kind a heart tocrush you. I could crush you. I could take that dainty white hand ofyours, and feel it tremble in mine--and if you knew all that I could sayyou wouldn't leave me out here in the avenue, but you'd take me in, andgive me the best to eat, and the softest bed to lie upon. Don't youthink it's very kind of me when I could use such power over you that Idon't use it? Don't you think it's noble of me? Oh, you are a daintygirl, and a proud, but I could bring you and yours to the very dust."

  "You must be mad," said Catherine. "Absolutely mad. How can you possiblyexpect me to listen to this wild nonsense? You had better go away now.I'll walk with you as far as the gate, and then I'll wake up Tester tolock it after you. You needn't suppose that I'm afraid."

  "Don't taunt me," said the girl. "If you do I'll use my power. Oh, I amhungry, and thirsty, and footsore. Why shouldn't I go into that houseand sleep there, and eat there, and be rested?"

  Her words were defiant, but just at the last they wavered, and Catherinesaw by the moonlight that her face grew ghastly under its grimness, andshe saw the slender young figure sway as if it would fall.

  "You are hungry?" said Catherine, all her feelings merged in suddenpity. "Even though you have no right to be here, you sha'n't go hungryaway. Sit down. Rest against that tree, and I will fetch you something."

  She ran into the house, returning presently with a jug of milk, and somethick bread and butter.

  "Eat that," she said, "and drink this milk, then you will be better. Islipped a cup into my pocket. It is not broken. I will pour you out acup of milk."

  The girl seized the bread and butter, and began devouring it. She was sofamished that she almost tore it as she ate. Catherine, who had quiteforgotten her dignified _role_ in compassion for the first realhunger she had ever witnessed, knelt on the grass by her side, and once,twice, thrice, filled the cup full of milk, and held it to her lips.

  "Now you are better," she said, when the meal had come to an end.

  "Yes, thank you, Miss Bertram, much better. The horrible sinking isgone, and the ground doesn't seem to reel away when I look at it. Thankyou, Miss Catherine Bertram, I shall do nicely now. I do not at all mindsleeping here on the cool grass till the morning."

  "But you are not to stay. Why are you obstinate when I am good to you?And why do you call me Miss Catherine Bertram? How can you possibly knowmy name?"

  The girl laughed. Her laugh was almost cheerful, it was also young andsilvery.

  "You ask me a lot of questions," she said. "I'll answer them one by one
,and the least important first. How I know your name is my own secret; Ican't tell that without telling also what would crush you. But I may aswell say that I know all about you. I know your appearance, and yourage, and even a little bit about your character; and I know you have ayounger sister called Mabel, and that she is not so pretty as you, andhas not half the character, and in short that you are worth two of her.

  "Then you have a brother. His name is Loftus. He is like you, only he isnot so fearless. He is in the army. He is rather extravagant, and yourmother is afraid of him. Ah, yes, I know all about you and yours; and Iknow so much in especial about that proud lady, your mother, that ifthere were daylight, and I had pencil and paper, I could draw a portraitof her for you. There, have I not answered your first question? Now youwant to know why I don't go away. If you had no money in your purse, andif you had walked between twenty and thirty miles to effect an object ofthe greatest possible importance to yourself, would you give it up atthe bidding of a young girl? Would you now?"

  "You are very queer," said Catherine; "I fail to understand you. I don'tknow how you have got your extraordinary knowledge about us. You talklike a lady, but ladies don't starve with hunger, nor walk until theyare travel-sore and spent. Ladies don't hide at midnight in shrubberies,in private grounds that don't belong to them. Then you say you have nomoney, and yet you gave Tester a shilling."

  "I gave him my last shilling. Here is my empty purse. Look at it."

  "Well, you are very, very queer. You have not even told me your name."

  "Josephine. I am called Josephine."

  "But you have another name. I am called Catherine, but I am alsoBertram. What are you besides Josephine?"

  "Ah, that's trenching into the darkness where you wouldn't like to findyourself. That's light for me, but dark ruin for you. Don't ask me whatmy other name is."

  "Listen," said Catherine, suddenly, "you want to see my mother?"

  "Yes, I certainly want to see her."

  "Listen again. I am absolutely determined that you shall not see her."

  "But I have a message for her."

  "You shall not see her. My mother is not well. I stand between my motherand trouble. I know you are going to bring her trouble; and you shallnot see her."

  "How can you prevent me?"

  "In this way. My mother is away from home. I will take care that shedoes not return until you have left this place. I am determined."

  "Is that true?" asked the girl. "Is she really away from home?"

  "Am I likely to tell you a lie? My mother is from home."

  The strange girl had been sitting on the grass. Now she rose, pushedback her thick hair, and fixed her eyes on Catherine. Catherine againnoticed the singular brightness, the half-wild light in her eyes.Suddenly it was quenched by great tears. They splashed down on hercheeks, and made clean channels where the dust had lain.

  "I am deadly tired," she said, with a half moan.

  "Listen, Josephine," said Catherine. "You shall not spend your nighthere. You shall not stay to see my mother. I will take you down to thelodge and wake up Tester, and his wife shall get a bed ready for you,and you shall sleep there, and in the morning you are to go away. Youcan have breakfast before you start, but afterwards you are to go away.Do you promise me? Do you agree to this?"

  The girl muttered something, and Catherine took her hand and led herdown to the lodge.