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CHAPTER XXI. Miss Raleigh enjoys a Rare Privilege
Miss Raleigh was very attentive to the instructions given her by Miss
Asher, and while she exhibited the fashion of the new stitch Olive
reflected.
"I wonder," she said to herself, "if Mrs. Easterfield has done this. It
looks very much like it, and if she did I am truly obliged to her. There
is nothing I want so much now as a rest, and I didn't want to stay in
the house either. Miss Raleigh," said she, suddenly changing the
subject, "were you ever in love?"
The secretary started. "What do you mean by that?" she asked.
"I don't mean anything," said Olive. "I simply wanted to know."
"It is a queer question," said Miss Raleigh, her face changing to
another shade of sallowness.
"I know that," said Olive quickly, "but the answers to queer questions
are always so much more interesting than those to any others. Don't you
think so?"
"Yes, they are," said Miss Raleigh thoughtfully, "but they are generally
awfully hard to get. I have tried it myself."
"Then you ought to have a fellow feeling for me," said Olive.
"Well," said the other, looking steadfastly at her companion, "if you
will promise to keep it all to yourself forever, I don't mind telling
you that I was once in love. Would you like me to tell you who I was in
love with?"
"Yes," said Olive, "if you are willing to tell me."
"Oh, I am perfectly willing," said the secretary. "It was Mr. Hemphill."
Olive turned suddenly and looked at her in amazement.
"Yes, it was Mr. Hemphill over there," said the other, speaking very
tranquilly, as if the subject were of no importance. "You see, I have
been living with the Easterfields for a long time, and in the winter we
see a good deal of Mr. Hemphill. He has to come to the house on
business, and often takes meals. He is Mr. Easterfield's private and
confidential secretary. And, somehow or other, seeing him so often, and
sometimes being his partner at cards when two were needed to make up a
game, I forgot that I was older than he, and I actually fell in love
with him. You see he has a good heart, Miss Asher; anybody could tell
that from his way with children; and I have noticed that bachelors are
often nicer with children than fathers are."
"And he?" asked Olive.
Miss Raleigh laughed a little laugh. "Oh, I did all the loving," she
answered. "He never reciprocated the least little bit, and I often
wondered why I adored him as much as I did. He was handsome, and he was
good, and he had excellent taste; he was thoroughly trustworthy in his
relations to the family, and I believe he would be equally so in all
relations of life; but all that did not account for my unconquerable
ardor, which was caused by a certain something which you know, Miss
Asher, we can't explain."
Olive tried hard not to allow any emotion to show itself in her face,
but she did not altogether succeed. "And you still--" said she.
"No, I don't," interrupted Miss Raleigh. "I love him no longer. There
came a time when all my fire froze. I discovered that there was--"
"I say, Miss Asher--" it was the voice of Claude Locker.
Olive looked around at him. "Well?" said she.
"Perhaps you have not noticed," said he, "that the tennis ground is now
in the shade, and if you don't mind walking that way--" He said a good
deal more which Miss Raleigh did not believe, understanding the young
man thoroughly, and which Olive did not hear. Her mind was very busy
with what she had just heard, which made a great impression on her. She
did not know whether she was affronted, or hurt, or merely startled.
Here was a man who loved her, a man she had loved, and one about whom
she had been questioning herself as to the possibility of her loving him
again. And here was a woman, a dyspeptic, unwholesome spinster, who had
just said she had loved him. If Miss Raleigh had loved this man, how
could she, Olive, love him? There was something repugnant about it which
she did not attempt to understand. It went beyond reason. She felt it
to be an actual relief to look up at Claude Locker, and to listen to
what he was saying.
"You mean," said she presently, "that you would like Miss Raleigh and me
to come with you and play tennis."
"I did not know Miss Raleigh played," he answered, "but I thought
perhaps--"
"Oh, no," said Olive. "I would not think of such a thing. In fact, Miss
Raleigh and I are engaged. We are very busy about some important work."
Mr. Locker gazed at the crocheted nucleus with an air of the loftiest
disdain. "Of course, of course," said he, "but you really oblige me,
Miss Asher, to speak very plainly and frankly and to say that I really
do not care about playing tennis, but that I want to speak to you on a
most important subject, which, for reasons that I will explain, must be
spoken of immediately. So, if Miss Raleigh will be kind enough to
postpone the little matter you have on hand--"
Olive smiled and shook her head. "No, indeed, sir," she said; "I would
not hurt a lady's feelings in that way, and moreover, I would not allow
her to hurt her own feelings. It would hurt your feelings, Miss Raleigh,
wouldn't it, to be sent away like a child who is not wanted?"
"Yes," said the secretary, "I think it would."
Mr. Locker listened in amazement. He had not thought the mature maiden
had the nerve to say that.
"Then again," said Olive, "this isn't the time for you to talk business
with me, and you should not disturb me at this hour."
"Oh," said Locker, bringing down the forefinger of his right hand upon
the palm of his left, "that is a point, a very essential point. I
voluntarily surrendered the period of discourse which you assigned to me
for a reason which I now believe did not exist, and this is only an
assertion of the rights vested in me by you."
Miss Raleigh listened very attentively to these remarks, but could not
imagine what they meant.
Olive looked at him graciously. "Yes," she said, "you are very generous,
but your period for discourse, as you call it, will have to be
postponed."
"But it can't be postponed," he answered. "If I could see you alone I
could soon explain that to you. There are certain reasons why I must
speak now."
"I can't help it," said Olive. "I am not going to leave Miss Raleigh,
and I am sure she does not want to leave me, so if you are obliged to
speak you must speak before her."
Mr. Locker gazed from one to the other of the two ladies who sat before
him; each of them wore a gentle but determined expression. He addressed
the secretary.
"Miss Raleigh," said he, "if you understood the reason for my strong
desire to speak in private with Miss Asher, perhaps you would respect it
and give me the opportunity I ask for. I am here to make a proposition
of marriage to this lady, and it is absolutely necessary that I make it
without loss of time. Do you desire me to make it in your presence?"
"I should like it very much," said Miss Raleigh.
Mr. Locker gave her a look of despair, and turned to Olive. "Would you
permit that?" he asked.
"If it is absolutely necessary," she said, "I suppose I shall have to
permit it."
Mr. Locker had the soul of a lion in his somewhat circumscribed body,
and he was not to be recklessly dared to action.
"Very well, then," said he, "I shall proceed as if we were alone, and I
hope, Miss Raleigh, you will at least see fit to consider yourself in a
strictly confidential position."
"Indeed I shall," she replied; "not one word shall ever--"
"I hope not," interrupted Claude, "and I will add that if I should ever
be accidentally present when a gentleman is about to propose to you,
Miss Raleigh, I shall heap coals of fire upon your head by
instantaneously withdrawing."
The secretary was about to thank him, but Olive interrupted. "Now,
Claude Locker," said she, "what can you possibly have to say to me that
you have not said before?"
"A good deal, Miss Asher, a good deal, although I don't wonder you
suppose that no man could say more to you of his undying affection than
I have already said. But, since I last spoke on the subject, I have been
greatly impressed by the fact that I have not said enough about myself;
that I have not made you understand me as I really am. I know very well
that most people, and I suppose that at some time you have been among
them, look upon me as a very frivolous young man, and not one to whom
the right sort of a girl should give herself in marriage. But that is a
mistake. I am as much to be depended upon as anybody you ever met. My
apparently whimsical aspect is merely the outside--my shell, marked off
in queer designs with variegated colors--but within that shell I am as
domestic, as sober, and as surely to be found where I am expected to be
as any turtle. This may seem a queer figure, but it strikes me as a very
good one. When I am wanted I am there. You can always depend upon me."
There was not a smile upon the face of either woman as he spoke. They
were listening earnestly, and with the deepest interest. Miss Raleigh's
eyes sparkled, and Olive seemed to be most seriously considering this
new aspect in which Mr. Locker was endeavoring to place himself.
"Perhaps you may think," Claude continued, "that you would not desire
turtle-like qualities in a husband, you who are so bright, so bounding,
so much like a hare, but I assure you, that is just the companion who
would suit you. All day you might skip among the flowers, and in the
fields, and wherever you were, you would always know where I was--making
a steady bee-line for home; and you would know that I would be there to
welcome you when you arrived."
"That is very pretty!" said Miss Raleigh. And then she quickly added:
"Excuse me for making a remark."
"Now, Miss Asher," continued Locker, "I have tried, very imperfectly, I
know, to make you see me as I really am, and I do hope you can put an
end to this suspense which is keeping me in a nervous tingle. I can not
sleep at night, and all day I am thinking what you will say when you do
decide. You need not be afraid to speak out before Miss Raleigh. She is
in with us now, and she can't get out. I would not press you for an
answer at this moment, but there are reasons which I can not say
anything about without meddling with other people's business. But my
business with you is the happiness of my life, and I feel that I can not
longer endure having it momentarily jeopardized."
At the conclusion of this speech a faint color actually stole into Miss
Raleigh's face, and she clasped her thin hands in the intensity of her
approval.
"Mr. Locker," said Olive, speaking very pleasantly, "if you had come to
me to-day and had asked me for a decision based upon what you had
already said to me, I think I might have settled the matter. But after
what you have just told me, I can not answer you now. You give me things
to think about, and I must wait."
"Heavens" exclaimed Mr. Locker, clasping his hands. "Am I not yet to
know whether I am to rise into paradise, or to sink into the infernal
regions?"
Olive smiled. "Don't do either, Mr. Locker," she said. "This earth is a
very pleasant place. Stay where you are."
He folded his arms and gazed at her. "It is a pleasant place," said he,
"and I am mighty glad I got in my few remarks before you made your
decision. I leave my love with you on approbation, and you may be sure I
shall come to-morrow before luncheon to hear what you say about it."
"I shall expect you," said Olive. And as she spoke her eyes were full of
kind consideration.
"Now, that's genuine," said Miss Raleigh, when Locker had departed. "If
he had not felt every word he said he could not have said it before me."
"No doubt you are right," said Olive. "He is very brave. And now you see
this new line, which begins an entirely different kind of stitch!"
In the middle distance Mr. Du Brant still strolled backward and forward,
pulverizing his teeth and swearing in French. He seldom removed his eyes
from Miss Asher, but still she sat on that bench and crocheted, and
talked, and talked, and crocheted, with that everlasting Miss Raleigh!
He had seen Locker with her, and he had seen him go; and now he hoped
that the woman would soon depart. Then it would be his chance.
The young Austrian had become most eager to make Olive his wife. He
earnestly loved her; and, beyond that, he had come to see that a
marriage with her would be most advantageous to his prospects. This
beautiful and brilliant American girl, familiar with foreign life and
foreign countries, would give him a position in diplomatic society which
would be most desirable. She might not bring him much money; although he
believed that all American girls had some money; but she would bring him
favor, distinction, and, most likely, advancement. With such a wife he
would be a welcome envoy at any court. And, besides, he loved her. But,
alas, Miss Raleigh would not go away.
About half an hour after Claude Locker left Olive he encountered Dick
Lancaster.
"Well," said he, "I charged. I was not routed, I can't say that I was
even repulsed. But I was obliged to withdraw my forces. I shall go into
camp, and renew the attack to-morrow. So, my friend, you will have to
wait. I wish I could say that there is no use of your waiting, but I am
a truthful person and can't do that."
Lancaster was not pleased. "It seems to me," he said, "that you trifle
with the most important affairs of life."
"Trifle!" exclaimed Locker. "Would you call it trifling if I fail, and
then to save her from a worse fate, were to back you up with all my
heart and soul?"
Dick could not help smiling. "By a worse fate," he said, "I suppose you
mean--"
"The Austrian," interrupted Locker. "Mrs. Easterfield has told me
something about him. He may have a title some day, and he is about as
dangerous as they make them. Instead of accusing me of trifling, you
ought to go down on your knees and thank me for still standing between
him and her."
"That is a duty I would like to perform myself," said Dick.
"Perhaps you may have a chance," sighed Locker, "but I most earnestly
hope not. Look over there at that he-nurse. Those children have made him
take them walking, and he is just coming back to the house."
Read next: Chapter 22. The Conflicting Serenades
Read previous: Chapter 20. Mr. Locker Determines To Rush The Enemy's Position
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