Florence’s head ached sufficiently
badly to make her inclined to follow Kitty’s
advice. The girls had just finished their tea
when Mrs. Aylmer, with flushed cheeks, and wearing
her very best turned-for-the-twentieth-time dress,
entered the little room where they were seated.
“Well, well, girls,” she
said: “well, well, where do you think I
have been?”
“I know, Mummy,” said Florence.
“You know!” replied Mrs. Aylmer.
“Who told you?”
“Sukey.”
“I begged of her not; but really
that woman can keep nothing to herself, and she is
always agog to be first in the field. Your aunt
is going to send me a trunk full of old clothes.
I dare say some of them may be made to fit you, Flo.”
“I do not think so, mother,” answered
Florence.
“Where is the use of being proud?
She’s a very fine figure of a woman still.
She wears wonderfully, and she has a most charming
secretary: a sort of companion, a delightful
girl. She and I walked down together almost to
this door. She is in your shoes, my poor Florence;
but she is really a very nice girl.”
“I have seen her to-day, mother;
I know who she is,” said Florence gravely; “her
name is Bertha Keys.”
“Bertha Keys,” replied Mrs. Aylmer; “Bertha
Keys?”
“You know who Bertha Keys is,
mother. She is the girl, the pupil teacher, who
behaved so badly at Cherry Court School six years ago.”
“Oh, we won’t mention
that affair; it is dead and buried; we are not going
to dig it out of its grave,” replied Mrs. Aylmer.
Florence did not reply. She looked full at her
mother.
“Bertha has been saying something
to her,” she thought; “she has been trying
to influence her. Those were almost Bertha’s
own words.” She got up hastily.
“The fact is, mother, I do not
care to talk of it,” she said; “the whole
thing has upset me very much.”
“Well, darling, I cannot think
that it is your affair. It is bitterly disappointing
that you should have lost your Aunt Susan’s patronage.
How proud I should be of you now if you were really
her adopted daughter.”
“Why, no, mother, you would
not see me; you forget that part.”
“To be sure, how stupid I am!”
said Mrs. Aylmer. “Well, your aunt was
most agreeable to-day: not so stingy either.
We had quite a nice little tea; and that young man
I told you of, Mr. Trevor, he came in. He is a
charming person, my dear; quite fascinating. I
was much taken with him. I longed to ask him
to call, but I saw that Susan would allow no liberties.
He chatted to me all the time, and was so agreeable.
I am quite delighted with him.”
“We are going for a walk now, mother,”
said Florence.
“Well, dear, do; you both look
pale. I want you to get nice and sunburnt, and
to have a right good time. Yes, I am quite pleased
with my visit. There is no use in quarrelling
with your relations, and Susan, the moment she looked
at my poor turned skirt it is shiny, is
it not, Miss Sharston? she spoke about
that trunk of clothes which is to arrive next week.
She turned to the charming Miss Keys, and asked her
to collect them.”
“And you stood it, mother; you
really stood it,” said Florence, the colour
coming and going on her face.
“My dear, good girl, beggars
cannot be choosers. I have been absolutely at
my wits’ ends for clothes since Susan has been
so thoughtless. I not only stood it, but on the
way home I gave Miss Keys a hint as to the sort of
things I wanted. I told her to try and smuggle
into the trunk one of your aunt’s rich black
silks. She said she thought she could manage
it, as she has at least four or five at the present
moment, and never can tell herself how many she has.
I told Miss Keys to let it be four in the future,
and send the fifth on to me, and she laughed.
She is a very clever, agreeable girl, and said she
thought it could be done. I am made. I’ll
astonish the neighbours this winter.”
“Come out, Kitty,” said
poor Florence, turning to her companion. She
felt that, fond as she was of the little Mummy, she
could not endure any more of her society for the present.
The moment the girls had departed,
Mrs. Aylmer, who was standing on tiptoe near the window
to watch them as they went slowly away in the direction
of the beach, turned abruptly, went to the door of
the little sitting-room, and locked it. She then
put her hand into her pocket.
“Is it true? Have I the
evidence of my own senses?” she thought.
“I never met a nicer girl than Miss Keys.
Of course, she did wrong years ago: but so, for
that matter, did my own poor Florence. She really
can be made of great use. That black silk will
be invaluable, and....” Here the widow,
from the depths of her pocket, brought out four sovereigns.
“She says she can give me more by-and-by, and
I am to influence Florence. Of course I will.
Do I envy the poor child her post? By no means.
As Florence cannot occupy it, as well she as another.
That she is setting her cap at that handsome Mr. Trevor
there is no doubt; but perhaps Florence can win him
over her head. We will see about that. Anyhow,
I am not going to injure the poor, dear girl, and I
shall tell Florence so.”
Mrs. Aylmer felt far too excited to
sit down. From the depths of poverty she suddenly
felt herself raised almost to a pinnacle of wealth,
as she estimated it.
Four golden sovereigns and the faithful
promise of one of Susan’s best silk dresses.
“There will be lots of odds and ends besides,”
thought the little widow. “I am made!
I am made! Now, if I only could! if I only could!”
As she considered the possibility
of a very definite line of action, she still continued
to stand by the tiny window of the sitting room, and
from this vantage-point she saw a young man in a grey
tweed suit strolling slowly in the direction of the
sea-beach.
“Mr. Trevor!” she said
to herself; “Mr. Maurice Trevor, as gentlemanly-looking
a young fellow as I have seen for many a day.
He reminds me of poor dear Florence’s father.
He had just that downright sort of air, and he was
fond of sticking his hands into his pockets too yes,
and he used to whistle, as I see that young fellow
is whistling. I am always told that whistling
is a good sign: it shows a generous disposition.
If I am not greatly mistaken, that young man Maurice
Trevor is generous and open-handed; he’ll suit
me. Now, if I could only introduce them!
Florence and Kitty Sharston are on the beach Mr.
Trevor is going down to the beach. I’ll
go and take a walk. It is a fine evening, and
it will do me good.”
No sooner had this thought come to
Mrs. Aylmer than she bustled into the kitchen.
“Well, ma’am,” said
Sukey, in a cross voice, “have you washed up
the tea-things yet? We’re in a rare mull
this afternoon with those two young ladies in the
house, and I can’t do more than I said I would
do. You promised that the tea-things should be
your care, ma’am; and are they washed up?
That’s what I want to know.”
“Oh, my dear good Sukey, don’t
worry about the tea-things now,” said Mrs. Aylmer.
“I am in no end of a flurry. A beautiful
new black silk dress is promised to me, Sukey, and
I am made in other ways too. You wash them up,
and I’ll give you threepence; I will I
promise you.”
“You can’t afford it,
ma’am. What’s the good of promising
what you haven’t got?” said the obdurate
Sukey.
“I will; I declare I will, and
I’ll bring in something nice and tasty for supper.
You wash the tea-things, there’s a good soul!”
Mrs. Aylmer scarcely waited for Sukey’s
very indignant reply. The next moment she was
out of the house.
She could walk quickly enough when
she chose, and she knew every yard of the ground.
Soon she was on the beach. Mr. Trevor was walking
slowly in front of her. He was smoking a cigarette,
his straw hat was pushed slightly forward over his
blue eyes, his hands were still in his pockets, he
was looking straight ahead of him, and as he slowly
sauntered forward he was thinking. His thoughts
were evidently not quite to his taste, for he frowned
now and then, and looked over the wide expanse of
sands, and occasionally he stood quite still.
Thus Mrs. Aylmer found it easy to catch him up.
She did so with a little pattering run which was one
of her characteristics.
“Good evening, Mr. Trevor,”
she said, in her cheerful tone.
He started when she spoke to him,
turned to look at her, and then took off his hat.
“Good evening,” he said;
“I did not recognise you at first.”
“No wonder, as you only saw
me for the first time to-day. I am taking a stroll;
it is very pleasant here in the evenings, is it not?”
“Very pleasant! It is a charming place,”
said Trevor.
Mrs. Aylmer considered for a moment
whether she should proceed on her walk alone, or whether
she should try to induce the young man to accompany
her.
“I am looking for my girls,”
she said; “they went down on the beach half
an hour ago. Did you happen to see them, Mr. Trevor,
as you were walking?”
“I have only just come out.
I have not seen anyone,” was his answer.
“Are you quite sure? I
know they were going on the sands, my two girls,
my daughter and her friend. I should like to introduce
you to my daughter, Mr. Trevor.”
“I should be pleased to know
her,” he answered, still speaking in that vague
sort of way which showed that he was thinking of something
else.
Mrs. Aylmer held both her hands before
her eyes. Thus shaded from the evening sun, she
was able to look long and steadily across the beach.
“I do declare I believe those
two are the very girls we are looking for,”
she cried; “if you will come with me now (and
I don’t suppose you have anything special to
do) I’ll introduce you.”
Trevor had, of course, no excuse to
make. He was not interested in Mrs. Aylmer’s
daughter, nor in Mrs. Aylmer herself, but as well walk
with her as alone. So the two stepped briskly
across the sands.
“It was the greatest possible
pleasure to me to meet you to-day,” continued
the little widow; “I am so glad that my poor
sister-in-law has a bright young fellow like you to
look thoroughly after her affairs.”
“But I don’t look after
them,” he said; “Mrs. Aylmer has been extremely
good to me, but the person who manages her business
affairs is that very clever young lady, Miss Keys.”
“Oh, what a genius she is!”
said Mrs. Aylmer; “a wonderful girl, quite charming.”
“Do you think so?” answered
Trevor. He looked at the little widow, and the
faintest dawn of an amused smile stole into his eyes.
“Do I think so? I am immensely
taken with her,” said Mrs. Aylmer. “She
is, I know, the greatest comfort to my dear sister-in-law.
How splendidly Susan wears, and how considerate she
is! I don’t know what I should do without
her. Mr. Trevor, I will say it, you are a very
lucky person to be such a favourite.”
“Mrs. Aylmer has done a great
deal for me,” said the young man; “she
has after a fashion adopted me.”
“And you are very glad, are you not?”
“Yes, I am glad,” he replied.
“Is that your daughter?” he continued,
as if he wished to turn the conversation.
“That is my dear daughter Florence.”
Mrs. Aylmer spoke excitedly.
Florence and Kitty Sharston were seated
on the edge of a rock. Kitty was poking with
her parasol at some sea-anémones which were clinging
to the rock just under the water. Florence was
gazing with a frown between her dark brows at her
mother and the man who was by her mother’s side.
If she could have fled, she would, but Mrs. Aylmer,
who knew Florence’s ways to perfection, now
raised her voice to a shrill scream.
“Stay where you are, Florence;
I am coming to sit with you, so is Mr. Trevor; don’t
stir until we come up.”
Poor Florence’s blush was so
vivid that it was well it was too far off to be noticed.
There was nothing for it, however, but to obey.
Mrs. Aylmer came up in high good humour, and made
the necessary introductions.