Detective and mystery stories; Mackinac Island (Mich. : Island) -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
Accompanied by her elderly maid, she went back to New York; and then out
to the half-house.
"I have changed my mind," she announced, abruptly, taking her seat upon
Jeanne-Armande's hard sofa. "You are to come with me. This is the blue
room, I suppose; and there are the four cats. Where is the bodiced
woman? Send her to me; and go pack your clothes immediately."
"Am I to go to Caryl's--where Helen is?" said Anne, in excited surprise.
"Yes; you will see your Helen. You understand, I presume, that she is at
the bottom of all this."
"But--do you like Helen, grandaunt?"
"I am extremely fond of her," replied Miss Vanhorn, dryly. "Run and make
ready; and send the bodiced woman to me. I give you half an hour; no
longer."
Jeanne-Armande came in with her gliding step. In her youth a lady's
footfall was never heard. She wore long narrow cloth gaiters without
heels, met at the ankles by two modest ruffles, whose edges were visible
when the wind blew. The exposure of even a hair's-breadth rim of ankle
would have seemed to her an unpardonable impropriety. However, there was
no danger; the ruffles swept the ground.
The Frenchwoman was grieved to part with her pupil; she had conceived a
real affection for her in the busy spot which served her as a heart. She
said good-by in the privacy of the kitchen, that Miss Vanhorn might not
see the tears in her eyes; then she returned to the blue room and went
through a second farewell, with a dignity appropriate to the occasion.
"Good-by," said Anne, coming back from the doorway to kiss her thin
cheek a second time. Then she whispered: "I may return to you after all,
mademoiselle. Do not forget me."
"The dear child!" said Jeanne-Armande, waving her handkerchief as the
carriage drove away. And there was a lump in her yellow old throat which
did not disappear all day.
CHAPTER XI.
"Those who honestly make their own way without the aid of fortunate
circumstances and by the force of their own intelligence. This
includes the great multitude of Americans."
--GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS.
"He is a good fellow, spoiled. Whether he can be unspoiled, is
doubtful. It might be accomplished by the Blessing we call Sorrow."
When the two travellers arrived at Caryl's, Helen was gone. Another
telegraphic dispatch had again summoned her to her frequently dying
grandfather.
"You are disappointed," said Miss Vanhorn.
"Yes, grandaunt."
"You will have all the more time to devote to me," said the old woman,
with her dry little laugh.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account