A sudden flash of resentment stiffened her backbone, metaphorically
speaking. In spite of Miss St. Clair, Harlan had married her, and it was
Miss St. Clair who was weeping over the event, not Harlan. She had seen
that the visitor made Harlan unhappy--very well, she would generously
throw them together and make him painfully weary of her, for Love's
certain destroyer is Satiety. Deep in Dorothy's consciousness was the
abiding satisfaction that she had never once, as she put it to herself,
"chased him." Never a note, never a telephone call, never a question as to
his coming and going appeared now to trouble her. The ancient, primeval
relation of the Seeker and the Sought had not for a single moment been
altered through her.
Meanwhile, Elaine had settled down peacefully enough. Having been regaled
since infancy with tales of Uncle Ebeneezer's generous hospitality, it
seemed only fitting and proper that his relatives should make her welcome,
even though Elaine's mother had been only a second cousin of Mrs.
Judson's. Elaine had been deeply touched by Harlan's solicitude and
Dorothy's kindness, seeing in it nothing more than the manifestation of a
beautiful spirit toward one who was helpless and ill.
A modest wardrobe and a few hundred dollars, saved from the wreck of her
mother's estate, and the household furniture in storage, represented
Elaine's worldly goods. As too often happens in a material world, she had
been trained to do nothing but sing a little, play a little, and paint
unspeakably. She planned, vaguely, to stay where she was during the
Summer, and in the Autumn, when she had quite recovered her former
strength, to take her money and learn some method of self-support.
Just now she was resting. A late breakfast, a walk through the country, a
light luncheon, and a long nap accounted for Elaine's day until
dinner-time. After dinner, for an hour, she exchanged commonplaces with
the Carrs, then retired to her own room with a book from Uncle Ebeneezer's
library. Even Dorothy was forced to admit that she made very little
trouble.
The train rumbled into the station--the very same train which had brought
the Serpent into Paradise. Dorothy smiled a little at the idea of a snake
travelling on a train unless it belonged to a circus, and wiped her eyes.
Having mapped out her line of conduct, the rest was simple enough--to
abide by it even to the smallest details, and patiently await results.
When she went downstairs again she was outwardly quite herself, but
altogether unprepared for the surprise that awaited her in the parlour.
"Hello," cried a masculine voice, cheerily, as she entered the room. "I've
never seen you before, have I?"
"Not that I know of," replied Dorothy, startled, but not in the least
afraid.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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