Mrs. Warren's Daughter: A Story of the Woman's MovementJohnston, Harry
General
Mrs. Warren's Daughter: A Story of the Woman's Movement
Johnston, Harry
Feminism -- Fiction; Mothers and daughters -- Fiction; Women's rights -- Fiction
Mrs. Rossiter was used to unexpected guests at lunch. People on
terms of familiarity dropped in, or the Professor detained some
colleague or pupil and made him sit down to the meal which was
always prepared and seated for four. Therefore she was not
particularly taken aback when her husband appeared at five minutes
to one in the little drawing-room and after requesting that the
macaw and the cockatoo might be removed for the nonce to a back
room--as they made sustained conversation impossible, announced that
he expected momently--ah! there was the bell--two persons whose
acquaintance he was sure Linda would like to make. One was Captain
Frank Gardner, who owned a big ranch in Rhodesia, and--er--the
other--oh no! no relation--was Miss Warren....
"What, one of the Warrens of Huddersfield? Well, I never! And where
did you pick her up? Strange she shouldn't have written to me she
was coming up to town! I could--"
"No, this is a Miss Vivien Warren--"
"Vivien? How curious, why that is the name of the Adams's little
girl--"
"A Miss Vivien Warren," went on Rossiter patiently--"a well-known
Suffragist who--"
"Oh Michael! _Not_ a Suffragette!" wailed Mrs. Rossiter, imagining
vitriol was about to be thrown over the surviving pug and damage
done generally to the furniture--But at this moment the butler
announced: "Captain Frank Gardner and Miss Warren."
Gardner was well enough, a lean soldierly-looking man, brown with
the African sun, with pleasant twinkling blue eyes, a thick
moustache and curly hair, just a little thin on the top. His face
was rather scarred with African adventure and did not show much
special trace of his last night's tussle with the police. There was
a cut at the back of his head where he had fallen on the kerb stone
but that was neatly plastered, and you do not turn your back much on
a hostess, at any rate on first introduction.
But Vivie had obviously been in the wars. She had--frankly--a black
eye, a cut and swollen lip, and her ordinarily well-shaped nose was
a trifle swollen and reddened. But her eyes likewise were twinkling,
though the bruised one was bloodshot.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Rossiter, to be introduced to you like this. I
don't know _what_ you will think of me. It's the first time I've
been in a really bad row.... We were trying to get to the House of
Commons, but the police interfered and gave us the full privileges
of a man as regards their fists. Captain Gardner here--who is an old
friend of mine--intervened, or I'm afraid I shouldn't have got off
as cheaply as I did. And your husband kindly came to the police
court to testify to our good character, and then invited us to
lunch."
_Mrs. Rossiter_: "Why how your voice reminds me of some one who used
to come here a good deal at one time--a Mr. David Williams. I
suppose he isn't any relation?"
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