CHAPTER XXII
PRINCE AND PEASANTS
The peacefulness of fairyland was something which Brewster could notafford to continue, and with Bertier he was soon planning to invade it,The automobile which he was obliged to order for the mysteriousmarquise put other ideas into his head. It seemed at once absolutelynecessary to give a coaching party in Italy, and as coaches of theright kind were hard to find there, and changes of horses mostuncertain, nothing could be more simple and natural than to importautomobiles from Paris. Looking into the matter, he found that theywould have to be purchased outright, as the renting of five machineswould put his credit to too severe a test. Accordingly Bertiertelegraphed a wholesale order, which taxed the resources of themanufacturers and caused much complaint from some customers whose workwas unaccountably delayed. The arrangement made by the courier was thatthey were to be taken back at a greatly reduced price at the end of sixweeks. The machines were shipped at once, five to Milan, and one to theaddress of the mysterious marquise in Florence.
It was with a sharp regret that Monty broke into the idyl of the villa,for the witchery of the place had got into his blood. But a stern senseof duty, combined with the fact that the Paris chauffeurs and machineswere due in Milan on Monday, made him ruthless. He was astonished thathis orders to decamp were so meekly obeyed, forgetting that hissolicitous guests did not know that worse extravagance lay beyond. Hetook them to Milan by train and lodged them with some splendor at theHotel Cavour. Here he found that the fame of the princely profligatehad preceded him, and his portly host was all deference and attention.All regret, too, for monsieur was just too late to hear the wonderfulcompany of artists who had been singing at La Scala. The season was butjust ended. Here was an opportunity missed indeed, and Brewster'svexation brought out an ironical comment to Bertier. It rankled, but ithad its effect. The courier proved equal to the emergency. Discoveringthat the manager of the company and the principal artists were still inMilan, he suggested to Brewster that a special performance would bevery difficult to secure, but might still be possible. His chief caughtat the idea and authorized him to make every arrangement, reserving theentire house for his own party.
"But the place will look bare," protested the courier, aghast.
"Fill it with flowers, cover it with tapestries," commanded Brewster."I put the affair in your hands, and I trust you to carry it through inthe right way. Show them how it ought to be done."
Bertier's heart swelled within him at the thought of so glorious anopportunity. His fame, he felt, was already established in Italy. Itbecame a matter of pride to do the thing handsomely, and the necessarybusiness arrangements called out all his unused resources of delicacyand diplomacy. When it came to the decoration of the opera house, hecalled upon Pettingill for assistance, and together they superintendedan arrangement which curtained off a large part of the place andreduced it to livable proportions. With the flowers and the lights, thetapestries and the great faded flags, it became something quitedifferent from the usual empty theater.
To the consternation of the Italians, the work had been rushed, and itwas on the evening after their arrival in Milan that Brewster conductedhis friends in state to the Scala. It was almost a triumphal progress,for he had generously if unwittingly given the town the most princelysensation in years, and curiosity was abundant. Mrs. Valentine, who wasin the carriage with Monty, wondered openly why they were attracting somuch attention.
"They take us for American dukes and princesses," explained Monty."They never saw a white man before."
"Perhaps they expected us to ride on buffaloes," said Mrs. Dan, "withIndian captives in our train."
"No," "Subway" Smith protested, "I seem to see disappointment in theirfaces. They are looking for crowns and scepters and a shower of goldcoin. Really, Monty, you don't play the game as you should. Why, Icould give you points on the potentate act myself. A milk-white steed,a few clattering attendants in gorgeous uniforms, a lofty nod here andthere, and little me distributing silver in the rear."
"I wonder," exclaimed Mrs. Dan, "if they don't get tired now and thenof being potentates. Can't you fancy living in palaces and longing fora thatched cottage?"
"Easily," answered "Subway," with a laugh. "Haven't we tried itourselves? Two months of living upon nothing but fatted calves is morethan I can stand. We shall be ready for a home for dyspeptics if youcan't slow down a bit, Monty."
Whereupon Mrs. Dan evolved a plan, and promptly began to carry it outby inviting the crowd to dinner the next night. Monty protested thatthey would be leaving Milan in the afternoon, and that this wasdistinctly his affair and he was selfish.
But Mrs. Dan was very sure. "My dear boy, you can't have things yourown way every minute. In another month you will be quite spoiled.Anything to prevent that. My duty is plain. Even if I have to useheroic measures, you dine with me to-morrow."
Monty recognized defeat when he met it, and graciously accepted hervery kind invitation. The next moment they drew up at the opera houseand were ushered in with a deference accorded only to wealth. Thesplendor of the effect was overpowering to Brewster as well as to hisbewildered guests. Aladdin, it seemed, had fairly outdone himself. Thewonder of it was so complete that it was some time before they couldsettle down to the opera, which was Aida, given with an enthusiasm thatonly Italians can compass.
During the last intermission Brewster and Peggy were walking in thefoyer. They had rarely spoken since the day of the ride, but Montynoticed with happiness that she had on several occasions avoidedPettingill.
"I thought we had given up fairyland when we left the lakes, but Ibelieve you carry it with you," she said.
"The trouble with this," Monty replied, "is that there are too manypeople about. My fairyland is to be just a little different."
"Your fairyland, Monty, will be built of gold and paved with silver.You will sit all day cutting coupons in an office of alabaster."
"Peggy, do you too think me vulgar? It's a beastly parade, I know, butit can't stop now. You don't realize the momentum of the thing."
"You do it up to the handle," she put in. "And you are much toogenerous to be vulgar. But it worries me, Monty, it worries medesperately. It's the future I'm thinking of--your future, which isbeing swallowed up. This kind of thing can't go on. And what is tofollow it? You are wasting your substance, and you are not making anylife for yourself that opens out."
"Peggy," he answered very seriously, "you have got to trust me. I can'tback out, but I'll tell you this. You shall not be disappointed in mein the end."
There was a mist before the girl's eyes as she looked at him. "Ibelieve you, Monty," she said simply; "I shall not forget."
The curtain rose upon the next act, and something in the opera towardthe end seemed to bring the two very close together. As they wereleaving the theater, there was a note of regret from Peggy. "It hasbeen perfect," she breathed, "yet, Monty, isn't it a waste that no oneelse should have seen it? Think of these poverty-stricken peasants whoadore music and have never heard an opera."
"Well, they shall hear one now." Monty rose to it, but he felt like ahypocrite in concealing his chief motive. "We'll repeat the performanceto-morrow night and fill the house with them."
He was as good as his word. Bertier was given a task the next day whichwas not to his taste. But with the assistance of the city authoritieshe carried it through. To them it was an evidence of insanity, butthere was something princely about it and they were tolerant. Themanager of the opera house was less complacent, and he had anexclamatory terror of the damage to his upholstery. But Brewster haddiscovered that in Italy gold is a panacea for all ills, and hisprescriptions were liberal. To him the day was short, for Peggy'sinterest in the penance, as it came to be called, was so keen that sheinsisted on having a hand in the preliminaries. There was somethingabout the partnership that appealed to Monty.
To her regret the DeMille dinner interfered with the opening of theperformance, but Monty consoled her with the promise that the opera
andits democratic audience should follow. During the day Mrs. Dan had beendeep in preparations for her banquet, but her plans were elaboratelyconcealed. They culminated at eight o'clock in the Cova not far fromthe Scala, and the dinner was eaten in the garden to the sound ofmusic. Yet it was an effect of simplicity with which Mrs. Dan surprisedher guests. They were prepared for anything but that, and when theywere served with consomme, spaghetti--a concession to the chef--andchops and peas, followed by a salad and coffee, the gratitude of thecrowd was quite beyond expression. In a burst of enthusiasm "Subway"Smith suggested a testimonial.
Monty complained bitterly that he himself had never received a ghost ofa testimonial. He protested that it was not deserved.
"Why should you expect it?" exclaimed Pettingill, "when you have risenfrom terrapin and artichokes to chops and chicory? When have you givenus nectar and ambrosia like this?"
Monty was defeated by a unanimous vote and Mrs. Dan's testimonial wasassured. This matter settled, Peggy and Mrs. Valentine, with Brewsterand Pettingill, walked over to the Scala and heard again the last twoacts of Aida. But the audience was different, and the applause.
The next day at noon the chauffeurs from Paris reported for duty, andfive gleaming French devil-wagons steamed off through the crowd in thedirection of Venice. Through Brescia and Verona and Vicenza theypassed, scattering largess of silver in their wake and leaving a trailof breathless wonder. Brewster found the pace too fast and by the timethey reached Venice he had a wistful longing to take this radiantcountry more slowly. "But this is purely a business trip," he thought,"and I can't expect to enjoy it. Some day I'll come back and do itdifferently. I could spend hours in a gondola if the blamed things werenot more expensive by the trip."
It was there that he was suddenly recalled to his duty from dreams ofmoonlight on the water by a cablegram which demanded $324.00 before itcould be read. It contained word for word the parable of the tentalents and ended with the simple word "Jones."