CHAPTER X.
"THE GRIM FATES."
"I know a maiden fair to see, Take care! She can both false and friendly be, Beware! Beware! Trust her not, She is fooling thee!
"And she has hair of a golden hue, Take care! And what she says is not true, Beware! Beware! Trust her not, She is fooling thee!
"She gives thee a garland woven fair, Take care! It is a fool's cap for thee to wear, Beware! Beware! Trust her not, She is fooling thee!"
Love Ellsworth had won, as it appeared, a signal victory, and he hopedthat by his determined will he had vanquished the opposition, so thatDainty would not have to suffer any further persecution.
Indeed, at luncheon, beyond a very slight coolness, the clouds of themorning seemed to have cleared away. Mrs. Ellsworth led the conversationto pleasant generalities, and presently proposed that the whole partyshould attend a charity entertainment to be given that evening at acountry church in the neighborhood.
"Besides the usual supper of berries, cake, and ice cream, there will besome fine tableaus, I am told, and also a tent with a real gypsyfortune-teller, they say. I suppose we ought to patronize it forcharity's sake, and because the girls might find it rather amusing!"
"Oh, I would not miss it for anything! I should love dearly to have myfortune told!" cried Olive, with unwonted animation.
"And the fortune-teller is a real gypsy, too; so I heard the preacher'swife say," chimed in Ela; adding: "There's been a gypsy encampment onthe banks of the river for more than a week."
The vote was taken, and all decided to go, as it was only two milesaway.
At twilight they set forth in the roomy Ellsworth carriage that easilyaccommodated the five, and on reaching the scene, found it verypicturesque, the fine grove around the low white church beingilluminated by Chinese lanterns, shedding their light on the decoratedtables, where ice cream and accompaniments were served by the ladies ofthe church to quite a large throng of people.
"How romantic it looks under those dark trees with the flickering lightsand leaf-shadows! Just the spot for lovers!" cried Olive, smiling atLove and Dainty in quite a conciliatory manner, adding, lightly: "Do notask me, Aunt Judith, to do anything so prosaic as to eat cream yet. Ishall stroll away by myself under these magnificent trees."
She kept her word, and turned up quite half an hour later, when theother four were eating cream at a table, laughing, and saying:
"I have had such a long stroll, I am hungry now; and, oh! what fun Ihave had with the old gypsy! She told my fortune for a dollar, and if itcomes true, it will be worth more than that to me, for she promised me arich and adoring husband, beautiful children, and a long and happylife!"
She was more than usually animated, her dark eyes glowing withexcitement, and Ela caught the infection, exclaiming:
"Hurry and eat your cream, and take me to the tent, Olive. I want tohear my fortune, too."
Love and Dainty, listening to her careless words, thought that if thegypsy told her truly, she would hear an unwelcome story of a heartlessgirl who had thrown over a true lover for the sake of captivating aricher one; but they held their peace, and presently the two girls wentoff together, and the minister and his wife engaged Mrs. Ellsworth inconversation, leaving the pair of lovers free to mingle with the gaycrowd of young and old strolling beneath the trees. They spoke little tothe casual acquaintances they met, preferring to enjoy each other'ssociety.
It was an ideal July night, warm and odorous with the sweet breath ofnature, and the moon shone so bright that the fantastic lanterns werescarcely necessary, save to add to the festivity of the scene.
Love thought Dainty looked more lovely than he had ever seen herto-night, in her soft white gown with a bunch of dewy white lilies ather waist and a wreath of them around her white chip hat, making up sucha simple, lovely costume that Olive and Ela had been wild with envy,despite their own shimmering silks, and gay hats loaded with artificialflowers.
When Dainty had come to Ellsworth they had laughed at her simple gowns,and more especially her last summer's hat--a fine white chip, simplytrimmed with a bow of white ribbon.
"She can not help looking shabby in that old hat, and her beauty willnot count for much. Fine feathers make fine birds," quoted Olive,complacently.
She forgot Dainty's exquisite taste, and that the gardens of Ellsworthwere blushing with the rarest flowers, by whose aid the young girl eachday transformed the old hat into a thing of beauty.
With the aid of a few long pins, Dainty would, with a few deft touches,adorn the old white chip, now with a garland of roses, now with liliesor geraniums, now with a trailing vine of starry-white jasmine, and evenone day, when she wore a very simple blue gingham, chose heavenly bluelarkspurs, under whose blue mist her sweet eyes looked more deeplyviolet than ever, and her skin just like the satiny leaf of a rose.
Olive and Ela pretended to ridicule this unique millinery; but the factremained that Dainty appeared in a new hat each day, or several times aday, if the sun shone too warm and wilted the flowers too quickly; andher cousins were fain to secretly own to each other that no millineryconception could equal in grace and beauty these clever "makeshifts" oftasteful Dainty.
To-night the white chip was festooned in tulle, and the dewy liliespinned on just before starting, to keep them fresh and crisp.
"Where did you get all that tulle?" cried Olive, staring enviously.
"It's old-fashioned!" added Ela, spitefully; but Dainty laughed,good-naturedly:
"I dare say it is, for it came off an old ball-gown of mamma's that Ifound when I was rummaging her old boxes. She said I might have it; so Itear off bunches of the tulle whenever I want a fresh setting for myflowers. Of course, I know, Ela, that chiffon is more fashionable now,but I can not afford it."
So, in her soft white muslin gown and garnitures of lilies, with the dewstill glistening on their green leaves and golden hearts, Dainty made apicture of pure and lovely maidenhood that thrilled her lover's heartwith admiration, and every feminine heart with envy.
Arm in arm they wandered about the grove, absorbed in each other, untilsuddenly they found themselves close to the gypsy tent, and saw a bevyof fair maidens close by, laughing and exchanging confidences over thequeer things the fortune-teller had told them.
"She promised me a rich husband, with blue eyes and a perfect love of ablonde mustache!" cried one, exultantly.
"And me a drunken one that would beat me every day, and break up all thefurniture in his tantrums. I told her I wouldn't accept such a fortune,and wanted my dollar back, but she wouldn't give it," added another,lugubriously.
"Well, mine was quite as bad. She said I would have a lazy husband andnine children, and have to take in washing to support them," cried stillanother, bringing the laugh on herself, until Love Ellsworth said,gayly:
"Really, Dainty, we must go in and see what the seeress will grant to usfrom the grim fates."
"But you can not go together--only one person is admitted at a time!"cried the gay maidens.
"Ladies first!" cried Love, gallantly; and after leading Dainty to thedoor of the tent, he returned to the bevy of fair ones, and stoodchatting merrily with them while he waited for his love's return.
She had gone from him gayly, happily, with laughter on her lips androses on her cheeks; but presently she staggered forth, pale andchanged, her face as white as her lilies, and the tears hanging on herlashes like pearls in the moonlight.
"The old gypsy has frightened her with her promise of a drunken and lazyhusband!" cried the merry girls.
"Did she promise you a rich and loving husband?" cried Love, hangingeagerly over the pale, trembling girl.
She faltered a despairing negative; and one of the girls exclaimed,curiously:
"Do tell us what she said, Miss Chase! It can not possibly be worse thanwhat she promised us!"
"Yes, tell us all about it, so that we can laugh at it togethe
r!" addedLove solicitously, seeing how unnerved she was, anxious to turn it allinto a joke.
Dainty leaned heavily on her lover, as though scarcely able to stand,and her eyes turned mournfully to his while she faltered, fearfully:
"Oh, I shall never forget how balefully her black eyes burned on methrough the holes in her mask, as if she hated me, and what cruel gleerang in her voice as she hissed in my ear: 'You do well to choose liliesfor your adorning, for they are funeral flowers, and you will soon bethe bride of Death!'"
And with those faltered words, the frightened girl dropped like a brokenflower and hung fainting on her lover's arm.
Instantly there was a great commotion, the girls rushing hither andthither for restoratives, so that Dainty soon sighed and opened herblue eyes in pathetic wonder.
"Love," she murmured, weakly; and one of the girls said, pityingly:
"There, dear; don't worry. Mr. Ellsworth has gone into the tent to scoldthe old fortune-teller for telling you such wicked falsehoods."
"Just as she told all of us," added another. "Why, I never saw such aspiteful old hag in my life, promising me a drunken, abusive husband,when I am engaged to the dearest fellow in the world!"
Dainty suffered them to soothe her by making light of the gypsy'spredictions, while she waited uneasily for her lover's return.
Love had indeed rushed away in bitter wrath to upbraid the grewsomefortune-teller; but on entering the tent, whose darkened interior andsomber arrangement framed the black-gowned outlines of a tall, maskedwoman, he recoiled momentarily in something like awe.
"Advance, mortal!" intoned a deep, sepulchral voice: "advance, cross mypalm with silver, and hear the sentence of the stars that rule thydestiny!"
Involuntarily Love obeyed, placing the silver on the extended palm, thatseemed to tremble as he cried, angrily:
"The silver is for charity, not that I believe any of your ill-timedjargon."
The tall gypsy, whose brow was crowned with silvery tresses, and throughwhose black mask glittered fierce black eyes, answered, gibingly:
"Whether you believe or not, your fate will be the same. Listen: you area favorite of fortune, and deeply beloved by two young girls. One is asfair as a summer morn, the other dark and splendid as a moonlit summernight. Your heart inclines to the blonde, but she is false as hell; andif you wed her, you will rue your mistake throughout your life. Thestars command you to wed the dark beauty your friends have chosen foryou, and you will be blissfully happy."
Love Ellsworth stared curiously at the speaker, then laughed, mockingly:
"'How like an angel's sounds the tongue of woman, When pleading in another's cause her own!'"
"What mean you?" hissed the veiled gypsy, defiantly; and he answered bysnatching a ring from her extended hand, as he cried, gibingly:
"I know you, Miss Peyton, by your voice and this ruby ring that youborrowed from your aunt--an heirloom in the Ellsworth family. I shallkeep it to prove to Dainty that it was not a real gypsy who tried tofrighten her to death, but only her affectionate cousin masquerading ina false guise in order to further her own plans."
And, with a scornful laugh, he left the discomfited plotter and returnedto Dainty and the girls, saying, gayly, as he held up the ruby ring:
"How cleverly Miss Peyton has fooled you all, masquerading as the gypsy,and promising all sorts of dreadful things just to witness your terrors.But she could not deceive me. I knew her at once by her voice, and thisruby ring, that I snatched from her hand just to convince you all thatit was no gypsy, but simply Miss Olive Peyton, who knows no more aboutthe future than any of us."