CHAPTER IV
THE MAGICIAN
"Well, Dinah, my dear, are you ready?"
Rose de Vigne, very slim and graceful, with her beautiful hair mountedhigh above her white forehead and falling in a shower of golden ringletsbehind after the style of a hundred years ago, stood on the threshold ofDinah's room, awaiting permission to enter. Her dress was of palest greensatin brocade, a genuine Court dress of a century old. Her arms and neckgleamed with a snowy whiteness. She looked as if she had just stepped outof an ancient picture.
There came an impatient cry from within the room. "Oh, come in! Come in!I'm not nearly ready,--never shall be, I think. Where is Yvonne? Couldn'tshe spare me a single moment?"
The beautiful lady entered with a smile. She could afford to smile, beingcomplete to the last detail and quite sure of taking the ballroom bystorm. She found Dinah scurrying barefooted about the room with her hairin a loose bunch on her neck, her attire of the scantiest description,her expression one of wild desperation.
"I've lost my stockings. Where can they be? I know I had them thismorning. Can Yvonne have taken them by mistake? She put everything readyfor me,--or said she had."
The bed was littered with articles of clothing all flung together inhopeless confusion. Rose came forward. "Surely Yvonne didn't leave yourthings like this?" she said.
"No. I've been hunting through everything for the stockings. Where canthey be? I shall have to go without them, that's all."
"My dear child, they can't be far away. You had better get on with yourhair while I look for them. I am afraid you will not be able to count onany help from Yvonne to-night. She has only just finished dressing me,and has gone now to help Mother. You know what that means."
"Oh, goodness, yes!" said Dinah. "I wish I'd never gone in for thisstupid fancy dress at all. I shall never be done."
Rose smiled in her indulgent way. She was always kind to Dinah. "Well, Ican help you for a few minutes. I can't think how you come to be so late.I thought you came in long ago."
"Yes, but Billy wanted some buttons sewn on, and that hindered me." Dinahwas dragging at her hair with impatient fingers. "What a swell you look,Rose! I'm sure no one will dare to ask you for any but square dances."
"Do you think so, dear?" said Rose, looking at herself complacently inthe glass over Dinah's head.
Dinah made a sudden and hideous grimace. "Oh, drat my hair! I can't doanything with it. I believe I shall cut it all off, put on just apinafore, and go as a piccaninny."
"That sounds a little vulgar," observed Rose. "There are your stockingsunder the bed. You must have dropped them under. I should think the moresimply you do your hair the better if you are going to wear a colouredkerchief over it. You have natural ringlets in front, and that is theonly part that will show."
"And they will hang down over my eyes," retorted Dinah, "unless I fastenthem back with a comb, which I haven't got. Oh, don't stay, Rose! I knowyou are wanting to go, and you can't help me. I shall manage somehow."
"Are you quite sure?" said Rose turning again to survey herself.
"Quite--quite! I shall get on best alone. I'm in a bad temper too, and Iwant to use language--horrid language," said Dinah, tugging viciously ather dark hair.
Rose lowered her stately gaze and watched her for a moment. Then asDinah's green eyes suddenly flashed resentful enquiry upon her shelightly touched the girl's flushed cheek, and turned away. "Poor littleDinah!" she said.
The door closed upon her graceful figure in its old-world, sweeping robeand Dinah whizzed round from the glass like a naughty fairy in a rage."Rose de Vigne, I hate you!" she said aloud, and stamped her unshod footupon the floor.
A period of uninterrupted misfortune followed this outburst. Everythingwent wrong. The costume which the French maid had so deftly fitted uponher that morning refused to be adjusted properly. The fastenings baffledher, and finally a hook at the back took firm hold of the lawn of hersleeve and maliciously refused to be disentangled therefrom.
Dinah struggled for freedom for some minutes till the lawn began to tear,and then at last she became desperate. "Billy must do it," she said, andalmost in tears she threw open the door and ran down the passage.
Billy's room was round a corner, and this end of the corridor was dim. Asshe turned it, she almost collided with a figure coming in the oppositedirection--a boyish-looking figure in evening dress which she instantlytook for Billy.
"Oh, there you are!" she exclaimed. "Do come along and help me like asaint! I'm in such a fix."
There was an instant's pause before she discovered her mistake, and thenin the same moment a man's voice answered her.
"Of course I will help you with pleasure. What is wrong?"
Dinah started back, as if she would flee in dismay. But perhaps it wasthe kindness of his response, or possibly only the extremity of herneed--something held her there. She stood her ground as it were in spiteof herself.
"Oh, it is you! I do beg your pardon. I thought it was Billy. I've got mysleeve caught up at the back, and I want him to undo it."
"I'll undo it if you will allow me," said Scott.
"Oh, would you? How awfully kind! My arm is nearly broken with trying toget free. You can't see here though," said Dinah. "There's a light by mydoor."
"Let us go to it then!" said Scott. "I know what it is to have things gowrong at a critical time."
He accompanied her back again with the utmost simplicity, stopped by thelight, and proceeded with considerable deftness to remedy the mischief.
"Oh, thank you!" said Dinah, with heart-felt gratitude as he freed her atlast. "Billy would have torn the stuff in all directions. I'm dressingagainst time, you see, and I've no one to help me."
"Do you want any more help?" asked Scott, looking at her with a quizzicallight in his eyes.
She laughed, albeit she was still not far from tears. "Yes, I wantsomeone to pin a handkerchief on my head in the proper Italian fashion. Idon't look much like a _contadina_ yet, do I?"
He surveyed her more critically. "It's not a bad get-up. You look verynice anyhow. If you like to bring me the handkerchief, I will see what Ican do. I know a little about it from the point of view of an amateurartist. You want some earrings. Have you got any?"
Dinah shook her head. "Of course not."
"I believe my sister has," said Scott. "I'll go and see."
"Oh no, no! What will she think?" cried Dinah in distress.
He uttered his quiet laugh. "I will present you to her by-and-bye if Imay. I am sure she will be interested and pleased. You finish off asquickly as you can! I shall be back directly."
He limped away again down the passage, moving more quickly than was hiswont, and Dinah hastened back into her room wondering if this informalitywould be regarded by her chaperon as a great breach of etiquette.
"Rose thinks I'm vulgar," she murmured to herself. "I wonder if I reallyam. But really--he is such a dear little man. How could I possibly helpit?"
The dear little man's return put an end to her speculations. He came backin an incredibly short time, armed with a leather jewel-case which hedeposited on the threshold.
Dinah came light-footed to join him, all her grievances forgotten. Herhair, notwithstanding its waywardness, clustered very prettily about herface. There was a bewitching dimple near one corner of her mouth.
"You can come in if you like," she said. "I'm quite dressed--all exceptthe handkerchief."
"Thank you; but I won't come in," he answered. "We mustn't shock anybody.If you could bring a chair out, I could manage quite well."
She fetched the chair. "If anyone comes down the passage, they'll wonderwhat on earth we are doing," she remarked.
"They will take us for old friends," said Scott in a matter of-fact toneas he opened the jewel-case.
She laughed delightedly. There was a peculiarly happy quality about herlaugh. Most people smiled quite involuntarily when they heard it, thoughBilly compared it to the neigh of a cheery colt.
"Now
," said Scott, looking at her quizzically, "are you going to sit inthe chair, or am I going to stand on it?"
"Oh, I'll sit," she said. "Here's the handkerchief! You will fasten it sothat it doesn't flop, won't you? May I hold that case? I won't touchanything."
He put it open into her lap. "There is a chain of coral there. Perhapsyou can find it. I think it would look well with your costume."
Dinah pored over the jewels with sparkling eyes. "But are you sure--quitesure--your sister doesn't mind?"
"Quite sure," said Scott, beginning to drape the handkerchief adroitlyover her bent head.
"How very sweet of her--of you both!" said Dinah. "I feel like Cinderellabeing dressed for the ball. Oh, what lovely pearls! I never saw anythingso exquisite."
She had opened an inner case and was literally revelling in its contents.
"They were--her husband's wedding present to her," said Scott in hisrather monotonous voice.
"How lovely it must be to be married!" said Dinah, with a little sigh.
"Do you think so?" said Scott.
She turned in her chair to regard him. "Don't you?"
"I can't quite imagine it," he said.
"Oh, can't I!" said Dinah. "To have someone in love with you, wanting noone but you, thinking there's no one else in the world like you. Have younever dreamt that such a thing has happened? I have. And then waked up tofind everything very flat and uninteresting."
Scott was intent upon fastening an old gold brooch in the red kerchiefabove her forehead. He did not meet the questioning of her bright eyes.
"No," he said. "I don't think I ever cajoled myself, either waking orsleeping, into imagining that anybody would ever fall in love with me tothat extent."
Dinah laughed, her upturned face a-brim with merriment. "If any womanever wants to marry you, she'll have to do her own proposing, won't she?"she said.
"I think she will," said Scott.
"I wish Rose de Vigne would fall in love with you then," declared Dinah."Men are always proposing to her, she leads them on till they makeperfect idiots of themselves. I think it's simply horrid of her to do it.But she says she can't help being beautiful. Oh, how I wish--" Dinahbroke off.
"What do you wish?" said Scott.
She turned her face away to hide a blush. "You must think me very sillyand childish. So I am, but I'm not generally so. I think it's in the airhere. I was going to say, how I wished I could outshine her for just onenight! Isn't that piggy of me? But I am so tired of being always in theshade. She called me 'Poor little Dinah!' only to-night. How would youlike to be called that?"
"Most people call me Stumpy," observed Scott, with his whimsical littlesmile.
"How rude of them! How horrid of them!" said Dinah. "And do you actuallyput up with it?"
He bent with her over the jewel-case, and picked out the coral chain. "Idon't care the toss of a halfpenny," he said.
She gave him a quick, searching glance. "Not really? Not in your secretheart?"
"Not in the deepest depth of my unfathomable soul," he declared.
"Then you're a great man," said Dinah, with conviction.
Scott's laugh was one of genuine amusement. "Oh, does that follow? I'venever seen myself in that light before."
But Dinah was absolutely serious and remained so. There was even a touchof reverence in her look. "You evidently don't know yourself in theleast," she said. "Anyhow, you've made me feel a downright toad."
"I don't know why," said Scott. "You don't look like one if that's anycomfort." He stooped to fasten the necklace. "Now for the earrings, andyou are complete."
"It is good of you," she said gratefully. "I am longing to go and look atmyself. But can you fasten them first? I'm sure I can't."
He complied with his almost feminine dexterity, and in a few moments asparkling and glorified Dinah rose and skipped into her room to see thegeneral effect of her transformation.
Scott lingered to close the jewel-case. Frankly, he had enjoyed himselfduring the last ten minutes. Moreover he was sure she would be pleasedwith the result of his labours. But he was hardly prepared for the cry ofdelight that reached him as he turned to depart.
He paused as he heard it, and in a moment Dinah flashed out again like aradiant butterfly and gave him both her hands.
"You--magician!" she cried. "How did you do it? How can I thank you? I'venever been so nearly pretty in my life!"
He bowed in courtly fashion over the little brown hands. "Then you havenever seen yourself with the eyes of others," he said. "I congratulateyou on doing so to-night."
She laughed her merry laugh. "Thank you! Thank you a hundred times! I'veonly one thing left to wish for."
"What is that?" he said.
She told him with a touch of shyness. "That--Apollo--will dance with me!"
Scott laughed and let her go. "Oh, is that all? Then I will certainly seethat he does."
"Oh, but don't tell him!" pleaded Dinah.
"I never repeat confidences," declared Scott. "Good-bye, _Signorina_!"
And with another bow, he left her.