CHAPTER XVI. A RED ROSE AND A LACE SHAWL
It was on a rainy day about a week after Pollyanna's visit to Mr. JohnPendleton, that Miss Polly was driven by Timothy to an early afternooncommittee meeting of the Ladies' Aid Society. When she returned at threeo'clock, her cheeks were a bright, pretty pink, and her hair, blown bythe damp wind, had fluffed into kinks and curls wherever the loosenedpins had given leave.
Pollyanna had never before seen her aunt look like this.
"Oh--oh--oh! Why, Aunt Polly, you've got 'em, too," she criedrapturously, dancing round and round her aunt, as that lady entered thesitting room.
"Got what, you impossible child?"
Pollyanna was still revolving round and round her aunt.
"And I never knew you had 'em! Can folks have 'em when you don't knowthey've got 'em? DO you suppose I could?--'fore I get to Heaven, Imean," she cried, pulling out with eager fingers the straight locksabove her ears. "But then, they wouldn't be black, if they did come. Youcan't hide the black part."
"Pollyanna, what does all this mean?" demanded Aunt Polly, hurriedlyremoving her hat, and trying to smooth back her disordered hair.
"No, no--please, Aunt Polly!" Pollyanna's jubilant voice turned to oneof distressed appeal. "Don't smooth 'em out! It's those that I'm talkingabout--those darling little black curls. Oh, Aunt Polly, they're sopretty!"
"Nonsense! What do you mean, Pollyanna, by going to the Ladies' Aid theother day in that absurd fashion about that beggar boy?"
"But it isn't nonsense," urged Pollyanna, answering only the first ofher aunt's remarks. "You don't know how pretty you look with your hairlike that! Oh, Aunt Polly, please, mayn't I do your hair like I did Mrs.Snow's, and put in a flower? I'd so love to see you that way! Why, you'dbe ever so much prettier than she was!"
"Pollyanna!" (Miss Polly spoke very sharply--all the more sharplybecause Pollyanna's words had given her an odd throb of joy: when beforehad anybody cared how she, or her hair looked? When before had anybody"loved" to see her "pretty"?) "Pollyanna, you did not answer myquestion. Why did you go to the Ladies' Aid in that absurd fashion?"
"Yes'm, I know; but, please, I didn't know it was absurd until I wentand found out they'd rather see their report grow than Jimmy. So thenI wrote to MY Ladies' Aiders--'cause Jimmy is far away from them,you know; and I thought maybe he could be their little India boy sameas--Aunt Polly, WAS I your little India girl? And, Aunt Polly, you WILLlet me do your hair, won't you?"
Aunt Polly put her hand to her throat--the old, helpless feeling wasupon her, she knew.
"But, Pollyanna, when the ladies told me this afternoon how you came tothem, I was so ashamed! I--"
Pollyanna began to dance up and down lightly on her toes.
"You didn't!--You didn't say I COULDN'T do your hair," she crowedtriumphantly; "and so I'm sure it means just the other way 'round,sort of--like it did the other day about Mr. Pendleton's jelly that youdidn't send, but didn't want me to say you didn't send, you know. Nowwait just where you are. I'll get a comb."
"But Pollyanna, Pollyanna," remonstrated Aunt Polly, following thelittle girl from the room and panting up-stairs after her.
"Oh, did you come up here?" Pollyanna greeted her at the door of MissPolly's own room. "That'll be nicer yet! I've got the comb. Now sitdown, please, right here. Oh, I'm so glad you let me do it!"
"But, Pollyanna, I--I--"
Miss Polly did not finish her sentence. To her helpless amazement shefound herself in the low chair before the dressing table, with herhair already tumbling about her ears under ten eager, but very gentlefingers.
"Oh, my! what pretty hair you've got," prattled Pollyanna; "and there'sso much more of it than Mrs. Snow has, too! But, of course, you needmore, anyhow, because you're well and can go to places where folkscan see it. My! I reckon folks'll be glad when they do see it--andsurprised, too, 'cause you've hid it so long. Why, Aunt Polly, I'll makeyou so pretty everybody'll just love to look at you!"
"Pollyanna!" gasped a stifled but shocked voice from a veil of hair."I--I'm sure I don't know why I'm letting you do this silly thing."
"Why, Aunt Polly, I should think you'd be glad to have folks like tolook at you! Don't you like to look at pretty things? I'm ever so muchhappier when I look at pretty folks, 'cause when I look at the otherkind I'm so sorry for them."
"But--but--"
"And I just love to do folks' hair," purred Pollyanna, contentedly. "Idid quite a lot of the Ladies' Aiders'--but there wasn't any of them sonice as yours. Mrs. White's was pretty nice, though, and she lookedjust lovely one day when I dressed her up in--Oh, Aunt Polly, I've justhappened to think of something! But it's a secret, and I sha'n't tell.Now your hair is almost done, and pretty quick I'm going to leave youjust a minute; and you must promise--promise--PROMISE not to stir norpeek, even, till I come back. Now remember!" she finished, as she ranfrom the room.
Aloud Miss Polly said nothing. To herself she said that of course sheshould at once undo the absurd work of her niece's fingers, and put herhair up properly again. As for "peeking" just as if she cared how--
At that moment--unaccountably--Miss Polly caught a glimpse of herself inthe mirror of the dressing table. And what she saw sent such a flush ofrosy color to her cheeks that--she only flushed the more at the sight.
She saw a face--not young, it is true--but just now alight withexcitement and surprise. The cheeks were a pretty pink. The eyessparkled. The hair, dark, and still damp from the outdoor air, layin loose waves about the forehead and curved back over the ears inwonderfully becoming lines, with softening little curls here and there.
So amazed and so absorbed was Miss Polly with what she saw in the glassthat she quite forgot her determination to do over her hair, until sheheard Pollyanna enter the room again. Before she could move, then, shefelt a folded something slipped across her eyes and tied in the back.
"Pollyanna, Pollyanna! What are you doing?" she cried.
Pollyanna chuckled.
"That's just what I don't want you to know, Aunt Polly, and I was afraidyou WOULD peek, so I tied on the handkerchief. Now sit still. It won'ttake but just a minute, then I'll let you see."
"But, Pollyanna," began Miss Polly, struggling blindly to her feet, "youmust take this off! You--child, child! what ARE you doing?" she gasped,as she felt a soft something slipped about her shoulders.
Pollyanna only chuckled the more gleefully. With trembling fingers shewas draping about her aunt's shoulders the fleecy folds of a beautifullace shawl, yellowed from long years of packing away, and fragrant withlavender. Pollyanna had found the shawl the week before when Nancy hadbeen regulating the attic; and it had occurred to her to-day that therewas no reason why her aunt, as well as Mrs. White of her Western home,should not be "dressed up."
Her task completed, Pollyanna surveyed her work with eyes that approved,but that saw yet one touch wanting. Promptly, therefore, she pulledher aunt toward the sun parlor where she could see a belated red roseblooming on the trellis within reach of her hand.
"Pollyanna, what are you doing? Where are you taking me to?" recoiledAunt Polly, vainly trying to hold herself back. "Pollyanna, I shallnot--"
"It's just to the sun parlor--only a minute! I'll have you readynow quicker'n no time," panted Pollyanna, reaching for the rose andthrusting it into the soft hair above Miss Polly's left ear. "There!"she exulted, untying the knot of the handkerchief and flinging the bitof linen far from her. "Oh, Aunt Polly, now I reckon you'll be glad Idressed you up!"
For one dazed moment Miss Polly looked at her bedecked self, and at hersurroundings; then she gave a low cry and fled to her room. Pollyanna,following the direction of her aunt's last dismayed gaze, saw, throughthe open windows of the sun parlor, the horse and gig turning into thedriveway. She recognized at once the man who held the reins. Delightedlyshe leaned forward.
"Dr. Chilton, Dr. Chilton! Did you want to see me? I'm up here."
"Yes," smiled the doctor, a little gravely. "Will you come down,please?"
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In the bedroom Pollyanna found a flushed-faced, angry-eyed womanplucking at the pins that held a lace shawl in place.
"Pollyanna, how could you?" moaned the woman. "To think of your riggingme up like this, and then letting me--BE SEEN!"
Pollyanna stopped in dismay.
"But you looked lovely--perfectly lovely, Aunt Polly; and--"
"'Lovely'!" scorned the woman, flinging the shawl to one side andattacking her hair with shaking fingers.
"Oh, Aunt Polly, please, please let the hair stay!"
"Stay? Like this? As if I would!" And Miss Polly pulled the locks sotightly back that the last curl lay stretched dead at the ends of herfingers.
"O dear! And you did look so pretty," almost sobbed Pollyanna, as shestumbled through the door.
Down-stairs Pollyanna found the doctor waiting in his gig.
"I've prescribed you for a patient, and he's sent me to get theprescription filled," announced the doctor. "Will you go?"
"You mean--an errand--to the drug store?" asked Pollyanna, a littleuncertainly. "I used to go some--for the Ladies' Aiders."
The doctor shook his head with a smile.
"Not exactly. It's Mr. John Pendleton. He would like to see you to-day,if you'll be so good as to come. It's stopped raining, so I drove downafter you. Will you come? I'll call for you and bring you back beforesix o'clock."
"I'd love to!" exclaimed Pollyanna. "Let me ask Aunt Polly."
In a few moments she returned, hat in hand, but with rather a soberface.
"Didn't--your aunt want you to go?" asked the doctor, a littlediffidently, as they drove away.
"Y-yes," sighed Pollyanna. "She--she wanted me to go TOO much, I'mafraid."
"Wanted you to go TOO MUCH!"
Pollyanna sighed again.
"Yes. I reckon she meant she didn't want me there. You see, she said:'Yes, yes, run along, run along--do! I wish you'd gone before.'"
The doctor smiled--but with his lips only. His eyes were very grave. Forsome time he said nothing; then, a little hesitatingly, he asked:
"Wasn't it--your aunt I saw with you a few minutes ago--in the window ofthe sun parlor?"
Pollyanna drew a long breath.
"Yes; that's what's the whole trouble, I suppose. You see I'd dressedher up in a perfectly lovely lace shawl I found up-stairs, and I'd fixedher hair and put on a rose, and she looked so pretty. Didn't YOU thinkshe looked just lovely?"
For a moment the doctor did not answer. When he did speak his voice wasso low Pollyanna could but just hear the words.
"Yes, Pollyanna, I--I thought she did look--just lovely."
"Did you? I'm so glad! I'll tell her," nodded the little girl,contentedly.
To her surprise the doctor gave a sudden exclamation.
"Never! Pollyanna, I--I'm afraid I shall have to ask you not to tellher--that."
"Why, Dr. Chilton! Why not? I should think you'd be glad--"
"But she might not be," cut in the doctor.
Pollyanna considered this for a moment.
"That's so--maybe she wouldn't," she sighed. "I remember now; 'twas'cause she saw you that she ran. And she--she spoke afterwards about herbeing seen in that rig."
"I thought as much," declared the doctor, under his breath.
"Still, I don't see why," maintained Pollyanna, "--when she looked sopretty!"
The doctor said nothing. He did not speak again, indeed, until theywere almost to the great stone house in which John Pendleton lay with abroken leg.