CHAPTER XIII
Katherine saw nothing more of her employer on the Saturday, but on theSunday morning a message came to say she would expect her to go tochurch with her. As no mention of church had ever been made in London,Katherine was quite unprepared for this, and was obliged to scurry to beready.
"In the country and at one's home, one must always go to church, MissBush," she was informed when they were in the motor. "It is traditionagain."
Then there was silence until they were almost at the door.
"It is rather a fine little church, with some good tombs of my ancestorsin it, prolific people who seemed to have married either widowswith like proclivities, or to have commemorated their own maritalachievements.--There are two very curious monuments, one of a marriagewith about seven or eight children behind both the man and the woman,proofs of their former activities, and another of a second pair withnumerous olive branches owned mutually. They were of an enchantingingenuousness in those days. You will face these figures during thesermon. You can examine them, a not unpleasing pastime I used to find itin my youth."
Lady Garribardine's walk from the church was a kind of triumphalprogress. All the faces of the clustering local groups beamed with joyand welcome for her--she had a word and a nod for everyone and toKatherine's amusement stopped threateningly in front of a biggish boywho was handling a bandanna handkerchief.
"If I hear one sniffle, Thomas Knoughton--out you go!--It is a habit youhave got into, flaunting these colds every time I get home. I won't putup with it!"
"Very good, Yer Leddyship," the boy returned stolidly, pulling hisforelock.
It was evident to be seen that their Lady Bountiful was held in deeprespect by her tenants. The service was quite cheerful and merry withChristmas music from a fine organ, one of the patroness's gifts, and themonuments were certainly diverting, Henry VII and Edward VI costumescarved in stone adorning meek-faced women and grave men.
When they came out, a number of the local farmers and their wives had tobe greeted. Lady Garribardine seemed to know all their domestic affairs,and to wield an absolute dominion over them. She was kindly andautocratic, and not in the least condescending; they evidently loved herdearly.
Katherine stood by respectfully, and once or twice her mistress said,"This is my new secretary, Miss Bush," with a wave of her hand.
Apparently the bounties and teas and Christmas feasting being preparedfor everyone knew no bounds by what Katherine heard discussed.
As they motored back Her Ladyship said:
"Now, before lunch I want you for an hour to explain the country dutiesto you as I explained the London ones--and this afternoon you must seeover the house. Mrs. Illingworth will show you round, and to-morrow Ihave to start very early to see my poor people--You have those listscopied out, have you not?"
Katherine lunched alone in her sitting-room and before her inspection ofthe house began she went for a little walk. The old park delighted her,the sense that it was not public property gave her pleasure. She couldgo for miles, it seemed, upon the soft turf, or along the smoothavenues, without meeting a soul. There was something in her nature whichenjoyed this isolation from the common herd.
"I believe if it were mine I should dislike even a right of way!" shesaid to herself.
She stopped close to some deer; they were so tame they hardly startedfrom her. The whole place, when she came to a rising ground and couldlook back at the house, exalted her in some strange way. The atmosphereof it was so different from anything which she had been accustomed to.It was no wonder that people living in such houses should have widerscopes of imagination than the inhabitants of Bindon's Green with everylittle semi-detached villa watching the habits of its neighbour. Shemade up her mind that she would study Lady Garribardine's methods withher people for her own future guidance. The perfect certainty with whichshe looked forward to obtaining the same sort of situation was almostsublime!
When her inspection of the house came her feelings were further stirred;there was a great bump of veneration in her for ancient things. Herartistic sensibilities which had not yet been as awakened as herpractical ones now began to assert themselves. She felt she must readbooks upon architecture, and learn the dates and styles of furniture.She admired, but she was conscious that she had not yet sufficientlycultivated critical faculties to appreciate fully. Her tour opened a newfield of study for her--a new consciousness of her own ignorance, and anew determination to acquire the necessary knowledge on these points.
Ever since her outing with Lord Algy, she had been aware that merebook-learning is not enough. There were many things of interest in lifethat she would never have heard of or realised the existence of but forthat first opening to her imagination.
Mr. Strobridge would be an invaluable teacher, but she must get up afew technical points first. She would at once ask her mistress if shemight take some books from the library, up to her sitting-room forthe evening. She would immediately look up the bald facts in theEncyclopedia to begin with, and then study individual volumes. Thenthere were the painters and the sculptors to learn about more fully,although she had often gone to the galleries and museums in London, butnot with what--she now knew, after her inspection of this home where forhundreds of years the owners had been cultivated collectors--was acritical eye. She felt as if the key to understanding had only just beengiven to her. Even the housekeeper (not Mrs. Pepperdon of BerkeleySquare, but this elderly, portly Mrs. Illingworth) knew more about thebeauties that she was showing off than she did. This state of ignorancemust not continue for even a week!
Permission was accorded about the books when Lady Garribardine lookedinto the secretary's room before her tea--and until three o'clock in themorning this indefatigable young woman kept her lights on, crammingfacts into her head--and then when her work was over before lunchnext day she walked again through the picture gallery and the bigdrawing-rooms to see if she had mastered anything. The picture gallerywas filled with early and late Italian works, and some fine specimensof Spanish Renaissance as well as English portraits. She found that witheven this much knowledge gained she had already grown more appreciative,but she realised that it was a question of training her eye as well asher brain.
The guests were all to arrive on Christmas Eve and a message came forKatherine that she was to come down and pour out the tea for them,because "Her Ladyship's hand was very rheumatic."
She had been extremely occupied with the dispatching of parcels ofpresents and various matters all the afternoon. This would be anoccasion to wear the grey blouse again, and she had discovered that thebecoming waves upon her brow could be achieved also by water andcombing, so she would not be at the mercy of a hairdresser in the futurefor her improved looks!
She was seated behind the tea-table in the library when the first batchof the visitors arrived by train. Mr. Strobridge and Lady Beatrice weremotoring; the three grandchildren and their attendants had come early inthe afternoon.
The party consisted of the two old maiden cousins, the Misses d'Estaireby name, and a young niece of theirs, and two or three stray men, andMrs. Delemar. Katherine attended to their wants and watched the wholescene--no one had greeted her, but whoever chanced to be near herexchanged a friendly word; Mrs. Delemar was even gracious, it was herway always to be polite to everyone.
How easy they all were! No stiffness, no self-consciousness, and one ofthe men was quite witty and the young Miss d'Estaire a most livelymodern girl. Katherine enjoyed herself although she never spoke unlessspoken to, and then returned monosyllabic answers.
When they had all been chaffing and eating quantities of muffins andbuns and blackberry jam and cream for half an hour, Gerard Strobridgeand his wife came in.
"We have had the most deplorable journey, Aunt Sarah," Lady Beatriceannounced plaintively. "A judgment upon one for travelling with one'shusband. Gerard would drive, and of course collided with a milestone,and injured one of the wheels so that the tire, which broke, took hoursto put on again and I was frozen
with cold."
Everyone sympathised with her, while Mr. Strobridge only smiledcomplacently and asked Katherine for some tea.
"As you can guess, I shall require it very hot and very strong to keepmy courage up after these reproaches," and he smiled as though to say,"I am sure you understand."
Katherine attended to him gravely; she was purposely the stiffsecretary, aloof and uninterested in what was going on; Mr. Strobridgerather wondered at it, and it piqued him a little, but the lady who hadbeen asked for his special delectation had no intention of allowing himany leisure to converse with anyone else. She gave him one of herravishing smiles, moved her dress a little to make room for him on hersofa, and then whispered to him softly for a long time, amidst thegeneral merry din.
Nothing escaped the eyes and intelligence of Miss Bush. She wasobserving behaviour, character and capability in each one of the guestsand was making up her mind what she would do next for the furtherance ofher plan that Gerard Strobridge should be a friend.
For one moment he looked up and met her eyes, and she allowed hers toshow that sphinxlike smile before she lowered the lids. GerardStrobridge experienced an emotion. Laeo was perhaps making him look alittle ridiculous. She was overdoing her pleasure at seeing him.However, he was too old a hand at dalliance with women to allow himselfto stay beside her for a moment after he felt this. So he made someforcible excuse about the post's going, and got up and left the room. Hewas completely at home, it was plain to be seen, at Blissington Court.
Katherine smiled again to herself.
After dinner there was to be a cinematograph show for LadyGarribardine's grandchildren, a thirteen-year-old schoolboy and girls often and seven, and they were dining punctually at eight. Katherine wasto bring them into the hall when the entertainment began, having hadthem with her for dinner in the old schoolroom. She was not particularlyfond of children, but she did her best to make them enjoy theirmeal. They were stupid, unattractive creatures with none of theirgrandmother's wit. They were to go on to their paternal relations forthe New Year, and then with their governess and tutor were to sail tojoin their parents in the Antipodes.
The "dressy blouse" had to do duty as evening attire on this night (thecreation of Gladys' arranging must be kept for the grand occasion of theChristmas dinner in the dining-room) but Katherine had altered it alittle, the wretched thing! and cut down the neck to make it morebecoming. It looked quite suitable to her station in any case, shethought, as she caught sight of herself in the long glass in her room.She was beginning to take an interest in dress which surprised herself!
She took a chair in the background, close to the staircase from whichthe servants were to be allowed to witness the show--Her whole demeanourwas quiet and unremarkable--and no one paid any attention to her at alluntil the lights were turned up in the interval between one set ofpictures and another, when Lady Garribardine called out to her:
"Can you see from where you are, Miss Bush? The next thing ought to bevery funny."
Katherine had the kind of voice which people listen to, and one or twoof the men glanced round at her when she answered with thanks that shehad a capital view. And old Colonel Hawthorne said to a young guardsmanfriend of Miss Betty d'Estaire that, by Jove! Her Ladyship's secretary,or the children's governess, or whoever she was, had a pair of eyesworth looking at!
Gerard Strobridge had found Laeo charming again! He had dined well andpartaken of his aunt's promised very best champagne, and he had indulgedin some obviously subtle insinuations as to his further intentions inregard to their enjoyable friendship, whispered in her shell-pink earwhile the lights were low.
"Oh Gerard!--I won't allow you to!--Wait--not yet!" Mrs. Delemar hadgasped prettily, expecting him to press the matter further.
But unfortunately it was just then that the lights had blazed up, andGerard had turned round and caught sight of the provoking face ofKatherine Bush as his aunt spoke.
"How attractive that confounded girl looks!" he thought. "What anuisance she is not married and a guest, instead of the typist--it isundignified and--difficult!"
But the brief glance had disturbed him and rearoused his interest; hefound that he could not bring himself up to the desired levelof enthusiasm again with Laeo, and contented himself by talkingenigmatically about the parrot rooms that she was in--their situationand their comfort--while he looked unutterable things with his deep greyeyes. Then presently when they all moved, and the show was over, heallowed himself to be supplanted in her favours by a promising youth ofthree and twenty, a distant cousin of the house, who would not have beenpermitted the ghost of a chance at another time! But Gerard's emotionsdid not show on the surface and Katherine Bush slipped up to bedpresently in rather a depressed frame of mind.
She realised fully that the goal was yet a long, long way fromattainment, and that it would require all her intelligence to walkwarily through this coming week.
No one had been in the least slighting or unkind to her, but naturallyno one had troubled to converse with her; she was just the secretary andwas treated exactly as she would treat her own, when she had one, shefelt. It would not be safe to attract any of the party; her employer'sgood will and contentment with her mattered far more than thegratification of her vanity.
Mr. Strobridge, however, was one of the chief pieces in her game, andhim she would see often as long as she remained in Lady Garribardine'sservice, so there was no hurry--she could afford to wait.
But all the same she settled down to read "The Seven Lamps ofArchitecture" without the buoyant feeling of self-confidence whichusually gave her such a proud carriage of head.