CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
NEW EXPERIENCES.
The village doctor came to doctor Jack Melland's damaged ankle, and thepatient fumed and fretted beneath his old-fashioned treatment.
"Bandaging me and laying me up by the heels for weeks at a time; it'sfolly!" he declared angrily. "The man is twenty years behind the times.If I were in town I should have had one of those Swedish fellows tomassage it, and be about in half the time. Just my luck to go in for anaccident in a place where one can't get proper attention!"
"But you groan if anyone comes near your foot; wouldn't it hurtdreadfully much to have it massaged?" Mollie asked.
Whereupon the invalid growled impatiently--
"Hurt? Of course it would hurt! What has that to do with it, pray?"
"Lots," returned Mollie, unabashed. "I should think so, at least, if itwere my ankle. I can't endure pain."
"I'm not a girl," growled Jack the ungracious, between his teeth.
There was no denying the fact that he did not make an agreeable invalid.In the first realisation of his accident he had meekly bowed his headto Fate; but ever since he had, figuratively speaking, kicked againstthe pricks, and repaid the kindness of his companions by incessantgrumblings and complaints. He hated having to give up his own way; hehated being tied to a sofa and a bath-chair; he resented offers of helpas if they had been actual insults, and hindered his recovery byfoolhardy attempts at independence.
"How would you like to be an invalid for life?" Mollie asked himseverely after one of these outbursts. "There was a young man inmother's district, every bit as strong and big as you, and a sack ofsomething fell on his back while they were trying to haul it up into awarehouse. He was taken to the hospital, and they told him that hewould never walk again, never even sit up again. As long as he lived hewould be a helpless cripple. And he was just going to be married, too!"
"Well, I'm not, thank goodness!" cried Jack bluntly. "Why do you tellme such gruesome stories? My own troubles are quite enough just now. Idon't want to hear any more horrors."
"It was just to distract your mind from yourself that I did tell you.Once upon a time I met a man who read me a beautiful lecture upon thedangers of being selfish and self-engrossed. I'll tell you his verywords, if you like. They made a deep impression upon me at the time,"said Mollie naughtily. But instead of being amused, Jack was onlyirritated afresh.
In these first days of invalidism Mollie's influence was the reverse ofsoothing, for Jack was not in the mood to be teased, and if his innerdetermination could have been put into words it would have been that heobjected to be cheered up, refused to be cheered up, and insisted uponposing as a martyr; therefore, it followed that Ruth's gentleministrations were more acceptable than her sister's vigorous sallies.If he could have seen again the Mollie of whom he had caught a glimpseon Sunday evening, Jack would have chosen her before any othercompanion; but, as she had made place for a mischievous tease, hepreferred to look into Ruth's lovely anxious eyes, and to dilate atlength upon his symptoms to her sympathetic ear.
Mr Farrell's behaviour at this critical juncture did not throw oil uponthe troubled waters. He took care that Jack should have everyattention, and inquired as to his progress with punctilious regularity;but he plainly considered a sprained ankle a very trivial affair, which,needless to say, did not coincide with the invalid's views of the case;moreover, he absolutely refused to believe that the accident wasresponsible for keeping Jack at the Court.
"It is only right to tell you, sir, that I had finally made up my mindthat I must return home to-day, as I could not agree with yourconditions," Jack informed him on their first interview after the doctorhad paid his visit; whereupon the old man elevated his eyebrows withthat air of ineffable superiority which was so exasperating, and said--
"And I, on the contrary, had made up my mind that you should stay. Itis satisfactory to me that the question is decided in my favour."
"By an accident, sir. By an accident only. If I'd been able to move--"
Mr Farrell held up his hand with a deprecatory gesture.
"In that case I should have called your attention to certain argumentswhich would have brought about the same result. Believe me, my dearJack, it would have made no difference."
Jack's face flushed angrily. He forgot Mollie's entreaty, forgot hisown promise, and answered hotly--
"I cannot imagine any arguments that could keep me here against my will.As soon as I can get about again I must return to my work. Thisaccident is only delaying my departure for a few weeks longer."
"So!" Could anything be more aggravating than that little bow and smilewhich accompanied the word. "In a few weeks, my dear Jack, many thingsmay happen; therefore, it is superfluous to discuss the subject atpresent. When the time arrives I shall be ready to meet it."
He turned and left the room, while Jack raged in helpless fury upon thesofa. It was insufferable to be treated as if he were a boy who couldbe ordered about against his will. When John Allen Ferguson Mellandsaid a thing, he _meant_ it, and not all the old men in the world shouldmove him from it, as Bernard Farrell would find out to his cost beforemany weeks were past.
For three whole days Jack's ill-temper continued, and, like most angrypeople, he punished himself even more than his companions, refusing tosit in the drawing-room to see callers, and insisting on remaining allday long in a dull little room at the back of the house. He grew tiredof reading. His head ached with the unusual confinement; just becausehe was unable to move he felt an overpowering desire for half a dozenthings just out of reach, and the day stretched to an interminablelength. On the fourth morning depression had taken the place of ill-temper, and he was prepared to allow himself to be petted and waitedupon, when, to his dismay, Victor came to his bedroom with the news thatthe girls had gone up to town, accompanied by Mrs Thornton.
"They said, as you preferred to be alone it would be best to keep totheir plans," said Victor cruelly. "I am off for a ride, and shallprobably make a day of it, and lunch _en route_. I was thinking ofgoing to Barnsley. It is quite a decent-sized place. Would you like meto try if I could find a masseuse for your foot?"
Jack looked up sharply; but Victor looked as he usually did. His facewas set and expressionless, as it always was when his eyes were hidden.It was natural enough that he should make such a suggestion, seeing thathe had heard many lamentations on the subject, natural and kindly intothe bargain, yet Jack felt an instinctive unwillingness to accept theoffer.
"He wants me out of the way," came the leaping thought, while he bit hislip, and appeared to ponder the question.
A few days before he himself had heartily echoed the sentiment; but nowthat Fate--or was it something else?--had interfered to keep him at theCourt, Jack's views had slowly altered. It might be that there was aduty waiting for him here, some duty which was even more important thanhis work in town; and, if he shirked it, the consequences might fallupon others besides himself. The two girls' faces rose before him,--Ruth's shy and anxious, Mollie audaciously reckless,--children both ofthem in the ways of the world, though innocently confident of their ownwisdom. If by staying on at the Court he could safeguard theirinterests, it would be well-spent time which he should never regret.
To Victor's astonishment his offer was quietly but firmly refused, andhe set out on his ride marvelling what had happened to bring about sucha sudden change of front.
Meantime, Ruth and Mollie were enjoying their first experience of thatmost delightful feminine amusement--shopping in London. They drove tothe doors of world-famed establishments, entered with smiling self-confidence, and gave their orders, unperturbed even by the immaculatevisions in black satin who hastened forward to receive them; somarvellous and inspiring are the effects of a purse and a cheque-bookbehind it!
Mrs Thornton was purse-bearer, and, to do her justice, enjoyed theoccasion as much as the girls themselves. She had been personallyinterviewed by Mr Farrell and coached for her part, which was t
ochaperon the girls, take them to the best places in which to procuretheir various requirements, but on no account whatever to direct thepurchases, or limit their extent.
"It is a good test; I wish to study it," said the old man, which speechbeing repeated, Ruth looked grave, and Mollie laughed, and cried--
"There is only one question I shall ask you, `Do I look nice?' and onepiece of advice, `Which suits me best?' and you are free to answer themboth. In the present instance these hats are all so fascinating that itwould be a sin to choose between them. I shall take them all!"
"Mollie, don't be absurd. You shall do nothing of the kind. Four hats,and you have two already! It would be wicked extravagance!" protestedRuth vigorously.
But Mollie persisted, and the attendant volubly declared that indeed"madam" was wrong. Six hats was a very moderate allowance. Madam wouldneed different hats for different occasions,--for morning and afternoon,for fine and wet weather, for ordinary and dress occasions. Would sheherself not be persuaded to try on this charming model, the latestFrench fashion, "ridiculously cheap at three guineas?"
"Thank you, I'll take the white hat, and the black chiffon. They willanswer all my purposes," declared Ruth frigidly.
She was shocked at Mollie's wanton extravagance, and all the moredisapproving that she herself badly wanted to be extravagant too, andwear dainty colours for a change, instead of the useful black and white,if only her sensitive conscience could have submitted to the outlay.
If hats had been a pitfall, dresses were even worse, for here the priceswere largely increased. It was a new experience to be ushered into whatlooked more like a luxurious house than a shop, and to find oneselfconfronted by a row of tall, willowy young women dressed in tightlyfitting black satin garments, so marvellously representing dress-standsthat they might have been mistaken for them had it not been for theelaborately dressed heads.
"This is a very expensive place--just for your very best dresses," MrsThornton ventured to explain; and the order, "Summer gowns for theseyoung ladies," having been given, presto! the animated dress-standsdisappeared through a doorway, to return a few minutes later topromenade slowly up and down the floor before the dazzled eyes of thebeholders, each one attired in a different costume. Blue, green, white,lavender, and yellow--perfect of cut, distracting of make--it was,indeed, a problem to choose between them! And while they hesitated, lo!another disappearance, and another triumphal entrance even more gorgeousthan the first.
"If I thought I should look as nice as they do, I'd have four at least,but I shan't; my waist is twice as big, and I never learnt to glide,"sighed Mollie humbly. "How much is the blue, please? I think thatwould suit me best."
The price of that simple--looking frock gave Ruth an electric shock. Itwas actually more than the whole of her yearly allowance. She looked itover, making a rapid estimate of the cost of material and trimming, andfelt convinced she could have bought them all out of a five-pound note.And then it could be made at home. Ah, no, that was just thedifficulty! The material was a detail, in the making-up thereof lay allthe charm and effect. She came out of her calculations to hear Molliesay calmly--
"And I shall want them both home by the end of a week! Now my sisterwill choose, and after that we will see some evening gowns."
Ruth took her courage in both hands, ordered one dress, and tookadvantage of the first moment of solitude to rebuke Mollie in irritableundertones.
"Do think what you are about! I'm the eldest, and it's most unsuitablefor you to be better dressed. You ought to let me decide, and follow myexample."
"But I promised Uncle Bernard that that was just what I would not do."
"Even if you did, he never intended you to order a whole trousseau. Howwill he feel when he sees the bills?"
"I don't know; I think he will feel nice when he sees my clothes. Oh,Ruth, do enjoy yourself when you have the chance! He gave you carteblanche--why on earth can't you take it?"
But that was just exactly what Ruth could not do. The fear of thebill--the fear of Uncle Bernard's displeasure, loomed so largely beforeher eyes, that she dared not indulge her longing for needless fineries.In every shop the same story was repeated, Mollie giving a lavish orderwith beams of satisfaction, Ruth reducing hers by half, and feeling soreand aggrieved. Each appealed in turn to Mrs Thornton for support andapproval, until that good lady became quite dazed and bewildered, andwas thankful to find herself once more in her quiet home.
Arrived at the Court, Mollie danced up to Mr Farrell, who sat readingby the library fire.
"I'm back again, Uncle Bernard," she cried; "I've had a beautiful time!I don't think I ever enjoyed myself so much! I'm bubbling over withgratitude. I've spent heaps of money! You said I might, and I've takenyou at your word; and oh, I have got such lovely things in exchange!"
Mr Farrell looked at her grimly, but made no reply. His eyes turnedtowards his other niece, who stood silently in the background.
"And you," he queried, "have you been equally fortunate?"
Ruth's face clouded.
"I got what I needed," she said; "I have a headache. I'm going upstairsto rest."