CHAPTER V
Some business matters connected with his profession occupied the greaterpart of Hayden's time for the next day or so; but in his first moments ofleisure, he hastened to look up Kitty Hampton.
About five o'clock of a raw winter afternoon, he stopped at her house,intending under a pretense of a craving for hot tea to win Kitty tospeech of her friend Marcia. Well-simulated shivers, a reference to thebiting air, would secure his cousin's solicitude, then, at perhaps thethird cup, he would in a spontaneous burst of confidence confess to amore than passing interest. This would at once gain Kitty's warm ifunstable attention, her impulsive sympathy, and----. At this moment, thesevere and forbidding butler informed him that Mrs. Hampton was not athome, was out of town, and all further inquiries were met by a polite andnon-committal "I don't know, sir."
Hayden turned away both disappointed and resentful. On the occasion oftheir walk, a few days before, Kitty had not mentioned to him anycontemplated journey, and now, just as he was counting on enlisting hergood offices, she had left him completely in the lurch, and all his plansfor again meeting Marcia Oldham were, as he expressed it, up in the air.
To add to his general sense of disappointment and injury, he had had abrief line from Penfield saying that he had so far made no progress insome investigations he was making, but felt, nevertheless, that he was onthe correct trail and hoped to turn up something within a short time.
Three or four days passed, the end of the week arrived, and still Kittyhad not returned. Hayden felt like a man on a desert island who watchesships passing back and forth laden with merry pleasure-parties, too muchabsorbed in their own amusements or too indifferent to his sufferings torescue him; and his sense of isolation and depression was greatlyincreased by the one, last, unnecessary, bitter drop in his cup--for thelady of his dreams had wantonly mocked him. Her promises had been idle asthe wind. She had assured him that she would be anything but difficult todiscover, had given the impression that he might chance to meet her atany moment, but the hopes she had held out were cheats, and she hadsucceeded either wilfully or by force of circumstances in verysuccessfully eluding him. She had vanished as completely as if she hadbeen that shadowy astral wraith they had jestingly discussed, and he wasnot only baffled and perplexed but wounded.
His pride, very sore pride at present, was touched, and he told himselfthat since she chose thus to withdraw he would certainly not make adefinite and overt attempt to follow. Then, by way of adhering strictlyto this very good resolution, he proceeded to accept every socialinvitation which came his way, went religiously to luncheons, dinners,dances, anything that offered. He even invaded shops and strolled up anddown Fifth Avenue; but New York was empty of her. She had vanished assuddenly as she had appeared.
One evening, just as he was really beginning to despair of ever seeingher again and feeling more dejected and miserable every minute inconsequence, he stopped in at one of the theaters to see an act or two ofa new play in which an English actress of great reputation, not onlybecause of her beauty but also for the artistic quality of her acting,was appearing. To his own surprise, the first act interested himsufficiently to remain, a resolution that later he could not sufficientlycommend, for, when the actress appeared in the second act, the streetdress she had worn previously had been changed for a superb evening gown.
As she came forward to the footlights Hayden started as if he hadreceived an electric shock and leaned eagerly forward fumbling for hisglasses, for there upon her bosom, gleaming against the lace of her gown,was a great silver butterfly glittering with diamonds, while about herbeautiful shoulders fell a familiar chain of tiny, enameled butterflies,azure, deep purple, yellow and orange, and strung together with jewels.
Hayden sat through the rest of the play in a daze. To his excited fancythere were butterflies, butterflies everywhere, the air seemed full ofthem. They served to bring up the image of Marcia Oldham very vividlybefore him. He turned now and again and carefully scanned the house, halfbelieving that she was present and he might at any moment encounter hereyes. But no such luck awaited him, and his surprise was all the moremarked when just as he was leaving the theater after the play wasfinished he felt a light touch on his arm and looked down to see thelaughing face of Kitty Hampton.
"Kitty!" Hayden clutched her with such a grip that she winced. "Wherehave you been? Although I have daily beaten on your doors and rung you upon the telephone, I couldn't find a trace of you."
She laughed. "Who says I haven't well-trained servants! Come, drive homewith me," stepping into her waiting electric brougham. "Warren will bethere. He just got back this afternoon, and he will be so glad to haveyou. You see, I was becoming so bored and cross, and I got to hate thesight of everything and everybody to such an extent, that I just ran awayfrom it all, down into the country; and the best part of it was, that Iactually persuaded Marcia Oldham to go with me. Think of that! But Isucceeded in convincing her that it was her duty to go with me, that Iwas really on the verge of an illness and needed her care. Marcia isstrong on duty, you know. I tried my best to persuade her to do the playwith me to-night, but she wouldn't. She said she had no end of things tolook after.
"Oh, I am so glad I met you! It is sheer luck. You see there were somepeople to dinner, and afterward, there were enough for bridge without me,so I just slipped away without a word to anybody and hid myself in a box.And I do hope you're hungry, Bobby. I am dreadfully. Nothing makes me sohungry as a play. Well, we'll all have some supper after a bit."
Hayden's heart sang. He had sought and sought and all his seeking hadbeen vain, and here, by a mere chance, at an unlooked-for moment, theknowledge he had so ardently sought was his. He could afford to wait now;he leaned back comfortably and listened with an air of most eagerinterest to his cousin's chatter.
Kitty had quite recovered her spirits, and when they stopped before herdoor she was in the full tide of some gay reminiscences, and shecontinued her animated recital until they reached her drawing-room.
There were a number of people present who seemed just to have left thebridge-tables and were still discussing the game. Warren Hampton, a tall,quiet, rather elderly man, welcomed Hayden cordially. They had alwaysbeen good friends, and this was the first time they had met for severalyears. The rest, Hayden had either met casually or had to make theacquaintance of. Among this latter group was Mrs. Habersham, mentioned byPenfield as one of Marcia Oldham's most loyal friends, and Hayden wasTremendously interested in discovering in her the dark woman with therose-colored gown and the cerise wings in her hair with whom Marcia hadtalked that night at the opera.
Somewhat to his disappointment, he was not seated near her at the veryjolly little supper which was served later, but was placed insteadbetween Kitty and a sallow, angular, vivacious woman with an unbecomingblue fillet in her hair. He had been talking to Mrs. Habersham andHampton, and had not really happened to glance at Kitty since they hadentered the room, but after they were seated at the table, he turned tospeak to her and was absolutely struck dumb.
He drew his hand across his brow as if to brush away the cobwebs in hisbrain. What was this? From what sort of an obsession was he suffering? Hehad been thinking so much of those butterflies that he saw them whereverhe looked; but, poor victim of delusion that he was, he could swear thaton Kitty's breast, gleaming against the laces of her gown, was the samesilver butterfly which had earlier adorned the English actress, the sameunique and beautiful chain of tiny, brilliant, enameled butterflies. Hefelt an imperative desire to put out his finger and touch them, to askKitty if she really wore them, or if he but dreamed them.
"Bobby," murmured his cousin solicitously, "what on earth is the matterwith you? You look as if you had just seen a ghost. Your eyes are poppingout of your head, and you're staring at my butterflies as if theypositively frightened you."
He drew a long breath of relief. "They're enough to make any one's eyespop out."
She touched the huge silver insect on her breast. "Are they not dreams?"she s
aid complacently. "One is simply nobody this winter unless one hasthem; and the beauty of it is they are so difficult to secure."
"Miss Oldham wears a set," he announced boldly.
"Oh, of course." She shot him a quick, rather surprised glance. "Have youmet Marcia yet?"
"Yes--just met her, not very long ago."
"How odd that she didn't speak of it!" exclaimed Kitty. "But,"enthusiastically, "isn't she a dear? Do you know, Bobby, I do not believethat there is any one in the world, with the possible exception ofWarren, that I am half so fond of as I am Marcia? She is everything, themost all-around person you can imagine, and so gifted. She did theloveliest little water-color for me while we were away. I will show it toyou some time."
At this moment, their conversation was interrupted by the lady with theblue fillet. She had not succeeded in getting even a hearing from the manon the other side of her. He showed a marked preference for his lobsterin aspic, entirely ignoring the charms of her conversation and giving hervery definitely to understand that he longed to be left to a silentcontemplation and appreciation of the merits of the Hampton's chef.
"Oh, Kitty!" The blue fillet leaned across Hayden. "Bea Habersham wastelling us that you had been to see this new fortune-teller. Is shereally as good as Bea says?"
"Indeed she is!" cried Kitty, plunging into this new subject with herusual enthusiasm. "She's the most remarkable thing you ever heard of, andthe beauty of it is that you don't have to go into any dens and caves tofind her--none of the black holes where you tremble for your life andbegin to fear that you'll never get out again. And she has the mostcharming studio."
"Bea said it was the dreamiest thing you ever saw and that she herselfwas a vision. Do you suppose she gets herself up that way really toconceal her identity, or is it to arouse more interest and enthusiasm?"
"How does she get herself up?" asked Hayden, with, however, no particularinterest in his tones.
"Tell him, Kitty. I haven't been fortunate enough to see her yet,"replied the blue fillet--Mrs. Edith Symmes, by the way.
"Oh, it is too fascinating for anything." Kitty was eager to discuss herown particular find. "She is tall and graceful, oh, grace itself, and shewears a long black gown, Paris unmistakably, and"--Kitty threw greatemphasis on this "and," and paused a moment for dramatic effect--"shewears a mantilla about her head, and a little black mask, with fringefalling from it so that even her mouth is concealed. It gives you thequeerest creepy feeling when she comes into the room."
"How odd! How deliciously dreadful!" Mrs. Symmes shivered luxuriously."Do write or telephone her and make an appointment for me, Kitty, dear.They say that if I do so on my own account I shall have to wait weeks andweeks, there are so many ahead of me; but you've been such an awfullyefficient press-agent that she will do anything for you."
"But her prices! Her dreadful prices!" sighed a plaintive feminine voicefrom the other side of the table. "Have you seen her, Mr. Hayden?"
"Indeed I have not," returned Hayden, "and I haven't the faintestintention of seeing her. I can't understand why you waste your money onthose people. They have absolutely nothing to tell you, and they arefakers and worse, in every instance. You know it, each one of you, andyet you continue to patronize them."
"Hear him preach!" scoffed his cousin.
"Kitty, you are the source of all our information this evening," broke ina woman on her left. "Do tell us if it is true that Marcia Oldham'sengagement to Wilfred Ames is really announced."
Hayden, his eyes on Kitty's face, could positively see it stiffen. "Ireally know nothing about it," she answered coldly.
"But they are together so much."
"There are always a lot of men about Marcia." Kitty's tone was ominouslycurt.
"Oh, it is perfectly useless to try to get either Kitty or Bea Habershamto talk about Marcia," murmured Edith Symmes in Hayden's ear. "Theysimply will not do it, and it is sheer waste of breath to ask them anyquestions. Now, I happen to know that the engagement is not definitelyannounced." Hayden drew a long breath. It was as if some weight had beenlifted from him. "Marcia is odd, you know, awfully odd; but just thesame, in that slow, unyielding way of his, Wilfred is determined to marryher, and"--she lifted her eyes--"his mother is crazy, simply crazy aboutit. For a while she contented herself with merely clawing the airwhenever Marcia's name was mentioned; but after her nice, quiet, stupidworm of a Wilfred turned and definitely announced to her his intentions,she hustled herself into her black bombazine and has literally made ahouse-to-house canvas, telling everywhere her tale of woe. Poor old dame,it is rather hard on her!"
"Why?" asked Hayden, ice in his voice. "I should think that she wouldconsider her son an especially fortunate man."
His companion gave a short laugh of irrepressible amusement. "I wish shecould hear you say that, and might I be there to see the fun, from a safecorner, mind you! 'The shouting and the tumult' would be worth while, Ican assure you. Oh-h," with one of her affected little shivers, "I wishyou could hear some of the things she says about Marcia! Of course, onecan not exactly blame the poor old soul, for to say the least, Marcia,dear as she is, certainly lays herself open to conjecture."
Hayden did not reply. He was rudely and unmistakably giving theimpression of not having heard a word she said; but this attempt on hispart, instead of offending his thin and voluble companion, only seemed toamuse her inordinately.
"Do you know, Kitty," announced the plaintive-voiced lady across thetable, "that your butterflies are really the prettiest ones I've seen,prettier than Mrs. ----," mentioning the English actress, "for I got agood look at them at a reception the other day, and yours are quite aslovely as Bea's. Dear me!" in almost weeping envy. "I wish I could afforda chain of them."
Edith Symmes had a positive explosion of her noiseless, faintly maliciouslaughter. "Did you hear that?" she whispered to Hayden. "Whine-y Minnieover there is as rich as cream; and yet, she can't afford those dreamybutterflies, while Marcia Oldham, who hasn't a cent in the whole world,wears a set which, as usual, surpasses every other woman's. It is a mostamazing and amusing social riddle. Even you, who are evidently one of heradmirers, must admit that."
"I can't really afford anything worth while this year," sighed thedolorous lady characterized as whine-y Minnie, "but I must try and get anappointment with that fortune-teller, even if it is hideously expensive.What did you say her name is, Kitty?"
"An odd name," mimicked Hayden, catching his cousin's eye and unable toresist a school-boy temptation to tease her. "An odd name." He reproducedKitty's high lisping tones perfectly.
"Bobby, if you mock me, I'll give you something that will make you laughon the other side of your mouth," she said rapidly under her breath, andreverting to the phraseology of childhood. "Did you ask her name, Minnie?It _is_ an odd name. Mademoiselle Mariposa. Sometimes called 'The VeiledMariposa.'"
Hayden's laughing face stiffened as if he had received a shock from anelectric battery. Mariposa! Mariposa!--the butterfly. Horace Penfield'swords recurred to him; "I am willing to bet now that you will hear of TheVeiled Mariposa in a very short time, and that, too, from a mostunexpected source."