CHAPTER XXIV
MAGIC GOLD
The days which followed were to be remembered with peculiar delight allGeorgiana's life. Each morning, in Doctor Craig's own car, accompaniedby her father, she went shopping. Mr. Warne could not use his strengthin following her into the shops, but he could sit at ease in a corner ofthe luxurious, closed landau, an extra pillow tucked behind his back, anelectric footwarmer at his feet, his slender form wrapped in a wonderfulfur-lined coat which his son-in-law to-be had put upon him with thereasonable explanation that it had proved to be too small for himself.From this sheltered position he could watch the hurrying crowds, studythe faces and find untiring interest in the happenings of the streets.
Not the smallest part of his pleasure lay in receiving his daughteragain each time she came hurrying out of some great portal, the tiniestof packages under her arm. Although Duncan, Doctor Craig's chauffeur,was always watching, ready to jump from his seat and assist her, she wasusually too quick for him to be of much use, though she always gave himher friendly smile and thanks for his eagerness. It may be said thatDuncan himself, a young Scotsman whose devotion to his master was nowaugmented by his admiration of his master's choice, enjoyed thoseshopping expeditions with an unusual zest.
"Oh, but these shops are wonderful, Father Davy!" Georgiana was fain tocry, as she came back with her purchases. "Of course I have to shut myeyes and simply fly past the counters where I'd like to buy everythingin sight. But I do find such glorious little bargains, such treasures ofleft-overs--you can't think how I'm making my money hold out! I'm sothankful for all my training in turning and twisting; it's such a helpjust now!"
If Father Davy rejoiced within himself that the days of "left-overs" forGeorgiana were all but past and that there was to be no more "turningand twisting," at least with material things, he did not say so. Insteadhe surveyed the contents of the small packages with eyes which werenearly as bright as hers, and made her supremely content with hisapproval.
The climax of the shopping came on the morning of the third day.Georgiana returned to the car after a more than usually long absence,during which, for the first time, Mr. Warne had become slightly weary ofusing his eyes in watching the ever-moving throng, and had dropped off,in his warm corner, into a little refreshing nap. He wakened to findGeorgiana beside him, the car moving uptown by a less congested routethan they had taken before, and his daughter's hand firmly clasping his.
He looked round at her and saw, to his surprise and dismay, that herheavy lashes were thick with tears. But she smiled through them, andbade him wait to hear the reason until they were in the Park, where eachmorning a drive, according to Doctor Craig's suggestion, was takenbefore the swift run back to the downtown square.
The moment they were well within the precincts and had entered upon theless frequented drive which she had asked for, Georgiana turned to herfather. She held up something before him, and, looking at it, hediscovered the little old bag of dark blue silk which her mother hadfashioned from her own wedding gown, and which had contained thetreasured gold pieces which had made it possible for Georgiana to have awedding gown of her own.
"It's nearly empty now," said the girl softly. "It's bought so much,Father Davy; I've begun to think it was magic gold! Everybody--all theshopgirls and women--have helped me spend it. It was as if they knew Imust make it go a long way and wanted to do it. I really think"--shegave a tremulous little laugh--"it was a good thing I wasn't dressed tomatch the car I came in, or they never would have taken the trouble tohunt up the things I wanted--at the prices I could pay. The fact that Ilooked like a shopgirl, too, was such a help!"
"A shopgirl!" repeated her father. "You, my dear? What would Jeffersonsay to that? No matter how you were dressed you could not possibly lookanything but what you are."
"Oh, but, Father Davy, dear, you don't know what many and many of theshopgirls, especially these city girls, look like. There are suchbeautiful faces among them, such soft voices, such really charmingmanners. Of course there are plenty of the other kind, the cheap andcommon sort, but so many of the nice kind! I don't mind looking likesome of them, indeed I don't. And the fact that I'm wearing this littleold summer serge suit, now in December, with this hat, which any clevergirl would know I made myself--well, it has helped me to interest theirsympathies in my search. And now I've found"--her voice sank--"I'vefound what I couldn't have expected to find in all New York. And I'm soglad--so glad--I can't tell you. Look!"
She slowly unwrapped a long, slim, cylinderlike parcel, and brought toview what it contained. Inclosed in its pasteboard protector, to keep itunwrinkled in its soft perfection, lay a roll of dark blue silk, of asmall brocaded pattern.
Georgiana silently laid the little blue-silk bag upon it, and held upthe two so that her father could see how close was the resemblance. Thecolour was precisely the same, making allowances for the slight dimmingof age; while the design of the brocade was so similar that the twomight have been made in the same period, if not by the same hand.
Mr. Warne studied the two fabrics intently for a moment, then lookedinto his daughter's eyes. He was too moved to speak. When she herselfcould talk again composedly she told him what she meant to do. The bluesilk, made by her own hands in the three days left her, was to be herwedding gown. She had bought a little fine lace, fit for such a use,with which to make the finishing; and no matter what Doctor Jeffersonmight think of such a substitute for the customary bridal attire, forherself she should be far happier than in the finest white silk or satinthat could be bought.
"God bless you, my little girl!" Father Davy murmured, wiping his eyes,their clear blue depths misty.
His thin hand clasped the little blue bag again, his heart ached withthe sorrow which is part joy and with the joy which is part sorrow.Nothing his Phoebe's daughter could have done would have proclaimed herso truly the child of her mother as this unexpected act. He looked againand again at the roll of blue silk in Georgiana's lap.
"How strange it seems that you could find it," he said, "now wheneverything is so different from the fashions of twenty-five years ago."
"It's a revival, the silk man said. He explained that the styles of themoment call for the fabrics and patterns of the past, and that it's aconstant revolution, bringing back every once in so often what isold-fashioned between times. But he himself was surprised that the verynewest thing on his shelves was the one that matched the old. I think hewas almost as pleased as I was--without knowing anything about it,except that I was very anxious to find the silk. And now to hurry homeand make it!"
Her unconscious use of the word "home" struck pleasantly upon Mr.Warne's ears. He himself was beginning to feel very much at home in theold square. Small wonder, since he had found there the son he had longedfor all his married life.
Back at the house Georgiana fell to work without delay. She had toldMrs. MacFayden her intention, and had enlisted the warm interest of thatmotherly Scotswoman. She had offered Doctor Craig's young guest the useof her own sitting-room, with that of the sewing-machine which stoodthere, and here presently Georgiana unrolled her breadths of silk andlaid upon them the pattern she had selected.
And now, indeed, she was glad of the long training in the dressmaker'strade, glad of the clever art she had cultivated for so many years. Itwas to her a simple enough matter to fashion herself a dress whichshould be in form and line all that could be desired. To do it out ofunbroken yards of material, without necessity for piecing and patching,was a delightful novelty. To accomplish it in three days was only amatter of working at top speed, with fingers which flew at the behest ofa brain which also worked like magic at its task.
During this period Doctor Craig himself was more than ordinarily busy,to judge by his infrequent appearances at his home. For those last threedays before his marriage he was out of town, returning only on theevening preceding the date set. But Georgiana found no lack in him as alover, for during the brief moments when he could be with her he madethe most of his opportunity, letting he
r see plainly that she was alwaysin his thoughts, and giving her every evidence that he was the happiestof expectant bridegrooms. Each day a great box of flowers was brought toher, in which she revelled as she had only dreamed of doing. While hewas away he called her up each evening on the telephone, managing tosend her somehow, over the wire, a sense of his nearness and hisdevotion. Altogether those few days brought to Georgiana an experienceunique in a lifetime, and one which she would gladly have prolonged.
Then, it seemed quite suddenly, it was Wednesday morning, and the sunwas shining brilliantly in at Georgiana's windows over a thousandroof-tops. The marriage was to occur at noon, because, for a bride whosebridal finery was limited to a little frock of dark blue silk and whosetraveling attire was the plainest of ready-to-wear suits and simplest ofsmall hats, without furs or furbelows of any sort, it seemed the onlyfitting hour.
It had been arranged that the two essential witnesses to the ceremonyshould be two close friends of Doctor Craig's, an elderly couple whosename, if the Warnes had known, was one of the old names of the city,standing for the bluest of blue Knickerbocker blood, though for onlymoderate wealth and for no ostentation whatever. Georgiana had beggedthat no other guests be asked, being anxious, on her father's account,to have the whole affair over with the least possible agitation for him.To this Doctor Craig had cordially agreed.
At eleven o'clock, however, a third guest arrived, a most unexpectedguest, who with a ruddy, eager face, came running up the old stone stepsof the house, a great florist's box under his arm. He demanded of theboy Thomas instant entrance, and waved back at a taxicab driver thesummons to bring along a much larger box which was nearly filling thatvehicle.
Georgiana, peeping out of her father's window, beheld, and was off anddown the stairs before Thomas could fairly begin his explanation thatMiss Warne was engaged and could not be intruded upon at this hour.
"O Jimps!"
"Well, well, George! You came pretty near giving me the slip, didn'tyou? But not quite--thanks to Doctor Craig."
Georgiana showed her surprise. "Did he let you know?"
She had led him instantly inside the library and had unconsciouslyclosed the door all but in the face of the interested Thomas, ignoringboth florist's box and big package, which that young man would havebrought in to her. She had both hands on James Stuart's shoulders, andwas looking him straight in the eyes, which looked as straightly back.If there had ever been the beginning of romance between these two,clearly it was far in the background now. Never did brother and sisterface each other with their relationship more clearly defined.
"I should say he did--since you didn't! What did you mean by trying tosteal a march on us all like this? Jeannette is furious, though ofcourse she isn't strong enough to come, wild though she is to do it. Shewanted me to tell you that she'll have revenge when she gets about, andthat you won't escape her wedding presents. Meanwhile she's sent yousomething she had on hand, because there was no time to get anythingelse. She thought you would find a use for it somehow. She sent her lovewith it--and I can tell you that's pretty valuable."
"Of course it is! Jimps, I'm so pleased, so wonderfully pleased that youare here--I can't tell you!"
"Then, why in the name of old friendship didn't you send for me?" Stuartdemanded, for plainly this still rankled. "Evidently Doctor Craig hadmore belief in that than you did."
"I wanted to, indeed I did, Jimps, dear, but I thought--I wassure--well----"
Stuart laughed. "Thought I wanted to save every penny for my ownwedding, eh? I rather guess I can squander a few on yours. I wouldn'thave missed it for worlds, though I'd give a good deal if _my_sweetheart could have been here, too--and so would she, bless her! She'scoming on splendidly, George--looks almost herself again. In a monthmore her doctor will let up on restrictions."
They talked fast, with an eye on the library clock, and when its deep,slow chime proclaimed the half-hour Georgiana rose.
"I must go now. Come and stay with father till the hour arrives, willyou? It will steady him to see you. Not but that he seems as serene asever, but I know inside it's a pretty big strain for him."
"All right, I'd like nothing better, since I can't see you any longer.Where's the principal man for this occasion, anyhow? Can he take thetime to be married, or is he liable to send up word he's detained? Youcan't put your finger on these popular surgeons till they're here."
"I had a telephone message from him an hour ago," Georgiana assured him,with a conscious little smile. "I really think he'll be here, though nottill the last minute, probably."
"If he isn't I'll go after him with a gun. If he doesn't show up I'dmarry you myself if it wasn't for a previous engagement," dared Stuart,with a happy laugh.
"Never! If I couldn't have my man I'd never marry anybody," shewhispered, as she turned to look back at him for an instant, her hand onthe library door.
Stuart caught the hand, and whispered back: "George, is it like thatwith you, too?" She nodded. His face flamed. "It's wonderful, isn't it?Unbelievable!"
She nodded again. They looked into each other's faces, smiling through amist of happiness, then Georgiana flung open the door and ran out intothe hall.
Stuart followed, caught up the big box and ran after her up the stairs."Here," he said under his breath, as they reached the top, "be sure toopen this before you go. Jean wanted you to wear it away with you; shesaid you'd be sure to need it, traveling. It's a beauty; it just camehome for her."
He gave her the big box at the door of her room, while she pointed himdown the hall to her father's door. He patted her arm with a brotherlygesture, and hurried along.
Inside her room, with a glance at the clock, she opened the box. Underthe tissue lay a soft, luxurious-feeling mass, all dark blue cloth of avelvety texture, with glimpses of dark fur. She opened it, with a sighof pleasure, for it meant that now she might look fit to be Dr.Jefferson Craig's traveling companion, with this cloak, fur-lined,all-enveloping, to slip on over the plain little suit which was not halfwarm enough for severe winter weather.
"It's the last of my 'Semi-Annuals,'" she said to herself, "and thebest. How dear of her! And oh, how good it is that Jimps is here! Now Ihave a family, a real family to see me married--a father and a brother!"
The clock again--warning her to fly. She had ever been rapid atdressing--she had never been quicker. A cold plunge--the second thatmorning, bringing the blood leaping--the donning of fair garments lyingready to her hand--the arrangement of hair in the old way, simplicityitself--then the slipping over her white shoulders of the blue silkgown. When it was fastened Georgiana went to stand by her window,looking out with eyes which did not see.