The Disturbing Charm

by Berta Ruck

  CHAPTER VI

  THE CHARM REMEMBERED

  "A is happy, oh, so happy! A is happy, B is not."

  Gilbert.

  The words of Golden remained with her friend all the way back to WembleyPark, down the Drive of little red-roofed villas, and up theshort-flagged path between the standard rose-bushes that led to herAunt's front door.

  Olwen took her latch-key from her bag and let herself in; as she did soshe heard the voice of the Aunt from the sitting-room, "Is that you,dear?"

  "Yes! I'll be down in a minute," she called back, and ran straightupstairs to the bedroom with the pink-curtained window that overlookedthe back lawn.

  She wanted to be alone for a moment or so. She had just told theSunburst Girl that what she wanted was amusement, but what she wouldhave liked now would have been solitude.

  Why had Golden unsettled her again like this, when she had been gettingalong so cheerfully?

  She sat down on the edge of the springy brass-railed bed drawn upagainst the window. It was open, and the breeze stirred in the curtainbehind her head, full of uneasy thought.... As she drew the hat-pinsfrom her head she glanced restlessly about her room, bright, girlishlypink-and-white, with the atmosphere of a room that had been lived inhappily enough. Mechanically Olwen's eyes fell upon the dressing-table,upon the crystal powder-box, upon the signed photograph of ProfessorHowel-Jones--about the frame of which there was twisted a long piece ofpink ribbon, sewn to----

  Why, it was that half-forgotten Charm of her days in France!

  Half scornfully she smiled now at the memories that it brought to her.

  It seemed another Olwen that she remembered, poring over typewrittendirections for the use of that Charm.... Fancy an Olwen who believed inthat! What a simple way out of the problems of Love, to wear a mascotand to have everything happen that one could wish!

  This did happen to some people, Olwen mused. To Golden van Huysen it hadcome without the help of any talisman. Golden possessed within her allthat quality of Charm of which that "inventor" claimed to have found thesecret. She was one of the lucky people who hold that secret withoutknowing what it is....

  But as for materializing it into something that might be annexed andworn----well, thought the new and more sophisticated Olwen, what hadbeen the success of that, so far? Half laughing now, she considered it.

  That other, romantic little Olwen had (in her first enthusiasm!) writtento that newspaper address for more of the Charm.

  No answer had been vouchsafed to her.

  Therefore her experiments had been limited to four. She had planted outher Charm upon four people: Miss Agatha Walsh, Mrs. Cartwright, littleMr. Brown, and herself.

  With what results?

  This older, wiser Olwen ticked them off now on her fingers.

  _One_, Agatha Walsh--successful. She had become engaged to her Gustaveand was perfectly happy.

  _Two_, Mrs. Cartwright--unsuccessful. Absolutely nothing had happened,thought Olwen, vexedly; her friend the writer had received not one wordof added attention from her Uncle, and had remained unclaimed except bythat work and those boys of hers.

  _Three_, little Mr. Brown--more than unsuccessful. Not only had hefailed to attract anybody on his own account, but he had shown symptomsof becoming attracted to a girl who didn't want him.

  _Four_, Herself--unsuccessful again. No results at all. You can't countas "results" two attacks of masculine dog-in-the-mangerishness, one boxof chocolates, a few ragging remarks, and an evening of having one'shand held in a boat. No results....

  That left one out of four cases in which the Charm had worked. _Only oneout of four people lucky in Love!_ Was it so the world over? One in fourmeant a quarter of the people in the world!... Well, perhaps that wasn'tsuch a very poor percentage, Olwen told herself more briskly as she gaveherself a little shake out of her meditations and ran downstairs to thesitting-room, where a cup of cocoa and a plate of those neutral objectsknown as War-biscuits had been set ready for her by the Aunt.

  This Aunt was Professor Howel-Jones's youngest sister, a small demurewoman of forty-five, with the air of constantly saying, "Of course _I_am the failure of the family." She had been left a widow very young,and it was her pose to give out that she had never been asked to marryagain. But her pretty eyes laughed, most disconcertingly, while the restof her face remained prim. She smoked, sang Clarice Mayne's songs andforbade Olwen to call her "Aunt" anything.

  "Thank you, Lizzie," said her niece, as this lady handed her over aletter that had arrived by the last post. Then, glancing at thesignature, Olwen gave a little exclamation of surprise. It was over thewell-known type of coincidence that brings a letter from some one almostimmediately following one's own thoughts of that some one.

  For the letter was signed, "Yours affectionately, AGATHA WALSH."

  Miss Walsh wrote from Paris, where she had just been having "Oh, such alovely time shopping with Madame Leroux, who had taken a month away fromthe hotel, and had been looking up some of the relations----"

  Followed an account of these relations who had evidently taken theEnglish _fiancee_ to their bosoms; Agatha, who had been English andprovincial, was rapidly becoming a good French _bourgeoise_.

  She went on, "Oh, and there is such news, Olwen. Figure to yourself thatGustave is coming to London with General Chose next week! Coming as hisorderly! Just think how lovely for me! Of course I shall come over atonce. I have not been in England since September! We must all meet, weand you and the Professor and dear Mrs. Cartwright, if she is in town!And won't it be like old times again! and oh, Olwen, I may even begetting married----"

  This last word was so heavily underlined that Olwen had to laugh, andthe Aunt asked her what she was so pleased at.

  "Oh, only that there _are_ some very happy people in the world evennow," said Olwen.

  "'Some' pessimist", murmured the Aunt, whose vocabulary was not of herepoch. "Never mind, Olwen; I have just remembered something. An admirerrang you up on the telephone this afternoon, and would you ring him upat the Regent Palace Hotel as soon as you came in----?"

  "What?" said Olwen, astonished. "What was his name, and why d'you thinkhe was an admirer, Lizzie?"

  "I think he admired you by the tone of his voice, in which he said,'Miss Olwen,'" said the demure Aunt, who had a private and vicariousdelight in watching all the activities of her young niece. "As for hisname----what was it now? Something rather out of the way."

  "I don't know," wondered Olwen. "Was it Mr. Ellerton?"

  "Oh, no; not our young Naval man who finished our last drop of whisky,by the way--no, I thought at once of him, dear, but it wasn't. Itwas--oh, yes! He said, '_Ask her to ring up Lieutenant Brown_.'"

  "What? _Not_ Little Mr. Brown?"

  "I couldn't tell you what height he was," murmured the Aunt, but alreadyOlwen, amused, had run out into the hall and had taken up the telephone.

  (Coincidence, then, had been busying itself with another of the Les Pinsparty!)

  After some little delay the Regent Palace found Mr. Brown.

  "Hul-_lo!_" the familiar boy's voice sounded over the wires as cheerilyas it had sounded over the waves and through the pine woods. "That you,Miss Olwen?... That's great. How are you?... That's top-hole.... Me? Oh,I'm fine, thanks. Yes; I'm up for a Board. I say, Miss Olwen, when canwe for-gather?... Can I see you tomorrow?... Dinner? What are youdoing?"

  Olwen said, "I'm going to a party at Mrs. Cartwright's----"

  "No! By Jove, are you? I say, I'm glad you mentioned it. I nearlyforgot. I'm booked for Mrs. C. too. Rang her up and she asked me to rollup at seven. Can I take you along? Miss Olwen, can't I have tea with youin town somewhere first?"

  "Er----" began Olwen, doubtfully. Truth to tell she had not wanted tosee very much of little Mr. Brown; she had not wished to encourage hisboyish sentimentality for her.

  He took up quickly, "Won't you have tea with me, here, tomorrow? I'vegot something very particular to say to you, Miss Olwen."

  "Oh?
What is it?"

  "Give you three guesses. I say, you know that mascot you gave me?"

  "Yes?"

  "Well! It's brought me luck, I reckon."

  "Oh, has it? Well, what is it?"

  "That's what I want to talk about tomorrow," came with a joyous gigglefrom the other end of the wires; evidently the speaker could scarcelywait until tomorrow's talk. "I say, can't you guess, Miss Olwen?Master's got off, this time."

  "Got _what_?"

  "_Off!_"

  "I can't quite hear what you say," called Olwen, puzzled. "Who has gotwhat?"

  "Oh, spare my blushes," begged the voice of Mr. Brown, and then broughtout the announcement, "I'm engaged to be married, Miss Olwen, that'swhat!"

  "Oh--_oh!_" gasped Olwen. "I'm so glad----"

  "Thanks! Thought you would be! You wait till you hear all about itthough. You prepare for a shock, Miss O. Tea tomorrow. Four o'clock.That suit you? I'll meet you at the door--you know, in the hall just infront of the big place where all the animals feed. Right! So long!Chin-chin!"

  "Good night!" called Olwen, and rang off. Then she stood gazing at thetelephone almost as if it were the small figure in khaki coming towardsher out of the forest.

  Engaged----Little Mr. Brown!

  The Charm had worked with him, then, after all?

  That made two out of four....

  Well, that was a better percentage than she had thought she might hopefor, thought Olwen as she turned away.

  Did it mean that after all _half_ the people in the world were lucky inlove?