Brenda's Bargain: A Story for Girls

by Oliver Optic

  XVII

  IDEAL HOMES

  The triangular quarrel between Concetta, Haleema, and Angelina hadreached such a state that the three spoke only when actually under theeyes of their elders. Even as Maggie had felt jealousy at first, didAngelina now feel jealousy of Concetta.

  On pleasant spring Sundays when Angelina walked out with John she wouldtell him her griefs, and so far as he could he would sympathize withher; but when she talked of running away, he would simply laugh.

  "Why, if you wish to go back to Shiloh, I'm sure Miss Julia would letyou; you have only to tell her and she would let you off."

  Then Angelina would shake her head. "Ah! you have no idea how importantI am. Why, I know they couldn't get along without me, and I'm sure thatif I should leave, everything would stop. I'm surprised that you shouldsuggest it, John."

  "But you talked of running away."

  "Well, so I might, if Concetta keeps on acting in that forward way, asif she were the most important person here. No, I won't desert MissJulia, even if Miss Brenda does show so much partiality. I suppose it'smy Spanish blood that makes me take it so hard."

  John looked at Angelina bewildered.

  "Spanish blood! why, we're not Spanish; I hadn't heard of it."

  "There, John, you haven't a bit of romance; I should think that youcould tell that we're Spanish just by looking in the glass, and I'm sureSpain and Portugal are very near together, and though mother says shewas born a Portuguese she may be Spanish. A great many people arebeginning to sympathize with me on account of the war."

  There! the secret was out. The war with Spain had now come to theforeground, and Angelina wished in some way to be a part of it and ofthe general excitement. Had John been old enough to enlist she mighthave worked off some of her energy in urging him to do so. As it was,she amused those who had known her the longest by talking about herfears for her own safety; for although Manila Bay was an Americanvictory, "of course," she would say, "every one has a prejudice againstpersons of Spanish blood," and Angelina would raise her handkerchief toher eyes, as if she were an exiled princess of Castile.

  John only laughed at Angelina when she talked in this way to him, andwished that he could enlist and go toward the South, where the troopswere gathering for the war.

  "I should like to be a nurse," she then said, "for really this work herewith these younger girls is very tiresome, and I don't think that MissSouth and Miss Julia properly appreciate me."

  "You are ungrateful," John would reply solemnly. "Why, if it wasn't forthese young ladies I'm sure that mother wouldn't be alive now; she nevercould have lived if we'd stayed on in Moon Street, and it was justthrough them that we were able to have a home of our own, for those barerooms in Moon Street were not a home."

  John was an industrious youth, working hard, saving money, and studyingevenings. He was devoted to Manuel, now a strong boy of nine, andanxious that he, too, should have a good education. Angelina'sflightiness troubled him, but he hoped that she would in time outgrowit; for though the younger, he always felt that he was in the positionof an older brother, and when it came to any particular action, Angelinausually took his advice, after first demurring, and professing that shewould rather do something else. Now he felt that he was right in tryingto make her keep her place at the Mansion; but even while he was tryingto persuade her, he could see that Angelina was thinking of somethingelse.

  But the war did not entirely occupy the thoughts of Julia and Pamela andthe others at the Mansion, and the former went on with the preparationsfor her special exhibition after the fashion that she had planned longbefore the fateful sixteenth of February. Gretchen and Maggie were herchief assistants in carrying out her plans, and they went about with anair of mystery that was particularly tantalizing to the others.

  "What do you suppose it's going to be?" asked Concetta, with two buttonsconspicuously fastened to her waist bearing the motto, "Remember theMaine."

  "Some kind of a picture show, I guess; I saw two boxes of thumb tacks onMiss South's table. I tried to make Maggie tell, but she's as still as amouse; she always is. Don't she make you think of one?"

  "Yes, she does," replied Haleema. "I've a good mind to peek in now;there's nobody about."

  At that moment Angelina came around the corner.

  "I'm exceedingly surprised," she said, in her haughtiest manner, "thatyou should try to pry into what doesn't concern you."

  "I didn't."

  "Yes, you were trying to."

  "No, I wasn't, and, besides, I have a perfect right to; I belong to MissNorthcote's class. So there! You needn't stand and watch me."

  "I'll report you to Miss Dreen," said Angelina. "It's your day in thekitchen. I remember that."

  Concetta's face clouded as Angelina passed on to the kitchen.

  "I wish people would attend to their own business."

  Concetta had hoped that Miss Dreen, who was a little absent-minded,would fail to notice her absence. Another grievance was added to thelong list that she cherished against Angelina.

  But after all they were not kept so very long in suspense, for on theSaturday after this little episode the doors were thrown open, and allthe girls marched in to see what really had been going on behind theclosed doors. Those in the secret were proud enough, and Maggie inparticular displayed an unexpected talkativeness. At least she was ableto explain the why and wherefore of the exhibit quite to thesatisfaction of all who heard her.

  The first exclamations of pleasure were called out by the sight that mettheir eyes. One side of the room had been divided by partitions to maketwo rooms. Each was furnished completely, and even those girls who weretoo old to play with dolls were fascinated by the house; for each of thetwo rooms was fitted up with absolute perfectness, from the wall-paperto the tiny cushions on the sofa. They were on a scale large enough foreverything to be seen in detail, but a degree or two smaller than lifesize. Pamela justly prided herself on the completeness of it all, andthis completeness had been made possible only by the kindness of Julia,who had told her to spare no expense in having the house furnishedexactly as she wished it to be. She was safe in giving this widepermission, since Pamela's friends all knew that extravagance wasabsolutely impossible with her, and that she would use another's moneymore carefully even than her own.

  Both rooms were furnished like sitting-rooms, but they differed utterlyin style. Maggie put it correctly by saying that one was "warm andfussy-looking," while the other was "cool and restful."

  The floor-covering on the former, painted to imitate a real carpet, wasof bright colors and florid design. The reds and greens of which it wascomposed were just a little off the tone of the flowered wall-paper,--agreenish background with stiff bunches of red flowers, "that look as ifthey were ready to jump out at you," as one of the girls put it.

  The little chairs and couch were upholstered in bright brocade velvet,each one different from the others, and none in harmony with the paperor with each other. On the tiny centre-table were one or two clumsypieces of bric-a-brac, and the pictures on the walls were small chromosin ugly gilt frames. There were bright cushions on the divan, andcrocheted tidies on every chair.

  Nellie thought this room "perfectly beautiful." Her cousin's wife, whosehusband was a prosperous teamster, had one almost like it, she said. "Ohwhat lovely easy-chairs! I hope I'll have a parlor as elegant as thissome day."

  The other room did not please her, it was too plain; whereas Concetta,within whose breast there must have lingered some remnant of Italianartistic instinct, thought it altogether beautiful.

  This second room had a plain, dull-green wall-paper, on which hung a fewphotographs suitably framed. There was matting on the floor, and in thecentre a green art-square. The chairs were of rattan, in gracefulshapes, with green cushions, and one of artistic design in black woodwith broad arms was comfortably cushioned for a lounging-chair. Abookcase, also of black wood, was filled with plainly bound books. Onthe rattan centre-table was a tall green vase with a single rose in i
t,and near by two or three small volumes of good literature. The ornamentson the mantle-piece were few and well chosen, and each had an evidentreason for being there. The simple gilt moulding at the top was incontrast with the fussy frieze in the other room, and the plain netdraperies at the windows were much more agreeable than the lace curtainsin the other room, with their elaborate pattern and plush lambrequins.

  Each girl as she came in was given a small blank-book, and was asked tonote down what she thought of each room, and to state her reasons forpreferring one room to another.

  "Ought we to like one more than another?" Inez asked anxiously.

  "Oh, Inez," said Haleema, "you are like sheep, you never stand alone,"which, although not an exact rendering of the proverb, at least partlydescribed the disposition of little Inez, who was far from independent.

  "My book isn't half full," said Phoebe, after she had written forseveral minutes.

  "Ah, that isn't all," rejoined Maggie.

  "No, indeed," added Pamela, who had been listening with much interest toall the comments. "You have entirely neglected this end of the room. Youwill probably find more to do here than at the other end."

  Here the wall had been covered with a plain gray denim, against whichwere pinned samples of wall-paper of every quality and color. Some werequiet and in good taste, as well as inexpensive; others were evidentlycostly, and at the same time loud and glaring. Each piece was numbered,and the girls were asked to write in their books their opinion of thesesamples.

  Again, on a table near the wall-paper lay a number of cards with piecesof dress fabric fastened to them, and the girls were asked to statewhich would probably hold their color the best, which would be suitablefor a working dress, which for a durable winter dress; and near certainbright-colored fabrics were trimmings of various sorts, and they wereasked to tell which would best harmonize with the fabric.

  "It ought not to be so very hard for you to answer these questions,"said Julia, as she found Concetta scowling over her blank-book. "I knowthat Miss Northcote has had much to say to you this winter aboutfurniture and wall-papers, and you ought to remember the reasons she hasgiven for calling one thing more beautiful than another. Then, as todress materials, why, think of our shopping expeditions, and the troubleI have taken to make you understand what is best."

  "Yes, 'm," said Concetta. "If there's to be a prize, I'll try to preferthe best things; but if there won't be one, why, I think I'll just saywhat I really think."

  "Oh, Concetta! Concetta! you are hopeless," responded Julia; and thoughshe smiled slightly at this frank confession, she felt a littledepressed that her winter's work should have had no better effect.

  At five o'clock the books were all collected and put in Pamela's carefor discussion at the next meeting of her class, and a few minutes laterthe aunts or cousins of the girls, as the case might be, began toappear. Their "oh's" and "ah's" were genuine as they looked at the tworooms; the numbers were about equally divided between those whopreferred the restful room and those who preferred the fussy and gaudyone. They were greatly surprised to find that the more showy room hadhad no more money spent on it than the other. To them it looked much themore expensive; whereas to Julia and Nora and the others it was asurprise that the cheap and shoddy things of the gaudy sitting-room hadcost as much as those in the really aesthetic apartment.

  All had been invited to the six-o'clock tea, and this had been designedto show the skill in cooking of some of the number,--or perhaps I shouldsay skill in the preparation of a meal, since much that was to go on thetable was prepared under the eyes of the visitors.

  The dainty sandwiches, for instance, were so prepared. There were threeor four different kinds, of lettuce, of cheese, and some with nuts laidbetween, to the great surprise of Mrs. McSorley. She had associated withthe name only the sandwich of the ham variety. Then the cold chicken,creamed and served in the chafing-dish, and put steaming on the plates;the chocolate that Maggie prepared on a tiny gas range, crowned withwhipped cream that she had whipped before their very eyes,--all thesethings had their effect. When Luisa showed the blanc-mange that she hadmade, "without any flavor of soup," Haleema remarked so mischievously,that Luisa had to admit that earlier in the season she had preparedsome blanc-mange in a kettle which had not been washed since somestrong-flavored soup had been contained in it. Each girl had one specialdish that she had made the day before,--cake, or biscuit, or jelly. Theresults were very satisfactory to the admiring relatives, who went homeparticularly pleased with the Mansion and the young ladies, as well aswith their own particular loaf of cake or mould of jelly, as the casemay be. Each one, too, carried away a fine photograph of the Mansion,under which Pamela had written one of her ever applicable Ruskinquotations.

  "The girls to spin and weave and sew, and at a proper age to cook all proper ordinary food exquisitely; the youth of both sexes to be disciplined daily in the studies."

  This was at the bottom of the card, and at the top she had written:

  "Never look for amusement, but be always ready to amuse."

  "There," said Julia, after the last visitor had departed, "I don'tsuppose that any of our guests know that we are college women, norprobably have they heard the time-worn discussion as to whether collegewomen are capable of understanding the management of a house, but itstrikes me that we made a pretty good showing this evening."

  "Ah," replied Miss South, "I am older than you, and I can say prettyconfidently that no one need stand up for the college woman as homemaker; she needs no defence. More than half the college graduates ofto-day have homes of their own that are well managed, and have a highsanitary standard, and--but there, I am talking as if you needed to beconvinced, whereas this is very far from being the case."

  "Indeed, Miss South," said Nora, "even I, who am not a college girl--"

  "Oh, but you are; don't forget the good work that you did as a specialat Radcliffe."

  "Thank you, Julia, but I'm only slightly a college girl. Well, even Ialways have plenty of ammunition ready when one or two persons I mightmention have things to say about the uselessness of a collegeeducation."

  "You are a good champion in any cause, and we thank you," said Julia,slipping her arm in Nora's, and making a low courtesy.

  This exhibit of Pamela's was the end of the festivities at the Mansion.The evenings were growing warm, and the interests of the girls wereturning in other directions. The meetings of the League were regularsewing circles, and the busy needles of the members struggled throughthe heavy denim that was to be used in comfort bags for the soldiers, orthey hemmed flannel bandages, or applied themselves to other useful bitsof work suggested by the Woman's Auxiliary of the Aid Association. Whileothers worked, Angelina read aloud to them, for she was fond of reading;and those girls who had friends or relatives in the regiments that weregoing South were proud of the fact, and referred to it often.

  But Maggie--poor Maggie! It seemed to her that she had reason to beprouder than any of them, for she not only had a letter, but aphotograph, from a soldier, and to her Tim was a really heroic figure inhis blouse and campaign hat. And the words had a sacred meaning, "I'mgoing to do something great before you see me again; I'll do somethinggreat, and by and by we'll have that home of our own."

  She could not talk about this to any one, for the mention of Tim's namestill aroused a very bitter spirit in Mrs. McSorley, and Maggie fearedthat if she confided even in Miss Julia, Tim's plans might in some waycome to Mrs. McSorley's ears. Although living now afar from herimmediate authority, Maggie still stood in great awe of her aunt, andthough the rather scanty praises bestowed on her showed a change in Mrs.McSorley's spirit, Maggie knew how unwise it would be to speak to her ofTim.

  Of the staff, Brenda was the only one who had little to say about thewar. She had not written to Arthur nor he to her since the Artists'Festival; but she heard of him indirectly through Ralph and Agnes. Hisregiment had gone to Tampa before the end of May, and if he was waitingfor her to reply to that unans
wered letter, he waited in vain. Brenda,when once she had made up her mind, was very determined. She showed,however, that she was not happy. Her face had lost its color, and shehad less animation.

  "It all comes from staying indoors so much. Really, you must come withus to Rockley," her parents insisted.

  But Brenda would not change her mind. She was now taking the place ofAnstiss, who had been called home on account of the illness of hermother.

  "I did not know that you could be so industrious, Brenda. Have you anyidea how many hundred of these comfort bags you have made this spring?"

  "No," said Brenda, so shortly that Edith knew that she had made amistake in asking the question.