Molly Brown's Orchard Home

by Nell Speed

  CHAPTER XV.

  MR. KINSELLA'S INDIAN SUMMER.

  The next morning Molly arranged a tray with a very inviting breakfastand took it to Elise's room. She found her still in bed, looking verywoebegone and wistful.

  "Oh, Molly! You should not spoil me so. I was getting up, at leastthinking about getting up. I did not sleep very well at first andtowards morning went off into such a deep slumber that I could not wakeup," exclaimed the girl.

  "I love to spoil people, besides you are always the energetic one andmight for once be allowed a little morning snooze. I hope Judy and I didnot keep you awake. She had so many adventures to tell me that it wastwo o'clock before we quieted down. She got into the wrong train atVersailles and was landed at Chartres with only six sous in her pocket.With part of this wealth she sent me this postal which has just come,fearing when she sent it that she might have to spend the night inChartres. Only read it and see what a plight she was in," said Molly,handing the smudgy, pencilled postal to Elise.

  "Dearest Molly: Here I am alone in Chartres, where as far as I can seethere is not one friendly soul. Got on the wrong train at Versailles.Have five sous left after buying this postal but am not discouraged.Will try to sell my sketch box. Have no jewelry but have enoughgingerbread to keep me from starving. Will sit up all night in station.Get Pierce to come for me in morning and bring my toothbrush. Will behome soon as I get some money. Judy."

  "Guess whom she met first in Chartres: Frances Andrews and hergrandmother! Then Mr. Kinsella. But before she did anything, she soldher sketches for enough to get her here third class on the train. Shehas made up with Frances and is now as enthusiastic about her as sheused to be down on her. What a Judy she is, anyhow!

  "Mr. Kinsella has been here twice this morning to ask if he could seeyou. He is afraid you are ill because you are sleeping so late. He toldme to beg you not to go to the art school this morning but to take aholiday with him. He says this wonderful weather will have to breaksoon, as it is too unseasonable to last."

  Molly's heart was filled with joy to see the effect her words had on herfriend.

  Elise finished the last crumb of _croissant_ and drained the last dropof coffee. "It does seem best to take advantage of the good weather fora little outing, and, besides, the model we have is thoroughlyuninteresting this week."

  Elise bounced out of bed and Molly noticed that all trace of her badnight had left her face. Elise did not remember that only the day beforeshe had thought the model too interesting to think of cutting work forthe day!

  Judy, peeping from her balcony where Molly had been spoiling her, too,with breakfast in bed, saw Mr. Kinsella and Elise start off on theirjaunt.

  "Molly, Molly!" she screamed. "I have made a most wonderful discovery:Elise and Mr. Kinsella are--are--well, seekin'! As they went off justnow there was something in the way he looked at her and she looked athim that made me know it's so."

  "Well, old mole, if you had not been as blind as a bat you would haveseen that all winter. I was dead to tell you, so you would not makeElise so jealous of you, but mother would not let me. She thought itwould not be fair to Elise. I knew if you knew you would becareful----" but Judy could not let Molly finish.

  "Careful! Elise jealous of me! Uncle Tom and me! Oh, Molly, Molly, howabsurd! Why, Mr. Kinsella has kept close to me to be ready to catchPierce by the heels and pull him out, in case I should decide to gobblehim up. I thought everybody knew that. The only reason he decided to gooff on this trip was that I had a heart-to-heart talk with him and toldhim that he need not have any fear of me, that I was--was--but nevermind what I told him. Anyhow, he is not afraid I'll make a meal of hisbeloved Pierce."

  "How about Pierce?" asked Molly. "Is he, too, relieved at his assuredsafety?"

  "That kid!" sniffed Judy. "He is not in the least in love with anythingbut his art. I fancy it would bore him to death if he thought Uncle Tomand I had had that talk. He likes me just as he would another boy."

  Molly felt very happy that the clouds were all clearing away and herfriends were behaving as friends should. She went off to her lecturehoping that Mr. Kinsella and Elise would quickly come to anunderstanding, and glad that she and her beloved Judy were once more onthe old confidential terms.

  Mr. Kinsella and Elise did come to an understanding and thatunderstanding was perfectly satisfactory to both of them. They spent awonderful day together, following the trail Judy had taken the daybefore, the morning at St. Cloud, with luncheon later on at Versailles.But they did not dance with the wedding parties they met, nor did theytake the wrong train and go to Chartres instead of back to Paris.

  It seemed so marvelous to Mr. Kinsella that this young, handsome,brilliant girl should find anything in him to care for, middle-aged,careworn man that he felt himself to be. On the other hand, Elise wasequally astonished that a man of Mr. Kinsella's keen intelligence andexperience could put up with a foolish, silly girl like herself. Heendeavored to make her understand what a remarkable young woman shereally was; and she tried equally hard to explain to him that his agewas one of his chief attractions in her eyes, but that his virtues wereso numerous it was hard to tell which ones made her love him so much.

  At any rate, they came back to Paris with a much better opinion ofthemselves than they had taken away. Mr. Kinsella looked more than everlike a gray-haired Pierce. He said he had taken a dip in the fountain ofeternal youth and never intended to get a day older than he was. Elise'seyes were sparkling and her cheeks all aglow. Her mother could not havecomplained that she lacked animation now or that her sallow complexionneeded steaming.

  When they returned to the studio in Rue Brea, they found Mrs. Brown,Molly and Judy trying not to look expectant, but, as Judy said, "readyto pop with curiosity." Elise ran to Mrs. Brown, and throwing her armsaround her dear chaperone, hid her blushing face on her shoulder; whileMr. Kinsella, with boyish ingenuousness, said: "Well, what do you think?Elise and I have gone and done it!"

  Enthusiastic congratulations followed and no one asked the question:"Done what?"

  "We thought at first we would not tell for a few days, but keep oursecret; but I have been persuading Elise that there is no use in waitingfor wedding finery. She is beautiful enough in the clothes she has. Andwe have determined to go to Rome, where Mrs. Huntington now is, and bemarried immediately."

  "That will be splendid," declared Mrs. Brown, "but we are sorry not tohave it here, so we can all be present. I hate to give up my girl, but,of course, she must go straight to her mother."

  "The only thing I don't like about it is for me, of all people, to bethe one to interrupt Elise's studies at the art school, after all mytalk about its being so important for her to get in a winter of hard,continuous work! I am afraid Mrs. Huntington will think I am not veryconsistent," laughed the happy fiance.

  Molly was wondering, too, what Mrs. Huntington would think of the match.She hoped Mr. Kinsella had told Elise of his former attachment to hermother, and that Elise would be prepared for the more than probabletaunts from that far from considerate lady. Mr. Kinsella was well awareof the disposition of his prospective mother-in-law, and had preparedElise by divulging to her the fact that he had at one time been engagedto her mother; but he spared her the knowledge of her perfidy. Mrs.Huntington had already told her daughter of what she designated aconquest of Tom Kinsella, as she was ever inclined to boast of thenumber of scalps of former suitors and to wear them as ornaments.

  Mrs. Huntington proved to be very much pleased with the alliance. Shehad tried to inform herself of Mr. Kinsella's affairs and had beendelighted to learn that he was really rich. She was too keen an observernot to know that Mr. Kinsella's interest in Elise was not altogetherbecause of her father, nor yet her artistic talent. She had predicted toherself from the first that Tom Kinsella was falling in love with herdaughter, and felt that her wisest course was to take herself off andnot interfere in any way.

  Elise, accompanied by her adoring lover and Pierce (Pierce rather dazedby the rapidity of the pro
ceedings), and chaperoned by a lady producedby the ever resourceful Marquis d'Ochte, made her journey to Rome. Shefound her mother in a most gracious humor and not even inclined toobject to the marriage being hurried. Elise had rather feared she wouldobstruct their plans with a plea for wedding clothes, but her motherknew very well when it was wise to acquiesce. She gave in verygracefully and actually consented to Elise's being married in a dressthat was not absolutely new nor of the latest cut.

  She felt repaid for her amiability when Mr. Kinsella informed her thathis wife intended, with his entire approval, to make over the bulk ofher fortune to her mother on her twenty-fifth birthday.

  "I have enough for all of us, but I know you will be happier if you havean independent fortune," said the happy bridegroom. "I am so grateful toyou for letting me have Elise that I wish I could do something to showmy appreciation."

  "All I can say is that Elise is a very fortunate girl," said Mrs.Huntington; and there was a glitter in her eye that looked hard but itwas really an unaccustomed tear trying to form itself.

  And so Elise and Mr. Kinsella went off on their honeymoon. We will noteven try to find out where they went, but be glad to know that theyfound each other more and more delightful and congenial as time passed.Mr. Kinsella gave the impression more than ever of being a prematurelygray young man as happiness smoothed out the few lines in his face.Elise lost altogether the hard, bitter expression that had occasionallymarred her beauty, and quickly blossomed into the sweet, lovely womanthat Mother Nature had planned her to be but that her own mother hadblindly and selfishly tried to nip in the bud.