“Why, it’s Miss Aster! It really is, isn’t it? Oh Miss Aster, wherever did you come from? Oh, come in, come in! Ef I’d only knowed you was coming, I’d uv hed the house as fine as a new pin. But it’s all upset, an’ I’m ashamed. Come in, come in, and set down, and please excuse.”
“Don’t worry about the house, Tilly. I’ve come to see you and find out how you are. But what’s the matter? Tilly, you’ve been crying. Has something happened? Tell me about it.”
Astra stooped and picked up the crisp apron, and Tilly gathered it to her face and buried her tears in its clean folds.
“Oh Miss Astra, I shouldn’t be troublin’ you with my worries.” She lifted her tearstained face in an attempt to stem the tide of sorrow, but the tears continued to drip from her lashes and the end of her plain little insignificant nose.
“There, Tilly, sit down in this chair and tell me all about it,” said Astra, drawing up another chair beside the old woman. “Now, what is the trouble? Anything I can help with?”
“It’s me son-in-law!” burst forth the woman, burying her face once more in the apron for another fall of tears, and then rousing and lifting her eyes again, struggling for control. “He’s that set on having a new car that he’s determined ta get my poor little pension ta hep pay for it.”
“Oh, but he can’t do that!” said Astra.
“No, but he says he can. He says I’m ta come live with him and Matie, me daughter. That it’s extravagant fer us ta keep up two houses, and ef I’m with them I can hep worruk, and I ken stay with the childer when they goes out nights. That ud be all right ef he wasn’t sa ugly in his home. He scolds my daughter when he isn’t pleased, and he scolds the children something terrible, and he scolds me, and I can’t abide it. And me with me own little house he wants ta take away.”
“But he can’t do that, Tilly.”
“Oh, but ya don’t know! Just yester he went in town and he hunts up Mr. Lordedale the one I rents me house from, and he come back and tells me that Mr. Lordedale says I can’t rent the cottage any longer for the price I can pay. He says the rent’s raised ten dollars a month, and I’ve got ta get out next week, the end o’ the month!” And Tilly went off in another paroxysm of weeping.
“But that’s not so, Tilly!” exclaimed Astra eagerly. “I own this house, and Mr. Lauderdale didn’t raise the rent at all. I was just talking to him a little while ago. He told me you sent him word you had to leave, that your daughter’s family needed you.”
But Tilly was weeping so hard she couldn’t hear, and Astra had some trouble getting the truth across to her. But at last, after telling it over and over again, Tilly finally raised her bleared eyes, with a mingling of eagerness and unbelief.
“Do ya mean it’s your house, Miss Aster? This house b’longs ta you? And you mean the rent ain’t raised?”
“I certainly do, Tilly. And what’s more, I’m not going to let it be raised. Not to you. I’m going to lower it. From now on it’s going to be five dollars less a month, but don’t tell your son-in-law that or he’ll try to get you to give it to him for his car. Let him buy his own car, and you keep your little house here. It’s your right. It will be nice to have your grandchildren come and visit you. You can teach them a lot of good things the way you used to me.”
Tilly wavered out a watery smile.
“Bless yer heart, Miss Aster. You was always such a dear little good girl! But my grandchilder, they ain’t made ta mind. Their father won’t let me teach ’em, and they are growing up sassy ta me. He makes ’em despise me. And ef I went ta live with them I’d havta sleep with Kitty, the oldest girl, and she’s hateful. She takes the whole bed and kicks me in the night till I’m that black and blue I can’t rightly work the next day.”
“Well, Tilly, that’s dreadful! Now, you just tell your son-in-law you are going to stay in your home. Are you able to stay here alone, Tilly?”
“Oh, sure, I can stay here. Besides, I got a teacher staying with me. She’s young and alone, and she can’t pay me much, but it’s something.”
“Well, then you just tell your son-in-law that you are not coming! He has no right over you!”
“But Miss Aster, he says he’ll go to the pension people and tell them I have no right ta that pension, and they’ll take it away!”
“Well there! Tilly! You needn’t worry about that. Mr. Lauderdale is a lawyer, and he’ll fix that all up for you. Now don’t worry any more!”
At last she brought cheer to the worried old face and went away promising to look after the rent and the pension and to come out and see her again soon when she got located herself, for she was probably coming back to the city to live.
As she sat down in the bus returning cityward she thought it all over and decided that definitely, no, Tilly was not the one to be her only companion. Tilly had her own mission to keep her little house and make a refuge for her daughter, and the wild little grandchildren. And she, Astra, would make it her business to see that Tilly had her house and that her pension should not be disturbed, nor get into the hands of her unscrupulous relatives.
It was twelve o’clock when she got back to the city, and now she was most anxious to get to the old house where she used to live when her father was with her, so she took another bus and went her way. Presently she was walking up the stone steps of the big old house where she had been born and having a struggle to keep back the tears. Was Mrs. Albans at home, and what would the outcome here be?
Chapter 10
Just about that time Rosamond Cameron and Camilla Blair were taking lunch together at the country club that was not too far from Rosamond’s home, so that she could easily get a bus back home and change for her bridge club which met that afternoon.
“So you didn’t get anywhere with my stubborn brother, you say, Cammie? I certainly am surprised, because he is usually so polite, at least, even if it’s something he doesn’t want to do.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say he was even polite,” said the aggrieved Camilla. “I told him I had something very important to talk over with him, something you and I were planning, and—”
“Oh, that’s a shame, Camilla! I ought to have told you not to mention my name. Just now I’ve been having several discussions with him, trying to get him to stay away from the stepmother, and he probably thinks this has something to do with it. I declare, he is simply maddening. I hoped if you threw yourself on his mercy and told him how bored you were staying in a strange city, he would do what you wanted. I believe you could wind him around your little finger, if you could get a start. He’s really a darling, you know, if you just get on the right side of him.”
Camilla lifted an offended chin.
“Well, I did everything I could, Roz, and he was just as offish as he could be. I really don’t think it’s worthwhile for me to try any further. You know I’m not used to crawling on my hands and knees for attention, and after all, I’ve got plenty of friends in the city, if I only take the trouble to let them know I am here. But do you know what I think, Roz? I believe he’s got another girl! Men don’t act so positively indifferent that way unless there’s another woman in the case.”
“No, Camilla. It’s not that. I’m sure! Positive! Charlie has never been much for going with girls. And then, you know there’s nothing much like a bunch of sisters for finding out all there is to know about their brothers.”
“Yes, but you girls have been away from home several years now. You don’t know what’s going on.”
“Indeed I do!” declared Rosamond. “We girls have had him on our mind, and we are determined he shall not spring some undesirable on us. You know he’s pretty reserved, and not everyone can get near enough to him to find out just what he’s aiming to do, but we girls understand him pretty well, and we’ve made it our business, one or the other of us, to get in touch with him once a week at least. We have a regular system for watching him. And so far, he’s fancy free. Of that I am definitely sure!”
“Well, I don’t know. You may think you
’re sure, of course, but I’d be willing to bet there’s another girl somewhere in the offing!” Camilla helped herself generously to more whipped cream over her Christmas strawberries.
“Well now, listen, Camilla, I’ve got a scheme. If you are just willing to cooperate, I’m sure it will work out. How are you fixed for Christmas Day? Could you run down to my house and work in on a plan?”
“Yes, I suppose I could,” drawled Camilla indifferently, “but you’ll have your pains for your trouble. He told me positively that he had promised to spend Christmas Day with that annoying stepmother of his. You can rest assured the girl is some friend of hers and that she has planned it all. He’s probably going to meet her there. All right, what’s your plan? I’m game. I’ll try it.”
“Well, you see,” said Rosamond, “my husband has been trying for several years to get me to go on a trip with him for Christmas Day. He says the children are so young that one day is just as good as another to them, and we can have our celebration with them when we get home. They won’t know the difference. But I know they will know, they hear other children talk, you know, and my idea is to somehow prolong the celebration. I thought if I could get Charlie to come and stay with them, they would think it was great. They just adore their Uncle Charlie, and he’s always good fun with them. And if there’s one thing that would make him beg off from the stepmother, it would be because he pitied my kids who were to be left alone on Christmas Day, of all days. So I would tell him I’d get some woman to come in and help out part of the day with them. And the maids would be there, of course, to get a festive little dinner and look after the baby a little, and I thought if you would just drop in a little early perhaps, and then happen to find Charles there, and offer to help him out or something, you could have a glorious day together, and it would be quite domestic. You would have a whole day to really get acquainted.”
Camilla’s large eyes grew speculative.
“Well, that might be a good idea, but I can see a hundred ways in which a plan like that might go haywire.”
“Oh yes,” said Rosamond, “so can I, if you want to be disagreeable. I only suggested it because you seem so anxious to see Charles. But I suppose it would bore you to be around children a whole day.”
“Indeed no, I’d love it. To tell you the truth, I’ve never had much to do with children. However, if Charles was there, he’d probably be the whole show. Sure, I’ll cooperate! You’ll have to give me the high sign, when to go and what to say and all that. How many children are there?”
“Three, a boy and two girls. And I’ll write out some suggestions. Of course, it may not work out. Charles is pretty stubborn. And there is the old lady to deal with. She may hold him to his promise. I’ll have to get in some work on her, make her see she’s spoiling Charlie’s chances. Mary can do that better than any of us. She hasn’t got such a sharp tongue as I have. All right then, I’ll be letting you know, be seeing you or calling you up, depending on how soon I can make the thing work.”
So the two ladies parted and went their separate ways. Camilla went into a toy shop as she passed and bought two dolls and a toy top that sang songs as it spun. The top was for the boy, assuming that he was the youngest and the baby. And of course all girls liked dolls, no matter what age they were.
That evening Rosamond called up her sister Mary, who thought the idea lovely and eagerly accepted the office of attending to the stepmother and seeing that she did no damage to the scheme.
Sunday afternoon Mary in turn called the stepmother on the telephone, and incidentally let it be known that Rosamond was going on a trip with her husband for over Christmas, that is, if Rosamond could prevail upon Charles to spend Christmas Day with the children. He was the only one she would trust to keep them happy and make them forget that she was away.
Sunday evening the stepmother sat down at her desk and wrote a letter to Charles.
Dear Charles:
I have had a letter from my sister Nancy. She has fallen downstairs and broken her hip, and she is at home with two nurses, but she is very anxious to have me come and spend Christmas Day with her, so I guess I should go.
I have been looking forward to your coming, of course, and am sorry not to be here, but I know you will not mind. You were always so reasonable, and since your father is not here for the holiday, it cannot be so very pleasant for you, so perhaps this will leave you free for a little good time in your own way.
I know, of course, that you were coming for my sake, because I am alone, and I appreciate your kindness, but I guess my duty lies with my sister this time, and perhaps you will come and see me on or after New Year’s. And if you would like to bring somebody with you, that will be nice, just let me know.
Wishing you a very happy Christmas and a good New Year.
Your loving stepmother,
Margretta Ann Cameron
While she was writing this epistle, Charles Cameron was preparing to take Astra out for the evening. He had a great deal of back work to catch up on, for it had been a strenuous week and he was far behind. But in between he kept wondering why he was so unreasonably happy. And now and again it would occur to him that it was Astra with whom he was going out, and he was sure that Astra would love the concert.
Meantime, Astra was having experiences of her own. She found Mrs. Albans down with a sick headache, yet getting up continually to wait upon her sick husband. She put Mrs. Albans to bed with tea and toast and promised to stay a little while and talk to Mr. Albans, who seemed weak and desolate, but who cheered up wonderfully under Astra’s aid, and ate a better lunch than he had eaten since his illness.
And after a little while they talked about the house, and about the possibility of Astra’s taking it over, at least for a little while, if the Albans ventured to take a trip to the south or west and investigate what would be best for the future.
Then Astra made Mr. Albans take a nap while she went up to the third story where her father’s goods were stored, and to the big safe built into the stone wall, where he had left his valued papers and notes of his writings.
Everything was just as she remembered it. Nothing seemed to have been touched, and she was relieved at that, for she had often got to thinking what if this or that happened, a fire or some repair to the house, that would necessitate disturbing the storage part.
Just touching, handling the beloved papers, reading a sentence here and there, brought such memories that the tears came often and blurred her eyes. But she managed to gather together a few papers that she felt she could get to work at very soon. Perhaps they would help her though Christmas Day. It would be like spending Christmas with her father.
When she came downstairs, Mrs. Albans was up and feeling better, and they had a nice talk. The Albans asked Astra if she wouldn’t like to come in and stay with them, at least for a few days before they could get ready to leave, and longer if she chose, and Astra promised to think it over and let them know definitely soon. Then she went to the kitchen and prepared two trays for them. More tea and toast, and two bowls of soup, and she left them talking happily about the trip they were to take.
Astra was almost out of breath with hurrying by the time she got back to her room. She wanted to be ready when Cameron came. She did not stop long over her supper. She was too eager for the evening. She put on one of her pleasant dresses that had been bought in accordance with her own taste, not Miriam’s. It was a simple little dress of soft heavenly blue that matched her eyes and brought out gold tints in her hair, brought also a faint pink tinge to her cheeks. This and her gray squirrel coat made a lovely combination. And there was a small hat with a band of squirrel curling about the crown like a feather. She looked very nice in it, and her cheeks were rosy with pleasant anticipation.
As she stepped from the elevator into the hall Cameron sat awaiting her, and he started with surprise and evident admiration at her changed appearance. He had never seen her except in the simple dark suit and hat she had worn on the train, and he was startled at her
young beauty. He had admired her before, but he hadn’t realized how lovely she could be in more formal apparel.
There was something deeper than just admiration in his eyes as he came forward to meet her, a spark of that flash that had passed between them twice before, yet touched with the tender kind of reverence a right-minded man gives a lovely lady. Astra felt a warm glow about her heart. Oh, it was good to have friend like this! There might be mink coats in the offing, but she felt she had as much right to a friendship as the mink.
“You are looking lovely,” he said in a low tone, glancing down at her as he walked to the door beside her. “I certainly am going to be proud this evening, Beautiful Lady!”
Astra’s cheeks went rosy red, making her all the more lovely.
“Oh thank you!” she said, and then she added, “Not half as proud as I am with you for an escort!”
“Keenly spoken,” he laughed, and looking down into her eyes, he drew her arm within his own and brought her close. Then again their glances went heart-deep and brought a thrill of joy. But Astra was too well brought up not to be a little worried that she should feel so elated over this man’s words and tender looks. He was a stranger, she continually told herself, and there was that mink lady! And now his other hand was warmly upon hers that lay upon his arm, but it did not feel like a stranger’s hand. It seemed like something well known and very precious. Was this surprising thought one that was going to make trouble for her later on, perhaps when a mink coat appeared sometime? How silly she was! She simply must keep her thoughts in check and just enjoy the evening. That was the way. It was probably all the outcome of her being alone and lonely so much, this silly interest of a stranger.
Then he put her in the taxi, his fingers lingering on her little gloved hand as if he liked to touch it. Somehow he didn’t seem like just a stranger who had called her, out of the carful of unknown ones, to perform a service for another stranger. He seemed so like an old friend, and as if her father and mother knew him well and honored him. Why did she feel that way? She must put that question away to think over later when she had time to go into it.
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