brightening up.
"And you must promise to be cautious."
He promised; he was ready to promise everything. But when he was leftface to face with Miss Aitcheson, she was quickly aware what subject wasburning on the tip of his tongue. He dragged in art, artists, andEveritt, in less than no time.
"The best of fellows!" he said, heartily.
"I suppose a little eccentric?" Bell remarked, looking on the ground.
"He isn't so cut and dried as other people, if that's what you mean,"Jack replied, with warmth. "If there's a kind thing to be done, or ahelping hand to be held out, he's the man to do it. I wish there were afew more as eccentric as he." Jack felt as if he had made rather a goodpoint here. The worst of it was, as he rapidly reflected, that it allhad to be run out so quickly. With a lot of people walking about, theywere liable at any moment to be interrupted; even now he looked withdisgust at a young lady in a creamy white dress, who smiled at MissAitcheson as she passed. He was more disgusted when Bell stopped her.
"We are talking about art and artists," she said, slipping her arm intothe other girl's.
"And we don't want you," Jack said to himself, unmollified by theanswering smile. "However, here goes! So long as Miss Aitcheson hearsand repeats in the right quarter, it doesn't matter who listens."Aloud, he said, "People who only know Everitt as an artist can't judgeof his kindness of heart. You see, in our line there are a lot of poorwretches who find it awfully hard to pick up a living. Some are nevergood for anything, but there are a few who just want to be set on theirlegs, and then they stick there. I'm not sure I wasn't one of themmyself," added Jack, with an ingenuous laugh.
"Did Mr Everitt set you on your legs?" inquired Bell, innocently.
"Yes, he did, and I'm not ashamed to own it," said the young fellow,manfully. "If I do anything it will be thanks to him." He was so muchtaken up with his cause that he did not notice that when Everitt's namewas first mentioned the girl who was standing close to Miss Aitchesonmade a movement to leave them, and was held fast by Bell. Findingherself a prisoner, she did not again attempt to escape, but stoodsilently by, her face almost concealed by the drooping lace of herparasol.
"There was a man," Jack went on, warming yet more to his subject, "whogot a picture hung at one of last year's exhibitions--it wasn't at all abad picture--and sold it. It was his first bit of luck, and almost senthim off his head; he married, for one thing, on the strength of it.Well, it wasn't sold, after all."
"Not sold?" repeated Bell, in wonder.
"The purchaser never turned up. That sort of thing does happen now andthen, but it came awfully rough on this poor fellow. You see, it hadkept off other buyers, and then, I expect, he had traded a bit on themoney; and the end of it was, he worked himself into a sort of brainfever, and was about as bad as could be, and the poor little wife was ather wits' end, without friends or money or anything. Anybody would havehelped them who'd known, but nobody took the trouble to find out exceptEveritt. He got a doctor and a nurse, and I know he went there everyday, and he bought the picture--though, of course, that isn't much goodto _him_."
"Oh, yes," said Bell, softly. "I think it will be of good to him." Andshe looked at Jack very kindly. The young fellow was too much taken upwith his object to notice it.
"He's always doing that sort of thing," he went on. And now, if he hadbeen a diplomatist, had even possessed the caution which Mrs Marchmonthad urged upon him, he would have paused here, or strengthened his goodimpression by another tale of the same description. But unluckily Jackfelt that more was incumbent upon him. He was for a bold assault whichshould carry the position by storm; and when might another opportunitypresent itself? "People don't know Everitt," he repeated; "he doesout-of-the-way things. Miss Aitcheson,"--suddenly--"I'm afraid he'soffended your friends here awfully."
Unfortunate Jack! The parasol came a little lower down.
"Has he?" coldly from Bell.
But once started, he blundered into deeper mire, in spite of warningsigns.
"It did sound an odd thing to do; but, don't you see, he'd promised tosend somebody, and Mrs Marchmont wasn't to be put off. There wasn't abit of real harm, you know, and Everitt did it out of sheergood-nature."
"Well, it's over and done with," said Bell, with an air of finality;"and I think it would be best to say no more about it."
"But they've taken it in a way which makes him feel very uncomfortable,"urged Jack.
Bell lifted her head and looked him full in the face.
"You're a very good friend, Mr Hibbert, but Mr Everitt is sufficientlya man of the world to have thought of consequences beforehand. Now,will you kindly go and tell Mrs Marchmont from me that she will findices in the drawing-room."
There was no help for it, Jack had to go. And then Bell turned to thegirl by her side.
"You didn't mind, did you, Kitty?" she demanded, with a little anxiety."You know, I think you're disposed to be hard upon poor Mr Everitt, andI wanted you to hear what his friends have to say for him. That's avery nice boy." Then, as Kitty did not speak, she looked in her face:"Don't you think so?"
"I dare say," said the other girl, impatiently. "Oh yes, I dare sayhe's a very good friend; but oh, Bell, don't you see?"
"What?"
"How dreadful it all is! The idea of this man knowing, and another manknowing, and all London knowing what he did! I am ashamed when I seepeople only looking at me. And just suppose if some one goes andalludes to it to father!"
"Now, Kitty! All London! Why, this Mr Hibbert works in the samestudio!"
"He shouldn't have told him, all the same."
"I do think you're dreadfully hard. Didn't it touch you to hear of whathe'd done for that poor artist?"
"Not when I thought of what he'd done to me. What have I to do with hiskindness? He may be the kindest man in the world."
"If I had been you," said Bell, "I believe I should have taken it as acompliment; and I'm quite sure I should have sent him a card for to-day,and thought no more about it."
"And if you had been I and I had been you," returned Kitty, with spirit,"I am quite sure that I should have dropped the subject, and have donemy best to help you to forget that such a disagreeable thing hadhappened."
"Oh, well," said the other girl, looking at her oddly, "I never knewuntil now that I was the more unselfish of the two."
Afterwards, she told Mrs Marchmont what had happened. It will be seenthat by this time Bell had become a partisan of Everitt's, and it willbe guessed that Mrs Marchmont had admitted her into her confidence. Itwas, indeed, the wisest thing that she could do, for Bell was a girl whoresented being shut out, and would certainly take an active part on oneside or the other. Perhaps she had a mischievous delight in beholdingKitty--whom she considered to be a little straight-laced--the victim ofsuch an adventure; but the romance of it all, and some knowledge ofEveritt's real character, touched a deeper spring of love for herfriend, and she was genuinely anxious to set this unfortunately crookedbeginning straight.
Jack's attempt, she owned, had not done much good.
Was it likely it would?--from Mrs Marchmont.
Well, Bell thought that he spoke out manfully. He said a great dealabout Mr Everitt which certainly made her like him better, and shethought it must have produced the same effect upon Kitty, if she had notbeen unreasonable.
Mrs Marchmont, on her part, maintained chat men always bungled thatsort of thing. Their touch was so heavy, they blundered in, and knockedover right and left. "But it is really dreadfully stupid of Kitty," shesaid, "and I shall have to take her in hand myself."
Jack, who had something of the same feeling about his own attempts,wandered about disconsolately, until he fell in with Miss Aitchesonagain; and, as he stayed by her side for the remainder of the afternoon,it is to be supposed that she was able to administer consolation. Butshe found it impossible to induce him to understand Kitty's view. Hewas dreadfully frivolous and inclined to laugh; he got Bell to describepoor
Everitt's shortcomings as a model, and the evident anguish which heendured, and then the two laughed together in a manner which,considering the aims which they professed, was, to say the least,heartless. Mrs Marchmont gave Bell a hint of this when she drove heraway, and Bell resented the imputation.
"It was a jest from beginning to end--in one sense," she said; "andKitty's mistake has been in treating it so seriously. If you encourageher in it, she will take on herself the airs of a tragic
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