CHAPTER XIII
_How Anthea came home_
"Lord!" said Adam, pausing with a chair under either arm, "Lord, Mr.Belloo sir,--I wonder what Miss Anthea will say?" with which remark hestrode off with the two chairs to set them in their accustomed places.
Seldom indeed had the old hall despite its many years, seen such arunning to and fro, heard such a patter of flying feet, such merryvoices, such gay, and heart-felt laughter. For here was Miss Priscilla,looking smaller than ever, in a great arm chair whence she directed thedisposal and arrangement of all things, with quick little motions of hercrutch-stick. And here were the two rosy-cheeked maids, brighter androsier than ever, and here was comely Prudence hither come from herkitchen to bear a hand, and here, as has been said, was Adam, and herealso was Bellew, his pipe laid aside with his coat, pushing, and tuggingin his efforts to get the great side-board back into its customaryposition; and all, as has also been said, was laughter, and bustle, andan eager haste to have all things as they were,--and should behenceforth,--before Anthea's return.
"Lord!" exclaimed Adam again, balanced now upon a ladder, and pausing towipe his brow with one hand and with a picture swinging in the other,"Lord! what ever will Miss Anthea say, Mr. Belloo sir!"
"Ah!" nodded Bellew thoughtfully, "I wonder!"
"What do you suppose she'll say, Miss Priscilla, mam?"
"I think you'd better be careful of that picture, Adam!"
"Which means," said Bellew, smiling down into Miss Priscilla's young,bright eyes, "that you don't know."
"Well, Mr. Bellew, she'll be very--glad, of course,--happier I think,than you or I can guess, because I know she loves every stick, and staveof that old furniture,--but--"
"But!" nodded Bellew, "yes, I understand."
"Mr. Bellew, if Anthea,--God bless her dear heart!--but if she has afault--it is pride, Mr. Bellew, Pride! Pride! Pride!--with a capital P!"
"Yes, she is very proud."
"She'll be that 'appy-'earted," said Adam, pausing near-by with a greatarmful of miscellaneous articles, "an' that full o' joy as never was!Mr. Belloo sir!" Having delivered himself of which, he departed withhis load.
"I rose this morning--very early, Mr. Bellew,--Oh! very early!" saidMiss Priscilla, following Adam's laden figure with watchful eyes,"couldn't possibly sleep, you see. So I got up,--ridiculouslyearly,--but, bless you, she was before me!"
"Ah!"
"Oh dear yes!--had been up--hours! And what--what do you suppose she wasdoing?" Bellew shook his head.
"She was rubbing and polishing that old side-board that you paid such adreadful price for,--down on her knees before it,--yes she was! andpolishing, and rubbing, and--crying all the while. Oh dear heart! suchgreat, big tears,--and so very quiet! When she heard my little stickcome tapping along she tried to hide them,--I mean her tears, of course,Mr. Bellew, and when I drew her dear, beautiful head down into my arms,she--tried to smile. 'I'm so very silly, Aunt Priscilla,' she said,crying more than ever, 'but it _is_ so hard to let the old things betaken away,--you see,--I do _love_ them so! I tell you all this, Mr.Bellew, because I like you,--ever since you took the trouble to pick upa ball of worsted for a poor, old lame woman--in an orchard,--firstimpressions, you know. And secondly, I tell you all this to explain toyou why I--hum!--"
"Threw a kiss--from a minstrel's gallery, to a most unworthy individual,Aunt Priscilla?"
"Threw you a kiss, Mr. Bellew,--I had to,--the side-board you know,--onher knees--you understand?"
"I understand!"
"You see, Mr. Belloo sir," said Adam, at this juncture, speaking frombeneath an inlaid table which he held balanced upon his head,--"itain't as if this was jest ordinary furnitur' sir,--ye see she kind-erfeels as it be all part o' Dapplemere Manor, as it used to be called,it's all been here so long, that them cheers an' tables has come to bepart o' the 'ouse, sir. So when she comes, an' finds as it ain't allbeen took,--or, as you might say,--vanished away,--why the question as Iax's you is,--w'ot will she say? Oh Lord!" And here, Adam gave vent tohis great laugh which necessitated an almost superhuman exertion ofstrength to keep the table from slipping from its precarious perch.Whereupon Miss Priscilla screamed, (a very small scream, like herself)and Prudence scolded, and the two rosy-cheeked maids tittered, and Adamwent chuckling upon his way.
And when the hall was, once more, its old, familiar, comfortable self,when the floor had been swept of its litter, and every trace of the saleremoved,--then Miss Priscilla sighed, and Bellew put on his coat.
"When do you expect--she will come home?" he enquired, glancing at thegrandfather clock in the corner.
"Well, if she drove straight back from Cranbrook she would be herenow,--but I fancy she won't be so very anxious to get home to-day,--andmay come the longest way round; yes, it's in my mind she will keep awayfrom Dapplemere as long as ever she can."
"And I think," said Bellew, "Yes, I think I'll take a walk. I'll go andcall upon the Sergeant."
"The Sergeant!" said Miss Priscilla, "let me see,--it is now a quarterto six, it should take you about fifteen minutes to the village, thatwill make it exactly six o'clock. You will find the Sergeant justsitting down in the chair on the left hand side of the fire-place,--inthe corner,--at the 'King's Head,' you know. Not that I have ever seenhim there,--good gracious no! but I--happen to be--acquainted with hishabits, and he is as regular and precise as his great, big silver watch,and that is the most precise, and regular thing in all the world. I amglad you are going," she went on, "because to-day is--well, a day apart,Mr. Bellew. You will find the Sergeant at the 'King's Head,'--until halfpast seven."
"Then I will go to the 'King's Head,'" said Bellew. "And what message doyou send him?"
"None," said Miss Priscilla, laughing and shaking her head,--"atleast,--you can tell him, if you wish,--that--the peaches are riper thanever they were this evening."
"I won't forget," said Bellew, smiling, and went out into the sunshine.But, crossing the yard, he was met by Adam, who, chuckling still, pausedto touch his hat.
"To look at that theer 'all, sir, you wouldn't never know as there'dever been any sale at all,--not no'ow. Now the only question as worritsme, and as I'm a-axin' of myself constant is,--what will Miss Anthea'ave to say about it?"
"Yes," said Bellew, "I wonder!" And so he turned, and went away slowlyacross the fields.
Miss Priscilla had been right,--Anthea _was_ coming back the longest wayround,--also she was anxious to keep away from Dapplemere as long aspossible. Therefore, despite Small Porges' exhortations, and Bess'schamping impatience, she held the mare in, permitting her only theslowest of paces, which was a most unusual thing for Anthea to do. Forthe most part, too, she drove in silence seemingly deaf to Small Porges'flow of talk, which was also very unlike in her. But before her eyeswere visions of her dismantled home, in her ears was the roar of voicesclamouring for her cherished possessions,--a sickening roar, broken, nowand then, by the hollow tap of the auctioneer's cruel hammer. And, eachtime the clamouring voices rose, she shivered, and every blow of thecruel hammer seemed to fall upon her quivering heart. Thus, she wasunwontedly deaf and unresponsive to Small Porges, who presently fellinto a profound gloom, in consequence; and thus, she held in the eagermare who therefore, shied, and fidgeted, and tossed her headindignantly.
But, slowly as they went, they came within sight of the house, at last,with its quaint gables, and many latticed windows, and the blue smokecurling up from its twisted chimneys,--smiling and placid as though, inall this great world, there were no such thing to be found as--anauctioneer's hammer.
And presently they swung into the drive, and drew up in the courtyard.And there was Adam, waiting to take the mare's head,--Adam, asgood-natured, and stolid as though there were no abominations called,for want of a worse name,--sales.
Very slowly, for her, Anthea climbed down from the high dog-cart, aidingSmall Porges to earth, and with his hand clasped tight in hers, and withlips set firm, she turned and entered the hall. But, upon the threshold,
she stopped, and stood there utterly still, gazing, and gazing upon thetrim orderliness of everything. Then, seeing every well remembered thingin its appointed place,--all became suddenly blurred, and dim, and,snatching her hand from Small Porges' clasp, she uttered a great,choking sob, and covered her face.
But Small Porges had seen, and stood aghast, and Miss Priscilla hadseen, and now hurried forward with a quick tap, tap of her stick. As shecame, Anthea raised her head, and looked for one who should have beenthere, but was not. And, in that moment, instinctively she knew howthings came to be as they were,--and, because of this knowledge, hercheeks flamed with a swift, burning colour, and with a soft cry, she hidher face in Miss Priscilla's gentle bosom. Then, while her face was yethidden there, she whispered:
"Tell me--tell me--all about it."
But, meanwhile, Bellew, striding far away across the meadows, seeming towatch the glory of the sun-set, and to hearken to a blackbird pipingfrom the dim seclusion of the copse a melodious "Good-bye" to the dyingday, yet saw, and heard it not at all, for his mind was still occupiedwith Adam's question:--
"What would Miss Anthea say?"
The Money Moon: A Romance Page 13