第2章

Why，youknewMrs。GreggoryandAlice，ofcourse——andPete，’smiledMarie。Andwasn’tPetehappy？Billysaysshe’dhavehadPeteifshehadnooneelse；thattherewouldn’thavebeenanywedding，anyway，ifithadn’tbeenforhistelephoningAuntHannahthatnight。’

Yes；Willtoldme。’

AsforTommyandtheothers——mostofthemwerethosepeoplethatBillyhadatherhomelastsummerforatwoweeks’vacation——

people，youknow，toopoortogivethemselvesone，andtooproudtoacceptonefromordinarycharity。Billy’sbeenfollowingthemupanddoinglittlethingsforthemeversince——sugarplumsandfrostingontheircake，shecallsit；andtheyadoreher，ofcourse。Ithinkitwaslovelyofhertohavethem，andtheydidhavesuchagoodtime!YoushouldhaveseenTommywhenyouplayedthatweddingmarchforBillytoentertheroom。HispoorlittlefacewassotransfiguredwithjoythatIalmostcried，justtolookathim。

Billysayshelovesmusic——poorlittlefellow!’

Well，Ihopethey’llbehappy，inspiteofKate’sdolefulprophecies。Certainlytheylookedhappyenoughto-day，’declaredCyril，pattingayawnasherosetohisfeet。IfancyWillandAuntHannaharelonesome，though，aboutnow，’

headded。

Yes，’smiledMarie，mistily，asshegatheredupherwork。IknowwhatAuntHannah’sdoing。She’shelpingRosaputthehousetorights，andshe’sstoppingtocryovereveryslipperandhandkerchiefofBilly’sshefinds。Andshe’lldothatuntilthatfunnyclockofhersstrikestwelve，thenshe’llsay`Oh，mygriefandconscience——midnight!’Butthenextminuteshe’llrememberthatit’sonlyhalf-pasteleven，afterall，andshe’llsendRosatobedandsitpattingBilly’sslipperinherlaptillitreallyismidnightbyalltheotherclocks。’

Cyrillaughedappreciatively。

Well，IknowwhatWillisdoing，’hedeclared。

WillisinBertram’sdendozingbeforethefireplacewithSpunkiecurledupinhislap。’

Asithappened，boththesesurmiseswerenotfarfromright。IntheStrata，theHenshaws’oldBeaconStreethome，Williamwassittingbeforethefireplacewiththecatinhislap，buthewasnotdozing。Hewastalking。

Spunkie，’hewassaying，yourmaster，Bertram，gotmarriedto-day——andtoMissBilly。He’llbebringingherhomeoneofthesedays——yournewmistress。Andsuchamistress!

Neverdidcatorhousehaveabetter!

Justthink；forthefirsttimeinyearsthisoldplaceistoknowthetouchofawoman’shand——andthat’swhatithasn’tknownforalmosttwentyyears，exceptforthosefewshortmonthssixyearsagowhenadark-eyedgirlandalittlegraykitten(thatwasSpunk，yourpredecessor，youknow)blewinandblewoutagainbeforewescarcelyknewtheywerehere。ThatgirlwasMissBilly，andshewasadearthen，justassheisnow，onlynowshe’scomingheretostay。She’scominghome，Spunkie；andshe’llmakeitahomeforyou，forme，andforallofus。Uptonow，youknow，ithasn’treallybeenahome，foryears——justusmen，so。It’llbeverydifferent，Spunkie，asyou’llsoonfindout。Nowmind，madam!Wemustshowthatweappreciateallthis：notempers，notantrums，noshowingofclaws，noleavingourcoats——eitheryoursormine——onthedrawing-roomchairs，notrackinginofmudoncleanrugsandfloors!Forwe’regoingtohaveahome，Spunkie——ahome!’

AtHillside，AuntHannahwas，indeed，helpingRosatoputthehousetorights，asMariehadsaid。Shewascrying，too，overagloveshehadfoundonBilly’spiano；butshewascryingoversomethingelse，also。NotonlyhadshelostBilly，butshehadlostherhome。

Tobesure，nothinghadbeensaidduringthatnightmareofaweekofhurryandconfusionaboutAuntHannah’sfuture；butAuntHannahknewverywellhowitmustbe。ThisdearlittlehouseonthesideofCoreyHillwasBilly’shome，andBillywouldnotneeditanylonger。Itwouldbesold，ofcourse；andshe，AuntHannah，wouldgobacktoasecond-storyfront’andlonelinessinsomeBackBayboarding-house；andasecondstoryfrontandlonelinesswouldnotbeeasynow，aftertheseyearsofhome——andBilly。

Nowonder，indeed，thatAuntHannahsatcryingandpattingthelittlewhitegloveinherhand。Nowonder，too，that——beingAuntHannah——

shereachedfortheshawlnearbyandputiton，shiveringly。EvenJuly，to-night，wascold——toAuntHannah。

InyetanotherhomethateveningwastheweddingofBillyNeilsonandBertramHenshawuppermostinthoughtandspeech。InacertainlittleSouth-Endflatwhere，intworentedrooms，livedAliceGreggoryandhercrippledmother，AlicewastalkingtoMr。M。J。Arkwright，commonlyknowntohisfriendsasMaryJane，’

owingtothemysteryinwhichhehadforsolongshroudedhisname。

Arkwrightto-nightwasplainlymoodyandillatease。

You’renotlistening。You’renotlisteningatall，’complainedAliceGreggoryatlast，reproachfully。

Withavisibleeffortthemanrousedhimself。

IndeedIam，’hemaintained。

Ithoughtyou’dbeinterestedinthewedding。Youusedtobefriends——youandBilly。’

Thegirl’svoicestillvibratedwithreproach。

Therewasamoment’ssilence；then，alittleharshly，themansaid：

Perhaps——becauseIwantedtobemorethan——afriend——iswhyyou’renotsatisfiedwithmyinterestnow。’

AlookthatwasalmostterrorcametoAliceGreggory’seyes。Sheflushedpainfully，thengrewverywhite。

Youmean——’

Yes，’henoddeddully，withoutlookingup。

Icaredtoomuchforher。IsupposedHenshawwasjustafriend——tilltoolate。’

Therewasabreathlesshushbefore，alittleunsteadily，thegirlstammered：

Oh，I’msosorry——soverysorry!I——I

didn’tknow。’

No，ofcourseyoudidn’t。I’vealmosttoldyou，though，lotsoftimes；you’vebeensogoodtomealltheseweeks。’Heraisedhisheadnow，andlookedather，frankcomradeshipinhiseyes。

Thegirlstirredrestlessly。Hereyesswervedalittleunderhislevelgaze。

Oh，butI’vedonenothing——n-nothing，’shestammered。Then，atthelighttapofcrutchesonabarefloorsheturnedinobviousrelief。

Oh，here’smother。She’sbeeninvisitingwithMrs。Delano，ourlandlady。Mother，Mr。Arkwrightishere。’

Meanwhile，speedingnorthasfastassteamcouldcarrythem，werethebrideandgroom。

Thewondrousnessofthefirsthouroftheirjourneysidebysidehadbecomeajoyouscertitudethatalwaysitwastobelikethisnow。

Bertram，’beganthebride，afteralongminuteofeloquentsilence。

Yes，love。’

Youknowourweddingwasverydifferentfrommostweddings。’

Ofcourseitwas!’

Yes，but_really_itwas。Nowlisten。’Thebride’svoicegrewtenderlyearnest。Ithinkourmarriageisgoingtobedifferent，too。’

Different？’

Yes。’Billy’stonewasemphatic。Therearesomanycommon，everydaymarriageswhere——where——Why，Bertram，asifyoucouldeverbetomelike——likeMr。Carletonis，forinstance!’

LikeMr。Carletonis——toyou？’Bertram’svoicewasfranklypuzzled。

No，no!AsMr。CarletonistoMrs。Carleton，Imean。’

Oh!’Bertramsubsidedinrelief。

AndtheGrahamsandWhartons，andtheFreddieAgnews，and——andalotofothers。

Why，Bertram，I’veseentheGrahamsandtheWhartonsnotevenspeaktoeachotherawholeevening，whenthey’vebeenatadinner，orsomething；andI’veseenMrs。Carletonnotevenseemtoknowherhusbandcameintotheroom。

Idon’tmeanquarrel，dear。Ofcoursewe’dnever_quarrel!_ButImeanI’msureweshallnevergetusedto——toyoubeingyou，andIbeingI。’

Indeedwesha’n’t，’agreedBertram，rapturously。

Oursisgoingtobesuchabeautifulmarriage!’

Ofcourseitwillbe。’

Andwe’llbesohappy!’

Ishallbe，andIshalltrytomakeyouso。’

AsifIcouldbeanythingelse，’sighedBilly，blissfully。Andnowwe_can’t_haveanymisunderstandings，yousee。’

Ofcoursenot。Er——what’sthat？’

Why，Imeanthat——thatwecan’teverrepeathosemiserableweeksofmisunderstanding。

Everythingisallexplainedup。I_know_，now，thatyoudon’tloveMissWinthrop，orjustgirls——anygirl——topaint。Youloveme。Notthetiltofmychin，northeturnofmyhead；but_me_。’

Ido——justyou。’Bertram’seyesgavethecaresshislipswouldhavegivenhaditnotbeenforthepresenceofthemanintheseatacrosstheaisleofthesleeping-car。

Andyou——youknownowthatIloveyou——justyou？’

NotevenArkwright？’

NotevenArkwright，’smiledBilly。

Therewasthebriefestofhesitations；then，alittleconstrainedly，Bertramasked：

Andyousaidyou——younever_had_caredforArkwright，didn’tyou？’

ForthesecondtimeinherlifeBillywasthankfulthatBertram’squestionhadturnedupon_her_

loveforArkwright，notArkwright’sloveforher。

InBilly’sopinion，aman’sunrequitedloveforagirlwashissecret，nothers，andwascertainlyonethatthegirlhadnorighttotell。OncebeforeBertramhadaskedherifshehadevercaredforArkwright，andthenshehadansweredemphatically，asshedidnow：

Never，dear。’

Ithoughtyousaidso，’murmuredBertram，relaxingalittle。

Idid；besides，didn’tItellyou？’shewentonairily，Ithinkhe’llmarryAliceGreggory。

AlicewrotemeallthetimeIwasaway，and——

oh，shedidn’tsayanythingdefinite，I’lladmit，’

confessedBilly，withanarchsmile；butshespokeofhisbeingtherelots，andtheyusedtoknoweachotheryearsago，yousee。Therewasalmostaromancethere，Ithink，beforetheGreggoryslosttheirmoneyandmovedawayfromalltheirfriends。’

Well，hemayhaveher。She’sanicegirl——

amightynicegirl，’answeredBertram，withtheunmistakablysatisfiedairofthemanwhoknowshehimselfpossessesthenicestgirlofthemall。

Billy，readingunerringlythetriumphinhisvoice，grewsuddenlygrave。Sheregardedherhusbandwithathoughtfulfrown；thenshedrewaprofoundsigh。

Whew!’laughedBertram，whimsically。Sosoonasthis？’

Bertram!’Billy’svoicewastragic。

Yes，mylove。’Thebridegroompulledhisfaceintosobriety；thenBillyspoke，withsolemnimpressiveness。

Bertram，Idon’tknowathingabout——

cooking——exceptwhatI’vebeenlearninginRosa’scook-bookthislastweek。’

Bertramlaughedsoloudthatthemanacrosstheaisleglancedoverthetopofhispapersurreptitiously。

Rosa’scook-book!Isthatwhatyouweredoingallthisweek？’

Yes；thatis——Itriedsohardtolearnsomething，’stammeredBilly。ButI’mafraidIdidn’t——much；thereweresomanythingsformetothinkof，youknow，withonlyaweek。IbelieveI_could_makepeachfritters，though。TheywerethelastthingI

studied。’

Bertramlaughedagain，uproariously；but，atBilly’sunchanginglytragicface，hegrewsuddenlyverygraveandtender。

Billy，dear，Ididn’tmarryyouto——togetacook，’hesaidgently。