第3章

Billyshookherhead。

Iknow；butAuntHannahsaidthatevenifIneverexpectedtocook，myself，Ioughttoknowhowitwasdone，sotoproperlyoverseeit。Shesaidthat——thatnowoman，whodidn’tknowhowtocookandkeephouseproperly，hadanybusinesstobeawife。And，Bertram，Ididtry，honestly，allthisweek。Itriedsohardtorememberwhenyouspongedbreadandwhenyoukneadedit。’

Idon’teverneed——_yours_，’cutinBertram，shamelessly；buthegotonlyadeservedlysternglanceinreturn。

AndIrepeatedoverandoveragainhowmanycupfulsofflourandpinchesofsaltandspoonfulsofbaking-powderwentintothings；

but，Bertram，Isimplycouldnotkeepmymindonit。Everything，everywherewassingingtome。AndhowdoyousupposeIcouldrememberhowmanypinchesofflourandspoonfulsofsaltandcupfulsofbaking-powderwentintoaloafofcakewhenallthewhiletheveryteakettleonthestovewassinging：`It’sallright——Bertramlovesme——I’mgoingtomarryBertram!’？’

Youdarling!’(InspiteofthemanacrosstheaisleBertramdidalmostkissherthistime。)

Asifanybodycaredhowmanycupfulsofbaking-powderwentanywhere——withthatinyourheart!’

AuntHannahsaysyouwill——whenyou’rehungry。AndKatesaid——’

Bertramutteredasharpwordbehindhisteeth。

Billy，forheaven’ssakedon’ttellmewhatKatesaid，ifyouwantmetostaysane，andnotattempttofightsomebody——brokenarm，andall。Kate_thinks_she’skind，andIsupposeshemeanswell；but——well，she’smadetroubleenoughbetweenusalready。I’vegotyounow，sweetheart。You’remine——allmine——’hisvoiceshook，anddroppedtoatenderwhisper——

`tilldeathusdopart。’’

Yes；`tilldeathusdopart，’’breathedBilly。

Andthen，foratime，theyfellsilent。

`I，Bertram，takethee，Billy，’’sangthewhirringwheelsbeneaththem，toone。

`I，Billy，takethee，Bertram，’’sangthewhirringwheelsbeneaththem，totheother。

Whilestraightaheadbeforethemboth，stretchedfairandbeautifulintheireyes，thewondrouspathoflifewhichtheyweretotreadtogether。

OnthefirstSundayaftertheweddingPetecameup-stairstotellhismaster，William，thatMrs。Stetsonwantedtoseehiminthedrawing-

room。

Williamwentdownatonce。

Well，AuntHannah，’hebegan，reachingoutacordialhand。Why，what’sthematter？’hebrokeoffconcernedly，ashecaughtaclearerviewofthelittleoldlady’sdrawnfaceandtroubledeyes。

William，it’ssilly，ofcourse，’criedAuntHannah，tremulously，butIsimplyhadtogotosomeone。I——Ifeelsonervousandunsettled!Did——didBillysayanythingtoyou——

whatshewasgoingtodo？’

Whatshewasgoingtodo？Aboutwhat？

Whatdoyoumean？’

Aboutthehouse——sellingit，’falteredAuntHannah，sinkingwearilybackintoherchair。

Williamfrownedthoughtfully。

Why，no，’heanswered。Itwasallsohurriedatthelast，youknow。Therewasreallyverylittlechancetomakeplansforanything——

exceptthewedding，’hefinished，withasmile。

Yes，Iknow，’sighedAuntHannah。Everythingwasinsuchconfusion!Still，Ididn’tknowbutshemighthavesaidsomething——toyou。’

No，shedidn’t。ButIimagineitwon’tbehardtoguesswhatshe’lldo。WhentheygetbackfromtheirtripIfancyshewon’tlosemuchtimeinhavingwhatthingsshewantsbroughtdownhere。Thenshe’llselltherestandputthehouseonthemarket。’

Yes，of——ofcourse，’stammeredAuntHannah，pullingherselfhastilytoamoreerectposition。

That’swhatIthought，too。Thendon’tyouthinkwe’dbetterdismissRosaandclosethehouseatonce？’

Why——yes，perhapsso。Whynot？Thenyou’dbeallsettledherewhenshecomeshome。

I’msure，thesooneryoucome，thebetterI’llbepleased，’hesmiled。

AuntHannahturnedsharply。

Here!’sheejaculated。WilliamHenshaw，youdidn’tsupposeIwascoming_here_tolive，didyou？’

ItwasWilliam’sturntolookamazed。

Why，ofcourseyou’recominghere!Whereelseshouldyougo，pray？’

WhereIwasbefore——beforeBillycame——toyou，’returnedAuntHannahalittletremulously，butwithacertaindignity。Ishalltakearoominsomequietboarding-house，ofcourse。’

Nonsense，AuntHannah!AsifBillywouldlistentothat!Youcamebefore；whynotcomenow？’

AuntHannahliftedherchinthefractionofaninch。

Youforget。Iwasneededbefore。Billyisamarriedwomannow。Sheneedsnochaperon。’

Nonsense!’scowledWilliam，again。Billywillalwaysneedyou。’

AuntHannahshookherheadmournfully。

Iliketothink——shewantsme，William，butIknow，inmyheart，itisn’tbest。’

Whynot？’

Therewasamoment’spause；then，decisivelycametheanswer。

BecauseIthinkyoungmarriedfolksshouldnothaveoutsidersinthehome。’

Williamlaughedrelievedly。

Oh，sothat’sit!Well，AuntHannah，you’renooutsider。Come，runrightalonghomeandpackyourtrunk。’

AuntHannahwasplainlyalmostcrying；butsheheldherground。

William，Ican’t，’shereiterated。

But——Billyissuchachild，and——’

ForonceinhercircumspectlifeAuntHannahwasguiltyofaninterruption。

Pardonme，William，sheisnotachild。Sheisawomannow，andshehasawoman’sproblemstomeet。’

Well，then，whydon’tyouhelphermeetthem？’retortedWilliam，stillwithawhimsicalsmile。

ButAuntHannahdidnotsmile。Foraminuteshedidnotspeak；then，withhereyesstudiouslyaverted，shesaid：

William，thefirstfouryearsofmymarriedlifewere——werespoiledbyanoutsiderinourhome。Idon’tmeantospoilBilly’s。’

Williamrelaxedvisibly。Thesmilefledfromhisface。

Why——Aunt——Hannah!’heexclaimed。

Thelittleoldladyturnedwithawearysigh。

Yes，Iknow。Youareshocked，ofcourse。

Ishouldn’thavetoldyou。Still，itisallpastlongago，and——IwantedtomakeyouunderstandwhyIcan’tcome。Hewasmyhusband’seldestbrother——abachelor。Hewasgoodandkind，andmeantwell，Isuppose；but——heinterferedwitheverything。Iwasyoung，andprobablyheadstrong。Atallevents，therewasconstantfriction。Hewentawayonceandstayedtwowholemonths。Ishallneverforgettheutterfreedomandhappinessofthosemonthsforus，withthewholehousetoourselves。No，William，Ican’tcome。’Sheroseabruptlyandturnedtowardthedoor。Hereyeswerewistful，andherfacewasstilldrawnwithsuffering；butherwholefraillittleselfquiveredplainlywithhighresolve。JohnhasPeggyoutside。Imustgo。’

But——but，AuntHannah，’beganWilliam，helplessly。

Sheliftedaprotestinghand。

No，don’turgeme，please。Ican’tcomehere。

But——IbelieveIwon’tclosethehousetillBillygetshome，afterall，’shedeclared。Thenextmomentshewasgone，andWilliam，dazedly，fromthedoorway，waswatchingJohnhelpherintoBilly’sautomobile，calledbyBillyandhalfherfriends，Peggy，’shortforPegasus。’

StilldazedlyWilliamturnedbackintothehouseanddroppedhimselfintothenearestchair。

Whatacuriouscallithadbeen!AuntHannahhadnotactedlikeherselfatall。NotoncehadshesaidOh，mygriefandconscience!’whilethethingsshe_had_said——!Someway，hehadneverthoughtofAuntHannahasbeingyoung，andabride。Still，ofcourseshemusthavebeen——once。Andthereasonshegavefornotcomingtheretolive——thepitifulstoryofthatoutsiderinherhome!Butshewasnooutsider!ShewasnointerferingbrotherofBilly’s——

Williamcaughthisbreathsuddenly，andhelditsuspended。Thenhegavealowejaculationandhalfsprangfromhischair。

Spunkie，disturbedfromherdozebythefire，utteredapurringme-o-ow，’andlookedupinquiringly。

ForalongminuteWilliamgazeddumblyintothecat’syellow，sleepilycontentedeyes；thenhesaidwithtragicdistinctness：

Spunkie，it’strue：AuntHannahisn’tBilly’shusband’sbrother，but——Iam!Doyouhear？

I_am!_’

Pur-r-me-ow!’commentedSpunkie；andcurledherselfforanothernap。

TherewasnopeaceforWilliamafterthat。Invainhetoldhimselfthathewasnointerfering’

brother，andthatthiswashishomeandhadbeenallhislife；invaindidhedeclareemphaticallythathecouldnotgo，hewouldnotgo；

thatBillywouldnotwishhimtogo：alwaysbeforehiseyeswasthevisionofthatlittlebrideofyearslonggone；alwaysinhisearswastheechoofAuntHannah’sIshallneverforgettheutterfreedomandhappinessofthosemonthsforus，withthewholehousetoourselves。’Nor，turnwhichwayhewould，couldhefindanythingtocomforthim。Simplybecausehewassofearfullylookingforit，hefoundit——thethingthathadforitsthemethewretchednessthatmightbeexpectedfromthepresenceofathirdpersoninthenewhome。

PoorWilliam!Everywherehemetit——thehint，theword，thestory，thesong，even；andalwaysitaddeditsmitetothewoefulwhole。

Eventhehoariestofmother-in-lawjokeshaditsstingforhim；and，tomakehiscupquitefull，hechancedtorememberonedaywhatMariehadsaidwhenhehadsuggestedthatsheandCyrilcometotheStratatolive：No；Ithinkyoungfolksshouldbeginbythemselves。’

Unhappy，indeed，werethesedaysforWilliam。

Likealostspirithewanderedfromroomtoroom，touchingthis，fingeringthat。Forlongminuteshewouldstandbeforesomepicture，orsometreasuredbitofoldmahogany，asiftostampindeliblyuponhismindathingthatwassoontobenomore。Atothertimes，likeamanwithoutahome，hewouldgooutintotheCommonorthePublicGardenandsitforhoursonsomebench——thinking。

Allthiscouldhavebutoneending，ofcourse。

BeforethemiddleofAugustWilliamsummonedPetetohisrooms。

Oh，Pete，I’mgoingtomovenextweek，’

hebegannonchalantly。Hisvoicesoundedasifmovingwereapleasurablecircumstancethatoccurredinhisliferegularlyonceamonth。I’dlikeyoutobegintopackupthesethings，please，to-morrow。’

Theoldservant’smouthfellopen。

You’regoin’to——towhat，sir？’hestammered。

Move——_move_，Isaid。’Williamspokewithunusualharshness。

Petewethislips。

Youmeanyou’vesoldtheoldplace，sir？——

thatwe——weain’tgoin’toliveherenolonger？’

Sold？Ofcoursenot!_I’m_goingtomoveaway；notyou。’

IfPetecouldhaveknownwhatcausedthesharpnessinhismaster’svoice，hewouldnothavebeensogrieved——or，rather，hewouldhavebeengrievedforadifferentreason。Asitwashecouldonlyfaltermiserably：

_You_aregoin’tomoveawayfromhere!’

Yes，yes，man!Why，Pete，whatailsyou？

Onewouldthinkabodynevermovedbefore。’

Theydidn’t——notyou，sir。’

Williamturnedabruptly，sothathisfacecouldnotbeseen。Withsterndeliberationhepickedupanelaboratelydecoratedteapot；butthevaluablebitofLowestoftshooksoinhishandthathesetitdownatonce。Itclickedsharplyagainstitsneighbor，betrayinghisnervoushand。

Petestirred。

But，Mr。William，’hestammeredthickly；

howareyou——what’llyoudowithout——Theredoesn’tnobodybutmeknowsowellaboutyourtea，andthetwolumpsinyourcoffee；andthere’syourflannelsthatyouneverputontillI

get’emout，andthewoolensocksthatyou’dwearallsummerifIdidn’thide’em。And——

andwho’sgoin’totakecareofthese？’hefinished，withaglancethatencompassedtheoverflowingcabinetsandshelvesofcuriosallabouthim。

Hismastersmiledsadly。Anaffectionthathaditsinceptioninhisboyhooddaysshoneinhiseyes。ThehandinwhichtheLowestofthadshakenrestednowheavilyonanoldman’sbentshoulder——ashoulderthatstraighteneditselfinunconsciousloyaltyunderthetouch。

Pete，youhavespoiledme，andnomistake。

Idon’texpecttofindanotherlikeyou。ButmaybeifIwearthewoolensockstoolateyou’llcomeandhuntuptheothersforme。Eh？’