A Colony of Girls Part 34

One crisp morning, when the wind blew fresh from the northwest, Eleanor came out from the inn with Cliff Archer at her side and started briskly forth in the direction of the parsonage. Eleanor's face wore an expression of deep dejection, and Cliff, observing this, made comment on it:

"You are down on your luck."

Eleanor smiled somewhat dubiously:

"It is in the air, Cliff. I don't know what is the matter with us all.

Our good spirits seem to have deserted us with Jean."

There was a brief silence, broken by Archer. He spoke slowly, as if not quite sure of his ground:

"It was in the air before Jean went away, I think. It strikes me that she was fully under its influence herself."

Eleanor shot a glance at her companion:

"Jean was not well, you know."

"And there was a cause. Come, Eleanor, let us be frank. You may trust my affection for Jean to keep me from prying into her affairs, but some things this summer were quite too patent to be disregarded."

"I don't know what you mean," Eleanor interposed hurriedly.

"Oh, yes, you do. It is natural for you to shield Jean, because from your point of view, she has been badly treated. Well, I don't agree with you in that. If ever a man was honestly in love, that man was Valentine Farr. I don't pretend to know what the trouble was between them, but I have a suspicion, on general principles, that jealousy was at the bottom of it. I don't believe that Jean's was well founded and I wish she had a friend who felt at liberty to tell her so. I have kept silent for a long time, too long perhaps; but now I have set the ball rolling, and shall await results."

They were in the parsonage grounds now, and Eleanor paused and laid her hand lightly on Cliff's arm.

"I would do anything in the world for Jean, as you know, Cliff, but I feel too much in the dark to take any step at present. You may be right; indeed, I think you are; but remember neither you nor I are quite sure of Jean's feeling on the subject, and it is a very delicate matter to meddle with."

"I would risk it," smiled Cliff.

After a moment he spoke again, in a tone of deeper earnestness:

"A very grave trouble can arise from a slight misunderstanding, Eleanor. I wish, dear, that you and I could put that possibility out of reach. I have tried to be patient, but when I see so much sorrow brought about undoubtedly by a lack of frankness and confidence, I tremble for our future. If you do care for me, dear, why will you not tell me so? Surely you cannot doubt the sincerity of my love for you."

Eleanor raised her eyes to her lover's face.

"I think you know, Cliff----" she began, when Nan's voice broke in upon them.

"h.e.l.lo! Now what are you two doing, philandering in this secluded spot?"

"Talking of subjects quite beyond your ken, my dear," drawled Cliff lazily.

"You won't catch your train if you don't come down to mother earth,"

laughed Nan.

Archer consulted his watch, and then bade the girls a hurried good-by and started off for the station. Nan linked her arm in Eleanor's and they proceeded leisurely to the parsonage, talking as they went. One sentence remained in Nan's mind, awakening there a long train of thought.

"The summer is over, Nan, and we are about to disband. We have, perhaps, had more gayety and less real happiness than in the years gone by. I think you know as well as I the reasons for this. You are the only one, I think, who could set some crooked matters straight.

Suppose you see what you can do?"

Enigmatical as the words were, Nan understood their purpose, and when, on the last evening before the Andrews and the Hills were to leave Hetherford, they a.s.sembled at the manor, she had quite determined to follow Eleanor's suggestion. It was a custom of long standing for Nan, Mollie, and Eleanor to spend the last night of the season with the Lawrence girls, to talk over the events of the summer and to antic.i.p.ate the future.

To-night, as they gathered around the wide fireplace in the drawing-room, a certain sadness hovered over them, subduing their voices, breaking the conversation with frequent s.p.a.ces of silence.

Their hearts were full of thoughts that were left unspoken. Jean's absence made itself strongly felt among them, so closely was she a.s.sociated with every like occasion in the past.

"Nothing seems real without her," said Eleanor drearily. "This parting is like no other."

"I hate partings anyway," cried Mollie. "I am always so afraid that we will not come together again quite in the old way!"

"All things must change To something new, to something strange!"

quoted Helen.

"Now, girls, this is nonsense," exclaimed Nathalie, struggling with the lump that would rise in her throat. "Jean is going to have a splendid time, and will come home as strong and well as ever, and at Christmas time you will all come up here and we will have a grand reunion."

No answer to Nathalie's cheerful prediction suggested itself, and Helen made a welcome diversion by announcing that it was bedtime.

"Nan, will you share my room?" she asked as they were on their way upstairs.

"Well, I should think so. I particularly want to have a good talk with you alone."

"That is nice. I am just in the humor for it, too."

When they had donned their wrappers Helen threw herself down on the sofa before the open fire, and Nan knelt down on the hearthstone to stir the logs into a brighter blaze.

"A cheerful fire is always inspiring to me," she said explanatorily.

"I can talk so much better when I am thoroughly warm and cozy."

Helen smiled indulgently.

"All right, Nan; make yourself comfie, and then talk to me."

The flames were crackling up the chimney now, and Nan settled herself on the hearthrug with a sigh of satisfaction.

"Do you think Jean will be happy so far away from you all?"

"She wanted very much to go," Helen replied evasively.

"Yes, I know that. Helen, Jean was not happy before she went away. Did you not see it?"

Helen did not speak, and after a moment Nan resumed quietly:

"Yes, Jean was unhappy, and yet Mr. Farr loved her dearly."

Helen sat up and looked at her friend in blank astonishment.

"Why, Nan----"

"Dear, I couldn't help guessing it. Indeed, I don't mean to be impertinent, but I believe Mr. Farr was in love with Jean, and I can't bear to see everything going wrong, when a little common sense would set it right."