luella did her work quietly, firmly, and thoroughly. she vanished before marie had thought of coming to her morning duties.
at breakfast-time donald found a sad, cowed little woman waiting for him to go down to the dining-room. he tried to cheer her up by telling her how nice a time they were to have in bathing that morning, for the water was sure to be delightful; but aunt crete shook her head sadly, and said she guessed she had better not go in bathing any more. then she sighed, and looked wistfully out on the blue waves dancing in the sunshine.
“don’t you feel well, aunt crete?” asked donald anxiously.
“o, yes, real well,” she answered.
“did it hurt you to go in yesterday, do you think?”
“no, not a mite,” she responded promptly.
“then why in the name of common sense don’t you want to go in to-day? has luella been trying to talk some of her nonsense?”
[133]
“well, luella thinks my figger looks so bad in a bathing-suit. she says of course you want to be polite to me, but you don’t really know how folks will laugh at me, and make her ashamed of belonging to me.”
“well, i like that!” said donald. “you just tell miss luella we’re not running this vacation for her sole benefit. now, aunt crete, you’re going in bathing, or else i won’t go, and you wouldn’t like to deprive me of that pleasure, would you? well, i thought not. now come on down to breakfast, and we’ll have the best day yet. don’t you let luella worry you. and, by the way, aunt crete, i’m thinking of taking a run up to cape cod, and perhaps getting a glimpse of the coast of maine before i get through. how would you like to go with me?”
“oh!” gasped aunt crete in a daze of delight. “could i?” then, mindful of luella’s mocking words the night before: “but i musn’t be an expense to you. i’d just be a burden. you know i haven’t a cent of my own in the world; so i couldn’t pay my way, and you’ve done a great deal more than i ought to have let you do.”
“now, aunt crete, once for all you must get that idea out of your head. you could never be a[134] burden to me. i want you for a companion. if my mother were here, shouldn’t i just love to take her on a journey with me, and spend every cent i had to make her happy? well, i haven’t mother here; but you are the nearest to mother i can find, and i somehow feel she’d like me to have you in her place. will you come? or is it asking too much to ask you to leave aunt carrie and cousin luella? they’ve got each other, and they never really needed you as i do. i’ve got plenty of money for us to do as we please, and i mean it with all my heart. will you come and stay with me? i may have to take a flying trip to europe before the summer’s over; and, if i do, it would be dreadfully lonesome to go alone. i think you’d like a trip on the ocean, wouldn’t you? and a peep at london, and perhaps paris and vienna and old rome for a few days? and in the fall i’m booked for work in my old university. it’s only an assistant professorship yet, but it means a big thing for a young fellow like me, and i want you to come with me and make a cozy little home for me between whiles and a place where i can bring my friends when they get homesick.”
he paused and looked down for an answer, and[135] was almost startled by the glory of joy in aunt crete’s face.
“o donald, could i do that? could i be that to you? do you really think i could be of use enough to you to earn my living?”
he stooped and kissed her forehead reverently to hide the tears that had come unbidden to his eyes. it touched him beyond measure that this sweet life had been so empty of love and so full of drudgery that she should speak thus about so simple a matter. it filled him with indignation against those who had taken the sweetness from her and given her the dregs of a life instead.
“dear aunt,” he said, “you could be of great use to me, and more than earn anything i could do for you many times over, just by being yourself and mothering me; but as for work, there is not to be one stroke done except just what you want to do for amusement. we’ll have servants to do all the work, and you shall manage them. i want you for an ornament in my home, and you are going to have a good rest and a continual vacation the rest of your life, if i know anything about it. now come down to breakfast, so we can go in bathing early, and don’t you worry another wrinkle about luella. you don’t belong to her[136] any more. we’ll send her a parasol from new york and a party gown from paris, and she won’t bother her pompadour any more about you, you may be sure.”
in a maze of delight aunt crete went down to breakfast, and dawned upon the astonished vision of her sister and niece in all the beauty of her dainty white morning costume. they were fairly startled at the vision she was in white, with her pretty white hair to match it. luella gasped and held her disapproving breath, but aunt crete was too absorbed in the vision of joy that had opened before her to know or care what they thought of her in a white dress.
no girl in the new joy of her first love was ever in a sweeter dream of bliss than was aunt crete as she beamed through her breakfast. luella’s looks of scorn and luella’s mother’s sour visage had no effect upon her whatever. she smiled happily, and ate her breakfast in peace, for had she not been set free forever from the things that had made her life a burden heretofore, and shown into a large place of new joys where her heart might find rest?
after breakfast donald made them all walk down the board walk to the various shops filled[137] with curios, where he bought everything that luella looked at, and lavished several gifts also upon her mother, including a small oriental rug that she admired. they returned to the hotel in a good humor, and luella began to have visions of luxurious days to come. she felt sure she could keep aunt crete down about where she wanted her, and her eyes gloated over the beautiful white dress that she hoped to claim for her own when they all went home and she had convinced aunt crete how unsuitable white was for old ladies.
she was quite astonished, after her morning talk with her aunt, to hear donald say as he looked at his watch, “come, aunt crete, it’s time for our bath,” and to see aunt crete walk smiling off toward the bath-houses, utterly regardless of her wrathful warning glances. it was rather disconcerting to have aunt crete become unmanageable right at the beginning this way. but in view of the fact that her hands were filled with pretty trifles bought by her cousin she did not feel like making any protest beyond threatening glances, which the dear soul whose mind was in europe, and whose heart was in a cozy little home all her own and donald’s, did not see at all.
aunt crete was happy. she felt it in every[138] nerve of her body as she stepped into the crisp waves and bounded out to meet them with the elasticity of a girl.
luella, following a moment later in her flashy bathing-suit of scarlet and white, watched her aunt in amazement, and somehow felt that aunt crete was drifting away from her, separated by something more than a few yards of blue salt water.
donald kept up a continual flow of bright conversation during the noon meal, and managed to engage luella and her mother on the long piazza in looking through the marine-glass at a great ship that went lazily floating by, while aunt crete was getting ready to go on the ride; and before luella and her mother were quite aware of what was happening they stood on the piazza watching aunt crete in her handsome black crêpe de chine, which even boasted a modest train, and her black lace wrap and bonnet, being handed into the grandon motor-car, while donald carried her long new gray cloak on his arm. the gray car moved smoothly away out of sight, and luella and her mother were left staring at the sea with their own bitter reflections.
the automobile party did not return until late[139] that night, for the moon was full and the roads were fine; and donald saw to it that aunt crete was guarded against any intrusion.
it was at breakfast next morning that donald told them, and aunt crete sat listening with the rapt smile that a slave might have worn as he listened to the reading of the proclamation of emancipation.
“aunt carrie,” he began as pleasantly as if he were about to propose that they all go rowing, “aunt crete and i have decided to set up a permanent partnership. she has consented to come and mother me. i have accepted a position in my old university, and i am very tired of boarding. i think we shall have a cozy, pleasant home; and we’ll be glad to have you and luella come and visit us sometimes after we get settled and have some good servants so that aunt crete will have plenty of time to take you around and show you the sights. in the meantime, it is very likely that i may have to take a brief trip abroad for the university. if so, i shall probably start in about a week, and before that i want to get a glimpse of the new england coast. i have decided to take aunt crete, and run away from you to-day. we leave on the noon train; so there is time for a little[140] frolic yet. suppose we go down to the board walk, and eat an ice-cream cone. i saw some delicious ones last night that made my mouth water, and we haven’t had that experience yet. we’ll get some rolling chairs so that aunt crete won’t be too tired for her journey. come, aunt crete, you won’t need to go up-stairs again, shall you? i told marie about the packing. it won’t be necessary for you to go back until it’s time for you to change to your travelling-garb.”
in a daze of anger and humiliation luella and her mother climbed into their double rolling chair, and ate their ice-cream cones sullenly, propelled by a large, lazy colored boy; but aunt crete had a chair to herself, and was attended by donald, who kept up a constant stream of delightfully funny conversation about the people and things they passed that made aunt crete laugh until the tears came into her happy eyes.
there was no opportunity for luella and her mother to talk to aunt crete alone, even after they returned to the hotel; for donald kept himself in evidence everywhere, until at last luella made bold to declare that she didn’t see why donald thought he had a right to come and take aunt crete away from them, when they had always[141] taken care of her; and her mother added in an injured tone:
“yes, you don’t seem to realize what a burden it’s been all these years, having to support crete, and her so childish and unreasonable in a great many ways, and not having any idea of the value of money. i’ve spent a good deal on crete, take it all in all; and now, when luella’s going out, and has to have clothes and company, it’s rather hard to have her leave us in the lurch this way, and me with all the work to do.”
“that being the case, aunt carrie,” said donald pleasantly, “i should suppose you’d be very glad to have me relieve you of the burden of aunt crete’s support, for it will be nothing but a pleasure to me to care for her the rest of her life. as for what you have spent for her, just run it over in your mind, and i shall be quite glad to re-imburse you. aunt crete is really too frail and sweet to have to work any longer. i should think my cousin was almost old enough to be a help to you now, and she looks perfectly strong and able to work.”
luella flashed a vindictive glance at her cousin, and turned haughtily toward the window; then the porter came for the trunks, and the travellers said a hasty good-by, and flitted.
[142]
as donald shook hands with luella in parting, he looked merrily into her angry eyes, and said:
“i do hope, luella, that it hasn’t been too much of a trial to have your ‘backwoods cousin’ spend a few days here. you’ll find a box of bonbons up in your room, if the porter did his duty, which may sweeten your bitter thoughts of me; and we hope you’ll have a delightful time the remainder of your stay here. good-by.”
about three months after donald had returned from europe and settled to his western university life aunt crete received a letter from her sister. it was brief and to the point, and aunt crete could read between the lines. it read:
“dear crete,—aren’t you about sick of that nonsense, and ready to come home? luella has decided that she can’t do better than take john peters. he has promised to buy an auto next year, if the plumbing business keeps up. i think at least you might come home and help get her things ready; for there’s a great deal of sewing to do, and you know i can’t afford to hire it; and luella’s out so much, now she’s engaged. do come soon.
your sister, carrie.”
aunt crete looked sober; but donald, looking over her shoulder, read, and then went to his desk for a moment. coming back, he dropped a check for five hundred dollars into his aunt’s lap.
“send her that from me, aunt crete, and another from yourself, if you like, and let her hire the sewing done. they don’t want you, and i do.”
aunt crete had her own bank-account now, thanks to her thoughtful nephew, and she smiled back a delighted, “i will,” and went off to write the letter; for aunt crete was at last emancipated.
