第90章 The New Relations (5)

Wounded in her tenderest part, indignant at the insult to her father, ashamed of her own want of control, miserably perplexed by her new surroundings, it was long before she could compose herself.

She paced up and down the richly furnished room, struggling hard to conquer her anger.At length, by a happy impulse, she caught up her prayer book, checked her longing to walk rapidly to and fro, sat down on the Indian rug before the fire, and read the evening psalm.It happened to be the thirty-seventh.Nothing could have calmed her so effectually as its tender exhortation, its wonderful sympathy with human nature.""Fret not thyself, else shalt thou be moved to do evil.Put thou thy trust in the Lord, and be doing good.Put thy trust in Him, and He will bring it to pass.

She closed the book, and sat musing, her anger quite passed away.

All at once she recollected old Elspeth, the nurse.Her father had charged her with many messages to the faithful old servant, and so had her aunt.She felt ashamed to think that she had been several hours in the house without delivering them.Rose's room was close to hers.She went out, and knocked softly at the door.

"I just came to see whether Elspeth was here," she said, rather dismayed to find the candles out, and the room only lighted up by the red glow from the fire.

Rose who had had no temper to conquer, was already in bed."Still in your dress!" she exclaimed."I believe you've been at that Browning again.But did no one come to help you? I sent Gemma.""I didn't want help, thank you," said Erica."I only wanted to see Elspeth because I have a message for her.""How conscientious you are!" said Rose, laughing."I always make a point of forgetting messages when I go from home.Well, you will find Elspeth in the little room on the next half landing, the work room.She was here not two minutes ago.Good night! Breakfast is at nine, you know; and they'll bring you a cup of tea when they call you."A little shyly, Erica made her way to the work room where Elspeth was tacking frilling into one of Rose's dresses.The old woman started up with a quick exclamation when she appeared in the doorway.

"May I come in?" said Erica, with all the charm of manner which she had inherited from her father."'Tis very late, but I didn't like to go to bed without seeing you.""I hope missie has everything she wants?" asked Elspeth, anxiously.

"Yes, indeed!" said Erica."All I want is to see you, and to give you my father's love, to ask how you are.He and Aunt Jean have often told me about you.You have not forgotten them?""Forgotten! No, indeed!" cried old Elspeth."When I saw you at 'Takin' the book,' and saw you so like your poor father, I could have cried.You are Mr.Luke's bairn, and no mistake, my bonny lassie! Ah, I mind the day well when he came to my room the auld nursery in the parsonage, where I had reared him and told me that master had ordered him out of the house.I pray God I may never again see a face look as his looked then!"Tears started to her eyes at the recollection.Erica threw her arms round her neck, and kissed her.

"You love him still.I see you love him!" she exclaimed, all her feeling of isolation melting in the assurance of the old servant's sympathy.

So, after all, Erica had a maid in attendance, for Elspeth insisted on seeing her to bed, and, since they talked all the time about the old Scotch days, she was well content to renounce her independence for a little while.

But, whether because of the flickering fire light, or because of the strangeness of the great brass bedstead, with its silken hangings and many-colored Indian rezai, Erica slept very little that night.Perhaps the long talk about her father's early days had taken too great a hold of her.At any rate, she tossed about very restlessly in her luxurious quarters, and when, for brief intervals, she slept, it was only to dream of her father taking leave of his Scottish home, and always he bore that flint-like face, that look of strong endurance and repressed passion which Elspeth had described, and which, in times of trouble and injustice, Erica had learned to know so well.