第10章

AUNT ANNE

In the morning, however, she discovered no fine things anywhere.The hours that had elapsed since her father's death had wrought in him a "sea-change." He had gained nobility, almost beauty.She wondered with a desolate self-criticism whether during all those years she had been to blame and not he.Perhaps he had wished for sympathy and intimacy and she had repulsed him.His little possessions here and there about the house reproached her.

Uncle Mathew had a bad headache and would not come down to breakfast.She felt indignant with him but also indulgent.He had shown himself hopelessly lacking in good taste, and good feeling, but then she had never supposed that he had these things.At the same time the last support seemed to have been removed from her; it might well be that her Aunt Anne would not care for her and would not wish to have her in her house.What should she do then? Whither should she go? She flung up her head and looked bravely into the face of Ellen, the cook, who came to remove the breakfast, but she had to bite her lip to keep back the tears that WOULD come and fill her eyes so that the world was misty and obscure.

There was, she fancied, something strange about Ellen.In HER eyes some obscure triumph or excitement, some scorn and derision, Maggie fancied, of herself.Had the woman been drinking?...

Then there arrived Mr.Brassy, her father's solicitor, from Cator Hill.He had been often in the house, a short fat man with a purple face, clothes of a horsy cut, and large, red, swollen fingers.He took now possession of the house with much self-importance."Well, Miss Maggie" (he blew his words at her as a child blows soap-bubbles)."Here we are, then.Very sad indeed--very.I've been through the house--got the will all right.Your aunt, you say, will be with us?""My aunt from London.Miss Anne Cardinal.I expect her in half an hour.She should have arrived at Clinton by the half-past nine train." "Well, well.Yes--yes--indeed, your uncle is also here?""Yes.He will be down shortly."

"Very good, Miss Maggie.Very good."

She hated that he should call her Miss Maggie.He had always treated her with considerable respect, but to-day she fancied that he patronised her.He placed his hand for a moment on her shoulder and she shrank back.He felt her action and, abashed a little, coughed and blew his nose.He strutted about the room.Then the door opened and Ellen the cook looked in upon them.

"I only wished to see, Miss, whether I could do anything for you?""Nothing, thank you," said Maggie.

"Been with you some time that woman?" said Mr.Brassy.

"Yes," said Maggie, "about five years, I think.""Hum! Hum--name of Harmer."

"Yes.Harmer."

"Not married?"

"No," answered Maggie, wondering at this interest.

"Not so far as you know."

"No.She's always Miss Harmer."

"Quite so--quite so.Dear me, yes."

Other people appeared, asked questions and vanished.It seemed to have been all taken out of her hands and it was strange how desolate this made her.For so many years she had had the management of that house, since her fourteenth birthday, indeed.Ugly and dilapidated though the place had been, it had grown, after a time, to belong to her, and she had felt as though it were in some way grateful to her for keeping it, poor thing, together.Now it had suddenly withdrawn itself and was preparing for the next comer.Maggie felt this quite definitely and thought that probably it was glad that now its roof would be mended and its floors made whole.It had thrown her off...Well, she would not burden it long.

There were sounds then of wheels on the gravel.The old dilapidated cab from Clinton with its ricketty windows and moth-eaten seats that smelt of straw and beer was standing at the door, the horse puffing great breaths of steam into the frozen air.Her aunt had arrived.

Maggie, standing behind the window, looked out.The carriage door opened, and a figure, that seemed unusually tall, appeared to straighten itself out and rose to its full height on the gravel path as though it had been sitting in the cab pressed together, its head upon its knees.

Then in the hall that was dark even on the brightest day, Aunt Anne revealed herself as a lady, tall indeed, but not too tall, of a fine carriage, in a black rather shabby dress and a black bonnet.Her face was grave and sharply pointed, with dark eyes--sad rather, and of the pale remote colour that the Virgin in the St.Dreot's east end window wears.Standing there in the dusky hall, quietly, quite apart from the little bustle that surrounded her, she seemed to Maggie even in that first moment like some one wrapt, caught away into her own visions.

"I paid the cabman five shillings," she said very softly."I hope that was right.And you are Maggie, are you?"She bent down and kissed her.Her lips were warm and comforting.

Maggie, who had, when she was shy, something of the off-hand manner of a boy, said:

"Yes.That's all right.We generally give him four and six."They went into the dining-room where was Mr.Brassy.He came forward to them, blowing his words at them, rubbing his hands:

"Miss Cardinal--I am honoured--my name is Brassy, your brother's lawyer.Very, very sad--so sudden, so sudden.The funeral is at twelve.If there is anything I can do--"Miss Cardinal did not regard him at all and Maggie saw that this annoyed him.The girl watched her aunt, conscious of some strange new excitement at her heart.She had never seen any one who in the least resembled this remote silent woman.Maggie did not know what it was that she had expected, but certainly it had not been this.