Part 90

"Oh, no," said Jasper. "Come on, Clare, and let's see if the candy is cool." But Clare didn't want to see if the candy was cool, nor anything else but to have his own way. So he proceeded over to the corner by himself.

"Oho! You go right away!" cried Alexia, poking up her head over Polly's shoulder. "You dreadful boy! Now, Polly, come." And she pulled her off into the library.

"You see you didn't get anything for your pains," said Jasper, bursting into a laugh. "You'd much better have staid here."

"Well, I don't want to know, anyway," said Clare, taking a sudden interest in the candy. "I believe it is cold, Jasper; let's look."

"Polly," Alexia was saying in the library behind the portières, "I know now; because I did it once myself: it was when you first promised you'd be a friend to me, and I went home, and cried for very joy. And I didn't want to see anybody that night."

"Oh, Alexia!" exclaimed Polly, giving her a hug that satisfied even Alexia.

"No, I didn't; and I remember how I wanted to hold something up to my face. I never thought of a sofa pillow, and I couldn't have gotten it if I had thought, 'cause aunt had it crammed against her back. Oh, my eyes were a sight, Polly, and my nose was all over my face."

XXIII THE CLEMCY GARDEN PARTY

"You may go on those errands, Hortense, but first send Polly Pepper to me," commanded Mrs. Chatterton sharply.

The French maid paused in the act of hanging up a gown. "I will re-quest her, Madame. I should not like to send Mees Polly Peppaire."

"Miss Polly Pepper!" Mrs. Chatterton was guilty of stamping her foot. "Are you mad? I am speaking of Polly Pepper, this country girl, who is as poor and low-born here in this house, as if in her little brown house, wherever that may be."

Hortense shrugged her shoulders, and hung up the gown.

"Has Madame any further commands for me?" she asked, coming up to her mistress.

"Yes; be sure to get the velvet at Lemaire's, and take back the silk kimono. I will send to New York for one."

"Yes, Madame."

"That is all--besides the other errands. Now go." She dismissed her with a wave of her shapely hand. "But first, as I bade you, send Polly Pepper to me."

Hortense, with another elevation of her shoulders, said nothing, till she found herself the other side of the door. Then she shook her fist at it.

"It ees not Miss Polly who will be sent for; it ees Madame who will be sent out of dees house, j'ai peur--ha, ha, ha!"

She laughed softly to herself all the way downstairs, with an insolent little fling to her head, that boded ill for her mistress's interests.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Chatterton was angrily pacing up and down the room. "What arrant nonsense a man can be capable of when he is headstrong to begin with! To think of the elegant Horatio King, a model for all men, surrounding himself with this commonplace family. Faugh! It is easy enough to see what they are all after. But I shall prevent it. Meanwhile, the only way to do it is to break the spirit of this Polly Pepper. Once do that, and I have the task easy to my hand."

She listened intently. "It can't be possible she would refuse to come. Ha! I thought so."

Polly came quietly in. No one to see her face would have supposed that she had thrown aside the book she had been waiting weeks to read, so that lessons and music need not suffer. For she was really glad when Mrs. Chatterton's French maid asked her respectfully if she would please be so good as to step up to her mistress's apartments, "s'il vous plait, Mees Polly."

"Yes, indeed," cried Polly, springing off from the window-seat, and forgetting the enchanted story-land immediately in the rush of delight. "Oh, I have another chance to try to please her," she thought, skimming over the stairs. But she was careful to restrain her steps on reaching the room.

"You may take that paper," said Mrs. Chatterton, seating herself in her favorite chair, "and read to me. You know the things I desire to hear, or ought to." She pointed to the society news, Town Talk, lying on the table.

Polly took it up, glad to be of the least service, and whirled it over to get the fashion items, feeling sure that now she was on the right road to favor.

"Don't rattle it," cried Mrs. Chatterton, in a thin, high voice.

"I'll try not to," said Polly, wishing she could be deft-handed like Mamsie, and doing her best to get to the inner page quietly.

"And why don't you read where you are?" cried Mrs. Chatterton. "Begin on the first page. I wish to hear that first."