Pretty Miss Allington, and other tales

Front matter

PRETTY MISS ALLINGTON, AND OTHER TALES. R, PRETTY MISS ALLINGTON, anb oti)er BV L. GALBRAITH, Author of "The Spin of the Coin," " Lightly Lost," etc., etc. HULL : W. G. B. PAGE, PRINTER AND PUBLISHE 25, Brook Steeet. LONDON: Simfkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent and Co., Limited. 1893. NOTE. " Pretty Miss Allington," and "A Vicarious Sacrifice," are original tales ; but " The Last ' At Home ' of the Season," " An American Heiress " and " Dick Joscelyn's Wife," are reprinted, with the publishers' permission, from The Lady's Pictorial, Whitehall Review, and The Lady, respectively. CONTENTS. " PRETTY MISS ALLINGTON." PAGE

Chapter I. Chapter I

CHAPTER I.

CHAPTER I

, ""[TOW about the paint?" enquired Gwendolen. "Is A A it at all strong?" The air was heavy with the fragrance of some oriental perfume. Through the slowly ascending clouds of blue smoke, the firelight flickered on the dull gold frames of pictures hanging above a dado of red Indian matting, and threw a varied glow over richly coloured Eastern fabrics, big lacquered jardiniers and Art pottery ; all the costly trifles, which made the Studio a source of wonder and delight to the models accustomed to the bare walls and carpetless floors of other hard working young painters. The rest of the house was undisguisedly shabby, for the Allingtons were poor and Theo and her mother never had a sixpence to bestow on superfluities, only Gwendolen, as a rising young artist, whose work was regularly 'hung' on the walls of ' The Grosvenor ' and Burlington House, made her two hundred a year and spent it lavishly on the decoration of herself and her studio.

Soft cushions, harmonious colouring, and small luxuries were a necessity to pretty Miss Allington. She liked nice things. The Japanese tea table with its brass tray and red and gold china was her especial property. She had instituted the supererogatory meal, which her mother's economy would have foregone except in the case of afternoon visitors, and she piid for the cream, muffins and pound cake of which she was childishly fond. '• I can't smell anything but this lovely smoke," said Theo, sniffing luxuriously, " What is it?" " Incense." Miss Allington was stirring the fragrant gum with the end of a paint brush, " You can only buy it at one place in Paris, and it costs something fabulous, so I made Mr. Faulkener send for a lot and he gave me this little silver brazier to burn it in." She lifted a lovely flushed face from the carved stand over which she was bending and looked at her sister with a mocking little smile.

But Theo was not encouraging. " You should not laugh at Mr. Faulkener, Gwen," she answered gravely. " He is awfully fond of you, and you — you take his presents." " Of course I do," laughing outright. " You would not have me hurt the poor man's feelings by refusing them ? Beside, " glancing round, "I really could not spare them now. There would be nothing left in the room. As to being fond of me, that goes without saying. Why, he has known me ever siuce I was a baby. Quite a sort of extra father, don't you know ? " " He does not think so," reproachfully, " You know he cares for you in quite a different way, that he — he wants you to marry him, Gwendolen." " Well, I don't want to marry anyone — yet," replied Miss Allington, subsiding into the biggest and most cosy of the easy chairs and depositing her smart little Russia leather slippers on the brass fender.

" Bring me some tea, Theo, and don't read moral lectures on subjects you don't understand. You should get an admirer of your own, my dear, and practice all these nice little theories upon him." The warm colour flushed into Theo's face. It was a deficiency, which could not bo gainsaid, that she, though only a year younger than her sister, had never been singled out for special notice by anyone. Gwen, from the day she was seventeen, had counted her adorers by the dozen. She never spent a sixpence on cut flowers. Whenever they were wanted, they arrived, carefully p icked in cotton wool by the hands of some unknown florist, and her room was filled with a wealth of pretty trifles brought her by each recurring Caristmas and New Year. No one dreamed of supplying Theo with the latest song, or the last new thing in perfume, and never in her life, had she received so much as a geranium leaf.

In her unbounded love and admiration for Gwendolen, she never resented the difference between them, but she lelt it keenly painfully, as due to some great inferiority in herself; a reproach to her young worn inhood, and she bent her head over the tea tray to hide the tears of humiliation called up by her sister's careless words. In Theo*s eyes, Gwen, like the King, could do no -wrong, but sbe did sometimes think that had she been pretty, brilliant, and admired, she would have been more careful of the feelings of the less fortunate jeople, who had none of these things. " I wish you would jiick up someone," pursued Gwen dolen, helping herself to a muffin, " It's such a nuisance when I want to make up a square party that there is no man who cares to be told off for you. I can't think why it is, for I am sure you see plenty of people."

" Perhaps," said Theo trying to smile bravely, " it is because I am so plain." The humility of the confession would have touched a harder heart than Miss Allington's. She leaned her pretty head against the back of the chair and regarded her sister critically. " No," she answered, " you are not so very plain, Theo, in fact I do not think that, you are exactly plain at all. You are not pretty of course, but your eyes are nice, and when you get some colour into your face, you are really not half bad looking, much better than either Katie Redmond or Laura Carter and they are both engaged. I suppose," conclusively, " that you are notthat sort of girl. Some girls ar' lit, you know (with a comfortable disregard of the rules of Grammar) " men always speak of them as ' nice,' and they never get any farther.

I notice that men usually speak of you as a nice girl." Tneodora had no argument to advance. She silently ate her muffin and tried to find consolation iu being spoken of as 'nice," if nothing more. " Go round and look at my ' novice,' " continued Gwendolen, holding up a corner of her teagown to shield her face from the fire, " I sin mid have fiiii-hed it to-day, if Minna could have stayed till four o'clock ; but she was going to Tom Anstruther's, so I must have another sitting. What do you think of it ? " she added impatiently, for Theo was not usually slow in according her praise. " It is very pretty," doubtfully, " Minna is very pretty, and this is a perfect portrait of her, but — " "But what?" Gwendolen was smiling sweetly. "Say exactly what you think, you know. Your criticism is not of such immense importance, that you need be afraid us hurting my feelings."

" It is not criticism at all. The painting and arrangements are lovely. The fault is in Minna's face, I think." " Really, Theo," Gwendolen's voice took an inflection of scorn, " It is a little absurd for you of all people to cavil at that. Every one with eyes can see that Minna has one of the most faultless faces in town." " You do not understand me, her face is beautiful but she does not look like a real novice. She is just a very pretty girl, who has dressed « PRETTY MISS ALLINGTON." 5 herself 'up in the clothes, to see how she looks in them and all the feeling she has, is, that they are very becoming. Most people," went on Theo eagerly, " have some sort of story in their eyes. You may not be able to read it, just as you could not read a book written in Russian or Hindu stani, but you know that it is a book, and that the story is there.

Now in Minna's eyes, there is nothing to read ; they are only large beautiful eyes, that is all." Gwendolen had come across the room, her soft plush draperies trailing after her over the polished floor ; she now stood, her hands clasped behind her head, thoughtfully surveying her work. " I see what you mean," she said at length, " It never struck me in that light before. You arc a queer girl, Theo, you have occasional inspirations ; you think clever things, but you take so long to put them into intelligible language, that by the time one has found out what they mean, one has forgotten that they were clever at all. Now if you had said that Minna has no soul in her eyes, I should have understood you at once." " That is it," with a sigh of relief ; " you arc so clever, Gwen. She has no soul in her eyes.

Does she ever think I wonder ? " "Oh, yes," with a yawn, "about her dinner and her next new hat. I might paint her as ' vanity.' That is not half a bad idea. I shall rough it out in chalk to-night." " To-night ! why, have you forgotten, we are going to that dance with Mrs. Curtis." Miss Allington had returned to her big chair. " I am not going." She answered laconically. " Not going." Theo echoed aghast. " My dress is not finished. Madame sent a wire this afternoon. She cannot match the crepe, or the silk, or something. Of course I cannot go without it." " But " protested Theo, ready to cry, " you can wear something else, your white silk, or the pink tulle." " PRETTY MISS ALLINGTON." " The white is filthy, and have I not worn that pink thing three times?" " But it is quite fresh, and you look so lovely in it.

What does it matter if you have worn it before? Why I have gone to a dozen dances in my old blue." Gwendolen surveyed her with calm disdain. "Very likely," she answered dryly, " but the cases are hardly parallel. You are not me, you know." " Then we are not to go," silenced in spite of her bitter disappointment by the crushing self evidence of Gwen's assertion. " You will go, of course ; your dress is quite good enough. There is no earthly reason for your staying away.'.' " I cannot go without you." dolefully. Gwendolen never lost her temper. She lay back in her chair, gently fanning herself with a great feather screen. "How absurd!" she said softly, "we ave not the Siamese Twins, or the Two-headed Nightingale, that we must always go about together. I do not drag you where ever I go, whether you like it or not, so why should you insist on my boring myself at a dance to which I do not wish to go, in a d:eis I simply cannot wear, among people I do not want to meet, for no better reason than the very foolish one that you cannot go without me."

"But a public dance Gwen, to go all by myself." " Really Theo, you might be fifteen, you have only to wait for Mrs. Curtis in the cloak room. You must go, because you will have to take a message from me ; or stay, I will write a note," she added, mindful that Theo's ridiculous straightforwardness would be certain to blunder and blush over the polite fiction of a nervous headache," I never in tended to go, I am sick of subscription dances, always the same people of whom one gets so unutterably tired. Besides I " PRETTY MISS ALLINGTON." 7 want to save myself for the Morrison's to-morrow. And Theo, if you mean to dress before dinner, you ought to go upstairs. I will come and see that you put in plenty of hair-pins and that your skirt hangs straight at the back. You may have my plush dolman, if you like, and the dark furs.

It is horribly cold this evening. Theo felt very small and insignificant, as she waited in the cloak room for the appearance of Mrs. Curtis. She had to wait some time, as she had come early-, (a thing which Gwendolen made a point of never domg, under any circumstances whatever) and before the stream of chaperones in diamonds and velvet, or girls in costly silks, or fresh, crisp tulle, her confidence in her own modest little black frock sank to zero. She felt lonely and shy, in this crowd of eager or in different women, who scanned each other with coldly critical eyes, and did not fail to bestow a distant stare on anyone, whom they rightly or wrongly, decided in their own minds to be an "outsider." It was with a deep sense of relief that she at last caught sight of Mrs. Curtis, elbowing her way through the crowd.

"So sorry if I kept you waiting," she began, "but I knew you never came early, my dear Gwendolen, so I did not alter our dinner hour." Then looking round she added in surprise, "but where is Gwendolen," " She is so sorry," apologized Theo, " She sent this note to explain why she cannot come." " Cannot come," repeated Mrs. Curtis in unmistakeable dismay, "do you positively mean that she is not coming at all. Oh ! really," as she hastily skimmed the graceful little note of apology, "it is too provoking, I have brought Mr. Halliday here simply and solely to see Gwendolen. He would never have come for any other reason, and now what am I to do with him ? " Why did you let her have a headache to-night of all nights. ? Surely someone might have managed to take care of her. I should never have come here if I had not promised to chaperone Gwendolen.

In the face of this calamity, Mrs. Curtis looked as if she meditated instant departure. Theo remained silent, conscience-stricken, miserably feeling her very presence an outrage. " AVell it cannot be helped I suppose," tossing the note into the fire, and handing her wraps to the attendant. " I must make the best of it, but it is most annoying. If I had only known this morning," with a fresh outburst of irritation, " I might have brought Adela Mayne, she, at least, is pretty and dances well, but now there will not be a girl in the room to whom Dick Halliday will care to speak. I only persuaded him to come by promising that he should meet Gwendolen. Mrs. Curtis was woefully purturbed. " It is so inconsiderate," she said reproachfully to Theo, as she meekly followed her chaperon down the stairs.

Mr. Halliday was waiting for them in the corridor. He put up his eye-glass when he caught sight of Mrs. Curtis, and Theo blushed crimson as she met his direct gaze. She could translate so exactly the look of expected curiosity, gradually giving way to one of surprise ami disappointment, as he turned a questioning glance on his hostess ; It said plainly. " Is this tho pretty girl you have brought me to see ? " Apparently, that was also Mrs. Curtis's inierpretation, for she answered the unspoken question without hesitation. " No, it is not my Miss Allington, only the sister. Most unfortunately, dear Gwendolen is not well enough to come. I cannot tell how sorry I am to have dragged you here for nothing." She spoke in a stage 'aside,' which was perfectly audible to Theodora, as she stood beside her, covered with confusion and devoutly wishing herself at home.

" Don't mention it," Halliday answered indifferently. " I should say, judging from the revellers I have already seen, that there must be a perfect galaxy of beauty inside there, and perhaps I shall have the pleasure of seeing your bright particular star some other day." " I am afraid you will be awfully bored," Mrs. Curtis continued confidentially, " I should go home at once if I had not this other unfortunate girl on my hands. But you need not martyrize yourself for the whole evening. I will absolve you from escort duty, and pardon your desertion." " You are very kind. That sounds rather as if you wanted to get rid of me, you know. At all events I may have the pleasure of a waltz first." They had entered the ball-room. Halliday found a seat for Mrs. Curtis, and handed her a programme. " Oh, I do not waltz," she hastened to assure him.

" But let me introduce you to Miss Allington, — Miss Theodora Allington." Halliday acknowledged the presentation with a non chalant little bow. " We may as well dance this," he said. Theo edged a few steps away from her chaperon. She too had something to say on the subject of Gwendolen's defection. " Mr. Halliday," she murmured desperately, " I am so sorry I am here instead of Gwen, but please do not feel obliged — I mean I don't want you to dance with me if you would rather not." It was an unusual little speech. Halliday turned round and looked at her in unfeigned surprise. "I do not suppose," he said with an amused twinkle in his eyes, " that if your sister were here, we should dance the entire programme together, and I certainly do not feel ' obliged ' to dance with you. But I should rather like it, if you will not expect me to reverse."

Waltzing was Theo's strong point. Even Gwendolen, with all her additional practice, could not concede her sister many* points in a ball-room. Halliday enjoyed the dance, and frankly told her so. He looked at his partner, when at last they paused to take breath, and thought that with delicately flushed cheeks and shining eyes, she was a much nicer looking girl than he had at first fancied. " Do you know many of these people ? " he asked, as they made their way slowly back to Mrs. Curtis, pausing en route, while Theo explained her sister's absence to three disconsolate partners, and gratefully accorded a dance to each of them as a recompense for her information. " Four or five, only, they are friends of Gwen's." " And where are your friends ? Do not they patronize subscription Cinderellas ? " "I have none," simply, "they are all Gwendolen's friends, and that, is why they dance with me.

" Is not that a singular reason ? Why should they not dance, with you because they like it?" "Why" answered Theo, in all good faith, " Of course they would much rather dance with Gwen. Nobody could help it. She is so lovely and so clever. Everybody likes Gwen. You will yourself when you meet her." " Do you know," said Halliday kindly, looking down at the eager childish face, " do you know, that I have heard a great deal about your sister, and I have seen you, and I have a strong conviction that I shall like you the better of of the two ?" At twelve o'clock the national anthem concluded the efforts of enlightened philanthropy to amuse itself on be half of a Charitable Institution. Mrs. Curtis was to drop Theodora at Cuddiston Square, on her way home. Halliday put them into tlie brougham. As they left the Hal], he asked Theo whether she had enjoyed herself, and her en- •■ PRETTY MISS ALLINGTON." 11 thusiastic affirmative prompted him to enquire if he might call some afternoon.

He looked after the carriage with an amused smile. " That is a nice little girl," he said to him self, " She is Beauty's sister, so she has always been kejit in the background and made to suffer by compariosn, but she has the finer character and the more faithful heart. Of the two, she will make by far the better wife, but no one will think so and she will in all probability have one lover to her sister's twenty." Then he hailed a cab and transported himself to his edub, where in ten minutes he had forgotten all about her. Theo had no club to distract her thoughts. Never in all her life had she enjoyed herself so much. Since Mr. Halliday had neither gone away nor danced with anyono else, it might fairly be argued that he had taken an unequivocal pileasure in her society, and her innocent satisfaction was not to be damped even by Mrs. Curtis' hints that Dick Halliday's moods were variable as the wind and bis attentions were solely due to the fact of there being present ' no girl to whom he really cared to speak.' " Of course," said Mrs. Curtis, who would have preferred that Dich, in Miss Allington's absence should have devoted himself to her, "as I brought him, he felt obliged to bo civil to any girl under my care."

Gwendolen was highly entertained by what she per sisted in calling Theo's conquest. " The mantle of Elijah, ' ' she said laughing, " It must have been the effects of my furs. We will ask the hero to tea. Make him fall in love with you, Theo, It would be suen fun and then he can go with us to all the Town Hall dances." Theo blushed and glanced uneasily at the model. She was a little shocked at her sister's levity. Gwen never exercised the discretion of silence in the studie. She discussed her own and her sister's affairs with as much freedom " PRETTY MISS ALLINGTON." as though Minna had been a lay figure ; and Minna listened with an expression of vacuous indifference, and took in every word. Gwendolen was putting the finishing touches to her picture. She had employed the previous evening in roughly working out her idea of ' Vanity,' and the study promised to prove a great success.

" Thanks Minna, that will do for to-day," She said lay ing down her brushes. " We arranged the next sitting for Friday, did we not, and you will be here by ten. Don't go, Theo, I want you to come out with me. I must call on that tiresome Mrs. Gilliatt this afternoon, and Mother is too busy to do penance with me." " But I have to take my work to Kensington, I promised it for this afternoon, and it grows dark so early now." '• You will have plenty of time to do that after we have been to the Gilliatt's. It is all on the way. You can leave the parcel in the hansom, and I will drop you at the corner of High Street. It will not take you any longer than going the whole distance in an omnibus." Of course Theo yielded, as she always did to Gwen's slightest wish and obediently went upstairs to dress, as hamed of confessing how nervous she was about finding her way home alone in the dusk.

" I hope she will not be in," remarked Miss Allington, settling herself comfortably in the corner of the cab. Theo hoped so too, for they had walked for twenty. minutes, be fore picking up a hansom irreproachable enough to satisfy hor sister's fastidious taste, and it was already a quarter to four. But she was destined to be disappointed. Mrs. Gilliatt was at home, and a trim maid conducted the girls upstairs to an ultra artistic drawing-room. "Not bad, is it?" was Gwendolen's comment, as she glanced round. " What lovely work ! " Theo's quick eyes had caught sight of a square of half finished embroidery flung carelessly over a dainty work table, " and oh do look, Gwen, there is my last mantel border. Does not it look nice ? " " Very, but for Heaven's sake, don't let Mrs. Gilliatt know that you work for money.

She would not under stand it at all. She is just the sort of woman who would consider it next door to being a dressmaker." Theo had barely time to nod assent, before the door opened to admit a sallow, drab haired, aesthetically got up little woman, who greeted Gwendolen with languid effusion and extended two fingers and an indifferent " How do you do," to her sister. Mrs. Gilliatt had frequently heard of Miss Allington's beauty. Lady Rosherville, the solitary* Viscountess, with whom she could claim acquaintance had even spoken of her as a lovely girl, who would, someday make her mark in society. Mrs. Gilliatt felt quite safe in patronizing the ' pretty Miss Allington,' but she was not prepared to commit herself to any semblance of friendliness to an unknown quantity like Miss Allington's sister.

Theo gave no outward and visible promise of making a mark in society, present or future. Mrs. Gilliatt mentally decided that she was not ' smart ' and was far too uncertain of her own claims to 'smartness' to venture on civility to any one who had not received the 'cachet' of her set. So she addressed her conversation pointedly to Gwendolen, limiting her attentions to Theo to the inquiry whether she. took cream, and preferred her tea with, or without sugar " I hope you are coming to our concert," she said, " we have arranged a lovely programme. My friend Miss Del Gamier is going to sing twice. Dear Lady Rosherville considers her voice equal to Scalchi's. We hope the bazaar on the seventeenth will clear off the debt on the Hospital. I have promised Lady Rosherville to help at her stall. We are simply overwhelmed with work. ' This cushion,' touching the folds of velvet beside her, " is for the bazaar."

" It is very beautiful," returned Theo, emboldened to draw nearer, by a comprehensive wave of Mrs. Gilliatt's hand. " How evenly you have laid on the gold thread." " Do you understand Art Work ? " With a magnificant condescension, that prompted Gwendolen to say quietly, " My sister is quite an authority on embroidery. She works exquisitely." " Oh," rejoined Mrs. Gilliatt, " I do a great deal of work. I am quite devoted to it. Dear Lady Rosherville tells mo I have the true Artist's Eye for colour. She admired my mantel border immensely. Come and look at it. It is all done in the 'Maintenon' stitch. Do you know the ' Maintenon stitch ? ' turning towards Theodora. It's not exactly simple." Theo's face was a study, and Gwen's lips -were quivering with suppressed smiles, as she bent her head in closer inspection ot the border.

" How clever of you to work it all yourself," she said admiringly, "Did it not take you ages to do?" " Oh, I am a very quick worker," with the modesty, which will not veil itself in false humility, " besides it is always casier to work up one's own designs and I invariably design my own patterns. I do not think I was more than a fortnight over this border, and of course I have so many engagements that I cannot spiare more than two or three hours a day. Must you go ? So pleased to have seen you, Miss Allington. You will not forget our concert, will you ? Dear Lady Rosherville will be quite disappointed if you are not there." " How can she '?" cried Theo indignantly, when Airs. Gilliatt's door had closed behind them, "How can she tell "TRETTY MISS ALLINGTON 15 such dreadful stories ?" Her own design !

When I know it is one of Lilla Davidson's patterns, an 1 fancy telling us that she worked it in a fortnight. As if it were possible ! Why, Gwen, it took me three weeks to finish that border, working as hard as I could, from morning to night. Gwendolen was laughing softly to herself. "It was lovely," she said, "I wish you could have seen your own expression, when she pointed out "my mantel border." " I wonder she daresay it." " Oh ! my dear, lots of women do that sort of thing. They buy cushions and portie'rs, salve their consciences by putting in half a dozen stitches, (which the art workers promptly pick out again,) have the things finished and made up at a shop, and call upon their friends to admire their exquisite needlework. It is just the same with paint ing. You stick an oil sketch upon an easel in the corner of your room, with an artistic litter of brushes and tubes about, and pay some poor girl who can piint, half-a-crown a morning to work at it till it is finished, sign your name in tbe corner and send it to a bazaar, to advertise your charitable motives and artistic skill.

Itis the way of the world. Mrs. Gilliatt is no worse than other people who ' make believe.' " How can you like such a woman ?" " I do not like her " tranquilly, " she is a vulgar little soul. Is it not sickening to hear her eternal allusion to ' dear Lady Rosherville ? ' I believe she once met her on the committee of some Charity Fete, and considers herself an intimate friend on the strength of it. Lady Rosherville is awfully philanthropic, you know. She is civil to any one, who will subscribe to her Charities and take tickets for her Concerts, but it only means shaking hands, if they meet on a platform, and a nod in the street. She does not really know her a bit." " It is horribly vulgar," Theo retorted hotly," I would " PRETTY MISS ALLINGTON,' 16 not be taken up by people like that. I would not go to their houses."