The Twa Miss Dawsons Part 8

"But now we have the sewing-machine, and as for the discipline, it's all nonsense."

"Well never mind, May. Now is the time to speak to papa about the children's party. Papa, May wants to give a large children's party--for the little Corbetts, ye ken. Though there must be grown people here too, and it will be great fun, I have no doubt."

Jean seemed quite as eager about it as May, her father thought, as they went on to discuss the proposed party. Of course the result of the discussion was just what the sisters knew it would be. Their father said they were to please themselves, only adding several cautions as to the care that must be taken of fruit trees and flower beds, and some doubts as to how the Portie bairns, accustomed to the freedom of rocks and sands, would care for a formal tea-drinking in the house, or even in the garden.

"The bairns' pleasure is the excuse, and no' the reason, I doubt," said he; but he laughed when he said it.

This was one of the things that made this summer pleasanter than the last had been. They had amused themselves last summer and their father had not objected; but as to his enjoying any thing of the kind, such a thought had never entered the minds of his daughters. But now he did not endure their gay doings painfully, protesting against them by his manner, if not by his words, nor did he ignore them altogether as had been most frequently his way. He looked on smiling at the enjoyment of the guests, and took evident pleasure in the success of his daughters in entertaining them. If it had been otherwise, there would have been few visitors to entertain, and few gayeties attempted. For Jean did not care enough for these things to make the effort worth her while, and May would have had to content herself with the gayeties provided by other people. But as it was, the elder sister did her part, and did it well; so well that none but her aunt suspected that her heart was not in these things quite as it used to be.

Certainly her father was far from suspecting any such thing. And sitting apart, seeing them both and watching, and musing upon all that was going on, Miss Jean could not but wonder at his blindness, and at the folly of the vague and pleasant possibilities he was beginning to see, and to rejoice over in the future.

CHAPTER SIX.

A PROPOSAL.

The garden party at Petrie Villa had been the first of a series. Not a very long series, indeed, for there were not many gardens in Portie equal to the requirements of such an entertainment, even according to the limited ideas of those who had never "a.s.sisted at" a garden party anywhere else. But there had been several, and the presence of Captain Harefield would have been generally declared to be the most interesting feature of nearly all of them.

He had not always been invited. That is, he had not always been invited in the formal way usually considered necessary on such occasions even in Portie. But through the kindness of James Petrie at first, and afterward of others, when he became better known, he was sure to make his appearance in the course of the entertainment, and so comported himself and so evidently enjoyed himself, that even those who were at first inclined to resent, as a liberty, his coming so unceremoniously among them, forgot to do so in his presence, and ended in being as pleased and flattered as the rest.

Of course there was a garden party at Saughleas, and of course Captain Harefield was a guest, formally and specially invited by Mr Dawson himself. But his presence was not the most interesting circ.u.mstance of the occasion, for his sister, Mrs Eastwood, was there also. Mrs Eastwood had come according to her promise and had taken Miss Jean in her carriage to visit Mrs Cairnie, and it had been a successful visit in every way. For May had given the old woman warning, and she had prepared herself to receive them. Not only had she on a clean "mutch"

and ap.r.o.n, but her house was "redd up" in a way that would have seemed wonderful to her visitor, if she had been familiar with its aspect on other days.

Mrs Cairnie was a clever old woman, and made the most of her opportunity. She bewailed the loss of her daughter's society, and of the help and comfort she had been to her, but enlarged on her sense of the good fortune that had come to the la.s.sie in being admitted into the service of such a kind and gracious lady. She declared herself overpowered at the condescension and kindness of the visit in terms which did not seem so very much exaggerated to the visitor; but Miss Jean knew that the bad auld wife was laughing in her sleeve at the English lady and her simplicity. However, the visit was considered a success by those chiefly concerned, and it was to be repeated before Mrs Eastwood took her departure.

On returning to leave Miss Jean at Saughleas, Mrs Eastwood expressed herself delighted to accept Mr Dawson's invitation to alight and drink a cup of tea before she set out for Blackford House. In a little the tea and all the pretty accessories were brought out to the terrace, and it was charming--every thing was charming, Mrs Eastwood declared, and "not at all Scotch"; but happily the last part of her opinion was reserved till she was relating her afternoon's adventures at Blackford House.

She herself did her utmost to charm every one, and succeeded very well on the whole, and her suggestion as to an invitation to the garden party came very naturally and gracefully in the midst of the gentle thanks addressed to Miss Jean because of the kindness shown to her brother.

Captain Harefield, whom she confessed to be a little impatient of the quiet of Blackford House. Even Miss Dawson did not seem to think it strange when, in her pretty way, she begged to be allowed to accompany her brother to the garden party on the day appointed.

"It was very silly of her," Jean said afterwards. "What possible pleasure could she expect?"

"I don't see that. Why should she not take pleasure in it as well as you? She is young yet," said Mr Dawson, ready to take the lady's part.

"I should have no pleasure in going out of my own sphere," said Jean with dignity.

"Eh! Jeannie, I'm no' so sure of that. Werena you just the other day playing at 'the beds' with Mavis, and Emily Corbett, and the rest of the bairns on the sands? And didna you finish Maggie Saugster's seam to let her get away with the rest? And didna you--"

"Nonsense, May! I've played at 'the beds' all my life, and I dinna look down on Mavis and Maggie and the rest. And it was for their pleasure I played with them, and not for my own."

"Well, it may be for our pleasure that Mrs Eastwood is coming here, and as for looking down on us--" said May with a toss of her pretty head.

"Whisht, bairns," said Miss Jean gently. "I dare say she thinks lang in the country as weel as her brother,--her that's used with London life,-- and she would like to come just for a pa.s.s-time, with no thought of looking down on any one."

"Her brother doesna seem to be looking down on any one," said Mr Dawson with a short, amused laugh.

"Oh! he makes no secret that it is just for a pa.s.s-time, that he favours Portie folk with his company. He finds Blackford House dull. He gets awfully bored," said May in the Captain's languid manner.

"It's a wonder he stays on then," said Mr Dawson.

"I said that to him once, and he said--" May hesitated. It would not have been easy to repeat all that had been said on the occasion alluded to; but she put the gist of his communications more clearly and directly than he had done himself, when she added,--

"It is a good place not to spend money at, and he does not seem to have much to spend."

"Weel, he's honest--as to his reasons, at any rate," said her father.

"Oh! that is what I gathered, rather than what he said. He is out of the reach of duns. That he _did_ say."

"He doesna seem to me like an ill-disposed youth," said Miss Jean.

"Oh, no, auntie! He's nice and agreeable, and--all that; but he is-- soft," said May laughing.

Her father looked as if he were going to say something sharp, but he did not.

"His sister is very fond of him, and very good to him, he says. And he must be a heavy handful whiles," said Jean gravely.

"In what way?" asked her father.

"Oh! just having him on her mind to keep sight of, and amuse, and keep out of mischief, as he says. Just fancy the weariness of it?"

"You seem to have gathered a good deal from him, as well as your sister," said Mr Dawson, not well pleased. "And you find him a heavy handfu', do you? I have thought whiles that you get on very well with him."

"Oh, yes, I get on very well with him! I'm not responsible for him, ye ken, and that makes all the difference."

"Marion Petrie says that Jean keeps him very much to herself, and Jamie looks as if he thought so, too, sometimes," said May laughing.

"That is one of your 'gatherings,' May, my dear," said her sister.

"Well, you must make your best of the visitor when she comes," said Mr Dawson as he went out.

And it was very easy to make the best of Mrs Eastwood. She was amiable and agreeable, and if she looked down on any one, it did not appear.

She did not mingle much with the younger portion of the company, but she amused herself by observing all that was going on, and talked pleasantly with Miss Jean, and afterwards with Mr Dawson, about various things, but chiefly about her brother, whom she evidently loved dearly, and who as evidently caused her anxiety, though she had no thought of letting this appear.

Miss Jean found her soft flowing talk pleasant to listen to, and all the more that she did not need very often to reply. Mr Dawson was charmed with her, and it was not, as a general thing, his way to be charmed with strangers. But she was not altogether a stranger. Her husband's name-- Eastwood, the London banker--had long been familiar to Mr Dawson. He knew him to be a "responsible" man, and that was more than could be said of all the fine English folk, who found it convenient to pa.s.s a part of the summer or autumn at Blackford House.

Mrs Eastwood herself was of high family, being the granddaughter, or at least the grand-niece, of a living earl, and though Mr Dawson would doubtless have scorned the imputation, it is possible that he found all the more pleasure in entertaining her because of that Mr Eastwood was not of high family. He was very rich however, and they got on together, pretty well, May "gathered" from Captain Harefield's conversation; that is, they never quarrelled, and were content to spare each other to enjoy the society of other people for a good part of the year.

But Mrs Eastwood made much of her husband when speaking of him to Mr Dawson, and of her brother also. Of the brother, she had much to say, and Mr Dawson listened with great interest to it all, as Miss Jean could not fail to see.

And in the mean time the young people amused themselves in the garden and in the wood, and Captain Harefield seemed to be at no loss for amus.e.m.e.nt among them. Jean certainly did not keep him to herself to-day, as Mr Dawson noticed; but then Jean was hostess, and had to occupy herself with the duties of her position, and with the party generally. It pa.s.sed off very well, all things considered, and the children's party was likely to be the same thing over again, with the children added.

The little Corbetts, who were the reason, or the excuse, of the prospective gayeties, had come from their home in an English manufacturing town, in order that the sea breezes of Portie might put strength in their limbs and colour in their wan cheeks; and they had come at the special invitation of Mr Dawson. Their father, the son of the Portie parish minister of the time, had been his chief friend in the days of his youth, and they had never forgotten one another, though they had not for a long time been in frequent correspondence. During one of Mr Dawson's infrequent visits to Liverpool, they had met by chance, and had renewed acquaintance to the pleasure of both, and Mr Dawson allowed himself to be persuaded to go and pa.s.s a few days with his friend.

Mr Corbett had not been a very successful man in the way of making money, and he had a large family, few of them able to do much for themselves. But they were cheerful, hopeful people, and made the best of things. There had been illness among them recently, which had left the younger children white and thin, and not likely to mend during the summer heat in a close city street; and when Mr Dawson asked as many of them as liked to spend a month or two among the sea breezes of Portie, the invitation was accepted gratefully. But it was doubtful whether, for economic reasons, they could have availed themselves of it, if Mr Dawson had not taken matters into his own hand, and insisted on taking some of them home at once.

So the two youngest, Polly and d.i.c.k, with an elder sister of fifteen to be responsible for their well-being and well-doing, were carried off to Saughleas, and presented unannounced to the startled, but well pleased, household. Their coming gave interest, and occupation as well, to every one, for "Mr Dawson had given mamma no time for preparation," as the pretty, anxious elder sister was fain to explain when she asked Miss Dawson's advice and a.s.sistance in the matter of shoes and stockings, and other things suitable for the perfect enjoyment of the rocks and sands of Portie. Miss Dawson made all that easy, taking the equipment of the children, and the elder sister as well, into her own hands.

And the puny city children enjoyed the sands and the sea, the running and clambering, and the free out-of-doors life, as much as their father had done in his boyish days; and their own mother would hardly have recognised their round brown faces before the first month was over.

As to their needing entertainment in the way of children's parties, that was not likely. But for the sake of their father and grandfather they had been invited to many houses in Portie, and it was but right that they should have a chance to invite their young friends in return. And so the party was decided on, and was much enjoyed, and so might be dismissed with no more words about it, except for a circ.u.mstance or two which attended it.