Bird of Paradise Part 15

They parted amiably.

An hour later Mary was going through her lists of cards and addresses with the typewriter when she suddenly said:

"Oh, Miss Wilson, I'm writing a sort of story. And it's to be told in a series of letters."

"Oh yes."

"Will you please take this down. This is the address: Percy Kellynch, Esq., 100 Sloane Street. It begins like this: 'Dear Mr. Kellynch----'"

CHAPTER X

MASTER CLIFFORD KELLYNCH

Lady Kellynch was in the room she usually chose for sitting in for any length of time, when her son, Clifford (twelve years old), was at home for the holidays.

A widow, handsome and excessively dignified, as I have mentioned, with her prim notions, she was essentially like the old-fas.h.i.+oned idea of an old maid. As her fine house was very perfectly and meticulously furnished, she treated the presence of Clifford as an outrage in any room but this particularly practical and saddle-bag old apartment, where there was still a corner with a little low chair in it, and boxes full of toys and other things, which were not only far outgrown by Clifford, but which were absolutely never seen nowadays at all, and would be considered far behindhand as amus.e.m.e.nts for a child of four.

This extra, additional child, born eighteen years after his brother, and just before the death of his father, was still looked upon by Lady Kellynch as a curious mixture of an unexpected blessing, an unnecessary nuisance, and a pleasant surprise. She was always delighted to see him when he first came home from school, but he was very soon allowed to go and stay with Bertha and Percy. Bertha adored him and delighted in him in reality; Lady Kellynch wors.h.i.+pped him in theory, but though she hardly knew it herself, his presence absolutely interfered with all her plans about nothing, spoilt her little arrangements for order, and jarred on the clockwork regularity of her life, especially in her moments of sentiment.

He was a very good-looking boy, with smooth black hair and regular features like his brother, Percy. Perhaps because he was, according to his mother's view, very much advanced for his age, he regarded her rather as a backward child, to whom it would be highly desirable, but unfortunately practically impossible, to explain life as it is now lived.

Lady Kellynch was doing a peculiar little piece of bead embroidery. She did it every day for ten minutes after lunch with a look at Clifford every now and then, occasionally counting her beads, as if she was not altogether quite sure whether or not he ate them when she wasn't looking. This was the moment that she always chose to have conversation with him, so as to learn to know his character. A couple of suitable books, "The Jungle Book," and "Eric, or Little by Little," were placed on a low table by Clifford's side; but, as a matter of fact, he was reading _The English Review_.

"Clifford darling!"

He put the magazine down, shoving a newspaper over it.

"Well, mother?"

"Tell me something about your life at school, darling."

He glanced at the ceiling, then looked down for inspiration.

"How do you mean?"

"Well, haven't you any nice little friends at school, Clifford--any favourites?"

He smiled.

"Oh, good Lord, mother, of course I haven't! People don't have little friends. I don't know what you mean."

She looked rather pained.

"No friends! Oh, dear, dear, dear! But are there no nice boys that you like?"

"No. Most of them are awful rotters."

She put down her beads.

"Clifford! I'm shocked to hear this. Rotters! I suppose that's one of your school expressions--you mean no nice boys? Poor little fellow! I shall make a note of that."

He looked up, rather frightened.

"What on earth for?"

"Why, I shall certainly speak to your master about it. Oh! to think that you haven't got a single friend in the school! _All_ bad boys! There must be something wrong somewhere!"

"Oh, mummy, for goodness sake don't speak to anybody about it. If you say a word, I tell you, I sha'n't go back to school. I never heard of such a thing! I didn't say they were all bad boys--rot! No. Some of them aren't so bad."

"Well, tell me about one--if it's only one, Clifford."

He thought a moment.

"I'm afraid you'll go writing to the master, as you call it, and get me expelled for telling tales, or something."

"Oh, my darling, of course I won't! Poor boy! tell me about this one."

"There's one chap who's fairly decent, a chap called Pickering."

"To think," she murmured to herself, stroking her transformation, and shaking her head, "to think there should be only one boy fairly decent in all that enormous school!"

"Oh, well! _he's_ simply _frightfully_ decent, as a matter of fact.

Pickering fairly takes it. He's top-hole. There's nothing he can't do."

"What does he do, darling?"

"Oh, I can't exactly explain. He's a bit of all right. It's frightfully smart to be seen with him."

Lady Kellynch looked surprised at this remark.

"Clifford--really! I'd no idea you had these social views. Of course you're quite right, dear. I've always been in favour of your being friends with little gentlemen. But I shouldn't like you to be at all--what is called a sn.o.b. So long as he _is_ a little gentleman, of course, that's everything."

Clifford laughed.

"I never said Pickering was a gentleman! big or little! You don't understand, mother. I mean it's smart to be seen with him because--oh! I can't explain. He's all right."

His mother thought for a little while, then, having heard that it is right to encourage school friends.h.i.+ps at home, so as to know under what influence your boy got, she said:

"Would you like, dear, to have this young Master Pickering to tea here one day?"

He looked up, and round the room.