Cloudy Jewel (Romance Classic). Grace Livingston Hill
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CHAPTER V
The air was fine; the sky was clear without a cloud; and the spice of autumn flavored everything. Along the roadside blackberry vines were turning scarlet, and here and there in the distance a flaming branch proclaimed the approach of a frosty wooing. One could not ask anything better on such a day than to be speeding along this white velvet road in the great blue car with two beloved children.
But all too soon Herbert Robinson’s ornate house loomed up, stark and green, with very white trimmings, and regular flower-beds each side of the gravel walk. It was the home of a prosperous man, and as such asserted itself. There had never been anything attractive about it to Julia Cloud. She preferred the ugly old house in which she had always lived, with its scaling gray paint and no pretensions to fineness. At least it was softened by age, and had a look of experience which saved its ugliness from being crude, and gave it the dignity of time.
And now Julia Cloud’s heart began to beat rapidly. All at once she felt that she had done a most foolish thing in allowing the children to overrule her and bring her here. Ellen would not be dressed up nor have the children ready for inspection, and she would be angry at her sister for not having given warning of their coming. She leaned forward breathlessly to suggest turning back; but Allison, perhaps anticipating her feeling, said:
“Now don’t you get cold feet, Cloudy Jewel. If Aunt Ellen is sore, just you talk up to her, and smile a lot, and we’ll back you up. Remember everything’s, going fine, and the whole thing’s settled. It’s too late to change it now. Is this the place? We’ll turn right in, shall we?” And with the words he swept up under the elaborate wooden porte-cochère, and, swinging down, flung the door open for Julia Cloud to alight.
Leslie gave a quick, disdainful glance about, fluttered out beside her aunt, and, catching the look of apprehension on her face, tripped up the steps and rang the bell, poising bird-like on the threshold and calling in a sweet, flute-like voice:
“Aunt Ellen! O Aunt Ellen! Where are you? Don’t you know you’ve got company all the way from California?”
It was just like taking the bull by the horns, and Julia Cloud paused on the upper step in wonder. How winning a child she was! and how she had known by intuition just how to mollify her unpleasant relative!
What would Ellen say? How would she take it?
Ellen Robinson bustled frowning into the hall, whetting her sharp tongue for an encounter. She had seen the big blue car turn in at the gate, and knew from Mrs. Perkins’s description who it must be. Julia Cloud had well judged her state of mind, for her four children could not have been caught in a worse plight so far as untidiness was concerned, and there had barely been time to marshal them all up the back stairs with orders to scrub and dress or not to come down till the visitors were gone. They were even now creeping shufflingly about overhead on their bare feet, hunting for their respective best shoes and stockings and other garments, and scrapping in loud whispers.
But Leslie, little diplomat that she was, wasted no time in taking stock of her aunt. She flung her arms joyously around that astonished woman, and fairly took her by storm, talking volubly and continuously until they were all in the house and seated in Ellen’s best satin brocatelle parlor chairs, surrounded by crayon portraits of Herbert Robinson’s ancestors and descendants. Allison too caught on to his sister’s game, and talked a good deal about how nice it was to get East again after all the years, and how glad they were to have some relatives of their own. Julia Cloud sat quietly and proudly listening; and Ellen forgot her anger, and ceased to frown. After all, it was something to have such good-looking relatives. For the first few minutes the well-prepared speech wherewith she had intended to dress down poor Julia lay idle on her lips, and a few sentences of grudging welcome even, managed to slip by. Then suddenly she turned to her sister, and the sight of the adoration for the visitors in Julia’s transparent face kindled her anger. Never had such a look as this glowed in Julia Cloud’s face for any little Robinson, save perhaps in the first few days of their tiny lives before the Robinson had begun to crop out in them.
“Where were you this morning, Jule? It certainly seems queer for you to be gadding around having a good time so soon after poor mother’s death. And the dishes not washed, either! Upon my word, you have lost your head! You weren’t brought up that way. I stood up-stairs and looked around on those unmade beds, and thought what poor mother would have said if she could see them. Such goings-on! I certainly was ashamed to have Mrs. Perkins see it.”
Two rosy spots bloomed out on Julia Cloud’s cheeks, and a tremble came in her lips, though one could see she was making a great effort to control herself; and the two long breaths that Leslie and Allison drew simultaneously were heavily threatening, much like the distant rumble of thunder.
“I’m sure I don’t see what occasion Mrs. Perkins had to see it,” she answered steadily.
“Well, she was there!” said her sister dryly. She seemed to have forgotten the presence of the two young people, who, if they had been in the foreground, might have been noticed doing things with their eyebrows to their mutual understanding and agreement.
“Yes, so she told me,” said Julia Cloud significantly. “But that was not what I came over to talk about, Ellen; I wanted to let you know that I’ve rented the house, and the tenant wants possession next week. I thought you might like to pick out some of mother’s things to bring over here before I pack up. You spoke about wishing you had another couch for the sitting-room, and you might just as well have the dining-room one as not. Then I thought perhaps you could use mother’s bedroom suit.”
“You’ve rented the house!” screamed Ellen as soon as she got breath from her astonishment to interrupt. “You’ve rented the house without consulting me? Who to, I’d like to know? I had a tenant already for that house, I told you.”
“Why, I had no time to consult you, Ellen; and, besides, why should I? The house is mine, and I knew you didn’t want it. You have your own home.”
“Well, you certainly are blossoming out and getting independent! I should think mere decency would have made you consult us before you did anything. What do you know about business? Herbert will be mad as anything when I tell him; and like as not you’ll get into no end of trouble with a strange tenant, and we’ll have to help you out. Herbert always says women make all the trouble they can for him before they call on him for assistance.”
Julia smiled.
“I shall not be obliged to call on Herbert for assistance, Ellen. Everything is arranged. The contract was signed this morning, and I have promised to vacate as soon as possible. The tenant is the new school superintendent, and he wants to come at once. I just heard last evening that he had been disappointed in getting the Harvey house. It’s sold to the foreman of the mill. So I went over to Harmony to see him at once.”
The news was so overwhelming and so unquestionably satisfactory from a business point of view that Ellen was speechless with astonishment. Allison gave Leslie a grave wink, and turned to look out of the window to prevent an outburst of giggles from his sister.
“Well, I think you might have let me know,” Ellen resumed with almost her usual poise. “It’s rather mortifying not to know what’s going on in your own family when the neighbors ask. Here was I without any knowledge of the arrival of my own niece and nephew! Had to be told by Mrs. Perkins.”
Then Allison and Leslie did laugh, but they veiled their mirth by talking about the two white chickens out in the yard which were contending for a worm. Suddenly Leslie exclaimed:
“O Allison! I hear the children coming down-stairs, and I forgot their presents! Run out to the car, and bring me that box.”
Allison was off at once, and the entrance of the soapy and embarrassed children created a further diversion.
For a few minutes even Ellen Robinson was absorbed in the presents. There was a camera for Junior, a gold chain and locket for Elaine, a beautiful