Chapter 38

The next afternoon, while "the twins" were out with their mother on a shopping expedition, Mr. Traverse called at the house, and tapped lightly at the door of Mr. Sherwood's room.

"Ah! Traverse, is that you? Glad to see you," said Mr. Sherwood. "I was just wishing that someone would come in. The girls are out, and Jarvis is outside rattling among the dishes, and there is not a soul to speak to. Take a seat and be comfortable; the girls will soon be home, I expect."

"I did not come to see the girls this time, Mr. Sherwood," said Guy, smiling. "I knew they were out, met them in a store down town, so came upon purpose to catch you alone."

"Well, that is good of you, Traverse; it is intolerably slow to be cooped up here all day, not sick enough to stay in bed, and not well enough to be moved about. Any news?"

"I have not read the day's papers yet," and he pulled them out of his pocket, and tossed them on a table near. "You can look up the news yourself by and by. I have come to have a talk with you this afternoon, Mr. Sherwood, and to ask a favor. I hope you are sufficiently acquainted with me by this time to grant me this favor, without taking much time to consider the matter. I presume you have guessed that my frequent visits here are due to something more than the friendship I feel for yourself," and he smiled down at Mr. Sherwood, adding: "I have come to ask for the hand of your daughter."

"Oh! that is what you are after, is it?" and Mr. Sherwood leaned back in his couch and smiled. "I had not given the matter a thought, though I might have known there were other attractions than a sick man in the house. Well, Traverse, I am pleased to hear your request, for I have always had a personal liking for you, and I do not wonder that you have reached my daughter's susceptible heart. My life is not going to last much longer; the doctor may bolster me up for a little while, but the end is coming fast. I feel my strength going daily, and I shall feel relieved to see her settled in a home of her own before I am gone. Gussie is young and inexperienced, but you will make her a good, kind husband, I feel sure."

"Oh! but you mistake me, Mr. Sherwood," said Guy, speaking quickly; "it is not Miss Gussie I am asking for. I admire her beauty and respect her highly, but it is Miss Dexie I want for a wife."

"Dexie! Man alive! what nonsense is this! You don't mean to tell me that it is Dexie you have been making love to all this time?" said he, in surprise.

"Well, I haven't made much love to her yet, I must confess," he replied, laughing at Mr. Sherwood's astonished face; "but that is because she won't let me. She will not give me the chance! indeed, I can hardly get a word from her at all lately. Does it look to you as if I should be asking for Miss Gussie, Mr. Sherwood? Believe me, I have never said a word to her more than has been said in your presence, that would lead to the inference that I had serious intentions in regard to her. I hope you will not refuse to give me the one I want."

"Well, well, I don't know what to say, Traverse; it is so sudden. I never thought of you in connection with Dexie, and upon my word, Traverse, she doesn't appear to be very much in love with you either, if I am any judge!" and Mr. Sherwood looked up at Traverse, who was standing by his couch, his hands clasped behind his back in a waiting attitude. "Now, with Gussie it would be an easy matter."

"Mr. Sherwood, I am happy to know that you are not indifferent to me, apart from the fact that I aspire to be your son-in-law. I am sure you will understand that I mean no offence when I say that while I admire Miss Gussie I should not care to make her my wife; Miss Dexie is different."

"Well, it strikes me, Traverse, that the difference is not in your favor," and Mr. Sherwood smiled as he watched Guy's restless movements, for he was now walking up and down the room.

"Love-making must be done in a different way than when I was a young man, I fancy."

"Give your consent to the wooing, Mr. Sherwood, and I'll do the winning. I will frankly admit that at present she appears to dislike me heartily, but I have grounds to hope that there will be a change very soon. The signs may not be visible to others, but I am not in despair, by any means," and he stopped by the couch and smiled down at Mr. Sherwood's face.

"Well, Traverse, though I ought not to say it, she will make you the better wife of the two. You are not blind, and if a daughter is loving, unselfish and sympathetic to her old father, she will make a good wife. Success to your wooing, though it looks to me as if it might be a tough job. If you win her, you shall have my blessing with her; but do not take her away from me, Traverse. You will not have long to wait, and I should miss her sadly."

"Well, there seems to be no sign of a speedy marriage at present," was the smiling reply, as he took a seat by the window, "but I hope your life will be spared for a long while yet. Do not say anything about my calling here this afternoon. Dexie does not seem in the humor to hear a proposal yet; but I am going to take advantage of the first chance, so you may expect news at any time."

"Well, Traverse, I shall watch the progress you make, _sub rosa_. It will add quite an interest to the monotonous life I spend here on my back."

"You may not have long to wait, for I am going to press the matter at the earliest opportunity, even though I may get a positive refusal for my answer," was the laughing reply. "I have bought the ring, so you see I have some hope."

"Well, upon my word, Traverse! that is taking time by the forelock, sure enough. I must be even blinder than I thought, if there are enough signs for you to go that far already. She wears a ring now that has given rise to much gossip, but I cannot get at the truth of the matter. She will not tell me her secrets as she used to do; so take care, Traverse, the giver of that ring may be in your way, after all."

"I'll risk it, Mr. Sherwood," he said, smiling. "But the young ladies have just turned the corner; I shall have to escape by the side-door. Good afternoon, Mr. Sherwood, you have made me very happy," and after a cordial hand-clasp Guy left the house.

"Strange that I never mistrusted that it was Dexie he was after all this time," thought Mr. Sherwood. "Yet I might have guessed, if I had given it a thought, for he never asks after Gussie when he calls, and it is always Dexie he brings home when the girls are out--when she will let him," and he laughed softly, as he remembered the playful account that Traverse had given him of the trouble he had in keeping Dexie in sight, and how she had escaped him sometimes by changing hats with one of her friends at the last moment, and so bewildering him by her changed appearance that it was hard to catch her until she was almost home.

"I must find out if she has anything against him; perhaps I can speed the wooing. She will need a protector soon, brave, independent little woman though she is."

The entrance of his daughters at this moment put an end to his thoughts, and led him to notice once more the difference between the twins. Gussie rushed to her rooms at once to view the purchases afresh, but Dexie quietly slipped to his chair to see if he was asleep.

"Have we been very long, papa? I hope you have not been lonesome or wanted anything. They kept us so long looking at the things in the store that I was getting anxious, fearing Jarvis would be too busy to see after you," and she smoothed back his hair and stooped to kiss his forehead. "What shall I do for you before I go to change my dress?"

"Nothing at all." But noticing that Dexie was regarding the daily papers on the table, added, "Oh, yes! just hand me those papers; I was wishing I could reach them. There, that is all! be off! be off with you and change your gown, if you want to!" playfully shoving her at arm's-length, for he was afraid she was going to ask who had left the papers there.

"They were to-day's papers," she said to herself, as she went to her room. "Who could have left them? Surely _he_ was not here, for we met him down street. Papa would have mentioned it at once if he had called, yet those papers were left here by someone since we went out."

Thus reasoning to herself, Dexie put on her house-dress, intending to return to her father's room and ask who had called during the afternoon, but second thoughts prevented her, and she turned to the kitchen to see what had been provided for her father's supper, or to prepare, if need be, some little extra dainty to tempt his failing appetite.

Mr. Sherwood unfolded the papers Dexie had laid before him, but they failed to claim his attention; the events of the afternoon still had possession of his thoughts.

"Traverse has told on himself by leaving these here, but perhaps she did not notice the date, and there are always papers lying around the room. I will not let her question me about them."

But Dexie acted as if the matter had passed from her mind. She was as gay as a lark, giving him bits of news she had heard while she was out, telling him of the things she had seen during her walk that she thought might interest him, even trifles which seemed hardly worth speaking about; but when one is confined indoors, the veriest trifle of outside life is welcome, so Gussie need not have curled her lip so scornfully when Dexie was relating the sights of the afternoon.

"Just think, papa," Dexie added, taking no heed to these silent objections so plainly visible, "they have put new steps before the door of your old office, and a new 'No admittance' card is tacked on the inside door, and the place is being all spruced up. The painters have got to work at the old Baptist church; it is to be repaired inside and out--quite time, too, for it looks as if it had been exposed to the weather ever since the Flood! Mitchell's tailor shop has two new figures in the window, and, judging by the styles displayed, the latest style of coat is much cut away and would suit you exactly. But if you want to dress in the very latest style, you must also have a gorgeous plaid necktie. Shall I buy you one, papa?"

"Why, Dexie; how silly you talk," said her mother severely. "What does your father need with new neck-ties while he is lying there on his back?"

The tears sprang to Dexie's eyes at once. Why could not her mother let him believe for one half-minute that he was _not_ "lying there on his back" with no need of fashionable attire? It made Dexie's heart ache to see the changed expression come over her father's face at the thoughtless words, and she turned from the room to hide her tears.

But Dexie had many little devices to amuse her father, who was quick to catch the passing moods of those around him. One little diversion in particular always brought a spice of frolic with it, while it caused Mrs. Sherwood to frown in displeasure. Dexie would set her father's table before him, but bring in his food covered over, and he must guess at the contents of the dishes by sundry whiffs which she would allow him from the corner of the raised napkin, and his many absurd guesses, in response to her efforts, often caused much merriment between them. He always found some little surprise on the table, if nothing more than a new cup to drink his tea from, or a pretty device on the little pat of butter; there was sure to be something to make remarks about. But this "foolishness," as Mrs. Sherwood called it, was kept up, and the harmless sport did much to induce the sick man to eat, and thus kept up his strength. Dexie was glad to find that her mother had left the room when she returned with a covered tray. Setting it on one side, she raised her father and settled his pillows, placed the invalid's table across the couch, set the tray thereon, then whipped off the napkin that covered the dishes.

"Now, papa, what do you think of that for a cup and saucer?"

"Is that a cup and saucer, Dexie? Well, you might call it anything else and not be far astray, I fancy. I'll have to ask, like the little nigger in 'Dred,' 'Which be de handle, and which am de spout?'" and he looked at the cup with interest.

"Why, that is the beauty of it. You can't make a mistake! If you take it this way, why, _this_ is the handle and _that_ the spout. If you prefer it end for end, why--there, you have it! I saw it down in the store, and thought it would be just the thing to drink out of. Try and see how nice it is. Not a drop spills out, you see, even when you are lying down. When you get tired of it as a cup, then I'll call it a fancy vase, and set it on the mantel for flowers. Handy thing, isn't it? useful or ornamental, just as you like."

Her father set the cup on the table and laughed pleasantly.

"Now, papa," she added, "you will need your Yankee guessing cap to-night, for I have something very nice. What is it?" holding up a dish.

"Well, sure enough, what can it be? It smells like chicken, but there is also a suggestion of oysters. There!--I give it up, Dexie."

"That's right, for I do not know the name of it myself. I saw how to prepare it in a book, but the name is beyond me. There is no English word to express how nice this tastes, so you must eat in French to-night, papa," sitting beside him to assist. "The little book tells how to prepare some lovely little stews and dishes, and I am going to make some of them for you. But don't be alarmed, papa! I'll try all the new inventions on myself first--to see if they are safe, you know! But, between you and me, papa, the author of the little cook book is a fraud! Some of the dishes are quite plebeian. He goes on to say how to prepare some toast, so-and-so, some milk and butter, or cream, so-and-so, put this and that in it, then you dish it up and call it--oh! I can't say _what_ he calls it; but, if you will believe me, it is just 'cream toast,' and nothing else, disguised under a high-sounding name to deceive innocent people, and make them believe they are eating something very high-toned. Just a little more tea, papa. But I am up to their tricks and I'll not palm off any old-fashioned dishes on you, under a Frenchified name," and she chatted on, helping him and preparing what was before him, till she had beguiled him into making quite a hearty meal.

That evening Mr. Traverse made his appearance as usual, bringing with him a pretty basket of fruit, and his inquiries after Mr. Sherwood's health were made so earnestly that Dexie felt sure he could not have been in during the afternoon; someone else must have left the papers.

As may be supposed, Traverse was in excellent humor. He seemed bubbling over with good-natured fun, and even Dexie thawed out sufficiently to answer his repartees less caustically than usual.

"Something very pleasant must have happened to you to-day," said Gussie, looking at him archly, "or else you have been studying a joke-book for our amusement."

"Well, I have good reason to be jolly to-night," he replied, changing his seat so as to watch Dexie's face. "I am going to be married! That fact alone ought to make any reasonable man happy, don't you think?"

This announcement was so unexpected by everyone, that even Mr. Sherwood looked up in surprise, and wondered "what next," and Dexie's eyes flashed in indignation as she said to herself:

"Then he was only trying to get up a flirtation with me, after all, and his tender looks and gallant speeches were only intended to draw me out! How glad I am I never gave him the smallest encouragement! What should I have done if he had guessed my secret? Yet he looked so true--who would believe he was so deceitful? Oh, dear!"

She bent her head lower over her work, and said not a word. No one should ever know how her heart ached at that announcement.

Gussie had always feared that if ever Guy Traverse gave up his "city girl" he would turn to Dexie for consolation, and she was glad to hear this announcement. Dexie was not going to get him, after all. She hoped Dexie would feel disappointed, but she smiled sweetly as she said:

"Ah! you sly thing! How you have deceived us? How long have you been engaged, and when is the event to come off? Do tell us about it."

"Well, I only received her father's permission to-day--something I was afraid I would never get, so the time has not been set."

"Come, Dexie!" looking up to see how her sister took the news, "you have not congratulated Mr. Traverse yet on his approaching marriage."

"I have not heard your congratulations, either, Gussie; but I believe Mr. Traverse will not doubt the sincerity of mine as I fear he may yours."

The retort struck home, as Dexie intended it should; she felt hurt, and was glad of the chance to say something sharp to relieve her feelings.

"Well, it is to be hoped that the future Mrs. Traverse is a little milder in her manner than you are; he has endured a good deal from your sharp tongue lately, and needs a change. Mr. Traverse seems to be waiting for your congratulations, Dexie," she added, as she noticed how intently Guy was regarding her.

"I hope it is not needful for me to assure Mr. Traverse how glad I am to hear of his approaching marriage," came the cool, stiff words from Dexie's lips. "I hope that hereafter he will see fit to bestow his obnoxious attentions exclusively on the lady of his choice."

"Why, Dexie," said her mother in surprise, "you are forgetting yourself."

"I stand adjudged!" and Guy smiled serenely, as he exchanged looks with Mr. Sherwood. "But I regret to say that the lady in question has not cared to monopolize my attentions so exclusively as I could wish, and they have overflowed, as it were, upon others occasionally. I beg to hope, Miss Dexie, that in the future you will have no cause to consider my attentions obnoxious."

"Well, give _me_ your attention just now, Mr. Traverse," said Gussie, lifting up a skein of silk for him to hold, and beginning to wind it off. "Does the future Mrs. Traverse indulge in this work?"

"Well, now, I really don't know, Miss Gussie; but if the knowledge of it is important I am sure she can do it, though I may never have seen her at it."

Dexie was suffering agonies of mind. Who could it be that had won his heart? It must be someone he had known before coming to Lennoxville, and his visits away from town were not always on business matters. She sat listening to every word with a beating heart, but those who were watching her closely could read no word from that quiet, immovable face.

"Do tell us something about this city girl of yours," Gussie said, teasingly. "We have been so intimate that it is only fair to tell us something about her. Is she tall or short, a blonde or brunette, and what kind of work is she usually at when you go to see her? or is she a society lady with nothing to do but dress up and look pretty? Perhaps she paints; that is fashionable now."

"Paints! No, never! 'Her cheeks are like the rose, that in the garden blooms,' and so on, but for all that, I am sure she does not paint!"

"Paint pictures, I mean! You know I did! Of course, I never meant her face! But what sort of work is she fond of? What are her talents? I am sure you must know that!"

"Well, now, I really don't believe I ever asked her what she likes to do best, and she is so unselfish that it would not be fair to judge her by what she is actually doing when I happen to see her, for I am sure that some of her self-imposed tasks are far from pleasant to her. I have heard her called her mother's right hand. I suppose you know what that means, Miss Gussie?"

Dexie raised her eyes for one moment, but dropped them when she saw Traverse looking at her intently. She was glad it was not a fashionable belle he had chosen for his wife, for she knew what a position she must hold if she was "her mother's right hand." That term told a long story to one initiated into its duties.

"But I am not going to let you off with such a general answer, Mr. Traverse," was Gussie's persistent reply, "so tell me at least _one_ thing that you have seen her engaged in when you called upon her."

"Well, really, Miss Gussie, you fairly puzzle me, for I can't think of the name of the work which I see her at most frequently," and he looked up as if reflecting on the matter; then glancing over to Dexie, who sat by the side table with a mending basket near, he added, "Oh! now I remember it. It is 'family mending,' I believe you call it. You just put me in mind of it, Miss Dexie," as Dexie raised an astonished pair of eyes to his face.

A sudden thought struck her, though she instantly refuted the idea, and despised herself for entertaining it for a fraction of a moment; but Guy had witnessed the flush that spread over her face as he uttered the words.

"Oh! how poetic!" and Gussie laughed heartily. "She must be, like Dexie, also, the housekeeper of the family, or at least the eldest daughter in it."

"Why, I thought you were twins, Miss Gussie," said Mr. Traverse, in surprise.

"Well, so we are as to age, but Dexie is years older than I am in other things. She has left the vanities and other worldly things behind her years ago."

"I wish you could see the fine affair that Dexie works at when she sits up with me at night. Where is it, Dexie? Bring it out and let us all have a look at it," said Mr. Sherwood, who had listened in silence to the discussion, and did not wish Traverse to think that Dexie was ignorant of this particularly feminine employment.

"Oh! never mind it just now, papa; I would rather not show it," she replied. But seeing that she had somehow disappointed him, she added, with a smile, "Wait till it is done, papa. It is not easy to judge the looks of an unfinished piece of work. Perhaps I will be able to finish it in time to make it a wedding present to Mr. Traverse." Traverse looked at her with such a happy smile on his face that she made some excuse to turn her chair about, and her fingers trembled so she could scarcely guide the needle.

"What is the matter with me, I wonder?" she thought. "Surely I am not so foolish as to be disturbed by his looks, after what he has just told us! Surely I am not so weak and foolish as that!"

Although the day had been a pleasant one to Mr. Sherwood, it had also been a trying one, and he began to feel the effects of it. He was getting uneasy and restless, and Dexie soon observed it.

"You are tired, papa. Shall I wheel you to your room?"

"Yes, I think you had better, and call Jarvis at once," and he leaned back white and weak against his pillows.

Guy was on his feet in a moment, and rolled the chair into the next room with a steady, firm hand; while Dexie hurried past him to summon Jarvis, and to get the hot applications which were always kept in readiness for these sudden attacks.

"I fear you are worse than usual to-night. Has my extra visit to-day been more than you were able to bear?" Guy asked, as, with the gentleness of a woman, he lifted him across into his bed.

"No, it is not that; I have been up too long, I guess, and my strength is daily growing less. I ought not to be moved out of bed, perhaps, but it is torment enough to be bolstered up in a chair without staying in bed all day," he added savagely, as the pain began to grow fierce. "Oh! this is awful!"

Guy seemed helpless as he stood on one side to let Jarvis approach the bed.

Dexie came in at that moment with several hot cushions, and with their help they soon had the sufferer more at ease; but for the few minutes the sight of his agony was terrible to witness.

"Don't go, Traverse; sit down for awhile; I shall soon be better," he said, as soon as he could speak. "There is more medicine in those hot bags than in all the doctor's bottles--they ease the pain faster than anything else," he presently added.

"How is the pain now, papa?" and Dexie bent over him with anxious face.

"Better, dear; much better, but it was fearful cutting for awhile. Did I frighten you, dear? You must not mind it so. Jarvis might see to me alone, if you would let her."

"Oh! I must help you if I can. I could not bear it if I could not do something to relieve you, dear papa," she whispered, as she bathed his flushed face.

Presently Mrs. Sherwood came in to see if her husband was better, and to ask if there could be anything further done for his relief.

"Nothing more, my dear; do not worry about me. You had better go and rest. Dexie will bring me something hot to drink presently, and that is all I shall want."

"Then I will leave you now with Jarvis, and see about it, papa," and Dexie left the room without saying a word to Mr. Traverse, who had taken a chair and seated himself at the other side of the bed. She was too much taken up with her father's sufferings to remember that her own heart had cause for grief.

She was some time away from the room, and naturally expected that Mr. Traverse had left the house, as Mrs. Jarvis said nothing about his still being in the room when she came out to speak to her.

"It is my turn to sit up the first part of the night, Mrs. Jarvis," said Dexie, "so you had better go at once to bed. I will call you if he should be worse, so do not sleep with one eye open. I will be sure to let you know if you are needed."

"Well, Traverse, you astonished me to-night," said Mr. Sherwood, as soon as they were alone in the room; "that was a strange way of beginning your wooing," and there was a smile on his white face as he looked into the manly one before him.

"Yes, I astonished them all," and he laughed softly. "It was quite amusing to see the effect of the announcement on the whole of you. I thought you were going to jump out of your chair; Miss Gussie was evidently surprised, but was not very much put out at the news; and Dexie--well, she hardly expected it, but she seemed pleased to hear she was likely to get rid of me," and he laughed again.

Just then Dexie came into the room carrying a little alcohol lamp with attachments for keeping hot her father's beef tea, and she stopped abruptly as she saw Traverse, saying almost rudely:

"You here! why I thought you had gone long ago!"

"Come! never mind looking at Traverse; I want my tea. I hope it is strong and hot."

Dexie colored slightly as she poured it out and helped him to raise his head as he drank it, knowing how a pair of eyes were watching her.

"Shall I shake your pillows while you are up, papa?"

"No; they are quite comfortable. Perhaps you don't care to believe that Traverse is almost as handy a nurse as yourself; but there! he can never be quite so good as my own little girl," and he drew her down to his side.

"You look pale yet, papa. Are you sure the pain is gone? There are more hot cushions outside if you would like them. I wish I could bear the pain for you," she said, in a low tone.

"You cannot do that, little woman, but you can do something else that would make me feel better. Be a little less rude to Traverse here; he is my best friend, and there is no need to snap his head off every time you speak to him. I can't think what ails you lately, Dexie; you never used to be so quarrelsome."

Dexie flushed painfully and softly replied:

"As _your_ friend, papa, I will try and give him less cause for complaint in the future--if I can help it," she added, without lifting her eyes.

"Well, it is something to have you promise that much itself, but he has not been complaining, Dexie. I am the one who is finding fault, so don't begin to scold him for that. Now, I am going to try and sleep, so go out of the room, the both of you, and don't come disturbing me. I will pull the bell if I want anything," and being thus dismissed, Dexie found herself alone with Guy in the sitting-room.