GI Brides (25 page)

But Lexie had escaped, and was rapidly preparing for bed, to nestle down beside Bluebell and comfort her baby sobs.

After a little the house quieted down, and even Cinda could stop sniffing and get a bit of rest. And in the still night watches Lexie’s tired prayers arose. She and that soldier over on the other side of the world somewhere were both praying to a God they knew, who was close beside them all the way, and as Lexie was dropping off to sleep she wondered if ever in the years ahead she would see that soldier again, and if they could talk over these things they had passed through. Well, anyway, perhaps in heaven. Somehow there didn’t seem to be much prospect of anything pleasant happening to her on this earth.

T
he university commencement was the next night and Lexie’s dress that she had ordered at the other college with the girls of her class, which was to be forwarded in plenty of time, did not arrive until the morning of the day. Lexie had been wondering what she would do if it didn’t come. Stay at home entirely, or go down in her old blue voile, which was the only dress-up garment she possessed that was at all in keeping with warm weather. And it was warm! But that last morning the big pasteboard box arrived by parcel post, and eagerly Lexie carried it up to her room, thankful that Elaine was still asleep and wouldn’t be demanding to see what had come.

But she reckoned without knowledge, for Elaine was not so soundly asleep that she had not heard the postman come and she had been at the window looking out behind the curtain. Lexie scarcely had the box open before the stair door opened and Elaine called up the stairs, “Lexie, what was that package that came in the mail? Wasn’t that for me?”

“No,” said Lexie pleasantly. “It was just some things that I didn’t bring from college.”

“Oh! Things! So you have some more old togs, have you? I should have thought they wouldn’t have bothered to send any more such worn-out duds as you have.”

Lexie made no reply, and so Elaine closed the door and went back into her room. But well did Lexie know that she hadn’t heard the last of this yet.

However, she was soon engrossed in opening her new dress, and hanging it up where she could examine it.

It was white organdie, sheer and fine. Those girls who did the ordering for the class were wealthy girls and they knew how to select good material. Lexie’s eyes reveled in the sheer lovely folds, the delicate lace with which the ruffles were edged, the lovely lines of the whole garment. And to think it was her very own! How nice it would have been if she might have graduated with the rest of her own class in the college where she had worked so hard, among those girls she had come to know so well and some of them to love.

Then she began to put her fingers on the folds shyly, to smooth the skirt down softly as if it were a baby’s skin. There were a few creases in it where it had been folded too sharply, in order to get the cover of the box on. Ought she to iron it, or would just hanging up in the air take the creases out? Perhaps that would be better.

She took one of her hangers, padded it carefully with cotton, and covered it with white cloth, and then she hung the dress on it and placed the hanger where it would get the breeze from the window. The air was a little damp from the rain last night and that would surely take the musings out!

So, with quiet step and careful hand she went out, closing her door. There was no point in locking it of course, for that would only arouse Elaine’s suspicions and start her on the warpath again, asking uncomfortable questions.

Lexie hurried downstairs and began dusting the living room, softly humming a happy little tune, until suddenly Elaine appeared in her bedroom doorway.

“Mercy!” she said, scowling darkly. “Do you have to
screech
? I can’t imagine why. Stuck here in this horrid hole of a town, working hard to make both ends meet! But oh, I forgot, you are counting on the fortune you are saving till all suspicion blows over and you feel you dare come out in the open and flaunt your riches!”

Suddenly Lexie felt as if she simply couldn’t bear another word.

“Oh don’t, Elaine, please don’t talk that way! You know that isn’t any of it true, and you are just saying those things to be hateful. Isn’t it enough to make me glad and want to sing to think that after all the hindrances I’ve had I’ve really finished my college course and am getting my diploma tonight? That certainly is enough to make me feel lighthearted. But I’m sorry if I disturbed you. I didn’t know you had gone to lie down again. I thought you were dressing.”

“Oh, it’s of no consequence of course. But dressing? What would I dress in? I need a new dress. I haven’t a rag fit to put on my back, and today that noted financier is coming to talk with me. I’m sure I don’t know what to do.”

Lexie was silent. There really wasn’t anything she could say to that harangue. And so Elaine was going to bring that other obnoxious man here to the house along with the disgusting lawyer! Well, perhaps she had better get out for a while. How would it be for her to run down to the store now, as soon as she had this living room dusted, and call up Mr. Gordon? He had asked to be told when either of those two came to the house, and promised if he found it out in time to do something to help her relieve the situation. Besides, he said he wanted to get a view of Perrine, and make sure he was the one they were after before he could do anything.

So Lexie hurried through her task and started down to the store, but as she came down the stairs from her room, where she had lingered a moment to note that the air was taking the few wrinkles out of her new dress already, she heard Elaine calling.

“Yes?” she answered, opening the dining room door a crack.

“I wish you would scrub the front porch!” ordered the lady. “It looks as if the pigs lived here. I can’t have gentlemen coming to see me with a porch like that!”

Lexie smothered a desire to tell her sister that the only pigs that lived there belonged to her, as her children had been eating bread and jam out there the night before and had smeared jam and an overripe banana over everything. But she took a deep breath instead and endeavored to answer steadily.

“Sorry, Elaine, I can’t do it just now. I have to go on an errand. Perhaps when I get back there may be time. I’m rather busy this morning.” And then she went out and closed the door before Elaine could say any more, and was speeding down across the meadow before Elaine had roused to keep her from going.

A little talk with Mr. Gordon brought calm into her troubled soul. He thanked her for letting him know, and said he might come out himself during the morning if he decided that was a wise thing to do.

So Lexie went home a trifle relieved, and wondered if she really ought to go out and scrub that porch. Of course Cinda would eventually do it, but she wanted to make things as easy as possible for Cinda. She decided that if there was no limousine parked before the door she would see that at least the jam was washed off the chair back and porch. She didn’t want even an obnoxious lawyer, nor a crook, to find things actually dirty.

So Lexie hurried into the house and was about to go in search of a pail and scrubbing brush and cloths, when she met Cinda coming in from the side door carrying them.

“I just been out to scrub her highness’ porch,” she said with a comical grimace. “I heard what the likes of her said, and I would not have lifted a finger to help, savin’ I knowed you would do it when you got back, and I didn’t want that to happen. So it’s done.”

“That was sweet of you, Cinda, but I think you have enough to do without that. Anyway, those two men she said were coming aren’t worth any effort. But thank you for your thought of me.” And Lexie went smiling into the house to make sure she hadn’t left her dust cloth in the living room.

But when she opened the door, she saw Elaine seated at the desk writing, and she was wearing a delicate white dress.

Lexie stared at her sister for an instant, and then she recognized the fine lace on the edge of the ruffles, and it all came over her. That was her commencement dress! Elaine had gone up and got it and put it on! Oh, and she would muss it all up! Lexie was suddenly very angry, so angry she was petrified. She couldn’t speak!

Then Elaine looked up from her writing; caught a glimpse of her sister’s face and was startled. She hadn’t expected Lexie to return so soon, and she wasn’t prepared for the look of utter anger and despair in Lexie’s eyes.

“Oh! So you
did
decide to come back in time to scrub that porch! Well, you needn’t have bothered. I made Cinda do it. She’s a lazy good-for-nothing anyway. She ought to do it without being told!”

But Lexie had no ears for anything about the porch just then. She was struggling to regain her composure and trying to speak in a pleasant, compelling manner.

“Oh Elaine! That’s my commencement dress!” she said in a cross between a wail and a protest. “Won’t you please go and take it off quick? And,
please,
be careful. I’ve nothing else to wear tonight! You had no right to go up and get my dress—!”

“
Right? You
talk of
right
? Why didn’t I have a right to do anything I wanted to do with what you claim as fortune and refuse to tell where it is?”

“Oh Elaine, please,
please
stop talking like that. You know I haven’t any fortune. And won’t you please get up quick and take that off? Let me help you off with it right away! Please be
careful
! Oh, if anything should happen to it I don’t know what I could do!”

“Get away from me, Lexie. Take your hands off my shoulder! No, I will not take the dress off. I’m expecting callers any minute and this is a perfect negligee. It’s nothing extraordinary anyway. Just a white nightgown affair. I have two old white dresses myself that will do well enough for you to march on a platform with a whole lot of other people. I intend to keep this on now; I haven’t time to change and you can rave all you want to, but it won’t do you a bit of good!”

Elaine waved her hand determinedly and her white arm swept out across the desk and took the ink bottle in its path, landing it directly in her own lap, where it turned over and spilled a large wide path of blue-black ink down the front of the cherished dress!

For an instant there was a dead silence in the room as both girls were horrified at what had happened, and then Elaine, gathering anger as she spoke, said: “There! Now see what you have made me do? Ruined my costume, and devastated your own dress! But that isn’t all,” she said as the enormity of what had happened came over her. “I had on my own best silk slip. The pink one that matches my only evening dress, and it’s
ruined.
And that’s
all your fault
! I know you can’t buy real silk things anymore and I never could match this again. Oh, what
shall
I do? Why don’t you help me get this terrible dress off quick. Take the scissors and cut it off. You can’t get it off any other way. There are the scissors over on the table. Cut it off quick before this vile ink gets all through my undergarments!”

True to her nature Lexie froze into composure with an emergency. She took charge of the frantic woman and made her obey just by the force of her own will.

“Stand up!” she said quietly, and took hold of her sister’s arm firmly. “Wait! Don’t stir! Let me get this waist unfastened.”

No one noticed when Cinda came in, a basin of water in her hand and several large clean rags. She went quietly over to the excited, weeping Elaine.

“There, dearie,” crooned Cinda in perfect acting form. “We’ll fix ye all up in good shape before yer comp’ny comes. Just stand still and shut yer eyes. Hold out yer right arm. Yes, that’s right. Pull it off gently there. And now the other. There, the waist is off! Now we’re through the worst. Wait, suppose I take off yer pretty slippers. They’re too nice to get spoiled. Stand very still!”

Lexie knew enough to keep her own mouth shut and let Cinda carry on. She knew that her voice would only excite Elaine. So she worked with careful, quick, frightened fingers, unzipping and pulling off the skirt cautiously down over the slim angry hips, zealously guarding the back and sides of the skirt from all contact with the tainted front breadth until the skirt lay in a billowy circle about the feet of the distressed Elaine. Then suddenly Cinda rose and put her strong arms quickly about the slim waist of the young woman, lifting her body out from the dress and setting her down fully two yards away from it. As she did so, Lexie gathered the blackened front breadths closely in her hands and drew the whole skirt out of the room. It was deftly done, and perhaps no one who had not so much at stake could possibly have accomplished the feat, but there it was, out in the dining room, with sides and back unmarred. Now, what could be done next?

Lexie was quick and clever. She knew exactly the pattern of that dress, and even while she had been rescuing what part of it was still untouched by ink, she had been trying to contrive how she would yet wear it. So now as she laid it down on the floor for the moment, she knew just what she had to do. If only the ink did not reach too far, it might be possible to rip or cut out that marred front breadth and let out some of the gathering in the full skirt. But she must get rid first of that inky section or somehow it would contaminate the rest. The scissors were the quickest way.

She stepped to the kitchen and got the pair of shears that had always hung under the shelf by the dresser. Kneeling, she cut swiftly, ruthlessly, through that beautiful garment that only an hour before had been such an object of delight to her tired, worried young soul, really the prettiest dress she had ever had.

But she must not stop to think of that now. There was not a great deal of time in which to bring this garment into usefulness for her immediate need, and she must not waste a minute in useless repining. So with a steady hand, she cut from the hem straight up to the belt, on each side of the stain, and then with a glance at her hands to make sure they had no ink on them, she gathered up what was left and carried it up to her room, laying it on the bed and locking the door to make sure no intruder arrived to hinder her.