Girl to Come Home To (24 page)

“Jessica, you’re quite impossible,” said Alida harshly. “I’m sorry I called you up. Yet I suppose it is rather hard to watch your discarded beau take so kindly to a rich, cultured girl, and find her so entirely willing.”

“Yes?” said Jessica hatefully. “Well, I could fix that, too, if I wanted to. There isn’t much you can’t do with a nice little sweet mamma’s child like Diana if you go about it in the right way. So long, Alida. I’m going out this evening so you’ll have to excuse me from further talk. Good night.”

But Jessica made no further attempt to go out that evening. Instead she sat in deep thought, into the small hours of the night, making plans.

The next day Diana had gone down to the city on an errand for Mrs. Sanderson, while Beryl was addressing some of the Red Cross notes for which her mother was responsible and had promised to get into the mail that day. Diana had finished her errand and was walking briskly through the store on her way back to the house when Jessica saw her, gave her a quick sharp look, and then quickened her own steps and caught up with her.

“Aren’t you Diana Winters of New York?” she asked.

Diana turned with a quick look at the other girl and smiled.

“Why, yes,” she said sweetly. “Are you somebody I ought to know? I seem to have seen your face somewhere, but I just can’t remember your name. I’m sorry.”

Diana’s manner was altogether disarming, but Jessica was in no mood to be disarmed. She had come out to fight, and she meant to do it.

“I’m Jessica De Groot,” said Jessica. “I think we were introduced at that meeting where Jeremy spoke, but it was such a mob I don’t wonder you can’t remember my name. However, that makes no difference. I thought it was high time you and I had a little talk. There are some things I think you ought to know. Shall we go somewhere where we can talk without being interrupted? Right up these few stairs to the half gallery there is always a place to sit.”

Diana, a bit perplexed, glanced down at her watch.

“Why, I think I can spare a few minutes, if it won’t take long,” she said, and allowed herself to be led up the stairs and seated on a long bench overlooking the many counters below.

“Now,” said Jessica, “I have seen you going around with Rod Graeme a lot, and I thought it was high time you understood that he’s not for you. He really belongs to me, you see. We were engaged long before he went to war, and he just isn’t for you, that’s all. And I decided to tell you to lay off him. I won’t stand for anybody else taking him over. He’s mine, see?”

Diana sat there in amazement staring at Jessica, and for the moment saying nothing, so Jessica went on. “Besides, I’ve been finding out a lot about you, too. Things I suppose Rod doesn’t know or he never would be going around with you. He’s so religious that he would drop you like a hotcake if he knew. And if you don’t let up on this, I’ll good and well see that he does know. See? You see, I have friends in New York, and they tell me you are engaged and going to be married right away to a swell guy who thinks you’re all right, and naturally
he
doesn’t know what
you
are doing in Riverton. But if you keep this thing up, I’ll see that he
does
know all about it. I often go to New York, and I can hunt him up and tell him
everything
that goes on here, see?”

Diana looked at the girl as if she were crazy, and in her heart she was saying,
Oh, Lord, what is this? What shall I do? Help me, please
.

She was smiling faintly when this tirade began, and the startling things this girl said had, for the instant, driven away her usual calm from her expression, leaving only that faint smile set there like something that might fade quickly.

Then, as if some unseen strength had come to her she began to speak in a steady voice, “Are you quite through? Is that all you wanted to say? Then if you’ll excuse me I think I must go, for someone is waiting for this package,” and with all her old, sweet self-possession, the result of years of cultured training, she arose, walked quickly across the gallery, down the steps, and out through the crowded store, head up, shoulders back, and an undisturbed expression upon her face.

And Jessica sat in amazement and watched her go. Her hateful words had not even fazed the girl. What kind of a girl was she anyway? And somehow Jessica almost envied Diana, to be able to take it that way. That was what it meant, probably, to be “to the manner born,” while
she
was only born to the wrong side of the tracks and couldn’t seem to get away from it no matter how hard she tried, nor how hateful she was to other people. She simply could not understand it. What did it mean? Wasn’t it true about her being engaged? Well, why didn’t she say so then? Or was there nothing much between her and Rod? Or what? Had she only put herself in worse with Rod by attacking the girl he had been going with? Well, it was done, and now what? She must follow this up somehow. She would have to go to Rod, get to him somehow, even if he didn’t want to see her, and tell him what kind of a double-crosser his latest girl was. With all his religion he couldn’t stand a girl doing that. She would get in touch with Rod tomorrow, in spite of all his scruples. In spite of the Graemes. In spite of Louella. She would beat them all and get it back on everybody. Get it back on Rod and perhaps get him just where she wanted him, and then she would ask him to give that ring back and have it to show to other people. She would do that little thing tomorrow morning. She certainly knew how to make plenty of trouble for a lot of people when she really set about it.

So, dressed in her most innocent morning frock of delicate-wash material, fragilely trimmed with simply expensive lace and a wide hat with a wreath of wild roses, the kind of thing Rod used to admire, and delicate white sandals, she took her way slowly up the old familiar drive. She went to the side door where she always used to go, knock, and walk in without ceremony or waiting for anyone now, so she stayed a little on ceremony and stood with her wide hat in her hand, sweetly smiling. And Jessica knew how to smile, sweetly,
almost
innocently.

“Are you here, Mamma Graeme?” she called in a pleasant voice. “I’ve come to see you. I hope you’re home, and not busy.”

Margaret Graeme came out a little anxiously, not knowing just what to anticipate, and she looked at the smart girlish figure and was thankful in her heart that this girl was not for her boy. She had never felt her to be the right girl for either of her children, though there had never been a danger from her for Jerry, for he had openly despised her, raging to his mother now and again on Rodney’s account.

“Why, no, not too busy. That is not for a while. I believe I have to go to a committee meeting at eleven. Sit down, won’t you?”

So Jessica spread her filmy orchid-sprigged skirt out engagingly in the rocking chair that was offered and settled herself for a good home talk, with a nice air of pleasant anticipation.

She spoke of the lovely weather they had been having, rattled on a little about her brief trip west, with a unique fabrication of a story to explain her going. She told enlarged stories of her husband’s estate, described the wonderful old house and its fine, costly antique furniture. She told of a wondrous blue diamond her husband was getting for her that was to be set in a new fancy way, and at last she looked at her little trick of a watch and remarked nonchalantly, “I hope I haven’t come too early to catch the boys when they come down. I know they like to sleep late these furlough mornings. Dare I stay till they come down?”

“Come down?” said Margaret Graeme, lifting amused eyebrows. “Why, bless you child, they aren’t even here. They left late last night.”

“Do you mean they’ve been sent back overseas?”

“Oh, no, not that, that is, not yet.”

“But where have they gone? I’m always asking that question about Rod and never getting an answer. Is this intentional?”

Margaret Graeme smiled. “Well, it has been rather hard to place them. They’ve so many things to see and do, and they have felt that perhaps they had so little time in which to do it.”

“Well, then, suppose you give me an answer now, Mamma Graeme. Where have they gone?”

Mrs. Graeme laughed merrily. “Well, I’ll have to give you the same answer,” she said. “They didn’t tell me. They simply said they were called to headquarters.”

“Do you mean they’ve been called back to Washington?”

“It might be, of course, but I’m not sure. It depends on what headquarters it is, I suppose. I really don’t know much about these things. I haven’t had much chance to talk over their affairs with the boys yet. It seems there are several headquarters, I think, depending on whether you are talking in terms of military orders or personnel or home efficiency. I’m not even sure I’m using the right terms. I’m afraid I’m rather a dummy about such matters, and it hasn’t seemed too important to take time to understand. But undoubtedly we’ll learn in time and be able to give them their true standing in the eyes of the world, that is, as far as the world is going to be allowed to know. If it is, yet.”

“But don’t you really know pretty well where they are going? Surely you could tell me that much. Remember, Mamma Graeme, how near I came to being a member of the family, and then I would have had to know.”

Margaret Graeme laughed. “I’m afraid not,” she said amusedly. “We don’t know yet, and may not be told everything even when the boys get their orders, for the government has found that there are some things that
must
be kept absolutely secret, even from the nearest and dearest.”

“But I think that’s perfectly horrid. That’s unreasonable. No families would stand for that.”

“Oh, yes, they would. They have to, you know. Why, there were months and months when the boys were overseas that we had no definite idea at all where they were. It was understood that we wouldn’t. It was the only safe way to win the war.”

“Nonsense!” said Jessica. “I think that’s ridiculous! As if all those thousands of soldiers would stand for that! They wouldn’t stay there and fight if they were treated like that.”

“Oh yes they would. They understood why such orders were given, why such precautions were necessary. No, we got rather used to not asking too many questions. We knew that if we asked one that shouldn’t be answered they would just laugh and give an evasive reply. So we just waited till the boys got ready to tell us. If they didn’t, we knew it was because they were forbidden.”

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t stand for that.”

“I would rather stand for that and help the war along than just to satisfy my own curiosity and persist in demanding to know everything. You know, you want your dear ones to be true soldiers and to submit to laws and ordinances.”

Jessica was vexed and showed it. At last she got up and started toward the door. “Well, it seems I came on a fool’s errand,” she said.

“Oh, I wouldn’t call it that, child,” said Mother Graeme. “We’ve had a nice talk, haven’t we?”

“We didn’t get anywhere, and I wanted to talk to Rodney. There is something important I want to ask him about. When do you definitely expect him back?”

“I’m afraid it will have to be the same old answer. I just don’t know. It might be a day or two or more, or even a week or a month. Depends on what changes are going to be made in their work.”

Margaret Graeme was getting to be a master of evasion indeed. Of course she did not know definitely what was to be done with her sons in the immediate future, though she could guess perhaps and not fall far short of the truth. But she had been adjured not to tell
any
thing, not even what she
knew
to be true, so she told nothing. And at last Jessica, much vexed in spirit, took herself away, went and hunted up Louella, and complained to her.

“Well, Jessica,” said Louella sympathetically, “that’s exactly the way Margaret Graeme always treats me. You wonder why I can’t get any of the information you want. Well, now you see, I simply can’t get anything out of her no matter how hard I try. I’m glad you’ve seen it yourself, and then you won’t be so hard on me.”

“Well, at least now we know they’ve gone somewhere, and it ought to be definitely settled soon where they are to be permanently. I wonder if we could get anything out of the postman?”

“I’m afraid not,” said Louella. “I tried him awhile ago, asked for the address of somebody overseas, and do you know he wouldn’t give me the address, not without an order from the person. He said he would mail my letter, but he had no right to give me the address. It seems to me that government affairs take too much on themselves, refusing to give out the address of your best friends or next-door neighbors, perhaps.”

“Well, there must be some way,” said Jessica. “I’m not one to give up so easily. I’m going to find out where they are as soon as they are located definitely, and believe me, I’m going to visit Rodney in his office, too, government or no government. They can’t simply turn a lady out of an office.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” said Louella doubtfully. “You know, the government is very severe. Army and navy regulations are simply unreasonable,
I
say. And I wouldn’t hesitate to step over some of their old regulations myself. Nobody would certainly put
me
out of anywhere, office or whatever. But maybe
you
ought not to try. You are a young woman, you know. And perhaps your husband wouldn’t like it if you did. You might get your name in the papers or something and be misunderstood.”

“Well, anyhow, I’m going to talk to Rodney Graeme. I’ve got things to tell him that he ought to know, and I intend he shall know them. Remember I used to be very close to him, and if I know something to his advantage I think
I’m
the one to tell him, don’t you?”

“Well, of course, Jessica, if you put it that way. But you must remember there are always consequences to things like that, rash actions, especially when you’re dealing with government regulations. I’d be careful what I did, Jessica.”

“Oh, I’m not afraid. Just wait till I find out where that office or plant or whatever it is, is located, and I’m going straight in and track Rod to his office. Then believe me, nobody, not even a mother, is going to put up any bars to keep me out. I’m going to his office, and I’m going to stay there till I’ve told him plenty about that little white-faced Diana that he’s trotting around with, and when I get done you won’t see him out riding with her anymore, I’ll guarantee. One thing that Rodney Graeme is mortally afraid of is to do anything that will make narrow-minded people talk about him. He seems to think God is just waiting around the corner, watching, to see if he goes wrong some way, or if anybody can find anything to accuse him of. I’ll show him that that girl is no mate of his. A girl that would be all ready to be married and then go off and visit and run around with other men when she’s got a perfectly swell guy of her own who is expecting to marry her. I know he’ll draw the line at that.”