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Page 4
She whisked into a fourth seat, this time opposite the porti�res. To her
consternation the parted curtains revealed an appalling fact. Not only
could the winding stairway be seen from where she sat, but the entire
interior of the reception room must be equally visible to any one coming
down the steps. The dignified white-haired Personage now on the bottom
step must have seen every move she made as she darted around the room
trying the chairs in turn.
The faint gleam of suppressed amusement on Madam Chartley's face as she
entered, confirmed the girl's fears. It was unthinkable that such a
mortifying situation should go unexplained, yet for a moment after
Madam's courteous greeting Mary stood tongue-tied. Then she burst out,
her face fairly purple:
"Oh, I _wish_ you could change places with me for just five minutes!
Then you'd know how it feels to always put your worst foot first and
make a mess of everything!"
Madam Chartley had welcomed many types of girls to her school and was
familiar with every shade of embarrassment, but she had never been
greeted with quite such an outburst as this. Desperate to make herself
understood, Mary began in the middle of her carefully planned speech and
breathlessly explained backward, as to why she had arrived at this
inopportune time. The explanation was so characteristic of her, so
heart-felt and utterly honest, that it revealed far more than she
intended and opened a wide door into Madam's sympathies. As she stood
looking down at the girl with grave kind eyes, Mary suddenly became
aware of a strangely comforting thing. This was not an awesome
personage, but a dear adorable being who could _understand_. The
discovery made the second part of her explanation easier. She plunged
into it headlong as soon as they were seated.
"You see, I've heard so much about Hawkins and the way he sometimes
confuses the new girls with his grand London airs till they're too
rattled to eat, that I made up my mind that even if I am from Arizona,
I'd made him think that I've always 'dwelt in marble halls, with vassals
and serfs at my side.' I thought I was making a perfectly regal
entrance, till I looked into the mirror and saw how dilapidated I was
after my long journey. It took all the heart out of me and made me
dreadfully nervous about meeting you. I was trying to get into an easy
attitude that would make me feel more self-possessed when you came down.
That is why I was experimenting with all the sofas and chairs. Oh,
you've no idea how the Walton girls and Lloyd Sherman and Betty Lewis
have talked about you," she went on hurriedly, eager to justify herself.
"They made me feel that you were--well--er--sort of like _royalty_ you
know. That one ought to courtesy and back out from your presence as they
do at court."
Madam laughed an appreciative little laugh that showed a thorough
enjoyment of the situation. "But when you saw that the girls were
mistaken--"
Mary interrupted hurriedly, blushing again in her confusion. "No, no!
they were not mistaken! You're exactly as they described you, only they
didn't tell me how--how--er," she groped frantically for the word and
finished lamely, "how _human_ you are."
She had started to say "how _adorable_ you are," but checked herself,
afraid it would sound too gushing on first acquaintance, although that
was exactly what she felt.
"I mean," she continued, in her effort to be understood, "it seems from
the way you put yourself in my place so quickly, that once upon a time
you must have been the same kind of girl that I am. But of course I know
you were not. You were Lloyd Sherman's kind. She just naturally does the
right thing in the right place, and there's no occasion for her being a
copy-cat. That's what Jack calls me. Jack is my brother."
Madam laughed again, such an appreciative, friendly laugh, that Mary
joined in, wondering how the other girls could think her cold and
unapproachable. It seemed to her that Madam was one of the most
responsive and sympathetic listeners she had ever had, and it moved her
to go on with her confidences.
"Jack says I am not built on the same lines as the Princess. Princess
Winsome is one of our names for Lloyd. And he says it is ridiculous for
me to try to do things the way she does. He is always quoting Epictetus
to me: 'Were I a nightingale I would act the part of a nightingale; were
I a swan, the part of a swan.' He says that trying to copy her is what
makes me just plain goose so much of the time."
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