Barbara raised herself on one elbow in her small bed and answered irritably2:
"I most certainly was not mistaken, Nona Davis. I ought to know Robert Hume perfectly3 well after our meeting in Paris and his visit at the chateau4. Besides, though he dared not speak, he showed that he recognized me. I even promised him that you would write him a note to the prison if it were possible." Then Barbara relaxed and sank down on her pillow again.
She and Nona and Mildred were in her small room at the hospital. It was time for them all to have been in bed and asleep,[Pg 122] since they chanced not to be engaged in night nursing. But Barbara had retired5 early, as she was extremely tired. Then, some time after, Nona and Mildred had crept in to find out what had become of her. They had missed her during the afternoon, but had not known of her expedition with Dr. Mason.
Now Nona looked annoyed.
"What an extraordinary thing, Barbara, for you to promise! I am sure I see no reason in the world why I should write Lieutenant Hume. We are only acquaintances. Of course, I am sorry to know he is in hard luck. But for me to begin writing him under the circumstances would look as if we were intimate friends."
Barbara slipped her arms up over her head, making a kind of oval frame for her face.
Nona and Mildred were seated on either side the foot of her bed.
"I think you are absurd, Nona," she commented, in the frank fashion which was not always either advisable or pleasant. "I really don't believe I did say you would[Pg 123] write, only that one of us would. Naturally, I thought as you knew Lieutenant Hume best you would prefer it. I don't consider he would think you were being too friendly with him. He is too much of a gentleman. He would understand that you were sorry for his hard luck and pitied his loneliness. I wonder if it was because you were brought up in the south that you are so conventional? You don't seem to be so all the time, only when it suits you. I am sure I will write the note to Lieutenant Hume with pleasure if I find he is allowed to receive letters except from his family."
Evidently Barbara was in a mood when it made but little difference to her whether or not she made Nona Davis angry. Yet she and Nona had once seemed to be devoted6 to each other and appeared to be friendly now.
Nona, however, was not given to quarreling. So, although she flushed uncomfortably, she made no immediate7 answer.
Mildred, however, broke into the conversation hastily.
[Pg 124]
"Well, you did have an extraordinarily8 interesting afternoon, Barbara, though it must have been a trying one. I confess Nona and Dick and I were all hurt when we found you had gone out without even speaking of your intention. We have asked you to go with us any number of times. Dick said he did not suppose you knew any one in the hospital well enough to have accepted an invitation."
At this Barbara rose up to a half-sitting position, still with her arm-encircled head leaning against her pile of pillows.
"Was Dick here this afternoon?" she inquired, wondering within herself why she felt pleased over Dick's hearing of her departure.
"Oh, he only stopped by for a moment to bring Nona a book," Mildred added. "I just chanced to see them as I was passing by in the hall. But you look very tired, Barbara. Would you like Nona and me to leave you? You can tell us more of your experiences another time. But I advise you to ask Dick if he can make any suggestions about the poor little Frenchman.[Pg 125] Monsieur Bebé sounds so pathetic. You know Dick may have something worth while to propose. He is doing such splendid work with the Relief Committee."
Barbara patted Mildred's hand gently and, it must be confessed, a little condescendingly.
"You are apt to think Dick does everything well, Mill, aren't you," she announced, "whether it is looking after the starving Belgians or leading a dance in a ball room? Still, I don't think I shall trouble him. I have a plan of my own in mind for the boy and I am going out to see Eugenia to ask if she thinks it feasible. Then if she thinks it is, I shall go ahead and see what can be accomplished9."
"And leave all of us completely in the dark," Nona added. "I must confess, Barbara, I don't think it kind of you to speak to Mildred about Dick in such a superior, almost scornful, fashion. In the last few weeks we have both been aware that you did not care to be intimate with us. But whatever we may have done, I can't see how Dick Thornton can have[Pg 126] merited your disapproval10. I don't believe you have even seen him alone."
Barbara's cheeks flared11. "And I wonder how you formed that opinion, Nona? However, it strikes me as none of your business."
The instant Barbara had made this speech she was sorry. One was always at a disadvantage in a quarrel with Nona Davis. For Nona never for a moment forgot her dignity or breeding. She was white now, while Barbara was crimson12. Her lips were curling a little scornfully, but she answered quietly, "I am sorry to have made you angry; that was not my intention."
However, in spite of her apology, the younger girl remained absurdly aggrieved13. Yet she had the grace to turn to Mildred.
"I am sure you understand, Mildred, that I never intended to be disagreeable about Dick. You must know that I admire him very much."
Mildred leaned over and deliberately14 pinched Barbara's flushed cheeks. "I know you are a little goose," she asserted, "to be quarreling with Nona as though you were two badly brought up children."
[Pg 127]
But Barbara was not to be appeased15. She made no answer, and the next moment Nona slipped off the bed and knelt on the floor beside her.
"What is the matter, Bab? What is it that has been making you feel and behave so differently toward me lately? If I have been to blame in any way I apologize with all my heart. I confess I was absurd about Lieutenant Hume. I liked him very much the few times we met. I might at least be willing to do the poor fellow a kindness when he is in hard luck. But you see, he does not belong to a very good family in England. Though he behaves like a gentleman, after all he is only a gardener's son."
It was not Barbara who interrupted this time, but Mildred Thornton.
"That is nonsense, Nona," she protested. "I have heard you say something of that kind two or three times. Anyone who has traveled in the least knows that no gardener's son in England is educated as Lieutenant Hume is, nor has such perfectly self-possessed manners. Besides, he is a lieutenant."
[Pg 128]
Nona shook her head. "Yes, I know it does sound impossible," she returned. "But Lieutenant Hume told me himself that he was the son of the gardener when I first met him in Surrey. He was at home then, recovering from a wound in the leg and was lying asleep near the gardener's cottage. It has often struck me as queer since, but I have worked it all out. Lieutenant Hume must have been educated by some one who considered him unusual. And commissions have been given in the British army in this war for merit as well as for family reasons."
But Nona was evidently weary of the subject of the young English lieutenant. She had remained kneeling on the floor and she now took hold of Barbara's somewhat limp hand in a very sweet fashion.
"But you haven't said what the trouble is between us, Bab, or whether you are willing to forgive me?" she continued. "I should feel very unhappy if anything serious interrupted our friendship. Eugenia seems so far away these days and I don't believe she is anxious to have us come to see her often."
[Pg 129]
"Oh, Eugenia is busy," Barbara answered carelessly. "But it is all right, Nona; of course I am not angry with you. I was vexed16 for a moment, but I expect that was because I am tired. It is ridiculous to suggest that there could be any serious trouble between us."
To the best of her ability Barbara tried to speak with sincerity17. Nona looked exquisitely18 pretty and appealing as she knelt beside her. One would have forgiven her almost any offense19. Yet Barbara could not truthfully convince herself that Nona had committed an offense against her. Nevertheless, she did not feel a return of her affection, although she struggled to have her manner at least appear unchanged.
But Nona was conscious of the difference, for she rose immediately to her feet.
"I am sorry we disturbed you tonight when you were so tired," she said, holding her chin just a little higher than usual. There was no change in the soft inflections of her voice. "Good night."
Then Nona left the room without [Pg 130]looking back. But Mildred stopped to kiss Barbara. "You haven't been any too nice to me either, Mistress Barbara," she asserted. "If you don't reform I shall tell Dick and make him find out the reason why."
Of course Mildred made this speech without in the least meaning it. Nevertheless, after both girls had left the room and she should have been asleep, Barbara remembered. She sincerely hoped that Mildred would not be so tiresome20 as to tell Dick of their personal differences. But what was the root of the trouble between her and her two former friends?
For the life of her Barbara could not decide. Or, if at the depth of her heart she knew, she was not brave enough to confess the truth to herself.
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1
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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2
irritably
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| ad.易生气地 | |
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3
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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4
chateau
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| n.城堡，别墅 | |
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5
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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6
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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7
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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8
extraordinarily
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| adv.格外地；极端地 | |
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9
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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10
disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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11
Flared
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| adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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12
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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13
aggrieved
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| adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词) | |
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14
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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15
appeased
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| 安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
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16
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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17
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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18
exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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19
offense
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| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
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20
tiresome
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| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
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