Part 23 (1/2)

”Where can Charley be!” cried Mrs. Morrell in apparent distress. ”Don't wait here with me. I a.s.sure you I do not in the least mind sitting alone.”

But she said it in a fas.h.i.+on that made it impossible, and in this manner Nan lost her first engagement with her husband. Not that it mattered particularly, she told herself, grand marches were rather silly things, and yet she could not avoid a feeling of thwarted pique at being so tied to the wall.

At the close of the march, and after the couples had pretty well resumed their seats, Mrs. Sherwood entered, unattended and very leisurely. She made, in her quieter manner, a greater sensation than had Mrs. Morrell. Quite self-possessed, carrying herself with her customary poise, dressed un.o.btrusively in black and gold, but with the distinction of an indubitable Parisian model, moving without self-consciousness in contrast to many of the other women, her small head high, her direct gaze a-smoulder with lazy amus.e.m.e.nt, she glided across the middle of the floor. The eyes of every woman in the ballroom were upon her. The ”respectable” element stared shamelessly, making comments aside. Those a little _decla.s.se_, on the fringe of society, or the ”faster” women like Mrs. Morrell--who might in a way be considered her rivals--were apparently quite unaware of her. She made her unhasting way to a vacant chair, sat down, and looked calmly about her.

Immediately she was surrounded by a swarm of the unattached men. The attached men became very attentive to their partners.

”Hullo,” remarked Keith cheerfully. ”There's Mrs. Sherwood. I must go over and say good-evening to her.”

On sudden impulse Nan rose with him. She instinctively disliked her present company and the situation; and a sudden pang of conscience had told her that not once since she had left the Bella Union had she laid eyes on the woman who had received her with so much kindness.

”Take me with you,” she said to Keith.

”My dear!” cried Mrs. Morrell. ”You wouldn't! Take my advice--you're young and innocent!”

She sought one of those exclusive, private-joke glances at Keith, but failed to catch his eye.

”She was very kind to me when I arrived,” said Nan serenely. Keith, hesitated; then his impulsive, warm-hearted loyalty spoke.

”Good for you, Nan!” he cried.

They moved away, leaving Mrs. Morrell alone, biting her lip and planning revenges.

The group around Mrs. Sherwood fell away at their approach. Nan sat down next her, leaning forward with a pretty and girlish, impulsiveness.

”It's ages since I have seen you, and I have no excuse to offer,” she said. ”The days slip by.”

”I know,” said Mrs. Sherwood. ”New house, new Chinaman, even new dog--enough to drive the most important thoughts out of one's head. But you've come out to-night like a flower, my dear. Your gown is charming, and it suits you so well!”

She chatted on, speaking of the floor, the music, the decorations, the crowd.

”I love this sort of thing,” she remarked. ”People in the ma.s.s amuse me. Jack couldn't get away until midnight, but I wouldn't wait for him.

I told him it didn't worry me a bit to come without an escort,”

smoothing away what little embarra.s.sment might linger. The music started up again. The Keiths arose and made their adieux. Mrs. Sherwood looked after them, her bright eyes tender. Mrs. Keith was the only woman who had yet spoken to her.

”Isn't she simply stunning?” cried Keith. ”She has something about her that makes most of these others look cheap.”

”She's really wonderfully attractive and distinguished looking,” agreed Nan.

”If she were only a little less practical--a little softer; more feminine--she'd be a sure-enough man killer. As it is, she needs a little more--you know what I mean--”

”More after Mrs. Morrell's fas.h.i.+on,” suggested Nan a trifle wickedly.

It popped out on the impulse, and the next instant Nan would have given anything if the words had not been said. Keith was arrested in mid-enthusiasm as though by cold water. He checked himself, looked at her sharply, then accepted the pseudo-challenge.

”Well, Mrs. Morrell, for all her little vulgarities, impresses you as being a very human sort of person.”

He felt a sudden and unreasoning anger, possibly because the shot had hit a tender place.

”Shall we dance?” he suggested formally.