Part 16 (2/2)

Before anyone could answer Linda rushed over to Nan and took her by the arm. ”Why, Nancy Sherwood!” she exclaimed as though Nan was the best friend she had in the world. ”I'm so surprised to see you here. When did you arrive? Isn't this city just perfectly gorgeous? More quaint, don't you think, than anything we saw in Europe?”

Nan was at a loss as to what to say. Deep within her she was entirely out of patience with the situation. Linda was being disgustedly affected. She was talking slowly, dragging her vowels and gesturing with her hands, acting as a person twice her age might act and even then be nauseous. But Linda disregarded Nan's coolness.

”And you, Bess,” Linda turned to Elizabeth Harley. ”Imagine seeing you here. Isn't it all too romantic for words, a whole crowd of Lakeview Hall people meeting in this far-off corner of the globe. The most astounding things do happen, don't they?”

”Yes, they do,” Laura remarked dryly, looking Linda up and down as she did so.

”And you, Laura Polk. Why, you are all together, I do believe.” Linda acted as though she had made a brilliant observation. She was having a difficult time, even for her, in the situation, for her effusions were being received rather coldly to say the least.

”I'd like to have you meet my friend, Arthur Howard,” she went on, forcing Nan to introduce her and her companion to her cousin and Alice.

”Hm! Glad to meet you.” Adair MacKenzie said abruptly. ”Got to be going now. Sorry, don't know the way to Avenida whatever-it-was-you-said.

Can't keep any of these streets straight in my mind. They're all mixed up.” With this, he summarily herded his daughter, Nan, Laura, Bess, and Amelia toward the car where Walker Jamieson and Grace who had gone on alone together were waiting. Linda and her companion were thus left behind.

”Nan,” Grace hardly waited until the girls were in the car beside her before she asked the question, ”was that Linda Riggs that you were talking to out there?”

”None other,” Laura answered. ”And why are you giggling so, Bess. A few moments ago you were all hot and bothered about Linda and now you're laughing. Will you please make up your mind about what you're thinking.”

”Oh, it's so funny.” Bess was off again. ”Did you see the way she looked when Mr. MacKenzie walked away so suddenly. I do believe that she thought we would fall all over her the way she was falling all over us.

Oh, dear, did that do my heart good!” Bess sounded positively gleeful.

”Mine too.” Laura was laughing with her.

”And do you remember,” Bess went on, ”how, when Mr. MacKenzie a.n.a.lyzed all of us when he first met us, we wished that some day he would have the chance to do it to Linda. Well, that wish almost came true down there. I do believe that if we had stayed a moment longer he would have done it. I was hoping--”

”Elizabeth Harley! I thought you didn't like Cousin Adair,” Nan, too, was tickled at the whole situation.

”Oh, I do now,” Bess capitulated. ”I just love him. Do you know that's the first time since we've known her, that we've seen her as embarra.s.sed as she makes us sometimes. How I wish we had stayed just a moment longer.”

”What's this about your just loving someone?” Adair turned around to join in the conversation.

Bess blushed.

”Well, all I can say is,” he went on when she failed to answer. ”I hope it's not that girl back there that we just met that you're being so enthusiastic about. Don't like her at all myself. No character. She's snippy. She's deceitful. Can't even talk without putting on airs. Can't stand her. Hope she's no friend of yours.” He turned to Nan as he said this last.

Nan shook her head and said nothing further. She felt, and rightly so, that it was unnecessary to discuss Linda among people who did not know her. This was a consideration that Linda would never have shown Nan. In fact, time and again, Linda had purposely attempted to blacken Nan's character in front of strangers. This was one reason that Bess, loyal as she was to Nan, disliked Linda so much.

”Can't tolerate people who are affected,” Adair MacKenzie went on bl.u.s.tering as the car drove out into the street. ”And didn't like that man she was with either. He didn't have a very honest look about him.”

”But he was nice-looking.” Bess let the words out before she realized what she was doing, and the wrath of Adair MacKenzie descended upon her.

”Nice-looking! That's all you think of. Nice-looking, bah! Can't judge people by their looks. It's what's in their eyes and their hearts that counts. Have to see that before you can accurately decide what they are.

Anybody can dress up and make a good appearance. You, Bessie,” he lowered his tone at a look from Alice, ”you've got to learn something about true values before you get much older. You're a nice sort of girl, but you put too much emphasis on money and worldly goods. You'll have to be taught sometime that they are not so important as you think.

”That goes for all of you,” he ended, sweeping them all with his glance.

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