Part 6 (1/2)

He tried to persuade her to make a friend of a certain Doris Hayward, instead of Lorraine.

Doris's brother had been Dudley's great friend in the days when both were articled to the same profession, but a terrible accident had later lain him on an invalid couch for the rest of his life.

When clerk of the works of one of London's great buildings, a heavy crane had slipped and swung sideways, flinging him into the street below. He was picked up and carried into the nearest hospital, apparently dead, but he had presently come back, almost from the grave, to drag out a weary life as an incurable on an invalid sofa.

Soon afterwards his father died, leaving Basil and his two sisters the poor pittance of 50 a year between them.

Ethel, the elder, was already a Civil Service clerk at the General Post Office, earning 110 a year, and on these two sums they had to subsist as best they could.

Basil earned occasional guineas for copying work, when he was well enough to stand the strain, and Doris remained at home with him in the little Holloway flat, as nurse and housekeeper.

Dudley, with his usual lack of comprehension where women were concerned, evolved what seemed to him an admirable plan, in which Hal and Doris became great friends, thereby brightening poor Doris's dull existence, and weaning Hal from her allegiance to the unstatisfactory Lorraine.

His plans, however, quickly met with the discouragement and downfall inevitable from the beginning. At first he tried strategy, and Hal, in a good-tempered, careless way, merely listened, while easily avoiding any encounter.

Then Dudley went a step too far.

”I have to be out three evenings this week, so I asked Doris Hayward to come and keep you company, as I thought you might be dull.”

”You asked Doris to come and keep _me_ company!” repeated Hal, quite taken aback.

”Yes; why not? She is such a nice girl, and just your age. I can't think why you are not greater friends.”

”It's pretty apparent,” with a little curl of her lips.

”We haven't anything in common: that's all.”

”But why haven't you? You can't possibly know if you never meet. She seems such a far more sensible friend for you than Lorraine Vivian,”

with a shade of irritation.

”Probably that is exactly why I don't want her friends.h.i.+p,” with a light laugh.

”But you might try to be reasonable just once in a way. Try to be friendly to-morrow evening.”

Hal, with her quick, light gracefulness, crossed to him, and playfully gave him a little shake.

”Dudley, you dear old idiot. I don't know about being reasonable, but I can certainly be honest; and it's honest I'm going to be now. I think it is almost a slur on Lorraine to mention a little, silly, dolly-faced, conceited creature like Doris in the same breath; and as for being friendly to her to-morrow evening, that's impossible, because I shall not be here. I'm going to the Denisons, and I don't intend to postpone it. You will have to write and tell her I am engaged.”

Dudley's mouth quickly a.s.sumed the rigidity which denoted he was greatly displeased, and his voice was frigid as he replied:

”You are very injust to Doris. You scarcely know her, and yet you condemn her offhand: the fault you are always finding in me. As for any comparison between her and Miss Vivian, it is very certain she would not sell herself to a man, and then run away from him because things did not turn out as she wanted them.”

Hal turned away, with a slight shrug and a humorous expression as of helplessness.

”We won't argue, _mon frere_, because, since you always read books instead of people, you are not very well up in the subject. To put it both candidly and vulgarly, I haven't any use for Doris Hayward at all.

Ethel I admire tremendously, though I don't think she likes me; and Basil is a saint straight out of heaven, suffering martyrdom for no conceivable reason, but Doris is like a useless ornamental china shepherdess, which ought to be put on a hight shelf where it can't get itself nor any one else into trouble. I'm really dreadfully afraid if I had to spend a whole evening alone with her, I should drop her and break her to relieve my feelings.”