Read Online Perdita by Hilary Scharper - Free Book Online Page B

George had to be quite stern with him. I wondered—it’s a silly idea really, but it did cross my mind—that Allan might be a little jealous of our attentions to the baby. He protested that he meant no harm, and I had to soothe him. I took him down to the old delivery dock to see if the beavers were there; I think he knew it was all a pretext to get him away as he was quitegrumpy.
    Mrs. Stewart gave me a little gold necklace and tiny, black pearl earrings that she says come all the way from a market in Peking. She, too, is so kind to me. I put them in my ears, and she seemed pleased. Effie says they make my eyes look very blue. She also gave me some lace and a bolt of a very nice gray silk for Mother, and I could tell Auntie Alis was pleased to receive it, though she would not say so. Auntie is proud, I think. Tad wrote a note of thanks, and I am to take it to them tomorrow. Auntie A. says there is enough to make two dresses—one will be for me, and I think I can persuade her to add some lace to the throat andcuffs.
    I do wish Father would come for tea and see the inside of the Lodge. It is very beautiful! And Mrs. Stewart’s carpets and all the wood make it seem very rich somehow. George always brings some of his pictures, and he has a kind of studio library off the front hallway. But I have only seen it from the doorway. It reminds me a little of the library at St. Edmund’s, though there are paintbrushes and rags all over the desk and not half so many books. This year I caught a glimpse of the painting he put up over the fireplace—I think it is of a copse of trees at the Point, but I am too shy to ask if I might go closer to look. It is one of my favorite places; the cedars form a kind of archway, and it feels as if one were in a chapel, and if I look up, it seems as if all the trees are swaying as they sing hymns of praise to thesky.
    May 19
    I almost forgot to tell Mother—but Effie brought her sister-in-law, Caroline, with her. I am to call her Miss Ferguson. She is quite beautiful in an aloof kind of way, and she is a few years older than Effie, and I find her quite haughty. I do not think that I will like her. She was very chilly when I met her and would not take my hand, and it felt quite awkward to have it left hanging in midair like that. But perhaps she is not used to shaking hands. It is our way—Tad says that in the old country you must always take a person’s hand in greeting, and that women must always give a little press with their thumb to another woman’s hand, as it is a sign of goodwill. How they teased me at St. E.’s for this habit ofmine!
    I do not think that Effie is entirely at ease around her sister-in-law. For one thing, Miss Ferguson is constantly correcting her grammar. It is true that Effie is not well spoken—which is odd since her name comes from the Latin for “eloquence”! But it makes her flustered to be corrected all the time. Miss Ferguson seemed surprised I had taken two years at college and quizzed me on my studies. I gather she is well read, and we spoke in French for a few minutes. I am so glad Mother tutored me all those years before she became ill. I was not in the least intimidated by Miss Ferguson, and her French pronunciations are correct but lifeless. She aggravated me somehow—it was not as if she were truly interested in me, but wished to find out some weakness, some inadequacy inme.
    I was tempted to ask her a question in Latin or even Greek, but I did not. I am glad I did not—though I grew hot with indignation under her scrutiny. She turned to George and said that my French was really quite good. She expressed surprise, and he nodded. I was so angry! I left right afterward and am afraid I did not thank Mrs. Stewart properly for her gifts. I will have to make sure that I doso.
    May 23
    Dr. McTavish arrived on Wednesday and will be in the smaller lodge. I think all of his crates but one are filled with books.