A Bachelor and Belinda.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17223, 14 December 1923, Page 14 (Supplement)

A Bachelor and Belinda.

PUBLISHED BV SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

* Bv MOLLIE E. .1A Ml ESA X I ' Author of “Anne and the Aviator/* “The Girl at the Window,” | ** Fate and Lady Molly,” &c > COPYRIGHT. J I . ~T I mil he lost his mother, and, losing I her, realised how singularly desoluto was the. big empty house, liow vacant i that favourite arm-chair by the fire- , side where she had been wont, on winter evenings, to sit. Hugh Cumberland had never lelt his lack of a wife. 1 Scores there had been of pretty girls j who, pleasing his momentary fancy, I had passed by. leaving him heartwliole ; j but never one whom he could have borne to put . in the place of her w ho I was gone. For Hugh had loved his i mother death . and the blank in his ! heart was one not easily to be filled, j So that when, in this altogether susj cep table mood, lie first encountered I Belinda, it is, perhaps, no small wouI cier that Belinda saw anil conquered. Belinda, and no discredit to her. was given to conquering all along the line, j Not that Hugh bad lost his mother - by that most sure and certain of all j partings, death. An elderlv sweetheart of her youth had made his tardy j appearance from foreign shores, and ; borne the still charming widow away \ *y om son "ho. even at thirty - j three, had never been able to imagine life without his mother. Had Hugh 1 been an older or elso a rounder man. 1 he would probably have borne 1 his loss j ,vi V‘ Greater equanimity. He would 1 either have settled down into comfortable and confirmed bachelor ways, or gone out and sought solace and companionship among his fellows, with the light-hearted “ joie do vivre ” of the very young. As it was. Hugh did neither. He glanced casuallv and mentally round the circle of his girl acquaintances, decided there was none ho specially desired to marry, and there the matter ended. Lacking anv ' incentive to -matrimony, he must endure his loneliness as best he could, until the desired Miss Right, if ever tripped across his life’s pain. And so things might have gone on a time, and Hugh possibly, in the end. become reconciled » ~s l°nely lot. had not a maiden aunt, at this precise period of h|s life, j cone to visit him. The maiden aunt | was the sister of Hugh's father, and i as totally unlike his mother in every j way as it was possible to be. The 1 maiden aunt, while bewailing the unI fishness of Hugh’s mother in marrying I again, and the slatternliness of the j housekeeping as now conducted, presently announced her intention of rei niaining indefinitely to keep house for j *'t which proposition, Hugh. though inwardly perturbed, said no- : thing; but mentally ran his eye across tho range of his female acquaintances once again. Marriage, albeit a loveless marriage, seemed to him just then an infinitely preferable alternative to perpetual housekeeping with the maiden aunt. I "It will be something of a wrench I to leave niy own dear litile cottage 1 m the country- hut what of that, if I can in any way benefit you. Hugh?” snicl the. maiden aunt, self-sacrificingly. j “ No. not a word, im dear boy. Where j should we all be if we endeavoured j only to please ourselves?” inquired tho maiden aunt, who had had her* eye | on Hugh’s comfortable, roomy house - from tho first, and had already in deI tail planned die alterations which she , proposed making. "Oh! but I couldn’t think of such n thing, not for a moment. ’’ the victim said, hastily. “It's very good, and all that, of you. Aunt Ann: but i you know I couldn't lei you. though L thank you for your kind offer. Don’t you bother about me : I shall get along somehow.” But the maiden aunt, having set : her mind upon self-sacrifice, held firmly to her guns. “ Not another word, my dear Hu ah. I have made up mv mind upon the subject, and shall abide by my decision. Had you been one of the , marrying kind- -but there, how often j have I heard you say that, you w ould j young man craves lor above everything, and a home 1 intend to make | for you.” : And then the unhappy Hugh saw that resistance was useless. A less I amiable nephew would frankly, but ' firmly, have demonstrated to the , maiden aunt his ability to endure exisI fence, as he had always done, without her: but Hugh, tender ever ot' the feelings of womankind, told himself miserably that such a task was beyond him. Nothing short of matrimony on his part would drive forth the maiden i which she had so securely ensconced i herself. And matrimony—whv. he j had never yet seen the girl whom he . in the least desired to tnari v. ! H * was Christmas Eve. and Hugh. ! with some vaguely formulated idea of | buying the maiden aunt a present, did j not all at once return to hits office when I the usual luncheon hour was past. Business was slack just then, ancl he 1 had told his confidential clerk that he might possibly be detained : hut now he realised that it was not so much the desire to acquire Aunt Ann’s .Christinas offering, as the longing for . some quiet time for thought, w hich : took him abroad through the wintry ' streets that December day. Ho passed through the busier thoroughI for the time being, wholly forgotten. ; and. though with no definite location 1 in his mind, took his way ill the direeS tion of the quieter suburbs of the great j city. His head was bent, as though ! in thought; though once he glanced up. smiling a trifle ruefully. “If 1 were like the prince of the fairy tale. I ought now to be setting forth in search of some mythical and wholly unparalleled bride. Introductions are. of course, utterly unnecessary in fairy tales ; though now, unfortunately. they are ‘ de rigueur.’ The first girl who spoke to me- that . should be the guide for my enlightenment. Perfectly safe. T should l>e. j as it is hardly tho custom nowadays : for the well-brought-up. twentieth cen- ! tury woman woman, to go about pro- | miscnously addressing the unknown , 111 Hugh smiled again: for the quaint fancy pleased him, though its futility I was plainly apparent. Walking swift- ! ly as he had been, he had now left 1 tjie town behind him, and was passj ing some substantial and pleasant-iook--1 ing dwelling - houses, each fronted by its garden, relics of a time when the j City flat was all but- unknown and the j “self-contained” dwelling still held its ! sway. Glancing at. them with but little i interest, for lie knew them well bv . sight. Hugh was going on his way. ! when, as he passed the last one. rather a charming picture flashed into view. A girl in a red blouse Hugh always I remembered afterwards that she wore a red blouse— was standing upon a wood[en chair, assiduously gathering holly

from an overspreading tree. Her back was turned to him, so no harm could be done by pausing for a. moment to natch her endeavours. And then tho unexpected happened. Reaching forward lor a particularly invitng red-her-riod spray, the c-haii* tilted, the girl 1011. Hugh did not pause to think. He pushed ajar the partially opened gate, and was by her side in an instant. And then it transpired that the gin was not really hurt at, all. She scrambled to her feet, set the chair to rights again, and lifted a flushed face, laughing, to Hugh. “Pm so sorry I frightened you —T did frighten you rather, didn’t J ? But this old chair—T ought to have re membored that one of its legs was insecure. And 1 didn’t even manage to reach my particular branch of hollv. If vou will hold it for a, moment,' 1 shall >ry again.” * “ Allow me,” said Hugh, and mountng the chair, broke off the holly her. And then, smiling, too. for ‘his particular young woman was rather worth smiling at, ho made his apologies. “ T was just passing, and was afraid you might have hurt yourself. Rather cheek on my part to"come in; but it

i was the impulse oi tliq moment.” Hugh j raised his hgt, and was retiring, when ; the goddess of the holly recalled him. ! “ Then, now that you are here, woulu I you very much mind gathering some of I the higher branches for* me? J was just wondering how 1 could reach them, • and you are so nice and tall. That is to | sav. of course, if you don't object.” '“1 shall l»o delighted,” Hugh said, and, to do him justice, meant what he said. And all this took quite a considerable time; for Hugh, while gathering the holly, scratched his wrist severely ; and the holly goddess insisted upon tying it up lor him. Then Hugh, at length, finally took his departure, carrying with him rather a bewildered remembrance of soft dark eyes, and a sweet, slow smile, of delicious dimples, and the prettiest, most musical voice in all the .world. - “Thank you ever so. 1 should never have managed to gather jto much hollv if it hadn't been for you. I feel only that I have rathes imposed upon you m asking you to do it.” All of which, of course, Hugh negatived decidedly and courteously, and. departing, straightway forgot the errand upon which he had set ournamelv. the mirehnsino of an acre ox

able Christmas offering for the. maiden aunt. It was not until he reached home and was dressing for dinner that he discovered that the goddess had used her handkerchief to bind up his wrist, and that the name upon the handkerchief was Belinda. At which “ Belinda ” became, in one particular young man’s opinion, at least, quite the most beautiful name in the world. And the only pity ot it—oh. the endI less pity of it!— was that, in all probaj bility, lie would never encounter Belinda again. II The maiden aim* was quite cheerful, and even agreeable, on Christmas morning. She hail got the better of Hugh, or, at least, so she believed, with regard to the house-keeping question: she had presented him with a pair of embroidered braces which she had retrieved from the fish-pond at a church bazaar—and. having, naturally, no u*e of such articles of dress herself, had. since been wondering what to do with, and she had received a Christmas card which, being anonymous, she fondly believed to hare emanated from an old admirer. Therefore, being in a singularly pleasant frame of mind, she j was quite prepared to listen to any-

; thing which her nephew had to say, ! and to agree with him as tar as posI sible. / I " There is only one Christmas card i and letter I have forgotten to post, I Hugh, and 1 wonder if you would drop ; it in a.s you go along to your office — i oh. but of course you are not going to j your office to-day. My old friend. Mrs j Lynne, you must often have heard me , speak of her; we were girls at school ! together. l)o not trouble if you are • not going out. however, Hugh. Eliza j will easily slip it in the letter box.” ! "But I'm going for a walk, any- ! way.” Hugh, glad of any excuse to esl said. ! °" So ’hand'it* l ovc^iere^Tmt • Ann. I meant to have brought, you a 1 present, too, indeed I did; but--oh, well, something came in the way But next time you are out shopping, if you'll present yourself with the very prettiest fal-lal you see and eend in the bill to me. I’ll b 3 ever so obliged. Good-bye for the present. Aunt Ann—see you again at dinner time.” Then, whether it was because he was thinking of Belinda.-possibly of other i matters, too. Hugh went his way. and ; straightwav forgot all about Ann: : Ann’s letter. Ho onlv remembered it

when chance, or more possibly choice, was leading him in the direction of Belinda’s home. Then lie pulled it out of his pocket, and saw that, strangely enough, Mrs Lynne’s address coincided exactly with that of Belinda. He had been, careful to note Belinda’s address before he finally left the garden upon the preceding afternoon, ” Why!” Hugh, looking first bewildered and then suddenly cheerful, said '' ITI deliver it right away. Posts are ; uncertain at this lime of the year. r>e- * sides ” Hugh flu,shed up almost boy- ; ishly over that besides.” Though it was quite,possible that there was some mistake in Aunt Ann s addressing of the letter, and also within the range of probability that Belinda had been only a chance visitor to Mrs Lynne's abode, still, no great harm could be done by delivering the letter in person. Hugh looked suddenly quite buoyant when he made this Half a loaf is. at oil times, better than no bread, and perhaps Airs Lynne—presuming. of course, that he did manage to force an entrance, and see her—might be able to tell him something about Belinda 1 Hugh told himself that he would have j ventured a. great deal more than that

in order to find out something about Belinda. A trim maid-servant opened the door, and. lor the moment. Hugh felt, that the fates were against him. Then he rallied his courage and asked if he might be permitted to see Mrs Lyneo. At this the. trim servant looked dubious. but showed him into tlie adjoining breakfast room. Then she departed to find her mistress. The breakfast room was wreathed in hollv, and Hugh recognised some of the s]>oils which lie had gathered upon the preceding day . He was just framing a little speech in which to explain the reasou of his presence ' to his aunt’s friend, when the door opened aud Belinda. entered : Beliuda, looking even more bewitching in a white blouse this morning, and w ith a sprig of scar-let-berried holly in her pretty hair. ” Why! You?” said Belinda, aud looked-—had Hugh, dense fellow, butseen it—quite as pleased us she was astonished. Hugh, who had not ex* pec ted to encounter Belinda quite so soon in the adventure, stammered over Ins explanation. '■ This letter is for Mrs l.vnne- I forU*’i. to post it. and then, being; in tins direction, thoueht I bad better deliver

it. li is from my aunt.” added Hugh, as though the fact of his having an aunt added propriety to the situation, id, to some extent, palliated his offence. Belinda took the letter, glanced ! at it, and smiled. “For Grandma; but T am so sorry that Grandma is not up yet. She always breakfasts ill bed these cold mornings. How strange to sec you again , after yesterday ! Do you always take your walks in this direction?” “ No, not often -1 mean sometimes.' 5 truthful Hugh made haste to answer. And then lie, too, made reference to the episode of the preceding day. ‘ I hope you are none the tvorse after yesterday? And that reminds me that- I have vour handkerchief. I shall bring it along some day.” this suddenly zealous young mn assured her. “Oh. the handkerchief. ” Aliss Belinda said carelessly. “ But don’t go yet. Grandma will be down presently and. as she knows your aunt, will probably want to hear all about her. Old ladies always want to hear all about each other, don’t they?” So that is why Grandma, appearing resplendent in second-best cap and shawl, some halt an hour later, found Hugh still there. Grandma welcomed Hugh warmly, as the nephew of one of her oldest friends, and. upon slightly riper acquaintanceship, invited him to return that same evening, and eat his Christmas dinner with them. Grandma. it is true, also invited the maiden aunt-, whom she had not known to be in town, but Hugh basely and hurriedly said that the’maiden aunt rarely went out of an evening, and would probably not be inclined to make an exception, even in Grandma’s favour. “I’m a terrible sleepy head, when it comes to after dinner time, but I daresay that you and Belinda can entertain each other.” said Grandma. At which Belinda blushed pinkly. and Hugh could have embraced Grandma, had sur-h an action been permissible upon first acquaintance. It. was not till later that, be guessed that Grandma possessed not so much a “sleepyhead.” as a young, young heart, and that her eyes were as wide awake as most. She smiled now* very kindly at Hugh, as she bade him “ good-bye.” “ T don’t see much of Ann Cumberland in he: nephew : but perhaps you're none the worse for that. Give my love to Ann. and tell her to come and see me soon. There will be plenty of time: for. from what she tells me in this letter, she is to be your permanent housekeeper now.” Hugh smiled a little grimly. ; “ Aunt Ann says.” he said. But j bis eyes were on Belinda, and just ] then I should not have said much for I Aunt Anns’ chances, or for the permanency of her post. . i Neither did Grandma, either. Grand- .• ma had seen that glance before, in her own young days, and knew just what it J meant. I So Hugh Cumberland went, ns invit- ■ ed. to call upon Grandma and Belinda, and later—but that is a. very long story. It- only remains to say that the one wav of emancipation from Aunt Ann’s thraldom, Hugh took, and that, not so much because it was a way of emancipation, as because, since he first saw her in the old warden that unforgettable Christmas Eve. which neither of them would ever forget, _he had always loved—-Belinda. (The End.)