"auntie, i have something to tell you," said lina, with a blush that made her look more than ever like one of the climbing roses that nodded about the windows of the "old churchill place," as it was always called in lower wentworth.
miss madeline, sitting in the low rocker by the parlour window, seemed like the presiding genius of the place. everything about her matched her sweet old-fashionedness, from the crown of her soft brown hair, dressed in the style of her long ago girlhood, to the toes of her daintily slippered feet. outside of the old churchill place, in the busy streets of the up-to-date little town, miss madeline might have seemed out of harmony with her surroundings. but here, in this dim room, faintly scented with whiffs from the rose garden outside, she was like a note in some sweet, perfect melody of old time.
lina, sitting on a little stool at miss madeline's feet with her curly head in her aunt's lap, was as pretty as miss madeline herself had once been. she was also very happy, and her happiness seemed to envelop her as in an atmosphere and lend her a new radiance and charm. miss madeline loved her pretty niece very dearly and patted the curly head tenderly with her slender white hands.
"what is it, my dear?"
"i'm—i'm engaged," whispered lina, hiding her face in miss madeline's flowered muslin lap.
"engaged!" miss madeline's tone was one of surprise and awe. she blushed as she said the word as deeply as lina had done. then she went on, with a little quiver of excitement in her voice, "to whom, my dear?"
"oh, you don't know him, auntie, but i hope you will soon. his name is ralph wylde. isn't it pretty? i met him last winter, and we became very good friends. but we had a quarrel before i came down here and, oh, i have been so unhappy over it. three weeks ago he wrote me and begged my pardon—so nice of him, because i was really all to blame, you know. and he said he loved me and—all that, you know."
"no, i don't know," said miss madeline gently. "but—but—i can imagine."
"oh, i was so happy. i wrote back and i had this letter from him today. he is coming down tomorrow. you'll be glad to see him, won't you, auntie?"
"oh, yes, my dear, and i am glad for your sake—very glad. you are sure you love him?"
"yes, indeed," said lina, with a little laugh, as if wondering how anyone could doubt it.
presently, miss madeline said in a shy voice, "lina, did—did you ever receive a proposal of marriage from anybody besides mr. wylde?"
lina laughed roguishly. "why, yes, auntie, ever so many. a dozen, at least."
"oh, my dear!" cried miss madeline in a slightly shocked tone.
"but i did, really. sometimes it was horrid and sometimes it was funny. it all depended on the man. dear me, how red and uncomfortable most of them looked—all but the fifth. he was so cool and business like that he almost surprised me into accepting him."
"and—and what did you feel like, lina?"
"oh, frightened, mostly—but i always wanted to laugh too. you must know how it is yourself, auntie. what did you feel like when somebody proposed to you?"
miss madeline flushed from chin to brow.
"oh, lina," she faltered as if she were confessing something very disgraceful, yet to which she was impelled by her strict truthfulness, "i—i—never had a proposal in my life—not one."
lina opened her big brown eyes in amazement. "why, aunt madeline! and you so pretty! what was the reason?"
"i've often wondered," said miss madeline faintly. "i was pretty, as you say—it's so long ago i can say that now. and i had many gentlemen friends. but nobody ever wanted to marry me. i sometimes wish that—that i could have had just one proposal. not that i wanted to marry, you know, i do not mean that, but just so that it wouldn't have seemed that i was different from anybody else. it is very foolish of me to wish it, i know, and even wicked—for if i had not cared for the person it would have made him very unhappy. but then, he would have forgotten and i would have remembered. it would always have been something to be a little proud of."
"yes," said lina absently; her thoughts had gone back to ralph.
that evening a letter was left at the front door of the old churchill place. it was addressed in a scholarly hand to miss madeline churchill, and amelia kent took it in. amelia had been miss madeline's "help" for years and had grown grey in her service. in amelia's loyal eyes miss madeline was still young and beautiful; she never doubted that the letter was for her mistress. nobody else there was ever addressed as "miss madeline."
miss madeline was sitting by the window of her own room watching the sunset through the elms and reading her evening portion of thomas à kempis. she never liked to be disturbed when so employed but she read her letter after amelia had gone out.
when she came to a certain paragraph, she turned very pale and thomas à kempis fell to the floor unheeded. when she had finished the letter she laid it on her lap, clasped her hands, and said, "oh, oh, oh," in a faint, tremulous voice. her cheeks were very pink and her eyes very bright. she did not even pick up thomas à kempis but went to the door and called lina.
"what is it, auntie?" asked lina curiously, noticing the signs of unusual excitement about miss madeline.
miss madeline held out her letter with a trembling hand.
"lina, dear, this is a letter from the rev. cecil thorne. it—it is—a proposal of marriage. i feel terribly upset. how very strange that it should come so soon after our talk this morning! i want you to read it! perhaps i ought not to show it to anyone—but i would like you to see it."
lina took the letter and read it through. it was unmistakably a proposal of marriage and was, moreover, a very charming epistle of its kind, albeit a little stiff and old-fashioned.
"how funny!" said lina when she came to the end.
"funny!" exclaimed miss madeline, with a trace of indignation in her gentle voice.
"oh, i didn't mean that the letter was funny," lina hastened to explain, "only that, as you said, it is odd to think of it coming so soon after our talk."
but this was a little fib on lina's part. she had thought that the letter or, rather, the fact that it had been written to miss madeline, funny. the rev. cecil thorne was miss madeline's pastor. he was a handsome, scholarly man of middle age, and lina had seen a good deal of him during her summer in lower wentworth. she had taught the infant class in sunday school and sometimes she had thought that the minister was in love with her. but she must have been mistaken, she reflected; it must have been her aunt after all, and the rev. cecil thorne's shyly displayed interest in her must have been purely professional.
"what a goose i was to be afraid he was in love with me!" she thought. aloud she said, "he says he will call tomorrow evening to receive your answer."
"and, oh, what can i say to him?" murmured miss madeline in dismay. she wished she had a little of lina's experience.
"you are going to—you will accept him, won't you?" asked lina curiously.
"oh, my dear, no!" cried miss madeline almost vehemently. "i couldn't think of such a thing. i am very sorry; do you think he will feel badly?"
"judging from his letter i feel sure he will," said lina decidedly.
miss madeline sighed. "oh, dear me! it is very unpleasant. but of course i must refuse him. what a beautiful letter he writes too. i feel very much disturbed by this."
miss madeline picked up thomas à kempis, smoothed him out repentantly, and placed the letter between his leaves.
when the rev. cecil thorne called at the old churchill place next evening at sunset and asked for miss madeline churchill, amelia showed him into the parlour and went to call her mistress. mr. thorne sat down by the window that looked out on the lawn. his heart gave a bound as he caught a glimpse of an airy white muslin among the trees and a ripple of distant laughter. the next minute lina appeared, strolling down the secluded path that curved about the birches. a young man was walking beside her with his arm around her. they crossed the green square before the house and disappeared in the rose garden.
mr. thorne leaned back in his chair and put his hand over his eyes. he felt that he had received his answer, and it was a very bitter moment for him. he had hardly dared hope that this bright, beautiful child could care for him, yet the realization came home to him none the less keenly. when miss madeline, paling and flushing by turns, came shyly in he had recovered his self-control sufficiently to be able to say "good evening" in a calm voice.
miss madeline sat down opposite to him. at that moment she was devoutly thankful that she had never had any other proposal to refuse. it was a dreadful ordeal. if he would only help her out! but he did not speak and every moment of silence made it worse.
"i—received your letter, mr. thorne," she faltered at last, looking distressfully down at the floor.
"my letter!" mr. thorne turned towards her. in her agitation miss madeline did not notice the surprise in his face and tone.
"yes," she said, gaining a little courage since the ice was broken. "it—it—was a very great surprise to me. i never thought you—you cared for me as—as you said. and i am very sorry because—because i cannot return your affection. and so, of course, i cannot marry you."
mr. thorne put his hand over his eyes again. he understood now that there had been some mistake and that miss madeline had received the letter he had written to her niece. well, it did not matter—the appearance of the young man in the garden had settled that. would he tell miss madeline of her mistake? no, it would only humiliate her and it made no difference, since she had refused him.
"i suppose it is of no use to ask you to reconsider your decision?" he said.
"oh, no," cried miss madeline almost aghast. she was afraid he might ask it after all. "not in the least use. i am sorry—so very sorry—but i could not answer differently. we—i hope—this will make no difference in our friendly relations, mr. thorne?"
"not at all," said mr. thorne gravely. "we will try to forget that it has happened."
he bowed sadly and went out. miss madeline watched him guiltily as he walked across the lawn. he looked heart-broken. how dreadful it had been! and lina had refused twelve men! how could she have lived through it?
"perhaps one gets accustomed to doing it," reflected miss madeline. "but i am sure i never could."
"did mr. thorne feel very badly?" whispered lina that night.
"i'm afraid he did," confessed miss madeline sorrowfully. "he looked so pale and sad, lina, that my heart ached for him. i am very thankful that i have never had any other proposals to decline. it is a very unpleasant experience. but," she added, with a little tinge of satisfaction in her sweet voice, "i am glad i had one. it—it has made me feel more like other people, you know, dear."
