Greye La Spina

“ Fu Sing brought in a tray with a light salad and a pot of tea, and Portia ordered it taken into the library, where she let herself down wearily upon a pile of cushions, her odd breakfast on a tabouret in front of her.
“I wish I were a man,” she remarked, poking aimlessly at the salad. “I mean, of course, a man like Mr. Differdale. It is very hard for a woman, especially for me, feeling as I do about Owen, to undertake what I fear must be undertaken, now that the Princess Irma has actually come to stay in Meadowland. I doubt my own powers. I fear my own impulses. ”

“ Portia was more than ever grave after this snatch of conversation.
“Do you see, Aunt Sophie, how the princess is trying to shift blame for something upon my noble dogs? I suppose you don’t understand yet why I am accompanying you? I hope you’ll never have to learn the real reason,” she ended sadly.
“I think you might be doing a sensible thing to take your aunt into your confidence. Portia Delorme.” I responded heatedly. “I’m sorry, but I fear it is a very small and petty feeling on your part that makes you so prejudiced against the Princess Tchernova. ”

“ These two people approached their mistress with attitudes so entirely different that it was like watching a drama on a stage to look through that wide window and see them; the man with a proud kind of watchful anxiety to please, the woman seemingly half terrorized, trembling and shrinking every time the princess addressed her.
“Portia, I believe that poor old woman is ill-treated,” I whispered, as we saw Agathya shrink backward at a sudden motion of the Russian’s hand toward her. ”

“ I let myself be drawn away, and followed Portia until we emerged from the path that led to Queens Boulevard, down which we went in the direction of home.
“The man’s mad over her!” exploded Portia, as we regained the boulevard. “Now I can account for his exclamation. He was furious with jealousy, and his position as her chauffeur restrained him from interrupting her flirtation with Owen. In that moment he forgot himself and said what he would not have breathed, had he known that you had such a keen car and such a good memory. Oh, I begin to see! I begin to understand!” ”

“ Just then we passed the lower end of the princess’ grounds, and both dogs began behaving uneasily. Boris pulled and twisted at his leash so that I had hard work to hold him in; Andrei sniffed and whined.
“I wonder—” murmured Portia. Then, as if with a sudden thought that did not affect her agreeably, she said in a low, cautiously modulated voice, “The quicker we get home the better. The dogs are so uneasy that it disturbs me. Suppose that cage of wolves happened to be less strong than I hope it is?” ”

“ That is, not as people interpret jealousy. No, if Owen can be happier with another woman, I would be the first to wish him joy. I love him enough for that. But—oh, it must not be Irma Andreyevna Tchernova! No, no!”
The sudden passion in her voice, the actual horror that now writhed across her tortured face, startled me.
“Why, Portia, my dear! Whatever put the princess into your mind as a rival?” ”

“ Even had I known what was to happen, I doubt if I should have lingered; there are some things in the world of more importance even than a human life, and when one recognizes this fact, one acts upon the knowledge when necessary. I know now that I did well to save the manuscript and to carry out Miss Delorme’s desire for its publication. It was well that I stood not upon the order of my going, for hardly had I reached the boulevard when a loud and terrible explosion rent the air. ”

“ When we were alone afterward, Vida said to me, "Do you know, Althea, I'm afraid something unpleasant is going to happen to Natalie?"
I must have looked surprised, for she went on hastily:
"There's some kind of invisible guardian watching over me, Althea, that seems to know whenever anyone is unkind to me. For years I've observed that punishment is visited on everyone who crosses me or troubles me in any way. ”

“ I so dislike running into Mrs. Differdale or Aurora, or those two insufferable children, that I'm coward enough to resort to the telephone," she observed lazily.
I tried to let myself down gracefully on to the cushions, and failed dismally.
"I've simply got to make some loose, flowing robes like yours, Portia," said I.
"They're ever so much more comfortable than ordinary clothes, Auntie," said my niece dreamily. ”

“ I know from my own experience that these entities are not figments of the fevered imagination. I know that they have arrayed themselves against those who know them and would give them battle. I myself am in deadly peril of their bitter enmity, and one thought only can uphold and strengthen me: God is more powerful than all the combined forces of evil, and while I have a message to give the world, no harm can come to me. ”

“ I suppose you would like to know what kind of a man my employer is and what the work is for which I am engaged. I am bound by my honor not to divulge the exact nature of the work, but I can say that it is something which is for the good of all humanity, and that Mr. Differdale can be best judged by this: every penny he derives from an invention of his for weighing and sorting watch mechanisms, he devotes to his researches, the nature of which I cannot tell you. His whole life is bound up in carrying on this work. ”

“ There was in Portia’s voice a strange note that troubled me vaguely, yet it was nothing upon which I could put my finger, so to speak. “One thing I must ask of you, Aunt Sophie, and that is that you keep within the walls of this place after dusk. I’m not asking this for a whim, but out of my knowledge of a terrible danger that I am now persuaded lurks about us: that is crouching, ready to spring out upon us at the moment when we least suspect it.” ”

“ It seems that she called regularly every Tuesday, so I made it a point to linger near the academy on a Tuesday morning, and was rewarded by seeing the old woman appear bright and early for her young mistress' laundry.
She is a queer character. Far from being the decrepit old creature I had been led to expect by Althea's description, she is a tall, handsome mulatto woman with flashing eyes that hold a strange magnetism in their direct, unblinking gaze. Her face is deeply lined with wrinkles that to my opinion have been etched by the character of her thoughts rather than by the hand of time. ”

“ Owen Edwardes was not in his office when I passed. I wondered if he were also out at tea that afternoon, perhaps with the Princess Tchernova. As I turned up Elm Street, a limousine flashed past me, and stopped before the Arnold house. A moment later the sinuous form of the Russian stepped out of the shining car and mounted the house steps. Then it flashed across me whom it was Mrs. Differdale had meant by someone I’d enjoy meeting.
I felt angry. I had been trapped into meeting a woman who was striking underhanded blows at Portia, trapped into meeting her in a friendly, social way. ”

“ He glanced quickly about the little circle and caught the subtly ironical smile of the Russian. I could see that he was slightly disconcerted by it. "Ow-een, we must all believe you too much interest’ in the mysterious lady, if you defend her so warmly," accused Irma, shaking an index finger at him merrily.
Owen colored deeply. It was a betrayal for those who were able to read the signs, but I do not think anyone but myself and the argus-eyed princess translated that blush. Irma Tchernova did not appear pleased, for through her parted lips I could see those white teeth set tightly together. ”

“ O’Brien,” I put in at this point, determined not to let that story go any farther if I could prevent it.
"Oh, chère Aunt Sophie, what a loyal heart is yours!” sighed the Russian, turning those green shining eyes full upon me. “How nobly you try to shield the savage beasts of Mrs. Differdale! But why?”
“Why, princess? Because I’ve had Boris out with me on the leash and I’ve seen both dogs around the house every day. They sleep in my room or Portia’s half the time. They’re as gentle as babies and as sweet-dispositioned, ” I retorted. ”

“ Presently the body fell with heavy thud upon the bed of the wagon that waited just without the cemetery gates. The second man covered it with sacking, climbed upon the wagon, and drove away. The first man began to fill in the rifled grave with earth.
His task completed, he paused for a moment as he contemplated the mound rising above that hollow mockery of a grave. A sudden premonition as of evil about to fall upon him oppressed his spirit. With uncontrollable impulse, he caught up his tools and fled from the spot.
The storm was approaching apace. ”

“ Owen Edwardes had motored her one evening to Pleasure Beach, an amusement resort near Lynbrook: that Owen Edwardes had a really exceptional mind: that Owen had been telling her how he was carrying out his dead father’s ideals to build real homes for middle-class families at nominal cost.
I may be an old maid (Portia has since told me that I couldn’t be an old maid if I tried, despite my unmarried state, and that the two Differdale women were typical old maids in spite of being married) , but I can scent a romance while it’s still a-budding. ”

“ Aunt Sophie? The Princess Irma Andreyevna Tchernova. Isn’t she a wonder? Won’t it wake things up to have her in the neighborhood? She and Portia ought to be great friends, don’t you think? Two such brilliant women,” he went on fatuously.
I was furious. I suppose I showed it in my voice and manner. I remarked coldly that the princess had not impressed me especially as being anything but a finished coquette. Of course I should not have said that; men are proverbially obtuse where pretty women are concerned, and Owen was no exception to the rule. ”

“ Edwardes is quite right, princess, to defend my niece, exactly as I did. When you know her better, you will jump to her defense at the first word of criticism," I exclaimed in quick refutal of the Russian’s innuendo.
She turned her head ever so slowly, until her long, narrow eyes were full upon me, In the growing dusk it seemed to me that red light glinted across the oriental-looking orbs, and it disturbed me, affecting me most disagreeably. I was glad when the momentary tension was broken by Alice, who suddenly thrust out one hand and made a snatch at the bonbons on the tea-table. ”

“ She stared at me for a minute without speaking.
“It’s my opinion that the princess is just an idle woman who is looking for a flirtation to pass away the time. She’s the type of woman who wants a good-looking man always hanging about her, Portia. I don’t think she’s really interested in Owen.”
“Oh, these unutterably narrowminded Meadowlawn people!” cried my niece, suddenly veering about in another direction. “If only they were not so contemptibly small-minded! If they would only not believe me disrespectful to Mr. Differdale’s memory, I should be free to let Owen put his ring on my finger. ”

“ All you have to do is to shut yourself away from the rest of humanity in your gray prison, and you're quite happy. No intruding friends for you, eh?"
Then turning to me: "I know it's only a matter of three blocks across the fields, from here, but it's hard walking on the frozen ground. If you get in, Portia will have to," he insinuated, with an appealing and boyish smile.
I liked him at once, so I got into the automobile, and of course Portia had to follow me. ”

“ Chester had refused to benefit by father’s death; he always said he could take care of himself better than a woman could take care of herself. For this reason alone, I felt morally engaged to do what I could for Chester’s girl.
Portia came to live with me, then, and attended the public school of Reading and later on went to high school. By the time she had graduated from high school she had already made up her mind what she wanted to do. She intended to go to Vassar, where her father had made application when she was born, as proud parents do nowadays. ”

“ I have an idea that the witch, the tortoise-shell cat and the odd Vida are more closely connected than might seem credible. I must take Althea somewhat into my confidence.
. . . My plan worked perfectly. Vida was very happy to possess the cat-chain and easily agreed not to take it off. Last night I kept watch over the old negress, and Althea—at my request—watched Vida. Vida slept peacefully through the very hours when I watched Mammy Jinny sweating and working her incantations in vain. ”

“ The old negress pulled out the laundry from the bag, and with it tumbled a flashing emerald ring! That must have been the ring of Natalie Cunningham, How did it get into Vida di Monserreau's soiled laundry, unless put there by Vida herself? Is Vida an accomplice or an innocent victim? ”

“ It was as if the spirits of the dead were revisiting the scene of their last resting place, crying out in horror and loathing upon the man who had ruthlessly broken in on the slumber of so many of their sad company.
Whispering and murmuring and muttering among the trees, and rushing around the tall tombstones that shone with weird whiteness from out the surrounding gloom, the wind flung itself upon the solitary figure of the man, who stood as if frozen to the spot, his gleaming eyes fixed with a stony stare on the frail, shimmering, cobwebby thing in his hands. ”

“ He looked at Vida closely. Then he said softly to me. "Althea, you are speaking more to the point than is your wont." (You know how he loves to tease me, mother.) "Introduce me to the pussy," said he.
I waked Vida. She was terribly embarrassed to have been seen in such an unconventional pose, but she told me afterward that she liked Cousin Edgar more than any other man she'd ever met. I think he liked her, too, although, of course, he didn't say much to me about it.
Vida asked him, almost at once, if he didn't have another cat-chain like mine. She'd taken a tremendous fancy to it, she said. ”

“ I had an idea that she was embarrassed about something, and Portia told me later that curiosity had made the other woman wait near the subway entrance so that she would be the first to meet me.
“I hope you will be able to persuade your niece to shut up that big, lonely house and live like a civilized human being,” she said to me quite sharply. “It’s her duty to come out of her seclusion and interest herself in worthwhile work for this community and the world.” ”

“ If you’re worrying about the Princess Tchernova’s wolves, I may as well tell you that yesterday Owen took me into the grounds to show me the wolf-dens of cement and steel that she has had built, and they’re quite strong enough to keep the animals inside.”
Portia stared at me, her face disturbed by some deep emotion.
“I’ll go with you,” she suddenly decided.
“By no means interrupt your laboratory work,” I retorted. “You know church services always did bore you to extinction. ”

“ Boris and Andrei were the wolfhounds to whom I had been introduced that morning, and who had shown a decided disposition to be friends with me.
"I wear whatever happens to be handy," Portia answered, with a slight curl of her fine lips. "Frequently I wear riding breeches when I go out with the dogs at night, as I am freer to run that way than I would be in skirts. Of course, I try to avoid Meadowlawn people; they’d be scandalized at such a costume," she added, shrugging her shoulders.
"wen took me down to the butcher's in his automobile," I informed my niece. ”