Henry C. Rowland

“ Payne, although a scant six feet, appeared to have shrunk into his heavy ulster like a turtle into his shell, his head barely showing above the high collar, and all of him, so far as the other two could observe, as motionless as a sack of flour. The modern car with its long-stroke, large-valve motor made it seldom necessary for him to come down from his high gear, while the tremendous power drove them up the long grades with a speed equal to their descents. ”

“ Stuyvesant made a strongly negative gesture.
“No, sir,” said he, “there have not. There have been moments, though, when I've been rather proud to have done the work as it should be done—such as the dinner you gave a month or so ago, and the lawn party for Miss Steers' birthday. Let me tell you something; whenever you find a servant who does grudgingly what he could do well, it's because the fellow thinks himself too good for his job, and only keeps it because he hasn't it in him to do something better. ”

“ Steers' indulgent expression had faded. His stern face was set like a rock, and his eyes were like gimlets of blued steel.
“Prudence,” continued Mrs. Doremus, “is an English country girl, picked up somewhere by Lady Forrest, and brought over here to find her fortune, which is more apt to be made, I fancy, by her face and figure than by her attainments. We crossed on the same steamer, but before we came here we were requested by Coutts, through Mr. Payne, to say nothing about the identity of these two women.” ”

“ And so far as my particular job is concerned, a butler has a lot more dignity and independence than a clerk. I'm not ashamed of my job, by long odds. If Mr. Steers ever sees fit to give a banquet, he'll find things done as they should be. You might not believe it, old fel—h'm, Mr. Coutts, but I actually take a bit of pride in my work. I'm a butler, and I mean to be a good one, and I'm jolly proud of it. I'd rather be a good butler than a bum artist any day.”
“I'd like to shake hands with you,” said Coutts. “You are a little more than a butler; you are a philosopher.”
“Thanks, old chap. ”

“ Aloud, he said:
“Do you like motoring, Miss Eykyn?”
She turned to him, pouting at her veil.
“I don't know. This is the first time that I have ever been in a motor car.”
“Impossible! Have you lived in a convent?”
“Oh, no. In Dacre. Do you know where that is?” Her blue eyes were dancing, but demure.
“Alas, no. Our faulty American system of education.”
“It's in Norfolk. Motors come through Dacre sometimes, but they never stop. Only the people who live there stop in Dacre, and they stop there always.”
Coutts laughed. ”

“ From the wooded chasse which encircled the house on three sides came autumn odors of leaf and mold with the fragrance of spicy smoke where the gardeners were burning the leaves raked from the lawns, still vividly green. In front of the château the ground fell gently away to the river valley, and in the distance one caught the golden gleam of the river, and the soft grays and reds of a little hamlet, conspicuous for its stone-arched bridge and an ancient mill. ”

“ The Misses Steers shook hands with Mrs. Forrest, and returned the respectful salutation of Dobbs. When the housekeeper led them upstairs, Coutts waited for them on the veranda. Mr. Steers was the first to appear.
“Well, well,” said he, “I declare, this is more like comin' home than movin' into a new house. Everything just as nice and cozy as it can be. Flowers in the bedrooms, and everything neat as wax. You've certainly looked after us handsomely, Mr. Coutts, and I'm sure we appreciate it.”
“It's all Mrs. Forrest's doing,” said Coutts. “She is a very capable woman.” ”

“ Doremus, “what a nice thing it would be if we could make a match between one of the Steers girls and Neely Stuyvesant. You know”—she looked at Payne—“Neely has lost everything he had, every penny. He and poor Livingstone went into something together, and but for Livingstone's sudden death might have made a pot of money. As it was, I understand that Neely has had to go through bankruptcy. Such a blot on the family, though of course Neely was my husband's cousin, not mine. Still, I would like to help him in some way, if it could be managed. He is absolutely worthless, but such a gentleman.” ”

“ By the way, how do you like Alessandro?”
Mr. Steers' face knit in multitudinous lines.
“I declare,” said he, “I don't just know what to make o' that fella. It seems like he was working for nothing. You naturally expect your chauffeur to get his little rake-off here and there, but Alessandro, after gettin' his, credits me with it on his book. Look here, Mr. Coutts; what d'you reckon his game is, anyhow?”
“I don't think there's any game about it,” answered Coutts. “I think that he merely happens to be an honest man. They do exist, even among chauffeurs.” ”

“ I shall be a pearl among butlers. I always rather envied the smug rascals. This unseemly mirth springs from pure lightness of heart and the relief that comes of finding your proper level. And, look here. Why shouldn't Alessandro have the chauffeur's billet?”
“Of course he shall,” said Coutts. “I thought of that the minute you told me about him. Then that's all settled. Come and dine with me at eight at the Union Club, and we'll talk it over. And now you'll have to excuse me, as I'm up to my ears.”
On the departure of his client, Coutts sat for several moments deep in thought. ”

“ Payne detested hearing disagreeable things said of anybody, even though it might be some person whom he did not like. But to run down those with whom he was in sympathy never failed to rouse him to a high pitch of irritation. Aline and her mother were quite aware of this, but whereas Mrs Doremus stood in some awe of her son-in-law-elect, Aline considered that she owed it to herself not to humor the arbitrary ideas of her fiancé.
“This Lady Forrest impressed me from the first as something of an adventuress,” said she, in her clear, well-modulated voice. ”

“ Flashes of thoughtful kindliness on his part had almost startled her at times. When, on the second day out, he had quietly announced his engagement to Miss Doremus, Prudence had been the prey of a very savage little fury of resentment.
They resumed their walk. The day was foggy, for they were on the Grand Banks, and the deck underfoot was still slippery from its scrubbing. But they both, somehow, managed to keep their feet.
“You are really getting to be a very fair sailor,” said Prudence. “There is quite a roll this morning.” ”

“ She was, beneath her grande-dame exterior, a snobbish woman, who had married rather above her station and into one of the first families of America, but she had accepted the fortune which brought her luxury and social authority as the mere payment of a debt which society owed to one of her charm, intelligence, and dominant personality, rendering no thanks for what she felt to be due her. ”

“ Steers is far too clever a man to be drawn into any entanglement with a fortune-hunting Englishwoman. He is a man of very strong personality, and clear, sound sense. Quite a diamond in the rough. Do you really think, Samuel, that he is on the verge of making such an enormous fortune?”
“Don't see how he can help it,” answered Payne. “I consider myself very lucky to be let in on the ground floor. We've got a proposition there which ought to revolutionize mechanical power. I've looked into it very carefully. Since Coutts won our lawsuit, everything appears to be clear sailing.” ”

“ Steers smoked in silence. But his mind was not inactive. His shrewd judgment told him that here was a gentleman, if ever he had known one, and more than that a man of courage, principle, and self-respect. The little incident of the bill to be settled with the poor paint dealer touched and pleased him.
“Well,” he drawled finally, “I guess you're right. As you said a minute or two ago, a man that can do any one thing well ain't altogether worthless. I guess”—he turned to Coutts—“with all the interests we got, we can find something for Stuyvesant to do which ought to give him a fair start.” ”

“ Coutts decided, about a month later, to run down to Manchester for the official opening of the country house. Moreover, he wished to assure himself that all things were working together for good.
“With a titled Englishwoman as housekeeper,” said Coutts to himself, “a New York swell and dilettante artist as butler, an Italian nobleman as chauffeur, a sweet English ingénue as lady's maid, it will be interesting and piquant to watch the actions and reactions when the Steers arrive. But more amusing still should be the first meal at the housekeeper's table. ”

“ Payne's voice had the snappish quality which for some reason Prudence loved. “What did Mrs. Doremus say?”
“She asked me who my people were in England. When I told her, she seemed rather sorry for me.”
“Are you sorry for yourself?”
“Not one bit. At first it was a little hard, but Lady Forrest kept up my courage by her own example. Then, after I got to know the Steers, I really began to like it here. They are so nice; even when something goes wrong they are always sweet to me. And Mr. Steers is so good and kind. He treats me as if I were one of his family. ”

“ He wiped his eyes on a scented and embroidered handkerchief. “Cornelius Dobbs, butler. That is me.”
Coutts surveyed him with a grin.
“But, mind you,” he said, “this is quite serious. You've really got to make good, you know.”
“Make good?” gurgled Stuyvesant. “Well, rather! Between you and me and the lamp-post, old chap, I have always thought that if ever I went a cropper it would be to turn butler. Don't worry. I will be a treasure. Really, dear boy, it's the only possible thing I'm fitted for.” ”

“ Doremus, warming to her work, “is a scapegrace distant connection of our own, who has been all of his life an idler and ne'er-do-weel, and finally lost his fortune in some silly venture with my poor late husband, who was anything but a man of affairs. It was through recognizing him that I have been convinced of the truth of my previous suspicions. Alessandro is some Italian adventurer, doubtless a renegade or deserter from the Italian army. He was my relative's chauffeur before he frittered away his fortune.”
She paused, and Steers regarded her grimly. ”

“ Doremus waved her hand.
“Let me tell you who these people really are,” said she, “and then you may verify the matter for yourself. To begin with, Mrs. Forrest is none other than Lady Forrest, the widow of a rake of an English baronet, who was killed in a hunting accident some years ago and left her quite penniless. She has been over here before, and is rather better known for her gayety than for her discretion. I have heard it said that she was an old flame of Coutts, and I believe that there was some scandal, but of that I know nothing.” ”

“ A gentleman is always a gentleman, as long as he behaves like one. When I was in receipt of my rents, I did lots of things that I am a lot more ashamed of than anything I might ever do here. If a man has got to work for his living, what earthly difference does it make whether he digs another man's ditch or adds up his income or hands him his food, so long as he does it with credit and dignity? I tell you, Coutts, in this day and age and country, the busted swell ranks somewhere in the hobo class ”

“ He's a lower-class snob, which is just as bad as an upper-class one, and his conceit of himself is in excess of his ability. On the other hand, when you find a servant that really is a good servant, then, perhaps, he is too good for his job. So long as a man respects himself, he's entitled to the respect of everybody else. No, sir; I'm not ashamed of having been a butler. It's done me a lot of good.”
Steers surveyed him critically. ”

“ It was a well-dressed man with a fluent command of speech, and Payne, accustomed to hearing only French, bathed in the warm flow of comment on the congested conditions of Paris streets and the absence of traffic order.
But this relaxation was but momentary. Another whirlpool at the gate, and here came hotfoot another victim, this time a young girl with very bright hair, teeth, eyes, and cheeks. No luggage followed in her wake; only a taxi driver clamoring words to the effect that the laborer was worthy of his hire. ”

“ Steers answered quietly. “It is because I want you so much. No man living could want a woman more. I want you to marry me, but when I come to look at the difference between us, it seems somehow wrong.”
Mrs. Forrest laid her hand upon his sleeve.
“It is not wrong if you really love me,” she said, “for I love you.”
Mr. Samuel Payne was entertaining a party of guests; Mr. and Mrs. William P. Steers, the Count and Countess di Monterubbiano, and Miss Prudence Eykyn. ”

“ Sent him to my garage to learn his job. He's been with me ever since. More of a friend than a hireling. Fact is, he's the only friend I've got left, barring only yourself. When the sheriff started in to seize everything, I sold the car to Alessandro 'for one dollar and other valuable considerations,' as you lawyers say. He's been doing taxi work, and every day he divvies up with me. But it can't last much longer as the car's about ready for the scrap heap. If Alessandro wasn't such a wizard of a mechanician, it would have dropped to pieces long ago.
Coutts' face softened. ”

“ Steers,” said she, “I have sent for you not in regard to this wretched Payne, but for a matter much more vital to yourself.”
“What's that? What's that?” Steers exclaimed.
“The trouble which has come to my daughter,” said Mrs. Doremus, “and certain unhappiness which threatens your own two charming girls are, it appears, all the result of the dishonorable behavior of one man. Tell me, Mr. Steers, how long have you known this lawyer, Coutts?” ”

“ No doubt she went over after a title, but, failing to find one at a bargain, may see fit to content herself with Payne.”
Prudence looked at him with disapproval.
“You are not very nice,” she said.
“The speaker of truth never is. Here they come again. Mark that regal stride, and Payne is getting green around the gills. Bet you what you like he flops into that chair on the next lap.”
This prophecy was fulfilled. As the two came up the deck, Payne's step was vacillating. Opposite his chair he tottered, then sank weakly into it. Miss Doremus surveyed him with disgust. ”