The Beloved Stranger

Chapter 10




Miss Catherwood was already at the breakfast table looking as fresh and chipper as if she had gone to bed at nine o’clock the night before. She was opening her mail, and there was a smile of satisfaction on her face. She gave Sherrill a keen look as she came into the room.

“Well, I’m glad to see you’re still a good sport!” she said with her funny twisted grin. “But you didn’t sleep very well, did you? There are dark circles under your eyes. Sit down and eat a good breakfast. Oh, I know you think you don’t want a thing but a cup of coffee, but that’s not the way to act. You’ve got a few hard days before you, and you’ve got to keep your looks through them or people will say you are mourning after that sap-head, and you don’t want that. Come, set to work. We’ve got to get at sending back those presents. You’ll feel better when they are out of the house.”

Sherrill gave a little moan and dropped her face into her hands.

“Oh!” she groaned. “How impossible it all seems! But if I could only find the necklace, I wouldn’t mind any of the rest!”

Aunt Pat flung a wise glance at Sherrill’s bowed head.

“That’ll turn up all right,” she said. “Come, child, perk up. I’ve been wondering. Can you think back and be sure when you last had it?”

Sherrill shook her head.

“No. I’ve been trying, but I can’t be sure. If I only could, it would take a big load from my mind.”

“Well, I can!” said Aunt Pat. “You had the necklace on when you sat in the dining room eating your supper after you came in from outside. I know, for I sat and watched the lights in those stones, and I remember thinking how well they became you, and how they brought out the color in your cheeks and the gold in your hair.”

Sherrill’s head came up suddenly with a light of hope in her eyes and a soft flush on her cheeks.

“Are you sure you saw them on me at the table, Aunt Pat? Perfectly sure?”

“Perfectly sure,” said Aunt Pat steadily, studying the girl quietly.

“Well, that’s something!” said Sherrill with a sigh of relief. “At least I didn’t lose it—in the garden!”

“No, you didn’t lose it in the garden,” said Aunt Pat with a wicked little grin. “Now don’t think anything more about it. Let’s get at those presents. First you sit down and work out a little model note sweet and gracious that will fit all the presents and not tell a thing you don’t want known.”

Sherrill presently brought it to her aunt for her approval.

My dear—



The sudden change in our plans for the wedding has left me in an embarrassing situation, having in my possession a lot of lovely gifts that do not by right belong either to me or to Mrs. McArthur. I am therefore of course returning all the gifts and apologizing for having been the unintentional cause of so much trouble to the donors.



But I do want to add just a little word of my appreciation for your beautiful gift, and to thank you for your delightful intention for my pleasure. It is so wonderful to see such gracious evidence of friendship.



Very sincerely,

Sherrill Cameron



“I think that is quite a nice bit of English!” said Aunt Pat with satisfaction when she had read it. “It says all that needs to be said and tells nothing. It ought to be published. It would be so helpful to other girls caught in like predicaments.”

Sherrill broke into hysterical laughter.

“Oh, Aunt Pat! You’re a scream! As if there were ever another girl caught in such a predicament!” she said.

“I don’t know,” said the old lady dryly. “You can’t tell how many girls have had a situation like yours; only most of them likely didn’t have the nerve to handle it the way you did yours. There must have been some girls who were too great cowards to back down from a church full of wedding guests, and the wedding march just on the tiptoe to begin. They probably paid afterward, and paid double, too. Surely, Sherrill, you aren’t the only one who ever found at the last minute that her lover was made of coarse clay. Don’t ever fancy, no matter how hard a thing you have to go through, that your experience is unique. This old world has been going on a good many hundred years, and there are precious few situations that haven’t happened over and over again. Cheer up, child; that’s a model letter, and you’re a good little sport!”

Miss Catherwood handled the return of the presents in a masterly manner. Her secretary and Sherrill wrote the notes while Gemmie and the butler under her supervision repacked the gifts. It was amazing how quickly the things were marshaled from the tables into their neat original packages, each with its dainty note attached. Sherrill grew so interested in seeing how much she could accomplish that she almost forgot her anxiety about the emeralds.

It comforted her greatly that the necklace had not been lost while she was out with Copeland. But later in the day something occurred which brought back her uneasiness and that nameless fear again. Oh, to know certainly, who if anyone was connected with the disappearance of the jewels!

It was late in the afternoon and Miss Catherwood had just said they had done enough for today and must stop and rest. Just then the hall door opened timidly and Lutie showed a deprecating face.

“Please, Miss Catherwood, might I come in and speak to you a moment?” she asked shyly.

“Why, of course, Lutie. Come right in,” said the old maid cheerily. “What is it?”

“Why, Miss Catherwood, I found something,” she said earnestly, holding her two hands cupped, the one in the other. “Maybe it isn’t much account, but it looked to me as if it might be something real. It’s only a little thing, and I thought if I gave it to any of the other servants they might laugh, but I knew you would know whether it was valuable or not.”

Lutie dropped a delicate bit of brightness into the old lady’s hand and stood back waiting shyly.

Aunt Pat held the bit of jewelry in her delicate old hand for an instant and examined it carefully. Then she looked up at the girl.

“Where did you find this, Lutie, and when?”

“Just now, ma’am, in the little back room off the servants’ hall. It was on the floor just under the edge of the little writing table, and I almost swept it up, but then I saw it glittering, and it first looked like a bit of Christmas-tree tinsel, but when I looked closer it seemed like something real.”

“Hmm!” said Aunt Pat significantly and, looking up at Sherrill, added: “It’s from the emerald necklace, Sherry, a whole inch of chain and part of the clasp!”

Sherrill gave a startled exclamation, and the old lady turned to Lutie again.

“Thank you, Lutie, for bringing it straight to me. Did you speak to any of the other servants about it?”

“No,” said Lutie. “I was afraid they’d laugh at me. They tell me I’m fussy about little things.”

“Well, that’s a good trait sometimes,” said the old lady. “I’m glad you brought it straight to me. Yes, it’s valuable. It’s part of something we had lost. You might keep your eye out while you’re cleaning to see if you find any more of it. Now, suppose you come and show us just where you found this.” They followed Lutie to the little room in the servants’ hall.

“Thank you, Lutie,” said Miss Catherwood when she had showed them the exact spot. “I shan’t forget this!”

“Oh, that’s all right, ma’am. I’m glad you weren’t angry at my bothering you.”

Lutie withdrew with a shy flame blazing in her cheeks.

Aunt Pat turned to Sherrill, who was searching the room over, vainly hoping to find more of the necklace.

“Now, Sherrill,” said Aunt Pat, “tell me just who was in this room and where each one stood. What were they here for, anyway, in this back room?”

“They came to get the license fixed up with the right names,” said Sherrill, half shivering at the memory. “We sent for the clerk and he sat right there in that chair all the time he was here.”

“And where did you stand?”

“Most of the time over there by the door. Once I stepped over to the table while I was explaining to him that I had changed my mind about marrying Carter.”

The old lady gave her a swift look.

“Where was Carter at the time?”

“He stood just back of me.”

“Hmm! How did he look when you explained that you had changed your mind about marrying him?”

“I didn’t look at him. I was trying to keep my voice from trembling.”

“Did he say anything or make any motion that seemed like a protest?”

“He cleared his throat in a nervous kind of way. I had a fancy that he was afraid I was going to tell more than I did. He stirred uneasily.”

“And didn’t he speak at all?”

“Only to answer the questions that were put to him by the clerk. Of course Mr. Copeland had explained the situation to the clerk in a general way, and the questions that were put were mere form. He just assented to everything. Mr. Copeland had really made it very easy for us all.”

“Hmm!” said Aunt Pat thoughtfully and then reverted to the bridegroom.

“And Carter assented to all the questions, did he? He made it very plain that he was marrying that other girl by intention? He didn’t make any protests nor attempt any explanations?”

“Not a word.” Sherrill’s voice told how deeply that fact weighed upon her.

“Little whippersnapper!” ejaculated the old lady indignantly. “Well, it’s just what I would have expected of him! He hasn’t the backbone of a jellyfish. He was born a coward! Perhaps you can’t blame him so much. He probably had ancestors like that. Well, now, tell me, how long did you stand there?”

“I stepped away immediately after he had answered his questions and made a place for her—for the bride—to stand.”

“And did you watch Carter’s face while she was being questioned?”

“I wanted to, but just then he dropped his handkerchief. He acted very nervous, and he stooped over to pick it up. It seemed to take him a long time. He didn’t seem to want to look at me. I tried to make him. It seemed as if I must make him look at me just once so that we could get adjusted to things. Just a look from him that he was ashamed, or that he felt I had done the right thing, would have made it so much easier. I felt so unhappy and frightened!”

“I know you did, dear child. Of course! But don’t have any question but that you did the right thing. Well, who else was there? Carter and that girl and the clerk and you? Was Mr. Copeland in the room?”

“Not at all,” said Sherrill quickly. “He stood outside in the hall every minute. I’m sure of that.”

“He didn’t even step back into the room when you all came away?”

“No,” said Sherrill with assurance. “I’m positive of that, for he waited for me at the door and walked across to the middle room with me, and Carter and Arla were behind us. The clerk went ahead, down the back hall and the back stairs the way he had come. He went out of the room before any of us left it.”

“Who was in the room last?”

“Why, Carter—and his—that is—the—bride!” she finished with a quick sharp breath. “You’re sure?”

“Yes, I looked back and called to her to follow me and that I would help her get ready. Carter was just behind her. He had apparently dropped his handkerchief again and was stooping to pick it up.”

“Hmm! What did he do with it?”

“Why, I think he put it in his pocket.” “And he didn’t look up even then?”

“No.” Her voice was grave and very sad. “He seemed as if he was ashamed. He almost looked—well—frightened!”

“Probably was,” said Aunt Pat dryly, “ashamed and baffled. He had been hoping to get a lot besides a bride in marrying you. I didn’t tell you, but I came on him looking at the emeralds the morning I gave them to you. He seemed tremendously impressed with them. In fact, he looked as if he were just gloating over them. He didn’t know I saw him. He thought he was alone. But I can’t help thinking if he’d gotten them he’d have pawned them before the night was over.”

“Oh, Aunt Pat!” exclaimed Sherrill in dismay. “Why—he—really spoke very beautifully about them. He said he was so proud that I should have regal jewels. He said he only wished that he were able to give me such things but he hoped someday he could.”

“Oh yes, he could talk!” sniffed Aunt Pat. “He was mealy-mouthed. But don’t try to defend him, Sherrill. I know it hurts to have him turn out that way, but you might as well understand the truth at once and not go to getting him up on a pedestal again. Now, I’ve got to think what to do for Lutie. I like to encourage the sort of thing she did, bringing that bit of chain straight to me. She’s a good girl, and probably needs help. I wonder if I should give her money.”

“Did you know that she has a little lame brother, Aunt Pat?” asked Sherrill. “And her father is going blind and her mother needs an operation?”

“Mercy, no!” said Aunt Pat, looking up from the bit of chain she was examining. “Why, how did you find that out? We must do something for them right away.”

“Yes, they are afraid they are going to lose their house, too. They can’t pay the interest on their mortgage. The bank closed where they kept their savings, and she and her brother are the only ones working.”

“Well, for mercy’s sake!” said Aunt Pat, greatly disturbed. “And to think they never said a word! Why wasn’t I told of this sooner? When did you find it out, Sherrill?”

“Just this morning,” said the girl, thinking back through the day. “I heard Lutie singing in the next room to mine where she was cleaning. She was singing about what to do when you had sorrow in your heart, or something like that. I asked her where she got the song and said I guessed she never had a sorrow, and then she told me all about it.”

“Hmm!” said Aunt Pat thoughtfully.

Then she opened the door and called to Gemmie, who was never very far away from her mistress’s call.

“Gemmie, go see if Lutie has gone home yet. If she hasn’t, tell her I want her a minute.”

Then she turned back to her niece.

“Sherrill, this is the setting of one of the tiny emeralds from that chain, see, one of the wee ones up near the clasp. Now, where do you suppose the rest of it is? You know, the clasp used to be weak, but I had it fixed; at least I supposed I had. I sent it to the jeweler’s before I gave it to you. See! This evidently has been stepped on, or else yanked from the chain! How the links are crushed! Now, the question is, where did the necklace drop, and who was there when it happened?”

Sherrill looked up with troubled eyes, the haunting fear coming back to her soul, but Lutie came in just then, and she had no opportunity to answer her aunt.

“I sent for you, Lutie,” said Miss Catherwood pleasantly, “because I want to tell you that there is a reward for finding this chain and for bringing it straight to me.”

Lutie had been a bit troubled at being sent for, but now her face showed great relief and swift protest.

“Oh no, ma’am,” she said breathlessly, “I couldn’t think of taking anything for just doing my duty.”

“Well, you’re not; I’m giving it! That’s different! I’m giving it because I’m grateful, and you’ve done me a big favor, one that no money can pay for. You’ve given me one little clue to something valuable and cherished that I’ve lost. And now, listen. I’ve just found out that you’ve got a lame brother, and your father has trouble with his eyes, and your mother needs an operation. In that case I want to help. Yes, it’s my right! You don’t suppose we were put into this world to be pigs with what God gave us, do you? I want to see your mother on her feet again, and if there’s anything that can be done for your father and brother, I want to help do it. Sometimes operations will do wonders with eyes, you know. Another doctor might put your father where he could go to work again.”

“Oh, Miss Catherwood! You’re too good!” began Lutie, tears of gratitude rolling down her cheeks and her lip trembling into a big smile like a rainbow upside down. “I don’t know as my mother would think it was right to take help from anyone, but it’s wonderful of you to suggest it.”

“She’d think it right to take it from God, wouldn’t she?” snapped the old lady crisply. “Well, this is just God’s money, and He told me to give you what you needed. There’s no further use in discussing it. I’m coming to see your mother in a very few days.”

“Well, maybe”—Lutie hesitated, her eyes shining with the great possibility—“if you’d let us work afterward and pay it off when we can.”

“Pay it back to somebody else, then, not me,” chuckled Aunt Pat in full form now. “I don’t want you to have that on your mind. If you ever get able, just help somebody else out of trouble. I tell you God told me to give you what you need, without any strings to it! And, oh yes, Lutie, if you should find any more of this, just bring it to me at once no matter how busy I may be. It was a necklace, and it had green stones in it. Big ones and little ones.”

Lutie’s eyes grew wide.

“I wonder if that green bead I picked up was one!” she exclaimed. “It was just a tiny little bit, looked like glass.

At first I thought it was a bead, but then I thought it was glass, and I swept it up with the dust. It hadn’t any hole like a bead in it.”

“Where did you find it, Lutie? What did you do with it?”

“Why, I found it in the big crack between the floorboards over under the bureau. I had to pry it out with a hairpin. I gathered it up with the dust when I thought it wasn’t anything but glass and put it in the waste for Thomas to burn. Wait, I’ll run down and see if I can find it. Thomas went down to the grocery for Cook. I don’t think he’s burned the trash yet!”