The Amazing Inheritance Page 8

  VIII

  If she lives to be a thousand, Tessie Gilfooly will never forget the dayshe spent shopping in the Evergreen. It was so vastly different from thedays she had spent in the Evergreen selling aluminum.

  "Get everything you want and what a queen should have," Mr. Kingley hadsaid, even before he saw the check Mr. Marvin gave Tessie. "Shoes andhats and everything. Miss Morley will help you." And he sent for MissMorley, who went to New York every month and had been to Paris twice,and so would know what queens should wear.

  Tessie was considerably in awe of Miss Morley with her black hairswirled around her head, her face delicately painted, her black cantoncrepe--no cheap black sateen for Miss Morley--the latest thing infrocks. But Miss Morley was looking at her with such frank admirationthat she dared to smile shyly as she blushed.

  "It's awfully kind of you to help me," she even dared to say.

  "I'll be glad to help you." Miss Morley smiled, too. "I never dressed aqueen before, and it will be great fun. We'll begin at the verybeginning because I expect that your underthings are no more royal thanyour outside clothes."

  "I've always wanted silk things," apologized Tessie, her handsfluttering among the soft flesh-colored crepes and satins. She lovedthem. She wanted them all. She longed to feel the touch of them on herslim little body which had known only coarse cotton.

  But Miss Morley pushed the lovely things contemptuously away. She eventilted her long aristocratic nose at them.

  "They're all right for silly shopgirls and cheap persons," she declaredscornfully, "but what a queen wants--oh, Rose, haven't you any linen,fine and sheer, hand-sewed and hand-hem-stitched?"

  And when Miss Rose Beacon of the lingerie had produced a special box inwhich was linen, soft and fine, and enriched with much dainty hand-work,she drew a long breath.

  "There!" She pushed the cobwebby things towards Tessie. "That's whatqueens wear!" She said it as positively as if she had dressed a queenevery day of her life.

  "But--" faltered Tessie, looking longingly at the flesh-colored satinsand crepes.

  "Half a dozen sets of these, Rose," ordered Miss Morley. "And as manygowns."

  "And half a dozen sets of the satin, too," whispered Tessie, the minuteMiss Morley turned her back. "I've always wanted silk underclothes, andnow I'm going to have some even if all queens don't wear them. I guess Ican afford them!"

  It was the same all through the store. Tessie found what she had covetedand sighed over was not proper for a queen. She had to buy flat-heeledbroad-toed shoes for walking, instead of the narrow-toed high heels forwhich her soul yearned.

  "High heels for dress, low heels for the street. Don't ever make themistake of wearing high heels on the street, Miss Gilfooly," advisedMiss Morley. "They'll make you look cheap and common."

  "No, ma'am," Tessie murmured meekly, but she privately resolved to wearher high heels when and where she pleased. Miss Morley would not be withher always. And how could high heels make any girl look cheap andcommon? They looked expensive and fine to Tessie's big blue eyes.

  Miss Morley would not let her wear lace stockings with her street shoes,but demanded a plain heavy silk. The dark blue crepe frock which wasfinally chosen to cover the dainty camisole and plain dark bluebloomers, was as simple as a frock could be, but it was a French modeland it made Tessie a very different girl from the one who had worn theold black sateen.

  "Now," remarked Miss Morley when half a dozen frocks had been chosen,always the plainest and the simplest, "we'll go up to the third and haveyour hair dressed."

  "I can do my own hair," Tessie exclaimed eagerly. She was aghast at theamount of money she had spent. Who ever would suppose that such plainthings would cost so much?

  "I said dressed," smiled Miss Morley. "You can do your hair like theshopgirls," she seemed to have a vast contempt for the way shopgirlsdressed and did their hair, "but what you want is a simplecoiffure--something royal!"

  She told the astonished head of the hairdressing department what shethought would be simple and royal, and she stood beside Tessie whileMrs. Nelson took the buns from Tessie's ears, and redressed her hair insimple waves. Tessie had pretty hair with a soft natural curl in it, andshe had a well-shaped head, although she had very successfully concealedthat fact with her buns and her rolls. But the clever professionalfingers made the most of her wavy hair and of the shape of her head.

  "There!" Miss Morley approved of the result if Tessie did look at it abit doubtfully and wonder if it could be all right. "Now for amanicure!"

  When Miss Morley at last took Tessie down to show Mr. Kingley what couldbe done by the Evergreen, they met Mr. Bill on the threshold. He wastrying to talk to Ka-kee-ta, who had reluctantly consented to wait forhis queen in the office, and who only had grunts in answer to Mr. Bill'squestions. Mr. Bill looked at Miss Morley and at Tessie. And he lookedagain at Tessie. _Was_ it Tessie? Tessie blushed and dimpled.

  "Well, I'll be darned!" he exclaimed unbelievingly. "If it isn't QueenTeresa! You certainly make one sweet peach of a queen!" He was quitescarlet and somewhat incoherent in his admiration.

  "Clothes do make a difference, don't they, Mr. Bill?" asked Miss Morley,proud of what she had made of Tessie. "She looks quite smart now,doesn't she? I've been working over her all morning."

  "Good work!" approved Mr. Bill. "I'll say she looks all right!" And hishearty admiration deepened the color in Tessie's cheeks as well as inhis own face. Imagine Mr. Bill saying that Tessie Gilfooly looked allright! No wonder Tessie's face was pink, and her eyes shone.

  Mr. Kingley admired Tessie also and told Miss Morley that she had donewell--remarkably well.

  "I knew the Evergreen could outfit a woman for any position," he saidwith great satisfaction. "You selected other garments than what she iswearing?"

  "You said to fit her out appropriately but not foolishly." Miss Morleyrepeated the orders she had received. "I have chosen a couple ofafternoon frocks, dinner gowns and evening gowns and a little jersey anda serge for day wear."

  "And hats?" suggested Mr. Kingley. "A queen can't wear her crown all thetime." And he laughed at his joke.

  "And hats." Miss Morley was polite enough and clever enough to laughwith him. "And shoes and everything. She has a very complete littleoutfit."

  "That's good. That's very good. You might collect the gowns and hats,Miss Morley, and make a little exhibition of them to-morrow before theyare delivered. Miss Gilfooly can wait a day longer for them, and ourcustomers will be interested in a royal wardrobe. Have Miss Lee run alittle story in the _Gazette_. It isn't every store," he told themproudly, "that could fit out a queen at a moment's notice. You arrange alittle exhibition, Miss Morley, and we'll invite Waloo to come and seeit. You'll like that, my dear," he told Tessie, who was not sure thatshe would like it at all.

  Joe Cary, bringing a message to Mr. Kingley from Mr. Maltby, theassistant advertising manager, who had been discharged from his jury,most certainly did not like it and he dared to say so.

  "Your clothes belong to you, Tess. Don't you make a show of them," headvised in a whisper.

  Mr. Kingley went on talking, and he sounded as though he had heard Joe'swhisper, although he never looked at Joe.

  "A queen owes that sort of thing to her people. They want show andcelebration and pageants in return for their money. You must expect thatnow you are a queen," he told Tessie.

  "Huh," sniffed Joe, and he spoke louder than perhaps he meant to speak,for Mr. Kingley looked at him.

  "What did you say, Cary?" he asked sharply.

  "Here are those proofs from the _Gazette_ for the wash-goods sale," hesaid. "And as for queens and kings, the fewer there are, the better theworld will be."

  "This is no place for anarchism, Cary," Mr. Kingley told him coldly. "Goand tell Mr. Maltby I want to see him at once. And, Cary, you might makea little sketch of Miss Gilfooly as she is now and Maltby can run itwith a line--'Royalty Clothed by the Evergreen'--under it. It willplease the people, my dear. They'll like to come and buy w
here queensbuy," he said shrewdly.

  "Huh!" muttered Joe. "Don't you let them make a monkey of you for theold Evergreen, Tess," he whispered, as he went for his pencil anddrawing board, after he had mastered his impulse to "punch old Kingleyin the snout."

  But Tessie never heard him. Joe and his mutters were an old story, but anew and very fascinating tale was the admiration of Mr. Bill and hisfather. She gladly agreed to everything that Mr. Kingley suggested.

  "Of course," went on Mr. Kingley, with the zeal of an artist who wantedhis work to be quite perfect, "of course you don't know anything aboutroyal etiquette."

  "Perhaps I could get a book in the book department," suggested Tessiemeekly. Mr. Kingley was right. She knew absolutely nothing of how aqueen should conduct herself, but if the Evergreen could clothe royalty,surely it could tell a queen how to behave.

  Mr. Kingley shook his head. He did not believe there was such a volumeamong the thousands of books in the big department. Miss Morley shookher head, too. Mr. Bill just stood and stared at Tessie.

  "There's old Madame Cabot!" suggested Miss Morley suddenly. "She waspresented at court when she was a girl, and her uncle was minister toItaly. I read it in the _Gazette_ in the story on her seventiethbirthday. She could tell Miss Gilfooly the way the Queen of Italy didthings. I should think that would help her."

  "It undoubtedly would help her. You are very resourceful, MissMorley--very resourceful." And Mr. Kingley showered Miss Morley with hisaugust approval. "Bill, call up your mother and ask her to arrange totake Miss Gilfooly to see Madame Cabot as soon as possible."

  "Shouldn't Madame Cabot call on the queen?" Mr. Bill did not want totake his eyes from Tessie to call up any one. He was perfectly satisfiedto let matters remain as they were.

  "Madame Cabot is an old lady, and under the circumstances I am sure thatour queen will waive etiquette and go to her. It will be a greatprivilege to have her help. Madame Cabot is a great lady."

  "I know!" Tessie was faint and breathless at the mere thought of goingto see Madame Cabot. Tessie knew the aristocratic old lady by sight, butshe had never sold her so much as a kitchen spoon. She was a little awedat the prospect of talking to her as queen to queen, but she bravelylifted her head and looked at Mr. Kingley. "It will be awfully kind ofher to help me. I don't know anything," she admitted with a rosy shamewhich was adorable--at least, Mr. Bill thought it was adorable. "I hadto leave school before I graduated from the high."

  "You can learn. You can have teachers and learn," advised Mr. Kingley."And Madame Cabot can help you if she will."

  "If she only will!" breathed Miss Morley, and for the first time sinceshe had been with Tessie, she seemed envious. She had not envied Tessieher new clothes nor her throne, but she did seem to envy her thepossibility of a talk with Madame Cabot. "She knows! She has the mostperfect manners! You'll be helped just by looking at her," she toldTessie.

  Mr. Bill jeered. "That old dame," he began, but he was not allowed to goany farther.

  "My son!" rebuked his scandalized father.

  "Mr. Bill!" exclaimed Miss Morley, so aghast that her delicately tintedface acquired a lavender tint.

  "Oh, all right," Mr. Bill said carelessly. "Only if you want my opinion,which of course isn't worth a bean to you, you'll leave Miss Gilfoolyalone. She's all right as she is! My word, I should think she was! Isuppose Madame Cabot is all right, too, but she's old and our littlequeen is young. What is all right for an old lady might be all wrong fora young one!"

  Tessie's pink face grew pinker. She had not a word to say, she couldonly blush and dimple until Mr. Bill blushed, too.

  "You call up your mother!" ordered Mr. Kingley curtly.

  Tessie could scarcely breathe when Mr. Bill put her in the limousinebeside his mother, while Ka-kee-ta slipped into the front seat, althoughthe chauffeur looked at him out of the corner of a most scornful eye.Mr. Bill's mother was so proud and so haughty that Tessie had neverexpected to ride with her. Mrs. Kingley had never been in the hardwaredepartment while Tessie had been there, and Tessie had had only anoccasional glimpse of her when she had been sent up from the basement onsome errand. She had never imagined that she would ever be on friendlyterms with her, and yet Mrs. Kingley seemed quite friendly. She smiledpleasantly--even cordially.

  "And this is our little queen! No, Bill, your father would not want youto come with us! Surely you have work to do here!"

  "Take Miss Gilfooly home to dinner, and I'll go back and see if I canfind anything to do," suggested Mr. Bill, showing his firm white teethin an appealing grin.

  "Bill! I expect the queen has a dinner engagement." But Tessie hadn't,and she managed to gather breath and courage to say so. "Well, we willsee," Mrs. Kingley promised Mr. Bill. "Madame Cabot is expecting us,"she told Tessie as they drove away and left Mr. Bill standing somewhatdisconsolate on the curb. "How romantic it is! I expect you are quiteexcited? It is enough to excite any girl to be told that she is a queen.I remember I saw Queen Mary once--of England, you know--before the war.She was riding in a coach with outriders, and it made Bill and me thinkof a circus parade. I must say she looked a frump. You are very wellturned out, my dear. You look quite as a queen should look." And shefrankly approved of the quiet little hat and plain frock Miss Morley hadchosen.

  "I got them at the Evergreen. Mr. Kingley has been so kind," Tessie toldMr. Kingley's wife gratefully.

  Mrs. Kingley smiled knowingly. "I expect Mr. Kingley knows what he isabout. It pleased him immensely to have all those stories about you andthe Evergreen in the newspapers. I tell Mr. Kingley that's what he livesfor--the Evergreen. By the way, don't be nervous if Madame Cabot is alittle severe. You must remember that you are a queen and hold up yourhead," she advised, as they stopped before the old mansion where MadameCabot had lived for almost half a century.

  Madame Cabot was not a bit severe. It pleased her to be interested inthis new royalty, and she searched her memory for any reminiscence whichwould help Tessie.

  "But the etiquette of your islands will be so different from anything Ihave known, that I doubt if I can be of much assistance to you," shesaid slowly. "Be simple and honest, my dear. That will be your bestrule. Don't claim to know more than you do. Your people will understandthat you were not brought up to be a queen, and they will not expect youto know their customs and manners. Tell them frankly that you areignorant, but that you want to learn. That is by far the best way. Don'tyou think so, Mrs. Kingley?"

  "Oh, quite," agreed Mrs. Kingley, unobtrusively pinching herself to makesure that she really was there talking to Madame Cabot about the properbehavior of queens. It was so unbelievable that she had to give herselfquite a sharp pinch to be quite sure.

  And while the two older women talked of queens and their behavior,Tessie looked around the old-fashioned room and drank her tea from thethin china cups, and wished that the sandwiches were larger, for she washungry, and of course, a queen would never take but one sandwich nomatter how small it was.

  "You have been so kind," she said shyly to Madame Cabot, when theaudience was over. "I shan't ever forget how kind you have been. And Ishall try and remember to be honest and simple," she promised from thebottom of her grateful heart. She thought she could manage to do that,and she was very grateful to Madame Cabot for so easy a rule. She hadbeen afraid that Madame Cabot would tell her of hard things she wouldhave to do. But any one could be simple and honest.

  And Madame Cabot, the great and exclusive Madame Cabot, was touched byher humble appreciation and by the shy wistfulness in her rosy face.

  "Bless the child!" she exclaimed quite as Granny might have exclaimed,and she stooped and kissed Tessie's pink cheek. "You must come and seeme again. I like young people--especially pretty young girls."

  Mrs. Kingley purred. She knew, if Tessie did not, what an invitationfrom Madame Cabot meant. "I am going to take her home with me," she toldMadame Cabot almost proudly. "Just a little family dinner."