"Clementine's dress - Clementine's dress," Mrs. Lawrence was shrieking and sobbing. "The dress - she wore - when she came - in to tell me she had just - promised to marry - Leander Lesley. I didn't think - you'd let - your daughter - insult me so - Lorraine."
"Oh, I had nothing to do with it - truly I hadn't," almost sobbed Mother.
"My heart broke - when Clementine died - and now to have it brought up like this - HERE - " people made out between Mrs. Lawrences yoops. "Oh - I shouldn't - have come. I had a presentiment - one of my dark - forebodings came to me."
"Calm yourself, Mrs. Lawrence - here, try a sip of water," said Aunt Marigold.
"Calm - myself! It's - enough - to kill me. We all - die - sudden - unexpected - death - Oh, Lorraine - Lorraine - you took her place - but your daughter - might have left - her dress - her sacred - little - dress - alone."
"Oh, I didn't know," cried Marigold. She wanted to cry - but cry she would not before all those people. Had not Old Grandmother once said that a Lesley should never cry before the world? Yet it was plain to be seen she had involved Mother in some terrible disgrace. All the sense of mystery and romance had fled. She felt that she and Gwennie were only naughty, silly children who had been ignominiously found out.
Mrs. Lawrence yooped more wildly than ever.
"You'd better have her carried upstairs," said Aunt Marigold. "She really has a weak heart - I'm afraid - "
"Oh, Clementine - Clementine," wailed Mrs. Lawrence. "To think - of the dress - you wore - being HERE. That - dreadful - child - Lorraine - how could you - "
Gwen, who had hitherto been rather dazed and sobered by the suddenness of the catastrophe, now wrenched her shoulder from Uncle Klon's restraining hand and sprang forward.
"Shut your face, you old screech-owl," she said furiously. "You've been told Aunt Lorraine had nothing to do with it. Neither had Marigold. It was ME found that mouldy old dress and made Marigold put it on. Now, get that through your dippy old head and stop making a fuss over nothing. Oh, glare - glare! You'd like to boil me in oil and pick my bones, but I don't care THAT that for you, you fat old COW."
And Gwen snapped her fingers under outraged Queen Victoria's very nose.
Mrs. Lawrence, finding some one else could make more noise than she could, ceased yooping. She got on her feet, scattering a shower of hairpins on the floor, with the noted Carberry temper sticking out of every kink and curve of her abundant figure, and assisted by Aunt Marigold and Uncle Percy, moved slowly to the stairs.
"One must - make allowances - of course," she sobbed, for the things - children will do. I am - glad - it wasn't your fault - Lorraine. I didn't - think - I had - deserved that - of you."
"Dear Mrs. Lawrence, don't be angry," implored Lorraine.
"Angry - oh, no. I'm not angry - I'm only - heart-broken. If God - "
"You might as well leave God out of it," said Gwen.
"Gwen, keep quiet," said Uncle Klon furiously.
Whereupon Gwen threw back her head and yelled loud and long.
Everybody was now in the room or the hall, or crowding up to the windows outside. Marigold felt as if everyone in the world were staring at her.
"Could you run us home, Horace?" said Grandmother wearily. "I'm tired - and this has about finished me. Do you want to stay for supper, Lorraine?"
"No - oh, no," said Lorraine, struggling to keep back her tears.
In the back seat of the car Marigold cried for sorrow and Gwen howled for vexation of spirit. But Uncle Klon laughed so uproariously that Grandmother said nervously:
"Horace, DO pay attention to your steering. I don't see how you can laugh. It's been simply a terrible affair. If it had been any one but old Mrs. Lawrence!"
"Good for her," said Uncle Klon. "I don't believe any one ever told her the truth about herself before. It was priceless."
Gwen stopped sniffling and pricked up her ears. After all, there WAS something nice about Uncle Klon.
"But it MUST have been a shock to see Clementine's dress suddenly come before her like that," said Grandmother. What was the matter with Grandmother's voice? Grandmother couldn't be laughing - she COULDN'T. But was she trying NOT to laugh? "You know, Horace, she really worshipped Clementine - "
"Clementine was a good little scout," said Uncle Klon. "I always liked her. It was to her credit that she wasn't spoiled by such a silly old mother."
"She was a pretty thing," said Grandmother. "I remember her in that dress. People raved about her skin and her hands."
"Clem certainly had pretty hands. It was a pity she had such huge feet," said Uncle Klon.
"She couldn't help her big feet," rebuked Grandmother.
"Of course not. But they were certainly - generous," laughed Uncle Klon. "No wonder the old lady kept all her boots. Too much good leather to waste. Clem had only one quarrel in her life that she never made up. The quarrel with Emmy Carberry. Emmy was going to marry a man neither the Carberrys nor the Lawrences approved of. 'I wouldn't be in your shoes for the world, Emmy,' said Clem solemnly."
"'Don't worry, Clem darling,' said Emmy, sticking out a foot in her little Number Two's beside poor Clem's brogans. 'You could never get into them.' Of course, Clem never forgave her."
Just then in a twinkle something happened to poor, crushed, weeping Marigold in the back seat. The spirit of jealousy departed from her forever - at least as far as Clementine was concerned. CLEMENTINE HAD BIG FEET. And Mother had feet that even Uncle Klon thought perfection. Oh - Marigold smiled through her tears in the darkness - oh, she could afford to pity Clementine.
"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't take the hide off you," said Uncle Klon as he lifted Gwen from the car.
"I made you laugh," said Gwen saucily.
"You shameless young hussy," said Uncle Klon.
Grandmother said nothing. Of what use was it saying anything to Gwen? Of what use was it trying to drown fish? And she was going home the next evening. Besides, in her secret soul, Grandmother was not sorry that Caroline Lawrence had got her "come uppance" at last.
"Well, this is the end of Wednesday. Now for Thursday. But they might have given us a bite to eat," grumbled Gwen as she rolled into bed. "I wish I'd swiped that little plate of striped sandwiches. But did you ever see anything so funny as that old dragon yowling? Didn't I shut her up! I hope the devil flies away with her before morning. After all I'm glad I'm going home to- morrow night, Marigold. I like you better than I ever dreamed I'd do after Aunt Jo's sickening praises. But your grandmother gets my goat."
"Aren't you going to say your prayers?" reminded Marigold.
"No use waking God up at this hour of the night," said Gwen drowsily.
She was sleeping like a lamb before Marigold had finished her prayers. Marigold was very very thankful and told God so. Not exactly that Clementine had big feet, of course, but that the horrible feeling of hatred and jealousy had gone completely out of her little heart. It was SO comfortable.
Mother gave Marigold a little scolding in the morning.
"Mrs. Lawrence might have died of heart-failure. Think how you would have felt. As it is, we heard this morning that she cried all night - cried VIOLENTLY," Mother added, fearing that Marigold was not just alive to the awfulness of what she had done.
"Never you worry," said Salome. "It served old Madam right. Her and her old boots. Thinking she's like Queen Victoria. But all the same, I'm thankful that limb of Satan is going home to-night. I should really like to have a few minutes' peace. I feel as if I'd been run through a meat-chopper these three weeks. Heaven help the clan when SHE grows up."
"Amen," said Lucifer with an emphatic whisk of his tail.