FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   >>  
. "There's our man!" exclaimed Suzanne suddenly; "hurry!" Mr. Bertram Kneyght greeted his cousin and her friend with genuine heartiness, and readily accepted their invitation to explore the crowded mart that stood temptingly at their elbow. The plate-glass doors swung open and the trio plunged bravely into the jostling throng of buyers and loiterers. "Is it always as full as this?" asked Bertram of Eleanor. "More or less, and autumn sales are on just now," she replied. Suzanne, in her anxiety to pilot her cousin to the desired haven of the fur department, was usually a few paces ahead of the others, coming back to them now and then if they lingered for a moment at some attractive counter, with the nervous solicitude of a parent rook encouraging its young ones on their first flying expedition. "It's Suzanne's birthday on Wednesday next," confided Eleanor to Bertram Kneyght at a moment when Suzanne had left them unusually far behind; "my birthday comes the day before, so we are both on the look-out for something to give each other." "Ah," said Bertram. "Now, perhaps you can advise me on that very point. I want to give Suzanne something, and I haven't the least idea what she wants." "She's rather a problem," said Eleanor. "She seems to have everything one can think of, lucky girl. A fan is always useful; she'll be going to a lot of dances at Davos this winter. Yes, I should think a fan would please her more than anything. After our birthdays are over we inspect each other's muster of presents, and I always feel dreadfully humble. She gets such nice things, and I never have anything worth showing. You see, none of my relations or any of the people who give me presents are at all well off, so I can't expect them to do anything more than just remember the day with some little trifle. Two years ago an uncle on my mother's side of the family, who had come into a small legacy, promised me a silver-fox stole for my birthday. I can't tell you how excited I was about it, how I pictured myself showing it off to all my friends and enemies. Then just at that moment his wife died, and, of course, poor man, he could not be expected to think of birthday presents at such a time. He has lived abroad ever since, and I never got my fur. Do you know, to this day I can scarcely look at a silver-fox pelt in a shop window or round anyone's neck without feeling ready to burst into tears. I suppose if I hadn't had the
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   >>  



Top keywords:
Suzanne
 

Bertram

 

birthday

 

Eleanor

 

presents

 
moment
 
showing
 

silver

 
cousin
 

Kneyght


dances

 

relations

 
people
 

muster

 
inspect
 

dreadfully

 
birthdays
 
things
 

winter

 

humble


promised

 

abroad

 

expected

 

scarcely

 

feeling

 

suppose

 

window

 

mother

 

family

 

remember


trifle

 
legacy
 

enemies

 

friends

 

pictured

 
excited
 

expect

 
loiterers
 

buyers

 
plunged

bravely
 

jostling

 
throng
 
autumn
 

coming

 

department

 
replied
 

anxiety

 
desired
 

genuine