FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141  
142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   >>   >|  
she was Her Majesty," she said, "she couldn't be more sacred to me, nor me more happy to be allowed the privilege." Jane had begun to put her mother's belongings away. She was folding and patting a skirt on the bed. She fussed about a little nervously and then lifted a rather embarrassed face. "I'm glad you _are_ here, mother," she said. "I'm thankful to _have_ you!" Mrs. Cupp ceased fanning and stared at her with a change of expression. She found herself involuntarily asking her next question in a half whisper. "Why, Jane, what is it?" Jane came nearer. "I don't know," she answered, and her voice also was low. "Perhaps I'm silly and overanxious, because I _am_ so fond of her. But that Ameerah, I actually dream about her." "What! The black woman?", "If I was to say a word, or if you did, and we was wrong, how should we feel? I've kept my nerves to myself till I've nearly screamed sometimes. And my lady would be so hurt if she knew. But--well," in a hurried outburst, "I do wish his lordship was here, and I do wish the Osborns wasn't. I do wish it, I tell you that." "Good Lord!" cried Mrs. Cupp, and after staring with alarmed eyes a second or so, she wiped a slight dampness from her upper lip. She was of the order of female likely to take a somewhat melodramatic view of any case offering her an opening in that direction. "Jane!" she gasped faintly, "do you think they'd try to take her life?" "Goodness, no!" ejaculated Jane, with even a trifle of impatience. "People like them daren't. But suppose they was to try to, well, to upset her in some way, what a thing for them it would be." After which the two women talked together for some time in whispers, Jane bringing a chair to place opposite her mother's. They sat knee to knee, and now and then Jane shed a tear from pure nervousness. She was so appalled by the fear of making a mistake which, being revealed by some chance, would bring confusion upon and pain of mind to her lady. "At all events," was Mrs. Cupp's weighty observation when their conference was at an end, "here we both are, and two pairs of eyes and ears and hands and legs is a fat lot better than one, where there's things to be looked out for." Her training in the matter of subtlety had not been such as Ameerah's, and it may not be regarded as altogether improbable that her observation of the Ayah was at times not too adroitly concealed, but if the native woman knew that she was
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141  
142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
mother
 

observation

 

Ameerah

 
opposite
 

bringing

 

whispers

 

talked

 

Goodness

 

faintly

 

opening


direction

 
gasped
 

ejaculated

 
suppose
 
Majesty
 

trifle

 

impatience

 

People

 

making

 

looked


things

 

training

 

matter

 

subtlety

 

adroitly

 
concealed
 

native

 

regarded

 

altogether

 

improbable


chance

 

revealed

 
confusion
 

mistake

 

nervousness

 

appalled

 

offering

 

conference

 

events

 

weighty


privilege
 
nearer
 

whisper

 

question

 

answered

 
allowed
 

overanxious

 
Perhaps
 
involuntarily
 

patting