Speaker 1: Chapter twenty eight of Cloudy Jewel. This is a LibriVox recording.
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Speaker 1: by Tera Mendoza. Cloudy Jewel by Grace livingstone Hill, chapter
Speaker 1: twenty eight. During the next three days there were stirring times,
Speaker 1: and Leslie, even with a heavy heart, was kept busy.
Speaker 1: Clive Terence was ignored as utterly as if he had
Speaker 1: been a fly on the ceiling, and Leslie managed to
Speaker 1: keep every minute full. Moreover, her mind was so much
Speaker 1: occupied with other things that she had not time to
Speaker 1: realize how fully she was cutting their guests out of
Speaker 1: sight of her, nor how utterly amazed it made him.
Speaker 1: He was not accustomed to being ignored by young ladies,
Speaker 1: even though they were both beautiful and rich. He felt
Speaker 1: that he was quite ornamental himself and had plenty of
Speaker 1: money too, and he could not brook any such treatment,
Speaker 1: so he set himself to procure revenge by going hot
Speaker 1: foot after the freshman vamp, who, to tell the truth,
Speaker 1: was much more in his style than Leslie, and quite
Speaker 1: quite willing. Though Leslie, dear child was too absorbed to
Speaker 1: know it. She came home at lunch time a bit
Speaker 1: late and called Allison from the table to give him
Speaker 1: an excited account in a low tone of something that
Speaker 1: had happened that morning. Julia Cloud, from her vandage point
Speaker 1: at the head of the table, could see the flash
Speaker 1: in her eye and the brilliant flush of her soft
Speaker 1: cheeks as she talked and wondered what new trouble had
Speaker 1: come to the dear child. Then she noted the sudden,
Speaker 1: stern set of Allison's jaw and the squaring of his
Speaker 1: shoulder as he listened and questioned. Meanwhile, she passed Clive
Speaker 1: Terence the muffins and jam, and urged more iced tea
Speaker 1: and hot stuffed potato, and kept up a pleasant hum
Speaker 1: of talk so that the excited words should not be
Speaker 1: heard in the dining room. Jane's had a perfectly terrible time,
Speaker 1: had been Leslie's opening sentence. And we've got to do
Speaker 1: something about it, those little cats in the ale, you
Speaker 1: have done the meanest thing you can think of. Jane looked,
Speaker 1: just crushed. They've hauled up that old stuff about her
Speaker 1: father being a forger, and urged it as a reason
Speaker 1: that she shouldn't be made treasurer in place of Anne Dallas,
Speaker 1: who's leaving on account of the death of her father,
Speaker 1: and she has to go home and take care of
Speaker 1: her little sisters. And Jane heard them. A low growl
Speaker 1: of indignation reached Julia Cloud's ears from Allison, who squared
Speaker 1: his shoulders into position for immediate action, they said, went
Speaker 1: on Leslie in excited whisper. They said that since we
Speaker 1: had such a large sum to look out for, now
Speaker 1: that the subscriptions for the sorority house were coming in,
Speaker 1: we should put in a treasurer of tried and true integrity. Yes,
Speaker 1: they used just those words, tried and true integrity. Think
Speaker 1: of it, and our Jane, the idea catty little snobs,
Speaker 1: the jealous little cats. No, it wasn't Eugenia Frasier who
Speaker 1: said it. It was Eunice Bryce, but I'm certain she
Speaker 1: was at the bottom of it, for she sat with
Speaker 1: her nice, smug, little painted face, as sweet and complacent
Speaker 1: as an angel all the time it was going on.
Speaker 1: And she seconded the motion just like that with a
Speaker 1: smile too. She said she fully agreed with what miss
Speaker 1: Bryce had said. Agreed hm, as if everyone didn't know
Speaker 1: she had started it and got it all fixed up
Speaker 1: with enough girls to carry the motion before the rest
Speaker 1: of us got down from an exam. Yes, they had
Speaker 1: it thought out as carefully as that. They knew all
Speaker 1: the sophomore girls would be up in that exam till
Speaker 1: almost twelve o'clock, for it's always as long as the
Speaker 1: moral law. Anything with Professor crabs. And they counted up
Speaker 1: and had just enough to a name to carry their motion.
Speaker 1: They even got Marian Hobbs to cut a class to
Speaker 1: get there. They hadn't counted on my getting there in
Speaker 1: time to hear I guess, or else they didn't care.
Speaker 1: Perhaps they wanted me to hear it all. I'm sure
Speaker 1: I don't know. I suppose that must have been it.
Speaker 1: They thought perhaps I'd tell you and that would stop
Speaker 1: you from going with Jane. You know, Eugenia and Eunus
Speaker 1: are both crazy about you, especially Eugenia. An impatient exclamation
Speaker 1: from Alison reached the dining room thunderously, where was Jane?
Speaker 1: Julia caught that anxious question, and then Clive, who had
Speaker 1: evidently heard, also roused himself to ask a question, who
Speaker 1: is this Jane person they talk so much about? I
Speaker 1: don't seem to have seen her. Where is she? She is,
Speaker 1: miss Bristol, said Julia Cloud, stiffening just a little at
Speaker 1: the young fellow's tone of insolence. She is in college
Speaker 1: and very busy, but has been unusually busy since you
Speaker 1: have been here, because she is caring for a little
Speaker 1: child whose mother has been very ill. Oh you mean
Speaker 1: she's a sort of servant, He drawled the question most offensively,
Speaker 1: and Julia Cloud had a sudden, ridiculous impulse to seize
Speaker 1: his sleek shoulder and shake him. Instead, she only smiled
Speaker 1: and quoted a Bible verse, I have seen servants upon horses,
Speaker 1: and princes walking as servants upon the earth. Clive eyed
Speaker 1: her with a puzzled expression. I don't get ya, he
Speaker 1: answered finally, but Julia Cloud made no further comment than
Speaker 1: to pass him a second cup of coffee. She could
Speaker 1: hear the soft, excited whispers still going on in the
Speaker 1: living room, and she longed to fly in there and
Speaker 1: leave this ill bred guest to his own devices, For
Speaker 1: she knew something must have happened to trouble her children,
Speaker 1: and that if this intruder were not present, she would
Speaker 1: be at once taken into their confidence. Still, she had
Speaker 1: to sit and smile and keep him from hearing them.
Speaker 1: Leslie was talking more softly now, with cautious looks toward
Speaker 1: the dining room. Jane had finished her exam and hurried
Speaker 1: down because she thought there would be a lot of business,
Speaker 1: and she wanted Emily Reader to be put in as
Speaker 1: treasurer and was trying to work it and hadn't an idea.
Speaker 1: Alice and I were working it out to put her in.
Speaker 1: We didn't think she would get there, and meant to
Speaker 1: have it all finished before she came. But someone turned
Speaker 1: around and gave a queer little cough just as Eunus
Speaker 1: finished her nasty speech, and we all turned quickly, and
Speaker 1: there in the open door stood Jane, as white as
Speaker 1: a sheet, with her great big blue eyes looking black
Speaker 1: as coals, and such suffering I never saw in a
Speaker 1: human face. And she just stood and looked at them
Speaker 1: all a hurt, loving, searching look, as if she was
Speaker 1: reading their souls. And no one spoke nor moved, only Eunus,
Speaker 1: who got very red, and Eugenia, who straightened up and
Speaker 1: got haughty and hateful, looking as if she was glad.
Speaker 1: Jane heard it all. She had a kind of glitter
Speaker 1: in her eyes, like triumph. And it was very still
Speaker 1: for a whole minute. And then Jane put out her
Speaker 1: hands in a little quick pleading motion and turned away
Speaker 1: quickly and was gone. And what did you do? Allison's
Speaker 1: tone had hope, threat, condemnation, and praise, all held in abeyance.
Speaker 1: On her answer, Leslie drew herself up eagerly, her eyes shining.
Speaker 1: I oh, I wanted to run after her and comfort her,
Speaker 1: but I had something else to do. I jumped up
Speaker 1: and offered my resignation to the A O U and
Speaker 1: said I wished to withdraw my subscription to the sorority house.
Speaker 1: That I couldn't have anything to do with a bunch
Speaker 1: of girls that would stand for a thing as contemptible
Speaker 1: and mean as that. Of course, said Allison, with a
Speaker 1: proud look at his sister, and Phoebe Kemp jumped up
Speaker 1: and withdrew hers until they all apologized to Jane, and
Speaker 1: then Alice Low said she'd have to withdraw hers too.
Speaker 1: She's given the highest amount subscribed. You know, she has
Speaker 1: slews of money all on her own right because she's
Speaker 1: of age, you know. And then the girls began to
Speaker 1: get scared, and Elsie Dare got right up and said
Speaker 1: she thought there had been some kind of a mistake
Speaker 1: of blunder. They mustn't get excited. They must begin all over,
Speaker 1: and somebody must go after Jane and bring her back
Speaker 1: and explain, as if there was any way to explain
Speaker 1: a bold, bare insult like that. And they sent a
Speaker 1: committee after her. They wanted me to go, but I
Speaker 1: declined to go in their knee. I said I had
Speaker 1: handed him my resignation and I wasn't one of them
Speaker 1: any more, and they might send somebody who would better
Speaker 1: represent them. And they said they hadn't accepted my resignation,
Speaker 1: and a lot of stuff. But they sent off a
Speaker 1: committee to find Jane, and they tried to think up
Speaker 1: something quickly to say to her, and they got Eunus
Speaker 1: Bryce crying and made Eugenia real mad. So the powder
Speaker 1: came off her nose from rubbing it so much, and
Speaker 1: I came away. I've been hunting for Jane for half
Speaker 1: an hour, but I can't find her in any of
Speaker 1: the places she always is. And I thought i'd better
Speaker 1: come and tell you, that's right, I'll find her. Allison
Speaker 1: made one step to the hat rack and took his hat, then,
Speaker 1: raising his voice cloudy, I've been called away on business suddenly.
Speaker 1: Don't bother keeping anything for me. I've had all I want.
Speaker 1: And he was gone. Julia Cloud gave a glance at
Speaker 1: Allison's plate and saw that he had scarcely touched his lunch,
Speaker 1: and she sighed as she heard Leslie running quickly up
Speaker 1: the stairs and shut the door of her own room.
Speaker 1: Was Leslie going to spend the afternoon in weeping? But
Speaker 1: Leslie was down again in a moment, and standing in
Speaker 1: the doorway, her curls tumbled, her eyes bright and anxious,
Speaker 1: an indignant little set of her lips and chin giving
Speaker 1: her a worried expression. Juel, dear, I've got to go.
Speaker 1: There's something important on. I'll tell you about it all
Speaker 1: when I get back. No, please, I couldn't eat right now.
Speaker 1: You get cherry to save me some strawberry shortcake. And
Speaker 1: she was off like a breeze and out of sight.
Speaker 1: Wait a minute, Leslie, I'll go up with you, called Clive,
Speaker 1: with his mouthful of short cake and cream. But Leslie
Speaker 1: was already whirling down the street like the wind. Allison
Speaker 1: had taken the car, so there was nothing left for
Speaker 1: Clive to do but finish his shortcake and think up
Speaker 1: some form of amusement with the freshman vamp for the afternoon. Allison, meantime,
Speaker 1: had made a straight dash for the college and sent
Speaker 1: a message up to Jane that he must see her
Speaker 1: at once on very important business. After what's to him
Speaker 1: an endless wait. Word came down that Jane was not
Speaker 1: in her room and her roommate knew nothing of her whereabouts.
Speaker 1: Allison made a wild dive for his car and drove
Speaker 1: to every one of the places where Jane sometimes went
Speaker 1: to help out with the children when their mothers were
Speaker 1: particularly busy, But no Jane materialized. He drove madly back
Speaker 1: to the college forgetting his usual cool philosophy of life
Speaker 1: and fancying all sorts of terrible things that might have
Speaker 1: happened to Jane. He swept past Eugenia Fraser without even
Speaker 1: seeing her, and brought up in front of the office
Speaker 1: once more, intending to send up and see if Jane
Speaker 1: had yet returned. But on the steps stood Leslie waiting
Speaker 1: for him. She's gone to the woods up above the
Speaker 1: old quarry, she said anxiously. I've just found out Benny
Speaker 1: the kitchen boy told me. He says he saw her
Speaker 1: go out between chemistry Hall and the Boy's Jim about
Speaker 1: an hour ago. She must have gone right after she
Speaker 1: left the meeting. Nobody seems to have seen her since.
Speaker 1: Nobody but Benny knows anything about her going to the wood.
Speaker 1: And I gave him some money and told him not
Speaker 1: to say anything about it if any one asked. I
Speaker 1: was just going to hunt her. That's all right, Kit,
Speaker 1: You take the car and i'll follow up the road.
Speaker 1: I'll go through the woods and look for her, said Alison,
Speaker 1: springing out. You will be careful, won't you. You know
Speaker 1: that quarry is terribly deep. I know, said Alice in
Speaker 1: his tone, showing his own anxiety. And Jane hasn't scrambled
Speaker 1: around here as much as we have. She hasn't had time.
Speaker 1: And there is so much undergrowth close up to the edge.
Speaker 1: One could come up on it unaware, especially if one
Speaker 1: was excited and not paying attention. I better beat it.
Speaker 1: Jump in and drive me round the college and I'll
Speaker 1: get off at the gym. Leslie sprang in and Allison
Speaker 1: stood on the running board. His sister cast a wistful
Speaker 1: glance at him as she started the car. Allison, I
Speaker 1: think maybe you needn't worry, she said softly. You know,
Speaker 1: Jane is real. She isn't weak like some people. She
Speaker 1: won't go all to pieces like well like I would.
Speaker 1: God means something to her, you know, I know, said
Speaker 1: Alison gravely gently. Thank you, Kit Well, I get off here,
Speaker 1: Mimi at the top of the second hill in half
Speaker 1: an hour and hang around there for a bit. I
Speaker 1: may whistle see so long. He dashed off between the
Speaker 1: buildings and disappeared between the trees and the edge of
Speaker 1: the woods. Leslie whirled off down the drive to the street.
Speaker 1: As she passed the big Stone Gateway, ivy garlanded and
Speaker 1: sweet with climbing roses, three seniors turned into the drive,
Speaker 1: and the foremost of the three was Howard Letchworth. Her
Speaker 1: heart leaped up with joy that here was some one
Speaker 1: who would understand and sympathize, and she put her foot
Speaker 1: to the brake to slow down, with the light of
Speaker 1: welcome in her eyes. But before she could stop, he
Speaker 1: had lifted his hat and passed on with the others,
Speaker 1: as if he were just any one. Of course, he
Speaker 1: had not seen her intention, did not realize that she
Speaker 1: wanted to speak with him, yet it hurt her. A
Speaker 1: week or two before, she would have called after him,
Speaker 1: or even backed the car to catch him. But now
Speaker 1: something froze within her, and with her heart beating wildly
Speaker 1: and tears scorching her eyes, she put on speed and
Speaker 1: whirled away way up the hill. It seemed to her
Speaker 1: that all her lovely world was breaking into pieces under
Speaker 1: her feet. If it had not been that she was
Speaker 1: worried about Jane, she would have been tempted to abandon
Speaker 1: everything and rush off in some wild way by herself, anywhere,
Speaker 1: to be alone and face the ache in her heart.
Speaker 1: It was such a torrent of deep mingled feelings, hurt,
Speaker 1: pride and anger, humiliation and pain. All these words rushed
Speaker 1: through her mind. But there was something else besides, something
Speaker 1: that ought to have been beautiful and wonderful and was
Speaker 1: only shame and pain. And she had not yet come
Speaker 1: to the point where she was willing to call that
Speaker 1: something by name. She knew that soon she must face
Speaker 1: the truth and have it out with herself. And so
Speaker 1: her cheeks flamed and paled, and the tears scorched and
Speaker 1: hurt in her eyes and throat, and she tried to
Speaker 1: put it all away and think about Jane, poor hurt Jane.
Speaker 1: Jane gone into the woods to have it, but with herself.
Speaker 1: But Jane was strong, and Jane trusted in God. Her
Speaker 1: God was strong too. Jane would come through only the sweeter.
Speaker 1: But what would become of her little, fiery, tempetuous Leslie,
Speaker 1: who always did the wrong thing first and was sorry afterwards,
Speaker 1: and who forgot God when she needed him most? These
Speaker 1: thoughts flitted like visions through her brain while she put
Speaker 1: on all speed and tore away up the hill at
Speaker 1: a much faster rate than she had any business to do.
Speaker 1: But the road was clear ahead of her, and there
Speaker 1: was some relief in flying along through space this way.
Speaker 1: It seemed to clear the mist from her brain and
Speaker 1: cool down her throbbing pulses. Yet just when she would
Speaker 1: think she had control of her thoughts, that stern, distant
Speaker 1: expression on Howard's face would come between her and the
Speaker 1: afternoon brightness, and back would roll the trouble with renewed vigor.
Speaker 1: What a world this was, anyway? And why did people
Speaker 1: have to live just trouble, trouble, trouble everywhere? And who
Speaker 1: would have thought there would come trouble between her and Howard?
Speaker 1: Such good friends as they had been, now almost two years,
Speaker 1: two wonderful years, and again her weary brain would be
Speaker 1: over the question what had been the matter, What made
Speaker 1: Howard act that way? Surely nothing she could have done.
Speaker 1: End of Chapter twenty eight. Recording by Terra Mendoza, Phoenix, Arizona,
Speaker 1: April two thousand eleven.