120 THE STORY OF A BLUE VEIL.
opportunity to speak with me, for my uncle walked beside us, and kept him engaged in talk. It was not until we were seated at table that he turned to me.
"What a particular little lady you are ; you barely recognized me when I met you this afternoon."
Fortunately, he spoke in a low tone, and to me alone ; but I was in terror lest any one should hear.
"You will know me another time, perhaps, now that I have had the advantage of being presented to you by your aunt?"
"I shall be very glad, of course," I commenced, rather indistinctly ; and then, gathering courage, whispered hurriedly, " only, please don't talk to me as if you had known me before."
"Oh! that is to be a secret between us, is it? You may depend upon me not to betray it."
The dinner passed off pleasantly enough ; and the evening was spent in strolling about the lawn and cliff's , lounging on the wide veranda, and listening to the band at the Ocean House, which we could hear in the distance, playing most ravishing waltz-music. Redwood and I tried a deux-temps on the parquet-floor of the library ; but I liked better sitting in the dark bay-window, and dreaming, as waltz-music always makes me dream, half sadly, half joyously, of past events, every throb of the marked time thrilling me like a touch.
Redwood and the two cousins talked, and laughed, and even tried to dance together, the clumsy creatures ! Gen. Mulready and uncle Lewin walked steadily up and down the veranda, smoking and talking politics. My aunt and Mr. Fauntleroy, sitting apart from the rest, whispered confidentially, and, in a manner, flirted, as it seemed to me.
It was midnight before there was a movement made to break up. Gen. Mulready was the first to leave. Mr. Fauntleroy, after having hunted me out, and made his bow, returned to my aunt, and stood, with his light overcoat thrown over his arm, some little time in conversation. Presently I heard her make a laughing remark about something that she saw peeping from one of the pockets of his overcoat.
"Eh! What's that?" said my uncle, "a blue veil? What the deuce do you do with a veil?"
"Perhaps Mr. Fauntleroy found a veil necessary in India," suggested my aunt.
"A blue veil!" shouted one of those wretched, sharp-eared cousins ; "that reminds me of Tony's loss."
"True enough!" cried my uncle, seizing the idea in high delight. "This completes the story- it's as clear as daylight! We have found out your inconnu, Miss Tony!"
Mr. Fauntleroy tried to disclaim, but it was no use-uncle Lewin enjoyed the joke too much to listen to him, even; and my aunt, to make matters worse, apologized for me, and bemoaned my obstinacy in walking out alone.
As for me, I slipped out of the window, and ran away to my own room; for I confess that, being " chafed, " as Redwood calls it, is not at all to my taste.
A month passed, and although Mr. Fauntleroy was constantly at our cottage, he took so little notice of me, and I always showed such an evident inclination to avoid him, that soon they all, even uncle Lewin, ceased to make teazing allusions to my unfortunate walk. Redwood went out with me now, and made himself so nice and amusing, that I should have found it lonely without him. We entirely deserted the Cliffs, and took to rambling over to the second beach.
Mr. Fauntleroy was a great deal with my aunt. He was invariably on hand to accompany her to morning receptions and evening parties, for her dancing days were by no means over, and she was still a very handsome, young looking woman. It was difficult to realize that Redwood, the great strapping fellow, was her son.
I went out very seldom myself, and only when there was a point made of my going. I was not shy, but I did not care to go, simply because I did not amuse myself. I had partners enough- Redwood took care of that ; but I found them stupid, and with only brains enough to dance the valse a deux-temps. They bored me, and Redwood complained that I was hardly civil to them, which I think was very probable. I found, one morning, to my great disapprobation, that we were to give a ball. Redwood was in high delight, and busied himself in preparing all sorts of nonsensical things for the cotillon. Mr. Fauntleroy planned the decorations and arrangement of the room. I was employed in filling in cards of invitation. And as for my aunt, she was so affairee that it amused me to watch her. Here and there, and everywhere, having long and important consultations with her own butler, and various other dashing personages, who seemed to pervade the house ; making anxious inquiries of the gardener as to the number of camelias he had in the greenhouse ; giving audience to a wonderfully fat, old French cook, who, with his white apron and cap, and round, red face, was the ideal pre-
