It was ten the next morning at Cedar Crest, and Larry Brainard sat in his study mechanically going over his figures and plans for the Sherwood housing project.
For Larry the storms of the past few weeks, and the whirlwind of last night, had cleared away. There was quiet in the house, and through the open windows he could glimpse the broad lawn almost singing in its sun-gladdened greenness, and farther on he could glimpse the Sound gleaming placidly. Once for perhaps ten minutes he had seen the overalled and straw-hatted figure of Joe Ellison busy as usual among the flowers. He had strained his eyes for a glimpse of Maggie, but he had looked in vain.
Despite all that had come to pass at the Grantham the previous evening, Larry was just now feeling restless and rather forlorn. His breakfast had been brought to him in his room, and he had not seen a single member of last night's party at the Grantham since they had all divided up according to Miss Sherwood's orders and driven away; that is he had really seen no one except ****.
**** had gripped his hand when he had slipped in beside **** in the low seat of the roadster. "You're all right, Captain Nemo!--only I'm going to be so brash as to call you Larry after this," **** had said.
"If you'll let me, you and I are going to be buddies."
He was all right, **** was. **** Sherwood was a thoroughbred.
And there was another matter which had pleased him. The Duchess had called him up that morning, had congratulated him in terms so brief that they sounded perfunctory, but which Larry realized had all his grandmother's heart in them, and had said she wanted him to take over the care of all her houses--those she had put up as bail for him. When could he come in to see her about this? . . . He understood this dusty-seeming, stooped, inarticulate grandmother of his as he had not before. Considering what her life had been, she also was a brick.
But notwithstanding all this, Larry was lonely--hungrily lonely--and was very much in doubt. Miss Sherwood had spoken to him fair enough the night before--yet he really did not know just how he stood with her. And then--Maggie. That was what meant most to him just now. True, Maggie had emerged safe through perils without and within; and to get her through to some such safety as now was hers had been his chief concern these many months. He wanted to see her, to speak to her. But he did not know what her attitude toward him would now be. He did not know how to go about finding her. He was not even certain where she had spent the night. He wanted to see her, yet was apulse with fear of seeing her. She would not be hostile, he knew that much; but she might not love him; and at the best a meeting would be awkward, with so wide a gap in their lives to be bridged. . . .
He was brooding thus when there was a loud knocking at his door.
Without waiting for his invitation to enter, the door was flung open, and Hunt strode in leaving the door wide behind him. His face was just one great, excited grin. He gave Larry a thump upon the back, which almost knocked Larry over, and then pulled him back to equilibrium by seizing a hand in both of his, and then almost shook it off.
"Larry, my son," exploded the big painter, "I've just done it! And I did it just as you ordered me to! Forgot that Miss Sherwood and I had had a falling out, and as per your orders I walked straight up to her and asked her. And Larry, you son-of-a-gun, you were right! She said 'yes'!"
"You're lucky, old man!" exclaimed Larry, warmly returning the painter's grip.
"And, Larry, that's not all. You told me I had the clearness of vision of a cold boiled lobster--said I was the greatest fool that ever had brains enough not to paint with the wrong end of an umbrella. Paid me some little compliment like that."
"Something like that," Larry agreed.
"Well, Larry, old son, you were right again! I've been a worse fool than all you said. Been blinder than one of those varnished skulls some tough-stomached people use for paper-weights. After she'd said 'yes' she gave me the inside story of why we had fallen out. And guess why it was?"
"You don't want me to guess. You want to tell me. So go to it."
"Larry, we men will never know how clever women really are!" Hunt shook his head with impressive emphasis. "Nor how they understand our natures--the clever women--nor how well they know how to handle us.
She confessed that our quarrel was, on her part, carefully planned from the beginning with a definite result in view. She told me she'd always believed me a great painter, if I'd only break loose from the pretty things people wanted and paid me so much for. The trouble, as she saw it, was to get me to cut loose from so much easy money and devote myself entirely to real stuff. The only way she could see was for her to tell me I couldn't paint anything worth while, and tell it so straight-out as to make me believe that she believed it--and thus make me so mad that I'd chuck everything and go off to prove to her that I damned well could paint! I certainly got sore--I ducked out of sight, swearing I'd show her--and, oh, well, you know the rest! Tell me now, can you think of anything cleverer than the way she handled me?"
"It's just about what I would expect of Miss Sherwood," Larry commented.
"Excuse me," said a voice behind them. "I found the door open; may I come in?"
Both men turned quickly. Entering was Miss Sherwood.
"Isabel!" exclaimed the happy painter. "I was just telling Larry here--you know!"
Miss Sherwood's tone tried to be severe, and she tried not to smile--and she succeeded in being just herself.
