Who Would Have Thought It?. María Ruiz de Burton
"What is your name?" asked Ruth.
The child looked at her, then at the doctor, and went on eating her supper silently.
"She doesn't understand," said Ruth.
"Yes, she does; but, not liking your manner, she disdains to answer your question," replied the doctor.
Mrs. Norval suppressed a groan. She could not swallow a single mouthful.
"Indians are as proud and surly as they are treacherous," observed Lavinia. "I suppose she is a mixture of Indian and negro."
"Your supposition, being very sagacious and kind, does honor to your head and heart; but it happens that this child has no more Indian or negro blood than you or I have," said the doctor, testily, evidently losing patience.
"I thought she might be Aztec," said Lavinia, apologetically; but the doctor did not answer her, and there was another awkward silence.
Mr. Hackwell was sorry he had stayed to tea. He had anticipated a very pleasant conversation, and amusing accounts from the doctor, who was very witty and told a story charmingly. But instead of this there had been nothing but sparring about the little black child. Mrs. Norval had utterly lost patience, and the doctor seemed in a fair way to the same point. Mr. Hackwell stirred his second cup of tea slowly, thinking what he should do to change the conversation. He would first propitiate the doctor by showing some kindness to the child. How should he begin? He took a slice of bread and buttered it nicely; then he took some jelly, and spread it on the butter, and presented it to the child with a smile.
"Thank you, sir," said the little girl, in very good English.
"Why, the little 'possum! She speaks English, and very likely has understood what has been said," Mattie exclaimed.
"She has understood every word," the doctor answered, "and doubtless is impressed with your kindness."
"That is a pity," said Mr. Hackwell; and, addressing the child in his blandest manner, he asked, "What is your name, my little girl? Won't you tell me?"
"My name is Maria Dolores Medina; but I have been always called Lola or Lolita," she answered, in the plainest English.
"And have you understood all we said since you arrived?" asked Mattie.
Lola nodded her head in the affirmative, and stole a furtive look toward Mrs. Norval, which was very piquant. The doctor and Mr. Hackwell laughed, and so did Mattie; but, as Mrs. Norval colored with vexation, Lavinia did not dare to join in the laugh, whilst Ruth was too deeply absorbed in thinking how she could fix her old grenadine dress to give it a new look for the christening of Mrs. Hammerhard's baby.
As soon as tea was over, the doctor called Bingham, the gardener, and asked him if he had found the men to help with the boxes, to which Bingham answered in the affirmative. The doctor then told him to go and fetch them.
"What is the matter now?" exclaimed Mrs. Norval, seeing seven men enter the hall, preceded by Bingham, and followed by the doctor's body-servant, Dandy Jim.
"The matter is, that these men have come to take my boxes up-stairs," said the doctor. "Put them in Master Julian's room, Jim."
"Why not take them at once to the garret? In Julian's room they will tear the carpet to pieces," Mrs. Norval remonstrated.
"We'll risk that. I don't want to take my specimens to the garret until I assort them. Besides, the boxes are too broad to go up the narrow staircase of the garret-rooms."
" Then why not leave them where they are? Afterwards you can assort your specimens down here."
" Because I propose to do that up-stairs."
Mrs. Norval bit her lip. She could almost have cried with vexation. The doctor was more persistent than ever in foolish whims. What a miserable wife she was! But now Mr. Hackwell said some kind words to her, praising her great forbearance and amiability under so many exasperating trials, then, pressing her hand to bid her good-night, took leave of the doctor in the hall, where he was superintending the moving of his boxes, bowed good-night to the young ladies, and left.
Lavinia sighed, watching his retreating form, and Ruth smiled contemptuously, whilst Miss Mattie stood up and made a motion with her foot as if giving a kick to some imaginary object before her.
"For shame! you are no longer a child, miss, to indulge in such unlady-like antics!" said Mrs. Norval, sternly. But the doctor laughed, and patted Mattie on the back; and Mattie hung on her father's neck and whispered something which made him laugh more.
After all the boxes were safely deposited in Julian's room-which adjoined Mrs. Norval's bed-chamberthere was one more discussion to get through, and that was the most difficult to dispose of. The question as to where Lola was to sleep, had to be decided.
The doctor said she should have a room to herself, and, as there was none ready for her, she should occupy either Julian's room or share that of the girls with them: Lavinia's being too small to admit another bed.
But Mrs. Norval was so shocked at this that the doctor, tired as he was in body by his journey, and in mind by all the harassing little incidents and disputes which had occurred since his arrival, left the matter for that night to his wife's discretion. The child, then, was sent with Hannah to share her room for the night.
The doctor kissed Lola several times and embraced her to bid her good-night, and she, sobbing as if her heart would break, and looking back several times as she left the room, went away to sleep the sleep of the orphan under that inhospitable roof.
CHAPTER IV.
WHAT THE MYSTERIOUS BOXES CONTAINED.
"Don't you know, doctor, that you kissed that Indian child more affectionately than you kissed your own daughters?" said Mrs. Norval to her husband, fiercely, when they had closed their bedroom door to the outer world.
"Maybe I did; for I pity the poor orphan. My daughters, thank God, have yet their parents to take care of them; but this poor little waif has no one in the world, perhaps, to protect her and care for her but myself."
"As for that, she'll get along well enough. She is not so timid as to need anybody's particular protection. Her eyes are bold enough. She will learn to work,-I'll see to that, -and a good worker is sure of a home in New England. Mrs. Hammerhard will want just such a girl as this, I hope, to mind the baby, and she will give her some of her cast-off clothes and her victuals."
"Cast-off clothes and victuals!" the doctor repeated, as if he could not believe that his ears had heard rightly.
"Why, yes. We certainly couldn't expect Mrs. Hammerhard would give more to a girl ten years old, to mind a little baby in the cradle."
"And how is she to go to school, if she is to mind Mrs. Hammerhard's baby for old clothes and cold victuals?"
"Doctor," said Mrs. Norval, tying her night-cap with deliberation, "I said nothing about cold victuals. She can eat her victuals cold or warm, just as she likes: this is a free country. But I do say this, that this is the first day I have laid eyes on you for four years (you left in '53, and now we are in '57), and I think it is very hard that this first day we should have so many disagreeables about a stranger, and that an Indian child. I'll do the best I can for her: I shall do my duty as a Christian woman; but she can't expect to grow up in idleness and be a burden to us.
She must learn to work and earn her living. In the winters, perhaps, she might go to school at nights; I'll see what I can do about that. She will go to our Sunday-school, of course; but-"
"She will go to Sunday-school if any one will teach her the Catholic Catechism, but certainly not the Presbyterian," said the doctor, pulling his coat off, as if making ready to fight on that point; "and as for her learning to work, she will learn to do what ladies learn, and she will suit herself in that, when she has finished her education."