The Treasure of Netherstrand

Chapter 20

It was seven o'clock, and Gracie's heart was beating fast with nervous anticipation.

"Aunt Amelia, do you think Arthur is excited to come and see me?" she asked.

"I suppose he is." The simple answer was disappointing to say the least.

"It has been so long since we have been together. Do you think he will be surprised at how much I have grown?"

"Undoubtedly. You were only four years old. But then," Amelia added thoughtfully, "he is a doctor. I am sure he won't be very surprised by your stature. He is used to seeing children of all ages and sizes."

Amelia, Grace, and Enna were all sitting before a great ornate mirror in Mrs. Carlyle's dressing room. The lady was applying rouge to her cheeks and her smiling lips. She looked as perfect as a picture with her blond hair hanging in ringlets against her face, and with her flimsy dress billowing all around her. Beside her, Enna was sitting on a stool letting a maid fix her hair, and Grace was sorting through her aunt's array of perfume bottles.

After a minute, Mrs. Carlyle rose from her place at the vanity and turned toward the girls. An admiring, proud smile dawned over her face. "Oh, how beautiful you look!" she sighed.

Gracie's heart glowed. "Really?" she asked. But her joy faded the next instant because her aunt wasn't looking at her at all.

"Enna, you are a picture worth painting!" Amelia exclaimed. "Look at you! My pretty little poppet! Rosy cheeks, golden hair, perfect face! You will be the envy of all the other girls when you grow up!"

With a humbler smile and a shy voice, Grace stole her aunt's attention. "Auntie, do I look alright?" she asked.

Amelia stepped back and studied her from head to toe. "You...are coming along nicely," she answered thoughtfully. "But, Dora," she added, speaking to the maid, "can you not do something more with her hair? It just...it lacks something."

Gracie dropped her eyes to the ground, sadly disappointed again. The maid and Amelia worked tirelessly to make her look nice. By the end of it, she looked very much like a china doll. But she felt like a broken one.

"Well, dearest, you will have to do," Mrs. Carlyle decided at length. "Yes, I have convinced myself. You look very pretty!"

"I do?" Grace gasped excitedly. "Really? Do I really, Aunt?" A nod of Amelia's stately head made the girl feel like bursting with relief and joy. "Oh, thank you! Thank you! I am so glad! Do you think Arthur will think so? Do you think he will like me? Will he be proud of me?"

"Grace, really! Compose yourself, darling. You are likely to frighten your brother if you behave in that unseemly manner! What did I tell you just this morning about how a lady should behave?"

The warm blush on Gracie's cheeks faded back to white. "That I am not to appear desperate," she answered.

"That is right. For you, the less you say, the more refined and agreeable you will seem. Arthur does not wish to be assailed by a dozen childish questions. He is a full-grown man, a man of importance! Your brother is a very well-respected doctor. Always remember, Grace, that you are to reverence and fear him as your elder. You must obey all of his commands, you mustn't speak unless you are spoken to, and if you must make a request, do it with the greatest humility."

"If I...must?" Grace repeated worriedly. "But, can I not ask him for anything I want or need whenever I wish?"

"Certainly not, child! Such a quantity of requests would be sure to annoy him. He has enough on his mind. He does not need you to be an extra burden on him." Amelia took a look at her niece and frowned in disapproval. "Grace, my dear, you are always so pale!"