* * * * *
The long and the short of it all is that next day the Fynes made up their
minds to take into their confidence a certain wealthy old lady. With
certain old ladies the passing years bring back a sort of mellowed
youthfulness of feeling, an optimistic outlook, liking for novelty,
readiness for experiment. The old lady was very much interested: "Do let
me see the poor thing!" She was accordingly allowed to see Flora de
Barral in Mrs. Fyne's drawing-room on a day when there was no one else
there, and she preached to her with charming, sympathetic authority: "The
only way to deal with our troubles, my dear child, is to forget them. You
must forget yours. It's very simple. Look at me. I always forget mine.
At your age one ought to be cheerful."
Later on when left alone with Mrs. Fyne she said to that lady: "I do hope
the child will manage to be cheerful. I can't have sad faces near me. At
my age one needs cheerful companions."
And in this hope she carried off Flora de Barral to Bournemouth for the
winter months in the quality of reader and companion. She had said to
her with kindly jocularity: "We shall have a good time together. I am
not a grumpy old woman." But on their return to London she sought Mrs.
Fyne at once. She had discovered that Flora was not naturally cheerful.
When she made efforts to be it was still worse. The old lady couldn't
stand the strain of that. And then, to have the whole thing out, she
could not bear to have for a companion anyone who did not love her. She
was certain that Flora did not love her. Why? She couldn't say.
Moreover, she had caught the girl looking at her in a peculiar way at
times. Oh no!--it was not an evil look--it was an unusual expression
which one could not understand. And when one remembered that her father
was in prison shut up together with a lot of criminals and so on--it made
one uncomfortable. If the child had only tried to forget her troubles!
But she obviously was incapable or unwilling to do so. And that was
somewhat perverse--wasn't it? Upon the whole, she thought it would be
better perhaps-Mrs. Fyne assented hurriedly to the unspoken conclusion: "Oh certainly!
Certainly," wondering to herself what was to be done with Flora next; but
she was not very much surprised at the change in the old lady's view of
Flora de Barral. She almost understood it.