MORE GREETINGS.
"And you won't think better of it? Hilda, I am in despair! Think of it, my dear! Calvé, and both the De Reszkes—there will never be such a performance again, perhaps, in our lifetimes! And all the good time we should have between the acts—and our box will be simply full of people all the evening—oh, you must come, Hilda Grahame!"
People said of Helena Desmond that if she had a fault, it was that of speaking too loud. She was so full of the joy of living, so powerful and vigorous in all her emotions, pleasurable or painful, that her clear, resonant voice was apt to be heard like the sound of a trumpet, dominating other and feebler organs. Mrs. Delansing, sitting erect behind her tea equipage, heard it, and shivered slightly; but Hildegarde's reply was spoken so low that she could not catch a syllable. Then came: "No, no, I shouldn't! Don't tell me! I should do nothing of the sort! We are to take our opportunities as they come,—time enough for sacrifices when Lent comes. You know I don't mean that, Hilda; and you know you are a dear, dear,—" here followed the sound of good hearty kisses, and Mrs. Delansing shivered again; then the door closed with a solid slam, and all was silent.
Hildegarde came into the room, her hands full of roses.
"Aunt Emily," she said, "Helena Desmond sent you these! She would have come in, but she was late already for a reception. Aren't they lovely?"
Mrs. Delansing bent her head over the flowers; they were among the few things she enjoyed.
"Beautiful!" she said. "It was very kindly done of Miss Desmond. I should have been glad to see her. Was—was that she at the door, speaking so loud?"
"Yes," said Hildegarde. "She was speaking rather loud, perhaps; but her voice is so musical, I don't think one minds it in her, somehow. She is a glorious creature!"
Mrs. Delansing seemed absent and disturbed. "She—it is not always possible to avoid overhearing portions of conversations, when carried on in a high key—I gathered that some invitation had been extended to you, Hildegarde—for this evening."
"Yes!" said Hildegarde, rather reluctantly. "She wanted me to go to the opera with her, but I didn't think I would better."