After this Fairy was quite satisfied; Rex loved her, and that was in itself happiness. That he would be true to her she no more doubted than she doubted the sun would rise the next day, and so, though of course she would have preferred him to remain at Oafham and spend his afternoons with her, she acquiesced cheerfully in Mr. Leslie’s plan, and was as bright and happy during the months of October and November as it was possible for even such a little sunbeam to be.
When November dawned, and it was arranged that Fairy should go to the Leslies on the 3rd for a week or two, her excitement was so great that Mrs. Shelley told her if she did not take care she would be ill and unable to go, at which she only laughed, and said there was no fear of her being ill, and as for eating, she was much too happy to be hungry. One little thing was rather troubling Fairy; she was half afraid her dress was not quite all it ought to be for such a grand gentleman as Rex’s father, whose acquaintance she was to make on the 5th. If it had only been summer-time it would not have mattered, for nothing could be prettier than one of her simple white frocks; they would do for anyone or anything; but she could not wear a thin white dress in November. Her best winter dress was a red merino, new for the occasion, and as she dressed herself in it when it came home, she could not help acknowledging inwardly, as she glanced at her dainty little self in the glass, her delicate complexion set off to the best advantage by the dark red merino, if she only had some lace to put round the throat, her toilet would compare favourably with the blue silks of the Leslie girls.
THE LEWES CARNIVAL.
Perhaps there was some lace among the things she had on when John Shelley found her; she believed there was, so, unlocking the drawer in which she had always kept these relics, she pulled them out and glanced at them. There on the top lay the blue satin quilt, the large piece missing which she had cut out years ago to make a shaving-case for Jack. Poor Jack! Where was he now? What would he say to her engagement? Would he be pleased at it? Somehow Fairy feared he would not. But there was enough of the quilt left to make a shaving-case for Rex; it would be just the thing for him, and nice work to do at the Leslies’, so the remains of the quilt were packed up to go with her. Then came the red Indian shawl, in which the baron had wrapped his little daughter. How handsome it was! Why, not one of the Leslie girls had such a handsome shawl as this, all embroidered with gold. She would certainly take this with her; it would do beautifully to wrap round her in the balcony from which they were to watch the carnival. Rex would like this shawl, she was sure, so that, too, was packed up. All the other little garments, yellow with being laid up so long, were now looked through to see if there was any lace that would do, but no, it was all too narrow, and Fairy was about to shut the drawer when she caught hold of the lace handkerchief which had been tucked into her dress under her chin as a feeder when she was found. She looked at it with a critical eye. How fine it was, and what lovely lace, and how pretty that crest and coronet worked in the corner were! This handkerchief was the very thing; she would fold it so that the corner with the crest showed, and wear it round her throat instead of a lace tucker.
So the handkerchief was packed up with the other things, and on Monday afternoon Fairy went to the Leslies to stay. The carnival was not till Wednesday evening, but she hoped to see Rex on Tuesday, as she knew he was expected to reach Oafham before then. Nor was she disappointed, for on Tuesday morning Rex arrived to lunch, and spent a long afternoon.
Fairy found he was most anxious she should make a conquest of his father, and seemed to think their future happiness depended in a great measure upon the effect she produced upon Mr. de Courcy, so that Rex was looking forward to the carnival with somewhat mixed feelings, and, to the disappointment of the Leslies, could not be persuaded to appear in fancy dress, which they assured him was the correct thing for young men in all ranks of life on this unique occasion. But Rex refused, declaring he only intended to be a spectator, and his time would be fully occupied in taking care of Fairy, which no one for one moment doubted. Since masks were considered indispensable, he agreed to wear a wire mask to protect his face from the squibs and crackers, which are recklessly flung in all directions, often doing serious injury to some of the passers-by, but this was the utmost he would concede, and Fairy seconded him, declaring that though she liked him very much as he was, she was by no means sure how she would like him if he were dressed up like another person.
The Leslies had hired a window in the High-street, and here Mr. de Courcy and Rex were to meet them at seven o’clock to watch the revelry, and then they were all to return to the rectory to supper. Fairy, who had of course often seen the carnival before, was full of childish delight at the prospect, and kept assuring Rex it was the most wonderful sight he had ever seen; there was nothing like it in England; she was sure he would be enchanted; the only drawback was there were sure to be one or two riots, as some turbulent spirits always insulted the Roman Catholics before the evening was over.
“Well, I hope they won’t insult my father; he is a Roman Catholic,” said Rex.
“Your father a Roman Catholic, Rex! Are you one, too?” asked Fairy, turning a little pale.