She grew obstinate, too. When in his desperation
Stewart suggested that they go back to Vienna she
openly scoffed.
“Why?” she demanded. “That
you may come back here to her, leaving me there?”
“My dear girl,” he flung back exasperated,
“this affair was not a permanent one. You
knew that at the start.”
“You have taken me away from my work. I
have two months’ vacation. It is but one
month.”
“Go back and let me pay—”
“No!”
In pursuance of the plan to leave the hotel the American
party came to see the Waldheim, and catastrophe almost
ensued. Luckily Marie was on the balcony when
the landlady flung open the door, and announced it
as Stewart’s apartment. But Stewart had
a bad five minutes and took it out, manlike, on the
girl.
Stewart had another reason for not wishing to leave
Semmering. Anita was beautiful, a bit of a coquette,
too; as are most pretty women. And Stewart was
not alone in his devotion. A member of the party,
a New Yorker named Adam, was much in love with the
girl and indifferent who knew it. Stewart detested
him.
In his despair Stewart wrote to Peter Byrne.
It was characteristic of Peter that, however indifferent
people might be in prosperity, they always turned
to him in trouble. Stewart’s letter concluded:—
“I have made out a poor case for myself; but
I’m in a hole, as you can see. I would
like to chuck everything here and sail for home with
these people who go in January. But, confound
it, Byrne, what am I to do with Marie? And that
brings me to what I ’ve been wanting to say
all along, and haven’t had the courage to.
Marie likes you and you rather liked her, didn’t
you? You could talk her into reason if anybody
could. Now that you know how things are, can’t
you come up over Sunday? It’s asking a lot,
and I know it; but things are pretty bad.”
Peter received the letter on the morning of the day
before Christmas. He read it several times and,
recalling the look he had seen more than once in Marie
Jedlicka’s eyes, he knew that things were very
bad, indeed.
But Peter was a man of family in those days, and Christmas
is a family festival not to be lightly ignored.
He wired to Stewart that he would come up as soon
as possible after Christmas. Then, because of
the look in Marie’s eyes and because he feared
for her a sad Christmas, full of heartaches and God
knows what loneliness, he bought her a most hideous
brooch, which he thought admirable in every way and
highly ornamental and which he could not afford at
all. This he mailed, with a cheery greeting, and
feeling happier and much poorer made his way homeward.
Christmas-Eve in the saloon of Maria Theresa!
Christmas-Eve, with the great chandelier recklessly
ablaze and a pig’s head with cranberry eyes
for supper! Christmas-Eve, with a two-foot tree
gleaming with candles on the stand, and beside the
stand, in a huge chair, Jimmy!
