My Lady Caprice | Page 6

gratitude.
Hay you got any Aunties?" he inquired, as I laboured upon his miry
person.
"No," I answered, shaking my head; "unfortunately mine are all Aunts
and that is vastly different."
"Oh," said the Imp, regarding me with a puzzled expression; "are they
nice - I mean do they ever read to out of the history book, and help you
to sail boats, an' paddle?"
"Paddle?" I repeated
"Yes. My Auntie Lisbeth does. The other day we got up awfull' early
an' went for a walk an' we came to the river, so we took off our shoes
an' stockings an' we paddled; it was ever so jolly, you know. An' when
Auntie wasn't looking I found a frog an' put it in her stocking."
"Highly strategic, my Imp! Well?"
"It was awful funny," he said, smiling dreamily. "When she went to put
it on she gave a little high-up scream like Dorothy does when I pinch
her a bit - an' then she throwed them both away, 'cause she was afraid
there was frogs in both of them. Then she put on her shoes without any

stockings at all, so I hid them."
"Where?" I cried eagerly.
"Reggie!" called a voice some distance away - a voice I recognised
with a thrill. "Reggie!"
"Imp, would you like half a crown?"
"'Course I would; but you might clean my back, please," and he began
rubbing himself feverishly with his cap, after the fashion of a scrubbing
brush.
"Look here," I said, pulling out the coin, "tell me where you hid them -
quick - and I'll give you this." The Imp held out his hand, but even as
he did so the bushes parted and Lisbeth stood before us. She gave a
little, low cry of surprise at sight of me, and then frowned.
"You?" she exclaimed.
"Yes," I answered, raising my cap. And there I stopped, trying
frantically to remember the speech I had so carefully prepared - the
greeting which was to have explained my conduct and disarmed her
resentment at the very outset. But rack my brain as I would, I could
think of nothing but the reproach in her eyes - her disdainful mouth and
chin - and that one haunting phrase:
"'I suppose I am become the object of your bitterest scorn by now?'" I
found myself saying.
"My aunt informed me of - of everything, and naturally - "
"Let me explain," I began.
"Really, it is not at all necessary."
"But, Lisbeth, I must - I insist - "
"Reginald," she said, turning toward the Imp, who was still busy with
his cap, "it's nearly tea-time, and - why, whatever have you been doing
to yourself?"
"For the last half hour," I interposed, "we have been exchanging our
opinions on the sex."
"An' talking 'bout worms," added the Imp. "This man is fond of worms,
too, Auntie Lisbeth - I like him."
"Thanks," I said; "but let me beg of you to drop your very distant mode
of address, Call me Uncle Dick,"
"But you're not my Uncle Dick, you know," he demurred.
"Not yet, perhaps; but there's no knowing what may happen some day
if your Auntie thinks us worthy - so take time by the forelock, my Imp,

and call me Uncle Dick."
Whatever Lisbeth might or might not have said was checked by the
patter of footsteps, and a little girl tripped into view, with a small,
fluffy kitten cuddled in her arms.
"Oh, Auntie Lisbeth,"she began, but stopped to stare at me over the
back of the fluffy kitten. "Hallo, Dorothy!" cried the imp; "this is Uncle
Dick. You can come an' shake hands with him if you like."
"I didn't know I had an Uncle Dick," said Dorothy, hesitating.
"Oh, yes; it's all right," answered the Imp reassuringly. "I found him,
you know, an' he likes worms, too!"
"How do you do, Uncle Dick?" she said in a quaint, old-fashioned way.
"Reginald is always finding things, you know, an' he likes worms, too!"
Dorothy gave me her hand demurely.
>From somewhere near by there came the silvery chime of a bell.
"Why, there's the tea-bell!" exclaimed Lisbeth; "and, Reginald, you
have to change those muddy clothes. Say good-bye to Mr. Brent,
children, and come along."
"Imp," I whispered as the others turned away, "where did you hide
those stockings?" And I slipped the half crown into his ready palm.
"Along the river there's a tree - very big an' awfull' fat, you know, with
a lot of stickie-out branches, an' a hole in its stomach - they're in there."
"Reginald!" called Lisbeth.
"Up stream or down?"
"That way," he answered, pointing vaguely down stream; and with a
nod that brought the yellow curls over his eyes he scampered off.
"Along