Rosamond; or, The Youthful Error | Page 3

was to exert so strong an
influence upon his future life.

CHAPTER II.
ROSAMOND LEYTON.
Rosamond had been some weeks at Riverside, and during all that time
Mr. Browning had scarcely noticed her at all. On the first day of her
arrival he had spoken kindly to her, asking her how old she was, and
how long her mother had been dead, and this was all the attention he
had paid to her. He did not even yet know the color of her eyes, or
texture of her hair,--whether it were curly or straight, black or brown;
but he knew in various ways that she was there--knew it by the sound
of dancing feet upon the stairs, which were wont to echo only to Mrs.
Peters' heavy tread--knew it by the tasteful air his room suddenly
assumed--by the ringing laugh and musical songs which came often
from the kitchen, and by the thousand changes which the presence of a
merry-hearted girl of thirteen brings to a hitherto silent house. Of him
Rosamond stood considerably in awe, and though she could willingly
have worshipped him for giving her so pleasant a home, she felt afraid
of him and kept out of his way, watching him with childish curiosity at
a distance, admiring his noble figure, and wondering if she would ever
dare speak to him as fearlessly as Mrs. Peters did.
From this woman Rosamond received all a mother's care, and though
the name of her lost parent was often on her lips, she was beginning to
be very happy in her new home, when one day toward the middle of
October Mrs. Peters told her that Mr. Browning's only sister, a Mrs.
Van Vechten, who lived South, was coming to Riverside, together with
her son Ben. The lady Mrs. Peters had never seen, but Ben, who was at
school in Albany, had spent a vacation there, and she described him as
a "great, good-natured fool," who cared for nothing but dogs, cigars,
fast horses and pretty girls.
Rosamond pushed back the stray curls which had fallen over her face,
glanced at the cracked mirror which gave her two noses instead of one,
and thinking to herself, "I wonder if he'll care for me," listened
attentively while Mrs. Peters continued,--"This Miss Van Vechten is a
mighty fine lady, they say, and has heaps of niggers to wait on her at

home,--but she can't bring 'em here, for I should set 'em free--that's, so.
I don't b'lieve in't. What was I sayin'? Oh, I know, she can't wait on
herself, and wrote to have her brother get some one. He asked me if
you'd be willin' to put on her clothes, wash her face, and chaw her
victuals like enough."
"Mr. Browning never said that," interrupted Rosamond, and Mrs. Peters
replied--"Well, not that exactly, but he wants you to wait on her
generally."
"I'll do anything reasonable," answered Rosamond. "When will she be
here?" "I'll do anything reasonable," answered Rosamond, "I must
hurry, or I shan't have them north chambers ready for her. Ben ain't
coming quite so soon."
The two or three days passed rapidly, and at the close of the third a
carriage laden with trunks stopped before the gate at Riverside, and
Mrs. Van Vechten had come. She was a thin, sallow-faced,
proud-looking woman, wholly unlike her brother, whose senior she was
by many years. She had seen much of the world, and that she was
conscious of her own fancied superiority was perceptible in every
movement. She was Mrs. Richard Van Vechten, of Alabama--one of
the oldest families in the state. Her deceased husband had been United
States Senator--she had been to Europe--had seen the Queen on
horseback--had passed the residence of the Duchess of Sutherland, and
when Rosamond Leyton appeared before her in her neatly-fitting dress
of black and asked what she could do for her, she elevated her
eyebrows, and coolly surveying the little girl, answered haughtily,
"Comb out my hair."
"Yes, I will," thought Rosamond, who had taken a dislike to the grand
lady, and suiting the action to the thought, she did comb out her hair,
pulling it so unmercifully that Mrs. Van Vechten angrily bade her stop.
"Look at me, girl," said she; "did you ever assist at any one's toilet
before?"
"I've hooked Mrs. Peters' dress and pinned on Bridget's collar,"

answered Rosamond, her great brown eyes brimming with mischief.
"Disgusting!" returned Mrs. Van Vechten--"I should suppose Ralph
would know better than to get me such an ignoramus. Were you hired
on purpose to wait on me?"
"Why, no, ma'am--I live here," answered Rosamond.
"Live here!" repeated Mrs. Van Vechten, "and pray, what do you do?"
"Nothing much, unless I choose," said Rosamond, who, being a great
pet with Mrs. Peters and the other servants,