The Courtship of Susan Bell | Page 9

I don't know," said Susan, who had seen the blush.
Mrs. Bell had seen the blush also, and pursed her mouth up, and looked
grave. Had there been no stammering and no blush, she might have
thought nothing of it.
Aaron saw at once that his little gift was not to go down smoothly. He
was, however, in for it now, so he picked it out from among the other
papers in the case and brought it over to Susan. He endeavoured to
hand it to her with an air of indifference, but I cannot say that he
succeeded.
It was a very pretty, well-finished, water-coloured drawing,
representing still the same bridge, but with more adjuncts. In Susan's
eyes it was a work of high art. Of pictures probably she had seen but
little, and her liking for the artist no doubt added to her admiration. But
the more she admired it and wished for it, the stronger was her feeling
that she ought not to take it.
Poor Susan! she stood for a minute looking at the drawing, but she said
nothing; not even a word of praise. She felt that she was red in the face,
and uncourteous to their lodger; but her mother was looking at her and
she did not know how to behave herself.
Mrs. Bell put out her hand for the sketch, trying to bethink herself as
she did so in what least uncivil way she could refuse the present. She
took a moment to look at it collecting her thoughts, and as she did so
her woman's wit came to her aid.
"Oh dear, Mr. Dunn, it is very pretty; quite a beautiful picture. I cannot
let Susan rob you of that. You must keep that for some of your own
particular friends."
"But I did it for her," said Aaron innocently.
Susan looked down at the ground, half pleased at the declaration. The
drawing would look very pretty in a small gilt frame put over her
dressing-table. But the matter now was altogether in her mother's
hands.
"I am afraid it is too valuable, sir, for Susan to accept."

"It is not valuable at all," said Aaron, declining to take it back from the
widow's hand.
"Oh, I am quite sure it is. It is worth ten dollars at least--or twenty,"
said poor Mrs. Bell, not in the very best taste. But she was perplexed,
and did not know how to get out of the scrape. The article in question
now lay upon the table-cloth, appropriated by no one, and at this
moment Hetta came into the room.
"It is not worth ten cents," said Aaron, with something like a frown on
his brow. "But as we had been talking about the bridge, I thought Miss
Susan would accept it."
"Accept what?" said Hetta. And then her eye fell upon the drawing and
she took it up.
"It is beautifully done," said Mrs. Bell, wishing much to soften the
matter; perhaps the more so that Hetta the demure was now present. "I
am telling Mr. Dunn that we can't take a present of anything so
valuable."
"Oh dear no," said Hetta. "It wouldn't be right."
It was a cold frosty evening in March, and the fire was burning brightly
on the hearth. Aaron Dunn took up the drawing quietly-- very
quietly--and rolling it up, as such drawings are rolled, put it between
the blazing logs. It was the work of four evenings, and his
chef-d'oeuvre in the way of art.
Susan, when she saw what he had done, burst out into tears. The widow
could very readily have done so also, but she was able to refrain herself,
and merely exclaimed--"Oh, Mr. Dunn!"
"If Mr. Dunn chooses to burn his own picture, he has certainly a right
to do so," said Hetta.
Aaron immediately felt ashamed of what he had done; and he also
could have cried, but for his manliness. He walked away to one of the
parlour-windows, and looked out upon the frosty night. It was dark, but
the stars were bright, and he thought that he should like to be walking
fast by himself along the line of rails towards Balston. There he stood,
perhaps for three minutes. He thought it would be proper to give Susan
time to recover from her tears.
"Will you please to come to your tea, sir?" said the soft voice of Mrs.
Bell.
He turned round to do so, and found that Susan was gone. It was not

quite in her power to recover from her tears in three minutes. And then
the drawing had been so beautiful! It had been done expressly for her
too! And there had been something, she knew not what, in his eye as he
had so declared. She had