Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-03-18
LOVE TN A COTTAGE.
BY DoRoTHEA DEAK1N.

I found her in the hall, sticky with
rose-colored paint and kissed her un-
der the very eye Of a large and forbid
ding housemaid. who was busting the
bottom stair
"Oh." Hernia cried, smiling at me
with fresh and delightful face, its
you, Is it?" implying that she would
have given just such another greeting
to any stray man who happened to call.
Come into the schoolroom. Walk
through the very middle Of the door,
because I'm painting the jambs. You
may have noticed that I'm rather
panty"
"You remind me of my errand," re-
marked
You have heard me speak of Gun
hilda?"
Thousands of times" Hermia's
tone grew suddenly cold. you told
me she was married and done for"
"She married two years ago." said l,
sadly. "She wants me to take you to
lunch with her to-day"
"She is very kind" Hermia's voice
expressed chill Indifference
Il thought we might drive over in the
pony carriage"
"Gunhilda," said | an hour later,
when Hernia. charming in green mus
lin and an apple-blossom hat, was
tucked into the pony cart beside me
and had induced the beast to start,
"Gunhilda is born housewife Clever
rs she Is, she always liked her cookery
and laundry classes better ttan any of
her real studies, and even Al her affiu-
ent days she made her own gowns.
Beautiful clinging garments of liberty
silk they were"
We knocked once, twice, three times
then waited. Not until we had decided
that we would have to lunch at con-
fectioner's in the town did the door
open. 1t opened suddenly. A fair
young man stood on the threshold and
blinked at us silently, with half-shut,
hight blue eyes.
''Mr. Dosell-Smith? l asked, with
hesitation.
The young man ran tobacco stained
angers through the rumple of light hair
en- his forehead.
81 am Dosell-Smith. You want to see
me?"
"Gunhilda," murmured lamely.
Mrs. Dosell-Smith--"
He smiled genia1ly
please come in. Gunhilda will be
charmed. I had no idea-she is in her
study, believe Why not go in and sur
prise herr"
But Gunhilda met us in the hall |
realized that she was lovelier than ever.
She shook hands with me and looked
inquiringly at Hernia.
This" | said, hurriedly, Us Mrs.
DosellSmith, Hermia-Gunhilda allow
me-Miss Grayrigg."
"Sit down Miss Grayrigg. IF your
gown is ciean %. maps you'd better dust
the seat first. There's buster some
where, | know had it to hold the l1et-
tie with this moving. Find 1t, Teddy,
there's a good boy
Teddy couldn't find the buster, but he
used his pocket handkerchief and
sighed.
Il don't know where anything is,'
Gunhilda said in tone of magnificent
Indifference, which was hardly calcu-
lated to raise my hopes. And l feel
rather worried about the baby. l put
it somewhere when | heard you knock,
and l can't think where. I generally
know where it is by the noise it makes,
but it seems to be asleep"
The door closed upon Hernia. Gun
hilda, after a moments thought, fol
lowed her. Dosell-Smith and l were
left alone. He turned to me and spoke
in a whimsical voice-half sad, half
tender-but wholly tolerant.
please forgive us for this. We are
a couple of careless children playing at
housekeeping. l am afraid we play the
game about as badly as 1t can be played.
Gunhilda is too beautiful and too clever
to be wasted on this drudgery, but she
chose to marry poor man, and"
He shrugged his shoulders.
We laid the table. found a glass
dish of butter in one Of the pigeonholes
of Gunhildas davenport In close COM
pany with an impudent pink sock. The
loaf of bread was already on the study
table and the half pot of honey and
half dozen of bass were a discovery of
Hermias when she came downstairs
with the baby.
He was not handsome child, should
say, although am not Judge He still
wore the fellow to the pink sock had
found in Gunhilda's desk, and he went
to sleep wherever he happened to be
put down.
We left early l saw by Gunhildas
eye that she was going to ask us to help