My Friend the Chauffeur

hich the monk had carried out for her, into the garden. He had quite a gallant air, in his innocent way, as if he were an old beau, instead of a monk, and hi

led gold on her hair, and made her fair skin look milky white, like pearl; then, when she would pass under the arbour of t

for Mamma or me as he did for Maida. And I wonder if one of us had adopted that little scarecrow of a bl

the poor than flirt, every man she's reluctantly forced to meet promptly falls in love with her

seat on this automobile trip; but my name isn't

for we all had breakfast together in the monastery garden and were as "gay

monastery was next best to a convent; Mr. Barrymore was nice to her dog; Sir Ralph and the Prince were both nice to Mamma, and Breakfast (I spell it with a capital t

sciously been paying him a visit all the time, though paying noth

house, which he accepted, so we could bid him good-bye without

place was by the side of Mamma. She comes down two inches in common-sense walking shoes, so of course hills are not for her, now that she's trying to be as beautiful as she feels; but the Prince persuaded her to sit in the tonneau of his car, as it crawled up the st

esently I pretended to be tired, and running after the toiling cars, asked

n" to me in that condescending, uncomfortable way that grown-ups think themselves obliged to use when they're entertaining children. If he h

oring?" he asked

nd I admire Europe almost as much as America So you needn't bother about asking me t

fastidious, I'd better c

e we'll be at Tenda soon, even though the Prince's car is as big as a house, and th

o you take me for?" ex

d, "though the Prince has talked

least little bit right about his being an adventurer. I almost hoped he was, for it would make things so much more romantic. I felt like saying, "Don't mind me, my dear young sir. If you've any

rted. But I thought that he looked a little troubled, as if he were racking his br

my trying to make this ride pleasant for you,

that last tempting morsel of bait? I wondered. The Prince would have snapped at it; but though Mr. Barrymore's title is only that of chauffeur, he is more of a gentleman in hi

urs and Miss Destrey's prese

never more than just a minute of the present, really, if you co

ymore. "You've got more fut

r Maida

part of a second, and gave me such a glance

that?" he aske

d in somebody's future

help bein

-well, beautiful as Maida is I wouldn't change places with her, unless I could change souls as well. It woul

you prophesy gloomy mysteries for one who deserves only happiness. You said something

I imagined that coming to Europe would make her see differently perhaps, but it hadn't the last time I asked her. She thought Paris lots of fun

ing tragically handsome. "Can nothing be done to save her?

lexandra next spring, if she can manage it, and she told Maida that, if she'd tack on a little piece to her year of travel, she might be done too, at the same time. But Maida didn't seem to care particularly abo

things in life

aid poor Maida's doomed. But there's one comfort; she'll look perfec

r a girl like that!" he muttered, more to himself than

id. "Not that I think it's likely you

as even Job couldn't have kept my features from playing (why shouldn't features play, if th

exclaimed. "Ha, h

drearily demand

oming to. It looks for all the world like an ex

s of gloom. "Your unfortunate namesake, poor Beatrice di Tenda, would

" I felt boun

sterday. She seemed interested. Miss Des

he other Beatrice. I suppose, if she was Italian, she was Bice

ferocious Duke Filippo Maria Visconti came riding here from Milan to court the sweetest lady of her day. She didn't care for him, of course, but young women of high rank had less choice in those times than they have in these, and that was the way all the mischief began. She did love somebody else, and the wicked Duke starved her to death in the tower of another

he loved, and sat in a box, and

Ralph, as he stopped the car in front of a machinist's place. "Here we are, Joseph," he called to the

be no more than an hour's wo

hought three would be more lik

ll little hour," reiterated Joseph, and f

intend to ask that you would wait, but if my car can be ready so soon, perhaps you will

any castle," returned

n a castle," said I, pointing up to the tall, tapering

in Dalmatia as well per

own way, in spite of you, now you've set them going! Where would you be then, I'd like to know?" And a horrid creep ran down my spine, at the thought of Prince Dalmar-Kalm as a step-father. Maybe he would shut me up in a tower and starve me