The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton_ A Novel - Jane Smiley [229]
I smiled sincerely at Papa and put my hand out to him. He took it and kissed it. I was sincerely grateful to him for goading me into coming up with a plan. He stood and bowed himself out of the room, nearly dancing with delight. At supper, half an hour later, Helen asked him why he seemed so happy, and he said, "Trust me, my dear; you shall know soon enough!" He was that certain of my reply.
CHAPTER 25
I Am Recognized
Carpet bags are very useful, to carry the articles to be used on a journey. The best ones have sides inserted, iron rims, and a lock and key. —p. 316
THE FIRST THING I did was to finish my book, although I must say I did so with somewhat different feelings than I had had before Papa’s offer. I no longer felt that living with Mr. Darcy at Pemberley was the be-all and end-all of existence, and I wondered how Elizabeth, who was so witty and lively that it was easy to feel a kinship with her, would assume authority over the invisible but necessary troop of servants. I wondered how she would transform herself from a girl into the representative of an institution so large and public that strangers could appear there and ask to be shown around. Papa’s offer took away some of my gratification in the story, I must say.
The second thing I did was to ask Lorna what had become of my woolen dress. "Well," she said, "I don’ think you need dat thing! It still smells to high heaven, an’ it’s been sitting out in de airin’ shed fo’ two weeks! I had de girl scrub it an’ scrub it wi’ de soda, until de nap is ’bout worn offn de flannel, but I’ll bring it up ifn you want to have a look at it."
"I believe you. I suppose it’s ruined, then."
"Pretty near, but I don’ know. Maybe a few more days of dry weader will do de trick. Mos’ of de last two weeks have been awful damp."
The third thing I did was clean and oil my pistol, then pack it with the percussion caps and the cartridges at the bottom of my bag. That, too, I could sell. I should mention here that Lorna had found the money sewn into my woolen dress and returned it to me. I counted that. There were seven dollars now. The bag (I looked at it critically) was worth very little. Perhaps, as well, I could sell one of the dresses Helen had gotten from the Harrises. The green had turned out quite pretty and unusual-looking, although, of course, any dress of mine was too long in the waist and the skirt to fit most women. But first I had to get someplace where I could sell things. That would be Independence. It had taken me a day to get from Independence to here, but actually, I didn’t know how far a walk Independence was, because I didn’t know how my strength had been affected by my condition, or by my run from that fellow Master Philip. In fact, most of the events after I’d eaten some supper in Independence (or was it dinner?) were exceedingly difficult to remember, rather like sifting through a bucket of sand to find small objects at the bottom.
I did all these things, and made my plans, only by stealing little bits of time and attention from other concerns. I felt that I dared not look as if I was about to bolt, not because I thought Papa would hurt me, or hold me his captive, but because I thought he would renew his suit in ever more pressing terms. Only if he thought he had said enough would he refrain from saying more.
In this time, it also happened that we heard that Governor Shannon of Kansas had resigned his position, telling President Pierce, according to Papa and his friends, that the devils in Kansas were harder to govern than the devils in H—. This sentiment was viewed in Missouri as a judicious observation by an