Will You Love Me in September

The weeks passed peacefully, and I believed that the incident of the cards had had a good effect on Sabrina. The only one who had been angry was Aimee, and she did not care enough about her to want to upset her.

She spent a great deal of time with me and seemed to have lost some of her resentment toward Lance. I thought she was growing to like him. She thought Jean-Louis was a silly baby and Nanny Goswell sillier still to dote on him as she did. She was fond of Nanny Curlew, who was quite immune to her wiles, and Sabrina respected her for that.

That she was growing even closer to me there was no doubt.

She learned her lessons with me and was bright and eager to learn. She did not want a governess and was anxious to show me that I could teach her far better than anyone else could. All she wanted was for me to be with her as much as possible; then she was happy.

There were only infrequent lapses now-little flashes of mischief, such as shutting Jean-Louis in the pantry, whither she had lured him with promises of procuring some pigeon pie for him. When we were all frantically searching for him she revealed what she had done, and we found Jean-Louis fast asleep on the floor, after having partaken too freely of pigeon pie.

"He likes food so much," she said demurely, "that I thought it would be kind to shut him in with lots of it.”

"He might have gorged himself sick," said Nanny Goswell indignantly.

"Then that would have been a good lesson for him," said Sabrina severely.

"It's someone else that wants to learn a lesson," retorted Nanny Goswell.

Nanny Curlew said some punishment must be inflicted, and Sabrina was sent to bed.

I went up at that time when she should be going to sleep to find her reading a book.

"I like being sent to bed," she said complacently.

I tried to explain how worried we had all been about Jean-Louis, and she flung her arms about my neck and said she hadn't meant to worry me-only old Aunt Aimee. "She ought to worry," she said. "She takes Lance away from you with those silly old cards.”

There was no doubt of her love for me; as for myself, she supplied that need in my nature for the child my marriage so far had failed to produce.

There was another occasion-a card party once more. We had dined, and just as our guests were about to go into the card room there was a sound on the stairs and there stood Sabrina. She had dressed herself in one of my more elaborate gowns, which hung loose about her and trailed on the floor. That was not all; she had touched her cheeks with carmine, her face was thickly powdered and she had placed a patch on her chin.

She was wearing my emerald necklace, brooch and bezoar ring.

"Sabrina!" I cried.

"I thought I would like to join the card party," she said.

Lance roared with laughter. "Come along then, Sabrina," he said. "What will you play?

We thought of faro for this evening.”

"As you wish," said Sabrina languidly.

Nanny Curlew appeared on the stairs. "Oh, Miss Mischief," she muttered.

"Take Sabrina up," I said. "She thought she would join us, but it is a little late for her.”

"I'm not tired," said Sabrina eagerly.

Nanny Curlew had her firmly by the hand and was dragging her away.

"What a charming creature," drawled one of the ladies.

"She is Clarissa's cousin," explained Lance. "She provides us with amusement. Now for the game. Shall we truly turn to faro tonight?”

When they were settled I went up to the nursery. Sabrina, robbed of her finery and in her own nightdress, looked subdued. I think that she thought for once that her little effort had failed.

I washed the cosmetics from her smooth young skin and I couldn't help laughing when I thought of the figure she had cut.

She laughed with me.

"You liked it, didn't you?" she said. "Did I look very funny?”

"It was wrong of you to come down like that ... but yes, you did look funny.”

"Lance liked it," she said.

I could see that he was making headway in her affections, and as he did so without making the slightest effort, it said a lot for his charm.

Once again I disturbed a scene in the nursery and once again Aimee was there. The nannies were talking about last night's incident.

"There she was, the minx," Nanny Curlew was saying, "all fine feathers-patched and powdered. I never saw the like.”

Sabrina stood by, listening appreciatively.

"And not only that," put in Jeanne. "She was in milady's best emeralds and that ring of hers. All sparkling and glitter- 'She must have looked a funny sight," said Nanny Goswell.

"She looked ridiculous," said Aimee. "This should be put a stop to. If I had my way . - .”

Sabrina surreptitiously put out her tongue and looked in Aimee's direction.

"All those jewels," mused Jeanne. "Worth a mint of money, they say. Why, you could buy a flower shop in the heart of Paris for what they're worth.”

Aimee said, "Ah, hello, Clarissa. We were talking about last night.”

"Sabrina felt like dressing up," I said.

"Where did she find that jewelry? You must be rather careless with it.”