A Night of Gaiety Read Free Page A

the uncomfortable feeling that she might not transplant.
    “ Surely you must have some relations?” he asked gently.
    “ Papa’s sister, who was older than he was, is dead,” Davita answered. “I had a Great-Aunt who lived in Edinburgh, but she died a long time ago, and I never remember meeting any of Mama’s family because they lived so far away.”
    “ You could write to them,” Mr. Stirling suggested.
    “ It would be very embarrassing if I tried to foist myself on them,” Davita answered, “and I do not think they are well off.”
    W hen she thought about it, the Western Isles seemed to be in another world.
    “ You cannot stay here,” Mr. Stirling said, “so I am afraid you will have to find either a relative with whom you can live, or some sort of employment.”
    “ Employment?” Davita queried. “But I am not certain what I could do.”
    “ One of my partners might be able to suggest something,” Mr. Stirling suggested. “There must be employment in Edinburgh for a young lady like yourself, but for the moment I cannot think what it could be.”
    “ It is very kind of you to think of it,” Davita said with a smile, “but although Papa always insisted I should be well educated, it seems extraordinary that nothing I have learnt seems likely to be saleable.”
    D avita gave him a brief little smile as if she was determined to make light of her difficulties.
    “ Of course the best thing would be for you to be married,” Mr. Stirling said.
    “ That would be rather difficult,” Davita replied, “as nobody has asked me.”
    T hat, she thought, was not surprising, since there were no young men in the vicinity, and she had never stayed in Edinburgh for any length of time, nor, after her mother’s death, had she made contact with the few friends they had there.
    “ I tell you what I will do,” Mr. Stirling said. “I will have a talk with my wife and the wives of my partners. Perhaps you could look after children or something of that sort.”
    “ It is very kind of you,” Davita replied, “very, very kind, and I am most grateful.”
    “ You will be hearing from me.”
    T he carriage was waiting to drive him to the Station, and as he drove away, raising his old-fashioned, low top-hat, Davita thought he looked like one of the Elders of the Church, and her heart sank.
    S he could imagine all too clearly what his wife and the wives of his partners would look like, and she was quite sure they would disapprove of her because she looked so young, just as they disapproved because her father had married a Gaiety Girl.
    S he knew that the stage was considered extremely disreputable, especially in Scotland, and she could almost see the ladies in Edinburgh wringing their hands in horror because she had been associated with anyone so reprehensible as an actress from the Gaiety Theatre. ‘What am I to do? What am I to do?’ she questioned. Because she was frightened for her future, she went in search of Hector.
    H e was packing up her father’s clothes, and as she entered the bedroom he looked up from the leather trunk beside which he was kneeling to ask:
    “ Has the gentleman gone, Miss Davita?”
    “ Yes,” Davita answered, “and as we both expected, Hector, he brought bad news.”
    “ I was afraid o’ that, Miss Davita,” Hector said, “an’ it’s awful hard on ye.”
    D avita had no secrets from Hector, he knew her financial position, and he had in fact explained a great deal to her before Mr. Stirling had arrived.
    “ When everything is cleared up,” Davita said, sitting down on the edge of the bed, “I shall have precisely one hundred ninety-six pounds, ten shillings!”
    “ Well, that’s better than nought,” Hector remarked.
    “Yes, I know,” Davita replied, “but it will not last forever, and I shall have to find work of some sort, Hector. But what can I do?”
    “ Work, Miss Davita?”
    H ector sat back on his heels and it was obvious that this had not occurred to him