"Oh, that is Miss Dumont--Berene Dumont--she is not an absolute
servant," the Baroness replied; "she is a most unfortunate young
woman to whom my heart went out in pity, and I have given her a home.
She is really a widow, though she refuses to use her dead husband's
name."
"A widow?" repeated Preston with surprise and a queer sensation of
annoyance at his heart; "why, from the glimpse I had of her I thought
her a young girl."
"So she is, not over twenty-one at most, and woefully ignorant for
that age," the Baroness said, and then she proceeded to outline
Berene's history, laying a good deal of stress upon her own
charitable act in giving the girl a home.
"She is so ignorant of life, despite the fact that she has been
married, and she is so uneducated and helpless, I could not bear to
see her cast into the path of designing people," the Baroness said.
"She has a strong craving for an education, and I give her good books
to read, and good advice to ponder over, and I hope in time to come
she will marry some honest fellow and settle down to a quiet, happy
home life. The man who brings us butter and eggs from the country is
quite fascinated with her, but she does not deign him a glance." And
then the Baroness talked of other things.
But the history he had heard remained in Preston Cheney's mind and he
could not drive the thought of this girl away. No wonder her eyes
were sad! Better blood ran in her veins than coursed under the pink
flesh of the Baroness, he would wager; she was the unfortunate victim
of a combination of circumstances, which had defrauded her of the
advantages of youth.
He spoke with her in the hall one morning not long after that; and
then it grew to be a daily occurrence that he talked with her a few
moments, and before many weeks had passed the young man approached
the Baroness with a request.
"I have become interested in your protegee Miss Dumont," he said.
"You have done so much for her that you have stirred my better nature
and made me anxious to emulate your example. In talking with her in
the hall one day I learned her great desire for a better education,
and her anxiety to earn money. Now it has occurred to me that I
might aid her in both ways. We need two or three more girls in our
office. We need one more in the type-setting department. As The
Clarion is a morning paper, and you never need Miss Dumont's services
after five o'clock, she could work a few hours in the office, earn a
small salary, and gain something in the way of an education also, if
she were ambitious enough to do so. Nearly all my early education
was gained as a printer. She tells me she is faulty in the matter of
spelling, and this would be excellent training for her. You have,
dear madam, inspired the girl with a desire for more knowledge, and I
hope you will let me carry on the good work you have begun."