Chapter 5 The Clue of the Tapping Heels by Carolyn Keene
Old Costumes
“You are Lady Violette?” Nancy gasped. “Why, the gentleman pronounced the words so rapidly I thought it was all one name.”
“Lady Violette was a character in one of my plays,” Miss Carter explained, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “I have been an actress, you know. Who can the man have been?”
“He gave his name as Horace St. Will.”
“Oh, I was his leading lady years ago! Horace wanted me to marry him, but at that time I was very devoted to my own family. Then too, I was determined to have a career. How I should have enjoyed talking with him again.”
“Perhaps I can bring him back,” Nancy said hurriedly. “The car can’t be very far away.”
She started toward the door only to have the actress call after her, “Wait! I dread to have Horace see me now. I was beautiful when he knew me and I’d like to have him carry that picture with him to the end.”
“You are lovely still,” Bess declared warmly.
Miss Carter shook her head sadly.
“At fifty a woman may have character, dignity and poise, but no longer is she beautiful in the same fresh way. Horace would find me greatly changed if he were to see me now.”
“You could fix yourself up a bit,” George said coaxingly. “Haven’t you any of the old costumes you used to wear in the days when you knew Mr. St. Will?”
“I still have the gorgeous gown I wore as Lady Violette! It was designed at Milburns’. I have treasured it all these years.”
Nancy now was convinced that Miss Carter really did wish to see Horace St. Will.
“I shall try to overtake the car and bring the man back!” the girl cried. “I believe I can do it if I hurry.”
Leaving Bess and George to assist Miss Carter to dress, Nancy ran down the stairs and jumped into her car. Fortunately she had noticed that the other automobile had turned south.
The road, quite deserted, ran fairly straight with but a few turns. Nancy drove rapidly and very shortly was elated to observe that she was overtaking another machine. Soon she drew near enough to recognize Mr. St. Will’s limousine.
So intent was Nancy upon overtaking the car that she failed to notice another automobile approaching the main highway from a narrow side road. The driver, ignoring the stop sign, emerged unexpectedly beyond the screen of trees, swinging directly into the path of the oncoming machine.
Nancy slammed on her brakes but could not avoid a crash. She pulled as far to the right as possible but even so the fenders of the two cars came together. One glance assured the girl that the damage had been trifling. She would have hastened on in pursuit of the St. Will limousine had not the driver of the car started to berate her.
“See what you’ve done to my fender!” he cried indignantly. “You’ll have to pay for the damage.”
Nancy recognized Fred Bunce and regarded him coldly.
“You are the one who ran into me, Mr. Bunce,” she accused. “According to law you must make a complete stop before driving out on the main highway. If there is any claim for damages I shall be the one to make it!”
Without waiting to hear the man’s reply she shifted gears and drove away rapidly. The St. Will automobile was now far down the road. Nancy gradually gained distance, and when the big car turned into a filling station she drew up beside it.
“Oh, Mr. St. Will,” she said breathlessly. “I’ve been trying to overtake you ever since you left Berryville. I made a dreadful mistake in sending you away.”
For a moment the man did not recognize the girl. Then he smiled broadly.
“When you inquired for Lady Violette I had no idea you meant Miss Carter,” Nancy added.
“Then she does live in Berryville?” the elderly gentleman asked eagerly.
“Yes indeed, and she’s eager to see you, Mr. St. Will.”
“We’ll turn back at once,” the actor declared. “I was deeply disappointed because I had failed to locate my dear friend. I never could understand why she insisted upon hiding from the world.”
He thanked Nancy most politely for having gone to so much trouble in his behalf. She chatted with him a moment longer, then turned her auto in order to lead the way back to Miss Carter’s home.
With the aid of George and Bess the actress had managed to descend the stairs and establish herself in the living room. The change in the woman’s appearance was amazing. During Nancy’s absence the girls had gone to the storeroom and had found the Lady Violette costume. Bess had arranged Miss Carter’s hair in becoming fashion while George assisted the actress with putting on her make-up.
“Lady Violette!” Mr. St. Will murmured as he moved forward to clasp her hand. “You are even lovelier than I remembered you.”
“The years have been kind to you also, Horace,” replied Miss Carter graciously. “How good it is to see you again.”
“You could have seen me long ago had you not kept your address a dark mystery,” Mr. St. Will said chidingly. “Why have you hidden away from all your old friends?”
“Well, it is a long and somewhat painful story, Horace. Need we go into it now?”
“No, we’ll talk over old times instead,” the actor responded, sensing Miss Carter’s reluctance to tell of her misfortunes.
The girls politely started to leave the room, but the happy woman insisted that they stay. Before Nancy could protest, Mr. St. Will asked his leading lady:
“Do you remember that last play we were in together, called ‘The Tapping Heels’?”
“It was our greatest hit,” Miss Carter declared happily. “I wrote nearly all the conversation myself. I loved the part we did together.”
Dramatically she quoted one of the speeches from memory, and Mr. St. Will responded with his own lines.
“Oh, I wish you would act out the entire scene!” Nancy cried in delight.
“We would need several other characters in order to do that,” returned Miss Carter. “But I have all the costumes in the storeroom.”
“Couldn’t we act out the supporting rôles?” Bess pleaded.
“Yes, run up and get the costumes,” Miss Carter laughed. “I will teach you the lines. I’ve not forgotten a single word of the entire drama.”
For the next hour the girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They dressed up in the beautiful velvet costumes and spoke the lines which Miss Carter wrote down for them.
Horace St. Will and his leading lady seemed to forget the other actors, so absorbed were they in their own parts. They played to each other, and Nancy noticed that the love scene was depicted with great depth of feeling.
“They still care for each other,” she thought. “How nice it would be if Miss Carter would decide to marry Mr. St. Will. They have so much of mutual interest. Both of them would be so happy.”
Mrs. Bealing had listened to the play from the kitchen. When the final lines were spoken she appeared in the doorway with a tray of sandwiches and hot chocolate.
“Intermission time,” she laughed. “I declare, I was so interested I scarcely could do my work.”
While everyone was chatting gaily and enjoying the refreshments, Nancy heard the doorbell ring.
“I’ll answer it,” she said, jumping up from her chair.
Fred Bunce was standing on the front porch. The girl’s first thought was that he had come to make trouble for her about the smashed fender on his auto. However, the man said sullenly:
“I want to see Miss Carter.”
“She has a visitor now,” Nancy replied, for she knew that the woman would not care to be annoyed. “Will you come back later?”
“No, I won’t,” Mr. Bunce answered crossly. “I know Miss Carter isn’t busy, and I’ll talk with her right now.”
Before Nancy could stop him he had pushed open the screen door and walked boldly into the living room.