THE OPTIMIST
By
E. M. DELAFIELD
Humbug. A Study in Education
The Heel of Achilles
Tension
THE
OPTIMIST
BY
E. M. DELAFIELD
New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1922
All rights reserved
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Copyrighted, 1922,
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1922.
FERRIS
PRINTING COMPANY
NEW YORK CITY
Dedicated
TO C. A. DAWSON-SCOTT IN
AFFECTIONATE ADMIRATION OF
THE NOVELIST AND THE WOMAN.
I
VALERIA AND OWEN QUENTILLIAN
(i)
The ship swung slowly away from the side of thewharf. Several people on board then said, “Well,we’re off at last!” to several other people who had onlybeen thinking of saying it.
Owen Quentillian remembered another, longer, sea-voyagetaken by himself at an early age. Far moreclearly he remembered his arrival at St. Gwenllian.
It was that which he wanted to recall, aware as hewas of the necessity for resuming a connection thathad almost insensibly lapsed for several years.
He deliberately let his mind travel backwards,visualizing himself, a disconsolate, shivering morsel,being taken away from Papa and Mamma at the verystation itself, and put into an open pony-cart besideMiss Lucilla Morchard.
The conversation between them, as far as he couldrecollect it, had run upon strangely categorical lines.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Canon Morchard’s daughter. You can call meLucilla.”
“How old are you?”
“I’m fifteen, but you shouldn’t ask grown-up personstheir age.”
“Oh, are you a grown-up person?”
[8]“Of course I am. My mother is dead, and I lookafter the house and the children, and now I’m goingto look after you as well.”
Lucilla had smiled very nicely as she said this.
“How many children are there?”
“Three, at home. My eldest brother is at school.”
“What are the names of the other ones?”
“Valeria and Flora and Adrian. Valeria and Floraare sometimes called Val and Flossie.”
He had discovered afterwards that they were seldomcalled anything else, except by their father.
“Why don’t Papa and Mamma come in this littlecarriage too?”
“Because there wouldn’t have been room. Theywill come in the brougham, later on.”
“They won’t go back to India without saying good-byefirst, will they?” he asked wistfully.
He had known for a long time that Papa and Mammaw