第17章

PoorMeghadarestlessnight，andgotupheavy-eyed，unhappy，halfresentfultowardherfriends，andhalfashamedofherselffornotspeakingoutfranklyandsettingeverythingright。Everybodydawdledthatmorning，anditwasnoonbeforethegirlsfoundenergyenougheventotakeuptheirworstedwork。SomethinginthemannerofherfriendsstruckMegatonce。Theytreatedherwithmorerespect，shethought，tookquiteatenderinterestinwhatshesaid，andlookedatherwitheyesthatplainlybetrayedcuriosity。Allthissurprisedandflatteredher，thoughshedidnotunderstandittillMissBellelookedupfromherwriting，andsaid，withasentimentalair……

“Daisy，dear，I’vesentaninvitationtoyourfriend，Mr。

Laurence，forThursday。Weshouldliketoknowhim，andit’sonlyapropercomplimenttoyou。“

Megcolored，butamischievousfancytoteasethegirlsmadeherreplydemurely，“Youareverykind，butI’mafraidhewon’tcome。“

“Whynot，Cherie？“askedMissBelle。

“He’stooold。“

“Mychild，whatdoyoumean？Whatishisage，Ibegtoknow!“criedMissClara。

“Nearlyseventy，Ibelieve，“answeredMeg，countingstitchestohidethemerrimentinhereyes。

“Youslycreature!Ofcoursewemeanttheyoungman，“

exclaimedMissBelle，laughing。

“Thereisn’tany，Laurieisonlyalittleboy。“AndMeglaughedalsoatthequeerlookwhichthesistersexchangedasshethusdescribedhersupposedlover。

“Aboutyouage，“Nansaid。

“NearermysisterJo’s，IamseventeeninAugust，“returnedMeg，tossingherhead。

“It’sveryniceofhimtosendyouflowers，isn’tit？“saidAnnie，lookingwiseaboutnothing。

“Yes，heoftendoes，toallofus，fortheirhouseisfull，andwearesofondofthem。MymotherandoldMr。Laurencearefriends，youknow，soitisquitenaturalthatwechildrenshouldplaytogether。“

AndMeghopedtheywouldsaynomore。

“It’sevidentDaisyisn’toutyet，“saidMissClaratoBellewithanod。

“Quiteapastoralstateofinnocenceallround，“returnedMissBellewithashrug。

“I’mgoingouttogetsomelittlemattersformygirls。CanIdoanythingforyou，youngladies？“askedMrs。Moffat，lumberinginlikeanelephantinsilkandlace。

“No，thankyou，ma’am，“repliedSallie。“I’vegotmynewpinksilkforThursdayanddon’twantathing。“

“NorI……“beganMeg，butstoppedbecauseitoccurredtoherthatshedidwantseveralthingsandcouldnothavethem。

“Whatshallyouwear？“askedSallie。

“Myoldwhiteoneagain，ifIcanmenditfittobeseen，itgotsadlytornlastnight，“saidMeg，tryingtospeakquiteeasily，butfeelingveryuncomfortable。

“Whydon’tyousendhomeforanother？“saidSallie，whowasnotanobservingyounglady。

“Ihaven’tgotanyother。“ItcostMeganefforttosaythat，butSalliedidnotseeitandexclaimedinamiablesurprise，“Onlythat？“Howfunny……“Shedidnotfinishherspeech，forBelleshookherheadatherandbrokein，sayingkindly……

“Notatall。Whereistheuseofhavingalotofdresseswhensheisn’toutyet？There’snoneedofsendinghome，Daisy，evenifyouhadadozen，forI’vegotasweetbluesilklaidaway，whichI’veoutgrown，andyoushallwearittopleaseme，won’tyou，dear？“

“Youareverykind，butIdon’tmindmyolddressifyoudon’t，itdoeswellenoughforalittlegirllikeme，“saidMeg。

“Nowdoletmepleasemyselfbydressingyouupinstyle。

Iadmiretodoit，andyou’dbearegularlittlebeautywithatouchhereandthere。Ishan’tletanyoneseeyoutillyouaredone，andthenwe’llburstuponthemlikeCinderellaandhergodmothergoingtotheball，“saidBelleinherpersuasivetone。

Megcouldn’trefusetheoffersokindlymade，foradesiretoseeifshewouldbe`alittlebeauty’aftertouchingupcausedhertoacceptandforgetallherformeruncomfortablefeelingstowardtheMoffats。

OntheThursdayevening，Belleshutherselfupwithhermaid，andbetweenthemtheyturnedMegintoafinelady。Theycrimpedandcurledherhair，theypolishedherneckandarmswithsomefragrantpowder，touchedherlipswithcorallinesalvetomakethemredder，andHortensewouldhaveadded`asoupconofrouge’，ifMeghadnotrebelled。Theylacedherintoasky-bluedress，whichwassotightshecouldhardlybreatheandsolowintheneckthatmodestMegblushedatherselfinthemirror。Asetofsilverfilagreewasadded，bracelets，necklace，brooch，andevenearrings，forHortensetiedthemonwithabitofpinksilkwhichdidnotshow。Aclusteroftea-rosebudsatthebosomandaruche，reconciledMegtothedisplayofherpretty，whiteshoulders，andapairofhigh-heeledsilkbootssatisfiedthelastwishofherheart。Alacehandkerchief，aplumyfan，andabouquetinashoulderholderfinishedheroff，andMissBellesurveyedherwiththesatisfactionofalittlegirlwithanewlydresseddoll。

“Mademoiselleischatmante，tresjolie，isshenot？“criedHortense，claspingherhandsinanaffectedrapture。

“Comeandshowyourself，“saidMissBelle，leadingthewaytotheroomwheretheotherswerewaiting。

AsMegwentrustlingafter，withherlongskirtstrailing，herearringstinkling，hercurlswaving，andherheartbeating，shefeltasifherfunhadreallybegunatlast，forthemirrorhadplainlytoldherthatshewas`alittlebeauty’。Herfriendsrepeatedthepleasingphraseenthusiastically，andforseveralminutesshestood，likeajackdawinthefable，enjoyingherborrowedplumes，whiletherestchatteredlikeapartyofmagpies。

“WhileIdress，doyoudrillher，Nan，inthemanagementofherskirtandthoseFrenchheels，orshewilltripherselfup。Takeyoursilverbutterfly，andcatchupthatlongcurlontheleftsideofherhead，Clara，anddon’tanyofyoudisturbthecharmingworkofmyhands，“saidBelle，asshehurriedaway，lookingwellpleasedwithhersuccess。

“Youdon’tlookabitlikeyourself，butyouareverynice。

I’mnowherebesideyou，forBellehasheapsoftaste，andyou’requiteFrench，Iassureyou。Letyourflowershang，don’tbesocarefulofthem，andbesureyoudon’ttrip，“returnedSallie，tryingnottocarethatMegwasprettierthanherself。

Keepingthatwarningcarefullyinmind，MargaretgotsafelydownstairsandsailedintothedrawingroomswheretheMoffatsandafewearlyguestswereassembled。Sheverysoondiscoveredthatthereisacharmaboutfineclotheswhichattractsacertainclassofpeopleandsecurestheirrespect。Severalyoungladies，whohadtakennonoticeofherbefore，wereveryaffectionateallofasudden。Severalyounggentlemen，whohadonlystaredatherattheotherparty，nownotonlystared，butaskedtobeintroduced，andsaidallmanneroffoolishbutagreeablethingstoher，andseveraloldladies，whosatonthesofas，andcriticizedtherestoftheparty，inquiredwhoshewaswithanairofinterest。SheheardMrs。Moffatreplytooneofthem……

“DaisyMarch——fatheracolonelinthearmy——oneofourfirstfamilies，butreversesoffortune，youknow；intimatefriendsoftheLaurences；sweetcreature，Iassureyou；myNedisquitewildabouther。“

“Dearme!“saidtheoldlady，puttingupherglassforanotherobservationofMeg，whotriedtolookasifshehadnotheardandbeenrathershockedatMrs。Moffat’sfibs。

The`queerfeeling’didnotpassaway，butsheimaginedherselfactingthenewpartoffineladyandsogotonprettywell，thoughthetightdressgaveheraside-ache，thetrainkeptgettingunderherfeet，andshewasinconstantfearlestherearringsshouldflyoffandgetlostorbroken。Shewasflirtingherfanandlaughingatthefeeblejokesofayounggentlemanwhotriedtobewitty，whenshesuddenlystoppedlaughingandlookedconfused，forjustopposite，shesawLaurie。Hewasstaringatherwithundisguisedsurprise，anddisapprovalalso，shethought，forthoughhebowedandsmiled，yetsomethinginhishonesteyesmadeherblushandwishshehadherolddresson。

Tocompleteherconfusion，shesawBellenudgeAnnie，andbothglancefromhertoLaurie，who，shewashappytosee，lookedunusuallyboyishandshy。

“Sillycreatures，toputsuchthoughtsintomyhead。Iwon’tcareforit，orletitchangemeabit，“thoughtMeg，andrustledacrosstheroomtoshakehandswithherfriend。

“I’mgladyoucame，Iwasafraidyouwouldn’t。“shesaid，withhermostgrown-upair。

“Jowantedmetocome，andtellherhowyoulooked，soI

did，“answeredLaurie，withoutturninghiseyesuponher，thoughhehalfsmiledathermaternaltone。

“Whatshallyoutellher？“askedMeg，fullofcuriositytoknowhisopinionofher，yetfeelingillateasewithhimforthefirsttime。

“IshallsayIdidn’tknowyou，foryoulooksogrown-upandunlikeyourself，I’mquiteafraidofyou，“hesaid，fumblingathisglovebutton。

“Howabsurdofyou!Thegirlsdressedmeupforfun，andI

ratherlikeit。Wouldn’tJostareifshesawme？“saidMeg，bentonmakinghimsaywhetherhethoughtherimprovedornot。

“Yes，Ithinkshewould，“returnedLauriegravely。

“Don’tyoulikemeso？’askedMeg。

“No，Idon’t，“wasthebluntreply。

“Whynot？“inananxioustone。

Heglancedatherfrizzledhead，bareshoulders，andfantasticallytrimmeddresswithanexpressionthatabashedhermorethanhisanswer，whichhadnotparticleofhisusualpolitenessinit。

“Idon’tlikefussandfeathers。“

Thatwasaltogethertoomuchfromaladyoungerthanherself，andMegwalkedaway，sayingpetulantly，“YouaretherudestboyI

eversaw。“

Feelingverymuchruffled，shewentandstoodataquietwindowtocoolhercheeks，forthetightdressgaveheranuncomfortablybrilliantcolor。Asshestoodthere，MajorLincolnpassedby，andaminuteaftersheheardhimsayingtohismother……

“Theyaremakingafoolofthatlittlegirl。Iwantedyoutoseeher，buttheyhavespoiledherentirely。She’snothingbutadolltonight。“

“Oh，dear!“sighedMeg。“IwishI’dbeensensibleandwornmyownthings，thenIshouldnothavedisgustedotherpeople，orfeltsouncomfortableandashamedofmyself。“