Chapter XXXII
Tea with Mrs. Douglas
On the first Thursday night of Anne’s sojourn in Valley Road Janet asked her
to go to prayer-meeting. Janet blossomed out like a rose to attend that prayer-
meeting. She wore a pale-blue, pansy-sprinkled muslin dress with more ruffles
than one would ever have supposed economical Janet could be guilty of, and a
white leghorn hat with pink roses and three ostrich feathers on it. Anne felt quite
amazed. Later on, she found out Janet’s motive in so arraying herself—a motive
as old as Eden.
Valley Road prayer-meetings seemed to be essentially feminine. There were
thirty-two women present, two half-grown boys, and one solitary man, beside
the minister. Anne found herself studying this man. He was not handsome or
young or graceful; he had remarkably long legs—so long that he had to keep
them coiled up under his chair to dispose of them—and he was stoop-
shouldered. His hands were big, his hair wanted barbering, and his moustache
was unkempt. But Anne thought she liked his face; it was kind and honest and
tender; there was something else in it, too—just what, Anne found it hard to
define. She finally concluded that this man had suffered and been strong, and it
had been made manifest in his face. There was a sort of patient, humorous
endurance in his expression which indicated that he would go to the stake if need
be, but would keep on looking pleasant until he really had to begin squirming.
When prayer-meeting was over this man came up to Janet and said,
“May I see you home, Janet?”
Janet took his arm—“as primly and shyly as if she were no more than sixteen,
having her first escort home,” Anne told the girls at Patty’s Place later on.
“Miss Shirley, permit me to introduce Mr. Douglas,” she said stiffly.
Mr. Douglas nodded and said, “I was looking at you in prayer-meeting, miss,
and thinking what a nice little girl you were.”
Such a speech from ninety-nine people out of a hundred would have annoyed
Anne bitterly; but the way in which Mr. Douglas said it made her feel that she
had received a very real and pleasing compliment. She smiled appreciatively at