Portrait of a Girl (13 page)

“There’s Segantini, the painter,” the guide said, his voice intruding on the sleepy midday mood. He pointed at a man and a young woman coming quickly nearer; it was Segantini and Baba returning home for lunch. Edward jumped up as if electrified when he heard the name.

“May we say hello to the master?” he asked Caviezel, who nodded and called out, “Good day, Signor Segantini!”

Segantini stopped. “Were you up on Piz Lunghin with the lady and gentleman? Such a beautiful day today!” He nodded appreciatively at Betsy and Edward.

“It’s an honor,” Edward said, and introduced Betsy and himself. But Segantini, who spoke only Italian, asked Betsy to repeat it all for him. He was a friend of James Danby, Edward had her translate, a reporter living in England who had already been introduced to Segantini. Segantini remembered. Yes, he had agreed to make an appointment to meet with the gentleman at the Hotel Maloja.

“I paint almost exclusively outdoors, not in my studio,” Segantini said. “Perhaps your friend should come with me some day when I go to work on my paintings. In fact, why don’t you and your friend come for a modest supper at my house in the next few days,” he suggested, adding, “I would be happy, of course, if you would also come along, Signora.”

Betsy hesitated a moment. Could her niece come along too? She didn’t want to be presumptuous, but she thought this would be a marvelous opportunity for Mathild
e . . .

Segantini agreed. Then he and Baba continued on their way, as the mountain guide watched in admiration.

“The whole world wants to meet him, to visit him. It’s become fashionable to make a pilgrimage to Maloja just to see the master. And they say he generously receives and feeds all these people.”

“Well, then, we’ll be following the fashion,” Betsy said. “But thank God, we won’t need a mountain guide for that pilgrimage,” she whispered to Edward, for she was somehow disappointed in the handsome Caviezel.

Mathilde had an appointment with Dr. Bernhard. Today, of all days, when she could have seen James for the whole day without the presence of her aunt, who was clambering around in the mountains. It turned out the cure was taking up much of her time. This entire morning would be taken up with it.

“Dear Miss Schobinger, I don’t like the way your lungs sound,” Dr. Bernhard said. “You must continue with your treatments. I’d like to see you again soon for a more thorough examination.”

“But except for my cough, I feel wonderful!” Mathilde said. “I just have a cold. It’s always so cool in the mornings, and then during the day the sun is so ho
t . . .
”

“Nevertheless, you are running a temperature. If you take a look in the mirror, you’ll see that your cheeks are quite flushed.” Dr. Bernhard did not say that he’d had his doubts about the family doctor’s report right from the first visit.

“But
I . . .
” Mathilde knew what Dr. Bernhard was trying to tell her. “I’m just a little excited today.”

Dr. Bernhard said, “If you’re looking forward to a pleasant rendezvous today, I’m happy for you. But I must repeat, it is important that I examine your lungs more thoroughly, and it would be good if your aunt came along next time. Please have the nurse make an appointment right now for you to come back, either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. All right?”

Dr. Bernhard accompanied Mathilde to the door. He did not like worrying his patients without reason, but he felt in this case, he needed to emphasize his point.

Mathilde pushed Dr. Bernhard’s words as far to the back of her mind as she could. She took a carriage back to the hotel. There, she took all her dresses out of the closet because she didn’t know which one to choose. After a long back and forth, she chose the white one, and a light-blue wool shawl. She rang for the chambermaid to bring fresh water.

James would be waiting for her in front of the hotel and would take her somewhere for lunch. They didn’t want to eat at the Spa Hotel Maloja, for then Kate would immediately attach herself to them, and Mathilde didn’t like the idea of that at all. They wanted to be by themselves, just the two of them. James had whispered in her ear last time they’d talked: “You’ll see. We’ll get away from them all, even if I have to kidnap you.”

That was, of course, highly improper and for that very reason especially attractive. Aunt Betsy would surely have a screaming fit if she found out that Mathilde was planning to be alone with James. But she wouldn’t find out, because Edward, who might have noticed had he been in St. Moritz as usual, was on the climb with Aunt Betsy. And Mathilde was sure she could find some excuse to explain to Kate why she hadn’t been at the hotel for lunch. As she hurried down the great stairway to meet James, she was in high spirits, tapping every step with her parasol and almost tripping over it.

James stood waiting discreetly near their agreed meeting place, the hotel entrance. He’d told Kate a little white lie.

“James,” she’d said two days earlier, taking his arm, “I have arranged for you to have a day with Mathilde while Aunt Betsy and your friend are away from the hotel. In fact, I’ve arranged for the two of them to attack the mountains together this coming Wednesday. Now, what’s my reward for that? You owe me!”

James had kissed her hand. “I would be deeply indebted to you if you hadn’t done this with an ulterior motive. But I know you too well to think otherwise. So, tell me, what is it you get?” For just a moment, he looked past Kate, which was one mark against him. “What do you get out of my spending the day alone with Mathilde?”

“Dear James. I shall be Mathilde’s chaperone and not let you and that curly-haired lamb out of my sight. I take my assignment seriously, you know.”

She beamed that radiant smile at him, which, on first meeting her, had seemed so spontaneous and innocuous. “I’ll enjoy Mathilde’s infatuation. Isn’t it beautiful to witness the awakening desire in a pair of lovers? Do you know of anything more enchanting than the sprouting of young love?”

“And that’s enough for you? You don’t want anything for yourself? Is it perhaps that because your husband satisfies all your longings so well you only want to see others as happy as yourself?”

They had been walking in the gardens at the Spa Hotel Maloja and had stopped outside the front doors. Kate had shaken her head in pretended despair.

“You really don’t know me well at all, James. I’m ready to give you a private lesson. Let’s say Wednesday evening, after Mathilde’s aunt has come back from her excursion? My husband is going to be working in Chur that Wednesday. It’s a difficult trip, and he will start in the morning and be back, at the earliest, three days later. So you may choose when you’d like to have your private lesson. I’d suggest we have it here. The Pension Veraguth is perhaps a little too small. And anyway, it’s proper to make it as convenient as possible for the lady.”

With a quick movement she’d shut her parasol, and the porter had noticed, and opened the hotel door. But James, holding on to Kate’s arm, had pulled her close and whispered in her ear, “Are you serious?”

“Of course,” she’d replied coolly and freed herself. “You really don’t know me, James. It’s time we remedy that.”

With that, she had vanished into the hotel.

And now Wednesday had arrived. Betsy had arranged with Kate that Mathilde was to report to her after returning from her doctor’s appointment in St. Moritz. Kate had said she would be glad to spend the afternoon with the girl, and make sure that James did not make inappropriate advances. To James, she had suggested that the three of them have lunch together at the Spa Hotel Maloja and then play a round of golf or watch the target shooting in Isola and have blueberry cake with whipped cream at the restaurant there. James told Kate that he would like to come for lunch, but that he could not make a definite date.

“It all depends on how my tennis match goes,” he said, pleasantly vague. “But I’ll try my best. Don’t wait for me to eat. In any case, we’ll see each other at the golf course, right?”

“And what if Mathilde and I decide after lunch that we’d rather go to Isola?”

“If I don’t find you both at the golf course, I’ll take a carriage and get to Isola as quickly as possible.”

“And if we decide to take a carriage ride to the Roseg Glacier?” Kate asked rather sharply.

“Then you’ll be depriving yourself of the pleasure of my company,” James said with a charming smile that perfectly matched hers.

He had won the duel, but she passed over it, saying, “Oh, James, my newspaper wasn’t delivered this morning. Even the best hotel isn’t perfect. Would you be kind enough to get me one? You know how unhappy I am without my paper. You’d make me very happy with this little favor.”

And there was her radiant smile again and the casual demand on his time that was hard to object to. But he could sense an underlying touch of fury in her request.

This time James didn’t bring her the newspaper, nor did he regret even for a moment his little white lie. Mathilde was going to sneak out of the hotel before Kate could notice. And there she was, already coming down the staircase—she was such an enchanting young bird that James felt for an instant quite like a cat. It was a good thing the serious-minded Edward wasn’t nearby.

Life was so exciting! Mathilde gazed at him with such hot cheeks, such childish expectation, that James was almost overcome by a feeling of anxiety. But he suppressed it as quickly as Mathilde had suppressed her unease at Dr. Bernhard’s words. Instead, he picked up the shawl that had slid off her shoulders, carefully draping the blue cloth over her shoulders, and said quite casually, “So that the blue of your eyes will shine with even more intensity.” And without waiting for a reaction to his compliment, he went on, “I’d like to make a suggestion. The Kulm Hotel at the top of the mountain in St. Moritz, which you wanted to go to, is absolutely huge. It would take forever to get something to eat there, and it’s a place that we could go anytime with your aunt. We’d have to behave properly there, as is expected of the guests of a grand hotel.”

He took Mathilde’s hand and pulled her away. “I know something we could do that would be much more entertaining, if you don’t object to being a little daring.”

Of course she didn’t object. She was curious. She wanted to do something daring, something her family had not permitted so far, and at that moment, she felt flattered that so experienced a man should be interested in her.

“And what would that be?” she asked, eager to know, pulling her hand out of his.

“I bought a splendid picnic and took everything up to Pension Veraguth. Food will taste as good there as at the Kulm Hotel. I even got some champagn
e . . .
”

Mathilde was taken aback. This was too risky, simply too daring. After all, the Pension Veraguth was where he was staying. His plan was far more compromising than anything she had imagined. She stopped in her tracks and shook her head.

“But nothing is going to happen that you don’t want to happen!” James said. “What do you imagine I could do to you? Or should I be worrying about what you are thinking? If I were sensitive, I might really feel hurt now.”

He brushed a strand of blond hair out of his face. Mathilde shook her head again.

“No, no. And you know very well that you’ve suggested something improper.”

And yet, the prospect of lunch at the Hotel Kulm had lost its glamour and thrill. He was right. It was a boring idea, even though it had at first seemed so terrific to her. She looked at James, not at all sure, and said nothing. Within moments, James had called for a carriage, and in no time, the two of them disembarked in St. Moritz.

They’d strolled for several blocks when James suddenly said, “There’s the streetcar. Have you ever ridden up to the village on an electric streetcar?”

Mathilde shook her head.

“No? You haven’t gone for a ride on the just-opened tramline that all of St. Moritz is so proud of? You’ve just ignored it up to now? Then come on, we’ll take the tram up to the village, and then you can decide whether you want to go on to the top of the mountain or come with me to my castle,” he laughed, “by which I mean Pension Veraguth. The decision is all yours. You just have to promise me that if you feel queasy on the tram, you won’t jump off while it’s in motion. If you do feel queasy, it will be better if you just reach for my hand—promise?”

His laughter was contagious. It seemed to indicate that he thought the idea of Mathilde’s being afraid was ridiculous.

The streetcar conductor in his open driver’s stand rang the bell.

“All right, then,” she said.

James reached for Mathilde’s hand. Her resistance was minimal, no more than a slight tug. Then her hand surrendered and came to rest softly in his.

We’ll be there soon,” James said. “The post-office square is the terminal. And now there’s no escape: You have to make a decision.”

With a boyish smile he leaned toward her; his smooth hair almost touching her cheek, his expression looking as if they were about to hatch some conspiratorial plot. There had never been anything quite this exciting in Mathilde’s small, cloistered life.

“We’re nearing my castle,
’
” he said. “Yes, Pension Veraguth is right there at the Postplatz. Oh, you’ll see,” he added soothingly, “I’m just showing off. It’s actually just a decent middle-class house. It’s not intimidating, nothing to be afraid of.” He pointed to the right and said, “The Hotel Kulm is a bit farther on up there. A few minutes’ walk,” he sighed. “We’d of course lose precious time with that. We can’t make Kate wait forever.”