CHAPTER VIII .sx I .sx ELSA RAKONITZ sat at the window of her little drawing-room in West Kensington , waiting for the second great romantic moment of her life .sx Her expectation was as fresh , as resilient , as it had been in 1879 , when a man with fair dundrearies and a very good check travelling suit from a London tailor , leapt on to the Rhine steamer just before the gangway was pulled up , because he had seen that Frau Leon Czelovar had an exceedingly pretty young daughter .sx If she was a little tremulous now , fifty years later , it was not with fear ; only love and excitement and a high pride were in her contemplation of this valiant adventure of being fetched by Rudi , and flying back with him to Paris just in time to be present for the first night performance of " Cigarette " :sx Pride that Rudi should have thought of her , and felt that his triumph could not be complete unless she were beside him ; love for Rudi , her " Buberli , " as she always called him in speech with herself ; not her son , that grazed too near untruth ; and not her nephew , a term too distant for all the possessive happiness she had in his being and his well-being , but , a little sentimentally , her " Buberli " her boy .sx And then , also , a trip to Paris and an evening at the theatre with plenty of music , her kind of music , the kind which provoked you to sway a little in your seat , and beat time invisibly with the pulses of your wrist and sole ach , one did not get enough pleasure !sx This , this was the real taste and savour and essence of it .sx .. Aunt Elsa's pink cheeks and her little silvery sausage curls and her gaily curving mouth were all prancing and gleaming in anticipation .sx She sat very still and squeezed up , because it was so difficult to sit still at all ; but if you could see sap rising in the tree , bubbles rising in champagne , then you could also see delight rising in Aunt Elsa !sx Helen's telegram , confirming their delicious secret talk , last time zat nottee little girl was in London , had not told her the exact time when her escort was due to arrive .sx Helen had merely wired :sx " Rudi fetching you Wednesday afternoon fly back with him to Paris first night Cigarette Thursday love Helen .sx " It had arrived the evening before , this exciting telegram ; and Melanie and Gisela had both said quite emphatically , " No !sx " They were sorry to disappoint their mother ; it was obvious how passionately she was longing for the treat , but they really could not allow her to risk it .sx She was nearly seventy , and unlike the tough old women of the Rakonitz family , whose superb health scoffed at feebleness even in their 'eighties and nineties , she , a Czelovar , was already worn frail from a life that had contained every possible activity , domestic , social and emotional .sx Within her limits of period and tradition , Elsa had been a thorough little hedonist .sx And this flamboyant expedition with Rudi might be the death of her , as those two girls of hers were urging , so stupid !sx for it would be worth it , and anyhow she did not see why it need exhaust her so much ; Rudi would take such care of her .sx " But , Mamma , flying !sx " cried Gisela in tones of horror .sx Her mother simply could not understand such an old-fashioned attitude ; certainly until now flying as a means of transport had not entered into her daily experience .sx But now that it had been proposed , it settled down at once , without any premonitions or terrors , as a very practical idea .sx Fly !sx Why not fly ?sx It was quicker , and the Buberli probably had not much time to spare :sx " And afterwards , if I am tired , I can rest , isn't it ?sx " It was no good arguing .sx Her daughters vetoed it entirely .sx But because they adored her , they immediately planned a little treat to make up for it .sx They would take her , on Thursday night , when " Cigarette " was to be produced in Paris , to a really good little restaurant in Soho for dinner , and afterwards to " Bitter Sweet .sx " " And that's about Vienna , too , you know , Mamma ; you'll like it .sx " The victim of their zealous care merely said :sx " Ich danke , " rather grimly , so that they could not tell if she were thanking them or rejecting .sx the offer .sx In her smile there was not a little scorn , as if she were wondering if it could really be a daughter of hers who could contemplate , for herself or anyone else , and for any reasons whatever , the sacrifice of such a fte .sx Privately , Melanie and Gisela wished that Helen , or at any rate Val , could have had the sense to prevent Rudi's wild conception from actually taking shape .sx It was understood , anyhow , that their mother should wire back a loving refusal with many good wishes .sx II .sx Aunt Elsa did not dream of it .sx Here she sat on the following afternoon , waiting for Rudi to fetch her .sx Helen had told her he would have to return in time for the repetition generale , that same Wednesday night ; and so she expected him to come at about three , or half-past three ; latest at four .sx At any rate , by half-past two she was equipped for the escapade ; wearing her smartest toque and her best cloth coat , and under it a woollen jacket , and over it a fur coat , in case it should be cold up in the air .sx She hoped her shoes were all right for flying .sx The toque , aware of her elated state of mind , had in sympathy slipped a tiny bit to one side .sx Aunt Elsa had the haziest notions of exactly how one took flight to Paris ; it might be that the aeroplane stopped like a taxi exactly at the front door ; or it might alight on the roof ; or perhaps the aeroplane did not come quite so far itself , but sent a smaller aeroplane , a sort of dinghy , to fetch you .sx .. Or Rudi would drive her to an aeroplane junction , whence the flying machines started in all directions , and they would have to hurry to catch , it might be , the 5.17 p.m. for Paris .sx Well , however it was , he should not have to wait for her ; here she was , dressed and ready and waiting ; her suitcase packed by herself , and containing her beautiful black velvet evening-dress , supplied last year by " Toni's " of Hanover Street , much to Gisela's disapproval , who considered that Helen was putting ideas into her mother's head .sx Aunt Elsa was decidedly wicked in her joy , whenever there was a chance of acting counter to Gisela's wishes .sx Melanie that was different .sx She was sorry now to be eloping with Rudi without Melanie's knowledge .sx She was a good daughter , this eldest of hers .sx But it could not be helped .sx When they returned , the two of them , one from the hospital where she was matron , the other from the bank , they would find her flown yes , really and truly flown .sx Aunt Elsa chuckled and hummed a tune from " Cigarette .sx " Helen had related that Rudi had written in a new song especially for Paris .sx Paris .sx .. Paris and Berthe .sx Twenty minutes to four .sx Elsa , growing a little tired of her vigil , stirred and fidgeted .sx .. Began to wonder what would happen when she and Berthe met again ?sx Last time it was at Seize-Rue-Caumont , directly after Freda .sx .. Suddenly she felt sad , as though a tiny dark pebble had been dropped into the clear , bubbling , spring fountain of her present mood .sx A longing to see Freda again , and Pearl , her Perlchen , who had married and gone so far away to China that she might almost as well have gone to heaven .sx Pearl would have said , when Helen's telegram came :sx " Yes , go , Mother , you'll enjoy it !sx " And Freda would have packed for her , Freda .sx .. Fierceness tightened against Berthe .sx .. then relaxed again , so that she felt it might easily vanish altogether .sx Somehow , she did not quite know how , but if she flew over with Rudi now , the magic of " Cigarette " might dispel old sorrow .sx She had not yet quite reached the point of admitting even to herself that she had forgiven Berthe for the dreadful thing she had done to her ; but she did feel that such an occasion as this of Rudi's must not be marred by any bitterness , and that she , when it came to the moment , would not suffer it so to be marred .sx Half-past four .sx " He should be here by now .sx " She peered skyward .sx At any moment he might appear ; the aeroplane , and Rudi waving his hand over the side .sx It was so tender , so dear of him to love her so much that even in the whirl of his production and she knew a little bit what his temperament was like on these occasions , she remembered from London .sx .. du lieber Gott , that had been a dreadful disappointment !sx But now she was consoled , more than consoled , radiant .sx The famous Rudi Czelovar , yet not a bit with a swelled head !sx She remembered .sx Helen's account of how she had been having supper in a restaurant in Vienna during the time when " Cigarette " was enjoying its run ; and the orchestra had played selections from the score , particularly the much-lauded " Czardas " ; and all the people had danced and clapped and joined in some of the choruses ; and then it was over the orchestra had begun to play something else when quite suddenly it stopped , so !sx in the middle of a bar .sx .. and , taking breath for an instant , swung again into the " Czardas , " so that Helen knew without looking round , for her back was to the door , that Rudi had just come in with a merry party .sx .. And remembering this , Rudi's Aunt Elsa cried a little .sx He was so popular !sx He was coming to fetch her , and soon she would see him feted , hear his music applauded as if the roof would crack , cries of " Bis !sx Bis !sx Bravo !sx " Ach , it was too much !sx Rather than miss that , she would never hear with her ears nor see with her eyes again .sx .sx .. She looked again at the clock ; a quarter to six .sx Helen had said that Rudi would have to fit in the time for his flight so that he could be back for the repetition generale at seven o'clock .sx She had been waiting , now , dressed and ready and feeling very hot and bunchy in her many coats , since half-past two .sx Rudi should have been here .sx They should have been already on their way back to Paris , flying side by side in a tiny winged machine , shooting over the sea .sx .. A queer little thrill like warm light wriggled through Aunt Elsa's heart , but it was followed by an apprehension that was cold and sick and heavy .sx She was wrought to such a pitch that she dared not say as yet , even to herself :sx " Supposing after all he does not come ?sx " But .sx .. the sky was growing dim .sx .. there would be a light , of course , a little red light , or green perhaps , pricking through the dark .sx Her face puckered in despair as she recollected that at six o'clock Gisela came home .sx Of course she would go all the same if when Rudi arrived .sx Nossing , but nossing should prevent her from hearing his " Zigarette " soaring into success .sx It could not be that one is asked to suffer the same disappointment twice .sx She peered out again for a sight of that little green light , or perhaps a little red light travelling swiftly towards her .sx Then she closed the window , because it was cold yes , even wearing all those cloaks .sx " It is vaiting and vaiting zat makes you cold , " whispered Aunt Elsa to herself .sx " Ven I see Rudi ach , then I will be quite hot all in a minute !sx " .sx III .sx Gisela had been delayed by some extra business at the bank that evening , and it was nearly seven instead of her usual six o'clock when she arrived home .sx Her mother was not in the sitting-room ; nor in the dining-room ; nor , more surprisingly , was she in the kitchen , trotting round energetically supervising their evening meal , briskly chiding the Swiss maid , and the next moment making her choke with laughter over some witty remark which eternally discredited the butcher .sx