Ten minutes later the journey came to an end, and the girls surged out
on to the platform of the country station. A line of waggonettes,
cheerfully denominated "Black Marias" by the pupils, was in waiting, and
with less confusion than might have been expected the girls divided into
different parties, and seated themselves in the carriages marked with
their own house colours. Rhoda and her travelling companions, being all
"blue," were among the first to drive off, each girl clutching the
handbag which contained the immediate necessities of her toilet, and
chattering away at the pitch of her voice. "Square Face" was evidently
the wag of the party, and was treated with an admiring deference which
seemed to bespeak a position of importance. She was professionally
addressed as "Tom," and Rhoda from her seat opposite, read the words,
"Thomasina Bolderston," upon the label of the bag, and reflected that
she had never heard a name more entirely appropriate to its owner. It
was at once so ugly, so uncommon, and so arresting to the memory, while
Tom herself, once seen, could never be forgotten, nor confounded with
another girl. There she sat, the keen autumn air blanching her cheeks
and reddening her eyes, her arms crossed squarely over her bag, her lips
twitching with mischievous enjoyment. She had but to roll her eyes, and
the girls went into fresh convulsions of laughter; and when, at the
entrance to "Hurst" grounds, she took out her handkerchief and affected
to sob, the merriment reached an almost hysterical pitch. Rhoda,
however, failed to appreciate the humour of the joke, being inclined to
cry in good truth as the grim doorway yawned before her, and she caught
a glimpse of the chill, grey hall, so different from the glowing warmth
of her own dear home.
Dorothy gripped her arm in sympathetic fashion as they alighted and fell
into position in the long line of girls, who had suddenly thrown off
their hoyden airs, and assumed a demeanour of severe propriety. The
queue wended its serpentine course down the hall itself, and across a
smaller corridor to the head of the great staircase, where stood a lady
in a black silk dress, and a cap with lavender ribbons, crowning bands
of iron-grey hair. She was in reality small of stature, but she held
herself with an air which gave her the appearance of being six feet high
at least, and as she shook hands with each girl she addressed to her a
word of greeting.
"How do you do, Mary? Glad to see you, Kathleen. Hope you are better,
Ella. Welcome back, Carrie!" and so on, and so on. Occasionally there
came a hesitation, and the greeting terminated without a name being
added, but whenever this was the case there was a knitting of the brows
which showed distinct annoyance. Miss Bruce evidently took a pride in
remembering her pupils, and was hard on herself for any forgetfulness.
When it came to the turn of the new girls, she detained them a moment to
hope they would be happy, before waving them forward with an encouraging
smile.
"That's what we call being `presented.' She is the Queen, and on the
next landing are `the Lords,' and on the second `the Commons,'"
whispered a girl, who being herself only in her second term was not
averse from posing as preceptor. Rhoda lifted her eyes and beheld an
array of governesses standing before her, shaking hands and welcoming
the pupils in their turn. Some looked formidable and learned, some did
not. Some had the orthodox braided locks and spectacles, some even
condescended to the frivolity of a `fringe,' but one and all bore
themselves with a dignity worthy of a foremost position in the newest of
all new schools.
Rhoda passed by as in a dream, and felt far more interest in "the
Commons," who were for the most part young women removed from girlhood
by so slight a barrier that there was a tone of comradeship in their
voices, a sympathetic understanding in their glance. The sweetest
looking of all was evidently in special charge of the Blues, and, walked
by the side of the two new girls as the detachment filed along the
endless corridor towards its own apartments.
"You two are sisters? No! Ah, well, you must pretend you are, for a
day or two at least, until you get over the first loneliness. Every one
feels lonely at first among such a crowd of strangers, but it soon
passes, and we are very happy together. You must come and sit with me
in my little den sometimes. I'll ask you to tea on Sunday, and you must
always come to me if you are in any difficulty. In the meantime do as
the other girls do, and you will get along quite easily. You are in the
same room. Wash and get ready for tea at once. The gong will ring in
half an hour, and after that your boxes will have arrived and you will
be able to unpack."
They reached the door of the dormitory as she finished speaking, and the
girls entered, trying not to feel as if they were being introduced to a
prison cell, or to be unduly cast down because they were separated by
half the length of the room.
"If we could have been next each other and just wobbled the curtain
occasionally it would have been friendly!" sighed Rhoda, sinking down on
the solitary chair and gazing forlornly round her new abode. A bed, a
wash-stand, a chest of drawers with a glass on top, a small fixture
wardrobe, and about three yards of space on which to disport her own
fair self--different quarters, indeed, from her room at home, with its
spacious floor, its deep bay windows, its adjoining dressing-room and
bathroom! When the curtains were drawn there was a feeling of cramped
confinement which was most depressing to the spirits; yet, as her eye
took in one detail after the other, Rhoda realised that there were
redeeming points in the situation. Small as it was, the cubicle was
decidedly pretty, and blue enough to satisfy the blondest of mistresses.
Blue was the paint on the walls, blue the mat on the floor, blue and
white the coverlet on the bed, blue the quaintly shaped china on the
wash-stand. She remembered with a thrill of satisfaction that her own
bags and cases were of the same hue, and took off her hat feeling that
she had found an oasis in the desert of life.
Half-an-hour seemed a long time to prepare for tea, when no change of
garment was possible, but it passed so quickly that the sound of the
gong came as a surprise, and she emerged from her retreat to find her
room-mates already filing towards the door. Thomasina led the way,
staring at Rhoda's locks with an amusement which the girl found it hard
to fathom. She had brushed out the curling mane with even greater care
than usual, and was conscious that it was as tidy as nature had intended
it should be. Then why stare and smile? She could not understand, but
Thomasina only said enigmatically--
"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may! Come on, Fuzzy!" and led the way out
into the corridor.
Lines of girls were appearing on every side--along this corridor, along
that, down narrow nights of stairs, around unexpected corners, all
converging steadily on the central staircase. It was like a game of
"Follow my leader," and Rhoda could not but admire the ease and skill
with which "Tom" avoided collision, and marshalled her party to its own
table in the great dining-hall. When every one was seated, and grace
said, the clatter of cups and saucers began, and Rhoda had her first
experience of a school meal.
Well! the tea was very welcome, and it certainly was hot, but somehow or
other it did not taste like the tea at home. There was so much "cup"
about it--perhaps that was the explanation. It was quite an effort to
get one's lips over the rim. Thickness seemed to be the order of the
day when one looked from the china to the slices of bread and butter
piled in the many plates. One such chunk would make a meal in itself,
thought Rhoda, nibbling fastidiously at the first slice, but whether
from the fatigue of the long journey or the stimulating effect of
companionship, her appetite seemed to be unusually keen, and when it was
finished she put out her hand to take a second slice.
Instantly Thomasina's voice rang out in warning. "Stop that, Fuzzy!
That's forbidden!" Rhoda stared at her in dignified displeasure. "My
name happens to be Rhoda Chester!"
"Congratulate you, I'm sure. Couldn't be sweeter; but you mustn't break
rules, Rhoda Chester, all the same. The rule in this school is that no
girl helps herself at meals, or asks for more, or pays any attention to
her own plate."
"But if I am hungry? If I _want_ more? How am I to get it?"
"You must rely on the thoughtfulness and attention of your neighbours.
Each girl is supposed to look after those beside her, but if she forgets
you must starve in silence, knowing that you suffer in a good cause. I
find myself that a slight nudge applied to the elbow just as the cup is
being carried to the mouth is a useful and judicious reminder... Let me
press a piece of plum-cake upon you, Miss Chester!"
She held out the plate of bread with her squarest smile, and Rhoda
smiled back with a curious sense of elation. She questioned herself
curiously as to its cause, and made the surprising discovery that it was
because Thomasina had spoken to her, and showed some faint signs of
friendliness!
Tea over, there was another game of "Follow my leader," to the top story
of the building this time, where all the length of a corridor was lined
by baggage, with the mysterious addition of a flat wicker clothes-basket
beside each trunk. The house-mistress, Miss Everett, was flitting to
and fro, and explained to the bewildered new girls that as the cubicles
afforded no room for the accommodation boxes they must unpack upstairs,
and carry down their possessions to store in drawers and wardrobes.
For the next hour and a half, therefore, the curious scene was witnessed
of sixty pupils staggering downstairs in turns under the weight of heavy
baskets of clothes, and meeting with sundry adventures by the way. Lazy
girls gave themselves the usual additional share of trouble by
overweighting their load and toppling it over on the floor; hasty girls
tripped on the stairs and collapsed in a heap, with a rain of boots
falling on their head and pins showering broadcast through the
banisters; careless girls took a rest to ease aching backs, then nipped
up the wrong basket and bore it away, to reappear ten minutes later,
puffing and injured, and receive indignant reproaches from the rightful
owners.
Rhoda worked with a will, undisturbed by any such interruptions. It was
with the unconsciousness of habit that she shook out her silk-lined
skirts, on lifting them from the box, but the rustling sound could not
be mistaken, and instantly she was aware that the girls on either side
were mincing round in affected fashion, shaking out their own skirts,
and simpering meaningly in her direction.
At the first glance from her eyes they became statues of propriety, but
she felt their ridicule, and catching the giggles of laughter which
followed her retreat blushed over cheek and neck in an agony of
mortification.
After all, was it appropriate to bring fine clothes to school? Where
the rules of the house were plain living and high thinking, was it not
better to dress accordingly? Might not display savour of ignorance, of
lack of perception, of--oh, horrors!--of snobbishness itself?
The new dresses hung neglected on their pegs, and Rhoda put on a silk
blouse with her serge skirt, and walked down to supper in mental
sackcloth and ashes.
But here was a pleasant surprise! The room was not grey any longer, but
flooded with rosy light from the pink-hued shades which covered the
electric burners. The girls, too, were no longer clad in dark blue as
in a uniform, but shone forth in blouses of brilliant hues, pink, blue,
red, and white alternating gaily, with an occasional green or yellow to
add to the variety. There was in the atmosphere an indefinable air of
relaxation, of rest after labour, which added tenfold to the brightness
of the scene. What if on each plate there was only a morsel of fish,
not half enough to satisfy clamourous appetites, there was unlimited
bread and jam to follow, and if cocoa was not the drink of all others
which one would have chosen, it was at least wholesome and satisfying.
Rhoda ate and was thankful, and felt ready for bed even before the
summons came. Several times during the day, when her feelings had
threatened to become too keen for endurance, but pride had forbidden
outward demonstration, she had cherished a determination to cry
comfortably in bed; but when the time came she was so sleepy, so
exhausted with excitement, the bed was so unexpectedly sympathetic, that
she forgot her resolution, and, snoodling down on the pillow, fell
swiftly and happily asleep.