How Angel made Several New Acquaintances
IT was a trying experience for Angel to be the object of interest
to five pairs of strange eyes, and she was seized with a perfect
panic of shyness as she gave one hasty glance around the room,
wishing she had been allowed to wait for Mr. Bailey downstairs. She
blushed painfully, conscious of the dead silence which had fallen
upon the group by the window; then she felt her hand taken in a
reassuring clasp, whilst a kind voice said cordially—
"I am very pleased to see you, my dear. I am Mrs. Mickle. Sit down
in this chair by my side. That's right! Let me introduce you to my
children. This is Dinah. She must be about your age; and this is my
baby, Dora. The boys are Gilbert and Tom. Now you know us all!"
Angel shook hands with each member of the family in turn, not knowing
quite what to say, and hoping her silence did not appear ungracious.
"If you will tell us your name, we shall start our acquaintance on a
proper footing," Mrs. Mickle proceeded, pitying her visitor's evident
embarrassment, and longing to put her at her ease.
"I am called Angelica Willis," Angel answered, "but every one calls
me Angel."
"May we call you Angel, too?"
"Oh, please do! Angelica is such a long name, but father wished me
to be called it after Angelica Kauffmann, the painter. Father is an
artist."
"I understand," Mrs. Mickle said, grasping the situation at once;
"you will be an artist yourself, perhaps, when you grow up?"
"No," Angel replied, shaking her head regretfully, "I am afraid not!
I am certain not! I cannot draw even a straight line. It is a great
pity, but I have not the artistic temperament."
She spoke so seriously that Mrs. Mickle refrained from smiling; but
Tom began to giggle, at which sound Angel shot a quick glance at him,
and saw that he was making merry at her expense. She was not
conscious of having said anything funny, and had yet to learn that
very little was sufficient to amuse Tom Mickle. Gilbert was still
standing by the window, looking out, listening to the conversation,
though taking no part in it.
"Are you going to live at Haresdown House with Mr. Bailey?" Dinah
asked hurriedly, seeing that Angel had noticed Tom was laughing
at her.
"Oh no!" was the response. "I live in London with my father and
brother."
"Mr. Bailey is your uncle, isn't he?"
"My great-uncle. He was born at Haresdown House sixty-five years ago,
and he says he hopes to end his days there. He has been so kind
to me, giving me this nice holiday in the country! I was never in the
country before!"
"Never in the country before!" Dora echoed, opening her blue eyes
very wide.
"If that is the case, I am sure you are enjoying your stay at
Wreyford," Mrs. Mickle remarked. "You have been here several days,
have you not?"
"Just a week. I think it is a beautiful place; I never imagined
it would be so lovely! You have sunshine every day!"
"It is exceptionally fine weather for the season, but we rarely
experience very severe winters here. So you have a father and brother
in London? Have you no sisters?"
"No; there are only father, and Gerald, and me!" Angel hesitated, and
glanced down over her black frock; then she raised her eyes to Mrs.
Mickle's face, and caught a look so full of motherly tenderness and
sympathy that her heart gave a throb half of pleasure, half of pain,
and she added simply, "My mother died two years ago."
"Oh, my dear!" cried Mrs. Mickle; and she gave her little visitor
a warm, impulsive kiss, which was returned with goodwill. "You are
going to have tea with us presently," she continued, "so you had
better go upstairs with the girls, and remove your hat and jacket.
Dear me, it is more than half-past four, and we have tea at five."
"Come!" said Dora, taking Angel by the hand, and leading her from the
room, whilst Dinah followed close behind. "We have a room between
us," she explained; "I expect it's rather in a muddle because we had
not time to tidy it before we went for our walk."
"Perhaps you'll excuse it?" Dinah asked politely.
"Oh yes!" Angel responded, "of course I will!"
It was impossible to be shy with the sisters long. They asked her
dozens of questions, which she answered readily; and found herself
putting questions to them in return. She looked around their bedroom
with interested eyes—at the two little white beds side by side, the
pretty pictures on the walls, and the ornaments, which she was told
had been mostly birthday presents—and openly admired everything
she saw. Dinah and Dora evidently had great pride in their room; they
informed her they made the beds themselves, and took it in turns
to do the dusting. "Jane, that is our housemaid, has so much work
that mother likes us to help her all we can," Dinah said in her
matter-of-fact way; "there's plenty to do in this house, there always
is where there are boys about. Tom is dreadfully untidy, and always
forgets to wipe his boots thoroughly before he comes upstairs, and
brings such a lot of grit into the place. Is your brother like that?"
"Yes," Angel answered, smiling, "and Mrs. Steer does get so cross
with him!"
"Who is Mrs. Steer?" Dora inquired.
"Our landlady. We live in lodgings, not in a house of our own."
"Oh, I should not like that at all!" Dora cried.
"Because you are not accustomed to lodgings," Dinah put in quickly.
She turned to Angel and asked, "Is your brother older than you are?"
"No, younger," Angel replied. "He is very clever, and has such a lot
of friends. Every one likes Gerald."
Once set going on her favourite topic of conversation, her brother,
she found a great deal to say. She told how many prizes he had won
at school, and how proud her father was of him.
"Did you ever win a prize?" Dora asked, much interested.
"No," Angel acknowledged, her face, which had been bright and
animated, becoming suddenly overclouded; "I do not go to school!"
"And yet you are older than your brother!" Dinah exclaimed in accents
of surprise.
"Yes," Angel answered; and became suddenly silent.
The sisters saw that for some reason or other she did not wish to be
questioned further upon the subject, and Dinah considerately changed
the conversation.
When the three little girls returned to the dining-room, they found
the cloth had been laid for tea, the lamps lit, and the curtains
drawn; everything looked very comfortable and homely.
"Where are mother and Tom?" Dinah inquired of Gilbert, the sole
occupant of the room, as she drew Angel to the fireside, and gave her
a comfortable chair.
"Mother has gone to see about muffins for tea, and Tom's cleaning
up," he explained, as he slowly crossed the room from the window
to the fireplace.
It was then that Angel saw for the first time that the boy walked
with the assistance of crutches; she had not particularly noticed him
before. Her heart swelled with pity as she realized that he was a
cripple, and her little start of astonishment was not lost upon him.
"What is the matter?" he questioned sharply. "Did you never see any
one on crutches before? Look here!" And he proceeded to swing himself
up and down the room at a great rate. "You see how it's done, don't
you? Now, you needn't stare at me any more!"
"Gilbert!" Dinah cried reprovingly, as he flung himself rather
breathlessly into a chair, and allowed his crutches to drop on the
floor with a crash.
"I—I did not mean to stare!" Angel gasped, aghast at the rage
depicted in every line of the boy's face. "If I did, I am very sorry!
It must have seemed dreadfully rude, but—"
"It is Gilbert who is rude," Dinah said severely, for though several
years her brother's junior, she never scrupled to speak out to him.
"Never mind, Angel," whispered Dora consolingly; "Gilbert is always
like that; you mustn't take any notice of him; we never do."
"What are you whispering about?" he asked suspiciously. He took
no notice of Dinah's reproof; perhaps he knew he deserved it. "When
girls get together they're always whispering."
Angel thought him a most disagreeable, ill-mannered boy;
nevertheless, her kind heart was very sympathetic; she picked up his
crutches from the floor, and put them within his reach.
"I am so very sorry if I annoyed you," she said in tones of real
distress, "I had no idea I was staring. Do forgive me."
"Oh, it's all right! You needn't apologize," he responded gruffly;
"I suppose you were surprised to see I was a miserable cripple."
"I am very sorry," Angel murmured, almost in tears. "It must be
dreadful for you."
"Oh, I don't want you to pity me. I hate pity! I say, you aren't
going to cry, are you? There'll be no end of a row if you do.
I didn't mean to make you cry."
"I am not crying!" Angel declared, which was true, for she had
blinked away the tears which had threatened to fall.
At that point Mrs. Mickle appeared, and not long afterwards Tom came
noisily into the room, almost colliding with the parlour-maid, who
was bringing in a dish of muffins and the teapot. Then Mr. Mickle and
Mr. Bailey joined the party, and after the latter had been introduced
to Mrs. Mickle and the children, they all sat down around the big
dining-table, and the meal commenced.
"I was acquainted with your husband's father many years ago,"
Mr. Bailey told Mrs. Mickle. He was sitting at her right hand,
talking to her as easily as though he had known her all his life.
"You have doubtless heard I have bought Haresdown House,"
he continued; "I hope you and your young people will often come
to see me when I am settled there. I'm a lonely, old bachelor,
but I'm inclined to be sociable, you must understand."
"You will have your little niece with you?" Mrs. Mickle suggested.
"Oh no!" Angel exclaimed.
"I am afraid not," Mr. Bailey said, shaking his head regretfully;
"my little niece has a father and brother, to both of whom she is
devoted; I am not sure that they would consent to my taking her away
from them!"
"Your father is an artist, is he not?" Mr. Mickle asked, turning
to Angel. "I saw a book for children the other day most charmingly
illustrated by one John Willis."
"Oh, that is my father!" Angel cried, her eyes flashing with delight,
her heart swelling with pride. "He illustrates books most
beautifully, and paints pictures too."
Mr. Mickle appeared much interested, and questioned his little
visitor further. Encouraged by his evident appreciation of her
father's abilities, Angel lost all her shyness, and told him of the
great picture of which so much was expected.
"Indeed, I hope it will be a success," he said kindly; "if it is
in the Royal Academy, I think I must run up to town in May and have
a look at it!"
"How I should like to see your father's picture!" exclaimed Gilbert,
meeting Angel's eyes across the table.
"Ah, Gilbert is fond of painting," his father remarked.
"Do you paint yourself?" Angel inquired, looking at the boy with
friendly interest, momentarily forgetful of the uncomfortable five
minutes he had given her before tea.
"A little," he acknowledged, "but I have never learnt."
"I have been remarking to your uncle that I hoped we should see more
of you, my dear," Mrs. Mickle said to Angel; "but he tells me you are
returning to London to-morrow!"
"And I have been saying that I shall expect you to pay me a long
visit soon at Haresdown House, Angel," Mr. Bailey broke in, "and then
Mrs. Mickle and all our kind, new friends will have an opportunity
of renewing their acquaintance with you." And he nodded smilingly
at the faces around the table.
"Oh, are you really going to-morrow," Dora cried disappointedly,
"just as we have got to know you? That is too bad!"
The remainder of the meal passed very pleasantly; and Angel was
exceedingly sorry when, a little later, her uncle bade her put on her
hat and jacket, for they must go.
"When you come to visit Mr. Bailey we shall hope to see a lot of
you," Mrs. Mickle said hospitably, as she shook hands with her little
guest at parting, and gave her a kiss. "Good-bye, my dear; I trust we
shall meet again."
"Good-bye!" Angel replied softly, as she returned the caress. "How
kind of you to kiss me! No one has kissed me quite like that since
mother died."
Then she took leave of the children and their father, and went away
with Mr. Bailey, waving her hand to the group of faces watching
from the window, wondering if she would ever see them again.
"What very nice people they are, Uncle Edward," she said, as soon as
they were out of sight of the house.
"Yes," he agreed. "Mr. Mickle is going to see to my affairs. I have
been on the lookout for a reliable lawyer since my return to England;
I am glad now I did not enlist the services of one in London. I knew
this man's father, and I like the man himself."
"I like him too," Angel replied. "Fancy his having seen some of
father's illustrations! He was very kind, so was Mrs. Mickle, and
Dinah and Dora. Uncle Edward, did you notice one of the boys is a
cripple?"
"Yes; it is very sad. Such a handsome boy too, and remarkably clever,
his father told me. Ah, it is a terrible cross for the poor lad to
bear! He has been lame from birth. The younger boy looks full of life
and mischief; Gerald would like him, eh?"
"I am sure he would."
"Gerald would enjoy the country as well as you, I dare say; if all's
well, he shall spend his Easter holidays at Haresdown House next
year."
The little girl slipped her fingers into Mr. Bailey's hand, and gave
it a gentle squeeze. She was delighted at the thought of the pleasure
in store for her brother.
"May I tell him what you say?" she asked. "He was a little
disappointed at having to remain at home now."
"Was he? Yes, you can tell him, if you like. Are you sorry we are
leaving here to-morrow?"
"Yes, although I shall be glad to see father and Gerald again. What a
long time a week seems sometimes, Uncle Edward! And, oh, what a lot
I shall have to tell when I get home!"
The following day Mr. Bailey and his little niece returned to London.
Their visit to Wreyford had been a great success, for the weather had
been mild and pleasant, and they had been thus enabled to spend most
of the time out of doors; Mr. Bailey had been gratified to find a few
old friends still living in the place, with whom he had renewed
acquaintance; and everything had been so new and strange to Angel,
that the week in the country had almost seemed like a glimpse into
fairyland, so charmed was she with the quiet, old town, its ancient
church on the hill, and the beautiful scenery which stretched around.