Robina Starling was waiting all by herself in the school parlour. Mrs
Burton had received her, and had been very nice to the small girl. She
had talked to her affectionately, and even kissed her, and had herself
taken her to the dormitory where the girls of the third form slept. She
had shown her the little cubicle which was to be all her own, and said
that she felt quite certain Robina would be happy at school.
"There is no unhappy girl in my school," she said, "and if you are not
as gay as a lark and as bright as the sunshine, you will be the first
discontented girl who ever came to Abbeyfield. Now, dear, your things
will be unpacked for you by Preston; but, in the meantime, you might
brush your hair and wash your hands; then you can come down to me. We
shall have tea together this first night. Afterwards, I will take you
to the parlour, where you can wait for your companions."
Mrs Burton left the dormitory as she spoke, and Robina stood there all
alone. When she found herself quite alone, she blinked her eyes hard
two or three times, then, tossing back her great mane of thick brown
hair, said under her breath, "Now I am better." Then she proceeded to
investigate the room.
There were eight beds in the room, and it was, of course, very large.
This dormitory, occupied by the third form girls, was perhaps the most
beautiful bedroom it was possible to see. Each girl's little division,
or cubicle, was quite as large as an ordinary small bedroom. It was
curtained off, and was completely furnished within with every
requirement that a small girl could desire. There was, to begin with, a
very pretty wash-hand stand with rows of wide, deep drawers beneath, and
over the stand was a looking-glass. The wash-hand stand, with its
drawers and glass, was so placed that a girl could see her face nicely.
There was a little toilet table without a glass, and there was a deep
cupboard in the wall full of shelves at one side and a hanging press at
the other. The floor of the little cubicle was carpeted with pretty
felt, and there were curtains to match at the windows.
Robina found herself in one of the most charming of the eight cubicles.
Each cubicle was arranged with a different colour, and Robina's was of a
very delicate shade of mauve; the paint was white and the decorations
mauve; the felt carpet was mauve, the curtains were mauve, and the
little bed had a French canopy over it of mauve and white curtains tied
back with broad mauve ribbons. There was also a mauve silk _couvrepied_
on the bed, so that altogether the effect was most charming.
Robina was not, perhaps, a shy girl; and, having quickly taken in what
her own cubicle contained, she marched into the others. Each cubicle
was exactly like its fellow, except that its colouring was different:
some were all in pink, some all in blue, some again in red and white,
some again in palest primrose.
"I have the prettiest," thought Robina; "not that I care."
She now looked out of her window. The cubicle next to hers had no
window, so she was highly privileged; but she was not in a mood to
notice this at present. She stood quite still, gazing steadily out at
the view. Her face was peculiar for so young a child, and had a look of
power about it which would distinguish it all through life, and make
people inclined to look twice at her. It was not exactly a beautiful
face, but it arrested attention. The little nose was short, and
perfectly straight; the brows thick; the forehead broad and very white.
The eyes were good, but of a nondescript colour; so that one moment you
spoke of them as brown, at another as blue, at another as grey. At
night, they looked very black, and in times of emotion they would
sparkle in quite a dangerous way. Robina's mouth was well cut, but a
little large. She had a clear skin that was somewhat pale, and was a
square-built child, neither especially tall nor especially short for her
age.
Having completed her toilet--not with any particular view to being tidy
or making herself charming--she went downstairs. A maid directed her to
Mrs Burton's sitting-room, where she and her mistress had tea.
During tea-time, Mrs Burton did what she could to draw Robina out. But
this was not at all an easy task. Robina did not want to be drawn; and
she was the sort of child whom it was absolutely difficult to force out
of the way in which she washed to go. Mrs Burton tried her on the
subject of her sick mother; but although Robina did blink her eyes twice
in a rather suspicious manner, she replied quite calmly, saying that her
mother was always an invalid and could not stand noise.
"I am noisy," said Robina, "so that is why I have been sent to you. Did
you know that?"
"Yes," replied Mrs Burton.
"Do you expect me to be very quiet here?" continued Robina.
"In play-time," answered Mrs Burton, "you can be as noisy as you like."
"But when I am in the mood I am always noisy," said Robina.
"We don't have moods here," replied Mrs Burton, whereupon Robina
stretched out her hand and helped herself without asking to a large
piece of cake. She ate it almost greedily, stuffing great pieces into
her mouth.
Mrs Burton was determined that no discipline should begin that evening,
so she turned now to the subject of lessons. What did Robina know?
Nothing, it seemed, and yet in a way everything.
"I have read lots," answered that young lady calmly; "but they couldn't
manage me about my lessons; that was another reason why they sent me
here. Did you know that?"
"Yes; I have heard it," replied Mrs Burton.
"Do you mean to manage me here?" asked Robina.
"I hope so," replied the headmistress.
"Nobody else has been able to do it," said Robina in a very calm voice.
Then she got up, allowing a lot of crumbs to fall upon the floor, and
walked to the window. She stood--perhaps with intention--her broad back
to her governess. Mrs Burton looked at the back, the well-squared
shoulders, the sturdy little figure, the thick hair which fell in
luxuriant masses far below the child's waist.
Mrs Burton was not one either to sigh or despair; but she knew quite
well that she had undertaken no mean task in introducing Robina Starling
into her orderly school. After a minute's pause she got up, and, going
to her little pupil, took her hand.
"I want you to help me, Robina," she said. The wild eyes darted a quick
glance into her face.
"How?" asked Robina. "I am not much good at that sort of thing."
"I won't tell you how to-night, my dear; but perhaps to-morrow we will
have a talk. There is one rule in the school which has never been
broken yet; and that is, that a new pupil--quite a new pupil--has tea
with me all by herself on the day after her arrival. So you, Robina,
will have the privilege of having tea alone with me to-morrow evening.
You must come to me here at five o'clock--sharp at five o'clock,
remember--and then you and I will have a little talk and I hope a nice
time together. It is considered an honour, my love."
"That depends on who is considering, doesn't it?" said Robina very
calmly.
"I am sure you will think it an honour," said Mrs Burton in as calm a
voice. Then she took her pupil's hand, and led her into the school
parlour. "You will find books here," she said, "and every single thing
you want until the other girls come back. I expect them at eight
o'clock, when you will all have supper, and then you will go to bed."
Robina said nothing, and the headmistress went away.
There were three special parlours in the school. They were called by
the old-fashioned name of parlour, but they were in reality ordinary
sitting-rooms. One was devoted to the sixth form girls, and this was a
large and truly elegant apartment, furnished well, with a grand piano,
and easels, and beautiful pictures on the walls. The sixth form girls
had all sorts of comfortable chairs and everything to conduce to that
feeling of being grown-up which is so much liked by girls of from
sixteen to eighteen years of age.
The little ones had also a parlour which was more like a play-room than
anything else; and the third form parlour, in which Robina now found
herself, was a large, square room with a round table in the middle, a
book-shelf full of story-books, another book-shelf full of histories and
works of travel, a pair of globes, and several bird-cages. A bird-cage
hung down before each of the four windows, and in the cages were
canaries, bullfinches, and other tame birds. There was also a parrot in
a large cage in one corner of the room.
Robina, whose eyes had been quite dull, and who had felt an
indescribable and most painful weight at her heart, quite brightened up
when she saw the birds. She amused herself taking her chair from one
window to another and examining the feathered creatures, who had now
curled themselves up into round fluffy balls, and were sound asleep.
Not for the world would she awaken them; but a new, tender sort of light
came into her eyes as she watched them.
"Pretty darlings!" she said softly, under her breath. Her whole queer
little face became happier in expression after she had examined the pet
birds of the third form. She then crossed the room to look at the
parrot. The parrot was an old grey bird with a solemn, wise face. He
was not asleep: no one ever seemed to catch him nodding. He turned his
head to one side and looked full at the new-comer.
"Mind what you're about!" he said sharply, and then he turned his back
to her as though she were not of the slightest consequence.
Robina burst out laughing. The parrot laughed too, but still kept his
back to her.
"Mind what _you're_ about yourself," said Robina. Whereupon the parrot
answered, "Ha, ha!" and the next minute began to "_miaow_" in the most
distracted manner, as though he were an angry cat.
Robina, now in fits of mirth, stood and regarded him. She was so
employed when all the girls of the third form burst into the room. They
came in in great excitement, each pair of eyes fixed upon Robina, and
all the seven pairs of lips eager to say something to the girl who had
so strongly excited their curiosity.
"I am so glad to see you. How do you do?" said Frederica, who was
slightly the oldest girl in the form, and therefore the one to take the
lead. "You are Robina, are you not?"
"Yes," said Robina. She spoke with extreme calm. "You must be very
tired."
"I am not a bit tired," said Robina.
"Well, I am glad you are not. I am sorry we were not at home to welcome
you. We have had a lovely picnic!"
"Bother picnics!" said Robina.
This was a little disconcerting. Harriet Lane began to laugh. The
parrot said instantly "Mind what you're about! Ha, ha!" and everyone
laughed now. The ice was broken: it was impossible to be formal after
Polly had declared himself. Robina found that she was surrounded by a
lot of eager, good-looking, pleasant girls. Each seemed more eager than
the other to give her a hearty welcome. The soreness round her heart
was soothed for the time being. She sank down on a chair and looked
them all over.
"You're not a bad lot for school-girls," she said; "but I don't know one
from the other. Who is each? Please don't speak so fast--one at a
time. You are Frederica? What a queer name! Now, who are you? And
who are you? I will tell you very soon which of you I mean to be
friends with. I always do what I like everywhere."
"Mind what you're about! Ha, ha!" said the parrot.
Book 1--CHAPTER THREE.