UPS AND DOWNS.
There was nothing now to keep them at Lomore. Mr. Stacey's clerks had
made an inventory of the contents of the house; David M'Taggart and Mrs.
Morrison had packed their 'young leddies'' personal belongings, part in
boxes to be taken to London, and part locked away in a room in the old
home, of which David M'Taggart had the key, and into which, he solemnly
assured his late young mistresses, no one should enter but himself.
So all that remained for the two orphans to do was to say good-bye to
their friends, which they hurried over as much as possible, for partings
are painful in any case, and it was especially so in this one, and the
most painful was the parting from 'nursie,' as they called Mrs.
Morrison.
'And remember, my bairns, if you are ill or want me at any time, I'm
here and ready to come to you. I've a good bit laid by for a rainy day,
and I've no need to work any more, thank the Lord, and don't mean to
work for any but a Wharton, if he was as rich as Dives; so if ever you
should want a maid who needs no wages I'll be waiting for the call, and
will be with you as fast as the train will take me, for you're like my
own bairns,' said the loyal old servant, who had spent forty of her
fifty-five years of life in the service of the Laird of Lomore, as had
her father and grandfather before her, and was still as hale and hearty
as a woman of thirty.
The two girls clung to her, but could not say a word, and Mr. Montague
Jones, who had brought the car to the house to fetch them, turned his
head away and cleared his throat suspiciously, feeling, as he told his
wife afterwards, like a veritable robber who had stolen their home, and
turned these two helpless and innocent girls adrift in the wide world,
of which they knew nothing.
Mrs. Montague Jones did her best to be pleasant to her companion, who
was Stella, for Vava was sitting beside Mr. Jones and the chauffeur; but
though the girl was perfectly civil, and expressed her gratitude for
their kindness, Stella was so reserved and unresponsive that it is to be
feared that Mrs. Jones did not enjoy her return trip as much as she had
done the one northward to take possession of the coveted property, which
foolish speculations had caused the late Laird to mortgage up to its
full value.
Poor proud Stella, in her innocence it had not occurred to her that she
would be entertained at the best hotels on the way south; nor did she
know that the journey was being made very leisurely, and, to tell the
truth, by rather indirect routes, so that their thoughts might be
distracted, and that they might be shown pretty scenery and interesting
cathedrals and old towns. But there was no getting out of it now.
'Though if I had had any idea of the obligation we were putting
ourselves under I would never have come, not even to prevent your being
train-sick, Vava,' she declared to her sister.
'Then it's a very good thing you did not know; we're having a glorious
time, and what is a few pounds to them? Nothing, as Mr. Montague Jones
says; he is enjoying these sights twice as much for seeing us enjoy
them; though, for that matter, you don't look much as if you were
enjoying yourself, except when we are going over cathedrals, or looking
at some extra-special view, and then, though I say it as shouldn't, your
face is worth looking at,' affirmed Vava.
Stella laughed at the candid flattery, and took a hint from the equally
candid criticism, and tried to be more agreeable to her kind hostess,
with the result that Mrs. Montague Jones was emboldened to ask her if
she would not stay a few days with them in Belgrave Square until they
had found rooms.
But Stella withdrew into her shell at once. 'Oh no, thank you; you are
very kind, but we have the address of some lodgings which Mrs. Monro,
our minister's wife, knows, and they are expecting us.'
They were now at their last stage, and Stella handed Mrs. Monro's card
to Mr. Jones, and on it was written the address. He took it and read it,
and said, 'Vincent Street, Westminster; that's not far from us. We shall
hope to see you sometimes; it's a poky little street, and you'll be glad
to get out of it, though even Belgrave Square will seem sooty and
confined after Lomore.'
It was not as tactful a speech as it might have been, and was received
in such freezing silence by Stella that his wife did not dare to second
the invitation, and the two girls were deposited at their new abode
without any promise of meeting again, as far as Stella was concerned. As
for Vava, she shook hands with Mr. Jones very warmly, and kissed Mrs.
Jones; but neither did she say anything but good-bye, which, truth to
say, she said in such a cheerful tone as to surprise her sister.
But the cheeriness soon subsided at sight of their rooms, for which the
landlady, impressed by the grandeur of their arrival, hastened to
apologise. 'And where all that luggage that arrived yesterday is to go I
don't know; I've no place for it here, miss; so I just told the
railway-man to keep all but these two port-manteaus at their
storerooms,' she added.
'Perhaps that was best,' said Stella quietly. And then, the woman having
taken her departure, she sat down on the bed, a large double one, which
filled up half the dingy room, and looked round the apartment and into
the tiny sitting-room with distaste.
'It's horrid, and--one thing's certain, I won't have that man staring at
me!' cried Vava impulsively, jumping up, and mounting on a chair in
order to take down a large portrait of a stolid-faced policeman.
'Vava, come down and leave it alone! What can you be thinking of? That
is the landlady's husband, no doubt. Mrs. Monro said he was a policeman,
and so we should be safe with him. You will hurt her feelings!' cried
Stella.
'Then let her have him in her own bedroom. How can I sleep with him
looking as if he were going to take me to prison all the time?' said
Vava. However, she did not take 'him' down, but came down herself; and
as the Joneses had thoughtfully had a substantial tea before they
deposited their passengers, the girls decided that they would want
nothing that night but a glass of milk, and went out in the dusk to see
what they could of London, and get out of their close and confined
lodgings.
'It went to my heart, Monty, to leave those two poor girls in that
dreadful place. This world's very unfair somehow,' said Mrs. Jones, as
she and her husband entered their own handsome house.
'And yet you were not too pleased at my offer about the furniture, and
wanted to make me force them to sell it outright,' her husband reminded
her.
'Oh well, business is business; but now that I know those two Misses
Wharton I feel glad the furniture is still theirs, though what good
it'll do them now or ever--unless some duke comes along and marries Miss
Stella for her pretty face--I don't know.'
'The money I pay for hire will do them good'--Mr. Jones was paying fifty
pounds a year--'and it needn't be a duke. I'd not mind her for a
daughter myself.'
'Pray don't put such ideas into Jamie's head; not that she would not be
a good wife, for she's a good girl, but she'd never look at a Jones. And
if that's your plan, I'm sorry she ever came to town, for it will only
upset Jamie. I do hope he won't fall in love with her!' cried Jamie's
mother in alarm.
'Who spoke of Jamie? The girl's up here to earn her living, and has no
idea of love-making, thank goodness! As for Jamie, he's all right, and
can look after himself at his age, I should hope. I only meant that I'd
like as ornamental a wife for him when he reigns up there as I've got to
face me,' said Mr. Montague Jones gallantly. Then in the bustle of
home-coming and the joy of meeting the aforementioned Jamie, the
Whartons were banished as subjects of conversation, although a little
later their name cropped up in connection with their property and other
matters.
The Whartons themselves never mentioned their late hosts. London in the
dusk, with its brilliant lights, its roar of traffic, and its hurrying
crowds, claimed their attention.
'Oh Stella, it's awful--just awful!' cried Vava, clinging to her
sister's arm in alarm.
'See, there is a park in front of us; let us go in there; it will be
quieter,' replied Stella, as she pressed Vava's arm and hurried her over
the crossing into Hyde Park, in which direction they had fortunately
strayed.
Vava drew a great breath of relief as they began to cross the park
diagonally. 'Thank goodness! I can breathe here, and needn't be looking
all the time to see where those horrid, screechy motors are coming to,
tearing along as they do,' she said, quite forgetful of the fact that
she herself had not many hours before been tearing along in one of these
same 'horrid motors.'
It was January, and the air was cold, but the Highland girls did not
mind that, and took such a long walk, turning and twisting in the park,
so as to avoid the streets, that they were tired out when they reached
their lodgings. They slept soundly, and the next morning awoke with more
courage to face their new life. The first thing was to visit the City
school, and this they did together.
'I have heard of you, Miss Wharton,' said Miss Upjohn, the
head-mistress, 'and I hope I shall be able to persuade you to entrust
your sister to us.' She then proceeded to give her visitor a detailed
account of the school, its staff, and its aims. 'Our term begins
to-morrow, and that,' she continued, pointing to a large card on the
table, 'is our motto for the week. We have a new one each week, and this
week, as it is the beginning of the new year, we have taken "Truth and
honour." The school motto is "Love as brethren," and I shall make a
little speech upon it to-morrow morning after prayers.'
Stella listened in her dignified, reserved way, and it was only when she
smiled that the head-mistress understood Mr. Montague Jones's
enthusiastic way of speaking of her.
Vava was more responsive. 'Oh Stella, this is a lovely school! Do let me
come here. And for our gymnastics we wear a red drill-dress--what fun!
And what nice big rooms! I can breathe here!' she cried.
Stella smiled again. 'I don't know what to say; it seems so funny to
take the first school one sees without looking about; but we have no
time to spare. The only thing I am afraid of is, if you will excuse my
saying so, the companions she will find here; it is not a very
aristocratic part of London, and I should not like Vava to mix with the
children I see in this street.'
Miss Upjohn smiled too. 'I understand your feelings; but I can assure
you that though there is a mixture here, as in all big schools--even the
best--our girls do not come from the streets; they come from very good
neighbourhoods. I do not think your sister will come to any harm by
mixing with them, and I will myself take special care of her and let her
sit at lunch with one of our teachers, who dine here in the middle of
the day.'
Miss Wharton did not know that she owed this concession to Mr. Jones's
representations; she did not even know that it was a concession, for she
had been used to a good deal of attention both from her position and her
beauty; but she knew that Miss Upjohn was being very kind and friendly,
and she felt sure her sister would be safe with such a high-principled
woman. So before they left the big, ugly red-brick building, which Mr.
Jones had truly called palatial, it was decided that Vava should go
there the next day and be duly enrolled as a day-scholar at the City
School for Girls.
'And now that all that is comfortably settled, let us go and see the
Tower; it is in the City, so it must be near,' observed Vava.
But she was mistaken; it was not near. However, as they were walking
along--for they were too unused to cities to think it necessary to go
everywhere in buses and trams--Stella gave a little exclamation of
surprise.
'What is it, Stella? What frightened you?' inquired Vava, looking up at
her sister.
'I am not frightened, only surprised. There is the office that I shall
go to every day, quite close to your school, so that I can see you to
your door before I go there. I am so glad,' explained Stella.
'So am I glad, Stella. Now I sha'n't feel lonely, for I don't mind
telling you that I felt just a wee bit frightened at the thought of
being away from you among strangers, and no one I knew anywhere near;
and here you will be quite near me, so that I can run in and see you
whenever I want!' exclaimed the girl.
'Oh but you must not do that; you must not run about the streets alone!
London is not Lomore, you know; besides, you will have no time to pay
visits in school-hours, nor shall I have time to receive them. You must
remember I am only a paid servant to these people,' said Stella, with
proud humility. She then continued, 'I cannot receive visitors as if it
were my own house, though, of course, if anything were really the matter
Miss Upjohn could send for me. It is nice for us both to know we are
only a few minutes' walk from each other.'
Not for many a day did Stella and Vava Wharton know to whose kind
interest they owed this fact, nor to whom they were indebted for many a
privilege, both in the former's office and the latter's school; though
it was to one and the same person. At any rate, this knowledge of their
nearness to each other made their first day in London a happier one than
it would otherwise have been.
The Tower proved as fascinating as it always does to girls who love
history when they see the fortress for the first time, and the sisters
spent a long time in it and its surroundings, and went back to Vincent
Street resigned to, if not content with, their lot, the worst part of
which was their lodgings. Stella felt that the house could never be in
the least a home to them, and was not situated in a nice part for them
to live in, though she did not see what she could do better, with their
limited means and knowledge of London.