The town of Hendon was only a mile away from the school, and the girls
constantly rode there on their bicycles. They were never allowed to go
without a teacher accompanying them. Quite a favourite exercise was to
ride through the little town and out into the country at the other end.
Mrs Priestley was one of the most fashionable dressmakers at Hendon, and
had the custom of most of the best girls of the school. Those, however,
who were a little poor or short of funds employed a certain Mrs Arnold,
who was also fairly good, but did not produce nearly such stylish gowns
as those which issued from the Priestley establishment.
When Annie, in her pretty way--for her manners could be exceedingly
pretty when she chose--asked Mrs Lyttelton for permission to go to Mrs
Priestley on the afternoon of the following day, that lady neither
expressed nor felt surprise.
"You can certainly do so, my dear," she said; "only don't stay long.
And why is not Mabel Lushington going herself? I did not know, Annie,
that you had your dresses made by Mrs Priestley."
"I don't as a rule," replied Annie in her sweet little, gentle voice.
"My uncle can't afford it. But on this special occasion--oh, it is a
great secret, Mrs Lyttelton!--Uncle Maurice will let me have a very
plain white muslin made by Mrs Priestley. You know it isn't the
material that counts so much; it is the way a dress is cut and made up.
Mrs Priestley has such exquisite style."
"That is certainly the case," said Mrs Lyttelton. "Then you are going
there about your dress?"
"I am; but, please, you won't betray me?"
"Betray you, dear Annie? What do you mean?"
"I don't want the girls to know that I am to wear a Priestley dress
until the great day. It is just my own little secret. You won't
breathe it, dear Mrs Lyttelton?"
"Certainly not, my child. I am glad that such a small thing gives you
pleasure. And it is quite natural," she added, "that a young girl
should wish to be well dressed. But don't think too much of it, Annie.
Our dresses are by no means the most important things in life."
"I could not live with you," said Annie, "without being well aware of
that."
There came a pretty colour into her cheeks, which always made her look
very nearly beautiful; and her eyes lost that expression which made some
people who were not her greatest friends consider Annie Brooke just a
tiny bit "not straight, you know."
Annie now rushed off in a tumult of happiness. It was wonderful how
easily her plans were being brought to perfection. She rode into Hendon
on her nice free-wheel bicycle, accompanied by two or three other girls
and also by a teacher. The teacher and the girls were to leave Annie at
Mrs Priestley's, and to come again for her on their return from their
own ride into the country. Annie would thus have plenty of time for her
purpose.
When she was admitted into Mrs Priestley's very fashionable
waiting-room, hung round with dresses in various stages of development,
and all equally fascinating according to Annie's ideas, she felt her
heart beat with satisfaction. By-and-by the mistress of the
establishment made her appearance.
"I want to speak to you," said Annie, rising. "In one moment, miss."
Mrs Priestley would not have treated Mabel Lushington in so off-hand a
manner; but Annie Brooke was not one of her customers--at least, had not
been up to the present; and as she was very busy sending off a large
order to Paris, she did not trouble her head about keeping the young
lady waiting for nearly a quarter of an hour. During this time Annie
felt very indignant. Mrs Priestley dared to sit by a large desk in her
presence and to write several orders which her forewoman was dictating
to her. At last the letter was finished. Mrs Priestley said, "Get this
posted immediately." Then she turned to Annie:
"What can we do for you, miss?"
"I have come to see you on a matter of some importance," said Annie. "I
have come from Miss Lushington."
"Oh, indeed, miss? We are very sorry that we were obliged to keep you
waiting, but we have a wedding order at present on hand, and it is
necessary to get some special laces and flowers from Paris without any
delay. What can we do for Miss Lushington, miss?"
"First of all," said Annie, "I want to know if you will make a dress for
me. I want to wear it on the prize day at Mrs Lyttelton's school."
"Yes, miss, we could manage; although the time is not very long. Still,
we have so many of Mrs Lyttelton's pupils on our books that we should be
sorry not to oblige." Mrs Priestley spoke as though she were royalty.
"What sort of dress did you think of our making for you, miss?"
"It must not be expensive," said Annie, whose secret thought was that
she might purchase it partly out of her own money and partly out of
Mabel Lushington's very abundant pocket-money. "I think a pale-blue
muslin; and can you make it for about two guineas?"
Mrs Priestley raised her eyebrows in a somewhat scornful manner.
"Quite impossible, miss. But perhaps Mrs Arnold could do it for you."
Whenever Mrs Priestley wanted to crush a customer she alluded to Mrs
Arnold, whose style was so execrable, and whose "ladies"--as Mrs
Priestley spoke of them--could be known at any distance by the bad hang
of their garments. Annie argued a little longer on the subject of her
own dress, and finally a very simple frock was arranged for her, which
would not cost the young lady much over three pounds.
Mabel's letter was then produced.
"This is very, very private," said Annie Brooke as she gave it to Mrs
Priestley.
"Dear Miss Lushington!" murmured Mrs Priestley. "We always take such a
great interest in her clothes. It is our wish to do our very utmost to
mould our garments round her fine figure."
"Read the note, please," said Annie.
Mrs Priestley did so. If she felt surprise at the contents, her face
expressed nothing.
"You will excuse us, miss," she said when she came to the end; "we will
return in a few minutes."
She left the room. Annie sank down into a chair, feeling limp. What if
Mrs Priestley were to refuse? Such a possible and awful contingency had
never even occurred to her.
Mrs Priestley was away for some time, quite half-an-hour. When she did
return the expression on her face had slightly changed.
"We will come into our private sitting-room, miss," she said.
She went first; Annie followed her. Mrs Priestley's private room was
very small and very much crowded. Nearly the whole of it was taken up
by an enormous desk containing various pigeon-holes. There was,
however, room for two chairs. Annie was asked to seat herself in one.
"We have been looking," said Mrs Priestley, "into our accounts. You, we
understand, miss, are acquainted with the contents of the letter of our
much-esteemed client, Miss Lushington."
"Yes," said Annie; "I know all about it. As well as I remember, my
great friend, Mabel Lushington, said that I could arrange the matter
with you."
"We are coming to that--if you have no objection, miss."
Annie felt snubbed. It so happened that she had never before had any
personal contact with the great Priestley. She had seen her beautiful
gowns on several ladies at Hendon and on some of the best-dressed girls
of the school, but not until now had she been face to face with this
awful priestess of the art of dressmaking.
"We would not wish," said Mrs Priestley, "to do anything to disoblige
our clients and it is true that there have been times when it has been
our pleasure to assist a lady in the manner indicated, but there has
usually been a little sort of arrangement made in order to secure our
money. You, we understand, come here to-day with such a proposal, do
you not, miss?"
Annie felt more and more uncomfortable.
"I simply thought," she said, "that you would oblige. You see, Mabel is
very rich."
"If we were not firmly convinced on that point," interrupted Mrs
Priestley, "we would not entertain the proposal for a quarter of a
minute."
"Mabel is very rich," continued Annie. "I mean that her aunt, Lady
Lushington, is enormously wealthy."
"We have that distinguished lady's patronage," said Mrs Priestley. "We
have made gowns for her as well as for the young lady, her niece."
"You send Miss Lushington's accounts to Lady Lushington?" said Annie.
The high priestess of the art of dressmaking thought it only necessary
to bow her stately head. "Then perhaps you will lend Mabel the money?"
said Annie, who felt herself getting into greater and greater hot water.
"It can be done," said Mrs Priestley, "but only in one way. We must
treat our young customer as we do the other clients whom it has been our
privilege to oblige on more than one occasion. We must either have the
lady's jewels to the value of the sum borrowed, or we must add the
thirty pounds to Miss Lushington's account in our books. At the present
moment Miss Lushington's bill amounts to close on forty pounds, and if
we add thirty more it will make seventy. Are we to understand that Lady
Lushington will pay so large a bill without comment for a young lady who
is only a schoolgirl?"
"Oh, I am sure she will," said Annie, whose one desire at that moment
was to get the money and leave Mrs Priestley's presence. "She is so
enormously rich," continued the girl, "she thinks nothing of spending a
hundred pounds on one dress for herself. Why, seventy pounds," said
Annie, who would have rejoiced just then to possess three, "is a mere
nothing to her--just a bagatelle. I know it."
"Your statement, miss, is satisfactory, as far as it goes. We will
therefore, being assured by our own experience that you are right, lend
Miss Lushington the required sum, but on the distinct understanding that
if Lady Lushington raises any question with regard to the account, we
are at liberty to mention your name in the matter."
"How so?" asked Annie, very much alarmed. "I am only a little
schoolgirl," she added, "with no money at all."
"Nevertheless, miss, we must mention your name--Miss Annie Brooke, is it
not?"
Annie nodded. Mrs Priestley made a note of it, adding the date of
Annie's visit and the fact that she was a resident at Lyttelton School.
She then, without any further ado, produced gold and notes to the amount
of thirty pounds, which she folded up into a little parcel and gave to
Annie.
"You will give us a receipt for this, miss," she said; and Annie did so
in due form. "And now, miss," continued the woman, "all is well, and
you will never hear any more with regard to this matter if we are paid
our account in full; but if there is difficulty--and even rich ladies
sometimes grumble at a bill such as we shall be forced to produce--then
you may get into hot water. We will now wish you good-afternoon, miss,
for our time is not our own but our customers'."
How flushed Annie was! When she got into the open air she panted
slightly. She looked up the street and down the street. She had had an
awful time with Mrs Priestley, and she had quite forgotten the dress
which was to be made for Mabel. She could not remedy that omission now,
however; for nothing would induce her to see the terrible Mrs Priestley
again. Her companions were not yet in sight, and she paced up and down
thinking her own thoughts.
After a time she felt calmer. The money was safe in her pocket. There
would be no fuss for three months at least. Annie was a sort of girl
who could not think of trouble three months ahead. In half-an-hour she
felt quite happy. The memory of her depression vanished, and when the
girls on their bicycles hove in sight she met them with a gay word.
"You _have_ had a ride!" she said. "I have been out of Mrs Priestley's
for ages."
"I thought," said Agnes Moore, one of the girls, "that you would never
be tired of an interview with a dressmaker, Annie. Is she quite as
imposing as people describe her? I go to Mrs Arnold, you know."
"She is withering," said Annie, with a laugh. "She invariably speaks of
herself as `we,' and is a perfect mass of pomposity. I do wish, Agnes,
you could have heard the withering tone in which she alluded to `Mrs
Arnold's ladies.' Oh dear, oh dear! I nearly died with laughter."
During the rest of the ride home Annie amused herself in taking off Mrs
Priestley, which she did to the life. That very same evening thirty
pounds in gold and notes had been transferred, first from Annie's pocket
to that of Mabel Lushington, and then from Mabel Lushington to Priscilla
Weir.
Priscilla turned very white when her hand touched the little packet.
"It hurts me," she said aloud. Mabel and Annie were both present when
she made this remark, but neither of them asked her to explain herself.
On the contrary, Mabel took Annie's arm and hurried her away.
"How did you manage with Mrs Priestley?" she asked.
"It is all right, love," said Annie. "She has added thirty pounds to
your account."
But Mabel looked not at all satisfied. "I didn't want it to be done in
that way," she said. "Aunt Henrietta will be wild. She is always
quarrelling with me about my dresses, and says that I spend twice too
much on them. Good gracious! I do trust that I sha'n't get into
trouble about this."
"You must not," said Annie; "for if, by any chance, such a thing were to
happen, I should never hear the and of it. Oh Mabel! I have done a lot
for you. I have in a way made myself responsible. I had to. Mabel--I
must tell you, for I think you ought to know--if there is any difficulty
in paying Mrs Priestley's bill, she means to tell Mrs Lyttelton about
me--about me!--how I visited her, and asked her for the money; and she
has my receipt to show. She put a stamp on it, and made me write my
name across the stamp. Oh Mabel! I have done wonderful things for you,
and you know it. You can never, never be grateful enough."
"I suppose I am grateful," said Mabel. "It was plucky of you to do that
for me, Annie, and I am not one to forget."
"We will enjoy ourselves in Paris," said Annie. "I know Mrs Priestley
won't send in the account for about three months, so we'll have a good
time first, whatever happens."
"Oh, if the thing is three months off, I'm not going to fret about it in
advance," said Mabel, who instantly became very talkative and lively.