SOFT AND LOW.
But when Hollyhock went downstairs, dressed so charmingly and with a
rich colour in her cheeks, with the sparkle of excitement in her eyes,
and when she saw Jasper, Garnet, and the other boys, who all rushed
toward her with a cry of delight, she began to enjoy herself once more.
Old Duncan was moving about the great hall and whistling gently to
himself. 'Soft and low, soft and low. It 's that that does it,'
whispered the old man. Then he broke out again in his cracked old
tones, 'And for bonnie Annie Laurie I wad lay me doun and dee!'
'Duncan, you might remember that we are in the room,' said Hollyhock.
'To be sure, lassies; and don't ye like the sound o' the grand old
tunes and words? Did ye never hear me sing "Roy's Wife o'
Aldivalloch"?'
'No; and I don't wish to,' said Hollyhock.
'Well,' said Duncan, who was never put out in his life, 'here are the
doggies, poor beasties, and I guess, Miss Hollyhock, you 'll be a sicht
better for a little company. I 'm reddin' up the place against the
maister's return. Ay, but we 'll hae a happy evenin'. Old times come
back again--"Should auld acquaintance be forgot"'----
'Duncan, you are incorrigible!'
But Duncan deliberately winked at Jasper, then at Garnet, then at his
beloved Miss Jasmine, and finally catching Delphy in his arms, trotted
up and down the great hall with her on his shoulder, while the child
shrieked with delight and called him dear, darling old Duncan.
At last, however, the hall was in order. The ingle-nook was a blaze of
light and cosiness. The boys and girls were chattering as they had
never chattered before; and Duncan, assisted by a boy of the name of
Rob, who wore the Lennox livery, brought in ponderous trays, which were
laid on great tables. These trays contained tea and coffee, scones to
make your mouth water, butter arranged like swans swimming in parsley,
and shortbread made by that famous cook, old Mrs Duncan, who was also
the housekeeper at The Garden.
The trays were followed, alas! by the kitchen cat, Jean, who smelt the
good things and walked in with her tail very erect, and a look on her
face as much as to say, 'I 'm monarch of all I survey!'
'Out you go, Jean!' cried Hollyhock.
'No, Hollyhock, don't be unkind to poor Jean,' said Mrs Constable.
'You were very glad to have her when you were alone. And now listen,
my dear; I have something to whisper to you.'
Hollyhock dropped Jean, who was immediately snatched up by Gentian.
Gentian provided the kitchen cat with a rich mixture of cream, milk,
and sugar. She lapped it slowly and gracefully, as all cats will, in
front of the ingle-nook, the two great dogs watching her with envious
eyes, but not daring to interfere.
Mrs Constable, meanwhile, continued to whisper in a distant corner to
Hollyhock, 'My darling, I was the first to tell you the great news--I
mean with regard to the boys' school, or, as we intend to call it, the
Annex. No other child knows of it at present, and no other child knows
that you are going to Ardshiel on Monday with your sisters. Now, what
I propose is this. You must have a hearty tea and enjoy yourself as
much as possible, and then you shall have the great honour of telling
the news _first_ about yourself, and then about my boys and the little
school, to the others. _Only_ Hollyhock shall tell. There, my pet,
kiss me. See how I love you.'
'Oh, you do, and you are a darling,' said Hollyhock, who was keenly
gratified by this distinction bestowed upon her.
The tea was disposed of with appetite. Never, surely, was there such
shortbread eaten before, never such scones partaken of.
Notwithstanding her private tea upstairs, Hollyhock was very hungry and
happy, and the marked attentions which Jasper paid her gave her intense
and unalloyed pleasure. Oh, what a pity he was leaving the school!
What a dear boy was this Precious Stone! She even forgot the boy with
the blue eyes when she looked at Jasper's honest, manly face. But the
best of good teas come to an end.
Duncan came in with his soft whisper and gentle words in his cracked
old voice, still singing softly, 'Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?' Hollyhock gave him a haughty glance, but
he did not observe it; and Jasper suddenly said, springing to his feet,
'Hurrah, old Duncan! you are the man for me. Let's all sing the jolly
old song!'
'But, master,' faltered Duncan, 'I canna sing as once I sang.'
Jasper said, 'Nonsense; you forget yourself, Duncan. You lead off, and
we 'll begin.'
All the children stood up; all the young voices, the middle-aged voice
of Mrs Constable, and the aged voice of Duncan brought out the beloved
words:
'Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?
'We twa hae paidl'd in the burn
Frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin' auld lang syne.
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne.'
Just as the last words had echoed round the hall, who should enter but
the father of the Flower Girls. There was a sudden cry of rapture.
Jasmine's arms were round his neck; Delphy mounted to her accustomed
place on his shoulder. He was their own, their darling. Gentian
kissed his hand over and over again. Dark-eyed Rose of the Garden
kissed him once more. Oh, how happy they were! for his little
Hollyhock--the child who had troubled him all the week--overcome by
varied emotions, sprang to his side, pushed both Jasmine and Gentian
away, and said, 'Oh, daddy, I have been a bad, bad lassie, but I'm all
right now; and if you'll listen, daddy mine, and if the others will
hold their peace for a minute, I 'll let my great secret out.' There
was a new sound in Hollyhock's voice. Old Duncan stood in a kind of
trance of wonder. To be sure, things _were_ coming round, and that
week of misery was over. 'Daddy,' said Hollyhock, 'I didn't think
you'd enjoy my absence as much as you will. I talked a lot of
nonsense, and said I'd see to you, Daddy Dumps; but what's the use? I
'm not just entirely to blame, but I have _not_ been happy this last
week, so I think it is well that I should go back with Jasmine and the
others to Ardshiel on Monday morning--that is, if _you_ wish it, daddy?'
'Is the choice entirely your own, my child?' said George Lennox.
'Yes, it is. You 'll want me, perhaps, when you haven't got me, but
I'm away to school with the others. It's right--it _is_ right.'
'Well, my Hollyhock, I thank you,' said her father. 'I shall miss you,
beyond a doubt; but work has set in for me to such an extent that I
have no time to attend to you, and your being in the house and
uneducated has been a sore trial to me, Holly. You 'll be a good lass
at school, my child. You must promise me that.'
'You 'll have a right-down lovely time, Holly,' cried Jasmine.
'Yes, won't she?' echoed Gentian.
'But I haven't told you all the story yet,' said Hollyhock. She
suddenly went up to Jasper and took his big hand. 'I was trusted by a
lady, whose name I mustn't mention, with another bit of news, Jasper,
boy--and, oh! it's sore it makes my heart. _You_ have to go to the
lady, Jasper, boy, and so has Garnet, and so has Sapphire, and so have
Opal and Emerald. In addition, the boys at Ardshiel are to go to a new
Annex--under protest, no doubt; but still it has to be. You 'll be
taught by men, my bonnie Precious Stones, and we lassies will have to
do with the women folk.'
'Well, this is astounding,' said Jasper. 'Is it true?--Can you
explain, Uncle George?'
'Yes, my boy; and I don't think you 'll mind when it's explained to
you. The "lady" whom my Hollyhock wouldn't mention is your _own_
mother.'
'Mother!' cried Emerald, in a voice of rapture. 'Eh, mother, I have
missed you!'
He was only a little fellow--the youngest of the Precious Stones--and
he suddenly burst out crying.
'There, now, be a brave lad,' said Mrs Constable. 'No tears, my little
son, for they don't become a gentleman. They don't become the son of
Major Constable. Ho died fighting for his country, and no son of his
and mine should be seen with tears in his eyes. You all do come back
to your mummy, my children, and a lot of other boys come as well; and
The Paddock is to be partly changed, so that I can mother you, my
Emerald, but not teach you--no, no, none of that. There 'll be that
fine gentleman, the Reverend James Cadell, to put Latin and Greek into
you; and there'll be Alan Anderson to teach you games, as boys should
play them; and there 'll be young Mr Maclure to help him with your
English and your lessons all round. I 'll have my five Precious Stones
sleeping again under my roof; and your food will be prepared by that
maid of ours, Alison, of whom you have always been so fond; and old Mrs
Cheke will be the housekeeper and look after your wants. And for
foreign languages Mrs Macintyre will send over at certain hours each
day some of her governesses. Now then, children, I think we are all
going to be as happy as happy. It was decided by a wise woman that Mrs
Macintyre's mixed school would eventually prove a mistake, for a good
many mothers object to sending their girls to such places, although I
myself see no harm in them whatsoever. But, my dear boys, we must
think of Mrs Macintyre, who will have a very large school of girls. On
Monday next you will see many new faces at Ardshiel, and the
arrangement that you, my little loves, are to spend Saturday till
Monday all together is to continue. So now do let us sing a fresh song
of that wondrous bard, Robbie Burns, because I feel so absolutely Scots
of the Scots to-day that I simply cannot stand any one else.
'Hark, the mavis' evening sang
Sounding Clouden's woods amang;
Then a-faulding let us gang,
My bonnie Dearie.
'Ca' the yowes to the knowes,
Ca' them whare the heather grows,
Ca' them whare the burnie rowes
My bonnie Dearie.
We'll gae down by Clouden side,
Through the hazels spreading wide,
O'er the waves, that sweetly glide
To the moon sae clearly.
'Yonder Clouden's silent towers,
Where at moonshine midnight hours,
O'er the dewy bending flowers,
Fairies dance sae cheery.
'Ghaist nor bogle shalt thou fear;
Thou 'rt to Love and Heaven sae dear,
Nocht of ill may come thee near,
My bonnie Dearie.
Fair and lovely as thou art,
Thou hast stown my very heart;
I can die--but canna part,
My bonnie Dearie.
'While waters wimple to the sea,
While day blinks i' the lift sae hie,
Till clay-cauld death shall blin' my e'e
Ye shall be my Dearie!'
'Oh, mother, mother!' cried one boy after another, as they clustered
round her, 'indeed we are happy now, since _you_ are the "lady."'
'We didn't rightly understand at first,' continued Jasper.--'But come
for a walk, Hollyhock; come along; I have a lot to say to you.'
So Hollyhock and Jasper went out together into the old grounds in the
old way, and the sweet, yet sorrowful, week--so maddening to poor
Hollyhock, so joyous to Jasper--was forgotten in the spirit of reunion.
Oh, it was perfect for the Flower Girl to be with her precious Precious
Stone again, and she even loved his dear Scots ways so much that she
told him of her little adventure as a 'great secret,' and besought of
him not to mention it to any one.
'And so you were taken with that English boy Ivor Chetwode,' he
remarked. 'I didn't think you were so fickle. But it's all right now,
Hollyhock, and you 'll have a right jolly time at the school.'