THE WARM HEART ROUSED AT LAST.
Now the forgiving nature of Hollyhock Lennox has been often mentioned;
but just now she felt very nearly as angry with Leucha as Leucha was
with her. It was a strange sort of anger, an anger mingled with love,
for had Leucha said the slightest word, that warm, warm heart of the
Scots girl would have been hers once again.
But Leucha would not say the word, although, strange as it may seem,
she also, down deep in her heart, was longing for Hollyhock, longing as
she had never longed for a human being before. She had been brought up
in a stiff, cold home, by a stiff, cold mother, and it was hard for her
to go against her nature. The girls of Ardshiel were altogether on the
side of Hollyhock, and Leucha was more lonely than ever. Her angry
boast that she would write to her mother and ask to be taken from the
school she had certainly not courage enough to carry out. Lady
Crossways would have been furious, and would have come quickly to
Ardshiel to punish her rebellious child, and as likely as not to fall
under Hollyhock's charm.
Leucha had, therefore, to remain at the school, and as she had now
literally no friends (for even the girl who had played the kitchen cat
in the charade had completely deserted her, and her cousins, the
Frasers, had given her up long ago), she was forced to remain in
terrible isolation.
Poor Mrs Macintyre was most unhappy about the girl; and as for
Hollyhock, she was downright wretched, but also, as she herself
described it, very wicked-like and full of a big slice o' the de'il.
The intense unhappiness of her mind caused her to be most freakish in
her behaviour, to tell impossible ghost-stories, and as she could not
sleep at nights and was really not at all well, to spend her time in
planning fresh plots for the annoyance of Leucha.
Hollyhock, with all her loving nature, was also most defiant and most
daring, and there were few things she would pause at to punish the
English girl.
How queer is life! These two girls loved each other, and yet neither
would succumb, neither would yield to the desires of the other.
Hollyhock tried to forget her constant headaches, her bad nights, her
restless spirit, by employing her satellites in all sorts of
mischievous tasks. No one noticed that she was not well, for her
cheeks were apple-red with the glow of apparent health, and her lovely,
dark, affectionate eyes had never looked more brilliant than at present.
Nevertheless, she _would_ pay Leuchy out--Leuchy, who had now no one to
protect her, as even the pious Meg Drummond was not allowed to make
special friends with her. Meg, in her way, was as commonplace as
Leucha, and she thought it a fine thing to know the daughter of an
English nobleman; but Meg was strictly forbidden to show any preference
for Leucha, who would have gladly received her, and been even now
slightly comforted by her dull society. But the fiat had gone forth.
Meg had made immense mischief in the school by her confession. She was
detested by all the other girls for having made this mischief, and was
as lonely in her way as Leucha herself. The one thing that sustained
the school at this painful juncture was the hard work necessitated by
the competitions for the Duke of Ardshiel's lockets.
Leucha had a dim hope that if she won one of these great prizes and
could bring it back at Christmas to her mother, she might be allowed to
leave this hateful school. Accordingly, she worked hard at her theme.
Hollyhock's choice, as she herself expressed it, was 'The Zone of
Danger.' It seemed in some ways a strange thing for Mrs Macintyre to
suggest, and she repented it after she had done so; but Hollyhock's
dancing eyes, and her brilliant cheeks, her smiles, her fascinating way
of saying, 'I 'm not frightened,' had obliged the head-mistress to keep
to her resolve.
The competitions were of a somewhat peculiar nature. The six prizes
were more or less open ones. For instance, the girls who chose to
compete in the essay competition might choose their own subject. The
girls who went in for foreign languages might select French, German, or
Italian. The girls who struggled to attain general knowledge had a
very wide field indeed to select from. The only thing they had to do
was carefully to select their subject and hand it under a feigned name
to Mrs Macintyre, the envelope being sealed, and the lady herself not
knowing its contents until the day before the prizes were to be given
by the Duke of Ardshiel himself to the school.
Her idea with regard to the competition which Hollyhock called 'The
Zone of Danger' was that the Scots lassie or English girl, as the case
might be, should perform a brilliant deed, a feat demanding skill,
endurance, and nerve. But Hollyhock intended her zone of danger to be
one really great and very terrible, something that was to take place at
night. Very few girls in the school chose to compete for this prize,
as they knew only too well that Holly would beat them into 'nothing at
all,' her magnificent bravery being so well known.
One day, about a fortnight before the general break-up at the school,
when Mrs Macintyre was preparing to have a joyful time with her friends
in Edinburgh, and the Palace of the Kings was to be shut up, a band--a
very large band--of girls were collected round the fire in the
ingle-nook in the great hall, and were listening to Hollyhock's
fascinating words.
Suddenly Agnes Featherstonhaugh spoke. She was a very reserved English
girl, and had only been won over to Hollyhock by slow degrees. But,
once she was won over, her heart was in a state of intense and
passionate devotion. She would, in short, do anything for this radiant
young creature.
'Holly,' she said, as a slight pause in the animated conversation gave
her the chance she required, 'confession is good for the soul. Meg
knows that.-- Don't you, Meg?'
Meg shrugged her shoulders, looked sulky, and made no reply. But when
Hollyhock touched her gently on the arm, she snuggled up to her in a
kind of passionate love. She felt inclined to weep, for she knew that
she--yes, _she_--had caused the terrible discord and unhappiness which
now reigned in the school.
'I wish to say,' continued Agnes, 'that I am following in the footsteps
of a much finer character than my own. Leucha Villiers belongs to the
school'----
Hollyhock stirred restlessly.
'And Leucha is alone morning, noon, and night, except when she is busy
over her essay.'
'I--I'm _willing_'---- began Hollyhock.
'No, Holly darling, you are not to be put upon any more than you have
been!'
Similar remarks were made by a chorus of girls, who were really sick of
Leucha and her ways.
'I--I'm _willing_,' said Hollyhock, bringing out the words with a great
effort. 'But there, let things slide. I have my own troubles, and
what I do, I do alone; only you all hear me say, lassies, that I'm
_willing_.-- Now, then, Agnes, go on with your speech.'
'It's only this,' said Agnes, 'that, following in the steps of that
most noble creature, Meg Drummond, I also am confessing a little sin, a
small one at that; but I too must save my soul, girls, just as Meg had
to save hers.'
'Go ahead,' said Hollyhock.
'It was this very afternoon,' continued Agnes, 'when we were all busy
in the great warm schoolroom, no teachers being present, and we were
all occupied over our different competitions, each of us, of course,
hoping to win the prize given by the great Ardshiel. Well, it so
happened that Leucha Villiers's desk was next to mine, and Leucha
suddenly went out of the room, and a temptation swift and frightful
came over me. Nobody saw me do it, and why I did it I can never tell,
but do it I did; and if you 'll believe me, girls, I opened Leucha's
desk, no one seeing me at the job, and took out her paper on the
kitchen cat. I don't myself think she 'll get a prize from his Grace
for _that_ paper; and, what's more, I don't care, for venom is in the
girl, and in every word of her poor, stupid little paper. She compares
the kitchen cat to our dear Hollyhock, and abuses Hollyhock in such a
way'----
'Stop--say no more,' cried Hollyhock. 'You did wrong to read, and I
won't be told what was said of me. No, the daughter of a Cameron isn't
that sort.-- You can go on with your talk, lassies; but I 'm for my
bed. I have a bit of a headache, and the sleep so beauteous will take
it away.'
With these words Hollyhock left the room, and Agnes found she had done
very little good by her confession. The other girls, however, who were
less scrupulous, crowded round her and implored her to tell them what
that 'wicked one' had said.
'No; I 'll tell no more,' said Agnes. 'Holly wouldn't wish it. But,
oh, to think of that noble girl being spoken of like that! Oh, the
cruel, cruel, angry girl! My heart bleeds for our darling!'
'She 'll not get the prize,' said a Scots girl. 'Think you now that
Ardshiel would give a prize to one who abuses his kinswoman?'
'She has put her foot in it by so doing,' said another.
'We'd best let her alone, Agnes; and you keep your confession to
yourself. You had no right to read the paper,' said Meg Drummond in
her solemn voice.
'I had not,' replied Agnes; 'but seeing that you were so troubled by a
bit of a lark on account of your poor soul, Meg, I thought I 'd follow
suit.'
'Well,' said Meg, who came out a good deal when Hollyhock was absent,
'my mother tells me my immortal soul is safe now. I can pray again,
and I 'm happy; but yours is a different case altogether, Agnes.
Anyhow, you have done the deed, and one of the lockets will never go to
Earl Crossways' daughter.'
The girls talked together for a little longer, all of them rejoicing in
the thought that Leucha had now no possible chance of a locket. She
was so thoroughly disliked in the school that they positively rejoiced
in this certainty, and forgave Agnes her mean trick of looking at the
essay.
But Hollyhock, up in her room, having bluntly refused to listen to any
of the words of the naughty girl who had read a part of the essay, was
nevertheless wild with rage, and could not possibly rest. That sense
of forgiveness which she had felt when seated with her companions round
the ingle-nook had now absolutely vanished. She would not demean
herself by listening to words which were not meant for her to hear; but
for the time being at least her little heart was sore, very sore, with
anger. 'Oh Leuchy, whyever are you so spiteful, and why does my head
split, and why does my heart ache for love of one who could be so cruel
to me? Did I not repent over and over and over again? She has done
for herself; but when I go into the danger zone, I go into it now in
very truth. Perhaps when poor Hollyhock is no longer flitting about
the place you 'll think more kindly of me, Leuchy. I was willing for
your sake to make a final effort to be good, but the wish has died. I
'm a bad lass, and you 'll describe me as I am, when the essay on the
kitchen cat is read aloud. Oh Leuchy, _I_ would not be so mean!'
All night long Hollyhock tossed from side to side on her restless
couch, thinking and planning how she would perform that feat which
would stamp her as the bravest lassie in the school.
There was one action which she could perform, one action which was so
full of danger that no other girl in the school would attempt it. It
was, in short, the following. On the night when she entered the danger
zone, she would enter it on her own Arab horse, Lightning Speed. She
could easily get this brilliant little animal over to the Palace of the
Kings by the aid of Magsie, who was more devoted to her than ever. She
would ride her horse, Lightning Speed, in the dead of night, with the
moon shining brightly, up a certain gorge which led to the source of
one of the streams that kept the great lake supplied with water.
Lightning Speed was a high-spirited little animal, a thoroughbred Arab
no less, and Hollyhock knew that at the top of the gorge, when all
things looked so ghostly, he would start at every shadow and at the
slightest sound. He was all nerves, was Lightning Speed--all nerves
and gallant bearing, and devotion to Hollyhock.
At the top of the gorge was a sudden break in the cliffs, below which
roared the mountain stream. The bold girl resolved to leap from the
rock on the one side to the opposite rock. She was determined that
Lightning Speed would and _should_ obey her, for did not he love her,
the bonnie beastie?
She would not have attempted this deed, because she loved the brave
steed; but now she had heard of Leucha's conduct to her, her mind was
made up. She and Lightning Speed would leap the gorge, and she had
little doubt that they would both land safe on the opposite side.
But this plan of hers, meaning certain death if it failed, was to be
kept a profound secret from every one in the school except Magsie, who
would be able to confirm what Hollyhock had done when the day and hour
arrived.
Hollyhock, having quite made up her mind, at last fell asleep, and next
morning went downstairs very calm and peaceful to her usual lessons.
She had the calm, heroic look of Brunhilda, the favourite of all
Wagner's great heroines. She even muttered to herself, 'If I die, I
die, and the fire spirits of the great Brunhilda will surround me. I
'll die rejoicing; but I 'll never, never do a mean deed. No, my
bonnie Lightning Speed and I couldn't bring ourselves so low. We are
meant for better things, my good steed, and better things we 'll do. I
have no fear. Hollyhock is very happy this day of days.'
Her chosen chums and companions couldn't help looking with fresh wonder
at her radiant and lovely face. They little knew what was before them.
She was kind and sweet to every one, but a little quiet, not quite so
restless as usual, but with a wondrous light glowing in her eyes.
The other Flower Girls looked at her in astonishment, but no one had
any fear for Hollyhock. She was not the sort of girl to stir fear
about herself in others.