A RAINY DAY
That lovely weather lasted on for about a fortnight without a break, and
many a pleasant ramble we had, for though lessons began again, Miss
Kirstin always left immediately after luncheon, which was the children's
dinner, for the three elder ones always joined Sir Hulbert and my lady
in the dining-room.
Two afternoons in the week, as I think I have said, Master Francis and
Miss Bess had Latin lessons from Sir Hulbert. Miss Bess, by all
accounts, did not take very kindly to the Latin grammar, and but for
Master Francis helping her--many a time indeed sitting up after his own
lessons were done to set hers right--she would often have got into
trouble with her papa. For indulgent as he was, Sir Hulbert could be
strict when strictness was called for.
Miss Bess was a curious mixture; to see her and hear her talk you'd have
thought her twice as clever as Miss Lally, and so in some ways she was.
But when it came to book learning, it was a different story. Teaching
Miss Lally--and I had something to do with her in this way, for I used
to hear over the lessons she was getting ready for Miss Kirstin--was
really like running along a smooth road, the child was so eager and
attentive, never losing a word of what was said to her. Miss Bess used
to say that her sister had a splendid memory by nature. But in my long
life I've watched and thought about some things a great deal, and it
seems to me that a good memory has to do with our own trying, more than
some people would say,--above all, with the habit of really giving
attention to whatever you're doing. And this habit Miss Bess had not
been taught to train herself to; and being a lively impulsive child, no
doubt it came a little harder to her.
A dear child she was, all the same. Looking back upon those days, I
would find it hard to say which of them all seemed nearest my heart.
The days of the Latin lessons we generally had a short walk in the
morning, as well as one after tea, so as to suit Sir Hulbert's time in
the afternoon; and those afternoons were Miss Lally's great time for
her knitting, which she was determined to keep a secret till she had
made some progress in it and finished her first pair of socks. How she
did work at it, poor dear! Her little face all puckered up with
earnestness, her little hot hands grasping the needles, as if she would
never let them go. And she mastered it really wonderfully, considering
she was not yet six years old!
She had more time for it after a bit, for the beautiful hot summer
weather changed, as it often does, about the middle of July, and we had
two or three weeks of almost constant rain. Thanks to her knitting, Miss
Lally took this quite cheerfully, and if poor Master Francis had been
left in peace, we should have had no grumbling from him either. A book
and a quiet corner was all he asked, and though he said nothing about
it, I think he was glad now and then of a rest from the long walks which
my lady thought the right thing, whenever the weather was at all fit for
going out. But dear, dear! how Miss Bess did tease and worry sometimes!
She was a strong child, and needed plenty of exercise to keep her
content.
I remember one day, when things really came to a point with her, and,
strangely enough,--it is curious on looking back to see the thread, like
a road winding along a hill, sometimes lost to view and sometimes clear
again, unbroken through all, leading from little things to big, in a way
one could never have pictured,--strangely enough, as I was saying, the
trifling events of that very afternoon were the beginning of much that
changed the whole life at Treluan.
It was raining that afternoon, not so very heavily, but in a steady
hopeless way, rather depressing to the spirits, I must allow. It was not
a Latin day--I think some of us wished it had been!
'Now, Bess!' said Master Francis, when the three children came up from
their dinner, 'before we do anything else'--there had been a talk of a
game of 'hide-and-seek,' or 'I spy,' to cheer them up a bit--'before we
do anything else, let's get our Latin done, or part of it, any way, as
long as we remember what uncle corrected yesterday, and then we'll feel
comfortable for the afternoon.'
'Very well,' said Miss Bess, though her voice was not very encouraging.
She was standing by the window, staring out at the close-falling rain,
and as she spoke she moved slowly towards the table, where Master
Francis was already spreading out the books.
'I don't think it's a good plan to begin lessons the very moment we've
finished our dinner,' she added.
'It isn't the very minute after,' put in Miss Lally, not very wisely.
'You forget, Queen, we went into the 'servatory with mamma, while she
cut some flowers, for ever so long.'
Being put in the wrong didn't sweeten Miss Bess's temper.
''Servatory--you baby!' said she. 'Nurse, can't you teach Lally to spell
"Constantinople"?'
Miss Lally's face puckered up, and she came close to me.
'Nursie,' she whispered, 'may I go into the other room with my knitting;
I'm sure Queen is going to tease me.'
I nodded my head. I used to give her leave sometimes to go into the
night nursery by herself, when she was likely to be disturbed at her
work, and that generally by Miss Bess. For though Master Francis
couldn't have but seen she had some secret from him, he was far too kind
and sensible to seem to notice it. Whereas Miss Bess, who had been
taken into her confidence, never got into a contrary humour without
teasing the poor child by hints about stockings, or wool, or something.
And the contrary humour was on her this afternoon, I saw well.
'Now, Bess, begin, do!' said Master Francis. 'These are the words we
have to copy out and learn. I'll read them over, and then we can write
them out and hear each other.'
He did as he said, but it was precious little attention he got from his
cousin, though it was some time before he found it out. Looking up, he
saw that she had dressed up one hand in her handkerchief, like an old
man in a nightcap, and at every word poor Master Francis said, made him
gravely bow. It was all I could do to keep from laughing, though I
pretended not to see.
'O Bess!' said the boy reproachfully, 'I don't believe you've been
listening a bit.'
'Well, never mind if I haven't. I'd forget it all by to-morrow morning
anyway. Show me the words, and I'll write them out.'
She leant across him to get the book, and in so doing upset the ink. The
bottle was not very full, so not much damage would have been done if
Master Francis's exercise-book had not been lying open just in the way.
'Oh! Bess,' he cried in great distress. 'Just look. It was such a long
exercise and I had copied it out so neatly, and you know uncle hates
blots and untidiness.'
Miss Bess looked very sorry.
'I'll tell papa it was my fault,' she said. But Master Francis shook his
head.
'I must copy it out again,' I heard him say in a low voice, with a sigh,
as he pushed it away and gave his attention to his cousin and the words
she had to learn.
She was quieter after that, for a while, and in half an hour or so
Master Francis let her go. He set to work at his unlucky exercise again,
and seeing this, should really have sobered Miss Bess. But she was in a
queer humour that afternoon, it only seemed to make her more fidgety.
'You really needn't do it,' she said to Master Francis crossly. 'I told
you I'd explain it to papa.' But the boy shook his head. He'd have taken
any amount of trouble rather than risk vexing his uncle.
'It was partly my own fault for leaving it about,' he said gently,
which only seemed to provoke Miss Bess more.
'You do so like to make yourself a martyr. It's quite true what mamma
says,' she added in a lower voice, which I did think unkind.
But in some humours children are best left alone for the time, so I took
no notice.
Miss Bess returned to her former place in the window. Miss Baby was
contentedly setting out her doll's tea-things on the rug in front of the
fire,--at Treluan even in the summer one needs a little fire when there
comes a spell of rainy weather. Miss Bess glanced at her, but didn't
seem to think she'd find any amusement there. Miss Baby was too young to
be fair game for teasing.
'What's Lally doing?' she said suddenly, turning to me. 'Has she hidden
herself as usual? I hate secrets. They make people so tiresome. I'll
just go and tell her she'd better come in here.'
She turned, as she spoke, to the night nursery.
'Now, Miss Bess, my dear,' I couldn't help saying, 'do not tease the
poor child. I'll tell you what you might do. Get one of your pretty
books and read aloud a nice story to Miss Lally in the other room, till
Master Francis is ready for a game.'
'I've read all our books hundreds of times. I'll tell her a story
instead!' she replied.
'That would be very nice,' I could not but say, though something in her
way of speaking made me feel a little doubtful, as Miss Bess opened the
night nursery door and closed it behind her carefully.
For a few minutes we were at peace. No sound to be heard, except the
scratching of Master Francis's busy pen and Miss Augusta's pressing
invitations to the dollies to have--'thome more tea'--or--'a bit of this
bootiful cake,' and I began to hope that in her quiet way Miss Lally had
smoothed down her elder sister, when suddenly--dear, dear! my heart did
leap into my mouth--there came from the next room the most terrible
screams and roars that ever I have heard all the long years I have been
in the nursery!
'Goodness gracious!' I cried, 'what can be the matter. There's no fire
in there!' and I rushed towards the door.
To my surprise Master Francis and Miss Baby remained quite composed.
'It's only Lally,' said the boy. 'She does scream like that sometimes,
though she hasn't done it for a good while now. I daresay it's only Bess
pulling her hair a little.'
It was not even that. When I opened the door, Miss Bess, who was
standing by her sister--Miss Lally still roaring, though not quite so
loudly--looked up quietly.
'I've been telling her stories, nurse,' she said. 'But she doesn't like
them at all.'
Miss Lally ran to me sobbing. I couldn't but feel sorry for her, as she
clung to me, and yet I was provoked, thinking it really too bad to have
had such a fright for nothing at all.
'Queen has been telling me such _howid_ things,' she said among her
tears, as she calmed down a little. 'She said it was going to be such a
pretty story and it was all about a little girl, who wasn't a little
girl, weally. They tied her sleeves with green ribbons, afore she was
christened, and so the naughty fairies stealed her away and left a howid
squealing pertence little girl instead. And it was just, _just_ like me,
and, Queen says, they _did_ tie me in green ribbons. She knows they did,
she can 'amember;' and here her cries began again. 'And Queen says
'praps I'll never come right again, and I can't bear to be a pertence
little girl. Queen told it me once before, but I'd forgot, and now it's
all come back.'
She buried her face on my shoulder. I had sat down and taken her on my
knees, and I could feel her all shaking and quivering, though through it
all she still clutched her knitting and the four needles.
'Miss Bess,' I said, in a voice I don't think I had yet used since I had
been with them, 'I _am_ surprised at you! Come away with me, my dear,' I
said to Miss Lally. 'Come into the other room. Miss Bess will stay here
till such time as she can promise to behave better, both to you and
Master Francis.'
Miss Bess had turned away when I began to speak, and I think she had
felt ashamed. But my word about Master Francis had been a mistake.
'You needn't scold me about spilling the ink on Francis's book!' she
said angrily. 'You know that was an accident.'
'There's accidents and accidents,' I replied, which I know wasn't wise;
but the child had tried my temper too, I won't deny.
I took Miss Lally into a corner of the day nursery and talked to her in
a low voice, not to disturb Master Francis, who was still busy writing.
'My dear,' I said, 'so far as I can put a stop to it, I won't have Miss
Bess teasing you, but all the same I can't have you screaming in that
terrible way for really nothing at all. Your own sense might tell you
that there's no such things as fairies changing babies in that way. Miss
Bess only said it to tease.'
She was still sobbing, but all the same she had not forgotten to wrap up
her precious knitting in her little apron, so that her cousin shouldn't
catch sight of it, and her heart was already softening to her sister.
'Queen didn't mean to make me cry,' she said. 'But I can't bear that
story; nobody would love me if I was only a pertence little girl.'
'But you're not that, my dear; you're a very real little girl,' I said.
'You're your papa's and mamma's dear little daughter and God's own
child. That's what your christening meant.'
Miss Lally's sobs stopped.
'I forgot about that,' she said very gravely, seeming to find great
comfort in the thought. 'If I had been a pertence little girl, I
couldn't have been took to church like Baby was. Could I? And I know I
was, for I have got godfather and godmother and a silver mug wif my name
on.'
'And better things than that, thank God, as you'll soon begin to
understand, my dear Miss Lally,' I answered, as she held up her little
face to be kissed.
'May I go back to Queen now?' she asked, but I don't think she was
altogether sorry when I shook my head.
'Not just yet, my dear, I think,' I replied.
'Only where am I to do my knitting?' she whispered. 'I can't do it here;
Francie would be sure to see,' and the corners of her mouth began to go
down again. 'Oh! I know,' she went on in another moment, brightening up.
'I could work so nicely in the attic, there's a little seat in the
corner, by the window, where Francie and I used to go sometimes when
Sharp told us to get out of the way.'
'Wouldn't you be cold, my dear,' I said doubtfully. But I was anxious to
please her, so I fetched a little shawl for her and we went up together
to the attic.
It did not feel chilly, and the corner by the window--the kind they call
a 'storm window,' with a sort of little separate roof of its own--was
very cosy. You have a peep of the sea from that window too.
'Isn't it a good plan?' said Miss Lally joyfully. 'I can knit here _so_
nicely, and I have been getting on so well this afternoon. There's no
stitches dropped, not one, nursie. Mightn't I come here every day?'
'We'll see, my dear,' I said, thinking to myself that it might really be
good for her--being a nervous child, and excitable too, for all she
seemed so quiet--to be at peace and undisturbed now and then by herself.
'We'll see, only you must come downstairs at once if you feel cold or
chilly.'
I looked round me as I was leaving the attic. There was a big cupboard,
or closet rather, at the end near the door. Miss Lally's window was at
this end too. The closet door stood half open, but it seemed empty.
'That's where we wait when we're playing "I spy" up here,' said Miss
Lally. 'Mouses live in that cupboard. We've seen them running out of
their holes; but I like mouses, they've such dear bright eyes and long
tails.'
I can't say that I agreed with Miss Lally's tastes. Mice are creatures
I've never been able to take to, still they'd do her no harm, that was
certain, so seeing her quite happy at her work I went down to the
nursery again.