A DAY IN BED.
It makes one feel very sick to cry for a long time. Peggy cried till she
was so tired that she had to stop because it hurt her to go on. Her face
was swollen up, and her eyes were red, and she looked quite ugly. But at
last she got so tired that she fell sound asleep, and only wakened up to
have dinner. It was a horrid dinner—cold mutton, rice pudding without
raisins in it, and with no sugar sprinkled over it; that was all.
However, Peggy was wonderfully hungry, and she ate it up. Then came a
very long hour. She sat up in bed, and looked out at the ships; she made
hills and valleys with the sheets, piling them up, and smoothing them
out; she counted the roses on the wall-paper; she plaited the fringe of
the counterpane into dozens of little plaits, and yet the clock in the
hall had only struck three. There was the whole long day to get through!
Then she heard the door-bell ring, and some one was shown into the
drawing-room. She wondered who it could be.
After ten minutes or so, she heard the drawing-room door open again, and
Aunt Euphemia’s voice in the hall, saying,—
“No; Peggy is in bed to-day!”
“In bed? I hope the little woman isn’t ill!” some one said—Dr. Seaton,
Peggy thought, with a throb of delight. Perhaps he would help her.
“No, not ill. I am sorry to say she was a very naughty child. I am
keeping her in bed as a punishment.”
Peggy heard the speakers pause near her door. Dr. Seaton had evidently
stood still as he was going out.
“Not all day, I hope, Miss Roberts,” he said. “It’s not good for the
child in this hot weather. You don’t want to have her ill on your
hands?”
Aunt Euphemia then began to give him the whole history of the night
before; and Dr. Seaton seemed to listen, as if it were all new to him.
“Well, she told you honestly about it, Miss Roberts. Don’t you think
half a day in bed will be enough punishment, this time?” he said.
“I wish to be firm!” said Aunt Euphemia; but there was a sound of
wavering in her voice that made Peggy wriggle in bed with delight, for
she thought her hour of release was coming.
“Suppose you let the child get up now,” Dr. Seaton urged.
“Oh, she will just get into some fresh mischief the moment she is out of
bed. I never saw a child like her,” said Aunt Euphemia; “Martin is quite
worn out with looking after her.”
“I saw that pleasant-looking cook of yours gathering currants in the
kitchen-garden as I came past. Why don’t you let Peggy help her? She
couldn’t get any harm there, I fancy,” said Dr. Seaton. “But I must go
now. Good-bye, Miss Roberts.”
And Peggy heard him run down the steps. Would she be allowed to get up?
She held her breath. Aunt Euphemia came in.
“Peggy, if you are a very good girl you may get up now, and go out into
the kitchen-garden and gather black currants with Janet,” she said.
The words were scarcely uttered before Peggy was out of bed and
struggling into her clothes. She was in such a hurry that she put on her
stockings on the wrong side, and fastened her frock all wrong; but she
managed to get dressed somehow, though she would have been much quicker
if she had not been in such a hurry—which sounds absurd, but is quite
true. Then out into the sunny garden she ran as fast as her feet could
carry her. It was deliciously warm, and such a nice, hot, fruity smell
was all over the place. Janet wore a big straw bonnet, and carried a
basket already half full of black currants.
[Illustration]
She gave Peggy a very warm welcome, for, unlike Martin, she was one of
those people who love children.
“Dearie me, Miss Peggy! This is fine. Come away and see which of us will
gather quickest,” she said. “Here’s a wee basket for you, and a wee one
for me; and you take the one side of the bush, and I’ll have the other,
and see who’ll be first!”
She laid down her large basket between them, and got out the two tiny
baskets instead. It is much nicer to gather fruit in small baskets that
are soon filled, for one seems to be getting on so much quicker. Peggy
worked at a great pace, and actually got her basket full before Janet,
to her great delight. Then it was poured into the large basket, and she
began again. Thus the work went on for an hour at least. Peggy was just
beginning to think she was getting a tiny bit tired, when Janet laid
down her basket suddenly.
“Come in-bye, Miss Peggy,” she said. “I hear the baker’s man at the back
door; maybe he’ll have something for you.”
Peggy followed her to the kitchen, where the baker’s man had just laid
down some loaves on the table. They were still warm, and the crust had
the nicest smell you can imagine.
“I’m thinking you’d like a piece,” said Janet, taking up one of the new
loaves, and looking at Peggy. “It wasn’t much o’ a dinner Martin took
upstairs for ye.”
“That was because I was naughty,” Peggy admitted with a blush.
[Illustration]
“Ye’re no naughty now!” said Janet. She took a knife, and cut a slice of
the nice new bread. Then from the cupboard she took out a round pat of
beautiful fresh butter, stamped with a swan, and spread it thickly on
the bread. Last of all, she sprinkled a lot of sparkling, brown Jamaica
sugar from the sugar-jar over it, and handed the bread to Peggy.
“Oh, _how_ nice! May I sit on the doorstep and eat it?” Peggy cried.
I don’t suppose, though she lived to be a hundred years old, she would
ever forget the taste of that bread and sugar, it was so delicious.
Janet was getting out a huge brass pan from the scullery, and Peggy
wanted to know what it was meant for.
“It’s to make jam in, Miss Peggy; but that’s too hot a job for you.
Maybe if you go and play for an hour and come back, I’ll let you stir
the pan for a minute then,” said Janet. And then, anxious that Peggy
should get into no further mischief that night, she suggested the
washing-green as a safe place to spend the hour in. There were shamrocks
growing there, and clover; and if Peggy could find a four-leaved clover,
she would be lucky all the rest of her life, she assured her.
The washing-green was very cool and pleasant, and Peggy lay on her face
on the grass and searched for that four-leaved clover for a whole hour
without being dull for a minute. Then she heard Janet calling her, and
went running to the kitchen. There the great brass pan was full of
boiling fruit, deep crimson, and with the most delicious smell. Janet
gave her a saucer, and told her that with a large spoon she might skim
the white froth from the edge of the pan. This was great fun to do; and
then she was allowed to taste it, and it was very good. Then Janet took
the huge pan off the fire, and with a cup began to fill up rows and rows
of jars with the jam. Peggy sat on the table and counted the jars, and
was allowed, when they were full, to take a damp cloth and wipe off all
the drops of jam from the edges, so that the jars were all clean and
neat. When all this was done it was quite late, and Janet said Peggy
must go and have her frock changed for the evening now.
“I’ve been _so_ happy, Janet, I want to stay with you,” said Peggy,
flinging her arms round Janet’s neck as she said good-night.
[Illustration]