The next morning, when the whole school were assembled, and all the
classes were getting ready for the real work of the day, Miss Good, the
English teacher, stepped to the head of the room, and, holding a neatly
bound volume of "Jane Eyre" in her hand, begged to know to whom it
belonged. There was a hush of astonishment when she held up the little
book, for all the girls knew well that this special volume was not
allowed for school literature.
"The house maid who dusts the school-room found this book on the floor,"
continued the teacher. "It lay beside a desk near the top of the room.
I see the name has been torn out, so I cannot tell who is the owner. I
must request her, however, to step forward and take possession of her
property. If there is the slightest attempt at concealment, the whole
matter will be laid before Mrs Willis at noon to-day."
When Miss Good had finished her little speech, she held up the book in
its green binding and looked down the room.
Hester did not know why her heart beat--no one glanced at her, no one
regarded her; all eyes were fixed on Miss Good, who stood with a severe,
unsmiling, but expectant face.
"Come, young ladies," she said, "the owner has surely no difficulty in
recognising her own property. I give you exactly thirty seconds more;
then, if no one claims the book, I place the affair in Mrs Willis's
hands."
Just then there was a stir among the girls in the head class. A tall
girl in dove-coloured cashmere, with a smooth head of golden hair, and a
fair face which was a good deal flushed at this moment, stepped to the
front, and said in a clear and perfectly modulated voice--
"I had no idea of concealing the fact that `Jane Eyre' belongs to me. I
was only puzzled for a moment to know how it got on the floor. I placed
it carefully in my desk last night. I think this circumstance ought to
be inquired into."
"Oh! oh!" came from several suppressed voices here and there through the
room; "whoever would have supposed that Dora Russell would be obliged to
humble herself in this way?"
"Attention, young ladies!" said Miss Good; "no talking, if you please.
Do I understand, Miss Russell, that `Jane Eyre' is yours?"
"Yes, Miss Good."
"Why did you keep it in your desk--were you reading it during
preparation?"
"On, yes, certainly."
"You are, of course, aware that you were breaking two very stringent
rules of the school. In the first place, no story-books are allowed to
be concealed in a school-desk, or to be read during preparation. In the
second place, this special book is not allowed to be read at any time in
Lavender House. You know these rules, Miss Russell?"
"Yes, Miss Good."
"I must retain the book--you can return now to your place in class."
Miss Russell bowed sedately, and with an apparently unmoved face, except
for the slightly deepened glow on her smooth cheek, resumed her
interrupted work.
Lessons went off as usual, but during recreation the mystery of the
discovered book was largely discussed by the girls. As is the custom of
school-girls, they took violent sides in the matter--some rejoicing in
Dora's downfall, some pitying her intensely. Hester was, of course, one
of Miss Russell's champions, and she looked at her with tender sympathy
when she came with her haughty and graceful manner into the school-room,
and her little heart beat with a vague hope that Dora might turn to her
for sympathy.
Dora, however, did nothing of the kind. She refused to discuss the
affair with her companions, and none of them quite knew what Mrs Willis
said to her, or what special punishment was inflicted on the proud girl.
Several of her school-fellows expected that Dora's drawing-room would
be taken away from her, but she still retained it; and after a few days
the affair of the book was almost forgotten.
There was, however, an uncomfortable and an uneasy spirit abroad in the
school. Susan Drummond, who was certainly one of the most uninteresting
girls in Lavender House, was often seen walking with and talking to Miss
Forest. Sometimes Annie shook her pretty head over Susan's remarks;
sometimes she listened to her; sometimes she laughed and spoke eagerly
for a moment or two, and appeared to acquiesce in suggestions which her
companion urged.
Annie had always been the soul of disorder--of wild pranks, of naughty
and disobedient deeds--but, hitherto, in all her wildness she had never
intentionally hurt any one but herself. Hers was a giddy and
thoughtless, but by no means a bitter tongue--she thought well of all
her school-fellows--and on occasions she could be self-sacrificing and
good-natured to a remarkable extent. The girls of the head class took
very little notice of Annie, but her other school-companions, as a rule,
succumbed to her sunny, bright, and witty ways. She offended them a
hundred times a day, and a hundred times a day was forgiven. Hester was
the first girl in the third-class who had ever persistently disliked
Annie and Annie, after making one or two overtures of friendship, began
to return Miss Thornton's aversion; but she had never cordially hated
her until the day they met in Cecil Temple's drawing-room and Hester had
wounded Annie in her tenderest part by doubting her affection for Mrs
Willis.
Since that day there was a change very noticeable in Annie Forest--she
was not so gay as formerly, but she was a great deal more mischievous--
she was not nearly so daring, but she was capable now of little actions
slight in themselves, which yet were calculated to cause mischief and
real unhappiness. Her sudden friendship with Susan Drummond did her no
good, and she persistently avoided all intercourse with Cecil Temple,
who hitherto had influenced her in the right direction.
The incident of the green book had passed with no apparent result of
grave importance, but the spirit of mischief which had caused this book
to be found was by no means asleep in the school. Pranks were played in
a most mysterious fashion with the girls' properties.
Hester herself was the very next victim. She too was a neat and orderly
child--she was clever and thoroughly enjoyed her school work. She was
annoyed, therefore, and dreadfully puzzled, by discovering one morning
that her neat French exercise-book was disgracefully blotted, and one
page torn across. She was severely reprimanded by Mdlle. Perier for
such gross untidiness and carelessness, and when she assured the
governess that she knew nothing whatever of the circumstance, that she
was never guilty of blots, and had left the book in perfect order the
night before, the French lady only shrugged her shoulders, made an
expressive gesture with her eyebrows, and plainly showed Hester that she
thought the less she said on that subject the better.
Hester was required to write out her exercise again, and she fancied she
saw a triumphant look in Annie Forest's eyes as she left the
school-room, where poor Hester was obliged to remain to undergo her
unmerited punishment.
"Cecil," called Hester, in a passionate and eager voice, as Miss Temple
was passing her place.
Cecil paused for a moment.
"What is it, Hetty?--oh, I am so sorry you must stay in this lovely
bright day."
"I have done nothing wrong," said Hester; "I never blotted this
exercise-book; I never tore this page. It is most unjust not to believe
my word; it is most unjust to punish me for what I have not done."
Miss Temple's face looked puzzled and sad.
"I must not stay to talk to you now, Hester," she whispered; "I am
breaking the rules. You can come to my drawing-room by-and-by, and we
will discuss this matter."
But Hester and Cecil, talk as they would, could find no solution to the
mystery. Cecil absolutely refused to believe that Annie Forest had
anything to do with the matter.
"No," she said, "such deceit is not in Annie's nature. I would do
anything to help you, Hester; but I can't, and I won't, believe that
Annie tried deliberately to do you any harm."
"I am quite certain she did," retorted Hester, "and from this moment I
refuse to speak to her until she confesses what she has done and
apologises to me. Indeed, I have a great mind to go and tell everything
to Mrs Willis."
"Oh, I would not do that," said Cecil; "none of your school-fellows
would forgive you if you charged such a favourite as Annie with a crime
which you cannot in the least prove against her. You must be patient,
Hester, and if you are, I will take your part, and try to get at the
bottom of the mystery."
Cecil, however, failed to do so. Annie laughed when the affair was
discussed in her presence, but her clear eyes looked as innocent as the
day, and nothing would induce Cecil to doubt Miss Forest's honour.
The mischievous sprite, however, who was sowing such seeds of
unhappiness in the hitherto peaceful school was not satisfied with two
deeds of daring; for a week afterwards Cecil Temple found a book of Mrs
Browning's, out of which she was learning a piece for recitation, with
its cover half torn off, and, still worse, a caricature of Mrs Willis
sketched with some cleverness and a great deal of malice on the
title-page. On the very same morning, Dora Russell, on opening her
desk, was seen to throw up her hands with a gesture of dismay. The neat
composition she had finished the night before was not to be seen in its
accustomed place, but in a corner of the desk were two bulky and
mysterious parcels, one of which contained a great junk of rich
plum-cake, and the other some very sticky and messy "Turkish delight;"
while the paper which enveloped these luxuries was found to be that on
which the missing composition was written. Dora's face grew very
white--she forgot the ordinary rules of the school, and, leaving her
class, walked down the room, and interrupted Miss Good, who was
beginning to instruct the third-class in English grammar.
"Will you please come and see something in my desk, Miss Good?" she said
in a voice which trembled with excitement.
It was while she was speaking that Cecil found the copy of Mrs Browning
mutilated, and with the disgraceful caricature on its title-page.
Startled as she was by this discovery, and also by Miss Russell's
extraordinary behaviour, she had presence of mind enough to hide the
sight which pained her from her companions. Unobserved, in the strong
interest of the moment, for all the girls were watching Dora Russell and
Miss Good, she managed to squeeze the little volume into her pocket.
She had indeed received a great shock, for she knew well that the only
girl who could caricature in the school was Annie Forest. For a moment
her troubled eyes sought the ground, but then she raised them and looked
at Annie. Annie, however, with a particularly cheerful face, and her
bright dark eyes full of merriment, was gazing in astonishment at the
scene which was taking place in front of Miss Russell's desk.
Dora, whose enunciation was very clear, seemed to have absolutely
forgotten herself; she disregarded Miss Good's admonitions, and declared
stoutly that at such a moment she did not care what rules she broke.
She was quite determined that the culprit who had dared to desecrate her
composition, and put plum-cake and "Turkish delight" into her desk,
should be publicly exposed and punished.
"The thing cannot go on any longer, Miss Good," she said; "there is a
girl in this school who ought to be expelled from it, and I for one
declare openly that I will not submit to associate with a girl who is
worse than unladylike. If you will permit me, Miss Good, I will carry
these things at once to Mrs Willis, and beg of her to investigate the
whole affair, and bring the culprit to justice, and to turn her out of
the school."
"Stay, Miss Russell," exclaimed the English teacher, "you strangely and
completely forget yourself. You are provoked. I own, but you have no
right to stand up and absolutely hoist the flag of rebellion in the
faces of the other girls. I cannot excuse your conduct. I will myself
take away these parcels which were found in your desk, and will report
the affair to Mrs Willis. She will take what steps she thinks right in
bringing you to order, and in discovering the author of this mischief.
Return instantly to your desk, Miss Russell; you strangely forget
yourself."
Miss Good left the room, having removed the plum-cake and "Turkish
delight" from Dora Russell's desk, and lessons continued as best they
could under such exciting circumstances.
At twelve o'clock that day, just as the girls were preparing to go up to
their rooms to get ready for their usual walk, Mrs Willis came into the
school-room.
"Stay one moment, young ladies," said the head-mistress in that slightly
vibrating and authoritative voice of hers. "I have a word or two to say
to you all. Miss Good has just brought me a painful story of wanton and
cruel mischief. There are fifty girls in this school, who, until
lately, lived happily together. There is now one girl among the fifty
whose object it is to sow seeds of discord and misery among her
companions. Miss Good has told me of three different occasions on which
mischief has been done to different girls in the school. Twice Miss
Russell's desk has been disturbed, once Miss Thornton's. It is possible
that other girls may also have suffered who have been noble enough not
to complain. There is, however, a grave mischief, in short, a moral
disease in our midst. Such a thing is worse than bodily illness--it
must be stamped out instantly and completely at the risk of any personal
suffering. I am now going to ask you, girls, a simple question, and I
demand instant truth without any reservation. Miss Russell's desk has
been tampered with--Miss Thornton's desk has been tampered with. Has
any other girl suffered injury--has any other girl's desk been touched?"
Mrs Willis looked down the long room--her voice had reached every
corner, and the quiet, dignified, and deeply-pained expression in her
fine eyes was plainly visible to each girl in the school. Even the
little ones were startled and subdued by the tone of Mrs Willis's
voice, and one or two of them suddenly burst into tears. Mrs Willis
paused for a full moment, then she repeated her question.
"I insist upon knowing the exact truth, my dear children," she said
gently but with great decision.
"My desk has also been tampered with," said Miss Temple in a low voice.
Every one started when Cecil spoke, and even Annie Forest glanced at her
with a half-frightened and curious expression. Cecil's voice indeed was
so low, so shaken with doubt and pain, that her companions scarcely
recognised it.
"Come here, Miss Temple," said Mrs Willis.
Cecil instantly left her desk and walked up the room.
"Your desk has also been tampered with, you say?" repeated the
head-mistress.
"Yes, madam."
"When did you discover this?"
"To-day, Mrs Willis."
"You kept it to yourself?"
"Yes."
"Will you now repeat in the presence of the school, and in a loud enough
voice to be heard by all here, exactly what was done?"
"Pardon me," answered Cecil, and now her voice was a little less
agitated and broken, and she looked full into the face of her teacher,
"I cannot do that."
"You deliberately disobey me, Cecil?" said Mrs Willis.
"Yes, madam."
Mrs Willis's face flushed--she did not, however, look angry--she laid
her hand on Cecil's shoulder and looked full into her eyes.
"You are one of my best pupils, Cecil," she said tenderly. "At such a
moment as this honour requires you to stand by your mistress. I must
insist on your telling me here and now exactly what has occurred."
Cecil's face grew whiter and whiter.
"I cannot tell you," she murmured; "it breaks my heart, but I cannot
tell you."
"You have defied me, Cecil," said Mrs Willis in a tone of deep pain.
"I must, my dear, insist on your obedience, but not now. Miss Good,
will you take Miss Temple to the chapel? I will come to you, Cecil, in
an hour's time."
Cecil walked down the room crying silently. Her deep distress and her
very firm refusal to disclose what she knew had made a great impression
on her school-fellows. They all felt troubled and uneasy, and Annie
Forest's face was very pale.
"This thing, this wicked, mischievous thing has gone deeper than I
feared," said Mrs Willis, when Cecil had left the room.
"Only some very strong motive would make Cecil Temple behave as she is
now doing. She is influenced by a mistaken idea of what is right; she
wishes to shield the guilty person. I may as well tell you all, young
ladies, that, dear as Cecil is to me, she is now under the ban of my
severe displeasure. Until she confesses the truth and humbles herself
before me, I cannot be reconciled to her. I cannot permit her to
associate with you. She has done very wrong, and her punishment must be
proportionately severe. There is one chance for her, however. Will the
girl whom she is mistakenly, though generously, trying to shield, come
forward and confess her guilt, and so release poor Cecil from the
terrible position in which she has placed herself? By doing so, the
girl who has caused all this misery will at least show me that she is
trying to repent."
Mrs Willis paused again, and now she looked down the room with a face
of almost entreaty. Several pairs of eyes were fixed anxiously on her,
several looked away, and many girls glanced in the direction of Annie
Forest, who, feeling herself suspected, returned their glances with bold
defiance, and instantly assumed her most reckless manner.
Mrs Willis waited for a full minute.
"The culprit is not noble enough," she said then. "Now, girls, I must
ask each of you to come up one by one and deny or confess this charge.
As you do so, you are silently to leave the school-room and go up to
your rooms, and prepare for the walk which has been so painfully
delayed. Miss Conway, you are at the head of the school, will you set
the example?"
One by one the girls of the head class stepped up to their teacher, and
of each one she asked the same question--
"Are you guilty?"
Each girl replied in the negative and walked out of the school-room.
The second-class followed the example of the first, and then the
third-class came up to their teacher. Several ears were strained to
hear Annie Forest's answer, but her eyes were lifted fearlessly to Mrs
Willis's face, and her "No!" was heard all over the room.