Immediately after Easter the real excitement of the school-year began.
All the girls who had ambition, who had industry, and who had a desire
to please distant fathers, mothers, or guardians, worked hard for that
great day at Midsummer when Mrs Willis distributed her valuable prizes.
From the moment of Hester's entrance into the school she had heard this
day spoken of. It was, without doubt, the greatest day of the year at
Lavender House. Smaller prizes were given at Christmas, but the great
honours were always reserved for this long sunshiny June day, when Mrs
Willis herself presented her marks of approbation to her successful
pupils.
The girls who had lived in the school for two or three years gave Hester
vivid descriptions of the excitements, the pleasures, the delights of
this day of days. In the first place, it was the first of the holidays,
in the second it was spent almost from morning to night in the open
air--for a great tent was erected on the lawn; and visitors thronged to
Lavender House, and fathers and mothers, and aunts and uncles, arrived
from a distance to witness the triumphs of the favoured children who had
won the prizes. The giving away of the prizes was, of course, _the_
event of the day; but there were many other minor joys. Always in the
evenings there was some special entertainment. These entertainments
differed from year to year, Mrs Willis allowing the girls to choose
them for themselves, and only making one proviso, that they must take
all the trouble, and all the pains--in short, that they themselves must
be the entertainers. One year they had tableaux vivants; another a
fancy ball, every pretty dress of which had been designed by themselves,
and many even made by their own industrious little fingers. Mrs Willis
delighted in the interest and occupation that this yearly entertainment
gave to her pupils, and she not only, encouraged them in their efforts
to produce something very unique and charming, but took care that they
should have sufficient time to work up their ideas properly. Always
after Easter she gave the girls of the three first classes two evenings
absolutely to themselves; and these they spent in a pretty room called
the South Parlour, which belonged to Mrs Willis's part of the house,
and was rarely used, except for these great preparations.
Hester, therefore, after Easter found her days very full indeed. Every
spare moment she devoted to little Nan, but she was quite determined to
win a substantial prize, and she was also deeply interested in various
schemes proposed in the South Parlour.
With regard to prizes, Mrs Willis also went on a plan of her own. Each
girl was expected to come up to a certain standard of excellence in all
her studies, and if she fell very much below this standard she was not
allowed to try for any prize; if she came up to it, she could select one
subject, but only one, for competition.
On the Monday after the Easter holidays the special subjects for the
Midsummer prizes were given out, and the girls were expected to send in
their answers as to the special prize they meant to compete for by the
following Friday.
When this day arrived Hester Thornton and Dora Russell both discovered
that they had made the same choice--they were going to try for the
English composition prize. This subject always obtained one of the most
costly prizes, and several of the girls shook their heads over Hester's
choice.
"You are very silly to try for that, Hetty," they exclaimed, "for Mrs
Willis has such queer ideas with regard to English composition. Of
course, we go in for it in a general way, and learn the rules of grammar
and punctuation, and so forth, but Mrs Willis says that school-girls'
themes are so bad and affected, as a rule, and she says she does not
think anyone will go in for her pet prize who has not natural ability.
In consequence, she gives only one prize for composition between the
three first classes. You had better change your mind, Hetty, before it
is too late, for much older girls will compete with you, and there are
several who are going to try."
Hester, however, only smiled, and assured her eager friend that she
would stick to her pet subject, and try to do the best she could.
On the morning when the girls signified their choice of subject, Mrs
Willis came into the school-room and made one of her little yearly
speeches with regard to the right spirit in which her girls should try
for these honours. The few and well-chosen words of the head-mistress
generally roused those girls who loved her best to a fever of
enthusiasm, and even Hester, who was comparatively a newcomer, felt a
great wish, as she listened to that clear and vibrating voice and
watched the many expressions which passed over the noble face, that she
might find something beyond the mere earthly honour and glory of success
in this coming trial. Having finished her little speech, Mrs Willis
made several remarks with regard to the choice of subjects. She spoke
of the English composition prize last, and here she heightened the
interest and excitement which always hung around this special prize.
Contrary to her usual rule, she would this year give no subject for an
English theme. Each girl might choose what pleased her best.
On nearing these words Annie Forest, who had been sitting by her desk
looking rather dull and dejected, suddenly sprang to her feet, her face
aglow, her eyes sparkling, and began whispering vigorously to Miss Good.
Miss Good nodded, and, going up to Mrs Willis, said aloud that Annie
had changed her mind, and that from not wishing to try for any of the
prizes, she now intended to compete for the English composition.
Mrs Willis looked a little surprised, but without any comment she
immediately entered Annie's name in the list of competitors, and Annie
sat down again, not even glancing at her astonished school-fellows, who
could not conceal their amazement, for she had never hitherto shown the
slightest desire to excel in this department.
On the evening of this Friday the girls of the three first classes
assembled for the first time in the South Parlour. Hitherto these
meetings had been carried on in a systematic and business-like fashion.
It was impossible for all the girls who belonged to these three large
classes to assemble on each occasion. Careful selections, therefore,
were, as a rule, made from their numbers. These girls formed a
committee to superintend and carry on the real preparations for the
coming treat, and the others only met when specially summoned by the
committee to appear.
As usual now the three classes found themselves in the South Parlour--as
usual they chattered volubly, and started schemes, to reject them again
with peals of laughter. Many ideas were put forward, to be cast aside
as utterly worthless. No one seemed to have any very brilliant thought,
and as the first step on these occasions was to select what the
entertainment should be, proceedings seemed to come to a standstill.
The fact was the most daring originator, the one whoso ideas were always
flavoured with a spice of novelty, was absolutely silent.
Cecil Temple, who had taken a seat near Annie, suddenly, bent forward
and spoke to her aloud.
"We have all said what we would like, and we none of us appear to have
thought of anything at all worth having," she said; "but you have not
spoken at all, Annie. Give us an idea, dear--you know you originated
the fancy ball last year."
Thus publicly appealed to, Annie raised her full brown eyes, glanced at
her companions, not one of whom, with the exception of Cecil, returned
her gaze fully; then, rising to her feet, she spoke in a slightly
contemptuous tone.
"These preparations seem to me to be much ado about nothing; they lake
up a lot of our time, and the results aren't worth the trouble--I have
nothing particular to say. Oh, well, yes, if you like--let's have blind
man's buff and a magic lantern;" and then, dropping a mock curtsey to
her companions, she dashed out of the South Parlour.
"Insufferable girl!" said Dora Russell; "I wonder you try to draw her
out, Cecil. You know perfectly that we none of us care to have anything
to do with her."
"I know perfectly that you are all doing your best to make her life
miserable," said Cecil, suddenly and boldly. "No one in this school has
obeyed Mrs Willis's command to treat Annie as innocent--you are
practically sending her to Coventry, and I think it is unjust and
unfair. You don't know, girls, that you are ruining poor Annie's
happiness."
"Oh, dear! she doesn't seem at all dull," said Miss West, a second-class
girl. "I do think she's a hardened little wretch."
"Little you know about her," said Cecil, the colour fading out of her
pale face. Then, after a pause, she added, "The injustice of the whole
thing is that in this treatment of Annie you break the spirit of Mrs
Willis's command--you, none of you, certainly tell her that she is
guilty, but you treat her as such."
Here Hester Thornton said a daring thing.
"I don't believe Mrs Willis in her heart of hearts considers Annie
guiltless."
These words of Hester's were laughed at by most of the girls, but Dora
Russell gave her an approving nod, and Cecil, looking paler than ever,
dropped suddenly into her seat, and no longer tried to defend her absent
friend.
"At any rate," said Miss Conway, who as the head girl of the whole
school was always listened to with great respect. "It is unfortunate
for the success of our entertainment that there should be all this
discussion and bad feeling with regard to Miss Forest. For my own part,
I cannot make out why the poor little creature should be hunted down, or
what affair it is of ours whether she is innocent or not. If Mr
Everard and Mrs Willis says she is innocent, is not that enough? The
fact of her guilt or innocence can't hurt us one way or another. It is
a great pity, however, for our own sakes, that we should be out with her
now, for, whatever her faults, she is the only one of us who is ever
gifted with an original thought. But, as we can't have her, let us set
to work without her--we really can't waste the whole evening over this
sort of talk."
Discussions as to the coming pleasure were now again resumed with
vigour, and after a great deal of animated arguing it was resolved that
two short plays should be acted; that a committee should be immediately
formed, who should select the plays, and apportion their various parts
to the different actors.
The committee selected included Miss Russell, Miss Conway, Hester
Thornton, Cecil Temple, and two other girls of the second-class. The
conference then broke up, but there was a certain sense of flatness over
everything, and Cecil was not the only girl who sighed for the merry
meetings of last year--when Annie had been the life and soul of all the
proceedings, and when one brilliant idea after another with regard to
the costumes for the fancy ball had dropped from her merry tongue.