sz \dM nM <:::7l/. .^4'io^/^:3-e^ ^^y^/iAs^x^ BEECHCROFT AT EOCKSTONE BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE CHAELOTTE M. YONGE AUTHOR OF 'THE UEIR OF REDCLYFFE,' 'UNKNOWN TO HISTORY, ETC. iLontion MACMILLAX AND CO., Li.mited NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 19 05 A II rights resci~i'ed First Edition (2 Vois. Crown Zvo), December Reprinted March 1889 New Edition (i Vol. Crown 8z»i)) December i Reprinted 1893, 1905 MEPWY MORSE STEPHEW* CONTENTS CHAPTER I PAGE A DlSPERSIOX 1 CHAPTER II ROCKQUAY 13 CHAPTER III Perpetual Motiox 25 CHAPTER IV The Queen of the "White Ants 38 CHAPTER V Marbles 49 CHAPTER Yl Single Misfortunes never come alone . . . .59 CHAPTER VII An Empty Nest 70 514159 CONTENTS CHAPTEIl VIII PAGE CxiLLiAx'.s Pupil 81 CHAPTER IX Gauging Ajee CHAPTER X AUT C^SAR AUT NiHII 105 CHAPTER XI Lady Meerifield'.s Christmas Letter-Bag CHAPTER XII Transformations 129 CHAPTER XIIT St. Valentine's Day .... CHAPTER XIV ■ The Partner 155 CHAPTER XV The Rocks of Rockstone 165 CHAPTER XVI Vanished CONTENTS vu CHAPTER XVII PAGE 'They Come, They Come" 186 CHAPTER XVIII Father and Mother 199 CHAPTER XIX The Knight and the Dragon 210 CHAPTER XX Ivinghoe Terrace 225 CHAPTER XXI Beauty and the Beast 238 CHAPTER XXII The Maiden all Forlorn 255 CHAPTER XXIII Fangs 270 CHAPTER XXIV Conclusion 284 BEECHCEOFT AT ROCKSTONE CHAPTEr. I A DISPERSION ' A TELEGRAM ! ]\Iake haste and open it, Jane ; they always make me so nervous ! I believe that is the reason Keginald always ivill telegraph wlien he is coming,' said Miss Adeline Llohun, a very pretty, well preserved, though delicate-look- ing lady of some age about forty, as her elder sistei', brisk and lively and some years older, came into the room. ' No, it is not Reggie. It is from Lily. Poor Lily ! Jasper — accident — Come.' 'Poor dear Lily ! Is it young Jasper or old Jasper, I wonder 1 ' ' If it were young Jasper she would have put Japs. I am afraid it is her husband. If so, she will be going oti" to liim. I must catch tlie 11.20 train. Will you come, Ada 1 ' ' Oh no ; I should be knocked up, and on your hands. The suspense is bad enougli at home.' ' If it is old Jasper, we shall see in the paper to-day. I will send it down to you from the station. Supposing it is Sir Jasper, and she wants to go out to him, we must take in some of the children.' ' Oh ! Dear little Primrose would be nice enough, but what sliould we do with that Halfpenny woman ? If we had the other girls, I suppose they would he at scliool all day ; but surely some might go to Beechcroft. And mind, Jane, I will not have you overtasking yourself ! Do not take any of them without having Gillian to lielp you. That I stipulate.' Jane INIohun seemed as if she did not hear as tliese sen- tences were uttered at intervals, while she stood dashing off postcards at her davenport. Then she said, on her way to the door— IQ B o BE'iiCHG'ROFT AT ROCKSTONE chat. ' Don't expect me to-night. 1 will send Fanny to ask one of the Wellands to come in to you, and telegraph if I bring any one home with me.' ' But, Jane dear ' However, the door was shut, and by the time Miss Adeline had reached her sister's room, the ever-ready bag was nearly packed. ' I only wanted to say, dear Jane, that you must give my love to dear Lily. I am grieved— grieved for her ; but indeed you must not undertake anything rash.' (A shake of the head, as the shoes went into their neat bag.) ' Do not let lier persuade you to stay at Silverfold in her absence. You can- not give up everything liere.' ^ ' Yes, yes, Ada, I know it does not suit you. Never fear. 'It is not that ; but you are much too useful here to drop everything, especially now every one is away. I would will- ingly sacrifice myself, but ■-' ' Yes, I know, Ada dear. Now, good-bye, and take care of yourself, and don't be nervous. It may mean only that young Japs has twisted his little finger.' And with a kiss, Miss ]\Iohun ran downstairs as fast and lightly as if her years had been half their amount, and accomplished her orders to Fanny— otherwise Mrs. Mount— a Beechcroft native, who, on being left a widow, had returned to her former mistresses, bringing with her a daughter, who had grown up into an efficient housemaid. After a few words with her, ]\Iiss Mohun sped on, finding time at the station to purchase a morning paper just come down, and to read among the telegrams — ' Colombo, Sept. 3d. 'Lieu tenant -General Sir Jasper Merrifield, G.C.B., has been thrown from his horse, and received severe injuries.' She despatched this paper to her sister by a special mes- senger, whom she had captured by the way, and Avas soon after in the train, knitting and pondering. At Silverton station she saw the pony carriage, and in it her niece Gillian, a girl not quite seventeen, with brown eyes showing traces of tears. ' Mamma knew you would come,' she said. ' You have heard direct, of course.' ' Yes ; Claude telegraphed. The horse fell over a preci- pice. Papa's leg and three ribs are broken. Not dangerous. That is all it says ; and mamma is going out to him directly. 'I was quite sure she would. Well, CJillian, we must do the best we can. Has sho any plans ? ' ' I think she waited iov you to settle them, llal is come ; I A DISPERSION 3 lie wanted to go with her, but she says it will cost too much, and besides, there is his Ordination in Advent.' ' Has she telegraphed to your uncles ? ' ' To Beechcroft and to Stokesley ; but we don't quite know where Uncle Reginald is. Perhaps he will see the paper.' Gillian's tears were ilowing again, and her aunt said — ' Come, my dear, you must not give way ; you must do all you can to make it better for your mother.' ' I know,' she answered. ' Indeed, I didn't cry till I sat waiting, and it all came over me. Poor papa ! and what a journey mamma will have, and how dreadful it will be with- out her ! But I know that it is horrid of me, when papa and my sisters must want her so much more.' ' That's right — quite right to keep up before her. It does not sound to me so bad, after all ; perhaps they will tele- graph again to stop her. Did Claude ask her to come outr ' Oh no ! There were only those few words.' No more could be learnt till the pony stopped at the door, and Hal ran out to hand out his aunt, and beg her i^rivately to persuade his mother to take him, oi^, if she would not con- sent to that, at least to have Macrae, the old soldier-servant, with her — it was not ht for her to travel alone. Lady ^Merrilield looked very pale, and squeezed her sister close in her anns as she said — ^ ' You are my great help, Jenny.' * And must you go ? ' ' Yes, certainly.' ' Without waiting to hear more ? ' 'There is no use in losing time. I cannot cross from Folkestone till the day after to-morrow, at night. I must go to London to-morrow, and sleep at Mrs. Merrifield's.' ' But this does not seem to me so very bad.' ' Oh, no, no ! but when I get there in three weeks' time, it will be just when I shall be most wanted. The nursing will have told on the girls, and Jasper will be feeling v/eary of being laid up, and wanting to take liberties.' 'And what will you be after such a journey?' ' Just up to keeping him in order. Come, you have too much sense to expostulate, Jenny.' 'No; you would wear yourself to fiddle - strings if you stayed at home. I only want you to take Hal, or Macrae.' _ ' Hal is out of the question ; I would not interfere with his preparation on any account. Macrae would be a very costly article ; and, moreover, I want him to act major-domo here, unless you would, and that I don't dare to hope for.' ' No, you must not, Lily ; Ada never feels well here, nor always at Brighton, and Emily would be too nervous to have 4 BEECHCROFT AT EOCKSTOTv^E chap. her without me. But we will take as many children as you please, or we have room for.' ' That is like you, Jenny. I know William will offer to take them in at home, but I cannot send them without ]\riss Vincent ; and she cannot leave her mother, who has had a sort of stroke. Otherwise I should try leaving them liere wliile I am away, but the poor old lady is in no state for it — in fact, I doubt her living long.' ' I know ; you have been governess by your.self these last weeks ; it will be well to relieve her. The best way will be for us to take Mysie and Valetta, and let them go to tlie High School ; and there is a capital day-school for little boys, close to St. Andrew's, for Fergus, and Gillian can go there too, or join classes in whatever she pleases.' ' My Brownie ! Have you really room for all those 1 ' ' Oh yes ! The three girls in the spare room and dressing- room, and Fergus in the little room over the porch. I will write to Fanny ; I gave her a hint.' ' And I have no doubt that Primrose will be a delight to her aunt Alethea, poor little dear ! Yes, that makes it all easy, for in the holidays I know the boys are sure of a wel- come at the dear old home, or Hal might have one or two of them at his Curacy.' The gong sounded for the melancholy dinner that had to go on all the same, and in the midst all were startled by the arrival of a telegram, which Macrae, looking awestruck, actually delivered to Harry instead of to his mistress ; but it was not from Ceylon. It was from Colonel Mohun, from Beech- croft : ' Coming 6.30. Going with you. Send children liere.' Never were twenty words, including addresses, more satis- factory. The tears came, for the first time, to Lady ]\Ierri- field's eyes at the kindness of her brothers, and Harry was quite satisfied that his uncle would be a far better escort than himself or IMacrae. Aunt Jane went otf to send her telegram home and write some needful letters, and Lady Merrifield announced her arrangements to those whom they concerned. ' Oh ! mamma, don't,' exclaimed Valetta ; ' all the guinea- pigs will die.' ' I thought,' said Gillian, ' that we might stay here with Miss Vincent to look after us.' 'That will not do in her mother's state. Mrs. Vincent cannot be moved up here, and I could not lay such a burthen on them.' ' We would be very good,' said Val. 'That, I ho])e, you will he any way ; but I tliink it will be easier at Bockstone, and I am quite sure that papa and I shall be better satisfied about you.' I A DISPEKSION 5 ' Mayn't we take Quiz ? ' asked Fergus. ' And Eigdum Funnidos ? ' cried Valetta. 'And Rutfand Ring?' chimed in INlysie. 'My dear cliildren, I don't see how Aunt Jane can be troubled with any more animals than your four selves. _ You must ask her ; only do not be surprised or put out if she refuses, for I don't believe you can keep anything there.' Off the three younger ones went, Gillian observing, ' 1 don't see how they can, unless it was Quiz ; but, mamma, don't you think I might go to Beechcrof t with Primrose ? I should be so much quieter working for the examination there, and I could send my exercises to Miss Vincent ; and then I should keep up Prim's lessons.' 'Your aunt Alethea will, I know, like doing that, my dear ; and I am afraid to turn those creatures loose on the aunts without some one to look after them and their clothes. Fanny will be very helpful ; but it will not do to throw too much on her.' ' Oh ! I thought they would have Lois ' ' There would not be room for her ; besides that, T don't think it would suit your aunts. You and Mysie ought to do all the mending for yourselves and Fergus, and what Valetta cannot manage. I know you would rather be at Beechcroft, my dear ; but in this distress and difficulty, some individual likings must be given up.' ' Yes, mamma.' Lady Merritield looked rather dubiously at her daughter. She had very little time, and did not want to have an argu- ment, nor to elicit murmurs, yet it might be better to see what was in Gillian's mind before it was too late. Mothers, very fond of their own sisters, cannot always understand why it is not tlie same with their daughters, who inherit another element of inherited character, and of another generation, and who have not been welded together with the aunts in childhood. ' My dear,' slie said, ' you know I am quite ready to hear if you have any real reasonable objection to this arrangement.' ' No, mamma, I don't think I have,' said Gillian thought- fully. ' The not liking always meeting a lot of strangers, nor the general bustle, is all nonsense, I know quite well. I see it is best for the children, but I should like to know exactly who is to be in authoi-ity over them.' ' Certainly Aunt Jane,' replied Lady Merrifield. ' She must be the ultimate authority. Of course you will check the younger ones in anything going wrong, _as_ you would here, and very likely there will be more restrictions. Aunt Ada has to be considered, and it will be a town life ; but remem- ber that your aunt is mistress of the house, and that even if 6 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOKE chap. you do think her arrangements uncalled for, it is your duty to help the others to submit cheerfully. Say anything you please fully and freely in your letters to me, but don't let there be any collisions of authority. Jane will listen kindly, I know, in private to any representation you may like to make, but to say before the children, " Mamma always lets them," would be most mischievous.' ' I see,' said Gillian. ' Indeed, I will do my best, mamma, and it will not be for very long.' ' I hope and trust not, my clear child. Perhaps we shall all meet by Easter — joapa, and all ; but you must not make too sure. There may be delays. Now I must see Halfpenny. I cannot talk to you any more, my Gillyflower, though I am leaving volumes unsaid.' Gillian found Aunt Jane emerging from her room, and l^eset by her three future guests. ' Aunt Jane, may we bring Quiz 1 ' ' And Rigdum Funnidos and Lady Rigdum ? ' ' And RufF and Ring ? They are the sweetest doves in the world.' ' Doves ! Oh, Mysie, they would drive your aunt Ada distracted, with coo-roo-roo at four o'clock in the morning, just as she goes oft' to sleep.' 'The Rigdums make no noise but a dear little chirp,' triumpliantly exclaimed Valetta. ' Do you mean the kittens ? We have a vacancy for one cat, you know.' ' Oh yes, we want you to choose between Artaxerxes and the Sofy. But the Rigdums are tlie eldest pair of guinea- pigs. They are. so fond of me, that I know poor old Funni- dos will die of grief if I go away and leave him.' 'I sincerely hope not, Valetta, for, indeed, there is no place to put him in.' 'I don't think he would mind living in the cellar if he only saw me once a day,' piteously pleaded Valetta. 'Indeed, Val, the dark and damp would surely kill the poor thing, in spite of your attentions. You must make up your mind to separation from your pets, excepting the kitten.' Valetta burst out crying at tliis last drop that made the bucket overflow, but Fergus exclaimed : ' Quiz ! Aunt Jane ! He always goes about witli us, and always behaves like a gentleman ; don't you, Quizzy ? ' and the little IMaltese, who perfectly well understood that there was trouble in the air, .sat straight up, crossed Iiis paws, and looked touchingly wistful. 'Poor dear little fellow !' said Aunt Jane ; 'yes, I knew ho would be good, but Kunz would be horribly jealous, you I A DISPERSION 7 see ; he is an only dog, and can't bear to have his premises invaded.' ' He ought to be taught better,' said Fergus gravely. 'So he ought,' Aunt Jane confessed ; 'but he is too old to begin learning, and Aunt Ada and Mrs. Mount would never bear to see him disturbed. Besides, I really do not think Quiz would be half so well off there as among his own friends and places here, with Macrae to take care of him.' Tlien as Fergus began to pucker his face, she added, ' I am really very sorry to be so disagreeable.' 'The children must not be unreasonable,' said Gillian sagely, as she came up. ' And I am to choose between Xerxes and Artaxerxes, is it ? ' said Aunt Jane. 'No, the Sofy,' said Mysie. 'A Sofy is a Persian philo- sopher, and this kitten has got the wisest face.' 'Ptun and fetch them,' suggested her aunt, 'and then we can choose. Oh,' she added, with some relief at the thought, ' if it is an object to dispose of Cockie, we could manage him.' The two younger ones were gratified, but Gillian and Mysie both exclaimed that Cockie's exclusive affections were devoted to Macrae, and that they could not answer for his temper under the separation. To break up such a household was decidedly the Goose, Fox, and Cabbage problem. As Mysie observed, in the coui'se of the search for the kittens, in the make-the-best-of-it tone, 'It was not so bad as the former moves, when they were leaving a place for good and all.' 'Ah, but no place was ever so good as this,' said poor Valetta. 'Don't be such a little donkey,' said Fergus conse- quentially. ' Don't you know we are going to school, and I am three years younger than Wilfred was ? ' 'It is only a petticoat school,' said Val, 'kept by ladies.' ' It isn't.' ' It is ; I heard Harry say so.' 'And yours is all butchers and bakers and candlestick makers.' On which they fell on each other, each with a howl of defi- ance. Fergus grabbed at Val's pigtail, and she was bufieting him vehemently when Harry came out, held them apart, and demanded if this were the way to make their mother easy in leaving them. ' She said it was a pet-pet-petticoat scliool,' sobbed Fergus. 'And so it ought to be, for boys that fight with girls.' ' And he said mine was all butchers and bakers and candle- stick makers,' whined Valetta. 8 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. ' Then you'd better learn manners, or they'll take you for a tramp,' observed Harry ; but at that moment ]\Iysie broke in with a shout at liaving discovered the kittens making a plaything of the best library pen-wiper, their mother, the sleek Begum, abetting them, and they were borne otf to dis- play the coming glories of tlieir deep fur to Aunt Jane. Her choice fell upon the Sofy, as much because of the con- venience of the name as because of the preternatural wisdom of expression imparted by the sweep of the black lines on the gray visage. Mr. Pollock's landlady was to be the happy possessor of Artaxerxes, and the turbulent portion of the household was disposed of to bear him thither, and to beg Miss Hacket to give Euff and Ring the run of her cage, whence they had originally come, also to deliver various messages and notes. By the time they returned, Colonel i\Iohun was met in the hall "by his sister. ' ' Oh, Reggie, it is too good in you ! ' were the words that came with her fervent kiss. 'Remember how many years I have been seasoned to being " cockit up on a baggage waggon." Ought not such an old soldier as I to be able to take care of myself ? ' ' And wliat would your husband say to you when you got there ? And should not I catch it from William 1 Well, are you packing up the youthful family for Beechcroft, except that at Bother wood they are shrieking for JNIysie V ' I know how good William and Alethea would be. This child,' pointing to Primrose, who had been hanging on her all day in silence, ' is to go to them ; but as I can't send ]\Iiss Vincent, educational advantages, as the advertisements say, lie on the side of Rockstone ; so Jenny here undertakes to be troubled with the rabble.' 'But Mysie? Rotherwood met me at the station and begged me to obtain her from you. They really wish it.' ' He does, I have no doubt.' 'So does Madame la Marquise. They have been anxioiLS about little Phyllis all the summer. Slie was languid and oli' her feed in London, and did not pick up :it home as tlioy ex- pected. My belief is that it is too much governess and too little play, and that a fortnight hei-e would set her up again. Rotherwood himself thinks so, and Victoria lias some such inkling. At any rate, they ai-e urgent to have ^lysic with the child, as the next best tiling.' ' Poor dear little Fly ! ' ejaculated Lady Merriiield ; ' but 1 am afraid ^lysie was not very liappy there last year.' 'And what would be the effect of all the overdoing?' said Miss ]\Iohun. ']\Iy.sie is touglusr than that sprite, and I suppose there is some relaxation,' said Lady .Meri'ilield. I A DISPERSION 9 ' Yes ; tlie doctors have frightened them sufficiently for the present.' 'I suppose ]\Iysie is a prescription, poor child,' said her aunt, in a tone that evoked from her brother — ' Jealous, Jenny 1 ' ' Well, Jane,' said Lady Merrifield, ' you know how thank- ful I am to you and Ada, but I am inclined to let it depend on the letters I get to-morrow, and the way Victoria takes it. If it is really an earnest wish on that dear little Fly's account, I could not withstand old llotherwood, and though Mysie miglit be less happy than she would be with you, I do not tlnnk any harm will be done. Everything there is sound and conscientious, and if she picks up a little polish, it won't hurt her.' ' Shall you give her the choice ? ' ' I see no good in rending the poor child's mind between two affections, especially as there will be a very short time to decide in, for 1 shall certainly not send her if Victoria's is a mere duty letter.' ' You are quite right there, Lily,' said the Colonel. ' The less choice the greater comfort.' 'Well done, sir soldier,' said his sister Jane. ' I say quite right too ; only, for my own sake, I wish it had been Valetta,.' ' So no doubt does she,' said the mother ; 'but unluckily it isn't. And, indeed, I don't think I wish it. Val is safer with you. As Gillian expressed it the other day, " Val does right when she likes it ; Mysie does right when she knows it." ' ' You have the compliment after all, Jane,' said the Colonel 'Lily trusts you with the child she doesn't trust ! ' There was no doubt the next morning, for Lady Eotlier- wood wrote an earnest, affectionate letter, begging for Mysie, who, she said, had won such golden opinions in her former visit that it would be a real benefit to Phyllis, as much morally as physically, to have her companionship. It was the tenderest letter that either of the sisters had ever seen from the judicious and excellent jSIarchioness, full of warm sympathy for Lady jNIerritield's anxiety for her husband, and betraying much solicitude for her little girl. 'It has done lier good,' said Jane Mohun. 'I did not think she had such a soft spot.' 'Poor Victoria,' said Lady Merrifield, 'that is a shame. You know she is an excellent mother.' ' Too excellent, that's the very thing,' muttered Aunt Jane. ' Well, Mysie's fate is settled, and I dare say it will turn out for the best.' So JNlysie was to go with Mrs. Halfpenny and Prinu-ose to Beechcroft, whence the llotherwoods would fetch her. If the lady's letter had been much less urgent, who could liave with- 10 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOKE chap. stood her lord's postscript : ' If you could see the little pale face light up at the bare notion of seeing Mysie, you would know how grateful we shall be for lier.' Mysie herself heard her destiny without much elation, though she was very fond of Lady Phyllis, and the tears came into her eyes at the thought of her being unwell and wanting her. ' Mamma said we must not grumble,' she said to Gillian ; ' but I shall feel so lost without you and A^al. It is so un- homish, and there's tliat dreadful German Friiulein, wlio was not at home last time.' ' If you told mamma, perhaps she would let you stay,' re- turned Gillian. ' I know I should hate it, worse than I do going to Kockstone and without you.' ' That would be unkind to poor Fly,' said Mysie. ' Besides, mamma said she could not have settling and unsettling for ever. And I sliall see Primrose sometimes ; besides, I do love Fly. It's marching orders, you know.' It was Valetta wlio made tlie most objection. She declared that it was not fair that Mysie, who had been to tlie ball at Rotherwood, should go again to live with lords and ladies, while she went to a nasty day-school with butchers' and bakers' daughters. She hoped she sliould grow horridly vulgar, and if mamma did not like it, it would be her own fault ! Mrs. Halfpenny, who did not like to have to separate Mysie's clothes from the rest after they were packed, rather favoured tliis naughtiness by observing : ' Tlie old blue merino might stay at home. Miss Mysie would be too set up to Avear that among her fine folk. Set her up, that slie sliould have all tlie treats, while her own Miss Gillian was turned over to the auld aunties ! ' ' Nonsense, nurse,' said Gillian. ' I'm much better pleased to go and be of some use ! Val, you naughty child, how dare you make such a fuss ? ' for Valetta was crying again. ' I hate school, and I hate Rockstone, and I don't see why Mysie should always go everywhere, and wear new frocks, and I go to the butchers and bakers and wear horrid old ones.' ' I wish you could come too,' said ^Mysie ; ' but indeed old frocks are the nicest, because one is not bothered to take so much care of them ; and lords and ladies aren't a bit bottei: to play with than otlier people. In fact, Ivy is what Japs calls a niuft' and a stick.' Valetta, however, cried on, and Mysi(; went the length of repairing to her mother, in the midst of her last notes and packings, to entreat to change with Val, who followed on tip-toe. I A DISPERSION n ' Certainly not,' was the answer from Lady Merrifiekl, who was being worried on all sides ; ' Valetta is not asked, and she is not behaving so that I could accept for her if she were.' And Val had to turn away in floods of tears, which re- doubled on being told by the united voices of her brothers and sisters that they were ashamed of her for being so selfish as to cry for herself when all were in so much trouble about papa. Lady Merrifield caught some of the last words, ^o, my dear,' she said. 'That is not quite just or kind. It is being unhappy that makes poor Val so ready to cry about her own grievances. Only, Val, come here, and ^remember that fretting is not the way to meet such things. There is a better way, my child, and I think you know what I mean. Now, to help you through the time in an outer way, suppose you each set yourself some one thing to improve in while I am away. Don't tell me what it is, but let me find out when I come home.' With that she obeyed an urgent summons to speak to the gardener. ' I shall ! I shall,' cried little Primrose, ' write a whole copy-book in single lines 1 And won't mamma be pleased ! What shall you do, Fergus 1 and Val 1 and Mysie 1 ' ' I sliall get to spin my peg-top so as it will never tumble down, and will turn an engine for drawing water,' was the prompt answer of Fergus. ' What nonsense ! ' said Val ; ' you'd better settle to get your long division sums right.' ' That's girls' stuff,' replied Fergus ; ' you'd better settle to leave off crying for nothing.' ' That you had ! ' said several voices, and Val very nearly cried again as she exclaimed : ' Don't be all so tiresome. I shall make mamma a beautiful crewel cushion, with all the battles in history on it. And won't she be ^surprised _! ' ' I think mamma meant more than that,' said Mysie. ' Oh, Mysie, what shall you do ? ' asked Primrose. 'I did think of getting to translate one of mammas favourite German stories quite through to her without wanting the dictionary or stumbling one bit,' said Mysie ; 'but I am sure she meant something better and better, and I'm thinking what it is— Perhaps it is making all little Flossie Macklin's clothes, a whole suit all oiieself— Or perhaps it is manners. What do you think, Gill V ' I should say most likely it was manners for you,' volun- teered Harry, 'and the extra you are most likely to acquire at Rotherwood.' ' I'm so glad,' said Mysie. ' And you. Gill,' inquired Primrose, ' what will you do I Mine is a copy-book, and Fergus's is the spinning -top- 12 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap, i engines, and rule of three ; and Val's is a crewel battle cushion a,nd not crying ; and Mysie's is German stories and manners ; and what's yours, Gill ? ' ' Gill is so grown up, she is too good to want an inside thing,' announced Primrose. ' Oh, Prim, you dear little thing,' cried both elder brother and sister, as they tliought with a sort of pang of the child's opinion of grown-up impeccabilit}^ ' Harry is grown up more, put in Fergus ; ' why don't you ask him ? ' ' Becavise I know,' said Primrose, with a pretty shyness, and as they pressed her, she whispered, ' He is going to be a clergyman.' There was a call for ]\lysie and Val from upstairs, and as the younger population scampered off, Gillian said to her brother — ' Is not it like " occupy till I come " ? ' ' So I was thinking,' said Harry gravely. ' But one must be as young as Mysie to throw one's " inside things '' into tlie general stock of resolutions.' ' Yes," said Gillian, with uplifted eyes. ' I do — I do liope to do something.' Some great thing was lier unspoken thought — some great and excellent achievement to be laid before her mother on her return. There was a tale begun in imitation of Bessie MerriHeld, called Hildas Experiences. Suppose that was finished, printed, published, splendidly reviewed. Would not that be a great thing 1 But alas, she was under a tacit engagement never to touch it in the hours of study CHAPTER II The actual moment of a parting is often softened by the confusion of departure. That of the JMerrifield family took place at the junction, where Lady jVIerritield with her brother remained in the train, to be carried on to London. Gillian, Valetta, and Fergus, with their aunt, changed into a train for Rockstone, and Harry was to return to his theological college, after seeing Mysie and Primrose off with nurse on their way to the ancestral Beechcroft, whence Mysie was to be fetched to Rotherwood. The last thing that met Lady Merriiield's eyes was Mrs. Halfpenny gesticu- lating wildly, under the impression that Mysie's box was going off to London. And Gillian's tears were choked in the scurry to avoid a smoking-carriage, while Harry could not help thinking — half blaming himself for so doing — that Mysie expended more feeling in parting with Sofy, the kitten, than with her sisters, not perceiving that pussy was the safety-valve for the poor child's demonstrations of all the sorrow that was oppressing her. Gillian, in the corner of a Rockstone carriage, had time for the full heart-sickness and tumult of fear that causes such acute suffering to young hearts. It is quite a mistake to say that youth suffers less from apprehension tlian does age ; indeed, the very inexperience and novelty add to the alarms, where there is no background of anxieties that have ended happily, only a crowd of examples of other people's misfortunes. The difference is in the greater elasticity and power of being distracted by outward circumstances ; and thus lookers-on never guess at the terrific possibilities that have scared the imagination, and the secret ejaculations that have met them. How many times on that brief journey had not Gillian seen her father dying, her sisters in despair, lier mother crushed in the train, wrecked in the steamer, jierish- 14 BEECH CROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. ing of the climate, or arriving to find all over and dying of the shock ; yet all was varied by speculations on the great thing that was to otier itself to be done, and the delight it would give ; and when the train slackened, anxieties were merged in the care for bags, baskets, and umbi-ellas. Eockstone and Kockquay had once been sei:)arate places — a little village perched on a clifi" of a iDroiuontory, and a small fishing hamlet within the bay • but these had'become merged in one, since fashion had cliosen them as a winter resort. Speculators blasted away such of the rocks as they had not covered with lodging-houses and desirable residences. The inhabitants of the two places had their separate churches, and knew their own bounds perfectly well ; but to the casual observei', the chief distinction between them was that Ilockstone was the more fashionable, liockquay the more commercial, although the one had its shops, the other its handsome crescents and villas. The station was at llock- quay, and there was an uphill drive to reach Eockstone, where the two Miss Mohuns had been early inhabitants — had named their cottage Beechcroft after their native home, and, to justify the title, had flanked the gate Avith two copper beeches, which had attained a fair growth, in spite of sea- winds, perliaps because sheltered by the house on the other side. The garden reached out to the verge of the cliff, or rather to a low wall, with iron rails and spikes at the top, and a narrow, rather giddy path beyond. There was a gate in the wall, the key of which Aunt Jane kept in her own pocket, as it gave near access to certain rocky steps, about one hundred and thirty in jiumber, by which, when in haste, the inhabitants of Eockstone could descend to tlie lower regions of the Quay. There was a most beautiful sea-\new from the house, which compensated for diflicultios in gardening in such a situation, though a very slight slope inwards from the verge of the cliff gave some protection to the flower-beds ; and there was not only a little conservatory attached to the drawing-room at the end, but the verandah had glass shutters, which served the purpose of protecting tender plants, and also the windows, from the full blast of the winter storms. Miss Mohun was very proud of these shutters, which made a winter garden of the \erandah for Miss Adeline to take exercise in. The house was their own, and, though it aimed at no I3articular beauty, had grown pleasant and ]Metty looking by force of being lived in and made comfortable. It was a contrast to its neighbours on either side of its pink and gray limestone wall. On one side besjan the grounds of the Great Eockstone Hotel ; on the otiier was II ROCKQUAY 15 Cliff House, the big and seldom -inhabited house of one of the chief partners in the marble works, which went on on the other side of the promontory, and some people said would one day consume llockstone altogether. It was a very fine house, and the gardens were reported to be beauti- fully kept up ; but the owner was almost always in Italy, and had so seldom been at Rockstone that it was understood that all this was the ostentation of a man who did not know what to do with his money. Aunt Adeline met the travellers at the door with her charming welcome. Kunz, all snowy white, wagged his tight-curled tail amid his barks, at sight of Aunt Jane, but capered wildly about the Sofy's basket, much to Valetta's agony ; while growls, as thunderous as a small kitten could produce, proceeded therefrom. 'Kunz, be quiet,' said Aunt Jane, in a solemn, to-be - minded voice ; and he crouched, blinking up with his dark eye. 'Give me the basket. Now, Kunz, this is our cat. Do you hear ? You are not to meddle with her.' Did Kunz really wink assent— a very unwilling assent ? ' Oh, Aunt Jane ! ' from Val, as her aunt's fingers undid the cover of the basket. ' Once for all ! ' said Aunt Jane. ' M-m-m-m-ps-pss-psss ! ' from the Sofy, two screams from Val and Fergus, a buffeting of paws, a couple of wild bounds, first on a chair -back, then on the mantelpiece, where, be- tween the bronze candlestick and the vase, the Persian philosopher stood hissing and swearing, while Kunz danced about and barked. ' Take her down, Gillian,' said Aunt Jane ; and Gillian, who had some presence of mind, accomplished it with sooth- ing words, and, thanks to her gloves, only one scratch. Meantime Miss Mohun caught up Kunz, held up her finger to him, stopped his barks ; and then, in spite of the ' Oh, don'ts,' and even the tears of Valetta, the two were held up —black nose to pink nose, with a resolute ' Now, you are to behave well to each other,' from Aunt Jane. Kunz sniffed, the Sofy hissed ; but her claws were captive. The dog was the elder and more rational, and when set down again took no more notice of his enemy, whom Valetta was advised to carry into Mrs. Mount's quarters to be comforted and made at home there ; the united voice of the household declaring that the honour of the Spitz was as spotless as his coat ! , T Such was the first arrival at Rockstone, preceding even Aunt Adeline's inquiries after Mysie, and tlie full explana- tion of the particulars of the family dispersion. Aunt Ada s 16 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. welcome was not at all like that of Kunz. She was very- tender and caressing, and rejoiced that her sister could trust her children to her. They should all get on most liappily togetlier, she had no doubt. True-hearted as Gillian was, there was something ho])eful and refreshing in the sight of tliat fair, smiling face, and the touch of the soft hand, in tlie room tliat was by no means unfamiliar, though she liad never slept in the house Ijefore. It was growing dark, and the little lii'e liglited it up in a friendly manner. Wherever Aunt Jane was, everything was neat ; wherever Aunt Adeline was, everything was graceful. Gillian was old enough to like tlie general pretti- ness ; but it somewhat awed Val and Fergus, who stood straiglit and shy till they were taken upstairs. The two girls had a very pretty room and dressing-room — tlie guest chamber, in fact ; and Fergus was not far off, in a small apartment which, as Val said, ' stood on legs,' and formed the shelter of the porcli. ' But, oh dear ! oh dear ! ' sighed Val, as Gillian unpacked their evening garments. ' Isn't there any nice place at all where one can make a mess ? ' ' I don't know whether the aunts will ever let us make a mess,' said Gillian ; ' tliey don't look like it.' At which Valetta's face puckered up in the way only too familiar to her friends. ' Come, don't be silly, Val. You won't have much time, you know ; you will go to school, and get some friends to ]Dlay with, and not want to make messes here.' ' I hate friends ! ' ' Oh, Val ! ' ' All but Fly, and ]\Iysie is gone to her. I want Mysie. So in truth did Gillian, almost as mucli as her mother. Her heart sank as she thought of having A^al and Fergus to save from scrapes without Mysie's readiness and good- humour. If Mysie were but there slie should be free for her ' great thing.' And oh ! above all, Val's liair — tlie brown bush tliat Val had a delusion that she 'did' lierself, but which her 'doing' left looking rather worse than it did before, and which was not permitted in public to be in tlie convenient tail. Gillian advanc(Hl on lier with the brush, but she tossed it and declared it all right ! However, at that moment there was a knock. !Mrs. Mount's kindly face and stout foi-m appeai-ed. She had dressed Miss Ada, and came to see what she could do for the young people, being of that delightful class of old sei-vants "who are charmed to have anything young in the house, especially a boy. She took Valetta's refractory mane in hand, tied her sash, inspected Fergus's hands, which liad II ROCKQUAY 17 succeeded in getting dirty in their inevitable fasliioii, and undertook all tiie unpacking and arranging. T( > ^'a^s i i ujuiry whether there was any place for making 'a dear delightful mess,' she replied with a curious little friendly smile, and wonder that a young lady should want such a thing. ' I'm afraid we are all rather strange specimens of young ladies,' replied Gillian ; ' very untidy, I mean.' ' And I'm sure I don't know what j\Iiss Mohun and Miss Ada will say,' said good Mrs. Mount. 'What's that? What am I to say?' asked Aunt Jane, coming into the room. But, after all. Aunt Jane proved to have more sympathy with ' messes ' than any of the others. She knew very well that the children would be far less troublesome if they had a place to themselves, and she said, ' Well, Val, you shall have the boxroom in the attics. And mind, you must keep all your goods there, both of you. If I find them about the house, I shall ' ' Oh, what. Aunt Jane ? ' ' Confiscate them,' was the reply, in a very awful voice, which impressed Fergus the more because he did not under- stand the word. ' You need not look so much alarmed, Fergus,' said Gillian ; ' you are not at all the likely one to transgress.' ' No,' said Valetta gravely. ' Fergus is what Lois calls a regular old battledore.' ' I won't be called names,' exclaimed Fergus. ' Well, Lois said so — when you were so cross because the poker had got on the same side as the tongs ! She said she never saw such an old battledore ; and you know how all the others took it up.' ' Shuttlecock yourself then ! ' angrily responded Fergus, while both aunt and sister were laughing too much to interfere. ' I shall call you a little Uncle IMaurice instead,' said Aunt Jane. ' How things come round ! Perhaps you would not believe. Gill, that Aunt Ada was once in a scrape, when she was our Mrs. Malaprop, for applying that same epithet on hearsay to Maurice.' This laugh made Gillian feel more at home with her aunt, and they went up happily together for the introduction to the lumber-room, not a very spacious place, and with a window leading out to the leads. Aunt Jane proceeded to put the children on their word of honour not to attempt to make an exit thereby, which Gillian thought unnecessary, since this pair were not enterprising. The evening went off happily. Aunt Jane produced one of the old games which had been played at the elder Beecli- C IS ]]EECnCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE ciiai'. croft, and had a certain historic character in the eyes of the young people. It was one of tliose variations of the Game of the Goose that wei-e once held to be improving, and their •mother had often told them how the family had agreed to prove whether honesty is really the best policy, and how it had been agreed that all should cheat as desperately as pos- sible, except ' honest Phyl,' who couldn't ; and liow, by some extraordinary combination, good for their morals, she actu- ally was the winner. It was immensely interesting to see the identical much-worn sheet of dilapidated pictures with the padlock, almost close to the goal, sending the counter back almost to the beginning in search of the key. Still more interesting was the imitation, in very wonderful draw- ing, devised by mamma, of the career of a true knight — from pagedom upwards — in pale watery Prussian - blue armour, a crimson scarf, vermilion plume, gamboge spurs, and very peculiar arms and legs. But, as Valetta observed, it must have been much more interesting to di'aw such things as that than stupid freehand lines and twists with no sense at all in them. Aunt Ada, being subject to asthmatic nights, never came down to breakfast, and, indeed, it was atan hour that Gillian thought fearfully early ; but her Aunt Jane was usecl to making every hour of the day available, and later rising would have prevented the two children from being in time for the schools, to which they were to go on the ]\Ionday. Some of Aunt Jane's many occujiations on Saturday consisted in arranging with the two heads of their respective schools, and likewise for the mathematical class Gillian was to join at the High School two mornings in the week, and for iier lessons on the organ, which were to be at St. Andrew's Church. Somehow Gillian felt as if she were as entirely in her aunt's hands as Kunz and the Sofy had been ! After the early dinner, which suited the invalid's liealth, Aunt Jane said she would take Valetta and Fergus to go down to the beach with t-he little Varleys, wliile she went to her district, leaving Gillian to read to Aunt Ada for half an hour, and then to walk with her for a quiet tur-n on the beach. It was an amusing article in a review that Gillian was set to read, and she did'^it so pleasantly that her aunt declared that she looked forwai-d to many such afternoon pastimes, and tlien, by an easier way than the hundred and a half steji.s, they proceeded down the hill, the aunt explaining a great deal to the niece in a manner very gratifying to a girl beginning to be admitted to an equality with grown-up pooiile. "^Tliere is our old church,' said Aunt Ada, as they had a glimpse of a gray tower with a curious dumpy steeple. ir EOCKQUAY 19 ' Do you go to church there ? ' ' I do — always. I could not undertake the hill on Sundays ; but Jane takes the school-children to the St. Andrew's service in the afternoon.' ' But whicli is the parish church ? ' 'In point of fact, my dear, it is all one parish. Good- morning, Mr. Hablot. My niece, Miss Gillian Merriiield. Yes, my sister is come home. I think she will be at the High School. He is the vicar of St. Andrew's,' as the clergyman went oft" in the direction of the steps. ' I thought you said it was all one parish.' ' St. Andrew's is only a district. All, it was all before your time, my dear.' ' I know dear Uncle Claude was the clergyman here, and got St. Andrew's built.' ' Yes, my dear. It was the great work and thought with him and Lord Kotherwood in those days that look so bright now,' said Aunt Ada. ' Yes, and with us all' ' Do tell me all about it,' entreated GiUian ; and her aunt, nothing loth, went on. ' Dear Claude was only five-and-twenty when he had the living. Nobody would take it, it was such a neglected place. All Eockquay down there had grown up with only the old church, and nobody going to it. It was a great deal through Rotherwood. Some property here came to him, and he was shocked at the state of things. Then we all thought the climate might be good for dear Claude, and Jane came to live with him and help liim, and look after him. You see there were a great many of us, and Jane — well, she didn't quite get on with Alethea, and Claude thought she wanted a sphere of her own, and that is the way she comes to have more influ- ence than any one else here. And as I am always better in this air tlian anywhere else, I came soon after— even before my dear father's death. And oh ! what an eager, hopeful time it was, setting everything going, and making St. An- drew's all we could wish ! We were obliged to be cautious at the old church, you know, because of not alarming the old-fashioned people. And so we are still ' 'Is that St. Andrew's? Oh, it is beautiful. May I look in?' ' Not now, my dear. You will see it another time.' ' I wish it were our church.' 'You will find the convenience of having one so near. And our services are very nice with our present rector, Mr. Ellesmere, an excellent active man, but his wife is such an invalid that all the work falls on Jane. I am so glad you are here to lielp her a little. St. Andrew's has a separate dis- trict, and Mr. Hablot is the vicar ; but as it is very poor, we 20 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. keep the charities all in one. Eotherwoocl built splendid schools, so we only have an infant scliool for the Rockstone children. On Sunday, Jane assembles the older children there and takes them to church ; but in the afternoon tliey all go to the National Schools, and then to a children's ser- vice at St. Andrew's. She gets on so well with 'Sh: Hablot — he was dear Claude's curate, you see, and little !Mrs. Hablot was quite a pupil of ours. What do you think little Gerald Hablot said — he is only five — "Isn't Miss Mohun the most consultedest woman in Rockquay ? " ' 'I suppose it is true,' said Gillian, laughing, but rather awestruck. ' I declare it makes me quite giddy to count up all she lias on her hands. Nobody can do anything without her. There are so few permanent inhabitants, and when i^eoiile begin good works, they go away, or marry, or grow tired, and then we can't let them drop ! ' ' Oh ! what's that pretty sjiire, on the rise of the otlier hiiir ' My dear, that was the Kennel Mission Chapel, a horrid little hideous iron thing ; but Lady Flight mistook and called it St. Kenelm's, and St. Kenelm's it will be to the end of the chapter.' And as she exchanged bows with a personage in a carriage, ' There she is, my dear.' ' Who ? Did she build that church V ' It is not consecrated. It really is only a mission cha]iel, and he is nothing but a curate of Mr. Hablot's,' said Aunt Ada, Gillian tliought a little venomously. She asked, ' Who ? ' ' The Reverend Augustine Flight, my dear. I ought not to say anything against them, I am sure, for they mean to be very good ; but she is some City man's widow, and he is an only son, and they liave more money than their brains can carry. They have made that little place very beautiful, quite oppressed with ornament — City taste, you know ; and they have all manner of odd doings there, which Mr. Hablot allows, because he says he does not like to crush zeal, and he thinks interference would do more harm than good. Jane thinks he ought not to stand so mucli, but ' Gillian somehow felt a certain amusement and satisfaction in finding that Aunt Jane had one disobedient subject, but they were interrupted by two ladies eagerly asking whei-e to find Miss Moliun, and a few steps farther on a young clergy- man accosted them, and begged that Miss Molum might be told tlie hour of some meeting. Also that 'the Bellevue Church people would not co-operate in tlie coal club.' Then it was explained tliat Bellevue Church was within tlie bounds of another parish, and had been built by, and for, II ROCKQUAY 21 people who did not like the doctrine at the services of St. Andrew's. By this time aunt and niece had descended to the Marine esplanade, a broad road, on one side of wldch there was a low sea wall, and then the sands and rocks stretched out to the sea ; on the other a broad space of short grass, where there was a cricket ground, and a lawn-tennis ground, and the volunteers could exercise, and the band played twice a week round a Russian gun that stood by the flagstaff. The band was playing now, and the notes seemed to work on Gillian's feet, and yet to bring her heart into lier throat, for the last time she had heard that march was from tlie band of her father's old regiment, when they were all togetlier ! Her aunt was very kind, and talked to her aftectionately and encouragingly of the hopes that her mother would find her father recovering, and that it would turn out after all quite an expedition of pleasure and refreshment. Then she said how much she rejoiced to have Gillian with her, as a companion to herself, while her sister was so busy, and she was necessarily so much left alone. 'We will read togetlier, and draw, and play duets, and have quite a good account of our employment to give,' she said, smiling. ' I shall like it very much,' said Gillian heartily. ' Dear child, the only difiiculty will be that you will spoil me, and I shall never be able to part with you. Besides, you will be such a help to my dear Jane. She never spares her- self, you know, and no one ever spares her, and I can do so little to help her, except with my head.' ' Surely here are plenty of people,' said Gillian, for they were in the midst of well-dressed folks, and Aunt Ada had more than once exchanged nods and greetings. ' Quite true, my dear ; but when there is anything to be done, then there is a sifting ! But now we have you, with all our own Lily's spirit, I shall be happy about Jane for this winter at least.' They were again interrupted by meeting a gentleman and lady, to whom Gillian was introduced, and who walked on with lier aunt conversing. They had been often in India, and made so light of the journey that Gillian was much cheered. Moreover, she presently came in sight of Val and Fergus supremely happy over a castle on the beach, and evidently indoctrinating"^ the two little Varleys with some of the dramatic sports of Silverfold. Aunt Ada found another acquaintance, a white mous- tached old gentleman, who rose from a green bench in a sunny corner, saying, ' Ah, Miss Mohun, I have been guard- ing your seat for you.' 22 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. 'Thank you, Major Dennis. My niece, Miss Merri- field.' He seemed to be a very courteous old gentleman, for he bowed, and made some polite speech about Sir Jasper, and, as he was military, Gillian hoped to have heard some more about the journey when they sat down, and room was made for her ; but instead of that he and her aunt began a dis- cussion of the comings and goings of people she had never heard of, and the letting or not letting of lialf tlie villas in Rockstone ; and she fovmd it so dull that she had a great mind to go and join the siege of Sandcastle. Only her shoes and her dress were fitter for the esplanade than the shoi'e with the tide coming in ; and when one has just begun to buy one's own clothes, that is a consideration. At last she saw Aunt Jane's trim little figure come out on the sands and make as straight for the children as she could, amid greetings and consultations ; so with an exclamation, she jumped up and went over the shingle to meet them, finding an endeavour going on to make them tolerably re- spectable for the walk home, by shaking oil" the sand, and advising Val to give up her intention of dragging home a broad brown ribbon of weed with a frilled edge, all polished and shiny with wet. She was not likely to I'egard it as such a curiosity after a few days' ex^oerience of Rockquay, as her new friends told her. Kitty Varley went to the High School, which greatly modified Valetta's disgust to it, for the little girls had already vowed to be the greatest chums in the world, and would have gone home with arms entwined, if Aunt Jane had not declared that such things could not be done in the street, and Clem Varley, with still more efi'ect, threatened that if they were such a pair of ninnies, he should squirt at them with the dirtiest water he could find. Valetta had declared that she infinitely preferred Kitty to Fly, and Kitty was so flattered at being adopted by the second cousin of a Lady Phyllis, and the daughter of a knight, that she exalted Val above all the Popsys and Mopsys of her present acquaintance, and at joarting bestowed on her a chocolate cream, which tasted about equallj' of salt water and hot hand — at least if one did not feel it a testi- monial of ardent friendship. Fergus and Clement had, on the contrary, been so much inclined to punch and buffet one another, that Miss Mohun had to make them walk before her to keep the peace,_ and was by no means sorry when the gate of ' The Tamarisks ' was reached, and tlie Varleys could be disjiosed of. However, the battery must liave been amicable, for Fer- gus was crazy to go in and see Clement's little pump, which II ROCKQUAY 23 he declared ' would do it ' — an enigmatical phrase supposed to refer to the great peg-top-perpetual-raotion invention. He was dragged away with difficulty on the plea of its being too late by Aunt Jane, who could not quite turn two unexpected children in on ]\Irs. Varley, and liad to effect a cruel severance of Val and Kitty in the midst of their kisses. ' Sudden friendships,' said Gillian, from the superiority of her age. 'I do not think you are given that way,' said Aunt Jane. ' Does the large family suffice for all of you ? People are so different,' added Aunt Ada. ' Yes,' said Gillian. ' We have never been in the way of caring for any outsider. I don't reckon Bessie Merritield so — nor Fly' Devereux, nor Dolores, because they are cousins.' 'Cousins may be everything or nothing,' asserted j\Iiss Mohun. 'You have been about so much that you have hardly had time to form intimacies. But had you no friends in the officers' families 1 ' ' People always retired before their children grew up to be companionable,' said Gillian. ' There was nobody except the Whites. And that wasn't exactly friendship.' ' Who were they 1 ' said Aunt Jane, who always liked to know all about everybody. 'He rose from the ranks,' said Gillian. 'He was very much respected, and nobody would have known that he was not a gentleman to begin with. But his M'ife was half a Greek. Papa said she had been very pretty ; but, oh ! she had grown so awfully fat. We used to call her the Queen of the White Ants. Then Kally— her name was really Kalliope — was very nice, and mamma got them to send her to a good day-school at Dublin, and Alethea and Phyllis used to have her in to try to make a lady of her. There used to be a great deal of fun about their Muse, I remember ; Claude thought her very pretty, and always stood up for her, and Alethea was very fond of her. But soon after we went to B(3lfast, Mr. White was made to retire with the rank of captain. I think papa tried to get something for him to do ; but I am not sure whether he succeeded, and I don't know any more about them.' ' Not exactly friendship, certainly,' said Aunt Jane, smiling. 'After all, GiUian, in your short life, you have had wider experiences than have befallen your old aunts ! ' 'Wider, perhaps, not deeper, Jane,' suggested Miss Adeline. 24 liEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE citAi-. ii And Gillian thought — though she felt it -would be too sentimental to say — that in her life, persons and scenes out- side her own family had seemed to ' come like sliadows and so depart ' ; and there was a general sense of depression at the partings, the anxiety, and tlie being unsettled again when she was just beginning to have a home. CHAPTEE III PERPETUAL MOTION If Fergus had not yet discovered the secret of perpetual motion, Gillian felt as if Aunt Jane had done so, and more- over that the greater proportion of parish matters were one vast machine, of whicli she was the moving jjower. As she was a small spare woman, able to do with a very moderate amount of sleep, her day lasted from 6 a.m. to some unnamed time after midnight ; and as she was also very methodical, she got through an appalling amount of business, and with such regularity that those who knew her habits could tell with tolei'able certainty, within reasonable limits, where she would be found and what she would be doing at any hour of the seven days of the week. Everything she influenced seemed to recur as regularly as the motions of the great ruthless-looking engines that Gillian had seen at work at Belfast ; the only loose cog being apparently her sister Adeline, who quietly took her own way, seldom came down- stairs before eleven o'clock, went out and came in, made visits or received them, wrote letters, read and worked at her own sweet will. Only two undertakmgs seemed to be- long to her — a mission-working party, and an Italian class of young ladies ; and even the presidency of these often lapsed upon her sister, when she had had one of those ' bad nights' of asthma, which were equally sleepless to both sisters. She was i^rincipally useful by her exquisite needle- work, both in church embroidery and for sales ; and likewise as the recipient of all the messages left for Miss Mohun, which she never forgot, besides that, having a clear sensible head, she was useful in consultation. She was thoroughly interested in all her sister's doings, and always spoke of herself as the invalid, ijrecluded from all service except that of being a pivot for Jane, the stationary leg of the compasses, as she sometimes called herself. This repose, together with her prettiness and sweetness of manner, 26 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. was very attractive ; especially to Gillian, who had begun to feel herself in the grip of the great engine which bore her along without power of independent volition, and with very little time for llihlah Experiences. At home she had gone on harmoniously in full acquies- cence with household arrangements ; but before the end of the week the very same sensations came over her which had impelled her and Jasper into rebellion and disgrace, during the brief reign of a very strict daily governess, long ago at Dublin. Her reason and sense approved of all that vv^as set before her, and nmch of it was pleasant and amusing ; but this was the more provoking by depriving her of the chance of resistance or the solace of complaint. ^loi'eover, with all her time at Aunt Jane's disi:)osal, how was she to do her ' great thing ' 1 Valetta's crewel battle cushion had been reduced to a delicious design of the battle of the frogs and mice, drawn by Aunt Ada, and which she delighted in call- ing at full length 'the Batrachyomachia,' sparing; none of the syllables which she was to work below. And it tras to be worked at regularly for half an hour before bed-time. Trust Aunt Jane for seeing that any one under her dominion did what had been undertaken ! Only thus the spontaneity seemed to have departed, and the work became a task. Fergus meanwhile had set his affections on a big Japanese top he had seen in a window, and was eagerly awaiting his weekly threepence, to be able to complete the purchase, thougli no one but Valetta was supposed to understand what it had to do with his ' great thing.' It was quite j^leasant to Gillian to have a legitimate cause of opposition when JNIiss IVIohun made known that she in- tended Gillian to take a class at the afternoon Sunday-school, while the two children went to Mrs. Hablot's drawing-room class at St. Andrew's Vicarage, all meeting afterwards at church. ' Did mamma wish it ? ' asked Gillian. 'There was no time to mention it ; but I knew she Avould.' ' I don't think so,' said Gillian. ' We don't teach on Sun- days, unless some regular jierson fails. Mamma likes to have us all at home to do our Sunday work with lier.' 'Alas, I am not mamma ! Nor could I give you the time.' ' I have brought the books to go on with Val and Ferg. I always do some of their work with tliem, and I am sure mamma would not wisli them to be turned over to a stranger.' ' The fact is, that young ladies have got beyond Sunday- schools ! ' ' No, no, Jane,' said her sister ; ' Gillian is quite willing to help you ; but it is very nice in her to wish to take charge of the children.' ni PERPETUAL MOTION 27 'They would be much better with ]\Irs. Hablot than dawdling about here and amusing themselves in the new Sunday fashion. Mind, I am not going to have them racket- ing about the house and garden, disturbing you, and worry- ing the maids.' ' Aunt Jane ! ' cried Gillian indignantly, ' you don t thmk that is the way mamma brought us up to spend Sun- day ?' ' We shall see,' said Aunt Jane ; then more kindly, ' My dear, you are right to use your best judgment, and you are welcome to do so, as long as the children are orderly and learn what they ought.' It was more of a concession than Gillian expected, though she little knew the eifort it cost, since Miss Mohun had been at much pains to set Mrs. Hablot's class on foot, and felt it a slight and a bad example that her niece and nephew should be defaulters. The motive might have worked on Gillian, but it was a lower one, therefore not mentioned. She had seen Mrs. Hablot at the Italian class, and thought her a mere girl, and an absolute subject of Aunt Jane's— stumbling pitifully, moreover, in a speech of Adelchi's ; therefore evidently not at all likely to teach Sunday sub- jects half so well as herself ! c< ^ m. Nor was there anything amiss on that first Sunday. The lessons were as well and quietly gone through as if with mamma, and there was a pleasant little walk on the esplanade before the children's service at St. Andrew's; after which there was a delightful introduction to some of the old books mamma had told them of. They were all rather subdued by the strangeness and newness of their surroundings, as well as by anxiety. If the younger ones were less anxious about their parents than was their sister, each had a plunge to make on the morrow into a very new world, and the Varleys' information had not been altogether reassuring. Valetta had learnt how many marks might be lost by whispering or bad spelling, and how ferociously cross Fraulein Adler looked at a mistake in a German verb ; while Fergus had heard a dreadful account of the ordeals to which Burfield and Stebbing made new boys submit, and which would be all the worse for him, because he had a ' rum ' Christian name, and his father was a swell. Gillian had some experience through her elder brothers, and suspected Master Varley of being guilty of heightemng the horrors ; so she assured Fergus that most boys had the same sort of Christian names, but were afraid to confess them to one another, and so called each other Bill and Jack. She advised him to call himself by his surname, not to men- 28 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. tion his father's title if he could help it, and, above all, not to seem to mind anything. Her own spirits were much exhilarated the next moi-ning by a note from Harry, the recipient of all telegrams, with tidings that the doctors were quite satisfied with Sir Jasper, and that Lady Merrifield had readied Brindisi. There was great excitement at sight of a wet morningi for it appeared that an omnibus came round on such occa- sions to pick up the scholars ; and Valetta thought this so delightful that slie danced about exclaiming, 'What fun !' and only wishing for ]\fysie to share it. She would have ruslied down to" the gate umbrellaless if Aunt Jane had not caught and conducted her, while Gillian followed with Fergus. Aunt Jane looked down the vista of young faces — five girls and three boys — nodding to them, and saying to the senior, a tall damsel of fifteen — 'Here are my children, Emma. You will take care of them, please. You are keeping order here, I suppose ? ' There was a smile and bow in answei- as the door closed, and the omnibus jerked away its ponderous length. ' I'm sorry to see that Stebbing there,' observed the aunt, as she went back ; ' but Emma Norton ought to be able to keep him in order. It is well you have no lessons out of the house to-day, Gillian.' ' Are you going out then ? ' ' Oh yes ! ' said ]\Iiss ]\Iohun, running upstairs, and pre- sently coming back with a school-bag and a crackling water- proof cloak, but pausing as she saw Gillian at the window, nursing tlie Sofy, and gazing at the gray cloud over the gray sea. ' You are not at a loss for something to do,' she said ; ' you said you meant to write to your mother.' ' Oh yes ! ' said Gillian, suddenly fretted, and with a sense of being liunted, ' I have plenty to do.' ' I see,' said ]\Iiss Mohun, turning over the books that lay on the little table that had been appropriated to her niece, in a way that, unreasonably or not, unspeakably worried the girl, 'Brachet's French Grammar— that's right. Colensos Algebra— I don't think they use that at the High School. Julius Caesar— you should read that up in Mernale.' 'I did,' said Gillian, in a voice that very nearly said, 'Do let them alone.' ' Well, you have materials for a very useful, sensible morn- ing's work, and when Ada comes down, very likely she will like to be read to.' Off went the aunt, leaving the niece stirred into an absolute desire, instead of spending the sensible morning, to take up Near Neiegum and the health of Piigdum, though Gillian was forced to VII AN E^VirTY NEST 77 confess that she had not transferred to liim the kiss tliat she had been commissioned to convey. Nobody was disap- pointed except Fergus, who could not but vituperate the housemaids for the destruction of his new patent guillotine for mice, which was to have been introduced to Clement Varley. To be sure it would hardly ever act, and had never cut off the head of anything save a dandelion ; but that was a trifling consideration. A letter from Mysie was awaiting Gillian, not lengthy, for there was a long interval between j\Iysie's brains and her pen, and saying nothing about the New Zealand report. The selection of lace was much approved, and the next day there was to be an expedition to endeavour to get the veil matched as nearly as possible. The only dangerous moment was at breakfast the next day, when Miss Mohun said— ' Fanny was delighted with Silverfold. Macrae seems to have been the pink of politeness to her.' ' She must come when the house is alive again,' said Gillian. ' What would she think of it then ? ' _ ' Oh, that would be perfectly delicious,' cried Valetta. ' She would see Begum and Rigdum ' 'And I could show her how to work the lawn cutter,' added Fergus. ' By the bye,' said Aunt Jane, ' whom have you been lend- ing books to ? ' 'Oh, to the Whites,' said Gillian, colouring, as she felt more than she could wish. 'There were some old school- books that I thought would be useful to them, and I was sure mamma would like them to have some flowers and fruit.' She felt herself very candid ; but why would Aunt Jane look at those tell-tale cheeks. Sunday was wet, or rather ' misty moisty,' with a raw sea- fog overhanging everything — not bad enough, however, to keep any one except Aunt Ada from church or school, though she decidedly remonstrated against Gillian's going out for her wandering in the garden in such weather ; and, if she had been like the other aunt, might almost have been convinced that such determination must be for an object. However, Gillian encountered the fog in vain, though she walked up and down the path till her clothes were quite limp and flabby with damp. All the view that rewarded her was the outline of the shrubs looming through the mist like distant forests as mountains. j^Joreover, she got a scolding from Aunt Ada, who met her coming in, and was liorritied at the inisty at- mosphere which she was said to have brought in, and insisted on her going at once to change her dress, and staying by the fireside all the rest of the afternoon. 78 REECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE . chap. ' I cannot think what makes her so eager about going out in the afternoon,' said the younger aunt to the elder. ' It is impossible that she can have any reason for it.' 'Only Sunday restlessness,' said ]\Iiss Mohun, 'added to the reckless folly of the '■'Backfisch " about health.' ' That's true,' said Adeline ; ' girls must be either so delicate that they are quite helpless, or so strong as to be absolutely weather-proof.' Fortune, however, favoured Gillian when next she went to Lily Giles. She had never succeeded in taking real interest in the girl, who seemed to her to be so silly and sentimental that an impulse to answer drily instantly closed up all in- clination to eftusions of confidence. Gillian had not yet learnt breadth of charity enough to understand that every- body does not feel, or express feeling, after the same i^attern ; that gush is not always either folly or insincerity ; and that girls of Lily's class are about at the same stage of culture as the young ladies of whom her namesake in the Inheritance is the type. When Lily showed her in some little magazine the weakest of poetry, and called it so sweet, just like ' dear ]\Ir. Grant's lovely sermon, the last she had heard. Did he not look so like a saint in his surplice and white stole, with his holy face and beautiful blue eyes ; it was enough to make any one feel good to look at him,' Gillian simply replied, ' Oh, / never think of the clergyman's looks,' and hurried to her book, feeling infinitely disgusted and contemptuous, never guessing that these j^oor verses, and the curate's sermons and devotional appearance were, to the young girl's heart, the symbols of all that was sacred, and all that was refined, and that the thought of them was the solace of her lonely and suffering hours. Tolerant sympathy is one of the latest lessons of life, and perhaps it is well that only ' The calm temjier of our a,t,'e should he Like the high leaves upon the holly-tree,' for the character in course of formation needs to be guarded by prickles. However, on this day Undine was to be finished, for Gillian was in haste to begin Katharine Ashton, which would, she thought, be much more wholesome reality, so she went on later than usual, and came nvvay at last, leaving her auditor dissolved in tears over poor (Tndine's act of justice. As Mrs. Giles, full of thanks, opened the little garden-gate just as twilight was falling, Gillian beheld Kallio]H} and Alexis White coming up together from the works, and eagei-ly met and shook hands with them. The dark days were making them close earlier, they explained ; and as Kalliope VII AN EMPTY NEST 79 happened to have nothing to finish or purchase, she was ahU^ to come lionie with her bi'other. Therewith Alexis began to express, with the diihdence of extreme gratitude, his warm thanks for tlie benefaction of books, wliich were exactly what he had wanted and longed for. His foreign birth enabled him to do this much more prettily and less clumsily than an English boy, and Gillian was pleased, though she told him that her brother's old ill-used books were far from wortliy of such thanks. 'Ah, you cannot guess how precious they are to me ! ' said Alexis. ' They are the restoration of hope.' ' And can you get on by yourself ? ' asked Gillian. ' Is it not very difficult without any teacher ? ' 'People have taught themselves before,' returned the youth, ' so I hope to do so myself ; but of course there are many questions I long to ask.' ' Perhaps I could answer some,' said Gillian ; ' I have done some classics with a tutor.' ' Oh, thank you. Miss Merrifield,' he said eagerly. ' If you could make me understand the force of the aorist.' It so happened that Gillian had the explanation at her tongue's end, and it was followed Ijy another, and another, till one occurred which could hardly be comprehended with- out reference to the passage, upon which Alexis pulled a Greek Testament out of his pocket, and his sister could not help exclaiming — ' Oh, Alexis, you can't ask Miss Merrifield to do Greek with you out in the street.' Certainly it was awkward, the more so as Mrs. Stebbing just then drove by in her carriage. 'What a pity! ' exclaimed Gillian. 'But if you would set down any difficulties, you could send them to me by Kalliope on Sunday.' ' Oh, Miss Merrifield, liow very good of you ! ' exclaimed Alexis, his face lighting up with joy. But Kalliope looked doubtful, and began a hesitating 'But ' 'I'll tell you of a better way ! ' exclaimed Gillian. 'I always go once a week to read to this Lilian Giles, and if I come down afterwards to Kalliope's office after you have struck work, I could see to anything you wanted to ask.' Alexis broke out into the most eager thanks. Kalliope said hardly anything, and as they had reached the place where the roads diverged, they bade one another good-evening. Gillian looked after the brother and sister just as the gas was being lighted, and could almost guess what Alexis was saying, by his gestures of delight. She did not liear, and did not guess how Kalliope answered, ' Don't set your heart on it 80 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE cir.vi'. vir too much, dear fellow, for I should greatly doubt wliether ]\Iiss Gillian's aunts will consent. Oh yes, of course, if they permit her, it will be all right.' 80 Gillian went her way feeling that she liad found her 'great thing.' Training a minister for the Churcli ! Was not that a ' great thing ' ? CHAPTER VIII Gillian's pupil Gillian was not yet seventeen, and liad lived a liome life totally removed from gossip ; so that she had no notion that she was doing a more awkward or remarkable thing than if siae had been teaching a drummer-boy. She even deliberated whether she should mention her undertaking to her mother, or produce the gi'and achievement of Alexis White, prepared for college, on the return from India ; but a sense that she had promised to tell everything, and that, while she did so, she could defy any other interference, led her to write tlie design in a letter to Ceylon, and then she felt ready to defy any censure or obstructions from other quarters. Mystery has a certain charm. Infinite knowledge of human nature was shown in the text, ' Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant ' ; and it would be hard to define how much Gillian's satisfaction was owing to the sense of benevolence, or to the pleasure of eluding Aunt Jane, when, after going through her chapter of Katharine Ashton, in a somewhat perfunctory manner, she hastened away to Miss White's office. This, being connected with the sliowroom. could be entered without passing through tlie gate with the inscription — 'No admittance except on business.' Indeed, the office had a private door, which, at Gillian's signal, was always opened to her. There, on the drawing -desk, lay a Greek exercise and a translation, with quei'ies upon the diffi- culties for Gillian to correct, or answer in writing. Kalliope had managed to make that little room a pleasant place, bare as it was, t»y pinning a few of her designs on the walls, and always keeping a terra-cotta vase of flowei's or coloured leaves upon the table. The lower part of the window she had blocked with transparencies delicately cut and tinted in cardboard- done, as she told Gillian, by her little brother Theodore, who learnt to draw at the National School, and had the same turn for art as herself. Altogether, the perfect G 82 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE ciiai-. neatness and simplicity of the little room gave it an air of relinement, whicli rendered it by no means an unfit setting for the grave beauty of Kalliope's countenance and figure. The enjoyment of the meeting was great on both sides, partly from the savour of old times, and partly because there was really much that was uncommon and remarkable about Kalliope herself. Her fathers i^romotion had come exactly wlien she and her next brother were at the time of life when the changes it brought would tell most on their minds and manners. They had both been sent to schools where they had associated witli young people of gentle breeding, which perliaps their partly foreign extraction, and soutliern birth and childhood, made it easier for them to assimilate. Tlieir beauty and brightness had led to a good deal of kindly notice from tlie ofiicers and ladies of the regiment, and they had thus acquired the habits and ways of the class to which they liad been raised. Their father, likewise, had been a man of a chivalrous nature, whose youthful mistakes had been the outcome of high spirit and romance, and who, under disci- pline, danger, suftering, and responsibility, had become earnestly religious. There had besides been liis Colonel's influence on him, and on his children that of Lady Merritield and Aletliea. It had then been a jDiteous change and darkening of life when, after the crushing grief of his death, tlie young peoj^le found tliemselves in such an entirely different stratum of society. They were ready to work, but they could not hel]) feeling the mortification of being relegated below the mysterious line of gentry, as they found themselves at Rock- quay, and viewed as on a level witli the clerks and shop- girls of the place. Still more, as time went on, did tliey miss the companionship and intercourse to which they liad been used. Mr. Flight, tlie only person in a liigher rank who took notice of them, and pei'ceived that there was more in them than was usual, was after all only a patron — not a friend ; and perhaps was not essentially enough of a gentle- man to be free from all airs of condescension even witli Alexis, wliile lie miglit be wise in not making too much of an approach to so beautiful a girl as Kalliope. Besides, after a fit of eagerness, and sometliing very like promises, he had apparently let Alexis drop, only using liim for his musical services, and not doing anything to promote the studies for wliich tlie young man thirsted, nor jDroposing anything for tlie younger boys, who would soon outgrow the National School. Alexis had made a few semi-friends among the musical youth of the place ; but there was no one to .sympathise with liiiii in his studious tastes, and tlicre was much iu his ajipear- VIII GILLIAN S PUPIL 83 ance and manners to cause the accusation of being ' stuck- up ' — music being really the only point of contact with most of his fellows of the lower professional class. Kalliope had less time, but she had, on principle, cultivated kindly terms with the young women emjoloyed under her. Her severe style of beauty removed her from any jealousy of her as a rival ; and she was admired — almost worshipped — by them as the glory of the workshop. They felt lier superiority, and owned her ability ; but nobody there was callable of being a companion to her. Thus the sister and brother had almost wholly depended upon one another ; and it was like a breath from what now seemed tlie golden age of their lives wlien Gillian Merrifield walked into the office, treating Kalliope with all the freedom of an equal and tlie affection of an old friend. There was not very much time to spare after Gillian had looked at the exercises, noted and corrected the errors, and explained the difficulties or mis- takes in tlie translation from Testament and Delectus, feeling all the time how much more mastery of tlie subject her pupU liad tlian 'Mv. Pollock's at home had ever attained to. However, Kalliope always walked home with her as far as the oiDening of Church Cliff Road, and they talked of the cleverness and goodness of tlie brothers, except Ricliard at Leeds, who never seemed to be mentioned ; how Theodore kept at tlie liead of the school, and had hopes of the drawing- prize, and how little Petros devoured tales of battles, and would hear of nothing but being a soldier. Now and then, too, there was a castle in the air of a home for little Maura at Alexis's future curacy. Kalliope seemed to look to work- ing for life for jioor mother, while Theodore should cultivate las art. Oftener tlie two recalled old adventures and scenes of their regimental days, and discussed the weddings of the two Indian sisters. Once, however, Kalliope was obliged to suggest, with a Ijlushing apology, that she feared Gillian must go liome alone, she was not ready. ' Can't I lielp you ? What have you to do ? ' Kalliope attempted some excuse of putting away designs, but presently peeped from the window ; and Gillian, witli excited curiosity, imitated lier, and beheld, lingering about, a young man in the pink of fashion, with a tea-rose in liis buttonhole and a cane in his hand. 'Oh, Kally,' she cried, 'does he often hang about like this waiting for you 1 ' ' Not often, happily. There ! old Mr. Stebbing lias come out, and they are walking away together. We can go now.' ' So he besets you, and you have to keep out of his way,' 84 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE niAi'. exclaimed Gillian, much excited. ' Is that the reason you come to the garden all alone on Sunday ? ' ' Yes, though I little guessed what awaited me there,' re- turned Kalliope ; ' but we had better make haste, for it is late for you to be returning.' It was disappointing that Kalliope would not discuss such an interesting affair; but Gillian was sensible of the danger of being so late as to cause questions, and she allowed herself to be hurried on too fast for conversation, and passing the two Stebbings, who, no doubt, took her for a 'hand.' ' Does this often hajDpen ? ' asked Gillian. ' No ; Alec walks home with me, and the boys often come and meet me. Oh, did I tell you that the master wants Theodore to be a pupil-teacher ? I wish I knew what was best for him.' ' Could not he be an artist ? ' 'I should like some one to tell me whetlier he really lias talent worth cultivating, dear boy, or if he would be safer and better in an honourable occupation like a school- master.' ' Do you call it honourable 1 ' ' Oh yes, to be sure. I put it next to a clergyman's or a doctor's life.' ' Not a soldier's ? ' ' That depends,' said Kalliope. 'On the service he is sent uj^on, you mean? Hut tliat is his sovereign's look-out. He " only has to obey, to do or die." ' ' Yes, it is the jDutting away of self, and possible peril of life, that makes all those grandest,' said Kalliope, 'and I tliink the schoolmaster is next in opportunities of doing good.' Gillian could not help thinking that none of all these could put away self more entirely than the girl beside her, toiling away her beauty and her youth in this dull round of toil, not able to exercise the instincts of her art to the utmost, and with no change from the monotonous round of mosaics, which were forced to be second rate, to the commonest household works, and the comjDany of the Queen of the White Ants. Gillian perceived enough of the nobleness of such a life to fill her with a certain enthusiasm, and make lier feel a day blank and uninteresting if she could not make her way to the little office. One evening, towards tlie end of tlie first fortniglit, Alexis himself came in with a jiassage tliat lie wanted to have explained. His sister looked uiu>asy all the tiiiie, and hurried to put on her hat, and stand dt'nioiistrati\ ely waiting, tolling Gillian that they must go, the moment the lesson viii GILLIAN'S PUPIL 85 began to tend to discursive talk, and making a most decided sign of prohibition to her brother when he showed a dis- position to accompany them. ' I think you are frightfully particular, Kally,' said Gilhan, when they were on their way up the hill. ' Such an old friend, and you there, too.' ' It would never do here ! It would be wrong,' answered Kalliope, with the authority of an older woman. ' He must not come to the office.' ^ ' Oh, but how could I ever explain to him ? One can t do everything in writing. I might as well give up the lessons as never speak to him about them.' Thei^e was truth in this, and perhaps Alexis used some such arguments on his side, for at about every third visit of Gillian's lie dropped in with some important inquiry neces- sary to his progress, which was rapid enough to compel Gillian to devote some time to preparation, in order to keep ahead of hmi. Kalliope kept diligent guard, and watched against lengthening the lessons into gossip, and they were always after hours when the hands had gone away. The fear of being detected kept Gillian ready to shorten the time. ' How late you are ! ' were the first words she heard one October evening on entering Beechcrof t Cottage ; but they were followed by ' Here's a pleasure for you ! ' ' It's from papa himself 1 Open it ! Open it quick,' cried Valetta, dancing round her in full appreciation of the honour and delight. Sir Jasper said that his daughter must put up with him for a correspondent, s-ince two brides at once were as much as any mother could be supposed to undertake. Indeed, as mamma would not leave him, Phyllis was actually going to Calcutta, chaperoned by one of the matrons of the station, to make purchases for both outfits, since Alethea would not stir from under the maternal wing sooner than she could help. . , At the end came, ' We are much shocked at poor W hite s death. He was an excellent officer, and a good and sensible man, though much hampered with his family. I am afraid his wife must be a very helpless being. He used to talk about the good promise of one of his sons— the second, I think. We will see whether anything can be done for the children when we come home. 1 say «'(?, for I find I shall have to be invalided before I can be entirely patched up, so that mamma and I shall have a sort of postponed silver wedding tour, a new variety for the old folks " from home." ' 'Oh, is papa coming home?' cried Valetta. ' For good ! Oh, I hope it will be for good,' added Gillian. 86 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. 'Then we shall live at dear Silverfold all the clays of our life,' added Fergus. 'And I shall get back to Pdgdum.' ' And I shall make a teleiDhone doAvn to the stables,' wei-e the cries of the children. The transcendent news quite swallowed up everytliing else for some time ; but at last Gillian recurred to her father's testimony as to the White family. ' Is the second son the musical one ? ' she was asked, and on her affirmative, Aunt -Jane remai-ked, 'Well, though the Rev. Augustine Flight is not on a pinnacle of human wisdom, his choir practices, etc., will keep the lad well out of harm's way till your father can see about him.' This would have been an opportunity of explaining the youth's aims and hopes, and her own share in forwarding them ; but it had become difficult to avow the extent of her intercourse with the brother and sister, so entii-ely without tlie knowledge of her aunts. Even Miss oNIohun, acute as she was, had no suspicions, and only thought with much satisfac- tion that her niece was growing more attentive to i)oor Lilian Giles, even to the point of lingering. ' I really think,' she said, in consultation with ISIiss Ade- line, 'that we might gratify that damsel by having the White girls to drink tea.' ' Well, we can add them to your ^vinter party of young ladies in business.' 'Hardly. These stand on different ground, and I don't want to hurt their feelings or Gillian's by mixing them up with the shopocracy.' ' Have you seen the Queen of the White Ants ? ' ' Not yet ; but I mean to reconnoitre, and if I see no cause to the contrary, I shall invite them for next Tuesday.' ' The motlier ? You might as well ask her namesake.' ' Probably ; but I shall be better able to judge when I ha\e seen her.' So Miss Mohun trotted off, made lier visit, and thus repoi'ted, ' Poor woman ! she certainly is not lovely now, whatever she may have been ; but I should think there was no harm in her, and she is etiusiAe in lier gratitude to all the Merrifield family. It is ])lain that the absent eldest son is the favoui'ite, far more so than the two useful children at the marble works ; and Mr. Wiiite is spoken of as a sort of tyrant, whereas I should tiiink they owed a good deal to his kmdness in giving them employment.' ' I always thought he was an old hunks.' ' The town thinks so becau.se he does not come and .spend freely here ; but 1 have my doubts whether tliey are right. Ho is always ready to do his part in suUscriptions ; and VIII (ULLIAN'S PUriL 87 the employing these young jieople as he does is true kindness.' ' Unappreciated.' 'Yes, by the mother who would expect to be kept like a lady in idleness, but perliaps not so by lier daughter. From all I can pick up, I think she must be a very wortliy person, so I have asked her and the little schoolgirl for Tuesday evening, and I hope it will not be a great nuisance to you, Ada.' 'Oh no,' said Miss Adeline, good humoui-edly, 'it will please Gillian, and I shall be interested in seeing tlie species, or rather the variety.' ' Var Musa Grceca Hihernica Militarist laughed Aunt Jane. 'By the bye, I further found out what made the Captain enlist.' ' Trust you for doing that ! ' laughed lier sister. 'Really it was not on purpose, but old Zack Skilly was indulging me with some of his ancient smuggling experiences, in what he evidently views as tlie heroic age of Rockquay. " Men was men, then," he says. "Now they be good for nought, but to row out the gentlefolks when the water is as smooth as glass." You should hear the contempt in his voice. Well, a promising young hero of his was Dick White, what used to work for his uncle, but liked a bit of a lark, and at last hit one of the coastguard men in a tight, and ran away, and folks said he had gone for a soldier. Skilly had heard he was dead, and his wife had come to live in tliese parts, but there was no knowing what was true and what wasn't. Folks would talk ! Dick was a likely chap, with jmore life about him than his cousin Jem, as was a great man now, and owned all the marble works, and a goodish bit of the town. There was a talk as how the two lads had both been a courting of the same ma-id, that was Betsy Polwhele, and had fallen out about her, but how that might be he could not tell. Anyhow, she was not wed to one nor t'other of them, but went into a waste and died.' ' I wonder if it was for Dick's sake. So Jem was not con- stant either.' ' Except to his second love. That was a piteous little story too.' 'You mean his young wife's health failing as soon as he brought her to that house which he was building for her, and then his taking her to Italy, and never- enduring to come back here again after she and her child died. But he made a good thing of it with his quarries in the mountains.' ' You sordid person, do you think that was all he cared f or ! ' ' Well, I always thouglit of him as a great, stout, monied man, quite incapable of romance and sensitiveness.' 88 BEF.CHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. ' If so, don't you tliink lie would have let that house instead of keeping it up in empty state? There is a good deal of character in those Whites.' ' The Captain is certainly the most marked man, except Jasper, in that group of officers in Gillian's iDhotograph- book.' 'Partly from the fact that a herd of young officers al- ways look so exactly alike — at least in the eyes of elderly spinsters.' ' Jane ! ' ' Let us hope so, now that it is all over. This same Dick must have had something remarkable about him, to judge by the impression he seems to have left on all who came in his way, and I shall like to see his children.' 'You always do like queer people.' ' It is plain that we ought to take notice of them,' said Miss Mohun, ' and it is not wholesome for Gillian to tliink us backward in kindness to friends about whom she jilainly has a little romance.' She refrained from uttering a suspicion inspired by her visit that there had been more ' kindnesses ' on her niece's part than she could quite account for. Yet she believed that she knew how all the girl's days were spent ; was certain that the Sunday wanderings never went beyond the garden, and, moreover, she implicitly trusted Lily's daughter. Gillian did not manifest as much delight and gratitude at the invitation as her aunts expected. In point of fact, she resented Aunt Jane's making a visit of investigation without tellLiig her, and she was uneasy le.st there should have been or yet should be a disclosure that should make her proceed- ings appear clandestine. 'And they are not !^ said she to herself with vehemence. 'Do I not write them all to niy own mother 1 And did not ]\Iiss Vincent allow that one is not bound to treat aunts like parents ? ' Even the discovery of Captain White's antecedents Avas almost an oH'ence, for if her aunt would not let her inquire, why should she do so herself, save to preserve the choice viorceau for her own superior intelligence? Thus all the reply that Gillian deigned was, 'Of course I knew that Captain White could never have done anything to bo ashamed of.' The weather was too wet for any previous meetings, and it was on a wild stormy evening that the two sisters appeared at seven o'clock at Beechcroft Cottage. While hats and wateri)roofs were being taken oil" upstairs, Gillian found opportunity to give a warning against mentioning the Greek lessons. It was i-eceived with consternation. ' Oh, Miss Merritield, do not your aunts know ? ' VIII GILLIAN'S rUPIL 89 ' No. Why should they ? Mamma does.' 'Not yet. And she is so far off'! I wisli Miss Mohun knew ! I made sure tliat she did,' said Kalliope, much distressed. ' But why ? It would only make a fuss.' ' I should be much haj^pier about it.' ' And perhaps have it all upset.' ' That is the point. I felt that it must be all riglit as long as Miss Mohun sanctioned it ; but I could not bear thatwe should be the means of bringing you into a scrape, by doing what she might disai^prove while you are under her care.' ' Don't you tliink you can trust me to know my own rela- tions 1 ' said Gillian somewhat haughtily. ' Indeed, I did not mean that we are not infinitely obliged to you,' said Kalliope. ' It has made Alexis another creature to have some hope, and feel himself making progress.' ' Then why do you want to have a fuss, and a bother, and a chatter ? If my father and mother don't apj^rove, they can telegraph.' With which argument she appeased or rather silenced Kalliope, who could not but feel the task of objecting alike ungracious and ungrateful towards the instructor, and absolutely cruel and unkind towards her brother, and who spoke only from a sense of the treachery of allowing a younger girl to traiisgress in ignorance. Still she was conscious of not understanding on what terms the niece and aunts might be, and the St. Kenelm's estimate of the Beechcroft ladies was naturally somewhat different from that of the St. Andrew's congregation. Miss Mohun was popularly regarded in those quarters as an intolerable busy- iDody, and Miss Adeline as a hypochondriacal fine lady, so that Gillian might perhaps reasonably object to put herself into absolute subjection ; so, though Kalliope might have a presentiment of breakers ahead, she could say no more, and Gillian, feeling that she had been cross, changed the subject by admiring the pretty short curly hair that was being tied back at the glass. ' I wish it would grow long,' said Kalliope. ' But it always was rather short and troublesome, and ever since it was cut short in the fever, I have been obliged to keep it like this.' 'But it suits you,' said Gillian. 'And it is exactly the thing now.' ' That is the worst of it. It looks as if I wore it so on purpose. However, all our hands know that I cannot help it, and so does Lady Flight.' The girl looked exceedingly well, though little Alice, the maid, would not have gone out to tea in such an ancient black dress, with no relief save a rim of white at neck and 90 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE cuap. hands, and a tiny silver Maltese cross at the throat. Maura had a comparatively new gray dress, picked out with black. She was a pretty creature, the Irish beauty predominating over the Greek, in her great long-lashed brown eyes, which looked radiant with shy happiness. Miss Adeline was perfectly taken by surprise at the entrance of two such uncommon forms and faces, and the quiet dignity of tlie elder made her for a moment suppose tliat her sister must have invited some additional guest of undoubted station. Valetta, who had grown fond of ]\Iaura in their school life, and wlio dearly loved patronising, pounced upon her guest to show her all manner of treasures and curiosities, at which she looked in great delight ; and Fergus was so well satisfied with her compreliension of the j^rinciples of the letter balance, that he would have taken her upstairs to be intro- duced to all his mechanical inventions, if the total darkness and cold of his den had not been proliibitory. Kalliope looked to perfection, but was more silent than her si.ster, though, as ^liss Mohun's keen eye noted, it was not the shyness of a conscious inferior in an unaccustomed world, but rather that of a grave, reserved nature, not chattering for the sake of mere talk. Gillian's photograpli-book was well looked over, with all the brothers and sisters at different stages, and the group of olficers. Miss ]\Iohun noted the talk that passed over these, as they were identified one by one, sometimes with little reminiscences, cliildishly full on Gillian's part, betraying on Kalliope's side friendly acquaintance, but all in as entirely ladylike terms as would have befitted Phyllis or Alethea. She could well believe in the words with wliich INIiss White rather hastened tlie turning of the page, ' Those were happy days — I dare not dwell on them too mucli ! ' ' Oil, I like to do so ! ' cried Gillian. ' I don't want the little ones ever to forget them.' ' Yes— you ! But with you it would not be repining.' Tliis was for Gillian's ear alone, as at that moment both the aunts were, at the children's solicitation, engaged on the exhibition of a wonderful musical-box— Aunt Adeline's share of her mother's wedding presents— containing a bird that hovered and sung, the mechanical contrivance of which was tlie chief merit In Fergus's eyes, and whicli had fascinated generations of young people for the last sixty years. Aunt Jane, however, could hear througli anything— even tln-ough the winding-up of what the family called 'Aunt Ada's Jack(iaw,' and she drew her conclusions, with increasing respect and pity for the young girl over whose life such a change had come. But it was not this, but what she called common humanity, VIII GILLIAN\S rUPIL 91 which prompted her, on hearing a heavy gust of rain against the windows, to go into the lower regions in quest of a messenger boy to order a brougham to take the guests home at the end of the evening. The meal went oft' pleasantly on the whole, thougli thei-e loomed a storm as to the ritual of St. _ Kenelm's ; but this chiefly was owing to the younger division of the company, when Valetta bi'oke into an unnecessary inquiry why they did not have as many lights on the altar at 8t. Andrew's as at St. Kenelm's, and Fergus put her down with unceremoni- ously declaring tliat Stebbing said Flight was a donkey. Gillian canie down with what she meant for a crushing rebuke, and the indignant colour rose in the cheeks of the guests ; but Fei'gus persisted, ' But he makes a guy of himself and a mountebank.' Aunt Jane thought it time to interfere. ' Fergus,'^ she said, ' you had better not repeat improper sayings, especially about a clergyman.' Fergus wriggled. ' And,' added Aunt Ada, with equal severity, ' you know Mr. Flight is a very kind friend to little Maura and hei' sister.' ' Indeed he is,' said Kalliope earnestly ; and Maura, feeling herself addressed, added, ' Nobody but he ever called on poor mamma, Mil Miss Mohun did ; no, not Lady Flight.' ' We are very grateful for his kindness,' put in Kalliope, in a repressive tone. ' But,' said Gillian, ' I thought you said he had seemed to care less of late.' 'I do not know,' said Miss White, blushing ; 'music seems to be his chief interest, and thei'e has not been anything fresh to get up since the concert.' ' I suppose there will be for the winter,' said Miss Mohun, and therewith the conversation was safely conducted away to musical subjects, in whicli some of the sisters' pride and affection for their brothers peeped out ; but Gillian was con- scious all the time that Kalliope was speaking with some constraint when she mentioned Alexis, and that slie was glad rather to dwell on little Theodore, who had good linpes of the drawing prize, and she seriously consulted JNliss Mohun on the pupil -teachership for him, as after he had passed the seventh standard he could not otherwise go on with his education, though she did not think he had much time for teaching. 'Would not Mr. White help him further?' asked Miss Mohun. ' I do not know. I had much rather not ask,' said Kalliope. ' We are too many to throw ourselves on a person who is no 92 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chai>. near relation, and he lias not seemed greatly disposed to help.' ' Your elder brother ? ' 'Oil, poor Richard, he is not earning anything yet. I can't ask him. If I only knew of some school I could be sure was safe and good and not too costly, Alexis and T would try to manage for Theodore after the examination in the spring.' The Woodward schools were a new light to her, and she was eagerly interested in ]\Iiss JMohun's explanations and in the scale of terms. ]\Iea,ntime ]\Iiss Adeline got on excellently with the younger ones, and when the others were free, proposed for their benefit a spelling game. All sat round the table, made words, and abstracted one another's with increasing anima- tion, scarcely heeding the roaring of the wind outside, till there was a ring at the bell. ' My brother has come for us,' said Kalliope. ' Oh, but it is not tit for you to walk home,' said j\Iiss IMohun. ' The brougham is coming by and by ; ask ^Mr. White to come in,' she added, as the maid appeared with the message that he "was come for his sisters. There was a confusion of acknowledgments and dis- claimers, and word was brought back that Mr. White was too wet to come in. Miss JMohun, who was not playing, but prompting Fergus, jumped up and went out to investigate, when slie found a form in an ancient military cloak, trying to keep himself from dripi^ing where wet could do mischief. She had to explain her regret at his having had such a walk in vain ; but she had taken alarm on finding that rain was setting in for the night, and had sent word by the mutiin-boy that the brougham would be wanted, contriving to convey that it was not to be paid for. Nothing remained to be said except thanks, and Alexis emerged from the cloak, which looked as if it liad gone through all his father's campaigns, took off his gaiters, did his best for his boots, and, tliough not in evening costume, looked very gentleman-like and remarkably handsome in the drawing-room, with no token of awkward embarrassment save a becoming blush. Gillian began to tremble inwardly again, but the game had just ended in her favour, owing to Fergus having lost all his advantages in Aunt Jane's absence, besides signalising himself by capturing Maura's 'bury,' under the impression that an additional It would combine tliat and straw into a fruit. So the coast being cleared, Miss Adeline greatly relieved her niece's mind by begging, as a personal fa\our, to hear the VIII GILLIAN S PUPIL 93 song whose renown at the concert had reached her ; and tlius tlie time was safely spent in singing till the carriage was announced, and good-nights exchanged. Maura's eyes grew round with delight, and she jumped for joy at the preferment. ' Oh ! ' she said, as she fervently kissed Valetta, ' it is the most delightful evening I ever spent in the whole course of my life, except at Lady Merrifield's Christmas-tree ! And now to go home in a carriage ! I never went in one since I can remember ! ' And Kalliope's 'Thank you, we have enjoyed ourselves very much,' was very fervent. ' Those young people are very superior to wliat I expected,' said Aunt Adeline. ' What fine creatures, all so liandsome ; and that little jMaura is a perfect darling.' 'Tlie IMuse herself is very superior,' said Miss Moliun. ' One of those home heroines who do the work of Atlas with- out knowing it. I do not wonder that the marble girls speak of her so enthusiastically.' How Gillian might have enjoyed all this, and yet she could not, except so far that she told herself that thus there could be no reasonable objection made by her aunts to inter- course with those whom they so much admired. Yet perliaps even then she would have told all, but that, after liaving bound over Kalliope to secrecy, it would be awkward to confess that she had told all. It would be like owning herself in the wrong, and for that she was not pre- pared. Besides, where would be the secrecy of her 'great thing'? CHAPTER IX GAUGING AJEE Without exactly practising to deceive, Gillian began to find that concealment involved her in a tangled web ; all the more since Aunt Jane had become thoroughly interested iu the Whites, and was inquiring right and left about schools and scholarships for the little boj's. She asked their master about them, and heard that they were among his best scholars, and that their home lessons liad always been carefully attended to by their elder brother and sister. In fact, he was most anxious to x'etain Theodore, to be trained for a pupil-teacher, the best testimony to liis value ! Aunt Jane came home full of the subject, relating wliat the master said of Alexis White, and that lie had begun by working with him at Latin and mathematics ; but that they had not had time to go on with what needed so much study and preparation. 'In fact,' said Miss Mohun, 'I have a suspicion that if a certificated schoolmaster could own any such tiling, the pupil knew more than the teacher. When your father comes home, I hope he will find some way of helping that lad.' Gillian began to crimson, but bethought herself of the grandeur of its being found that she was the youtli's helper. ' I am glad you have been lending him books,' added Aunt Jane. What business had she to know what had not been told her? Tlie sense of offence drove back any disposition to consult her. Yet to teach Alexis was no slight task, for, though lie liad not gone far in Greek, his inquiries were searching, and explaining to him was a diffeient thing from satisfying CAen Mi\ Pollock. Resides, Gillian liad her own studies on hand. The ('anibii the Christmas party at Beechcroft Court.' There being no Christmas party at Beechcroft Court, Gillian, in spite of her distaste to new poo]ilp, was not alto- gether sorry to receive a cou])le of notes In- tlie same post, the first enclosed in the second, both forwarded from thence. M'ai,]', T.rsidx I'kiokv, '9//( Ihxanha: 'My dear Miss Merrifield— We are very anxious to make acquaintance with my brother Bernard's new belong- ings, since we cannot greet our new sister Phyllis ourselves. IX GAUGING AJEE 103 We always have a family gathering at Christmas between this house and tlie Vicarage, and we much hope that you and your brother will join it. Could you not meet my sister, Mrs. Grinstead, in London, and travel down with her on the 23d 1 I am sending this note to her, as I think she has some such proposal to make.— Yours very sincerely, 'WiLMET U. HaREWOOD.' Tlie other letter was thus— , _ ' Brompton, 10m December. ' My dear Gillian— It is more natural to call you thus, as you are becoming a sort of relation— very unwillingly, I dare say— for "in this storm I too have lost a brother." However, we will make the best of it, and please don't hate us more than you can help. Since your own home is dispersed tor the present, it seems less outrageous to ask you to spend a Christmas Day among new people, and I hope we may make you feel at home with us, and that you will enjoy our beau- tiful church at Vale Leston. We are so many that we may be less alarming if you take us by driblets, so perhaps it will be the best way if you will come up to us on the 18th or 19th, and go down with us on the 23d. You will hnd no one with us but my nephew— almost son— Gerald I nder- wood, and my niece, Anna Vanderkist, who will be delighted to make friends with your brother Jasper, who might per- haps meet you here. You must tell me all about Phyllis, and what she would like best for her Cingalese home.— Yours aftectionately, Geraldine Grinstead. Thus then affairs shaped themselves. Gillian was to take Fergus to London, where Jasper would meet them at the station, and ])ut the little boy into the train for Coalham, whither his brother Wilfred had preceded him by a day or two. Jasper and Gillian would then re])air to Brompton for two or three days before going down with ]\Ir. and Mrs. Grin- stead to Vale Leston ; and they were to take care to pay their respects to old Mrs. Merrifield, who had become too infirm to spend Christmas at Stokesley. What was to happen later was uncertain, whether they were to go to Stokesley, or whether Jasper would join his brothers at Coalham, or come down to Rockstone with his sister for the rest of the holidays. Valetta must remain there, and it did not seem greatly to distress her; and whereas nothing had been said about children, she was better satisfied to stay within reach of Kitty and mamma, and the Christinas-ti-ees that began to dawn on the horizon, than to be carried into an unknown region of ' grown-ups.' While Gillian was not only delighted at the prospect of 104 BEECnCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap, ix meeting Jasper, her own especial brother, but was heartily- glad to make a change, and defer tlie entire question of lessons, confessions, and G.F.S. for six whole weeks. She might get a more definite answer from lier parents, or some- thing miglit hapj)en to make explanation to her aunt eitlier unnecessary or mucli more easy — and she was safe from dis- covery. But examinations had yet to be passed. CHAPTER X AUT CvESAE AUT NIHIL Examinations were the great autumn excitement. Gillian was going up for the hig-lier Cambridge, and Valetta's form was under preparation for competition for a prize in lan- guages. The great Mr. White, on being asked to patronise the High Scliool at its tirst start, four years ago, had endowed it with prizes for each of the four forms for the most i^roti- cient in two tongues. As the preparation became more absorbing, brows were puckered and looks were anxious, and the aunts were doubt- ful as to the effect upon the girls' minds or bodies. It was too late, however, to withdraw them, and Miss Mohun could only insist on air and exercise, and permit no work after the seven-o'clock tea. She was endeavouring to chase cobwebs from the brains of the students by the humours of Mrs. Nickleby, when a mes- sage was brought that Miss Leverett, the head-mistress of the High School, wished to speak to her in the dining-room. This was no unusual occurrence, as Miss Mohun was secretary to the managing committee of the High School. But on the an- nouncement Valetta began to fidget, and presently said that she was tired and would go to bed. The most ordinary effect of fatigue upon this young lady was to make her resemble the hero of the nursery poem — ' I do not want to go to bed, Sleepy little Harry said.' Nevertheless, this willingness excited no suspicion, till Miss Mohun came to the door to summon Valetta. ' Is there anything wrong ? ' exclaimed sister and niece together. ' Gone to bed ! Oh ! I'll tell you presently. Don't you come, Gillian.' 106 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. She vanished again, leaving Gillian in no ismall alarm and vexation. ' I wonder what it can be,' mused Aunt Ada. ' I shall go and lind out ! ' said Gillian, jumping up, as she heard a door shut ujistairs. ' No, don't,' said Aunt Ada ; ' you had much better not interfere.' ' It is my business to see after my own sister,' returned Gillian haughtily. ' I see what you mean, my dear,' said her aunt, stretching out her hand, kindly ; ' but 1 do not think you can do any good. If she is in a scrape, you have nothing to do with the High School management, and for you to burst in would only annoy Miss Leverett and confuse the affair. Oh, I know your impulse of defence, dear Gillian ; but the time has not come yet, and you can't have any reasonable doubt that Jane will be just, nor that your mother would wish that you should be quiet about it.' _ _ ^ ' But suppose there is some horrid accusation against her ! said Gillian hotly. ' But, dear child, if you don't know anything about it, how can you defend her 1 ' ' I ought to know ! ' ' So you will in time ; but the more people there are pre- sent, the more confusion there is, and the greater difficulty in getting at the rights of anything.' More by her caressing tone of sympathy than by actual arguments, Adeline did succeed in keeping Gillian in the drawing-room, though not in pacifying her, till doors were heard again, and something so like Valetta crying as she went upstairs, that Gillian was neither to have nor to hold, and made a dash out of the room, only to find her aunt and the head-mistress exchanging last words in the hall, and as she was going to brush past them. Aunt Jane caught her hand, and said — 'Wait a moment, Gillian ; I want to speak to you.' There was no getting away, but she was very indignant. She tugged at her aunt's hand more than perhaps she knew, and t])ere was something of a flouncing as she flung into the drawing-room and demanded — ' Well, wliat have you been doing to poor little Val ? ' ' We liave done nothing,' said Miss Mohun quietly. ' Miss Leverett wanted to ask her some questions. Sit down, Gil- lian. You had better hear what I have to say before going to her. Well, it appears that there has been some amount of cribbing in the third form.' 'I'm sure Val ne\er would,' broke out Gillian. And lier aunt answered — X AUT CMSAR AUT NIHIL 107 ' So was I ; but ' 'Oh ' ' My dear, do hush,' pleaded Adeline. ' i ou must let your- self listen.' Gillian gave a desperate twist, but let her aunt smooth her hand. . . ' All the class— almost— seem to have done it m some tele- graphic way, hard to understand,' proceeded Aunt Jane. ' There must have been some stupidity on the part of the class-mistress. Miss Mellon, or it could not have gone on ; but there has of late been a strong suspicion of cribbing in Caesar in Valetta's class. They had got rather behindhand, and have been working up somewhat too hard and fast to get through the portion for examination. Some of them translated too ivell— used terms for the idioms that were neither literal, nor could have been forged by their small brains ; so there was an examination, and Georgie Purvis was detected reading ofi' from the marks on the margin of her notebook.' ' But what has that to do with Val 1 ' ' Georgie, being had up to Miss Leverett, made the sort ot confession that implicates everybody.' ' Then why believe her 1 ' muttered Gillian. But her aunt went on — ' She said that four or five of them did^ it, from the notes that Valetta INIerrifield brought to school.' 'Never!' interjected Gillian. ' She said,' continued Miss Mohun, ' it was first that they saw her helping Maura White, and they thought that was not fair, and insisted on lier doing the same for them.' ' It can't be true ! Oh, don't believe it ! ' cried the sister. ' I grieve to remind you that I showed you in the drawer in the dining-room chifibnier a translation of that very book of Cjesar that your mother and I made years ago, when she was crazy upon Vercingetorix.' 'But was that reason enough for laying it upon poor Vair ' She owned it.' There was a silence, and then Gillian said— ' She must have been frightened, and not known what she was saying.' . , j. -, 'She was frightened, Init she was very straightforward, and told without any shuflling. She saw the old copy-books when I was sliowing you those other remnants of our old times, and one day it seems she was in a great puzzle over her lessons, and could get no help or advice, because none of us had come in. I suppose you were with Lilian, and she thought she might just look at the passage. She found 108 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. Maura in the same difficulty, and helped her; and then Georgie Purvis and Nelly Black found them out, and threatened to tell unless she showed them her notes ; but the copying whole phrases was only done quite of late in the general over-hurry.' ' She must have been bullied into it,' cried Gillian. ' I shall go and see about her.' Aunt Ada made a gesture as of deprecation ; but Aunt Jane let her go without remonstrance, merely saying as the door closed — ' Poor child ! Esjyrit de famille ! ' 'Will it not be very bad for Valetta to be petted and pitied 1 ' ' I don't know. At any rate, we cannot separate them at night, so it is only beginning it a little sooner ; and wliatever I say only exasperates Gillian the moi'e. Poor little Val, she had not a formed character enough to be turned loose into a High School without Mysie to keep her in order.' ' Or Gillian.' 'I am not so sure of Gillian. There's something amiss, though I can't make out whether it is merely that I rub her down the wrong way. I wonder whether this holiday time will do us good or harm ! At any rate, I know how Lily felt about Dolores.' ' It must have been that class-mistress's fault.' ' To a great degree; but Miss Leverett has just discovered that her cleverness does not compensate for a general lack of sense and discipline. Poor little Val— perhaps it is her turning-point ! ' Gillian, rushing up in a boiling state of indignation against everybody, felt the family shame most acutely of all ; and though, as a JNIerrifield, she defended her sister below stairs, on the other hand she was much more person- ally shocked and angered at the disgrace than were her aunts, and far less willing to perceive any excuse for the culprit. There was certainly no petting or pitying in her tone as she stood over the little iron bed, where the victim was hid- ing her head on her pillow. ' Oh, Valetta, how could you do such a thing ? The ISIerri- fields have never been so disgraced before ! ' ' Oh, don't. Gill ! Aunt Jane and Miss Leverett were— not so angry — when I said — I was sorry.' ' But wliat will pa])a and manniia say 1 ' ' Must they— must they hear 1 ' 'You would not think of deceiving tliem, I hope.' ' Not deceiving, only not telling.' 'That comes to much the same.' X AUT C^SAR AUT NIHIL 109 You can't s.iy anything, Gill, for you are always down at Kal's office, and nobody knows.' This gave Gillian a great shock, but she rallied, and said with dignity, ' Do you think I do not write to mamma every- thing I do?' ..,.,. It sufficed for the immediate purpose of annihilating Valetta, who had just been begging off from letting mamma hear of her proceedings ; but it left Gillian very uneasy as to how much the child miglit know or tell, and this made her proceed less violently, and more persuasively, ' Whatever I do, I write to mamma ; and besides, it is different with a little thing like you, and your school work. Come, tell me how you got into this scrape.' 'Oh, Gill, it was so hard! All about those tiresome Gauls, and there were bits when the nominative case ivould go and hide itself, and those nasty tenses one doesn't know how to look out, and I knew I was making nonsense, and you were out of the way, and there was nobody to help ; and I knew mamma's own book was there— the very part too — because Aunt Jane had shown it to us, so I did not think there was any harm in letting her help me out of the muddle.' ' Ah ! that was the beginning.' ' If you had been in, I would not have done it. You know Aunt Jane said there was no harm in giving a clue, and this iuas mamma.' ' But that was not all.' ' Well, then, there was Maura first, as much puzzled, and her brother is so busy he hasn't as much time for heras he used to have, and it does signify to her, for perhaps if slie does not pass, Mr. White may not let her go on at the High School, and that would be too dreadful, for you know you said I was to do all I could for Maura. Bo I marked down things for her and she copied them off", and then Georgie and Nelly found it out, and, oh ! they were dreadful ! I ne^-er knew it was wrong till they went at me. And they were horrid to Maura, and said she was a Greek and I a Maltese, and so we were both false, and cheaty, and sly, and they should tell Miss Leverett unless I would help them.' ' Oh ! Valetta, why didn't you tell me V 'I never get to speak to you, said Val. 'I did think I would that first time, and ask you what to do ; but then you came in late, and when I began something, you said you had your Greek to do, and told me to hold my tongue.' 'I am very sorry,' said Gillian, feeling convicted of having neglected her little sister in the stress of her own work and of the preparation for that of her pupil, who was treading on her heels ; ' but indeed, Val, if you had told me it was important, I should have listened.' 110 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. ' Ah ! but when one is half-frightened, and you are always in a hurry,' sighed the child. 'And, indeed, I did do my best over my own work before ever I looked ; only those two are so lazy and stupid, they would have ever so much more help tlian Maura or I ever wanted ; and at last I was so worried and hurried with my French and all the rest, that I did scramble a whole lot down, and that was the way it was found out. And I am glad now it is over, whatever happens.' 'Yes, that is right,' said Gillian ; 'and I am glad you told no stories ; but I wonder Emma Norton did not see what was going on.' ' Oh, she is frightfully busy about her own.' 'And Kitty Varley?' ' Kitty is only going up for French and German. Miss Leverett is so angry. What do you think she will do to me, Gill 1 Expel me ? ' ' I don't know — I can't guess. I don't know High School ways.' ' It would be so dreadful for papa and mamma and the boys to know,' sobbed Valetta. ' And Mysie ! oh, if Mysie was but here ! ' ' Mysie would have been a better sister to her,' said Gillian's conscience, and her voice said, ' You would never have done it if Mysie had been here.' 'And Mysie would be nice,' said the poor child, who longed after her companion sister as much for comfort as for con- science. ' Is Aunt Jane very very angry ? ' she went on ; ' do you think I shall be punished ? ' 'I can't tell. If it were I, I should think you were punished enough by having disgraced the name of Merrifield by such a dishonourable action.' ' I — I didn't know it was dishonoiu'able.' ' Well,' said Gillian, perhaps a little tired of the scene, or mayhap dreading another push into her own quarters, ' I have been saying what I could for you, and I should think they would feel that no one but our father and mother had a real right to punish you, but I can't tell what the School may do. Now, hush, it is of no use to talk any more. Good-night ; I hope I shall find you asleep when I come to bed.' Valetta would have detained her, but off she went, with a consciousness that she liad been poor comfort to her little sister, and had not helped her to tlie right kind of rejient- ance. But then that highest ground — the strict rule of ])(M'fect conscientious uprightness — was just what she sln-ank from bringing home to herself, in sjiite of those privileges of seniority by wliich she had imi)ressed i)oor A'^aletta. X AUT C^SAR AUT NIHIL 111 The worst thing furtlier that was said that night, when she had reported as much of Valetta's confidence as she thought might soften displeasure, was Aunt Ada's observa- tion : ' Maura ! That's the White child, is it not ? No doubt it was the Greek blood.' ' The English girls were much worse,' hastily said Gillian, with a flush of alarm, as she thought of her own friends being suspected. ' Yes ; but it began with the little Greek,' said Aunt Ada. ' What a pity, for she is such an engaging child ! I would take the child away from the High School, except that it would have the appearance of her being dismissed.' ' We must consider of that,' said Aunt Jane. ' There will hardly be time to hear from Lilias befoie the next term begins. Indeed, it will not be so very long to wait before the happy i-eturn, I hope.' ' Only two months,' said Gillian ; 'but it would be happier but for this.' ' No,' said Aunt Jane. ' If we made poor little Val write her confession, and I do the same for not having looked after her better, it will be off our minds, and need not cloud the meeting.' ' The disgrace ! ' sighed Gillian ; ' the public disgrace ! ' ' jNIy dear, I don't want to make you think lightly of such a thing. It was very wrong in a child brought up as you have all been, with a sense of honour and uprightness ; but where there has been no such training, the attempt to copy is common enough, for it is not to be looked on as an extra- ordinary and inclelil)le disgi-ace. Do you remember Primrose saying she had broken mamma's heart when she had knocked down a china vase 1 You need not be in that state of mind over what was a childish fault, made worse by those bullying girls. It is of no use to exaggerate. The sin is the thing — not the outward shame.' ' And Valetta told at once when asked,' added Aunt Ada. ' That makes a great difference.' ' In fact, she was relieved to have it out,' said Miss Mohun. ' It is not at all as if she were in the habit of doing things underhand.' Everything struck on Gillian like a covert reproach. It was pain and shame to her that a Merrilield should have lowered herself to the common herd so as to need these excuses of her aunts, and then in the midst of that indigna- tion came that throb of self -conviction which she was always confuting with the recollection of her letter to her mother. She was glad to bid good-night and rest her head. The aunts ended by agreeing that it was needful to with- draw Valetta from the competition. It would seem like 112 T5EECHCR0FT AT ROCKSTONE chap. punisliment to her, but it would remove her from the strain that certainly was not good for her. Indeed, tliey had serious thoughts of taking her from the school altogether, but the holidays would not long be ended before her parents' return. ' I am sorry we ever let her try for the prize,' said Ada. ' Yes,' said Aunt Jane, ' I suppose it was weakness ; but having opposed the acceptance of the system of prizes by competition at first, I thought it would look sullen if I refused to let Valetta try. fStimulus is all veiy well, but competition leads to emulation, wrath, strife, and a good deal besides.' ' Valetta wished it too, and she knew so much Latin to begin witli that I thought she would easily get it, and cer- tainly she ought not to get into difficulties.' ' After tlie silken rein and easy amble of Silverf old, tlie spur and the race have come severely.' 'It is, I suppose, the same with Gillian, though there it is not competition. Do you expect her to succeed 'I ' ' No. She has plenty of intelligence, and a certain sort of diligence, but does not work to a point. She wants a real liand over her ! She will fail, and it will be very good for her.' ' I should say the work was overmuch for her, and ha,d led lier to neglect Valetta.' ' Work becomes overmuch when peojile don't know how to set about it, and resent being told No, not in words, but by looks and shoulders. Besides, I am not sure that it is her proper work that oppresses her. I think she has some other undertaking in hand, probably for Christmas, or for her mother's return ; but as secrecy is the very soul of such things, I shut my eyes.' ' Somehow, Jane, I think you have become so much afraid of giving way to curiosity that you sometimes shut your eyes rather too much.' 'Well, perhaps in one's old age one suffers from the reaction of one's bad qualities. I will think about it, Ada. I certainly never before i-ealised how very dillerent scliool supervision of young folks is from looking after them all round. Moreover, Gillian has been much more attentive to poor Lily Giles of late, in spite of lier avocations.' Valetta was not at first heartbroken on hearing that slie was not to go in for the language examination. It was such a relief from the oppression of tlie task, and she liad so long given up hopes of having tlie prize to show to her mother, that slie was scarcely grieved, though Aunt Jane was very grave while walking down to school witli lier in tlie morning to see Miss Leverett, and explain the witlidrawal. X AUT C^SAR AUT NIHIL 113 That lady came to her private room as soon as she had opened the school. From one point of view, she said, she agreed with Miss Moliun that it would be better that her niece should not go up for the examination. 'But,' she said, 'it maybe considered as a stigma upon her, since none of the others are to give up.' ' Indeed ! I liad almost thought it a matter of course.'_ 'On the contrary, two of the mothers seem to think nothing at all of the matter. jNIrs. Black ' 'The Surveyor's wife, isn't sheV ' Yes ; she writes a note saying that all children copy, if they can, and she wonders that I should be so severe upon such a frequent occurrence, which reflects more discredit on the governesses than the scholars.' ' Polite that ! And Mrs. Purvis 1 At least, she is a lady ! ' 'She is more polite, but evidently has no desire to be troubled. She hopes that if her daughter has committed a breach of school discipline, I will act as I think best.' ' No feeling of the real evil in either ! How about Maura Whiter 'That is very different. It is her sister who writes, and so nicely that I must show it to you.' ' j\Iy dear jMadam — I am exceedingly grieved that ]Maura should liave acted in a dishonourable manner, though she was not fully aware how wrongly she was behaving. We have been talking to her, and we think she is so truly sorry as not to be likely to fall into the same temptation again. As far as we can make out, she has generally_ taken pains with her tasks, and only obtained assistance in unusually difficult passages, so that we think that she is really not ill- prepared. If it is thought right that all the pupils concerned should abstain from the comiDetition, we would of course readily acquiesce in the justice of the sentence ; but to miss it this year might make so serious a difterence to her prospects, that I liope it will not be thought a necessary act of discipline, though we know that we have no right to plead for any exemption for her. With many thanks for the consideration you have shown for her, I remain, faithfully yours, 1*^ w.„^,,' K. White. 'A very difterent tone indeed, and it quite agrees with Valetta's account,' said Miss ]\Iohun. ' Yes, the other two girls were by far tlie most guilty.' 'And morally, perhaps, Maura the least ; but I retain my view that, irrespective of the others, Valetta's parents had rather she missed this examination, considering all things.' Valetta came home much more griev^ed when she had I 114 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. found slie was the only one left out, and declared it was unjust. 'No,' said Gillian, 'for you began it all. None of the others would have got into the scrape but for you.' ' It was all your fault for not minding me ! ' ' As if I made you do sly things.' 'You made me. You were so cross if I only asked a question,' and Val prepared to ciy. ' I thought people had to do their own work and not other folks' ! Don't be so foolish.' ' Oh dear ! oh dear ! how unkind you are ! I wish— I wish jVlysie was here ; every one is grown cross ! Oh, if mamma would but come home ! ' ' Now, Val, don't be such a baby ! Stop that ! ' And Valetta went into one of lier old agonies of crying and sobbing, which brought Aunt Jane in to see what was the matter. She instantly stopi)ed the scolding with whioh Gillian was trying to check the outburst, and which only added to its violence. ' It is the only thing to stop those fits,' said Gillian. ' She can if she will ! It is all temper.' ' Leave her to me ! ' commanded Aunt Jane. ' Go ! ' Gillian went away, muttering tliat it was not the way mamma or Nurse Halfpenny treated Val, and quite amazed that Aunt Jane, of all people, should have the naughty child on her lap and in her arms, soothing her tenderly. The cries died away, and the long heaving sobs began to subside, and at last a broken voice said, on Aunt Jane's shoulder, ' It's — a— little bit— like mamma.' For Aunt Jane's voice had a ring in it like mamma's, and this little bit of tenderness was inexpressibly comforting. ' My poor dear child,' she said, ' mamma will soon come home, and then you will be all right.' ' I .shouldn't have done it if mamma had been there ! ' ' No ; and now you are sorry.' ' Will mamma be \ery angry 1 ' 'She will be grieved that you could not hold out when you were tempted ; but I am sure she will forgive you if you write it all to her. And, Val, you know you can have God's forgiveness at once if you tell Him.' ' Yes,' said Valetta gravely ; then, ' I did not before, because I thought every one made so much of it, and were so ci'oss. And Georgie arid Nellie don't care at all.' ' Nor Maura ? ' 'Oh, Maura does, because of Kalliope.' ' How do you mean ? ' Valetta sat up on lier aunt's lap, and told. '.Maura told mc ! She said Kallv and Alec both were at X AUT C^SAR AUT NIHIL 115 her, but her mamma was vexed with them, and said she would not have her scolded at home as well as at school about nothing ; and she told Theodore to go and buy her a tart to make up to her, but Theodore wouldn't, for he said he was ashamed of her. So she sent the maid. But when Maura had gone to bed and to sleep, she woke up, and there was Kally crying over her prayers, and whispering half aloud, " Is she going too ? My poor child ! Oh, save her ! Give her the Spirit of truth " ' 'Poor Kalliope ! She is a good sister.' ' Yes ; Maura says Kally is awfully afraid of their telling stories because of Richard — the eldest, you know. He does it dreadfully. I remember nurse used to tell us not to fib like Dick White. Maura said he used to tell his father stories about being late and getting money, and their mother never let him be punished. He was her pet. And Maura remembers being carried in to see poor Captain White just before he died, when she was getting better, but could not stand, and he said, " Truth before all, children. Be true to God and man." Captain White did care so much, but Mrs. White doesn't. Isn't that very odd, for she isn't a Roman Catholic?' ended Valetta, obviously believing that falsehood was inherent in Romanists, and pouring out all this as soon as her tears were assuaged, as if, having heard it, she must tell. ' Mrs. White is half a Greek, you know,' said Aunt Jane, ' and the Greeks are said not to think enough about truth.' ' Ei^amiuondas did,' said Valetta, who had picked up a good deal from the home atmosphere, ' but Ulysses didn't.' ' No ; and the Greeks have been enslaved and oppressed for a great many years, and that is apt to make people get cowardly and false. But that is not our concern, Val, and I think with such a recollection of her good father, and such a sister to help her, ]\Iaura will not fall into the fault again. And, my dear, I quite see that neither you nor she entirely realised that what you did was deception, though you never spoke a word of untruth.' ' No, we did not,' said Valetta. 'And so, my dear child, I do forgive you, quite and entirely, as we used to say, though I have settled with ^Miss Leverett that you had better not go up for the examination, since you cannot be properly up to it. And you must write the whole history to your mother. Yes ; I know it will be very sad work, Ijut it will be much better to have it out and done with, instead of having it on your mind when she comes home.' ' Shall you tell her ? ' 'Yes, certainly,' said the aunt, well knowing that this 116 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. would clench the matter. 'But I shall tell her liow sorry you are, and that I really think you did not quite under- stand what you were about at first. And I shall wi'ite to Miss White, and try to comfort her about her sister.' ' You won't say I told ? ' ' Oh no ; but I shall have quite reason enough for writing in telling her that I am sorry my little niece led her sister into crooked paths.' Gillian knew that this letter was written and sent, and it did not make her more eager for a meeting with Kalliope. So that she was not sorry that the weather was a valid hindrance, though a few weeks ago she would have dis- regarded such considerations. Besides, tliere was her own examination, which for two days was like a fever, and kept her at her little table, thinking of nothing but those ques- tions, and dreaming and waking over them at night. It was over ; and she was counselled on all sides to think no more about it till she should hear of success or failure. But this was easier said than done, and she was left in her tired state with a general sense of being on a wrong tack, and of going on amiss, whether due to her aunt's want of assimilation to herself, or to her mother's absence, she did not know, and witli the further sense that she had not been the motherly sister she had figured to herself ; but that both the children should show a greater trust and reliance on Aunt Jane than on herself grieved her, not exactly with jealousy, but with sense of failure and dissatisfaction with herself. She had a universal distaste to her surroundings, and something very like dread of the Whites, and she re- joiced in the prospect of quitting Eockstone for the present. She felt bound to run down to the office to wish Kalliope good-bye. There she found an accumulation oi exercises and translations waiting for her. ' Oh, what a quantity ! It shows how long it is since I have been here.' 'And indeed,' began Kalliope, 'since your aunt has been so very kind about poor little Maura ' ' Oh, please don't talk to me ! There's sucli a lot to do, and I have no time. Wait till I have done.' And she nervously began reading out the Greek exercise, so as effectually to stop Kalliope's mouth. JMoreover, either her own uneasy mind, or the difUculty of the Cireek, brought her into a dilemma. She saw that Alexis's phrase was wrong, but she did not clearly perceive wliat tlie sentence ought to be, and slie ])('rpk'xed herself over it till lie came in, whether to hei- s.itisfactidii or not she could not liave told, for she liad not wanted to see him on the one hand, though, on the other, it silenced Kalliope. X AUT C^SAR AUT NIHIL 117 She tried to clear her perceptions by explanations to him, but he did not seem to give Jiis mind to the grammar half as much as to the cessation of the lessons and her absence. 'You must do the best you can,' she said, 'and I shall find you gone quite beyond me.' ' I shall never do that, Miss Merrifield.' 'Nonsense ! ' she said, laughing uncomfortably ; 'a pretty clergyman you would be if you could not pass a girl. There ! good-bye. Make a list of your puzzles and I will do my best with them when I come back.' ' Thank you,' and he wrung her hand with an earnestness that gave her a sense cf uneasiness. CHAPTER XI LADY JMERRIFIELD'S CHRISTMAS LETTER-BAG (Primrose.) ' JVIy dear Mamma— I wish you a merry Christmas, and papa and sisters and Claude too. I only hooped once to-day, and Nurse says I may go out when it gets fine. Fly is better. She sent me her dolls' house in a big box in a cart, and Mysie sent a new frock of her own making for Liliana, and Uncle William gave me a lovely doll, with waxen arms and legs, that shuts her eyes and squeals, and says Mamma ; but 1 do not want anything but my own dear mamma, and all the rest. I am mamma's own little Primrose.' (Fergus.) ' Coalham. 'My dear Mamma — I wish you and papa, and all, a happy Crismas, and I send a plan of the great coal mine for a card. It is much jollier here than at Rockquay, for it is all black with cinders, and there are little fires all night, and there are lots of oars and oxhide and fossils and ferns and real curiozitys, and nobody minds noises nor muddy boots, and they aren't at one to wash your hands, for they can't be clean ever ; and there was a real row in the street last night just outside. We are to go down a mine some day when Cousin David has time. I mean to be a great jeologist and get lots of si^ecimens, and please bring me home all the minerals in Ceylon. Harry gave me a hammer. — I am, your afiectionate son, Fergus JMerrifield,' (Valetta.) 'My dearest Mamma — I hope you will like my card. Aunt Ada did none of it, only showed me liow, and Aunt Jane says I may tell you I am really trying to be good. I am CHAP. XI LADY MERRIFIELD'S CHRISTMAS LETTER- BAG 119 helping her gild fir-cones for a Christmas-tree for the quire, and they will sing carols. Macrae brought some for us the day before yesterday, and a famous lot of liolly and ivy and mistletoe and flowers, and three turkeys and some hams and pheasants and partridges. Aunt Jane sent the biggest tur- key and ham in a basket covered up with holly to Mrs. Wliite, and another to Mrs. Hablot, and they are doing the church with the holly and ivy. We are to eat the other the day after to-morrow, and Mr. Grant and Miss Burne, who teaches the youngest form, are coming. It was only cold beef to-day, to let Mrs. Mount go to church ; but we had mince pies, and I am going to Kitty's Christmas party to- morrow, and we shall dance — so Aunt Ada has given me a new white frock and a lovely Roman sash of her own. _ Poor old Mrs. Vincent is dead, and Fergus's great black rabbit, and poor little Mary Brown with dip— (blot). I can't spell it, and nobody is here to tell me how, but the tiling in people's throats, and poor Anne has got it, and Dr. Ellis says it was a mercy we were all away from home, for we should have had it too, and that would have been ever so much worse than the whooping-cough. 'I have lots of cards, but my presents are waiting for my birthday, when Maura is to come to tea. It is much nicer than I thought the holidays would be. Maura White has got the prize for French and Latin. It is a lovely Shakespeare. I wish I had been good, for I tliink I should have got it. Only she does want more help than I do— so perhaps it is lucky I did not. No, I don't mean lucky either. — Your aflectionate little daughter, Val.' (Wilfred.) ' Dear Mother — Fergus is such a little ape that he will send you that disgusting coal mine on his card, as if you would care for it. I know you will like mine much better — that old buffer skating into a hole in the ice. I don't mind being here, for though Harry and Davy get up frightfully early to go to church, tliey don't want us down till they come back, and we can have fun all day, except wlien Harry screws me down to my holiday task, which is a disgusting one, about the Wars of the Roses. Harry does look so rum now that he is got up for a parson that we did not know him when he met us at the station. There was an awful row outside here last night between two sets of Waits. David went out and parted them, and I thought he would have got a black eye. All the choir had supper here, for there was a service in the middle of the night ; but they did not want us at it, and on Tuesday we are to have a Christmas ship, and a magic- 120 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. lantern, and Rollo and Mr. Bowater are coming to help— he is the clergyman at the next place— and no end of fun, and the biggest dog you ever saw. Fergus has got one of Ids crazes worse than ever about old stones, and is always in the coal hole, poking after ferns and things. Wishing you a merry Christmas. — Your affectionate son, 'WlLFKED MeRRIFIELD.' (Mysie.) ' RoTHERWOOD, Christmas Day. ' My own dearest ]\Iamma — A very happy Christmas to you, and papa and Claude and my sisters, and here are the cards, wliich INIiss Elbury helped me about so kindly that I think tliey are better than usual: I mean that she advised me, for no one touclied them but myself. You will like your text, I hope ; I chose it because it is so nice to think ^ve are all one, though we are in so many different places. I did one with the same for poor Dolores in New Zealand. Uncle William was hei'e yesterday, and he said dear little Primrose is almost quite well. Fly is much better to-day ; her eyes look quite bright, and she is to sit up a little while in the afternoon, but I may not talk to her for fear of making lier cougli ; but she slept all night without one wlioop, and will soon be well now. Cousin Rotherwood was so glad that he was quite funny this morning, and he gave me the lo\eliest writing-case you ever saw, with a good lock^ and gold key, and gold tops to everything, and my three JM's engraved on tliem all. I have so many presents and cards that I will write out a list when I have finished my letter. I shall liave plenty of time, for everybody is gone to church except Cousin Florence, who went early. 'I am to dine at the late dinner, which will be early, be- cause of the church singers, and Cousin llotherwood says he and I will do snapdragon, if I will promise not to whoop. ' 4 30. — I had to stop again because of the doctor. He says iie does not want to have any more to do with me, and that I may go out tlie first line day, and that Fly is much better. And only think ! He says Piockquay is the very place for Fly, and as soon as we are not catcliing, we are all to go there. Cousin Rotherwood told me so for a great secret ; but he said I might tell you, and that he would ask Aunt Alethea to let Primrose come too. It does Avarm one up to think of it, and it is much easier to feel thankful and glad alxuit all the rest of the right sort of Christmas happi- ness, now I am so near having Cill and Val again.— Your very loving child, M. M. Merrifield.' XI LADY MERRIFIELD'S CHRISTMAS LETTER-BAG 121 (Jasper.) ' Vale Leston Priory, ' 2bth December. ' Dearest Mother— Here are my Christmas wishes that we may all be ri2,ht as,-ain at liome this year, and that you could see the brace of pheasants I killed. However, Gill and I are in uncommonly nice quarters. I shall let her tell the long story about who is who, for there is such a swarm of cousins, and uncles, and aunts, and when you think you have hold of the right one, it turns out to be the other lot. There are three houses choke full of them, and more floating about, and all running in and out, till it gets like the little pig that could not be counted, it ran about so fast. They are all Underwood or Harewood, more or less, except the Vanderkists, who are all girls except a little fellow in knickerbockers. Poor little chap, his father was a great man on the turf, and ruined him horse and foot before he was born, and then died of D. T., and his mother is a great invalid, and very badly off, with no end of daughters— the most stunning girls you ever saw— real beauties, and no mistake, especially Emily, who is great fun besides. She is to be Helena when we act Midsummer Night's Bream _ on Twelfth Night for all the natives, and I am Demetrius, dirty cad that he is ! She lives with the Grinsteads, and Anna with the Travis Underwoods, Phyllis's young man's bosses If he makes as good a thing of it as they have done, she will be no end of a swell. Mr. Travis Underwood has brought down his hunters and gives me a mount. Claude would go stark staring mad to see his Campeador. ' They are awfully musical here, and are always at carols or something, and that's the only thing against them. As to Gill, she is in clover, in raptures with every one, especially Mrs. Grinstead, and I think it is doing her good.— Your affectionate son, J- ^- ^^• (Gillian.) ' Dearest Mamma — All Christmas love, and a message to Phyllis that I almost forgive her desertion for the sake of the set of connections she has brought us, like the nearest and dearest relations or more, but Geraldine— for so she told me to call her— is still the choicest of all. It is so pretty to see her husband— the great sculptor— wait on her, as if she was a queen and he her knight ! Anna told me that he had been in love with her ever so long, and she refused liim once ; but after the eldest brother died, and she was living at St. Wulstan's, lie tried again, and she could not hold out. I 122 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE (,iiap. told you of her charming house, so full of lovely things, and about Gerald, all cleverness and spirit, but too delicate for a public scliool. He is such a contrast to Edward Harewood, a great sturdy, red-haired fellow, who is always about with Jasper, except when he — Japs, I mean — is with Emily Vander- kist. She is the prettiest of the Vanderkists. There are eight of them besides little Sir Adrian. ^Nlary always stays to look after her mother, who is in very bad health, and has weak eyes. They call Mary invaluable and so very good, but she is like a homely little Dutchwoman, and nobody would think she was only twenty. Sophy, tlie next to her, calls herself pupil-teacher to Mrs. William Hai^ewood, and together tliey manage the schoolroom for all the younger sisters, the two little girls at the Vicarage, and Wilmet, the only girl here at the Priory ; but, of course, no lessons are going on now, only learning and rehearsing the parts, and making the dresses, loainting the scenes, and learning songs. They all do care so much about music here that I find I really know hardly anything about it, and Jasper says it is their only failing. ' They say Mr. Lancelot Underwood sings and plays better than any of them ; but he is at Stoneborough. However, he is coming over with all the Mays for our play, old Dr. ]\Iay and all. I was very much surprised to find he was an organist and a bookseller, but Geraldine told me about it, and how it was for the sake of the eldest brother — "my brother," they all say ; and somehow it seems as if the house was still his, though it is so many years since he died. And yet tliey are all such happy, merry people. I wish I could let you know how delightful it all is. Sometimes I feel as if I did not deserve to have such a pleasant time. I can't quite exi:)lain, but to be with Geraldine Grinstead makes one feel one's self to be of a ruder, more selfish mould, and I know I have not been all I ought to be at Rockstone ; but I don't mind telling you, now you are so soon to be at home. Aunt Jane seems to worry me — I can't tell how, exactly — while there is soiiaething about Geraldine that soothes and brightens, and all the time makes one long to be better. ' I never heard sucli sermons as Mr. Harewood's either ; it seems as if I liad never listened before, but these go right down into one. I cannot leave oli" thinking about the one last Sunday, about "making manifest tlie counsels of all hearts." I see now that I was not as much justified in not consulting Aunt Jane about Kalliope and Alexis as I thought I was, and tliat the concealment was Avrong. It came over me before tlie beautiful early Celebration this morning, and I could not feel as if I ought to be there till I had made a resolution to tell her all about it, though I should like it not XI LADY MERRIFIELD'S CHRISTMAS LETTER-BAG 123 to be till you are come home, and can tell her that I am not really like Dolores, as she will be sure to think me, for I really did it, not out of silliness and opposition, but because I knew how good they were, and I did tell you. Honestly, perhaps there was some opposition in the spirit of it ; but I mean to make a fresh start when I come back, and you will be near at hand then, and that will help me. '26«A.— The afternoon service of song began and I was called ofF. I never heard anything so lovely, and we had a delightful evening. I can't tell you about it now, for I am snatching a moment when I am not rehearsing, as this must go to-day. Dr. and Miss INIay, and the Lances, as they call them, are just come. The Doctor is a beautiful old man. All the children were round him directly, and he kissed me, and said that he was proud to meet the daughter of such a distinguished man. ' This must go.— Your loving daughter, ' Juliana Mekeifield.' (Harry.) ' CoALHAM, Christmas Day. ' It is nearly St. Stephen's Day, for, dear mother, I have not had a minute before to send you or my father my Christmas greeting. We have had most joyous services, unusually well attended, David tells me, and that makes up for the demonstration we had outside the door last night. David is the right fellow for this place, though we are dis- approved of as south country folk. The boys are well and amused, Wilfred much more comfortable for being treated more as a man, and Fergus greatly come on, and never any trouble, being always dead -set on some pursuit. It is geology, or rather mineralogy, at present, and if he carries home all the stones he has accumulated in the back yard, he will have a tolerable charge for extra luggage. David says there is the making of a great man in him, I think it is of an Uncle Maurice. Macrae writes to me in a state of despair about the drains at Silverfold ; scarlet fever and diphtheria abound at the town, so that he says you cannot come back there till something has been done, and he wants me to come and look at them ; but I do not see how I can leave David at present, as we are in tlie thick of classes for Baptism and Confirmation in Lent, and I suspect Aunt Jane knows more about the matter than I do. r t • ' Gillian and Jasper seem to be in a state of great felicity at Vale Leston— and Mysie getting better, but poor little Phyllis Devereux has been seriously ill— Your atiectionate snn H. MeRRIFIELD.' BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE (Aunt Jane and Aunt Adeline.) '11.30, Christmas Eve. ' IMy dearest Lily — Tlii.s will be a joint letter, for Ada will finish it to-morrow, and I must make the most of my time while waiting for the Waits to dwell on unsavoury business. Macrae came over here with a convoy of all sorts of "delicacies of the season," for which thank you heartily in the name of Whites, Hablots, and othei-s who partook thereof, according, no doubt, to your kind intention. He was greatly i^erturbed, poor man, for your cook has been very ill with diphtheria, and the scarlet fever is severe all round ; there have been some deaths, and the gardener's child was in great danger. The doctor has analysed the water, and finds it in a very bad state, so that your absence this autumn is providential. If you are in haste, telegraph to me, and I will meet your landlord there, and the sanitary inspector, and see what can be done, without waiting for Jasper. At any rate, you cannot go back there at once. Shall I secure a furnished house for you here 1 The Rother- woods are coming to the hotel next door to us, as soon as Phyllis is fit to move and infection over. Victoria will stay there with the children, and he go back and forwards. If Harry and Phyllis May should come home, I suppose their headquarters ^\dll be at Stoneborough ; but still this would be the best j^lace for a family gathering. Moreover, Fergus gets on very nicely at j\Irs. Edgar's, and it would be a pity to disturb liim. On the other hand, I am not sure of the influences of the place upon the ' Christmas Day, 3 P.M. — There came the Waits I suppose, and Jane had to stop and leave me to take up the thread. Poor dear Jenny, the festival days are no days of rest to her, but I am not sure that she would enjoy repose, or that it would not be the worse possible penance to her. She is gone down now to the workhouse with Valetta to take cards and tea and tobacco to the old people, not sending tliem, because she says a few personal wishes and the sight of a bright child will be worth something to the old bodies. Then comes tea for the choir-boys, before Evensong and carols, and after tliat my turn may come for Avhat remains of the even- ing. I must say tlie church is lovely, thanks to your arums and camellias, which j\Iaci-ae brougiit us just in time. It is very unfortunate that Silverfold should be in such a state, but delightful for us if it sends you here ; and this brings me to Jenny's broken thread, which I must sjiin on, tliough I tell her to take warniiig by you, when you so repented having brought Maurice home by jjremature wails about XI LADY MERRIFIELD'S CHRISTMAS LETTER-BAG 125 Dolores, Perhaps impatience is a danger to all of us, and I believe there is such a thing as over-candour. ' What Jane was going to say was that she did not think the place had been good for either of the girls ; but all that would be obviated by your presence. If poor Miss Vincent joins you, now that she is free, you would have your own schoolroom again, and the locality would not make much difference. Indeed, if the Eotherwood party come by the end of tlie holidays, I have very little doubt that Victoria will allow Valetta to join Phyllis and Mysie in the schoolroom, and that would prevent any talk about her removal from the High School. The poor little thing has behaved as well as possible ever since, and is an excellent companion ; Jane is sure that it has been a lesson that will last her for life, and I am convinced that she was under an influence that you can put an end to— I mean that White family. Jane thinks well of the eldest daughter, in spite of her fringe and of her refusal to enter the G.F.S. ; but I have good reason for know- ing that she holds assignations in Mr. White's garden on Sunday afternoons witli young Stebbing, whose mother knows her to be a most artful and dangerous girl, though she is so clever at the mosaic work that there is no getting her discharged. Mrs. Stebbing called to warn us against her, and, as I was the only person at home, told me how she had learnt from Mr. White's housekeeper that this girl comes every Sunday alone to walk in the gardens— she was sure it must be to meet somebody, and they are quite accessible to an active young man on the side towards the sea. He is going in a few days to join the otlier partner at tlie Italian quarries, greatly in order that the connection may be broken off. It is very odd that Jane, generally so acutey should be so blind here. All she said was, "That's just the time Gillian is so bent on mooning in the garden." It is a mere absurdity ; Gillian always goes to the children's service, and besides, she was absent last Sunday, when Miss White was certainly there. But Gillian lends the girl books, and altogetlier patronises her in a manner which is somewliat perplexing to us ; though, as it cannot last long, Jane thinks it better not to interfere before your return to judge for yourself. These young people are members of the Kennel Church congregation, and I had an opportunity of talking to Mr. Flight about them. He says lie had a high opinion of the brother, and hoped to lielp him to some higher education, with a view perhaps to Holy Orders ; but that it was so clearly the youth's duty to support his mother, and it was so impossible for her to get on without his earnings, tliat he (Mr. Flight, I mean) had decided to let him alone that liis stability might be proved, or till some opening offered j and 126 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. of late thei'e had been reason for disappointment, tokens of being unsettled, and reports of meetings with some young woman at his sister's office. It is always the way when one tries to be interested in those half-and-half people, — the essen- tial vulgarity is sure to break out, generally in the spirit of flirtation conducted in an underhand manner. And oh ! that mother ! I write all this because you liad better be aware of the state of things before your return. I am afraid, however, that between us we have not written you a very cheering Christmas letter. ' There is a great question about a supply of water to the town. Much excitement is caused by the expectation of Eotherwood's visit, and it is even said that he is to be met here by the great Wliite himself, wliom I have always regarded as a sort of mythical personage, not to say a harpy, always snatching away every promising family of Jane's to the Italian quarries. ' You will have parted with the dear girls by this time, and be feeling very sad and solitary ; but it is altogether a good connection, and a great advantage. I liave just addressed to Gillian, at Vale Leston, a coroneted envelope, which must be an invitation from Lady Liddesdale. I am very glad of it. Nothing is so likely as such society to raise her above the tone of these Whites. — Your loving A. ]\I.' ' 10.30 P.M.— These Whites ! Eeally I don't think it as bad as Ada supposes, so don't be uneasy, though it is a jjity she has told you so much of the gossip respecting them. I do not believe any harm of that girl Kalliope ; she has such an honest, modest pair of eyes. I dare say she is persecuted by that young Stebbing, for she is very handsome, and he is an odious pupj^y. But as to her assignations in the garden, if they are with any one, it is with Gillian, and I see no harm in them, except that we miglit liave been told — only that would liave rol3bed the entire story of its flavour, I suppose. Besitles, I greatly disbelieve the entire story, so don't be worried about it ! There — as if we had not been doing our best to worry you ! But come liome, dearest old Lily. Gather your chicks under your wing, and when you cluck them together again, all will be well. I don't tliink you will find Valetta disim proved by her crisis. It is curious to hear how she and Gillian both declare that Mysie would have prevented it, as if naughtiness or deceit shrank from that child's very face. *It has been a very liapjjy, successful Christmas r)ay, full of rejoicing. I\Iay you be feeling the same ; that joy has made us one in many a time of separation. — Your faithful old Brownie, J. Mohun.' XI LADY MERRIFIELDS CHRISTMAS LETTER-BAG 127 (Gillian again.) 'RowTiioRi'E, 20//i January. ' Dearest Mamma — This is a Sunday letter. I am writing it in a beautiful place, more like a drawing-room tlian a bed- room, and it is all very grand ; such long galleries, such quantities of servants, so many people staying in the house, that I should feel quite lost but for Geraldine. We came so late last night that there was only just time to dress for dinner at eight o'clock. I never dined with so many people before, and they are all staying in the house. I liave not learnt half of them yet, though Lady Liddesdale, v.ho is a nice, merry old lady, with gray liair, called her eldest grand- daughter, Kitty Somerville, and told her to take care of me, and tell me who they all were. One of them is that Lord Ormersfield, whom Mysie ran against at Eotherwood, and, do you know, I very nearly did the same ; for there is early Celebration at the little church just across the garden. Kitty talked of calling for me, but I did not make sui'e, because I heard some one say she was not to go if she liad a cold ; and, when I heard the bell, I grew anxious and started off, and 1 lost my way, and thought I should never get to the staii's ; but just as 1 was turning back, out came Lord and Lady Ormersfield. He looks quite young, though he is rather lame — I shall like all lame people, for the sake of Geraldine — and Lady Ormersfield has such a motherly face. He laughed, and said I was not the first person who had lost my way in the la.byrinths of passages, so I went on with them, and after all Kitty was liunting for me ! I sat next him at breakfast, and, do you know, he asked me whether I was the sister of a little downright damsel he met at Eotherwood two years ago, and said he had used her truthfulness about the umbrella for a favourite example to his small youngest ! ' When I hear of truthfulness I feel a sort of shock. " Oh, if you knew ! " I am ready to say, and I grow quite hot. That is what I am really writing about to-day. I never had time after that Christmas Day at Vale Leston to do more than keep you up to all the doings ; but I did think : and there were Mr. Harewood's sermons, which had a real sting in them, and a great sweetness besides. I have tried to set some down for you, and that is one reason I did not say more. But to-day, after luncheon, it is very quiet, for Kitty and Constance are gone to their Sunday classes, and the gentlemen and boys are out walking, except Lord Somerville, who has a men's class of liis own, and all the old ladies are either in their rooms, or talking in pairs. So I can tell you 128 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap, xi tliat I see now that I did not go on in n right spirit with Aunt Jane, and that I did poor Val harm by my exainple, and went very near deception, for I did not choose to believe that when you said "If Aunt J. approves," you meant about Alexis White's lessons ; so I never told her or Kalliope, and I perceive now that it was not right towards either ; for Kally was very unhappy about her not knowing. I am very sorry ; I see tliat I was wrong all round, and that I should liave under- stood it before, If I had examined myself in the way Mr. Harewood dwelt upon in his last Sunday in Advent sermon, and never gone on in such a way. ' I am not going to wait for you now, but shall confess it all to Aunt Jane as soon as I go home, and try to take it as my punishment if she asks a terrible number of questions. Perhaps I shall write it, but it would take such a quantity of explanation, and I don't want Aunt Ada to open the letter, as she does any that come while Aunt Jane is out. ' Please kiss my words and forgive me, as you read this, dear mamma ; I never guessed I was going to be so like Dolores. ' Kitty has come to my door to ask if I should like to come and read something nice and Sundayish with them in her grandmamma's dressing-room.— So no more from your loving Gill.' CHAPTER XII TRANSFORMATIONS ' Well, now for the second stage of our guardianship ! ' said Aunt Ada, as tlie two sisters sat over the fire after Valetta had gone to bed. ' Fergus comes back to-morrow, and Gillian — wlien ? ' ' She does not seem quite certain, for there is to be a day or two at Brompton witli this delightful Geraldine, so that she may see her grandmother — also Mr. Clement Underwood's church, and the Merchant of Venice- — an odd mixture of ecclesiastics and dissipations.' ' I wonder whether she will be set up by it.' ' So do I ! They ai^e all remarkably good people ; but then good people do sometimes spoil the most of all, for they are too unselfish to snub. And on tlie other hand, seeing the world sometimes has the wholesome effect of making one feel small ' ' My dear Jenny ! ' 'Oh ! I did not mean you, who are never easily effaced ; but I was thinking of youtliful bumptiousness, fostered by country life and elder sistersliip.' ' Certainly, tliougli Valetta is really much improved, Gil- lian lias not been as pleasant as I expected, especially during the latter part of the time.' ' Query, was it her fault or mine, or the worry of the ex- amination, or all three 1 ' ' Perhaps you did superintend a little too nuicli at first. More than modern independence was prejiared for, tliough I should not have expected recalcitration in a young Lily ; but I think there was more ruffling of temper and more reserve than I can quite understand.' 'It has not been a success. As dear old Lily would ha^-e said, "My dream lias vanished," of a friend in the younger generation, and now it remains to do the best I can for her in tlie few weeks that are left, before we have her dear mother again.' 130 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. 'At any rate, you have no cause to be ti'ouljled about tlie otlier two. Valetta is really the better for her experience, and you have always got on well with the boy.' Fergus was the iirst of the travellers to appear at Rock- stone. Miss Mohun, who went to meet him at the station, beheld a small figure lustily pulling at a great canvas bag, wliich came bumping down the step, assisted by a shove from the other i)assengers, and threatening for a moment to drag him down between platform and carriages. ' Fergus, Fergus, what liave you got there ? Give it to me. How heavy ! ' ' It's a few of my mineralogical specimens,' replied Fergus. ' Harry wouldn't let me put any more into my portmanteau — but the peacock and the dendrum are there.' Already, without special regard to peacock or dendrum, wliatever that article might be, Miss Mohun was claiming the little old military portmanteau, with a great M and 110th painted on it, that held Fergus's garments. He would scarcely endure to deposit the precious bag in the omnibus, and as he walked home his talk was all of ter- tiary formations, and coal measures, and limestones, as he extracted a hammer from his jiocket, and looked perilously disposed to use it on the vein of crystals in a great pink stone in a garden wall. His aunt was obliged to begin by insisting that the walls should be safe from geological investigations. ' But it is such waste, Aunt Jane. Only think of building up such beautiful siDecimens in a stujaid old wall.' Aunt Jane did not debate the question of waste, but assured him that equally precious specimens could be honestly come by ; while she felt i-enewed amusement and pleasure at anything so like the brother Maurice of thirty odd years ago being beside her. It made her endure the contents of the bag being turned out like a miniature rockery for her insi^ection on the floor of the glazed verandah outside the drawing-room, and also try to pacify ^Irs. Mount's indignation at finding the more valuable specimens, or, as she called them, ' nasty stones ' and bits of dirty coal, witliin his socks. Much more information as to mines, coal, or copper, was to be gained from him than as to Cousin David, or Harry, or Jasper, who had spent tlie last ten days of liis liolidays at Coalham, which had procured for Fergus the felicity of a second underground expedition. It was left to his maturer judgment and the next move to decide liow many of his specimens were absolutely worthless ; it was only stipulated that lie and Valetta should carry them, all and sundry, up to the lumber-room, and there arrange them as lie cliose ;— Aunt Jane routing out for him a very dull little manual of xir TRANSFORMATIONS 131 mineralogy, and likewise a book of Maria Hack's, long since out of print, but wherein ' Harry Beaufoy ' is instructed in the chief outlines of geology in a manner only perhaps in- ferior to that of Madame How and Ladi/ Why, wliich she reserved for a birthday present. INIeantime Rockstone and its quarries were almost as excellent a field of research as the mines of Coalham, and in a different line. ' How much nicer it is to be a boy than a girl ! ' sighed Valetta, as she beheld her junior marching off with all the dignity of hammer and knapsack to look up Alexis Wliite and obtain access to the lieaps of rubbish, wliich in his eyes held as infinite possibilities as tlie diamond fields of Kim- berley. And Alexis was only delighted to bestow on him any space of daylight when botli were free from scliool or from work, and kept a look-out for the treasures he desired. Of course, out of gratitude to his parents — or was it out of grati- tude to liis sister 1 Perhaps Fergus could liave told, if lie liad paid the slightest attention to such a trifle, how anxiously Alexis inquired when Miss Gillian was expected to return. Moreover, he might liave told that liis otlier model, Stebbing, pronounced old Dick White a beast and a screw, with whom his brother Frank was not going to stop. Gillian came back a fortnight later, having been kept at Rowthorpe, together with Mrs. Grinstead, for a family fes- tival over the double marriage in Ceylon, after whicli she spent a few days in London, so as to see her grandmotlier, Mrs. ]\Ierritield, who was too infirm for an actual visit to be welcome, since lier attendant grandchild, Bessie Merrifield, was so entirely occupied with her as to have no time to bestow upon a guest of more than an hour or two. Gillian was met at the station l)y iier aunt, and wlien all lier belong- ings had been duly extracted, proving a good deal larger in bulk than when she had left Rockstone, and both were seated in the fly to drive home through a dismal February Fill-dyke day, the first words that were sj^oken were — 'Aunt Jane, I ought to tell you something.' Hastily revolving conjectures as to the sulDJectof the com- ing confession, Miss Moliun put herself at lier niece's service. 'Aunt Jane, I know I ought to have told you how mucli 1 was seeing of the Whites last autumn.' ' Indeed, I know you wished to do wliat you could for them.' 'Yes,' said Gillian, finding it easier than she expected. ' You know Alexis wants very much to be i^repared for Holy Orders, and he could not get on by himself, so I liave been running down to Kalliope's office after reading to Lily Giles, to look over liis Greek exercises.' ' Meeting him 1 ' ' Only sometimes. But Kally did not like it. She said you 132 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. ought to know, and that was tlie reason she would not come into the G.F.S. She is so good and honourable, Aunt Jane.' 'I am sure slie is a very excellent girl,' said Aunt Jane warmly. ' But certainly it would have been better to liave these lessons in our house. Does your mother know ] ' ' Yes,' said Gillian ; ' I wrote to her all I was doing, and how I have been talking to Kally on Sunday afternoons through the rails of Mr. White's garden. I thought she could telegrapli if she did not aj^prove ; but she does not seem to have noticed it in my letters, only saying something I could not make out — about '' if you approved." ' ' And is that the reason you have told me ? ' ' Partly ; but I got the letter before the holidays. Ithink it has worked itself up. Aunt Jane, into a sense that it was not the thing. There was Kally, and there was poor Valetta's mess, and her justifying herself by saying I did more for the Whites than you knew, and altogether, I grew sorry I had begun it, for 1 was sure it was not acting honestly towards you, Aunt Jane, and I hope you will forgive me.' Miss Mohun put her arm round the girl and kissed her heartily. ' My dear Gill, I am glad you have told me ! I dai-e say I seemed to worry you, and that you felt as if you were watched ; I will do my very best to help you, if you have got into a scrape. I only want to ask you not to do anything more till I can see Kally, and settle with her the most suitable way of helping the youth.' ' But do you think tliere is a scrajDe, aunt ? I never thought of that, if you foi'gave me.' ' My dear, I see you did not ; and that you told me because you are my Lily's daughter, and have her honest heart. I do not know that there is anytliing amiss, but I am afraid young ladies can't do — well, impulsive things without a few vexa- tions in consequence. Don't be so dismayed ; I don't know of anytliing, and T cannot tell you how glad I am of your having spoken out in this way.' ' I feel as if a load were off my back ! ' said Gillian. And a bar between her and her aunt seemed to ha\'e vanislied, as they drove up the now familiar slope, and under the leafless copper beeches. Blood is thicker than water, and what five months ago had seemed to be exile, had become the lirst step towards home, if not liome itself, for now, like Valetta, she welcomed the sound of her mother's \oice in her aunt's. And tliere were Valetta and Fergus rusliing out, almost under the wheels to ily at her, and Aunt Ada's soft embraces in the hall. The first voice that came out of the mch'e. was Valetta's. 'Gill is grown quite a lady ! ' XII TRANSFORMATIONS 133 'How mucli improved !' exclaimed Aunt Ada. ' The Bachlisch has swum into the river,' was Aunt Jane's comment. ' She'll never be good for anytliing jolly— no scrambling ! ' grumljled P"'ergus. ' Now Fergus ! didn't Kitty Somerville and I scramble when we found the gate locked, and thought we saw the spite- ful stag, and that he was going to run at us 1 ' 'I'm afraid that was rather on compulsion, Gill.' ' It wasn't the spiteful stag after all, but we had such a long way to come home, and got over tlie jiark wall at last by the help of the limb of a tz^ee. We had been taking a bit of wedding-cake to Frank Somerville's old nurse, and Kitty told her I was her maiden aunt, and we had such fun — her uncle's wife's sister, you know.' ' We sent a great piece of our wedding-cake to the Whites,' put in Valetta. 'Fergus and I took it on Saturday after- noon, but nobody was at home but J\Irs. White, and she is fatter than evei'.' ' I say. Gill, which is the best formation. Vale Leston or Rowthorjie 1 ' ' Oh, nobody is equal to Geraldine ; but Kitty is a dear thing.' 'I didn't mean tliat stuff, but wliicli liad the best strata and specimens ? ' 'Geological, he means — not of society,' interposed Aunt Jane. ' Oil yes ! Harry said he had gone geology mad, and I really did get you a bit of something at Vale Leston, Fergus, that INIr. Harewood said was worth having. Was it an en- crinite ? I know it was a stone-lily ' 'An encrinite ? Oli, scrumptious ! ' Then ensued such an unpacking as only falls to the lot of home -comers from London, within the later precincts of Christmas, gifts of marvellous contrivance and novelty, as well as cheapness, for all and sundry, those reserved for others almost as charming to the beholders as those which fell to their own lot. The box, divided into compartments, transported Fergus as much as the encrinite ; Valetta had a photograph -book, and, more diffidently, Gillian presented Aunt Ada with a graceful little statuette in Parian, and Aunt Jane with the last novelty in baskets. There were appro- priate keepsakes for the maids, and likewise for Kalliope and Maura. Aunt Jane was glad to see that discretion had pre- vailed so as to confine these gifts to the female part of the White family. There were other precious articles in reserve for the absent ; and the display of Gillian's own garments was not without interest, as she had been to lier first ball. 134 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. under tlie chapei'onage of Ludy Somerville, and Mrs. Grin- stead liad made her white tarletan available by painting it and its ribbons with exquisite blue nemophilas, too lovely for anything so fleeting. Mrs. Grinstead and her maid had taken charge of the damsel's toilette at Eowthorpe, had perhaps touched x\p her dresses, and had cei'tainly tauglit her how to ])ut them on, and how to manage her hair, so that though it had not broken out into fringes or tousles, as if it were desirable to imitate savages ' with foreheads marvellous low,' the effect was greatly improved. Tlie young brown-skinned, dark-eyed face, and rather tall figure were tlie same, even the clothes the very .same chosen under her aunt Ada's superintendence, but there was an indescribable change, not so much that of fashion as of distinction, and something of the same inward growth might be gathered from her con\'ersation. All the evening there was a delightful outpouring. Gil- lian had been extremely happy, and considerably reconciled to her sisters' marriages ; but she had been away from home and kin long enough to make her feel her nearness to her aunts, and to appreciate the pleasui'e of describing her enjoy- ment without restraint, and of being with those whose per- sonal family interests were her own, not only sympathetic, like her dear Geraldine's. Tliey were ready for any amount of description, tliough, on the wliole, Miss IMoliun preferred to hear of the Vale Leston chaiities and church details, and Miss Adeline of the Eowthorpe grandees and gaieties, after the children had supped full of the diversions of their own kind at both places, and the deeply interesting jDolitical scraps and descriptions of great men had been given. It had been, said Aunt Jane, a bit of education. Gillian had indeed spent her life witli thoughtful, culti\ated, and superior people ; but the circumstances of her family luid con- fined her to a schoolroom sort of existence e\er since she had reached appreciative years, retarding, thougli not perhaps injuring, her development ; nor did IJockquay society ali'ord much that was elevating, beyond tlie Bureau de Charite that Beechcroft Cottage had become. Details were so much in hand tliat breadtli of princijile might be obscured. At Vale Leston, however-, there was a strong ecclesiastical atmosphere ; but while practical parish detail was thorouglily kept uji, there was a wider outlook, and constant conversa- tion and discussion among superior men, such as the Hai'c- wood brotliers, Lancelot Underwood, Mr. Grinstead, and Dr. j\Iay, on the gi'eat principles and issues of Church and State matters, religion, and morals, together with matters of art, music, and literature, o]iening now vistas to her ; and which sIh! could aftei'wards go (i\er with Mrs. Grinstead and iMiiily XII ■ TRANSFORMATIOXS 135 and Anna Vanderkist with entliusiasm and comprehension. It was something different from grumbling over the number of candles at 8t. Kenelm's, or the defective washing of the St. Andrew's surplices. At Ivowthorpe she had seen and heard people with great historic names, champions in the actual battle. Thei-e had been a constant coming and going of guests during lier three weeks' visit, political meetings, entertainments to high and low, the opening of a public institute in the next town, the exhibition of tableaux in which she had an important shai'e, parties in the evenings, and her first ball. Tlie length of her visit and her connection with the family had made her share the part of hostess with Lady Constance and Lady Katharine Somerville, and she had been closely associated with their intimates, the daughters of these men of great names. Of course there had been plenty of giTlish chatter and merry trifling, perhaps some sharp satirical criticism, and the revela- tions slie had heard had been a good deal of the domestic comedy of political and aristocratic life ; but throughout there had been a view of conscientious goodness, for the young girls who gave a tone to the rest had been carefully brought up, and were earnest and right-minded, accepting representation, gaiety, and hospitality as part of tlie duty of their position, often involving self-denial, though there was likewise plenty of enjoyment. Such glimpses of life had tauglit Gillian more than she yet realised. As has been seen, the atmosphere of Vale Leston had deepened her spiritual life, and the sermons had touched her heart to the quick, and caused self-examination, which had revealed to her the secret of her dissatisfaction witli herself, and her perception was the clearer through her intercourse on entirely equal terms with persons of a high tone of refinement. Tlie immediate fret of sense of supervision and opposition being removed, slie had seen things more justly, and a distaste had grown on her for stolen expeditions to tlie office, and for the corrections of her pupil's exercises. Slie recoiled from the idea that this was the consequence either of having swell friends, or of getting out of her depth in her instructions ; but reluctance recurred, while advance in knowledge of the world made her aware that Alexis White, after hours, in his sister's office, might justly be regaixled by her mother and aunts as an undesii'able scliolar for her, and that his sister's remonstrances ought not to have been scouted. She had done the thing in her simplicity, but it was through her own wilful secretiveness that her ignorance had not been guarded. Thus she had, as a matter of truth, conscience, and repent- 136 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. ance, made the confession which liad been so kindly received as to warm her heart with gratitude to her aunt, and she awoke the next morning to feel freer, happier, and more at home than slie had ever yet done at Rockstone. When the morning letters were opened, they contained the startling news that jNIysie might be expected that very evening, with Fly, the governess, and Lady Eotherwood, — at least that was tlie oixler of precedence in which the party represented itself to the minds of the young Merritields. Primrose had caught a fresh cold, and her uncle and aunt would not part with her till lier mother's return ; but the infection was over with the other two, and sea air was recom- mended as soon as possible for Lady Phyllis ; so, as the wing of the hotel, which was almost a mansion in itself, liad been already engaged, the journey was to be made at once, and the arrival would take place in the afternoon. The tidings Avere most rapturously received ; Valetta jumped on and off all the chairs in the room unchidden, while Fergus shouted, ' Hurrah for Mysie and Fly ! ' and Gillian's lieart felt free to leap. This made it a very busy day, since Lady Eotherwood had begged to have some commissions executed for her before- hand, small in themselves, but, with a scrupulously thorough person, occupying all the time left from otlier needful en- gagements ; so that there was no cliance of the promised conversation witli Kalliope, nor did Gillian trouble herself much about it in her eagerness, and Iiardly heard Fergus announce that Frank Stebbing had come home, and the old boss was coming, ' bad luck to him.' All the three young people were greatly disappointed that their aunts would not consent to their being on the platform nor in front of the hotel, nor even in what its mistress termed the reception-room, to meet tlie tra% ellers. ' Tliere was nothing Lady Eotherwood would dislike more than a rush of you all,' said Aunt Adeline, and tliey had to submit, though Valetta nearly cried when she was dragged in from demonstratively watching at the gate in a Scotch mist. However, in about a quarter of an hour there was a ring at the door, and in anotlier moment Mysie and (iillian were Imgging one another, Valetta hanging round Mysie's neck, Fergus pulling down her arm. The four creatures seemed all wreathed into one like fabulous snakes for some seconds, and wlien they unfolded enough for jNIysie to recollect and kiss her aunts', there certainly" was a taller, better-equipped hgure, but just the same round, good-luimoured countenance, and the fii-st thing, beyond liajipy ejaculations, that she was iieard in a dutiful voice to say was, ' Miss Elbury brouglit xfi- TRANSFORMATIONS 137 me to the door. I may stay as long as my aunts like to have me tliis evening, if you will be so kind as to send some one to see me back.' Great was the jubilation, and many the inquiries after Primrose, who had once been nearly well, but liad fallen back again, and Fly, who, jNIysie said, was quite '^vell and as comical as ever wlien she was well, but quickly tired. She had set out in high spirits, but had been dreadfully weary all tlie latter part of tlie journey, and was to go to bed at once. 8he still coughed, but ]\Iysie was bent on disprovmg Nurse Halfpenny's assurance that the recovery would not be complete till ]May, nor was there any doubt of her own air of perfect healtli. It was an evening of felicitous cliatter, of showing oii Christmas cards, of exchanging of news, of building of scliemes, the most prominent being tliat Valetta should be in tlie constant companionship of Mysie and Fly until her own sclioolroom should be re-established. This had been proposed by Lord Rotherwood, and was what tlie aunts would have" found convenient ; but apparently this had been settled by Lord Rotlierwood and the two little girls, but Lady Rotherwood had not said anything about it, and quoth Mysie, ' Someliow things don't happen till Lady Rotherwood settles them, and then they always do.' ' And sliall I like i\Iiss Elbury ? ' asked Valetta. ' Yes, if— if you take pains,' said Mysie ; ' but you mustn t bother lier with questions in the middle of a lesson, or she tells you not to chatter. She likes to have tliem all kept for the end ; and then, if they aren't foolish, she will take lots of trouble.' 'Oh, I hate that!' said Valetta. 'I shouldn't remember them ; and I like to have done with it. Then she is not like Miss Vincent 1 ' ' Oh no ! She couldn't be dear Miss Vincent ; but, indeed, she is very kind and nice.' ^ _ ' How did you get on altogether, ]\Iysie 1 Wasn't it horrid ? asked Gillian. . , . ■ « ^- ' I was afraid it was going to be horrid,' said _]\Iysie. i ou see, it wasn't like going in holiday time as it was before. We had to be almost always in the schoolroom ; and there were lots of lessons— more for me than Fly.' 'Just like a horrid old governess to slake her thirst on you,' put in Fergus ; and though his aunts shook their heads at him, they did not correct him. 'And one had to sit bolt upright all the time, and never twist one's ankles,' continued JSIysie ; 'and not speak except French and German— good, mind ! It wouldn't do to say, " Lajambe du table est stir mon exercise 1 " ' 138 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. ' Oil, oh I No wonder Fly got ill ! ' 'Fly didn't mind one bit. French and German come as naturally to her as the days of the week ; and they really begin to come to me in the morning now when I see Miss Elbury.' 'But liave you to go on all day?' asked Yaletta discon- solately. ' Oh no ! Not after one o'clock.' 'And you didn't say that mamma thinks it only leads to slovenly bad grammar ? ' said Gillian. 'That would have been imioertinent,' said Mysie ; 'and no one would have minded either.' ' Did you never play ? ' ' We might play after our walk — and after tea ; but it had to be quiet play, not real good games, even before Fly was ill — at least we did have some real games when Primrose cams over, or when Cousin Rotherwood had us down in his study or in the hall ; but Fly got tired, and knocked up very soon even then. ]\Iiss Elbury wanted us always to play battledore and shuttlecock, or Les Graces^ if we couldn't go out.' ' Horrid woman ! ' said Valetta. ' No, she isn't horrid,' said Mysie stoutly ; ' I only fancied her so when she used to say, " Vos coudes, mademoiselle" or '' Redressez-voics" and when slie would not let us whisper ; but really and truly she was very, very kind, and I came to like her very much and see she was not cross — only thought it right.' ' And redressez-vous has been useful, ]\Iysie,' said Aunt Ada ; 'you are as much improved as Gillian.' ' I thought it would be dreadful,' continued Mysie, ' when the grown-ups went out on a round of visits, and we had no drawing - room, and no Cousin llotherwood ; but Cousin Florence came every day, and once she had us to dinner, and that was nice ; and once she took us to Beechcroft to see Primrose, and if it was not hne enough for Fly to go out, she came for me, and I went to her cottages with her. Oh, I did like that! And when the whooping-cough came, you can't think how very kind she was, and Miss Elbury too. They both seemed only to think liow to make me ha])]\v, though I didn't feel ill a bit, excejit when I whooped ; but they seemed so sorry for me, and so pleased that 1 didn't make more fuss. I couldn't, you know, when poor Fly was so ill. And when she grew l)etter, we were all so glad that somehow it made us all like a sort of a kind of a home together, though it could not be that.' Mysi(!'s English had scarcely improved, whatever her French had done ; l)ut Gillian gathered that she hail had far XII • TRANSFORMATIONS 139 more grievances to overcome, and had met tlieni in a very difterent spirit from herself. As to the schooh'oom arrangements, wliicii would have been so convenient to the aunts, it was evident that the matter had not yet been decisively settled, though the child- ren took it for granted. It was pretty to see how j\Iysie was almost devoured by Fergus and Valetta, hanging on either side of lier as she sat, and Gillian, as near as tliey would allow, while the four tongues went on unceasingly. It was only horrid, Valetta said, that INIysie should sleep in a difterent house ; but almost as much of her company was vouchsafed on the ensuing day, Sunday, for ^liss Elbury had relations at Rockquay, and was released for the entire day ; and Fly was still so tired in the morning that she was not allowed to get up early in the day. Her mother, however, came in to go to church with Adeline ]\Iohun, and Gillian, who had heard so much of the great ^Marchioness, was surprised to see a small slight woman, not handsome, and worn -looking about the eyes. At the first glance, she was plainly dressed ; but the eye of a con- noisseur like Aunt Ada could detect the exquisiteness of the material and the taste, and the slow soft tone of her voice ; and every gesture and phrase showed that she had all lier life been in the habit of condescending — in fact, thought Gillian, re\olving her recent experience, though Lady Lid- desdale and all her set are taller, finer-looking people, they are not one bit so grand — no, not that — but so unapproach- able, as I am sure she is. ©he is gracious, while they are just good-natured ! Aunt Ada was evidently jDleased with the graciousness, and highly delighted to have to take this distinguished per- sonage to church. IMysie was with her sisters ; Valetta was extremely anxious to take her to the Sunday clrawing-room class — whether for the sake of showing her to j\Irs. Hablot, or Mrs. Hablot to her, did not appeal*. Gillian was glad to be asked to sit with Fly in the mean- time. It was a suflicient reason for not repairing to the garden, and she hoped that Kalliope was unaware of her return, little knowing of the replies by which Fergus repaid Alexis for his assistance in mineral hunting. She had no desire to transgress Miss ]\Iohun's desire that no further intercourse should take place till she herself had spoken with Kalliope. She found little Phyllis Devereux a great deal taller and thinner than the droll childish being who had been so amus- ing two years before at Silverfold, but eagerly throwing herself into her arms with the same affectionate delight. All the table was spread with pretty books and outlined 140 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. illuminations waiting to be painted, and some really beauti- ful illustrated Sunday books ; but as Gillian touched the first, Fly cried out, ' Oh, don't ! I am so tired of all those things ! And this is such a stupid window. I thought at least I should see the people going to church, and this looks at notliiiig but tlie old sea and a tiresome garden.' 'That is thought a special advantage,' said Gillian, smiling. ' Then I wish some one had it who liked it ! ' ' You Avould not be so near us.' 'No, and that is nice, and very nice for Mysie. How are all the dear beasts at Silverfold — Begum, and all 'I ' ' I am afraid I do not know more about them than Mysie does. Aunt Jane lieard this morning that she must go down there to-morrow to meet the health -man and see what he says ; but she won't take any of us because of the diphtheria and the scarlet fever being about.' ' Oh dear, how horrid those catching tilings are ! I've not seen Ivinglioe all this winter ! Ah ! but they are good sometimes ! If it had not been for the measles, I sliould never have had that most delicious time at Silverfold, nor known ]\Iysie. Now, please tell me all about where you have been, and what you have been doing.' Fly knew some of tlie younger i:)arty that Gillian had met at Eowtliorpe ; but she was more interested in the revels at Vale Leston, and required a precise description of the theatri- cals, or still better, of tlie rehearsals. Never was there a more appreciative audience, of how it all began from Kit Harewood, tlie young sailor, having sent home a lion's skin from Africa, which had already served for tableaux of An- drocles and of Una — how tlie boy element had insisted on fun, and the cliild element on fairies, and how ]\Irs. William Harewood had suggested Michnmmer Kir/Ms Dream, as tlie only combination of the three essentials, lion, fun, and fairy, and pronounced that education had progre.ssed fai- enough for the representation to be ' understanded of the peoiDle,''at least by the Gtli and 7th standards. On the whole, liowever, comprehension seemed to have been bounded by intense admiration of tlie little girl fairies, whom the old women appeared to have taken for angels, for one had declared that to hear little Miss Cherry and ]\Iiss Katie singing their hymns like the angels tliey was, was just like Hea\eii. Slic must have had an odd notion of ' Spotted snakes with double tongues.' Moreover, eflect was added to the said hymns by Uncle Lance beliind the scenes. Then tliere was the account of how it had been at first in- tend(!d that Obcron should be represented by little Sir Adrian, with his Ik'xhy cousin, I'earl Underwood, for his xif TRANSFORMATIONS 141 Titania ; but thougli she was fairy enough for anything, he turned out so stolid, and uttered ' Well met by moonlight, proud Titania,' the only lines he ever learnt, exactly like a lesson, besides crying wlienever asked to study his part, that the attempt had to be given up, and the fairy sovereigns had to be of large size, ]\Ir. Grinstead pronouncing that probably this was intended by Shakespeare, as Titania was a name of Diana, and he combined Grecian nymphs with English fairies. So Gerald Underwood had to combine the part of Peter Quince (including Thisbe) with that of Oberon, and the queen was offered to Gillian. ' But I had learnt Hermia,' she said, ' and I saw it was politeness, so I wouldn't, and Anna Yanderkist is ever so much prettier, besides being used to acting with Gerald. She did look perfectly lovely, asleep on the moss in the scene Mrs. Grinstead painted and devised for her ! There was ' ' Oh ! not only tlie prettiness ; I don't care for that. One gets enough of the artistic, but the fun— the dear 'There was fun enough, I am sure,' said Gillian. 'Puck was Felix — Pearl's brother, you know — eleven years old, so clever, and an awful imp— and he was jVloon besides ; but the worst of it was that his dog— it was a funny rough terrier at the Vicarage— was so furious at the lion, when Adrian was roaring under the .skin, that nobody could hear, and Adrian got frightened, as well he might, and crept out from under it, screaming, and thei-e fell the lion, collapsing flat in the middle of the place. Even Theseus— Major Harewood, you know, wlio had tried to be as grave as a judge, and so polite to the actors— could not stand that interpolation, as he called it, of " the man in the moon— not to say the dog," came down too soon Why, Fly ' For Fly was in such a paroxysm of laughter as to end m a violent tit of coughing, and to bring Lady Pvotherwood in, vexed and anxious. , ^ ' Oil, mother ! it was only— it was only the lion's skin and off went Fly, laughing and coughing again. 'I was telling her about the acting of Midmmmer Xigld's Dream at Vale Leston,' explained Gillian. 'I should not have thought that a suitable subject for the day,' said the Marchioness gravely, and Fly's endeavour to say it was her fault for asking about it was silenced by chok- ing ; and Gillian found herself courteously dismissed in polite disgrace, and, as she felt, not entirely Avithout justice. _ It was a great disappointment that Aunt Jane did not think it well to take any of the young people to their home with her. As she said, she did not believe that they would catch anything ; but it was better to be on the safe side, and 142 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap, xu she fully exj-iectecl that they would spend most of the day with iSIysie and Fly. 'I wisli I could go and talk to Kalliope, my dear,' she said to Gillian ; ' but I am afraid it must wait another day.' 'Oh, never mind,' said Gillian, as they bade each other good-night at their doors : 'tliey don't know that I am come home, so they will not exjDect me.' CHAPTER XIII ST. valentine's day ]\Iiss jNIohun came back in the dark after a long day, for once in her life quite jaded, and explaining that the health-officer and the landlord had been by no means agreed, and that nothing could be done till Sir Jasper came liome and decided whether to retain the house or not. All that she was clear about, and which she had telegraphed to Aden, was, that there must be no going back to Silverfold for the present, and she was pre- pared to begin lodging-hunting as soon as she received an answer. ' And how have you got on 1 ' she asked, thinking all looked rather blank. 'We haven't been to see Fly,' broke out Valetta, 'though she went out on the beach, and Mysie must not stay out after dark, for fear she should cough.' 'Mysie says they are afraid of excitement,' said Gillian gloomily. ' Then you have seen nothing of the others ? ' 'Yes, I have seen Victoria,' said Aunt Adeline, with a meaning smile. ]\Iiss"Mohun went up to take off lier things, and Gillian followed her, shutting the door with ominous carefulness, and colouring all over. 'Aunt Jane, I ouglit to tell you. A dreadful thing has happened ! ' ' Indeed, my dear ! What ? ' ' I have had a valentine.' ' Oh ! ' repressing a certain inclination to laugh at the bathos from the look of horror and shame in the gii'l's eyes. 'It is from that miserable Alexis ! Oli, I know I brought it on myself, and I have been so wretched and so ashamed all day.' 'Was it so very shocking ! Let me see ' 144 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. ' Oh ! I sent it back at once by the post, in an envelope, saying, "Sent by mistake.'' ' But wliat was it like 1 Surely it was not one of the common sliop things ? ' ' Oh no ; there was i-ather a pretty outline of a nymph or muse, or something of that sort, at the top— drawn, I mean— and verses written below, sometliing- about my showing a lodestar of hope, but I barely glanced at it. I hated it too much.' ' I am sorry you were in such a hun-y,' said Aunt Jane. ' No doubt it was a shock ; but I am afraid you have given more pain than it quite deserved.' 'It was so impertinent!' cried Gillian, in astonished, shame-stricken indignation. ' So it seems to you,' said her aunt, ' and it was very bad taste ; but you should remember that this ])oor lad has grown up in a stratum of society where he may hiwe come to regard this as a suitable opportunity of evincing his gratitude, and perhaps it may be very hard upon him to have this work of his ti^eated as an insult.' ' But you would not have liad me keep it and tolerate it V exclaimed Gillian. ' I can hardly tell without having seen it ; but you might have done the thing more civilly, through his sister, or lia\'e let me give it back to him. However, it is too late now ; I will make a point of seeing Kalliope to-morro%y, but in the meantime you really need not be so horribly disgusted and ashamed.' ' I thought he was quite a different sort ! ' 'Perliaps, after all, your thouglits were not wrong; and he only fancied, poor boy, that he liad found a pretty way of thanking you.' This did not greatly comfort CJilliaii, who might prefer feeling tliat she was insulted rather than that she had been cruelly unkind, and might like to blame Alexis rather than herself. And, indeed, in any case, she had sense enough to perceive that this ^■ery unacceptable compliment was the consequence of hei- own act of independence of more experi- enced 1 leads. The next person J\Iiss Mohun met was Fergus, lugging upstairs, step by step, a monstrous lump of stone, into wliich he required her to look and behold a fascinating crevice full of glittering spar. ' Where did you get that, Fergus V 'Up oft' the clift'over the quarry.' 'Are you sure that you may have itT ' Oh yes ; White said I miglit. It's so jolly, auntie ! Frank Stebbing is gone away to the other shop in the Apennines, xiii- ST. VALENTINES DAY 145 where the old boss lives. Wlidt splendiferous specimens he must have the run of ! Our Stebbing says 'tis because Kally White makes eyes at him ; but any way, White has got to do his work while he's away, and go all the rounds to see that things are right ; so I go after him, and he lets me liave just what I like — such jolly crystals.' ' I am sure I liope it is all right.' ' Oh yes, I always ask him, as you told me ; but he is awfully slow and mopy and down in the mouth to-day. Stebbing says he is sweet upon Gill ; but I told him that couldn't" be, White knew better. A general's daughter, indeed ! and Will remembers his father a sergeant.' ' It is very foolish, Fergus. Say no more about it, for it is not nice talk about your sister.' 'I'll lick any one who does,' said Fergus, bumping ]iis stone up another step. Poor Aunt Jane ! There was more to fall on her as soon as the door was finally shut on the two rooms communicating with one another, which the sisters called their own. Mrs. Mount's manipulations of Miss Adeline's rich brown hair were endured with some impatience, while Miss Mohun leant back in her chair in her shawl -patterned dressing-gown, watcliing, with a sort of curious wonder and foreboding, the restlessn'ess tliat proved that something was in store, and meantime somewhat lazily brushing out her own thinner darker locks. ' You are tired. Miss Jane,' said the old serA'ant, using the 13et name in private moments. ' You had better let me do your hair.' ' No, thank you, Fanny ; I have very nearly done,' she said, marking the signs of eagerness on her sister's part. ' Oh, by the bye, did that hot bottle go down to Lilian Giles ? ' ' Yes, ma'am ; Mrs. Giles came up for it.' ' Did she say whether Lily was well enough to see Miss Gillian r Mrs. jNIount coughed a peculiar cough that her mistresses well knew to signify that she could tell tliem sometliing they would not like to liear, if they cliose to ask her, and it was tlie younger who put the question — ' Fanny, did she say anything?' 'Well, Miss Ada, I told her she must be mistaken ; but she stuck to it, though she said she never would have breathed a word if ^liss Gillian had not come back again, but she thought you should know it.' ' KnoAV what 1 ' demanded Jane. 'Well, Miss Jane, she should say 'tis the talk tliat Miss Gillian, when you have thought her reading to the jioor girl, has been running down to the works — and 'tis only the L 146 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. ignorance of them that will talk, but they say it is to meet a young man. She says, Airs. Giles do, that she never would have noticed such talk, but that the young lady did always seem in a hurry, only just reading a chapter, and never stopping to talk to poor Lily after it ; and she has seen her herself going down towards the works, instead of towards home, ma'am. And slie said she could not bear that I'oading to her girl should be made a colour for such doings.' 'Certainly not, if it were as she supposes,' said Miss Mohun, sitting very upright, and beating her own head vigorously with a very prickly brush ; ' but you may tell her, Fanny, that I know all about it, and that her friend is Miss White, who you remember spent an evening here.' Fanny's good-humoured face cleared up. ' Yes, ma'am, I told her that I was quite sure that iliss Gillian would not go for to do anything wrong, and that it could be easy ex- plained ; but people has tongues, you see.' ' You were quite right to tell us, Fanny. Good-night.' ' People has tongues ! ' repeated Adeline, when that ex- cellent i^erson had disappeared. 'Y'es, indeed, they have. But, Jenny, do you really mean to say that you know all about this ? ' ' Y^es, I believe so.' ' Oh, I wish you had been at home to-day when Victoria came in. It really is a serious business.' 'Victoria! What has she to do with if? I should have thouglit her Marchioness -ship quite out of the region of gossip, tliough, for that matter, grandees like it quite as much as otlier people.' 'Don't, Jane ; you know it does concern her through com- panionship for Phyllis, and she was very kind.' ' Oh yes, I can see her sailing in, magnificently kind from her elevation. But how in the world did she manage to pick up all this in the time V said poor Jane, tired and pestered into the shai-jiness of her early youtli. 'Dear Jenny, I wish I had said nothing to-night. Do wait till you are rested.' 'I am not in the least tired, and if I were, do you think I could sleep with this lialf told V ' You said you knew.' ' Tiien it is only about Gillian being so silly as to go down to Miss White's office at the works to look over the boy's Greek exercises.' 'You don't mean tliat you allowed it ! ' ' No ; Gillian's impulsiveness, just like her mothcr'.s, began it, as a little assertion of modern independence ; but while she was away that little step from brook to river brought her to the sense that she had been a goose, and had used me XIII ■ ST. YALEXTIXE S DAY 147 rather unfairly, and so she came and confessed it all to me on the way home from the station the first morning after her return. She says she had written it all to her mother from the first.' ' I wonder Lily did not telegraph to put a stop to it.' _ ' Do you suppose any mother, our poor old Lily especially, can marry a couple of daughters without being slightly frantic? Ten to one she never realised that this precious pupil was bigger than Fergus. But do tell me what my Lady had heard, and how she heard it.' ' You remember that her governess, INIiss Elbury, has con- nections in the place.' ' " The most excellent creature in the world." Oh yes, and she spent Sunday with them. So that was the conductor.' ' I can hardly say that Miss Elbury was to be blamed, considering that she had heard the proposal about Valetta ! It seems that that High School class-mistress, ]Miss INIellon, who had the poor child under her, is her cousin.' ' Oh dear ! ' 'It is exactly Avh at I was afraid of when we decided on keeping Valetta at home. Miss Mellon told all the Ctesar story in plainly the worst light for poor Val, and naturally deduced from her removal that she was the most to bla,me.' ' Whereas it was Miss Mellon herself ! But nobody could expect Victoria to see that, and no douljt she is quite justified in not wishing for the child in her schoolroom ! But, after all, Valetta is only a cluld ; it won't hurt her to have this natural recoil of consequences, and her mother will be at home in three weeks' time. It signifies much more about Gillian. Did I understand you that the gossip about her had reached those august «ars ? ' ' Oh yes, Jane, and it is ever so much worse. That horrid Miss Mellon seems to have told ]\[iss Elbury that Gillian has a passion for low company, that she is always running after the Whites at the works, and has secret meetings with the young man in the garden on Sunday, while his sister carries on her underhand flirtation with another youth, Frank Steb- bing, I suppose. It really was too preposterous, and Victoria said she had no doubt from the first that there was exag- geration, and had told JNIiss Elbury so ; but still she thought Gillian must have been to blame. She was very nice a.bout it, and listened to all my .explanation most kindly, as to Gillian's interest in the Whites, and its having been only the sister that she met, but plainly she is not half convinced. I heard something about a letter being left for Gillian, and really, I don't know whether there may not be more dis- coveries to come. I never felt before the foi-ce of our dear father's saying, aprojws of liotherwood himself, that no one 148 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. knows what it is to lose a father excej^t those who have the care of liis children.' 'Whatever Gillian did was innocent and ladylike, and nothing to be ashamed of,' said Aunt Jane stoutly ; 'of that I am sure. But I sliould like to be equally sure that she has not turned the head of tliat poor foolish young man, without in tlie least knowing what she was about. You sliould have seen her state of mind at his sending her a valentine, which she returned to him, perfectly ferociously, at once ; and that was all the correspondence somebody seems to have smelt out.' ' A valentine ! Gillian must have behaved very ill to ha\e brought that upon herself ! Oil dear ! I wish slie liad never come here ; I wish Lily could have stayed at home, instead of scattering her children about the world. The Rotherwoods will never get over it.' 'Tliat's the least part of the grievance, in my eyes,' said her sister. 'It won't make a fraction of difterence to the dear old cousin Rotherwood ; and as to my Lady, it is always a liking from the teeth outwards.' ' How can you say so ! I am sure she has always been most cordial.' 'Most correct, if you please. Oh, did slie say anything about Mysie 1 ' ' She said nothing but good of ^[ysie ; called lier deliglit- ful, and perfectly good and trustworthy ; said they could never liave got so well tlirough Pliyllis's illness witliout her, and that they only wished to keep her altogether.' ' I dare say, to be humble companion to my little lady, out of the way of her wicked sisters.' ' Jane ! ' ' My dear, I don't think I can stand any more defence of lier just now ! No, she is an admirable woman, I know. That's enough. I really must go to bed, and consider which is to be faced first, she or Kalliope.' It was lucky that Miss Mohun could exist without much sleep, for she was far too much worried for any length of slumber to visit her tliat night, thougli slie was afoot as early as usual. She thought it best to tell Gillian that Lady Rotherwood had heard some foolish reports, and that she was going to try to clear them up, and she extracted an explicit account as to what the extent of her intercourse witli the Whites had been, which was given willingly, Gillian beii'.g in a very liumble frame, and convinced that she had acted foolishly. It surprised her likewise that Aunt Adeline, whom she had liked the best, and thouglit the most good- natured, was so much more angiy with her than Aunt -lane, who, as she felt, forgave her thoroughly, and was only anxious to help her out of the scrajie she had made for her.self. xiir ■ ST. VALENTINE'S DAY 149 Miss ]\foliun thought her best time for seeing Kalliope would be in the dinner-hour, and started accordingly in the direction of the marble works. Not far from them she met that young person walking quickly with one of her little brothers. ' I was coming to see you,' Miss Mohun said. ' I did not know that you went home in the middle of the day.' ' My mother has been so unwell of late that I do not like to be entirely out of reach all day,' returned Kalliope, who certainly looked worn and sorrowful ; ' so I manage to run home, though it is but for a quarter of an hour.' 'I will not delay you, I will walk with you ;' and when Petros had been dismissed, 'I am afraid my niece has not been quite the friend to you that she intended.' ' Oh, jNIiss ]Moliun, do you know all about it 1 It is such a relief ! I have felt so guilty towards you, and yet I did not know what to do.' 'I have never thought that the concealment was your fault,' said Jane. ' I did think at first that you knew,' said Kalliope ; ' and when I found that was not the case, I suppose I should have insisted on your being told ; but I could not bear to seem ungrateful, and my brotlier took such extreme delight in his lessons and Miss Merrilield's kindness, that — that I could not bear to do what might prevent them. And now, poor fellow, it shows how wrong it was, since he has ventured on that unfortunate act of presumption, which has so offended her. Oil, i\Iiss Mohun, he is quite broken-hearted.' ' I am afraid Gillian was very discourteous. I was out, or it should not have been done so unkindly. Indeed, in the shock, Gillian did not recollect that she might be giving pain.' ' Yes, yes ! Poor Alexis ! He has not had any opportunity of understanding how different things are in your class of life, and he thought it would show his gratitude and — and Oh, he is so miserable ! ' and she was forced to stop to wipe away her tears. ' Poor fellow ! But it was one of those young men's mis- takes that are got over and outgrown, so you need not grieve over it so much, my dear. My brother-in-law is on his way home, and I know he means to see what can be done for Alexis, for your father's sake.' ' Oh, Miss Mohun, how good you are ! I thought you could never forgive us. And people do say such shocking things.' ' I know they do, and therefore I am going to ask you to tell me exactly what intercourse there has been with Gillian.' Kallioiie did so, and Miss Mohun was struck with tlie 150 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. complete accordance of the two accounts, and likewise by the total absence of all attempt at self -justification on Miss White's part. If she had in any way been weak, it had been against her will, and her position had been an exceedingly difficult one. She spoke in as guarded a manner as possible ; but to such acute and experienced ears as those of her auditor, it was impossible not to perceive that, while Gillian had been absolutely simple, and unconscious of all but a kind act of patronage, the youth's imagination had taken fire, and he had become her ardent worshipper ; with calf- love, lao doubt, but with a distant, humble adoration, which had, whether fortunately or unfortunately, for once found expression in the valentine so summarily rejected. The drawing and the composition had been the work of many days, and so much against his sister's protest that it had been sent without her knowledge, after she had thought it given up. She had only extracted the confession through his uncontrollable despair, which made him almost unfit to attend to his increased work, perhaps by his southern nature exaggerated. 'Tlie stronger at first, the sooner over,' thought Miss ]\Iohun ; but she knew that consolation betraying her com- prehension would not be safe. One further discovery she made, namely, that on Sunday, Alexis, foolish lad, had been so wildly impatient at their having had no notice from Gillian since her return, that he had gone to the garden to explain, as he said, his sister's non-aiDpearance there, since she was detained by her mother's illness. It was the only time he had ever been there, and he had met no one ; but Miss Mohun felt a sinking of heart at the foreboding that the mauvaises langues would get hold of it. The only thing to be decided on was that there must be a suspension of intercourse, at any rate, till Lady Merrifield's arrival ; not in unkindness, but as best for all. And, indeed, Kalliope had no time to spare from her mother, whose bloated appearance, i^oor woman, was the effect of long-standing disease. Tlie daughter's heart was very full of her, and evidently it would have been a comfort to discuss her condition witli this kind friend ; but no more delay was possible ; and Miss Mohun had to speed home, in a quandary how much or iiow little about Alexis's hopeless passion should be connnunicatcd to its object, and finally deciding that Gillian had better only be informed that he had been greatly mortified by the rude manner of rejection, but that the act itself proved that she must abstain from all renewal of the intercourse till her parents should return. XIII ST. valentine's day 151 But tliat was not all the worry of tlie day. iliss Moliun had still to confront Lady Rotherwood ; and, going as soon as the early dinner was over, found the i\[archioness resting after an inspection of houses in Eockquay. She did not like hotels, slie said, and she thought the top of the clifi' too bleak for Phyllis, so that they must move nearer the sea if the place agreed with her at all, which was doubtful. _ Miss Mohun\vas pretty well convinced that the true objection was the neighbourliood of Beeclicroft Cottage. 8he said slie had come to give some explanation of what had been said to her sister yesterday. ' Oh, my dear Jane, Adeline told me all about it yesterday. I am very sorry for you to have had such a charge ; but what could you expect of girls cast about as they have been, always with a marcliing regiment 1 ' ' I do not tliink ]\Iysie has given you any reason to think her ill brought up.' 'A little uncouth at fir.st ; but that was all. Oh, no! Mysie is a dear little girl. I should be very glad to have her with Phyllis altogether, and so would Piotherwood. But she was very young when Sir Jasper retired.' ' And Valetta was younger. Poor little girl ! She was naughty ; but I do not think she understood the harm of what she was doing.' Lady Piotherwood smiled. ' Perhaps not ; but she must have been deeply involved, since she was the one amongst all the guilty to be expelled.' ' Oh, Victoria ! Was that what you heard 1 ' ' ;Miss Elbury heard it from the governess she was under. Surely she was the only one not permitted to go up for the examination and removed.' ' True, but that was our doing— no decree of the High School. Her own governess is free now, and her mother on her way, and we thought .slie had better not begin another term. Yes, Victoria, I quite see that you might doubt her fitness to be much with Phyllis. I am not asking for that— I shall try to get her own governess to come at once ; but for the child's sake and her mother's I should like to get this cleared up. May I see ]Miss Elbury V ' Certainly ; but I do not think you will find that she has exaggerated, though of course her informant may have done so.' oNIiss Elbury was of tlie older generation of governesses, motherly, kind, but rather prim and precise, the accomplislied element' being supplied with diplomaed foreigners, who, since Lady Phyllis's failure in health, had been dispensed with. She was a good and sensible woman, as Jane could see, in spite of theannoyance her report liad occasioned, and it was 152 15EECHCR0FT AT IIOCKSTOXE char impossible not to assent when slie said .slie had felt obliged, under tlie circumstances, to mention to Lady Eotherwood what her cousin had told her. 'About both my nieces,' said Jane. 'Yes, I quite under- stand. But, though of course the little one's afFair is the least important, we had better get to tlie bottom of that first, and I should like to tell you what really happened.' She told her story, and how Valetta had been tempted and then bullied into going beyond the first peeps, and finding she did not produce the impression she wished, she begged Miss Elbury to talk it over with the head-mistress. It was all in the telling. Miss Elbury's young cousin, Miss INIellon, had been brought under rebuke, and into great danger of dismissal, through Valetta ]\Ierrifield's lapse ; and it was no wonder that she had warned her kinswoman against 'the horrid little deceitful thing,' who had done so much harm to the whole class. ' Miss Moliun was running about over the whole place, but not knowing what went on in her own house ! ' And as to Miss White, INIiss Elbury mentioned at last, though with some reluctance, that it was believed that she had been on the point of a private marriage, and of going to Italy with young Stebbing, when her machinations were detected, and he was forced to set oft' without her. With this in her mind, the governess could not be expected to accept as satisfactory what was not entire confutation or contradiction, and ]\Iiss Mohun saw that, politely as she was listened to, it was all only treated as excuse, since there could be no denial of Gillian's folly, and it was only a ques- tion of degree. And, provoking as it was, the disappointment might work well for Valetta. The allegations against Gillian were a far more serious affair, but much more of these could be absol- utely disproved and contradicted ; in fact, all that Miss Mohun herself thought very serious, i.e. the flirtation element, was shown to be absolutely false, both as regarded Gillian and Kalliope; but it was quite another thing to convince people wlio knew none of the parties, when there was the residuum of truth undeniable, that there had been secret meetings not only with the girl, but the youth. To acquit Gillian of all but modern independence and impi-udent philanthropy was not easy to any one wdio did not under- stand her character; and though Lady Rotherwood said nothing more in the form of censure, it was evident that she was unconvinced that Gillian was not a fast and flighty girl, and that she did not desire more contact than was necessary. No doubt she wished herself farther otl'! Lord ]u>tlu'r- wood, slie said, was coming down in a day or two, when he could get away, and then they .should decide whether to take XIII ST. VALENTIKE S DAY 153 a house or to go abroad, which, after all, miglit be the best thing for Phyllis. 'He will make all the difference,' .said Miss Adeline, when the unsatisfactory conversation was reported to her. 'I don't know ! But even if he did, and I don't think lie will, I won't have A^aletta waiting for his decision and admitted on sufferance.' ' Shall you send her back to school ? ' ' No. Poor Miss Vincent is free, and quite ready to come here. Fergus shall go and sleep among his fossils in the lumber-room, and I will -write to her at once. She will be much better here than waiting at Silverton, though the Hacketts are very kind to her.' ' Yes, it will be better to be independent. But all this is very unfortunate. However, Victoria will see for herself what the children are. She has asked me to take a drive with her to-morrow if it is not too cold.' 'Oh yes, she is not going to make an estrangement. Vou need not fear that, Ada. She does not think it your fault.' Aunt Jane pondered a little as to what to say to the two girls, and finally resolved that Valetta had better be told that she was not to do lessons with Fly, as her behaviour had made Lady Ptotherwood doubt whether she was a good companion. Valetta stamped and cried, and said it was very hard and cross when she had been so sorry and every one had forgiven her ; but Gillian joined heartily with Aunt Jane in trying to make the child understand that conse- quences often come in spite of pardon and repentance. To Gillian herself, Aunt Jane said as little as possible, not liking even to give the veriest hint of the foolish gossip, or of the extent of poor Alexis White's admiration ; for it was enough for the girl to know that concealment had brought her under a cloud, and she was chiefly concerned as to how her mother would look on it. She had something of Aunt Jane's impatience of patronage, and i^erhaps thought it snobbish to seem concerned at the great lady's dis- pleasure. Mysie was free to run in and out to her sisters, but was still to do her lessons with Miss Elbui'y, and Fly took up more of her time than the sisters liked. Neither she nor Fly were formally told why their castles vanished into empty air, but there certainly was a continual disappointment and fret on both sides, which Fly could not bear as well ao when she was in high health, and poor Mysie's loving heart often found it hard to decide between her urgent claims and those of Valetta ! But was not mamma coming 1 and papa ? Would not all 154 P.EFX'HCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE ciiai>. xiii be well then? Yes, hearts might bound at the thought. But where was Gillian's great thing? ]\riss Vincent's coming was really like a beginning of home, in spite of her mourning and depressed look. It was a great consolation to the lonely woman to find how all her pupils flew at her, with infinite delight. 8he had taken pains to bring a report of all the animals for Valetta, and she duly admired all Fergus's geological si^ecimens, and even undertook to print labels for them. Mysie would have liked to begin lessons again Avith her ; but tliis would have been hard on Fly, and besides, her mother had committed her to the Rotherwoods, and it was better still to leave her with them. The aunts were ready with any amount of kindness and .sympathy for the governess's bereavement, and her presence was a considerable relief in the various perj^lexities. Even Lady Rotlierwood and ]\Iiss Elbury had been con- vinced, and by no means unwillingly, that Gillian had been less indiscreet than had been their first impression ; but she had been a young lady of the period in her independence, and was therefore to be dreaded. No more garden trystes would have been possible under any circumstances, for the house and garden were in full preparation for the master, who was to meet Lord Eotherwood to consult about the pro- posed water-works and other designs for the benefit of the town where they were the chief landowners. CHAPTER XIV THE PARTNER The expected telegram arrived two days later, requesting Miss ]Mohun to liiid a lodging at Eockstone sufficient to contain Sir Jasper and Lady Merrilield, and a certain amount of sons and daughters, while they considered what was to be done about Silverfold. ' So you and I will go out house-hunting, Gillian 1 ' said Aunt Jane, when she had opened it, and the exclamations were over. ' I am afraid there is no house large enough uj) here,' said her sister. ' No, it is an unlucky time, in the thick of the season.' 'Victoria said she had been looking at some houses in Bellevue.' ' I am afraid she will have raised the prices of them.' ' But, oh, Aunt Jane, we couldn't go to Bellevue Church ! ' cried Gillian. ' Your mother would like to be so near the daily services at the Kennel,' said Miss Mohun. 'Yes, we must begin with those houses. There's nothing up here but Sorrento, and I have heard enough of its deficiencies ! ' At that moment in came a basket of game, gra] es, and flowers, with Lady Eotherwood's compliments. ' Solid pudding,' muttered ]\Iiss Mohun. ' In this case, I should almost prefer empty i^raise. Look here, Ada, what a hamper Ihey must liave had from home ! I think I shall, as I am going that way, take a pheasant and some grapes to the poor Queen of tlie White Ants ; I believe she is really ill, and it will show that we do not want to neglect tliem.' ' Oh, thank you. Aunt Jane ! ' cried Gillian, the colour rising in her face ; and she was tlie willing bearer of the basket as she walked down the steps with her aunt, and along tlie esplanade, only pausing to review the notices of palatial, rural, and desirable villas in the house-agent's 156 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. window, and to consider in what proiDortion their claims to perfection might be reduced. As they turned down Ivinglioe Terrace, and were approach- ing the rusty garden-gate, they overtook Mrs. Lee, the wife of the organist of St. Kenelm's, who lodged at Mrs. ^Y]lite's. In former times, before her marriage, Mrs. Lee had been a Sunday-school teacher at St. Andrew's, and though party spirit considered her to have gone over to the enemy, there were old habits of friendly confidence between her and Miss Mohun, and there was an exchange of friendly greetings and inquiries. Wlien she understood their errand she rejoiced in it, saying that poor ]\Irs. White was very poorly, and rather fractious, and that this supply would be most welcome both to her and her daughter. 'All, I am afraid that poor girl goes through a great deal ! ' ' Indeed she does. Miss Mohun ; and a better girl never lived. I cannot think how she can bear up as she does ; there she is at the ofiice all day with her woi'k, except when she runs home in the middle of the day — all that distance to dish up something her mother can taste, for there's no dependence on the girl, nor on little Maura neither. Then she is slaving early and late to keej:) the house in order as well as she can, when her mother is fretting for her atten- tion ; and I believe she loses more than half her night's I'est over the old lady. How she bears up, I cannot guess ; and never a cross word to her mother, who is such a trial, nor to the boys, but looking after their clothes and their lessons, and keei^ing them as good and nice as can be. I often say to my liusband, I am sux'e it is a lesson to live in the house with her.' 'I am sure she is an excellent girl,' said Miss Mohun. 'I wish we could do anything to help her.' ' I know you are a real friend. Miss Mohun, and never was there any young person who was in greater need of kind- ness ; though it is none of her fault. She can't help her face, poor dear ; and she has never given any occasion, I am sure, but has been as guarded and correct as possible.' 'Oh, I was in hopes that annoyance was suspended at least for a time ! ' ' You are aware of it then, Miss IMohun ? Yes, the young gentleman is come back, not a bit daunted. Yesterday even- ing what does he do but drive up in a cab with a great bouquet, and a basketful of grapes, and what not ! Poor Kally, she ran in to me, and begged me as a favour to come downstairs with her, and I could do no less. And I assure you, ]\riss Mohun, no queen could be more dignified, nor more modest tlian she was in rejecting his gifts, and keeping XIV • THE PARTNER 157 him in check. Poor dear, when he was gone she burst out crying — a thing I never knew of her before ; not that she cared for him, but she felt it a cruel wrong to her poor mother to send away tlie grapes she longed after ; and so she will feel these just a providence.' ' Then is Mrs. White contined to her room 1 ' ' For more than a fortnight. For that matter the thing was easier, for she had encouraged the young man as far as in her lay, poor thing, thougli my husband and young Alexis both told her what they knew of him, and that it would not be for Rally's happiness, let alone the offence to his father.' ' Then it really went as far as that 1 ' 'Miss jNIohun,! would be silent as the grave if I did not know that the old lady went talking here and there, never thinking of the harm she was doing. She was so carried away by the idea of making a lady of Rally. She says she was a beauty herself, though you would not think it now, and slie is perfectly puffed up about Kally. So she actually lent an ear when the young man came persuading Kally to get married and go off to Italy with him, where he made sure he could come over Mr. White with her beauty and relation- ship and all — among the myrtle groves— that was his expres- sion — where she would have an association worthy of her. I don't quite know how he meant it to be brought about, but he is one who would stick at nothing, and of course Kally would not hear of it, and ansv/ered him so as one would think he would never have had the face to address her again • but poor Mrs. W^hite has done nothing but fret over it, and blame her daugliter for undutifulness, and missing the chance of making all their fortunes — breaking her heart and her health, and 1 don't know what besides. She is half a foreigner, you see, and does not understand, and she is worse than no one to tliat poor girl.' 'And you say he is come back as bad as ever.' ' Or worse, you may say, ]\Iiss ]\Iohun ; absence seems only to have set him the more ui:)on her, and I am afraid that Mrs. White's talk, though it may not have been to many, has been enough to set it about the place ; and in cases like that, it is always the poor young woman as gets the blame^ especially with the gentleman's own jDeople.' 'I am afraid so.' 'And you see she is in a manner at his mercy, being son to one of the heads of the firm, and in a situation of authority.' ' What can she do all day at the office 1 ' ' She keeps one or two of the other young ladies working with her,' said Mrs. Lee ; ' but if any change could be made, it would be very happy for her ; though, after all, I do not 158 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. see liow she could leave this place, the house being family property, and ^Nlr. White tlieir relation, besides that ^Irs. White is in no state to move ; but, on the other hand, Mr. and ^Irs. Stebbing know their son is after lier, and the lady would not stick at believing or saying anything against her, thougli I will always bear witness, and so will Mr. Lee, that never was there a more good, right-minded young woman, or more prudent and guarded.' SSo would Mr. Flight and his mother, I have no doubt.' 'Mr. Flight would, Miss JNIohun, but' — with an odd look — ■' I fancy my lady thinks poor Kally too handsome for it to be good for a young clergyman to have nmch to say to her. They have not been so cordial to them of late, but that is partly owing to poor jVIrs. Wliite's foolish talk, and in part to young Alexis having been desultory and mopy of late — not taking the interest in his music he did. Mr. Lee says he is sure some young woman is at the bottom of it.' Miss Mohun saw her niece's ears ci'imson under her hat, and was afraid Mrs. Lee would likewise see them. They had reached the front of the house, and she made liaste to take out a visiting-card and to beg Mrs. Lee kindly to give it with the basket, saying that she would not give trouble by coming to the door. And then she turned back with Gillian, who was in a strange tumult of shame and consternation, yet witlial, fuel- ing that first strange thrill of young womanhood at finding itself callable of stirring emotion, and too much overcome by these strange sensations — above all by the shock of shame — to be able to utter a word. I must make light of it, but not too light, thought IMiss Mohun, and she broke the ice by saying, ' Poor foolish boy— ' ' Oh, Aunt Jane, what shall I do ? ' ' Let it alone, my dear.' ' But that I should have done so much harm and upset him so' — in a voice betraying a cei'tain sense of being fiat- tered. ' Can't I do anylliing to undo it ? ' ' Certainly not. To be perfectly quiet and do nothing is all you can do. ]\Iy dear, boys and young men have such foolish fits--more in tliat station than in ours, because they Jiave none of the public school and college life which keeps ])80i:)le out of it. You were tlie first lady tliis poor fellow was brouglit into contact with, and — well, you were rather a goose, and he lias been a greater one; but if he is let alone, he will recover and come to his senses. I could tell you of men who liave liad dozens of such fits. I am much more in- terested about his sister. What a noble girl slie is ! ' 'Oh, isn't she, Aunt Jane. Quito a real heroine! And XIV . THE PARTNER 159 now mamma is coming, slie will know what to (lo foi- her ! ' 'I liope she will, but it is a most perplexing case alto- gether.' 'And that horrid young Stebbing is come back too. I am glad she has that nice Mrs. Lee to help her.' 'And to defend her,' added Miss Mohun. 'Her testimony is worth a great deal, and I am glad to know where to lay my hand upon it. And here is our first house, "Zf.s liockers." For Madame de tSevigne's sake, I hoj^e it will do ! ' But it didn't ! ]\Iiss ]Mohun got no farther than the hall before she detected a scent of gas ; and they had to betake themselves to the next vacant abode. The investigating nature had full scope in the various researches that she made into parlour, kitchen, and hall, desperately wearisome to Gillian, whose powers were limited to considering how the family could sit at ease in the downstair rooms, how they could be stowed away in tlie bedrooms, and where there were the prettiest views of the bay. Aunt Jane, becoming afraid that while she was literally ' ferreting ' in the offices Gillian might be meditating on her conquest, picked up the first cheap book that looked innocently sensational, and left her to study it on various sofas. And when daylight failed for inspections, Gillian still had reason to rejoice in the pastime devised for her, since there was an endless discussion at the agent's, over the only two abodes that could be made avail- able, as to prices, repairs, time, and terms. They did not get away till it was quite dark and the gas lighted, and Miss Mohun did not tliink the ascent of the steps desirable, so that they went round by tlie street. 'I declare,' exclaimed Miss Mohun, 'there's IMr. White's house lighted up. He must be come ! ' ' I wonder whether he will do anj^thing for Kalliope,' sighed Gillian. ' Oh, Jenny,' exclaimed Miss Adeline, as the two eiitered the drawing-room. ' You have had such a loss ; Rotherwood has been here waiting to see you for an hour, and such an agreeable man he brought with him ! ' ' Who could it have been 'i ' ' I didn't catch his name Ivotherwood was mumbling in his quick way — indeed, I am not sure he did not think I knew him. A distinguished-looking man, like a picture, with a fine white beard, and he was fresh from Italy ; told me all about the Candval and the curious ceremonies in the country villages.' ' From Italy 1 It can't have been i\Ir. White.' ' Mr. White ! My dear Jane ! this was a gentleman — quite a grand-looking man. He might liave been an Italian noble- man, only he spoke English too well for that, though I 160 REECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. believe those cliplomates can speak all languages. However, you will see, for we are to go and dine with them at eight o'clock — you, and I, and Gillian.' ' You, Ada ! ' ' Oh ! I have ordered the chair round ; it won"t hurt me with the glasses up. Gillian, my dear, you must put on the white dress that Mrs. Grinstead's maid did up for you — it is quite simple, and I should like you to look nice ! Well — oli, liow tired you both look ! Ring for some fresh tea, Gillian. Have you found a house ? ' So excited and occupied was Adeline that tlie house-hunt- in,g seemed to have assumed quite a subordinate place in her mind. It really was an extraordinary thing for her to dine out, thougli this was only a family party next door ; and she soon sailed away to liold counsel with ^Irs. JSIount on dresses and wraps, and to get her very beautiful hair dressed. She made by far the most imposing appearance of the tlu-ee when they shook themselves out in the ante-room at the hotel, in her softly-tinted sheeny pale-gray dress, with pearls in her hail', and two beautiful blush roses in her bosom ; while her sister, in black satin and coral, somehow seemed smaller than ever, probably from being tired, and from tlie same cause Gillian had dark marks under her brown eyes, and a much more limp and languid look than was lier wont. Fly was seated on her father's knee, looking many degrees better and brighter, as if his presence Avere an elixir of life ; and when he put hsr down to greet the arrivals, both she and ^lysie si^rang to Gillian to ask the result of tlie quest of houses. The distinguished friend was there, and was talking to Lady Kotherwood about Italian progress, and there was only time for an inquiry and reply as to the success of the search for a house before dinner was announced — the little girls disappeared, and the Marquess gave his arm to his eldest cousin. ' Grand specimen of marble, isn't he ? ' lie muttered. 'Ada hasn't tlie least idea who he is. She thinks him a great diplomate,' communicated Jane in return, and her arm received an ecstatic squeeze. It was amusing to Jane ^loluin to see how much like a dinner at Rotherwood this contrived to be, witli my lady's own footman, and my lord's valet waiting in state. She agreed mentally with her sister that the other guest was a very fine-looking man, with a picturesque head, and he did not seem at all out of place or ill-at-ease in the comi^any in which he found himself. Lord Rotherwood, with a view, perhaps, to prolonging Adeline's mystification, turned the conversation to Italian politics, and the present condition and the industries of the i)eo2-)le, on all of Mhich subjects XIV THE TARTXER 161 much ready information was given in fluent, good English, with perhaps ratlier unnecessarily fine words. It was only towards the end of the dinner that a personal experience was mentioned about the impossibility of getting work done on great feast days, or of knowing wliich were the greater — and the great dislike of the peasant niind to new methods. When it came to 'At first, I had to superintend every blasting with gelatine,' the initiated were amused at the expression of Adeline's countenance, and the suppressed start of friglitful conviction that quivered on her eyelids and the corners of her mouth, though kept in check by good breed- ing, and then smoothed out into a resolute complacency, which convinced her sister tliat having inadvertently exalted the individual into the category of the distinguished, she meant to abide staunchly by her first impression. Lady llotherwood, like most great ladies in public life, was perfectly well accustomed to have all sorts of people brought home to dinner, and would have been far less aston- islied than her cousins at sitting down with her grocer ; but she gave the signal rather early, and on reaching the sitting- room, wliere ^Nliss Elworthy was awaiting them, said — 'We will leave them to discuss their water-works at their ease. Certainly residence abroad is an excellent education.' ' A very superior man,' said x\deline. ' Those self-made men always are.' 'In the nature of things,' added Miss Mohun, 'or they would not have mounted.' ' It is the appendages that ai'e distressing,' said Lady Eotherwood, ' and they seldom come in one's way. Has this man left any in Italy ? ' ' Oh no ; none alive. He took his wife there for her health, and that was the way he came to set up his Italian quarries ; but she and his child both died there long ago, and he has never come back to this jjlace since,' explained Ada. ' But he has relations here,' said Jane. ' His cousin was an officer in Jasj^er Merrifield's regiment.' She hoped to have been saying a word in the cause of the young people, but she regretted her attempt, for Lady Rother- wood replied — 'I have heard of them. A very undeserving family, are they not 1 ' Gillian, whom Miss Elworthy was trying to entertain, heard, and could not help colouring all over, face, neck, and ears, all the more for so much hating the flush and feeling it observed. Miss JNIohun's was a very decided, ' I should have said quite the reverse.' 162 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. 'Indeed ! Well, I heard the connection lamented, for his sake, by — what was lier name ? Mrs. Stirling— or ' 'Mrs. Stebbing,' said AdeUne. 'You don't mean tliat she has actually called on you 1 ' 'Is there any objection to her?' asked Lady Eotherwood, with a glance to see whether the girl was listening. ' Oil no, no ! only he is a mere mason — or quarryman, who has grown rich,' said Adeline. The hostess gave a little dry laugh. ' Is that all ? I thought you had some reason for disap- proving of her. I thought her rather sensible and pleasing.' Cringing and flattering, thought Jane ; and that is just what these magnificent ladies like in the wide field of in- feriors. But aloud she could not help saying, ' ]\Iy principal objection to Mrs. Stebbing is that I have always thought her rather a gossip— on the scandalous side.' Then, bethinking herself that it would not be well to pursue tlie subject in Gillian's presence, she explained where the Stebbings lived, and asked how long Lord Eotherwood could stay. ' Only over Sunday. He is going to look over the place to-morrow, and next day there is to be a public meeting about it. I am not sure that we shall not go with Inm. I do not think the place agrees with Phyllis.' The last words were spoken just as the two gentlemen had come in from the dining-room, rather sooner than was ex- pected, and they were taken up. ' Agrees with Phyllis ! She looks pounds— nay, hundred- weights better than when we left home. I mean to liaye her down to-morrow on the beach for a lark— castle -building, paddling— with Mysie and Val, and Fergus and all. That's what would set her up Ijest, wouldn't it, Jane ?' Jane gave a laughing as.sent, wondering how much of this would indeed prove castle-building, tliough adding that Fer- gus was at school, and that it was not exactly the time of year for paddling. ' Oh, ah, eh ! Well, perhaps not— forestalling sweet St Valentine— stepping into their nests they paddled. Though St Valentine is past, and I thought our fortunes had been made, Mr. White, by calling this the English Naples, and what not.' * Tliose are the puffs, my lord. There is a good deal ot difference even between this and Rocca ]\Iarina, which is some way up the mountain.' ' It must be very beautiful,' said Miss Ada. 'Well, Miss ISIohun, people do say it is striking.' And he was drawn into describing the old Italian mansion, purchased on tlie extinction of an ancient family of nobles, perched up on the side of a mountain, whose feet the sea laved, with a XIV • THE PARTNER 163 terrace whence there was a splendid view of the Gulf of Genoa, and tine slopes above and below of chestnut-trees and vineyards ; and therewith he gave a hearty invitation to the company present to visit him tliere if ever they went to Italy, when he would have great pleasure in showing them many bits of scenery, and curious remains that did not fall in the way of ordinary tourists. Lady Piotherwood gratefully said she should remember the invitation if they went to the south, as perhaps they should do that very spring. 'And,' said Ada, 'you are not to be expected to remain long in this climate when you have a home like that awaiting you.' ' Don't call it home, Miss Mohun,' he said. ' I have not had that these many years ; but I declare, the first sound of our county dialect, when I got out at the station, made my heart leap into my mouth. I could have shaken hands with the fellow.' ' Then I hope you will remain here for some time. There is much wanting to be set going,' said Jane. ' So I thought of doing, and I had out a young fellow, who I thought might take my place— my partner's son, young Stebbing. They wrote that he had been learning Italian, with a view to being useful to me, and so on ; but when lie came out, what was he but a fine gentleman — never had put his hand to a pick, nor a blasting-iron ; and as to his Italian, he told me it was the Italian of Alfieri and Leopardi. Leo- pard's Italian it might be, for it was a very mottled or motley tongue, but he might as well have talked English or Doubie-Dutcli to our hands, or better, for they had picked up tlie meaning of some orders from me before I got usedto their lingo. And then he says 'tis office work and superin- tendence he understands. How can you superintend, I told him, what you don't know yourself 1 No, no ; go home and bring a pair of hands fit for a quarryman, before I make you overlooker.' This was rather delightful, and it further appeared that he could answer all Jane's inquiries after her beloved promising lads whom he had deported to the Rooca ]\Iarina quarries. They were evidently kindly looked after, and she began to perceive that it was not such a bad place after all for them, more especially as he was in the act of building them a chapel, and one of his objects in coming to England was to find a chaplain ; and as Lord Rotherwood said, he had come to the right shop, since Rockquay in the spring was likely to afford a choice of clergy with weak chests, or better still, with weak-chested wives, to wliom light work in a genial climate would be the greatest possible boon. 164 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap, xiv Altogetlier tlie evening was very pleasant, only too short. It was a curious study for Jane Mohun how far Lady Rother- wood would give way to her husband. She always .seemed to give way, but generally accomplished her own will in the end ; and it was little likely that she would allow the estab- lishment to await the indux of ^lerritields, though certainly Gillian had done nothing displeasing all that evening except that terrible blushing, for which piece of ingenuousness her aunt loved her all the better. At half-past ten next morning, however. Lord Rotherwood burst in to borrow Valetta for a donkey-ride, for which his lady had compounded instead of the paddling and castle- building, and certainly poor Val could not do much to cor- rupt Fly on donkey back, and in his presence. He further routed out Gillian, notliing loth, from her algebra, bidding her put on her seven-leagued boots, and not get bent double — and he would fain have seized on his cousin Jane, but she was already gone otf for an interview with the landlord of the most eligible of the two houses. Gillian and Valetta came back very rosy, and in fits of merriment. Lord Rotherwood had paid the donkey-boys to stay at home, and let him and Gillian take tlieir place. They had gone out on the common above the town, with most amusing rivalries as to which drove the beast morst, making Mysie umpire. Then liaving attained a delightfully lonely place. Fly had begged for a race with Valetta, which failed, partly because Val's donkey would not stir, and partly because Fly could not bear the shaking ; and then Lord Rotherwood himself insisted on riding the donkey that wouldn't go, and racing Gillian on the donkey that would — and he made his go so effectually that it ran away with him. and he pulled it up at last only just in time to save himself from being ignominiously stopped by an old iish woman ! He had, as Aunt Jane said, regularly dipped Gill back into childhood, and she looked, spoke, and moved all the better for it. CHAPTER XV THE ROCKS OF EOCKSTONE Lord Eotherwood came in to try to wile his cousin to share in the survey of the country ; but she declared it to be im- possible, as all her avocations had fallen into arrear, and she had to find a couple of servants as well as a house for the jNIerritields. This took her in the direction of the works, and Gillian proposed to go with her as far as the Giles's, there to sit a little while with Lilian, for whom she had a new book. ' My dear, surely you must be tired out ! ' exclaimed the stay-at-home aunt. ' Oh no, Aunt Ada ! Quite freshened by that blow on tliie common.' And Miss Mohun was not sorry, thinking that to leave Gillian free to come home by herself would be the best re- futation of ;Mrs. Mount's doubts of her. They had not, however, gone far on their way— on the walk rather unfrequented at this time of day— before Gillian exclaimed, 'Is that Kally 1 Oh ! and who is that with her?' For there certainly was a figure in somewhat close proximity, the ulster and pork-pie hat being sucli as to make the gender doubtful. ' How late she is ! I am afraid her mother is worse,' said Miss Mohun, quickening her steps a little ; and, at the angle of the road, the pair in front perceived them. Kalliope turned towards them ; the companion — about whom there was no doubt by that time — gave a petulant motion and hastened out of sight. In another moment they were beside Kalliope, who looked shaken and trembling, with tears in her eyes, which sprang forth at the warm pressure of her hand. ' I am afraid Mrs. White is not so well,' said Miss Mohun kindly. ' She is no worse, I think, thank you ; but I was delayed. Are you going this way 1 May I walk with you 1 ' 166 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. 'I will come with you to the office,' said Miss ]\Iohun, pei'ceiving that she was in great need of an escort and pro- tector. ' Oh, thank you, thank you, if it is not too much out of your way.' A few moi^e words passed about Mrs. White's illness and what advice she was having. Miss ]\Iohun could not help thinking tliat the daughter did not quite realise the extent of the illness, for she added — ' It was a good deal on the nerves and mind. She was so anxious about Mr. James White's arrival.' ' Have you not seen him 1 ' 'Oh no"! Not yet.' 'I think you will be agreeably surprised,' said Gillian. And here they left her at Mrs. Giles's door. ' Yes,' added Miss Mohun, ' he gave me the idea of a kind, just man.' ' Miss Mohun,' said the poor girl, as soon as they were tete-a-tete, ' I know you are very good. Will you tell me what I ought to do ? You saw just now ' ' I did ; and I liave heard.' Her face was all in a flame and her voice choked. 'He say.s — Mr. Frank does — that his mother has found out, and tliat she will tell her own story to Mr. White : and -;-and we shall all get the sack, as he calls it ; and it will be utter misery, and he will not stir a finger to vindicate me ; but if I will listen to him, he will speak to Mr. White, and bear me through ; Ijut I can't— I can't. I know he is a bad man ; I know how he treated poor Edith Vane. I nevei- can ; and how shall I keep out of his way V 'My poor child,' said Miss Mohun, 'it is a teirible position for you ; but you are doing quite right. I do not believe Mr. White would go much by what that young man says, for I know he does not think highly of him.' ' But he does go altogether by i\Ir. Stebbing— altogether ; and I know he — Mr. Stebbing, I mean — can't bear us, and would not keep us on if he could help it. He has been writing for another designer — an artist — instead of me.' 'Still, you would be glad to have the connection severed 1 ' ' Oh yes, I sliould be glad enough to be away ; but what would become of my mother and the cliildren ? ' ' Remember youi- oldest friends are on their way home ; and I will try to speak to Mi\ White myself.' They had reached the little door of Kalliope's ofllce, wliich she could open with a latch-key, and jNIiss ]\Iohun was just about to say some parting words, wlien there was a suddeii friglitful rumbling sound, something • between a t-lap of XV THE ROCKS OF ROCKSTOXE 167 thundei' and tlie carting of stones, and the ground shook under their feet, while a cry went up — loud, horror-struck men and women's voices raised in dismay. Jane had heard that sound once before. It was the fall of part of the precipitous cliff' much of which had been quarried away. But in spite of all ijrecautions, frost and rain were in danger of loosening the remainder, and wire fences were continually needing to be placed to prevent the walking- above on edges that might be perilous. Where was it 1 What had it done 1 was the instant thought. Kalliope turned as i^ale as death ; the girls came screaming and thronging out of their workshop, the men from their sheds, the women from the cottages, as all thronged to the more open space beyond the buildings where they could see, while jNIiss Mohun found herself clasped by her trembling niece. Others were rushing up from the wharf. One moment's glance showed all familiar with the place that a projecting point, forming a sort of cusp in the curve of the bay, had gone, and it lay, a great shattered mass, fragments spi-eading far and wide, having crashed through the roof of a stable that stood below. There was a general crowding forward to the spot, and crying and exclamation, and a shouting of ' All right ' from above and below. Had any one come down with it? A double horror seized Miss Mohun as she remembered that her cousin was to inspect those parts that very afternoon. She caught at the arm of a man and demanded, ' Was any one up there ? ' ' blaster's there, and some gentlemen ; but they bain't brought down with it,' said the man. 'Don't be afi^aid, miss. Thank the Lord, no one was under the rock — horses even out at work.' ' Thank God, indeed ! ' exclaimed jNIiss Mohun, daring now to look up, and seeing, not very distinctly, some figures of men, who, howevei-, were too high up and keeping too far from the dangerous broken edge for recognition. Eoom was made for tlie two ladies, by the men who knew Miss ilohun, to push forward, so as to have a clearer view of the broken wall and roof of the stable, and the great ruddy blue and white veined mass of limestone rock, turf, and bush adhering to what had been the top. There was a moment's silence through the crowd, a kind of awe at the spectacle and the possibilities that had been mercifully averted. Then one of the men said— 'That was how it was. I saw one of them above — not Stebbing — No — coming out to the brow ; and after this last 168 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. frost, not a doubt but that must have been enougli to bring it down.' ' Not railed off, eh 1 ' said the voice of young Steblnng from among the crowd. 'Well, it were marked with big stones where the rail should go,' said another. ' I know, for I laid 'em myself ; but there weren't no orders given.' ' There weren't no stones either. Some one been and took 'em away,' added tlie first speaker. 'I see how it is,' Frank Stebbing's metallic voice could plainly be heard, flavoured with an oath. 'This is your neglect, White, droning, stuck-up sneak as you always were and will be ! I shall report this. Damage to property, and maybe life, all along of your confounded idleness.' And there were worse imprecations, which made Miss Mohun break out in a tone of shocked reproof — ' Mr. Stebbing ! ' ' I beg your pardon, Miss Mohun ; I was not aware of your presence ' 'Nor of a Higher One,' she could not help interposing, while he went on justifying himself. ' It is the only way to speak to these fellows ; and it is enough to drive one mad to see what comes of the neglect of a conceited young ass above his business. Life and joro- perty ' ' But life is safe, is it not ? ' she interrupted with a shudder. 'Ay, ay, ma'am,' said the voice of the workman, 'or we should know it by this time.' But at that moment a faint, gasping cry caught Jane's ear. Others heard it too. It was a child's voice, and grew stronger after a moment. It came from the corner of the shed outside the stable. ' Oh, oh ! ' cried the women, pressing forward, ' the poor little Fields ! ' Then it was recollected that ]Mrs. Field— one of those im- practicable women on whom the shafts of school officers were lost, and who was always wandering in the town — had been seen going out, leaving two small children playing about, the younger under the charge of the elder. Tlie father was a carter, and had been sent on some errand witli the horses. This passed while anxious hands were struggling with stones and earth, foremost among them Alexis Wliite. Tlie utmost care was needful to prevent the sujierincumbent weiglit from falling in and crushing the life there certainly was" beneath, hajipily not the rock from above, but some of the debris of the stable. Frank Stebbing and the fore- XV THE ROCKS OF ROCKSTONE 169 man had to drive back anxious crowds, and keep a clear space. Then came running, slirieking, pushing lier way tlu'ough the men, tlie poor mother, who had to be forcibly withheld by ]\Iiss Mohun and one of the men from precipitating lierself on the pile of rubbish where her children were buried, and so shaking it as to make their destruction certain. Those were terrible moments ; but when the mother's voice penetrated to the children, a voice answered — ' Mammy, mammy get us out , there's a stone on Tommy,' — at least so the poor woman understood the lispings, almost stifled ; and she shrieked again, ' Mammy's coming, darlings !' The time seemed endless, tliougli it was probably only a few minutes before it was found that the children were against the angle of the shed, where the wall and a beam had protected the younger, a little girl of five, who seemed to be unhurt. But, alas ! though the boy's limbs were not crushed, a heavy stone had fallen on his temple. The poor woman would not believe that life was gone. ►She disregarded the little one, who screamed for mammy and clutched her skirts, in spite of the attempts of the women to lift her up and comfort her ; and gathering tlie poor lifeless boy in her arms, she alternately screamed for the doctor and uttered coaxing, caressing calls to the child. She neither heard nor lieeded j\Iiss Mohun, witli whom, indeed, lier relations had not been agreeable ; and as a young surgeon, sniffing the accident from afar, had appeared on tlie scene, and had, at the first glance, made an all too signi- ficant gesture, Jane thought it safe to leave the field to him and a kind, motherly, good neighbour, who promised her to send up to Beechcroft Cottage in case there was anything to be done for the unhappy woman or the poor father. ]\Ir. Hablot, who now found his way to the spot, promised to walk on and prepare him : he was gone with a marble cross to a churchyard some five miles off. Gillian had not spoken a word all this time. She felt perfectly stunned and bewildered, as if it was a dream, and she could not understand it. Only for a moment did she see the bleeding face and j^rone limbs of the poor boy, and that sent a shuddering horror over her, so that she felt like fainting; but she had so much recollection and self-conscious- ness, that horror of causing a sensation and giving trouble sent the blood back to her heart, and she kept her feet by holding hard to her aunt's arm and pi'esently ^liss Mohun felt how tight and trembling was the grasp, and then saw how white she was. ' My dear, we must get home directly,' she said kindly. 'Lean on me— there.' 170 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. There was leisure now, as they turned away, for others to see the young lady's deadly paleness, and there were invita- tions to houses arid otters of all succours at hand ; but the dread of 'a fuss' further revived GiUian, and all that was accepted was a seat for a few moments and a glass of water, which Aunt Jane needed almost as much as she did. Tliough the girl's colour was coming back, and she said she could walk quite well, both had such aching knees and such shaken limbs that they were glad to hold by each other as they mounted the sloping road, and half-way up Gillian came to a sudden stop. 'Aunt Jane,' she said, panting and turning pale again, ' you heard that dreadful man. Oh ! do you think it was true ? Fergus's bit of spar— Alexis not minding. Oh ! then it is all our doing ! ' ' I can't tell. Don't you think about it now,' said Aunt Jane, feeling as if the girl were going to swoon on the spot in the shock. ' Consequences are not in our hands. What- ever it came from, and very sad it was, there was great mercy, and we have only to thank God it was no worse.' When at last aunt and niece reached home, they had no sooner opened the front door than Adeline came almost rush- ing out of the drawing-room. ' Oh ! my dearest Jane,' she cried, clasping and kissing her sister, ' wasn't it dreadful ? Where were you ? Mr. White knows no one was hurt below, but I could not be easy till you came in.' ' .Mr. White ! ' ' Yes ; Mr. White was so kind as to come and tell me— and about Rotherwood.' 'What about Rotherwood?' exclaimed Miss^ Mohun, advancing into the drawing-room, where Mr. White had risen from his seat. ' Nothing to be alarmed about. Indeed, I assui-e you, Ins extraordinary presence of mind and agility ' 'What was it?' as she and Gillian each sank into a chaii-, the one breathless, the otiier witli the faintness renewed by tlie fresh shock, but able to listen as Mr. White told tirst briefly, then with more detail, how— as tlie surveying party pro- ceeded along the patli at the top of the clifls, he and Lord Rotlierwood comparing recollections of the former outline, now much changed by quarrying— the Marquis had stepped out to a slightly projecting point ; Mr. Stebbmg liad uttered a note of warning, knowing how liable these i^romontories were to l)reak away in the end of winter, and happily Lord Rotherwood had turned and made a step or two back, wlien the rock began to give way under his feet, so that, Ijeing a slight and active man, a spring and bound f(M-wai-d had XV THE ROCKS OF ROCKSTONE 171 actually carried him safely to the firm ground, and the others, who had started back in self-preservation, then in horror, fully believing him borne down to destruction, saw him the next instant lying on his face on the path before them. When on his feet, he had declared himself unhurt, and solely anxious as to what the fall of rock might have done beneath ; but he was reassured by those ci'ies of ' All riglit ' which were uttered before the poor little Fields were dis- covered ; and then, when tlie party were going to make their way down to inspect the effects of the catastrophe, he had found that he had not escaped entirely unhurt. Of course lie had been forced to leap with utter want of heed, only as far and wide as he could, and thus, though he had lighted on his feet, he had fallen against a stone, and pain and stifihess of shoulder made themselves apparent ; though he would accept no help in walking back to the hotel, and was only anxious not to frighten his wife and daughter, and desired ^Ir. White, who had volunteered to go, to tell the ladies next door that he was convinced it was nothing, or, if anything, only a trifle of a collar-bone. Mr. White had, since the arrival of tlie surgeon, made an expedition of inquiry, and heard this ver- dict confirmed, with the further assurance that there was no cause for anxiety. The account of the damage and disaster below was new to him, as his pai'tner had declared the stables to be certain to be empty, and moreover in need of being rebuilt ; and he departed to find Mr. Stebbing and make inquiries. Miss Mohun, going to the hotel, saw the governess, and heard that all was going on well, and that Lord Eotherwood insisted that nothing was the matter, and would not hear of going to bed, but was lying on the sofa in the sitting-room. Her ladyship presently came out, and confirmed the account ; but Jane agreed with her that, if possible, the knowledge of tlie poor child's deatli .should be kept from him that niglit, lest the shock should make liim feverish. However, in that very moment when she was ofl" guard, the communication had been made by his valet, only too proud to have some- thing to tell, and with the pleasing addition that Miss Mohun had "had a narrow escape. Whereupon ensued an urgent message to ]\Iiss Mohun to come and tell him all about it. Wife and cousin exchanged glances of consternation, and perhaps each knew she might be thankful that he did not come himself instead of sending, and yet feared that the abstinence was a proof more of incapacity than of submis- sion. Lying there in a dressing-gown over a strapped shoulder, he showed his agitation by being more than usually unable to finish a sentence. 172 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. 'Jenny, Jenny — you are — are you all safe? not fright- ened 1 ' ' Oh no, no ; I was a great way off ; I only lieard the noise, and I did not know you were there.' 'Ah ! there must ])e— something must be meant for me to do. Heaven must mean — thank Him ! But is it true— a poor cliild 1 Can't one ever be foolish without hurting more than one's self ? ' Jane told him the truth calmly and quietly, explaining that the survivor was entirely unliurt, and the poor little victim could not have suft'ered ; adding with all her heart, ' The wliole thing was full of mercy, and I do not think you need blame yourself for heedlessness, for it was an accident that tlie place was not marked.' ' Shameful neglect,' said Lady Eotherwood. 'The i^artner — what's-his-name — Stebbing — said some- thing about his son being away. An untrustworthy substi- tute, wasn't there ? ' said Lord Eotherwood. ' The son was the iDroticient in Leopardine Italian we heard of last night,' said Jane. 'I don't know what he may be as an overlooker here. He certainly fell furiously on the sub- stitute, a poor cousin of ^Ir. White's own ; but I am much afraid the origin of the mischief was nearer home — ]\Iaster Fergus's geological researches.' 'Fergus ! Why, lie is a mite.' ' Yes, but Maurice encore. However, I must find out from him whether this is only a foreboding of my proplietic soul ! ' ' Curious cattle,' observed Lord Eotherwood. ' Well,' put in his wife, ' I do not think Ivinghoe has ever given us cause for anxiety.' ' Exactly the reason that I am always expecting him to break out in some unexpected place ! No, Victoria,' he added, seeing that slie did not like this, ' I am quite ready to allow that we have a model son, and I only pity him for not having a model father.' 'Well, I am )iot going to stay and incite you to talk nonsense,' said Jane, rising to depart ; ' I will let you know my discoveries.' tSlie found Fergus watching for her at the gate, with the appeal, 'Aunt Jane, there's been a great downfall of cliff", and I want to see what formations it lias brought to light ; but tliey won't let me througli to look at it, though I told them White always did.' 'I do not suppose tliat they will allow any one to meddle with it at present,' said Aunt Jane ; tlien, as Fergus made an impatient exclamation, she added, ' Do you know that a poor little boy was killed, and Cousin Eotherwood a good (leal hurt?' XV THE ROCKS OF ROCKSTONE 173 ' Yes,' said Fergus ; ' Big Blake said so.' 'And now, Fergus, I want to know where you took that large stone from that you showed nie with tlie crack of spar.' ''With the micaceous crystals,' corrected Fergus. ' It was ofFtlie top of that very cliff that fell down, so I am sure there must be more in it ; and some one else will get them if they won't let me go and see for them.' ' And Alexis White gave you leave to take it 1 ' ' Oh yes, I always ask him.' ' Were you at the place when you asked him, Fergus 1 ' 'At the place on the clifll No. For I couldn't find him for a long time, and I carried it all the way down the steps.' ' And you did not tell him where it came from 1 ' 'He didn't ask. Indeed, Aunt Jane, I always did show him what I took, and he would have let me in now, only he was not at the office ; and the man at the gate. Big Blake, was as savage as a bear, and slammed the door on me, and said they wouldn't have no idle boys loafing about there. And when I said I wasn't an idle boy but a scientific miner- alogist, and that Mr. Alexis White always let me in, he laughed in my face, and said Mr. Alexis had better look out for liimself. I shall tell Stebbing liow cheeky he was.' ' My dear Fergus, there was good reason for keeping you out. You did not know it, nor Alexis ; but those stones were i:)ut to show that the cliff' was getting dangerous, and to mark where to put an iron fence ; and it was the greatest of mercies that Eotherwood's life was saved.' The boy looked a little sobered, but his aunt had rather that his next question had not been : ' Do you think they will let me go tliere again 1 ' However, she knew very well that conviction must slowly soak in, and that nothing would be gained by frightening him, so that all she did that night was to send a note by Mysie to her cousin, explaining her discovery ; and she made up her mind to take Fergus to the inquest the next day, since his evidence would exonerate Alexis from the most culpable form of carelessness. Only, however, in the morning, when she had ascertained the hour of tlie inquest, did she write a note to Mrs. Edgar to explain Fergus's absence from school, or inform the boy of what she intended. On the whole he was rather elated at being so important as to be able to defend Alexis White, and he was quite above believing that scientific research could be reckoned by any one as mischief. Just as Miss Mohun had gone up to get ready, Mysie ran in to say that Cousin Eotherwood would be at the door in a moment to take Fergus down. 174 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. ' Lady Uotherwood can't bear his going,' said ]\I,ysie, ' and Mr. Wlute and Mr. Stebbing say that he need not ; but he is quite determined, though he has got his arm in a sling, for he says it was all his fault for going where he ought not. And he won't have the carriage, for he says it would shake liis bones ever so much more than Shank's mare.' ' Just like him,' said Aunt Jane. ' Has Dr. Dagger given him leave ? ' ' Yes ; he said it wouldn't hurt lam ; but Lady Eotherwood told Miss Elbury she was sure he jDcrsuaded him.' Mysie's confused pronouns were cut short by Lord Pvotlier- wood's own appearance. ' You need not go, Jane,' he said. ' I can take care of this little chap. They'll not chop off his head in the presence of one of the Legislature.' ' Nice care to begin by chaffing him out of his wits,' she retorted. ' The question is, whether you ouglit to go.' ' Yes, Jenny, I must go. It can't damage me ; and besides, to tell the truth, it strikes me that things will go hard with that unlucky young fellow if some one is not there to stand up for him and elicit Fergus's evidence.' ' Alexis White ! ' ' White— ay, a cousin or something of the exemplary boss. He's been dining witli his partners— the old White, I mean — and they've been cramming him — I imagine with a view to scapegoat treatment — jealousy, and all the rest of it. If there is not a dismissal, there's a hovering on the verge.' ' Exactly what I was afraid of,' said Jane. ' Oh, Eother- wood, I could tell you volumes. But may I not come down with you 1 Could not I do something 1 ' ' Well, on the whole, you are better away, Jenny. Con- sider William's feelings. Womankind, even Brownies, are better out of it. Prejudice against j^roteges, whetlier of petticoats or cassocks— begging your pardon. I can tight battles better as an unsophisticated stranger coming down fresh, though I don't expect any one from the barony of Beeclicroft to believe it, and maybe the less I know of your volumes the better till after ' ' Oh, Kotherwood, as if I wasn't too thankful to have you to send for me ! ' ' Tliere ! I've kept the firm out there waiting an uncon- scionable time. They'll think you are poisoning my mind. Come along, you imp of science. Trust me. 111 not bully liim, though it's highly tempting to make the chien chasser de race.' 'Oil, Aunt Jane, won't you go?' exclaimed Gillian in despair, as her cousin waved a farewell at the gate. XV . THE ROCKS OF ROCKSTONE 175 ' No, my dear ; it is not for want of wishing, but he is quite right. He can do much better than I could.' ' But is he in earnest, aunt ? ' ' Oh yes, most entirely, and I quite see that he is right- indeed i do, Gillian. People pretend to defer to a lady, but they really don't like her poking her nose in, and, after all, I could have no right to say anything. My only excuse for going was to take care of Fergus.' A further token of Lord Rotherwood's earnestness in the cause was tlie arrival of his servant, who was to bring down the large stone which Master Merrifield had moved, and who conveyed it in a cab, being much too grand to carry it through the streets. Gillian was very unhappy and re.stless, unable to settle to anything, and linking cause and effect together discon- solately in a manner Mysie, whom she admitted to her confidence, failed to understand. ' It was a great pity Fergus did not show Alexis where the stone came from, but I don't see what your not giving him his lessons had to do with it. Made him unhappy 1 Oh ! Gilly dear, you don't mean any one would be too unhappy to mind his business for such nonsense as that ! I am sure none of us would be so stupid if Mr. Pollock forgot our VtI'PPK! IPSSOllS ' Certainly not,' said Gillian, almost laughing ; ' but you don't understand, Mysie. It was the taking him up and letting him down, aiid I could not explain it, and it looked so nasty and capricious.' ^ 'Well, I suppose you ought to have asked Aunt Janes leave ; but I do think he must be a ridiculous young man if he could not attend to his proper work because you did not go after him when you were only just come home.' 'Ah, Mysie, you don't understand ! ' ]\Iysie opened a round pair of brown eyes, and said, ' Oh ! I did think people were never so silly out of poetry. There was Wilfrid in Piolceby, to be sure. He was stupid enough about JNIatilda ; but do you mean that he is like that?' ' Don't, don't, you dreadful child ; I wish I had never spoken to you,' cried Gillian, overwhelmed with confusion. 'You must never say a word to any living creature.' ' I am sure I shan't,' said Mysie composedly ; ' for, as far as I can see, it is all stuff. This Alexis never found out what Fergus was about with the stone, and so the mark was gone, and Cousin Piotherwood trod on it, and the poor little boy was killed ; but as to the rest. Nurse Halfpenny would say it was all conceited maggots ; and how you can make so much more fuss about that than about the poor child being crushed, I can't make out.' 176 DEECHCROFT AT ROOKSTOXE chap, xv ' But if I think it all my fault ? ' _ 'That's maggots,' returned ^lysie with uncompromising common-sense. ' You aren't old enough, nor pretty enough, for any of that kind of stuff, Gill ! ' And Gillian found that either she must go without com- prehension, or have a great deal more implied, if slie turned for symijathy to any one save Aunt Jane, who seemed to know exactly how the land lay. CHAPTER XVI It seemed to be a very long time before the inquest was over, and Aunt Jane had almost yielded to her niece's impatience and her own, and consented to walk down to meet the intelli- gence, when Fergus came tearing in, ' I've seen the rook, and there is a flaw of crystallisation in it ! And the coroner-man called me an incipient geologist.' ' But the verdict ? ' ' They said it was accidental death, and something about more care being taken and valuable lives endangered.' ' And Alexis White ■' ' Oh ! there was a great bother about his not being there. They said it looked very bad ; but they could not find him.' ' Not And liim ! Oh ! Where is Cousin Eotherwood ? ' ' He is coming home, and he said I might run on, and tell you that if you had time to come in to the hotel he would tell you about it.' With which invitation Miss Mohun hastened to comply; Gillian was ardent to come too, and it seemed cruel to pre- vent her ; but, besides that Jane thouglit that her cousin might be tired enough to make his wife wish him to see as few people as possible, she was not sure that Gillian might not show suspicious agitation, and speech and action would not be free in her presence. So the poor girl was left to extract what she could from her little brother, which did not amount to much. It was a propitious moment, for Jane met Lord E other- wood at the door of the hotel, parting with Mr. White ; she entered with him, and his wife, after satisfying Iierself that he was not the worse for his exertions, was not sorry that he should have his cousin to keep him quiet in his easy-chair while she went off to answer a pile of letters which had just been forwarded from home. ' Well, Jenny,' he said, ' I am afraid your 2>rotetje does not N 178 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. come out of it very well ; that is, if he is your iwotajv. He must be an uncommonly foolish young man.' ' I reserve myself on that i^oint. But is it true that he never appeared ? ' ' Quite true.' ' Didn't they send for him ? ' ' Yes ; but he could not be found, either at the works or at home. However, the first might be so far accounted for, since he met at his desk a notice of dismissal from White and Stebbing.' ' No ! Eeally. Concocted at that unlucky dinner yester- day ! But, of course, it was not immediate.' ' Of course not, and perhaps something might have been done for him ; but a man who disappears condemns himself.' ' But wliat for % I hope Fergus explained that the stone was not near tlie spot when he showed it.' ' Yes ; Fergus spoke up like a little man, and got more credit than he deserved. If they had known that of all varieties of boys the scientihc is tlie worst imp of mischief ! It all went in order due— surgeon explained injuries to poor little being— men liow the stone came down and they dug him out — poor little baby-sister made out her sad little story. That was the worst part of all. Something must be done for that child— orphanage or something— only unluckily there's the fatlier and mother. Poor father ! he is the one to be jDitied. I mean to get at him without the woman. Well, then came my turn, and how I am afflicted with the habit of going where t ought not, and, only by a wonderful mercy, was saved from being part of the general average below. Then we got to the inquiry. Were not dangerous places i-ailed oftl Yes, Stebbing explained that it was the rule of the firm to have the rocks regularly inspected once a month, and once a foi'tnight in winter and spring, wlien the danger is greater. If they were ticklish, the place was marked at the moment with big stones, reported, and railed off. An old foreman- sort of fellow swore to having detected the danger, and put stones. He had reported it. To whom? To Mr. Frank. Yes, he thought it was INIr. Frank, just befoi'e he went away. It was tliis fellow's business to report it and send the order, it -seems, and in liis absence Alexander White, or whatever they call liim, took his work. Well, tlie old man doesn't seem to know wliether lie mentioned the tiling to young White or not, which made liis absence more unlucky ; but, any way, the presence of the stones was supposed to be a sufficient in- dication of the need of the rail, or to any jiassenger to avoid the place. In fact, if Master White had been energetic, he would have seen to the thing. \ fancy that is the long and short of it. But when the question ctune how the stones canie XVI VANISHED 179 to be removed, I put Fergus forward. The foreman luckily could identify his stone by the precious crack of spar ; and the boy exj^lained how he had lugged it down, and showed it to his friend far away from its place — had, in fact, turned over and displaced all the lot.' ' Depend upon it, Alexis has gone out of the way to avoid accusing Fergus ! ' ' Don't make me start, it hurts ; but do you really believe that, Jane — you, the common-sense female of the family ? ' ' Indeed I do ; he is a romantic, sensitive sort of fellow, who would not defend himself at the boy's expense.' ' Wlieu ! He might have stood still and let Fergus defend him, tlien, instead of giving up his own cause.' ' And how did it end 1 ' ' Accidental death, of course ; couldn't be otherwise ; but censure on the delay and neglect of precaution, wliich the common opinion of the Court naturally concentrated on the absent ; though, no doubt, the first omission was young Steb- bing's ; but owing to the hurry of his start for Italy, that was easily excused. And even granting that Fergus did the last bit of mischief, your friend may be romantically gener- ous, if you please ; but he must have been very slack in his work.' ' Poor fellow — yes. Now befoi-e I tell you what I know about him, I should like to hear how ^Mr. Stebbing represents him. You know his father was a lieutenant in tlie lioyal Wardours.' 'Risen from the ranks, a runaway cousin of White's. Yes, and there's a son in a lawyer's office always writing to White for money.' ' Oh ! I never had much notion of that eldest ' ' They have no particular claim on White ; but when the father died he wrote to Stebbing to give those that were old enough occupation at the works, and see that the young- ones got educated.' 'So he lets the little boys go to the National Scliool, though there's no great harm in that as yet.' ' He meant to come and see after them himself, and find out what they are made of. But meantime this youth, who did well at first, is always running after nmsic and nonsense of all kinds, thinking himself above his business, neglecting right and left ; while as to the sister, she is said to be very clever at designing — both ways in fact — so determined to draw young Stebbing in, that, having got proof of it at last, they have dismissed her too. And, Jane, I hardly like to tell you, but somehow they mix Gillian up in the business. They ate it up again when I cut them sliort by saying she was my cousin, her mother and you like my sisters. I am 180 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. certain it is all nonsense, but had you any notion of any such thing ? It is insulting you, though, to suppose you had not,' lie added, as he saw her air of acquiescence ; ' so, of course, it is all right.' ' It is not all right, but not so vvi'ong as all that. Oh no ! and I know all about it from jooor Gill herself and the girl. Happily they are both too good girls to need prying. Well, tlie case is this. There was a quarrel about a love story between the two original Whites, who must both have had a good deal of stuft' in them. Dick ran away, enlisted, rose, and wa^^ respected by Jasper, etc., but was married to a vife, traditionally very beautiful, poor woman, though rather tlie reverse at present. Lily and lier girls did their best for the young people with good effect on the eldest girl, who really in looks and ways is worthy of her Muse's name, Kalliope. Father had to retire with rank of captain, and died shortly after. Letters failed to reach the Merrifields, who were on the move. This Quarry cousin was written to, and gave the help he described to you. Perhaps it was just, but it disappointed them, and while tlie father lived, Alexis had been encouraged to look to getting to the University and Holy Orders. He has a good voice, and the young curate at the Kennel patronised him ; perhaps a little capriciously, but I am not quite sure. All tliis was unknown to me till the ^lerritield children came, and Gillian, discover- ing these Whites, flew upon them in the true enthusiastic Lily-fashion, added to the independence of the modern maiden mistrustful of old cats of aunts. Like a little goose, she held trystes with Kalliope, through the rails at the top of the garden on Sunday afternoons.' ' Only Kalliope ! ' ' Cela va sans dire. The bi'other was walking the young ones on the cliffs whence she had been driven by the atten- tions of Master Frank Stebbing. Poor thing, she is really beautiful enough to be a misfortune to her, and so is the youth — ]\Iaid of Atliens, Irish eyes, p/us intellect. Gill lent books, and by and by volunteered to help the lad with liis Greek.' 'Wlieu ' 'Just as she would teach a night-school class. She used to give him lessons at his sister's office. I find that as soon as Kalliope found it was unknown to me she protested, and did all in her power to i)revent it, but (Jillian had written all to her mother, and tliought that sullicient.' 'And Lily ? Victoria would have gone crazy — sup- liosing such a tiling possible,' he added, sotfo voce. ' Lily was i)i-obably crazy already between her sick husband and her bridal daughters, for she answered nothing intelli- xvr VANISHED 181 gible. However, absence gave time for reflection, and Gillian came home after her visits convinced by her own good sense and principle that she had not acted fairly towards us ; so that, of her own accord, the first thing she did was to tell me the wliole, and how much the sister had always objected. She was quite willing that I should talk it over with Kalliope before she went near them again, but I have never been able really to do so.' ' Then it was all Greek and — " Lilyism ! " Lily's grammar over again, eh ? ' ' On lier side, purely so — but I am afraid she did upset the boy's mind. He seems to have been bitterly disappointed at wliat must have appeared like neglect and oflence— and oh ! you know how silly youths can be — and he had Southern blood too, poor fellow, and he went mooning and moping about, I am afraid really not attending to his business ; and instead of taking advantage of the oi^ening young Stebbing's absence gave him of showing his abilities, absolutely gave them the advantage against him, by letting them show him up as an idle fellow.' ' Or worse. Stebbing talked of examining the accounts, to see if there Avere any deficiency.' 'That can be only for the sake of i:)rejudicing Mr. White — they cannot really suspect him.' ' If not, it was very good acting, and Stebbing appears to me just the man to suspect a parson's pet, and a lady's — as lie called this unlucky fellow.' ' Ask any of the workmen — ask Mr. Flight.' ' Well, I wish he had come to the front. It looks bad for him, and your plea, Jenny, is more like Lily than yourself.' ' Thank you ; I had rather be like Lily than myself.' 'And you are equally sure that the sister is maligned V ' Quite sure — on good evidence — the thing is how to lay it all before Mr. White, for you see these Stebbings evidently want to prevent him from taking to his own kindred — you must help me, Rotherwood.' 'When I am convinced,' he said. ' My dear Jenny, I beg your pardon — I have an infinite respect for your sagacity, but allow me to observe, though your theory holds togethei", still it has rather an ancient and fish-like smell.' 'I only ask you to investigate, and make him do so. Listen to any one who knows, to any one but the Stebbings, and you will find what an admirable girl the sister is, and that the poor boy is perfectly blameless of anything but being forced into a jjosition for which he was never intended, and of all his instincts rebelling.' They were interrupted by the arrival of the doctor, whom Lady Rotherwood had bound over to come and see A\'hether 182 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. her husband was the worse for Jiis exertions. He came in ajDologising most unnecessarily for liis tardiness. And in the midst of Miss Mohan's mingled greeting and farewell, she stood still to hear him say that he liad been delayed by being- called in to that poor woman, Mrs. White, who had had a tit on liearing the policeman inquiring for tliat young scamp, her son. ' The policeman ! ' ejaculated Jane in consternation. ' It was only to summon him to attend the inquest,' ex- plained Dr. Dagger ; ' but there was no one in the house with her but a little maid, and the shock was dreadful. If he has really absconded, it looks exceedingly ill for him.' ' I believe he has only been inattentive,' said Jane firmly, knowing that she ought to go, and yet feeling constrained to wait long enough to ask what was the state of the poor }nother, and if her daughter were with her. ' The daughter was sent for, and seems to be an efiective person — uncommonly handsome, by the bye. The attack was hysteria, but there is evidently serious disease about her, which may be accelerated.' ' I thought so. I am afraid she has had no advice.' ' No ; I promised the daughter to come and examine her to-morrow when she is calmer, and if that son is good for anything, he may liave returned.' And therewith Jane was forced to go away, to cai'ry this wretched news to poor Gillian. Aunt and niece went as soon as the mid -day meal was over to inquire for poor Mrs. White, and see what could be done. She was sleeping under an opiate, and Kalliope came down, pale as marble, but tearless. She knew nothing of her brother since she had given him his breakfast that morn- ing. He had looked white and liaggard, and had not slept, neither did he eat. She caught at tlie theory that had occurred to Miss Mohun, that he did not like to accuse Fergus, for even to her lie had not mentioned who had removed the stone. In that case he might return at night. Yet it was possible that he did not know even now whence the stone had come, and it was certain that he had been at his office that morning, and opened the letter announcing liis dismissal. Kalliope, going later, had found the like notice, but had had little time to dwell on it before she had been summoned home to her mother. Poor INIrs. White had been much shaken by the first reports of yesterday's accident, which had been so told to her as to alarm her for both her children ; and when her little maid rushed in to say that ' the pelis was conie after ]\Ir. Alec,' it was no wonder that lier terror threw her into a most alarming state, which made good ;Mrs. Lee despatch her husband to bring home Kalliope ; XVI VANISHED 183 and as the attack would not yield to the soothing of the women or to their domestic remedies, but became more and more delirious and convulsive, the nearest doctor was sent for, and Dr. Dagger, otherwise a higher flight than would have been attempted, was caught on his way and brought in to discover how serious her condition already was. This Kalliope told tliem with the desperate quietness of one who could not aftbrd to give way. Her own affairs were entirely swallowed up in this far greater trouble, and for the present there were no means of helping her. j\Ir. and Mrs. Lee were thoroughly kind, and I'eady to give her efficient aid in her home cares and her nursing ; and it could only be hoped that Alexis might come back in the evening, and set the poor patient's mind at rest. ' We will try to make Mr. White come to a better under- standing,' said ]\Iiss Mohun kindly. ' Thank you,' said Kalliope, pushing back her hair with a half -bewildered look. 'I remember my poor mother was very anxious about that. But it seems a little thing now.' ' INIay God bless and help you, my dear,' said Miss Mohun, with a parting kiss. Gillian had not spoken all the time ; but outside she said — ' Oh, aunt ! is this my doing ? ' ' Not quite,' said Aunt Jane kindly. ' There were other causes.' 'Oh, if I could do anything ! ' ' Alas ! it is easier to do than to undo.' Aunt Jane was really kind, and Gillian was grateful ; but oh, how she longed for lier mother ! There was no better news the next moniing. Nothing had been heard of Alexis, and nothing would persuade his mother in her half-delii'ious and wholly unreasonable state that he had not been sent to prison, and that they were not keeping it from her. She was exceedingly ill, and Kalliope had been up all night with her. Such was the report in a note sent up by Mrs. Lee by one of the little boys early in the morning, and, as soon as she could reasonably do so. Miss Mohun carried the report to Lord Fiotherwood, whom she found much better, and anxious to renew the tour of inspection which had been interrupted. Before long, Mr. White was shown in, intending to resume the business discussion, and Miss Mohun was about to retreat with Lady Rotherwood, when her cousin, taking pity on her anxiety, said — 'If you will excuse me for speaking about your family matters, Mr. White, my cousin knows these young people well, and I should like you to hear what she has been tell- ing me.' 184 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. 'A gentleman lias just been calling on me about them,' said Mr. White, not over-graciously. ' Mr. Flight ? ' asked Jane anxiously. 'Yes; a young clergyman, just what we used to call Puseyite when I left England ; but that name seems to be gone out now.' 'Any way,' said Jane, 'I am sure he had nothing l)ut good to say of Miss White, or indeed of her brother ; and I am afraid the poor mother is very ill.' ' That's true, Miss Mohun ; l)ut yovi see there may be one side to a lady or a parson, and another to a practical man like my partner. Not but that I should be willing enough to do anything in reason for poor Dick's widow and children, but not to keep them in idleness, or letting them think themselves too good to work.' 'That I am sure these two do not. Their earnings quite keep the family. I know no one who works harder than Miss White, between her business, her lodgers, the children, and her helpless mother.' ' I saw her mosaics — very fair, very clever, some of them ; but I'm afraid she is a sad little flirt. Miss Mohun.' ' Mr. White,' said Lord Rotherwood, ' did ever you hear of a poor girl beset by an importunate youth, but his family thought it was all her fault 1 ' ' If Mr. White would see her,' said Jane, ' he would under- stand at a glance that the attraction is perfectly involuntary ; and I know from other sources how persistently she has avoided young Stebbing ; giving up Sunday walks to prevent meeting him, accepting nothing from him, always avoiding tete-a-tete s.' ' Hum ! But tell me this, madam,' said Mr. White eagerly, ' liow is it that, if these young folks are so steady and diligent as you would make out, that eldest brother writes to me every few montlis for he\p to support them ? ' ' Oil ! ' Jane breatlied out ; then, rallying, ' I know no- thing about tliat eldest. Yes, I do though ! His sister told my niece that all the rents of the three houses went to enable Eichard to ai:)pear as he ought at the solicitor's oflice at Leeds.' 'There's a screw loose somewhere plainly,' said Lord liotherwood. 'The question is, wliere it is,' said Mr. White. 'And all I liope,' said Jane, 'is that Mr. AVhite will judge for himself when he lias seen Kalliope and made inquiries all round. I do not say anything for the mother, poor thing, excej^t tliat she is exceedingly ill just now, but I do tlioroughly believe in the daughter.' 'And this runaway scamp, Miss .Mohun l ' XVI VANISHED 185 ' I am afraid he is a runaway ; but I am quite sure he is no scamp,' said Jane. ' Only so clever as to be foolish, eh 1 ' said the ^larquis, rather provokingly. ^ ' Exactly so, she answered ; ' and I am certain that if Mr. White will trust to his own eyes and his own inquiries, he will find that I am riglit.' She knew she ought to go, and Lord Eotherwood told her afterwards, ' That was not an ill-aimed shaft, Jane. Stebbing got more than one snub over the survey. I see that White is getting the notion that there's a system of hoodwinking going on, and of not letting him alone, and he is not the man to stand that.' ' If he only would call on Kallioi^e ! ' ' I suspect he is afraid of being beguiled by sucli a fasci- nating young woman.' It was a gi-ievous feature in tlie case to Gillian that she could really do nothing. ^Irs. White was so ill that going to see Kalliope was of no use, and Maura was of an age to be made useful at home ; and there were featui'es in the aftair that rendered it inexpedient for Gillian to speak of it except in the strictest confidence to Aunt Jane or Mysie. It was as if she had touched a great engine, and it was grinding and clashing away above her while she could do nothing to stay its course, CHAPTER XVII THEY COME, THEY COME Dr. Dagger examined Mrs. White and pronounced that there had been mortal disease of long standing, and that she had nearly, if not quite, reached tlie last stage. Wliile people had thouglit her selfish, weak, and exacting, she must really have concealed severe suftering, foolishly perliaps, but with great fortitude. And from hearing this sentence, Kalliope had turned to find at last tidings of her brother in a letter written from Avoncester, the nearest garrison town. He told his sister that, heart-broken already at the result of what lie knew to be his own presumi^tion, and horrified at the fatal con- sequences of his unhapjiy neglect, he felt incapable of facing any of tliose whom he had once called his friends, and the letter of dismissal had removed all scruples. Had it not been for his faith and fear, he would have put an end to his life, but she need have no alarms on that score. He had rushed away, scarce knowing what he was doing, till he had found himself on the road to Avoncester, and then had walked on thither and enlisted in the regiment quartei'ed there, where he hoped to do his duty, having no other hope left in life ! Pai't of this letter Kallioi^e read to Miss ]\Iohun, who had come down to hear the doctor's verdict. It was no time to smile at the heart being broken by the return of a valentine, or all hope in life being over before twenty. Kalliope, who knew what the life of a private was, felt wretched over it, and her poor motlier was in despair ; but ]\Iiss ^loluni tried to i^ersuade her that it was by no means an unfortunate tiling, since Alexis would be thus detained safely and within reach till Sir Jasper arrived to take up the matter, and Mr. White had been able to understand it. ' Yes ; but he cannot come to my poor mother. And liichard will be so angry — think it such a degradation.' CHAP. XVII ' THEY COilE, THEY COME ' 187 ' He ought not. Your father ' ' Oh ! but lie will. And I must write to lum. Mother lias been asking for him.' , , , , , 'Tell me, my dear, has Eichard ever helped you < ' Oh no, poor fellow, he could not. He wants all we can send him, or we would have put the little boys to a better school.' , , ) • 1 ' I would not write before it is absolutely necessary, saul ]\Iiss Mohun. ' A young man hanging about with nothing to do, even under these circumstances, might make tlnngs harder.' . , , ,. ,. c \ i -r ' Yes, I know,' said Kalliope, with a tieml)ling lip. And it it was urgent, even Alexis might come. Indeed, I ought to be thankful that he is safe, after all my dreadful fears, and not far off.' . , , ]\Iiss ^klohun refrained from grieving the poor girl by blaming Alexis for the impetuous sellish folly that had so greatly added to the general distress of his family, and ren- dered it so much more difficult to plead his cause. In fact, she felt bound to stand up as his champion against all his enemies, though he was less easy of defence than his sister ; and Ur. Flight, the first person she met afterwards, was excessively angry and disappointed, speaking of such a step as utter ruin. , . , 'The lad was capable of so much better things, said he. ' I had hoped so much of him, and had so many plans for him, that it is a grievous pity ; but he had no patience, and now he has thrown himself away. I told him it was his hrst duty to maintain his mother, and if he had stuck to that, 1 would liave done more for him as soon as he was old enough, and i could see what was to be done for the rest of them ; but he grew unsettled and impatient, and this is the end of it ! ' ' Not the end, I hope,' said Miss Mohun. ' It is not exactly slavery without redemption.' ' He does not deserve it.' ' Who does 1 Besides, remember what his father was: 'His father must have been of the high-spirited, dare- devil sort. This lad was made for a scholar— for the priest- hood, in fact, and the army will be more uncongenial than these marble works ! Foolish fellow, he will soon have had enough of it, with his refinement, among such associates. Jane wondered that the young clergyman did not regret that he had sufficiently tried the youth's patience to give the sense of neglect and oblivion. There had been many factors in the catastrophe, and this had certainly been one, since the loan of a few books, and an hour a week of direction of study, would have kept Alexis contented, and have obviated all the perilous intercourse with Gillian ; but she scarcely did tiie 188 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. Rev. Augustine Flight injustice in thinking that in the {esthetic and the emotional side of religion he somewhat lost sight of the daily drudgery that works on character chiefly as a preventive. ' He was at the bottom of it, little as he knows it,' she said to herself as she walked up the hill. ' How much harm is done by good beginnings of a skein left to tangle.' Lady Flight provided a trained nurse to help Kalliope, and sent liosts of delicacies ; and plenty of abuse was bestowed on ^Ir. James White for liis neglect. Meanwhile Mrs. Wliite, tliough manifestly in a hopeless state, seemed likely to linger on for some weeks longer. In the meantime, Miss Mohun at last found an available house, and was gratified by the young people's murmur that ' II Lido ' was too far oflf from Beechcrof t. But then their mother would be glad to be so near St. Andrew's, for she belonged to the generation that loved and valued daily services. Lord Rotherwood, perhaps owing to his exertions, felt the accident more than he had done at first, and had to be kept very quiet, which he averred to be best accomplished by having the children in to play with him ; and as he always insisted on sending for Valetta to make up the party, the edict of separation" fell to the ground, when Lady Rother- wood, having written his letters for him, went out for a drive, taking' sometimes Miss Elbury, but more often_ Adeline Mohun, who flattered herself that her representations had done much to subdue prejudice and smooth matters. ' Which always were smooth,' said Jane ; ' smooth and polished as a mahogany table, and as easy to get into.' However, she was quite content that Ada should be the preferred one, and perhaps no one less acute than herself would liave felt that the treatment as intimates and as part of the family was part of tlie duty of a inodel wife. Both sisters were in request to enliven the captive, and Jane fore- bore to worry him with her own anxieties about the present disgrace of the Whites. Nothing could be done for Kalliope in her mother's present state, Alexis must drink of his own ])rewst, and Sir Jasper and Lady Merrifield were past Brin- clisi ! As to Mr. White, he seemed to be immersed in business, and made no sign of relenting ; Jane had made one or two attempts to see him, but had not succeeded. Only one of lier G.F.S. maidens, who was an enthusiastic admirer of Kalliope, and in perfect despair at her absence, mentioned that Mr. White had looked over all their work and had been immensely struck with Miss White's designs, and especially witli tlie table inlaid with autumn leaves, which had been set aside as expensive, unprofital)le, and not according to the XYii ' THEY COME, THEY COME ' 189 public taste, and not shown to him on his first visit to the works with Mr. Stabbing. There were rumours in the air that he was not contented with the state of things, and nught remain for some time to set them on a different footing. Miss Adeline had been driving with Lady Rotherwood, and on coming in with her for the afternoon cup of tea, found Mr. White conversing with Lord Rotlierwood, evidently just finishing the subject— a reading-room or institute of some sort for the men at the works. 'All these things are since my time, said Mr. \\hite. ' We were left pretty mucli to ourselves in those days.' 'And what do you think? Should you have been much the better for them 1 ' asked the ]*Larquis. ' Some of us would,' was the answer. ' You would not have thought them a bore V 'There were some who would, as plenty will now; but we were a rough set— we had not so much to start with as the lads, willy nilly, have now. But I should have been glad of books, and diversion free from lawlessness might have prevented poor Dick's scrapes. By the bye, that daughter of his can do good work.' . i • i ' Poor thing,' said Miss Adeline, she is a very good girl, and in great trouble. I was much pleased with her, and 1 think she has behaved remarkably well under ^•ery trying circumstances.' . • i x ' I observed that the young women in the mosaic depart- ment seemed to be much attached to her,' said Mr. White. 'My sister thinks she has been an excellent mfiuence there.' ' She was not there,' said Mr. White. ' No ; her mother is too ill to be left— dying, i should think, from what I hear.' . n, , it ^ ' From the shock of that foolish lad s evasion 1 asked Lord Rotherwood. , , , , •, , x -^ ' She was very ill before, I believe, though that brought it to a crisis. No one would believe how much that poor girl has had depending on her. I wish she had been at the Avorks— I am sure you would have been struck with her. ' Have you any reason to think they are in any distress, MissMohunr , , , ^ ^. 'Not actually at present; but I do not know what they are to do in future, with the loss of the salaries those two have had,' said Adeline, exceedingly anxious to say neither too much nor too little. ' There is the elder brother.' ' Oh ! he is no help, only an expense.' ^ ' Miss Mohun, may I ask, are you sure of that '? ' As sure as I can be of anything. I have always heard 190 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. tliat the i-ents of their two or three small houses went to support Richard, and that they entirely live on the earnings of the brother and sister, except that you are so good as to educate the younger girl. It has come out casually— they never ask for anything.' Mr. White looked very thoughtful. Adeline considered whether importunity would do most harm or good ; but thouglit her words 'might woi-k. When she rose to take leave, Mr. White did tlie same, 'evidently,' thought she, 'for the sake of escorting her liome,' and slie might perhaps say another word in confidence for the poor young people. She had much reliance, and not unjustly, on her powers of per- suasion, and she would make the most of those few steps to her own door. ' Indeed, Mr. White,' she began, ' excuse me, but I cannot help being very much interested in those young people we were speaking of.' ' That is your goodness. Miss IMohun. I have no doubt they are attractive — there's no end to the attractiveness of those Southern folk they belong to— on one side of the house at least ; but unfortunately you never know where to have them— there's no truth in them ; and though I don't want to speak of anything I may liave done for them, I can't get over their professing never to have had anything from me.' 'May I ask whether you sent it through that eldest brother ? ' ' Certainly ; he always wrote to me.' ' Then, Mr. White, I cannot help believing that the family liere never heard of it. Do you know anything of that young man 1 ' ' No ; I will write to his firm and inquire. Thank you for the hint. Miss Mohun.' They were at Beechcroft Cottage gate, and he seemed about to see her even to the door. At that instant a little girlish figure advanced and was about to draw back on perceiving tliat Miss Adeline was not alone, when she exclaimed, ' Maura, is it you, out so late ! How is your mother ? ' ' Much the same, thank you, Miss Adeline ! ' ' Here is one of tlie very young folks we were mentioning,' said Ada, seeing her opportunity, and glad that there was light enough to show the lady-like little figure. ' Tliis is ^iaura, Mr. White, wliom you are kindly educating.' Mr. White took tlie hand, which was given with a pretty respectful gesture, and said something kind about her motlier's illness, wliile Adeline took the girl into the house and asked if she had come on any message. ' Yes, if you please,' said Maura, blushing ; ' Miss Mohun xvii 'THEY CO.^IE, THEY COME' 191 was so kind as to ofler to lend us an air-cushion, and poor mamma is so restless and uncomfortable that Kally thouglit it might ease her a little.' 'By all means, my dear. Come in, and I will have it brought,' said Adeline, whose property the cushion was, and who was well pleased that 'Sir. White came in likewise, and thus had a full view of ]\Iaura's great wistful, long-lashed eyes, and delicate retined features, under a little old brown velvet cap, and the slight figure in a gray ulster. He did not speak while ]\Iaura answered jNIiss Adeline's inquiries, but wlien the cushion had been brought down, and she had taken it under her arm, he exclaimed — ■ ' Is she going back alone 1 ' ' Oh yes,' said Maura cheerfully ; 'it is not really dark out of doors yet.' ' I sui^pose it could not be helped,' said Miss Adeline. ' No ; Theodore is at the school. They keep him late to get things ready for the inspection, and Petros had to go to the doctor's to fetch something ; but he will meet me if he is not kept waiting.' 'It is not fit for a child like that to go alone so late,' said Mr. White, who perhaps had imbibed Italian notions of the respectability of an escort. ' I will walk down with her.' Maura looked as if darkness were highly preferable to such a cavalier ; but Miss Adeline was charmed to see them walk off togetlier, and when her sister presently came in with Gillian and Fergus, she could not but plume herself a little on her achievement. ' Then it was those two ! ' exclaimed Jane. ' I thought so from the other side of the street, but it was too dark to be certain ; and besides, there was no believing it.' ' Did not they acknowledge you 1 ' ' Oh no ; they were much too busy.' ' Talking. Oh, what fun ! ' Adeline could not help ob- serving in such glee that she looked more like ' our youngest girl ' tlian the handsome middle-aged aunt. ' But,' suggested Fergus, somewhat astonished, ' Stebbing says he is no end of a liorrid brute of a screw.' ' Indeed. What has he been doing 1 ' ' He only tipped him a coach wheel.' 'Well, to tip ovei" as a coach wheel is the last thing I should have expected of ilr. White,' said Aunt Jane, mis- understanding on purpose. ' A crown piece then,' growled Fergus ; ' and of course he thouglit it would be a sovereign, and so he can't pay me my two tan — shillings, I mean, that I lent him, and so I can't get the lovely ammonite I saw at Nott's.' ' How could you be so silly as to lend him any money ? ' 192 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOKE chap. ' I didn't want to ; but he said he would treat us all round if I wouldn't be mean, and after all I only got half a goody, with all the liqueur out of it.' 'It served you right,' said Gillian. 'I doubt whether you would see the two shillings again, even if he had the sovereign.' 'He faitlifully promised I should,' said Fergus, whose allegiance was only half broken. 'And old White is a beast, and no mistake. He was perfectly savage to Stebbing's major, and he said he wouldn't be under him, at no price.' ' Perhaps Mr. White miglit say the same,' put in Aunt Ada. ' He is a downright old screw and a bear, I tell you,' per- sisted Fergus. ' He jawed Frank Stebbing like a pickpocket for just having a cigar in the quarry.' ' Close to the blasting powder, eh ? ' said Miss Mohun. ' And he is boring and worrying them all out of tlieir lives over the books,' added Fergus. ' Poking his nose into every- tlung, so that Ste1)bing says his governor vows he can't stand it, and shall cut the concern if the old brute does not take liimself oS to Italy before long.' ' What a good thing ! ' thought both sisters, looking into each otlier's eyes and auguring well for the future. All were anxious to hear the result of ^Maura's walk, and Gillian set out in tlie morning on a voj^age of discovery with a glass of jelly for Mrs. White ; but all she could learn was that the great man had been very kind to Maura, though he liad not come in, at which Gillian was indignant. ' ]\Ien are often shy of going near sickness and sorrow,' said lier aunt Ada. ' You did not hear what they talked about ? ' 'No ; ]\Iaura was at scliool, and Kally is a had jierson to jiump.' 'I should like to pump Mr. Wliite,' was Aunt Jane's comment. ' If I could meet liim again,' said Aunt Ada, ' I feel sure he would tell me.^ Her sister laughed a little, so well did she know that little half -conscious, half-gratified tone of assumption of power over tlie otlier sex ; but ]Miss Adeline i>roved to be right. Nay, j\Ir. White actually called in the raw cold afternoon, whicli kept her in when every one else was out. He came for the sake of telling lier tliat he was mucli pleased with tlie little girl — a ])rt'tty crcatuio, and sinqjU^ and true, he really believed. Quitt' artlessly, in answci' to his inquiries, slie had betrayed that lu'r eldest bn^tluM- ne\ei- helped them. 'Oil no! Mamma was always getting all the money slie could to send to him, because he must keep up ai)pearances at his olHce at Leeds, and live like a gentleman, and it XVII 'THEY COME, THEY COME 193 did not signify about Kalliope and Alexis doing c-oniinoii work.' ' Tliat's one matter cleared up,' rejoiced Jane. 'It won't be brought up against them now.' ' And then it seems he asked the child about her sister's lovers.' 'Oh!' ' It was for a purpose. Don't be old raaidisli, Jenny ! ' ' Well, he isn't a gentleman.' 'Now, Jane, I'm sure ' ' Never mind. I want to hear ; only I should have thought you would have been the first to cry out.' 'Little Maura seems to have risen to the occasion, and made a full explanation as far as she knew— and that was more than the child ought to liave known, by the bye — of how Mr. Fi'ank was always after Kally, and how she could not bear him, and gave up the Sunday walk to avoid him, and how he had tried to get her to marry him, and go to Italy with him ; but she would not hear of it.' ' Just the thing the little chatterbox would be proud of ; but it is no harm that "J/o?i 07icle des Ues Philip^^ines " should know.' ' " I see his little game " was what Mr. White said,' repeated Adeline. ' " The young dog expected to come over me with this pretty young wife— my relation, too ; but he would have found himself out in his reckoning." ' ' So far so good ; but it is not fair.' ' However, the ice is broken. What's that ? Is the house coming down ? ' No ; but Gillian and Valetta came rushing in, almost tumbling over one another, and each waving a sheet of a letter. Papa and mamma would land in three days' time if all went well ; but the pity was that they must go to London before coming to Rockquay, since Sir Jasper must present himself to the military and medical authorities, and likewise see his mother, who was in a very failing- state. The children looked and felt as if the meeting were de- ferred for years ; but Miss Mohun, remembering the condition of ' II Lido,' alike as to the presence of workmen and absence of servants, felt relieved at the respite, proceeded to send a telegram to Macrae, and became busier than ever before in her life. The Rotherwoods were just going to London. Tlie Marquis was wanted for a division, and though both he and Dr. Dagger declared his collar-bone quite repaired, his wife could not be satisfied witliout hearing for herself a verdict to the same efiect from the higher authorities^ being pretty 194 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. sure that whatever their report might he, liis abstract would be ' All right. Never mind.' Fly had gained so much in flesh and strength, and was so much more like her real self, that she was to remain at the hotel with Miss Elbury, the rooms being kept for her parents till Easter. ]\Iysie was, however, to go with them to satisfy her mother, 'with a first mouthful of children,' said Lord Rotherwood. ' Gillian had better come too ; and we will write to the ]\Ierrifields to come to us, unless they are bound to the old lady.' This, however, was unlikely, as she was very infirm, and her small house was pretty well filled by her attendants. Lady Rotherwood seconded the invitation like a good wife, and Gillian was grateful. Such a forestalling was well worth even the being the Marchioness's guest, and being treated with careful politeness and supervision as a girl of the period, always ready to break out. However, sliQ would have Mysie, and she tried to believe Aunt Jane, who told her that she had conjured up a spectre of the awful dame. There was a melancholy parting on the side of poor little Lady Phyllis. ' What shall I do without you, Mysie dear ? ' ' it is only for a few days.' ' Yes ; but then you will be in a different house, all down in the town — it will be only visiting — not like sisters.' ' Sisters are quite a different thing,' said Mysie stoutly ; ' but we can be the next thing to it in our hearts.' ' It is not equal,' said Fly. ' You don't make a sister of me, and I do of you.' 'Because you know no better! Poor Fly, I do wish I could give you a sister of your own.' ' Do you know, Mysie, I think — I'm quite sure, that daddy is going to ask your father and mother to give you to us, out and out.' ' Oh ! I'm sure they won't do that,' cried ]Mysie in conster- nation. ' Mamma never would ! ' 'And wouldn't you? Don't you like me as well as Gill and Vair ' I lil-e you better. Stop, don't, Fly ; you are what people call more of a companion to me — my friend ; but friends aren't the same as sisters, are they ? They may be more, or they may be less, but it is not the .same kind. And tlien it is not only j'ou ; there are pajja and mamma and all my brothers.' ' But you l™'!™f ■' ^^ . m„„ ,„„ 'Tiik will do, my boys,' said bn- Jasper. .^ow uin '"""'S;' White put something into each paw as the door was °>1?if jipSSLrS'ldt^attMr. W-it^ --«' '» *'^'- ''">'Ci°c"n b'e'n^'lonbt,' he said, "that the letter contain- ■"«.t'"sat?'r''ltet;;S'gTtly. -Why was I not toUU '''^rirtU^^-lftasfness; but to remernber any parti^ '"^"Ttiddr^st'Tar-frrcis Stebbing, Esq,'" said Sir .Tasje'm'^dttively. ,;erhaps hke a spider yulhng h.s cord. :fr™JniXnkTut«Se^earewhat you saj of mysonl-elilkimed Mrs. Stebbing ; but there was a blank look of alarm on the father s face :S^ra^tlret15'air''-'courtesy and pity made the ^'"No'nV burst out the mother. ' He knows nothing of it. Mr. S?ebbing, can't you stand up t7-.''T" ! lali n- with a Srrrsrge?SaK.ri;-okeUrMVst*b'llng saying slowly — . . r- , doos on the sly to my son.' Jasper, ' I pre- .,;i'«?rwTinsrft t:^^^ wit'hd;.aw'the prosecution.' 222 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. ' Certainly, certainly,' said Mr. Stebbing, in the tone of one delivered from great alarm. ' I will write at once to my solicitor at Avoncester.' Then turning on liis wife, ' How was it tliat I never heard this before, and you let me go and make a fool of myself ? ' ' How was I to know, Mr. Stel^ljing 1 You started off witliout a word to me, and all you told me wlien you came back was that the young man said he had posted the letter to his sistei-. I shoukriike to know wdiy he could not send it himself to the proper place ! ' ' Well, Mrs. Stebbing,' said her husband, ' I liope it ^v\\\ be a lesson to you against making free witli other people's letters.' She tossed her head, and was about to retire, when Sir Jasi^er said — 'Before leaving us, madam, in justice to my old friend's daugliter, I should be much obliged if you would let me know your grounds for believing the letter to be what you say.' 'Why — why, Sir Jasper, it has been going on tliis year or morel She has perfectly infatuated the poor boy.' ' I am not asking about your son's sentiments but can you adduce any proof of their being encouraged ! ' 'Sir Jasper! a young man doesn't go on in that way without encouragement.' 'What encouragement can you prove ?' ' Didn't I surprise a letter from her V ' Well '—checked the tone of triumphant conviction. ' A refusal, yes, but w^e all know what that means, and that there must have been something to lead to it '—and as there was an unconvinced silence— ' Besides— oh, why, every one knew of her arts. You did, Mr. Stebbing, and of poor Frank's infatuation. It was the reason of her dismissal.' 'I knew what you told me, ]\Irs. Stebbing,' he answered grimly, not at all inclined to support her at tliis moment of anger. ' I am sure I wish I had never listened to you. I never saw anything amiss in the girl's beha\'iour, and they are all at sixes and sevens without her at tlie mosaic work — though she is only absent from her motlier's illness at present.' ' You ! of course she would not sliow her goings on before you,' said the lady. 'Is Master Frank in the house?' put in Mr. White ; 'T should like to put the question before him.' ' You can't expect a young man to make mortifying- admissions,' exclaimed tlie mother, and as she saw smiles in answer she added, ' Of course, the girl has played the modest XIX . THE KNIOHT AND THE DRAGON 223 and proper throughout 1 Tliat was lier art, to di-aw him on, till he did not know what he was about.' ' Setting aside the supposed purpose,' said Sir Jasper, ' you admit, ^Irs. Stebbing, that of your own knowledge, ]\Iiss White has never encouraged your son's attentions.' ' N— no ; but we all know what those girls are.' 'Fatherless and unprotected,' said Sir Jasper, 'dependent on their own character and exertion, and therefore in especial need of kind construction. Good morning, Mrs. Stebbing ; I liave learnt all that T wish to know.' Overpowered, but not convinced, Mrs. Stebbing saw her visitors depart. ' And I hope her husband will give it to her well,' said Mv. White, as they left the house. They looked in at Beechcroft Cottage with the tidings. ' All safe, I see ! ' cried ]\Iiss Jane. ' Is the money found?' . , . ' No ; Mrs. Stebbing burnt it, under the impression that it was a love-letter,' drily said Sir Jasper. Miss Mohun led the way in the hearty fit of laughter, to which the gentlemen gave way the more heartily for recent suppression ; and ^Ir. White added — 'I assure you, it was as good as a play to hear Sir Jasper worm 'it out. One would think he had been bred a lawyer.' 'And now,' said the General, 'I must go and relieve that poor girl's suspense.' ' I will come with you,' volunteered J\Ir. White. ' I fully believe that she is a good girl, though this business and ]Master Richard's applications staggered me; and this soldier fellow must be an ass if he is not a scamp.' 'Scarcely that, I think,' said Miss Adelaide, with her pleading smile. , • p , ' Well, discipline will be as good for him as for his father, said ]\Ir. White. ' He has done for himself ; but that was a nice little lad that you had up — too good for a common national school.' Wherewith they departed, and found that Kalliope must have been on the watch, for she ran down to open tlie door to them, and the gladness which irradiated her face as Sir Jasper's first ' All right,' lighted up her features, which were so unlike the shop-girl prettiness that Mr. White expected as quite to startle him. Ivichard was in the parlour in a cloud of smoke, and began to do the honours. ' Our acknowledgments are truly due to Sir Jasper. Mr. White, we are much honoured. Pray be seated. Please to excuse ' 224 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chai-. They paid little attention to him, while Sir Jasper told as much to his sister as could well be explained as to the fate of her envelope, and added — ' You will not be wanted at Avoncester, as the case will not come on. I shall go and see all safe, then on to town ; but I mean to see your brother's commanding officer, and you may tell your mother that I have no doubt that he will be allowed a furlough.' ' But, Sir Jasper,' broke in Richard, ' I beg your pardon ; but there is a family from Leeds at Bellevue, the Nortons, and imagine what it would be if they reported me as con- nected with a common private soldier, just out of prison too!' ' Let him come to me then,' exclaimed ]\Ir. '\^ hite. In spite of appearances of disgust, Eichard took the invitation to himself, and looked amiable and gratified. 'Thank you, Mr. White, that will obviate tlie difficulty. When shall I move up ? ' ' You, sir ! Did you think I meant you ? ' said Mr. White contemptuously. ' No ; I prefer a fool to a knave ! ' ' Mr. Wliite,' interposed Sir Jasper, ' whatever you may have to say to Richard White, consider his sister. Or had you not better report our success to your inotlier, my dear 1 ' ' One moment,' said Mr. White. ' Tell me, young lady, if you do not object, what assistance have you ever received from me.' ' You have most kindly emiDloyed us, and paid for ^Maura's education,' said Kalliope. ' Is that all 1 Has nothing been transmitted through this brother?' ' I do not understand,' said Kalliope, trembling, as Richard scowled at her. ' Sir,' said he, ' I always intended, but unforeseen circum- stances ' 'That's enough for the present, sir,' said ^h: Wliite. 'I have lieard all I wish, and more too.' 'Sir,' said Kalliope, still trembling, 'indeed, Richard is a kind son and brotlier. My mothei- is much attaelicd to him. I am generally out all day, and it is quite possi))le tliat she did not tell me all tliat passed between them, as she knew that I did not like you to be applied to.' ' Tliat will do, my dear,' said Mr. White. ' I don't want to say any more about it. You shall have your brother to-morrow, if Sir Jasper can manage it. I will bring him back to Rockstone as my guest, so tliat his brother need not be molested with his company.' CHAPTER XX IVINGHOE TERRACE On an east -windy Friday afternoon Valetta and Fergus were in a crowning state of ecstasy. Rigduni Funnidos was in a hutch in the small garden under the cliff, Begum and two small gray kittens were in a basket under the kitchen stairs, Aga was jjurring under everybody's feet, Cocky was turning out the guard upon his perch — in short, II Lido was made as like Silverfold as circumstances would permit. Aunt Ada with Miss Vincent was sitting on the sofa in the drawing-room, with a newly-worked cosy, like a giant's fez. over the teapot, and Valetta's crewel cushion fully disi^layed, She was patiently enduring a rush in and out of the room of both children and Quiz once every minute, and had only requested that it should not be more than once, and that the door should neither be slammed nor left open. Macrae and the Silverfold carriage were actually gone to the station, and, oh ! oh ! oh ! here it really was with papa on the box, and heaps of luggage, and here were Primrose and Gillian and mamma and i\Irs. Halfpenny, all emerging one after another, and Primrose, looking — oh dear! more like a schoolroom than a nursery girl — such a great piece of black leg below the little crimson skirt ; but the dear little face as plump as ever. That was the first apparent fact after the disengaging from the general embrace, when all had subsided into dif- ferent seats, and Aunt Jane, who had ajDpeared from some- where in her little round sealskin hat, had begun to pour out the tea. The first sentence that emerged from the mdc'e of gi-eetings and intelligence was— ' Fly met her mother at the station ; how well she looks ! ' ' Then Victoria came down with you ? ' ' Yes ; I am glad we went to her. I really do like her very much.' Then Primrose and Valetta varied the scene by each laying Q 226 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. a kitten in their mother's lap ; and Begum, jumping after her progeny, brushed Lady Merrifield's face with her bushy tail, interrupting the information about names. 'Come, children,' said Sir Jasper, 'that's enough; take away the cats.' It was kindly said, but it was plain that liberties with mamma would not continue before him. ' The Whites ? ' was Gillian's question, as she pressed up to Aunt Jane. 'Poor Mrs. White died the night before last, was the return. 'I have just come from Kally. She is in a stunned state now— actually too busy to think and feel, for the funeral must be to-morrow.' Sir Jasper heard, and came to ask further questions. ' She saw Alexis,' went on i\Iiss ^Mohun. ' They dressed him in his own clothes, and she seemed greatly satisfied when he came to sit by her, and had forgotten all that went before. However, the end came very suddenly at last ; and all those poor children show their southern nature in tremendous out- bursts of grief— all except Kalliope, who seems not to ven- ture on giving way, will not talk, or be comforted, and is, as it were, dried up for the present. The big brothers give way quite as much as the children, in gusts, that is to say. Poor Alexis reproaches himself with having hastened it, and I am afraid his brother does not spare him. But Mr. White has bought his discharge.' ' You don't mean it.' ' Yes ; whether it was the contrast between Alexis s air of refinement and his private soldier's turn-out, or the poor fellow's patience and submission, or the brother's horrid be- haviour to him, Mr. White has taken him up, and bought him 'All because of Richard's brutal speech. That is good ! Though I confess I should have let the lad have at least a year's discipline for his own good, since he liad put himself into it ; but I can't be sorry. There is something engaging about the boy.' ^ ' And Mr. White is the right man to dispose of them. No more passed, for here were the children eager and im- portant, doing the lionours of the new house, and intensely happy at the sense of home, which with them depended more on persons than on place. _ . ' One schoolroom again,' said Mj^sie. ' One again with V al and Prim and Miss Vincent. Oh, it is happiness ! ' Even ]\Irs. Halfpenny was a delightful sight, perhaps the more so that her rightful dominion was over ; the nursery was no more, and slie was only to preside in the workroom, be generally useful, wait on my lady, and look after Primrose as far as was needful. XX IVINGHOE TERRACE 227 The bustle and excitement of settling in prevented much thought of tlie Whites, even from Gillian, during that even- ing and the next morning ; and she was ashamed of her own oblivion of her friend in the new current of ideas, when she found that her father meant to attend the funeral out of respect to his old fellow-soldier. Kockquay had outgrown its churcliyard, and had a ceme- tery half a mile off, so that people had to go in carriages. Mr. White had made himself responsible for expenses, and thus things were not so utterly dreary as poverty might have made them. It was a dreary, gusty March day, with driving rushes of rain, which had played wildly with Gillian's water- proof while she was getting such blossoms and evergreen leaves as her aunt's garden afforded, not out of love for the poor Queen of the White Ants herself, but thinking the atten- tion might gratify the daughters; and her elders moralised a little on the use and abuse of wreaths, and how the mani- festation of tender affection and respect had in many cases been imitated in empty and expensive compliment. ' The world spoils everything with its coarse finger,' said Lady Merrifield. ' I hope the custom will not be exaggerated altogether out of fashion,' said Jane. 'It is a real comfort to poor little children at funerals to have one to carry, and it is as Mrs. Gaskell's Margaret said of mourning, something to prevent settling to doing nothing but crying ; besides that afterwards there is a wholesome sweetness in thus keeping up the memory.' Sir jasper shared a carriage with Mr. White, and returned somewhat wet and very cold, and saying that it had been sadly bleak and wretched for the poor young peojole, who stood trembling, so far as he could see ; and he was anxious to know how the jjoor girls were after it. It had seemed to him as if Kalliope could scarcely stand. He proved to be right. Kalliope had said nothing, not wept demonstratively, perhaps not at all ; but when the carriage stopped at the door, she proved to be sunk back in her corner in a dead faint. She was very long in reviving, and no sooner tried to move than she swooned again, and this time it lasted so long that the doctor was sent for. Miss Mohun arrived just as he had partially restored her, and they liad a conversation. ' They must get that poor girl to bed as soon as it is pos- sible to undress her,' he said. ' I liave seen that she must break down sooner or later, and I'm afraid she is in for a serious illness ; but as yet there is no knowing.' Nursing was not among Jane's accomplishments, except of her sister Ada's chronic, though not severe ailments ; but she fetched Mrs. Halfpenny as the most effective person 228 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. within reach, trusting to that good woman's Scotch height, strong arms, great decision, and the tenderness which real iHness always elicited. Nor was she wrong. Not only did Mrs. Halfpenny get the half-unconscious girl into bed, but she stayed till evening, and then came back to snatch a meal and say — ' My leddy, if you have no objection, I will sit up -with that puir lassie the night. They are all men-folk or bairns there, except the lodger-lady, who is worn out with helping the mother, and they want some one with a head on her shoulders.' Lady Merrifield consented with all her heart ; but the Sunday morning's report was no better, when ]\Irs. Half- penny came home to dress Primrose, and see her lady. 'That eldest brother, set him up, the idle loon, was off by the mail train that night, and naething wad serve him but to come in and bid good-bye to his sister just as I had gotten her off into something more Kke a sleep. It startled her up, and she went off her head again, poor dearie, and began to talk about prison and disgrace, and what not, till she fainted again ; and when she came to, I was fain to call the other lad to pacify her, for I could see the trouble in her puir een, though she could scarce win breath to speak.' ' Is Alexis there ? ' 'Surely he is, my leddy ; he's no the lad to leaA-e his sister in sic a strait. It was all I could do to gar liim lie down when she dozed olT again, but there's sair stress setting in for all of them, jjuir things. I have sent the little laddie oti' to beg the doctor to look in as soon as he can, for I am much mistaken if there be not fever coming on.' ' Indeed ! And what can those poor children do 1 ' ' That's what I'm thinking, my leddy. And since 'tis your pleasure that the nursery be done awa' wi', and I have not ta'en any fresh work, I should like weel to see the puir lassie through wi' it. Ye'll no mind that Cai:)tain White and my puir Halfpennj^ listed the same time, and always forgathered as became douce lads. The twa of them got their stripes the- gither, and when Halfpenny got his sunstroke in that weary march, 'twas White who gave him his last sup of water, ancl brought me his bit Bible. So I'd be fain to tend his daughter in her sickness, if you could spare me, my leddy, and Id aye rin home to dress Missie Primrose and pit her to bed, and see to matters here.' 'There's no better nurse in the world, dear old Halfpenny,' said Lady Merrifield, with tears in lier eyes. ' I do feel most thankful to you for proposing it. Never mind about Prim- rose, only you must have your meals and a good rest here, and not knock yourself up.' XX IVINGHOE TERRACE 229 Mrs. Halfpenny smiled grimly at the notion of her being sooner knocked up tlian a steam-engine. I3r. Dagger entirely confirmed her opinion that poor Kalliope was likely to have a serious illness, low nervous fever, and failing action of the heai-t, no doubt from the severe strain that she had under- gone, more or less, for many months, and latterly fearfully enlianced hj her mother s illness, and the shock and suspense about Alexis, all borne under the necessity of external com- posure and calmness, so that even Mrs. Lee had never entirely understood how much it cost her. The doctor did not appre- hend extreme danger to one young and healthy, but he thought much would dejjend on good nursing, and on absolute protection from any sort of excitement, so that such care as Mrs. Halfpenny's was invaluable, since she was well known to be a dove to a patient, but a di'agon to all outsiders. Every one around grieved at having done so little to lighten tliese burtliens, and having even increased them, her brother Alexis above all ; but on the other liand, he was the only person who was of any use to her, or was suftered to approach lier, since his touch and voice calmed the recurring distress, lest he were still in prison and danger. Alexis went back dutifully on the Monday morning to his post at the works. The young man was nuich changed by his fortnight's experiences, or rather he had been cured of a temporary tit of distraction, and returned to his better self. How many discussions his friends held about him cannot be recorded, but after a conversation with Mr. Flight, with whom he was really more unreserved than any other being except Kalliope, this was the understanding at which Miss Mohun and Lady Merrifield arrived as to his nature and character. Refined, studious, and sensitive, thoroughly religious- minded, and of a high tone of thought, his aspirations had been blighted by his father's death, his brother's selfishness, and his mother's favouritism. In a brave spirit of self-abne- gation, he had turned to the uncongenial employment set before him for the sake of liis family, and which was rendered specially trying by the dislike of his f ellov/s to ' the gentle- man cove,' and the jealousy of the Stebbings. Alike for his religious and his refined habits he had sufiered patiently, as Mr. Flight had always known more or less, and now bore testimony. The curate, who had opened to liim the first door of hope and comfort, had in these weeks begun to see that the apparent fitfulness of his kindness had been un- settling. Then came the brief dream of felicity excited by Gillian and the darkness of its extinction, just as Frank Htcbbing's failure and the near approach of j\Ir. White had made the malice of his immediate superiors render his situation more 230 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. intolerable tlian evei\ Tliere was the added sting of self- reproach for his pi-esumption towards Gillian, and the neglect caused by liis fit of low spirits. Such a sensitive being, in early youth, wearied and goaded on all sides, might probably liave persevered tln-ough the darkness till dayliglit came ; but the catastrophe, tlie dismissal, and the perception that he could only defend himself at the expense of his idol's little brother, all exaggerated by youthful imagination, were too much for liis balance of judgment, and he fled without giving himself time to realise how much worse he made it for those he left behind him. Of course he perceived it all now, and the more bitterly from his sister's wanderings, but the morbid exaggeration was gone. The actual taste of a recruit's life had shown him that there were worse things than employment at the quarries with his liome awaiting him ; and his cell had been a place of tliouglit and recovery of his senses. He had never seri- ously expected conviction, and Sir Jasper's visit had given him a spring of liopef ul resignation, in wiiich thoughts stirred of doing his duty, and winning his way after his father's example, and taking the trials of his military life as the just cross of his wrong-doing in entering it. His liberation and Mr. White's kindness had not altered this frame. He was too unliappy to feel his residence in the great house anything but a restraint ; he could not help be- lieving that he had "hastened his mother's death, and could only bow his head meekly under his brother's reproaches, alike for that and for his folly and imprudence and the dis- grace he had brought on tlie family. ' And now you'll be currying favour and cutting out every- one else,' had been a sting which added fresh force to Alexis's desire to escape from his kinsman's house to sleep at home as soon as his brother liad gone ; and Richard had seen enough of Sir Jasper and of Mr. White to be anxious to return to his office at Leeds as soon as possible, and to regulate his affairs beyond their reach. Alexis knew that he had avoided a duty in not working out his three months' term, and likewise that his earnings were necessary to the family all the more for his sister being laid aside. He knew that he hardly deserved to resume his post, and he merely asked permission so to do, and it was granted at once, but curtly and coldly. Mr. Flight had asked if he had not found the going among the otlier clerks very trying. ' I had other tilings to think of,' said Alexis sadly, then recalling himself. 'Yes; Jones did sneer a little, but the others stopped that. They knew I was down, you see.' ' And you mean to go on ? ' XX lYINGHOE TERRACE 231 ' If I may. That, and for my sister to get better, is all I can dare to hope. My madness and selfishness have shown me unworthy of all that I once dreamt of.' In that resolution it was assuredly best to leave him, only giving him such encouragement and sympatliy as might prevent that more dangerous reaction of giving up all better things ; and Sir Jasper impressed on Mr. Flight, the only friend who could have aided him in' fulfilling his former aspirations, that Mv. White had in a manner purchased the youth by buying his discharge, and that interference would not only be inexpedient, but unjust. The young clergyman chafed a little over not being allowed to atone for his neglect ; but Sir Jasper was not a i^erson to be easily gainsay ed. Nor could there be any doubt that Mr. White was a good man, though in general so much inclined to reserve his hand that his actions wei'e apt to take people by surprise at last, as they had never guessed his intentions, and lie had a way of sucking people's brains witliout in the least letting them know what use he meant to make of their information. The measures he was taking for the temporal, intellectual, and spiritual welfare of the people at the works would hardly have been known except for the murmurs of ]\Irs. Stebbing, although, without their knowing Avhat he was about with them, Mr. Stebbing himself, Mr. Hablot, Miss Mohun, to say nothing of Alexis, the foremen and the men and their wives, had given Iiim the groundwork of his reforms. Meantime, he came daily to inquire for Kalliope, and lavished on her all that could be an alleviation, greatly offending Mrs. Half- penny by continually proffering the services of a hospital nurse. ' A silly tawpie that would be mair trouble than half a dozen sick,' as she chose to declare. She was a born autocrat, and ruled as absolutely in No. 1 as in her nursery, oi'dering off" the three young ones to their schools, in spite of Maura's remonstrances and appeals to Lady Merrifield, who agreed with nurse that the girl was much better away and occupied than where she could be of very little use. Indeed, Mrs. Halfpenny banished every one from the room except Mrs. Lee and Alexis, wliom she would allow to take her place, while she stalked to II Lido for her meals, and the duties she would not drop. As to rest, she always, in times of sickness, seemed to be made of cast iron, and if slie ever slept at all, it was in a chair, while Alexis sat by his sister in the evening. The fever never ran veiy high, but constant vigilance was wanted from the exti-eme exhaustion and faintness. Tliere was no violent delirium, but more of delusion and distress: 232 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOKE chap. nor was it easy to tell when she was conscious or otherwise, for she hardly spoke, and as yet the doctor forbade any attempt to rouse her more than w^as absolutely needful. They were only to give nourishment, watch her, and be patient. A few months ago Gillian would have fussed herself into a frantic state of anxiety and self-reproach ; but her parents^ when her mother had once heard as much outpouring as she thought expedient, would not permit what Sir Jasper called 'loerpetual harping.' ' You have to do your duties all the same, and not worry your mother and all the family with your feelings,' he said. She thought it very unkind, and went away crying. 'Nobody could hinder her from thinking about Kalliope,' she said to herself, and think she did at her prayers, and when the bulletins came in ; but the embargo on discussion prevented her from being so absolutely engrossed, as in weaker hands she might have been, and there was a great deal going on to claim her attention. For one thing, tlie results of the Cambridge Examination sliowed that while Emma Norton and a few others had jiassed triumphantly, she had failed, and conscience carried her back to last autumn's disinclination to do just what Aunt Jane especially recommended. She cried bitterly over the failure, for she had a feeling that success there would redeem her somewhat in her parents' eyes ; but here again slie experienced the healing kindness of her father. He would not say that he should not liave been much pleased by her success, but lie said failure that taught her to do her best without perverseness was really a benefit ; and as arithmetic and mathematics had been her weakest points, he would work at them with her and Mysie for an hour every morning. It was somewhat formidable, but the girls soon found that what their fatlier demanded was ai^plication, and that in- attention displeased him much more than stupidity. His smile, though rare, was one of the sweetest things in the world, and his approbation was delightful, and gave a stimu- lus to the entire day's doings. ]\Iysie was more than ever in dread of being handed over to the Eotherwoods, though her love for poor Fly and pity for her solitude were so strong. She would have been much relieved if she had known what liad passed • when the offer was seriously made. Lord Ivother- wood insisted tliat his wife sliould do it. ' Then they will believe in it,' he said. 'I do not know why you should say that,' slie returned, always dutifully blinding herself to that wliich all their intimates knew perfectly well. However, perhaps from XX IVINGHOE TERRACE 283 having a station and dignity of lier own, together with great simplicity, Lady Merritield had fi'om her first arrival got on so well with her hostess as not quite to enter into Jane's sarcastic descriptions of her etforts at cordiality ; and it was with real warmth that Lady Kotherwood begged for j\Iysie as a permanent companion and adopted sister to Phyllis, who was to be taken back to London after Easter, and in the meantime spent every possible moment with her cousnis. Tears at the unkindness to lonely Fly came into Lady Mem- field's eyes as she said — ' I cannot do it, Victoria ; I do not tlmik I ought to give away my child, even if I could.' . . ' It is not only our feelings,' added Sir Jasper, ' but it is our duty to bring up our own child in her natural station ; and though we know she would learn nothing but good m your family, I cannot think it well that a girl should acquire habits, and be used to society ways and of life beyond those which she can expect to continue.' They both cried out at this. Lord Rotherwood with a halt- ing declaration of perfect equality, which his lady seconded, with a dexterous reference to connections. 'We Avill not put it on rank then,' said Sir Jasper, 'but on wealth. With you, Maria must become accustomed to much that she could not continue, and had better not become natural to her. I know there are great advantages to manners and general cultivation in being with you, and we shall be most thankful to let her pay long visits, and be as much with Phyllis as is consistent with feeling her home with us, but I cannot think it right to do more.' ' But with introductions,' pleaded Lady Rotherwood, she might marry well. With her family and connections, she would be a match for any one.' . . ' I hope so,' said Sir Jasper ; ' but at the same time it would not be well for her to look on such a marriage as the means of continuing the habits that would have become second nature.' 'Poor Mysie,' exclaimed Lord Rotherwood, bursting out laughing at the idea, and at Lady Merritield's look as she murmured, ' My ]\Iysie ! ' ' You misunderstand me,' said the Marchioness composedly. ' I was as far as possible from proposing marriage as a specu- lation for her.' , 'I know you were,' said Sir Jasper. 'I know you would deal by :\Laria as by your own daughter, and I am very grate- ful to 'you, Lady Rotherwood ; but I can only come back to my old decision, that as Providence did not place her in your rank of life, she had better not beconie so accustomed to it as to render her own distasteful to her.' 234 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. 'Exactly what I expected,' said Lord Eotherwood. ' Yes,' returned his wife, with an ettbrt of generosity ; ' and I believe you are right, Jasper, though I am sorry for my little solitary girl, and I never saw a friend so perfectly suitable for her as your Mysie.' ' They may be friends still,' said Lord Rotherwood, ' and we will be grateful to you whenever you can spare her to us.' ' Perhaps,' added Sir Jasper, ' all the more helpful friends for seeing different phases of life.' 'And,' said his wife, with one of her warm impulses, 'I do thank you, Victoria, for so loving my Mysie.' ' As if any one could help it, after last winter,' said that lady, and an impromptu kiss passed between the two mothers, much to the astonishment of the Marquis, who had never aeen his lady so moved towards any one. The Merrifields were somewhat on the world, for Sir Jasper, on going to Silverfold and corresponding with the trustees of the landlord, had found that the place could not be put in a state either of repair or sanitation, such as he approved, without more expense than either he or the trustees thought advisable, and he decided on giving it up, and remaining at II Lido till he could find something more suitable. The children, who had been there during the special home- making age, bewailed the decision, and were likely always to look back on Silvei'fold as a sort of Paradise ; but the elder ones had been used to changes from infancy, and had never settled down, and their mother said that place was little to her as long as she had her Jasper by her side ; and as to the abstract idea of home as a locality, that would always be to her under the tulip-tree and by the pond at the Old Court at Beechcroft, just as her abstract idea of church was in the old family pew, with the carved oak jjanels, before the restoration, in which she had been the most eager of all. Tlius a fortnight passed, and tlien tlie fever was decidedly wearing off, but returning at night. Kalliope still lay weak, languid, silent, fainting at any attempt to move hei', not apparently able to think enough to ask how time passed, or to be uneasy about anything, simply acce2:)ting the cares given to her, and lying still. One morning, however, Alexis arrived in great distress to speak to Sir Jasper, not that his sister was Avorse, as he explained, but Eicliard had been sell- ing the house. The younger ones at home had never troubled themselves as to whose property the three houses in Ivinghoe Terrace were. Perhaps Kallio])e knew, but slie could not be asked ; but the fact was tliat Cajitaiu White liad Ixhmi so lost sight of, that he had not known that this inheritance liad XX IVmCxHOE TERRACE 235 fallen to him undei^ the will of his grandfatlier, who was imbecile at the time of his flight. On liis deathbed, the Captain had left the little he owned to his wife, and she had died intestate, as Richard had ascertained before leaving home, so that he, as eldest son, was heir to the ground. He had written to Kalliope, a letter which Alexis had opened, informing her that he had anvanged to sell the houses to a Mr. Gudgeon, letting to him their own till the completion of the legal business necessary, and therefore desiring his brothers and sisters to move out with their lodgers, if not by Lady Day itself, thus giving only a w^eek's spare notice, at latest by Old Lady Day. ' Is he not aware of your sister's state 1 ' ' I do not imagine that he has read the letter that I wrote to him. He was very much displeased with me, and some- what disposed to be angry at my sister's fainting, and to think that we were all trying to work on his feelings. He used to be rather fond of Maura, so I told her to write to him ; but he has taken no notice, and he can have no con- ception of Kalliope's condition, or he would not have addressed his letter to her. I came to ask if you would kindly write to him how impossible it is to move her.' ' You had better get a certificate from Dr. Dagger. Either I or Lady Merrifield will meet him, and see to that. That will serve both to stay him and the purchaser.' ' That is another misfortune. This Gudgeon is the chief officer, or whatever tliey call it, of the Salvation Army. I knew they had been looking out for a place for a barracks, and could not get one because almost everything belongs to Lord Rotherwood or to Mr. White.' Sir Jasper could only reply that he would see what could be done in the matter, and that, at any rate, Kalliope should not be disturbed. Accordingly Lady Merrifield repaired to Ivinghoe Terrace for the doctor's visit, and obtained from him the requisite certificate that the patient could not be removed at present. He gave it, saying, however, to Lady jMerrifield's surprise, that though he did not think it would be possible to remove her in a week's time, yet after that he fully believed that she would have more chance of recovering favourably if she could be taken out of the small room and the warm atmos- phere beneath the clifis — though of course all must depend on her state at the time. Meantime there was a council of the gentlemen about out- bidding the Salvation Army. Lord Rotlierwood was spend- ing already as much as he could aftbrd, in the days of agricultural depression, on the improvements planned witli Mr. White. That individual was too good a man of business 236 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. to fall, as he said, into the trap, and make a present to that scamp Iiicliard of more than the worth of the houses,_and only Mr. Flight was ready to go to any cost to keep off the Salvation Army ; but the answer was curt. Richard knew he had no cliance with ]\If. White, and did not care to keep terms with liim. ':\Ir. Richard White begs to acknowledge the obliging offei- of the Rev. Augustine Flight, and regrets that arrange- ments have so far progressed with .Mr. Gudgeon that he cannot avail himself of it.' Was this really regret or was the measure out of spite ? Only the widest charity could accept the former suggestion; and even Sir Jasper Merritield's brief and severe letter and Dr. Dagger's certificate did not prevent a letter to Alexis, warning liini not to make their sister's illness a pretext for unreasonable delay. What was to be done 1 Kalliope was still unfit to be con- sulted or even informed, and she had been hitherto so entirely the real liead and manager of the family that Alexis did not like to make any decision without her ; and even the accept- ance of the St. Wulstan's choristership for Theodore had been put off for lier to make it, look to his outfit, and all that only tlie woman of the family could do for them. And here they were at a loss for a roof over their heads, and nowhere to bestow the battered old furniture, of which Richard magnanimously i-enounced his sixth share ; while she who had hitherto toiled, thought, managed, and con- trived for all the other four, without care of their own, still lay on her bed, sensible indeed and no longer feverish, but with the perilous failure of heart, renewed by any kind of exertion or excitement, a sudden movement, or a startling sound in the street ; and J\Irs. Halfpenny, guarding her as ferociously as ever, and looking capable of murdei-nig any one of her substitutes if tliey durst hint a word of their per- plexities. Happily she asked no questions ; she was content when allowed "to 'be kissed by the others, and to see they were well. Nature was enforcing repose, and so far 'her senses was all as in a dream bound up.' Alexis remembered that it liad been somewhat thus at Leeds, when, after nursing all the rest, slie had succumbed to the epidemic ; but then the mother had been able to watch over her, and had been a more effective parent to the rest than she had since become. The first practical proposal was i\lrs. Lee s. They thought of reversing the present position, and taking a small liouse where their present hosts might become their lodgers. More- over, ^liss Mohun clenched the afiair about Theodore, and overcame Alexis's scruples, while Lady Merrilield, having XX IVINGHOE TERRACE 237 once or twice looked in, and been smiled at and thanked by Kalliope, undertook to prepare her for his farewell. Alexis and Maura both declared that she would instantly jump up, and want to begin looking over his socks ; but she got no fui'ther than — - ' Dear boy ! It is the sort of thing I always wished for him. People are very good ! But his things—' ' Oh yes, dearie, ye need not fash yourself. I've mended them as I sat by you, and packed them all. Lie still. They are all right.' There was an atmosphere of the Eoyal Wardours about Mrs. Halfpenny, which was at once congenial and command- ing ; and Kalliope's mind at once i^elinquished the burthen of socks, shirts, and even the elbows of the outgrown jacket, nor did any of the family ever know how the deficiencies had been supplied. And when Theodore, well admonished, came softly and timidly for the parting kiss, his face quivering all over with the effort at self-control, slie lay and smiled ; but with a great crystal tear on each dark eyelash, and her thin trans- parent fingers softly stroked his cheeks, as the low weak voice said — 'Be a good boy, dear — speak truth. Praise God well. Write ; I'll write wlien I am better.' It was the first time she had spoken of being better, and they told Theodore to take comfort from it when all the other three walked him up to the station, CHAPTER XXI BEAUTY AND THE BEAST In the search for a new abode Mrs. Lee was in much difficulty, for it was needful to be near St. Kenelm's, and tlie only- vacant houses within her means were not desirable for the reception of a feeble convalescent ; moreover, Mr. Gudgeon grumbled and inquired, and was only withheld by warnings enhanced by the police from carrying the whole charivari of the Salvation Army along Ivinghoe Terrace on Sunday afternoon. Perhaps it was this, perhaps it was the fact of liaving discussed the situation with the two ]\Iiss Mohuns, that made Mr. White say to Alexis, 'There are two rooms ready for your sister, as soon as Dagger says she can be moved safely. The person who nurses her had better come with her, and you may as well come back to your old quarters.' Alexis could hardly believe his ears, but Mr. White waved off all thanks. The Moliun sisters were delighted and triumphant, and Jane came down to talk it over with her elder sister, auguring great things from that man who loved to deal in surprises. ' That is true,' said Sir Jasper. ' What does that mean, Jasper 1 ' said his wife. ' It sounds significant.' ' I certainly should not be amazed if he did further sur- prise us all. Has it never struck you liow that noontide turn of Adeline's corresponds with his walk home from the reading-room 1 ' Lady ]\Ierrifield looked rather startled, but Jane only laughed, and said, ']\Iy dear Jasper, if you only knew Ada as well as I do ! Yes, I have seen far too many of those little aftairs to be taken in by them. Poor Ada ! I know exactly how she looks, but slie is only flattered, like a pussy- cat waggling the end of its tail — it means nothing, and never comes to anything. The thing that is likely and hopeful is, CHAP. XXI BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 239 that he may adopt those young i^eoiDle as nephews and nieces.' ' Miglit it not spoil them 1 ' said Lady IMerrifield. ' Oh ! I did not mean that. They might work with him still. However, there is no use in settling about that. The only tiling to be expected of him is the unexpected ! ' ' And the thing to be done,' added her sister, ' is to see how and when that poor girl can be got up to Cliff House.' To the general surprise, Dr. Dagger wished the transit to take place without loss of time. A certain look of resigned consternation crossed Kalliope's face on being infoi'med of her destiny ; but she justified Mrs. Halfpenny's commendation of her as the maist douce and conformable patient in the world, for she had not energy enough even to plead against anything so formidable, and she had not yet been told that Ivinghoe Terrace was her home no longer. The next day she was wrapped in cloaks and carried downstairs between her brother and Mrs. Halfpenny, laid on a mattress in the Merrifield waggonette, which went up the hill at a foot's pace, and by the same hands, with her old friend the caretaker's wife going before, was taken upstairs to a beautiful large room, with a window looking out on vernal sky and sea. She was too much exhausted on her arrival to know anything but the repose on the fresh comfortable bed, whose whiteness was almost rivalled by her cheek, and Mrs. Halfpenny ordered off Alexis, who was watching her in great anxiety. However, when he came back after his afternoon's work, it was to find that she had eaten and slept, and now lay, with her eyes open, in quiet interested admiration of a spacious and pleasant bedroom, such as to be a great novelty to one whose life had been spent in cheap lodging-houses. The rooms had been fur- nished twenty years before as a surprise intended for the wife who never returned to occupy them, and thougli there was nothing extraordinary in them, there was much to content the eyes accustomed to something very like squalid- ness, for had not Kalliope's lot always been the least desirable chamber in the family quarters ? At any rate, from that moment she began to recover, ate with appetite, slept and woke to be interested, and to enjoy Theodore's letter of description of St. Wulstan's, and even to ask questions. Alexis was ready to dance for joy when slie first began really to talk to him ; and could not forbear imparting his gladness to the ^liss jNIohuns that very evening, as well as to Mr. White ; and ruiniing down after dinner with the good news to Maura, Mrs. Lee, and Lady Merrifield. Dinners with Mr. White had, on his first sojourn in that house, been a great penance, though there were no supercilious 240 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. servants, for all tlie waiting was by the familiar housekeeper, Mrs. Osborne, who had merely added an underling to her establishment on her master's return ; but Alexis then had been utterly miserable, feeling guilty and ashamed, as one only endured on sufferance out of compassion, because his brother cast him out, and fresh from the sight of his mother's dying bed ; a terrible expei-ience altogether, which had entirely burnt out and effaced his foolish fit of romantic calf- love, and rendered him much more of a man. Now, though not a month had passed, he seemed to be on a different footing. He was doing his work steadily, and the hope of liis sister's recovery had brightened him. ]\Ir. White had begun to talk to him, to ask him questions about the doings of the day, and to tell him in return some of his own experiences in Italy, and in the earlier days of the town. Maura came up to see her sister every day, and tranquillised her mind when the move was exj^lained, and anxiety as to the transport of all their worldly goods began to set in. Mrs. Lee had found a liouse where she could jDlace two bedrooms and a sitting-room at the disposal of the Whites if things were to continue as before, and no hint had been given of any change, or of what was to happen when the three months' notice given to Kalliope and Alexis should have expired. By the Easter holidays Mrs. Halfpenny began to get rather restless as to the overlooking of the iDoys' wardrobes ; and, indeed, she thought so well of her patient's progress as to suggest to Mr. White that the lassie would do very well if .she liad her sister to be with her in the holidays, and she herself would come up every day to help at the getting up, for Kalliope was now able to be dressed and to lie on a couch in the dressing-room, where she could look out over the bay, and she had even asked for some knitting. ' And really. Miss Gillian, you could not do her much harm if you came up to see her,' said the despot. ' So you may come this very afternoon, if ye'll be douce, and not fash her with any of your cantrips.' Gillian did not feel at all in a mood for cantrips as she slowly walked up the broad staircase, and was ushered into the dressing-room, cheerful with bright fire and April sun- shine, and with a large comfortable sofa covered with a bright rug, wliere Kalliope could enjoy both window and fire without glare. The beauty of her face so much depended on foi-m and expression that lier illness had not lessened it. Gillian had scarcely seen her since the autumn, and the fii'st feeling was what an air of rest and peace liad succeeded the woi'ii, liarassed look tlien almost perpetual. Thcie was a calmness n(nv tliat far better suited the nc)l)le forehead, dark l^encilled eyebrows, and classical features in their clear pale- XXI r.EAUTY AND THE BEAST 241 ness ; and with a sort of reverence Gillian bent over her, to kiss her and give her a buncli of violets. Then, when the thanks had passed, Gillian relieved her own shyness by exclaiming with admiration at a beautiful water-coloured copy of an early Italian fresco, combining the Nativity and Adoration of the Magi, that hung over the mantel - piece. ' Is it not exquisite ? ' returned Kalliope. ' I do so much enjoy making out each head and dwelling on them ! Look at that old shepherd's simple wonder and reverence, and the little child with the lamb, and the contrast with the Wise Man from the East, whose eyes look as if he saw so much by faith.' ' Can you see it from there 1 ' asked Gillian, who had got U23 to look at these and furtlier details dwelt on by Kalliope. ' Yes. Not at first ; but they come out on me by degrees. It is such a pleasure, and so kind of ^Ir. White to have put it there. He had it Ining there, Mrs. Halfpenny told me, instead of his own picture just before I came in here.' ' Well, he is not a bad-looking man ; but it is no harm to him or his portrait to say that this is better to look at ! ' ' It quite does me good ! And see,' pointing to a photo- graph of the Arch of Titus hung on the screen that shielded her from the door, ' he sends in a fresh one by Alexis every other day.' ' How very nice ! He really seems to be a dear old man. Don't you think so 1 ' ' I am sure lie is wonderfully kind : but I have only seen him that once when he came with Sir Jasper, and then I knew nothing but that when Sir Jasper was come things must go right.' ' Of course ; but has he never been to see you now that you are up and dressed ? ' ' No ; he lavishes anything on me that I can possibly want ; but I have only seen him once — never here.' ' It is like Beauty and the Beast ! ' ' Oh no, no ; don't say that ! ' ' Well, George Stebbing really taught Fergus to call him a beast, and you — Kally — I won't tease you with saying wliat you are.' ' I wish I wasn't ; it would be all so much easier.' ' Never mind ! I do believe the Stebbings are going away ! Does Maura never see him '? ' ' She has met him on the stairs and in the garden ; but she has her meals here. I trust by the time her Easter holidays are over I may be tit to go back with her. But I do hope I may be able to cojjy a bit of that i)icture first, though, any way, I can never forget it.' 242 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. ' To go on as before ? ' exclaimed Gillian, witli an interro- gative sigh of wonder. . t t- i 'If that notice of dismissal can be revoked, said Kal- liope. ' But would you like it— must you V ' I should like to go back to my girls,' said Kalliope ; and things come into my head, now I am doing notlung, that I want to work out, if I might. So, you see, it is not at all a pity that 1 7»M*-^.' ' And why is it must 1 ' said Gillian wistfully. 1 ou Jiave to get well iirst.' ' Yes, I know that ; but, you see, tliere are Maura and Petros. They must not be thrown on Alexis, poor dear fellow ! And if he could only be set free, he might go on with wliat he once hoped for, though he thinks it is his duty to give all that entirely up now and work obediently on. But I know the longing will revive, and if I only could improve myself, and be worth more, it miglit still be possible.' 'Only you must not beghi too soon and work yourself to death.' ' Hardly after such a rest,' said Kalliope. ' It is not work I mind, but worry '—and then a sadder look^ crossed her for a moment, and she added, ' I am so thankful.' ' Thankful ! ' echoed Gillian. 'Yes, indeed ! For Sir Jaspers coming and saving us at that dreadful moment, and my being able to keep up as long as dear mamma wanted me ; and then Mrs. Halfpenny being spared by dear Lady Merrifield to give me such wonderful care and kindness, and little Theodore being so happily placed, and this rest— such a strange quiet rest as I ne^er knew before. Oh ! it is all so thankworthy '—and the great tears came to dim her eyes. ' It seems sent to help me to take strength and courage for the future. " He hath helped me hitlierto." ' ' And you are better 1 ' 'Yes, much better. Quite comfortable as long as I am quite still.' ' And content to be still ? ' ' Yes, I'm very lazy.' It was a tired voice, and (lillian feared h(>r lialf-liour was nearly over, but she could not hclji saying ' Do you know, I think it will lu- all nicei- now. ^h: Wliite is doing so much, and Air. Stebbing hates it so, that ]Mrs. Stebbing says he is going to dissolve the partnership and go away.' 'Tlien it would all be easier. It seems too good t<^ be true.' XXI BEAUTY AXD THE BEAST 243 'And that man ^Fr. Wliitc. He must do sonietliing for you ! He ought.' ' Oil no ! He has done a great deal ah-eady, and has not been well used. Don't talk of that.' ' I believe he is awfully rich. You know lie is building an Institute for the workmen, and a wliole row of model cottages.' 'Yes, Alexis told me. Wliat a difference it will make! I hope lie will build a room where the girls can dine and rest and read, or have a piano ; it would be so good for them.' ' You had better talk to him about it.' ' I never see him, and I should not dare.' ' I'll tell my aunts. He always does what Aunt Ada tells him. Is that really all you wish 1 ' ' Oh ! I don't wish for anything much — I don't seem able to care now dear mamma is where they cease from troubling, and I have Alec again.' ' Well, I can't help having great hopes. I can't see why that man should not make a daughter of you ! Then you would travel and see mountains and pictures and everything. Oh, should you not like that V 'Like? Oh, one does not think about liking things im- possible ! And for the rest, it is nonsense. I should not like to be dependent, and I ought not.' ' You don't think what is to come next 1 ' 'No, it would be taking thought for the morro\v, would it not 1 I don't want to, while I can't do anything ; it would only make me fret, and I am glad I am too stupid still to begin vexing myself over it. I suppose energy and power of considering will come when my heart does not flutter so. In the meantime, I only want to keep quiet, and I hope that's not all laziness, but some trust in Him who has helped me all this time.' ' Miss Gillian, you've clavered as long as is good for Miss White, and here are the whole clanjamfrie waiting in the road for you. Now be douce, my bairn, and mind you are not in the woods at home, and don't let the laddies play their tricks with Miss Primrose.' ' I must go,' said Gillian, hastily kissing Kalliope. ' The others were going to call for me. When Lady Phyllis was riding with her father she spied a wonderful field of daflbdils and a valley full of moss at a place called Clipston, two miles off, and we are all going to get some for the decorations. I'll send you some. Good-bye.' The clanjamfrie, as Mrs. Halfpenny called it, mustered strong, and Gillian's heart leapt at the resumption of the tumultuous family life, as she beheld the collection of girls, boys, dogs, and donkeys awaiting her in the approach ; and, 244 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. in spite of the two governesses' presence, her mind misgave her as to the likeliliood of regard to the liint that her mother had given that she hoped tlie elder ones would ti-y to be sober in their ways, and not quite forget what week it was. It was in their favour that Jasper, now in his last term at school, was much more of a man and less of a boy than hitherto, and was likely to be on the side of discretion, so that he might keep in order that alway difficult element, Wilfred, whose two years of preparatoi'y school as yet made him only more ingenious in the arts of teasing, and more determined to show his superiority to petticoat government. He had driven Fergus nearly distracted by threatening to use all his mineralogical specimens to make ducks and drakes, and actually confusing them together, so that Fergus re- pented of having exhibited them, and rejoiced that Aunt Jane had let them continue in her lumber-room till they could find a permanent home. Wilfred had a shot for Mrs. Halfpenny, when she came down with Gillian and looked for Primrose to secure that there were no interstices between the silk handkerchief and fur collar. ' Ha, ha, old Small Change, don't you wish you may get it 1 ' — as Primrose proved to be outside the drive on one of the donkeys. 'You've got nothing to do but gnaw your fists at us like old Giant Pope.' ' For shame, Wilfred ! ' said Jaspei*. ' My mother did Prim- I'O.se's throat, nurse, so she is all right.' ' Bad form,' observed Lord Ivinghoe, shaking his liead. ' I'm not going to Eton,' replied Wilfred audaciously. ' I should hope not ! ' — in a tone of ineftable contempt, not for Wilfred's person, but his manners, and therewith his Lordship exclaimed, 'Wlio's that?' as Maura came flying- down with Gillian's forgotten basket. ' Oh, that's Maura White ! ' said Valetta. 'I say, isn't she going with us?' ' Oh no, she has to look after her sister ! ' 'Don't you think we might take her. Gill?' said Fly. 'She never gets any fun.' 'I don't think she ought to leave Kalliope to-day, Fly, for nurse is goiiig down to II Lido ; and besides, Aunt Jane said we must not take a/l Rockquay with us.' ' No ; they would not let us ask Kitty and Clement Varley,' said Fergus disconsolately. 'I am sure she is five times as pretty as your Kitty ! ' re- turned Ivinghoe. 'Slie is a regular stunner.' Wliereby it may be perceived that a year at Eton liad considerably modi- fied his Lordship's correctness of speecli, if not of demeanour. Be it further observed that, in sj^itc of the escort of the XXI BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 245 governesses, tlie young people were as free as if those ladies had been absent, for, as Jasper observed, tlie donkeys neutral- ised them. Miss Elbury, being a bad walker, rode one, and Miss Vincent felt bound to keep close to Primrose upon the other ; and as neitlier animal could be prevailed on to moder- ate its pace, they kept far aliead of all except Valetta, who was mounted on the pony intended for Lady Phyllis, but disdained by her until she should be tired. Lord Ivinghoe's admiration of INIaura was received contemptuously by Wil- fred, who was half a year younger than his cousin, and being already, in liis own estimation, a Wykehamist, had endless rivalries with him. ' She ! She's nothing but a cad ! Her sister is a shop-girl, and her brother is a quarryman.' ' She does not look like it,' observed Ivinghoe, while Mysie and Fly, with one voice, exclaimed that her father was an officer in the Eoyal Wardours. ' A private first,' said Wilfred, with boyhood's reiteration. 'Cads and quarrymen all of them — the wliole boiling, old White and all, though he has got such a stuck-up house ! ' ' Nonsense, Will,' said Fly. 'Why, Mr. White has dined with us.' ' A patent of nobility,' said Jasper, smiling. ' I don't care,' said Wilfred ; ' if otlier people choose to chum with old stonemasons and convicts, I don't.' ' Wilfred, that is too bad,' said Gillian. ' It is very wrong to talk in that way.' ' Oh ! ' said the audacious Wilfred, ' Ave all know who is Gill's Jack ! ' ' Shut up. Will ! ' cried Fergus, flying at Inm. ' I told you not to ' But Wilfred bounded up a steep bank, and from that place of vantage went on — ' Didn't she teach him Greek, and wasn't he spoony ; and didn't she send back his valentine, so that \ Fergus was scrambling up the bank after him, enraged at the betrayal of his confidence, and shouting inarticulately, while poor Gillian moved on, overwhelmed with confusion, and Fly uttered the cutting words, ' Perfectly disgusting ! ' ' Ay, so it was ! ' cried the unabashed Wilfred, keeping on at the top of the bank, and shaking tlie bushes at every pause. ' So he broke down the I'ocks, and ran away with the tin, and enlisted, and went to prison. Such a sweet young man for Gill ! ' Poor Gillian ! was her punishment never to end ? That scrape of hers, hitherto so tenderly and delicately hinted at, and which she would have given worlds to have kept from her brothers, now shouted all over the country ! Sympathy, 246 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. however, she had, if that would do her any good. iSIysie and Fly came on each side of Ivinghoe, assuring him, in low eager voices, of the utter nonsense of the cliarge, and explaining ardently ; and Jasper, with one bound, laid hold of the tor- mentor, dragged him down, and, holding his stick over him, said — 'Now, Wilfred, if you don't hold your tongue, and not behave like a brute, I sliall send you straight home.' 'It's quite true,' growled Wilfred. 'Ask her.' ' What does that signify 1 I'm ashamed of you ! I've a great mind to tlirash you tliis instant. If you speak anotlier word of that sort, I shall. Now then, there are tlie gover- nesses trying to stop to see what's the row. I shall give you up to Miss Vincent, if you choose to behave so like a spiteful girl.' A sixtli-form youth was far too great a man to be with- stood by one who was not yet a public schoolboy at all ; and Wilfred actually obeyed, while Jasper added to Fergus — ' How could you be such a little ass as to go and tell liim all that rot ? ' ' It was true,' grumbled Fergus. ' The more reason not to go cackling about it like an old lien, or a girl ! Your own sister ! I'm asliamed of you both. JNIind, I shall thrasli you if you mention it again.' Poor Fergus felt tlie accusation of cackling unjust, since lie had only told Wilfred in contidence, and that had been betrayed ; but he had got his lesson on family honoui", and he subsided into his wonted look-out for curious stones, while Gillian was overtaken by Jasper — whether willingly or not, she hardly knew — but his first word was, 'Little beast ! ' 'You didn't hurt him, I hope,' said Gill, accepting the invitation to take his arm. ' Oh no ! I only threatened to make him walk with the governesses and the donkeys.' ' Asses and savants to the centre,' said Gillian ; ' like the oi'ders to the French army in Egypt.' ' But what's all this about ? You wanted me to look after you ! Is it that Alexis ? ' ' Oh, Japs ! ]\Iamma knows all about it and papa. It was only that lie was ridiculous because I was so silly as to think I could iielp liim with his Greek.' ' You ! Witli his Greek ! I pity him ! ' ' Yes. I found he soon knew too much for me,' said Gil- lian meekly ; ' but, indeed, Japs, it wasn't very bad ! He only sent me a valentine, and Aunt Jane says I need not have been so angry.' ' A cat may look at a king,' said Jasper loftily. ' It is a XXI BEAUTY AND THE 15EAST 247 horrid bad thing for a girl to be left to lierself without a brother wortli having.' So Gillian got oft" pretty easily, and after all the walk was not greatly s^Doilt. They coalesced again with the other three, wlio were tolerably discreet, and found the debate on the White gentility liad been resumed. Ivinglioe was philo- sophically declaring ' tliat in these days one must take up witli everybody, so'it did not matter if one was a little more of a cad than another; he himself was fag at Eton to a fellow whose father was an oilman, and who wasn't half a bad lot.' 'An oilman, Ivy,' said his sister; 'I thought he imported petroleum.' ^ ' Well, it's all the same. I believe he began as an odman. 'We shall have Fergus reporting that he's a petroleuse,' put in Jasper. ' No, a petroleuse is a woman.' ' I like Mv. White,' said Fly ; ' but, Gillian, you don^t think it is true that he is going to marry j^our Aunt Jane ? ' There was a great groan, and Japs observed— ' Some one told us llockquay was a hotbed of gossip, and we seem to have got it strong.' 'Where did this choice specimen come from. Fly?' de- manded Ivinghoe, in his manner most like his mother. Fly nodded her head towards her governess in the advanced guard. ' She had a cousin to tea with her, and they thought I didn't know whom they meant, and they said that he was always up at Rockstone.' , • , ' Well, he is ; and Aunt Jane always stands up for him, said Gillian ; ' but that was because he is so good to the workpeople, and Aunt Ada took him for some grand political friend of Cousin Rotherwood's.' ' Aunt Jane ! ' said Jasper. ' Why, she is the very essence and epitome of old maids.' ' Yes,' said Gillian. ' If it came to that, she would quite as soon marry the postman.' ' Tiiat's lucky,' said Ivinghoe. ' One can swallow a good deal, but not quite one's own connections.' 'In fact,' said Jasper, 'you had rather be an oilman's fag than a quarryman's— what is it? — first cousin once removed in law ? ' ' It is much more likely,' said Gillian, as they laughed over this, ' that Kalliope and Maura will be his adopted daughters, only he never comes near them.' Wherewith there was a halt. Miss Elbury insisted that Phyllis should ride, the banks began to show promise of flowers, and, in the search for violets, dangerous topics were 248 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. fovgotten, and Wilfred was forgiven. They reached the spot marked by Fly, a field with a border of sloping broken ground and brushwood, which certainly fulfilled all their desires, steeply descending to a stream full of i-ocks, the ground white with wood anemones, long evergreen trails of periwinkles and blue flowers between, jDrimroses clustering under the roots of the trees, dafibdils_ gilding the grass above, and the banks verdant with exquisite feather-moss. Such a si)ring- tide wood was joy to all, especially as the first cuckoo of the season came to add to their delights and set them counting for the augury of happy years, which proved so many that ]\Iysie said they would not know what to do with them. 'I should,' said Ivinglioe. 'I should like to live to he a great old statesman, as Loi-d Palmerston did, and have it all my own way. Wouldn't I bring things round again ! ' ' Perhaps they would have gone too far,' suggested Jasper ; ' and then you 'would have to gnaw your hand like Giant Pope, as Wilfred says.' ' Catch me, while I could do something better.' ' If one only lived long enough,' speculated Fergus, ' one might find out what everything was made of, and how to do everything.' 'I wonder if the people did before the Flood, when they lived eight or nine liundred years,' said Fly. ' Perhaps that is the reason there is nothing new under the sun,' suggested Valetta, as many a child has before suggested. 'But tlien,' said Mysie, 'they got wicked.' 'And then after the Flood it had all to be begun over again,' said Ivinghoe. ' Let me see, Methuselah lived about as long as from William the Conqueror till now. I think he might have got to steam and electricity.' ' And dynamite,' said Gillian. ' Oh, I don't wonder they had to be swept away, if they were clever and wicked both ! ' 'And I sui^pose they were,' said Jasper. 'At least the giants, and that they handed on some of their ability through Ham, to tlie Egyptians, and all those queer jirimeval coons, whose works we are digging up.' ' From the Conquest till now,' repeated Gillian. ' I'm glad we don't live so long now. It tires one to think of it.' ' But we shall,' said Fly. 'Yes,' said Mysie ; 'but then we shall be rid of this nasty old self that is always getting wrong.' 'That little lady's nasty old self does so us little as any one's,' Jasper could not heljD remarking to his sister ; and Fly, pouncing on the first purple orchis spike amid its black- spotted leaves, cried — XXI BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 249 'At any rate, these dear things go on tlie same, without any tiresome inventing.' ''Except God's just at first,' wliispered Mysie. 'And the gardeners do invent new ones,' said Valetta. ' Invent ! No ; they only fuss them and spoil them, and make ridiculous names for them,' said Fly. ' These darling creatures are ever so mucli better. Look at Primrose there.' 'Yes,' said Gillian, as she saw her little sister in quiet ecstasy over the sparkling bells of the daffodils ; 'one would not like to live eight hundred years away from that ex- perience.' 'But mamma cares just as much still as Primrose does,' said Mysie. 'We must get some for her own self as well as for the churcli.' '^Nline are all for mamma,' proclaimed Primrose ; and ]ust tlien there was a sliout that a bird's nest had been found— a ring-ousel's nest on tlie banks. Fly and lier brother shared a collection of birds' eggs, and were so excited about robbing tlie ousels of a single egg, that Gillian hoped tliat Fergus would not catch the infection and abandon minerals for eggs, which would be ever so much worse— only a degree better than butterflies, towards which Wilfred showed a certain proclivity. 'I shall be thirteen before next holidays,' he observed, after making a vain dash with his hat at a sulphur butterfly, looking like a primi-ose flying away. ' Mamma won't allow any kiUing collection before thirteen years old,' explained ]\Iysie. ' She says,' explained Gillian, ' by that time one ought to be old enough to discriminate between the lawfulness of killing the creatures for the sfuke of studying their beauty and learning them, and the mere wanton amusement of liunting them down under the excuse of collecting.' ' I say,' exclaimed Valetta, wlio had been exploring above, 'here is such a funny old house.' Tliere was a rush' in that direction, and at the other end of the wide home-field was perceived a picturesque gray stone house, with large mullioned windows, a dilapidated low stonewall, with wliat had once been a handsome gateway, overgrown with ivy, and within big double daflbdils and white narcissus growing wild. ' It's like the halls of Ivor,' said Mysie, awestruck by the loneliness ; ' no dog, nor horse, nor cow, not even a goose.' ' And what a place to sketch ! ' cried Miss Vincent. ' Oil, Gillian, we must come here another day.' ' Oh, may we gather the flowers 1 ' exclaimed the insatiable Primrose. 250 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chai-. ' Those poetic narcissuses would be delicious for the choir screen,' added Gillian. ' Poetic narcissus — poetic grandmother,' said Wilfred. ' It's old butter and eggs.' 'I say!' cried Mysie. 'Look, Ivy — I know that pair of fighting lions — ain't these some of jouv arms over the door?' ' By which you mean a quartering of our shield,' said Ivinghoe. 'Of course it is the Clii)p bearing. Or, two lions azure, regardant combatant, their tails couped.' 'Two blue Kilkenny cats, who have begun with each other's tails,' commented Jasper. Ivinghoe glared a little, but respected the sixth form, and Gillian added — ' They clipped them ! Then did this place belong to our ancestors?' ' Poetic grandmother, really ! ' said ]Mysie. 'Great grandmother,' corrected Ivinghoe. 'To be sure. It was from the Clipps that we got all this Eockstone estate ! ' ' And I suppose this was their house ? What a shame to have deserted it ! ' ' Oh, it has been a farmhouse,' said Fly. 'I heard something about farms that wouldn't let.' ' Then is it yours ? ' cried Valetta, ' and may we gather the flowers ? ' ' And mayn't we exi:)lore ? ' asked Mysie. ' Oh, what fun ! ' ' Holloa ! ' exclaimed Wilfred, transfixed, as if he had seen tlie ghosts of all the Clipps. For just as Valetta and ]\Iysie threw tliemselves on the big bunches of hepatica and the white narcissus, a roar, worthy of the clip-tailed lions, pro- ceeded from the window, and the demand, 'Who is picking imj roses ? ' Primrose in terror threw herself on Gillian with a little scream. Wilfred crept behind the walls, but after the general start there was an equally universal laugh, for between tlie stout mullions of tlie oriel window Lord Piother- Avood's face was seen, and Sir Jasper's behind him. Great was the jubilation, and tliere was a rush to the tall door, up the dilapidated steps, where curls of fern were peeping out ; but the gentlemen called out that only the back-door could be opened, and tlie intention of a 'real grand exploration ' was cut sliort by Miss Elbury's declaring that she was bound not to let Phyllis stay out till six o'clock. Fly, in her usual good-humoured way, suppressed her sighs and begged the others to explore without her, but the general vote declared this to be out of the question. Fly had too short a time to remain with her cousins to be forsaken even for the charms of 'the halls of Ivor,' or the rival Beast's XXI BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 251 Castle, fis Gillian called it, whicli, after all, would not run away. ' But it miglit be let,' said ^lysie. ' Yes , I've got a tenant in agitation,' said Lord Rotlierwood mischievously. 'Never mind, I dare say he won't inquire what you have done with his butter and eggs.' tSo with a parting salute to the ancestral halls, the cavalry was set in order, big panniers full of moss and flowers disposed on the donkeys. Fly placed on her pony, and every maiden taking her basket of flowers, Jasper and Ivinghoe alone being amiable, or perhaps trustworthy enough to assist in carrying. Fly's pony demurred to the extra burthen, so Jasper took hers ; and when Gillian declared herself too fond of her flowers to part with them, Ivinghoe astonished Miss Vincent, on whom some stones of Fergus's, as well as her own share of flowers, had been bestowed, by taking one handle of her most cumbrous basket. Sir Jasper and Lord Rotherwood rode together through the happy young troop on the homeward way. Perhaps Ivinghoe was conscious of a special nod of approval from his father. On passing Rock House, the youthful public was rather amused at his pausing, and saying — 'Aren't you going to leave some flowers there?' ' Oh yes ! ' said Gillian. ' I have a basket on purpose.' ' And I have some for ]\Iaura,' said Valetta. Valetta's was an untidy bunch ; Gillian's a dainty basket, where white violets reposed on moss within a circle of larger blossoms. 'That's something like ! ' quoth Ivinghoe. _ _ He lingered with them as if lie wanted to see that_ vision again ; but only the caretaker appeared, and promised to take the flowers upstairs. Maura afterwards told how they were enjoyed, and they knew of Kalliope's calm restfulness in Holy Week thoughts and Paschal joys. It was on Easter Tuesday that Mr. White first sent a message asking to see his guest, now of nearly three \veeks. He came in very quietly and gently— perhaps the sight of tlie room he had prepared for his young wife was in itself a shock to him, and he had lived so long without womankind that he had all a lonely man's awe of an invalid. He took with a certain respect the hand that Kalliope held out, as she said, with a faint flush in her cheeks — ' I am glad to thank you, sir. You have been very good to me.' 'I am glad to see you better,' he said, with a little embarrassment. 252 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. ' I ought to be, in this beautiful air, and with these lovely things to look at,' and she pointed to tlie reigning photograph on the stand — tlie facade of St. Mai'k's. ' You should see it as I did.' And lie began to describe it to her, she putting in a question or two here and there, wliich showed her appreciation. ' You know something about it already,' he said. ' Yes ; when I was quite a little girl one of the officers in the Royal Wardours brought some photograi)lis to Malta, and told me about them.' 'But,' he said, recalling himself, that is not my object now. Your brother says he does not feel competent to decide without you.' And lie laid before her two or tliree pro- spectuses of grammar schools. ' It is time to apply,' he added, ' if that little fellow — Peter, you call him, don't you ?— is to begin next term.' ' Petros ! Oh, sir, this is kindness ! ' ' I desired that the children's education should be attended to,' said Mr. White. ' I did not intend their being sent to an ordinary National school.' 'Indeed,' said Kalliope ; 'I do not think much time has been lost, for they have learnt a good deal there ; but I am particularly glad that Petros should go to a sujierior school just now that he has been left alone, for he is more lively and sociable than Theodore, and it might be less easy for him to keep from bad companions.' The pros and cons of the several schools were discussed, and Hurstpierpoint finally fixed on. 'Nev^er mind about his outfit,' added Mr. White. 'I'll give that fellow down in Bellevue an order to rig him out. He is a sharp little sturdy fellow, who will make his way in the world.' ' Indeed, I trust so, now that his education is secured. It is another load off my mind,' said Kalliope, with a smile of exceeding sweetness and gratitude, her hands clasjied, and her eyes raised for a moment in liigher thankfulness,— a look that so enhanced her beauty that Mr. Wliite gazed for a moment in wonder. The next moment, however, the dark eyes turned on him witli a little anxiety, and she said — ' One thing more, sir. Perhaps you will be so kind as to relieve my mind again. That notice of dismissal at the quarter's end. Was it not in some degree from a mistake 1 ' 'An utter mistake, my dear,' he said hastily. 'Never trouble your head about it.' ' Tlien it does not hold ? ' ' Certainly not.' 'And I may go back to my office as soon as I am well enough?' XXI BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 2f.3 ' Is that your wish V i t i • i 'Yes, sir. I love my work and my assistants, and 1 tlnuk I could do better if a little more scope could be allowed me.' ' Very well, we will see about that— you have to get well first of all.' , ^, _ ' I am so much better that T ought to go home. Mr. Lee is quite ready for me.' ' Nonsense ! You must be much stronger before Dagger would hear of your going.' After this Mr. White came to sit with Kalliope for a tune in the course of each day, bringing with him something that would interest her, and seeming gratified by her responsive- ness, quiet as it was, for she was still very feeble, and exertion caused a failure of breath and fluttering of lieart that were so distressing that ten days more passed before she was brought downstairs and drawn out in the garden ui a chair, where she could sit on the sheltered terrace enjoying the delicious spring air and soft sea-breezes, sometimes alone, sometimes with the company of one friend or another. Gillian and Aunt Jane had, with the full connivance of Mr. White, arranged a temporary entrance from one g^irden to the other for the convenience of attending to Kalliope, and here one afternoon Miss Mohun was coming in when she heard through the laurels two voices speaking to the girl As she moved forward she saw they were the elder and younger Stebbings, and that Kalliope had risen to her feet, and was leaning on the back of her chair. While she was considering whether to advance Kalliope heard her, and called in a breathless voice, ' ]\Iiss Mohun ! oh. Miss :\Iohun, come ! ' ■ ■ , i -Mt 'Miss Mohun ! You will do us the justice began Mr. Stebbing, speaking more to her indignant face and gesture than to any words. , ,, , ' ^liss White is not well,' she said. \ ou had better leave her to me.' And as they withdrew through the house, Kalliope sank back in her chair in one of those alarming attacks of deadly faintness that had been averted for many days past, Happily an electric bell was always at hand, and the house- keeper knew what remedies to bring. Kalliope did not attempt a word for many long minutes, though the colour came back gradually to her lips. Her first words were, ' Thank you ! Oh, I did hope that persecution was over ! ' My poor child ! Don't tell me unless you like ! Only- it wasn't about your work V . ^ , ' Oh no, the old story ! But he brought his father— to say he consented— and wished it— now.' There was no letting her say any more at that time, but 254 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap, xxi it was all plain enougli. This had been one more attempt of the Stebbing family to recover their former power; Kalliope was assumed to be Mr. White's favoured niece ; Frank could make capital of having loved lier when poor and neglected ; and his parents were ready to back his suit. The father and son had used their familiarity with the house to obtain ad- mittance to the garden without announcement or prepai'ation, and liad pressed the siege, with a confidence that could only be inspired by their own self-opinion. Kalliope had been kept up by her native dignity and resolution, and had at first gently, then firmly, declined the arguments, persuasions, promises, and final reproaclaes with which they beset her — even threatening to disclose what they called encourage- ment, and assuring her that she need not reckon on Mr. White, for the general voice declared him likely to marry again, and then where would she be 1 ' I don't know what would have become of me, if you had not come,' she said. And when she had rested long enough, and crept into the house, and Alexis had come home to carry her upstairs, it was plain that she had been seriously thrown back, and she was not able to leave her room for two or three days. JNIr. White was necessarily told what liad been the cause of the mischief. He smiled grimly. ' Ay ! ay ! ]\Iaster Frank thought he would come round the old man, did he ? He will find himself out. Ha, ha ! a girl like that in the house is like a honey-jjot near a wasps' nest, and the little sister will be as bad. Didn't I see the young lord, smart little ])rig as he looks, holding an umbrella over her with a smile on his face, as much as to say, " I know wlio is a pretty girl ! No one to look after them either ! '' But maybe the.v will all find themselves mistaken,' and his grim smile relaxed into a highly amiable one. Miss Mohun was not at all uneasy as to the young lord. An Eton boy's admiration of a pretty face did not amount to mucli, even if I\inghoe had not understood ' Xobf<'><^e ohlige ' too well to leave a young girl unsheltered. Besides, he and all the rest were going away the next day. But wliat did that final hint mean ? CHAPTER XXII THE MAIDEN ALL FOELOEN One secret was soon out, even before the cruel parting of Fly and Mysie, which it greatly mitigated. Clipston was to be repaired and put in order, to be rented by the Merritields. It was really a tine old sub- stantial squire's house, tliough neglected and consigned to farmers for four generations. It had great capabilities — a hall up to the roof, wainscoted rooms— at present happy hunting-grounds to boys and terriers — a choked fountain, numerous windows, walled up in the days of the 'tax on light,' and never reopened, and, moreover, a big stone barn, with a cross on the gable, and evident traces of having once been a chapel. The place was actually in Eockstone Parish, and had a hamlet of six or seven houses, for which cottage services were held once a week ; but the restoration of the chapel would provide a place for these, and it would become a pro- vince for Lady Merrifield's care, while Sir JasiDer was ab- solutely entreated, both by Lord Pother wood and the rector of Eockstone, to become the valuable layman of the parish ; nor was he at all unwilling thus to bestow his enforced leisure. It was a beautiful place. The valley of daffodils already visited narrowed into a ravine, where the rivulet rushed down from moorlands, through a ravine charmingly wooded, and interspersed with rock. It would give country delights to the children, and remove them from the gossip of the watering-place society, and yet not be too far off for those reading-room opportunities beloved of gentlemen. The young people were in ecstasies, only mourning that they could not live there during the rejiairs, and that those experienced in the nature of workmen hesitated to promise that Clipston would be habitable by the summer vacation. In the meantime, most of the movables from Silverfold were 256 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. tvanspoi-ted thither, and there was a great deal of walking and driving to and fro, planning for the future, and revelling in the spring outburst of flowers. Schoolroom work had begun again, and Lady ]\Ierrifield was hearing ]\Iysie read the Gerusalemme Liberata, while ]\Iiss Vincent superintended Primrose's copies, and Gillian's chalks were striving to portray a bust of Sophocles, when tlie distant sounds of the piano in the drawing-room stopped, and Valetta came in with woi'ds always ominous — ' Aunt Jane wants to speak to you, mamma.' Lady Merritield gathered w^ her work and departed, while Valetta, addressing the public, said, 'Something's up-' ' Oh ! ' cried Primrose, ' Soli hasn't run away again 1 ' ' I hope Kalliope isn't worse,' said Mysie anxiously. ' I guess,' said Valetta, ' somebody said something the other day ! ' ' Something proving us the hotbeds of gossip,' muttered Gillian. 'You had better get your German exercise, Valetta,' said Miss Vincent. ' Mysie, you have not finished your sums.' And a sigh went round ; but Valetta added one after- clap. 'Aunt Jane looked — I don't know how ! ' Whereat Gillian nodded her head, and looked up at Miss Vincent, who was as curious as the rest, but restrained the manifestation manfully. Meantime Lady ^Merritield found her sister standing at the window, and, without; turning round, the woi'ds were uttered — ' Jasper was right, Lily.' ' You don't mean it 1 ' ' Yes ; he is after her ! ' — witli a long breatli. ' Mr. White ! ' 'Yes' — then sitting down. 'I did not tliink much of it before. They always are after Ada more or less — and she likes it ; but it never has come to anything.' ' Why should it now 'I ' 'It has ! At least, it has gone further than ever anything did before, except Charlie Scott, that ridiculous boy at ]3eechcroft that William was so angry with, and wlio married somebody else.' 'You don't say that he lias proposed to her V 'Yes, he has — the man ! P>y a letter this morning, and 1 could see slie expected it— not that that's any woncler I ' ' P)ut, my dear, she can't possibly be tliinking of it.' ' Well, I should have said it was impossible ; but I see she has not made up her mind. Poor dear Ada ! It is too bad XXII THE MAIDEN ALL FORLORN 257 to laiigli ; but she does like the having a real offer at last, and a great Italian castle laid at her feet.' ' But he isn't a gentleman ! I don't mean only his birth — and I know he is a good man really — but Jasper said lie could feel he was not a gentleman by the way he fell on Richard White before his sister.' 'I know! I know! I wonder if it would be for her happiness 1 ' ' Then she has not answered him 1 ' ' No ; or, rathei-, I left her going to Avrite. She won't accept him certainly now; but I believe she is telling him that she must have time to consider and consult her family.' 'She must know pretty well what her family will say. Fancy William ! Fancy Emily ! Fancy Reginald ! ' ' Yes, oh yes ! But Ada — I must say it — she does like to prolong the situation.' ' It is not fair on the poor mail.' ' Well, she will act as she chooses ; but I think she really does want to see what amount of opposition No, not that, but of estrangement it would cause.' ' Did you see the letter ? ' ' Yes ; no doubt you will too. I told her I should come to you, and slie did not object. I think she was glad to be saved broaching the subject, for she is half ashamed.' 'I should have thought she would have been as deeply offended at the presumption as i^oor Gillian was with the valentine.' ' Lily, my dear, forty-two is not all one with seventeen, especially when there's an estate with an Italian countship attached to it ! Though I'm sure I'd rather marry Alexis than this man. Me is a gentleman in grain ! ' ' Oh, Jenny, you are very severe ! ' ' I'm afraid it is bitterness, Lily ; so I rushed down to have it all out with you, and make up my mind what part to take.' ' It is very hard on you, my dear, after you have nursed and waited on her all these years.' ' It is the little titillation of vanity — exactly like the Ada of sixteen, nay, of six, that worries me, and makes me naughty,' said Jane, dashing off a tear. ' Oh, Lily ! how could I have borne it if you had not come liome ? ' ' But what do you mean about the part to take ? ' ' Well, you see, Lily, I really do not know what I ought to do. I want to clear my mind by talking to you.' ' I am afraid it would make a gi'eat difference to you in the matter of means.' ' I don't mean about that ; but T am not sure wliether I 258 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. ought to stand up for her. You see the man is really good at heart, and religious, and he is taking out this chaplain. The climate, mountains, and sea might really suit her health, and she could have all kinds of comforts and luxuries ; and if she can get over his birth, and the want of fine edge of his manners, I don't know that we have any right to set ourselves against it.' 'I should have thought those objections would have weiglied most of all witli her.' 'And I do believe that if the whole family are unanimous in scouting the very idea, she will give it up. She is proud of Mohun blood, and the Eotherwood connection and all, and if there were a desperate oj^position — well, she would be rather flattered, and gi\e in ; but I am not sure that she would not always regret it, and pine after what she might have had.' ' Eotherwood likes the man.' ' Like — but that's not liking him to marry his cousin.' ' Eotherwood will not be the person most shocked.' 'No. We shall have a terrible time, however it ends. Oh, I wish it was all over ! ' ' Do you think she really cares for the man — loves him, in fact?' ' My dear Lily, if Ada ever was in love with anybody, it was with Harry May, and that was all pure mistake. I never told anybody, but I believe it was that whicli upset her health. But they are both too old to concern themselves about sucli trifles. He does not expect it ! ' 'I have seen good strong love in a woman over forty.' 'Yes; but this is quite another thing. A lady of the house wanted ! That's the motive. I should not wonder if he came home as much to look for a lady-wife as to set the Stebbings to rights ; or, if not, he is driven to it by having the Wliites on his hands.' ' I don't quite see that. I was going to ask you liow it would affect them.' ' Well, you see, though she is perfectly willing and anxious to begin again, poor dear Kally really can't. Slie did try to arrange a design that liad been running in her head for a long time, and she was so bad after it tliat Dr. Dagger said she must not attempt it. Then, though she is discreet enough for anytliing, Mr. White is not really her uncle, and could not take her about with him alone or even with Maura ; so I gather from some expressions in his letter that he would . like to take her out witli them, spend the summer at Eocca Marina, and let lier lia\e a winters study at Florence. Then, I suppose slie might come back and superintend on quite a different footing.' XXII THE MAIDEN ALL FORLORN 259 ' So he wants Ada as a chaperon for Kalliope ? ' ' That is an element in the aftair, and not a bad one, and I don't think Ada will object. She won't be left entirely to his companionshii).' ' Mj dear Jane ! Then I'm sure she ought not to marry him ! ' cried Lady ]\Ierrifield indignantly. ' Here comes Jasper. May I tell him ? ' ' You will, whether you may or not.' And what Sir Jasper said was — ' "Who married die maiden all forlorn — " ' At whicli both sisters, though rather angry, could not help laugliing, and Lady Merrifield explained that they had always said the events had gone on in a concatenation, like the house that Jack built, from Gillian's peep through the rails. However, he was of opinion that it was better not to make a strenuous oj^position. ' AdeKne is quite old enough to judge for herself whether the incongruities will interfere with her happiness,' he said ; 'and this is really a worthy man who ought not to be contemned. Violent contradiction might leave memories that would make it difficult to be on affectionate terms afterwards.' ^ ' Yes,' said Jane ; ' that is what I feel. Thank you, Jasper. Now I must go to my district. Happily those things run on all the same for the present.' But when she was gone Sir Jasper told his wife that he thought it ought to be seriously put before Adeline that Jane ought to be considei^ed. She had devoted herself to the care of her sister for many years, and the division of their means would tell seriously upon her comfort. 'If it were a matter of affection, there would be nothing to say,' he observed ; ' but nobody pretends that it is so, and surely Jane deserves consideration.' 'I should think her a much more comfortable companion than Mr. White,' said Lady Merrifield. 'I can't believe it will come to anything. Whatever the riches or the castle at Eocca Marina may be, Ada would, in a worldly point of view, give up a position of some consideration here, and I think that will weigh with her.' As soon as possible, Lady Merrifield went up to see her sister, and found her writing letters in a great flutter of importance. It was quite plain that the affair was not to be quashed at once, and that, whether the suit were granted or not, all the family were to be aware that Adeline had had her choice. Warned by her husband, Lady Merrifield guarded the form of her remonstrances. ' Oh yes, dear Lily, I know ! It is a sacrifice in many 260 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. points of view ; but think what a field is open to me ! There are all those English woi'kmen and their wives and families living out there, and Mr. White does so need a lady to influence them.' ' You have not done much work of that kind. Besides, I thouglit this chai^lain was married.' ' Yes ; but the moral supjDort of a lady at the head must be needful,' said Ada. ' It is quite a work.' ' Perhaps so,' said her sister, who had scarcely been in the luibit of looking on Ada as a great moral influence. ' But have you thought what this will be to Jane ? ' ' Beally, Lily, it is a good deal for Jane's sake. She will be so much more free without being bound to poor me ! ' — and Ada's head went on one side. 'You know she would never have lived here but for me ; and now she will be able to do what she pleases.' ' Not pecuniarily.' ' Oh, it will be quite possible to see to all that ! Besides, think of the advantage to her schemes. Oh yes, dear Jenny, it will be a wrench to her, of course, and she will miss me ; but, when that is once got over, she will feel that I have acted for the best. Nor will it be such a separation ; he means always to spend the summer here, and tlie winter and spring at Florence or Rocca Marina.' It was grand to hear the Italian syllables roll from Adeline's tongue. ' You know he could take the title if he pleased.' 'I am sure I hope he will not do anything so ridicu- lous ! ' ' Oh no, of course not ! ' But it was plain that the secret consciousness of being Countess of Eocca IMarina was an offset against being plain Mrs. White, and Adeline continued : ' There is another thing — I do. not quite see how it can be managed about Kalliope otherwise, poor girl ! ' It was quite true that the care of Kalliope would be greatly facilitated by Mr. White's marriage ; but what was absurd was to suppose that Ada would have made any sacrifice for her sake, or any one else's, and there was some- thing comical as well as provoking in this pose of devotion to the public good. ' You are decided, then ? ' ' Oh no ! I am only showing you what inducements there are to give up so much as I should do here — if I make up my mind to it.' ' There's only one inducement, I should think, valid for a moment.' 'Yes' — bridling a little. 'But, Lily, you always had your romance. We don't all meet with a Jasper at the riglit moment; and— and' — the Maid of Athens drooi)ed her XXII THE JIAIDEN ALL FORLORN 261 eyelids, and ingenuously curved her lips. ' I do think the poor man has it very much at heart.' ' Then you ought not to kee]3 him in suspense.' ' And you — you really are not against it, Lily ? ' (rather in a disappointed tone), as if she expected to have her own value enhanced. ' I think you ought to do whatever is most right and just by him, and everybody else. If you really care for the man enough to overlook his origin, and his occasional betrayals of it, and tliink he will make you better and happier, take him at once ; but don't pretend to call it a sacrifice, or for any- body's sake but for your own ; and, any way, don't trifle with him and his suspense.' Lady ]\Ierrifield spoke with unwonted severity, for she was really provoked. ' But, Lily, I must see what the others say — William and Emily. I told him that William was the head of our family.' ' If you mean to be guided by them, well and good ; if not, I see no sense in asking them.' After all, the family commotion fell short of what was ex- pected by either of tlie sisters. The eldest brother, Mr. Mohun, of Beechcroft Court, wrote to the lady herself that she was quite old enough to know what was for her own happiness, and he had no desire to interfere with her choice if she preferred wealth to station. To Lady Merrifield his letter began : ' It is very well it is no worse, and as Jasper vouches for this being a worthy man, and of substantial means, there is no valid objection. I shall take care to over- haul the settlements, and, if possible, I must make up poor Jane's income.' The sister. Lady Henry Grey, in her dowager seclusion at Brighton, contented herself with a general moan on the de- cadence of society, and the levelling up that made such an affair possible. She had been meditating a visit to Eock- quay, to see her dear Lilias (who, by the bye, had run down to her at Brigliton for a day out of the stay in London), but now she would defer it till this matter was over. It would be too tiding to have to accept this stonemason as one of the family. As to Colonel Mohun, being one of the younger division of the family, there was no idea of consulting him, and he wrote a fairly civil little note to Adeline, hoping that she had de- cided "for the best, and would be happy ; while to the elder of the pair of sisters he said : ' So Ada has found her crooked stick at last. I always thought it inevitable. Keep up heart, old Jenny, and hold on till Her Majesty turns me off, and then we will see what is to be done.' Perhaps this cool acquiescence was less pleasing to Adeline 262 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE ohap. Mohun than a contest tliat would have proved her value and importance, and her brother William's observation that she was old enough to know her own mind was tlie cruellest cut of all. On the other hand, there was no doubt of her swain's devotion. If he liad been influenced in his decision by con- venience or calculation, he was certainly by this time heartily in love. Not only was Adeline a handsome, graceful woman, whose airs and affectations seemed far more absurd to those who had made merry over them from childhood than to a sti'anger of an inferior grade ; but there was a great cliai^m to a man, able to appreciate refinement, in his first familiar intercourse with thorough ladies. Jane began to be touched by the sight of his devotion, and convinced of his attachment, and sometimes wondered with Lady Merrifield whether Adeline would rise to her opportunities and responsibilities, or be satisfied to be a petted idol. One difticulty in this time of suspense was, that the sisters had no right to take into their confidence the young folks, who were quite sharp-eyed enough to know that something was going on, and, not being put on honour, were not with- held from communicating their discoveries to one another in no measured words, though fortunately they had sense enough, especially under the awe of their father, not to let them go any further than Mysie, who was entertaining be- cause she was shocked at their audacious jokes and specula- tions ; all at first on the false scent of their elder aunt, who certainly was in a state of excitement and uncertainty enough to throw her ofl'the even tenor of her way and excite some suspicion. When she actually brought down a number of the Contemporary Review instead of Friendbj ^yo1^h for the edification of her G.F.S., Gillian ti-ied not to look too conscious when some of the girls actually tittered in the rear ; and she absolutely blushed when Aunt Jane deliberately stated that Ascension Day would fall on a Tuesday. So Gillian averred as she walked up the hill with Jasper and Mysie. It seemed a climax to the diversion she and Jasper had extracted from it in private, both wearing Punch's spectacles for the nonce, and holding such aberrations as proof positive. Mysie, on the other hand, was much exercised. ' Do you think she is in love, then ? ' ' Oh yes ! Peoi^le always do those things in love. Besides, the Sofi hasn't got a single white hair in her, and you know what that always means ! ' \\ can't make it out ! I can't think how Aunt Jane can be in love with a great man like that. His voice isn't nice, you know ' 'Not even as sweet as Bully Bottom's,' suggested Gillian. XXII THE MAIDEN ALL FORLORN 263 'You're a cliit,' said Jasper, 'or you'd be superior to the notion of love being indispensable.' 'When people are so very old,' said Mysie in a meditative voice, 'perhaps they can't ;'but Aunt Jane is very good— and I thought it was only horrid worldly people that married without love.' _ ^ ' Trust your good woman for looking to the main chance, said Jasper, who was better read in TroUope and Mrs. Olipliant than his sisters. ' 'Tis not main chance,' said Gillian. ' Think of the lots of good she would do ! What a recreation room for_ the girls, and what schools she would set up at Rocca Marina ! Depend ui^on it, it's for that ! ' ' I suppose it is right if Aunt Jane does it,' said Mysie. ' Well done, Mysie ! So, Aunt Jane is your Pope ! ' _ ' No ; she's the King that can do no wrong,' said Gillian, laughing. ' Wrong— I didn't say wrong— but things aren't always real wrong that aren't somehow quite right,' said Mysie, with the bewildered reasoning of perceptions that outran her powers of expression. ' Mysie's speeches, for instance,' said Jasper. ' Oh, Japs, what did I say wrong 1 ' 'Don't tease hex-, Japs. He didn't mean morally, but correctly.' The three were on their way up the hill when they met Primrose, who had accompanied Mrs. Halfpenny to see Kalliope, and who was evidently in a state of such great dis- composure that they all stood round to ask what was the matter ; but she hung down her head and would not say. ' Hoots ! toots ! I tell her she need not make such a work about it,' said ]\Ii-s. Halfpenny. ' The honest man did but kiss her, and no harm for her uncle that is to be.' ' He's a nasty man ! And he snatched me up ! And he is all scrubby and tobacco-ey, and I won't have him for an uncle,' cried Primrose. 'I hope he is not going to proceed in that way,' said Gillian sotio voce to Mysie. ' People always do snatch up primi-oses,' said Jasper. ' Don't, Japs ! I don't like marble men. I wish they would stay marble.' ' You don't approve of the transformation 1 ' 'Oh, Japs, is it true? Mysie, you know the statue at Rotherwood, where Pig -my -lion made a stone figure and it turned into a woman.' ' Yes ; but it was a woman and this is a man.' Mysie began an exposition of classic fable to her little sister, while Mrs. Halfpenny explained tliat this came of 264 . BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOKE chap. Christian folk setting up heatlien idols in their houses as 'twas a shame for decent folk to look at, let alone puir bairnies ; wliile Jasper and Gillian gasped in convulsions of laughter, and bandied queries whether their aunt were the statue ' Pig-my-lion ' had animated, as nothing could be less statuesque than she ; whetlier the reverse had taken place, as Primrose observed, and she had heen the Pygmalion to awaken the soul in the man of marble. Here, however, jMrs. Halfpenny became scandalised at sucli laughter in the open street ; and, pei'ceiving some one in the distance, she carried off Primrose, and enjoined the others to walk on doucelyand wiselike. Gillian was on her way to visit Kalliope and make an appointment for her mother to take her out for a drive ; but as they passed the gate at Beechcroft out burst Valetta and Fergus, quite breathless. ' Oh, Gill, Gill ! I\Ii'. White is in the drawing-room, and he has brought Aunt Ada the most beautiful box you ever saw, with all the stoppers made of gold ! ' ' And he says I may get all tlie specimens I like at Rocca Marina,' shouted Fergus. 'Ivory brushes, and such a ring^sparkling up to the ceil- ing ! ' added Valetta. ' But, Val, Ferg, whom did you say V demanded the elders, coming within the shadow of the copper beeches. ' Aunt Ada,' said Valetta ; ' there's a great A engraved on all those dear, lovely bottles ; and — oh, they smell ! ' ' Aunt Ada ! Oh, I thought ' 'What did you think. Gill ? ' said Aunt Jane, coming from the gi-ass-plat suddenly on them. ' Oh, Aunt Jane, I am so glad ! ' cried Gillian. ' I thought ' — and she blushed furiously. ' They made asses of themselves,' said Jasper. ' They said it was you,' added Mysie. ' Miss Mellon told Miss Elbury,' she added in excuse. ' Me ? No, I thank you ! So you are glad, Gillian ? ' ' Oh yes, aunt ! I couldn't have borne for you to do any- thing — queer' — and there was a look in Gillian's face that went to Jane's heart, and under other circumstances would have produced a kiss, but she rallied to her line of defence. ' My dear, you must not call this queer. Mr. White is very much attached to your aunt Ada, and I thiidc lie will make her very liappy, and give her great opportunities of doing good.' ' That's just what Gillian said ^\'hen she was afi-aid it was you,' said Mysie. ' I sujipose that's it ? And that makes it real right.' ' And the golden stoppers ! ' said Valetta innocently, but xxiT THE MAIDEN ALL FORLORN 265 almost choking Jasper with laughter, whicli must he sup- pressed before his aunt. 'May one know it now?' asked Gillian, sensible of the perilous ground. ' Yes, my dears ; you must have been on tenter-hooks all this time, for, of course, you saw there was a crisis, and you behaved mucli better than I sliould have done at your age ; but it was only sifuit accompli this veiy day, and we couldn't tell you before.' 'When he brought down the golden stoppers,' Jasper could not help saying. ' No, no, you naughty boy ! He would not have dared to bring it in befoi'e ; he came before luncheon — all that came after. Oh, my dear, that dressing-case is perfectly awful ! I wouldn't have such a burthen on my mind— for— for all tlie orplians in London ! I hope there are no banditti at Eocca Marina.' ' Only accepted to-day ! How did he get all his great A's engraved ? ' said Jasper practically. ' He could not have had many doubts,' said Gillian. ' Does Kalliope know % ' ' I cannot tell ; I think he has probably told her.' ' He must have met Primrose there,' said Jasper. ' Poor Prim ! ' And the offence and the Pig-my-lion story were duly related, much, to Aunt Jane's amusement. ' But,' she said, ' I think that the soul in the marble man is very real, and very warm ; and, dear children, don't get into the habit of contemning him. Laugh, I suppose you must ; I am afraid it must look ridiculous at our age ; but please don't despise. I am going down to your mother.' ' ]\Iay I come with you ? ' said Gillian. ' I don't think I can go to Kally till I have digested this a little ; and, if you are going to mamma, she won't drive her out.' Jane was much gratified by this volunteer, though Jasper did suggest that Gill was afraid of Primrose's treatment. He went on with the other three to Clipston, while Gillian ex- claimed — ' Oh, Aunt Jane, shall not you be very lonely % ' ' Not nearly so mucli so as if you were not all here,' said her aunt clieerf uUy. ' When you bemoaned your sisters last year we did not tliink the same thing was coming on me.' ' Phyllis and Alethea ! It was a very different thing,' said Gillian. ' Besides, though I hated it so much, I had got used to being without them.' ' And to tell you the truth, Gill, nothing in that way ever was so bad to me as your own mother going and marrying ; and now, you see, I have got her back again— and more too.' Aunt Jane's smile and softened eyes told that the young 266 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. niece was included in the 'more too '; and Gillian felt a thrill of pleasure and affection in this i)roof that after all she was something to the aunt, towards whom her feelings had so entirely changed. iShe proceeded, however, to ask with con- siderable anxiety wliat would be done about the Vi'liites, kalliope especially; and in return she was told about the present plan of Kalliope's being taken to Italy to recover first, and then to pursue her studies at Florence, so as to return to her work more capable, and in a higher position. ' Oh, how exquisite ! ' cried Gillian. ' But how about all the others V ' The very thing I want to see about, and talk over Avith your mother. I am sure she ought to go ; and it will not even be wasting time, for she cannot earn anything.' Talking over things with Lady ]\Ierrifield was, however, impeded, for, behold, there was a visitor in the drawing- room. Aunt and niece exchanged glances of consternation as they detected a stranger's voice through the open window, and Gillian uttered a vituperati\'e whisper. ' I do believe it is that dreadful Fangs ; ' then, hoping her aunt had not heard— 'Captain Henderson, I mean. He threatened to come down after us, and now he will always be in and out ; and we shall have no peace. He has got nothing on eartli to do ! Gillian's guess was right. The neat, trim, soldierly figure, with a long fair moustache and j^leasant gray eyes, was in- troduced to Miss Mohun as ' Captain Henderson, one of my brotlier ofiicers,' by Sir Jasper, who stood on the rug talking to him. Looks and signs among the ladies were token enough that the crisis had come ; and Lady Merritield soon secured freedom of speech by proposing to drive lie:- sister to Clipston, Avhile Sir Jasper asked his visitor to walk with ' You will be in haste to sketch tlie place,' he said, ' before the workmen have done their best to demolish its beauty.' As for Gillian, she saw her aunt hesitating on account of a parochial engagement for that afternoon ; and, as it was happily not bevond her powers, she ofiered lierself as a sub- stitute, and was tliankfully accepted. She felt quite glad to do anything obliging towards her aunt Jane, and in a mood very unlike last year's grudging service ; it was only reading to the 'mothers' meeting,' since among the good ladies there prevailed such a strange incapacity of reading aloud, that this part of the business was left to so few that for one to fail, either in presence or in voic-e, was very inconvenient. All were settled down to their needlework, with their babies disposed of as best they miglit l)e. Mr. Hablot had finished his little lecture, and the one lady with a voice had nearly XXII THE MAIDEN ALL FORLORN 267 exhausted it, and tliere was a sliglit sensation at tlie absence of the unfailing i\Iiss Mohun, when Gillian came in with the ajjologies about going to drive with her mother. 'And,' as she described it afterwards 'didn't those wretched beings all grin and titter ; even the ladies, who ought to have had more manners, and that old Miss Mellon, who is a real growth of the hotbed of gossip, simpered and supposed we must look for such things now ; and, though I pretended not to hear, my cheeks would go and flame up as red as— that tasconia, just Math longing to tell them Aunt Jane was not so ridiculous ; and so I took hold of For Half a C'/'Oivn, and began to read it as if I could bite them all ! ' She read herself into a state of pacification, but did not attempt to see Kallioiie that day, being leather shy of all that might be encountered in that house, especially after working hours. The next day, however. Lady Merrifield's services were required to chaperon the coy betrothed in an inspection of Clift' House and furniture, which was to be renovated according to her taste ; and Gillian was to take that time for a visit to Kalliope, whom she expected to find in the garden. The usual coiarer was, however, vacant ; and Mr. White was heard making a growl of ' Foolish girl ! Doesn't know which way her bread is buttered.' Maura, however, came running up, and said to Gillian, ' Please come this way. She is here.' ' What has she hidden herself for?' demanded Mr. White. ' I thought she might have been here to welcome this— Miss Adeline.' ' She is not very well to-day,' faltered Maura. 'Oil ! ay, fretting. Well, I thought she had more sense.' Gillian followed ]\Iaura, who was no sooner out of hearing than she began : ' It is too bad of him to be so cross. Kally really is so upset ! She did not sleep all night, and I thought slie would have fainted quite away this morning ! ' ' Oh dear ! has he been worrying her ? ' ' She is very glad and happy, of course, about Miss Ada ! and he won't believe it, because he wants her to go out to Italy with them for all next winter.' ' And won't she ? Oli, what a pity ! ' 'She said she really could not because of us; she could not leave us, Petros and all, without a home. She thought it her duty to stay and look after us. And then he got cross, and said that she was presuming on the hope of living in idleness here, and making him keep us all, but she would find herself mistaken, and went off very angry.' ' Oh, horrid ! how could he ? ' ' I believe, if Kally could have walked so far, she would have gone down straight to Mr. Lee's. She wanted to, but 268 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. she was all in a tremble, and I persuaded her not, though she did send me down to ask ^Irs. Lee when she can be ready. Then when Alexis came home, Mr. White told him that he didn't in the least mean all that, and would not hear of her going away, though lie was angry at her being so foolisli, but he would give'lier another chance of not throwing away such advaiitages. And Alexis says slie ought not. He wants her to go, ancl declai-es that he and I can very well manage with Mrs. Lee, and look after Petros, and that she must not think of rushing off in a huff for a few words said in a passion. So, between the two, she was quite upset and couldn't sleep, and, oh, if she were to be ill again ! ' By this time they were in sight of Kalliope lying back in a basket-chair, shaded by the fence of the kitchen -garden, and her weary face and trembling hand sliowed liow nnicli this had shaken her in her weakness. She sent Maura away, and spoke out her troubles freely to Gillian. ' I thought at first my duty was quite clear, and that I ought not to go away aiid enjoy myself and leave the others to get on with- out me. Alec would find it so dreary ; and though Mr. and Mrs. Lee are very good and kind, they are not quite com- panions to him. Then ]\Iaura has come to think so much about people being ladies that I don't feel sure that she would attend to Mrs. Lee ; and the same with Petros in the holidays. If I can't work at first, still I can make a home and look after them.' ' But it is only one winter, and Alexis thinks you ought ; and, oh, what it would be, and how you would get on ! ' ' That is what puzzles me. Alexis thinks Mr. White has a right to expect me to improve myself, and not go on for ever making white jessamines witli malachite leaves, and that he can look after Maura and Petros. I see, too, that I ought to try to recover, or I might be a burthen on Alexis for ever, and hinder all his better hopes. Tlien, there's tlio not liking to accept a favour after Mr. White said such things, though I ought not to think about it since he made that apology ; but it is a horrid feeling that I ought not to affront him for the sake of the others. Altogether I do feel so tossed. I can't get back the feeling I had when I was ill that I need not worry, for that God will decide.' And there were tears in her eyes. 'Can't you ask some one's advice?' said Gillian. 'If I were sure they quite understood ! 'My head is quite tired with thinking about it.' Not many moments liad passed before there were steps that made Kalliope start ])ainfully, and ]\Iain-a appcai'ed, piloting another visitor. It was Miss INfohun, who liad escaped fi'om the survey of the rooms,— so far uneasy at XXII TPTE JTAIDEN ALL FORLORK 269 wliat she had gathered from Mr. White, that she was the more anxious to make the offer previously agreed to. ' My dear,' she said, ' I am afraid you look tired.' ' They have worried her and knocked her up,' said Gillian indignantly. ' I see ! Kally, my dear, we are connections now, you know, and I have heard of Mr. Wliite's plan. It made me think whether you would find the matter easier if you let me have iSIaura while you are away to cheer my solitude. Then I could see that she did her lessons, and, between all Gillian's brothers, we could see that Petros was happy in the holidays.' ' Oh, Miss IMohun ! how can I be grateful enough 1 There is an end of all difficulties.' And when the inspecting party came round, and Adeline bent to kiss the white, weary, but no longer distressed face, and kindly said, 'We shall see a great deal of each other, I hope,' she replied, with an earnest 'thank you,' and added to Mr. White, ' Miss Mohun has made it all easy to me, sir, and I am very grateful ! ' ' Ay, ay ! You're a good girl at the bottom, and liave 1' CHAPTER XXIII FANGS Events came on rai^idly that spring. Mr. AVhite was anxious that his marriage should talce place quickly — afraid, perhaps, that his prize would escajse liim, and be daunted by the passive disajDproval of her family, though this was only manifested to him in a want of cordiality. This, being sincere people, they could not help ; and that outbreak to Kalliope had made the sisters so uneasy, that they would have willingly endured the ridicule of a broken engagement to secure Adeline from the risks of a rough temper where gentlemanly instincts were not inbred. Adeline, however, knew she had gone too far to recede, though she would willingly have delayed, in enjoyment of the i:)resent homage and shrinking from tlie future plunge away from all her protectors. Though the strong, manly will overpowered hers, and made lier submit to the necessities of the case and fix a day early in July, she clung the more closely to her sisters, and insisted on being accompanied by Jane on going to London to purchase the outfit that she had often seen in visions before. So Miss Mohun's aflairs were put in commission, Gillian taking care of them, and the two sisters were to go to Mrs. Craydon, once, as Marianne Weston, their first friend out of their own family, and now a widow with a liouse in London, well pleased at any recall of old times, though inclined, like all tlie rest, to sjjeak of ' poor Ada.' Lord Rotherwood was, as his cousins had predicted, less disgusted than the rest, as in matters of business he had been able to test tiie true worth that lay beneath the blemishes of tone and of temjier ; and his Avife thouglit the Italian residence and foreign tincture made the afiair much more endurable than could have been expected. She chose an exquisite tea-service for tlieir joint wedding present ; but she would not consent to let Lady Phyllis be a bridesmaid ; CHAP. XXI II FANGS 271 thougli the Marquis, discovering that her eldest brother hated the idea of giving her away to the stonemason, oftered ' not to put too tine a point on it, but to act the part of Cousin Pha?nix.' Bridesmaids would have been rather a difficulty ; but then the deep mourning of Kalliope and Maura made a decided reason for excluding them ; and Miss Adeline, who knew that a quiet wedding would be in much the best taste, resolved to content herself with two tiny maidens, Primrose and tlie contemporary Hablot, her own goddaughter, wlio, being commonly known as Belle, made a reason for equipping each in tlie colour and with the flowers of her name, and the idea was carried out with great taste. Valetta thought it hai'd that an outsider should be chosen. The young Merrifields had the failing of large families in clannish exclusiveness up to the jjoint of hating and despis- ing more or less all who interfered with their enjoyment of one another, and of their own ways. The absence of society at Silverfold had intensified this farotiche tone, and the dis- persion, instead of curing it, had rendered them more bent on being alone together. Worst of all was Wilfred, who had been kept at home very inconveniently by some recurring delicacy of brain and eyes, and who, at twelve years old, was enough of an imp to be no small torment to his sisters. Valetta was unmercifully teased about her aft'ection for Kitty Varley and Maura Wliite, and, whenever he durst, there were attempts at stings about Alexis, until new game offered itself on whom no one had any mercy. Captain Henderson was as much in the way as a man could be who knew but one family in the place, and had no resource but sketching. His yellow moustache was to be seen at all manner of unexpected and unwelcome times. If that great honour, a walk with papa, was granted, out he popped from Marine Hotel, or a seat in the public gardens, evidently lying in ambush to spoil their walk. Or he was found tete-a-tete with mamma before the five -o'clock tea, talking, no doubt, ' Eaphaels, Correggios, and stufl",' as in the Royal "Wardour days. Even at Clipston, or in the coves on the beach, he was only too apt to start up from some con- venient post for sketching. He really did di'aw beautifully ; and Mysie would have been thankful for his counsels if public opinion had not been so strong. Moreover, Kitty Varley conveyed to Valetta the specula- tions of Rockstone whether Gillian was the attraction. 'Now, Val,' said Mysie, 'how can you listen to such nonsense 1 ' ' You said so before, and it wasn't nonsense.' 'It wasn't Aunt Jane.' 272 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chaf. ' No, but it was somebody.' ' Everybody docs marry somebody ; but it is no use for us to think about it, for it always turns out just the con- trary to all the books one ever read ; so there's no going by anything, and I don't believe it right to talk about it.' ' Why not 1 Every one does.' ' All the good teachings say one should not talk of what one does not want one's grown-ups to heai\' ' Oh, but then one would never talk of anything ! ' ' Oh, Val ! I won't be sure, but I don't believe I should niind mamma's hearing all I say.' ' Yes ; but you've never been to school ; and I heard Bee Varley say she never saw anybody so childishly simple for her age.' This brought the colour into Mysie's face, but she said — ' I'd rather be simple than talk as mamma does not like ; and, Val, do on no account tell Gillian.' 'I haven't.' ' And don't ; don't tell Wilfred, or you know how horrid he would be.' There was a tell-tale colour in Valetta's cheeks, by which Mysie might have discerned that Valetta had not resisted the charm of declaring 'that she knew something,' even though this was sure to lead to tortures of various kinds from AVilfred until it was extracted. Still the youth as yet was afraid to do much worse than look jDreternaturally knowing at his sister and give hints about ' Fangs ' holding fast and the like, but quite enough to startle her into something between being flattered and indignant. She was scarcely civil to the Captain, and felt bound to express her dislike on every possible occasion, though only to provoke a grin from Wilfred and a giggle from Valetta. Lady Merrifleld's basket -carriage and little rougli pony had been brought from Silverfold, and she took Kalliope out for quiet drives whenever it was possible ; but a day of showers having prevented this, she was concerned to find herself hindered on a second afternoon. Gillian ottered to be her substitute. ' You know I always drive you, mamma.' ' These are worse hills than at Silverfold, and I don't want you to come down by the sea-wall.' ' I am sure I would not go there for something, among all the stupid people.' ' If you keep to the turnpike you can't come to nuich liarm with ]3runo.' ' That is awfully — I mean horribly dusty ! There's the clilV road towards Arnscombe.' 'That is safe enough. I don't think you could come to XXIII FANGS 273 much real damage ; but remember that for Kally a start or an alarm would be really as hurtful as an accident to a per- son in health.' ' Poor old Bruno could hardly frighten a mouse,' said Gillian. ' Only take care, and don't be enterprising.' Gillian drove up to the door of Cliff House, and Kalliope took her seat. It was an enjoyable afternoon, with the fresh clearness of June sunshine after showers, great purple shadows of clouds flitting over the sea, dimpled by white crests of wave that broke the golden path of sunshine into sparkling ripples, while on the other side of the cliff road lay the open moorland, full of furze, stunted in growth, but brilliant in colour, and relieved by the purple browns of blossoming grasses and the white stars of stitchwort. ' This is delicious ! ' murmured Kalliope, with a gesture of enjoyment. ' Much nicer than down below 1 ' ' Oh yes ; it seems to stretch one's very soul ! ' ' And the place is so big and wide that no one can worry with sketching.' ' Yes, it defies that ! ' said Kalliope, laughing. ' So, Fa — Captain Henderson won't crop up as he does at every sketchable place. Didn't you know he was here 1 ' ' Yes, Alexis told me he had seen him.' ' Everybody has seen him, I should think ; he is always about with nothing to do but that everlasting sketching.' 'He must have been very sorry to be obliged to retire.' ' Horrid ! It was weak ; and he miglit have been in Egypt, well out of the way. No, I didn't mean that' — as Kalliope looked shocked—' but he might have been getting distinction and promotion.' ' He used to be very kind,' said Kalliope, in a tone of re- gretful remonstrance. 'It was he who taught me first to draw.' ' He ! What, Fa — Captain Henderson ? ' 'Yes ; when I was quite a little girl, and he had only just joined. He found me out before our quarters at Gibraltar trying to draw an old Spaniard selling oranges, and he helped me, and showed me how to hold my pencil. I have got it still — the sketch. Then he used to lend me things to copy, and give me hints till — oh, till ray father said I was too old for that sort of thing ! Then, you know, my father got his commission, and I went to school at Belfast.' 'And you have never seen him since ? ' 'Scarcely. Sometimes he was on leave in my holidays, and you know we were at the depot afterwards ; but I shall always feel that all that I have been able to do since has been owing to him.' 274 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. ' And how you will enjoy studying at Florence ! ' 'Oh, think'wliat it would be if I could ever do a reredos for a cliurch ! I keep on dreaming and fancying them, and now there really seems a hope. Is that Arnscombe Church?' ' Yes ; you know it has been nicely restored.' 'We had the columns to do. The reredos is alabaster, I believe, and we had nobody fit to undertake that. I so longed for the power ! I almost saw it.' ' Have you seen what it is ? ' ' No ; I never had time.' 'I suppose it would be too tiling for you now; but we could see the outside.' Gillian forgot that Arnscombe, whose blunt gray spire protruded through the young green elms, lay in a little valley through which a stream rushed to tlie sea. The lane was not very steep, but there were loose stones. Bruno stumbled ; he was down ; the carriage stood still, and the two girls were out on opposite sides in a moment, Gillian crying out — ' ' Don't be frightened— no harm done ! ' — as she ran to the pony's head. He lay quite still with heaving sides, and she felt utterly alone and helpless in the solitary road with an invalid companion whom she did not like to leave. ' I am afraid I cannot run for help,' said Kalliope quietly, though breathlessly ; 'but I could sit by the horse and hold his liead while you go for help.' ' I don't like. Oh, here's some one coming I ' ' Can I be of any use 1 ' Most welcome sound! — though it was actually Caj^tain Henderson the ubiquitous wheeling his bicycle up tlie hill, knapsack of sketching materials on his back. ' Miss INIerritield ! JMiss White ! I trust no one is hurt !_' ' Oh no, thank you, unless it is the poor pony ! Kally, sit down on the baidc, I insist ! Oh, I am so glad you are come !' ' Can you sit on his head while I cut the traces ?' Gillian did thac comfortable thing till released, when the pony scrambled up again, but with bleeding knees, hip, and side, though tlie Captain did not think any serious harm was done ; but it was even more awkward at the moment that both the shafts wei'e broken ! ' What is to be done 1 ' sighed Gillian. ' ]\liss White can't walk. Can I run down to the A'illage to get something to take lier home ? ' 'The place did not look likely to supply any conveyance better than a rough cart,' said their friend. 'It is quite impossil)le to ]mt the poor iiony in anyhow ! I don't mind walking in the least; but you know liow ill she has been.' XXIII FAXGS 275 ' I see. Only one thing to be done,' said the Captain, who had already turned the carriage round by the stumps of the shafts ; 'you must accept me in lieu of your pony.' ' Oh yes, thank you ! ' cried Gillian eagerly. ' I can lead poor Bruno, and take care of your bicycle. Jump in, Kally ! ' Kalliope, who had wisely abstained from adding a useless voice to the discussion, here demurred. She could not think of such a thing ; they could very well wait in the carriage while Captain Henderson went on to tlie town on his bicycle and sent out a midge. But there were showers about, and a damp feeling in the lane. Both the others thought this perilous ; besides that, there might be rude passengers to laugh at their jDredica- ment ; and Captain Henderson protested that the weight was nothing. He prevailed at last ; and she allowed him to hand lier into the basket, when she could hardly stand, and wrap the dust -cloth about her. Thus the i^rocession set forth, Gillian with poor drooping Bruno's rein in one hand and the other on the bicycle, and the Captain gallantly draw- ing the carriage with Kalliope seated in the midst. He tramped on so vigorously as quite to justify his declaration that it was no burthen to him. It was not a frequented road, and they met no one in the least available to do more than stare or ask a question or two, until, as they approaclied the town and Rockstone Church was full in view, who should appear before their eyes but Sir Jasper, Wilfred carrying on his back a huge kite that had been for many evenings in course of construction, and Fergus acting as trainbearei'. Tims came on the first moment of Gillian's explanation, as Sir Jasper took the poor pony from her and held counsel over the damage, with many hearty thanks to Captain Henderson. ' I am sure, sir, no one could have shown greater i^resence of mind than the young ladies,' said tliat gentleman ; and her father's ' I am g-lad to hear it ! ' would have gratified Gillian the more but for the impish grimace with which Wilfred favoured her behind Kalliope's impassive back. The kite-fliers turned, not without an entreaty from the boys that they might go on alone and fly their kite. 'No, no, boys,' said their father — 'not here ; we shall have the kite pulling you into the sea over the clifls. I must take the pony home ; but I will come if possible to-morrow.' Much disappointed, they went dolefully in the rear, grum- bling sotto voce their conviction that there would be no wind to-morrow, and that it was all ' Fangs's ' fault in some incom- prehensible manner. At Clirt' House Kalliope was carefully handed out by Sir Jasper, trying, but with failing voice, to thank Captain Hen- 276 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE cnxv. derson, and declaring herself not the worse, though her hard shook so much that the General was not content without giving her his arm up the stairs, and telling Maura that he sliould send Mi's. Halfpenny up to see after her. The maimed carriage was left in the yard, and Captain Henderson then took charge of his iron horse, and the whole male party pro- ceeded to the livery stables ; so that Gillian was able to be alone, when she humbly repeated to her mother the tale parents liave so often to hear of semi-disobedience leading to disaster, but with the self-reproach and sorrow that drew the sting of disi^leasure. Pity for Bruno, grief for her mother's deprivation, and anxiety for Kalliope might be penance and rebuke sufficient for a bit of thoughtlessness. Lady i\Ierri- field made no remark ; but there was an odd expression in her face wlien she heard who had come so opportunely to the rescue. Sir Jasper brought a reassuring account of the poor little steed, which would be usable again after a short rest, and the blemish was the less important as there was no intention of selling him. Mrs. Halfpenny, too, reported that her jDatient was as quiet as a lamb. ' She wasn't one to fash herself for nothing, and go into screaming cries, but kenned better what was fitting for one born imder Her Majesty's colours.' So there was nothing to hinder amusement when at dinner Sir Jasper comically described the procession as he met it. Kalliope White, looking only too like ilinerva, or some of those Greek goddess statues they used to draw about, sitting straight and ujiright in her triumphal car, drawn by lier votary ; while poor Gillian came behind with the pony on one side and the bicycle on the other, very much as if she were conducting the wheel on which she was to be broken, as an ofteriiig to the idol. 'I think,' said Mysie, 'Captain Henderson was like the two happy sons in Solon's story, who dragged their mother to the temple.' ' Only they died of it,' said Gillian. ' And nobody asked how the poor mother felt afterwards,' added Lady ^Nlerrifield. ' I thought they all had an apotheosis together,' said Sir Jasper. 'Let us hope that devotion may have its reward.' There was a little lawn outside the drawing-room windows at II Lido. Lady Merrifield was sitting just within, and her husband had just brouglit her a letter to read, wlien they heard Wilfred's impish voice. 'Jack — no, not Jack — Fangs ! ' ' But Fangs's name is Jack, so it will do as well,' said Valetta's voice. ' Hurrah — so it is ! Jack ' XXIII FANGS 277 ' Hush, Wilfred — this is too foolish ! ' came Gillian's tones in remonstrance. ' Jack and Jill went up the hill To draw ' ' To draw ! Oh, that's lovely ! ' interrupted Valetta. ' He is always drawing,' said Gillian, with an odd laugli. ' He was brought up to it. First teeth, and then " i:)icturs," and tlien — oh, my — ladies home from the wash ! ' went on Wilfred. ' But go on, Will ! ' entreated Valetta. ' Jack and Jill went up the hill To draw a piece of water ' 'No, no,' put in Wilfred — 'that's wrong ! ' To draw the sergeant's daughter ; Fangs dragged down luito the town, And Jill came moaning after ! ' ' I didn't moan ' ' Oh, you don't know how disconsolate you looked ! Moan- ing, you know, because her Fangs had to draw the other young woman — eh, Gill? Fangs always leave an aching void, you know.' ' You ridiculous boy ! I'm sure I wish Fangs would leave a void. It wouldn't ache ! ' The two parents had been exchanging glances of some- thing very like consternation, and of the mute inquiry on one side, 'Were you aware of this sort of thing?' and an emphatic shake of the head on the other. Then Sir Jasper's voice exclaimed aloud — ' Childr-en, we hear every word you say, and are shocked at your impertinence and bad taste ! ' There was a scatter. Wilfred and Valetta, who had been pinioning Gillian on either side by her dress, released her, and fled into the laurels that veiled the guinea-pigs; but their father's long strides pursued them, and he gravely said — 'I am very sorry to find this is your style of so-called wit ! ' ' It was only chaftV said Valetta, the boldest in right of her girlhood. ' Very improper chaff ! I am the last person to object to harmless merriment ; but you are both old enough to know that on these subjects such merriment is not harmless.' 'Everybody does it,' whined Valetta, beginning one of her crying fits. 278 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. 'lam sorry you have been among people who liave led you to think so. No nicely-minded girl will do so, nor any brother who wishes to see his sisters refined, right-feeling women. Go in, Valetta — I can't suffer this howling ! Go, I say ! Your mother will talk to you. Now, Wilfred, do you wish to see your sisters like your mother 1 ' ' They'll never be that, if they live to a hundred ! ' ' Do not you hinder it, then ; and never let that insulting nickname pass your lips again.' Wilfred's defence as to universal use in the family was inaudible, and he was allowed to slouch away. Gillian had fled to her mother, entreating her to explain to her father that such jests were abhorrent to her. 'But you know, mamma, if I was cross and dignified, Wilfred would enjoy it all the more, and be ten times worse.' ' Quite true, my dear. Papa will understand ; but we are sorry to hear that nickname.' ' It was an old Royal Wardour name, mamma. Harry and Claude both used it, and— oh, lots of the young oflicers ! ' 'That does not make it more becoming in you.' ' N — no. But oh, mamma, he was very kind to-day ! But I do wish it had been anybody else ! ' And her colour rose so as to startle her mother. ' Why, my deai', I thought you would have been glad that a stranger did not find you in that plight ! ' ' But it makes it all the worse. He does beset us, mamma ; and it is hard on me, after all the other nonsense ! ' Lady Merrifield burst out laughing. 'My dear child, he thinks as much of you as of old Half- penny ! ' 'Oh, mamma, are you sure?' said Gillian, still Iiiding her face. ' It was not silliness of my own ; but Kitty A'avley told Val that everybody said it— her sister, and ]\Iiss Mohun, and all. Wliy can't he go away, and not be always bothering about this horrid place with nothing to do ? ' 'How thankful I shall be to have you all safe at Clip- ston ! ' ' But, mamma, can't you keep him off us ? ' Valetta's sobbing entrance here pre\-ented more ; but while explaining to her the causes of her father's displeasure, her mother extracted a good deal more of the gossip, to which she finally returned answer — ' There is no telling the harm that is done by chattering gossip in this way. You might have learnt by what hap- l)ened before wliat mistakes are made. What am I to do, Valetta? I don't want to hinder you from having friends and companions ; but if you bring home such mischievous XXIII FANGS 279 stories, I shall have to keep you entirely among ourselves till you are older and wiser.' ' I never— never will believe— anybody who says anybody is going to marry anybody ! ' sobbed Valetta desperately and incoherently. ' Certainly no one who knows nothing about the matter. There is nothing papa and I dislike much more than such foolish talk ; and to tease your sister about it is even worse ; but I will say no more about that, as I believe it was chiefly Wilfred's doing.' ' I_told— Will,' murmured Valetta. 'Mysie begged me not : but I had done it.' ' How much you would have saved yourself and everybody else if you had let the foolish word die with you ! Now, good-night, my dear. Bathe your eyes well, or they will be very uncomfortable to-morrow ; and do try to cure yourself of roaring when you cry. It vexes jiapa so much more.' Another small scene had to follow with the boy, who was quite willing to go oil" to bed, having no desire to face his father again, though his mother had lier fears that he was not ])articularly penitent for ' what fellows always did when people were spooning.' He could only be assured tliat he would experience unpleasant consequences if he recurred to the practice ; but Wilfred had always been the problem in the family. The summer twilight was just darkening completely, and Lady jMerrilield had returned to tlie drawing-room, and was about to ring for lights, when Sir Jasper came in through the window, saying — ' No question now about renewal. Angelic features, more than angelic calmness and dignity. Ha ! you there, young ladies ! ' he added in some dismay as two white dresses struck his eye. "There's no harm done,' said Lady Merrifield, laughing. ' I was thinking whether to relieve Gillian's mind by telling her tlie state of the case, and Mysie is to be trusted.' ' Oh, mamma, then it is Kalliope ! ' exclaimed Gillian, already relieved, for even love could not have perceived calmness and dignity in her sitting upon Bruno's head.^ ' Has she ever talked about liim 1 ' asked Lady Merrifield. ' No ; except to-day, when I said I hoped she was safe from him on that road. She said he had always been very kind to her, and taught her to draw when she was quite a little girl.' 'Just so,' said Lady ]\Ierrifield. 'Well, when she was a little older, poor Mr. VVhite, who was one of the most honour- able and scrupulous of men, took alarm, and saw tliat it would never do to have the young oflicers running after her.' 280 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chai>. ' It was an uncommonly awkward position,' added Sir Jasper, ' witli sucli a remarkable-looking girl, and a foolish unmanageable mother. It made poor White's retirement the more reasonable wlien the girl was growing too old to be kept at school any longer.' 'And has he been constant to her all these years? How nice ! ' cried ]\Iysie. ' After a fashion,' said Lady ]\Ierrifield. ' He made me the receptacle of a good deal of youthful desi)air.' ' All the lads did,' said lier husband. ' But he got over it, and it seemed to have passed out of his life. Howevei', he asked after the Whites as soon as we met him in London ; and now he tells me that he ne\'er forgot Kalliope — her face always came between him and any one whom his mother threw in his way ; and he came down here, knowing her history, and with the object of seeing her again.' ' And he has not, till now ? ' ' No. Besides the absolute need of keeping her quiet, it would not exactly do for him to visit her while slie is alone with Maui-a at Clitf House, and I wished him first to see her casually amongst us, for I dreaded her not fulfilling liis ideal.' 'Oh! 'When I tliink of her at fourteen or fifteen, with that exquisite bloom and the floating wavy hair, I see a ^•ery difierent creature from what she is now,' 'Peach or ivory carving,' said Sir Jasper. ' Yes ; she is nobler, finer altogether, and lias gained in countenance greatly ; but he may not think so, and I should like lier to be looking a little less ill.' ' Well, I can't help hoping he will be disappointed, and be too stupid to care for her ! ' exclaimed Gillian. ' Indeed ! ' said her father in a tone of displeased surjirise. 'He is so insignificant ; he does not seem to suit with lier,' said Gillian in a tone of defence ; 'and there does not seem to be anything in him.' ' That only shows the eflfect of nursing prejudice by using foolish opprobrious nicknames. Henderson was a good officer ; he has .shown himself an excellent son, always .sacri- ficing his own predilections for the sake of duty. He is a right-minded, religious, sensiV)l(; man, his own master, and witli no connections to take umbi-ige at Miss White's iwsition. It is no commoni)lace man wlio knows liow to lionour her for it. Nothing could be a hapi)ier fate for her ; and you will be no friend to her if you use any foolish terms of disparage- ment of him because he docs not happen to please your fancy.' xxiii FANGS 281 'I am sure Gillian will do no such thing, now that she understands the case,' said her mother. ' Oh no, indeed ! ' said Gillian. ' It was only a first feeling.' ' And you will allow for a little annoyance, papa,' added Lady Merrifield. 'We really ha\e had a great deal of him, and he does spoil the children's walks with you.' Sir Jasper laughed. ' I agree that the sooner this is over the better. You need Imve no doubts as to the first view, now that Gillian has eftected the introduction. No words can do justice to her beauty, though, by the bye, he must have contemplated her through the back of his head ! ' ' Well, won't that do 1 Can't he be sent off for the present, for as to love-making now, with all the doubts and scruples in tlie way, it woukl be the way to kill her outright.' ' You must take that in hand, my lady— it is past me ! Come, girls, give us some music ! ' The two girls went up at bed-time to their room, Mysie capering and declaring that here was real, true, nice love, like people in stories ; and Gillian still bemoaning a little that, whatever papa might say. Fa— Captain Henderson would always be too poor a creature for Kalliope. ' If I was quite sure it was not only her beauty,' added Gillian philosophically. Lady ]\Ierritield went up to Cliff House as early as she could the next day. She found her patient there very white and shaken, but not so much by the adventure of yesterday as by a beautiful bouquet of the choicest roses which lay on the table before her sofa, left by Captain Henderson when he had called to inquire after her. ' What ought I to do, dear Lady ISIerrifield 1 ' she asked. ' They came while I was dressing, and I did not know.' 'You mean about a message of thanks ?' ' Yes ; my dear father was so terribly displeased when I wore a rose that he gave me before the great review at Belfast that I feel as "if I ought not to touch these ; and yet it is so kind, and after all his wonderful kindness yester- day.' The hand on the side and the trembling lip showed the painful fluttering of heart, and the voice died away. ' My dear, things are very different now. Take my word for it, your father could not be displeased for a moment at any kindness between you and Captain Henderson. Ten years ago he was a very young man, and his parents were living, and your father was bound in honour, and for your sake too, to prevent attentions from the young officers.' 282 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. ' Oh yes, I know it would have been shocking to have got into that sort of thing ! ' ' But now he is entirely at his own disposal, and a man of four or five-and-thirty, who has gone through a great deal ; and I do not think that to send him a friendly message of thanks for a bunch of flowers to his old fellow -soldier's daughter would be anything but what Captain White would think his due.' ' Oh,' — a sigh of relief, — ' please tell him, dear Lady Merri- field ! ' And she stretched out her hand for the flowers, and lovingly cooled her cheek with their petals, and tenderly admired them singly, venturing now to enjoy them and even caress them. Lady oMerrifield ventured on no more ; but she carried ofl' ultimately hopeful auguries for the gentleman who had been watching for her, very anxious to hear her report. She was, however, determined on persuading him to patience, rein- forcing her assurances with Dr. Dagger's opinion, that though Kalliope's constitution needed only quiet and rest entirely to shake off" the eftects of the overstrain of that terrible half-year, yet that renewed agitation would prolmbly entail chronic heart-comijlaint ; and she insisted that without making any sign the lover should go out of reach for several months, making, for instance, the expedition to Norway of whicli he had been talking. He could not understand at first that what he meant to propose would not be the best means of setting that anxious heart at rest ; and Lady Merrifield had to dwell on the swarm of conscientious scrui:)les and questions that would arise about saddling him with such a family, and should not be put to rest as easily as he imagined. At last, by the further representation that slie would regard her motlier's death as far too recent for such matters to occujiy her, and by the assertion of the now fixed conviction that attentions from him at present could only agitate and distress her hai"mfully, and bring on her malici- ous remarks, the Captain was induced to believe that Rocca Marina or Florence would be a far better scene for his court- shij), and to defer it till he could find her there in better health. He was brought at last to promise to leave Eockquay at once, and dispose of himself in Norway, if only Lady Merri- field would jDrocure him one meeting with Kalliope, in Avhich he solemnly promised to do nothing that could startle her or betray his intentions. Lady Merrifield managed it cunningly. It had been already fixed that Kalliope sliould come doAvn to a brief twelve-o'clock service held at St. Kenelm's for invalids, there to return thanks for her recovery, in what she felt as her own XXIII FANGS 283 church ; and she was to come to II Lido and rest there after- wards. Kesolving to have no spectators, Lady Men-ifield sent off the entire family for a picnic at Clii:)ston, promising them with some confidence that they would not be haunted by Captain Henderson, and that she would come in the waggonette, bringing Fergus as soon as he was out of school, drink tea, and fetch home the tired. Sir Jasper went too, telling her, with a smile, that he was far too sliy to assist her in acting chaperon. ' Dragon, you had better say — I mean to put on all my teeth and claws.' These were not, however, very visible at the church door when she met Kalliope, who had come down in a bath-chair, but was able afterwards to walk slowly to II Lido. Perhaps Captain Henderson was, however, aware of them ; for Kalliope had no knowledge of his presence in the church or in the street, somewhat in the rear, nor did he venture to present himself till there had been time for luncheon and for rest, and till Kalliope had been settled in the cool eastern window under the verandah, with an Indian cushion behind her that threw out lier profile like a cameo. Then, as if to call on Lady Merrifield, Captain Henderson appeared armed, according to a wise suggestion, with his portfolio ; and there was a very quiet and natural over- looking of his drawings, which evidently gave Kalliope immense pleasure, quite unsuspiciously. Precautions had been taken against other visitors, and all went off" so well and happily that Lady Merrifield felt quite triumphant when the waggonette came round, and, after picking up Fergus, she set Kalliope down at her own door, with something like a colour in her cheeks and Mps, and tlianks for a happy after- noon, and the great jjleasure in seeing one of the dear old Royal Wardours again. ' But, oh mamma,' said Gillian, feeling as if the thorn in her thoughts must be extracted, ' are you sure it is not all her beauty 1 ' 'Her beauty, no doubt, began it, and gratifies the artist eye ; but I am sure his perseverance is due to appreciation of her noble character,' said Lady Merrifield. ' Oh, mamma, would he if she had been ever so good, and no prettier than otlier people ? ' ' Don't pick motives so, my child ; her beauty helps to make up the sum and substance of his adoration, and she would not have the countenance she has without the good- ness. Let that satisfy you.' CHAPTER XXIV CONCLUSION The wedding was imminent by this time. The sisters re- turned from London, the j^ounger looking brilliant and in unusual health, and tlie elder fagged and weary. Bhoi^ping, or rather looking on at shopping, had been a far moi'e wearying occupation than all the schools and districts in Rockquay afforded. And besides the being left alone, there was the need of considering her future. The family had certainly expected that a rich and open -handed man like Mr. White would bethink him that half what was sufficient for two was not enougli for one to live in the same style, and would have resigned his Ijride's fortune to her sister • but, as a rule, he never did what was expected of him, and he had, perhaps, been somewhat annoyed by Mr. Mohun's pertinacity about settlements, showing a certain distrust of commercial wealth. At any rate, all he did was to insist on paying handsomely for Maur-a's board ; but still j\liss Mohun believed she should have to give up the pretty house built by themselves, and go into smaller quarters, more especially as it was universally agreed tliat Adeline must have Mrs. Mount with lier, and Mrs. Mount would certainly be misei'able in 'foreign parts' unless lier daughter went with her. It was demonstrated that the remaining means would just suffice to keep up Beechcroft ; but Jane knew that it could be only done at the cost of her subscriptions and cJiarities, and she merely undertook to take no measures till winter — the Rockquay season. Sir Jasper, who thought she behaved exceedingly well about it, authorised an earnest invitation to make her liome at Clipston ; but though she was much gratilied, she knew she sliould be in his way, and, jierliaps, in that of the boys, and it was too far from the work to which she meant to devote herself even more completely, when it would be no CHAP. XXIV CONCLUSION ■ 285 longer needful to be companionable to a semi-invalid fond of society. However, just tlien her brother, the Colonel, came at last for his long leave. He knew that his retirement wasonly a matter of months, and declared his intention of joining forces with her, if she would have him, and, in the meantime, he was desirous of contributing his full share in keeping up the home. Nor did Jane feel it selfish to accept his offer, for she knew that Clipston would give him congenial society and sliooting, and that there was plenty of useful layman work for him in the town ; and that ' old Eeggie ' should wish to set up his staff with her raised her spirits, so that cheerful- ness was no longer an effort. The wedding was to be very quiet. Only just after the day was finally fixed, IMrs. Merrifield's long decay ended unexpectedly, and Sir Jasper had to hasten to London, and thence to the funeral at Stokesley. She was a second wife, and he her only son, so that he inherited from her means that set him much more at his ease with regard to his large family than he had ever been before. The intention that Lady Merrifield should act mistress of the house at the wedding breakfast had, of course, to be given up, and only Primrose's extreme youth made it possible to let her still be a bridesmaid. So the whole party, together with the Whites, were only spectators in the background, and the procession into church consisted of just the absolutely needful persons — the bride in a delicate nondescript coloured dress, such as none but a French dressmaker could describe, and covei'ed with trans- parent lace, like, as jMysie averred, a hedgeback full of pig- nut flowers, the justice of the comparison being lost in the ugliness of the name ; and as all Kockquay tried to squeeze into the church to see and admire, the beauty was not thrown away. No tears were shed there ; but afterwards, in lier own familiar room, between her two sisters, Adeline White shed floods of tears, and, clinging to Jane's neck, asked liow she could ever have consented to leave her, extracting a promise of coming to her in case of illness. Nothing but a knock at the door by Valetta, with a peremptory message that Mr. White said they should be late for ihi train, induced her to dry her tears and tear herself away. Kalliope and Maura remained with Miss Mohun durinp: the bridal joui'ney to Scotland, and by tlie time it was ended the former had shaken off the invalid habits, and could hardly accept the doctor's assurance that she ought not to resume her work, though she was grateful for the delights before her, and the opportunities of improvement that she 286 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. was i^romisecl at Florence. Her health had certainly been improved by Frank Stebbing's departure for America. Something oozed out tliat made Miss Mohun suspect that he had been tampering with the accounts, and then it proved that there had been a crisis and discovery, which Mr. White had consented to hush up for his jDartner's sake. Alexis had necessarily known of the investigation and disclosure, but had kept absolute silence until it had been brought to light in other ways, and the culprit was beyond seas. Mr. Stebbing was about to retire from the business, but for many reasons the dissolution of the partnership was de- ferred. Alexis was now in a post of trust, witli a larger salary. He lodged at Mrs. Lee's, and was, in a manner, free of ]\Iiss Mohun's house ; but he spent much of his leisure time in study, being now able to pay regularly for instruction from the tutor who taught at ]\Irs. Edgar's school. JVIaura asked him rather jDertly what was the use of troubling himself about Latin and Greek, if he held liimself bound to the marble works. ' It is not trouble — it is rest,' he said ; and at her gasp, ' Besides, marble works or no, one ought to make the best of one's self.' By the time Mr. and Mrs. White came back from Scotland, the repairs at Clipston had_ been accomplished, and the Merrifields liad taken possession. It all was most pleasant in that summer weather going backwards and forwards between the houses ; the Sunday coming into church and lunching at Aunt Jane's, where Valetta and Primrose stayed for Mrs. Hablot's class, and were escorted home by Macrae in time for evening service at Clipston, where their mother, Gillian, and Mysie reigned over their little school. There was a kind of homely ease and family life, such that Adeline once betrayed that she sometimes felt as if she was going into banishment. However, there was no doubt that she enjoyed her husband's pride in and devotion to her, as well as all the command of money and choice of pretty things that she had obtained, and she looked well, handsome, and dignified. Still it was evident that slie ^vas. very glad of Kalliope's companionship, and that the pair wei'e not on those ex- clusively intimate terms that would make a tliird person de trap. By Sir Jasper's advice, Lady Merrifield did not mention the possibility of a visit from Captain Henderson, who would come upon Mr. Wliite far better on his own merits, and had better not be expected either by Adeline or Kalliope. XXIV COKCLUSION 287 Enthusiastic letters from both ladies described the delights of the journey, wliich was taken in a leisurely sight-seeing manner ; and as to llocca Marina, it seemed to be an absolute paradise. Mr. White had taken care to send out an English upholsterer, so that insular ideas of comfort might be fulfilled within. Without, the combination of mountain and sea, the vine-clad terraces, the chestnut slopes, the magical colours of the barer rocks, the coast -line trending far away, the azure IMediterranean, with the white -sailed feluccas skim- ming across it, filled Kalliope with the more transport because it satisfied the eyes that had unconsciously missed such colouring scenes ever since her early childhood. The English workmen and their families hailed with delight an English lady. The chaplain and his wife were already at work among them, and their little church only waiting for the bride to lay the first stone. The accounts of Kalliope's walks as Mrs. White's deputy among these people, of her scrambles and her sketching, made her recovery evident. Adeline had just been writing that the girl was too valuable to both herself and Mr. White ever to be parted with, when Captain Henderson came back from Norway, and had free permission from Lady Merrifield to put his fate to the touch. English tourists who know how to behave themselves were always welcome to enliven the seclusion of Eocca ]\Iarina, and admire all, of which Adeline was as proud as Mr. White himself. Kecommendations to its hos])itality did not fail, and the first of Adeline's long letters showed warm appreciation of this pleasant guest, who seemed enchanted with the spot. Next, Mrs. White's sagacity began to suspect his object, and there ensued Kalliope's letter, full of doubts and scruples, unable to help being happy, but deferring her reply till she should hear from Lady Merrifield, whether it could be right to burthen any man with such a family as liers. The old allegiance to her father's commanding ofiicer, as well as the kindness she had received, seemed to make her turn to ask their approval as if they were her parents ; and of course it was heartily given. Sir Jasper himself writing to set before her that John Henderson was no suddenly captivated youth unable to calculate consequences, but a man of long-tried affection and constancy, free from personal ties, and knowing all her concerns. The younger ones all gave promise of making their own way, and a wise elder brother was the best thing she could give tliem. Even Piicharcf might be the better for the connection, and Sir Jasper had taken care that there should be some knowledge of what he was. 288 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTOXE chap. There was reason to think that all licjitation had been overcome even before the letters arrived. For it api^eared that Captain Henderson had fraternised greatly with Mr. White, and that having much wished for an occupation, lie had decided to become a partner in the marble works, bringing the art-knowledge and taste that had been desir- able, and Kalliope hoped still to superintend the mosaic workers. It was agreed that the marriage had far better take place away from Rockquay, and it was resolved that it should be at Florence, and that the couple should remain there for the winter, studying art, and especially Florentine mosaic, and return in the spring, when the Stebbings would have concluded their arrangements and vacated their house. Mr. White, in great delight, franked out Alexis and Maura to be present at the wedding ; and a longing wish of Kalliope's that Mr. Flight would officiate was so far ex- pressed that Lady Merritield mentioned it to him. He was very much moved, for he had been feeling that his relations with the Whites had been chiefly harmful, though, as Alexis now assured him, his notice had been their lirst ray of comfort in tlieir changed life at Piockquay. The experience had certainly made him older and wiser. Mrs. White — or, as her nieces could not heljD willing her among themselves, the Contessa di Eocca Marina — urged that her sister Jane should join the company, and bring Gillian to act as the other bridesmaid. This, after a little deliberation, was acceiDted, and the joui'ney was tlie greatest treat to all concerned. Mr. Flight, the only one of the party who had travelled before in the sense of being a toui-ist, was amused by the keen and intense delight of Miss Mohun as well as the you]iger ones in all they beheld, and he steered them with full experience of hotels and of what ought to be visited, so as to be an excellent courier. As to llocca IMarina, where they spent a few days, no words would describe tlieir admiration, though tliey brought home a whole book of sketches to back their descriptions. They did not, liowever, bring back Maura. ]\Irs. Wliite had declared that she must remain to supply the place of her sister. She was nearly fifteen years old, and already pretty well advanced in her studies ; she would jiick up foreign languages, the cliaplain would teacli her wlien at Kocca Mai-ina, and music and drawing would be attainable in the spring at Florence. Moreover, Mr. White promised to regard her as a daughter. Another point was settled. Alexis had worked in earnest for eight months, and had convinced himself tliat tli6 marble works Avere not liis vocation, though lie had acquitted himself well enough to induce J\lr. White to oti'er him a XXIV CONCLUSION 289 share in the business, and he would have accepted it if needful. He had, however, made up his mind to endeavour to obtain a scholarship at Oxford, and Cajitain Henderson promised that whether successful in this or not, he should be enabled to keep his terms there. ^Ir. White could not understand how a man could prefer being a poor curate to being a rich quarrymaster, but liis wife and the two sisters had iniluence enougli to prevent him from being oHended ; and this was the easier, because Theodore had tastes and abilities that made it likely that he would be thoroughly available at the works. What shall be said of the return to Eockstone? Mr. Flight came home first, tlien, after many happy days of appreciative sightseeing. Aunt Jane and Gillian. They had not been ashamed of being British spinsters with guide-books in their hands ; nor, on the other liand, had they been obliged to see what they did not care aljout, and ilr. White had put them in the way of the best mode of seeing what they cared about ; and above all, the vicissitudes of travel, even in easy-going- modern fashion, had made them one with each other accord- ing to Jane's best hopes. It was declared that the aunt looked five years younger for such recreation as she had never known before, and she set to work with double energy. When, in May, Captain and Mrs. Henderson took posses- sion of tlie pretty house tliat had been fitted up for tliem, tiiough Miss Mellon might whisper to a few that she had only been one of the mosaic hands, there was not much inclination to attend to the story among the society to which Ladj' Merrifield introduced her. These acquaintances would gladly have seen more of her than she had time to give them, be- tween family claims and home cares, her attention to the ai-tistic side of the business, for which she had not studied in vain, and her personal and individual care for the young- women concerned therein. For years to come, even, it was likely that visitors to Eockstone would ask one another if they had seen that remarkably beautiful ]\Irs. Henderson. ]\Irs. White, reigning there in the summer, in lier fine house and gardens, though handsome as ever, had the good sense to resign the palm of beauty, and be gratified with the admiration for one whom she accepted as a protegee and appendage, whose praise reflected upon herself. And Clift' House under the new regime was a power in Eockstone, witli its gaixlen - parties, drawing-room meetings on belialf of everything good and desirable, its general superintendence and promotion of all that could aid in the welfare of the place. There was general rejoicing when it was occupied. Adeline, in better healtli than she had enjoyed since lier early girlhood, and feeling her consequence both in Italy and U 290 BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE chap. at Rockstone, was often radiant, always kind and friendly and ready with patronage and assistance. Her sisters won- dered at times how absolute her hajipiness was ; they some- times thought she said too much about it, and about her dear husband's indulgence, in her letters, to be quite satis- factory ; and when she came to Eockstone there was an effusiveness of affection towards her family, an unwillingness to spare her sisters or nieces from lier side, an earnest desire to take one back to Italy with her, tha.t betrayed something lacking in companionship. Jane detected likewise such as the idolising husband felt this attachment a little over much. It was not quite possilile to feel him one with her family, or make liim feel himself one. He would always be 'com- pany ' with them. He had indeed been invited to Beeclicroft Court, but it was plain that the visit had been stiff and wearisome to both parties, even more so than that to E other- wood, where there was no reason to look for much familiarity. In the same way, to Eeginald ^Moliun, who had been obliged to retire as full Colonel, ^Ir. White was so absolutely distasteful tliat it was his sister's continual fear that he would encourage the young peoi:>le's surreptitious jokes about their marble uncle. Sir Jasper, alwaj's feeling accountable for having given the first sanction, did his best for the brother-in-law ; but in spite of regard, there was no getting over the uncongeniality that would always be the drop in Adeline's cup. Tlie perfect ease and confidence of family intercourse vould alter on liis entrance ! Nobody got on with him so well as Captain Harry May. For I do not ' speak to that dull elf wlio cannot figure to liimself tlie great family meeting that came to pass when the colonists came home — liow sweet and matronly 'Aunt Phyllis ' looked, liow f resli and bright her daughters were, and how surprised Valetta was to find them as well instructed and civilised as herself, though she did not, like Primrose, expect to see them tatooed. One of tlie party was no other than Dolores ^lohun. 8he had been very liappy with her fatlier for tln-ee years. Tliey had been at Eotorua at the time of the eartliquake, and Dolores had acquired much credit for her reasonableness and self-possession ; but there had been also a young lady, not much above lier own age, who liad needed protection and comfort, and the acquaintance there begun had ended in lier father deciding on a marriage witli a ])retty, gentle creature as unlike the Avife of his youtli as could be imagined. Dolores had beliaved very well, as lier Aunt Phyllis warmly testified ; but it Avas a relief to all parties wlien the proposal was made tliat, immediately after the wedding, she sliould go home under lier aunt's escort to finisli her educa- XXIV CONCLUSION 291 tion. She had learnt to love and trust Aunt Phyllis ; but to he once more with Aunt Lily and Mysie was the greatest Seace and bliss slie could conceive. And she was a very iffereut being from the angular defiant girl of those days which seemed so long ago. There is no need to say more at present of these old friends. There is no material for narrative in describing how the ' calm decay ' of Dr. May in old age was cheered by the presence of his sailor son, nor in the scenes where the brothers, sisters, and friends exchanged happy recollections, brightened each otlier's lives with aftection, and stimulated one another in serving God in their generation. Printt-dhy R. & R. Ci.ark, Limited, F.dinhurgh. 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