by L. T. Meade
CHAPTER XXII.
THE BROKEN LOCK.
It was quite dusk when Augusta and Nancy found themselves once moreback at Fairleigh. From the moment they left the cross-roads to thetime they reached the house neither of the girls spoke.
Augusta was full of the delights of the past day, and was turning overin her mind what possible stratagems she might employ to enable her tosee more of the Asprays.
Nancy was equally busy wondering if Uncle Peter had yet arrived; andwhen they turned the corner and saw Kitty and Nora each hanging on thearm of the Captain, she uttered a glad cry and ran forward.
"Ah! here you are. Good-evening, little niece Nancy.--And how are you,Augusta?"
"I am so sorry we were not here when you arrived, Uncle Peter!" saidAugusta. "We were away at a picnic."
"I told Uncle Peter you were having a gay time and I did not know whenyou would be back," remarked Nora, "but we waited supper for you allthe same. Shall we go in now?--for I am sure Uncle Peter must be veryhungry."
"Hungry is no word for it," cried Captain Richmond. "I am starving.Don't stay long tittivating, girls, but come down as soon as ever youcan, for the patience of a hungry man has its limits."
The four girls ran upstairs laughing merrily.
"Isn't he nice?" thought Nancy to herself. "Doesn't he make the wholehouse seem breezy and happy? I am glad that he has come. Gussie won'tdare to tell any more lies now. And I hope--oh! I do hope she won'toften expect me to go with her to see the Asprays. Oh, to think that Imight have had to live with them! I should indeed have been a mostmiserable girl. I would not exchange such darlings as Nora and Kittyfor Flora and Constance Aspray."
"Are you ready?" cried Kitty at that moment, tapping at the door ofthe little girl's room.
"Yes. Just come in, please, Kitty," cried Nancy.
Kitty entered. She wore a white dress with a pale-blue sash, and shelooked most sweet and charming.
"Oh, you darling!" said Nancy, running up to her. "I must kiss you--Imust. Oh, how different you are! Oh, it is such a relief to get homeagain!"
"What queer, broken sentences, Nancy!" exclaimed Kitty. "Why is itsuch a relief to get home; and who am I different from?"
"The Asprays," said Nancy.
"Then you had not a happy day?"
"Oh, never mind! I suppose I ought to have had."
"You need not see any more of them; you may be sure of that, Nancy.Uncle Peter was rather surprised at your both going. I think UnclePeter is what you call punctilious--yes, that is the word. I am surehe won't let us have anything to say to them until mother returns. Butnow let us hurry down to supper. Do you know, Nancy, that he is nicerthan ever, and he has got no end of lovely schemes. I can see that weare going to have a most heavenly time."
"Did he--did he say anything," said Nancy slowly "did he say anythingabout our battalion?"
"No; not a single word. I expected him to, and so did Nora; but Icould see that it was in the back of his head all the time. I expectthe grand prize-day, when the best girl receives the Royal Cross, willtake place before we return to town. And, oh, Nancy darling! I have ashrewd suspicion that you will win."
"I!" said Nancy. "Certainly not. _I_ am not better than you orNora."
"In some ways you are better. You are more patient; and then, you havemore to put up with. Uncle Peter is the sort of man to take all thatinto consideration. He is very just--very just _indeed_--and heis quite safe to give the cross to the person who has really earnedit."
"What _are_ you two chattering about?" now came from Augusta. "Weare all waiting downstairs. Do hurry up."
The girls flew down, their arms encircling each other.
"Oh," thought Nancy to herself, "how sweet, how delightful is Kitty!How happy she makes me!"
The dining-room table was prettily laid; the supper was good andabundant; Uncle Peter had a joke for every one. Never was there a moredelightful meal. When the Captain assured the girls he felt quite likea paterfamilias with four grown-up daughters, they considered it thehugest fun in the world, and laughed with uncontrolled delight. Butthe gayest of meals come to an end, and once again the little partywent out and paced up and down on the moonlit lawn.
It was now Nancy's turn to clasp her hand inside Captain Richmond'sarm, and with Nora on the other side, to walk backwards and forwardsin front of the old house. Meanwhile Kitty and Augusta fell behind theothers.
"I hope you had a good time, Gussie," said her cousin.
"You mean to-day," said Augusta. "There is only one word forto-day--it was _ripping_. Yes; I can call it nothing else. OhKit, you will help me, won't you?"
"In what way, Gussie?"
"I want to see some more of them--oh, so badly! You won't put anobstacle in my way, will you?"
"I am not the one to do it," answered Kitty; "but, of course, you canunderstand, Gussie, that we have all got to obey the Captain."
"I wish he hadn't come," said Augusta suddenly.
"You wish that Uncle Peter--_darling_ Uncle Peter--hadn't_come_?"
"Yes; but you need not cry it out quite so loud. I don't, of course,want _him_ to hear. I am sorry he has come because he is sure tobe very strict and proper, and perhaps he won't like the Asprays."
"I don't believe he will have anything to do with them. Oh dear! thereis ten o'clock striking, and we must go to bed."
"Girls," said the Captain as they re-entered the house, "this nighthas been pure pleasure; but, you know, business awaits us to-morrow,and before I retire for the night I should just like to run my eyeover the orderly-book. Can you get it for me, Nora? Your mother musthave left it where you could find it."
Nora's face turned white and then pink.
"I am so dreadfully sorry, Uncle Peter," she exclaimed, "but we havelost the key of the drawer in mother's chiffonier in which she keepsthe orderly-book. It is altogether my fault and Kitty's. Mother wasgoing off in a great hurry, and she gave us the key, and we can't findit high or low."
"You had better have a good search for it to-morrow," answered theCaptain. "Never mind about it now. Good-night to you all. We willbegin brisk and early to-morrow, soldiers of the True Blue."
He gave the little party a military salute, and going to thedrawing-room, he shut the door.
The girls went upstairs, Augusta thanking her stars that the key waslost.
"So much the better for my purposes," she said to herself. "It willnever occur to him to try that special drawer; if he did it would openfast enough. What a bit of luck that Kitty and Nora should have lostthe key!"
The girls had now reached the broad landing which led by differentcorridors to their bedrooms. Here they said good-night, and Augustaquickly entered her own room. She felt excited and not at all disposedto sleep. The Asprays had fascinated her, and the thought of meetingthat delightful American, Mr. David Archer, the man whom Flora hadassured her would take a great fancy to her, very nearly turned thesilly girl's head.
"I wonder if I am really handsome," she said to herself. "I wonder ifthere is something remarkable and fascinating about me. I should likeso much to know! Perhaps if I met him he would tell me. I wonder if hewould. It would be very nice to be pretty; pretty girls have such ajolly time. Now, Nancy is pretty. It is horribly unfair, but althoughshe is nothing but a charity-child, she has far and away the mostcharming face of any of us. What would I not give for her complexion,and those beautiful wide dark eyes of hers, and that thick, thickebony-black hair? But I dare say I am very passable myself. I observedFlora looking at me quite with approbation to-day. I shall light somecandles and see how I look before I go to bed."
Augusta accordingly lit two candles which stood in heavy oak stands onthe mantelpiece. These she placed one on each side of herlooking-glass, and then, drawing the glass forward, she sat down andstared into her face. But the glass was somewhat dim from age, and thelight altogether inefficient.
"Why, I see nothing but a blur," thought the girl; and then itoccurred to her to go into her aunt's room and fetch som
e more candlesfrom there.
The thought had no sooner come than she acted on it, bringing in aheavy pair of candlesticks with tall wax candles in them. Just as shereached her own door her foot knocked against something metallic. Shestooped and picked up a little key.
"The lost key," she murmured under her breath; and then she slipped itinto her pocket.
With the aid of the four candles Augusta got a good view of herfeatures. Her face was well shaped, and her eyes of a nice colour. Shewas altogether, as she expressed it, "more than passable."
"If only I grow tall, and have a good figure, and am dressed as Iought to be, I shall be a success," she said to herself. "Those twoyears in Paris will do wonders for me. Parisian polish is soeffective! Yes, I shall have a good time when I do go into society.But, dear, dear! why should I wait for two or three years to have agood time when I may have it now? What fun to talk to a man like DavidArcher! Flora will do her best for me if I introduce Uncle Peter tothem. I suppose they think they will fascinate Uncle Peter, but theydon't know him. Yes, he is a charming man, only I do wish he were notquite so awfully good."
Augusta put out her candles and got into bed. As she laid her head onthe pillow she remembered that she had just found the missing key.
"I am in luck," she said to herself--"in rare luck. The first thingto-morrow I shall lock the chiffonier, and then I can throw the keydown--the well in the garden. That orderly-book won't be found thenuntil Aunt Jessie returns."
But man proposes, God disposes. This trite proverb proved its right toexistence just at the time when Augusta thought all things weremoulding themselves in her favour. For while the four girls sleptpeacefully in their different rooms, Captain Richmond thought andpondered in the drawing-room. He paced up and down until he hadfinished his cigarette. He then went and stood by the window, whichwas open.
He was thinking of his girls, and wondering how his battalion hadbehaved. In particular his thoughts were occupied with Nancy. He hadtaken a great fancy to Nancy when he had met her in London. He wassorry for her, and he thought he understood her character. His ownnieces had always been to him as an open book, but Nancy puzzled whileshe interested him. "As to Augusta--I cannot make her out. Quite downin the bottom of my heart I don't like Augusta," said the Captain tohimself. "It is very uncharitable of me not to like her, for I knownothing whatever to her discredit. But one is not accountable forthese sort of feelings. Why do I like Nancy so much? Why am I certainthat she is straight and noble and sweet and generous? I do believethat it was mostly on account of Nancy I thought of my little schemeto enroll the girls in my battalion. Well, I suppose as that key islost I had better go to bed. We shall have a good time to-morrow. Yes,I must make those children happy. Jessie has entrusted them to mycare, and they sha'n't see more of those objectionable Asprays than Ican help."
The Captain was about to leave the room, having first shut the windowand fastened the shutters, when his attention was attracted by thechiffonier. He was fond of Sheraton furniture, and saw at once thatthis was a particularly fine specimen. During his last visit toFairleigh this handsome piece of furniture had not been in thedrawing-room. He went up to it now, put down his candle, and looked itover with great care.
"I wonder where Jessie picked it up," he said to himself, "and whatshe paid for it. It is certainly genuine. And how particularly finethese brass mountings are." The chiffonier contained many drawers,some shallow and some deep. Each drawer was opened by a small brasshandle, the lock being just above the handle. Captain Richmond tookhold of one of the handles and pulled the drawer, which immediatelyslid out, and there, staring him in the face, was the well-knownorderly-book.
"What a piece of luck!" he cried. "I am not a bit sleepy. So Jessienever locked the drawer. As I have found the book I may as well run myeye over its contents to-night. I shall make a more carefulexamination to-morrow, but I am curious to know how my soldiers havegot on."
The Captain lit another pair of candles, and drawing a comfortablechair forward, seated himself and opened the book. His practised eyesran quickly over the pages. Augusta's entries were very much what hehad expected; they were fairly good without being anything remarkable.His own two nieces were also creditable soldiers--neat, punctilious asto behaviour, early risers, well forward in their athletics, and eachgirl bore marks of excellent conduct.
"Now for Nancy," thought the Captain.
Nancy's pages came last, as she was the youngest girl of the four. AsCaptain Richmond read the entries, made first by Miss Roy and then byhis sister-in-law, he smiled to himself.
"Well done, Nancy!" he said more than once. "Brave little soldier. Irather gather that you had a tussle with yourself on this day, andthat you conquered again on this day. Strange that I should readbetween the lines! I was not mistaken in my estimate of yourcharacter, little Nancy. But, oh! what have we here?"
The Captain was now reading the brief entry made in Mrs. Richmond'swriting on 24th August. He read the few remarks, once in puzzledbewilderment, twice in incredulity, and a third time with the colourmounting to his face and apprehension in his eyes.
"It can't be true," he said to himself. "Nancy guilty of cruelty!_Impossible_."
He shut the book as if he were thoroughly dissatisfied, and returningit to its drawer, he went up to bed.
