Dumps - A Plain Girl
Page 40
sandwiches. We sat down and made amerry meal. Even Augusta was pleased. She forgot the absence of books;she even forgot how far she was from the Professor. As to her poormother, I do not think she even gave her a serious thought Hermione andI laughed and chatted. Finally we went and stood on the balcony, andAugusta retired to her own room.
"Now this is a new era; what will it do for us both?" said Hermione.
"I don't know," I said.
"Aren't you happy, Dumps?"
"Yes, I am a little; but I don't suppose I am expected to take thingsvery seriously."
"It is a great change for me," said Hermione, "from the regularity ofthe life at home."
"I suppose it is," I said; but then I added, "You cannot expect me tofeel about it in that way."
"Why so?"
"It seems to me," I continued, "that I have been for the last few monthstaken off my feet and whirled into all sorts of new conditions. We wereso poor, so straitened; we seemed to have none of what you would callthe good things of life. Then all of a sudden Fortune's wheel turnedand we were--I suppose--rich. But still--"
"Don't say you prefer the old life."
"No--not really. I know she is so good; but you must admit that it is agreat change for me."
"I know it is; but you ought to be thankful."
"That is it; I don't think I am. And what is more," I continued, "Idon't think this is the right school for Augusta. There is just apossibility that I may be shaped and moulded and twisted into a sort offine lady; but nothing will ever make Augusta commonplace, nor willanything make you commonplace. Oh dear! there is some one knocking atthe door."
The knock was repeated. We said, "Come in!" and a girl with a verycurly head of dark hair, bright eyes to match, and a radiant face, firstpeeped at us, then entered, shut the door with a noisy vehemence, andcame towards as with both her hands extended.
Half-way across the room she deliberately shut her eyes.
"Now, I wonder which of you I shall feel first. One is Dumps and theother Hermione. I am expected to adore Dumps because she is so jollyand plain and sensible and--and awkward; and I am expected to worshipHermione because she is exactly the reverse. Now--ah! I know--this isHermione!"
She clasped her arms round my somewhat stout waist.
"Wrong--wrong!" I cried.
She opened her eyes and uttered a merry laugh.
"I have been introduced to you," she said, "by special letter from myfriend Lilian St Leger. And you _are_ Dumps?"
"Of course," I said.
"Good! You do look jolly. I am Rosalind Mayhew. I am a great friendof Lilian's. Of course, I am younger than she is--I am a year younger--and I am going to be at school for another year, so I'll see youthrough, Dumps; Lilian has asked me to."
"Sit down and tell us about every thing," I said. "You know we are suchstrangers."
"Washed up on this inhospitable shore, we scarcely know what we are todo with ourselves, or what savages we are to meet," said Hermione verymerrily.
"Then I'll just tell you everything I can. You know, Mademoiselle Wrexwould be wild if she knew that I had come up to see you this evening.She said I was not to do so, but to leave you in peace. Well, I couldnot help myself. I slipped out to come here, and I told Elfreda andRiki and Fhemie and Hortense that I could not resist it any longer."
"What queer names!" I said.
"Oh, Riki--she's a German comtesse; and Elfreda is a baroness; but wealways call them just Riki and Elfreda. They are very jolly girls.Then as to Fhemie, she is more English than I am; and Hortense is Frenchof the French. There are all sorts of girls at our school. The Dutchgirls are some of the nicest. I will introduce you to them. Then thereare Swedes, and several Americans. The Americans are very racy."
"How many girls are there altogether at the school?" I asked.
"Well, between twenty and thirty. You see, the Baroness Gablestein isexceedingly particular."
"Who is she?"
"My dear Dumps! You don't mean to say that you have come to this schoolwithout knowing the name of our head-mistress?"
"A baroness? Gablestein?" I exclaimed.
"Yes; she really represents a sort of all-round nationality. To beginwith, she is an Englishwoman herself by birth--that is, on one side.Her mother was English, but her father was French. Then she married aGerman baron, whose mother was a Dutchwoman, and whose grandmother wasItalian. Her husband died, and she found, poor baroness! that she hadnot quite enough to live on, and so, as she was exceedingly welleducated and had many aristocratic connections, she thought she wouldstart a school. Her name in full is Baroness von Gablestein. She ismost charming. She talks excellent English, but she also talks Frenchand German and Italian like a native. She has a fair idea of the Dutchtongue, and is exceedingly kind to her Dutch connections; but I thinkher most valued pupils hail from the island home. But there! I don'tthink I ought to stay any longer to-night. I don't want Comtesse Rikito become curious and to poke her aristocratic little nose in here. Sheis a very jolly girl, and as nice as ever she can be; still, she is notEnglish, you know. Oh, you'll find all sides of character here. Ican't tell you how funny it is, particularly with regard to the Frenchand German girls; they are so interested about their _dot_ and theirfuture husbands and all the rest. I tell you it _is_ life in thisplace! We do have good times; it isn't a bit like a regular school.You see all sorts and conditions--good, bad, and indifferent; but Isuppose the good preponderate. Now kiss me, Dumps. You will be quite afresh variety. I believe you are blunt and honest--but, oh, don't breakthe Salviati glass!"
"How very wrong of Lilian to have told you that story!" I said.
"My dear good creature, do you think that Lilian St Leger could keepanything to herself? She is about the maddest young woman I ever cameacross; but we do miss her at school. Her name will be `Open sesame' toyou to every heart in the place. She is just the nicest and mostbewitching of creatures. I only wish she was back."
"She is coming out in about a month," I said.
"Poor thing, how she always did hate the idea!"
"She won't when the time comes," said Hermione.
"Once she is plunged into that fun she will enjoy it as well asanother."
"I never should," I said.
Rosalind glanced at me and laughed.
"Oh, perhaps you'll change too," she said. "Well, you look awfullynice. Your breakfast will be brought to your rooms to-morrow morningsharp at seven o'clock. We have _dejeuner_ at twelve, afternoon tea atfour, dinner at seven. The rest of the day is divided up into all sortsof strange and odd patterns, totally different from English life. But,of course, the meals are all-important."
"Why," I said, "I did not think you were so greedy."
"Nor are we; but you see, dear, during meals we each speak the languageof our native country, and I can tell you there is a babel sometimeswhen the Baroness is not at the head of her table. All the rest of thetime the English girls _must_ talk French, German, or Italian; and theFrench ones must talk English, German, or Italian; and the German girlsmust talk French, English, or Italian; and so on, and so on."
"Oh, you confuse me," I said. "How can any one girl talk threelanguages at once?"
"Day about, or week about--I forget which," said Rosalind. "Now,good-night, good-night."
She vanished.
"I declare I am dead-tired," I said, and I sank down on the sofa.
"What a good thing Augusta wasn't here!" said Hermione.
"Yes; she wouldn't have understood a bit," I said.
I went to Augusta's room that night before I lay down to rest. She wassound asleep in the dress she had travelled in. She had not even takenthe trouble to put a wrap over her. She looked tired, and was murmuringLatin verses in her sleep.
"It is not the right place for her; she will never, never get on withthese baronesses and comtesses, and all this medley of foreign life," Icould not help saying to myself.
I covered her up, but did
not attempt to awake her; and then I went tomy own room, got into bed, and went to sleep with a whirl of emotion andwonder filling my brain.
PART TWO, CHAPTER NINE.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS.
It seemed to me that I had hardly closed my eyes in sleep before I wasawakened again by seeing Justine standing by my bedside with a tray ofvery appetising food in her hand.
"Here are your rolls and coffee, mademoiselle," she said.
As she spoke she laid the little tray on a small table by the side of mybed, evidently put there for the purpose; and taking a dressing-jacketfrom