CHAPTER XXXII.
THE NID D'AVIS.
'It is called--I forget--_a la_ something which sounded Like alicampane, but in truth I'm confounded, What with fillets of roses and fillets of veal, Things _garni_ with lace and things _garni_ with eel, One's hair and one's cutlets both _en papillote_, And a thousand more things I shall ne'er have by rote. I can scarce tell the diff'rence, at least as to phrase, Between beef _a la Psyche_ and curls _a la braise;_ But in short, dear, I'm tricked out quite _a la Francaise._' _Moore._
One forenoon, soon after the end of the Christmas vacation, RobinaUnderwood was seated at her desk, working deeply at the solution ofa quadratic equation; when from the far-off end of the schoolroomarose that peculiar hushed choked giggle, that no one ever ascribed toany cause but some prank of Angela's, more especially on the morningsdevoted to her natural enemy, 'the professor of the exact sciences,'as he called himself; who was in fact a stop-gap in the absence of theUniversity man usually employed.
Robina knew that the more concerned she showed herself the moremadcap tricks were played, and she disturbed herself little about thecommotion, aware that she should only too soon learn the cause, if itwere anything out of the common way. So she did. In the quarter of anhour of clearance and recreation before dinner, plenty of informationreached her, couched in boarding-school _lingua franca_.
'_Ah! Rouge Gorge, vous ne savez pas ce qu'elle a fait.' 'Une filledelicieuse.' 'Une Alouette superbe, tout a fait Angelique!' 'Et M. leprofesseur! Comme il etait dans un cire!_' (These phrases being chieflythe original coinage of Angela herself.)
'_Mais qu'est ce que c'est qu'elle a fait?'_ demanded the elder sister,with small sympathy with these ecstasies.
'_'Le plus exquis!_' and with volubility far outrunning composition,and resulting in a wonderful compromise of languages, that a new bookhad been produced out of which the class had been required to work whatwas described as '_un somme dans le regle detrois tout a tort et atravers; detestable, horrible, vilain_,' to which a chorus chimed in,'_vilain, vilain vilainissimo_.' The question was, If twelve reaperscut a field in thirty hours, how long would it take sixteen? As amatter of course, all but a few mathematical geniuses at the head ofthe class had multiplied by 16 and divided by 12, and made the result40; but Angela, having wit enough to see that this '_n'avait pas lesens commun_,' instead of trying to make out the difficulty, hadwritten at the bottom of her slate, what was hastily transcribed forRobina's edification--
Forty, by the best time-keepers. Reapers? I should call them sleepers, Lazy heapers, idle creepers, And their peepers should be weepers!
All who obtained a sight of this stanza became forthwith weepers withsuppressed giggle, and there was a stern, 'Your slate, if you please,Miss Angela Underwood.'
The effects were expressed with all the force the language couldconvey. '_Il etait comme un lion enrage--il ecumait a la bouche--ildisait qu'il appellerait Mlle. Fennimore_'--a far greater climax, butafter all he only sentenced her to read the rule aloud to the class. Nosooner had she touched the book than she dashed it from her, '_Commela poison'--'comme un couleuvre_,' declaring it to be a shocking one,unfit to touch, so that of course the sums came wrong. Most of heraudience, all girls under thirteen, for she was the arithmetical lagof the school, had no notion why the title 'Colenso's Arithmetic' soexcited her--the master had none at all; and while Angela, who wasnot for nothing sister to a church candle or to a gentleman of thepress, declaimed about heresy and false doctrine, he thought it allidleness and wilfulness, and fulfilled the threat of a summons to theauthorities. By them the matter was a little better understood; butthe disobedience was unpardonable, even if the testification againstthe author were not merely a veil for dislike to the problem, and thesentence had been solitary confinement until submission. From thisAngela was so far distant, that as the young ladies marched in todinner her voice might be heard singing the Ten Little Niggers.
It was an unlucky time, for the next day was Marilda's twenty-fifthbirthday, and she was going to keep it in a way of her own, namely,by taking the whole family of children of a struggling young doctor,over the Zoological Gardens. It was not a very good time of year, andMarilda's first proposition had been the pantomime, but the mamma hadreligious scruples about theatres, and it turned out that the Zoo wasthe subject of their aspirations; so Marilda, securing her two youngcousins to help her in the care and entertainment of her party, hopedfor fine weather.
From this party of pleasure Angela must of course be debarred, unlessshe yielded; and her sister was sent to reason with her, but this hadno better effect than usual. Robina was a thoroughly good industriousgirl, who neither read the papers nor listened to controversy; shecared most for heresies as possible subjects for her examinations inChurch history, and had worked problems innumerable out of Colenso. Soall she gained was a scolding for consenting to the latitudinarianismthat caused correctly-done sums to make sixteen reapers tardier thantwelve; and the assurance that no allurement, no imprisonment, shouldmake the young martyr consent to truckle to a heretic. Angela lookedexactly like Clement as she spoke, except for an odd twinkle in hereye, as if she were quizzing herself.
Robina knew herself to be too much wanted to give up the expedition,and was sent for by Marilda in time to assist in giving the fivechildren the good dinner that was an essential part of the programme,and which reminded Robin of Mr. Audley's picnic. One little boy,however, seemed bewildered and frightened by the good things, andmore inclined to cry than to eat; but he would not hear of being leftbehind, though, when arrived at the Gardens, he could give but feebleinterest even to the bears, and soon fretted and flagged so much thatMarilda thankfully accepted Robin's offer of taking him home in a cab,and waiting for her till her rounds with the other children should befinished.
It turned out that he had had a headache and a 'bone in his throat' allthe morning, but had kept them a secret of misplaced fortitude; andwhen Robina had taken him home, wrapped up in her cloak, trembling,shivering, and moaning, she found the mother with the yearling childmuch in the same condition on her lap; and she was rendering kindlyhelp in putting them to bed (for of course the nurse had a holiday),when the father came home, driven in by a sore throat and headache ofhis own, and forced to pronounce, as best he could, that they were infor an attack of scarlatina.
Here was a predicament! Robina had never had the fever, nor had anyof her home brothers and sisters in any unimpeachable manner. Shecould not stay where she was, and what would either the school or Mrs.Underwood do with her? After such consideration as the little boyallowed her to give, she wrote a note of warning to Marilda, to behanded to her at the door, and another to be sent on to Miss Fennimore.The note was handed to the frightened hurried maid, and duly given.There was a moment's pause, and then the children were left in thecarriage, and Marilda walked into the house. Then there took place whatcould only be described as a scrimmage. Marilda was determined oncarrying all the four home with her, out of the way of the infection,but the mother was persuaded that they must have it already, and wouldnot part with them. If they were ill in another house she would notbe able to go to them, and the thought distracted her. The father wasappealed to, and between the same dread of separation and scruplesabout carrying infection farther, he gave sentence the same way, andMarilda was most unwillingly defeated.
She could only take away Robina; and Robina submitted pretty quietlyto her decision that her quarantine must be spent at Kensington PalaceGardens. In the first place, Marilda protested that she had had 'it;'and though 'it' turned out only to have been a rash, and it was nearlycertain that Mrs. Underwood would be in despair, yet Robin really knewnot where else to go, and Marilda was quite as old as the constitutedauthorities at home. All Robin could insist on was on remaining inthe carriage till Mrs. Underwood had heard the state of the case; butconsidering the rule that Marilda exercised, this precaution was oflittle use
. In five minutes she was called upstairs, a note was sentto Brompton, and she had to make up her mind to a full fortnight ofquarantine--and what was worse, of lack of appliances for preparing forthe Cambridge examination, her great subject of ambition.
Neither Mrs. Underwood nor Marilda could suppose that it was not atreat and consolation to a schoolgirl to get a holiday; they were askind as possible, but oh! the dullness of the place! It was much moredull than in Cherry's visits, for she had her own study and her ownpurpose, and Alda and Edgar enlivened the house; but now Marilda hadno pursuits save business and charity, and was out many hours of theday, there was hardly a book to be found, and Mrs. Underwood expectedher to sit in the drawing-room and do fancy-work. Meantime she waslosing precious time, her chances of marks and prizes at Bromptonwere vanishing, to say nothing of her preparation for the Cambridgeexamination, on which her whole start in life might depend.
The doctor's family were all very ill; but she could not think nearlyso much about them as of the music she tried to practise, and theequations she set herself, while she reckoned the extra work by whichshe could make up for lost time. Alas! on the very last day of thisweary fortnight, conscience constrained her to mention an ominousharshness of throat; and by the evening she was wishing for nothing butthat Wilmet were not in Egypt.
However, Marilda proved herself far superior as a nurse to what she wasas a companion. She would not be kept out of her cousin's room, andwith Cherry's old friend, Mrs. Stokes, took such good and enlightenedcare, that the infection did not spread, and Robina, though ill enoughto be tolerably franked for life, was in due time recovering sofavourably as to be very miserable and wretched about everything, fromthe Cambridge examination to her own ingratitude. She never had felt solike Cherry in her life.
It was hard to say which was worst, her banishment from school or fromhome, or the doleful idea presented to her by that kind promise ofcarrying her to be aired at Brighton for six weeks! It was the loss ofthe whole term, and all the prizes she had set her heart upon, nor wasthere any one to sympathise with her, as she turned her head away andhoped no one would find out the tears in her eyes.
It was just as it had been with Lance, she thought; prevented fromsharing in the competition that might have won him success in life.And how sweetly and brightly Lance had borne it; but then he had neverreckoned on the success she had hoped for, and besides, her naturehad not the surface _insouciance_ that had helped him. She had moreindustry, more ambition, more fixity of purpose, and the disappointmentwas proportionably severer.
Poor child! she lay on the sofa, as Mrs. Underwood supposed, fastasleep, but really trying to work out in her brain puzzling questions,why it was good to be disappointed when one does one's best, why therace is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, trying toaccept her failure as wholesome mortification to ambition, recalling'Under Wode under Rode;' but rebelliously feeling that this did notcomfort her greatly in the very unnecessary picture her fancy proceededto draw of herself, with attainments fit for nothing but a nurserygoverness or school drudge, or a companion to some one duller stillthan Mrs. Underwood, magnanimously releasing William Harewood from allties to so inferior a being, and proceeding to die of a broken heart,and to shed a few tears over her own grave; or maybe the still moremelancholy conviction, that there were no ties at all that he would orought to remember.
A postman's knock made her start, and Mrs. Underwood lament that shehad been awakened. Presently she was sitting up, receiving a long,narrow, green, thin letter, at which she looked with exultation anddelight all over the visage lately so doleful. 'O Mrs. Underwood, itis from John himself---dear John!' was the cry, as her eyes lightedon the address; and her pleasure amounted to rapture as she read theclosely-written sheets, in that clear strong neat handwriting that hadhitherto always been Wilmet's monopoly.
Alexandria, March 20th.
MY DEAR ROBINA,
I hope this may find you as it leaves me at present, a thankful convalescent, and able to think of undertaking a journey with more motive force in your own person than I can yet boast. My good little French doctor has unlimited faith in the healing virtues of the Pyrenean baths, he being Gascon born, and has even volunteered to help us on our way thither when going home for his holiday--a chance too good to be lost. Malta must be our first stage; and if, as I am told to hope, I can get my sick leave extended, after being sat upon by the doctors there, we shall go on to Bagneres, where we hope to arrive about the last week in April. We think you had better meet us there. Miss Underwood will see about arranging an escort for you; Wilmet is writing to her about it. She also desires that you will rig yourself out afresh, bringing nothing you have used while laid up; and you had better likewise provide the stock of books the Cambridge dons advise, as we shall be very quiet and stationary for some time, and I will gladly do my best to help you, unless modern lights have gone quite beyond the capacities of the R.E.
You see by my date that we have made our first move. Chenu was anxious to get us away from Rameses before the Egyptian plagues should have become rampant, and after Wilmet had found a scorpion curled amiably up on my pillow, she was ready for an immediate start. So, amid the shrieks of the Arabs and tears of the entire establishment, I was carried by Travis and Krishnu to the station, and deposited in a horse-box, that I fancy occasionally transports a harem, our host weeping and kissing Wilmet's hands to the last moment. Poor people! they treated us with uniform kindness. If you can make inquiries about the price of a dinner-service, write me the result; it is a sort of testimonial that might be convenient as well as appropriate.
Here, in this great hotel, we are no longer No. 1, but simple units, and find it so much less enlivening, and more common-place, that we even regret the nightly laughter of the hyenas. I want Wilmet to join a party who are going to pay their respects to the Sphinx; but she will not hear of it, even under the care of Fernan Travis, who has grown quite familiar with that venerable animal. He is an admirable squire for her (Mrs. H----, I mean, not Mrs. S----,) at the _table d'hote_ and is altogether as excellent a fellow as ever lived. I am much struck with the ripening he has undergone since we were together at Bexley, and his deeply conscientious views of his very trying and difficult position. He means to see us off for Malta, and then to make his way to Jerusalem for Easter, for the chance that the throng may attract poor Edgar. Never was search more indefatigable. Wilmet sends her love, but does not write, as she has letters in hand to Felix and to Miss Underwood.
Hoping to see your face as round as ever before a month is over,
Your affectionate brother, J.O. HAREWOOD.
Write to us at Malta whether you can come, and we will either write or telegraph to you when to start.
On a separate page were directions for the journey; and a cheque wasenclosed, the first Robina had ever received, providing amply forjourney, outfit, and books.
An hour before, the journey to Brighton had seemed a terrific fatigue.Now a journey to the Pyrenees was only delicious! Her happiness andgratitude were unspeakable. This was not banishment--this was not lossof time--this was perfection!
Wilmet's letter to Marilda, which came at the same time, was a farmore anxious one. She described her husband as certainly better, butstill with three unconquerable wounds, on shoulder, hip, and knee,that kept him helpless and prevented him from regaining strength. Hewas always a bad sailor, and she extremely dreaded the voyage; yet itwas impossible to remain in the Egyptian climate, for already the heatwas fearfully exhausting, and this long, cheerful, well-written lettermust not deceiv
e those at home, for it had been written in the cool ofthe evening, when he always revived, but for the greater part of theday he could scarcely speak or look; and she cautioned Robina againstreckoning too much on the Pyrenean journey, since if the militaryauthorities would not give John his leave without his presentinghimself in England, they must try some sea-side place there. John'shopeful plans always ran on so fast whenever he was feeling a littlebetter. However, Wilmet herself was very eager to have Robina, who shethought would be a great amusement and occupation to him, and was onlypuzzled about the escort, since Felix could hardly spare the time, andClement was in the final agony of preparing for his degree.
This however was settled by Marilda's offering her own maid, who was apractised traveller; and not long after arrived the final intimation.All had been made right at Malta; and Robina, who had by this time hadleisure to change her skin, and gather her strength, was to start atonce for Bagneres.
She was not allowed any parting with Angela, or any of those at home.It was safer otherwise, and not worth the risk, she was told, and therewas nothing to do but submit; and very much alone in the world didshe feel when she stood on the deck of the Folkestone boat, with theblack-silk maid as her only protector. It was a great plunge into thevast unknown for one solitary little schoolgirl!
Behold! A hand was held out to her, a merry pair of yellowish greeneyes twinkled, a wide mouth smiled, a greeting was in her ears: 'That'sright, Bobbie! I thought you'd be for this boat.'
'Willie! O Willie! You are crossing? How nice! But you shouldn't touchme.'
'Bosh! I had it long ago! Are you well and jolly?'
'Quite well, thank you. You are really coming?'
'Ay, I thought I'd run over to see Jack, and how Wilmet figures as abride; and it is a good speculation to get you to do all the French.'
'If I can; but here's Marilda's maid, a perfect traveller's book ofdialogues. Mrs. Purle--here is Major Harewood's brother, who is goingthe same way.'
A gentleman was not an unwelcome sight to Mrs. Purle, who was used todepend on couriers, and who entreated him at once to enforce attentionto certain luggage about which she was distressed.
And to Robina, he was simply the most delightful sight in the world.After six weeks of the flatness and tedium of those good ladies inKensington Palace Gardens, a little youthful brightness, fresh toofrom home, would have been like the pure sea wind after dull Londonair, even if it had not been, of all people, Willie, Willie Harewoodhimself, timing his journey on purpose to escort her!
True, there were always two sets of feelings going on within her;one when she was actually concerned with or about him, when thecommon-place aspect overcame the remembrance of that evening by theriver-side, and left only a pleasant companionship of long standing,with the freedom of family connection and acknowledged preference;the other, when he was out of sight and hearing, and was the standingromance of her life.
It was not a wholly untroubled romance, for she was not certain of herduty. Their promise had been exchanged when they were such children,that it would be ridiculous to mention it, and it might be equallyabsurd to dwell on it; yet her mind could not help attaching weight toit, and questioning whether her secresy might not be a fault. Yet itwould be unfair, as well as absurd, to avow seriously nonsense threeyears old, and without any further advance on his part. Without any?That was the question that recurred over and over again to the poorlittle heart, whenever romance got the upper hand, the heart that_would_ one moment yearn, at another fail, at another bound! It wasavowed that Willie was very fond of her, and his sisters made thatfondness one of their standing jokes; but when Robin remembered theenforced reticence with regard to Wilmet, that was no good sign, andshe could never discover whether he remembered the sixpence they hadnot broken. It was no desirable state of suspense, this consequenceof having innocently listened to premature playing at lovers' vows;and though good sense and modesty might mitigate the evil, that veryconscientiousness gave her the more to endure.
However, the pain was all in private, and private moments were few, andencroached on by sleepiness and struggles to write letters. They wenton too fast for more than fleeting views from the train, only at Paris,after the _table d'hote_ Willie was urgent for a stroll in the gas-litstreets, and on Robina's demur, appealed to Mrs. Purle's good-nature,and brought her out, tired as she was, but enjoying the delight of thetwo happy young things.
It was too late for sight-seeing, but little recked they; the wonder ofthe city, then so great and gay, was quite enough for them; the longilluminated arcades of the streets, the masses of trees in their youngfoliage in the Tuileries gardens, the unaccustomed sounds--thunderingomnibus, rushing cabriolet, neighing, shrieking horses, andhigh-pitched clamour of tongues, filled them with exhilaratingamusement. Then the people! Maid-servants in quaint white caps,stately _sergents-de-ville_, soldiers marching to change guard, withclanging bands, knots of talkers gesticulating, parties sitting outon the pavement at the cafes--all was so new and queer, and it was sowonderful to be there with only Will, that Robina could hardly believeshe was herself!
Above all, the shop windows! How they lingered and admired, like thefrank-hearted children they were! Everything looked so enchanting onthose slopes--photograph, confectionery, porcelain, millinery, orjewellery. Oh! the raree-show those trinket-shops in the Rue Rivoliwere to them, as they gazed at the wonderful devices--those earringsand brooches, as flies, as beetles, as fishes, shrimps, and acrobats.At last they came on a set where the earrings represented a littlesilver bird hovering, and the brooch a gold wicker nest with threepearl eggs, and the same birds standing over it, and Robina's cry ofadmiration was instantly replied to with--
'You must have those, I vow!'
'Nonsense! they must be frightfully dear.'
'I don't care; you are the bird that must have that nest.'
'But it is earrings!'
'Well!'
'I don't wear earrings.'
'That's no reason you never should.'
'No, no; Wilmet would not like it, and Mamma never did. It is makingholes in oneself to wear useless ornaments in,' said Robin, hurryingout her remonstrance without choice of words.
'And the other thing, with the two birds--is that for your nose?'
'No, a brooch.'
'You wear brooches. You have on a thing like a calf's eye.'
'My poor onyx--for shame!' said Robina, not confessing that it was hersole possession in that line.
'Then you shall have those two cockyolly birds.'
'No, indeed. It is a set, and they won't break it.'
'Then Grace shall have one bird, and Lucy the other.'
'Each one earring--you ridiculous boy!'
'And wear them by turns! Come in, and ask the price prettily.'
'No, I sha'n't.'
'I thought you were to speak French for me?'
'Only when I approve.'
'Then here goes!'
And Robin, who was afraid to stand in the street without him, heard himasking, '_Quoi est le prix de ce nid d'avis?_'
Fortunately, or unfortunately, it was a bi-lingual shop, and thepurchase was conducted in English; the brooch was separated from theearrings, the change made right, and the little box containing thetreasure thrust upon Robina, who could only twit the donor with his_nid d'avis_.
'_Avis_ not the French for a bird? If it is not, it ought to be. Ithought one only had to speak Latin through one's nose and bite off theend.'
'General rules are dangerous of application in particular instances.There's the first hatch for you out of your nest of advice.'
'If you hatch advice for me, I'll take it.'
'That's a pretty considerable engagement!' said Robina, lightly.
'Your eggs of advice ain't rotten like some folk's.'
'They won't be pearls like these!'
'How do you know? My eyes, Bob, there goes a regular old Dominican,looking just as if he was got up for a charade. What a place this is,to be sure! and how hard to fan
cy that it is but a few hours from homeafter all!'
The gift and the few words after it had brought Robina's outer andinner worlds unusually near together; and when she opened her littlebox in her room, she caught herself kissing the silver birds in astrange thrill of pleasure and yet of doubt whether Wilmet would thinkshe ought to have accepted it.
The long, long journey ended in mazy sleep through the diligence partof the transit, all in the dark, but with a dim consciousness ofwheels, voices, and bumps. It seemed quite the middle of the night,and far too troublesome to move, when at length she was extractedby William rather than by her own volition, and something in awhite turban appeared before her dazzled eyes in the lamp-light,as stumbling with weariness, she was supported and guided by hercompanion's arm, and reviving in the cool night air, heard that 'it wasbut a few steps, and the Mem Sahib was waiting.'
Then a great door opened, and showed a flood of light intercepted by atall figure, and then Robina found a pair of soft arms round her, andnestling close to a well-known bosom, felt the infinite relief of beingoff her own mind and with her who had ever been the very core of home!
'My Robin, my Robin! Is she quite well? Oh, this is nice! And Willie--'giving her sisterly kiss. 'Yes, we had your letter, we were so glad.Mrs. Purle, how are you? thank you for bringing her! There's some teaready--Krishnu will show you.'
And then they were in the sitting-room, with its bright lamp andblazing wood fire, and thorough English tea, and Wilmet in muslin andblue ribbons, as they had never seen her but on rare gala days.
'How's John?' began William, rather blank at missing him.
'Much better--so much better, but I told him not to think of seeing youto-night. He has been in bed more than two hours. And oh, my Bobbie,you ought to be there too!'
'Yes, she's tired to death,' said Will; 'we have been going since eightlast night.'
She really was too much tired to speak or eat, and passively submitted,scarcely conscious where she was--nay, at some moments thinking herselfin the old nursery in St Oswald's Buildings, in the comfort of beingundressed, cossetted, and put to bed by the hands most natural to hersince infancy. After a time of weariness too great for right sleep, andof a strange confusion about confessions to Wilmet, she at length lostthe feverish element of over-fatigue, and slept soundly till she openedher eyes to realise a little festooned bed in an alcove, white curtainsover the windows, strange new street-cries outside, and within, her ownbox, a sofa, a table, a chair, and a fine clock, which could not begoing, for it pointed to half-past ten!
As she was sitting up and looking in vain for some means of washing,the door gently opened, and that dear motherly face looked in. 'Awakeat last, my poor little tired bird?'
'O Wilmet, is it really so late?'
'Of course! never mind. Willie is just as bad; there are his bootsoutside his door still. There, drink this coffee before you dress. Yes,you want it; you could take nothing last night. Let me look at you; areyou quite rested, and fit to get up?'
'Oh yes!' energetically; 'if only I saw how to wash!'
Wilmet laughed, and opened a cupboard-door, displaying the requisites,even including a tub, which she had found and purchased individually.After the ablutions she could judge of her little sister better, andthought the cheeks not greatly wanting in their roundness, or healthfulfreshness; but all the brown hair had been cropped, and the short wavycurls added to the childish contour. It was a prim little schoolgirlfigure that stood there in a grey carmelite dress, and black silk apron.
'My dear, have not you a bow or bit of ribbon? John likes colour.'
'Only a blue ribbon for Sunday.'
In a moment Wilmet had hurried to her own room, a rose-coloured snoodwas round the brown hair, and a little Maltese cross hung by anotherpair of rosy streamers round her neck.
'And a brooch, my dear. Haven't you one--what's in this box?'
'O Wilmet, I wanted to ask you about it. Willie would buy it for me atParis!'
'How pretty! There, that will do nicely. Are you ready? John is quiteeager for you, now he is at his best.'
So Robin, who meant to have put her question in a very different form,was hurried away, _nid d'avis_ and all, and the next moment foundherself in the sitting-room, where on a couch near the fire, butcommanding a view from the window, lay, half sitting, her new brother,holding out both hands to draw her to receive his kiss of welcome.'Well, Robin, quite recruited after the scarlet enemy? So you were deadbeat yesterday!'
'O John, I did not mean to be so late!'
'You are beforehand with that lazy brother of mine, who tacked himselfto your skirts. Just in time for _dejeuner_, a thing always goingon here. Is the young Sahib awake, Zadok?' as the white figure witha brown face entered to lay the cloth, but it was at once followedby the young gentleman, exclaiming, 'Good morning, Wilmet; I begyour pardon--I'd no notion of the time.' Then coming to a suddenstand-still, 'Holloa, Jack!'
'Holloa, Bill,' replied John, imitating the tone, with a smile. 'How'smy father?'
'As--as usual! But, Jack, old fellow, how--how small you look?' saidWill, shocked and overcome into small choice of words, as he stood witha frown of dismay on his face.
'Boiled to rags, like the policeman in the Area Belle,' said John,trying to laugh him into reassurance. 'Did you expect the process tohave the same effect as on a pudding?'
'But my father said he was not altered!' said William, turning to hissister-in-law.
'He has gone through a good deal since then,' said Wilmet, wistfully.'And the sun-burning has had time to fade. If you had seen him beforewe came into this mountain air, you would only wonder at him now.'
'Besides,' added John, 'you are grateful to a man for looking anyhowat all when he lies like a mummy. And now he is dressed like hisfellow-creatures, you compare him with them.'
'And that is only since we have been here,' said Wilmet, proudly.
'And how are they all at home, Bill? How's the mother?'
'Oh, all right; and she kindly insisted on my taking out some Liebnitzto you in case you couldn't get anything in these French places. Shefairly took me in this time, and I suggested it was rather tough foryou under present circumstances, but she said that couldn't be, for shegot it warranted in tins at the competitive.'
'Dear mother!' said John, as they all shrieked with amusement; 'Idon't think Wilmet will be at all ungrateful to her. I am afraid thecommissariat is a weight on her mind. Now, what do you think of herlooks?' demanded John, rather anxiously.
'Well, she is always--just Wilmet--but she is thinner, and not so pinkas she used to be,' said the uncomplimentary Will.
'Of course,' said Wilmet, as John's eyes turned on her the moresolicitously, 'after the heat of those last weeks in Egypt; and Maltawas almost worse, except that there was not the constant warfare withthe flies that just kept one alive.'
'It is very warm here,' said Robina, who had left London in an eastwind.
'We find it cold up here in the mountains,' said Wilmet, who wore avelvet jacket and thick glossy striped blue and brown silk. 'Dr. Chenuwarned us to prepare.'
'Yes,' said John, 'so I sent her out at Marseilles to fit herself out,and what does she come home with but one lugubrious black silk, whichshe tried to persuade me was the correct thing!'
'And then,' said Wilmet, 'the next thing I found was his bed spread allover with patterns, and it was all I could do not to have enough toclothe all Bexley. I was obliged to get a new box as it is, and luggageis frightfully expensive on these French lines.'
Willie and Robin, though both in some awe of Wilmet, could not helpsmiling at a speech so exactly like herself, as to remind them ofLance's mischievous averment that she must have married John because itwas so much cheaper than sending any one out.
Those four happy tongues, how much they had to tell and to ask, aboutthe two journeys and the two homes, all mixed up together, Bill'stidings being the most recent, and all that was known by letterbecoming much more real and interesting by word of mouth.<
br />
Cherry? Yes, Cherry was very well, and had no end of a picture for theexhibition, of the maiden spinning for her lover's ransom--she hadstudied the maiden from one of Ernest Lamb's sisters, but she had putin exactly her own eyes, poor Cherry! There was a picture of Stellaand Theodore upstairs for Wilmet Lance had played his violin to keepTheodore happy while sitting. Oh, and had they heard that Lance hadreally been asked to take the organist's place? The former one had sentin his resignation, and after the half-year that Lance and the choirhad worked together, there was a general desire that he should take thepost. Mr. Bevan had even written to request it, at L50 a year insteadof L70.
'What a shame!' broke out Wilmet 'I hope Felix did not consent! I hadmuch rather he was not paid at all.'
'That was what Lance wanted, of course,' said Robina; 'he wished togive his music freely, as he does not give up the business.'
'But Felix said he had no desire to give either L20 or L70 a year tomy Lady, and that he did not accept her as the Church,' said Will;'and Miles--old Miles was more rabid than ever he was at the Zoraya;and Lance was in a state bordering on distraction for fear it shouldgo off altogether, and he should undergo torture from a fifty-pounderevery Sunday of his life, but my Lady gave in; and Lance reconciles hisconscience to the lucre of gain by getting a lesson from Miles once aweek, and raising the pay on the biggest of those interminable littleLightfoots.'
'George, the intelligent one, that Cherry used to have up to teach,'interposed Robin, 'so that there's another in the shop to make up forany time Lance spends away from it. And when Fernan's new organ comes,whenever it is finished, it will be such a delight.'
'I hate to see him all the same,' muttered Will, with a frown; but theobservation was unheeded, as Robina eagerly told how Theodore had oneday gone in with his brothers to the choir practice, where he had beenin such a state of bliss, and kept his _lieder ohne woerter_ so truethat they had taken him regularly first thither and then to church,where he accompanied like a little musical instrument, and at last Mr.Flowerdew could not resist enrolling him in the choir, where, seatedin front of Felix, and with 'one of the interminable Lightfoots' asguardian by his side, he was safe from molestation from any teasingfreak of the other boys, and however much he might comprehend, therewas no doubt that his felicity was perfect.
'It has really altered him,' said Will. 'I did not know him when Isaw him in his surplice; and indeed he seems to have got a stimulusaltogether, between that and Scamp.'
'Scamp!'
'What, they've not ventured to tell you that they've set up a dog!' andBill and Bobbie both fell into convulsions, in which the Major joinedmore moderately, at his lady's demure face of astonishment.
'I suppose it was forgotten, when all the wedding letters were beingwritten,' said Robina, rather guiltily.
'And when the mice no longer expected the cat,' said John.
'No, indeed it wasn't that!' pleaded Robina. 'Lance couldn't help it.'
'It was a votive offering,' said Will 'Lance has never ceased to belittle Dick Graeme's demi-god ever since he licked him within an inchof his life for bolting Shapcote's plums. You know those dogs of Mr.Graeme's, Jack--beautiful black retrievers with tan legs and muzzles.One belonged to Dick, and no sooner has she a litter of puppies thanhe must bring up one for Lance, without a hint to him or any one else,till one day he coolly marched in with his dog at his heels.'
'His father was driving in,' said Robin, 'and had no notion the boyhad not settled it all. We were just sitting down to dinner when thebell rang, and there was a wonderful floundering on the stairs, and intumbled Master Dick with this great black beast padding and sprawlingafter him. Then, while Cherry stood clutching Lord Gerald in one handand the back of her chair in the other, much as if it had been a wolf,we heard the pleasing intelligence; "He is for you, Underwood; he isSal's finest pup, and I brought him up on purpose for you."'
'But Lance was not forced to keep him.'
'We could not turn him out neck and crop; and you can imagine therapture of Angel and Bear, and Lance wished it so much! Even Cherry didnot like to vex the boy, and when she began to talk of Felix and theyard, I thought how it would end. But when she said it would frightenTheodore into fits, the next thing we saw was the two rolling on thefloor together, Tedo's arms round the dog, and Scamp licking his faceall over, and all that satiny puppy hair on the long ears mixed up withBaby's flax. Cherry made a sketch on the spot, and there was no notionof sending him away after that. I don't know whether Tedo cannot dowithout Stella better than without Scamp, for they seem to understandone another better, and he is not afraid to go into the garden alonewith Scamp, though he never would with Stella. It is quite new life tohim.'
'As good a thing as could have been devised for him,' said John.
'Poor dear Tedo! yes, I am glad for his sake,' said Wilmet; 'only Ihope they don't have him in the house.'
'Don't they,' said Willie, mischievously; 'didn't I nearly break myneck over the black back of him last Monday!'
'But Lance always combs him,' eagerly interposed Robina.
'Yes, Lance is as dainty about brushing and curry-combing him as heis over his own lark's crest when the ladies are coming for theirmagazines. Oh, Scamp is a great institution; he walks Cherry out everyday, and even Felix can't resist if he makes a set at him.'
'Capital! What, not reconciled yet, Wilmet?'
'Not to having him in the house. I am thinking of Mrs. Froggatt'scarpet.'
'Ours, you mean,' said Robin; 'besides, it is drugget.'
'And past praying for,' wickedly added Bill, 'since Bernard and I madea general average of the inkstand and Cherry's painting things at oneswoop.'
'Abdicated sovereigns should close their ears,' said John. 'No doubtConstantius' doings much disturbed Diocletian over his cabbages.'
'I hope I was not such a tyrant,' said Wilmet; who, though used toraillery from her brothers, had yet to learn to take it from herhusband.
'At least I hope you have retired on a cabbage, _mon chou_,' he said.
She smiled, but turned the subject by explaining that their excellentdoctor had not only secured these comfortable rooms on the ground floortill the season should be advanced enough to remove to Bareges, buthad recommended them to a _confrere_, and had found, what John addedwas more difficult to get than the savant, a pony and a wheeled chair,in which he was going out at two o'clock. 'And it is past twelve now,'said Wilmet; 'and you ought to be resting.'
'I'll go and look about, and come back in time to put you in yourchair, Jack,' said William. 'Come along, Robin.'
'If you are not tired, Robin,' said Wilmet, 'you had better go out. Wecan only keep along the road; and John ought to get some sleep beforehe goes out.'
'The cabbage is well drilled, you see,' said John; but he really didlook weary, and Robina was glad enough of the positive command.
Her sister had clearly no notion but of turning the children out toplay whenever they were in the way; and for the present that was quiteenough to send her down, forgetting everything but the charm of thewalk and the companionship.
The fresh sunny spring-tide and mountain air would have beenexhilaration and ecstasy in themselves, such as she had never known,even if there had been nothing to see, and no one she cared for ather side. And now the ravine, the pine-clad slopes, the scatteredcottages, the rocks, the foliage, the blossoming trees, the picturesquefigures, above all, the veritable mountain summits, still glorifiedby their winter snows, cutting the clear blue sky, filled her witha sense of beauty and wonder, enlarging her whole spirit with a newincomprehensible sensation; and William was altogether lifted out ofthe hair-brained rattle-pate. His frank-hearted nature had no cornerfor the affectation of sneering at his own loftiest emotions. It washis first mountain, and he was perfectly overcome by it; he raised hishat with an instinct of reverence, and the tears stood in his eyes ashe kept silence at first, and then murmured, 'One seems nearer theGreat White Throne!'
'I never guessed it was--oh--that th
ere was such a soul in it!'responded Robina, in low awe-struck accents, as if in a church.
'No words ever gave one a moment's sense of it,' he answered; and thenthey began revelling in individual admiration, climbing and wanderingin oblivion of all but the light and shade, the shimmering torrentand sheer rock, the cloud-like hills and deep clefts, till far onthe road below they spied a queer high-wheeled pony-chair, a lady ina broad-leafed flat-crowned hat walking beside it, and the Hindoo'sunmistakable scarlet and white in attendance.
'Bless me!' cried Will, leaping up, 'didn't I mean to have carried poorJack to his chair! Time is nothing in these places!'
'Can we get down to them?'
'Of course! Charge, Chester, charge! Give me your hand, and I'll getyou down. I say, Robina,' in a lower, graver tone, 'I'm glad we've hadthis sight together! We'll never forget it!'
Whatever sentiment might be conveyed in these words ended in as Englisha view-halloo as ever startled the Pyrenees, causing the party below tolook up and wave gestures deprecatory of the headlong descent, which,nevertheless, was effected without the fracture of limbs, though Robinarrived breathless, and panting enough by no means to disdain a seatby John's side. He was looking as happy as a king, in the enjoymentof the mountain air and scenery after his long confinement on theparching Egyptian sands; but it was silent delight, and when Robina hadrecovered the physical agitation of her descent, she had time to feelthe heart-swelling at those words, and the afterthought whether it wasa stolen pleasure unless Wilmet fully knew how sweet it was to be sentout with Will.
But speaking to Wilmet was no easy matter. She was engrossed with herhusband, and never willingly quitted him for a moment, thinking ofnothing but as it regarded him, and viewing his brother and her sistermore as means for his entertainment than in their substantial aspect.She did indeed follow Robin to her room that evening, to satisfyherself about the child's health; but just as the desperate struggle tobegin on this most awkward of subjects was being made, she fancied sheheard John's call, and was gone.
Next morning, not only were the two sent out together while the doctormade his call, but William communicated to her the verses that he hadsat up late and risen early to relieve his mind of, beginning with--
'Can we ever forget this day?'
To be sure it was all mountain, and would have suited Lance equallywell with herself. It was shown to John as a 'March Hare' contribution,and was destined to the Pursuivant; but did it not begin with _we_, andhad she not had the first-fruits? The consciousness grew more precious,the conscientiousness more distressed, till it drove her, in her truthand honesty, to the desperate measure of so decidedly begging for aprivate interview, that Wilmet came at once, supposing her unwell.
'Oh no, no, but--but I wanted to make sure of its being right. All thisabout Willie.'
'About Willie? He is in no scrape, I hope?'
'Oh no; only I could not be comfortable without your knowing. Thoseverses, and--'
'You little goose! How red you have turned! I didn't think you could beso silly.'
'It is not silliness,' exclaimed Robina, hotly; 'he said it.'
'My dear! he must know better. What and when?'
'Long ago. That evening at Bexley, just before Lance went to ValeLeston.'
Wilmet fairly burst out laughing. 'My dear child, how can you bring mehere to listen to such nonsense? That sort of children's foolishness issilly enough at the time, but to dwell on it nearly four years after istoo absurd.'
'I thought it might be play then,' said Robin, 'and everybody wouldhave laughed if I had told; but it never will quite go out of my head,and now and then he says or does something that makes me think he hasnot forgotten either, and I thought I ought to tell you.' She spoke lowand fast, with averted crimson face.
'You are a good little girl, Bobbie,' said her sister kindly, froman immense matronly elevation; 'but it is a pity anything so foolishand mischievous was ever said to you, and you ought never to havethought of it again. You should have left the boy if he would talk suchnonsense.'
'I couldn't. Lance said we must not leave you alone,' murmured Robin.
Wilmet gave her little clear laugh. 'I'm very much obliged to Lance,'she said; 'but I am sorry Willie was inspired with a spirit ofimitation.' Then, as the mirror betrayed an unconvinced look, 'Has hesaid anything to you since?'
'I--I can't tell--you might not call it anything. Only that brooch! OWilmet, you aren't going to be angry with him--he never said anythingdirect.'
'I shall say nothing to him without far more reason; I never saw any.At home he talks to Cherry.'
'Yes, but--' she was ashamed to say 'he likes me best,' and it turnedinto 'Everybody does.'
Which Wilmet could not gainsay; and she went on: 'As to the verses, youhave sense to see they mean nothing. Willie likes you, of course, andwe are all brothers and sisters now; but as for any more, it is themerest absurdity to think of it, and though you mean to be good, mydear little sister, this is just working up a mountain out of nothing.There can't be a more unlucky propensity than fancying everybody ispaying you attention, especially if you are not particularly pretty,and have to be a governess, and take care of yourself!'
'I know I'm not pretty,' said Robin, rather proudly; 'and I never shallexpect any one to pay attention to me;' and as Wilmet's smile denotedincredulity after this specimen, '_this_ is quite different from anyoneelse.'
'I should hope so,' said the elder sister. 'There now, Robin, you havedone quite right to tell me; and now we'll think no more about it, butgo on as usual.'
With this Robina had to be content; and if the incredulity wasmortifying, at any rate liberty was sweet, and there was a preciousunderlying conviction that there was something that, if Wilmet wouldnot see, it was not her fault. Conscience was free to enjoy themost brilliant spring her life had known. Throughout the fortnightof William's stay they were out together nearly all day, sometimesclimbing near home, sometimes joining expeditions of English visitors,always sympathising in seriousness or sportiveness, and ever ready tofulfil the sisterly part of beast of burden towards his belongings whenhe wanted to climb any specially inaccessible place, or smoke with thefriends he picked up. She always viewed that fortnight as the mostexquisite of her whole life!
There was no sentiment in their last walk; for a brother and sister,who were always in the habit of fastening themselves on every one whowas seen going out, stuck to them to their own door; but when Will tookpossession of two water-colour sketches he had begged from Robina, andannounced his intention of framing and hanging them in his rooms, tocall up before him what without them would never be forgotten, they wonfor their artist a thrill of delight such as none of Geraldine's farsuperior performances had ever obtained for her.
Robin had no one talent in any remarkable degree; her drawing wasexact and tasteful, but without genius; none of the Underwood sisters,except Angela, had much voice, and her musical powers were onlycultivated at the expense of much diligence; but her general ability,clear-headedness, and intelligence were excellent; and John surprisedhis wife by observing that he thought she resembled Felix the most ofthem all, both in countenance and character. Robin's--the round ruddyface of the family--like Felix's defined delicately moulded featuresand fair colouring! John smiled; he never took the trouble to defend anopinion that Wilmet thought unreasonable, but he contented himself withsaying, 'There was a good deal of stuff in the Robin.'
She did not flag when her holiday was over; indeed, there was a quietpurpose in her soul that made her dutiful industry doubly hopeful andpleasant. She had a good master. John's nature was hard-working, andthe invigoration of cooler air made want of employment irksome enoughto give him great satisfaction in the acquisition of a well-groundedintelligent girl pupil to whom his aid was of real value. Their lessonsand their subjects multiplied as his strength increased, and thoughthey had plenty of fun and nonsense over them, Robina soon felt herselfmaking such progress as far more than compensated for the two monthsshe had so much
regretted. Wilmet, telling them that some day Robinwould know how pleasant it was to have nothing to do with teaching, satby, stitching at a set of shirts for Clement. It was her ambition, as aparting gift, to provide each brother with a stock; she had made thosefor Felix and Theodore by John's bedside at Rameses, and to be busywith the 'white seam,' and watch John eager and interested, and dailylooking less languid and pinched, was entire happiness to her. Thewalks and drives became longer, and the neighbour brother and sistercomplained that Miss Underwood could never be had, and was alwaysabsorbed by her hard task-master, whom on her side she thought a farmore entertaining companion than they would ever be.
The move to the mountain nest at Bareges was made, but the scheme madein the warmth of their hearts in the spring, of William's spendingthe long vacation there, was not fulfilled. Two objections stood inthe way; first his reading for honours, secondly the cost. He couldnot afford another trip out of the proceeds of his scholarship, andthe Major's means were not so large as not to be seriously affectedby such an illness; while as Her Majesty's service had not requiredhis proximity to the engine, he could not obtain compensation for hisaccident. When Wilmet had come to the understanding of the financesshe was to administer, she was startled at the free and open handwhich might suit a well-endowed bachelor officer on Indian pay, butwould soon drain the resources of a man--very possibly invalided forlife, and with a penniless wife. Robin would hardly have had thatwonderful cheque, if in Malta her sister had been altogether informedof the balance at John's bankers; and when she was consulted on thepossibility of giving Bill a run, her reply was the more conclusive,because, little importance as she attached to Robina's confession, shepreferred keeping the youth at a safe distance. Neither examinationwould fare the better for mutual distractions on Pyrenean crags, andboth together they would be far less companionable to John than eitherseparately.
Beginning wedded life in prostrate helplessness, John had been asentirely thought for, managed for, and 'done for,' as Theodore himself,during these earlier months; and when he had a will of his own, itwas treated with indulgence as a sick man's fancy, and yielded to ornot according to his wife's judgment; but as time went on, there wassometimes a twinkle of amusement on his eye-lashes when he submitted,or withdrew an opinion rather than exert himself for controversy.
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