by L. T. Meade
CHAPTER XVI.--SYLVIA'S DRIVE.
"I have something very delightful to tell you, Sylvia," said her father.
He was standing in his cold and desolate sitting-room. The fire wasburning low in the grate. Sylvia shivered slightly, and bending down,took up a pair of tongs to put some more coals on the expiring fire.
"No, no, my dear--don't," said her father. "There is nothing moredisagreeable than a person who always needs coddling. The night is quitehot for the time of year. Do you know, Sylvia, that I made during thelast week a distinct saving. I allowed you, as I always do, tenshillings for the household expenses. You managed capitally on eightshillings. We really lived like fighting-cocks; and what is nicest ofall, my dear daughter, you look the better in consequence."
Sylvia did not speak.
"I notice, too," continued Mr. Leeson, a still more satisfied smileplaying round his lips, "that you eat less than you did before. Lastnight I was pleased to observe how truly abstemious you were at supper."
"Father," said Sylvia suddenly, "you eat less and less; how can you keepup your strength at this rate? Cannot you see, clever man that you are,that you need food and warmth to keep you alive?"
"It depends absolutely," replied Mr. Leeson, "on how we accustomourselves to certain habits. Habits, my dear daughter, are the chainswhich link us to life, and we forge them ourselves. With good habits welead good lives. With pernicious habits we sink: the chains of thosehabits are too thick, too rusty, too heavy; we cannot soar. I am glad tosee that you, my dear little girl, are no longer the victim of habits ofgreediness and desire for unnecessary luxuries."
"Well, father, dinner is ready now. Won't you come and eat it?"
"Always harping on food," said Mr. Leeson. "It is really sad."
"You must come and eat while the things are hot," answered Sylvia.
Mr. Leeson followed his daughter. He was, notwithstanding all his wordsto the contrary, slightly hungry that morning; the intense cold--althoughhe spoke of the heat--made him so. He sat down, therefore, and removedthe cover from a dish on which reposed a tiny chop.
"Ah," he said, "how tempting it looks! We will divide it, dear. I willtake the bone; far be it from me to wish to starve you, my sweet child."
He took up his knife to cut the chop. As he did so Sylvia's face turnedwhite.
"No, thank you," she said. "It really so happens that I don't want it.Please eat it all. And see," she continued, with a little pride, liftingthe cover of a dish which stood in front of her own plate; "I have beenteaching myself to cook; you cannot blame me for making the best of mymaterials. How nice these fried potatoes look! Have some, won't you,father?"
"You must have used something to fry them in," said Mr. Leeson, an angryfrown on his face. "Well, well," he added, mollified by the delicioussmell, which could not but gratify his hungry feelings--"all right; Iwill take a few."
Sylvia piled his plate. She played with a few potatoes herself, and Mr.Leeson ate in satisfied silence.
"Really they are nice," he said. "I have enjoyed my dinner. I do notknow when I made such a luxurious meal. I shall not need any supperto-night."
"But I shall," said Sylvia stoutly. "There will be supper at nineo'clock as usual, and I hope you will be present, father."
"Well, my dear, have something very plain. I am absolutely satisfied fortwenty-four hours. And you, darling--did you make a good meal?"
"Yes, thank you, father."
"There were a great many potatoes cooked. I see they are all finished."
"Yes, father."
"I am now going back to my sitting-room. I shall be engaged for somehours. What are you going to do, Sylvia?"
"I shall go out presently for a walk."
"Is it not rather dangerous for you to wander about in such deep snow?"
"Oh, I like it, father; I enjoy it. I could not possibly stay at home."
"Very well, my dear child. You are a good girl. But, Sylvia dear, itstrikes me that we had better not have any more frying done; it mustconsume a great quantity of fuel. Now, that chop might have been boiledin a small saucepan, and it really would have been quite as nutritious.And, my dear, there would have been the broth--the liquor, I mean--that ithad been boiled in; it would have made an excellent soup with rice init. I have been lately compiling some recipes for living what is calledthe unluxurious life. When I have completed my little recipes I willhand them down to posterity. I shall publish them. I quite imagine thatthey will have a large sale, and may bring me in some triflingreturns--eh, Sylvia?"
Sylvia made no answer.
"My dear," said her father suddenly, "I have noticed of late that youare a little extravagant in the amount of coals you use. It is your onlyextravagance, my dear child, so I will not say much about it."
"But, father, I don't understand. What do you mean?"
"There is smoke--_smoke_ issuing from the kitchen chimney at times whenthere ought to be none," said Mr. Leeson in a severe voice. "But there,dear, I won't keep you now. I expect to have a busy afternoon. I amfeeling so nicely after our simple little lunch, my dear daughter."
Mr. Leeson touched Sylvia's smooth cheek with his lips, went into thesitting-room, and shut the door.
"The fire must be quite out by now," she said to herself. "Poor, poorfather! Oh dear! oh dear! if he discovers that Jasper is here I shall bedone for. Now that I know the difference which Jasper's presence makes,I really could not live without her."
She listened for a moment, noticed that all was still in the bigsitting-room (as likely as not her father had dropped asleep), and then,turning to her left, went quickly away in the direction of the kitchen.When she entered the kitchen she locked the door. There was a clear andalmost smokeless fire in the range, and drawn up close to it was a tablecovered with a white cloth; on the table were preparations for a meal.
"Well, Sylvia," said Jasper, "and how did he enjoy his chop? How much ofit did he give to you, my dear?"
"Oh, none at all, Jasper. I pretended I was not hungry. It was such apleasure to see him eat it!"
"And what about the fried potatoes, love?"
"He ate them too with such an appetite--I just took a few to satisfy him.Do you know, Jasper, he says that he thinks an abstemious life agreeswith me. He says that I am looking very well, and that he is quite sureno one needs big fires and plenty of food in cold weather--it is simplyand entirely a matter of habit."
"Oh! don't talk to me of him any more," said Jasper. "He is the sort ofman to give me the dismals. I cannot tell you how often I dream of himat night. You are a great deal too good to him, Sylvia, and that is thetruth. But here--here is our dinner, you poor frozen lamb. Eat now andsatisfy yourself."
Sylvia sat down and ate with considerable appetite the good andnourishing food which Jasper had provided. As she did so her bright,clear, dark eyes grew brighter than ever, and her young cheeks becamefull of the lovely color of the damask rose. She pushed her hair fromher forehead, and looked thoughtfully into the fire.
"You feel better, dear, don't you?" asked Jasper.
"Better!" said the young girl. "I feel alive. I wonder, Jasper, how longit will last."
"Why should it not go on for some time, dear? I have money--enough, thatis, for the present."
"But you are spending your money on me."
"Not at all. You are keeping me and feeding me. I give you twentyshillings a week, and out of that you feed me as well as yourself."
"Oh, that twenty shillings!" cried Sylvia. "What riches it seems! Thefirst week I got it I really felt that I should never, never be able tocome to the end of it. I quite trembled when I was in father's presence.I dreaded that he might see the money lying in my pocket. It seemedimpossible that he, who loves money so much, would not notice it; but hedid not, and now I am almost accustomed to it. Oh Jasper, you have savedmy life!"
"It is well to have lived for some good purpose," said Jasper in aguarded tone. She looked at the young girl, and a quick sigh came to herlips.
"Do you
know," she said abruptly, "that I mean to do more than feed youand warm you?"
"But what more could you do?"
"Why, clothe you, love--clothe you."
"No, Jasper; you must not."
"But I must and will," said Jasper. "I have smuggled in all mybelongings, and the dear old gentleman does not know a single bit aboutit. Bless you! notwithstanding that Pilot of his, and the way he himselfsneaks about and watches--notwithstanding all these things, I, AmeliaJasper, am a match for him. Yes, my dear, my belongings are in thishouse, and one of the trunks contains little Evelyn's clothes--theclothes she is not allowed to wear. I mean to alter them, and add tothem, and rearrange them, and make them fit for you, my bonny girl."
"It is a temptation," said Sylvia; "but, Jasper dear, I dare not allowyou to do it. If I were to appear in anything but the very plainestclothes father would discover there was something up; he would get intoa state of terror, and my life would not be worth living. When motherwas alive she sometimes tried to dress me as I ought to be dressed, andI remember now a terrible scene and mother's tears. There was anoccasion when mother gave me a little crimson velvet frock, and I raninto the dining-room to father. I was quite small then, and the frocksuited me, and mother was, oh, so proud! But half an hour later I was inmy room, drowned in tears, and ordered to bed immediately, and the frockhad been torn off my back by father himself."
"The man is a maniac," said Jasper. "Don't let us talk of him. You candress fine when you are with me. I mean to have a gay time; I don't meanto let the grass grow under my feet. What do you say to my smuggling inlittle Eve some day and letting her have a right jolly time with us twoin this old kitchen?"
"But father will certainly, certainly discover it."
"No; I can manage that. The kitchen is far away from the rest of thehouse, and with this new sort of coal there is scarcely any smoke. Atnight--at any rate on dark nights--he cannot see even if there is smoke;and in the daytime I burn this special coal. Oh, we are safe enough, mydear; you need have no fear."
Sylvia talked a little longer with Jasper, and then she ran to her ownroom to put on her very threadbare garments preparatory to going out.Yes, she certainly felt much, much better. The air was keen and crisp;she was no longer hungry--that gnawing pain in her side had absolutelyceased; she was warm, too, and she longed for exercise. A moment or twolater, accompanied by Pilot, she was racing along the snow-coveredroads. The splendid color in her cheeks could not but draw the attentionof any chance passer-by.
"What a handsome--what a very handsome girl!" more than one person said;and it so happened that as Sylvia was flying round a corner, her greatmastiff gamboling in front of her, she came face to face with LadyFrances, who was driving to make some calls in the neighborhood.
Lady Frances Wynford was never proof against a pretty face, and she hadseldom seen a more lovely vision than those dark eyes and glowing cheekspresented at that moment. She desired her coachman to stop, and bendingforward, greeted Sylvia in quite an affectionate way.
"How do you do, Miss Leeson?" she said. "You never came to see me afterI invited you to do so. I meant to call on your mother, but you did notgreet my proposal with enthusiasm. How is she, by the way?"
"Mother is dead," replied Sylvia in a low tone. The rich color fadedslowly from her cheeks, but she would not cry. She looked full up atLady Frances.
"Poor child!" said that lady kindly; "you must miss her. How old areyou, Miss Leeson?"
"I am just sixteen," was the reply.
"Would you like to come for a drive with me?"
"May I?" said the girl in an almost incredulous voice.
"You certainly may; I should like to have you.--Johnson, get down andopen the carriage door for Miss Leeson.--But, oh, my dear, what is to bedone with the dog?"
"Pilot will go home if I speak to him," said Sylvia.--"Come here, Pilot."
The mastiff strode slowly up.
"Go home, dear," said Sylvia. "Go, and knock as you know how at thegates, and father will let you in. Be quick, dear dog; go at once."
Pilot put on a shrewd and wonderfully knowing expression, cocked one eara little, wagged his tail a trifle, glanced at Lady Frances, seemed onthe whole to approve of her, and then turning on his heel, trotted offin the direction of The Priory.
"What a wonderfully intelligent dog, and how you have trained him!" saidLady Frances.
"Yes; he is almost human," replied Sylvia. "How nice this is!" shecontinued as the carriage began to roll smoothly away. She leant backagainst her comfortable cushions.
"But you will soon be cold, my dear, in that very thin jacket," saidLady Frances. "Let me wrap this warm fur cloak round you. Oh, yes, Iinsist; it would never do for you to catch cold while driving with me."
Sylvia submitted to the warm and comforting touch of the fur, and thesmile on her young face grew brighter than ever.
"And now you must tell me all about yourself," said Lady Frances. "Doyou know, I am quite curious about you--a girl like you living such astrange and lonely life!"
"Lady Frances," said Sylvia.
"Yes my dear; what?"
"I am going to say something which may not be quite polite, but I amobliged to say it. I cannot answer any of your questions; I cannot tellyou anything about myself."
"Really?"
"Not because I mean to be rude, for in many ways I should like toconfide in you; but it would not be honorable. Do you understand?"
"I certainly understand what honor means," said Lady Frances; "butwhether a child like you is acting wisely in keeping up an unnecessarymystery is more than I can tell."
"I would much rather tell you everything about myself than keep silence,but I cannot speak," said Sylvia simply.
Lady Frances looked at her in some wonder.
"She is a lady when all is said and done," she said to herself. "As topoverty, I do not know that I ever saw any one so badly dressed; thechild has not sufficient clothing to keep her warm. When last I saw hershe was painfully thin, too; she has more color in her cheeks now, andmore flesh on her poor young bones, so perhaps whoever she lives with istaking better care of her. I am curious, and I will not pretend to denyit, but of course I can question the child no further."
No one could make herself more agreeable than Lady Frances Wynford whenshe chose. She chatted now on many matters, and Sylvia soon feltperfectly at home.
"Why, the child, young as she is, knows some of the ways of society,"thought the great lady. "I only wish that that miserable little Evelynwas half as refined and nice as this poor, neglected girl."
Presently the drive came to an end. Sylvia had not enjoyed herself somuch for many a day.
"Now, listen, Sylvia," said Lady Frances: "I am a very plain-spokenwoman; when I say a thing I mean it, and when I think a thing, as arule, I say it. I like you. That I am curious about you, and very muchinclined to wonder who you are and what you are doing in this place,goes without saying; but of course I do not want to pry into what you donot wish to tell me. Your secret is your own, my dear, and not myaffair; but, at the same time, I should like to befriend you. Can youcome to the Castle sometimes? When you do come it will be as a welcomeguest."
"I do not know how I can come," replied Sylvia. She colored, lookeddown, and her face turned rather white. "I have not a proper dress," sheadded. "Oh, not that I am poor, but----"
Lady Frances looked puzzled. She longed to say, "I will give you thedress you need," but there was something about Sylvia's face whichforbade her.
"Well," she said, "if you can manage the dress will you come? This, letme see, is Thursday. The girls are to have a whole holiday on Saturday.Will you spend Saturday with us? Now you must say yes; I will take norefusal."
Sylvia's heart gave a bound of pleasure.
"Is it right; is it wrong?" she said to herself. "But I cannot help it,"was her next thought; "I must have my fun--I must. I do like Audrey somuch! And I like Evelyn too--not, of course, like Audrey; but I like themboth."
"You will
come, dear?" said Lady Frances. "We shall be very pleased tosee you. By the way, your address is----"
"The Priory," said Sylvia hastily. "Oh, please, Lady Frances, don't sendany message there! If you do I shall not be allowed to come to you. Yes,I will come--perhaps never again, but I will come on Saturday. It is agreat pleasure; I do not feel able to refuse."
"That is right. Then I shall expect you."
Lady Frances nodded to the young girl, told the coachman to drive home,and the next moment had turned the corner and was lost to view.
"What fun this is!" said Sylvia to herself. "I wish Pilot were here. Ishould like to have a race with him over the snow. Oh, how beautiful isthe world when all is said and done! Now, if only I had a proper dressto go to the Castle in!"
She ran home. Her father was standing on the steps of the house. Hisface looked pinched, blue, and cold; the nourishment of the chop and thefried potatoes had evidently passed away.
"Why, father, you want your tea!" said the girl. "How sorry I am I wasnot in sooner to get it for you!"
"Tea, tea!" he said irritably. "Always the same cry--food, nothing butfood; the world is becoming impossible. My dear Sylvia, I told you thatI should not want to eat again to-day. The fact is, you overfed me atlunch, and I am suffering from a sort of indigestion--I am really. Thereis nothing better for indigestion than hot water; I have been drinkingit sparingly during the afternoon. But where have you been, dear, andwhy did you send Pilot home? The dog made such a noise at the gate thatI went myself to find out what was the matter."
"I did not want Pilot, so I sent him home," was Sylvia's low reply.
"But why so?"
She was silent for a moment; then she looked up into her father's face.
"We agreed, did we not," she said, "that we both were to go our own way.You must not question me too closely. I have done nothing wrong--nothing;I am always faithful to you and to my mother's memory. You must notexpect me to tell you everything, father, for you know you do not tellme everything."
"Silly child!" he answered. "But there, Sylvia, I do trust you. And, mydear little girl, know this, that you are the great--the verygreatest--comfort of my life. I will come in; it is somewhat chilly thisevening."
Sylvia rushed before her father into his sitting-room, dashed up to thefire, flung on some bits of wood and what scraps of coal were left inthe coal-hod, thrust in a torn newspaper, set a match to the fire shehad hastily laid, and before Mr. Leeson strolled languidly into theroom, a cheerful fire was crackling and blazing up the chimney.
"How extravagant----" he began, but when he saw Sylvia's pretty face asshe knelt on the hearth the words were arrested on his lips.
"The child is very like her mother, and her mother was the mostbeautiful woman on earth when I married her," he thought. "Poor littleSylvia! I wonder will she have a happier fate!"
He sat down by the fire. The girl knelt by him, took his cold hands, andrubbed them softly. Her heart was full; there were tears in her eyes.
