by L. T. Meade
Brenda!"
"Ah, _mechante_--but Brenda, whom you like not, is of the best. She hasthe principles the most high, and the desires the most perfect for yourreal advancement."
"I don't think so for a single minute," said Nina.
"I'm certain that she's a--"
"Oh--don't say anything against her now!" said Josephine.
Mademoiselle looked anxiously round the room. "You will wear your veryprettiest dresses when you come abroad with me to-morrow night," shesaid. "I take you not to the promenade _ordinaire_, but to the mostselect one where the admission is one shilling each, and where we sitwith the ladies and gentlemen of the highest quality. Have you noso-called trinkets or ornament! that you could wear?"
"Oh dear, no!" said Nina, "nothing of the sort!"
"But then you might borrow from your sister Function."
Nina gave a childish laugh.
"Fanchon has only one little silver brooch, and the pin is broken. PoorFanchon! what would she--"
"_Mais, ma chere_," said Mademoiselle, as she laid a shapely French handon the little girl's arm, "I think you are under a misapprehension. Askyour sister to lend you her bangle."
"Her bangle?" said Nina.
"Breathe it not, dear one, to your adorable governess, but ask yoursister to lend it to you, and I will give you the most delightfulsurprise when you come out with me."
"But she's not got one!" said Josie. "I don't know what you aredreaming about, Mademoiselle. Poor Fanchon--I only wish she had!"
"Well, dears, examine her belongings, and I think you will see that thisclever mademoiselle is right, and that you, _mes enfants_, are wrong.Find it, and wear it, one or other of you, and you shall have a surprisewhich shall delight your young hearts. Now then, I must go. I am aboutto take a little walk abroad to refresh myself after the sultry airs ofthe house. _Bonsoir, mes enfants. Dormez bien_."
Mademoiselle waved her hand to the children, and gently closed the doorbehind her. She left them both in a state of great excitement andwonder. What a fascinating woman she was! How delightfully shesympathised! and wouldn't it be fun to go out with her on the followingevening, to have a very superior treat to that one which Fanchon enjoyedand made such a fuss about? Oh, the mystery of the whole thing, and thespice of danger in it, and the awful dread of discovery, and themaddening joy of getting away without anybody knowing, and the charmingsurprise which would await them!
"But Mademoiselle must be mad on one point," said Nina, "for she talksof Fanchon's bangle. Fanchon hasn't got a bangle."
"There's no saying what she has or hasn't," said Josie. "She's soabominably mysterious lately; she's so stuck up, and has such airs andgraces, I shouldn't be a bit surprised if she had got Brenda to buy herone of those cheap shilling things you see in the shop windows."
"Brenda never got me to put that expense down in the account-book," saidNina.
"Oh, she wouldn't!" exclaimed Josie. "She's too sly."
"It seems a great pity," said Nina, after another restless twiddle inher little hot bed, "that we can't find out."
"We could look through the drawers, of course," said Joey, "and discoverfor ourselves."
"Brenda keeps the top drawer locked and has taken the key." Nina gave alittle jump. "I tell you what!" she said. "Why shouldn't we try if thekey of the wardrobe would open the top drawer of the chest of drawers?It looks exactly the same: I noticed that myself when first we came."
"But there isn't any key to the wardrobe!" exclaimed Joey.
"Oh--isn't there? I know better. It was always lying on the floor, andI picked it up and put it behind that ornament on the mantelpiece so asto get it out of the way."
"Well--we can look at once," said Josie.
"What fun it will be if Fanchon really has a shilling bangle, and Brendaforgot to have it entered in the accounts!"
The two girls sprang out of bed. They were trembling with excitement.They longed beyond anything to discover if Mademoiselle was right.
"But if she has it," suddenly exclaimed Nina, "she may be wearing it--it's just the sort of thing she would do--she'd be so desperately proudof it!"
"Yes," said Josie, "and by the evening light people would think it wasreal. Oh, I say, Nina, what fun--this key does open the drawers! Yes,and locks them too. I say now, shall we have a search?"
The girls ransacked the precious locked drawer, and of course, in lessthan a minute, came upon the gold bangle with the turquoise ornament.They brought it to the window and examined it carefully by the light ofthe moon. While Josie held it, Nina kept the little box, in which itwas generally concealed, in her hand. She now read the writing on it.
"Why--it _is_ Fanchon's!" she cried, "here's her name on the box sayingthat the bangle is hers. Oh, what a wicked, wicked Fanchon, not to tellus! Won't we tease her about this!"
"No, we mustn't," said Josie. "But I tell you what we'll do. We'lljust carefully--most carefully--put that key away, and then to-morrownight before we go out, we'll unlock the drawer and take the bangle, andeither you or I can wear it. What _awful_ fun that'll be! We'll haveour surprise too--how clever of Mademoiselle to know!"
"Perhaps after our delicious time out is over, and our surprise is cometo an end, we may talk to Fanchon about her horrid meanness in keepingthe bangle a secret."
"Of course it isn't real gold--it's only one of those shilling things;but she might have told--that she might."
"That she might," exclaimed the other sister.
Then they put the bangle carefully back into its box, and readjusted thedrawer so as not to allow suspicious eyes to guess that anything hadbeen disarranged. They took the precious key which could unlock thedrawer and display this marvellous fairyland of delight, and hid itunder a portion of the carpet which went straight under the bed in whichthey slept.
"No one will find it here," said Nina, "for this room is never cleaned.I asked Jane about it, and she said she never cleans the bedrooms exceptwhen new visitors come. We _shall_ have fun to-morrow night--I canhardly sleep for thinking about it!"
CHAPTER NINETEEN.
TELLTALE TRACINGS.
Brenda and Fanchon had by no means a very satisfactory evening out.Harry Jordan was not quite as _empresse_ as usual; the fact being thathe had not the most remote intention of ever asking Brenda to marry him,and was already turning his attentions to another young lady, much morein his rank of life.
Joe Burbery did not put in an appearance, and Harry, after walking upand down the Esplanade two or three times with Brenda and Fanchon,managed to make his escape to that new siren who was at presentoccupying his fickle affections.
Brenda's rage and disappointment scarcely knew any bounds; but she wouldnot show her feelings for the world, and walked up and down with Fanchonuntil the usual hour for retiring.
"It's a great pity one of us had not the bangle on," said the eldestpupil, as she walked with her governess. "He would have been interestedin that: every one is who sees it--it's so very lovely."
"Think of my giving it to you, Fanchon!" exclaimed Brenda. "Can youever thank me enough?"
"I will thank you as long as I live when once you allow me to wear itproperly," said Fanchon.
Brenda made no answer to this.
"We'll go out to-morrow evening, won't we?" asked the young pupil of thecareful governess, "and you'll let me put it on them, won't you, darlingBrenda--darling Brenda!"
"No--I won't--and that's flat!" exclaimed Brenda. "We shall have a verygood time, though, to-morrow, Fanchon; for Harry says that he'll take usto a play down in the town. There's a very good travelling company nowat Marshlands. You have never seen a play, have you?"
"Indeed, no--how perfectly delightful--I didn't know you had arrangedthat!"
"Yes, I have. I think really why he left us was to go at once andenquire for tickets."
"Oh, no--it wasn't," said Fanchon; "I saw him walking with a girl withblack hair--a very tall, showy-looking girl--and they were laughingloudly."
&
nbsp; Brenda bit her lips. She knew this fact quite well, but had trustedthat Fanchon had not noticed it. When they returned to the house, thetwo younger girls were really sound asleep, and Brenda and her pupil gotquietly into bed--Brenda to think of what means she could adopt to bringfickle Harry, that merchant prince, once again to her side; and Fanchonto wonder if by any possible plan she could induce Brenda to allow herto wear the bracelet on the
