give us notice ofhis coming." She had left the room almost before she had finishedspeaking. The children looked at each other.
"I say, Mavis," said Ruby, "it's Bertrand! Don't you think we might runout and see?"
"No," Mavis replied decidedly, "certainly not. Cousin Hortensia wouldhave told us to come if she had wanted us."
But they went to the open door and stood close beside it, listeningintently. Then came the sound of old Joseph's steps along the stonepassage from the part of the house which he and Bertha--Joseph wasBertha's husband--inhabited, then the drawing back of the bolts andbars, and, most interesting and exciting of all, a noise of horsesstamping and shaking their harness as if glad to have got to the end oftheir journey. Then followed voices; and in a minute or two thechildren heard Miss Hortensia coming back, speaking as she came.
"You must be very cold, my dear boy, and hungry too," she was saying."We are just beginning tea, so you had better come in at once as youare."
"It's terribly cold, and that fool of a driver wouldn't come any faster;he said his horses were tired. I wish _I_ could have got a cut atthem--what are horses for?" was the reply to Miss Hortensia's kindspeech.
Mavis touched Ruby.
"Come in. Cousin Hortensia wouldn't like to see us standing at the doorlike this," she said.
They sat down at their places again, only getting up as Miss Hortensiacame in.
She was followed by a boy. He was about the height of the twins, broadand strong-looking, wrapped up in a rich fur-lined coat, and with atravelling cap of the same fur still on his head. He was dark-hairedand dark-eyed, a handsome boy with a haughty, rather contemptuousexpression of face--an expression winch it did not take much to turninto a scowl if he was annoyed or put out.
"These are your cousins, Bertrand; your cousins Ruby and Mavis--you haveheard of them, I am sure, though you have never met each other before."
Bertrand looked up coolly.
"I knew there were girls here," he answered. "Mother said so. But Idon't care for girls--I told mother so. I'm awfully hungry;" and hebegan to pull forward a chair.
"My dear," said Miss Hortensia, "do you know you have not taken off yourcap yet? You must take off your coat too, but, above all, your cap."
Bertrand put up his hand and slowly drew off his cap.
"Mother never minds," he said. But there was a slight touch of apologyin the words.
Then, more for his own comfort evidently than out of any sense ofcourtesy, he pulled off his heavy coat and flung it on to a chair. Thelittle girls had not yet spoken to him, they felt too much taken aback.
"Perhaps he is shy and strange, and that makes him seem rough," thoughtMavis, and she began drawing forward another chair.
"Will you sit here?" she was saying, when Bertrand pushed past her.
"I'll sit by the fire," he said, and he calmly settled himself on whathe could not but have seen was her seat or Ruby's; "and I'm awfullyhungry," he went on.
"At home I have dinner, at least if I want it, I do. It's only fit forgirls to have tea in this babyish way."
He helped himself to a large slice of cake as he spoke; and not contentwith this, he also put a big piece of butter on his plate. MissHortensia glanced at him, and was evidently just going to speak, butchecked herself. It was Bertrand's first evening, and she was a veryhospitable person. But when Bertrand proceeded to butter his cakethickly, Ruby, never accustomed to control her tongue, burst out.
"That's cake, Bertrand," she said. "People don't butter _cake_."
"Don't they just?" said the boy, speaking with his mouth full. "_I_ do,I know, and at home mother never minds."
"Does she let you do whatever you like?" asked Ruby.
"Yes," said Bertrand; "and whether she did or not I'd do it all thesame."
Then he broke into a merry laugh. It was one of the few attractivethings about him, beside his good looks, that laugh of his. It made himseem for the time a hearty, good-tempered child, and gave one thefeeling that he did not really mean the things he said and did. And nowthat his hunger was appeased, and he was warm and comfortable, he becamemuch more amiable. Ruby looked at him with admiration.
"I wish I lived with your mother," she said, "how nice it must be to doalways just what one likes!"
"Do you think so," said Mavis. "I think it would be quite miserable."
"Quite right, Mavis," said Miss Hortensia. "When I was a child Iremember reading a story of a little girl who for a great treat onebirthday was allowed to do just what she wanted all day, and--oh dear!--how unhappy she was before evening came."
Bertrand stared at her with his big eyes. _Some_ eyes are verymisleading; his looked now and then as if he had nothing but kind andbeautiful thoughts behind them.
"What a fool she must have been," he said roughly. And poor MissHortensia's heart sank.
The evening was not a long one, for Bertrand was tired with his journey,and for once willing to do as he was told, by going to bed early. Aroom near his cousins' had been preparing for him, and though not quiteready, a good fire made it look very cosy. They all went upstairs withhim to show him the way. As they passed the great baize door whichdivided their wing from the rest of the house. Bertrand pushed it open.
"What's, through there?" he asked, in his usual unceremonious way.
"Oh, all the rest of the castle," said Ruby importantly.
Bertrand peered through. It was like looking into a great church withall the lights out, for this door opened right upon the gallery runninground the large hall.
"What a ramshackle old cavern!" said Bertrand. A blast of cold airrushed in through the doorway as he spoke and made them all shiver.
"Nonsense, Bertrand," said Miss Hortensia, more sharply than she had yetspoken to him. "It is a splendid old house."
"You should see the staircases up to the turrets," said Ruby. "They areas high as--as I don't know what. If you are naughty we can put you tosleep in the west turret-room, and they say it's haunted."
"_I_ shouldn't mind that," laughed Bertrand.
"Nor should I," said Ruby boastfully. "Mavis here is a dreadful coward.And--oh, Bertrand--I'll tell you something to-morrow. I have such anidea. Don't you love playing tricks on people--people who setthemselves up, you know, and preach at you?" Her last words were almostwhispered, and Miss Hortensia, who had gone on in front--they had closedthe swing door by this time--did not hear them. But Mavis caught whatRuby said, and she waited uneasily for Bertrand's answer.
"Prigs, you mean," he said. "I hate prigs. Yes, indeed, I'll join youin any game of that kind. You should have seen how we served a littlewretch at school who tried to stop us teaching a puppy to swim--such ajoke--the puppy could scarcely walk, much less swim. So we took MasterPrig and made _him_ swim instead. It was winter, and he caught a jollycold, and had to leave school."
"Did he get better?" said Mavis, in a strange voice.
"Don't know, I'm sure. I should think not. His mother was too poor topay for a doctor, they said. He'd no business to be at a school withgentlemen," said Bertrand brutally.
Mavis gasped. Then suddenly, without saying good-night to any one, sherushed down the passage to the room she shared with her sister; andthere Ruby found her a few minutes later on her knees and all in thedark.
"What's the matter with you? Cousin Hortensia told me to say good-nightto you for her. It wasn't very civil to fly off like that the firstnight Bertrand was here. I'm sure cousin Hortensia thought so too,"said Ruby carelessly. "My goodness, are you _crying_?" as the light shecarried fell on Mavis's tear-stained face.
"Cousin Hortensia didn't _hear_," said Mavis. "Oh, Ruby, I can't bearit."
"What?"
"That wicked boy. Oh, Ruby, you can't say you like him?"
"I think he's lots of fun in him," said Ruby wonderingly. "He's only aboy; you are so queer, Mavis." But catching sight again of her sister'sexpression she suddenly changed. "Poor little Mavie," she cried,throwing her arms rou
nd her, "you're such a goose. You're far tootender-hearted."
Mavis clung to her, sobbing.
"Oh, Ruby, my Ruby," she said, "don't speak like that. I couldn't_bear_ you to get hard and cruel."
But Ruby was, for her, wonderfully gentle and kind, and at last the twolittle sisters kissed each other, promising that nothing should evercome between them.
A good night's rest and a huge breakfast put Master Bertrand
The Children of the Castle Page 11
