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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/15538-h.zip b/15538-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..be73004 --- /dev/null +++ b/15538-h.zip diff --git a/15538-h/15538-h.htm b/15538-h/15538-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d6685a2 --- /dev/null +++ b/15538-h/15538-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,7231 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Hetty Gray, by Rosa Mulholland</title> + <style type="text/css"> + /*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ + <!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + p.ContentsLink { font-size: 0.9em; + text-align: right; + } + hr.full { width: 100%; } + pre {font-size: 8pt;} + --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> +</head> +<body> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Hetty Gray, by Rosa Mulholland</h1> +<pre> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: Hetty Gray</p> +<p> Nobody's Bairn</p> +<p>Author: Rosa Mulholland</p> +<p>Release Date: April 4, 2005 [eBook #15538]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HETTY GRAY***</p> +<p> </p> +<h3>E-text prepared by Malcolm Farmer<br> + and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team</h3> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full"> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + <h1>HETTY GRAY</h1> + + <h4>or</h4> + + <h2>Nobody's Bairn</h2> + + <h4>BY</h4> + + <h2>ROSA MULHOLLAND</h2> + + <h3>(LADY GILBERT)</h3> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h2><a name="CONTENTS" + id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</a></h2> + + <p><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I. FOUR YEARS OLD</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II. UNDER THE HORSES' FEET</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III. ADOPTED</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV. MRS. KANE IN TROUBLE</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V. A LONELY CHILD</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI. HETTY AND HER "COUSINS"</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII. HETTY'S FIRST LESSONS</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII. HETTY DESOLATE</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX. WHAT TO DO WITH HER></a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X. THE NEW HOME</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI. HETTY TURNS REBEL</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII. A COTTAGE CHILD AGAIN</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII. A TRICK ON THE + GOVERNESS</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV. HETTY'S CONSTANCY</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV. THE CHILDREN'S DANCE</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI. A TRIAL OF PATIENCE</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII. HETTY'S FUTURE IS + PLANNED</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII. REINE GAYTHORNE</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX. IF SHE WAS DROWNED, HOW + CAN SHE BE HETTY?</a> + <br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX. HAPPY HETTY</a></p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h2><a name="HETTY_GRAY" + id="HETTY_GRAY">HETTY GRAY</a></h2> + + <h3>OR NOBODY'S BAIRN</h3> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_I" + id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></h4> + + <h3>FOUR YEARS OLD.</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>In all England there is not a prettier village than + Wavertree. It has no streets; but the cottages stand about the + roads in twos and threes, with their red-tiled roofs, and their + little gardens, and hedges overrun with flowering weeds. Under + a great sycamore tree at the foot of a hill stands the forge, a + cave of fire glowing in the shadows, a favourite place for the + children to linger on their way to school, watching the smith + hammering at his burning bars, and hearing him ring his cheery + chimes on the anvil. Who shall say what mystery surrounds the + big smith, as he strides about among his fires, to the wide + bright eyes that peer in at him from under baby brows, or what + meanings come out of his clinking music to four-year-old or + eight-year-old ears?</p> + + <p>Little Hetty was only four years old when she stood for five + or ten minutes of one long summer day looking in at the forge, + and watching and listening with all the energy that belonged to + her. She had a little round pink face with large brown eyes as + soft as velvet, and wide open scarlet lips. Her tiny pink + calico frock was clean and neat, and her shoes not very much + broken, though covered with dust. Altogether Hetty had the look + of a child who was kindly cared for, though she had neither + father nor mother in the world.</p> + + <p>Two or three great strong horses, gray and bay, with thick + manes and tails, came clattering up to the door of the forge, a + man astride on one of them. Hetty knew the horses, which + belonged to Wavertree Hall, and were accustomed to draw the + long carts which brought the felled trees out of the woods to + the yard at the back of the Hall. Hetty once had thought that + the trees were going to be planted again in Mrs. Enderby's + drawing-room, and had asked why the pretty green leaves had all + been taken off. She was four years old now, however, and she + knew that the trees were to be chopped up for firewood. She + clapped her hands in delight as the great creatures with their + flowing manes came trotting up with their mighty hoofs close to + her little toes.</p> + + <p>"You little one, run away," cried the man in care of the + horses; and Hetty stole into the forge and stood nearer to the + fire than she had ever dared to do before.</p> + + <p>"Hallo!" shouted Big Ben the smith; "if this mite hasn't got + the courage of ten! Be off, you little baggage, if you don't + want to have those pretty curls o' yours singed away as bare as + a goose at Michaelmas! As for sparks in your eyes, you sha'n't + have 'em, for you don't want 'em. Eyes are bright enough to + light up a forge for themselves."</p> + + <p>"Aye," said the carter, "my missus and I often say she's too + pretty a one for the likes of us to have the bringing up of on + our hands. And she's a rare one for havin' her own way, she is. + Just bring her out by the hand, will you, Ben, while I keep + these horses steady till she gets away?"</p> + + <p>Big Ben led the little maid outside the forge, and said, + "Now run away and play with the other children"; and then he + went back to set about the shoeing of John Kane's mighty + cart-horses, or rather the cart-horses of Mr. Enderby of + Wavertree Hall.</p> + + <p>Little Hetty, thus expelled, dared not return to the forge, + but she walked backwards down the road, gazing at the horses as + long as she could see them. She loved the great handsome + brutes, and if she had had her will would have been sitting on + one of their backs with her arms around his neck. Coming to a + turn of the road from which a path led on to an open down, she + blew a farewell kiss to the horses and skipped away across the + grass among the gold-hearted, moonfaced daisies, and the + black-eyed poppies in their scarlet hoods.</p> + + <p>There were no other children to be seen, but Hetty made + herself happy without them. A large butterfly fluttered past + her, almost brushing her cheek, and Hetty threw back her curly + head and gazed at its beauty in astonishment. It was splendid + with scarlet and brown and gold, and Hetty, after a pause of + delighted surprise, dashed forward with both her little fat + arms extended to capture it. It slipped through her fingers; + but just as she was pulling down her baby lips to cry, a flock + of white and blue butterflies swept across her eyes, and made + her laugh again as she pursued them in their turn.</p> + + <p>At last she stumbled into a damp hollow place where a band + of golden irises stood among their tall shafts of green like + royal ladies surrounded by warriors. Hetty caught sight of the + yellow wing-like petals of the flag-lilies and grasped them + with both hands. Alas! they were not alive, but pinned to the + earth by their strong stems. The butterflies were gone, the + flowers were not living. The little girl plucked the lilies and + tried to make them fly, but their heads fell heavily to the + ground.</p> + + <p>A big plough-boy came across the downs, and he said as he + passed Hetty,</p> + + <p>"What are you picking the heads off the flowers for, you + young one?"</p> + + <p>"Why won't they fly like the butterflies?" asked Hetty.</p> + + <p>"Because they were made to grow."</p> + + <p>"Why can't I fly, too?"</p> + + <p>"Because you were made to run."</p> + + <p>When Hetty went into the school she had a scratch from a + briar all across her cheek.</p> + + <p>"You are quite late, Hetty Gray," said the schoolmistress. + "And what have you been doing to scratch your face?"</p> + + <p>"I was trying to make the flowers fly," said Hetty; and then + she was put to stand in the corner in disgrace with her face to + the wall.</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_II" + id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></h4> + + <h3>UNDER THE HORSES' FEET.</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>Mrs. Kane's cottage stood on a pretty bend of one of the + village roads, and belonged to an irregular cluster of little + houses with red gables and green palings. It was among the + poorest dwellings in Wavertree, but was neat and clean. The + garden was in good order, and a white climbing rose grew round + the door, that sweet old-fashioned rose with its delicious + scent which makes the air delightful wherever it blows.</p> + + <p>The cottage door stood open, and the afternoon sunlight fell + across the old red tiles of the kitchen floor. The tiles were a + little broken, and here and there they were sunk and worn; but + they were as clean as hands could make them, as Mrs. Kane would + have said. A little window at one side looked down the garden, + and across it was a frilled curtain, and on the sill a geranium + in full flower. On the other side was the fire-place, with + chintz frill and curtains, and the grate filled with a great + bush of green beech-leaves. A table set on the red tiles was + spread for tea, and by it sat Mrs. Kane and her friend Mrs. + Ford enjoying a friendly cup together.</p> + + <p>"She <i>is</i> late this evening," Mrs. Kane was saying; + "but she'll turn up all right by and by. If she's wild she's + sharp, which is still something. She never gets under horses' + feet, nor drops into the pond, or anything of that sort. If she + did those sort of things, being such a rover, Mrs. Ford, you + see I never should have an easy moment in my life."</p> + + <p>"I must say it's very good of you to take to do with her," + said Mrs. Ford, "and she nobody belonging to you. If she was + your own child—"</p> + + <p>"Well, you see, my own two dears went to heaven with the + measles," said Mrs. Kane, "and I felt so lonesome without them, + that when John walked in with the little bundle in his arms + that night, I thought he was just an angel of light."</p> + + <p>"It was on the Long Sands he found her, wasn't it?" asked + Mrs. Ford, balancing her spoon on the edge of her cup.</p> + + <p>"On the Long Sands after the great storm," said Mrs. Kane; + "and that's just four years ago in May gone by. How a baby ever + lived through the storm to be washed in by the sea alive always + beats me when I think of it, it seems so downright unnatural; + and yet that's the way that Providence ordered it, Mrs. + Ford."</p> + + <p>"I suppose all her folks were drowned?" said Mrs. Ford.</p> + + <p>"Most like they were, for it was a bad wreck, as I've + heard," said Mrs. Kane. "Leastways, nobody has ever come to + claim her, and no questions have been asked. Unless it was much + for her good I would fain hope that nobody ever will claim her + now. Wild as she is, I've grown to love that little Hetty, so I + have. Ah, here she is coming along, as hungry as a little pussy + for her milk, I'll be bound!"</p> + + <p>Hetty came trudging along the garden path, her curls + standing up in a bush on her head, her little fat fingers + stained green with grass, and her pinafore, no longer green, + filled with moon-daisies. She was singing with her baby voice + lifted bravely:</p> + + <p>"Dust as I am I come to zee—"</p> + + <p>"Dust indeed!" cried Mrs. Kane, "<i>I</i> never saw such + dust. Only look at her shoes that I blacked this morning!"</p> + + <p>"Poor dear, practising her singing," said Mrs. Ford. "Well, + little lass, and what have you been seeing and doing all day + long?"</p> + + <p>"I saw big Ben poking his fire," answered Hetty after a + moment's reflection. "He put me out, and then I saw him hurting + the horses' feet with his hammer. I wanted the horses to come + along with me, but they shook their heads and stayed where they + were. Then I tried to catch the butterflies, and they flew + right past my eyes. And I thought the yellow lilies could fly + too, and they wouldn't. Then I pulled their heads + off—"</p> + + <p>"And were you not at school at all?" asked Mrs. Ford. "Well, + well, Hetty, you are wild. If you saw my little boys going so + good to their school! What more did you do, Hetty?"</p> + + <p>"I went into school, and schoolmistress put me in a corner. + Then I drew marks with my tears on the wall; and afterwards I + said my spelling. And I came home and got some daisies; and I + saw Charlie Ford standing in the pond with his shoes and + stockings on."</p> + + <p>"Oh my! oh my! well I never!" cried Mrs. Ford, snatching up + her bonnet, and getting ready to go home in a hurry. "Charley + in the pond with his shoes and stockings on! It seems, Mrs. + Kane, that I've been praising him too soon!"</p> + + <p>While Mrs. Ford was running down the road after Charley, + Mrs. Enderby, up at Wavertree Hall, was directing her servants + to carry the table for tea out upon the lawn under the + wide-spreading beech-trees; and her two little daughters, + Phyllis aged eight and Nell aged seven, were hovering about + waiting to place baskets of flowers and strawberries on the + embroidered cloth. Mrs. Rushton, sister-in-law of Mrs. Enderby + and aunt of the children, was spending the afternoon at the + Hall, having come a distance of some miles to do so.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Enderby was a tall graceful lady, with a pale, gentle, + but rather cold face; her dress was severely simple and almost + colourless; her voice was sweet. Mrs. Rushton was unlike her in + every respect, low in size, plump, smiling, and dressed in the + most becoming and elegant fashion. Mrs. Enderby spoke slowly + and with deliberation; Mrs. Rushton kept chattering + incessantly.</p> + + <p>"Well, Amy," said the former, "I hope you will talk to + William about it, and perhaps he may induce you to change your + mind. Here he is," as a gentleman was seen coming across the + lawn.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Rushton shrugged her shoulders. "My dear Isabel," she + said, "I do not see what William has to do with it. I am my own + mistress, and surely old enough to judge for myself."</p> + + <p>The two little girls sprang to meet their father, and + dragged him by the hands up to the tea-table.</p> + + <p>"William," said Mrs. Enderby, "I want you to remonstrate + with Amy."</p> + + <p>"It seems to me I am always remonstrating with Amy," said + Mr. Enderby smiling; "what wickedness is she meditating + now?"</p> + + <p>Mrs. Rushton laughed gaily, dipped a fine strawberry into + cream and ate it. Her laugh was pleasant, and she had a general + air of good humour and self-complacency about her which some + people mistook for exceeding amiability.</p> + + <p>"Isabel thinks I am going to destruction altogether," said + she, preparing another strawberry for its bath of cream; "only + because I am thinking of going abroad with Lady Harriet Beaton. + Surely I have a right to arrange my own movements and to select + my own friends."</p> + + <p>Mr. Enderby looked very grave. "No one can deny your right + to do as you please," he said; "but I hope that on reflection + you will not please to go abroad with Lady Harriet Beaton."</p> + + <p>"Why!"</p> + + <p>"Surely you know she is not a desirable companion for you, + Amy. I hope you have not actually promised to accompany + her."</p> + + <p>"Well, I think I have, almost. She is very gay and charming, + and I cannot think why you should object to her. If I were a + young girl of sixteen, instead of a widow with long experience, + you could not make more fuss about the matter."</p> + + <p>"As your brother I am bound to object to such a scheme," + said Mr. Enderby.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Rushton pouted. "It is all very well for you and Isabel + to talk," she said, "you have each other and your children to + interest you. If I had children—had only one child, I + should not care for running about the world or making a + companion of Lady Harriet."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Enderby looked at her sister-in-law sympathetically; + but Mr. Enderby only smiled.</p> + + <p>"My dear Amy," he said, "you know very well that if you had + children they would be the most neglected little mortals on the + face of the earth. Ever since I have known you, a good many + years now, I have seen you fluttering about after one whim or + another, and never found you contented with anything long. If + Phyllis and Nell here were your daughters instead of Isabel's, + they would be away at school somewhere, whilst their mother + would be taking her turn upon all the merry-go-rounds of the + world."</p> + + <p>"Thank you, you are very complimentary," said Mrs. Rushton; + and then she laughed carelessly:</p> + + <p>"After all, the merry-go-rounds, as you put it, are much + better fun than sitting in a nursery or a school-room. But I + assure you I am not so frivolous as you think; I have been + going out distributing tracts lately with Mrs. Sourby."</p> + + <p>"Indeed, and last winter I know you were attending lectures + on cookery, and wanted to become a lecturer yourself."</p> + + <p>"Yes, and only for something that happened, I forget what, I + might now be a useful member of society. But chance does so + rule one's affairs. At present it is Fate's decree that I shall + spend the next few months at Pontresina."</p> + + <p>Mr. Enderby made a gesture as if to say that he would + remonstrate no more, and went off to play lawn tennis with his + little girls. Mrs. Rushton rose from her seat, yawned, and + declared to Mrs. Enderby that it was six o'clock and quite time + for her to return towards home, as she had a drive of two hours + before her.</p> + + <p>Shortly afterwards she was rolling along the avenue in her + carriage, and through the village, and out by one of the roads + towards the open country.</p> + + <p>Now little Hetty Gray ought to have been in her bed by this + time, or getting ready for it; but she was, as Mrs. Kane told + Mrs. Ford, a very wild little girl, though sharp; and while + Mrs. Kane was busy giving her husband his supper Hetty had + escaped from the cottage once more, and had skipped away from + the village to have another little ramble by herself before the + pretty green woods should begin to darken, and the moon to come + up behind the trees.</p> + + <p>Hetty had filled her lap with dog-roses out of the hedges, + and wishing to arrange them in a bunch which she could carry in + her hand, she sat down in the middle of the road and became + absorbed in her work.</p> + + <p>Near where she sat there was a sharp turning in the road, + and Hetty was so busy that she did not hear the sound of a + carriage coming quite near her. Suddenly the horses turned the + corner. Hetty saw them and jumped up in a fright, but too late + to save herself from being hurt. She was flung down upon the + road, though the coachman pulled up in time to prevent the + wheels passing over her.</p> + + <p>Poor Hetty gave one scream and then nothing more was heard + from her. The footman got down and looked at her, and then he + went and told the lady in the carriage that he feared the child + was badly hurt.</p> + + <p>"Oh dear!" said the lady, "what brought her under the + horses' feet? Can you not pick her up?"</p> + + <p>The footman went back to Hetty and tried to lift her in his + arms, but she uttered such pitiful screams at being touched + that he was obliged to lay her down again.</p> + + <p>Then the lady, who was Mrs. Rushton, got out and looked at + her.</p> + + <p>"You must put her in the carriage," she said, "and drive + back to the village. I suppose she belongs to some of the + people there."</p> + + <p>"I know her, ma'am," said the footman; "she is Mrs. Kane's + little girl,—little Hetty Gray."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Rushton got into the carriage again and held the child + on her lap while they were being driven back to the village to + Mrs. Kane's cottage door. It was quite a new sensation to the + whimsical lady of fashion to hold a suffering child in her + arms, and she was surprised to find that, in spite of her first + feelings of impatience at being stopped on the road, she rather + liked it. As Hetty's little fair curly head hung back + helplessly over her arm, and the round soft cheek, turned so + white, touched her breast, Mrs. Rushton felt a motherly + sensation which she had never before known in all her frivolous + life.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Kane was out at the garden gate looking up and down the + road for the missing Hetty. When she saw Hetty lifted out of + the carriage she began to cry.</p> + + <p>"Oh my! my!" she sobbed, "I never thought it would come to + this with her, and she so sharp. Thank you, madam, thank you, + I'm sure. She's not my own child, but I feel it as much as if + she was."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Rushton then sent the carriage off for the doctor and + went into the cottage with Mrs. Kane. The child was laid as + gently as possible on a poor but clean bed covered with a + patchwork quilt of many colours, and the lady of fashion sat by + her side, bathing the baby forehead with eau de Cologne which + she happened to have with her. It was all new and unexpectedly + interesting to Mrs. Rushton. Never had she been received as a + friend in a cottage home before, the only occasions when she + had even seen the inside of one were those on which she had + accompanied Mrs. Sourby on her mission of distributing tracts; + and on those occasions she had felt that she was not looked on + as a friend by the poor who received her, but rather as an + intruder. It was evident now that good, grieved Mrs. Kane took + her for an angel as she sat by the little one's bed, and it was + new and delightful to Mrs. Rushton to be regarded as a + benefactress by anyone.</p> + + <p>The doctor arrived, set the child's arm, which was found to + be broken, and gave her something to make her fall asleep. Then + he charmed Mrs. Rushton by complimenting that lady on her + goodness of heart.</p> + + <p>"Remember, all the expense is to be mine," she said to him, + "and I hope you will order the little one everything she can + possibly require. I will come to see her to-morrow, Mrs. Kane, + and bring her some flowers and fruit."</p> + + <p>The pretty green woods which Hetty loved had grown dark, the + butterflies had flown away to whatever dainty lodging + butterflies inhabit during the summer nights, the yellow wings + of the flag-lilies fluttered unseen in the shadows, and the + moon had risen high above the tall beech-trees and the old + church tower. Mrs. Rushton stepped into her carriage once more, + and was driven rapidly through the quiet village, away towards + her own luxurious home, feeling more interested and excited + than she had felt for a long time.</p> + + <p>Little Hetty Gray, her scare of fright and pain gone for the + time like a bad dream, lay sound asleep upon her humble bed, + and Mrs. Kane, trimming her night-light, paused to listen, with + that fascination which many people feel at the sound, to the + hoarse boom of the old church clock calling the hour of + midnight, across the chimneys of the village and away over the + silent solemn woods.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Kane felt with a sort of awe that another day had + begun, but she little knew that with it a strange new leaf had + been turned in the story of her little Hetty's life.</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_III" + id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></h4> + + <h3>ADOPTED.</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>Mrs. Rushton returned the next day with a basket of ripe + peaches and a large bouquet of lovely flowers such as Hetty had + never seen before. The yellow lilies might stand now in peace + among their tall flag leaves without fearing to have their + heads picked off, for Hetty had got something newer and more + delightful to admire than they. Odorous golden roses and + pearl-white gardenias scented and beautified the poor little + room where Hetty lay. Where had they come from, she wondered, + and who was the pretty lady who sat by her side and kept + putting nice-smelling things to her nose? At first she was very + shy and only looked at her with half-closed eyes, but after + some time she took courage and spoke to her.</p> + + <p>"What kind lady are you?" asked Hetty boldly.</p> + + <p>"I am a good fairy," said Mrs. Rushton, "and when you are + well I am going to carry you off to see my house."</p> + + <p>"Hetty has got a house," said the little girl complacently. + "Have you got a house too?"</p> + + <p>"A splendid large house, Hetty," said Mrs. Kane. "<i>You</i> + never saw such a house."</p> + + <p>"Is it bigger than the post-office?" said Hetty + doubtingly.</p> + + <p>"Bigger far."</p> + + <p>"Bigger than the forge?"</p> + + <p>"Don't be foolish, child, and stop your biggers," said Mrs. + Kane; "Mrs. Rushton's house is the size of the church and + more."</p> + + <p>Hetty winked with astonishment, and she lay silent for some + time, till at last she said:</p> + + <p>"And do you sit in the pulpit?"</p> + + <p>Mrs. Rushton laughed more than she was accustomed to laugh + at Lady Harriet Beaton's comic stories. This child's prattle + was amusing to her.</p> + + <p>"And do you have grave-stones growing round your door?" + persisted Hetty.</p> + + <p>"There, ma'am!" cried Mrs. Kane, "she'll worry you with + questions if you give her a bit of encouragement. She'll think + of things that'll put you wild for an answer, so she will. John + and I give her up."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Rushton was not at all inclined to give her up, + however, for she kept coming day after day to visit the little + patient. Hetty became fond of her pleasant visitor, and watched + eagerly for her arrival in the long afternoons when the flies + buzzed so noisily in the small cottage window-panes, and the + child found it hard to lie still and hear the voices of the + village children shouting and laughing at their play in the + distance. As soon as Mrs. Rushton's bright eyes were seen in + the doorway, and her gay dress fluttering across the threshold, + Hetty would stretch out her one little hand in welcome to the + delightful visitor, and laugh to see all the pretty presents + that were quickly strewn around her on the bed. After spending + an afternoon with the child, Mrs. Rushton often went on to + Wavertree Hall and finished the evening there with her + brother's family. Mr. and Mrs. Enderby were greatly astonished + to find how completely their lively sister had interested + herself in the village foundling.</p> + + <p>"Take care you do not spoil her," said Mr. Enderby.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Rushton shrugged her shoulders.</p> + + <p>"I can never please you," she said. "One would suppose I had + found a harmless amusement this time at least, and yet you do + not approve."</p> + + <p>"I do approve," said her brother, "up to a certain point. I + only warn you not to go too far and make the child unhappy by + over-petting her. In a few weeks hence you will have forgotten + her existence, and then the little thing will be + disappointed."</p> + + <p>"But I have no intention of forgetting her in a few weeks," + said Mrs. Rushton indignantly.</p> + + <p>"No; you have no intention—" said Mr. Enderby.</p> + + <p>"You certainly are a most unsympathetic person," said Mrs. + Rushton; and she went away feeling herself much ill-used, and + firmly believing herself to be the only kind-hearted member of + her family.</p> + + <p>"After all, William," said Mrs. Enderby to her husband, "you + ought not to be too hard upon Amy, for you see she has given up + talking of going abroad with Lady Harriet."</p> + + <p>"True; I have noticed that. Yet I fear she will not + relinquish one folly without falling into another."</p> + + <p>"Her present whim is at all events an amiable one," said + Mrs. Enderby gently. "Let us hope no harm may come of it.'</p> + + <p>"I should think it all most natural and right if any other + woman than Amy were in question," said Mr. Enderby; "but one + never knows to what extravagant lengths she will go."</p> + + <p>The warnings of her brother had the effect of making Mrs. + Rushton still more eager in her attendance on the child, and a + few days after she had been "lectured" by him, as she put it to + herself, she astonished good Mrs. Kane by saying:</p> + + <p>"I think she is quite fit to be moved now, Mrs. Kane, and + the doctor says so. I am going to take her home with me for a + week for change of air."</p> + + <p>"Laws, ma'am, you never mean it!"</p> + + <p>"But I do mean it. I am going to fatten her up and finish + her cure."</p> + + <p>"Well, ma'am, I'm sure you are the kindest of the kind. To + think of you troubling yourself and putting yourself out, and + all for our little Hetty."</p> + + <p>"That is my affair," said Mrs. Rushton laughing; "I don't + think a mite like that will disturb my household very much. + Just you pack her up, and I will carry her off with me + to-morrow at three."</p> + + <p>The next day the lady carried off her prize, greatly + delighted to think of how shocked her brother would be when he + heard of her new "folly." As soon as she had introduced Hetty + to all her dogs, and cats, and rabbits, Mrs. Rushton went to + her desk and wrote a note to her sister-in-law inviting the + entire Wavertree family to spend a day at Amber Hill, which was + the name of her charming dwelling-place.</p> + + <p>When, on a certain morning, therefore, the Wavertree + carriage stopped at the foot of the wide flight of steps, + flanked by urns of blooming flowers, which led up to Mrs. + Rushton's great hall door, the mistress of Amber Hill was seen + descending the stone stair leading a little child by the hand. + This was Hetty, dressed in a white frock of lace and muslin, + and decked with rose-coloured ribbons.</p> + + <p>"Isn't she a little beauty?" said Mrs. Rushton, smiling + mischievously at her grave brother and sister-in-law. "Look up, + my darling, and show your pretty brown velvet eyes. Did you + ever see such a tint in human cheeks, Isabel, or such a crop of + curling hair?"</p> + + <p>"Do you really mean that this is the village child, Amy?" + asked her brother.</p> + + <p>"Yes, little Hetty is here!" said Amy with a gleeful laugh; + "but then, William, Lady Harriet is gone. If I had asked you to + meet her to-day instead of little Miss Gray from Wavertree, I + wonder what you would have done to find a more disagreeable + expression of countenance."</p> + + <p>"Do you wish us to understand that you have adopted this + 'nobody's child,' Amy?" said Mr. Enderby, looking more and more + troubled.</p> + + <p>"Well, to tell you the truth, I did not mean that quite," + said Mrs. Rushton; "but now that you suggest it—"</p> + + <p>"<i>I</i> suggest it!" cried Mr. Enderby.</p> + + <p>"How horrified you look! But all the same you have suggested + it, and I think it is a capital idea."</p> + + <p>"Do not come to any hasty conclusion, I implore you, Amy. + Think over it well. Consider the child's interests more than + your own momentary self-indulgence!"</p> + + <p>Mrs. Rushton coloured with displeasure.</p> + + <p>"I see you are determined to be as disagreeable as usual," + she said angrily. "As if the monkey could fail to be benefited + by my patronage! Pray, will she not be better in my + drawing-room than getting under horses' feet about the + Wavertree roads, or losing herself in the Wavertree woods?"</p> + + <p>"Frankly, I think not," said Mr. Enderby stiffly.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Rushton's eyes flashed, and she did her brother the + injustice of thinking that he feared her adoption of little + Hetty would in some way interfere with the worldly interests of + his own children. She was not accustomed to seek far for other + people's meanings and motives, and generally seized on the + first which presented itself to her mind. She knew that she + only wanted to amuse herself, and had no intention of wronging + her nieces and nephew by playing with this charming babe. Why, + then, should William take such fancies in his head? In this + flash of temper she instantly decided on keeping little Hetty + always with her. Was there any reason in the world why she + should not do just as she pleased? Hetty should certainly stay + with her and be as her own child from this day forth.</p> + + <p>"What have <i>you</i> to say about my adopting little + Hetty?" she said, turning to her sister-in-law with a slightly + defiant and wholly triumphant smile.</p> + + <p>"I shall say nothing," said Mrs. Enderby, "until I see how + you treat her. I trust it may turn out for the best."</p> + + <p>Thus, all in a moment, and merely because Mrs. Rushton would + not be contradicted, was little Hetty's future in this world + decided. Before her brother had spoken, the lady of Amber Hill + had had no intention of keeping Hetty for more than a week in + her house. And now she felt bound (by the laws of human + perversity) to take her and bring her up as her own child.</p> + + <p>In the meantime Mrs. Enderby's three children and Hetty Gray + were standing by, gazing at one another. The little Enderbys, + Mark, Phyllis, and Nell, had taken in the whole conversation, + and understood perfectly, with the quick perception of + children, the strangeness of the situation, and their own + peculiar position with regard to Mrs. Kane's little girl from + Wavertree.</p> + + <p>The little Enderbys were thinking how very odd it was that + the little girl whom they had often seen, as they walked with + their nurse or drove past in the carriage with their mother, + playing on the roads in a soiled pinafore, should be now + presented to them as a new cousin. Phyllis, the eldest, was + much displeased, for pride was her ruling fault. Mark and Nell + were charmed with the transformation in Hetty and very much + disposed to accept her as a playfellow, though they remembered + all the time that she was not their equal.</p> + + <p>Hetty, being only four years old, was supremely unconscious + of all that was being said, and meant, and thought over her + curly head. She gazed at the three other children, and, + repelled by Phyllis's cold gaze, turned to Mark and Nell, and + stretched out a little fat hand to each of them.</p> + + <p>"Come and see the beautiful flowers!" she said gleefully; + "you never saw such lovely ones!"</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_IV" + id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></h4> + + <h3>MRS. KANE IN TROUBLE.</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>"Now, tell me all about it, for as I am going to be her + mother in future I must know everything that concerns my + child."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Rushton was talking to Mrs. Kane, having come to the + cottage to announce her intention of adopting Hetty. Mrs. Kane + was crying bitterly.</p> + + <p>"You'll excuse me, ma'am. I would not stand in the way of my + darling's good fortune, not for ever so, I'm sure. And yet it's + hard to give her up."</p> + + <p>"I should not have thought it could make much difference to + you. I believe she was generally running about the roads when + not at school."</p> + + <p>"Well, you see, ma'am, that is true; but at night and in the + mornings she would kneel on my lap to say her prayers, and put + her little soft arms round my neck. And those are the times + I'll mostly miss her."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Rushton coughed slightly. She herself liked the sight + of Hetty's pretty face, and was amused by her prattle; but she + was not a woman to think much about the feel of a child's arms + around her neck. Mrs. Kane, perceiving that she was not + understood, sprang up from her seat and went to fetch a parcel + from an inner room.</p> + + <p>"This is the little shift she wore when I first set eyes on + her. It is the only rag she brought with her; though not much + of a rag, I'm bound to say; for so pretty an article of the + kind I never saw," said the good woman, spreading out on the + table an infant's garment of the finest cambric embroidered + delicately round the neck and sleeves.</p> + + <p>In the corner was a richly wrought monogram of the initials + H.G.</p> + + <p>"And that's why we called her Hetty Gray," said Mrs. Kane. + "John and I made up the name to suit the letters. If ever her + friends turn up they'll know the difference, but in the + meantime we had to have something to call her by."</p> + + <p>"Why, this is most interesting!" said Mrs. Rushton, + examining the monogram; "she probably belonged to people of + position. It is quite satisfactory that she should prove to be + a gentlewoman by birth."</p> + + <p>"And that is why I feel bound to give her up, ma'am," said + Mrs. Kane, wiping her overflowing eyes. "I've always put it + before me that some day or other her folks would come wanting + her, and I've said to myself that it would be terrible if she + had grown up in the meantime with no better education than if + she was born a village lass. And yet what better could I have + done for her than I could have done for a daughter of my own if + I had had one?"</p> + + <p>"Just so," said Mrs. Rushton; "and now you may be sure that + she will be educated, trained, dressed, and everything else, + just as if she had been in her mother's house. As for her own + people coming for her, I am not sure that I shall give her up + if they do. Not unless I have grown tired of her in the + meantime."</p> + + <p>"Tired of her!" echoed Mrs. Kane, looking at her visitor in + great surprise; "surely, madam, you do not think you will get + tired of our little Hetty!"</p> + + <p>"I hope not, my good woman; but even if I do you cannot + complain, as in that case I shall give her back to you; that + is, if it happens before her friends come to fetch her. Unless + you are pretending to grieve now, you cannot be sorry at the + prospect of having her again."</p> + + <p>"That's true," said the poor woman in a puzzled tone, and + she still looked wistfully at the handsome visitor sitting + before her. She did not know how to express herself, and she + was afraid of offending the lady who was going to be Hetty's + mother; yet she felt eager to make some remonstrance against + the injustice of the proceeding which Mrs. Rushton spoke of as + within the bounds of possibility. She believed in her heart + that a great wrong would be done if the child, having been + educated and accustomed to luxury for years, were to be + carelessly thrown back into a life of lowly poverty. However, + the trouble that was in her heart could not find its way + through her lips, and she tried to think that Mrs. Rushton + spoke only in jest.</p> + + <p>"It is altogether like a romance," that lady was saying as + she folded up the baby garment and put it away in a pretty + scented satchel which she wore at her side. "I have not met + with anything so interesting for years, and I promise myself a + great deal of pleasure in the matter."</p> + + <p>"May Hetty come to see me sometimes?" asked Mrs. Kane, + humbly curtseying her good-bye, when her visitor was seated in + her pony phaeton and gathering up the reins for flight.</p> + + <p>"Oh, certainly, as often as you please," answered Mrs. + Rushton gaily, and touching the ponies with her whip she was + soon out of sight; while poor Mrs. Kane retreated into her + cottage to have a good motherly cry over the tiny broken shoes + and the little washed-out faded frocks which were now all that + remained to her of her foster-daughter.</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_V" + id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></h4> + + <h3>A LONELY CHILD.</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>Mrs. Rushton having adopted Hetty, set about extracting the + utmost amount of amusement possible from the presence of the + child in her home. She soon grew anxious to get away from her + brother's "unpleasantly sensible remarks," and Isabel's gentle + excuses for her conduct, which annoyed her even more, as they + always suggested motives for her actions which were far beyond + her ken, and seemed far-fetched, over-strained, and absurd. So + she took the child to London, where she introduced her to her + friends as her latest plaything.</p> + + <p>Hetty had frocks of all the colours of the rainbow, and + learned to make saucy speeches which entertained Mrs. Rushton's + visitors.</p> + + <p>She sat beside her new mamma as she drove in her victoria in + the park; and on Mrs. Rushton's "at home" days was noticed and + petted by fashionable ladies and gentlemen, her beauty praised + openly to her face, her pretty clothes remarked upon, and her + childish prattle laughed at and applauded as the wittiest talk + in the world.</p> + + <p>Certainly there were many days when Hetty's presence was + wearisome and intolerable to her benefactress, and then she was + banished to a large gloomy room at the top of the London house, + and left to the tender mercies of a maid, who did not at all + forget that she was only Mrs. Kane's little girl from the + village of Wavertree, and treated her accordingly. She was + often left alone for hours, amusing herself as best she could, + crying when she felt very lonely, or leaning far out of the + window to feel nearer to the people in the street. The + consequence of all this was to spoil the child's naturally + sweet temper, to teach her to crave for excitement, and to + suffer keenly, when, after a full feast of pleasure, she was + suddenly snubbed, scolded, deserted, and forgotten. She began + to hate the sight of the bare silent nursery upstairs, where + there were no pretty pictures to bear her company, no pleasant + little adornments, no diversions such as a mother places in the + room where her darlings pass many of their baby hours. It was a + motherless, blank, nursery, where the only nurse was the maid, + who came and went, and looked upon Hetty as a nuisance; an + extra trouble for which she had not been prepared when she + engaged to live with Mrs. Rushton.</p> + + <p>"Sit down there and behave yourself properly, if you can, + till I come back," she would say, and seat Hetty roughly in a + chair and go away and leave her there, shutting the door. At + first Hetty used to weep dolefully, and sometimes cried herself + to sleep; but after a time she became used to her lonely life, + and only thought of how she could amuse herself during her + imprisonment. She counted the carriages passing the window till + she was tired, and watched the little children playing in the + garden of the square beyond; but at last she would get bolder, + sometimes, and venture out of her nursery to take a peep at the + other rooms of the house. One day she made her way down to Mrs. + Rushton's bed-room; that lady had gone out and the servants + were all downstairs. Hetty contrived to pull out several + drawers and played with ribbons and trinkets. At last she + opened a case in which was her foster-mother's watch, and as + this ticking bit of gold was like a living companion, Hetty + pounced upon it at once.</p> + + <p>She played all sorts of tricks with the watch, dressed it up + in a towel and called it a baby; and making up her mind that + baby wanted a bath, popped the watch into a basin of water and + set about washing it thoroughly.</p> + + <p>Just as she was working away with great energy the door + opened and Mrs. Rushton came in. Seeing what the child was + doing she flew at her, snatched the watch from her hands, and + slapped her violently on the arms and neck. Hetty screamed, + beat Mrs. Rushton on the face with both her little palms, and + then was whirled away shrieking into the hands of the negligent + maid, who shook her roughly as she carried her off to the + miscalled "nursery."</p> + + <p>The little girl, who had never been instructed or talked to + sensibly by any one, was quite unconscious of the mischief she + had done; and only felt that big people were hateful to-day, as + she lay kicking and screaming on the floor upstairs.</p> + + <p>The end of it all was, however, that, upon reflection, Mrs. + Rushton found she did not care so much after all about the + destruction of her watch, and that the whole occurrence would + make a capital story to tell to her friends; and so she sent + for Hetty, who was then making a dismal play for herself in the + twilight with two chairs turned upside down and a pinafore hung + from one to another for a curtain. The child was seized by + Grant, the maid, dressed in one of her prettiest costumes, and + taken down to the drawing-room to Mrs. Rushton, who had quite + recovered her temper and forgotten both the beating she had + given Hetty and the beating Hetty had given her. The culprit + was overwhelmed with kisses, and praises of her pretty eyes; + and soon found herself the centre of a brilliant little crowd + who were listening with smiles to the story of Hetty's + ill-treatment of the watch.</p> + + <p>Each year Mrs. Rushton went abroad for amusement and Hetty + was taken with her, and in foreign hotels was even more shown + about, flattered and snubbed, petted and neglected, than she + had been when at home in London. Everything that could be done + was done to make her vain, wilful, ill-tempered; and the little + creature came to know that she might have anything she pleased + if only she could make Mrs. Rushton laugh.</p> + + <p>Four or five years passed in this way, during which time + Mrs. Rushton had very little intercourse with her brother's + family at Wavertree. Her country house had been shut up and her + time had been spent between London, Brighton, and fashionable + resorts on the Continent. In the meantime the education which + she had promised Mrs. Kane should be given to her nursling had + not been even begun. Mrs. Rushton had had no leisure to think + of it. She looked upon Hetty as still only a babe, a marmoset + born to amuse her own hours of ennui. In her brother's + occasional letters he sometimes devoted a line to Hetty. "I + hope you are not spoiling the little girl," he would add as a + postscript; or, "I hope the child is learning something besides + monkey-tricks." These insinuations always annoyed Mrs. Rushton, + and she never condescended to answer them. The suggestion that + she had incurred a great responsibility by adopting Hetty was + highly disagreeable to her.</p> + + <p>It is hard to say how long this state of things might have + gone on had not Mrs. Rushton's health become delicate. She + suddenly found herself unable to enjoy the gay life which was + so much to her natural taste. The doctors recommended her a + quiet sojourn in her native air, and warned her that she ought + to live near friends who felt a real interest in her.</p> + + <p>Of what these hints might mean Mrs Rushton did not choose to + think, but physical weakness made her long for the rest of her + own country home.</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_VI" + id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></h4> + + <h3>HETTY AND HER "COUSINS"</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>One cool fresh evening in October Mrs. Rushton, Hetty, Grant + the maid, and an old man-servant who followed his mistress + everywhere, arrived at the railway-station near Wavertree, and + were driven along the old familiar country road with the soft + purpled woods on one side, and the green plains and distant + view of the sea on the other. They arrived at Amber Hill just + as lights began to spring up in the long narrow windows of the + comfortable old gray house, lights more near and bright than + the stars burning dimly above the ancient cedar-trees in the + avenue.</p> + + <p>Hetty, dressed in a costly pelisse trimmed with fur, leaned + forward, looking eagerly for the first glimpse of her new home. + The child had now only faint recollections of Wavertree, and of + her life with Mrs. Kane in the village, and except for Grant's + ill-natured remarks from time to time she would have forgotten + them altogether and imagined herself to be Mrs. Rushton's + niece, as that lady called her when speaking of her to + strangers. Hetty hated Grant, who always took a delight in + lowering her pride, for by this time, it must be owned, pride + had become Hetty's besetting sin.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Rushton had perceived Grant's disposition to snub and + annoy the child, and with her usual determination to uphold and + justify her own conduct and disappoint those who disapproved of + her views, she had put down the maid's impertinence with a high + hand, and had grown more and more careful of late to protect + Hetty's dignity before the servants.</p> + + <p>"I hope Miss Gray's room is as nice as I desired you to make + it," she said to the housekeeper who was welcoming her in the + hall. "I hope you have engaged a maid from the village to + attend on her. I require all Grant's attentions now myself," + she added wearily, falling into a chair in a state of + exhaustion. "Hetty, my love, give me a kiss, and go and have a + pretty frock put on for dinner."</p> + + <p>Polly, the new maid, had already unpacked the little girl's + trunks and was waiting in her room to dress her in white muslin + and lace and arrange her soft dark curls in a charming wreath + round her head. Hetty's room was an exquisite little nest + draped in pale blue chintz covered with roses, and with + fantastic little brackets here and there bearing pretty + statuettes and baskets of flowers. The housekeeper had not + indeed neglected Mrs. Rushton's instructions with regard to the + decoration of this apartment.</p> + + <p>"My, miss, but you have grown a fine tall girl!" said Polly + admiringly; "and won't Mrs. Kane be glad to see you again? I + suppose you will be going to see her to-morrow?"</p> + + <p>"I am not sure," said Hetty; "I don't remember Mrs. + Kane."</p> + + <p>"Don't you, miss? Then you ought to, I am sure, for it was + she that took care of you before Mrs. Rushton had you."</p> + + <p>"Yes, I believe so," said Hetty frowning, for she dreaded + that Polly was going to make a practice of taunting her with + being a foundling, just as Grant had always done.</p> + + <p>"And you ought to be very thankful to her," persisted Polly, + "although you are such a grand young lady now."</p> + + <p>"Please to mind your own business," said Hetty proudly; "you + were engaged by Mrs. Rushton to dress me and not to give me + lectures."</p> + + <p>Polly was astonished and aggrieved. She did not know how + Hetty had been goaded on the subject of her past life by Grant, + and had fancied that as she had only a child to deal with she + could say anything she chose quite freely. But though Hetty was + only nine, her experiences of the world had made her old beyond + her years. Polly only thought her a hard-hearted, haughty + little wretch, too proud to be grateful to those who had been + good to her.</p> + + <p>"Far be it from me to think of lecturing you, Miss Hetty," + she said; "but mind, I tell you, pride always gets a fall."</p> + + <p>"Be silent!" cried Hetty, stamping her small foot + imperiously; "if Mrs. Rushton knew of your impertinence she + would send you away to-night."</p> + + <p>It was thus that poor Hetty already began to make enemies, + while much requiring friends.</p> + + <p>Next morning Mrs. Rushton and Hetty drove over to Wavertree + to spend a few days at the Hall, and on the way the lady + stopped at Mrs. Kane's door in the village, and bade Hetty + alight and go in to pay a visit to her old protectress. With + Grant's taunts rankling in her memory and Polly's reproaches + fresh in her mind, Hetty got out of the carriage reluctantly + and went up to the door with a slow step.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Kane was busy over a tub in her little wash-house, and + came out into the kitchen on hearing some one at the door. She + wore a print short-gown and petticoat, and a poky sun-bonnet; + and her bare arms were reeking with soap-suds. Hetty shrank + from her a little, and could not realize that she had ever + belonged to a person with such an appearance as this.</p> + + <p>Poor Mrs. Kane looked at her young visitor with a stare of + wonder, and could never have guessed it was Hetty had she not + espied Mrs. Rushton's face through the open doorway, nodding + pleasantly at her from the carriage.</p> + + <p>"Why, little miss, you're never my little Hetty?" cried the + good woman, wiping her hands in her apron.</p> + + <p>"My name is Hetty Gray," said the little girl, holding up + her pretty head adorned with a handsome hat and feathers.</p> + + <p>"And don't you remember me, my darling?" said Mrs. Kane, + extending her arms; "me that used to nurse you and take care of + you like my own! Oh, don't go to say you forget all about your + poor old mammy!"</p> + + <p>Hetty hung her head. "I don't remember you at all," she said + in a low trembling voice. Her pride was stung to the quick at + the thought that she had belonged to this vulgar person.</p> + + <p>"Well, well! you were only a baby, to be sure, when you were + taken away from me. But oh, my dear, I loved you like my own + that went to heaven, so I did. And my John, he loved you too. + Come in here till I show you the bed you used to sleep in; and + always you would be happier if you had a jugful of flowers on + the window-sill to look at, falling asleep and coming awake + again in the morning. To think of it being full five years ago, + my pretty; and you turned into an elegant young lady in the + time!"</p> + + <p>"Did I really ever live here?" asked Hetty; "really ever + sleep in that bed?"</p> + + <p>"That you did; and slept well and were happy," said Mrs. + Kane, beginning to feel hurt at the child's coldness. "Come + now, have you never a kiss to give to the poor old mammy that + nursed you?"</p> + + <p>Hetty held up her round sweet face, as fair and fresh as a + damask rose, to be kissed, and submitted to Mrs. Kane's + caresses rather from consciousness that she ought to do so, + than from any warmth of gratitude in her own heart. So far from + being grateful to the homely sun-burned woman who hugged her, + she felt a sort of resentment towards her for finding her on + the sea-shore and making a cottage child of her. It ought to + have been Mrs. Rushton who found her, and perhaps she might + have done so if Mrs. Kane or her husband had not been in such a + hurry to take her in. Then Grant could not have taunted her + with being a village foundling, and nobody could have declared + she was not intended to be a lady.</p> + + <p>After her one embrace Mrs. Kane wiped her eyes and led the + child out of the cottage to the carriage door.</p> + + <p>"Ah, Mrs. Rushton!" she said, "this is your Hetty now and + not mine any more. What does a fine young lady like this want + to know of a poor old mammy like me? I gave her to you, body + and soul, five years ago, and may the good God grant that I did + right! My little Hetty, that loved the big moon-daisies and the + field-lilies like her life, is as dead as my other children who + are in heaven. It lies in your hands, ma'am, to make good or + bad out of this one."</p> + + <p>"You are a curious woman, Mrs. Kane. I thought you would + have been delighted to see what a little queen I have made of + her."</p> + + <p>"Queens require kingdoms, ma'am, and I make free to wish + that your little lady may sit safe on her throne. And after + that I can only hope that she has more heart for you than for + me."</p> + + <p>"Come, come, Mrs. Kane! you must not expect memory from a + baby. Hetty will soon renew her acquaintance with you, and you + and she will be excellent friends."</p> + + <p>But Mrs. Kane was not slow to read the expression of Hetty's + large dark-fringed eyes, which, with all the frankness of + childhood, betrayed their owner's thoughts; and she knew that + Hetty would find no pleasure in learning to recall the + inglorious circumstances of her infancy.</p> + + <p>Hetty had still less recollection of the Enderby family than + of Mrs. Kane, but she felt very much more willing to be + introduced to its members than to the cottage woman. Looking + upon herself as Mrs. Rushton's only child, she considered the + Wavertree children as her cousins and their father and mother + as her uncle and aunt. Mrs. Rushton had always talked to her of + them in such a way as to lead her to regard them in this light. + Occasionally a strange little laugh or a few sarcastic words + from Mrs. Rushton had grated on the child's ear in the midst of + her foster-mother's pleasantly expressed anticipations of + Hetty's future intercourse with her own relations; and the + little girl had, on such occasions, felt a chill of vague fear, + and a momentary pang of anxiety as to the reception she might + possibly meet with from these people, none of whom had ever + been found by a poor labouring man alone on a wild sea-shore, + or had lived with a humble woman in a cottage. That the + "disgrace" of such a past clung round herself, Grant's + disagreeable eyes would never allow her to forget. Such were + poor Hetty's disordered ideas with regard to herself and her + little world, when Mrs. Rushton's carriage drew up that day + before the door of Wavertree Hall.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Enderby was seated at her embroidery in the + drawing-room beside her small elegant tea-table, and looked the + very ideal of an English gentlewoman in her silver-gray silk + and delicate lace ruffles, and with her fair, almost colourless + hair twisted in neat shining braids round the back of her head. + With her own faint sweet smile she welcomed her sister-in-law + and inquired kindly for her health; and then she turned to + Hetty, who stood gazing steadily in her face, utterly + unconscious of her own look of anxious inquiry.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Rushton had taken pains to make the most of Hetty's + uncommon beauty on this occasion, determined to take her + friends by surprise and force them into an acknowledgment of + the superiority of her own taste in adopting such a child. + Hetty was dressed in a dark crimson velvet frock, trimmed with + rich old yellow lace, which enhanced the warmth and richness of + her complexion, and gave a reflected glow to her dark and + deep-fringed eyes. A crop of crisp short curls of a dusky + chestnut colour was discovered when her hat was removed. No + ungenerous prejudice prevented Mrs. Enderby from acknowledging + at the first glance that Hetty had a most charming + countenance.</p> + + <p>"And this is Hetty! how she has grown!" said Mrs. Enderby, + taking the child's little hand between her own and looking at + her in a friendly manner. With a swift pain, however, Hetty + remarked that she did not kiss her; but she was not aware that + Mrs. Enderby, though a kind, was not a demonstrative woman, and + that kisses were rarely bestowed by her on anyone. If Hetty had + put up her little face for a caress, Mrs. Enderby would have + been very well pleased to lay her own cool cheek against the + child's scarlet lips; but Hetty's was one of those natures that + desire tokens of love and are yet too proud to seek for them. + She flushed to her hair, therefore, with mortification as Mrs. + Enderby dropped her hand and turned away once more to her + sister-in-law.</p> + + <p>"How tired you are! you look quite faint. Allow me to take + your bonnet; and do lie down on this couch while I make you a + cup of tea. Hetty must amuse herself with a piece of cake till + my little girls come in from their walk. I have got such a nice + governess for them, Amy. Mark, you know, is gone to Eton."</p> + + <p>The ladies continued to converse, and Hetty sat forgotten + for the moment, eating her cake. She ate it very slowly, + anxious to make it last as long as possible, for she felt that + when it was finished she should not know what to do with + herself. When even the crumbs were gone she folded her hands + and counted the flowers on the wall-paper, and discovered among + them a grinning face which certainly had been no acquaintance + of the designer's, but had started suddenly out of the pattern + merely to make cruel fun of Hetty's uneasiness.</p> + + <p>At last, after some time which seemed to the little girl + quite a year at least, Mrs. Enderby rang the bell and asked if + the young ladies had come in from walking. The servant said + they were just going to tea in the school-room, and Mrs Enderby + turned to Hetty, saying:</p> + + <p>"Go, my dear, with Peter, and he will show you the + school-room. Tell Phyllis and Nell that I sent you to play with + them."</p> + + <p>Hetty followed the servant; but as she went across the hall + and up the staircase she felt with a swelling heart that had + she been the real cousin of these children, and not an + "upstart" (Grant's favourite word), they would perhaps have + been sent for to the drawing-room to be presented to her.</p> + + <p>Accustomed as she was to be alternately petted and snubbed, + she had acquired the habit of watching the movements of her + elders with suspicion, and now concluded that because no fuss + was made about her she must therefore be despised. A hard proud + spirit entered into her on the moment, and she resolved that + though she had been humble in her demeanour towards Mrs. + Enderby she would hold her head high with girls who were not + very much older than herself.</p> + + <p>Peter was a young footman who had been brought up in the + village and trained by the butler at the Hall, and who + consequently knew all about Hetty's history. He did not intend + to do more than just show the little girl which was the + school-room door, and was amused and surprised when the child + said to him with great dignity,</p> + + <p>"Please announce Miss Gray."</p> + + <p>Peter hid his smile, and throwing open the door very wide he + pronounced her name, as she desired, in an unusually loud tone + of voice.</p> + + <p>Miss Davis, the governess, had just raised the tea-pot in + her hand to fill the cups, and her two pupils had each a thick + piece of bread and butter in hand, when the door was flung open + as described and Hetty in all her magnificence appeared on the + threshold.</p> + + <p>"My mamma has brought me to see you," said Hetty boldly, her + chin very high, "and Mrs. Enderby sent me here to you"; and she + remarked as she spoke that the Enderby girls wore plain holland + dresses with little aprons and narrow tuckers, no style or + elegance whatever about their attire.</p> + + <p>Miss Davis looked in surprise at the young stranger, not + knowing her story, and thinking her a very handsome, but + haughty looking little girl, while Phyllis and Nell put down + their bread and butter on their plates, and rose slowly from + their seats.</p> + + <p>"How do you do?" they said, each just touching her hand, and + then the three girls stood looking at one another.</p> + + <p>The words "my mamma" had already annoyed Phyllis, who was + one of those persons who even from childhood cherish an + extraordinary degree of quiet pride in their good birth. She + was willing that Hetty should be treated with kindness, but had + often told herself that she would never be persuaded to look + upon her as her own cousin. Nell only thought of how pretty + their new playfellow was, and how nice it would be to have her + sometimes with them.</p> + + <p>"I am very glad you have come," she said, looking at Hetty + with welcoming eyes.</p> + + <p>"Nell, you ought not to speak before your elder sister," + said Miss Davis, who, though an excellent lady, was rather prim + in her ways and ideas.</p> + + <p>"I hope you are quite well," said Phyllis politely; "will + you take some tea?"</p> + + <p>"I have just had some," said Hetty, "thank you. Do you never + have tea with your mamma?"</p> + + <p>"Oh, no," said the girls, with a smile of surprise.</p> + + <p>"Little girls never do," said Miss Davis emphatically.</p> + + <p>"I do always," said Hetty; she might have added, "except + when she forgets all about me," but she did not think of that + now.</p> + + <p>"I did not know you had any mamma," said Phyllis coldly, not + exactly meaning to be cruel, but feeling that Hetty was + pretentious, and therefore vulgar, and that she ought to be + kept down.</p> + + <p>"How odd that you should not know your own aunt," said + Hetty, a warm crimson rising in her cheeks, and her eyes + kindling.</p> + + <p>"My aunt never had a child," said Phyllis quietly.</p> + + <p>"Not till she got Hetty," broke in Nell. "Phyllis, how can + you be so unkind?"</p> + + <p>"My dear Nell, I am not unkind, I only meant to correct Miss + Gray's mistake."</p> + + <p>"You had better go into the drawing-room and correct Mrs. + Rushton's mistakes," said Hetty angrily. "It is by her desire + that I call her my mother."</p> + + <p>By this time Miss Davis knew who Hetty was, as she had heard + something about Mrs. Rushton's having adopted a village + child.</p> + + <p>"My dears," she said, "don't let us be unkind to each other. + Come, we must have our tea, and Miss Gray will be social and + join us, even though she has had some before." And she handed a + cup to the little visitor.</p> + + <p>"Now, Hetty," continued Miss Davis, "I suppose I may call + you Hetty, instead of Miss Gray, as you are only a little + girl?"</p> + + <p>"Yes," said Hetty slowly, half liking Miss Davis, but + feeling afraid she was laughing at her.</p> + + <p>Tea was finished almost in silence, not all Miss Davis's + efforts making Hetty and Phyllis feel at ease with each other. + Nell, being rather in awe of her elder sister, of whose general + propriety of conduct and good sense she had a high opinion, was + not very successful in her attempts at conversation. When the + meal was over Miss Davis proposed a walk in the garden before + study time.</p> + + <p>"Can you play lawn tennis?" asked Nell as they walked + towards the tennis-ground.</p> + + <p>"No, I never play at anything," said Hetty sadly, "When not + with—<i>my mamma</i>," she said with a flash of the eyes + at seeing Phyllis looking at her, "I have always been + alone."</p> + + <p>Miss Davis glanced at the child with pity, but Hetty, + catching her eye, would not bear to be pitied.</p> + + <p>"It is much pleasanter to be with grown people in the + drawing-room," she said. "I should not like at all to live as + you do."</p> + + <p>"Do you always wear such splendid frocks?" asked Phyllis, + examining her from head to foot with critical eyes.</p> + + <p>"Yes," said Hetty. "I have much finer ones than this; I am + always dressed like a lady. How can you bear to be such a sight + in that ugly linen thing?"</p> + + <p>"My dear, simple clothes are more becoming to children," + said Miss Davis, while Phyllis only curled her lip. "If you + lived more among those of your own age," continued the + governess, "as I hope you will henceforth do, you would find + that little girls are much happier and more free to amuse + themselves when dressed suitably to their age. You shall see + how we enjoy ourselves at tennis, as we could not do in dresses + as rich as yours."</p> + + <p>Miss Davis and her pupils began to play tennis, and Hetty + tried to join; but her dress was too warm and too tight to + allow of her making much exertion, and so she was obliged to + stand by and watch the game. Seeing the great enjoyment of the + players, Hetty began to feel the spirit of the game, and + remembered how she had often longed to be one of the happy + children whom she had seen at play in other scenes than this. + However, her belief that Phyllis was unfriendly towards her + prevented her acknowledging what she felt. Had only Nell and + Miss Davis been present she would have begged the loan of a + holland blouse and joined in the game with all her heart. But + Phyllis had a freezing effect upon her.</p> + + <p>When the game was over they went indoors and Hetty was shown + the pretty room prepared for her. Polly had already unpacked + her things, and on the bed were laid the handsome gifts which + Mrs. Rushton had bought for Hetty to present to "her + cousins."</p> + + <p>Hetty was now glad to see these presents which she had for a + time forgotten, and thought she had now a good opportunity for + making friends with the two girls. She was really pleased to + give pleasure to Nell, whom she liked, and was not sorry that + Phyllis would be obliged to receive something from her + hands.</p> + + <p>The presents were both beautiful and both useful. One was a + desk, the case delicately inlaid, and the interior perfectly + fitted up. The other was an exquisitely carved and furnished + work-box.</p> + + <p>"Oh, give the desk to Phyllis; she is so much more clever + than I am, and writes so well. And I am fond of work. Oh, you + are a dear to give me such a charming present," said Nell + affectionately, examining the beautiful work-box with sparkling + eyes.</p> + + <p>Hetty was delighted.</p> + + <p>"I chose them myself," she said with some pride; and then + she took the desk in her arms and asked Nell to show her the + way to Phyllis's room.</p> + + <p>"It is down at the end of this passage. I will show you. And + you must not mind Phyllis if she does not go into raptures like + me. She is always so well-behaved, and takes everything so + quietly."</p> + + <p>Phyllis looked greatly surprised, and not quite pleased, + when, having heard a knock at her door and said "Come in," she + saw Hetty invade her room. Her first thought was, "This + foundling girl is going to be forward and troublesome"; and + Hetty was not slow to read her glance.</p> + + <p>"I have brought you a present," she said, in quite a + different tone from that in which she had made her little + speech to Nell.</p> + + <p>Phyllis took the desk slowly, and looked at it as if she + wished it had not been offered.</p> + + <p>"It is very handsome," she said, "and my aunt was very good + to think of it. Please give her my best thanks."</p> + + <p>And then Phyllis deposited the present on a table, and + turned away and began to change her shoes.</p> + + <p>Nell looked at Hetty, but could not see the expression of + her face; for she had turned as quickly as Phyllis and was + already vanishing through the door.</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_VII" + id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></h4> + + <h3>HETTY'S FIRST LESSONS.</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>Hetty's bed-room being over the school-room, she was wakened + the next morning by somebody practising on the piano, the sound + from which ascended through the floor.</p> + + <p>"How well they play, and how early they rise!" thought + Hetty. "I wonder whether it is Nell or Phyllis who is at the + piano? Oh, dear! I do not know even a note."</p> + + <p>She longed to ask Polly at what hour the Miss Enderbys had + got up, and which of them was practising on the piano, but as + she had begun by snubbing Polly she could not now descend from + her dignity so far as to ask her questions. Polly on her side + was always silent when attending on Miss Gray, and never + ventured upon the least freedom with the haughty little + foundling.</p> + + <p>When Hetty descended to the breakfast-room she found only + Mr. and Mrs. Enderby at the table. Mrs. Rushton was still in + her room, and was having her breakfast there.</p> + + <p>"This is little Hetty," said Mrs. Enderby, presenting her to + her husband.</p> + + <p>Mr. Enderby put down his paper and looked at Hetty gravely + and critically, Hetty thought pityingly.</p> + + <p>"How do you do, my dear?" he said, patting her shoulder. "I + see you have not been accustomed to early hours."</p> + + <p>Hetty hung her head and sat down at the table. Mrs. Enderby + supplied her wants and then went on reading her letters; and + Hetty ate in silence, wondering why she was not called on to + talk and amuse these people as she had been accustomed to amuse + Mrs. Rushton's fashionable friends. This quiet wise-looking + lady and gentleman seemed to look on her with quite different + eyes from those with which the rest of the world regarded her. + They neither snubbed nor petted her, only seemed satisfied to + allow her to be comfortable beside them.</p> + + <p>Presently she plucked up courage to ask:</p> + + <p>"Are Phyllis and Nell not coming to breakfast?"</p> + + <p>Mrs. Enderby smiled.</p> + + <p>"No, my dear, they never breakfast here. They breakfasted an + hour ago in the school-room. They are busy at their studies at + present."</p> + + <p>"Are they always busy at studies?" asked Hetty.</p> + + <p>"A great part of the day they are."</p> + + <p>"As all little girls ought to be who wish to be educated + women some day," said Mr. Enderby, looking over the edge of his + newspaper.</p> + + <p>"Your education has hardly begun yet I fear," said Mrs. + Enderby.</p> + + <p>"Mrs. Rushton"—something withheld Hetty from saying + "my mamma" before Mr. and Mrs. Enderby—"always says it is + time enough for that," said Hetty.</p> + + <p>Mr. and Mrs. Enderby exchanged glances, and Mr. Enderby + shifted in his seat and shook the newspaper impatiently. Mrs. + Enderby said:</p> + + <p>"What would you think of joining my girls at their lessons + while you stay here? I fear that if you do not you will find + yourself very lonely."</p> + + <p>"I am often very lonely," said Hetty simply; and again her + host and hostess looked at each other.</p> + + <p>"Well, which do you prefer?" said the latter; "to be very + lonely going about the house and gardens by yourself, or to + spend your time usefully with the other children in the + school-room?"</p> + + <p>"I would rather be with the girls, if they would like to + have me," said Hetty after a few moments' reflection. "But I + think Phyllis would rather I stayed away."</p> + + <p>"Oh, I think not," said Mrs. Enderby; "Phyllis never makes a + fuss about anything, but I will answer for her that she will + welcome you."</p> + + <p>"I think she does not like me," said Hetty, looking steadily + at her hostess with large serious eyes.</p> + + <p>"Take care you do not dislike her," said Mr. Enderby, with a + slight look of displeasure. "In this house we do not indulge + such fancies."</p> + + <p>"My dear, you must not think that because our manners here + in the country may be quieter and perhaps less warm than those + of some of the people you have lived with abroad, our hearts + are therefore cold. Come, then, if you have finished breakfast, + I will take you myself into the school-room."</p> + + <p>Half pleased and half unwilling Hetty suffered herself to be + led away, and her heart beat fast as she crossed the + school-room threshold. Miss Davis sat at the end of the table + with an open exercise book before her, and a severely + businesslike look upon her face. Phyllis and Nell bent over + their books at either side of the same table. Maps hung on the + walls and books lay about everywhere. Hetty instantly, and for + the first time in her life, felt keenly that she was a + dunce.</p> + + <p>"Miss Davis, I have brought you another pupil," said Mrs. + Enderby; "I am sure you will not mind the trouble of having one + more than usual for a little while. I think Hetty will be + happier for having something to do."</p> + + <p>"I shall be very pleased if she will join us," said Miss + Davis; and then Mrs. Enderby left the room, and Hetty was asked + to take a seat at the foot of the table.</p> + + <p>"What have you been learning, my dear?" asked Miss + Davis.</p> + + <p>"Nothing," said Hetty; "I can read a little; but that is + all."</p> + + <p>Phyllis and Nell had not spoken to her, and had looked at + her only with sidelong glances. This was because it was their + study hour and speaking was not allowed; but Hetty thought it + was because they were not glad to see her coming to join them, + and she therefore felt all the more careless about trying to + make the best of herself. If nobody cared about her, what did + it matter whether she was a dunce or not? So she said boldly + that she had been learning nothing; and then the two Enderby + girls lifted up their heads and stared at her in sheer + amazement.</p> + + <p>Hetty's face grew crimson, and her pride arose within + her.</p> + + <p>"After all," she said, "it is much better fun to play and + amuse yourself all day than to sit poring over books. Study + does not make people prettier or pleasanter."</p> + + <p>This last sentence was an echo from one of Mrs. Rushton's + silly speeches. When people would ask her about Hetty's + education, she was wont to declare that the child was prettier + and pleasanter without it.</p> + + <p>Phyllis, listening, merely curled her lip, and bent lower in + silence over her book. Nell remained looking at Hetty with a + wondering expression in her eyes. Miss Davis drew herself up + and looked much displeased.</p> + + <p>"I hope you are doing yourself great injustice," she said; + "I cannot believe you really mean what you say. Study not make + people prettier or pleasanter! I scarcely believe that my ears + have not deceived me."</p> + + <p>"It does not make you prettier or pleasanter," said Hetty + persistently. "You were much nicer yesterday when you were + playing and running about. Your face is not the same at all + now."</p> + + <p>Phyllis opened her eyes wide and turned them on Miss Davis, + as if to ask, "Is not this too much?" Nell, on the contrary, + began to smile as though she thought Hetty's impudence capital + fun; and this encouraged Hetty, who had been taught to love to + amuse people at any cost. Miss Davis coloured with surprise and + annoyance.</p> + + <p>"It is of no consequence, my dear, how we look when we are + doing our duty," she said, controlling herself.</p> + + <p>"Then I hope I shall never do my duty," said Hetty coolly; + "nobody loves people who do not look gay."</p> + + <p>Phyllis turned to Miss Davis and said, "Will you not send + her away now? Mother never meant us to be interrupted like + this."</p> + + <p>"Patience, my dear!" said Miss Davis; "Hetty is perhaps + giving us the worst side of her character only to startle us. I + am sure there is a better side somewhere. Come over here to me, + Hetty, and let me hear you read."</p> + + <p>Hetty obeyed, and took the book Miss Davis placed in her + hand. Holding herself very erect and looking very serious she + began, after a glance over the paragraph that had been marked + for her:—</p> + + <p>"Leonora walked on her head, a little higher than + usual."</p> + + <p>"My dear!" interrupted Miss Davis hastily; and Nell vainly + tried to smother a burst of laughter.</p> + + <p>"That is what is printed here," said Hetty gravely, but the + corners of her mouth twitched. Miss Davis did not notice this + as she took the book and prepared to examine the text so + startlingly given forth; but Phyllis and Nell saw at once that + Hetty was making fun.</p> + + <p>"Ah!" said Miss Davis, "it is your punctuation that is at + fault. The sentence runs: 'Leonora walked on, her head a little + higher than usual.' You see one little comma makes all the + difference in the world."</p> + + <p>"I wondered how she could manage to walk on her head," said + Hetty in the most serious manner; "and why, if she did manage + it, it should make her higher. She would be the same length in + any case, would she not, Miss Davis?"</p> + + <p>Nell laughed again, and Phyllis looked more and more + contemptuous. Miss Davis said, "Read on please!" rather + severely, at the same time giving Nell a glance of warning.</p> + + <p>Hetty read on, making deliberately the most laughable + blunders, at some of which Miss Davis herself had to smile. + Even Phyllis had to give way on one occasion, and in the midst + of a chorus of laughter Hetty stood making a piteous face, + pretending not to know what they were laughing at.</p> + + <p>"I told you I could read only a little," she said, but at + the same time she gave Nell a knowing glance which Phyllis + caught.</p> + + <p>"She could read better if she pleased. She is only amusing + herself," said Phyllis to Miss Davis.</p> + + <p>"I hope not, my dear," said the governess; "do not be + uncharitable. Well, Hetty, you may put aside your book for + to-day. I hope to improve you before your visit is over. Do you + know anything of geography? Come, I will give you an easy + question. Where is England situated on the map?"</p> + + <p>"In the middle of the Red Sea," said Hetty briskly.</p> + + <p>"My dear! why do you suppose so?"</p> + + <p>"I see it up there on the map," said Hetty; "the sea is + marked in red all round it."</p> + + <p>Nell tittered again. Phyllis put her fingers in her ears, + determined to hear no more of Hetty's absurdities.</p> + + <p>"You make a great mistake," said Miss Davis, and spreading a + map before Hetty, the governess gave her a lesson on the + position of the Red Sea and the relative position of + England.</p> + + <p>"Have you learned anything at all of numbers?"</p> + + <p>"I can count on my fingers," said Hetty; "I add up the fives + and I can reckon up to a hundred that way."</p> + + <p>"You must learn a better way of counting than that. Have you + never learned the multiplication table?"</p> + + <p>"My mamma's tables are all ebony or marble," said Hetty, + putting on a bewildered air, "but I will count them up if you + like. There are six in the drawing-room," she continued, + holding up all the fingers of her left hand, and the thumb of + the right.</p> + + <p>"You ridiculous child! you misunderstand me quite. The + multiplication table is an arrangement of numbers. I will give + it to you to study. In the meantime, come, how many do three + threes make when they are added together?"</p> + + <p>"I don't know anything about threes," said Hetty; "I only + know about fives."</p> + + <p>"I think I must give you up for to-day," said Miss Davis in + despair. "Phyllis is waiting with her French exercise. Can you + read French at all, Hetty?"</p> + + <p>"I can talk French," said Hetty; "but I don't want to read + it; 'tis quite bad enough to have to read English, I think. + Talking is so much pleasanter than reading."</p> + + <p>"You can talk it, can you? Let me hear," and Miss Davis + addressed a question to her in French.</p> + + <p>In answer to it Hetty poured forth a perfect flood of + French, spoken with a pretty accent and grammatically correct. + In truth she spoke like a little Frenchwoman, and completely + surprised her listeners. She had been asked some question about + walking in the Champs Elysees and now gave a vivid description + of the scene there on a fine morning, the people who frequented + it, their dress, their manners, their conversation.</p> + + <p>Miss Davis put down the multiplication table which she had + been turning over and stared at the little Frenchwoman + chattering and gesticulating before her.</p> + + <p>"There, my dear," she said presently, "that will do; I see + you can make use of your tongue. Take this book now and study + quietly for half an hour."</p> + + <p>Hetty felt that she had had her little triumph at last. + Neither Phyllis nor Nell could speak French like that. She took + the table-book obediently and sat down with it, while Phyllis + made an effort to get over the shock of surprise given her by + Hetty's clever exhibition, and proceeded to attend to Miss + Davis's correction of her French exercise.</p> + + <p>That afternoon Hetty was dressed in a holland frock of + Nell's, which, though Nell was a year older, was not too large + for her, and joined heartily in a game of lawn tennis. Her + little success of the morning, when she had surprised her + companions and their governess by her cleverness at French, had + raised her spirits, and she enjoyed herself as she had never + done in her life before, feeling that she could afford to do + without Phyllis' good opinion, and taking more and more + pleasure in showing how little she cared to have it.</p> + + <p>After this the days that remained of her visit passed + pleasantly enough. Hetty contrived to turn her lessons into a + sort of burlesque, and to impose a good deal on Miss Davis, who + was not a humorous, but indeed a most matter-of-fact person. + Every day Phyllis grew more and more disgusted with their + visitor, who interrupted the even course of their studies and + "made fools," as she considered, of Miss Davis and Nell. She + thought Hetty's pretentiousness became greater and greater as + her first slight shyness wore away and she grew perfectly + familiar with every one in the house. Phyllis was sufficiently + generous to refrain from complaining of Hetty to her mother or + father, but she privately found fault with Nell for encouraging + her too much.</p> + + <p>"You laugh at her so absurdly that she grows more impudent + every day," she said; "she could not dare to give herself such + airs only for you."</p> + + <p>"But, Phyllis dear, I can't help laughing at her, and indeed + I think you make her proud by being so hard upon her; she is + not so proud with me."</p> + + <p>"She is ridiculous," said Phyllis; "such pretension in a + girl of her age is utterly absurd. Besides, it is so vulgar. + Well-born people are not always trying to force their + importance on you as she does; if I did not try to keep her + down a little she would be quite unbearable."</p> + + <p>"Perhaps if you did not try to keep her down so much she + would not set herself up so much," persisted Nell.</p> + + <p>"I am older and wiser than you," said Phyllis coldly.</p> + + <p>"Yes, I know you are," said Nell regretfully.</p> + + <p>"And I ought to be a better judge of people's conduct. I am + not going to complain of her to father or mother; but as she + will be coming here again, I suppose, we ought to try to manage + her a little ourselves."</p> + + <p>Nell did not dare to say any more to Phyllis, but ran away + as soon as she could get an opportunity, to play with Hetty and + laugh admiringly at all her droll remarks.</p> + + <p>One more triumph Hetty enjoyed before her visit to Wavertree + came to an end. On a certain evening there was a dinner-party + at the Hall, and some one who had been expected to sing and + amuse the company failed to appear. After dinner Mrs. Rushton + fancied that the party had grown very dull, and a brilliant + idea for entertaining the guests occurred to her. She left the + drawing-room and went upstairs to where the little girls were + preparing for bed.</p> + + <p>"Come, Hetty," she said, "I want you to make yourself + agreeable. Every one is going to sleep down-stairs and + carriages will not arrive till eleven. I have rung for Polly to + dress you. Phyllis and Nell can come down also if they + please."</p> + + <p>The Enderby girls concluded from this speech that their + mother had sent for them, and in a short time Mrs. Rushton + returned to the drawing-room, accompanied by the three + children.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Enderby looked exceedingly surprised and not quite + pleased, but Mrs. Rushton said,</p> + + <p>"I have provided some amusement for your people. Hetty will + make them laugh."</p> + + <p>Hetty was flushed and trembling with excitement, and at a + signal from her adopted mother she stepped into the middle of + the room and began her entertainment; Mrs. Rushton having + walked about among the guests beforehand, telling them that the + child was going to give them some sketches of character, the + result of her own observations.</p> + + <p>Hetty began with a conversation between a mincing and + lackadaisical young lady and a bouncing one who talked noisily; + and she changed her attitudes, her accent, the expressions of + her face in such droll ways, and altogether contrasted the two + characters so well, that a round of applause and laughter + greeted and encouraged her. Then followed a ridiculous scene + between a cross old lady and an amiable old gentleman in a + hotel; and so on. Every odd character Hetty had ever met was + reproduced for the amusement of the company.</p> + + <p>Most of the guests laughed heartily and lavished praises on + Hetty's talent and beauty. Only a few looked shocked, and shook + their heads, saying it was sad to see a child so precocious and + cynical.</p> + + <p>Mr. and Mrs. Enderby, though disliking the exhibition and + thinking it very bad for the little girl, were obliged to laugh + with the rest, and Mrs. Rushton was delighted and triumphant. + Nell laughed more than any one and clapped her hands wildly, + but Phyllis looked on all the time with a disdainful smile.</p> + + <p>"My girls are up too late," said Mrs. Enderby, as she bade + them good night.</p> + + <p>"Why did you send for us, then, mother?" said Phyllis.</p> + + <p>"I did not, my dear, it was quite your aunt's doing. She + wished to amuse you, I believe."</p> + + <p>"Then I wish I had known," said Phyllis, "I would rather + have gone to bed. I did not want to see that ridiculous + performance."</p> + + <p>"Hetty took some trouble to make us laugh. And if she has + not been very wisely brought up we must not blame her too much + for that."</p> + + <p>"I do not like her; I wish she would go away," said Phyllis + with quiet determination.</p> + + <p>"She is going to-morrow," said Mrs. Enderby.</p> + + <p>"She is not a lady, mother, and I am quite tired of her + restless ways," persisted Phyllis. "I hope she will never come + back here."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Enderby in her heart echoed this hope, but she + controlled her feeling against Hetty and said:</p> + + <p>"I fear your aunt is not the sort of person to understand + the bringing up of a girl; but remember, Phyllis, that I rely + on you to help me to be of service to this poor child. Go to + bed now, my daughter, and be wise, as you usually are."</p> + + <p>Phyllis looked troubled, and thought over her mother's words + as she lay in bed. But hers was not one of those natures that + relent easily. She tried to satisfy her conscience by assuring + herself that she wished no ill to Hetty, but quite the reverse. + "Only she is different from us," she reflected, "and she ought + to keep away with the people who suit her. I hope aunt Amy will + not bring her here again."</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" + id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></h4> + + <h3>HETTY DESOLATE.</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>Mrs. Rushton and Hetty departed. Phyllis was satisfied, and + everything went on as usual at Wavertree Hall. No one was sorry + to lose the visitors, except Nell, who was secretly rather fond + of Hetty. She was not a very brave child, and was much + influenced by the opinion of others, especially of those whom + she loved and admired; so, though there was a soft corner in + her heart for Hetty, she was a little ashamed of the fact, + seeing that none of the rest of the family shared her feeling. + With Phyllis especially she was careful to be silent about + Hetty, having a high opinion of her sister's good sense, and + being greatly afraid of her contempt. And so it came that after + a few days had passed Hetty's name was mentioned no more in the + house.</p> + + <p>Meantime Hetty at Amber Hill was enjoying her life more than + she had ever enjoyed it before. She had her own pony, and went + out to ride as often as, and at any hour she pleased. + Half-a-dozen dogs and as many cats belonged to her, and they + all loved her. Almost her entire time was spent out of doors, + for Mrs. Rushton was too great an invalid now to care for much + of her company. Grant was almost always in attendance on her + mistress, and so had very little opportunity for interference + with Hetty. Polly was easily kept in order, and the housekeeper + always took the child's part if any of the other servants + annoyed or neglected her.</p> + + <p>This wild uncontrolled life, spent chiefly in the open air, + wandering through the woods, running races with the dogs, or + galloping up hill and down hill with them all flying after the + pony's heels, suited Hetty exactly. She thought the world + delightful because she was allowed to live a healthy active + life, and nobody thwarted her. When Mrs. Rushton sent for her + to the drawing-room or to her bed-room Hetty would steal in + quietly, and, bringing a story-book with her, would sit down at + her adopted mother's feet, and remain buried in her book till + notice was given her that it was time for her to depart. In + this way she gave very little trouble, and Mrs. Rushton was + more than ever convinced that she had made an excellent choice + in adopting Hetty, and that she was the most satisfactory child + in the world.</p> + + <p>One day Hetty had come in from her ride, and was sitting in + her own room with her story-book waiting for the usual evening + summons from Mrs. Rushton. The days were now very short, and + the little girl's head was close to the window-pane as she + tried to read. The door opened and she started up, shutting the + book and preparing to go down-stairs; but there was something + unusual about Polly's look and manner as she came into the + room.</p> + + <p>"Mrs. Rushton is taken very ill," she said, "and the doctor + is sent for. So you will please come down and have your tea in + the drawing-room by yourself, Miss Hetty."</p> + + <p>"Is she more ill than usual? Much more?" asked Hetty. "The + doctor was here this morning."</p> + + <p>"She's as ill as can be," said Polly, "and all of a sudden. + But you can't do her any good. And you'd better come down to + your tea."</p> + + <p>Hetty followed Polly without saying more, though she felt + too anxious to care about her tea. She was greatly frightened, + yet hardly knew why, as Mrs. Rushton was often ill, and the + doctor was often sent for. There was a general impression in + the household that the mistress sometimes made a great fuss + about nothing, fainted, and thought she was going to die, and + in a few hours was as well as usual. But no one in the house + felt as anxious about her as Hetty. During the pleasant weeks + that had lately passed over her head Hetty had been more drawn + to her benefactress than she had ever been before. No longer + snubbed and neglected in strange uncomfortable places, she had, + in becoming more happy, also become more loving. She knew that + she owed all the enjoyments of her present life to Mrs. + Rushton, and if she was not allowed to be much in the company + of her adopted mother she thought it was not because she was + forgotten, but because Mrs. Rushton was too ill to see her. She + believed herself really very greatly beloved by her + benefactress, and had begun to love her very much in return. + Seeing her lying on her couch, quiet and gentle, making no + cruel remarks and laughing no cynical laughs, Hetty had + constructed a sort of ideal mother out of the invalid, and + endowed her with every lovable and admirable quality. This + comfortable little dream had added much to the child's + happiness in her life of late; and now she felt a wild alarm at + the thought of the increased illness of her protectress.</p> + + <p>The doctor came and was shut up in the sick-room, and after + some time Grant came out and spoke to the housekeeper, and a + messenger was sent off on horseback to Wavertree Hall.</p> + + <p>When Grant came back to Mrs. Rushton's door Hetty was there + with her face against the panel.</p> + + <p>"Oh, Grant, do tell me what is the matter!" she + whispered.</p> + + <p>"Illness is the matter," said Grant. "There! we don't want + children in the way at such times. Go up to your bed, miss. + You'll be better there than here."</p> + + <p>"I can't go to bed till I know if she is better," said + Hetty. "Why have you sent a message to Wavertree?"</p> + + <p>But Grant pursed up her lips and would say no more, and + Hetty saw her pass into Mrs. Rushton's room and close the + door.</p> + + <p>The child crept back to the drawing-room, where no lamps had + been lighted and there was only a little firelight to make the + darkness and emptiness of the large room more noticeable. She + knelt down on the hearth-rug and buried her face in the seat of + Mrs. Rushton's favourite arm-chair. The dearest of all her dear + dogs, Scamp, came and laid his black muzzle beside her ear, as + if he knew the whole case and wanted to mourn with her. Two + hours passed; Hetty listened intently for every sound, and + wondered impatiently why Mr. and Mrs. Enderby did not arrive. + She got up and carefully placed some lumps of coal on the fire, + making no noise lest some one should come and order her off to + bed. She was resolved to stay there all night rather than go to + bed without learning something more.</p> + + <p>At last a sound of wheels was heard, and Hetty went and + peeped out of the drawing-room door and saw Mr. and Mrs. + Enderby taking off their wraps in the hall. Their faces were + very solemn and they spoke in whispers. She saw them go + upstairs, and though longing to follow them, did not dare. Then + she retreated back into the drawing-room and buried her face + once more in the depths of the chair.</p> + + <p>In this position, with Scamp's rough head close to hers, she + cried herself to sleep. The wintry dawn was just beginning to + show faintly in the room when she was awakened by the sound of + voices near her. Chilled and stiff she gathered herself up and + rose to her feet; and Scamp also got up and shook himself. Then + Hetty saw Mr. and Mrs. Enderby standing in earnest conversation + at the window.</p> + + <p>They started when they saw her as if she had been a ghost, + and Mrs. Enderby exclaimed in a low voice:</p> + + <p>"The child! I had quite forgotten her!"</p> + + <p>"Yes, there will be trouble here," muttered Mr. Enderby; + while Hetty came forward, her face pale and stained with + crying, her dress disordered, and her curly hair wild and + disarranged. She looked so altered that they scarcely knew + her.</p> + + <p>"How is she? Oh, Mrs. Enderby, say she is better," cried + Hetty, swallowing a sob.</p> + + <p>"My dear child," said Mrs. Enderby, "how have you come to be + forgotten here, have you not been in bed all night?"</p> + + <p>"I stayed here," said Hetty, "I wanted to know; will you not + tell me how she is?"</p> + + <p>"My child, she is well, I hope, though not as you would wish + to see her. It has pleased God to take her away from you."</p> + + <p>"Do you mean that she is dead?"</p> + + <p>"Yes, my poor Hetty, I am grieved to tell you it is so."</p> + + <p>Hetty uttered a sharp cry and turned her back on her friends + standing in the window. The gesture was an unmistakable one, + and touched the husband and wife. It seemed to say so plainly + that she expected nothing from them.</p> + + <p>She retreated into the furthest corner of the room and flung + herself on the floor, and Scamp, hanging his head and wagging + his tail, followed her mournfully, and lay down as close to her + as he could.</p> + + <p>"Leave her alone awhile," said Mr. Enderby, for his wife had + made a movement as if she would follow her; "she is a strange + child, and we will give her time to take in the fact of her + loss. You must not be hurried into making rash promises through + pity; all this brings a great change to the girl, and it is + better she should feel it from the first."</p> + + <p>The truth was Mrs. Rushton had been dead when her brother + and sister-in-law arrived. A sudden attack of fainting had + resulted in death. This abrupt termination of her illness was + not quite unexpected by herself or her friends, as it was known + she had disease of the heart, and the doctors had given warning + that such might be her end. However, she herself had not liked + to look this probability in the face, and had preferred to + dwell on the faint hope held out to her that she might linger + on as an invalid for many a year.</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_IX" + id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></h4> + + <h3>WHAT TO DO WITH HER?</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>After Mrs. Rushton had been laid to rest in her grave her + worldly affairs had to be looked into. She had died possessed + of a great deal of property, and her relations were well aware + that she had never made a will. Her brother had lately urged + her to make a will, but she had always put off the unpleasant + task. Now there was nothing to be done but to divide the + property among the relatives to whom it reverted by law.</p> + + <p>After the funeral her late husband's relations and Mr. + Enderby met at Amber Hill and discussed these matters of + business.</p> + + <p>In the meantime Hetty had been left at Amber Hill in the + care of the housekeeper, for Mr. Enderby would not allow his + wife to carry her off to Wavertree.</p> + + <p>"It would be a mistake," he said, "to begin what we may not + think proper to go on with afterwards. If the child comes home + with us now she may feel herself aggrieved, later, at being + sent away. To act with prudence is our first duty towards + her."</p> + + <p>So Hetty had been left with the housekeeper, who, being a + kind woman in her way, tried to comfort her with cakes and jam. + Her only real comfort was her darling Scamp, and with her arms + round his shaggy neck she shed many a tear of loneliness and + terror. Her heart was full of anxious fears as to what was + going to become of her.</p> + + <p>She had stolen into the room where the dead woman lay to + take her last farewell of her benefactress. Nobody watched + there, and Hetty easily found an opportunity for paying her + tearful visit. Scamp, who never left her side, accompanied her + with a sad solemnity in his countenance, and these were perhaps + the two most real mourners whom the wealthy lady had left + behind her.</p> + + <p>Now all was over, and Mrs. Rushton's room looked vacant and + with as little sign of her presence as if she had never + inhabited it. The wintry sunshine smiled in at all the windows + of her handsome house, and made it cheerful even though the + blinds were drawn down. The robins twittered in the evergreens + outside, and the maids had their little jokes as usual over + their sewing, though they spoke in lowered tones. No great and + terrible change seemed to have happened to any one but Hetty, + except indeed to Scamp, and it was plain that he suffered only + for Hetty's sake.</p> + + <p>On the day when Mrs. Rushton's relations met at Amber Hill + Hetty sat in the housekeeper's room in a little straw chair at + the fire, with Scamp clasped in her arms and her head resting + against his. She felt instinctively that her fate was being + sealed upstairs. Indeed a few words which had passed between + Grant and the housekeeper, and which she had accidentally + overheard, assured her that such would be the case.</p> + + <p>"If Mrs. Rushton has left her nothing," said Grant, "she'll + be out on the world again, as she was before. Mrs. Kane may + take her, unless the gentlemen do something for her."</p> + + <p>"Mr. Enderby will never allow her to go back to poor Anne + Kane," said the housekeeper. "There's many a cheap way of + providing for a friendless child, and it wouldn't be fair to + put her on a woman that can hardly keep her own little home + together."</p> + + <p>Hetty's anguish was unspeakable as these words sank into her + heart, each one making a wound. She shuddered at the thought of + going back to Mrs. Kane, but felt even more horror of those + unknown "cheap ways of providing for a friendless child," + alluded to by the housekeeper. A perfect sea of tribulation + rolled over her head as she bent it in despair, and wept + forlornly on Scamp's comfortable neck.</p> + + <p>In the meantime, as Hetty surmised, her fate was being + decided upstairs. No provision had been made by Mrs. Rushton + for the child whom she had taken into her home, petted and + indulged, and accustomed to every luxury. The relations of Mrs. + Rushton's late husband, who lived at a great distance and had + not been on intimate terms with her, were not much impressed by + the lady's carelessness of Hetty. But Mr. Enderby, who knew all + the circumstances, felt that a wrong had been done.</p> + + <p>"Some provision ought to be made for the child," he said; + "that is a matter about which there can be no doubt."</p> + + <p>"Certainly," said Mr. Rushton, who had inherited most of his + sister-in-law's property. "There are cheap schools where girls + in her position can be educated according to their station. + Afterwards we can see about giving her a trade, millinery and + dressmaking, I suppose, or something of that kind."</p> + + <p>Mr. Enderby looked troubled. "I do not think that would be + quite fair," he said, "I would urge that she should receive a + good education. She ought to be brought up a lady, having been + so long accustomed to expect it."</p> + + <p>"I quite disagree with you," said Mr. Rushton; "there are + too many idle ladies in the world. And who is to support her + when she is grown up?"</p> + + <p>"I do not wish to make her an idle lady," said Mr. Enderby, + "but I would fit her to be a governess."</p> + + <p>"There are too many governesses; better keep her down to a + lower level and teach her to be content to be a tradeswoman. As + far as I am concerned, I will consent to nothing better than + this for the girl."</p> + + <p>"Then we need not speak of it any more," returned Mr. + Enderby. "I will take the responsibility of the child upon + myself."</p> + + <p>Mr. Rushton shrugged his shoulders. "Do as you please," he + said, "but remember it is your own choice. If you change your + mind, call upon me."</p> + + <p>So the matter ended. When the library door opened, and the + gentlemen were heard preparing to depart, Hetty flew upstairs + and stole into the hall, where Mr. Enderby, who was the last to + go, suddenly saw her little white face gazing at him with a + dumb anxiety.</p> + + <p>"Well, my dear," he said kindly, "how are you getting + on?"</p> + + <p>"Oh sir, will you please tell me where I am to go to?" + implored Hetty.</p> + + <p>"Don't fret yourself about that," said Mr. Enderby, + buttoning up his coat. "We are not going to let you be lost. + You just stay patiently with Mrs. Benson till you hear again + from me."</p> + + <p>And then he nodded to her and took his departure.</p> + + <p>That evening he had a serious conversation with his wife + about Hetty Gray.</p> + + <p>"I have made up my mind it will be better to bring her + here," he said abruptly.</p> + + <p>"My dear! is that wise?" exclaimed his wife, thinking with + sudden anxiety of Phyllis's great dislike to Hetty, and Hetty's + uncompromising pride.</p> + + <p>"It is the best plan I can think of, but do not mistake me. + If Hetty comes here it will be expressly understood by her and + others that she is not to be brought up as my own daughter. She + will merely enjoy the security of the shelter of our roof, and + will receive a good education such as will fit her to provide, + later, for herself."</p> + + <p>"Will it be easy to carry out this plan?" asked Mrs. + Enderby.</p> + + <p>"That I must leave to you, my dear. You are firm enough and + wise enough to succeed where others would probably fail. The + only alternative that I can think of is to send her to an + expensive school where she will certainly not be prepared for + the battle of life. As for sending her to a lower style of + place, and making a charity girl of her after all that has been + done to accustom her to the society of well-bred people, the + bare thought of such injustice makes me angry."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Enderby looked admiringly at her husband.</p> + + <p>"You are right," she said; "and I will try to carry out your + plan. It will add greatly to my cares, for I fear Hetty's will + be a difficult nature to deal with, especially when she finds + herself in so uncertain a position in our house."</p> + + <p>The next day Mrs. Enderby drove over to Amber Hill and + desired Mrs. Benson to send Hetty to her in the morning-room. + When the child appeared she was greatly struck by the traces of + suffering on her countenance, and felt renewed anxiety as to + the difficulty of carrying out her husband's wishes.</p> + + <p>"My child," she said kindly, taking the little girl's hand + and drawing her to her knees, "I have a good deal to say to + you, and I hope you will try to understand me perfectly."</p> + + <p>Hetty gave her one swift upward glance in which there was + keen expectation, mingled with more of fear than hope.</p> + + <p>"I will try," she whispered.</p> + + <p>"You know, my dear, that Mrs. Rushton was very good to you + while she lived, yet you had no real claim on her, and now that + she is gone you are as much alone as if you had never seen + her."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Enderby was surprised by Hetty's swift answer.</p> + + <p>"More alone," she said, with a stern look in her young face; + "for if she had not taken me I could have stayed with Mrs. + Kane. I should have loved Mrs. Kane, and now I do not love + her."</p> + + <p>"There is some truth in all that," said Mrs. Enderby; "but + at all events, my dear, you have enjoyed many advantages during + the last five or six years. There is no question now of your + going back to Mrs. Kane. Mr. Enderby will not allow it."</p> + + <p>"Grant says there are cheap ways of providing for friendless + children," said Hetty, whose tongue had become dry in her mouth + with fear of what might come next.</p> + + <p>"Never mind what Grant says," said Mrs. Enderby; "attend + only to what I tell you. Mr. Enderby and I have thought deeply + over your future, Hetty, and we are really anxious to do what + is best for you."</p> + + <p>Hetty said nothing. All the powers of her mind were strained + in wondering expectation of what she was now going to hear.</p> + + <p>"We have been advised to send you to a school where you + would be made fit to provide for yourself when you become a + woman," continued the lady, "but we have decided to take you + into our own house instead; on condition, however, that you try + to be industrious and studious. By the time you have grown up, + I hope you will be able to make use of the good education we + shall give you, and will have learned the value of + independence. Do you understand me completely, Hetty? We are + going to educate you to be a governess. You shall live in our + house and join in the studies of our children, and enjoy the + comfort and protection of our home. But of course you cannot + look forward to sharing the future of our daughters."</p> + + <p>"I understand," said Hetty slowly; and the whole state of + the case, in all its bearings, appeared in true colours before + her intelligent mind.</p> + + <p>"I hope you are satisfied also," said Mrs. Enderby, who was + determined, even at the risk of being a little hard, that the + child should thoroughly know her place, and learn to be + grateful for the protection afforded her. "When you are older, + my child, you will comprehend what your elders now know, that + my poor sister, Mrs. Rushton, made a great mistake in raising + you from the station in which she found you, and showering + luxuries upon you as she did. We also see, however, that an + injustice was done to you, and that we whom she has left behind + her are bound to make amends to you for that. Therefore it is + that we are keeping you with ourselves, instead of allowing you + to run the risk of being made unhappy by strangers."</p> + + <p>For all answer to this Hetty burst into a fit of wild + weeping. Her proud little heart was broken at the prospect of + returning to Wavertree to be snubbed and humbled by Phyllis, + and possibly by servants of the same disposition as Grant. For + the moment she could not remember all those worse horrors which + her imagination had been conjuring up, and from which she was + actually saved. She stood trembling and shaking in the storm of + her grief, trying to stem her floods of tears with her + quivering little hands, and unable to keep them from raining + through her fingers on to the floor.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Enderby sighed. Though she could not know all Hetty's + thoughts, she guessed some of them, and her heart sank lower + than ever at the thought of the trouble which might come of the + introduction of so stormy an element into her hitherto peaceful + household. However, she was not a woman to flinch from a duty, + when once she had made up her mind to recognize it.</p> + + <p>"Come, come, my child!" she said, "you have been passing + through a great trial, but you must try to be brave and make + yourself happy with us."</p> + + <p>Had Mrs. Enderby taken poor Hetty in her arms and given her + a motherly kiss, much would have been done to heal the wounds + made in the child's sensitive heart. But it was part of her + plan, conscientiously made, that she must not accustom Hetty to + caresses, such as she could not expect to receive later in + life. So she only patted her on the shoulder, and, when her + passion of crying had a little subsided, bade her run away and + get on her things, and be ready as soon as possible to come + with her to Wavertree Hall.</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_X" + id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></h4> + + <h3>THE NEW HOME.</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>Before going to Amber Hill that day, Mrs. Enderby had sent + for her two girls to come to her in her room, where she + informed them of the fact that Hetty was coming to the + Hall.</p> + + <p>"I am going to tell you some news, my children, and I hope + you will feel it to be good news. I know my little daughters + have kind hearts, and I am sure they will pity one even younger + than themselves who has been left without home or + protection."</p> + + <p>"I suppose you are speaking of Hetty, mother?" said + Phyllis.</p> + + <p>"Yes, dear. Your father and I have arranged to bring her + here."</p> + + <p>A faint colour passed over Phyllis's fair pale face, and she + said:</p> + + <p>"Did Aunt Amy not leave her any money, mother?"</p> + + <p>"No; I am sorry to say she did not leave her anything."</p> + + <p>"She ought to have done so," said Phyllis.</p> + + <p>"Your Aunt Amy was a very peculiar person, Phyllis, and + nothing would induce her to make a will. She put off the task + too long, and died without fulfilling it."</p> + + <p>"Could those who have got her money now not make it all + right?" said Phyllis. "Could they not settle some money on + her?"</p> + + <p>"That would be a difficult matter to arrange, dear. Almost + all Mrs. Rushton's property has gone to her husband's brother, + who is not a very generous man, I fear, and the rest, which + returns to your father, is in trust for his children. He does + not feel himself called upon to deprive you of what is lawfully + yours in order to give a fortune to a foundling child."</p> + + <p>"I would rather give her some of my money than have her + here," said Phyllis bluntly.</p> + + <p>"You must get over that feeling, Phyllis. It is perhaps a + little trial to us all to have a stranger among us, but we will + endeavour to be kind, and all will be for the best."</p> + + <p>"And is Hetty to be our own, own sister?" said Nell, fixing + her blue eyes on her mother's face and speaking for the first + time.</p> + + <p>"No, my love, not quite. That would not be fair to Hetty, as + we cannot make her one of our own children. She will be a + companion for you and join in all your studies. But it is to be + understood that such advantages are to be given to her only to + fit her to be a governess. I am anxious that every one should + be good to her, but I do not intend her to have such luxuries + as would but prepare her for great unhappiness later on in her + life."</p> + + <p>"Hetty will never get on with that sort of thing," said + Phyllis. "She is too proud and too impertinent."</p> + + <p>"My dear Phyllis, I believe she has a good heart; and she + has been, and will be, severely tried. Any failure of + generosity on the part of my good little girl will disappoint + me sadly."</p> + + <p>Phyllis closed her lips with an expression which meant that + for reasons of propriety she would say no more, but that + nothing could prevent her from feeling that justice and right + were on her side; that she had a better apprehension of the + matter in question than mother or father, or any one in the + world.</p> + + <p>When Hetty arrived that afternoon she was led straight into + the school-room, where tea was just ready, Mrs. Enderby judging + that it would be well to set her to work at once, giving her no + time for moping. When she appeared, looking pale and sad in her + black frock, her eyes heavy and red with weeping, even Phyllis + was touched, and the school-room tea was partaken of in peace + and almost in silence. Hetty was so full of the recollection of + the last time she had been brought in here by Mrs. Enderby, and + so conscious of the change that had come upon her since then, + that she could scarcely raise her eyes for fear of crying. Nell + kept pushing cakes and bread and butter before her, Phyllis + made general remarks in a softer tone than usual, and Miss + Davis, who perhaps understood Hetty's position better, and + sympathized more with her, than any of the rest, could think of + nothing better to say to the forlorn child than to ask her + occasionally if she would like some more sugar in her tea.</p> + + <p>After tea Phyllis and Nell set to work to prepare their + lessons for the next day, and Hetty was thankful to have a book + placed before her, and a lesson appointed for her to learn. It + was a page in the very beginning of a child's English history, + and Hetty read it over and over again till she had the words + almost by heart without in the least having taken in their + sense. Her thoughts were busy all the time with the looks and + words of her companions, and with going back over all that had + occurred that day. Phyllis had been gentler than she expected. + Perhaps she was not going to be unkind any more. It was a good + thing after all to be obliged to sit over books, as it would + prevent her being talked to more than she could bear. Nell was + very kind. Would Phyllis allow her to be always kind? She had + remarked at the first moment that the frocks of the two other + girls were made of finer stuff than hers, and were trimmed with + crape. Mrs. Benson had got her her mourning-frock, and had got + it, of course, as inexpensive as she thought fit under the + circumstances.</p> + + <p>"Of course they wear crape," thought Hetty, "because Mrs. + Rushton was their aunt. She was nothing to me, after all, + except my mistress. Grant used to say things like that and I + would not believe her. She was right when she said I was only a + charity child."</p> + + <p>Phyllis and Nell were accustomed to go to the drawing-room + for an hour or two in the evening after their father and mother + had dined, and on this occasion Hetty was invited to accompany + them. It was not Mrs. Enderby's intention that she should + always do so, but she considered that it would be well to + include her to-night.</p> + + <p>The last evening spent by Hetty in the drawing-room at the + Hall was that one on which she had entertained the company with + her mimicries. Then, full of pride and delight in her own + powers of giving amusement, she had felt herself in a position + to despise all disapproval and dislike. Now, how was she + fallen! Yet Mr. and Mrs. Enderby received her kindly, and paid + her as much attention as if she had been an ordinary + visitor.</p> + + <p>When bed-time came she was taken, not to the pretty room she + had occupied when last in the house, but to a neat little plain + chamber which was to be henceforth her own. It was not on the + same landing with the bed-rooms of Phyllis and Nell, as she was + quick to remark, but at the end of a long passage off which + were the upper maids' bed-rooms, a fact which stabbed her + pride.</p> + + <p>It was, however, a nice little room, placed above the + passage and ascended to by a few steps, and it had a + picturesque lattice window, embowered in ivy and + passion-flowers. She had hardly comforted herself by observing + this when she was overcast again by a fresh and unpleasant + discovery. Her trunk, which had been sent after her by Mrs. + Benson, had already been unpacked and her things disposed of in + a wardrobe. But, alas! all her handsome clothing had + disappeared. Her velvet and silk frocks trimmed with lace and + fur, her sashes and necklaces, silk stockings and shoes with + fantastic rosettes, these and numbers of other treasures were + no longer to be seen in her room. A sufficient quantity of + plain underclothing, a black frock to change the one she wore, + a black hat and jacket, and one or two of her plainest white + frocks, these were all that remained of the possessions which + had but yesterday been hers.</p> + + <p>When she had recovered herself sufficiently after this + disappointment to be able to look around the chamber, she saw + that her desk and work-box, and some of her favourite + story-books, had been placed on a table at the window. These + she was glad to see, and recovering her spirits began to + remember that after all she had now no right to any of those + costly articles which she had been allowed to use during Mrs. + Rushton's lifetime. As she was to live henceforth a humble + dependent in this house she could have no further need of such + luxuries. She had remarked that Phyllis and Nell were always + simply dressed, and yet they had more right to finery than she + had.</p> + + <p>Hetty had sufficient good sense to know all this without + being told. Her peculiar experiences had sharpened her + reasoning faculties and made her keenly observant of what + passed before her, and had also given her an unusually acute + perception of the meanings and influences floating in the + atmosphere about her from other people's thoughts and words. + Child as she was, she was able to take, for a moment, Mrs. + Enderby's view of her own position, and admitted that the kind + yet cold lady had acted justly in depriving her of useless + things. Yet her wilful heart longed for the prettinesses that + she loved, and she wept herself to sleep grieving for their + loss, and for the greater loss which it typified.</p> + + <p>The next morning her head was aching and her eyes redder + than ever when she appeared in the school-room, and she seemed + more sullen and less meek than she had been yesterday. She + could not fix her mind on the lesson Miss Davis gave her to + learn, and made a great display of her ignorance when + questioned on general subjects. All this was not improving to + her spirits, and in becoming more unhappy she grew more + irritable. Miss Davis felt her patience tried by the + troublesome new pupil, and Phyllis eyed her with strong + disapproval over the edges of her book. Phyllis loved order, + regularity, good conduct, and in her opinion Hetty was an + intolerably disagreeable interruption of the routine of their + school-room life.</p> + + <p>That was a bad day altogether. Some friends of Mr. and Mrs. + Enderby were dining with them, and when the school-room tea was + over Phyllis and Nell told Miss Davis that their mother wished + them to come to the drawing-room for a short time. Hetty looked + up, as she thought herself included in the invitation; but Miss + Davis, who had received general instructions from Mrs. Enderby, + said to her quietly:</p> + + <p>"You will stay here with me, Hetty, for this evening."</p> + + <p>Hetty flushed crimson and her pride was kindled in an + instant. She was not to go to the drawing-room any more, + because she was only a charity child. Tears rushed into her + eyes, but she forced them back and pretended to be very busy + with a book. After the other girls had been gone some time Miss + Davis said:</p> + + <p>"I am going to my own room for half an hour, Hetty, and I + suppose you can amuse yourself with your book till I come + back."</p> + + <p>When left alone Hetty flung away her book, went down on her + face on the hearth-rug, and cried with all her might. She + thought of evenings when she had tripped about gaily in Mrs. + Rushton's drawing-room and every one was glad to see her. Now, + it seemed, she must live all alone in a school-room. She forgot + that she had ever been unhappy with Mrs. Rushton, ever been + left alone, or snubbed or neglected in her house; for Hetty, + like many other people, old and young, lost all her excellent + power of reasoning when overmastered by passion. In the old + time she had been happy, she thought, cared for, loved, made + much of. Now she was beloved by nobody, not even for an + hour.</p> + + <p>In her desolation she could not think of any creature that + loved her except Scamp, the dog who had been her only comfort + since this trouble had befallen her; and he was left behind at + Amber Hill. She had begged to be allowed to bring him with her + to Wavertree, but Mr. Enderby objected, saying that there were + already too many dogs about the place.</p> + + <p>As soon as Miss Davis returned to the school-room Hetty + asked to be allowed to go to bed.</p> + + <p>"I have just been looking out some materials for needlework + for you," said Miss Davis. "It is quite time you learned to + sew; I hope you will find amusement in the occupation. However, + if you are tired you may go to bed. As a rule the girls do not + go to bed till nine o'clock."</p> + + <p>Hetty shuddered as she looked at the needle-work which was + prepared for her. In her eyes it was only a new instrument of + torture. She did not even know how to hold a needle; she did + not want to know. Mrs. Rushton had never been seen sewing; it + was only the maids who had any occasion to sew.</p> + + <p>"I hate sewing," said Hetty despairingly.</p> + + <p>"Then you must learn to like it," said Miss Davis briskly; + "little girls are not allowed to hate anything that is useful, + especially little girls who must look forward to providing for + themselves in the world by their own exertions. But go to bed + now. Tomorrow I hope you will be in a better humour."</p> + + <p>And Hetty vanished.</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_XI" + id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></h4> + + <h3>HETTY TURNS REBEL.</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>Hetty cried herself to sleep as she had done the night + before, and her last thought was of Scamp. About the middle of + the night she had a dream in which she fancied that Scamp's + paws were round her neck, and that he was barking in her ear + his delight at seeing her. The barking went on so long that it + wakened her, for it was real barking that had caused the + dream.</p> + + <p>Hetty sat up in her bed and listened. Surely that was + Scamp's bark, loud, sharp, and impatient, as if he was saying, + "Where's Hetty? I want Hetty. I will not go away till I have + found Hetty." In the stillness of the night it sounded to the + lonely child like the voice of a dear friend longing to comfort + her. She jumped out of bed, threw open the window, and listened + again. Could it be that he had found the way from Amber Hill, + and come so many miles to look for her? Darling old Scamp, was + it possible he loved her so much? Yes, it was indeed his voice; + he was outside the house, almost under her window, and she must + and would go down and take him in.</p> + + <p>She opened the door cautiously and went out into the + passage. The barking was not heard so distinctly here, and she + hoped that no one would hear it but herself. How dreadful if + somebody should go and beat him away before she could reach + him! She pattered down-stairs with her little bare feet and + made her way through the darkness to the great hall door. But + she had forgotten how great and heavy that door was, and had + not thought of the chain that hung across it at night, and the + big lock in which she could not turn the key. Scamp heard her + trying to open the door, and barked more joyfully. Unable to + unfasten this door she made her way to another at the back of + the house, and, withdrawing a bolt, she stood in the doorway, + her little white night-dress blowing in the winter's night air, + and her bare feet on the stones of the threshold.</p> + + <p>"Scamp, Scamp!" she called in a soft voice, and, wonderful + to tell, he heard her and came flying round the house.</p> + + <p>"Oh, Scampie, dear, <i>have</i> you come, and do you really + love me still?" whispered Hetty as the dog leaped into her + arms, and she clasped his paws round her neck and kissed his + shaggy head.</p> + + <p>Scamp uttered a few short rapturous exclamations and licked + her face and hands all over.</p> + + <p>"But you must be very quiet," she said, "or you will wake + the house and we shall be caught. Come now, lovie, and I'll + hide you in my own room."</p> + + <p>She closed the door as quietly as possible and crept + upstairs again, carrying the dog hugged in her arms.</p> + + <p>As she stole along the passage to her room, one of the maids + whispered to another who was sleeping in the room with her:</p> + + <p>"Oh, I have heard a great noise down-stairs, and one of the + dogs was barking. And just now I am sure I heard feet in the + passage."</p> + + <p>"Some one has got into the house then," said the other maid + listening.</p> + + <p>"Oh, lie still, don't get up!" said the first maid. "It must + be burglars."</p> + + <p>"I will go and waken the men," said the other courageously. + And down-stairs she went and wakened the butler and footman. + Soon they were all searching the house, the butler armed with a + gun, the others with large pokers. No burglars were to be + found, and the butler was very cross at having been called out + of his bed for nothing at all.</p> + + <p>The maids persisted that some one had been in the house, + some one who must have escaped while they were giving the + alarm. Mr. Enderby heard the noise and came out of his room and + learned the whole story. After an hour of searching and + questioning and discussion all went to bed again, everybody + blaming everybody else for the silly mistake that had been + made.</p> + + <p>Next morning Hetty slept long and soundly after her midnight + adventure, and when the maid who called her went into her room + she was astonished to see a dog's head on the pillow by the + sleeping child. Scamp put up his nose and barked at the + intruder, and Hetty wakened.</p> + + <p>"Laws, Miss Hetty, you are a strange little girl," said the + maid, who was the very girl who had alarmed the house during + the night. "How ever did you get a dog into your room?"</p> + + <p>"It's only Scamp, my own Scamp, and he wouldn't hurt + anybody," said Hetty; "please don't beat him away, Lucy. He + came in the middle of the night trying to find me, and I took + him in. Perhaps Mrs. Enderby will let me keep him now."</p> + + <p>"That I am sure she will not," said Lucy. "You naughty + little girl. And so it was you who disturbed the house last + night, frightening us all out of our senses, and getting me + scolded for giving an alarm. Wait till Mr. Enderby hears about + it."</p> + + <p>"You are <i>very</i> unkind," said Hetty; "as if I could + help his coming in the night-time!"</p> + + <p>"And I suppose you could not help letting him into the house + and taking him into your bed?" said Lucy scornfully.</p> + + <p>"No, I couldn't," said Hetty. "And you can go and tell Mr. + Enderby as soon as you please."</p> + + <p>At this Lucy flounced out of the room quite determined to + complain of the enormity of Hetty's conduct.</p> + + <p>When the little girl appeared in the school-room with Scamp + following at her heels she was not in the best of tempers, and + held her chin very high in the air. Miss Davis met her with a + stern face.</p> + + <p>"Hetty, what is this I hear of you? How could you dare to + bring a strange dog into the house in the middle of the + night?"</p> + + <p>"It wasn't a strange dog; it was Scamp," said Hetty, putting + on her most defiant air. "I don't think it was any harm to let + him in."</p> + + <p>"Not, though I tell you it was?" said Miss Davis.</p> + + <p>"No," said Hetty.</p> + + <p>"Then I must ask Mrs. Enderby to talk to you," said Miss + Davis. "Meantime the dog cannot stay here while we are at + breakfast."</p> + + <p>And she rang the bell.</p> + + <p>"Tell Thomas to come and fetch this dog away to the + stable-yard," she said to the maid who answered the bell.</p> + + <p>"Scamp always stayed in the room with me at Amber Hill," + said Hetty, two red spots burning in her cheeks.</p> + + <p>"You must learn to remember that you are no longer at Amber + Hill," said Miss Davis.</p> + + <p>Phyllis and Nell now came into the school-room and looked + greatly surprised at sight of the dog, Hetty's angry face, and + Miss Davis's looks of high displeasure. They took their places + in silence at the breakfast table.</p> + + <p>"I am not likely to forget it," retorted Hetty bitterly. "At + Amber Hill everybody was kind to me. Nobody is kind here."</p> + + <p>"You are a most ungrateful girl," said Miss Davis. "What + would have become of you if Mr. and Mrs. Enderby had not been + kind?"</p> + + <p>At this moment Thomas entered.</p> + + <p>"Take away that dog to the stable-yard," said Miss + Davis.</p> + + <p>Hetty threw her arms round Scamp's neck and clung to + him.</p> + + <p>"You shall not turn him out," she cried. "He came and found + me, and I will not give him up."</p> + + <p>"Do as I have told you, Thomas," said Miss Davis; and Thomas + seized Scamp in spite of Hetty's struggles, and carried him + off, howling dismally.</p> + + <p>"Now, you naughty girl, you may go back to your own room, + and stay there till you are ready to apologize to me for your + conduct," said Miss Davis.</p> + + <p>"Oh, please don't send Hetty away without her breakfast," + pleaded Nell.</p> + + <p>"I will go. I will not stay here. I will run away!" cried + Hetty wildly.</p> + + <p>"Let her go, Nell," said Phyllis, giving her sister a + warning look; and Miss Davis said:</p> + + <p>"When she is hungry she can apologize for her conduct. In + the meantime she had better go away and be left alone till she + recovers her senses."</p> + + <p>Hetty fled out of the room and away to her own little + chamber, where she locked herself in and flung herself in a + passion of rage and grief on the floor.</p> + + <p>"I <i>will</i> go away," she sobbed. "I will run away with + Scamp and seek my fortune. Miss Davis is going to be as bad as + Grant, reminding me that I am a charity child. Oh, why was I + not born like Phyllis and Nell, with people to love me and a + home to belong to? It is easy for them to be good. But I shall + never be good. I know, I know I never shall!"</p> + + <p>After half an hour had passed a knock came to the door, and + Lucy demanded to be admitted.</p> + + <p>"Go away, you cruel creature!" cried Hetty. "I will not have + you here."</p> + + <p>Lucy went away, and after some time Hetty heard Mrs. + Enderby's voice at the door.</p> + + <p>"I hope you will not refuse to let me in," she said. "I + request that you will open the door."</p> + + <p>Hetty rose from the floor very unwillingly and opened the + door, and Mrs. Enderby came in.</p> + + <p>"Hetty, what is the meaning of this strange conduct?" she + said, looking at the marks of wild weeping on the child's + swollen face.</p> + + <p>"Everybody's conduct has been bad to me," wailed Hetty.</p> + + <p>"What has been done to you?" asked Mrs. Enderby.</p> + + <p>"Everyone hates Scamp, and they have taken him away. And I + have no one to love me but him."</p> + + <p>"Perhaps people would love you if you were not so fierce and + wild, Hetty," said Mrs. Enderby. "Now, try and listen to me + while I talk to you. It was very wrong of you to get up in the + night and open the door, so as to alarm the house by the noise. + And it was very wrong of you to take a dog into your room and + into your bed."</p> + + <p>"It was Scamp," mourned Hetty. "Scamp loves me. And how + could I leave him outside when he wanted to be with me?"</p> + + <p>"You could have done so because it would have been right," + said Mrs. Enderby. "You knew that Mr. Enderby had refused to + allow the dog to come here. You ought to have remembered his + wishes. He has been very good to you, and you must learn to + obey him."</p> + + <p>"It is cruel of him not to let me have Scamp," persisted + Hetty; "he never bites anyone, and he is better than the other + dogs. Why can I not have him for my own?"</p> + + <p>"I will not answer that question, Hetty; it must be enough + for you that you are to obey. You must stay here by yourself + till you are in a better state of mind."</p> + + <p>Then Mrs. Enderby went away, and Hetty fell into another + agony of grief, thinking about Scamp.</p> + + <p>She forgot the breakfast which she had not yet tasted, and + felt every moment a greater longing to see her dog again. Where + had they taken him? she wondered. Was he still in the + stable-yard? Perhaps they would drown him to get rid of him. + Possessed by this fear she seized her hat and flew out of the + room, quite reckless of consequences, and as it chanced, she + met no one on her way down-stairs and along all the back + passages leading towards the stable-yard.</p> + + <p>Arrived there she was guided by his barking to the spot + where Scamp was. He was chained in a kennel in a corner of the + yard, where it was intended he should remain till a new master + or mistress could be found for him. Hetty watched her + opportunity, and when there was no one about flew into the + yard, slipped the chain off his neck, and sped out of the place + again, with the dog following joyfully at her heels.</p> + + <p>In acting thus the little girl had merely followed a wild + impulse, and had formed no plan for her future conduct with + regard to Scamp. Finding herself in his company now, she + thought only of prolonging the pleasure and escaping with him + somewhere out of the reach of unfriendly eyes. She darted + through the outer gate of the stable-yard just as the great + clock above the archway was striking ten; and was soon plunging + through a copse on the outskirts of the village, and making for + the open country.</p> + + <p>Scamp snuffed the breeze and barked for joy, and Hetty + danced along over the grass and through trees, forgetting + everything but her own intense enjoyment of freedom in the open + air that she loved. Over yonder lay the forge, where, as a baby + of four, she had watched the great horses being shod, and the + sparks flying from their feet; and further on were the fields + and the bit of wood where she had roamed alone, up to her eyes + in the tall flag leaves and mistaking the yellow lilies for + butterflies of a larger growth. She did not remember all that + now, but some pleasant consciousness of a former free happy + existence in the midst of this fresh peaceful landscape came + across her mind at moments, like gales of hawthorn-scented air. + Mrs. Enderby's mild lectures, Phyllis's contempt, Miss Davis's + shocked propriety, even Nell's easily snubbed efforts to stand + her friend, all vanished out of her memory as she went skimming + along the grass like a swallow, thrilling in all her young + nerves with the freshness and wildness of the breeze of heaven, + and the vigour and buoyancy of the life within her veins.</p> + + <p>Five miles into the open country went Hetty, by a road she + had never seen before. She knew not, nor did she think at all + of where she was going; she only had a delightful sense of + exploring new worlds. However, about the middle of the day she + felt very hungry. She began to remember then that she could not + keep on roving for ever, and that there was probably trouble + before her at Wavertree, waiting for her return.</p> + + <p>She sat down on a bank to rest, and Scamp nestled beside + her, alternately looking in her face and licking her hands. It + occurred to Hetty that perhaps he was hungry too, and that if + she had left him in the stable-yard he would at least have got + his dinner. Remorse troubled her, and she cast about to try and + discover something they two could eat. A tempting-looking bunch + of berries hung from a tree near her, and she thought that if + she could reach them they might be of some slight use in + allaying the pangs of hunger felt by both her and her dog. She + was at once on her feet, and straining all her limbs to reach + the berries.</p> + + <p>They were caught, the branch broke, and Hetty fell down the + bank, twisting her foot and spraining her ankle badly.</p> + + <p>After the first cry wrung from her by the shock she was very + silent; and having gathered herself up as well as she could, + she sat on the ground, unable to attempt to stand. The pain was + excessive, and great tears rolled down her cheeks as she + endured it. Scamp gazed at her piteously, snuffed all round + her, and looked as if he would like to take her on his back and + carry her home. She threw her arms round his neck and hugged + him.</p> + + <p>"No, you can't help me, Scampie, dear, and I don't know what + is to become of us. I can't move, and nobody knows where I have + gone to. Of course it is all my fault, for I know I have been + very disobedient. But I didn't feel wicked, not a bit."</p> + + <p>Scamp licked her face and huffed and snuffed all round her. + Then he made several discontented remarks which Hetty + understood quite well, though it is not easy to translate them + here. Then he hustled round her, and scurried up and down the + road looking for help; and finally sat on his tail on the top + of the bank, and pointing his nose up at the unlucky tree on + which the berries had hung, howled out dismally to the world in + general that Hetty was in real trouble now, and somebody had + better come and look to it.</p> + + <p>After a long time some one did come at last. The wintry + evening was just beginning to close in and the short twilight + to fall on the lonely road, blotting out the red berries on the + trees, when a sound of wheels and the cracking of a carter's + whip struck upon Hetty's ears. Scamp had heard them first and + rushed away barking joyfully in the direction of the sound, to + meet the carter, whoever he might be, and to tell him to come + on fast and take up Hetty in his cart and bring her safely + home.</p> + + <p>Presently Scamp came frolicking back, and soon after came a + great team of powerful horses, drawing a long cart laden with + trunks of trees, which John Kane, the carter, was bringing from + the woods to be chopped up for firewood for the use of the + Hall. At this sight a dim recollection of the past arose in + Hetty's brain. Had she not seen this great cart and horses long + ago, and was not the face of the man like a face she had seen + in a dream? She had not had time to think of all this when John + Kane pulled up his team before her and spoke to her.</p> + + <p>"Be you hurt, little miss?" he said good-naturedly; "I + thought something was wrong by the bark of your dog. He told me + as plain as print that I was wanted. 'Look sharp, John Kane!' + he said; and how he knows my name I can't tell. There, let me + sit you in the cart, and I'll jolt you as little as may + be."</p> + + <p>Hetty was thankful to be put in the cart, and it seemed to + her a very strange chance that had brought John Kane a second + time in her life to rescue her. He did not know her at all, and + she did not like to tell him who she was.</p> + + <p>"Now, where can I take you to?" he said, as they neared the + village.</p> + + <p>"I came from Wavertree Hall," said Hetty, hanging her head, + "and," she added with a great throb of her heart, "my name is + Hetty Gray."</p> + + <p>"Law, you don't say so!" said honest John; "our little Hetty + that is turned into a lady! Well, child, it's not the first + time you have got a ride in John Kane's cart. You cannot + remember, but you used to be main fond of these very horses, + watching them getting shod and running among their feet. + However, bygones is bygones, and you won't want to hear + anything of all that. Now, I can't drive you up to the door of + the Hall in this lumbering big vehicle; but if you'll + condescend to come to our cottage for an hour, I'll take a + message to say where you are, and Mrs. Enderby will send for + you properly, no doubt."</p> + + <p>Hetty's heart was full as she thanked John Kane for his + kindness. She had almost been afraid that he would break out + into raptures and want to hug her as Mrs. Kane had done; but + when she found him so cold and respectful a lump rose in her + throat, and something seemed to tell her that as she had pushed + away from her the love of these good honest people, she + deserved to be as lonely and unloved as she was.</p> + + <p>Fortunately it was quite dark when the cart passed through + the village, so that no one noticed whom John Kane had got + cowering down in his cart behind the logs of timber. When he + stopped at his own door his wife came out, and he said to her + in a low voice:</p> + + <p>"Look you here, Anne, if I haven't brought you home little + Hetty a second time out of trouble. Found her on the road I + did, with her ankle sprained. We'll take her in for the + present, and I'll go to the Hall and tell the gentlefolks."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Kane had just been making ready her husband's tea, and + the fire was burning brightly in her tidy kitchen, making it + look pretty and homelike. She was greatly astonished at her + husband's news, and came to the cart at once, though with a + soreness at heart, remembering her last meeting with Hetty, and + thinking how little pleasure the child would find in this + enforced visit to her early home.</p> + + <p>"Now hurry away to the Hall and give the message," said Mrs. + Kane; "your tea will keep till you come back. Little Miss Gray + will be anxious to get home to those who are expecting + her."</p> + + <p>"Oh, please let him take his tea first," cried Hetty; "there + will be no hurry to get me back. I have been very naughty and + everyone will be angry with me. Please, Mr. Kane, take your tea + before you go."</p> + + <p>John Kane smiled. "Thank you, little maid; but you see the + horses are wanting to go home to their stable. And I'd rather + finish all my work before I sit down."</p> + + <p>He went away and Hetty was left alone in the firelight with + her first foster-mother.</p> + + <p>"Perhaps you are hungry, little miss," said Anne. "You have + had a long walk, maybe, with your dog."</p> + + <p>Scamp had curled himself up on the "settle" at Hetty's + feet.</p> + + <p>Hetty felt a pang at the words "little miss," but she knew + it was her own pride that had brought this treatment upon her. + Perhaps Mrs. Kane had once loved her as Scamp did now; but of + course she would never love her again. At all events she was + dear and good for taking Scamp in without a word of objection, + and allowing him to rest himself comfortably at her + fireside.</p> + + <p>"I am <i>dreadfully</i> hungry," said Hetty, in a low + ashamed voice, and looking up at Mrs. Kane with serious eyes. + "I have not eaten anything to-day. I sprained my ankle getting + the berries, and they fell so far away I could not pick them + up."</p> + + <p>"Not eaten to-day? What,—no breakfast even?"</p> + + <p>"No," said Hetty. "I was bad in the morning, or I should + have got some. At least they said I was bad, but I did not feel + it."</p> + + <p>"What did you do?"</p> + + <p>"I took in Scamp in the night when he barked at the window, + and I wanted to keep him, though Mr. Enderby would not have him + about the place; and I fought to get him. And I told Mrs. + Enderby that I ought to have him. And then I took him out of + the stable-yard and ran away with him."</p> + + <p>"I'm afraid that was badness in the end," said Mrs. Kane. + "It began with goodness, but it ran to badness. Deary me, it's + often the same with myself. I think I'm so right that I can't + go wrong. But all comes straight again when we're sorry for a + fault."</p> + + <p>"But I can't be sorry for keeping Scamp when he loves me so. + Nobody else loves me," cried Hetty, with a burst of tears.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Kane was by her side in a minute. "Not love you! don't + they, my dear? Well, there's somebody that loves you more than + Scamp, <i>that</i> I know. Come, now, dry your eyes and eat a + bit. There's a nicer cup of tea than they'd give you at the + Hall; for the little brown pot on the hearth makes better tea + than ever comes out of silver. I was a maid in a big house once + myself, and I know the difference."</p> + + <p>In answer to this Hetty sat up as well as the pain of her + foot would allow, and flung her arms round Mrs. Kane's + neck.</p> + + <p>"Oh, keep me here with you!" she cried. "I am tired of being + grand. I will stay with you and learn to be a useful girl, if + only you will love me."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Kane heaved a long sigh as Hetty's arms fastened round + her neck. Now she felt rewarded for all the love and care she + had poured out on the child during the three years she had had + her for her own. A little bit of hard ice that had always been + lying at the bottom of her heart ever since Hetty had left her, + now melted away, and she said, half laughing and half + crying:</p> + + <p>"Come now, deary, don't be talking nonsense. Nice and fit + you'd be to bear with a cottage life after all you've been + seeing. Don't you think the gentlefolks would give you up so + easily as that. But whenever you want a word of love and a + heart to rest your bit of a head upon like this, mind you + remember where they're always waiting for you, Hetty."</p> + + <p>Hetty sobbed and clung to her more closely, and it was some + time before she could be induced to eat and drink. When she did + so the homely meal set before her seemed to her the most + delicious she had ever tasted.</p> + + <p>"Oh I am so glad I have found my way back to you," she said; + "I never should have done it if I hadn't got into such trouble. + Oh, you don't know how proud and bad I have been! I know I've + been bad, now that you are so good to me."</p> + + <p>After about an hour John Kane came back. He had been obliged + to wait to put up his horses and see to their wants for the + night before he could come home. The message he brought from + the Hall was that Hetty must stay where she was till her foot + was better, as moving about was so bad for a sprain. Mrs. + Enderby would see Mrs. Kane about her to-morrow.</p> + + <p>The tiny whitewashed room where she slept that night was the + one in which she had slept when a toddling baby, and Hetty + wondered at herself as she looked round it thankfully. A + patchwork quilt covered the bed, and a flower-pot in the one + small window, and some coloured prints on the wall, were its + only adornments. But it was extremely clean and neat, and, in + spite of the pain in her foot, Hetty felt more content as she + laid her head on the coarse pillow than she had felt for a + great many weeks past.</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_XII" + id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></h4> + + <h3>A COTTAGE CHILD AGAIN.</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>Some time passed before Hetty saw any of the family at the + Hall again. Mr. Enderby was much displeased at her escapade, + and resolved she should be punished. He thought the best way to + punish her was to leave her in the care of Mrs. Kane. The hard + and lowly living she would have to endure there would, he + thought, subdue her pride and teach her to be meek and grateful + on her return to a more comfortable home. By his desire Mrs. + Enderby refrained from going to see the child. Mrs. Kane was + sent for to the Hall and directed to take every care of her + charge; but on no account whatever to pamper her.</p> + + <p>At first Hetty was startled to find how very ready they were + at the Hall to let her completely drop out of their lives, and + at times she repined, but on the whole she was happier, and + every day seemed to arouse her more and more to a better sense + of the duties that lay round her in life, While seated on her + old settle she watched Mrs. Kane sweeping and washing the + floor, polishing up the windows and bits of furniture, and + making the humble home shine. Hetty longed to be able to take + broom and scrubbing-brush from her hands and help her with the + troublesome work. When she found that by learning to hold her + needle she could help to darn and mend for her dear friend, she + eagerly gave her mind to acquiring the necessary knowledge. + Books were scarce in John Kane's house, but Hetty did not miss + them. At this time of her life all books, except stories, were + hateful to her, and she thought she had read enough stories. It + became a perfect delight to her to see Mrs. Kane shake out an + old flannel jacket and hold it up to the light and declare that + Hetty had mended it as well as she could have done it herself. + "And that will save my eyes to-night," she would say, to + Hetty's intense pleasure, who, now for the first time in her + young life, tasted the joy of being useful to others.</p> + + <p>When her foot was sufficiently better to allow her to limp + about, John Kane made her a crutch, and Hetty felt more + gladness at receiving this present than Mrs. Rushton's + expensive gifts had ever given her. After this she used to hop + about the cottage, dusting and polishing, and doing many little + "turns" which were a great help to Mrs. Kane. She soon knew how + to cook the dinner and make the tea, and when Mrs. Kane was + busy or had to go out, it was Hetty's delight to have + everything ready for her return. To save her black frock from + being spoiled by work she had learned to make herself a large + gingham blouse, in which she felt free to do anything she + pleased without harming her clothes.</p> + + <p>In this simple active life Hetty developed a new spirit + which surprised herself as much as it astonished her humble + friends. She worked in the garden and tended the poultry, + besides performing various tasks which she took upon herself + indoors. And in this sort of happy industry several weeks flew, + almost uncounted, away.</p> + + <p>One evening Mrs. Kane and Hetty were sitting at the fire + waiting for John to come in. They were both tired after their + day's work. Mrs. Kane was sitting in a straw arm-chair and + Hetty rested with her feet up on the settle. The little brown + tea-pot was on the red tiles by the hearth, and the firelight + blinked on the tea-cups.</p> + + <p>"Mrs. Kane," said Hetty, "will you let me call you + mammy?"</p> + + <p>"Will I?" said Mrs. Kane. "To be sure I will, darling, and + glad to hear you. But wouldn't mother be a prettier word in + your mouth?"</p> + + <p>"Phyllis calls Mrs. Enderby mother," said Hetty, "and it + sounds cold. Mammy will be a little word of our own."</p> + + <p>"And when you go back to the Hall you will sometimes come to + see your old mammy?"</p> + + <p>"I think I am going to ask you to let me stay here always," + said Hetty.</p> + + <p>"Nay, dear, that wouldn't be right. You've got to get + educated and grow up a lady."</p> + + <p>"I could go to the village school," said Hetty; "I'm not + clever at books, and they could teach me there all I want to + learn. When I grow up I might be the village teacher. And you + and Mr. Kane could live with me in the school-house when you + are old."</p> + + <p>"Bless the child's heart! How she has planned it all out. + But don't be thinking of such foolishness, my Hetty. Providence + has other doings in store for you."</p> + + <p>One of the happiest things about this time was that Scamp + was as welcome in the cottage as Hetty was herself. He slept by + the kitchen fire every night, and shared all Hetty's work and + play during the daytime. Indeed, nothing could be more + satisfactory than the child's life in these days with Mrs. + Kane. What in the meantime had become of her extraordinary + pride? Love and service seemed to have completely destroyed + it.</p> + + <p>One day, however, there came an interruption to her peace. + Lucy, the maid, arrived with a message to know when Hetty would + be able and willing to return to the Hall.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Kane was out and Hetty was sitting in the sun at the + back-garden door with one of John Kane's huge worsted stockings + pulled over one little hand, while she darned away at it with + the other. At sight of Lucy her pride instantly waked up within + her and rose in arms. Hetty stared in dismay at smart flippant + Lucy, and felt the old bad feelings rush back on her. Tears + started to her eyes as she saw all her lately acquired goodness + flying away down the garden path, as it seemed to her, and out + at the little garden gate.</p> + + <p>"I don't think I am ready to go yet," said she; "but I will + write to Mrs. Enderby myself. Would you like to see Scamp, + Lucy? He has grown so fat and looks so well."</p> + + <p>Hetty could not resist saying this little triumphant word + about the dog. However, Lucy was ready with a retort.</p> + + <p>"I suppose he was used to cottages," she said. "People + generally do best with what they have been accustomed to."</p> + + <p>Hetty's ears burned with the implied taunt to herself, but + she said with great dignity:</p> + + <p>"You can go now, Lucy. I don't think I have anything more to + say to you."</p> + + <p>And Lucy found herself willing to go, though she had + intended saying a great many more sharp things to the child, + whom she, like Grant, regarded as an impertinent little + upstart.</p> + + <p>That evening Hetty made a tremendous effort and wrote a + letter to Mrs. Enderby.</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>"Deer Madam,—My foot is well, but Mrs. Kane is + making me good and I would like to stay with her. I am + sorry for Badness and giving trubbel. I could lern to work + and be Mrs. Kane's child.</p> + + <p style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Yours obeedyentley, + HETTY."</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>Mr. and Mrs. Enderby smiled over this letter together that + evening.</p> + + <p>"Poor little monkey," said the former, "there is more in her + than I imagined. But what spelling for a girl of her age!"</p> + + <p>"Might it not do to allow her to stay where she is, coming + up here for lessons, and to walk occasionally with the + girls?"</p> + + <p>"I do not like the idea of it," said Mr. Enderby. "I would + rather she stayed here and went as often as she pleased to see + her early friends. It is evident they have a good influence + upon her. Yet it would not be fair to let her grow up with + their manners if she is to earn her bread among people of a + higher class."</p> + + <p>So when Mrs. Enderby went next day to visit Hetty she was + firm in her decision that the little girl should return to the + Hall. She discovered Hetty busy sweeping up the cottage hearth + in her gingham blouse. Hetty dropped her broom and hung her + head.</p> + + <p>"I was pleased to get your letter, Hetty. I am glad you are + sorry for what occurred."</p> + + <p>"I am sorry," said the little girl looking up frankly. "I am + very sorry while I am here. But I might not be so sorry up at + the Hall. The sorryness went away when I saw Lucy. Afterwards + it came back when Mrs. Kane came in."</p> + + <p>"And that is why you want to stay here? Because Mrs. Kane + makes you feel good? It is an excellent reason; but why can you + not learn to be good at the Hall too? What has Mrs. Kane done + to make you good?"</p> + + <p>"Oh! she loves me, for one thing," said Hetty; "and then she + makes me pray to God. I never heard about God at Mrs. + Rushton's; and Miss Davis always told me I made him angry. Mrs. + Kane's God is so kind. I would like to make him fond of + me."</p> + + <p>"You have a strange startling way of saying things, Hetty. + You must try and be more like other children. Mrs. Kane's God + is mine, and yours, and every one's, and we must all try to + please him. But if you like her way of speaking of him you can + come here as often as you please and talk to Mrs. Kane."</p> + + <p>"Then I must go back to the Hall?" said Hetty.</p> + + <p>"I am sorry you look on it as a hardship, Hetty. Mr. Enderby + and I think it will be more for your good than staying + here."</p> + + <p>"I am only afraid of being bad," said Hetty simply.</p> + + <p>"Oh! come, you will say your prayers and learn to be a good + child," said Mrs. Enderby cheerfully; and then she went away, + having settled the matter. She was more than ever convinced + that Hetty's was a curious and troublesome nature; but she had + not sounded the depths of feeling in the child, nor did she + guess how ardently she desired to be good and worthy of love, + how painfully she dreaded a relapse into the old state of pride + and wilfulness which seemed to shut her out from the sympathies + of others.</p> + + <p>After Mrs. Enderby was gone, Hetty sat for a long time with + her chin in her little hand looking out of the cottage door, + and seeing nothing but her own trouble. How was she to try and + be like other children? Could she ever learn to be like + Phyllis, always cold and well-behaved, and never the least hot + about anything; or could she grow quiet and sweet and so easily + silenced as Nell? How was she to hinder her tongue from saying + out things just in the words that came to her? She wished she + could say things differently, for people so seldom seemed to + understand what she meant. Tears began to drip down her cheeks + as she thought of returning to her corner in the stately Hall, + where she felt so chilled and lonely, of sitting no more at the + snug homely hearth where there was always a spark of love + burning for her.</p> + + <p>As she wiped her eyes a gleam of early spring sunshine + struck upon an old beech-tree at the lower end of the garden, + and turned all its young green into gold. The glorified bough + waved like a banner in the breeze, and seemed to bring some + beautiful message to Hetty which she could not quite catch. The + charm of colour fascinated her eye, the graceful movement had a + meaning for her. Springing up from her despondent attitude she + leaned from the doorway, and felt a flush of joy glow in her + heavy little heart. The same thrill of delight that had + enraptured her when, as a babe not higher than the flag leaves, + she stretched her hands towards the yellow lilies, pierced her + now, but with a stronger, more conscious joy.</p> + + <p>When Mrs. Kane returned she found her ready to take a more + hopeful view of the future that was at hand.</p> + + <p>"I have got to go," she said; "and I am going. But I may + come to you when I like. And when the pride gets bad I will + always come."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Kane promised to keep Scamp for her own, and so Hetty + could see all her friends at once when she visited the + cottage.</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" + id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a></h4> + + <h3>A TRICK ON THE GOVERNESS.</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>Two years passed over Hetty's head, during which she had + plenty of storms and struggles, with times of peace coming in + between. There were days when, but for Mrs. Kane's good advice, + she would have run away to escape from her trials; and yet she + had known some happy hours too, and had gained many a little + victory over her temper and her pride. The pleasantest days had + been those when Mark Enderby, brother of Phyllis and Nell, was + at home for his holidays, for he always took Hetty's part, not + in an uncertain way like Nell's, but boldly and openly, and + often with the most successful results. He was the only boy + Hetty had ever known, and she thought him delightful; though + like most boys he would be a little rough sometimes, and would + expect her to be able to do all that he could do, and to + understand all that he talked about. He sometimes, indeed, got + her into trouble; but Hetty did not grudge any little pain he + cost her in return for the protection which he often so frankly + afforded her.</p> + + <p>Not that anyone meant to be unkind to her. Mr. and Mrs. + Enderby continued to take a friendly interest in everything + that concerned her, though strictly following their well-meant + plan of not showing her any particular personal affection. "We + must not bring her up in a hothouse," they said, "only to put + her out in the cold afterwards." In this they thought + themselves exceptionally wise people; and who shall say whether + they were or not? It suited Phyllis admirably to follow in the + footsteps of her father and mother; but what was merely + prudence on the part of her elder benefactors often appeared + something much more unamiable when practised towards Hetty by a + girl not many years her senior. Miss Davis, who was a rigid + disciplinarian and trusted as such by her employers, thought + chiefly of breaking down the pride and temper of the child, and + of bending her character so as to fit her for the hard life + that was before her; a life whose difficulties and trials had + been bitterly experienced, and not yet all conquered or + outlived by the conscientious governess herself. Nellie, who + was Hetty's only comfort in the great and, as it seemed to her, + unfriendly house, too often showed her sympathy in a covert way + which made Hetty feel she was half ashamed of her affection; + and this deprived such tenderness of the value it would + otherwise have had.</p> + + <p>Hetty, now above eleven years old, was very much grown and + altered. Her once short curly hair was long, and tied back from + her face with a plain black ribbon. Her face was singularly + intelligent, her voice clear and quick, her eyes often much too + mournful for the eyes of a child, but sometimes flashing with + fun, as, for instance, when Mark engaged her in some piece of + drollery. Then the old spirit that she used to display when she + performed her little mimicries for Mrs. Rushton's amusement + would spring up in her again, and she would take great delight + in seeing Mark roll about with laughing, and hearing him + declare that she was the jolliest girl in the world.</p> + + <p>One Easter time, just two years after Hetty's return to the + Hall, when Mark was at home for his holidays, he proposed to + Hetty to play a trick on Miss Davis. Hetty's eyes danced at the + thought of a trick of any kind. She did not have much fun as a + rule, and Mark's tricks were always so funny.</p> + + <p>"It isn't to be a bad trick, I hope," she said, however.</p> + + <p>"Oh! no, not at all. Only to dress up and pretend to be + people from her own part of the world coming to see her and to + bring her news. We will be an old couple who know her friends, + and are passing this way."</p> + + <p>"She will find us out."</p> + + <p>"No; we must come in the twilight and go away very soon. She + will be so astounded by what I shall tell her that she won't + think about us at all."</p> + + <p>"What will you tell her?"</p> + + <p>"Oh! news about her old uncle. She has a rich uncle and she + expects to be his heiress. Somebody told me of it. I will tell + her he is married, and you will see what a state she will be + in."</p> + + <p>"I don't believe Miss Davis wants anybody's money," said + Hetty; "she works hard for herself, and I think she supports + her mother. <i>I</i> shall have to work some day as she does, + and I mean to copy her. Only I shall have no mother to + support," said Hetty, swallowing a little sigh because Mark + could not bear her to be sentimental.</p> + + <p>"Oh! well, we shall have some fun at all events," said Mark; + "and don't you go spoiling it, proving that Miss Davis is a + saint."</p> + + <p>"Where can we get clothes to dress up in?" asked Hetty.</p> + + <p>"Farmer Dawson's son is going to bring them to me, and you + will find yours in your room just at dusk. Hurry them on fast + and I shall be waiting in the passage."</p> + + <p>That evening two rather puny figures of an old man and woman + were shown up into the school-room where Miss Davis was sitting + alone, looking into the fire and thinking of her distant home. + Hetty was supposed to be arranging her wardrobe in her own + room, and the other girls were with their mother. The governess + was enjoying the treat of an hour of leisure alone, when she + was informed that Mr. and Mrs. Crawford from Oldtown, + Sheepshire, wished to see her.</p> + + <p>"Show them up," said Miss Davis, and waited in surprised + expectation. "Who are they?" she thought; "I do not know the + name. But any one from dear Sheepshire—ah, what a + strange-looking pair!"</p> + + <p>They were odd-looking indeed. Mark was tall enough to dress + up as a man, and he wore a rough greatcoat, and a white wig, + and spectacles. Hetty had little gray curls, and gray eyebrows + under a deep bonnet, and was wrapped in a cloak with many + capes. In the uncertain light their disguise was complete.</p> + + <p>"I have not the pleasure—" began Miss Davis.</p> + + <p>"No, you don't know us," said Mark, "but your friends do, + and we know all about you. We were passing this way and have + brought you a message from your mother."</p> + + <p>"Indeed!" said Miss Davis, and her heart sank. A letter she + had been expecting all the week had not arrived. Her mother was + sick and poor. What dreadful thing had happened at home?</p> + + <p>"Oh, she is not worse than usual," put in Hetty, in the + shrill piping tone which she chose to give to Mrs. Crawford. + "Don't be alarmed."</p> + + <p>Miss Davis did not easily recover from her first shock of + alarm. She remained quite pale, and Hetty wondered to see so + much feeling in a person whom she had often thought to be + almost a mere teaching-machine.</p> + + <p>"The news is about your uncle," went on Mark. "Perhaps you + have not heard that he is married."</p> + + <p>"No, I had not heard," murmured Miss Davis; and she looked + as if this indeed was a terrible blow to her. Hetty was + immediately annoyed at her and disappointed in her. Was Mark + right in his estimate of her character? Hetty had thought her a + wonder of high-mindedness and independence of spirit, if very + formal and cold. Was she now going to be proved mercenary and + mean?</p> + + <p>"Your mother did not write to you about it, fearing it would + be a disappointment to you."</p> + + <p>"My uncle has a right to do as he pleases," said Miss Davis, + "and I hope he will be happy"; but her lips were trembling and + she looked pained and anxious. "I thank you very much for your + trouble in coming to tell me. I daresay my mother will write + immediately."</p> + + <p>Now Mark was not satisfied with the result of his trick. He + had hoped that Miss Davis would have got very angry, and have + said some amusing things. Her quiet dignity disappointed him, + and with an impulse of wild boyish mischief he resolved to try + if he could not startle her.</p> + + <p>"I am sorry to say I have not told you everything," he + blurted out suddenly. "I ought to prepare you for the worst, + but I don't know how."</p> + + <p>"Speak, I beg of you," faltered Miss Davis.</p> + + <p>"Your uncle is dead, and has left all his fortune, every + penny, to his wife."</p> + + <p>A look came over Miss Davis's face which the children could + not understand.</p> + + <p>"My brother!" she said, "can you tell me what has become of + my little brother?"</p> + + <p>"Run away," said Mark, who had not known till this moment + that she had a brother.</p> + + <p>Miss Davis gasped and leaned her face forward on the table. + The next moment they saw her slip away off her chair to the + floor. She had fainted.</p> + + <p>Mark was greatly alarmed, and struck with sudden remorse. + Hetty sprang up crying, "Oh, Mark, how could you?"</p> + + <p>"What are we to do?" said Mark in despair.</p> + + <p>"Here," said Hetty, "take away all this rubbish of clothes, + and hide them." And she pulled off her disguise and flew to + raise Miss Davis from the floor.</p> + + <p>"No, lay her flat," said Mark; "and here is some water, dash + it on her well. I will come back in a few moments."</p> + + <p>He cast off his own disguise and vanished with his arms full + of the articles he and Hetty had worn. When he returned he + found Miss Davis beginning to breathe again, and Hetty crying + over her.</p> + + <p>"Oh! Mark, I will never play a trick again as long as I + live," whispered Hetty; "we were near killing her. How could we + dare to meddle with her affairs?"</p> + + <p>"How was I to know she had a brother?" grumbled Mark under + his breath. "And what has he to do with the joke of her uncle's + marrying?"</p> + + <p>"And dying?" said Hetty. "But that's just it, you see, we + don't know anything about it."</p> + + <p>"Children," murmured Miss Davis, "what has happened to me? + Give me your hands, Mark, and help me to rise."</p> + + <p>They raised her up and laid her on the sofa.</p> + + <p>"What was the matter?" repeated Miss Davis, seeing the tears + flowing down Hetty's cheeks.</p> + + <p>"Oh! two nasty old people came to see you and frightened + you," said Mark, "and then they walked off, and Hetty and I + found you on the floor."</p> + + <p>Hetty gave Mark a reproachful look, coloured deeply, and + hung her head. Mark cast a warning glance at her over Miss + Davis's shoulder. He did not want to be discovered.</p> + + <p>"Oh! I remember," moaned Miss Davis. "My poor mother!"</p> + + <p>Mark could not bear the unhappy tone of her voice, and + turned and fled out of the room.</p> + + <p>"Don't believe any news those people brought you, Miss + Davis," said Hetty. "I am sure they were impostors."</p> + + <p>She was longing to say, "Mark and I played a trick for fun," + but did not dare until she had first spoken to Mark.</p> + + <p>"Why do you think so? Hetty, is it possible you are crying + for me? I did not think you cared so much about me, my + dear."</p> + + <p>"I am sorry, I am sorry," cried Hetty, bursting into a fresh + fit of crying; "I did not know you had a little brother, Miss + Davis."</p> + + <p>"I have, Hetty; next to my mother he is the dearest care of + my life. I could not have told you this but for your tears. My + mother and I are very poor, Hetty, and my uncle had lately + taken my boy and promised to put him forward in the world. He + is rather a wilful lad, my poor darling, and is very delicate + besides. Now, it seems, by my uncle's marriage and death he has + lost all the prospect he had in life. And worst of all he has + run away. And my mother is so ill. It will kill her."</p> + + <p>Miss Davis bowed her pale worn face on her hands, and Hetty, + young as she was, seemed to feel the whole meaning of this poor + woman's life, her struggles to help others, her unselfish + anxieties, her love of her mother and brother hidden away under + a quiet, grave exterior. What a brave part she was playing in + life, in spite of her prim looks and methodical ways. Hetty was + completely carried away by the sight of her suffering, and + could no longer contain her secret. She forgot Mark's warning + looks, and his sovereign contempt, always freely expressed, for + those who would blab; and she said in a low eager voice:</p> + + <p>"Oh, Miss Davis, I <i>must</i> tell the truth. It was all a + trick of me and Mark. He made it up out of his head, without + really knowing anything about your people. Only for fun, you + know."</p> + + <p>"What do you mean, Hetty?"</p> + + <p>"We were the old man and woman, Mr. and Mrs. Crawford. + Indeed we were, and there are no such people. And your uncle is + neither married nor dead. And your brother has not run away. + And your mother will be all right; and do not grieve any more, + dear Miss Davis."</p> + + <p>Hetty put her arms round the governess's neck as she spoke, + and laughed and sobbed together. Miss Davis seemed quite + stunned with the revelation.</p> + + <p>"Are you sure you are not dreaming, Hetty? I want a few + moments to think it all over. None of these dreadful things + have really happened! Well, my dear, I must first thank + God."</p> + + <p>"Oh, Miss Davis, I wish you would beat me."</p> + + <p>"No, dear, I won't beat you. Only don't another time think + it good fun to cut a poor governess to the heart. Perhaps you + thought I had not much feeling in me."</p> + + <p>"Not very much," said Hetty. "I knew you were very good, and + strong, and wise, and learned; but I did not know you could + love people."</p> + + <p>"You know it now. For the future do not think that because + people are colder in their manner than you are they are + therefore heartless. Persons who lead the life that I lead, + have to keep many feelings shut up within themselves, and to + accustom themselves to do without sympathy."</p> + + <p>Hetty pondered over these words. She wanted to say that she + thought it would do quite as well to show more feeling, and + look for a little more sympathy. She was now sure that she + could always have loved Miss Davis, had she only known her from + the first to be so warm-hearted and so truly affectionate. But + she did not know how to express herself and remained + silent.</p> + + <p>"Miss Davis," she said presently; "must governesses always + keep their hearts shut up, and try to look as if they loved + nobody? You know I am going to be a governess some day, and + that is why I ask."</p> + + <p>Miss Davis was startled. "Do I look as if I loved nobody?" + she asked.</p> + + <p>"A little," said Hetty.</p> + + <p>"Then I must be wrong. It cannot be good to look as if one + loved nobody. At the same time it <i>is</i> very necessary to + curb all one's feelings. Phyllis, for instance, would not + respect me if she thought me what she would call sentimental. + And even Nell would perhaps smile at me as a simpleton if she + saw me looking for particular affection. Even you, + Hetty—you who think so much about love!—could I + manage you at all if I did not know how to look stern?"</p> + + <p>"You could," said Hetty; "you could manage me better by + smiling at me; just try, Miss Davis. But oh, I forgot; I have + got to be a governess too, and perhaps I had better be hardened + up."</p> + + <p>Miss Davis was silent, thinking over Hetty's words. That + this ardent child found her "hardened up" was an unpleasant + surprise to her; but she was not above taking a hint even from + one so young and faulty as Hetty. She would try to be warmer, + brighter with this girl. And then she reflected sadly on the + prospect before Hetty. With a nature like hers, how would she + ever become sufficiently disciplined to be fit for the life of + toil and self-repression that lay before her?</p> + + <p>The next day Hetty looked out anxiously for an opportunity + of speaking privately to Mark.</p> + + <p>"I have something to say to you, Mark," she said; "I had to + tell Miss Davis that we played the trick."</p> + + <p>"You had to tell her!" said Mark scornfully; "well, if ever + I trust a tell-tale of a girl again. You are just as sneaky as + Nell after all."</p> + + <p>"Nell is not sneaky; and you ought not to call me a + tell-tale. You ran away and left me with all Miss Davis's + trouble on my shoulders. I didn't want to tell; but it was + better than having her suffer so dreadfully."</p> + + <p>"Oh, very well. You can make a friend of her. Go away and + sit up prim like Phyllis. You shall have no more fun with me, I + can tell you."</p> + + <p>A lump came in Hetty's throat. She knew Mark was in the + wrong, and was very unkind besides; but still he had so often + been good to her that she could not bear to quarrel with + him.</p> + + <p>"I am very sorry," she said; "but I don't think you need be + afraid that Miss Davis will complain to anyone about us."</p> + + <p>This made Mark more angry; for he did not like to hear the + word "afraid" applied to himself; and yet his chief uneasiness + had been lest the occurrence of last evening should come to the + ears of his father, who had a great dislike for practical + jokes.</p> + + <p>"Afraid? I am not afraid of anything, you little duffer. She + can tell all about it to the whole house if she likes," he + said, and turning on his heel went off whistling.</p> + + <p>Hetty was right in the guess she had made regarding Miss + Davis, who did not say a word to anyone about the trick that + had been played on her. She was too thankful to know that she + had suffered from a false alarm, that her beloved brother was + safe under the protection of the uncle who had promised to + befriend him, and that her dear mother was spared the terrible + anxiety that had seemed to have overtaken her; she was much too + glad thinking of all this to feel disposed to be angry with + anyone. Besides, this accident had brought to light a side of + Hetty's character which she had hardly got a glimpse of before. + The child had evinced a warmth of feeling towards herself which + neither of her other two pupils had ever shown her, and this in + forgetfulness of the somewhat hard demeanour with which she had + been hitherto treated. The little girl was, it appeared, + capable of knowing that certain things she did not like were + yet for her good, and of respecting the persons who were to her + rather a stern providence. Her extreme sorrow for giving pain + was also to be noted, and the fact that she had realized the + work that was before her in life. All these things sank deeply + into Miss Davis's mind, and made her feel far more interested + in Hetty than she had ever felt before.</p> + + <p>But Hetty did not know anything of all this. She saw Miss + Davis precise and cold-looking as ever, going through the day's + routine as if the events of that memorable evening had never + happened; and she thought that everything was just as it had + been before, except that Mark had quarrelled with her and would + scarcely speak to her. She felt this a heavy trial, and but for + occasional visits to Mrs. Kane and Scamp would have found it + harder than she could bear.</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" + id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></h4> + + <h3>HETTY'S CONSTANCY.</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>"I hope Hetty is getting on better in the school-room now," + said Mrs. Enderby to Phyllis one day; "I have not heard any + complaints for some time."</p> + + <p>"I think she is doing pretty well, mother; at least she + behaves better to Miss Davis. As for me, I have very little to + do with her. I notice, however, that she has quarrelled with + Mark. He and she used to be great friends, because she is such + a romp and ready for any rough play. But now he does not speak + to her."</p> + + <p>"That does not matter much," said Mrs. Enderby smiling; "she + will be better with Miss Davis and you. You must continue to + take an interest in the poor child, dear Phyllis. I wish she + gave as little trouble as you do."</p> + + <p>Phyllis was one of those girls for whom mothers ought to be + more uneasy than for the wilder and naughtier children who + cause them perpetual annoyance. She was so proper in all her + ways, and so well-behaved as never to seem in fault. Her + reasons for everything she said and did were so ready and so + plausible, that it required a rather clever and far-seeing + person to detect the deep-rooted pride and self-complacency + that lay beneath them. To manage all things quietly her own + way, to be accounted wise and good, and greatly superior to + ordinary girls of her age, was as the breath of life to + Phyllis. To have to stand morally or actually in the corner + with other naughty children was a humiliation she had + unfortunately never experienced, but was one which would have + done her a world of good. All those early storms of remorse, + repentance, compunction, which do so much to prepare the ground + for a growth of virtue in children's hearts, were an unknown + experience to her. She believed in herself, and she expected + others, young and old, to believe in her. Such characters, if + not discovered and humbled in time, are likely to have a + terrible future, and to grow up the unconscious enemies of + their own happiness and that of the people who live around + them.</p> + + <p>Mark kept up his indignation towards Hetty for a week. He + did not grieve over the quarrel as she did, but he missed her + sadly in his games. However, an accident soon occurred which + made them friends again.</p> + + <p>Mark had had a piece of land given to him in a retired part + of the grounds, and he was full of the project of making a + garden of his own, according to his own particular fancy. His + father was pleased to allow him to do this, being glad of + anything that would occupy the restless lad while at home for + his holidays.</p> + + <p>"I will draw all the beds geometrically myself," said Mark, + "and make it quite different from anything you have ever seen. + And then I will build a tea-house all of fir, and line it with + cones, and it will have a delightful perfume."</p> + + <p>Then he said to himself that if Hetty had not turned out so + badly he would have asked her to make tea very often in his + nice house among his flowers. But, of course, he could not ask + a tell-tale duffer of a girl to do anything for him.</p> + + <p>He set to work to plan his beds, and one afternoon was busy + marking off spaces with wooden pegs and a long line of cord. + After working some time he came to the end of his pegs, and was + annoyed to find that he had not enough to finish the particular + figure he was planning. He did not like to drop his line to go + for more pegs, as he feared his work was not secure enough, and + would fall astray if the string was not held taut till the end + should be properly secured.</p> + + <p>Just as he looked around impatiently, not knowing what to + do, he saw Hetty coming along the path above him, walking + slowly and reading. She was very often reduced to the necessity + of taking a story-book as companion of her leisure hours, now + that Mark would have nothing to do with her. This afternoon + Phyllis and Nell were out driving with their mother, and Miss + Davis had seized the opportunity to write letters. Hetty was + therefore thrown on her own resources and was roaming about + with a book. She would have rushed away to Mrs. Kane's at once, + but she knew that this was John Kane's dinner hour. But half an + hour hence she would set off for the village, and have a nice + long chat with her foster-mother.</p> + + <p>Hetty descended the winding path with her eyes on her book, + and before she saw him, nearly stumbled against Mark.</p> + + <p>"Do you mean to walk over a fellow?" said Mark in an + aggrieved tone.</p> + + <p>"Oh, Mark, I beg your pardon. I did not know you were here. + Now," she added, looking round wistfully, "if you wouldn't be + cross with me what a nice time we could have working at your + garden together."</p> + + <p>"If you weren't disagreeable, I suppose you mean. Well, yes, + we could. But you see we're not friends."</p> + + <p>"And you won't, won't be?" said Hetty anxiously.</p> + + <p>"Well, look here, if you hold this string for me a bit I'll + think about it. My pegs are shaky until the string is fastened + up tight, and I can't drop it, and I must go to the stable-yard + for some more pegs. If you hold this string till I come back, + perhaps I will forgive you."</p> + + <p>"Oh yes, I will hold it," said Hetty; and down went her book + on the grass, and she took the cord and held it as Mark + directed.</p> + + <p>"Be sure to keep steady till I come back," he said; "and you + mustn't mind if I am kept a little while. I may have to look + for Jack, who has the key of the storehouse where the pegs are + kept."</p> + + <p>And off he went.</p> + + <p>When he got to the stable-yard he met a groom who was coming + to look for him, saying that his father wanted him to go out + riding. Mr. Enderby was already in the saddle, and Mark's pony + was waiting beside him at the door. Mark, who loved a ride, + especially in company with his father, at once vaulted on the + pony's back and was soon trotting out of the gates, laughing + and chatting with his papa. He had completely forgotten Hetty, + and the pegs, and the cord that had to be held taut till he + should come back.</p> + + <p>In the meantime Hetty was standing just where he had left + her, looking in the direction from which he was to return. A + quarter of an hour passed, and her finger and thumb, which held + the string exactly as Mark had directed, were a little stiff. + Another quarter passed, and lest the cord should relax she + changed it from one hand to the other.</p> + + <p>"Jack must have gone out," she thought, "and Mark is waiting + for him. I wish he would come back, for I do want to see Mrs. + Kane."</p> + + <p>However, another quarter passed and Mark did not appear. + Hetty was very cold, for it was damp wintry weather with a + sharp wind, and one gets chilly standing perfectly still so + long in the open air. She felt tempted to put down the string + and go to look for Mark, but on reflection thought it would be + disloyal to do so. He should not be disappointed in her again. + Something extraordinary had happened to keep him away, but he + should find her at her post when he came back. Then he would be + sure to forgive her, and she would be happy again.</p> + + <p>Another half-hour passed and her toes were half-frozen, and + her fingers and her little nose pinched and red. She wished she + had put on her gloves before she took the cord in her hands. + Now she could not drop it to put them on. The jacket she wore + was not a very warm one. Oh, why did not Mark come back? It + occurred to her that perhaps he might be playing a trick to + punish her; but she could not believe he would be so cruel. + Should she drop the string at last, and tell him afterwards + that she had held it as long as she could endure the cold? No, + she would go on holding it. He should see that she could bear + something for his sake.</p> + + <p>Hetty had been about an hour shivering at her post when + Mark, riding gaily along the road many miles from home, + suddenly remembered Hetty and the cord. He felt greatly + startled and shocked at his carelessness. "I ought to have sent + Jack with the pegs to finish the work, and to tell her I was + going to ride," he reflected; "but it can't be helped now. She + will never be such a goose as to stay there long." And he felt + more sorry thinking of how the string would be lying slack + until his return than for treating Hetty so inconsiderately. + Trying to put the whole thing out of his head he began to + chatter to his father about something that had happened at + school, and thought no more about the matter till he had + returned home an hour later.</p> + + <p>Then he sprang from his pony and ran off to his garden to + see if he could tighten up the string before it became quite + dark night. Could he believe his eyes? There was Hetty holding + the string as he had left her.</p> + + <p>"Do you mean to say you have been there ever since?" he said + in utter amazement.</p> + + <p>"Yes," said Hetty, trying to keep her teeth from chattering. + "You told me not to mind if you were kept a while. And I did + not mind."</p> + + <p>"But do you know that I have been two hours away, and have + had a long ride with father?" said Mark.</p> + + <p>"It seemed a long time," said Hetty; "but I did not know + what you were doing. I promised to stay and I stayed."</p> + + <p>"Well, you were a precious goose," he said, taking the + string out of her hand. "Nobody but a stupid of a girl would do + such a thing."</p> + + <p>Hetty said nothing, but slapped her hands together, and + tried to keep the tears of disappointment from coming into her + eyes.</p> + + <p>"Here, hold the string a moment longer while I put this peg + properly into the ground. Can't you catch it tight? Oh, your + fingers are stiff. There, that will do for to-night Now, come + home and get warm again."</p> + + <p>They walked up to the house together. Hetty was too cold, + and tired, and hurt to speak again, and Mark was too much + annoyed at his own carelessness, and what he called Hetty's + stupidity, to be able to thank her, and offer to make friends + with her. Hetty went up to her own room to take off her things, + and when she came down to the school-room she found that the + tea was over and she was in disgrace for staying out so long. + Phyllis cast a disapproving glance at her as she entered. + Punctuality was one of Phyllis's virtues. Miss Davis rebuked + Hetty for staying out alone so late.</p> + + <p>"I must tell Mrs. Kane," she said, "not to keep you so late + when you go to see her."</p> + + <p>Then Hetty was obliged to say that she had not been to see + Mrs. Kane.</p> + + <p>"Where, then, can you have been for two hours all + alone?"</p> + + <p>"I was all the time in the grounds," said Hetty.</p> + + <p>She had made up her mind that she would not "tell" this time + of Mark, and the consciousness that she was in an awkward + position made her colour up and look as if guilty of some fault + she did not wish to own. Phyllis looked at her narrowly and + glanced at Miss Davis, who had a pained expression on her face, + but who said nothing more at the time, being willing to screen + Hetty if she could.</p> + + <p>"Hetty, I am sure you have got cold," said Nell after some + time; "you are all shivery-shuddery."</p> + + <p>"My head is aching," said Hetty; "I don't feel well."</p> + + <p>"I suppose you were sitting all the time reading a + story-book," said Phyllis, "that would give you cold in weather + like this."</p> + + <p>"No, I was not reading, at least not long," said Hetty.</p> + + <p>"But were you sitting?"</p> + + <p>"No."</p> + + <p>"Walking?"</p> + + <p>"No, not much."</p> + + <p>"My dear, you must not cross-question like that," said Miss + Davis. "Perhaps Hetty will tell me by and by what she was + doing."</p> + + <p>A frown gathered on Phyllis's fair brows and she turned + coldly to her lesson book which she was studying for the next + day. She could not bear even so slight a rebuke as this, but + she knew how to reserve the expression of her displeasure to a + fitting time. She herself believed that she bore an undeserved + reproof with dignity, but some day in the future the governess + would be made to suffer some petty annoyance or disappointment + in atonement for her misconduct in finding fault with her + pattern pupil. Hetty raised her eyes with a thankful glance at + Miss Davis, who saw that they were full of tears. A sudden + warmth kindled in Miss Davis's heart as she saw that Hetty + trusted in her forbearance, and she said presently:</p> + + <p>"I think you had better go to bed now, Hetty. You look + unwell; and bed is the best place for a cold."</p> + + <p>"May I go with her, and see that she is covered up warm?" + said Nell.</p> + + <p>"Yes," said Miss Davis, "certainly." And the two little + girls left the room together, Hetty squeezing Nell's hand in + gratitude for her kindness.</p> + + <p>When they got up to Hetty's room Nell's curiosity could no + longer restrain itself.</p> + + <p>"Oh, Hetty," she said, "will you tell me what you were + doing? I can see it is a great secret. And I won't tell + anybody."</p> + + <p>"Neither will I," said Hetty laughing; "but I was not + hurting anyone, nor breaking the laws."</p> + + <p>"Now, you are making fun of me," said Nell; "it is too bad + not to tell me. And Phyllis will be cool with me to-night for + running after you."</p> + + <p>"Then why did you not stay in the school-room?" said Hetty + sadly. "I don't want to make coolness between you and + Phyllis."</p> + + <p>"I shouldn't mind Phyllis if you would let me have a secret + with you. It is so nice to have a secret, and it is so hard to + get one. Everybody knows all about everything."</p> + + <p>"I don't agree with you; I hate secrets," said Hetty. "This + is not much of one, I think, but it is somebody else's affair, + and I will not tell it."</p> + + <p>Having wrung so much as this from Hetty, Nell grew wildly + excited over the matter, and was so annoyed at not having her + curiosity gratified that she went away out of the room in a + hurry without having seen whether Hetty was warm enough or not. + On her return to the school-room she announced that Hetty could + not tell anything about how she had passed the afternoon, + because it was somebody else's secret.</p> + + <p>"Perhaps she has been bringing some village girl or boy into + the grounds," said Phyllis quietly.</p> + + <p>"I will talk to her myself about this," said Miss Davis; + "pray attend to your studies."</p> + + <p>Miss Davis on reflection thought Phyllis might be right, and + that having made acquaintance with some young companion in Mrs. + Kane's cottage, Hetty might have been induced to admit her or + him to the grounds so as to give pleasure. She knew how + strongly the child was influenced by her likings and lovings, + and feared that this might be the case of Scamp over again, + with the important difference that Hetty was now a girl in her + twelfth year, and that her new favourite might prove to be a + human being instead of a dog.</p> + + <p>The next day Hetty was seriously ill. She had caught a + severe cold and lay tossing feverishly in her bed. Miss Davis + came up to see her in the afternoon and sat at her bedside for + half an hour.</p> + + <p>"Hetty," she said, "I fear you must have been very foolish + yesterday, and that your cold is the consequence. Now that we + are alone I expect you will tell me exactly all that you + did."</p> + + <p>"I can't indeed, Miss Davis."</p> + + <p>"You disappoint me exceedingly. I had been thinking so much + better of you; I conclude you were not alone yesterday."</p> + + <p>"Not all the time, but most of it."</p> + + <p>"Who was with you when you were not alone?"</p> + + <p>Hetty hesitated, and then said, "Mark."</p> + + <p>"But Mark was out riding with his father."</p> + + <p>"Yes."</p> + + <p>"And you were alone all that time."</p> + + <p>"Yes."</p> + + <p>"And yet there is something behind that you will not tell. + Hetty, I always thought you frank till now. Why are you making + a mystery?"</p> + + <p>"I can't tell you, Miss Davis; I was not doing any + harm."</p> + + <p>"How am I to believe that?" said Miss Davis.</p> + + <p>"Oh, my head!" moaned Hetty, as the pain seemed crushing it. + She thought that if she were to die for it she would not tell + that Mark had treated her badly.</p> + + <p>Miss Davis went away hurt and displeased, and Hetty was very + much alone for several days, being too ill to leave her room, + and too deeply in disgrace to be petted by anyone. She was very + unhappy, and lay wondering how it was that with a strong desire + to do right she seemed always going wrong. If she had dropped + the string, gone away to see Mrs. Kane as she had been longing + to do, and returned in good time to the school-room to tea, + Mark would perhaps have been better pleased with her than he + actually was. He had not guessed that she had meant to please + him, to make up for telling Miss Davis that they two had played + her a trick. He did not ask about her now she was ill, or + notice that she was keeping silence and allowing herself to be + misunderstood in order that he might not be blamed. If all were + told he could not be much blamed, it was true, for what was a + mere piece of forgetfulness. But that carelessness of his was a + fault of which his father was very impatient, and which always + brought on him a severe reprimand.</p> + + <p>"And I will not tell this time," said Hetty to herself, as + her eyes feverishly danced after the spots on the wall-paper. + "When I told before, it was to save Miss Davis from suffering, + this time there is nobody to suffer but myself."</p> + + <p>In the meantime Mark was spending a few days with a + school-fellow at a distance of some miles, and had gone away + without hearing about Hetty's illness. As soon as he returned + home he missed her, and learned that she was shut up in her + room.</p> + + <p>He immediately went to inquire for her, and met Miss Davis + on the stairs.</p> + + <p>"I'm sure I don't wonder she got a cold," he said, "but I + never meant her to do it."</p> + + <p>"To do what?" asked Miss Davis.</p> + + <p>"Why, did she not tell you?"</p> + + <p>"I have not been able to get her to tell me what she was + about that day for two hours alone in the grounds. She has not + behaved well, I am sorry to say; she has been in disgrace as + well as ill."</p> + + <p>"Then it was a jolly shame!" burst forth Mark. "I left her + to hold a string for me, and I forgot all about her, and went + away to ride. And she stood holding the string for two hours in + the cold. And I called her a duffer for not running away and + letting all my pegs go crooked in the ground. Oh, I say, Miss + Davis, it makes a fellow feel awfully ashamed of himself."</p> + + <p>"So it ought," said Miss Davis, who now understood the whole + thing. "She would not tell for fear of getting you blamed."</p> + + <p>"And I called her a tell-tale before," said Mark, "because + she told you about the trick. I've been punishing her for weeks + about that. Miss Davis, can't I go in and see her and beg her + pardon?"</p> + + <p>"Certainly," said Miss Davis; "she is sitting at the fire, + and her eyes are red with crying. Come in with me and we will + try to make her happy again."</p> + + <p>"Why, Hetty, you do look miserable!" cried Mark, coming into + the room and looking ruefully at her pale cheeks and the black + shadows round her eyes. "And to think of you never telling + after all I made you suffer!"</p> + + <p>"I wanted to show you that I am not a tell-tale, Mark; but + oh, I am so glad you have come. I thought you were never going + to be friends with me again."</p> + + <p>"I was away four days," said Mark; "and of course I thought + you knew. But Hetty, you are a jolly queer girl I can tell you, + and I can't half understand you. Think of anyone standing two + hours to be pierced through and through with cold, rather than + drop a fellow's string and run away!"</p> + + <p>Hetty looked at him wistfully, recognizing the truth that he + never could understand the sort of feeling that led her into + making, as he considered, such a fool of herself. Miss Davis + gazed at her kindly and pityingly, thinking of how many hard + blows she would get in the future, in return for acts like that + which had so puzzled Mark. And she resolved that another time + she would be slow in blaming any eccentric conduct in Hetty, + and would wait till she could get at the motive which inspired + it.</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_XV" + id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a></h4> + + <h3>THE CHILDREN'S DANCE.</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>One day during these Christmas holidays a lady came to visit + at Wavertree Hall, bringing her two little girls. Phyllis and + Nell had gone with Miss Davis to see some other young friends + in the neighbourhood, and Hetty, who was spending one of her + lonely afternoons in the school-room with her books and work, + was sent for to take the little visitors for a walk in the + grounds, while their mother had tea with Mrs. Enderby.</p> + + <p>Hetty was pleased at being wanted, and soon felt at home + with the strange little girls, who at once took a great fancy + to her. Seeing she could give pleasure her spirits rose high, + and she became exceedingly merry, and said some very amusing + things.</p> + + <p>"I think," said Edith, the elder of the young visitors, + "that you must be the girl who told such funny stories one + evening when mamma dined here. She said it was as good as going + to the theatre."</p> + + <p>"That was a long time ago," said Hetty; "I am not funny now. + At least, very seldom."</p> + + <p>"I think you are funny to-day," said Grace, the second + sister; "I wish you would come to our house and act for us, as + you did then."</p> + + <p>"I don't go to houses," said Hetty, shaking her head; "I + belonged to Mrs. Rushton then, and she meant me to be a lady. + But now she is dead, and it is settled that I am not to be a + lady when I am grown up. I am only to be a governess, and work + for myself."</p> + + <p>"But governesses are ladies," said Edith; "a dear friend of + ours is a governess, and there never was a nicer lady."</p> + + <p>"Oh, I know," said Hetty; "Miss Davis is quite the same. But + I mean, I am not to be the kind of lady that goes out to + parties."</p> + + <p>"Well, I will try and get you leave to come to our party," + said Edith. "We are going to have one before the holidays are + over."</p> + + <p>"I don't think you will get leave from Mrs. Enderby," said + Hetty; "and then I have no frock."</p> + + <p>"They must get you a frock somewhere," said Grace; "I could + send you one of mine."</p> + + <p>"That would give offence, I am sure," said Hetty smiling. + "It is not for the trouble of getting the frock that Mrs. + Enderby would keep me from going. She does not wish me to get + accustomed to such things."</p> + + <p>"Then she is horrid," cried Edith; "making you just like + Cinderella."</p> + + <p>"No, no," said Hetty, "you must not say that. Cinderella was + a daughter of the house, and I am nobody's child. That is what + the village people say. And only think if they had sent me to a + charity school!"</p> + + <p>Edith and Grace gazed at her gravely. Hetty stood with her + hands behind her back, looking them in the eyes as she stated + her own case.</p> + + <p>"And you have nobody belonging to you, really, in the whole + world?" said Edith.</p> + + <p>"Nobody," said Hetty, "and nothing. At least nothing but a + tiny linen chemise."</p> + + <p>"Did you drop down out of the clouds in that?" asked Grace + with widening eyes.</p> + + <p>"No," said Hetty laughing; "but I came out of the sea in it. + I was washed up as a baby on the Long Sands. There were great + storms at the time and a great many shipwrecks. And nobody ever + asked about me. They must have been all drowned. John Kane, one + of Mr Enderby's carters, picked me up. So you see I am not the + kind of girl to be going out to parties."</p> + + <p>"You will have to be very learned if you are going to be a + governess," said Grace; "I suppose you are always + studying."</p> + + <p>"I work pretty hard at my books," said Hetty; "but I am not + clever. And how I am ever to be as well informed as Miss Davis + I don't know. Some things I remember quite well, and other + things I am always forgetting. I am sure if I ever get any + pupils they will laugh at me. I wish I could live in a little + cottage in the fields, and work in a garden and sell my + flowers."</p> + + <p>"I should always come and buy from you," said Grace; "what + kind of flowers would you keep?"</p> + + <p>"Oh, roses," said Hetty; "roses and violets. When I was in + London I saw people selling them in the streets. I would send + them to London and get money back."</p> + + <p>"I think I will come and live with you," said Grace + eagerly.</p> + + <p>"Grace, don't be a goose," saith Edith; "Hetty has not got a + cottage, and she is going to be a governess."</p> + + <p>"Yes," sighed Hetty; "but I shall never remember my + dates."</p> + + <p>A few days after this conversation occurred, an invitation + to a children's party came from Edith and Grace to all the + children at Wavertree Hall, including Hetty Gray. Mrs. Enderby + did not wish Hetty to know that she had been invited, but Nell + whispered the news to her.</p> + + <p>"Mamma and Phyllis think you ought not to go," said Nell; + "but Mark and I intend to fight for you. Mark says he was so + nasty to you lately that he wants to make up."</p> + + <p>Hetty's eyes sparkled at the idea of having this pleasant + variety.</p> + + <p>"I shall never be allowed to go," she said.</p> + + <p>"Oh, if it is only a frock, you can have one of mine," said + Nell; "I got a new one for the last party, and my one before is + not so bad."</p> + + <p>"It isn't the frock, I am sure," said Hetty; "it is because + I am not to be a lady. At least," she added, remembering + Edith's rebuke, "I am not to be a party-lady, not a + dancing-and-dressing-lady. I am only to be a book-lady, a + penwiper-lady, a needle-and-thread-lady, you know, Nell."</p> + + <p>"Oh, Hetty! a penwiper-lady!"</p> + + <p>"Yes, haven't you seen them at bazaars?" said Hetty, + screwing up her little nose to keep from laughing.</p> + + <p>"I never know whether you are in earnest when you begin like + that," said Nell pouting; "I suppose you don't want to come + with us."</p> + + <p>However, when Hetty heard that she had really got leave to + go "for this once, because Edith and Grace had made such a + point of it," there was no mistake about her gladness to join + in the fun.</p> + + <p>"How will you ever keep me at home after this?" she said, as + Phyllis and Nell stood surveying her dressed in one of their + cast-off frocks, of a rose-coloured tint which suited her + brunette complexion. "I shall be getting into your pockets the + next time, and tumbling out in the ball-room with your + pocket-handkerchief."</p> + + <p>"No one wants to keep you at home, except for your own + good," said Phyllis with an air of wisdom.</p> + + <p>"Never mind, Phyllis, it won't be into your pocket that I + shall creep," said Hetty gaily.</p> + + <p>Phyllis did not feel like herself that evening, and was + dissatisfied about she knew not what. She could not admit to + herself that she was displeased because another was to enjoy a + treat, even though she thought she had a right to her belief + that it would have been better if Hetty had been made to stay + at home. "Of course, as mother consents, it is all right," she + had said; but still she did not feel as much enjoyment as usual + in dressing for the party. Half suspecting the cause of this, + and willing to restore her good opinion of her own virtue, she + brought a pretty fan to Hetty and offered to lend it to her. + Hetty took it with a look and exclamation of thanks; but + Phyllis thought she hardly expressed her gratitude with + sufficient humbleness. However, Phyllis had now soothed away + that faint doubt in her own mind as to her own kindness and + generosity, and took no further notice of her unwelcome + companion.</p> + + <p>Arrived at the ball, Hetty was warmly received by Edith and + Grace, and was soon in a whirl of delightful excitement. She + had "as many partners as she could use," as a tiny girl once + expressed it, and she was not, like Cinderella, afraid that her + frock would turn to rags, or anxious to run home before the + other dancers. Everybody was very kind to her, and if anyone + said, "That is the little girl whom Mr. Enderby is bringing up + for charity," Hetty did not hear it, and so did not care.</p> + + <p>"Oh, Hetty, you do look so nice!" said Nell, dancing up to + her. "A gentleman over there asked me if you were my sister. + And I did not tell him you were going to be a governess."</p> + + <p>"You might have told him," said Hetty. "I don't care. I have + been speaking to such a nice governess. She is here in care of + some little children. I think she is the prettiest lady in the + room; and she looks quite happy. I wish I could turn out + something like her. Only I shall never remember the dates."</p> + + <p>Hetty sighed, and the next minute was whirled away into the + dance again.</p> + + <p>Now Phyllis had told herself over and over again in the + course of the evening that she was very pleased poor Hetty + should be enjoying the pleasure of this party, always adding a + reflection, however, that she hoped she might not be spoiled by + so foolish an indulgence. "If I were going to be a governess," + thought she, "I should try to fit myself for the position. Of + course it is father's and mother's affair, but when one has a + little brains one can't help thinking, I believe if I were in + mother's position I should be wiser; but then, of course, I + cannot have any things or people to manage till I am grown up. + It is the duty of a girl to do what she is told; afterwards + people will have to do what she tells them. When the time comes + for me to be a mistress I shall take good care that everybody + does what is right."</p> + + <p>These reflections occurred to Phyllis while she was sitting + out a dance for which Hetty had got a partner.</p> + + <p>Soon afterwards, while the breathless flock of young dancers + were fanning themselves on the sofas, the lady of the house + requested Hetty to recite or act something to amuse the + company.</p> + + <p>At this proposal Hetty was startled and dismayed. It was a + very long time since she had done anything of the kind, except + for the amusement of Mark and Nell, and she had forgotten all + the old stories and characters that used to be found so + entertaining by grown people. She felt a shyness amounting to + terror at being obliged to come forward and perform before this + company; and, besides, she was very sure that Mrs. Enderby + would disapprove of her doing so. She therefore begged + earnestly to be excused, and retreated into a corner. The lady + of the house desisted for a time from her persuasions, but + after another dance was finished she renewed her request. + Hetty's distress increased, but she felt quite unable to + explain to her hostess the reasons why it was impossible she + could comply with her wishes. She could only repeat:</p> + + <p>"I forget how to do it; indeed I do. And Mrs. Enderby does + not like it."</p> + + <p>"Mrs. Enderby would like you to please me," said the + hostess. "And I cannot think you forget. My daughters tell me + you were most amusing last week when they saw you."</p> + + <p>"Was I?" said Hetty, dismayed. "But that was in the garden + and came by accident. I could not do anything before all this + crowd."</p> + + <p>"Well, if you were a shy child I could understand," said the + lady; "but you know I heard you long ago when you were much + younger. If you were not shy then you cannot be so now."</p> + + <p>Hetty could not explain that it was just because she was + older now that she was shy. Long ago she had been too small to + realize the position she was placed in. She felt ready to weep + at being found so disobliging, yet when she thought of the + performance required of her, her tongue clove to her mouth with + fright.</p> + + <p>The hostess now crossed the room to Phyllis, who had been + watching what had passed between her and Hetty from a + distance.</p> + + <p>"I have been trying to persuade little Miss Gray to recite + for us, or to do some of her amusing characters, but she has + all sorts of reasons why she cannot oblige me. Is she always so + obstinate?"</p> + + <p>Phyllis hesitated.</p> + + <p>"I think she has a pretty strong will of her own," she said. + "I am afraid she will not yield."</p> + + <p>"Well, my dear, you know her better than I do, and it is + nice of you not to be too ready to blame her. But I like little + girls who do as their elders bid them. And I confess I expected + to find her agreeable when I invited her here this + evening."</p> + + <p>Now if Phyllis had been as generous as she would have liked + to believe herself she would have said, "I know my mother does + not approve of Hetty's performances, and Hetty knows it too. + Perhaps this is why she refuses." But Phyllis, quite + unconsciously to herself, was pleased to hear Hetty blamed, and + was willing to think that she ought to have put all her + scruples aside in order to oblige Mrs. Enderby's friend. While + she considered about what it would be pretty to say, her + hostess went on:</p> + + <p>"I suppose she is a little conceited and spoiled. She is + certainly exceedingly pretty and clever."</p> + + <p>It was much more difficult now for Phyllis to make her + amiable speech; yet she had not the least idea that she was a + jealous or an envious girl. She always felt so good, and + everybody said she was so. Jealous people are always making + disturbance. Therefore it was quite impossible that Phyllis + could be jealous.</p> + + <p>"I will go and speak to her," she said to the lady of the + house, and crossed the room to where Hetty sat, looking + unhappy.</p> + + <p>"Hetty," said Phyllis, "I think you ought to do as you are + asked. It was exceedingly kind of Mrs. Cartwright to invite you + here. Of course she expected you to be obliging."</p> + + <p>"You mean that she asked me, thinking I would amuse the + company?" said Hetty quickly. "Then I am very sorry you have + told me so, Phyllis, for I should never have guessed it. And + now I shall feel miserable till I get away."</p> + + <p>"Can't you be agreeable?"</p> + + <p>"No, I can't. Just think of trying it yourself."</p> + + <p>"Of course it would not be suitable for me," said Phyllis. + "Our positions are different. However, if you choose to be + ungrateful you must."</p> + + <p>And she walked away, leaving Hetty sitting alone reflecting + sadly on her words. So after all it was not kindness and liking + for her that had made these people include her in their + invitation. It was only the desire to have their party made + more amusing by her performance. She wished she could do what + was required of her, so that she need owe them nothing. But she + could not; and how hateful she must seem.</p> + + <p>All her pleasure was over now, and she was glad when the + moment came to get away. Her silence was not noticed during the + drive home, for every one else was too sleepy to talk. But + Hetty was too unhappy to be sleepy.</p> + + <p>The next morning Miss Davis asked at breakfast if the party + had been enjoyable.</p> + + <p>"It was all very nice," said Phyllis, "until towards the + end, when Hetty put on fine airs and refused to be obliging. + After that we all felt uncomfortable."</p> + + <p>"That is not true, Miss Davis," said Hetty bluntly.</p> + + <p>Her temper had suddenly got the better of her.</p> + + <p>Phyllis's blue eyes contracted, and her lip curled.</p> + + <p>"Please send her out of the room, Miss Davis," she said.</p> + + <p>"Hetty, I am sorry for this," said Miss Davis, "I could not + have believed you would speak so rudely."</p> + + <p>"You have not heard the story, Miss Davis."</p> + + <p>"I have heard you put yourself very much in the wrong. + Phyllis would not tell an untruth of you, I am sure."</p> + + <p>"She said I put on fine airs," said Hetty, trembling with + indignation. "I did not put on airs. They wanted me to perform, + and I could not do it. If I had done it Phyllis would have been + the first to blame me. I remember how she scorned me for doing + it long ago."</p> + + <p>"I hope you will make her apologize to me, Miss Davis," said + Phyllis quietly. The more excited poor Hetty became, the + quieter grew the other girl.</p> + + <p>"She is ungenerous," continued Hetty, striving valiantly to + keep back her tears; "she knew her mother would not approve of + my performing; and besides, I told her I was afraid. If I had + done it she would have complained to Mrs. Enderby of my doing + it."</p> + + <p>This passionate accusation hit Phyllis home. She knew it was + true—so true that though she had arraigned Hetty before + Miss Davis for the pleasure of humbling her, she yet had no + intention of carrying the tale to her mother, fearing that Mrs. + Enderby would say that Hetty had been right. Had Hetty made "a + show of herself" by performing, Phyllis would perhaps have made + a grievance of it to her parents. Stung for a moment with the + consciousness that this was true, before she had had time to + persuade herself of the contrary, Phyllis grew white with + anger. The injury she could least forgive was a hurt to her + self-complacency.</p> + + <p>"She must apologize, Miss Davis, or I will go to papa," said + Phyllis, disdaining to glance at Hetty, but looking at her + governess.</p> + + <p>Miss Davis was troubled.</p> + + <p>"This is all very painful," she said. "Hetty, you had better + go to your room till you have recovered your composure. + Whatever may have been your motives last night you have now put + yourself in the wrong by speaking so rudely."</p> + + <p>Hetty flashed out of the room, and Phyllis, quiet and + triumphant, turned to her lesson-books with a most virtuous + expression upon her placid face.</p> + + <p>Hetty wept for an hour in her own room. Looking back on her + conduct she could not see that she had been more to blame than + Phyllis. Oh, how was it that Phyllis was always proved to be so + good while she was always forced into the wrong? She remembered + a prayer asking for meekness which Mrs. Kane had taught her, + and she knelt by her bedside and said it aloud; and just then + she heard Miss Davis calling to her to open the door.</p> + + <p>"My dear," said the governess, "I have come to tell you that + you really must apologize to Phyllis. It was exceedingly rude + of you to tell her so flatly that her words were untrue."</p> + + <p>Hetty flushed up to the roots of her hair and for a few + moments could not speak. She had just been on her knees asking + for strength from God to overcome her pride, and here was an + opportunity for practising meekness. But it was dreadfully + hard, thought Hetty.</p> + + <p>"I will try and do it, Miss Davis. But may I write a letter + in my own way?"</p> + + <p>"Certainly, my dear. I am glad to find you so willing to + acknowledge yourself in fault."</p> + + <p>Left alone to perform her task Hetty opened her desk and sat + biting her pen. At last she wrote:</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>"Dear Phyllis,—I am very sorry I said so rudely + that you did not tell the truth. But oh, why did you not + tell it, and then there need not have been any trouble?</p> + + <p style="margin-left: 4em;">"HETTY."</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>Hetty brought this note herself into the school-room, and in + presence of Miss Davis handed it to Phyllis.</p> + + <p>"Do you call that an apology?" said Phyllis, handing the + note to Miss Davis.</p> + + <p>"I don't think you have made things any better, Hetty," said + Miss Davis.</p> + + <p>"I said what I could, Miss Davis. Phyllis ought to apologize + to me now."</p> + + <p>Phyllis gave her a look of cold surprise, and took up a + book.</p> + + <p>"Pray, Miss Davis, do not mind," said she over the edges of + her book. "I expect nothing but insolence from Hetty Gray. + Mother little knew what she was providing for us when she + brought her here."</p> + + <p>Hetty turned wildly to the governess. "Miss Davis," she + cried, "can I not go away somewhere, away from here? Is there + not some place in the world where they would give a girl like + me work to do? How can I go on living here, to be treated as + Phyllis treats me?"</p> + + <p>Miss Davis took her by the hand and led her out of the room + and upstairs to her own chamber. Having closed the door she sat + down and talked to her.</p> + + <p>"Hetty," she said, "when you give way to your pride in + passions like this you forget things. You asked me just now, is + there any place where people would give work to a girl like you + to do? I don't think there is—no place such as you could + go to."</p> + + <p>"I would go anywhere," moaned Hetty.</p> + + <p>"Anywhere is nowhere," said Miss Davis. "Just look round you + and see all that is given to you in this house. There is your + comfortable bed to sleep in, you have your meals when you are + hungry, you have good clothing, you have a warm fireside to sit + at, you have the protection of an honourable home. Yet you + would fling away all these advantages because of a few wounds + to your pride. Phyllis is trying, I admit—I have to + suffer from her at times myself—but you and I must bear + with something for the sake of what we receive."</p> + + <p>Hetty raised her eyes and looked at Miss Davis's worn face + and the line of pain that had come out sharply across her brow, + and forgot herself for the moment, thinking of the governess's + patient life.</p> + + <p>"But, Miss Davis, <i>you</i> need not suffer from Phyllis; + you are not like me. Any people would be glad to get you, who + are so clever and so good. You could complain of her to her + mother, and if she did not get better you could go away."</p> + + <p>"Should I be any more safe from annoyance in another family? + Hetty, my dear, there are always thorns in the path of those + who are poor and dependent on others, and our wisest course is + to make the best of things. I might say to you, <i>you</i> have + no one to think of but yourself. For me, I have a mother to + support, and I have to think of my dear young brother, who is + not too wise for his own interests, and whose prospects are at + the mercy of a rather capricious old uncle."</p> + + <p>"Oh that I had a mother and a brother to work for!" cried + Hetty passionately.</p> + + <p>"Perhaps that would teach you wisdom, my dear. However, + profit by my experience and be cheered up. Take no notice if + Phyllis is unkind. It is better to be here, even with her + unkindness, than straying about the world alone, meeting with + such misfortunes as you never dreamed of."</p> + + <p>After Miss Davis had left her, Hetty sat a long time + pondering over that lady's words. It seemed to her that the + governess, good and patient as she was, had no motive for her + conduct high enough to carry her through the trials of her + life. It was certainly an excellent thing to be prudent for the + sake of her mother and brother; to bear with present evils for + fear of worse evils that might come. But yet—but yet, was + there not a higher motive than all this for learning to be meek + and humble of heart? Looking into her own proud and stubborn + nature, the little girl assured herself that Miss Davis's + motives would never be in themselves enough for her, + Hetty—never sufficiently strong to crush the rebellion of + self in her stormy young soul. Instinctively her thoughts flew + to Mrs. Kane, and seizing her hat and cloak she flew out of the + house, and away down the road to the labourer's cottage.</p> + + <p>Fortunately it was a good hour for her visit. John had gone + out after his dinner. The cottage kitchen was tidied up, the + fire shining, the two old straw arm-chairs drawn up by the + hearth. Mrs. Kane was just screwing up her eyes, trying to + thread a needle, when Hetty dashed in and flung her arms around + her neck.</p> + + <p>"Oh, Mrs. Kane, the pride has got so bad again; and I have + been quarrelling with Phyllis and wanting to run away."</p> + + <p>"Run away!" said Mrs. Kane; "oh, no, dearie, never run away + from your post."</p> + + <p>"What is my post?" said Hetty weeping; "I have no post. I am + only a charity girl and in everybody's way. Phyllis hints it to + me in every way she can, even when she does not say it + outright. Oh, how can I have patience to grow up? Why does it + take so long to get old?"</p> + + <p>Mrs. Kane sighed. "It doesn't take long to grow old, dear, + once you are fairly in the tracks of the years. But it does + take a while to grow up. And you must have patience, Hetty. + There's nothing else for it but the patience and meekness of + God."</p> + + <p>Hetty drew a long breath. All that was spiritual within her + hung now on Mrs. Kane's words. The patience of God was such a + different thing from the prudence of this world. That was the + difference between Miss Davis and Mrs. Kane.</p> + + <p>"There was something beautiful you said one day," said Hetty + in a whisper; "say it again. It was, 'Learn of me—'"</p> + + <p>"Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart," said Mrs. + Kane. "That is the word you want, my darling, and it was said + for such as you."</p> + + <p>Hetty's tears fell fast, but they were no longer angry + tears. She was crying now with longing to be good.</p> + + <p>"There was something else," she said presently, when she + could find her voice; "something that was spoken for me + too."</p> + + <p>"Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom + of heaven," said Mrs. Kane, stroking her head. And then Hetty + cried more wildly, thinking with remorse of her own pride.</p> + + <p>"If He is for you, my dear, you needn't care who is against + you," continued Mrs. Kane; "take that into your heart and keep + it there."</p> + + <p>After that they had a long talk about all Hetty's + difficulties, and when at last the little girl left the + cottage, it was with a lighter step than had brought her there. + When she walked into the school-room just in time for tea the + signs of woe were gone from her countenance, and she looked + even brighter than usual. Without giving herself time to think, + or to observe the looks of those in the room, she went straight + up to Phyllis and said cheerfully:</p> + + <p>"Phyllis, I am sorry I gave you offence. I hope you will + forget it and be friends with me"; and then she took her seat + at the table as if nothing had happened.</p> + + <p>Miss Davis, who had been rather dreading her appearance, + fearing a renewal of the quarrel, looked up at her and actually + coloured all over her faded face with pleasure and surprise. + Hetty had really taken her lessons to heart, and was going to + be a wise and prudent girl after all. She little thought that a + far higher spirit actuated the girl than had at all entered + into her teachings.</p> + + <p>Phyllis glanced round with a triumphant air as if saying, + "Now I am indeed proved in the right. She herself has + acknowledged it!" and then she said gently:</p> + + <p>"I accept your apology, Hetty, and I will not say anything + of the matter to my mother."</p> + + <p>"Is not Phyllis good," whispered Nell afterwards, "not to + tell mamma? Because you know, you were very naughty to her, + Hetty, and she is papa's daughter and the eldest."</p> + + <p>Nell's friendly speeches were sometimes hard to bear, as + well as Phyllis's unfriendly ones. Hetty would have been glad + if the whole affair could have been laid before Mrs. Enderby, + and saw no reason to congratulate herself on Phyllis's silence + to her mother as to the quarrel and its cause. But the others + judged differently. Miss Davis was pleased that by her own tact + she had been able to arrange matters without calling in the aid + of Mrs. Enderby, who, she was aware, liked a governess to have + judgment and decision sufficient to keep the mistress of the + house out of school-room squabbles. Nell was delighted that + there was to be no more "fuss." Phyllis above all was pleased, + for now she felt no more necessity for questioning her own + motives and conduct, no more danger of being told by her mother + that Hetty had in the beginning been in the right, while she, + by opposing her, had brought on the wrong which had + followed.</p> + + <p>Falling back upon her own doctrine, that she must be right + because her judgment told her so, Phyllis was coldly amiable to + Hetty for the rest of the evening; while Hetty, having made her + act of humility, rather suffered from a reaction of feeling, + and had to struggle hard to keep the moral vantage-ground she + had gained.</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" + id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a></h4> + + <h3>A TRIAL OF PATIENCE.</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>Two more years passed over Hetty's head. She had grown tall + and looked old for her age, her large gray eyes were full of + serious thought, her brow was grave, and the expression of her + mouth touched with sadness. The haughtiness and mirth of her + childhood were alike gone. Earnest desire to attain to a + difficult end was the one force that moved her, and this had + become visible in her every word and glance. She was painfully + aware that the time was approaching when she must go forth to + battle with the world for herself, and that on her own + qualifications for fighting that battle her position in the + world must depend. That she had not sufficient aptitude for + learning out of books, or for remembering readily all that she + gathered from them, she greatly feared. Her memory gave her + back in pictures whatever had engaged her imagination; but much + that was useful and necessary was wont to pass away out of her + grasp. Thorough determination, close application, did not + remove this difficulty, and she was warned by those around her + that unless she could make better use for study of the three + years yet before her than she had made of those that lay behind + her, she could never be a teacher of a very high order. Of all + that this failure meant, Hetty understood more clearly now than + when she had wished to live with Mrs. Kane and be the village + schoolmistress. Loving all that was beautiful and refined in + life, she had learned to dread, from another motive than pride, + the fate of being thrown upon a lower social level. And yet + this was a fate which seemed now to stare her in the face.</p> + + <p>Mr. Enderby, who had of late taken a personal interest in + her studies, examining her from time to time on various + subjects, said to her:</p> + + <p>"My little girl, if you do not wake up and work harder I + fear you will have to take an inferior position in life to that + which I desired for you."</p> + + <p>Poor Hetty! Was she not wide awake? So wide awake that when + he and all the household were asleep she lay staring her + misfortune in the face. And how could she work harder than she + did, weeping in secret over the dry facts that would not leave + their mark upon her brain? Thus it was that life looked dreary + to her, and her face was grave and pale. Phyllis and Nell, who + were three and two years older than herself, had begun to talk + of the joys which the magic age of eighteen had in store for + them. They would leave off study and go forth into the + enjoyment of their youth in a flattering world. Idleness, + pleasure, happiness awaited them. No one could say they were + not sufficiently well educated to take that graceful place in + life which Providence had assigned to them; Hetty was rebuked + for being less learned than she ought to be, because for her + there was no graceful place prepared; only a difficult and + narrow path leading away she knew not where.</p> + + <p>Of the difference between their position and hers she could + not help thinking, but she had been so long accustomed to + realize it that she did not dwell upon it much. Miss Davis was + the person on whom her eyes were fixed as an image of what she + ought to hope to become.</p> + + <p>To be exactly like Miss Davis. To look like her, think like + her, be as well informed, as independent, as much respected; to + teach as well, speak as wisely, be called an admirable woman + who had fought her own way against poverty in the world, this + was what Hetty had been assured by Mr. and Mrs. Enderby ought + to be the object of her ambition and the end of all her hopes. + And Hetty tried honestly to will as they willed for her good. + But her face was not less sad on that account.</p> + + <p>Things were in this state when one day, a day never to be + forgotten by her, Hetty was feeling more than usually unhappy. + Only the evening before Mr. Enderby had examined her on several + subjects, and had found her wanting. He had spoken to her with + a little severity, and at the same time looked at her + pityingly, and the girl had felt more miserable than can be + told at having disappointed him. To-day she was left to spend a + long afternoon by herself, as Miss Davis had taken Phyllis and + Nell to visit some friends, and, though her morning's work + ought to have been over, she still sat at her lessons, + labouring diligently. At last becoming thoroughly tired she + closed her book and raised her eyes wearily, when they fell on + a jar of wild flowers which yesterday she had arranged and + placed upon a bracket against the wall. It was spring, and in + the jar was a cluster of pale wood-anemones with some sprays of + bramble newly leafed. Hetty's eyes brightened at the sight of + these flowers, and noted keenly every exquisite outline and + delicate hue of the group. It seemed to her at the moment that + she had never seen anything so beautiful before. Mechanically + she took up her pencil and began to imitate on a piece of paper + the waving line of the bramble wreath, and the graceful curves + of the leaves. To her own great surprise something very like + the bramble soon began to appear upon the paper. A sharp touch + here, a little shadow there, and her drawing looked vigorous + and true. After working in great excitement for some time Hetty + got up and pinned her drawing to the wall, and stood some way + off looking at it. Where had it come from? she asked herself. + She had never learned to draw. She had not known that she could + draw. Oh, how delightful it would be if she could reproduce the + flowers as they grew! Not quite able to believe in the new + power she had discovered in herself, she set again to work, + altering the arrangement of the flowers in the jar, and taking + a larger sheet of paper. It was only ruled exercise paper, but + that did not seem to matter when the flowers blossomed all over + it. The second drawing was even better than the first; and + Hetty stood looking at it with flushed cheeks and throbbing + heart, wondering what was this new rapture that had suddenly + sprung up in her life.</p> + + <p>As her work was done, and the afternoon was all her own, she + was able to give herself up to this unexpected delight, and + spent many hours composing new groups of flowers, and arranging + them in fanciful designs. When a maid brought up her solitary + tea she lifted her flushed face and murmured, "Oh, can it be + tea-time?" and then spread out all her drawings against the + wall, and stared at them while she ate her bread and + butter.</p> + + <p>She felt nervous at the thought of letting anybody see them, + and locked them up in her desk before Miss Davis and the other + girls came home.</p> + + <p>In earliest dawn of the next morning, however, she was out + of bed and studying the drawings as she stood in her + night-dress and with bare feet. Were they really good, she + asked herself, or were her eyes bewitched; and would Mr. + Enderby laugh at them if he saw them? Anguish seized on her at + the thought, and she dressed herself with trembling hands. A + new idea, striving in her mind, seemed to set all nature + thrilling with a meaning it had never borne for her before. + There had been great painters on the earth, as she knew full + well, whose existence had been made beautiful and glorious by + their genius; and there were artists living in the present day, + small and great, who must surely be the happiest beings in the + world. Their days were spent, not in drudgery, and lecturing, + and primness, but in the study and reproduction of the beauty + lying round them. Oh, if God should have intended her to be one + of these!</p> + + <p>When the maids came to dust the school-room they found Hetty + hard at work upon a new wreath of ivy which she had hastily + snatched from the garden wall and hung against the curtain, and + they thought she was doing some penance at Miss Davis's + bidding. By eight o'clock the drawings were hid away, the + flowers and wreaths disposed of in the jars, and Hetty was + sitting at the table with a book in her hand. No one need know, + she thought, of how she spent those early hours when everybody + else was in bed. And so day after day she worked on steadily + with her pencil, and there was a strange and unutterable hope + in her heart, and a new light of happiness in her eyes.</p> + + <p>After some time she became more daring and attempted to + bring colour into her designs. Using her school-room box of + paints, the paints intended only for the drawing of maps, she + placed washes of colour on her leaves and along her stems, + making the whole composition more effective and complete. Day + by day she improved on her first ideas, till she had stored up + a collection of really beautiful sketches.</p> + + <p>With this new joy tingling through her young veins from + morning till night, and from night till morning again, Hetty + began to look so glad and bright that everyone remarked it. + Miss Davis looked on approvingly, thinking that her own + excellent discipline of the girl was having an effect she had + scarcely dared to hope for. Nell was full of curiosity to know + why Hetty had become so gay.</p> + + <p>"May I not have the liberty to be gay as well as you?" said + Hetty laughing.</p> + + <p>"Of course; but then you are so suddenly changed. Miss Davis + says it is only because you are growing good. But I think there + must be something that is making you good."</p> + + <p>"I am glad to hear I am growing good. Something is making me + very happy, but I cannot tell you what it is."</p> + + <p>Nell, always on the look-out for a secret, opened her eyes + very wide, but could get no further satisfaction from Hetty, + who only laughed at her appeals to be taken into confidence. + That evening, however, she told Miss Davis that Hetty had + admitted that there was <i>something</i> that was making her so + happy.</p> + + <p>"I knew she had a secret," said Nell mysteriously.</p> + + <p>"Then it is the secret of doing her duty," said Miss Davis. + "She has made great improvement in every respect during the + last few weeks."</p> + + <p>"I know she gets up earlier in the mornings than she used to + do," said Nell, "and I don't think she is at her lessons all + the time."</p> + + <p>"I hope she has not been making any more friends in the + village," said Phyllis.</p> + + <p>"I am sorry such thoughts have come into your minds, + children," said Miss Davis; "I see nothing amiss about Hetty. + If she is happier than she used to be, we ought all to feel + glad."</p> + + <p>Phyllis did not like the implied rebuke, and at once began + to hope that she might be able to prove Miss Davis in the + wrong. If Hetty could be found to have a secret, as Nell + supposed, Phyllis decided that it ought to be found out. Her + mother did not approve of children having secrets. Even if + there was no harm in a thing in itself, there was a certain + harm in making a mystery of it. So, having arranged her motive + satisfactorily in her mind, Phyllis, feeling more virtuous than + ever, resolved to observe what Hetty was about. The next + morning she got up early and came down to the school-room an + hour before her usual time. And there was Hetty working away at + her drawing with a wreath of flowers pinned before her on the + wall.</p> + + <p>Phyllis came behind her and was astonished to see what she + had accomplished with her pencil; and Hetty started and + coloured up to her hair, as if she had been caught in a + fault.</p> + + <p>"Well, you are a strange girl," said Phyllis; "I did not + know drawing was a sin, that you should make such a mystery + over it."</p> + + <p>"I hope it is not a sin," said Hetty in a low voice. She + felt grieved at having her efforts discovered in this way. She + wished now that she had told Miss Davis all about it. Phyllis + opened the piano and began to practise without having said one + word of praise of Hetty's work; and the poor little artist felt + her heart sink like lead. Perhaps the beauty that she saw in + her designs existed only in her own foolish eyes.</p> + + <p>She worked on silently for about half an hour, and then put + away her drawing materials and her flowers, and began to study + her lessons for the day.</p> + + <p>"Of course you do not expect me to keep your secret from + Miss Davis," said Phyllis, looking over her shoulder. "I have + been always taught to hate secrets, and my conscience will not + allow me to encourage you in this."</p> + + <p>"Do exactly as you please," said Hetty; "I shall be quite + satisfied to let Miss Davis know what I have been doing."</p> + + <p>"Then why did you not tell her before?" asked Phyllis.</p> + + <p>"I am not bound to explain that to you," said Hetty; but + finding her temper was rising she added more gently, "I am + willing to give an account of my conduct to any one who may be + scandalized by it"; and then, fearing to trust herself further, + she went out of the room.</p> + + <p>On the stairs she met Miss Davis, and stopped her, + saying:</p> + + <p>"Phyllis has a complaint to make of me. I shall be back in + the school-room presently after she has made it."</p> + + <p>"What is it about, my dear?"</p> + + <p>"She can tell you better than I can," said Hetty. "Please go + down now, Miss Davis, and then we can have it over before + breakfast."</p> + + <p>"Miss Davis, I find Nell was right in thinking that Hetty + was doing something sly," began Phyllis, as the governess + entered the school-room.</p> + + <p>"I am sorry to hear it. What can it be?"</p> + + <p>"Nothing very dreadful in itself perhaps. It is the secrecy + that is so ugly, especially as there was no reason for it in + the world."</p> + + <p>"What has Hetty done?" repeated Miss Davis.</p> + + <p>"Why, she has been getting up early in the mornings to draw + flowers," said Phyllis, unwillingly perceiving that the fault + seemed a very small one when plainly described.</p> + + <p>"I did not know she could draw," said Miss Davis; "but, if + she can, I see no harm in her doing it."</p> + + <p>"I think she ought to spend the time at the studies father + is so anxious she should improve in," said Phyllis; "and I + imagine she knows it too, or she would not have been so + secret."</p> + + <p>"There is something in that, Phyllis; though I would rather + you had not been so quick to perceive it."</p> + + <p>Phyllis curled her lip slightly. "Intelligence is given us + that we may use it, I suppose," she said coldly; "but I have + done my duty, and I have nothing more to say in the + matter."</p> + + <p>Breakfast passed over without anything being said on the + subject of the great discovery; but after the meal was + finished, Miss Davis desired Hetty to fetch her her drawings + that she might see them. Hetty went to her own room + immediately, and returned bringing about a dozen drawings in a + very primitive portfolio made of several newspapers gummed + together.</p> + + <p>Miss Davis was no artist, but she felt that the designs were + good, and remarkable as having been executed by a girl so + untaught as Hetty. They increased her opinion of her pupil's + abilities, yet she looked on them chiefly from the point of + view Phyllis had suggested to her, and considered them in the + light of follies upon which valuable time had been + expended.</p> + + <p>"My dear," she said, "these are really very pretty, and I am + sure they have given you a great deal of pleasure. But I cannot + countenance your going on with this sort of employment. Think + of how usefully you might have employed at your books the hours + you have spent upon these trifles. I presume you were aware of + this from the first yourself, and that this is why you have + been so silent as to your new accomplishment."</p> + + <p>"No," said Hetty decidedly; "I did not feel that I was + wasting time. On the contrary, my drawing gave me better + courage to work at my lessons. The hours I spent were taken + from my sleep. I was always at my books before Phyllis was at + hers."</p> + + <p>"Phyllis is not to be made a rule for you, my dear. She has + not the same necessity to exert her powers to the utmost. If + you can do without part of your sleeping time, you ought to + devote it to your books. And pray, if you did not think you + were committing some fault, why did you say nothing to anyone + of what you were about?"</p> + + <p>"I cannot tell you that, Miss Davis," said Hetty, her eyes + filling with tears; "I mean I cannot explain it properly. I + could not bring myself to show what I had done; but I had no + idea of <i>wrongness</i> about the matter."</p> + + <p>"Well, my dear, we will say no more about it. Take the + drawings away; and in future work at your lessons every moment + of your time. I will put you on your word of honour, Hetty, not + to do any more of this kind of thing."</p> + + <p>"Do not ask me to give you such a promise, Miss Davis."</p> + + <p>"But Hetty, I must, and I do."</p> + + <p>"Then, Miss Davis, I will speak to Mr. Enderby."</p> + + <p>The governess and her two pupils gazed at Hetty in + amazement.</p> + + <p>"I mean," Hetty went on, "that I hope he will think drawing + a useful study for me. Will you allow me to speak to him this + evening, Miss Davis?"</p> + + <p>"Certainly, my dear," said Miss Davis stiffly. "There is + nothing to hinder you from consulting Mr. Enderby on any + subject. I am sure he will be kind enough to give you his + advice. Only I think I know what it will be beforehand; and I + would rather you had shown more confidence in me."</p> + + <p>Hetty could not give her mind to her lessons that day, nor + get rid of the feeling that she was in disgrace. When evening + came, the hour when Mr. Enderby was usually to be found in his + study, she asked Miss Davis's permission to go to him, and with + her portfolio in her hand presented herself at his door.</p> + + <p>"Come in, Hetty," said Mr. Enderby; "what is this you have + got to show me? Maps, plans, or what? Why, drawings!"</p> + + <p>Hetty's mouth grew dry, and her heart beat violently. The + tone of his voice betrayed that the master of Wavertree had no + more sympathy for art, or anything connected with it, than had + Miss Davis. He was an accurate methodical man with a taste for + mathematics, who believed in the power conferred by knowledge + on man and woman; but who had little respect for those who + concerned themselves with only the beauties and graces of life. + Art was to him a trifle, and devotion to it a folly. Therefore + Hetty with her trembling hopes was not likely to find favour at + his hands.</p> + + <p>"My child, I am sure they are very pretty; but this sort of + thing will not advance you in the world."</p> + + <p>"But, Mr. Enderby,—I have been thinking—artists + get on as well as governesses. I do these more easily than I + learn my dates. If I could only learn to be an artist."</p> + + <p>Mr. Enderby put his eye-glass to his eye, and gazed at her a + little pityingly, a little severely, with a look that Hetty + knew.</p> + + <p>"You would like to become an artist? Well, my girl, I must + tell you to put that foolish idea out of your head. In the + first place, you are not to imagine that because you can sketch + a flower prettily, you have therefore a genius for painting; + and such fancies are only calculated to distract your mind from + the real business of your life. Besides, remember this, I have + given, am giving, you a good education as a means of providing + for you in life. Having bestowed one profession upon you + already, I am not prepared to enter into the expense and + inconvenience of a second. So run away like a sensible girl and + stick to your books. You had better leave these drawings with + me and think no more about them."</p> + + <p>Saying this, Mr. Enderby opened a drawer and locked up + Hetty's designs within it; and, humbled and despairing, Hetty + returned to the school-room.</p> + + <p>Her face of grief and her empty hands told sufficiently what + the result of her errand had been. No remark was made by Miss + Davis or the girls, though Nell, who thought the drawings + wonderfully pretty, was impatient to know what her papa had + said of them. She was too much in awe of Miss Davis to seek to + have her curiosity gratified just then; and the evening study + went on as if nothing had happened.</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" + id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a></h4> + + <h3>HETTY'S FUTURE IS PLANNED.</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>This was the severest trial Hetty had ever encountered. + Longing for special love, and delight in reproducing the + beautiful, were part of one and the same impulse in her nature, + and, crushed in the one, all her heart had gone forth in the + other direction. Now both had been equally condemned in her as + faults, and she fell back, as before, on the mere dull effort + towards submission which had already carried her surely, if + joylessly, over so many difficult years of her young life. She + worked patiently at her books and fulfilled her duties; and she + grew thinner and paler, and the old sad look became habitual to + her lips and eyes. Another year passed, and as Phyllis and Nell + approached nearer and nearer to the period for "coming out" + they were more frequently absent from the school-room, and + Hetty's days were more solitary than they used to be.</p> + + <p>All her mind was now fixed on the idea of fitting herself as + soon as possible for some sort of post as governess. She knew + she never could take such a position as that which Miss Davis + filled, and had meekly admitted to herself that a humble + situation must content her.</p> + + <p>She often wondered how it would be with her when the Enderby + girls should no longer need Miss Davis; and decided according + to her own judgment that she ought to be ready to seek a place + for herself in the world as soon as the elder girls should have + completed their studies.</p> + + <p>One evening she sat opposite to Miss Davis at the + school-room fireside. Phyllis and Nell were in the drawing-room + with their mother. Miss Davis was netting energetically, and + Hetty, who had been studying busily, dropped her book and was + gazing absently into the fire.</p> + + <p>"Hetty," said Miss Davis presently, "put away your book, I + want to talk to you."</p> + + <p>Hetty obeyed, and looked at her governess expectantly.</p> + + <p>"My dear, you know very well that in another year I shall no + longer be needed here. Phyllis and Nell will then be eighteen + and seventeen, and their mother has decided that they shall + come out at the same time. When I am gone there will no longer + be any object in your staying in this house. And yet, as you + will then be only sixteen, you will be young to begin your life + among strangers."</p> + + <p>"Yes," said Hetty with a sinking of the heart; "but it is + very good of you to think about me like this. Of course I shall + have to go. I suppose I can get in somewhere as a nursery + governess."</p> + + <p>"I have been thinking of something else. Of course it will + remain for yourself to decide."</p> + + <p>Hetty's heart leaped. A wild idea crossed her mind that + perhaps Miss Davis was going to suggest some way by which she + might study to be an artist. Though she had never spoken on the + subject since Mr. Enderby had pronounced sentence upon her + hopes, still the dear dream of a possible beautiful future had + always lain hidden somewhere in the most distant recesses of + her brain. Now a sudden bright light shone into that darkened + chamber. What delightful plan had Miss Davis been marking out + for her?</p> + + <p>"I have made up my mind," said Miss Davis, "that instead of + entering another family I will open a school in the town where + I was born. My mother is getting old and she is lonely. If I + succeed in my project I shall be able to live with her and + continue to make an income at the same time."</p> + + <p>"How delightful!" murmured Hetty.</p> + + <p>Miss Davis smiled sadly. "I don't know about that. The plan + will have its advantages, but there are many difficulties. + However, I think it is worth a trial."</p> + + <p>Hetty said nothing, only wondered why Miss Davis was not + more wildly glad at the thought of being always with her + mother. She could not realize how long years of trial and + disappointment had made it impossible to the governess to feel + vivid anticipations of delight.</p> + + <p>"Now as regards you—" Hetty started. She had so + completely thrown herself into Miss Davis's personality for the + moment that she had entirely forgotten her own. "As regards + you, I have been thinking that you might come with me and help + me as an under teacher. In this way you might begin to be + independent at the age of sixteen, and at the same time + continue your own studies under my superintendence. Later, when + you were more thoroughly fitted to be a governess, I could + endeavour to place you out in the world."</p> + + <p>"Oh, how good of you to think of it! You are very, very + kind!" said Hetty, though tears of disappointment rushed to her + eyes. She crushed back the ungrateful feeling of dismay which + pressed upon her at the thought of trying to teach in school. + Her common-sense told her that nothing could be more + advantageous for her interests than the plan Miss Davis had + sketched for her. And she keenly appreciated the thoughtfulness + for her welfare which had led the governess to include her in + the scheme for her own future.</p> + + <p>"You would only have little children to teach at first," + Miss Davis went on, "until you grow accustomed to the work and + gain confidence in yourself. Of course this is only a + suggestion which I make to you, that you may turn it over in + your thoughts and be ready to make arrangements when the moment + shall arrive. Perhaps by that time, however, Mr. Enderby will + be able to provide you with a pleasanter home."</p> + + <p>"I do not think so," said Hetty. "He could recommend me only + as a nursery governess, and if I were once in that position I + could never have any further opportunity to improve. With you I + can continue my studies."</p> + + <p>"This is precisely what I think," said Miss Davis, "and I am + glad you take such a sensible view of the matter. However, we + need not speak of this for a year to come."</p> + + <p>And so the conversation ended. Hetty longed to put her arms + round Miss Davis's neck and thank her warmly for her kindness, + but she felt instinctively that the governess would rather she + abstained from all such demonstrations. It was only when she + went up to bed that she allowed her thoughts to go back to the + beautiful moment when she had fancied Miss Davis might have + been thinking of making her an artist; and then she cried sadly + as she thought of how foolish she had been in imagining even + for a second that such a wild improbability had come true.</p> + + <p>However, Hetty awakened next morning with a wholesome + feeling of satisfaction in her mind which she could not at + first account for. In a few moments the conversation with Miss + Davis rushed back upon her memory, and she knew that her + contentment was due to the prospect of independence that had + been put before her as so real and so near. Once installed + under Miss Davis's roof, teaching in school and earning the + bread she ate, neither servants nor companions could taunt her + with being a charity girl any more, Mr. Enderby's fears for her + would then be laid to rest, and the dread of disappointing him + would be lifted off her mind. In Miss Davis's school she could + live and work until she had acquired all that learning which to + her was so hard to attain.</p> + + <p>With a sweet and brave, if not a glad, look on her face, + Hetty came into the school-room that morning and found Phyllis + and Nell chatting more gaily than usual at the fire.</p> + + <p>"Oh, Hetty," cried Nell, "you must hear our news! We are + going to have such a delightful visitor in the house."</p> + + <p>"How you rush to conclusions, Nell!" said her sister. "You + have not seen her yet, and you pronounce her delightful."</p> + + <p>"I know from what mamma told us," cried Nell. "She is + pretty, amiable, clever—and ever so rich. Only think, + Hetty—to be an heiress at twenty-one without anyone to + keep you from doing just as you please! She has a country house + in France, and a house in London, with a good old lady to take + care of her, who does exactly what she bids her."</p> + + <p>"Mother did not say all that," said Phyllis.</p> + + <p>"Oh! but I gathered it all from what she did say."</p> + + <p>"Is she an orphan then?" asked Hetty.</p> + + <p>"She has neither father, nor mother, nor brother, nor + sister. Now, Hetty, don't look as if that was a misfortune. It + is natural for you to feel it, of course. But if you had + houses, and horses, and carriages, and money, you would not + think it so bad to be able to do what you liked."</p> + + <p>"Nell, I am shocked at you," said Miss Davis. "Would you + give up your parents for such selfish advantages as you + describe?"</p> + + <p>"Oh dear no!" cried Nell. "But if I never had had them, like + Reine Gaythorne, and did not know anything about them, I + daresay I could manage to amuse myself in the world."</p> + + <p>This was the first mention of the name of Reine Gaythorne in + the Wavertree school-room, and it was certainly far from the + last. Mrs. Enderby had met the young lady at a neighbouring + country house, and had thought she would be a desirable + acquaintance for her daughters. There was something interesting + about the circumstances which had placed a young, beautiful, + and wealthy girl alone, and her own mistress, in the world. Mr. + and Mrs. Enderby had been greatly attracted by her, and had + invited her to pay a visit at their house.</p> + + <p>In the course of a few days she arrived at the Hall, and + then Phyllis and Nell were but little in the school-room.</p> + + <p>Hetty and Miss Davis went on as usual filling their quiet + hours with work in their secluded corner of the house. A week + passed away during the visit of the charming stranger, and + Hetty had never once seen Miss Gaythorne.</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" + id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></h4> + + <h3>REINE GAYTHORNE.</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>Mrs. Enderby, her visitor, and her two daughters were + sitting together one morning at needlework in the pretty + morning-room looking out on an old walled garden, at Wavertree + Hall. The distant ends of this old garden, draped with ivy and + creepers, had been made into a tennis ground, a smooth trim + green chamber lying behind the brilliant beds of flowers. + Sitting near the window the figures of the girls looked + charming against so picturesque a background.</p> + + <p>Miss Gaythorne's face, upraised to the light, was full of + goodness, sweetness, and intelligence. A low broad brow, soft + bright dark eyes, a rich brunette complexion, and red brown + hair, so curly as to be gathered with difficulty into a knot at + the back of her neck, were some of this girl's beauties which + the eye could take in at a glance. A longer time was necessary + to discern all the fine traits of character that were so + artlessly expressed in turn by her speaking countenance.</p> + + <p>She wore a pretty dress of maroon cashmere and velvet, with + delicate ruffles of rich old yellow lace. Her dainty little + French shoes and fine gold ornaments were immensely admired by + the two young girls beside her, who were not yet "out," and + were accustomed to be clothed in the simplest attire. Not only + her dress, but her accent, which was slightly foreign, her + peculiarly winning smiles, her merry little laugh and graceful + movements all seemed to the Enderbys more charming than could + be described. Even Phyllis, usually so critical, was taken + captive by their new friend, Reine.</p> + + <p>Miss Gaythorne was just finishing a piece of embroidery. She + was very skilful with her needle, and her work was pronounced + perfection by Phyllis and Nell. Mrs. Enderby joined her + daughters in warm praise of the delicate production to which + their visitor was just now putting the last touches.</p> + + <p>"I could so easily work one like it for you while I am + here," said Reine, "if I had only a new design. I do not like + repeating the same design."</p> + + <p>"I am sure Hetty could draw one for you," said Nell.</p> + + <p>"But I mean something original."</p> + + <p>"Oh! Hetty's drawings are original. She gathers a few + flowers, and that is all she wants to begin with."</p> + + <p>"She must be very clever. Who is Hetty, if I may ask?"</p> + + <p>"Oh! Hetty is—Hetty Gray. She lives in this house. She + is an orphan girl whom papa is educating to be a governess. She + is always in the school-room with Miss Davis."</p> + + <p>"Can she draw so cleverly?"</p> + + <p>"Yes; it comes to her naturally. I will get a bundle of her + drawings from papa to show you. He locked them up because she + wanted to be an artist and he did not approve of it."</p> + + <p>"It is well she did not want to go on the stage," said + Phyllis. "She used to be an extraordinary actress. However, she + gave that up and took a dislike to it. Perhaps she has now + taken a dislike to drawing, and will not care to make a design + for Reine."</p> + + <p>"I am sure she will," said Nell. "Drawing is different from + acting. People don't feel shy about drawing. I will go directly + and ask her."</p> + + <p>"Perhaps you would let me see her drawings first," said Miss + Gaythorne.</p> + + <p>"Certainly," said Nell; "papa is in his study, and I will go + and fetch them."</p> + + <p>Mr. Enderby willingly surrendered the drawings to amuse and + oblige the cherished guest, and Hetty's work was spread out on + a table before Reine.</p> + + <p>"Why, these are beautiful," cried she; "and they are really + done by a girl of fourteen who never learned to draw!"</p> + + <p>"Really," said Nell, enjoying Miss Gaythorne's surprise. + "And now, may I ask Hetty to make you a design?"</p> + + <p>"If she would be so very good. If it would not give her too + much trouble—"</p> + + <p>"Why, Hetty will be simply enchanted at the request. She is + not allowed to draw, and of course the permission to do so will + be delightful."</p> + + <p>"Not allowed to draw?" exclaimed Reine in astonishment.</p> + + <p>"Nell, how strangely you put things!" said Phyllis. "Father + warned her not to squander her time in drawing, while she has + so much need to study."</p> + + <p>Nell shrugged her shoulders. "Put it as you like, Phyllis," + she said; "Hetty is a born artist, and she is going to be + thrust into the harness of a governess."</p> + + <p>"It is well neither father nor mother is in the room," said + Phyllis. "They would be much grieved to hear you make such a + speech. I don't know where you get such ideas."</p> + + <p>"I don't know," said Nell; "they come to me sometimes."</p> + + <p>Reine listened in silence while she studied the drawings + more closely. She was something of an artist herself, and had a + cultivated taste; and a keen interest in the orphan girl who + had a talent like this, and could not be allowed to draw, was + springing up within her.</p> + + <p>Nell soon danced off to tell Hetty what was required of + her.</p> + + <p>"Miss Gaythorne wants you to make a design for her, of the + size and style of this, and you can use any flowers or foliage + you please. Mother hopes Miss Davis will allow you time to do + it."</p> + + <p>Hetty felt a rush of delight, which made the colour mount to + her forehead.</p> + + <p>"Thank you, dear Nell," she said; "I know it is you who have + got me this piece of good fortune. I shall have some delicious + hours over the work."</p> + + <p>"Now, mind you make it beautiful," cried Nell; "for I have + staked my reputation on you!"</p> + + <p>Hetty thought she had never been so happy in her life + before, as she went out to pick and choose among the flowers, + looking for a theme for her composition. At last she satisfied + herself, and came back to the school-room, and went to + work.</p> + + <p>Miss Davis, who had been much pleased with her of late, + looked on with approval. She thought the girl had fairly earned + a holiday and a treat.</p> + + <p>Hetty was more nervous over this drawing than she had been + over any of the others. With them she had been only working to + please herself, and of her own free will; but now it seemed as + if the eyes of the world were upon every line she drew. She + spoiled several beginnings; and at last, flushed and feverish, + had to put away the work till to-morrow.</p> + + <p>"Drawing seems to be not all unmixed happiness any more than + dates," said Miss Davis, smiling at her anxious face. "Come now + and have some tea, or you will get a headache."</p> + + <p>The next day Hetty went to work again, and succeeded at last + in producing a striking and beautiful design. She was far from + satisfied with it herself, and said to Nell, "I fear your + friend will not think it good enough, but it is the best I can + do."</p> + + <p>"I think it is lovely," said Nell; "and what trouble you + have taken with it! She will be hard to please if she does not + like it."</p> + + <p>And then Nell fled away with it, and Hetty turned to her + books again with a happy feeling at her heart. It seemed to her + that she had never before had an opportunity of performing any + voluntary service for those who had been so generous towards + her, but now she had been able to do something which would + really give pleasure to the guest in their house. And then she + wished she could see that charming Miss Gaythorne, who was said + to be fond of drawing, and to know a great deal about it. She + dreamed that night that she was walking through a + picture-gallery with the girl called Reine, who was pointing + out all the beauties to her as they went.</p> + + <p>In the meantime Reine was greatly delighted with the + drawing.</p> + + <p>"The girl is really a little genius," she said; "will you + not allow me to make her acquaintance?"</p> + + <p>"I will ask mamma to invite her to the drawing-room some + evening," said Nell. "Mother does not like her to come often, + for fear of spoiling her. Phyllis has an idea that Hetty needs + a great deal of keeping down; but I think it is only because + Phyllis is so good herself that she thinks so badly of + Hetty."</p> + + <p>Reine laughed, and a look of fun remained in her eyes a few + moments after this naäve speech of Nell's. The peculiarities of + Phyllis's style of goodness had not escaped Miss Gaythorne's + quick intelligence.</p> + + <p>"And mother minds what Phyllis thinks a great deal more than + she minds me; because Phyllis is so wise, and never gives her + any trouble."</p> + + <p>The next morning at breakfast Reine said:</p> + + <p>"Do you know, Mr. Enderby, little Miss Gray has made me such + a beautiful drawing. She has a great talent. I can't help + wishing you would let her be an artist."</p> + + <p>"Has she been enlisting you against me?" said Mr. Enderby, + with half a smile and half a frown.</p> + + <p>"I have never even seen her," said Reine; "but I am greatly + struck with her work."</p> + + <p>"It is clever," assented the master of Wavertree; "but pray + do not arouse foolish ideas in the child's head—ideas + which have been fortunately laid to rest. I have great faith in + the old warning, 'Beware of the man of one book'; and I think + Hetty will do better to stick to what she has begun with. Under + Miss Davis she has excellent opportunities of becoming fitted + to be a governess, which, after all, is the safest career for a + friendless woman. She lives in a respectable home and is saved + from many dangers. I do not hold with the new-fangled notion of + letting girls run about the world picking up professions."</p> + + <p>And then Mr. Enderby deliberately changed the + conversation.</p> + + <p>However, Reine could not forget the little artist; and that + evening, being dressed for dinner rather early, she suddenly + bethought her of making her way uninvited to the + school-room.</p> + + <p>"I really must see her and thank her," she reflected; "and I + will ask pardon of Mrs. Enderby afterwards for the liberty." + And then she set out to look for the school-room.</p> + + <p>It happened that Hetty was sitting all alone at the + school-room table; her chin in her hand, her eyes fixed on the + pages of a book. A window behind her, framing golden sky and + deep-coloured foliage, made her the foreground figure of a + striking picture. Her dark head and flowing hair, her pale but + richly-tinted face with its thoughtful brow and intelligent + mouth, her little warm brown hand and wrist were all softly and + distinctly defined against the glories of the distance. As + Reine opened the door and came in, Hetty looked up as much + startled as if an angel had come to visit her.</p> + + <p>Reine was dressed all in white shimmering silk, which + enhanced the beauty of her bright brunette face. Her soft + luminous eyes beamed on Hetty as she advanced to her with + outstretched hands.</p> + + <p>"I came to see you and thank you," she began; "I am Reine + Gaythorne and—"</p> + + <p>Suddenly, as Hetty sprang to her feet and came forward + smiling and facing the light, Reine's little speech died on her + tongue, and a sharp cry broke from her.</p> + + <p>"My mother!" she exclaimed in a tone of deep feeling, and + stood gazing at Hetty as if a ghost had risen up before + her.</p> + + <p>Hetty retreated a step, and the two girls stood gazing at + each other. Miss Gaythorne recovered herself quickly, but her + hands and voice were trembling as she took Hetty's fingers in + her own.</p> + + <p>"Have I frightened you, dear?" she said; "but oh, if you + knew how strangely, how wonderfully like you are to my darling + mother."</p> + + <p>"Your mother?" stammered Hetty.</p> + + <p>"Such a sweet beauty of a young mother she was as I remember + her—and I have a likeness of her at your age;—it + seems to me that you are the living image of it."</p> + + <p>"How very strange!" said Hetty, with a thrill of delight at + the thought that she was like anybody belonging to this + charming girl, especially her mother. Hetty had fascinating + fancies of her own about an ideal mother; no real mother she + had known had ever reached her standard. But Reine's mother + must surely have been up to the mark. And to be told that she, + Hetty, was like her! She drew nearer to Reine, who put her arms + round her neck and kissed her.</p> + + <p>"I can't tell you how I feel," said Reine, holding her off + and looking at her. "I feel as if you belonged to me + someway."</p> + + <p>"Don't turn my head," pleaded Hetty wistfully. "Please + remember I have no relations and must not expect to be loved. I + have had great trouble about that; and it has been very hard + for them to manage me."</p> + + <p>"Has it?" said Reine doubtfully.</p> + + <p>"As I'm now nearly grown up," said Hetty, "of course I have + had to learn to behave myself; so don't spoil me."</p> + + <p>"I wish I could," said Reine. "I mean I wish I could get the + chance. Oh, don't look at me like that. But yes, do. Oh, Hetty, + my mother, my mother!"</p> + + <p>And Reine leaned her arms on the table, and laid her head on + them, and wept.</p> + + <p>Hetty stood by wondering, and stroked her head timidly for + sympathy.</p> + + <p>"Don't think me a great goose," said Reine, looking up. And + then suddenly silent again she sat staring at Hetty. After a + few moments she sprang up and folded her arms round her and + held her close.</p> + + <p>"You strange darling, where have you come from; and how am I + ever to let you go again?"</p> + + <p>A step was heard at the door, and Reine and Hetty + instinctively withdrew from each other's embrace. There was + something sacred about the feeling which had so suddenly and + unexpectedly overpowered them both.</p> + + <p>Nell came in.</p> + + <p>"Reine, I have been looking for you everywhere."</p> + + <p>"I came here to thank Miss Gray for her design," said Reine, + "and I don't think I have even mentioned it yet."</p> + + <p>"You are as pale as death," said Nell. "What has Hetty been + saying to you?"</p> + + <p>"Nothing," said Reine absently, her eyes going back to + Hetty's face and fixing themselves there.</p> + + <p>"How you stare at each other!" said Nell, "and I declare + your two faces are almost the same this moment."</p> + + <p>"Nell!"</p> + + <p>"I always said you were like each other, though Phyllis + could not see it. Now I am sure of it."</p> + + <p>A wild look came into Reine's face.</p> + + <p>"That would be too strange," she said; "for she is so + like—so like—some one—Oh, Nell, she is the + very image of my mother!"</p> + + <p>"Your mother!" echoed Nell, gazing at Hetty and thinking she + did not look like anybody's mother, with her short frock and + flowing hair.</p> + + <p>"But there is the dinner-bell!" she cried, glad of the + interruption; for Nell had a great dislike of anything like a + sentimental scene. "You must talk about all this afterwards, + for we must not be late."</p> + + <p>"I will come," said Reine, passing her handkerchief over her + face. "Do I look as if I had been crying."</p> + + <p>"Your nose is a little red," said Nell; "but they will think + it is the cold."</p> + + <p>"Then don't say anything about this," said Reine; "but I + must come and see Hetty again. Goodnight, darling little + mother!"</p> + + <p>"Reine, all my respect for you is gone," said Nell as they + hastened toward the dining-room. "I thought you were as wise as + Phyllis. And to think of you crying and kissing like that + because Hetty reminds you of—"</p> + + <p>"Don't, Nell," said Reine. "I can't bear any more just + now."</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" + id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.</a></h4> + + <h3>IF SHE WAS DROWNED, HOW CAN SHE BE HETTY?</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>A few friends had joined the Wavertree family circle that + evening, and Reine had no further opportunity of speaking about + Hetty. She was absent and thoughtful; but wakened up when asked + to sing, and sang a thrilling little love song with such power + and sweetness as went to everybody's heart. She was thinking as + she sang of Hetty's face, and it was her strange yearning for + Hetty's love that inspired her to sing as she did.</p> + + <p>That night she could not sleep. Her mother's eyes, with the + loving look she remembered so well, were gazing at her from all + the corners of the room. Her mind went back over the + recollections of her childhood; and her father's voice and her + mother's smiles were with her as though she had only said + good-night to both parents an hour ago. The lonely girl, who + had everything that the world could offer her, except that + which she longed for most, the affection of family and kindred, + felt the very depths of her heart shaken by the experience of + the past evening. That a girl who seemed so much a part of + herself should have risen up beside her, and yet be nothing to + her, seemed something too curious to be understood. Her + imagination went to work upon the possibilities of Mr. + Enderby's being induced to give Hetty up to her altogether, to + be her adopted sister and to live with her for evermore. She + was aware that people would distrust this sudden fancy for a + stranger, and that opposition would probably be offered to her + plan; but then she was not her own mistress; and by + perseverance she must surely succeed in the end.</p> + + <p>Oh, the delight of having a sister! Reine had had a sister, + a baby sister lost in infancy, and had often taken a sad + pleasure in fancying what that sister might have been like if + she had lived. She had been six years younger than Reine. Hetty + was fifteen, about the age that the little sister might now + have been. Reine sat up in her bed and counted the years + between fifteen and twenty-one twice over on her fingers to + make perfectly sure. Hetty was the very age of the little + sister. And so like her mother! If the baby sister of whom she + had been bereft could be still alive, then Reine would have + declared she must be Hetty.</p> + + <p>She was now in a fever of excitement. Her curly brown hair + had risen in a mop of rings and ringlets around her head with + tossing on her pillow, her eyes were round and bright, and a + burning spot was on each of her cheeks. At last she sprang out + of bed and in a minute was at Nell's bed-room door.</p> + + <p>Nell was awakened out of a sound sleep by the opening of her + door.</p> + + <p>"Don't be frightened, Nell; I'm not a burglar—only + Reine."</p> + + <p>"What's the matter?" said Nell, rubbing her eyes. "Have you + got the toothache?"</p> + + <p>"I never had toothache. I want to know something."</p> + + <p>"I often want to know things," said Nell, now sitting bolt + upright in her little bed; "I'm sometimes <i>dying</i> of + curiosity. But it never routed me out of my sleep in the middle + of the night."</p> + + <p>"It's about Hetty," said Reine, sitting on the floor in a + faint streak of moonlight, and looking like a spirit—if + spirits have curly hair.</p> + + <p>"You've gone Hetty-mad!" said Nell; "wouldn't Hetty keep + till morning? We're not going to transport her or lock her up. + You will have all next week to sit looking at her."</p> + + <p>"Where did you get her?" asked Reine. "I know she is a + foundling; but she must have had a beginning somewhere."</p> + + <p>"Of course she had; and a most peculiar one. She was found + on the Long Sands. That is a place three miles from Wavertree + on the sea-shore, where wrecks often come in. John Kane, one of + the carters, found her, and Mrs. Kane took her home. Then Aunt + Amy, who is dead, fancied her and adopted her. When Aunt Amy + died she was left unprovided for, and papa brought her here; + and here she is."</p> + + <p>"Found on the shore where wrecks come in! And she is just + fifteen. Oh, Nell, are you sure you are telling the truth?"</p> + + <p>There was a sound in Reine's voice that startled Nell.</p> + + <p>"The plain truth. Every village child knows it. What has it + got to do with you?"</p> + + <p>"I don't know. I don't know. I am afraid to think. Why, + Nell, listen to me. When I was a child of seven years old, my + mother and father took me to France. They had inherited a + property there and were going to take possession of it. They + were fond of the sea, and they long travelled by sea. While + still near this coast the vessel was overtaken by storm and + wrecked. My father, mother, and myself were saved. But my + little baby sister was washed out of my mother's arms and + drowned."</p> + + <p>"Well?"</p> + + <p>"Well!"</p> + + <p>"If she was drowned how can she be Hetty, if that is what + you mean?"</p> + + <p>"They thought she was drowned. We were taken into another + vessel and carried on to France."</p> + + <p>"And never asked any more questions about the baby?"</p> + + <p>"I don't know. My father and mother are both dead," said + Reine pathetically; "I am sure they did all they could. But I + know they thought they saw her drowned before their eyes."</p> + + <p>"And I suppose they did. Reine, stop walking about the floor + like Crazy Jane, in your bare feet, and either come into my bed + or go back to your own."</p> + + <p>"I am going," said Reine; "please forgive me, Nell, for + spoiling your sleep."</p> + + <p>"Don't mention it. We can talk all the rest in the morning. + If you are allowed to go on any more now, you will be mad + to-morrow, and, what is worse, you will have a cold in your + head."</p> + + <p>Nell curled herself up in her pillows again, and was soon + fast asleep. But Reine could not sleep; and came down to + breakfast next morning looking as pale as a ghost.</p> + + <p>After Mr. Enderby had gone to his study Nell began:</p> + + <p>"Mamma, do you know Reine has got a bee in her bonnet!"</p> + + <p>"My dear, where did you get such an expression?"</p> + + <p>"Never mind. It is quite accurate. She believes that Hetty + is her sister who was drowned when she was a baby."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Enderby looked at Reine with a face of extreme + surprise.</p> + + <p>"Nell talks so much nonsense," she said, "that I scarcely + know what to think of her speeches sometimes." And then seeing + Reine's eyes full of tears, she added kindly:</p> + + <p>"Dear child, is there any grain of truth in what this wild + little scatter-brain has said?"</p> + + <p>Reine burst into tears.</p> + + <p>"Don't mind me, Mrs. Enderby, please; I have been awake all + night, and I don't feel like myself. It is only that Hetty Gray + is so—so <i>distressingly</i> like my mother. And Nell + says she was found on the sea-shore after a storm and wrecks. + And it is fourteen years ago. And that is the very time when + our vessel was wrecked, and my father and mother believed that + our baby was drowned. Oh, Mrs. Enderby, only think! Is it not + enough to turn my head?"</p> + + <p>"It is a very remarkable coincidence at least," said Mrs. + Enderby; "but, dear Reine, try to compose your thoughts. You + must not jump too hastily at conclusions. At the end of + fourteen years it will be very difficult to find evidence to + prove or disprove what you imagine may be true."</p> + + <p>Reine shook her head. "I have thought of that; I have + thought of it all night."</p> + + <p>"In the first place, are you quite sure about the + dates?"</p> + + <p>"Quite, on my own side. I have a little New Testament in + which my father wrote down, the day after our rescue, the date + of the wreck and a record of the baby's death."</p> + + <p>"We must send for Mrs. Kane," said Mrs. Enderby; "and hear + what she has to say before we allow our imaginations to run + away with us."</p> + + <p>"And oh, Mrs. Enderby,—if you saw the likeness of my + mother at just Hetty's age! May I telegraph for it at + once—to let you see it?"</p> + + <p>"Certainly, my dear; for it and that copy of the Testament. + But not a word to Hetty. It would be cruel to run the risk of + subjecting her to a heavy disappointment"</p> + + <p>The telegram was sent; and Mrs. Kane appeared, wondering + greatly why she was wanted at the Hall in such a hurry.</p> + + <p>"Now, Mrs. Kane," said Mrs. Enderby, "here is a young lady + who is greatly interested in the story of the finding of Hetty + Gray on the Long Sands by your husband, and I have promised she + shall hear of it from your own lips."</p> + + <p>They were all gathered round a sunny window in the great + brown hall, lined with carved oak and decorated with armour and + antlers. Mrs. Enderby herself pushed a stately old oaken chair + towards the rose-framed sash and said encouragingly:</p> + + <p>"Sit down, Mrs. Kane, and make yourself comfortable. There + is nothing to be nervous about. You know we are all friends of + your favourite, Hetty."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Kane was trembling with some curious excitement, and + could not remove her eyes from Reine Gaythorne's face.</p> + + <p>"I do not know who the young lady may be, ma'am," she said, + "but this I will say, that she is as like my Hetty as if she + was her own born sister."</p> + + <p>A flood of colour rushed over Reine's pale face, and she + clasped her hands and fixed her eyes on Mrs. Enderby.</p> + + <p>"Never mind that," said Mrs. Enderby, "tell the young lady + what you remember."</p> + + <p>"There's but little to tell," said Mrs. Kane, "beyond what + everybody knows. John happened to be down upon the sands that + night, and he got the baby lying at his feet. He brought her to + me wrapped in his coat, and says he, 'Anne, here's God has sent + us a little one.' And we kept it for our own, seeing that + nobody asked for it. I have the day and the year written in my + prayer-book; for I said to myself, some day, may-be, her + friends will come looking for her—out of the sea, or over + the land, or whatever way providence will send them. And for + one whole week we called her nothing but 'H.G.'"</p> + + <p>"H.G.!" echoed Reine.</p> + + <p>"Those were the letters wrought upon the shoulder of her + beautiful little shift," said Mrs. Kane. "And afterwards we + made out that they stood for Hetty Gray."</p> + + <p>"She had on a little shift?"</p> + + <p>"Mrs. Rushton got it," said Mrs. Kane. "The finest bit of + baby clothes I ever set my eyes on."</p> + + <p>Reine had come close to Mrs. Kane, and her lips were + trembling as she went on questioning her:</p> + + <p>"Were the letters in white embroidery—satin stitch + they call it? Were they all formed of little flowers curling in + and out about the letters; and was the chemise of fine cambric + with a narrow hem?"</p> + + <p>"That's the description as plain as if you were looking at + it," said Mrs. Kane.</p> + + <p>"I have half a dozen like it at home in one of my mother's + drawers," said Reine turning red and pale. "Where is this + little garment? is it not to be found?"</p> + + <p>"I have it, dear," said Mrs. Enderby quietly. "After Mrs. + Rushton's death I took possession of it. I hardly anticipated + so happy a day as this for poor Hetty, but I thought it my duty + to take care of it."</p> + + <p>The little chemise was produced, and Reine identified it as + one of the set belonging to her baby sister supposed to have + been drowned, and marked with her initials standing for Helen + Gaythorne.</p> + + <p>"My mother marked them herself," said Reine, examining the + embroidery as well as she could through eyes blinded by tears. + "She was wonderfully skilful with her needle, and took a pride + in marking all our things with initials designed by herself. + Oh, Mrs. Enderby, is not this evidence enough?"</p> + + <p>"It seems to me so," said Mrs. Enderby, "especially taken + with the dates and the likeness to your family. When your + mother's portrait comes——"</p> + + <p>"I must send for the little baby-garments too," said Reine; + "but oh, why need we wait for anything more? May I not run to + my sister, Mrs. Enderby?"</p> + + <p>"Calm yourself, my dear Reine, and be persuaded to take my + advice. We must consult a lawyer and get information as to the + wrecking of the vessel, and the place where the shipwreck + occurred. It will then be seen whether it was possible for a + child lost on the occasion to have lived to be washed in upon + this shore."</p> + + <p>"Possible or not, it happened!" cried Reine. "Oh, Mrs. + Enderby, unless you can make me sleep through the interval I + shall never have patience to wait."</p> + + <p>The portrait of Reine's mother taken at fifteen years of age + and the packet of tiny embroidered chemises arrived the next + morning from London. The former looked exactly like a picture + of Hetty; the latter was the counterpart of the baby-garment + produced by Mrs. Enderby from a drawer of her own. Mr. Enderby + was then consulted, and admitted that the case seemed + established in Hetty's favour. However, prudent like his wife, + he insisted that nothing should be said to Hetty till lawyers + had been consulted, and information about the wreck of the + vessel obtained.</p> + + <p>In the meantime Reine was abruptly sent home to London.</p> + + <p>"She will make herself ill if she is allowed to stay in the + house with Hetty, and obliged to be silent towards her as to + her discovery," said Mr. Enderby. "When the chain of evidence + is complete, we can think of what to do."</p> + + <p>So Mr. Enderby himself carried off Reine to London that very + night.</p> + + <p>"It will be necessary to come, my dear," he said, "and make + inquiries at once. You will thus arrive more quickly at your + end. Now just run into the school-room for a minute and say + good-bye to Hetty. But if you love her, say nothing to disturb + the child's peace."</p> + + <p>It cost Reine a great struggle to obey these sudden orders; + but she saw their drift, and was wise enough not to oppose + them. In her travelling dress she appeared in the school-room, + where Hetty, all unconscious of the wonderful change for her + that was hanging in the balance of Fate, sat at work as usual + with Miss Davis.</p> + + <p>"I have come to say good-bye," said Reine; "I am called off + to London in a hurry. But you must not forget me. We shall + surely meet again."</p> + + <p>Hetty's heart sank with bitter disappointment She had been + living in a sort of dream since yesterday, a dream of happiness + at being so suddenly and unexpectedly loved by this sweet girl + who had risen up like an angel in her path. The hope of seeing + her again and enjoying her friendship had kept a glow of joy + within her, which now went out and left darkness in its place. + She strove to keep her face from showing how deeply she felt + what seemed like caprice in Reine.</p> + + <p>Reine looked in her face with that long strange gaze which + had so impressed Hetty's heart and imagination, smothered a + sob, snatched a kiss from her sister's quivering lips, held her + a moment in a close embrace, and then turned abruptly and was + gone.</p> + + <p>"Miss Gaythorne seems a rather impulsive young lady," said + Miss Davis disapprovingly. "I wish she had taken a fancy to + some one else than my pupil. You must try to forget her, Hetty. + Girls like her, with wealth and power and nobody to control + them, are apt to become capricious, and work mischief with + people who have business to attend to. I hope you understand + me, Hetty."</p> + + <p>"Yes," said Hetty with a long sigh.</p> + + <p>"You must not expect to see Miss Gaythorne again. She will + probably have forgotten you to-morrow."</p> + + <p>Miss Davis was not in the secret which was occupying the + minds of several of the inmates of Wavertree Hall.</p> + <hr style="width: 65%;"> + + <h4><a name="CHAPTER_XX" + id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.</a></h4> + + <h3>HAPPY HETTY.</h3> + + <p class="ContentsLink"><a href="#CONTENTS">Back to + Contents</a></p> + + <p>About three weeks had passed away. Hetty had endured the + worst throes of her disappointment, and had almost succeeded in + banishing Reine out of her thoughts. She had steadily turned + away her eyes from looking back at that beautiful evening, + when, as if by enchantment, a girl who looked and spoke like a + sister had held her in a loving embrace, lavishing kisses and + loving words upon her, Hetty, who was known to be nobody's + child. The quiet studious days went on as if no brilliant + interruption had ever flashed in upon them. Miss Davis, at Mrs. + Enderby's desire, kept Hetty more than ordinarily busy, and + hindered her from paying her customary visits to Mrs. Kane. + Mrs. Enderby distrusted the good woman's ability to keep a + secret, and, with that prudence which had always distinguished + her in her dealings with Hetty, she was resolved that the girl + should hear no whisper to disturb her tranquillity till such + time as her identity should be considered satisfactorily + proved.</p> + + <p>At the end of three weeks' time, however, news came from + London to Mr. Enderby which placed it beyond a doubt that Hetty + was Helen Gaythorne, the baby who had been supposed to be + drowned. Although Mrs. Enderby and her daughters had been + prepared for this result of the inquiries that had been on + foot, yet the established fact, with its tremendous importance + for Hetty, seemed to come on them with a shock. The child who + had been protected in their house, no longer needed their + protection. The girl who was to have been sent out soon as a + governess to earn her bread, would henceforth have pleasant + bread to eat in a sister's luxurious home. The dependant, whom + it had been thought judicious to snub, was now the equal of + those who had so prudently dealt with her according to their + lights.</p> + + <p>Mr. and Mrs. Enderby were extremely pleased at the child's + good fortune, and thankful that they had not been induced to + send her to a charity school.</p> + + <p>"You are always right, dear," said Mrs. Enderby, looking at + her husband with pride. "When I was a coward in the matter you + insisted on having her here. And if she had gone elsewhere she + would never have met Reine, and her identity could hardly have + been discovered."</p> + + <p>"And her sister may thank you that she does not receive her + a spoiled, passionate, unmanageable monkey. Your prudent + treatment of the girl has had admirable results. Her demeanour + has pleased me very much of late. Meekness and obedience have + taken the place of her wilfulness and pride."</p> + + <p>Nell was perfectly wild with excitement and delight, clapped + her hands over her head and danced about the room.</p> + + <p>"I was always the one who liked Hetty the best," she said + triumphantly, "and now she will remember it. She will ask me to + France to stay with her. And nobody can warn me any more not to + give her too much encouragement. I can be allowed to make a + companion of Miss Helen Gaythorne."</p> + + <p>"What a very unpleasant way you always have of twisting + things!" said Phyllis, who had been remarkably silent all along + as to the change in Hetty's circumstances. "I am as glad as + anyone of Hetty's discovery; but I do not see why it should + make any difference to us."</p> + + <p>"Phyllis takes a more disinterested view of the matter than + you do, Nell," said Mrs. Enderby smiling; "but then my Phyllis + was always a wise little girl."</p> + + <p>Nell pouted, and Phyllis held her head high. Mrs. Enderby + thought she knew the hearts of both. But the woman who could be + so exceedingly prudent in the management of "nobody's child" + was blind to a great deal that required skilful treatment in + the characters and dispositions of her own daughters.</p> + + <p>Miss Davis was more affected than anyone in the house by the + news of Hetty's extraordinary good fortune. Unconsciously to + herself she had learned to love the girl, whom she had counted + upon having by her side for many years to come, and it was not + without a pang that she saw the young figure disappear suddenly + out of her future. Hetty alone knew nothing of the change that + had befallen her.</p> + + <p>"No, my dear," said Mrs. Enderby to Nell, "I will not allow + you to tell her. Indeed, I am a little nervous about the + matter, for Hetty is such a strangely impressionable girl one + never knows what way she will take things. I must break the + truth to her myself."</p> + + <p>So Hetty was sent for to Mrs. Enderby's dressing-room, and + went with rather a heavy heart, thinking some complaint had + been made of her. She had never been so sent for except when + trouble was impending.</p> + + <p>"I must try to be patient," she was thinking as she went up + the stairs. "I do not know what I can have done so very wrong, + but I suppose there must be something."</p> + + <p>But her sadness was soon turned into amazement and joy.</p> + + <p>"Hetty," said Mrs. Enderby, "Miss Gaythorne wishes to have + you with her in London, on a visit. Mr. Enderby and I have + consented to allow you to go; and I suppose you will not object + to give her pleasure."</p> + + <p>"Miss Gaythorne!" exclaimed Hetty, scarcely believing she + had heard rightly.</p> + + <p>"She has taken a fancy to you, and wishes to have you with + her. She is a charming girl, and I am sure she will make you + happy."</p> + + <p>Hetty's face, glowing with delight, sufficiently answered + this last speech; but her tongue could find no words.</p> + + <p>"In fact, I may as well tell you," continued Mrs. Enderby, + "that Reine has discovered you are some kind of relation of + hers; and, as she is her own mistress and very independent, she + will be disposed to make the most of the relationship."</p> + + <p>Hetty was turning slowly pale. "Relationship!" she murmured. + "Am I really related to Miss Gaythorne?" and Reine's cry, "My + mother, oh, my mother!" seemed to ring again in her ears.</p> + + <p>"I believe so, my dear. There, do not think too much of it. + At all events, you are to go to her now, and she will tell you + all about it. But mind, you and she are to come back and spend + Christmas with us. Mark will be at home then, and he will be + anxious to see his old playfellow."</p> + + <p>"Christmas!" echoed Hetty, in new astonishment. This was + only the end of September.</p> + + <p>"You see, I fancy Reine will not let you go in a hurry once + she has got you," said Mrs. Enderby; "and now, my dear, don't + stand there in a dream any longer, but run away and get ready + for the mid-day train. Mr. Enderby has to do some business in + London, and he will leave you in Portland Place. No, you will + not have time to go to see Mrs. Kane. I will give her your + love, and tell her you will see her when you come back."</p> + + <p>"I am not going to have her told till she is in her sister's + house," reflected Mrs. Enderby; "and Mrs. Kane would be sure to + pour out everything suddenly. The child is of so excitable a + nature, I do not know what might be the consequences to + her."</p> + + <p>That she could not say good-bye to Mrs. Kane made the only + flaw in Hetty's happiness; but she left a little note for her + with Miss Davis, who promised to have it safely delivered. And + then, with smiles and good wishes from everyone, and pondering + over a few mysterious glances which she caught passing from one + person to another over her head, Hetty took her place by Mr. + Enderby in his trap, and was whirled away to the + railway-station.</p> + + <p>Mr. Enderby talked to her kindly as they went along, about + the pleasures in store for her in London, especially in the + picture-galleries, as she had a taste for art.</p> + + <p>"And always remember, my dear," he said, "that in the rules + I laid down for your education with a view to your future, I + acted as I thought best for your good."</p> + + <p>Hetty said warmly, "I know—I am sure of that"; and + then she began to wonder at his curious manner of speaking, as + if all his dealings with her were in the past, and he had no + longer any control over her. Could it be, she asked herself, + that Reine was going to take her and have her taught to be an + artist?</p> + + <p>The thought was too delightful to be borne with, considering + the likelihood of disappointment. She tried to put it out of + her head, and listened to Mr. Enderby as he talked to her of + Westminster Abbey and the Tower.</p> + + <p>That afternoon about five o'clock, in a certain handsome + drawing-room in Portland Place, Reine was flitting about + restlessly with flushed cheeks, now re-arranging the roses in + some jar, now picking up her embroidery and putting a few + stitches in it, then going to the window and looking out. The + afternoon tea equipage was on a little table beside her, but + she did not help herself to a cup. She was evidently waiting + for some one.</p> + + <p>At last there was a sound of wheels stopping, and Reine's + trembling hands dropped her work into her basket. A ring came + to the door, and Reine was in the middle of the room, pressing + her hands together, and listening to the closing of the door + with impatient delight.</p> + + <p>"Miss Helen Gaythorne!" announced the servant, who knew that + his mistress's young sister was expected, and who had not asked + Hetty for her name. In the excitement of the moment Hetty + heard, but hardly understood the announcement. She thought the + servant had made a curious blunder.</p> + + <p>"Mr. Enderby will come in the evening," began Hetty + advancing shyly, and then, as the servant disappeared, she + raised her eyes and saw Reine.</p> + + <p>"Hetty—Helen! my darling! my sister!" cried Reine, + snatching her into her arms and laughing and crying on her + shoulder.</p> + + <p>"Sister?" murmured Hetty breathlessly, feeling quite + stunned. "Oh, Miss Gaythorne, what are you saying?"</p> + + <p>"Do you mean that they have not told you?" cried Reine, + covering her face with kisses.</p> + + <p>"Some kind of a relation," murmured Hetty, "that was what + they told me. Oh, Miss Gaythorne, think of what you have said! + Do not make fun of me, I cannot bear it."</p> + + <p>"Fun of you! Why, Hetty, Helen! I tell you, you are my + sister. My ownest, dearest, darlingest daughter of my + mother—the mother you are so like!"</p> + + <p>"But how—how can it be?" asked Hetty with a look + almost of terror on her face.</p> + + <p>"You are our baby who was supposed to have been drowned," + said Reine. <i>"That's</i> how it comes to be. We were wrecked + going to France, and you were washed out of my mother's arms. + And we thought you were drowned. But God was keeping you safe + for me at Wavertree."</p> + + <p>"How have you found it all out?" said Hetty, still holding + fast by her doubt, which seemed the only plank that could save + her from destruction in case this enchanting story should prove + to be all a dream.</p> + + <p>"It is completely proved, you little sceptic!" cried Reine. + "Mr. Enderby would not have you told till the lawyers had + pronounced you to be Helen Gaythorne. So ask me no more + questions at present, but give me back some of my kisses. You + and I are never going to part any more; are we?"</p> + + <p>Hetty gave her a long, strange, troubled look, and then + suddenly broke out into wild weeping.</p> + + <p>"Oh, is it true? Is it really true? Oh, Reine, my sister; + if, after this, it comes to be false—I shall die!"</p> + + <p>"It cannot come to be false, because it is reality," + insisted Reine, as she rocked her weeping sister in her arms. + "I shall be mother and sister and all to you, Helen—my + poor little motherless darling! Cry away, my dearest, for this + once, and then you shall have some tea. And after that you are + never to cry any more. You and I will have a great deal too + much to say and do together to spend our time over crying. But + oh, Hetty—Helen—if mother and father were only here + this day!"</p> + + <p>And then Reine cried again herself, and Hetty was the + comforter. They sat with their young heads together and their + warm cheeks touching, and told as much of their life's stories + to each other as they could think of at the moment. To Reine + the great discovery had come gradually, and so the present hour + was not so strange as it was to Hetty. For Hetty the world + seemed to have got suddenly under a spell of enchantment. She + could not believe in herself as Helen Gaythorne—could not + get accustomed to her new vision of life.</p> + + <p>"And I shall not need to be a governess. And perhaps I may + be an artist if I like."</p> + + <p>"You will not need to be either. There is enough of wealth + for both of us," said Reine. "But you can study art to your + heart's content. And we will go to Italy. And you shall be as + happy as a queen."</p> + <hr style='width: 45%;'> + + <p>And here I think we may take leave of Hetty Gray, in the + fulness of her happiness, and in Reine's loving arms. When I + last heard of the sisters they were leading a busy, active, and + joyous life. John Kane having died, Mrs. Kane has found a home + with them; and Scamp, who is now quite an old dog, spends his + days in tranquil ease at Hetty's feet.</p> + +<p> </p> +<hr class="full"> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HETTY GRAY***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 15538-h.txt or 15538-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/5/3/15538">https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/5/3/15538</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Hetty Gray + Nobody's Bairn + + +Author: Rosa Mulholland + +Release Date: April 4, 2005 [eBook #15538] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HETTY GRAY*** + + +E-text prepared by Malcolm Farmer and the Project Gutenberg Online +Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +HETTY GRAY + +or, Nobody's Bairn + +by + +ROSA MULHOLLAND (LADY GILBERT) + + + + + + + +CONTENTS + + I. FOUR YEARS OLD + + II. UNDER THE HORSES' FEET + + III. ADOPTED + + IV. MRS. KANE IN TROUBLE + + V. A LONELY CHILD + + VI. HETTY AND HER "COUSINS" + + VII. HETTY'S FIRST LESSONS + + VIII. HETTY DESOLATE + + IX. WHAT TO DO WITH HER? + + X. THE NEW HOME + + XI. HETTY TURNS REBEL + + XII. A COTTAGE CHILD AGAIN + + XIII. A TRICK ON THE GOVERNESS + + XIV. HETTY'S CONSTANCY + + XV. THE CHILDREN'S DANCE + + XVI. A TRIAL OF PATIENCE + + XVII. HETTY'S FUTURE IS PLANNED + + XVIII. REINE GAYTHORNE + + XIX. IF SHE WAS DROWNED, HOW CAN SHE BE HETTY? + + XX. HAPPY HETTY + + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +FOUR YEARS OLD. + + +In all England there is not a prettier village than Wavertree. It has no +streets; but the cottages stand about the roads in twos and threes, with +their red-tiled roofs, and their little gardens, and hedges overrun with +flowering weeds. Under a great sycamore tree at the foot of a hill +stands the forge, a cave of fire glowing in the shadows, a favourite +place for the children to linger on their way to school, watching the +smith hammering at his burning bars, and hearing him ring his cheery +chimes on the anvil. Who shall say what mystery surrounds the big smith, +as he strides about among his fires, to the wide bright eyes that peer +in at him from under baby brows, or what meanings come out of his +clinking music to four-year-old or eight-year-old ears? + +Little Hetty was only four years old when she stood for five or ten +minutes of one long summer day looking in at the forge, and watching and +listening with all the energy that belonged to her. She had a little +round pink face with large brown eyes as soft as velvet, and wide open +scarlet lips. Her tiny pink calico frock was clean and neat, and her +shoes not very much broken, though covered with dust. Altogether Hetty +had the look of a child who was kindly cared for, though she had neither +father nor mother in the world. + +Two or three great strong horses, gray and bay, with thick manes and +tails, came clattering up to the door of the forge, a man astride on one +of them. Hetty knew the horses, which belonged to Wavertree Hall, and +were accustomed to draw the long carts which brought the felled trees +out of the woods to the yard at the back of the Hall. Hetty once had +thought that the trees were going to be planted again in Mrs. Enderby's +drawing-room, and had asked why the pretty green leaves had all been +taken off. She was four years old now, however, and she knew that the +trees were to be chopped up for firewood. She clapped her hands in +delight as the great creatures with their flowing manes came trotting up +with their mighty hoofs close to her little toes. + +"You little one, run away," cried the man in care of the horses; and +Hetty stole into the forge and stood nearer to the fire than she had +ever dared to do before. + +"Hallo!" shouted Big Ben the smith; "if this mite hasn't got the courage +of ten! Be off, you little baggage, if you don't want to have those +pretty curls o' yours singed away as bare as a goose at Michaelmas! As +for sparks in your eyes, you sha'n't have 'em, for you don't want 'em. +Eyes are bright enough to light up a forge for themselves." + +"Aye," said the carter, "my missus and I often say she's too pretty a +one for the likes of us to have the bringing up of on our hands. And +she's a rare one for havin' her own way, she is. Just bring her out by +the hand, will you, Ben, while I keep these horses steady till she gets +away?" + +Big Ben led the little maid outside the forge, and said, "Now run away +and play with the other children"; and then he went back to set about +the shoeing of John Kane's mighty cart-horses, or rather the cart-horses +of Mr. Enderby of Wavertree Hall. + +Little Hetty, thus expelled, dared not return to the forge, but she +walked backwards down the road, gazing at the horses as long as she +could see them. She loved the great handsome brutes, and if she had had +her will would have been sitting on one of their backs with her arms +around his neck. Coming to a turn of the road from which a path led on +to an open down, she blew a farewell kiss to the horses and skipped away +across the grass among the gold-hearted, moonfaced daisies, and the +black-eyed poppies in their scarlet hoods. + +There were no other children to be seen, but Hetty made herself happy +without them. A large butterfly fluttered past her, almost brushing her +cheek, and Hetty threw back her curly head and gazed at its beauty in +astonishment. It was splendid with scarlet and brown and gold, and +Hetty, after a pause of delighted surprise, dashed forward with both her +little fat arms extended to capture it. It slipped through her fingers; +but just as she was pulling down her baby lips to cry, a flock of white +and blue butterflies swept across her eyes, and made her laugh again as +she pursued them in their turn. + +At last she stumbled into a damp hollow place where a band of golden +irises stood among their tall shafts of green like royal ladies +surrounded by warriors. Hetty caught sight of the yellow wing-like +petals of the flag-lilies and grasped them with both hands. Alas! they +were not alive, but pinned to the earth by their strong stems. The +butterflies were gone, the flowers were not living. The little girl +plucked the lilies and tried to make them fly, but their heads fell +heavily to the ground. + +A big plough-boy came across the downs, and he said as he passed Hetty, + +"What are you picking the heads off the flowers for, you young one?" + +"Why won't they fly like the butterflies?" asked Hetty. + +"Because they were made to grow." + +"Why can't I fly, too?" + +"Because you were made to run." + +When Hetty went into the school she had a scratch from a briar all +across her cheek. + +"You are quite late, Hetty Gray," said the schoolmistress. "And what +have you been doing to scratch your face?" + +"I was trying to make the flowers fly," said Hetty; and then she was put +to stand in the corner in disgrace with her face to the wall. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +UNDER THE HORSES' FEET. + + +Mrs. Kane's cottage stood on a pretty bend of one of the village roads, +and belonged to an irregular cluster of little houses with red gables +and green palings. It was among the poorest dwellings in Wavertree, but +was neat and clean. The garden was in good order, and a white climbing +rose grew round the door, that sweet old-fashioned rose with its +delicious scent which makes the air delightful wherever it blows. + +The cottage door stood open, and the afternoon sunlight fell across the +old red tiles of the kitchen floor. The tiles were a little broken, and +here and there they were sunk and worn; but they were as clean as hands +could make them, as Mrs. Kane would have said. A little window at one +side looked down the garden, and across it was a frilled curtain, and +on the sill a geranium in full flower. On the other side was the +fire-place, with chintz frill and curtains, and the grate filled with a +great bush of green beech-leaves. A table set on the red tiles was +spread for tea, and by it sat Mrs. Kane and her friend Mrs. Ford +enjoying a friendly cup together. + +"She _is_ late this evening," Mrs. Kane was saying; "but she'll turn up +all right by and by. If she's wild she's sharp, which is still +something. She never gets under horses' feet, nor drops into the pond, +or anything of that sort. If she did those sort of things, being such a +rover, Mrs. Ford, you see I never should have an easy moment in my +life." + +"I must say it's very good of you to take to do with her," said Mrs. +Ford, "and she nobody belonging to you. If she was your own child--" + +"Well, you see, my own two dears went to heaven with the measles," said +Mrs. Kane, "and I felt so lonesome without them, that when John walked +in with the little bundle in his arms that night, I thought he was just +an angel of light." + +"It was on the Long Sands he found her, wasn't it?" asked Mrs. Ford, +balancing her spoon on the edge of her cup. + +"On the Long Sands after the great storm," said Mrs. Kane; "and that's +just four years ago in May gone by. How a baby ever lived through the +storm to be washed in by the sea alive always beats me when I think of +it, it seems so downright unnatural; and yet that's the way that +Providence ordered it, Mrs. Ford." + +"I suppose all her folks were drowned?" said Mrs. Ford. + +"Most like they were, for it was a bad wreck, as I've heard," said Mrs. +Kane. "Leastways, nobody has ever come to claim her, and no questions +have been asked. Unless it was much for her good I would fain hope that +nobody ever will claim her now. Wild as she is, I've grown to love that +little Hetty, so I have. Ah, here she is coming along, as hungry as a +little pussy for her milk, I'll be bound!" + +Hetty came trudging along the garden path, her curls standing up in a +bush on her head, her little fat fingers stained green with grass, and +her pinafore, no longer green, filled with moon-daisies. She was singing +with her baby voice lifted bravely: + +"Dust as I am I come to zee--" + +"Dust indeed!" cried Mrs. Kane, "_I_ never saw +such dust. Only look at her shoes that I blacked this morning!" + +"Poor dear, practising her singing," said Mrs. Ford. "Well, little lass, +and what have you been seeing and doing all day long?" + +"I saw big Ben poking his fire," answered Hetty after a moment's +reflection. "He put me out, and then I saw him hurting the horses' feet +with his hammer. I wanted the horses to come along with me, but they +shook their heads and stayed where they were. Then I tried to catch the +butterflies, and they flew right past my eyes. And I thought the yellow +lilies could fly too, and they wouldn't. Then I pulled their heads +off--" + +"And were you not at school at all?" asked Mrs. Ford. "Well, well, +Hetty, you are wild. If you saw my little boys going so good to their +school! What more did you do, Hetty?" + +"I went into school, and schoolmistress put me in a corner. Then I drew +marks with my tears on the wall; and afterwards I said my spelling. And +I came home and got some daisies; and I saw Charlie Ford standing in the +pond with his shoes and stockings on." + +"Oh my! oh my! well I never!" cried Mrs. Ford, snatching up her bonnet, +and getting ready to go home in a hurry. "Charley in the pond with his +shoes and stockings on! It seems, Mrs. Kane, that I've been praising him +too soon!" + +While Mrs. Ford was running down the road after Charley, Mrs. Enderby, +up at Wavertree Hall, was directing her servants to carry the table for +tea out upon the lawn under the wide-spreading beech-trees; and her two +little daughters, Phyllis aged eight and Nell aged seven, were hovering +about waiting to place baskets of flowers and strawberries on the +embroidered cloth. Mrs. Rushton, sister-in-law of Mrs. Enderby and aunt +of the children, was spending the afternoon at the Hall, having come a +distance of some miles to do so. + +Mrs. Enderby was a tall graceful lady, with a pale, gentle, but rather +cold face; her dress was severely simple and almost colourless; her +voice was sweet. Mrs. Rushton was unlike her in every respect, low in +size, plump, smiling, and dressed in the most becoming and elegant +fashion. Mrs. Enderby spoke slowly and with deliberation; Mrs. Rushton +kept chattering incessantly. + +"Well, Amy," said the former, "I hope you will talk to William about it, +and perhaps he may induce you to change your mind. Here he is," as a +gentleman was seen coming across the lawn. + +Mrs. Rushton shrugged her shoulders. "My dear Isabel," she said, "I do +not see what William has to do with it. I am my own mistress, and surely +old enough to judge for myself." + +The two little girls sprang to meet their father, and dragged him by the +hands up to the tea-table. + +"William," said Mrs. Enderby, "I want you to remonstrate with Amy." + +"It seems to me I am always remonstrating with Amy," said Mr. Enderby +smiling; "what wickedness is she meditating now?" + +Mrs. Rushton laughed gaily, dipped a fine strawberry into cream and ate +it. Her laugh was pleasant, and she had a general air of good humour and +self-complacency about her which some people mistook for exceeding +amiability. + +"Isabel thinks I am going to destruction altogether," said she, +preparing another strawberry for its bath of cream; "only because I am +thinking of going abroad with Lady Harriet Beaton. Surely I have a right +to arrange my own movements and to select my own friends." + +Mr. Enderby looked very grave. "No one can deny your right to do as you +please," he said; "but I hope that on reflection you will not please to +go abroad with Lady Harriet Beaton." + +"Why!" + +"Surely you know she is not a desirable companion for you, Amy. I hope +you have not actually promised to accompany her." + +"Well, I think I have, almost. She is very gay and charming, and I +cannot think why you should object to her. If I were a young girl of +sixteen, instead of a widow with long experience, you could not make +more fuss about the matter." + +"As your brother I am bound to object to such a scheme," said Mr. +Enderby. + +Mrs. Rushton pouted. "It is all very well for you and Isabel to talk," +she said, "you have each other and your children to interest you. If I +had children--had only one child, I should not care for running about +the world or making a companion of Lady Harriet." + +Mrs. Enderby looked at her sister-in-law sympathetically; but Mr. +Enderby only smiled. + +"My dear Amy," he said, "you know very well that if you had children +they would be the most neglected little mortals on the face of the +earth. Ever since I have known you, a good many years now, I have seen +you fluttering about after one whim or another, and never found you +contented with anything long. If Phyllis and Nell here were your +daughters instead of Isabel's, they would be away at school somewhere, +whilst their mother would be taking her turn upon all the +merry-go-rounds of the world." + +"Thank you, you are very complimentary," said Mrs. Rushton; and then she +laughed carelessly: + +"After all, the merry-go-rounds, as you put it, are much better fun than +sitting in a nursery or a school-room. But I assure you I am not so +frivolous as you think; I have been going out distributing tracts lately +with Mrs. Sourby." + +"Indeed, and last winter I know you were attending lectures on cookery, +and wanted to become a lecturer yourself." + +"Yes, and only for something that happened, I forget what, I might now +be a useful member of society. But chance does so rule one's affairs. At +present it is Fate's decree that I shall spend the next few months at +Pontresina." + +Mr. Enderby made a gesture as if to say that he would remonstrate no +more, and went off to play lawn tennis with his little girls. Mrs. +Rushton rose from her seat, yawned, and declared to Mrs. Enderby that it +was six o'clock and quite time for her to return towards home, as she +had a drive of two hours before her. + +Shortly afterwards she was rolling along the avenue in her carriage, and +through the village, and out by one of the roads towards the open +country. + +Now little Hetty Gray ought to have been in her bed by this time, or +getting ready for it; but she was, as Mrs. Kane told Mrs. Ford, a very +wild little girl, though sharp; and while Mrs. Kane was busy giving her +husband his supper Hetty had escaped from the cottage once more, and had +skipped away from the village to have another little ramble by herself +before the pretty green woods should begin to darken, and the moon to +come up behind the trees. + +Hetty had filled her lap with dog-roses out of the hedges, and wishing +to arrange them in a bunch which she could carry in her hand, she sat +down in the middle of the road and became absorbed in her work. + +Near where she sat there was a sharp turning in the road, and Hetty was +so busy that she did not hear the sound of a carriage coming quite near +her. Suddenly the horses turned the corner. Hetty saw them and jumped +up in a fright, but too late to save herself from being hurt. She was +flung down upon the road, though the coachman pulled up in time to +prevent the wheels passing over her. + +Poor Hetty gave one scream and then nothing more was heard from her. The +footman got down and looked at her, and then he went and told the lady +in the carriage that he feared the child was badly hurt. + +"Oh dear!" said the lady, "what brought her under the horses' feet? Can +you not pick her up?" + +The footman went back to Hetty and tried to lift her in his arms, but +she uttered such pitiful screams at being touched that he was obliged to +lay her down again. + +Then the lady, who was Mrs. Rushton, got out and looked at her. + +"You must put her in the carriage," she said, "and drive back to the +village. I suppose she belongs to some of the people there." + +"I know her, ma'am," said the footman; "she is Mrs. Kane's little +girl,--little Hetty Gray." + +Mrs. Rushton got into the carriage again and held the child on her lap +while they were being driven back to the village to Mrs. Kane's cottage +door. It was quite a new sensation to the whimsical lady of fashion to +hold a suffering child in her arms, and she was surprised to find that, +in spite of her first feelings of impatience at being stopped on the +road, she rather liked it. As Hetty's little fair curly head hung back +helplessly over her arm, and the round soft cheek, turned so white, +touched her breast, Mrs. Rushton felt a motherly sensation which she had +never before known in all her frivolous life. + +Mrs. Kane was out at the garden gate looking up and down the road for +the missing Hetty. When she saw Hetty lifted out of the carriage she +began to cry. + +"Oh my! my!" she sobbed, "I never thought it would come to this with +her, and she so sharp. Thank you, madam, thank you, I'm sure. She's not +my own child, but I feel it as much as if she was." + +Mrs. Rushton then sent the carriage off for the doctor and went into the +cottage with Mrs. Kane. The child was laid as gently as possible on a +poor but clean bed covered with a patchwork quilt of many colours, and +the lady of fashion sat by her side, bathing the baby forehead with eau +de Cologne which she happened to have with her. It was all new and +unexpectedly interesting to Mrs. Rushton. Never had she been received as +a friend in a cottage home before, the only occasions when she had even +seen the inside of one were those on which she had accompanied Mrs. +Sourby on her mission of distributing tracts; and on those occasions she +had felt that she was not looked on as a friend by the poor who received +her, but rather as an intruder. It was evident now that good, grieved +Mrs. Kane took her for an angel as she sat by the little one's bed, and +it was new and delightful to Mrs. Rushton to be regarded as a +benefactress by anyone. + +The doctor arrived, set the child's arm, which was found to be broken, +and gave her something to make her fall asleep. Then he charmed Mrs. +Rushton by complimenting that lady on her goodness of heart. + +"Remember, all the expense is to be mine," she said to him, "and I hope +you will order the little one everything she can possibly require. I +will come to see her to-morrow, Mrs. Kane, and bring her some flowers +and fruit." + +The pretty green woods which Hetty loved had grown dark, the butterflies +had flown away to whatever dainty lodging butterflies inhabit during the +summer nights, the yellow wings of the flag-lilies fluttered unseen in +the shadows, and the moon had risen high above the tall beech-trees and +the old church tower. Mrs. Rushton stepped into her carriage once more, +and was driven rapidly through the quiet village, away towards her own +luxurious home, feeling more interested and excited than she had felt +for a long time. + +Little Hetty Gray, her scare of fright and pain gone for the time like a +bad dream, lay sound asleep upon her humble bed, and Mrs. Kane, trimming +her night-light, paused to listen, with that fascination which many +people feel at the sound, to the hoarse boom of the old church clock +calling the hour of midnight, across the chimneys of the village and +away over the silent solemn woods. + +Mrs. Kane felt with a sort of awe that another day had begun, but she +little knew that with it a strange new leaf had been turned in the story +of her little Hetty's life. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +ADOPTED. + + +Mrs. Rushton returned the next day with a basket of ripe peaches and a +large bouquet of lovely flowers such as Hetty had never seen before. The +yellow lilies might stand now in peace among their tall flag leaves +without fearing to have their heads picked off, for Hetty had got +something newer and more delightful to admire than they. Odorous golden +roses and pearl-white gardenias scented and beautified the poor little +room where Hetty lay. Where had they come from, she wondered, and who +was the pretty lady who sat by her side and kept putting nice-smelling +things to her nose? At first she was very shy and only looked at her +with half-closed eyes, but after some time she took courage and spoke to +her. + +"What kind lady are you?" asked Hetty boldly. + +"I am a good fairy," said Mrs. Rushton, "and when you are well I am +going to carry you off to see my house." + +"Hetty has got a house," said the little girl complacently. "Have you +got a house too?" + +"A splendid large house, Hetty," said Mrs. Kane. "_You_ never saw such a +house." + +"Is it bigger than the post-office?" said Hetty doubtingly. + +"Bigger far." + +"Bigger than the forge?" + +"Don't be foolish, child, and stop your biggers," said Mrs. Kane; "Mrs. +Rushton's house is the size of the church and more." + +Hetty winked with astonishment, and she lay silent for some time, till +at last she said: + +"And do you sit in the pulpit?" + +Mrs. Rushton laughed more than she was accustomed to laugh at Lady +Harriet Beaton's comic stories. This child's prattle was amusing to her. + +"And do you have grave-stones growing round your door?" persisted Hetty. + +"There, ma'am!" cried Mrs. Kane, "she'll worry you with questions if you +give her a bit of encouragement. She'll think of things that'll put you +wild for an answer, so she will. John and I give her up." + +Mrs. Rushton was not at all inclined to give her up, however, for she +kept coming day after day to visit the little patient. Hetty became fond +of her pleasant visitor, and watched eagerly for her arrival in the +long afternoons when the flies buzzed so noisily in the small cottage +window-panes, and the child found it hard to lie still and hear the +voices of the village children shouting and laughing at their play in +the distance. As soon as Mrs. Rushton's bright eyes were seen in the +doorway, and her gay dress fluttering across the threshold, Hetty would +stretch out her one little hand in welcome to the delightful visitor, +and laugh to see all the pretty presents that were quickly strewn around +her on the bed. After spending an afternoon with the child, Mrs. Rushton +often went on to Wavertree Hall and finished the evening there with her +brother's family. Mr. and Mrs. Enderby were greatly astonished to find +how completely their lively sister had interested herself in the village +foundling. + +"Take care you do not spoil her," said Mr. Enderby. + +Mrs. Rushton shrugged her shoulders. + +"I can never please you," she said. "One would suppose I had found a +harmless amusement this time at least, and yet you do not approve." + +"I do approve," said her brother, "up to a certain point. I only warn +you not to go too far and make the child unhappy by over-petting her. In +a few weeks hence you will have forgotten her existence, and then the +little thing will be disappointed." + +"But I have no intention of forgetting her in a few weeks," said Mrs. +Rushton indignantly. + +"No; you have no intention--" said Mr. Enderby. + +"You certainly are a most unsympathetic person," said Mrs. Rushton; and +she went away feeling herself much ill-used, and firmly believing +herself to be the only kind-hearted member of her family. + +"After all, William," said Mrs. Enderby to her husband, "you ought not +to be too hard upon Amy, for you see she has given up talking of going +abroad with Lady Harriet." + +"True; I have noticed that. Yet I fear she will not relinquish one folly +without falling into another." + +"Her present whim is at all events an amiable one," said Mrs. Enderby +gently. "Let us hope no harm may come of it.' + +"I should think it all most natural and right if any other woman than +Amy were in question," said Mr. Enderby; "but one never knows to what +extravagant lengths she will go." + +The warnings of her brother had the effect of making Mrs. Rushton still +more eager in her attendance on the child, and a few days after she had +been "lectured" by him, as she put it to herself, she astonished good +Mrs. Kane by saying: + +"I think she is quite fit to be moved now, Mrs. Kane, and the doctor +says so. I am going to take her home with me for a week for change of +air." + +"Laws, ma'am, you never mean it!" + +"But I do mean it. I am going to fatten her up and finish her cure." + +"Well, ma'am, I'm sure you are the kindest of the kind. To think of you +troubling yourself and putting yourself out, and all for our little +Hetty." + +"That is my affair," said Mrs. Rushton laughing; "I don't think a mite +like that will disturb my household very much. Just you pack her up, and +I will carry her off with me to-morrow at three." + +The next day the lady carried off her prize, greatly delighted to think +of how shocked her brother would be when he heard of her new "folly." As +soon as she had introduced Hetty to all her dogs, and cats, and rabbits, +Mrs. Rushton went to her desk and wrote a note to her sister-in-law +inviting the entire Wavertree family to spend a day at Amber Hill, which +was the name of her charming dwelling-place. + +When, on a certain morning, therefore, the Wavertree carriage stopped at +the foot of the wide flight of steps, flanked by urns of blooming +flowers, which led up to Mrs. Rushton's great hall door, the mistress of +Amber Hill was seen descending the stone stair leading a little child by +the hand. This was Hetty, dressed in a white frock of lace and muslin, +and decked with rose-coloured ribbons. + +"Isn't she a little beauty?" said Mrs. Rushton, smiling mischievously at +her grave brother and sister-in-law. "Look up, my darling, and show your +pretty brown velvet eyes. Did you ever see such a tint in human cheeks, +Isabel, or such a crop of curling hair?" + +"Do you really mean that this is the village child, Amy?" asked her +brother. + +"Yes, little Hetty is here!" said Amy with a gleeful laugh; "but then, +William, Lady Harriet is gone. If I had asked you to meet her to-day +instead of little Miss Gray from Wavertree, I wonder what you would have +done to find a more disagreeable expression of countenance." + +"Do you wish us to understand that you have adopted this 'nobody's +child,' Amy?" said Mr. Enderby, looking more and more troubled. + +"Well, to tell you the truth, I did not mean that quite," said Mrs. +Rushton; "but now that you suggest it--" + +"_I_ suggest it!" cried Mr. Enderby. + +"How horrified you look! But all the same you have suggested it, and I +think it is a capital idea." + +"Do not come to any hasty conclusion, I implore you, Amy. Think over it +well. Consider the child's interests more than your own momentary +self-indulgence!" + +Mrs. Rushton coloured with displeasure. + +"I see you are determined to be as disagreeable as usual," she said +angrily. "As if the monkey could fail to be benefited by my patronage! +Pray, will she not be better in my drawing-room than getting under +horses' feet about the Wavertree roads, or losing herself in the +Wavertree woods?" + +"Frankly, I think not," said Mr. Enderby stiffly. + +Mrs. Rushton's eyes flashed, and she did her brother the injustice of +thinking that he feared her adoption of little Hetty would in some way +interfere with the worldly interests of his own children. She was not +accustomed to seek far for other people's meanings and motives, and +generally seized on the first which presented itself to her mind. She +knew that she only wanted to amuse herself, and had no intention of +wronging her nieces and nephew by playing with this charming babe. Why, +then, should William take such fancies in his head? In this flash of +temper she instantly decided on keeping little Hetty always with her. +Was there any reason in the world why she should not do just as she +pleased? Hetty should certainly stay with her and be as her own child +from this day forth. + +"What have _you_ to say about my adopting little Hetty?" she said, +turning to her sister-in-law with a slightly defiant and wholly +triumphant smile. + +"I shall say nothing," said Mrs. Enderby, "until I see how you treat +her. I trust it may turn out for the best." + +Thus, all in a moment, and merely because Mrs. Rushton would not be +contradicted, was little Hetty's future in this world decided. Before +her brother had spoken, the lady of Amber Hill had had no intention of +keeping Hetty for more than a week in her house. And now she felt bound +(by the laws of human perversity) to take her and bring her up as her +own child. + +In the meantime Mrs. Enderby's three children and Hetty Gray were +standing by, gazing at one another. The little Enderbys, Mark, Phyllis, +and Nell, had taken in the whole conversation, and understood perfectly, +with the quick perception of children, the strangeness of the situation, +and their own peculiar position with regard to Mrs. Kane's little girl +from Wavertree. + +The little Enderbys were thinking how very odd it was that the little +girl whom they had often seen, as they walked with their nurse or drove +past in the carriage with their mother, playing on the roads in a soiled +pinafore, should be now presented to them as a new cousin. Phyllis, the +eldest, was much displeased, for pride was her ruling fault. Mark and +Nell were charmed with the transformation in Hetty and very much +disposed to accept her as a playfellow, though they remembered all the +time that she was not their equal. + +Hetty, being only four years old, was supremely unconscious of all that +was being said, and meant, and thought over her curly head. She gazed at +the three other children, and, repelled by Phyllis's cold gaze, turned +to Mark and Nell, and stretched out a little fat hand to each of them. + +"Come and see the beautiful flowers!" she said gleefully; "you never saw +such lovely ones!" + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +MRS. KANE IN TROUBLE. + + +"Now, tell me all about it, for as I am going to be her mother in future +I must know everything that concerns my child." + +Mrs. Rushton was talking to Mrs. Kane, having come to the cottage to +announce her intention of adopting Hetty. Mrs. Kane was crying bitterly. + +"You'll excuse me, ma'am. I would not stand in the way of my darling's +good fortune, not for ever so, I'm sure. And yet it's hard to give her +up." + +"I should not have thought it could make much difference to you. I +believe she was generally running about the roads when not at school." + +"Well, you see, ma'am, that is true; but at night and in the mornings +she would kneel on my lap to say her prayers, and put her little soft +arms round my neck. And those are the times I'll mostly miss her." + +Mrs. Rushton coughed slightly. She herself liked the sight of Hetty's +pretty face, and was amused by her prattle; but she was not a woman to +think much about the feel of a child's arms around her neck. Mrs. Kane, +perceiving that she was not understood, sprang up from her seat and went +to fetch a parcel from an inner room. + +"This is the little shift she wore when I first set eyes on her. It is +the only rag she brought with her; though not much of a rag, I'm bound +to say; for so pretty an article of the kind I never saw," said the good +woman, spreading out on the table an infant's garment of the finest +cambric embroidered delicately round the neck and sleeves. + +In the corner was a richly wrought monogram of the initials H.G. + +"And that's why we called her Hetty Gray," said Mrs. Kane. "John and I +made up the name to suit the letters. If ever her friends turn up +they'll know the difference, but in the meantime we had to have +something to call her by." + +"Why, this is most interesting!" said Mrs. Rushton, examining the +monogram; "she probably belonged to people of position. It is quite +satisfactory that she should prove to be a gentlewoman by birth." + +"And that is why I feel bound to give her up, ma'am," said Mrs. Kane, +wiping her overflowing eyes. "I've always put it before me that some day +or other her folks would come wanting her, and I've said to myself that +it would be terrible if she had grown up in the meantime with no better +education than if she was born a village lass. And yet what better could +I have done for her than I could have done for a daughter of my own if I +had had one?" + +"Just so," said Mrs. Rushton; "and now you may be sure that she will be +educated, trained, dressed, and everything else, just as if she had been +in her mother's house. As for her own people coming for her, I am not +sure that I shall give her up if they do. Not unless I have grown tired +of her in the meantime." + +"Tired of her!" echoed Mrs. Kane, looking at her visitor in great +surprise; "surely, madam, you do not think you will get tired of our +little Hetty!" + +"I hope not, my good woman; but even if I do you cannot complain, as in +that case I shall give her back to you; that is, if it happens before +her friends come to fetch her. Unless you are pretending to grieve now, +you cannot be sorry at the prospect of having her again." + +"That's true," said the poor woman in a puzzled tone, and she still +looked wistfully at the handsome visitor sitting before her. She did not +know how to express herself, and she was afraid of offending the lady +who was going to be Hetty's mother; yet she felt eager to make some +remonstrance against the injustice of the proceeding which Mrs. Rushton +spoke of as within the bounds of possibility. She believed in her heart +that a great wrong would be done if the child, having been educated and +accustomed to luxury for years, were to be carelessly thrown back into a +life of lowly poverty. However, the trouble that was in her heart could +not find its way through her lips, and she tried to think that Mrs. +Rushton spoke only in jest. + +"It is altogether like a romance," that lady was saying as she folded up +the baby garment and put it away in a pretty scented satchel which she +wore at her side. "I have not met with anything so interesting for +years, and I promise myself a great deal of pleasure in the matter." + +"May Hetty come to see me sometimes?" asked Mrs. Kane, humbly curtseying +her good-bye, when her visitor was seated in her pony phaeton and +gathering up the reins for flight. + +"Oh, certainly, as often as you please," answered Mrs. Rushton gaily, +and touching the ponies with her whip she was soon out of sight; while +poor Mrs. Kane retreated into her cottage to have a good motherly cry +over the tiny broken shoes and the little washed-out faded frocks which +were now all that remained to her of her foster-daughter. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +A LONELY CHILD. + + +Mrs. Rushton having adopted Hetty, set about extracting the utmost +amount of amusement possible from the presence of the child in her home. +She soon grew anxious to get away from her brother's "unpleasantly +sensible remarks," and Isabel's gentle excuses for her conduct, which +annoyed her even more, as they always suggested motives for her actions +which were far beyond her ken, and seemed far-fetched, over-strained, +and absurd. So she took the child to London, where she introduced her +to her friends as her latest plaything. + +Hetty had frocks of all the colours of the rainbow, and learned to make +saucy speeches which entertained Mrs. Rushton's visitors. + +She sat beside her new mamma as she drove in her victoria in the park; +and on Mrs. Rushton's "at home" days was noticed and petted by +fashionable ladies and gentlemen, her beauty praised openly to her face, +her pretty clothes remarked upon, and her childish prattle laughed at +and applauded as the wittiest talk in the world. + +Certainly there were many days when Hetty's presence was wearisome and +intolerable to her benefactress, and then she was banished to a large +gloomy room at the top of the London house, and left to the tender +mercies of a maid, who did not at all forget that she was only Mrs. +Kane's little girl from the village of Wavertree, and treated her +accordingly. She was often left alone for hours, amusing herself as best +she could, crying when she felt very lonely, or leaning far out of the +window to feel nearer to the people in the street. The consequence of +all this was to spoil the child's naturally sweet temper, to teach her +to crave for excitement, and to suffer keenly, when, after a full feast +of pleasure, she was suddenly snubbed, scolded, deserted, and forgotten. +She began to hate the sight of the bare silent nursery upstairs, where +there were no pretty pictures to bear her company, no pleasant little +adornments, no diversions such as a mother places in the room where her +darlings pass many of their baby hours. It was a motherless, blank, +nursery, where the only nurse was the maid, who came and went, and +looked upon Hetty as a nuisance; an extra trouble for which she had not +been prepared when she engaged to live with Mrs. Rushton. + +"Sit down there and behave yourself properly, if you can, till I come +back," she would say, and seat Hetty roughly in a chair and go away and +leave her there, shutting the door. At first Hetty used to weep +dolefully, and sometimes cried herself to sleep; but after a time she +became used to her lonely life, and only thought of how she could amuse +herself during her imprisonment. She counted the carriages passing the +window till she was tired, and watched the little children playing in +the garden of the square beyond; but at last she would get bolder, +sometimes, and venture out of her nursery to take a peep at the other +rooms of the house. One day she made her way down to Mrs. Rushton's +bed-room; that lady had gone out and the servants were all downstairs. +Hetty contrived to pull out several drawers and played with ribbons and +trinkets. At last she opened a case in which was her foster-mother's +watch, and as this ticking bit of gold was like a living companion, +Hetty pounced upon it at once. + +She played all sorts of tricks with the watch, dressed it up in a towel +and called it a baby; and making up her mind that baby wanted a bath, +popped the watch into a basin of water and set about washing it +thoroughly. + +Just as she was working away with great energy the door opened and Mrs. +Rushton came in. Seeing what the child was doing she flew at her, +snatched the watch from her hands, and slapped her violently on the arms +and neck. Hetty screamed, beat Mrs. Rushton on the face with both her +little palms, and then was whirled away shrieking into the hands of the +negligent maid, who shook her roughly as she carried her off to the +miscalled "nursery." + +The little girl, who had never been instructed or talked to sensibly by +any one, was quite unconscious of the mischief she had done; and only +felt that big people were hateful to-day, as she lay kicking and +screaming on the floor upstairs. + +The end of it all was, however, that, upon reflection, Mrs. Rushton +found she did not care so much after all about the destruction of her +watch, and that the whole occurrence would make a capital story to tell +to her friends; and so she sent for Hetty, who was then making a dismal +play for herself in the twilight with two chairs turned upside down and +a pinafore hung from one to another for a curtain. The child was seized +by Grant, the maid, dressed in one of her prettiest costumes, and taken +down to the drawing-room to Mrs. Rushton, who had quite recovered her +temper and forgotten both the beating she had given Hetty and the +beating Hetty had given her. The culprit was overwhelmed with kisses, +and praises of her pretty eyes; and soon found herself the centre of a +brilliant little crowd who were listening with smiles to the story of +Hetty's ill-treatment of the watch. + +Each year Mrs. Rushton went abroad for amusement and Hetty was taken +with her, and in foreign hotels was even more shown about, flattered and +snubbed, petted and neglected, than she had been when at home in London. +Everything that could be done was done to make her vain, wilful, +ill-tempered; and the little creature came to know that she might have +anything she pleased if only she could make Mrs. Rushton laugh. + +Four or five years passed in this way, during which time Mrs. Rushton +had very little intercourse with her brother's family at Wavertree. Her +country house had been shut up and her time had been spent between +London, Brighton, and fashionable resorts on the Continent. In the +meantime the education which she had promised Mrs. Kane should be given +to her nursling had not been even begun. Mrs. Rushton had had no leisure +to think of it. She looked upon Hetty as still only a babe, a marmoset +born to amuse her own hours of ennui. In her brother's occasional +letters he sometimes devoted a line to Hetty. "I hope you are not +spoiling the little girl," he would add as a postscript; or, "I hope the +child is learning something besides monkey-tricks." These insinuations +always annoyed Mrs. Rushton, and she never condescended to answer them. +The suggestion that she had incurred a great responsibility by adopting +Hetty was highly disagreeable to her. + +It is hard to say how long this state of things might have gone on had +not Mrs. Rushton's health become delicate. She suddenly found herself +unable to enjoy the gay life which was so much to her natural taste. The +doctors recommended her a quiet sojourn in her native air, and warned +her that she ought to live near friends who felt a real interest in her. + +Of what these hints might mean Mrs Rushton did not choose to think, but +physical weakness made her long for the rest of her own country home. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +HETTY AND HER "COUSINS" + + +One cool fresh evening in October Mrs. Rushton, Hetty, Grant the maid, +and an old man-servant who followed his mistress everywhere, arrived at +the railway-station near Wavertree, and were driven along the old +familiar country road with the soft purpled woods on one side, and the +green plains and distant view of the sea on the other. They arrived at +Amber Hill just as lights began to spring up in the long narrow windows +of the comfortable old gray house, lights more near and bright than the +stars burning dimly above the ancient cedar-trees in the avenue. + +Hetty, dressed in a costly pelisse trimmed with fur, leaned forward, +looking eagerly for the first glimpse of her new home. The child had now +only faint recollections of Wavertree, and of her life with Mrs. Kane in +the village, and except for Grant's ill-natured remarks from time to +time she would have forgotten them altogether and imagined herself to be +Mrs. Rushton's niece, as that lady called her when speaking of her to +strangers. Hetty hated Grant, who always took a delight in lowering her +pride, for by this time, it must be owned, pride had become Hetty's +besetting sin. + +Mrs. Rushton had perceived Grant's disposition to snub and annoy the +child, and with her usual determination to uphold and justify her own +conduct and disappoint those who disapproved of her views, she had put +down the maid's impertinence with a high hand, and had grown more and +more careful of late to protect Hetty's dignity before the servants. + +"I hope Miss Gray's room is as nice as I desired you to make it," she +said to the housekeeper who was welcoming her in the hall. "I hope you +have engaged a maid from the village to attend on her. I require all +Grant's attentions now myself," she added wearily, falling into a chair +in a state of exhaustion. "Hetty, my love, give me a kiss, and go and +have a pretty frock put on for dinner." + +Polly, the new maid, had already unpacked the little girl's trunks and +was waiting in her room to dress her in white muslin and lace and +arrange her soft dark curls in a charming wreath round her head. Hetty's +room was an exquisite little nest draped in pale blue chintz covered +with roses, and with fantastic little brackets here and there bearing +pretty statuettes and baskets of flowers. The housekeeper had not indeed +neglected Mrs. Rushton's instructions with regard to the decoration of +this apartment. + +"My, miss, but you have grown a fine tall girl!" said Polly admiringly; +"and won't Mrs. Kane be glad to see you again? I suppose you will be +going to see her to-morrow?" + +"I am not sure," said Hetty; "I don't remember Mrs. Kane." + +"Don't you, miss? Then you ought to, I am sure, for it was she that took +care of you before Mrs. Rushton had you." + +"Yes, I believe so," said Hetty frowning, for she dreaded that Polly was +going to make a practice of taunting her with being a foundling, just as +Grant had always done. + +"And you ought to be very thankful to her," persisted Polly, "although +you are such a grand young lady now." + +"Please to mind your own business," said Hetty proudly; "you were +engaged by Mrs. Rushton to dress me and not to give me lectures." + +Polly was astonished and aggrieved. She did not know how Hetty had been +goaded on the subject of her past life by Grant, and had fancied that as +she had only a child to deal with she could say anything she chose quite +freely. But though Hetty was only nine, her experiences of the world had +made her old beyond her years. Polly only thought her a hard-hearted, +haughty little wretch, too proud to be grateful to those who had been +good to her. + +"Far be it from me to think of lecturing you, Miss Hetty," she said; +"but mind, I tell you, pride always gets a fall." + +"Be silent!" cried Hetty, stamping her small foot imperiously; "if Mrs. +Rushton knew of your impertinence she would send you away to-night." + +It was thus that poor Hetty already began to make enemies, while much +requiring friends. + +Next morning Mrs. Rushton and Hetty drove over to Wavertree to spend a +few days at the Hall, and on the way the lady stopped at Mrs. Kane's +door in the village, and bade Hetty alight and go in to pay a visit to +her old protectress. With Grant's taunts rankling in her memory and +Polly's reproaches fresh in her mind, Hetty got out of the carriage +reluctantly and went up to the door with a slow step. + +Mrs. Kane was busy over a tub in her little wash-house, and came out +into the kitchen on hearing some one at the door. She wore a print +short-gown and petticoat, and a poky sun-bonnet; and her bare arms were +reeking with soap-suds. Hetty shrank from her a little, and could not +realize that she had ever belonged to a person with such an appearance +as this. + +Poor Mrs. Kane looked at her young visitor with a stare of wonder, and +could never have guessed it was Hetty had she not espied Mrs. Rushton's +face through the open doorway, nodding pleasantly at her from the +carriage. + +"Why, little miss, you're never my little Hetty?" cried the good woman, +wiping her hands in her apron. + +"My name is Hetty Gray," said the little girl, holding up her pretty +head adorned with a handsome hat and feathers. + +"And don't you remember me, my darling?" said Mrs. Kane, extending her +arms; "me that used to nurse you and take care of you like my own! Oh, +don't go to say you forget all about your poor old mammy!" + +Hetty hung her head. "I don't remember you at all," she said in a low +trembling voice. Her pride was stung to the quick at the thought that +she had belonged to this vulgar person. + +"Well, well! you were only a baby, to be sure, when you were taken away +from me. But oh, my dear, I loved you like my own that went to heaven, +so I did. And my John, he loved you too. Come in here till I show you +the bed you used to sleep in; and always you would be happier if you had +a jugful of flowers on the window-sill to look at, falling asleep and +coming awake again in the morning. To think of it being full five years +ago, my pretty; and you turned into an elegant young lady in the time!" + +"Did I really ever live here?" asked Hetty; "really ever sleep in that +bed?" + +"That you did; and slept well and were happy," said Mrs. Kane, beginning +to feel hurt at the child's coldness. "Come now, have you never a kiss +to give to the poor old mammy that nursed you?" + +Hetty held up her round sweet face, as fair and fresh as a damask rose, +to be kissed, and submitted to Mrs. Kane's caresses rather from +consciousness that she ought to do so, than from any warmth of gratitude +in her own heart. So far from being grateful to the homely sun-burned +woman who hugged her, she felt a sort of resentment towards her for +finding her on the sea-shore and making a cottage child of her. It ought +to have been Mrs. Rushton who found her, and perhaps she might have done +so if Mrs. Kane or her husband had not been in such a hurry to take her +in. Then Grant could not have taunted her with being a village +foundling, and nobody could have declared she was not intended to be a +lady. + +After her one embrace Mrs. Kane wiped her eyes and led the child out of +the cottage to the carriage door. + +"Ah, Mrs. Rushton!" she said, "this is your Hetty now and not mine any +more. What does a fine young lady like this want to know of a poor old +mammy like me? I gave her to you, body and soul, five years ago, and may +the good God grant that I did right! My little Hetty, that loved the big +moon-daisies and the field-lilies like her life, is as dead as my other +children who are in heaven. It lies in your hands, ma'am, to make good +or bad out of this one." + +"You are a curious woman, Mrs. Kane. I thought you would have been +delighted to see what a little queen I have made of her." + +"Queens require kingdoms, ma'am, and I make free to wish that your +little lady may sit safe on her throne. And after that I can only hope +that she has more heart for you than for me." + +"Come, come, Mrs. Kane! you must not expect memory from a baby. Hetty +will soon renew her acquaintance with you, and you and she will be +excellent friends." + +But Mrs. Kane was not slow to read the expression of Hetty's large +dark-fringed eyes, which, with all the frankness of childhood, betrayed +their owner's thoughts; and she knew that Hetty would find no pleasure +in learning to recall the inglorious circumstances of her infancy. + +Hetty had still less recollection of the Enderby family than of Mrs. +Kane, but she felt very much more willing to be introduced to its +members than to the cottage woman. Looking upon herself as Mrs. +Rushton's only child, she considered the Wavertree children as her +cousins and their father and mother as her uncle and aunt. Mrs. Rushton +had always talked to her of them in such a way as to lead her to regard +them in this light. Occasionally a strange little laugh or a few +sarcastic words from Mrs. Rushton had grated on the child's ear in the +midst of her foster-mother's pleasantly expressed anticipations of +Hetty's future intercourse with her own relations; and the little girl +had, on such occasions, felt a chill of vague fear, and a momentary pang +of anxiety as to the reception she might possibly meet with from these +people, none of whom had ever been found by a poor labouring man alone +on a wild sea-shore, or had lived with a humble woman in a cottage. That +the "disgrace" of such a past clung round herself, Grant's disagreeable +eyes would never allow her to forget. Such were poor Hetty's disordered +ideas with regard to herself and her little world, when Mrs. Rushton's +carriage drew up that day before the door of Wavertree Hall. + +Mrs. Enderby was seated at her embroidery in the drawing-room beside her +small elegant tea-table, and looked the very ideal of an English +gentlewoman in her silver-gray silk and delicate lace ruffles, and with +her fair, almost colourless hair twisted in neat shining braids round +the back of her head. With her own faint sweet smile she welcomed her +sister-in-law and inquired kindly for her health; and then she turned to +Hetty, who stood gazing steadily in her face, utterly unconscious of her +own look of anxious inquiry. + +Mrs. Rushton had taken pains to make the most of Hetty's uncommon beauty +on this occasion, determined to take her friends by surprise and force +them into an acknowledgment of the superiority of her own taste in +adopting such a child. Hetty was dressed in a dark crimson velvet frock, +trimmed with rich old yellow lace, which enhanced the warmth and +richness of her complexion, and gave a reflected glow to her dark and +deep-fringed eyes. A crop of crisp short curls of a dusky chestnut +colour was discovered when her hat was removed. No ungenerous prejudice +prevented Mrs. Enderby from acknowledging at the first glance that Hetty +had a most charming countenance. + +"And this is Hetty! how she has grown!" said Mrs. Enderby, taking the +child's little hand between her own and looking at her in a friendly +manner. With a swift pain, however, Hetty remarked that she did not kiss +her; but she was not aware that Mrs. Enderby, though a kind, was not a +demonstrative woman, and that kisses were rarely bestowed by her on +anyone. If Hetty had put up her little face for a caress, Mrs. Enderby +would have been very well pleased to lay her own cool cheek against the +child's scarlet lips; but Hetty's was one of those natures that desire +tokens of love and are yet too proud to seek for them. She flushed to +her hair, therefore, with mortification as Mrs. Enderby dropped her hand +and turned away once more to her sister-in-law. + +"How tired you are! you look quite faint. Allow me to take your bonnet; +and do lie down on this couch while I make you a cup of tea. Hetty must +amuse herself with a piece of cake till my little girls come in from +their walk. I have got such a nice governess for them, Amy. Mark, you +know, is gone to Eton." + +The ladies continued to converse, and Hetty sat forgotten for the +moment, eating her cake. She ate it very slowly, anxious to make it last +as long as possible, for she felt that when it was finished she should +not know what to do with herself. When even the crumbs were gone she +folded her hands and counted the flowers on the wall-paper, and +discovered among them a grinning face which certainly had been no +acquaintance of the designer's, but had started suddenly out of the +pattern merely to make cruel fun of Hetty's uneasiness. + +At last, after some time which seemed to the little girl quite a year at +least, Mrs. Enderby rang the bell and asked if the young ladies had come +in from walking. The servant said they were just going to tea in the +school-room, and Mrs Enderby turned to Hetty, saying: + +"Go, my dear, with Peter, and he will show you the school-room. Tell +Phyllis and Nell that I sent you to play with them." + +Hetty followed the servant; but as she went across the hall and up the +staircase she felt with a swelling heart that had she been the real +cousin of these children, and not an "upstart" (Grant's favourite word), +they would perhaps have been sent for to the drawing-room to be +presented to her. + +Accustomed as she was to be alternately petted and snubbed, she had +acquired the habit of watching the movements of her elders with +suspicion, and now concluded that because no fuss was made about her she +must therefore be despised. A hard proud spirit entered into her on the +moment, and she resolved that though she had been humble in her +demeanour towards Mrs. Enderby she would hold her head high with girls +who were not very much older than herself. + +Peter was a young footman who had been brought up in the village and +trained by the butler at the Hall, and who consequently knew all about +Hetty's history. He did not intend to do more than just show the little +girl which was the school-room door, and was amused and surprised when +the child said to him with great dignity, + +"Please announce Miss Gray." + +Peter hid his smile, and throwing open the door very wide he pronounced +her name, as she desired, in an unusually loud tone of voice. + +Miss Davis, the governess, had just raised the tea-pot in her hand to +fill the cups, and her two pupils had each a thick piece of bread and +butter in hand, when the door was flung open as described and Hetty in +all her magnificence appeared on the threshold. + +"My mamma has brought me to see you," said Hetty boldly, her chin very +high, "and Mrs. Enderby sent me here to you"; and she remarked as she +spoke that the Enderby girls wore plain holland dresses with little +aprons and narrow tuckers, no style or elegance whatever about their +attire. + +Miss Davis looked in surprise at the young stranger, not knowing her +story, and thinking her a very handsome, but haughty looking little +girl, while Phyllis and Nell put down their bread and butter on their +plates, and rose slowly from their seats. + +"How do you do?" they said, each just touching her hand, and then the +three girls stood looking at one another. + +The words "my mamma" had already annoyed Phyllis, who was one of those +persons who even from childhood cherish an extraordinary degree of quiet +pride in their good birth. She was willing that Hetty should be treated +with kindness, but had often told herself that she would never be +persuaded to look upon her as her own cousin. Nell only thought of how +pretty their new playfellow was, and how nice it would be to have her +sometimes with them. + +"I am very glad you have come," she said, looking at Hetty with +welcoming eyes. + +"Nell, you ought not to speak before your elder sister," said Miss +Davis, who, though an excellent lady, was rather prim in her ways and +ideas. + +"I hope you are quite well," said Phyllis politely; "will you take some +tea?" + +"I have just had some," said Hetty, "thank you. Do you never have tea +with your mamma?" + +"Oh, no," said the girls, with a smile of surprise. + +"Little girls never do," said Miss Davis emphatically. + +"I do always," said Hetty; she might have added, "except when she +forgets all about me," but she did not think of that now. + +"I did not know you had any mamma," said Phyllis coldly, not exactly +meaning to be cruel, but feeling that Hetty was pretentious, and +therefore vulgar, and that she ought to be kept down. + +"How odd that you should not know your own aunt," said Hetty, a warm +crimson rising in her cheeks, and her eyes kindling. + +"My aunt never had a child," said Phyllis quietly. + +"Not till she got Hetty," broke in Nell. "Phyllis, how can you be so +unkind?" + +"My dear Nell, I am not unkind, I only meant to correct Miss Gray's +mistake." + +"You had better go into the drawing-room and correct Mrs. Rushton's +mistakes," said Hetty angrily. "It is by her desire that I call her my +mother." + +By this time Miss Davis knew who Hetty was, as she had heard something +about Mrs. Rushton's having adopted a village child. + +"My dears," she said, "don't let us be unkind to each other. Come, we +must have our tea, and Miss Gray will be social and join us, even +though she has had some before." And she handed a cup to the little +visitor. + +"Now, Hetty," continued Miss Davis, "I suppose I may call you Hetty, +instead of Miss Gray, as you are only a little girl?" + +"Yes," said Hetty slowly, half liking Miss Davis, but feeling afraid she +was laughing at her. + +Tea was finished almost in silence, not all Miss Davis's efforts making +Hetty and Phyllis feel at ease with each other. Nell, being rather in +awe of her elder sister, of whose general propriety of conduct and good +sense she had a high opinion, was not very successful in her attempts at +conversation. When the meal was over Miss Davis proposed a walk in the +garden before study time. + +"Can you play lawn tennis?" asked Nell as they walked towards the +tennis-ground. + +"No, I never play at anything," said Hetty sadly, "When not with--_my +mamma_," she said with a flash of the eyes at seeing Phyllis looking at +her, "I have always been alone." + +Miss Davis glanced at the child with pity, but Hetty, catching her eye, +would not bear to be pitied. + +"It is much pleasanter to be with grown people in the drawing-room," she +said. "I should not like at all to live as you do." + +"Do you always wear such splendid frocks?" asked Phyllis, examining her +from head to foot with critical eyes. + +"Yes," said Hetty. "I have much finer ones than this; I am always +dressed like a lady. How can you bear to be such a sight in that ugly +linen thing?" + +"My dear, simple clothes are more becoming to children," said Miss +Davis, while Phyllis only curled her lip. "If you lived more among those +of your own age," continued the governess, "as I hope you will +henceforth do, you would find that little girls are much happier and +more free to amuse themselves when dressed suitably to their age. You +shall see how we enjoy ourselves at tennis, as we could not do in +dresses as rich as yours." + +Miss Davis and her pupils began to play tennis, and Hetty tried to join; +but her dress was too warm and too tight to allow of her making much +exertion, and so she was obliged to stand by and watch the game. Seeing +the great enjoyment of the players, Hetty began to feel the spirit of +the game, and remembered how she had often longed to be one of the happy +children whom she had seen at play in other scenes than this. However, +her belief that Phyllis was unfriendly towards her prevented her +acknowledging what she felt. Had only Nell and Miss Davis been present +she would have begged the loan of a holland blouse and joined in the +game with all her heart. But Phyllis had a freezing effect upon her. + +When the game was over they went indoors and Hetty was shown the pretty +room prepared for her. Polly had already unpacked her things, and on the +bed were laid the handsome gifts which Mrs. Rushton had bought for Hetty +to present to "her cousins." + +Hetty was now glad to see these presents which she had for a time +forgotten, and thought she had now a good opportunity for making friends +with the two girls. She was really pleased to give pleasure to Nell, +whom she liked, and was not sorry that Phyllis would be obliged to +receive something from her hands. + +The presents were both beautiful and both useful. One was a desk, the +case delicately inlaid, and the interior perfectly fitted up. The other +was an exquisitely carved and furnished work-box. + +"Oh, give the desk to Phyllis; she is so much more clever than I am, and +writes so well. And I am fond of work. Oh, you are a dear to give me +such a charming present," said Nell affectionately, examining the +beautiful work-box with sparkling eyes. + +Hetty was delighted. + +"I chose them myself," she said with some pride; and then she took the +desk in her arms and asked Nell to show her the way to Phyllis's room. + +"It is down at the end of this passage. I will show you. And you must +not mind Phyllis if she does not go into raptures like me. She is always +so well-behaved, and takes everything so quietly." + +Phyllis looked greatly surprised, and not quite pleased, when, having +heard a knock at her door and said "Come in," she saw Hetty invade her +room. Her first thought was, "This foundling girl is going to be forward +and troublesome"; and Hetty was not slow to read her glance. + +"I have brought you a present," she said, in quite a different tone from +that in which she had made her little speech to Nell. + +Phyllis took the desk slowly, and looked at it as if she wished it had +not been offered. + +"It is very handsome," she said, "and my aunt was very good to think of +it. Please give her my best thanks." + +And then Phyllis deposited the present on a table, and turned away and +began to change her shoes. + +Nell looked at Hetty, but could not see the expression of her face; for +she had turned as quickly as Phyllis and was already vanishing through +the door. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +HETTY'S FIRST LESSONS. + + +Hetty's bed-room being over the school-room, she was wakened the next +morning by somebody practising on the piano, the sound from which +ascended through the floor. + +"How well they play, and how early they rise!" thought Hetty. "I wonder +whether it is Nell or Phyllis who is at the piano? Oh, dear! I do not +know even a note." + +She longed to ask Polly at what hour the Miss Enderbys had got up, and +which of them was practising on the piano, but as she had begun by +snubbing Polly she could not now descend from her dignity so far as to +ask her questions. Polly on her side was always silent when attending on +Miss Gray, and never ventured upon the least freedom with the haughty +little foundling. + +When Hetty descended to the breakfast-room she found only Mr. and Mrs. +Enderby at the table. Mrs. Rushton was still in her room, and was having +her breakfast there. + +"This is little Hetty," said Mrs. Enderby, presenting her to her +husband. + +Mr. Enderby put down his paper and looked at Hetty gravely and +critically, Hetty thought pityingly. + +"How do you do, my dear?" he said, patting her shoulder. "I see you +have not been accustomed to early hours." + +Hetty hung her head and sat down at the table. Mrs. Enderby supplied her +wants and then went on reading her letters; and Hetty ate in silence, +wondering why she was not called on to talk and amuse these people as +she had been accustomed to amuse Mrs. Rushton's fashionable friends. +This quiet wise-looking lady and gentleman seemed to look on her with +quite different eyes from those with which the rest of the world +regarded her. They neither snubbed nor petted her, only seemed satisfied +to allow her to be comfortable beside them. + +Presently she plucked up courage to ask: + +"Are Phyllis and Nell not coming to breakfast?" + +Mrs. Enderby smiled. + +"No, my dear, they never breakfast here. They breakfasted an hour ago in +the school-room. They are busy at their studies at present." + +"Are they always busy at studies?" asked Hetty. + +"A great part of the day they are." + +"As all little girls ought to be who wish to be educated women some +day," said Mr. Enderby, looking over the edge of his newspaper. + +"Your education has hardly begun yet I fear," said Mrs. Enderby. + +"Mrs. Rushton"--something withheld Hetty from saying "my mamma" before +Mr. and Mrs. Enderby--"always says it is time enough for that," said +Hetty. + +Mr. and Mrs. Enderby exchanged glances, and Mr. Enderby shifted in his +seat and shook the newspaper impatiently. Mrs. Enderby said: + +"What would you think of joining my girls at their lessons while you +stay here? I fear that if you do not you will find yourself very +lonely." + +"I am often very lonely," said Hetty simply; and again her host and +hostess looked at each other. + +"Well, which do you prefer?" said the latter; "to be very lonely going +about the house and gardens by yourself, or to spend your time usefully +with the other children in the school-room?" + +"I would rather be with the girls, if they would like to have me," said +Hetty after a few moments' reflection. "But I think Phyllis would rather +I stayed away." + +"Oh, I think not," said Mrs. Enderby; "Phyllis never makes a fuss about +anything, but I will answer for her that she will welcome you." + +"I think she does not like me," said Hetty, looking steadily at her +hostess with large serious eyes. + +"Take care you do not dislike her," said Mr. Enderby, with a slight look +of displeasure. "In this house we do not indulge such fancies." + +"My dear, you must not think that because our manners here in the +country may be quieter and perhaps less warm than those of some of the +people you have lived with abroad, our hearts are therefore cold. Come, +then, if you have finished breakfast, I will take you myself into the +school-room." + +Half pleased and half unwilling Hetty suffered herself to be led away, +and her heart beat fast as she crossed the school-room threshold. Miss +Davis sat at the end of the table with an open exercise book before her, +and a severely businesslike look upon her face. Phyllis and Nell bent +over their books at either side of the same table. Maps hung on the +walls and books lay about everywhere. Hetty instantly, and for the first +time in her life, felt keenly that she was a dunce. + +"Miss Davis, I have brought you another pupil," said Mrs. Enderby; "I am +sure you will not mind the trouble of having one more than usual for a +little while. I think Hetty will be happier for having something to do." + +"I shall be very pleased if she will join us," said Miss Davis; and then +Mrs. Enderby left the room, and Hetty was asked to take a seat at the +foot of the table. + +"What have you been learning, my dear?" asked Miss Davis. + +"Nothing," said Hetty; "I can read a little; but that is all." + +Phyllis and Nell had not spoken to her, and had looked at her only with +sidelong glances. This was because it was their study hour and speaking +was not allowed; but Hetty thought it was because they were not glad to +see her coming to join them, and she therefore felt all the more +careless about trying to make the best of herself. If nobody cared about +her, what did it matter whether she was a dunce or not? So she said +boldly that she had been learning nothing; and then the two Enderby +girls lifted up their heads and stared at her in sheer amazement. + +Hetty's face grew crimson, and her pride arose within her. + +"After all," she said, "it is much better fun to play and amuse yourself +all day than to sit poring over books. Study does not make people +prettier or pleasanter." + +This last sentence was an echo from one of Mrs. Rushton's silly +speeches. When people would ask her about Hetty's education, she was +wont to declare that the child was prettier and pleasanter without it. + +Phyllis, listening, merely curled her lip, and bent lower in silence +over her book. Nell remained looking at Hetty with a wondering +expression in her eyes. Miss Davis drew herself up and looked much +displeased. + +"I hope you are doing yourself great injustice," she said; "I cannot +believe you really mean what you say. Study not make people prettier or +pleasanter! I scarcely believe that my ears have not deceived me." + +"It does not make you prettier or pleasanter," said Hetty persistently. +"You were much nicer yesterday when you were playing and running about. +Your face is not the same at all now." + +Phyllis opened her eyes wide and turned them on Miss Davis, as if to +ask, "Is not this too much?" Nell, on the contrary, began to smile as +though she thought Hetty's impudence capital fun; and this encouraged +Hetty, who had been taught to love to amuse people at any cost. Miss +Davis coloured with surprise and annoyance. + +"It is of no consequence, my dear, how we look when we are doing our +duty," she said, controlling herself. + +"Then I hope I shall never do my duty," said Hetty coolly; "nobody loves +people who do not look gay." + +Phyllis turned to Miss Davis and said, "Will you not send her away now? +Mother never meant us to be interrupted like this." + +"Patience, my dear!" said Miss Davis; "Hetty is perhaps giving us the +worst side of her character only to startle us. I am sure there is a +better side somewhere. Come over here to me, Hetty, and let me hear you +read." + +Hetty obeyed, and took the book Miss Davis placed in her hand. Holding +herself very erect and looking very serious she began, after a glance +over the paragraph that had been marked for her:-- + +"Leonora walked on her head, a little higher than usual." + +"My dear!" interrupted Miss Davis hastily; and Nell vainly tried to +smother a burst of laughter. + +"That is what is printed here," said Hetty gravely, but the corners of +her mouth twitched. Miss Davis did not notice this as she took the book +and prepared to examine the text so startlingly given forth; but Phyllis +and Nell saw at once that Hetty was making fun. + +"Ah!" said Miss Davis, "it is your punctuation that is at fault. The +sentence runs: 'Leonora walked on, her head a little higher than usual.' +You see one little comma makes all the difference in the world." + +"I wondered how she could manage to walk on her head," said Hetty in the +most serious manner; "and why, if she did manage it, it should make her +higher. She would be the same length in any case, would she not, Miss +Davis?" + +Nell laughed again, and Phyllis looked more and more contemptuous. Miss +Davis said, "Read on please!" rather severely, at the same time giving +Nell a glance of warning. + +Hetty read on, making deliberately the most laughable blunders, at some +of which Miss Davis herself had to smile. Even Phyllis had to give way +on one occasion, and in the midst of a chorus of laughter Hetty stood +making a piteous face, pretending not to know what they were laughing +at. + +"I told you I could read only a little," she said, but at the same time +she gave Nell a knowing glance which Phyllis caught. + +"She could read better if she pleased. She is only amusing herself," +said Phyllis to Miss Davis. + +"I hope not, my dear," said the governess; "do not be uncharitable. +Well, Hetty, you may put aside your book for to-day. I hope to improve +you before your visit is over. Do you know anything of geography? Come, +I will give you an easy question. Where is England situated on the map?" + +"In the middle of the Red Sea," said Hetty briskly. + +"My dear! why do you suppose so?" + +"I see it up there on the map," said Hetty; "the sea is marked in red +all round it." + +Nell tittered again. Phyllis put her fingers in her ears, determined to +hear no more of Hetty's absurdities. + +"You make a great mistake," said Miss Davis, and spreading a map before +Hetty, the governess gave her a lesson on the position of the Red Sea +and the relative position of England. + +"Have you learned anything at all of numbers?" + +"I can count on my fingers," said Hetty; "I add up the fives and I can +reckon up to a hundred that way." + +"You must learn a better way of counting than that. Have you never +learned the multiplication table?" + +"My mamma's tables are all ebony or marble," said Hetty, putting on a +bewildered air, "but I will count them up if you like. There are six in +the drawing-room," she continued, holding up all the fingers of her left +hand, and the thumb of the right. + +"You ridiculous child! you misunderstand me quite. The multiplication +table is an arrangement of numbers. I will give it to you to study. In +the meantime, come, how many do three threes make when they are added +together?" + +"I don't know anything about threes," said Hetty; "I only know about +fives." + +"I think I must give you up for to-day," said Miss Davis in despair. +"Phyllis is waiting with her French exercise. Can you read French at +all, Hetty?" + +"I can talk French," said Hetty; "but I don't want to read it; 'tis +quite bad enough to have to read English, I think. Talking is so much +pleasanter than reading." + +"You can talk it, can you? Let me hear," and Miss Davis addressed a +question to her in French. + +In answer to it Hetty poured forth a perfect flood of French, spoken +with a pretty accent and grammatically correct. In truth she spoke like +a little Frenchwoman, and completely surprised her listeners. She had +been asked some question about walking in the Champs Elysees and now +gave a vivid description of the scene there on a fine morning, the +people who frequented it, their dress, their manners, their +conversation. + +Miss Davis put down the multiplication table which she had been turning +over and stared at the little Frenchwoman chattering and gesticulating +before her. + +"There, my dear," she said presently, "that will do; I see you can make +use of your tongue. Take this book now and study quietly for half an +hour." + +Hetty felt that she had had her little triumph at last. Neither Phyllis +nor Nell could speak French like that. She took the table-book +obediently and sat down with it, while Phyllis made an effort to get +over the shock of surprise given her by Hetty's clever exhibition, and +proceeded to attend to Miss Davis's correction of her French exercise. + +That afternoon Hetty was dressed in a holland frock of Nell's, which, +though Nell was a year older, was not too large for her, and joined +heartily in a game of lawn tennis. Her little success of the morning, +when she had surprised her companions and their governess by her +cleverness at French, had raised her spirits, and she enjoyed herself as +she had never done in her life before, feeling that she could afford to +do without Phyllis' good opinion, and taking more and more pleasure in +showing how little she cared to have it. + +After this the days that remained of her visit passed pleasantly enough. +Hetty contrived to turn her lessons into a sort of burlesque, and to +impose a good deal on Miss Davis, who was not a humorous, but indeed a +most matter-of-fact person. Every day Phyllis grew more and more +disgusted with their visitor, who interrupted the even course of their +studies and "made fools," as she considered, of Miss Davis and Nell. She +thought Hetty's pretentiousness became greater and greater as her first +slight shyness wore away and she grew perfectly familiar with every one +in the house. Phyllis was sufficiently generous to refrain from +complaining of Hetty to her mother or father, but she privately found +fault with Nell for encouraging her too much. + +"You laugh at her so absurdly that she grows more impudent every day," +she said; "she could not dare to give herself such airs only for you." + +"But, Phyllis dear, I can't help laughing at her, and indeed I think you +make her proud by being so hard upon her; she is not so proud with me." + +"She is ridiculous," said Phyllis; "such pretension in a girl of her age +is utterly absurd. Besides, it is so vulgar. Well-born people are not +always trying to force their importance on you as she does; if I did not +try to keep her down a little she would be quite unbearable." + +"Perhaps if you did not try to keep her down so much she would not set +herself up so much," persisted Nell. + +"I am older and wiser than you," said Phyllis coldly. + +"Yes, I know you are," said Nell regretfully. + +"And I ought to be a better judge of people's conduct. I am not going +to complain of her to father or mother; but as she will be coming here +again, I suppose, we ought to try to manage her a little ourselves." + +Nell did not dare to say any more to Phyllis, but ran away as soon as +she could get an opportunity, to play with Hetty and laugh admiringly at +all her droll remarks. + +One more triumph Hetty enjoyed before her visit to Wavertree came to an +end. On a certain evening there was a dinner-party at the Hall, and some +one who had been expected to sing and amuse the company failed to +appear. After dinner Mrs. Rushton fancied that the party had grown very +dull, and a brilliant idea for entertaining the guests occurred to her. +She left the drawing-room and went upstairs to where the little girls +were preparing for bed. + +"Come, Hetty," she said, "I want you to make yourself agreeable. Every +one is going to sleep down-stairs and carriages will not arrive till +eleven. I have rung for Polly to dress you. Phyllis and Nell can come +down also if they please." + +The Enderby girls concluded from this speech that their mother had sent +for them, and in a short time Mrs. Rushton returned to the drawing-room, +accompanied by the three children. + +Mrs. Enderby looked exceedingly surprised and not quite pleased, but +Mrs. Rushton said, + +"I have provided some amusement for your people. Hetty will make them +laugh." + +Hetty was flushed and trembling with excitement, and at a signal from +her adopted mother she stepped into the middle of the room and began her +entertainment; Mrs. Rushton having walked about among the guests +beforehand, telling them that the child was going to give them some +sketches of character, the result of her own observations. + +Hetty began with a conversation between a mincing and lackadaisical +young lady and a bouncing one who talked noisily; and she changed her +attitudes, her accent, the expressions of her face in such droll ways, +and altogether contrasted the two characters so well, that a round of +applause and laughter greeted and encouraged her. Then followed a +ridiculous scene between a cross old lady and an amiable old gentleman +in a hotel; and so on. Every odd character Hetty had ever met was +reproduced for the amusement of the company. + +Most of the guests laughed heartily and lavished praises on Hetty's +talent and beauty. Only a few looked shocked, and shook their heads, +saying it was sad to see a child so precocious and cynical. + +Mr. and Mrs. Enderby, though disliking the exhibition and thinking it +very bad for the little girl, were obliged to laugh with the rest, and +Mrs. Rushton was delighted and triumphant. Nell laughed more than any +one and clapped her hands wildly, but Phyllis looked on all the time +with a disdainful smile. + +"My girls are up too late," said Mrs. Enderby, as she bade them good +night. + +"Why did you send for us, then, mother?" said Phyllis. + +"I did not, my dear, it was quite your aunt's doing. She wished to amuse +you, I believe." + +"Then I wish I had known," said Phyllis, "I would rather have gone to +bed. I did not want to see that ridiculous performance." + +"Hetty took some trouble to make us laugh. And if she has not been very +wisely brought up we must not blame her too much for that." + +"I do not like her; I wish she would go away," said Phyllis with quiet +determination. + +"She is going to-morrow," said Mrs. Enderby. + +"She is not a lady, mother, and I am quite tired of her restless ways," +persisted Phyllis. "I hope she will never come back here." + +Mrs. Enderby in her heart echoed this hope, but she controlled her +feeling against Hetty and said: + +"I fear your aunt is not the sort of person to understand the bringing +up of a girl; but remember, Phyllis, that I rely on you to help me to be +of service to this poor child. Go to bed now, my daughter, and be wise, +as you usually are." + +Phyllis looked troubled, and thought over her mother's words as she lay +in bed. But hers was not one of those natures that relent easily. She +tried to satisfy her conscience by assuring herself that she wished no +ill to Hetty, but quite the reverse. "Only she is different from us," +she reflected, "and she ought to keep away with the people who suit her. +I hope aunt Amy will not bring her here again." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +HETTY DESOLATE. + + +Mrs. Rushton and Hetty departed. Phyllis was satisfied, and everything +went on as usual at Wavertree Hall. No one was sorry to lose the +visitors, except Nell, who was secretly rather fond of Hetty. She was +not a very brave child, and was much influenced by the opinion of +others, especially of those whom she loved and admired; so, though there +was a soft corner in her heart for Hetty, she was a little ashamed of +the fact, seeing that none of the rest of the family shared her feeling. +With Phyllis especially she was careful to be silent about Hetty, having +a high opinion of her sister's good sense, and being greatly afraid of +her contempt. And so it came that after a few days had passed Hetty's +name was mentioned no more in the house. + +Meantime Hetty at Amber Hill was enjoying her life more than she had +ever enjoyed it before. She had her own pony, and went out to ride as +often as, and at any hour she pleased. Half-a-dozen dogs and as many +cats belonged to her, and they all loved her. Almost her entire time was +spent out of doors, for Mrs. Rushton was too great an invalid now to +care for much of her company. Grant was almost always in attendance on +her mistress, and so had very little opportunity for interference with +Hetty. Polly was easily kept in order, and the housekeeper always took +the child's part if any of the other servants annoyed or neglected her. + +This wild uncontrolled life, spent chiefly in the open air, wandering +through the woods, running races with the dogs, or galloping up hill and +down hill with them all flying after the pony's heels, suited Hetty +exactly. She thought the world delightful because she was allowed to +live a healthy active life, and nobody thwarted her. When Mrs. Rushton +sent for her to the drawing-room or to her bed-room Hetty would steal in +quietly, and, bringing a story-book with her, would sit down at her +adopted mother's feet, and remain buried in her book till notice was +given her that it was time for her to depart. In this way she gave very +little trouble, and Mrs. Rushton was more than ever convinced that she +had made an excellent choice in adopting Hetty, and that she was the +most satisfactory child in the world. + +One day Hetty had come in from her ride, and was sitting in her own room +with her story-book waiting for the usual evening summons from Mrs. +Rushton. The days were now very short, and the little girl's head was +close to the window-pane as she tried to read. The door opened and she +started up, shutting the book and preparing to go down-stairs; but there +was something unusual about Polly's look and manner as she came into the +room. + +"Mrs. Rushton is taken very ill," she said, "and the doctor is sent for. +So you will please come down and have your tea in the drawing-room by +yourself, Miss Hetty." + +"Is she more ill than usual? Much more?" asked Hetty. "The doctor was +here this morning." + +"She's as ill as can be," said Polly, "and all of a sudden. But you +can't do her any good. And you'd better come down to your tea." + +Hetty followed Polly without saying more, though she felt too anxious to +care about her tea. She was greatly frightened, yet hardly knew why, as +Mrs. Rushton was often ill, and the doctor was often sent for. There was +a general impression in the household that the mistress sometimes made a +great fuss about nothing, fainted, and thought she was going to die, and +in a few hours was as well as usual. But no one in the house felt as +anxious about her as Hetty. During the pleasant weeks that had lately +passed over her head Hetty had been more drawn to her benefactress than +she had ever been before. No longer snubbed and neglected in strange +uncomfortable places, she had, in becoming more happy, also become +more loving. She knew that she owed all the enjoyments of her present +life to Mrs. Rushton, and if she was not allowed to be much in the +company of her adopted mother she thought it was not because she was +forgotten, but because Mrs. Rushton was too ill to see her. She believed +herself really very greatly beloved by her benefactress, and had begun +to love her very much in return. Seeing her lying on her couch, quiet +and gentle, making no cruel remarks and laughing no cynical laughs, +Hetty had constructed a sort of ideal mother out of the invalid, and +endowed her with every lovable and admirable quality. This comfortable +little dream had added much to the child's happiness in her life of +late; and now she felt a wild alarm at the thought of the increased +illness of her protectress. + +The doctor came and was shut up in the sick-room, and after some time +Grant came out and spoke to the housekeeper, and a messenger was sent +off on horseback to Wavertree Hall. + +When Grant came back to Mrs. Rushton's door Hetty was there with her +face against the panel. + +"Oh, Grant, do tell me what is the matter!" she whispered. + +"Illness is the matter," said Grant. "There! we don't want children in +the way at such times. Go up to your bed, miss. You'll be better there +than here." + +"I can't go to bed till I know if she is better," said Hetty. "Why have +you sent a message to Wavertree?" + +But Grant pursed up her lips and would say no more, and Hetty saw her +pass into Mrs. Rushton's room and close the door. + +The child crept back to the drawing-room, where no lamps had been +lighted and there was only a little firelight to make the darkness and +emptiness of the large room more noticeable. She knelt down on the +hearth-rug and buried her face in the seat of Mrs. Rushton's favourite +arm-chair. The dearest of all her dear dogs, Scamp, came and laid his +black muzzle beside her ear, as if he knew the whole case and wanted to +mourn with her. Two hours passed; Hetty listened intently for every +sound, and wondered impatiently why Mr. and Mrs. Enderby did not arrive. +She got up and carefully placed some lumps of coal on the fire, making +no noise lest some one should come and order her off to bed. She was +resolved to stay there all night rather than go to bed without learning +something more. + +At last a sound of wheels was heard, and Hetty went and peeped out of +the drawing-room door and saw Mr. and Mrs. Enderby taking off their +wraps in the hall. Their faces were very solemn and they spoke in +whispers. She saw them go upstairs, and though longing to follow them, +did not dare. Then she retreated back into the drawing-room and buried +her face once more in the depths of the chair. + +In this position, with Scamp's rough head close to hers, she cried +herself to sleep. The wintry dawn was just beginning to show faintly in +the room when she was awakened by the sound of voices near her. Chilled +and stiff she gathered herself up and rose to her feet; and Scamp also +got up and shook himself. Then Hetty saw Mr. and Mrs. Enderby standing +in earnest conversation at the window. + +They started when they saw her as if she had been a ghost, and Mrs. +Enderby exclaimed in a low voice: + +"The child! I had quite forgotten her!" + +"Yes, there will be trouble here," muttered Mr. Enderby; while Hetty +came forward, her face pale and stained with crying, her dress +disordered, and her curly hair wild and disarranged. She looked so +altered that they scarcely knew her. + +"How is she? Oh, Mrs. Enderby, say she is better," cried Hetty, +swallowing a sob. + +"My dear child," said Mrs. Enderby, "how have you come to be forgotten +here, have you not been in bed all night?" + +"I stayed here," said Hetty, "I wanted to know; will you not tell me how +she is?" + +"My child, she is well, I hope, though not as you would wish to see her. +It has pleased God to take her away from you." + +"Do you mean that she is dead?" + +"Yes, my poor Hetty, I am grieved to tell you it is so." + +Hetty uttered a sharp cry and turned her back on her friends standing +in the window. The gesture was an unmistakable one, and touched the +husband and wife. It seemed to say so plainly that she expected nothing +from them. + +She retreated into the furthest corner of the room and flung herself on +the floor, and Scamp, hanging his head and wagging his tail, followed +her mournfully, and lay down as close to her as he could. + +"Leave her alone awhile," said Mr. Enderby, for his wife had made a +movement as if she would follow her; "she is a strange child, and we +will give her time to take in the fact of her loss. You must not be +hurried into making rash promises through pity; all this brings a great +change to the girl, and it is better she should feel it from the first." + +The truth was Mrs. Rushton had been dead when her brother and +sister-in-law arrived. A sudden attack of fainting had resulted in +death. This abrupt termination of her illness was not quite unexpected +by herself or her friends, as it was known she had disease of the heart, +and the doctors had given warning that such might be her end. However, +she herself had not liked to look this probability in the face, and had +preferred to dwell on the faint hope held out to her that she might +linger on as an invalid for many a year. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +WHAT TO DO WITH HER? + + +After Mrs. Rushton had been laid to rest in her grave her worldly +affairs had to be looked into. She had died possessed of a great deal of +property, and her relations were well aware that she had never made a +will. Her brother had lately urged her to make a will, but she had +always put off the unpleasant task. Now there was nothing to be done but +to divide the property among the relatives to whom it reverted by law. + +After the funeral her late husband's relations and Mr. Enderby met at +Amber Hill and discussed these matters of business. + +In the meantime Hetty had been left at Amber Hill in the care of the +housekeeper, for Mr. Enderby would not allow his wife to carry her off +to Wavertree. + +"It would be a mistake," he said, "to begin what we may not think proper +to go on with afterwards. If the child comes home with us now she may +feel herself aggrieved, later, at being sent away. To act with prudence +is our first duty towards her." + +So Hetty had been left with the housekeeper, who, being a kind woman in +her way, tried to comfort her with cakes and jam. Her only real comfort +was her darling Scamp, and with her arms round his shaggy neck she shed +many a tear of loneliness and terror. Her heart was full of anxious +fears as to what was going to become of her. + +She had stolen into the room where the dead woman lay to take her last +farewell of her benefactress. Nobody watched there, and Hetty easily +found an opportunity for paying her tearful visit. Scamp, who never left +her side, accompanied her with a sad solemnity in his countenance, and +these were perhaps the two most real mourners whom the wealthy lady had +left behind her. + +Now all was over, and Mrs. Rushton's room looked vacant and with as +little sign of her presence as if she had never inhabited it. The wintry +sunshine smiled in at all the windows of her handsome house, and made it +cheerful even though the blinds were drawn down. The robins twittered in +the evergreens outside, and the maids had their little jokes as usual +over their sewing, though they spoke in lowered tones. No great and +terrible change seemed to have happened to any one but Hetty, except +indeed to Scamp, and it was plain that he suffered only for Hetty's +sake. + +On the day when Mrs. Rushton's relations met at Amber Hill Hetty sat in +the housekeeper's room in a little straw chair at the fire, with Scamp +clasped in her arms and her head resting against his. She felt +instinctively that her fate was being sealed upstairs. Indeed a few +words which had passed between Grant and the housekeeper, and which she +had accidentally overheard, assured her that such would be the case. + +"If Mrs. Rushton has left her nothing," said Grant, "she'll be out on +the world again, as she was before. Mrs. Kane may take her, unless the +gentlemen do something for her." + +"Mr. Enderby will never allow her to go back to poor Anne Kane," said +the housekeeper. "There's many a cheap way of providing for a friendless +child, and it wouldn't be fair to put her on a woman that can hardly +keep her own little home together." + +Hetty's anguish was unspeakable as these words sank into her heart, each +one making a wound. She shuddered at the thought of going back to Mrs. +Kane, but felt even more horror of those unknown "cheap ways of +providing for a friendless child," alluded to by the housekeeper. A +perfect sea of tribulation rolled over her head as she bent it in +despair, and wept forlornly on Scamp's comfortable neck. + +In the meantime, as Hetty surmised, her fate was being decided upstairs. +No provision had been made by Mrs. Rushton for the child whom she had +taken into her home, petted and indulged, and accustomed to every +luxury. The relations of Mrs. Rushton's late husband, who lived at a +great distance and had not been on intimate terms with her, were not +much impressed by the lady's carelessness of Hetty. But Mr. Enderby, who +knew all the circumstances, felt that a wrong had been done. + +"Some provision ought to be made for the child," he said; "that is a +matter about which there can be no doubt." + +"Certainly," said Mr. Rushton, who had inherited most of his +sister-in-law's property. "There are cheap schools where girls in her +position can be educated according to their station. Afterwards we can +see about giving her a trade, millinery and dressmaking, I suppose, or +something of that kind." + +Mr. Enderby looked troubled. "I do not think that would be quite fair," +he said, "I would urge that she should receive a good education. She +ought to be brought up a lady, having been so long accustomed to expect +it." + +"I quite disagree with you," said Mr. Rushton; "there are too many idle +ladies in the world. And who is to support her when she is grown up?" + +"I do not wish to make her an idle lady," said Mr. Enderby, "but I would +fit her to be a governess." + +"There are too many governesses; better keep her down to a lower level +and teach her to be content to be a tradeswoman. As far as I am +concerned, I will consent to nothing better than this for the girl." + +"Then we need not speak of it any more," returned Mr. Enderby. "I will +take the responsibility of the child upon myself." + +Mr. Rushton shrugged his shoulders. "Do as you please," he said, "but +remember it is your own choice. If you change your mind, call upon me." + +So the matter ended. When the library door opened, and the gentlemen +were heard preparing to depart, Hetty flew upstairs and stole into the +hall, where Mr. Enderby, who was the last to go, suddenly saw her little +white face gazing at him with a dumb anxiety. + +"Well, my dear," he said kindly, "how are you getting on?" + +"Oh sir, will you please tell me where I am to go to?" implored Hetty. + +"Don't fret yourself about that," said Mr. Enderby, buttoning up his +coat. "We are not going to let you be lost. You just stay patiently with +Mrs. Benson till you hear again from me." + +And then he nodded to her and took his departure. + +That evening he had a serious conversation with his wife about Hetty +Gray. + +"I have made up my mind it will be better to bring her here," he said +abruptly. + +"My dear! is that wise?" exclaimed his wife, thinking with sudden +anxiety of Phyllis's great dislike to Hetty, and Hetty's uncompromising +pride. + +"It is the best plan I can think of, but do not mistake me. If Hetty +comes here it will be expressly understood by her and others that she is +not to be brought up as my own daughter. She will merely enjoy the +security of the shelter of our roof, and will receive a good education +such as will fit her to provide, later, for herself." + +"Will it be easy to carry out this plan?" asked Mrs. Enderby. + +"That I must leave to you, my dear. You are firm enough and wise enough +to succeed where others would probably fail. The only alternative that I +can think of is to send her to an expensive school where she will +certainly not be prepared for the battle of life. As for sending her to +a lower style of place, and making a charity girl of her after all that +has been done to accustom her to the society of well-bred people, the +bare thought of such injustice makes me angry." + +Mrs. Enderby looked admiringly at her husband. + +"You are right," she said; "and I will try to carry out your plan. It +will add greatly to my cares, for I fear Hetty's will be a difficult +nature to deal with, especially when she finds herself in so uncertain a +position in our house." + +The next day Mrs. Enderby drove over to Amber Hill and desired Mrs. +Benson to send Hetty to her in the morning-room. When the child appeared +she was greatly struck by the traces of suffering on her countenance, +and felt renewed anxiety as to the difficulty of carrying out her +husband's wishes. + +"My child," she said kindly, taking the little girl's hand and drawing +her to her knees, "I have a good deal to say to you, and I hope you +will try to understand me perfectly." + +Hetty gave her one swift upward glance in which there was keen +expectation, mingled with more of fear than hope. + +"I will try," she whispered. + +"You know, my dear, that Mrs. Rushton was very good to you while she +lived, yet you had no real claim on her, and now that she is gone you +are as much alone as if you had never seen her." + +Mrs. Enderby was surprised by Hetty's swift answer. + +"More alone," she said, with a stern look in her young face; "for if she +had not taken me I could have stayed with Mrs. Kane. I should have loved +Mrs. Kane, and now I do not love her." + +"There is some truth in all that," said Mrs. Enderby; "but at all +events, my dear, you have enjoyed many advantages during the last five +or six years. There is no question now of your going back to Mrs. Kane. +Mr. Enderby will not allow it." + +"Grant says there are cheap ways of providing for friendless children," +said Hetty, whose tongue had become dry in her mouth with fear of what +might come next. + +"Never mind what Grant says," said Mrs. Enderby; "attend only to what I +tell you. Mr. Enderby and I have thought deeply over your future, Hetty, +and we are really anxious to do what is best for you." + +Hetty said nothing. All the powers of her mind were strained in +wondering expectation of what she was now going to hear. + +"We have been advised to send you to a school where you would be made +fit to provide for yourself when you become a woman," continued the +lady, "but we have decided to take you into our own house instead; on +condition, however, that you try to be industrious and studious. By the +time you have grown up, I hope you will be able to make use of the good +education we shall give you, and will have learned the value of +independence. Do you understand me completely, Hetty? We are going to +educate you to be a governess. You shall live in our house and join in +the studies of our children, and enjoy the comfort and protection of our +home. But of course you cannot look forward to sharing the future of our +daughters." + +"I understand," said Hetty slowly; and the whole state of the case, in +all its bearings, appeared in true colours before her intelligent mind. + +"I hope you are satisfied also," said Mrs. Enderby, who was determined, +even at the risk of being a little hard, that the child should +thoroughly know her place, and learn to be grateful for the protection +afforded her. "When you are older, my child, you will comprehend what +your elders now know, that my poor sister, Mrs. Rushton, made a great +mistake in raising you from the station in which she found you, and +showering luxuries upon you as she did. We also see, however, that an +injustice was done to you, and that we whom she has left behind her are +bound to make amends to you for that. Therefore it is that we are +keeping you with ourselves, instead of allowing you to run the risk of +being made unhappy by strangers." + +For all answer to this Hetty burst into a fit of wild weeping. Her proud +little heart was broken at the prospect of returning to Wavertree to be +snubbed and humbled by Phyllis, and possibly by servants of the same +disposition as Grant. For the moment she could not remember all those +worse horrors which her imagination had been conjuring up, and from +which she was actually saved. She stood trembling and shaking in the +storm of her grief, trying to stem her floods of tears with her +quivering little hands, and unable to keep them from raining through her +fingers on to the floor. + +Mrs. Enderby sighed. Though she could not know all Hetty's thoughts, she +guessed some of them, and her heart sank lower than ever at the thought +of the trouble which might come of the introduction of so stormy an +element into her hitherto peaceful household. However, she was not a +woman to flinch from a duty, when once she had made up her mind to +recognize it. + +"Come, come, my child!" she said, "you have been passing through a great +trial, but you must try to be brave and make yourself happy with us." + +Had Mrs. Enderby taken poor Hetty in her arms and given her a motherly +kiss, much would have been done to heal the wounds made in the child's +sensitive heart. But it was part of her plan, conscientiously made, that +she must not accustom Hetty to caresses, such as she could not expect to +receive later in life. So she only patted her on the shoulder, and, when +her passion of crying had a little subsided, bade her run away and get +on her things, and be ready as soon as possible to come with her to +Wavertree Hall. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE NEW HOME. + + +Before going to Amber Hill that day, Mrs. Enderby had sent for her two +girls to come to her in her room, where she informed them of the fact +that Hetty was coming to the Hall. + +"I am going to tell you some news, my children, and I hope you will feel +it to be good news. I know my little daughters have kind hearts, and I +am sure they will pity one even younger than themselves who has been +left without home or protection." + +"I suppose you are speaking of Hetty, mother?" said Phyllis. + +"Yes, dear. Your father and I have arranged to bring her here." + +A faint colour passed over Phyllis's fair pale face, and she said: + +"Did Aunt Amy not leave her any money, mother?" + +"No; I am sorry to say she did not leave her anything." + +"She ought to have done so," said Phyllis. + +"Your Aunt Amy was a very peculiar person, Phyllis, and nothing would +induce her to make a will. She put off the task too long, and died +without fulfilling it." + +"Could those who have got her money now not make it all right?" said +Phyllis. "Could they not settle some money on her?" + +"That would be a difficult matter to arrange, dear. Almost all Mrs. +Rushton's property has gone to her husband's brother, who is not a very +generous man, I fear, and the rest, which returns to your father, is in +trust for his children. He does not feel himself called upon to deprive +you of what is lawfully yours in order to give a fortune to a foundling +child." + +"I would rather give her some of my money than have her here," said +Phyllis bluntly. + +"You must get over that feeling, Phyllis. It is perhaps a little trial +to us all to have a stranger among us, but we will endeavour to be kind, +and all will be for the best." + +"And is Hetty to be our own, own sister?" said Nell, fixing her blue +eyes on her mother's face and speaking for the first time. + +"No, my love, not quite. That would not be fair to Hetty, as we cannot +make her one of our own children. She will be a companion for you and +join in all your studies. But it is to be understood that such +advantages are to be given to her only to fit her to be a governess. I +am anxious that every one should be good to her, but I do not intend her +to have such luxuries as would but prepare her for great unhappiness +later on in her life." + +"Hetty will never get on with that sort of thing," said Phyllis. "She is +too proud and too impertinent." + +"My dear Phyllis, I believe she has a good heart; and she has been, and +will be, severely tried. Any failure of generosity on the part of my +good little girl will disappoint me sadly." + +Phyllis closed her lips with an expression which meant that for reasons +of propriety she would say no more, but that nothing could prevent her +from feeling that justice and right were on her side; that she had a +better apprehension of the matter in question than mother or father, or +any one in the world. + +When Hetty arrived that afternoon she was led straight into the +school-room, where tea was just ready, Mrs. Enderby judging that it +would be well to set her to work at once, giving her no time for +moping. When she appeared, looking pale and sad in her black frock, her +eyes heavy and red with weeping, even Phyllis was touched, and the +school-room tea was partaken of in peace and almost in silence. Hetty was +so full of the recollection of the last time she had been brought in +here by Mrs. Enderby, and so conscious of the change that had come upon +her since then, that she could scarcely raise her eyes for fear of +crying. Nell kept pushing cakes and bread and butter before her, Phyllis +made general remarks in a softer tone than usual, and Miss Davis, who +perhaps understood Hetty's position better, and sympathized more with +her, than any of the rest, could think of nothing better to say to the +forlorn child than to ask her occasionally if she would like some more +sugar in her tea. + +After tea Phyllis and Nell set to work to prepare their lessons for the +next day, and Hetty was thankful to have a book placed before her, and a +lesson appointed for her to learn. It was a page in the very beginning +of a child's English history, and Hetty read it over and over again till +she had the words almost by heart without in the least having taken in +their sense. Her thoughts were busy all the time with the looks and +words of her companions, and with going back over all that had occurred +that day. Phyllis had been gentler than she expected. Perhaps she was +not going to be unkind any more. It was a good thing after all to be +obliged to sit over books, as it would prevent her being talked to more +than she could bear. Nell was very kind. Would Phyllis allow her to be +always kind? She had remarked at the first moment that the frocks of the +two other girls were made of finer stuff than hers, and were trimmed +with crape. Mrs. Benson had got her her mourning-frock, and had got it, +of course, as inexpensive as she thought fit under the circumstances. + +"Of course they wear crape," thought Hetty, "because Mrs. Rushton was +their aunt. She was nothing to me, after all, except my mistress. Grant +used to say things like that and I would not believe her. She was right +when she said I was only a charity child." + +Phyllis and Nell were accustomed to go to the drawing-room for an hour +or two in the evening after their father and mother had dined, and on +this occasion Hetty was invited to accompany them. It was not Mrs. +Enderby's intention that she should always do so, but she considered +that it would be well to include her to-night. + +The last evening spent by Hetty in the drawing-room at the Hall was that +one on which she had entertained the company with her mimicries. Then, +full of pride and delight in her own powers of giving amusement, she had +felt herself in a position to despise all disapproval and dislike. Now, +how was she fallen! Yet Mr. and Mrs. Enderby received her kindly, and +paid her as much attention as if she had been an ordinary visitor. + +When bed-time came she was taken, not to the pretty room she had +occupied when last in the house, but to a neat little plain chamber +which was to be henceforth her own. It was not on the same landing with +the bed-rooms of Phyllis and Nell, as she was quick to remark, but at +the end of a long passage off which were the upper maids' bed-rooms, a +fact which stabbed her pride. + +It was, however, a nice little room, placed above the passage and +ascended to by a few steps, and it had a picturesque lattice window, +embowered in ivy and passion-flowers. She had hardly comforted herself +by observing this when she was overcast again by a fresh and unpleasant +discovery. Her trunk, which had been sent after her by Mrs. Benson, had +already been unpacked and her things disposed of in a wardrobe. But, +alas! all her handsome clothing had disappeared. Her velvet and silk +frocks trimmed with lace and fur, her sashes and necklaces, silk +stockings and shoes with fantastic rosettes, these and numbers of other +treasures were no longer to be seen in her room. A sufficient quantity +of plain underclothing, a black frock to change the one she wore, a +black hat and jacket, and one or two of her plainest white frocks, these +were all that remained of the possessions which had but yesterday been +hers. + +When she had recovered herself sufficiently after this disappointment +to be able to look around the chamber, she saw that her desk and +work-box, and some of her favourite story-books, had been placed on a +table at the window. These she was glad to see, and recovering her +spirits began to remember that after all she had now no right to any of +those costly articles which she had been allowed to use during Mrs. +Rushton's lifetime. As she was to live henceforth a humble dependent in +this house she could have no further need of such luxuries. She had +remarked that Phyllis and Nell were always simply dressed, and yet they +had more right to finery than she had. + +Hetty had sufficient good sense to know all this without being told. Her +peculiar experiences had sharpened her reasoning faculties and made her +keenly observant of what passed before her, and had also given her an +unusually acute perception of the meanings and influences floating in +the atmosphere about her from other people's thoughts and words. Child +as she was, she was able to take, for a moment, Mrs. Enderby's view of +her own position, and admitted that the kind yet cold lady had acted +justly in depriving her of useless things. Yet her wilful heart longed +for the prettinesses that she loved, and she wept herself to sleep +grieving for their loss, and for the greater loss which it typified. + +The next morning her head was aching and her eyes redder than ever when +she appeared in the school-room, and she seemed more sullen and less +meek than she had been yesterday. She could not fix her mind on the +lesson Miss Davis gave her to learn, and made a great display of her +ignorance when questioned on general subjects. All this was not +improving to her spirits, and in becoming more unhappy she grew more +irritable. Miss Davis felt her patience tried by the troublesome new +pupil, and Phyllis eyed her with strong disapproval over the edges of +her book. Phyllis loved order, regularity, good conduct, and in her +opinion Hetty was an intolerably disagreeable interruption of the +routine of their school-room life. + +That was a bad day altogether. Some friends of Mr. and Mrs. Enderby were +dining with them, and when the school-room tea was over Phyllis and Nell +told Miss Davis that their mother wished them to come to the +drawing-room for a short time. Hetty looked up, as she thought herself +included in the invitation; but Miss Davis, who had received general +instructions from Mrs. Enderby, said to her quietly: + +"You will stay here with me, Hetty, for this evening." + +Hetty flushed crimson and her pride was kindled in an instant. She was +not to go to the drawing-room any more, because she was only a charity +child. Tears rushed into her eyes, but she forced them back and +pretended to be very busy with a book. After the other girls had been +gone some time Miss Davis said: + +"I am going to my own room for half an hour, Hetty, and I suppose you +can amuse yourself with your book till I come back." + +When left alone Hetty flung away her book, went down on her face on the +hearth-rug, and cried with all her might. She thought of evenings when +she had tripped about gaily in Mrs. Rushton's drawing-room and every one +was glad to see her. Now, it seemed, she must live all alone in a +school-room. She forgot that she had ever been unhappy with Mrs. +Rushton, ever been left alone, or snubbed or neglected in her house; for +Hetty, like many other people, old and young, lost all her excellent +power of reasoning when overmastered by passion. In the old time she had +been happy, she thought, cared for, loved, made much of. Now she was +beloved by nobody, not even for an hour. + +In her desolation she could not think of any creature that loved her +except Scamp, the dog who had been her only comfort since this trouble +had befallen her; and he was left behind at Amber Hill. She had begged +to be allowed to bring him with her to Wavertree, but Mr. Enderby +objected, saying that there were already too many dogs about the place. + +As soon as Miss Davis returned to the school-room Hetty asked to be +allowed to go to bed. + +"I have just been looking out some materials for needlework for you," +said Miss Davis. "It is quite time you learned to sew; I hope you will +find amusement in the occupation. However, if you are tired you may go +to bed. As a rule the girls do not go to bed till nine o'clock." + +Hetty shuddered as she looked at the needle-work which was prepared for +her. In her eyes it was only a new instrument of torture. She did not +even know how to hold a needle; she did not want to know. Mrs. Rushton +had never been seen sewing; it was only the maids who had any occasion +to sew. + +"I hate sewing," said Hetty despairingly. + +"Then you must learn to like it," said Miss Davis briskly; "little girls +are not allowed to hate anything that is useful, especially little girls +who must look forward to providing for themselves in the world by their +own exertions. But go to bed now. Tomorrow I hope you will be in a +better humour." + +And Hetty vanished. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +HETTY TURNS REBEL. + + +Hetty cried herself to sleep as she had done the night before, and her +last thought was of Scamp. About the middle of the night she had a dream +in which she fancied that Scamp's paws were round her neck, and that he +was barking in her ear his delight at seeing her. The barking went on +so long that it wakened her, for it was real barking that had caused the +dream. + +Hetty sat up in her bed and listened. Surely that was Scamp's bark, +loud, sharp, and impatient, as if he was saying, "Where's Hetty? I want +Hetty. I will not go away till I have found Hetty." In the stillness of +the night it sounded to the lonely child like the voice of a dear friend +longing to comfort her. She jumped out of bed, threw open the window, +and listened again. Could it be that he had found the way from Amber +Hill, and come so many miles to look for her? Darling old Scamp, was it +possible he loved her so much? Yes, it was indeed his voice; he was +outside the house, almost under her window, and she must and would go +down and take him in. + +She opened the door cautiously and went out into the passage. The +barking was not heard so distinctly here, and she hoped that no one +would hear it but herself. How dreadful if somebody should go and beat +him away before she could reach him! She pattered down-stairs with her +little bare feet and made her way through the darkness to the great hall +door. But she had forgotten how great and heavy that door was, and had +not thought of the chain that hung across it at night, and the big lock +in which she could not turn the key. Scamp heard her trying to open the +door, and barked more joyfully. Unable to unfasten this door she made +her way to another at the back of the house, and, withdrawing a bolt, +she stood in the doorway, her little white night-dress blowing in the +winter's night air, and her bare feet on the stones of the threshold. + +"Scamp, Scamp!" she called in a soft voice, and, wonderful to tell, he +heard her and came flying round the house. + +"Oh, Scampie, dear, _have_ you come, and do you really love me still?" +whispered Hetty as the dog leaped into her arms, and she clasped his +paws round her neck and kissed his shaggy head. + +Scamp uttered a few short rapturous exclamations and licked her face and +hands all over. + +"But you must be very quiet," she said, "or you will wake the house and +we shall be caught. Come now, lovie, and I'll hide you in my own room." + +She closed the door as quietly as possible and crept upstairs again, +carrying the dog hugged in her arms. + +As she stole along the passage to her room, one of the maids whispered +to another who was sleeping in the room with her: + +"Oh, I have heard a great noise down-stairs, and one of the dogs was +barking. And just now I am sure I heard feet in the passage." + +"Some one has got into the house then," said the other maid listening. + +"Oh, lie still, don't get up!" said the first maid. "It must be +burglars." + +"I will go and waken the men," said the other courageously. And +down-stairs she went and wakened the butler and footman. Soon they were +all searching the house, the butler armed with a gun, the others with +large pokers. No burglars were to be found, and the butler was very +cross at having been called out of his bed for nothing at all. + +The maids persisted that some one had been in the house, some one who +must have escaped while they were giving the alarm. Mr. Enderby heard +the noise and came out of his room and learned the whole story. After an +hour of searching and questioning and discussion all went to bed again, +everybody blaming everybody else for the silly mistake that had been +made. + +Next morning Hetty slept long and soundly after her midnight adventure, +and when the maid who called her went into her room she was astonished +to see a dog's head on the pillow by the sleeping child. Scamp put up +his nose and barked at the intruder, and Hetty wakened. + +"Laws, Miss Hetty, you are a strange little girl," said the maid, who +was the very girl who had alarmed the house during the night. "How ever +did you get a dog into your room?" + +"It's only Scamp, my own Scamp, and he wouldn't hurt anybody," said +Hetty; "please don't beat him away, Lucy. He came in the middle of the +night trying to find me, and I took him in. Perhaps Mrs. Enderby will +let me keep him now." + +"That I am sure she will not," said Lucy. "You naughty little girl. And +so it was you who disturbed the house last night, frightening us all out +of our senses, and getting me scolded for giving an alarm. Wait till Mr. +Enderby hears about it." + +"You are _very_ unkind," said Hetty; "as if I could help his coming in +the night-time!" + +"And I suppose you could not help letting him into the house and taking +him into your bed?" said Lucy scornfully. + +"No, I couldn't," said Hetty. "And you can go and tell Mr. Enderby as +soon as you please." + +At this Lucy flounced out of the room quite determined to complain of +the enormity of Hetty's conduct. + +When the little girl appeared in the school-room with Scamp following at +her heels she was not in the best of tempers, and held her chin very +high in the air. Miss Davis met her with a stern face. + +"Hetty, what is this I hear of you? How could you dare to bring a +strange dog into the house in the middle of the night?" + +"It wasn't a strange dog; it was Scamp," said Hetty, putting on her most +defiant air. "I don't think it was any harm to let him in." + +"Not, though I tell you it was?" said Miss Davis. + +"No," said Hetty. + +"Then I must ask Mrs. Enderby to talk to you," said Miss Davis. +"Meantime the dog cannot stay here while we are at breakfast." + +And she rang the bell. + +"Tell Thomas to come and fetch this dog away to the stable-yard," she +said to the maid who answered the bell. + +"Scamp always stayed in the room with me at Amber Hill," said Hetty, two +red spots burning in her cheeks. + +"You must learn to remember that you are no longer at Amber Hill," said +Miss Davis. + +Phyllis and Nell now came into the school-room and looked greatly +surprised at sight of the dog, Hetty's angry face, and Miss Davis's +looks of high displeasure. They took their places in silence at the +breakfast table. + +"I am not likely to forget it," retorted Hetty bitterly. "At Amber Hill +everybody was kind to me. Nobody is kind here." + +"You are a most ungrateful girl," said Miss Davis. "What would have +become of you if Mr. and Mrs. Enderby had not been kind?" + +At this moment Thomas entered. + +"Take away that dog to the stable-yard," said Miss Davis. + +Hetty threw her arms round Scamp's neck and clung to him. + +"You shall not turn him out," she cried. "He came and found me, and I +will not give him up." + +"Do as I have told you, Thomas," said Miss Davis; and Thomas seized +Scamp in spite of Hetty's struggles, and carried him off, howling +dismally. + +"Now, you naughty girl, you may go back to your own room, and stay there +till you are ready to apologize to me for your conduct," said Miss +Davis. + +"Oh, please don't send Hetty away without her breakfast," pleaded Nell. + +"I will go. I will not stay here. I will run away!" cried Hetty wildly. + +"Let her go, Nell," said Phyllis, giving her sister a warning look; and +Miss Davis said: + +"When she is hungry she can apologize for her conduct. In the meantime +she had better go away and be left alone till she recovers her senses." + +Hetty fled out of the room and away to her own little chamber, where she +locked herself in and flung herself in a passion of rage and grief on +the floor. + +"I _will_ go away," she sobbed. "I will run away with Scamp and seek my +fortune. Miss Davis is going to be as bad as Grant, reminding me that I +am a charity child. Oh, why was I not born like Phyllis and Nell, with +people to love me and a home to belong to? It is easy for them to be +good. But I shall never be good. I know, I know I never shall!" + +After half an hour had passed a knock came to the door, and Lucy +demanded to be admitted. + +"Go away, you cruel creature!" cried Hetty. "I will not have you here." + +Lucy went away, and after some time Hetty heard Mrs. Enderby's voice at +the door. + +"I hope you will not refuse to let me in," she said. "I request that you +will open the door." + +Hetty rose from the floor very unwillingly and opened the door, and Mrs. +Enderby came in. + +"Hetty, what is the meaning of this strange conduct?" she said, looking +at the marks of wild weeping on the child's swollen face. + +"Everybody's conduct has been bad to me," wailed Hetty. + +"What has been done to you?" asked Mrs. Enderby. + +"Everyone hates Scamp, and they have taken him away. And I have no one +to love me but him." + +"Perhaps people would love you if you were not so fierce and wild, +Hetty," said Mrs. Enderby. "Now, try and listen to me while I talk to +you. It was very wrong of you to get up in the night and open the door, +so as to alarm the house by the noise. And it was very wrong of you to +take a dog into your room and into your bed." + +"It was Scamp," mourned Hetty. "Scamp loves me. And how could I leave +him outside when he wanted to be with me?" + +"You could have done so because it would have been right," said Mrs. +Enderby. "You knew that Mr. Enderby had refused to allow the dog to come +here. You ought to have remembered his wishes. He has been very good to +you, and you must learn to obey him." + +"It is cruel of him not to let me have Scamp," persisted Hetty; "he +never bites anyone, and he is better than the other dogs. Why can I not +have him for my own?" + +"I will not answer that question, Hetty; it must be enough for you that +you are to obey. You must stay here by yourself till you are in a better +state of mind." + +Then Mrs. Enderby went away, and Hetty fell into another agony of grief, +thinking about Scamp. + +She forgot the breakfast which she had not yet tasted, and felt every +moment a greater longing to see her dog again. Where had they taken him? +she wondered. Was he still in the stable-yard? Perhaps they would drown +him to get rid of him. Possessed by this fear she seized her hat and +flew out of the room, quite reckless of consequences, and as it chanced, +she met no one on her way down-stairs and along all the back passages +leading towards the stable-yard. + +Arrived there she was guided by his barking to the spot where Scamp was. +He was chained in a kennel in a corner of the yard, where it was +intended he should remain till a new master or mistress could be found +for him. Hetty watched her opportunity, and when there was no one about +flew into the yard, slipped the chain off his neck, and sped out of the +place again, with the dog following joyfully at her heels. + +In acting thus the little girl had merely followed a wild impulse, and +had formed no plan for her future conduct with regard to Scamp. Finding +herself in his company now, she thought only of prolonging the pleasure +and escaping with him somewhere out of the reach of unfriendly eyes. She +darted through the outer gate of the stable-yard just as the great clock +above the archway was striking ten; and was soon plunging through a +copse on the outskirts of the village, and making for the open country. + +Scamp snuffed the breeze and barked for joy, and Hetty danced along over +the grass and through trees, forgetting everything but her own intense +enjoyment of freedom in the open air that she loved. Over yonder lay the +forge, where, as a baby of four, she had watched the great horses being +shod, and the sparks flying from their feet; and further on were the +fields and the bit of wood where she had roamed alone, up to her eyes in +the tall flag leaves and mistaking the yellow lilies for butterflies of +a larger growth. She did not remember all that now, but some pleasant +consciousness of a former free happy existence in the midst of this +fresh peaceful landscape came across her mind at moments, like gales of +hawthorn-scented air. Mrs. Enderby's mild lectures, Phyllis's contempt, +Miss Davis's shocked propriety, even Nell's easily snubbed efforts to +stand her friend, all vanished out of her memory as she went skimming +along the grass like a swallow, thrilling in all her young nerves with +the freshness and wildness of the breeze of heaven, and the vigour and +buoyancy of the life within her veins. + +Five miles into the open country went Hetty, by a road she had never +seen before. She knew not, nor did she think at all of where she was +going; she only had a delightful sense of exploring new worlds. However, +about the middle of the day she felt very hungry. She began to remember +then that she could not keep on roving for ever, and that there was +probably trouble before her at Wavertree, waiting for her return. + +She sat down on a bank to rest, and Scamp nestled beside her, +alternately looking in her face and licking her hands. It occurred to +Hetty that perhaps he was hungry too, and that if she had left him in +the stable-yard he would at least have got his dinner. Remorse troubled +her, and she cast about to try and discover something they two could +eat. A tempting-looking bunch of berries hung from a tree near her, and +she thought that if she could reach them they might be of some slight +use in allaying the pangs of hunger felt by both her and her dog. She +was at once on her feet, and straining all her limbs to reach the +berries. + +They were caught, the branch broke, and Hetty fell down the bank, +twisting her foot and spraining her ankle badly. + +After the first cry wrung from her by the shock she was very silent; and +having gathered herself up as well as she could, she sat on the ground, +unable to attempt to stand. The pain was excessive, and great tears +rolled down her cheeks as she endured it. Scamp gazed at her piteously, +snuffed all round her, and looked as if he would like to take her on his +back and carry her home. She threw her arms round his neck and hugged +him. + +"No, you can't help me, Scampie, dear, and I don't know what is to +become of us. I can't move, and nobody knows where I have gone to. Of +course it is all my fault, for I know I have been very disobedient. But +I didn't feel wicked, not a bit." + +Scamp licked her face and huffed and snuffed all round her. Then he made +several discontented remarks which Hetty understood quite well, though +it is not easy to translate them here. Then he hustled round her, and +scurried up and down the road looking for help; and finally sat on his +tail on the top of the bank, and pointing his nose up at the unlucky +tree on which the berries had hung, howled out dismally to the world in +general that Hetty was in real trouble now, and somebody had better +come and look to it. + +After a long time some one did come at last. The wintry evening was just +beginning to close in and the short twilight to fall on the lonely road, +blotting out the red berries on the trees, when a sound of wheels and +the cracking of a carter's whip struck upon Hetty's ears. Scamp had +heard them first and rushed away barking joyfully in the direction of +the sound, to meet the carter, whoever he might be, and to tell him to +come on fast and take up Hetty in his cart and bring her safely home. + +Presently Scamp came frolicking back, and soon after came a great team +of powerful horses, drawing a long cart laden with trunks of trees, +which John Kane, the carter, was bringing from the woods to be chopped +up for firewood for the use of the Hall. At this sight a dim +recollection of the past arose in Hetty's brain. Had she not seen this +great cart and horses long ago, and was not the face of the man like a +face she had seen in a dream? She had not had time to think of all this +when John Kane pulled up his team before her and spoke to her. + +"Be you hurt, little miss?" he said good-naturedly; "I thought something +was wrong by the bark of your dog. He told me as plain as print that I +was wanted. 'Look sharp, John Kane!' he said; and how he knows my name I +can't tell. There, let me sit you in the cart, and I'll jolt you as +little as may be." + +Hetty was thankful to be put in the cart, and it seemed to her a very +strange chance that had brought John Kane a second time in her life to +rescue her. He did not know her at all, and she did not like to tell him +who she was. + +"Now, where can I take you to?" he said, as they neared the village. + +"I came from Wavertree Hall," said Hetty, hanging her head, "and," she +added with a great throb of her heart, "my name is Hetty Gray." + +"Law, you don't say so!" said honest John; "our little Hetty that is +turned into a lady! Well, child, it's not the first time you have got a +ride in John Kane's cart. You cannot remember, but you used to be main +fond of these very horses, watching them getting shod and running among +their feet. However, bygones is bygones, and you won't want to hear +anything of all that. Now, I can't drive you up to the door of the Hall +in this lumbering big vehicle; but if you'll condescend to come to our +cottage for an hour, I'll take a message to say where you are, and Mrs. +Enderby will send for you properly, no doubt." + +Hetty's heart was full as she thanked John Kane for his kindness. She +had almost been afraid that he would break out into raptures and want to +hug her as Mrs. Kane had done; but when she found him so cold and +respectful a lump rose in her throat, and something seemed to tell her +that as she had pushed away from her the love of these good honest +people, she deserved to be as lonely and unloved as she was. + +Fortunately it was quite dark when the cart passed through the village, +so that no one noticed whom John Kane had got cowering down in his cart +behind the logs of timber. When he stopped at his own door his wife came +out, and he said to her in a low voice: + +"Look you here, Anne, if I haven't brought you home little Hetty a +second time out of trouble. Found her on the road I did, with her ankle +sprained. We'll take her in for the present, and I'll go to the Hall and +tell the gentlefolks." + +Mrs. Kane had just been making ready her husband's tea, and the fire was +burning brightly in her tidy kitchen, making it look pretty and +homelike. She was greatly astonished at her husband's news, and came to +the cart at once, though with a soreness at heart, remembering her last +meeting with Hetty, and thinking how little pleasure the child would +find in this enforced visit to her early home. + +"Now hurry away to the Hall and give the message," said Mrs. Kane; "your +tea will keep till you come back. Little Miss Gray will be anxious to +get home to those who are expecting her." + +"Oh, please let him take his tea first," cried Hetty; "there will be no +hurry to get me back. I have been very naughty and everyone will be +angry with me. Please, Mr. Kane, take your tea before you go." + +John Kane smiled. "Thank you, little maid; but you see the horses are +wanting to go home to their stable. And I'd rather finish all my work +before I sit down." + +He went away and Hetty was left alone in the firelight with her first +foster-mother. + +"Perhaps you are hungry, little miss," said Anne. "You have had a long +walk, maybe, with your dog." + +Scamp had curled himself up on the "settle" at Hetty's feet. + +Hetty felt a pang at the words "little miss," but she knew it was her +own pride that had brought this treatment upon her. Perhaps Mrs. Kane +had once loved her as Scamp did now; but of course she would never love +her again. At all events she was dear and good for taking Scamp in +without a word of objection, and allowing him to rest himself +comfortably at her fireside. + +"I am _dreadfully_ hungry," said Hetty, in a low ashamed voice, and +looking up at Mrs. Kane with serious eyes. "I have not eaten anything +to-day. I sprained my ankle getting the berries, and they fell so far +away I could not pick them up." + +"Not eaten to-day? What,--no breakfast even?" + +"No," said Hetty. "I was bad in the morning, or I should have got some. +At least they said I was bad, but I did not feel it." + +"What did you do?" + +"I took in Scamp in the night when he barked at the window, and I wanted +to keep him, though Mr. Enderby would not have him about the place; and +I fought to get him. And I told Mrs. Enderby that I ought to have him. +And then I took him out of the stable-yard and ran away with him." + +"I'm afraid that was badness in the end," said Mrs. Kane. "It began with +goodness, but it ran to badness. Deary me, it's often the same with +myself. I think I'm so right that I can't go wrong. But all comes +straight again when we're sorry for a fault." + +"But I can't be sorry for keeping Scamp when he loves me so. Nobody else +loves me," cried Hetty, with a burst of tears. + +Mrs. Kane was by her side in a minute. "Not love you! don't they, my +dear? Well, there's somebody that loves you more than Scamp, _that_ I +know. Come, now, dry your eyes and eat a bit. There's a nicer cup of tea +than they'd give you at the Hall; for the little brown pot on the hearth +makes better tea than ever comes out of silver. I was a maid in a big +house once myself, and I know the difference." + +In answer to this Hetty sat up as well as the pain of her foot would +allow, and flung her arms round Mrs. Kane's neck. + +"Oh, keep me here with you!" she cried. "I am tired of being grand. I +will stay with you and learn to be a useful girl, if only you will love +me." + +Mrs. Kane heaved a long sigh as Hetty's arms fastened round her neck. +Now she felt rewarded for all the love and care she had poured out on +the child during the three years she had had her for her own. A little +bit of hard ice that had always been lying at the bottom of her heart +ever since Hetty had left her, now melted away, and she said, half +laughing and half crying: + +"Come now, deary, don't be talking nonsense. Nice and fit you'd be to +bear with a cottage life after all you've been seeing. Don't you think +the gentlefolks would give you up so easily as that. But whenever you +want a word of love and a heart to rest your bit of a head upon like +this, mind you remember where they're always waiting for you, Hetty." + +Hetty sobbed and clung to her more closely, and it was some time before +she could be induced to eat and drink. When she did so the homely meal +set before her seemed to her the most delicious she had ever tasted. + +"Oh I am so glad I have found my way back to you," she said; "I never +should have done it if I hadn't got into such trouble. Oh, you don't +know how proud and bad I have been! I know I've been bad, now that you +are so good to me." + +After about an hour John Kane came back. He had been obliged to wait to +put up his horses and see to their wants for the night before he could +come home. The message he brought from the Hall was that Hetty must stay +where she was till her foot was better, as moving about was so bad for a +sprain. Mrs. Enderby would see Mrs. Kane about her to-morrow. + +The tiny whitewashed room where she slept that night was the one in +which she had slept when a toddling baby, and Hetty wondered at herself +as she looked round it thankfully. A patchwork quilt covered the bed, +and a flower-pot in the one small window, and some coloured prints on +the wall, were its only adornments. But it was extremely clean and neat, +and, in spite of the pain in her foot, Hetty felt more content as she +laid her head on the coarse pillow than she had felt for a great many +weeks past. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +A COTTAGE CHILD AGAIN. + + +Some time passed before Hetty saw any of the family at the Hall again. +Mr. Enderby was much displeased at her escapade, and resolved she should +be punished. He thought the best way to punish her was to leave her in +the care of Mrs. Kane. The hard and lowly living she would have to +endure there would, he thought, subdue her pride and teach her to be +meek and grateful on her return to a more comfortable home. By his +desire Mrs. Enderby refrained from going to see the child. Mrs. Kane was +sent for to the Hall and directed to take every care of her charge; but +on no account whatever to pamper her. + +At first Hetty was startled to find how very ready they were at the Hall +to let her completely drop out of their lives, and at times she repined, +but on the whole she was happier, and every day seemed to arouse her +more and more to a better sense of the duties that lay round her in +life, While seated on her old settle she watched Mrs. Kane sweeping and +washing the floor, polishing up the windows and bits of furniture, and +making the humble home shine. Hetty longed to be able to take broom and +scrubbing-brush from her hands and help her with the troublesome work. +When she found that by learning to hold her needle she could help to +darn and mend for her dear friend, she eagerly gave her mind to +acquiring the necessary knowledge. Books were scarce in John Kane's +house, but Hetty did not miss them. At this time of her life all books, +except stories, were hateful to her, and she thought she had read enough +stories. It became a perfect delight to her to see Mrs. Kane shake out +an old flannel jacket and hold it up to the light and declare that Hetty +had mended it as well as she could have done it herself. "And that will +save my eyes to-night," she would say, to Hetty's intense pleasure, who, +now for the first time in her young life, tasted the joy of being useful +to others. + +When her foot was sufficiently better to allow her to limp about, John +Kane made her a crutch, and Hetty felt more gladness at receiving this +present than Mrs. Rushton's expensive gifts had ever given her. After +this she used to hop about the cottage, dusting and polishing, and doing +many little "turns" which were a great help to Mrs. Kane. She soon knew +how to cook the dinner and make the tea, and when Mrs. Kane was busy or +had to go out, it was Hetty's delight to have everything ready for her +return. To save her black frock from being spoiled by work she had +learned to make herself a large gingham blouse, in which she felt free +to do anything she pleased without harming her clothes. + +In this simple active life Hetty developed a new spirit which surprised +herself as much as it astonished her humble friends. She worked in the +garden and tended the poultry, besides performing various tasks which +she took upon herself indoors. And in this sort of happy industry +several weeks flew, almost uncounted, away. + +One evening Mrs. Kane and Hetty were sitting at the fire waiting for +John to come in. They were both tired after their day's work. Mrs. Kane +was sitting in a straw arm-chair and Hetty rested with her feet up on +the settle. The little brown tea-pot was on the red tiles by the hearth, +and the firelight blinked on the tea-cups. + +"Mrs. Kane," said Hetty, "will you let me call you mammy?" + +"Will I?" said Mrs. Kane. "To be sure I will, darling, and glad to hear +you. But wouldn't mother be a prettier word in your mouth?" + +"Phyllis calls Mrs. Enderby mother," said Hetty, "and it sounds cold. +Mammy will be a little word of our own." + +"And when you go back to the Hall you will sometimes come to see your +old mammy?" + +"I think I am going to ask you to let me stay here always," said Hetty. + +"Nay, dear, that wouldn't be right. You've got to get educated and grow +up a lady." + +"I could go to the village school," said Hetty; "I'm not clever at +books, and they could teach me there all I want to learn. When I grow up +I might be the village teacher. And you and Mr. Kane could live with me +in the school-house when you are old." + +"Bless the child's heart! How she has planned it all out. But don't be +thinking of such foolishness, my Hetty. Providence has other doings in +store for you." + +One of the happiest things about this time was that Scamp was as +welcome in the cottage as Hetty was herself. He slept by the kitchen +fire every night, and shared all Hetty's work and play during the +daytime. Indeed, nothing could be more satisfactory than the child's +life in these days with Mrs. Kane. What in the meantime had become of +her extraordinary pride? Love and service seemed to have completely +destroyed it. + +One day, however, there came an interruption to her peace. Lucy, the +maid, arrived with a message to know when Hetty would be able and +willing to return to the Hall. + +Mrs. Kane was out and Hetty was sitting in the sun at the back-garden +door with one of John Kane's huge worsted stockings pulled over one +little hand, while she darned away at it with the other. At sight of +Lucy her pride instantly waked up within her and rose in arms. Hetty +stared in dismay at smart flippant Lucy, and felt the old bad feelings +rush back on her. Tears started to her eyes as she saw all her lately +acquired goodness flying away down the garden path, as it seemed to her, +and out at the little garden gate. + +"I don't think I am ready to go yet," said she; "but I will write to +Mrs. Enderby myself. Would you like to see Scamp, Lucy? He has grown so +fat and looks so well." + +Hetty could not resist saying this little triumphant word about the +dog. However, Lucy was ready with a retort. + +"I suppose he was used to cottages," she said. "People generally do best +with what they have been accustomed to." + +Hetty's ears burned with the implied taunt to herself, but she said with +great dignity: + +"You can go now, Lucy. I don't think I have anything more to say to +you." + +And Lucy found herself willing to go, though she had intended saying a +great many more sharp things to the child, whom she, like Grant, +regarded as an impertinent little upstart. + +That evening Hetty made a tremendous effort and wrote a letter to Mrs. +Enderby. + +"Deer Madam,--My foot is well, but Mrs. Kane is making me good and I +would like to stay with her. I am sorry for Badness and giving trubbel. +I could lern to work and be Mrs. Kane's child. + Yours obeedyentley, HETTY." + +Mr. and Mrs. Enderby smiled over this letter together that evening. + +"Poor little monkey," said the former, "there is more in her than I +imagined. But what spelling for a girl of her age!" + +"Might it not do to allow her to stay where she is, coming up here for +lessons, and to walk occasionally with the girls?" + +"I do not like the idea of it," said Mr. Enderby. "I would rather she +stayed here and went as often as she pleased to see her early friends. +It is evident they have a good influence upon her. Yet it would not be +fair to let her grow up with their manners if she is to earn her bread +among people of a higher class." + +So when Mrs. Enderby went next day to visit Hetty she was firm in her +decision that the little girl should return to the Hall. She discovered +Hetty busy sweeping up the cottage hearth in her gingham blouse. Hetty +dropped her broom and hung her head. + +"I was pleased to get your letter, Hetty. I am glad you are sorry for +what occurred." + +"I am sorry," said the little girl looking up frankly. "I am very sorry +while I am here. But I might not be so sorry up at the Hall. The +sorryness went away when I saw Lucy. Afterwards it came back when Mrs. +Kane came in." + +"And that is why you want to stay here? Because Mrs. Kane makes you feel +good? It is an excellent reason; but why can you not learn to be good at +the Hall too? What has Mrs. Kane done to make you good?" + +"Oh! she loves me, for one thing," said Hetty; "and then she makes me +pray to God. I never heard about God at Mrs. Rushton's; and Miss Davis +always told me I made him angry. Mrs. Kane's God is so kind. I would +like to make him fond of me." + +"You have a strange startling way of saying things, Hetty. You must try +and be more like other children. Mrs. Kane's God is mine, and yours, and +every one's, and we must all try to please him. But if you like her way +of speaking of him you can come here as often as you please and talk to +Mrs. Kane." + +"Then I must go back to the Hall?" said Hetty. + +"I am sorry you look on it as a hardship, Hetty. Mr. Enderby and I think +it will be more for your good than staying here." + +"I am only afraid of being bad," said Hetty simply. + +"Oh! come, you will say your prayers and learn to be a good child," said +Mrs. Enderby cheerfully; and then she went away, having settled the +matter. She was more than ever convinced that Hetty's was a curious and +troublesome nature; but she had not sounded the depths of feeling in the +child, nor did she guess how ardently she desired to be good and worthy +of love, how painfully she dreaded a relapse into the old state of pride +and wilfulness which seemed to shut her out from the sympathies of +others. + +After Mrs. Enderby was gone, Hetty sat for a long time with her chin in +her little hand looking out of the cottage door, and seeing nothing but +her own trouble. How was she to try and be like other children? Could +she ever learn to be like Phyllis, always cold and well-behaved, and +never the least hot about anything; or could she grow quiet and sweet +and so easily silenced as Nell? How was she to hinder her tongue from +saying out things just in the words that came to her? She wished she +could say things differently, for people so seldom seemed to understand +what she meant. Tears began to drip down her cheeks as she thought of +returning to her corner in the stately Hall, where she felt so chilled +and lonely, of sitting no more at the snug homely hearth where there was +always a spark of love burning for her. + +As she wiped her eyes a gleam of early spring sunshine struck upon an +old beech-tree at the lower end of the garden, and turned all its young +green into gold. The glorified bough waved like a banner in the breeze, +and seemed to bring some beautiful message to Hetty which she could not +quite catch. The charm of colour fascinated her eye, the graceful +movement had a meaning for her. Springing up from her despondent +attitude she leaned from the doorway, and felt a flush of joy glow in +her heavy little heart. The same thrill of delight that had enraptured +her when, as a babe not higher than the flag leaves, she stretched her +hands towards the yellow lilies, pierced her now, but with a stronger, +more conscious joy. + +When Mrs. Kane returned she found her ready to take a more hopeful view +of the future that was at hand. + +"I have got to go," she said; "and I am going. But I may come to you +when I like. And when the pride gets bad I will always come." + +Mrs. Kane promised to keep Scamp for her own, and so Hetty could see all +her friends at once when she visited the cottage. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +A TRICK ON THE GOVERNESS. + + +Two years passed over Hetty's head, during which she had plenty of +storms and struggles, with times of peace coming in between. There were +days when, but for Mrs. Kane's good advice, she would have run away to +escape from her trials; and yet she had known some happy hours too, and +had gained many a little victory over her temper and her pride. The +pleasantest days had been those when Mark Enderby, brother of Phyllis +and Nell, was at home for his holidays, for he always took Hetty's part, +not in an uncertain way like Nell's, but boldly and openly, and often +with the most successful results. He was the only boy Hetty had ever +known, and she thought him delightful; though like most boys he would be +a little rough sometimes, and would expect her to be able to do all +that he could do, and to understand all that he talked about. He +sometimes, indeed, got her into trouble; but Hetty did not grudge any +little pain he cost her in return for the protection which he often so +frankly afforded her. + +Not that anyone meant to be unkind to her. Mr. and Mrs. Enderby +continued to take a friendly interest in everything that concerned her, +though strictly following their well-meant plan of not showing her any +particular personal affection. "We must not bring her up in a hothouse," +they said, "only to put her out in the cold afterwards." In this they +thought themselves exceptionally wise people; and who shall say whether +they were or not? It suited Phyllis admirably to follow in the footsteps +of her father and mother; but what was merely prudence on the part of +her elder benefactors often appeared something much more unamiable when +practised towards Hetty by a girl not many years her senior. Miss Davis, +who was a rigid disciplinarian and trusted as such by her employers, +thought chiefly of breaking down the pride and temper of the child, and +of bending her character so as to fit her for the hard life that was +before her; a life whose difficulties and trials had been bitterly +experienced, and not yet all conquered or outlived by the conscientious +governess herself. Nellie, who was Hetty's only comfort in the great +and, as it seemed to her, unfriendly house, too often showed her +sympathy in a covert way which made Hetty feel she was half ashamed of +her affection; and this deprived such tenderness of the value it would +otherwise have had. + +Hetty, now above eleven years old, was very much grown and altered. Her +once short curly hair was long, and tied back from her face with a plain +black ribbon. Her face was singularly intelligent, her voice clear and +quick, her eyes often much too mournful for the eyes of a child, but +sometimes flashing with fun, as, for instance, when Mark engaged her in +some piece of drollery. Then the old spirit that she used to display +when she performed her little mimicries for Mrs. Rushton's amusement +would spring up in her again, and she would take great delight in seeing +Mark roll about with laughing, and hearing him declare that she was the +jolliest girl in the world. + +One Easter time, just two years after Hetty's return to the Hall, when +Mark was at home for his holidays, he proposed to Hetty to play a trick +on Miss Davis. Hetty's eyes danced at the thought of a trick of any +kind. She did not have much fun as a rule, and Mark's tricks were always +so funny. + +"It isn't to be a bad trick, I hope," she said, however. + +"Oh! no, not at all. Only to dress up and pretend to be people from her +own part of the world coming to see her and to bring her news. We will +be an old couple who know her friends, and are passing this way." + +"She will find us out." + +"No; we must come in the twilight and go away very soon. She will be so +astounded by what I shall tell her that she won't think about us at +all." + +"What will you tell her?" + +"Oh! news about her old uncle. She has a rich uncle and she expects to +be his heiress. Somebody told me of it. I will tell her he is married, +and you will see what a state she will be in." + +"I don't believe Miss Davis wants anybody's money," said Hetty; "she +works hard for herself, and I think she supports her mother. _I_ shall +have to work some day as she does, and I mean to copy her. Only I shall +have no mother to support," said Hetty, swallowing a little sigh because +Mark could not bear her to be sentimental. + +"Oh! well, we shall have some fun at all events," said Mark; "and don't +you go spoiling it, proving that Miss Davis is a saint." + +"Where can we get clothes to dress up in?" asked Hetty. + +"Farmer Dawson's son is going to bring them to me, and you will find +yours in your room just at dusk. Hurry them on fast and I shall be +waiting in the passage." + +That evening two rather puny figures of an old man and woman were shown +up into the school-room where Miss Davis was sitting alone, looking +into the fire and thinking of her distant home. Hetty was supposed to be +arranging her wardrobe in her own room, and the other girls were with +their mother. The governess was enjoying the treat of an hour of leisure +alone, when she was informed that Mr. and Mrs. Crawford from Oldtown, +Sheepshire, wished to see her. + +"Show them up," said Miss Davis, and waited in surprised expectation. +"Who are they?" she thought; "I do not know the name. But any one from +dear Sheepshire--ah, what a strange-looking pair!" + +They were odd-looking indeed. Mark was tall enough to dress up as a man, +and he wore a rough greatcoat, and a white wig, and spectacles. Hetty +had little gray curls, and gray eyebrows under a deep bonnet, and was +wrapped in a cloak with many capes. In the uncertain light their +disguise was complete. + +"I have not the pleasure--" began Miss Davis. + +"No, you don't know us," said Mark, "but your friends do, and we know +all about you. We were passing this way and have brought you a message +from your mother." + +"Indeed!" said Miss Davis, and her heart sank. A letter she had been +expecting all the week had not arrived. Her mother was sick and poor. +What dreadful thing had happened at home? + +"Oh, she is not worse than usual," put in Hetty, in the shrill piping +tone which she chose to give to Mrs. Crawford. "Don't be alarmed." + +Miss Davis did not easily recover from her first shock of alarm. She +remained quite pale, and Hetty wondered to see so much feeling in a +person whom she had often thought to be almost a mere teaching-machine. + +"The news is about your uncle," went on Mark. "Perhaps you have not +heard that he is married." + +"No, I had not heard," murmured Miss Davis; and she looked as if this +indeed was a terrible blow to her. Hetty was immediately annoyed at her +and disappointed in her. Was Mark right in his estimate of her +character? Hetty had thought her a wonder of high-mindedness and +independence of spirit, if very formal and cold. Was she now going to be +proved mercenary and mean? + +"Your mother did not write to you about it, fearing it would be a +disappointment to you." + +"My uncle has a right to do as he pleases," said Miss Davis, "and I hope +he will be happy"; but her lips were trembling and she looked pained and +anxious. "I thank you very much for your trouble in coming to tell me. I +daresay my mother will write immediately." + +Now Mark was not satisfied with the result of his trick. He had hoped +that Miss Davis would have got very angry, and have said some amusing +things. Her quiet dignity disappointed him, and with an impulse of wild +boyish mischief he resolved to try if he could not startle her. + +"I am sorry to say I have not told you everything," he blurted out +suddenly. "I ought to prepare you for the worst, but I don't know how." + +"Speak, I beg of you," faltered Miss Davis. + +"Your uncle is dead, and has left all his fortune, every penny, to his +wife." + +A look came over Miss Davis's face which the children could not +understand. + +"My brother!" she said, "can you tell me what has become of my little +brother?" + +"Run away," said Mark, who had not known till this moment that she had a +brother. + +Miss Davis gasped and leaned her face forward on the table. The next +moment they saw her slip away off her chair to the floor. She had +fainted. + +Mark was greatly alarmed, and struck with sudden remorse. Hetty sprang +up crying, "Oh, Mark, how could you?" + +"What are we to do?" said Mark in despair. + +"Here," said Hetty, "take away all this rubbish of clothes, and hide +them." And she pulled off her disguise and flew to raise Miss Davis from +the floor. + +"No, lay her flat," said Mark; "and here is some water, dash it on her +well. I will come back in a few moments." + +He cast off his own disguise and vanished with his arms full of the +articles he and Hetty had worn. When he returned he found Miss Davis +beginning to breathe again, and Hetty crying over her. + +"Oh! Mark, I will never play a trick again as long as I live," whispered +Hetty; "we were near killing her. How could we dare to meddle with her +affairs?" + +"How was I to know she had a brother?" grumbled Mark under his breath. +"And what has he to do with the joke of her uncle's marrying?" + +"And dying?" said Hetty. "But that's just it, you see, we don't know +anything about it." + +"Children," murmured Miss Davis, "what has happened to me? Give me your +hands, Mark, and help me to rise." + +They raised her up and laid her on the sofa. + +"What was the matter?" repeated Miss Davis, seeing the tears flowing +down Hetty's cheeks. + +"Oh! two nasty old people came to see you and frightened you," said +Mark, "and then they walked off, and Hetty and I found you on the +floor." + +Hetty gave Mark a reproachful look, coloured deeply, and hung her head. +Mark cast a warning glance at her over Miss Davis's shoulder. He did not +want to be discovered. + +"Oh! I remember," moaned Miss Davis. "My poor mother!" + +Mark could not bear the unhappy tone of her voice, and turned and fled +out of the room. + +"Don't believe any news those people brought you, Miss Davis," said +Hetty. "I am sure they were impostors." + +She was longing to say, "Mark and I played a trick for fun," but did not +dare until she had first spoken to Mark. + +"Why do you think so? Hetty, is it possible you are crying for me? I did +not think you cared so much about me, my dear." + +"I am sorry, I am sorry," cried Hetty, bursting into a fresh fit of +crying; "I did not know you had a little brother, Miss Davis." + +"I have, Hetty; next to my mother he is the dearest care of my life. I +could not have told you this but for your tears. My mother and I are +very poor, Hetty, and my uncle had lately taken my boy and promised to +put him forward in the world. He is rather a wilful lad, my poor +darling, and is very delicate besides. Now, it seems, by my uncle's +marriage and death he has lost all the prospect he had in life. And +worst of all he has run away. And my mother is so ill. It will kill +her." + +Miss Davis bowed her pale worn face on her hands, and Hetty, young as +she was, seemed to feel the whole meaning of this poor woman's life, her +struggles to help others, her unselfish anxieties, her love of her +mother and brother hidden away under a quiet, grave exterior. What a +brave part she was playing in life, in spite of her prim looks and +methodical ways. Hetty was completely carried away by the sight of her +suffering, and could no longer contain her secret. She forgot Mark's +warning looks, and his sovereign contempt, always freely expressed, for +those who would blab; and she said in a low eager voice: + +"Oh, Miss Davis, I _must_ tell the truth. It was all a trick of me and +Mark. He made it up out of his head, without really knowing anything +about your people. Only for fun, you know." + +"What do you mean, Hetty?" + +"We were the old man and woman, Mr. and Mrs. Crawford. Indeed we were, +and there are no such people. And your uncle is neither married nor +dead. And your brother has not run away. And your mother will be all +right; and do not grieve any more, dear Miss Davis." + +Hetty put her arms round the governess's neck as she spoke, and laughed +and sobbed together. Miss Davis seemed quite stunned with the +revelation. + +"Are you sure you are not dreaming, Hetty? I want a few moments to think +it all over. None of these dreadful things have really happened! Well, +my dear, I must first thank God." + +"Oh, Miss Davis, I wish you would beat me." + +"No, dear, I won't beat you. Only don't another time think it good fun +to cut a poor governess to the heart. Perhaps you thought I had not much +feeling in me." + +"Not very much," said Hetty. "I knew you were very good, and strong, +and wise, and learned; but I did not know you could love people." + +"You know it now. For the future do not think that because people are +colder in their manner than you are they are therefore heartless. +Persons who lead the life that I lead, have to keep many feelings shut +up within themselves, and to accustom themselves to do without +sympathy." + +Hetty pondered over these words. She wanted to say that she thought it +would do quite as well to show more feeling, and look for a little more +sympathy. She was now sure that she could always have loved Miss Davis, +had she only known her from the first to be so warm-hearted and so truly +affectionate. But she did not know how to express herself and remained +silent. + +"Miss Davis," she said presently; "must governesses always keep their +hearts shut up, and try to look as if they loved nobody? You know I am +going to be a governess some day, and that is why I ask." + +Miss Davis was startled. "Do I look as if I loved nobody?" she asked. + +"A little," said Hetty. + +"Then I must be wrong. It cannot be good to look as if one loved nobody. +At the same time it _is_ very necessary to curb all one's feelings. +Phyllis, for instance, would not respect me if she thought me what she +would call sentimental. And even Nell would perhaps smile at me as a +simpleton if she saw me looking for particular affection. Even you, +Hetty--you who think so much about love!--could I manage you at all if I +did not know how to look stern?" + +"You could," said Hetty; "you could manage me better by smiling at me; +just try, Miss Davis. But oh, I forgot; I have got to be a governess +too, and perhaps I had better be hardened up." + +Miss Davis was silent, thinking over Hetty's words. That this ardent +child found her "hardened up" was an unpleasant surprise to her; but she +was not above taking a hint even from one so young and faulty as Hetty. +She would try to be warmer, brighter with this girl. And then she +reflected sadly on the prospect before Hetty. With a nature like hers, +how would she ever become sufficiently disciplined to be fit for the +life of toil and self-repression that lay before her? + +The next day Hetty looked out anxiously for an opportunity of speaking +privately to Mark. + +"I have something to say to you, Mark," she said; "I had to tell Miss +Davis that we played the trick." + +"You had to tell her!" said Mark scornfully; "well, if ever I trust a +tell-tale of a girl again. You are just as sneaky as Nell after all." + +"Nell is not sneaky; and you ought not to call me a tell-tale. You ran +away and left me with all Miss Davis's trouble on my shoulders. I +didn't want to tell; but it was better than having her suffer so +dreadfully." + +"Oh, very well. You can make a friend of her. Go away and sit up prim +like Phyllis. You shall have no more fun with me, I can tell you." + +A lump came in Hetty's throat. She knew Mark was in the wrong, and was +very unkind besides; but still he had so often been good to her that she +could not bear to quarrel with him. + +"I am very sorry," she said; "but I don't think you need be afraid that +Miss Davis will complain to anyone about us." + +This made Mark more angry; for he did not like to hear the word "afraid" +applied to himself; and yet his chief uneasiness had been lest the +occurrence of last evening should come to the ears of his father, who +had a great dislike for practical jokes. + +"Afraid? I am not afraid of anything, you little duffer. She can tell +all about it to the whole house if she likes," he said, and turning on +his heel went off whistling. + +Hetty was right in the guess she had made regarding Miss Davis, who did +not say a word to anyone about the trick that had been played on her. +She was too thankful to know that she had suffered from a false alarm, +that her beloved brother was safe under the protection of the uncle who +had promised to befriend him, and that her dear mother was spared the +terrible anxiety that had seemed to have overtaken her; she was much too +glad thinking of all this to feel disposed to be angry with anyone. +Besides, this accident had brought to light a side of Hetty's character +which she had hardly got a glimpse of before. The child had evinced a +warmth of feeling towards herself which neither of her other two pupils +had ever shown her, and this in forgetfulness of the somewhat hard +demeanour with which she had been hitherto treated. The little girl was, +it appeared, capable of knowing that certain things she did not like +were yet for her good, and of respecting the persons who were to her +rather a stern providence. Her extreme sorrow for giving pain was also +to be noted, and the fact that she had realized the work that was before +her in life. All these things sank deeply into Miss Davis's mind, and +made her feel far more interested in Hetty than she had ever felt +before. + +But Hetty did not know anything of all this. She saw Miss Davis precise +and cold-looking as ever, going through the day's routine as if the +events of that memorable evening had never happened; and she thought +that everything was just as it had been before, except that Mark had +quarrelled with her and would scarcely speak to her. She felt this a +heavy trial, and but for occasional visits to Mrs. Kane and Scamp would +have found it harder than she could bear. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +HETTY'S CONSTANCY. + + +"I hope Hetty is getting on better in the school-room now," said Mrs. +Enderby to Phyllis one day; "I have not heard any complaints for some +time." + +"I think she is doing pretty well, mother; at least she behaves better +to Miss Davis. As for me, I have very little to do with her. I notice, +however, that she has quarrelled with Mark. He and she used to be great +friends, because she is such a romp and ready for any rough play. But +now he does not speak to her." + +"That does not matter much," said Mrs. Enderby smiling; "she will be +better with Miss Davis and you. You must continue to take an interest in +the poor child, dear Phyllis. I wish she gave as little trouble as you +do." + +Phyllis was one of those girls for whom mothers ought to be more uneasy +than for the wilder and naughtier children who cause them perpetual +annoyance. She was so proper in all her ways, and so well-behaved as +never to seem in fault. Her reasons for everything she said and did were +so ready and so plausible, that it required a rather clever and +far-seeing person to detect the deep-rooted pride and self-complacency +that lay beneath them. To manage all things quietly her own way, to be +accounted wise and good, and greatly superior to ordinary girls of her +age, was as the breath of life to Phyllis. To have to stand morally or +actually in the corner with other naughty children was a humiliation she +had unfortunately never experienced, but was one which would have done +her a world of good. All those early storms of remorse, repentance, +compunction, which do so much to prepare the ground for a growth of +virtue in children's hearts, were an unknown experience to her. She +believed in herself, and she expected others, young and old, to believe +in her. Such characters, if not discovered and humbled in time, are +likely to have a terrible future, and to grow up the unconscious enemies +of their own happiness and that of the people who live around them. + +Mark kept up his indignation towards Hetty for a week. He did not grieve +over the quarrel as she did, but he missed her sadly in his games. +However, an accident soon occurred which made them friends again. + +Mark had had a piece of land given to him in a retired part of the +grounds, and he was full of the project of making a garden of his own, +according to his own particular fancy. His father was pleased to allow +him to do this, being glad of anything that would occupy the restless +lad while at home for his holidays. + +"I will draw all the beds geometrically myself," said Mark, "and make +it quite different from anything you have ever seen. And then I will +build a tea-house all of fir, and line it with cones, and it will have a +delightful perfume." + +Then he said to himself that if Hetty had not turned out so badly he +would have asked her to make tea very often in his nice house among his +flowers. But, of course, he could not ask a tell-tale duffer of a girl to +do anything for him. + +He set to work to plan his beds, and one afternoon was busy marking off +spaces with wooden pegs and a long line of cord. After working some time +he came to the end of his pegs, and was annoyed to find that he had not +enough to finish the particular figure he was planning. He did not like +to drop his line to go for more pegs, as he feared his work was not +secure enough, and would fall astray if the string was not held taut +till the end should be properly secured. + +Just as he looked around impatiently, not knowing what to do, he saw +Hetty coming along the path above him, walking slowly and reading. She +was very often reduced to the necessity of taking a story-book as +companion of her leisure hours, now that Mark would have nothing to do +with her. This afternoon Phyllis and Nell were out driving with their +mother, and Miss Davis had seized the opportunity to write letters. +Hetty was therefore thrown on her own resources and was roaming about +with a book. She would have rushed away to Mrs. Kane's at once, but she +knew that this was John Kane's dinner hour. But half an hour hence she +would set off for the village, and have a nice long chat with her +foster-mother. + +Hetty descended the winding path with her eyes on her book, and before +she saw him, nearly stumbled against Mark. + +"Do you mean to walk over a fellow?" said Mark in an aggrieved tone. + +"Oh, Mark, I beg your pardon. I did not know you were here. Now," she +added, looking round wistfully, "if you wouldn't be cross with me what a +nice time we could have working at your garden together." + +"If you weren't disagreeable, I suppose you mean. Well, yes, we could. +But you see we're not friends." + +"And you won't, won't be?" said Hetty anxiously. + +"Well, look here, if you hold this string for me a bit I'll think about +it. My pegs are shaky until the string is fastened up tight, and I can't +drop it, and I must go to the stable-yard for some more pegs. If you +hold this string till I come back, perhaps I will forgive you." + +"Oh yes, I will hold it," said Hetty; and down went her book on the +grass, and she took the cord and held it as Mark directed. + +"Be sure to keep steady till I come back," he said; "and you mustn't +mind if I am kept a little while. I may have to look for Jack, who has +the key of the storehouse where the pegs are kept." + +And off he went. + +When he got to the stable-yard he met a groom who was coming to look for +him, saying that his father wanted him to go out riding. Mr. Enderby was +already in the saddle, and Mark's pony was waiting beside him at the +door. Mark, who loved a ride, especially in company with his father, at +once vaulted on the pony's back and was soon trotting out of the gates, +laughing and chatting with his papa. He had completely forgotten Hetty, +and the pegs, and the cord that had to be held taut till he should come +back. + +In the meantime Hetty was standing just where he had left her, looking +in the direction from which he was to return. A quarter of an hour +passed, and her finger and thumb, which held the string exactly as Mark +had directed, were a little stiff. Another quarter passed, and lest the +cord should relax she changed it from one hand to the other. + +"Jack must have gone out," she thought, "and Mark is waiting for him. I +wish he would come back, for I do want to see Mrs. Kane." + +However, another quarter passed and Mark did not appear. Hetty was very +cold, for it was damp wintry weather with a sharp wind, and one gets +chilly standing perfectly still so long in the open air. She felt +tempted to put down the string and go to look for Mark, but on +reflection thought it would be disloyal to do so. He should not be +disappointed in her again. Something extraordinary had happened to keep +him away, but he should find her at her post when he came back. Then he +would be sure to forgive her, and she would be happy again. + +Another half-hour passed and her toes were half-frozen, and her fingers +and her little nose pinched and red. She wished she had put on her +gloves before she took the cord in her hands. Now she could not drop it +to put them on. The jacket she wore was not a very warm one. Oh, why did +not Mark come back? It occurred to her that perhaps he might be playing +a trick to punish her; but she could not believe he would be so cruel. +Should she drop the string at last, and tell him afterwards that she had +held it as long as she could endure the cold? No, she would go on +holding it. He should see that she could bear something for his sake. + +Hetty had been about an hour shivering at her post when Mark, riding +gaily along the road many miles from home, suddenly remembered Hetty and +the cord. He felt greatly startled and shocked at his carelessness. "I +ought to have sent Jack with the pegs to finish the work, and to tell +her I was going to ride," he reflected; "but it can't be helped now. She +will never be such a goose as to stay there long." And he felt more +sorry thinking of how the string would be lying slack until his return +than for treating Hetty so inconsiderately. Trying to put the whole +thing out of his head he began to chatter to his father about something +that had happened at school, and thought no more about the matter till +he had returned home an hour later. + +Then he sprang from his pony and ran off to his garden to see if he +could tighten up the string before it became quite dark night. Could he +believe his eyes? There was Hetty holding the string as he had left her. + +"Do you mean to say you have been there ever since?" he said in utter +amazement. + +"Yes," said Hetty, trying to keep her teeth from chattering. "You told +me not to mind if you were kept a while. And I did not mind." + +"But do you know that I have been two hours away, and have had a long +ride with father?" said Mark. + +"It seemed a long time," said Hetty; "but I did not know what you were +doing. I promised to stay and I stayed." + +"Well, you were a precious goose," he said, taking the string out of her +hand. "Nobody but a stupid of a girl would do such a thing." + +Hetty said nothing, but slapped her hands together, and tried to keep +the tears of disappointment from coming into her eyes. + +"Here, hold the string a moment longer while I put this peg properly +into the ground. Can't you catch it tight? Oh, your fingers are stiff. +There, that will do for to-night Now, come home and get warm again." + +They walked up to the house together. Hetty was too cold, and tired, and +hurt to speak again, and Mark was too much annoyed at his own +carelessness, and what he called Hetty's stupidity, to be able to thank +her, and offer to make friends with her. Hetty went up to her own room +to take off her things, and when she came down to the school-room she +found that the tea was over and she was in disgrace for staying out so +long. Phyllis cast a disapproving glance at her as she entered. +Punctuality was one of Phyllis's virtues. Miss Davis rebuked Hetty for +staying out alone so late. + +"I must tell Mrs. Kane," she said, "not to keep you so late when you go +to see her." + +Then Hetty was obliged to say that she had not been to see Mrs. Kane. + +"Where, then, can you have been for two hours all alone?" + +"I was all the time in the grounds," said Hetty. + +She had made up her mind that she would not "tell" this time of Mark, +and the consciousness that she was in an awkward position made her +colour up and look as if guilty of some fault she did not wish to own. +Phyllis looked at her narrowly and glanced at Miss Davis, who had a +pained expression on her face, but who said nothing more at the time, +being willing to screen Hetty if she could. + +"Hetty, I am sure you have got cold," said Nell after some time; "you +are all shivery-shuddery." + +"My head is aching," said Hetty; "I don't feel well." + +"I suppose you were sitting all the time reading a story-book," said +Phyllis, "that would give you cold in weather like this." + +"No, I was not reading, at least not long," said Hetty. + +"But were you sitting?" + +"No." + +"Walking?" + +"No, not much." + +"My dear, you must not cross-question like that," said Miss Davis. +"Perhaps Hetty will tell me by and by what she was doing." + +A frown gathered on Phyllis's fair brows and she turned coldly to her +lesson book which she was studying for the next day. She could not bear +even so slight a rebuke as this, but she knew how to reserve the +expression of her displeasure to a fitting time. She herself believed +that she bore an undeserved reproof with dignity, but some day in the +future the governess would be made to suffer some petty annoyance or +disappointment in atonement for her misconduct in finding fault with +her pattern pupil. Hetty raised her eyes with a thankful glance at Miss +Davis, who saw that they were full of tears. A sudden warmth kindled in +Miss Davis's heart as she saw that Hetty trusted in her forbearance, and +she said presently: + +"I think you had better go to bed now, Hetty. You look unwell; and bed +is the best place for a cold." + +"May I go with her, and see that she is covered up warm?" said Nell. + +"Yes," said Miss Davis, "certainly." And the two little girls left the +room together, Hetty squeezing Nell's hand in gratitude for her +kindness. + +When they got up to Hetty's room Nell's curiosity could no longer +restrain itself. + +"Oh, Hetty," she said, "will you tell me what you were doing? I can see +it is a great secret. And I won't tell anybody." + +"Neither will I," said Hetty laughing; "but I was not hurting anyone, +nor breaking the laws." + +"Now, you are making fun of me," said Nell; "it is too bad not to tell +me. And Phyllis will be cool with me to-night for running after you." + +"Then why did you not stay in the school-room?" said Hetty sadly. "I +don't want to make coolness between you and Phyllis." + +"I shouldn't mind Phyllis if you would let me have a secret with you. It +is so nice to have a secret, and it is so hard to get one. Everybody +knows all about everything." + +"I don't agree with you; I hate secrets," said Hetty. "This is not much +of one, I think, but it is somebody else's affair, and I will not tell +it." + +Having wrung so much as this from Hetty, Nell grew wildly excited over +the matter, and was so annoyed at not having her curiosity gratified +that she went away out of the room in a hurry without having seen +whether Hetty was warm enough or not. On her return to the school-room +she announced that Hetty could not tell anything about how she had +passed the afternoon, because it was somebody else's secret. + +"Perhaps she has been bringing some village girl or boy into the +grounds," said Phyllis quietly. + +"I will talk to her myself about this," said Miss Davis; "pray attend to +your studies." + +Miss Davis on reflection thought Phyllis might be right, and that having +made acquaintance with some young companion in Mrs. Kane's cottage, +Hetty might have been induced to admit her or him to the grounds so as +to give pleasure. She knew how strongly the child was influenced by her +likings and lovings, and feared that this might be the case of Scamp +over again, with the important difference that Hetty was now a girl in +her twelfth year, and that her new favourite might prove to be a human +being instead of a dog. + +The next day Hetty was seriously ill. She had caught a severe cold and +lay tossing feverishly in her bed. Miss Davis came up to see her in the +afternoon and sat at her bedside for half an hour. + +"Hetty," she said, "I fear you must have been very foolish yesterday, +and that your cold is the consequence. Now that we are alone I expect +you will tell me exactly all that you did." + +"I can't indeed, Miss Davis." + +"You disappoint me exceedingly. I had been thinking so much better of +you; I conclude you were not alone yesterday." + +"Not all the time, but most of it." + +"Who was with you when you were not alone?" + +Hetty hesitated, and then said, "Mark." + +"But Mark was out riding with his father." + +"Yes." + +"And you were alone all that time." + +"Yes." + +"And yet there is something behind that you will not tell. Hetty, I +always thought you frank till now. Why are you making a mystery?" + +"I can't tell you, Miss Davis; I was not doing any harm." + +"How am I to believe that?" said Miss Davis. + +"Oh, my head!" moaned Hetty, as the pain seemed crushing it. She thought +that if she were to die for it she would not tell that Mark had treated +her badly. + +Miss Davis went away hurt and displeased, and Hetty was very much alone +for several days, being too ill to leave her room, and too deeply in +disgrace to be petted by anyone. She was very unhappy, and lay wondering +how it was that with a strong desire to do right she seemed always going +wrong. If she had dropped the string, gone away to see Mrs. Kane as she +had been longing to do, and returned in good time to the school-room to +tea, Mark would perhaps have been better pleased with her than he +actually was. He had not guessed that she had meant to please him, to +make up for telling Miss Davis that they two had played her a trick. He +did not ask about her now she was ill, or notice that she was keeping +silence and allowing herself to be misunderstood in order that he might +not be blamed. If all were told he could not be much blamed, it was +true, for what was a mere piece of forgetfulness. But that carelessness +of his was a fault of which his father was very impatient, and which +always brought on him a severe reprimand. + +"And I will not tell this time," said Hetty to herself, as her eyes +feverishly danced after the spots on the wall-paper. "When I told +before, it was to save Miss Davis from suffering, this time there is +nobody to suffer but myself." + +In the meantime Mark was spending a few days with a school-fellow at a +distance of some miles, and had gone away without hearing about Hetty's +illness. As soon as he returned home he missed her, and learned that she +was shut up in her room. + +He immediately went to inquire for her, and met Miss Davis on the +stairs. + +"I'm sure I don't wonder she got a cold," he said, "but I never meant +her to do it." + +"To do what?" asked Miss Davis. + +"Why, did she not tell you?" + +"I have not been able to get her to tell me what she was about that day +for two hours alone in the grounds. She has not behaved well, I am sorry +to say; she has been in disgrace as well as ill." + +"Then it was a jolly shame!" burst forth Mark. "I left her to hold a +string for me, and I forgot all about her, and went away to ride. And +she stood holding the string for two hours in the cold. And I called her +a duffer for not running away and letting all my pegs go crooked in the +ground. Oh, I say, Miss Davis, it makes a fellow feel awfully ashamed of +himself." + +"So it ought," said Miss Davis, who now understood the whole thing. "She +would not tell for fear of getting you blamed." + +"And I called her a tell-tale before," said Mark, "because she told you +about the trick. I've been punishing her for weeks about that. Miss +Davis, can't I go in and see her and beg her pardon?" + +"Certainly," said Miss Davis; "she is sitting at the fire, and her eyes +are red with crying. Come in with me and we will try to make her happy +again." + +"Why, Hetty, you do look miserable!" cried Mark, coming into the room +and looking ruefully at her pale cheeks and the black shadows round her +eyes. "And to think of you never telling after all I made you suffer!" + +"I wanted to show you that I am not a tell-tale, Mark; but oh, I am so +glad you have come. I thought you were never going to be friends with me +again." + +"I was away four days," said Mark; "and of course I thought you knew. +But Hetty, you are a jolly queer girl I can tell you, and I can't half +understand you. Think of anyone standing two hours to be pierced through +and through with cold, rather than drop a fellow's string and run away!" + +Hetty looked at him wistfully, recognizing the truth that he never could +understand the sort of feeling that led her into making, as he +considered, such a fool of herself. Miss Davis gazed at her kindly and +pityingly, thinking of how many hard blows she would get in the future, +in return for acts like that which had so puzzled Mark. And she resolved +that another time she would be slow in blaming any eccentric conduct in +Hetty, and would wait till she could get at the motive which inspired +it. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE CHILDREN'S DANCE. + + +One day during these Christmas holidays a lady came to visit at +Wavertree Hall, bringing her two little girls. Phyllis and Nell had gone +with Miss Davis to see some other young friends in the neighbourhood, +and Hetty, who was spending one of her lonely afternoons in the +school-room with her books and work, was sent for to take the little +visitors for a walk in the grounds, while their mother had tea with Mrs. +Enderby. + +Hetty was pleased at being wanted, and soon felt at home with the +strange little girls, who at once took a great fancy to her. Seeing she +could give pleasure her spirits rose high, and she became exceedingly +merry, and said some very amusing things. + +"I think," said Edith, the elder of the young visitors, "that you must +be the girl who told such funny stories one evening when mamma dined +here. She said it was as good as going to the theatre." + +"That was a long time ago," said Hetty; "I am not funny now. At least, +very seldom." + +"I think you are funny to-day," said Grace, the second sister; "I wish +you would come to our house and act for us, as you did then." + +"I don't go to houses," said Hetty, shaking her head; "I belonged to +Mrs. Rushton then, and she meant me to be a lady. But now she is dead, +and it is settled that I am not to be a lady when I am grown up. I am +only to be a governess, and work for myself." + +"But governesses are ladies," said Edith; "a dear friend of ours is a +governess, and there never was a nicer lady." + +"Oh, I know," said Hetty; "Miss Davis is quite the same. But I mean, I +am not to be the kind of lady that goes out to parties." + +"Well, I will try and get you leave to come to our party," said Edith. +"We are going to have one before the holidays are over." + +"I don't think you will get leave from Mrs. Enderby," said Hetty; "and +then I have no frock." + +"They must get you a frock somewhere," said Grace; "I could send you one +of mine." + +"That would give offence, I am sure," said Hetty smiling. "It is not for +the trouble of getting the frock that Mrs. Enderby would keep me from +going. She does not wish me to get accustomed to such things." + +"Then she is horrid," cried Edith; "making you just like Cinderella." + +"No, no," said Hetty, "you must not say that. Cinderella was a daughter +of the house, and I am nobody's child. That is what the village people +say. And only think if they had sent me to a charity school!" + +Edith and Grace gazed at her gravely. Hetty stood with her hands behind +her back, looking them in the eyes as she stated her own case. + +"And you have nobody belonging to you, really, in the whole world?" said +Edith. + +"Nobody," said Hetty, "and nothing. At least nothing but a tiny linen +chemise." + +"Did you drop down out of the clouds in that?" asked Grace with widening +eyes. + +"No," said Hetty laughing; "but I came out of the sea in it. I was +washed up as a baby on the Long Sands. There were great storms at the +time and a great many shipwrecks. And nobody ever asked about me. They +must have been all drowned. John Kane, one of Mr Enderby's carters, +picked me up. So you see I am not the kind of girl to be going out to +parties." + +"You will have to be very learned if you are going to be a governess," +said Grace; "I suppose you are always studying." + +"I work pretty hard at my books," said Hetty; "but I am not clever. And +how I am ever to be as well informed as Miss Davis I don't know. Some +things I remember quite well, and other things I am always forgetting. I +am sure if I ever get any pupils they will laugh at me. I wish I could +live in a little cottage in the fields, and work in a garden and sell +my flowers." + +"I should always come and buy from you," said Grace; "what kind of +flowers would you keep?" + +"Oh, roses," said Hetty; "roses and violets. When I was in London I saw +people selling them in the streets. I would send them to London and get +money back." + +"I think I will come and live with you," said Grace eagerly. + +"Grace, don't be a goose," saith Edith; "Hetty has not got a cottage, +and she is going to be a governess." + +"Yes," sighed Hetty; "but I shall never remember my dates." + +A few days after this conversation occurred, an invitation to a +children's party came from Edith and Grace to all the children at +Wavertree Hall, including Hetty Gray. Mrs. Enderby did not wish Hetty to +know that she had been invited, but Nell whispered the news to her. + +"Mamma and Phyllis think you ought not to go," said Nell; "but Mark and +I intend to fight for you. Mark says he was so nasty to you lately that +he wants to make up." + +Hetty's eyes sparkled at the idea of having this pleasant variety. + +"I shall never be allowed to go," she said. + +"Oh, if it is only a frock, you can have one of mine," said Nell; "I +got a new one for the last party, and my one before is not so bad." + +"It isn't the frock, I am sure," said Hetty; "it is because I am not to +be a lady. At least," she added, remembering Edith's rebuke, "I am not +to be a party-lady, not a dancing-and-dressing-lady. I am only to be a +book-lady, a penwiper-lady, a needle-and-thread-lady, you know, Nell." + +"Oh, Hetty! a penwiper-lady!" + +"Yes, haven't you seen them at bazaars?" said Hetty, screwing up her +little nose to keep from laughing. + +"I never know whether you are in earnest when you begin like that," said +Nell pouting; "I suppose you don't want to come with us." + +However, when Hetty heard that she had really got leave to go "for this +once, because Edith and Grace had made such a point of it," there was no +mistake about her gladness to join in the fun. + +"How will you ever keep me at home after this?" she said, as Phyllis and +Nell stood surveying her dressed in one of their cast-off frocks, of a +rose-coloured tint which suited her brunette complexion. "I shall be +getting into your pockets the next time, and tumbling out in the +ball-room with your pocket-handkerchief." + +"No one wants to keep you at home, except for your own good," said +Phyllis with an air of wisdom. + +"Never mind, Phyllis, it won't be into your pocket that I shall creep," +said Hetty gaily. + +Phyllis did not feel like herself that evening, and was dissatisfied +about she knew not what. She could not admit to herself that she was +displeased because another was to enjoy a treat, even though she thought +she had a right to her belief that it would have been better if Hetty +had been made to stay at home. "Of course, as mother consents, it is all +right," she had said; but still she did not feel as much enjoyment as +usual in dressing for the party. Half suspecting the cause of this, and +willing to restore her good opinion of her own virtue, she brought a +pretty fan to Hetty and offered to lend it to her. Hetty took it with a +look and exclamation of thanks; but Phyllis thought she hardly expressed +her gratitude with sufficient humbleness. However, Phyllis had now +soothed away that faint doubt in her own mind as to her own kindness and +generosity, and took no further notice of her unwelcome companion. + +Arrived at the ball, Hetty was warmly received by Edith and Grace, and +was soon in a whirl of delightful excitement. She had "as many partners +as she could use," as a tiny girl once expressed it, and she was not, +like Cinderella, afraid that her frock would turn to rags, or anxious to +run home before the other dancers. Everybody was very kind to her, and +if anyone said, "That is the little girl whom Mr. Enderby is bringing +up for charity," Hetty did not hear it, and so did not care. + +"Oh, Hetty, you do look so nice!" said Nell, dancing up to her. "A +gentleman over there asked me if you were my sister. And I did not tell +him you were going to be a governess." + +"You might have told him," said Hetty. "I don't care. I have been +speaking to such a nice governess. She is here in care of some little +children. I think she is the prettiest lady in the room; and she looks +quite happy. I wish I could turn out something like her. Only I shall +never remember the dates." + +Hetty sighed, and the next minute was whirled away into the dance again. + +Now Phyllis had told herself over and over again in the course of the +evening that she was very pleased poor Hetty should be enjoying the +pleasure of this party, always adding a reflection, however, that she +hoped she might not be spoiled by so foolish an indulgence. "If I were +going to be a governess," thought she, "I should try to fit myself for +the position. Of course it is father's and mother's affair, but when one +has a little brains one can't help thinking, I believe if I were in +mother's position I should be wiser; but then, of course, I cannot have +any things or people to manage till I am grown up. It is the duty of a +girl to do what she is told; afterwards people will have to do what she +tells them. When the time comes for me to be a mistress I shall take +good care that everybody does what is right." + +These reflections occurred to Phyllis while she was sitting out a dance +for which Hetty had got a partner. + +Soon afterwards, while the breathless flock of young dancers were +fanning themselves on the sofas, the lady of the house requested Hetty +to recite or act something to amuse the company. + +At this proposal Hetty was startled and dismayed. It was a very long +time since she had done anything of the kind, except for the amusement +of Mark and Nell, and she had forgotten all the old stories and +characters that used to be found so entertaining by grown people. She +felt a shyness amounting to terror at being obliged to come forward and +perform before this company; and, besides, she was very sure that Mrs. +Enderby would disapprove of her doing so. She therefore begged earnestly +to be excused, and retreated into a corner. The lady of the house +desisted for a time from her persuasions, but after another dance was +finished she renewed her request. Hetty's distress increased, but she +felt quite unable to explain to her hostess the reasons why it was +impossible she could comply with her wishes. She could only repeat: + +"I forget how to do it; indeed I do. And Mrs. Enderby does not like it." + +"Mrs. Enderby would like you to please me," said the hostess. "And I +cannot think you forget. My daughters tell me you were most amusing last +week when they saw you." + +"Was I?" said Hetty, dismayed. "But that was in the garden and came by +accident. I could not do anything before all this crowd." + +"Well, if you were a shy child I could understand," said the lady; "but +you know I heard you long ago when you were much younger. If you were +not shy then you cannot be so now." + +Hetty could not explain that it was just because she was older now that +she was shy. Long ago she had been too small to realize the position she +was placed in. She felt ready to weep at being found so disobliging, yet +when she thought of the performance required of her, her tongue clove to +her mouth with fright. + +The hostess now crossed the room to Phyllis, who had been watching what +had passed between her and Hetty from a distance. + +"I have been trying to persuade little Miss Gray to recite for us, or to +do some of her amusing characters, but she has all sorts of reasons why +she cannot oblige me. Is she always so obstinate?" + +Phyllis hesitated. + +"I think she has a pretty strong will of her own," she said. "I am +afraid she will not yield." + +"Well, my dear, you know her better than I do, and it is nice of you not +to be too ready to blame her. But I like little girls who do as their +elders bid them. And I confess I expected to find her agreeable when I +invited her here this evening." + +Now if Phyllis had been as generous as she would have liked to believe +herself she would have said, "I know my mother does not approve of +Hetty's performances, and Hetty knows it too. Perhaps this is why she +refuses." But Phyllis, quite unconsciously to herself, was pleased to +hear Hetty blamed, and was willing to think that she ought to have put +all her scruples aside in order to oblige Mrs. Enderby's friend. While +she considered about what it would be pretty to say, her hostess went +on: + +"I suppose she is a little conceited and spoiled. She is certainly +exceedingly pretty and clever." + +It was much more difficult now for Phyllis to make her amiable speech; +yet she had not the least idea that she was a jealous or an envious +girl. She always felt so good, and everybody said she was so. Jealous +people are always making disturbance. Therefore it was quite impossible +that Phyllis could be jealous. + +"I will go and speak to her," she said to the lady of the house, and +crossed the room to where Hetty sat, looking unhappy. + +"Hetty," said Phyllis, "I think you ought to do as you are asked. It was +exceedingly kind of Mrs. Cartwright to invite you here. Of course she +expected you to be obliging." + +"You mean that she asked me, thinking I would amuse the company?" said +Hetty quickly. "Then I am very sorry you have told me so, Phyllis, for I +should never have guessed it. And now I shall feel miserable till I get +away." + +"Can't you be agreeable?" + +"No, I can't. Just think of trying it yourself." + +"Of course it would not be suitable for me," said Phyllis. "Our +positions are different. However, if you choose to be ungrateful you +must." + +And she walked away, leaving Hetty sitting alone reflecting sadly on her +words. So after all it was not kindness and liking for her that had made +these people include her in their invitation. It was only the desire to +have their party made more amusing by her performance. She wished she +could do what was required of her, so that she need owe them nothing. +But she could not; and how hateful she must seem. + +All her pleasure was over now, and she was glad when the moment came to +get away. Her silence was not noticed during the drive home, for every +one else was too sleepy to talk. But Hetty was too unhappy to be sleepy. + +The next morning Miss Davis asked at breakfast if the party had been +enjoyable. + +"It was all very nice," said Phyllis, "until towards the end, when Hetty +put on fine airs and refused to be obliging. After that we all felt +uncomfortable." + +"That is not true, Miss Davis," said Hetty bluntly. + +Her temper had suddenly got the better of her. + +Phyllis's blue eyes contracted, and her lip curled. + +"Please send her out of the room, Miss Davis," she said. + +"Hetty, I am sorry for this," said Miss Davis, "I could not have +believed you would speak so rudely." + +"You have not heard the story, Miss Davis." + +"I have heard you put yourself very much in the wrong. Phyllis would not +tell an untruth of you, I am sure." + +"She said I put on fine airs," said Hetty, trembling with indignation. +"I did not put on airs. They wanted me to perform, and I could not do +it. If I had done it Phyllis would have been the first to blame me. I +remember how she scorned me for doing it long ago." + +"I hope you will make her apologize to me, Miss Davis," said Phyllis +quietly. The more excited poor Hetty became, the quieter grew the other +girl. + +"She is ungenerous," continued Hetty, striving valiantly to keep back +her tears; "she knew her mother would not approve of my performing; and +besides, I told her I was afraid. If I had done it she would have +complained to Mrs. Enderby of my doing it." + +This passionate accusation hit Phyllis home. She knew it was true--so +true that though she had arraigned Hetty before Miss Davis for the +pleasure of humbling her, she yet had no intention of carrying the tale +to her mother, fearing that Mrs. Enderby would say that Hetty had been +right. Had Hetty made "a show of herself" by performing, Phyllis would +perhaps have made a grievance of it to her parents. Stung for a moment +with the consciousness that this was true, before she had had time to +persuade herself of the contrary, Phyllis grew white with anger. The +injury she could least forgive was a hurt to her self-complacency. + +"She must apologize, Miss Davis, or I will go to papa," said Phyllis, +disdaining to glance at Hetty, but looking at her governess. + +Miss Davis was troubled. + +"This is all very painful," she said. "Hetty, you had better go to your +room till you have recovered your composure. Whatever may have been your +motives last night you have now put yourself in the wrong by speaking so +rudely." + +Hetty flashed out of the room, and Phyllis, quiet and triumphant, turned +to her lesson-books with a most virtuous expression upon her placid +face. + +Hetty wept for an hour in her own room. Looking back on her conduct she +could not see that she had been more to blame than Phyllis. Oh, how was +it that Phyllis was always proved to be so good while she was always +forced into the wrong? She remembered a prayer asking for meekness +which Mrs. Kane had taught her, and she knelt by her bedside and said it +aloud; and just then she heard Miss Davis calling to her to open the +door. + +"My dear," said the governess, "I have come to tell you that you really +must apologize to Phyllis. It was exceedingly rude of you to tell her so +flatly that her words were untrue." + +Hetty flushed up to the roots of her hair and for a few moments could +not speak. She had just been on her knees asking for strength from God +to overcome her pride, and here was an opportunity for practising +meekness. But it was dreadfully hard, thought Hetty. + +"I will try and do it, Miss Davis. But may I write a letter in my own +way?" + +"Certainly, my dear. I am glad to find you so willing to acknowledge +yourself in fault." + +Left alone to perform her task Hetty opened her desk and sat biting her +pen. At last she wrote: + + +"Dear Phyllis,--I am very sorry I said so rudely that you did not tell +the truth. But oh, why did you not tell it, and then there need not have +been any trouble? + + "HETTY." + + +Hetty brought this note herself into the school-room, and in presence of +Miss Davis handed it to Phyllis. + +"Do you call that an apology?" said Phyllis, handing the note to Miss +Davis. + +"I don't think you have made things any better, Hetty," said Miss Davis. + +"I said what I could, Miss Davis. Phyllis ought to apologize to me now." + +Phyllis gave her a look of cold surprise, and took up a book. + +"Pray, Miss Davis, do not mind," said she over the edges of her book. "I +expect nothing but insolence from Hetty Gray. Mother little knew what +she was providing for us when she brought her here." + +Hetty turned wildly to the governess. "Miss Davis," she cried, "can I +not go away somewhere, away from here? Is there not some place in the +world where they would give a girl like me work to do? How can I go on +living here, to be treated as Phyllis treats me?" + +Miss Davis took her by the hand and led her out of the room and upstairs +to her own chamber. Having closed the door she sat down and talked to +her. + +"Hetty," she said, "when you give way to your pride in passions like +this you forget things. You asked me just now, is there any place where +people would give work to a girl like you to do? I don't think there +is--no place such as you could go to." + +"I would go anywhere," moaned Hetty. + +"Anywhere is nowhere," said Miss Davis. "Just look round you and see +all that is given to you in this house. There is your comfortable bed to +sleep in, you have your meals when you are hungry, you have good +clothing, you have a warm fireside to sit at, you have the protection of +an honourable home. Yet you would fling away all these advantages +because of a few wounds to your pride. Phyllis is trying, I admit--I +have to suffer from her at times myself--but you and I must bear with +something for the sake of what we receive." + +Hetty raised her eyes and looked at Miss Davis's worn face and the line +of pain that had come out sharply across her brow, and forgot herself +for the moment, thinking of the governess's patient life. + +"But, Miss Davis, _you_ need not suffer from Phyllis; you are not like +me. Any people would be glad to get you, who are so clever and so good. +You could complain of her to her mother, and if she did not get better +you could go away." + +"Should I be any more safe from annoyance in another family? Hetty, my +dear, there are always thorns in the path of those who are poor and +dependent on others, and our wisest course is to make the best of +things. I might say to you, _you_ have no one to think of but yourself. +For me, I have a mother to support, and I have to think of my dear young +brother, who is not too wise for his own interests, and whose prospects +are at the mercy of a rather capricious old uncle." + +"Oh that I had a mother and a brother to work for!" cried Hetty +passionately. + +"Perhaps that would teach you wisdom, my dear. However, profit by my +experience and be cheered up. Take no notice if Phyllis is unkind. It is +better to be here, even with her unkindness, than straying about the +world alone, meeting with such misfortunes as you never dreamed of." + +After Miss Davis had left her, Hetty sat a long time pondering over that +lady's words. It seemed to her that the governess, good and patient as +she was, had no motive for her conduct high enough to carry her through +the trials of her life. It was certainly an excellent thing to be +prudent for the sake of her mother and brother; to bear with present +evils for fear of worse evils that might come. But yet--but yet, was +there not a higher motive than all this for learning to be meek and +humble of heart? Looking into her own proud and stubborn nature, the +little girl assured herself that Miss Davis's motives would never be in +themselves enough for her, Hetty--never sufficiently strong to crush the +rebellion of self in her stormy young soul. Instinctively her thoughts +flew to Mrs. Kane, and seizing her hat and cloak she flew out of the +house, and away down the road to the labourer's cottage. + +Fortunately it was a good hour for her visit. John had gone out after +his dinner. The cottage kitchen was tidied up, the fire shining, the two +old straw arm-chairs drawn up by the hearth. Mrs. Kane was just +screwing up her eyes, trying to thread a needle, when Hetty dashed in +and flung her arms around her neck. + +"Oh, Mrs. Kane, the pride has got so bad again; and I have been +quarrelling with Phyllis and wanting to run away." + +"Run away!" said Mrs. Kane; "oh, no, dearie, never run away from your +post." + +"What is my post?" said Hetty weeping; "I have no post. I am only a +charity girl and in everybody's way. Phyllis hints it to me in every way +she can, even when she does not say it outright. Oh, how can I have +patience to grow up? Why does it take so long to get old?" + +Mrs. Kane sighed. "It doesn't take long to grow old, dear, once you are +fairly in the tracks of the years. But it does take a while to grow up. +And you must have patience, Hetty. There's nothing else for it but the +patience and meekness of God." + +Hetty drew a long breath. All that was spiritual within her hung now on +Mrs. Kane's words. The patience of God was such a different thing from +the prudence of this world. That was the difference between Miss Davis +and Mrs. Kane. + +"There was something beautiful you said one day," said Hetty in a +whisper; "say it again. It was, 'Learn of me--'" + +"Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart," said Mrs. Kane. "That +is the word you want, my darling, and it was said for such as you." + +Hetty's tears fell fast, but they were no longer angry tears. She was +crying now with longing to be good. + +"There was something else," she said presently, when she could find her +voice; "something that was spoken for me too." + +"Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," +said Mrs. Kane, stroking her head. And then Hetty cried more wildly, +thinking with remorse of her own pride. + +"If He is for you, my dear, you needn't care who is against you," +continued Mrs. Kane; "take that into your heart and keep it there." + +After that they had a long talk about all Hetty's difficulties, and when +at last the little girl left the cottage, it was with a lighter step +than had brought her there. When she walked into the school-room just in +time for tea the signs of woe were gone from her countenance, and she +looked even brighter than usual. Without giving herself time to think, +or to observe the looks of those in the room, she went straight up to +Phyllis and said cheerfully: + +"Phyllis, I am sorry I gave you offence. I hope you will forget it and +be friends with me"; and then she took her seat at the table as if +nothing had happened. + +Miss Davis, who had been rather dreading her appearance, fearing a +renewal of the quarrel, looked up at her and actually coloured all over +her faded face with pleasure and surprise. Hetty had really taken her +lessons to heart, and was going to be a wise and prudent girl after all. +She little thought that a far higher spirit actuated the girl than had +at all entered into her teachings. + +Phyllis glanced round with a triumphant air as if saying, "Now I am +indeed proved in the right. She herself has acknowledged it!" and then +she said gently: + +"I accept your apology, Hetty, and I will not say anything of the matter +to my mother." + +"Is not Phyllis good," whispered Nell afterwards, "not to tell mamma? +Because you know, you were very naughty to her, Hetty, and she is papa's +daughter and the eldest." + +Nell's friendly speeches were sometimes hard to bear, as well as +Phyllis's unfriendly ones. Hetty would have been glad if the whole +affair could have been laid before Mrs. Enderby, and saw no reason to +congratulate herself on Phyllis's silence to her mother as to the +quarrel and its cause. But the others judged differently. Miss Davis was +pleased that by her own tact she had been able to arrange matters +without calling in the aid of Mrs. Enderby, who, she was aware, liked a +governess to have judgment and decision sufficient to keep the mistress +of the house out of school-room squabbles. Nell was delighted that +there was to be no more "fuss." Phyllis above all was pleased, for now +she felt no more necessity for questioning her own motives and conduct, +no more danger of being told by her mother that Hetty had in the +beginning been in the right, while she, by opposing her, had brought on +the wrong which had followed. + +Falling back upon her own doctrine, that she must be right because her +judgment told her so, Phyllis was coldly amiable to Hetty for the rest +of the evening; while Hetty, having made her act of humility, rather +suffered from a reaction of feeling, and had to struggle hard to keep +the moral vantage-ground she had gained. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +A TRIAL OF PATIENCE. + + +Two more years passed over Hetty's head. She had grown tall and looked +old for her age, her large gray eyes were full of serious thought, her +brow was grave, and the expression of her mouth touched with sadness. +The haughtiness and mirth of her childhood were alike gone. Earnest +desire to attain to a difficult end was the one force that moved her, +and this had become visible in her every word and glance. She was +painfully aware that the time was approaching when she must go forth to +battle with the world for herself, and that on her own qualifications +for fighting that battle her position in the world must depend. That she +had not sufficient aptitude for learning out of books, or for +remembering readily all that she gathered from them, she greatly feared. +Her memory gave her back in pictures whatever had engaged her +imagination; but much that was useful and necessary was wont to pass +away out of her grasp. Thorough determination, close application, did +not remove this difficulty, and she was warned by those around her that +unless she could make better use for study of the three years yet before +her than she had made of those that lay behind her, she could never be a +teacher of a very high order. Of all that this failure meant, Hetty +understood more clearly now than when she had wished to live with Mrs. +Kane and be the village schoolmistress. Loving all that was beautiful +and refined in life, she had learned to dread, from another motive than +pride, the fate of being thrown upon a lower social level. And yet this +was a fate which seemed now to stare her in the face. + +Mr. Enderby, who had of late taken a personal interest in her studies, +examining her from time to time on various subjects, said to her: + +"My little girl, if you do not wake up and work harder I fear you will +have to take an inferior position in life to that which I desired for +you." + +Poor Hetty! Was she not wide awake? So wide awake that when he and all +the household were asleep she lay staring her misfortune in the face. +And how could she work harder than she did, weeping in secret over the +dry facts that would not leave their mark upon her brain? Thus it was +that life looked dreary to her, and her face was grave and pale. Phyllis +and Nell, who were three and two years older than herself, had begun to +talk of the joys which the magic age of eighteen had in store for them. +They would leave off study and go forth into the enjoyment of their +youth in a flattering world. Idleness, pleasure, happiness awaited them. +No one could say they were not sufficiently well educated to take that +graceful place in life which Providence had assigned to them; Hetty was +rebuked for being less learned than she ought to be, because for her +there was no graceful place prepared; only a difficult and narrow path +leading away she knew not where. + +Of the difference between their position and hers she could not help +thinking, but she had been so long accustomed to realize it that she did +not dwell upon it much. Miss Davis was the person on whom her eyes were +fixed as an image of what she ought to hope to become. + +To be exactly like Miss Davis. To look like her, think like her, be as +well informed, as independent, as much respected; to teach as well, +speak as wisely, be called an admirable woman who had fought her own way +against poverty in the world, this was what Hetty had been assured by +Mr. and Mrs. Enderby ought to be the object of her ambition and the end +of all her hopes. And Hetty tried honestly to will as they willed for +her good. But her face was not less sad on that account. + +Things were in this state when one day, a day never to be forgotten by +her, Hetty was feeling more than usually unhappy. Only the evening +before Mr. Enderby had examined her on several subjects, and had found +her wanting. He had spoken to her with a little severity, and at the +same time looked at her pityingly, and the girl had felt more miserable +than can be told at having disappointed him. To-day she was left to +spend a long afternoon by herself, as Miss Davis had taken Phyllis and +Nell to visit some friends, and, though her morning's work ought to have +been over, she still sat at her lessons, labouring diligently. At last +becoming thoroughly tired she closed her book and raised her eyes +wearily, when they fell on a jar of wild flowers which yesterday she had +arranged and placed upon a bracket against the wall. It was spring, and +in the jar was a cluster of pale wood-anemones with some sprays of +bramble newly leafed. Hetty's eyes brightened at the sight of these +flowers, and noted keenly every exquisite outline and delicate hue of +the group. It seemed to her at the moment that she had never seen +anything so beautiful before. Mechanically she took up her pencil and +began to imitate on a piece of paper the waving line of the bramble +wreath, and the graceful curves of the leaves. To her own great surprise +something very like the bramble soon began to appear upon the paper. A +sharp touch here, a little shadow there, and her drawing looked vigorous +and true. After working in great excitement for some time Hetty got up +and pinned her drawing to the wall, and stood some way off looking at +it. Where had it come from? she asked herself. She had never learned to +draw. She had not known that she could draw. Oh, how delightful it would +be if she could reproduce the flowers as they grew! Not quite able to +believe in the new power she had discovered in herself, she set again to +work, altering the arrangement of the flowers in the jar, and taking a +larger sheet of paper. It was only ruled exercise paper, but that did +not seem to matter when the flowers blossomed all over it. The second +drawing was even better than the first; and Hetty stood looking at it +with flushed cheeks and throbbing heart, wondering what was this new +rapture that had suddenly sprung up in her life. + +As her work was done, and the afternoon was all her own, she was able to +give herself up to this unexpected delight, and spent many hours +composing new groups of flowers, and arranging them in fanciful designs. +When a maid brought up her solitary tea she lifted her flushed face and +murmured, "Oh, can it be tea-time?" and then spread out all her +drawings against the wall, and stared at them while she ate her bread +and butter. + +She felt nervous at the thought of letting anybody see them, and locked +them up in her desk before Miss Davis and the other girls came home. + +In earliest dawn of the next morning, however, she was out of bed and +studying the drawings as she stood in her night-dress and with bare +feet. Were they really good, she asked herself, or were her eyes +bewitched; and would Mr. Enderby laugh at them if he saw them? Anguish +seized on her at the thought, and she dressed herself with trembling +hands. A new idea, striving in her mind, seemed to set all nature +thrilling with a meaning it had never borne for her before. There had +been great painters on the earth, as she knew full well, whose existence +had been made beautiful and glorious by their genius; and there were +artists living in the present day, small and great, who must surely be +the happiest beings in the world. Their days were spent, not in +drudgery, and lecturing, and primness, but in the study and reproduction +of the beauty lying round them. Oh, if God should have intended her to +be one of these! + +When the maids came to dust the school-room they found Hetty hard at +work upon a new wreath of ivy which she had hastily snatched from the +garden wall and hung against the curtain, and they thought she was +doing some penance at Miss Davis's bidding. By eight o'clock the +drawings were hid away, the flowers and wreaths disposed of in the jars, +and Hetty was sitting at the table with a book in her hand. No one need +know, she thought, of how she spent those early hours when everybody +else was in bed. And so day after day she worked on steadily with her +pencil, and there was a strange and unutterable hope in her heart, and a +new light of happiness in her eyes. + +After some time she became more daring and attempted to bring colour +into her designs. Using her school-room box of paints, the paints +intended only for the drawing of maps, she placed washes of colour on +her leaves and along her stems, making the whole composition more +effective and complete. Day by day she improved on her first ideas, till +she had stored up a collection of really beautiful sketches. + +With this new joy tingling through her young veins from morning till +night, and from night till morning again, Hetty began to look so glad +and bright that everyone remarked it. Miss Davis looked on approvingly, +thinking that her own excellent discipline of the girl was having an +effect she had scarcely dared to hope for. Nell was full of curiosity to +know why Hetty had become so gay. + +"May I not have the liberty to be gay as well as you?" said Hetty +laughing. + +"Of course; but then you are so suddenly changed. Miss Davis says it is +only because you are growing good. But I think there must be something +that is making you good." + +"I am glad to hear I am growing good. Something is making me very happy, +but I cannot tell you what it is." + +Nell, always on the look-out for a secret, opened her eyes very wide, +but could get no further satisfaction from Hetty, who only laughed at +her appeals to be taken into confidence. That evening, however, she told +Miss Davis that Hetty had admitted that there was _something_ that was +making her so happy. + +"I knew she had a secret," said Nell mysteriously. + +"Then it is the secret of doing her duty," said Miss Davis. "She has +made great improvement in every respect during the last few weeks." + +"I know she gets up earlier in the mornings than she used to do," said +Nell, "and I don't think she is at her lessons all the time." + +"I hope she has not been making any more friends in the village," said +Phyllis. + +"I am sorry such thoughts have come into your minds, children," said +Miss Davis; "I see nothing amiss about Hetty. If she is happier than she +used to be, we ought all to feel glad." + +Phyllis did not like the implied rebuke, and at once began to hope that +she might be able to prove Miss Davis in the wrong. If Hetty could be +found to have a secret, as Nell supposed, Phyllis decided that it ought +to be found out. Her mother did not approve of children having secrets. +Even if there was no harm in a thing in itself, there was a certain harm +in making a mystery of it. So, having arranged her motive satisfactorily +in her mind, Phyllis, feeling more virtuous than ever, resolved to +observe what Hetty was about. The next morning she got up early and came +down to the school-room an hour before her usual time. And there was +Hetty working away at her drawing with a wreath of flowers pinned before +her on the wall. + +Phyllis came behind her and was astonished to see what she had +accomplished with her pencil; and Hetty started and coloured up to her +hair, as if she had been caught in a fault. + +"Well, you are a strange girl," said Phyllis; "I did not know drawing +was a sin, that you should make such a mystery over it." + +"I hope it is not a sin," said Hetty in a low voice. She felt grieved at +having her efforts discovered in this way. She wished now that she had +told Miss Davis all about it. Phyllis opened the piano and began to +practise without having said one word of praise of Hetty's work; and the +poor little artist felt her heart sink like lead. Perhaps the beauty +that she saw in her designs existed only in her own foolish eyes. + +She worked on silently for about half an hour, and then put away her +drawing materials and her flowers, and began to study her lessons for +the day. + +"Of course you do not expect me to keep your secret from Miss Davis," +said Phyllis, looking over her shoulder. "I have been always taught to +hate secrets, and my conscience will not allow me to encourage you in +this." + +"Do exactly as you please," said Hetty; "I shall be quite satisfied to +let Miss Davis know what I have been doing." + +"Then why did you not tell her before?" asked Phyllis. + +"I am not bound to explain that to you," said Hetty; but finding her +temper was rising she added more gently, "I am willing to give an +account of my conduct to any one who may be scandalized by it"; and +then, fearing to trust herself further, she went out of the room. + +On the stairs she met Miss Davis, and stopped her, saying: + +"Phyllis has a complaint to make of me. I shall be back in the +school-room presently after she has made it." + +"What is it about, my dear?" + +"She can tell you better than I can," said Hetty. "Please go down now, +Miss Davis, and then we can have it over before breakfast." + +"Miss Davis, I find Nell was right in thinking that Hetty was doing +something sly," began Phyllis, as the governess entered the school-room. + +"I am sorry to hear it. What can it be?" + +"Nothing very dreadful in itself perhaps. It is the secrecy that is so +ugly, especially as there was no reason for it in the world." + +"What has Hetty done?" repeated Miss Davis. + +"Why, she has been getting up early in the mornings to draw flowers," +said Phyllis, unwillingly perceiving that the fault seemed a very small +one when plainly described. + +"I did not know she could draw," said Miss Davis; "but, if she can, I +see no harm in her doing it." + +"I think she ought to spend the time at the studies father is so anxious +she should improve in," said Phyllis; "and I imagine she knows it too, +or she would not have been so secret." + +"There is something in that, Phyllis; though I would rather you had not +been so quick to perceive it." + +Phyllis curled her lip slightly. "Intelligence is given us that we may +use it, I suppose," she said coldly; "but I have done my duty, and I +have nothing more to say in the matter." + +Breakfast passed over without anything being said on the subject of the +great discovery; but after the meal was finished, Miss Davis desired +Hetty to fetch her her drawings that she might see them. Hetty went to +her own room immediately, and returned bringing about a dozen drawings +in a very primitive portfolio made of several newspapers gummed +together. + +Miss Davis was no artist, but she felt that the designs were good, and +remarkable as having been executed by a girl so untaught as Hetty. They +increased her opinion of her pupil's abilities, yet she looked on them +chiefly from the point of view Phyllis had suggested to her, and +considered them in the light of follies upon which valuable time had +been expended. + +"My dear," she said, "these are really very pretty, and I am sure they +have given you a great deal of pleasure. But I cannot countenance your +going on with this sort of employment. Think of how usefully you might +have employed at your books the hours you have spent upon these trifles. +I presume you were aware of this from the first yourself, and that this +is why you have been so silent as to your new accomplishment." + +"No," said Hetty decidedly; "I did not feel that I was wasting time. On +the contrary, my drawing gave me better courage to work at my lessons. +The hours I spent were taken from my sleep. I was always at my books +before Phyllis was at hers." + +"Phyllis is not to be made a rule for you, my dear. She has not the same +necessity to exert her powers to the utmost. If you can do without part +of your sleeping time, you ought to devote it to your books. And pray, +if you did not think you were committing some fault, why did you say +nothing to anyone of what you were about?" + +"I cannot tell you that, Miss Davis," said Hetty, her eyes filling with +tears; "I mean I cannot explain it properly. I could not bring myself to +show what I had done; but I had no idea of _wrongness_ about the +matter." + +"Well, my dear, we will say no more about it. Take the drawings away; +and in future work at your lessons every moment of your time. I will put +you on your word of honour, Hetty, not to do any more of this kind of +thing." + + +"Do not ask me to give you such a promise, Miss Davis." + +"But Hetty, I must, and I do." + +"Then, Miss Davis, I will speak to Mr. Enderby." + +The governess and her two pupils gazed at Hetty in amazement. + +"I mean," Hetty went on, "that I hope he will think drawing a useful +study for me. Will you allow me to speak to him this evening, Miss +Davis?" + +"Certainly, my dear," said Miss Davis stiffly. "There is nothing to +hinder you from consulting Mr. Enderby on any subject. I am sure he will +be kind enough to give you his advice. Only I think I know what it will +be beforehand; and I would rather you had shown more confidence in me." + +Hetty could not give her mind to her lessons that day, nor get rid of +the feeling that she was in disgrace. When evening came, the hour when +Mr. Enderby was usually to be found in his study, she asked Miss Davis's +permission to go to him, and with her portfolio in her hand presented +herself at his door. + +"Come in, Hetty," said Mr. Enderby; "what is this you have got to show +me? Maps, plans, or what? Why, drawings!" + +Hetty's mouth grew dry, and her heart beat violently. The tone of his +voice betrayed that the master of Wavertree had no more sympathy for +art, or anything connected with it, than had Miss Davis. He was an +accurate methodical man with a taste for mathematics, who believed in +the power conferred by knowledge on man and woman; but who had little +respect for those who concerned themselves with only the beauties and +graces of life. Art was to him a trifle, and devotion to it a folly. +Therefore Hetty with her trembling hopes was not likely to find favour +at his hands. + +"My child, I am sure they are very pretty; but this sort of thing will +not advance you in the world." + +"But, Mr. Enderby,--I have been thinking--artists get on as well as +governesses. I do these more easily than I learn my dates. If I could +only learn to be an artist." + +Mr. Enderby put his eye-glass to his eye, and gazed at her a little +pityingly, a little severely, with a look that Hetty knew. + +"You would like to become an artist? Well, my girl, I must tell you to +put that foolish idea out of your head. In the first place, you are not +to imagine that because you can sketch a flower prettily, you have +therefore a genius for painting; and such fancies are only calculated to +distract your mind from the real business of your life. Besides, +remember this, I have given, am giving, you a good education as a means +of providing for you in life. Having bestowed one profession upon you +already, I am not prepared to enter into the expense and inconvenience +of a second. So run away like a sensible girl and stick to your books. +You had better leave these drawings with me and think no more about +them." + +Saying this, Mr. Enderby opened a drawer and locked up Hetty's designs +within it; and, humbled and despairing, Hetty returned to the +school-room. + +Her face of grief and her empty hands told sufficiently what the result +of her errand had been. No remark was made by Miss Davis or the girls, +though Nell, who thought the drawings wonderfully pretty, was impatient +to know what her papa had said of them. She was too much in awe of Miss +Davis to seek to have her curiosity gratified just then; and the evening +study went on as if nothing had happened. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +HETTY'S FUTURE IS PLANNED. + + +This was the severest trial Hetty had ever encountered. Longing for +special love, and delight in reproducing the beautiful, were part of one +and the same impulse in her nature, and, crushed in the one, all her +heart had gone forth in the other direction. Now both had been equally +condemned in her as faults, and she fell back, as before, on the mere +dull effort towards submission which had already carried her surely, if +joylessly, over so many difficult years of her young life. She worked +patiently at her books and fulfilled her duties; and she grew thinner +and paler, and the old sad look became habitual to her lips and eyes. +Another year passed, and as Phyllis and Nell approached nearer and +nearer to the period for "coming out" they were more frequently absent +from the school-room, and Hetty's days were more solitary than they used +to be. + +All her mind was now fixed on the idea of fitting herself as soon as +possible for some sort of post as governess. She knew she never could +take such a position as that which Miss Davis filled, and had meekly +admitted to herself that a humble situation must content her. + +She often wondered how it would be with her when the Enderby girls +should no longer need Miss Davis; and decided according to her own +judgment that she ought to be ready to seek a place for herself in the +world as soon as the elder girls should have completed their studies. + +One evening she sat opposite to Miss Davis at the school-room fireside. +Phyllis and Nell were in the drawing-room with their mother. Miss Davis +was netting energetically, and Hetty, who had been studying busily, +dropped her book and was gazing absently into the fire. + +"Hetty," said Miss Davis presently, "put away your book, I want to talk +to you." + +Hetty obeyed, and looked at her governess expectantly. + +"My dear, you know very well that in another year I shall no longer be +needed here. Phyllis and Nell will then be eighteen and seventeen, and +their mother has decided that they shall come out at the same time. When +I am gone there will no longer be any object in your staying in this +house. And yet, as you will then be only sixteen, you will be young to +begin your life among strangers." + +"Yes," said Hetty with a sinking of the heart; "but it is very good of +you to think about me like this. Of course I shall have to go. I suppose +I can get in somewhere as a nursery governess." + +"I have been thinking of something else. Of course it will remain for +yourself to decide." + +Hetty's heart leaped. A wild idea crossed her mind that perhaps Miss +Davis was going to suggest some way by which she might study to be an +artist. Though she had never spoken on the subject since Mr. Enderby had +pronounced sentence upon her hopes, still the dear dream of a possible +beautiful future had always lain hidden somewhere in the most distant +recesses of her brain. Now a sudden bright light shone into that +darkened chamber. What delightful plan had Miss Davis been marking out +for her? + +"I have made up my mind," said Miss Davis, "that instead of entering +another family I will open a school in the town where I was born. My +mother is getting old and she is lonely. If I succeed in my project I +shall be able to live with her and continue to make an income at the +same time." + +"How delightful!" murmured Hetty. + +Miss Davis smiled sadly. "I don't know about that. The plan will have +its advantages, but there are many difficulties. However, I think it is +worth a trial." + +Hetty said nothing, only wondered why Miss Davis was not more wildly +glad at the thought of being always with her mother. She could not +realize how long years of trial and disappointment had made it +impossible to the governess to feel vivid anticipations of delight. + +"Now as regards you--" Hetty started. She had so completely thrown +herself into Miss Davis's personality for the moment that she had +entirely forgotten her own. "As regards you, I have been thinking that +you might come with me and help me as an under teacher. In this way you +might begin to be independent at the age of sixteen, and at the same +time continue your own studies under my superintendence. Later, when you +were more thoroughly fitted to be a governess, I could endeavour to +place you out in the world." + +"Oh, how good of you to think of it! You are very, very kind!" said +Hetty, though tears of disappointment rushed to her eyes. She crushed +back the ungrateful feeling of dismay which pressed upon her at the +thought of trying to teach in school. Her common-sense told her that +nothing could be more advantageous for her interests than the plan Miss +Davis had sketched for her. And she keenly appreciated the +thoughtfulness for her welfare which had led the governess to include +her in the scheme for her own future. + +"You would only have little children to teach at first," Miss Davis went +on, "until you grow accustomed to the work and gain confidence in +yourself. Of course this is only a suggestion which I make to you, that +you may turn it over in your thoughts and be ready to make arrangements +when the moment shall arrive. Perhaps by that time, however, Mr. Enderby +will be able to provide you with a pleasanter home." + +"I do not think so," said Hetty. "He could recommend me only as a +nursery governess, and if I were once in that position I could never +have any further opportunity to improve. With you I can continue my +studies." + +"This is precisely what I think," said Miss Davis, "and I am glad you +take such a sensible view of the matter. However, we need not speak of +this for a year to come." + +And so the conversation ended. Hetty longed to put her arms round Miss +Davis's neck and thank her warmly for her kindness, but she felt +instinctively that the governess would rather she abstained from all +such demonstrations. It was only when she went up to bed that she +allowed her thoughts to go back to the beautiful moment when she had +fancied Miss Davis might have been thinking of making her an artist; and +then she cried sadly as she thought of how foolish she had been in +imagining even for a second that such a wild improbability had come +true. + +However, Hetty awakened next morning with a wholesome feeling of +satisfaction in her mind which she could not at first account for. In a +few moments the conversation with Miss Davis rushed back upon her +memory, and she knew that her contentment was due to the prospect of +independence that had been put before her as so real and so near. Once +installed under Miss Davis's roof, teaching in school and earning the +bread she ate, neither servants nor companions could taunt her with +being a charity girl any more, Mr. Enderby's fears for her would then be +laid to rest, and the dread of disappointing him would be lifted off her +mind. In Miss Davis's school she could live and work until she had +acquired all that learning which to her was so hard to attain. + +With a sweet and brave, if not a glad, look on her face, Hetty came into +the school-room that morning and found Phyllis and Nell chatting more +gaily than usual at the fire. + +"Oh, Hetty," cried Nell, "you must hear our news! We are going to have +such a delightful visitor in the house." + +"How you rush to conclusions, Nell!" said her sister. "You have not seen +her yet, and you pronounce her delightful." + +"I know from what mamma told us," cried Nell. "She is pretty, amiable, +clever--and ever so rich. Only think, Hetty--to be an heiress at +twenty-one without anyone to keep you from doing just as you please! She +has a country house in France, and a house in London, with a good old +lady to take care of her, who does exactly what she bids her." + +"Mother did not say all that," said Phyllis. + +"Oh! but I gathered it all from what she did say." + +"Is she an orphan then?" asked Hetty. + +"She has neither father, nor mother, nor brother, nor sister. Now, +Hetty, don't look as if that was a misfortune. It is natural for you to +feel it, of course. But if you had houses, and horses, and carriages, +and money, you would not think it so bad to be able to do what you +liked." + +"Nell, I am shocked at you," said Miss Davis. "Would you give up your +parents for such selfish advantages as you describe?" + +"Oh dear no!" cried Nell. "But if I never had had them, like Reine +Gaythorne, and did not know anything about them, I daresay I could +manage to amuse myself in the world." + +This was the first mention of the name of Reine Gaythorne in the +Wavertree school-room, and it was certainly far from the last. Mrs. +Enderby had met the young lady at a neighbouring country house, and had +thought she would be a desirable acquaintance for her daughters. There +was something interesting about the circumstances which had placed a +young, beautiful, and wealthy girl alone, and her own mistress, in the +world. Mr. and Mrs. Enderby had been greatly attracted by her, and had +invited her to pay a visit at their house. + +In the course of a few days she arrived at the Hall, and then Phyllis +and Nell were but little in the school-room. + +Hetty and Miss Davis went on as usual filling their quiet hours with +work in their secluded corner of the house. A week passed away during +the visit of the charming stranger, and Hetty had never once seen Miss +Gaythorne. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +REINE GAYTHORNE. + + +Mrs. Enderby, her visitor, and her two daughters were sitting together +one morning at needlework in the pretty morning-room looking out on an +old walled garden, at Wavertree Hall. The distant ends of this old +garden, draped with ivy and creepers, had been made into a tennis +ground, a smooth trim green chamber lying behind the brilliant beds of +flowers. Sitting near the window the figures of the girls looked +charming against so picturesque a background. + +Miss Gaythorne's face, upraised to the light, was full of goodness, +sweetness, and intelligence. A low broad brow, soft bright dark eyes, a +rich brunette complexion, and red brown hair, so curly as to be gathered +with difficulty into a knot at the back of her neck, were some of this +girl's beauties which the eye could take in at a glance. A longer time +was necessary to discern all the fine traits of character that were so +artlessly expressed in turn by her speaking countenance. + +She wore a pretty dress of maroon cashmere and velvet, with delicate +ruffles of rich old yellow lace. Her dainty little French shoes and fine +gold ornaments were immensely admired by the two young girls beside her, +who were not yet "out," and were accustomed to be clothed in the +simplest attire. Not only her dress, but her accent, which was slightly +foreign, her peculiarly winning smiles, her merry little laugh and +graceful movements all seemed to the Enderbys more charming than could +be described. Even Phyllis, usually so critical, was taken captive by +their new friend, Reine. + +Miss Gaythorne was just finishing a piece of embroidery. She was very +skilful with her needle, and her work was pronounced perfection by +Phyllis and Nell. Mrs. Enderby joined her daughters in warm praise of +the delicate production to which their visitor was just now putting the +last touches. + +"I could so easily work one like it for you while I am here," said +Reine, "if I had only a new design. I do not like repeating the same +design." + +"I am sure Hetty could draw one for you," said Nell. + +"But I mean something original." + +"Oh! Hetty's drawings are original. She gathers a few flowers, and that +is all she wants to begin with." + +"She must be very clever. Who is Hetty, if I may ask?" + +"Oh! Hetty is--Hetty Gray. She lives in this house. She is an orphan +girl whom papa is educating to be a governess. She is always in the +school-room with Miss Davis." + +"Can she draw so cleverly?" + +"Yes; it comes to her naturally. I will get a bundle of her drawings +from papa to show you. He locked them up because she wanted to be an +artist and he did not approve of it." + +"It is well she did not want to go on the stage," said Phyllis. "She +used to be an extraordinary actress. However, she gave that up and took +a dislike to it. Perhaps she has now taken a dislike to drawing, and +will not care to make a design for Reine." + +"I am sure she will," said Nell. "Drawing is different from acting. +People don't feel shy about drawing. I will go directly and ask her." + +"Perhaps you would let me see her drawings first," said Miss Gaythorne. + +"Certainly," said Nell; "papa is in his study, and I will go and fetch +them." + +Mr. Enderby willingly surrendered the drawings to amuse and oblige the +cherished guest, and Hetty's work was spread out on a table before +Reine. + +"Why, these are beautiful," cried she; "and they are really done by a +girl of fourteen who never learned to draw!" + +"Really," said Nell, enjoying Miss Gaythorne's surprise. "And now, may +I ask Hetty to make you a design?" + +"If she would be so very good. If it would not give her too much +trouble--" + +"Why, Hetty will be simply enchanted at the request. She is not allowed +to draw, and of course the permission to do so will be delightful." + +"Not allowed to draw?" exclaimed Reine in astonishment. + +"Nell, how strangely you put things!" said Phyllis. "Father warned her +not to squander her time in drawing, while she has so much need to +study." + +Nell shrugged her shoulders. "Put it as you like, Phyllis," she said; +"Hetty is a born artist, and she is going to be thrust into the harness +of a governess." + +"It is well neither father nor mother is in the room," said Phyllis. +"They would be much grieved to hear you make such a speech. I don't know +where you get such ideas." + +"I don't know," said Nell; "they come to me sometimes." + +Reine listened in silence while she studied the drawings more closely. +She was something of an artist herself, and had a cultivated taste; and +a keen interest in the orphan girl who had a talent like this, and could +not be allowed to draw, was springing up within her. + +Nell soon danced off to tell Hetty what was required of her. + +"Miss Gaythorne wants you to make a design for her, of the size and +style of this, and you can use any flowers or foliage you please. Mother +hopes Miss Davis will allow you time to do it." + +Hetty felt a rush of delight, which made the colour mount to her +forehead. + +"Thank you, dear Nell," she said; "I know it is you who have got me this +piece of good fortune. I shall have some delicious hours over the work." + +"Now, mind you make it beautiful," cried Nell; "for I have staked my +reputation on you!" + +Hetty thought she had never been so happy in her life before, as she +went out to pick and choose among the flowers, looking for a theme for +her composition. At last she satisfied herself, and came back to the +school-room, and went to work. + +Miss Davis, who had been much pleased with her of late, looked on with +approval. She thought the girl had fairly earned a holiday and a treat. + +Hetty was more nervous over this drawing than she had been over any of +the others. With them she had been only working to please herself, and +of her own free will; but now it seemed as if the eyes of the world were +upon every line she drew. She spoiled several beginnings; and at last, +flushed and feverish, had to put away the work till to-morrow. + +"Drawing seems to be not all unmixed happiness any more than dates," +said Miss Davis, smiling at her anxious face. "Come now and have some +tea, or you will get a headache." + +The next day Hetty went to work again, and succeeded at last in +producing a striking and beautiful design. She was far from satisfied +with it herself, and said to Nell, "I fear your friend will not think it +good enough, but it is the best I can do." + +"I think it is lovely," said Nell; "and what trouble you have taken with +it! She will be hard to please if she does not like it." + +And then Nell fled away with it, and Hetty turned to her books again +with a happy feeling at her heart. It seemed to her that she had never +before had an opportunity of performing any voluntary service for those +who had been so generous towards her, but now she had been able to do +something which would really give pleasure to the guest in their house. +And then she wished she could see that charming Miss Gaythorne, who was +said to be fond of drawing, and to know a great deal about it. She +dreamed that night that she was walking through a picture-gallery with +the girl called Reine, who was pointing out all the beauties to her as +they went. + +In the meantime Reine was greatly delighted with the drawing. + +"The girl is really a little genius," she said; "will you not allow me +to make her acquaintance?" + +"I will ask mamma to invite her to the drawing-room some evening," said +Nell. "Mother does not like her to come often, for fear of spoiling her. +Phyllis has an idea that Hetty needs a great deal of keeping down; but I +think it is only because Phyllis is so good herself that she thinks so +badly of Hetty." + +Reine laughed, and a look of fun remained in her eyes a few moments +after this naive speech of Nell's. The peculiarities of Phyllis's style +of goodness had not escaped Miss Gaythorne's quick intelligence. + +"And mother minds what Phyllis thinks a great deal more than she minds +me; because Phyllis is so wise, and never gives her any trouble." + +The next morning at breakfast Reine said: + +"Do you know, Mr. Enderby, little Miss Gray has made me such a beautiful +drawing. She has a great talent. I can't help wishing you would let her +be an artist." + +"Has she been enlisting you against me?" said Mr. Enderby, with half a +smile and half a frown. + +"I have never even seen her," said Reine; "but I am greatly struck with +her work." + +"It is clever," assented the master of Wavertree; "but pray do not +arouse foolish ideas in the child's head--ideas which have been +fortunately laid to rest. I have great faith in the old warning, 'Beware +of the man of one book'; and I think Hetty will do better to stick to +what she has begun with. Under Miss Davis she has excellent +opportunities of becoming fitted to be a governess, which, after all, is +the safest career for a friendless woman. She lives in a respectable +home and is saved from many dangers. I do not hold with the new-fangled +notion of letting girls run about the world picking up professions." + +And then Mr. Enderby deliberately changed the conversation. + +However, Reine could not forget the little artist; and that evening, +being dressed for dinner rather early, she suddenly bethought her of +making her way uninvited to the school-room. + +"I really must see her and thank her," she reflected; "and I will ask +pardon of Mrs. Enderby afterwards for the liberty." And then she set out +to look for the school-room. + +It happened that Hetty was sitting all alone at the school-room table; +her chin in her hand, her eyes fixed on the pages of a book. A window +behind her, framing golden sky and deep-coloured foliage, made her the +foreground figure of a striking picture. Her dark head and flowing hair, +her pale but richly-tinted face with its thoughtful brow and intelligent +mouth, her little warm brown hand and wrist were all softly and +distinctly defined against the glories of the distance. As Reine opened +the door and came in, Hetty looked up as much startled as if an angel +had come to visit her. + +Reine was dressed all in white shimmering silk, which enhanced the +beauty of her bright brunette face. Her soft luminous eyes beamed on +Hetty as she advanced to her with outstretched hands. + +"I came to see you and thank you," she began; "I am Reine Gaythorne +and--" + +Suddenly, as Hetty sprang to her feet and came forward smiling and +facing the light, Reine's little speech died on her tongue, and a sharp +cry broke from her. + +"My mother!" she exclaimed in a tone of deep feeling, and stood gazing +at Hetty as if a ghost had risen up before her. + +Hetty retreated a step, and the two girls stood gazing at each other. +Miss Gaythorne recovered herself quickly, but her hands and voice were +trembling as she took Hetty's fingers in her own. + +"Have I frightened you, dear?" she said; "but oh, if you knew how +strangely, how wonderfully like you are to my darling mother." + +"Your mother?" stammered Hetty. + +"Such a sweet beauty of a young mother she was as I remember her--and I +have a likeness of her at your age;--it seems to me that you are the +living image of it." + +"How very strange!" said Hetty, with a thrill of delight at the thought +that she was like anybody belonging to this charming girl, especially +her mother. Hetty had fascinating fancies of her own about an ideal +mother; no real mother she had known had ever reached her standard. But +Reine's mother must surely have been up to the mark. And to be told that +she, Hetty, was like her! She drew nearer to Reine, who put her arms +round her neck and kissed her. + +"I can't tell you how I feel," said Reine, holding her off and looking +at her. "I feel as if you belonged to me someway." + +"Don't turn my head," pleaded Hetty wistfully. "Please remember I have +no relations and must not expect to be loved. I have had great trouble +about that; and it has been very hard for them to manage me." + +"Has it?" said Reine doubtfully. + +"As I'm now nearly grown up," said Hetty, "of course I have had to learn +to behave myself; so don't spoil me." + +"I wish I could," said Reine. "I mean I wish I could get the chance. Oh, +don't look at me like that. But yes, do. Oh, Hetty, my mother, my +mother!" + +And Reine leaned her arms on the table, and laid her head on them, and +wept. + +Hetty stood by wondering, and stroked her head timidly for sympathy. + +"Don't think me a great goose," said Reine, looking up. And then +suddenly silent again she sat staring at Hetty. After a few moments she +sprang up and folded her arms round her and held her close. + +"You strange darling, where have you come from; and how am I ever to let +you go again?" + +A step was heard at the door, and Reine and Hetty instinctively withdrew +from each other's embrace. There was something sacred about the feeling +which had so suddenly and unexpectedly overpowered them both. + +Nell came in. + +"Reine, I have been looking for you everywhere." + +"I came here to thank Miss Gray for her design," said Reine, "and I +don't think I have even mentioned it yet." + +"You are as pale as death," said Nell. "What has Hetty been saying to +you?" + +"Nothing," said Reine absently, her eyes going back to Hetty's face and +fixing themselves there. + +"How you stare at each other!" said Nell, "and I declare your two faces +are almost the same this moment." + +"Nell!" + +"I always said you were like each other, though Phyllis could not see +it. Now I am sure of it." + +A wild look came into Reine's face. + +"That would be too strange," she said; "for she is so like--so +like--some one--Oh, Nell, she is the very image of my mother!" + +"Your mother!" echoed Nell, gazing at Hetty and thinking she did not +look like anybody's mother, with her short frock and flowing hair. + +"But there is the dinner-bell!" she cried, glad of the interruption; for +Nell had a great dislike of anything like a sentimental scene. "You must +talk about all this afterwards, for we must not be late." + +"I will come," said Reine, passing her handkerchief over her face. "Do I +look as if I had been crying." + +"Your nose is a little red," said Nell; "but they will think it is the +cold." + +"Then don't say anything about this," said Reine; "but I must come and +see Hetty again. Goodnight, darling little mother!" + +"Reine, all my respect for you is gone," said Nell as they hastened +toward the dining-room. "I thought you were as wise as Phyllis. And to +think of you crying and kissing like that because Hetty reminds you +of--" + +"Don't, Nell," said Reine. "I can't bear any more just now." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +IF SHE WAS DROWNED, HOW CAN SHE BE HETTY? + + +A few friends had joined the Wavertree family circle that evening, and +Reine had no further opportunity of speaking about Hetty. She was absent +and thoughtful; but wakened up when asked to sing, and sang a thrilling +little love song with such power and sweetness as went to everybody's +heart. She was thinking as she sang of Hetty's face, and it was her +strange yearning for Hetty's love that inspired her to sing as she did. + +That night she could not sleep. Her mother's eyes, with the loving look +she remembered so well, were gazing at her from all the corners of the +room. Her mind went back over the recollections of her childhood; and +her father's voice and her mother's smiles were with her as though she +had only said good-night to both parents an hour ago. The lonely girl, +who had everything that the world could offer her, except that which she +longed for most, the affection of family and kindred, felt the very +depths of her heart shaken by the experience of the past evening. That a +girl who seemed so much a part of herself should have risen up beside +her, and yet be nothing to her, seemed something too curious to be +understood. Her imagination went to work upon the possibilities of Mr. +Enderby's being induced to give Hetty up to her altogether, to be her +adopted sister and to live with her for evermore. She was aware that +people would distrust this sudden fancy for a stranger, and that +opposition would probably be offered to her plan; but then she was not +her own mistress; and by perseverance she must surely succeed in the +end. + +Oh, the delight of having a sister! Reine had had a sister, a baby +sister lost in infancy, and had often taken a sad pleasure in fancying +what that sister might have been like if she had lived. She had been six +years younger than Reine. Hetty was fifteen, about the age that the +little sister might now have been. Reine sat up in her bed and counted +the years between fifteen and twenty-one twice over on her fingers to +make perfectly sure. Hetty was the very age of the little sister. And so +like her mother! If the baby sister of whom she had been bereft could be +still alive, then Reine would have declared she must be Hetty. + +She was now in a fever of excitement. Her curly brown hair had risen in +a mop of rings and ringlets around her head with tossing on her pillow, +her eyes were round and bright, and a burning spot was on each of her +cheeks. At last she sprang out of bed and in a minute was at Nell's +bed-room door. + +Nell was awakened out of a sound sleep by the opening of her door. + +"Don't be frightened, Nell; I'm not a burglar--only Reine." + +"What's the matter?" said Nell, rubbing her eyes. "Have you got the +toothache?" + +"I never had toothache. I want to know something." + +"I often want to know things," said Nell, now sitting bolt upright in +her little bed; "I'm sometimes _dying_ of curiosity. But it never +routed me out of my sleep in the middle of the night." + +"It's about Hetty," said Reine, sitting on the floor in a faint streak +of moonlight, and looking like a spirit--if spirits have curly hair. + +"You've gone Hetty-mad!" said Nell; "wouldn't Hetty keep till morning? +We're not going to transport her or lock her up. You will have all next +week to sit looking at her." + +"Where did you get her?" asked Reine. "I know she is a foundling; but +she must have had a beginning somewhere." + +"Of course she had; and a most peculiar one. She was found on the Long +Sands. That is a place three miles from Wavertree on the sea-shore, +where wrecks often come in. John Kane, one of the carters, found her, +and Mrs. Kane took her home. Then Aunt Amy, who is dead, fancied her and +adopted her. When Aunt Amy died she was left unprovided for, and papa +brought her here; and here she is." + +"Found on the shore where wrecks come in! And she is just fifteen. Oh, +Nell, are you sure you are telling the truth?" + +There was a sound in Reine's voice that startled Nell. + +"The plain truth. Every village child knows it. What has it got to do +with you?" + +"I don't know. I don't know. I am afraid to think. Why, Nell, listen to +me. When I was a child of seven years old, my mother and father took me +to France. They had inherited a property there and were going to take +possession of it. They were fond of the sea, and they long travelled by +sea. While still near this coast the vessel was overtaken by storm and +wrecked. My father, mother, and myself were saved. But my little baby +sister was washed out of my mother's arms and drowned." + +"Well?" + +"Well!" + +"If she was drowned how can she be Hetty, if that is what you mean?" + +"They thought she was drowned. We were taken into another vessel and +carried on to France." + +"And never asked any more questions about the baby?" + +"I don't know. My father and mother are both dead," said Reine +pathetically; "I am sure they did all they could. But I know they +thought they saw her drowned before their eyes." + +"And I suppose they did. Reine, stop walking about the floor like Crazy +Jane, in your bare feet, and either come into my bed or go back to your +own." + +"I am going," said Reine; "please forgive me, Nell, for spoiling your +sleep." + +"Don't mention it. We can talk all the rest in the morning. If you are +allowed to go on any more now, you will be mad to-morrow, and, what is +worse, you will have a cold in your head." + +Nell curled herself up in her pillows again, and was soon fast asleep. +But Reine could not sleep; and came down to breakfast next morning +looking as pale as a ghost. + +After Mr. Enderby had gone to his study Nell began: + +"Mamma, do you know Reine has got a bee in her bonnet!" + +"My dear, where did you get such an expression?" + +"Never mind. It is quite accurate. She believes that Hetty is her sister +who was drowned when she was a baby." + +Mrs. Enderby looked at Reine with a face of extreme surprise. + +"Nell talks so much nonsense," she said, "that I scarcely know what to +think of her speeches sometimes." And then seeing Reine's eyes full of +tears, she added kindly: + +"Dear child, is there any grain of truth in what this wild little +scatter-brain has said?" + +Reine burst into tears. + +"Don't mind me, Mrs. Enderby, please; I have been awake all night, and I +don't feel like myself. It is only that Hetty Gray is so--so +_distressingly_ like my mother. And Nell says she was found on the +sea-shore after a storm and wrecks. And it is fourteen years ago. And +that is the very time when our vessel was wrecked, and my father and +mother believed that our baby was drowned. Oh, Mrs. Enderby, only think! +Is it not enough to turn my head?" + +"It is a very remarkable coincidence at least," said Mrs. Enderby; "but, +dear Reine, try to compose your thoughts. You must not jump too hastily +at conclusions. At the end of fourteen years it will be very difficult +to find evidence to prove or disprove what you imagine may be true." + +Reine shook her head. "I have thought of that; I have thought of it all +night." + +"In the first place, are you quite sure about the dates?" + +"Quite, on my own side. I have a little New Testament in which my father +wrote down, the day after our rescue, the date of the wreck and a record +of the baby's death." + +"We must send for Mrs. Kane," said Mrs. Enderby; "and hear what she has +to say before we allow our imaginations to run away with us." + +"And oh, Mrs. Enderby,--if you saw the likeness of my mother at just +Hetty's age! May I telegraph for it at once--to let you see it?" + +"Certainly, my dear; for it and that copy of the Testament. But not a +word to Hetty. It would be cruel to run the risk of subjecting her to a +heavy disappointment" + +The telegram was sent; and Mrs. Kane appeared, wondering greatly why +she was wanted at the Hall in such a hurry. + +"Now, Mrs. Kane," said Mrs. Enderby, "here is a young lady who is +greatly interested in the story of the finding of Hetty Gray on the Long +Sands by your husband, and I have promised she shall hear of it from +your own lips." + +They were all gathered round a sunny window in the great brown hall, +lined with carved oak and decorated with armour and antlers. Mrs. +Enderby herself pushed a stately old oaken chair towards the rose-framed +sash and said encouragingly: + +"Sit down, Mrs. Kane, and make yourself comfortable. There is nothing to +be nervous about. You know we are all friends of your favourite, Hetty." + +Mrs. Kane was trembling with some curious excitement, and could not +remove her eyes from Reine Gaythorne's face. + +"I do not know who the young lady may be, ma'am," she said, "but this I +will say, that she is as like my Hetty as if she was her own born +sister." + +A flood of colour rushed over Reine's pale face, and she clasped her +hands and fixed her eyes on Mrs. Enderby. + +"Never mind that," said Mrs. Enderby, "tell the young lady what you +remember." + +"There's but little to tell," said Mrs. Kane, "beyond what everybody +knows. John happened to be down upon the sands that night, and he got +the baby lying at his feet. He brought her to me wrapped in his coat, +and says he, 'Anne, here's God has sent us a little one.' And we kept it +for our own, seeing that nobody asked for it. I have the day and the +year written in my prayer-book; for I said to myself, some day, may-be, +her friends will come looking for her--out of the sea, or over the land, +or whatever way providence will send them. And for one whole week we +called her nothing but 'H.G.'" + +"H.G.!" echoed Reine. + +"Those were the letters wrought upon the shoulder of her beautiful +little shift," said Mrs. Kane. "And afterwards we made out that they +stood for Hetty Gray." + +"She had on a little shift?" + +"Mrs. Rushton got it," said Mrs. Kane. "The finest bit of baby clothes I +ever set my eyes on." + +Reine had come close to Mrs. Kane, and her lips were trembling as she +went on questioning her: + +"Were the letters in white embroidery--satin stitch they call it? Were +they all formed of little flowers curling in and out about the letters; +and was the chemise of fine cambric with a narrow hem?" + +"That's the description as plain as if you were looking at it," said +Mrs. Kane. + +"I have half a dozen like it at home in one of my mother's drawers," +said Reine turning red and pale. "Where is this little garment? is it +not to be found?" + +"I have it, dear," said Mrs. Enderby quietly. "After Mrs. Rushton's +death I took possession of it. I hardly anticipated so happy a day as +this for poor Hetty, but I thought it my duty to take care of it." + +The little chemise was produced, and Reine identified it as one of the +set belonging to her baby sister supposed to have been drowned, and +marked with her initials standing for Helen Gaythorne. + +"My mother marked them herself," said Reine, examining the embroidery as +well as she could through eyes blinded by tears. "She was wonderfully +skilful with her needle, and took a pride in marking all our things with +initials designed by herself. Oh, Mrs. Enderby, is not this evidence +enough?" + +"It seems to me so," said Mrs. Enderby, "especially taken with the dates +and the likeness to your family. When your mother's portrait comes----" + +"I must send for the little baby-garments too," said Reine; "but oh, why +need we wait for anything more? May I not run to my sister, Mrs. +Enderby?" + +"Calm yourself, my dear Reine, and be persuaded to take my advice. We +must consult a lawyer and get information as to the wrecking of the +vessel, and the place where the shipwreck occurred. It will then be seen +whether it was possible for a child lost on the occasion to have lived +to be washed in upon this shore." + +"Possible or not, it happened!" cried Reine. "Oh, Mrs. Enderby, unless +you can make me sleep through the interval I shall never have patience +to wait." + +The portrait of Reine's mother taken at fifteen years of age and the +packet of tiny embroidered chemises arrived the next morning from +London. The former looked exactly like a picture of Hetty; the latter +was the counterpart of the baby-garment produced by Mrs. Enderby from a +drawer of her own. Mr. Enderby was then consulted, and admitted that the +case seemed established in Hetty's favour. However, prudent like his +wife, he insisted that nothing should be said to Hetty till lawyers had +been consulted, and information about the wreck of the vessel obtained. + +In the meantime Reine was abruptly sent home to London. + +"She will make herself ill if she is allowed to stay in the house with +Hetty, and obliged to be silent towards her as to her discovery," said +Mr. Enderby. "When the chain of evidence is complete, we can think of +what to do." + +So Mr. Enderby himself carried off Reine to London that very night. + +"It will be necessary to come, my dear," he said, "and make inquiries at +once. You will thus arrive more quickly at your end. Now just run into +the school-room for a minute and say good-bye to Hetty. But if you love +her, say nothing to disturb the child's peace." + +It cost Reine a great struggle to obey these sudden orders; but she saw +their drift, and was wise enough not to oppose them. In her travelling +dress she appeared in the school-room, where Hetty, all unconscious of +the wonderful change for her that was hanging in the balance of Fate, +sat at work as usual with Miss Davis. + +"I have come to say good-bye," said Reine; "I am called off to London in +a hurry. But you must not forget me. We shall surely meet again." + +Hetty's heart sank with bitter disappointment She had been living in a +sort of dream since yesterday, a dream of happiness at being so suddenly +and unexpectedly loved by this sweet girl who had risen up like an angel +in her path. The hope of seeing her again and enjoying her friendship +had kept a glow of joy within her, which now went out and left darkness +in its place. She strove to keep her face from showing how deeply she +felt what seemed like caprice in Reine. + +Reine looked in her face with that long strange gaze which had so +impressed Hetty's heart and imagination, smothered a sob, snatched a +kiss from her sister's quivering lips, held her a moment in a close +embrace, and then turned abruptly and was gone. + +"Miss Gaythorne seems a rather impulsive young lady," said Miss Davis +disapprovingly. "I wish she had taken a fancy to some one else than my +pupil. You must try to forget her, Hetty. Girls like her, with wealth +and power and nobody to control them, are apt to become capricious, and +work mischief with people who have business to attend to. I hope you +understand me, Hetty." + +"Yes," said Hetty with a long sigh. + +"You must not expect to see Miss Gaythorne again. She will probably have +forgotten you to-morrow." + +Miss Davis was not in the secret which was occupying the minds of +several of the inmates of Wavertree Hall. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +HAPPY HETTY. + + +About three weeks had passed away. Hetty had endured the worst throes of +her disappointment, and had almost succeeded in banishing Reine out of +her thoughts. She had steadily turned away her eyes from looking back at +that beautiful evening, when, as if by enchantment, a girl who looked +and spoke like a sister had held her in a loving embrace, lavishing +kisses and loving words upon her, Hetty, who was known to be nobody's +child. The quiet studious days went on as if no brilliant interruption +had ever flashed in upon them. Miss Davis, at Mrs. Enderby's desire, +kept Hetty more than ordinarily busy, and hindered her from paying her +customary visits to Mrs. Kane. Mrs. Enderby distrusted the good woman's +ability to keep a secret, and, with that prudence which had always +distinguished her in her dealings with Hetty, she was resolved that the +girl should hear no whisper to disturb her tranquillity till such time +as her identity should be considered satisfactorily proved. + +At the end of three weeks' time, however, news came from London to Mr. +Enderby which placed it beyond a doubt that Hetty was Helen Gaythorne, +the baby who had been supposed to be drowned. Although Mrs. Enderby and +her daughters had been prepared for this result of the inquiries that +had been on foot, yet the established fact, with its tremendous +importance for Hetty, seemed to come on them with a shock. The child who +had been protected in their house, no longer needed their protection. +The girl who was to have been sent out soon as a governess to earn her +bread, would henceforth have pleasant bread to eat in a sister's +luxurious home. The dependant, whom it had been thought judicious to +snub, was now the equal of those who had so prudently dealt with her +according to their lights. + +Mr. and Mrs. Enderby were extremely pleased at the child's good fortune, +and thankful that they had not been induced to send her to a charity +school. + +"You are always right, dear," said Mrs. Enderby, looking at her husband +with pride. "When I was a coward in the matter you insisted on having +her here. And if she had gone elsewhere she would never have met Reine, +and her identity could hardly have been discovered." + +"And her sister may thank you that she does not receive her a spoiled, +passionate, unmanageable monkey. Your prudent treatment of the girl has +had admirable results. Her demeanour has pleased me very much of late. +Meekness and obedience have taken the place of her wilfulness and +pride." + +Nell was perfectly wild with excitement and delight, clapped her hands +over her head and danced about the room. + +"I was always the one who liked Hetty the best," she said triumphantly, +"and now she will remember it. She will ask me to France to stay with +her. And nobody can warn me any more not to give her too much +encouragement. I can be allowed to make a companion of Miss Helen +Gaythorne." + +"What a very unpleasant way you always have of twisting things!" said +Phyllis, who had been remarkably silent all along as to the change in +Hetty's circumstances. "I am as glad as anyone of Hetty's discovery; but +I do not see why it should make any difference to us." + +"Phyllis takes a more disinterested view of the matter than you do, +Nell," said Mrs. Enderby smiling; "but then my Phyllis was always a wise +little girl." + +Nell pouted, and Phyllis held her head high. Mrs. Enderby thought she +knew the hearts of both. But the woman who could be so exceedingly +prudent in the management of "nobody's child" was blind to a great deal +that required skilful treatment in the characters and dispositions of +her own daughters. + +Miss Davis was more affected than anyone in the house by the news of +Hetty's extraordinary good fortune. Unconsciously to herself she had +learned to love the girl, whom she had counted upon having by her side +for many years to come, and it was not without a pang that she saw the +young figure disappear suddenly out of her future. Hetty alone knew +nothing of the change that had befallen her. + +"No, my dear," said Mrs. Enderby to Nell, "I will not allow you to tell +her. Indeed, I am a little nervous about the matter, for Hetty is such a +strangely impressionable girl one never knows what way she will take +things. I must break the truth to her myself." + +So Hetty was sent for to Mrs. Enderby's dressing-room, and went with +rather a heavy heart, thinking some complaint had been made of her. She +had never been so sent for except when trouble was impending. + +"I must try to be patient," she was thinking as she went up the stairs. +"I do not know what I can have done so very wrong, but I suppose there +must be something." + +But her sadness was soon turned into amazement and joy. + +"Hetty," said Mrs. Enderby, "Miss Gaythorne wishes to have you with her +in London, on a visit. Mr. Enderby and I have consented to allow you to +go; and I suppose you will not object to give her pleasure." + +"Miss Gaythorne!" exclaimed Hetty, scarcely believing she had heard +rightly. + +"She has taken a fancy to you, and wishes to have you with her. She is a +charming girl, and I am sure she will make you happy." + +Hetty's face, glowing with delight, sufficiently answered this last +speech; but her tongue could find no words. + +"In fact, I may as well tell you," continued Mrs. Enderby, "that Reine +has discovered you are some kind of relation of hers; and, as she is her +own mistress and very independent, she will be disposed to make the most +of the relationship." + +Hetty was turning slowly pale. "Relationship!" she murmured. "Am I +really related to Miss Gaythorne?" and Reine's cry, "My mother, oh, my +mother!" seemed to ring again in her ears. + +"I believe so, my dear. There, do not think too much of it. At all +events, you are to go to her now, and she will tell you all about it. +But mind, you and she are to come back and spend Christmas with us. Mark +will be at home then, and he will be anxious to see his old playfellow." + +"Christmas!" echoed Hetty, in new astonishment. This was only the end of +September. + +"You see, I fancy Reine will not let you go in a hurry once she has got +you," said Mrs. Enderby; "and now, my dear, don't stand there in a dream +any longer, but run away and get ready for the mid-day train. Mr. +Enderby has to do some business in London, and he will leave you in +Portland Place. No, you will not have time to go to see Mrs. Kane. I +will give her your love, and tell her you will see her when you come +back." + +"I am not going to have her told till she is in her sister's house," +reflected Mrs. Enderby; "and Mrs. Kane would be sure to pour out +everything suddenly. The child is of so excitable a nature, I do not +know what might be the consequences to her." + +That she could not say good-bye to Mrs. Kane made the only flaw in +Hetty's happiness; but she left a little note for her with Miss Davis, +who promised to have it safely delivered. And then, with smiles and good +wishes from everyone, and pondering over a few mysterious glances which +she caught passing from one person to another over her head, Hetty took +her place by Mr. Enderby in his trap, and was whirled away to the +railway-station. + +Mr. Enderby talked to her kindly as they went along, about the pleasures +in store for her in London, especially in the picture-galleries, as she +had a taste for art. + +"And always remember, my dear," he said, "that in the rules I laid down +for your education with a view to your future, I acted as I thought best +for your good." + +Hetty said warmly, "I know--I am sure of that"; and then she began to +wonder at his curious manner of speaking, as if all his dealings with +her were in the past, and he had no longer any control over her. Could +it be, she asked herself, that Reine was going to take her and have her +taught to be an artist? + +The thought was too delightful to be borne with, considering the +likelihood of disappointment. She tried to put it out of her head, and +listened to Mr. Enderby as he talked to her of Westminster Abbey and the +Tower. + +That afternoon about five o'clock, in a certain handsome drawing-room in +Portland Place, Reine was flitting about restlessly with flushed cheeks, +now re-arranging the roses in some jar, now picking up her embroidery +and putting a few stitches in it, then going to the window and looking +out. The afternoon tea equipage was on a little table beside her, but +she did not help herself to a cup. She was evidently waiting for some +one. + +At last there was a sound of wheels stopping, and Reine's trembling +hands dropped her work into her basket. A ring came to the door, and +Reine was in the middle of the room, pressing her hands together, and +listening to the closing of the door with impatient delight. + +"Miss Helen Gaythorne!" announced the servant, who knew that his +mistress's young sister was expected, and who had not asked Hetty for +her name. In the excitement of the moment Hetty heard, but hardly +understood the announcement. She thought the servant had made a curious +blunder. + +"Mr. Enderby will come in the evening," began Hetty advancing shyly, and +then, as the servant disappeared, she raised her eyes and saw Reine. + +"Hetty--Helen! my darling! my sister!" cried Reine, snatching her into +her arms and laughing and crying on her shoulder. + +"Sister?" murmured Hetty breathlessly, feeling quite stunned. "Oh, Miss +Gaythorne, what are you saying?" + +"Do you mean that they have not told you?" cried Reine, covering her +face with kisses. + +"Some kind of a relation," murmured Hetty, "that was what they told me. +Oh, Miss Gaythorne, think of what you have said! Do not make fun of me, +I cannot bear it." + +"Fun of you! Why, Hetty, Helen! I tell you, you are my sister. My +ownest, dearest, darlingest daughter of my mother--the mother you are so +like!" + +"But how--how can it be?" asked Hetty with a look almost of terror on +her face. + +"You are our baby who was supposed to have been drowned," said Reine. +_"That's_ how it comes to be. We were wrecked going to France, and you +were washed out of my mother's arms. And we thought you were drowned. +But God was keeping you safe for me at Wavertree." + +"How have you found it all out?" said Hetty, still holding fast by her +doubt, which seemed the only plank that could save her from destruction +in case this enchanting story should prove to be all a dream. + +"It is completely proved, you little sceptic!" cried Reine. "Mr. Enderby +would not have you told till the lawyers had pronounced you to be Helen +Gaythorne. So ask me no more questions at present, but give me back some +of my kisses. You and I are never going to part any more; are we?" + +Hetty gave her a long, strange, troubled look, and then suddenly broke +out into wild weeping. + +"Oh, is it true? Is it really true? Oh, Reine, my sister; if, after +this, it comes to be false--I shall die!" + +"It cannot come to be false, because it is reality," insisted Reine, as +she rocked her weeping sister in her arms. "I shall be mother and sister +and all to you, Helen--my poor little motherless darling! Cry away, my +dearest, for this once, and then you shall have some tea. And after that +you are never to cry any more. You and I will have a great deal too much +to say and do together to spend our time over crying. But oh, +Hetty--Helen--if mother and father were only here this day!" + +And then Reine cried again herself, and Hetty was the comforter. They +sat with their young heads together and their warm cheeks touching, and +told as much of their life's stories to each other as they could think +of at the moment. To Reine the great discovery had come gradually, and +so the present hour was not so strange as it was to Hetty. For Hetty the +world seemed to have got suddenly under a spell of enchantment. She +could not believe in herself as Helen Gaythorne--could not get +accustomed to her new vision of life. + +"And I shall not need to be a governess. And perhaps I may be an artist +if I like." + +"You will not need to be either. There is enough of wealth for both of +us," said Reine. "But you can study art to your heart's content. And we +will go to Italy. And you shall be as happy as a queen." + + * * * * * + +And here I think we may take leave of Hetty Gray, in the fulness of her +happiness, and in Reine's loving arms. When I last heard of the sisters +they were leading a busy, active, and joyous life. John Kane having +died, Mrs. Kane has found a home with them; and Scamp, who is now quite +an old dog, spends his days in tranquil ease at Hetty's feet. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HETTY GRAY*** + + +******* This file should be named 15538.txt or 15538.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/5/3/15538 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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