Frederica and her Guardians Part 10

Is she really better? Why! here she is," said Frederica in surprise.

"Here are Jack and Jill at any rate."

Yes, there were Jack and Jill, but there was not Mrs Vane nor Selina.

A very pretty lady--two of them indeed--leaned back in the carriage.

Frederica turned astonished and indignant eyes from them to her father as the carriage stopped.

"Your mama gave herself the pleasure of lending her carriage to Mrs Clifford to-day," said Mr Vane, and Frederica knew by his tone and manner that he was annoyed, though it would not have done to show it to the rest of the party.

"Let Miss Vane come with us," said one of the ladies. "We can easily make room for her, can we not, Mrs Clifford?"

Mrs Clifford was not quite sure, but Frederica declined the invitation with a stately little curtsey, and turned to her father again.

"Do come with us, Miss Frederica," said Major Hargrave, a gentleman whom Frederica had several times seen before: "the day is lovely, and you will enjoy it."

"Is it a pic-nic? Thank you. It would be very nice, I daresay, but I would rather not. Good-bye, papa; I am afraid Miss Pardie will be very angry with me."

"And no wonder," said her father, laughing. The admiring glances which he saw exchanged quite dispelled his momentary vexation.

"We could manage to soothe her, I think," said he. "Would you like to go, Fred? Where is Tessie?"

"Tessie is not walking to-day. She was naughty, and remained at home.

No, I thank you, papa. If there were no other reason, I could not go because of Tessie. It would be too cruel to go and leave her."

"Naughty! what has she done? It would serve her right to leave her if she has been naughty."

"Oh! as to that, yes. She was very wrong. She was playing Madame Bulbat for the girls, and Madame heard her, and was in a rage of course.

And Miss Robina was obliged to be very severe with the child to keep the peace. I cannot go, papa; but I daresay, if you were to ask her, Miss Pardie would let me go and see mama for a little while."

But Mr Vane shook his head with sufficient decision.

"No: mama is all right. You are far better at school. She does not need you."

But pleased with the whispered admiration of the foolish people who were with him, and willing to prolong the pleasure, he moved away with his little daughter in the direction of the line of returning school girls, saying he must make the child's peace with her teacher; and he quite won Miss Pardie's heart by his manner of entreating it at her hands.

"Was that your mama in the carriage, and your sister?" asked one of her companions, as they went on together. "I think they might have asked you to go with them."

"My mama, indeed! That great red woman!" said Frederica scornfully.

"She was very pretty," said her friend. "That is because she did not ask you to go with them."

"She did ask me. I did not choose to go."

"Because of your print dress? Of course you could not have gone in that."

Thus her friend chattered on, and Frederica answered at random or not at all, thinking of other things. For it did not make her sure that her mother was well again, that her father had said so. And though it was no new thing to her knowledge that her father should seek his own pleasure, without giving a thought to her mother in her enforced retirement, it struck her with new and sharp pain to-day, and her anxious and unhappy thoughts came back again with double force.

"I have a great mind to go home without asking anybody," she said to herself. But she knew she must not.

She was, for the moment, very unhappy, and it was with a slow step and a sad face that she went to make her confession to Miss Robina. For though Miss Pardie had graciously accepted Mr Vane's apologies for his daughter's behaviour, that was only as far as he was concerned. She had her confession to make to Miss Robina all the same; and it is possible that Miss Pardie was not without hope that, for the moral effect of the thing, she would not be permitted to escape without punishment, or at least without reproof. She got no punishment, however, and Miss Robina's reproof was of the gentlest, when it was explained to her that "she had been so anxious to hear about mama."

"And I am afraid it was not good news you heard, from the sad face I see," said Miss Robina, kissing her.

"Papa said she was well, so I suppose she is at least not worse. Am I to be punished, Miss Robina? I think Miss Pardie expects it."

"You mean you think you deserve it. Well, you must be sent upstairs for a while. Take these strawberries to Eppie, and save me the stairs, and you need not hasten down again."

So Frederica went slowly upstairs, believing herself to be very unhappy, little thinking how much more unhappy she was to be before she came down again. Eppie was not in her room, which was an unusual circ.u.mstance at that hour of the afternoon, and Frederica set down the tiny basket of strawberries on the table, and went to her favourite seat in the west window, with her lesson-book in her hand. In a little while she heard the slow, unequal steps of Eppie on the stairs, and saw her come in with a great bundle in her arms, and watched her as she carefully laid each garment in its place. She did not speak, and in a minute there were other footsteps on the stairs, and Mrs Glencairn came into the room.

Frederica ought to have spoken then. She ought to have made them aware of her presence in the room. But almost the first words she heard startled her so much, as to take away her power of speech, and to make her forget how wrong it was for her to listen to that which was not meant for her ears.

She did not hear all that was said, nor did she know how long it had taken to say it, but when she saw the door close, and heard Mrs Glencairn's footsteps going slowly down the stairs, she slid from her seat on the window, and confronted Eppie with a white face and angry eyes. The old woman uttered an exclamation, and drew back with uplifted hands.

"Tell me what she meant, Eppie."

"Miss Frederica! Who would think that you would come and frighten a body out of their wits in that wild way? You have given me a turn that I winna get over this while."

"Tell me what she said," repeated Frederica.

But Eppie, hoping that she might have heard little, had no mind to tell her what her mistress had said.

"I would hae thought it o' any o' our young leddies rather than of you, p.u.s.s.y. Eh, fie! to be hearkening to what other folk are saying! What think you Miss Robina would say gin I were to tell her?"

But Frederica put her words aside with an impatient gesture.

"Tell me, or I will go to Mrs Glencairn."

"'Deed you'll do nothing of the kind. She has had trouble enew already, and it just needs you to go with thae bleezing een o' yours to upset her altogether. Bide still where you are, like a good bairn."

Frederica sat down, and neither of them spoke for a while.

"Eppie," said she at last, "I think I understand, but I am not quite sure. Tell me, so that I need not make a mistake, or bring any one into trouble."

"Whisht, la.s.sie! It's a matter you hae nothing to do with, and I counsel you no' to make nor meddle in it."

"You are mistaken, Eppie; there is no one but me to put this right, unless mama is to be troubled. And she shall not be troubled. Is this it? For more than a year and a half Mrs Glencairn has received nothing--absolutely nothing--for all that she has done for Tessie and me. She has asked for it more than once, but she has received nothing.

I wish to understand."

Eppie looked at her, but did not answer. The shrewd old woman had seldom been so utterly at a loss before.

"My dear," said she, "it might have happened to anybody."

"And we have been living on charity--Tessie and I?"

"Hoot, la.s.sie! dinna speak nonsense. It is all to the fore. And it is a good thing, for it might have been spent, and now it is waiting for Miss Robina to do what she likes with; to go and see her sister, maybe.

It's a good thing that it's to the fore."

Frederica looked at her without a word.

"I would advise you no' to meddle in the matter. It will be all settled as it ought to be, and Miss Robina would be ill pleased that you should ken. And it will be all right, you may be sure," said Eppie cheerfully.