The New Mistress Part 40

Hazel shook her head and smiled.

"No, mother dear; you are too partial. Engagements are not so plentiful as that. Think it over, and you will look at the matter differently.

We have not the means at our command to think of moving now."

"But we must leave, Hazel, and at once," cried Mrs Thorne excitedly.

"I cannot and I will not stay here."

"But it would be unreasonable and foolish, dear, to think of doing so under our present circ.u.mstances. For the children's sake--for Percy's sake, pray be more considerate. We must not think of it at present.

After a time, perhaps, I may have the offer of a better post and the change may be such a one as you will like. Come, dear, try and be content a little longer, and all will be right in the end."

"Hazel," cried Mrs Thorne angrily, "I insist upon your giving up this school at once!"

"My dear mother!"

"Now, no excuses, Hazel I say I insist upon your giving up this school at once, and I will be obeyed. Do you forget that I am your mother? Is my own child to rise up in rebellion against me? How dare you? How dare you, I say?"

"But my dear mother, if we decide to leave, where are we to go? Where is the money to pay for our removal? You know as well as I do that, in spite of my care, we are some pounds in the tradespeople's debt."

"Now she throws that in my face, when I have worked so hard to make both ends meet, and cut and contrived over the housekeeping, thinking and striving and straining, and now this is my reward!"

"I do not blame you, dear," said Hazel sadly; "I only think it was a pity that you should have ordered goods for which we had not the money to pay."

"And was I--a lady--to go on living in the mean, sordid, penurious way you proposed, Hazel? Shame upon you! Where is your respect for your wretched, unhappy parent?"

It was in Hazel's heart to say, half angrily, "Oh, mother, dear mother, pray do not go on so!" but she simply replied, "I know, dear, that it is very hard upon you, but we are obliged to live within our means."

"Yes: thanks to you, Hazel," retorted her mother. "I might be living at ease, as a lady should, if my child were considerate, and had not given her heart to selfishness and a downright direct love of opposition to her parent's wishes."

"Dear mother," cried Hazel piteously, "indeed I do try hard to study you in everything."

"It ought to want no trying, Hazel. It ought to be the natural outcome of your heart if you were a good and affectionate child. Study me, indeed! See what you have brought me to! Did I ever expect to go about in these wretched, shabby, black things, do you suppose--I--I, who had as many as two dozen dresses upon the hooks in my wardrobe at one time?

Oh, Hazel, if you would conquer the stubbornness of that heart!"

"My dear mother, I must go and put away the dinner-things; but I do not like to leave you like this."

"Oh, pray go, madam; and follow your own fancies to the top of your bent. I am only your poor, weak mother, and what I say or do matters very little. Never mind me, I shall soon be dead and cold in my grave."

"Oh, my dear mother, pray, pray do not talk like this!"

"And all I ask is, that there may be a simple headstone placed there, with my name and age; and, if it could possibly be managed, and not too great an expense and waste of money for so unimportant a person, I should like the words to be cut deeply in the marble,--or, no, I suppose it would be only stone, common stone--just these simple words: 'She never forgot that she was a lady.'"

Here Mrs Thorne sighed deeply, and began to strive to extricate herself from her child's enlacing arms.

"No, no, no, Hazel; don't hold me--it is of no use. I can tell, even by the way you touch me, that you have no affection left for your poor suffering mother."

"How can you say that dear?" said Hazel firmly.

"Nor yet in your words, even. Oh, Hazel, I never thought I should live to be spoken to like this by my own child!"

"My dear mother, I am ready to make any sacrifice for your sake."

"Then marry Mr Geringer," said the lady quickly.

"It is impossible."

"Move from here at once. Take me away to some other place. Let me be where I can meet with some decent neighbours, and not be Chuted to death as I am here."

Mrs Thorne was so well satisfied with the sound of the new word which she had coined that she repeated it twice with different emphases.

"My dear mother, we have no money; we are in debt and it might be months before I could obtain a fresh engagement. Mother, that too, is impossible."

"There--there--there!" cried Mrs Thorne, with aggravating iteration.

"What did I say? Everything I propose is impossible, and yet in the same breath the child of my bosom tells me that she is ready to do anything to make me happy, and to show how dutiful she is."

"Mother," said Hazel gravely, "how can you be so cruel? Your words cut me to the heart."

"I am glad of it, Hazel--I am very glad of it; for it was time that your hard, cruel heart should be touched, and that you should know something of the sufferings borne by your poor, bereaved mother. A little real sorrow, my child, would make you very, very different, and teach you, and change you. Ah, there is nothing like sorrow for chastening a hard and thoughtless heart!"

"Mother dear," said Hazel, trying to kiss her. "I must go into the school."

"No, no! don't kiss me, Hazel," said the poor, weak woman with a great show of dignity; "I could not bear it now. When you can come to me in all proper humility, as you will to-night, and say, 'Mamma, we will leave here to-morrow,' I shall be ready to receive you into my embrace once more."

"My dear mother, you drive me to speak firmly," said Hazel quietly. "I shall not be able to come to you to-night and to say that we will leave here. It is impossible."

"Then you must have formed some attachment that you are keeping from me.

Hazel, if you degrade yourself by marrying that Chute I will never speak to you again."

"Hush, mother! the children will hear."

"Let them hear my protests," cried Mrs Thorne excitedly. "I will proclaim it on the housetops, as Mr Lambent very properly observed last Sunday in his sermon. I will let every one know that you intend to degrade yourself by that objectionable alliance, and against it I now enter my most formal protest."

Mrs Thorne's voice was growing loud, and she was shedding tears. Her countenance was flushed, and she looked altogether unlovely as well as weak.

Hazel hesitated for a moment, her face working, and the desire to weep bitterly uppermost, but she mastered it, and laying her hand upon her mother's shoulder, bent forward once again to kiss her.

It was only to be repulsed; and as, with a weary sigh, she turned to the door, Mrs Thorne said to her angrily--

"It is time I resumed my position, Hazel--the position I gave up to you when forced by weakness and my many ills. Now I shall take to it once again, and I tell you that I will be obeyed. We shall leave this place to-morrow morning, and I am going to begin to pack up at once."

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.

A QUESTION OF CASH.

"Heaven give me strength to be patient and forbearing!" said Hazel softly, as she left the cottage and went into the school, for it was just upon two o'clock. "What am I to do? Will she have forgotten this by night?"

Far from it, for as soon as Hazel returned Mrs Thorne began again with fresh importunity, and in so strange a manner that her daughter grew frightened, and hesitated as to whether she should send for medical advice; but after a while the poor woman grew more calm, took out her work and began knitting some unnecessary ornament with costly wool; ending, to Hazel's great relief, by going off fast asleep.