said Margaret, putting her arms round her friend"s neck. "And whatever I am queen over, you must share my queendom, Janet. You know how fond I am of you--how I want you to stay with me always and be my friend."
"I shall always be your friend--always, to the last day of my life!"
said Janetta, with fervor. The two made a pretty picture, reflected in the long mirror; the tall, fair Margaret, still in her soft white silk frock, with her arm round the smaller figure of the dark girl whose curly ma.s.ses of hair half covered her pink cotton dressing-gown, and whose brown face was upturned so lovingly to her friend"s.
"And I am sure it will be good for you to stay with me," said Margaret, answering an unspoken objection in her mind.
"Good for me? It is delicious--it is lovely!" cried Janetta, rapturously. "I have never had anything so nice in my whole life. Dear Margaret, you are so good and so kind--if there were only anything that I could do for you in return! Perhaps some day I shall have the chance, and if ever I have--_then_ you shall see whether I am true to my friend or not!"
Margaret kissed her, with a little smile at Janetta"s enthusiasm, which was so far different from the modes of expression customary at Helmsley Court, as to be almost amusing.
CHAPTER IV.
ON THE ROAD.
Miss Polehampton had, of course, written to Mr. and Mrs. Colwyn when she made up her mind that Janetta was to be removed from school; and two or three letters had been interchanged before that eventful day on which Margaret declared that if Janetta went she should go too. Margaret had been purposely kept in the dark until almost the last moment, for Miss Polehampton did not in the least wish to make a scandal, and annoyed as she was by Miss Adair"s avowed preference for Janetta, she had arranged a neat little plan by which Miss Colwyn was to go away "for change of air," and be transferred to a school at Worthing kept by a relation of her own at the beginning of the following term. These plans had been upset by a foolish and ill-judged letter from Mrs. Colwyn to her stepdaughter, which Janetta had not been able to keep from Margaret"s eyes. This letter was full of reproaches to Janetta for giving so much trouble to her friends; "for, of course," Mrs. Colwyn wrote, "Miss Polehampton"s concern for your health is all a blind in order to get you away: and if it hadn"t been for Miss Adair taking you up, she would have been only too glad to keep you. But knowing Miss Adair"s position, she sees very clearly that it isn"t fit for you to be friends with her, and so she wants to send you away."
This was in the main true, but Janetta, in the blithe confidence of youth, would never have discovered it but for that letter. Together she and Margaret consulted over it, for when Margaret saw Janetta crying, she almost forced the letter from her hand; and then it was that Miss Adair vindicated her claim to social superiority. She went straight to Miss Polehampton and demanded that Janetta should remain; and when the schoolmistress refused to alter her decision, she calmly replied that in that case _she_ should go home too. Miss Polehampton was an obstinate woman, and would not concede the point; and Lady Caroline, on learning the state of affairs, at once perceived that it was impossible to leave Margaret at the school where open warfare had been declared. She accordingly brought both girls away with her, arranging to send Janetta to her own home next morning.
"You will stay to luncheon, dear, and I will drive you over to Beaminster at three o"clock," she said to Janetta at breakfast. "No doubt you are anxious to see your own people."
Janetta looked as if she might find it difficult to reply, but Margaret interposed a remark--as usual at the right moment.
"We will practice our duets this morning--if Janetta likes, that is; and we can have a walk in the garden too. Shall we have the landau, mamma?"
"The victoria, I think, dear," said Lady Caroline, placidly. "Your father wants you to ride with him this afternoon, so I shall have the pleasure of Miss Colwyn"s society in my drive."
Margaret a.s.sented; but Janetta became suddenly aware, by a flash of keen feminine intuition, that Lady Caroline had some reason for wishing to go with her alone, and that she had purposely made the arrangement that she spoke of. However, there was nothing to displease her in this, for Lady Caroline had been most kind and considerate to her, so far, and she was innocently disposed to believe in the cordiality and sincerity of every one who behaved with common civility.
So she spent a pleasant morning, singing with Margaret, loitering about the garden with Mr. Adair, while Margaret and Sir Philip gathered roses, and enjoying to the full all the sweet influences of peace, refinement, and prosperity by which she was surrounded.
Margaret left her in the afternoon with rather a hasty kiss, and an a.s.surance that she would see her again at dinner. Janetta tried to remind her that by that time she would have left the Court, but Margaret did not or would not hear. The tears came into the girl"s eyes as her friend disappeared.
"Never mind, dear," said Lady Caroline, who was observing her closely, "Margaret has forgotten at what hour you were going and I would not remind her--it would spoil her pleasure in her ride. We will arrange for you to come to us another day when you have seen your friends at home."
"Thank you," said Janetta. "It was only that she did not seem to remember that I was going--I had meant to say good-bye."
"Exactly. She thinks that I am going to bring you back this afternoon.
We will talk about it as we go, dear. Suppose you were to put on your hat now. The carriage will be here in ten minutes."
Janetta prepared for her departure in a somewhat bewildered spirit. She did not know precisely what Lady Caroline meant. She even felt a little nervous as she took her place in the victoria and cast a last look at the stately house in which she had spent some nineteen or twenty pleasant hours. It was Lady Caroline who spoke first.
"We shall miss your singing to-night," she said, amiably. "Mr. Adair was looking forward to some more duets. Another time, perhaps----"
"I am always pleased to sing," said Janetta, brightening at this address.
"Yes--ye--es," said Lady Caroline, with a doubtful little drawl. "No doubt: one always likes to do what one can do so well; but--I confess I am not so musical as my husband or my daughter. I must explain why dear Margaret did not say good bye to you, Miss Colwyn. I allowed her to remain in the belief that she was to see you again to-night, in order that she might not be depressed during her ride by the thought of parting with you. It is always my principle to make the lives of those dear to me as happy as possible," said Margaret"s mother, piously.
"And if Margaret had been depressed during her ride, Mr. Adair and Sir Philip might have suffered some depression also, and that would be a great pity."
"Oh, yes," said Janetta. But she felt chilled, without knowing why.
"I must take you into my confidence," said Lady Caroline, in her softest voice. "Mr. Adair has plans for our dear Margaret. Sir Philip Ashley"s property adjoins our own: he is of good principles, kind-hearted, and intellectual: he is well off, nice-looking, and of a suitable age--he admires Margaret very much. I need say no more, I am sure."
Again she looked keenly at Janetta"s face, but she read there nothing but interest and surprise.
"Oh--does Margaret know?" she asked.
"She feels more than she knows," said Lady Caroline, discreetly. "She is in the first stage of--of--emotion. I did not want the afternoon"s arrangements to be interfered with."
"Oh, no! especially on _my_ account," said Janetta, sincerely.
"When I go home I shall talk quietly to Margaret," pursued Lady Caroline, "and tell her that you will come back another day, that your duties called you home--they do, I am sure, dear Miss Colwyn--and that you could not return with me when you were so much wanted."
"I"m afraid I am not much wanted," said Janetta, with a sigh; "but I daresay it is my duty to go home----"
"I am sure it is," Lady Caroline declared; "and duty is so high and holy a thing, dear, that you will never regret the performance of it."
It occurred dimly to Janetta at that point that Lady Caroline"s views of duty might possibly differ from her own; but she did not venture to say so.
"And, of course, you will never repeat to Margaret----"
Lady Caroline did not complete her sentence. The coachman suddenly checked the horses" speed: for some unknown reason he actually stopped short in the very middle of the country road between Helmsley Court and Beaminster. His mistress uttered a little cry of alarm.
"What is the matter, Steel?"
The footman dismounted and touched his hat.
"I"m afraid there has been an accident, my lady," he said, as apologetically, as if he were responsible for the accident.
"Oh! Nothing horrible, I hope!" said Lady Caroline, drawing out her smelling-bottle.
"It"s a carriage accident, my lady. Leastways, a cab. The "orse is lying right across the road, my lady."
"Speak to the people, Steel," said her ladyship, with great dignity.
"They must not be allowed to block up the road in this way."
"May I get out?" said Janetta, eagerly. "There is a lady lying on the path, and some people bathing her face. Now they are lifting her up--I am sure they ought not to lift her up in that way--oh, please, I must go just for one minute!" And, without waiting for a reply, she stepped, out of the victoria and sped to the side of the woman who had been hurt.
"Very impulsive and undisciplined," said Lady Caroline to herself, as she leaned back and held the smelling-bottle to her own delicate nose.
"I am glad I have got her out of the house so soon. Those men were wild about her singing. Sir Philip disapproved of her presence, but he was charmed by her voice, I could see that; and poor, dear Reginald was positively absurd about her voice. And dear Margaret does _not_ sing so well--it is no use pretending that she does--and Sir Philip is trembling on the verge--oh, yes, I am sure that I have been very wise. What is that girl doing now?"
The victoria moved forward a little, so that Lady Caroline could obtain a clearer view of what was going on. The vehicle which caused the obstruction--evidently a hired fly from an inn--was uninjured, but the horse had fallen between the shafts and would never rise again. The occupants of the fly--a lady, and a much younger man, perhaps her son--had got out, and the lady had then turned faint, Lady Caroline heard, but was not in any way hurt. Janetta was kneeling by the side of the lady--kneeling in the dust, without any regard to the freshness of her cotton frock, by the way--and had already placed her in the right position, and was ordering the half-dozen people who had collected to stand back and give her air. Lady Caroline watched her movements and gestures with placid amus.e.m.e.nt, and went so far as to send Steel with the offer of her smelling salts; but as this offer was rejected she felt that nothing else could be done. So she sat and looked on critically.
The woman--Lady Caroline was hardly inclined to call her a lady, although she did not exactly know why--was at present of a ghastly paleness, but her features were finely cut, and showed traces of former beauty. Her hair was grey, with rebellious waves in it, but her eyebrows were still dark. She was dressed in black, with a good deal of lace about her; and on her ungloved hand Lady Caroline"s keen sight enabled her to distinguish some very handsome diamond rings. The effect of the costume was a little spoiled by a large gaudy fan, of violent rainbow hues, which hung at her side; and perhaps it was this article of adornment which decided Lady Caroline in her opinion of the woman"s social status. But about the man she was equally positive in a different way. He _was_ a gentleman: there could be no doubt of that. She put up her eye-gla.s.s and gazed at him with interest. She almost thought that she had seen him somewhere before.