Meanwhile the important ceremony of eating the many good things provided went steadily on, until at last even Betty had to own that she was satisfied.
All rose from their seats, and as they did so Mrs. Miles put a pretty little basket into each girl"s hand. "A few new-laid eggs, dearies," she said, "and a comb of honey for each of you. You must ask Mrs. Haddo"s leave afore you eats "em, but I know she won"t mind. And there"s some very late roses, the last of the season, that I"ve put into the top of your basket, Miss Betty."
Alack and alas, how good it all was! How pleasant was the air, how genial the simple life! How Betty and Sylvia and Hester rejoiced in it, and how quickly it was over!
Harris appeared, and at this signal the girls knew they must go. Betty presented her canine darlings with a beef-bone each; and then, with a hug to Mrs. Miles, a hearty hand-clasp to the farmer and the boys, and further hugs to both sets of twins, the girls returned to Haddo Court.
CHAPTER XV
A GREAT DETERMINATION
The visit to the farm was long remembered by Betty Vivian. It was the one bright oasis, the one brilliant spark of intense enjoyment, in a dark week. For each day the shadow of what lay before her--and of what she, Betty Vivian, had made up her mind to do--seemed to creep lower and lower over her horizon, until, when Thursday morning dawned, it seemed to Betty that there was neither sun, moon, nor stars in her heaven.
But if Betty lacked much and was full of grave and serious thoughts, there was one quality, admirable in itself, which she had to perfection, and that was her undoubted bravery. To make up her mind to do a certain thing was, with Betty Vivian, to do it. She had not quite made up her mind on Sat.u.r.day; but on Sunday morning she had very nearly done so, and on Sunday evening she had quite done so. On Sunday evening, therefore, she knelt rather longer than the others, struggling and praying in the beautiful chapel; and when she raised her small white face, and met the eyes of the chaplain fixed on her, a thrill went through her. He, at least, would understand, and, if necessary, give her sympathy. But just at present she did not need sympathy, or rather she would not ask for it. She had great self-control, and she kept her emotions so absolutely to herself that no one guessed what she was suffering. Every day, every hour, she was becoming more and more the popular girl of the school; for Betty had nothing mean in her nature, and could love frankly and generously. She could listen to endless confidences without dreaming of betraying them, and the girls got to know that Betty Vivian invariably meant what she said. One person, however, she avoided, and that person was f.a.n.n.y Crawford.
Thursday pa.s.sed in its accustomed way: school in the morning, with recess; school in the afternoon, followed by play, games of all sorts, and many another delightful pastime. Betty went for a walk with her two sisters; and presently, almost before they knew, they found themselves surveying their three little plots of ground in the gardens, which they had hitherto neglected. While they were so employed, Mrs. Haddo quite unexpectedly joined them.
"Oh, my dear girls, why, you have done nothing here--nothing at all!"
Sylvia said, "We are going to almost immediately, Mrs. Haddo."
And Hetty said, "I quite love gardening. I was only waiting until Betty gave the word."
"So you two little girls obey Betty in all things?" said Mrs. Haddo, glancing at the elder girl"s face.
"We only do it because we love to," was the response.
"Well, my dears, I am surprised! Why, there isn"t a sight of your Scotch heather! Has it died? What has happened to it?"
"We made a burnt-offering of it," said Betty suddenly.
"You did what?" said Mrs. Haddo in some astonishment.
"You see," said Betty, "it was this way." She now looked full up at her mistress. "The Scotch heather could not live in exile. So we burnt it, and set all the fairies free. They are in Aberdeenshire now, and quite happy."
"What a quaint idea!" said Mrs. Haddo. "You must tell me more about this by-and-by, Betty."
Betty made no answer.
"Meanwhile," continued Mrs. Haddo, who felt puzzled at the girl"s manner, she scarcely knew why, "I will tell a gardener to have the gardens well dug and laid out in little walks. I will also have the beds prepared, and then you must consult Birchall about the sort of things that grow best in this special plot of ground. Let me see, this is Thursday. I have no doubt Birchall could have a consultation with you on the subject this very minute if you like to see him."
"Oh yes, please!" said Sylvia.
But Betty drew back. "Do you greatly mind if we do nothing about our gardens until next week?" she asked.
"If you prefer it, certainly," answered Mrs. Haddo. "The plots of ground are your property while you stay at Haddo Court. You can neglect them, or you can tend them. Some of the girls of this school have very beautiful gardens, full of sweet, smiling flowers; others, again, do nothing at all in them. I never praise those who cultivate their little patch of garden-ground, and I never blame those who neglect it. It is all a matter of feeling. In my opinion, the garden is meant to be a delight; those who do not care for it miss a wonderful joy, but I don"t interfere." As Mrs. Haddo spoke she nodded to the girls, and then walked quietly back towards the house.
"Wasn"t it funny of her to say that a garden was meant to be a delight?" said Sylvia. "Oh Betty, don"t you love her very much?"
"Don"t ask me," said Betty, and her voice was a little choked.
"Betty," said Sylvia, "you seem to get paler and paler. I am sure you miss Aberdeenshire."
"Miss it!" said Betty; "miss it! Need you ask?"
This was the one peep that her sisters were permitted to get into Betty Vivian"s heart before the meeting of the Specialities that evening.
Olive Repton was quite excited preparing for her guests. School had become much more interesting to her since Betty"s arrival. Martha was also a sort of rock of comfort to lean upon. Margaret, of course, was always charming. Margaret Grant was Margaret Grant, and there never could be her second; but the two additional members gave undoubted satisfaction to the others--that is, with the exception of f.a.n.n.y Crawford, who had, however, been most careful not to say one word against Betty since she became a Speciality.
Olive"s room was not very far from the Vivians", and as Betty on this special night was hurrying towards the appointed meeting-place she came across f.a.n.n.y. Between f.a.n.n.y and herself not a word had been exchanged for several days.
f.a.n.n.y stopped her now. "Are you ill, Betty?" she said.
Betty shook her head.
"I wish to tell you," said f.a.n.n.y, "that, after very carefully considering everything, I have made up my mind that it is not my place to interfere with you. If your conscience allows you to keep silent I shall not speak. That is all."
"Thank you, f.a.n.n.y," replied Betty. She stood aside and motioned to f.a.n.n.y to pa.s.s her. f.a.n.n.y felt, for some unaccountable reason, strangely uncomfortable. The cloud which had been hanging over Betty seemed to visit f.a.n.n.y"s heart also. For the first time since her cousin"s arrival she almost pitied her.
Olive"s room was very bright. She had a good deal of individual taste, and as the gardeners were always allowed to supply the Specialities with flowers for their weekly meetings and their special entertainments, Olive had her room quite gaily decorated. Smilax hung in graceful festoons from several vases and trailed in a cunning pattern round the little supper-table; cyclamen, in pots, further added to the decorations; and there were still some very beautiful white chrysanthemums left in the green-house, a careful selection of which had been made by Birchall that day for the young ladies" festivities.
And now all the girls were present, and supper began. Hitherto, during the few meetings of the Specialities that had taken place since she became a member, Betty"s voice had sounded brisk and lively; Betty"s merry, sweet laugh had floated like music in the air; and Betty"s charming face had won all hearts, except that of her cousin. But to-night she was quite grave. She sat a little apart from the others, hardly eating or speaking. Suddenly she got up, took a book from a shelf, and began to read. This action on her part caused the other girls to gaze at her in astonishment.
Margaret said, "Is anything the matter, Betty? You neither eat nor speak. You are not at all like our dear, lively Speciality to-night."
"I don"t want to eat, and I have nothing to say just yet," answered Betty. "Please don"t let me spoil sport. I saw this book of yours, Olive, and I wanted to find a certain verse in it. Ah, here it is!"
"What is the verse?" asked Olive. "Please read it aloud, Betty."
Betty obeyed at once.
"Does the road wind uphill all the way?
Yes, to the very end.
Will the day"s journey take the whole long day?
From morn to night, my friend."
There was a dead silence after Betty had read these few words of Christina Rossetti. The girls glanced from one to another. For a minute or so, at least, they could not be frivolous. Then Olive made a pert remark; another girl laughed; and the cloud, small at present as a man"s hand, seemed to vanish. Betty replaced her book on Olive"s book-shelf, and sat quite still and quiet. She knew she was a wet blanket--not the life and soul of the meeting, as was generally the case. She knew well that Margaret Grant was watching her with anxiety, that Martha West and also f.a.n.n.y Crawford were puzzled at her conduct. As to the rest of the Specialities, it seemed to Betty that they did not go as far down into the root of things as did Margaret and Martha.
This evening was to be one of the ordinary entertainments of the guild or club. There was nothing particular to discuss. The girls were, therefore, to enjoy themselves by innocent chatter and happy confidences, and games if necessary.
When, therefore, they all left the supper-table, Margaret, as president, said, "We have no new member to elect to-night, therefore our six rules need not be read aloud; and we have no entertainment to talk over, for our next entertainment will not take place for some little time. I say, therefore, girls, that the club is open to the amus.e.m.e.nt of all the members. We are free agents, and can do what we like. Our object, of course, will be to promote the happiness of each and all. Now, Susie Rushworth, what do you propose that we shall do this evening?"
Susie said in an excited voice that she would like to spend a good hour over that exceedingly difficult and delightful game of "telegrams" and added further that she had brought slips of paper and pencils for the purpose.
A similar question was asked of each girl, and each girl made a proposal according to her state of mind.