"That is quite true," said f.a.n.n.y boldly; "but during the last few days I have discovered that Sibyl is a sweet girl--most charming, most unselfish, most obliging. She is very timid, however, and lacks self-confidence; and I have observed that she is constantly snubbed by girls who are not fit to hold a candle to her and yet look down upon her, just because she is poor. Now, if she were made a member of the club all that would be put a stop to, and she would have a great chance of doing her utmost in the school. We should be holding out a helping hand to a girl who certainly is neither beautiful nor clever, but who can be made a fine character. Martha, you at least will stand up for Sibyl? You have always been her close friend."
"And I am fond of her still," said Martha; "but I don"t look upon her at all in the light in which you do, f.a.n.n.y. Sibyl, at present, would be injured, not improved, by her sudden elevation to the rank of a Speciality. The only thing I would suggest is that you propose her again in a year"s time; and if during the course of that year she has proved in any sense of the word what you say, I for one will give her my cordial support. At present I cannot honestly feel justified in voting for her, and I will not."
"Well spoken, Martha!" said Margaret. "f.a.n.n.y, your suggestion is really ill-timed. We are all unhappy about Betty just now; and to see poor little Sibyl--of course, no one wants to say a word against her--in Betty"s shoes would make our loss seem more irreparable than ever."
f.a.n.n.y saw that her cause was lost. She had the grace not to say anything more, but sat back in her chair with her eyes fixed on Margaret"s face.
f.a.n.n.y began to perceive for the first time that some of the girls in this club had immensely strong characters. Margaret Grant and Martha West had, for instance, characters so strong that f.a.n.n.y discovered herself to be a very unimportant little shadow beside them. The Bertrams were the sort of girls to take sides at once and firmly with what was good and n.o.ble, Susie Rushworth was devoted to Margaret, and Olive had been the prime favorite in the club until Betty"s advent. Now it seemed to f.a.n.n.y that each one of the Specialities was opposed to her, that she stood alone. She did not like the situation. She was so exceedingly anxious; for, strong in the belief that she herself was a person of great importance, and in the further belief that Martha would support her, she had been practically sure of getting Sibyl admitted to the club. Now Sibyl had no chance whatever, and Sibyl knew things which might make f.a.n.n.y"s position in the school the reverse of comfortable.
f.a.n.n.y Crawford on this occasion sat lost in thought, by no means inclined to add her quota to the entertainment of the others, and looking eagerly for the first moment when she might escape from the meeting. Games were proposed; but games went languidly, and once again Betty and Betty"s illness became the subject of conversation.
When this took place f.a.n.n.y rose impatiently. "There are no further questions to be discussed to-night?" she asked, turning to Margaret.
"None that I know of."
"Then, if you will excuse me, girls, I will go. I must tell poor little Sibyl----"
"You don"t mean to say you spoke to Sibyl about it?" interrupted Martha.
"Well, yes, I did." f.a.n.n.y could almost have bitten out her tongue for having made this unwary admission. "She was so keen, poor little thing, that I told her I would do my best for her. I must say, once and for all, that I have never seen my sister members so hard and cold and indifferent to the interests of a very deserving little girl before. I am, of course, sorry I spoke to her on the matter."
"You really did very wrong, Fan," said Margaret in an annoyed voice.
"You know perfectly well that we never allude to the possibility of a girl being proposed for membership to that girl herself until we have first made up our minds whether she is worthy or not. Now, you have placed us at a great disadvantage; but, of course, you forgot yourself, Fan. You must tell Sibyl that the thing is not to be thought of. You can put it down to her age or any other cause you like."
"Of course I must speak the truth," said f.a.n.n.y, raising her voice to a somewhat insolent tone. "The club does not permit the slightest vestige of prevarication. Is that not so?"
"Yes, it is certainly so."
The next minute f.a.n.n.y had left the room. It was one of the rules of the club that gossip, in the ordinary sense of the world, with regard to any member was strictly forbidden; so no one made any comment when f.a.n.n.y had taken her departure. There was a sense of relief, however, felt by the girls who remained behind. The meeting was a sorrowful one, and broke up rather earlier than usual.
At prayers that night in the chapel Margaret Grant and the other girls of the Specialities were startled when Mr. Fairfax made special mention of Betty Vivian, praying G.o.d to comfort her in sore distress and to heal her sickness. The prayer was extempore, and roused the girls to amazed attention.
f.a.n.n.y was not present that night at chapel. She was so angry that she felt she must give vent to her feelings to some one; therefore, why not speak to Sibyl at once?
Sibyl was not considered very strong, and though she did belong to the upper school, usually went to bed before prayers. She was in her small room to-night. It was a pretty, neatly furnished room in the west wing--one of those usually given to a lower-school girl on first entering the upper school. Sibyl had no intention, however, of going to bed. She sat by her fire, her heart beating high, her thoughts full of the privileges which would so soon be hers. She was composing, in her own mind, a wonderful letter to send to her people at home; she pictured to herself their looks of delight when they heard that this great honor had been bestowed upon her. For, of course, Sibyl, as a member of the lower school at Haddo Court, had heard much of the Specialities, and what she had heard she had repeated; so that when she wanted to amuse her select friends in her father"s parish, she frequently gave them some information on this most interesting subject. Now she was on the point of being a member herself! How she would enjoy her Christmas holidays! How she would be feted and fussed over and petted! How carefully she would guard the secrets of the club, and how very high she would hold her own small head! She a member of the great Haddo Court School, and also a Speciality!
While Sibyl was thus engaged, seeing pictures in the fire and smiling quietly to herself, she suddenly heard a light tap at her room door. She started to her feet, and the next minute she had flown across the room and opened the door. f.a.n.n.y stood without.
"Oh, you dear, darling Fan!" exclaimed Sibyl. "You are good! Come in--do come in! Is the meeting over? And--and--oh, f.a.n.n.y! what have they said?
Has my name been put to the vote? Of course you and Martha would be on my side, and you and Martha are so strong that you would carry the rest of the members with you. Fan, am I to have a copy of the rules?
And--and--oh, Fan! is it settled? Do--do tell me!"
"I wish you weren"t quite so excited, Sibyl! Let me sit down; I have a bad headache."
f.a.n.n.y sank languidly into the chair which Sibyl herself had been occupying. There was only one easy-chair in this tiny room. Sibyl had, therefore, to draw forward a hard and high one for herself. But she was far too excited to mind this at the present moment.
"And what a fearful blaze of light you have!" continued f.a.n.n.y, looking round fretfully. "Don"t you know, Sibyl, that, unless we are occupied over our studies, we are not allowed to turn on such a lot of light?
Here, let me put the room in shadow."
"Let"s have firelight only," laughed Sibyl, who was not quick at guessing things, and felt absolute confidence in f.a.n.n.y"s powers. The next instant she had switched off the light and was kneeling by f.a.n.n.y"s side. "Now, f.a.n.n.y--now, do put me out of suspense!"
"I will," said f.a.n.n.y. "I have come here for the purpose. I did what I could for you, Sib. You must bear your disappointment as best you can. I am truly sorry for you, but things can"t be helped."
"You are truly sorry for me--and--and--things can"t be helped!"
exclaimed Sibyl, amazement in her voice. "What do you mean?"
"Well, they won"t have you at any price as a member of the Specialities; and the person who spoke most strongly against you was your dear and special friend, Martha West. I am not at liberty to quote a single word of what she did say; but you are not to be a Speciality--at least, not for a year. If at the end of a year you have done something wonderful--the sort of thing which you, poor Sibyl, could never possibly do--the matter may be brought up again for reconsideration. As things stand, you are not to be elected; so the sooner you put the matter out of your head the better."
Sibyl turned very white. Then her face became suffused with small patches of vivid color.
f.a.n.n.y was not looking at her; had she looked she might have perceived that Sibyl"s expression was anything but amiable at that moment. The girl"s extraordinary silence, however--the absence of all remark--the absence, even, of any expression of sorrow--presently caused f.a.n.n.y to glance round at her. "Well," she said, "I thought I"d tell you at once.
You must put it out of your head. I think I will go to bed now.
Good-night, Sibyl. Sorry I couldn"t do more for you."
"Don"t go!" said Sibyl. "What do you mean?"
There was a quality in Sibyl"s voice which made f.a.n.n.y feel uncomfortable.
"I am much too tired," f.a.n.n.y said, "to stay up any longer chatting with an insignificant little girl like you. I could not even stay to the conclusion of our meeting, and I certainly don"t want to be seen in your room. I did my best for you. I have failed. I am sorry, and there"s an end of it."
"Oh no, there isn"t an end of it!" said Sibyl.
"What do you mean, Sibyl?"
"I mean," said Sibyl, "that you have got to reward me for doing your horrid--_horrid_, dirty work!"
"You odious little creature! what do you mean? My dirty work! Sibyl, I perceive that I was mistaken in you. I also perceive that Martha West and the others were right. You are indeed unworthy to be a Speciality."
"If all were known," said Sibyl, "I don"t think I am half as unworthy as you are, f.a.n.n.y Crawford. Anyhow, if I am not to be made a Speciality, and if every one is going to despise me and look down on me, why, I have nothing to lose, and I may as well make an example of you."
"You odious child! what _do_ you mean?"
"Why, I can tell Mrs. Haddo as well as anybody else. Every one in the school knows that Betty is ill to-night. Something seems to have gone wrong with her head, and she is crying out about a packet--a lost packet. Now, _you_ know how the packet was lost. You and I both know how it was found--and lost again. You have it, f.a.n.n.y. You are the one who can cure Betty Vivian--Betty, who never was unkind to any one; Betty, who did not mean me to be a figure of fun, as you suggested, on the night of the entertainment; Betty, who has been kind to me, as she has been kind to every one else since she came to the school. _You_ have done nothing for me, f.a.n.n.y; so I--I can take care of myself in future, and perhaps Betty too."
To say that f.a.n.n.y was utterly amazed and horrified at Sibyl"s speech--to say that f.a.n.n.y was thunderstruck when she perceived that this poor little worm, as she considered Sibyl Ray, had turned at last--would be but very inadequately to describe the situation. f.a.n.n.y lost her headache on the spot. Here was danger, grave and imminent; here was the possibility of her immaculate character being dragged through the mud; here was the terrible possibility of f.a.n.n.y Crawford being seen in her true colors. She had now to collect her scattered senses--in short, to pull herself together.
"Oh Sibyl," she said after a pause, "you frightened me for a minute--you really did! Who would suppose that you were such a spirited girl?"
"I am not spirited, f.a.n.n.y; but I love Betty, notwithstanding all you have tried to do to put me against her. And if I am not to be a Speciality I would ever so much rather be Betty"s friend than yours.
There! Now I have spoken. Perhaps you would like to go now, Fan, as your head is aching so badly?"
"It doesn"t ache now," said f.a.n.n.y; "your conduct has frightened all the aches away. Sibyl, you really are the very queerest girl! I came here to-night full of the kindest feelings towards you. You can ask Martha West how I spoke of you at the club."
"But she won"t tell me. Anything that you say in the club isn"t allowed to be breathed outside it."
"I know that. Anyhow, I have been doing my utmost to get the school to see you in your true light. I have taken great notice of you, and you have been proud to receive my notice. It is certainly true that I have failed to get you what I hoped I could manage; but there are other things----"
"Other things!" said Sibyl. She stood in a defiant att.i.tude quite foreign to her usual manner.
"Oh yes, my dear child, lots and lots of other things! For instance, in the Christmas holidays I can have you to stay with me at Brighton. What do you say to that? Don"t you think that would be a feather in your cap?