Grandmamma smiled, a little funnily, I thought afterwards.
"Yes," she said, "it is between two and three miles."
"Then we must set off early," I said, "so as not to have to go too fast and be tired when we get there. I don"t mind for coming back about being tired; there"ll be nothing to do then but go to bed, it"ll all be over!"
and I gave a little sigh, "but I don"t want to think about its being over yet."
"We must start at half-past two," said grandmamma. "That will be time enough."
Long before half-past two, as you can fancy, I was quite ready. My frock fitted perfectly, and even Kezia, who was rather afraid of praising my appearance for fear of making me conceited, said with a smile that I did look very nice.
I quite thought so myself, but I really think all my pride was for grandmamma"s frock.
I settled myself in the window-seat looking towards the road, as I have explained.
"Stay there quietly," grandmamma said to me, "till I call you."
And again I noticed a sort of little twinkle in her eyes, of which before long I understood the reason. I must have been sitting there a quarter of an hour at least when I thought I heard wheels coming. It wasn"t the usual time for the butcher or baker, or any of the cart-people, as I called them, and wheels of any other kind seldom came our way. So I looked out with great curiosity to see what it could be.
To my astonishment, there came trotting along the short bit of level road leading to our own steep path the two ponies and the pretty pony-carriage that had so delighted me the first time I saw them.
Sharley was driving, the little groom behind her. But this time my first feeling was certainly not one of pleasure. On the contrary I started in dismay.
"Oh dear," I thought, "there"s something the matter, and Sharley has come herself to say we can"t go."
I rushed upstairs, the tears already very near my eyes.
"Granny, granny," I exclaimed, "the pony-carriage has come and Sharley"s there! I"m sure she"s come to tell us we can"t go."
My voice broke down before I could say anything more. Grandmamma was coming out of her room quite ready, and even in the middle of my fright I could not help thinking how nice she looked in her pretty dark gray dress and black lace cloak, which, though she had had it a great, great many years, always seemed to me rich and grand enough for the Queen herself to wear.
"My dear little girl," she said, "you really must not get into the way of fancying misfortunes before they come. It is a very bad habit. Why shouldn"t Sharley have come to fetch us? Don"t you think it would be nicer to drive to Moor Court than to walk all that way along the dusty road?"
"Oh, granny," I cried, and my tears, if they were there, vanished away like magic. "Oh, granny, that would be too lovely. But are you quite sure?"
"Quite," said grandmamma, "I promised to keep it a secret to please Sharley, as she is so fond of surprises. Run down now to meet her and tell her we are quite ready."
How perfectly delightful that drive was! I sat with my back to the ponies, on the low seat opposite grandmamma and Sharley.
"Vallie wanted to come too," said Sharley, "but that seat isn"t very comfortable for two."
It was very comfortable for one, at least I found it so. I had hardly ever been in a carriage before, and Sharley drove so nice and fast; she was very proud of being allowed to drive the two ponies. But they were so good, they seemed, like every one and everything else, determined to make that day a perfectly happy one.
When we got to the lodge of Moor Court Sharley began to drive more slowly, and looked about as if expecting some one.
"The others said they would come to meet us," she explained, "and sometimes Pert is rather naughty about startling the ponies, even though he can"t bear being startled himself. Oh, there they are!"
As she spoke the four figures appeared at a turn in the drive. Nan and Vallie in the pretty pink frocks, which no longer made me feel discontented with my own, as nothing could be prettier, I was quite firmly convinced, than grandmamma"s beautiful work, which Sharley had already admired in her own pleasant and hearty way.
We two got out of the pony-carriage, leaving grandmamma to be driven up to the house by the groom, the little girls saying that their mother was waiting for her on the lawn in front.
I had never seen the boys before. Percival seemed to me quite big, though he was one year younger than Sharley and smaller for his age.
Quintin was more like Nan, slow and solemn and rather fat, so his nickname of Quick certainly didn"t suit him very well. But they were both very nice and kind to me. I am quite sure Sharley had talked to them well about it before I came, though it was easy to see that when Pert was not on his best behaviour he was very fond of playing tricks.
I felt very happy, and not at all strange or frightened as I walked along between Sharley and Val, each holding one of my hands and chattering away about all we were going to do, though I had a queer, rather nice feeling as if I must be in a dream, it all seemed so pretty and wonderful.
And indeed many people, far better able to judge of such things than I, think that Moor Court is one of the loveliest places in England. I did not see much of the inside of the house that day, though I learnt to know it well afterwards. It was very old and very large, and everything about it seemed to me quite perfect. But on this day we amused ourselves almost altogether out of doors.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Grandmamma"s chair was still waiting to be decorated, so the next hour was spent very happily.--p. 67.]
The children had already done a good deal to the arbour where we were to have tea; but grandmamma"s chair was still waiting to be decorated, so the next hour was spent very happily in gathering branches of ivy and other pretty green things to twine about it, with here and there a bunch of flowers, which Mrs. Nestor had told the gardener we were to have.
Vallie was very anxious to make a wreath for grandmamma, but though I thought it a very nice idea, I was afraid it would look rather funny, and when Sharley reminded us that wreaths couldn"t be worn very well above a bonnet, we quite gave it up.
But we did make the table look very pretty, and at last everything was ready, except the tea itself and the hot cakes, which of course the servants would bring at the very end.
By the time we had finished it was nearly four o"clock, and we were not to have tea till half-past, so there was time for a nice game of hide-and-seek among the trees. I don"t think I ever ran so fast or laughed so much in my life. They were all such good-natured children, even if they did have little quarrels they were soon over, and then I think they were all especially kind to me. I suppose they were sorry for me in some ways that did not come into my own mind at all.
Then we all went to the house to be made tidy for tea, and in spite of what grandmamma had said about not minding if my frock was dirtied I was very pleased to find that it was perfectly clean.
Grandmamma and Mrs. Nestor were waiting for us in the drawing-room; and we all went back to the arbour together, Sharley walking first with grandmamma, which was quite right, as the plan about tea had been all her own.
Grandmamma _was_ pleased. I think she liked to see how fond these children had already got to be of her, though perhaps it would have been as well if Quick had not informed us in the middle of tea that he liked her a great, great deal better than his real grandmamma, whose nose was very big and her hair quite black.
"But she"s very kind to us too," said Sharley, "only I don"t think she cares much for little boys."
"Nor for tomboys either," said Pert, who did love teasing Sharley whenever he had a chance.
"Jerry"s her favourite," said Nan.
"And I think he deserves to be," said her mother.
"I wish he was here to-day, I know that," said Sharley. "It"s such a long time to the holidays, and it won"t be so nice this year when they do come, as most likely a boy"s coming with Jerry."
"Two boys," corrected Pert, "their name"s Vandeleur, and they"re his greatest friends."
"Vandeleur?" said grandmamma. "I wonder if----" and then she stopped. "I have relations of that name," she said, "but I don"t suppose they belong to the same family."
"It is not a common name," said Mrs. Nestor. "But these boys are, I believe, orphans. Both their father and mother are dead, are they not, Sharley? Sharley knows the most about them," she went on, "for Gerard and she write long letters to each other always, and she hears all about his school friends and everything he is interested in."
"Yes," said Sharley, "they are orphans. They have an old aunt or some relation who takes care of them. But I think they are rather lonely.
They often spend all their holidays at school--that was why Jerry thought it would be nice to invite them here. I daresay it will be very nice for _them_, but _I_ think it will quite spoil the holidays for _us_."
"Come, Sharley," said her mother, "you must not be selfish."
"What are the boys" Christian names?" asked grandmamma.
"Harry and Lindsay," Sharley replied.