Pixie O"Shaughnessy.
by Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey.
CHAPTER ONE.
THE UGLY DUCKLING.
Pixie O"Shaughnessy was at once the joy and terror of the school. It had been a quiet, well-conducted seminary before her time, or it seemed so, at least, looking back after the arrival of the wild Irish tornado, before whose pranks the mild mischief of the Englishers was as water unto wine. Pixie was entered in the school-lists as "Patricia Monica de Vere O"Shaughnessy," but no one ever addressed her by such a t.i.tle, not even her home-people, by whom the name was considered at once as a tragedy and a joke of the purest water.
Mrs O"Shaughnessy had held stern ideas about fanciful names for her children, on which subject she had often waxed eloquent to her friends.
"What," she would ask, "could be more trying to a large and bouncing young woman than to find herself saddled for life with the t.i.tle of "Ivy," or for a poor anaemic creature to pose as "Ruby" before a derisive world?" She christened her own first daughter Bridget, and the second Joan, and the three boys respectively Jack, Miles, and Patrick, resolutely waving aside suggestions of more poetic names even when they touched her fancy, or appealed to her imagination. Better err on the safe side, and safeguard oneself from the risk of having a brood of plain, awkward children masquerading through life under names which made them a laughing-stock to their companions.
So she argued; but as the years pa.s.sed by, it became apparent that her children had too much respect for the traditions of the race to appear an any such unattractive guise. "The O"Shaughnessys were always beautiful," quoth the Major, tossing his own handsome head with the air of supreme self-satisfaction which was his leading characteristic, "and it"s not my children that are going to break the rule," and certain it is that one might have travelled far and wide before finding another family to equal the one at Knock Castle in point of appearance. The boys were fine upstanding fellows with dark eyes and aquiline features; Bridgie was a dainty, fair-haired little lady; while Joan, (Esmeralda for short, as her brothers had it), had reached such a climax of beauty that strangers gasped with delight, and the hardest heart softened before her baby smile. Well might Mrs O"Shaughnessy waver in her decision; well might she suppose that she was safe in relaxing her principles sufficiently to bestow upon baby number six a name more appropriate to prospective beauty and charm. The most sensible people have the most serious relapses, and once having given rein to her imagination nothing less than three names would satisfy her--and those three the high-sounding Patricia Monica de Vere.
She was an ugly baby. Well, but babies often were ugly. That counted for nothing. It was really a bad sign if an infant were conspicuously pretty. She had no nose to speak of, and a mouth of enormous proportions. What of that? Babies" noses always were small, and the mouth would not grow in proportion to the rest of the features. In a few months she would no doubt be as charming as her sisters had been before her; but, alas! Pixie disappointed that expectation, as she was fated to disappoint most expectations during her life. Her nose refused to grow bigger, her mouth to grow smaller, her small twinkling eyes disdained the lashes which were so marked a feature in the faces of her sisters, and her hair was thin and straight, and refused to grow beyond her neck, whereas Bridgie and Esmeralda had curling manes so long that, as their nurse proudly pointed out to other nurses, they could sit on them, the darlints! and that to spare.
There was no disguising the fact that she was an extraordinarily plain child, and as the years pa.s.sed by she grew ever plainer and plainer, and showed less possibility of improvement. The same contrariety of fate which made Bridget look like Patricia, made Patricia look like Bridget, and Mrs O"Shaughnessy often thought regretfully of her broken principle. "Indeed it"s a judgment on me!" she would cry; but always as she said the words she hugged her baby to her breast, and showered kisses on the dear, ugly little face, wondering in her heart if she had ever loved a child so much before, or if any of Pixie"s beautiful sisters and brothers had had such strange, fascinating little ways. At the age when most infants are content to blink, she smiled accurately and with intent; when three months old she would look up from her pillow with a twinkling glance, as who would say, "Such an adventure as I"ve had with these cot curtains! You wait a few months until I can speak, and I"ll astonish you about it!" And when she could sit up she virtually governed the nursery. The shrewdness of the glance which she cast upon her sisters quite disturbed the enjoyment of those young ladies in the pursuance of such innocent tricks as making lakes of ink in the laps of their clean pinafores, or scratching their initials on newly painted doors, and she waved her rattle at them with such an imperious air that they meekly bowed their heads, and allowed her to tug at their curls without reproach.
The whole family vied with each other in adoring the ugly duckling, and in happy Irish fashion regarded her shortcomings as a joke rather than a misfortune. "Seen that youngster of mine?" the Major would cry genially to his friends. "She"s worth a visit, I tell you! Ugliest child in Galway, though I say it that shouldn"t." And Pixie"s company tricks were all based on the subject of personal shortcomings.
"Show the lady where your nose ought to be, darling," her mother would say fondly, and the baby fingers would point solemnly to the flat s.p.a.ce between the eyes.
"And where"s the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, sweetheart?" would be the next question, when the whole of Pixie"s fat fist would disappear bodily inside the capacious mouth.
"The Major takes more notice of her than he did of any of the others,"
Mrs O"Shaughnessy would tell her visitor. "He is always buying her presents!"
And then she would sigh, for, alas! the Major was one of those careless, extravagant creatures, who are never restrained from buying a luxury by the uninteresting fact that the bread bill is owing, and the butcher growing pressing in his demands. When his wife pleaded for money with which to defray household bills, he grew irritable and impatient, as though he himself were the injured party. "The impudence of the fellows!" he would cry. "They are nothing but ignorant upstarts, while the O"Shaughnessys have been living on this ground for the last three centuries. They ought to be proud to serve me! This is what comes of educating people beyond their station. Any upstart of a tradesman thinks himself good enough to trouble an O"Shaughnessy about a trumpery twenty or thirty pounds. I"ll show them their mistake! You can tell them that I"ll not be bullied, and indeed they might as well save their trouble, for, between you and me, there"s not a five-pound note in my pocket between now and the beginning of the year." After delivering himself of which statement he would take the train to the nearest town, order a new coat, buy an armful of toys for Pixie, and enjoy a good dinner at the best hotel, leaving his poor wife to face the irate tradesmen as best she might.
Poor Mrs O"Shaughnessy! She hid an aching heart under a bright exterior many times over, as the pressure for money grew ever tighter and tighter, and she saw her children running wild over the countryside, with little or no education to fit them for the battle of life. The Major declared that he could not afford school fees, so a daily governess was engaged to teach boys and girls alike--a staid, old- fashioned maiden lady, who tried to teach the young O"Shaughnessys on the principles of fifty years ago, to her own confusion and their patronising disdain. The three boys were sharp as needles to discover the weak points in her armour, and maliciously prepared questions by which she could be put to confusion, while the girls t.i.ttered and idled, finding endless excuses for neglecting their unwelcome tasks. Half a dozen times over had Miss Minnitt threatened to resign her hopeless task, and half a dozen times had she been persuaded by Mrs O"Shaughnessy to withdraw her resignation. The poor mother knew full well that it would be a difficulty to find anyone to take the place of the hard-worked, ill-paid governess, and the governess loved her wild charges, as indeed did everyone who knew them, and sorrowed over them in her heart, because she saw what their blind young eyes never noticed-- the coming shadow on the house, the gradual fading away of the weary, overtaxed mother. Mrs O"Shaughnessy had fought for years against chronic weariness and ill-health, but the time was coming when she could fight no longer, and, almost before her family had recognised that she was ill, the end drew near, and her husband and children were summoned to bid the last farewell.
The eyes of the dying woman roamed from one to the other of her six children--twenty-two-year-old Jack, handsome and manly, so like--oh, so like that other Jack who had come wooing her nearly thirty years ago!
Bridgie, slim and delicate--so unfit, poor child, to take the burden of a mother"s place; Miles, with his proud, overbearing look, a boy who had had especial claims on her care and guidance; Joan, beautiful and daring, ignorant of nothing so much as of her own ignorance; Pat, of the pensive face and reckless spirit; and last but not least, Pixie, her baby--dear, naughty, loyal little Pixie, whom she must leave to the tender mercies of children little older than herself! The dim eyes brightened, the thin hand stretched out and gripped her husband by the arm.
"Jack!" she cried shrilly--"Pixie! Give Pixie a chance! Take care of her--she is so young--and I can"t stay. For my sake, Jack, give Pixie a chance!"
The Major promised with sobs and tears. In his own selfish way he had adored his wife, and her last words could not easily be put aside. As the months pa.s.sed by, he was the more inclined to follow her wishes, as the few thousands which fell to him at her death enabled him to pay off his more pressing debts and enjoy a temporary feeling of affluence.
Jack went back to his office in London, where he had betaken himself three years before, to the disgust of the father, who considered it more respectable for an O"Shaughnessy to be in debt than to work for his living in the City among City men. Pat and Miles remained at home, ostensibly to help on the estate, and in reality to shoot rabbits and get into mischief with the farm hands. Miss Minnitt was discharged, since Bridgie must now be occupied with household duties, and Joan was satisfied that her education was finished. And the verdict went forth that Pixie was to go to school.
"Your mother was always grieving that she could not educate your sisters like other girls, and it was her wish that you should have a chance.
I"ll send you to London to the best school that can be found, if I have to sell the coat off my back to do it," said the Major fervently; for there was no sacrifice which he was not ready to make--in antic.i.p.ation, and he hoped to discover a school which did not demand payments in advance. He patted the child on the shoulder in congratulation; but Pixie was horrified, and, opening her mouth, burst into howls and yells of indignation.
"I won"t! I shan"t! I hate school! I won"t go a step! I"ll stay at home and have Miss Minnitt to teach me! I won"t! I won"t! I won"t!"
The Major smiled and stroked his moustache. He was used to Pixie"s outbursts, and quite unperturbed thereby, although a stranger would have quailed at the sound, and would certainly have imagined that some horrible form of torture was being employed. Pixie checked herself sufficiently to peep at his face, realised that violence was useless, and promptly changed her tactics. She whimpered dismally, and essayed cajolery.
"It will break me heart to leave you. Father darlin", let me stay!
What will you do without your little girl at all?"
"I"ll miss you badly, but it"s for your own good. That brogue of yours is getting worse and worse. And such a fine school, too! Think of all you will be able to learn!"
"Me education"s finished," said Pixie haughtily. "I know me tables and can read me books, and write a letter when I want, and that"s all that"s required of a young gentlewoman living at home with her parents. I"ve heard you say so meself--a hundred times, if once."
It was too true. The Major recognised the argument with which he had been wont to answer his wife"s pleas for higher education, and was incensed, as we all are when our own words are brought up against us.
"You are a very silly child," he said severely, "and don"t understand what you are talking about. I am giving you an opportunity which none of your brothers and sisters have had, and you have not the decency to say as much as "Thank you." I am ashamed of you. I am bitterly ashamed!"
Such a statement would have been blighting indeed to an ordinary child, but Pixie looked relieved rather than otherwise, for her quick wits had recognised another form of appeal, and she was instantly transformed into an image of penitence and humiliation.
"I am a bad, ungrateful choild, and don"t deserve your kindness. I ought to be punished, and kept at home, and then when I grew older and had more sense I"d regret it, and it would be a warning to me.
Esmeralda"s cleverer than me. It would serve me right if she went instead."
It was of no avail. The Major only laughed and repeated his decision, when Pixie realised that it was useless fighting against fate, and resigned herself to the inevitable with characteristic philosophy.
Her outbursts of rebellion, though violent for the time being, were of remarkably short duration, for she was of too sunny a nature to remain long depressed, and moreover it was more congenial to her pride to pose as an object of envy than pity. On the present occasion she no sooner realised that go to school she must, than she began to plume herself on her importance, and prepare to queen it over her sisters.
"You had better make the most of me, my dears," she announced in the morning-room five minutes later, "for it"s not long you"ll be having me with you. I"m off to a grand London school to correct me brogue and learn accomplishments. It will cost a mint of money, and father can"t afford to send you too; but I"ll tell you all about it when I come back, and correct your accent and show you me fine new clothes!"
"Thank you, darling!" said Bridgie meekly, while Esmeralda stifled a laugh and turned her lovely eyes on the ugly duckling with a glance of fondest admiration. Both sisters had overheard the shrieks of ten minutes before and could still see tell-tale tear-marks, but nothing in the world would have induced them to say as much or check their darling in her newly found complacency.
After all it was not until some months had elapsed that the dilatory Major discovered a school to his liking, and even then he allowed his own engagements to interfere with the date of her arrival, for he insisted upon accompanying Pixie himself, and could not see that it made the least difference whether she arrived at the beginning of the term or a few weeks later on. Miss Minnitt protested faintly, but soon relapsed into silence, and consoled herself by turning seamstress and helping Bridgie and Joan with the school outfit. It was a case of making new lamps out of old, for little money was forthcoming to buy fresh material, and, with the best will in the world, the workers were still unskilled in their efforts.
Bridgie"s tender heart was pierced with sorrow as she looked at the dismal little outfit spread out on the bed preparatory to packing--so poor it seemed, so shabby, oh, so black, black, black and sorrowful!
Poor little Pixie going forth alone into the unknown world--little, wild, ignorant Irish girl, bound for a strange land among strange people! Would those fine English girls laugh among themselves and jeer at her untamed ways? Would they imitate her brogue in their thin mincing voices, and if so, how, oh, how would Pixie conduct herself in return? Bridgie was barely twenty years old, but since her mother"s death she had grown into a woman in thoughtfulness and love for others, and now it weighed on her mind that it was her duty to speak seriously to Pixie before she left home, and prepare her in some sort for the trials which might lie before her. If she did not, no one would, and it was cruel to let the child leave without a word of counsel. She lay awake wondering what to say and how to say it.
"It"s no use telling Pixie not to get into mischief, for she can"t help it, the darling! It"s the nature of her, but she has such a loving little heart that she will never go far wrong."
The next day she watched her opportunity, and took advantage of a quiet moment to speak her words of counsel.
"You won"t be disappointed if school isn"t all you expect, will you, dear?" she began nervously. "I have heard girls say that they felt dreadfully lonely and homesick at first, and when the pupils are all strange to you, and chums with one another, you may think they are not as friendly as you could wish. And the teachers may seem stern. Miss Minnitt has spoiled us by being too mild and easy, and you will feel the difference. Then you have run wild all your life, and it will seem strange to be allowed out for walks only; but, Pixie, I want you to remember that you are our pet and baby, and that our happiness depends on you. If you get a good report and bring home prizes, the pride we shall feel, the airs we shall be giving ourselves, going into Galway and telling everyone we meet on the street; but if you are disobedient and we hear complaints, it"s covered with disgrace we shall be in the eyes of the county. Now, there will be good girls in that school, and bad girls, and lazy girls, and industrious ones, and girls who would tell the truth if they were to be shot for it the next moment; and girls who would trick and deceive to get a mean advantage over another. Patricia O"Shaughnessy, which are you going to choose for your companions?"
Pixie fairly jumped upon her seat with surprise, the use of that seldom- heard name impressing her more than anything else could possibly have done with the importance of the occasion. A murmur of protest did duty as a reply, and Bridgie continued impressively--
"Yes, I am sure you will choose the right sort of friend, for the honour of your name and the family to which you belong; but you must be industrious with your work as well. Now that I have left off lessons I wish I had worked twice as hard, for I feel so ignorant and stupid beside other girls; and you are clever, Pixie, and can do well if you choose. Don"t be troublesome to the teachers, dearie; it must be maddening to have to teach day after day, and they have to be cross now and then--the creatures!--to relieve their feelings. And if you feel tempted to be rude and naughty, just remember that you are mother"s little baby, and that the last thing she asked was that you should have your chance! Perhaps she sees you still, Pixie! Perhaps G.o.d lets her be a white angel to watch over her boys and girls. If you thought mother was watching, you never could do anything to grieve her!"
The ready tears poured down Pixie"s face. She sobbed and moaned, and with clasped hands repeated her vow to be good, good, good; never to be naughty again so long as she lived! And Bridgie wept too, smiling through her tears at the impracticability of the promise, the while she clasped the dear little sister to her breast.
CHAPTER TWO.
FOND FAREWELLS.
The morning rose clear and fair, and the sun shone as cheerfully as if no tragedy were about to be enacted, and Pixie O"Shaughnessy would presently run out of doors to sit swinging on a gate, clad in Esmeralda"s dyed skirt, Pat"s shooting jacket, and the first cap that came to hand, instead of starting on the journey to school in a new dress, a hat with bows and two whole quills at the side, and her hair tied back with a ribbon that had not once been washed! It was almost too stylish to be believed!
Pixie entered the breakfast-room with much the same stride as that with which the big drum-major heads the Lord Mayor"s procession, and spread out her dress ostentatiously as she seated herself by the table. The armholes stuck into her arms, the collar was an inch too high, and the chest painfully contracted, but she was intensely proud of herself all the same, and privately thought the London girls would have little spirit left in them when confronted with so much elegance. Bridgie was wiping her eyes behind the urn, Esmeralda was pressing the mustard upon her, the Major was stroking his moustache and smiling as he murmured to himself--