Mrs. Sherwood always gave some sort of party for Princess Polly, and surely everyone remembered her beautiful party of the Winter before.
All these things she told Aunt Judith.
"And Uncle John says he will not permit his neighbors to do _all_ the entertaining, and when he says that he laughs," said Rose.
Aunt Judith stopped rocking and sat very straight.
"And _I_ shall entertain in a small way myself," she said.
"Oh, Aunt Judith!" cried Rose, her surprise making her eyes round, and bright.
"The wee party that I shall give will be in honor of my little niece, Rose."
Rose laid her warm hand on Aunt Judith"s arm.
"How good you are," she said. "And I"ll come over the day of the party, and help you get ready. I"ll love to. "Twill be half the fun. Oh, Aunt Judith, please tell me what the dear little party is to be like."
"Like a party that I once enjoyed when I was little," Aunt Judith said.
"I remember it as perfectly as if it had occurred yesterday. To repeat it now will be a quaint delight. I"ll not tell you _all_ about it yet, but when my plans are made, you shall come over here to the cottage, and I"ll tell you every detail. I believe the tiny party will do me good. I shall feel once more like the little la.s.s that I was when I received the invitation, and then a week later, dressed in my best, went to my friend"s house. There were twelve guests, and I shall have just twelve at _my_ party."
CHAPTER II
THE SEA NYMPH
Little Sprite Seaford sat in the first car of the long train, her eyes bright with excitement, a tear on her cheek, and her red lips quivering.
One little hand nervously clutched her handkerchief, while the other grasped the handles of her very new suitcase.
She had wound her pretty arms tightly around her mother"s neck, kissed her, oh, so many times, and then, lest her courage fail her, had turned and fled from the house, where on the beach, she clung to her father"s hand, and silently walked toward the station.
She felt that if she tried to talk she would surely cry, but why was the st.u.r.dy captain so silent? Did he feel, as his little daughter did, that safety lay in silence? Did he fear to speak lest the tears might come? It had been decided that Sprite should accept Mr. Sherwood"s invitation, and spend the Winter at Avondale, enjoying the early Winter months at Sherwood Hall, and the latter part of the season as the guest of Uncle John Atherton and his little niece, Rose.
She had enjoyed the planning of her modest little wardrobe, she had talked of the delight of having Rose and Princess Polly for her playmates all Winter.
She had promised to be a faithful little pupil at school, and she had dreamed all night, and talked all day of the delightful Winter that she was to enjoy.
Now, seated in the car, ready to take her first journey from home, she looked about her with frightened eyes. Captain Seaford stood beside her. He had bought a box of candy, and a book, trusting that they might help to cheer her.
He looked down at the little daughter who was so dear to him.
"I"d make the trip with ye, Sprite, but yer ma, I"m thinking, will need me, "bout the time she knows yer train has started," he said.
"Oh, she will. You _must_ go back to her," cried Sprite.
The conductor entered and stated that all who were intending to leave the car must leave at once, or remain on board. Captain Seaford stooped to kiss the little upturned face.
"Oh, father, dear! If you and mother hadn"t worked so hard to get me ready for the long visit, I"d give it up now. I"d rather go back with you."
"Tut, tut, Sprite! Be a brave la.s.sie, and try to make the trip bravely.
Ye need the good schooling and the merry playmates. The Winter at the sh.o.r.e is always dull. Cheer up, now. We"re to have a letter, remember, as soon as ye reach Avondale."
"Ay, ay, sir!" he said, as the conductor beckoned, impatiently, and with another kiss, and a hasty "Good-bye," he left the car.
Sprite knew that he would stand on the platform, and she turned toward the window.
Through blinding tears, she saw his stalwart form, and she tried to smile, for his sake.
Before she could chase away the tears, the train had started, she saw through her tear-dimmed lashes a blurred landscape, and then,--why she was actually riding away from her seash.o.r.e home! For a time she sat, as if in a dream, and then the conductor came along. Little Sprite looked up into his pleasant face, and wondered why he paused.
"Let me see your ticket, my dear," he said, and she blushed at her forgetfulness, and drew it from her pocket.
He punched it, and then, in a gentle, fatherly way, he said:
"Your father, Captain Seaford, is a firm friend of mine. He asked me to look out for you, and see that you got off the train at Avondale.
He said this was your first bit of travelling alone, but that your friends would be waiting for you when you arrived."
"They will, oh, they will!" she eagerly cried, "and thinking of that makes me feel happier. I"ve never been away alone before."
"I"ve a little girl at home who is much braver to talk about going away from home, than she is when the time comes to start. But don"t worry, little Miss Seaford," he said, with a laugh, "for I"ll be your friend all the way to Avondale."
"Oh, thank you," she said, and he thought that he had never seen a lovelier face. She opened the new book, hoping that the story and the pictures might make her forget her homesickness. It was evident that she considered a good book a good friend.
The story held her attention, the picture charmed her, and the box of candy was an added comfort. She nestled close to the window, her long golden hair fell over her shoulders, and framed her face, and the old conductor smiled when he pa.s.sed down the aisle, and looked at the dear little figure.
"The book has made her forget to worry," he said, softly.
A little later, when he paused beside her seat, she looked up to smile at him.
"I keep right on reading," she said, "because if I stop to think, I remember that all the time I"m going farther away from home."
"Then whenever you look up from the page, just remember that you are getting nearer, and nearer to Avondale, where you can write your first letter home," he said in an effort to cheer her.
"Oh, yes," said Sprite, "and I"ll do that before I go to sleep to-night, and post it early to-morrow morning." Then, for a long time, she read the fascinating story.
Just as she closed the book she realized that the train was slowing down.
The conductor was coming toward her. What was the brakeman saying?
"The next station will be Avondale!" he shouted, and little Sprite"s heart beat faster.
The conductor stood at her seat now. "I"ll take your suit case," he said. "Come with me."
How her little heart beat!