But Miss Goldy-hair didn"t seem vexed, though her face got a little red.
"Never mind, Audrey," she said. "Some one must have said something before him that he has remembered. But it doesn"t matter--there"s no harm in any one saying it, because it"s true, at least, true in a way.
What made you ask me that, Racey?" she added, turning to him.
"I was sinking," said Racey, not at all put about. "I was just sinking that if you are really kite alone you"d better come and live with us. Or we"ll go and live with you--which would be best?"
"I think a little of both would be best," said Miss Goldy-hair. "To-day, as Tom isn"t well, you see I"ve come to see you. But afterwards, when he"s all right again, you must all come to see me--often, very often."
"But that isn"t _living_, that"s just seeing us sometimes," said Tom, who seemed to have taken up Racey"s idea.
"But you see, dear, people can"t always do just as they would like,"
said Miss Goldy-hair. "Even if they love each other dearly they can"t always live together, or even see each other as often as they would like."
"But you"re alone in the world," repeated Racey.
"Well, but I have my house to take care of, and to keep it all nice for the friends who come to see me. And then I"ve my _poor_ children to go to see often, and letters to write about them sometimes. I"ve plenty to do at home," said Miss Goldy-hair, shaking her head gently at Racey.
"You could do it all here," said Tom. "I don"t see the good of people being as rich as rich--as rich as you are, Miss Goldy-hair--if they can"t do what they like."
Miss Goldy-hairs face got a little red again, and she looked rather troubled.
"Who said I was "as rich as rich," my boy?" she said, putting her arm round Tom, and looking into his honest eyes.
"Sarah said so," answered Tom; "but you mustn"t be vexed with her, Miss Goldy-hair," he went on eagerly. "She didn"t say it any not nice way.
She said it was a good thing when rich people thought about poor ones, and that you were very good to poor people. You won"t scold Sarah, Miss Goldy-hair? Perhaps she didn"t mean me to tell you. I"m so puzzled about not telling things, "cause at home it didn"t matter, we might tell everything."
He looked quite anxious and afraid, but Miss Goldy-hair soon made him happy again.
"No, of course I won"t scold Sarah," she said. "And I like you much better to tell me anything like that, and then I can explain. I cannot see that it is anything to _praise_ rich people for, that they should think of poor ones--the pleasure of thinking you have made somebody else a little happier is so great that I think it is being kind to oneself to be kind to others."
"I"d like to be _vrezy_ rich," said Tom, "and then I"d be awfully kind to everybody. I"d have n.o.body poor at all."
"n.o.body could be rich enough for that," I said.
"And being rich isn"t the only way to being kind," said Miss Goldy-hair.
"Don"t wait for that, Tom, to begin."
"Of course not," I said. "Miss Goldy-hair"s being kind to us has nothing to do with her being rich. You don"t understand, Tom."
Tom never liked when I said he didn"t understand, and now I see that I must have had rather a provoking way of saying it--like as if I wanted to put him down. I saw his face look vexed, and he answered rather crossly--
"It _has_ to do with it. Miss Goldy-hair couldn"t have brought us oranges, and jelly and things, if she hadn"t been rich."
"And bikstwiks," added Racey.
"But you like me a little bit for myself, besides for the oranges and biscuits, don"t you, Racey?--just a very little bit?"--said Miss Goldy-hair, laughing.
Racey, by way of answer, climbed up on her knee, and began hugging her.
Miss Goldy-hair drew Tom to her and kissed him too, and then he looked quite happy.
"But I _must_ go now," she said.
"And won"t you come back again?" we asked.
Miss Goldy-hair stopped to consider a little.
"Let me see," she said. "Yes, I"ll tell you what I"ll do. I"ll come and have tea with you if you"ll invite me."
We all clapped our hands at this.
"And after tea," said Tom, "will you tell us a story? I am sure you must know stories, Miss Goldy-hair, for all your poor little children. Don"t you tell them stories?"
"There are so many of them," she said. "I generally _read_ stories to them. And most likely you already know most of those I read. But sometimes I tell stories to any of them who happen to be ill and stay in bed. I"ll see if I can remember one."
"About fairies, please," we all called out.
"I"ll do my best," said Miss Goldy-hair, who by this time was opening the door to go away. She turned round and nodded to us as she said it, and then she shut the door and we three were alone again.
But it didn"t seem as if we were alone--it didn"t seem the same dull nursery with nothing to amuse us or to look forward to--it didn"t seem the same _any way_.
"Tom," I said, "doesn"t everything seem different?"
Tom was sitting on the rug close to the fire--his cold made him feel shivery--he was staring in at the red-hot coals. "Doesn"t everything seem different, Tom?" I repeated.
"Yes," said Tom, "but, Audrey, I"m wondering what we can get nice for tea."
My face fell-- I had not thought of that.
"I have some money," I said, "I have three shillings, and two sixpences, and seven pennies, besides my gold pound."
"And I have some too, and so has Racey," said Tom.
"Yes, I have a s"illing, and a dear little fourpenny, and three halfpennies," said Racey, running to fetch his purse.
"I"ve more than that," said Tom in a melancholy tone of voice, "but it"s no good. How can we buy anything? It"s like being in a ship, starving, with lots of money and no shops to buy at."
We all looked at each other with great concern. It quite went against all our notions of hospitality to have any one, more especially Miss Goldy-hair, at tea without anything nice to offer her. And we all felt too, that it would be almost worse to make use of any of the things _she_ had brought _us_, for such an occasion. Children have their own notions on these subjects, I can a.s.sure you.
Just then we heard distant sounds of Sarah"s approach with the dinner-tray. The jelly and oranges were still standing on the table. Tom had eaten one orange and we had all three had some biscuits, so any way there wouldn"t have been enough to make a nice tea with.
"Suppose we ask Sarah to buy us something?" said Tom eagerly. But I shook my head.
"I don"t want to do anything like that," I said. I had somehow a feeling that it would hardly have been keeping my promise to Uncle Geoff. "Sarah might get scolded for it," I said, and Tom seemed to understand.
We ate our dinner very quietly. Miss Goldy-hair"s jelly was certainly very nice, and poor Tom, who didn"t feel much inclined for meat and potatoes, and regular pudding, enjoyed it very much. And after dinner we each had an orange--we sat round the fire peeling them, and thinking what to do about tea.
"We haven"t even any flowers," I said. "We can"t even dress up the table and make it look pretty the way we used to on days mother came to have tea with us."