"Had she long, dark hair?" added Lettice.
"Nay, it was fair hair. There was a light in the room, so as she comes back through the window I sees her as plain as I sees you now. I knows her in a minute. It was the young lady as every Sunday morning pesters my life out of me to cut her a rose for her b.u.t.tonhole: Miss Taylor, I think she"s called."
"Flossie!" exclaimed Janie. "I know she always begs for roses."
"Then it was Flossie!" said Lettice. "I had an uneasy feeling in the back of my mind all the time that it was she--it looked like her figure. It seemed too bad to suspect her, though, when I had absolutely no proof."
"There can be little doubt about it now."
"Shall we go straight to Miss Maitland, at once?"
"I don"t know. I"m not sure if it wouldn"t be better to ask Flossie herself about it. She may be able to explain it; and, at any rate, I think we ought to warn her before we say anything, and then we shan"t seem to have told tales behind her back."
"She doesn"t deserve any consideration," grumbled Lettice.
Janie"s conscience, however, required her to be scrupulously fair. She could not bear to take an advantage, even of one who must be shielding herself at the expense of another.
"We"ll give her a chance," she decided emphatically.
The next step evidently was to search for Flossie. She was not in the garden, but after a diligent quest through the house they eventually found her in her own cubicle, engaged in the meritorious occupation of tidying her drawers. It was an unpleasant task for the two girls to voice their suspicions, but one that nevertheless had to be done.
Somewhat to their surprise, Flossie sat down on the edge of her bed, and burst out crying.
"Oh, I knew it would come! I knew it would!" she sobbed. "What am I to do? Oh, I"ve been so wretched all day! I believe I"m quite glad it has come out at last."
"Flossie, did you take that sovereign?" asked Janie.
"Yes--no--at least--yes! Only, I didn"t know I was taking it!" groaned Flossie, trying in vain to find her handkerchief, and mopping her eyes in desperation with a corner of the sheet instead.
"What do you mean?"
"I"ll tell you. Oh, it"s such a relief to tell somebody! Of course, I was there when Honor climbed up the lime tree, and after you had all run indoors I thought it would be fun to see if I could go up too. It was quite easy, and I jumped through the window without any difficulty.
There was n.o.body in the study, but the electric light was turned on. I walked over to the writing-table, and I remember noticing the sovereign lying at the corner, on the top of a pile of letters. There were ever so many papers strewn about, and some of them were our house conduct reports for the term, which Miss Maitland was evidently just beginning to fill in. I was so anxious to see if mine was there that I stretched over and took some of them in my hand, to look at them. Then I thought I heard a step in the pa.s.sage, and I didn"t want to be caught, so I popped them quickly back, and went down the tree a good deal faster than I had gone up. I took off my blouse as usual that night, and put it away in my middle drawer, and next day I wore a clean one. Then this morning, when I was dressing, I looked at the first blouse, to see if it were really soiled and ready for the laundry. To my horror, out tumbled a sovereign on to the floor! I can only suppose it must have slipped inside my turnover cuff, when I reached across the table; I certainly hadn"t the least idea it was there. I couldn"t think what to do! I hoped I might be able to smuggle it back on to the table, and I"ve been watching all day, but there has never been the slightest opportunity to go into the study. I didn"t dare to tell Miss Maitland, from fear she would think I"d taken it on purpose. She wouldn"t believe Honor, so I thought she wouldn"t believe me either. Oh! isn"t it all dreadful?"
"It is indeed," said Janie; "especially as Honor has had to bear the blame. It isn"t the first time she has acted scapegoat for you!"
"I know what you mean," sobbed Flossie. "Vivian thought it was she who shammed ghost that night when I played a trick upon Evelyn Fletcher. I didn"t intend to get Honor into trouble. I was very sorry about it; still, what could I do?"
"Do! Why, you ought to have told Vivian at once. Any girl with a spark of honour would have known that."
"You"d better make a clean breast of everything now," suggested Lettice.
"I daren"t! I daren"t!" cried Flossie, in an agony of alarm.
"I don"t believe you need be afraid of Miss Maitland," said Janie.
"You"ve only taken the sovereign by accident. She would be far more angry with you for not owning up."
"If you don"t tell her, I shall go to her myself," threatened Lettice.
It was dreadfully difficult to screw Flossie"s courage up to the required point. She declared she could not and would not make the necessary confession.
"I"ll write to my mother to send for me to go home, and it can come out after I"m gone," she declared.
Lettice lost her temper and indulged in hard words, which, so far from altering Flossie"s decision, only made her more obstinately determined.
Fortunately, Janie had greater patience.
"I"m sure you"ll be brave enough to do it for Honor"s sake," she said.
"You"ll feel far happier and more comfortable when it"s over. I know it"s hard, but it"s right, and we shall all think so much better of you afterwards than if you shirked telling, and went home. You could hardly come back again here if you did that. Be a true Chaddite, and remember our house motto: "Strive for the highest". I"ll go with you to Miss Maitland, if you like."
In the end, Janie"s counsel prevailed, and Flossie, very tearful and apprehensive, allowed herself to be led to the study, to return the sovereign and explain how it came into her possession. Miss Maitland proved kindness itself. She was immensely relieved to find that the whole affair was due to a mischance, and that none of her girls had been capable of committing a dishonest act. It wiped a blot from St.
Chad"s, and restored the house to its former high standing.
"If we could only find Honor Fitzgerald," she declared, "my mind would be at rest."
CHAPTER XVIII
The End of the Term
Major Fitzgerald"s astonishment at meeting his runaway daughter on Westhaven Quay was great, but he was extremely thankful to find her safe and sound. He had received a telegram from Chessington informing him of her flight, and had started immediately for the College, coming from Cork to Westhaven by a night cargo vessel, as he thought that a quicker route than by the ordinary mail steamer from Dublin to Holyhead.
He at once took Honor to a hotel, where he engaged a private sitting-room and ordered luncheon; then he set to work to demand an explanation of what was still to him an absolute puzzle and mystery. In spite of her determination to suppress all mention of Dermot"s embarra.s.sments, Honor speedily found herself pouring out the whole of her troubles into her father"s ears. She was no dissembler, never having been accustomed to concealment, and possessing naturally a very open character; so, with a few skilful questions, the Major easily drew from her the entire story.
She had prepared herself to expect a stern rebuke, but to her surprise her father seemed far more pained than angry.
"I thought my children could have trusted me!" he said. "You will find, Honor, as you go through life, that no one has your interest at heart so truly as your own father. Perhaps I have erred on the side of severity, but it is no light responsibility to keep five high-spirited lads under control, to say nothing of a madcap daughter. My father brought me up on the rule of "spare the rod, spoil the child", and I thought modern methods produced a less worthy race, so I would stick to his old-fashioned principle. I have taken far harder thrashings in my boyhood than I have ever bestowed on Master Dermot. All the same, I believed you knew that, though I might sometimes appear harsh, I meant it for your good, and that I was the best friend you had in the world."
"You are, Daddy, you are!" cried Honor, clinging round his neck.
"Well, little woman, you must have more confidence in me another time, and come boldly and tell me your sc.r.a.pes. I would rather forgive you a great deal than feel that you kept anything back from me. You"ve been a very foolish girl, and have got yourself into sad trouble. Your mother is wild with anxiety about you."
"How is Mother? Is she still so ill?" quavered Honor.
"She was much better until yesterday, when we received Miss Cavendish"s telegram. Naturally, that upset her very much. I have wired to her already, to say that you are safely here with me."
"Oh, Daddy, let us go home to Mother at once!"
"No, my dear!" said Major Fitzgerald decidedly. "I couldn"t let you return to Kilmore with such an accusation resting against your name. We must face that, and get it cleared up. I shall have a talk with both Miss Maitland and Miss Cavendish. Don"t you see that by running away you are practically admitting yourself to be guilty? It was the silliest thing to do! Come, don"t cry! We"ll get to the bottom of the matter somehow."
"But you won"t tell Dr. Winterton?" implored Honor, whose tears were more for her brother than for herself.
"I won"t promise. It may be necessary to do so. You needn"t fear Dermot will miss his exam.; I should of course stipulate that he must take it.
I don"t believe, however, that he would be expelled. It is so near to the end of the term, and if he secures a pa.s.s he will be leaving the Grange in any case, to join his training ship. The young rascal! He certainly deserves his thrashing. He"s always up to some mischief!
There, dry your eyes, child, I won"t be too hard on him! In the meantime, we must think of getting back to Dunscar. We can just catch the 2.40 train. The sooner we arrive at the College and ease Miss Cavendish"s mind, the better. I must buy you a hat as we walk to the station, and then perhaps you"ll look more respectable."
It seemed to Honor as if an immense weight had been lifted from her mind. She began for the first time to understand her father, and to realize how much he thought of and cared for his children"s welfare.