CHAPTER XV.
A DRIVE TO THE RECTORY.
Rosamund was wonderfully wise for her years. She did not make a greatfuss over Irene's tears. She did not soothe or pet her overmuch; shemerely said, "I am glad you have come to your senses," and then she gotup and began to prepare for lunch; so that Irene, feeling like a beatenchild, and yet with a sense of happiness which she had never experiencedbefore in the whole course of her life, went off to her own room,smoothed out her tangled hair, tidied her dress, and came down to lunchalso, looking quite like a little ordinary Christian child--the sort ofchild who might have been first to a kindergarten and then at a goodschool--not the wild, obnoxious, terrible little creature whom everyservant and every governess alike dreaded.
James was looking fat and strong, because for the last fortnight Irenehad not taken the slightest notice of him. The other servants werebecoming happy once more. They all worshiped Rosamund; and, truth totell, Rosamund could not but enjoy her meed of popularity. Still, to-dayshe was feeling rather nervous. Nevertheless, she was quite determinedto carry out her scheme.
As soon as lunch was over, therefore, she went up to Miss Frost. Irenehad danced away into the garden. She was the sort of girl who, havingonce made up her mind to do a thing, did it thoroughly. Now, she hatedthe Leaves beyond measure; she dreaded Miss Carter beyond measure; butshe dreaded Rosamund still more. Accordingly, she secured a basket anda pair of scissors, and cut and cut from the choicest flowers until herbasket was full. One of the gardeners came out and began to remonstratewith Irene on picking so many roses with buds attached to them; butIrene told him in a very tart voice to mind his own business, and insome fear the man withdrew. Then she went into the fruit-house andsecured the earliest peaches which were coming into their finest bloom.And having collected what she considered her peace-offering, she satdown on a little wooden bench to wait for Rosamund and her governess.
Meanwhile Rosamund was having a talk with Miss Frost.
"Do you know where we are going to-day?" she asked.
"No," replied Miss Frost.
"Well, you have got to do exactly what I wish. I am most anxious thatIrene should have other friends besides me."
"Oh, she will never, never under any circumstances have a friend in thevery least like you," said Miss Frost. "You have made her! You havesaved her! You are her idol! I am sure we all love you most dearly; butas to Irene, it is wonderful the influence you have over her."
"We needn't talk of that now," said Rosamund. "I can't give up every onein the whole world for Irene. Besides, although I shall always be agreat friend of hers, I do not think it would be good for her to have mealways by her side. I want her to make fresh friends, and I have beenconsidering that in the whole neighborhood there are no people quite sonice as the Singletons for her to know."
"The Singletons! Why, it is there that unfortunate Miss Carter is--thatpoor woman who nearly lost her life in order that Irene might get ridof her. Oh, how often have I heard that terrible story! I have seen thegirl in church. They look nice, but very stand-off and distant. You knowIrene will never go to church. We cannot make her; but I go when I canin the evenings, and I always see the Singletons there with Miss Carter.But for my own little brother Hughie and my little sister Agnes, I wouldnever have stayed here as I have done."
"But now it is all right, dear Miss Frost. Anyhow, Irene has consentedto come with me to see the Singletons this afternoon, so don't make afuss; and if you see Miss Carter, will you tell her that Irene is somuch changed that you are able to stay? And, please, don't say anythingagainst her, will you, dear Frosty?"
"I say a word against her? No, that I won't."
"And don't say too much about me. I want her to get all the credit shecan. The fact is, she has become so exceedingly naughty because peopletalk so much of her naughtiness, and she is rather proud of it. Now, Iwant her to be thoroughly ashamed of it; and when that takes place, andshe loses all sense of satisfaction in terrifying people to death and ingetting rid of servants and governesses, she will become an ordinarygirl--or rather, I should say, never an ordinary girl, but a girl verymuch above the ordinary. You know you must help me."
"I will, on one condition," said Miss Frost. "This expedition frightensme very much. I will do anything you wish on one condition."
"And what is that?"
"That you don't leave The Follies at present."
"I have no intention of leaving it before the holidays. The holidayswill take place at the end of July, and then mother will be sure to wantme to join her; but still we have a few weeks left, and there is alreadya great improvement in Irene. Now, please, go upstairs and get ready,for the governess-cart will be round in a few minutes."
The cart did come round, and, without a word, Irene herself stepped intoit. She not only stepped into it, but she took the reins with adetermined hand.
"I mean to drive Bob," she said. "I suppose no one objects."
She looked back with her bright, dancing eyes, first at Rosamund andthen at Miss Frost.
"Certainly; he is your pony," said Rosamund. "You have every right todrive him."
Miss Frost did not speak. They both entered the governess-cart, andIrene, making a cracking noise with the whip, as she had learned fromone of the grooms, started off at a break-neck speed down the somewhatsteep avenue. Poor Miss Frost felt inclined to cry out, but Rosamundtook one of her hands and pressed it.
After a minute Rosamund's hand was lightly laid on Irene's arm.
"Irene, pull Bob in; he is going much too fast for safety. You don'twant his knees to be broken, and we don't want to be tossed out of thecart. Do what I wish you to do instantly."
Irene's eyes wore for a moment almost a wicked expression; then theysoftened. She put on a check with some vigor, and soon Bob was trottingalong the country roads like an ordinary pony.
Many people looked at the three as they saw them in the cart. Never inthe entire memory of man had Irene been seen driving with any of herfamily. There were times when she had gone herself to the stables, hadharnessed Bob, who was a very wild and spirited little pony, and haddriven off at a furious rate all by herself. She had then left thebeaten track, and gone on the moors, bringing home the pony and cartmuch dilapidated from the exercise. But, strange to say, the wild childherself never seemed to come to any grief.
A mad desire to go right away from the Leaves, to dash on to the moors,and defy Rosamund and Miss Frost, had just for a moment taken possessionof her. But again gentler thoughts had come to her, and by-and-by shefound herself driving in at the gates of the Rectory.
Now, it so happened that on this very day Mr. Singleton was giving afeast to the poor children of the neighborhood; and when thegoverness-cart, containing Rosamund, Miss Frost, and Irene, arrived onthe premises, there were no less than a hundred children enjoying tea onone of the lawns. In consequence, Maud, Alice, Bertha, Mary, Ivy, andJasmine, and last, but not least, Miss Carter herself, were all busilyengaged, when the sound of wheels caused them to raise their heads. MissCarter gave utterance to one piercing scream, laid the cup which she hadbeen filling from a huge urn hastily on the table, and disappeared fromview. Maud, in some astonishment, her face rather pale, but her eyesbright and resolute as usual, came forward to greet her visitors.
"How do you do?" she said to Rosamund. Then she looked at Irene, whomshe had never spoken to before.
"This is my great friend Irene Ashleigh," said Rosamund; "and this isher governess, Miss Frost. We have come to pay you a visit. I see youare busy. That is quite delightful. May we help you?"
"Of course you may, if you will."
Maud held out a gracious hand to Irene, whose little mouth, satiricalenough at first, broke now into a gentle smile, while her eyes becametranquil and even happy. She had enjoyed a moment of exquisite blisswhen she saw Miss Carter, after that first terrified glance, hurry intothe house.
"I can stand the Leaves," she said to herself, "but I hope Carter willkeep out of the way."
Th
ey all three got out of the cart. A groom came to take the pony to thestables, and the girls and Miss Frost were invited to help theSingletons to entertain their guests.
"We are ever so short of hands," said Maud, "and your coming is quite ablessing. You know, of course, that no one from Sunnyside can come nearthe place. Mrs. Brett won't allow the girls even to come over fromDartford, which father says is a pity; but still, one must err on thesafe side. Isn't it jolly, Jane being quite out of danger? She is to goaway at the end of the week, and next week the house will bedisinfected, and then everything will be as it was before."
As she spoke she glanced at Irene, who dropped a little behind, keepinghold of Miss Frost's hand.
"Frosty," she said, "can you bear a little pain?"
"I suppose so, dear," said poor Miss Frost in a timid voice.
"I mean this: I must have some outlet for my feelings, and if a Leafcomes too near me I will just squeeze your hand. I won't really hurt youif I can help it, but if I can squeeze your hand I'll be civil to theLeaf; if not, I'll be awfully rude. Do you understand, and will youendure it?"
"I will try to," said Miss Frost; "but I have got very thin hands,Irene."
"Indeed you have, exceedingly bony and exceedingly ugly; but that can'tbe helped. Just let me hold this hand for the present."
"Do you mind," said Miss Frost after a moment's pause--"do you mind if Itake off the rings I have on this hand and put them on the hand you arenot going to squeeze? If you were to squeeze it with the rings on Imight be forced to cry out, and then all would be up."
"You may do that, and then I'll be quite comfortable."
Miss Frost did so, and Maud and Rosamund walked on a little in front.
"I can't tell you how astonished I am," said Maud, dropping her voice,"to see her here. We heard of your extraordinary behavior--I mean yournoble behavior, for father said you were most noble; but to think ofyour bringing her here! How did you induce her to come?"
"She will one day be a splendid girl, one of the best in the world,"said Rosamund; "and the fact is, I wanted your help. I can't quitemanage her alone. I want your help, dear. Will you give it?"
Maud's frank blue eyes looked into Rosamund's dark ones, and over Maud'sface there came a softened gleam.
"When I look at you I can believe almost anything," she said. "But tothink of that girl ever being what you say! Did she not nearly kill ourCartery dear?"
"I know that; but remember she is very young, and could not realize whatshe was doing. However, I ask you to trust me, and to help me now withthe task I have undertaken. I mean to reform her, and to give her backto her mother, not, as she considers herself, a changeling, but abeautiful, strong, and splendid character, the sort of woman God meanther to be."
"Then I think you are very noble," said Maud, "and I will help you all Ican; but you must not expect poor Cartery to appear too. That is morethan can be endured. She has rushed into the house, and is probably inhysterics. Yes, I am sure she is, for Bertha has disappeared too, andBertha is her devoted slave."
"Never mind about Miss Carter now. Let us attend to our duties. I willmanage Irene. Shall she and I take a table and help to give thesechildren as much food as they want?"
This plan worked fairly well for a short time, until it was graduallywhispered that the person who was helping them to slices of cake andbunches of bread-and-butter was no less than that dreaded creature MissIrene Ashleigh of The Follies. Then the boys and girls shrank away, forhad they not heard of her pranks, and might they not expect toads andfrogs to come out of their mouths, and other horrors to happen if MissIrene had anything to do with them? They therefore began to declineIrene's cake, and to say, "No, thank you, miss," in a very timid voicewhen delicious-looking pieces of bread-and-butter and jam were offeredto them. On the other hand, when Rosamund offered any food it wasgratefully accepted.
Rosamund felt the situation was growing critical. She by no means wantedan exhibition of Irene's wrath. The girl was really making a very greateffort to control herself, and must not be tried too far. Accordingly,when one little girl refused a slice of bread-and-jam from Irene, andeagerly held out her hand to take it from Rosamund, Rosamund motionedIrene back again.
"That bread-and-jam is much nicer than this," she said. "If you don'ttake that you won't get any other;" and she insisted on the child takinga slice from the plate which Irene offered.
The little girl turned crimson. She put the bread-and-jam upon herplate, but evidently did not intend to eat it. Irene's face was changingcolor from moment to moment. She liked Maud; Alice, Mary, Ivy, andJasmine were as nothing to her. Bertha was nowhere to be seen, and wherewas "Cartery dear"? That one glimpse she had caught of the terrifiedwoman, who had disappeared like a flash into the house, had whettedIrene's desire to behold her again. Accordingly, when Rosamund's backwas turned she slipped away toward the house. In a moment she was in thehouse, and in another moment she had climbed the stairs. Compared to TheFollies, the Rectory was small, although it was really quite a largehouse. It did not take long for Irene to peep into each empty bedroom,until at last she found one occupied. It was occupied by a woman who wasbeing devotedly attended to by Bertha Singleton. Bertha was bathing herhead with aromatic vinegar, and soothing her with loving words. But thenext moment the poor woman uttered a cry, for Irene herself was in theroom.
"Oh, do go away! Don't, I beseech of you, do anything to me. Do goaway!" cried the terrified woman.
Instead of going away, Irene marched straight to the bed.
"Look here, Miss Carter," she said; "you have been exceedingly silly inrunning away from me as you have done. As to me, I was a perfect fiendthat time at The Follies. I wanted to get rid of you, and I could thinkof no other way. But now that Rosamund is here I see things from adifferent point of view. Will you trust me?"
"I don't know," said poor Miss Carter, looking at Irene with thoseabsolutely terrified eyes which the girl detested. Perhaps she wouldhave given up her efforts to make friends with Miss Carter had she notat that moment glanced out of the window and seen Rosamund resolutelydoing her duty, and looking unlike any one else--even Maud, who wassweet enough to attract any one's attention.
"I am going to confess the simple truth," said Irene; and she came backand stood at the foot of the bed. "I have been a very wicked, bad girl.I used to think that I wasn't to blame, because I was a changeling; butRosamund says I am not a changeling, and that I am just like anybodyelse, and ought to be good. I don't expect I'll ever be specially good;but anyhow, I want to be good. At least I sometimes want to be good. Ionce hated you all"--here she turned to Bertha. "I used to think you soaffected, and I used to call you the Leaves. You don't mind, do you?"
"Not in the least," said Bertha; "it doesn't matter to us. But whyshould you call us Leaves?"
"Because you wear green. You have a green sash on now, and a greenribbon round your hat."
"Mother was fond of green, and mother is dead," said Bertha.
A kind of dewy moisture came to her eyes which did not amount to tears.
"Well, if that is the reason, _pax_!" said Irene.
Suddenly she held out her hand. Now, naughty as she was, there was noone who could be quite so charming as Irene when she chose; and the nextminute, Bertha had not only shaken that hand, but had drawn Ireneforward and kissed her on her lips.
"You are so very beautiful," she said. "I never saw you before. If youwere good you'd be delightful. You'd be such a help to us all. We wantsome one lovely just to look at. Oh! wouldn't it be sweet, Cartery dear,to try and make pictures of her little face?"
"That will do. I hate people to praise me," said Irene. "I am not at allgood at present; and if I am beautiful, why, there's an end of it. WhatI want to say now is this: Miss Carter, will you forgive me?"
"I--I'll try to."
"Are you still very much afraid of me?"
"I confess that I am."
"It's rather silly of you, isn't it? For you are quite protected fromme."
; "I know that; but you gave me a great shock."
"Dear Cartery," said Bertha, "she did, to be sure; but she is changed,and you never told us she was so beautiful."
"You don't think much of a beautiful face, my dear, when you are beingdashed to pieces on the rocks," said Miss Carter.
"Oh yes! oh yes! but still, she is never going to do anything of thatsort again. Are you, Irene dear?"
"I haven't any present intention of doing so, Bertha dear," repliedIrene in a deliberate tone. "Now, Miss Carter, I want to know if youwill forgive me. It will help me to be good if you will forgive me. Willyou?"
"Then I will," said Miss Carter.
"Then there is only one way to prove it. You must get right up off yourbed and come downstairs with me, and let me rest on your arm, and comeout with me on to the lawn, where all the children are having their tea,and you and I between us are to offer them bread-and-jam and cakes andbiscuits. Will you or will you not?"
"Of course you will, Cartery dear."
"Are you certain that you mean what you say?" said Miss Carter. "I havegot a sort of headache."
"Oh no, you haven't," retorted Bertha. "You are always imagining things,Cartery dear."
"Will you come or will you not, Miss Carter?" said Irene. "Is it to bepeace or is it to be war? I offer peace now. Do you accept it?"
"I do," said Miss Carter; and she got off her bed, and went downstairsby Irene's side.