all settled, and poor Annie, tosay the least of it, is not a lady. For my own part, I always thoughther great fun, but if she is proved guilty of this offence I wash myhands of her."
"We all wash our hands of her," echoed the girls, with the exception ofSusan Drummond, who, as usual, was nodding in her chair.
"What do you say, Susy?" asked one or two--"you have not opened yourlips all this lime."
"I--eh?--what?" asked Susan, stretching herself and yawning, "oh, aboutAnnie Forest--I suppose you are right, girls. Is not that the tea-gong?I'm awfully hungry."
Hester Thornton went into the tea-room that evening feeling particularlyvirtuous, and with an idea that she had distinguished herself in someway.
Poor foolish, thoughtless Hester, she little guessed what seed she hadsown, and what a harvest she was preparing for her own reapingby-and-by.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
ABOUT SOME PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT NO EVIL.
A few days after this Hester was much delighted to receive an invitationfrom her little friends, the Misses Bruce. These good ladies had notforgotten the lonely and miserable child whom they had comforted not alittle during her journey to school six weeks ago. They invited Hesterto spend the next half-holiday with them, and as this happened to fallon a Saturday, Mrs Willis gave Hester permission to remain with herfriends until eight o'clock, when she would send the carriage to fetchher home.
The trouble about Annie had taken place the Wednesday before, and allthe girls' heads were full of the uncleared-up mystery when Hesterstarted on her little expedition.
Nothing was known; no fresh light had been thrown on the subject.Everything went on as usual within the school, and a casual observerwould never have noticed the cloud which rested over that usually happydwelling. A casual observer would have noticed little or no change inAnnie Forest; her merry laugh was still heard, her light step stilldanced across the play-room floor, she was in her place in class, andwas, if anything, a little more attentive and a little more successfulover her lessons. Her pretty, piquant face, her arch expression, thebright, quick and droll glance which she alone could give, were still tobe seen; but those who knew her well and those who loved her best saw achange in Annie.
In the play-room she devoted herself exclusively to the little ones; shenever went near Cecil Temple's drawing-room, she never mingled with thegirls of the middle school as they clustered round the cheerful fire.At meal-times she ate little, and her room-fellow was heard to declarethat she was awakened more than once in the middle of the night by thesound of Annie's sobs. In chapel, too, when she fancied herself quiteunobserved, her face wore an expression of great pain; but if MrsWillis happened to glance in her direction, instantly the little mouthbecame demure and almost hard, the dark eyelashes were lowered over thebright eyes, the whole expression of the face showed the extreme ofindifference. Hester felt more sure than ever of Annie's guilt; but oneor two of the other girls in the school wavered in this opinion, andwould have taken Annie out of "Coventry" had she herself made thesmallest advance toward them.
Annie and Hester had not spoken to each other now for several days; buton this afternoon, which was a bright one in early spring, as Hester waschanging her school-dress for her Sunday one, and preparing for hervisit to the Misses Bruce, there came a light knock at her door. Shesaid "Come in," rather impatiently, for she was in a hurry, and dreadedbeing kept.
To her surprise Annie Forest put in her curly head, and then, dancingwith her usual light movement across the room, she laid a little bunchof dainty spring flowers on the dressing-table beside Hester.
Hester stared, first at the intruder and then at the early primroses.She passionately loved flowers, and would have exclaimed with ecstasy atthese had anyone brought them in except Annie.
"I want you," said Annie, rather timidly for her, "to take these flowersfrom me to Miss Agnes and Miss Jane Bruce. It will be very kind of youif you will take them. I am sorry to have interrupted you--thank youvery much."
She was turning away when Hester compelled herself to remark--
"Is there any message with the flowers?"
"Oh, no--only Annie Forest's love. They'll understand." She turnedhalf round as she spoke, and Hester saw that her eyes had filled withtears. She felt touched in spite of herself. There was something inAnnie's face now which reminded her of her darling little Nan at home.She had seen the same beseeching, sorrowful look in Nan's brown eyeswhen she had wanted her friends to kiss her and take her to their heartsand love her.
Hester would not allow herself, however, to feel any tenderness towardAnnie. Of course she was not really a bit like sweet little Nan, and itwas absurd to suppose that a great girl like Annie could want caressingand petting and soothing; still, in spite of herself, Annie's lookhaunted her, and she took great care of the little flower-offering, andpresented it with Annie's message instantly on her arrival to the littleold ladies.
Miss Jane and Miss Agnes were very much pleased with the earlyprimroses. They looked at one another and said--
"Poor dear little girl," in tender voices, and then they put the flowersinto one of their daintiest vases, and made much of them, and showedthem to any visitors who happened to call that afternoon.
Their little house looked something like a doll's house to Hester, whohad been accustomed all her life to large rooms and spacious passages;but it was the sweetest, daintiest, and most charming little abode inthe world. It was not unlike a nest, and the Misses Bruce in certainways resembled bright little robin redbreasts, so small, so neat, sochirrupy they were.
Hester enjoyed her afternoon immensely; the little ladies were right intheir prophecy, and she was no longer lonely at school. She enjoyedtalking about her school-fellows, about her new life, about her studies.The Misses Bruce were decidedly fond of a gossip, but something whichshe could not at all define in their manner prevented Hester fromretailing for their benefit any unkind news. They told her frankly atlast that they were only interested in the good things which went on inthe school, and that they found no pursuit so altogether delightful asfinding out the best points in all the people they came across. Theywould not even laugh at sleepy, tiresome Susan Drummond; on thecontrary, they pitied her, and Miss Jane wondered if the girl could bequite well, whereupon Miss Agnes shook her head, and said emphaticallythat it was Hester's duty to rouse poor Susy, and to make her wakinglife so interesting to her that she should no longer care to spend somany hours in the world of dreams.
There is such a thing as being so kind-hearted, so gentle, so charitableas to make the people who have not encouraged these virtues feel quiteuncomfortable. By the mere force of contrast they begin to seethemselves something as they really are. Since Hester had come toLavender House she had taken very little pains to please others ratherthan herself, and she was now almost startled to see how she had allowedselfishness to get the better of her. While the Misses Bruce werespeaking, old longings, which had slept since her mother's death, cameback to the young girl, and she began to wish that she could be kinderto Susan Drummond, and that she could overcome her dislike to AnnieForest. She longed to say something about Annie to the little ladies,but they evidently did not wish to allude to the subject. When she wasgoing away, they gave her a small parcel.
"You will kindly give this to your schoolfellow, Miss Forest, Hesterdear," they both said, and then they kissed her, and said they hopedthey should see her again: and Hester got into the old-fashioned schoolbrougham, and held the brown-paper parcel in her hand.
As she was going into the chapel that night, Mary Bell came up to herand whispered--
"We have not got to the bottom of that mystery about Annie Forest yet.Mrs Willis can evidently make nothing of her, and I believe Mr Everardis going to talk to her after prayers to-night."
As she was speaking, Annie herself pushed rather rudely past the twogirls; her face was flushed, and her hair was even more untidy than wasits wont.
"Here is a parcel for you, Miss Forest," said Hester, in a
much moregentle tone than she was wont to use when she addressed thisobjectionable school-mate.
All the girls were now filing into the chapel, and Hester shouldcertainly not have presented the little parcel at that moment.
"Breaking the rules, Miss Thornton," said Annie; "all right, toss ithere." Then, as Hester failed to comply, she ran back, knocking herschool-fellows out of place, and, snatching the parcel from Hester'shand, threw it high in the air. This was a piece of not only wilfulaudacity and disobedience, but it even savoured of the profane, forAnnie's step was on the threshold of the chapel, and the parcel fellwith a noisy bang on the floor some feet inside the little building.
"Bring me that parcel, Annie Forest," whispered the stern voice of thehead-mistress.
Annie sullenly complied; but when she came up to Mrs Willis,