CHAPTER NINETEEN.
ROSALIND'S BALL.
In consideration of Arthur's presence and of the late hours andexcitement of the night before, the next day was observed as a holidayin the vicarage. Mrs Asplin stayed in bed until lunch-time, the boyswent for a bicycle ride, and Peggy and her brother had a delightful chattogether by the schoolroom fire, when he told her more details about hisown plans than he had been able to touch upon in a dozen letters.
"The preliminary examination for Sandhurst begins on the 26th thisyear," he explained, "and so far as I can make out I shall romp throughit. I am going to take all the subjects in Class One--mathematics,Latin, French, geometrical drawing, and English composition; I'llastonish them in the last subject! Plenty of dash and go, eh, Peggy,--that's the style to fetch 'em! In Class Two you can only take twosubjects, so I'm going in for chemistry and physics. I rather fancymyself in physics, and if I don't come out at the head of the list, orprecious near the head, it won't be for want of trying. I have workedlike a nigger these last six months; between ourselves, I thought I hadworked too hard a few days ago; I felt so stupid and dizzy, and my headached until I could hardly open my eyes. If I had not come away, Ibelieve I should have broken down, but I'm better already, and byTuesday I shall be as fit as a fiddle. I hope I do well, it would be sojolly to cable out the news to the old pater; and I say, Peg, I don'tmean to leave Sandhurst without bringing home something to keep as asouvenir. At the end of each Christmas term a sword is presented to thecadet who passes out first in the final exam.--`The Anson MemorialSword.' Mariquita!"--Arthur smote his breast, and struck a fierce andwarlike attitude,--"that sword is mine! In the days to come, when youare old and grey-headed, you will see that rusty blade hanging over myancestral hearth, and tell in faltering tones the story of the gallantyouth who wrested it from his opponents."
"Ha, ha!" responded Peggy deeply. There was no particular meaning inthe exclamation, but it seemed right and fitting in the connection, andhad a smack of melodrama which was quite to her taste. "Of course youwill be first, Arthur!" she added; "and, oh dear! how proud I shall bewhen I see you in all your uniform! I am thankful all my men relativesare soldiers, they are so much more interesting than civilians. Itwould break my heart to think of you as a civilian! Of course wars aresomewhat disconcerting, but then one always hopes there won't be wars."
"I don't!" cried Arthur loudly. "No, no--active service for me, andplenty of it!
"`Come one, come all, this rock shall fly From its firm base as soon as I!'
"That's my motto, and my ambition is the Victoria Cross, and I'll getthat too before I'm done; you see if I don't! It's the ambition of mylife, Peg. I lie awake and think of that little iron cross; I go tosleep and dream of it, and see the two words dancing before my eyes inletters of fire, `For Valour,' `For Valour,' `For Valour.' Ah!"--hedrew a deep breath of excitement--"I don't think there is anything inthe world I should envy, if I could only gain that."
Peggy gazed at him with kindling eyes. "You are a soldier's son," shesaid, "and the grandson of a soldier, and the great-grandson of asoldier; it's in your blood; you can't help it--it's in my blood too,Arthur! I give you my solemn word of honour that if the French orGermans came over to invade this land, I'd--" Peggy seized the ruler andwaved it in the air with a gesture of fiercest determination--"I'd fightthem! There! I'd shoot at them; I'd go out and spike the guns; I'd--I'd climb on the house-tops and throw stones at them. You needn'tlaugh, I tell you I should be _terrible_! I feel as if I could face awhole regiment myself. The spirit--the spirit of my ancestors is in mybreast, Arthur Reginald, and woe betide that enemy who tries to wrestfrom me my native land!" Peggy went off into a shriek of laughter, inwhich Arthur joined, until the sound of the merry peals reached MrsAsplin's ears as she lay wearily on her pillow, and brought a smile toher pale face. "Bless the dears! How happy they are!" she murmured toherself; nor even suspected that it was a wholesale massacre of foreignnations which had been the cause of this gleeful outburst.
Arthur left the vicarage on Tuesday evening, seemingly much refreshed bythe few days' change, though he still complained of his head, andpressed his hand over his eyes from time to time as though in pain. Theparting from Peggy was more cheerful than might have been expected, forin a few more weeks Christmas would be at hand, when, as he himselfexpressed it, he hoped to return with blushing honours thick upon him.Peggy mentally expended her whole ten pounds in a present for the dearhandsome fellow, and held her head high in the consciousness of owning abrother who was destined to be Commander-in-Chief of the British forcesin the years to come.
The same evening Robert returned from his visit to London. He had heardof Peggy's escapade from his father and sister, and was by no means sograteful as that young lady had expected.
"What in all the world possessed you to play such a mad trick?" hequeried bluntly. "It makes me ill to think of it. Rushing off toLondon on a wet, foggy night, never even waiting to inquire if there wasa return train, or to count if you had enough money to see you through!Goodness only knows what might have happened! You are careless enoughin an ordinary way, but I must say I gave you credit for more sense thanthat."
"Well, but, Rob," pleaded Peggy, aggrieved, "I don't think you needscold! I did it for you, and I thought you would be pleased."
"Did you indeed? Well, you are mightily mistaken; I wouldn't have letyou do a thing like that for all the microscopes in the world. I don'tcare a rap for the wretched old microscope."
"Oh! oh!"
"In comparison, I mean. Of course I should have been glad to get it ifit had come to me in an ordinary way, but I was not so wrapped up in theidea that I would not have been reasonable, if you had come to mequietly and explained that you had missed the post."
Peggy shook her head sagely. "You think so now, because the danger isover, and you are sure it can't happen. But I know better. I can tellyou exactly what would have happened. You wouldn't have stormed orraged, it would have been better if you had, and sooner over; you wouldjust have stood still, and--glared at me! When I'd finished speaking,you would have swallowed two or three times over, as if you were gulpingdown something which you dared not say, and then turned on your heel andmarched out of the room. That's what you would have done, my dear andhonourable sir, and you know it!"
Robert hung his head and looked self-conscious.
"Well, if I had! A fellow can't hide all he feels in the first momentof disappointment. But I should have got over it, and you know verywell that I should never have brought it up against you. `Glared!'What if I _did_ glare? There is nothing very terrible in that, isthere?"
"Yes, there is. I could not have borne it, when I had been trying sohard to help you. And it would not have been only the first fewminutes. Every time when you were quiet and depressed, when you lookedat your specimens through your little old glass and sighed, and pitchedit away, as I've seen you do scores and scores of times, I should havefelt that it was my fault, and been in the depths of misery. No, no,I'm sorry to the depths of my heart that I scared dear Mrs Asplin andthe rest, but it is a matter of acute satisfaction to me to know thatyour chance has in no way been hindered by your confidence in me!" andPeggy put her head on one side, and coughed in a faint and ladylikemanner, which brought the twinkle back into Robert's eyes.
"Good old Mariquita!" he cried, laughing. "`Acute satisfaction' isgood, Mariquita--decidedly good! You will make your name yet in theworld of letters. Well, as I said before, you are a jolly little brick,and the best partner a fellow ever had! Mind you, I tell you straightthat I think you behaved badly in cutting off like that; but I'll standby you to the others, and not let them sit upon you while I am there."
"Thanks!" said Peggy meekly. "But, oh, I beseech of you, don't bring upthe subject if you can help it! I'm tired to death of it all! Thekindest thing you can do is to talk hard about something else, and givethem a fresh excitement to think about. Talk about--about--aboutRosalin
d if you will; anything will do--only, for pity's sake, leave mealone, and pretend there is not such a thing in the world as acalendar!"
"Right you are!" said Robert, laughing. "I'll steer clear of the rocks!And as it happens, I have got a piece of news that will put your doingsinto the background at one fell swoop. Rosalind is going to give aparty! The Earl and Countess of Berkhampton are coming down to theLarches the week after next, and are going to bring their two girls withthem. They are great lanky things, with about as much `go' in the pairas in one of your little fingers; but this party is to be given in theirhonour. The mater has asked everyone of a right age within a dozenmiles around, and the house will be crammed with visitors. Your card iscoming to-morrow, and I hope you will give me the honour of the firstround, and as many as possible after that."
"The first, with pleasure; I won't promise any more until I see how weget on. It doesn't seem appropriate to think of your dancing, Rob;there is something too heavy and serious in your demeanour. Oswald isdifferent; he would make a charming dancing master. Oh, it will be anexcitement! Mellicent will not be able to eat or sleep for thinking ofit; and poor Mrs Asplin will be running up seams on the sewing-machine,and making up ribbon bows from this day to that. I'm glad I have adress all ready, and shan't be bothered with any trying on! You don'tknow what it is to stand first on one leg and then on the other, to beturned and pulled about as if you were a dummy, and have pins stuck intoyou as if you were a pin-cushion! I adore pretty clothes, but everytime I go to the dressmaker's I vow and declare that I shall take tosacks. Tell them at dinner, do, and they will talk about it for therest of the evening!"
Peggy's prophecy came true, for the subject of Rosalind's party became atopic of such absorbing interest as left room for little else during thenext few weeks. New dresses had to be bought and made for the girls,and Peggy superintended the operations of the village dressmaker withequal satisfaction to herself and her friends.
Rosalind appeared engrossed in preparations, and two or three times aweek, as the girls trudged along the muddy roads, with Fraulein laggingin the rear, the jingle of bells would come to their ears, andRosalind's two white long-tailed ponies would come dashing past, drawingthe little open carriage in which their mistress sat, half-hidden amonga pile of baskets and parcels. She was always beautiful and radiant,and as she passed she would turn her head over her shoulders and look atthe three mud-bespattered pedestrians with a smile of pityingcondescension, which made Peggy set her teeth and draw her eyebrowstogether in an ominous frown.
One day she condescended to stop and speak a few words from her throneamong the cushions.
"How de do? So sowwy not to have been to see you! Fwightfully busy,don't you know. We are decowating the wooms, and don't know how tofinish in time. It's going to be quite charming!"
"We know! We know! Rob told us. I'm dying to see it. You should askPeggy to help you, if you are in a hurry. She's s-imply splendid atdecorations! Mother says she never knew anyone so good at it as Peggy!"cried Mellicent, with an outburst of gushing praise, in acknowledgmentof which she received a thunderous frown and such a sharp pinch on thearm as penetrated through all her thick winter wrappings.
Rosalind, however, only ejaculated, "Oh, weally!" in an uninterestedmanner, and whipped up her ponies without taking any further notice ofthe suggestion; but it had taken root in her mind all the same, and shedid not forget to question her brother on the first opportunity.
Mellicent Asplin had said that Peggy Saville was clever at decoration.Was it true, and would it be the least use asking her to come and helpin the decorations?
Robert laughed, and wagged his head with an air of proud assurance.
Clever! Peggy? She was a witch! She could work wonders! If you sether down in an empty room, and gave her two-and-sixpence to transform itinto an Alhambra, he verily believed she could do it. The way in whichshe had rigged up the various characters for the Shakespeare reading wasnothing short of miraculous. Yes, indeed, Peggy would be worth a dozenordinary helpers. The question was, Would she come?
"Certainly she will come. I'll send down for her at once," saidRosalind promptly, and forthwith sat down and wrote a dainty littlenote, not to Peggy herself, but to Mrs Asplin, stating that she hadheard great accounts of Peggy Saville's skill in the art of decoration,and begging that she might be allowed to come up to the Larches to helpwith the final arrangements, arriving as early as possible on the day ofthe party, and bringing her box with her, so as to be saved the fatigueof returning home to dress. It was a prettily worded letter, and MrsAsplin was dismayed at the manner of its reception.
"No, Peggy Saville won't!" said that young person, pursing her lips andtossing her head in her most high and mighty manner. "She won't doanything of the sort! Why should I go? Let her ask some of her ownfriends! I'm not her friend! I should simply loathe to go!"
"My dear Peggy! When you are asked to help! When this entertainment isgiven for your pleasure, and you can be of real use--"
"I never asked her to give the party! I don't care whether I go or not!She is simply making use of me for her own convenience!"
"It is not the first or only time that you have been asked, as you knowwell, Peggy. And sometimes you have enjoyed yourself very much. Yousaid you would never forget the pink luncheon. In spite of all you say,you owe Rosalind thanks for some pleasant times; and now you can be ofsome service to her. Well, I'm not going to force you, dear. I hateunwilling workers, and if it's not in your heart to go, stay at home,and settle with your conscience as best you can."
Peggy groaned with sepulchral misery.
"Wish I hadn't got no conscience! Tiresome, presuming thing--alwayspoking itself forward and making remarks when it isn't wanted. Isuppose I shall have to go, and run about from morning till night,holding a pair of scissors, and nasty little balls of string, forRosalind's use! Genius indeed! What's the use of talking about genius?I know very well I shall not be allowed to do anything but run aboutand wait upon her. It's no use staring at me, Mrs Asplin. I mean itall--every single word."
"No, you don't, Peggy! No, you don't, my little kind, warm-heartedPeggy! I know better than that! It's just that foolish tongue that isrunning away with you, dearie. In your heart you are pleased to do aservice for a friend, and are going to put your whole strength intodoing it as well and tastefully as it can be done."
"I'm not! I'm not! I'm not! I'm savage, and it's no use pretending--"
"Yes, you are! I know it! What is the good of having a special gift ifone doesn't put it to good use? Ah, that's the face I like to see! Ididn't recognise my Peggy with that ugly frown. I'll write and sayyou'll come with pleasure."
"It's to please you, then, not Rosalind!" said Peggy obstinately. ButMrs Asplin only laughed, dropped a kiss upon her cheek, and walked awayto answer the invitation forthwith.