CHAPTER XXIII
RESTORATION
Notwithstanding the fact that the lost packet was restored, Betty's lifehung in the balance for at least another twenty-four hours. During thattime she tossed and sighed and groaned. The fever ran high, and herlittle voice kept on saying, "Oh, that I could find the packet!"
It was in this emergency that Miss Symes came to the rescue. She calledSylvia and Hester to her, and desired Hester to stand at one side ofBetty's little, narrow, white bed, and Sylvia to place herself at theother.
Betty did not seem even to know her sisters. Her eyes were glassy, hercheeks deeply flushed, and there was a look of intense restlessness andgreat pain in her face. "Oh, that I might find the packet!" shemurmured.
"Do what your heart prompts you, Sylvia," said Miss Symes.
Sylvia immediately pushed her hand under Betty's pillow, and, taking upthe lost packet, took one of the girl's little, feverish hands andclosed her fingers round the brown-paper parcel.
"It is found, Bettina! it is found!" said Sylvia. "Here it is. You neednot fret any more."
"What! what!" said Betty. Into her eyes there crept a new expression,into her voice a new note. "Oh, I can't believe it!" she exclaimed.
But here Hetty threw in a word of affection and entreaty. "Why,Bettina," she said, "it is in your hand. Feel it, darling! feel it! Wegot it back for you, just as we said we would. Feel it, Bettina! feelit!"
Betty felt. Her fingers were half-numbed; but she was able to perceivethe difference between the brown paper and the thick, strong cord, andagain the difference between the thick cord and the sealing-wax. "Howmany seals are there?" she asked in a breathless, eager voice, turningand looking full at her sisters.
"Eight in all," said Sylvia, speaking rapidly: "two in front, two ateach side, and two, again, fastening down the naps at the back."
"I knew there were eight," said Betty. "Let me feel them."
Sylvia conducted Betty's fingers over the unbroken seals.
"Count for me, darling, silly Sylvia!" said Betty.
Sylvia began to count: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
"It is my lost packet!" said Betty with a cry.
"It is, Betty! it is!"
"And is any one going to take it from me?"
"No one, Betty, ever again."
"Let me hold it in my hand," said Betty.
Sister Helen came up with a restorative; and when Betty had taken thenourishing contents of the little, white china cup, she again made useof that extraordinary expression, "Oh, I am so sleepy! Oh, I am tired!"
Still holding the packet in her hand, Betty dropped off into slumber;and when she came to herself the doctors said that the crisis was past.
Betty Vivian recovered very slowly, during which time the rules of theschool were altogether relaxed, not only in her favor, but also in favorof the twins, Sylvia and Hetty. They were allowed to spend some hoursevery day with Betty, and although they spoke very little, they wereable to comfort their sister immensely. At last Betty was well enough toleave her bed and creep to any easy-chair, where she would sit, feelingmore dead than alive; and, by slow degrees, the girls of the school whomshe loved best came to see her and comfort her and fuss over her.Margaret Grant looked very strong and full of sympathy; Martha West hadthat delightful voice which could not but attract all who heard herspeak. Susie Rushworth, the Bertrams, Olive, and all the otherSpecialities, with the exception of Fanny, came to visit Betty, who, inher turn, loved to see them, and grew better each day, and stronger, andmore inclined to eat the good, nourishing food which was provided forher.
All this time she had never once spoke of Fanny Crawford. The otherSpeciality girls were rather nervous on this account. They wondered howBetty would feel when she heard what had happened to Fanny; for Fanny,after spending a whole day and night in the small and somewhat dismalbedroom prepared for her by Mrs. Haddo's orders, refused to appear atprayers the following morning, and, further, requested that herbreakfast should be taken up to her.
Betty's life was still hanging in the balance, although the doctors werenot nearly so anxious as they had been the day before. Fanny was bidingher time. She knew all the rules of the school, having spent so manyyears there. She also knew well what desolation awaited her in thefuture in this bright and pleasant school; for, during that painful dayand that terrible night, and this, if possible, more dreadful morning,no one had come near her but the servant who brought her meals, no onehad spoken to her. To all appearance she, one of the prime favorites ofthe school and Sir John Crawford's only daughter, was forgotten asthough she had never existed. To Fanny's proud heart this sense ofdesertion was almost intolerable. She could have cried aloud but thatshe did not dare to give way; she could have set aside Mrs. Haddo'spunishment, but in her heart of hearts she felt convinced that none ofthe girls would take her part. All the time, however, she was making upher mind. Her nicely assorted garments--her pretty evening frocks, herday-dresses of summer and winter, her underclothing, her jackets, herhats, gloves, and handkerchiefs--had all been conveyed to the small,dull room which she was now occupying. To herself she called itPunishment Chamber, and felt that she could not endure the life thereeven for another hour.
Being well acquainted with the usual routine of the school, Fanny busiedherself immediately after breakfast in packing her different belongingsinto two neat cane trunks which she had desired a servant to bring toher from the box-room. Having done this, she changed the dress she waswearing for a coat and skirt of neat blue serge and a little cap tomatch. She wrote out labels at her desk and gummed them on the trunks.She examined the contents of her purse; she had two or three pounds ofher own. She could, therefore, do pretty much what she pleased.
But although Fanny Crawford had acted perhaps worse than any other girlhad acted in the school before, she scorned to run away. She would goopenly; she would defy Mrs. Haddo. Mrs. Haddo could not possibly keep agirl of Fanny's age--for she would soon be seventeen--against her will.Having packed her trunks, Fanny went downstairs. The rest of the upperschool were busy at their lessons. Sibyl Ray, who had returned to thelower school, was of course nowhere in sight. Fanny marched bravely downthe corridor, along which she had hurried yesterday in nameless fearand trepidation. She knocked at Mrs. Haddo's door. Mrs. Haddo said,"Come in," and she entered.
"Oh, it's you, Fanny Crawford! I haven't sent for you."
"I know that," replied Fanny. "But I cannot stay any longer in disgracein one room. I have had enough of it. I wish to tell you, Mrs. Haddo,that Haddo Court is no longer the place for me. I suppose I ought torepent of what I have done; and, of course, I never for a moment thoughtthat Betty would be so absurd and silly to get an illness which wouldnearly kill her. As a matter of fact, I do not repent. The wicked personwas Betty Vivian. She first stole the packet, and then told a lie aboutit. I happened to see her steal it, for I was saying at Craigie Muir atthe time. When Miss Symes told me that the Vivians were coming to theschool I disliked the idea, and said so; but I wouldn't complain, and mydislike received no attention whatsoever. Betty has great powers offascination, and she won hearts here at once. She was asked to join theSpecialities--an unheard-of-thing for a new girl at the school. I beggedand implored of her not to join, referring her to Rule No. I., whichprohibits any girl who is in possession of such a secret as Betty had tobecome a member. She would not listen to me; she _would_ join. Then shebecame miserable, and confessed what she had done, but would not carryher confession to its logical conclusion--namely, confession to you andrestoration of the lost packet."
"I wish to interrupt you for a minute here, Fanny," said Mrs. Haddo."Since your father left he has sent me several letters of the late MissVivian's to read. In one of them she certainly did allude to a packetwhich was to be kept safely until Betty was old enough to appreciate it;but in another, which I do not think your father ever read, Miss Viviansaid that she had changed her mind, and had put the packet altogetherinto Betty's charge. I do not wish to condone
Betty's sins; but her onlysin in this affair was the lie she told, which was evidently uttered ina moment of swift temptation. She had a right to the packet, accordingto this letter of Miss Frances Vivian's."
Fanny stood very still. "I didn't know that," she replied.
"I dare say you didn't; but had you treated Betty differently, and beenkind to her from the first, she would probably have explained things toyou."
"I never liked her, and I never shall," said Fanny with a toss of herhead. "She may suit you, Mrs. Haddo, but she doesn't suit me. And I wishto say that I want you to send me, at once, to stay with my aunt Ameliaat Brighton until I can hear from my father with regard to my futurearrangements. If you don't send me, I have money in my pocket, and willgo in spite of you. I don't like your school any longer. I did love it,but now I hate it; and it is all--all because of Betty Vivian."
"Oh, Fanny, what a pity!" said Mrs. Haddo. Tears filled her eyes. ButFanny would not look up.
"May I go?" said Fanny.
"Yes, my dear. Anderson shall take you, and I will write a note to youraunt. Fanny, is there no chance of your turning to our Divine Father toask Him to forgive you for your sins of cruelty to one unhappy but verysplendid girl?"
"Oh, don't talk to me of her splendor!" said Fanny. "I am sick of it."
"Very well, I will say no more."
Mrs. Haddo sank into the nearest chair. After a minute's pause sheturned to her writing-table and wrote a letter. She then rang her bell,and desired Anderson to get ready for a short journey.
About three o'clock that day Fanny, accompanied by Anderson, with hertrunks and belongings heaped on top of a station-cab, drove from HaddoCourt never to return. There were no girls to say farewell; in fact, notone of her friends even knew of her departure until Mrs. Haddo mentionedit on the following morning.
"Fanny did right to go," she said. "And now we will try to live down allthat has been so painful, and turn our faces once again towards thelight."
* * * * *
Betty recovered all in good time; but it was not until Christmas hadlong passed that she first asked for Fanny Crawford. When she heard thatFanny had gone, a queer look--half of pleasure, half of pain--flittedacross her little face.
"You're glad, aren't you? You're very, very glad, Bettina?" whisperedSylvia in her sister's ear.
"No, I am not glad," replied Betty. "If I had known she was going Imight have spoken to her just once. As it is, I am sorry."
"Oh Bettina, why?"
"Because she has lost the influence of so noble a woman as dear Mrs.Haddo, and of so faithful a friend as Margaret Grant, and of so dear agirl as Martha West. Oh, why did I ever come here to upset things? Andwhy did I ever tell that wicked, wicked lie?"
"You have repented now, poor darling, if any one ever did!" said boththe twins.
As they spoke Mrs. Haddo entered the room. "Betty," she said, "I wish totell you something. You certainly did exceedingly wrong when you toldSir John Crawford that you knew nothing of the packet. But I know youdid not steal it, dear, for I hold a letter in my hand from your aunt,in which she told Sir John that she had given the packet absolutely intoyour care. Sir John could never have read that letter; but I have readit, dear, and I have written to him on the subject."
"Then I may keep the packet?" asked Betty in a very low voice.
"Yes, Betty."
"And it will read me a lesson," said Betty. "Oh, thank you! thank you!"Then she sprang to her feet and kissed Mrs. Haddo's white hands first,and then pressed a light kiss on that good lady's beautiful lips. "Godwill help me to do better in the future," she added.
And she was helped.
THE END
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TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:
1. Chapter VIII, A New Member, had a major typesetter's error in theedition this etext was done from--the text for Rule I. was inadvertentlyinserted for Rule IV. The staff of the Rare Books Collection at MarriottLibrary, University of Utah, Salt Lake City were kind enough to researchtheir version of the text, and provide the correction, from the original1909 edition from W. & R. Chambers, Edinburgh.
2. Minor changes have been made to ensure consistent usage ofpunctuation.
3. A Table of Contents has been added for the reader's convenience.
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