found a place close to Rose. He presently transferred thissmall person to his own knee, where she became radiantly happy, and thenhe entered into conversation with Mrs Starling. Mrs Starling, withoutin the least intending it, managed to convey to him the fact that sheconsidered Robina a very rough, disobedient child, whom of course sheloved, but to whom discipline was sadly necessary.
Mrs Starling was a very sweet looking woman, notwithstanding herillness, and Durrant became instantly much interested in her, and askedher a good many questions with regard to Robina. Finally, it wasarranged that the momentous question of the little girl's becomingMalcolm Durrant's guest during his absence was to be deferred until theweek after that spent by the entire happy party of school-mothers on theyacht; and Durrant promised to write to the Starlings on the subject atthe end of that period.
He arrived back at Sunshine Lodge early on Monday morning, and theninformed the different children that the weather report being excellentthey would start on the cruise early on the following day. Nothingcould exceed the delight of all the little school-mothers, and amongstthem, no one was more cheerful than Harriet Lane. She had quiterecovered her normal health, and was to all appearance in the highest ofspirits.
That evening, she and Jane had a short conversation together.
Jane, said Harriet; "I mean, if possible, to be the girl left in chargeof Ralph during his father's absence. I know quite well all that hashappened with regard to Robina. Mr Durrant wants Robina to stay withRalph here; and he went to see her people, because he told me so; butall the same, matters won't be quite settled until Ralph himselfarranges the matter. Now Ralph wishes for me, not Robina, and I thinkRalph's wishes will in the end carry the day."
Jane looked somewhat unhappy. After a pause, she said:
"Nothing could be more delightful than our life here, and I am lookingforward to our time on board the yacht more than anything else in allthe world; but you manage somehow always to give an unpleasant tone tothings. I thought after the fright you got with regard to Ralph when wewere at school that you would let him alone in the future; but you arejust as bad as ever."
"I am," said Harriet; "I am worse than ever. I am not very happy athome, and I have not the advantages that Robina has."
"Robina has one thing that you have not," said Jane, stoutly. "Shereally and truly loves little children. Don't you remember how sweetshe was to Curly Pate? She has a way about her that all little childrenlike: I suppose it is partly because she has got two little sisters ofher own. Now, you do not care for children--not in your heart ofhearts."
"I don't care for the ordinary child, and I certainly began by notloving Ralph at all," was Harriet's response; "but certainly I do carefor him now better than I ever did for any other child. If I were lefthere, I should be good to him, and he would be happy. But that is notthe point. I want the advantages that Mr Durrant offers--oh yes!Robina can keep her pony; that wonderful Bo-peep can go back to theBrown House and delight them all, and Robina can ride Bo-peep in theholidays. I don't grudge her her pony, but I do grudge her Ralph. WhyI--oh, but you don't know about that."
She stopped abruptly.
"You may as well tell me," said Jane. "I guessed--I think we allguessed that something happened that day when you were so horribly crossand would not come with us to the sea-shore. You got poor little Ralphinto no end of mischief that day, or why should you both have been takenill that evening?"
"I will tell you, Jane," said Harriet, "if you will promise never, neverto let it out to anybody else."
There was a girl lying in a hammock close by. That girl was Robina.She had been fast asleep. The day was hot, and she was tired from muchexercise, for Mr Durrant's parties never did let the grass grow undertheir feet. But she awoke now to find that Harriet and Jane werestanding a few feet away. Her impulse was to say, "I am here." Thenext moment, she would have uttered the words, but, hearing her own namespoken, arrested the speech that was on her lips. She did not know why,but a swift and horrible temptation came over her. She bent a littleforward, and, unperceived by the two who were standing two or three feetoff, could hear every word that was spoken.
"You will never tell," began Harriet.
"No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tellall the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time ofit. You know you have always plotted and planned against Robina. Well,what did you do against her that day?"
"The only thing I could do, and that was not much. You know all aboutthe gipsies, and my following Ralph and bringing him home and my realsorrow, and my giving Ralph up to Robina; and you know how Robina wonthe pony?"
"Yes," said Jane; "I know that story, I am perfectly sick of it," sheadded.
"Well, that story has somehow come to an end, but another story hasbegun. It is this: I will tell you what really did happen. I was, oh!in such a rage; and I wouldn't ride the horrid donkey, and you all wentoff without me, only Ralph--he stayed."
"He is a dear little boy," said Jane. "He did not want to stay, I cantell you; but he could not stand the thought of your being left allalone, so he asked his father if he might stay, and Mr Durrant said,`Of course.' Mr Durrant never makes much of people beingself-sacrificing; he seems to think it only right. Well, anyhow, hestayed."
"He did," said Harriet. "In some ways he was rather a little nuisance.He talked to me and I talked to him; and he--he--told me that he lovedRobina the best."
The girl in the hammock gave a quick catch in her breath, then a sigh ofrelief, but too faint to reach the girls who were talking eagerly in theshrubbery below.
"He said he loved her best; and you know that sort of little chap," saidHarriet, "he never, never could tell a lie--that is quite outside hiscategory."
"Oh quite, dear little man!" said Jane.
"Well, I wanted some water-lilies; and what do you think? I tried topull some, but I couldn't, and he--he crept along a bough. I could haveprevented him, but I didn't, for a thought got into my head."
"What was that?"
"I knew quite well that if he crept along that bough--that willow boughthat hangs over the round pond, that it wouldn't hold his weight, andthat he would fall in."
"You knew it!" said Jane, gasping, "and you let him do it?"
"I did. I let him do it on purpose. He didn't see me. He wanted toget the water-lilies for me, and he thought he would manage--oh, sofine! and I watched behind a shrub."
"Oh, Harriet!"
"Well, my dear; you needn't go on like that. The bough dipped lower andlower, and Ralph, he is not a bit frightened--you know he never was, heis as plucky as his father. I did feel inclined to say, `oh, do goback, Ralph--'"
"And you didn't say the words, Harriet?"
"No, no; you goose, I didn't; well, anyhow, he tumbled into the waterwhere it was pretty deep too; and he would have sunk, poor little man,for there are such a lot of weeds about just there--only of course I wasclose by, and I rushed down to the edge of the pond and flung myself in,and swam out to him. I saved him--oh, it was quite easy; he was noteven unconscious when I got him out of the water; only of course we wereboth drenched to the skin."
"I don't understand," said Jane. "It seemed a horrid mean thing to do,and you speak as though it was something fine."
"Ralph thinks it awfully fine. You see, he takes it in this way. Hethinks he tried to get the lilies for me at the risk of his life."
"That's true enough," said Jane.
"And that I saved him at the risk of mine."
"Which is not a bit true," said Jane, "for you can swim like a duckanywhere."
"Ah, but Ralph does not know that, and there is no one who will dare totell him. We both got ill afterwards, and I was more ill than Ralph,because I was longer in my dripping wet clothes; and now Ralph loves memuch, much better than Robina, for you see I saved his life."
"Oh! I think you are a horrid girl!" said Jane.
"Do you? do you? Well, perhaps you won't think me qu
ite so horrid whenI get you invited here, say, for Christmas, and when we have a jolly,jolly time, with that old Mr Durrant safe in Africa and Ralph justobliged to put up with us. I'll always be good to him, you may be sureof that, but I shan't molly-coddle him: I'll look after number one, seeif I don't."
"All the same," said Jane, "Robina is the one who will be invited totake care of Ralph, and you haven't a chance."
"I know better," said Harriet. "I have my own plans. You will have tohelp me, for if you don't, I won't give you that five