CHAPTER NINE.
HAVING IT OUT.
Thomasina led the way into her study, and shut the door behind her. Itwas a bare little room, singularly free from those photographs and nick-nacks with which most girls love to adorn a private sanctum. It lookedwhat it was--a workroom pure and simple, with a pile of writingmaterials on the table, and the walls ornamented with maps and sheets ofpaper, containing jottings of the hours of classes and games. On themantelpiece reposed a ball of string, a dogskin glove, a matchbox, and aphotograph of an elderly gentleman, whose pike-like aspect sufficientlyproclaimed his relationship. There were three straight-back chairs,supplied by the school, and two easier ones of Thomasina's ownproviding, both in the last stages of invalidism.
The mistress of this luxurious domain turned towards her visitor with ahospitable smile.
"Sit down," she cried, "make yourself comfortable. Not that chair--thespokes have given way, and it might land you on the floor. Try theblue, and keep your skirts to the front, so that it won't catch on thenails. I can't think how it is that my chairs go wrong. I'm alwaystinkering at them. Nice little study, isn't it? So cosy!"
"Ye-es!" assented Rhoda, who privately thought it the most forlorn-looking apartment she had ever seen, but was in no mood to discusseither its merits or demerits. It was in no friendly spirit that shehad paid this visit; then why waste time on foolish preliminaries? Shelooked expectantly at Thomasina, and Thomasina stood in front of thechimney-piece with both hands thrust into the side pockets of herbicycling skirt, jingling their contents in an easy, gentlemanlyfashion. From her leathern band depended a steel chain which lostitself in the depths of the right-hand pocket. Rhoda felt anunaccountable curiosity to discover what hung at the end of that chainand rattled in so uncanny a fashion.
"Well!" began Thomasina, tilting herself slowly forward on the points ofher flat, wide shoes, "Well, and now about this little matter. I askedyou to step in here because I think differences of opinion are moreeasily settled without an audience, and as it were, man to man." Sheburied her chin in her necktie, and gazed across the room with a calm,speculative glance. The likeness between her and the pike-likegentleman grew more startling every moment. "Now, we have known eachother barely a week, and already I have offended you deeply, and you,without knowing it, have hit me on a tender spot. It is time that wecame to an understanding. Before going any further, however, there areone or two questions I should like to ask. You have had time to noticea good many things since you arrived. You have seen me constantly withthe girls. Do they dislike me? Do they speak of me hardly behind myback? Do they consider me a bully or a sneak? Should you say on thewhole that I was popular or unpopular?"
"Popular!" said Rhoda firmly. Whatever happened she would speak thetruth, and not quibble with obvious facts. "They like you very much."
"And you wonder how they can, eh? Nevertheless it's true. I'll tellyou something more. I'm the most popular Head Girl at Hurst. You askthe other colours to-morrow, and they'll tell you to a man that you arelucky to have me. Very well then, Rhoda, who's to blame if you thinkthe opposite? Yourself, and nobody but yourself, as I'll proceed toprove. You come to school with a flourish of trumpets, thinking you aredoing us a mighty big favour by settling among us, and that you are tobe allowed to amble along at your own sweet will, ignoring rules youdon't like, graciously agreeing to those you do, and prepared to turninto a wild cat the first moment any one tries to keep you in order.Then, when you are unhappy, as you jolly well deserve to be, you turnand rend me, and say it is my fault. If all the new girls behaved asyou have done, I should have been in my little tomb long ago, and youwould have some one else to deal with. It seems to me, my dear, thatyou don't recognise my duties. I am placed in a position of authority,and am bound to enforce the rules. If the girls are obedient, well andgood; if they kick, well and good also. _I break 'em in_! I'm going tobreak _you_ in, Rhoda Chester, and the sooner you realise it the happieryou'll be."
Rhoda looked at her fully, with a firmness of chin, a straightness ofeye, which argued ill for the success of the project.
"You will never break me in, as you call it, by domineering, andtreating me like a child."
"I know it, my dear. I haven't been studying girls all these yearswithout learning something of character. Some fillies you can drivewith a snaffle, others need the curb. You drive yourself, andunderstand what I mean. I can see quite well that you are a proud,sensitive girl, with a good heart hidden away behind a lot of nonsense.If it were not for that heart I shouldn't trouble myself about you, butsimply give my orders, and see that they were obeyed. But there'snothing mean about me, and I'd scorn to take an unfair advantage. Now,I'll tell you straight that I have come to the conclusion that I judgedyou wrongly about that pony business, and that you didn't mean to brag.I saw by the way you flared out that you were really hurt, and I wassorry. I've no pity on brag, but when I judge a girl wrongly I feelsick. If it's any relief to your mind to know it, I believe that littleepisode upset me more than it did you. When you said I was not worthyof my position, and made new-comers wretched, you hit me very hard,Rhoda, very hard indeed!"
She stopped short and jingled furiously at her chains, then suddenlylooked up, gave a roguish smile, and cried, insinuatingly--
"There, I've done my part. I've acknowledged I was wrong. You are nocoward, so you will do as much! You will admit that you have been adifficult subject, won't you now?"
Rhoda looked at her and hesitated. She cleared her throat anddetermined to speak openly, and then suddenly, suddenly, somethingswelled at her throat, and she heard her own voice say chokingly:
"I suppose I've been stupid... I've never been accustomed to be--ordered about! I'm sorry if I was disagreeable, but I never, nevermeant to--give myself airs!"
"But you did though, all the same," cried Thomasina briskly. "Bless me,yes! The way you came into a room, the way you walked out, the way youlooked at your food, and turned it over on your plate, the way you eyedthe other girls up and down, down and up--it all said as plainly asprint `I'm Her Royal Highness of Chester, and I won't have any dealingswith the likes of _You_!' If you had been a Princess of the blood youcouldn't have put on more side, and so, of course, we judged your wordsby your actions, and thought you were bragging when you meant nothing ofthe sort. Now, just make up your mind, like a sensible girl, to forgetyour own importance, and don't always be on the lookout for insults toyour dignity. Your dignity will look after itself if it's any good, andyou'll be a heap happier if you give up coddling and fussing over it allday long. There was that little matter of the pigtail the othermorning! It wasn't my wish that you should tie back your hair. I don'tmind telling you that it's much less becoming than it was, but I wassimply acting as the mouthpiece of Miss Bruce, as you might have knownif you had taken one minute to consider. Your friend, Dorothy What-ever-she-calls-herself, behaved like a sensible girl, and did as she wastold without making a fuss, but you must needs work yourself into afury. You'll have a fit one of these days if you are not careful. Youare just one of those fair, reddy people who are subject to apoplexy, sodon't say I didn't warn you. When we went down to breakfast I tried tobe friendly, just to show there was no ill-feeling, and you went andstarved yourself rather than accept a crumb from my hands. It remindedme awfully of my little cousin of three. When he is made to do what hedoesn't like, he refuses to eat his bread and milk. He seems to thinkhe is punishing us somehow; but, bless your heart, _we_ don't mind! Weknow he is strong and hearty, and that it will do him no harm to starveonce in a way. I wasn't in the least anxious about you, but I don'twant you to go on feeling wretched in my house, so I'll do my best toconsider your feelings. I warn you, however, I can't stop chaffing. IfI think of a funny thing to say, I _must_ say it or burst, and if youdon't like it you can comfort yourself by thinking that it's for yourgood, and will teach you to control your temper. If you get offendedafter this, the more fool you, for I tell you stra
ight there will be noill-feeling in my mind, nothing but simple, pure buffoonery."
Rhoda smiled feebly. The cool, unemotional tones of the other hadeffectually dried her tears, but the softened expression remained, andher voice had almost an humble intonation.
"I'll try. I know I am touchy, but I shan't mind so much now that you--that you have explained! I think you have been very generous."
"All right," interrupted Thomasina briskly. "Don't gush. I loathegush. That's all right, then, and I'll tell the girls I was wrong justnow. They will all treat you decently if I tell them to; so behavesensibly, and don't be a young jackass, and all will be well."
"I--er, I _beg_ your pardon!"
"Don't mention it!" Thomasina beamed amiably over her shoulder."Jackass, I said--don't be a jackass! The gong will ring in tenminutes, so you'd better be off to your room. Pleased to have seen you!Good afternoon. Come again another day!"