Girls of the Forest

T. Meade L.

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pubOne.info thank you for your continued support and wish to present you this new edition. THE GUEST WHO WAS NEITHER OLD NOR YOUNG.

Informations

• Publié par: Pub One Info
• Date de parution: 23 octobre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9782819914235
• Langue: English

Extrait

CHAPTER I.
THE GUEST WHO WAS NEITHER OLD NOR YOUNG.
It was a beautiful summer's afternoon, and the girlswere seated in a circle on the lawn in front of the house. Thehouse was an old Elizabethan mansion, which had been added to fromtime to time – fresh additions jutting out here and running upthere. There were all sorts of unexpected nooks and corners to befound in the old house – a flight of stairs just where you did notlook for any, and a baize door shutting away the world at themoment when you expected to behold a long vista into space. Thehouse itself was most charming and inviting-looking; but it wasalso, beyond doubt, much neglected. The doors were nearly destituteof paint, and the papers on many of the walls had completely losttheir original patterns. In many instances there were no papers,only discolored walls, which at one time had been gay with paintand rendered beautiful with pictures. The windows were destitute ofcurtains; the carpets on the floors were reduced to holes andpatches. The old pictures in the picture gallery still remained,however, and looked down on the young girls who flitted about thereon rainy days with kindly, or searching, or malevolent eyes assuited the characters of those men and women who were portrayed inthem.
But this was the heart of summer, and there was noneed to go into the musty, fusty old house. The girls sat on thegrass and held consultation. "She is certainly coming to-morrow,"said Verena. "Father had a letter this morning. I heard him givingdirections to old John to have the trap patched up and the harnessmended. And John is going to Lyndhurst Road to meet her. She willarrive just about this time. Isn't it too awful?" "Never mind,Renny," said her second sister; "the sooner she comes, the soonershe'll go. Briar and Patty and I have put our heads together, andwe mean to let her see what we think of her and her interferingways. The idea of Aunt Sophia interfering between father and us!Now, I should like to know who is likely to understand theeducation of a girl if her own father does not." "It is all becausethe Step has gone," continued Verena. "She told us when she wasleaving that she meant to write to Aunt Sophia. She was dreadfullycross at having to go, and the one mean thing she ever did in allher life was to make the remark she did. She said it was verylittle short of disgraceful to have ten girls running about the NewForest at their own sweet will, without any one to guide them.""Oh, what a nuisance the Step is!" said Rose, whose pet name wasBriar. "Shouldn't I like to scratch her! Dear old Paddy! of coursehe knows how to manage us. Oh, here he comes – the angel! Let'splant him down in our midst. Daisy, put that little stool in themiddle of the circle; the Padre shall sit there, and we'll consultas to the advent of precious Aunt Sophia."
Patty, Briar, and Verena now jumped to their feetand ran in the direction where an elderly gentleman, with a stoop,gray hair hanging over his shoulders, and a large pair oftortoise-shell spectacles on his nose, was walking. "Paddy, Paddy!you have got to come here at once," called out Briar.
Meanwhile Verena took one of his arms, Patty claspedthe other, Briar danced in front, and so they conducted him intothe middle of the group. "Here's your stool, Paddy," cried Briar."Down you squat. Now then, squatty- vous ."
Mr. Dale took off his spectacles, wiped them andgazed around him in bewilderment. "I was construing a line ofVirgil," he said. "You have interrupted me, my dears. Whatever isthe matter?" "We have brought the culprit to justice," exclaimedPauline. "Paddy, forget the classics for the time being. Think,just for a few moments, of your neglected – your shamefullyneglected – daughters. Ten of them, Paddy, all running wild in theForest glades. Aren't you ashamed of yourself? Don't you feel thatyour moment of punishment has come? Aunt Sophia arrives to-morrow.Now, what have you got to say for yourself?" "But, my dearchildren, we can't have your Aunt Sophia here. I could not dream ofit. I remember quite well she came here once a long time ago. Ihave not got over it yet. I haven't really." "But she is coming,Paddy, and you know it quite well, for you got the letter. How longdo you think you can put up with her?" "Only for a very short time,Pauline; I assure you, my darling, she is not – not a pleasantperson." "Describe her, Paddy – do," said Verena.
She spoke in her very gentlest tone, and held outone of her long white hands and allowed her father to clasp it.Verena was decidedly the best-looking of the eight girls sitting onthe grass. She was tall; her complexion was fair; her figure wasnaturally so good that no amount of untidy dressing could make itlook awkward. Her hair was golden and soft. It was less trouble towind it up in a thick rope and hairpin it at the back of her headthan to let it run wild; therefore she was not even untidy. Verenawas greatly respected by her sisters, and Briar was rather afraidof her. All the others sat silent now when she asked the old Padreto describe Aunt Sophia. "My dear," he answered, "I have not theslightest idea what her appearance is like. My memory of her isthat she was fashionable and very conventional." "What on earth is'conventional'?" whispered Pat. "Don't interrupt, Patty," saidVerena, squeezing her father's hand. "Go on, Paddy; go on, darlingof my heart. Tell us some more. Aunt Sophia is fashionable andconventional. We can look out the words in the dictionaryafterwards. But you must know what she is like to look at." "Idon't, my dears; I cannot remember. It was a good many years agowhen she came to visit us." "He must be prodded," said Briar,turning to Renny. "Look at him; he is going to sleep." "Excuse me,girls," said the Squire, half-rising, and then sitting down againas Verena's young hand pushed him into his seat. "I have just madea most interesting discovery with regard to Virgil – namely, that –– " "Oh, father! we don't want to know about it," said Briar. "Now,then, Renny, begin." "Her appearance – her appearance!" said Verenagently. "Whose appearance, dear?" "Why, Aunt Sophia's; the lady whois coming to-morrow." "Oh, dear!" said Mr. Dale; "but she must notcome. This cannot be permitted; I cannot endure it." "Paddy, youhave given John directions to fetch her. Now, then, what is shelike?" "I don't know, children. I haven't the slightest idea.""Prod, Renny! Prod!" "Padre," said Verena, "is she old or young?""Old, I think; perhaps neither." "Write it down, Briar. She isneither old nor young. Paddy, is she dark or fair?" "I really can'tremember, dear. A most unpleasant person." "Put down that she is –not over-beautiful," said Verena. "Paddy, must we put on our bestdresses when she comes – our Sunday go-to-meeting frocks, youknow?" "Children, wear anything on earth you like, but in Heaven'sname let me go away now! Only to think that she will be hereto-morrow! Why did Miss Stapleton leave us? It is really tooterrible." "She left," said Briar, her eyes twinkling, "because wewould call her Step, which means step-mother. She was sodreadfully, dreadfully afraid that you might find it out." "Oh,children, how incorrigible you are! The poor woman! I'd sooner havemarried – – I – I never mean to marry anybody." "Of course youdon't, Padre. And you may go now, darling," said Verena. "Go, andbe happy, feeling that your daughters will look after you. You arenot lonely, are you, darling, with so many of us? Now go and bevery happy."
Eight pairs of lips blew kisses to the departingfigure. Mr. Dale shambled off, and disappeared through the openwindow into his study. "Poor dear!" said Verena, "he has forgottenour existence already. He only lives when he thinks of Virgil. Mostof his time he sleeps, poor angel! It certainly is our bounden dutyto keep him away from Aunt Sophia. What a terror she must be! Fancythe situation. Eight nieces all in a state of insurrection, and twomore nieces in the nursery ready to insurrect in their turn!""Something must be done," interrupted Pauline. "Nurse is the womanto help us. Forewarned is forearmed. Nurse must put us up to awrinkle or two." "Then let's go to her at once," said Verena.
They all started up, and, Verena leading the way,they went through the little paddock to the left of the house, andso into a yard, very old-fashioned and covered with weeds andcobble-stones. There were tumble-down stables and coach-houses,hen-houses, and buildings, useful and otherwise, surrounding theyard; and now in the coach-house, which for many years hadsheltered no carriage of any sort, sat nurse busy at work, with twolittle children playing at her feet. "Don't mind the babies atpresent," said Verena. "Don't snatch them up and kiss them, Briar.Patty, keep your hands off. Nurse, we have come." "So I see, MissVerena," said nurse.
She lifted her very much wrinkled old face andlooked out of deep-set, black eyes full at the young girl. "What isit, my darling child?" "How are we to bear it? Shall we fall on ourknees and get round you in a little circle? We must talk to you.You must advise us." "Eh, dears!" said nurse. "I am nearly pastthat sort of thing. I'm not as young as I wor, and master and mewe're both getting old. It doesn't seem to me to matter much nowwhether a body's pretty or not, or whether you dress beautiful, orwhether a thing is made to look pretty or otherwise. We're all foodfor worms, dears, all of us, and where's the use of fashing?" "Howhorrid of you, nurse!" said Verena. "We have got beautiful bodies,and our souls ought to be more beautiful still. What about theresurrection of the body, you dreadful old nurse?" "Oh, never mindme, dears; it was only a sort of dream I were dreaming of thefuneral of your poor dear mother, who died when this dear lamb wasborn."
Here nurse patted the fat arm of the youngest hopeof the house of Dale, little Marjorie, who looked round at her withrosy face and big blue eyes. Marjorie was between three and fouryears old, a