Turquoise and Ruby. Meade L. T.

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СКАЧАТЬ style="font-size:15px;">      “I am sure – I am certain you will.”

      Mr Amberley drew a cheque for the amount. He could not help sighing more than once as he did so. It represented a very large sum to him, and would preclude the possibility of his taking any holiday himself; for little Joe Hoskins and Mary Miller must go to the seaside at any cost. Nevertheless, the picture of his home without Brenda Carlton, and his three orphans neglected and forsaken, was greater than his patience could abide; and he made up his mind to do what Brenda wished, let the consequences be what they might. She had her way also with regard to the horse and trap and returned to her pupils with a cheque in her hand for sixteen pounds ten and a most triumphant expression on her pretty face.

      Not the most remote idea had she of spending three pounds on each girl; but she could get them a flimsy muslin each, some brown shoes to wear on the sands, and a cheap hat for each sandy-covered head, which would delight their small minds. The rest of the money would be her own. Thus she would be able to make herself look distinguished, and yet not touch the twenty pounds which Penelope had sent her from school.

      “Hurrah!” she cried, as she joined her pupils. “The good little papa has come up to the scratch. You shall have your pink muslins, and hats, and gloves, and shoes besides. Only the muslins must be made at home, and I myself will trim the hats. Now then – prepare for a happy holiday. The pony trap will be at the door by twelve o’clock. Nina, run to cook, and tell her to make up some sandwiches for us and a bottle of lemonade. We need not spend our precious fairings at the confectioner’s if we take home-made provisions with us.”

      Nina, in rapture at the happy time which she felt was before her, flew off to obey Brenda’s behests and, sharp at twelve, the little party left the old rectory and drove down through the shady village street.

      Brenda drove. She was a capital whip, and never looked better than when she was so employed. More than one person turned to gaze with admiration at the handsome showy girl, and her heart swelled within her with pride and satisfaction as she noticed this fact. At the bank she changed the cheque, taking care that her pupils did not see the amount which swelled her little purse.

      They arrived at Rocheford in about an hour, and there a silk of the palest shade of blue was chosen with soft French lace for trimming. Nina was absolutely open-mouthed with admiration as she saw the exquisite fabric being told off in yards by the shopman. After the dress was bought, Brenda purchased very pretty pink muslins for her pupils, and white hats which she meant to trim with cheap white muslin.

      They then went to a shoemaker’s where they got shoes, and to another shop for gloves, and finally to interview that modiste of great fame, as Madame Declassé described herself. But here disappointment awaited the little girls, for Brenda insisted on entering the apartment all alone.

      “You, Fanchon,” she said, “must hold the pony’s reins. Don’t hold them too tight – just like this; see, mon enfant– do attend to my directions. Now then, I shan’t be very long.”

      “But may not two of us come with you?” asked Josephine. “We should love to see the pretty things in Madame Declassé’s show-room.”

      “No, no; I must see her alone; she will do it cheaper for me if I am alone.”

      Brenda skipped away, and the girls were left in charge of the dull, over-worked little pony with the western sun beating down upon them. They had certainly passed an exciting day, but, on the whole, they were not quite satisfied. There was a mutinous feeling in each small breast which only needed the match of suspicion to set it on fire. It was Nina who, in the most casual voice, applied that match.

      “I am looking at myself,” she said, “in the mirror let into the pony trap just facing us; and I am awfully red.”

      “Of course you are, Nina,” laughed both her sisters.

      “My face is red,” continued Nina, “and so is my hair; and my eyes are not at all big. Do you think I am really pretty, or am I ugly?”

      She gave an anxious glance at Josephine and Fanchon.

      “Ugly – of course,” laughed Fanchon.

      “Very ugly – a little fright,” said Josephine.

      “Then if I am a fright,” said Nina, becoming a more vivid crimson, “so are you, too, for you are red also, and your hair is sandy, and you have very small eyes.”

      “Oh, do shut up,” said Fanchon.

      Nina turned restlessly on her hot seat. “I wish I was like Brenda,” she said, after a minute’s pause.

      “Well, you are not, and all the wishing in the world won’t make you so,” was Josephine’s answer.

      “I suppose she is quite beautiful,” said Fanchon, with a sigh.

      “Oh, yes – there isn’t a doubt of it,” continued Nina. “How the men do stare at her.”

      “It’s very rude of men to stare,” said Josephine. “It is not at all to be admired.”

      “But Brenda likes it, all the same,” said Nina. “I know she does, for she nudges me sometimes as we are on the way to church. What a long time she is with Madame Declassé!”

      “Nina,” said Fanchon, “if you don’t sit still, you will startle Rob, and he may take it into his head to run away.”

      “Rob run away! He knows better,” answered Nina. “Why, he has hardly a kick in him – poor old dear! You wouldn’t run away, would you, Rob?”

      Rob flicked his ears, and gave a slight movement to his tail. This he considered sufficient answer to Nina’s tender enquiry.

      “I wish Brenda was not quite so long,” she said. “Why, of course she is a long time. She has got to have her lovely blue silk made up. Fancy Brenda in silk! How astonished father will be! Silk is the dream of his life. He said when he married mother, she wore silk. She never, never wore it since – he said – she could not afford it, only very rich people could. There was a time when I thought of keeping silkworms, and winding off the silk from the cocoons until I had enough to make a dress; but Brenda laughed me out of that.”

      “Well – she’s got her deserts. She must have spent a lot of money on the dress,” said Fanchon.

      “She didn’t spend much on ours, that I know,” said Nina. “Those pink muslins were only sixpence three farthings the yard, and she wouldn’t get an extra yard for me, although I did so want mine to have little flounces – I think little flounces are so stylish. Oh dear, dear! I wish she would come!”

      Here Nina took up a carefully folded parcel which contained the material for the girls’ pink muslin dresses.

      “Let’s look at it,” she said – “let’s see it in the broad light. It’ll be something to amuse us.”

      “Oh, but we never can pack it up again,” exclaimed Josephine.

      “Have you got your pocket knife with you, Fanchon?” asked Nina.

      Fanchon declared that she had.

      “Well, give it to me, and I will cut a wee hole in the paper, just enough for us to see our darling gowns.”

      This was too fascinating a proposal to be lightly refused, and in the end the girls had removed enough of the brown paper wrapping СКАЧАТЬ