The Lady of the Forest: A Story for Girls

by L. T. Meade

  CHAPTER XI.--THE LADY WHO CAME WITH A GIFT.

  Rachel did not forget her promise to old Nancy. She had never taken somuch pains to cultivate Phil's acquaintance as Kitty had done. She hadcertainly joined in the almost universal chorus that he was a nice andlovable little boy, but she had not greatly troubled her head about hispursuits or his pleasures. She was too much taken up with the wonderfulsecret which she possessed with regard to the real existence of the ladyof the forest. But now that the said lady seemed to wish to see Phil,and now that she, Rachel, had almost bound herself to bring Phil to thetrysting-place in the forest, she began to regard him with new interest.Kitty and Phil had long ere this established a world of their own--aworld peopled by caterpillars of enormous size, by the most sagaciousspiders that were ever known to exist, by beetles of rare brilliancy, bybirds, by squirrels--in short, by the numerous creature-life of the greatforest; and last, but not least, by the fairies and gnomes which weresupposed to haunt its dells. Kitty could tell many stories of forestadventures, of the wonderful and terrible bogs on which the lucklesstraveler alighted unawares, and from which, unless instant help arrived,he could never hope to extricate himself. She spoke about the maliciouslittle Jack-o'-lanterns which were supposed to allure the unwary intothese destructive places, and Phil, with a most vivid imagination of hisown, loved to lie at her feet and embellish her tales with numerousinventions. The two children were scarcely ever apart, and doubtless onereason why Rachel thought so much of her secret was because Kitty was nolonger her undivided companion.

  Now, however, she must seek out Kitty and Phil, and enter into theirpursuits and take a share in their interests if she hoped to induce Philto accompany her into the forest. Accordingly one day, with a book inher hand, she sauntered out into a very sunny part of the grounds. Phil,basking in the rays of the most brilliant sunshine, had thrown himselfat the foot of an old sun-dial; Kitty had climbed into the boughs of asmall bare tree which stood near, and as usual the two were chattingeagerly. Rachel, with her head full of the lady of the forest, came up,to hear Kitty and Phil discussing this very personage.

  "She's all in green," said Kitty. "Her dress is greener than the treesand her face is most beautiful, and her hair is gold and----"

  "No," interrupted Rachel; "she's in gray; and her hair is not gold--it isdark."

  Then she colored high and bit her lips with vexation, for she felt thatin her eagerness she had given a clew to her dear real lady's identity.

  Kitty raised her eyebrows in great surprise.

  "Why, Rachel," she said, "it was you who told me she was in green. Howvery queer and disagreeable of you to make her so ugly anduninteresting. People who wear gray are most uninteresting. You forget,Rachel, our lady is in green--greener than the grass. I do wish you wouldtell Phil all about her; you can describe her so much better than Ican."

  "She has a face which is almost too lovely," continued Rachel, taking upthe cue on the instant and speaking with great animation. "She lives inthe deepest shades of the forest, and she appears never, never, exceptto those who belong to the forest. Those families who have belonged tothe New Forest for hundreds of years have seen her, but outsiders neverdo. When she does appear she comes with a gift in her hand. Do you knowwhat it is?"

  "No," said Phil, raising himself on his elbow and looking with greatintentness at Rachel. "I know what I would wish her to give me--that is,if she ever came to see me; but of course I cannot possibly say whatgifts she brings."

  "Those who have seen her," said Rachel, "catch just a shadow of thereflection of her lovely face, and they never lose it--never! Some ladiesof our house saw her, and their portraits are in our portrait-gallery,and they are much more beautiful than any of the other Lovels. She doesnot give beauty of feature--it is of expression; and such a brightnessshines from her. Yes, her gift is the gift of beauty; and I do wish, andso does Kitty, that we could see her."

  Phil smiled a little scornfully.

  "Is that all she gives?" he said. "That wouldn't be much to me. I meanif I saw her I know what I'd ask. I'd say, 'I am a boy, and beauty isn'tof much use to a boy; so please give me instead--money!'"

  "Oh, Phil!" exclaimed both the little girls.

  "She wouldn't come to you," said Kitty in a mournful tone. "She wouldn'tlook at any one so avaricious."

  "Besides, Phil," continued Rachel, "when Avonsyde is yours you'll be arich man; and I don't think," she added, "that you are quite right whenyou say that beauty is of no use to a boy; for if you have the kind ofbeauty the lady gives, it is like a great power, and you can move peopleand turn them as you will; and of course you can use it for good, Phil."

  "All right," said Phil, "but I'd rather have money; for if I had moneyI'd give it to mother, and then I needn't be heir of Avonsyde,and--and--oh, I mustn't say! Kitty, I do wish we could go to Southamptonagain soon. I want to go there on most particular business. Do you thinkAunt Grizel will take us before Christmas?"

  "Is it about the letter?" asked Kitty. "But you couldn't have had ananswer yet, Phil. There is no use in your going to Southampton before ananswer can have arrived."

  "I suppose not," said Phil in a gloomy voice. "It's a long, long time towait, though."

  "What are you waiting for?" asked Rachel.

  Phil raised very mournful eyes to her face.

  "You have a look of him," he said. "Oh, how I hate being heir ofAvonsyde! I wouldn't be it for all the world but for mother. Kitty,shall we go into the forest and look for beetles?"

  "I'll come with you," said Rachel. "You two are always together and I'mout in the cold, and I don't mean to be in the cold any longer. I maycome with you both, may I not?"

  Kitty smiled radiantly, Phil linked his little brown hand insideRachel's arm, and the three set off.

  No little girl could make herself more fascinating than Rachel when shepleased. She developed on the instant a most astonishing knowledge ofbeetles and spiders; she drew on her imagination for her facts, anddeceived Kitty, but not Phil. Phil was a born little naturalist, and inconsequence he only favored his elder cousin with a shrewd and comicallook, and did not trouble himself even to negative her daringassertions. Seeing that she made no way in this direction, Rachelstarted a theme about which she possessed abundant knowledge. The NewForest had been more or less her nursery; she knew its haunts well; sheknew where to look for the earliest primroses, the first violets, andalso the very latest autumn flowers; she knew where the holly berrieswere reddest, where the robins had their nests, and where the squirrelswere most abundant; and Phil, recognizing the tone of true knowledge,listened first with respect, then with interest, then with enthusiasm.Oh, yes, they must go to that dell; they must visit that sunny bank.Before Rachel and her sister and cousin came home that day they hadplanned an excursion which surely must give the mysterious lady of theforest that peep at Phil which she so earnestly desired. Rachel wassorry to be obliged to include Kitty in the party, for Kitty had notbeen asked to pass in review by old Nancy. Phil was the one whom Nancyand the lady wished to see just once with their own eyes: Phil, who wasto be heir of Avonsyde and who didn't like it. Rachel went to bed quitejubilant, for she would have done anything to please the unknown ladywho had won her capricious little heart. She did not guess that anythingwould occur to spoil her plans, and in consequence slept verypeacefully.

  Phil had been much excited by Rachel's words. He was a very imaginativechild, and though he did not believe in ghosts, yet he was certainlyimpressed by what both the little girls had told him of the lady of theforest. He quite believed in this lady, and did not care to inquire tooclosely whether she was fairy or mortal. She appeared at rare intervalsto the sons and daughters of the house of Lovel, and when she did shecame with a gift. Phil did not altogether believe that this lovely,graceful, and gracious lady would be so obdurate as only to bestow anunvalued gift of beauty. He thought that if he were lucky enough to seeher he might so intercede with her that she would give him a bag of goldinstead. He need keep no secrets from her, f
or if she was a fairy shemust know them already; and he might tell her all about hisdifficulties, and how his small heart was torn with great love forRupert and great love for his mother. He might tell the lady of theforest how very little he cared for Avonsyde, except as a possiblefuture home for his gay and brave Cousin Rupert, and he might ask her togive him the bag of precious gold to satisfy his mother and keep herfrom starving. Phil was dreadfully oppressed with all the secrets he hadto keep. Happy as he was at Avonsyde, there were so many, many things hemust not talk about. He must never mention Rupert, nor Gabrielle, norPeggy; he must never breathe the name of Belmont nor say a word abouthis old nurse Betty. All the delightful times he had spent with hisAustralian cousins must be as though they had never been. He must nottell about the delicious hours he and Betty had spent together in thelittle cottage behind the garden when his mother had been away inMelbourne. He must not speak about the excursions that Rupert had takenwith him. A veil, a close veil, must be spread over all the past, andthe worst of it was that he knew the reason why. His mother wanted himto get what Rupert would have been so much more fitted for. Well! well!He loved his mother and he could not break her heart, so he kept allthese little longings and desires to himself, and only half let out hissecrets a dozen times a day. On one point, however, he was firm andstanch as a little Spartan: he never breathed a sigh nor uttered a groanwhich could be construed into even the semblance of physical pain.

  When he felt quite exhausted, so tired that it was an effort to move, hewould spring up again at Kitty's least word and, with the drops on hislittle brow, climb to the top of that straight, tall tree once more andhide his face at last in the friendly sheltering leaves until he gotback his panting breath. The splendid air of Avonsyde undoubtedlystrengthened him, but the strain of always appearing bright and well wassometimes almost too much, and he wondered how long he could go onpretending to be quite the strongest little boy in the world. He fanciednow how nice it would be to tell the kind lady of the forest how weak hereally was; how his heart often beat almost to suffocation; what cruelpain came suddenly to stab and torture him. Oh! he could show herplainly that money was the gift for him, and that Rupert, who was sovaliant, so strong, so splendid, was the only right heir to the oldplace.

  Phil greatly enjoyed his tower bedroom. Not a particle of thenervousness which made his mother uneasy assailed him. The only thing hedid regret was that he could not sleep quite at the very top of thetower, in those attic rooms inhabited by Miss Griselda and MissKatharine. When some of those bad attacks of pain and breathlessnessassailed him, he liked, notwithstanding the exertion, to creep up and upthose winding stone stairs, for he knew that when he got to the top andhad attained his refuge he could really rest; he might throw off all theSpartan and be a little human boy who could moan and sigh and even sheda few secret tears for the gallant Rupert whom he loved. Phil had gotinto a habit of not even telling his mother of those queer attacks ofweakness and breathlessness which came over him. Nothing annoyed anddistressed her so much as to hear of them, and little Phil was bydegrees beginning to feel a sort of protective love toward the ratherweak woman: their positions were being unconsciously reversed. Mrs.Lovel seldom came to the tower bedroom in the day-time. Under thepretext that the stairs wearied her, she had begged to be allowed tohave a dressing-room in a more modern part of the house, so Phil couldbe quite alone and undisturbed when he chose to visit his room. One ofMiss Griselda's excellent rules for children was that they must retireearly to bed. Phil, in Australia, had sat up far later than was good forhim, but now at Avonsyde he and Kitty were always expected to haveentered the land of dreams not later than eight o'clock in the evening.Mrs. Lovel seldom came upstairs before midnight, and in consequence Philspent several hours alone every night in his quaint bedroom. He wasoften not at all sleepy, and on these occasions he would open one of thetiny deep-set windows, and look out into the night and listen to thehootings of some owls which had long ago made a home for themselves in aportion of the old tower. On other occasions he would amuse himself withone of Kitty's story-books, or again he would arrange some very preciouslittle collections of wild birds' eggs and other forest treasures.

  On this particular night, after Rachel's and Kitty's conversation, hewas more than usually wakeful. He got into bed, for Aunt Griselda toldhim to be sure to undress and go to sleep as quickly as possible; butfinding sleep very far away from his wakeful eyes he got up, and, afterthe fashion of a restless little boy, began to perambulate the room andto try to discover anything of interest to divert his attention. A veryold horse-hair trunk of his mother's stood in one corner of the room; ithad never been unpacked, for it was only supposed to contain books andsome household treasures not immediately required by Mrs. Lovel. Philhad once or twice coaxed his mother to unpack the old trunk, for amongthe books was his pet "Robinson Crusoe." There was also an old box ofpaints which Rupert had given him, and a queer, old-fashioned cup, madeof horn, which Rupert and he always took with them when they went for aday's excursion into any of the neighboring forests. Phil saw now, tohis great delight, that the key was in the lock of the old trunk, and itoccurred to him that he could pass an agreeable hour rummaging among itscontents for his beloved "Robinson Crusoe" and his old horn cup. Heaccordingly set a candlestick on the floor, and opening the trunk kneltdown by it and began to forage. He worked hard, and the exertion tiredhim and brought on an attack of breathlessness; but he was muchinterested in the sight of many old home treasures and had no idea howtime was flying. He could not find either his "Robinson Crusoe" or hishorn cup, but he came across another treasure wrapped up in an old pieceof flannel which gave him intense delight. This was no other than asilver tankard of quaint device and very Old-World pattern, with a coatof arms and the words "Tyde what may" inscribed on one side. Phil knewthe tankard well, and raising it to his lips he kissed it tenderly.

  "Why, this belongs to Uncle Rupert and to Belmont!" he exclaimed. "Thevery same dear old tankard which Gabrielle is so proud of. I've seen itdozens of times. Well, I never thought Uncle Rupert would have giventhis dear old tankard to mother. How kind of him! I wonder mother neverspoke of it. Oh, dear, what stories Gabrielle has told me about it! Sheused to call it a magical tankard and said it had a history. Mother musthave quite forgotten she had it in the old trunk. How delighted Racheland Kitty will be when I show it to them to-morrow."

  Phil was so excited over his discovery that he became instantly carelessas to finding either his "Robinson Crusoe" or his horn cup, and pushingthe rest of contents of the trunk back into their place and turning thelock, he crept into bed, carrying the beloved tankard with him. When hismother came upstairs presently she found the boy fast asleep, and littleguessed what treasure he clasped in his arms.

  It is true that little Phil had entered the land of dreams; it is alsotrue that in that enchanted land he went through experiences sodelightful, through adventures so thrilling, that when in the dull grayNovember morning he awoke to listen to his mother's monotonousbreathing, he simply could do nothing but step out of bed and determineto follow his dreams if necessary to the end of the world. The light hadscarcely come. He would dress himself hastily and, taking the enchantedtankard with him, go into the forest all alone, in the hopes of meetingthe beautiful lady who came with a gift.