by L. T. Meade
CHAPTER XXII.
CROSS PURPOSES.
After his interview with Jasmine in St. Paul's Cathedral, Arthur Noelwent home to his very luxurious chambers in Westminster, and wrote thefollowing letter to Mrs. Ellsworthy:--
"MY DEAR MOTHER-FRIEND,
"The most curious thing has happened. I came accidentally to-dayacross the three girls about whom you were so interested. I met themat St. Paul's, and could not help speaking to the second one. Thebrightness, and yet the melancholy, of her little face attracted myattention. She was not with the rest of her party, but sat for some ofthe time on one of the chairs, and then knelt down and covered herface. Poor little soul! I think she was crying. My sympathies wereroused by her, and I spoke. She flashed up a very bright glance at me,and we became friends on the spot. I took her about the cathedral, andshowed her one or two objects of interest. She was full ofintelligence. Then her sisters joined her, and your boy came up, and,of course, his name came out; and there was confusion and wonderingglances, and the girl whom I had spoken to turned first crimson, andthen white, and her dark grey eyes became full of tears. 'I know theEllsworthys; they are my dear, dear friends!' she exclaimed.
"I found out where the three lived before I left them. They wereaccompanied by a prim-looking maiden lady, who was introduced to me asa Miss Slowcum, and who appeared to be taking excellent care of thepretty creatures. All three are delightful, and I have lost my heartto them all.
"Can I do anything for them? Of course you have already told me whatperverse creatures they are, and Miss Jasmine confirmed your story,only, of course, she put her own coloring on it. I pity them, and yet,to a certain extent--forgive me, mother-friend--I admire their spirit.That eldest girl had a look about her face which will certainly keepevery one from being rude to her. Such an expression of innocence anddignity combined I have seldom come across. Now, can I help them? Itis an extraordinary thing, but I have a wonderful fellow-feeling forthem. I can never forget the old days when I too was alone in London,and you took me up. Do you remember how you met me, and took my thinand dirty hands in yours, and looked into my face and said: 'Surelythis is a gentleman's son, although he is clothed in rags?' I couldjust remember that I was a gentleman's son, and that I used to put myarms round a beautiful lady's neck and kiss her, and call her mother.Between her face and me there was a great horror of darkness, andsuffering, and ill-usage; and my memories were feeble and dream-like.I don't even now recall them more vividly. You took me up, and--youknow the rest of my history.
"Well, it is a strange thing, but those girls, especially that littleJasmine, brought back the memory of the lady whose sweet face I usedto kiss. Can I do anything for your girls? There are a thousand waysin which I could help them without hurting their proud spirits.
"Yours affectionately, "ARTHUR NOEL."
In a very short time Mr. Noel received a brief communication from Mrs.Ellsworthy:--
MY DEAR ARTHUR,
"Your letter has been an untold relief. It was a special and goodProvidence that directed your steps to St. Paul's on that afternoon.My dear little Jasmine!--she is my pet of all the three. My dearArthur, pray call on the girls at that dreadful Penelope Mansion; theyare so naughty and so obstinate that they simply must be caught byguile. You must use your influence to get them out of that dreadfulplace. Look for respectable and nice lodgings, and go beforehand tothe landlady. If she is very nice, confide in her, and tell her she isto look to me for payment, but she is on no account to let out thisfact to the girls. Kensington is a nice, quiet, respectableneighborhood; you might take the drawing-room floor of a very quiet,nice house, and ask the landlady to offer it to the girls for fiveshillings a week, or something nominal of that sort. Primrose is soinnocent at present that she will think five shillings quite a largesum; but tell the lady of the house to let it include all extras--Imean such as gas and firing. I suppose you could not get a house withthe electric light?--no, of course not; it is not used yet in privatedwellings--gas is so unwholesome, but the girls might use candles.Tell the landlady to provide them with the best candles, and tell herI'll pay her something handsome if she'll go out with them. And, mydear Arthur, _don't_ let them go in omnibuses. Do your best, and,above all things, take them away from that awful mansion as soon aspossible.
"Your affectionate Mother-Friend, "KATE ELLSWORTHY."
But alas! when Arthur Noel, in accordance with Mrs. Ellsworthy'sinstructions, went to see the girls, he was confronted first by Mrs.Flint, who assured him in her soft and cushion-like style that theyoung ladies had left, and as they had been undutiful enough not toconfide in her she could furnish him with no address. As he wasleaving the mansion Poppy Jenkins rushed up to him.
"I heard you asking for my young ladies, sir, but it ain't no use, forthey're gone. Flowers of beauty they was--beautiful in manner and inface--but they ain't to be found here no more. The Mansion didn't suitthem, and the people in the Mansion didn't suit them, and that isn'tto be wondered at. I suppose they has gone to a more congenial place,but the address is hid from me; no, sir, I know nothing at all aboutthem. Yes, sir, it's quite true--I misses them most bitter!"
Here poor Poppy, covering her face with her hands, burst into tearsand disappeared down the back staircase.
Noel wrote to Mrs. Ellsworthy, and Mrs. Ellsworthy wrote back to him,and between them they made many inquiries, and took many steps, whichthey felt quite sure must lead to discovery, but notwithstanding alltheir efforts they obtained no clue to the whereabouts of theMainwaring girls.