Dumps - A Plain Girl
Page 39
woman, who only spoke broken English,took little or no notice of us. Augusta's eyes were fixed on thedistant horizon. Occasionally I heard her murmuring lines of verse toherself. Once she glanced at me, and I saw that her eyes were full oftears.
"What is it?" I said.
She immediately repeated with great emphasis:
"_And where are they_? And where art thou, My country?"
"Oh," I cried, "don't say any more! We are not in the humour forpoetry."
"Of course we're not," said Hermione, glancing at her.
"I was quoting," said Augusta. "I was thinking, not about what LordByron thought when he spoke of ancient Greece, but of all that I wasleaving behind in London."
"And what are you leaving behind that is so specially valuable,Augusta?" I asked.
"Your father's lectures," she replied. She turned once more and lookedat the horizon.
"Don't worry her," said Hermione in a low tone to me.
"I wonder if she'll ever get over it," I said.
Hermione and I began to pace slowly up and down the deck.
"I cannot imagine why my step-mother was so anxious that she should comewith us," I said.
"Because she felt that it was absolutely essential that Augusta shouldsee another side of life. Dear, dear, I do feel excited! I wonder howwe shall like the life. Don't frown, Dumps; you surely needn't worryabout Augusta. She has made a kind of king of your father. Shebelieves him to be all that is heroic and noble and majestic in life.It is really a most innocent admiration; let her keep it."
"Yes, of course, if she likes," I said.
The air was cold. I wrapped the warm fur cloak which my step-mother hadinsisted upon giving me for the voyage tightly round me, and sat down onone of the deck-seats. By-and-by Augusta tottered forward.
"It is strange how difficult it is to use your sea-legs," she said.
She sprawled on to the seat by my side. Suddenly the vessel gave alurch, and she found herself lying on the deck. A sailor rushedforward, picked her up, and advised the young lady to sit down; the windwas a little fresher and the vessel would sway a trifle. He brought atarpaulin and wrapped it round us three. Augusta was on one side of me.Presently she pressed my hand.
"You are the _next_ best," she said, gazing at me with pathetic eyes.
"Next what?" I said.
"You are his daughter."
"I will try and be friendly with you, Augusta; but I do bar one thing,"was my immediate comment.
"And what is that?"
"Nonsense. You must try and talk sense."
She smiled very gently, and taking my hand within her own, stroked it.
"He also," she said after a pause, "is very determined. In fact, Icannot with truth say that he has ever in his life given me what I couldcall a civil word. Now, you are like him; you are exceedingly blunt.The blunter you are, the more you resemble him."
"Oh, good gracious! then I suppose I shall have to be civil."
"I beseech of you, don't; keep as like him as you can."
"If you mean for a single moment that Dumps is like her father inappearance, you are much mistaken," said Hermione, bending across me tospeak to Augusta.
"She is like him neither in body nor in mind."
"But she has a trifle of his moral force," replied Augusta, with greatmajesty; and then, finding that neither Hermione nor I was at all insympathy with her, she satisfied herself with remaining silent andleaning against my shoulder. Perhaps she thought I was imparting to hersome of my moral force. I really felt a savage desire to push her away.
At last we landed, and found ourselves in a first-class compartment inthe Paris train, and a few minutes afterwards we were on our journey.We arrived there in the evening. Then we found ourselves in an omnibuswhich was sent to meet us from the school, and were on our way to thathome of all the virtues just beyond the Champs Elysees. My heart wasbeating high. I was full of suppressed anxiety. Hermione once or twicetouched my hand. She was also very excited; she was wondering what sortof life lay before her. Augusta, on the other hand, was utterlyirresponsive. She did not make one remark with regard to gay,beautiful, brilliant Paris, which looked, as it always does at thishour, full of marvellous witchery, so brilliantly lighted up were thebroad streets, so altogether exhilarating was the tone of the bracingair.
Augusta sat huddled up in one corner of the omnibus, while Hermione andI got as close to the door as we could, and gazed out of the window,which was wide-open, exclaiming at each turn as we drove along. TheChamps Elysees flashed into view; we drove on, and presently turned intoa very broad street, and pulled up with a jerk before a house whichseemed to have a balcony to each window, and which was brilliantly litfrom attic to cellar.
Our companion, the lady who had brought us, now said something inexcellent French, and we got out of the omnibus and followed her up apaved path and through an open doorway into a wide hall. Here a servantappeared, who was told to take us to our rooms. We followed her up somestairs, which were white marble and were uncarpeted. We passed a widelanding where there were some marble figures in the corners, and largepalm-trees standing beside them; then again past folding-doors, andthrough a landing with more marble figures and more palms, until at lastwe entered through two doors, which were flung open wide, into a prettylittle sitting-room. Why do I say little? The room was lofty, and wasso simply furnished that it looked much larger than it was. The floorwas covered with oak parquetry, and was polished to the most slipperydegree. There were a couple of rugs here and there, but no carpet. Inthe centre of the room was a table covered with a white cloth, andcontaining knives, forks, glasses, and a bunch of flowers rathercarelessly arranged in a vase in the middle. There were heavy chairs inthe Louis-Quinze style, with a great deal of gilt about them, and a hugemirror, also with gilt, let into the wall at one side; and exactlyopposite the wall was a door, which led into three small bedrooms, allcommunicating each with the other.
"These are your apartments, young ladies," said the governess who hadtaken us upstairs. "This is your sitting-room, where to-night you willhave your supper. You will not see your companions--or I think not--until the morning. You will be glad to retire to rest, doubtless, asyou must have had a long journey. Your supper will come up in a momentor two. If you give your trunks to Justine she will unpack them and putyour things away. Ah! here is the bell; if you will ring it when youwant anything, Justine, who is the maid whose special duty it is to waiton you, will attend the summons."
The governess turned to go away.
"But, please," called out Hermione as she was closing the door, "whatare we to call you?"
"Mademoiselle Wrex."
We thanked her, and she vanished. Augusta stood in the middle of theroom and clasped her hands.
"Well, now, I call this jolly!" I said.
"Delightful! And how quaint!" said Hermione. "I never thought weshould have a sitting-room."
"But there isn't a book," remarked Augusta.
"Oh, we don't want books to-night, Augusta. Now, do lean on my moralstrength and forget everything unpleasant," I said.
"Oh! do look out of the window; here's a balcony," cried Hermione. "Letus go out on it when we have had supper."
She pushed back the curtains, opened the window, and the next minute shewas standing on the little balcony looking down into the crowded street.
"Oh! and that house opposite; we can see right into its rooms. Whatfun! What fun! I do call this life!" cried the girl.
"We had better go and unlock our trunks; remember we are at school," Isaid.
"How unlike you, Dumps, to think of anything sensible!" was Hermione'sremark.
We went into our rooms.
"I am going to ring the bell for Justine," said Hermione.
She did so, and a very pretty girl dressed in French style appeared.She could not speak English, but our home-made French was sufficient forthe occasion. We managed to convey to her what we wanted, and shesupplied us with
hot water, took our keys, and immediately began tounpack our trunks and to put away our belongings.
"You shall have the room next to the sitting-room," I said to Hermione.
"Very well," she answered.
"I will take the next," I said; "and, Augusta, will you have that one?"
"It's all the same to me," said Augusta.
In less than half-an-hour we felt ourselves more or less established inour new quarters.
"Now," said Justine, becoming much animated, "you will want, you _pauvrepetites_, some of the so necessaire refreshment."
She rang the bell with energy, and a man appeared bearing chocolate,cakes of different descriptions, and