The Little School-Mothers
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would find out for myself how youare. I hope you are progressing well, and will soon be able to join therest of us. It was strange how you and Ralph both caught cold the sameday: it was very unlucky. How are you to-night, my dear girl?"
"Better," said Harriet, changing colour as she spoke, for she was ratherweak from her illness and was much excited by Mr Durrant's visit. "Iam better," she continued; "I hope to be quite well by next week."
"So do I hope you will be quite well, for time is speeding very fast,Harriet: the summer holidays go almost before we know they are with us.Now I have many expeditions in my mind's eye--expeditions in which Iwant you and Ralph to join. This is Saturday night. To-morrow isSunday. To-morrow, I am going to leave home for a day or two, but onMonday I shall be back again. I hope by then to find you quite well andenjoying yourself with the rest of your school-fellows. Everything thatman can do will be done for your pleasure, and I trust I shall find mylittle party without any invalids amongst them waiting to welcome meback on Monday evening at the latest."
"And what is going to happen on Tuesday?" asked Harriet, whose eyesbegan to sparkle now, for she had suddenly lost her fear of Mr Durrant.
"The weather is so fine at present," was his reply, "that I havechartered a yacht and am going to take you all for a cruise. What doyou say to that? You are not likely to be sea-sick, are you?"
"Never was sea-sick in the whole course of my life," said Harriet,dimpling all over her face now with anticipation.
"I thought I'd discovered something to please you. The sea breezes willput colour into those pale cheeks. Ponies, donkeys, governess cartswill all be left behind, and for one long perfect week we shall coastround the Isle of Wight, and other parts of this perfect country. Whatdo you say? I have already mentioned the matter to the others, and Ifind that they are, without a single exception, good sailors."
"I will be well enough, whoever else isn't," said Harriet, stoutly."It'll be lovely, lovely. You know I have spent all my early days atthe seaside."
"Have you? Then of course you are accustomed to yachting."
"I am accustomed to going out in the fishing boats: I often did so atYarmouth: I used to make great friends with the sailors."
"Then that will be capital, my dear. Now I am leaving early to-morrow.You won't guess where I am going, will you?"
"How can I guess, Mr Durrant?"
"To no less a place than Robina's home."
"Robina's home," said Harriet. She felt herself turning red, and one ofher hands which had been lying idle on her lap, clenched itself tightly."Why to Robina's home?" she asked.
"That is just it. I have a little scheme in my head; why should not Itell you? I have told her--why should not you also be in the secret?"
"Oh, please, please tell me?" said Harriet. "I love secrets," sheadded.
"Most girls do. Well, this is the state of things. You know that myfirst intention was to send Ralph back to Mrs Burton's school with youand the other school-mothers. He was to be primarily under Robina'scare, and the rest of you were of course to be good to him. Dear, kindMrs Burton had consented to the arrangement, and everything was goingwell, when, lo and behold! I was obliged to change my plans."
"Oh!" said Harriet: "to change your plans--how? why?"
"I will tell you why, dear Harriet, and I am sure you will sympathisewith me. I know you have a great regard for my little boy, and Ibelieve he returns your regard; therefore anything connected with hisfuture will be of interest to you. Mrs Burton cannot receive Ralph ather school as she at first promised to do. She will herself give youher reasons for this, but I need not trouble you about them at thepresent moment. Suffice it to say that Ralph cannot go back toAbbeyfield, and therefore I have to make other arrangements for him."
"Yes," said Harriet, in a breathless sort of voice. "Dear Ralph! He issuch a sweet little boy. Have you made your arrangements, Mr Durrant?"
"I am going to South Africa early in October," was his reply, "andcannot take my dear little son with me: he must remain in England. Now,this house is quite to my liking. It is large, and airy and welldrained and not far from the seaside. I know a lady, a special friendof mine, who will come to look after Ralph, and he can have the bestmasters at Eastbourne and a daily tutor who will come out here toinstruct him. But all these advantages are not sufficient. He musthave a companion. There is in my opinion no companion so suitable forall that Ralph requires as Robina Starling; and I am going to see herfather to-morrow in order to make arrangements for her to remain withhim."
"And not go back to Abbeyfield?" said Harriet.
Her voice was low. It was getting dusk too, and Mr Durrant could notvery well see her face.
"Robina would not go back to school?" she repeated.
"In that case, no; but she would lose nothing thereby; for I should makeit a personal matter, and would see that her education was thoroughlyfinished at my expense. She is a clever girl, and I can give her notonly the very best masters, to develop what talent she possesses, butwould eventually send her to Girton, where I understand she greatlylongs to go." Harriet was quite silent. "You approve, don't you?" saidMr Durrant, scarcely knowing why he asked the question.
Harriet gave a little gasp.
"You are very, very good," she said: "you have done a great deal for thegirl that Ralph likes best. Is the girl who is to stay with him whileyou are away to be the girl he likes best, or the girl you like best?Hitherto, it has been the girl he likes best. Is that to be the casestill?"
"I hope so, indeed I trust that he will like Robina best."
"Because you do," said Harriet.
"Yes, Harriet," said Mr Durrant. "I like her; she is honest, andhonourable. She has never, to my knowledge, done an underhand thing: Icould not stand underhand ways in the companion who has to be so much inthe society of my little son. I love honour before all things--honourand truth: they are the pillars in which the whole character must beraised to any sort of strength or perfection. I believe Robina to beboth honourable and truthful."
"Yes," said Harriet: "you would not let her have the charge of Ralph ifshe had not these qualities."
"Certainly not: but she has. I will wish you good-night now. I hopeyou will be quite well on Monday evening when I return from my visit tothe Brown House."
Mr Durrant left the room, and Harriet lay back in her deep, easy chair,lost in thought. Once again she said to herself:
"That horrid girl is about to supplant me. I wonder, oh, I wonder!"
She thought long and hard.
Book 2--CHAPTER EIGHT.
MR DURRANT VISITS BROWN HOUSE.
Mr Durrant arrived at the Brown House on Sunday afternoon. It was aday when few visitors were expected. Mr Starling, having gone tochurch in the morning, invariably spent the afternoon lying back in acosy corner of the green-house, smoking and reading a Sunday newspaper.He was by no means an irreligious man, but he liked his ease on Sunday,being under the supposition that he worked extremely hard during theweek days. Mrs Starling spent Sunday afternoon lying down andimagining herself a little worse than usual. Miss Felicia sat in thedrawing-room, and Violet and Rose played on the lawn.
They were quite good little children and never made any unruly noise--that is, except when Robina was at home. Robina brought a disturbingelement into their young lives: but now that she was gone, and Bo-peepwas gone, the entire Starling family had settled down into theirordinary habits.
The day was an intensely hot one, and when Mr Durrant appeared on thescene, he stood still for a minute to wipe the moisture from his brow.
"Hallo, little 'un!" he said to Rose who, not at all shy, toddled up tohim.
"What's 'oo want, g'ate big man?" was her inquiry.
"I want your father, or your mother, or your aunt," was MalcolmDurrant's reply. "I want some one who can tell me something. Now Iknow you can't, because you're too small."
"There's my auntie in the drawing-room," said Violet at that moment.Violet b
y no means wished Rose to monopolise the stranger. "She'll say`Don't' if you has mud on your boots: but you hasn't, they is quiteclean."
"Only dusty," said Rose. "Let's dust 'em."
She knelt down as she spoke, and, taking the skirt of her little whitefrock, began to remove the dust from the stranger's boots.
"Don't, Rose! Rose, how dare you!" called a shrill voice from thedrawing-room, and Miss Felicia made her appearance through the openwindow. "How do you do, sir," she said. "I must apologise for myniece. Really, Rose, your