The Little School-Mothers
Page 34
Robina'sadvantage. As a matter of fact, she was his favourite child. He had amuch better time when she was at home than when she was at school. Shesuited him, as he himself expressed it, down to the ground. She"ragged" him, as she called it. She was not at all afraid of him. Shemade him laugh. She encouraged him to be more noisy at meals than MissFelicia thought was seemly in the house with a great invalid. He hadyielded to Miss Felicia's representations that school was necessary forRobina. She had gone to school, and some one else had discovered hervirtues, for she had come back accompanied by a very valuable adjunct--no less a thing than a live pony, a spirited animal which could gallopand canter and trot and look all that was bright and intelligent. Thisanimal, provided with a side-saddle and attendant groom whose wages werepaid by some one else was a great addition to the _menage_ at the BrownHouse. When Robina went away to Sunshine Lodge, accompanied by the ponyand the groom and the side-saddle, Edward Starling had missed his childand her belongings a great deal. He wondered what else was to beexpected of him, and nodded curtly now to the stranger as he entered theroom.
"Glad to see you, of course, sir," he said. "How is Robina?"
"Very well, thank you," said Durrant.
"You are a great person, Mr Durrant," said Starling: "that is, you havemade a great name for yourself. But be that as it may, I hold with thewords, `A man's a man for a' that.' You are a man, sir, and I amanother, and Robina is my child. Now, my sister-in-law, who betweenourselves is a right good sort but a bit of a goose, considers you not aman, but an archangel, with a halo round you. Now I see neither thearchangel nor the halo, but a person who at present is enjoying thesociety of my pleasing young daughter. I understand that you have cometo say something to me about her. What, Mr Durrant, may that somethingbe?"
"A very outspoken something," replied Durrant. "I am exceedingly glad,Mr Starling, that you speak to me as you do. I am not an archangel,and I wear no halo. I am an ordinary man. Circumstances have placedme, on several occasions, in positions of extreme danger where, if I hadnot used an Englishman's pluck, I should have been worsted in thebattle. I only did, sir, what you or any other man would have doneunder the circumstances. But now--to come to your child. I want toknow if you will grant me a very great favour."
"Well, let us hear it, let us hear it," said Starling. "But why shouldwe sit moped up in this fusty room? Let us come out into the garden andenjoy our pipes together: what do you say?"
"I shall be only too delighted," said Durrant.
The two men immediately left the drawing-room. Miss Felicia, from asheltered corner of her sister's bedroom, watched them as they passed upand down.
"He has, my dear sister," she remarked, "the most honourable carriage ofthe head: it is but to look at that man to see what he is. You, dear,at least, won't throw any obstacle in the way of Robina's good luck: allher life long it will be remembered in her favour that she was selectedby Malcolm Durrant to be the companion of his little boy during his ownabsence."
"I am not likely to put an obstacle in the way," answered Mrs Starling,"seeing that I have small voice in any matters. Where you don't ruleme,--Felicia,--my husband does; and where my husband doesn't, the littlechildren do; and where the little children don't, Robina does; and whereRobina doesn't, the servants do. I am ruled by everyone; I am the mostruled out person on earth; I have not a bit of colour or opinion left.When Bo-peep was here, I felt a little happier than I had done for sometime, because the animal seemed to like me without wanting in the veryleast to get the upper hand of me. But there, it cannot be helped."
"Don't talk any more in that silly vein," was Miss Felicia's remark."Each day after day as it goes, you make things quite disagreeable andcontrary. I wanted to dress you nicely and bring you downstairs to tea,so that you might have the privilege of conversing yourself with thedistinguished traveller; but really, what with hysterics in view, Idoubt if it would not be better to leave you upstairs."
"I am not going to have any hysterics," said poor Mrs Starling. "Ihave passed all that. Perhaps Robina rules me rather less than the restof you; but I should like to see the man who wants to be a sort offather to her. I can't imagine why she should leave her own father; butyou all think otherwise."
"We all think otherwise," retorted Miss Felicia with a sort of snort;"when golden chances do come in life, as a rule one isn't such a fool asto throw them away. But now, my dear Agnes, your purple silk dress withthe real lace collar will look exceedingly nice, and it will do you noharm to get into it, even if you don't come downstairs."
While Mrs Starling was being dressed, the men were having their smokein the garden. Durrant made his proposal quite plainly before MrStarling.
"I shall be absent for a year," he said. "During that time, I want yourdaughter to be my little son's companion; I, of course, paying allexpenses. At the end of the year, she can, if you wish it, go back toMrs Burton, and continue her education in that most excellent school,or she can still remain under my roof, looked after by my friend andrelation, Mrs Temple, and given the best possible instruction thatEastbourne and the neighbourhood of London can supply. When she is oldenough, I will myself send her to Newnham or Girton; or if she does notcare for that sort of education I will give her two or three years'foreign travel. It will be a great pleasure to me to do all this forthe girl who helps my little boy during a rather lonely period of hislife. I offer these advantages to your daughter because, in the firstplace, Ralph likes her better than any other girl he has ever seen, andin the second place, I respect and love her on her own account. Duringthe holidays she will of course spend the time with you, unless you wishit otherwise."
"There is no use whatever in that," said Starling, interrupting MrDurrant's remarks in a somewhat gruff voice. "Robina is a good girl,and suits me uncommonly well, but she does not get on with the ladieshere. Can't tell why, I am sure--too outspoken--doesn't suit FeliciaJennings. Felicia, between you and me, is somewhat of a bore--anexcellent creature, but too much `_don't_' about her. Robina has got ahigh spirit, and she can't stand it. That is why she went to school.Believe me, I didn't want her to go: I miss the girl uncommonly. Shetakes after me--a little rough, you know."
"I haven't found her rough," said Mr Durrant.
"Well, perhaps you would not call it so; but that is what the women heresay. They have dinned it into my ear till at last I have got to believeit. Robina is so rough, they say, and so noisy, and so like a tomboy."
"I need not tell you, my dear sir, that I found the child spirited andagreeable and an excellent companion. What I admire about her so muchis her outspoken honesty and her truthfulness," said Mr Durrant.
"Well, yes; she is all that: I have never found her out in a lie, never,although, to be sure, many a person might prevaricate a trifle to getaway from the `don'ts' of that old woman, Felicia. I am agreeable toyour proposal, Mr Durrant: you can carry it out with my consent, and Ihave no doubt my poor wife will also fall in with your views: but Ileave you, sir, to tackle the ladies yourself, for I am no match forthem. Women are always slippery sort of creatures, hard to circumvent,sir, and mighty knowing. It is my belief they have twice the brains ofus men. A woman can squeeze herself out of a corner where a man wouldbe simply trapped. Now you know my opinion. Robina's a good girl, andshe may as well stay at Sunshine Lodge for a year as at Mrs Burton'sfor a year. As to the holidays; if you would invite me to spend part ofthe time with her at Sunshine Lodge, it would save a lot of ructions;but I don't make that a _sine qua non_. I am agreeable to anyarrangement that suits you and the ladies."
"Thank you; you are very kind," said Mr Durrant.
The conversation languished a little after that, although Mr Starlingtried to keep it lively by expatiating on Bo-peep's many excellentpoints, and describing how truly his wife loved the little animal.Eventually, a small, clear voice interrupted the conversation, andViolet, dressed in her best and most starchy white frock, appeared onthe scene. She announced in a prim little voice that
tea was ready.
"You is to come in, and I may hold oo's hand," said Violet, giving hersat once with the utmost confidence to the stranger.
The men immediately entered the house, accompanied by the little maid.Rose was within, looking rather tearful, and seated close to her mother.
"I is not to 'peak, but I is 'onging to," was her first remark as shefixed her cherubic eyes on the stranger's face.
"Don't, Rose! Keep silent," said her aunt. "Mr Durrant, may I presentyou to my dear sister, Robina's mother."
Mr Durrant