White Boots

by Noel Streatfeild

  “I think she’s going to trust me to get everything. You see, unless she takes time off from her skating or special classes, she’s never free when the shops are open.”

  The thought of somebody of ten never being free when the shops were open sounded to Uncle David depressing. He could not, of course, interfere as Lalla was not his ward, so instead he told Miss Goldthorpe that he would like to help to make Lalla’s Christmas pleasant and that he did not suppose she had enough money to get all the presents she needed, and Miss Goldthorpe could ask him for anything extra. Miss Goldthorpe looked as pleased as if she had had a present.

  “That will please Lalla. She wanted so very much to give Harriet some good skates and boots, but, of course, they’d be too expensive for her. I myself think there are many things Harriet needs more than skates and boots, but Lalla is certain that skates and boots of her own would make Harriet happier than anything else.”

  Uncle David looked at Miss Goldthorpe’s plain, kind face and bulgy figure, and thought what a nice person she was.

  “I wish Lalla could see more of Harriet. Nana tells me they don’t have much time together on the rink and of course Lalla’s day is so full. It’s none of my business, but I’d like to see her have more fun.”

  Miss Goldthorpe nodded vigorously.

  “So would I. Sometimes when I see her sitting alone at the schoolroom table I wonder if I ought not to try and persuade her aunt to send her to a day school. I should miss her terribly, and of course there are difficulties in the way. Her curriculum does not really allow for a school life, but I feel I should do something, she does spend so much time alone.”

  Uncle David stared into Miss Goldthorpe’s face, and between them the idea was born. Uncle David said it would take some handling, and Miss Goldthorpe said it would be splendid, just what Lalla needed, and she was sure that competition would be good for her work. They both agreed that Nana would be delighted.

  “I wonder if the Johnsons would approve.”

  Miss Goldthorpe nodded again even more vigorously than before.

  “They would. The day I met Harriet she told me all about herself, and it seems that she misses going to school. She was not allowed to go after her illness, because she was not considered strong enough, and now that she is strong enough her doctor won’t let her go until the winter’s over. He says schools are full of germs and draughts. In Lalla’s schoolroom there are no draughts, and between us Nana and I can take care of her.”

  Uncle David thought for a moment.

  “Say nothing about this to anyone. You know how I’m placed, I’m only her step-uncle, but I’ll think the matter over, and see if I can persuade Mrs King. It’d be a wonderful plan.”

  If Lalla and Harriet had known what Uncle David and Miss Goldthorpe were scheming for them, and what Uncle David was going to try and talk Aunt Claudia into arranging, they would have been even more excited about Christmas than they were. As it was they were mad-doggish. Once it was arranged that Aunt Claudia and Uncle David would be away for Christmas it was decided that Lalla should spend all Christmas Day at the Johnsons’ house. She was to go there first thing in the morning, and not to come home till after supper. At tea-time both Nana and Miss Goldthorpe were invited for the Christmas tree, games, dressing up and for supper.

  “And nobody’s to mention diet on Christmas Day,” said Lalla. “I’m going to eat everything I want to eat, plum pudding and mince pies, and Christmas cake, and as many helpings of everything as I can get in.”

  There would have been, of course, no chance of turkey in the Johnsons’ house if Lalla had not been going there for Christmas. Uncle William did not keep turkeys, and if he had he would have eaten them all. But part of Lalla’s spending Christmas at Harriet’s was a hamper from Uncle David and George. So that Olivia would not worry about Christmas things Nana told Lalla to tell Harriet that the hamper was coming. “And right and proper it should be, seeing your uncle and Mr Johnson were such friends at school.”

  The hamper came two days before Christmas. Olivia saved up opening it till all the family were home. It was an enormous hamper with a big red bow on the top of it, with a sprig of holly through it. Inside was everything Christmasy that was ever heard of; as one thing after another was unpacked and laid on the kitchen table there were gasps and Oohs and Ohs from the family. Edward rubbed his face against Olivia’s sleeve.

  “Mummy, it’s almost Christmas. Couldn’t we have one teeny crystallised fruit tonight?”

  Olivia explained that the glories of the hamper must wait until Lalla could share them, because her step-uncle had sent the hamper. Toby said:

  “I suppose as Lalla is going to share Christmas and her step-uncle has sent Dad all this, we ought to keep it, but it’s unsound policy. We should sell most of this, especially the turkey, which will fetch a lot, and we should eat what Uncle William sends.”

  The family moaned with horror, but Olivia laughed.

  “No,Toby, for one glorious day nothing is going to be eaten out of the shop, except possibly some vegetables, and we wouldn’t eat those only I can’t be bothered to go out and buy some anywhere else.”

  Out of doors Christmas Day was dull and grey, but in the Johnsons’ house it was so gay it seemed as if the air was glistening. In the morning almost before the Johnsons had finished breakfast Lalla arrived, and behind her came the chauffeur with his arms full of presents to go under the Christmas tree. While Olivia cooked the turkey George took the family to church; it was a nice service with all the proper carols, including The First Nowell, Hark! the herald angels sing, and O come, all ye faithful. When they got home again the table in the kitchen-dining room was laid for Christmas lunch. Olivia had made it look lovely, with two red candles, lots of holly, and in the middle something which had come out of Uncle David’s hamper; Father Christmas in his sledge, driving six remarkably prancy-looking reindeer.

  The food was so good and there were such lovely things in the crackers, including a lot of indoor fireworks, that Christmas lunch was hardly cleared away and the fat feeling it had brought on had only begun to work off when Miss Goldthorpe and Nana arrived for Christmas tea. In spite of the splendid Christmas cake, nobody could eat much, for not only were they full of Christmas food already but the sooner they stopped eating the sooner they would get to the great moment of the day, presents and the tree.

  Lalla had been so happy all day she had not supposed she could have felt happier. Everything was amusing; the family jokes at lunch had seemed to her radiantly funny, helping to wash up and dry, a bore to the Johnsons, was the greatest pleasure to her, but when she was waiting for the Christmas tree to be lighted, she found a new sort of happiness rising in her which gave her a swelling-up feeling inside. Always before Christmas Day had been arranged for her, and though, of course, she gave presents to everybody in the house, it had been her presents that had mattered, and everybody in the house had stood round to admire and be interested when she opened her parcels. But now she had the thrill of parcel giving. Her inside sort of turned over each time she looked at her special parcels done up in holly-trimmed paper and scarlet bows. “Oh, giggerty-geggerty, wouldn’t they all be pleased!”

  Lalla had to wait for the opening of her parcels. Guests first was Olivia’s rule, and she rummaged amongst the parcels, picking out one for Miss Goldthorpe, one for Nana, and one for Lalla. They were all presents from Aunt Claudia. Nana had a grand new work-basket, Miss Goldthorpe an umbrella, and Lalla the latest book on skating.

  “Very nice, I’m sure,” said Nana.

  The first of Lalla’s presents to be opened was Alec’s. A big book on cultivating vegetables. There was a card inside, which nobody would read except Alec, on which was written: “There are six closhes (I can’t spell it) as well you know where. Guzzle guzzle guzzle quack quack quack, Lalla.” Alec was pleased with the book, but when he read what was on the card he gave Lalla a hug, and as he shoved the card into his pocket he whispered, “Quack quack quack.”

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nbsp; For Toby there was a new fountain pen to use when he was working out mathematical problems, Edward had a Meccano set that he had been wanting for ages, but the great present was Harriet’s. The boots and the skates had been packed in boxes, and the boxes were wrapped in brown paper, and on top of that Lalla had used her Christmas paper and bows, so they took Harriet quite a time to unpack. When at last she saw what her present was, her face was so pleased that it stopped looking thin, and seemed swollen with smiling.

  “Darling,” said Olivia, “I didn’t know you wanted skates and boots so badly. Are you getting fond of skating?”

  Harriet hugged the boots and skates to her and almost sang.

  “My own white boots and skates. Proper white boots!”

  Lalla had forgotten what giving the skates and boots to Harriet would mean to Alec, but Toby saw the moment the boots came out of their box.

  “You won’t give up your paper round, Alec, will you? Imagine all that money is for you to save.”

  Alec, who was looking at his vegetable book, said “No” and gave Toby a wink. Harriet remembered her manners. She danced across to Lalla.

  “Oh, thank you, thank you, Lalla. My own boots and such lovely skates. I’ll be an absolutely proper skater now.”

  Miss Goldthorpe put the boots back in their box.

  “I believe they’ll fit you perfectly, dear. But Sam, who got them for us, said you were to keep them clean and bring them in tomorrow for him to make sure they are the right fit; if not he’ll change them.”

  Harriet hated to see her boots shut up in their box even for one day, but she knew that skating boots ought to be properly fitted, and she had a great respect for anything that Sam said, so she let them be put away, though for the rest of the evening she went to the box every now and again and lifted the lid just to be sure they were there.

  Mr Pulton had told Alec to call on him on Boxing Day. Alec found him in his sitting room wearing his brown velvet coat and cap, and his slippers embroidered in gold and silver thread. He welcomed Alec in his fading, tired voice, but his blue eyes were twinkling and pleased.

  “Good morning, young man. This is Boxing Day, do you know why it’s called Boxing Day?” Alec said he did not. Mr Pulton smiled. “It’s the day set aside for the giving of presents or boxes to employees or messengers. I think a boy who carries round papers is a messenger, don’t you?”

  Alec felt embarrassed. In the Johnson family if you received a present you gave a present; he had not sent Mr Pulton even a Christmas card, and he had not expected to receive one from Mr Pulton, and it had never crossed his mind there might be a present. Mr Pulton seemed able to read what Alec was thinking.

  “Boxing Day is only a day for giving presents to those types of persons; a present from an employee or a messenger to the employer would be most unseemly, most.”

  Alec glanced round the room; it looked very un-Christmasy, not a piece of holly, a decoration or a little bit of paper and string to show where a present had been. He wished he had sent at least a Christmas card; a Christmas card with a horse on it would have been nice; Mr Pulton would have liked that. Mr Pulton pointed with his finger to the kitchen.

  “If you go through there you’ll find some plum cake, and port for myself and ginger wine for you. Employer and messenger should drink a glass of wine together at this season.”

  The kitchen was as spotless as when Alec had last seen it; on the table was a tray, on which stood a decanter of port, two glasses, one filled with ginger wine, and some slices of plum cake. He carried the tray carefully back to the sitting room, and put it on the table beside Mr Pulton. Mr Pulton filled his glass with port, and signalled to Alec to take his ginger wine. He held the port up to the firelight, so that it glowed like a ruby in his hand.

  “Tell me, how is that vegetable garden shaping?”

  Alec sipped his ginger wine, it was good and warming and Mr Pulton looked interested and encouraging, so in no time he was telling him everything, even about Lalla and her piece of garden, and the cloches. Then he explained that he would be able to do things now on a far greater scale than he had anticipated because Harriet’s Christmas present had been skates and boots.

  “You see, sir, that means fourteen shillings a week instead of two for my money-box.”

  Mr Pulton was a man who respected money; he said: “Fourteen shillings!” in a voice which showed that he appreciated what this meant.

  “With this fortune do you intend to give up the idea of growing things in your sister’s friend’s garden?”

  “Not really, but she’s only got a small bit I think. We haven’t seen it yet, but you can’t do much with a small bit. I think in March I shall start spending some of my money on stuff I shall buy at Covent Garden. If we could get a few people used to coming to Dad for decent vegetables regularly it’d be a start. I rather think my first buy will be new potatoes, but Toby’s working that out. He’s the mathematical one.”

  Mr Pulton sat silent for quite a while, drinking his port and thinking over what Alec had said. Then a coal dropped in the fireplace, and brought him back to the present. He leant over the arm of his chair and picked up a parcel that was on the floor at his side.

  “Here is your box.” It was a cash box, a funny, old-fashioned-looking one made of leather, with little iron bars down it, and imitation iron studs all over it. “It’s a copy of a very old chest, my boy. Fine craftsmanship. Smell it… beautiful leather.”

  Alec smelt, and found the box had a lovely smell. Then he turned the key and lifted an iron hinge and found how splendidly it was made. Inside there were compartments divided by leather walls. Because it was such an original box it was nice to think of savings being kept in it.

  “I say! Thanks awfully, sir.”

  “That’s all right, young man. When you were here before I spoke to you of horses.” He swept his hand round the horses in the room. “And you told me about a pony and trap and vegetables and how some day you wished to be a market gardener. It will be an admirable start if you buy at Covent Garden, but you should not neglect growing things yourself in that piece of garden.” He raised his glass. “To your dreams. May you follow them as I never followed mine.”

  Because of this talk with Mr Pulton, Alec told Harriet to ask Lalla if he and Toby could come over and look at her piece of garden before Aunt Claudia came back. Because Aunt Claudia was away and it was Christmas time it was easy to arrange. The gardener was not coming, or if he came probably he would sit in the kitchen, and have tea and Christmas cake. The weather was cold, and Nana never came into the garden in the cold weather. The only person to worry about was Miss Goldthorpe. In the Christmas holidays Miss Goldthorpe came as usual, but it was not to give lessons, but to take Lalla for walks and to her special classes, so Miss Goldthorpe had to be told. One of the surprising things about Miss Goldthorpe was that you never knew what she would think about a thing. When she heard that Alec and Toby were coming over she did not understand why it had to be a secret.

  “But very nice, dear. It’s not really gardening weather, but it’ll be healthy for you out of doors, but I shouldn’t let Harriet come, she ought not to get her feet wet.”

  They were sitting by the schoolroom fire, roasting chestnuts, which would have shocked Aunt Claudia if she had seen them, because chestnuts were fattening. Lalla pushed a chestnut nearer the flames.

  “But, Goldie, you do see, don’t you, that it’s got to be a secret? I mean, Aunt Claudia doesn’t know that Harriet’s got any brothers, and she mustn’t know that they come here. Nobody can come here unless she says so, you do know that.”

  Miss Goldthorpe sighed. She did indeed know. But she had thought Harriet’s brothers just looking at the garden would be an exception.

  “I can’t believe she’d mind, dear. After all, anybody can be shown round a garden, though I don’t think there’s much growing at this time of year, is there?”

  Lalla took a chestnut off the fire and pinched it to see if it was done.

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bsp; “You don’t understand at all, Goldie. And I can’t explain absolutely because it’s a secret. It’s nothing wrong; as a matter of fact it’s something good, so good it couldn’t be gooder, and it’s something nobody but Aunt Claudia could mind. Please, Goldie, would you know where I am if Nana asks, but not know the people I’m with. Nana gets in such a fuss if she thinks I’m doing something Aunt Claudia mightn’t like.”

  Miss Goldthorpe thought of Uncle David’s and her own scheme. It would be terrible if it was all muddled up because Harriet’s brothers came to the garden and Aunt Claudia found out, though why the child should not be allowed to garden with Harriet’s brothers she could not imagine. Still, Aunt Claudia was queer, everybody knew that.

  “Very well, dear. But they’re not to come without you telling me, when they come you must let me know, and you can slip out to the garden, but I don’t like all this secrecy.”

  The visit to Lalla’s garden was a huge success. The piece of bed which belonged to Lalla had been marked out by stones, and though the gardener had taken most of the stones away, there were enough to see where it used to be.

  “The first thing we must do,” said Lalla, “is to put the stones back, and if we sneak a little bit of extra garden I shouldn’t think anyone would notice, and if anyone did it would be the gardener, and I expect he would be pleased because it would be less for him to dig.”

  While Lalla and Alec collected stones to mark out the bed, Toby measured the ground and put figures down in a notebook. He said he thought that they might try their luck at early lettuces, anyway the seeds would not cost much. It was a pity they had not started in the autumn, because a paying thing would have been strawberries. They would not be able to grow much of anything, but then it was not going to cost anything once it was planted out, so that would not matter.