CHAPTER XIX.
THE ASPRAYS.
Mrs. Richmond had just finished lunch, and was preparing to go out fora drive, when Nancy, her cheeks flushed and her eyes very bright,rushed into the room.
"Well, my dear child," said the good lady, drawing the little girltowards her, "and what do you want now? I am so glad to see my dearlittle Nancy with that bright face! I was sorry that you were troubledthis morning, my dear. I have promised Augusta not to say anythingabout it, nor will I; but I conclude from your face now that thetrouble, whatever it was, is over."
"Yes," said Nancy, "it is quite over."
"And you are really happy, my darling?"
"I am, Mrs. Richmond. I cannot help it; you are so kind to me."
"Come close to me, dear; I want to say something to you." As Mrs.Richmond spoke she drew Nancy to her side, and put her arm round thelittle girl's waist and kissed her. "Why do you call me Mrs. Richmond?"she said. "I want to be as a mother to you."
"Oh!" said Nancy, with a gasp.
"I know, dear, that your own dear and sweet mother is no longer here.But my wish is, as far as possible, to take her place. I cannot reallytake her place, I know, Nancy, but I can at least be to you a good andkind and loving aunt. Now, Nancy, what I wish is this--I want you topromise to call me Aunt Jessie. Will you, dear?"
"I will if I may," said Nancy, with her eyes shining; "I'd like tojust awfully."
"That is all right. And will you give your Aunt Jessie a kiss?"
Nancy flung her arms round Mrs. Richmond's neck.
"How much I love you! How very, very good you are to me?" she said.
"What is it you specially want to say to me, Nancy?"
"It is about Augusta," said the child. "I think perhaps I made toomuch fuss this morning. I know Augusta was---- I mean that it soundedcruel, but---- I don't know how to express it. If you would not mind,Aunt Jessie, just _quite_ forgiving her."
"What do you mean by quite forgiving her, little woman?"
"She is in great trouble. She spoke to me about it. We are goodfriends now, she and I. She spoke to me, and I told her I would comeand plead for her. If, Aunt Jessie, you would quite forgive her!"
"Well, dear child, I have quite forgiven her; we will let bygones bebygones."
"If that is the case, you won't give her a bad mark in theorderly-book?"
A look of great surprise came over Mrs. Richmond's face when Nancy saidthis. She rose and said hurriedly:
"I am going for a drive, and cannot talk any more; but tell Augustashe ought not to have sent you."
"Are you angry?" asked Nancy.
"Not with you, but with Augusta."
"Then you won't do what I ask"----
"I cannot, and Augusta knows the reason why. When you four girlsenrolled yourselves as soldiers in Captain Richmond's battalion youwere in earnest; it was not a joke. Augusta behaved badly to-day, andshe deserves the punishment which a bad mark in the orderly-book willbestow. Say no more about it, Nancy. Run away and play; you arelooking quite pale and ill."
As Mrs. Richmond uttered the last words she left the room.
Nancy stood still for a moment with her hands clasped; then she wentvery slowly in the direction of the seashore. The children were tohave tea in the tent this afternoon, and Kitty and Nora were busybringing down baskets of picnic things: cups and saucers, plates,knives and forks, cakes innumerable, jam, bread and butter, &c. Whenthey saw Nancy they shouted to her to come and help them. The threechildren went quickly down the steep path through the shrubbery, andsoon found themselves by the sea. The tide was half out, and the wholeplace looked perfect. There was a gay town not far from Fairleigh, andat this time of the year the sands were strewn with children andnurses--in short, with the usual holiday folks. But the part of theshore just beside Mrs. Richmond's place was considered more or less tobelong to her young people, and as a rule no other children came thereto play. To-day, however, as the girls, heavily laden with thematerials for their afternoon picnic, approached, they saw Augustatalking to two rather showily dressed girls, whose long golden hairhung down their backs. Augusta seemed in high spirits, and her gaylaughter floated on the breeze.
"Who can she be talking to?" said Kitty. "I never knew such a girl forpicking up friends."
"Well, don't mind her now," said Nora, going into the tent and makingpreparations. "We are going to boil the kettle on the sands and havereal, proper tea.--Nancy, if you have nothing better to do, you mightgo along by the shore and pick up bits of firewood."
Nancy ran off immediately.
"What can be the matter with her?" Nora said. "Her eyes look as if shehad been crying. I wonder if Gussie has been worrying her again."
Before Kitty had time to reply, Gussie was seen coming towards them."Kitty," she said, raising her voice, "I want to introduce Miss Asprayand her sister. They are so anxious to know us, and they seem so verynice! You know, of course, who they are--the Americans who live at thecorner of our street."
"But what would mother say?" asked Nora. "You know, Augusta, shedoesn't want us ever to make acquaintance with people that she herselfdoes not know."
"Oh! I can't help that now," said Augusta. "Here they are coming tomeet us. Don't you think we might ask them to tea?"
The two girls now approached the tent. Flora, the elder, lookingprettier and more full of spirit than any one Kitty had seen for along time, held out her hand.
"How do you do, Miss Richmond?" she said. "Constance and I know youquite well by sight. We have often looked at you four girls with greatenvy; and just now, when we found Miss Duncan standing by herself onthe sands, it seemed almost too good to be true. She seemed to us, inthis outlandish, out-of-the-way spot, to be quite an old friend. Maywe join you; or will you join us? Mother is having a grand picnic onthe rocks round the other side of the bay, and I know she will bedelighted to see you all. Will you come or not?"
Augusta's eyes were sparkling, and she evidently longed to accept theAsprays' invitation. But Nora, drawing herself up, said in her veryquiet tone, "We shall be pleased if you will join us. We are justhaving tea on the sands; it is not a regular picnic."
"But quite too lovely!" said Constance. "Of course we will stay--onlytoo glad. And is this your tent? How charming!" As she spoke sheentered the tent, and flung herself down on a large cushion coveredwith an Oriental brocade. "Dear, dear!" she said, "you do seem toenjoy things."
"Of course we do," said Kitty, viewing her with some disfavour. "Whyelse should we come to the seashore?"
"Do you live in that nice place which I see through the trees?"
"Yes," answered Nova. "It is our own place. We come here every year."
Just then Nancy appeared, holding a lot of brushwood in the skirt ofher frock. She coloured and started when she saw the Asprays, who hadnow both taken possession of the tent.
"Nancy," said Kitty, going up to the little girl and putting her armround her waist, "Augusta has met the two Miss Asprays, and hasinvited them to tea here.--Miss Aspray, may I introduce my greatfriend, Nancy Esterleigh?"
The elder Miss Aspray coloured brightly when Kitty made this remark.The younger shrugged her shoulders and poked her sister in the side.Augusta's eyes sparkled, and Nancy turned very white.
"How do you do?" she said in a low voice.
"Why, if it isn't---- Yes, it is, Constance."
"It is what?" said Constance. "I do wish you would mind your manners,Flora."
"But it is quite too funny!" said Flora.-- "Why, little girl, don'tyou remember us? How is your dog? Does he bite as well as ever? Is heas vindictive as he was on a certain day in a florist's shop? Oh, ifyou only knew how poor Constance's ankle ached after his verygentlemanly attentions! And you, my dear, were not quite assympathetic as might have been expected."
"Explain--explain!" cried Augusta. "This sounds most interesting."
"Let me tell," said Nancy. She turned suddenly, faced the group, andtold her little story. "I was sorry," she said in conclusion, "and Iwoul
d have said so, only you were both so terribly angry, and youseemed to think---- But there! I won't say any more."
"No, no," said Kitty; "of course you won't say any more. And the MissAsprays are our guests, remember.--Now then, let us hurry with tea."
The girls, their party augmented to six, had on the whole a jollytime. Nancy was only too glad to bustle about in order to keep herexcited heart quiet. Were these the girls with whom she might have tospend her life? Were these the girls whose father had a right tomaintain her and adopt her as his own child? Oh, how thankful she wasthat Mrs. Richmond had already adopted her!
"I would rather be a charity-child with Mrs. Richmond," thought thelittle girl, "than have the greatest right in the world to live withthe Asprays, for, oh dear! I don't like them a bit--no, not a bit.What a comfort it is that I have got that promise in writing fromAugusta!--for now I need never leave my darling Aunt Jessie. Yes, sheasked me to call her Aunt Jessie; and how much I do love her!"
While these thoughts were passing through Nancy's head, she was busyspreading bread and butter and opening pots of jam. She was kneelingon the sands to perform these offices, and happened to be a littleaway from the rest of the party.
Suddenly Augusta approached with the excuse of wanting to borrow aknife from her.
"Well," she said in a whisper, "and what do you think of them? Youwould like awfully to live with them, wouldn't you?"
"No, no," said Nancy, shaking her head.
"No, no," echoed Augusta, mimicking her. "And why not, my littlebeauty?"
"Don't tease me, Gussie; you know what I mean."
"No, indeed, I don't. I like the Asprays immensely. How stylish andhandsome they both are, and so well dressed! I trust we shall see agreat deal of them. They are going to stay at Fairlight for a month,and they say a great many friends are going to be with them--Americanfriends--gentlemen and ladies also. I know that they mean to see agood deal of us--of me in especial. So, little Nancy, as you are myspecial friend, you must be extremely nice to Flora and ConstanceAspray, and pay them a considerable amount of attention."
"What do you mean, Gussie?"
"What I say, little woman. Now, for instance, when we are all takingtea in the tent, you are to see that Constance and Flora get thestrongest cups of tea, the most cream, and the most richly buttered ofthe scones, and the thickest pieces of cake. I am rather famous forreading character, and I am positively sure that these two girls arepossessed by greediness. You will remember my injunctions, won't you,Nancy?"
"I don't mind helping them to the nice things if they really wantthem, Augusta. But, oh! please, Gussie, you won't say anything aboutme--I mean anything special?"
Augusta laughed. "I am not at all sure," she said; "it all depends onyour behaviour. And, oh, by the way, have you seen Aunt Jessie?"
"Yes--yes, I have; and I am ever so sorry!"
"What! you have not succeeded?"
Nancy shook her head.
Augusta's face grew black with anger; she also looked seriouslyalarmed.
"You must talk to her again," she said. "I cannot have that bad markentered in the orderly-book. Do you hear? I cannot!"
"I am very sorry, Augusta. You had better speak to Aunt Jessieyourself, for I can do nothing."
"I don't believe you have pleaded with her. You had got what youwanted, and did not care twopence for me and my fate. It is just likeyou--just."
"No; that is not true," answered Nancy. "I did my very, very best; andI am terribly sorry. I tell you what it is, Gussie, I would take thatbad mark for myself--I would gladly--if only you need not have it."
"Oh! it is all very fine to talk," said Augusta; "but acts tell morethan words."
"What are you two chattering about?" suddenly burst from Nora's lips."The kettle has boiled, and the tea is made, and we are all waitingfor the bread and butter."
Nancy rose at once, and Augusta followed her. The picnic teacommenced, and no one noticed in the general mirth that one girl waslooking perturbed, cross, and anxious, and that another was strangelysilent and depressed. The Asprays, whatever their faults, were thegayest of the gay, and very merry and witty. Nora was not inclined tobe too cordial to girls whom her mother did not know, but Kittyquickly succumbed to their charm. The picnic tea came to an end, andwhen the Asprays took leave, it was with warm assurances that theywould soon come again, and that their mother should call on Mrs.Richmond if Mrs. Richmond did not first call on her--in short, thatduring their stay at Fairlight, the Richmonds of Fairleigh and theythemselves must be bosom friends.