The Palace Beautiful: A Story for Girls

  CHAPTER XII.

  THEY WOULD NOT BE PARTED.

  Primrose walked down the street, passing by the little cottage whichfor so many years had been her home. Her sisters did not expect her toreturn to dinner, and her heart was too full to allow her to go injust then.

  So they were to be parted--this was the advice of those who calledthemselves their friends. Primrose, Jasmine, and Daisy, her threeflowers, as mother had called them, were no longer to grow sweetly inone garden together. They were to be parted--Primrose was to go oneway, and the little ones another. Impulsive Jasmine would no longercry out her griefs on Primrose's neck, or tell her joys and griefs,her hopes and aspirations, to the calm and elder sister. Daisy--theirbaby, as Primrose called her--might be ill or sad, or lonely, and she,Primrose, would no longer be there to comfort her.

  Parted! No, they should not be parted--all their young lives they hadlived together, and whether they starved, or whether they feasted,they would live together still. Thank God, no one had any realcontrol over them--their very loneliness would now, therefore, betheir safety--they might sketch out their own career, and no one couldprevent them.

  Primrose said to herself--

  "After all, I am glad I know the very worst. People mean to be kind;but, oh! how can they understand what we three girls are to oneanother?"

  She walked quickly in her agitation, and passing the village green,came suddenly upon Poppy Jenkins, who was hurrying home to hermother's cottage.

  "Well, Miss Primrose, I'm off to-morrow," said Poppy, dropping one ofher quick curtseys, and a more vivid red than usual coming into herbright cheeks.

  "Yes, Poppy," answered Primrose; "I hope you will be very happy inLondon"--then a sudden thought occurring to her, she ran after theyoung girl and laid her hand on her shoulder.

  "Poppy, give me your London address--I may want it."

  "Oh law! Miss Primrose, do you think you'd be saving out of the thirtypounds regular income and coming up to London on a visit?"

  "We may come to London, Poppy--I can't say," answered Primrose in asad voice--"anyhow, I should like to have your address--may I haveit?"

  "Surely, miss--aunt lives in a part they call central--she says therents are very high, but it's all done for the convenience of thebeautiful ladies who boards with her. Aunt's address is PenelopeMansion--Wright Street, off the Edgware Road. It's a beautifulsounding address, isn't it, Miss Primrose?"

  Primrose smiled again--a smile, however, which made poor little Poppyfeel rather down-hearted, and then she continued her walk.

  "It is very difficult to know what to do," she said to herself--"itmakes one feel quite old and careworn. If only that brother who waslost long ago was now living, how nice it would be for us girls. Iwonder if he is really dead--I suppose he is, or mamma would haveheard something about him. Twenty years ago since it happened--longerthan my whole life. Poor mother! poor, dear mother! what she must havesuffered! I understand now why her pretty sweet face looked so sad,and why her hair was grey before her time. What a pity my brother hasnot lived--he certainly would not wish us girls to be parted."

  Primrose walked on a little farther, then she retraced her steps andwent home. She found Jasmine and Daisy in a state of the greatestexcitement. Mrs. Ellsworthy had called, and had been nicer and sweeterand more charming than ever--she had brought Daisy a doll of the mostperfect description, and had presented the flower-loving Jasmine witha great bouquet of exotics, which looked almost out of place in thehumble little cottage.

  "And there is a long letter for you, Primrose," continued Jasmine;"and she says she hopes you will read it very quickly, and that shemay come down to-morrow morning to talk it over with you. She saysthere is a plan in the letter, and that it is a delightful plan--Iwonder what it can be? Will you read the letter now, Primrose?--shallI break the seal and read it aloud to you?"

  "No," answered Primrose, almost shortly for her--"Mrs. Ellsworthy'sletter can keep," and then she slipped the thick white envelope intoher pocket.

  "Why sister darling, how pale you look!--are you tired?"

  "A little," said Primrose--"I had no dinner--I should like a cup oftea."

  Jasmine flew out of the room to get it for her, and Daisy nestled upto her elder sister's side.

  "Primrose," she whispered, "Jasmine and I read that letter in thegarden together. Oh! we were so surprised to know we had a little babybrother long ago. We went to Hannah and asked her about him, andHannah cried--I never saw Hannah cry so long and so hard. She said hewas the sweetest baby. Oh, how I wish we had him now!--he would bemuch, much nicer than my new doll."

  "But if he were with us now he would be a man, Eyebright--a big, braveman, able to help us poor girls."

  Daisy considered--

  "I can only think of him as a baby," she said. "Hannah said he waslost in London. How I wish we could go to London and find ourbrother!"