The Palace Beautiful: A Story for Girls

  CHAPTER XIII.

  MRS. ELLSWORTHY'S LETTER.

  The girls had finished tea, and Hannah had removed all traces of theevening meal before Primrose would even glance at the thick letterwhich was addressed to her. She did so at last, at the earnestentreaties of her two sisters--for Daisy climbed on the sofa besideher, and put her arms round her neck, and coaxed her to read what dearMrs. Ellsworthy had written, and Jasmine took the letter and placed itin her lap, and seated herself on a footstool at her feet, and the twoyoung girls looked interested and excited, and their eyes were brightwith anticipation, and even some impatience.

  Primrose, on the contrary, appeared indifferent. She broke the seal ofthe thick letter languidly, and began to read its contents aloud, inan almost apathetic voice.

  This was what Mrs. Ellsworthy had written:

  "MY DEAR PRIMROSE,

  "(You remember our compact that I was to call you Primrose.) I had notcourage to say to you the other day all that was in my heart. My dearchild, it seems rather absurd to say it, but I felt afraid of you. Inthe eyes of the world I am considered a great lady--for I have riches,and my husband holds a good position--whereas you, Primrose, would beconsidered by that same world nothing but a simple village maid.Nevertheless, the innocent and unsophisticated girl contrived to keepthe woman of the world at a distance, and to let her see very plainlythat she thought her curious questions impertinent. When I read thisexpression of opinion so plainly in your eyes, Primrose, I feltafraid, and questioned no further. My dear, it is a fact that cowardsalways resort to pen and ink when they want to express a frankopinion. I am now going to say on paper what I feared to put into somany words the other night. First of all, you are mistaken about me. Iam not what you think me.

  "Oh, yes! I know very well what that proud little heart of yours tellsyou about me. It says, 'She is great and rich, and she is curiousabout us girls, and she wants to patronize us--'"

  Here Primrose had to put down her letter, for she was interrupted byan exclamation from Daisy--

  "But we _don't_ think like that of our darling, pretty Mrs.Ellsworthy--do we, Jasmine?"

  "Go on reading, Primrose," said Jasmine.

  Primrose continued--

  "You are all wrong about me, my dear, dear girls, and yet, after ameasure, you are right; for in a certain sense I _am_ curious aboutyou; and most undoubtedly I want to help you. I know already a certainportion of your story, and already I can partly read your characters.The part of your story I know is this: You are ladies by birth--youare very ignorant of the world--and you have not at all sufficientmoney to live on. Your characters are as follows:

  "Primrose, I am not at all afraid of you on paper. You, Primrose, areproud and independent. You are also sadly obstinate, and it isextremely probable that you will take your own way, which I can seebeforehand will not be a wise one."

  "Oh! oh! oh!" came interruption No. 2 to the reading of the letter,and Jasmine's arms were flung tightly round Primrose's neck.

  "How can she talk of you like that? How little she knows you, my'queen of roses.'"

  Primrose smiled, kissed Jasmine between her eyebrows and went onreading.

  "Jasmine's character," continued Mrs. Ellsworthy in her letter, "is asyet unformed. She has high aspirations and generous impulses--if sheis well managed, and if you don't spoil her, Primrose, she willprobably develop into a very noble woman. I love Jasmine very dearlyalready.

  "As to your little sister, she is as fresh, and innocent, and daintyas her name; but take warning, Primrose, she is not over strong--thereis a look about the little one which makes me dread the thought of herencountering any of the roughnesses of life.

  "Now, my dear girl, I have read my little bit of a lecture; you areprobably extremely angry with me, but I don't care. I now come to thepractical part of my letter; I am desirous to help you three, and Iwant to help you in the way most suited to your individual characters.The sad fact cannot be gain-said--you must give up your home--you mustearn your livings. May I help you to find a way to put bread into yourmouths? I have thought it all out, and I think I know a plan. If youwill agree to it, you may keep your independence, Primrose; Jasminemay be developed into the kind of woman God meant her to become; andlittle Daisy need not fear the rude blasts of adverse fate."

  Here Daisy, who only partly understood the letter, burst into tears,and Primrose, taking her in her arms, allowed the closely writtensheets to fall on the floor.

  "I know what it means," she exclaimed, speaking with sudden fire andpassion; "the same thing has been said to me by two different peoplealready to-day. Mr. Danesfield said it after his fashion, MissMartineau after hers, and now Mrs. Ellsworthy repeats the words. Oh,yes, I know what it means--separation--I will _never_ consent to it!"

  Jasmine had been kneeling on the floor and picking up the scatteredsheets of Mrs. Ellsworthy's letter; she now raised her eyes in utterastonishment to her elder sister's face. Primrose was not accustomedto giving utterance to strong feelings. Primrose's words were wont tobe calm and somewhat measured. Jasmine knew that she herself flew intotempests of grief, or anger, or excitement--she was always beingchided for not restraining her feelings--she was always being gentlylectured for using too strong expressions. What did Primrose mean bythrowing down this kind though somewhat mysterious, letter, and bymaking use of so ghastly a word as "separation?" Who was going todivide them? Certainly not kind Mrs. Ellsworthy.

  "Had we not better hear what she says, even though you don't seemquite to like her, Primrose?" asked Jasmine, holding up the sheets.

  "There are two sheets more, quite full of writing--shall I read themaloud to you and Daisy?"

  But Primrose had not got over the excitement which was growing withinher all day; she took the letter out of Jasmine's hands, folded it,and returned it to its envelope.

  "I must speak," she said; "we can finish that letter afterwards--theletter does not greatly matter, after all. Do you know, Jasmine, anddo you know, Daisy, that these people who all mean to be so kind, andwho, I suppose, really feel good-natured towards us, are trying totake our lives into their own hands? They are not our guardians, butthey want to rule us--they say we cannot live on our income, and theywill show us how we are to live. Mr. Danesfield will give money, ifneeded; Miss Martineau will give us heaps and oceans of advice; andMrs. Ellsworthy will give patronage, and perhaps money too. They meanto be kind, as I said, and they think they ought to guide our lives.Of course, they consider us very young and very ignorant, and so theysay they will provide for me in one way, and Jasmine in another, andDaisy in another. Now what I say is this; let us choose our own lives,Jasmine and Daisy; don't let us do anything rude to our friends, for Iknow they are our friends, but let us be firm and keep together. Thesepeople want to divide us; I say, let us keep together."

  "Of course," said Jasmine; "is that really what the lettermeans--separation? Here, give it to me--" She snatched it from hersister, and flung it with energy to the other end of the apartment.Daisy nestled her soft little face up close to her eldestsister's--Daisy was still feeling things incomprehensible, and wasalso a little frightened.

  "Go on," continued Jasmine, "go on talking, Primrose--we are quitewith you, Daisy and I--what nonsense the people must have in theirheads if they think we three are going to part!"

  "But we are in a very painful and difficult position," continuedPrimrose. "We have certainly got to earn our bread, and we don't atall know how to earn it. We are not educated enough to go anywhere asgovernesses, although Miss Martineau did say that I might perhaps geta little place in the nursery; but in any case people would not wantthree governesses in one family, and, of course, Daisy is too young toearn anything for many a long day. Jasmine, I have been thinking overall this most seriously--I have been thinking over it for some hours,and it seems to me there is nothing at all for us to do but to go toLondon."

  "Where Poppy is going?" interrupted Jasmine; "delicious--lovely--mydream of dreams! Go on, Primrose darling; I could listen to yo
u allnight."

  "But we mustn't go only for pleasure," continued Primrose; "indeed, wemust not go at all for pleasure. We must go to work hard, and tolearn, so that bye-and-bye we may be really able to supportourselves. Now, there is only one way in which we can do that. We musttake that two hundred pounds which Mr. Danesfield has in the bank, andwe must live on it while we are being educated. We can go to a cheappart of London, and find poor lodgings--we won't mind how poor theyare, if only they are very clean, with white curtains, and dimityround the beds. We'll be quite happy there, and we'll make our twohundred pounds go very far. With great care, and with our thirtypounds a year, it might last for four or five years, and by that timeDaisy will have grown big, and you, Jasmine, will have grown up,and--and--perhaps you will have found a magazine to take your poems."

  "Oh! oh! I never heard of anything so delicious!" exclaimed Jasmine."Long before the five years are out I'll be on the pinnacle of fame.London will inspire me; oh, it is the home of beauty and delight!Where is Mrs. Ellsworthy's letter?--we will never finish it? I amgoing to burn it on the spot rather than allow any other idea to beput into your head, Primrose?"

  Primrose smiled again, and before she could prevent her, her impetuoussister had torn Mrs. Ellsworthy's letter into ribbons, and had setfire to it in the empty grate.

  "We must not be too sanguine about London," she said; "only it doesseem the only independent thing to do. Then, too, there is that letterof dear mamma's and all that sad account of the little baby brotherwho was lost so long ago. Hannah says that he was lost in London--hemust be a man now; perhaps we shall meet him in London. It certainlydoes seem as if it were right for us to go."