CHAPTER IV.
TO THE RESCUE.
Miss Martineau told her news with considerable agitation. Sheconsidered it a terrible revelation. It seemed to her a very fearfuland disastrous thing that three girls brought up like the Mainwarings,three girls still almost children, should be thrown on the worldwithout any means for their support.
Simple and primitive as their lives had been at Rosebury, they stillhad been tenderly nurtured and warmly sheltered--no cold blast ofunkindness or neglect had visited them--they had been surrounded everby both love and respect. The love came principally from their motherand from one another, but the respect came from all who knew them. TheMainwaring girls, in their plain dresses and with theirunsophisticated manners, looked like ladies, and invariably acted assuch.
Soon after making her communication Miss Martineau took her leave; shehurried home, and sitting down in her dingy little parlor, began tothink.
"No, thank you, Susan," she said to her little maid-of-all-work, "Ishan't want any supper to-night. I have been at tea with my dearpupils, the Misses Mainwaring. You may bring the lamp presently,Susan, but not quite yet; it is a pity to waste the daylight, andthere is quite another quarter of an hour in which I can see to knit.Yes, give me my knitting-basket; I can get on with Widow Joseph'smittens."
"And, if you please, ma'am," asked Susan, lingering for a moment atthe door, "may I ask how, all things considering, the dear youngladies is?"
"On the whole, tranquil, Susan--yes, I may say it with confidence; mydear pupils may be considered in a resigned state of mind."
Susan closed the door after her, and Miss Martineau took up herknitting. Knitting woollen mittens is an occupation which harmonizesvery well with reflection and while the old lady's active fingersmoved her thoughts were busy.
"Thirty pounds a year," she said softly to herself, "thirty poundscertain, and a lump sum of two hundred in the bank. Doubtless they owesome of that for their mother's funeral and their own mourning. Theyprobably owe quite thirty pounds of that, and to make it safe, I hadbetter say forty. That leaves a balance of one hundred and sixty;just enough to put away for emergencies, illness, and so forth. Mydear girls, my dear Primrose, and Jasmine, and my pretty little petDaisy, you cannot touch your little capital; you may get a few poundsa year for it, or you may not--Mr. Danesfield must decide that--butall the money you can certainly reckon on for your expenses is thirtypounds per annum, and on that you cannot live."
Here Miss Martineau threw down her knitting, and began with someagitation to pace up and down her tiny room.
"What was to be done with these lonely and defenceless girls? how werethey to meet the world? how were they to earn their living?"
Miss Martineau had never before found herself propounding so painfuland interesting a problem; her mind worked round it, and tried tograpple with it, but though she stayed up far into the night, and evenhad recourse to figures, and marked down on paper the very lowest suma girl could possibly exist on, she went to bed, having found nosolution to this vexed question.
Even Miss Martineau, ignorant and narrow-minded as she was, couldscarcely pronounce Primrose fit to do much in the educational world;Jasmine's, of course, was only a little giddy pate, and she required avast amount of teaching herself; and pretty Daisy was still but ayoung child.
Miss Martineau went to bed and to sleep; she dreamed troubled dreams,but in the morning she awoke strengthened and restored, even by suchrestless slumbers, and quite resolved to do something.
"Sophia Martineau," she said--for living quite alone she was fond ofholding conversations with herself--"Sophia Martineau, those girls areplaced, to put it figuratively, at your door, and take them up youmust. Gold you have none to bestow, but you can give interest; youcan, in short, rouse others to help the helpless. This is your boundenduty, and you had better see to it at once."
Miss Martineau went briskly downstairs, ate her frugal breakfast, andthen made her plans. These plans were decisive enough. At Rosebury noone thought of being so silly as to be over-educated. None of theyoung brains of the rising generation were over-forced orover-stimulated, and Miss Martineau felt no compunction whatever inwriting a short note to each of six little pupils, and telling themthat they need not come to her that morning, for she meant to givethem a holiday.
Having done this, and sent Susan out with the notes, she wentupstairs, and once more put on her black silk dress, her old-fashionedmantle, and her high poke bonnet. Thus attired, she started on anexpedition which she trusted would lead to many happy results for theMainwarings.