clothed; we were fed; we wereconsidered; we were treated with kindness; our wants were attended to,our little trials sympathised with. In short, love in the true sense ofthe word had come into the house; the genius of Wonderment had taken tohimself the genius of Order and Motherly Kindness, and this lattergenius had made the whole house home-like and happy.
But I, at least, was not prepared to take into my heart this good fairywhom the good queen of all the fairies had sent to us. I stood in mypretty room which my step-mother had arranged for me, and felt as angryand as bitter as girl could feel.
By-and-by there came a cheerful sound on the stairs. My step-motherknocked at the door.
"Augusta Moore is downstairs and would like to see you, Dumps," shesaid. "It is a beautiful, sunshiny morning, and you may as well go outwith her."
I suddenly remembered that I had neglected Augusta a good deal of late;that she had often come to the house and I had hardly spoken to her. Ifurther remembered that, this being the 21st of December, the holidayshad begun. Our big school had broken up on the 20th, but the boys'college would break up to-morrow. Christmas would be with us in notime, and Christmas was to be spent in Hedgerow House.
That was the treat of all treats which was turning the heads of both theboys. I was to go, Alex was to go, Charley was to go, and Von Marlo wasto go. He was alone at the school, and Mrs Grant, with her kind andopen-hearted hospitality, had invited him.
"It is to be my Christmas present to you all, to have you in my house,"she said. "I am sure you will enjoy yourselves vastly."
Now surely, with such a prospect in view, any girl would be a perfectgoose if she were not happy, and I do not think many girls willsympathise with Rachel Grant at this moment. I was making a martyr ofmyself because I thought it not right to my mother's memory to receivethis new mamma in her place; and yet, if the truth must be told,although I had often pined for my mother, there were days and months,and perhaps even years, when I had forgotten her very existence. Shewas out of the world before I had time to remember her face. That wasmy position with regard to my real mother in the past, but from the hourwhen I had heard that father was about to bring a new wife to the oldhouse, and after he had given me my mother's miniature, I worshippedher, I kept her always in my memory, and I felt that the more I withdrewmy heart from the "new mamma," to quote Von Marlo's hideous phrase, themore I showed my love and tenderness for the real mother. Perhaps thereare other girls made like that; if so, I should like to show them oncefor all how exceedingly silly, how exceedingly unpractical andungrateful, I was. For this story would be worthless if it were nottold truthfully.
I got over my passion after a time. I kept repeating to myself, "Odiousfellow, Von Marlo! The new mamma A1 indeed! A1!" I wished he wouldnot talk to Charley and corrupt him with his wrong ideas.
Then I slipped the ten pounds which my step-mother had given me into mypurse, and put the purse into my pocket. I dressed myself in the warmclothes which I now had to wear--and which my father, of course, hadgiven me--and I went slowly downstairs.
Augusta was waiting in the drawing-room. She was sitting near the fire;she was talking to my step-mother. As I entered the room I heard mystep-mother say, "I think it can be managed, Augusta. It would be agreat pleasure for you, and if it is really the case that your motherwould like to spend Christmas with your uncle Charles, why--Oh, here youare, Dumps!"
"Yes; what is it?" I asked.
Augusta's sallow face was lit up with a gleam of red on each of hercheeks. This red tint improved her appearance vastly.
"Oh," said Augusta, "I don't for a moment suppose you'll do it."
"I don't see why," I replied. "I'm not in the habit of making myselfunamiable."
"Well, it's this," said Mrs Grant; "Augusta would greatly like to comewith us to Hedgerow House for Christmas. It will be a little difficultto squeeze her in, but if you, Dumps, would not mind having her in yourroom--"
"I'd take a very tiny bit of the bed. I can make myself quiteaccommodating," said Augusta.
"She would like it very much indeed," said Mrs Grant.
"Of course you must come if my step-mother invites you," I said.
Mrs Grant coloured; then she got up, walked to the table, and took upsome plain sewing which she was doing, and began a long seam. She wasmaking some clothes for the poor; she was never idle for a minute of hertime.
"You can come, Augusta, as far as I am concerned," I said.
"Of course you can; you needn't share the same bed," said Mrs Grant."I think I can manage better for you than that, but I cannot give you aroom apiece. If you will share the same room, that is all that isrequired."
"Oh, it is too wonderful!" said Augusta.
"Come out, Augusta, or I shall be late," I said.
We found ourselves in the street.
"Oh!" said Augusta. She walked on, not noticing me in the least. Aftera time she said, "To wake in the morning and to feel that you willbreakfast with him, that you will dine with him, and that you will supwith him! To think that occasionally he may even look at you, andperhaps once or twice speak to you; and to know that this will go on forseven days--seven whole days, for I have been asked for a week! Dumps,do you think it is true? Do you think it is only a vision? I oftenhave visions; they're beautiful, some of them, but none of them equalsthis. To be in the house with him, and to hang on his words for aweek!"
"I don't think, to tell the truth," I said, "that any one else will hangon his words; you will have him all to yourself."
"Oh," said Augusta, "if you only wouldn't!"
"Wouldn't what?"
"Wouldn't try to deprecate him. It seems wicked--it seems as though Godwould punish you."
"Why, what do you mean?" I said.
"You ought to be so happy and so pleased," said Augusta. "And you havegot such a beautiful, commonplace step-mother. I admit that she iscommonplace, but I never met so charming a woman. If only my motherwere like her!"
"Your mother is excellent," I said--"quite as nice as my step-mother;and then she is your own. I think it is very wicked of you to run downyour mother. If you hadn't a mother you'd know the difference."
"But you have."
"I haven't. How dare you!"
"Dumps, I can't help thinking that you--but oh, perhaps you'd rather notshare your room with me?"
"How can I help it?" I replied. "Is the room mine? Doesn't it belongto Mrs Grant--I mean to my step-mother? How can I question any of herwishes? You come to our house, and you snuggle into her good favour;you worm yourself in, and you have got yourself invited, and I suppose--oh dear, I wish I wasn't so cross!"
"If it were not such a very great thing I would take offence at yourwords, Rachel," said Augusta, "and not come with you; but being such amagnificent thing, and so all-important to me, I will not take offence,even though you do compare me to a snuggler (I don't quite know what thecreature is), and even to a worm. I will come with you on the 24th toHedgerow House, and when you look at my face you will perhaps realisethat you are looking at perfect happiness--yes, Perfect Happiness; spellthe words with capitals, for I have attained to that great height."
"This is the Twopenny Tube," I said. "Perhaps you would like to go backto your mother and make arrangements?"
"But where are you going?"
"I'm going to meet the Swan girls; they said they would be round thecorner waiting for me."
Augusta looked at me rather longingly, but I would not reply to herlook.
"Good-bye," I said. "I'll try not to do anything to interfere with yourbliss." I left her. When I looked back she was already standing as onein a dream. I doubted if she would catch the next train in the TwopennyTube, but I concluded that in the course of hours she would return toher commonplace mother.
PART TWO, CHAPTER TWO.
A QUARTERLY ALLOWANCE.
Rita Swan and Agnes had both been exceedingly interested with regard tomy conduct at the time of my father's second marriage. My absence
fromschool had caused their wonder. I was not blamed for that absence, andI often wondered why the form mistress and the head-mistress saidnothing whatever to me on the subject.
I went back to school on the Monday after my father's marriage, and thegirls had tittered and laughed and made remarks. I had been quitesilent and gone stoically through my lessons. Now this marriage was anold story, but still Rita and Agnes were never tired of expatiating onthe great change for the better which had taken place in mycircumstances. I told them that my step-mother had a great deal ofcommon-sense (I had not the slightest idea of