she was impressed by thegoodly array of garments.
"My word!" she said, "no one can accuse her of being stingy."
"And no one can accuse her," I said with feeling, "of being mean in anysense of the word. She does her best for us all."
"Well, she has her object," said Hannah. "A-pushing of _her_ out--a-pushing of her out. She's a'most gone, poor thing! Killed she were,but still her spirit seems to linger; now she's a'most gone."
"Hannah, when you talk like that I sometimes hate you," I said.
Hannah looked at me in astonishment.
"How queer you are, Dumps!" she said. "I don't know that I didn't likeyou twice as well in the old times, though you have plumped out likeanything. You were a very plain little creature, I will say that. Butthere! handsome is that handsome does."
"And did I behave so handsomely, Hannah? You were always finding faultwith me then."
"Drat you!" said Hannah, "you were a bit of a caution--you and themboys. Oh dear me! don't I remember the darkness in the old times? Andnow it's just a blaze of light--gas every where, big fires, big j'ints,poultry, game, fish. My word! and the sweets are enough to make yourmouth water. And I has to superintend, and it's `Mrs Joyce' here and`Mrs Joyce' there. My word! My word!"
"Do they call you Mrs Joyce?"
"Of course they do. I wouldn't allow anything else. But there, child,I must be off. It's a'most time for us to sit down to our dinner;nothing less, I can assure you, than veal and ham pie, andapple-dumplings afterwards."
"But, Hannah, you never were good at apple-dumplings, you know."
"I am now. I have everything to make them with--that's what I have; andI had nothing afore. Oh, my word!"
"Yes, Hannah, you used to feed us very badly. Do you remember that legof mutton?"
Hannah laughed.
"I do," she said. "'Ot Sunday, cold Monday, cold again Tuesday, turnedupside down Wednesday, hashed Thursday, bone made into soup Friday--couldn't do more with it if I tried."
"You certainly couldn't."
"Well, child, well, all I can say is this--if you go, and she puts moreon me, out I go too. And if ever you want a home, I'll give it to you.I have a bit of money put by--more than you think on. You shall have myaddress before you go to that school in Paris."
I kissed the poor old thing. Hannah was neatly dressed herself now, andlooked a new sort of person altogether. She no longer wore cotton-woolin her ears; she did not need to, she said, for she was never expectedto answer any bell of any sort.
"I've enough in the kitchen to keep me agoin'," was her remark.
Hannah disappeared. It was soon time to dress. I put on my beautifulblue dress, which fitted me perfectly--that is, as well as it wasnecessary to fit a girl of my age. The short, smart little coat had nota wrinkle in it anywhere. Over the dress I tried first the fox. It wasRussian fox, and, I thought, terribly expensive; but what was that tothe lovely chinchilla? The chinchilla must go on.
I forgot my step-mother in my excitement. The blue hat? Yes, the bluehat was perfect; but the grey hat, which exactly toned with thechinchilla, was still better. I found that my cheeks were flushed, andthe softness of the grey hat seemed exactly to suit the tone of mycomplexion. I made my hair look as thick and important as I could. Iput on the hat; I fastened the chinchilla fur round my neck. Howdelicious it was! Just as though a number of soft kittens were pressingagainst my cheeks. I had grey gloves on my hands, and the little muffwas seized, and--oh yes, I kissed it. I was a new Dumps altogether. Ilooked in the long glass in my bedroom, and saw an almost slender Dumpsin an elegant costume. Never mind the plain face; the whole appearancewas good, and very lady-like. And _she_ had done it all. Where was thegirl whose dress was outgrown, whose hats had often not the semblance ofrespectability about them? The girl who was always in despair about thepossibility of mending her old stockings any longer, whose gloves hadmostly holes in the fingers? Where was this girl, with her hungry eyes,her shivering body? She had vanished; she belonged to the atticupstairs, the bare attic which contained--oh, just memories of the past.
Again I kissed the little muff; then I ran down into the hall. Mystep-mother was very anxious to see the effect of the costume; she tookme into the parlour and made me turn round and round.
"It is nice!" I said.
My tone of approbation seemed to give her immense satisfaction. Shekissed me, then said, "There's the carriage--we are just in time."
We entered, and off we went. Mrs Grant looked her very best. I cannotremember what she wore; when a person is always well dressed you take itas a matter of course and do not notice. I kept on feeling thedelicious softness of the pussy-cat fur round my neck, and if mystep-mother had not been present I should have kissed the little muffagain.
We stopped at a house; the footman got down and came to the door. I hadnot noticed before that there were two men on the box.
"Why, step-mother," I said, "we are grand!"
She gave a smile as though she had not heard me; then, bending forward,she told the man to inquire if Lady Anne Churton was within. He ran upthe steps, pulled the bell, and a powdered footman in livery opened thedoor. A minute later we found ourselves in the hall.
We went upstairs; Mrs Grant, of course, going first, I following. Itwas a smart-looking house, but it seemed dull and heavy to me; the airwas so hot, too. I was certain that I should have to part with mybeloved pussy-cat fur when once I entered whatever room we were beingconveyed to.
A door was flung open by the man who had preceded us upstairs; our nameswere called out, and a lady, who must have been between fifty and sixtyyears of age, came to meet us.
"Now this is good, Grace," she said. "How sweet of you to come! Youare not a bit formal. Oh, this is your--"
"My daughter," said Mrs Grant.--"Rachel, this is my very great friend,Lady Anne Churton."
A hand jewelled with many valuable rings was held out to me. I wasasked to come near the fire. I followed my step-mother and Lady Anneacross the room. It was a very large room, and absolutely crowded withfurniture. Wherever you turned you saw a little table; and where atable was not, there was a little chair; and every chair was differentfrom its neighbour, and each table was also of a different shape fromthe one next it. The tables were laden with what my step-mother called_bric-a-brac_ and curios of all sorts and descriptions. The nearesttable to me was covered with old-fashioned articles of silver.
Lady Anne and my step-mother began to talk earnestly together in lowtones. I got up and went nearer to the silver table to examine it.But, alack and alas! notwithstanding my beautiful dark-blue costume, mychinchilla furs, and all the rest, I was awkward. I was carried off myfeet into this new region of soft things and little tables and_bric-a-brac_ and every kind of luxury. I stumbled and knocked over astill smaller table which contained but one priceless treasure, a pieceof glass of most wondrous make. I had meant to examine that glass whenI had done looking at the silver, for it had the power of taking onevery imaginable ray of colour. But it existed no longer; it lay infragments on the ground.
My step-mother came at once to the rescue. Lady Anne said in thecalmest voice, "Fray don't trouble. Miss Grant; it was a mere accident.Come a little nearer to me, won't you?"
Then she rang the bell. When the footman appeared he was told to removethe broken glass. Everything was done quietly; there was not thefaintest trace of displeasure on Lady Anne's face; but any girl whoreads this can well imagine my feelings. Talk of being hot! I thoughtI should never need furs again as long as I lived. The soft pussy-cats,dear pets, no longer comforted me. I removed the chinchilla, and satwith blazing cheeks gazing straight before me. But Lady Anne wasnothing if she was not kind.
"So you are going to school next week?" she said. "And to Paris? Youwill enjoy that."
"Oh yes," I murmured. I really had not a vestige of character left; Icould only mutter--I, who felt myself to be a person of great energy anddetermination and force of
speech.
"It was very kind of Mrs Grant to arrange it all for you."
"Very kind," I said, loathing Mrs Grant as I uttered the words.
Lady Anne stared at me. Her eyebrows went up the very least bit in theworld.
"Ah! here comes tea," she said.
A footman appeared with a tray. A little table opened of its own accordin some extraordinary way. It had looked like a harmless bundle ofsticks leaning against one of the walls. The tray, one of rarest china,was placed upon it. Lady Anne poured thimblefuls of weak tea into cupsof matchless china. I was trembling all over. I was actually sonervous that I was sure I should break one of those cups if I touchedit.