note from you before dinner."
"I am puzzled to know why you should think it extraordinary. Phyllisasked your children to spend the afternoon with her. I did not find itconvenient to have them. I wrote to you plainly on the subject. Youseem to be a frank sort of person yourself; you cannot, therefore,object to frankness in others."
"On the contrary, I admire it. Pray push that bale of red flannelacross the table. Thank you."
"Oh! I cannot help to measure the flannel into yards," ejaculated theangry Miss Fleet.
"I don't require you to. Have you come here because you have changedyour mind and wish the children to go to the Hall? But I am afraid Icannot find them now; they have dispersed. I always turn them out ofdoors, whatever the weather, in the afternoon. Pray, do tell me whatyou want, and--don't mind my being a little brusque--go--"
"You really are," began Miss Fleet, but she checked herself. "I havecome here," she continued, "to ask you a question. Phyllis is not to befound anywhere. Is she--Mrs Hilchester--is she at the Rectory?"
"The Squire's little girl? Most certainly not. Do you suppose we wouldhave her here against your will?"
"Well, I hope not. Where can she be?"
"My dear, good creature, how can I tell you? I have never set eyes onthe child. Pass those scissors, please, and--yes, and that basket withthe cottons. Thank you so much. Would you like to sew up a seam whilewe are discussing where the little girl can be? Ah, I see you are notwilling to help. Well, well! good-afternoon."
CHAPTER SIX.
There never was a more angry woman than Miss Fleet as she left theRectory that afternoon.
Certainly, Mrs Hilchester had not been sympathetic. It is true she hadfollowed her visitor into the hall, and had said by way of reassuringher:
"You need not be at all alarmed about your little girl--my children areoften out hours and hours at a time, and I assure you that I never dreamof fidgeting; they eventually come home, grubby perhaps, and with theirclothes in disorder, but otherwise safe and sound. Naturally, in thecountry your little girl will do as others do. Sorry you cannot stay tohelp me with my cutting-out, but as you cannot, good-afternoon."
Miss Fleet scarcely touched the hand which the Rector's good ladyvouchsafed. She got into the pony-cart and drove rapidly away.
"What next, indeed!" she said to herself; "to compare Phyllis, who hasbeen cossetted and petted all her life, to those wild, bearish children.I am certainly extremely sorry we have come to live at the Hall. Ifonly the Squire were at home I should give him a piece of my mind; as itis it will be my duty to punish Phyllis most severely when she doesreturn. Poor Phyllis! I don't wish to be hard on her, but stilldiscipline at any cost must be sustained. Of course, she has returnedlong before now; but to have upset all my plans--a mere child likethat!"
Miss Fleet had now returned to the Hall, and her first eager questionwas: "Is Miss Phyllis in? Has any one seen her, or does any one knowanything about her?"
Alas! Miss Phyllis had not come back; no one had seen her--no one knewanything about her.
Miss Fleet now began to be really alarmed. She had not, as a rule, avivid imagination, but certainly horrors now began to crowd before hermental vision. There was that deep pond just beyond the shrubbery.There were some late water-lilies still to be found on its surface.Suppose--oh! suppose Phyllis had gone to it and had tried to drag in thelilies, and had--Miss Fleet turned quite white.
Or suppose she had gone right outside the fir plantation, and had beenseen and appropriated by the gipsies who were camping in the field justbeyond. Altogether poor Miss Fleet had a sad afternoon, while Phyllis,the naughty and the reckless, enjoyed herself immensely. It sometimesdoes happen like that even in the lives of naughty children: they havetheir naughty time, and they thoroughly like it for the present.
Phyllis had been very angry, and had determined to take her own way; andnow she was having it, and her laugh was loud and her merrimentexcessive. For she had not been long in the field at the back of thestables, and Ralph had not long been enjoying the sweet pleasure of hersociety all to himself, when three heads appeared above the hedge andthree gay voices uttered a shout, and Susie, Rosie, and Ned dashedacross the field.
"Oh! oh! oh!" said Susie, "now we know why he was smartening himselfup."
"Didn't he scrub his hands just," cried Rosie, "and didn't we watch himthrough the keyhole!"
"Oh, shut up, shut up!" said Ralph. "Now that you have come I supposeyou must stay; but it was to me Phyllis wrote.--Was it not to me youwrote, Phyllis?"
"Well, yes," said Phyllis. "Yours was the first name that I thought of,but I wanted you all. It is all of you I like best. Now you have comewe will have a gay time."
"But where?" asked Rosie. "Are we to come to the house after all?"
"I wish we could," said Phyllis. "I do earnestly wish we could.Perhaps--perhaps it would be safe."
She stood for a minute holding her finger to her lips; then a brightlight filled her grey eyes and smiles wreathed her lips.
"Could you go up one of the back ways, and take off your shoes, and slipupstairs and up and up?" she said in a tremulous whisper.
"Oh, couldn't we just!" said Rosie, her eyes nearly dancing out of herhead.
"Then I think we can manage," said Phyllis. "All my toys are upstairsin the big, very big, big attic; and there is the baby-house that I saidperhaps you could have; and there are the dolls' cups and saucers; andif only we could smuggle something to eat!"
"Something to eat!" cried Ned. "I can run back to the Rectory and bringa lot of things--a whole basketful. No one will know; Mother is at hercutting-out for the poor, and trumpets would not turn her attention. Ican get the things--I can and I will."
"We must not let Miss Fleet know; she'll never, never think of lookingfor us in the attic," said Phyllis, "and it is so big and so very faraway from all the other rooms that we won't be found; the only danger isyour being seen when you bring the basket."
"I will go straight away this very minute," said Ned, "and you hadbetter wait until I return."
"I know something still better than that," said Phyllis. "Why go to theRectory? Why don't you go to the village and buy things there--niceunwholesome curranty and doughy things?"
"Oh, I say, scrumptious!" cried Rosie. "I'll go with him. No one willsee us. But, oh, I say, Phyllis, we have not got a single brassfarthing amongst us!"
Ralph's face turned very red; he felt awfully ashamed of Rosie.
"But I have," said Phyllis; "I always carry my purse about." She openedit. "There is a five-shilling piece," she said.
"And may we spend it all?" said Rosie, looking with almost reverence onthe solid piece of money.
"Oh, rather! only do get very unwholesome things."
"I know the kind, trust me," said Rosie, and she and Ned set to runningas fast as they could.
While they were away Susie and Ralph and Phyllis walked up and down, andtalked in quite lady-like and gentlemanlike styles, and Phyllisdescribed how Miss Fleet had brought in the dull lesson-books, and howshe had tried to crush her bit of fun; and the other two laughed, andtold stories on their own account, and said how cross they had been whenthat horrid letter had arrived.
"Only I knew your real mind," said Ralph, and he gave a protecting,admiring look at the little girl.
"I guessed you were very nice, Ralph," she replied, and she laid herpretty hand on his arm.
Thus the time while Rosie and Ned were away buying the unwholesomethings went quite quickly; and when they returned bearing large paperparcels and mysterious-looking bottles, they all stole softly into thehouse.
Phyllis knew exactly how to get in by way of the old unused part. Shetook the others round to the door over which ivy hung, and instructedRalph how he was to unfasten the tiny window, and then squeeze in andunbar the door.
This he did with the despatch of quite an accomplished burglar, and whenthe door was opened the other four figures came solemnly in. They werequi
te solemn and breathless now in their excitement. When they gotinside, their boots were carefully removed, and Phyllis led the way.They went up some narrow stairs. These stairs led to the old tower, andby the tower was another rambling staircase, which conducted them to theattics. So at last there they were safe and sound, as Phyllisexplained.
"We must be quiet, but not too quiet," she exclaimed, "for nobody evercomes to the tower, and nobody ever comes in by that entrance, and MissFleet may think for ever and ever before she can possibly imagine that Iam having high tea with you four in the big back attic. Oh, perhaps wehad better lock the door; but even that is scarcely