Consequences

li

ask Queenie T

so often to herself that they

he found courage and opportunity to utter the little stilted phrase, with

bsently inquired Lady Isabel;

?" said Lady Isab

nglish girl besides me at the convent, and she knows all about fath

she adopted her mother's standards eagerly and

et you have little girls here unless she knows somethin' about them. Gi

evening toilette, remained unconscious of the

for the most part reacted on her physically, thoug

h Sir Francis would invariably win a courteous rebuke and an immutable refusal, co

want Queenie to come here a

the arguments which she felt would b

nd I saw her father at the station whe

your speakin' like that to peopl

y. "Madame Hippolyte was there, and Colonel

id Lady Isabel reflecti

or occasionally to protégés for whom some intimate friends might crave the favour of an invitation to one of the big Clare "

hink, really and truly you w

le

r once sounded

I didn't mean it-I never reall

to fend off the accusation

slang words from this girl you'v

, n

some way of curin' yourself before you put up your hair and come out. As for the way you're holdin' yourself, I'm simply shocked at it, and

with dissatisfacti

," she said. "You know you'll be coming out in

orgotten the question of the invitation to Queenie Torr

I ask Queenie on Saturday? You know w

door with more annoyance

and I dislike these sudden, violent friendships, in any case. Run along upstairs, my darling, and if you and Barbar

iling folds of her evening dress carefully held up in

er face burning with mortification and the effort to restrai

he very least. She never under

under

arter everything she possessed for the f

enie Torrance, but represented their intercourse as that of an equa

adually Alex' inventions brought her a slight feeling of comfort, as though the ideal fri

nking convent manner, born of the sense of helpless insecurity, and when Cedric's return brought Barbara back to her earliest allegiance-the league

etend you only care for cricket and nonsense like that, as t

girl, and it gives him practice. Anyway," said Barbara shrewdly, "he likes ta

rid, vulgar word. You know

our business. You're a prig, ever si

like that, you're not!" sho

x, completely mastered by her temper, flew at Barbara, as she had not done since they w

d infinitely more self-control than Alex, and a

Nurse, heavy-footed but astonishingly swift, upon the scene

at seemed almost unbearable, and told herself h

e declared, at the end of a long monologue during which Alex learnt and implicitly believed that a temper like hers,

and she with never a word of complaint against you, poor lamb, one would think you'd want to make it up to her, instead o

ded in working upon Alex' feelings, and in sob

t redoubled Alex' shame, and the incident, except for Alex' swollen eyes and subdued ton

to the grief of Lady Isabel. His mind was obsessed by cricket, and from his conversation one might have deduced that no other occupation had filled the summer term. Nevertheless, he brought ho

ry visits, and old Nurse, with the new, young nurse who devoted her services exclusively to Pamela, a

m was g

o complexion and the danger of freckles, always insisted on hats and gloves; and Cedric, followed everywhere like

s from Queenie, and the convent life began to relax its hold on h

h Queenie had neve

ractice, and that her letters, although, as a matter of fact, generally given to her

ut she always slit open any letter that came for Alex or Barbara and made a feint of p

never failed to refuse unhesitatingly any request from Alex to be

d letter reached Alex at Fiveapples Farm,

AR

e for not writing oftener to you, but I haven't got much time. It's so hot in London now. You are

you will see them. Please give them my love. Do you remember how funny Diana was at her singing lessons? I of

EEN

m very glad, except for not seeing you.

t, and tried not to think that the

her," observed Barbara, eyeing the four small sheets which Queenie's unfo

e," said Alex quick

oesn't let her waste good pen and paper on such

one another for?" said Cedric. "

cretly curious, sei

she write a

e knew that any accusation of making mysteries would bring down Nurse

re and there, leaving out the "dear Alex" at the beginnin

the loves and kisses," Cedric remarked scornfull

hat Queenie had been more lavish with endea

es?" asked Barbara

me. I remember now, they were going to spend the

ll see them. Ho

old her crushingly. "In fact, they're older than

es the au

ould ever meet her in Devonshire, it would be impossible for her to make any advance t

med as though fate

ty house called Trevose, not more than a few miles from where you are, has her three little nieces with her for the holidays, and that they are at the same convent as A

n, they would inevitably call forth from strangers. Suppose they came, and Barbara was shy and foolish, and Cedric doggedly bored, and then the Munroes went back to Liège next term and laughed at Alex, and told the

about your friends at the convent and saying how nice they are, and then when

led herself with the reflection that very

Munroe waving to her excitedly from the carriage where she w

ic and Archie to lunch and spend the afternoon at Trevose. They

nkfully, old Nurse would not

suit and shining curls, she felt n

ric, and especially B

flannels looked sufficiently like every other boy of

Barb

h her one ridiculous curl of pale hair, and the big, babyish bow of blue ribbon against whic

duced Nurse to depart from the rule which decreed that the sisters should be

with a precisely similar wreath round the crown, of thick, pale blue forget-

nd stockings and brown g

e drive in the pony-cart Mrs. Cardew had sent over for them. She could not have told whether she was more a

ra. She was in one of her rare moods of excitement, and her futi

of a quarrel by the time

stone gate, and the groom drove the pony smartly round a triangular gra

d with relief that they were all three dressed exactly alike in white muslin frocks, although she also saw that in spite of the blazing sun they were with