The little girls' bedroom was over a portion of the drawing room. They
could hear the waves of the music and the light conversation and the gay
laughter as they lay in their cots. The sounds soon mingled with Babs'
dreams, but Judy felt more restless and less sleepy each moment.
Miss Mills had entire care of the children. She dressed them and
undressed them as well as taught them. She had left them now for the
night. Miss Mills at this moment was writing an indignant letter in
reply to the one which had so excited her feelings this morning. Her
schoolroom was far away. Judy knew that she was safe. If she got out of
bed, no one would hear her. In her little white night-dress she stole
across the moonlit floor and crept up to the window. She softly
unfastened the hasp and flung the window open. She could see down into
the garden, and could almost hear the words spoken in the drawing room.
Two figures had stepped out of the conservatory and side by side were
walking across the silvered lawn.
Judy's heart beat with great thumps--one of these people was her sister
Hilda, the other was Jasper Quentyns. They walked side by side, keeping
close to one another. Their movements were very slow, they were talking
almost in whispers. Hilda's head only reached to Jasper's shoulder; he
was bending down over her. Presently he took her hand. Judy felt as if
she should scream.
"He's a horrid, horrid, wicked man," she said under her breath; "he's a
deceiver. 'Men were deceivers ever.' I know what he is. Oh, what shall I
do? what shall I do? Oh, Hilda, oh, Hilda, darling, you shan't go
through the misery of being engaged and then being married. Oh, oh, what
shall I do to save you, Hilda?"
Quentyns and Hilda were standing still. They had moved out of the line
of light which streamed from the drawing room, and were standing under
the shadow of a great beech tree. Judy felt that she could almost hear
their words. From where she leant out of the window she could certainly
see their actions. Quentyns stooped suddenly and kissed Hilda on her
forehead; Hilda looked up at him and laid both her hands in his. He
folded them in a firm pressure, and again stooping, kissed her twice.
Upstairs in the nursery, misery was filling one little heart to the
brim. A sob caught Judy's breath--she felt as if she should choke. She
dared not look any more, but drawing down the blind, crept back into bed
and covered her head with the bed-clothes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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