Hopes and Fears: or, scenes from the life of a spinsterYonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary)
General
Hopes and Fears: or, scenes from the life of a spinster
Yonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary)
England -- Social conditions -- 19th century -- Fiction; Single women -- Fiction
Rather nervously Honora drove under the poles to the hall-door, where two
girls were seen in the rear of a Frenchwoman; and Honor felt as if Robin
might have grounds for his 'moral hatred' when her voluble transports of
gratitude and affection broke forth, and the desolation in which the loss
had left them was described. Robert edged back from her at once, and
flew to another party at the bottom of the stairs--a very stout nurse and
an uncapped, flaxen-haired madchen, who clasped him in her arms, and
cried, and sobbed over him. As soon as he could release himself, he
caught hold of a fat little bundle, which had been coaxing one of his
legs all through Lieschen's embrace, and dragging it forwards, cried,
'Here she is--here's Phoebe!' Phoebe, however, was shy, and cried and
fought her way back to hide her face in Lieschen's apron; and meantime a
very odd scene took place. School-room and nursery were evidently at
most direful war. Each wanted to justify itself lest the lady should
write to the parents; each tried to be too grand to seem to care, and
threw all the blame on the other. On the whole, Honor gathered that
Mademoiselle believed the boy _enfantin_ enough to be in the nursery, the
nurses that he was in the school-room, and he had not been really missed
till bed-time, when each party recriminated instead of seeking him, and
neither would allow itself to be responsible for him. Lieschen, who
alone had her suspicions where he might be, abstained from naming them in
sheer terror of _Kobolden_, _Geistern_, corpse-candles, and what not, and
had lain conjuring up his miseries till morning. Honora did not much
care how they settled it amongst them, but tried to make friends with the
young people, who seemed to take their brother's restoration rather
coolly, and to be chiefly occupied by staring at Lucilla. Augusta and
Juliana were self-possessed, and rather _manierees_, acquitting
themselves evidently to the satisfaction of the French governess, and
Honor, perceiving her to be a necessary infliction, invited her and her
pupils, especially Robin, to spend a day in the next week at the Holt.
The proposal was graciously accepted, and Lucilla spent the intervening
time in a tumult of excitement.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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