Mildred Arkell: A Novel. Vol. 1 (of 3)Wood, Henry, Mrs.
General
Mildred Arkell: A Novel. Vol. 1 (of 3)
Wood, Henry, Mrs.
Fiction
"Will you see me to the carriage, Travice, if you are not too much
engaged?" cried out a voice which Travice knew well.
It was his mother's. She had seen the approach of her carriage from the
windows of the upper hall, and was going down to it. Travice turned in
obedience to the summons; and Captain Anderson sprang forward to renew
his former friendship.
"You might set down Lucy on your way," said Travice, as they were
stepping in. "I don't know how she'll get home through this pouring
rain."
"And how would our dresses get on?" returned Mrs. Arkell, in hot
displeasure. "Lucy, it seems, could contrive to get to the concert, and
she must contrive to get from it. You can come in, Travice; you take up
no room."
"Thank you, I'd not run the chance of damaging your dresses for all the
money they cost."
As he returned to the hall, the boys, gathered round the door, were
making a great noise, and Mr. Wilberforce spoke in displeasure.
"_Can't_ you keep those boys in order, Mr. Arkell?"
Travice dealt out a very significant nod, one bespeaking punishment for
the morrow, and the boys subsided into silence.
"Please, sir, your carriage is coming up the street," said Cockburn,
junior, a little fellow of ten, to the head master, rather gratified
possibly to be enabled to say it. "Somebody else's is coming too."
The windows became alive with heads. But the "somebody else's" proved to
be of no interest, for it did not belong to any of the concert goers,
and it went on past the Guildhall. Of course all the attention was then
concentrated on the master's. It was a sober, old fashioned, rather
shabby brown chariot; and it came up the street at a sober pace. The
master, full of congratulation that the imprisonment was over, looked at
it complacently. What then was his surprise to see another carriage dash
before it, just as it was about to draw up, and usurp the place it had
been confidingly driving to. A dashing vision of grandeur; an elegant
yellow equipage bright as gold; its hammer-cloth gold also; its servants
displaying breeches of gold plush, with powdered hair and gold-headed
canes.
"Why, whose is it?" exclaimed the discomfited master, almost forgetting
in his surprise the eclipse his own chariot had received.
"Whose can it be?" repeated the gazers in puzzled wonder. The livery was
that of the St. John family; the colour was theirs; and, now that they
looked closely, the arms were the St. Johns'. But the St. Johns' panels
did not display a coronet! And there was not a single head throughout
the hall, but turned itself in curiosity to await the announcement of
the servant. He came in with his powder and his cane, and the college
boys made way for him.
"The Lady Anne St. John's carriage."
She, Lady Anne, the fair girl of seventeen, looked at Travice Arkell,
appearing to expect his arm as a matter of course. Travice gave it. Mrs.
James tucked Lucy's arm within her own, in an old-fashioned manner, and
followed them out.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account