Mrs Forrest was silent. She could not exactly say that there was
anything wrong in all this, but she highly disapproved of it. It was
most undesirable that her niece should be running about the fields and
lanes, and picking up acquaintances in this way. Daisy Oswald was a
very nice little girl, and there was no harm done at present, but it
must not continue. The thing to do, she silently concluded, was to
provide Anna with suitable occupations and companions which would make
so much liberty impossible for the future.
To her relief, Anna heard no more of the matter, but it was easy to see
that Aunt Sarah had not liked the idea of her being with Daisy. It was
uncomfortable to remember that she had not been quite open about it.
Somehow, since that first foolish concealment, she had constantly been
forced into little crooked paths where she could not walk quite
straight, but she consoled herself by the reflection that she had not
told any untruth.
A few days later Mrs Forrest, returning from a drive with her face full
of satisfaction, called Anna to her in her sitting-room. She had been
able, she said, to make a very nice arrangement for her to have some
lessons in German and French with the Palmers. Miss Wilson, their
governess, had been most kind about it, and it was settled that Anna
should go to Pynes twice every week for a couple of hours.
"It will be an immense advantage to you," concluded Mrs Forrest, "to
learn with other girls, and I hope, beside the interest of the lessons,
that you will make friendships which will be both useful and pleasant.
Isabel Palmer is about your own age, and her sister a little older.
They will be nice companions for you, and I hope you will see a good
deal of them."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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