Boarding schools -- England -- Juvenile fiction; Girls -- Social life and customs -- Juvenile fiction
It seemed to her in her dream that Josiah was exceedingly angry, that
all that gentleness and suavity of manner which, as a rule,
characterised him, had departed; that he was looking at her--yes, at
her--with little angry eyes, and that he was accusing her of something
which was very terrible and, which, try as she would, she could not
disprove. She awoke from this dream trembling and with the dews of
perspiration on her forehead. She started up in bed to wipe them away
and, as she did so, she was aware of the fact that some one was thumping
at her bedroom door.
"Yes--what is it?" she called out crossly.
"It is only me," answered the voice of her eldest pupil. "I thought you
would be tired and have brought you your breakfast."
"Oh, thank you so much," said Brenda, relieved and gratified, for she
really was intensely thirsty.
She sprang out of bed, unlocked the door, then, running across the room,
got into bed once more and sat up, looking exceedingly pretty with her
slightly flushed cheeks and befrilled nightdress of fine lawn. Fanchon
entered with the breakfast tray, which was quite common, being made of
iron that had once been japanned; but this decorative process had
gradually been removed by the fingers of time, and Brenda was far too
careful with regard to the laundry to allow extra cloths for breakfast
trays or any such little dainties.
Fanchon placed the tray on a table close to Brenda's bed; then having,
as she considered, performed her duty, she jumped up on the side of the
bed and sat gazing at her governess. Fanchon had made all her
preparations. Brenda should have food before the thunder clap fell on
her devoted head. Accordingly, Fanchon Amberley began by making
friendly enquiries with regard to the governess' success on the previous
day.
"Drink your tea and eat your toast," she said. "There's no butter in
the house--you didn't leave us money to buy any, and that egg is, I am
afraid, stale. But it is the last one left from your purchases of last
week. You must make the best of it, I am afraid. But never mind,"
continued the young lady, swinging her foot backwards and forwards, "you
must have gorged so on the good things of life yesterday, that I don't
suppose you are overpowered with an appetite."
"I didn't gorge," said Brenda gently. "I never gorge, as you know,
Fanchon. But I am thirsty, and it is very thoughtful and kind of you,
dear, to bring me up my breakfast."
Fanchon made no reply to this. Brenda poured herself out a cup of tea.
She drank it off thirstily and then looked at her pupil.
"How untidy you are, my dear child."
"Am I? That doesn't matter," said Fanchon. "Tell me, Brenda, how you
enjoyed yourself. Was it quite as wonderful as you expected?"
"Oh, quite, quite," said Brenda, who had no idea but of making the very
best of things to her pupil.
"It was really worth your pale blue silk dress and your serge coat, and
your hat, and your gloves, and your new parasol?" pursued Fanchon.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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