“Can you tell at such an age?”
“I think it shows. I do hope Lucie will be all right.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll keep our eyes on her.”
I knew it had to change. Just after Belinda’s second birthday I went away to school. Miss Brown, said Benedict, was no longer adequate to teach me.
“What does he know about it?” I demanded. “He is not the least interested in what I learn.”
“He and your mother must have discussed it together,” soothed my grandmother. “It is probably right for you. You are shut away down here and it will be good for you to meet people.”
So I went away to school and for the first weeks hated it, and then grew accustomed to it and quite liked it. I made friends quite easily; I was fairly good at games, slightly better at lessons—Miss Brown had given me good grounding—and I got along very well.
Time passed quickly. I came home to Cador for holidays and looked forward to that but I found I was quite eager to rejoin my fellow pupils. School events such as who was picked for the school concert or with whom I shared my room and the destination of outings seemed of great importance.
My grandparents were pleased that I had fitted in so well. They eagerly read my reports and sent them on to Benedict. I felt sure he never looked at them.
I came home for that Christmas holiday. Pedrek and his parents were at Pencarron for the festivities and we saw a good deal of them. Pedrek brought no school friend with him on this occasion and it was like it used to be without intrusion.
Belinda would soon be four years old. I was amazed how she grew while I was away. She was quite imperious now and could talk quite fluently. Leah said with pride that she was very bright for her age, and she was greatly looking forward to Christmas.
On the day there was to be a party for her; the twins and several children from the neighborhood had been invited; a conjuror was coming from Plymouth to entertain them.
My grandmother looked happier than she had for a long time. Planning for Belinda had been good for her.
My thoughts went to Lucie. How different her Christmas would be!
I asked my grandmother about her. “Oh, we’ve seen that they don’t want for anything. I’ve had some coal and wood delivered to the cottage and I thought you’d like to take over a basket for them.”
“I’d like that. When?”
“My dear, you’ve only just come home. In good time for Christmas.”
“I shall go down tomorrow. Perhaps I could take something then.”
“You’re very interested in that child, aren’t you?”
“Well, yes. Her birth was so unexpected, wasn’t it? We none of us believed that Jenny was really going to have her. And I think she is a very intelligent child. I can’t imagine how Jenny could have one like that.”
“Oh, parents often have the most unlikely children. But I agree she is a nice child.”
“I compare her with Belinda … who has so much.”
“Well, that’s how the world goes. There are always these divisions.”
“Yes, I suppose so. But I would like to take something really good.”
“You shall.”
So the next day I was at the cottage. The pool looked dreary. It was a damp dark day and the willows trailing over the pool and the brownish green water looked sinister in the gloom.
The cottage was welcoming though. It was very neat and clean. Lucie came running out when I knocked. She caught me round the legs and hugged me.
It was a spontaneous and warm welcome.
“I’ve been away to school,” I said.
“I tell her,” said Jenny. “She does not know about school.”
“I’ll explain to her.”
I sat down on one of the chairs and took the child on my knees. I told her about my school, the dormitories we slept in, the big hall where we assembled, the teachers we had, how we worked at our desks, how we went for long walks in the country with two mistresses, one at the head of the crocodile and one at the rear, how we played games, how we learned to dance and sing.
She listened intently. I don’t think she understood half of it, but she watched my mouth the whole time. I was talking and her expression was one of enchantment.
Jenny wanted to know how the little one up at Cador was. I told her Belinda was well and looking forward to Christmas. I started to tell her about the party which was being arranged and the conjuror who was coming from Plymouth … then I stopped short. It was insensitive of me. Poor Lucie would not have such a party.
“What is a conjuror?” asked Lucie.
So I had to explain. “He makes things disappear and finds them again as if by magic.”
“And he be coming all the way from Plymouth,” said Jenny.
Lucie’s eyes were wide with excitement. She kept asking questions about the conjuror. I had to go on explaining.
Could she come to the party? I wondered. My grandparents were by no means sticklers for convention. But if Lucie—the child of crazy Jenny—were invited, all the children from the outlying farms and cottages would be expected to attend.
As soon as I reached home I told my grandmother what had happened.
“It was stupid of me,” I said. “I shouldn’t have mentioned the party, but I did and it slipped out about the conjuror … and that was how it came about.”
My grandmother raised the point which had occurred to me. If Lucie came all the local children would feel slighted if they were not asked. Then my grandmother had an idea. She would get Jenny to come and help in the kitchen. She could bring Lucie … and Lucie should join the party.
And so it was arranged.
When I put the proposition to Jenny her eyes shone with delight. I said: “And Lucie shall come to see the conjuror with the other children.”
She clasped her hands together. “She’s been talking of nothing but that there conjuror ever since yesterday.”
Lucie jumped up and down with glee when I told her she was to come to the party. I knelt down and put my arms around her. I felt a tremendous tenderness towards the child and a need to protect her.
It occurred to me a little later that all the children would be in their party dresses, and what had Lucie but her little smock? True, it would be clean and neat but there would be a marked difference between her and the others.
Belinda had numerous dresses which she did not need. Why should not Lucie have one of these? I broached the matter to my grandmother and she thought it an excellent idea.
I consulted Leah who found a very pretty dress which she had made for Belinda and which she had not worn for some time. It was pale blue with a frill at the neck and a flounced skirt; and there was a bow of blue ribbon at the waist.
“That is just the thing,” I said.
“I don’t think it was ever one of Belinda’s favorites,” said Leah. “I made a mistake with all those flounces.”
“I think it is charming and I am sure Lucie will be delighted. She will never have had such a dress before.”
When I took it along to the cottage I was immensely gratified. I had never seen such joy in a child’s face before. Jenny watched with her hands clasped together.
“Oh, Miss Rebecca,” she said, “you be very good to we.”
I was touched as I had rarely been. Jenny’s love for that child was beautiful to see. The child’s happiness meant everything to her. I thought Lucie deprived when compared with Belinda, but how could she be with love like that?
It was a joyous occasion. Now I could talk about the exploits of conjurors with the utmost freedom.
We laughed and chatted. I could not believe that Jenny was the same person whom I had seen singing in the lanes.
Belinda with Leah helped to dress the Christmas tree. She was a little imperious giving orders. “This is where I want this …” and so on.