Read Ebook: Turquoise and Ruby by Meade L T

Font size: 10 px 15 px 20 px 25 px 30 px 35 px

Background color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Text color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Apply/Save settings

Ebook has 529 lines and 23547 words, and 11 pages

ake and conversing in low tones about their mutual grievances.

"Whoever is that?" said Joey, in a tone of some alarm. "Come in!" she called, and Mademoiselle entered.

"Oh--but we dare not disobey Brenda!" exclaimed Nina.

"It is very kind of you, Mademoiselle, to come and see us," said Josie; "but Brenda always sends us to bed when she and Fanchon go out for their fun."

"Do they have great fun at this hour?" asked Mademoiselle.

"Oh, I don't know--I expect so," exclaimed Josie, and she giggled a little.

Mademoiselle uttered a sigh. She opened the window a little wider and left the door ajar.

The children did not know at first what they had especially to tell to Mademoiselle; but that clever woman was not ten minutes in their society before she had obtained a vast lot of useful information from them-- information which she meant to turn to good account. She had her way to make in the world, and could only make it by more or less dishonest means. In short, before she left the little girls on this occasion, she knew that little secret with regard to Nina's account-book, and why Nina was learning this salutary lesson. She pretended to be rather shocked by the little girl's disclosure.

"We would love it beyond anything!" said Joey. "But," said Nina, "we would not dare!"

"Surely you could not manage that?"

This sounded delicious, daring, extremely naughty, and altogether quite impossible to resist, to the little girls.

"You are quite a darling," said Nina. "I only wish you were our governess instead of horrid Brenda!"

"I don't think so for a single minute," said Nina.

"I'm certain that she's a--"

"Oh--don't say anything against her now!" said Josephine.

"Oh dear, no!" said Nina, "nothing of the sort!"

"But then you might borrow from your sister Function."

Nina gave a childish laugh.

"Fanchon has only one little silver brooch, and the pin is broken. Poor Fanchon! what would she--"

"Her bangle?" said Nina.

"Breathe it not, dear one, to your adorable governess, but ask your sister to lend it to you, and I will give you the most delightful surprise when you come out with me."

"But she's not got one!" said Josie. "I don't know what you are dreaming about, Mademoiselle. Poor Fanchon--I only wish she had!"

Mademoiselle waved her hand to the children, and gently closed the door behind her. She left them both in a state of great excitement and wonder. What a fascinating woman she was! How delightfully she sympathised! and wouldn't it be fun to go out with her on the following evening, to have a very superior treat to that one which Fanchon enjoyed and made such a fuss about? Oh, the mystery of the whole thing, and the spice of danger in it, and the awful dread of discovery, and the maddening joy of getting away without anybody knowing, and the charming surprise which would await them!

"But Mademoiselle must be mad on one point," said Nina, "for she talks of Fanchon's bangle. Fanchon hasn't got a bangle."

"There's no saying what she has or hasn't," said Josie. "She's so abominably mysterious lately; she's so stuck up, and has such airs and graces, I shouldn't be a bit surprised if she had got Brenda to buy her one of those cheap shilling things you see in the shop windows."

"Brenda never got me to put that expense down in the account-book," said Nina.

"Oh, she wouldn't!" exclaimed Josie. "She's too sly."

"It seems a great pity," said Nina, after another restless twiddle in her little hot bed, "that we can't find out."

"We could look through the drawers, of course," said Joey, "and discover for ourselves."

"Brenda keeps the top drawer locked and has taken the key." Nina gave a little jump. "I tell you what!" she said. "Why shouldn't we try if the key of the wardrobe would open the top drawer of the chest of drawers? It looks exactly the same: I noticed that myself when first we came."

"But there isn't any key to the wardrobe!" exclaimed Joey.

"Oh--isn't there? I know better. It was always lying on the floor, and I picked it up and put it behind that ornament on the mantelpiece so as to get it out of the way."

"Well--we can look at once," said Josie.

"What fun it will be if Fanchon really has a shilling bangle, and Brenda forgot to have it entered in the accounts!"

The two girls sprang out of bed. They were trembling with excitement. They longed beyond anything to discover if Mademoiselle was right.

"But if she has it," suddenly exclaimed Nina, "she may be wearing it-- it's just the sort of thing she would do--she'd be so desperately proud of it!"

"Yes," said Josie, "and by the evening light people would think it was real. Oh, I say, Nina, what fun--this key does open the drawers! Yes, and locks them too. I say now, shall we have a search?"

The girls ransacked the precious locked drawer, and of course, in less than a minute, came upon the gold bangle with the turquoise ornament. They brought it to the window and examined it carefully by the light of the moon. While Josie held it, Nina kept the little box, in which it was generally concealed, in her hand. She now read the writing on it.

"Perhaps after our delicious time out is over, and our surprise is come to an end, we may talk to Fanchon about her horrid meanness in keeping the bangle a secret."

"Of course it isn't real gold--it's only one of those shilling things; but she might have told--that she might."

"That she might," exclaimed the other sister.

Then they put the bangle carefully back into its box, and readjusted the drawer so as not to allow suspicious eyes to guess that anything had been disarranged. They took the precious key which could unlock the drawer and display this marvellous fairyland of delight, and hid it under a portion of the carpet which went straight under the bed in which they slept.

TELLTALE TRACINGS.

Joe Burbery did not put in an appearance, and Harry, after walking up and down the Esplanade two or three times with Brenda and Fanchon, managed to make his escape to that new siren who was at present occupying his fickle affections.

Brenda's rage and disappointment scarcely knew any bounds; but she would not show her feelings for the world, and walked up and down with Fanchon until the usual hour for retiring.

"It's a great pity one of us had not the bangle on," said the eldest pupil, as she walked with her governess. "He would have been interested in that: every one is who sees it--it's so very lovely."

"Think of my giving it to you, Fanchon!" exclaimed Brenda. "Can you ever thank me enough?"

"I will thank you as long as I live when once you allow me to wear it properly," said Fanchon.

Brenda made no answer to this.

"We'll go out to-morrow evening, won't we?" asked the young pupil of the careful governess, "and you'll let me put it on them, won't you, darling Brenda--darling Brenda!"

"No--I won't--and that's flat!" exclaimed Brenda. "We shall have a very good time, though, to-morrow, Fanchon; for Harry says that he'll take us to a play down in the town. There's a very good travelling company now at Marshlands. You have never seen a play, have you?"

Share on: WhatsApp @Hash Facebook Tweet