An Unconventional Girl

Front matter

BY j_ L. ROSSI LONDON LAWRENCE AND BULLEN, Ltd. j6 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C. TO JOHN TODHUNTER, M.D. I DEDICATE GRATEFULLY THIS STORY " Within my earthly temple there's a crowd : There's one of us that's humble, one that's proud There's one that's broken-hearted for his sins, And one who, unrepentant, sits and grins ; There's one who loves his neighbour as himself, And one who cares for naught but fame and pelf — From much corroding care I should be free, If once I could determine which is Me." —Anon. CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I. "THE ARABIAN NIGHTS " ... I II. EXPLANATORY ..... 6 III. A SUGGESTION . . . . .12 IV. A DECISION . . . . . .18 V. IN THE POST-BAG . . . . -23 VI. TENNYSON . . . . . -31 VII. FATIMA ....... 36 VIII. GOOD-BYE !...... 43 IX. CONCERNING A PEN-BOX .... 48 X. DANS LE PETIT SALON . . . .54 XI.

BOOKS AND CHIFFONS . . . -59 XII. RESULTS . . . . . -65 XIII. TWO BROTHERS ..... 70 XIV. WORLDLY WISDOM . . . . 76 XV. "MY HEART AND i" . . . .82 XVI. AFTER DINNER . . . . -87 XVII. A CHANGE OF SCENE .... 93 CONTENTS VIII CHAP. rMK XVIII. A SECRET WELL KEPT .... 99 XIX. GOODNESS . . . . • I°5 XX. A COUNTRY PRACTITIONER . . .112 XXI. LINDA'S BOWER . . . . . J 1 8 XXII. AN ACCIDENT . . . . .124 XXIII. "AT LAST !" 132 XXIV. "LOVE" AND ANALYSIS . . . I39 XXV. A PROPOSAL . . . 1 46 XXVI. TWO POINTS OF VIEW . . -152 3 XXVII. BURRS IN THE HEART . . . 1 58 XXVI] I. MRS. RANSFORD . . . . 165 XXIX. LINDA HITS A NAIL ON THE HEAD . 1 73 XXX. CHRISTMAS DAY . . . . . l8o XXXI. A PLEASANT PARTY . . . 1 86 XXXII. DEATH AND LOVE . . . 1 95 XXXIII. MEDITATIONS IN MANUSCRIPT . . 204 XXXIV. EARLSCOURT AND BAYEUX . . .2 12 XXXV. LINDA FINDS HER VOCATION. . . 225 XXXVI. SORROW AND SUCCESS . . . .240 XXXVII. LINDA'S LIBERTY . . . . .251

Chapter I

"THE ARABIAN NIGHTS " In a lumber-room at the top of a tall town house a little girl sat reading. Eyes of the darkest, with hair to match, some original sin, and a good deal of imagination, were her salient characteristics : she was seven years old. The book was a volume of an old edition of " The Arabian Nights," stoutly bound in brown calf. It had long "ff," which occa sioned abiding confusion in the mind of the little reader, who wished that the delightful people in these dazzling pages had more practicable names. A As the sun sank swiftly behind the backs of the houses opposite, she bent to catch the last gleams of light, pressing closer and closer against the dirty window frame ; then, when it faded utterly away, she closed the book, leaned her head on her hand, and looked out dreamily, beyond the houses, beyond the town, beyond the Present, far back into the glorious Past.

She sat thus, rapt and still, until a chill came over her, when she got up, threaded her way in the darkness to the door, through broken furniture and lumber of all kinds, and trotted downstairs. At each flight she descended into more warmth and comfort, until she reached the luxury of the drawing room floor. She was passing on when a voice called out — Is that you, darling ? " "No, Aunt Jane," she answered, "it's only me," and looked in at the open door. The pretty drawing-room was at its cosiest, with shaded lamps, and the tea-table drawn THE ARABIAN NIGHTS 3 up by the fire. Aunt Fanny was presiding, kettle in hand ; Aunt Jane was helping her self to a piece of cake. " Where have you been, child ? " enquired Aunt Jane. " In the nursery." The answer came pat and prompt, but Miss Nixon looked up sharply, and then said — " Come here, Linda ! ' She sidled forward, and as she advanced towards the light it became evident that the skirt and one sleeve of her frock were covered with dust — dust of grimier hue than is encountered in inhabited rooms.

" You have been in the lumber-room again, you naughty, naughty girl ! " said Aunt Jane. A sullen expression darkened the little dark face. " Oh, Linda ! how can you be so naughty . " chimed in Aunt Fanny. " And you promised me only yesterday that you would be good." The lip trembled a little. " Go away, and stay in the nursery this evening ; and to-morrow, when Maudie goes with us to the Zoological Gardens, you shall stay at home. You must be punished for being disobedient, and for telling a lie." The child turned away, and as she passed behind her Aunt Fanny's chair she rubbed her shoulder against it, hesitating as though about to say or to hear something. But no word was spoken, and she left the room, bearing away an overpowering sense of her own wickedness. However, by the time she reached the nursery her thoughts had returned to the incomparable Princess Bad roulbadour.

In the drawing-room there was silence for a moment, while the two ladies looked at each other in dismay. " What is to be done with that child ? " said Miss Nixon. " She is perfectly hopeless ! " " THE ARABIAN NIGHTS " 5 " She is really dreadfully naughty," said Miss Fanny. " I wonder if she is quite well ? She is deadly pale." " She is always a bad colour," answered her sister ; " but there cannot be much wrong with her, for she eats as usual — more than Maudie does by far. Was there ever such a contrast as this pair of sisters . . . . There she is, the darling ! Maudie ! "

Chapter II Explanatory

Maud and Linda L'Estrange were unlike in face, form, colouring, and disposition, but the greatest difference lay in the fact that while Maud had always been a young lady, Linda remained a child until she became a woman. This occurred in her eighteenth year. The orphan children were left to the care of their father's sisters when Maud was eight years old, and Linda five. These ladies ac cepted their charge with ready affection, and cheerfully altered their arrangements to suit the little girls. Two of the best rooms in the house were given up to them, a trust worthy maid was provided, and they were clothed and fed in a suitable and sensible manner. EXPLANATORY 7 There was the same difference in years between the aunts as between the nieces ; they were so much alike that one was frequently mistaken for the other, but this like ness wore away on acquaintance.

These old - fashioned ladies held old fashioned views concerning the education of women. They had been taught to read, and write, and sew by their mother ; then a visiting governess instructed them in his tory, geography, music, and French, on the Magnall's-Questions. system, and they had a few "finishing" lessons in certain accom plishments. What more could be desired for any girl ? So they agreed personally to undertake the early education of their nieces; Miss Nixon to be the instructress of Maud, and Miss Fanny to devote herself to Linda. Maud did not want to learn to read at all, and, in all sorts of pretty, coaxing ways, she evaded her lessons as often as possible. She was very fragile and sensitive, and the mild est punishment upset her so completely, that it was soon taken for granted in the house hold that Maud was not to be crossed, or vexed, or thwarted in any way.

Sunshine, and prosperity, and love were essential to her nature, and without them she drooped and pined. Linda, on the contrary, learned to read very easily, and speedily evinced a passion for books. Of geography and arithmetic she would have none ; Miss Fanny declared that she took the staggers over these subjects, and that nothing would make her learn. Poetry she tolerated, and learned by heart without the slightest difficulty ; and she liked needlework very much. One day, when Linda was six years old, her Aunt Fanny had occasion to seek for something in the lumber-room, and the little one trotted after her. She was not an affec tionate child, and had never been known to EXPLANATORY 9 proffer a caress to her aunts or to any one else, but she was not long in the house before she showed a preference for the com panionship of her Aunt Fanny.

She would sit on a stool beside her, silent, for an hour at a time, and she would fetch or carry for her with the look of satisfaction and respon sibility that is seen in the face of a dog under similar circumstances. Linda, indeed, often suggested comparison with some dumb animal. Her eyes were very bright and some what small, and in them there was that ex pression of yearning wistfulness which startles one in the eyes of a monkey. She cordially disliked her Aunt Jane, and dreaded of all things most a tete-a-tete with her ; so, partly to avoid such a risk, she got into the habit of following Aunt Fanny through the house. Linda had never before been in the lumber room, and while her aunt was rummaging in a trunk she poked about on her own account. In one corner she came upon a large box of dirty, uninviting-looking brown books, not fit to appear in the library, or so the ladies had decreed.

Linda opened one, a volume of the " Arabian Nights," in the middle, and began to read. Aunt Fanny found the piece of stuff she sought, and took it with her downstairs, forgetting her little noiseless companion, or thinking that she was behind her as usual. An hour went by, dinner was ready, but no Linda was forthcoming ; they looked everywhere, and called her again and again before Miss Fanny, remembering that the child had gone with her to the lumber-room, rushed upstairs in considerable alarm. And there she was, seated on the dirty floor, with her brown face buried in a dirty brown book. This incident marked the beginning of a new stage in the mental development of Linda L'Estrange. Instead of sitting beside Aunt Fanny, she henceforward went up to EXPLANATORY 11 the lumber-room the instant she was unob served, and became absorbed in her beloved book.

There were four volumes, a fifth being lost, and when she had read and re-read every tale, she used to sit there imagining tho delights of the missing volume. When she reappeared in society, it was invariably with her apparel in a discreditable condition ; so after a while she was forbidden to go into the lumber-room any more.

Chapter III

A SUGGESTION As the children grew older, the difficulties connected with their education increased. Maud shot up, all too fast for her strength, to be a tall, slim, pale-faced girl, long-armed and long-legged, yet not ungraceful. Linda's figure at thirteen was somewhat thick-set, and her face still darker and more unlovable. Half her time was spent in punishment, in geniously adapted to meet the nature and circumstances of each offence, but entirely ineffectual. Miss Nixon acted as judge and executioner, and relations between aunt and niece became more and more strained. It was, however, noticeable that during the occasional absence from home of the elder A SUGGESTION 13 lady, Linda's behaviour invariably rose, like a barometer, from stormy to fair. She then concentrated her attention on her lessons, and showed extraordinary quickness of ap prehension.

Miss Fanny Nixon was one of those women who will never act for themselves, or trust to their own judgment, if they have any relation or friend on whom to rely. It is from this type of woman that " good wives " are largely recruited. But this gentle lady possessed some natural shrewdness ; she was too loyal to her much-admired sister to entertain any doubt as to her infallibility, yet she noticed, at first as a mere coincidence, that the trouble some child became easier to manage from the hour Miss Nixon left the house, and that the wistful expression of her shining eyes deepened in intensity on the day of her aunt's return. And an idea sprang up in Miss Fanny's mind, which grew into a suggestion. One evening the ladies were sitting in council over the trials of the day and the prospects of the morrow.

Maudie had had an attack of bleeding from the nose, and after wards had fainted from weakness. Her aunts had tried to induce her to take some nourish ment, but Maudie had refused, and cried piteously on being urged. Linda had been discovered reading " Jane Eyre," a book which had been taken out of her hand by Miss Nixon some months before, and hidden behind the volumes on the topmost shelf of the library ; and " Windsor Castle " had been found in her bed. " Dr. Evans said that if Maudie were to spend the next two or three winters in the south she might outgrow her delicacy more quickly," said Miss Nixon. " Yes ! he always said that she should be as much as possible in the air, but in this wretched climate she takes cold every second time she goes out." A SUGGESTION 15 " Sometimes I think," said Miss Nixon, " that we must take her abroad.

If we had only her to think of, we might easily arrange to break up house for a few years ; but what a nuisance Linda would be ! " " Suppose " (Miss Fanny's idea began to tremble into utterance) " we were to send Linda to a boarding-school?" " She'd be expelled in a week ! " said Miss Nixon sharply. " She is really very good at her les sons, sometimes ; she is not a stupid child." "Stupid? no, I wish she was, for then she would not be so cunning in her naughti ness. She could not have known where I had hidden ' Jane Eyre,' and she must have watched for opportunities, and taken out every book from every shelf in the library before she found it." "The child is too much alone," said Miss Fanny. "That's her own fault. Why does she not stay with Maudie 1 " Maudie does not care about books." " And Linda does not care about any thing or anybody else."

" I do think she is fond of me " Well really, Fanny, you are too absurd ! You devote yourself to her, refuse every invi tation because you know she would be quite unbearable if you were away, and then you think she deserves credit if she is fond of you ! " " She does look so unhappy. " And so she ought to be ! A child with such a horrid disposition could not be any thing else." " Do you know that the Maxwells are thinking of going to Nice for the winter?" " Are they indeed ? I should be sorry, for Maudie would miss Ethel very much." " Yes ; Ethel is a nice little girl, and a good companion for Maudie. If they do go, A SUGGESTION 17 this will be an additional inducement to us to go also." " We may have to do so," said Miss Nixon with a sigh ; " and perhaps we had better make inquiries about schools." B

Chapter IV

A DECISION A fortnight later the ladies were again in consultation. The doctor's edict had gone forth. Maudie was to winter in the south of France, and Linda was to go to school. Miss Nixon sat before the writing-table, erect and important ; her sister was working be side her, with a more than usually anxious expression on her sweet face. " I wish people would be more explicit and less enthusiastic about the schools they recommend ! " said Miss Nixon. " I thought Mrs. Campbell's letter was to the point ? " " Yes ; but hers is about the Brussels school." A DECISION 19 " Do you not think that one would do ? " " I do not think any foreign school would be advisable for a child like Linda," said Miss Nixon. " The French are far more lax as regards moral training than we are ; they scarcely notice untruthfulness, and that is the very fault which must be overcome in Linda — if indeed it can ever be over come !

" " But this school is not in France, and the mistress is German." "The system is just the same. Linda will pick up book-learning fast enough any where, and we should think first of im proving her detestable little character; she is growing more unlovable every day." " I sometimes think that we must be to blame in our management of her." "How can you say that, Fanny, when Maudie is all we can desire ? When they came to us eight years ago, we treated them exactly alike, and gave them the same advantages, but from the very first day we noticed the difference between their dis positions." " But is it not possible that just on account of this we should have treated one child quite differently from the other ? " " What nonsense you do talk sometimes, Fanny ! How could one, in a house of ordinary size, and with an ordinary staff of servants, bring up one child ' quite dif ferently ' from the other ?

And if there had been half-a-dozen of them, would you then reproach yourself for not mapping out six different courses of education ? For Hea ven's sake, let us come back to common sense, and settle this matter of the school. The one at Bath sounds as if it might do. Lady Andrews has known the principal for many years." " Are not the terms rather high ? " " I'm afraid they are. Let me see — ' from a hundred guineas upwards,' Lady Andrews A DECISION 21 believes. But one cannot find a nice school anywhere for much less." " Not in England." "No. ... I see Mrs. Campbell says the terms at the Brussels school are only inclusive of almost everything that's an extra elsewhere. . . . That is a great difference. If, after all, we were to decide on sending Linda there, would you mind taking her over, and then joining us at Paris?"

" Not in the least. In any case you would have to rest for a couple of days in Paris, and I would stay in Brussels with Linda until you write that Maudie is well enough to go on. Linda will feel lonely at first, poor little thing ! " " I doubt if she will. If she had a clinging, sensitive nature like Maudie's, she would, of course, fret dreadfully ; but Linda is too stolid and self-absorbed to mind anything but actual personal inconvenience." " I hope they will feed her well." " They are sure to do that, as they are in the habit of having English girls. By the way, she will want a regular outfit ; look at the list of things she must bring. It is well Mrs. Campbell enclosed a prospectus." " I shall see about that." " And I shall see about everything else. Do you think it is possible for us to be ready by the end of next week ?

And one of us must be always with Maudie, or she is miser able. She is such an affectionate darling ! Will you just go and see if she is still asleep, for I want to finish off these letters ? If she is awake she should take her medicine again . . . you will be able to get it down if you talk to her about the new dresses she is going to have. And say that she shall choose them herself."

Chapter V In The Post-bag

" To Miss Fanny Nixon, Hotel Beau Sejour, Nice. " 100 Rue Stassart, Brussels, October 13, 189- "My dear Aunt Fanny, — Thank you for the Graphic. There is a girl here who is quite old ; she gets a letter every day. I have not had a letter yet. Her name is Katie Brandon, and I like her very much. We are in the same class, and we often get the same marks. She generally has toothache. There are twelve English girls, and we go to church with Miss Alston. She has spots on her face. "The first Sunday in every month is the jour de sortie, and all the Belgian girls go home and wear anything they like. We go out too into the town, and we may buy a franc's worth of chocolate ; but we have to be in the uniform. Nearly all the shops are open on Sunday. On Saturday morning all the houses are washed outside with sponges, and we have to walk in the middle of the street.

When the girls come back on Sunday evening they always bring flowers to Mdlle. Midler : she has heaps of flowers in her salon. " Mdlle. Miiller's fete is in November, and we are to give her a present. It will be ten francs from each, and Mdlle. Michaud will choose the present ; but Mdlle. Muller really says first what she wants. I think it is to be new chairs for the petit salon. "Two new girls came yesterday ; there are eighty now. I am No. 31. The last No. 31 died — there was a row about it. "The girl sitting beside me is crying be cause she has to learn French poetry instead of writing home. It is a punishment because she has been untidy. Every Saturday night IN THE POST-BAG 25 Mdlle. Muller reads out the marks in the big school-room, and we have five lines of poetry for every mark against order, and we have to learn them in recreation time on Sunday.

Poetry is easy, but I like English poetry best. I hope Maudie is better. — I am, your affec tionate niece, Linda L'Estrange." "To Graham Macleod, Esq. " ioo Rce Stassart, Brussels, October 31, 189-. " Dearest, dearest Graham, — Are you sure that you are not getting tired of all the school tattle which I inflict on you week after week ? You have always so much that is in teresting to tell me, and I have nothing but school and — ourselves. " I am afraid that the new girl I told you about, Linda L'Estrange, has found out that I am engaged. She is the queerest little thing I ever saw, and she notices everything about me. I almost think I had better let her know the truth, and make her promise not to tell. Mdlle. Midler would be very angry if it became known in the school ; but this Linda is so odd, and so unlike other girls, that I believe she could actually keep a secret!

" You know that it is the fashion among the girls to abuse the school uniform, and consider themselves very hardly used because they have to wear it ? I don't abuse it, since Somebody said it was ' very fetching,' though I am not quite sure that Somebody has good taste in dress ! Well, the hat is the most unpopular feature of the uniform, and Linda L'Estrange has written some verses about it which have made quite a sensation. This is the last verse : — ' 'Tis very plain, and very round, And very, very flat : A small cockade the side adorns Of this confounded hat ! ' " I can hardly believe that my birthday is so near, and that I shall actually be twenty IN THE POST-BAG 27 years old. Then there is only one year more until . . . Please do not give me another ring. Linda would be sure to notice it, for I could not resist wearing it, and loving it, or anything else from you.

I think I should like a book, a book of poetry. I know you are fond of it, and perhaps you could teach me to understand it, and then I might care for it too. " I am working very hard at everything — French and German, and music and drawing ; and all my teachers say that I am making progress. You are working hard too — too hard, I am afraid, for you had a headache when you wrote on Monday. I have the toothache still, but when we are married I think we shall have no more pains or aches, or if I have any I shall not mind them, be cause I shall be so happy. Tell me that you will be happy too, and that you will always love — Your own Katie." " To Miss Katie Brandon. "36 King Street, Glasgow " My darling Girl, — Here is your birth day, and the book of poetry you ask for, and a bangle in case it bores you !

This is an alliterative arrangement which I trust will meet with your approval. " I have chosen Tennyson, because I think you are sure to find in him something con genial. Begin at the pages I have marked, and if you find a difficulty give me a chance of explaining it away. Don't attempt to read ' In Memoriam ' at all ; it is only those who have passed through deep waters who can appreciate its passionate pain. My little girl does not yet know the meaning of any worse pain than toothache, thank God ! and it shall be my care to shield her life from trouble until my life's end. " I wish you many happy returns of your birthday, my darling. The next one, your twenty-first, will be happy indeed to both of IN THE POST-BAG 29 us, for very soon afterwards you will be my wife. How accomplished you will be by that time !

" I am by no means getting tired of your school tattle. On the contrary, I am inte rested in all you tell me, and particularly in your new companion, Miss Linda L'Estrange. She is evidently a sharp little person, but I trust she will not turn out to be a Becky ! (I hope you know your ' Vanity Fair ' ?) I would rather hear of your forming a friendship with a good woman than with the cleverest woman in the world. Never forget that although it was your sweet face that brought me to your feet, it was your sweet heart that kept me there until I became yours indeed, my Sweet Heart ! " Tell me whether you see much of the direct-rice of the school, Mdlle. Midler. I took rather a dislike to the lady at our inter view, although she was most gracious to me. She struck me as being false, perhaps because the expression of her eyes and that of her mouth did not always tally.

She has uncom monly good teeth though, and she knows how to dress. " I saw your mother yesterday, and she was looking very well. She is astonished to find that you can content yourself at school, and that I can tolerate such a separation. It is but the lesser of two evils, and one to which we can see the end, otherwise indeed it would be anything but tolerable. — Your true love, "Graham Macleod."

Chapter VI Tennyson

One Sunday evening Katie Brandon sat in the extreme corner of the refectory, with a forefinger in each ear, and a book propped up before her at the end of the long table. It was the jour de sortie, and the Belgian girls, in all the bravery of their gala attire, were dropping in one by one to recount to the others the pleasures of the day. The din was great, and Katie's face was flushed with the effort to keep her attention on her book. A big Flemish damsel suddenly sat down on the table, which quivered beneath her weight, and Katie looked up impatiently. As she did so her eyes met those of Linda (who sat close to her) steadily fixed upon her face. " Why do you stare so, Linda ? it is so disagreeable." " Why do you read a book you don't like ? " " I do like it." " No, you don't. Why do you read it?"

" W'ell . . . because some one I like gave it to me." " Then I suppose he likes it?" " Why do you think it's a he ? " " Because I saw the address on the wrap per when you got it on your birthday, and it was the same writing as the letters you get every day." " I wish you'd mind your own business, Linda." " So I do. Why . . . it's poetry ! " " Well ! is there anything extraordinary about that?" " I wouldn't read poetry if I could get a story." " The poetry I was reading is a story." " I wouldn't like that. I like one thing TENNYSON 33 or the other. It can't be much of a story anyhow." " Yes, it's a very pretty story — if one skips a good bit." Do lend it to me, Katie ! " ' Oh, Linda, what a bother you are ! " " Do ! I'll take great care of it, and I'll not let any one else touch it, and if they do I'll say it's mine.