Halcyone | Page 6

the quarter of an apple, two or three
strawberries or a plum--and almost always the same conversation.
Miss La Sarthe sat at the head of the table, in a green silk dress cut low
upon the shoulders and trimmed with a bertha of blonde lace. Miss
Roberta--sad falling off from dignity--had her thin bones covered with
a habit shirt of tulle, because she was altogether a poorer creature than
her sister, and felt the cold badly. Both ladies wore ringlets at the sides
of their faces and little caps of ribbon and lace.
Even within Halcyone's memory, the dining-room had lost some of its
adornments. The Chippendale chairs had gone, and had been replaced
by four stout kitchen ones. The bits of rare china were fewer--but the
portrait of the famous Timothy La Sarthe, by Holbein, still frowned
from his place of honor above the chimneypiece. All the La Sarthes had
been christened Timothy since that time.
The affair of the governess seemed to be troubling Miss Roberta. At
intervals she had found comfort in these denizens of the outer world,
and, free from the stern eye of Sister Ginevra, had been wont to chat
with one and another. They never stayed long enough for her to know
them well, and now this lady--the fifth within two years--had refused to
return. Life seemed very dull.
"Need I have any more governesses, Aunt Ginevra?" Halcyone said.

"There is an old gentleman who has bought the orchard house and he
says he will teach me Greek--and I already know a number of other
tiresome things."
Halcyone had not meant to tell her aunts anything about Cheiron--this
new-found joy--but she reasoned after she heard of Mademoiselle's
non-return that the knowledge that she would have some instructor
might have weight with those in charge of her. It was worth risking at
all events.
Miss La Sarthe adjusted a gold pince-nez and looked at the little girl.
"How old are you, Halcyone?" she asked.
"I was twelve on the seventh of last October, Aunt Ginevra."
"Twelve--a young gentlewoman's education is not complete at twelve
years old, child--although governesses in the house are not very
pleasant, I admit"--and Miss La Sarthe sighed.
"Oh, I know it isn't!" said Halcyone, "but you see, I can speak French
and German quite decently, and the other things surely I might learn
myself in between the old gentleman's teaching."
"But what do you know of this--this stranger?" demanded Miss La
Sarthe. "You allude to someone of whom neither your Aunt Roberta
nor I have ever heard."
"I met him to-day. I went into the orchard as usual, and found the house
was inhabited, and I saw him and he asked me in to tea. He is a very
old gentleman with a long white beard, and very, very clever. His room
is full of Greek books and we had a long talk, and he was very kind and
said he would teach me to read them."
This seemed to Halcyone to be sufficient in the way of credentials for
anyone.
"I have heard from Hester," Miss Roberta interposed timidly, "that the

orchard house has been bought by an Oxford professor--it sounds most
respectable, does it not, sister?"
Miss La Sarthe looked stern:
"More than thirty-five years ago, Roberta, I told you I disapproved of
Hester's chattering. I cannot conceive personally, how you can
converse with servants as you do. Hester would not have dared to
gossip to me!"
Poor Miss Roberta looked crushed. She had often been chided on this
point before.
Halcyone would like to have reminded her elder aunt that William, who
was equally a servant, had announced some such news to her that
afternoon; but she remained silent. She must gain her point if she could,
and to argue, she knew, was never a road to success.
"I am sure if we could get a really nice English girl," hazarded Miss
Roberta, wishing to propitiate, "it might be company for us all,
Ginevra--but if Mrs. Anderton insists upon sending another foreign
person--"
"And of course she will," interrupted the elder lady; "people of Mrs.
Anderton's class always think it is more genteel to have a smattering of
foreign languages than to know their own mother tongue. We may get
another German--and that I could hardly bear."
"Then do write to my stepfather, please, please," cried Halcyone. "Say I
am going to be splendidly taught--lots of interesting things--and oh--I
will try so hard by myself to keep up what I already know. I will
practice--really, really, Aunt Ginevra--and do my German exercises
and dear Aunt Roberta can talk French to me and even teach me the
Italian songs that she sings so beautifully to her guitar!"
This last won the day as far as Miss Roberta was concerned. Her faded