Rosy | Page 9

will put no one before you,
my own little girl--no stranger, however sweet--and you will, on your
side, try to please me, will you not?" So Rosy's face, though grave, had
a nice look the first time Beata saw it, and the first words she said as
they kissed each other were, "O Rosy, how pretty you are! I shall love
you very much."

CHAPTER III
.
TEARS.

"'Twere most ungrateful."--V. S. LAKDOH.
Beata was not pretty. That was the first thing Rosy decided about her.
She was small, and rather brown and thin. She had dark hair, certainly
like Lady Albertine's in colour, but instead of splendid curls it was cut
quite short--as short almost as Colin's--and her eyes were neither very
large nor very blue. They were nice gray eyes, that could look sad, but
generally looked merry, and about the rest of her face there was nothing
very particular.
Rosy looked at her for a moment or two, and she looked at Rosy. Then
at last Rosy said,
"Will you come into the drawing-room?" for she saw that her mother
and Beata's uncle were already on their way there.
"Thank you," said Beata, and then they quietly followed the big people.
Rosy's father was not at home, but he would be back soon, her mother
was telling the gray-haired gentleman, and then she went on to ask him
how "they" had got off, if it had been comfortably, and so on.
"Oh yes," he replied, "it was all quite right. Poor Maud!--"
"That's my mamma," said Beata in a low voice, and Rosy, turning
towards her, saw that her eyes were full of tears.
"What a queer little girl she is!" thought Rosy, but she did not say so.
"--Poor Maud," continued the gentleman. "It is a great comfort to her to
leave the child in such good hands."
"I hope she will be happy," said Rosy's mother. "I will do my best to
make her so."
"I am very sure of that," said Beata's uncle. "It is a great
disappointment to her grandmother not to have her with her. She is a
dear child. Last week at the parting she behaved like a brick."
Both little girls heard this, and Beata suddenly began speaking rather
fast, and Rosy saw that her cheeks had got very red.
"Do you think your mamma would mind if I went upstairs to take off
my hat? I think my face must be dirty with the train," said Beata.
"Don't you like staying here?" said Rosy, rather crossly. "I think you
should stay till mother tells is to go," for she wanted to hear what more
her mother and the gentleman said to each other, the very thing that
made Beata uncomfortable.
Beata looked a little frightened.
"I didn't mean to be rude," she said. Then suddenly catching sight of

Manchon, she exclaimed, "Oh, what a beautiful cat! May I go and
stroke him?"
"If you like," said Rosy, "but he isn't really a nice cat." And then,
seeing that Beata looked at her with curiosity, she forgot about listening
to the big people, and, getting up, led Beata to Manchon's cushion.
"Everybody says he's pretty," she went on, "but I don't think so,
because I think he's a kind of bad fairy. You don't know how he froos
sometimes, in a most horrible way, as if he was mocking you. He
knows I don't like him, for whenever I'm vexed he looks pleased."
"Does he really?" said Beata. "Then I don't like him. I shouldn't look
pleased if you were vexed, Rosy."
"Wouldn't you?" said Rosy, doubtfully.
"No, I'm sure I wouldn't. I wonder your mamma likes Manchon if he
has such an unkind dis--I can't remember the word, it means feelings,
you know."
"Never mind," said Rosy, patronisingly, "I know what you mean. Oh,
its only me Manchon's nasty to, and that doesn't matter. _I'm_ not the
favourite. I was at my aunty's though, that I was--but it has all come
true what Nelson told me," and she shook her head dolefully.
"Who is Nelson?" asked Beata.
"Aunty's maid. She cried when I came away, and she said it was
because she was so sorry for me. It wouldn't be the same as _there_,
she said. I shouldn't be thought as much of with two brothers, and
Nelson knew that my mamma was dreadfully strict. I daresay she'd be
still more sorry for me if she knew--" Rosy stopped short.
"Why don't you go on?" said Beata.
"Oh, I was going to say something I don't want to say. Perhaps it would
vex you," said Rosy.
Beata considered a little.
"I'm not very easily vexed," she said at last. "I think I'd like you to go
on saying it if