Hollyhock: A Spirit of Mischief

The daughters of the marquis and the earl were now quite silent, their silly little hearts filled with horror. They never guessed that Hollyhock was making up her story.

'You couldn't have done that,' said Jane Calvert.

'Whist, can't ye? I want to get those girls away, so as to talk about the kitchen cat.'

The girls in question certainly did go away. They did more; they went straight to Mrs Macintyre and asked her if the awful story was true. Mrs Macintyre, having never heard of it, declared emphatically that it was not true; but, somehow, neither Lady Leucha nor the Fraser girls quite believed her. There was such a ring of truth in Hollyhock's words; and had they not all heard, on that first happy evening at the school, the cry, so shrill, so piercing, 'The ghost! the ghost!'

They had tried not to think of it since, but Hollyhock seemed to confirm the weird words, and they began to wonder if they could stay long in this school, which, beautiful as it was, contained such an awful ghost—a ghost who required a little girl to dry his locks for him. Surely such a terrible thing could not happen! It was quite past belief.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE SUMMER PARLOUR.

If there was a girl who was at once slightly frightened and extremely angry, that girl was Leucha Villiers, the daughter of the Earl of Crossways. Never, never before had any overtures on her part been treated as Hollyhock had treated them. If this saucy black-eyed imp intended to rule the school, she, Leucha, would show her what she thought of her conduct. She would not be ruled by her. She would, in short, show her once and for all her true position. Little Scotch nobody, indeed! Well, the angry Leucha knew how to proceed.

Leucha was considered by her friends and by her numerous acquaintances a most charming girl, a girl with such aristocratic manners, such a noble presence, such a gentle, firm, distinguished air. She had been, during her first week at school, very happy on the whole, for Jasmine, and Gentian, and Rose, and Delphinium had more or less bowed down to her and admired her. But now there appeared on the scene a totally different character—Hollyhock! How ridiculous to call any human being by such a name! But then it wasn't her real name; her name was Jacqueline. She, Lady Leucha, would certainly not call her Hollyhock, or prickly Holly, or anything of that sort. She would call her Jack and Jacko, and tease her as much as possible. She had certainly spoken of the ghost in her ridiculous Scotch accent, but Leucha Villiers, after careful consideration, determined not to be afraid of pure nonsense. Was there ever a girl in creation who dried a ghost's dripping hair? The whole thing was too silly.

In accordance with Mrs Maclure's promise, a great many fresh girls had arrived, and the full number of seventy was now nearly made up. It would be quite made up by the end of the following week.

Leucha liked the boy element in the school, and was exceedingly sorry to part with it; but she perceived, to her intense satisfaction, that the English contingent of girls at Ardshiel was very strong, and that, notwithstanding all her audacity and daring, Jacko—of course she was Jacko—could be kept in a minority. She felt there was no time to lose, for Hollyhock looked at her with such flashing eyes, with such saucy dimples round her lips, with such a very rare and personal beauty, that Leucha felt she must get hold of her own girls at once, in order to sustain the school against the wicked machinations of Jacko.

Accordingly she got Lady Barbara Fraser and her sister Dorothy, also the Honourable Daisy Watson, to meet her in what was called the Summer Parlour, a very pretty arbour in the grounds, where materials for a fire were laid, and where a fire could be lit in cold weather.

Winter was approaching. It was now nearly October, and October in the North is often accompanied by frosts and fallen leaves, and by bitter, cold, easterly winds. Lady Leucha had, she considered, a very charming manner. Having collected her friends round her, she went off with them to seek for Mrs Macintyre. They found this good woman, as usual, very busy, and very gentle and full of tact.

'We have come with a request,' said Lady Leucha.

'And what is that, my child?' asked Mrs Macintyre.

'Mrs Macintyre,' said Lady Leucha, 'you have in your school far more English than Scotch girls.'

'That is true, my dear—at least, it is true up to the present. But I have heard to-day from my dear friend Mrs Maclure that fifteen new Edinburgh lassies will arrive on Saturday. You'll welcome them; won't you, Leucha?'

'I like English girls best,' said Lady Leucha.

'That's natural enough, dear child. Well, you have a goodly number of friends and relatives at the school.'

'I have,' said Leucha; 'but I have come in the name of my cousins, Dorothy and Barbara Fraser, and my great friend Daisy Watson, to say that we do not approve of the manners of the new pupil.'

'What new pupil, Leucha? There are a good many in the school.'

'I know that. But I allude to that wild-looking child with black eyes and hair, who talks the absurdest nonsense. Would you believe it, dear Mrs Macintyre, she talks of coming here on moonlight nights and wiping the hair of a ghost? Could you imagine anything so silly?'

'It is a very foolish thing to say,' remarked Mrs Macintyre—'so silly and impossible that if I were you, Leucha, I would not give it a second thought. The child must have said it in pure fun. You are doubtless alluding to Hollyhock, a splendid little girl.'

'Well,' said Leucha, tossing her head, 'I don't care for girls who tell untruths; and it is not only for that reason that I dislike her, it is also because she has been so terribly rude to my cousins the Frasers, and to my dear friend Daisy Watson. I can see that she intends to rule the school, or at least to take a very leading position in it. Now this I, for one, do not wish, and I do not intend to put up with it. I think that I, as Earl Crossways' daughter, and the Frasers, who are daughters of the Marquis of Killin'——

'And therefore Scots of the Scots,' interrupted Mrs Macintyre.

'Well, at least their mother is English of the English, and they have been brought up in English ways. They are my relatives, and I do not choose them to be treated rudely. There is also my very great friend Daisy Watson. We are most anxious, dear Mrs Macintyre, for you to allow us English girls, who at present are in a majority in the school, the entire use of the Summer Parlour, giving it out as your desire that no Scotch girl is to come into the parlour without our express permission.'

'I do not quite see how I can do that, Leucha. The Summer Parlour is for the use of all, and why should my Scots lassies be excluded? I am sure, notwithstanding your remarks, Leucha, the children you speak of are both good and well-bred.'

'That horrid creature they call Hollyhock isn't well-bred,' said Leucha.

'She is a magnificent child,' said Mrs Macintyre. 'You don't know her story or you wouldn't speak of her like that.'

'I don't want to hear her story,' said Barbara Fraser. 'I dislike her appearance too much.'

'Barbara, my dear, I am the last to encourage vanity, but Hollyhock is quite the handsomest girl in the school.'

'Oh, Mrs Macintyre, I do wish we had never come here!' said Leucha, who looked extremely mournful and inclined to cry. 'Of course, I suppose, mother must give you a term's notice, but there are really refined schools in England without wild Scotch girls in their midst.'

'You must not speak against Scotland to me,' said Mrs Macintyre. 'Remember it is my native land—the land of the heather, and the lochs, and the glorious mountains. It is the land of brave men and brave women, and I will not have it run down by any impudent English girl. I've got so many other English girls coming to the school that the loss of you four won't affect me much, Leucha Villiers.'

This was taking matters with a very high hand, and Leucha, who had no great moral strength, was thoroughly subdued.

'I didn't mean to be rude to you, of course, dear Mrs Macintyre,' she said, nudging her cousins as she spoke. 'I only said I did not like that black-eyed girl. She's frightfully wild and rude, and I'm accustomed to girls of a different type. Naturally indeed, being born as I am. However, I ask now for permission to use the Summer Parlour. Do you refuse it?'

'If you don't want it for hatching plots or anything of that kind,' said Mrs Macintyre, 'you English girls can have it till Saturday—no longer, remember; and as the weather is turning very cold, you must pay for your own fire, and, what's more, light it. For all my maids have plenty of work to do in the house. Now, then, are you satisfied? The Summer Parlour will be yours, beginning from to-day.'

'Thank you, Mrs Macintyre; we are quite satisfied,' said Leucha, who knew well how furious her mother would be were she removed from Ardshiel, which, as the former home of kings, was considered most distinguished.

The girls went off quite mildly and gently. The day was drawing toward evening. Their idea was to light a great fire in the Parlour, and then go into the house for tea; after which they would prepare their lessons, and then go back in a body to the Parlour to discuss the enormities of that wicked girl who called herself Hollyhock. But, alack and alas! the daughter of the Earl of Crossways and the daughters of the Marquis of Killin had never lit a fire in their lives, and did not know in the least how to set about it. They were not particularly strong girls, and did not wish to sit in the Summer Parlour hatching mischief against their schoolfellow without the comfort of a glowing fire.

'How queer and cross Mrs Mac. is!' said Leucha, turning to her companions as they rushed off to the Parlour, knowing that they would have at least half-an-hour in which to make it ready for their evening talk.

'No, no; she's all right,' said Barbara Fraser; 'and mother thinks the world of her. If we left, girls, I don't know what father and mother would say. They've always been wild to get us into a proper Scottish school.'

'How are we to light the fire?' whispered Leucha. 'Do you know how it's done, Dorothy?'

'Not I. Who 's that singing?'

There was a wonderfully sweet contralto voice sounding from the cosy depths of the Summer Parlour. The words the girl sang were as follows:

'The great Ardshiel, he gaed before,
He gart the cannons and guns to roar.

'Whisper now, lassies. Do you not know that "the oak shall go over the myrtle yet"? We will settle some of the poor English girls yet. All the same, I like the really nice English girls ever so well. They are so bonnie and so gentle, like my own sweet sister Jasmine. Where could you see her like anywhere? And there is my own kinsman, the Duke of Ardshiel! Ah! but I love him well!'

The voice was undoubtedly the voice of Hollyhock, who, without rhyme or reason, had lit a great fire in the old grate, and was comfortably established there, with her four sisters and a number of Scots and English girls scattered round.

These young people were seated round the roaring fire, and Holly, with her black locks and great glowing black eyes, was the centre of an animated group. She was about to expand her views on the nice and not-nice English girls, when in rushed Leucha and her friends.

'You clear out of this,' she said.

'Clear?' said Hollyhock. 'What is clear?'

'There's the door,' said Leucha. 'Go!'

'Not I,' said Holly. 'I find this little chair very comfortable.'

She established herself with much grace and dignity, and the others clustered round her.

'You have got to go,' said Leucha, who was now in a towering passion. 'We have got Mrs Macintyre's permission to consecrate the Summer Parlour to the English girls until Saturday.'

'That seems a pity,' said Holly, 'for, you see, we must put out the fire. We built it, we lassies of Scotland, and we do not leave it except to those English girls who are on our side. I rather think you are up to a conspiracy, and you sha'n't hatch your plot by our fire.—Come, girls, she wants the Parlour and the fire, but she does not want us. So, quick is the word. Stir yourself, Delphy; stir yourself, Augusta; stir yourselves, all the rest. It is mighty damp outside, so the faggots can cool themselves there. My word! I do not think much of some English maids. They have no manners at all. And I telling such a fine tale about Ardshiel and his bonnie men. Well, the Camerons are down now, but they will soon be up again. "The Camerons are coming," say I. Never mind, girls; we 'll find another place for our wee conspiracy.'

In less than two minutes the fire no longer glowed and roared. The coal smouldered feebly under the grate; the faggots were put in the dripping rain, for the evening happened to be a wet one; and, in order to make all secure, Hollyhock poured a jug of water over the rapidly expiring fire.

'There they lie,' she cried; 'but if any of you wants a proper fire lit, not in anger, but in the spirit of love, I can and will undertake the job. Ay! not a word!—Come away, girls. I know a little hut where we can light a fire for our own conspiracy—a sort of a "cubby hole," but loved by poor ghostie, and fit for our work. Come at once, girls. Come at once.'

CHAPTER XIV.

THE FIRE THAT WILL NOT LIGHT.

The Lady Leucha Villiers and her cousins, the daughters of the Marquis of Killin, assisted by their chosen companions, tried in vain to relight the fire in the Summer Parlour; but, alas! although even the kitchen cat might have understood so simple a job, being at least acquainted with something of the system, it was quite outside the powers of these ladies of high degree.

Naughty Hollyhock's last effort before she left the Parlour had been to pour a small jug of water over the fast-expiring coals.

'I 'm thinking this will settle matters,' she said to her adoring companions. 'Let them try their hardest now if they like, but we 'll find our own cubby hole and light our fire somewhere else.'

No sooner said than done, for Hollyhock was an adept at small manual jobs. She had observed in her rambles over the Palace of the Kings a small neglected hut, said to be haunted by the ghost from the neighbouring loch. As Hollyhock had not a scrap of fear of the ghost, knowing only too well that he did not appear, and knowing also that she could use him as a valuable weapon, she entered the hut, sent Gentian flying for some fresh faggots, and with the aid of Margaret Drummond and her own sisters, Mary Barton, Nancy Greenfield, Isabella Macneale, and Jane Calvert, she soon had a glowing fire. They put by in one corner a pile of faggots to place on the fire when tea was over, after which they would have quite an hour to work out their conspiracy. At tea, which was served on long tables in a beautiful old room, Hollyhock looked more brilliant and more beautiful than ever. Leucha, on the contrary, had a pale face and seemed chilled to the bone.

'Did you leave your fire burning well, Leucha, my hearty?' inquired Hollyhock.

Leucha, of course, refused to reply. She sat looking down at her plate, hardly eating the good things before her, but making up her mind to punish that horrible Jack, even if she herself died in the effort.

'Couldn't you find a small hut by the burnside; couldn't you now?' continued Hollyhock in a coaxing tone. 'The Summer Parlour's grate is hard to light up—it has an artful way with it—but a small hut now, with you sitting by the fire, could be easily managed. I 'd bring you some faggots, if you said the word.'

'No, thank you. I don't choose you to help me in any way.'

'All right! I 'm not wanting to,' said Hollyhock. 'I'm very happy without you, my Lady Leucha.'

'Girls,' said one of the English mistresses, who felt quite certain there was mischief ahead, 'I think you ought to take your tea, and be quick about it. You will lose your recreation afterwards if you stop to wrangle.'

'What's wrangle, Miss Kent, dear?' asked Hollyhock in her sweetest tones. 'I like well to hear your pure English words. We Scots talk very differently, no doubt, but we are always willing to learn. So, please, what's wrangle? And will you pass me a fresh scone, Miss Kent, dear, for my appetite is far more than ordinary?'

'Vulgar little glutton,' muttered Leucha to Dorothy Fraser.

'She really is attractive, all the same,' answered Dorothy.

'Oh Dolly, you are not going round to her? That would be the final straw.'

'No, I 'm not, of course; but I can't help admiring her funny ways and her beautiful, noble sort of face.'

'Noble!' cried Lady Leucha.

'Yes, it is noble, although it is full of mischief too. You could have had her as a great friend, Leucha, and that girl is worth making a friend of. I never saw her like before. She really haunts me.'

'What haunts you, lassie?' cried Hollyhock. 'Is it my eyes so black, or my cheeks so rosy-red, or my hair so curly, and black as the blackest night? I 'm at your service. I'm willing to forgive and forget this blessed minute if you'll all hold out the paws of forgiveness.'

Both Dorothy and Barbara longed to do so, but Lady Leucha put the final extinguisher on their hopes by saying, 'No, never! Why, you are not even a lady!'

'Let's eat,' said Hollyhock. 'I waved the flag of peace, as the great Ardshiel did once; but never again—don't you fear, lassies. No lady, indeed! We 'll see who's the lady!'

In vain Miss Kent tried to stop the angry torrent of words, but this was the hour when the girls were allowed to talk freely. Mrs Macintyre was not present, and all eyes in the room were fixed with admiration on Hollyhock.

'First, we 'd like to know—just for a diversion—what makes a lady,' continued the obstreperous lass. ''Tisn't birth—my certie! no. It must be a sort of civilisation. It must be, to my way of thinking, a give and a take. It must belong to the sort of person who has the courage of her race, and will even wipe the hair of a ghost when he comes to you in his trouble. That's what I call a lady. Others may differ from me.'

'They do,' said Leucha. 'Liars are not ladies!'

'You 'd better not call me that.'

'But I do. You never wiped the hair of a ghost.'

'Let's drop the subject,' said Hollyhock. 'My sisters and I, and Mrs Constable, and my father, and my five cousins, the Precious Stones, have views that differ from yours entirely. I know your sort of lady. I have read of her in books, but I never came across her till I met you, Leucha.'

'I 'd thank you to call me Lady Leucha.'

'I won't, then. You are only Leucha to me in this school. I have described what I call a lady. She's bountiful to the poor, and kindness sits in her bonnie eyes, and love shimmers round her lips, and her heart—why, it's pure gold; and she's all-forgiving, and all for making up. There 's never a quarrel that a real lady would nurse; but mayhap there's a different sort in England. They walk what you might call mincingly, and they drop their words slow, and there's no flash in their eyes, and no courage in them, and no daring in them. No doubt they are very respectable, and they are very proud of their family. Then they make their little curtsy, when their education is quite finished, to the Sovereign on the throne; and they go to many a party, and they dress like all the other girls—no individuality anywhere. That would not be thought right for such an English lady. She marries when she can get a man to have her. Many a time he's as old as her father; but that doesn't count with her, she being what she is, looking out for respectability. Ah, well! I 'm all for the Scots lady. I don't care for grand parties or grand dresses; but I want my bit of adventure, and I'll have it, too. Good-bye, Leuchy. I think I have explained myself.—Come along, girls; we have our work cut out for us. It would not do for that poor Leuchy to be cold this night. She must have a living, warming thing to comfort her, poor Leuchy! Come along; there's no time to spare.'

The girls, headed by Hollyhock, left the room in a group, but for some reason Jasmine remained behind. She was very much distressed by her sister's manner of going on, and what followed would not have taken place had she gone to the ghost's hut and joined in the 'conspiracy;' but the other girls were now fairly mad with excitement, and Margaret Drummond, a Scots girl, was so much in love with Hollyhock that she would have done anything on earth for her.

'You are splendid, lassie!' she cried.

The fire was quite out in the Summer Parlour, but it glowed warmly in the ghost's hut.

'It's here I dry his hair, poor fellow,' said Hollyhock, who was now nearly beside herself with delight. 'Listen to me, girls. You are a goodly group, and true to the heart's core, true to the soul of the thing; but I 'm not going to be ruled over by Leuchy, though I don't mind Barbara, or Dorothy, or that weak little Daisy looking on. It's Leuchy who 'll get a fright this very night. Now, then, we haven't long to lose, for the hours for pure enjoyment are few in number. I am much deceived if we don't find many impediments in our path. Now, lassies, I 'll show you on the spot what we have got to do. One of us must go to The Garden, my home, to fetch wee Jean, the kitchen cat; and another has to beg, borrow, or steal a saucer of cream for the little beastie. That's about all. I 'll start off at once for the cat; and you, Gentian, had best get the cream. I have been looking round the house—don't I know every stone of it?—and you have got to get into the larder. You know your way to the larder, don't you, Gentian?'

'Yes,' said Gentian, who looked rather frightened.

'Well, never mind, my lass. You have got to do it, and one of these girls will help you. You were always nimble-witted, and you won't fail your own sister-born in a conspiracy so innocent and so amusing. While I 'm off alone for the cat, you other girls will find out the number of Leuchy's room, and have the nice rich cream ready for poor Jean. She can sleep with me afterwards. Well, then, off I go! Good-bye, lassies; good-bye! Oh, I can tell you bogy stories that 'll make your hair stand up straight; but this is the night for wee Jean.'

Hollyhock, her head in the air, rushed quickly down the avenue. There was plenty of time still, for the gates would not be locked before nine o'clock. She went out, therefore, boldly, and reached the dear old Garden. She wrapped her cloak well about her, so as to disguise herself as much as possible, and went straight to the kitchen regions, where the housekeeper, having very little to do now that all the girls were out and the master was dining with Lord Ian Douglas, was sound asleep by the kitchen fire.

On her lap reposed Jean, also in profound slumber. Hollyhock whisked her up in a hurry, petting and cuddling her all the time. A row of baskets hung just outside the kitchen door. Hollyhock chose one, placed a warm bit of felt at the bottom, put in a lump of butter for Jean to lick, fastened her down securely in the basket, and was off and away, back to Ardshiel.

By that time the other girls had fully carried out the commands of their liege lady. The cream had been secured by Gentian, who had scraped her shins a little in climbing in at the window. She had put the cream into a small jug, and had further procured a saucer.

'That'll do fine,' said Hollyhock. 'Poor Jean, poor beastie, we mustn't frighten her, or she 'll be off like a flash. Have you got the number of the English lady's room?'

Yes, Leucha Villiers's room had been discovered. Hollyhock went boldly upstairs. The little room looked most luxurious. There were eider-down quilts on every bed in the house, and a particularly pretty silk one was on the bed of Leucha. Under the eiderdown was a snowy light counterpane. The room had been already arranged for the night, and would not be touched again by any one. Although the weather was beginning to get cold, Mrs Macintyre did not consider it necessary to have fires in the bedrooms just yet; but wee Jean, cuddled up in Hollyhock's arms, purred into Hollyhock's face, and presently lay contentedly down just under the eider-down.

It did not take her long to fall into a deep sleep, and, this done, Hollyhock placed the saucer brimfull of cream also under the eider-down, but she slightly raised the latter by means of a little pile of Lady Leucha's favourite books. When the cat awoke she would drink her cream, and then sleep on until she was disturbed.

Hollyhock was rejoiced to find that Lady Leucha's room was close to her own; in fact, it was next door. She could, therefore, be on the qui vive, and meant to be.

The 'conspiracy' had begun, and she had no idea of shifting any blame from her own shoulders. She wished to punish Leucha, and punish her she would. Yes, the 'conspiracy' had begun.

She went softly downstairs, followed by a trail of tittering girls, who hardly knew how to restrain themselves.

'Whist, can't you? Whist!' said Hollyhock. 'Do you want to spoil the whole thing by unseemly mirth? Now, then, mum's the word. Wee Jeanie shall sleep in my room to-night; but I somehow fancy that I have shown Leuchy who means to be head of the school.'

CHAPTER XV.

CREAM.

The kitchen cat was a very gentle beastie, except in the matter of killing birds and mice. She had the usual fascination of her species where these small victims were concerned; and she enjoyed life in the way cats do, eating when hungry, and sleeping the rest of her days. She slept now with the greatest comfort under the silken eider-down quilt. She rejoiced in the welcome warmth and purred softly to herself, not even troubling to regard the saucer of cream until she had had her snooze. By-and-by she would attack her cream, being partial to that beverage; but for the present she would slumber on, a creature without care, without fear; a gentle, admirable kitchen cat. She brought up her families when they arrived with all a mother's rectitude and propriety, and when they were old enough to leave her, got rid of them as quickly as possible—which means that she took no further notice of them. She regarded them no longer as hers; they were cats, and she preferred them out of the way. At the present time she had just reared and got rid of a large family, and was in that luxurious state of bliss when the good things of life appealed to her. Her purring went on for some time, then ceased, being followed by deep slumber.

Meanwhile Hollyhock and her chosen companions were amusing themselves in various ways downstairs. Supper would be to the minute at a quarter to nine. Supper was a very simple meal, a stand-up affair, consisting in winter of hot bread-and-milk, in summer of cold milk and biscuits.

The Lady Leucha thought her supper a very poor affair, but she was too cold, after her vain attempts to light the fire in the Summer Parlour, to resist the steaming-hot, delicious milk. She took it standing up not far from Hollyhock. She resolved in her own mind to take no notice whatever of Hollyhock. Jacko was to the Lady Leucha as one who did not exist, but in her busy, vain little brain she was forming schemes for the undoing of this impertinent Scots lass.

Lady Leucha was not specially clever, but she was what might be called 'cute,' and although during her first week at school she had had no special desire to push herself forward in any way whatsoever, yet now that Hollyhock—or, rather, Jack—had come, she was fully determined to crush her, if not by guile, then by other means. She, a young lady of distinction, could not stand such impudence; she, the daughter of the Earl of Crossways, would not be bullied by a mere nobody like Jacko. But, unfortunately for herself, Leucha was not nearly so clever in forming plans for the destruction of her enemy as was the dark-eyed, flashing Hollyhock, who would dare and dare again until she showed by her ways and devices that she was invincible.

'Come, girls, it is time for you to take your supper and be off to bed,' said Miss Kent, who observed that Leucha was seated close to the fire in the great sitting-room, shivering not a little, and that Hollyhock, with glowing cheeks and sparkling eyes, had established herself at the far end of the large room, and was relating bogy tales with great rapidity to her ever-increasing host of adorers. One by one fresh girls crept up to join this group, and one by one, whatever their nationality, they were heartily welcomed by Hollyhock, who called out in her clear, sweet voice—for very clear and sweet it could be—'Lassies, make room for the stranger. Be you English or Scots, my lady dear, you are welcome to join my circle.'

Thus the circle began to grow very large, and the hushed, dramatic voice of the narrator caused her listeners to hold their breath, until occasionally they burst into fits of hearty laughter. But the hour had come. The bowls of bread-and-milk smoked on the sideboard, and all the girls hurried to begin and finish their food. After supper they went to say good-night to Mrs Macintyre, who prayed God to bless them and give them all 'a good and peaceful night.' Then, accompanied by Miss Kent, whose office it was to see them to their rooms, they went upstairs.

Leucha had slightly recovered her spirits, but not absolutely. As a matter of fact, she was wild with jealousy. She had sat by the fire with Dorothy and Barbara Fraser and Daisy Watson, but all the other girls had gone over to the large circle, where the voice was so mysterious and the eyes of the speaker so bright. In their heart of hearts, the daughters of the Marquis of Killin were keenly anxious to leave their dull friend Leucha, and join the merry, excited group at the other end of the room. This, however, they dared not do, for their mother would not have wished them to desert Leucha.

'Well, I'm glad this day is over,' exclaimed that young lady, as she reached her bedroom. 'I shall be glad to get between the sheets and forget that horrid, noisy Jack.'

'Ah, will you just?' thought Hollyhock, who overheard the word as she turned into her own snug apartment. Her heart was beating hard and fast. She was waiting for the dénouement.

Lady Barbara and Lady Dorothy Fraser bade Leucha good-night, and went much farther along the corridor.

Leucha entered her room and turned on the light. The moment she did this she began to sniff. What queer noise was this in the room? Was there a clock anywhere, and had it gone wrong? She looked around her and sniffed again.

Hollyhock, prepared for all events, kept her door a little ajar, and wee Jean, being slightly, very slightly, disturbed by the noise in the room and the light which penetrated faintly under her eider-down quilt, purred in a louder and more satisfied manner than ever. She thought she might rise a trifle and begin to lap her cream.

'What can be the matter?' said Lady Leucha. This sharp and angry tone slightly startled the kitchen cat, who raised herself slowly, making a great heave as she did so of her own body and of the eiderdown. The cream was close to her. The cream was sweet and luscious; the cream would suit her to perfection.

Lap, lap, lap, went her little tongue. In a fury—a blind fury—Leucha rushed to her bed, tore aside the eider-down, and tried to catch the wicked cat in order to fling her out of the window; but Hollyhock stood in the room.

'Don't,' she said. 'Poor beastie! I put her there for fun—for a bit of a lark. I'll take her now. Don't you touch my cat, or I 'll be at you. I 'm sorry she has spilt the cream, but it hasn't had time to get through to the blankets.—Here, come along, my pretty dear; come, my angel Jean; you shall sleep along with your own mistress.—See, Leuchy, the cream hasn't had time to get to the blankets, and it hasn't touched the eider-down. I'll just whip off this white covering. Now you see for yourself that you mustn't meddle with me. Best not. I 'm all fire, I am; I 'm all glow, I am; I 'm all spirit, I am. There 's no harm done, but would you like to hold the little cat while I remove the sheet? Then you 'll be as tidy as possible, and you 'd best get to bed, Leuchy. I 'll undress you after I have settled my cat. Here, hold the small thing for a minute while I straighten things up.'

But Leucha, who at first was speechless with horror, now raised her voice to a mighty roar of indignation.

'How dare you? How dare you? You wicked, ugly little girl! I can't abide the sight of you! And to put a cat in my bed—a cat and cream, forsooth! You don't get out of this scrape so easily as you think, Miss Jack. I 'm going down this minute to speak to Mrs Macintyre.'

'All right,' said Holly. 'I think you might do worse. I was willing to be friends with you, but you wouldn't have it, so now I 'm t' other way round, and I 'm thinking that I 'll carry most of the lassies with me. But go, Leuchy. I meant to vex you, and I 'm not denying it. I would have been different, but your haughty spirit forbade it; so now I 'm your chosen enemy, and you 'll have to fight me along with those in the school who like me better than you.'

But Leucha's fury had risen to its height. She dashed up to Hollyhock and gave her a resounding smack on her right cheek. Hollyhock was holding the cat, who, in the struggle, gave Leucha a savage scratch on the hand, that lily-white hand of which she was so proud. It was a great scratch going right across the back of the hand. In a moment Leucha had fled from the room to seek Mrs Macintyre. Hollyhock flew into her own chamber, put wee Jean carefully and tenderly into the basket in which she had brought her from The Garden, stroked her for a minute to cause her to purr again, cut a hole or two in the lid of the basket to give the poor beast air, and then shoved cat and basket under her bed.

Instantly she returned to Leucha's room, took off the injured white covering, shoved it into the soiled clothes-basket, turned down the sheets, made the room look perfectly nice and tidy, removed the saucer, which she carried into her own room and hid, also under the bed.

She then sat and waited for events. They were not long in coming. Leucha's anger was something prodigious. She forgot all about the really frightful smack she had given Hollyhock on her rosy cheek. She thought of nothing but her own indignities—the indignities committed against an earl's daughter by a common Scots girl.

She found Mrs Macintyre in her study. The good lady looked up in amazement when the girl burst in.

'My dear Leucha, whatever is the matter? Why are you not in bed?'

'In bed, Mrs Macintyre! Is it likely that I should be in bed when a nasty, mean Scotch girl puts a horrid, common cat into it, and also a great saucer of cream, which the cat spilt, injuring my favourite edition of the works of Charles Dickens, which was given me by my father on my last birthday? Will you kindly, Mrs Macintyre, expel that girl in the morning?'

'Oh, my dear, I suppose you are alluding to Hollyhock?'

'I 'm not; I 'm alluding to ugly Jack Lennox, beneath me in station, beneath me in manners, beneath me in everything!'

'Well, as to that,' said Mrs Macintyre, 'I'm sorry you are annoyed, Leucha, but another girl would take the matter as a good joke, and win the friendship of Hollyhock by overlooking the whole affair.'

'I'm not that sort. I'm the daughter of the Earl of Crossways, and she—she is nothing but a mischievous cad. She 'll ruin your school, of course, Mrs Macintyre.'

'I don't think so, my dear. I'm delighted to have her. As she has annoyed you, and you wish it, I must punish her, of course; but whatever I do, I shall destroy neither her beauty nor her high rank.'

'Her high rank, forsooth! What next?'

'Yes; her father is the Honourable George Lennox, whose wife was a Cameron, a near relative of the Duke of Ardshiel. I don't think there is much difference between you in blood, Leucha, except the other way round. We think a great deal indeed of the Duke in our region.'

Leucha felt slightly stunned and more angry than ever. She knew well, too well, that the Earl of Crossways was only the second earl of his house, and that she had better not talk quite so loudly about her grand lineage.

'Do you wish me to punish Hollyhock?' said Mrs Macintyre, fixing her grave, gentle eyes on the angry girl's face.

'Yes, of course I do—of course I do. Look at my hand!'

'Oh, the poor cat has scratched it. I 'm sorry. I shall send Miss Kent to you presently with a little cold cream to rub on it. You had better keep it bandaged to-night, and it will be quite well to-morrow. You must have frightened the cat or she would not have treated you like that.'

Leucha said nothing. She did not mention the fact that she had smacked the cat's mistress.

'I wish that young person, whatever her rank, to be punished,' she said.

'Very well, my dear Leucha, come with me at once. I have now got to hear her side of the story.'

'But surely you believe me?'

'In a school like this, Leucha, I like to hear both sides. Whatever happens among my girls, I must be impartial. Now come, for it is getting late, and I myself must retire.'

They went first of all into Leucha's room, which looked perfectly snug and comfortable, all trace of the cat having been removed.

'I see nothing wrong here,' said Mrs Macintyre.

'She is too cute; she has hidden everything,' said Leucha.

'Well, we 'll go to her room. Her room is next to yours. I thought, being contrasts, you would be such friends.'

Leucha shrugged her shoulders contemptuously, then waited with a furiously beating heart while Mrs Macintyre knocked at Holly's door.

'May I come in, my dear child?' she said gently.

'Yes.' Hollyhock flew to the door and flung it open. 'Yes, please do, dear Mrs Macintyre. I know I am a bold, bad girl.—Come in, Leuchy; I don't mind you a bit.'

'But how swollen your cheek is, my child!' said the head-mistress.

'Oh, that's less than nothing. Poor little Jean is sleeping under my bed, and if we talk too loud we may disturb her. I did it for mischief. I 'm not going to deny it. I wanted to be friends with Leuchy, but she would not have it; so then the soul of mischief got into me, and I ran home to The Garden and fetched the cat, and put her into Leuchy's bed. Oh! I know it was wrong of me. I 'm a bad Scots lassie. But I love you, and I love the school, if only Leuchy there would be friendly.'

'Which I have no intention of being,' said Leucha. 'You see for yourself, Mrs Macintyre, she denies nothing. She ran away without leave to fetch that odious cat and put it in my bed.'

'How did her cheek get so swollen?' said Mrs Macintyre.

'Ah, well, we won't talk of that,' said Hollyhock. 'Girls that dare must also endure. I 'm sorry Leuchy was so vexed and wouldn't make it up.'

'You are going to punish her, Mrs Macintyre,' said Leucha, 'are you not?'

'Yes, Leucha; but I 'm going to punish you too.— Hollyhock, my darling, you did wrong, and this your first day at school, too. The punishment I am going to give you I 'm afraid you will feel. You may take the kitchen cat back yourself to The Garden in the morning. You had better start early, so as to be here again in time for breakfast, and then you can tell your father that you will not return with your sisters to The Garden on Saturday. I am sorry, my love; but order must be maintained in the school. As to Leucha here, the story of the cat will, I am sure, be known all over the school immediately; and Leucha, when she shows her wounded hand, will have to explain how she got it—by slapping you so violently on the cheek, thus rousing the temper of the faithful cat. I shall insist on her publicly telling what I know she did. Now, both girls, take your punishments like gentlewomen and don't make a fuss. Good-night, good-night! I 'll send Miss Kent to put a lotion on your cheek, Hollyhock, and to bind up your hand, Leucha. Good-night! After prayers to-morrow the story of the cat will be told, with, alas! Leucha's sad lack of forgiveness.'

CHAPTER XVI.

THE GIRL WITH THE WAYWARD HEART.

Hollyhock was a child who, with all her wildness, her insubordination, her many faults, bore no malice. She did not know the meaning of malice. The open look on her bonnie face alone proclaimed this fact. She was really sorry for Leucha, and did not give her own swollen cheek a serious thought. Of course it pained her, for Leucha had very hard, bony little hands, and she struck, in her fury, with great violence. But Hollyhock, as she termed it, would be but a poor thing if she couldn't bear a scrap of pain. Nothing would induce her to grumble, and although she bitterly regretted the punishment which lay before her of not going home on Saturday, she would take it, as she expressed it, 'like a woman of sense.'

Accordingly she got up early on the following morning, released poor Jean, and carried her back to The Garden. There she put her into the astonished arms of the old housekeeper, who said, 'Whatever ails ye, lassie; and where did you find the cat?'

'Here she is, and don't ask me any questions about her. Here she is, safe and sound. She has been feeding on the richest cream, and if you put her cosy by the fire, she 'll sleep off the effects. Is my Daddy Dumps in, Mrs Duncan?'

'Yes, my lassie; he 's at his breakfast.'

'Well, I'm glad of that,' said Hollyhock. 'I have got to speak to him for a minute, but I won't keep him long.'

'Richt ye are, my dear; but whatever swelled your bonnie cheek like that?'

'Well,' said Hollyhock, 'it wasn't me, and it wasn't the cat; so don't ask questions, for they won't be answered. I can't stop here. I must go at once to Daddy Dumps. I have been a bad, wicked girl, and my swollen cheek has been sent to me as a punishment.'

'Whoever dare'—— began the old retainer, who in her heart of hearts adored Hollyhock as the most precious of all the Garden Flowers. But Hollyhock had left her.

The cat was already asleep in her basket by the fire. George Lennox was enjoying his excellent breakfast, and was busily planning out his day. Lord Ian's work was remarkably heavy, and he missed his dear Flowers. He was startled, therefore, when Hollyhock dashed into the room.

'Daddy Dumps,' she exclaimed, 'do not be frightened now, and don't pass remarks on my swollen cheek. It was sent me as a punishment, and I 'm not going to say to any one how I got it; but I 've come here, my own Dumpy Dad, to tell you, darling, that your Hollyhock will not return on Saturday with the four other Flower Girls. It's right, and I 'm content. Good-bye, daddy; good-bye. I 'm struggling at that school, and in a fight you often get a scar. When didn't the Camerons get a scar, and weren't they proud of it, the bonnie men?'

Before Mr Lennox could utter a word Hollyhock had rushed out of the room, scarcely daring to speak any further or even to kiss her father, for, with all her bravery, tears were very near her black eyes.

She reached the big school in time for breakfast, where her swollen cheek caused her adorers to look at her with amazed distress and compassion, and Leucha and Daisy Watson to chuckle inwardly, whereas the Fraser girls were as sorry for Hollyhock as they could be.

Prayers followed breakfast; and then Leucha, by Mrs Macintyre's command, had to discharge her painful task. She loathed the thing unspeakably; but Mrs Macintyre had no idea of letting her off.

'Come, Leucha,' she said, 'you have got something to say to your companions. You are wearing a rag on your hand. Take it off.'

'It hurts,' said Leucha, meaning her hand, for she clung to the rag as a sort of flag of protection.

'Take the rag off, and we 'll see for ourselves how much it hurts,' said Mrs Macintyre.

The girls and teachers all stood wondering by. The only one who felt sorry was Hollyhock. The rag was removed, and Mrs Macintyre, gazing keenly at the scratch, said in a disdainful voice, 'I never heard such a fuss about nothing at all. Now, then, you will have the goodness to tell the school in as few words as possible how you got that scratch on your hand, and how Hollyhock got her poor face so swollen.'

'It was the cat,' muttered Leucha.

'The cat! What cat?' echoed from end to end of the long room.

'Leucha, hold your head up and tell your story. If you don't tell it at once, without any more shirking, I shall have you locked up for the day in your room.'

So Leucha, dreading this beyond anything—for a day in her room at the present moment might mean anything—was forced to tell the story of the previous night's adventure. She did tell it with all the venom of which she was capable. She told it with her pale-blue eyes gleaming spitefully. She was forced to go to the very bottom of the affair.

'It was a silly trick, girls,' said Mrs Macintyre when the tale had come to an end, 'and Hollyhock suffered, because the daughter of the Earl of Crossways very nearly broke her jaw. Well, I 'm here to do my duty. Leucha has had to explain. Another girl would have taken what occurred simply as a joke and made nothing of it; but I grieve to say that such is not Leucha Villiers's way; and as Hollyhock did do wrong, and as Leucha particularly wishes it, I am forced to punish her by not allowing her to go home on Saturday. It seems a pity; but justice is justice, and Hollyhock is the first to think that herself.'

'I am,' replied Hollyhock.

'That's a dear child; and now you will try not to get into further mischief.'

But to this speech of kind Mrs Macintyre's Hollyhock made no answer, for mischief was the breath of life to her, and to live without it was practically to live without air, without food, without consolation. She looked round the large and wondering school, and observed that all eyes, with the exception of one pair, were fixed on her with great compassion.

'Hollyhock,' said Mrs Macintyre, 'is your cheek very painful?'

'It hurts a bit,' said Hollyhock.

'Then I think I must ask Dr Maguire to call round and look at it.'

'Oh, don't, Mrs Macintyre! I deserved it—I did, truly.'

But Mrs Macintyre had her way, and although she set the other girls to their tasks, she provided Hollyhock with an amusing book, and placed her near a great fire until Dr Maguire arrived and examined the much-swollen cheek.

'Why, you have got a nasty blow, Miss Hollyhock,' he said. 'Did you strike yourself against a tree, or something of that sort?'

'No; 'tis nothing,' replied Hollyhock.

'Well, however it happened is your secret; but I can only say that your jaw was very nearly broken. It isn't broken, however, and I 'll get a soothing liniment, which you are to keep on constantly during the day. I suppose I mustn't inquire how this occurred?'

'Best not,' said Mrs Macintyre; 'only get the dear child well.'

'I won't be long over that job, with one like Miss Hollyhock.'

So Hollyhock was petted very much all day; excused, by the doctor's express orders, from all lessons; and sat cosily by the fire, enjoying her new and very exciting story. By evening, however, the swelling had gone down a great deal, and her mischievous spirit awoke again. The girls, even the daughters of the Marquis of Killin, were positively furious with Leucha, and more than ever took the part of the brilliant, fascinating child, who had already won their hearts.

It was the final straw to Lady Leucha when Barbara and Dorothy Fraser declared boldly that they could not stand such a cruel fuss about nothing.

'If I were to tell our father, the Marquis, I really do not know what he 'd say,' remarked Lady Dorothy.

'Almost to break a girl's jaw just for a mere joke,' added Lady Barbara. 'Well, we intend to be friends with Hollyhock, whether you wish it or not, Leucha.'

So Lady Leucha felt herself to be the most desolate girl in the whole school, the one person who clung to her side being little Daisy Watson, whom she did not like and only put up with.

The next morning Hollyhock was as well as ever, and told her sisters that if Leuchy would make up with her, she was willing to extend the hand of forgiveness.

'You really are noble in your own funny way, Hollyhock,' said Jasmine. She repeated Hollyhock's words to Leucha, taking care to do so when a number of the girls were present. But Lady Leucha, whatever she was, was obstinate. On her father's side she was well-born; but her mother was a cross-grained lady, extremely ambitious and proud of nothing at all, and Lady Leucha took after her mother. She wondered if it was possible for her to get out of this odious school.

She turned her white face, with her small, pale eyes, and fixed them on Jasmine. 'I presume your silly sister wants an answer.'

'She 's not silly,' replied Jasmine; 'but she would like an answer.'

'Well, tell her from me that as far as the North Pole is from the South, so am I from her, and ever will be. There now, what do you think of that? I don't care who hears me. I 'm accustomed to ladies, not to common little Scotch girls who tell lies.'

Jasmine was too gentle, too firm, too really noble to make any response; but as she went out of the room she was followed by a crowd of girls, a few of whom turned round and hissed at Leucha. The hisses were very soft, but, at the same time, very distinct; and this was the final straw in the wretched girl's misery.

As to Hollyhock, she was, greatly owing to Leucha's conduct, now the ruling spirit in the school, not by any means as regards lessons, but as regards what schoolgirls treasure so much, popularity and good-fellowship. Even Barbara and Dorothy Fraser went boldly to her side, and congratulated her on her self-restraint, and even apologised for their cousin's unseemly conduct.

Hollyhock's fine eyes lit up with a great glow. 'I do not care,' she said. 'Poor lassie! I pity her; I do, truly!'

'You are a wonderful girl, Hollyhock,' said Dorothy; 'and may my sister and I join your circle to-night? And will you tell us some bogy tales?'

'I will that,' said Hollyhock.

'And here's a hand, my trusty frien's,
And gie's a hand o' thine.'