Margaret thought the stranger embarrassed, and kindly inquired for Lady Walkingham.
"Much the same, thank you," mumbled a voice down in the throat.
A silence, until Margaret tried another question, equally briefly answered; and, after a short interval, the young lady contrived to make her exit, with the same amount of gaucherie as had marked her entrance.
Expressions of surprise at once began, and were so loud, that when Harry entered the room, his inquiry was, "What's the row?"
"Miss Walkingham," said Ethel, "but you won't understand. She seemed half wild! Worse than me!"
"How did you like the pretty improving manners?" asked Harry.
"Manners! she had none," said Flora. "She, highly connected! used to the best society!"
"How do you know what the best society do?" asked Harry.
"The poor thing seemed very shy," said Margaret.
"I don't know about shyness," said Flora.
"She was stifling a laugh all the time, like a rude schoolboy. And I thought papa said she was pretty!"
"Ay? Did you think her so? " asked Harry.
"A great broad red face--and so awkward!" cried Flora indignantly.
"If one could have seen her face, I think she might have been nice- looking," said Margaret. "She had pretty golden curls, and merry blue eyes, rather like Harry's."
"Umph! said Flora; "beauty and manners seemed to me much on a par. This is one of papa's swans, indeed!"
"I can't believe it was Miss Walkingham at all," said Ethel. "It must have been some boy in disguise."
"Dear me!" cried Margaret, starting with the painful timidity of helplessness.
"Do look whether anything is gone. Where's the silver inkstand?"
"You don't think she could put that into her pocket," said Ethel, laughing as she held it up.
"I don't know. Do, Harry, see if the umbrellas are safe in the hall. I wish you would, for now I come to remember, the Walkinghams went at nine this morning. Miss Winter said that she saw the old lady helped into the carriage, as she passed." Margaret's eyes looked quite large and terrified. "She must have been a spy--the whole gang will come at night. I wish Richard was here. Harry, it really is no laughing matter. You had better give notice to the police."
The more Margaret was alarmed, the more Harry laughed. "Never mind, Margaret, I'll take care of you! Here's my dirk. I'll stick all the robbers."
"Harry! Harry! Oh, don't!" cried Margaret, raising herself up in an agony of nervous terror. "Oh, where is papa? Will nobody ring the bell, and send George for the police?"
"Police, police! Thieves! Murder! Robbers! Fire! All hands ahoy!" shouted Harry, his hands making a trumpet over his mouth.
"Harry, how can you?" said Ethel, hastily; "don't you see that Margaret is terribly frightened. Can't you say at once that it was you?"
"You!" and Margaret sank back, as there was a general outcry of laughter and wonder.
"Did you know it, Ethel?" asked Flora severely.
"I only guessed at this moment," said Ethel. "How well you did it, Harry!"
"Well!" said Flora, "I did think her dress very like Margaret's shot silk. I hope you did not do that any harm."
"But how did you manage?" said Ethel. "Where did your bonnet come from?"
"It was a new one of Adams's wife. Mary got it for me. Come in, Polly, they have found it out. Did you not hear her splitting with laughing outside the window? I would not let her come in for fear she should spoil all."
"And I was just going to give her such a scolding for giggling in the garden," said Flora, "and to say we had been as bad as Miss Walkingham. You should not have been so awkward, Harry; you nearly betrayed yourself."
"He had nobody to teach him but Mary," said Ethel.
"Ah! you should have seen me at my ease in Minster Street. No one suspected me there."
"In Minster Street. Oh, Harry, you don't really mean it!"
"I do. That was what I did it for. I was resolved to know what the nameless ones said of the Misses May."
Hasty and eager inquiries broke out from Flora and Ethel.
"Oh, Dr. May was very clever, certainly, very clever. Had I seen the daughters? I said I was going to call there, and they said--"
"What, oh, what, Harry?"
"They said Flora was thought pretty, but--and as to Ethel, now, how do you think you came off, Unready?"
"Tell me. They could not say the same of me, at any rate."
"Quite the reverse! They called Ethel very odd, poor girl."
"I don't mind," said Ethel. "They may say what they please of me; besides that, I believe it is all Harry's own invention."
"Nay, that is a libel on my invention!" exclaimed Harry. "If I had drawn on that, could I not have told you something much droller?"
"And was that really all?" said Flora.
"They said--let me see--that all our noses were too long, and, that as to Flora's being a beauty! when their brothers called her--so droll of them--but Harvey called her a stuck-up duchess. In fact, it was the fashion to make a great deal of those Mays."
"I hope they said something of the sailor brother," said Ethel.
"No; I found if I stayed to hear much more, I should be knocking Ned down, so I thought it time to take leave before he suspected."
All this had passed very quickly, with much laughter, and numerous interjections of amusement, and reprobation, or delight. So excited were the young people, that they did not perceive a step on the gravel, till Dr. May entered by the window, and stood among them. His first exclamation was of consternation. "Margaret, my dear child, what is the matter?"
Only then did her brother and sisters perceive that Margaret was lying back on her cushions, very pale, and panting for breath. She tried to smile and say, "it was nothing," and "she was silly," but the words were faint, from the palpitation of her heart.
"It was Harry's trick," said Flora indignantly, as she flew for the scent-bottle, while her father bent over Margaret. "Harry dressed himself up, and she was frightened."
"Oh, no--no--he did not mean it," gasped Margaret; "don't."
"Harry, I did not think you could be so cowardly and unfeeling!" and Dr. May's look was even more reproachful than his words.
Harry was dismayed at his sister's condition, but the injustice of the wholesale reproach chased away contrition. "I did nothing to frighten any one," he said moodily.
"Now, Harry, you know how you kept on," said Flora, "and when you saw she was frightened--"
"I can have no more of this," said Dr. May, seeing that the discussion was injuring Margaret more and more. "Go away to my study, sir, and wait till I come to you. All of you out of the room. Flora, fetch the sal volatile."
"Let me tell you," whispered Margaret. "Don't be angry with Harry. It was--"
"Not now, not now, my dear. Lie quite still." She obeyed, took the sal volatile, and shut her eyes, while he sat leaning anxiously over, watching her. Presently she opened them, and, looking up, said rather faintly, and trying to smile, "I don't think I can be better till you have heard the rights of it. He did not mean it."
"Boys never do mean it," was the doctor's answer. "I hoped better things of Harry."
"He had no intention--" began Margaret, but she still was unfit to talk, and her father silenced her, by promising to go and hear the boy's own account.
In the hall, he was instantly beset by Ethel and Mary, the former exclaiming, "Papa, you are quite mistaken! It was very foolish of Margaret to be so frightened. He did nothing at all to frighten any one."
Ethel's mode of pleading was unfortunate; the "very foolish of Margaret" were the very words to displease.
"Do not interfere!" said her father sternly. "You only encourage him in his wanton mischief, and no one takes any heed how he torments my poor Margaret."
"Papa," cried Harry, passionately bursting open the study door, "tormenting Margaret was the last thing I would do!"
"That is not the way to speak, Harry. What have you been doing?"