"i am expecting visitors this afternoon," sir jasper announced at the breakfast-table one saturday morning. "tillotson is coming to see me on business, and i have asked him to stay till monday, and bring his daughter with him. she is an only child," he explained, putting down the letter he had been reading from his lawyer, and addressing mrs. wallis; "she will be a rich woman, some day, for her father's a prosperous man, and more business is transacted in his offices at t— in one day than in the other lawyers' offices in the town in a week."
"is miss tillotson grown up?" mrs. wallis inquired.
"no, she's about the age of celia, i fancy. tillotson has brought her here by my invitation on several occasions. he's devoted to her, and spoils her, i've little doubt. she's not a pretty girl, but i suppose she's what people call stylish." sir jasper gave a little chuckle of amusement as he spoke. "i daresay she'll prove a congenial companion for celia and joy," he concluded.
"what is she called, uncle jasper?" celia asked, much interested.
"her name is lucinda, but her father calls her lulu. she will be your guest, remember children, so try to make her short visit a happy one."
"oh, yes!" the little girls replied, readily.
"is there no mrs. tillotson?" mrs. wallis questioned.
"tillotson is a widower. his wife died soon after the birth of her child. he is a silent, reserved sort of man, but he was as deeply attached to his wife as he is now attached to his daughter, for whom he thinks nothing too good. he simply grants her every wish."
"but that cannot be well for her," mrs. wallis said, beginning to wonder if this spoilt child would prove a very desirable companion for her own daughters.
"no, of course it is not," sir jasper agreed. "i've no doubt she thinks that all the world was made for her; but she'll find out her mistake some day. i've a great respect for tillotson, but he doesn't know how to rear up a girl. miss lulu is practically the mistress of her father's house, although he keeps a housekeeper who is supposed to manage everything."
saturday was a whole holiday for the young people at the moat house. in the afternoon sir jasper generally ordered the carriage, and mrs. wallis and the children went for a long drive; but to-day they remained at home to welcome sir jasper's guests. it was nearly four o'clock when the visitors arrived, and were shown into the drawing-room, where their host was awaiting them with his niece and her two daughters.
"i am very glad to meet you again, mr. tillotson," said mrs. wallis, as she shook hands with the lawyer. "and this is your daughter? i am pleased to make your acquaintance, my dear. these are my little girls—celia and joy."
having shaken hands with sir jasper, who greeted her very cordially, lulu turned her attention to the others. she glanced at mrs. wallis carelessly, but meeting a very kindly smile, gave her a second and more interested look. then her eyes wandered to joy, from joy to celia, upon whom they rested in rather an ill-bred stare, though their owner had evidently no intention of being rude.
lulu tillotson was a tall, slight girl of about fourteen, with a freckled complexion, light, somewhat sandy hair, and pale blue eyes. she was most fashionably dressed in a pink frock much befrilled, and trimmed with expensive lace; her fingers—she had removed her gloves—were laden with rings; and she wore an exceedingly handsome long gold chain, twined around her neck, and fastened to the watch in her waist-band. her manner was self-satisfied and assured; the expression of her face complacent and rather good-humoured. after shaking hands with celia and joy, she seated herself in a chair by mrs. wallis's side, whilst sir jasper immediately bore mr. tillotson off to the library to talk on business matters.
"did you have a pleasant drive from t—?" mrs. wallis asked.
"oh, yes, pleasant enough," lulu answered carelessly; "but father drives so slowly and carefully—he always does, you know—that he allowed several carriages to pass us on the road, the consequence being that we were almost smothered with dust, and that made me cross. i told father i wished i had refused to come, and that the dust was simply ruining my new hat, but he wouldn't drive faster."
mrs. wallis glanced at the hat in question—pink, to match lulu's frock, with a bunch of white ostrich feathers as trimming—and wondered who had purchased it for her, or if it was her own taste.
"would you like to go up to your room my dear," she enquired, "or will you stay where you are and talk to me? tea is at half-past five."
"oh, i'll stay where i am, please."
"then you had better remove your hat. joy will take it upstairs for you, won't you, joy?"
"oh, yes," joy answered, coming forward and receiving the wonderful article of millinery, which lulu handed to her without a word of thanks. she carried it gingerly out of the room, whilst celia drew nearer to the visitor and joined in the conversation.
by the time joy came back her sister and lulu were doing most of the talking, whilst mrs. wallis was listening, a faint smile of amusement upon her lips. lulu had been giving them a graphic description of her music-master at school, and though she had ridiculed his peculiarities, it had not been unkindly done.
"you have miss pring's niece for a governess, don't you?" she said. receiving an affirmative answer she rattled on: "i know old miss pring—father knew her years ago, when she was a rich woman—and i can't bear her. such an interfering old creature she is! father will take me to see her sometimes—i never wish to go!—and to-day he insisted on calling at home vale on his way here, and the very first words miss pring said, when she saw me, were: 'bless the child, she looks like a cockatoo!' i never felt angrier in my life."
there was a general laugh at this, for lulu looked so aggrieved; her listeners guessed, with truth, that miss pring's observation had been directed at the feathers in her hat. celia was the only one who had an answer ready.
"it was very rude of her," she said.
"yes, indeed!" lulu agreed. "she certainly apologised afterwards, and said the remark had been surprised out of her, whatever she may have meant by that. i call her a spiteful old woman! if she can't afford nice clothing herself she shouldn't be envious of others."
"oh, you misjudge her there!" mrs. wallis exclaimed, in accents of gentle reproof. "i am sure miss pring is much too good and kind to be envious, though perhaps she is a little too outspoken, sometimes."
"a great deal too outspoken, i think!" lulu cried, tossing her head, for she still felt very angry.
"yes, indeed," celia assented, earnestly.
lulu regarded celia with growing favour; but she took no notice of joy, and when later she rose to go to her room to prepare for tea, it was the elder sister she asked to accompany her.
"mother, what do you think of her?" joy asked, the minute she and her mother were alone together.
"poor child, she is much to be pitied," was the answer she received in tones of deep compassion.
"oh, mother! why?"
"because she has no one to correct her faults, my dear; no one to tell her what a self-centered little girl she is, so wrapped up in her own affairs and so vain of her dress. i do not like the way she speaks of her father, it is not a respectful way. i am glad she is only going to stay till monday, for i should not care for you to be very friendly with her."
"i am not likely to be that," joy said, soberly, for she could not help feeling a little hurt that lulu had taken no notice of her, though she was not in the least jealous of her sister. "she has scarcely spoken to me yet."
"never mind, my dear."
"oh, mother, i don't mind, or at least, not much," she amended, truthfully; "but she never even said 'thank you' when i carried her hat upstairs for her."
"i noticed that, but i do not think her rudeness was intentional. you must try to judge people by their intentions, my dear, and not by their acts. don't take a dislike to this motherless little girl. i have no doubt she has her good qualities, which we shall discover by-and-by."
joy impulsively threw her arms around mother's neck, and kissed her many times. she was wondering what she herself would have been like if she had had no mother to correct her faults, and guide her all her life. her earliest recollections were of her mother, who had taught her to be courteous to everyone, to study other people's feelings, and who had always set her an example of unselfishness and thoughtfulness, which she earnestly desired to follow, so that her heart softened towards lulu when she remembered that god had denied her a mother's tender care.
meanwhile, lulu and celia had gone upstairs to the large front bedroom which had been prepared for the former. though lulu was only to remain till monday morning, she had brought a second frock, which she drew from her portmanteau with great pride, for it was even finer than the one she wore. she held it up for celia's inspection, and celia went into raptures of admiration as she examined it, and exclaimed on the beauty of its colour—it was palest blue—and its quality.
"yes, it is very nice," lulu allowed complacently, as she laid the garment carefully on the bed. she glanced from it to her companion, clad in her blue serge skirt and cotton blouse, as she asked, "what is your best frock like?"
"it's a grey cashmere," celia answered, flushing under the other's scrutiny. "it's rather pretty, i think, but not to be compared to this!" —and she sighed enviously as she touched lulu's blue gown.
"why doesn't your mother see that you have prettier frocks?" lulu questioned, abruptly.
"we are not rich people," celia responded, with a shade of dignity in her tone, which was quite lost upon lulu, however, who exclaimed,
"not rich people? no, perhaps not, now, but you will be."
"i don't know what you mean," celia cried, alternately paling and flushing with excitement.
"you will be rich people when you get sir jasper amery's money."
"but i don't know that we are going to it."
"well, of course, i don't know it, either; but i expect you will. i heard father say that mrs. wallis is sir jasper's nearest relative."
"does your father think—" celia hesitated, not liking to finish her sentence, but lulu did so for her.
"does father think sir jasper is going to leave you his money? i'm sure i can't tell, and i am sure i should not like to ask him, for he'd be really angry with me if i did. he never talks about the affairs of anyone he's connected with in business. but, you may depend upon it, sir jasper would not have invited you all here if he had not meant to leave you his property. i've heard people at t— talking about it, and they all say that."
celia shook her head doubtfully; and lulu continued,
"i should ask him to give me some new clothes, if i were you. he isn't a bad-natured old fellow."
celia looked slightly aghast at hearing the master of the house spoken of in such a flippant manner. she stood gazing thoughtfully at the blue frock, whilst lulu concluded:
"i shall wear it to church to-morrow; that's why i brought it."
at that moment the tea-bell rang, and they hurried downstairs. lulu linked her arm within celia's, and thus they entered the dining-room together, much to the astonishment of joy, who failed to understand how they could have got on such friendly terms in so short a time.
"lulu has the loveliest dress you can possibly imagine to wear to church to-morrow," celia confided to her sister, when they were going to bed that night.
"has she?" said joy, indifferently.
"joy, don't you wish you and i had handsomer dresses to wear on sundays?" celia inquired, rather aggrievedly.
"no," was the response, somewhat bluntly spoken. "i don't want to be like lulu tillotson. we go to church to worship god, and it doesn't matter to him about our clothes, so why should it matter to us?"
