sir jasper had never taken as much notice of joy as of celia, though he had been pleased when the former had learnt his favourite piece of music, and had on several occasions called her into the library and requested her to sit down at the old piano and play to him, which she had done very readily; but after the evening when the puppy had caused such mischief, the old man almost ignored her.
celia was confined to the house much longer than had been anticipated. for several days, as her foot was very painful, she was excused from doing lessons, and lay on a sofa in the sitting-room in the east wing, whilst joy was at work with miss mary. the time hung somewhat heavily on her hands, for she liked none of the books sir jasper recommended for her perusal, so that when saturday came, and her mother brought her the news that lulu tillotson and her father were coming to spend the week-end at the moat house, her spirits, which had been decidedly downcast, rose immediately, and her eyes sparkled with anticipated pleasure.
"joy will have to do her best to entertain lulu now you are unable to get about," mrs. wallis remarked.
"oh, lulu will spend most of her time with me, i expect," celia replied.
but she was mistaken in her surmise. lulu was sincerely sorry to hear of her friend's accident, and was very kind and sympathetic in her manner to the invalid, but she was a selfish young person, and had no idea of passing the pleasant summer hours indoors. she sat down by celia's side for a little while, however, and talked to her whilst joy hovered near.
"how did you manage to fall?" lulu asked.
dropping her voice to a confidential whisper, celia explained exactly how the accident had happened, keeping an anxious watch on her sister as she spoke. she told how the puppy had stolen the novel, and how she had sought in vain to recover it. lulu seemed to find amusement in the story, for she laughed heartily, and declared she could picture the scene.
"what would have happened if your mother or sir jasper had found out you had been reading the book?" she inquired, curiously; "there would have been a great to-do, i suppose?"
"yes," celia assented uneasily. she did not think it necessary to speak of sir jasper's suspicion of her sister, and joy kept silence. "i should have been blamed, and you would have been blamed, and things would have been very disagreeable altogether."
"well, then, i am glad you held your tongue," lulu said, frankly, "for perhaps if it had become known that i had lent 'lady isabella's treachery,' sir jasper might have spoken to father about it, and i should have got into trouble, too. i suppose the book was quite ruined?"
"quite. i'm so sorry."
"oh, it doesn't matter in the least!—it only cost sixpence in the first place, i believe."
"i was vexed i could not finish reading it," celia acknowledged, regretfully. "i never was so interested in a story before. but you'll not tell anyone you lent it to me, will you?"
"not without i'm asked outright, of course. i couldn't tell a story about it."
joy looked at their visitor in silent amazement. lulu rather prided herself on speaking the truth, although she had no scruples about acting a lie. she would prevaricate and deceive, but she would not tell a deliberate falsehood.
"oh, no one is likely to ask you," celia said, with a sigh of relief. "i'm so glad you've come, lulu. i've been so dreadfully dull these last few days."
"i dare say. it's such lovely weather, to be kept indoors. how long has sir jasper had this puppy—wag, didn't you call it?"
"yes, wag," joy responded, joining in the conversation for the first time, her face brightening; "such a jolly little dog he is! an old sporting friend of uncle jasper's sent the puppy as a present about a fortnight ago. uncle jasper didn't want the dog, but he didn't like to send him back, so wag lives in the stable with the horses; he isn't allowed in the house."
"i should like to see him—the pup, i mean," said lulu. "can't we take him for a run in the garden, before tea?"
"oh, yes!" joy cried. she glanced hesitatingly at her sister, and added: "i don't suppose we shall be away long."
"oh, don't mind me," celia replied trying to speak carelessly, but rather hurt at lulu's hurry to leave her. "you'll find me in the dining-room when you come back, for mother is going to help me downstairs to tea."
so lulu and joy went off together. they fetched the puppy from the stable, and bore him away to the rock garden. lulu was fond of animals, and she forgot her fine dress as she played with wag, laughing merrily at his funny ways. at length when both children and dog were tired, they rested on the seat beneath the arbour, where celia had sat reading "lady isabella's treachery," and began to talk.
"what a dear little fellow he is!" lulu exclaimed, referring to the puppy, who lay comfortably on her lap. "aren't you glad sir jasper kept him?"
"oh, yes! celia doesn't like dogs, and wag has found that out somehow, for he generally keeps out of her way."
"i should have liked to have seen her chasing him the other evening," lulu cried with a laugh. "i'll be bound to say she was in a fine rage with him. cannot you picture the scene? it ended unfortunately for her, however. poor celia!"
"she ought never to have borrowed that book from you," joy said, seriously.
"i offered to lend it to her. i enjoyed reading it so much myself that i wanted her to read it too. what are you looking at me so solemnly for?"
"i was wondering how you could enjoy reading it after what you told us your father had said about it."
for a moment lulu seemed taken aback, then she laughed, and replied good-humouredly: "what a wise little owl you look with your big, grave eyes. no one would think you and celia were sisters. do you dictate to her what she ought, and what she ought not to do?"
"no, of course not," joy returned quickly. "celia doesn't often do anything wrong," she continued loyally, "but it was wrong of her to borrow 'lady isabella's treachery' from you, because she had to read it on the sly. it was very deceptive of her."
"and i suppose you think i'm very deceptive too?"
"well—aren't you?"
"i expect you are sometimes," lulu replied, ignoring the other's question.
"oh, i hope not, i try not to be. mother says to act deceptively is as bad as telling deliberate lies, and that's why i feel celia ought not to have borrowed that book from you, for she knew exactly what mother would say about it. with you it is different, you have no mother, and—and—"
joy paused in some confusion, realizing that it was not her place to take her companion to task. lulu regarded her with a steady scrutiny which was rather discomposing as she asked:
"are you very religious, joy? you seem to think so much about whether things are right or wrong. i never trouble my head whether they are or not."
"oh, but you should, lulu! mother says—"
"well, tell me what mrs. wallis says. i want to hear."
"that we ought to live as in god's sight—remembering he sees us, you know!"
lulu made no response for a few minutes. she thoughtfully smoothed the little animal upon her lap, but she was not thinking of the puppy. at last she said:
"no one would imagine to see you sometimes that you could be so serious. why, there's much more real fun in you than in celia!"
joy laughed, for her companion's face was full of perplexity. they remained in the arbour some time longer talking upon various subjects, and when they returned to the house, after having conveyed the puppy to the stable, found tea was ready in the dining-room.
celia hoped lulu meant to spend the evening by her side; but, greatly to her disappointment, as soon as tea was over and all repaired to the drawing-room, joy soon wandered out into the garden, and lulu was not long in following her.
"i am afraid you find it very tedious being kept indoors," mr. tillotson said kindly to celia, noticing her wistful look.
"oh, yes," she assented, "but i hope i shall soon be able to get about again now; my foot is really nearly well, but i must not try it too much."
"celia is not fond of reading, i am sorry to say," mrs. wallis remarked, "so time hangs heavily on her hands."
at that moment a servant knocked at the door, and requested to speak to mrs. wallis, who, accordingly, left the room for a few minutes, and thus lost the conversation which followed.
"better not be fond of reading than have such an insatiable appetite for light literature as some people possess!" sir jasper exclaimed.
"ah, yes!" mr. tillotson agreed. "my little girl, now, used to borrow novels from one of my servants, and i had to interfere, and put a stop to her doing so. incalculable harm, in my opinion, is being done to the rising generation by the trash in the shape of light literature that is being circulated broadcast everywhere."
"i believe that is so," sir jasper responded.
"i found lulu with a novel called—let me see, what was it?" mr. tillotson reflected a moment ere he proceeded: "i remember! 'lady isabella's treachery.' that was it. a novel of the most sensational character! and my little girl was thoroughly enjoying the reading of it. i don't know that i was ever so angry with her before. she had waded half through it, too, and begged me to let her finish it, but i would not. i made her return it at once."
celia's cheeks were perfectly white, and her heart palpitated with alarm, for she fully expected sir jasper would remember the title of the book which wag had torn to pieces; but if he did so, he did not choose to remark upon it, and when mrs. wallis re-entered the room, he changed the conversation into another channel.
celia breathed freely again, and the colour returned to her cheeks. how thankful she was that her mother had not been present to hear all mr. tillotson had said! lulu attached herself to joy for the remainder of the evening, and as there had been a feeling of constraint between the sisters since the night of the elder's accident, joy preferred to keep her distance from the sofa where celia lay. it was the same the next day. after the way of spoilt children, lulu considered her own pleasure, and never thought of studying the wishes of her friend, or even troubled herself to inquire what those wishes might be, so she walked to crumleigh church with mrs. wallis and joy in the morning and evening, whilst celia remained at home disconsolately, and mr. tillotson kept sir jasper company in the library.
in the afternoon celia spent half an hour with lulu, and limped as far as a garden seat on the terrace, but lulu was of far too restless a temperament to be satisfied to remain quiet long, and she soon wandered off, presumably to ascertain what had become of joy, who was somewhere in the rock garden. tears of mortification and disappointment filled celia's blue eyes as she watched lulu's fashionably attired figure disappear from sight; and great was her astonishment when not more than a quarter of an hour later lulu reappeared, and hurried back to her side.
"celia," she cried, her cheeks aflame with excitement, "i've seen sir jasper, and what do you think he has discovered? that it was i who lent you that wretched book there's been so much fuss about! i came upon him in the rock garden. he was quite alone. 'well, young lady,' he said, frowning at me, and looking—oh, you know how sharp his eyes do look!—'so, not content with poisoning your own mind with reading trash, you must recommend it to that silly little niece of mine!' i didn't know what to say, so i held my tongue. i longed to run away, but that would never have done, so i stood staring at him. 'you are a foolish, forward chit,' he said.—yes, celia, that was what he called me!—'but understand, i will have none of your mawkish novels brought into my house. was "lady isabella's treachery" your book?' i didn't answer for a moment, but he asked me again, and then,—what could i say?—i told him the truth. i said it was mine, or rather i had borrowed it from one of the servants at home. he nodded at that, and said he was glad i spoke the truth, that he did not wish to get me into trouble, so he should never mention the subject to me, or to anyone again. i was so relieved to hear that, that i thanked him most gratefully, and left him, as soon as i could, you may depend."
"did he mention my name?" celia asked, in a voice that sounded positively hoarse with anxiety.
"no, but of course he meant you when he spoke of 'that silly, little niece of mine.' he couldn't have meant anyone else."
celia was silent, her busy mind going over the conversation lulu had repeated to her, and she came to the conclusion that sir jasper had referred, not to her, but to joy. she drew a breath of intense relief, never for a moment reflecting upon the injustice of allowing her sister to remain beneath the weight of sir jasper's displeasure, a weight which should rightly have been hers to bear.
"i hope i shall never hear anything of 'lady isabella's treachery' again!" lulu cried. "i am beginning to hate the book as much as i once liked it. i wish heartily i had never lent it to you, celia. i ought not to have done so. i see that now. i felt so mean and small when sir jasper was talking to me."
celia glanced at her friend in surprise, for she had never known her anything but self-complacent before. there was a flush, born of shame, on lulu's face as she recalled sir jasper's looks and words, and for the moment, at any rate, she was really out of conceit with herself. she had been told she was 'a foolish, forward chit,' and almost she was inclined to believe that sir jasper had named her truly, though it filled her with a sense of the keenest humiliation to own it even to herself.
when lulu left the moat house with her father on the following morning, there was no cordiality lacking in her host's words of farewell, but, she was conscious of the opinion he had formed of her, and her manner was wonderfully meek and subdued; so much so, indeed, that her father noticed it, and inquired if anything was wrong. she reassured him upon that point; but she did not tell him of her interview with sir jasper on the preceding afternoon, for that would have entailed the confession that she had set his wishes at defiance, and had not only finished reading "lady isabella's treachery" herself, but had lent it to her friend, and the latter fact she knew it would not be easy for him to forgive.
