Guild Court by MacDonald George;Phillips Michael;

Author:MacDonald, George;Phillips, Michael;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: RosettaBooks
Published: 2018-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

— Thirty-One —

Mattie in the Country

In the sad circumstances in which she found herself, Lucy did not intend to speak to her grandmother about Mrs. Morgenstern’s proposal. But it was brought about very naturally. As she entered the court she met Mattie. The child had been to visit Mr. Spelt, but had found the little nest so oppressive that she had begged to be put down again that she might go to her own room. Mr. Spelt was looking anxiously after her. The child’s face was so pale and sad, and she held her little hand so pitifully to her big head, that Lucy could not help feeling that the first necessity among her duties was to get Mattie away.

After the fresh burst of her grandmother’s grief at sight of her was over, when Mr. Stopper had gone back to the office, and she had fallen into a silent rocking to and fro, Lucy ventured to speak.

“They’re gone home, dear grannie,” she said.

“And I shan’t stay long behind them, my dear,” grannie moaned.

“That’s some comfort, isn’t it, grannie?” said Lucy, for her own heart was heavy, not for the dead, but for the living—heavy for her own troubles, heavy for Thomas, about whom she felt almost despairing.

“Ah! you young people would be glad enough to have the old ones out of the way,” returned Mrs. Boxall, in the petulance of grief. “Have patience, Lucy, have patience, child. It won’t be long, and then you can do as you like.”

“Oh, grannie, grannie!” cried Lucy, bursting into tears. “I do everything I like now. I only wanted to comfort you,” she sobbed. “I thought you would like to go too. I do.”

“You, child!” exclaimed Mrs. Boxall. “Why should you wish to go? You don’t know enough of life to wish for death.” As Lucy went on sobbing, she grew concerned. “What is the matter, my darling?”

Then Lucy went to her and kissed her, and knelt down, and laid her head in the old woman’s lap. Grannie stroked her hair, and spoke to her as if she had been one of her own babies, and, in seeking to comfort her, forgot her own troubles for the moment.

“You’ve been doing too much for other people, Lucy,” she said. “We must think of you now. You must go to the seaside for a while. You shan’t go about giving lessons anymore, my lamb. There is no need for that, for they say all the money will be ours now.”

The old woman wept again at the thought of the source of their coming prosperity.

“I should like to go to the country very much, if you would go too, grannie.”

“No, no, child, I don’t want to go.”

“But I couldn’t leave you, grannie,” objected Lucy.

“Never mind me, my dear. I shall be better alone for a time. And I dare say there will be some business to attend to.”

And so they went on talking, till Lucy told her all about Mrs. Morgenstern’s plan, and how ill poor Mattie looked, and that she would be glad to go away for a little while herself.

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