Norman Vallery Part 11

"If you ask me questions I will strike you, you tiresome thing,"

exclaimed Norman, tearing off his clothes as fast as he could, in the hopes of getting Susan quickly out of the room.

"You had better not, young gentleman," said Susan; "your grandmamma does not allow anybody to be struck in this house, and I should hold you a good deal tighter than your sister did."

Norman never dared to answer Susan when she spoke in that tone of voice, and so he held his tongue till she had washed him and put him into bed, when his mamma came upstairs to hear him say his prayers. I am afraid that Norman merely uttered the words, for his heart was certainly not right towards G.o.d, nor did he even feel sorry for what he had done.

The next day, when Mrs Norton arrived, Norman saw that she had something wrapped up in her shawl. As she unfolded it, there was Miss Lucy, with a high dress, and frill round her neck.

"Oh, thank you! thank you! dear Mrs Norton," exclaimed f.a.n.n.y, kissing her, "how very kind of you, and such a pretty dress! She really looks as nice as ever, and I am sure I shall soon forget what a dreadful accident happened to her," and she cast a forgiving, affectionate look at Norman. He did not return it, but eyed Miss Lucy askance, muttering, "My ball is not mended."

Mrs Norton did not hear him, and f.a.n.n.y hoped her ears had deceived her.

"My dear, why do you not lean on your left arm, as I have told you,"

said Mrs Norton when f.a.n.n.y was taking her writing lesson.

"My shoulder hurts me," answered f.a.n.n.y, "and, if you will excuse me, I will try and write without doing so."

"There, now, she is going to tell her governess I threw the bat at her,"

thought Norman.

f.a.n.n.y particularly wished to avoid giving any reason why her shoulder hurt her, and when Mrs Norton asked what was the matter with her arm, she replied, that it was nothing very serious, she was sure, and hoped that it would soon be well.

Mrs Norton seeing that she did not wish to talk about it, forebore to question her on the subject.

As soon as her lessons were over, f.a.n.n.y took her doll up to her room, and reintroduced her to Nancy. Norman who had followed her, watched her with an envious eye, as she made the two dolls talk to each other.

After she had played with them for some time, she put Miss Lucy on her bed, and she and Norman went down into the drawing-room.

Norman had not given up his evil intention of putting Miss Lucy out of the way. He forgot all his sweet sister's forbearance, and loving-kindness towards him; and still allowed that terrible feeling of envy to rankle in his heart.

A few days before, Mrs Leslie and her daughter had received an invitation to pay a visit, with the children, to some friends in Scotland. Captain Vallery was unable to accompany them, being detained in London, but he expected shortly to follow. f.a.n.n.y was delighted at the thought of visiting the Highlands, and seeing the beautiful lakes and streams, and mountains, she had heard so much of.

"I don't care for those sort of things," observed Norman, as he heard their plans discussed at dinner.

"Shall we have elephants to ride on, or tiger shooting?" he asked, "that would suit papa and me best."

f.a.n.n.y burst into a fit of merry laughter, at which Norman got very angry.

"Don't you know that there are no elephants or tigers in this part of the world?" inquired f.a.n.n.y. "The only wild animals are deer, and I always think how cruel it is to shoot such beautiful creatures, when I hear of people hunting them."

"Perhaps papa and I will go out and shoot them, only women and girls think shooting cruel," said Norman scornfully.

"A little boy should not speak disrespectfully of the tender feelings of women and girls," observed Mrs Leslie. "f.a.n.n.y is very right when she expresses her sorrow, at hearing of deer being killed merely for sport, though if they were allowed to live in great numbers they would prevent other more useful animals from finding pasture."

"I say it is very good fun, shooting animals of all sorts," exclaimed Norman.

"You should not speak to your grandmamma in that tone," said Mrs Vallery.

Norman always grew angry when rebuked, and muttered something to himself, of which no one took notice.

After dinner f.a.n.n.y remained with her granny and mamma to do some work, while Norman stole out of the room. He stood in the hall for some minutes, and then creeping upstairs, went into f.a.n.n.y's bed-chamber.

There on the bed lay Miss Lucy. Taking her up he silently came downstairs, and made his way by the back door into the garden, hoping that no one observed him.

"I will pay f.a.n.n.y off for laughing at me," he muttered, as he ran quickly, with Lucy in his arms, towards the plot of ground at the farthest end, near f.a.n.n.y's garden which had remained uncultivated. He had left f.a.n.n.y's spade there the day before. Picking it up and hiding the doll in the shrubbery, he began digging away in the soft ground till he had made a large and deep hole. Not caring how much the earth would spoil Miss Lucy's wax face and pretty dress, he placed her in it, and then covered her completely over, smoothing the ground so that, as he thought, no one would discover that he had been digging there.

"Now though my football is spoilt, f.a.n.n.y will never get her doll again, and so we are equal," he muttered to himself, as he went towards the tool-house to leave the spade there.

Just then he caught sight of Trusty running along the path. The dog never came near him if he could help it.

Norman put the spade where he had intended, and returning to the lawn, began playing with his trap and ball. He soon grew tired of being by himself, so going to the drawing-room window, he shouted out--

"f.a.n.n.y I want you to come and play with me."

"You may go out, and try and amuse your little brother," said Mrs Vallery, "he should not be left so much by himself."

f.a.n.n.y, though she wanted to finish her work, without a word of remonstrance, put it aside, and ran out to the lawn.

"Now, f.a.n.n.y, just try and catch the ball if you can, I have got the trap, so I intend to be in first," said Norman striking the trap with his bat.

f.a.n.n.y did as her brother asked her.

For some time, though she might easily often have put him out, wis.h.i.+ng to afford him all the amus.e.m.e.nt in her power, she refrained from doing so. When she proposed stopping, he, in his usual style, ordered her to go on. She did so a few minutes longer, and, as he now managed to hit the ball to a considerable distance, she had to run about a great deal.

At last she began to lose patience, and, rolling the ball against the trap, she told him that he must now give up the bat to her. On this he threw it down, declaring he had played long enough.

"That is not fair," she exclaimed. "You ought to go and look out for me."

He refused to do so, and walked away; while f.a.n.n.y, feeling more angry with him than she had ever before been, went into the house.

"As Norman will not play properly, I must go and amuse myself with Miss Lucy," she thought.

She entered her room; Miss Lucy was not on her bed, where she was certain she had left her. She hunted about, and then went to Susan to ask if she had taken her.

"I have not even been into your room, Miss f.a.n.n.y," answered Susan; "but I suspect, if she has gone, who took her. Just do you go and ask your brother."

f.a.n.n.y ran after Norman, and found him in the path leading to their part of the garden.

"Where is my doll?" she inquired.

"What do I know about your doll?" he exclaimed. He was afraid to say that he had not taken her because he remembered the whipping his papa had given him.

"I am sure you have taken her," exclaimed f.a.n.n.y; "Susan says so, and told me to ask you."

"How did she dare to say that?" cried Norman. "You had better look for your doll, and if you find her you will have her again, and if not, you will not be worse off than I am without my football, which I liked just as much as you do your stupid doll."

"My doll is not stupid," cried f.a.n.n.y; "you tried to make her so by cutting her head off, you naughty, ill-natured boy;" and f.a.n.n.y seized his arm feeling much inclined to box his ears.

"Let me alone," cried Norman. "I am not going to talk about your stupid doll, and stupid she is; and I wish Mrs Norton had not put on her head again. I will tell papa you pinched me, though you do pretend to be so sweet and gentle."