Norman Vallery Part 4

f.a.n.n.y could no longer restrain her tears.

"O Norman!" she exclaimed, "it was not from selfishness I did not plant your garden, but I thought you would like to do it yourself, and that you would find pleasure in seeing flowers spring up which you had put in. Indeed, indeed, Norman, you accuse me wrongfully."

"Well, at all events, we are even now," growled out the boy, walking up and down, and it is to be hoped feeling somewhat ashamed of himself, as he surveyed the mischief he had done.

"Granny and mamma will be so angry with him if they see it," thought f.a.n.n.y, "I must try to put it to rights as far as I can," and while Norman stood by with an angry frown on his brow, she began to replace some of the least injured plants. While she was thus employed, Susan came to tell her and her brother that it was time to get ready for dinner, for f.a.n.n.y in her agitation had not even heard the gong sound.

"Why, Miss f.a.n.n.y, what has happened to your garden?" exclaimed Susan.

f.a.n.n.y never told an untruth, but she was very anxious to s.h.i.+eld her brother, for she knew how angry Susan would be with him if she discovered what he had done.

"Pray do not ask me, Susan," she answered, "John promised to put Norman's garden to rights this evening, and I daresay he will do mine at the same time, until after that we had better not look at it."

Susan guessed pretty correctly what had happened, but as f.a.n.n.y had begged her not to ask questions, she refrained for her sake from doing so.

f.a.n.n.y was going up to Norman to lead him towards the house, but he hung back, so Susan took him by the arm.

"Come along, young gentleman," she said in the stern voice she knew how to a.s.sume, "you will require to wash your hands well after your gardening," and she pointed back at the ground he had upturned. "Are you not ashamed of yourself?" she whispered. f.a.n.n.y had run on a little way lest Susan should again ask questions. "If you are not ashamed you ought to be," continued Susan, "your sweet sister is an angel, and I should like you just to ask yourself what you are."

Norman though he threatened Susan behind her back stood in considerable awe of her in her presence, he therefore did not venture to reply, but as he hung somewhat behind her as she led him on, he made faces at her, which he knew she could not see.

Having washed his hands and brushed his hair she conducted him to the dining-room.

"Many a worse boy deserves his dinner more than you do," she whispered, stopping before she took him in. "Eat yours with what appet.i.te you can, but let me advise you to try and be sorry for the ungrateful way you have treated your sister, who has been so kind to you since you came into the house."

Norman s.n.a.t.c.hed his hand away from her, and with a glum countenance entered the dining-room. Walking up to the table he took his seat eyeing f.a.n.n.y, who he suspected, judging by himself, had been telling their grandmamma and mamma what he had done. She, however, had not said a word about the matter. They were merely looking at him, wondering what made his countenance so sullen.

"I hope you have had a happy morning, Norman," said his grandmamma, as she offered him some minced beef.

He made no reply.

"My dear, pray answer your grandmamma," said Mrs Vallery, for she had been directed never to order Norman to do anything.

Still he did not speak.

"My dear child do let me entreat you to make use of your tongue, your grandmamma spoke to you and asked if you had had a happy morning."

"I never am happy, and am not likely to be with no one to try and amuse me," growled out Norman.

"I am sure that your sister wishes to amuse you," observed Mrs Leslie, "and I shall be very glad to read to you, or to tell you stories such as I used to tell f.a.n.n.y, when she was of your age, if you will come and sit by me and listen."

"She is only a girl, and you are an old woman," muttered Norman shovelling the mince meat into his mouth. "I want boys to play with me."

"You will find plenty of boys to play with when you go to school, where I hope your papa will soon send you," observed Mrs Leslie, "but you will find that they do not treat you in the gentle way your sister does, and perhaps you will often wish that you had her again as a playmate."

"We must have another game of battledore and shuttlec.o.c.k on the lawn after dinner," said f.a.n.n.y, "you seem to like that, and on one side it will be pleasant and shady."

Norman finding that f.a.n.n.y had not complained of the way he had treated her garden, became more amiable and agreed to her proposal.

Before going out, however, she persuaded him to sit quiet and listen to a story, which she told him out of one of her picture-books.

The children were playing on the lawn, when Captain Vallery appeared followed by a man carrying a large parcel. Norman went on throwing up the shuttlec.o.c.k, but f.a.n.n.y ran to her papa to welcome him with a kiss.

"I have got something for you both, will you like to come in and see the parcel opened," he said taking it from the man and going into the house.

Hearing his papa's remark Norman followed him and f.a.n.n.y, eager to learn what the parcel contained. Captain Vallery had placed it on a chair.

While he was speaking to his wife and Mrs Leslie, Norman ran up to it, and although he had not even spoken to his papa, began pulling away at the string.

"Ah, he is a zealous little fellow, he wishes to save me trouble,"

observed Captain Vallery, and f.a.n.n.y hoped that such was the motive which prompted Norman, though she wished he had shown greater pleasure at seeing their papa come back.

Mrs Vallery at her husband's request now opened the parcel, which Norman notwithstanding his efforts had been unable to do. Among other articles which he had brought for her and Mrs Leslie, she drew out a long parcel carefully done up in silver paper.

"This I think must be for f.a.n.n.y," she said.

f.a.n.n.y, her countenance beaming with pleasure, carefully unwrapped the parcel, and exhibited a beautiful doll with a wax head and shoulders and wax hands looking exactly, she thought, as if they were real flesh.

"Oh, thank you, papa, thank you," she exclaimed running up and kissing him. "Look granny! look mamma! see what a lovely little girl she is, with such fair soft hair and such blue bright eyes, she must surely be able to see out of them."

Mrs Leslie and her mamma admired the doll, which was indeed a very handsome one, and very superior to poor Nancy.

"There, Norman, you will not be ashamed to walk out with her, I am sure," she said. "But I hope Nancy will not think that she will make me forget her, for I should not like to hurt her feelings. What name shall we give her? for she would not like to be called 'The New Doll,' shall it be Emma or Julia or Lucy? I think Lucy is a very pretty name--shall she be called Lucy, granny? Norman do you like that name? it sounds so soft and so nice for a young lady doll as she is."

Norman had been eyeing the doll with no pleasant feelings; he did not like that his sister should receive a present when he thought that there was none for him.

"You may call her Lucy, or whatever you fancy," he answered gruffly, "boys like me do not care for dolls."

"He is a fine, manly, little fellow," observed Captain Vallery. "I have not forgotten you, though, Norman. Perhaps mamma will find something more to your taste in that large, round parcel," and Mrs Vallery drew out the package at which her husband pointed.

"There, Norman, that is the sort of thing a boy likes," said the Captain, handing it to him.

Norman s.n.a.t.c.hed at it eagerly, and, with the a.s.sistance of his papa, tore off the paper, and found within an enormous football covered with leather, which he could just manage to grasp with his arms.

"There, you will be able to play with that famously on the lawn," said Captain Vallery, "and I must come out and join you. I used to be very fond of football when I was at school, and we must have some fine games together."

Norman, instead of thanking his papa, hugged the football and made towards the door, eager to go out on the lawn and kick it about. At the same time, he looked with a jealous eye at f.a.n.n.y's beautiful doll, which she was fondly caressing. Though he had declared that he did not care for dolls, he could not help thinking it prettier than his own great, brown ball, and, as he had never been taught to restrain any of the evil feelings which rose in his heart, he at once began to be jealous of his sister, because the present she had received was of more value than his.

Still, he thought he should like to have a game with his ball, which, his papa told him, he was to kick from one end of the lawn to the other.

Getting his hat, therefore, he told f.a.n.n.y she must leave her doll, and come and play with him.

f.a.n.n.y, ever anxious to please her brother, though longing to take Miss Lucy upstairs and introduce her to Nancy and to her doll's house, at once consented to go out with him into the garden. Placing her doll, therefore, carefully in her own little chair, and telling her she must sit very patiently and be a good girl till she came back, she put on her hat, which hung up in the hall, and ran out into the garden.

Norman had already put the ball on the gra.s.s, and had begun to kick at it. He kicked and kicked away utterly regardless of his sister, and when she attempted to join him, he told her to wait till he was tired.

"But papa said you were to kick it from one side, and I was to kick it from the other," she observed, "so we ought both to play at the same time."

Norman at last allowed her to kick the ball, and was angry because she sent it away from him, and he had to run after it before he could get another kick. Still, f.a.n.n.y did not remonstrate, and tried to send the ball so that Norman could easily reach it.

At last Captain Vallery came out.