"There! I'm all right," said he, just as he had said before. "How stupid I've been!" And he sat up, and looked me in the face, smiling, with such a pleasant look. "You are a good kind creature!" said he. "What makes you so good to me, I wonder? You're exactly like our dear old nurse—only she's three times as old as you are, you know." I wondered if he meant that really; for three times thirty-six would make her a very uncommon age; but I thought perhaps he was joking.
Very soon after that we got to Ermespoint; and Master Bertram jumped out first, in such a hurry that I only wondered he didn't tumble down. He was rushing across the platform, but he stopped short, and came back, to lift down little Bessie. "Here, porter, bring my bag," said he; and then he rushed off again, and I saw a young lady, rather bigger than my Louey, kissing him, and he kissing a lady. I could hear his voice too, saying—"The nicest woman, mother, you ever saw!—and the very jolliest little girl!"—and they all three came across to us, and the lady thanked me so prettily for my "kind care" of "her boy," as she was pleased to call it. And Master Bertram said—"I shall find you all out on the shore by-and-by. Mind you don't go out of reach."
"After lunch," the lady said. "He must rest a little first,"—though nobody could have guessed from his merry face how bad he'd been an hour before.
What we had to do was to make our way down to the beach, and that was easy enough, Ermespoint being but a small place. We soon got to the Parade, where two or three donkeys stood about, and one little goat-carriage. The first thing my husband couldn't resist was to give Rosie and Bessie a ride in the goat-carriage. I did think the shilling might have been better used: and yet it was such a pleasure to them both! I've always been glad since to think our little Bessie had that ride.
My husband and I enjoyed it all.
So for an hour we walked or sat about on the Parade, while the children were driven up and down; and after that we went on the sands. Louey made a collection of sea-weed; and the two youngest hunted for shells; and Miles scrambled about on the low rocks; and my husband and I enjoyed it all—the quiet and the breeze, and the sunshine, and our children's delight, and the tiny waves which kept rolling in and breaking. Not big waves, like those Jervis had talked of; but then, as he said, big waves don't come without a big wind to make them; and that wouldn't have been half so nice for a long day on the shore.
The day didn't seem long; at least the morning did not. It was wonderful how the hours slipped by, and how happy we were! Nobody came near us; and I couldn't help thinking how much nicer such a day was, than to go out from home when everybody goes, and when every place is crowded, so one can't find a quiet corner anywhere.
Between twelve and one we had our dinner, and right glad we were of it. The children were just ravenous. After our meal it was nice to sit quiet for awhile. Jervis told stories to the little ones; and Louey arranged her seaweeds; and Miles kicked his heels about, lying on his back to stare up at the sky. All at once I heard a merry voice close behind, saying—"So here you all are!" and when I got up in a hurry, and turned about, there was Master Kingscote, and two young ladies with him—Miss Ellen Kingscote, who was two years older than Louey, and little Miss Rosamund, who was just the same age as our Bessie, and a sweet little lady too, though to my thinking there never was so pretty a child as my poor little Bessie.
"Isn't she jolly, Ros?" said Master Bertram pointing at Bessie. "And I've told my father and mother all about you," said he to me; "and you're all to come to tea in our house at five o'clock. You'll have the big basement-room." Ah! how little he thought, as he said the words, what way we should have the use of that basement-room! "You'll come; won't you?" said he, with that smile of his, which was like nobody's I'd ever seen before.