“She’ll be pushing, and aspiring to the best—you’ll see! One can tell by the way she holds her head, and she could stare you out of countenance with those bold black eyes. I shall keep on my guard. You’ll see me take her down if she presumes.”
But Lilian Boyd did not presume. She went to church with her mother on Sunday in a simple white pique frock, and spent the evening on the back porch with Miss Arran, not even going in the parlor for the singing, and on Monday school duties began. The classes received considerable accessions from the day scholars. Lilian had two of the younger classes and she found a real pleasure in the teaching. Then she was in the Latin class and proved herself an excellent scholar.
The evening hour was sometimes rather trying. Some of the girls asked foolish questions just to perplex her. Occasionally she suggested they should ask Miss Davis. The younger ones were quite tractable, though now and then a spirit of fun broke out, set a-foot generally by the larger girls.
CHAPTER III
FOOD FOR CONSIDERATION
Lilian Boyd did not want to cross the line of division that was acutely felt and yet so nicely projected that a faint move on her part would bring about a rebuff. She had the youthful longing for girlish friendships, for little confidences about books they liked, about aims and the future. Some of the pupils were so attractive; and it was because she was the caretaker’s daughter; she saw it when they came in to her mother with any errand, when they passed her in the halls with a supercilious nod.
But then, why need she care? They would go their way presently and she might remain. She knew she had won Mrs. Barrington’s favor. That lady made it a point of her joining the Sunday evening singing and she found that she had a good, flexible voice.
One lovely October afternoon she thought she would walk down to the river whose banks were now a blaze of color. Some one called and she turned. It was Alice Nevins who was sometimes tiresome. The girls were going down in town and one of them had really asked her if she would not like to join them. A gratified light shone in her eyes for a moment. There was something in the other’s face that gave her a quick warning. There was some plot underneath.