Christina and the boys

by Amy Le Feuvre

"She looks stunning!" said Puggy. "And we'll write at once and tell Dawn so! Come on, Tina."

"But I must wait and tell Miss Bertha about Susy," said Christina.

Then Miss Bertha slipped out of the room again. She had a few words with her servant Lucy as she wrapped the bonnet in silver paper and put it in one of her drawers.

"I wouldn't hurt their little feelings for the world, Lucy, but I shall pray that next Sunday may be a wet day. It will be the only loophole for me. I would not be so wicked as to wish for the death of any of my distant relatives, but if I could go into mourning for any other cause, how grateful I should be!"

Then she put on her cap again, and went down to Christina, who poured into her ears all she had seen and done in London, and told her of Susy's plight.

Miss Bertha listened with her usual cheery sympathy. She was very interested about the Bollands, and told Christina that years ago a school-friend of hers had married an artist named Bolland.

"I should not wonder a bit if it were the same man. If he will look after Susy, you need not trouble, Childie. Do you see how God guides in every bit of life? If you had gone off to the Zoo that day instead of to see those old people, you would never have heard about Susy. It really seems as if we are to help that child. She is a dear little girl, and Lucy was only saying to me, after she had left the village, that she would so like to have her and train her up as a little servant. Perhaps, if her poor father dies, we may be able to manage that."

"Oh!" cried Christina in a fervour of delight, "How lovely, Miss Bertha! Would you really have her in your house as your little servant? And I could come and see her sometimes. Oh! How I wish it could come true!"

"We must not wish her father to die. What a good thing it is for us that our loving Father arranges our lives for us, otherwise how many mistakes we should make! You will hear soon, I expect, from her."

Two days afterwards Christina did hear. Mr. Bolland wrote to her to tell her that Susy's father had died in hospital; he said he was going to look after Susy till something could be arranged for her. Directly Miss Bertha heard this she determined to go up to London herself and bring Susy back with her, and in correspondence with Mr. Bolland, she discovered that his wife was indeed her old school-friend. They insisted that she should stay with them for a few days, and Miss Bertha thankfully agreed. She did not move about much, and a visit to London was a great event to her. She had a horror of hotels and strange lodgings, so this invitation greatly eased her mind.