With Miss Cartwright's permission Rhoda was allowed frequently to visit Meredith Terrace, where Rodney also was invited to meet her. Dr. and Mrs. Graham were delighted with both the young people, and strongly encouraged the friendship, being indeed anxious to repay the Somervilles for their hospitality to Mildred during the summer. Rodney, who was fond of science, was immensely interested in Dr. Graham's fine microscope, and delighted to help him in the preparation of slides. He became so handy in this respect, and also in connection with one or two other special hobbies of the doctor's, that he was soon at home in the house, and passed many evenings in the study trying chemical or electrical experiments. Dr. Graham was pleased with the young fellow's enthusiasm and scientific taste.
"It renews my youth to work with him," he declared. "He revives old interests and stimulates new ones. He has a decided inventive faculty, and some of his ideas are really very original and clever. We have a little scheme between us now, which, if it turns out well, may be worth patenting. We're as eager about it as two old mediaeval alchemists."
Mildred had sometimes felt the lack of companions of her own age at home, and was glad therefore that her friends received so hearty a welcome. The young people spent many pleasant evenings together at music. Rodney played well, and Rhoda was just beginning to cultivate a very good soprano voice, and to be anxious to try over every fresh song that came in her way. Mildred would often accompany her softly on the violin, so with Rodney at the piano they formed an excellent trio.
About this time Mildred found her powers of composition develop in a manner which surprised even herself. She had always been fond of improvising, but now her ideas took more definite shape, and she was able to produce short pieces, which she wrote down on paper. Her brain was full of haunting melodies, and it became her favourite recreation to weave these together into the form of waltz, polonaise, gavotte, or sonatina. The more rein she gave to her imagination the better it served her; the tunes would come as if by inspiration, and as she grew more accustomed to transcribing them, she could elaborate them at her leisure. She showed a few of them to Professor Hoffmann, and found his advice invaluable in aiding her to put her themes into proper notation. In spite of his evident appreciation of this new phase on the part of his pupil, he still remained the rigid martinet, and would not allow her to spend too much time over her own compositions, urging her to study the works of the great classical masters, and obtain a wider knowledge of general music.
"There are many who can write waltzes and drawing-room songs," he affirmed. "If you have once entered into the mind of Beethoven and Chopin, these will not content you."
Mrs. Graham often congratulated herself at this period that she had sent Mildred to St. Cyprian's. At no other school would it have been possible for her to devote so great a portion of her time to music. Her aunt felt that had she been brought up with private tuition at home, she would have suffered from the lack of the wholesome College interests and the companionship of other girls. She rejoiced that Mildred had been made a monitress, and encouraged her to do all she could for the sake of the school, as she considered the public spirit thus engendered would prevent her from becoming too narrowly engrossed in her one particular line of study.
Mildred did not need any urging to play her part in the life of St. Cyprian's. She thoroughly appreciated being a school officer, and particularly enjoyed the committee meetings.
One afternoon at the end of October the monitresses were gathered in the sanctum for their weekly discussion. It was a particularly jolly little assembly, for they had decided to celebrate it with tea, and had each brought a contribution of some kind. A tempting display of cakes was spread on the table, and a jug of dairy cream completed the feast. It was perhaps hardly orthodox to combine the sitting of a committee with the consumption of raspberry buns, but the girls did not wish to stay too long, so they decided that for once they would discuss their business over the teacups. Laura Kirby was therefore requested both to take the chair and to wield the teapot, and performed the united office with much zeal.
"I'm sure my brains work better when they're lubricated with tea," declared Bess Harrison, tilting back her chair at a comfortable though rather dangerous angle, and accepting the queen-cake which Lottie Lowman offered her. "I wish we could represent it to Miss Cartwright, and have cups sent round during maths. It would make all the difference to one's problems."
"Don't you wish you may get it, my child!" replied Maudie Stearne. "Even pear-drops are tabooed, and I was once sent out of the room for sucking a peppermint. No, it's only at our own functions that we can indulge in luxuries. Yes, I'd like some of Freda's seed-cake, if you'll pass it to me."