“But, Leila, we must not blame Lydia without knowing. How can we but——” She was interrupted by Matilda looking into the room, she drew hastily back, but on Selina calling to her, she advanced a few steps, hesitated, and looking anxiously in Leila’s face for a moment, again left the room. They both observed that her eyes were swoln with weeping, and Selina, now seriously alarmed, said she must go into the drawing-room, and find out if her mamma was aware if any thing was wrong. She thought now she should speak to her mamma, and she would come up into Leila’s room and tell her what she had heard.
Selina had not been in the drawing-room many minutes when the door opened, and Leila darted in, exclaiming, “Oh! Selina, my flowers, my precious flowers! Clara’s flowers are dying.”
They all followed her into her room—every thing seemed in perfect order, and the flower-pot stood exactly where Leila had placed it; but two of the plants seemed withered, and when Mrs. Stanley touched them they fell from her hand on the carpet, they evidently had been broken off and carefully stuck into the earth again.
“Who can have done this?” Mrs. Stanley exclaimed, and her eyes fell upon Selina, who had become very pale. “Selina,” she said, “do you know any thing of this?”
“No, mamma, I do not.”
“But I see you suspect,” Mrs. Stanley said. “Where is Matilda?”
At that moment Amy entered the room, but seeing it occupied was retreating again, when Mrs. Stanley called to her. “Amy,” she said, “come here. Do you know any thing of this? did you overturn that flower-pot?”
“Miss Leila’s favourite flowers! O no, no, I did not. I was not aware it had been overturned.”
Her look of perfect truthfulness it was impossible to doubt.
When the flowers fell to the ground, Leila had hidden her face on her papa’s shoulder, and was struggling with her emotion; she now looked up, and turning to Mrs. Stanley, she said, “Aunt, there is still one plant left, and it must have been an accident. O don’t say any thing more about it.”