"I am truly sorry, my dear children, that you disregarded your uncle's advice," she said, gently—"sorry for many reasons; but as I am sure you know what they are, I will merely observe that you might have wandered away in so totally wrong a direction as to have made it impossible for your friends to find you until the morning; and if nothing worse had befallen you than heavy colds, that alone might ultimately have proved the death of one or other of you. Besides, you know, my beloved girls, I am not strong—I am far from that—and believe me, it would be no light matter to me to experience the hours of apprehension and anxiety consequent upon your absence under circumstances so distressing."
Although I did not at that moment realize the full meaning of these last words, there was something in the tone and manner in which they were spoken and in the expression of her mild face, a trembling, affectionate earnestness in her voice, which made its way with painful keenness to my heart. Going to her and clasping my arms round her, I warmly and repeatedly kissed her cheek, saying how very, very sorry I felt at having vexed her and dear uncle, hoping they would forgive me and Lotty, and promising—with an inward determination which it was always afterward my constant prayer to be assisted in keeping—that nothing should make me ever again willingly do the smallest thing likely to distress them. Charlotte, who was seated at the tea-table (she and I made tea alternate evenings), rose at this instant, and coming to aunt's side, knelt down, and resting her hands on her lap, exclaimed with great seeming honesty, "I'll tell you all about it, auntie. I am a better hand at graphic description than Mechie is."
Charlotte was well aware that the view taken of the case, as regarded herself, would depend for its light entirely upon her keeping the account under her own direction. It was not that she had the least intention of asserting a wilful falsehood or purposely misrepresenting her conduct, but knowing she had been more in fault than I had, conceived there would be no harm done in just suppressing some parts wherein she figured alone, and carelessly throwing all the circumstances of the case into one line of action, in which we appeared to be mutually in fault, so as to secure herself from the blame of greater disobedience than I had shown.
Aunt Rossiter laid her hand kindly on Charlotte's head, and looking affectionately into her fair, handsome upturned face, said: "We will postpone the account, dear child, till after tea. It is late already, and we must not keep your uncle waiting any longer."
During tea we had an animated discussion as to the strange animal we saw under the bush, Aunt Rossiter being of opinion that it was a sick deer wandered away from the herd, as is their wont when wounded or otherwise injured, and Uncle Rossiter that it was a cottager's dog lying there to be quiet. Tigers, he said, had never been known to make their appearance so low down the country, nor any other savage beasts, with the exception of monkeys, which were sometimes violent and dangerous.
After tea uncle strolled out on the balcony. The rich Southern moonlight gave a yet wilder look to the long range of Table Mountains on the one side and the boundless flats on the other, bringing out in dazzling relief against the dark surrounding foliage the patches of white sand gleaming and glittering here and there like molten silver. And now Aunt Rossiter expressed a wish that each of us would give her a narration of our evening's adventure—that is, sharing it between us, one commencing and the other finishing. "And," she added, hastily, seeing a look of alertness in Lotty's face, bespeaking an eagerness to be the first to begin, "Lotty being, as she says, the most skilful in describing, shall take upon her the concluding portion; that, of course, will be the most sensational." And aunty smiled. "And she can exercise all her eloquence and ability to render it as interesting as possible. Mechie shall give me the more matter-of-fact beginning. Now, Mechie."
I perceived, what I do not think Lotty did, that aunt had other and deeper reasons for wishing to hear this little history of our troubles, and depended upon having a true statement from me. Thus called upon, therefore, I very reluctantly described our stroll in the garden and my enjoyment of its retirement, its shade, its beautiful flowers and wild scenery. I could not with the least truthfulness include Charlotte in a participation of these feelings, for she had made no pretence even of liking it or being at all charmed by the attractions which so pleased me. On the contrary, she unhesitatingly declared the garden to be stupid. With yet greater unwillingness I was obliged to admit Lotty's proposal to extend our walk, and my own objection, on the ground of uncle's advice and the lateness of the hour; and this I told, though truly sorry to tell of my sister's fault, for I dearly loved her. But it was a far more painful feeling to my nature to lie under the imputation of having utterly disregarded the wishes of our kind friends, and of even setting them totally at defiance. Albeit I felt my cheeks flush deeply, and my manner was nervous and my voice low, and I much wished I could have left out this disagreeable portion of my account, but it might not be. Charlotte, who from the style of my character well knew what was coming, sat with disconcerted face and averted looks, gazing out through the large folding windows on the moonlit scene.