[CHAPTER XV.]
Trouble at Greystone.
FOR once, Gerald had gone too far, as he discovered on the following day, when, for punishment, his governess insisted on keeping him locked up in his bedroom. In vain, he cried and protested against such treatment, Miss Conway was like adamant, and the boy had perforce to endure twenty-four hours of solitary confinement with no one to speak to, no one to play with, and nothing to do. A more salutary mode of punishment could not have been devised; and in consequence, Gerald appeared at the breakfast-table on the morning following his imprisonment, in a subdued and repentant frame of mind. He said he was sorry for his past conduct; but he could not extract a promise from either Miss Conway or Margaret that his father should not be informed of the anxiety and trouble he had caused the whole household.
Margaret had caught a severe cold on the night of the storm, and spent the next few days shivering over the schoolroom fire, too unwell for lessons. Gerald's escapade had been a shock to her; she was overwrought and languid, and when, on the morning of the day that Mr. and Mrs. Fowler were expected home, she began to dress she felt so shaky that she went back to bed again.
"Not up yet, Margaret?" asked Miss Conway's voice outside the door, half-an-hour later.
"No," was the reply. "I am so sorry, but my cold is very bad, and I have such a dreadful headache."
The governess entered the room immediately on hearing this and approached the bed. After kissing Margaret with affectionate concern, she felt her pulse and declared her to be a little feverish.
"Stay where you are, my dear," she said kindly. "Why, you're shivering. Ross shall bring you a hot-water bottle for your feet and light the fire; then, I have no doubt, if you lie in bed and nurse your cold, you will soon be better."
"I am so vexed, because mother and father are coming home to-night," Margaret sighed.
"I daresay you will be well enough to get up by the evening," Miss Conway responded hopefully. "I shall be with Gerald as usual, but I shall tell Ross to devote herself to you. If you want me, do not hesitate to send for me."