Vivian's Lesson

by Elizabeth W. Grierson

Bitterly did he blame himself for leaving the boy alone under the circumstances, although he felt that he could not honestly accuse himself of being harsh or unkind to him, and he remembered gladly the few words which had passed between them at the station, and the promise he had held out to Vivian that, now that he had spoken out and told the truth, his mother and he would stand by him, and help him through the rest.

Up at Eversley bright faces greeted him. The improvement which had set in in Isobel’s condition in the early morning had been maintained, and Sir Antony Jones, who had just paid a second visit, had declared his belief that, if she went on as she was doing, the danger would be over by the following morning. The threatened inflammation had subsided.

‘Of course she will need care for a considerable time, and may have to be kept on her back for a month or two. I suspect a slight injury to the spine. But nothing permanent—nothing permanent. And with a garden like yours, Mrs Osbourne, she could not be better situated.’

And with this favourable verdict, the great man had departed, leaving thankful hearts behind him.

In the face of such relief from pressing anxiety—for there seemed no reason to fear that Isobel would not pass a good night—Dr Armitage shrank from telling his story and bringing another cloud down on the hearts which had gone through so much already.

Even if he had wished to remain silent, however, he could not have done so, for his wife’s loving eyes soon saw that something was amiss, and the whole sad story had to come out. And a startling story it was.

To Mrs Armitage, with her faith in her boys’ truthfulness and high-mindedness, the news of Vivian’s deceit came as a great shock, and for the moment everything else seemed to fade from her mind. His disappearance, his probable danger even, did not seem to touch her as the knowledge of his falseness did.

‘Oh my boy!’ she moaned, ‘my little boy, whom I have prayed for all his life, and tried to lead in the right way! I have seen it all along, his moral cowardice, his love of praise. And it has led to this. And now he has run away because he dare not face his own mother! Oh Jack,’ she cried piteously, turning to her husband, ‘I think I would almost rather he had died when he had that fever so badly three years ago than that you should have to tell me all this terrible story.’

‘Come, come, Margaret,’ said Uncle Walter kindly, for he saw that his sister-in-law scarcely knew what she was saying, ‘this is unlike you. All the strain and anxiety has been too much for you, and now this news on the top of all! It is a bad business, and I don’t wonder that you are surprised and grieved. I know what we would have felt if it had been Ralph. But, after all, the poor little chap is only eleven, and he has owned up like a brick, remember that. This will be a lesson to him that he will remember all his life, and he will make a fine man yet, or my name is not Walter Osbourne. Faith, I doubt if I would have had the courage to have made a clean breast of it myself, as he has done, at his age, after getting so far down in the mud. It shows that he has the right sort of grit in him.

‘But the first thing is to find him, and bring him back, and then let the police know all he has to tell us about the rascal whom he saw in the summer-house. I expect the whole gang will soon be caught once they have his description. And I promise you that Vivian will hear no more than is necessary about the whole business from any one in this house. Of course the police will have to know about the pistol, in order to release Joe; but we can hush it up in some way.