She waited until the old servant had closed the door, and then she turned to her girls—
“It is not quite a fortnight since I stood where I now stand, and asked one girl to be honourable and to save her companions. One girl was guilty of sin and would not confess, and for her sake all her companions are now suffering. I am tired of this sort of thing—I am tired of standing in this place and appealing to your honour, which is dead, to your truth, which is nowhere. Girls, you puzzle me—you half break my heart. In this case more than one is guilty. How many of the girls in Lavender House are going to tell me a lie this morning?” There was a very brief pause; then a slight cry, and a girl rose from her seat and walked up the long school-room. “I am the most guilty of all,” said Annie Forest.
“Annie!” said Mrs Willis, in a tone half of pain, half of relief, “have you come to your senses at last?”
“Oh, I’m so glad to be able to speak the truth,” said Annie. “Please punish me very, very hard; I am the most guilty of all.”
“What did you do with this basket?”
“We took it for a picnic—it was my plan, I led the others.”
“Where was your picnic?”
“In the fairies’ field.”
“Ah! At what time?”
“At night—in the middle of the night—the night you went to London.”