“Children, wear anything on earth you like, but in Heaven’s name let me go away now! Only to think that she will be here to-morrow! Why did Miss Stapleton leave us? It is really too terrible.”
“She left,” said Briar, her eyes twinkling, “because we would call her Step, which means step-mother. She was so dreadfully, dreadfully afraid that you might find it out.”
“Oh, children, how incorrigible you are! The poor woman! I’d sooner have married—— I—I never mean to marry anybody.”
“Of course you don’t, Padre. And you may go now, darling,” said Verena. “Go, and be happy, feeling that your daughters will look after you. You are not lonely, are you, darling, with so many of us? Now go and be very happy.”
Eight pairs of lips blew kisses to the departing figure. Mr. Dale shambled off, and disappeared through the open window into his study.
“Poor dear!” said Verena, “he has forgotten our existence already. He only lives when he thinks of Virgil. Most of his time he sleeps, poor angel! It certainly is our bounden duty to keep him away from Aunt Sophia. What a terror she must be! Fancy the situation. Eight nieces all in a state of insurrection, and two more nieces in the nursery ready to insurrect in their turn!”
“Something must be done,” interrupted Pauline. “Nurse is the woman to help us. Forewarned is forearmed. Nurse must put us up to a wrinkle or two.”
“Then let’s go to her at once,” said Verena.
They all started up, and, Verena leading the way, they went through the little paddock to the left of the house, and so into a yard, very old-fashioned and covered with weeds and cobble-stones. There were tumble-down stables and coach-houses, hen-houses, and buildings, useful and otherwise, surrounding the yard; and now in the coach-house, which for many years had sheltered no carriage of any sort, sat nurse busy at work, with two little children playing at her feet.
“Don’t mind the babies at present,” said Verena. “Don’t snatch them up and kiss them, Briar. Patty, keep your hands off. Nurse, we have come.”