The servants looked at each other after she had gone, and vowed an unspoken vow that they would rather have their tongues cut out than tell on the poor Irish missy.
“Please God, she doesn’t catch it from Mrs. Wyndham,” exclaimed Mrs. Johns. “She’d have a hard and bitter tongue for an innocent child like that.”
“She took me all of a heap,” exclaimed William, “when she jumped on my back. But I do declare, she’s as pretty a little thing as I ever set eyes on.”
Meanwhile the “pretty little thing” in question re-entered by the open window, changed her dirty frock, put on a clean one, and sat demurely in a chair, looking as though she had not stirred an inch since Mrs. Wyndham had left her, when that lady appeared again on the scene. It is true there was a wonderful brightness in the eyes of the culprit, and not a vestige of sorrow on the small, defiant face; but Mrs. Wyndham considered that she had gained a victory.
“Come, Peggy,” she said, “Mr. Wyndham is waiting to speak to you in the study. I will take you to him. Come at once. I hope, Peggy, you are sorry for your naughtiness.”
“Arrah thin, niver a bit,” replied Peggy, looking full up into the good lady’s face.
Mr. Wyndham, poor man, had been given a most vivacious account of Peggy’s iniquities, her conduct at the Andersons’ farm, her dreadful exploit with the bull, the scene which the two girls had come across of Peggy as maid-of-all-work to Mrs. Anderson; and finally, her behaviour at tea, when she had spilt a whole cup down her pretty new frock, and had not expressed a word of contrition.
“To tell the truth,” Mrs. Wyndham finally added, “unless you can manage to make that child conform to our rules, Paul, I really shall be obliged to say that I must go from home for the present, and take my girls with me.”
“Oh it won’t come to that, dear,” replied Wyndham; but he felt a good deal of distress, of pity for the child, and of pity also for his wife and daughters.
“Send her to me. I’ll have a talk with her, and afterwards I will tell you what I think is best to be done,” was his remark.