"There are here," she said, "about twenty in all. The school contains forty girls, reckoning Christian herself. Christian cannot appear, but I should like the remaining nineteen to come to me. Star Lestrange, my dear, will you fetch the entire school into the hall?"
Star rushed off. Once again Susan looked as though she wished to escape, but to do so she would have had to pass Miss Peacock, and she knew, therefore, that her effort would be useless.
Star was not long in collecting the school, and when they trooped in Miss Peacock remarked:
"Stand round me, my dears; I have something to say."
They collected in a group. Miss Peacock stood at one side of a wide circle.
"My dear girls, you all know how ill Christian Mitford has been. You know that from the brink of the grave she has been restored to us. Had she died, I can scarcely tell you what a fearful blow would have fallen upon us all. Not only should we have lost a dear pupil and a brave, delightful schoolfellow, but there are circumstances attending her illness which would have made her death a very terrible matter to us all; for I wish to tell you now, girls, that there are some in this school who have not acted kindly to Christian Mitford. Her illness has been largely caused by trouble of mind. She came here expecting sisterly affection, but from the very first she was treated with suspicion. There are some—I mention no names as yet—who behaved with cruelty to Christian. Had she died, those girls could scarcely know a happy moment again. My dear pupils, it has doubtless been whispered amongst you that Christian Mitford came to this school surrounded by a little mystery. That is perfectly true. Something happened just before she came to school which delayed her coming for a fortnight. Full particulars of the occurrence were sent to me, and I thought—unwisely, as it turns out—that it would be best not to acquaint the school with what, it appeared to me, did not concern it. As things happened, I was wrong. There are girls now standing before me who discovered this mystery—I do not know how—and who made a handle of it; who blackmailed Christian, a girl who had never before been at school, and made her thoroughly wretched. What they did I am not prepared to say, for a great deal has been concealed from me. But I wish to declare to you all who are now present that the mystery is cleared up. Twenty of you have heard Christian's story, and each of you twenty girls is permitted to tell that story to the girls who were not present to hear Rose Latimer's narrative. I shall have more to say by and by. For the present my wish is that every girl in Penwerne Manor should know the true reason why Christian Mitford was a fortnight late in coming to school."
Miss Peacock hastily made her way through the group of girls. As she passed Susan Marsh she stopped and looked at her.
"You can now prepare your exercise," she said, "and do as you think fit. I think your wings are clipped," she added. "I shall have more to say by and by."
Never before had Miss Peacock looked so dignified, and never before had she said such bitter words as those now addressed to Susan Marsh. She left the room and went straight to her private sitting room. There she rang her bell, and told the servant to ask Miss Jessie Jones to come to her at once.
Jessie appeared within a few minutes. Jessie had not been present in the hall when Rose Latimer told Christian's story. The minute she entered the room, however, she saw by Lavinia Peacock's face that something had happened.