Lettice said nothing, but she lifted her eyes to the oval mirror which hung above the mantelpiece, and in her heart she thought, “And I am glad that I am so pretty. If one is pretty, everyone is polite and attentive; and I do like people to be kind, and make a fuss! When we were at the station the other day the people nudged each other and bent out of the windows of the train as I passed. I saw them, though I pretended I didn’t. And I should look far nicer if I had proper clothes. If I could only have had that fur boa, and the feather for my hat! But what does it matter what I wear in this wretched place? There is no one to see me.”
The firelight played on three thoughtful faces as the girls sat in silence, each occupied with her special train of thought. The room looked grey and colourless in the waning light, and the glimpse of wintry landscape seen through the window did not add to the general cheeriness. Hilary shivered, and picking up a log from the corner of the grate dropped it into the fire.
“Well, there is no use repining! We have had our grumble, and we might as well make the best of circumstances. It’s New Year’s Day, so I shall make a resolution to try to like my work. I know I do it well, because I am naturally a good housekeeper; but I ought to take more interest in it. That’s the way the good people do in books, and in the end they dote upon the very things they used to hate. There’s no saying—I may come to adore darning stockings and wending linen before the year is out! At any rate I shall have the satisfaction of having done my best.”
“Well, if you try to like your work, I’ll try to remember mine—that’s a bargain,” said Lettice solemnly. “There always seems to be something I want particularly to do for myself, just when I ought to be at my ‘avocations,’ as Miss Briggs has it. It’s a bad plan, because I have to exert myself to finish in time, and get a scolding into the bargain. So here’s for punctuality and reform!”
Norah held her left hand high in the air, and began checking off the fingers with ostentatious emphasis. “I resolve always to get up in the morning as soon as I am called, and without a single grumble; always to be amiable when annoyed; always to do what other people like, and what I dislike myself; always to be good-tempered with the boys, and smile upon them when they pull my hair and play tricks with my things; always be cheerful, contented, ladylike in deportment, and agreeable in manner. What do you say? Silly! I am not silly at all. If you are going to make resolutions at all, you ought to do it properly. Aim at the sky, and you may reach the top of the tree; aim at the top of the tree, and you will grovel on the ground. You are too modest in your aspirations, and they won’t come to any good; but as for me—with a standard before me of absolute perfection—”
“Who is talking of perfection? And where is the tea, and why are you still in darkness, with none of the lamps lighted? It is five o’clock, and I have been in my study waiting for the bell to ring for the last half-hour. What are you all doing over there by the fire?” cried a masculine voice, and a man’s tall figure stood outlined in the doorway.