Fanny again pleaded in her usual way for her young brother, though she could not help confessing to herself that Susan was right.
At dessert Fanny sat next to her grandmamma, but her hurt shoulder was turned away from her and was towards Norman, who saw the black mark and remembering how it must have been caused, was in a great fright all the time he was eating the dish of strawberries his papa gave him, lest some one else would discover it. It might possibly have prevented him from enjoying his dessert as much as he otherwise would have done. Their mamma was sitting opposite, and saw the mark, but thought it was a shadow cast on Fanny’s shoulder, and thus no one said anything on the subject.
Norman congratulated himself when he and Fanny went up to bed, that his violent act had escaped detection. Susan, however, who had undertaken to put him to bed, asked him how he had dared to strike his sister in the way he had done.
“I did not strike her, she held my arms and pinched me too much for that.”
“What do you call throwing a bat at her and hitting her with it, then?” asked Susan.
“If you ask me questions I will strike you, you tiresome thing,” exclaimed Norman, tearing off his clothes as fast as he could, in the hopes of getting Susan quickly out of the room.
“You had better not, young gentleman,” said Susan; “your grandmamma does not allow anybody to be struck in this house, and I should hold you a good deal tighter than your sister did.”
Norman never dared to answer Susan when she spoke in that tone of voice, and so he held his tongue till she had washed him and put him into bed, when his mamma came upstairs to hear him say his prayers. I am afraid that Norman merely uttered the words, for his heart was certainly not right towards God, nor did he even feel sorry for what he had done.
The next day, when Mrs Norton arrived, Norman saw that she had something wrapped up in her shawl. As she unfolded it, there was Miss Lucy, with a high dress, and frill round her neck.
“Oh, thank you! thank you! dear Mrs Norton,” exclaimed Fanny, kissing her, “how very kind of you, and such a pretty dress! She really looks as nice as ever, and I am sure I shall soon forget what a dreadful accident happened to her,” and she cast a forgiving, affectionate look at Norman. He did not return it, but eyed Miss Lucy askance, muttering, “My ball is not mended.”