Part 8 (1/2)

”Nurse,” she exclaimed, perceiving her at the end of the pa.s.sage, whence she had been watching as anxiously as the children for her mistress's return, ”nurse, what is the meaning of it all?”

”Indeed, ma'am,” nurse was beginning, but she was interrupted. ”Come in here, Lucy,” said Captain Desart to his wife, opening the study door, ”come in here before you go upstairs.”

And Mrs. Desart did as he asked, but Floss again managed to creep in too, almost hidden in the folds of her mother's dress.

”I can't believe that Carrots is greedy, or cunning, or obstinate,” said his mother, when she had heard all. ”I cannot think that he understood what he was doing when he took the half-sovereign.”

”But the hiding it,” said Captain Desart, ”the hiding it, and yet to my face persisting that he had never touched nurse's half-sovereign. I can't make the child out.”

”He says he didn't know nurse had any sovereigns,” put in Floss.

”Are you there again, you ubiquitous child?” said her father.

Floss looked rather frightened--such a long word as ubiquitous must surely mean something very naughty; but her father's voice was not angry, so she took courage.

”Does he know what a sovereign means?” said Mrs. Desart. ”Perhaps there is some confusion in his mind which makes him seem obstinate when he isn't so really.”

”He said he knew _I_ had sovereigns,” said Floss, ”and I couldn't think what he meant. Oh, mamma,” she went on suddenly, ”I do believe I know what he was thinking of. It was my kings and queens.”

And before her father or mother could stop her, she had darted off to the nursery. In two minutes she was back again, holding out to her mother a round wooden box--the sort of box one often used to see with picture alphabets for little children, but instead of an alphabet, Floss's box contained a set of round cards, each about the size of the top of a wine-gla.s.s, with the heads of all the English kings and queens, from William the Conqueror down to Victoria!

”'Sovereigns of England,' mamma, you see,” she exclaimed, pointing to the words on the lid, and quite out of breath with hurry and excitement, ”and I very often call them my sovereigns; and of course Carrots didn't understand how there could be a _half_ one of them, nor how nurse could have any.”

”It must be so,” said Mrs. Desart to her husband; ”the poor child really did _not_ understand.”

”But still the taking the money at all, and hiding it?” said Captain Desart. ”I don't see that it would be right not to punish him.”

”He has been punished already--pretty severely for him, I fancy,” said Floss's mother, with a rather sad smile. ”You will leave him to me now, won't you, Frank?” she asked her husband. ”I will go up and see him, and try to make him thoroughly understand. Give me the sovereigns, Floss dear, I'll take them with me.”

Somewhat slowly, Carrots' mother made her way upstairs. She was tired and rather troubled. She did not believe that her poor little boy had really done wrong wilfully, but it seemed difficult to manage well among so many children; she was grieved also, at Maurice's hastiness and want of tender feeling, and she saw, too, how little fitted Carrots was to make his way in this rough-and-ready world.

”How would it be without me! My poor children,” she thought with a sigh.

But a little hand was slipped into hers.

”Mamma, dear, I'm _so_ glad you thought of the sovereigns. I'm _sure_ Carrots didn't mean to be naughty. Mamma dear, though he _is_ so little, Carrots always means to be good; I don't think he could even be frightened into doing anything that he understood was naughty, though he is so easily frightened other ways.”

”My good little Floss, my comforter,” said her mother, patting Floss's hand, and then they together made their way to the dressing-room.

It was almost dark. The key was in the lock, and Mrs. Desart felt for it and turned it. But when she opened the door it was too dark in the room to distinguish anything.

”Carrots,” she said, but there was no answer. ”Where can he be?” she said rather anxiously. ”Floss, run and get a light.”

Floss ran off: she was back again in a minute, for she had met nurse on the stairs with a candle in her hand. But even with the light they could not all at once find Carrots, and though they called to him there was no answer.

”Can he have got out of the window?” Mrs. Desart was beginning to say, when Floss interrupted her.

”Here he is, mamma,” she exclaimed. ”Oh, poor little Carrots! mamma, nursie, do look.”