'Well, didn't we vow to make Fossil a name in history books? Whoever heard of people on the stage in history books?'

'We needn't be actresses always, though,' Petrova said comfortingly. 'I asked Mr Simpson, and he said because you were a thing from the time you were twelve till you grew up it didn't mean you had to be it always.'

'It's difficult to see how to be in a history book, anyway,' Pauline said, in a worried sort of voice. 'It's mostly Kings and Queens who are. People like Princess Elizabeth will be; but not us whatever we did - at least, it will be difficult.'

'There's Joan of Arc' Petrova tried to remember a few more names. 'I know there were a lot, but I didn't get as far as a whole reign, I was only doing "Tales from History" when we left Cromwell House. Then I did that little bit about Alfred the Great with Garnie; and Doctor Jakes hasn't given me a history lesson yet. But there were lots. I know there were. We'll ask Doctor Jakes to tell us about them.'

Sylvia leant over from the seat behind.

'Look, darlings, here is a shilling. I want you all to have cakes for tea to make up for a very hard-working afternoon.'

CHAPTER V.

The Children's Academy of Dancing THE Fossils became some of the busiest children in London. They got up at half past seven and had breakfast at eight. After breakfast they did exercises with Theo for half an hour. At nine they began lessons. Posy did two hours' reading, writing, and kindergarten work with Sylvia, and Pauline and Petrova did three hours with Doctor Jakes and Doctor Smith. They were very interesting lessons, but terribly hard work; for if Doctor Smith was teaching Pauline, Doctor Jakes taught Petrova, and the other way on, and as both doctors had spent their lives coaching people for terribly stiff examinations - though of course they taught quite easy things to the children - they never got the idea out of their minds that a stiff examination was a thing everybody had to pa.s.s some day. There was a little break of ten minutes in the middle of the morning when milk and biscuits were brought in; but after a day or two they were never eaten or drunk. Both doctors had lovely ideas about the sort of things to have in the middle of lessons - a meal they called a beaver. They took turns to get it ready. Sometimes it was chocolate with cream on it, and sometimes Doctor Jakes' ginger drink, and once it was ice-cream soda; and the things to eat were never the same: queer biscuits, little ones from j.a.pan with delicate flowers painted on them in sugar, cakes from Vienna, and specialities of different kinds from all over England. They had their beavers sitting round the fire in either of the doctors' rooms, and they had discussions which were nothing to do with lessons. At twelve o'clock they went for a walk with Nana or Sylvia. They liked it best when Sylvia took them. She had better ideas about walks; she thought the Park the place to go to, and thought it a good idea to take hoops and things to play with. Nana liked a nice clean walk up as far as the Victoria and Albert and back. On wet days Sylvia thought it a good plan to stay in and make toffee or be read out loud to. Nana thought nicely brought-up children ought to be out of the house between twelve and one, even on a wet day, and she took them to see the dolls' houses in the Victoria and Albert. The children liked the dolls' houses; but there are a lot of wet days in the winter, and they saw them a good deal. Pauline and Petrova had lunch with Sylvia, Posy had hers with Nana. After lunch they all had to take a book on their beds for half an hour. In the afternoons there was another walk, this one always with Nana. It lasted an hour, and as they had usually walked to the Victoria and Albert in the morning, they did not have to go there again, but took turns to choose where they went. Pauline liked walking where there were shops. Petrova liked the Earl's Court Road, because there were three motor showrooms for her to look at. Posy liked to go towards the King's Road, Chelsea, because on the way they pa.s.sed a shop that sold puppies. They all liked Posy's walk; but they did not choose it themselves because they knew she would. If Nana was not so sure that they must save the penny and walk they would have gone to much more exciting places; for you can't get far on your legs when there is only an hour, and that includes getting home again. Tea was in the nursery at a quarter to four, and at half past they went by the Piccadilly railway to Russell Square. They all liked going on the underground; but both Gloucester Road, where they got in, and Russell Square, where they got out, were those mean sort of stations that have lifts instead of moving staircases. Fossils became some of the busiest children in London. They got up at half past seven and had breakfast at eight. After breakfast they did exercises with Theo for half an hour. At nine they began lessons. Posy did two hours' reading, writing, and kindergarten work with Sylvia, and Pauline and Petrova did three hours with Doctor Jakes and Doctor Smith. They were very interesting lessons, but terribly hard work; for if Doctor Smith was teaching Pauline, Doctor Jakes taught Petrova, and the other way on, and as both doctors had spent their lives coaching people for terribly stiff examinations - though of course they taught quite easy things to the children - they never got the idea out of their minds that a stiff examination was a thing everybody had to pa.s.s some day. There was a little break of ten minutes in the middle of the morning when milk and biscuits were brought in; but after a day or two they were never eaten or drunk. Both doctors had lovely ideas about the sort of things to have in the middle of lessons - a meal they called a beaver. They took turns to get it ready. Sometimes it was chocolate with cream on it, and sometimes Doctor Jakes' ginger drink, and once it was ice-cream soda; and the things to eat were never the same: queer biscuits, little ones from j.a.pan with delicate flowers painted on them in sugar, cakes from Vienna, and specialities of different kinds from all over England. They had their beavers sitting round the fire in either of the doctors' rooms, and they had discussions which were nothing to do with lessons. At twelve o'clock they went for a walk with Nana or Sylvia. They liked it best when Sylvia took them. She had better ideas about walks; she thought the Park the place to go to, and thought it a good idea to take hoops and things to play with. Nana liked a nice clean walk up as far as the Victoria and Albert and back. On wet days Sylvia thought it a good plan to stay in and make toffee or be read out loud to. Nana thought nicely brought-up children ought to be out of the house between twelve and one, even on a wet day, and she took them to see the dolls' houses in the Victoria and Albert. The children liked the dolls' houses; but there are a lot of wet days in the winter, and they saw them a good deal. Pauline and Petrova had lunch with Sylvia, Posy had hers with Nana. After lunch they all had to take a book on their beds for half an hour. In the afternoons there was another walk, this one always with Nana. It lasted an hour, and as they had usually walked to the Victoria and Albert in the morning, they did not have to go there again, but took turns to choose where they went. Pauline liked walking where there were shops. Petrova liked the Earl's Court Road, because there were three motor showrooms for her to look at. Posy liked to go towards the King's Road, Chelsea, because on the way they pa.s.sed a shop that sold puppies. They all liked Posy's walk; but they did not choose it themselves because they knew she would. If Nana was not so sure that they must save the penny and walk they would have gone to much more exciting places; for you can't get far on your legs when there is only an hour, and that includes getting home again. Tea was in the nursery at a quarter to four, and at half past they went by the Piccadilly railway to Russell Square. They all liked going on the underground; but both Gloucester Road, where they got in, and Russell Square, where they got out, were those mean sort of stations that have lifts instead of moving staircases.

'Going to dancing cla.s.s,' Petrova said almost every day, 'wouldn't be so bad staircase.'

As soon as they got to the Academy they went down to the changing-room. There they shared a locker in which lived their rompers and practice-frocks and shoes. Their rompers were royal blue with C.A. for Children's Academy embroidered on the pockets. They wore their rompers for the first half-hour, and with them white socks and black patent-leather ankle-strapped shoes. In these clothes they did exercises and a little dancing which was known as 'character', also twice a week they worked at tap dancing. At the end of half an hour they hung towels round their necks (for they were supposed to get so hot they would need a wipe down) and went back to the changing-room and put on their white tarlatan practice-frock. These were like overalls with no join down the back; the bodice had hooks and the frills of the skirt wrapped over and clipped. With this they wore white socks and white kid slippers. The work they did in these dresses they found dull, and it made their legs ache. They did not realize that the half-hour spent holding on to a bar and doing what they thought stupid exercises was very early training for ballet. Ballet to them meant wearing blocked shoes like the little pair that had come with Posy or such as the more advanced cla.s.ses Wore at school. Sometimes Madame Fidolia came in to watch their cla.s.s, and directly she arrived they all let go of the practice-bar and curtsied to the floor saying 'Madame'.

They got home at half past six, and Posy went straight to bed. Sylvia read to the other two for twenty minutes, and then Petrova had to go up, and at seven, Pauline. The lights were out by half past and there was no more talking.

On Sat.u.r.day mornings they worked from ten to one at the Academy. As well as special exercise cla.s.ses and the ordinary dancing cla.s.ses, there was singing, and one hour's acting cla.s.s. For these they wore the Academy overalls. They were of black sateen made from a Russian design, with high collars, and double-breasted, b.u.t.toning with large black b.u.t.tons down the left side; round the waist they had wide black leather belts. With these they wore their white sandals.

Petrova, who hated clothes, found the everlasting changing an awful bore. Sat.u.r.days were the worst.

'Oh, I do hate Sat.u.r.days,' she said to Nana. 'I get up in my jersey and skirt, and as soon as I get to the Academy I change everything, even put a vest on instead of my combinations, and wear those rompers; and then my practice-dress and then the overall; and then back into my combinations and my skirt and jersey. I wish I was a savage who wore nothing.'

'That's no way to talk,' Nana told her severely. 'Many a poor little child would be glad of the nice clothes you wear; and as for changing out of your combies, I'm glad you do; you wear holes in them fast enough without all that dancing in them.'

From the very beginning Madame took an interest in Posy. Each cla.s.s that she came to watch she made her do some step alone. Posy had her shoes taken off one day and her instep looked at; Madame was so delighted at the shape and flexibility of her feet that she called the rest of the cla.s.s to look at them. The rest of the cla.s.s admired them while Madame was there, but secretly none of them could see anything about them different from their own. Pauline and Petrova thought it very bad for Posy to be made so conspicuous, and to teach her not to get c.o.c.ky they called her 'Posy-Pretty-Toes' all the way home. Posy hated it, and at last burst into tears. Nana was very cross.

'That's right, you two, tease poor little Posy; she can't help Madame saying she has nice feet. It's jealous, that's what you are. Any more of your nonsense and you'll go to bed half an hour early.'

'Why should we be jealous?' asked Petrova. 'Who cares what feet look like? They are just useful things.'

Pauline giggled.

'Have you pretty feet, Nana?' She looked down at Nana's square-toed black shoes which she always wore.

'I have what G.o.d gave me,' Nana said reverently, 'and they're all I need, never having thoughts to dance in a ballet.'

The thought of Nana, who was very fat, dancing in a ballet made them all laugh so much that they forgot to call Posy 'Pretty-Toes' again, and they were still laughing when they got home.

It was at the acting cla.s.ses that Pauline shone. The acting in their first term was entirely in mime. They acted whole fairy stories without saying a word. Whether she was a princess, or a peasant, or an old man, Pauline managed to make them real without any dressing up, but just in the way she moved.

At singing cla.s.ses none of them shone. They could keep in tune, but that was all - they were in no way distinguished.

Just before Christmas the school broke up for a month. All the senior girls were working in pantomimes, and for some time all those who were not old enough for licences had felt very unimportant. The children's cla.s.ses were moved from one room to another to make room for rehearsals, and the notice-board was covered with rehearsal calls. 'All concerned in the Rose Ballet, in room three at 4.30.' 'The children appearing in "Red Riding Hood", 5.30, room seven.' 'The princ.i.p.als for the Jewel Ballet 4 o'clock, room one.' And, as well, calls for the children stars. 'Poppy: 10.30 with Madame Fidolia.' 'Winifred: 12 o'clock with Madame Fidolia.'

Pauline, Petrova, and Posy would gaze in great awe at these names.

'Winifred,' one of them would say -'that's the girl who wears a fur coat. Poppy is going to be "Alice in Wonderland". She's the one with the long hair.'

They would peep through the gla.s.s on the doors of the rooms where the rehearsals were taking place, and stare at the children who were already twelve and old enough to earn money.

'Not this Christmas, but the one after I shall be one of those children,' Pauline said enviously.

'Do you want to be?' Petrova asked in surprise. 'I'm very glad I'm not twelve, except because of Garnie wanting money to look after us.'

Pauline watched the figures through the gla.s.s, the rows of white practice-dresses, and the rows of pink canvas ballet shoes.

'I don't want to be them, exactly,'she explained, 'but I want to be me old enough not to dance, but to act. I'd like that.'

Posy could not see through the gla.s.s without standing on her toes. Suddenly watching the ballet rehearsal she got up on to her points. She was only wearing her sandals, but she did not seem worried by the position. Pauline nudged Petrova.

'Look at Posy.'

Petrova looked. Then both of them tried to stand up on their toes, but they could not - it hurt. Posy was not looking at them; but she lolled against the door balanced on her points as easily as if they were her flat feet. Petrova said at last: 'Could you walk on your toes like that, Posy?'

Posy looked down at her feet as if surprised at the way they were behaving. Then she walked down the pa.s.sage. She was perfectly easy on her points, as though it was ordinary to walk on them. Pauline and Petrova did not show her how impressed they were, as they thought it would be bad for her. But on the way home Pauline said: 'You know, Petrova, I do think Posy really has got rather nice little feet.'

Petrova nodded.

'I shouldn't wonder if she danced terribly well.'

At the end of the term Sylvia was told that the children would work differently in future. Pauline was to move into a more advanced cla.s.s for everything, and to come to an extra cla.s.s for acting in French on Wednesdays and Fridays. Posy was to give up all acting and singing, and to take fencing in stead, and all her cla.s.ses in future were to be given by Madame herself. Posy was too small to be impressed at the plans for her future; but not only Pauline and Petrova were impressed for her, but the whole Academy. She was the only child since the school had started that Madame had picked out from the baby cla.s.s to come entirely under her supervision.

'Do you know,' Pauline told Nana, 'these afternoons since the school heard about Posy quite big girls come to watch our cla.s.s. The ones who are old enough to have a licence.'

'I daresay. Let's hope it won't turn her head. You've done very well too, Pauline. One of the mothers of a child in your cla.s.s I was talking to told me her little girl had been in that same cla.s.s three terms.'

'That's what I'll be, I expect,' Petrova said gloomily.

Nana was consoling.

'I wouldn't fret, dear; we can't all have the same gifts.'

Petrova was very depressed, though. She did not want to be a good dancer; but since she had to dance at all it was annoying to see someone younger than herself doing so much better; and then Pauline moving up was a blow, as it left her alone in her cla.s.s. Pauline had often helped her with steps at home so that she did not get on too badly; but with Pauline gone she was suspicious that she might be the dunce of the cla.s.s.

It was Christmas when the term ended. The children at once settled down to making paper rings, which, when they were finished, Mr Simpson hung all over the house. On Christmas Eve Mrs Simpson and Sylvia put holly over the pictures, and mistletoe on to the lamp in the hall. The two doctors had secrets going on in their rooms that they would not tell anyone, and n.o.body could go in. Cook and Clara were busy in the kitchen all day long, and told the children they were not to come down. Only Theo was not there. She was away up in Manchester putting final touches to the dances of a group of children from the Academy who were appearing in the pantomime.

Pauline and Petrova were with Sylvia while Posy was going to bed.

'There is a lovely feeling about Christmas Eve,' Pauline said. 'My inside almost hurts being excited; I can't sit still for wishing it was tomorrow.'

Sylvia smiled.

'You deserve a nice Christmas, darlings. You have been such hard-working children all the term; I want you to have lovely holidays.'

'It's a lovely holiday just not having to go to the Academy,' Petrova pointed out.

Sylvia looked worried.

'Do you hate it so?'

Petrova was just going to say how much she loathed it when Pauline kicked her, and she remembered how Theo had told them that they would be able to help by earning money. She flushed.

'No, I don't. It's quite fun really.' She spoke as much as if she meant it as she could.

Sylvia gave a thankful sigh.

'I'm so glad! I wouldn't let any of you do it unless you were happy.'

Nana came to the door.

'Do you know it's nearly seven, Petrova, and your bath getting cold, and a big stocking of mine waiting for you to hang up.'

'Stockings!' Pauline jumped up. 'I shall come to bed now too, Nana, to make it quicker to get to Christmas morning.'

CHAPTER VI.

Petrova has Influenza and Makes a Friend PERHAPS because they had been working so hard, Christmas day seemed the loveliest they had known. Nothing was very different from other Christmases; but somehow it seemed a particularly gay day. Their stockings bulged when they woke, and besides all the usual things in them, there were large white sugar pigs with pink noses and wool tails. When Nana came to tell them to get up, she had three parcels under her arm, and they, of course, had presents for her. Pauline had made her some handkerchiefs, and Petrova a needle-book full of needles, and Posy a blotter of two plaited paper mats stuck on cardboard. Nana had knitted each of them a jumper with fluffy rabbit's wool round the cuffs and collars. Pauline's was blue, Petrova's orange, and Posy's pink. They all put them on for breakfast. On the breakfast table were chocolates for them from Theo; everybody else's presents were waiting for the Christmas tree after tea. They went to church - even Posy - and sang 'Hark, the Herald Angels', 'Oh Come, all Ye Faithful', and 'The First Noel'. They had been afraid that perhaps they would only get one that they knew and the rest some dull tune that was supposed to belong to Christmas and did not really. The turkey and plum pudding and crystallized fruits and things they had for lunch, as Posy was not allowed to sit up to dinner. After lunch Sylvia read to them while they did an enormous jigsaw that she had got especially for Christmas afternoon. Then there was tea, and Cook had made a most remarkable cake with a Father Christmas and reindeer on it, and as well, three large gold stars which she said was what she hoped the children would be. because they had been working so hard, Christmas day seemed the loveliest they had known. Nothing was very different from other Christmases; but somehow it seemed a particularly gay day. Their stockings bulged when they woke, and besides all the usual things in them, there were large white sugar pigs with pink noses and wool tails. When Nana came to tell them to get up, she had three parcels under her arm, and they, of course, had presents for her. Pauline had made her some handkerchiefs, and Petrova a needle-book full of needles, and Posy a blotter of two plaited paper mats stuck on cardboard. Nana had knitted each of them a jumper with fluffy rabbit's wool round the cuffs and collars. Pauline's was blue, Petrova's orange, and Posy's pink. They all put them on for breakfast. On the breakfast table were chocolates for them from Theo; everybody else's presents were waiting for the Christmas tree after tea. They went to church - even Posy - and sang 'Hark, the Herald Angels', 'Oh Come, all Ye Faithful', and 'The First Noel'. They had been afraid that perhaps they would only get one that they knew and the rest some dull tune that was supposed to belong to Christmas and did not really. The turkey and plum pudding and crystallized fruits and things they had for lunch, as Posy was not allowed to sit up to dinner. After lunch Sylvia read to them while they did an enormous jigsaw that she had got especially for Christmas afternoon. Then there was tea, and Cook had made a most remarkable cake with a Father Christmas and reindeer on it, and as well, three large gold stars which she said was what she hoped the children would be.

It was when they went into Doctor Smith's room for the Christmas tree they had the big surprise of the day. Sylvia always had a Christmas tree for them; but this was not like any tree they had seen before. It was the usual fir tree; but every branch was covered with glittering frost, which made the tree look as though it were magic.

'Was that what you were doing when you were both locked in yesterday?' Pauline asked the doctors.

They agreed that it was, and seemed very pleased that everyone thought it so beautiful. Cook said it was as pretty as a picture, and Clara that it put her in mind of something off a Christmas card, and Nana that it was very nice indeed, but she was glad n.o.body was expecting her to stick all that stuff on the branches. Mrs Simpson said that she and Mr Simpson were very lucky that it was so lovely a tree on the Christmas day that they were home, as they didn't have a Christmas tree in Kuala Lumpur. Sylvia told the two doctors if that was how Christmas trees ought to look, they would always have to stay in the house, because she knew she couldn't decorate them like that. The three children thought it so perfectly beautiful that they could not say anything at all, but just walked round and round it admiring.

The Christmas presents were very satisfactory; but everybody else's faded into unimportance beside Sylvia's. She gave them each a jewel-box, and when they were opened they had wrist watches inside. Pauline's on a blue strap, Petrova's on a white, and Posy's on a pink. In the boxes with them was a plain brown strap for ordinary days.

'Garnie! Just to match Gum's necklaces,' Pauline exclaimed, so excited that she could not fasten the strap of hers, and Mrs Simpson had to do it for her.

The children were wearing white organdie dresses with Gum's necklaces and sashes to match them, except Petrova's, which was a scarlet sash. Everybody agreed the watches were just the right finishing touch.

Petrova was as pleased as the others, but a bit worried.

'Weren't they dreadfully expensive, Garnie?' she whispered.

She knew it was the rudest thing you could do to ask the price of a present, but she could not bear to think that Sylvia had made herself poorer than ever buying watches.

Sylvia drew her into a corner.

'I'll tell you a secret. I had a great big gold watch that had been my father's. I couldn't use it, so I sold it and bought those for you. So in a way they didn't cost anything at all.'

After the last present had been opened and the last candle on the tree blown out, they played charades and hide-and-seek all over the house. It was great fun; but everybody suddenly thought about the time. This was the end, and Christmas day was over for another year, which was a miserable feeling. Presently Cook and Clara went away to get dressed for their own Christmas party downstairs, and then Nana took Posy to bed. After that, although they had supper of cold turkey and meringues, the day was terribly finished, and both Pauline and Petrova felt as though they had been balloons, but were now p.r.i.c.ked and had gone flat. Then suddenly a lovely thing happened. A large choir of carol-singers came under the window and sang. They all leant out to hear, and it was like a play. The singers, both men and women, wore masks and coloured capes and hoods, and they carried lanterns. They sang most beautifully 'G.o.d rest you Merry, Gentlemen', and 'The Holly and the Ivy', and 'Sleep, Holy Babe'. Pauline and Petrova took a plate each and collected money for them. Pauline did best, because she went to the kitchen, where the party was, and Petrova went to the nursery where there was only Nana and Posy; but with what the boarders and Sylvia gave them, and their own pennies, they had nearly fifteen shillings. Sylvia made them put on their coats, and Mr Simpson opened the front door for them, and they took the money out. The singers were just finishing the last verse of 'Sleep, Holy Babe'. They waited till they had done, then they gave them the money. They were very pleased, and thought fifteen shillings a wonderful lot to have got; they said the money was all going to a children's hospital. They asked if Pauline and Petrova would like to choose a carol before they went to another street. Pauline thought a moment, and before she had done thinking Petrova said - 'Oh, please, "Like Silver Lamps",' so they sang that one.

That was the end of the day, when the carol was finished, and they had called out 'Thank you. A happy Christmas', for Nana was waiting to take them up to bed. They did not mind the day being over nearly as much as they had before the carol-singers came, because they had made such a lovely finish to it.

The Christmas holidays went terribly fast. They did a lot of nice things; but the nicest of all was going to a pantomime in which all the children dancing in it came from the Academy. They found it very difficult not to whisper every time the children came on because they wanted to point out to each other that: 'The one two from the end is that girl that came on the tube with us...' and 'That one with the black hair in the middle is the one who has a sister in our cla.s.s.' They felt very grand when they got home being able to say to Mr and Mrs Simpson and the two doctors that there were a lot of 'our girls' in the pantomime.

The spring term at the Academy both Pauline and Posy loved, and Petrova hated. Pauline was given two real parts to learn, one as 'Cinderella' in French, a play of the fairy story called 'Cendrillon', and the other as 'Tyltyl' in some scenes from 'The Blue Bird'. In the intermediate dancing cla.s.s, although it was not till the end of the term that she used her points, she wore real ballet shoes. Theo Dane taught this cla.s.s, which made it extra nice.

Posy, after she joined Madame's dancing cla.s.s, seemed to get very grown-up for somebody who would not be seven until September. She said she did not do a great many exercises at her lessons, that a lot of the time Madame told her things. Asked what things, she could only say vaguely, 'Just things'. She was always dancing. Sometimes in the nursery, which did not matter, but sometimes in the road, which Nana did not approve of at all, and once on the tube station, which Pauline and Petrova thought frightful showing off; for Posy was very noticeable, with her red hair, and she already danced rather well for somebody of her age, and people stared.

'You are a show-off, Posy,' Pauline said.

'It's not showing off, it's because I thought of something and wanted to see if my feet would do it,' Posy explained.

'You could wait till you get home, couldn't you?' Petrova grumbled, for she hated people looking at them.

'I might have forgotten,' Posy argued. Then she danced again.

'Make her stop, Nana,' Petrova implored.

'That's enough, Posy,' Nana said sharply. 'Dancing on a railway station, indeed; we shall have people asking us where the organ is, for we seem to have got a monkey.'

Posy stopped, not because she cared what Nana or the others thought, but because her feet had done what she wanted them to do. Both Pauline and Petrova then, and lots of times, had a feeling that she was not proud of her dancing, but looked on it as something that mattered more than anything else. She thought that doing an exercise beautifully mattered so much, that in spite of feeling that it was silly to let somebody of six think what she did mattered, they had an odd feeling that she was right.

Petrova hated her cla.s.ses. Not because she was the dunce of the cla.s.s, for she was not. Left to herself without Pauline to practise with her she learnt all the exercises as easily as any of the other children; but the truth was she disliked dancing. This term's work was almost all exercises, half of them done at the bar; and she had the sense to see that she would not like the work more as she moved higher up the school. The more efficient you became, the longer hours you were expected to work, and the more exercises you had to do. She felt very depressed because she had no one much to talk to about it. Pauline was so happy at the Academy that it was no good hoping she would understand, and Posy was not only too young to talk to, but thought dancing the only thing that mattered in the world.

She could not say a word to Sylvia, because she knew it would be a help when she was old enough to earn money, nor to Nana, who had an idea that the reason she did not get on as well as the others was because she had 'always been such a one for playing about like a boy.' The only person she could talk to was Mr Simpson, and she did not see much of him. When she did he was grand; he thought just as she did - that dancing was rather stupid, and cars and things much more important.

'Hullo, Petrova!' he would call up the stairs sometimes on Sunday afternoons, 'having a bit of trouble with the car. Come and give me a hand.'

The most gorgeous afternoons followed; he was not the sort of man who did everything himself and expected you to watch, but took turns fairly, pa.s.sing over the spanner, saying 'Here, you take those nuts off.' Of course she used to get most terribly dirty; but Mrs Simpson always prepared for that by putting an old mackintosh, which she had cut down, on top of whatever Petrova was wearing, and she made her wash and inspected her carefully before Nana saw her. Neither Petrova nor Mr Simpson talked much while they were working; but he got to know quite a lot about how she felt.

'How's the dancing been this week?' he would ask.

'Awful.'

'Still doing nothing but exercises?'

'Yes. Battlements - always battlements.'

She meant Battement, but she had only heard the word and never seen it written, and had got it wrong, and of course Mr Simpson did not know one dancing term from another.