Norman Vallery.

by W.H.G. Kingston.

CHAPTER ONE.

JUST COME FROM INDIA.

"Are they really coming to-morrow, granny?" exclaimed f.a.n.n.y Vallery, a fair, blue-eyed, sweet-looking girl, as she gazed eagerly at the face of Mrs Leslie, who was seated in an arm-chair, near the drawing-room window. "Oh, how I long to see papa, and mamma, and dear little Norman!

I have thought, and thought so much about them; and India is so far off it seemed as if they would never reach England."

"Your mamma writes me word from Paris that they hope to cross the Channel to-night, and be here early in the afternoon," answered Mrs Leslie, looking at the open letter which she held in her hand. "I too long to see your dear mamma; and had it not been for you, my own darling, I should have missed her even more than I have done; but you have ever been a good, obedient, loving child, and my greatest comfort during her absence."

Mrs Leslie, as she spoke, drew her grandchild towards her, and kissed her brow.

f.a.n.n.y said nothing, but, pressing the hand which held hers, turned her eyes towards her grandmamma's face, while the consciousness that the praise was not wrongly bestowed, caused a bright gleam of pleasure to pa.s.s over her countenance.

Mrs Leslie, who had brought up f.a.n.n.y from her infancy, lived in a pretty villa a few miles from London, surrounded by shrubberies, with a lawn and beautifully-kept flower-garden in front. On one side was a poultry-yard, over which f.a.n.n.y presided as the reigning sovereign; and even Trusty, the spaniel, who considered himself if not the ruler at all events the guardian of the rest of the premises, when he ventured into her domain always followed humbly at her heels, never presuming to interfere with her feathered subjects. More than once he had been known to turn tail and fly as if for his life when Phoebe, the bantam hen, with extended neck and outspread wings had run after him, as he had by chance approached nearer to her brood of fledglings than she had approved of.

f.a.n.n.y with her fowls, Trusty, and Kitty, the tortoisesh.e.l.l cat; and her doll, which had a house of its own fitted with furniture; and, more than all, with the consciousness of her granny's affection, considered herself one of the happiest little girls in existence. Everybody in the house, indeed, loved her; and she was kind, and gentle, and loving to every one in return.

Her mamma--Mrs Leslie's only daughter--had married Captain Vallery, an officer in the Indian army, while he was at home on leave, and had accompanied him to the East. She returned three or four years afterwards, in consequence of ill health, bringing with her little f.a.n.n.y, who, when she went back to her husband, was left under charge of her mother, Mrs Leslie.

Great as was Mrs Vallery's grief at parting from her child, she well knew, from her own experience, with what wise and loving care she would be brought up.

Captain Vallery was of a French Protestant family, but having been partly educated in England, and having English relations, he had entered the British army. He was considered an honourable and brave officer, and was a very kind husband, but Mrs Vallery discovered that he had certain peculiar notions which were not likely to make him bring up his children as she would desire. One of his notions was, that boys especially, in order to develop their character, as he said, should always be allowed to have their own way.

"But, my dear husband," she pleaded, "suppose that way should prove to be a bad way, what then will be the consequence?"

"Oh, but our little Norman is a perfect cherub, surely he can have nothing bad about him, and I must insist that no one curbs his fine and n.o.ble temper, lest his young spirit should be broken and irretrievably ruined," answered Captain Vallery. "I say, let the boy have his own way, and you will see what a fine fellow he will become."

Mrs Vallery sighed--she knew that it would be useless to contend with her husband, though she feared, should his plan be persevered in, it would entail many a severe trial on her boy in future years.

Of this Mrs Leslie had some suspicions, though f.a.n.n.y, who had pictured her little brother as all she could wish him to be, looked forward with unmitigated pleasure to having him as her companion.

With eager interest she a.s.sisted Susan, the housemaid, in preparing the rooms for the expected guests; for she was a notable little woman, and she had been encouraged by her grandmamma to busy herself in household matters. She with much taste arranged the bouquets in the vases on her mamma's dressing-table, and then she went into the little room next her own, in which Norman was to sleep, and placed some flowers in that also, as well as three or four of her prettiest picture-books, which she had carefully preserved, thinking that they might amuse him. Gently, too, she smoothed down his pillow, and, after everything was in order, went back delighted to make her report to granny.

How her heart beat when a carriage drove up to the door, with a gentleman and lady in it, whom she knew must be her papa and mamma, while on the coach box was seated a young boy. "What a fine, n.o.ble, little fellow he is," she thought to herself, as the boy scrambled down without waiting for the a.s.sistance of any one.

The next instant she scarcely knew what was happening--every one seemed so full of confused delight. She felt that she was in her mother's arms, who, still holding her, threw herself into those of granny. Then her papa, a fine, handsome gentleman, took her up and kissed her again and again; and next, she saw the little boy who had come in with a whip in his hand; she sprang towards him exclaiming, "You are Norman!" and, following the impulse of heart, covered his face with kisses.

"Yes, that's my name," answered the boy, "and you are the sister f.a.n.n.y I was told I should see; and is that old woman there granny? Will she want to kiss me as you have done? I hope she won't, for I do not choose to be treated as a baby."

Happily Mrs Leslie did not hear these remarks; they grieved f.a.n.n.y sorely.

"Oh but dear granny will love you as she does me, and you must come to her as I am sure she wants to see you," she whispered gently. "Then you shall go out with me, and I will show you my poultry and Trusty and all sorts of things, which I am sure you will like."

"Come along then," said Norman, "I shall like to see the things you talk of."

"Not surely till you have spoken to granny, but afterwards I will gladly take you," said f.a.n.n.y, and she led him up to Mrs Leslie.

Though his grandmamma kissed him several times, he behaved better than might have been expected, restraining for a wonder his impatience, somewhat awed perhaps by the dignified manner of the old lady.

"And now, f.a.n.n.y, I am ready to see what you have got to show me," he exclaimed, as Mrs Leslie taking her daughter's arm led her into the drawing-room.

Captain Vallery cast a proud glance at his two beautiful children as hand in hand they ran upstairs.

"Here is my doll's house," said f.a.n.n.y, as she led Norman into her neat bed-chamber; "see, it has a drawing-room, with sofas and chairs and looking-gla.s.ses, and a dining-room, with a long table and plates and dishes and knives and forks on it; and this is the kitchen, with its stove and pots and pans; and here is the bedroom, where little Nancy sleeps. She is a dear good child, and never cries, but as I have had her for a long time, she is not as pretty as she used to be. I tell granny that she was a poor neglected little orphan, and that she came begging at the door one day, and as she had no one to look after her, I took her in, and that is the reason she has so many knocks and bruises."

f.a.n.n.y, as she spoke, drew out a small doll, dressed in a cotton frock, from the doll's house, and held it up to Norman.

"It does look just like a wretched beggar child," he observed; "I wonder you can care for such a thing. If I were you I should throw it out of the window, and tell papa he must get another much prettier, dressed like a fine lady, who would be fit to walk out with you, and you need not be ashamed of, as I should think you must be of Nancy, as you call her."

"Oh, but I love Nancy very much," said f.a.n.n.y; "she and I have known each other very many years, and I would not throw her away on any account.

If I ever get a finer doll, I can let Nancy attend on her, I am sure she will be very glad to do that, for she is not a bit proud, and wishes, I am sure, to be a good girl and please everybody."

"You may think more of her than I do," remarked Norman, "and now, as I am not a baby, and do not care about dolls, won't you show me some of the other things you talk of?"

"Oh yes!" said f.a.n.n.y, "I will take you to my poultry-yard, but I must carry Nancy with me as she has not been out all day, and she will like to see me feed my hens. They are all very fond of me, and I hope they will learn to know you, Norman, too, and come when you call them, and eat out of your hand, as they do out of mine, especially Thisbe, who is the tamest of all, and the fondest of me."

"I do not know that I care about c.o.c.ks and hens and those sort of creatures, but I will go with you," answered Norman, tucking his whip under his arm and accompanying f.a.n.n.y.

"O Miss f.a.n.n.y," said Susan, whom they met on the way with a china vase in her hand, "your grandmamma says that your papa is fond of flowers, and that we ought to have put some on the mantelpiece of his dressing-room. Will you come and help me to pick them, and will you arrange them, as you can do so beautifully?"

f.a.n.n.y gladly undertook to do as Susan asked her, and told Norman that after she had picked the flowers she would take him into the poultry-yard. Putting down her doll with her back against a clump of box, she, with a smile at her own conceit, begged him while she was engaged to try and amuse Nancy by telling her something about India or his voyage home. "Stuff!" he replied in a grumpy tone, and turned away, while his sister began to pick the flowers. One side of the yard, composed of trellis work, it should be said, was close to the garden, so that the fowls running about within could easily be seen through the bars. A door, also of trellis work, opened from the garden into the yard.

Norman though he did not care much about seeing the poultry, felt vexed and angry that Susan should venture to draw off his sister's attention from himself, and stood with his finger in his mouth watching them as they were engaged in picking the flowers.

The hens which had espied their young mistress, had gathered near the side of the yard, and Thisbe, f.a.n.n.y's favourite hen, was making strenuous efforts to get out. Norman had strolled up to the door, and finding that he could lift the latch opened it, and out ran Mistress Thisbe. f.a.n.n.y, not observing what had happened just then, called to Norman, and asked him to hold the vase, that she might arrange the flowers within it. He had taken it in his hands, when at that moment Trusty, who had been snuffing about the rooms, not perfectly satisfied as yet that the newly arrived strangers had a right to enter them, espying f.a.n.n.y in the garden came bounding towards her. He gave vent as he saw Norman to a short bark, as much as to ask, "Who are you?" but Norman, not accustomed to dogs in India, and already in no very amiable mood, became alarmed, and dashing the vase at Trusty's head, seized his whip, with which he began lashing about in all directions at everybody and everything he saw near him.

Susan seeing his alarm rushed forward, intending to a.s.sist him, but what between anger and fear his temper was now fairly aroused, and instead of thanking her, he turned round and bestowed on her a lash with his whip, which made her run off to call Mrs Vallery, thinking that his mamma would be better able to manage him than she could.

His gentle sister came in for the next a.s.sault of his blind rage, and she fled with her doll, which she had s.n.a.t.c.hed up in her arms, feeling that the wisest thing just then to do was to get out of his way.

Trusty, unaccustomed to the blows which Norman now liberally bestowed, scampered off in one direction, while Thisbe the hen took to flight in another, and the young gentleman remained as he believed himself the victor of the field, shouting out:--

"I will have no one interfere with me, either maid-servants or dogs or fowls: I will soon show who is master here!" and again he shouted and bawled and waved his whip.

Poor f.a.n.n.y who had never before seen a person in a pa.s.sion, stood by trembling at a little distance while Master Norman walked up and down shouting out that he would whip any one who came in his way, and that the ugly dog would soon learn what to expect if he dared to bark at him again. f.a.n.n.y entreated him to be quiet. "I am sure Trusty had no wish to frighten you, Norman," she said, "if you will keep your whip quiet and call to him he will come up wagging his tail and soon be friends with you."

Norman, however, instead of doing as his sister advised, flourished his whip more vehemently and shouted louder than ever, walking up and down and trampling on the flowers which had been scattered on the ground.

In the meantime Susan had reached the drawing-room where Mrs Vallery was reclining on the sofa to rest after the fatigue of her journey.

"Please marm," said Susan as she entered, "I am sorry to say that the young gentleman is in such a tantrum that I do not know what to do with him, and I am afraid he will make himself ill. He won't listen to his sister or to me, but if you will just come and speak to him, perhaps he will be quiet."

"If you will excuse me, mamma, I will go to the poor child," said Mrs Vallery rising.

"Could you not let Susan bring him here? He of course will come if she tells him that you have sent for him," observed Mrs Leslie.