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As, indeed, there often was; they were chiefly men whom Aldith had met at dances and tennis in her own home; and who thought that young lady a precocious child who wanted keeping in the schoolroom a few more years. One day Aldith came to Misrule brimming over with mysterious importance.
One day things came to a crisis. "No more trips on the dear old boat for a month," Aldith remarked, from her corner of the cabin. "This is appalling! Whatever do you mean, Miss MacCarthy?" James Graham said, with exaggerated despair in his voice. "Monsieur H has given the class a month's holiday. He is going to Melbourne," Aldith returned, with a sigh.
At last, too afraid to go in the light, and unwilling for Aldith to reproach her for not going at all, she did in her excitement and desperation a thing so questionable that for long after she could not think of it without horror. "Dear Mr. Courtney," she wrote, sitting down at her dressing-table, and scribbling away hurriedly in pencil: "It would be horrid going for the walk so early.
"I'll never flirt again while I live," she said with great earnestness, as he bade her good-bye; and he answered encouragingly, "No, I am quite sure you won't leave it to girls like Aldith, won't you? you only wanted to be set straight. Good-bye, little Miss Meg." Consequences "However could you do it? Some day, no doubt, you'll rue it!" Meg's troubles were not quite over, however, even yet.
Meg, who had almost severed her connection with Aldith, devoted herself to her sister, and waited on her hand and foot; she made her all kinds of little presents a boot-bag, with compartments; a brush-and-comb bag, with the monogram "J.W.," worked in pink silk; a little work-basket, with needle-book, pin-cushion, and all complete.
At last, however, it was imparted, with great impressiveness. Aldith's eldest sister was engaged, engaged to be married! Oh! wasn't it heavenly? Wasn't it romantic? and to the gentleman with the long fair moustache who had been so much at their house lately. "I knew it would come I have seen it coming for a long time. Oh! I'm not easily blinded;" Aldith said. "I know true love when I see it.
Aldith and Andrew thought the proposal a brilliant one; and though Meg had at first shaken her head decidedly, in the end she was prevailed upon, and promised faithfully to go. They were to meet in a bush paddock adjoining the far one belonging to Misrule, to walk for about an hour, returning by half-past seven, before it grew dusk.
"Like Guy Deloraine in 'Angelina's Ambition'." Aldith put her arm more tightly round her friend. "Wouldn't it be HEAVENLY, Marguerite, to be engaged you and I?" she said, in a tone of dreamy rapture. "To have a dark, handsome man with proud black eyes just dying with love for you, going down on his knees, and giving you presents, and taking you out and all oh, Marguerite, just think of it!"
"You are a horrid old pig, Aldiff MacCatfy," she said, with slow emphasis, "an' I hates you hard, an' we all hates you here, 'ceps Meg; and Pip says you're ze jammiest girl out, an' I wis' a drate big ziant would come and huff and puff and blow you into ze middlest part of ze sea." Aldith laughed, a little aggravating grown-up laugh, that put the finishing touch to Baby's anger.
He used to smoke at his end of the boat cigars at the beginning of term and a short, black, villainous-looking pipe at the end and Meg used secretly to think how manly he looked, and to sigh profoundly. For I may as well tell you now as later what this foolish little thing had done after a few months' course of Aldith and novels.
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