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Updated: September 8, 2025
Pennie thought and thought, until this beautiful idea grew to perfect proportions in her mind. She pictured Miss Unity's surprise and pleasure, and had settled the new mandarin in all his glory at Nearminster, before one serious drawback occurred to her want of money.
Andrew sat on the box, ready to drive his master and mistress into Nearminster. He looked quite a different Andrew on these occasions from the one who worked in the garden, because he wore his best coat and hat, which were a size too large for him, and a roomy pair of white gloves. The children were all in the hall watching the departure.
It made Ambrose all the more anxious to have someone to bear his secret with him, and he went softly up to David and said in a low voice: "I want to speak to you." "All right!" said David rather unwillingly, for he wanted to hear more about Nearminster and Kettles. "Not here," whispered Ambrose. "Upstairs in the museum. It's very important." David turned and looked at his brother.
These, fortunately, did not depend upon anything to be bought in shops, for there was only one in the village, and that was the post-office too. There you could get bacon, and peppermint drops, and coarse grey stockings; but for anything more interesting you had to drive to Nearminster, ten miles away.
"I haven't got much," said Nancy, "hardly anything really, because I've got to pay for that horrid window." "I expect David's got most," said Ambrose, "he's as rich as a Jew." "Jews aren't always rich," remarked David slowly. "Look at Mr Levi, who stands in the door of the rag-and-bone shop at Nearminster." Pennie could not help striking in at this point.
The Noah's ark was her last birthday present; she must and would take it to Nearminster, and moreover she would carry it down-stairs herself. So it had to go; but the moment she was lifted with it into the waggonette she pulled out the sliding lid in the roof to find the efilant, as she called it, and most of the animals tumbled out.
They seldom left home, and when they did there was a general outcry and lamentation among the children, because it was so dull without them. Yet now Ambrose felt it would be a decided relief when they had gone to Nearminster, for then he might unburden himself of his great secret. The time came at last. Ruby, the grey horse, stood waiting with the waggonette at the door.
She found out that her godmother had a great affection for the queer little mandarin, and it made her sorry whenever she went to Nearminster to see his place empty, and to think that he would never nod his head any more.
David on his side had his opinions, though he said little, and he had long ago made up his mind that he did not like Miss Unity at all. So he was sorry to find, when the day came for leaving Nearminster, that she was going back to Easney with them instead of making her visit later in the year.
So things went on very well at Nearminster, both upstairs and down-stairs, and the time soon came when Miss Unity found herself looking forward to the knock at the door, which was followed by the appearance of Kettles and her spelling-book. This interest partly made up for the loss of Pennie, which had left a sad blank in Miss Unity's life at first.
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