The Clever Woman of the Family [19]
"don't be frightened, only come and tell me where you and Con went yesterday, when the others were playing at bowls." Hubert hung his head, and looked at his brother. "Tell," quoth Conrade. "Never mind her, she's only a civilian." "Where did you go, Hubert?" "Con showed me the little birds in their nest." "That is right, Hubert, good little boy. Did you or he touch the nest?" "Yes." Then, as Conrade started, and looked fiercely at him, "Yes you did, Con, you touched the inside to see what it was made of." "But what did you do with it?" asked Rachel. "Left it there, up in the tree," said the little boy. "There, Rachel!" said the mother, triumphantly. "I don't know what you mean," said Rachel, angrily, "only that Conrade is a worse boy than I had thought him, end has been teaching his little brother falsehood." The angry voice set Hubert crying, and little Cyril, who was very soft-hearted, joined in chorus, followed by the baby, who was conscious of something very disagreeable going on in her nursery. Thereupon, after the apparently most important business of comforting Miss Temple had been gone through, the court of justice adjourned, Rachel opening the door of Conrade's little room, and recommending solitary imprisonment there till he should be brought to confession. She did not at all reckon on his mother going in with him, and shutting the door after her. It was not the popular notion of solitary confinement, and Rachel was obliged to retire, and wait in the drawing-room for a quarter of an hour before Fanny came down, and then it was to say-- "Do you know, Rachel dear, I am convinced that it must be a mistake. Conrade assures me he never touched the nest." "So he persists in it?" "And indeed, Rachel dear, I cannot help believing him. If it had been Francie, now; but I never knew Conrade tell an untruth in his life." "You never knew, because you always believe him." "And it is not only me, but I have often heard the Major say he could always depend on Conrade's word." Rachel's next endeavour was at gentle argument. "It must be dreadful to make such a discovery, but it was far worse to let deceit go on undetected; and if only they were firm--" At that moment she beheld two knickerbocker boys prancing on the lawn. "Didn't you lock the door? Has he broken out? How audacious!" "I let him come out," said Fanny; "there was nothing to shut him up for. I beg your pardon, dear Rachel; I am very sony for the poor little birds and for Grace, but I am sure Conrade did not take it." "How can you be so unreasonable, Fanny--the evidence," and Rachel went over it all again. "Don't you think," said Fanny, "that some boy may have got into the park?" "My dear Fanny, I am sorry for you, it is quite out of the question to think so; the place is not a stone's-throw from Randall's lodge. It will be the most fatal thing in the world to let your weakness be imposed on in this way. Now that the case is clear, the boy must be forced to confession, and severely punished." Fanny burst into tears. "I am very sorry for you, Fanny. I know it is very painful; I assure you it is so to me. Perhaps it would be best if I were to lock him up, and go from time to time to see if he is come to a better mind." She rose up. "No, no, Rachel!" absolutely screamed Fanny, starting up, "my boy hasn't done anything wrong, and I won't have him locked up! Go away! If anything is to be done to my boys, I'll do it myself: they haven't got any one but me. Oh, I wish the Major would come!" "Fanny, how can you be so foolish?--as if I would hurt your boys!" "But you won't believe Conrade--my Conrade, that never told a falsehood in his life!" cried the mother, with a flush in her cheeks and a bright glance in her soft eyes. "You want me to punish him for what he hasn't done." "How much alike mothers are in all classes of life," thought Rachel, and much in the way in which she would have brought Zack's mother to reason by threats of expulsion from the shoe-club, she observed, "Well Fanny, one thing is