FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32  
33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   >>   >|  
ted, and ill-used. If _only_ Mother would come! All sorts of fancies, too, began to make the dark corners of the room dreadful, and chief amongst them loomed the form of Aunt Enticknapp just as Freddie had pictured her that day. In another minute Susan felt she should scream out with fear; but she must not do it, because it would frighten Freddie, and make Mother so angry. What was that sudden gleam on the wall? The fire or the lamps? Neither, because it jigged about too much; it was the light of a candle, coming nearer and nearer, and there was a step on the stairs at last. Almost directly someone gave the half-open door a little push and came quickly into the room; it was Mother in her pink dressing-gown which Susan always thought so beautiful, and her fair hair all plaited up in one long tail for the night. She came up to the bed, shading the flame of the candle with one hand: "What, awake?" she said, "and crying! Oh, naughty Susan! What's the matter?" Susan gulped down her tears. It was all right now that mother had not forgotten to come. "I thought you weren't coming," she said. "Well, but here I am, you see. And now you must be a good little girl, and go to sleep directly. Kiss me and lie down." In another second Mother would be out of the room again Susan knew. She put up her hand and took hold of the lace frilling round the neck of the pink dressing-gown to keep her from going away. "I've got something to ask you," she whispered eagerly. "Well, what is it? Make haste, there's a good child, for I must go to Freddie; he's very restless to-night." Susan's head felt in a whirl. What should she ask first? She must do it directly, or Mother would be gone. It all seemed confusion, and at last she could only stammer out: "What's her other name? Is she cross?" "Whose? Oh, you little goose, you mean Aunt Enticknapp, I suppose. Her name is Hannah. She's a very nice kind old lady, and she'll spoil you dreadfully, I don't doubt. Now Susan," in a graver tone, "remember you've promised not to give trouble, and if you're going to cry it will trouble me very much. You must think of poor Freddie and not be silly and selfish, but go away cheerfully on Monday. Will you?" "Are you coming with me?" asked Susan, lifting her large eyes anxiously to her mother's face. "All the way to Ramsgate! No, indeed, I shouldn't have time. You know we start ourselves the next day. Maria's goi
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32  
33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Mother

 

Freddie

 
directly
 

coming

 

trouble

 

nearer

 

mother

 

candle

 

thought

 

dressing


Enticknapp
 

whispered

 

eagerly

 

confusion

 

stammer

 

restless

 

anxiously

 

lifting

 

cheerfully

 

Monday


Ramsgate

 

shouldn

 

selfish

 

dreadfully

 

Hannah

 

graver

 

remember

 

promised

 

suppose

 
naughty

Neither

 
frighten
 

sudden

 

jigged

 

Almost

 

stairs

 

scream

 

fancies

 

corners

 

dreadful


pictured

 

minute

 

loomed

 

frilling

 

forgotten

 

plaited

 

beautiful

 
quickly
 

matter

 

gulped