own
the avenue, followed by her new pupils. She looked something like a
well-groomed pony herself, and the girls were much amused at her way of
greeting them, and so thoroughly pleased that peals of laughter reached
the displeased ears of Lucy, who was waiting with Annie and Laura in the
porch.

"Really," thought Lucy, "poor mother gets worse and worse. What sort of
school will this be? Not the slightest vestige of order, and all these
girls being spoken to at the gate. Mother has no dignity. It is really
terrible. I shall be glad when Miss Archer and Mademoiselle Omont come.
How are we to spend the present evening?"

The girls themselves seemed to arrange that matter. Having lost all
shyness with regard to Mrs. Merriman, they were not likely to feel it
towards Lucy. They accordingly requested to be taken into the house, and
were much pleased with the arrangements made for their comfort. The old
house of Sunnyside was one of the prettiest in the southwest of England.
It had spacious grounds, beautiful gardens, and the rooms themselves,
although somewhat low, were large and numerous. One or two girls had a
room each, and the others were arranged two in a room, with a curtain
between.

When Mrs. Merriman started the idea of a small school for the special
education of special girls, she had spared no expense to have everything
done in as thoroughly nice a manner as possible; and the girls
themselves were delighted, and showed their appreciation by behaving in
a hoydenish and school-girl fashion. They laughed and joked with each
other, declaring that Mrs. Merriman was quite too funny for anything,
but that she was also an old dear; that Lucy was rather a nuisance, and
very prim, but that she shouldn't stand much in their way. And then they
paced about in the garden arm-in-arm, and talked to one another, just,
as Lucy said afterwards, as though they had lived there all their lives.

Poor Lucy in every respect was her mother's opposite. Neither did she
specially take after her gentle, patient father, who was always
satisfied to make the best of things, his motto being peace on any
terms, and who was surprised now when Lucy ran up to him as he was
pacing up and down in the walnut walk at some distance from the house.

"Ah, my little girl!" he said when he saw her approaching. "Why, what is
the matter? How flushed your cheeks are!"

"And no wonder, father," answered Lucy. "If you could flush up at
anything you'd feel hot