The House of Arden E. Nesbit (top android ebook reader TXT) đ
- Author: E. Nesbit
Book online «The House of Arden E. Nesbit (top android ebook reader TXT) đ». Author E. Nesbit
But Edred couldnât. He laid hands on the chest, of course, and he pulled and Elfrida pulled, but the chest-lid was as fast now as any of the others.
âDone in the eye!â said Edred. It was a very vulgar expression, and I canât think where he picked it up.
âââHe that will not when he may,
He shall not when he wouldâ âa,âââ
said Elfridaâ âand I do know where she learned that. It was from an old song Mrs. Honeysett used to sing when she blackleaded the stoves.
âI suppose we must chuck it for today,â said Edred, when he had quite hurt his fingers by trying all the chests once more, and had found that every single one was shut tight as wax. âCome onâ âweâll print the photographs.â
But the films were not dry enough. They never are when you just expect them to be; so they locked the still-room door on the outside, and hung the key on a nail high up in the kitchen chimney. Mrs. Honeysett was not in the kitchen at that moment, but she came hurrying in the next.
âHere you are, my lambs,â she said cheerily, âand just in time for the surprise.â
âOh, Iâd forgotten the surprise. That makes two of it, doesnât it?â said Elfrida. âDo tell us what it is. We need a nice surprise to make up for everything, if you only knew.â
âAh,â said Mrs. Honeysett, âyou mean because of me opening that there door. Well, there is two surprises. Oneâs roast chicken. For supper,â she added impressively.
âThen I know the other,â said Edred. âAunt Edithâs coming.â
And she wasâ âindeed, at that very moment, as they looked through the window, they saw her blue dress coming over the hill, and joyously tore out to meet her.
It was after the roast chicken, when it was nearly dark and almost bedtime, that Aunt Edith said, suddenlyâ â
âChildren, thereâs something I wanted to tell you. Iâve hesitated about it a good deal, but I think we oughtnât to have any secrets from each other.â
Edred and Elfrida exchanged guilty glances.
âNot real secrets, of course,â said Edred, hastily; âbut you donât mind our having magic secrets, do you?â
âOf course not,â said Aunt Edith, smiling; âand what Iâm going to tell you is rather like magicâ âif itâs true. I donât know yet whether itâs true or not.â
Here Aunt Edith put an arm round each of the children as they sat on the broad window-seat, and swallowed something in her throat and sniffed.
âOh, itâs not bad news, is it?â Elfrida cried. âOh, darling auntie, donât be miserable, and donât say that theyâve found out that Arden isnât ours, or that Edred isnât really Lord Arden, or something.â
âWould you mind so very much,â said Aunt Edith gently, âif you werenât Lord Arden, Edred? Becauseâ ââ
XII Films and CloudsThe films were quite dry by bedtime, when, after a delightful evening with no magic in it at all but the magic of undisturbed jolliness, Edred slipped away, unpinned them and hid them in Elfridaâs corner drawer, which he rightly judged to be a cleaner resting-place for them than his own was likely to be. So there the precious films lay between Elfridaâs best lace collar and the handkerchief-case with three fat buttercups embroidered on it that Aunt Edith had given her at Christmas. And Edred went back to the parlour for one last game of Proverbs before bed. As he took up his cards he thought how strange it was that he, who had been imprisoned in the Tower and had talked with Sir Walter Raleigh, should be sitting there quietly playing Proverbs with his aunt and his sister, just like any other little boy.
âAha!â said Edred to himself, âI am living a double life, thatâs what Iâm doing.â
He had seen the expression in a book and the idea charmed him.
âHow pleased Edred looks with himself!â said Aunt Edith; âIâm sure heâs got a whole proverb, or nearly, in his hand already.â
âYouâll be looking pleased presently,â he said; âyou always win.â
And win she did, for Edredâs thoughts were wandering off after the idea how pleased Aunt Edith would look when he and Elfrida should come to her, take her by the hand, and lead her to the hiding-place of the treasure, and then say, âBehold the treasure of our house! Now we can rebuild the castle and mend the broken thatch on the cottages, and I can go to Eton and Oxford, and you can have a diamond tiara, and Elfrida can have a pony to ride, and so can I.â
Elfridaâs thoughts were not unlike hisâ âso Aunt Edith won the game of Proverbs.
âYou have been very good children, Mrs. Honeysett tells me,â said Aunt Edith, putting the cards together.
âNot so extra,â said Edred; âI mean itâs easy to be good when everythingâs so jolly.â
âWe have quarrelled once or twice, you know,â said Elfrida virtuously.
âYes, we have,â said Edred firmly.
They neednât, they felt, have confessed thisâ âand that made them feel that they were good now, if never before.
âWell, donât quarrel any more. I shall be coming over for good quite soon, then weâll have glorious times. Perhaps weâll find the treasure. Youâve heard about the treasure?â
âI should jolly well think we had,â Edred couldnât help saying. And Elfrida addedâ â
âAnd looked for it, tooâ âbut we havenât found it. Did you ever look for it?â
âNo,â said Aunt Edith, âbut I always wanted to. My grandfather used to look for it when he was a little boy.â
âWas your grandfather Lord Arden?â Edred asked.
âNo; he was the grandson of the Lord Arden who fought for King James the Third, as they called himâ âthe Pretender, you knowâ âwhen he was quite a boy. And they let him off because of his being so young. And then he mortgaged all the Arden lands to keep the Young Pretenderâ âPrince Charlie, you know, in the ballads. He got money to send to him, and of course Prince Charlie was going to pay it back when he was king. Only he never was king,â she sighed.
âAnd is
Comments (0)