human
Betty, I wish to speak to you, said Mrs. Haddo.
gpt
Sit down, dear. You and I have not had a chat for some time.
human
A very weary and long time ago!
gpt
I have something to say to you, Betty,
human
Look at me, my child.
gpt
Wait, please, will you?
human
I am about to do so. You are unhappy.
gpt
Will you tell me what is the matter?
human
Do you think it is right for you to be unhappy in a school like mine, and not to tell me--not to tell the one who is placed over you as a mother would be placed were she alive--what is troubling you?
gpt
It may be wrong, said Betty;
human
You must understand, said Mrs. Haddo, speaking with great restraint and extreme distinctness,
gpt
So I have,
human
Is it because of that you are unhappy?
gpt
Yes, because of that--altogether because of that.
human
What have you lost, dear?
gpt
Mrs. Haddo, I cannot tell you.
human
Betty, I ask you to do so. I have a right to know. I stand to you in the place of a mother. I repeat that I have a right to know.
gpt
I cannot--I cannot tell you!
human
Don't! she said.
gpt
When you touch me it is like fire!
human
My touch, Betty Vivian, like fire!
gpt
Oh, you know that I love you!
human
Prove it, then, dear, by giving me your confidence.
gpt
I would, said Betty, speaking rapidly,
human
You would, perhaps, like it back again?
gpt
Ah yes--yes! but I cannot get it. Some one has taken it. It is gone.
human
Once again, Betty, I ask you to give me your confidence.
gpt
I cannot.
human
Is that your very last--your final--decision, Betty Vivian?
gpt
It is, Mrs. Haddo.
human
How old are you, dear?
gpt
I have told you. I was sixteen and a half when I came. I am rather more now.
human
You are only a child, dear Betty.
gpt
Not in mind, nor in life, nor in circumstances,
human
We will suppose that all that is true, answered Mrs. Haddo.
gpt
We will suppose, also, that you are cast upon the world friendless and alone. Were such a thing to happen, what would you do?
human
I don't know,
gpt
Now, Betty, I cannot take your answer as final. I will give you a few days longer; at the end of that time I will again beg for your confidence. In the meanwhile I must say something very plainly. You came to this school with your sisters under special conditions which you, my poor child, had nothing to do with. But I must say frankly that I was unwilling to admit you three into the school after term had begun, and it was contrary to my rules to take girls straight into the upper school who had never been in the lower school. Nevertheless, for the sake of my old friend Sir John Crawford, I did this.
human
Not for Fanny's sake, I hope?
gpt
I have done what I did, Betty, for the sake of my dear friend Sir John Crawford, who is your guardian and your sisters' guardian, and who is now in India. I was unwilling to have you, my dears; but when you arrived and I saw you, Betty, I thanked God, for I thought that I perceived in you one whom I could love, whom I could train, whom I could help. I was interested in you, very deeply interested, from the first. I perceived with pleasure that my feelings towards you were shared by your schoolfellows. You became a favorite, and you became so just because of that beautiful birthright of yours--your keen wit, your unselfishness, and your pleasant and bright ways. I did an extraordinary thing when I admitted you into the school, and your schoolfellows did a thing quite as extraordinary when they allowed you, a newcomer, to join that special club which, more than anything else, has laid the foundation of sound and noble morals in the school. You were made a Speciality. I have nothing to do with the club, my dear; but I was pleased--nay, I was proud--when I saw that my girls had such discernment as to select you as one of their, I might really say august, number. You took your honors in precisely the spirit I should have expected of you--sweetly, modestly, without any undue sense of pride or hateful self-righteousness. Then, a few days ago, there came a thunderclap; and teachers and girls were alike amazed to find that you were no longer a member. By the rules of the club we were not permitted to ask any questions----
human
But I, as a late member, am permitted to tell you this much, Mrs. Haddo. I was, and I think quite rightly, expelled from the club.
gpt
Betty!
human
It is true,
gpt
And you will not tell me why?
human
No more can I tell you why than I can explain to you what I have lost.
gpt
Betty, my poor child, there is a mystery somewhere. I am deeply puzzled and terribly distressed. This is Wednesday evening. This day week, at the same hour, I will send for you again and ask for your full and absolute confidence. If you refuse to give it to me, Betty, I will not expel you, my child; but I must send you from Haddo Court. I have an old friend who will receive you until I can get into communication with Sir John Crawford, for the sort of mystery which now exists is bad for the school as a whole. You are intelligent enough to perceive that.
human
Yes, Mrs. Haddo, I am quite intelligent enough to perceive it.
gpt
Have you anything more to say?
human
Nothing,
gpt
This day week, then, my child. And one word before we part. The chapel where Mr. Fairfax reads prayers--where God, I hope, is worshiped both in spirit and in truth--is meant as much for the sorrowful, the erring, the sinners, as for those who think themselves close to Him. For, Betty, the God whom I believe in is a very present Help in time of trouble. I want you to realize that at least, and not to cease attending prayers, my dear.