Read Online Lillipilly Hill by Eleanor Spence - Free Book Online Page A

thought we ought to go to this school is beyond me. I wouldn’t stay another minute if Father hadn’t said I must at least try it.’
    â€˜Why?’ asked Harriet, daringly.
    â€˜Why? Can’t you see ? It’s more like a—a—prison than a school, with those awful bare walls, and no equipment, and the pupils look like convicts, too. And imagine having to go to school with girls !’
    Heroically, Harriet decided to ignore this last remark.
    â€˜But you won’t be there so long, you know—not if you win that scholarship.’
    â€˜I’ll win it all right—if I can stay till then,’ said Aidan bitterly, and he marched off towards the house, kicking at the pebbles as he went.
    Harriet followed slowly, gazing ahead at the spreading iron roof and the golden stone walls of her new home. She now loved every part of it, even the cheerless bedroom, which she was planning todecorate to her own taste. She loved the guardian lillipillies, and the shaggy garden, and the pungently-scented gums, and above all she loved the broad, clear view of blue hills and shadowy gullies. How could Aidan be so indifferent to all these things?
    During the meal, Aidan answered his parents’ questions about school with single syllables, and pretended not to see the deepening frown on his father’s face. But Harriet was only too well aware of it.
    â€˜We think the school is excellent, don’t we, Rose-Ann?’ she said primly, at the same time kicking her sister on the ankle.
    â€˜Yes,’ agreed Rose-Ann dutifully, though she was hardly able to conceal her delight at the thought of a quiet afternoon alone with her mother.
    Harriet sighed. It was unfair, she reflected, that so much should depend on Aidan, who even now looked quite ill at the prospect of returning to school in half an hour’s time, while she herself could hardly wait until the next morning.
    â€˜What are we to do after our rest, Mother?’ she asked.
    â€˜I think perhaps you had better finish your embroidery,’ said Mrs Wilmot firmly. ‘You should have something to show Mrs Burnie when you begin your lessons with her.’
    It was the answer that Harriet had expected, after all. And if everything went well, she would still have an hour’s daylight in which to read Treasure Island , and to forget the problem of Aidan for a time.

5
    More about Barley Creek
    For the remainder of that week, Aidan managed to avoid Paddy Tolly, at least during school hours. And Paddy was sufficiently in awe of Polly to refrain from taunting his victim while she was present. So Aidan went unmolested—and friendless. The other boys, disappointed because he would not face up to Paddy, and puzzled by his distant manner, simply left him alone. He spoke to no one at school save Mr Burnie, and concentrated fiercely on his lessons, at which he did so well that Mr Burnie was obliged to send for more books for him. Unfortunately, this failed to impress his schoolfellows.
    Meanwhile, Harriet was beginning to feel that she had been attending the Barley Creek school all her life,so familiar and friendly had it become. And even Rose-Ann admitted that it was not as bad as she had expected.
    On the Friday morning Harriet had a further glimpse into the family life of the O’Briens. During the break, Pete fell and cut his knee, and, after tying on a bandage, Mr Burnie told Dinny to take him home, and leave him there for the rest of the day.
    â€˜Can Harriet come with us?’ asked Dinny.
    Mr Burnie hesitated. Though to all outward appearances he treated the Wilmots exactly as he treated his other pupils, he watched over them with just a little more care. He liked Francis Wilmot, and he understood the other man’s desire that his children should not suffer from their changed way of life. He realized, too, how important it was to Mrs Wilmot that her daughters should not be turned into hoydens. He had had a few misgivings