Read Online Poor Little Rich Girl by Katie Flynn - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Katie Flynn
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the compost heap in future, truly I will.’
Mr Mimms’s face softened and he held out thespade he was carrying. ‘Scrape the stuff up wi’ this and purrit back in the seed box,’ he said gruffly, ‘then we’ll say no more. Tell you what, Miss Lonnie, one of these days mebbe I’ll give you a little garden plot of your own, then you’ll appreciate me compost heap. You ain’t such a bad little thing after all.’
This somewhat tepid phrase had thrilled Lonnie out of all proportion to the words used and she began to seek Mimms out when she visited the garden, even offering help should he need it.
Now, going into her bedroom and checking that Kitty was still queening it in the middle of her bed, Lonnie remembered that she did have a friend, for only the previous week Mimms had done as he had half promised and had given her a small piece of garden for her very own. She was eager to begin work in it as soon as she and Hester had had their tea.
Returning to the nursery – only now it was called the schoolroom – Lonnie assured Hester that the kitten was fine. ‘We’ll have tea early tonight, so I can start work on my piece of garden,’ she said.
Hester heaved a sigh. ‘May we have tea early tonight, please, Hester?’ she said reprovingly. ‘Does nothing ever stay in that butterfly brain of yours, Lonnie? You simply must learn to ask; little girls do not issue commands as though they were colonels in the army!’
‘They do in India …’ Lonnie was beginning, then saw the look on her companion’s face and hastily changed it to: ‘Please may we have tea early today, Hester?’
Hester, laughing, said she would do her best. After Mrs Jackson had left, it had been agreed between Miss Hetherington-Smith and Hester thatnursery tea should be prepared and served by Hester herself. The new cook, Mrs Ainsworth, had set up quite a little kitchen in one of the spare attic rooms, even getting a small icebox so that milk would keep in all but the hottest weather. Each morning now, one of the maids toiled up the stairs with a fresh loaf from the local baker, a jug of milk, a large pat of butter and anything else which Hester thought suitable for their tea. Today it was to be cold ham and salad, accompanied by a plateful of bread and butter, followed by a square of seed cake. This last was regarded with abhorrence by Lonnie but Hester cheated by spreading jam over each slice and making a custard with the remains of the milk which she allowed Lonnie to pour over her portion.
Whilst they ate this repast, Kitty, who was now quite a well grown little cat, tucked into a bowl of bread and milk.
‘Finished!’ Lonnie said as soon as she had scraped the last trace of custard from her dish. ‘That was really nice, Hester. I think I like nursery tea best of all our meals. I wonder if I might take Kitty into the garden with me? After all, she’s getting to be quite big now and I’m sure she won’t try to escape. Mr Mimms says it’s agin nature for a cat to be always indoors and he says even if she does get out of the garden, she’ll come back home of her own accord, ’cos cats knows their own place once they’s fully growed.’
‘Lonnie! If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a hundred times not to imitate people’s accents …’
‘Yes, but it’s what Mr Mimms said ,’ Lonnie pointed out. ‘It is hard to know what’s right and what’s wrong, when you’re in a new country and people talk differently. Can I take Kitty out with me, Hester?I wonder if the other kittens get to go into gardens? They were all sold weeks ago! I bet that boy was pleased.’
‘Yes, you may take her with you if you promise me not to go chasing after her if she gets out of the garden,’ Hester said, after a moment’s thought. ‘You are still not used to the traffic on the streets, and dreadful though it would be to lose Kitty it would be even worse if I were to lose you! So remember, no straying outside the garden.’
‘Kitty
Mr Mimms’s face softened and he held out thespade he was carrying. ‘Scrape the stuff up wi’ this and purrit back in the seed box,’ he said gruffly, ‘then we’ll say no more. Tell you what, Miss Lonnie, one of these days mebbe I’ll give you a little garden plot of your own, then you’ll appreciate me compost heap. You ain’t such a bad little thing after all.’
This somewhat tepid phrase had thrilled Lonnie out of all proportion to the words used and she began to seek Mimms out when she visited the garden, even offering help should he need it.
Now, going into her bedroom and checking that Kitty was still queening it in the middle of her bed, Lonnie remembered that she did have a friend, for only the previous week Mimms had done as he had half promised and had given her a small piece of garden for her very own. She was eager to begin work in it as soon as she and Hester had had their tea.
Returning to the nursery – only now it was called the schoolroom – Lonnie assured Hester that the kitten was fine. ‘We’ll have tea early tonight, so I can start work on my piece of garden,’ she said.
Hester heaved a sigh. ‘May we have tea early tonight, please, Hester?’ she said reprovingly. ‘Does nothing ever stay in that butterfly brain of yours, Lonnie? You simply must learn to ask; little girls do not issue commands as though they were colonels in the army!’
‘They do in India …’ Lonnie was beginning, then saw the look on her companion’s face and hastily changed it to: ‘Please may we have tea early today, Hester?’
Hester, laughing, said she would do her best. After Mrs Jackson had left, it had been agreed between Miss Hetherington-Smith and Hester thatnursery tea should be prepared and served by Hester herself. The new cook, Mrs Ainsworth, had set up quite a little kitchen in one of the spare attic rooms, even getting a small icebox so that milk would keep in all but the hottest weather. Each morning now, one of the maids toiled up the stairs with a fresh loaf from the local baker, a jug of milk, a large pat of butter and anything else which Hester thought suitable for their tea. Today it was to be cold ham and salad, accompanied by a plateful of bread and butter, followed by a square of seed cake. This last was regarded with abhorrence by Lonnie but Hester cheated by spreading jam over each slice and making a custard with the remains of the milk which she allowed Lonnie to pour over her portion.
Whilst they ate this repast, Kitty, who was now quite a well grown little cat, tucked into a bowl of bread and milk.
‘Finished!’ Lonnie said as soon as she had scraped the last trace of custard from her dish. ‘That was really nice, Hester. I think I like nursery tea best of all our meals. I wonder if I might take Kitty into the garden with me? After all, she’s getting to be quite big now and I’m sure she won’t try to escape. Mr Mimms says it’s agin nature for a cat to be always indoors and he says even if she does get out of the garden, she’ll come back home of her own accord, ’cos cats knows their own place once they’s fully growed.’
‘Lonnie! If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a hundred times not to imitate people’s accents …’
‘Yes, but it’s what Mr Mimms said ,’ Lonnie pointed out. ‘It is hard to know what’s right and what’s wrong, when you’re in a new country and people talk differently. Can I take Kitty out with me, Hester?I wonder if the other kittens get to go into gardens? They were all sold weeks ago! I bet that boy was pleased.’
‘Yes, you may take her with you if you promise me not to go chasing after her if she gets out of the garden,’ Hester said, after a moment’s thought. ‘You are still not used to the traffic on the streets, and dreadful though it would be to lose Kitty it would be even worse if I were to lose you! So remember, no straying outside the garden.’
‘Kitty
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