Читать книгу Felicity 3-book set - Valerie Tripp - Страница 12

tand still, my child,” said Mrs. Merriman for the hundredth time. She and Nan were kneeling on the floor, checking to be sure the hem of Felicity’s outer petticoat was even. This was the day Felicity was to begin her lessons.

“Mother,” said Felicity impatiently. “How will Miss Manderly know if my hem is even or not? Why does it matter?”

Mrs. Merriman sat back on her heels and looked Felicity in the eye. “Everything has to be perfect. I won’t have the two young ladies from England thinking we don’t know how to dress ourselves here in the colonies,” she said. “I want them to see that though we may live on the edge of the wilderness, we are just as civilized as they are.” She sounded very determined.

Felicity sighed. For the past three days she had been scrubbed and scoured. Her face had been washed with buttermilk to make the skin soft. Her nose had been rubbed with lemon juice to bleach out the freckles. Her hair had been twisted up on clay rollers and combed through with a pomade of hog’s fat and cinnamon. Her clothes had been let out and taken in, taken up and let down, washed, mended, starched, and ironed till they were stiff with perfection. It was all very tiresome. Felicity wiggled her tooth. Now she could push it into her lip. It was going to fall out soon. Not much longer, she thought.

“Not much longer, my dear,” said her mother as she fastened Felicity’s coral necklace around her neck. “I’m almost through with you.”

“Oh, Lissie,” said Nan. “You look pretty. You really do.”

Mrs. Merriman stepped back and studied Felicity from head to toe. Then she said, “Nan is right. Felicity Merriman, you look as pretty as can be.” She looked pleased.

Felicity smiled. One of her garters was tied too tight. The laces on her bodice were tight, too. She felt nervous and uncomfortable and too clean, but it was almost worth it to see her mother so pleased.

“Off you go,” said Mrs. Merriman. “It won’t do to be late to Miss Manderly’s. And I won’t have you galloping there to arrive flushed and mussy.” She gave Felicity’s hat one last touch. “Now remember to stop by the store so Ben can escort you. And remember to sit up straight.”

“Remember your handkerchief!” added Nan.

“Go along, now,” said Mrs. Merriman, shooing Felicity toward the door. “Don’t forget to speak softly. Remember your gloves. And remember…” She stopped.

Felicity looked back, waiting for her to finish.

“Remember that you are my dear daughter and I am very proud of you,” said Mrs. Merriman. “Now off you go!”

Her mother’s praise cheered Felicity as she hurried along the busy street. Williamsburg was crowded now, because it was Public Times. People from all over the colony came to Williamsburg for business and pleasure at Public Times. They came to hear the trials in the law courts and to catch up on all the news. There were balls and parties and markets and plays. The shops were busy. The taverns were full of visitors from out of town. The streets were noisy with carts and carriages.

Felicity was glad to see that her father’s store was bustling. She stood aside as two ladies stepped out the store’s door.

“Terrible!” one lady said to the other. “Tea taxed at three pence a pound! Why, that raises the price high as a cat’s back!”

“Indeed!” said the other lady. “The king’s tax is unfair!”

Ben was the next person to come out of the store’s door. He grinned at Felicity. “You look uncomfortable. Let’s be on our way, so you can get your lessons over with,” he said.

Felicity sighed. “I’d much rather stay at the store.”

Ben stopped grinning. “The store is not so cheerful these days,” he said.

“I just heard some ladies grumbling about the tax on tea,” said Felicity.

“Aye,” said Ben. “More and more people are complaining about the tax. They think the king is wrong to tax us colonists without our agreement.”

“What do you think?” asked Felicity.

“I think the king’s tax should be stopped,” said Ben. “You’d better stop, too, or you’ll get mud all over your petticoat.” Ben pointed to a puddle in front of Felicity.

“Oh!” exclaimed Felicity impatiently, forgetting all about tea and taxes. She stepped around the puddle awkwardly. “I’m so dressed up I can hardly move. I wish being proper were not so uncomfortable! I wish I could have a lesson in whistling right now instead of a lesson in behaving like a lady.”

“You’ll whistle fine when that loose tooth falls out,” said Ben. “How’s it coming along? Shall I pull it for you?”

“No, thank you,” said Felicity. “I’ll wait for it to come out by itself.”

“Just as well,” said Ben. “Because here we are at Miss Manderly’s door.”

“Good-bye,” said Felicity nervously. She touched her coral necklace for good luck, then knocked.

A smiling lady wearing a lacy white cap opened the door and greeted Felicity. “Miss Merriman?” she said. “How lovely to meet you. I am Miss Manderly.”

There was something about Miss Manderly’s eyes and the kindly way she tilted her head that made Felicity feel a little less nervous. “Good day, madam,” she said. “Thank you very much indeed for having me.” There, she thought with relief, I’ve done that much properly.

“You are most welcome,” said Miss Manderly. “Do come in and meet the other young ladies.” She led Felicity into a sunny little parlor. Two girls rose from their chairs to greet her. One was very tall and dark-haired. The other was very small and fair-haired. Miss Manderly nodded to the tall girl. “Miss Felicity Merriman, may I present Miss Annabelle Cole,” she said. Then she nodded to the smaller girl. “And this is Miss Elizabeth Cole.”

“Oh, don’t bother to call her Elizabeth,” said the tall girl in a bossy way. “She’s such a little bit of a thing, we call her ‘Bitsy’ at home.”

Felicity thought Bitsy was a perfectly dreadful name. She could tell that Elizabeth hated it, too, though she said nothing. Felicity greeted the two girls. “Good day, Annabelle. Good day, Elizabeth,” she said. She looked at Elizabeth and grinned. Elizabeth looked surprised.

Annabelle raised one eyebrow. “Your last name is Merriman,” she said. “You must be the shopkeeper’s daughter.” She sniffed, as if there were something wrong with being a shopkeeper’s daughter.

Felicity was about to explain that her father’s store was not a little shop, but one of the largest and finest stores in all of Williamsburg. But Annabelle turned her back. She flounced over to the writing desk and picked up her quill pen. “Of course, at home in England we had our own governess. I expect we shall have one here, too, if Mama can find a suitable person among the colonists,” she said. Then she sighed, “I never thought we’d be taking lessons with a shopkeeper’s daughter.”

Felicity started to say that she was proud of being a colonist and very proud of her father’s store, but Miss Manderly spoke first.

“Young ladies,” said Miss Manderly. “Please be seated at the tea table.” She sat herself gracefully and continued. “Your parents have trusted me with the important task of preparing you to take your place in society. Our lessons together will be pleasant. But do not forget that they are lessons. You are here to learn.”

Felicity glanced over at Elizabeth. Her big blue eyes were open wide as she listened to Miss Manderly.

Miss Manderly went on. “Because it is our first day together, we shall begin with polite conversation. A lady makes her guests feel comfortable. She chats pleasantly about topics that include everyone. It is usually best to begin by asking a question of general interest.”

Annabelle spoke up. “I have a question of general interest,” she said. “Will the three of us always have our lessons together?”

“Not all the time,” answered Miss Manderly.

“Good,” said Annabelle. “Because Bitsy and this Miss Merriman are far behind me. My governess taught me fine handwriting. I finished my sampler of stitches long ago. And I had dancing lessons with the finest dance master in England.”

Miss Manderly smiled. “All of those skills improve with practice,” she said firmly. “And you are also here to practice your best manners. I’m sure that your governess in England taught you the rules of polite behavior. So you know that if you are rude, and break those rules, you will be left out of the best society.”

All three girls sat up a little straighter. Miss Manderly paused as a maidservant placed a tea tray on the table without rattling a cup. “Your manners will be observed most closely at tea,” said Miss Manderly. “Tea is a ceremony. A gentlewoman must behave perfectly at the tea table, both as a hostess and as a guest. Now I will show you the proper way to serve tea.”

“Good heavens!” said Annabelle. “Bitsy and I know how to serve tea! We’ve watched our mother serve tea hundreds of times!”

“Splendid!” said Miss Manderly calmly. “Then you will be quite at ease, won’t you?”

Annabelle was quiet.

Miss Manderly opened the tea caddy made of dark, polished wood. Felicity smelled the spicy, smoky scent of tea. Miss Manderly neatly filled the silver caddy spoon five times and put the loose tea leaves into the delicate china teapot. Carefully, she poured hot water from the kettle onto the tea leaves. She put the pretty blue and gold lid on the teapot with a sure and graceful hand. Miss Manderly made it look so lovely that Felicity itched to try preparing the tea herself.

“Hand each guest her cup, saucer, and spoon,” Miss Manderly said, as she did so. “And when the tea is ready, pour it very carefully.” Felicity held her teacup and saucer steady as Miss Manderly filled it. “Offer your guest milk or sugar to put in her tea,” said Miss Manderly. “Then offer her a cake or a biscuit.”

“Oh, these are queen cakes!” said Annabelle as she took a small cake filled with currants from the plate. “I have heard they are a favorite of the queen in England.”

Miss Manderly held the plate of biscuits and queen cakes out to Felicity. Felicity took the smallest biscuit she saw. Miss Manderly smiled. “A wise choice. Hard biscuits don’t shed crumbs the way cakes do,” she said. “And remember, you are not drinking tea because you are thirsty or eating because you are hungry. The tea is offered to you as a sign of your hostess’s hospitality. If you refuse tea, you are refusing her generosity.”

“Oh, I would never refuse!” Felicity said. “You make the tea ceremony look so very pretty.”

“Thank you, my dear,” smiled Miss Manderly. “But you may not wish to drink tea all afternoon! There is a polite way to show that you have had enough tea. Merely turn your cup upside down on your saucer and place your spoon across it. That is a signal to your hostess that you do not wish to take more tea. And the correct phrase to say is, ‘Thank you. I shall take no tea.’”

Felicity took a small bite of the hard biscuit. As soon as she chewed, she knew it was a mistake. Her loose tooth fell out and landed—plop! clink!—in her cup of tea. Felicity stared down at it. She didn’t know what to do or say. No one else did either, not even Miss Manderly. The silence was very long.

Oh, dear, thought Felicity. I’m sure dropping your tooth in your tea breaks all the rules of polite behavior!

Felicity felt terrible. But then Elizabeth started to giggle quietly, in a way that made Felicity smile, then giggle with her.

Miss Manderly was laughing, too. Her eyes were sparkly. “Well!” she said. “I am afraid I do not know the polite thing to say when your tooth falls into your tea!” She turned to the maidservant. “Please take away Miss Merriman’s teacup,” she said. “But do return the tooth.” Miss Manderly smiled, and Felicity felt fine.

When the tea tray was cleared away, Annabelle went off to practice writing fancy capital letters. Miss Manderly wrote out a phrase for Elizabeth and Felicity to copy into their copybooks:

Miss Manderly sat back and read it aloud, “‘Think ere you speak, for words, once flown, once uttered, are no more your own.’ I would like you to practice writing this phrase,” she said. “The word ‘ere’ means ‘before.’ The phrase tells you to think before you speak. And I think it is a good idea to think before you write, too.” She smiled, then left to help Annabelle.

Felicity grinned at Elizabeth. “My mother is forever telling me to think before I speak and think before I act. She says I just gallop into everything with no more thought than a wild pony.” Felicity dipped her quill pen in the inkwell she shared with Elizabeth. But instead of writing, she sketched a horse in her copybook.

Elizabeth looked at Felicity’s sketch. “Oh, I love horses,” she said. She asked shyly, “Do you?”

“More than anything,” said Felicity. “Once I had a horse. I mean, once I had a horse for a while.” She told Elizabeth about Penny. “I wanted to keep her, but she didn’t belong to me. Her owner beat her, and she ran away. The truth is, I helped her run away. But I still think about her all the time.”

Elizabeth’s eyes were round and shiny. “That’s the saddest, bravest thing I ever heard,” she said. “Will Penny ever come back?”

“Maybe,” said Felicity. “I hope so.”

“I think she will,” said Elizabeth firmly. “I’m sure she will, someday.”

Felicity smiled at her. Elizabeth was going to be a good friend, a very good friend.

The girls were having such a good time writing and talking about horses, they were surprised when Miss Manderly said it was time to go home.

“Young ladies,” said Miss Manderly. “At home this evening I would like you to practice writing invitations. Please pretend that you are inviting each other to tea. Write proper invitations in your copybooks. Use your best penmanship. At our next lesson, I will check your work. You may go now.”

“Come along, Bitsy,” said Annabelle in her bossy way.

Elizabeth started to say something to Annabelle, then waved and called, “Good day, Felicity!” instead.

“Good day, Elizabeth!” Felicity answered. She hurried home full of excitement. She could not wait to tell Mother and Nan about her afternoon.

Nan hopped up to greet Felicity when she came home. “What are the lessons like? And what is Miss Manderly like?” she asked eagerly.

“Miss Manderly is lovely,” said Felicity. She sank into her chair with a happy sigh. “I hope I can learn to be like her.”

“And the two girls from England?” asked Nan.

“The younger one, Elizabeth, is very fine,” said Felicity. “She is just my age. But I don’t like her older sister, Annabelle. She is a snob. She acts as if I am not as good as she is because my father owns a store. I’m supposed to write Annabelle an invitation to tea, to practice my writing. I’m not going to do it.”

“You must do it,” said Mrs. Merriman.

“Oh, but a proper invitation would say that I request the favor of her company,” said Felicity. “And I don’t like Annabelle’s company.”

Mrs. Merriman handed Felicity her copybook and the inkstand with the quill pen, inkwell, and sander. “We must often be with people we might not choose as company,” said Mrs. Merriman. “A gentlewoman is kind to everyone.”

“But Annabelle is rude,” said Felicity. “She treated me badly because I am a colonist. She thinks colonists are uncivilized!”

“Then you must be perfectly polite,” said Mrs. Merriman. “You must show her that we colonists are indeed civilized.”

“Very well,” grinned Felicity. She picked up the quill pen and dipped it in the ink. “I’ll do it to show Annabelle how wrong she is.”