Miss Davis put down the multiplication table which she had been turning
over and stared at the little Frenchwoman chattering and gesticulating
before her.
"There, my dear," she said presently, "that will do; I see you can make
use of your tongue. Take this book now and study quietly for half an
hour."
Hetty felt that she had had her little triumph at last. Neither Phyllis
nor Nell could speak French like that. She took the table-book
obediently and sat down with it, while Phyllis made an effort to get
over the shock of surprise given her by Hetty's clever exhibition, and
proceeded to attend to Miss Davis's correction of her French exercise.
That afternoon Hetty was dressed in a holland frock of Nell's, which,
though Nell was a year older, was not too large for her, and joined
heartily in a game of lawn tennis. Her little success of the morning,
when she had surprised her companions and their governess by her
cleverness at French, had raised her spirits, and she enjoyed herself as
she had never done in her life before, feeling that she could afford to
do without Phyllis' good opinion, and taking more and more pleasure in
showing how little she cared to have it.
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