_ CHAPTER XXVII. BERTHA'S SECRET
The two young people walked about, talking of nothing in particular, until at last it was time for them both to return to the house. Kitty went up to her own room, managed to dress before Mrs. Aylmer's maid appeared, and then proceeded to the drawing-room. There she found Bertha alone. She went straight up to her.
"Do you wish it known?" she said.
"Wish what known? I do not understand," replied Bertha.
Bertha was looking her very best in a black lace dress with some Gloire de Dijon roses in her belt. She raised her eyes and fixed them insolently on Kitty.
"Do I wish what known?" she repeated.
"Why, that I met you, that I knew you, you understand. You must understand. I thought, as you were here, that it would injure you if I spoke of it."
Bertha suddenly took hold of Kitty's hands and drew her into the recess by the window.
"Keep it a secret," she said; "pretend you never knew me. Don't tell your father; don't tell Sir John."
"But Sir John remembers you--he must remember you. You know what happened at Cherry Court School. How can he possibly forget?"
"I shall be ruined if it is known. Mrs. Aylmer must not know. Get Sir John to keep it a secret; you must--you shall."
"I have asked him not to speak of it; but I must understand how you came to be here. I will say nothing to-night. To-morrow I will speak to you," said Kitty.
Just then other people entered the drawing-room, and the two girls immediately separated.
Sir John, having taken his cue from Kitty, treated Miss Keys as a stranger. She was very daring and determined, and she looked better than she had ever looked in her life before. Her eyes were shining and her clear complexion grew white and almost dazzling. No circumstance could ever provoke colour into her cheeks, but she always looked her very best at night, and no dress became her like black lace, so dazzlingly fair were her neck and arms, so brilliant her plentiful hair.
Sir John and Colonel Sharston looked at her more than once--Sir John with that knowledge in his eyes which Bertha knew quite well he possessed, and Colonel Sharston with undisguised admiration.
In the course of the evening the Colonel beckoned Kitty to his side.
"I like the appearance of that girl," he said; "but she has a strange face: she must have a history. Why are we not to mention to Mrs. Aylmer that you already knew her, Kitty?"
"I will tell you another time, father," answered Kitty. Then she added, in a low voice: "Oh, I am sorry for her, very sorry. It might ruin her, father, if it were known; you would not ruin her, would you?"
"Of course not, my dear child, and I will certainly respect your wish."
The next day, after breakfast, Kitty found herself alone with Bertha. Bertha was feeding some pigeons in a dove-cote not far from the house. Kitty ran up to her and touched her on the arm.
"I have made up my mind," said Kitty.
"Yes?" answered Bertha.
There was a fresh note in Kitty's voice--a note of resolve. Her eyes looked full of determination; she was holding herself very erect. Bertha had never been worried by the thought of Kitty: a girl in her opinion so insignificant. Now she looked at her with a new feeling of terror and also respect.
"I don't understand," she said; "in what way have you made up your mind?"
"I have spoken to Sir John and also to my father. They know--they cannot help knowing--that I knew you, and that my dear friend, Sir John Wallis, knew you some years ago; but we do not want to injure you, so we will not say a word about it. You can rest quite content; we will not talk of your past."
"In particular you will not talk of my past to Mr. Trevor?"
"No, not even to Mr. Trevor. In short," continued Kitty, "we have made up our minds to respect your secret, but on a condition."
"Yes?" said Bertha. She spoke in a questioning tone.
"As long as you behave in a perfectly straightforward way; as long as I have no reason to feel that you are doing anything underhand to anybody's name, we will respect your secret and leave you undisturbed in the possession of your present post. I think," continued Kitty, "that I partly understand matters. You have come here without telling Mrs. Aylmer what occurred at Cherry Court School and at Cherry Court Park; you don't want her to know how terribly you injured my great friend, Florence Aylmer. If you will leave Florence alone now, if you will do nothing further in any way to injure her, I and those I belong to will respect your secret. But if I find that you are tampering with Florence's happiness, then my duty will be plain."
"What will your duty be?" said Bertha. As she spoke she held out a lump of sugar to a pretty white fantail which came flying to receive it. She raised her eyes as she spoke and looked full at Kitty.
"I shall tell what I know," said Kitty. "I think that is all." She turned on her heel and walked away. _