There was a sort of smile of defiance, and he followed her. For a moment
she thought of preventing this, and preparing Fanny in private, but
recollecting that this would give him the opportunity of preparing
Hubert to support his falsehood, she let him enter with her, and sought
Lady Temple in the nursery.
"Dear Fanny, I am very sorry to bring you so much vexation. I am afraid
it will be a bitter grief to you, but it is only for Conrade's own sake
that I do it. It was a cruel thing to take a bird's-nest at all, but
worse when he knew that his Aunt Grace was particularly fond of it; and,
besides, he had promised not to touch it, and now, saddest of all, he
denies having done so."
"Oh, Conrade, Conrade!" cried Fanny, quite confounded, "You can't have
done like this!"
"So, I have not," said Conrade, coming up to her, as she held out her
hand, positively encouraging him, as Rachel thought, to persist in the
untruth.
"Listen, Fanny," said Rachel. "I do not wonder that you are unwilling to
believe anything so shocking, but I do not come without being only too
certain." And she gave the facts, to which Fanny listened with pale
cheeks and tearful eyes, then turned to the boy, whose hand she had held
all the time, and said, "Dear Con, do pray tell me if you did it."
"I did not," said Conrade, wrenching his hand away, and putting it
behind his back.
"Where's Hubert?" asked Rachel, looking round, and much vexed when she
perceived that Hubert had been within hearing all the time, though to
be sure there was some little hope to be founded upon the simplicity of
five years old.
"Come here, Hubert dear," said his mother; "don't be frightened, only
come and tell me where you and Con went yesterday, when the others were
playing at bowls." Hubert hung his head, and looked at his brother.
"Tell," quoth Conrade. "Never mind her, she's only a civilian."
"Where did you go, Hubert?"
"Con showed me the little birds in their nest."
"That is right, Hubert, good little boy. Did you or he touch the nest?"
"Yes." Then, as Conrade started, and looked fiercely at him, "Yes you
did, Con, you touched the inside to see what it was made of."
"But what did you do with it?" asked Rachel.
"Left it there, up in the tree," said the little boy.
"There, Rachel!" said the mother, triumphantly.
"I don't know what you mean," said Rachel, angrily, "only that Conrade
is a worse boy than I had thought him, end has been teaching his little
brother falsehood."
The angry voice set Hubert crying, and little Cyril, who was very
soft-hearted, joined in chorus, followed by the baby, who was conscious
of something very disagreeable going on in her nursery. Thereupon, after
the apparently most important business of comforting Miss Temple had
been gone through, the court of justice adjourned, Rachel opening the
door of Conrade's little room, and recommending solitary imprisonment
there till he should be brought to confession. She did not at all reckon
on his mother going in with him, and shutting the door after her. It was
not the popular notion of solitary confinement, and Rachel was obliged
to retire, and wait in the drawing-room for a quarter of an hour before
Fanny came down, and then it was to say-"Do you know, Rachel dear, I am convinced that it must be a mistake.
Conrade assures me he never touched the nest."