Jane Slayre by Sherri Browning Erwin

trees, the falling fir cones, the congealed relics of autumn, russet leaves, swept by past winds into heaps and now stiffened together. I leaned against a gate and looked into an empty field where no sheep were feeding, where the short grass was nipped and blanched. Snowflakes fell in intervals to settle on the hard path.
    "Miss Jane! Where are you? Come to lunch! You naughty little thing!" she said, catching up to me. "Why don't you come when you are called?"
    I knew well enough it was Bessie, but I could not force my feet to move, as if I had become part of the frozen scene. Her presence did not break the enchanted mood. When she drew near, I threw my arms around her. "Come, Bessie, don't scold."
    "You are a strange child, Miss Jane," she said as she looked down at me, "a little roving, solitary thing. And you are going to school, I suppose? And won't you be sorry to leave poor Bessie?"
    "What does Bessie care for me? She is always scolding me."
    "Because you're such a queer, shy little thing. You should be bolder."
    "Ha!" I laughed. She clearly had not heard from Mrs. Reed. "I don't think that should be a problem now."
    "Nonsense! I will worry when you are at school, no Bessie to look after you. But you are rather put-upon here, that's certain. My
    41
    mother said, when she came to see me last week, that she would not like a little one of her own to be in your place. Now, come in, and I've some good news for you."
    "What could be better than the beauty of this day, Bessie?"
    "Child! I believe you've been out too long. Perhaps your brain is freezing. We shall go in. Missus and the young ladies and Master John will be in bed all afternoon, and you shall have tea with me. I'll ask cook to bake you a little cake, and then you shall help me to look over your drawers, for I am soon to pack your trunk. Missus intends you to leave Gateshead in a day or two, and I will let you choose what toys you like to take with you."
    That afternoon lapsed in peace and harmony. In the evening, Bessie stayed with me quite late instead of running off to her duties with the Reeds. She told me some of her most enchanting stories and sang me some of her sweetest songs. My life had improved tremendously at Gateshead just as I was about to leave it for the great unknown.
    CHAPTER 5
    FIVE O'CLOCK HAD HARDLY struck on the morning of the nineteenth of January when Bessie brought a candle into my closet and found me already up and nearly dressed. I was to leave Gateshead that day by the 6:00 a.m. coach. Bessie was the only person yet risen. She had lit a fire in the nursery, where she now made my breakfast. I was not hungry, but Bessie pressed me in vain to take a few spoonfuls of the boiled milk and bread. In the end, she wrapped some biscuits in a paper and put them into my bag, then helped me on with my pelisse and bonnet and we left the nursery.
    42
    As we passed Mrs. Reed's bedroom, Bessie said, "Will you go in and bid Missus good-bye? She hasn't been settled long. She may still be awake."
    "I won't take that chance. She came to my room last night when you were gone down to supper and said I need not disturb her or my cousins in the morning. She told me to remember that she had always been my best friend, and to speak well of her and be grateful to her accordingly."
    "What did you say, miss?"
    "Nothing. I covered my face with the bedclothes and turned from her to the wall."
    "That was wrong, Miss Jane."
    "It was quite right, Bessie. Your Missus has not been my friend."
    "Miss Jane, don't say so! They live differently from us, to be sure, but that's in their very nature. What seems odd or cruel to others makes sense to those who come to understand."
    "I'll never understand. Their very existence is in conflict with nature. Good-bye to Gateshead!" cried I, as we passed through the hall and went out the front door.
    The moon was set, and it was dark. Bessie carried a lantern. Raw and chill was the winter morning. My teeth chattered as I hastened down the