A Plucky Girl

Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

Italic text is denoted by underscores.

On page 169, "household gods" should possibly be "household goods". On page 320, "spice of her mind" should possibly be "piece of her mind".

A PLUCKY GIRL

BY MRS. L. T. MEADE

AUTHOR OF "CECELIA'S AWAKENING," "PEGGY FROM KERRY," "FOR DEAR DAD," "A WILD IRISH GIRL," "A GIRL OF HIGH ADVENTURE," "THE CHESTERTON GIRL GRADUATES," ETC., ETC.

NEW YORK HURST & COMPANY PUBLISHERS

Copyright, 1900, by George W. Jacobs & Co.

Contents

CHAP PAGE

I. FORTUNE'S BALL 1

II. FRIENDS OR QUONDAM FRIENDS 9

III. MY SCHEME 23

IV. THE VERDICT 31

V. JANE MULLINS 55

VI. THE BERLIN WOOL ROOM 74

VII. THE PAYING GUESTS 83

VIII. THE FLOUR IN THE CAKE 96

IX. THE ARTIST'S EYE 103

X. HER GRACE OF WILMOT 116

XI. WHY DID HE DO IT? 132

XII. TWO EXTREMES 147

XIII. THE UGLY DRESS 160

XIV. ANXIETY 176

XV. DR. READE 186

XVI. GIVE ME YOUR PROMISE 199

XVII. A DASH OF ONIONS 207

XVIII. BUTTERED BREAD 222

XIX. YOU USED TO LOVE US 234

XX. RUINED 242

XXI. MR. PATTENS 250

XXII. THE MAN IN POSSESSION 262

XXIII. ALBERT 273

XXIV. THE BOND 297

XXV. YOU ARE A GOOD MAN 311

XXVI. HAND IN HAND 319

XXVII. TOO LATE 324

XXVIII. THIS DEAR GIRL BELONGS TO US 336

XXIX. HAVE I LOST YOU? 345

XXX. THE DUCHESS HAS HER SAY 356

XXXI. THE END CROWNS ALL 368

A PLUCKY GIRL

CHAPTER I

FORTUNE'S BALL

I was born a month after my father's death, and my mother called me after him. His name was John Westenra Wickham, but I was Westenra Wickham alone. It was a strange name for a girl, and as I grew up people used to comment on it. Mother loved it very much, and always pronounced it slowly. She was devoted to father, and never spoke of him as most people do of their dead, but as if he were still living, and close to her and to me. When a very little child, my greatest treat was to sit on her knee and listen to wonderful stories of my brave and gallant father. He was a handsome man and a good man, and he must have possessed, in a large degree, those qualities which endear people to their fellows, for surely it was no light cause which made my mother's beautiful brown eyes sparkle as they did when she spoke of him, and her whole face awake to the tenderest life and love and beauty when she mentioned his name.

I grew up, therefore, with a great passionate affection for my dead father, and a great pride in his memory. He had been a Major-General in a Lancer regiment, and had fought many battles for his country, and led his men through untold dangers, and performed himself more gallant feats than I could count. He received his fatal wound at last in rescuing a brother-officer under fire in Zululand, and one of the last things he was told was that he had received his Victoria Cross.

During my father's lifetime mother and he were well off, and for some years after his death there did not appear to be any lack of money. I was well educated, partly in Paris and partly in London, and we had a pretty house in Mayfair, and when I was eighteen I was presented to Her Gracious Majesty by mother's special friend, and my godmother, the Duchess of Wilmot, and afterwards I went a great deal into society, and enjoyed myself as much as most girls who are spirited and happy and have kind friends are likely to do. I was quite one and twenty before the collapse came which changed everything. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but our gold vanished like a dream, and we found ourselves almost penniless.