"The big room," said Miss Schofield, "ha, it's misery to be
in it!"
She too spoke with bitterness. She too lived in the
ignominious position of an upper servant hated by the master
above and the class beneath. She was, she knew, liable to attack
from either side at any minute, or from both at once, for the
authorities would listen to the complaints of parents, and both
would turn round on the mongrel authority, the teacher.
So there was a hard, bitter withholding in Maggie Schofield
even as she poured out her savoury mess of big golden beans and
brown gravy.
"It is vegetarian hot-pot," said Miss Schofield. "Would you
like to try it?"
"I should love to," said Ursula.
Her own dinner seemed coarse and ugly beside this savoury,
clean dish.
"I've never eaten vegetarian things," she said. "But I should
think they can be good."
"I'm not really a vegetarian," said Maggie, "I don't like to
bring meat to school."
"No," said Ursula, "I don't think I do either."
And again her soul rang an answer to a new refinement, a new
liberty. If all vegetarian things were as nice as this, she
would be glad to escape the slight uncleanness of meat.
"How good!" she cried.
"Yes," said Miss Schofield, and she proceeded to tell her the
receipt. The two girls passed on to talk about themselves.
Ursula told all about the High School, and about her
matriculation, bragging a little. She felt so poor here, in this
ugly place. Miss Schofield listened with brooding, handsome
face, rather gloomy.
"Couldn't you have got to some better place than this?" she
asked at length.
"I didn't know what it was like," said Ursula,
doubtfully.
"Ah!" said Miss Schofield, and she turned aside her head with
a bitter motion.
"Is it as horrid as it seems?" asked Ursula, frowning
lightly, in fear.
"It is," said Miss Schofield, bitterly. "Ha!--it is
hateful!"
Ursula's heart sank, seeing even Miss Schofield in the deadly
bondage.
"It is Mr. Harby," said Maggie Schofield, breaking forth.
"I don't think I could live again in the big
room--Mr. Brunt's voice and Mr.
Harby--ah----"
She turned aside her head with a deep hurt. Some things she
could not bear.
"Is Mr. Harby really horrid?" asked Ursula, venturing into
her own dread.
"He!--why, he's just a bully," said Miss Schofield,
raising her shamed dark eyes, that flamed with tortured
contempt. "He's not bad as long as you keep in with him, and
refer to him, and do everything in his way--but--it's
all so mean! It's just a question of fighting on both
sides--and those great louts----"
She spoke with difficulty and with increased bitterness. She
had evidently suffered. Her soul was raw with ignominy. Ursula
suffered in response.
"But why is it so horrid?" she asked, helplessly.