Ballet Shoes Part 3

'Do you ever learn any Shakespeare?'

'No. I should have started "As You Lake It" the next term if I had stayed at Cromwell House.'

'You should learn him. He wrote a few good parts for children. If you are fond of reciting, that's the stuff to work at.' She went over to her shelves and picked out a book, and opened it. 'Listen.'

She read the scene in 'King John' between Prince Arthur and Hubert. Pauline did not understand it all, but Doctor Jakes was one of those people who really can read out loud. Pauline forgot to drink her ginger, and instead, listened so hard that at last Doctor Jakes vanished, and in her place she saw a cowering little boy pleading for his eyes.

'There.' Doctor Jakes closed the book. 'Learn that. Learn to play Prince Arthur so that we cringe at the hot irons just as he does, and then you can talk about reciting.' She got another book, found the place and pa.s.sed it to Pauline. 'You read me that.'

It was Puck's speech which begins 'Fairy, thou speak'st aright.' Pauline had never seen it before, and she halted over some of the words, but she got a remarkable amount of the feeling of Puck into it. When she had finished, Doctor Jakes nodded at her in a pleased way.

'Good! We'll read some more one day. I'll make a Shakespearean of you.'

Pauline heard the front door slam and got up.

'There's the others, I must go. Thank you very much for the ginger drink.'

'Goodbye.' Doctor Jakes did not look up; she was studying 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. 'Don't forget, it's fun having a name with no background. Tell the other Fossils.'

After tea Pauline told Petrova and Posy what Doctor Jakes had said. Petrova was most impressed.

'Do you think she meant we could make it a name in history books?'

Pauline was not sure.

'She didn't exactly say history books, but I think that's what she meant. She said making your name worth while means you must have given distinguished service to your country.'

Petrova's eyes shone.

'How lovely if we could! Fancy people learning about us as lessons! Let's make a vow to make Fossil a name like that.'

Pauline looked serious.

'A real vow, do you mean, like at christenings?'

'Yes.' Petrova hopped, she was so excited. 'Like "promise and vow three things..."'

What about her?' Pauline pointed at Posy, who, not understanding the conversation, was dressing her Teddy bear.

'Posy' - Petrova knelt down beside her -'do you know what making a vow is?'

'No.' Posy held out a little pair of blue trousers. These don't fit Teddy any more.'

Pauline took Teddy and his clothes from her.

'You must listen, Posy,' she said in a very grown-up voice. 'This is important. A vow is a promise; it's a thing when you've made it you've got to do it. Do you understand ?'

'Yes.' Posy held out her hand. 'Give me Teddy.'

'No.' Petrova took her hand. 'Not till we've finished the vowing.' She turned to Pauline. 'You say it, and Posy and I will hold up our hands and say "We vow".'

Pauline put both her feet together and folded her hands.

'We three Fossils,' she said in a church voice, 'vow to try and put our names in history books because it's our very own and n.o.body can say it's because of our grandfathers.'

She made a face at Petrova, who hurriedly held up her right arm, and grabbed Posy's and held it up too.

'We vow.' She said this so low down in her inside that it sounded terribly impressive, then she whispered to Posy 'Go on, say "We vow".'

We vow.'

Posy tried to say it in the same deep voice as Petrova, but she did it wrong, and it sounded rather like a cat meowing. This made them all laugh, and the big vowing, instead of ending seriously, found them laughing so much that they fell on the floor, and their tummies ached.

Pauline was the first to recover.

'Oh, we oughtn't to have laughed!' She wiped her eyes. 'But, Posy, you did sound silly!' She gave another gurgle. 'Shall we make this same vow over again on each of our birthdays?'

'Let's,' agreed Petrova. 'It'll make our birthdays so important.'

'We vow,' Posy said in exactly the same meow.

This time they could not stop laughing, and they were still giggling when it was time to go down to be read to by Sylvia.

Boarders had not settled Sylvia's troubles. It was quite obvious that children with no certain future ought to be brought up with the kind of education that meant they could earn their own living later on. The kind of education that she was able to give them could not, as fax as she could see, fit them for anything. She kept this worry to herself, but it was such a bad one it kept her awake at nights.

Then one day she had three visitors. The first two came after lunch. She had just sat down to read the paper when there was a knock on her door. She was feeling very tired, for planning food for a lot of boarders as well as giving three children lessons is tiring. She was not in the mood to see anybody; but if you take in boarders you have to put up with seeing them when you do not want to, so she said 'Come in' as politely as she could. It was the two doctors - Doctor Jakes and Doctor Smith. Doctor Jakes wasted no time.

'My dear,' she said, sitting down in an armchair facing Sylvia. 'I doubt if you are qualified to teach those children.'

Sylvia flushed.

'I'm not,' she agreed humbly.

'That's what we thought.' Doctor Smith drew up a small chair and sat down next to Doctor Jakes. 'But, you see, we are.'

'Yes.' Sylvia fiddled with her fingers. 'I know you are, but I can't pay anybody who is.'

'We thought that too.' Doctor Smith looked at Doctor Jakes. 'You tell her.'

Doctor Jakes cleared her throat.

'We should like to teach them. For nothing.'

'For nothing! Why?' asked Sylvia.

'Why not?' said Doctor Smith.

'But they're not your children,' Sylvia protested.

'Nor yours,' Doctor Jakes suggested.

'Mine by adoption,' Sylvia said firmly.

'Mayn't we help?' Doctor Jakes leant forward. 'We thought we should like to retire. It would give us time for research, but we find we miss our teaching. Pauline has a beautiful ear for verse-speaking, I shall enjoy training her.'

'Mathematics is my subject,' Doctor Smith explained. 'I hear Petrova is fond of mathematics.'

Sylvia looked at Doctor Smith as though she were an angel.

'You teach arithmetic?' Her voice was awed. 'You are offering to teach the children?'

'That's right.' Both the doctors spoke at once.

'I think Heaven must have sent you to this house. I accept your offer more gratefully than I can say.' Sylvia turned to Doctor Smith. 'Would you mind starting tomorrow? I simply can't give another arithmetic lesson.'

The two doctors got up.

'Yes, tomorrow,' Doctor Jakes agreed. 'All-round education, specializing in mathematics and literature. The children to be prepared to take the school certificate and matriculation.'

That night after dinner Sylvia had her third visitor. It was Theo Dane. She knocked, and at the same time popped her head round the drawing-room door.

'Can I come in? I want a word with you.' She did not wait for permission, but came in, and sat down on the floor at Sylvia's feet. 'You know I teach dancing at the Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training?'

'Yes.' Sylvia went on st.i.tching at the curtains she was hemming.

'The head is Madame Fidolia. She was a big dancer in the years before the 1914 war.'

Sylvia did not know the name, but it seemed rude to say so, so she gave a sort of half cough, half yes.

'Well,' Theo went on, 'I spoke to her today about your three. She'll have them.'

'Have them?' Sylvia looked puzzled. 'How do you mean?'

'Teach them. Take them as pupils.'

'But I couldn't pay the fees.'

'She'll take them free. I told her about them, and what a time you were having, and she'll train them. She'll hope to make something out of them later when they're working.'

'Working! What at?'

'On the stage. It's a stage school.'

Sylvia's mouth opened.

'But I don't want the children to go on the stage.'

'Why not?' Theo half got up in her earnestness. 'Posy has the making of a real dancer. I've tried her out to my gramophone. Pauline is lovely to look at, and she has a good sense of rhythm.'

'Do you mean they should earn money at it?'

'Of course. They have no parents or relations; it's a good thing they should have a career.'

'But I'm instead of parents and relations.'

'But suppose you were run over by a bus. Wouldn't it be a good thing if they were trained to help support themselves?'

'But there's my Great-Uncle Matthew, they are really his wards.'

'Where is he?'

'On a voyage,' Sylvia explained, and then added, 'He's been on it for some years.'

'Quite,' agreed Theo, obviously considering Gum as somebody so unlikely to appear as to matter no more than a ghost. 'Well, what do you say? Isn't it a good idea ?'

Sylvia looked worried.

'I don't think Nana would approve; and then there are the doctors upstairs. They are going to educate them. What'll they say?'

'That's easy,' said Theo. 'Let's have them all down and ask them.'

Nana and the two doctors came down and heard Theo's suggestion, then Sylvia said: 'I have told her that I don't think we can consider it.'

'Why not ?' asked Nana.

'Oh, Nana' - Sylvia was flushed - 'I thought you'd be certain to agree with me.'

'And for why?' Nana smoothed a crease out of her ap.r.o.n. 'Posy we may say is bound to dance anyway, coming to us with her dancing slippers and all. It might be just the right thing for Pauline too - never any good at her books, only fond of that reciting.'

'How about Petrova?' said Sylvia.

'Well, she won't be no good at it to my way of thinking, but it might be just the thing for her - turn her more like a little lady; always messing about with the works of clocks and that just like a boy; never plays with dolls, and takes no more interest in her clothes than a scarecrow.'

'What do you think ?' Sylvia turned to the two doctors.

Doctor Jakes looked at Doctor Smith and they nodded at each other. Then Doctor Jakes cleared her throat.

'It's a great responsibility, my dear, for you to undertake, but we do feel Miss Dane's suggestion is good. It may be that you may find later that dancing is not the career for all of them, but the training will have done them good, and you will at least have taken a step towards trying to make them self-supporting.'

Sylvia looked round at them all; she felt she must take their advice, but she was worried.

'They are such little children,' she exclaimed.

Nana got up.

'Little children grow up. I suppose that Anna Pavlova was a little child once. I'll be going back to my nurseries, if you'll excuse me, Miss Sylvia dear. Good night.'