And Nothing But the Truth by Kit Pearson Read Free Book Online

asked Vivien.
    “Rhoda … she’s awful. She’s really conceited and she boasts all the time. I can’t stand her!”
    “Do
they
like boarding school?”
    “Eleanor likes the classes, and she’s so practical she just puts up with the rest. Daisy is the sort of person who likes everything. And Rhoda … well, she seems to hate it as much as I do,” finished Polly slowly. She didn’t want to admit she had
anything
in common with Rhoda.
    “Do you like Eleanor and Daisy as much as us?” asked Biddy.
    Polly grinned. “Of course not! You two are my best friends.”
    Biddy and Vivien were eager to come for dinner. Noni and Aunt Jean had cooked Polly’s favourites: roast chicken, roast potatoes, and butterscotch pudding. None of them urged her to eat her vegetables the way they usually did.
    Then they made two teams for charades: Polly, Uncle Rand, and Biddy against Vivien, Aunt Jean, and Noni. Vivien was such a good actor that her team won every time. It was very late when Uncle Rand drove the girls home.
    Polly took Tarka out for his last walk of the day. She strolled along the road while Tarka marked the bushes. The stars were a million diamonds sparkling above her, and the moon made a silver path on the sea. Polly had always found the night sky reassuring, as if she were part of a wondrous mystery. Several times, she had tried to paint it, but she hadn’t yet captured its essence.
    How could she go back to a place where she wasn’t allowed to stand and marvel under the stars?
    Polly sat in the tiny stone church and listened to Uncle Rand preach about the parable of the sower. He joked about what a dismal gardener he himself was, and everyone laughed. Polly listened proudly. Once, Uncle Rand’s sermons had been so obtuse that no one could understand them. But after Polly had told him that, his preaching became simpler.
    At coffee time, everyone came up to Polly and welcomed her home. They kept asking her how she liked school. All she could do was smile and murmur “Fine.”
    Mrs. Mackenzie, Alice’s mother, wrung Polly’s hand like a rag. “I hope Alice is keeping out of trouble,” she said.
    Polly tried to answer just as sternly. “Alice is
never
in trouble! In fact, she was just made president of her class.”
    “That’s hard to believe,” said Mrs. Mackenzie.
    Polly escaped from her and bumped into Chester’s parents. “Why, Polly, how nice to see you back on the island!” said his mother.
    “We telephoned Chester last night,” his father told her. “He’s really enjoying being back at school, and he’s trying out for the debating team.”
    St. Winifred’s had absorbed Polly so much that she’d forgotten Chester was also in Victoria, boarding at St. Cuthbert’s.
    A warm memory flooded her mind, of sitting with Chester at the lighthouse and watching the whales. Then he had kissed her! That seemed like years ago, not months.
    She wondered how far away Chester’s school was from hers. There was no chance she’d ever see him, however; he was as imprisoned as she was.
    “Is Chester coming home for Thanksgiving?” she asked in a carefully neutral voice.
    “Of course!” said his mother. “He’d never miss mypumpkin pie. And it’s his fifteenth birthday that weekend, so we’ll have a cake, too.”
    Fifteen!
Polly couldn’t believe Chester was almost that old. He would probably be much more interested in girls his own age than in her.
    Mrs. Hooper had been off for the weekend, but now she rushed up and enveloped Polly in one of her energetic hugs. “I made a chocolate cake for you,” she said. “Look for it in the pantry. And take lots of cookies, as well. You’ll want them for your tuck box, the way Maud used to. How’s she liking university?”
    “She loves it,” said Polly.
    “The house seems so lonely with you
both
away. At least your grandmother and I have Tarka to keep us hopping.”
    “I hope he’s behaving,” said Polly. “Remember he needs a lot of walks, or he’ll chew