“Do you hear that, mamma?” cried one of the girls. “She actually came home in one of our carriages! I suppose she considers herself too much of a fine lady to walk.”
The one who spoke was red-haired, and her face was highly rouged and powdered, so Ella judged that it was she who had taken possession of her room. But in spite of her paint and powder nobody could possibly call this girl handsome. To begin with, she squinted so badly that while one eye was looking at Ella, the gaze of the other was fixed on the corner of the room. And, as if this was not enough, she had inherited her mother’s big hooked nose, which made her face look rather like that of a horse, although no horse could possibly have worn so bad-tempered and discontented an expression.
The other sister, who, as Ella afterwards learned, was the one named Charlotte, was no beauty either, but she was considerably more attractive than Euphronia, though she had a little red nose that was turned up in the most comical way. Nevertheless, Ella thought that there was just a trace of kindliness in Charlotte’s look, so she ventured to appeal to her.
“I am sorry if I did wrong by coming home in the carriage,” she said, “but my father came to the school for me. Please do not be angry, and I will try to please you in future.”
“Come, come,” said the Baron, nervously rubbing his hands. “Do not let us begin to quarrel about such a little thing. The child is really not at fault.”
