On that first morning, Sara sat next to Miss Minchin. Every girl in the schoolroom looked at her. Sara noticed one girl. This girl was about seven years old. She had light blue eyes and was a bit fat.
The girl’s hair was in a tight pigtail. She had a ribbon in her hair. The girl was biting the ribbon. She stared at Sara. This girl did not look very clever.
The girl’s name was Ermengarde St. John, and she was very surprised. She had heard Sara speak French to Monsieur Dufarge. Ermengarde spent weeks trying to learn simple French words and often cried. Now, she saw a girl who knew all the words. She was amazed.
Ermengarde stared so hard that Miss Minchin saw her. Miss Minchin was very angry that morning. She looked at Ermengarde. "Miss St. John!" Miss Minchin said loudly. "Sit up! Take the ribbon out of your mouth!"
Ermengarde jumped. Her face became very red. Lavinia and Jessie laughed at her. Ermengarde looked like she wanted to cry. Sara felt very sorry for her.
Sara always wanted to help people in trouble. Captain Crewe used to talk about this. He said Sara was like a soldier. She wanted to fight for people who were sad. Sara looked at Ermengarde often that morning.
Ermengarde was not good at lessons. Her French was very bad. Monsieur Dufarge smiled when she spoke. Lavinia and Jessie laughed again. Sara did not laugh. She felt angry at the other girls.
"It is not funny," Sara thought. "They should not laugh." Sara looked at the poor, unhappy girl.
Lessons finished. The girls talked in groups. Sara looked for Ermengarde. She found the girl sitting alone near a window. Sara walked over to her.
"What is your name?" Sara asked. Sara was very friendly. Most people liked her. But Ermengarde was very surprised. Sara was famous in the school already. She had a pony and a maid.
"My name is Ermengarde," the girl answered.
"My name is Sara," Sara said. "Your name is very pretty. It sounds like a name from a book."
"Do you like it?" Ermengarde asked. "I like your name too."
Ermengarde had a very clever father. He spoke many languages. He had thousands of books. He wanted Ermengarde to be clever too. But Ermengarde was not clever. She forgot her lessons very fast.
Ermengarde was the dunce of the school. Her father told Miss Minchin to make her learn. Because of this, Ermengarde was often in trouble. She was very sad.
Ermengarde looked at Sara with respect. "You can speak French, can't you?" she asked.
Sara sat on the window-seat. She pulled her feet up. "I know it because I heard it all my life," Sara said. "You could speak it too if you heard it."
"No, I could not," Ermengarde said. She shook her head. "The words are too strange. You are very clever, Sara."
Sara looked out the window. She saw some birds in the rain. She did not know if she was clever.
"Would you like to see Emily?" Sara asked.
"Who is Emily?" Ermengarde asked.
"Come to my room," Sara said. She took Ermengarde’s hand. They walked upstairs together.
"Is it true you have your own playroom?" Ermengarde whispered.
"Yes," Sara said. "I like to tell stories to myself. I do not want people to listen to me."
"You make up stories!" Ermengarde said. She was very surprised. "Can you do that and speak French too?"
Sara smiled. "Anyone can make up stories," she said. "Have you never tried?"
They walked quietly to the door. "We must be very quiet," Sara whispered. "Maybe we can catch her." Ermengarde did not understand, but she felt excited.
Sara opened the door quickly. The room was warm and quiet. There was a fire in the grate. Emily the doll sat in a chair. She had a book.
"She moved back to her seat quickly," Sara explained. "Dolls are very fast."
Ermengarde stared at the doll. "Can she walk?" she asked.
"I pretend she can," Sara said. "That makes it feel true. Have you never pretended things?"
"No," Ermengarde said. "Never. Tell me about it."
"Let us sit down," Sara said. "I will tell you. It is beautiful to pretend things." Sara introduced Ermengarde to Emily. Ermengarde held the beautiful doll.
Sara sat on the rug. She told Ermengarde about her ship journey. She told her about India. She told her about the magic of dolls. Ermengarde listened with a big smile.
Suddenly, Sara stopped talking. Her face changed. She looked very sad. Her eyes were not bright anymore. She took a deep breath. She did not want to cry.
"Are you in pain?" Ermengarde asked.
"Yes," Sara said. "But not in my body. Do you love your father very much?"
Ermengarde felt shy. She did not see her father very often. He was always reading books in his library.
"I love my father more than anything," Sara said. "That is my pain. He went away." Sara put her head on her knees. She sat very still.
Ermengarde thought Sara was going to cry. But Sara did not cry.
"I promised Papa I would be brave," Sara said. "Soldiers are brave. My father is a soldier. He does not cry. I will not cry."
Ermengarde looked at her. She liked Sara very much now. Sara was wonderful.
Sara smiled again. "If I talk about pretending, I feel better," she said.
"Lavinia and Jessie are best friends," Ermengarde said. "Can we be best friends? I am stupid, but I like you."
"Yes. We will be friends," Sara said. She felt happy. "And I have an idea. I can help you with your French lessons."