Chapter 3.
Her Royal Highness.
Two whole school years passed.
Sarah grew stronger and smarter and dreamed every day about returning to India to take care of her papa.
Captain Crew wrote her long and vivid letters.
He also sent her books she would read late into the night after the other girls had gone to bed.
Sarah's French and her stories of India made her the perfect pupil to show off Miss Mention's fancy boarding school.
Some of the other girls began treating her as though she were royalty indeed, but others were jealous of her special attention and what they saw as fancy airs.
One day, while in the parlor with her classmates, Sarah received perhaps the most interesting letter of all.
In it, Captain Crewe told his daughter about a new business that was sure to make them even richer than before.
He had agreed to become a partner in a diamond mine with his best friend, a man he had met when he was just a boy in boarding school.
Maybe Sarah and I can have our own diamond mine someday, Ermengarde thought dreamily.
Great, Lavinia sniffed jealously.
That's all Sarah needs, more riches.
I think it sounds romantic, confessed Jessie.
Sarah agreed.
She didn't care about being rich.
If she was excited and she was it was only because the idea of a diamond mine was indeed dreamy, not to mention magical.
It was like something from the Arabian Nights.
Oh, the stories the diamond mines sparked.
Ermengarde, Lottie Becky and the other girls were treated to colorful tales of jeweled passages in the deepest parts of the earth and of brave men digging gemstones out with pigs.
I can't bear it, Lavinia told Jesse.
Now she will really be stuck up.
Jessie just shrugged.
She would never tell Lavinia, but she was starting to like Sarah and wished her no harm.
Did you know that Sarah secretly pretends she is a real princess?
Lavinia asked Jesse, trying to start trouble.
Oh yes, it's true.
One night I heard her telling someone.
It must have been that silly dunce, Ermengarde.
When I was passing by her room, I think we should all start calling her Your Royal Highness.
Jesse frowned.
She didn't want to call her any such thing.
Lavinia leaped up and ran over to where Sarah was just finishing up her story.
Much to Sarah's surprise, Lavinia started to clap.
"'Your Royal Highness,' Lavinia said, mocking her in between claps.
"'Diamond mines!
How exciting!'
Sarah swallowed.
She was rather shy about her princess fantasy, or pretend as she called it.
And here was Lavinia making fun of it in front of the whole school.
In secret, Sarah had decided that she would pretend to be a real princess.
She would have real subjects, like Becky and Lottie, who needed her the populace, as she called them and she would worry about more important things than just being pretty.
Above all, she would try always to be generous and kind.
Sarah felt like slapping Lavinia.
But princesses didn't slap people, she thought, even spiteful ones like Lavinia.
She forced herself to speak calmly and, yes, regally.
It's true, she said.
Sometimes I do pretend I am a princess, and I try to behave like one.
You might want to try that sometimes.
I wonder if you could still pretend you were a princess if you were a beggar girl and lived in an said Lavinia with scorn.
Sarah didn't know.
I would certainly try, she said.
Huh, said Lavinia, storming out of the room in a huff.
After that, many of the other girls started fondly calling Sarah Princess.
Even Miss Mention started.
Doing it not fondly, but because it made visiting parents think that hers was a school for children of royalty.
Captain Crew's letters kept coming.
However, their magic had started to fade.
Of course, he tried to keep the letters cheerful and full of good news.
He spoke of Sarah's upcoming eleventh birthday and promised her a huge party the likes of which the important young ladies at Miss Minchin's school had never seen before.
Sarah began to read between the lines of the letters.
Business troubles, problems with his health.
Her papa seemed uneasy and spoke more often about how much he missed her, something he had always kept secret before.
On the day of her birthday, Becky came to bring Sarah down to the party.
Mariette quickly helped Sarah finish dressing.
Miss Mention had ordered Sarah to put on her finest pink silk dress, made just for the event, and to curl her hair.
Sarah hadn't wanted to make such a fuss, but Miss Mention had insisted.
Because Captain Crewe would be paying her back for the party many times over.
She would see to it that no expense was spared.
Becky walked Sarah to the parlor-turned-party room.
Instead of leaving then however, as she knew she ought to, Becky could not help but stay and look at the colorful party decorations, the lovely cakes and the piles of presents.
Miss Mention spotted Becky.
Servant girl, she snapped.
Oh, please, Miss Mention, Sarah begged.
Can't Becky stay as a special favor to me on my birthday?
After all, Becky is a little girl, too.
Miss Mention was visibly upset.
She had always thought of Becky more as a machine than as a little girl.
But it would not do for Sarah to tell her rich father that she had been refused.
Once again, Sarah had made her feel oddly uncomfortable, and she didn't know quite why.
Fine, Miss Minchin said, frowning.
She waved to Becky.
Go stand over there, but not too near the young ladies.
Becky bounded happily to the corner where Miss Minchin had pointed.
Becky wasn't the only one hungrily eyeing the cakes, but Miss Minchin allowed no one to take a single bite or open a single present until they all sang happy birthday.
On the count of three, Miss Minchin instructed, we will begin.
She hit her tuning fork to give the key.
Happy birthday.
They all began.
All of a sudden they were interrupted when Miss Amelia burst clumsily into the room.
Amelia, Miss Minchin yelled.
Now they would have to start again.
I'm so sorry, Miss Amelia said out of breath, but it is an urgent matter.
At least Mr. Barrow says so.
He needs to talk to you right away.
Who?
Miss Mention asked impatiently.
Mr. Barrow, waiting to speak to you in your office, Miss Amelia sputtered.
He says he is Captain Crew's business manager.
Miss Mention's ears perked up.
Well, it's about time, she thought.
I have spent hundreds of pounds on that little princess since she's been here, and at least a hundred on this silly party alone.
And it has been months now since I have been paid back a penny.
She fish smiled so widely that she looked like a giant flounder.
She told the young lady she would be right back.
Feeling very generous at the thought of receiving such a large check.
She even told the students that they could start eating.
They would finish singing to Sarah when she returned.
