{"product_id":"2940013550636","title":"THE SCHOOL QUEENS","description":"CHAPTER I\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE FASCINATING MAGGIE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCicely Cardew and her sister Merry were twins. At the time when this\u003cbr\u003estory opens they were between fifteen and sixteen years of age. They\u003cbr\u003ewere bright, amiable, pretty young girls, who had never wanted for any\u003cbr\u003epleasure or luxury during their lives. Their home was a happy one.\u003cbr\u003eTheir parents were affectionate and lived solely for them. They were\u003cbr\u003ethe only children, and were treated--as only children often are--with\u003cbr\u003ea considerable amount of attention. They were surrounded by all the\u003cbr\u003eappliances of wealth. They had ponies to ride and carriages to drive\u003cbr\u003ein, and each had her own luxurious and beautifully furnished bedroom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was Mr. Cardew's wish that his daughters should be educated at\u003cbr\u003ehome. In consequence they were not sent to any school, but had daily\u003cbr\u003emasters and governesses to instruct them in the usual curriculum of\u003cbr\u003eknowledge. It might be truly said that for them the sun always shone,\u003cbr\u003eand that they were carefully guarded from the east wind. They were\u003cbr\u003enaturally bright and amiable. They had their share of good looks,\u003cbr\u003ewithout being quite beautiful. They had not the slightest knowledge of\u003cbr\u003ewhat the world meant, of what sorrow meant, or pain. They were brought\u003cbr\u003eup in such a sheltered way that it seemed to them that there were no\u003cbr\u003estorms in life. They were not discontented, for no one ever breathed\u003cbr\u003ethe word in their presence. Their requests were reasonable, for they\u003cbr\u003eknew of no very big things to ask for. Even their books were carefully\u003cbr\u003eselected for them, and their amusements were of a mild and orderly\u003cbr\u003echaracter.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSuch were the girls when this story opens on a bright day towards the\u003cbr\u003eend of a certain July. Their home was called Meredith Manor, and Merry\u003cbr\u003ewas called after an old ancestor on their mother's side to whom the\u003cbr\u003ehouse had at one time belonged.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMr. Cardew was a merchant-prince. Mrs. Cardew belonged to an old\u003cbr\u003ecounty family. If there was one thing in the world that Cicely and\u003cbr\u003eMerry thought nothing whatever about, it was money. They could\u003cbr\u003eunderstand neither poverty nor the absence of gold.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe little village near Meredith Manor was a model place, for Mr.\u003cbr\u003eCardew, to whom it belonged, devoted himself absolutely to it. The\u003cbr\u003ehouses were well drained and taken great care of. Prizes were offered\u003cbr\u003efor the best gardens; consequently each cottager vied with the other\u003cbr\u003ein producing the most lovely flowers and the most tempting fruits. The\u003cbr\u003evillage consisted entirely of Mr. Cardew's laborers and the different\u003cbr\u003eservants on his estate. There were, therefore, no hardships for the\u003cbr\u003egirls to witness at Meredith village. They were fond of popping in and\u003cbr\u003eout of the cottages and talking to the young wives and mothers, and\u003cbr\u003eplaying with the babies; and they particularly enjoyed that great\u003cbr\u003eannual day when Mr. Cardew threw open the grounds of Meredith to the\u003cbr\u003eentire neighborhood, and when games and fun and all sorts of\u003cbr\u003eamusements were the order of the hour.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBesides the people who lived in the village, there was, of course, the\u003cbr\u003erector, who had a pretty, picturesque, old brown house, with a nice\u003cbr\u003egarden in one corner of the grounds. He had a good-natured,\u003cbr\u003eround-faced, happy wife, and a family of four stalwart sons and\u003cbr\u003edaughters. He was known as the Reverend William Tristram; and, as the\u003cbr\u003eliving was in the gift of the Meredith family, he was a distant\u003cbr\u003econnection of Mrs. Cardew, and had been appointed by her husband to\u003cbr\u003ethe living of Meredith at her request.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47152583114992,"sku":"2940013550636","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013550636_p0.jpg?v=1763582670","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013550636","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}