Stella Fregelius by H. Rider Haggard (books to read now TXT) 📖

so, upon my soul, I should like to make the congregation. And that pious fellow Morris, too—the blameless Morris—to go philandering about in this fashion. I hope it won’t come to Mary’s ears; but if it does, luckily, with all her temper, she is a sensible woman, and knows that even Jove nods at times.”

After the service the Colonel spoke to various friends, accepted their condolences upon the death of Mr. Porson, and finally walked down the road with Eliza Layard.

“You must have found that all sorts of strange things have happened at the Abbey since you have been away, Colonel Monk,” she said presently in a sprightly voice.

“Well, yes; at least I don’t know. I understand that Morris has improved that blessed apparatus of his, and the new parson and his daughter have floated to our doors like driftwood. By the way, have you seen Miss Fregelius?”

“Seen her? Yes, I have seen her.”

“She is a wonderfully captivating girl, isn’t she? So unusual, with those great eyes of hers that seem to vary with the light——”

“Like a cat’s,” snapped Eliza.

“The light within—I was going to say.”

“Oh! I thought you meant the light without. Well, she may be fascinating—to men, but as I am only a woman, I cannot be expected to appreciate that. You see we look more to other things.”

“Ah. Well, so far as I am a judge she seemed to me to be pretty well set up in them also. She has a marvellous voice, is certainly a first-class violinist, and I should say extremely well-read, especially in Norse literature.”

“Oh! I daresay she is a genius as well as a beauty.”

“I gather,” said the Colonel with a smile, “that you do not like Miss Fregelius. As my acquaintance with her is limited, would you think me rude if I asked why?”

“How can I be expected to like her, seeing——” and she paused.

“Seeing what, Miss Layard?”

“What, haven’t you heard? I thought it was common property.”

He shook his head. “I have heard nothing. Go on, pray, this is quite interesting.”

“That she led on that silly brother of mine until he proposed to her—yes, proposed to her!—and then refused him. Stephen has been like a crazy creature ever since, moaning, and groaning, and moping till I think that he will go off his head, instead of returning thanks to Providence for a merciful escape.”

The Colonel set his lips as though to whistle, then checked himself.

“Under the circumstances, presuming them to be accurately stated, I am not prepared to say who is to be congratulated or who should thank Providence. These things are so individual, are they not? But if one thing is clear, whatever else she is or is not, Miss Fregelius cannot be a fortune-hunter, although she must want money.”

“She may want other things more.”

“Perhaps. But I am very stupid, I am afraid I do not understand.”

“Men, for instance,” suggested Eliza.

“Dear me! that sounds almost carnivorous. I am afraid that there are not many about here to satisfy her appetite. Your brother, Morris, the curate at Morton, and myself, if at my age I may creep into that honourable company, are the only single creatures within four miles, and from these Stephen and Morris must apparently be eliminated.”

“Why should Morris be eliminated?”

“A reason may occur to you.”

“Do you mean because he is engaged? What on earth does that matter?”

“Nothing—in the East—but, rightly or wrongly, we have decided upon a monogamous system; a man can’t marry two wives, Miss Layard.”

“But he can throw over one girl to marry another.”

“Do you suggest that Morris is contemplating this experiment?”

“I? I suggest nothing; all I know is——”

“Well, now, what do you know?”

“If you wish me to tell you, as perhaps I ought, I know this, Colonel Monk, that the other night, when I was driving along the Rectory road, I saw your son, Mr. Monk, kissing this wonderful Miss Fregelius; that is all, and Stephen saw it also, you ask him.”

“Thank you; I think I would rather not. But what an odd place for him to choose for this interchange of early Christian courtesies! Also—if you are not mistaken—how well it illustrates that line in the hymn this morning:

“‘How many a spot defiles the robe that wraps an earthly saint.’

Such adventures seem scarcely in Morris’s line, and I should have thought that even an inexperienced saint would have been more discreet.”

“Men always jest at serious things,” said Eliza severely.

“Which do you mean—the saints or the kissing? Both are serious enough, but the two in combination——”

“Don’t you believe me?” asked Eliza.

“Of course. But could you give me a few details?”

Eliza could and did—with amplifications.

“Now, what do you say, Colonel Monk?” she asked triumphantly.

“I say that I think you have made an awkward mistake, Miss Layard. It seems to me that all you saw is quite consistent with the theory that he was buttoning or arranging the young lady’s hood. I understand that the wind was very high that night.”

Eliza started; this was a new and unpleasant interpretation which she hastened to repudiate. “Arranging her hood, indeed——”

“When he might have been kissing her? You cannot understand such moderation. Still, it is possible, and he ought to have the benefit of the doubt. Witnesses to character would be valuable in such a case, and his—not to mention the lady’s—is curiously immaculate.”

“Of course you are entitled to your own opinion, but I have mine.”

Suddenly the Colonel changed his bantering, satirical tone, and became stern and withering.

“Miss Layard,” he said, “does it occur to you that on evidence which would not suffice to convict a bicyclist of riding on a footpath, you are circulating a scandal of which the issue might be very grave to both the parties concerned?”

“I am not circulating anything. I was telling you privately;” replied Eliza, still trying to be bold.

“I am glad to hear it. I understand that neither you nor your brother have spoken of this extraordinary tale, and I am quite certain that you will not speak of it in the future.”

“I cannot answer for my brother,” she said sulkily.

“No, but in his own interest and in yours I trust that you will make him understand that if I hear a word of this I shall hold him to account. Also, that his propagation of such a slander will react upon you, who were with him.”

“How?” asked Eliza, now thoroughly frightened, for when he chose the Colonel could be very crushing.

“Thus: Your brother’s evidence is that of an interested person which no one will accept; and of yours, Miss Layard, it might be inferred that it was actuated by jealousy of a charming and quite innocent girl; or, perhaps, by other motives even worse, which I would rather you did not ask me to suggest.”

Eliza did not ask him. She was too wise. As she knew well, when roused the Colonel was a man with a bitter tongue and a good memory.

“I am sure I am the last person who would wish to do mischief,” she said in a humble voice.

“Of course, I know that, I know that. Well, now we understand each other, so I must be turning home. Thank you so much for having been quite candid with me. Good morning, Miss Layard; remember me to Stephen.”

“Phew!” reflected the Colonel to himself, “that battle is won—after a fashion—but just about forty-eight hours too late. By this time that vixen of a woman has put the story all over the place. Oh, Morris, you egregious ass, if you wanted to take to kissing like a schoolboy, why the deuce did you select the high road for the purpose? This must be put a stop to. I must take steps, and at once. They mustn’t be seen together again, or there will be trouble with Mary. But how to do it? how to do it? That is the question, and one to which I must find an answer within the next two hours. What a kettle of fish! What a pretty kettle of fish!”

In due course, and after diligent search, he found the answer to this question.

At lunch time the Colonel remarked casually that he had walked a little way with Miss Layard, who mentioned that she had seen them—i.e., his son and Miss Fregelius—struggling through the gale the other night. Then he watched the effect of this shot. Morris moved his chair and looked uncomfortable; clearly he was a most transparent sinner. But on Stella it took no effect.

“As usual,” reflected the Colonel, “the lady has the most control. Or perhaps he tried to kiss her and she wouldn’t let him, and a consciousness of virtue gives her strength.”

After luncheon the Colonel paid a visit to Mr. Fregelius, ostensibly to talk to him about the proposed restoration of the chancel, for which he, as holder of the great tithes, was jointly liable with the rector, a responsibility that, in the altered circumstances of the family, he now felt himself able to face. When this subject was exhausted, which did not take long, as Mr. Fregelius refused to express any positive opinion until he had inspected the church, the Colonel’s manner grew portentously solemn.

“My dear sir,” he said, “there is another matter, a somewhat grave one, upon which, for both our sakes and the sakes of those immediately concerned, I feel bound to say a few words.”

Mr. Fregelius, who was a timid man, looked very much alarmed. A conviction that the “grave matter” had something to do with Stella flashed into his mind, but all he said was:

“I am afraid I don’t understand, Colonel Monk.”

“No; indeed, how should you? Well, to come to the point, it has to do with that very charming daughter of yours and my son Morris.”

“I feared as much,” groaned the clergyman.

“Indeed! I thought you said you did not understand.”

“No, but I guessed; wherever Stella goes things seem to happen.”

“Exactly; well, things have happened here. To be brief, I mean that a lot of silly women have got up a scandal about them—no, scandal is too strong a word—gossip.”

“What is alleged?” asked Mr. Fregelius faintly.

“Well, that your daughter threw over that young ass, Stephen Layard, because—the story seems to me incredible, I admit—she had fallen violently in love with Morris. Further that she and the said Morris were seen embracing at night on the Rectory road, which I don’t believe, as the witnesses are Layard, who is prejudiced, and his sister, who is the most ill-bred, bitter, and disappointed woman in the county. Lastly, and this is no doubt true, that they are generally on terms of great intimacy, and we all know where that leads to between a man and woman—‘Plato, thy confounded fantasies,’ etc. You see, when people sit up singing to each other alone till two in the morning—I don’t mean that Morris sings, he has no more voice than a crow; he does the appreciative audience—well, other people will talk, won’t they?”

“I suppose so, the world being what it is,” sighed Mr. Fregelius.

“Exactly; the world being what it is, and men and women what they are, a most unregenerate lot and ‘au fond’ very primitive, as I daresay you may have observed.”

“What is to be done?”

“Well, under other circumstances, I should have said, Nothing at all except congratulate them most heartily, more especially my son. But in this case there are reasons which make such a course impossible. As you know, Morris is engaged to be married to my niece, Miss Porson, and it is a contract which, even if he wished it, honour would forbid him to break, for family as well as for personal reasons.”

“Quite so, quite so; it is not to be thought of. But again I ask—What is to be done?”

“Is that not rather a question for you to consider? I suggest that you had better speak to your daughter; just a hint, you know, just a hint.”

“Upon my word, I’d rather not. Stella can be so—decided—at times, and we never seem quite to understand each other. I did speak