A Terrible Temptation (Fiscle Part 3) by Charles Reade (motivational books for men TXT) 📖
- Author: Charles Reade
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The Sister Continued: "Some Malicious Person Went And Told The Young
Lady's Father The Gentleman Was In The Habit Of Visiting That Lady, And
Would Be With Her At A Certain Hour. And So He Was; But It Was The
Lawyer's Appointment, You Know. You Seem Agitated."
"No, No; Not Agitated," Said Bella, "But Astonished; It Is So Like A
Story I Know. A Young Lady, A Friend Of Mine, Had An Anonymous Letter,
Telling Her That One She Loved And Esteemed Was Unworthy. But What You
Have Told Me Shows Me How Deceitful Appearances May Be. What Was Your
Patient's Name?"
"It Is Against Our Rules To Tell That. But You Said An 'Anonymous
Letter.' Was Your Friend So Weak As To Believe An Anonymous Letter? The
Writer Of Such A Letter Is A Coward, And A Coward Always Is A Liar.
Show Me Your Friend's Anonymous Letter. I May, Perhaps, Be Able To
Throw A Light On It."
The Conversation Was Interrupted By Admiral Bruce, Who Had Approached
Them Unobserved. "Excuse Me," Said He, "But You Ladies Seem To Have Hit
Upon A Very Interesting Theme."
"Yes, Papa," Said Bella. "I Took The Liberty To Question This Lady As
To Her Experiences Of Sick-Beds, And She Was Good Enough To Give Me
Some Of Them."
Having Uttered This With A Sudden Appearance Of Calmness That First
Amazed The Sister, Then Made Her Smile, She Took Her Father's Arm,
Bowed Politely, And A Little Stiffly, To Her New Friend, And Drew The
Admiral Away.
"Oh!" Thought The Sister. "I Am Not To Speak To The Old Gentleman. He
Is Not In Her Confidence. Yet She Is Very Fond Of Him. How She Hangs On
His Arm! Simplicity! Candor! We Are All Tarred With The Same Stick--We
Women."
That Night Bella Was A Changed Girl--Exalted And Depressed By Turns,
And With No Visible Reason.
Her Father Was Pleased. Anything Better Than That Deadly Languor.
Part 3 Chapter 7 Pg 46
The Next Day Bella Sat By Her Father's Side In The Square, Longing To
Go To The Sister, Yet Patiently Waiting To Be Ordered.
At Last The Admiral, Finding Her Dull And Listless, Said, "Why Don't
You Go And Talk To The Sister? She Amuses You. I'll Join You When I
Have Smoked This Cigar."
The Obedient Bella Rose, And Went Toward The Sister As If Compelled.
But When She Got To Her Her Whole Manner Changed. She Took Her Warmly
By The Hand, And Said, Trembling And Blushing, And All On Fire, "I Have
Brought You The Anonymous Letter."
The Elder Actress Took It And Ran Her Eye Over It--An Eye That Now
Sparkled Like A Diamond. "Humph!" Said She, And Flung Off All The
Dulcet Tones Of Her Assumed Character With Mighty Little Ceremony.
"This Hand Is Disguised A Little, But I Think I Know It. I Am Sure I
Do! The Dirty Little Rascal!"
"Madam!" Cried Bella, Aghast With Surprise At This Language.
"I Tell You I Know The Writer And His Rascally Motive. You Must Lend Me
This For A Day Or Two."
"Must I?" Said Bella. "Excuse Me! Papa Would Be So Angry."
"Very Likely; But You Will Lend It To Me For All That; For With This I
Can Clear Miss Bruce's Lover And Defeat His Enemies."
Bella Uttered A Faint Cry, And Trembled, And Her Bosom Heaved
Violently. She Looked This Way And That, Like A Frightened Deer. "But
Papa? His Eye Is On Us."
"Never Deceive Your Father!" Said The Sister, Almost Sternly; "But,"
Darting Her Gray Eyes Right Into Those Dove-Like Orbs, "Give Me Five
Minutes' Start--If You Really Love Sir Charles Bassett."
With These Words She Carried Off The Letter; And Bella Ran, Blushing,
Panting, Trembling, To Her Father, And Clung To Him.
He Questioned Her, But Could Get Nothing From Her Very Intelligible
Until The Sister Was Out Of Sight, And Then She Told Him All Without
Reserve.
"I Was Unworthy Of Him To Doubt Him. An Anonymous Slander. I'll Never
Trust Appearances Again. Poor Charles! Oh, My Darling! What He Must
Have Suffered If He Loves Like Me." Then Came A Shower Of Happy Tears;
Then A Shower Of Happy Kisses.
The Admiral Groaned, But For A Long Time He Could Not Get A Word In.
When He Did It Was Chilling. "My Poor Girl," Said He, "This Unhappy
Love Blinds You. What, Don't You See The Woman Is No Nun, But Some Sly
Hussy That Man Has Sent To Throw Dust In Your Eyes?"
Part 3 Chapter 7 Pg 47
Nothing She Could Say Prevailed To Turn Him From This View, And He
Acted Upon It With Resolution: He Confined Her Excursions To A Little
Garden At The Back Of The House, And Forbade Her, On Any Pretense, To
Cross The Threshold.
Miss Somerset Came To The Square In Another Disguise, Armed With
Important Information. But No Bella Bruce Appeared To Meet Her.
All This Time Richard Bassett Was Happy As A Prince.
So Besotted Was He With Egotism, And So Blinded By Imaginary Wrongs,
That He Rejoiced In The Lovers' Separation, Rejoiced In His Cousin's
Attack.
Polly, Who Now Regarded Him Almost As A Lover, Told Him All About It;
And Already In Anticipation He Saw Himself And His Line Once More Lords
Of The Two Manors--Bassett And Huntercombe--On The Demise Of Sir
Charles Bassett, Bart., Deceased Without Issue.
And, In Fact, Sir Charles Was Utterly Defeated. He Lay Torpid.
But There Was A Tough Opponent In The Way--All The More Dangerous That
She Was Not Feared.
One Fine Day Miss Somerset Electrified Her Groom By Ordering Her Pony
Carriage To The Door At Ten A. M.
She Took The Reins On The Pavement, Like A Man, Jumped In Light As A
Feather, And Away Rattled The Carriage Into The City. The Ponies Were
All Alive, The Driver's Eye Keen As A Bird's; Her Courage And Her
Judgment Equal. She Wound In And Out Among The Huge Vehicles With
Perfect Composure; And On Those Occasions When, The Traffic Being
Interrupted, The Oratorical Powers Were Useful To Fill Up The Time, She
Shone With Singular Brilliance. The West End Is Too Often In Debt To
The City, But, In The Matter Of Chaff, It Was Not So This Day; For
Whenever She Took A Peck She Returned A Bushel; And So She Rattled To
The Door Of Solomon Oldfield, Solicitor, Old Jewry.
She Penetrated Into The Inner Office Of That Worthy, And Told Him He
Must Come With Her That Minute To Portman Square.
"Impossible, Madam!" And, As They Say In The Law Reports, Gave His
Reasons.
"Certain, Sir!" And Gave No Reasons.
He Still Resisted.
Thereupon She Told Him She Should Sit There All Day And Chaff His
Part 3 Chapter 7 Pg 48Clients One After Another, And That His Connection With The Bassett And
Huntercombe Estates Should End.
Then He Saw He Had To Do With A Termagant, And Consented, With A Sigh.
She Drove Him Westward, Wincing Every Now And Then At Her Close
Driving, And Told Him All, And Showed Him What She Was Pleased To Call
Her Little Game. He Told Her It Was Too Romantic. Said He, "You Ladies
Read Nothing But Novels; But The Real World Is Quite Different From The
World Of Novels." Having Delivered This Remonstrance--Which Was
Tolerably Just, For She Never Read Anything But Novels And Sermons--He
Submitted Like A Lamb, And Received Her Instructions.
She Drove As Fast As She Talked, So That By This Time They Were At
Admiral Bruce's Door.
Now Mr. Oldfield Took The Lead, As Per Instructions. "Mr. Oldfield,
Solicitor, And A Lady--On Business."
The Porter Delivered This To The Footman With The Accuracy Which All
Who Send Verbal Messages Deserve And May Count On. "Mr. Oldfield And
Lady."
The Footman, Who Represented The Next Step In Oral Tradition, Without
Which Form Of History The Heathen World Would Never Have Known That
Hannibal Softened The Rocks With Vinegar, Nor The Christian World That
Eleven Thousand Virgins Dwelt In A German Town The Size Of Putney,
Announced The Pair As "Mr. And Mrs. Hautville."
"I Don't Know Them, I Think. Well, I Will See Them."
They Entered, And The Admiral Stared A Little, And Wondered How This
Couple Came Together--The Keen But Plain Old Man, With Clothes Hanging
On Him, And The Dashing Beauty, With Her Dress In The Height Of The
Fashion, And Her Gauntleted Hands. However, He Bowed Ceremoniously, And
Begged His Visitors To Be Seated.
Now The Folding-Doors Were Ajar, And The _Soi-Disant_ Mrs. Oldfield
Peeped. She Saw Bella Bruce At Some Distance, Seated By The Fire, In A
Reverie.
Judge That Young Lady's Astonishment When She Looked Up And Observed A
Large White, Well-Shaped Hand, Sparkling With Diamonds And Rubies,
Beckoning Her Furtively.
The Owner Of That Sparkling Hand Soon Heard A Soft Rustle Of Silk Come
Toward The Door; The Very Rustle, Somehow, Was Eloquent, And Betrayed
Love And Timidity, And Something Innocent Yet Subtle. The Jeweled Hand
Went In Again Directly.
Part 3 Chapter 8 Pg 49Meantime Mr. Oldfield Began To Tell The Admiral Who He Was, And That He
Was Come To Remove A False Impression About A Client Of His, Sir
Charles Bassett.
"That, Sir," Said The Admiral, Sternly, "Is A Name We Never Mention
Here."
He Rose And Went To The Folding-Doors, And Deliberately Closed Them.
The Somerset, Thus Defeated, Bit Her Lip, And Sat All Of A Heap, Like A
Cat About To Spring, Looking Sulky And Vicious.
Mr. Oldfield Persisted, And, As He Took The Admiral's Hint And Lowered
His Voice, He Was Interrupted No More, But Made A Simple Statement Of
Those Facts Which Are Known To The Reader.
Admiral Bruce Heard Them, And Admitted That The Case Was Not Quite So
Bad As He Had Thought.
Then Mr. Oldfield Proposed That Sir Charles Should Be Re-Admitted.
"No," Said The
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