Elster's Folly by Mrs. Henry Wood (most important books to read TXT) 📖
- Author: Mrs. Henry Wood
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Slight Man, With Light Eyes And Fair Hair." This Did Not Answer Exactly
To The Gorton Who Had Played His Part At Calne; But Then, In Regard To
The Latter, There Remained The Suspicion That The Red Hair Was False.
Whether It Was The Same Man Or Whether It Was Two Men--If The Phrase May
Be Allowed--Neither Of Them, To Use Detective Green's Expressive Words,
Turned Up. And Thus The Months Had Passed On, With Nothing Special To
Mark Them. Captain Kirton Had Been Conveyed Abroad For The Winter, And
They Had Good News Of Him; And The Countess-Dowager Was Inflicting A
Visit Upon One Of Her Married Daughters In Germany, The Baroness With The
Unpronounceable Name.
And The Matter Had Nearly Faded From The Mind Of Lady Hartledon. It Would
Quite Have Faded, But For Certain Interviews With Thomas Carr At His
Chambers, When Hartledon's Look Of Care Precluded The Idea That They
Could Be Visits Of Mere Idleness Or Pleasure; And For The Secret Trouble
That Unmistakably Sat On Her Husband Like An Incubus. At Times He Would
Moan In His Sleep As One In Pain; But If Told Of This, Had Always Some
Laughing Answer Ready For Her--He Had Dreamed He Was Fighting A Lion Or
Being Tossed By A Bull.
This Was The Pleasantest Phase Of Lady Hartledon's Married Life. Her
Health Did Not Allow Of Her Entering Into Gaiety; And She And Her Husband
Passed Their Time Happily Together. All Her Worst Qualities Seemed To
Have Left Her, Or To Be Dormant; She Was Yielding And Gentle; Her Beauty
Had Never Been So Great As Now That It Was Subdued; Her Languor Was An
Attraction, Her Care To Please Being Genuine; And They Were Sufficiently
Happy. They Were In Their Town-House Now, Not Having Gone Back To
Hartledon. A Large, Handsome House, Very Different From The Hired One
They Had First Occupied.
In January The Baby Was Born; And Maude's Eyes Glistened With Tears
Of Delight Because It Was A Boy: A Little Heir To The Broad Lands Of
Hartledon. She Was Very Well, And It Seemed That She Could Never Tire
Of Fondling Her Child.
But In The First Few Days Succeeding That Of The Birth A Strange Fancy
Took Possession Of Her: She Observed, Or Thought She Observed, That Her
Husband Did Not Seem To Care For The Child. He Did Not Caress It; She
Once Heard Him Sighing Over It; And He Never Announced It In The
Newspapers. Other Infants, Heirs Especially, Could Be Made Known To The
World, But Not Hers. The Omission Might Never Have Come To Her Knowledge,
Since At First She Was Not Allowed To See Newspapers, But For A Letter
From The Countess-Dowager. The Lady Wrote In A High State Of Wrath From
Germany; She Had Looked Every Day For Ten Days In The _Times_, And Saw No
Chronicle Of The Happy Event; And She Demanded The Reason. It Afforded A
Valve For Her Temper, Which Had Been In An Explosive State For Some Time
Against Lord Hartledon, That Ungracious Son-In-Law Having Actually
Forbidden Her His House Until Maude's Illness Should Be Over; Telling Her
Plainly That He Would Not Have His Wife Worried. Lady Hartledon Said
Nothing For A Day Or Two; She Was Watching Her Husband; Watching For
Signs Of The Fancy Which Had Taken Possession Of Her.
He Was In Her Room One Dark Afternoon, Standing With His Elbow On The
Mantelpiece Whilst He Talked To Her: A Room Of Luxury And Comfort It Must
Have Been Almost A Pleasure To Be Ill In. Lady Hartledon Had Been Allowed
To Get Up, And Sit In An Easy-Chair: She Seemed To Be Growing Strong
Rapidly; And The Little Red Gentleman In The Cradle, Sleeping Quietly,
Was Fifteen Days Old.
"About His Name, Percival; What Is It To Be?" She Asked. "Your Own?"
"No, No, Not Mine," Said He, Quickly; "I Never Liked Mine. Choose Some
Other, Maude."
"What Do You Wish It To Be?"
"Anything."
The Short Answer Did Not Please The Young Mother; Neither Did The Dreamy
Tone In Which It Was Spoken. "Don't You Care What It Is?" She Asked
Rather Plaintively.
"Not Much, For Myself. I Wish It To Be Anything You Shall Choose."
"I Thought Perhaps You Would Have Liked It Named After Your Brother," She
Said, Very Much Offended On The Baby's Account.
"George?"
"George, No. I Never Knew George; I Should Not Be Likely To Think Of Him.
Edward."
Lord Hartledon Looked At The Fire, Absently Pushing Back His Hair. "Yes,
Let It Be Edward. It Will Do As Well As Anything Else."
"Good Gracious, Percival, One Would Think You Had Been Having Babies All
Your Life!" She Exclaimed Resentfully. "'Do As Well As Anything Else!' If
He Were Our Tenth Son, Instead Of Our First, You Could Not Treat It With
More Indifference. I Have Done Nothing But Deliberate On The Name Since
He Was Born; And I Don't Believe You Have Once Given It A Thought."
Lord Hartledon Turned His Face Upon Her; And When Illumined With A Smile,
As Now, It Could Be As Bright As Before Care Came To It. "I Don't Think
We Men Attach The Importance To Names In A General Way That You Do,
Maude. I Shall Like To Have It Edward."
"Edward William Algernon--"
"No, No, No," As If The Number Alarmed Him. "Pray Don't Have A String Of
Names: One's Quite Enough."
"Oh, Very Well," She Returned, Biting Her Lips. "William Was Your
Father's Name. Algernon Is My Eldest Brother's: I Supposed You Might Like
Them. I Thought," She Added, After A Pause, "We Might Ask Lord Kirton To
Be Its Godfather."
"I Have Decided On The Godfathers Already. Thomas Carr Will Be One, And
I Intend To Be The Other."
"Thomas Carr! A Poor Hard-Working Barrister, That Not A Soul Knows, And
Of No Family Or Influence Whatever, Godfather To The Future Lord
Hartledon!" Uttered The Offended Mother.
"I Wish It, Maude. Carr Is The Most Valued Friend I Have In The World, Or
Ever Can Have. Oblige Me In This."
"Then My Brother Can Be The Other."
"No; I Myself; And I Wish You Would Be Its Godmother."
"Well, It's Quite Reversing The Order Of Things!" She Said, Tacitly
Conceding The Point.
A Silence Ensued. The Firelight Played On The Lace Curtains Of The Baby's
Bed, As It Did On Lady Hartledon's Face; A Thoughtful Face Just Now.
Twilight Was Drawing On, And The Fire Lighted The Room.
"Percival, Do You Care For The Child?"
The Tone Had A Sound Of Passion In It, Breaking Upon The Silence. Lord
Hartledon Lifted His Bent Face And Glanced At His Wife.
"Do I Care For The Child, Maude? What A Question! I Do Care For Him: More
Than I Allow To Appear."
And If Her Voice Had Passion In It, His Had Pain. He Crossed The Room,
And Stood Looking Down On The Sleeping Baby, Touching At Length Its Cheek
With His Finger. He Could Have Knelt, There And Then, And Wept Over The
Child, And Prayed, Oh, How Earnestly, That God Would Take It To Himself,
Not Suffer It To Live. Many And Many A Prayer Had Ascended From His Heart
In Their Earlier Married Days, That His Wife Might Not Bear Him Children;
For He Could Only Entail Upon Them An Inheritance Of Shame.
"I Don't Think You Have Once Taken Him In Your Arms, Percival; You Never
Kiss Him. It's Quite Unnatural."
"I Give My Kisses In The Dark," He Laughed, As He Returned To Where She
Was Sitting. And This Was In A Sense True; For Once When He Happened To
Be Alone For An Instant With The Baby, He Had Clasped It And Kissed It In
A Sort Of Delirious Agony.
"You Never Had It In The _Times_, You Know!"
"Never What?"
"Never Announced Its Birth In The _Times_. Did You Forget It?"
"It Must Have Been Very Stupid Of Me," He Remarked. "Never Mind, Maude;
He Won't Grow The Less For The Omission. When Are You Coming Downstairs?"
"Mamma Is In A Rage About It; She Says Such Neglect Ought To Be Punished;
And She Knows You Have Done It On Purpose."
"She Is Always In A Rage With Me, No Matter What I Do," Returned Val,
Good-Humouredly. "She Hoped To Be Here At This Time, And Sway Us All--You
And Me And The Baby; And I Stopped It. Ho, Ho! Young Sir!"
The Baby Had Wakened With A Cry, And A Watchful Attendant Came Gliding
In At The Sound. Lord Hartledon Left The Room And Went Straight Down To
The Temple To Mr. Carr's Chambers. He Found Him In All The Bustle Of
Departure From Town. A Cab Stood At The Foot Of The Stairs, And Mr.
Carr's Laundress, A Queer Old Body With An Inverted Black Bonnet, Was
Handing The Cabman A Parcel Of Books.
"A Minute More And You'd Have Been Too Late," Observed Mr. Carr, As Lord
Hartledon Met Him On The Stairs, A Coat On His Arm.
"I Thought You Did Not Start Till To-Morrow."
"But I Found I Must Go To-Day. I Can Give You Three Minutes. Is It
Anything Particular?"
Lord Hartledon Drew Him Into His Room. "I Have Come To Crave A Favour,
Carr. It Has Been On My Lips To Ask You Before, But They Would Not Frame
The Words. This Child Of Mine: Will You Be Its Godfather With Myself?"
One Moment's Hesitation, Quite Perceptible To The Sensitive Mind Of Lord
Hartledon, And Then Mr. Carr Spoke Out Bravely And Cheerily.
"Of Course I Will."
"I See You Hesitate: But I Do Not Like To Ask Any One Else."
"If I Hesitated, It Was At The Thought Of The Grave Responsibility
Attaching To The Office. I Believe I Look Upon It In A More Serious Light
Than Most People Do, And Have Never Accepted The Charge Yet. I Will Be
Sponsor To This One With All My Heart."
Lord Hartledon Clasped His Hand In Reply, And They Began To Descend
The Stairs. "Poor Maude Was Dreaming Of Making A Grand Thing Of The
Christening," He Said; "She Wanted To Ask Lord Kirton To Come To It.
It Will Take Place In About A Fortnight."
"Very Well; I Must Run Up For It, Unless You Let Me Stand By Proxy.
I Wish, Hartledon, You Would Hear Me On Another Point," Added The
Barrister, Halting On The Stairs, And Dropping His Voice To A Whisper.
"Well?"
"If You Are To Go Away At All, Now's The Time. Can't You Be Seized With
An Exploring Fit, And Sail To Africa, Or Some Other Place, Where Your
Travels Would Occupy Years?"
Lord Hartledon Shook His Head. "How Can I Leave Maude To Battle Alone
With The Exposure, Should It Come?"
"It Is A Great Deal Less Likely To Come If You Are A Few Thousand Miles
Away."
"I Question It. Should Gorton Turn Up He Is Just The One To Frighten A
Defenceless Woman, And Purchase His Own Silence. No; My Place Is Beside
Maude."
"As You Please. I Have Spoken For The Last Time. By The Way, Any Letters
Bearing A Certain Postmark, That Come Addressed To Me During My Absence,
Taylor Has Orders To Send To You. Fare You Well, Hartledon; I Wish I
Could Help You To Peace."
Hartledon Watched The Cab Rattle Away, And Then Turned Homewards. Peace!
There Was No Peace For Him.
Lady Hartledon Was Not To Be Thwarted On All Points, And She Insisted
On A Ceremonious Christening. The Countess-Dowager Would Come Over For
It, And Did So; Lord Hartledon Could Not Be Discourteous Enough To Deny
This; Lord And Lady Kirton Came From Ireland; And For The First Time
Since Their Marriage They Found Themselves Entertaining Guests. Lord
Hartledon Had Made A Faint Opposition, But Maude Had Her Own Way. The
Countess-Dowager Was Furiously Indignant When She Heard Of The Intended
Sponsors--Its Father And Mother, And That Cynical Wretch, Thomas Carr!
Val Played The Hospitable Host; But There Was A Shadow On His Face That
His Wife Did Not Fail To See.
It Was The Evening Before The Christening, And A Very Snowy Evening
Too. Val Was Dressing For Dinner, And Maude, Herself Ready, Sat By Him,
Her Baby On Her Knee. The Child Was Attired For The First Time In A
Splendidly-Worked Robe With Looped-Up Sleeves; And She Had Brought It
In To Challenge Admiration For Its Pretty Arms, With All The Pardonable
Pride Of A Young Mother.
"Won't You Kiss It For Once, Val?"
He Took The Child In His Arms; It Had Its Mother's Fine Dark Eyes, And
Looked Straight Up From Them Into His. Lord Hartledon Suddenly Bent His
Own Face Down Upon That Little One With What Seemed Like A Gesture Of
Agony; And When He Raised It His Own Eyes Were Wet With Tears. Maude Felt
Startled With A Sort Of Terror: Love Was Love; But She Did Not Understand
Love So Painful As This.
She Sat Down With The Baby On Her Knee, Saying Nothing; He Did
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