Elster's Folly by Mrs. Henry Wood (most important books to read TXT) 📖
- Author: Mrs. Henry Wood
Book online «Elster's Folly by Mrs. Henry Wood (most important books to read TXT) 📖». Author Mrs. Henry Wood
He Hid His Face In His Pain. This Was The Moment He Had Dreaded For
Years; Anything, So That It Might Be Kept From Her, He Had Prayed In His
Never-Ceasing Fear.
"Forgive, Forgive Me! Oh, Maude, Forgive Me!"
She Did Not Respond; She Did Not Attempt To Soothe Him; If Ever Looks
Expressed Reproach And Aversion, Hers Did Then.
"Have Compassion Upon Me, Maude! I Was More Sinned Against Than Sinning."
"What Compassion Had You For Me? How Dared You Marry Me? You, Bound With
Crime?"
"The Worst Is Over, Maude; The Worst Is Over."
"It Can Never Be Over: You Are Guilty Of Wilful Sophistry. The Crime
Remains; And--Lord Hartledon--Its Fruits Remain."
He Interrupted Her Excited Words By Voice And Gesture; He Took Her Hands
In His. She Snatched Them From Him, And Burst Into A Fit Of Hysterical
Crying, Which Ended In A Faintness Almost As Of Death. He Did Not Dare To
Call Assistance; An Unguarded Word Might Have Slipped Out Unawares.
Shut Them In; Shut Them In! They Had Need To Be Alone In A Scene Such As
That.
Lord And Lady Hartledon Went Down To Calne, As She Wished. But Not
Immediately; Some Two Or Three Weeks Elapsed, And During That Time Mr.
Carr Was A Good Deal With Both Of Them. Their Sole Friend: The Only Man
Cognizant Of The Trouble They Had Yet To Battle With; Who Alone Might
Whisper A Word Of Something Like Consolation.
Lady Hartledon Seemed To Improve. Whether It Was The Country, Or The Sort
Of Patched-Up Peace That Reigned Between Her And Her Husband, She Grew
Stronger And Better, And Began To Go Out Again And Enjoy Life As Usual.
But In Saying Life, It Must Not Be Thought That Gaiety Is Implied; None
Could Shun That As Lady Hartledon Now Seemed To Shun It. And He, For
The First Time Since His Marriage, Began To Take Some Interest In His
Native Place, And In His Own Home. The Old Sensitive Feeling In Regard To
Meeting The Ashtons Lingered Still; Was Almost As Strong As Ever; And He
Had The Good Sense To See That This Must Be Overcome, If Possible, If He
Made Hartledon His Home For The Future, As His Wife Now Talked Of Doing.
As A Preliminary Step To It, He Appeared At Church; One, Two, Three
Sundays. On The Second Sunday His Wife Went With Him. Anne Was In Her
Pew, With Her Younger Brother, But Not Mrs. Ashton: She, As Lord
Hartledon Knew By Report, Was Too Ill Now To Go Out. Each Day Dr. Ashton
Did The Whole Duty; His Curate, Mr. Graves, Was Taking A Holiday. Lord
Hartledon Heard Another Report, That The Curate Had Been Wanting To
Press His Attentions On Miss Ashton. The Truth Was, As None Had Known
Better Than Val Elster, Mr. Graves Had Wanted To Press Them Years And
Years Ago. He Had At Length Made Her An Offer, And She Had Angrily
Refused Him. A Foolish Girl! Said Indignant Mrs. Graves, Reproachfully.
Her Son Was A Model Son, And Would Make A Model Husband; And He Would
Be A Wealthy Man, As Anne Knew, For He Must Sooner Or Later Come Into The
Entailed Property Of His Uncle. It Was Not At All Pleasant To Lord
Hartledon To Stand There In His Pew, With Recollection Upon Him, And The
Gaze Of The Ashtons Studiously Turned From Him, And Jabez Gum Looking Out
At Him From The Corners Of His Eyes As He Made His Sonorous Responses. A
Wish For Reconciliation Took Strong Possession Of Lord Hartledon, And He
Wondered Whether He Could Not Bring Himself To Sue For It. He Wanted
Besides To Stay For The After-Service, Which He Had Not Done Since He Was
A Young Man--Never Since His Marriage. Maude Had Stayed Occasionally, As
Was The Fashion; But He Never. I Beg You Not To Quarrel With Me For The
Word; Some Of The Partakers In That After-Service Remain From No Higher
Motive. Certainly Poor Maude Had Not.
On The Third Sunday, Lord Hartledon Went To Sauntered About The Lawn And
Terraces With Her Companion, Tilting Her Parasol Prettily Over Her
Shoulder, So That It Formed An Entrancing Background To Her Face And
Head. She Seemed To Be Entertaining The Young Man. His Big Laugh And The
Silver Music Of Her Own Lighter Merriment Rang Out A Little
Tantalisingly.
"I Wonder What Cora Is Saying," Said Mrs. Brooke To The Group At Large.
"She Always Makes Men Laugh So."
Emily Fox-Seton Felt An Interest Herself, The Merriment Sounded So
Attractive. She Wondered If Perhaps To A Man Who Had Been So Much Run
After A Girl Who Took No Notice Of His Presence And Amused Other Men So
Much Might Not Assume An Agreeable Aspect.
But He Took More Notice Of Lady Agatha Slade Than Of Any One Else That
Evening. She Was Placed Next To Him At Dinner, And She Really Was
Radiant To Look Upon In Palest Green Chiffon. She Had An Exquisite
Little Head, With Soft Hair Piled With Wondrous Lightness Upon It, And
Her Long Little Neck Swayed Like The Stem Of A Flower. She Was Lovely
Enough To Arouse In The Beholder's Mind The Anticipation Of Her Being
Silly, But She Was Not Silly At All.
Lady Maria Commented Upon That Fact To Miss Fox-Seton When They Met In
Her Bedroom Late That Night. Lady Maria Liked To Talk And Be Talked To
For Half An Hour After The Day Was Over, And Emily Fox-Seton's Admiring
Interest In All She Said She Found At Once Stimulating And Soothing. Her
Ladyship Was An Old Woman Who Indulged And Inspired Herself With An
Epicurean Wisdom. Though She Would Not Have Stupid People About Her, She
Did Not Always Want Very Clever Ones.
"They Give Me Too Much Exercise," She Said. "The Epigrammatic Ones Keep
Me Always Jumping Over Fences. Besides, I Like To Make All The Epigrams
Myself."
Emily Fox-Seton Struck A Happy Mean, And She Was A Genuine Admirer. She
Was Intelligent Enough Not To Spoil The Point Of An Epigram When She
Repeated It, And She Might Be Relied Upon To Repeat It And Give All The
Glory To Its Originator. Lady Maria Knew There Were People Who, Hearing
Your Good Things, Appropriated Them Without A Scruple. To-Night She Said
A Number Of Good Things To Emily In Summing Up Her Guests And Their
Characteristics.
"Walderhurst Has Been To Me Three Times When I Made Sure That He Would
Not Escape Without A New Marchioness Attached To Him. I Should Think He
Would Take One To Put An End To The Annoyance Of Dangling Unplucked Upon
The Bough. A Man In His Position, If He Has Character Enough To Choose,
Can Prevent Even His Wife's Being A Nuisance. He Can Give Her A Good
House, Hang The Family Diamonds On Her, Supply A Decent Elderly Woman As
A Sort Of Lady-In-Waiting And Turn Her Into The Paddock To Kick Up Her
Heels Within The Limits Of Decorum. His Own Rooms Can Be Sacred To Him.
He Has His Clubs And His Personal Interests. Husbands And Wives Annoy
Each Other Very Little In These Days. Married Life Has Become
Comparatively Decent."
"I Should Think His Wife Might Be Very Happy," Commented Emily. "He
Looks Very Kind."
"I Don't Know Whether He Is Kind Or Not. It Has Never Been Necessary For
Me To Borrow Money From Him."
Lady Maria Was Capable Of Saying Odd Things In Her Refined Little
Drawling Voice.
"He's More Respectable Than Most Men Of His Age. The Diamonds Are
Magnificent, And He Not Only Has Three Superb Places, But Has Money
Enough To Keep Them Up. Now, There Are Three Aspirants At Mallowe In The
Present Party. Of Course You Can Guess Who They Are, Emily?"
Emily Fox-Seton Almost Blushed. She Felt A Little Indelicate.
"Lady Agatha Would Be Very Suitable," She Said. "And Mrs. Ralph Is Very
Clever, Of Course. And Miss Brooke Is Really Pretty."
Lady Maria Gave Vent To Her Small Chuckle.
"Mrs. Ralph Is The Kind Of Woman Who Means Business. She'll Corner
Walderhurst And Talk Literature And Roll Her Eyes At Him Until He Hates
Her. These Writing Women, Who Are Intensely Pleased With Themselves, If
They Have Some Good Looks Into The Bargain, Believe Themselves Capable
Of Marrying Any One. Mrs. Ralph Has Ftoht
Have Been Unconsciously Upon Her, Guiding Her Spirit To Meekness, If Not
Yet Quite To Peace. Lord Hartledon Thought She Was Growing Strong; And,
Save That She Would Rather Often Go Into A Passion Of Hysterical Tears As
She Clasped Her Children To Her, Particularly The Boy, Her Days Passed
Calmly Enough. She Indulged The Children Beyond All Reason, And It Was Of
No Use For Their Father To Interfere. Once When He Stepped In To Prevent
It, She Flew Out Almost Like A Tigress, Asking What Business It Was Of
His, That He Should Dare To Come Between Her And Them. The Lesson Was An
Effectual One; And He Never Interfered Again. But The Indulgence Was
Telling On The Boy's Naturally Haughty Disposition; And Not For Good.
Chapter 30 (In The Park)As The Days And Weeks Went On, And Lord And Lady Hartledon Continued At
Calne, There Was One Circumstance That Began To Impress Itself On The
Mind Of The Former In A Careless Sort Of Way--That He Was Constantly
Meeting Pike. Go Out When He Would, He Was Sure To See Pike In Some
Out-Of-The-Way Spot; At A Sudden Turning, Or Peering Forth From Under
A Group Of Trees, Or Watching Him From A Roadside Bank. One Special Day
Impressed Itself On Lord Hartledon's Memory. He Was Walking Slowly Along
The Road With Dr. Ashton, And Found Pike Keeping Pace With Them Softly On
The Other Side The Hedge, Listening No Doubt To What He Could Hear. On
One Of These Occasions Val Stopped And Confronted Him.
"What Is It You Want, Mr. Pike?"
Perhaps Mr. Pike Was About The Last Man In The World To Be, As The Saying
Runs, "Taken Aback," And He Stood His Ground, And Boldly Answered
"Nothing."
"It Seems As Though You Did," Said Val. "Go Where I Will, You Are Sure To
Spring Up Before Me, Or To Be Peeping From Some Ambush As I Walk Along.
It Will Not Do: Do You Understand?"
"I Was Just Thinking The Same Thing Yesterday--That Your Lordship Was
Always Meeting _Me_," Said Pike. "No Offence On Either Side, I Dare Say."
Val Walked On, Throwing The Man A Significant Look Of Warning, But
Vouchsafing No Other Reply. After That Pike Was A Little More Cautious,
And Kept Aloof For A Time; But Val Knew That He Was Still Watched On
Occasion.
One Fine October Day, When The Grain Had Been Gathered In And The Fields
Were Bare With Stubble, Hartledon, Alone In One Of The Front Rooms, Heard
A Contest Going On Outside. Throwing Up The Window, He Saw His Young Son
Attempting To Mount The Groom's Pony: The Latter Objecting. At The Door
Stood A Low Basket Carriage, Harnessed With The Fellow Pony. They
Belonged To Lady Hartledon; Sometimes She Drove Only One; And The Groom,
A Young Lad Of Fourteen, Light And Slim, Rode The Other: Sometimes Both
Ponies Were In The Carriage; And On Those Occasions The Boy Sat By Her
Side, And Drove.
"What's The Matter, Edward?" Called Out Lord Hartledon To His Son.
"Young Lordship Wants To Ride The Pony, My Lord," Said The Groom. "My
Lady Ordered Me To Ride It."
At This Juncture Lady Hartledon Appeared On The Scene, Ready For Her
Drive. She Had Intended To Take Her Little Son With Her--As She Generally
Did--But The Child Boisterously Demanded That He Should Ride The Pony For
Once, And She Weakly Yielded. Lord Hartledon's Private Opinion, Looking
On, Was That She Was Literally Incapable Of Denying Him Any Earthly Thing
He Chose To Demand. He Went Out.
"He Had Better Go With You In The Carriage, Maude."
"Not At All. He Sits Very Well Now, And The Pony's Perfectly Quiet."
"But He Is Too Young To Ride By The Side Of Any Vehicle. It Is Not Safe.
Let
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