第16章

"Abaronetsignsuchapetition！"exclaimedTrefusis。"Ididnotthinkofaskingyou。Ionlyshowittoyouasaninterestinghistoricaldocument,containingtheautographsofafewartistsandpoets。ThereisDonovanBrown"sforexample。Itwashewhosuggestedthepetition,whichisnotlikelytodomuchgood,asthethingcannotbedoneinanysuchfashionHowever,IhavepromisedBrowntogetasmanysignaturesasIcan;soyoumayaswellsignit,Erskine。Itsaysnothinginblankverseabouttheholinessofslayingatyrant,butitisastepintherightdirection。Youwillnotstickatsuchatrifle——unlessthereviewshavefrightenedyou。Come,yournameandaddress。"

Erskineshookhishead。

"Doyouthenonlycommityourselftorevolutionarysentimentswhenthereisachanceofwinningfameasapoetbythem？"

"Iwillnotsign,simplybecauseIdonotchooseto,"saidErskinewarmly。

"Mydearfellow,"saidTrefusis,almostaffectionately,"ifamanhasaconsciencehecanhavenochoiceinmattersofconviction。

Ihavereadsomewhereinyourbookthatthemanwhowillnotshedhisbloodforthelibertyofhisbrothersisacowardandaslave。Willyounotshedadropofink——myink,too——fortherightofyourbrotherstotheworkoftheirhands？Iatfirstsightdidnotcaretosignthispetition,becauseIwouldassoonpetitionatigertosharehispreywithmeasourrulerstorelaxtheirgripofthestolenlabortheyliveon。ButDonovanBrownsaidtome,"Youhavenochoice。Eitheryoubelievethatthelaborershouldhavethefruitofhislabororyoudonot。Ifyoudo,putyourconvictiononrecord,evenifitshouldbeasuselessasPilate"swashinghishands。"SoIsigned。"

"DonovanBrownwasright,"saidSirCharles。"Iwillsign。"Andhedidsowithaflourish。

"Brownwillbedelighted,"saidTrefusis。"Iwillwritetohimto—daythatIhavegotanothergoodsignatureforhim。"

"Twomore,"saidSirCharles。"Youshallsign,Erskine;hangmeifyoushan"t！Itisonlyagainstrascalsthatrunawaywithoutpayingtheirmentheirwages。"

"Orthatdon"tpaytheminfull,"observedTrefusis,withacurioussmile。"Butdonotsignifyoufeeluncomfortableaboutit。"

"Ifyoudon"tsignafterme,youareasneak,Chester,"saidSirCharles。

"Idon"tknowwhatitmeans,"saidErskine,wavering。"Idon"tunderstandpetitions。"

"Itmeanswhatitsays;youcannotbeheldresponsibleforanymeaningthatisnotexpressedinit,"saidTrefusis。"Butnevermind。Youmistrustmealittle,Ifancy,andwouldrathernotmeddlewithmypetitions;butyouwillthinkbetterofthatasyougrowusedtome。Meanwhile,thereisnohurry。Don"tsignyet。"

"Nonsense！Idon"tdoubtyourgoodfaith,"saidErskine,hastilydisavowingsuspicionswhichhefeltbutcouldnotaccountfor。

"Heregoes！"Andhesigned。

"Welldone！"saidTrefusis。"ThiswillmakeBrownhappyfortherestofthemonth。"

"Itistimeforustogonow,"saidErskinegloomily。

"Lookinuponmeatanytime;youshallbewelcome,"saidTrefusis。"Youneednotstanduponanysortofceremony。"

Thentheyparted;SirCharlesassuringTrefusisthathehadneverspentamoreinterestingmorning,andshakinghandswithhimatconsiderablelengththreetimes。ErskinesaidlittleuntilhewasintheRiversideRoadwithhisfriend,whenhesuddenlyburstout:

"Whatthedevildoyoumeanbydrinkingtwotumblersofsuchstaggeringstuffatoneo"clockinthedayinthehouseofadangerousmanlikethat？IamverysorryIwentintothefellow"splace。Ihadmisgivingsaboutit,andtheyhavebeenfullyborneout。"

"Howso？"saidSirCharles,takenaback。

"Hehasoverreachedus。Iwasadeucedfooltosignthatpaper,andsowereyou。Itwasforthatthatheinvitedus。"

"Rubbish,mydearboy。Itwasnothispaper,butDonovanBrown"s。"

"Idoubtit。MostlikelyhetalkedBrownintosigningitjustashetalkedus。Itellyouhiswaysareallcrooked,likehisideas。DidyouhearhowheliedaboutMissLindsay？"

"Oh,youweremistakenaboutthat。Hedoesnotcaretwostrawsforherorforanyone。"

"Well,ifyouaresatisfied,Iamnot。YouwouldnotbeinsuchhighspiritsoveritifyouhadtakenaslittlewineasI。"

"Pshaw！you"retooridiculous。Itwascapitalwine。DoyoumeantosayIamdrunk？"

"No。Butyouwouldnothavesignedifyouhadnottakenthatsecondgoblet。Ifyouhadnotforcedme——Icouldnotgetoutofitafteryousettheexample——Iwouldhaveseenhimd——dsoonerthanhavehadanythingtodowithhispetition。"

"Idon"tseewhatharmcancomeofit,"saidSirCharles,bravingoutsomesecretdisquietude。

"Iwillnevergointohishouseagain,"saidErskinemoodily。"Wewerejustliketwofliesinaspider"sweb。"

Meanwhile,TrefusiswasfulfillinghispromisetowritetoDonovanBrown。

"Sallust"sHouse。

"DearBrown:Ihavespenttheforenoonanglingforacoupleofveryyoungfish,andhavelandedthemwithmoretroublethantheyareworth。Onehasgaudyscales:heisabaronet,andanamateurartist,savethemark。Allmyargumentsandmylittlemuseumofphotographswerelostonhim;butwhenImentionedyourname,andpromisedhimanintroductiontoyou,hegorgedthebaitgreedily。

Hewashalfdrunkwhenhesigned;andIshouldnothavelethimtouchthepaperifIhadnotconvincedmyselfbeforehandthathemeanswell,andthatmywinehadonlyfreedhisnaturalgenerosityfromhisconventionalcowardiceandprejudice。Wemustgethisnamepublishedinasmanyjournalsaspossibleasasignatorytothegreatpetition;itwilldrawonothersasyournamedrewhim。Thesecondnovice,ChichesterErskine,isayoungpoet。Hewillnotbeofmuchusetous,thoughheisadevotedchampionoflibertyinblankverse,anddedicateshisworkstoMazzini,etc。Hesignedreluctantly。Allthishesitationistheuncertaintythatcomesofignorance;theyhavenotfoundoutthetruthforthemselves,andareafraidtotrustme,mattershavingcometothepassatwhichnomandarestrusthisfellow。

"IhavemetaprettyyoungladyherewhomightserveyouasamodelforHypatia。Sheiscrammedwithalltheprejudicesofthepeerage,butIameffectingacure。IhavesetmyheartonmarryinghertoErskine,who,thinkingthatIammakinglovetoheronmyownaccount,isjealous。Theweatherispleasanthere,andIamhavingamerrylifeofit,butIfindmyselftooidle。

Etc。,etc。,etc。"

CHAPTERXVI

Onesunnyforenoon,asAgathasatreadingonthedoorstepoftheconservatory,theshadowofherparasoldeepened,andshe,lookingupforsomethingdenserthanthesilkofit,sawTrefusis。

"Oh！"

Sheofferedhimnofurthergreeting,havingfalleninwithhishabitofdispensing,asfaraspossible,withsalutationsandceremonies。Heseemedinnohurrytospeak,andso,afterapause,shebegan,"SirCharles——"

"Isgonetotown,"hesaid。"Erskineisoutonhisbicycle。LadyBrandonandMissLindsayhavegonetothevillageinthewagonette,andyouhavecomeoutheretoenjoythesummersunandreadrubbish。Iknowallyournewsalready。"

"Youareveryclever,and,asusual,wrong。SirCharleshasnotgonetotown。Hehasonlygonetotherailwaystationforsomepapers;hewillbebackforluncheon。Howdoyouknowsomuchofouraffairs？"

"Iwasontheroofofmyhousewithafield—glass。Isawyoucomeoutandsitdownhere。ThenSirCharlespassed。ThenErskine。

ThenLadyBrandon,drivingwithgreatenergy,andpresentingaremarkablecontrasttothedisdainfulreposeofGertrude。"

"Gertrude！Ilikeyourcheek。"

"Youmeanthatyoudislikemypresumption。"

"No,Ithinkcheekamoreexpressivewordthanpresumption;andI

meanthatIlikeit——thatitamusesme。"

"Really！Whatareyoureading？"

"Rubbish,yousaidjustnow。Anovel。"

"Thatis,alyingstoryoftwopeoplewhoneverexisted,andwhowouldhaveactedverydifferentlyiftheyhadexisted。"

"Justso。"

"Couldyounotimaginesomethingjustasamusingforyourself？"

"Perhapsso;butitwouldbetoomuchtrouble。Besides,cookingtakesawayone"sappetiteforeating。Ishouldnotrelishstoriesofmyownconfection。"

"Whichvolumeareyouat？"

"Thethird。"

"Thentheheroandheroineareonthepointofbeingunited？"

"Ireallydon"tknow。Thisisoneofyourclevernovels。Iwishthecharacterswouldnottalksomuch。"

"Nomatter。Twoofthemareinlovewithoneanother,aretheynot？"

"Yes。Itwouldnotbeanovelwithoutthat。"

"Doyoubelieve,inyoursecretsoul,Agatha——ItakethelibertyofusingyourChristiannamebecauseIwishtobeverysolemn——doyoureallybelievethatanyhumanbeingwaseverunselfishenoughtoloveanotherinthestory—bookfashion？"

"Ofcourse。AtleastIsupposeso。Ihaveneverthoughtmuchaboutit。"

"Idoubtit。Myownbeliefisthatnolatter—daymanhasanyfaithinthethoroughnessorpermanenceofhisaffectionforhismate。Yethedoesnotdoubtthesincerityofherprofessions,andheconcealsthehollownessofhisownfromher,partlybecauseheisashamedofit,andpartlyoutofpityforher。Andshe,ontheotherside,isplayingexactlythesamecomedy。"

"Ibelievethatiswhatmendo,butnotwomen。"

"Indeed！Praydoyourememberpretendingtobeverymuchinlovewithmeoncewhen——"

Agathareddenedandplacedherpalmonthestepasifabouttospringup。Butshecheckedherselfandsaid:"Stop,Mr。Trefusis。

IfyoutalkaboutthatIshallgoaway。Iwonderatyou！Haveyounotaste？","Nonewhatever。AndasIwastheaggrievedpartyonthat——stay,don"tgo。Iwillneveralludetoitagain。Iamgrowingafraidofyou。Youusedtobeafraidofme。"

"Yes;andyouusedtobullyme。Youhaveahabitofbullyingwomenwhoareweakenoughtofearyou。YouareagreatdealclevererthanI,andknowmuchmore,Idaresay;butIamnotintheleastafraidofyounow。"

"Youhavenoreasontobe,andneverhadany。Henrietta,ifshewerealive,couldtestifythatitthereisadefectinmyrelationswithwomen,itarisesfrommyexcessiveamiability。I

couldnotrefuseawomananythingshehadsetherheartupon——exceptmyhandinmarriage。Aslongasyoursexarecontenttostopshortofthattheycandoastheypleasewithme。"

"Howcruel！IthoughtyouwerenearlyengagedtoGertrude。"

"Theusualinterpretationofafriendshipbetweenamanandawoman！Ihaveneverthoughtofsuchathing;andIamsuresheneverhas。WearenothalfsointimateasyouandSirCharles。"

"Oh,SirCharlesismarried。AndIadviseyoutogetmarriedifyouwishtoavoidcreatingmisunderstandingsbyyourfriendships。"

Trefusiswasstruck。Insteadofanswering,hestood,afteronestartledglanceather,lookingintentlyattheknuckleofhisforefinger。

"Dotakepityonourpoorsex,"saidAgathamaliciously。"Youaresorich,andsoveryclever,andreallysonicelookingthatyououghttoshareyourselfwithsomebody。Gertrudewouldbeonlytoohappy。

Trefusisgrinnedandshookhishead,slowlybutemphatically。

"Isuppose_I_shouldhavenochance,"continuedAgathapathetically。

"Ishouldbedelighted,ofcourse,"herepliedwithsimulatedconfusion,butwithalurkinggleaminhiseyethatmighthavecheckedher,hadshenoticedit。

"Domarryme,Mr。Trefusis,"shepleaded,claspingherhandsinaraptureofmischievousraillery。"Praydo。"

"Thankyou,"saidTrefusisdeterminedly;"Iwill。"

"Iamverysureyoushan"t,"saidAgatha,afteranincredulouspause,springingupandgatheringherskirtasiftorunaway。

"YoudonotsupposeIwasinearnest,doyou？"

"UndoubtedlyIdo。_I_aminearnest。"

Agathahesitated,uncertainwhetherhemightnotbeplayingwithherasshehadjustbeenplayingwithhim。"Takecare,"shesaid。

"Imaychangemymindandbeinearnest,too;andthenhowwillyoufeel,Mr。Trefusis？"

"Ithink,underouralteredrelations,youhadbettercallmeSidney。"

"Ithinkwehadbetterdropthejoke。Itwasinratherbadtaste,andIshouldnothavemadeit,perhaps。"

"Itwouldbeanexecrablejoke;thereforeIhavenointentionofregardingitasone。Youshallbeheldtoyouroffer,Agatha。Areyouinlovewithme？"

"Notintheleast。Nottheverysmallestbitintheworld。IdonotknowanybodywithwhomIamlessinloveorlesslikelytobeinlove。"

"Thenyoumustmarryme。Ifyouwereinlovewithme,Ishouldrunaway。MysaintedHenriettaadoredme,andIprovedunworthyofadoration——thoughIwasimmenselyflattered。"

"Yes;exactly！Thewayyoutreatedyourfirstwifeoughttobesufficienttowarnanywomanagainstbecomingyoursecond。"

"Anywomanwholovedme,youmean。Butyoudonotloveme,andifIrunawayyouwillhavetheadvantageofbeingridofme。Oursettlementscanbedrawnsoastosecureyouhalfmyfortuneinsuchanevent。"

"Youwillneverhaveachanceofrunningawayfromme。"

"Ishallnotwantto。IamnotsosqueamishasIwas。No;IdonotthinkIshallrunawayfromyou。"

"Idonotthinksoeither。"

"Well,whenshallwebemarried？"

"Never,"saidAgatha,andfled。Butbeforeshehadgoneastephecaughther。

"Don"t,"shesaidbreathlessly。"Takeyourarmaway。Howdareyou？"

Hereleasedherandshutthedooroftheconservatory。"Now,"hesaid,"ifyouwanttorunawayyouwillhavetorunintheopen。"

"Youareveryimpertinent。Letmegoinimmediately。"

"Doyouwantmetobegyoutomarrymeafteryouhaveofferedtodoitfreely？"

"ButIwasonlyjoking;Idon"tcareforyou,"shesaid,lookingroundforanoutlet。

"Agatha,"hesaid,withgrimpatience,"halfanhouragoIhadnomoreintentionofmarryingyouthanofmakingavoyagetothemoon。ButwhenyoumadethesuggestionIfeltallitsforceinaninstant,andnownothingwillsatisfymebutyourkeepingyourword。OfallthewomenIknow,youaretheonlyonenotquiteafool。"

"Ishouldbeagreatfoolif——"

"Ifyoumarriedme,youweregoingtosay;butIdon"tthinkso。

Iamtheonlyman,notquiteanass,ofyouracquaintance。Iknowmyvalue,andyours。AndIlovedyoulongago,whenIhadnorightto。"

Agathafrowned。"No,"shesaid。"Thereisnouseinsayinganythingmoreaboutit。Itisoutofthequestion。"

"Come,don"tbevindictive。Iwasmoresincerethenthanyouwere。Butthathasnothingtodowiththepresent。Youhavespentourrenewedacquaintanceonthedefensiveagainstme,retortinguponme,teasingandtemptingme。Begenerousforonce,andsayYeswithagoodwill。"

"Oh,INEVERtemptedyou,"criedAgatha。"Ididnot。Itisnottrue。"Hesaidnothing,butofferedhishand。"No;goaway;I

willnot。"Hepersisted,andshefeltherpowerofresistancesuddenlywane。Terror—stricken,shesaidhastily,"Thereisnottheleastuseinbotheringme;Iwilltellyounothingto—day。"

"PromisemeonyourhonorthatyouwillsayYesto—morrow,andI

willleaveyouinpeaceuntilthen。"

"Iwillnot。"

"Thedeucetakeyoursex,"hesaidplaintively。

"Youknowmymindnow,andIhavetostandherecoquettingbecauseyoudon"tknowyourown。IfIcaredformycomfortI

shouldremainabachelor。"

"Iadviseyoutodoso,"shesaid,stealingbackwardtowardsthedoor。"Youareaveryinterestingwidower。Awifewouldspoilyou。Considerthetroublesofdomesticity,too。"

"Iliketroubles。Theystrengthen——Aha！"（shehadsnatchedattheknobofthedoor,andheswiftlyputhishandonhersandstayedher）。"Notyet,ifyouplease。Canyounotspeakoutlikeawoman——likeaman,Imean？YoumaywithholdabonefromMaxuntilhestandsonhishindlegstobegforit,butyoushouldnottreatmelikeadog。SayYesfrankly,anddonotkeepmebegging。"

"Whatintheworlddoyouwanttomarrymefor？"

"BecauseIwasmadetocarryahouseonmyshoulders,andwilldoso。IwanttodothebestIcanformyself,andIshallneverhavesuchachanceagain。AndIcannothelpmyself,anddon"tknowwhy;thatistheplaintruthofthematter。Youwillmarrysomeonesomeday。"Sheshookherhead。"Yes,youwill。Whynotmarryme？"

Agathabithernetherlip,lookedruefullyattheground,and,afteralongpause,saidreluctantly,"Verywell。Butmind,I

thinkyouareactingveryfoolishly,andifyouaredisappointedafterwards,youmustnotblameME。"

"Itaketheriskofmybargain,"hesaid,releasingherhand,andleaningagainstthedoorashetookouthispocketdiary。"Youwillhavetotaketheriskofyours,whichIhopemaynotprovetheworseofthetwo。ThisistheseventeenthofJune。Whatdatebeforethetwenty—fourthofJulywillsuityou？"

"Youmeanthetwenty—fourthofJulynextyear,Ipresume？"

"No;Imeanthisyear。Iamgoingabroadonthatdate,marriedornot,toattendaconferenceatGeneva,andIwantyoutocomewithme。Iwillshowyoualotofplacesandthingsthatyouhaveneverseenbefore。Itisyourrighttonametheday,butyouhavenoseriousbusinesstoprovidefor,andIhave。"

"Butyoudon"tknowallthethingsIshall——Ishouldhavetoprovide。Youhadbetterwaituntilyoucomebackfromthecontinent。"

"Thereisnothingtobeprovidedonyourpartbutsettlementsandyourtrousseau。Thetrousseauisallnonsense;andJanseniusknowsmeofoldinthematterofsettlements。Igotmarriedinsixweeksbefore。"

"Yes,"saidAgathasharply,"butIamnotHenrietta。"

"No,thankHeaven,"heassentedplacidly。

Agathawasstruckwithremorse。"Thatwasavilethingformetosay,"shesaid;"andforyoutoo。"

"Whateveristrueistothepurpose,vileornot。WillyoucometoGenevaonthetwenty—fourth？"

"But——IreallywasnotthinkingwhenI——IdidnotintendtosaythatIwould——I——"

"Iknow。Youwillcomeifwearemarried。"

"Yes。IFwearemarried。"

"Weshallbemarried。DonotwriteeithertoyourmotherorJanseniusuntilIaskyou。"

"Idon"tintendto。Ihavenothingtowriteabout。"

"Wretchthatyouare！AnddonotbejealousifyoucatchmemakinglovetoLadyBrandon。Ialwaysdoso;sheexpectsit。"

"Youmaymakelovetowhomyouplease。Itisnoconcernofmine。"

"HerecomesthewagonettewithLadyBrandonandGer——andMissLindsay。Imustn"tcallherGertrudenowexceptwhenyouarenotby。Beforetheyinterruptus,letmeremindyouofthethreepointsweareagreedupon。Iloveyou。Youdonotloveme。Wearetobemarriedbeforethetwenty—fourthofnextmonth。NowImustflytohelpherladyshiptoalight。"

Hehastenedtothehousedoor,atwhichthewagonettehadjuststopped。Agatha,bewildered,andashamedtofaceherfriends,wentinthroughtheconservatory,andlockedherselfinherroom。

TrefusiswentintothelibrarywithGertrudewhilstLadyBrandonloiteredinthehalltotakeoffherglovesandaskquestionsoftheservants。Whenshefollowed,shefoundthetwostandingtogetheratthewindow。Gertrudewaslisteningtohimwiththepatientexpressionshenowoftenworewhenhetalked。Hewassmiling,butitstruckJanethathewasnotquiteatease。"IwasjustbeginningtotellMissLindsay,"hesaid,"ofanextraordinarythingthathashappenedduringyourabsence。"

"Iknow,"exclaimedJane,withsuddenconviction。"Theheaterintheconservatoryhascracked。"

"Possibly,"saidTrefusis;"but,ifso,Ihavenotheardofit。"

"Ifithasn"tcracked,itwill,"saidJanegloomily。Then,assumingwithsomeeffortaninterestinTrefusis"snews,sheadded:"Well,whathashappened？"

"IwaschattingwithMissWyliejustnow,whenasingularideaoccurredtous。Wediscusseditforsometime;andtheupshotisthatwearetobemarriedbeforetheendofnextmonth。"

Janereddenedandstaredathim;andhelookedkeenlybackather。Gertrude,thoughunobserved,didnotsufferherexpressionofpatienthappinesstochangeintheleast;butagreenish—whitecolorsuddenlyappearedinherface,andonlygaveplaceveryslowlytoherusualcomplexion。

"DoyoumeantosaythatyouaregoingtomarryAGATHA？"saidLadyBrandonincredulously,afterapause。

"Yes。IhadnointentionofdoingsowhenIlastsawyouorI

shouldhavetoldyou。"

"Ineverheardofsuchathinginmylife！Youfellinlovewithoneanotherinfiveminutes,Isuppose。"

"GoodHeavens,no！wearenotinlovewithoneanother。CanyoubelievethatIwouldmarryforsuchafrivolousreason？No。Thesubjectturnedupaccidentally,andtheadvantageofamatchbetweenusstruckmeforcibly。Iwasfortunateenoughtoconverthertomyopinion。"

"Yes;shewantedalotofpressing,Idaresay,"saidJane,glancingatGertrude,whowassmilingunmeaningly。

"Asyouimply,"saidTrefusiscoolly,"herreluctancemayhavebeenaffected,andsheonlytoogladtogetsuchacharminghusband。Assumingthattobethecase,shedissembledremarkablywell。"

Gertrudetookoffherbonnet,andlefttheroomwithoutspeaking。

"ThisismyrevengeuponyouformarryingBrandon,"hesaidthen,approachingJane。

"Oh,yes,"sheretortedironically。"Ibelieveallthat,ofcourse。"

"YouhavethesamesecurityforitstruthasforthatofallthefoolishthingsIconfesstoyou。There！"Hepointedtoapaneloflookingglass,inwhichJane"sfigurewasreflectedatfulllength。

"Idon"tseeanythingtoadmire,"saidJane,lookingatherselfwithnogreatfavor。"Thereisplentyofme,ifyouadmirethat。"

"Itisimpossibletohavetoomuchofagoodthing。ButImustnotlookanymore。ThoughAgathasaysshedoesnotloveme,IamnotsurethatshewouldbepleasedifIweretolookforlovefromanyoneelse。"

"Saysshedoesnotloveyou！Don"tbelieveher;shehastakentroubleenoughtocatchyou。"

"Iamflattered。Youcaughtmewithoutanytrouble,andyetyouwouldnothaveme。"

"Itismannerstowaittobeasked。IthinkyouhavetreatedGertrudeshamefully——Ihopeyouwon"tbeoffendedwithmeforsayingso。IblameAgathamost。Sheisanawfullydouble—facedgirl。"

"Howso？"saidTrefusis,surprised。"WhathasMissLindsaytodowithit？"

"Youknowverywell。"

"IassureyouIdonot。IfyouwerespeakingofyourselfIcouldunderstandyou。"

"Oh,youcangetoutofitcleverly,likeallmen;butyoucan"thoodwinkme。Youshouldn"thavepretendedtolikeGertrudewhenyouwerereallypullingacordwithAgatha。Andshe,too,pretendingtoflirtwithSirCharles——asifhewouldcaretwopenceforher！"

TrefusisseemedNlittledisturbed。"IhopeMissLindsayhadnosuch——butshecouldnot。"

"Oh,couldn"tshe？Youwillsoonseewhethershehadornot。"

"Youmisunderstoodus,LadyBrandon;MissLindsayknowsbetter。

Remember,too,thatthisproposalofminewasquiteunpremeditated。ThismorningIhadnotenderthoughtsofanyoneexceptonewhomitwouldbeimpropertoname。"

"Oh,thatisalltalk。Itwon"tdonow。"

"Iwilltalknomoreatpresent。Imustbeofftothevillagetotelegraphtomysolicitor。IfImeetErskineIwilltellhimthegoodnews。"

"Hewillbedelighted。Hethought,aswealldid,thatyouwerecuttinghimoutwithGertrude。"

Trefusissmiled,shookhishead,and,withaglanceofadmiringhomagetoJane"scharms,wentout。JanewascontemplatingherselfintheglasswhenaservantbeggedhertocomeandspeaktoMasterCharlesandMissFanny。Shehurriedupstairstothenursery,whereherboyandgirl,disputingeachother"spriorrighttotorturethebaby,hadcometoblows。Theyweresomewhatfrightened,butnotatallappeased,byJane"sentrance。Shescolded,coaxed,threatened,bribed,quotedDr。Watts,appealedtothenurseandtheninsultedher,demandedofthechildrenwhethertheylovedoneanother,whethertheylovedmamma,andwhethertheywantedarightgoodwhipping。Atlast,exasperatedbyherowninabilitytorestoreorder,sheseizedthebaby,whichhadcriedincessantlythroughout,and,declaringthatitwasdoingitonpurposeandshouldhavesomethingrealtocryfor,gaveitanexemplarysmacking,andorderedtheotherstobed。Theboy,awedbythefateofhisinfantbrother,offered,bywayofcompromise,tobegoodifMissWyliewouldcomeandplaywithhim,aproposalwhichprovokedfromhisjealousmotheraboxontheearthatsenthimhowlingtohiscot。Thenshelefttheroom,pausingonthethresholdtoremarkthatifsheheardanothersoundfromthemthatday,theymightexpecttheworstfromher。