"I don"t know what has led to it," said Eleanor, almost crying again.
"But it has not been my fault."
"But what has he done, my dear?"
"He"s an abominable, horrid, hypocritical man, and it would serve him right to tell the bishop all about it."
"Believe me, if you want to do him an injury, you had far better tell Mrs. Proudie. But what did he do, Mrs. Bold?"
"Ugh!" exclaimed Eleanor.
"Well, I must confess he"s not very nice," said Charlotte Stanhope.
"Nice!" said Eleanor. "He is the most fulsome, fawning, abominable man I ever saw. What business had he to come to me?--I that never gave him the slightest t.i.ttle of encouragement--I that always hated him, though I did take his part when others ran him down."
"That"s just where it is, my dear. He has heard that and therefore fancied that of course you were in love with him."
This was wormwood to Eleanor. It was in fact the very thing which all her friends had been saying for the last month past--and which experience now proved to be true. Eleanor resolved within herself that she would never again take any man"s part. The world, with all its villainy and all its ill-nature, might wag as it liked: she would not again attempt to set crooked things straight.
"But what did he do, my dear?" said Charlotte, who was really rather interested in the subject.
"He--he--he--"
"Well--come, it can"t have been anything so very horrid, for the man was not tipsy."
"Oh, I am sure he was" said Eleanor. "I am sure he must have been tipsy."
"Well, I declare I didn"t observe it. But what was it, my love?"
"Why, I believe I can hardly tell you. He talked such horrid stuff that you never heard the like: about religion, and heaven, and love.
Oh, dear--he is such a nasty man."
"I can easily imagine the sort of stuff he would talk. Well--and then--?"
"And then--he took hold of me."
"Took hold of you?"
"Yes--he somehow got close to me and took hold of me--"
"By the waist?"
"Yes," said Eleanor shuddering.
"And then--"
"Then I jumped away from him, and gave him a slap on the face, and ran away along the path till I saw you."
"Ha, ha, ha!" Charlotte Stanhope laughed heartily at the finale to the tragedy. It was delightful to her to think that Mr. Slope had had his ears boxed. She did not quite appreciate the feeling which made her friend so unhappy at the result of the interview. To her thinking the matter had ended happily enough as regarded the widow, who indeed was ent.i.tled to some sort of triumph among her friends.
Whereas to Mr. Slope would be due all those gibes and jeers which would naturally follow such an affair. His friends would ask him whether his ears tingled whenever he saw a widow, and he would be cautioned that beautiful things were made to be looked at and not to be touched.
Such were Charlotte Stanhope"s views on such matters, but she did not at the present moment clearly explain them to Mrs. Bold. Her object was to endear herself to her friend, and therefore, having had her laugh, she was ready enough to offer sympathy. Could Bertie do anything? Should Bertie speak to the man and warn him that in future he must behave with more decorum? Bertie indeed, she declared, would be more angry than anyone else when he heard to what insult Mrs. Bold had been subjected.
"But you won"t tell him?" said Mrs. Bold with a look of horror.
"Not if you don"t like it," said Charlotte; "but considering everything, I would strongly advise it. If you had a brother, you know, it would be unnecessary. But it is very right that Mr. Slope should know that you have somebody by you that will and can protect you."
"But my father is here."
"Yes, but it is so disagreeable for clergymen to have to quarrel with each other; and circ.u.mstanced as your father is just at this moment, it would be very inexpedient that there should be anything unpleasant between him and Mr. Slope. Surely you and Bertie are intimate enough for you to permit him to take your part."
Charlotte Stanhope was very anxious that her brother should at once on that very day settle matters with his future wife. Things had now come to that point between him and his father, and between him and his creditors, that he must either do so, or leave Barchester; either do that, or go back to his unwashed a.s.sociates, dirty lodgings, and poor living at Carrara. Unless he could provide himself with an income, he must go to Carrara, or to ----. His father the prebendary had not said this in so many words, but had he done so, he could not have signified it more plainly.
Such being the state of the case it was very necessary that no more time should be lost. Charlotte had seen her brother"s apathy, when he neglected to follow Mrs. Bold out of the room, with anger which she could hardly suppress. It was grievous to think that Mr. Slope should have so distanced him. Charlotte felt that she had played her part with sufficient skill. She had brought them together and induced such a degree of intimacy that her brother was really relieved from all trouble and labour in the matter. And moreover it was quite plain that Mrs. Bold was very fond of Bertie. And now it was plain enough also that he had nothing to fear from his rival, Mr. Slope.
There was certainly an awkwardness in subjecting Mrs. Bold to a second offer on the same day. It would have been well perhaps to have put the matter off for a week, could a week have been spared.
But circ.u.mstances are frequently too peremptory to be arranged as we would wish to arrange them, and such was the case now. This being so, could not this affair of Mr. Slope"s be turned to advantage?
Could it not be made the excuse for bringing Bertie and Mrs. Bold into still closer connexion--into such close connexion that they could not fail to throw themselves into each other"s arms? Such was the game which Miss Stanhope now at a moment"s notice resolved to play.
And very well she played it. In the first place it was arranged that Mr. Slope should not return in the Stanhopes" carriage to Barchester.
It so happened that Mr. Slope was already gone, but of that of course they knew nothing. The signora should be induced to go first, with only the servants and her sister, and Bertie should take Mr. Slope"s place in the second journey. Bertie was to be told in confidence of the whole affair, and when the carriage was gone off with its first load, Eleanor was to be left under Bertie"s special protection, so as to insure her from any further aggression from Mr. Slope. While the carriage was getting ready, Bertie was to seek out that gentleman and make him understand that he must provide himself with another conveyance back to Barchester. Their immediate object should be to walk about together in search of Bertie. Bertie in short was to be the Pegasus on whose wings they were to ride out of their present dilemma.
There was a warmth of friendship and cordial kindliness in all this that was very soothing to the widow; but yet, though she gave way to it, she was hardly reconciled to doing so. It never occurred to her that, now that she had killed one dragon, another was about to spring up in her path; she had no remote idea that she would have to encounter another suitor in her proposed protector, but she hardly liked the thought of putting herself so much into the hands of young Stanhope. She felt that if she wanted protection, she should go to her father. She felt that she should ask him to provide a carriage for her back to Barchester. Mrs. Clantantram she knew would give her a seat. She knew that she should not throw herself entirely upon friends whose friendship dated, as it were, but from yesterday. But yet she could not say no to one who was so sisterly in her kindness, so eager in her good nature, so comfortably sympathetic as Charlotte Stanhope. And thus she gave way to all the propositions made to her.
They first went into the dining-room, looking for their champion, and from thence to the drawing-room. Here they found Mr. Arabin, still hanging over the signora"s sofa; or rather they found him sitting near her head, as a physician might have sat had the lady been his patient.
There was no other person in the room. The guests were some in the tent, some few still in the dining room, some at the bows and arrows, but most of them walking with Miss Thorne through the park and looking at the games that were going on.
All that had pa.s.sed, and was pa.s.sing between Mr. Arabin and the lady, it is unnecessary to give in detail. She was doing with him as she did with all others. It was her mission to make fools of men, and she was pursuing her mission with Mr. Arabin. She had almost got him to own his love for Mrs. Bold and had subsequently almost induced him to acknowledge a pa.s.sion for herself. He, poor man, was hardly aware what he was doing or saying, hardly conscious whether was in heaven or in h.e.l.l. So little had he known of female attractions of that peculiar cla.s.s which the signora owned, that he became affected with a kind of temporary delirium when first subjected to its power. He lost his head rather than this heart, and toppled about mentally, reeling in his ideas as a drunken man does on his legs. She had whispered to him words that really meant nothing but which, coming from such beautiful lips and accompanied by such l.u.s.trous glances, seemed to have a mysterious significance, which he felt though he could not understand.
In being thus besirened, Mr. Arabin behaved himself very differently from Mr. Slope. The signora had said truly that the two men were the contrasts of each other--that the one was all for action, the other all for thought. Mr. Slope, when this lady laid upon his senses the overpowering breath of her charms, immediately attempted to obtain some fruition, to achieve some mighty triumph. He began by catching at her hand and progressed by kissing it. He made vows of love and asked for vows in return. He promised everlasting devotion, knelt before her, and swore that had she been on Mount Ida, Juno would have had no cause to hate the offspring of Venus. But Mr. Arabin uttered no oaths, kept his hand mostly in his trousers pocket, and had no more thought of kissing Madame Neroni than of kissing the Countess De Courcy.
As soon as Mr. Arabin saw Mrs. Bold enter the room he blushed and rose from his chair; then he sat down again, and then again got up.
The signora saw the blush at once and smiled at the poor victim, but Eleanor was too much confused to see anything.
"Oh, Madeline," said Charlotte, "I want to speak to you particularly; we must arrange about the carriage, you know," and she stooped down to whisper to her sister. Mr. Arabin immediately withdrew to a little distance, and as Charlotte had in fact much to explain before she could make the new carriage arrangement intelligible, he had nothing to do but to talk to Mrs. Bold.
"We have had a very pleasant party," said he, using the tone he would have used had he declared that the sun was shining very brightly, or the rain falling very fast.
"Very," said Eleanor, who never in her life had pa.s.sed a more unpleasant day.
"I hope Mr. Harding has enjoyed himself."
"Oh, yes, very much," said Eleanor, who had not seen her father since she parted from him soon after her arrival.
"He returns to Barchester to-night, I suppose."
"Yes, I believe so--that is, I think he is staying at Plumstead."
"Oh, staying at Plumstead," said Mr. Arabin.