"Oh, you will get over that, Ralph. It isn"t worth being angry about. Of course, you will get over it. I think this is a first love, hey!"
"The first and last with me, fath--General."
"Yes, yes, of course--I think I remember feeling a little in the same way at your age. It won"t be serious--these things never are!"
"But I am very serious. I have told her all about it. My honor is pledged."
The young man--who, by the way, really seemed a mere boy yet to his father--was going on with some vehemence, but he was coldly cut short by the General, who sat regarding his enthusiasm with a most provoking smile.
"Of course, I supposed so--eternal constancy and devotion on both sides!
Very well, what can I do about it?"
"Oh, father, I beg your pardon--but you can do everything. Your free, hearty consent is all I ask--and if you would be so kind as to exert a little influence with mother."
"Then you have told this to her, before coming to me," said the General, and his brow darkened.
"No, sir, I have spoken to no one but Lina. It was my duty to come to you first, and I am here."
"That is better; but how do you know that Mrs. Harrington will disapprove of your caprice for her protege, if no one has spoken to her on the subject?"
"I believe, sir, that Lina said something about it; but before she could be very definite, my mother fainted. This frightened my--I mean, it terrified poor Lina, and she had no courage to go on; so we were in hopes, sir, that you would be so good."
The General sat gazing upon the handsome face of his son, with the air of a person revolving some thought rapidly in his mind. At last, his cold eyes brightened, and a smile crept over his mouth.
"It was very right to come here first, Ralph, and remember your duty goes no farther. I will only consent to your marrying this girl at all, on condition that you, neither of you, ever speak on the subject to any one. You are both very young, and a year or two hence will be time enough for a decision; but I will have no gossip about the matter. Above all, my son James must be left entirely uncommitted. I only consent to let this fancy have a proper trial. If it proves serious, of course the whole family will be informed; but till then I must have your promise not to speak of it to any one not already informed."
The young man drew close to his father, and taking his hand, kissed it.
"I promise, father!"
The General was pleased with the homage and grace of this action, and rising placed a hand on Ralph"s shoulder, more cordially than he had done for years.
"Are you sure she cares for you, Ralph? I have seen nothing to suggest the idea."
"I think, indeed I am quite certain that she does not like any one else near so much," answered the young man, reluctant to compromise Lina"s delicacy by a broader confession.
"Young men are always confident," said the General with a bland smile.
"I think that faith in woman was the first delusion that I gave up.
Still it is pleasant while it lasts. Heaven forbid that I should brush the bloom from your grapes, my boy. So you really think that mamma"s little protege knows her own mind, and that my son knows his?"
A pang came to the ardent heart of the youth as he listened. Another golden thread snapped under the cold-blooded worldliness of that crafty old man.
General Harrington looked in his face, and a.n.a.lyzed the play of those handsome features, exactly as he had tasted the game-birds and champagne a half hour before. The same relish was in both enjoyments, only one was the epicureanism of a mind that found pleasure in dissecting a young heart, and the other, quite as important to him, was a delicious sensuality.
And Ralph stood under this scrutiny with a cloud on his fine brow and a faint quiver of the lip. It was agony to think of Lina without perfect confidence in her affection for himself. Yet he was so young, and his father had seen so much. If he found no evidence of Lina"s attachment to himself, it might be that all was a delusion.
The old man read these thoughts, and took upon himself a gentle air of composure.
"These things often happen when young people are thrown together in the same house, Ralph. It is a pleasant dream. Both parties wake up, and there is no harm done. Don"t take the thing to heart, it isn"t worth while."
"Then you think, sir, she really does not care for me?"
With all his worldliness, the old man could hardly withstand the appeal of those magnificent eyes, for Ralph possessed the beautiful charm of deep feeling, without a particle of self-conceit. He began to wonder how Lina ever could have fancied him, and to grieve over the delusion.
"It is strange," said the General, as if musing with himself, "it is strange, but these very young creatures seldom do give their first preferences to persons of corresponding age. Girls love to look up to men with reverence. It is really wonderful."
The young man started, fire flashed into his eyes, and for an instant he was breathless.
"You--you cannot mean that, Lina--_my_ Lina loves some one else!" he said, speaking rapidly--"Who has she known but me, and--and--?" He stopped short, looking wistfully at his father.
"You and my son James? No one, certainly, no one."
"Brother James! oh, father."
"But you are satisfied that she loves you, and that is enough," answered the General, waving his hand as if tired of the discussion. "It is decided that this whole subject rests between ourselves. Come to me a year, nay, six months from now, and if you desire it, then, I will not be hard with you."
The General seated himself as he spoke, and resumed his book with a gentle wave of the hand. Ralph bent his head partly in submission, partly to conceal the flush that suppressed tears left about his eyes and went out, leaving the first pure jewel of his heart in that old man"s hands.
The twilight had crept on during this conversation. General Harrington rang the bell for a servant to remove the silver tray on which his dinner had been served, and consumed considerable time in directing how the lamp should be placed, in order to protect his eyes as he read. When once more alone, he cast a thought back to his son.
"It will do him good. I wonder now if I, General Harrington, ever was so confiding, so rash, so generous,--for the boy is generous. My son, on whom so much depends, married to that girl! I was almost tempted into a scene with the first mention of it."
With these thoughts floating through his brain, the General leaned back in his chair more discomposed than usual by his late interview, for though his reflections were all worldly and commonplace, they had a deeper and unexpressed importance hardly recognized by himself.
Again there was a low knock at the door, and again the General bade the intruder come in, rather hastily, for he was in no humor for company!
"Miss Barker; Miss Agnes Barker," he said, as that girl presented herself and softly closed the door, "you are too kind--I only regret that this pleasant surprise detects me en deshabille."
"General Harrington is always General Harrington in any dress--besides, I have a preference for this sort of orientalism."
"You are kind to forgive me, and kinder to allow me the happiness of your presence. Sit down!"
"No," answered the governess, with a look from her black almond-shaped eyes that brought a glow into the old man"s cheek deeper than the wine had left. "I found the book open upon Mrs. Harrington"s desk. She must have forgotten it there after her fainting fit this morning. I am sure she has no secrets from her husband, and so bring it to you, as it may excite her to be disturbed, and I have no key to her desk."
The General reached forth his hand, struck by the vellum binding and jewelled clasp, for he was a connoisseur in such matters, and the effect pleased him.
"What is it?" he said, opening the book and leaning towards the light, "some illuminated missal, I fancy, or rare ma.n.u.script. Oh--ha, my lady"s journal--let us see."
He had opened the book at random, and with a gratified smile, but directly the expression of his face hardened, and his lips parted with surprise. He turned the open volume toward Agnes, who stood leaning upon the table opposite; placed his finger sternly upon a pa.s.sage of the writing, and demanded whether she had read it.
"You insult me with the question," said the lady, drawing herself up, "I did not expect this," and before he could speak Agnes glided from the room.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE LOVER"S CONFESSION.