"She returned to Holland with one son and seven daughters, of whom the eldest married my father, Jonker van Zonshoven. I am their only son."
"Then I am your great-uncle, Jonker."
"I have made the same calculation, General, and it is for this reason----"
"You don"t come to talk to me about family affairs, I hope?" he interrupted, growing uncomfortable.
"But, my dear uncle, we can speak of family affairs without their necessarily causing unpleasantness."
"Hum! Well, you are a Van Zonshoven, a stranger to all the pitiful feuds which have separated me from the Roselaers. Whole treasures have been thrown away on the lawsuits they have brought against me. Francis and I are both still suffering from such losses. Look here, if you bring any painful news for Francis, or any humiliating tidings for me--I know that even the validity of my Swiss marriage is contested--I beseech you, be generous, spare her as long as possible, for she is ignorant of this fact. Perhaps, old and broken though I be by trials, I can ward off the evil day a little longer; but be sincere and tell me plainly----"
"I a.s.sure you, General, my chief desire--as I have already told Miss Mordaunt--is to save you every kind of trouble I can. I wish simply to draw family ties closer, and my most ardent desire is that a Van Zonshoven may have the good fortune to heal the wounds caused by the Roselaers."
"Many things are necessary! Much money! As we soldiers say, gold is the sinews of war--and, pardon me if I make a mistake, the Van Zonshovens are not rich."
"You are not mistaken, General. My grandmother and her children had to live on the pension allowed the widow of Baron d"Hermaele, and this pension ceased with her life."
"And did the king do nothing for the daughters?"
"What would you expect from him, uncle? The only son was promoted and rewarded, but he died in the flower of his age. It was impossible for the young ladies to keep William II. in constant recollection of their father"s loyalty. Besides, we decided not to pet.i.tion or supplicate for favours, preferring to rely on our own energies and self-help. This principle was instilled into me whilst I was young."
"You surprise me. But is there not a Van Zonshoven Minister for Foreign Affairs in the present Government?" asked the General. "He must be a rich man, I fancy. What is your relationship to him?"
"He is my uncle; but I esteem him little. He is married to the coffee-coloured daughter of a rich Java merchant--for her money, of course. She is neither intelligent, amiable, nor educated; and indeed, has got little from him in return for her money except the right to bear his name and t.i.tle."
"A pitiful mesalliance, certainly! But for you the consequences are a rich and childless uncle?" he observed by way of a query.
"Yes, and he is already old. But, unfortunately, I am estranged from him, for I consider it beneath my dignity to beg favours from him."
The General shook his head. "There spoke the blood of the Roselaers."
"No, General, the Van Zonshovens are not vindictive, but proud. Though poor, I have always prized my independence above all things. I have lived soberly, and never indulged in pleasures above my means; consequently I have not been forced to sacrifice my liberty, which, to tell you the truth, is dearer to me than my patent of n.o.bility."
"Bravo! bravissimo!" resounded in my ears from the bottom of the room; and it came from the deep, clear voice of Francis, who had been entering the room as I spoke these words.
"You see, Jonker," said the General, somewhat fretfully, and knitting his brows, "your style of speaking has touched my granddaughter"s weak side. Her dreams are of independence, and her illusion is to be indebted to n.o.body."
"Not my illusion, grandfather. My principle is rather to be poor and independent, and appear so; and rather to suffer privations and make sacrifices, than be guilty of meanness for the sake of supplying imaginary wants and desires which we ought manfully to resist."
The General bit his lips, shut his eyes, and sank back in his chair, as if he had received a blow from a club; but unwilling to acknowledge a defeat, after a few seconds he raised himself up and said to Francis--
"I allow that you far surpa.s.s me in bearing privations; but it would be well for you to learn a little self-restraint. At my time of life it is hard to bear reproaches. I cannot change my way of living, though I confess you deny yourself much for my sake."
"Come, come, grandfather, you know my words sound harsher than I mean them; but you cannot expect me to approve what angers me--such self-restraint I shall never learn."
"That"s unfortunate," replied the General in a bitter tone; "for what will Leopold think of us if he must listen to such reproaches at every turn."
"He will think, uncle, that he is on a visit to a family which is above dissembling to deceive him, and he will esteem such frankness as an honour and a privilege----"
"Well! that"s an advantage you"ll enjoy to your heart"s content, Jonker, if you stay here long," interrupted the Captain, who had again entered the room. "Our Major has the praiseworthy custom of speaking her mind without respect of persons; and when she"s displeased, it is "parade and proceed to execution," as we say in the courts-martial."
"Had pardons not been heard of, Captain," retorted Francis, half in jest, half in earnest, "you would have been dismissed the service long ere this."
"That only proves my long-suffering and patience, Miss Major; you know I permit you to treat me like a corporal would a raw recruit. I would not bear from the Prince Field-Marshal what I have borne from you."
"Captain," said the General, who had been listening nervously, "Captain, I thought I had given you to understand that I desired to be en famille."
"And I, General, not guessing the conversation could be so entertaining for you, came to propose our usual remedy against low spirits: a game at piquet."
"Thank you, Captain, no cards this afternoon; I am anxious to talk to my nephew."
CHAPTER XIII.
Francis ordered Rolf off in search of her riding-whip which she had lost on the heath in the morning, making sure this would keep him out of the way for a time.
"It"s no easy matter to find such a thing in the sand," he growled, as he limped off.
"But, you know, I want it very much, and if you can find it you will do me a great pleasure," Francis called after him.
"Well, since I need not be on duty with the General, I will do my best," he answered.
"You are a cruel despot," I could not help saying to Francis. She smiled and coloured slightly.
"Oh, Jonker, this is nothing!" sighed the submissive va.s.sal; "when Miss Major was a child, you should have seen what I had to do and suffer."
"Just so," replied Francis; "then you spoilt me, and hence your penance is so hard. Give me your hand, my good Rolf; I won"t promise you absolution, but a truce for to-day."
The old soldier took the hand held out to him, and I saw a tear sparkle in his eye, which reconciled me to him in spite of his vulgar familiarities. He, ashamed of his weakness, tried to hide it from us by a prompt retreat.
Almost immediately afterwards he entered the room again, and approaching Francis he said--
"I know I disturb you, Freule, but it is better that I come instead of Fritz. I met the driver who brought the Jonker, at the gate, and he wishes to know at what hour our visitor intends leaving."
Whilst hesitating about my answer, I overheard him whisper to Francis--
"I have pa.s.sed the turkeys in review, and there is one just ready for the cook, but not to-day: I am sorry for le cher cousin."
I hastened to say--
"There is nothing I should like better than to spend the day here; and as for the dinner, I prefer to take pot-luck with my friends."
"Well, of course you will stay to dinner, Leopold," said the General, eyeing Francis, who had not yet given her consent.