"Very good," said Harriet, "I don"t care how many hearts you break, only don"t lose your own."
Charlotte thought this a famous joke--she tossed her head, laughed and disappeared.
But a few days after, while she was dressing her young mistress; after having committed a series of blunders, which were enough to try the patience of anybody, she stood quite still, and began to cry.
Harriet was very good-natured to her servants; she threw herself into a chair, stifled a strong inclination to laugh, and begged to know what was the matter.
"If you would please to speak for me, Miss Conway," sobbed the agitated Charlotte.
"Speak for you? Do you mean that you wish me to give you a character?
Certainly, when you leave, if you mean to leave me. I did not know you wished to go away."
Charlotte shook her head.
"What can be the matter then, Charlotte; is my Aunt Singleton displeased with you?"
Another shake, and a burst of sobbing.
"Are you ill! You had better let me give you some medicine," said Harriet, looking for the key of her medicine chest.
"Perhaps, Miss Conway did not know that Mr. Gage was going to leave Singleton Manor."
Harriet turned pale. No she did not know it. "When was he going?"
Charlotte knew nothing about Mr. Gage; she only knew that his horses were to set off for Chirke Weston the day after to-morrow.
"But you are hardly crying after Mr. Gage"s horses," said Harriet, making a desperate effort to rally her spirits.
"Mr. Thompson!" sobbed the damsel.
"Oh! he is the objection--what have you to say against Mr.
Thompson? Mr. Gage"s groom, I conclude."
Mr. Thompson had made Charlotte an offer; very respectful, and very devoted, Charlotte said he was. She confessed that Mr. Thompson was not indifferent to her, but he was so much in awe of his master, that he could not muster up courage to confess his weakness.
"But why does he not give Mr. Gage warning?" asked Harriet.
"Because," Charlotte said, "Mr. Thompson had a very good salary;"
(Charlotte was always genteel in her language; she never hinted at wages,) "and it might be a very long time before he got such another situation, and he could less afford to lose it, if he had a wife to support."
"Then, Charlotte, you must wait," said Harriet with decision; "it is no great hardship, how many ladies are obliged to wait--Mr. Gage will never suffer a married man in his service, moving as he does from place to place. You can never expect to have every thing you wish, I shall be happy to forward your interests when it is in my power, but just now it is clearly impossible."
"If you would only speak to Mr. Gage for Henry," said Charlotte, hiding her face in her ap.r.o.n.
"I do not believe an angel would be able to persuade him to keep a married man in his service," said Harriet, "as for me I have no influence at all with Mr. Gage--Thompson and you must wait."
"We were married this morning!" cried the waiting-woman with another torrent of tears.
Harriet felt very angry at first; and she exclaimed, "Charlotte, I am ashamed of you!" but she disliked to see people cry, and it occurred to her that it was rather a dreary method of spending one"s wedding-day; so she softened down, said that she would consult with her aunt about them, and try to make the best of a bad bargain. "But I warn you," she said "that you will both lose your places, the only thing left is for us to try and find you others."
"If Miss Conway would be so good as to break the news to Mr. Gage, for Henry dared not."
"Very good," said Harriet, "I have no objection. Thompson need not be afraid that Mr. Gage would shoot him; but if he is too delicate, I will undertake it, _I_ am not afraid of Mr. Gage. But how, in the name of goodness, Charlotte, did you become so intimate with Thompson. Living as you do in the housekeeper"s room, where Aunt Singleton does not allow any of the men?"
For Mrs. Singleton had a peculiar custom of having every female servant under the eye of the housekeeper, at meals, and other leisure times; while the butler presided over the men servants, both high and low, in like manner; so that they had no business together at all in that house.
Charlotte blushing very much, said that "Mr. Gage was in the habit of sending Thompson to enquire of her how Miss Conway was, three or four times a day, during her illness; in consequence of which he was always laying in wait for her, first on his master"s account, and next upon his own. So that it was Mr. Gage"s fault after all."
"Beg Miss Capel to come to me," said Harriet, with sparkling eyes; "and then let Mr. Gage know that I desire the favour of his company for half a minute. But first, Mrs. Thompson, wipe your eyes if you please, or Mr.
Gage will think I have been beating you."
Charlotte with a smiling face, departed upon her errand; and Harriet walked to the looking gla.s.s.
"Come, I am not so very much pulled down by my illness," said she with a smile.
Margaret came in, heard the delinquency of Charlotte with much surprise; and readily agreed to ply her worsted work in the boudoir during Mr.
Gage"s visit. She antic.i.p.ated, with some pleasure, the scene that was about to be enacted. Harriet began to grow nervous, as he did not come directly, and turned over in her mind how she should introduce the subject--a rare occurrence with her.
At last Mr. Gage who had been found in the park, and forwarded upstairs by the butler, made his appearance, walked calmly in, shook hands with Harriet, on the strength of her absence, and "trusted that she was recovering."
"Oh, yes, quite! I am much better, I shall be able to go to the Veseys on Thursday, Mr. Gage, which is the extent of my ambition at present."
Mr. Gage rather wondered whether she had sent for him into her own particular sitting-room to talk to him about the Veseys; but he merely remarked that he was going into Devonshire on that day, or he believed he should have joined their party, as Mrs. Vesey had been so polite as to ask him.
"Ah! so I hear," said Harriet, in a friendly tone. "How dull poor Chirke Weston will look, now they are all away."
"Dull enough," said Mr. Gage; and he sighed, thinking of his sister, and all the troubles she had gone through.
"I have not heard from Bessy, I don"t know when," said Harriet.
"Nor I," said Mr. Gage. "I imagine she has not much to say."
"And writing is such a bore," said Harriet.
"A great bore," said Mr. Gage.
"I will tell you who writes a great number of letters," said Harriet.
"My brother, Evan."
"And really clever ones," replied Mr. Gage.
"No! Does he ever write to you?" exclaimed Harriet.
"Now and then," said Mr. Gage. "I think he writes to Hubert more than to any of us."
The conversation had been very placid hitherto: Margaret hardly thought it could last.
There was a short pause; during which Harriet sat playing with her rings. It was such an unusual thing for Harriet to appear constrained in her manner to any one, that Mr. Gage was considerably puzzled.