"So I am, comparatively," said Harriet, glancing around at the gentlemen present.
Margaret had often a hard matter to preserve her gravity, but now she was vexed with Harriet, who had employed herself ever since she came down stairs in petting Mr. Humphries, on purpose to pique Mr. Gage. She offered him cream and sugar; she gave him advice about his diet; showed him the best way to eat a smelt; fussed about his toast; and took more trouble to make him comfortable, than she had ever done with anybody before.
Mr. Singleton, from his partiality to Mr. Humphries, took it all in good part; but Mr. Gage looked very cloudy. He rose as soon as possible and left the table, and walked up and down the room, keeping his eyes fixed upon Mr. Humphries and Harriet.
Harriet rose and looked about among the dishes.
"You can tell me, Mr. Humphries," she said, "what is the best thing I can give my terrier. He only eats twice a day, and I never let him touch raw meat."
"Oh! I don"t know--I--it does not matter what you give him," said Mr.
Humphries.
"A slice of this cold beef then," said Harriet, "will you cut it for me?"
Mr. Humphries complied; nearly cut his own hand, as might have been expected, but succeeded in getting off a slice.
"A little bit more," said Harriet, looking coaxingly at him.
"Oh! upon my word, that is plenty!" said Mr. Humphries.
"No, just one little bit," said Harriet stretching out the plate.
Mr. Humphries laughed awkwardly and cut it.
"You will spoil your dog, you know," he said.
During this little bit of coquetry, on her part, Mr. Gage had been increasing in rage, but she pa.s.sed close to him without seeming to be aware of his presence, and left the room.
Her dog was fastened up in a small summer-room that looked into the garden, because it had a fancy for quarrelling with one of Mr.
Humphries" spaniels that he had brought with him.
Harriet unfastened the little sinner, and it bounded up and down like a ball. She put the plate on a ledge under the window, and began to cut the meat into small pieces. While she was thus employed, Mr. Gage came abruptly into the room, and stood before her.
"Take care of the dog," said Harriet, stooping down, and catching Donald by the collar; "he is apt to snap at strangers."
"Strangers!" exclaimed Mr. Gage, in great indignation. "This from you, Harriet! But you have deceived me--made me wretched long enough. It is well that all is at an end!"
Harriet stood up. To do her justice, she tried to look as grave as she could, though she had a great inclination to laugh.
"I did not give you credit, Sir, for knowing so much of your profession," she said, coolly; "you have learned, I see, that it is a better plan to attack than to defend."
"I--what have I to defend?" said Mr. Gage. "Can you deny that you long made me believe you were going to be married to Lord Raymond?"
"Really, Mr. Gage," said Harriet, "your remarks are very original; unexpected, at least. I believe, for a long time we have had as little confidential communication as any two persons in the world. People were at liberty to conjecture what they pleased from Lord Raymond"s intimacy with my family."
"People!" echoed Mr. Gage, highly offended at being thus cla.s.sed with the mult.i.tude.
"Men, women and children!" said Harriet, very contentedly, and turning to the window ledge, she began to give Donald his dinner.
Mr. Gage"s indignation was now at its height; but he endeavoured to veil it under an appearance of great calmness. Harriet, as cool as himself, went on mincing Donald"s cold beef.
At last he said, that if it was not taxing her memory too far, he should be glad to know her motive for allowing Lord Raymond to be recognized as her lover; had she preferred Lord Raymond, he should have respected the feeling, although he should not, certainly, have thought very highly of her taste.
"As that preference has been entirely a little fancy of your own," said Harriet, with spirit; "I think it not worth while to defend my taste on an imaginary point."
"Still," said Mr. Gage, "you suffered me to remain in error on a subject which you well knew to be of great importance to my happiness."
"As I am not appointed guardian to your happiness, Mr. Gage," said Harriet, with mock civility, "I do not feel any remorse upon that point.
If you chose to compliment my taste, by inventing an attachment between me and a remarkably attractive man, I will take this opportunity, if you please, of returning you my best thanks."
Mr. Gage looked still more stormy, but he seemed determined, in popular phrase, to "have his say out."
"You never were attached to Lord Raymond then?" he said.
"Never, as it happened," returned Harriet, with great indifference.
"Then why give me to understand--" Mr. Gage began.
"Stop there!" said Harriet, "don"t ring the changes, my good friend, upon your misapprehension. I was not likely to tell _you_, of all people, my family secrets. Lord Raymond was always on an intimate footing with me. I could not remove the confusion in his affairs, nor help his mother dying at the wrong time: and these were the only things that prevented his marriage with Lucy from taking place earlier."
"You knew when I was at Chirke Weston," said Mr. Gage, "that my feelings towards you had undergone no change, and yet you not only suffered me to be in an error, but you encouraged my belief that you were engaged to that man to the utmost of your power."
"Well," said Harriet, "I am not going to tell any lies. Perhaps, I did.
I was rather amused to see you making a blunder."
"You confess it," said Mr. Gage; "and now you are acting the same part with that wretched idiot, Humphries; though you still see that I cannot forget you, as I wish to Heaven I could."
"Poor dear Mr. Humphries!" said Harriet, leaning against the window, and, throwing the pieces of meat slowly to her dog, "he is to be called an idiot, because I am commonly civil to my uncle"s guests."
"I suppose I am not to be considered as your uncle"s guest?" said Mr.
Gage.
"Not when you behave so ill," returned Harriet.
"I--what have I done?" asked Mr. Gage.
"Recollect the ball, Sir!" said Harriet; "remember how you tricked me into dancing with you."
Mr. Gage smiled a little. "Allow that you brought it on yourself," said he. "You _could_ not dance with Sir Hawarth."
"Could not?" asked Harriet. "I imagine I have every right to please myself in such things. Besides, you have been very rude to me ever since you came; and did not leave the house when I desired you."
"You know that it was impossible," said Mr. Gage; "besides, I gave you my reasons for not obeying you."
"I did not want any reasons," said Harriet.
"I believe you," said Mr. Gage; "but Miss Capel was evidently on my side then, as well as at the ball. I wish you would speak to her on the subject. I never met any woman with more delicacy of feeling."