"I don"t know that ever I did," said Hampstead. "I enjoyed myself amazingly."
"I hope you"ll come again," said the Master, "and that often."
"Certainly, if I remain here."
"I knew his lordship would like it," said Crocker, crowding in on a spot where it was possible for four to ride abreast. "I think it was quite extraordinary to see how a stranger like his lordship got over our country."
"Clever little "orse his lordship"s on," said Patterson.
"It"s the man more than the beast, I think," said Crocker, trying to flatter.
"The best man in England," said Patterson, "can"t ride to hounds without a tidy animal under him."
"Nor yet can"t the best horse in England stick to hounds without a good man on top of him," said the determined Crocker. Patterson grunted,--hating flattery, and remembering that the man flattered was a lord.
Then the road became narrow again, and Hampstead fell a little behind. Crocker was alongside of him in a moment. There seemed to be something mean in running away from the man;--something at any rate absurd in seeming to run away from him. Hampstead was ashamed in allowing himself to be so much annoyed by such a cause. He had already snubbed the man, and the man might probably be now silent on the one subject which was so peculiarly offensive. "I suppose," said he, beginning a conversation which should show that he was willing to discuss any general matter with Mr. Crocker, "that the country north and west of Penrith is less hilly than this?"
"Oh, yes, my lord; a delightful country to ride over in some parts.
Is Roden fond of following the hounds, my lord?"
"I don"t in the least know," said Hampstead, curtly. Then he made another attempt. "These hounds don"t go as far north as Carlisle?"
"Oh, no, my lord; never more than eight or ten miles from Penrith.
They"ve another pack up in that country; nothing like ours, but still they do show sport. I should have thought now Roden would have been just the man to ride to hounds,--if he got the opportunity."
"I don"t think he ever saw a hound in his life. I"m rather in a hurry, and I think I shall trot on."
"I"m in a hurry myself," said Crocker, "and I shall be happy to show your lordship the way. It isn"t above a quarter of a mile"s difference to me going by Pooley Bridge instead of Dallmaine."
"Pray don"t do anything of the kind; I can find the road." Whereupon Hampstead shook hands cordially with the Master, bade Mr. Patterson good-bye with a kindly smile, and trotted on beyond the hounds as quickly as he could.
But Crocker was not to be shaken off. The flea-bitten roan was as good at the end of a day as he was at the beginning, and trotted on gallantly. When they had gone some quarter of a mile Hampstead acknowledged to himself that it was beyond his power to shake off his foe. By that time Crocker had made good his position close alongside of the lord, with his horse"s head even with that of the other.
"There is a word, my lord, I want to say to you." This Crocker muttered somewhat piteously, so that Hampstead"s heart was for the moment softened towards him. He checked his horse and prepared himself to listen. "I hope I haven"t given any offence. I can a.s.sure you, my lord, I haven"t intended it. I have so much respect for your lordship that I wouldn"t do it for the world."
What was he to do? He had been offended. He had intended to show that he was offended. And yet he did not like to declare as much openly.
His object had been to stop the man from talking, and to do so if possible without making any reference himself to the subject in question. Were he now to declare himself offended he could hardly do so without making some allusion to his sister. But he had determined that he would make no such allusion. Now as the man appealed to him, asking as it were forgiveness for some fault of which he was not himself conscious, it was impossible to refrain from making him some answer. "All right," he said; "I"m sure you didn"t mean anything. Let us drop it, and there will be an end of it."
"Oh, certainly;--and I"m sure I"m very much obliged to your lordship.
But I don"t quite know what it is that ought to be dropped. As I am so intimate with Roden, sitting at the same desk with him every day of my life, it did seem natural to speak to your lordship about him."
This was true. As it had happened that Crocker, who as well as Roden was a Post Office Clerk, had appeared as a guest at Castle Hautboy, it had been natural that he should speak of his office companion to a man who was notoriously that companion"s friend. Hampstead did not quite believe in the pretended intimacy, having heard Roden declare that he had not as yet formed any peculiar friendship at the Office.
He had too felt, unconsciously, that such a one as Roden ought not to be intimate with such a one as Crocker. But there was no cause of offence in this. "It was natural," he said.
"And then I was unhappy when I thought from what you said that there had been some quarrel."
"There has been no quarrel," said Hampstead.
"I am very glad indeed to hear that." He was beginning to touch again on a matter that should have been private. What was it to him whether or no there was a quarrel between Lord Hampstead and Roden. Hampstead therefore again rode on in silence.
"I should have been so very sorry that anything should have occurred to interfere with our friend"s brilliant prospects." Lord Hampstead looked about to see whether there was any spot at which he could make his escape by jumping over a fence. On the right hand there was the lake rippling up on to the edge of the road, and on the left was a high stone wall, without any vestige of an aperture through it as far as the eye could reach. He was already making the pace as fast as he could, and was aware that no escape could be effected in that manner. He shook his head, and bit the handle of his whip, and looked straight away before him through his horse"s ears. "You cannot think how proud I"ve been that a gentleman sitting at the same desk with myself should have been so fortunate in his matrimonial prospects. I think it an honour to the Post Office all round."
"Mr. Crocker," said Lord Hampstead, pulling up his horse suddenly, and standing still upon the spot, "if you will remain here for five minutes I will ride on; or if you will ride on I will remain here till you are out of sight. I must insist that one of these arrangements be made."
"My lord!"
"Which shall it be?"
"Now I have offended you again."
"Don"t talk of offence, but just do as I bid you. I want to be alone."
"Is it about the matrimonial alliance?" demanded Crocker almost in tears. Thereupon Lord Hampstead turned his horse round and trotted back towards the hounds and hors.e.m.e.n, whom he heard on the road behind him. Crocker paused a moment, trying to discover by the light of his own intellect what might have been the cause of this singular conduct on the part of the young n.o.bleman, and then, having failed to throw any light on the matter, he rode on homewards, immersed in deep thought. Hampstead, when he found himself again with his late companions, asked some idle questions as to the hunting arrangements of next week. That they were idle he was quite aware, having resolved that he would not willingly put himself into any position in which it might be probable that he should again meet that objectionable young man. But he went on with his questions, listening or not listening to Mr. Amblethwaite"s answers, till he parted company with his companions in the neighbourhood of Pooley Bridge. Then he rode alone to Hautboy Castle, with his mind much hara.s.sed by what had occurred.
It seemed to him to have been almost proved that George Roden must have spoken to this man of his intended marriage. In all that the man had said he had suggested that the information had come direct from his fellow-clerk. He had seemed to declare,--Hampstead thought that he had declared,--that Roden had often discussed the marriage with him. If so, how base must have been his friend"s conduct! How thoroughly must he have been mistaken in his friend"s character! How egregiously wrong must his sister have been in her estimate of the man! For himself, as long as the question had been simply one of his own intimacy with a companion whose outside position in the world had been inferior to his own, he had been proud of what he had done, and had answered those who had remonstrated with him with a spirit showing that he despised their practices quite as much as they could ridicule his. He had explained to his father his own ideas of friendship, and had been eager in showing that George Roden"s company was superior to most young men of his own position. There had been Hautboy, and Scatterdash, and Lord Plunge, and the young Earl of Longoolds, all of them elder sons, whom he described as young men without a serious thought in their heads. What was it to him how Roden got his bread, so long as he got it honestly? "The man"s the man for a" that." Thus he had defended himself and been quite conscious that he was right. When Roden had suddenly fallen in love with his sister, and his sister had as suddenly fallen in love with Roden,--then he had begun to doubt. A thing which was in itself meritorious might become dangerous and objectionable by reason of other things which it would bring in its train. He felt for a time that a.s.sociations which were good for himself might not be so good for his sister. There seemed to be a sanct.i.ty about her rank which did not attach to his own. He had thought that the Post Office clerk was as good as himself; but he could not a.s.sure himself that he was as good as the ladies of his family. Then he had begun to reason with himself on this subject, as he did on all. What was there different in a girl"s nature that ought to make her fastidious as to society which he felt to be good enough for himself? In entertaining the feeling which had been strong within him as to that feminine sanct.i.ty, was he not giving way to one of those empty prejudices of the world, in opposition to which he had resolved to make a life-long fight? So he had reasoned with himself; but his reason, though it affected his conduct, did not reach his taste. It irked him to think there should be this marriage, though he was strong in his resolution to uphold his sister,--and, if necessary, to defend her. He had not given way as to the marriage. It had been settled between himself and his sister and his father that there should be no meeting of the lovers at Hendon Hall. He did hope that the engagement might die away, though he was determined to cling to her even though she clung to her lover. This was his state of mind, when this hideous young man, who seemed to have been created with the object of showing him how low a creature a Post Office clerk could be, came across him, and almost convinced him that that other Post Office clerk had been boasting among his official a.s.sociates of the favours of the high-born lady who had unfortunately become attached to him! He would stick to his politics, to his Radical theories, to his old ideas about social matters generally; but he was almost tempted to declare to himself that women for the present ought to be regarded as exempt from those radical changes which would be good for men. For himself his "order" was a vanity and a delusion; but for his sister it must still be held as containing some bonds. In this frame of mind he determined that he would return to Hendon Hall almost immediately.
Further hope of hunting with the Braeside Harriers there was none; and it was necessary for him to see Roden as soon as possible.
That evening at the Castle Lady Amaldina got hold of him, and asked him his advice as to her future duties as a married woman. Lady Amaldina was very fond of little confidences as to her future life, and had as yet found no opportunity of demanding the sympathy of her cousin. Hampstead was not in truth her cousin, but they called each other cousins,--or were called so. None of the Hauteville family felt any of that aversion to the Radicalism of the heir to the marquisate which the Marchioness entertained. Lady Amaldina delighted to be Amy to Lord Hampstead, and was very anxious to ask him his advice as to Lord Llwddythlw.
"Of course you know all about my marriage, Hampstead?" she said.
"I don"t know anything about it," Hampstead replied.
"Oh, Hampstead; how ill-natured!"
"n.o.body knows anything about it, because it hasn"t taken place."
"That is so like a Radical, to be so precise and rational. My engagement then?"
"Yes; I"ve heard a great deal about that. We"ve been talking about that for--how long shall I say?"
"Don"t be disagreeable. Of course such a man as Llwddythlw can"t be married all in a hurry just like anybody else."
"What a misfortune for him!"
"Why should it be a misfortune?"
"I should think it so if I were going to be married to you."
"That"s the prettiest thing I have ever heard you say. At any rate he has got to put up with it, and so have I. It is a bore, because people will talk about nothing else. What do you think of Llwddythlw as a public man?"
"I haven"t thought about it. I haven"t any means of thinking. I am so completely a private man myself, that I know nothing of public men. I hope he"s good at going to sleep."
"Going to sleep?"
"Otherwise it must be so dull, sitting so many hours in the House of Commons. But he"s been at it a long time, and I dare say he"s used to it."
"Isn"t it well that a man in his position should have a regard to his country?"
"Every man ought to have a regard to his country;--but a stronger regard, if it be possible, to the world at large."