L. E. L.
Mrs. de Burgh"s expedition the preceding day did not prove without its fruits. For the next few days, several idle young men of the neighbourhood, who had nothing better to do, came dropping in to dine or stay a night or so at Silverton.
Mr. de Burgh received these guests with much courtesy and kindness; though apparently regarding them as the visitors of his wife, he left them almost entirely to her entertainment, and went about his private occupation as usual with a scientific friend of his own, who arrived at this time.
As for Mary, although obliged, considering that this gathering had been formed chiefly on her account, to show her sense of the attention by making herself as agreeable as possible, yet before long she began to feel her exertions in that respect a weariness, rather than a pleasurable excitement; and that her powers were not equal when placed in compet.i.tion with the light and careless spirits around her. Indeed, so gladly would she hail the intervals which set her at liberty, to read, or think, or dream, free from such demands, that she began to suspect very soon that her thirstings after society would easily be satisfied, and that Mr. Temple need not have been alarmed lest she should be too much ensnared by its fascinations; in short, that she was not so sociably inclined in a general way to the degree for which she had given herself credit.
One morning, Mary made her escape about an hour before luncheon from the gay party by whom, since breakfast, she had been surrounded; and seated herself, with a new book of poetry, at the open window of a room leading into a little garden, the luscious perfume of whose flowers were wafted sweetly upon her senses; shaded by the light drapery of the muslin curtains, the sound of laughing, talking, billiard-b.a.l.l.s falling at an undisturbing distance from her ear--
"Oh, close your eyes and strive to see The studious maid with book on knee!"
Mary had not long luxuriated in this enjoyment, when a footstep sounded on the gra.s.s without, and a dark shadow obscured the bright light upon her page. Lifting up her eyes, she saw Eugene Trevor standing before her.
He smiled at her start of surprise, and apologised for the abrupt intrusion. He had expected, he stated, to have found her and his cousin Olivia in this, Mrs. de Burgh"s usual morning-room; and then Mary--the bright glow with which, although not naturally nervous, this sudden apparition had coloured her cheek, fading gradually away--told him how Mrs. de Burgh was engaged in the adjoining room.
"And you have deserted her?" he said, taking up the book she had laid down and examining its contents with the greatest apparent interest, though he only smiled when she asked him if he were fond of poetry, smiled--and answered, looking into her face, "Some kind," and replaced the volume; then resting against the window-sill, they conversed on other subjects, and were still thus engaged when luncheon was announced.
Eugene Trevor stayed at Silverton that day and part of the next: when all the rest of the party took their departure, with the exception of Mr. de Burgh"s own particular friend.
But, somehow or other, Mary had by this time begun to change her mind, and to think--that after all she might be rather fond of society.
One circ.u.mstance a little surprised and puzzled her, before she had been very long at Silverton.
One day, when speaking of Wales, she carelessly mentioned Mr. Temple"s name, and alluded to the college acquaintance that gentleman had professed to have once subsisted between himself and Mr. de Burgh. But Mr. de Burgh remembered no person of that name, answering to the slight description she attempted to give--could not the least recall him to his recollection, and as Mrs. de Burgh and Eugene Trevor, who happened to be present, did not seem able to a.s.sist his memory in that respect--though Mary also remembered Mr. Temple to have claimed acquaintance with Mrs.
de Burgh"s family, she did not press the point; a certain conscious embarra.s.sment a.s.sociated with the object of discussion preventing her from entering into further particulars, though she thought the circ.u.mstance rather strange and unaccountable.
Her aunt and uncle mentioned in their first letter that Mr. Temple had called to see them, and had seemed much interested to hear of her safe arrival at Silverton; but those relatives did not remain in Wales more than a week or two after her own departure, therefore with them, intelligence regarding that most remarkable--and to her, now peculiarly interesting--person must cease, at least for the time being, she having no other correspondents at present in the neighbourhood.
Beyond such occasional gatherings as the one just described, there was very little of what could be strictly called company, during the ensuing month--July--at Silverton; and Mary sometimes smiled to think of the exaggerated idea Mr. Temple seemed to have formed, concerning the dangers to which she might be exposed in the evil world she was about to encounter. Yet how did Mary know whether the weapon of danger he most deprecated on her account, might not even then be hanging singly over her head, rendered only still more perilous by the absence of other exciting and diverting circ.u.mstances.
We said there was not much actual company at Silverton; but besides an intimate friend or two of Mr. de Burgh"s, Eugene Trevor often made his appearance to luncheon, or to dine and spend a night, so that it became at last quite a habit of Mrs. de Burgh"s to say in the morning, if they had lost sight of him for many days together:
"I wonder if Eugene Trevor will turn up to-day!"
And often did Mary find herself seated near her chamber window, her eye directed with feelings very far removed from those uneasy thoughts, which had arisen in her mind the first evening she had there taken up her position--her eyes directed across the park, along which perchance the sound of carriage wheels, having previously reached her ears, she might soon behold Eugene Trevor"s well-appointed turn-out, with the fine blood horse, urged by its impatient master, advancing at a flying pace towards the house; and then with what ingenuous pleasure would Mary hasten to make her prettiest toilette, now that there was one who, she could not but flatter herself, would be far from indifferent to its effect. Mr. de Burgh, though there might have appeared to be no particular cordiality existing between him and his wife"s cousin, never by word or manner testified any distaste to the frequency of these visits, indeed seemed to concern himself very little on the subject.
At length, however, he did say one day, on Mrs. de Burgh remarking Eugene"s absence to have been a somewhat longer one than usual: "Well!
what of that? It would really seem as if it was impossible to exist a day without Eugene Trevor. Are _you_ so very fond of this wonderful Eugene, Mary?"
Poor Mary! this direct question took her quite by surprise, and she was unable immediately to reply.
Mrs. de Burgh came to her rescue. "Oh, never mind him, Mary," she said; "he only abuses Eugene Trevor because he is my relation, and objects to his coming here because he knows he is the only person I care for at all, excepting you Mary, who has entered the house this summer, whilst these tiresome scientific friends of his infest the place continually."
"Well, at any rate I am very glad," Mary was able now to say with a quiet smile, mingled perhaps with a little inward _pique_ towards her cousin, "that you do not turn the tables upon Louis by objecting to _his_ relations."
"Ah, Mary!" said Mr. de Burgh with his most amiable smile, "are you too taking up the cudgels against me? but I was not aware that I did abuse or object to any one."
"Poor Eugene! no wonder he is glad to come over here as often as he can; it must be terribly dull for him at Montrevor with that old man,"
rejoined Mrs. de Burgh.
"Then why does he stay?" inquired her husband.
"Why--why--you know Mr. Trevor is ill and cannot bear him to be away.
Eugene"s kindness and dutiful behaviour in that respect is an excellent trait in his character, you must confess."
"Dutiful behaviour!" murmured Mr. de Burgh rather scornfully, as he walked away. "Pooh, nonsense! Epsom was a failure, and Goodwood remains to be proved."
One of the reasons which had furnished Mr. de Burgh with an excuse for remaining quietly at Silverton all that season, and perhaps had much to do in reconciling his wife to the arrangement, was the fact of Mrs. de Burgh"s situation, promising an addition to their family in the early part of the winter; and as the heir was far from being a strong child, the chance of other healthy sons was most acceptable. Therefore, more care than the gay young wife had ever taken of herself, on previous occasions, was rendered desirable.
"Yes!" Mrs. de Burgh said one day, when she was driving with Mary, in allusion to these above-mentioned expectations, "I have been patient all through this season in consequence, although it is provoking that Louis should so selfishly spend his time, interest, and fortune, in the improvement, as he calls it, of this property; of one thing, however, I am quite certain, that he will soon tire of the pursuit, leave everything half done, and take some other quirk into his head, which, no doubt, will be equally tiresome--build a yacht perhaps, and station me and the children at Cowes; whilst he amuses himself with this new toy, and then is astonished at my being discontented, and amusing myself as I best may. Oh, Mary!" she added, "when you marry, never give way to your husband"s selfishness in the first instance, or you will find it annihilating at the last."
"Did _you_ give way?" inquired Mary, with some archness.
Mrs. de Burgh laughed.
"No, I cannot exactly say I did," she replied. "I had not the slightest idea that Louis would ever have any will but mine; of course, he gave me reason to suppose so before we married; but ere the honeymoon was over, I found out my mistake. Anything that did not interfere with his own pleasure, or inconvenience, I was at liberty to do; but that was not what I wanted. I expected him to be the slave of my slightest wish."
"But was not that somewhat unreasonable?" suggested Mary.
"It certainly proved a mistake; and so we soon began to pull different ways, and I suppose will do so to the end of the chapter."
"Oh, my dear Olivia, how can you talk thus, when you and Louis ought--and do really, I am sure--so to love one another?" Mary exclaimed, feeling shocked and sorry.
"Humph it does not signify much what we ought to do, or what lies _perdue_, when daily and hourly experience makes us most feelingly act and speak to the contrary. As for Louis, the quiet, unresisting manner in which he has allowed me to do things other husbands would have soon prevented, contenting himself with a few cutting words and sneering inuendoes, does not speak much for the depth of his affection. But the fact is, there is not much depth of any kind in Louis"s nature--no strength--no firmness of feeling or purpose--nothing to lay hold of except the whim of the moment, and that melts away before you can get a very sure grasp.
""One foot on land and one on sea, To one thing constant never.""
Although it was somewhat repulsive to Mary"s ideas and principles to hear a wife thus critically expose the weak side of a husband"s character, her naturally quick perception of human nature--
"The harvest of a quiet eye,"
as well as the intimate insight now afforded her, by constant intercourse, into Mr. de Burgh"s disposition, made her own this portraiture to be not incorrectly drawn, and to fancy that much of his wife"s decline of feeling towards her handsome, captivating husband might have been thus unfavourably influenced by the discovery of these points of character in her cousin Louis.
She could imagine in her own case, that however faithfully, if once beloved, she might have preserved her affection towards such a truly amiable man, that he was not exactly the being who would ever have very strongly impressed or awakened any deep and lasting feeling in her heart--
"That love for which a woman"s heart Will beat until it breaks."
Woman, feelingly conscious of her own comparative infirmity of mind and disposition, vague, imperfect in idea and purpose, either for good or evil, naturally inclines towards those of the opposite s.e.x, who carry out to their fullest extent the distinguishing attributes of their nature--masculine stability, and strength of purpose and of action; nay, even to the abuse of this same principle--she is sometimes led more easily to yield her heart to the influence of the firm and well-defined character, under whose most common aspect may be detected a current of fixed purpose, strong, earnest, and undeviating in its course--even though that course may tend to evil--that character be strong in all, that unblinded reason must condemn--than to men of Mr. de Burgh"s _calibre_, whose very weaknesses may "lean to virtue"s side." Thus many a Medora becomes linked to a Conrad--many a Minna to a Cleveland.
With all this, and in spite of that intuitive sympathy which inclines one woman to side with another, in similar cases of right and wrong, Mary was far from suffering any such consideration to tend to the deterioration of her cousin Louis in her eyes. Nay, as far as concerned the state of feeling to which Mr. de Burgh might have arrived regarding his wife, the more she saw of him, the more was she led to image to herself the bitter disappointment--the great provocation which must have gradually converted into the apparently indifferent and inconsiderate husband, that naturally most affectionate and amiable of beings.