The ladies submitted to this quietly until they heard from their father one evening at dinner that he had seen Wilfrid in the city.
"He doesn"t waste his time like some young people I know," said Mr.
Pole, with a wink.
"Papa; is it possible?" cried Adela.
"Everything"s possible, my dear."
"Lady Charlotte?"
"There is a Lady Charlotte."
"Who would be Lady Charlotte still, whatever occurred!"
Mr. Pole laughed. "No, no. You get nothing out of me. All I say is, be practical. The sun isn"t always shining."
He appeared to be elated with some secret good news.
"Have you been over to Besworth, the last two or three days?" he asked.
The ladies smiled radiantly, acknowledging Wilfrid"s wonderful persuasive powers, in their hearts.
"No, papa; we have not been," said Adela. "We are always anxious to go, as I think you know."
The merchant chirped over his gla.s.s. "Well, well! There"s a way."
"Straight?"
"Over a gate; ha, ha!"
His gaiety would have been perplexing, but for the allusion to Lady Charlotte.
The sisters, in their unfailing midnight consultation, persuaded one another that Wilfrid had become engaged to that lady. They wrote forthwith Fine Shades to him on the subject. His answer was Boeotian, and all about Besworth. "Press it now," he said, "if you really want it. The iron is hot. And above all things, let me beg you not to be inconsiderate to the squire, when he and I are doing all we can for you. I mean, we are bound to consider him, if there should happen to be anything he wishes us to do."
What could the word "inconsiderate" imply? The ladies were unable to summon an idea to solve it. They were sure that no daughters could be more perfectly considerate and ready to sacrifice everything to their father. In the end, they deputed the volunteering Adela to sit with him in the library, and put the question of Besworth decisively, in the name of all. They, meantime, who had a contempt for sleep, waited aloft to hold debate over the result of the interview.
An hour after midnight, Adela came to them, looking pale and uncertain: her curls seeming to drip, and her blue eyes wandering about the room, as if she had seen a thing that kept her in a quiver between belief and doubt.
The two ladies drew near to her, expressing no verbal impatience, from which the habit of government and great views naturally saved them, but singularly curious.
Adela"s first exclamation: "I wish I had not gone," alarmed them.
"Has any change come to papa?" breathed Arabella.
Cornelia smiled. "Do you not know him too well?"
An acute glance from Adela made her ask whether Besworth was to be surrendered.
"Oh, no! my dear. We may have Besworth."
"Then, surely!"
"But, there are conditions?" said Arabella.
"Yes. Wilfrid"s enigma is explained. Bella, that woman has seen papa."
"What woman?"
"Mrs. Chump."
"She has our permission to see him in town, if that is any consolation to her."
"She has told him," continued Adela, "that no explanation, or whatever it may be, was received by her."
"Certainly not, if it was not sent."
"Papa," and Adela"s voice trembled, "papa will not think of Besworth,--not a word of it!-until--until we consent to welcome that woman here as our guest."
Cornelia was the first to break the silence that followed this astounding intelligence. "Then," she said, "Besworth is not to be thought of. You told him so?"
Adela"s head drooped. "Oh!" she cried, "what shall we do? We shall be a laughing-stock to the neighbourhood. The house will have to be locked up. We shall live like hermits worried by a demon. Her brogue! Do you remember it? It is not simply Irish. It"s Irish steeped in brine. It"s pickled Irish!"
She feigned the bursting into tears of real vexation.
"You speak," said Cornelia contemptuously, "as if we had very humbly bowed our heads to the infection."
"Papa making terms with us!" murmured Arabella.
"Pray, repeat his words."
Adela tossed her curls. "I will, as well as I can. I began by speaking of Besworth cheerfully; saying, that if he really had no strong affection for Brookfield, that would make him regret quitting it, we saw innumerable advantages in the change of residence proposed.
Predilection,--not affection--that was what I said. He replied that Besworth was a large place, and I pointed out that therein lay one of its princ.i.p.al merits. I expected what would come. He alluded to the possibility of our changing our condition. You know that idea haunts him. I told him our opinion of the folly of the thing. I noticed that he grew red in the face, and I said that of course marriage was a thing ordained, but that we objected to being submerged in matrimony until we knew who and what we were. I confess he did not make a bad reply, of its kind. "You"re like a youngster playing truant that he may gain knowledge." What do you think of it?"
"A smart piece of City-speech," was Arabella"s remark: Cornelia placidly observing, "Vulgarity never contains more than a minimum of the truth."
"I said," Adela went on, "Think as you will, papa, we know we are right.
He looked really angry. He said, that we have the absurdest ideas--you tell me to repeat his words--of any girls that ever existed; and then he put a question: listen: I give it without comment: "I dare say, you all object to widows marrying again." I kept myself quiet. "Marrying again, papa! If they marry once they might as well marry a dozen times." It was the best way to irritate him. I did not intend it; that is all I can say. He jumped from his chair, rubbed his hair, and almost ran up and down the library floor, telling me that I prevaricated. "You object to a widow marrying at all--that"s my question!" he cried out loud. Of course I contained my voice all the more. "Distinctly, papa." When I had spoken, I could scarcely help laughing. He went like a pony that is being broken in, crying, I don"t know how many times, "Why? What"s your reason?" You may suppose, darlings, that I decline to enter upon explanation. If a person is dense upon a matter of pure sentiment, there is no ground between us: he has simply a sense wanting. "What has all this to do with Besworth?" I asked. "A great deal more than you fancy,"
was his answer. He seemed to speak every word at me in capital letters.
Then, as if a little ashamed, he sat down, and reached out his hand to mine, and I saw his eyes were moist. I drew my chair nearer to him. Now, whether I did right or wrong in this, I do not know I leave it entirely to your judgement. If you consider how I was placed, you will at all events excuse me. What I did was--you know, the very farthest suspicion one has of an extreme possibility one does not mind mentioning: I said "Papa, if it should so happen that money is the objection to Besworth, we will not trouble you." At this, I can only say that he behaved like an insane person. He denounced me as wilfully insulting him that I might avoid one subject."
"And what on earth can that be?" interposed Arabella.
"You may well ask. Could a genie have guessed that Mrs. Chump was at the bottom of it all? The conclusion of the dreadful discussion is this, that papa offers to take the purchase of Besworth into his consideration, if we, as I said before, will receive Mrs. Chump as our honoured guest. I am bound to say, poor dear old man, he spoke kindly, as he always does, and kissed me, and offered to give me anything I might want. I came from him stupefied. I have hardly got my senses about me yet."
The ladies caressed her, with grave looks; but neither of them showed a perturbation of spirit like that which distressed Adela.
"Wilfrid"s meaning is now explained," said Cornelia. "He is in league with papa; or has given in his adhesion to papa"s demands, at least. He is another example of the constant tendency in men to be what they call "practical" at the expense of honour and sincerity."
"I hope not," said Arabella. "In any case, that need not depress you so seriously, darling."