Wilmet was so devoted to Alda and her hopes and fears, that she let Felix escape with less reproof than usual, for the cold that sat heavily upon him after the last day"s chill. He did not give way to it. There might have been some temptation to sit over the fire if Geraldine had been alone there; but Alda, when Wilmet was out of reach, engrossed Cherry"s ears with descriptions of her feelings, and cravings for sympathy in her suspense, treating every other subject as futile, and the interruption of the children"s lessons as an insult. No one might talk of anybody but Ferdinand; and Cherry did not wonder that Felix looked wearied and hara.s.sed, and always betrayed some anxiety to come first into possession of the morning post. One day, nearly a fortnight after his visit to London, he called Wilmet away from the breakfast table into the sitting-room: "Wilmet," he said, "I must go and see Miss Pearson before school hours."
"You! Is there anything the matter with Alice?" asked Wilmet, startled at his tone.
"Had they--had you--any notion of anything between her and Edgar?"
"No! Miss Pearson has taken to saying, "My dear, your brothers are quite grown into young men," and I thought she did not like the play."
"Ah! that play! It threw them together!"
"Is it really so? I suppose nothing is too foolish and provoking for Edgar!"
"The fact of admiration is not wonderful," said Felix, rather in a tone of defence; "but the worst of it is, that he has been trying to communicate with her through those poor girls at school."
Wilmet"s horror was surpa.s.sing; and when she found that he had known it all this fortnight, she was so indignant, that to his reply that it was not fair to leave both parties the chance of acting honourably, she replied with scorn for his weakness in expecting anything from Edgar, and exposing the children to the chance of expulsion, which might be a lasting blight, such as merely in thought put her into a perfect agony. Nevertheless, angry and excited as she was, she flew at him when he gave her the letters, and was off to Miss Pearson"s--"Go there without breakfast, in the sleet, sitting and still with that bad cold not half gone!" and she dragged him back reluctantly to the other room, where, ignominiously ordering off Bernard and Stella to finish their stir-about elsewhere, she insisted on his breakfasting while she told the story. She was far too loyal to blame him except tete-a-tete, but she burst on him now and then.
"You are not eating, Felix!"
"A cup of tea, then, please, Cherry. No one can swallow stir-about in hot haste but Wilmet herself." He spoke good-humouredly, but with a force upon himself that Cherry detected, and she further saw that he took nothing but that one cup and a fragment of bread, and then hurried off, saying that he must catch Miss Pearson for the little girls" sake.
The letters he had left were Robina"s and another enfolding it containing these words:
Dear Sir--According to my promise, I have refrained from opening this letter, though I own that the discovery of the purpose for which free correspondence was asked, has been no small amazement to me. In the first shock, I will not trust myself to say more, until after consultation with my brother; but you shall hear from me again respecting your sisters.--I remain, your obedient servant, R. M. FULMORT.
The letter within was--
MY DEAR FELIX--It has all come out. There is a dreadful uproar, and n.o.body will believe me. If only Miss Lyveson was here! This was the way. Edgar came yesterday and took us for a long walk in Kensington Gardens, and afterwards I saw Angela going towards Alice Knevett"s room; and as we are not allowed to run into other people"s bedrooms, I stopped her and put her in mind of what you said; but she began to cry and struggle with me, and Alice came out, and made a fuss to get the note Angel had for her, till I got into a pa.s.sion, and spoke so loud that Miss Fennimore came out upon us. Angel did not know what she was about by that time, and cried, saying that I was unkind, and was hurting her; and Alice took her part, accusing me of tyrannising and being jealous, so that I faced round and told all on the spot.
Miss Fennimore took us all straight down to Miss Fulmort, and it was a dreadful business. They are frightfully angry with us all, and me the most, for having told you instead of them. They cannot understand the difference between you and any common brother. They think I have not told the whole truth, and it is very hard. n.o.body ever distrusted me before. We are just living on sufferance till Mr. Fulmort comes to see about it, and then I think we shall be sent away. I hope so, for I know my own dear Miss Lyveson will believe me and take me back to justice and confidence. Here the girls are as angry with me for telling as the ladies are for not telling; they have no idea of such loyalty and love as we had at Catsacre. There is a report that Miss Pearson has been sent for. If we are sent home with her, it will be a horrid shame and injustice; but I shall not be able to be sorry one bit, for I know you will stand by me.--Dear, dear brother Felix, your affectionate sister, BOBBIE.
When the three sisters had made out all that could be understood, Geraldine owned herself less amazed than Wilmet; and Alda laughed at both for not being aware that Edgar was a universal flirt. All that surprised her was his having let it proceed to such dangerous extremities; but of course that was the girl"s own fault--he would give it up when it came to the point.
"Why should you expect Edgar to be more inconstant than Ferdinand?"
asked Cherry.
Both twins turned on her, and told her she was a child and knew nothing about it--their favourite way of annihilating her; and then Alda, in her excitement, walked with Wilmet to the school, leaving Cherry, as usual, to wash up the breakfast things. She felt a conviction that all this accounted for the weary oppressed look, broken by occasional starts of vivacity, which ever since Felix"s day in London had been laid to the score of the cold he had brought home.
She was glad she was still alone, when Felix looked in for a moment to say, "Miss Maria goes up by the 11.30 train. I am going to send a letter by her, and I think she will save Robin. Angel is so mere a child, that it matters less."
"How can they all be so unjust?"
"They have not had time to know the child."
"I did not mean Robina, but you."
"I don"t mind that," he said, with a smile, "though I am glad there is one lady who does not scold me;" and he bent down to kiss her.
"Did the Miss Pearsons?"
"They allowed that I meant to act for the best, and you know what that means. However," he added," they are earnest to save the little girls, which is more to the purpose. Wilmet or I would have gone up, but Miss Maria thinks she can do better than either, and I believe they are more likely to trust an old schoolmistress, who is the injured party besides. I must write my letter. Shall I help you into the other room?"
"No, thank you; I have the lessons here, for they tease Alda. If you would only send Theodore to me as you go."
"Does Alda never help you?"
"Only by criticising my French p.r.o.nunciation. She is much too restless. O Felix, what a cough! You have made your throat worse."
"It is only this black east wind."
"You ought to stay upstairs and be taken care of. Can"t you, and let Redstone call if you are wanted?"
"I _am_ wanted. It is quite as warm in the office as here, when the door is shut. What I want is, only to be twenty years older. Good- bye.
Cherry"s ponderings were divided between that sigh and the possible sighs of the wind if that door were not shut, until her own door was opened by Felix"s hand, to admit a little figure still in petticoats, with the loose flaxen curls, tottering feet, limp white fingers, and vacant blue eyes, whom she daily put through a few exercises to train his almost useless fingers and tongue. The sight of this, Alda declared, made her ill; though the little boy was as docile as he was helpless; but it was quite true that to nerves and ears not inured from the first, Theodore"s humming and his concertina were a trial from their perpetuity.
Late that evening came a message to beg Mr. and Miss Underwood would step up; and they stepped, though the east wind was blacker than ever. They found that in great tribulation Miss Maria had brought Alice Knevett home, and sent her to bed all tears and exhaustion, but that Robina and Angela were forgiven--a word so offensive to Felix as relating to the former, that he sorely lamented that prudence forbade their removal, but was somewhat consoled by a letter that Miss Maria brought him from the Vicar of St. Matthew"s, who had had a private investigation of the whole subject. He wrote to Felix that his sister was new to the management of the girls, and was a good deal annoyed at the secrecy observed towards herself, not making full allowance for Robina"s exceptional circ.u.mstances; but that, for his own part, he was convinced of the girl"s genuine uprightness and unselfish forbearance; and though he feared her position must be unpleasant just now, he thought it would be for the good of all if she had the patience to live it down, and earn the good opinion he was sure she deserved. Miss Maria reported that Miss Fennimore had been brought round by his opinion, though Miss Fulmort remained persuaded that Robina had "come over him" in some way; and while yielding to his stringent desire that, as he said, "one of the worthiest of her girls should not be unjustly expelled," only let the child herself know that she was tolerated in consideration of her youth, her orphanhood, and her relationship to Clement. Poor Robin! No one could help grieving for the tempest that had fallen on her guiltless head, and hope that all would result in her final good; but the sorrows of an absent school-girl could hardly occupy even her dearest friends, in the full and present crisis of two love affairs.
For Edgar and Major Knevett both arrived, the lover as dispa.s.sionate as the father was the reverse. Edgar did, however, as he had undertaken, rise to the position. He joked at it a little in private, to the annoyance and perplexity of Cherry, and, even of Felix; but he was perfectly steady in maintaining his perfect right to address Miss Knevett, in avowing his engagement, and in standing by it.
To Major Knevett, the affair appeared outrageous impudence on the part of a beggarly young painter out of a country bookseller"s shop, encouraged by the egregious folly of the aunts. What was said of clergyman"s sons and good old family went for absolutely nothing; and Edgar"s quiet a.s.surance of success in his profession was scoffed at with incredulity not altogether unpardonable. In the encounter that Felix had the misfortune to witness, since it took place in his own office-parlour, he could not help thinking that Edgar, with his perfect temper, unfailing courtesy, calm self-respect, and steady sense of honour towards the young lady, showed himself the true gentleman in contrast with the swaggering little Major, who seemed to expect that he could bl.u.s.ter the young man out of his presumption, and was quite unprepared for Edgar"s cool a.n.a.lysis of his threats.
But instead of, like Tom Underwood, cooling down into moderation and kindness so soon as his bolt was shot, the finding it fall short only chafed him the more, and rendered him the more inveterate against all conciliation.
There was an appeal all round to Felix, but he was not so practicable as the universal compliments to his good sense showed to be expected.
He had expressed his opinion that it was a rash engagement, hitherto improperly carried on; but he could not be brought to advise his brother to break it off on his side while the lady held to it on hers. It might be best to give it up by mutual consent; but as long as one party was bound, so was the other; and he thoroughly sided with Edgar in not being threatened out of it whilst Alice persisted.
Still more flatly did he refuse Miss Pearson"s entreaty that he would see the wilful girl, and persuade her how hopeless was her resistance, and how little prospect of the attachment being prosperous. Nothing but despair and perplexity could have prompted the good aunts to try such a resource, but they were at their wits"
end. They really loved their niece, and they dreaded the tender mercies of her father, who had indeed petted Alice as a young child, but had made her mother suffer greatly from his temper. If she would yield, they hoped to procure for her a home at York, with their brother"s widow, and to save her from a residence in Jersey with the step-mother; but Alice, upheld by a secret commerce of notes ingeniously conveyed, felt herself a heroine of constancy, and kept up her spirits by little irritations to whoever tried to deal with her. She could deftly insinuate, on the one hand, that her aunts had always preached up the Underwood perfections; and on the other, hint to her father that if her home had still remained what it was, she should never have looked out of it; and whenever he flew into a rage, or used violent language, she would look up under her eyelids and whisper something about "real gentlemen." Those thorns and claws that had figured in the scale of her transmigration were giving a good many little scratches, which did her feelings some good, but her cause none at all, by the vexation they produced. "If she could only be made to understand," said poor Miss Pearson, "how little she gains by irritating her father, and that he is really a very dreadful person when he is thoroughly offended! Poor child! my heart aches for her."
So Wilmet was turned in upon her, and before she could utter a word was hugged and kissed all over because she was the very image of darling Edgar, and his dear violet eyes were exactly the same colour.
Unsentimental Wilmet extricated herself, saying, "Eyes can"t be violet coloured. Don"t let us go into that silly talk, Alice; things are too serious now."
"You are come to help me and be a dear!" cried Alice, clasping her hands. "How does he look? the dear boy!"
"The same as usual," said Wilmet, coolly. "But, Alice, if you think that I am come to--"
"Does he--really and truly? I saw him out of the little pa.s.sage window, and I thought he looked quite thin! And Lizzie Bruce said Mrs. Hartley asked who that handsome young man was who looked so delicate."
"He is particularly strong and healthy. Alice, I want to set it all before you as a reasonable being--"
"Only do tell me; has he got his appet.i.te? For you know he is used to live where everything is recherche, and when one"s out of spirits _things_ do make a difference--"
Was that the claw in the velvet paw?
"He eats three times as much as Felix any day," said Wilmet, with a certain remembrance of the startling nudity of the bone of yesterday"s leg of mutton. "He is doing very well. You need not be afraid for him; but it seems to me that you should consider whether it can be right--"