The doctor looked down on the carpet with a pained countenance.
"Certainly, sir," he said, drily. "That"s all, I suppose? Of course, Mr. Verney, I shan"t--since such I suppose to be the wish of all parties--mention the case."
"Of _all_ parties, certainly; and it is in tenderness to others, not to myself, that I make the request."
"I"m sorry it should be necessary, sir;" said Doctor Grimshaw, almost sternly. "I know Miss Sheckleton and her family; this poor young lady, I understand, is a cousin of hers. I am _sorry_, sir, upon her account, that any mystery should be desirable."
"It _is_ desirable, and, in fact, _indispensable_, sir," said Cleve, a little stiffly, for he did not see what right that old doctor had to a.s.sume a lecturer"s tone toward him.
"No one shall be compromised by me, sir," said the doctor, with a sad and offended bow.
And the Doctor drove home pretty well tired out. I am afraid that Cleve did not very much care whom he might compromise, provided he himself were secure. But even from himself the utter selfishness, which toned a character pa.s.sionate and impetuous enough to simulate quite unconsciously the graces of magnanimity and tenderness, was hidden.
Cleve fancied that the cares that preyed upon his spirits were for Margaret, and when he sometimes almost regretted their marriage, that his remorse was princ.i.p.ally for her, that all his caution and finesse were exacted by his devotion to the interests of his young wife, and that the long system of mystery and deception, under which her proud, frank, spirit was pining, was practised solely for her advantage.
So Cleve was in his own mind something of a hero--self-sacrificing, ready, if need be, to shake himself free, for sake of his love and his liberty, of all the intoxications and enervations of his English life, and _fortis colonus_, to delve the glebe of Canada or to shear the sheep of Australia. He was not conscious that all these were the chimeras of insincerity, that ambition was the breath of his nostrils, and that his idol was--himself.
And if he mistakes himself, do not others mistake him also, and clothe him with the n.o.bleness of their own worship? Can it be that the lights and the music and the incense that surround him are but the tributes of a beautiful superst.i.tion, and that the idol in the midst is cold and dumb?
Cleve, to do him justice, was moved on this occasion. He did--shall I say?--yearn to behold her again. There was a revival of tenderness, and he waited with a real impatience to see her.
He did see her--just a little gleam of light in the darkened room; he stood beside the bed, clasping that beautiful hand that G.o.d had committed to his, smiling down in that beautiful face that smiled unutterable love up again into his own.
"Oh! Cleve, darling--oh, Cleve! I"m so happy."
The languid hands are clasped on his, the yearning eyes, and the smile, look up. It is like the meeting of the beloved after shipwreck.
"And look, Cleve;" and with just ever so little a motion of her hand she draws back a silken coverlet, and he sees in a deep sleep a little baby, and the beautiful smile of young maternity falls upon it like a blessing and a caress. "Isn"t it a darling? _Poor_ little thing! how quietly it sleeps. I think it is the dearest little thing that ever was seen--_our_ little baby!"
Is there a prettier sight than the young mother smiling, in this the hour of her escape, upon the treasure she has found? The wondrous gift, at sight of which a new fountain of love springs up--never, while life remains, to cease its flowing. Looking on such a sight in silence, I think I hear the feet of the angels round the bed--I think I see their beautiful eyes smiling on the face of the little mortal, and their blessed hands raised over the head of the fair young mother.
CHAPTER IV.
LOVE"S REMORSE
"Teach me, ye groves, some art to ease my pain, Some soft resentments that may leave no stain On her loved name, and then I will complain."
NEXT day, after dinner, Lord Verney said to Cleve, as they two sat alone, "I saw you at Lady Dorminster"s last night. I saw you--about it. It seems to me you go to too many places, with the House to attend to; you stay too long; one can look in, you know. Sometimes one meets a person; I had a good deal of interesting conversation last night, for instance, with the French Amba.s.sador. No one takes a hint better; they are very good listeners, the French, and that is the way they pick up so much information and opinion, and things. I had a cup of tea, and we talked about it, for half-an-hour, until I had got my ideas well before him. A very able man, a brilliant person, and seemed--he appeared to go with me--about it--and very well up upon our history--and things--and--and--looking at you, it struck me--you"re looking a good deal cut up, about it--and--and as if you were doing too much. And I said, you know, you were to look about, and see if there was any young person you liked--that was suitable--and--that kind of thing; but you know you must not fatigue yourself, and I don"t want to hurry you; only it is a step you ought to take with a view to strengthen your position--ultimately. And--and--I hear it is too late to consider about Ethel--that would have been very nice, it struck me; but that is now out of the question, I understand--in fact, it is certain, although the world don"t know it yet; and therefore we must consider some other alliance; and I don"t see any very violent hurry.
We must look about--and--and--you"ll want some money, Cleve, when you have made up your mind."
"You are always too good," said Cleve.
"I--I mean with your _wife_--about it;" and Lord Verney coughed a little. "There"s never any harm in a little money; the more you get, the more you can do. I always was of that opinion. Knowledge is power, and money is power, though in different ways; that was always my idea.
What I want to impress on your mind, however, at this moment, particularly, is, that there is nothing very pressing as to time; we can afford a little time. The Onslow motto, you know, _it_ conveys it, and your mother was connected with the Onslows."
It would not be easy to describe how the words of his n.o.ble uncle relieved Cleve Verney. Every sentence lifted a load from his burthen, or cut asunder some knot in the cordage of his bonds. He had not felt so much at ease since his hated conversation with Lord Verney in the library.
Not very long after this, Cleve made the best speech by many degrees he had ever spoken--a really forcible reply upon a subject he had very carefully made up, of which, in fact, he was a master. His uncle was very much pleased, and gave his hearers to understand pretty distinctly from what fountain he had drawn his inspiration, and promised them better things still, now that he had got him fairly in harness, and had him into his library, and they put their heads together; and he thought his talking with him a little did him no harm, Cleve"s voice was so good, he could make himself heard--you must be able to reach their ears or you can hardly hope to make an impression; and Lord Verney"s physician insisted on his sparing his throat.
So Lord Verney was pleased. Cleve was Lord Verney"s throat, and the throat emitted good speeches, and everyone knew where the head was.
Not that Cleve was deficient; but Cleve had very unusual advantages.
Tom Sedley and Cleve were on rather odd terms now. Cleve kept up externally their old intimacy when they met. But he did not seek him out in those moods which used to call for honest Tom Sedley, when they ran down the river together to Greenwich, when Cleve was lazy, and wanted to hear the news, and say what he liked, and escape from criticism of every kind, and enjoy himself indolently.
For Verney now there was a sense of constraint wherever Tom Sedley was. Even in Tom"s manner there was a shyness. Tom had learned a secret, which he had not confided to him. He knew he was safe in Tom Sedley"s hands. Still he was in his power, and Sedley knew it, and that galled his pride, and made an estrangement.
In the early May, "when winds are sweet though they unruly be," Tom Sedley came down again to Cardyllian. Miss Charity welcomed him with her accustomed emphasis upon the Green. How very pretty Agnes looked.
But how cold her ways had grown.
He wished she was not so pretty--so _beautiful_, in fact. It pained him, and somehow he had grown strange with her; and she was changed, grave, and silent, rather, and, as it seemed, careless quite whether he was there or not, although he could never charge her with positive unkindness, much less with rudeness. He wished she would be rude. He would have liked to upbraid her. But her gentle, careless cruelty was a torture that justified no complaint, and admitted no redress.
He could talk volubly and pleasantly enough for hours with Charity, not caring a farthing whether he pleased her or not, and thinking only whether Agnes, who sat silent at her work, liked his stories and was amused by his fun; and went away elated for a whole night and day because a joke of his had made her laugh. Never had Tom felt more proud and triumphant in all his days.
But when Charity left the room to see old Vane Etherage in the study, a strange silence fell upon Tom. You could hear each st.i.tch of her tambour-work. You could hear Tom"s breathing. He fancied she might hear the beating of his heart. He was ashamed of his silence. He could have been eloquent had he spoken from that loaded heart. But he dare not, and failing this he must be silent.
By this time Tom was always thinking of Agnes Etherage, and wondering at the perversity of fate. He was in love. He could not cheat himself into any evasion of that truth--a tyrant truth that had ruled him mercilessly; and there was she pining for love of quite another, and bestowing upon him, who disdained it, all the treasure of her heart, while even a look would have been cherished with grat.i.tude by Sedley.
What was the good of his going up every day to Hazelden, Tom Sedley thought, to look at her, and talk to Charity, and laugh, and recount entertaining gossip, and make jokes, and be agreeable, with a heavy and strangely suffering heart, and feel himself every day more and more in love with her, when he knew that the sound of Cleve"s footsteps, as he walked by, thinking of himself, would move her heart more than all Tom Sedley, adoring her, could say in his lifetime?
What a fool he was! Before Cleve appeared she was fancy free; no one else in the field, and his opportunities unlimited. He had lapsed his time, and occasion had spread its wings and flown.
"What beautiful sunshine! What do you say to a walk on the Green?"
said Tom to Charity, and listening for a word from Agnes. She raised her pretty eyes and looked out, but said nothing.
"Yes. I think it would be very nice; and there is no wind. What do _you_ say, Agnes?"
"I don"t know. I"m lazy to-day, I think, and I have this to finish,"
said Agnes.
"But you ought to take a walk, Agnes; it would do you good; and Thomas Sedley and I are going for a walk on the Green."
"Pray, do," pleaded Tom, timidly.
Agnes smiled and shook her head, looking out of the window, and, making no other answer, resumed her work.
"You are _very_ obstinate," remarked Charity.
"Yes, and lazy, like the donkeys on the Green, where you are going; but you don"t want me particularly--I mean _you_, Charrie--and Mr.
Sedley, I know, will excuse me, for I really feel that it would tire me to-day. It would tire me to death," said Agnes, winding up with an emphasis.
"Well, _I"ll_ go and put on my things, and if you _like_ to come you _can_ come, and if you don"t you can stay where you are. But I wish you would not be a fool. It is a beautiful day, and nothing on earth to prevent you."
"I don"t like the idea of a walk to-day. I know I should feel tired immediately, and have to bring you back again; and I"ve really grown interested in this little bit of work, and I feel as if I must finish it to-day."
"Why _need_ you finish it to-day? You _are_ such a goose, Agnes," said Charity, marching out of the room.