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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of That Unfortunate Marriage, Vol. 1(of 3), by 
+Frances Eleanor Trollope
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: That Unfortunate Marriage, Vol. 1(of 3)
+
+Author: Frances Eleanor Trollope
+
+Release Date: April 24, 2011 [EBook #35943]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THAT UNFORTUNATE MARRIAGE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Delphine Lettau, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                     THAT UNFORTUNATE MARRIAGE.
+
+                     BY FRANCES ELEANOR TROLLOPE
+
+AUTHOR OF "AUNT MARGARET'S TROUBLE," "A CHARMING FELLOW," "LIKE SHIPS
+UPON THE SEA," ETC.
+
+
+    _IN THREE VOLUMES._
+    VOL. I.
+
+    LONDON:
+    RICHARD BENTLEY AND SON
+
+    Publishers in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen.
+
+    1888.
+
+    (_All rights reserved._)
+
+
+
+
+THAT UNFORTUNATE MARRIAGE.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+Augustus Cheffington had made an unfortunate marriage. That was admitted
+on all hands. When he was a Cornet in a cavalry regiment quartered in
+the ancient Cathedral City of Oldchester, he ran away with pretty Susan
+Dobbs, the daughter of his landlady. Augustus's friends and family--all
+the Cheffingtons, the Dormer-Smiths, the Castlecombes--deplored this
+rash step. It was never mentioned, either at the time or afterwards,
+without expressions of deep commiseration for him.
+
+Nevertheless, from one point of view there were compensations. This
+unfortunate marriage was made responsible for a great many shortcomings,
+which would otherwise have been attributed more directly to Augustus
+Cheffington himself. For example, it was said to account for his failure
+in his profession. He had chosen it chiefly because he very much liked
+the brilliant uniform of a certain crack regiment (it was in the days
+before competitive examinations); and he had no other aptitude for it
+than a showy seat on horseback, and a person well calculated to set off
+the works of the regimental tailor. But when years had passed, and he
+had remained undistinguished, his friends said, "What could one expect
+after Augustus's unfortunate marriage?"
+
+After a time he sold out of the Army, and went to live on the Continent,
+where very shortly he had squandered nearly all his money, and fallen
+into shady paths of life; and again there was a chorus of "I told you
+so!" and a general sense that all this was due to the unfortunate
+marriage.
+
+Finally, his wife died, leaving him with one little girl, the sole
+survivor of five children; and he came to England with the idea of
+securing some place which should be suited to his birth, his abilities,
+his habits, and his inclinations. No such place was found. Several
+members of the Peerage were applied to, to exert their influence with
+"Government" on behalf of so well-connected a personage as Augustus
+Cheffington. But "Government" behaved very badly, "Government" was
+insensible to his claims. His claims, it is true, were not small. They
+required a maximum of remuneration for a minimum of labour. He was
+unable, also, to furnish any proofs of his fitness for one or two posts
+which happened to be vacant, except the undeniable fact of his
+cousinship with all the Cheffingtons and Castlecombes in England; and to
+this kind of qualification "Government," it appeared, attached no
+importance at all.
+
+He paid a round of visits at country houses, and renewed his
+long-disused acquaintance with a score of more or less distant
+relations. But he was not popular. It has been observed that
+unsuccessful men very often are not popular. "Gus Cheffington has
+dropped out of the running," men said. "A fellow naturally gets
+forgotten when he has kept out of sight for years--and besides, he makes
+himself so deuced disagreeable! He's always grumbling."
+
+This latter accusation was true. If England had shown no maternal
+affection for her long-absent son, the son returned her hard-heartedness
+with interest. Indeed, in his case, it turned into active resentment. He
+got tired of country houses and town mansions where he was received but
+coolly. He was sarcastic and bitter on the failure of his connections to
+procure him a lucrative sinecure. He considered that the country was
+travelling downhill at break-neck speed, and, for his part, he did not
+feel inclined to move his little finger to impede that fatal course.
+Moreover, the black coffee was, nine times out of ten, utterly
+undrinkable. One day he shook the dust of England's inhospitable shores
+from off his feet, and returned to his shady haunts on the
+Continent--its irresponsibility, its _cafés_, its boulevards, and its
+billiards. And when he was fairly gone, all the Cheffingtons, and the
+Dormer-Smiths, and the Castlecombes were softened into sympathy; and
+with much shrugging of shoulders and shaking of heads declared that it
+was a heartrending spectacle to behold such a man as Augustus
+Cheffington ruined, crushed, eclipsed, destroyed by his unfortunate
+marriage.
+
+When he went back to Belgium, he left behind him at school in Brighton
+his little motherless girl Miranda, familiarly called May. The
+Honourable Mrs. Cheffington, Augustus's mother, had advised her son to
+give the little girl a first-rate education, so as to mitigate as far as
+possible one disastrous effect of the unfortunate marriage, which was,
+that May had a plebeian mother. Mrs. Cheffington, known throughout all
+the ramifications of the family as "the dowager," was a hard-featured,
+selfish old woman, with a black wig, a pale yellow skin, and frowning
+eyebrows. She lived on a pension which would cease at her death, and she
+was supposed by some of her relations to be making a purse. They thought
+it would turn out that the dowager had considerable savings to leave
+behind her; and they founded this supposition on her never giving away
+anything during her lifetime. Mrs. Dormer-Smith, Augustus Cheffington's
+sister, declared that her mother made one exception to her rule of
+refusing assistance to any of them. She believed that Augustus, who had
+always been her favourite child, profited by the dowager's indulgence,
+and managed to extract some money from her tightly-closed purse. And it
+certainly was true that the old lady had paid May's school bills--so far
+as they had been paid at all.
+
+But one day the Honourable Anne Miranda Cheffington took off her black
+wig for the last time, and relaxed her frowning eyebrows. The
+announcement of her death appeared in the first column of the _Times_,
+there was a brief obituary notice in a fashionable journal, and her
+place knew her no more.
+
+Augustus hastened home to England on the receipt of a telegram from his
+sister. That is to say, he said he hastened; but he did not arrive in
+town until some hours after the funeral was over. Mr. Dormer-Smith was
+somewhat irritated by this tardiness, and observed to his wife that it
+was just like Augustus to keep out of the way while there was any
+trouble to be taken, and only arrive in time to be present at the
+reading of the will. Any expectations that Augustus might have founded
+on his mother's reluctance to give during her lifetime were quite
+disappointed. The dowager had no money to bequeath. She had spent nearly
+the last shilling of her quarter's income. In fact, there was not enough
+to cover the expenses of the funeral, which were finally paid several
+months afterwards by Mr. Dormer-Smith.
+
+It seemed almost superfluous, under the circumstances, to have made a
+will at all. But the will was there. The chief item in it was a quantity
+of yellow old lace, extremely dirty, and much in need of mending, which
+was solemnly bequeathed by Mrs. Cheffington to her daughter, Pauline
+Augusta Clarissa Dormer-Smith. It was set forth at some length how that
+the lace, being an heirloom of the Cheffingtons, should have descended
+in due course to the wife of the eldest son, or, failing that, to the
+eldest daughter of the eldest son; and how this tradition was
+disregarded in the present case by reason of peculiar and unprecedented
+family circumstances. This was the dowager's Parthian dart at the
+unfortunate marriage. There was little other property, except the dingy
+old furniture of Mrs. Cheffington's house at Richmond, and a few books,
+treating chiefly of fortification and gunnery, which had belonged to
+Lieutenant-General the Honourable Augustus Vane Cheffington, the
+dowager's long-deceased husband.
+
+"What the----What on earth my mother did with her money _I_ can't
+conjecture!" exclaimed Augustus, staring out of the window of his
+brother-in-law's drawing-room the day after the funeral.
+
+"She didn't give it to us, Augustus," returned Mrs. Dormer-Smith
+plaintively. "Even when my boy Cyril went to see her at the end of the
+holidays, just before returning to Harrow, she never tipped him. Once I
+think she gave him five shillings. But it's a long time ago; he was a
+little fellow in petticoats."
+
+"Then what _did_ she do with her money?" repeated Augustus, with an
+increasingly gloomy scowl at the gardens of the Kensington square on
+which his eyes rested.
+
+"I believe that, with the exception of what she paid for May's
+schooling, she spent it on herself."
+
+"Spent it on herself? That's impossible! It was a very good income
+indeed for a solitary woman, and she lived very quietly."
+
+"You may get through a good deal of money even living quietly, when you
+don't deny yourself anything you can get. For instance, she never would
+drive one horse; she had been accustomed to a pair all her life."
+
+Augustus checked an oath on his very lips, and, instead of swearing
+according to his first impulse, observed with solemnity that he knew not
+how his mother had been able to reconcile such selfishness with her
+conscience, and hoped her last moments had not been troubled by remorse.
+
+"Oh, I don't think mamma felt anything of that kind," said Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith in her slow, gentle tones; "she was always complaining of
+other people's unreasonable expectations."
+
+The brother and sister fell silent for a while after this, each being
+immersed in private meditation. That very morning a circumstance had
+occurred which had put the last touch to Augustus's disappointment and
+exasperation. The Brighton schoolmistress had sent Miss Miranda
+Cheffington to London in the charge of a maid-servant, and the little
+girl had arrived at her aunt's house in a cab with her worldly
+possessions, namely, a small black trunk full of clothes, and a
+canary-bird in a cage. The schoolmistress wrote civilly, but firmly, to
+the effect that, after the lamented decease of the Honourable Mrs.
+Cheffington, she could not undertake to keep May any longer; feeling
+sure, by repeated experience, that all applications for payment made to
+Captain Cheffington would be in vain, and understanding that Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith declined to charge herself with her niece's education.
+Captain Cheffington had been violently angry, and had denounced the
+schoolmistress--Mrs. Drax--as an insolent, grasping, vulgar harpy. But
+Mrs. Drax was out of his reach, and there was May, thirteen years old,
+with a healthy appetite, and limbs rapidly outgrowing her clothes.
+
+Augustus continued to glare moodily at the square for some minutes. His
+sister leaned her cheek on her hand, and looked at the fire. At length
+Augustus, composing his face to a less savage expression, turned away
+from the window, sat down opposite to his sister, and said, pensively--
+
+"We must arrange something for May, Pauline."
+
+"You must, indeed, Augustus."
+
+"We ought to consider her future."
+
+"Yes; I think you ought, Augustus."
+
+"The girl is at a hobbledehoy age. It's a perplexing position. So
+difficult to know what to do with her."
+
+"There is no age at which it is so awkward to dress a girl. I have
+sometimes regretted not having daughters; but upon my word there must be
+a dreadful amount of harass about their clothes between twelve and
+fifteen--or in some cases sixteen."
+
+"It's impossible for me to have her with me in Brussels. The way I
+live--am obliged to live _malgré moi_--she'd upset all my arrangements
+and habits. In short, you can see for yourself, Pauline, that it would
+be out of the question."
+
+"No doubt it would be very bad for the girl."
+
+"Of course! That's what I mean. Wouldn't it be the best plan after all,
+Pauline, to leave her here with you? She could have private masters----"
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith shook her head.
+
+"At my expense, of course," added Augustus. "I must screw and scrape and
+make some sacrifices no doubt, but----"
+
+"It really won't do, Augustus. I assure you it won't do. Frederick will
+_not_ have it. He talked to me after luncheon. It isn't the least use."
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith continued plaintively to shake her head as she spoke,
+and to look with gentle melancholy at the fire.
+
+"H'm! Frederick is very kind. But let us discuss the thing in a friendly
+spirit. If I pay for her clothing and education, surely the expense of
+her board wouldn't ruin you and Frederick!"
+
+"No; but the butcher and the baker are the least part of the matter. It
+isn't as if May were the daughter of one's housekeeper or one's
+governess. She is a Cheffington, you know. So many things are required
+for a girl with her connections; and as to your paying for her masters,
+of course we know you wouldn't, Augustus."
+
+"Upon my soul you are civil and sisterly!"
+
+"Well, I dare say you would mean to pay, but you wouldn't. It would be
+sure to turn out so, don't you know? Things always have been like that
+with you, Augustus."
+
+"Then what the devil do you think I'm to do?"
+
+"Pray don't be violent! I really cannot bear any display of violence.
+You should remember that it is scarcely a week since poor mamma was
+taken from us."
+
+"I don't see what that has to do with it. Miranda hasn't been taken from
+us; that's the point."
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith making no answer, her brother continued, after a
+moment or two--
+
+"You are fertile in objections, but you don't seem to have any plan to
+suggest."
+
+"Well, an idea did occur to me. I don't know whether you would like it."
+
+"Like it! Probably not. But I am used to sacrifice my inclinations."
+
+"Well, I thought that you might put May into a school in France or
+Germany, or somewhere, letting her give lessons in English in return for
+her board and so on. There are plenty of schools where they do that sort
+of thing. It wouldn't so much matter abroad, because people wouldn't
+know who she was. You might tide over a year or two in that way."
+
+Augustus got up from his chair. "My daughter a drudge in a Continental
+school?" he exclaimed indignantly.
+
+"If you chose a place little frequented by English, I don't think people
+would know."
+
+There was a short silence. Then Augustus said angrily, "I'll take the
+girl back with me. She must share my home, such as it is. We will
+neither of us trouble you or Frederick much longer. I shall start for
+Ostend by the morning mail to-morrow." And he dashed out of the room
+emitting a muffled roll of oaths, and jarring the door in a way which
+made Mrs. Dormer-Smith clasp her forehead with both hands, and lean back
+shrinkingly in her chair.
+
+But when the morrow came, Captain Cheffington and his daughter did not
+go to Ostend. When they had got out of sight of the Dormer-Smiths'
+house, he ordered the cabman to drive to the Great Western Railway
+Station, and started by an express train for Oldchester.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+Amongst the minor grievances reckoned up by the deceased dowager as
+accruing from Augustus's unfortunate marriage was the fact that his wife
+had borne the plebeian name of Dobbs. One of her most frequent
+complaints against poor little May was that the child was "a thorough
+Dobbs." And when she was out of temper--which was very often--she would
+prefer this charge as indignantly as though Dobbs were synonymous with
+the most disgraceful epithets in the English language.
+
+And yet the sound of it awoke very different associations in the city of
+Oldchester, where Augustus's mother-in-law had lived all her life. Mrs.
+Dobbs was the widow of a tradesman. The ironmonger's business, which her
+husband had carried on, had long passed into other hands; but his name
+still met the eyes of his fellow-townsmen in the inscription, "J. Brown,
+late Dobbs," painted over the shop.
+
+Oldchester is a city in which two streams of life run side by side,
+mingling but little with each other. At a certain point in the existence
+of Oldchester, its ancient course of civil and ecclesiastical history
+had received a new tributary--a strong and ever-growing current of
+commerce. Commerce built wide suburbs, with villa residences in various
+stages of "detachment" and "semi-detachment" from one another. Commerce
+strewed the pleasant country paths and lanes with coal-dust, and
+blackened the air with smoke. Commerce set up Art schools, founded
+hospitals (and furnished patients for them), multiplied railways for
+miles round, and scored all the new streets, and some of the old, with
+tramway lines. Commerce bought estates in the neighbourhood, was
+conveyed to public worship in splendid equipages, sent its sons to Eton,
+and married its daughters into the Peerage. But, for all that, the fame
+of Oldchester continued to rest on its character as a cathedral city.
+The old current surpassed the new one in length and dignity, if in
+nothing else. The gray cathedral towers rose up majestically above the
+din and turmoil of forge and loom and factory, with a noble aspiration
+towards something above and beyond these; while the vibrations of their
+mellow chimes shed down sweet suggestions of peace and goodwill among
+the homes of the toilers.
+
+Mrs. Dobbs particularly loved the sounds of the cathedral chimes; and
+she sat with closed eyes listening to them in the twilight of a certain
+autumn evening. Her house was in a narrow street, called Friar's Row,
+which turned out of the High Street. A monastery had once stood on the
+site of it, but all trace of the ancient conventual buildings had long
+since disappeared. The houses were solid brick dwellings, from one to
+two hundred years old. Mrs. Dobbs's husband had bequeathed her a long
+lease of that which she occupied. Most of the other houses in Friar's
+Row were used as offices or warehouses, the wealthier kind of
+tradespeople who once lived in them having migrated to the suburbs. On
+her husband's death some of Mrs. Dobbs's friends had urged her to remove
+to a newer and more cheerful part of the town, but she had resisted the
+suggestion with some contempt.
+
+"I know what suits me," she would say. "And that's a knowledge the Lord
+doesn't bestow on all and sundry. This house suits me. It's
+weather-proof for one thing. And you needn't be afraid of putting your
+foot through the floor if you walk a little heavy, as I do. When I go to
+see the Simpsons in that bandbox they call Laurel Villa, I daren't lean
+my umbrella against the wall, for fear of bringing the whole concern
+down like a pack of cards."
+
+She might easily have increased her income by letting her house and
+removing to one in the suburbs; for its position was central, and the
+tenements in Friar's Row were in great request for business purposes.
+But she resisted this temptation. There were reasons of a more
+impalpable kind than the solidity of its floors and roofs, which made
+Mrs. Dobbs constant to her old home. She had lived there all the days of
+her married life. Her daughter had been born there. Her husband had died
+there. The somewhat narrow and dingy street had in her eyes the familiar
+aspect of a friendly face. She loved to hear the rattle and bustle of
+the High Street, slightly softened by distance. Those common sounds were
+full of voices from the past: the common sights around were associated
+with all the joys and sorrows of her life. Mrs. Dobbs never said
+anything to this effect, but she felt it. And so she stayed in Friar's
+Row.
+
+The parlour in which she sat was comfortably and substantially
+furnished. A competent observer would have perceived evidences of
+permanence and respectability in the solid, old-fashioned chairs and
+tables, the prints after Morland on the walls, and the corner cupboard
+full of fine old china. The bookshelves which filled one end of the room
+contained the accumulations of successive generations. There was a
+square pianoforte with a pile of old music-books on the top of it; and a
+big family Bible in massive binding had a place of honour all to itself
+on a side-table covered with green baize. On this special autumn
+evening, owing to the hour, and partly to the narrowness of the street,
+which shut out some of the lingering daylight, the parlour was very dim.
+A red fire glowed in the grate, a large tabby cat blinked and purred on
+the hearthrug, and in a spacious easy-chair at one side of the fireplace
+sat Mrs. Dobbs, listening with closed eyes to the cathedral chimes.
+
+Presently the door was softly opened, and there came into the room Mrs.
+Dobbs's life-long friend and crony, Mr. Joseph Weatherhead. This person
+was her brother-in-law, and a childless widower. He had carried on the
+trade of bookseller and stationer in Birmingham for many years; but had
+sold his business on the death of his wife, and come to live in
+Oldchester, near the Dobbs's. Mr. Weatherhead was a tall, lean man, with
+a benevolent, bald forehead, and mild eyes. The only remarkable feature
+in his face was the nose, which was large, slightly aquiline, brownish
+red in colour, and protruded from his face at a peculiar angle. The
+forehead above, and the chin below, sloped away from it rather rapidly.
+The nose had thus a singularly inquisitive air of being eagerly in the
+van, as though it thrust itself forward in quest of news.
+
+As he closed the door behind him, Mrs. Dobbs opened her eyes.
+
+"I thought you were asleep, Sarah," said Mr. Weatherhead.
+
+"Asleep!" ejaculated Mrs. Dobbs, with all the indignation which that
+accusation is so apt mysteriously to excite. "Nothing of the kind! I was
+listening to the chimes. They always make me think----"
+
+"Of poor Susy," interrupted Mr. Weatherhead, nodding. "Ah! And so they
+do me. Poor Susy! How pretty she was!"
+
+"She had better have been less pretty for her own happiness. The great
+misfortune of her life wouldn't have happened but for her pretty face."
+
+Mr. Weatherhead nodded again, and sat down opposite to Mrs. Dobbs in a
+corresponding armchair to her own. He then took from his pocket a black
+leather case, and from the case a meerschaum pipe, which he proceeded to
+fill and light and smoke.
+
+"What an infatuation!" sighed Mrs. Dobbs, pursuing her own meditations.
+"To think of Susy throwing herself away on that extravagant, selfish,
+good-for-nothing fellow without any principles to speak of, when she
+might have had an honest tradesman in a first-rate way of business! She
+had only to pick and choose."
+
+"Humph! Honest tradesmen are not as plentiful as blackberries, though,"
+observed Mr. Weatherhead, reflectively.
+
+Mrs. Dobbs ignored this parenthesis, and went on: "It was a bad day for
+me and mine when he first came swaggering into this house."
+
+From which speech it will be seen that the Dobbs side of the family
+coincided with the Cheffingtons in considering Augustus's to have been
+an unfortunate marriage; only each party arrived at the same conclusion
+by a different road.
+
+"Have you heard from him lately, Sarah?" asked Mr. Weatherhead, after a
+pause.
+
+"From my precious son-in-law? Not I!"
+
+"Oh!"
+
+"Not a word from him till he wants something. You may take your oath of
+that, Jo Weatherhead."
+
+"Oh, I thought you might have heard from him, because----"
+
+"Well?" (very sharply).
+
+"Well, because I see something has been putting old times into your
+head; and I thought it might be that."
+
+"Something been putting old times into my head? I should like to know
+when they're out of my head! Much you know about it!"
+
+Mr. Weatherhead apparently did know something about it; for after
+another long silence, during which he puffed at his pipe and stared into
+the fire, Mrs. Dobbs justified his penetration by saying--
+
+"The truth is, I _have_ been turning things over in my mind a good deal
+since yesterday."
+
+Mr. Weatherhead was too wary to expose himself to another snub, so he
+merely nodded two or three times in an oracular manner.
+
+"I'm worried out of my mind about that child. She went off yesterday as
+bright and happy as possible, and looking so pretty and genteel--fit for
+any company in the land."
+
+"Ah! She went off, you say, to----?"
+
+"To the Hadlows'. She is to stay there over Sunday."
+
+"Oh! But I don't quite see----"
+
+"Go on! What is it that you don't quite see?"
+
+"I don't quite see what there is to worry you in that. The Hadlows are
+very good sort of people."
+
+"I should think they _were_ very good sort of people! Canon Hadlow is
+one of the best men in Oldchester; or in all England, for the matter of
+that. And he's a gentleman to the marrow of his bones. But what sort of
+a position has my grand-daughter among the Hadlows and their
+belongings?"
+
+"A very nice position, I should say."
+
+"A very nice position!" exclaimed Mrs. Dobbs, who seemed determined to
+repeat all poor Mr. Weatherhead's speeches in a tone of disdainful
+irony. "That's so like you, Jo! _She_ thinks it a very nice position,
+too, poor lamb. She knows nothing of the world, bless her innocent
+heart. And, for all her seventeen years, she is the merest child in some
+things. But you might know better. You are not seventeen years old, Jo
+Weatherhead."
+
+"Certainly not," assented he emphatically.
+
+"The fact of the matter is that, whether by good luck or bad luck, May
+does not belong to my sphere or my class. She's a Cheffington. She has
+the ways of a lady, and the education of a lady, and she has a right to
+the position of a lady. If that father of hers gives her nothing else he
+might give her that; and he shall, if I can make him."
+
+"Perhaps it might have been better, after all, if you had not sent the
+child back to her old school, but just brought her up here, under your
+own eye, in a plain sort of way. It would have been better for _you_,
+anyhow."
+
+"I don't know that."
+
+"Why, you'd have been spared a good many sacrifices. There's not another
+woman in England would have done what you've done, Sarah."
+
+"Nonsense; there are plenty of women in England as big fools as me. Even
+that wooden old figurehead of a dowager--Lord forgive me, she's dead and
+gone!--had the grace to pay the child's schooling as long as she lived."
+
+"She!" exclaimed Jo Weatherhead, firing up suddenly, and tapping his
+meerschaum sharply against the hob. "That's a very different pair of
+shoes. She could afford it a precious sight better than you. What did
+_she_ ever deprive herself of? I say there's not another woman in
+England would have done what you've done, and it's no good your
+contradicting."
+
+"There, bless the man! Don't let us quarrel about it."
+
+"But I shall quarrel about it, unless you give in. Here's the case
+fairly put:--A young spark runs away with your only daughter, and pretty
+well breaks your heart. He takes her wandering about into foreign parts,
+and you only get news of her now and then, and never good news. He's too
+fine a gentleman to do a stroke of work for his family, but as soon as
+he has run through his bit of money he's not too fine a gentleman to
+fall into disreputable ways of life, nor yet to let who will look after
+his motherless little girl, and feed, and clothe, and educate her. When
+his own mother dies--leaving two quarters' school-bills unpaid, which
+you have to settle, by-the-by--the rest of the family, including his own
+sister, refuse to advance a sixpence to save the child from the
+workhouse."
+
+"I say, Jo, that's putting it a little too strong, my friend! There was
+no talk of the workhouse."
+
+"Let me finish summing up the case. I say they wouldn't spend sixpence
+to save that child from _starvation_--there, now! When the dowager is
+dead, and the rest of them button up their breeches' pockets, and the
+schoolmistress sends away the poor little girl because she can't afford
+to keep her and teach her for nothing, what does my gentleman do? Does
+he try in any one way to do his duty by his only child? Not he. He
+coolly shuffles off all trouble and responsibility on other folks'
+shoulders. He hasn't taken any notice of you for years, except writing
+once to borrow fifty pounds----"
+
+"Which he didn't get, Jo."
+
+"Which he didn't get because an over-ruling Providence had ordained that
+you shouldn't have it to lend him. Well, after years of silence and
+neglect, he turns up in Oldchester one fine morning, and walks into your
+house bringing his little girl 'on a visit to her dear grandmother.'
+Talk of brass! What sort of a material do you suppose that man's
+features are composed of?"
+
+"Gutta percha, very likely," returned Mrs. Dobbs, who now sat resting
+her head against the cushions of her chair, and listening to Mr.
+Weatherhead's eloquence with a half-humorous resignation; "that's a
+good, tough, elastic kind of stuff."
+
+"Tough! He had need have some toughness of countenance to come into this
+house as he did. And that's not the end. He swaggers about Oldchester
+for a week or two, using your house as an inn, neither more nor
+less--except that there's no bill;--and then one day he starts off for
+the Continent, leaving little May here, and promising to send for her as
+soon as he gets settled. From that day to this, and it's four years ago,
+you have had the child on your hands, and her precious father has never
+contributed one shilling towards her support. You sent the child back to
+school. You pinched, and saved, and denied yourself many little comforts
+to keep her there. You have never let her feel or guess that she has
+been a burthen on you in your old age. And I say again, Sarah Dobbs,
+that, considering all the circumstances of the case, there's not another
+woman in England would have done what you've done. No, nor in Europe!"
+
+"Well, having come to that, I hope you've finished, Jo Weatherhead."
+
+"I hope I have," returned Mr. Weatherhead, mopping his flushed face with
+a very large red pocket-handkerchief. "I hope I have, for the present.
+But if you attempt to contradict a word of what I have been saying, I'll
+begin again and go still further!"
+
+"There, there, then that's settled. But I am thinking of the future.
+Supposing I died to-morrow, what's to become of May? I have nothing to
+leave her. My bit of property goes back to Dobbs's family, and all right
+and fair, too. I've nothing to say against my husband's will. But people
+like the Hadlows, who invite May, and make much of her, have no idea
+that she has no one to look to but me. I don't say they'd give her the
+cold shoulder if they did know it; but it would make a difference. As it
+is, they talk to her about her aunt, Mrs. Dormer-Smith, and her cousin,
+Lord This, and her connection, Lady T'other, and a kind of a--what shall
+I say?--a sort of atmosphere of high folks hangs about her. She's Miss
+Miranda Cheffington, with fifty relations in the peerage. If she was
+known only as the grandchild of Mrs. Dobbs, the ironmonger's widow, she
+would seem mightily changed in a good many eyes. Sometimes it comes over
+me as if I was letting May go on under false pretences."
+
+"Why, she _has_ got fifty relations in the peerage, hasn't she?"
+
+"A hundred, for all I know. But folks are not aware that her father's
+family take no notice of her. She hardly knows it herself."
+
+"But her aunt, Mrs. Dormer-Smith, writes to her, doesn't she?"
+
+"Oh, a line once in a blue moon, to say she's glad to hear May is well,
+and to complain of the great expense of living in London."
+
+"The selfish meanness of that woman is beyond belief."
+
+"Well--I don't know, Jo. She's a poor creature, certainly. But I feel
+more a sort of pity for her than anything else."
+
+"_Do_ you? It's only out of contradiction, then."
+
+"Not altogether," said Mrs. Dobbs, laughing good-humouredly. "I made her
+out pretty well that time I took May up to London before she went back
+to school."
+
+"Ah! I remember. You tried if the aunt would do anything to help."
+
+"Yes, I tried. It was right to try. But I very soon saw that there was
+nothing to be hoped for from that quarter. Mrs. Dormer-Smith has been
+brought up to live for the world and the world's ways. To be sure her
+world is a funny, artificial little affair compared with God Almighty's:
+pretty much as though one should take a teaspoonful of Epsom salts for
+the sea. But, at any rate, I do believe she sincerely thinks it ought to
+be worshipped and bowed down to. It's no use to tell such a woman that
+she could do without this or that useless finery, and spend the money
+better. She'll answer you with tears in her eyes that it's _impossible_;
+and, what's more, she'll believe it. Why, if some Tomnoddy or other,
+belonging to what she calls "the best people," was to ordain to-morrow
+that nobody should eat his dinner unless he was waited on by a man with
+a long pigtail, that poor creature would know no peace, nor her meat
+would have no relish until a man with a pigtail stood behind her chair.
+That's Mrs. Dormer-Smith, Jo Weatherhead."
+
+Mr. Weatherhead drew up his lips into the form of a round O, as his
+manner was when considering any matter of interest, and appeared to
+meditate a reply. But the reply was never spoken; for a brisk ring at
+the street door gave a new turn to his thoughts and those of his
+sister-in-law.
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed Mrs. Dobbs, putting up her hands to settle her cap,
+and stretching out her feet with a sudden movement which made the old
+tabby on the hearthrug arch her back indignantly. "Why, that must be the
+Simpsons! I didn't think it was so late. Just light the candles, will
+you, Jo? I hope Martha has remembered the roasted potatoes."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+The Simpsons were old friends of Mrs. Dobbs. Mr. Simpson was organist of
+the largest parish church in Oldchester, where his father had been
+organist before him. To this circumstance he owed his singular Christian
+name. The elder Simpson, whose musical enthusiasm had run all into one
+channel, insisted on naming his son Sebastian Bach. Some men would have
+felt this to be a disadvantage for the profession of organist and
+music-teacher, as involving a suggestion of ridicule. But Mr. Sebastian
+Bach Simpson was not apt to be diffident about any distinguishing
+characteristic of his own. His wife had been a governess, and still gave
+daily lessons in sundry respectable Oldchester families. By an
+arrangement begun during her late husband's lifetime, this couple came
+every Saturday evening to sup with Mrs. Dobbs, and to play a game of
+whist for penny points before the meal.
+
+The two guests entered the parlour just as Mr. Weatherhead was lighting
+the candles.
+
+"Dear me," exclaimed Mrs. Simpson, "are we too early? I had no idea!
+Surely the choir practice was not over earlier than usual, Bassy?"
+
+She was a large stout woman of forty, with a pink-and-white complexion
+and filmy brown curls; and she wore spectacles. She had once been very
+slim and pretty, and still retained a certain girlishness of demeanour.
+It has been said that a man is as old as he feels, and a woman as old as
+she looks. Mrs. Simpson had innocently usurped the masculine privilege;
+and, not feeling herself to be either wiser or less trivial than she was
+at eighteen, had never thought of trying to bring her manners into
+harmony with her appearance. Her husband was a short, dark man, with
+quick black eyes, and thick, stubby, black hair. His voice was
+singularly rasping and dissonant, which seemed an unfortunate
+incongruity in a professor of music. Such as he was, however, his wife
+had a great admiration for him, and considered his talents to be
+remarkable. Her marriage, she was fond of saying, had been a love-match,
+and she had never got beyond the romantic stage of her attachment.
+
+"Good evening, Mrs. Dobbs," said the organist, advancing to shake hands,
+and taking no notice of his wife's inquiry.
+
+"How are you, Weatherhead? I suppose you were napping--having forty
+winks in the twilight, eh?"
+
+"No, Mr. Weatherhead and I were chatting," said Mrs. Dobbs.
+
+"Chatting in this kind of blind man's holiday, were you? I should have
+thought you could hardly see to talk!"
+
+"See to talk! Oh, Bassy, what an expression! You do say the drollest
+things!" exclaimed Mrs. Simpson with a giggle. "Doesn't he, Mrs. Dobbs?
+Did you ever hear----?"
+
+Mrs. Dobbs, for all reply, hospitably stirred the fire until it blazed,
+helped Mrs. Simpson to remove her bonnet and cloak, and placed her in a
+chair near her own. Mr. Simpson took his accustomed seat, and the four
+persons drew round the fire, whilst Martha, Mrs. Dobbs's middle-aged
+servant, set out a little card-table, and disposed the candles on it in
+two old-fashioned, spindle-shanked, silver candlesticks. It was all done
+according to long-established custom, which was seldom deviated from in
+any particular.
+
+"And how are you, dear Mrs. Dobbs?" asked Mrs. Simpson, taking her
+hostess's hand between both her own. "And dear May--where's May?"
+
+"May has been away from home on a visit since yesterday morning. She
+won't come back before Monday."
+
+"And may one ask where she is? It is not, I presume, a Mystery of
+Udolpho!"
+
+"She is at the Hadlows'."
+
+"The Hadlows'? Canon Hadlow's?" cried Mrs. Simpson, clasping her hands
+with a gesture of amazement. Then she added rather inconsistently,
+"Well, I'm not surprised. I know they have lately taken a great deal of
+notice of her. Miss Hadlow and she having been at school together, of
+course created an intimacy which--ah, the friendships of early youth,
+where they _are_ genuine, have a warmth, a charm----"
+
+"_Now_, Amelia!" interposed her husband's rasping voice. (This
+ejaculation was his habitual manner of recalling Mrs. Simpson's
+attention to the matter in hand, whatever it might be; for the good
+lady's mind was discursive.) "If you'll be kind enough to leave off your
+nonsense, we can begin our game. Come and cut for partners."
+
+An earnest whist player would have been outraged by the performances of
+the four persons who met weekly in Mrs. Dobbs's parlour. They chatted,
+they misdealt, they even revoked sometimes; and they overlooked each
+other's misdemeanours with unscrupulous laxity. In a word, they regarded
+the noble game of whist merely as a means and not as an end, and were
+scandalously bent on amusing themselves regardless of Hoyle. The only
+one of the party who had any pretensions to play tolerably was Mr.
+Weatherhead. But even his attention was always to be diverted from his
+cards by a new piece of gossip. And perhaps, it was as well that he did
+not take the game too much to heart--especially on the present occasion;
+for the fair Amelia fell to his lot as a partner, and her performances
+with the cards were calculated to drive a zealous player into a nervous
+fever.
+
+The first hand or two proceeded in decorous silence. But by degrees the
+players began to talk, throwing out first detached sentences, and at
+last boldly entering into general conversation.
+
+"Bassy had a great deal of trouble with the choir this evening," said
+Mrs. Simpson plaintively. "The sopranos were _so_ inattentive! And
+inattention is so particularly--oh dear, I beg pardon, I _have_ a
+diamond! Well, it does not much matter, for we couldn't have made the
+odd trick in any case."
+
+"A nice business at Sheffield with those Trades Unions," said Mr.
+Weatherhead. "Some severe measures ought to be taken; but they won't be.
+That's what your precious Liberalism comes to!--Your lead, Simpson."
+
+"Nonsense about Liberalism, Jo Weatherhead," replied Mrs. Dobbs. "I
+believe you'd like to accuse the Liberals of the bad weather.
+There!--Did you ever see such a hand? One trump! and that fell. Mrs.
+Simpson playing out her knave misled me."
+
+"Oh, if you reckon on Amelia's having any sufficient motive for playing
+one card more than another----" exclaimed Amelia's husband. "Have you
+heard, Mrs. Dobbs, that Mr. Bransby is getting better?"
+
+"What Bransby is that?" asked Mr. Weatherhead, thrusting his head
+forward inquiringly.
+
+"Cadell and Bransby, Solicitors to the Dean and Chapter."
+
+"Oh-o! He has been ill, then?"
+
+"Very ill. But I hear he was pronounced out of danger on Wednesday."
+
+"Is it not good news?" cried Mrs. Simpson. "Such a misfortune for his
+young family! I mean if he had died, you know."
+
+"But I suppose he's a warm man, isn't he? Cadell and Bransby--it's a
+fine business, isn't it?" asked Mr. Weatherhead.
+
+"It had need be," rejoined the organist, "to maintain that tribe of boys
+and girls, and an extravagant young wife into the bargain."
+
+"Oh, Bassy, but they are such pretty children! And Mrs. Bransby is so
+truly elegant and interesting. All her bonnets come from Paris, I am
+told. And indeed there is a certain style----Eh? You _don't_ mean to say
+that spades are trumps? What a disappointment! I thought I had all four
+honours."
+
+This ingenuous speech might have called forth some remonstrance from
+Mrs. Simpson's partner, but that the latter was too much interested in
+the subject of the Bransbys to attend to it.
+
+"The eldest son is provided for by his mother's fortune, isn't he?" he
+inquired.
+
+"Well--'provided for;' I don't know that it is very much. But it was all
+tightly settled. Otherwise Bransby's second marriage would have been a
+greater misfortune for the young man than it is," replied the organist.
+
+"I don't see that it is any misfortune at all," observed Mrs. Dobbs.
+"Theodore Bransby is quite well enough off for a young fellow. And why
+shouldn't his father marry again if he liked it?"
+
+"He is an extremely gentleman-like young man, is Mr. Theodore Bransby,"
+said Mrs. Simpson. "I have been imparting daily instruction to the
+younger children, and I saw him rather frequently when he was at home
+during the University vacation. He is now reading for the Bar, you know,
+and I believe----Was that _your_ knave, Mr. Weatherhead? Really! Then I
+have thrown away my queen. However," smiling amiably, "one can but take
+the trick. I believe that Mr. Theodore Bransby means to go into
+Parliament later. There is really something of the statesman about him
+already, _I_ think--a way of buttoning his coat to the chin, don't you
+know?"
+
+"Is Theodore Bransby in Oldchester now?" asked Mrs. Dobbs, sorting her
+cards.
+
+"Oh yes," replied Mr. Simpson. "I wonder you didn't know, for he is a
+great deal at Canon Hadlow's. They say he's making up to Miss Hadlow."
+
+"O-ho! But there's Mrs. Hadlow's nephew, young Rivers," put in Mr.
+Weatherhead. "_He's_ supposed to be dangling after his cousin, isn't
+he?"
+
+"I should think young Rivers had better dangle after an employment that
+will give him bread and cheese. Miss Constance Hadlow won't have a
+penny."
+
+"Oh, Bassy, but where there's real affection mercenary considerations
+must give way. True love--true love is above all!" As she uttered these
+words with great fervour, Mrs. Simpson flourished her arm
+enthusiastically, and in so doing swept off the table several coins
+which had served as counters to register her opponent's score. The
+silver discs rolled swiftly away into various inaccessible corners of
+the room, with the perversity usually observed in such cases.
+Fortunately the game had just come to an end, and Martha had announced
+that the supper was ready. This circumstance, and the fact that her
+husband was a winner, spared Mrs. Simpson a sharp reprimand.
+
+Mr. Simpson uttered, indeed, a few sarcastic croaks. "_Now_, Amelia!
+There you go! Always up to some nonsense or other." But he watched Mr.
+Weatherhead and Martha as they crawled about on hands and knees to
+recover the missing shillings and sixpences, with considerable
+equanimity; merely observing that Amelia ought to be ashamed of herself
+for giving so much trouble.
+
+When the supper was set on the table, three of the party, at least, were
+in high good humour, and disposed to enjoy it. Mr. Simpson had won, and
+was content. Mr. Weatherhead paid his losses without a murmur,
+conscious, no doubt, that they were due as much to his own wandering
+attention as to his partner's aberrations. As for Mrs. Simpson, the
+sweetness of her disposition was proof against far more souring
+circumstances than having spoiled Jo Weatherhead's game. She was not the
+least out of humour with him. Mrs. Dobbs alone was a little more silent
+and a little less genial than usual. The talk that evening with her old
+friend had awakened painful thoughts of the past and anxieties for the
+future. She very rarely mentioned her son-in-law's name, even to Mr.
+Weatherhead, who was thoroughly in her confidence; and, whenever she did
+speak of him, the result was invariably to irritate and depress her.
+However, her hospitable instincts roused her to shake off her cares in
+some degree, and to make her friends welcome to the fare set before
+them.
+
+When the more substantial part of the supper was disposed of, and a jug
+of hot punch steamed on the board, Mrs. Simpson, delicately tapping with
+her teaspoon on the edge of her tumbler, observed, with an air at once
+penetrating and amiable----
+
+"Well, I'm sure it will be very gratifying to Mrs. Dormer-Smith when she
+hears that dear May has been invited to the Hadlows'."
+
+"H'm! I don't think Mrs. Dormer-Smith will lose her wits with joy,"
+answered Mrs. Dobbs drily.
+
+"No? Oh, but surely----! She _must_ feel it agreeable that her niece
+should be noticed by persons of such eminent gentility."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs would have dismissed the subject with a smile and a shake of
+the head, avoiding, as she always did, any discussion or even mention of
+her son-in-law's family; but Mr. Simpson interposed magisterially--
+
+"If Mrs. Dormer-Smith isn't gratified, it must be because she is
+ignorant of the position held by Canon Hadlow's family in Oldchester."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs faced about upon this, and said bluntly, "My dear good man,
+all the best society of Oldchester put together would seem mighty small
+beer to Mrs. Dormer-Smith."
+
+"Oh, really!" returned Mr. Simpson, mortified and incredulous. "Such a
+very fine lady, is she? Well, 'Dormer-Smith' doesn't _sound_ very
+aristocratic; but it may be, of course."
+
+"Mrs. Dormer-Smith _is_ a fine lady, and accustomed to mix with still
+finer ladies. It's no use shutting one's eyes to facts. If we won't look
+at them, we only bump up against them, because they're there, all the
+same. As to opinions, that's different. I suppose I needn't say anything
+about mine at this time of day. I'm a staunch Radical--always was, and
+always will be."
+
+"Pooh, pooh! Call yourself a Radical!" said Mr. Weatherhead, laughing
+his peculiar laugh, which consisted of a series of guttural _ho, ho,
+ho's_. "You're convicted out of your own mouth of not being one. Whoever
+heard of a Radical that cared about facts?"
+
+Mrs. Simpson put out her hand, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Now,
+now; that's very naughty of you," she exclaimed. "Politics are strictly
+forbidden on Saturday evenings by the ancient statutes of our society.
+Isn't it so, Mr. Dobbs? I appeal to the chair." And she threatened Mr.
+Weatherhead playfully with her forefinger, at the same time casting an
+arch look through her spectacles. Glasses are not favourable to any
+effective play of the eyes, and usually screen the most expressive of
+glances behind a ghastly glitter, void of all speculation. But of this
+consideration Mrs. Simpson was habitually oblivious. Then, by way of
+turning the conversation into more agreeable channels, she continued,
+"And, _ŕpropos_ of May, dear Mrs. Dobbs, when did you last hear from her
+papa?"
+
+This simple inquiry startled the company into absolute silence for a few
+moments. Mrs. Dobbs's resolute reserve on the subject of her son-in-law
+was so well known that none of her friends for several years past had
+ventured to mention him to her. Some refrained because they did not wish
+to hurt her; and many because they were afraid she might hurt them: for
+Mrs. Dobbs's uncompromising frankness of speech and force of character
+made her a hard hitter, when she did hit. But the specific levity of
+Mrs. Simpson's mind gave her a certain immunity from hard retorts--the
+immunity of a fly from a cannon ball. On the present occasion, however,
+she received no rebuke; for greatly to Jo Weatherhead's surprise, and
+somewhat to Mr. Simpson's, Mrs. Dobbs, after a brief pause, answered--
+
+"I have not heard lately from Captain Cheffington. He is a bad
+correspondent. But we shall soon be obliged to communicate with each
+other. May is seventeen, and various arrangements will have to be made
+about her future."
+
+"Goodness!" exclaimed Mrs. Simpson, clasping her hands. "You don't mean
+to say that May isn't to remain with you?"
+
+"That will depend on what is agreed on in the family. May must take her
+place in the world as Miss Cheffington, you know, and not as my
+grand-daughter."
+
+The Simpsons exchanged a glance of surprise. This was the first time
+they had heard Mrs. Dobbs assume any such position for her grandchild.
+Sebastian was inclined to resist her doing so now. But something in Mrs.
+Dobbs's manner checked him from expressing this feeling. It is generally
+found easier to criticize our friends' shortcomings when we are free
+from the disturbing element of their presence. The short remainder of
+the evening was passed in talking of other things. But on their way home
+Mr. and Mrs. Simpson discussed this new turn of affairs with some
+eagerness.
+
+The organist considered that the notion of the Hadlows not being good
+enough company for the Dormer-Smiths was preposterous; and he feared
+that Mrs. Dobbs was giving herself airs. In reply to his wife's
+observations that Mrs. Dobbs was a "dear old soul," he pointed out that,
+dear and good though she might be, yet her husband had kept an
+ironmonger's shop, and publicly sold hardware therein behind his
+counter, to the knowledge of all Oldchester. This retort depended for
+its cogency on the understanding of an ellipsis; which, however, Mrs.
+Simpson was perfectly able to supply, for she answered immediately--
+
+"Oh, I'm sure, Bassy, Mrs. Dobbs would never undervalue your position as
+a professional man. She knows very well that the Arts rank superior to
+trade."
+
+On the other hand, when Mrs. Simpson proceeded to opine that if May were
+taken up by her father's family she would become quite a grand
+personage, Mr. Simpson declared, with a good deal of heat, that for his
+part he thought Mrs. Dobbs quite as good any day as the Cheffingtons,
+about whom nothing certain was known in Oldchester except that they were
+shabby in their dealings and "stuck-up" in their pretensions.
+
+Mr. Weatherhead lingered behind the organist and his wife, to say a word
+to Mrs. Dobbs after their departure.
+
+"I can tell you one thing, Sarah; what you said about May will be all
+over Oldchester by Monday."
+
+"So I guess."
+
+"O-ho! Then you mean it to be talked about?"
+
+"I mean it to be known that May is to take her place in the world as
+Miss Cheffington."
+
+"But _is_ she? That's more than you can say, Sarah."
+
+"I shall have a try for it, Jo."
+
+Now whenever Mrs. Dobbs had said in that emphatic manner that she would
+"have a try" for anything, that thing, so far as Jo Weatherhead's
+experience went, had infallibly come to pass. But with all his faith in
+his old friend, he could not help doubting her success in the present
+case. He was eagerly curious to know how she intended to proceed; but
+Mrs. Dobbs refused to say any more on the subject, declaring that she
+must think things over quietly.
+
+"I don't see it," said Mr. Weatherhead to himself, poking forward his
+nose, and pursing up his lips as he walked homeward. "Sarah Dobbs is a
+wonderful woman, but even she can't gather grapes from thorns. And in
+respect of justice or generosity--not to mention common honesty--I'm
+afraid all the Cheffingtons are rather thorny."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+Among other features peculiar to itself, Oldchester possesses a
+quadrangular building with an inner cloister, commonly called College
+Quad. It is in the immediate neighbourhood of the cathedral, and is
+divided into small tenements inhabited by clergy forming part of the
+cathedral body. At the back of the houses on the south side of the
+quadrangle, pleasant gardens slope down towards the river Wend. The
+cloister is a very beautiful piece of Gothic work, with fretted roof and
+springing pillars. Peace and quiet reign within it. In summer there
+comes a sleepy sound of rooks from the Bishop's garden close at hand;
+and, towards sunrise and sunset, the chirp of innumerable sparrows
+mingled with the richer notes of thrush, blackbird, and nightingale in
+their season. At certain times of the day, too, the stillness is broken
+by the thrilling freshness of children's voices, as the scholars of the
+ancient Grammar School scatter themselves over the Cathedral Green,
+shouting and calling in the shrill silvery treble of boyhood. But these
+sounds are softened and subdued by distance and thick masonry before
+they penetrate within the precincts of College Quad. In autumn and
+winter there is a chill dampness on the greenish-gray paving-stones of
+the cloister, and the rain drips heavily from carven capitals into the
+resounding court. The very order and cleanliness of the place--its
+decorous, clerical, smooth-shaven air--seem sometimes under a watery
+sky, and when the winds are moaning and complaining, or thrumming like
+ghostly fingers on the fine resonant Gothic fret-work, to fill the mind
+with melancholy.
+
+A rich contrasting note is seldom wanting:--firelight and the glimpse of
+a crimson curtain seen through lozenge-shaped window-panes; or an open
+door sending out a gush of warmth and spicy smells from the kitchen, and
+the sound of friendly voices. Yet even within doors there seems to be a
+haunting sense of the old, old times when hands long crumbled into dust
+built up that dainty cloister, and when patient monkish feet, long
+stilled for ever, paced its stones. It is not a wholly sad feeling. It
+may even give zest to the glance of living eyes, and the warm pressure
+of dear hands. But it has a peculiar pathos:--a pathos which, perhaps,
+is felt peculiarly by northern people, as the sad-sweet twilight belongs
+to northern climates, and which many of those, to the manner born, would
+not exchange for the unbroken garishness of golden-blue days and
+silver-blue nights.
+
+The habitations on the south side of College Quad are considered the
+most desirable of all, by reason of the gardens before-mentioned running
+down to the Wend, although one or two houses on the west side may be a
+trifle larger. Canon Hadlow's family of three persons inhabited one of
+these coveted southern houses, and found it roomy enough for their
+needs; yet it was a small--a very small--dwelling. The front door opened
+on to the beautiful cloister. Immediately on entering the house you
+found yourself in a tiny entrance-hall, to the left of which a steep and
+narrow staircase of dark oak conducted to the one upper story. On the
+right, a massive oaken-door gave access to a long, low parlour, whose
+three latticed windows--darkened somewhat by a drooping fringe of
+jessamine and virginia-creeper--looked across the garden and the river
+to wide meadows. Opposite to the front door, a glass one, which in
+summer stood wide open all day long, led into the garden. In winter,
+swinging double-doors, covered with dark baize, shut out the cold air
+and the chill, damp mist which sometimes crept up from the river.
+
+The exterior of the houses in College Quad was coeval with the Gothic
+cloister; within, the passing centuries had somewhat modified their
+aspect. The main features, however, were ancient, and most of the
+inhabitants had chosen to preserve this general air of antiquity. Only
+in some few cases had disastrous attempts at modernizing been made with
+paint and French wall-papers. It would have been needless to tell any
+Oldchester person that no such sacrilegious innovations deformed the
+fine oak beams and wainscoting in Canon Hadlow's house. There was a dark
+tone all through it, which, however, was not chill. It was rather the
+rich darkness of Rembrandt's shadows, which seem to have a latent glow
+in the heart of them. A deep red curtain here and there, or a well-worn
+Turkey carpet, with its kaleidoscope of subdued tints, relieved the
+general sombreness. Flowers in all manner of receptacles--from a
+precious old china punch-bowl to the cheapest of glass goblets--adorned
+every room in the house throughout the year. Even in winter there was
+ivy to be had, and red-berried holly, and the coral clusters of the
+mountain ash, and pale chrysanthemums. The garden furnished an ample
+supply of stocks, roses, carnations, holly-hocks, china asters,
+sweetwilliams, wallflowers, and the like old-fashioned blossoms with
+homely names. But as Mrs. Hadlow herself quaintly remarked, she cared
+more for the sight and smell of a flower than its sound.
+
+One sacrifice the flowers cost; the Hadlows had no lawn-tennis ground.
+Mrs. Hadlow declared she could not spare the space. Her neighbours to
+the right and left boasted of lawns which, with their white lines,
+looked like tables chalked on the pavement for the popular street game
+of hop-scotch--and were very little bigger. But the Hadlows' garden was
+a mosaic of box-bordered flower-beds. Only quite at the lower end, where
+a clipped hedge divided it from a footpath on the river bank, there was
+a strip of green sward like a velvet carpet, spread completely across
+the garden. At one angle stood a yew-tree of fabulous age, and in its
+shadow were a garden bench and table, and a few rustic chairs. This was
+Mrs. Hadlow's drawing-room whenever the weather permitted her to be
+out-of-doors. There she sewed, and read, and received visits. The oak
+parlour, which served also as a dining-room, was the ordinary family
+living room. There was a small room called the study, lined with books
+from floor to ceiling; but drawing-room, properly so-called, there was
+none at all. Constance Hadlow was the only one of the family who
+regretted this circumstance. The canon was perfectly content with his
+abode. And as to Mrs. Hadlow, no one who valued her good opinion would
+have ventured to hint to her that her house lacked anything to make it
+convenient and delightful. An ill-advised stranger had once opined in
+her presence that the near neighbourhood of the river must make the
+south side of the College Quad damp and unhealthy during the autumn and
+winter, and Mrs. Hadlow's indignation had been boundless. That it was
+sometimes cold in College Quad she was willing to admit--just as it was
+sometimes cold on the Riviera or in Cairo. But that it could, under any
+circumstances, or for the shortest space of time, be damp, was what she
+would never be brought to acknowledge. As to the Wend, if any
+exhalations did arise from that gentle stream, they could not, she was
+sure, be unwholesome--_above bridge_. It was important to bear in mind
+this limitation, since below bridge, where the factories were, and where
+the poorer dwellings stood in crowded ranks, and the streets vibrated to
+the rumble of heavy waggons and tramway cars, the Wend must naturally
+incur such corruption of its good manners as came from evil
+communications. Mrs. Hadlow loved and admired Oldchester with
+enthusiasm. But Oldchester, in her mind, meant the cathedral and its
+immediate surroundings. Her admiration was bounded by the cathedral
+precincts; and, to judge from her words, so was her love also. But her
+heart was not to be imprisoned within any such confines. Prejudice might
+rule her speech, and warp her judgments, but her warm human sympathies
+went out towards those unfortunates who dwelt beyond the pale, even
+under the shadow of Bragg's factory chimney; nay, even in those vulgar
+suburban villas, with fine names, which were particularly abhorrent to
+Mrs. Hadlow's soul.
+
+The sun shone brightly on a group of persons assembled in Mrs. Hadlow's
+garden on the Monday forenoon after Mrs. Dobbs's supper-party. It was a
+sun more bright than warm; and a little crisp breeze fluttered now and
+then among the scarlet and gold leaves of the virginia-creeper which
+draped the back of the house. Constance Hadlow, wrapped in a fleecy
+shawl, and sitting in a patch of sunshine outside the shadow of the
+yew-tree, declared it was "bitterly cold." Her opinion was evidently
+shared by a black-and-tan terrier that shivered convulsively at
+intervals with a sort of ostentation, as though to hint to the less
+sensitive bipeds that it was high time to retire to the shelter of a
+roof and the comforts of the hearthrug. Mrs. Hadlow's round, rosy face
+seemed to shed a glow around it like a terrestrial sun, as she beamed
+from behind a great basket piled with grey woollen socks belonging to
+the canon: which socks were never darned by any other than his wife's
+fingers. Her nephew, Owen Rivers, lounged on the bench beside her.
+Seated on a low chair, May Cheffington was winding a ball of grey
+worsted for the socks; and standing opposite to her, with his shoulder
+against the trunk of the yew-tree, was Mr. Theodore Bransby. This young
+gentleman had just said something which had startled the assembled
+company. He was not given to saying startling things. He would probably
+have pronounced it "bad form" to do so:--a phrase which, to his mind,
+carried with it the severest condemnation. He had merely observed, "You
+will all be sorry to lose Miss Cheffington, shall you not, Mrs. Hadlow?"
+quite unconscious of saying anything to cause surprise. Surprise,
+however, was plainly expressed on every countenance, including that of
+Miss Cheffington herself.
+
+The fact was that rumour, speaking by the voices of Mr. and Mrs.
+Simpson, had already announced in Oldchester that May Cheffington was
+going away to live with her grand relations in London. The report had
+not yet penetrated College Quad, but it had been brought to the
+Bransbys' house that morning by Mrs. Simpson when she came to give her
+daily lesson to the children.
+
+"Lose her! What do you mean?" asked Mrs. Hadlow.
+
+"You're not going to be married, are you, May?" cried Miss Constance,
+dropping her parasol in order to look full at the other girl; while Mr.
+Rivers, on the other hand, raised himself on his elbow and stared at
+young Bransby.
+
+May laughed and coloured at her friend's question. "Certainly not that I
+know of, Constance," she answered.
+
+"Are you going away, then?"
+
+"You must ask Mr. Bransby. He seems to know; I don't."
+
+As she spoke, May turned a pair of bright hazel eyes full on the young
+gentleman in question, and smiled. The admixture of Dobbs blood with the
+noble strain of Cheffington had certainly not produced any physical
+deterioration of the race. Yet the dowager had been discontented with
+her grand-daughter's appearance, and had particularly lamented the
+absence of the Cheffington profile. Now the Cheffington profile was
+handsome enough in its way, in certain subjects and at a certain time of
+life; but with advancing years it was apt to resemble the profile of an
+owl: the nose being beaky, and the orbit of the eyes very large, with
+eyebrows nearly semi-circular; while the chin tended to disappear in
+hanging folds and creases of throat. The Cheffingtons, moreover, were
+sallow and dark-haired. May inherited her mother's fair skin and soft
+brown hair. Her slender young figure, not yet fully grown, was rather
+below than above the middle height. She had the healthy, though
+delicate, freshness of a field-flower; but, like the field-flower, she
+might easily pass unnoticed. There was nothing of high or dazzling
+beauty about May Cheffington, but she had that subtle attraction which
+does not always belong to beauty. A great many persons, however, thought
+she did not bear comparison with Constance Hadlow, her friend and
+schoolfellow. Besides a firm faith in her own beauty--which is a more
+powerful assistance to its recognition by others than is generally
+supposed--Miss Hadlow possessed a pair of fine dark eyes and eyebrows, a
+clear, pale skin, regular features, and white teeth. Those who were
+disposed to be critical observed that her face and head were rather too
+massive for her height; and that her figure, sufficiently plump at
+present, threatened to become too fat as she approached middle life. But
+at twenty years of age that would have appeared a very remote
+contingency to Constance Hadlow, supposing her to have ever thought
+about it. Although circumstances often prevented her from being dressed
+after the latest fashion, her hair--dark, wavy, and abundant--was always
+skilfully arranged in the prevalent mode, whatever that might be. It
+happened just then to be a becoming one to Miss Hadlow's head and face.
+The crimson colour of the shawl wrapped round her made a fine contrast
+with the creamy pallor of her skin and the vivid darkness of her eyes.
+Altogether, she looked handsome enough to excuse Owen Rivers for finding
+it difficult to remove himself from her society, supposing Mr. Simpson's
+statement to be true that the young man was "dangling after his cousin
+instead of minding his business."
+
+Theodore Bransby, on being called upon to explain himself, answered that
+he understood Miss Cheffington was shortly going to London to reside
+with her aunt, Mrs. Dormer-Smith.
+
+"Oh no, I'm not," said May promptly, before any one else could speak.
+"That is quite a mistake."
+
+"Indeed!"
+
+"Oh yes, indeed it is. I'm going to stay with granny."
+
+"Indeed!" said Theodore Bransby once more. Then he added, "Are you quite
+sure? Because I had it from a person who had it from Mrs. Dobbs
+herself."
+
+"From granny?" In her astonishment May let fall the ball of worsted. It
+rolled across the grass under the very nose of the toy terrier, who
+snapped at it, and then shivered more strongly than ever with an added
+sense of injury.
+
+"Very likely nothing is positively settled yet," continued Theodore.
+"Mrs. Dobbs was speaking of family arrangements for the future."
+
+"Then I suppose," said May, with an anxious look, "that she has heard
+from papa?"
+
+"Yes, I believe so; something was said about a communication from
+Captain Cheffington."
+
+There was a little pause. Then Mrs. Hadlow said, "Well, of course we
+shall be sorry to lose you, my dear, as Theodore says. But it is quite
+right that you should be amongst your own people, and be properly
+introduced."
+
+"Granny is my own people," returned May in a low voice.
+
+"Of course; and a most kind and excellent grandmother she is. But I
+mean--in short, since it is Mrs. Dobbs's own plan, we must suppose she
+thinks it best for you to go to town; and I must say I agree with her."
+
+"It is obviously necessary," said young Bransby. "Miss Cheffington will
+have, of course, to be presented."
+
+"Why, you look quite glum, May!" cried Constance laughing. "Oh, you
+little goose! I only wish I had the chance of going to town to be
+presented."
+
+Owen Rivers, who had hitherto been silent, now addressed May, and asked
+her if she disliked her aunt.
+
+"Dislike Aunt Pauline? Oh no; I don't dislike her at all. But I--I don't
+know her very well."
+
+"I thought," said Bransby, "that you had been in the habit of staying
+with Mrs. Dormer-Smith during the school vacations?"
+
+"No; before Grandmamma Cheffington died I used to go to Richmond, and I
+only saw Aunt Pauline now and then. Since that time I haven't seen her
+at all, for I've spent all my holidays with dear granny."
+
+Constance began to question young Bransby as to who had given him the
+news about May's departure; what it was that had been said; whether the
+time of her going away were positively fixed; and so forth. May rose,
+and, under cover of picking up her ball of worsted, walked away out of
+earshot.
+
+"Are you that phenomenon, a young lady devoid of curiosity, Miss
+Cheffington?" asked Owen Rivers, as she passed near him.
+
+"Oh, there's nothing to be curious about," returned the girl, flushing a
+little. "Granny and I shall talk it all over together this evening. I
+need not trouble myself about what other people may say or guess."
+
+Miss Hadlow had apparently forgotten that it was "bitterly cold:" for
+she continued to sit on the lawn talking with Theodore after the others
+had gone into the house. She moved at length from her seat at the
+summons of the luncheon-bell. Fox the terrier, more consistent, had
+availed himself of the breaking-up of the little party to hasten indoors
+and establish himself on the dining-room hearthrug:--a step which
+nothing but his unconquerable dislike to being alone, had prevented him
+from taking long ago.
+
+When the two loiterers at length entered the dining-room, Mrs. Hadlow
+announced that May had gone home. Her grandmother had sent the servant
+for her a little earlier than usual, and May had refused to remain for
+luncheon. The young girl's absence gave an opportunity for discussing
+her and her prospects; and they were discussed accordingly, as the party
+sat at table.
+
+Mrs. Hadlow expressed great satisfaction at hearing that May was to be
+received and accepted "as a Cheffington;" Constance inclined to think
+that May would not duly appreciate her good fortune; and Theodore
+Bransby observed stiffly, that Miss Cheffington's removal to town had
+always been inevitable, and that the date of it alone could have been
+matter for uncertainty to persons who knew anything of the Cheffington
+family.
+
+"Well," said Rivers, "I suppose Constance is the only one of us here
+present who possesses that knowledge."
+
+"No; I never knew much of them," answered his cousin. "I saw them
+occasionally when I was at school. Sometimes the dowager came down to
+stay at Brighton, and she used, now and then, to call for May in her
+carriage; but she never entered the doors. And once or twice Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith came. I remember we girls used to make game of old Mrs.
+Cheffington with her black wig and her airs."
+
+"She was thoroughly _grande dame_, I believe," said Theodore Bransby.
+
+"Very likely. The servants used to say she was dreadfully stingy, and
+call her an old cat. Mrs. Dormer-Smith had nice manners, and was always
+beautifully dressed."
+
+"Your information is somewhat sketchy, my dear Constance; but no doubt
+the outline is correct as far as it goes," observed Rivers.
+
+"Decidedly sketchy!" said Mrs. Hadlow, who was helping her guests to
+minced mutton.
+
+"Miss Hadlow, however, is _not_ the only one of us who knows anything
+about the Cheffingtons," said young Bransby, with his grave air.
+
+"Oh, dear me, I had forgotten!" interposed Mrs. Hadlow, after a quick
+glance at the young man's face. "To be sure, Theodore has visited the
+family in town. The fact is, Theodore has been a stranger himself so
+long, that we have had no opportunity of hearing his report. Tell us
+what the Dormer-Smiths are like, Theodore, since you know them."
+
+"Like? They are like people who move in the best society--like
+thoroughbred people," returned Theodore, drawing himself up, stiffly.
+
+"Poor little May!" said Mrs. Hadlow, thoughtfully. "She's a sweet little
+thing. I hope they'll be kind to her."
+
+"Do you know anything of Mrs. Dobbs, Aunt Jane?" asked Rivers. "I mean,"
+he added, "of course, you know _of_ her. But do you know her?"
+
+"Oh yes. Once, many years ago, the canon had a tough battle with Mrs.
+Dobbs, when he was helping to canvas for the city member. We couldn't
+get her husband's vote for the right side. But he was a worthy man, and
+sold very good ironmongery. When Constance first asked leave to invite
+her schoolfellow here, I had an interview with Mrs. Dobbs. She came to
+the point at once. She said, 'Mrs. Hadlow, you need not be uneasy. My
+friends and equals are not yours; but neither are they my
+grand-daughter's. She belongs by her father's family to a different
+class. As for me, I am too old to make any mistakes about my place in
+the world, and too proud to wish to change it."
+
+"Too proud!" repeated Bransby, with raised eyebrows.
+
+"I thought it was very well said," answered Mrs. Hadlow. "I only wish
+all the people of her class had the same honest pride. But Mrs. Dobbs is
+a woman of great good sense, and of the highest integrity. All the same,
+of course, now that May is grown up, the girl's position in that house
+is too anomalous. Captain Cheffington no doubt feels that. He probably
+left his daughter there so long out of tenderness to Mrs. Dobbs's
+feelings; and perhaps also to help out the old lady's income. But now,
+naturally, it must come to an end. He can't sacrifice May's future. That
+is how I explain the state of the case; and it seems to me to be
+creditable to all concerned."
+
+"At all events, it is creditable to Mrs. Dobbs, Aunt Jane," said Rivers.
+
+"And why not, pray, to Captain Cheffington too?" asked Constance. "But
+Captain Cheffington has the misfortune to be born a gentleman, so, of
+course, Owen disapproves of him."
+
+"Not at all, 'of course.' But I agree with you as to the misfortune--for
+the other gentlemen, at all events!"
+
+"I think you're a little mistaken about Captain Cheffington, Rivers,"
+said Theodore. "He's a friend of mine."
+
+"In that case I'm very sorry," answered Owen drily.
+
+Mrs. Hadlow here interposed, rising from the table with a show of
+cheerful bustle. "Come," said she, "you children must not loiter here
+all day. The canon comes home from Wendhurst by the three-forty train,
+and I am going to meet him; Constance has an engagement with the
+Burtons; and as for you two boys, I shall turn you out without
+ceremony."
+
+The kind lady's intention had been to break off the discourse between
+the two young men, which threatened to become disagreeable. But as
+Bransby and Rivers walked away side by side through the fretted cloister
+of College Quad, the former, with a certain quiet doggedness which
+belonged to him, returned to the subject.
+
+"You must understand," he said, "that I am not very intimate with
+Captain Cheffington; but I know him, and am his debtor for some
+courteous attentions. And I think you are a little--rash, if you don't
+mind my saying so, in condemning him."
+
+"I don't at all mind your saying so."
+
+"You see, there are a great many circumstances to be taken into account,
+in judging of Captain Cheffington's career. In the first place, there
+was his unfortunate marriage."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+When Augustus Cheffington had paid that sudden visit to his
+mother-in-law which resulted in leaving May on her hands, Theodore
+Bransby happened to be at home during a University vacation, and was
+flattered by Captain Cheffington's notice. The fact was that Augustus
+found himself greatly bored and out of his element in Oldchester, and
+was glad to accept a dinner or two from Mr. Bransby, the solicitor to
+the Dean and Chapter; for Mr. Bransby's port wine was unimpeachable. He
+had also condescended to play several games of billiards with Theodore
+upon a somewhat mangy old table in the Green Dragon Hotel; and to smoke
+that young gentleman's cigars without stint; and to hold forth about
+himself in the handsomest terms, pleased to be accepted, apparently,
+pretty much at his own valuation. Theodore Bransby was no fool. But he
+was young, and he had his illusions. These were not of a high-flown,
+ideal cast. He would have shrugged his shoulders at any one who should
+set up for philanthropy, or poetry, or socialism, or chivalry. But he
+was subdued by a display of nonchalant disdain for all the things and
+persons which he had been accustomed to look up to, from childhood. Mr.
+Bragg, the great tin-tack manufacturer, his father's wealthiest client,
+was dismissed by Augustus Cheffington in two words: "Damned snob!" and
+even the bishop he pronounced to be a "prosin' old prig," and spoke of
+the bishop's wife as "that vulgar fat woman." These indications of
+superiority, together with many references to the noble and honourable
+Castlecombes and Cheffingtons who composed Augustus's kith and kin, had
+greatly fascinated Theodore. And Augustus had completed his conquest
+over the young man by giving him a letter of introduction to his sister,
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith, which letter was delivered when young Bransby went to
+London to read for the Bar.
+
+Although the brother and sister had parted not on the best terms with
+each other, yet Augustus had not hesitated to give the introduction. He
+believed that his sister would be willing to honour his recommendation
+by showing civilities which cost her nothing; and, moreover, he was
+quite indifferent (being then on the point of saying a long farewell to
+Oldchester) as to whether the Dormer-Smiths snubbed young Bransby or
+not. They did not snub him. Mrs. Dormer-Smith rather approved of his
+manners; and it was quite clear that he wanted neither for means nor
+friends. She was therefore inclined to receive him with something more
+than politeness. And, in justice to Pauline, it must be said that she
+was really glad of the opportunity to please her brother. She was not
+without fraternal sentiments; and she strongly felt that an introduction
+from a Cheffington to a Cheffington was not a document to be lightly
+dishonoured. As for Mr. Dormer-Smith, although his feelings towards his
+brother-in-law--never very cordial--had been exacerbated by having to
+pay the bill for the dowager's funeral expenses, yet his resentment had
+been to some degree soothed by Augustus's abrupt departure, and by his
+withdrawal of May from her aunt's house. For many years past the
+attachment of Augustus's relations for him had increased in direct
+proportion to the distance which divided him from them. In Belgium he
+was tolerated and pitied; had he gone to the Antipodes he would
+doubtless have been warmly sympathized with; and it might safely be
+prophesied that, when he should finally emigrate from this planet
+altogether, the surviving members of the family would be penetrated by a
+glow of affection.
+
+"I think he's rather nice, Frederick," said Mrs. Dormer-Smith, with a
+little sigh of relief after young Bransby's first visit.
+
+"We may be thankful," returned her husband, "that Augustus has sent us a
+possible person. One never can reckon on what he may choose to do."
+
+"Mr. Bransby is quite possible. Indeed, I think he is nice. He shall
+have a card for my Thursdays."
+
+In this way Theodore had been received by Mrs. Dormer-Smith, and had
+established himself in her good opinion on further acquaintance. "He
+was," she said, "so quiet and so safe." At this time May Cheffington was
+still at school, being maintained there, as has been recorded, by her
+grandmother Dobbs; and Pauline would occasionally speak of her niece to
+young Bransby. She always spoke kindly, though plaintively, of the girl,
+over whom there hung the shadow of the unfortunate marriage.
+
+Theodore Bransby was an Oldchester person, and could not, therefore, be
+supposed to be ignorant of that lamentable event. The fact was, however,
+that he had never heard a word about it until he made Captain
+Cheffington's acquaintance in his native city. It had taken place before
+he was born; and, indeed, Oldchester had been less agitated by the
+marriage, even at the time when it happened, than any Cheffington or
+Castlecombe would have believed possible. But Pauline found young
+Bransby's sentiments on the subject all that they should be. No one
+could have expressed himself more shocked at the idea of a gentleman's
+marrying a person in Susan Dobbs's rank of life than did this
+solicitor's son. And Mrs. Dormer-Smith had not the least suspicion that
+he would have considered such a marriage quite as shocking a
+_mésalliance_ for himself as for Captain Cheffington. "Misunderstanding"
+is used as a synonym for "discord;" but, perhaps, a great deal of social
+harmony depends on misunderstandings.
+
+Theodore could not, of course, have the slightest personal interest in a
+schoolgirl whom he had never seen; but his sympathies were so entirely
+with the Cheffingtons on the question of the unfortunate marriage as to
+inspire him with an odd feeling of antagonism against Mrs. Dobbs, and a
+sense that she ought to be firmly kept in her place. He secretly thought
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith weakly indulgent in allowing Miss Cheffington to
+associate so freely with her grandmother, and was indignant at the idea
+of that plebeian exercising any authority over Lord Castlecombe's
+grand-niece. However, all that would doubtless come to an end when the
+girl left school, and was introduced into society under her aunt's
+protection. Theodore flattered himself that he thoroughly understood the
+position. As for Viscount Castlecombe, he certainly knew all about
+_him_--or, at least, what was chiefly worth knowing; for he had read
+about him in the Peerage.
+
+Primed with this varied knowledge, young Bransby held forth to Owen
+Rivers as they walked together through College Quad, across the open
+green beyond it, and up to the house of Mr. Bransby, senior, in the
+Cathedral Close. Here they parted. Rivers declined a polite invitation
+from the other to enter, and pursued his way alone towards the High
+Street; and Bransby, as he waited for the door to be opened, stood
+looking after him for a few moments.
+
+The two young men had known each other more or less all their lives, but
+theirs was a familiarity without real intimacy. The years had not made
+them more congenial to each other. People began to say that they were
+rivals in Constance Hadlow's good graces. But, whether this were so or
+not, the latent antagonism between them had existed long before they
+grew to be men. They had never quarrelled. The air is always still
+enough in a frost. They did not even know how much they disliked one
+another. As Theodore watched Owen's retreating figure, the thought
+uppermost in his mind was that his friend's shooting-coat was badly cut,
+and that he did not remember ever to have seen him wear gloves.
+
+The home of Mr. Martin Bransby, of the old-established firm of Cadell
+and Bransby, was a luxurious one. The house was an ancient substantial
+stone building, with a spacious walled garden behind it, contiguous to
+the bishop's. The present occupant had made considerable additions to
+it. It is perhaps needless to say that he had been severely criticized
+for doing so, there being no point on which it is more difficult to
+content public opinion than the expenditure of one's own money. Several
+of Mr. Bransby's acquaintances were unable to reconcile themselves to
+the fact that he was not satisfied with that which had satisfied his
+father and grandfather (for Martin Bransby was the third of his family
+who had successively held that house and the business of solicitor to
+the Dean and Chapter of Oldchester). It would have been better, they
+opined, if, instead of building new rooms, he had saved his money to
+provide for the young family rising around him. If it were observed to
+this irreconcilable party that the presence of a numerous family
+necessitated more space to lodge them in than the original house
+afforded, they would triumphantly retort, "Very well, then, what
+business had Martin Bransby to marry a second time? Or, if he must
+marry, why did he choose a young girl without a penny instead of some
+person nearer his own age and with a little property?" Martin Bransby,
+however, marrying rather to please himself than to earn the approval of
+his friends, had chosen a remarkably pretty girl of twenty, a Miss
+Louisa Lutyer, of a good Shropshire family, whom he had met in London.
+They had now been married twelve years, during which time five children
+had been born to them, and they had lived together in the utmost
+harmony. Those persons who disapproved of the match (solely in Mr.
+Bransby's interests, of course) could find nothing worse to say than
+that Martin was absurdly in love with his wife, and treated her with
+weak indulgence. In short, the irreconcilables were driven, year by
+year, to put off the date at which their unfavourable judgments were to
+be corroborated by facts, much as sundry popular preachers have been
+compelled by circumstances over which they had no control, to postpone
+the end of the world.
+
+Latterly they had had the mournful satisfaction of observing that Martin
+Bransby was looking far from well--harassed and aged. And when he was
+attacked by the severe illness which threatened his life, they solemnly
+hinted that the malady had been aggravated by anxiety about his young
+family; for although Martin had made, and was making, a great deal of
+money, yet, with three boys to put out in the world, two daughters to
+provide for, and an extravagant wife to maintain, even the excellent
+business of Cadell and Bransby _must_ be somewhat strained to supply his
+needs.
+
+At any rate, the evidences of wealth and comfort were as abundant as
+ever in the home which Theodore entered when he parted from his friend.
+There was plenty of solid furniture, dating from the dark ages before
+modern ćstheticism had arisen to reform upholstery and teach us the
+original sinfulness of the prismatic colours. But these relics of the
+earlier part of the century were not to be found in the two spacious
+drawing-rooms, which had been arranged by the fashionablest of
+fashionable house-decorators from London. These rooms, together with a
+tiny cabinet behind them, which was styled "The Boudoir," were Mrs.
+Bransby's special domain. And here Theodore found her seated by the
+fireside. A book lay on her knees; but she was not reading it. She was
+resting in a position of complete repose, with her head leaning against
+the back of the chair, her hands carelessly crossed on her lap, and her
+feet supported on a cushion. She was enjoying the sense of bodily and
+mental rest which comes from the removal of a keen-edged anxiety; for
+during several weeks Mrs. Bransby had been the most devoted of
+sick-nurses, and had scarcely left her husband's room. But now the
+doctors had pronounced all danger to be over; the children's active feet
+and shrill voices were no longer hushed down by warning fingers; the
+housemaid sang over her brooms and dusters; and the mistress of the
+house had unpacked and put on a new "tea-gown," which had lain neglected
+for more than a fortnight in its brown-paper wrappings. From the
+golden-brown clusters of hair on her forehead to the tip of her dainty
+shoe every detail of her appearance was cared for minutely. Yet there
+was nothing of stiffness or affectation. She reminded one of an
+exquisitely-tended hothouse flower, and carried her beauty and her
+toilet with as perfect an air of unconscious refinement as the flower
+itself. Certainly Oldchester held no more lovely and graceful figure
+than Mrs. Bransby presented to the eyes of her stepson. Yet the eyes of
+her stepson rested on her with a glance of cool disapprobation. His
+manner of addressing her, however, was not more chilly than his manner
+of addressing most other persons--perhaps rather less so; and he was
+scrupulously polite.
+
+"Did Hatch give a good account of my father this morning?" he asked,
+seating himself by the fire opposite to Mrs. Bransby.
+
+"Excellent, thank goodness! He is to drive out on Wednesday, if the
+weather is favourable. I felt so soothed and comforted by Dr. Hatch's
+report, that I thought I would indulge myself with half an hour of
+perfect laziness," added Mrs. Bransby, with a deprecating glance at
+Theodore. She constantly reproved herself for assuming an apologetic
+attitude towards her stepson, but constantly recurred to it; she was so
+keenly conscious of his--always unexpressed--criticism.
+
+"Mrs. Hadlow desired to send word that the canon means to call on my
+father this afternoon, if he is well enough to see him."
+
+"Oh yes; a talk with Canon Hadlow will do him good." Then, after an
+instant's pause, Mrs. Bransby asked, "Have you been in College Quad,
+then?"
+
+"I lunched with Mrs. Hadlow. Rivers was there; I parted from him just
+now. And Miss Cheffington."
+
+"Oh, really? Mrs. Hadlow is very kind to that little May Cheffington."
+
+Theodore made no answer, but looked stiffly at the fire.
+
+Mrs. Bransby went on: "I saw her in the cathedral at afternoon service
+yesterday, with the Hadlows. It struck me she was growing quite pretty.
+Don't you think so?"
+
+"I should not call her _pretty_----" began Theodore slowly.
+
+Mrs. Bransby broke in: "Well, of course, she is eclipsed by Constance.
+Constance is so very handsome. But still----"
+
+"I should not describe Miss Cheffington as _pretty_," pursued Theodore,
+in an inflexible kind of way. "She is something more than pretty. She
+looks thoroughbred."
+
+"But that's exactly what she is _not_, isn't it?" exclaimed Mrs. Bransby
+impulsively.
+
+"I am not sure that I apprehend you."
+
+"I mean her mother was quite a common person, was she not?"
+
+"A woman takes her husband's rank."
+
+"Yes; but she doesn't inherit his ancestors. Besides, one really doesn't
+know much about the father, for that matter. To be sure, Simmy was
+making a great flourish about May's grand relations in London this
+morning. But then all poor dear Simmy's geese are swans." (The name of
+"Simmy" had been bestowed on Mrs. Simpson by the youngest little Bransby
+but one; and although the elder children were reproved for using it, the
+appellation had come to be that by which she was most familiarly known
+in the Bransby family.)
+
+"Mrs. Simpson is a silly person, but her information happens, in this
+case, to be correct," returned Theodore. "The relations with whom Miss
+Cheffington is going to live in London are friends of mine."
+
+"Oh! Then what Simmy said is true?" said Mrs. Bransby simply.
+
+Theodore proceeded, with a scarcely perceptible hesitation, "I think you
+might invite Miss Cheffington here before she goes to town. I--I should
+be obliged to you for the opportunity of showing her some attention, in
+return for the Dormer-Smiths' kindness to me in London."
+
+"Yes, I can ask the girl if you like," answered Mrs. Bransby, not quite
+as warmly as Theodore thought she ought to have answered such a
+suggestion from him; "but it will be rather stupid for her, I'm afraid.
+At the Hadlows' there is a young girl near her own age; but here, unless
+she likes to play with the children, I don't see how we are to amuse
+her."
+
+"I did not contemplate Miss Cheffington's playing with the children. I
+meant that you should invite her to a dinner-party, or something of that
+sort."
+
+"Invite May Cheffington to a dinner-party!" repeated Mrs. Bransby,
+opening her soft, brown eyes in astonishment.
+
+"My father spoke of giving a dinner before I go back to the Temple, and
+he said he thought he should be well enough to see his friends by the
+end of next week."
+
+"Yes. He talked of inviting the Pipers, and the Hadlows, and perhaps Mr.
+Bragg."
+
+"Could you not include Miss Cheffington? Perhaps if you allowed me to
+see your list I might help to arrange it."
+
+"Oh, I suppose one _could_; but wouldn't it seem a very strange thing to
+do?"
+
+A little colour came into Theodore's pale fair face, and his chin grew
+visibly more rigid above his cravat, as he answered, "I don't know. But
+the social _convenances_ are not to be measured by Oldchester's
+provincial ideas as to their strangeness. And--pardon me--I don't think
+you quite understand Miss Cheffington's position."
+
+And then he entered on an explanation of the "position," much as he had
+explained it to Owen Rivers; with only such suppressions and variations
+(chiefly regarding the private history of Augustus Cheffington) as he
+thought the difference between his hearers demanded.
+
+"Well, I'm sure if your father has no objection, I have none," said Mrs.
+Bransby at length. And so Theodore got his own way. It was a matter of
+course that he should get his own way so far as his step-mother was
+concerned. Mrs. Bransby had, indeed, successfully resisted him on many
+occasions; but always through the medium of her husband. If Theodore
+attacked her face to face, she never had the courage to oppose him. Not
+that in the present case she very much wished to oppose him. Nor, in
+truth, had their wills ever clashed seriously. But the secret
+consciousness of her weakness and timidity was mortifying: for Mrs.
+Bransby, although too gentle to fight, was not too gentle to wish she
+could fight. And after Theodore had left the room, she sat for some time
+imagining to herself various neat and pointed speeches which would
+doubtless have brought down her stepson's sententious, supercilious
+tone, if she had only had the presence of mind to utter them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+
+May Cheffington went back to her grand-mother's house, very eager to
+understand the origin of the rumours about herself which she had heard
+at the Hadlows'. Mrs. Dobbs had not calculated on this, and would have
+preferred to break the project to May herself, and in her own fashion.
+However, as it had been mentioned, she spoke of it openly. She merely
+cautioned her grand-daughter against rashly jumping at any conclusions:
+the future being very vague and unsettled.
+
+"There's one conclusion I _have_ jumped at, granny," said the girl, "and
+that is, that I don't mean to give you up for any aunts, or uncles, or
+cousins of them all. They are strangers to me, and I don't care a straw
+about them--how should I?--whilst _you_ are--granny!"
+
+"There is no question of giving me up, May. Perhaps I should not like
+that much better than you would. But if your father should think it
+right for you to stay for a while with his family, we mustn't oppose
+him. And I must tell you that I should think it right, too."
+
+"Oh, if it's only staying 'for a while'----!"
+
+"Well, at all events we needn't look beyond a 'while' and a short while,
+for the present."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs found it more difficult than she had anticipated to put
+before May the prospect of being removed from Oldchester altogether,
+and, now that the idea of losing May out of her daily life fully
+presented itself, she felt a grip at the heart which frightened her. But
+she had one of those strong characters whose instinct it is to hide
+their wounds and suffer silently; and she resolutely put aside her own
+pain at this prospect--or rather, put it off to the solitary hours to
+come.
+
+During the four years since her father had left her at Oldchester, May's
+life had been passed between her school at Brighton and her holidays in
+Oldchester. These had certainly been the happiest years she could
+remember in all her young life. Her grand-mother's house had been the
+first real home she had ever known. Her recollections of their life on
+the Continent were dim and melancholy. She remembered fragmentary scenes
+and incidents in certain dull Flemish towns; their strong-smelling
+gutters, their toppling gables, the _carillons_ sounding high up in some
+ancient cathedral belfry. She had a vision of her mother's face, very
+pale and thin, with large bright eyes, and streaks of gray in the brown
+hair. May, as the youngest of Susan Cheffington's children, had come in
+for the worst part of their Continental life. The earlier years, when
+there was still some money to spend, and fewer debts to be run away
+from, had not been quite devoid of brightness. But poor little May's
+conscious observation had little to take note of at home save poverty,
+sickness, domestic dissensions, and frequent migrations from one shabby
+lodging to another. Then her mother died, and some six or eight months
+afterwards she was brought to England, and--Fate and the dowager so
+willing it--was sent to school to Mrs. Drax in Brighton. The choice of
+this school proved to be a very fortunate one for the little motherless
+stranger. And perhaps the credit of it ought fairly to be assigned
+rather to Destiny than the dowager. The latter would have selected a
+more fashionable, pretentious, and expensive establishment had she
+consulted merely her idea of what was becoming and suitable for Miss
+Miranda Cheffington. But she soon found out that whatever was paid for
+that young lady's schooling must, sooner or later, come out of her own
+pocket, and she therefore preferred to honour Mrs. Drax with her
+patronage, rather than Madame Liebrecht, who had been governess for
+years in a noble family, and was supposed to accept no pupil who could
+not show sixteen quarterings; or, of course, their equivalent in cash.
+
+The choice made was, as has been said, very fortunate for May. Mrs. Drax
+had the manners of a gentlewoman, and more amiability than could perhaps
+have been reasonably expected to survive a long struggle with her
+special world--a world of parents and guardians, who held, for the most
+part, a liberal view of her duties and a niggardly one of her rights.
+Here little May Cheffington remained as a pupil for nearly eight years.
+During the first half of that time she sometimes spent her holidays with
+the dowager at Richmond, and sometimes in Brighton under the care of
+Mrs. Drax. She preferred the latter. Old Mrs. Cheffington did not treat
+the child with any active unkindness; but she showed her no tenderness.
+The little girl was usually left to the care of her grand-mother's
+maid--an elderly woman, to whom this young creature was merely an extra
+burthen not considered in her wages. The child passed many a lonely hour
+in the garden, or beside the dining-room fire with a book, unheeded. Her
+aunt Pauline she only saw at rare intervals. She had a confused sense of
+innocently causing much sorrow to Mrs. Dormer-Smith, who seemed always
+to be afflicted (why, May did not for several years understand) by the
+sight of her clothes; and who used to complain softly to the dowager
+that "the poor dear child was lamentably dressed." But, on the whole,
+she retained a rather agreeable impression of her aunt, as being pretty
+and gentle, and kissing her kindly when they met.
+
+Then came the dowager's death, the sudden journey to Oldchester, and the
+first acquaintance with that unknown Grandmother Dobbs, whose very name
+she had heard uttered only in a reproachful tone by the dowager, or in a
+hushed voice by the dowager's elderly maid, speaking as one who names a
+hereditary malady. And to this _taboo_ Grandmother Dobbs the neglected
+child soon gave the warm love of a very grateful and affectionate
+nature. May did not know or guess that she was a burthen on her
+grand-mother's means, nor would the knowledge have increased her
+gratitude at that time. It was the fostering affection which the child
+was thankful for. She nestled in it like a half-fledged bird in the warm
+shelter of the mother's wing. She was not timid or reserved by
+temperament; but the circumstances of her life had given her a certain
+repressed air. That disappeared now like hoar-frost in the sunshine. She
+was like a young plant whose growth had been arrested by a too chilly
+atmosphere. She burgeoned and bloomed into the natural joyousness of
+childhood, which needs, above all things, the warmth of love, and cannot
+be healthily nurtured by any artificial heat.
+
+In her school there was no influence tending to diminish May's
+attachment to her grandmother, or her perfect contentment with the
+simple _bourgeois_ home in Oldchester. Plain Mrs. Dobbs, who paid her
+bills punctually, and listened to reason, stood far higher in the
+schoolmistress's esteem than the Honourable Mrs. Cheffington, who was
+never contented, and required to be dunned for the payment of her just
+debts. As to her noble relations, May had no acquaintance with them, and
+never sighed to make it. She was ignorant of the very existence of many
+of them. When, at seventeen years of age, she was removed from school,
+she looked forward to living in the old house in Friar's Row, and she
+certainly desired no better home. Mrs. Drax, it has been said, had the
+manners of a gentlewoman, and she had not vulgarized May's natural
+refinement of mind by misdirecting her admiration towards ignoble
+things. The provincialisms in her grand-mother's speech, and the homely
+style of her grand-mother's household--although she clearly perceived
+both--neither shocked nor mortified May. On the other hand, she accepted
+it as a quite natural thing that she should be invited to Canon Hadlow's
+house as a guest on equal terms. As Mrs. Dobbs had said to Jo
+Weatherhead, May was very much of a child still, and understood nothing
+of the world. Her unquestioning acceptance of the situation as her
+grandmother presented it to her had something very child-like. She did
+not inquire how it came to pass that her aunt Pauline, who had taken
+very little notice of her during the past four years, should now desire
+to have her as an inmate of her home. She did not ask why her father,
+after so long a torpor on the subject, had suddenly awakened to the
+necessity of asserting his daughter's position in the world; neither did
+she, even in her private thoughts, reproach him for having delegated all
+the care and responsibility of her education to "granny." A
+healthy-minded young creature has deep well-springs of unquestioning
+faith in its parents, or those who stand in the place of parents.
+
+But there was one person not so easily contented with the first
+statement offered; and that person was Mr. Joseph Weatherhead. Mr.
+Weatherhead was very fond of May, and admired her very much. His social
+and political theories ought logically to have made him regard her with
+peculiar interest and consideration as coming of such very blue
+blood--at least on one side of the house. But it so happened that these
+theories had nothing on earth to do with his attachment to May. That
+arose, firstly, from her being Sarah Dobbs's grandchild (Jo would have
+loved and championed any creature, biped or quadruped, that belonged to
+Sarah Dobbs), and, secondly, from her being very lovable. The poor man
+was often embarrassed by the conflict between his curiosity and his
+principles. His curiosity, which was as insatiable and omnivorous as the
+appetite of a pigeon, would have led him to cross-question May minutely
+about all she knew or guessed respecting her own future, and the
+probable behaviour of her father's family towards her; but his
+conscience told him that it would not be right to put doubts and
+suspicions into the girl's trusting young soul. Certainly he himself
+cherished many doubts and suspicions as to the future conduct of May's
+papa. He questioned Mrs. Dobbs, indeed; but there was neither sport nor
+exercise for his sharp inquisitiveness in that. When Mrs. Dobbs did not
+choose to answer him, she said so roundly, and there was an end. She had
+told him that she was in correspondence with Captain Cheffington, and
+that she believed he would share her views about his daughter. Jo,
+however, entertained a rooted disbelief as to Captain Cheffington's
+holding any "views" which had not himself for their supreme object.
+
+"And this Mrs. Dormer-Smith, now, Sarah," said he. "What reason have you
+to suppose that she will be willing to take charge of her niece now,
+when she would have nothing to say to her before?"
+
+"A pretty girl of seventeen is a different charge from a lanky child of
+twelve, Jo. Mrs. Dormer-Smith couldn't have taken a schoolgirl in short
+frocks out into the world with her."
+
+"Humph! You don't _know_ that she will take May out into the world with
+her?"
+
+"I have written. I shall have an answer in a few days, I dare say. I
+don't expect matters to be settled like a flash of greased lightning, as
+Mr. Simpson says. There's a deal to be considered. Hold your tongue,
+now; here's May."
+
+Similar conversations took place between them nearly every day. And when
+they were not interrupted by any external circumstance, Mrs. Dobbs would
+resolutely put an end to them by declining to pursue the subject.
+
+One afternoon, about a week after May's return from her visit to the
+Hadlows', the young girl was seated at the old-fashioned square
+pianoforte, singing snatches of ballads in a fresh, untrained voice; Mr.
+Weatherhead had just taken his accustomed seat by the fireside; and Mrs.
+Dobbs was opposite to him in her own armchair, with the old tabby
+purring in the firelight at her feet, when Martha opened the parlour
+door softly, shut it quickly after her, and announced, with a slight
+tone of excitement in her usually quiet voice, that there was a
+gentleman in the passage asking for Miss May.
+
+"For me, Martha?" exclaimed May, turning round at the sound of her own
+name, with one hand still on the keys of the pianoforte. "Who is he?"
+
+"He said 'Miss Cheffington.' I don't know him, not by sight. But here's
+his card."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs took the card from the servant, and put on her spectacles,
+bending down to read the name by the firelight. "Bun--Brun--oh, Bransby!
+Mr. Theodore Bransby. Ask the gentleman to walk in, Martha."
+
+As Martha left the room, Mr. Weatherhead pointed to the door with one
+thumb, and whispered, "Wonder what _he_ wants!" To which Mrs. Dobbs
+replied by lifting her shoulders and slightly shaking her head, as much
+as to say, "I'm sure I can't guess." The next moment Mr. Theodore
+Bransby was ushered into the parlour.
+
+The room was rather dim, and Theodore did not immediately perceive May,
+who still sat at the piano. "Miss Cheffington?" he said interrogatively,
+with a stiff little gesture of the head towards Mrs. Dobbs, which might
+pass for a bow.
+
+Mrs. Dobbs had risen from her chair, and now motioned her visitor to be
+seated. "My grand-daughter is here. Pray sit down, Mr. Theodore
+Bransby," she said. Then May got up, and came forward, and shook hands
+with him.
+
+"I don't think you know my grandmother, Mrs. Dobbs," she said,
+presenting him.
+
+Theodore, upon this, began to hold out his hand rather slowly; but, as
+Mrs. Dobbs made no answering gesture, but merely pointed again to a
+chair, he was fain to bow once more--a good deal more distinctly, this
+time--and to sit down with the sense of having received a little check.
+
+"I hope I have not interrupted you, Miss Cheffington?" said he, clearing
+his throat and settling his chin in his shirt-collar. "You were
+singing."
+
+"Oh no; you haven't interrupted me at all. And, even if you had, it
+wouldn't matter. My singing is not worth much."
+
+"Pardon me if I decline to believe that. From some sounds which reached
+me through the door, I am sure you sing charmingly."
+
+May laughed. "Ah," said she, "the other side of the door is the most
+favourable position for hearing me. I really don't know how to sing. Ask
+granny."
+
+"No; May doesn't know how to sing," said Mrs. Dobbs quietly, but very
+decisively. (For she had caught an expression on Mr. Theodore Bransby's
+pale, smooth face, which seemed to wonder superciliously what on earth
+_she_ could know about it.) Whereupon his pale, smooth eyebrows raised
+themselves a hair's breadth more, but he said nothing.
+
+"My grandmother is a great judge of singing, you must know," went on May
+innocently. "She has heard all the best singers at the Oldchester
+Musical Festivals for years and years past, and she used to sing herself
+in the choruses of the oratorios."
+
+"Oh, I see!" said Theodore, with a little contemptuous air of
+enlightenment.
+
+Jo Weatherhead looked across at him uneasily. He had a half-formed
+suspicion that this young spark with the smooth, rather closely-cropped
+blonde head, severe shirt-collar, faultlessly-fitting coat, and slightly
+pedantic utterance, showed a tendency to treat Mrs. Dobbs with
+impertinence. But he checked the suspicion, for, he argued with himself,
+young Bransby had had the training of a gentleman. And what gentleman
+would be impertinent to a worthy and respected woman, and in her own
+house, too? He thought, as he looked at him, that Theodore bore very
+little resemblance to his father, Martin Bransby, who was altogether of
+a different and more massive type.
+
+"You don't favour your father much, sir," said Jo blandly.
+
+The young man turned his pale blue eyes upon him with a look studiously
+devoid of all expression. "I had the honour of knowing your worthy
+father well, some five-and-twenty--or it may be thirty--years ago."
+
+Theodore, continuing to stare at him stonily, said, "Oh, really?" in a
+low monotone.
+
+"Yes; I knew him in the way of business. He was a customer of mine when
+I was in the bookselling business at Brummagem, as we called it. Your
+father was, even at that time, very highly thought of by some of the
+leading legal luminaries. We had no assizes at Birmingham, as no doubt
+you're aware; but I used to go over to Warwick Assizes pretty reg'larly
+in those days, having some dealings there in the stationery line--which
+I afterwards gave up altogether, though that isn't to the point--and I
+used to frequent a good deal of legal company. Mr. Martin Bransby was
+thought a good deal of, among 'em, I can tell you, and was taken a great
+deal of notice of by some of the county families--quite the real old
+gentry," added Mr. Weatherhead, pursing up his mouth and nodding his
+head emphatically, like a man enforcing a statement which his hearers
+might reasonably hesitate to accept.
+
+"Oh, how is Mr. Bransby?" asked May.
+
+"Thanks; my father is going on very well indeed. He has driven out
+twice, and, in fact, is nearly himself again. He purposes asking some
+friends to dine with him next week. Indeed, that furnishes the object of
+my visit here. I--Mrs. Bransby--of course, you understand that my
+father's long illness has given her a great deal to do."
+
+"Truly it must!" broke in Mrs. Dobbs, thinking at once sympathetically
+of the wife and mother threatened with so cruel a bereavement, and now
+almost suddenly relieved from overwhelming anxiety. "I'm sure most folks
+in Oldchester have been feeling greatly for Mrs. Bransby."
+
+"And so," continued Theodore, addressing himself exclusively to May,
+"she has not really been--been able to see as much of you as she would
+have liked, Miss Cheffington."
+
+May looked at him in surprise. "Why of course?" said she. "Mrs. Bransby
+hasn't been thinking about _me_! How should she?"
+
+"That is the reason--I mean my father's illness, and all the occupations
+resulting from it--which has induced Mrs. Bransby to make me her
+ambassador on this occasion."
+
+As he spoke, Theodore took a little note from his pocket-book, and
+handed it to May. She glanced at it, and exclaimed with open
+astonishment, "It's an invitation to dinner! Look, granny!"
+
+Mr. Weatherhead poked forward his head to see. It was, in fact, a formal
+card requesting the pleasure of Miss Cheffington's company at dinner on
+the following Saturday. Mrs. Dobbs once more put on her spectacles and
+read the card.
+
+"I hope you will be disengaged," said Theodore, severely ignoring
+"granny."
+
+"Oh, I couldn't go to a grand dinner-party. It would be ridiculous!"
+
+"May! That's not a gracious fashion of receiving an invitation, anyhow,"
+said Mrs. Dobbs, smiling a little.
+
+"It's very kind indeed of Mr. and Mrs. Bransby, but I would much rather
+not, please," said May, endeavouring to amend her phrase.
+
+"Oh, that's dreadfully cruel, Miss Cheffington!"
+
+"You don't think I ought to go, do you, granny?"
+
+"That," replied Mrs. Dobbs, "depends on circumstances."
+
+"I assure you," said Theodore, turning round with his most imposing air,
+"that it would be quite proper for Miss Cheffington to accept the
+invitation. I should certainly not urge her to do so unless that were
+the case."
+
+Jo Weatherhead's suspicions as to this young spark's tendency to
+impertinence were rather vividly revived by this speech, and his
+forehead flushed as dark a red as his nose. But Mrs. Dobbs, looking at
+Theodore's fair young face made up into an expression of solemn
+importance, smiled a broad smile of motherly toleration, and answered in
+a soothing tone--
+
+"No, no; to be sure, you mean to do what's right and proper; only young
+folks don't look at everything as has to be considered. But youth has
+the best of it in so many ways, it can afford to be not quite so wise as
+its elders."
+
+This glimpse of himself, as Mrs. Dobbs saw him, was so totally
+unexpected as completely to dumfounder Theodore for a moment. Never,
+since he left off round jackets, had he been so addressed: for the
+behaviour of our acquaintances towards us in daily life is generally
+modified by their idea of what we think of ourselves.
+
+"I--I can assure you," he stammered; and then stopped, at a loss for
+words, in most unaccustomed embarrassment.
+
+"There, there, we ain't bound to say yes or no all in a minute," pursued
+Mrs. Dobbs. "Any way, we couldn't think of making you postman. That's
+all very well for your step-mother, of course; but May must send her
+answer in a proper way. Meanwhile, will you stay and have a cup of tea,
+Mr. Bransby? It's just our teatime. The tray will be here in a minute."
+
+Theodore had risen as if to go. He now stood hesitating, and looking at
+May, who certainly gave no answering look of encouragement. She wanted
+him gone, that she might "talk over" the invitation with her
+grandmother.
+
+With a pleasant clinking sound, Martha now brought in the tea-tray; and
+in another minute had fetched the kettle and placed it on the hob,
+where, after a brief interval of wheezing and sputtering, consequent on
+its sudden removal from the kitchen fire, it resumed its gurgling sound,
+and made itself cheerfully at home.
+
+If Mrs. Dobbs had urged him by another word,--if she had shown by any
+look or tone that she thought it would be a condescension in him to
+remain, Theodore would have refused. But she began placidly to scoop out
+the tea from the caddy, and awaited his reply with unfeigned equanimity.
+There was an unacknowledged feeling in his heart that, to go away then
+and so, would be to make a flat kind of exit disagreeable to think of.
+He would like to leave this obtuse old woman impressed with a sense of
+his superiority; and apparently it would still require some little time
+before that impression was made.
+
+"Thanks," he said. "If I am not disturbing you----"
+
+"Dear no! How could it disturb me? Martha, bring another cup and
+saucer."
+
+And then Theodore, laying aside his hat and gloves, drew a chair up to
+the table and accepted the proffered hospitality.
+
+Having found the method of supercilious reserve rather a failure, the
+young man now adopted a different treatment for the purpose of awaking
+Mrs. Dobbs, and that objectionably familiar person with the red nose, to
+a sense of his social distinction and general merits. He talked--not
+volubly, indeed: for that would have been out of his power, even had he
+wished it, but he talked--in a succession of short speeches, beginning
+for the most part with "I." His efforts were not, however, exclusively
+aimed at Mrs. Dobbs and Jo Weatherhead. He watched May a good deal, and
+spoke to her of the Dormer-Smiths as though that were a topic between
+themselves, from which the profane vulgar (especially profane
+ex-booksellers, with red noses) were necessarily excluded. As the others
+said very little--with the exception of an occasional question from Jo
+Weatherhead--Theodore's talk assumed the form of a monologue spoken to a
+dull audience.
+
+He was conscious, as he walked away from Friar's Row, of being a little
+surprised at his own conversational efforts, and half-repentant of his
+condescension. He had been obliged to take his leave without obtaining
+any definite answer to the dinner invitation. But, perhaps, the feeling
+uppermost in his mind was irritation at May's perfectly simple
+acceptance of her position as Mrs. Dobbs's grand-daughter, and her
+perfectly filial attachment to her grandmother. "It is really too bad!
+Cheffington ought never to have allowed his daughter to be got hold of
+by those people. Mrs. Dormer-Smith cannot have the least idea what sort
+of a _milieu_ her niece lives in!" he said to himself.
+
+The worst was that May was so evidently contented! If she had been at
+all distressed by her surroundings, Theodore could have better borne to
+see her there.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+
+Persons like the Simpsons, who knew Mrs. Dobbs intimately, allowed her
+to have a strong judgment, and asserted her to have a still stronger
+will. She was far too bent on her own way ever to take advice, they
+said. It certainly did not happen that she took theirs. But Mrs. Dobbs's
+judgment was stronger than they knew. It was strong enough to show her
+on what points other people were likely to know better than she did. She
+would undoubtedly have followed Amelia Simpson's counsels as to the best
+way of dressing the hair in filmy ringlets--if she had chanced to
+require that information.
+
+On the morning after Theodore Bransby's visit to her house, Mrs. Dobbs
+put on her bonnet and set off betimes to College Quad. There she had an
+interview with Mrs. Hadlow, who, it appeared, was going to the Bransbys'
+dinner-party, and willingly promised to take charge of May.
+
+"It seemed to me it wouldn't be the right thing for my grand-daughter to
+go alone to a regular formal party," said Mrs. Dobbs. "But, as I don't
+pretend to be much of an authority on such matters, I ventured to ask
+you to tell me."
+
+"Of course you were quite right, Mrs. Dobbs."
+
+"And you think she had better accept the invitation? She doesn't much
+want to do so herself, being shy of going amongst strangers. But, to be
+sure, if she may be under your wing, and in company with Miss Hadlow,
+that would make a vast difference."
+
+"Oh yes, let her go, Mrs. Dobbs. Sooner or later she will have to go
+into the world, and it may be well to begin amongst people she is used
+to. Is it true that she is to go to her aunt's house in London very
+soon?"
+
+"Nothing is settled yet. If there had been, you and Canon Hadlow should
+have been the first to know it--as it would be only my duty to tell you,
+after all your kindness to the child. Nothing is settled. But I am in
+favour of her going myself."
+
+"You take the sensible view, Mrs. Dobbs, as I think you always
+do--except at election time," added Mrs. Hadlow, smiling.
+
+The elder woman smiled back, with a little resolute setting of the lips,
+and begged her best respects to the canon as she took her leave. The
+canon was a great favourite with Mrs. Dobbs; and, on his part, their
+political struggle in that long past election had inspired him with a
+British respect for his adversary's pluck and fair play.
+
+The prospect of going with Mrs. Hadlow and Constance greatly reconciled
+May to the idea of the dinner-party. But she did not look forward to it
+with anticipations of enjoyment.
+
+"I would much rather dine in the nursery with the children," she said,
+unconsciously echoing Mrs. Bransby's suggestion.
+
+Mr. Weatherhead, who was present, took her up on this, and said, "Why,
+now, May, you will enjoy being in good society! Mr. Bransby is a very
+agreeable man, and used to some of the best company in the county. Mrs.
+Bransby, too, is very pleasant and very pretty; a Miss Lutyer she was, a
+regular beauty, and belonging to a good old Shropshire family. And young
+Theodore----" Jo Weatherhead pausing here, and hesitating for a moment,
+May broke in, "Come now, Uncle Jo," she exclaimed, "you can't say that
+_he's_ pretty or pleasant!"
+
+"He's not bad-looking," returned Mr. Weatherhead, rather doubtfully.
+"Though, to be sure, he isn't so fine a man as his father."
+
+"No; this lad is like his mother's family," said Mrs. Dobbs. "I remember
+his grandfather and grandmother very well."
+
+"Do you? Do you, Sarah? Who were they? What sort of people, now, eh?"
+
+"Common sort of people; Rabbitt, their name was. Old Rabbitt kept the
+Castlecombe Arms, a roadside inn over towards Gloucester way. He ran a
+coach between his own market-town and Gloucester before the branch
+railway was made, and they say he did a good deal of money-lending; any
+way, he scraped together a goodish bit, and his wife came in for a slice
+of luck by a legacy. So altogether their daughter--the first Mrs. Martin
+Bransby that was--had a nice fortune of her own. She was sent to a good
+school and well educated, and she was a very good sort of girl; but she
+had just the same smooth, light hair, and smooth, pale face as this
+young Theodore. Martin Bransby had money with his first wife--he's got
+beauty with his second."
+
+"O-ho!" exclaimed Jo Weatherhead, eager and attentive. "Rabbitt, eh? I
+never knew before who the first Mrs. Bransby was."
+
+"Not a many folks in Oldchester now do know. I happened to know from
+being often over at Gloucester, visiting Dobbs's family, when I was a
+girl. Many a day we've driven past the Castlecombe Arms in the chaise.
+Dear, dear, how far off it all seems, and yet so plain and distinct! I
+couldn't help thinking of those old times when the lad was here the
+other day; he _has_ such a look of old Rabbitt!"
+
+Thus Mrs. Dobbs, rather dreamily, with her eyes fixed on the opposite
+houses of Friar's Row--or as much of them as could be seen above a wire
+window-blind--and her fingers mechanically busy with her knitting. But
+she saw neither the quaint gables nor the gray stone-walls. Her mind was
+transported into the past. She was bowling along a smooth highroad in an
+old-fashioned chaise. A girl friend sat in the little seat behind her,
+and leaned over her shoulder from time to time to whisper some saucy
+joke. Beside her was the girl-friend's brother, young Isaac Dobbs:--A
+personable young fellow, who drove the old pony humanely, and seemed in
+no hurry to get home to Gloucester. She could feel the moist, sweet air
+of a showery summer evening on her cheek, and smell the scent of a
+branch of sweetbriar which Isaac had gallantly cut for her from the
+hedge.
+
+Theodore Bransby did not guess that Mrs. Dobbs had treated him with
+forbearance and indulgence; still less did he imagine that the
+forbearance and indulgence had been due to reminiscences of her
+girlhood, wherein his maternal grandfather figured as "Old Rabbit."
+
+The question of May's dress for the dinner-party gave rise to no debate.
+Mrs. Dobbs had been brought up in the faith that the proper garb for a
+young girl on all festive occasions was white muslin; and in white
+muslin May was arrayed accordingly. The delicate fairness of her arms
+and neck was not marred by the trying juxtaposition of that dead white
+material. It served only to give value to the soft flesh tints, and to
+the sunny brownness of her hair. When she had driven off in the roomy
+old fly with Mrs. Hadlow and the canon and Constance, who called to
+fetch her, Mrs. Dobbs and Mr. Weatherhead agreed that she looked lovely,
+and must excite general admiration. But the truth was that May's
+appearance did not seem to dazzle anybody. Mrs. Hadlow gave her a
+comprehensive and approving glance when she took her cloak off in the
+well-lighted hall of Mr. Bransby's house, and said, "Very neat. Very
+nice. Couldn't be better, May." Canon Hadlow--a white-haired venerable
+figure, with the mildest of blue eyes, and a sensitive mouth--smiled on
+her, and nodded in confirmation of his wife's verdict. Constance,
+brilliant in amber, with damask roses at her breast and in her hair,
+thought her friend looked very school-girlish, and wanting in style. But
+she had the good-nature to pay the one compliment which she sincerely
+thought was merited, and to say, "Your complexion stands even that
+blue-white book muslin, May. I should look absolutely mahogany-coloured
+in it!"
+
+May felt somewhat excited and nervous as she followed Mrs. Hadlow up the
+softly carpeted stairs to the drawing-room. But she had a wholesome
+conviction of her own unimportance on this occasion, and comforted
+herself with the hope of being left to look on without more notice from
+any one than mere courtesy demanded. Her first impression was one of
+eager admiration; for just within the drawing-room door stood Mrs.
+Bransby, looking radiantly handsome. May thought her the loveliest
+person she had ever beheld; and her dress struck even May's
+inexperienced eyes as being supremely elegant. Constance Hadlow's
+attire, with its unrelieved breadth of bright colour and its stiff
+outline, suddenly appeared as crude as a cheap chromo-lithograph beside
+a Venetian masterpiece. Behind his wife, seated in an easy-chair, was
+Martin Bransby, a fine, powerfully built man of sixty, with dark eyes
+and eyebrows, and a shock of grizzled hair. His naturally ruddy
+complexion was pallid from recent illness, and the lines under his eyes
+and round his mouth had deepened perceptibly during the last two months.
+Theodore stood near his father, stiffly upright, and with a cravat and
+shirt-front so faultlessly smooth and white as to look as though they
+had been cast in plaster of Paris. Standing with his back to the fire,
+was Dr. Hatch:--a familiar figure to May, as to most eyes in Oldchester.
+He was a short man, rather too broad for his height; with benevolent
+brown eyes, a wide, low forehead, and a wide, firm mouth, singularly
+expressive of humour when he smiled. No other guest had arrived when the
+Hadlows entered the drawing-room.
+
+After the first greetings, the party fell into little groups: the canon
+and Mr. Bransby, who were very old friends, conversing together in a low
+voice, whilst Theodore advanced to entertain Mrs. Hadlow with grave
+politeness, and Constance made a minute and admiring inspection of Mrs.
+Bransby's dress.
+
+May thus found herself a little apart from the rest, and sat down in a
+corner half hidden by the protruding mantelpiece of carved oak, which
+rose nearly to the ceiling; an elaborate erection of richly carved
+pillars, and shelves and niches holding blue-and-white china, in the
+most approved style.
+
+"Well, Miss May, and how are you?" asked Dr. Hatch, moving a little
+nearer to her, as he stood on the hearthrug.
+
+"Quite well, thank you, Dr. Hatch," said May, looking up with her bright
+young smile.
+
+"That's right! But don't mention to any member of the Faculty that I
+said so. There's a professional etiquette in these matters; and I
+shouldn't like to be quoted as having given any encouragement to rude
+health."
+
+"I'll take care," returned May, falling into his humour, and assuming a
+grave look. "And I will always bear witness for you that you gave me
+some _very_ nasty medicine when I had the measles, Dr. Hatch. I'm sure
+the other doctors would approve of that, wouldn't they?"
+
+"Nice child," murmured Dr. Hatch. "Understands a joke. It would be as
+much as my practice is worth to talk in that way to some young ladies I
+could mention. Well, and so this is your first entrance into the gay and
+festive scene, eh?"
+
+"Yes; I have never been to a regular dinner-party before. I am so glad
+Mr. Bransby is quite well again," said May, looking across the room at
+their host.
+
+"Are you? Well, I believe you are glad. Yes; it is much to be desired
+that he should be quite well again." Dr. Hatch's eyes had followed the
+girl's, and rested on Martin Bransby with a thoughtful look. Then, after
+a minute's pause, he went on: "Now, as you are not quite familiar here,
+I'll give you a map of the country, as the French say. Do you know who
+that is who has just come in? No? That is Mr. Bragg. He makes millions
+and billions of tin-tacks every week. You've heard of him, of course?"
+May nodded. "Of course you have. Couldn't live long in Oldchester
+without hearing of Mr. Bragg. That handsome, elderly man, now bowing to
+Mrs. Bransby, is Major Mitton, of the Engineers. Ever hear of _him_? Ah,
+well; I suppose not. He's a very good-natured, kindly gentleman, and an
+excellent soldier, who distinguished himself greatly in the Crimea. But
+no one will ever hear him say a word about that. What he _is_ proud of
+is his reputation as an amateur actor. I have known more reprehensible
+vanities. Ah, and here come the Pipers, Miss Polly and Miss Patty; and I
+think that makes up our number."
+
+Dr. Hatch did not think of asking May whether she had ever heard of the
+Miss Pipers. The fact was she had heard of them very often. They were
+Oldchester celebrities quite as much as Mr. Bragg was. But their fame
+had not extended beyond Oldchester; whereas Bragg's tin-tacks were daily
+hammered into the consciousness of the civilized world.
+
+Miss Mary and Miss Martha Piper (invariably called Polly and Patty) were
+old maids between fifty and sixty years old. They were not rich; they
+had never been handsome; they were not, even in the opinion of their
+most partial friends, brilliantly clever. What, then, was the cause of
+the distinction they undoubtedly enjoyed in Oldchester society? The
+cause was Miss Polly Piper's musical talent--or at least her reputation
+for musical talent, which, for social purposes, was the same thing. Miss
+Piper had once upon a time, no matter how many years ago, composed an
+oratorio, and offered it to the Committee of a great Musical Festival,
+for performance. It was not accepted--for reasons which Miss Piper was
+at no loss to perceive. The reader is implored not to conclude rashly
+that the oratorio was rejected because it failed to reach the requisite
+high standard. Miss Piper knew a great deal better than that. She had
+been accustomed to mix with the musical world from an early age. Her
+father, an amiable Oldchester clergyman, rector of the church in which
+Mr. Sebastian Bach Simpson was organist, was considered the best amateur
+violoncello player in the Midland Counties. When the great music meeting
+brought vocal and instrumental artists to Oldchester, the Reverend
+Reuben Piper's house was always open to several of them; and Miss Polly
+had poured out tea for more than one great English tenor, great German
+basso, and great Scandinavian soprano. So that, as she often said, she
+was clearly quite behind the scenes of the artistic world, and
+thoroughly understood its intrigues, its ambitions, and its jealousies.
+Thus she was less mortified and discouraged by the rejection of her
+oratorio than she would have been had she supposed it due to honest
+disapproval. The work, which was entitled "Esther," was played and sung,
+however;--not indeed by the great English tenor, German basso, and
+Scandinavian soprano, but by very competent performers. It was performed
+in the large room in Oldchester, used for concerts and lectures, and
+called Mercers' Hall. Admission was by invitation, and the hall was
+quite full, which, as Miss Patty triumphantly observed, was a very
+gratifying tribute on the part of the town and county. Miss Polly did
+not conduct her own music. Ladies had not yet wielded the conductor's
+_bâton_ in those days. But she sat in a front row, with her father on
+one side of her and her sister Patty on the other, and bowed her
+acknowledgments to the executants at the end of each piece.
+
+It was a great day for the Piper family, and that one solitary fact (for
+the oratorio was never repeated) flavoured the rest of their lives with
+an odour of artistic glory, as one Tonquin bean will perfume a whole
+chest full of miscellaneous articles. Truly, the triumph was not cheap.
+The rehearsals and the performance had to be paid for, and it was said
+at the time that the Reverend Reuben had been obliged to sell some
+excellent Canal Shares in order to meet the expenses, and had thereby
+diminished his income by so many pounds sterling for evermore. But at
+least the expenditure purchased a great deal of happiness; and that is
+more than can be said of most investments which the world would consider
+wiser. From that day forth, Miss Polly held the position of a musical
+authority in certain circles. Long after a younger generation had grown
+up, to whom that famous performance of "Esther" was as vague an
+historical fact as the Heptarchy, people continued to speak of Miss
+Polly Piper as a successful composer. The lives of the two sisters were
+shaped by this tradition. They went every year to London for a month
+during the season; and, for a longer or shorter time, to some
+Continental city,--Leipsic, Frankfort, or Brussels: once, even, as far
+as Vienna,--whence they came back bringing with them the latest _dicta_
+in musical fashions, just as Mrs. Clarkson, the chief Oldchester
+milliner, announced every year her return from Paris with a large and
+varied assortment of bonnets in the newest styles. It has been written
+that "_they_" brought back with them the newest _dicta_ on musical
+matters; but it must not be supposed that Miss Patty set up to interpret
+the law on such points. She was, as to things musical, merely her
+sister's echo and mouthpiece. But sincerity, that best salt for all
+human communications, preserved Miss Patty's subservience from any taint
+of humbug. However extravagant might be her estimate of Polly's artistic
+gifts and attainments, you could not doubt that it was genuine.
+
+These circumstances were, broadly speaking, known to every one present.
+But May was acquainted with another aspect of the legend of Miss Piper's
+oratorio: a seamy side which the poor good lady did not even suspect.
+That famous oratorio had been a fertile source of mirth at the time to
+all the performers engaged in it. There were all sorts of stories
+current as to the amazing things Miss Piper did with her
+instrumentation: the impossible efforts she expected from the "wind,"
+and the anomalous sounds she elicited from the "wood." These were
+retailed with much gusto by Jo Weatherhead, who, in virtue of a high
+nasal voice, and a power (common enough in those parts) of reading music
+at sight, had sung with the tenors through many a Festival chorus, and
+known many professional musicians during his sojourn in Birmingham. One
+favourite anecdote was of a trombone player who at rehearsal, in the
+very climax and stress of the overture, when he was to have come in with
+a powerful effect, stretched out his arm at full length, and produced
+the most hideous and unearthly noise ever heard; and who, on being
+rebuked by the conductor, handed up his part for inspection, observing,
+amid the unrestrained laughter of the band, that that was the nearest
+_he_ could come to the note Miss Piper had written for him, which was
+some half octave below the usual compass of his instrument. Of this, and
+many another similar story, Miss Piper and Miss Piper's friends knew
+nothing. But May, remembering them, looked at the two old ladies as they
+marched into the room with an interest not so wholly reverential as
+might have been wished.
+
+They were both short, fat, snub-nosed little women, with wide smiling
+mouths, and double chins. Miss Patty was rather shorter, rather fatter,
+and rather more snub-nosed than her gifted sister. But the chief
+difference between the two, which struck one at first sight, was that
+whereas Miss Piper's own grey locks were disposed in a thick kind of
+curl, like a plethoric sausage, on each side of her face, Miss Patty
+wore a pale, gingerbread-coloured wig. Why, having all the wigmaker's
+stores to choose from, she should have chosen just that particular hue,
+May secretly wondered as she looked at her. But so it was. And if she
+had worn a blue wig, it could scarcely have been more innocent of any
+attempt to deceive the beholder. Both ladies wore good substantial silk
+gowns, and little lace caps with artificial flowers in them. But the
+remarkable feature in their attire was the extraordinary number of
+chains, beads, and bracelets with which they had festooned themselves.
+And, moreover, these were of a severely mineralogical character. Round
+Miss Patty's fat, deeply-creased throat, May counted three
+necklaces:--One of coral, one of cornelian, and the third a long string
+of grey pebble beads which dangled nearly to her waist. Miss Polly
+wore--besides a variety of other nondescript adornments which rattled
+and jingled as she moved--a set of ornaments made apparently of red
+marble, cut into polygonal fragments of irregular length. Their rings
+too, which were numerous, seemed to be composed for the most part of
+building materials; and each sister wore a mosaic brooch which looked,
+May thought, like a bit out of the tesselated pavement of the smart new
+Corn Exchange in the High Street.
+
+It did not take that young lady's quick perception long to make all the
+foregoing observations. Indeed, she had completed them within the minute
+and a half which elapsed between the Miss Pipers' arrival, and the
+announcement of dinner.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+
+The order of the procession to the dining-room had been pre-arranged not
+without some difficulty. Mrs. Bransby had pointed out to Theodore that
+his whim of inviting Miss Cheffington must cause a solecism somewhere in
+marshalling their guests.
+
+"Constance will, of course, expect you to take her," said Mrs. Bransby,
+"and then what is to be done with little Miss Cheffington? I really
+think I had better invite two more people, and get some young man to
+take her in to dinner. Perhaps Mr. Rivers would come."
+
+But Theodore utterly opposed this suggestion, and said that the simple
+and obvious course was for him to give his arm to Miss Cheffington, and
+for Dr. Hatch to escort Miss Hadlow.
+
+"Oh, well, if you don't mind," said Mrs. Bransby, looking a little
+surprised. And so it was settled. But at the last moment, in arranging
+her table and disposing the cards with the guest's name before each
+cover, Mrs. Bransby found that it would be necessary, for the sake of
+symmetrically alternating a lady and gentleman, to divide one couple,
+and place them on opposite sides of the table. She decided that Dr.
+Hatch and Miss Hadlow would endure this sort of divorce with equanimity;
+and thus it came to pass that when Theodore took his seat at table he
+found himself in the enviable and unexpected position of sitting between
+the two young ladies of the party--Constance and May.
+
+Mr. Bransby led out Mrs. Hadlow, the hostess bringing up the rear with
+Canon Hadlow. Major Mitton had the honour of escorting Miss Piper, while
+Miss Patty fell to Mr. Bragg. There was, as is usual on such occasions,
+very little conversation while the soup and fish were being eaten. Miss
+Piper, indeed, who was constitutionally loquacious, talked all the while
+to Major Mitton, though in a comparatively low tone of voice; but the
+rest of the company devoted themselves mainly to their plates; or at
+least said only a fragmentary sentence now and then. But by degrees the
+desultory talk swelled into a continuous murmur, across which bursts of
+laughter were wafted at intervals. May had the satisfaction she had
+hoped for, of being allowed to be quiet; for her neighbour on the one
+hand was the canon, who contented himself with smiling on her silently,
+whilst Theodore was greatly occupied by _his_ neighbour, Miss Hadlow.
+Being seated between him and Major Mitton, she monopolized the younger
+gentleman's attention with the undoubting conviction that he enjoyed
+being monopolized.
+
+Mr. Bragg, a heavy, melancholy-looking man, found Miss Patty Piper a
+congenial companion on a topic which interested him a good
+deal--cookery. Not that he was a _gastronome_. He had a grand French
+cook; but he confided to Miss Patty that he never tasted anything
+nowadays which he relished so much as he had relished a certain
+beef-steak pudding that his deceased "missis" used to make for him
+thirty years ago, and better. Miss Patty had, as it happened, some
+peculiar and special views as to the composition of a beef-steak
+pudding; and Mr. Bragg--borne backwards by the tide of memory to those
+distant days when his missis and he lodged in one room, and before he
+had learned the secret of transmuting tin-tacks into luxury and French
+cooks--enjoyed his reminiscences in a slow, sad, ruminating way.
+
+Presently, when the dessert was on the table, there came a little lull
+in the general conversation, and the husky contralto voice of Miss Piper
+was heard saying, "My dear Major, I tell you it was the same woman. You
+say you heard her at Malta fifteen years ago. Very well. That's no
+reason; for she might have been only sixteen or seventeen then. These
+Italians are so precocious."
+
+"More like six or seven-and-twenty, Miss Piper. Bless you, she
+had long outgrown short frocks and pinafores in those days.
+Fourteen--fifteen--yes; it must be fully fifteen years ago. It was the
+season that we got up the 'Honeymoon' for the garrison theatricals. I
+played the Duke. It has been one of my best parts ever since. And there
+was a scratch company of Italian opera-singers doing wretched business.
+We got up a subscription for them, poor things. But fancy 'La Bianca'
+still singing Rosina in the 'Barber!'"
+
+"She looked charming, I can tell you. I don't say that her voice may not
+be a little worn in the upper notes----"
+
+"I wonder there's a rag of it left," put in the Major.
+
+"Yes; a little worn. But she knows how to sing. If one must listen to
+such trivial, florid music, that's the only way to sing it."
+
+"Ah, there we shan't agree, Miss Piper! No, no; I always stand up for
+Rossini. I don't pretend to be a great swell at music, but I have an
+ear, and I like a toon. Give me a toon that I can remember and whistle,
+and I'll make you a present of Wagner and the other fellows, all
+howlings and growlings."
+
+"Major, Major," called out Dr. Hatch from the opposite side of the
+table, "this is terribly obsolete doctrine! We shall have you confessing
+next that you like sugar in your tea, and prefer a rose to a sunflower!"
+
+Mr. Bransby, wishing to avert any unpleasant shock of opinions on such
+high themes, here interposed. He turned the conversation back to the
+Italian singer, who could be abused without ruffling anybody's _amour
+proper_.
+
+"But who is this _prima donna_ you're talking of, Major?" said he.
+
+Miss Piper struck in before Major Mitton could reply. "It's a certain
+Moretti:--Bianca Moretti. We heard her last summer in a minor theatre at
+Brussels, with a strolling Italian Opera Company. Don't you remember,
+Patty?"
+
+"Moretti?" said Miss Patty, instantly breaking off in the middle of a
+sentence addressed to Mr. Bragg, at the sound of her sister's voice.
+
+"The woman with the fine eyes? Oh yes. I remember her particularly,
+because of the awful scandal there was afterwards about her and that
+Englishman."
+
+Several heads at the table were now turned towards Miss Patty, who shook
+her ginger-bread-coloured wig with a knowing air.
+
+"I was just telling the Major," said Miss Piper. "We might never have
+known of it, if it had not been for the Italian Consul, who was a friend
+of ours. It was quite a sensation! A bit out of a French novel, eh?--Oh
+yes; quite ready, Mrs. Bransby."
+
+The last words had reference to a telegraphic signal from the hostess,
+who immediately rose. Mrs. Hadlow had been looking across at her rather
+uneasily during the last minute or so. The fact was that the Miss Pipers
+were reputed in Oldchester to have a somewhat unconsidered and free way
+of talking. Some persons attributed this to their annual visit to the
+Continent: others thought it connected rather with Miss Piper's artistic
+experiences, which in some mysterious way were supposed to have had a
+tendency to make her "a little masculine." The implication would seem to
+be that to be "masculine" involves a lax government of the tongue. But
+as no Oldchester gentleman was ever known to protest against this
+imputation, it is not necessary to examine it here more particularly.
+"When she began to talk about a French novel, my dear, there was no
+knowing what she might say next," said Mrs. Hadlow afterwards to Mrs.
+Bransby. So the latter hurried the departure of the ladies as we have
+seen.
+
+When they rose to go away, May, of course, went out last; Theodore
+holding the door open with his air of superior politeness.
+
+"Who is that pretty little girl? I don't think I know her face," said
+Major Mitton, when the young man had resumed his seat, and the chairs
+were drawn closer together.
+
+"That is Miss Miranda Cheffington."
+
+"Cheffington? I knew a Cheffington once--a terrible black sheep. Very
+likely it's not the same family, though. What Cheffingtons does this
+young lady belong to?"
+
+"The family of Viscount Castlecombe."
+
+"The man I knew was a nephew of old Castlecombe. Gus Cheffington his
+name was, I remember now."
+
+Theodore moved a little uneasily on his seat, and, after a moment's
+reflection, said gravely, "Captain Augustus Cheffington is this young
+lady's father; he is a friend of mine. Miss Cheffington is going to town
+to be presented next season by her aunt, Mrs. Dormer-Smith. She is a
+very thoroughbred woman. Do you know the Dormer-Smiths, Major Mitton?
+They are in the best set."
+
+The Major did not know the Dormer-Smiths, and had no interest in
+pursuing the subject. He turned to join in the conversation going on
+between Mr. Bransby, the canon, and Dr. Hatch, and then Theodore slipped
+out of his place and went to sit nearer to Mr. Bragg, who was looking a
+little solitary. Mr. Bragg had a great many good qualities, but he was
+usually considered to be heavy in hand from a conversational point of
+view. Theodore, however, did not find him dull. He talked to Mr. Bragg
+with an agreeable sense of making an excellent figure in the eyes of
+that millionaire. Theodore had a strong memory, considerable powers of
+application, and had read a great many solid books. He favoured Mr.
+Bragg now with a speech on the subject of the currency, about which he
+had read all the most modern theories up to date. The currency, he felt,
+must be a peculiarly interesting subject to a man who sold millions and
+billions of tin-tacks in all the markets of the world. Mr. Bragg drank
+his wine, keeping his eyes on the table, and listened with silent
+attention. Theodore, warmed by a mental vision of himself speaking in a
+breathless House of Commons, rose to parliamentary heights of eloquence.
+He had already addressed Mr. Bragg as "Sir," and had sternly inquired
+what he supposed would be the consequence if the present movement in
+favour of bimetallism should be still further developed in the United
+States, when he was interrupted by his father's voice saying--
+
+"Come, shall we ask Mrs. Bransby for a cup of coffee?"
+
+Mr. Bragg lifted his eyes and rose from his chair, and Theodore and he
+moved towards the door side by side.
+
+"It ought to be boiled in a basin, oughtn't it?" said Mr. Bragg
+thoughtfully. "Ah, no; it wasn't you. I remember now, it was Miss Patty
+Piper who was mentioning--I'll ask her again when we get upstairs."
+
+Meanwhile the elder ladies had been deep in the discussion of Miss
+Piper's interrupted story. Constance and May had got close together near
+the pianoforte, and Mrs. Bransby asked Constance to play something "soft
+and pretty." Constance opened the instrument and ran her fingers over
+the keys in a desultory manner, playing scraps of waltzes or whatever
+came into her head, and continuing her chat with May to that running
+accompaniment. Mrs. Bransby, Mrs. Hadlow, and the Miss Pipers grouped
+themselves near the fireplace at the other end of the room, and carried
+on their talk also under cover of the music.
+
+"It was odd enough that on my happening to mention the name of the
+Moretti to Major Mitton he should remember her at Malta so many years
+ago," began Miss Piper.
+
+"Yes; and you see now that I was right, and she can't be so young as you
+thought her, Polly," said her sister.
+
+"Lord, what does that matter? I only said she looked young, and so she
+did. And besides, I dare say the Major exaggerates her age. When a woman
+becomes a celebrity, or comes before the public in any way, her age is
+sure to be exaggerated. Many people who only know me through my works
+suppose me to be eighty, I dare say. They never imagine a woman so young
+as I was at the time composing a serious work like 'Esther.'"
+
+"Is she handsome, this Signora Moretti?" asked Mrs. Bransby, who was
+always interested in, and attracted by, beauty.
+
+"Very handsome--in that Italian style. Great black eyes, and black
+eyebrows, and a fine profile. Too thin, though. But, oh yes; extremely
+handsome. And a very clever singer."
+
+"And a very worthless hussey," added Miss Patty severely.
+
+"What a pity!" exclaimed Mrs. Hadlow. "It does seem so sad when one
+finds great gifts, like talent and beauty, without goodness!"
+
+"Well, I don't know that she was so very bad either," replied Miss
+Piper.
+
+"Goodness, Polly! How can you talk so!" cried her sister. "Why, she was
+living openly with that Englishman!"
+
+"Some people said she was married to him, you know, Patty."
+
+"Stuff and nonsense!" returned Miss Patty, who, whilst undoubtedly
+accepting her sister's views about music, tenaciously reserved the right
+of private judgment as to the character of its professors, and was,
+moreover, chronically incredulous of the virtue of foreigners in
+general. "No sensible person could believe that. And as to her 'not
+being so very bad'--what do you make of that nice story of the gambling,
+and the police, and all the rest of it?"
+
+"The police!" echoed Mrs. Hadlow, in a low shocked voice.
+
+"What was that?" asked Mrs. Bransby.
+
+"Now, just let me tell it, Patty," said the elder sister. "If I am wrong
+you can correct me afterwards. But I believe I know more about it than
+you do. Well, there was an Italian Opera Company singing in a minor
+theatre of Brussels when we were there, and doing very well; for the
+_prima donna_, Bianca Moretti, was a great favourite. They had
+previously been making a tour through Belgium. One night we were in the
+theatre with some friends, expecting to hear her for the second time in
+the 'Barbiere,' when, some time after the curtain ought to have risen, a
+man came on to the stage, and announced that the Signora Moretti had
+been suddenly taken ill, and there would be no performance. But the next
+day we learned that the story of the Moretti's illness was only an
+excuse--or, at least, that if she was ill, it was only from the nervous
+shock of having her house searched by the police."
+
+"I think that was quite enough to make her ill! But why did they search
+her house?" said Mrs. Bransby.
+
+"Well, you see, it was in this way," continued Miss Piper, lowering her
+voice, and drawing a little nearer to her hostess, while Mrs. Hadlow
+cast a glance over her shoulder to assure herself that the girls were
+occupied with their own conversation. "It seems that a set of men were
+in the habit of meeting every night after the opera in her apartment to
+play cards. There was the Englishman, and a young Russian belonging to a
+grand family, and a Servian, or a Roumanian, or a Bulgarian, or
+something," said Miss Piper, whose ideas as to the national distinctions
+between the younger members of the European family were decidedly vague,
+"and others besides. Now this man, the--the Bulgarian, we may as well
+call him, was a thorough blackleg, and bore the worst of characters. He
+led on the Russian to play for very high stakes, and won large sums from
+him. Well, to make a long story short, one night there was a terrible
+scene. The Russian accused the other man of cheating. They came to
+blows, I believe, and there was a regular _esclandre_. And next day the
+Bulgarian was missing. He had got away with a good deal of plunder."
+
+"How shocking and disgraceful!" exclaimed Mrs. Hadlow, in whom this
+gossip excited far more disgust than interest; and who thought Polly
+Piper showed very bad taste in selecting such a topic.
+
+"But why did the police search the Italian singer's apartment? It was
+not _her_ fault, was it?" asked Mrs. Bransby.
+
+"Why, you see, the gambling had gone on in her rooms. And the Bulgarian
+turning out to be connected with a regular gang of swindlers, the search
+was made for any letters or papers of his that might be there. We were
+told that the Russian ambassador had something to say to it; for the
+young Russian was connected with _very_ high people indeed. Nothing was
+found, however."
+
+"Nothing was found that could be laid hold of," put in Miss Patty. "But
+there could be no question what sort of a person that woman was after
+all that!"
+
+"Well, really, Patty," said her sister, "it seems to me that the
+Englishman was a deal more to blame. Nobody pretended that the Moretti
+wanted to gamble for her own amusement, or profit either! It was the
+ruin of her in Brussels; at any rate for that season. There was a party
+made up to hiss her whenever she appeared; and there were disturbances
+in the theatre; and, in short, the performances had to cease. I was
+sorry for her."
+
+"Upon my word, Polly, I don't see why you should be," cried Miss Patty.
+"She deserved all she got. I have no patience with bestowing pity and
+sympathy on such creatures. If she had been an ugly washerwoman, instead
+of a painted opera-singer, nobody would have had a soft word for her."
+
+"Oh, surely there are plenty of people who would be gentle to an ugly
+washerwoman, if she needed gentleness," put in Mrs. Hadlow. "And you
+know, my dear Miss Patty, we are taught to pity all those who stray from
+the right path."
+
+"As to that, I hope I can pity error as well as my neighbours--in a
+_religious_ sense," returned Miss Patty with some sharpness. "But this
+is different. I was speaking as a member of society."
+
+"And the Englishman--was he implicated?" asked Mrs. Bransby, rather from
+a desire to divert the conversation from a direction fraught with danger
+to the general harmony than from any special curiosity on the subject.
+
+"No; not exactly implicated," replied Miss Piper. "That is to say, he
+was not suspected of any unfair play, or anything of that sort; but it
+was considered disgraceful for him to have been mixed up in these
+gambling transactions; especially as he was a much older man than the
+others. And then----"
+
+"And then," continued Miss Patty, "it was not considered exactly
+creditable, I believe--although perhaps Polly thinks it was; I'm sure I
+don't know,--it wasn't, most people would say, exactly creditable for a
+man of family, an English _gentleman_, to be strolling about the world
+with a parcel of foreign singers. And he had been doing just that. We
+heard of his being at Antwerp, and Ghent, and Ostend with them."
+
+"A man of family, do you say? A really well-born man?" said Mrs. Hadlow,
+sitting suddenly very upright in the energy of her feelings. "How
+shocking! That really seems to be the worst of all!"
+
+"Well, I suppose we must pity _his_ errors," observed Miss Patty, with
+some causticity. But Mrs. Hadlow was insensible to the sarcasm; or, at
+all events, her sense of it was swallowed up by a stronger feeling. "I
+do think it's a public misfortune," she went on, "when a person on whom
+Providence has bestowed gentle birth derogates from his rank and forgets
+his duties. It grieves me."
+
+"You must suffer a good deal in these days, I'm afraid," said Miss
+Patty, grimly.
+
+"Not on that account," replied Mrs. Hadlow. "No; truly not. There may be
+exceptions--I won't deny that there are some. But, on the whole, I
+thoroughly believe that _bon sang ne peut mentir_."
+
+"Well, perhaps Mr. Cheffington's blood is not so good as he says it is;
+that's all," said Miss Patty, with a short laugh.
+
+Mrs. Hadlow and Mrs. Bransby uttered a simultaneous exclamation of
+amazement; and then the former said in a breathless whisper, "Hush,
+hush, my dear, for mercy's sake! Did you say Cheffington? That
+is--Cheffington is the name of that girl! Don't turn your head."
+
+"Oh, it can't be the same!" said Mrs. Bransby, nervously.
+
+"No, no; I dare say not. But the name--it must, I fear, be a member of
+the family," answered Mrs. Hadlow.
+
+"How lucky it wasn't mentioned in her hearing," said Miss Piper. "Poor
+little thing, I wouldn't for the world----! She's very pretty and
+bright-looking. I don't think I ever saw her before."
+
+Mrs. Bransby hurriedly explained how May came to be there, and as much
+of her story as she was acquainted with--which was, in truth, very
+little. The Miss Pipers listened eagerly, and Mrs. Hadlow sat by with a
+cloud of anxious perplexity on her usually beaming face. They all
+admitted that of course the person spoken of _might_ be no relation of
+May's at all; but it was evident that no one believed that hypothesis.
+To the Miss Pipers the whole matter was simply a relishing morsel of
+gossip. They dwelt with _gusto_ on "the extraordinary coincidence" of
+Miss Cheffington's being there just that very evening, and "the singular
+circumstance" that Major Mitton should remember Bianca Moretti, and
+enjoyed it all very much. Mrs. Bransby's prevalent feeling was one of
+annoyance, and resentment against Theodore, who had brought this girl
+into the house. Mrs. Bransby detested a "fuss" of any sort; and shrank,
+with a sort of amiable indolence, from the conflict of provincial feuds
+and the excitement of provincial gossip. And now, she reflected, this
+story would be spread all over Oldchester, and she would be "worried to
+death" by questions on a subject about which she knew very little, and
+cared less.
+
+"We won't say another word about this horrid story," she said, looking
+appealingly at the Miss Pipers. "Silence is the only thing under the
+circumstances. Don't you think so? It would be so dreadful if the girl
+should overhear anything, and make a scene; wouldn't it?"
+
+Miss Polly and Miss Patty readily promised to be most guardedly
+silent--for that evening, and so long as May should be present;
+declaring quite sincerely that they would not for the world risk hurting
+the poor child's feelings. And then Mrs. Bransby began to flatter
+herself that the subject was done with, so far as she was concerned. But
+Fate had decided otherwise.
+
+When the gentlemen came into the drawing-room, Miss Hadlow was playing
+one of her most brilliant pieces, to which Miss Polly Piper was
+listening with an air of responsible attention, and gently nodding her
+head from time to time in an encouraging manner; Miss Patty Piper and
+May were looking over a large album full of photographs together; while
+Mrs. Bransby was narrating to Mrs. Hadlow, Bobby's latest witticisms,
+and Billy's extraordinary progress in the art of spelling:--these
+juvenile prodigies being her two younger children.
+
+Constance did not interrupt her performance on the entrance of the
+gentlemen, and Major Mitton went to stand beside the pianoforte,
+gallantly turning over the music leaves at the wrong moment, with the
+best intentions. Canon Hadlow sat down near Miss Piper; the host with
+Dr. Hatch crossed the room to speak to Mrs. Hadlow, and Mr. Bragg and
+Theodore approached the table, at which Miss Patty and May Cheffington
+were seated. Mr. Bragg drew up a chair close to Miss Patty at once, and
+began to talk with her in a low voice, and with more appearance of
+animation than his manner usually displayed. Theodore, as he observed
+this, remembered with satisfaction that his friend Captain Cheffington
+had formerly pronounced old Bragg to be a d----d snob. A man must indeed
+be on a low level who could prefer Miss Patty Piper's culinary
+conversation to a luminous exposition of the currency question as set
+forth by Mr. Theodore Bransby. He bent over May, who was still turning
+the leaves of the photograph book, and said, "I'm afraid you are not
+having a very amusing evening, Miss Cheffington."
+
+"Oh yes, thank you," returned May, making the queerest little grimace in
+her effort not to yawn. "I am very fond of looking at photographs."
+
+"I don't suppose there are many portraits there that you would
+recognize. A little out of your set," said Theodore. "In fact, I don't
+know many of them myself, I have been so much away. By the way, have you
+any commands for your people in town? I go up the day after to-morrow."
+
+"Shall you see Aunt Pauline?"
+
+"Certainly. I suppose Lord Castlecombe is not likely to be in town at
+this season?" went on Theodore, raising his tone a little so as to be
+heard by the others. Constance's playing had now come to an end, and
+there was a general lowering of voices, occasioned by the cessation of
+that pianoforte accompaniment.
+
+"I don't know, I'm sure. I don't know where he lives," answered May
+innocently.
+
+"Ahem! He is at this season, in all probability, at Combe Park, his
+place in Gloucestershire."
+
+May had never heard of her great-uncle's place in Gloucestershire; but
+now, when Theodore said the words, her thought flashed through a chain
+of associations to Mrs. Dobbs's mention of the Castlecombe Arms on the
+Gloucester Road, kept by "Old Rabbitt," and she blushed as though she
+had done something to be ashamed of.
+
+"The last time I had the pleasure of seeing your father, he was talking
+to me about Combe Park," continued Theodore, with a complacent sense of
+superiority to the rest of the company in these manifestations of
+familiar intercourse with members of the Castlecombe family. Lord
+Castlecombe was a very important personage in those parts. As May did
+not speak, Theodore went on: "Grand old place, Combe Park, isn't it?"
+
+"Is it?" returned May absently. She was looking with great interest at
+the portrait of a superb lace dress, surmounted by a distorted image of
+Mrs. Bransby's head and face, which were quite out of focus. But the
+lace flounces had "come out splendidly," as the photographer remarked.
+And, if the truth must be told, May admired them greatly.
+
+"Is it?" repeated Theodore, with a little smile. "But you have lived so
+long abroad, that you are quite a stranger to all these ancestral
+glories. I hope, however, that you have not the same preference for the
+Continent that your father has?"
+
+"Oh, I'm sure I should always love England best. But I don't know the
+most beautiful parts of the Continent--Switzerland or Italy. We were
+always in Belgium, and Belgium isn't beautiful. At least I don't
+remember any beautiful country."
+
+Thus May, with perfect simplicity, still turning over the photographs,
+and all unconscious that the Miss Pipers had simultaneously interrupted
+their own conversation, and were staring at her.
+
+"No; Belgium is not beautiful--except architecturally," replied
+Theodore. "But there is very nice society in Brussels, and a pleasant
+Court, I believe. No doubt that's one reason why Captain Cheffington
+likes it."
+
+"Is Brussels your home, then? Do you live there?" asked Miss Patty,
+leaning eagerly forward.
+
+May looked up, and perceived all at once that every one was gazing at
+her. The Miss Pipers' sudden attention to what she was saying had
+attracted the attention of the others--as one may collect a crowd in the
+street by fixedly regarding the most familiar object. In her
+inexperience she feared she had committed some breach of the etiquette
+proper to be observed at a "grown-up dinner party." Perhaps she ought
+not to have devoted so much attention to the photographs! She closed the
+book hurriedly as she answered--
+
+"No, _I_ don't live in Brussels, but papa does--at least, generally."
+
+Mrs. Bransby rose from her chair, and came rather quickly across the
+room. "My dear," she said, "I want to present our old friend, Major
+Mitton, to you;" and taking May by the arm, she led her away towards the
+pianoforte.
+
+Theodore observed this proceeding with a cool smile, and sense of inward
+triumph. Mrs. Bransby began to understand, then, what a very highly
+connected young lady this was, and was endeavouring, although a little
+late, to show her proper attention. Another time Mrs. Bransby would
+receive _his_ introduction and recommendation with more respect. In the
+same way, he felt gratification in the eager questions with which Miss
+Patty plied him. Miss Patty left the millionaire Mr. Bragg in the lurch,
+and began to catechize Theodore on the subject of the Cheffington
+family.
+
+That fastidious young gentleman said within himself that the snobbery of
+these Oldchester people was really too absurd; and mentally resolved to
+cut a great many of them, as he gained a firmer footing in the best
+London circles. Nevertheless he did not check Miss Patty's inquiries. On
+the contrary, he condescendingly gave her a great deal of information
+about his friends the Dormer-Smiths, the late lamented Dowager, the
+present Viscount Castlecombe, his two sons, the Honourable George and
+the Honourable Lucius, as well as some details respecting the more
+distant branch of the Cheffington family, who had intermarried with the
+Scotch Clishmaclavers, and were thus, not remotely, connected with the
+great ducal house of M'Brose.
+
+This was all very well; but Miss Patty was far more interested in
+getting some information about Captain Cheffington which would identify
+him with the hero of the Brussels story, than of following the genealogy
+of the noble head of the family into its remotest ramifications. And,
+notwithstanding that Theodore was much more reticent about the Captain,
+she did manage to find out that the latter had lived abroad for many
+years--chiefly in Belgium--and that his pecuniary circumstances were not
+flourishing.
+
+"I'm quite convinced it's the same man, Polly," she said afterwards to
+her sister. And, indeed, all the inquiries they made in Oldchester
+confirmed this idea. The Simpsons gave anything but a good character of
+May's absentee parent. And subsequent conversation with Major Mitton
+elicited the fact that Augustus Cheffington had been looked upon as a
+"black sheep" even by not very fastidious or strait-laced circles many
+years ago. The story of the Brussels scandal was not long in reaching
+the ears of every one in Oldchester who had any knowledge, even by
+hearsay, of the parties concerned.
+
+Theodore Bransby, who left Oldchester on the Monday following the
+dinner-party, and spent the intervening Sunday at home, was one of the
+few in the above-named category who did not hear of it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+
+The correspondence between Mrs. Dobbs and Mrs. Dormer-Smith on the
+subject of May's removal to London was not voluminous. It consisted of
+three letters: number one, written by Mrs. Dobbs; number two, written by
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith; and number three, Mrs. Dobbs's reply to that. Mrs.
+Dobbs always went straight to the point, both with tongue and pen; and
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith, although by no means so forcibly direct in her
+dealings, had a dislike to letter-writing, which caused her to put her
+meaning tolerably clearly on this occasion, so as to avoid the necessity
+of writing again.
+
+Mrs. Dobbs had proposed that May should become an inmate of her aunt's
+house in London--at all events for a time--in consideration of an annual
+sum to be paid for her board and dress. The said sum was to be
+guaranteed by Mrs. Dobbs, and was so ample as to make Pauline say
+plaintively to her husband, "Just fancy, Frederick, how deplorably
+imprudent Augustus has been in offending and neglecting this old woman
+as he has done! You see she has plenty of money. I had no idea what her
+means were; but it is clear that, for a person in her rank of life, she
+may be called rich. And Augustus might have obtained solid pecuniary
+assistance from her, I've no doubt, if he had played his cards with
+ordinary prudence. But there never was any one so reckless of his own
+interests as Augustus--beginning with that unfortunate marriage."
+
+Whereunto Mr. Frederick Dormer-Smith thus made reply, "I don't know what
+you may call 'solid pecuniary assistance,' but it seems to me pretty
+solid to keep Augustus's daughter, and clothe her, and pay for her
+schooling, for four years and upwards. As to Augustus's disregard of his
+own interests, it does not at any rate lie in the direction of
+refraining from borrowing money, or remembering to pay it back; that
+much I can vouch for."
+
+Pauline put a corner of her handkerchief to her eyes. "Oh, Frederick,"
+she said, "it pains me to hear you speak so harshly. Remember, Augustus
+is my only brother."
+
+"Mercifully! By George, if there was another of 'em I don't know what
+_would_ become of us."
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith declined to consider this hypothesis, but contented
+herself with saying that she should like to do something for poor
+Augustus's girl, and asking her husband if he didn't think they could
+manage to receive her. Mr. Dormer-Smith thought they could on the terms
+proposed, which, he frankly said, were handsome. And Pauline added
+softly--
+
+"Yes; and it is satisfactory that she offers to keep the arrangement
+strictly secret. It would scarcely do to let it be known that Mrs. Dobbs
+pays for May. It would be _inconvenable_. People would ask all sorts of
+questions. It would put the girl herself in an awkward position.
+'Grandmother!' people would say. 'What grandmother?' and the whole story
+of that wretched marriage would be raked up again. But, on the
+conditions proposed, I do think, Frederick, it could do no harm to
+receive May. I am glad you consent. It will be a comfort to me to feel
+that I am doing something for poor Augustus's girl, and acting as mamma
+would have wished."
+
+So a favourable reply was dispatched to Mrs. Dobbs's application. Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith suggested that May should come to town a little before the
+beginning of the season, so as to give time for preparing her
+wardrobe--a task to which her aunt looked forward with _dilettante_
+relish. And in answer to that, Mrs. Dobbs wrote the third and last
+letter of the series, assenting to the date proposed for May's arrival,
+and entering into a few minor details.
+
+She had also, meanwhile, received a letter from Captain Cheffington,
+elicited, after a long delay, by three successive urgent appeals for an
+immediate answer. It was a scrawl in a hasty, sprawling hand, and ran
+thus:
+
+     "Brussels, Nov. 1, 18--.
+
+     "DEAR MRS. DOBBS,
+
+     "I think it would be very desirable for Miranda to be presented
+     by her aunt, if she is to be presented at all, and to be
+     brought out properly. I have no doubt that my sister will
+     introduce her in the best possible way. Since you seem to press
+     for my consent, you have it herewith, although I hardly feel
+     that I can have much voice in the matter, being separated, as I
+     have been for years, from my country, my family, and my only
+     surviving child. I am a mere exile. It is not a brilliant
+     existence for a man born and brought up as I have been.
+     However, I must make the best of it.
+
+    "Yours always,
+
+    "A. C."
+
+This was sufficient for Mrs. Dobbs. She had made a point of obtaining
+Augustus's authority for his daughter's removal to town; not because she
+relied on his judgment, but because she knew him well enough to fear
+some trick, or sudden turn of feigned indignation, if, from any motive
+of his own, he thought fit to disapprove the step. As to the tone of his
+reply, that neither troubled nor surprised her. But Mr. Weatherhead was
+moved to great wrath by it. Mrs. Dobbs had tossed the note to him one
+day, saying--
+
+"There; there's my son-in-law's consent to May's going to town, in black
+and white. That's a document."
+
+Mr. Weatherhead eagerly pounced on it. "What a disgusting production!"
+he exclaimed, looking up over the rim of the double eyeglass which he
+had set astride his nose to read the note.
+
+"Is it?" returned Mrs. Dobbs carelessly.
+
+"Is it? Why, Sarah, you surprise me, taking it in that cool way. It is
+the most thankless, unfeeling, selfish production I ever read in my
+life."
+
+"Oh, is that all? Well, but that's just Augustus Cheffington. We know
+what _he_ is at this time of day, Jo Weatherhead. It 'ud be a deal
+stranger if he wrote thankfully, and feelingly, and unselfishly."
+
+But Mr. Weatherhead refused to dismiss the matter thus easily. He
+belonged to that numerous category of persons who, having established
+and proclaimed a conviction, appear to be immensely astonished at each
+confirmation of it. He had years ago pronounced Augustus Cheffington to
+be a heartless scoundrel. Nevertheless he was shocked and amazed
+whenever Augustus Cheffington did anything to corroborate that opinion.
+
+The letter from Mrs. Dormer-Smith was not shown to him. Mrs. Dobbs meant
+to keep the amount she was to pay for May a secret even from her
+faithful and trusted friend Jo. He might guess what he pleased, but she
+would not tell him. The means, too, by which she meant to raise the
+money would not, she knew, meet with his approval. And, since she had
+resolved to use those means, she thought it best to avoid vain
+discussion beforehand, and therefore said nothing about them.
+
+Accident, however, revealed a part of the secret in this way:
+
+Mr. Weatherhead, calling one afternoon at Laurel Villa to see Mrs.
+Simpson, who had been kept at home by a cold, found other visitors
+there. Miss Polly and Miss Patty Piper were drinking tea out of Mrs.
+Simpson's best cups and saucers, and chatting away with their usual
+cheerfulness and volubility. The Miss Pipers, as they would themselves
+have expressed it, "moved in a superior sphere" to that of the
+music-teacher and his wife; but they did not consider that they
+derogated from their gentility by occasionally drinking tea and having a
+chat with the Simpsons. They liked to condescend a little, and
+opportunities for condescension were rather rare. Then, too, they had a
+certain interest in Sebastian Bach Simpson, inherited from the long-ago
+days when Sebastian Bach's father played the organ in their father's
+church, and Miss Polly and Miss Patty wore white frocks and blue sashes
+at evening parties, and were the objects of a good deal of attention
+from the Reverend Reuben's curates. Besides the sisters there was
+present Dr. Hatch, who had come to pay a professional visit to Mrs.
+Simpson, and who was just going away. It was a peculiarity of Dr. Hatch
+to be always just going away. He had a very large practice, and was wont
+to aver that his professional duties scarcely left him time to eat or
+sleep. Yet Dr. Hatch's horses stood waiting through many a quarter of an
+hour during which their master was engaged in conversation not of a
+strictly professional nature.
+
+When Mr. Weatherhead entered the best parlour of Laurel Villa, Dr. Hatch
+had a cup of tea in one hand, and his watch in the other, and greeted
+the new arrival with a friendly nod, and the assurance that he was "just
+off." Mrs. Simpson shook hands with Mr. Weatherhead, and the Miss Pipers
+graciously bowed to him. He, too, was connected in their minds with old
+times. Miss Polly specially remembered seeing him on her visits to the
+Birmingham Musical Festivals, when her father would take the opportunity
+of turning over Weatherhead's stock of books, and making a few
+purchases. And once the Pipers had lodged during a Festival week in the
+rooms over Weatherhead's shop.
+
+"Glad to see you better, Mrs. Simpson," said Jo, taking a seat after
+having saluted the company.
+
+"Oh yes, thank you, I'm quite well now. I know Dr. Hatch will scold me
+if he hears me say so"--(with an arch glance baulked of its effect by
+the unsympathetic spectacles)--"because he tells me I still need great
+care. But my cough is gone. It is, really!"
+
+Mrs. Simpson girlishly shook back her curls, and proceeded to pour out a
+cup of tea for Mr. Weatherhead.
+
+"And how is Simpson?" asked the latter.
+
+"Bassy is very well, only immensely busy. He has three new pupils for
+pianoforte and harmony; the daughters of Colonel ----,--tut, I forget
+his name,--recommended by that kind Major Mitton. Or at least it would
+be more proper to say that Major Mitton recommended Bassy to them! Not
+very polite to say that the young ladies were recommended--oh dear! I
+beg pardon. I'm afraid I've over-sweetened your tea?"
+
+She had, in fact, put in half a dozen lumps, one after the other. But
+Mr. Weatherhead fished the greater part of them out again with his
+teaspoon, and deposited them in the saucer, saying it was of no
+consequence.
+
+"I am so sadly absent-minded!" said Mrs. Simpson, smiling sweetly.
+"Bassy would scold me if he were here."
+
+"Serve you right, if he did!" said Dr. Hatch, rising from the table.
+"You should pay attention to what you're doing. I expect to hear that
+you have swallowed the embrocation and anointed your throat with syrup
+of squills."
+
+"Oh, doctor! You do say the drollest things!" exclaimed the amiable
+Amelia, with an enjoying giggle.
+
+"Ah, no; not the drollest! Thank Heaven, I hear a great many droller
+things than I say! That's what mainly supports me in my day's practice."
+
+Mrs. Simpson, not in the least understanding him, giggled again. Dr.
+Hatch had the reputation of being a wag; and Amelia Simpson was not the
+woman to defraud him of a laugh on any such selfish ground as not seeing
+the point of his joke.
+
+"Well, Mr. Weatherhead," said Miss Patty Piper, blandly, "so we are to
+have your sister-in-law for a neighbour, I hear."
+
+Jo poked his nose forward, and pursed up his mouth. "O-ho! my
+sister-in-law, Mrs. Dobbs? How do you mean, ma'am, 'as a neighbour'?"
+
+"We understand that Mrs. Dobbs has been looking after Jessamine Cottage;
+the little white house with a garden on the Gloucester Road," returned
+Miss Patty. Dr. Hatch paused with his hand on the latch of the parlour
+door to hear.
+
+"Oh dear no," said Jo Weatherhead decisively. "Quite a mistake. Sarah
+Dobbs is too wedded to her old home. Nothing would induce her to leave
+Friar's Row. You must have been misinformed, ma'am."
+
+"As to leaving Friar's Row," put in Miss Polly, "she must do that in any
+case; for she has let the premises as offices; and at a high rent, too,
+I hear. Friar's Row is considered a choice position for business
+purposes."
+
+Jo had opened his mouth to protest once more, when a sudden idea made
+him shut it again without speaking. "Oh!" he gasped, and then made a
+little pause before proceeding. "Ah, well--she--it wasn't quite settled
+when I heard last. Would you mind stating your authority, ma'am?"
+
+"The best--Mr. Bragg told us himself. His managing man at the works has
+made the arrangement. Mr. Bragg has been looking out for a more central
+office for some time."
+
+"I told Mrs. Dobbs long ago that she was living at an extravagant rental
+by sticking to Friar's Row," observed Dr. Hatch, turning the handle of
+the door. "Depend on it, she has let it at a swinging rent; and quite
+right, too. Now I really _am_ off."
+
+Jo Weatherhead sat very still after the doctor's departure, with his cup
+of tea in his hand, and a pondering expression of face. The Miss Pipers
+were not sufficiently interested in him to observe his demeanour very
+closely. If they did chance to notice that he was unusually silent, that
+was accounted for by his sense of the superior company he found himself
+in. They always spoke of him as "a good, odd creature, with sound
+principles--a very respectable man, who knew his station." As for Amelia
+Simpson, she was habitually unobservant, with an inconvenient faculty,
+however, of suddenly making clear-sighted remarks when they were least
+expected.
+
+"I'm sure this is very good news for us!" she exclaimed. "Jessamine
+Cottage is so near! At least, it _was_ quite close to us when we lived
+in Marlborough Terrace."
+
+"It will be a good move for Mrs. Dobbs. The air in our neighbourhood is
+so much better than in her part of the town," said Miss Patty, with a
+certain complacency, as who should say, "The merit of this atmospheric
+superiority is all our own; but we are not proud."
+
+"And yet I am surprised, too, at Mrs. Dobbs moving," replied Amelia.
+"She always declared that she hated the suburbs, with their little
+slight-built houses."
+
+"That cannot apply to _our_ house," said Miss Polly. "Garnet Lodge stood
+in its own ground many a long year before those new houses sprung up
+between Greenhill Road and the Gloucester Road."
+
+"But Mrs. Dobbs isn't going to live in Garnet Lodge!" returned Amelia,
+with one of her sudden illuminations of common sense. "And Jessamine
+Cottage is a mere bandbox."
+
+"I remember Mrs. Dobbs among the trebles in 'Esther,'" observed Miss
+Polly. "She had a fine clear voice, and could take the B flat in alt
+with perfect ease."
+
+"And her husband sold capital ironmongery. We have a coal-scuttle in the
+kitchen now which was bought at his shop--a thoroughly solid article,"
+added Miss Patty.
+
+These appreciative words about the Dobbses, which at another time would
+have gratified Jo Weatherhead, now fell on an unheeding ear. He took his
+leave very shortly, and walked straight to Friar's Row.
+
+"Well, Sarah Dobbs," said he, on entering the parlour, "I didn't think
+you would steal a march on me like this! I did believe you'd have
+trusted me sooner than a parcel of strangers, after all these years!"
+
+He did not sit down in his usual place by the fireside, but remained
+standing opposite to his old friend, looking at her with a troubled
+countenance. Mrs. Dobbs gave him one quick, keen glance, and then said--
+
+"So you've heard it, Jo? Well, I didn't mean that you should hear it
+from any one but me. But who shall stop chattering tongues? They rage
+like a fire in the stubble. And the poorer and lighter the fuel, the
+bigger blaze it makes. It was settled only this very morning, too."
+
+"It _is_ true, then, Sarah? I had a kind of a hankering hope that it
+might be only trash and chit-chat."
+
+"You mean about my letting my house, don't you? Yes; that's true."
+
+"And me never to know a word of it!--To hear it from strangers!"
+
+"Now look here, Jo; let us talk sensibly. Sit down, can't you?"
+
+But Jo would not sit down; and after a minute's pause, Mrs. Dobbs went
+on--
+
+"I'll tell you the truth. I didn't say a word to you of my plan
+beforehand, because I was afraid to--there!"
+
+"Afraid! You, Sarah Dobbs, afraid of _me_! That's a good one!" But his
+face relaxed a little from its pained, fixed look.
+
+"Yes; afraid of what you'd say. I knew you wouldn't approve, and I knew
+why. You wouldn't approve for my sake. But, thinks I, when once it's
+done, Jo may scold a little, but he'll forgive his old friend. And I
+never thought of chattering jackdaws cawing the matter from the
+house-tops. I meant to tell you myself this very afternoon; I did
+indeed, Jo."
+
+Jo drew a little nearer to his accustomed chair, and put his hand on the
+back of it, keeping his face turned away from Mrs. Dobbs. "Of course,
+you're the mistress to do what you like with your own property," he
+muttered.
+
+"Nobody's mistress, or master either, to do what's wrong with their own
+property. I mean to do what's right if I can. I was never one to heed
+much what outside folks think of me; but I do heed what you think, Jo,
+and reason good. And I want you to know my feeling about the matter once
+for all, and then we can leave it alone."
+
+Mr. Weatherhead here slid quietly into the armchair, and sat with his
+face still turned towards the fire.
+
+"You know," continued Mrs. Dobbs, "I told you some weeks ago that I was
+troubled about the child's position here. She is a real lady, and ought
+to be acknowledged as such. That's the only good that can come now from
+poor Susy's marriage, and I do hold to it. There was only one way, that
+I could see, of managing what I wanted. I could do it at a
+sacrifice--after all, a very small sacrifice."
+
+Jo Weatherhead shook his head emphatically.
+
+"Yes, really and truly a very small sacrifice," persisted Mrs. Dobbs. "I
+don't see why I shouldn't be just as happy and comfortable in Jessamine
+Cottage as here--provided, of course, that my old friends don't cut me
+and sulk with me. I shall be lonely enough when once the child's gone;
+and you and me'll have to cheer each other up, and keep each other
+company, as well as we can. You won't refuse to do that, will you, Jo?
+Come, shake hands on it!"
+
+Jo slowly put out his hand and grasped her proffered one. He then took
+out, filled, and lighted his meerschaum, and smoked in silence for some
+quarter of an hour, Mrs. Dobbs, meanwhile, knitting in equal silence.
+All at once she said--
+
+"Hark! There's May's step coming downstairs. Now you'll please to
+understand that when my moving from this house is mentioned to the
+child, it's because I find Friar's Row too noisy, and think the air in
+Greenhill Road will agree better with my health. I trust you for that,
+Jo Weatherhead, mind!"
+
+May at this moment came gaily into the room, and Mr. Weatherhead thus
+solemnly addressed her: "Miranda Cheffington, you have been to a
+first-rate school, and have read your Roman history and all that,
+haven't you?"
+
+"Not much, I'm afraid, Uncle Jo."
+
+"You have read about Lucretia, and Portia, and the mother of the
+Gracchi" (pronounced "Gratch-I;" for Jo's instruction had been chiefly
+taken in by the eye rather than the ear, in the shape of miscellaneous
+gleanings from his own stock-in-trade), "and other distinguished women
+of classical times, whose virtues were, in my opinion, not wholly
+unconnected with bounce?"
+
+Mary laughed and nodded.
+
+"Well, allow me to tell you that there are Englishwomen at the present
+day whom I consider far superior, in all that makes a real good woman,
+to any Roman or Grecian of them all. Englishwomen to whom bounce in
+every form is foreign and obnoxious. Englishwomen who do good by stealth
+and never blush to find it Fame, because Fame is a great deal too busy
+with rascals and hussies ever to trouble herself about _them_! Your
+grandmother, Mrs. Sarah Dobbs, whom I'm proud to call my friend, is one
+of those women. And what's more--and I'll have you bear it in mind,
+Miranda Cheffington--I believe you'd be puzzled to find her equal in
+Europe, Asia, Africa, or America--not to mention Australasia and the
+'ole of the islands in the Pacific Ocean."
+
+With that, Mr. Weatherhead walked gravely out; his nose somewhat redder
+than usual, and his eyes glistening.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+
+About a year before that dinner-party at which May Cheffington had made
+her _début_ in Oldchester society, Mrs. Hadlow had begun to think it
+probable that Theodore Bransby might wish to marry her daughter, and to
+consider the desirability of his doing so. On the whole she did not
+disapprove the prospect. Constance was very handsome, but she was also
+very poor. Her ambition might not be satisfied by a match with Martin
+Bransby's son; but on the other hand, Theodore was a young man of good
+abilities, and apt to rise in the world. Moreover, he had sufficient
+property of his own to facilitate his rising--a little ballast of that
+sort being as useful in the _melée_ of this world as the lead in a toy
+tumbler, and enabling a man, if not to strike the stars with his sublime
+head, at least to keep right side uppermost.
+
+Certainly Theodore had appeared much attracted by Miss Hadlow. Not only
+her beauty but her self-assertion approved itself to him; for a man's
+wife should be able to justify his taste; and there would be no
+distinction in winning a woman whose meekness made it doubtful whether
+she could have had the heart to say "No" to an inferior suitor. They had
+been playfellows in childhood, but school and Cambridge had separated
+them. But after Theodore began to read for the Bar, and, during the two
+last vacations, which he had spent chiefly at home, a great intimacy had
+sprung up between the young people. Theodore's frequent visits to the
+old house in College Quad did not pass unobserved. One or two persons
+thought his partiality for the Hadlows--especially when contrasted with
+the lukewarm politeness he bestowed on other families, such as Raynes
+the brewer, or the Burtons who lived in a park, and had had nothing to
+do with retail for two generations--was creditable to Theodore's heart.
+"He was not one to neglect old friends," said they, candidly confessing
+at the same time that it was more than they should have expected of him.
+But the majority felt sure that nothing short of being in love with
+Constance Hadlow could induce young Bransby to prefer the canon's
+old-fashioned parlour to Mrs. Raynes's red and gold drawing-room, or the
+Burtons' ćsthetic upholstery. Oldchester folks did not guess that
+Theodore intended to frequent a style of society in which neither the
+Rayneses nor the Burtons would be able to make any figure, nor did they
+know that he set a considerable value on Mrs. Hadlow's connections. That
+lady had been a Miss Rivers, and her family ranked among the oldest
+landed gentry in the kingdom. There were not many Oldchester magnates to
+whom Theodore Bransby thought it worth while to be more than coolly
+civil. Mr. Bragg was an exception, but then Mr. Bragg was a man of very
+great wealth; and as mere size is held in certain cases to be an element
+of grandeur, so money, Theodore thought, is capable in certain cases of
+inspiring veneration--that is to say, when there is enough of it.
+
+As to Miss Constance's state of mind about young Bransby, it was too
+complex to be described in a word. She liked Theodore, and thought him a
+superior person; if not quite so superior as he thought himself. She had
+faith, too, in his future. It would be agreeable to be the wife of a
+distinguished M.P. or Q.C., or perhaps of both combined in one person.
+Theodore would certainly settle nowhere but in London, and to live in
+London had been Constance's dream ever since she was fifteen. Her
+visions of what her life would be if she married Theodore Bransby
+concerned themselves chiefly with their joint-entry into some
+fashionable drawing-room, her presentation at Court, her name in the
+_Morning Post_, herself exquisitely dressed driving Theodore down to the
+House in a neat victoria, and returning the salutations of distinguished
+acquaintances as they passed along Whitehall. All more serious questions
+regarding their married life Constance set at rest by a few formulas. Of
+course, she should do her duty. Of course, Theodore would always behave
+like a gentleman. Of course, they should never condescend to vulgar
+wrangling. Of course, her husband would give way to her in any
+difference of opinion;--particularly since she was pretty sure to be
+always right. And then Constance knew herself to be so very charming,
+that a man of taste could not fail to delight in her society.
+
+Yet it must not be supposed that she had fully made up her mind to marry
+Theodore. That Theodore would be very glad to marry her she did not
+doubt at all. There had been a time--nay, there were moments still--when
+her visions of herself as Mrs. Theodore Bransby had been blurred by the
+disturbing element of her cousin Owen's presence. He had shown an
+attractive appreciation of her attractions; and had, to use Mr.
+Simpson's phrase, "dangled after his cousin" a good deal. Owen Rivers
+had reached the age of three and twenty without ever having earned a
+dinner, and without any serious preparation to enable him to earn one.
+He had had an expensive education, and had done fairly well at Oxford.
+His mother had died in his infancy; and his father, a country clergyman,
+had allowed the young man to lounge away his life at the parsonage,
+under the specious pretext of taking time to make up his mind what
+career he would follow. Owen had fished, and shot, and walked, and
+boated, and cricketed; but he had also read a good deal, having an
+intellectual appetite at once robust and discriminating. His friends and
+relatives agreed in thinking him very clever; and, when they reproached
+him with wasting his fine abilities and leading a purposeless existence,
+he would answer jestingly that he should be sorry to belie their
+judgment by subjecting his talents to the dangerous touchstone of
+action. His father died before he had determined on a profession. But,
+fortunately as he thought, and unfortunately as was thought by some
+other persons, including his Aunt Jane, he inherited wherewithal to live
+without working, and, with a hundred and fifty pounds per annum, could
+not lack bread and cheese. On his father's death he went to travel on
+the Continent. He walked wherever walking was possible, carrying his own
+knapsack, spending little, and seeing much. After more than two years'
+absence, he returned to England and made his way to Oldchester to see
+his Aunt Jane, with whom he had maintained an intermittent
+correspondence. There he found Constance, whom he last remembered as a
+sallow, self-sufficient schoolgirl, grown to a beautiful young woman.
+Her sallowness had turned into a creamy pallor, and her self-sufficiency
+was mitigated, to the masculine judgment, by the depth and softness of a
+pair of fine dark eyes. Owen, on his part, made a decidedly favourable
+impression on his cousin. He was not handsome--which mattered
+little--nor fashionably dressed--which mattered more; but he was well
+made, and had the grace which belongs to youthful health and strength.
+And he had, too, that indefinable tone of manner which ensured his
+recognition as an English gentleman. Constance was by no means
+insensible to this attraction. If she had not the sentiments which
+originate the finest manners, she had the perceptions which recognize
+them. When Mary Raynes and the Burnet girls criticized the roughness of
+Owen's demeanour, comparing it with Theodore Bransby's "polish," she
+knew they were wrong. Theodore always behaved with the greatest
+propriety; but between his manners and Owen's there was the same sort of
+difference as between a native and a foreigner speaking the same
+language. The foreigner may often be more accurately correct of the two
+on minor points, but it is an affair of conscious acquirement, and must
+inevitably break down now and then; whereas the native talks as
+naturally as he breathes, and can no more make certain mistakes than an
+oak tree can put forth willow leaves. Then Owen was very amusing company
+when he chose to be so,--and he usually did choose to be so when at his
+Aunt Jane's; and he had good old blood in his veins. This latter fact
+gave a certain piquancy, in Constance's opinion, to his political
+theories, which were opposed to the staunch Tory traditions of his
+family. Constance frequently took her cousin to task on this subject;
+but with the comfortable conviction to sweeten their controversy that a
+Rivers could afford to indulge in a little democratic heresy, just as
+Lord Castlecombe could afford to wear a shabbier coat than any of his
+tenants.
+
+All these considerations, together with the crowning circumstance that
+he evidently admired her a good deal, caused Owen to fill a large place
+in his cousin's mind. She even asked herself seriously more than once if
+she were in love with Owen, but failed to answer the question
+decisively. She did, however, arrive at the conviction that falling in
+love lay much more in one's own power than was commonly supposed; and
+that no Romeo-and-Juliet destiny could ever inspire _her_ with an
+ungovernable passion for a man who possessed but a hundred and fifty
+pounds a year. Mrs. Hadlow had at one time felt some uneasiness--nearly
+as much on Owen's account as on her daughter's, to say the truth. But
+she had satisfied herself that there was nothing more than a fraternal
+kind of regard between the young people--wherein she was wrong; and that
+there was no danger of their imprudently marrying--wherein she was
+right.
+
+Mrs. Hadlow had, indeed, made up her mind that Constance would accept
+Theodore Bransby whenever he should offer himself; and she privately
+thought it high time that the offer were made. What did Theodore wait
+for? His means (according to Mrs. Hadlow's estimate of things) were
+sufficient to allow him to marry at once. But even supposing that he did
+not choose to marry until he had fairly entered on his career as a
+barrister, still there ought to be at least some clear understanding
+between him and Constance. All Oldchester expected to hear of their
+engagement, and it was not fair to the girl to leave matters in their
+present uncertain condition. When, at the end of the vacation, young
+Bransby left Oldchester again without having made any declaration, Mrs.
+Hadlow was not only surprised, but uneasy; and she opened her mind to
+her husband on the subject, invading his study at an unusual hour for
+that purpose.
+
+"Edward," said Mrs. Hadlow, "don't you think that Theodore Barnsby ought
+to have spoken before he went to town this last time?"
+
+"Spoken, my dear?"
+
+"To Constance; or to us about Constance."
+
+The canon leaned his head on his hand, keeping the thumb of the other
+hand inserted between the pages of his Plato as a marker, and looked
+absently at his wife.
+
+"Well? Don't you think he ought?" she repeated impatiently.
+
+The good canon meditated for a few moments. Then he said--
+
+"I--I don't feel quite sure that I understand. What ought he to have
+said, Jane?"
+
+"Said! Goodness, Edward! He ought to have declared his intentions, of
+course. It is high time that something was understood clearly."
+
+The canon's gentle blue eyes lost their abstracted look, and a little
+sparkle came into them as he answered, "I hope--nay, I am sure--Jane,
+that you would not think of taking any step, or saying any word, which
+might compromise our dear child's dignity. Let it not appear that you
+are eager to put this interpretation on the young man's visits."
+
+"My dear Edward, Theodore has been paying Conny marked attentions for
+more than a year past; but during this last summer and autumn he has
+been in our house morning, noon, and night. He doesn't come for _our
+beaux yeux_."
+
+"H'm, h'm, h'm! But, Jane, an attachment of that sort between two young
+creatures should be treated with the greatest delicacy. It is shy and
+sensitive. Let us beware of pulling up our flower by the roots to see if
+it is growing."
+
+This trope by no means corresponded with Mrs. Hadlow's conception of the
+relations between Theodore Bransby and her daughter. She was an
+affectionate mother, but she did not delude herself into thinking
+Constance peculiarly sensitive or romantic. In fact, she was wont to say
+that her daughter was twenty years older than herself on some points.
+But the canon erroneously attributed to his daughter a quite poetical
+refinement of feeling. His views on most subjects were romantic and
+unworldly, and his ideas about women were peculiarly chivalrous. They
+frequently irked Constance. She was not without respect as well as
+affection for her father; and it was sometimes difficult to bring these
+sentiments into harmony with her deep-seated admiration for herself.
+However, she usually reconciled all discrepancies between what he
+expected of her and what she knew to be the fact, by declaring that
+"Papa was so old-fashioned!"
+
+"Tell me, Jane," said the canon, after a little pause, "do you think
+Conny's feelings are seriously engaged? Do you think this matter is
+likely to make her unhappy?"
+
+"Unhappy? Well, no; I hope not unhappy," answered Mrs. Hadlow slowly.
+
+"Then all is well. We will not let our spirits be troubled."
+
+"But, Edward, although she may not break her heart----"
+
+"Heaven forbid! Break her heart, Jane?"
+
+"Well, I say of course there's no fear of that; but it _is_ detrimental
+to a girl to have an affair of this kind dragging on in a vague sort of
+way. It might spoil her chance in other directions; and people will
+talk, you know."
+
+"Tut, tut! As to 'spoiling her chance'--which is a phrase very
+distasteful to me in this connection--if you mean that any eligible
+suitor would be discouraged from wooing Conny because another man is
+supposed to admire her too, that's all nonsense. Do you think I should
+have been frightened away from trying to win you, Jenny, by any such
+impalpable figment of a rival?"
+
+"You?" exclaimed Mrs. Hadlow, with a sudden flush and a proud smile.
+"Oh, that's a _very_ different matter, Edward. I don't see any young men
+nowadays to compare with what you were."
+
+The canon laughed softly. "Thank you, my dear. No doubt your grandmother
+said much the same sort of thing once upon a time; and I hope your
+grand-daughter may say it too, some day. But set your heart at rest as
+to this matter. That Theodore Bransby, whom we have known from his
+birth, should be a frequent guest in our house, can surprise no one.
+There is youthful society to be found here. Without reckoning Constance,
+there's Owen Rivers, the Burton girls, little May--we may reasonably
+suppose this to be attractive to a young man who has no companions of
+his own age at home, without attributing to him any such intentions as
+you speak off. In fact," added the canon simply, "we must believe you
+are mistaken; since, if Theodore loved our daughter, there's nothing to
+prevent his saying so!"
+
+Of all which speech, two words chiefly arrested Mrs. Hadlow's attention
+and stuck in her memory--"little May." It was true, now she came to
+think of it, that the increased frequency of Theodore's visits coincided
+with May Cheffington's presence in Oldchester. Then she suddenly
+remembered it was by Theodore's influence that May had been invited to
+Mrs. Bransby's dinner-party, and many words and ways of his with
+reference to Miss Cheffington occurred to her in a new light. But then,
+again, came a revulsion, and she told herself that the idea was absurd.
+It was out of the question that Theodore Bransby, with his social
+ambition, should think seriously of marrying insignificant little May
+Cheffington, who was not even handsome (when compared with Constance),
+who had childish manners, no fortune--and, worst of all, was Mrs.
+Dobbs's grand-daughter! "Besides," said Mrs. Hadlow to herself, "he
+_must_ be fond of Conny. It's quite an old attachment; and, though
+Theodore may not have very ardent feelings, I don't believe he is
+fickle."
+
+Nevertheless, she was not entirely reassured. After Theodore's departure
+from Oldchester she observed her daughter solicitously for some time;
+but she finally convinced herself that Conny's peace of mind was in no
+danger. She had sometimes been provoked by Conny's matter-of-fact
+coolness, and had felt that young lady's worldly wisdom to be an
+anachronism. But she admitted that in the present case these gifts had
+their advantage; for, when Oldchester friends showed their interest or
+curiosity by hints and allusions to Theodore, which made Mrs. Hadlow
+quite hot and uncomfortable, Constance met them all with perfect
+calmness, and she discussed the young man's prospects with an almost
+patronizing air that puzzled people.
+
+In a few weeks more May Cheffington departed for London; Owen Rivers
+also went away, and life in the dark old house in College Quad resumed
+its usual quiet routine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+
+It was a raw, gusty afternoon towards the end of March when May and her
+grandmother arrived in London. There had been some difficulty about the
+journey, arising from Mrs. Dormer-Smith's objection to her niece's
+travelling alone, and insisting on her being properly attended. In reply
+to a suggestion that May would be quite safe in a ladies' carriage, and
+under the care of the guard, she wrote:--"It is not that I doubt her
+being safe; but I _cannot_ let my servants see her arrive alone when I
+meet her at the station. Why not send a maid with her?" To which Mrs.
+Dobbs made answer that she could not send a maid, having only one
+servant-of-all-work, but that she herself would bring her grand-daughter
+to London. "I shall go up by one train, and come down by the next," said
+she to Jo Weatherhead. And when he remonstrated against her incurring
+that expense and fatigue, she answered, "Oh, we won't spoil the ship for
+a ha'porth of tar. If I make up my mind to part with the child, I'll
+start her as well as I can."
+
+The travellers found Mrs. Dormer-Smith awaiting them at the
+railway station. She greeted May affectionately, and Mrs. Dobbs
+amiably. "My servant has a cab here for the luggage," she said.
+"But"--hesitatingly--"how shall we manage about----? I'm afraid the
+brougham is too small for three." Mrs. Dobbs settled the question by
+declaring that she did not purpose going to Mrs. Dormer-Smith's house.
+She would get some dinner at the station, and return to Oldchester by an
+evening train. "Oh dear, I'm afraid that will be very uncomfortable for
+you!" said Pauline, politely trying to conceal her satisfaction at this
+arrangement. "Will you not come and--and lunch with us?" But Mrs. Dobbs
+stuck to her own plan.
+
+While the footman was superintending the placing of May's luggage on the
+cab, her grandmother drew her into the waiting-room to say "good-bye."
+"God bless you, my dear, dear child! Write to me often, keep well, and
+be happy!" she said, folding the girl in her arms. Mrs. Dormer-Smith
+stood by, not unsympathetic, but at the same time relieved to know James
+was busy with the luggage, so that he could not witness the parting, nor
+hear May's exclamation, "Darling granny! darling granny!" Indeed, it
+might be hoped that he would never know the relationship between this
+stout, common-looking old woman and Miss Cheffington; nor be able to
+report it in the servants' hall. She felt that Mrs. Dobbs was behaving
+very properly, and said with gracious sweetness, "I'm sure we ought all
+to be very much obliged to you for the care you have taken of my niece.
+It was most good of you to undertake this tiresome journey."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs looked up with a flash in her eyes. "I only hope," she
+returned hotly, "that you will take as good care of my grandchild as I
+have taken of your niece." The next moment she repented of her retort,
+and said quite humbly, "You will be kind to her, won't you? Poor
+motherless lamb! You will be kind to her, I'm sure!"
+
+"Indeed I will," answered Mrs. Dormer-Smith, with unruffled gentleness.
+"I have always wished for a daughter, and she shall be like my own
+daughter to me." And, with a motherly caress, she drew May to her side.
+
+"Don't be afraid for me, granny dear!" said May, smiling with tearful
+eyes. "I shall be very happy with Aunt Pauline. Besides, I shall see you
+again very soon."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs laid her hand on the girl's shoulder and pushed her gently,
+but firmly, out of the waiting-room, standing herself in the doorway
+until May and her aunt had disappeared. Then she sat down by the fire,
+untied her bonnet-strings, pulled out her handkerchief, and sobbed
+unrestrainedly. The waiting-room attendant looked at her curiously; for
+she had noticed that Mrs. Dobbs did not belong to the same class as that
+elegantly dressed lady, attended by a servant in livery, with whom the
+young girl had gone away. Presently she drew near, on pretence of poking
+the fire, and said--
+
+"You're very fond of the young lady, ain't you? But don't take on so.
+You'll see her again very soon, I dare say. Don't cry, poor dear!"
+
+"I _have_ cried," said Mrs. Dobbs, getting up and drying her eyes
+resolutely. "I have cried, and it's done me good. And now I'll go and
+get a bit of food."
+
+But she only trifled with the modest dinner set before her; and, as she
+sat in a corner of the second-class carriage which conveyed her back to
+Oldchester, her handkerchief was soaked with silent tears.
+
+To May the separation naturally seemed far less terrible than it did to
+Mrs. Dobbs. She had no idea that it was to be a long, much less a
+permanent, one. She found it agreeable to sit in the well-hung, neatly
+appointed brougham, with a cushion at her back and a hot-water tin under
+her feet, and to look through the clear glasses at the bustle and
+movement of London. Her aunt Pauline was very pleasant and sympathetic.
+May thought that she might come to love her father's sister very dearly.
+She admired her already. Mrs. Dormer-Smith's gentle manner, her soft,
+low voice, the quiet elegance of her dress, and even the delicate
+perfume of violets which hung about her, were all appreciated by May.
+
+"My cousin is not at home, is he, Aunt Pauline?" she asked after a
+little silence.
+
+"No; Cyril is at Harrow. There are only the children."
+
+"Oh, children!" cried May, with brightening eyes. "I'm so glad! I love
+children. I didn't know you had any children besides Cyril."
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith laughed her peculiar little guttural laugh, consisting
+of several ha, ha, ha's, slowly and softly uttered, and made no answer.
+
+"Are they boys or girls? How many are there? How old are they?"
+questioned May eagerly.
+
+"Two little boys. Harold is--let me see--Harold is six, and Wilfred
+five. It is very awkward having two little things in the nursery so many
+years younger than their elder brother. Cyril is turned fifteen. It is
+like beginning all one's troubles over again," said Pauline plaintively.
+The birth of these two children was, indeed, a standing grievance with
+her.
+
+May thought this an odd way of talking, and said no more on the subject
+of her little cousins. But she looked forward to seeing them with
+pleasant expectation.
+
+The sight of the house in Kensington brought back vividly to her mind
+the day after the dowager's funeral, when she had arrived there from
+school, feeling very strange and forlorn. She remembered, too, the
+abrupt departure next morning with her father, and her impression that
+the Dormer-Smiths had not behaved well, and that her father was very
+angry with them. May was shown into a bedroom at the back of the house,
+overlooking some gardens. The maid, having asked if she could do
+anything for Miss Cheffington, and having mentioned that the
+luncheon-gong would sound in ten minutes, withdrew, and left May alone.
+She examined the room with girlish interest. It was very pretty, she
+thought. Perhaps, in point of solid comfort, the old-fashioned furniture
+of her room in Friar's Row might be superior; but in Friar's Row there
+was no such ample provision of looking-glasses as there was here. She
+was still contemplating herself from head to foot in a long swing
+mirror, which stood in a good light near the window, when the gong
+sounded.
+
+May ran downstairs, and in the dining-room she found her aunt and a
+heavy-looking man with grizzled, sandy hair, and dull blue eyes, who
+asked her how she did, and supposed she would hardly recognize him.
+
+"Oh yes, I do, Uncle Frederick!" she answered.
+
+And again an uncomfortable recollection of her father's angry departure
+from that house came over her. But whatever quarrels there might have
+been in those days, her aunt and uncle appeared to have forgotten all
+about them. Mr. Dormer-Smith told May more than once that he was pleased
+to see her.
+
+"You're not a bit like your father, my dear," said he, with an approving
+air not altogether flattering to Augustus.
+
+"Oh yes, Frederick!" interposed his wife. "There is a family
+expression."
+
+"It's an expression I have never seen on your brother's face. No, nor
+any approach to it."
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith laughed the soft little laugh which was habitual with
+her when embarrassed or disconcerted, and changed the conversation. "I
+hope you like your room, May?" she said.
+
+"Oh yes, very much indeed, thank you, Aunt Pauline."
+
+"I wish I could have come upstairs with you. But I am obliged to
+_ménager_ my strength as much as possible."
+
+"Are you not well, Aunt Pauline?" asked May with ready sympathy.
+
+"I am not _strong_, dear."
+
+"You would be better if you exerted yourself more," said Mr.
+Dormer-Smith. "Your system gets into a sluggish state from sheer
+inactivity."
+
+"Ah, you don't understand, Frederick," answered his wife, with a
+plaintive smile.
+
+And May felt indignant at her uncle's want of feeling. But the next
+minute she relented towards him when he said, as he rose from table--
+
+"I'll go round to the chemist's myself for Willy's medicine, and bring
+it back with me, as I suppose you will be wanting James to go out again
+with the carriage by-and-by."
+
+"Is one of the little boys ill?" asked May.
+
+This time it was her aunt who replied calmly, "Oh no. The child has a
+little nervous cough; it is really more a trick than anything else."
+
+"Huggins doesn't think so lightly of it, I can assure you. He tells me
+great care is needed," said Mr. Dormer-Smith.
+
+"Can I--would you mind--might I see my little cousins?" asked May, with
+some hesitation. She was puzzled by these discrepancies of opinion
+between husband and wife.
+
+Mr. Dormer-Smith turned round with a look almost of animation. "Come
+now, if you like. Come with me," he said. And May followed him out of
+the room, disregarding her aunt's suggestion that it would be better for
+her to lie down and rest after her journey.
+
+The nursery was a large room--in fact, an attic--at the top of the
+house. May noticed how rapidly the elegance and costliness of the
+furniture and appointments decreased as they mounted. If the dining-room
+and drawing-rooms represented tropical luxury, the bedrooms cooled down
+into a temperate zone; and the top region of all was arctic in its
+barrenness. The nursery looked very forlorn and comfortless, with its
+bare floor, cheap wall-paper dotted with coarse, coloured prints, and
+its small grate with a small fire in it, which had exhausted its
+energies in smoking furiously, as the smell in the room testified. At a
+table in the middle of the room sat a hard-featured young woman, with
+high cheek-bones, and a complexion like that of a varnished wooden doll,
+mending a heap of linen; and in one corner, where stood a battered old
+rocking-horse and a top-heavy Noah's Ark, two little boys were kneeling
+on the floor, building houses with wooden bricks. On their father's
+entrance, they looked up languidly; but when they saw who it was, they
+scrambled to their feet with some show of pleasure, and came to stand
+one on each side of him, holding his hands. They were both like him,
+blue-eyed and sandy-haired, and both looked pale and sickly. Harold, the
+elder, seemed the stronger of the two. Wilfred was a meagre,
+frail-looking little creature, with a half-timid, half-sullen expression
+of face. Their father kissed them both, and, sitting down, drew the
+younger child on his knee, whilst Harold stood pressing close against
+his shoulder.
+
+"Well, do you know who this is?" asked Mr. Dormer-Smith, pointing to
+May.
+
+Apparently they had no wish to know, for they nestled closer to their
+father, and sulkily rejected May's proffered caresses.
+
+"Oh, come, you mustn't be shy," said their father. "This is your cousin
+May; kiss her, and say, 'How d'ye do?'"
+
+But nothing would induce either of the boys to give May his hand, nor
+even to look at her; and at length she begged her uncle not to trouble
+himself, and hoped they would all be very good friends presently.
+
+"And how do we get on with our lessons, ma'amselle?" asked Mr.
+Dormer-Smith of the hard-featured young woman, who, beyond rising from
+her chair when they came in, had hitherto taken no notice of them.
+
+"We haven't had no lessons to-day," put in Harold, with a lowering look
+at "ma'amselle."
+
+"No, monsieur, it has been impossible till now; I have had so much
+sewing to do for madame. See!" and she pointed to the heap of linen.
+"But we will have our lessons in the afternoon."
+
+"I don't want lessons; I want to go out with papa. Take me with you,
+papa," cried Harold. Whereupon little Wilfred lisped out that he too
+would go out with papa, and set up a peevish whine.
+
+"It is too cold for you, my man," said the father. "The sharp wind would
+make you cough. Harold will stay with you, and you can play together,
+and do your lessons afterwards, like good boys."
+
+But the children only wailed and cried the louder, whilst mademoiselle,
+with her eyes on her needlework, monotonously repeated in her
+Swiss-French, "What is this? Be good, my children," and apparently
+thought she was doing all that she was called upon to do under the
+circumstances.
+
+May thought her little cousins peculiarly disagreeable children; but she
+could not help feeling sorry for them and for their father, who looked
+quite helpless and distressed. "Would you like me to tell you a story?"
+she said. "I know some very pretty stories."
+
+A wail from Wilfred and a scowl from Harold were all the answer she
+received from them. But her uncle caught at the suggestion eagerly.
+
+"Oh, that would be very kind of Cousin May," he said. "A pretty story!
+You'll like that, won't you?"
+
+"No, I shan't! I want to go with papa," grumbled Harold.
+
+"I want to go wis papa," sobbed Wilfred.
+
+"It is always so when monsieur comes to the nursery," said the Swiss,
+coolly going on with her sewing. "The children are so fond of monsieur."
+
+"Poor little fellows!" cried May.
+
+Then kneeling down beside her uncle, she began softly to stroke
+Wilfred's hair, and to speak to him coaxingly. After a while, the child
+glanced shyly into her face, and ceased to sob. Presently he allowed
+himself to be transferred from his father's knee to May's. The Noah's
+Ark was brought into requisition. May ranged its inmates--all more or
+less dilapidated--on the floor, and began to perform a drama with them,
+making each animal's utterances in an appropriate voice. A smile dawned
+on Wilfred's pale little face, and Harold drew near to look and listen
+with evident interest.
+
+"Now, Uncle Frederick, if you have to go out, I will stay and play with
+the children, until lesson-time. They are going to be very good now;
+ain't you, boys?"
+
+"Ve'y good now," assented Wilfred, his attention still absorbed by the
+Noah's Ark animals.
+
+"Well, if you'll make the pig grunt again, I will be good," said Harold,
+with a Bismarckian mastery of the _do ut des_ principle.
+
+Mr. Dormer-Smith's face beamed with satisfaction. "It's very good of
+you, my dear," said he. "If you don't mind, it would be very kind to
+stay with them a little while; that is, if you are not too tired by your
+journey?" And as he went away, he repeated, "It's very good of you, my
+dear; very good of you!"
+
+But May found that her aunt took a different view.
+
+"_Dear_ May," said she, when she learned where her niece had been
+spending the two hours after luncheon, "this is very imprudent! You
+should have lain down and taken a thorough rest instead of exerting
+yourself in that way."
+
+"Oh, I'm not in the least tired, Aunt Pauline."
+
+"Dear child, you may not think so; but a railway journey of three or
+four hours jars the nerves terribly."
+
+"Oh, I was very glad to amuse the children, Aunt Pauline. They were
+crying to go out with their father, so I tried to comfort them. They got
+quite merry before I left them."
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith slowly shook her head and smiled. "You will find them
+extremely tiresome, poor things!" said she placidly. "They are by no
+means engaging children. Cyril was very different at their age."
+
+"Oh, Aunt Pauline! I think they might be made--I mean I think we shall
+come to be great friends. I couldn't bear to see them cry, poor mites!"
+
+"That is all very sweet in you, dear May, but I fancy it is best to
+leave their nursery governess to manage them. Her French is not all that
+I could wish. But a pure accent is not so vitally important for boys. It
+is much if an Englishman can speak French even decently. And Cecile
+makes herself very useful with her needle."
+
+Pauline then announced that she would not go out again that afternoon,
+but would devote herself to the inspection of May's wardrobe. "Of course
+you have no evening dresses fit to wear," she said; "but we will see
+whether we cannot manage to make use of some of your clothes. Smithson,
+my maid, is very clever."
+
+"Why, of course granny would not have sent me without proper clothes!"
+protested May, opening her eyes in astonishment. "And I _have_ an
+evening frock--a very pretty white muslin, quite new."
+
+To this speech Aunt Pauline vouchsafed no answer beyond a vague smile.
+She scarcely heard it, in fact. Her mind was preoccupied with weighty
+considerations. As she seated herself in the one easy-chair in May's
+room, and watched her niece kneeling down, keys in hand, before her
+travelling trunk, she observed with heartfelt thankfulness that the
+girl's figure was naturally graceful, and calculated to set off well-cut
+garments to advantage.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed May suddenly, turning round and letting the keys fall
+with a clash as she clasped her hands, "above everything I must not miss
+the post! I want to send off a letter, so that granny may have it at
+breakfast time to-morrow for a surprise. Have I plenty of time, Aunt
+Pauline?"
+
+"No doubt," answered her aunt absently. She was debating whether the
+circumference of May's waist might not be reduced an inch or so by
+judicious lacing.
+
+"Perhaps I had better get my letter written first, Aunt Pauline. I
+wouldn't miss writing to granny for the world, and any time will do for
+the clothes."
+
+To which her aunt replied with solemnity, and with an appearance of
+energy which May had never witnessed in her before, "Your wardrobe, May,
+demands very serious consideration. April is just upon us. You are to be
+presented at the second Drawing-room. Dress is an important social duty,
+and we must not lose time in trifling."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+
+It was a great comfort to Mrs. Dormer-Smith to find her niece so pretty
+("not a beauty," as she said to herself, "but extremely pleasing, and
+with capital points"), and so entirely free from vulgarisms of speech or
+manner. In fact, May's outward demeanour needed but very few polishing
+touches to make it all her aunt could desire. But a more intimate
+acquaintance revealed traits of character which troubled Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith a good deal.
+
+"I suppose," she observed to her husband, with a sigh, "one had no right
+to expect that poor Augustus's unfortunate marriage should have left no
+trace in his children. But it is dreadfully disheartening to come every
+now and then upon some absolutely middle-class prejudice or scruple in
+May. Now, Augustus, whatever his faults may be, always had such a
+thoroughbred way of looking at things."
+
+"Certainly, no one can accuse your brother of having scruples," said
+Frederick.
+
+"Besides, it is terribly bad form in a girl of her age to set up for a
+moralist."
+
+"It doesn't seem much like May to set up for anything: she is always so
+childish and unpretending."
+
+"Oh yes; and that _ingénue_ air is delicious: it goes so perfectly with
+her _physique_. But there are so many things which one cannot teach in
+words, but which girls brought up in a certain _monde_ learn by
+instinct."
+
+"What sort of things do you mean?" asked her husband after a little
+pause.
+
+"Well, on Thursday, for instance, I was awfully annoyed. Mrs. Griffin
+was here, and seemed pleased with May, and talked to her a good deal.
+You know that is very important, because the duchess invites people or
+leaves them out pretty much as her mother dictates. So I was naturally
+very much gratified to see May making a good impression. In fact, Mrs.
+Griffin whispered to me, 'Charming! So fresh.' Presently Lady Burlington
+came in, and they began talking of those new people, the Aaronssohns,
+who have a million and a half a year. Lady Burlington had been at a big
+dinner there the night before, and she told us the most astonishing
+things of their vulgarity and their pushing ways. When she was gone Mrs.
+Griffin said, 'I do like Lady Burlington,' and began praising her
+manners and her air of _grande dame_. And, very kindly turning to May,
+she said, 'Do you know, little one, that that is one of the proudest
+women in England?' 'Is she?' said May. 'I should never have guessed that
+she was proud.' Something in her way of saying it caught Mrs. Griffin's
+attention; and she pressed her and cross-questioned her, until May
+blurted out that she thought it despicable to accept vulgar people's
+hospitality only because they were rich, and then to ridicule them for
+being vulgar. I never was so shocked; for, you know, the duchess and
+Mrs. Griffin both went to the Aaronssohns' ball last season. Now you
+know," pursued Mrs. Dormer-Smith almost tearfully, "that kind of thing
+will never do. You must allow that it will never do, Frederick."
+
+"It would be awkward," assented Frederick, looking grave. "Couldn't you
+tell her?"
+
+"Of course, I spoke to her after Mrs. Griffin had gone away. But she
+only said, 'What could I do, Aunt Pauline? The old lady insisted on my
+answering her, and I couldn't tell her a story.' You see what a
+difficult kind of thing it will be to manage, Frederick."
+
+Mr. Dormer-Smith had become a great partisan of May's. He was genuinely
+grateful for her kindness to his children, and would willingly have
+taken her part had it been possible. But he felt that his wife was
+right; it would really never do to carry into society an _enfant
+terrible_ of such uncompromising truthfulness. And this feeling was much
+strengthened by the recollection of sundry remarks which May had
+innocently made to himself--remarks indicating an inconvenient
+assumption on her part that one's principles must naturally regulate
+one's practice. However, as he told his wife, they must trust to time
+and experience to correct this crudeness.
+
+"She is but a schoolgirl, after all," he said.
+
+Pauline did not pursue the subject, but she reflected within herself
+that there are schoolgirls and schoolgirls.
+
+There had been some discussion as to who should present May. Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith was of opinion that had there been a Viscountess
+Castlecombe, the office would properly have devolved on her ladyship;
+but old Lord Castlecombe had been a widower for many years. At length it
+was decided that May should be presented by her aunt.
+
+"I know it is a great risk for me to go out _décolletée_ on an English
+spring day," said that devoted woman. "And Lady Burlington would do it
+if I asked her. But I wish to carry out the duty I have undertaken
+towards Augustus's daughter, as thoroughly as my strength will allow.
+Under all the circumstances of the case, it is important that she should
+be publicly acknowledged, and, as it were, identified with the family.
+Of course, I shall feel justified in buying my gown out of May's money."
+
+"May's money" had come to be the phrase by which the Dormer-Smiths spoke
+of the payment made by Mrs. Dobbs for her grand-daughter.
+
+But besides the comforting sense of duty fulfilled, there were other
+compensations in store for Mrs. Dormer-Smith. May's presentation dress
+was pronounced exquisite, and was ready in good time; and May herself
+profited satisfactorily by the instructions of a fashionable professor
+of deportment, in the difficult art of walking and curtsying in a train.
+To be sure, she had alarmed her aunt at first, by going into fits of
+laughter when describing Madame Melnotte's lessons, and imitating the
+impressive gravity with which the dancing-mistress went through the dumb
+show of a presentation at Court. But she did what she was told to do,
+not only with docility, but with an unaffected simplicity which Aunt
+Pauline's good taste perceived to be infinitely charming. And she said
+to her husband that she really began to hope May would be "a great
+success."
+
+The great day of the Drawing-room came and went, as do all days, great
+or small. But whether she had been a success or a failure, in her aunt's
+sense of the words, May had not the remotest idea. Indeed, the various
+feelings on the subject of her presentation which had filled her breast
+beforehand (including a genuine delight in her own appearance as she
+stood before the big looking-glass, while Smithson put the finishing
+touches to her head-dress), were all swallowed up in the supreme feeling
+of thankfulness that it was over; and that she had not disgraced herself
+by tumbling over her train, or otherwise shocking the eyes of august
+personages. Also, in a minor degree, she was thankful that Aunt
+Pauline's antique lace-flounce--a portion of the dowager's legacy lent
+for the occasion--had escaped destruction. On their drive homeward, she
+sat silent, trying to extricate some definite image from her confused
+impressions of the ceremony, and finding that her most distinct
+recollection recorded the pressure of a persistent and ruthless elbow
+against her ribs. Mrs. Dormer-Smith, too, was too much exhausted to say
+much. She leaned back in the carriage with closed eyes, wrapping her
+furs round her, and sniffing at a bottle of salts.
+
+But when refreshed by a glass of wine, and seated in a well-cushioned
+chair before a blazing fire, Mrs. Dormer-Smith felt very well satisfied
+with the result of the day. Mrs. Griffin had been there, and had nodded
+approvingly across a struggling crowd of bare shoulders; and Mrs.
+Griffin's approbation was worth having. Mr. Dormer-Smith came home from
+his club a full hour earlier than usual, in order to hear the report--a
+proof of interest which May, not being a whist-player, was unable fully
+to appreciate.
+
+"Well," said Pauline, with a kind of pious serenity, "we have
+accomplished this somewhat trying social duty."
+
+"Trying, indeed," exclaimed May. "I'm afraid you are dreadfully tired,
+Aunt Pauline. And the crowd and closeness made your head ache, I saw.
+How is your head now?"
+
+"It is better, dear, much better."
+
+"Well?" said Mr. Dormer-Smith, looking interrogatively with raised
+eyebrows at his wife.
+
+"Oh yes, Frederick; very nice indeed, very satisfactory. I was very much
+pleased. I _had_ been a little anxious about the effect of the
+_corsage_, but Amélie has done herself great credit. And, mercifully,
+white suits our dear child to perfection. She really looked very well."
+
+"Did I, Aunt Pauline? Well, I'm sure it didn't much matter how I
+looked."
+
+"Didn't matter!" echoed Mrs. Dormer-Smith in a shocked tone.
+
+"Oh, come, May!" cried her uncle. "I thought you were above that sort of
+nonsense. Do you mean to tell me that you don't care about looking
+pretty?"
+
+"Oh no! I mean--well, I did think my dress was lovely when I looked at
+myself in the big glass upstairs; but in that crush who could see it?
+And I was awfully afraid that Aunt Pauline's lace flounce would be torn
+completely off the skirt."
+
+Her uncle laughed. "You don't appear to have altogether enjoyed your
+first appearance as a courtier," said he.
+
+"Enjoyed! Oh, who _could_ enjoy it?" Then, fearful of seeming
+ungrateful, she added, "It was very, very kind of Aunt Pauline to take
+so much trouble, and to get me that beautiful dress."
+
+May had not been accustomed to think about ways and means. It had seemed
+a matter of course that her daily wants should be supplied, and she had
+hitherto bestowed no more thought on the matter than a young bird in the
+nest. But it was impossible for her to live as a member of the
+Dormer-Smiths' family without having the question of money brought
+forcibly to her mind. There were small pinchings and savings of a kind
+utterly unknown in Friar's Row; elaborate calculations were made as to
+the possibility of this or that expenditure; Aunt Pauline frequently
+lamented her poverty; and yet, withal, there was kept up an appearance
+of wealth and elegance. May was not long in discovering the seamy side
+of all the luxury which surrounded her; and it amazed her. Why should
+her aunt so arrange her life as to derive very little comfort from very
+strenuous effort? And what puzzled her most of all at first was the air
+of conscious virtue with which this was done: the strange way in which
+Aunt Pauline would mention some piece of meanness or insincerity as
+though it were an act of loftiest duty. On one or two occasions May had
+innocently suggested a straightforward way out of some social
+difficulty; such as wearing an old gown when a new one could not be
+afforded, or refusing an invitation which could only be accepted at the
+cost of much bodily and mental harass. But these childish suggestions
+had been met by an indulgent smile; and she had been told that such and
+such things must be done or endured in order to keep up the family's
+position in society. Once May had asked, "Then why _should_ we keep up
+our position in society?" But her aunt had shown such genuine
+consternation at this impious inquiry, that the girl did not venture to
+repeat it.
+
+Another question, however, soon forced itself upon May--namely, how it
+came to pass that, under all the circumstances, so much money was spent
+on her dress. Besides the court train and petticoat, her aunt had
+provided for her a wardrobe which, to the young girl's inexperienced
+eyes, appeared absolutely splendid (for Pauline's conscience, although
+cramped and squeezed into artificial shape like a Chinese lady's foot,
+was alive and sentient; and she would on no account have failed to
+expend "May's money" for May's advantage): and yet all the while there
+were the two little boys in their comfortless nursery, wearing coarse
+clothing and shabby shoes; and there was Cecile toiling at needlework
+instead of attending to the children, in order that the cost of a
+seamstress might be saved! On this subject May felt that she had a right
+to interrogate her aunt; and accordingly she took courage to do so. Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith was considerably embarrassed, and made an attempt to fence
+off the subject. But May persisted.
+
+"It's very, very good of you and Uncle Frederick to do so much for me,"
+she said; "but I can't bear to take it all."
+
+"Nonsense, May! Remember you are a Cheffington. You _must_ appear in the
+world properly equipped."
+
+"But, Aunt Pauline, it isn't fair to Harold and Wilfred!"
+
+"Harold and Wilfred?" echoed her aunt, opening wide her soft dark eyes.
+"What _do_ you mean, May?"
+
+May coloured hotly, but stuck to her point. "Well," she said, "you know
+Uncle Frederick was saying the other day that Willy ought to have change
+of air; and you said you couldn't afford to send him to the seaside just
+now; and--and I think Cecile thinks they ought to have new walking
+suits; and all the while I have so many expensive new frocks. I can't
+bear it. It isn't really fair."
+
+Then Mrs. Dormer-Smith found herself compelled to assure her niece that
+no penny of the cost of her toilet came out of Uncle Frederick's pocket,
+and reading a further question in the girl's face, she hastened to
+anticipate it by adding, "The arrangements made for you here, May, are
+in entire accordance with your father's wishes. There has been a
+correspondence with him on the subject, and he wrote quite distinctly;
+otherwise your uncle and I would not have undertaken to bring you out."
+
+"I hope," said May, "that papa does not deprive himself of anything for
+me. He used not to be at all well off, I know. I can remember when I was
+a little thing in Bruges."
+
+"Augustus deprives himself of _nothing_," answered Mrs. Dormer-Smith
+softly, but emphatically. "Pray say no more on the subject, my dear.
+This sort of thing makes my head ache."
+
+Her conscience being thus relieved, May accepted and enjoyed her new
+finery and her new life. She found that "taking up one's position in
+society" involved pleasanter things than being presented at a
+Drawing-room. It was delightful to be tastefully and becomingly dressed.
+It was agreeable to be sure of plenty of partners at every dance. It was
+satisfactory to have so admirable a chaperon as Aunt Pauline. One could
+no more form a fair judgment of that lady from knowing her only in
+domestic life, than one could fully appreciate a swan from seeing it on
+dry land. In the congenial element of "society," her merits were
+exhibited to the utmost advantage. They were, indeed, greater than May
+had any idea of; Mrs. Dormer-Smith's tact in warding off ineligible
+partners, and securing as far as possible eligible ones for her niece,
+was masterly. But May admired her aunt's unruffled temper and gentle
+grace. She had been quick to find out--with some astonishment, but
+beyond the possibility of doubt--that fine people can be exceedingly
+rude on occasion; and she observed with pride that Aunt Pauline was
+never rude. Moreover, Aunt Pauline's softness of manner was a far more
+effectual protection against impertinence, than the _brusquerie_
+affected by sundry ladies who forgot the wisdom embodied in the homely
+saying, that "those who play at bowls must look out for rubbers;" and
+who were always liable to be vanquished by greater insolence than their
+own.
+
+May soon began to be reticent of her real sentiments and opinions in
+speaking to her aunt and uncle. She felt that nine times out of ten she
+was not understood; or, which was worse, was misunderstood. But in
+writing to her dear granny, she frankly and fully poured out all her
+heart. These letters were the joy and consolation of Mrs. Dobbs's life.
+Every minutest detail interested her. She laughed over May's description
+of the Drawing-room, and read it out aloud to Jo Weatherhead by way of a
+wholesome corrective to his Tory prejudices.
+
+But at the same time she secretly treasured a copy of the _Morning Post_
+containing Miss Miranda Cheffington's name, and a description of Miss
+Miranda Cheffington's toilet on that occasion. And she listened, with a
+complacency of which she was more than half ashamed, to Mrs. Simpson's
+ecstasies on the subject; and to the scraps of information which the
+good-natured Amelia quoted--generally incorrectly--from social gossip
+setting forth how Mrs. Dormer-Smith and her niece, Miss Miranda
+Cheffington, had been present at this or that grand entertainment. These
+things might appear frivolous; but was it not for this end, to put May
+in her right place in the world, to give her her birthright, that Mrs.
+Dobbs had made a great sacrifice? Jo Weatherhead understood this so
+well, that the "fashionable intelligence" in the local newspapers
+assumed a quite pathetic interest in his eyes. When he went to drink tea
+with his old friend in the parlour of her new abode with its trashy,
+stuccoed ceiling, miserably thin walls, and squeezed little fireplace,
+he felt it to be a positive comfort to pull from his pocket a copy of
+the _Court Journal_ or other equally polite print, and read aloud to
+Sarah some paragraph in which May's name occurred. It was a consolation,
+too, to let himself be lectured and laughed at by Sarah for his absurd
+admiration of the aristocracy. And he took every opportunity of
+combating her Radicalism, in order that she might victoriously vindicate
+the steadfastness of her political principles.
+
+Meanwhile, Captain Cheffington saw the accounts of his daughter's
+appearance in the fashionable world, and began to think that he had been
+too easy in giving his consent to it. He had got nothing by it; and
+perhaps something might have been got. He wrote twice to Pauline,
+urgently requiring her to tell him what was the exact sum which Mrs.
+Dobbs paid for her grand-daughter's maintenance. That it was handsome he
+did not doubt; knowing by experience that the Dormer-Smiths would not
+contribute a shilling. Pauline had replied evasively to the first
+letter, and not at all to the second, with the result that Augustus's
+imagination absurdly exaggerated Mrs. Dobbs's wealth. The old woman must
+be rolling in money after all! Had May's allowance been a small one, his
+sister would not have hesitated to tell him the exact sum. It was clear
+to his mind that the Dormer-Smiths were making an uncommonly good thing
+of it, and he was decidedly disinclined to leave all the profit to them.
+He wrote off to Oldchester a demand for money on his own account. It was
+refused; and his anger was very bitter. He even began to cherish a
+grudge against May. Why should she be surrounded by luxury, enjoying all
+the gaieties of London, and taking a social position to which her only
+claim was the fact of being _his_ daughter, whilst he lived the life of
+an outcast? He went so far as to threaten to come to England and bring
+away his daughter: having some idea that Mrs. Dobbs might ransom May,
+and pension him off. But the energy which might once upon a time have
+enabled Augustus Cheffington to take this strong step had waned long
+ago. He had grown inert. And, above all, the circumstances of his
+private life rendered such independent action difficult, if not
+impossible.
+
+It presently began to be reported amongst Mrs. Dormer-Smith's
+acquaintance, with other items of tea-table gossip, that "little May
+Cheffington had a rich old grandmother somewhere down in the country."
+Theodore Bransby, who was admitted as a familiar visitor at the
+Dormer-Smiths', and who made a parade of his intimacy with the
+Cheffingtons, was interrogated on the subject. He maintained a cautious
+reserve in his replies:--"He really could say nothing; he had no idea
+what the old lady's means might be; he could scarcely, in fact, be said
+to know her at all." Wishing, as he did, completely to ignore that
+objectionable old ironmonger's widow, it was irritating to find her
+existence known, and her means discussed, in London. To be sure, no one
+troubled himself to inquire "Who is she?" general interest being
+exclusively concentrated on the question, "What has she?" Theodore's
+reticence was by no means attributed to its real cause. People said that
+young Bransby was looking after the girl himself, and wanted to choke
+off possible rivals. Theodore did, indeed, push himself as far as
+possible into every house which May frequented. There were some still
+inaccessible to him; but he had patience and perseverance. And he was
+constantly meeting May in the course of the season. She was far more
+pleased to see him in London than she had ever been in Oldchester. He
+was associated with persons whom she loved: and on many occasions when
+ball-room lookers-on pronounced Miss Cheffington and young Bransby to be
+"spooning awfully," May was talking with animation of his half-brothers,
+Bobby and Billy, of the dear old canon and her friend Constance, or even
+of Mr. and Mrs. Sebastian Bach Simpson. Theodore had no relish for these
+topics; but it was better to talk with May of them, than not to talk
+with her at all. And to the girl, he seemed the only link between her
+present life and the dear Oldchester days.
+
+At the beginning of June, however, he ceased to have this exclusive
+claim on her attention. One fine day Aunt Pauline, returning from an
+afternoon drive with her niece, found a large visiting card with "The
+Misses Piper" engraved on it with many elaborate flourishes, whilst
+underneath was written in pencil "Miss Hadlow."
+
+"Piper!" said Pauline, languidly dropping her eyeglass, and looking
+round at May. "What can this mean?"
+
+"Oh, it means Miss Polly and Miss Patty and my schoolfellow Constance
+Hadlow!" cried May, clapping her hands. "Fancy Conny being in town! I
+dare say the Pipers invited her on a visit. I'm so glad!"
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith's countenance expressed anything but gladness; and she
+privately informed May that it would be impossible to do more than send
+cards to these ladies by the servant. "I _can't_ have them here on my
+Thursdays, you know, May," she said plaintively, and with an injured
+air.
+
+Three months ago May would have indignantly protested against this tone,
+and would have pointed out that it would be unfeeling and ungrateful on
+her part to slight her old friends. But she had by this time learned to
+understand how unavailing were all such representations to convince Aunt
+Pauline, in whose code personal sentiments of goodwill towards one's
+neighbour had to yield to the higher law of duty towards "Society."
+
+"Perhaps," said May, after a pause, "if you cannot go yourself, Uncle
+Frederick would take me to Miss Piper's some Sunday after church, when
+we go for a walk with the children. You see they have written 'Sundays'
+on the corner of their card."
+
+"Oh, do you think they would be satisfied with that sort of thing?"
+asked her aunt.
+
+"They are most kind, good-natured old ladies," pursued May. "They
+wouldn't mind the children at all. Indeed, they like children. And as to
+coming to your Thursdays, Aunt Pauline, I really don't think they would
+care to do it. Music is their great passion--at least, Miss Polly's
+great passion--and when they are in London I think they go to concerts
+morning, noon, and night. Miss Hadlow is different. Her grandpapa was a
+Rivers," added May, blushing at her own wiliness, "and she is very
+handsome, and sure to be asked out a great deal."
+
+But May's profound strategy did not end here. She coaxed Uncle Frederick
+by representing what a treat it would be to Harold and Wilfred to go out
+visiting with papa. Those young gentlemen, privately incited by hints of
+possible plum-cake, were soon all eagerness to go; and when, on the very
+next Sunday, May set off with her uncle and cousins to walk to Miss
+Piper's lodgings, she felt that she had achieved a diplomatic triumph.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+
+Those Oldchester persons who considered Miss Piper's artistic tendencies
+responsible for her occasional freedom of speech would have been
+confirmed in their opinion as to the demoralizing tendency of Art and
+Continental travel had they known how the daughters of the late Reverend
+Reuben Piper employed Sunday afternoon in London. Miss Patty herself had
+been startled at first by the idea of not only receiving callers, but
+listening to profane music on that day; and the sisters had had some
+discussion about it. When Patty demurred to the suggestion, Polly
+inquired whether she truly and conscientiously considered that there was
+anything more intrinsically wrong in seeing one's friends and opening
+one's piano on a Sunday than on a Monday.
+
+"No; of course not _that_," answered Patty. "If I thought it wrong, I
+shouldn't discuss it even with you. I should simply refuse to have
+anything to do with it."
+
+"I know that, Patty," said her sister. "And I hope I am not altogether
+without a conscience either."
+
+"No, Polly; but would you do this in Oldchester?"
+
+"Certainly not."
+
+"Then that's what I say. We ought not to have two weights and two
+measures. If a thing is objectionable in Oldchester, it is objectionable
+in London."
+
+"Not at all. Circumstances alter cases. I may think it a good thing to
+take a sponge-bath every morning; but I should not take it in public."
+
+"Polly! How can you?"
+
+"What I mean is, that, so long as we are not a stumbling-block of
+offence to other people, we have a right to please ourselves in this
+matter."
+
+So Miss Polly's will prevailed, as it prevailed with her sister upon
+most occasions; and the Sunday receptions became an established custom.
+
+The house in which the Miss Pipers lodged when they came to London was
+in a street leading out of Hanover Square. The lower part of it was
+occupied by a fashionable tailor--a tailor so genteel and exclusive that
+he scorned any appeal to the general public, and merely had the word
+"Groll" (which was his name) woven into the wire blind that shaded his
+parlour window. The rooms above were sufficiently spacious, and were,
+moreover, lofty--a great point in Miss Polly's opinion, as being good
+for sound. They were furnished comfortably, albeit rather dingily. But a
+few flower-pots, photographic albums, and bits of crochet-work,
+scattered here and there, answered the purpose--if not of decoration, at
+least of showing decorative intention. A grand pianoforte, bestriding a
+large tract of carpet in the very middle of the front drawing-room,
+conspicuously asserted its importance over all the rest of the
+furniture.
+
+May and her uncle, accompanied by the two little boys, were shown
+upstairs, and, the door of the drawing-room being thrown open, they
+found themselves confronted by a rather numerous assembly. The last bars
+of a pianoforte-piece were being performed amidst the profound silence
+of the auditors, and the newly arrived party stood still near the door,
+waiting until the music should come to an end.
+
+At the piano sat a smooth-faced young gentleman playing a series of
+incoherent discords with an air of calm resolve. Immediately behind him
+stood an elderly man of gentleman-like appearance, whom May found
+herself watching, as one watches a person swallowing something nauseous,
+and involuntarily expecting him to "make a face" as each new dissonance
+was crashed out close to his ear. But his amiable countenance remained
+so serene and satisfied, that the doubt crossed her mind whether he
+might not possibly be deaf. In the embrasure of a window stood a very
+tall, thin man, whose bald head was encircled by a fringe of grizzled
+red hair, and whose eyes were fast shut. But as he stood up perfectly
+erect, with his hands folded in a prayerful attitude on his waistcoat,
+it was obvious that he was not asleep. Miss Piper was seated with her
+back towards the door and her face towards the pianist, so that May
+could not see it. But the composer of "Esther" nodded her head
+approvingly at every fresh harmonic catastrophe which convulsed the
+keyboard. Her satisfaction seemed to be shared by a stout lady of
+majestic mien, who sat near her and fired off exclamations of eulogium,
+such as "Charming!" "Wonderful modulation!" "Intensely wrought out," and
+so on--like minute guns; and with a certain air of suppressed
+exasperation, as though she suspected that there _might_ be persons who
+didn't like it, and was ready to defy them to the death. A dark-eyed
+girl, very plainly dressed, and holding a little leather music-roll in
+her hand, occupied a modest place behind this lady. Sitting close to the
+dark-eyed girl was a man of about thirty-five years old, well-featured,
+short in stature, and with reddish blonde hair and moustaches. This
+personage's countenance expressed a singular mixture of audacity and
+servility. His smile was at once impudent and false, and he listened to
+the music with a pretentious air of knowledge and authority. The rest of
+the company, with Miss Patty, were relegated, during the performance, to
+the back drawing-room, where tea was served; and the folding-doors were
+closed, lest the clink of a teaspoon, or the sibillation of a whisper,
+should penetrate to the music-room. But, in truth, nothing less than a
+crash of all the crockery on the table, and a simultaneous bellow from
+all the guests, could have competed successfully with the
+pianoforte-piece then in progress.
+
+At length, with one final bang, it came to an end, and there was a
+general stir and movement among the company. The amiable-looking elderly
+man advanced towards Miss Piper with a most beaming smile, and said, in
+a soft refined voice--
+
+"That is the right way, isn't it? One knows the sort of thing said by
+people who don't understand this school of music, the only music, in
+fact; but I have long been sure that this is the right way."
+
+"Of course, it is the right way," exclaimed the stout lady, breathing
+indignation, not loud but deep, against all heretics and schismatics.
+
+"We are so very, very much obliged to you, Mr. Turner," said the
+hostess. "That new composition of yours is really wonderful!" (And so,
+indeed, it was.)
+
+As Miss Piper went up to the young gentleman who had been playing the
+piano, and who remained quite cool and unmoved by the demonstrations of
+his audience, she caught sight of the group near the door, and hastened
+to welcome them. May was received with enthusiasm, and her uncle with
+one of Miss Piper's best old-fashioned curtsies. Mr. Dormer-Smith began
+to apologize for bringing his little boys, and to explain that he had
+not expected to find so numerous an assembly; but Miss Piper cut him
+short with hearty assurances that they were very welcome, and that her
+sister in particular was very fond of children. Then, the doors being by
+this time reopened, she ushered them all into the back room, crying--
+
+"Patty! Patty! Who do you think is here? May Cheffington!" and then Miss
+Patty added her welcome to that of her sister.
+
+Harold and Wilfred had been shyly dumb hitherto, although once or twice
+during the pianoforte-playing Wilfred had only saved himself from
+breaking into a shrill wail and begging to be taken home, by burying his
+face in the skirts of May's dress; but on beholding plum-cake and other
+good things set forth on the tea-table, they felt that life had
+compensations still. They took a fancy also to the Miss Pipers, finding
+their eccentric ornaments a mine of interest; and before three minutes
+had elapsed Harold was devouring a liberal slice of cake, and Wilfred,
+seated close to kind Miss Patty, was diversifying his enjoyment of the
+cake by a close and curious inspection of that lady's bracelet, taken
+off for his amusement, and endeavouring to count the various geological
+specimens of which it was composed.
+
+As soon as May appeared in the back drawing-room, Constance Hadlow rose
+from her seat in a corner behind the tea-table, and greeted her.
+
+"Dear Conny," cried May, "I am so glad to see you! Then you are staying
+with the Miss Pipers! I guessed you were."
+
+Mr. Dormer-Smith was then duly presented to Miss Hadlow. Constance was
+in very good looks, and her beauty and the quiet ease of her manner made
+a very favourable impression on May's uncle.
+
+Miss Hadlow found a seat for him near herself; and then turned again to
+May, saying, "There is another Oldchester friend whom you have not yet
+spoken to. You remember my cousin Owen?"
+
+May's experience of society had not yet toned down her manner to "that
+repose which stamps the caste of Vere de Vere." She heartily shook hands
+with the young man, exclaiming, "This is a day of joyful surprises. I
+didn't expect to see you, Mr. Rivers. Now, if we only had the dear
+canon, and Mrs. Hadlow, and granny, I think I should be _quite_ happy."
+
+"You are not a bit changed," said Owen Rivers, giving May his chair, and
+standing beside her in the lounging attitude so familiar to her in the
+garden at College Quad.
+
+"Changed! What should change me?"
+
+"The world."
+
+"What nonsense!" cried May, with her old schoolgirl bluntness. "As if I
+had not been living in the world all my life!"
+
+Mr. Rivers raised his eyebrows with an amused smile.
+
+"Well, _isn't_ it nonsense," pursued May, "to talk as if a few hundred
+or thousand persons in one town--though that town is London--made up the
+world?"
+
+"It is a phrase which every one uses, and every one understands."
+
+"But every one does not understand it alike."
+
+"Perhaps not."
+
+"What did you mean by it, just now?"
+
+"What could I mean but the world of fashion, _the_ world par excellence?
+Rightly so-called, no doubt, since it affords the best field for the
+exercise of the higher and nobler human faculties. Those who are not in
+it exist, indeed; but with a half-developed, inferior kind of life, like
+a jelly-fish."
+
+May laughed her frank young laugh.
+
+"You're not changed either!" she said emphatically.
+
+"Did you enjoy the performance with which that young gentleman has been
+obliging us?" asked Rivers.
+
+"I only heard the end of it."
+
+"Very diplomatically answered."
+
+"Are you fond of music, Mr. Rivers?"
+
+"Yes, of _music_--very fond."
+
+"So am I; but I know very little about it. Granny is a good musician."
+
+"How fond you are of Mrs. Dobbs!" said Rivers.
+
+"I am very proud of her, too," answered May quickly.
+
+Owen Rivers looked at her with a singular expression, half-admiring,
+half-tenderly, pitying--as one might look at a child whose innocent
+candour is as yet "unspotted from the world."
+
+"I suppose you know all the people here," said May, looking round on the
+assembly.
+
+"I know who they are, most of them."
+
+"That gentleman who was standing by himself at the window--the tall
+gentleman--who is he?"
+
+"Mr. Jawler, a great musical critic."
+
+"And the pleasant-faced man who seemed so delighted with the playing?"
+
+"Mr. Sweeting. He is an enthusiastic admirer and patron of young
+Cleveland Turner, the pianist: a very kindly, amiable, courteous
+gentleman, with much money and leisure, as I am told."
+
+"That stout lady talking to Miss Piper seems to be musical also?"
+
+"That is Lady Moppett: a very good sort of woman, I dare say, but
+fanatical. She would bowstring all us dogs of Christians who believe in
+melody."
+
+"And who is that disagreeable little man in the corner?"
+
+"Disagreeable----?"
+
+"The little man with moustaches. There. Close to the nice-looking,
+dark-eyed girl."
+
+"Oh, that man? But he is not considered disagreeable by the world in
+general, Miss Cheffington! He is by way of being a rather fascinating
+individual: Signor Vincenzo Valli, singing-master, and composer of
+songs. I wonder why he condescends to favour Miss Piper with his
+presence."
+
+"Is it a condescension?"
+
+"A great condescension. Signor Valli is nothing, if not aristocratic."
+
+At this moment there was a general movement in the other room. The young
+pianist seated himself once more at the instrument. The various groups
+of talkers dispersed, and took their places to listen. May whispered
+nervously to Miss Patty, that perhaps she and her uncle had better go,
+and take away the children before the music commenced.
+
+"I am so afraid," she said naďvely, "that Willy may cry if that
+gentleman plays again."
+
+Miss Patty found a way out of the difficulty by taking the children away
+to her own room. It was no deprivation to her, she said, not to hear Mr.
+Turner play.
+
+So the two little boys, laden with good things, and further enticed by
+the promise of picture-books, trotted off very contentedly under Miss
+Patty's wing. Mr. Dormer-Smith had passed into the front drawing-room,
+where he was chatting with Lady Moppett, who proved to be an old
+acquaintance of his. May was following her uncle to explain to him about
+the children, when Miss Piper hurried up to her with an anxious and
+important mien.
+
+"Sit down, my dear," she said; "sit down. Cleveland Turner is going to
+play that fine Beethoven, the one in F minor, the opera 57, you know.
+Mr. Jawler particularly wishes to hear him perform it."
+
+May glanced round, and seeing no place vacant near at hand, returned to
+the other room, and took a seat close to the folding-doors, which were
+now left open.
+
+"What is our sentence?" asked Rivers.
+
+"Do you mean what is he going to play? A piece of Beethoven's."
+
+"Ah! Well, at least he will have something to say this time. Remains to
+be seen whether he can say it."
+
+Mr. Cleveland Turner performed the _sonata appassionata_ correctly,
+although coldly, and with a certain hardness of style and touch. But the
+beauty of the composition made itself irresistibly felt, and when the
+piece was finished there was a murmur of applause. Mr. Jawler opened his
+eyes, inclined his head, opened his eyes again, and said, apparently to
+himself, "Yes, yes--oh yes!" which seemed to be interpreted as an
+expression of approval; for Miss Piper looked radiant, and even the icy
+demeanour of Mr. Cleveland Turner thawed half a degree or so. Signor
+Valli had applauded in a peculiar fashion--opening his arms wide, and
+bringing his gloved hands together with apparent force, but so as to
+produce no sound whatever. And as he went through this dumb show of
+applause, he was talking all the time to the dark-eyed girl near him,
+with a sneering smile on his face.
+
+Miss Piper bustled up to them. "Dear Miss Bertram," she said, "you must
+let us hear your charming voice. Mr. Jawler has heard of you. He would
+like you to sing something. Signor Valli," with clasped hands, "_might_
+I entreat you to accompany Miss Bertram in one of your own exquisite
+compositions? It would be such a treat--such a musical feast, I may
+say!"
+
+Miss Bertram unrolled her music-case in a business-like way, and spread
+its contents before the singing-master.
+
+"What are you going to sing, Clara?" asked Lady Moppett, turning her
+head over her shoulder.
+
+"Signor Valli will choose," answered the young lady quietly.
+
+Valli selected a song and offered his arm to Miss Bertram to lead her to
+the piano. She did not accept it instantly, being occupied in replacing
+the rest of her music in its case; and with a sudden, impatient gesture,
+Valli wheeled round and walked to the piano alone. Miss Bertram followed
+him composedly, and took her place beside him. May looked at her with
+interest, as she stood there during the few bars of introduction to the
+song.
+
+Clara Bertram was not beautiful, but she had a singularly attractive
+face. Her dark eyes were not nearly so large, nor so finely set, as
+Constance Hadlow's, but they were infinitely more expressive, and her
+rather wide mouth revealed a magnificent set of teeth when she smiled or
+sang. The song selected for her was one of those compositions which, if
+ill-sung, or even only tolerably sung, would pass unnoticed. But Miss
+Bertram sang it to perfection. Her voice was very beautiful, with
+something peculiarly pathetic in its vibrating tones, and she pronounced
+the Italian words with a pure, unaffected, and finished accent.
+
+"Oh, how lovely!" exclaimed May, under her breath, when the song was
+over.
+
+"Isn't it?" said Miss Piper, who happened to be near enough to catch the
+words. "I am so glad you are pleased with her! Do you think Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith would like her to sing now and then at a _soirée_? She
+wants to get known in really good houses."
+
+Before May could answer the little woman had hurried off again, and in
+another minute was leading Miss Bertram up to Mr. Jawler, who spoke to
+the young singer with evident affability, keeping his eyes open for a
+full minute at a time.
+
+Meanwhile Valli was left alone at the piano, and an ugly look came into
+his face as he glanced round and saw himself neglected. But his
+expression changed in an instant with curious suddenness when Miss
+Hadlow drew near, and, leaning on the instrument, addressed some words
+of compliment to him.
+
+"Will you not let us hear you sing, Signor Valli?" she said presently.
+
+Valli merely shook his head in answer, keeping his eyes fixed on Miss
+Hadlow's face with a look of bold admiration, and letting his fingers
+stray softly over the keys.
+
+"Oh, that is a terrible disappointment!"
+
+"I don't think so," replied the singing-master, speaking very good
+English.
+
+"It is, indeed."
+
+Again he shook his head.
+
+"It is to me, at all events."
+
+"Well, I shall sing for you; a little song _sotto voce_, all to
+ourselves."
+
+"Oh, but that would be too selfish on my part, to enjoy your singing all
+to myself."
+
+"It is a very good plan to be selfish," returned Valli; and forthwith he
+began a little Neapolitan love-song--murmuring, rather than singing
+it--and still keeping his eyes fixed on Miss Hadlow.
+
+At the first sound of his voice, low and subdued though it was, Miss
+Piper held up her finger to bespeak silence. There was a general hush.
+Every one looked towards the piano, against which Constance was still
+leaning, with her back to the rest of the company. She made a little
+movement to withdraw to a seat, but Valli immediately ceased singing,
+and, under cover of a noisy _ritournelle_ which he played on the piano,
+said to her, "I am singing for you. If you go away, my song will go away
+too."
+
+"But I can't stand here by myself, Signor Valli," protested Constance,
+by no means displeased. At this moment Miss Piper approached to implore
+the _maestro_ to continue, and Constance whispered to her in a few words
+the state of the case.
+
+"Caprices of genius, my dear," said the little woman. "When you have
+seen as much of professional people as I have, you will not be
+astonished." Then to Valli, "Will you not continue that exquisite air?
+We are all dying to hear it."
+
+"Yes; on condition that you both stay there and inspire me," answered
+he, with an unconcealed sneer.
+
+Miss Piper, however, took him at his word, and, linking her arm in
+Constance's, remained standing close to the instrument. Valli, upon
+this, resumed his song. He gave it now at the full pitch of his voice,
+addressing it ostentatiously to Miss Hadlow, and throwing an exaggerated
+amount of expression into the love passages. Miss Piper was enchanted,
+and led off the applause enthusiastically. Valli was soon surrounded by
+a group of admirers, Mr. Dormer-Smith among them. May was conscious of a
+painful impression, which destroyed any pleasure she might have had in
+the song. And that Owen Rivers shared this impression was proved by his
+walking up to the piano, and unceremoniously putting his cousin's hand
+on his arm to lead her away.
+
+"Oh, don't take Conny away, Mr. Rivers," cried Miss Piper. "Signor Valli
+is going to favour us with some more of his delicious national airs."
+
+"Come and sit down, Constance," said Owen authoritatively. "Let me get
+you a seat also, Miss Piper," he added. "It can scarcely be necessary
+for the due exhibition of this gentleman's national airs to keep two
+ladies standing."
+
+"Oh no, no; please don't mind me. I'm quite comfortable," said Miss
+Piper, with a shade of vexation on her good-humoured round face.
+
+Constance remained perfectly calm and self-possessed; only a faint smile
+and a sparkle in her eyes revealed a gratified vanity as she took the
+chair near May, to which her cousin conducted her.
+
+Miss Piper shrugged up her shoulders and pursed up her mouth. "He has no
+idea what artists are," she whispered in Lady Moppett's ear. "And,
+besides, poor dear young man, he's so desperately in love with his
+cousin that he can't bear her to be even looked at. I only hope Signor
+Valli won't take offence."
+
+But Valli, finding himself now the object of general attention, was very
+gracious. He sang song after song without the inspiration of Miss
+Hadlow's handsome face opposite to him; and he sang far better than
+before;--with less exaggeration, and managing his naturally defective
+voice with singular skill and _finesse_. But the praise and flattery
+which his hearers poured forth unstintingly did not seem quite to
+satisfy him. His glance wandered restlessly, as though in search of
+something; and finally, after a very clever rendering of an old air by
+Carissimi, he addressed himself suddenly to Miss Bertram, who was
+standing somewhat apart in the background, and asked, in Italian--
+
+"Is the Signorina content?"
+
+"I always like your singing of that aria," she answered, in a quiet,
+matter-of-fact tone.
+
+"Like it, indeed!" exclaimed Lady Moppett, with her severest manner. "I
+should think you did like it, Clara! And you ought to profit by it. To
+hear singing so finished--of such a perfect school--is a lesson for
+you."
+
+Valli, upon this, made a low bow to Lady Moppett--a bow so low as to
+seem almost burlesque. As he raised his face again he turned it towards
+Miss Bertram with a subtle smile, saying, "Miladi is such a judge! Her
+praise is very precious." Clara, however, kept an impassive countenance,
+and declined to meet the glance he shot at her. Then Valli made a second
+and equally low bow to the hostess, and, cutting short her ecstatic
+compliments and thanks, left the room without further ceremony.
+
+The party now broke up. Lady Moppett departed with Miss Bertram and Mr.
+Jawler, to whom she offered a seat in her carriage. Mr. Cleveland Turner
+and his patron, Mr. Sweeting, went away together. In a few minutes there
+remained Mr. Dormer-Smith, with his niece, and Owen Rivers. Miss Patty
+bustled in with the two children.
+
+"Dear me," said she. "Is the music all over? Well, now let us be
+comfortable."
+
+But Mr. Dormer-Smith declared he must reluctantly bring his visit to an
+end. "I don't know how to thank you," said he to Miss Patty, "for your
+kindness to my children. I hope you will forgive me for bringing them."
+
+Miss Patty heartily assured him that there was nothing to forgive, and
+that she hoped he would bring them again. She had gathered from the
+artless utterances of Harold and Wilfred an idea of their home life,
+which made her feel compassionately towards them.
+
+As for Miss Polly, she was in the highest spirits. Mr. Jawler and Signor
+Valli, both stars of considerable magnitude in the musical world, had
+shone for her with unclouded lustre. It had been, she thought, a highly
+successful afternoon. So also thought Harold and Wilfred. And perhaps
+these were the only three persons who had enjoyed themselves thoroughly
+and unaffectedly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+
+The London season proceeded with its usual accumulation of engagements,
+its usual breathless chase after half-hours that have got too long a
+start ever to be recaptured, its usual fleeting satisfactions and
+abiding disappointments, its snubs, sneers, smiles, follies, falsehoods,
+and flirtations. The rushing current of fashionable life in London
+carried little May Cheffington on its surface, together with many brazen
+vessels of a very different kind. Constance Hadlow observed
+half-enviously to her friend that she was thoroughly "in the swim," a
+phrase which May found singularly inappropriate in her own case, feeling
+that there was no more question of a swim than in shooting Niagara! To
+her, especially, the whirl of society was confusing, phantasmagoric, and
+unreal. All the faces were new to her, most of the names awoke no
+associations in her mind. On the other hand, this peculiar inexperience
+gave freshness to her impressions and keenness to her insight. She had
+none of those social traditions which, nine times out of ten, supply the
+place of private judgment. She found her impression of many personages
+startlingly at variance with the label which the world had agreed to
+affix to them. It is possible to be at once simple and shrewd, just as
+it is possible to be both _rusé_ and dull-witted.
+
+May's simplicity was not of the blundering thick-skinned type; and her
+ingenuous freshness was admired by a great many persons, among whom was
+Mrs. Griffin. Far from being offended by May's moral indignation against
+those who accepted the hospitality of vulgar people, and then ridiculed
+them for being vulgar, Mrs. Griffin entirely approved her sentiments.
+Mrs. Griffin herself deplored, as she often said, "the servility towards
+mere money, which was degrading the tone of society." And whenever any
+new instance of it came to her knowledge, she would shake her head, and
+exclaim, softly, "Oh, Mammon, Mammon!" But this did not, of course,
+apply to her daughter the duchess, who sometimes went to the
+Aaronssohns'. Her daughter was so very great a lady as to be above
+ordinary restrictions. Other people worshipped Mammon; the duchess only
+patronized Mammon--which was, surely, a very different thing!
+
+Aunt Pauline, however, derived no gratification from May's
+unconventional frankness. It was, on the contrary, a source of constant
+anxiety to her; and she felt daily more and more that it would be a
+relief to get May off her hands. Introducing her niece into
+society--even although the niece was a pretty girl, and a Cheffington to
+boot--had not proved so pleasing a task as she had anticipated. There
+was, to her thinking, a strange perversity in the girl's character,
+which made her callous where she should be sensitive, and sensitive
+where she might well be indifferent. For instance, she showed culpable
+coolness about her great-uncle Castlecombe and his family, and provoking
+warmth about her Oldchester friends. Not that May was apt to speak much
+of her life in Oldchester. In the natural course of things she would
+have talked freely and eagerly about her dear granny; but very soon
+after her arrival in London, her affectionate loquacity on this subject
+received a check. Aunt Pauline had hinted, with her usual mild
+politeness, that it would be desirable not to speak of Mrs. Dobbs before
+Smithson or any of the servants. Seeing the startled look in May's eyes,
+and the indignant flush on May's cheeks, her aunt added diplomatically,
+"Your father would not like it, May. I am trying to carry out his
+expressed wishes. That ought to be enough for you."
+
+It was enough, at all events, to close May's lips. Her love and pride
+combined to make her silent. She tried to persuade herself that her
+father, at all events, had some good and reasonable motive for this
+prohibition, and that he, at least, was not ashamed of Mrs.
+Dobbs--ashamed of granny! The very thought made her hot with anger. But
+that Aunt Pauline was ashamed of her was too clear to May's honest mind.
+Painful as this conviction was, however, she came by degrees to hold it
+rather in sorrow than in anger, and to regard her aunt with something of
+the same indulgent toleration that Mrs. Dobbs had once expressed to Jo
+Weatherhead. For Mrs. Dormer-Smith's worldliness was not at all of a
+cynical sort. It was rather in the nature of a deep-rooted superstition
+conscientiously held.
+
+To some points of her worldly creed Pauline clung with religious
+fervour. One of these was the duty incumbent on a dowerless young lady
+to marry well. To marry _very_ well was to marry a man with birth and
+money; but to secure a husband with money only--provided there were
+enough of it--she allowed to be marrying well. She did not look at the
+matter with vulgar flippancy. It was, no doubt, a sacrifice for a
+well-born woman to become the wife of an underbred man, however wealthy.
+But well-born women were no less called upon than their humbler sisters
+to make sacrifices in a good cause.
+
+None of the Castlecombes much frequented fashionable society, and Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith had hitherto resigned herself, without much difficulty, to
+seeing very little of her noble kinsfolk. But when May was introduced,
+her aunt thought it desirable to cultivate them. Lord Castlecombe's big,
+gloomy, family mansion in town had been let ever since his wife's death
+many years ago; and whenever his lordship came to London to give his
+vote in the House of Peers--which was almost the sole object that had
+power to bring him up from the country--he occupied furnished lodgings.
+Of his two sons, both bachelors, the elder was governor of a colony on
+the other side of the globe, and the younger held a permanent post under
+Government. This Lucius Cheffington occasionally met Mr. Dormer-Smith at
+the club, and exchanged a few words with him. Captain Cheffington, on
+his penultimate visit to England, when his ungrateful country declined
+to provide for him, had quarrelled with all the Castlecombes, and had
+made himself particularly obnoxious to Lucius; for Lucius, whom his
+cousin considered a solemn ass, held a lucrative place, whilst Augustus,
+who knew himself to be a remarkably clever fellow, with immense
+knowledge of the world, was relegated to poverty and obscurity. But
+Pauline had not quarrelled with them. She would not willingly have
+quarrelled with any one, least of all with her Uncle Castlecombe and his
+family. And as to Mr. Dormer-Smith, it chanced that the one point of
+sympathy between himself and his cousin-in-law Lucius was the latter's
+cordial dislike to Gus. Nevertheless, the dislike did not descend to
+Gus's daughter. Lucius was pleased to approve of his young kinswoman,
+none the less, perhaps, that it was evident her father troubled himself
+little about her.
+
+Mr. Dormer-Smith knew very well that the most effectual way of winning
+Lord Castlecombe's goodwill for his grand-niece was to assure his
+lordship that he would not be called upon to do anything for her. He,
+therefore, confidentially informed Lucius that the girl's grandmother in
+Oldchester was defraying her expenses, and would, no doubt, eventually
+provide for her altogether. The sagacity of this course was proved soon
+afterwards, when Lucius announced that his father would come and dine
+with Pauline the next time he should be in town, and make Miranda's
+acquaintance.
+
+This was well. And even as to May's Oldchester friends matters turned
+out better than her aunt could have hoped. In the first place, the
+Misses Piper showed no disposition whatever to force themselves on Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith. That being the case, there was no objection to May's going
+to see them every Sunday with her uncle and the children. To Harold and
+Wilfred these Sunday visits were such a delightful break in the dull
+routine of their lives that their father would have endured considerable
+boredom and discomfort rather than deprive them of it. But, in fact, he
+was not bored. Whenever the music became too severe, he could withdraw
+into the tea-room, where he always found some one to chat with. Possibly
+he, too, felt these Sundays to be a break in the monotony of his daily
+life. There was a cordial, hearty tone about the hostesses which was
+decidedly pleasant, although he was aware that Pauline would pronounce
+it sadly underbred. But Pauline was not there to be shocked, and there
+were some red drops in Mr. Dormer-Smith's veins (he was not quite so
+blue-blooded as his wife) which warmed to this plebeian kindness.
+Sometimes even the moisture would come into his eyes when he watched his
+little boys clinging familiarly about Miss Patty as they never clung
+about their mother. The good-natured old maid had won the children's
+hearts completely. They were overheard one day in a lively discussion as
+to which was the prettier, Miss Patty or Cousin May: Wilfred inclining,
+on the whole, to award the palm of beauty to his cousin, but Harold
+powerfully arguing in favour of Miss Patty that she had such "beautiful
+curls" (an ingenuous, and probably unique, tribute to the ginger-bread
+coloured wig!) and a "shiny brooch like a butterfly."
+
+Then Constance Hadlow, whom Mrs. Dormer-Smith had unwillingly invited to
+lunch one day with her former schoolfellow, proved to be in every
+respect "most presentable," as Aunt Pauline herself candidly admitted.
+So presentable was she in fact, so handsome, self-possessed, and even
+(on the mother's side) well connected, that there might have arisen
+objections of a different sort against receiving her, as being a
+dangerous competitor for that solemn duty of marrying well. But a chance
+word of May's to the effect that young Bransby had long been an admirer
+of Constance, and that they were supposed by many persons in Oldchester
+to be engaged to each other, relieved Aunt Pauline's mind on that score.
+
+"It would be very suitable," she said approvingly. "I think Mr. Bransby
+a very nice person; so quiet."
+
+The subject of this glowing eulogium had not appeared at Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith's receptions for some time. He had been ordered into the
+country, to cure a violent cold by change of air; and although he much
+disliked leaving town at that moment, he never thought of neglecting his
+physician's advice. Theodore's mother had been consumptive; and the fear
+that he inherited her constitution made him anxiously careful of his
+health. Immediately on his return to London he presented himself, about
+half-past five o'clock one Thursday afternoon, in Mrs. Dormer-Smith's
+drawing-room, and experienced a shock of disagreeable surprise on
+finding Constance Hadlow seated near May at the tea-table. May,
+innocently supposing that she was doing him a good turn, gave him her
+place, and went to another part of the room. But Constance coolly
+greeted him with a "How d'ye do, Theodore?" in a tone of the politest
+insipidity, which he sincerely approved of. Nevertheless, he would
+rather not have found her there. On glancing round he was struck by
+several innovations. In the first place, the pianoforte--usually a dumb
+piece of furniture in Mrs. Dormer-Smith's house--stood open, with some
+loose sheets of music lying on it; and Signor Vincenzo Valli sat, teacup
+in hand, smiling his false smile beside Mrs. Griffin. Theodore knew
+perfectly well who Signor Valli was; and it needed not Mrs. Griffin's
+gracious demeanour to instruct this rising young man that Valli was
+sufficiently the fashion to be worth being civil to. But he was
+surprised to find him there. His surprises, however, were not at an end;
+for whom should he behold in familiar conversation with a gentleman at
+the opposite side of the room but Owen Rivers? And near them was--he
+could hardly believe his eyes--Mr. Bragg! It seemed to Theodore as if
+there had been a conspiracy amongst his acquaintance to make all sorts
+of fresh combinations on the social chess-board during his brief
+absence. He felt that it was necessary for him to take an accurate
+survey of the new positions. But he saw no immediate opportunity of
+doing so; for there was no one at hand to interrogate, except Constance
+Hadlow, who, of course, knew nothing. She must be spoken to, however;
+but he would cut the conversation as short as possible.
+
+Thoughts--even the weighty thoughts of a diplomatically-minded young
+gentleman--move quickly, and there was scarcely any perceptible pause
+between Constance's greeting and his gravely polite remark that it was
+quite an unexpected pleasure to see her there.
+
+"Yes; I came up a few weeks ago with the Pipers."
+
+"Oh! you are staying with _them_?" (This with a strong flavour of his
+superior manner; for the Pipers were really nobodies.)
+
+"And what have you been doing with yourself? I haven't seen you
+anywhere," said Constance coolly.
+
+"I have been out of town. But in any case we might possibly not have
+met. Have you been going out much?"
+
+"Oh, as much as most people, I suppose. I was at the Aaronssohns' dance
+last night."
+
+"The Aaronssohns!" exclaimed Theodore. (This time he was so astonished
+that he spoke quite naturally.) "I didn't know that you knew them."
+
+"Oh, I don't know them."
+
+"Then how did you get--I mean----"
+
+"How did I get there? Dear me, Theodore, your visit to the country has
+given you a refreshing buttercup-and-daisy kind of air! Do you suppose
+that the Aaronssohns' ball-room was filled with their personal friends
+and acquaintances? Mrs. Griffin got me an invitation."
+
+Now to be presented to Mrs. Griffin and to be invited to the
+Aaronssohns' were pet objects of Theodore Bransby's social ambition, and
+he had not yet compassed either of them.
+
+"Oh, indeed!" said he, struggling, under the disadvantage of conscious
+ill-humour, to maintain that air of indifference to all things in heaven
+and earth which he imagined to be the completest manifestation of high
+breeding. "I suppose that was achieved through Mrs. Dormer-Smith's
+influence."
+
+"Not altogether. It was May Cheffington who first introduced me to Mrs.
+Griffin. She's just the same dear little thing as ever--I don't mean
+Mrs. Griffin! But Mrs. Griffin found out that she had known my
+grandfather Rivers. I believe they were sweethearts in their pinafores a
+hundred years ago; so she has been awfully nice to me."
+
+While Constance was speaking, Theodore's eye lighted on Mr. Bragg, solid
+and solemn, wearing that look of melancholy respectability which is
+associated with the British workman in his Sunday clothes.
+
+"Oh, and Mr. Bragg was at the Aaronssohns', too," said Constance,
+following the young man's glance. "Fancy Mr. Bragg at a ball!"
+
+"Did Mrs. Griffin know _his_ grandfather?" asked Theodore, with a sneer.
+
+It was clear to Constance that he had quite lost his temper. Otherwise
+he would not, she felt sure, have said anything in such bad taste. But
+she replied calmly--
+
+"I don't think Mr. Bragg ever had a grandfather. But he is rich enough
+to do without one. It is poor persons like you and me who find
+grandfathers necessary--or, at all events, useful."
+
+Theodore understood the sarcasm of this quiet speech, and it helped him
+to master his growing irritation. There are some natures on which a
+moral buffet acts as a sedative.
+
+"Was it your friend Miss Piper who brought Mr. Bragg here?" he asked,
+showing no sign of having felt the blow, except a slight increase of
+pallor.
+
+"Oh dear, no! The Pipers have never been here themselves, except to
+leave a card at the door. This is not the kind of society they care for,
+you know. I saw Mr. Bragg come in to-day with May's cousin, Mr. Lucius
+Cheffington, but I can't say whether he first introduced him or not."
+
+"Is that Mr. Lucius Cheffington?"
+
+"That man talking to Owen?--Yes."
+
+"Mrs. Dormer-Smith has rather a mixed collection this afternoon. I see
+Valli over there. You know who I mean? That short, foreign man near----"
+
+"Oh yes; Signor Valli is a great ally of mine. He's delightful, I think.
+His airs and graces are so amusing. I can tell you how _he_ comes to be
+here, if you like," returned Constance placidly. She was secretly
+enjoying Theodore's discomfiture. He had expected to play the part of
+town mouse, and to patronize and instruct her. "The fact is," she
+continued, "that Lady Moppett begged Mr. Dormer-Smith to induce his wife
+to have her _protégée_, Miss Bertram, to sing here on Thursday
+afternoons, promising, as a kind of bait, to get Valli to come too. I
+don't think Mrs. Dormer-Smith particularly wished to have Miss Bertram;
+but she thought it would be nice to have Valli, who is run after by the
+best people, and is very difficult to get hold of. So the negotiation
+succeeded. It is too funny how one has to _ménager_ and coax these
+professional people. If you don't want any more information just now, I
+think I will go and speak to Mrs. Griffin." Whereupon Constance glided
+away, self-possessed and graceful, and with a becoming touch of
+animation bestowed by the consciousness that she had been mistress of
+the situation.
+
+Theodore looked decidedly blank for the moment. No one bestowed any
+attention on him. As he sat watching, he was struck by the evidently
+familiar way in which Owen Rivers and Mr. Cheffington were talking
+together. He himself particularly desired to be introduced to Lucius
+Cheffington, but a secret, grudging feeling made him unwilling to owe
+the introduction to Rivers. Presently Rivers moved away to join May and
+Miss Bertram, who were turning over some music together, and Mr. Bragg
+took his place near Mr. Cheffington. This was the opportunity which
+Theodore had wished for. He at once rose and walked up to them.
+Theodore's manner was never servile, but there was an added gravity in
+his demeanour towards certain persons, intended to show that he thought
+them worth taking seriously; and this tribute he rendered to Mr. Bragg.
+For, although the young man had by no means forgotten Mr. Bragg's
+deplorable insensibility to an enlightened view of the currency
+question, yet he prided himself on thoroughly understanding that the
+great tin-tack maker's claims to consideration rested on a solid basis
+quite apart from culture or intelligence.
+
+"I wish," said Theodore, after the first salutations, "that you would do
+me the favour to make me known to Mr. Lucius Cheffington. I know so many
+members of his family, but I have not the pleasure of his personal
+acquaintance."
+
+Mr. Bragg eyed him with his usual heavy deliberation. "Oh," said he
+slowly, "this is Mr.--I don't call to mind your Christian name--eh? Oh
+yes--Mr. Theodore Bransby."
+
+Mr. Lucius Cheffington made an unusually low bow, his pride being of the
+sort which manifests itself in the most ceremonious politeness.
+
+He was a small, lean man, with a pale face deeply lined by ill-health
+and a fretful temperament. He had closely shaven cheeks and chin; heavy,
+grizzled moustaches; and very thick, grizzled hair, which he wore rather
+long. His voice was harsh, though subdued, and he spoke very slowly,
+making such long pauses as occasionally tempted unwary strangers to
+finish his sentences for him. A double eyeglass with tortoise-shell rims
+was set astride his nose; and behind the glasses two dark, near-sighted
+eyes looked out, somewhat superciliously, upon a world which fell sadly
+short of what a Cheffington had a right to expect.
+
+"I have the pleasure of knowing your cousin, Captain Augustus
+Cheffington, very well indeed," said Theodore.
+
+Lucius bowed again and adjusted his eyeglass. A shade of surprise and
+annoyance passed over his face. His Cousin Augustus had been a sore
+subject with the family for years; and latterly such rumours as had
+reached England about him had not made the subject more agreeable.
+
+"I have often thought," pursued Theodore, quite unaware that his
+listener was regarding him with a mixture of astonishment and disfavour,
+"that it is a great pity a man of Captain Cheffington's abilities and
+accomplishments should live out of England; unless, indeed, he held some
+diplomatic appointment abroad. In my opinion these are times in which
+the great old families should hold fast by the public service. As I
+ventured to say to one of our county members the other day----" And so
+on, and so on. Having thus happily launched himself, Theodore proceeded
+in his best Parliamentary style: holding forth with a power of
+self-complacent and steady boredom beyond his years. A sensitive person
+would have been petrified by the unsympathizing stare from behind those
+tortoise-shell-rimmed glasses; but Theodore was not sensitive to such
+influences: being fortified by the _ŕ priori_ conviction that he must
+naturally make a favourable impression. And since Lucius Cheffington
+could not, compatibly with his own dignity, plainly tell him that he
+considered him a presumptuous young ass, there was nothing to check his
+flow of eloquence.
+
+But at length the cold stare was softened, and the pale, peevish,
+furrowed face turned to Theodore with a faint show of interest. Some
+casual word of this intrusive young man's seemed to show that he came
+from Oldchester.
+
+"Do you know--a--Mrs.--a--Dobbs?" asked Lucius, speaking for the first
+time, and edging in this point-blank question between two of Theodore's
+neatly-turned sentences setting forth a political parallel between the
+late Lord Tweedledum and the present Right Honourable Tweedledee.
+
+It was a shock; but Theodore bore it stoically.
+
+"Not exactly. I have spoken with her. Mrs. Dobbs is not precisely----in
+our set," he answered, with a slight smile at one corner of his mouth,
+intended to demolish Mrs. Dobbs.
+
+"I thought that, being a native of Oldchester, you might--a--be----"
+begun Mr. Cheffington in his low, harsh tones.
+
+"Be acquainted with her? Really----"
+
+"I thought that, being a native of Oldchester, you might--a--be able to
+tell me something about her."
+
+"Not much, I fear," replied Theodore. He felt tempted to add that in
+Oldchester there were natives and natives.
+
+"She's--a--rich, isn't she?" pursued Mr. Cheffington.
+
+"Not that I know of," answered Theodore, staring a little.
+
+"Rich is, perhaps, too much to say. At any rate, she is--a--quite
+well----"
+
+"Well off? Oh, as to that----"
+
+"At any rate, she is quite well-to-do, I presume!"
+
+Theodore had never considered the question, but he said, "Oh yes," at a
+venture; and then suddenly a light flashed upon his mind. Perhaps Mrs.
+Dobbs _was_ rich, after all. Though she lived in so humble a style she
+might, perhaps, have laid by money.
+
+"She appears to be a person of--a--great--good sense," said Mr. Lucius
+Cheffington, remembering how Mrs. Dormer-Smith had stated that she
+declined to give any money-assistance to Augustus. And after that he
+made a second very low bow, and brought the interview to an end.
+
+Little had Theodore Bransby expected to hear Mrs. Dobbs discussed and
+approved by a member of the noble house of Castlecombe. He had noticed
+that Mrs. Dormer-Smith systematically avoided any mention of the vulgar
+old woman. But then Mrs. Dormer-Smith was a person of the very finest
+taste. And, to be sure, it could scarcely be expected that Mr. Lucius
+Cheffington should feel Augustus's _mésalliance_ as acutely as it was
+felt by Augustus's own sister. Besides, if, as really seemed possible,
+the ironmonger's widow turned out to be a moneyed person----! But it
+must be recorded of Theodore, that not even the idea of her having money
+reconciled him to Mrs. Dobbs. He said to himself afterwards, when he was
+meditating on what he had heard, that nothing so convincingly proved how
+much he was in love with Miss Cheffington, as his being ready to forgive
+her even her grandmother!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+
+George Frederick Cheffington, fifth Viscount Castlecombe, was, in many
+ways, a very clever old man. He was extremely ignorant of most things
+which can be taught by books. But he had a thorough acquaintance with
+practical agriculture, considerable keenness in finance, and a quick eye
+to detect the weaknesses of his fellow men. On the other hand, his
+overweening self-esteem led him to think that what he knew comprised
+what was chiefly, if not solely, worth knowing, and his avarice
+occasionally overrode his native talent for business. In his youth he
+had been idle and extravagant. The former vice gave him the reputation
+of a dunce at school and college, and, by a reaction which belonged to
+his character, made him defiantly contemptuous of bookish men, with one
+single exception, presently to be noted. As to his extravagance, that
+was effectually cured by the death of his father. From the moment that
+he came into possession of the family estates, which he did at about
+thirty years of age, his income was administered with sagacious economy,
+and by the time his two sons arrived at manhood Lord Castlecombe was a
+very rich man.
+
+If he had a soft place in his heart, it was for his son Lucius, who
+resembled his dead mother in features, and also, unfortunately, in the
+delicacy of his constitution. George, his heir, was like
+himself--strong, tough, and hardy. Lord Castlecombe secretly admired
+Lucius's talents very much, and had been highly gratified when his
+second son took honours at his University. That this success had not
+been followed by any particularly brilliant results later, and that
+Lucius had, as it were, stuck fast in his career, had even decidedly
+failed in Parliament, and had finally been shelved in a Government post
+which, although lucrative, was inglorious, his lordship attributed to
+the increase of folly, incapacity, and roguery which he had observed in
+the world during the last twenty years or so. That a Cheffington of such
+abilities as Lucius should remain undistinguished was part of the
+general decadence. In politics Lord Castlecombe was a Whig of the old
+school; and though he continued to vote with his party, yet the only
+point on which he was thoroughly in sympathy with the Liberals--a word,
+by the way, which he had come greatly to dislike, as covering far too
+wide a field--was that they fought the Tories.
+
+The person whom Lord Castlecombe most detested in all the world was his
+nephew Augustus. He disliked his extravagance, his poverty, and the
+biting insolence of his tongue. This antipathy had latterly added
+poignancy to the old man's desire that his son should marry, and
+transmit the Castlecombe title and estates in the direct line; for
+Augustus was the next heir after his two cousins. It was true that the
+contingency of Captain Cheffington succeeding seemed remote enough.
+George Cheffington was only his senior by a couple of years, and Lucius
+was his junior. But neither of them had married; and they were well on
+in middle life. Lucius, indeed, seemed to have settled down into
+incorrigible old bachelorhood. And although George, in answer to his
+father's exhortations on the subject, always replied that he really
+would think seriously of looking for a wife on his next visit to England
+(persons suitable for that dignity not being to be found, it appeared,
+in the particular portion of the globe where his official duties lay),
+yet the years went by, and still there came no daughter-in-law, no
+grandson to inherit the coronet and enjoy the broad acres of
+Castlecombe. The idea that Augustus Cheffington might ever come to enjoy
+them was gall and wormwood to their present owner. But he had never
+breathed a word on this subject to any human being.
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith was gratified by her uncle's gracious acceptance of an
+invitation to dine with her, soon after his arrival in town, about the
+middle of June. Lord Castlecombe did not visit her often; but that was
+from no ill-will on his part. In fact, he was rather fond of Pauline. He
+considered her a bit of a goose. But he thought it by no means
+unbecoming in a woman to be a bit of a goose. And she had thoroughbred
+manners, a gentle voice, and was still agreeable to look upon. The old
+lord disliked ugly women, and maintained that the sight of them
+disagreed with him like bad wine.
+
+This consideration influenced Pauline in the choice of her guests to
+meet her uncle. It was understood there was to be no large party. It had
+been agreed that they should invite Mr. Bragg, who had bought a good
+deal of land in Lord Castlecombe's county, was director of a company of
+which the noble viscount was chairman, and of whom his lordship was
+known to entertain a favourable opinion, as being a man who made no
+disguise about his humble origin, and was free from the offensive
+pretensions of many _nouveaux riches_. For, although Lord Castlecombe
+willingly admitted that money could buy everything on which most people
+valued themselves, he greatly disliked the notion that it could be
+supposed to buy the things on which _he_ most valued himself.
+
+"Well, then, Frederick," said Mrs. Dormer-Smith, "that makes four men:
+my uncle, Lucius, Mr. Bragg, and yourself. Then May and I; and I thought
+of having that handsome Miss Hadlow. Uncle George likes to see pretty
+faces. We want another woman, but really I don't know who there is
+available at this moment. There are so few odd women who ain't frights,"
+pursued the anxious hostess plaintively. "If it were a man, now----There
+are plenty of odd men to be had." Then, struck by a sudden inspiration,
+she said, "Why shouldn't we have an odd man instead of another woman?
+Uncle George gives me his arm, of course. You take Miss Hadlow, Mr.
+Bragg takes May, and Lucius and the odd man go in together. Positively,
+I think it would be the best arrangement of all."
+
+"I suppose Lucius wouldn't mind, eh?"
+
+"It certainly would be the best arrangement for _me_, at all events; for
+if there are only those two girls, I can simply put my feet up on a sofa
+when we go into the drawing-room, shut my eyes, and be quiet for half an
+hour, which, of course, would be out of the question if there was any
+woman who required to have civilities paid her; and in all probability I
+shall be in a state of nervous prostration by Friday. This season with
+May has tried me severely."
+
+Mr. Dormer-Smith offering no objection, there only remained to make
+choice of the "odd man," and, after a moment's reflection, Pauline
+decided on young Bransby.
+
+"Bransby!" exclaimed Mr. Dormer-Smith. "He's a dreadful prig."
+
+"I think he's very nice, Frederick. But really that is not the point.
+He's engaged, or wants to be engaged, or something of the sort, to Miss
+Hadlow, so of course----"
+
+"What? You don't mean to say that handsome girl would have such an
+insignificant fellow as Bransby?"
+
+"I mean to say nothing about it. The subject has only a faint interest
+for me, Frederick. But what _is_ important is that, in any case, _he
+will help to take her off_."
+
+Mr. Dormer-Smith stared; he understood his wife's phrase, but not her
+allusion. "Why, you don't suppose there's any danger of her setting her
+cap at Lucius?" said he.
+
+"I should have no objection to her doing so."
+
+"Well, there's nobody else."
+
+"We need not discuss it, Frederick. Please give your best attention to
+the wine; you know that Uncle George is terribly fastidious about his
+wine, and the worst is that if he is discontented, he will not hesitate
+to say so before everybody."
+
+That really did seem to her the worst. Most of the evils of life, she
+thought, might be more endurable if people would but be discreet, and
+say nothing about them.
+
+The evil of Uncle George's public reprobation of her wine did not,
+however, befall her. Lord Castlecombe was content with his dinner, and
+looked round him approvingly as he sat on his niece's right hand.
+
+"A couple of uncommonly pretty girls those," said his lordship. "They've
+got on pretty frocks, too; I like a good bright colour."
+
+Pauline had begged Miss Hadlow beforehand not to wear black, or any
+sombre hue, her uncle having a special dislike to such; and Constance,
+perfectly willing to please Lord Castlecombe by looking as brilliant as
+she could, had arrayed herself in her favourite maize-colour.
+
+"You have a very nice gown on, too, Pauline," added his lordship
+graciously.
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith privately thought her own toilette detestable. It was
+a gaily-flowered brocade (a gift from her husband soon after Wilfrid's
+birth), which had been hidden from the light for several years. But she
+had self-denyingly caused Smithson to furbish it up for the present
+occasion, and was gratified that her virtue did not go unrewarded.
+
+"I knew you liked vivid colours, Uncle George," said she softly.
+
+"Of course I do. Everybody does, that has the use of his eyes. Don't
+believe the humbugs who tell you otherwise. Your upholsterer now will
+show you some wretched washed-out rag of a thing, and try to persuade
+you to cover your chairs with it, because it's _ćsthetic_! Parcel of
+fools! Not that the fellows who sell the things are fools. They know
+very well which side their bread is buttered." Then glancing across the
+table with his keen, sunken, black eyes, he continued, "That little
+Miranda--what is it you call her? May? Well, May is a very good name for
+her--is remarkably fresh and pretty. Good frank forehead. Not a bit like
+her father. Different type. But the other girl is the beauty. Uncommonly
+handsome, really."
+
+"I'm glad you think May nice," said Mrs. Dormer-Smith. "Of course I was
+anxious that you should like her. She is poor Augustus's only
+child--only surviving child. You know there were five or six of them,
+but the others all died in babyhood."
+
+Lord Castlecombe did know it, and remembered it now with grim
+satisfaction. At least Augustus had no male heir to come after him.
+
+"Ah! Gus made a pretty hash of it altogether," said the old man.
+
+But he did not say it unkindly. He would not willingly have been harsh
+or brutal towards Pauline. She really was a very sweet creature, and
+had, he thought, almost every quality that he could desire in the women
+of his blood. For, it must be observed, Lord Castlecombe did not know
+that Pauline admired ćsthetic furniture, nor that she considered
+Augustus to have been rather hardly treated by the Castlecombes.
+
+"Of course," replied that gentle lady. "My poor brother's unfortunate
+marriage----"
+
+"Oh! Ah! Yes. But that, at all events, seems to have turned out better
+than could have been expected. Lucius tells me there is a grandmother
+who has money, and is generous."
+
+"Not to Augustus, Uncle George; Mrs. Dobbs positively refuses to assist
+Augustus."
+
+"H'm!" grunted Uncle George, his opinion of Mrs. Dobbs's good sense
+taking a sudden leap upward. "Well, my dear, people have to think of
+their own interests, you know." Then, in a louder tone, "Frederick, send
+me that white Hermitage. It's a very fair wine, as times go--a very fair
+wine indeed."
+
+When the ladies had left the table, young Bransby felt what he would
+have called, in speaking of any one else, "a little out of it." My lord
+talked with Mr. Bragg, Lucius and Frederick were discussing some item of
+club politics, in the midst of which the host would now and again
+interpolate some parenthetical observations addressed to young Bransby,
+obviously as a matter of duty. At length, in declining the claret which
+Mr. Dormer-Smith pushed towards him, Theodore took the opportunity to
+say--
+
+"Do you think I might venture to go upstairs? I have a message for Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith about a little commission with which she entrusted me."
+
+"No more wine, really? Oh, my wife will be charmed to see you," replied
+Frederick, with alacrity. And, thereupon, the young man quietly left the
+room.
+
+It was true that he had undertaken a commission for Mrs. Dormer-Smith;
+but he would not have prematurely withdrawn himself from the company of
+a peer and a millionaire, on that account. He was moved by a far
+weightier purpose. He had made up his mind to propose to Miss
+Cheffington; and, if the Fates favoured him, he might do it that very
+evening. For some time past--before May left Oldchester--Theodore had
+been sure that he wished to marry her. There were drawbacks. She had no
+money (or at all events he had not reckoned on her having any money),
+and she had connections of a very objectionable kind. But he rather
+dwelt on these things, as proving the disinterested nature of his
+attachment. He was so much in love with May, that he liked to fancy
+himself making some sacrifices on her account. As to her feelings
+towards him, he was not without misgivings. But he watched her in
+society at every opportunity, and had convinced himself that she was, at
+all events, fancy-free. She did not even flirt; but enjoyed herself with
+child-like openness:--or was bored with equal simplicity and sincerity.
+As to her aunt, Theodore did not doubt that his suit would be favourably
+received by Mrs. Dormer-Smith. She must, long ago, have perceived his
+intentions; and he felt that his being invited to that intimate little
+dinner--almost a family dinner--was strong encouragement.
+
+Theodore was fortifying himself with this reflection as he mounted the
+stairs to the drawing-room. His foot fell more and more lingeringly on
+the soft, soundless carpet as he neared the door. He was on an errand
+which can scarcely be undertaken with cool self-possession, even by a
+young gentleman holding the most favourable view of his own merits and
+prospects. One can never certainly reckon on one's soundest views being
+shared. A servant carrying coffee, preceded him, and opened the
+drawing-room door just as he arrived on the landing; and Theodore felt
+positively grateful to the man for, as it were, covering his entrance,
+and relieving him from the embarrassment of walking in alone. He entered
+close behind the footman, and was, for a few moments, unperceived by the
+ladies.
+
+The room was a little dim; all the lamps being shaded with rose-colour.
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith was reclining on a sofa, with closed eyes. But she was
+not asleep; for beside her in a low lounging-chair, and talking to her
+in a subdued voice, sat Constance Hadlow. May was at the other side of
+the room, leaning with both elbows on a little table which stood in a
+recess between the fireplace and a window, and apparently absorbed in a
+book. Theodore thought she made a charming picture, with the soft light
+falling on her fair young face and white dress; and his pulse, which had
+been beating a little quicker than usual all the way upstairs, became
+suddenly still more accelerated.
+
+May looked up.
+
+"Is that you?" she said. "Where are the others?"
+
+It was not a very warm or flattering welcome; but Theodore was scarcely
+conscious of her words. He was thinking what a fortunate chance it was
+which left May isolated, so far away from the other ladies as to be out
+of earshot, if one spoke in a suitably low tone. At the sound of her
+niece's voice Mrs. Dormer-Smith languidly turned her head.
+
+"Oh, please don't move, Mrs. Dormer-Smith," said Theodore, speaking in a
+quick, confused way, very different from his accustomed manner. "If I am
+to disturb you, I must go away at once. But I--I don't take much wine,
+and he said--Mr. Dormer-Smith said he thought I might--if you don't mind
+my preceding the other men by a few minutes, I will be as quiet as a
+mouse."
+
+He crossed the room and sat down by May in the shadow of a heavy
+window-curtain.
+
+The hostess murmured a gracious word or two and then closed her eyes
+again. She had been a little vexed by the young man's premature arrival;
+but if he was content to be quiet, and whisper to May, she need not
+stand on ceremony with him. The fact was, she was listening with great
+interest to Constance's account of a feud which had arisen between Lady
+Burlington and Mrs. Griffin's daughter, the duchess. Constance had the
+details at first hand, from Mrs. Griffin herself, on the one side, and
+from Miss Polly Piper on the other: for the feud had arisen about Signor
+Vincenzo Valli. The fashionable singing-master had thrown over one of
+the great ladies for the other, on the occasion of some _soirée
+musicale_; and the quarrel had been espoused by various personages of
+distinction, whose sayings and doings with regard to it Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith considered to be at once important and entertaining. She
+mentally contrasted with a sigh the intelligence, tact, and correctness
+of judgment which Constance brought to bear on this matter, with the
+nonchalance--not to say downright levity and indifference--displayed by
+May. It was impossible to get May to interest herself in the bearings of
+the case. In fact, she had abandoned the discussion, and gone away to
+her book; whereas this provincial girl, with not one quarter of May's
+advantages, understood it perfectly, remembered the names of all the
+people concerned, had a very sufficient knowledge of their relative
+importance, and was able to impart to her hostess a variety of minute
+circumstances, narrated in a low, quiet tone, free from emphasis or
+emotion, which was delightfully soothing.
+
+May, for her part, was by no means pleased to have her reading
+interrupted; but politeness, and the sense that she was, in her degree,
+responsible for the hospitality of the house, impelled her to close her
+book at once, and to turn a good-humoured countenance towards her
+companion.
+
+"Isn't Uncle Frederick coming?" she asked, finding nothing better to say
+at the moment.
+
+"Presently. Are you in a great hurry to see him?" returned Theodore.
+
+"Oh no; I was amusing myself very well."
+
+"Are you angry with me, for interrupting you?"
+
+"Oh no," answered May again. But this second "Oh no" was not quite so
+hearty as the first.
+
+"May I see what you have been reading?"
+
+She pushed the book towards him.
+
+"'Mansfield Park.' Whose is it?"
+
+"Good gracious! You don't mean to say that you don't know?"
+
+"I don't read novels," said Theodore loftily, but not severely. It was
+all very well for women to have that weakness.
+
+"But this is an English classic! Mr. Rivers says so. You really ought to
+know who wrote 'Mansfield Park,' even if you have never read it. It is
+one of Jane Austen's works."
+
+"Ah! Do you--do you like it?" said Theodore, scarcely knowing what he
+said. He was playing nervously with a little ivory paper-knife which lay
+on the table, and his whole aspect and manner--had not both been to some
+extent concealed by the shadow of the velvet curtain--would have
+betrayed to the most indifferent observer that he was agitated and
+unlike himself. He felt that the precious minutes of this chance
+_tęte-ŕ-tęte_ were passing swiftly; he longed to profit by them; and
+yet, now that the moment had come, he feared to stand the hazard of the
+die, and kept deferring it by idle words.
+
+"Oh yes! I like it, of course," answered May. "Not so much, perhaps, as
+'Emma,' or 'Pride and Prejudice.' Mr. Rivers advised me to read it."
+
+It was the second time she had mentioned Rivers's name, and this fact
+stung Theodore unaccountably. It acted like a touch of the spur to a
+lagging horse. He burst out, still speaking almost in a whisper, but
+with some heat--
+
+"Rivers is a happy fellow! What would I give if you cared enough about
+me to follow my advice!"
+
+"You have only to advise me to do something which I like as much as
+reading Jane Austen," replied May archly. But his tone had struck her
+disagreeably. She peered at him furtively as he sat in the shadow,
+trying in vain to see his countenance clearly. The idea crossed her mind
+that he might have taken too much wine at dinner. But it was so
+repulsive an idea to her, that she felt she ought not to entertain it
+without better foundation.
+
+"It is a most fortunate chance for me to have this--this blessed
+opportunity," pursued Theodore. (He had hesitated for the epithet, and
+was not by any means satisfied with it when he had got it). "I have long
+been wanting to speak to you."
+
+"To me? Well, that need not have been very difficult," answered May,
+edging a little away, and trying to obtain a good view of his face.
+
+"Pardon me. It is not easy to have the privilege of a private word with
+Miss Cheffington. When we meet in society, you are surrounded, as is but
+too natural. And latterly, in your own home, you have been a good deal
+engrossed. I could not say what I have to say before----"
+
+He glanced over at Constance Hadlow as he spoke. This was an immense
+relief to May who had been growing more and more uncomfortable, and
+vaguely apprehensive. She thought she understood it all now. Conny had
+been treating him with coolness and neglect. She herself had noticed
+this, and now he wanted to enlist the sympathies of Conny's friend.
+
+"Oh, I see!" she exclaimed. "It's something about Constance that you
+wish to say to me."
+
+"About Constance? Ah, May, you are cruel! You know too well your power!"
+he said, endeavouring to give a pathetic intonation to his voice, but
+producing only an odd, croaking, throaty sound. Then May decided, in her
+own mind, that he _had_ been taking too much wine; and, angry and
+disgusted, she tried to rise from her chair and leave him. But she was
+hemmed in by the little table, and on her first movement, Theodore took
+hold of the skirt of her dress to detain her. May turned round upon him
+with a pale, indignant face, and flashing eyes.
+
+"Don't touch my dress, if you please. I wish to go away."
+
+"Miss Cheffington--May--you must hear what I have to say now. You must
+know it without my saying, for I have loved you so long and so
+devotedly. But I have a right to be heard."
+
+May was thunderstruck. But she perceived in a moment that she had, in
+one sense, done him injustice--he had not drunk too much wine. But
+this----! This was worse! How far easier it would have been to forgive
+Theodore if he had even got tipsy--just a little tipsy--instead of
+making such a declaration! She supposed she had no right to be
+disgusted; she had heard that properly behaved young ladies always took
+an offer of marriage to be a great honour. But she was disgusted,
+nevertheless; and so far from feeling honoured, she was conscious of a
+distressing sense of humiliation. She tried, however, to keep up her
+dignity, and at the same time to say what was right to this--this
+dreadful young man, who had suddenly presented himself in the odious
+light of wanting to make love to her.
+
+"Oh, please don't say any more. I'm very much obliged to you. I mean I'm
+extremely sorry. But I beg you won't say another word, and forget all
+about it as quickly as possible."
+
+"Forget it! Nay, that is out of the question. I could not if I would."
+
+Theodore began to recover his self-command as May lost hers. She was
+agitated and trembling. Well, he would not have had her listen to his
+words unmoved. She was very young and inexperienced. And he had, it
+seemed, taken her by surprise.
+
+"Is it possible," he continued softly, "that you were quite unprepared
+to hear----"
+
+"Quite unprepared. But that makes no difference. And you really must
+allow me to go away. I'm very sorry, indeed, but I can't stay here
+another moment."
+
+"Am I so repulsive?" said he, with a sentimental beseeching glance. But
+he met an expression in her face which made him add quickly, in quite
+another tone, "Well, well, I will prefer your wishes to my own," at the
+same time drawing himself and his chair to one side.
+
+She had looked almost capable of leaping over the table to escape. May
+brushed past him, and darted away out of the room without another word.
+
+Theodore seized hold of the book she had left behind her, and bent his
+head over it. He saw not one word on the printed page beneath his eyes,
+but it saved him from appearing as confused as he felt. Had he been
+rejected? And, if so, was it a rejection which he was bound to consider
+final? Or had he received no real answer at all? Gradually, as his
+throat grew less dry, his head less hot, and his brain more clear, he
+arrived at the conclusion that he had virtually had no answer. May was
+little more than a child, and he had startled her. Then he remembered
+that word of May's, "It is about Constance you wish to speak to me."
+Could she be under any misapprehension as to his position with regard to
+Constance? The idea was fraught with comfort. That, at least, he could
+set right, and without delay. He rose and walked across the room at once
+to Mrs. Dormer-Smith's sofa.
+
+At this moment the procession of men, headed by Lord Castlecombe,
+arrived from the dining-room. Constance glided away, leaving her vacant
+chair for Theodore, who immediately occupied it, thus cutting off Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith from the rest of the company. That lady looked anxiously
+across his shoulder.
+
+"_Would_ you," she said to Theodore, "would you be so very good as to
+ask my husband to inquire where Miss Cheffington is? My uncle would like
+to talk to her, I know; and----Oh, there she is! Thanks. Don't trouble
+yourself."
+
+May had returned to the drawing-room; but instead of going near her
+noble grand-uncle, she perversely seated herself in a remote nook beside
+Mr. Bragg, with whom she presently began a conversation, keeping her
+face persistently turned away from every one else. Her noble grand-uncle
+did not seem to care. His lordship marched straight up to Miss Hadlow,
+and stood before her, coffee-cup in hand, with his curious air of
+perfectly knowing how to behave like a fine gentleman whenever he should
+think it worth while. Lucius and Frederick were continuing their club
+discussion, which possessed the advantage--for persons of leisure--of
+having neither beginning nor end, and of being indefinitely elastic.
+Pauline took in the whole room with one comprehensive glance, and then
+leant back against her cushions with a sigh, which, if not contented,
+was resigned. She made no effort to recall May to her duty towards Lord
+Castlecombe.
+
+"You must forgive me, Mr. Bransby," she said graciously, "if I have been
+selfish in engrossing Miss Hadlow. If you don't take care, my uncle will
+do the same! Lord Castlecombe admires her very much."
+
+Theodore cleared his throat, settled his cravat with a rather unsteady
+hand, and looked at her as solemnly as if he were about to commence an
+oration. But all he managed to say was--
+
+"There has been a mistake, Mrs. Dormer-Smith."
+
+"A mistake?"
+
+"Yes. I have some reason to believe that you are under a wrong
+impression about me."
+
+His hostess faintly raised her eyebrows, and answered with a smile, "I
+hope not: for all my impressions of you are very pleasant."
+
+Theodore bowed gravely. "You are very kind," said he. "It is important
+to me to set this matter right. You perhaps imagine--some one may have
+told you that I and Miss Hadlow--there has been, I believe, some idle
+gossip coupling our names together."
+
+"Not very unnaturally," said Mrs. Dormer-Smith, still smiling. But she
+began to wonder what he could be driving at.
+
+"Well, I do think it hard that one cannot be on friendly terms with a
+person one has known all one's life without being supposed to be engaged
+to her."
+
+"Or him," put in Pauline quietly.
+
+"Of course. I mean, of course, that it is particularly unfair to the
+lady. But it puts a man in a false position too. I have just been
+speaking to May----"
+
+Then, in an instant, the true state of the case flashed on Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith, to her unspeakable consternation. This, then, was her
+model young man, whom she had pronounced to be so "nice" and so "quiet;"
+and who, moreover, had always expressed the most proper sentiments on
+the subject of unequal marriages! She felt herself to be of all ladies
+the most persecuted by fate.
+
+"Oh," she said, coldly interrupting him; "it was scarcely necessary to
+say anything to Miss Cheffington on the subject."
+
+But Theodore was beyond taking heed of any snub or check of that kind.
+"One moment," he said, breathing quickly. "If you will allow me to
+finish what I was saying, you will see----I am, as you must have
+perceived, deeply attached to your niece."
+
+"No, no," protested Mrs. Dormer-Smith faintly. "I never perceived it."
+
+"Then that must have been because you were looking in a wrong direction.
+You were misled about Constance Hadlow; otherwise, the nature of my
+attentions could scarcely have escaped you."
+
+"And you say that you have been speaking to--to my niece?"
+
+"I have this evening told her how devotedly I love her."
+
+"Good heavens!" whispered Mrs. Dormer-Smith, letting her head sink back
+among the sofa-cushions. "And what was her reply?"
+
+"Her reply was--well, practically, it was no reply at all. May was
+agitated and startled, and I think she had believed that foolish gossip
+about my engagement to Miss Hadlow. But I trust to you to explain----"
+
+"Pray, Mr. Bransby, say no more. I regret extremely that this should
+have happened."
+
+"Oh, but I don't know that I have any reason to despair," he answered
+naďvely.
+
+This was almost more than Pauline could endure. She got up from the
+sofa, and plaintively murmuring, "Say no more; pray say no more. I
+really am not equal to it at present," fairly walked away from him.
+
+That night when the guests were gone, Mrs. Dormer-Smith sent for her
+husband to her dressing-room, and revealed to him what young Bransby had
+said. His indignation at the young man's presumption was equal to her
+own: although not wholly on the same grounds.
+
+"You will have to talk to him, Frederick," she said. "When he went away
+he said something about requesting an early interview. _I_ cannot stand
+any more of it. It upsets me too frightfully. Of course, you won't
+quarrel with him. Just give him politely to understand that it is out of
+the question. Fortunately, May appears to have been as much _outrée_ by
+this preposterous proposal as I could desire. May behaved very nicely
+to-night altogether. I was pleased with her."
+
+"H'm! Oh yes; but I thought she might have paid a little more attention
+to your uncle. She never went near him after we came upstairs. I think
+she talked to old Bragg more than to any one else."
+
+"Frederick," said his wife slowly, "do you know that Lady Hautenville is
+making a dead set at Mr. Bragg for Felicia?"
+
+"Is she?"
+
+"Yes. Mrs. Griffin told me all about it. They are moving heaven and
+earth to catch him."
+
+"Really? Well, _bonne chance_!"
+
+"It would be _mauvaise chance_ for him, poor man! Felicia has a
+frightful temper, and incredibly extravagant habits. She must be over
+her eyebrows in debt. But I fancy Mr. Bragg has better taste."
+
+Her meaning tone made her husband look at her with sudden earnestness.
+"What do you mean?" he asked brusquely.
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith put her hand to her forehead. "Let me entreat you not
+to raise your voice!" she said. "I have had quite enough to try my
+nerves this evening. I mean that I think Mr. Bragg is interested in May.
+It would be a splendid match for her."
+
+"_What?_" cried Frederick, disregarding his wife's request, and raising
+his voice considerably. "Old Bragg!"
+
+Pauline turned on him impressively. "Frederick," she said, speaking with
+patient mildness, as one imparting higher lore to some untutored savage,
+"Mr. Bragg is barely fifty-four; and his income--entirely within his own
+control--is over sixty thousand a year."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+
+Theodore did not take his rejection meekly. In his interview with Mr.
+Dormer-Smith he pressed hard to see May again, and insinuated that she
+was under undue influence. Moreover, he conveyed, with stiff civility,
+that he considered himself to have been badly treated by the whole
+family, who had first encouraged his attentions and then rejected them.
+
+"He really is a fearful young man!" said May to her aunt on hearing the
+report of the interview. "What does he mean by insisting on 'an answer
+from my own lips'? Could he not believe what Uncle Frederick said?
+Besides, he has had his answer from me. The truth is, he is so
+outrageously conceited that he can't believe any young woman would
+refuse him of her own free will."
+
+"The idea of his dreaming for an instant that _I_ encouraged him is too
+preposterous," said Mrs. Dormer-Smith, shaking her head languidly. "I am
+sadly disappointed. I thought him quite a nice person. I fancied he had
+sufficient _savoir vivre_ to understand----However, it is one more proof
+that one can never reckon on half-bred people who don't know the world."
+
+It was privately a great relief to May to know that her aunt took her
+part in this affair. Aunt Pauline's motives and views were still very
+mysterious to May on many points. She did not even now fully understand
+the grounds of her aunt's virtuous indignation against Theodore Bransby,
+although she was thankful for it. "Aunt Pauline thought him good enough
+for Conny," said May to herself innocently; "and Conny is so beautiful,
+and so much admired!"
+
+It was true that--thanks, in the first place, to Mrs. Griffin--Constance
+had enjoyed a more brilliant season than she had ever ventured to dream
+of. Fashionable houses, of which she had read in the newspapers, but
+which had appeared to her as unattainable as though they were in another
+planet, had opened their doors to her; and old connections of her
+mother's family, finding her in the aforesaid houses, discovered that
+she was a charming girl, and were delighted to open _their_ doors to
+her. She had accepted several invitations to country houses, and would
+probably not be at home again until late in the autumn.
+
+Mrs. Griffin watched this young lady's progress with considerable
+interest. She opined that Miss Hadlow was a shining instance of the
+advantages of "race."
+
+"In spite of having been brought up in the pokiest way in some
+provincial town, as I understand, that girl has a thoroughbred
+self-possession quite remarkable," said Mrs. Griffin. "She never makes a
+blunder. You are never nervous about her. She has no trace of that loud,
+bouncing style, which I detest, and which so many underbred-people take
+up nowadays, mistakenly imagining it to be the proper thing. She doesn't
+'go in' for anything. And," added Mrs. Griffin musingly, "there's a
+wonderful look of her grandfather, poor Charley Rivers, about the brow
+and eyes."
+
+The season was rapidly drawing to a close when Mrs. Dobbs received two
+letters; one from her grand-daughter, and the other from Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith. Jo Weatherhead, arriving one evening at his usual hour in
+Jessamine Cottage, was told by his old friend that she had had a letter
+from May, and that she meant to read him a portion of it. No proposition
+could have been more welcome to Mr. Weatherhead. He drew his chair up to
+the grate--filled now with fresh boughs instead of hot coals; but Jo
+kept his place in the chimney-corner winter and summer--and prepared to
+listen.
+
+Mrs. Dobbs read as follows:--"You must know, dear granny, that I told
+Aunt Pauline yesterday that I really must go home at the end of this
+season. She has been very kind and so has Uncle Frederick; but granny is
+granny, and home is home."
+
+Here Mr. Weatherhead slapped his leg with his hand, and took his pipe
+out of his mouth as though about to speak; but on Mrs. Dobbs holding up
+her hand for silence, he put his pipe back again, and slowly drew his
+forefinger and thumb down the not inconsiderable length of his nose.
+
+Mrs. Dobbs read on: "To my amazement, Aunt Pauline answered that it was
+my father's wish that I should remain with her altogether! That is not
+my wish. And it isn't yours--is it, granny dear? And if we two are
+agreed, I cannot think my father would object. I mean to write to him
+about it. I should have done so already, but I have not his address, and
+Aunt Pauline can't or won't give it to me. Please send it. I shall tell
+my father just what I feel. I don't care for what Aunt Pauline calls
+Society. I was happy enough as long as it was only like being at the
+play, with the prospect of going home when it was over, and living my
+real life. But to go on with this sort of thing and nothing else, year
+in, year out--it would be like being expected to live on wax fruit, or
+those glazed wooden turkeys I remember in a box of toys you gave me long
+ago. Please answer directly, directly. There's an invitation for me to
+go in August to a place in the Highlands, where Mrs. Griffin's daughter
+has a shooting-box. At least, I suppose it is Mrs. Griffin's daughter's
+husband who has the shooting-box. Only nobody talks much about the duke,
+and everybody talks a great deal about the duchess." ("Fancy our Miranda
+among the dukes and duchesses!" put in Jo Weatherhead, softly. And he
+smacked his lips as though the very sound of the words had a relish for
+him.) "Aunt Pauline wants to go to Carlsbad; Uncle Frederick is to join
+a fishing-party in Norway; the children are to be sent to a farmhouse;
+and Mrs. Griffin has offered to take care of me in the Highlands. But I
+would far, _far_ rather come back to dear Oldchester, and be amongst
+people who know me, and care for me, and whom I love with all my heart.
+Do write and ask for me back, granny darling! And mind you give me
+papa's address. I am resolved to write to him, whatever Aunt Pauline may
+say. He is _my_ father, and I have a right to tell him my feelings."
+
+"That's all of any consequence," said Mrs. Dobbs, slowly refolding the
+letter. "Oh, of course she writes at the end 'Love to Uncle Jo.' She
+never forgets that."
+
+There was a brief silence. Mr. Weatherhead, who was very tender-hearted,
+blew his nose and wiped his eyes unaffectedly. "Of course you'll have
+the child down, Sarah," said he; "anyway, for a time. She's pining,
+that's where it is; she's pining for a sight of you."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs sat choking down her emotion. She had cried privately over
+that letter herself, but she was resolved to discuss it now with
+judicial calmness; and it was provoking that Jo endangered her judicial
+tone of mind by that foolish, soft-hearted way of his, which was
+terribly catching. But she loved Jo for it, nevertheless, and scolded
+him so as to let him know that she loved him.
+
+"It's a good thing your feelings are righter and kinder than most
+folks', Jo Weatherhead, for you're sadly led by 'em, my friend. If you'd
+wait and hear the whole case, you might help me with your advice." Then
+Mrs. Dobbs pulled another letter from her pocket, and handed it to her
+brother-in-law. This second epistle was from Mrs. Dormer-Smith, and ran
+thus:--
+
+     "DEAR MRS. DOBBS,
+
+     "I think it right to let you know how very important it is for
+     May not to miss her visit to Glengowrie. There will be among
+     the guests there a gentleman who has been paying her a good
+     deal of attention--a man of princely fortune. I have some
+     reason to think that May is disposed to look favourably on this
+     gentleman; but he must be allowed time and opportunity to
+     declare himself. No better opportunity could possibly be found
+     than at Glengowrie; and I may tell you, _in confidence_, that
+     the duchess has, at my friend Mrs. Griffin's request, invited
+     them both _on purpose_. I trust, therefore, that, in my niece's
+     interests, you will induce her not to relinquish this chance.
+     As to her writing to her father, it is absurd, and would only
+     irritate my brother after his giving me _carte blanche_ to do
+     the best I can for her. If the visit to Glengowrie turns out as
+     we hope, I shall have procured for her a settlement which many
+     a peer's daughter will envy. My husband and I have such
+     confidence in your good sense, that we are sure you will second
+     our efforts as far as you can. Of course you will consider this
+     letter _strictly private_, and will not, above all, mention it
+     to May.
+
+     "I am, dear Mrs. Dobbs,
+
+     "Yours very truly,
+
+     "P. DORMER-SMITH."
+
+"You see that alters the case, Jo," said Mrs. Dobbs, when he had
+finished reading the letter.
+
+Jo nodded thoughtfully, and rubbed his nose. "Of course, what you want,
+Sarah, is for the child to be happy. That's the main thing," said he.
+
+"Of course I want her to be happy. And I want her to have her rights,"
+answered Mrs. Dobbs, setting her lips firmly.
+
+"Ah! Yes, to be sure! Her rights, eh?"
+
+"My son-in-law brought no good to any of us in himself. If his name can
+do any good to his daughter, she ought to have the benefit of it--and
+she shall."
+
+"Ay, ay. Her rights, eh? To be sure. Only--only it ain't always quite
+easy to know what a person's rights are, is it?"
+
+"I know well enough what May's rights are," answered Mrs. Dobbs sharply.
+
+"Nor yet it ain't quite easy to be sure whether they'd enjoy their
+rights when they got 'em," pursued Jo, with a thoughtful air. "Everybody
+likes to be happy. There can be no manner of doubt about _that_. And
+somehow the dukes and duchesses don't seem to be enough to make Miranda
+quite--not _quite_ happy, humph?"
+
+"I wonder you should confess so much of your dear aristocracy!" returned
+Mrs. Dobbs with some heat.
+
+"Why, you see, Sarah, it may be--I only say it _may_ be--that the way
+Miranda has been brought up, living here in the holidays in such a
+simple kind of style, and all that, makes her feel not altogether at
+home among these tip-top folks."
+
+"If you mean she isn't good enough for them, that's nonsense; downright
+nonsense. And I wonder at a man with your brains talking such stuff! If
+you mean they're not good enough for her, that's another pair of shoes.
+As to manners--why, do you imagine that that aunt of hers, who--though
+she _is_ a fool, is a well-born fool, and a well-bred one--would be
+taking May about, presenting her at Court, and introducing her to the
+grandest society, if the child didn't do her credit? Not she! I'm
+astonished at you, Jo! I thought you knew the world a little bit better
+than that."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs leant back in her chair, and fanned her flushed face with her
+handkerchief. Mr. Weatherhead, having smoked his pipe out, put it in its
+case, and then sat silent, slowly stroking his nose, and casting
+deprecating glances at his hostess. At length the latter resumed, in a
+calmer tone, "But May's future is what I've got to think of. I'm an old
+woman. I can leave her next to nothing when I die. I want her to marry.
+All women ought to marry. Nobody in my own walk of life would suit her.
+And what gentleman fit to match with her was ever likely to come and
+look for her in my parlour in Friar's Lane? You ought to know all about
+it, Jo Weatherhead. We've gone over the whole ground together often
+enough."
+
+They had done so. But Jo Weatherhead understood very well that his old
+friend was talking now, not to convince him, but herself. "Well, Sarah,"
+he said, "there seems a good chance for May to marry well, according to
+this good lady. 'Princely fortune,' she says. That sounds grand, don't
+it?"
+
+"Ah! And it isn't a few thousands that Mrs. Dormer-Smith would call a
+princely fortune."
+
+"Not a few thousands you think, eh, Sarah? Tens of thousands I shouldn't
+wonder, humph?" And Mr. Weatherhead pursed up his mouth, and poked
+forward his nose eagerly.
+
+"Not a doubt of it."
+
+"Bless my stars! To think of our little Miranda!--and her aunt says that
+May is disposed to look favourably on the gentleman."
+
+"So she says. But I can tell you that May doesn't care a button for him
+at present."
+
+"Lord! How do you know, Sarah?"
+
+"How do I know? That's so like a man! No girl in love would give up the
+chance of meeting her lover, as May wants to give it up. If she'd rather
+come to Oldchester than go to Scotland, it is because--so far, at any
+rate--she doesn't care a button for him."
+
+"I never thought of that. But perhaps, Sarah, she doesn't know that he
+is to be invited."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs seemed struck by this remark. "Well now, that's an idea, Jo!"
+said she, nodding her head. "It may be so. They seem to have had the
+sense not to talk to her about the matter. May's just the kind of girl
+to fling up her heels and break away, if she suspected any scheming to
+make a fine match for her. But she might come to care for him in time.
+There's no reason in nature why a rich man shouldn't be nice enough to
+be fallen in love with. And by his taking to May--and she without a
+penny--I'm inclined to think well of the young man."
+
+After some further consideration it was agreed that Mrs. Dobbs should
+write and propose a middle term: in the interval between her aunt's
+departure for Carlsbad, and the date of her invitation to Glengowrie,
+May should come down to Oldchester, on condition that she afterwards
+paid her visit to the Duchess. This arrangement would be a joy to Mrs.
+Dobbs, would satisfy May's affectionate longing, and could not prejudice
+the girl's future prospects. A letter to May was written, as well as one
+to Mrs. Dormer-Smith. This letter was very short, and may as well be
+given.
+
+    "DEAR MRS. DORMER-SMITH,
+
+     "I have to acknowledge yours of the 5th. I agree with you that
+     it would be a pity for my grand-daughter not to accept the
+     invitation you speak of. Some good may come of it, and I do not
+     think that any harm can come. If May spends the three or four
+     weeks with me after you start for the Continent, I will
+     undertake for her to meet the lady who is to take charge of her
+     to Scotland, at any place that may be agreed upon. I wrote to
+     May by this post, and she will tell you what I propose. With
+     regard to her father's address, I have had none for some time
+     past, except, 'Post-Office, Brussels.' This much I shall tell
+     her, as I think she has a right to know it. You need not
+     disturb yourself about her writing to her father, as I think,
+     from what I know of Captain Cheffington, that he is not likely
+     to answer her letter.
+
+     "I am, dear Mrs. Dormer-Smith,
+
+     "Yours truly,
+
+     "SARAH DOBBS."
+
+The proposal was accepted, and within a fortnight after the despatch of
+this letter, May Cheffington was in Oldchester once more.
+
+
+END OF VOL. I.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of That Unfortunate Marriage, Vol. 1(of 3), by 
+Frances Eleanor Trollope
+
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of That Unfortunate Marriage, Vol. 1(of 3), by 
+Frances Eleanor Trollope
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: That Unfortunate Marriage, Vol. 1(of 3)
+
+Author: Frances Eleanor Trollope
+
+Release Date: April 24, 2011 [EBook #35943]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THAT UNFORTUNATE MARRIAGE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Delphine Lettau, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+<h1>THAT UNFORTUNATE MARRIAGE.</h1>
+
+<h2>BY FRANCES ELEANOR TROLLOPE</h2>
+
+<h3>AUTHOR OF "AUNT MARGARET'S TROUBLE," "A CHARMING FELLOW," "LIKE SHIPS
+UPON THE SEA," ETC.</h3>
+
+
+<h3><i>IN THREE VOLUMES.</i><br />
+VOL. I.</h3>
+
+<h3>LONDON:<br />
+RICHARD BENTLEY AND SON</h3>
+
+<h3>Publishers in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen.</h3>
+
+<h3>1888.</h3>
+
+<h3>(<i>All rights reserved.</i>)</h3>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. -->
+<p>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a><br />
+</p>
+<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. -->
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>THAT UNFORTUNATE MARRIAGE.</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Augustus Cheffington had made an unfortunate marriage. That was admitted
+on all hands. When he was a Cornet in a cavalry regiment quartered in
+the ancient Cathedral City of Oldchester, he ran away with pretty Susan
+Dobbs, the daughter of his landlady. Augustus's friends and family&mdash;all
+the Cheffingtons, the Dormer-Smiths, the Castlecombes&mdash;deplored this
+rash step. It was never mentioned, either at the time or afterwards,
+without expressions of deep commiseration for him.</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless, from one point of view there were compensations. This
+unfortunate marriage was made responsible for a great many shortcomings,
+which would otherwise have been attributed more directly to Augustus
+Cheffington himself. For example, it was said to account for his failure
+in his profession. He had chosen it chiefly because he very much liked
+the brilliant uniform of a certain crack regiment (it was in the days
+before competitive examinations); and he had no other aptitude for it
+than a showy seat on horseback, and a person well calculated to set off
+the works of the regimental tailor. But when years had passed, and he
+had remained undistinguished, his friends said, "What could one expect
+after Augustus's unfortunate marriage?"</p>
+
+<p>After a time he sold out of the Army, and went to live on the Continent,
+where very shortly he had squandered nearly all his money, and fallen
+into shady paths of life; and again there was a chorus of "I told you
+so!" and a general sense that all this was due to the unfortunate
+marriage.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, his wife died, leaving him with one little girl, the sole
+survivor of five children; and he came to England with the idea of
+securing some place which should be suited to his birth, his abilities,
+his habits, and his inclinations. No such place was found. Several
+members of the Peerage were applied to, to exert their influence with
+"Government" on behalf of so well-connected a personage as Augustus
+Cheffington. But "Government" behaved very badly, "Government" was
+insensible to his claims. His claims, it is true, were not small. They
+required a maximum of remuneration for a minimum of labour. He was
+unable, also, to furnish any proofs of his fitness for one or two posts
+which happened to be vacant, except the undeniable fact of his
+cousinship with all the Cheffingtons and Castlecombes in England; and to
+this kind of qualification "Government," it appeared, attached no
+importance at all.</p>
+
+<p>He paid a round of visits at country houses, and renewed his
+long-disused acquaintance with a score of more or less distant
+relations. But he was not popular. It has been observed that
+unsuccessful men very often are not popular. "Gus Cheffington has
+dropped out of the running," men said. "A fellow naturally gets
+forgotten when he has kept out of sight for years&mdash;and besides, he makes
+himself so deuced disagreeable! He's always grumbling."</p>
+
+<p>This latter accusation was true. If England had shown no maternal
+affection for her long-absent son, the son returned her hard-heartedness
+with interest. Indeed, in his case, it turned into active resentment. He
+got tired of country houses and town mansions where he was received but
+coolly. He was sarcastic and bitter on the failure of his connections to
+procure him a lucrative sinecure. He considered that the country was
+travelling downhill at break-neck speed, and, for his part, he did not
+feel inclined to move his little finger to impede that fatal course.
+Moreover, the black coffee was, nine times out of ten, utterly
+undrinkable. One day he shook the dust of England's inhospitable shores
+from off his feet, and returned to his shady haunts on the
+Continent&mdash;its irresponsibility, its <i>cafés</i>, its boulevards, and its
+billiards. And when he was fairly gone, all the Cheffingtons, and the
+Dormer-Smiths, and the Castlecombes were softened into sympathy; and
+with much shrugging of shoulders and shaking of heads declared that it
+was a heartrending spectacle to behold such a man as Augustus
+Cheffington ruined, crushed, eclipsed, destroyed by his unfortunate
+marriage.</p>
+
+<p>When he went back to Belgium, he left behind him at school in Brighton
+his little motherless girl Miranda, familiarly called May. The
+Honourable Mrs. Cheffington, Augustus's mother, had advised her son to
+give the little girl a first-rate education, so as to mitigate as far as
+possible one disastrous effect of the unfortunate marriage, which was,
+that May had a plebeian mother. Mrs. Cheffington, known throughout all
+the ramifications of the family as "the dowager," was a hard-featured,
+selfish old woman, with a black wig, a pale yellow skin, and frowning
+eyebrows. She lived on a pension which would cease at her death, and she
+was supposed by some of her relations to be making a purse. They thought
+it would turn out that the dowager had considerable savings to leave
+behind her; and they founded this supposition on her never giving away
+anything during her lifetime. Mrs. Dormer-Smith, Augustus Cheffington's
+sister, declared that her mother made one exception to her rule of
+refusing assistance to any of them. She believed that Augustus, who had
+always been her favourite child, profited by the dowager's indulgence,
+and managed to extract some money from her tightly-closed purse. And it
+certainly was true that the old lady had paid May's school bills&mdash;so far
+as they had been paid at all.</p>
+
+<p>But one day the Honourable Anne Miranda Cheffington took off her black
+wig for the last time, and relaxed her frowning eyebrows. The
+announcement of her death appeared in the first column of the <i>Times</i>,
+there was a brief obituary notice in a fashionable journal, and her
+place knew her no more.</p>
+
+<p>Augustus hastened home to England on the receipt of a telegram from his
+sister. That is to say, he said he hastened; but he did not arrive in
+town until some hours after the funeral was over. Mr. Dormer-Smith was
+somewhat irritated by this tardiness, and observed to his wife that it
+was just like Augustus to keep out of the way while there was any
+trouble to be taken, and only arrive in time to be present at the
+reading of the will. Any expectations that Augustus might have founded
+on his mother's reluctance to give during her lifetime were quite
+disappointed. The dowager had no money to bequeath. She had spent nearly
+the last shilling of her quarter's income. In fact, there was not enough
+to cover the expenses of the funeral, which were finally paid several
+months afterwards by Mr. Dormer-Smith.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed almost superfluous, under the circumstances, to have made a
+will at all. But the will was there. The chief item in it was a quantity
+of yellow old lace, extremely dirty, and much in need of mending, which
+was solemnly bequeathed by Mrs. Cheffington to her daughter, Pauline
+Augusta Clarissa Dormer-Smith. It was set forth at some length how that
+the lace, being an heirloom of the Cheffingtons, should have descended
+in due course to the wife of the eldest son, or, failing that, to the
+eldest daughter of the eldest son; and how this tradition was
+disregarded in the present case by reason of peculiar and unprecedented
+family circumstances. This was the dowager's Parthian dart at the
+unfortunate marriage. There was little other property, except the dingy
+old furniture of Mrs. Cheffington's house at Richmond, and a few books,
+treating chiefly of fortification and gunnery, which had belonged to
+Lieutenant-General the Honourable Augustus Vane Cheffington, the
+dowager's long-deceased husband.</p>
+
+<p>"What the&mdash;&mdash;What on earth my mother did with her money <i>I</i> can't
+conjecture!" exclaimed Augustus, staring out of the window of his
+brother-in-law's drawing-room the day after the funeral.</p>
+
+<p>"She didn't give it to us, Augustus," returned Mrs. Dormer-Smith
+plaintively. "Even when my boy Cyril went to see her at the end of the
+holidays, just before returning to Harrow, she never tipped him. Once I
+think she gave him five shillings. But it's a long time ago; he was a
+little fellow in petticoats."</p>
+
+<p>"Then what <i>did</i> she do with her money?" repeated Augustus, with an
+increasingly gloomy scowl at the gardens of the Kensington square on
+which his eyes rested.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe that, with the exception of what she paid for May's
+schooling, she spent it on herself."</p>
+
+<p>"Spent it on herself? That's impossible! It was a very good income
+indeed for a solitary woman, and she lived very quietly."</p>
+
+<p>"You may get through a good deal of money even living quietly, when you
+don't deny yourself anything you can get. For instance, she never would
+drive one horse; she had been accustomed to a pair all her life."</p>
+
+<p>Augustus checked an oath on his very lips, and, instead of swearing
+according to his first impulse, observed with solemnity that he knew not
+how his mother had been able to reconcile such selfishness with her
+conscience, and hoped her last moments had not been troubled by remorse.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I don't think mamma felt anything of that kind," said Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith in her slow, gentle tones; "she was always complaining of
+other people's unreasonable expectations."</p>
+
+<p>The brother and sister fell silent for a while after this, each being
+immersed in private meditation. That very morning a circumstance had
+occurred which had put the last touch to Augustus's disappointment and
+exasperation. The Brighton schoolmistress had sent Miss Miranda
+Cheffington to London in the charge of a maid-servant, and the little
+girl had arrived at her aunt's house in a cab with her worldly
+possessions, namely, a small black trunk full of clothes, and a
+canary-bird in a cage. The schoolmistress wrote civilly, but firmly, to
+the effect that, after the lamented decease of the Honourable Mrs.
+Cheffington, she could not undertake to keep May any longer; feeling
+sure, by repeated experience, that all applications for payment made to
+Captain Cheffington would be in vain, and understanding that Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith declined to charge herself with her niece's education.
+Captain Cheffington had been violently angry, and had denounced the
+schoolmistress&mdash;Mrs. Drax&mdash;as an insolent, grasping, vulgar harpy. But
+Mrs. Drax was out of his reach, and there was May, thirteen years old,
+with a healthy appetite, and limbs rapidly outgrowing her clothes.</p>
+
+<p>Augustus continued to glare moodily at the square for some minutes. His
+sister leaned her cheek on her hand, and looked at the fire. At length
+Augustus, composing his face to a less savage expression, turned away
+from the window, sat down opposite to his sister, and said, pensively&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"We must arrange something for May, Pauline."</p>
+
+<p>"You must, indeed, Augustus."</p>
+
+<p>"We ought to consider her future."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; I think you ought, Augustus."</p>
+
+<p>"The girl is at a hobbledehoy age. It's a perplexing position. So
+difficult to know what to do with her."</p>
+
+<p>"There is no age at which it is so awkward to dress a girl. I have
+sometimes regretted not having daughters; but upon my word there must be
+a dreadful amount of harass about their clothes between twelve and
+fifteen&mdash;or in some cases sixteen."</p>
+
+<p>"It's impossible for me to have her with me in Brussels. The way I
+live&mdash;am obliged to live <i>malgré moi</i>&mdash;she'd upset all my arrangements
+and habits. In short, you can see for yourself, Pauline, that it would
+be out of the question."</p>
+
+<p>"No doubt it would be very bad for the girl."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course! That's what I mean. Wouldn't it be the best plan after all,
+Pauline, to leave her here with you? She could have private masters&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dormer-Smith shook her head.</p>
+
+<p>"At my expense, of course," added Augustus. "I must screw and scrape and
+make some sacrifices no doubt, but&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"It really won't do, Augustus. I assure you it won't do. Frederick will
+<i>not</i> have it. He talked to me after luncheon. It isn't the least use."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dormer-Smith continued plaintively to shake her head as she spoke,
+and to look with gentle melancholy at the fire.</p>
+
+<p>"H'm! Frederick is very kind. But let us discuss the thing in a friendly
+spirit. If I pay for her clothing and education, surely the expense of
+her board wouldn't ruin you and Frederick!"</p>
+
+<p>"No; but the butcher and the baker are the least part of the matter. It
+isn't as if May were the daughter of one's housekeeper or one's
+governess. She is a Cheffington, you know. So many things are required
+for a girl with her connections; and as to your paying for her masters,
+of course we know you wouldn't, Augustus."</p>
+
+<p>"Upon my soul you are civil and sisterly!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I dare say you would mean to pay, but you wouldn't. It would be
+sure to turn out so, don't you know? Things always have been like that
+with you, Augustus."</p>
+
+<p>"Then what the devil do you think I'm to do?"</p>
+
+<p>"Pray don't be violent! I really cannot bear any display of violence.
+You should remember that it is scarcely a week since poor mamma was
+taken from us."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see what that has to do with it. Miranda hasn't been taken from
+us; that's the point."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dormer-Smith making no answer, her brother continued, after a
+moment or two&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"You are fertile in objections, but you don't seem to have any plan to
+suggest."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, an idea did occur to me. I don't know whether you would like it."</p>
+
+<p>"Like it! Probably not. But I am used to sacrifice my inclinations."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I thought that you might put May into a school in France or
+Germany, or somewhere, letting her give lessons in English in return for
+her board and so on. There are plenty of schools where they do that sort
+of thing. It wouldn't so much matter abroad, because people wouldn't
+know who she was. You might tide over a year or two in that way."</p>
+
+<p>Augustus got up from his chair. "My daughter a drudge in a Continental
+school?" he exclaimed indignantly.</p>
+
+<p>"If you chose a place little frequented by English, I don't think people
+would know."</p>
+
+<p>There was a short silence. Then Augustus said angrily, "I'll take the
+girl back with me. She must share my home, such as it is. We will
+neither of us trouble you or Frederick much longer. I shall start for
+Ostend by the morning mail to-morrow." And he dashed out of the room
+emitting a muffled roll of oaths, and jarring the door in a way which
+made Mrs. Dormer-Smith clasp her forehead with both hands, and lean back
+shrinkingly in her chair.</p>
+
+<p>But when the morrow came, Captain Cheffington and his daughter did not
+go to Ostend. When they had got out of sight of the Dormer-Smiths'
+house, he ordered the cabman to drive to the Great Western Railway
+Station, and started by an express train for Oldchester.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Amongst the minor grievances reckoned up by the deceased dowager as
+accruing from Augustus's unfortunate marriage was the fact that his wife
+had borne the plebeian name of Dobbs. One of her most frequent
+complaints against poor little May was that the child was "a thorough
+Dobbs." And when she was out of temper&mdash;which was very often&mdash;she would
+prefer this charge as indignantly as though Dobbs were synonymous with
+the most disgraceful epithets in the English language.</p>
+
+<p>And yet the sound of it awoke very different associations in the city of
+Oldchester, where Augustus's mother-in-law had lived all her life. Mrs.
+Dobbs was the widow of a tradesman. The ironmonger's business, which her
+husband had carried on, had long passed into other hands; but his name
+still met the eyes of his fellow-townsmen in the inscription, "J. Brown,
+late Dobbs," painted over the shop.</p>
+
+<p>Oldchester is a city in which two streams of life run side by side,
+mingling but little with each other. At a certain point in the existence
+of Oldchester, its ancient course of civil and ecclesiastical history
+had received a new tributary&mdash;a strong and ever-growing current of
+commerce. Commerce built wide suburbs, with villa residences in various
+stages of "detachment" and "semi-detachment" from one another. Commerce
+strewed the pleasant country paths and lanes with coal-dust, and
+blackened the air with smoke. Commerce set up Art schools, founded
+hospitals (and furnished patients for them), multiplied railways for
+miles round, and scored all the new streets, and some of the old, with
+tramway lines. Commerce bought estates in the neighbourhood, was
+conveyed to public worship in splendid equipages, sent its sons to Eton,
+and married its daughters into the Peerage. But, for all that, the fame
+of Oldchester continued to rest on its character as a cathedral city.
+The old current surpassed the new one in length and dignity, if in
+nothing else. The gray cathedral towers rose up majestically above the
+din and turmoil of forge and loom and factory, with a noble aspiration
+towards something above and beyond these; while the vibrations of their
+mellow chimes shed down sweet suggestions of peace and goodwill among
+the homes of the toilers.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dobbs particularly loved the sounds of the cathedral chimes; and
+she sat with closed eyes listening to them in the twilight of a certain
+autumn evening. Her house was in a narrow street, called Friar's Row,
+which turned out of the High Street. A monastery had once stood on the
+site of it, but all trace of the ancient conventual buildings had long
+since disappeared. The houses were solid brick dwellings, from one to
+two hundred years old. Mrs. Dobbs's husband had bequeathed her a long
+lease of that which she occupied. Most of the other houses in Friar's
+Row were used as offices or warehouses, the wealthier kind of
+tradespeople who once lived in them having migrated to the suburbs. On
+her husband's death some of Mrs. Dobbs's friends had urged her to remove
+to a newer and more cheerful part of the town, but she had resisted the
+suggestion with some contempt.</p>
+
+<p>"I know what suits me," she would say. "And that's a knowledge the Lord
+doesn't bestow on all and sundry. This house suits me. It's
+weather-proof for one thing. And you needn't be afraid of putting your
+foot through the floor if you walk a little heavy, as I do. When I go to
+see the Simpsons in that bandbox they call Laurel Villa, I daren't lean
+my umbrella against the wall, for fear of bringing the whole concern
+down like a pack of cards."</p>
+
+<p>She might easily have increased her income by letting her house and
+removing to one in the suburbs; for its position was central, and the
+tenements in Friar's Row were in great request for business purposes.
+But she resisted this temptation. There were reasons of a more
+impalpable kind than the solidity of its floors and roofs, which made
+Mrs. Dobbs constant to her old home. She had lived there all the days of
+her married life. Her daughter had been born there. Her husband had died
+there. The somewhat narrow and dingy street had in her eyes the familiar
+aspect of a friendly face. She loved to hear the rattle and bustle of
+the High Street, slightly softened by distance. Those common sounds were
+full of voices from the past: the common sights around were associated
+with all the joys and sorrows of her life. Mrs. Dobbs never said
+anything to this effect, but she felt it. And so she stayed in Friar's
+Row.</p>
+
+<p>The parlour in which she sat was comfortably and substantially
+furnished. A competent observer would have perceived evidences of
+permanence and respectability in the solid, old-fashioned chairs and
+tables, the prints after Morland on the walls, and the corner cupboard
+full of fine old china. The bookshelves which filled one end of the room
+contained the accumulations of successive generations. There was a
+square pianoforte with a pile of old music-books on the top of it; and a
+big family Bible in massive binding had a place of honour all to itself
+on a side-table covered with green baize. On this special autumn
+evening, owing to the hour, and partly to the narrowness of the street,
+which shut out some of the lingering daylight, the parlour was very dim.
+A red fire glowed in the grate, a large tabby cat blinked and purred on
+the hearthrug, and in a spacious easy-chair at one side of the fireplace
+sat Mrs. Dobbs, listening with closed eyes to the cathedral chimes.</p>
+
+<p>Presently the door was softly opened, and there came into the room Mrs.
+Dobbs's life-long friend and crony, Mr. Joseph Weatherhead. This person
+was her brother-in-law, and a childless widower. He had carried on the
+trade of bookseller and stationer in Birmingham for many years; but had
+sold his business on the death of his wife, and come to live in
+Oldchester, near the Dobbs's. Mr. Weatherhead was a tall, lean man, with
+a benevolent, bald forehead, and mild eyes. The only remarkable feature
+in his face was the nose, which was large, slightly aquiline, brownish
+red in colour, and protruded from his face at a peculiar angle. The
+forehead above, and the chin below, sloped away from it rather rapidly.
+The nose had thus a singularly inquisitive air of being eagerly in the
+van, as though it thrust itself forward in quest of news.</p>
+
+<p>As he closed the door behind him, Mrs. Dobbs opened her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought you were asleep, Sarah," said Mr. Weatherhead.</p>
+
+<p>"Asleep!" ejaculated Mrs. Dobbs, with all the indignation which that
+accusation is so apt mysteriously to excite. "Nothing of the kind! I was
+listening to the chimes. They always make me think&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Of poor Susy," interrupted Mr. Weatherhead, nodding. "Ah! And so they
+do me. Poor Susy! How pretty she was!"</p>
+
+<p>"She had better have been less pretty for her own happiness. The great
+misfortune of her life wouldn't have happened but for her pretty face."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Weatherhead nodded again, and sat down opposite to Mrs. Dobbs in a
+corresponding armchair to her own. He then took from his pocket a black
+leather case, and from the case a meerschaum pipe, which he proceeded to
+fill and light and smoke.</p>
+
+<p>"What an infatuation!" sighed Mrs. Dobbs, pursuing her own meditations.
+"To think of Susy throwing herself away on that extravagant, selfish,
+good-for-nothing fellow without any principles to speak of, when she
+might have had an honest tradesman in a first-rate way of business! She
+had only to pick and choose."</p>
+
+<p>"Humph! Honest tradesmen are not as plentiful as blackberries, though,"
+observed Mr. Weatherhead, reflectively.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dobbs ignored this parenthesis, and went on: "It was a bad day for
+me and mine when he first came swaggering into this house."</p>
+
+<p>From which speech it will be seen that the Dobbs side of the family
+coincided with the Cheffingtons in considering Augustus's to have been
+an unfortunate marriage; only each party arrived at the same conclusion
+by a different road.</p>
+
+<p>"Have you heard from him lately, Sarah?" asked Mr. Weatherhead, after a
+pause.</p>
+
+<p>"From my precious son-in-law? Not I!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!"</p>
+
+<p>"Not a word from him till he wants something. You may take your oath of
+that, Jo Weatherhead."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I thought you might have heard from him, because&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Well?" (very sharply).</p>
+
+<p>"Well, because I see something has been putting old times into your
+head; and I thought it might be that."</p>
+
+<p>"Something been putting old times into my head? I should like to know
+when they're out of my head! Much you know about it!"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Weatherhead apparently did know something about it; for after
+another long silence, during which he puffed at his pipe and stared into
+the fire, Mrs. Dobbs justified his penetration by saying&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The truth is, I <i>have</i> been turning things over in my mind a good deal
+since yesterday."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Weatherhead was too wary to expose himself to another snub, so he
+merely nodded two or three times in an oracular manner.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm worried out of my mind about that child. She went off yesterday as
+bright and happy as possible, and looking so pretty and genteel&mdash;fit for
+any company in the land."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! She went off, you say, to&mdash;&mdash;?"</p>
+
+<p>"To the Hadlows'. She is to stay there over Sunday."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! But I don't quite see&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Go on! What is it that you don't quite see?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't quite see what there is to worry you in that. The Hadlows are
+very good sort of people."</p>
+
+<p>"I should think they <i>were</i> very good sort of people! Canon Hadlow is
+one of the best men in Oldchester; or in all England, for the matter of
+that. And he's a gentleman to the marrow of his bones. But what sort of
+a position has my grand-daughter among the Hadlows and their
+belongings?"</p>
+
+<p>"A very nice position, I should say."</p>
+
+<p>"A very nice position!" exclaimed Mrs. Dobbs, who seemed determined to
+repeat all poor Mr. Weatherhead's speeches in a tone of disdainful
+irony. "That's so like you, Jo! <i>She</i> thinks it a very nice position,
+too, poor lamb. She knows nothing of the world, bless her innocent
+heart. And, for all her seventeen years, she is the merest child in some
+things. But you might know better. You are not seventeen years old, Jo
+Weatherhead."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly not," assented he emphatically.</p>
+
+<p>"The fact of the matter is that, whether by good luck or bad luck, May
+does not belong to my sphere or my class. She's a Cheffington. She has
+the ways of a lady, and the education of a lady, and she has a right to
+the position of a lady. If that father of hers gives her nothing else he
+might give her that; and he shall, if I can make him."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps it might have been better, after all, if you had not sent the
+child back to her old school, but just brought her up here, under your
+own eye, in a plain sort of way. It would have been better for <i>you</i>,
+anyhow."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know that."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you'd have been spared a good many sacrifices. There's not another
+woman in England would have done what you've done, Sarah."</p>
+
+<p>"Nonsense; there are plenty of women in England as big fools as me. Even
+that wooden old figurehead of a dowager&mdash;Lord forgive me, she's dead and
+gone!&mdash;had the grace to pay the child's schooling as long as she lived."</p>
+
+<p>"She!" exclaimed Jo Weatherhead, firing up suddenly, and tapping his
+meerschaum sharply against the hob. "That's a very different pair of
+shoes. She could afford it a precious sight better than you. What did
+<i>she</i> ever deprive herself of? I say there's not another woman in
+England would have done what you've done, and it's no good your
+contradicting."</p>
+
+<p>"There, bless the man! Don't let us quarrel about it."</p>
+
+<p>"But I shall quarrel about it, unless you give in. Here's the case
+fairly put:&mdash;A young spark runs away with your only daughter, and pretty
+well breaks your heart. He takes her wandering about into foreign parts,
+and you only get news of her now and then, and never good news. He's too
+fine a gentleman to do a stroke of work for his family, but as soon as
+he has run through his bit of money he's not too fine a gentleman to
+fall into disreputable ways of life, nor yet to let who will look after
+his motherless little girl, and feed, and clothe, and educate her. When
+his own mother dies&mdash;leaving two quarters' school-bills unpaid, which
+you have to settle, by-the-by&mdash;the rest of the family, including his own
+sister, refuse to advance a sixpence to save the child from the
+workhouse."</p>
+
+<p>"I say, Jo, that's putting it a little too strong, my friend! There was
+no talk of the workhouse."</p>
+
+<p>"Let me finish summing up the case. I say they wouldn't spend sixpence
+to save that child from <i>starvation</i>&mdash;there, now! When the dowager is
+dead, and the rest of them button up their breeches' pockets, and the
+schoolmistress sends away the poor little girl because she can't afford
+to keep her and teach her for nothing, what does my gentleman do? Does
+he try in any one way to do his duty by his only child? Not he. He
+coolly shuffles off all trouble and responsibility on other folks'
+shoulders. He hasn't taken any notice of you for years, except writing
+once to borrow fifty pounds&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Which he didn't get, Jo."</p>
+
+<p>"Which he didn't get because an over-ruling Providence had ordained that
+you shouldn't have it to lend him. Well, after years of silence and
+neglect, he turns up in Oldchester one fine morning, and walks into your
+house bringing his little girl 'on a visit to her dear grandmother.'
+Talk of brass! What sort of a material do you suppose that man's
+features are composed of?"</p>
+
+<p>"Gutta percha, very likely," returned Mrs. Dobbs, who now sat resting
+her head against the cushions of her chair, and listening to Mr.
+Weatherhead's eloquence with a half-humorous resignation; "that's a
+good, tough, elastic kind of stuff."</p>
+
+<p>"Tough! He had need have some toughness of countenance to come into this
+house as he did. And that's not the end. He swaggers about Oldchester
+for a week or two, using your house as an inn, neither more nor
+less&mdash;except that there's no bill;&mdash;and then one day he starts off for
+the Continent, leaving little May here, and promising to send for her as
+soon as he gets settled. From that day to this, and it's four years ago,
+you have had the child on your hands, and her precious father has never
+contributed one shilling towards her support. You sent the child back to
+school. You pinched, and saved, and denied yourself many little comforts
+to keep her there. You have never let her feel or guess that she has
+been a burthen on you in your old age. And I say again, Sarah Dobbs,
+that, considering all the circumstances of the case, there's not another
+woman in England would have done what you've done. No, nor in Europe!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, having come to that, I hope you've finished, Jo Weatherhead."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope I have," returned Mr. Weatherhead, mopping his flushed face with
+a very large red pocket-handkerchief. "I hope I have, for the present.
+But if you attempt to contradict a word of what I have been saying, I'll
+begin again and go still further!"</p>
+
+<p>"There, there, then that's settled. But I am thinking of the future.
+Supposing I died to-morrow, what's to become of May? I have nothing to
+leave her. My bit of property goes back to Dobbs's family, and all right
+and fair, too. I've nothing to say against my husband's will. But people
+like the Hadlows, who invite May, and make much of her, have no idea
+that she has no one to look to but me. I don't say they'd give her the
+cold shoulder if they did know it; but it would make a difference. As it
+is, they talk to her about her aunt, Mrs. Dormer-Smith, and her cousin,
+Lord This, and her connection, Lady T'other, and a kind of a&mdash;what shall
+I say?&mdash;a sort of atmosphere of high folks hangs about her. She's Miss
+Miranda Cheffington, with fifty relations in the peerage. If she was
+known only as the grandchild of Mrs. Dobbs, the ironmonger's widow, she
+would seem mightily changed in a good many eyes. Sometimes it comes over
+me as if I was letting May go on under false pretences."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, she <i>has</i> got fifty relations in the peerage, hasn't she?"</p>
+
+<p>"A hundred, for all I know. But folks are not aware that her father's
+family take no notice of her. She hardly knows it herself."</p>
+
+<p>"But her aunt, Mrs. Dormer-Smith, writes to her, doesn't she?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, a line once in a blue moon, to say she's glad to hear May is well,
+and to complain of the great expense of living in London."</p>
+
+<p>"The selfish meanness of that woman is beyond belief."</p>
+
+<p>"Well&mdash;I don't know, Jo. She's a poor creature, certainly. But I feel
+more a sort of pity for her than anything else."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Do</i> you? It's only out of contradiction, then."</p>
+
+<p>"Not altogether," said Mrs. Dobbs, laughing good-humouredly. "I made her
+out pretty well that time I took May up to London before she went back
+to school."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! I remember. You tried if the aunt would do anything to help."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I tried. It was right to try. But I very soon saw that there was
+nothing to be hoped for from that quarter. Mrs. Dormer-Smith has been
+brought up to live for the world and the world's ways. To be sure her
+world is a funny, artificial little affair compared with God Almighty's:
+pretty much as though one should take a teaspoonful of Epsom salts for
+the sea. But, at any rate, I do believe she sincerely thinks it ought to
+be worshipped and bowed down to. It's no use to tell such a woman that
+she could do without this or that useless finery, and spend the money
+better. She'll answer you with tears in her eyes that it's <i>impossible</i>;
+and, what's more, she'll believe it. Why, if some Tomnoddy or other,
+belonging to what she calls "the best people," was to ordain to-morrow
+that nobody should eat his dinner unless he was waited on by a man with
+a long pigtail, that poor creature would know no peace, nor her meat
+would have no relish until a man with a pigtail stood behind her chair.
+That's Mrs. Dormer-Smith, Jo Weatherhead."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Weatherhead drew up his lips into the form of a round O, as his
+manner was when considering any matter of interest, and appeared to
+meditate a reply. But the reply was never spoken; for a brisk ring at
+the street door gave a new turn to his thoughts and those of his
+sister-in-law.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear me!" exclaimed Mrs. Dobbs, putting up her hands to settle her cap,
+and stretching out her feet with a sudden movement which made the old
+tabby on the hearthrug arch her back indignantly. "Why, that must be the
+Simpsons! I didn't think it was so late. Just light the candles, will
+you, Jo? I hope Martha has remembered the roasted potatoes."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The Simpsons were old friends of Mrs. Dobbs. Mr. Simpson was organist of
+the largest parish church in Oldchester, where his father had been
+organist before him. To this circumstance he owed his singular Christian
+name. The elder Simpson, whose musical enthusiasm had run all into one
+channel, insisted on naming his son Sebastian Bach. Some men would have
+felt this to be a disadvantage for the profession of organist and
+music-teacher, as involving a suggestion of ridicule. But Mr. Sebastian
+Bach Simpson was not apt to be diffident about any distinguishing
+characteristic of his own. His wife had been a governess, and still gave
+daily lessons in sundry respectable Oldchester families. By an
+arrangement begun during her late husband's lifetime, this couple came
+every Saturday evening to sup with Mrs. Dobbs, and to play a game of
+whist for penny points before the meal.</p>
+
+<p>The two guests entered the parlour just as Mr. Weatherhead was lighting
+the candles.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear me," exclaimed Mrs. Simpson, "are we too early? I had no idea!
+Surely the choir practice was not over earlier than usual, Bassy?"</p>
+
+<p>She was a large stout woman of forty, with a pink-and-white complexion
+and filmy brown curls; and she wore spectacles. She had once been very
+slim and pretty, and still retained a certain girlishness of demeanour.
+It has been said that a man is as old as he feels, and a woman as old as
+she looks. Mrs. Simpson had innocently usurped the masculine privilege;
+and, not feeling herself to be either wiser or less trivial than she was
+at eighteen, had never thought of trying to bring her manners into
+harmony with her appearance. Her husband was a short, dark man, with
+quick black eyes, and thick, stubby, black hair. His voice was
+singularly rasping and dissonant, which seemed an unfortunate
+incongruity in a professor of music. Such as he was, however, his wife
+had a great admiration for him, and considered his talents to be
+remarkable. Her marriage, she was fond of saying, had been a love-match,
+and she had never got beyond the romantic stage of her attachment.</p>
+
+<p>"Good evening, Mrs. Dobbs," said the organist, advancing to shake hands,
+and taking no notice of his wife's inquiry.</p>
+
+<p>"How are you, Weatherhead? I suppose you were napping&mdash;having forty
+winks in the twilight, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Mr. Weatherhead and I were chatting," said Mrs. Dobbs.</p>
+
+<p>"Chatting in this kind of blind man's holiday, were you? I should have
+thought you could hardly see to talk!"</p>
+
+<p>"See to talk! Oh, Bassy, what an expression! You do say the drollest
+things!" exclaimed Mrs. Simpson with a giggle. "Doesn't he, Mrs. Dobbs?
+Did you ever hear&mdash;&mdash;?"</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dobbs, for all reply, hospitably stirred the fire until it blazed,
+helped Mrs. Simpson to remove her bonnet and cloak, and placed her in a
+chair near her own. Mr. Simpson took his accustomed seat, and the four
+persons drew round the fire, whilst Martha, Mrs. Dobbs's middle-aged
+servant, set out a little card-table, and disposed the candles on it in
+two old-fashioned, spindle-shanked, silver candlesticks. It was all done
+according to long-established custom, which was seldom deviated from in
+any particular.</p>
+
+<p>"And how are you, dear Mrs. Dobbs?" asked Mrs. Simpson, taking her
+hostess's hand between both her own. "And dear May&mdash;where's May?"</p>
+
+<p>"May has been away from home on a visit since yesterday morning. She
+won't come back before Monday."</p>
+
+<p>"And may one ask where she is? It is not, I presume, a Mystery of
+Udolpho!"</p>
+
+<p>"She is at the Hadlows'."</p>
+
+<p>"The Hadlows'? Canon Hadlow's?" cried Mrs. Simpson, clasping her hands
+with a gesture of amazement. Then she added rather inconsistently,
+"Well, I'm not surprised. I know they have lately taken a great deal of
+notice of her. Miss Hadlow and she having been at school together, of
+course created an intimacy which&mdash;ah, the friendships of early youth,
+where they <i>are</i> genuine, have a warmth, a charm&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Now</i>, Amelia!" interposed her husband's rasping voice. (This
+ejaculation was his habitual manner of recalling Mrs. Simpson's
+attention to the matter in hand, whatever it might be; for the good
+lady's mind was discursive.) "If you'll be kind enough to leave off your
+nonsense, we can begin our game. Come and cut for partners."</p>
+
+<p>An earnest whist player would have been outraged by the performances of
+the four persons who met weekly in Mrs. Dobbs's parlour. They chatted,
+they misdealt, they even revoked sometimes; and they overlooked each
+other's misdemeanours with unscrupulous laxity. In a word, they regarded
+the noble game of whist merely as a means and not as an end, and were
+scandalously bent on amusing themselves regardless of Hoyle. The only
+one of the party who had any pretensions to play tolerably was Mr.
+Weatherhead. But even his attention was always to be diverted from his
+cards by a new piece of gossip. And perhaps, it was as well that he did
+not take the game too much to heart&mdash;especially on the present occasion;
+for the fair Amelia fell to his lot as a partner, and her performances
+with the cards were calculated to drive a zealous player into a nervous
+fever.</p>
+
+<p>The first hand or two proceeded in decorous silence. But by degrees the
+players began to talk, throwing out first detached sentences, and at
+last boldly entering into general conversation.</p>
+
+<p>"Bassy had a great deal of trouble with the choir this evening," said
+Mrs. Simpson plaintively. "The sopranos were <i>so</i> inattentive! And
+inattention is so particularly&mdash;oh dear, I beg pardon, I <i>have</i> a
+diamond! Well, it does not much matter, for we couldn't have made the
+odd trick in any case."</p>
+
+<p>"A nice business at Sheffield with those Trades Unions," said Mr.
+Weatherhead. "Some severe measures ought to be taken; but they won't be.
+That's what your precious Liberalism comes to!&mdash;Your lead, Simpson."</p>
+
+<p>"Nonsense about Liberalism, Jo Weatherhead," replied Mrs. Dobbs. "I
+believe you'd like to accuse the Liberals of the bad weather.
+There!&mdash;Did you ever see such a hand? One trump! and that fell. Mrs.
+Simpson playing out her knave misled me."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, if you reckon on Amelia's having any sufficient motive for playing
+one card more than another&mdash;&mdash;" exclaimed Amelia's husband. "Have you
+heard, Mrs. Dobbs, that Mr. Bransby is getting better?"</p>
+
+<p>"What Bransby is that?" asked Mr. Weatherhead, thrusting his head
+forward inquiringly.</p>
+
+<p>"Cadell and Bransby, Solicitors to the Dean and Chapter."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh-o! He has been ill, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"Very ill. But I hear he was pronounced out of danger on Wednesday."</p>
+
+<p>"Is it not good news?" cried Mrs. Simpson. "Such a misfortune for his
+young family! I mean if he had died, you know."</p>
+
+<p>"But I suppose he's a warm man, isn't he? Cadell and Bransby&mdash;it's a
+fine business, isn't it?" asked Mr. Weatherhead.</p>
+
+<p>"It had need be," rejoined the organist, "to maintain that tribe of boys
+and girls, and an extravagant young wife into the bargain."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Bassy, but they are such pretty children! And Mrs. Bransby is so
+truly elegant and interesting. All her bonnets come from Paris, I am
+told. And indeed there is a certain style&mdash;&mdash;Eh? You <i>don't</i> mean to say
+that spades are trumps? What a disappointment! I thought I had all four
+honours."</p>
+
+<p>This ingenuous speech might have called forth some remonstrance from
+Mrs. Simpson's partner, but that the latter was too much interested in
+the subject of the Bransbys to attend to it.</p>
+
+<p>"The eldest son is provided for by his mother's fortune, isn't he?" he
+inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"Well&mdash;'provided for;' I don't know that it is very much. But it was all
+tightly settled. Otherwise Bransby's second marriage would have been a
+greater misfortune for the young man than it is," replied the organist.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see that it is any misfortune at all," observed Mrs. Dobbs.
+"Theodore Bransby is quite well enough off for a young fellow. And why
+shouldn't his father marry again if he liked it?"</p>
+
+<p>"He is an extremely gentleman-like young man, is Mr. Theodore Bransby,"
+said Mrs. Simpson. "I have been imparting daily instruction to the
+younger children, and I saw him rather frequently when he was at home
+during the University vacation. He is now reading for the Bar, you know,
+and I believe&mdash;&mdash;Was that <i>your</i> knave, Mr. Weatherhead? Really! Then I
+have thrown away my queen. However," smiling amiably, "one can but take
+the trick. I believe that Mr. Theodore Bransby means to go into
+Parliament later. There is really something of the statesman about him
+already, <i>I</i> think&mdash;a way of buttoning his coat to the chin, don't you
+know?"</p>
+
+<p>"Is Theodore Bransby in Oldchester now?" asked Mrs. Dobbs, sorting her
+cards.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes," replied Mr. Simpson. "I wonder you didn't know, for he is a
+great deal at Canon Hadlow's. They say he's making up to Miss Hadlow."</p>
+
+<p>"O-ho! But there's Mrs. Hadlow's nephew, young Rivers," put in Mr.
+Weatherhead. "<i>He's</i> supposed to be dangling after his cousin, isn't
+he?"</p>
+
+<p>"I should think young Rivers had better dangle after an employment that
+will give him bread and cheese. Miss Constance Hadlow won't have a
+penny."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Bassy, but where there's real affection mercenary considerations
+must give way. True love&mdash;true love is above all!" As she uttered these
+words with great fervour, Mrs. Simpson flourished her arm
+enthusiastically, and in so doing swept off the table several coins
+which had served as counters to register her opponent's score. The
+silver discs rolled swiftly away into various inaccessible corners of
+the room, with the perversity usually observed in such cases.
+Fortunately the game had just come to an end, and Martha had announced
+that the supper was ready. This circumstance, and the fact that her
+husband was a winner, spared Mrs. Simpson a sharp reprimand.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Simpson uttered, indeed, a few sarcastic croaks. "<i>Now</i>, Amelia!
+There you go! Always up to some nonsense or other." But he watched Mr.
+Weatherhead and Martha as they crawled about on hands and knees to
+recover the missing shillings and sixpences, with considerable
+equanimity; merely observing that Amelia ought to be ashamed of herself
+for giving so much trouble.</p>
+
+<p>When the supper was set on the table, three of the party, at least, were
+in high good humour, and disposed to enjoy it. Mr. Simpson had won, and
+was content. Mr. Weatherhead paid his losses without a murmur,
+conscious, no doubt, that they were due as much to his own wandering
+attention as to his partner's aberrations. As for Mrs. Simpson, the
+sweetness of her disposition was proof against far more souring
+circumstances than having spoiled Jo Weatherhead's game. She was not the
+least out of humour with him. Mrs. Dobbs alone was a little more silent
+and a little less genial than usual. The talk that evening with her old
+friend had awakened painful thoughts of the past and anxieties for the
+future. She very rarely mentioned her son-in-law's name, even to Mr.
+Weatherhead, who was thoroughly in her confidence; and, whenever she did
+speak of him, the result was invariably to irritate and depress her.
+However, her hospitable instincts roused her to shake off her cares in
+some degree, and to make her friends welcome to the fare set before
+them.</p>
+
+<p>When the more substantial part of the supper was disposed of, and a jug
+of hot punch steamed on the board, Mrs. Simpson, delicately tapping with
+her teaspoon on the edge of her tumbler, observed, with an air at once
+penetrating and amiable&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'm sure it will be very gratifying to Mrs. Dormer-Smith when she
+hears that dear May has been invited to the Hadlows'."</p>
+
+<p>"H'm! I don't think Mrs. Dormer-Smith will lose her wits with joy,"
+answered Mrs. Dobbs drily.</p>
+
+<p>"No? Oh, but surely&mdash;&mdash;! She <i>must</i> feel it agreeable that her niece
+should be noticed by persons of such eminent gentility."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dobbs would have dismissed the subject with a smile and a shake of
+the head, avoiding, as she always did, any discussion or even mention of
+her son-in-law's family; but Mr. Simpson interposed magisterially&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"If Mrs. Dormer-Smith isn't gratified, it must be because she is
+ignorant of the position held by Canon Hadlow's family in Oldchester."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dobbs faced about upon this, and said bluntly, "My dear good man,
+all the best society of Oldchester put together would seem mighty small
+beer to Mrs. Dormer-Smith."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, really!" returned Mr. Simpson, mortified and incredulous. "Such a
+very fine lady, is she? Well, 'Dormer-Smith' doesn't <i>sound</i> very
+aristocratic; but it may be, of course."</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Dormer-Smith <i>is</i> a fine lady, and accustomed to mix with still
+finer ladies. It's no use shutting one's eyes to facts. If we won't look
+at them, we only bump up against them, because they're there, all the
+same. As to opinions, that's different. I suppose I needn't say anything
+about mine at this time of day. I'm a staunch Radical&mdash;always was, and
+always will be."</p>
+
+<p>"Pooh, pooh! Call yourself a Radical!" said Mr. Weatherhead, laughing
+his peculiar laugh, which consisted of a series of guttural <i>ho, ho,
+ho's</i>. "You're convicted out of your own mouth of not being one. Whoever
+heard of a Radical that cared about facts?"</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Simpson put out her hand, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Now,
+now; that's very naughty of you," she exclaimed. "Politics are strictly
+forbidden on Saturday evenings by the ancient statutes of our society.
+Isn't it so, Mr. Dobbs? I appeal to the chair." And she threatened Mr.
+Weatherhead playfully with her forefinger, at the same time casting an
+arch look through her spectacles. Glasses are not favourable to any
+effective play of the eyes, and usually screen the most expressive of
+glances behind a ghastly glitter, void of all speculation. But of this
+consideration Mrs. Simpson was habitually oblivious. Then, by way of
+turning the conversation into more agreeable channels, she continued,
+"And, <i>ŕpropos</i> of May, dear Mrs. Dobbs, when did you last hear from her
+papa?"</p>
+
+<p>This simple inquiry startled the company into absolute silence for a few
+moments. Mrs. Dobbs's resolute reserve on the subject of her son-in-law
+was so well known that none of her friends for several years past had
+ventured to mention him to her. Some refrained because they did not wish
+to hurt her; and many because they were afraid she might hurt them: for
+Mrs. Dobbs's uncompromising frankness of speech and force of character
+made her a hard hitter, when she did hit. But the specific levity of
+Mrs. Simpson's mind gave her a certain immunity from hard retorts&mdash;the
+immunity of a fly from a cannon ball. On the present occasion, however,
+she received no rebuke; for greatly to Jo Weatherhead's surprise, and
+somewhat to Mr. Simpson's, Mrs. Dobbs, after a brief pause, answered&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I have not heard lately from Captain Cheffington. He is a bad
+correspondent. But we shall soon be obliged to communicate with each
+other. May is seventeen, and various arrangements will have to be made
+about her future."</p>
+
+<p>"Goodness!" exclaimed Mrs. Simpson, clasping her hands. "You don't mean
+to say that May isn't to remain with you?"</p>
+
+<p>"That will depend on what is agreed on in the family. May must take her
+place in the world as Miss Cheffington, you know, and not as my
+grand-daughter."</p>
+
+<p>The Simpsons exchanged a glance of surprise. This was the first time
+they had heard Mrs. Dobbs assume any such position for her grandchild.
+Sebastian was inclined to resist her doing so now. But something in Mrs.
+Dobbs's manner checked him from expressing this feeling. It is generally
+found easier to criticize our friends' shortcomings when we are free
+from the disturbing element of their presence. The short remainder of
+the evening was passed in talking of other things. But on their way home
+Mr. and Mrs. Simpson discussed this new turn of affairs with some
+eagerness.</p>
+
+<p>The organist considered that the notion of the Hadlows not being good
+enough company for the Dormer-Smiths was preposterous; and he feared
+that Mrs. Dobbs was giving herself airs. In reply to his wife's
+observations that Mrs. Dobbs was a "dear old soul," he pointed out that,
+dear and good though she might be, yet her husband had kept an
+ironmonger's shop, and publicly sold hardware therein behind his
+counter, to the knowledge of all Oldchester. This retort depended for
+its cogency on the understanding of an ellipsis; which, however, Mrs.
+Simpson was perfectly able to supply, for she answered immediately&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I'm sure, Bassy, Mrs. Dobbs would never undervalue your position as
+a professional man. She knows very well that the Arts rank superior to
+trade."</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, when Mrs. Simpson proceeded to opine that if May were
+taken up by her father's family she would become quite a grand
+personage, Mr. Simpson declared, with a good deal of heat, that for his
+part he thought Mrs. Dobbs quite as good any day as the Cheffingtons,
+about whom nothing certain was known in Oldchester except that they were
+shabby in their dealings and "stuck-up" in their pretensions.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Weatherhead lingered behind the organist and his wife, to say a word
+to Mrs. Dobbs after their departure.</p>
+
+<p>"I can tell you one thing, Sarah; what you said about May will be all
+over Oldchester by Monday."</p>
+
+<p>"So I guess."</p>
+
+<p>"O-ho! Then you mean it to be talked about?"</p>
+
+<p>"I mean it to be known that May is to take her place in the world as
+Miss Cheffington."</p>
+
+<p>"But <i>is</i> she? That's more than you can say, Sarah."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall have a try for it, Jo."</p>
+
+<p>Now whenever Mrs. Dobbs had said in that emphatic manner that she would
+"have a try" for anything, that thing, so far as Jo Weatherhead's
+experience went, had infallibly come to pass. But with all his faith in
+his old friend, he could not help doubting her success in the present
+case. He was eagerly curious to know how she intended to proceed; but
+Mrs. Dobbs refused to say any more on the subject, declaring that she
+must think things over quietly.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see it," said Mr. Weatherhead to himself, poking forward his
+nose, and pursing up his lips as he walked homeward. "Sarah Dobbs is a
+wonderful woman, but even she can't gather grapes from thorns. And in
+respect of justice or generosity&mdash;not to mention common honesty&mdash;I'm
+afraid all the Cheffingtons are rather thorny."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Among other features peculiar to itself, Oldchester possesses a
+quadrangular building with an inner cloister, commonly called College
+Quad. It is in the immediate neighbourhood of the cathedral, and is
+divided into small tenements inhabited by clergy forming part of the
+cathedral body. At the back of the houses on the south side of the
+quadrangle, pleasant gardens slope down towards the river Wend. The
+cloister is a very beautiful piece of Gothic work, with fretted roof and
+springing pillars. Peace and quiet reign within it. In summer there
+comes a sleepy sound of rooks from the Bishop's garden close at hand;
+and, towards sunrise and sunset, the chirp of innumerable sparrows
+mingled with the richer notes of thrush, blackbird, and nightingale in
+their season. At certain times of the day, too, the stillness is broken
+by the thrilling freshness of children's voices, as the scholars of the
+ancient Grammar School scatter themselves over the Cathedral Green,
+shouting and calling in the shrill silvery treble of boyhood. But these
+sounds are softened and subdued by distance and thick masonry before
+they penetrate within the precincts of College Quad. In autumn and
+winter there is a chill dampness on the greenish-gray paving-stones of
+the cloister, and the rain drips heavily from carven capitals into the
+resounding court. The very order and cleanliness of the place&mdash;its
+decorous, clerical, smooth-shaven air&mdash;seem sometimes under a watery
+sky, and when the winds are moaning and complaining, or thrumming like
+ghostly fingers on the fine resonant Gothic fret-work, to fill the mind
+with melancholy.</p>
+
+<p>A rich contrasting note is seldom wanting:&mdash;firelight and the glimpse of
+a crimson curtain seen through lozenge-shaped window-panes; or an open
+door sending out a gush of warmth and spicy smells from the kitchen, and
+the sound of friendly voices. Yet even within doors there seems to be a
+haunting sense of the old, old times when hands long crumbled into dust
+built up that dainty cloister, and when patient monkish feet, long
+stilled for ever, paced its stones. It is not a wholly sad feeling. It
+may even give zest to the glance of living eyes, and the warm pressure
+of dear hands. But it has a peculiar pathos:&mdash;a pathos which, perhaps,
+is felt peculiarly by northern people, as the sad-sweet twilight belongs
+to northern climates, and which many of those, to the manner born, would
+not exchange for the unbroken garishness of golden-blue days and
+silver-blue nights.</p>
+
+<p>The habitations on the south side of College Quad are considered the
+most desirable of all, by reason of the gardens before-mentioned running
+down to the Wend, although one or two houses on the west side may be a
+trifle larger. Canon Hadlow's family of three persons inhabited one of
+these coveted southern houses, and found it roomy enough for their
+needs; yet it was a small&mdash;a very small&mdash;dwelling. The front door opened
+on to the beautiful cloister. Immediately on entering the house you
+found yourself in a tiny entrance-hall, to the left of which a steep and
+narrow staircase of dark oak conducted to the one upper story. On the
+right, a massive oaken-door gave access to a long, low parlour, whose
+three latticed windows&mdash;darkened somewhat by a drooping fringe of
+jessamine and virginia-creeper&mdash;looked across the garden and the river
+to wide meadows. Opposite to the front door, a glass one, which in
+summer stood wide open all day long, led into the garden. In winter,
+swinging double-doors, covered with dark baize, shut out the cold air
+and the chill, damp mist which sometimes crept up from the river.</p>
+
+<p>The exterior of the houses in College Quad was coeval with the Gothic
+cloister; within, the passing centuries had somewhat modified their
+aspect. The main features, however, were ancient, and most of the
+inhabitants had chosen to preserve this general air of antiquity. Only
+in some few cases had disastrous attempts at modernizing been made with
+paint and French wall-papers. It would have been needless to tell any
+Oldchester person that no such sacrilegious innovations deformed the
+fine oak beams and wainscoting in Canon Hadlow's house. There was a dark
+tone all through it, which, however, was not chill. It was rather the
+rich darkness of Rembrandt's shadows, which seem to have a latent glow
+in the heart of them. A deep red curtain here and there, or a well-worn
+Turkey carpet, with its kaleidoscope of subdued tints, relieved the
+general sombreness. Flowers in all manner of receptacles&mdash;from a
+precious old china punch-bowl to the cheapest of glass goblets&mdash;adorned
+every room in the house throughout the year. Even in winter there was
+ivy to be had, and red-berried holly, and the coral clusters of the
+mountain ash, and pale chrysanthemums. The garden furnished an ample
+supply of stocks, roses, carnations, holly-hocks, china asters,
+sweetwilliams, wallflowers, and the like old-fashioned blossoms with
+homely names. But as Mrs. Hadlow herself quaintly remarked, she cared
+more for the sight and smell of a flower than its sound.</p>
+
+<p>One sacrifice the flowers cost; the Hadlows had no lawn-tennis ground.
+Mrs. Hadlow declared she could not spare the space. Her neighbours to
+the right and left boasted of lawns which, with their white lines,
+looked like tables chalked on the pavement for the popular street game
+of hop-scotch&mdash;and were very little bigger. But the Hadlows' garden was
+a mosaic of box-bordered flower-beds. Only quite at the lower end, where
+a clipped hedge divided it from a footpath on the river bank, there was
+a strip of green sward like a velvet carpet, spread completely across
+the garden. At one angle stood a yew-tree of fabulous age, and in its
+shadow were a garden bench and table, and a few rustic chairs. This was
+Mrs. Hadlow's drawing-room whenever the weather permitted her to be
+out-of-doors. There she sewed, and read, and received visits. The oak
+parlour, which served also as a dining-room, was the ordinary family
+living room. There was a small room called the study, lined with books
+from floor to ceiling; but drawing-room, properly so-called, there was
+none at all. Constance Hadlow was the only one of the family who
+regretted this circumstance. The canon was perfectly content with his
+abode. And as to Mrs. Hadlow, no one who valued her good opinion would
+have ventured to hint to her that her house lacked anything to make it
+convenient and delightful. An ill-advised stranger had once opined in
+her presence that the near neighbourhood of the river must make the
+south side of the College Quad damp and unhealthy during the autumn and
+winter, and Mrs. Hadlow's indignation had been boundless. That it was
+sometimes cold in College Quad she was willing to admit&mdash;just as it was
+sometimes cold on the Riviera or in Cairo. But that it could, under any
+circumstances, or for the shortest space of time, be damp, was what she
+would never be brought to acknowledge. As to the Wend, if any
+exhalations did arise from that gentle stream, they could not, she was
+sure, be unwholesome&mdash;<i>above bridge</i>. It was important to bear in mind
+this limitation, since below bridge, where the factories were, and where
+the poorer dwellings stood in crowded ranks, and the streets vibrated to
+the rumble of heavy waggons and tramway cars, the Wend must naturally
+incur such corruption of its good manners as came from evil
+communications. Mrs. Hadlow loved and admired Oldchester with
+enthusiasm. But Oldchester, in her mind, meant the cathedral and its
+immediate surroundings. Her admiration was bounded by the cathedral
+precincts; and, to judge from her words, so was her love also. But her
+heart was not to be imprisoned within any such confines. Prejudice might
+rule her speech, and warp her judgments, but her warm human sympathies
+went out towards those unfortunates who dwelt beyond the pale, even
+under the shadow of Bragg's factory chimney; nay, even in those vulgar
+suburban villas, with fine names, which were particularly abhorrent to
+Mrs. Hadlow's soul.</p>
+
+<p>The sun shone brightly on a group of persons assembled in Mrs. Hadlow's
+garden on the Monday forenoon after Mrs. Dobbs's supper-party. It was a
+sun more bright than warm; and a little crisp breeze fluttered now and
+then among the scarlet and gold leaves of the virginia-creeper which
+draped the back of the house. Constance Hadlow, wrapped in a fleecy
+shawl, and sitting in a patch of sunshine outside the shadow of the
+yew-tree, declared it was "bitterly cold." Her opinion was evidently
+shared by a black-and-tan terrier that shivered convulsively at
+intervals with a sort of ostentation, as though to hint to the less
+sensitive bipeds that it was high time to retire to the shelter of a
+roof and the comforts of the hearthrug. Mrs. Hadlow's round, rosy face
+seemed to shed a glow around it like a terrestrial sun, as she beamed
+from behind a great basket piled with grey woollen socks belonging to
+the canon: which socks were never darned by any other than his wife's
+fingers. Her nephew, Owen Rivers, lounged on the bench beside her.
+Seated on a low chair, May Cheffington was winding a ball of grey
+worsted for the socks; and standing opposite to her, with his shoulder
+against the trunk of the yew-tree, was Mr. Theodore Bransby. This young
+gentleman had just said something which had startled the assembled
+company. He was not given to saying startling things. He would probably
+have pronounced it "bad form" to do so:&mdash;a phrase which, to his mind,
+carried with it the severest condemnation. He had merely observed, "You
+will all be sorry to lose Miss Cheffington, shall you not, Mrs. Hadlow?"
+quite unconscious of saying anything to cause surprise. Surprise,
+however, was plainly expressed on every countenance, including that of
+Miss Cheffington herself.</p>
+
+<p>The fact was that rumour, speaking by the voices of Mr. and Mrs.
+Simpson, had already announced in Oldchester that May Cheffington was
+going away to live with her grand relations in London. The report had
+not yet penetrated College Quad, but it had been brought to the
+Bransbys' house that morning by Mrs. Simpson when she came to give her
+daily lesson to the children.</p>
+
+<p>"Lose her! What do you mean?" asked Mrs. Hadlow.</p>
+
+<p>"You're not going to be married, are you, May?" cried Miss Constance,
+dropping her parasol in order to look full at the other girl; while Mr.
+Rivers, on the other hand, raised himself on his elbow and stared at
+young Bransby.</p>
+
+<p>May laughed and coloured at her friend's question. "Certainly not that I
+know of, Constance," she answered.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you going away, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"You must ask Mr. Bransby. He seems to know; I don't."</p>
+
+<p>As she spoke, May turned a pair of bright hazel eyes full on the young
+gentleman in question, and smiled. The admixture of Dobbs blood with the
+noble strain of Cheffington had certainly not produced any physical
+deterioration of the race. Yet the dowager had been discontented with
+her grand-daughter's appearance, and had particularly lamented the
+absence of the Cheffington profile. Now the Cheffington profile was
+handsome enough in its way, in certain subjects and at a certain time of
+life; but with advancing years it was apt to resemble the profile of an
+owl: the nose being beaky, and the orbit of the eyes very large, with
+eyebrows nearly semi-circular; while the chin tended to disappear in
+hanging folds and creases of throat. The Cheffingtons, moreover, were
+sallow and dark-haired. May inherited her mother's fair skin and soft
+brown hair. Her slender young figure, not yet fully grown, was rather
+below than above the middle height. She had the healthy, though
+delicate, freshness of a field-flower; but, like the field-flower, she
+might easily pass unnoticed. There was nothing of high or dazzling
+beauty about May Cheffington, but she had that subtle attraction which
+does not always belong to beauty. A great many persons, however, thought
+she did not bear comparison with Constance Hadlow, her friend and
+schoolfellow. Besides a firm faith in her own beauty&mdash;which is a more
+powerful assistance to its recognition by others than is generally
+supposed&mdash;Miss Hadlow possessed a pair of fine dark eyes and eyebrows, a
+clear, pale skin, regular features, and white teeth. Those who were
+disposed to be critical observed that her face and head were rather too
+massive for her height; and that her figure, sufficiently plump at
+present, threatened to become too fat as she approached middle life. But
+at twenty years of age that would have appeared a very remote
+contingency to Constance Hadlow, supposing her to have ever thought
+about it. Although circumstances often prevented her from being dressed
+after the latest fashion, her hair&mdash;dark, wavy, and abundant&mdash;was always
+skilfully arranged in the prevalent mode, whatever that might be. It
+happened just then to be a becoming one to Miss Hadlow's head and face.
+The crimson colour of the shawl wrapped round her made a fine contrast
+with the creamy pallor of her skin and the vivid darkness of her eyes.
+Altogether, she looked handsome enough to excuse Owen Rivers for finding
+it difficult to remove himself from her society, supposing Mr. Simpson's
+statement to be true that the young man was "dangling after his cousin
+instead of minding his business."</p>
+
+<p>Theodore Bransby, on being called upon to explain himself, answered that
+he understood Miss Cheffington was shortly going to London to reside
+with her aunt, Mrs. Dormer-Smith.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh no, I'm not," said May promptly, before any one else could speak.
+"That is quite a mistake."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes, indeed it is. I'm going to stay with granny."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed!" said Theodore Bransby once more. Then he added, "Are you quite
+sure? Because I had it from a person who had it from Mrs. Dobbs
+herself."</p>
+
+<p>"From granny?" In her astonishment May let fall the ball of worsted. It
+rolled across the grass under the very nose of the toy terrier, who
+snapped at it, and then shivered more strongly than ever with an added
+sense of injury.</p>
+
+<p>"Very likely nothing is positively settled yet," continued Theodore.
+"Mrs. Dobbs was speaking of family arrangements for the future."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I suppose," said May, with an anxious look, "that she has heard
+from papa?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I believe so; something was said about a communication from
+Captain Cheffington."</p>
+
+<p>There was a little pause. Then Mrs. Hadlow said, "Well, of course we
+shall be sorry to lose you, my dear, as Theodore says. But it is quite
+right that you should be amongst your own people, and be properly
+introduced."</p>
+
+<p>"Granny is my own people," returned May in a low voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course; and a most kind and excellent grandmother she is. But I
+mean&mdash;in short, since it is Mrs. Dobbs's own plan, we must suppose she
+thinks it best for you to go to town; and I must say I agree with her."</p>
+
+<p>"It is obviously necessary," said young Bransby. "Miss Cheffington will
+have, of course, to be presented."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you look quite glum, May!" cried Constance laughing. "Oh, you
+little goose! I only wish I had the chance of going to town to be
+presented."</p>
+
+<p>Owen Rivers, who had hitherto been silent, now addressed May, and asked
+her if she disliked her aunt.</p>
+
+<p>"Dislike Aunt Pauline? Oh no; I don't dislike her at all. But I&mdash;I don't
+know her very well."</p>
+
+<p>"I thought," said Bransby, "that you had been in the habit of staying
+with Mrs. Dormer-Smith during the school vacations?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; before Grandmamma Cheffington died I used to go to Richmond, and I
+only saw Aunt Pauline now and then. Since that time I haven't seen her
+at all, for I've spent all my holidays with dear granny."</p>
+
+<p>Constance began to question young Bransby as to who had given him the
+news about May's departure; what it was that had been said; whether the
+time of her going away were positively fixed; and so forth. May rose,
+and, under cover of picking up her ball of worsted, walked away out of
+earshot.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you that phenomenon, a young lady devoid of curiosity, Miss
+Cheffington?" asked Owen Rivers, as she passed near him.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, there's nothing to be curious about," returned the girl, flushing a
+little. "Granny and I shall talk it all over together this evening. I
+need not trouble myself about what other people may say or guess."</p>
+
+<p>Miss Hadlow had apparently forgotten that it was "bitterly cold:" for
+she continued to sit on the lawn talking with Theodore after the others
+had gone into the house. She moved at length from her seat at the
+summons of the luncheon-bell. Fox the terrier, more consistent, had
+availed himself of the breaking-up of the little party to hasten indoors
+and establish himself on the dining-room hearthrug:&mdash;a step which
+nothing but his unconquerable dislike to being alone, had prevented him
+from taking long ago.</p>
+
+<p>When the two loiterers at length entered the dining-room, Mrs. Hadlow
+announced that May had gone home. Her grandmother had sent the servant
+for her a little earlier than usual, and May had refused to remain for
+luncheon. The young girl's absence gave an opportunity for discussing
+her and her prospects; and they were discussed accordingly, as the party
+sat at table.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hadlow expressed great satisfaction at hearing that May was to be
+received and accepted "as a Cheffington;" Constance inclined to think
+that May would not duly appreciate her good fortune; and Theodore
+Bransby observed stiffly, that Miss Cheffington's removal to town had
+always been inevitable, and that the date of it alone could have been
+matter for uncertainty to persons who knew anything of the Cheffington
+family.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Rivers, "I suppose Constance is the only one of us here
+present who possesses that knowledge."</p>
+
+<p>"No; I never knew much of them," answered his cousin. "I saw them
+occasionally when I was at school. Sometimes the dowager came down to
+stay at Brighton, and she used, now and then, to call for May in her
+carriage; but she never entered the doors. And once or twice Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith came. I remember we girls used to make game of old Mrs.
+Cheffington with her black wig and her airs."</p>
+
+<p>"She was thoroughly <i>grande dame</i>, I believe," said Theodore Bransby.</p>
+
+<p>"Very likely. The servants used to say she was dreadfully stingy, and
+call her an old cat. Mrs. Dormer-Smith had nice manners, and was always
+beautifully dressed."</p>
+
+<p>"Your information is somewhat sketchy, my dear Constance; but no doubt
+the outline is correct as far as it goes," observed Rivers.</p>
+
+<p>"Decidedly sketchy!" said Mrs. Hadlow, who was helping her guests to
+minced mutton.</p>
+
+<p>"Miss Hadlow, however, is <i>not</i> the only one of us who knows anything
+about the Cheffingtons," said young Bransby, with his grave air.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, dear me, I had forgotten!" interposed Mrs. Hadlow, after a quick
+glance at the young man's face. "To be sure, Theodore has visited the
+family in town. The fact is, Theodore has been a stranger himself so
+long, that we have had no opportunity of hearing his report. Tell us
+what the Dormer-Smiths are like, Theodore, since you know them."</p>
+
+<p>"Like? They are like people who move in the best society&mdash;like
+thoroughbred people," returned Theodore, drawing himself up, stiffly.</p>
+
+<p>"Poor little May!" said Mrs. Hadlow, thoughtfully. "She's a sweet little
+thing. I hope they'll be kind to her."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know anything of Mrs. Dobbs, Aunt Jane?" asked Rivers. "I mean,"
+he added, "of course, you know <i>of</i> her. But do you know her?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes. Once, many years ago, the canon had a tough battle with Mrs.
+Dobbs, when he was helping to canvas for the city member. We couldn't
+get her husband's vote for the right side. But he was a worthy man, and
+sold very good ironmongery. When Constance first asked leave to invite
+her schoolfellow here, I had an interview with Mrs. Dobbs. She came to
+the point at once. She said, 'Mrs. Hadlow, you need not be uneasy. My
+friends and equals are not yours; but neither are they my
+grand-daughter's. She belongs by her father's family to a different
+class. As for me, I am too old to make any mistakes about my place in
+the world, and too proud to wish to change it."</p>
+
+<p>"Too proud!" repeated Bransby, with raised eyebrows.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought it was very well said," answered Mrs. Hadlow. "I only wish
+all the people of her class had the same honest pride. But Mrs. Dobbs is
+a woman of great good sense, and of the highest integrity. All the same,
+of course, now that May is grown up, the girl's position in that house
+is too anomalous. Captain Cheffington no doubt feels that. He probably
+left his daughter there so long out of tenderness to Mrs. Dobbs's
+feelings; and perhaps also to help out the old lady's income. But now,
+naturally, it must come to an end. He can't sacrifice May's future. That
+is how I explain the state of the case; and it seems to me to be
+creditable to all concerned."</p>
+
+<p>"At all events, it is creditable to Mrs. Dobbs, Aunt Jane," said Rivers.</p>
+
+<p>"And why not, pray, to Captain Cheffington too?" asked Constance. "But
+Captain Cheffington has the misfortune to be born a gentleman, so, of
+course, Owen disapproves of him."</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all, 'of course.' But I agree with you as to the misfortune&mdash;for
+the other gentlemen, at all events!"</p>
+
+<p>"I think you're a little mistaken about Captain Cheffington, Rivers,"
+said Theodore. "He's a friend of mine."</p>
+
+<p>"In that case I'm very sorry," answered Owen drily.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hadlow here interposed, rising from the table with a show of
+cheerful bustle. "Come," said she, "you children must not loiter here
+all day. The canon comes home from Wendhurst by the three-forty train,
+and I am going to meet him; Constance has an engagement with the
+Burtons; and as for you two boys, I shall turn you out without
+ceremony."</p>
+
+<p>The kind lady's intention had been to break off the discourse between
+the two young men, which threatened to become disagreeable. But as
+Bransby and Rivers walked away side by side through the fretted cloister
+of College Quad, the former, with a certain quiet doggedness which
+belonged to him, returned to the subject.</p>
+
+<p>"You must understand," he said, "that I am not very intimate with
+Captain Cheffington; but I know him, and am his debtor for some
+courteous attentions. And I think you are a little&mdash;rash, if you don't
+mind my saying so, in condemning him."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't at all mind your saying so."</p>
+
+<p>"You see, there are a great many circumstances to be taken into account,
+in judging of Captain Cheffington's career. In the first place, there
+was his unfortunate marriage."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+
+<p>When Augustus Cheffington had paid that sudden visit to his
+mother-in-law which resulted in leaving May on her hands, Theodore
+Bransby happened to be at home during a University vacation, and was
+flattered by Captain Cheffington's notice. The fact was that Augustus
+found himself greatly bored and out of his element in Oldchester, and
+was glad to accept a dinner or two from Mr. Bransby, the solicitor to
+the Dean and Chapter; for Mr. Bransby's port wine was unimpeachable. He
+had also condescended to play several games of billiards with Theodore
+upon a somewhat mangy old table in the Green Dragon Hotel; and to smoke
+that young gentleman's cigars without stint; and to hold forth about
+himself in the handsomest terms, pleased to be accepted, apparently,
+pretty much at his own valuation. Theodore Bransby was no fool. But he
+was young, and he had his illusions. These were not of a high-flown,
+ideal cast. He would have shrugged his shoulders at any one who should
+set up for philanthropy, or poetry, or socialism, or chivalry. But he
+was subdued by a display of nonchalant disdain for all the things and
+persons which he had been accustomed to look up to, from childhood. Mr.
+Bragg, the great tin-tack manufacturer, his father's wealthiest client,
+was dismissed by Augustus Cheffington in two words: "Damned snob!" and
+even the bishop he pronounced to be a "prosin' old prig," and spoke of
+the bishop's wife as "that vulgar fat woman." These indications of
+superiority, together with many references to the noble and honourable
+Castlecombes and Cheffingtons who composed Augustus's kith and kin, had
+greatly fascinated Theodore. And Augustus had completed his conquest
+over the young man by giving him a letter of introduction to his sister,
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith, which letter was delivered when young Bransby went to
+London to read for the Bar.</p>
+
+<p>Although the brother and sister had parted not on the best terms with
+each other, yet Augustus had not hesitated to give the introduction. He
+believed that his sister would be willing to honour his recommendation
+by showing civilities which cost her nothing; and, moreover, he was
+quite indifferent (being then on the point of saying a long farewell to
+Oldchester) as to whether the Dormer-Smiths snubbed young Bransby or
+not. They did not snub him. Mrs. Dormer-Smith rather approved of his
+manners; and it was quite clear that he wanted neither for means nor
+friends. She was therefore inclined to receive him with something more
+than politeness. And, in justice to Pauline, it must be said that she
+was really glad of the opportunity to please her brother. She was not
+without fraternal sentiments; and she strongly felt that an introduction
+from a Cheffington to a Cheffington was not a document to be lightly
+dishonoured. As for Mr. Dormer-Smith, although his feelings towards his
+brother-in-law&mdash;never very cordial&mdash;had been exacerbated by having to
+pay the bill for the dowager's funeral expenses, yet his resentment had
+been to some degree soothed by Augustus's abrupt departure, and by his
+withdrawal of May from her aunt's house. For many years past the
+attachment of Augustus's relations for him had increased in direct
+proportion to the distance which divided him from them. In Belgium he
+was tolerated and pitied; had he gone to the Antipodes he would
+doubtless have been warmly sympathized with; and it might safely be
+prophesied that, when he should finally emigrate from this planet
+altogether, the surviving members of the family would be penetrated by a
+glow of affection.</p>
+
+<p>"I think he's rather nice, Frederick," said Mrs. Dormer-Smith, with a
+little sigh of relief after young Bransby's first visit.</p>
+
+<p>"We may be thankful," returned her husband, "that Augustus has sent us a
+possible person. One never can reckon on what he may choose to do."</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Bransby is quite possible. Indeed, I think he is nice. He shall
+have a card for my Thursdays."</p>
+
+<p>In this way Theodore had been received by Mrs. Dormer-Smith, and had
+established himself in her good opinion on further acquaintance. "He
+was," she said, "so quiet and so safe." At this time May Cheffington was
+still at school, being maintained there, as has been recorded, by her
+grandmother Dobbs; and Pauline would occasionally speak of her niece to
+young Bransby. She always spoke kindly, though plaintively, of the girl,
+over whom there hung the shadow of the unfortunate marriage.</p>
+
+<p>Theodore Bransby was an Oldchester person, and could not, therefore, be
+supposed to be ignorant of that lamentable event. The fact was, however,
+that he had never heard a word about it until he made Captain
+Cheffington's acquaintance in his native city. It had taken place before
+he was born; and, indeed, Oldchester had been less agitated by the
+marriage, even at the time when it happened, than any Cheffington or
+Castlecombe would have believed possible. But Pauline found young
+Bransby's sentiments on the subject all that they should be. No one
+could have expressed himself more shocked at the idea of a gentleman's
+marrying a person in Susan Dobbs's rank of life than did this
+solicitor's son. And Mrs. Dormer-Smith had not the least suspicion that
+he would have considered such a marriage quite as shocking a
+<i>mésalliance</i> for himself as for Captain Cheffington. "Misunderstanding"
+is used as a synonym for "discord;" but, perhaps, a great deal of social
+harmony depends on misunderstandings.</p>
+
+<p>Theodore could not, of course, have the slightest personal interest in a
+schoolgirl whom he had never seen; but his sympathies were so entirely
+with the Cheffingtons on the question of the unfortunate marriage as to
+inspire him with an odd feeling of antagonism against Mrs. Dobbs, and a
+sense that she ought to be firmly kept in her place. He secretly thought
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith weakly indulgent in allowing Miss Cheffington to
+associate so freely with her grandmother, and was indignant at the idea
+of that plebeian exercising any authority over Lord Castlecombe's
+grand-niece. However, all that would doubtless come to an end when the
+girl left school, and was introduced into society under her aunt's
+protection. Theodore flattered himself that he thoroughly understood the
+position. As for Viscount Castlecombe, he certainly knew all about
+<i>him</i>&mdash;or, at least, what was chiefly worth knowing; for he had read
+about him in the Peerage.</p>
+
+<p>Primed with this varied knowledge, young Bransby held forth to Owen
+Rivers as they walked together through College Quad, across the open
+green beyond it, and up to the house of Mr. Bransby, senior, in the
+Cathedral Close. Here they parted. Rivers declined a polite invitation
+from the other to enter, and pursued his way alone towards the High
+Street; and Bransby, as he waited for the door to be opened, stood
+looking after him for a few moments.</p>
+
+<p>The two young men had known each other more or less all their lives, but
+theirs was a familiarity without real intimacy. The years had not made
+them more congenial to each other. People began to say that they were
+rivals in Constance Hadlow's good graces. But, whether this were so or
+not, the latent antagonism between them had existed long before they
+grew to be men. They had never quarrelled. The air is always still
+enough in a frost. They did not even know how much they disliked one
+another. As Theodore watched Owen's retreating figure, the thought
+uppermost in his mind was that his friend's shooting-coat was badly cut,
+and that he did not remember ever to have seen him wear gloves.</p>
+
+<p>The home of Mr. Martin Bransby, of the old-established firm of Cadell
+and Bransby, was a luxurious one. The house was an ancient substantial
+stone building, with a spacious walled garden behind it, contiguous to
+the bishop's. The present occupant had made considerable additions to
+it. It is perhaps needless to say that he had been severely criticized
+for doing so, there being no point on which it is more difficult to
+content public opinion than the expenditure of one's own money. Several
+of Mr. Bransby's acquaintances were unable to reconcile themselves to
+the fact that he was not satisfied with that which had satisfied his
+father and grandfather (for Martin Bransby was the third of his family
+who had successively held that house and the business of solicitor to
+the Dean and Chapter of Oldchester). It would have been better, they
+opined, if, instead of building new rooms, he had saved his money to
+provide for the young family rising around him. If it were observed to
+this irreconcilable party that the presence of a numerous family
+necessitated more space to lodge them in than the original house
+afforded, they would triumphantly retort, "Very well, then, what
+business had Martin Bransby to marry a second time? Or, if he must
+marry, why did he choose a young girl without a penny instead of some
+person nearer his own age and with a little property?" Martin Bransby,
+however, marrying rather to please himself than to earn the approval of
+his friends, had chosen a remarkably pretty girl of twenty, a Miss
+Louisa Lutyer, of a good Shropshire family, whom he had met in London.
+They had now been married twelve years, during which time five children
+had been born to them, and they had lived together in the utmost
+harmony. Those persons who disapproved of the match (solely in Mr.
+Bransby's interests, of course) could find nothing worse to say than
+that Martin was absurdly in love with his wife, and treated her with
+weak indulgence. In short, the irreconcilables were driven, year by
+year, to put off the date at which their unfavourable judgments were to
+be corroborated by facts, much as sundry popular preachers have been
+compelled by circumstances over which they had no control, to postpone
+the end of the world.</p>
+
+<p>Latterly they had had the mournful satisfaction of observing that Martin
+Bransby was looking far from well&mdash;harassed and aged. And when he was
+attacked by the severe illness which threatened his life, they solemnly
+hinted that the malady had been aggravated by anxiety about his young
+family; for although Martin had made, and was making, a great deal of
+money, yet, with three boys to put out in the world, two daughters to
+provide for, and an extravagant wife to maintain, even the excellent
+business of Cadell and Bransby <i>must</i> be somewhat strained to supply his
+needs.</p>
+
+<p>At any rate, the evidences of wealth and comfort were as abundant as
+ever in the home which Theodore entered when he parted from his friend.
+There was plenty of solid furniture, dating from the dark ages before
+modern ćstheticism had arisen to reform upholstery and teach us the
+original sinfulness of the prismatic colours. But these relics of the
+earlier part of the century were not to be found in the two spacious
+drawing-rooms, which had been arranged by the fashionablest of
+fashionable house-decorators from London. These rooms, together with a
+tiny cabinet behind them, which was styled "The Boudoir," were Mrs.
+Bransby's special domain. And here Theodore found her seated by the
+fireside. A book lay on her knees; but she was not reading it. She was
+resting in a position of complete repose, with her head leaning against
+the back of the chair, her hands carelessly crossed on her lap, and her
+feet supported on a cushion. She was enjoying the sense of bodily and
+mental rest which comes from the removal of a keen-edged anxiety; for
+during several weeks Mrs. Bransby had been the most devoted of
+sick-nurses, and had scarcely left her husband's room. But now the
+doctors had pronounced all danger to be over; the children's active feet
+and shrill voices were no longer hushed down by warning fingers; the
+housemaid sang over her brooms and dusters; and the mistress of the
+house had unpacked and put on a new "tea-gown," which had lain neglected
+for more than a fortnight in its brown-paper wrappings. From the
+golden-brown clusters of hair on her forehead to the tip of her dainty
+shoe every detail of her appearance was cared for minutely. Yet there
+was nothing of stiffness or affectation. She reminded one of an
+exquisitely-tended hothouse flower, and carried her beauty and her
+toilet with as perfect an air of unconscious refinement as the flower
+itself. Certainly Oldchester held no more lovely and graceful figure
+than Mrs. Bransby presented to the eyes of her stepson. Yet the eyes of
+her stepson rested on her with a glance of cool disapprobation. His
+manner of addressing her, however, was not more chilly than his manner
+of addressing most other persons&mdash;perhaps rather less so; and he was
+scrupulously polite.</p>
+
+<p>"Did Hatch give a good account of my father this morning?" he asked,
+seating himself by the fire opposite to Mrs. Bransby.</p>
+
+<p>"Excellent, thank goodness! He is to drive out on Wednesday, if the
+weather is favourable. I felt so soothed and comforted by Dr. Hatch's
+report, that I thought I would indulge myself with half an hour of
+perfect laziness," added Mrs. Bransby, with a deprecating glance at
+Theodore. She constantly reproved herself for assuming an apologetic
+attitude towards her stepson, but constantly recurred to it; she was so
+keenly conscious of his&mdash;always unexpressed&mdash;criticism.</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Hadlow desired to send word that the canon means to call on my
+father this afternoon, if he is well enough to see him."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes; a talk with Canon Hadlow will do him good." Then, after an
+instant's pause, Mrs. Bransby asked, "Have you been in College Quad,
+then?"</p>
+
+<p>"I lunched with Mrs. Hadlow. Rivers was there; I parted from him just
+now. And Miss Cheffington."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, really? Mrs. Hadlow is very kind to that little May Cheffington."</p>
+
+<p>Theodore made no answer, but looked stiffly at the fire.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Bransby went on: "I saw her in the cathedral at afternoon service
+yesterday, with the Hadlows. It struck me she was growing quite pretty.
+Don't you think so?"</p>
+
+<p>"I should not call her <i>pretty</i>&mdash;&mdash;" began Theodore slowly.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Bransby broke in: "Well, of course, she is eclipsed by Constance.
+Constance is so very handsome. But still&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I should not describe Miss Cheffington as <i>pretty</i>," pursued Theodore,
+in an inflexible kind of way. "She is something more than pretty. She
+looks thoroughbred."</p>
+
+<p>"But that's exactly what she is <i>not</i>, isn't it?" exclaimed Mrs. Bransby
+impulsively.</p>
+
+<p>"I am not sure that I apprehend you."</p>
+
+<p>"I mean her mother was quite a common person, was she not?"</p>
+
+<p>"A woman takes her husband's rank."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; but she doesn't inherit his ancestors. Besides, one really doesn't
+know much about the father, for that matter. To be sure, Simmy was
+making a great flourish about May's grand relations in London this
+morning. But then all poor dear Simmy's geese are swans." (The name of
+"Simmy" had been bestowed on Mrs. Simpson by the youngest little Bransby
+but one; and although the elder children were reproved for using it, the
+appellation had come to be that by which she was most familiarly known
+in the Bransby family.)</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Simpson is a silly person, but her information happens, in this
+case, to be correct," returned Theodore. "The relations with whom Miss
+Cheffington is going to live in London are friends of mine."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Then what Simmy said is true?" said Mrs. Bransby simply.</p>
+
+<p>Theodore proceeded, with a scarcely perceptible hesitation, "I think you
+might invite Miss Cheffington here before she goes to town. I&mdash;I should
+be obliged to you for the opportunity of showing her some attention, in
+return for the Dormer-Smiths' kindness to me in London."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I can ask the girl if you like," answered Mrs. Bransby, not quite
+as warmly as Theodore thought she ought to have answered such a
+suggestion from him; "but it will be rather stupid for her, I'm afraid.
+At the Hadlows' there is a young girl near her own age; but here, unless
+she likes to play with the children, I don't see how we are to amuse
+her."</p>
+
+<p>"I did not contemplate Miss Cheffington's playing with the children. I
+meant that you should invite her to a dinner-party, or something of that
+sort."</p>
+
+<p>"Invite May Cheffington to a dinner-party!" repeated Mrs. Bransby,
+opening her soft, brown eyes in astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>"My father spoke of giving a dinner before I go back to the Temple, and
+he said he thought he should be well enough to see his friends by the
+end of next week."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. He talked of inviting the Pipers, and the Hadlows, and perhaps Mr.
+Bragg."</p>
+
+<p>"Could you not include Miss Cheffington? Perhaps if you allowed me to
+see your list I might help to arrange it."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I suppose one <i>could</i>; but wouldn't it seem a very strange thing to
+do?"</p>
+
+<p>A little colour came into Theodore's pale fair face, and his chin grew
+visibly more rigid above his cravat, as he answered, "I don't know. But
+the social <i>convenances</i> are not to be measured by Oldchester's
+provincial ideas as to their strangeness. And&mdash;pardon me&mdash;I don't think
+you quite understand Miss Cheffington's position."</p>
+
+<p>And then he entered on an explanation of the "position," much as he had
+explained it to Owen Rivers; with only such suppressions and variations
+(chiefly regarding the private history of Augustus Cheffington) as he
+thought the difference between his hearers demanded.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'm sure if your father has no objection, I have none," said Mrs.
+Bransby at length. And so Theodore got his own way. It was a matter of
+course that he should get his own way so far as his step-mother was
+concerned. Mrs. Bransby had, indeed, successfully resisted him on many
+occasions; but always through the medium of her husband. If Theodore
+attacked her face to face, she never had the courage to oppose him. Not
+that in the present case she very much wished to oppose him. Nor, in
+truth, had their wills ever clashed seriously. But the secret
+consciousness of her weakness and timidity was mortifying: for Mrs.
+Bransby, although too gentle to fight, was not too gentle to wish she
+could fight. And after Theodore had left the room, she sat for some time
+imagining to herself various neat and pointed speeches which would
+doubtless have brought down her stepson's sententious, supercilious
+tone, if she had only had the presence of mind to utter them.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+
+<p>May Cheffington went back to her grand-mother's house, very eager to
+understand the origin of the rumours about herself which she had heard
+at the Hadlows'. Mrs. Dobbs had not calculated on this, and would have
+preferred to break the project to May herself, and in her own fashion.
+However, as it had been mentioned, she spoke of it openly. She merely
+cautioned her grand-daughter against rashly jumping at any conclusions:
+the future being very vague and unsettled.</p>
+
+<p>"There's one conclusion I <i>have</i> jumped at, granny," said the girl, "and
+that is, that I don't mean to give you up for any aunts, or uncles, or
+cousins of them all. They are strangers to me, and I don't care a straw
+about them&mdash;how should I?&mdash;whilst <i>you</i> are&mdash;granny!"</p>
+
+<p>"There is no question of giving me up, May. Perhaps I should not like
+that much better than you would. But if your father should think it
+right for you to stay for a while with his family, we mustn't oppose
+him. And I must tell you that I should think it right, too."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, if it's only staying 'for a while'&mdash;&mdash;!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, at all events we needn't look beyond a 'while' and a short while,
+for the present."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dobbs found it more difficult than she had anticipated to put
+before May the prospect of being removed from Oldchester altogether,
+and, now that the idea of losing May out of her daily life fully
+presented itself, she felt a grip at the heart which frightened her. But
+she had one of those strong characters whose instinct it is to hide
+their wounds and suffer silently; and she resolutely put aside her own
+pain at this prospect&mdash;or rather, put it off to the solitary hours to
+come.</p>
+
+<p>During the four years since her father had left her at Oldchester, May's
+life had been passed between her school at Brighton and her holidays in
+Oldchester. These had certainly been the happiest years she could
+remember in all her young life. Her grand-mother's house had been the
+first real home she had ever known. Her recollections of their life on
+the Continent were dim and melancholy. She remembered fragmentary scenes
+and incidents in certain dull Flemish towns; their strong-smelling
+gutters, their toppling gables, the <i>carillons</i> sounding high up in some
+ancient cathedral belfry. She had a vision of her mother's face, very
+pale and thin, with large bright eyes, and streaks of gray in the brown
+hair. May, as the youngest of Susan Cheffington's children, had come in
+for the worst part of their Continental life. The earlier years, when
+there was still some money to spend, and fewer debts to be run away
+from, had not been quite devoid of brightness. But poor little May's
+conscious observation had little to take note of at home save poverty,
+sickness, domestic dissensions, and frequent migrations from one shabby
+lodging to another. Then her mother died, and some six or eight months
+afterwards she was brought to England, and&mdash;Fate and the dowager so
+willing it&mdash;was sent to school to Mrs. Drax in Brighton. The choice of
+this school proved to be a very fortunate one for the little motherless
+stranger. And perhaps the credit of it ought fairly to be assigned
+rather to Destiny than the dowager. The latter would have selected a
+more fashionable, pretentious, and expensive establishment had she
+consulted merely her idea of what was becoming and suitable for Miss
+Miranda Cheffington. But she soon found out that whatever was paid for
+that young lady's schooling must, sooner or later, come out of her own
+pocket, and she therefore preferred to honour Mrs. Drax with her
+patronage, rather than Madame Liebrecht, who had been governess for
+years in a noble family, and was supposed to accept no pupil who could
+not show sixteen quarterings; or, of course, their equivalent in cash.</p>
+
+<p>The choice made was, as has been said, very fortunate for May. Mrs. Drax
+had the manners of a gentlewoman, and more amiability than could perhaps
+have been reasonably expected to survive a long struggle with her
+special world&mdash;a world of parents and guardians, who held, for the most
+part, a liberal view of her duties and a niggardly one of her rights.
+Here little May Cheffington remained as a pupil for nearly eight years.
+During the first half of that time she sometimes spent her holidays with
+the dowager at Richmond, and sometimes in Brighton under the care of
+Mrs. Drax. She preferred the latter. Old Mrs. Cheffington did not treat
+the child with any active unkindness; but she showed her no tenderness.
+The little girl was usually left to the care of her grand-mother's
+maid&mdash;an elderly woman, to whom this young creature was merely an extra
+burthen not considered in her wages. The child passed many a lonely hour
+in the garden, or beside the dining-room fire with a book, unheeded. Her
+aunt Pauline she only saw at rare intervals. She had a confused sense of
+innocently causing much sorrow to Mrs. Dormer-Smith, who seemed always
+to be afflicted (why, May did not for several years understand) by the
+sight of her clothes; and who used to complain softly to the dowager
+that "the poor dear child was lamentably dressed." But, on the whole,
+she retained a rather agreeable impression of her aunt, as being pretty
+and gentle, and kissing her kindly when they met.</p>
+
+<p>Then came the dowager's death, the sudden journey to Oldchester, and the
+first acquaintance with that unknown Grandmother Dobbs, whose very name
+she had heard uttered only in a reproachful tone by the dowager, or in a
+hushed voice by the dowager's elderly maid, speaking as one who names a
+hereditary malady. And to this <i>taboo</i> Grandmother Dobbs the neglected
+child soon gave the warm love of a very grateful and affectionate
+nature. May did not know or guess that she was a burthen on her
+grand-mother's means, nor would the knowledge have increased her
+gratitude at that time. It was the fostering affection which the child
+was thankful for. She nestled in it like a half-fledged bird in the warm
+shelter of the mother's wing. She was not timid or reserved by
+temperament; but the circumstances of her life had given her a certain
+repressed air. That disappeared now like hoar-frost in the sunshine. She
+was like a young plant whose growth had been arrested by a too chilly
+atmosphere. She burgeoned and bloomed into the natural joyousness of
+childhood, which needs, above all things, the warmth of love, and cannot
+be healthily nurtured by any artificial heat.</p>
+
+<p>In her school there was no influence tending to diminish May's
+attachment to her grandmother, or her perfect contentment with the
+simple <i>bourgeois</i> home in Oldchester. Plain Mrs. Dobbs, who paid her
+bills punctually, and listened to reason, stood far higher in the
+schoolmistress's esteem than the Honourable Mrs. Cheffington, who was
+never contented, and required to be dunned for the payment of her just
+debts. As to her noble relations, May had no acquaintance with them, and
+never sighed to make it. She was ignorant of the very existence of many
+of them. When, at seventeen years of age, she was removed from school,
+she looked forward to living in the old house in Friar's Row, and she
+certainly desired no better home. Mrs. Drax, it has been said, had the
+manners of a gentlewoman, and she had not vulgarized May's natural
+refinement of mind by misdirecting her admiration towards ignoble
+things. The provincialisms in her grand-mother's speech, and the homely
+style of her grand-mother's household&mdash;although she clearly perceived
+both&mdash;neither shocked nor mortified May. On the other hand, she accepted
+it as a quite natural thing that she should be invited to Canon Hadlow's
+house as a guest on equal terms. As Mrs. Dobbs had said to Jo
+Weatherhead, May was very much of a child still, and understood nothing
+of the world. Her unquestioning acceptance of the situation as her
+grandmother presented it to her had something very child-like. She did
+not inquire how it came to pass that her aunt Pauline, who had taken
+very little notice of her during the past four years, should now desire
+to have her as an inmate of her home. She did not ask why her father,
+after so long a torpor on the subject, had suddenly awakened to the
+necessity of asserting his daughter's position in the world; neither did
+she, even in her private thoughts, reproach him for having delegated all
+the care and responsibility of her education to "granny." A
+healthy-minded young creature has deep well-springs of unquestioning
+faith in its parents, or those who stand in the place of parents.</p>
+
+<p>But there was one person not so easily contented with the first
+statement offered; and that person was Mr. Joseph Weatherhead. Mr.
+Weatherhead was very fond of May, and admired her very much. His social
+and political theories ought logically to have made him regard her with
+peculiar interest and consideration as coming of such very blue
+blood&mdash;at least on one side of the house. But it so happened that these
+theories had nothing on earth to do with his attachment to May. That
+arose, firstly, from her being Sarah Dobbs's grandchild (Jo would have
+loved and championed any creature, biped or quadruped, that belonged to
+Sarah Dobbs), and, secondly, from her being very lovable. The poor man
+was often embarrassed by the conflict between his curiosity and his
+principles. His curiosity, which was as insatiable and omnivorous as the
+appetite of a pigeon, would have led him to cross-question May minutely
+about all she knew or guessed respecting her own future, and the
+probable behaviour of her father's family towards her; but his
+conscience told him that it would not be right to put doubts and
+suspicions into the girl's trusting young soul. Certainly he himself
+cherished many doubts and suspicions as to the future conduct of May's
+papa. He questioned Mrs. Dobbs, indeed; but there was neither sport nor
+exercise for his sharp inquisitiveness in that. When Mrs. Dobbs did not
+choose to answer him, she said so roundly, and there was an end. She had
+told him that she was in correspondence with Captain Cheffington, and
+that she believed he would share her views about his daughter. Jo,
+however, entertained a rooted disbelief as to Captain Cheffington's
+holding any "views" which had not himself for their supreme object.</p>
+
+<p>"And this Mrs. Dormer-Smith, now, Sarah," said he. "What reason have you
+to suppose that she will be willing to take charge of her niece now,
+when she would have nothing to say to her before?"</p>
+
+<p>"A pretty girl of seventeen is a different charge from a lanky child of
+twelve, Jo. Mrs. Dormer-Smith couldn't have taken a schoolgirl in short
+frocks out into the world with her."</p>
+
+<p>"Humph! You don't <i>know</i> that she will take May out into the world with
+her?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have written. I shall have an answer in a few days, I dare say. I
+don't expect matters to be settled like a flash of greased lightning, as
+Mr. Simpson says. There's a deal to be considered. Hold your tongue,
+now; here's May."</p>
+
+<p>Similar conversations took place between them nearly every day. And when
+they were not interrupted by any external circumstance, Mrs. Dobbs would
+resolutely put an end to them by declining to pursue the subject.</p>
+
+<p>One afternoon, about a week after May's return from her visit to the
+Hadlows', the young girl was seated at the old-fashioned square
+pianoforte, singing snatches of ballads in a fresh, untrained voice; Mr.
+Weatherhead had just taken his accustomed seat by the fireside; and Mrs.
+Dobbs was opposite to him in her own armchair, with the old tabby
+purring in the firelight at her feet, when Martha opened the parlour
+door softly, shut it quickly after her, and announced, with a slight
+tone of excitement in her usually quiet voice, that there was a
+gentleman in the passage asking for Miss May.</p>
+
+<p>"For me, Martha?" exclaimed May, turning round at the sound of her own
+name, with one hand still on the keys of the pianoforte. "Who is he?"</p>
+
+<p>"He said 'Miss Cheffington.' I don't know him, not by sight. But here's
+his card."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dobbs took the card from the servant, and put on her spectacles,
+bending down to read the name by the firelight. "Bun&mdash;Brun&mdash;oh, Bransby!
+Mr. Theodore Bransby. Ask the gentleman to walk in, Martha."</p>
+
+<p>As Martha left the room, Mr. Weatherhead pointed to the door with one
+thumb, and whispered, "Wonder what <i>he</i> wants!" To which Mrs. Dobbs
+replied by lifting her shoulders and slightly shaking her head, as much
+as to say, "I'm sure I can't guess." The next moment Mr. Theodore
+Bransby was ushered into the parlour.</p>
+
+<p>The room was rather dim, and Theodore did not immediately perceive May,
+who still sat at the piano. "Miss Cheffington?" he said interrogatively,
+with a stiff little gesture of the head towards Mrs. Dobbs, which might
+pass for a bow.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dobbs had risen from her chair, and now motioned her visitor to be
+seated. "My grand-daughter is here. Pray sit down, Mr. Theodore
+Bransby," she said. Then May got up, and came forward, and shook hands
+with him.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think you know my grandmother, Mrs. Dobbs," she said,
+presenting him.</p>
+
+<p>Theodore, upon this, began to hold out his hand rather slowly; but, as
+Mrs. Dobbs made no answering gesture, but merely pointed again to a
+chair, he was fain to bow once more&mdash;a good deal more distinctly, this
+time&mdash;and to sit down with the sense of having received a little check.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope I have not interrupted you, Miss Cheffington?" said he, clearing
+his throat and settling his chin in his shirt-collar. "You were
+singing."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh no; you haven't interrupted me at all. And, even if you had, it
+wouldn't matter. My singing is not worth much."</p>
+
+<p>"Pardon me if I decline to believe that. From some sounds which reached
+me through the door, I am sure you sing charmingly."</p>
+
+<p>May laughed. "Ah," said she, "the other side of the door is the most
+favourable position for hearing me. I really don't know how to sing. Ask
+granny."</p>
+
+<p>"No; May doesn't know how to sing," said Mrs. Dobbs quietly, but very
+decisively. (For she had caught an expression on Mr. Theodore Bransby's
+pale, smooth face, which seemed to wonder superciliously what on earth
+<i>she</i> could know about it.) Whereupon his pale, smooth eyebrows raised
+themselves a hair's breadth more, but he said nothing.</p>
+
+<p>"My grandmother is a great judge of singing, you must know," went on May
+innocently. "She has heard all the best singers at the Oldchester
+Musical Festivals for years and years past, and she used to sing herself
+in the choruses of the oratorios."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I see!" said Theodore, with a little contemptuous air of
+enlightenment.</p>
+
+<p>Jo Weatherhead looked across at him uneasily. He had a half-formed
+suspicion that this young spark with the smooth, rather closely-cropped
+blonde head, severe shirt-collar, faultlessly-fitting coat, and slightly
+pedantic utterance, showed a tendency to treat Mrs. Dobbs with
+impertinence. But he checked the suspicion, for, he argued with himself,
+young Bransby had had the training of a gentleman. And what gentleman
+would be impertinent to a worthy and respected woman, and in her own
+house, too? He thought, as he looked at him, that Theodore bore very
+little resemblance to his father, Martin Bransby, who was altogether of
+a different and more massive type.</p>
+
+<p>"You don't favour your father much, sir," said Jo blandly.</p>
+
+<p>The young man turned his pale blue eyes upon him with a look studiously
+devoid of all expression. "I had the honour of knowing your worthy
+father well, some five-and-twenty&mdash;or it may be thirty&mdash;years ago."</p>
+
+<p>Theodore, continuing to stare at him stonily, said, "Oh, really?" in a
+low monotone.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; I knew him in the way of business. He was a customer of mine when
+I was in the bookselling business at Brummagem, as we called it. Your
+father was, even at that time, very highly thought of by some of the
+leading legal luminaries. We had no assizes at Birmingham, as no doubt
+you're aware; but I used to go over to Warwick Assizes pretty reg'larly
+in those days, having some dealings there in the stationery line&mdash;which
+I afterwards gave up altogether, though that isn't to the point&mdash;and I
+used to frequent a good deal of legal company. Mr. Martin Bransby was
+thought a good deal of, among 'em, I can tell you, and was taken a great
+deal of notice of by some of the county families&mdash;quite the real old
+gentry," added Mr. Weatherhead, pursing up his mouth and nodding his
+head emphatically, like a man enforcing a statement which his hearers
+might reasonably hesitate to accept.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, how is Mr. Bransby?" asked May.</p>
+
+<p>"Thanks; my father is going on very well indeed. He has driven out
+twice, and, in fact, is nearly himself again. He purposes asking some
+friends to dine with him next week. Indeed, that furnishes the object of
+my visit here. I&mdash;Mrs. Bransby&mdash;of course, you understand that my
+father's long illness has given her a great deal to do."</p>
+
+<p>"Truly it must!" broke in Mrs. Dobbs, thinking at once sympathetically
+of the wife and mother threatened with so cruel a bereavement, and now
+almost suddenly relieved from overwhelming anxiety. "I'm sure most folks
+in Oldchester have been feeling greatly for Mrs. Bransby."</p>
+
+<p>"And so," continued Theodore, addressing himself exclusively to May,
+"she has not really been&mdash;been able to see as much of you as she would
+have liked, Miss Cheffington."</p>
+
+<p>May looked at him in surprise. "Why of course?" said she. "Mrs. Bransby
+hasn't been thinking about <i>me</i>! How should she?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is the reason&mdash;I mean my father's illness, and all the occupations
+resulting from it&mdash;which has induced Mrs. Bransby to make me her
+ambassador on this occasion."</p>
+
+<p>As he spoke, Theodore took a little note from his pocket-book, and
+handed it to May. She glanced at it, and exclaimed with open
+astonishment, "It's an invitation to dinner! Look, granny!"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Weatherhead poked forward his head to see. It was, in fact, a formal
+card requesting the pleasure of Miss Cheffington's company at dinner on
+the following Saturday. Mrs. Dobbs once more put on her spectacles and
+read the card.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope you will be disengaged," said Theodore, severely ignoring
+"granny."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I couldn't go to a grand dinner-party. It would be ridiculous!"</p>
+
+<p>"May! That's not a gracious fashion of receiving an invitation, anyhow,"
+said Mrs. Dobbs, smiling a little.</p>
+
+<p>"It's very kind indeed of Mr. and Mrs. Bransby, but I would much rather
+not, please," said May, endeavouring to amend her phrase.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, that's dreadfully cruel, Miss Cheffington!"</p>
+
+<p>"You don't think I ought to go, do you, granny?"</p>
+
+<p>"That," replied Mrs. Dobbs, "depends on circumstances."</p>
+
+<p>"I assure you," said Theodore, turning round with his most imposing air,
+"that it would be quite proper for Miss Cheffington to accept the
+invitation. I should certainly not urge her to do so unless that were
+the case."</p>
+
+<p>Jo Weatherhead's suspicions as to this young spark's tendency to
+impertinence were rather vividly revived by this speech, and his
+forehead flushed as dark a red as his nose. But Mrs. Dobbs, looking at
+Theodore's fair young face made up into an expression of solemn
+importance, smiled a broad smile of motherly toleration, and answered in
+a soothing tone&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"No, no; to be sure, you mean to do what's right and proper; only young
+folks don't look at everything as has to be considered. But youth has
+the best of it in so many ways, it can afford to be not quite so wise as
+its elders."</p>
+
+<p>This glimpse of himself, as Mrs. Dobbs saw him, was so totally
+unexpected as completely to dumfounder Theodore for a moment. Never,
+since he left off round jackets, had he been so addressed: for the
+behaviour of our acquaintances towards us in daily life is generally
+modified by their idea of what we think of ourselves.</p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;I can assure you," he stammered; and then stopped, at a loss for
+words, in most unaccustomed embarrassment.</p>
+
+<p>"There, there, we ain't bound to say yes or no all in a minute," pursued
+Mrs. Dobbs. "Any way, we couldn't think of making you postman. That's
+all very well for your step-mother, of course; but May must send her
+answer in a proper way. Meanwhile, will you stay and have a cup of tea,
+Mr. Bransby? It's just our teatime. The tray will be here in a minute."</p>
+
+<p>Theodore had risen as if to go. He now stood hesitating, and looking at
+May, who certainly gave no answering look of encouragement. She wanted
+him gone, that she might "talk over" the invitation with her
+grandmother.</p>
+
+<p>With a pleasant clinking sound, Martha now brought in the tea-tray; and
+in another minute had fetched the kettle and placed it on the hob,
+where, after a brief interval of wheezing and sputtering, consequent on
+its sudden removal from the kitchen fire, it resumed its gurgling sound,
+and made itself cheerfully at home.</p>
+
+<p>If Mrs. Dobbs had urged him by another word,&mdash;if she had shown by any
+look or tone that she thought it would be a condescension in him to
+remain, Theodore would have refused. But she began placidly to scoop out
+the tea from the caddy, and awaited his reply with unfeigned equanimity.
+There was an unacknowledged feeling in his heart that, to go away then
+and so, would be to make a flat kind of exit disagreeable to think of.
+He would like to leave this obtuse old woman impressed with a sense of
+his superiority; and apparently it would still require some little time
+before that impression was made.</p>
+
+<p>"Thanks," he said. "If I am not disturbing you&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Dear no! How could it disturb me? Martha, bring another cup and
+saucer."</p>
+
+<p>And then Theodore, laying aside his hat and gloves, drew a chair up to
+the table and accepted the proffered hospitality.</p>
+
+<p>Having found the method of supercilious reserve rather a failure, the
+young man now adopted a different treatment for the purpose of awaking
+Mrs. Dobbs, and that objectionably familiar person with the red nose, to
+a sense of his social distinction and general merits. He talked&mdash;not
+volubly, indeed: for that would have been out of his power, even had he
+wished it, but he talked&mdash;in a succession of short speeches, beginning
+for the most part with "I." His efforts were not, however, exclusively
+aimed at Mrs. Dobbs and Jo Weatherhead. He watched May a good deal, and
+spoke to her of the Dormer-Smiths as though that were a topic between
+themselves, from which the profane vulgar (especially profane
+ex-booksellers, with red noses) were necessarily excluded. As the others
+said very little&mdash;with the exception of an occasional question from Jo
+Weatherhead&mdash;Theodore's talk assumed the form of a monologue spoken to a
+dull audience.</p>
+
+<p>He was conscious, as he walked away from Friar's Row, of being a little
+surprised at his own conversational efforts, and half-repentant of his
+condescension. He had been obliged to take his leave without obtaining
+any definite answer to the dinner invitation. But, perhaps, the feeling
+uppermost in his mind was irritation at May's perfectly simple
+acceptance of her position as Mrs. Dobbs's grand-daughter, and her
+perfectly filial attachment to her grandmother. "It is really too bad!
+Cheffington ought never to have allowed his daughter to be got hold of
+by those people. Mrs. Dormer-Smith cannot have the least idea what sort
+of a <i>milieu</i> her niece lives in!" he said to himself.</p>
+
+<p>The worst was that May was so evidently contented! If she had been at
+all distressed by her surroundings, Theodore could have better borne to
+see her there.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Persons like the Simpsons, who knew Mrs. Dobbs intimately, allowed her
+to have a strong judgment, and asserted her to have a still stronger
+will. She was far too bent on her own way ever to take advice, they
+said. It certainly did not happen that she took theirs. But Mrs. Dobbs's
+judgment was stronger than they knew. It was strong enough to show her
+on what points other people were likely to know better than she did. She
+would undoubtedly have followed Amelia Simpson's counsels as to the best
+way of dressing the hair in filmy ringlets&mdash;if she had chanced to
+require that information.</p>
+
+<p>On the morning after Theodore Bransby's visit to her house, Mrs. Dobbs
+put on her bonnet and set off betimes to College Quad. There she had an
+interview with Mrs. Hadlow, who, it appeared, was going to the Bransbys'
+dinner-party, and willingly promised to take charge of May.</p>
+
+<p>"It seemed to me it wouldn't be the right thing for my grand-daughter to
+go alone to a regular formal party," said Mrs. Dobbs. "But, as I don't
+pretend to be much of an authority on such matters, I ventured to ask
+you to tell me."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course you were quite right, Mrs. Dobbs."</p>
+
+<p>"And you think she had better accept the invitation? She doesn't much
+want to do so herself, being shy of going amongst strangers. But, to be
+sure, if she may be under your wing, and in company with Miss Hadlow,
+that would make a vast difference."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes, let her go, Mrs. Dobbs. Sooner or later she will have to go
+into the world, and it may be well to begin amongst people she is used
+to. Is it true that she is to go to her aunt's house in London very
+soon?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing is settled yet. If there had been, you and Canon Hadlow should
+have been the first to know it&mdash;as it would be only my duty to tell you,
+after all your kindness to the child. Nothing is settled. But I am in
+favour of her going myself."</p>
+
+<p>"You take the sensible view, Mrs. Dobbs, as I think you always
+do&mdash;except at election time," added Mrs. Hadlow, smiling.</p>
+
+<p>The elder woman smiled back, with a little resolute setting of the lips,
+and begged her best respects to the canon as she took her leave. The
+canon was a great favourite with Mrs. Dobbs; and, on his part, their
+political struggle in that long past election had inspired him with a
+British respect for his adversary's pluck and fair play.</p>
+
+<p>The prospect of going with Mrs. Hadlow and Constance greatly reconciled
+May to the idea of the dinner-party. But she did not look forward to it
+with anticipations of enjoyment.</p>
+
+<p>"I would much rather dine in the nursery with the children," she said,
+unconsciously echoing Mrs. Bransby's suggestion.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Weatherhead, who was present, took her up on this, and said, "Why,
+now, May, you will enjoy being in good society! Mr. Bransby is a very
+agreeable man, and used to some of the best company in the county. Mrs.
+Bransby, too, is very pleasant and very pretty; a Miss Lutyer she was, a
+regular beauty, and belonging to a good old Shropshire family. And young
+Theodore&mdash;&mdash;" Jo Weatherhead pausing here, and hesitating for a moment,
+May broke in, "Come now, Uncle Jo," she exclaimed, "you can't say that
+<i>he's</i> pretty or pleasant!"</p>
+
+<p>"He's not bad-looking," returned Mr. Weatherhead, rather doubtfully.
+"Though, to be sure, he isn't so fine a man as his father."</p>
+
+<p>"No; this lad is like his mother's family," said Mrs. Dobbs. "I remember
+his grandfather and grandmother very well."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you? Do you, Sarah? Who were they? What sort of people, now, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"Common sort of people; Rabbitt, their name was. Old Rabbitt kept the
+Castlecombe Arms, a roadside inn over towards Gloucester way. He ran a
+coach between his own market-town and Gloucester before the branch
+railway was made, and they say he did a good deal of money-lending; any
+way, he scraped together a goodish bit, and his wife came in for a slice
+of luck by a legacy. So altogether their daughter&mdash;the first Mrs. Martin
+Bransby that was&mdash;had a nice fortune of her own. She was sent to a good
+school and well educated, and she was a very good sort of girl; but she
+had just the same smooth, light hair, and smooth, pale face as this
+young Theodore. Martin Bransby had money with his first wife&mdash;he's got
+beauty with his second."</p>
+
+<p>"O-ho!" exclaimed Jo Weatherhead, eager and attentive. "Rabbitt, eh? I
+never knew before who the first Mrs. Bransby was."</p>
+
+<p>"Not a many folks in Oldchester now do know. I happened to know from
+being often over at Gloucester, visiting Dobbs's family, when I was a
+girl. Many a day we've driven past the Castlecombe Arms in the chaise.
+Dear, dear, how far off it all seems, and yet so plain and distinct! I
+couldn't help thinking of those old times when the lad was here the
+other day; he <i>has</i> such a look of old Rabbitt!"</p>
+
+<p>Thus Mrs. Dobbs, rather dreamily, with her eyes fixed on the opposite
+houses of Friar's Row&mdash;or as much of them as could be seen above a wire
+window-blind&mdash;and her fingers mechanically busy with her knitting. But
+she saw neither the quaint gables nor the gray stone-walls. Her mind was
+transported into the past. She was bowling along a smooth highroad in an
+old-fashioned chaise. A girl friend sat in the little seat behind her,
+and leaned over her shoulder from time to time to whisper some saucy
+joke. Beside her was the girl-friend's brother, young Isaac Dobbs:&mdash;A
+personable young fellow, who drove the old pony humanely, and seemed in
+no hurry to get home to Gloucester. She could feel the moist, sweet air
+of a showery summer evening on her cheek, and smell the scent of a
+branch of sweetbriar which Isaac had gallantly cut for her from the
+hedge.</p>
+
+<p>Theodore Bransby did not guess that Mrs. Dobbs had treated him with
+forbearance and indulgence; still less did he imagine that the
+forbearance and indulgence had been due to reminiscences of her
+girlhood, wherein his maternal grandfather figured as "Old Rabbit."</p>
+
+<p>The question of May's dress for the dinner-party gave rise to no debate.
+Mrs. Dobbs had been brought up in the faith that the proper garb for a
+young girl on all festive occasions was white muslin; and in white
+muslin May was arrayed accordingly. The delicate fairness of her arms
+and neck was not marred by the trying juxtaposition of that dead white
+material. It served only to give value to the soft flesh tints, and to
+the sunny brownness of her hair. When she had driven off in the roomy
+old fly with Mrs. Hadlow and the canon and Constance, who called to
+fetch her, Mrs. Dobbs and Mr. Weatherhead agreed that she looked lovely,
+and must excite general admiration. But the truth was that May's
+appearance did not seem to dazzle anybody. Mrs. Hadlow gave her a
+comprehensive and approving glance when she took her cloak off in the
+well-lighted hall of Mr. Bransby's house, and said, "Very neat. Very
+nice. Couldn't be better, May." Canon Hadlow&mdash;a white-haired venerable
+figure, with the mildest of blue eyes, and a sensitive mouth&mdash;smiled on
+her, and nodded in confirmation of his wife's verdict. Constance,
+brilliant in amber, with damask roses at her breast and in her hair,
+thought her friend looked very school-girlish, and wanting in style. But
+she had the good-nature to pay the one compliment which she sincerely
+thought was merited, and to say, "Your complexion stands even that
+blue-white book muslin, May. I should look absolutely mahogany-coloured
+in it!"</p>
+
+<p>May felt somewhat excited and nervous as she followed Mrs. Hadlow up the
+softly carpeted stairs to the drawing-room. But she had a wholesome
+conviction of her own unimportance on this occasion, and comforted
+herself with the hope of being left to look on without more notice from
+any one than mere courtesy demanded. Her first impression was one of
+eager admiration; for just within the drawing-room door stood Mrs.
+Bransby, looking radiantly handsome. May thought her the loveliest
+person she had ever beheld; and her dress struck even May's
+inexperienced eyes as being supremely elegant. Constance Hadlow's
+attire, with its unrelieved breadth of bright colour and its stiff
+outline, suddenly appeared as crude as a cheap chromo-lithograph beside
+a Venetian masterpiece. Behind his wife, seated in an easy-chair, was
+Martin Bransby, a fine, powerfully built man of sixty, with dark eyes
+and eyebrows, and a shock of grizzled hair. His naturally ruddy
+complexion was pallid from recent illness, and the lines under his eyes
+and round his mouth had deepened perceptibly during the last two months.
+Theodore stood near his father, stiffly upright, and with a cravat and
+shirt-front so faultlessly smooth and white as to look as though they
+had been cast in plaster of Paris. Standing with his back to the fire,
+was Dr. Hatch:&mdash;a familiar figure to May, as to most eyes in Oldchester.
+He was a short man, rather too broad for his height; with benevolent
+brown eyes, a wide, low forehead, and a wide, firm mouth, singularly
+expressive of humour when he smiled. No other guest had arrived when the
+Hadlows entered the drawing-room.</p>
+
+<p>After the first greetings, the party fell into little groups: the canon
+and Mr. Bransby, who were very old friends, conversing together in a low
+voice, whilst Theodore advanced to entertain Mrs. Hadlow with grave
+politeness, and Constance made a minute and admiring inspection of Mrs.
+Bransby's dress.</p>
+
+<p>May thus found herself a little apart from the rest, and sat down in a
+corner half hidden by the protruding mantelpiece of carved oak, which
+rose nearly to the ceiling; an elaborate erection of richly carved
+pillars, and shelves and niches holding blue-and-white china, in the
+most approved style.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Miss May, and how are you?" asked Dr. Hatch, moving a little
+nearer to her, as he stood on the hearthrug.</p>
+
+<p>"Quite well, thank you, Dr. Hatch," said May, looking up with her bright
+young smile.</p>
+
+<p>"That's right! But don't mention to any member of the Faculty that I
+said so. There's a professional etiquette in these matters; and I
+shouldn't like to be quoted as having given any encouragement to rude
+health."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll take care," returned May, falling into his humour, and assuming a
+grave look. "And I will always bear witness for you that you gave me
+some <i>very</i> nasty medicine when I had the measles, Dr. Hatch. I'm sure
+the other doctors would approve of that, wouldn't they?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nice child," murmured Dr. Hatch. "Understands a joke. It would be as
+much as my practice is worth to talk in that way to some young ladies I
+could mention. Well, and so this is your first entrance into the gay and
+festive scene, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; I have never been to a regular dinner-party before. I am so glad
+Mr. Bransby is quite well again," said May, looking across the room at
+their host.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you? Well, I believe you are glad. Yes; it is much to be desired
+that he should be quite well again." Dr. Hatch's eyes had followed the
+girl's, and rested on Martin Bransby with a thoughtful look. Then, after
+a minute's pause, he went on: "Now, as you are not quite familiar here,
+I'll give you a map of the country, as the French say. Do you know who
+that is who has just come in? No? That is Mr. Bragg. He makes millions
+and billions of tin-tacks every week. You've heard of him, of course?"
+May nodded. "Of course you have. Couldn't live long in Oldchester
+without hearing of Mr. Bragg. That handsome, elderly man, now bowing to
+Mrs. Bransby, is Major Mitton, of the Engineers. Ever hear of <i>him</i>? Ah,
+well; I suppose not. He's a very good-natured, kindly gentleman, and an
+excellent soldier, who distinguished himself greatly in the Crimea. But
+no one will ever hear him say a word about that. What he <i>is</i> proud of
+is his reputation as an amateur actor. I have known more reprehensible
+vanities. Ah, and here come the Pipers, Miss Polly and Miss Patty; and I
+think that makes up our number."</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Hatch did not think of asking May whether she had ever heard of the
+Miss Pipers. The fact was she had heard of them very often. They were
+Oldchester celebrities quite as much as Mr. Bragg was. But their fame
+had not extended beyond Oldchester; whereas Bragg's tin-tacks were daily
+hammered into the consciousness of the civilized world.</p>
+
+<p>Miss Mary and Miss Martha Piper (invariably called Polly and Patty) were
+old maids between fifty and sixty years old. They were not rich; they
+had never been handsome; they were not, even in the opinion of their
+most partial friends, brilliantly clever. What, then, was the cause of
+the distinction they undoubtedly enjoyed in Oldchester society? The
+cause was Miss Polly Piper's musical talent&mdash;or at least her reputation
+for musical talent, which, for social purposes, was the same thing. Miss
+Piper had once upon a time, no matter how many years ago, composed an
+oratorio, and offered it to the Committee of a great Musical Festival,
+for performance. It was not accepted&mdash;for reasons which Miss Piper was
+at no loss to perceive. The reader is implored not to conclude rashly
+that the oratorio was rejected because it failed to reach the requisite
+high standard. Miss Piper knew a great deal better than that. She had
+been accustomed to mix with the musical world from an early age. Her
+father, an amiable Oldchester clergyman, rector of the church in which
+Mr. Sebastian Bach Simpson was organist, was considered the best amateur
+violoncello player in the Midland Counties. When the great music meeting
+brought vocal and instrumental artists to Oldchester, the Reverend
+Reuben Piper's house was always open to several of them; and Miss Polly
+had poured out tea for more than one great English tenor, great German
+basso, and great Scandinavian soprano. So that, as she often said, she
+was clearly quite behind the scenes of the artistic world, and
+thoroughly understood its intrigues, its ambitions, and its jealousies.
+Thus she was less mortified and discouraged by the rejection of her
+oratorio than she would have been had she supposed it due to honest
+disapproval. The work, which was entitled "Esther," was played and sung,
+however;&mdash;not indeed by the great English tenor, German basso, and
+Scandinavian soprano, but by very competent performers. It was performed
+in the large room in Oldchester, used for concerts and lectures, and
+called Mercers' Hall. Admission was by invitation, and the hall was
+quite full, which, as Miss Patty triumphantly observed, was a very
+gratifying tribute on the part of the town and county. Miss Polly did
+not conduct her own music. Ladies had not yet wielded the conductor's
+<i>bâton</i> in those days. But she sat in a front row, with her father on
+one side of her and her sister Patty on the other, and bowed her
+acknowledgments to the executants at the end of each piece.</p>
+
+<p>It was a great day for the Piper family, and that one solitary fact (for
+the oratorio was never repeated) flavoured the rest of their lives with
+an odour of artistic glory, as one Tonquin bean will perfume a whole
+chest full of miscellaneous articles. Truly, the triumph was not cheap.
+The rehearsals and the performance had to be paid for, and it was said
+at the time that the Reverend Reuben had been obliged to sell some
+excellent Canal Shares in order to meet the expenses, and had thereby
+diminished his income by so many pounds sterling for evermore. But at
+least the expenditure purchased a great deal of happiness; and that is
+more than can be said of most investments which the world would consider
+wiser. From that day forth, Miss Polly held the position of a musical
+authority in certain circles. Long after a younger generation had grown
+up, to whom that famous performance of "Esther" was as vague an
+historical fact as the Heptarchy, people continued to speak of Miss
+Polly Piper as a successful composer. The lives of the two sisters were
+shaped by this tradition. They went every year to London for a month
+during the season; and, for a longer or shorter time, to some
+Continental city,&mdash;Leipsic, Frankfort, or Brussels: once, even, as far
+as Vienna,&mdash;whence they came back bringing with them the latest <i>dicta</i>
+in musical fashions, just as Mrs. Clarkson, the chief Oldchester
+milliner, announced every year her return from Paris with a large and
+varied assortment of bonnets in the newest styles. It has been written
+that "<i>they</i>" brought back with them the newest <i>dicta</i> on musical
+matters; but it must not be supposed that Miss Patty set up to interpret
+the law on such points. She was, as to things musical, merely her
+sister's echo and mouthpiece. But sincerity, that best salt for all
+human communications, preserved Miss Patty's subservience from any taint
+of humbug. However extravagant might be her estimate of Polly's artistic
+gifts and attainments, you could not doubt that it was genuine.</p>
+
+<p>These circumstances were, broadly speaking, known to every one present.
+But May was acquainted with another aspect of the legend of Miss Piper's
+oratorio: a seamy side which the poor good lady did not even suspect.
+That famous oratorio had been a fertile source of mirth at the time to
+all the performers engaged in it. There were all sorts of stories
+current as to the amazing things Miss Piper did with her
+instrumentation: the impossible efforts she expected from the "wind,"
+and the anomalous sounds she elicited from the "wood." These were
+retailed with much gusto by Jo Weatherhead, who, in virtue of a high
+nasal voice, and a power (common enough in those parts) of reading music
+at sight, had sung with the tenors through many a Festival chorus, and
+known many professional musicians during his sojourn in Birmingham. One
+favourite anecdote was of a trombone player who at rehearsal, in the
+very climax and stress of the overture, when he was to have come in with
+a powerful effect, stretched out his arm at full length, and produced
+the most hideous and unearthly noise ever heard; and who, on being
+rebuked by the conductor, handed up his part for inspection, observing,
+amid the unrestrained laughter of the band, that that was the nearest
+<i>he</i> could come to the note Miss Piper had written for him, which was
+some half octave below the usual compass of his instrument. Of this, and
+many another similar story, Miss Piper and Miss Piper's friends knew
+nothing. But May, remembering them, looked at the two old ladies as they
+marched into the room with an interest not so wholly reverential as
+might have been wished.</p>
+
+<p>They were both short, fat, snub-nosed little women, with wide smiling
+mouths, and double chins. Miss Patty was rather shorter, rather fatter,
+and rather more snub-nosed than her gifted sister. But the chief
+difference between the two, which struck one at first sight, was that
+whereas Miss Piper's own grey locks were disposed in a thick kind of
+curl, like a plethoric sausage, on each side of her face, Miss Patty
+wore a pale, gingerbread-coloured wig. Why, having all the wigmaker's
+stores to choose from, she should have chosen just that particular hue,
+May secretly wondered as she looked at her. But so it was. And if she
+had worn a blue wig, it could scarcely have been more innocent of any
+attempt to deceive the beholder. Both ladies wore good substantial silk
+gowns, and little lace caps with artificial flowers in them. But the
+remarkable feature in their attire was the extraordinary number of
+chains, beads, and bracelets with which they had festooned themselves.
+And, moreover, these were of a severely mineralogical character. Round
+Miss Patty's fat, deeply-creased throat, May counted three
+necklaces:&mdash;One of coral, one of cornelian, and the third a long string
+of grey pebble beads which dangled nearly to her waist. Miss Polly
+wore&mdash;besides a variety of other nondescript adornments which rattled
+and jingled as she moved&mdash;a set of ornaments made apparently of red
+marble, cut into polygonal fragments of irregular length. Their rings
+too, which were numerous, seemed to be composed for the most part of
+building materials; and each sister wore a mosaic brooch which looked,
+May thought, like a bit out of the tesselated pavement of the smart new
+Corn Exchange in the High Street.</p>
+
+<p>It did not take that young lady's quick perception long to make all the
+foregoing observations. Indeed, she had completed them within the minute
+and a half which elapsed between the Miss Pipers' arrival, and the
+announcement of dinner.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The order of the procession to the dining-room had been pre-arranged not
+without some difficulty. Mrs. Bransby had pointed out to Theodore that
+his whim of inviting Miss Cheffington must cause a solecism somewhere in
+marshalling their guests.</p>
+
+<p>"Constance will, of course, expect you to take her," said Mrs. Bransby,
+"and then what is to be done with little Miss Cheffington? I really
+think I had better invite two more people, and get some young man to
+take her in to dinner. Perhaps Mr. Rivers would come."</p>
+
+<p>But Theodore utterly opposed this suggestion, and said that the simple
+and obvious course was for him to give his arm to Miss Cheffington, and
+for Dr. Hatch to escort Miss Hadlow.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, well, if you don't mind," said Mrs. Bransby, looking a little
+surprised. And so it was settled. But at the last moment, in arranging
+her table and disposing the cards with the guest's name before each
+cover, Mrs. Bransby found that it would be necessary, for the sake of
+symmetrically alternating a lady and gentleman, to divide one couple,
+and place them on opposite sides of the table. She decided that Dr.
+Hatch and Miss Hadlow would endure this sort of divorce with equanimity;
+and thus it came to pass that when Theodore took his seat at table he
+found himself in the enviable and unexpected position of sitting between
+the two young ladies of the party&mdash;Constance and May.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Bransby led out Mrs. Hadlow, the hostess bringing up the rear with
+Canon Hadlow. Major Mitton had the honour of escorting Miss Piper, while
+Miss Patty fell to Mr. Bragg. There was, as is usual on such occasions,
+very little conversation while the soup and fish were being eaten. Miss
+Piper, indeed, who was constitutionally loquacious, talked all the while
+to Major Mitton, though in a comparatively low tone of voice; but the
+rest of the company devoted themselves mainly to their plates; or at
+least said only a fragmentary sentence now and then. But by degrees the
+desultory talk swelled into a continuous murmur, across which bursts of
+laughter were wafted at intervals. May had the satisfaction she had
+hoped for, of being allowed to be quiet; for her neighbour on the one
+hand was the canon, who contented himself with smiling on her silently,
+whilst Theodore was greatly occupied by <i>his</i> neighbour, Miss Hadlow.
+Being seated between him and Major Mitton, she monopolized the younger
+gentleman's attention with the undoubting conviction that he enjoyed
+being monopolized.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Bragg, a heavy, melancholy-looking man, found Miss Patty Piper a
+congenial companion on a topic which interested him a good
+deal&mdash;cookery. Not that he was a <i>gastronome</i>. He had a grand French
+cook; but he confided to Miss Patty that he never tasted anything
+nowadays which he relished so much as he had relished a certain
+beef-steak pudding that his deceased "missis" used to make for him
+thirty years ago, and better. Miss Patty had, as it happened, some
+peculiar and special views as to the composition of a beef-steak
+pudding; and Mr. Bragg&mdash;borne backwards by the tide of memory to those
+distant days when his missis and he lodged in one room, and before he
+had learned the secret of transmuting tin-tacks into luxury and French
+cooks&mdash;enjoyed his reminiscences in a slow, sad, ruminating way.</p>
+
+<p>Presently, when the dessert was on the table, there came a little lull
+in the general conversation, and the husky contralto voice of Miss Piper
+was heard saying, "My dear Major, I tell you it was the same woman. You
+say you heard her at Malta fifteen years ago. Very well. That's no
+reason; for she might have been only sixteen or seventeen then. These
+Italians are so precocious."</p>
+
+<p>"More like six or seven-and-twenty, Miss Piper. Bless you, she
+had long outgrown short frocks and pinafores in those days.
+Fourteen&mdash;fifteen&mdash;yes; it must be fully fifteen years ago. It was the
+season that we got up the 'Honeymoon' for the garrison theatricals. I
+played the Duke. It has been one of my best parts ever since. And there
+was a scratch company of Italian opera-singers doing wretched business.
+We got up a subscription for them, poor things. But fancy 'La Bianca'
+still singing Rosina in the 'Barber!'"</p>
+
+<p>"She looked charming, I can tell you. I don't say that her voice may not
+be a little worn in the upper notes&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder there's a rag of it left," put in the Major.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; a little worn. But she knows how to sing. If one must listen to
+such trivial, florid music, that's the only way to sing it."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, there we shan't agree, Miss Piper! No, no; I always stand up for
+Rossini. I don't pretend to be a great swell at music, but I have an
+ear, and I like a toon. Give me a toon that I can remember and whistle,
+and I'll make you a present of Wagner and the other fellows, all
+howlings and growlings."</p>
+
+<p>"Major, Major," called out Dr. Hatch from the opposite side of the
+table, "this is terribly obsolete doctrine! We shall have you confessing
+next that you like sugar in your tea, and prefer a rose to a sunflower!"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Bransby, wishing to avert any unpleasant shock of opinions on such
+high themes, here interposed. He turned the conversation back to the
+Italian singer, who could be abused without ruffling anybody's <i>amour
+proper</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"But who is this <i>prima donna</i> you're talking of, Major?" said he.</p>
+
+<p>Miss Piper struck in before Major Mitton could reply. "It's a certain
+Moretti:&mdash;Bianca Moretti. We heard her last summer in a minor theatre at
+Brussels, with a strolling Italian Opera Company. Don't you remember,
+Patty?"</p>
+
+<p>"Moretti?" said Miss Patty, instantly breaking off in the middle of a
+sentence addressed to Mr. Bragg, at the sound of her sister's voice.</p>
+
+<p>"The woman with the fine eyes? Oh yes. I remember her particularly,
+because of the awful scandal there was afterwards about her and that
+Englishman."</p>
+
+<p>Several heads at the table were now turned towards Miss Patty, who shook
+her ginger-bread-coloured wig with a knowing air.</p>
+
+<p>"I was just telling the Major," said Miss Piper. "We might never have
+known of it, if it had not been for the Italian Consul, who was a friend
+of ours. It was quite a sensation! A bit out of a French novel, eh?&mdash;Oh
+yes; quite ready, Mrs. Bransby."</p>
+
+<p>The last words had reference to a telegraphic signal from the hostess,
+who immediately rose. Mrs. Hadlow had been looking across at her rather
+uneasily during the last minute or so. The fact was that the Miss Pipers
+were reputed in Oldchester to have a somewhat unconsidered and free way
+of talking. Some persons attributed this to their annual visit to the
+Continent: others thought it connected rather with Miss Piper's artistic
+experiences, which in some mysterious way were supposed to have had a
+tendency to make her "a little masculine." The implication would seem to
+be that to be "masculine" involves a lax government of the tongue. But
+as no Oldchester gentleman was ever known to protest against this
+imputation, it is not necessary to examine it here more particularly.
+"When she began to talk about a French novel, my dear, there was no
+knowing what she might say next," said Mrs. Hadlow afterwards to Mrs.
+Bransby. So the latter hurried the departure of the ladies as we have
+seen.</p>
+
+<p>When they rose to go away, May, of course, went out last; Theodore
+holding the door open with his air of superior politeness.</p>
+
+<p>"Who is that pretty little girl? I don't think I know her face," said
+Major Mitton, when the young man had resumed his seat, and the chairs
+were drawn closer together.</p>
+
+<p>"That is Miss Miranda Cheffington."</p>
+
+<p>"Cheffington? I knew a Cheffington once&mdash;a terrible black sheep. Very
+likely it's not the same family, though. What Cheffingtons does this
+young lady belong to?"</p>
+
+<p>"The family of Viscount Castlecombe."</p>
+
+<p>"The man I knew was a nephew of old Castlecombe. Gus Cheffington his
+name was, I remember now."</p>
+
+<p>Theodore moved a little uneasily on his seat, and, after a moment's
+reflection, said gravely, "Captain Augustus Cheffington is this young
+lady's father; he is a friend of mine. Miss Cheffington is going to town
+to be presented next season by her aunt, Mrs. Dormer-Smith. She is a
+very thoroughbred woman. Do you know the Dormer-Smiths, Major Mitton?
+They are in the best set."</p>
+
+<p>The Major did not know the Dormer-Smiths, and had no interest in
+pursuing the subject. He turned to join in the conversation going on
+between Mr. Bransby, the canon, and Dr. Hatch, and then Theodore slipped
+out of his place and went to sit nearer to Mr. Bragg, who was looking a
+little solitary. Mr. Bragg had a great many good qualities, but he was
+usually considered to be heavy in hand from a conversational point of
+view. Theodore, however, did not find him dull. He talked to Mr. Bragg
+with an agreeable sense of making an excellent figure in the eyes of
+that millionaire. Theodore had a strong memory, considerable powers of
+application, and had read a great many solid books. He favoured Mr.
+Bragg now with a speech on the subject of the currency, about which he
+had read all the most modern theories up to date. The currency, he felt,
+must be a peculiarly interesting subject to a man who sold millions and
+billions of tin-tacks in all the markets of the world. Mr. Bragg drank
+his wine, keeping his eyes on the table, and listened with silent
+attention. Theodore, warmed by a mental vision of himself speaking in a
+breathless House of Commons, rose to parliamentary heights of eloquence.
+He had already addressed Mr. Bragg as "Sir," and had sternly inquired
+what he supposed would be the consequence if the present movement in
+favour of bimetallism should be still further developed in the United
+States, when he was interrupted by his father's voice saying&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Come, shall we ask Mrs. Bransby for a cup of coffee?"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Bragg lifted his eyes and rose from his chair, and Theodore and he
+moved towards the door side by side.</p>
+
+<p>"It ought to be boiled in a basin, oughtn't it?" said Mr. Bragg
+thoughtfully. "Ah, no; it wasn't you. I remember now, it was Miss Patty
+Piper who was mentioning&mdash;I'll ask her again when we get upstairs."</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the elder ladies had been deep in the discussion of Miss
+Piper's interrupted story. Constance and May had got close together near
+the pianoforte, and Mrs. Bransby asked Constance to play something "soft
+and pretty." Constance opened the instrument and ran her fingers over
+the keys in a desultory manner, playing scraps of waltzes or whatever
+came into her head, and continuing her chat with May to that running
+accompaniment. Mrs. Bransby, Mrs. Hadlow, and the Miss Pipers grouped
+themselves near the fireplace at the other end of the room, and carried
+on their talk also under cover of the music.</p>
+
+<p>"It was odd enough that on my happening to mention the name of the
+Moretti to Major Mitton he should remember her at Malta so many years
+ago," began Miss Piper.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; and you see now that I was right, and she can't be so young as you
+thought her, Polly," said her sister.</p>
+
+<p>"Lord, what does that matter? I only said she looked young, and so she
+did. And besides, I dare say the Major exaggerates her age. When a woman
+becomes a celebrity, or comes before the public in any way, her age is
+sure to be exaggerated. Many people who only know me through my works
+suppose me to be eighty, I dare say. They never imagine a woman so young
+as I was at the time composing a serious work like 'Esther.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Is she handsome, this Signora Moretti?" asked Mrs. Bransby, who was
+always interested in, and attracted by, beauty.</p>
+
+<p>"Very handsome&mdash;in that Italian style. Great black eyes, and black
+eyebrows, and a fine profile. Too thin, though. But, oh yes; extremely
+handsome. And a very clever singer."</p>
+
+<p>"And a very worthless hussey," added Miss Patty severely.</p>
+
+<p>"What a pity!" exclaimed Mrs. Hadlow. "It does seem so sad when one
+finds great gifts, like talent and beauty, without goodness!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I don't know that she was so very bad either," replied Miss
+Piper.</p>
+
+<p>"Goodness, Polly! How can you talk so!" cried her sister. "Why, she was
+living openly with that Englishman!"</p>
+
+<p>"Some people said she was married to him, you know, Patty."</p>
+
+<p>"Stuff and nonsense!" returned Miss Patty, who, whilst undoubtedly
+accepting her sister's views about music, tenaciously reserved the right
+of private judgment as to the character of its professors, and was,
+moreover, chronically incredulous of the virtue of foreigners in
+general. "No sensible person could believe that. And as to her 'not
+being so very bad'&mdash;what do you make of that nice story of the gambling,
+and the police, and all the rest of it?"</p>
+
+<p>"The police!" echoed Mrs. Hadlow, in a low shocked voice.</p>
+
+<p>"What was that?" asked Mrs. Bransby.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, just let me tell it, Patty," said the elder sister. "If I am wrong
+you can correct me afterwards. But I believe I know more about it than
+you do. Well, there was an Italian Opera Company singing in a minor
+theatre of Brussels when we were there, and doing very well; for the
+<i>prima donna</i>, Bianca Moretti, was a great favourite. They had
+previously been making a tour through Belgium. One night we were in the
+theatre with some friends, expecting to hear her for the second time in
+the 'Barbiere,' when, some time after the curtain ought to have risen, a
+man came on to the stage, and announced that the Signora Moretti had
+been suddenly taken ill, and there would be no performance. But the next
+day we learned that the story of the Moretti's illness was only an
+excuse&mdash;or, at least, that if she was ill, it was only from the nervous
+shock of having her house searched by the police."</p>
+
+<p>"I think that was quite enough to make her ill! But why did they search
+her house?" said Mrs. Bransby.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you see, it was in this way," continued Miss Piper, lowering her
+voice, and drawing a little nearer to her hostess, while Mrs. Hadlow
+cast a glance over her shoulder to assure herself that the girls were
+occupied with their own conversation. "It seems that a set of men were
+in the habit of meeting every night after the opera in her apartment to
+play cards. There was the Englishman, and a young Russian belonging to a
+grand family, and a Servian, or a Roumanian, or a Bulgarian, or
+something," said Miss Piper, whose ideas as to the national distinctions
+between the younger members of the European family were decidedly vague,
+"and others besides. Now this man, the&mdash;the Bulgarian, we may as well
+call him, was a thorough blackleg, and bore the worst of characters. He
+led on the Russian to play for very high stakes, and won large sums from
+him. Well, to make a long story short, one night there was a terrible
+scene. The Russian accused the other man of cheating. They came to
+blows, I believe, and there was a regular <i>esclandre</i>. And next day the
+Bulgarian was missing. He had got away with a good deal of plunder."</p>
+
+<p>"How shocking and disgraceful!" exclaimed Mrs. Hadlow, in whom this
+gossip excited far more disgust than interest; and who thought Polly
+Piper showed very bad taste in selecting such a topic.</p>
+
+<p>"But why did the police search the Italian singer's apartment? It was
+not <i>her</i> fault, was it?" asked Mrs. Bransby.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you see, the gambling had gone on in her rooms. And the Bulgarian
+turning out to be connected with a regular gang of swindlers, the search
+was made for any letters or papers of his that might be there. We were
+told that the Russian ambassador had something to say to it; for the
+young Russian was connected with <i>very</i> high people indeed. Nothing was
+found, however."</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing was found that could be laid hold of," put in Miss Patty. "But
+there could be no question what sort of a person that woman was after
+all that!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, really, Patty," said her sister, "it seems to me that the
+Englishman was a deal more to blame. Nobody pretended that the Moretti
+wanted to gamble for her own amusement, or profit either! It was the
+ruin of her in Brussels; at any rate for that season. There was a party
+made up to hiss her whenever she appeared; and there were disturbances
+in the theatre; and, in short, the performances had to cease. I was
+sorry for her."</p>
+
+<p>"Upon my word, Polly, I don't see why you should be," cried Miss Patty.
+"She deserved all she got. I have no patience with bestowing pity and
+sympathy on such creatures. If she had been an ugly washerwoman, instead
+of a painted opera-singer, nobody would have had a soft word for her."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, surely there are plenty of people who would be gentle to an ugly
+washerwoman, if she needed gentleness," put in Mrs. Hadlow. "And you
+know, my dear Miss Patty, we are taught to pity all those who stray from
+the right path."</p>
+
+<p>"As to that, I hope I can pity error as well as my neighbours&mdash;in a
+<i>religious</i> sense," returned Miss Patty with some sharpness. "But this
+is different. I was speaking as a member of society."</p>
+
+<p>"And the Englishman&mdash;was he implicated?" asked Mrs. Bransby, rather from
+a desire to divert the conversation from a direction fraught with danger
+to the general harmony than from any special curiosity on the subject.</p>
+
+<p>"No; not exactly implicated," replied Miss Piper. "That is to say, he
+was not suspected of any unfair play, or anything of that sort; but it
+was considered disgraceful for him to have been mixed up in these
+gambling transactions; especially as he was a much older man than the
+others. And then&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"And then," continued Miss Patty, "it was not considered exactly
+creditable, I believe&mdash;although perhaps Polly thinks it was; I'm sure I
+don't know,&mdash;it wasn't, most people would say, exactly creditable for a
+man of family, an English <i>gentleman</i>, to be strolling about the world
+with a parcel of foreign singers. And he had been doing just that. We
+heard of his being at Antwerp, and Ghent, and Ostend with them."</p>
+
+<p>"A man of family, do you say? A really well-born man?" said Mrs. Hadlow,
+sitting suddenly very upright in the energy of her feelings. "How
+shocking! That really seems to be the worst of all!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I suppose we must pity <i>his</i> errors," observed Miss Patty, with
+some causticity. But Mrs. Hadlow was insensible to the sarcasm; or, at
+all events, her sense of it was swallowed up by a stronger feeling. "I
+do think it's a public misfortune," she went on, "when a person on whom
+Providence has bestowed gentle birth derogates from his rank and forgets
+his duties. It grieves me."</p>
+
+<p>"You must suffer a good deal in these days, I'm afraid," said Miss
+Patty, grimly.</p>
+
+<p>"Not on that account," replied Mrs. Hadlow. "No; truly not. There may be
+exceptions&mdash;I won't deny that there are some. But, on the whole, I
+thoroughly believe that <i>bon sang ne peut mentir</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, perhaps Mr. Cheffington's blood is not so good as he says it is;
+that's all," said Miss Patty, with a short laugh.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hadlow and Mrs. Bransby uttered a simultaneous exclamation of
+amazement; and then the former said in a breathless whisper, "Hush,
+hush, my dear, for mercy's sake! Did you say Cheffington? That
+is&mdash;Cheffington is the name of that girl! Don't turn your head."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, it can't be the same!" said Mrs. Bransby, nervously.</p>
+
+<p>"No, no; I dare say not. But the name&mdash;it must, I fear, be a member of
+the family," answered Mrs. Hadlow.</p>
+
+<p>"How lucky it wasn't mentioned in her hearing," said Miss Piper. "Poor
+little thing, I wouldn't for the world&mdash;&mdash;! She's very pretty and
+bright-looking. I don't think I ever saw her before."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Bransby hurriedly explained how May came to be there, and as much
+of her story as she was acquainted with&mdash;which was, in truth, very
+little. The Miss Pipers listened eagerly, and Mrs. Hadlow sat by with a
+cloud of anxious perplexity on her usually beaming face. They all
+admitted that of course the person spoken of <i>might</i> be no relation of
+May's at all; but it was evident that no one believed that hypothesis.
+To the Miss Pipers the whole matter was simply a relishing morsel of
+gossip. They dwelt with <i>gusto</i> on "the extraordinary coincidence" of
+Miss Cheffington's being there just that very evening, and "the singular
+circumstance" that Major Mitton should remember Bianca Moretti, and
+enjoyed it all very much. Mrs. Bransby's prevalent feeling was one of
+annoyance, and resentment against Theodore, who had brought this girl
+into the house. Mrs. Bransby detested a "fuss" of any sort; and shrank,
+with a sort of amiable indolence, from the conflict of provincial feuds
+and the excitement of provincial gossip. And now, she reflected, this
+story would be spread all over Oldchester, and she would be "worried to
+death" by questions on a subject about which she knew very little, and
+cared less.</p>
+
+<p>"We won't say another word about this horrid story," she said, looking
+appealingly at the Miss Pipers. "Silence is the only thing under the
+circumstances. Don't you think so? It would be so dreadful if the girl
+should overhear anything, and make a scene; wouldn't it?"</p>
+
+<p>Miss Polly and Miss Patty readily promised to be most guardedly
+silent&mdash;for that evening, and so long as May should be present;
+declaring quite sincerely that they would not for the world risk hurting
+the poor child's feelings. And then Mrs. Bransby began to flatter
+herself that the subject was done with, so far as she was concerned. But
+Fate had decided otherwise.</p>
+
+<p>When the gentlemen came into the drawing-room, Miss Hadlow was playing
+one of her most brilliant pieces, to which Miss Polly Piper was
+listening with an air of responsible attention, and gently nodding her
+head from time to time in an encouraging manner; Miss Patty Piper and
+May were looking over a large album full of photographs together; while
+Mrs. Bransby was narrating to Mrs. Hadlow, Bobby's latest witticisms,
+and Billy's extraordinary progress in the art of spelling:&mdash;these
+juvenile prodigies being her two younger children.</p>
+
+<p>Constance did not interrupt her performance on the entrance of the
+gentlemen, and Major Mitton went to stand beside the pianoforte,
+gallantly turning over the music leaves at the wrong moment, with the
+best intentions. Canon Hadlow sat down near Miss Piper; the host with
+Dr. Hatch crossed the room to speak to Mrs. Hadlow, and Mr. Bragg and
+Theodore approached the table, at which Miss Patty and May Cheffington
+were seated. Mr. Bragg drew up a chair close to Miss Patty at once, and
+began to talk with her in a low voice, and with more appearance of
+animation than his manner usually displayed. Theodore, as he observed
+this, remembered with satisfaction that his friend Captain Cheffington
+had formerly pronounced old Bragg to be a d&mdash;&mdash;d snob. A man must indeed
+be on a low level who could prefer Miss Patty Piper's culinary
+conversation to a luminous exposition of the currency question as set
+forth by Mr. Theodore Bransby. He bent over May, who was still turning
+the leaves of the photograph book, and said, "I'm afraid you are not
+having a very amusing evening, Miss Cheffington."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes, thank you," returned May, making the queerest little grimace in
+her effort not to yawn. "I am very fond of looking at photographs."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't suppose there are many portraits there that you would
+recognize. A little out of your set," said Theodore. "In fact, I don't
+know many of them myself, I have been so much away. By the way, have you
+any commands for your people in town? I go up the day after to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"Shall you see Aunt Pauline?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly. I suppose Lord Castlecombe is not likely to be in town at
+this season?" went on Theodore, raising his tone a little so as to be
+heard by the others. Constance's playing had now come to an end, and
+there was a general lowering of voices, occasioned by the cessation of
+that pianoforte accompaniment.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know, I'm sure. I don't know where he lives," answered May
+innocently.</p>
+
+<p>"Ahem! He is at this season, in all probability, at Combe Park, his
+place in Gloucestershire."</p>
+
+<p>May had never heard of her great-uncle's place in Gloucestershire; but
+now, when Theodore said the words, her thought flashed through a chain
+of associations to Mrs. Dobbs's mention of the Castlecombe Arms on the
+Gloucester Road, kept by "Old Rabbitt," and she blushed as though she
+had done something to be ashamed of.</p>
+
+<p>"The last time I had the pleasure of seeing your father, he was talking
+to me about Combe Park," continued Theodore, with a complacent sense of
+superiority to the rest of the company in these manifestations of
+familiar intercourse with members of the Castlecombe family. Lord
+Castlecombe was a very important personage in those parts. As May did
+not speak, Theodore went on: "Grand old place, Combe Park, isn't it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Is it?" returned May absently. She was looking with great interest at
+the portrait of a superb lace dress, surmounted by a distorted image of
+Mrs. Bransby's head and face, which were quite out of focus. But the
+lace flounces had "come out splendidly," as the photographer remarked.
+And, if the truth must be told, May admired them greatly.</p>
+
+<p>"Is it?" repeated Theodore, with a little smile. "But you have lived so
+long abroad, that you are quite a stranger to all these ancestral
+glories. I hope, however, that you have not the same preference for the
+Continent that your father has?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I'm sure I should always love England best. But I don't know the
+most beautiful parts of the Continent&mdash;Switzerland or Italy. We were
+always in Belgium, and Belgium isn't beautiful. At least I don't
+remember any beautiful country."</p>
+
+<p>Thus May, with perfect simplicity, still turning over the photographs,
+and all unconscious that the Miss Pipers had simultaneously interrupted
+their own conversation, and were staring at her.</p>
+
+<p>"No; Belgium is not beautiful&mdash;except architecturally," replied
+Theodore. "But there is very nice society in Brussels, and a pleasant
+Court, I believe. No doubt that's one reason why Captain Cheffington
+likes it."</p>
+
+<p>"Is Brussels your home, then? Do you live there?" asked Miss Patty,
+leaning eagerly forward.</p>
+
+<p>May looked up, and perceived all at once that every one was gazing at
+her. The Miss Pipers' sudden attention to what she was saying had
+attracted the attention of the others&mdash;as one may collect a crowd in the
+street by fixedly regarding the most familiar object. In her
+inexperience she feared she had committed some breach of the etiquette
+proper to be observed at a "grown-up dinner party." Perhaps she ought
+not to have devoted so much attention to the photographs! She closed the
+book hurriedly as she answered&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"No, <i>I</i> don't live in Brussels, but papa does&mdash;at least, generally."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Bransby rose from her chair, and came rather quickly across the
+room. "My dear," she said, "I want to present our old friend, Major
+Mitton, to you;" and taking May by the arm, she led her away towards the
+pianoforte.</p>
+
+<p>Theodore observed this proceeding with a cool smile, and sense of inward
+triumph. Mrs. Bransby began to understand, then, what a very highly
+connected young lady this was, and was endeavouring, although a little
+late, to show her proper attention. Another time Mrs. Bransby would
+receive <i>his</i> introduction and recommendation with more respect. In the
+same way, he felt gratification in the eager questions with which Miss
+Patty plied him. Miss Patty left the millionaire Mr. Bragg in the lurch,
+and began to catechize Theodore on the subject of the Cheffington
+family.</p>
+
+<p>That fastidious young gentleman said within himself that the snobbery of
+these Oldchester people was really too absurd; and mentally resolved to
+cut a great many of them, as he gained a firmer footing in the best
+London circles. Nevertheless he did not check Miss Patty's inquiries. On
+the contrary, he condescendingly gave her a great deal of information
+about his friends the Dormer-Smiths, the late lamented Dowager, the
+present Viscount Castlecombe, his two sons, the Honourable George and
+the Honourable Lucius, as well as some details respecting the more
+distant branch of the Cheffington family, who had intermarried with the
+Scotch Clishmaclavers, and were thus, not remotely, connected with the
+great ducal house of M'Brose.</p>
+
+<p>This was all very well; but Miss Patty was far more interested in
+getting some information about Captain Cheffington which would identify
+him with the hero of the Brussels story, than of following the genealogy
+of the noble head of the family into its remotest ramifications. And,
+notwithstanding that Theodore was much more reticent about the Captain,
+she did manage to find out that the latter had lived abroad for many
+years&mdash;chiefly in Belgium&mdash;and that his pecuniary circumstances were not
+flourishing.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm quite convinced it's the same man, Polly," she said afterwards to
+her sister. And, indeed, all the inquiries they made in Oldchester
+confirmed this idea. The Simpsons gave anything but a good character of
+May's absentee parent. And subsequent conversation with Major Mitton
+elicited the fact that Augustus Cheffington had been looked upon as a
+"black sheep" even by not very fastidious or strait-laced circles many
+years ago. The story of the Brussels scandal was not long in reaching
+the ears of every one in Oldchester who had any knowledge, even by
+hearsay, of the parties concerned.</p>
+
+<p>Theodore Bransby, who left Oldchester on the Monday following the
+dinner-party, and spent the intervening Sunday at home, was one of the
+few in the above-named category who did not hear of it.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The correspondence between Mrs. Dobbs and Mrs. Dormer-Smith on the
+subject of May's removal to London was not voluminous. It consisted of
+three letters: number one, written by Mrs. Dobbs; number two, written by
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith; and number three, Mrs. Dobbs's reply to that. Mrs.
+Dobbs always went straight to the point, both with tongue and pen; and
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith, although by no means so forcibly direct in her
+dealings, had a dislike to letter-writing, which caused her to put her
+meaning tolerably clearly on this occasion, so as to avoid the necessity
+of writing again.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dobbs had proposed that May should become an inmate of her aunt's
+house in London&mdash;at all events for a time&mdash;in consideration of an annual
+sum to be paid for her board and dress. The said sum was to be
+guaranteed by Mrs. Dobbs, and was so ample as to make Pauline say
+plaintively to her husband, "Just fancy, Frederick, how deplorably
+imprudent Augustus has been in offending and neglecting this old woman
+as he has done! You see she has plenty of money. I had no idea what her
+means were; but it is clear that, for a person in her rank of life, she
+may be called rich. And Augustus might have obtained solid pecuniary
+assistance from her, I've no doubt, if he had played his cards with
+ordinary prudence. But there never was any one so reckless of his own
+interests as Augustus&mdash;beginning with that unfortunate marriage."</p>
+
+<p>Whereunto Mr. Frederick Dormer-Smith thus made reply, "I don't know what
+you may call 'solid pecuniary assistance,' but it seems to me pretty
+solid to keep Augustus's daughter, and clothe her, and pay for her
+schooling, for four years and upwards. As to Augustus's disregard of his
+own interests, it does not at any rate lie in the direction of
+refraining from borrowing money, or remembering to pay it back; that
+much I can vouch for."</p>
+
+<p>Pauline put a corner of her handkerchief to her eyes. "Oh, Frederick,"
+she said, "it pains me to hear you speak so harshly. Remember, Augustus
+is my only brother."</p>
+
+<p>"Mercifully! By George, if there was another of 'em I don't know what
+<i>would</i> become of us."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dormer-Smith declined to consider this hypothesis, but contented
+herself with saying that she should like to do something for poor
+Augustus's girl, and asking her husband if he didn't think they could
+manage to receive her. Mr. Dormer-Smith thought they could on the terms
+proposed, which, he frankly said, were handsome. And Pauline added
+softly&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; and it is satisfactory that she offers to keep the arrangement
+strictly secret. It would scarcely do to let it be known that Mrs. Dobbs
+pays for May. It would be <i>inconvenable</i>. People would ask all sorts of
+questions. It would put the girl herself in an awkward position.
+'Grandmother!' people would say. 'What grandmother?' and the whole story
+of that wretched marriage would be raked up again. But, on the
+conditions proposed, I do think, Frederick, it could do no harm to
+receive May. I am glad you consent. It will be a comfort to me to feel
+that I am doing something for poor Augustus's girl, and acting as mamma
+would have wished."</p>
+
+<p>So a favourable reply was dispatched to Mrs. Dobbs's application. Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith suggested that May should come to town a little before the
+beginning of the season, so as to give time for preparing her
+wardrobe&mdash;a task to which her aunt looked forward with <i>dilettante</i>
+relish. And in answer to that, Mrs. Dobbs wrote the third and last
+letter of the series, assenting to the date proposed for May's arrival,
+and entering into a few minor details.</p>
+
+<p>She had also, meanwhile, received a letter from Captain Cheffington,
+elicited, after a long delay, by three successive urgent appeals for an
+immediate answer. It was a scrawl in a hasty, sprawling hand, and ran
+thus:</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p>"Brussels, Nov. 1, 18&mdash;.</p>
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Dear Mrs. Dobbs</span></p>
+
+
+<p>"I think it would be very desirable for Miranda to be presented
+by her aunt, if she is to be presented at all, and to be
+brought out properly. I have no doubt that my sister will
+introduce her in the best possible way. Since you seem to press
+for my consent, you have it herewith, although I hardly feel
+that I can have much voice in the matter, being separated, as I
+have been for years, from my country, my family, and my only
+surviving child. I am a mere exile. It is not a brilliant
+existence for a man born and brought up as I have been.
+However, I must make the best of it.</p>
+
+<p>"Yours always,</p>
+
+<p>"A. C."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>This was sufficient for Mrs. Dobbs. She had made a point of obtaining
+Augustus's authority for his daughter's removal to town; not because she
+relied on his judgment, but because she knew him well enough to fear
+some trick, or sudden turn of feigned indignation, if, from any motive
+of his own, he thought fit to disapprove the step. As to the tone of his
+reply, that neither troubled nor surprised her. But Mr. Weatherhead was
+moved to great wrath by it. Mrs. Dobbs had tossed the note to him one
+day, saying&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"There; there's my son-in-law's consent to May's going to town, in black
+and white. That's a document."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Weatherhead eagerly pounced on it. "What a disgusting production!"
+he exclaimed, looking up over the rim of the double eyeglass which he
+had set astride his nose to read the note.</p>
+
+<p>"Is it?" returned Mrs. Dobbs carelessly.</p>
+
+<p>"Is it? Why, Sarah, you surprise me, taking it in that cool way. It is
+the most thankless, unfeeling, selfish production I ever read in my
+life."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, is that all? Well, but that's just Augustus Cheffington. We know
+what <i>he</i> is at this time of day, Jo Weatherhead. It 'ud be a deal
+stranger if he wrote thankfully, and feelingly, and unselfishly."</p>
+
+<p>But Mr. Weatherhead refused to dismiss the matter thus easily. He
+belonged to that numerous category of persons who, having established
+and proclaimed a conviction, appear to be immensely astonished at each
+confirmation of it. He had years ago pronounced Augustus Cheffington to
+be a heartless scoundrel. Nevertheless he was shocked and amazed
+whenever Augustus Cheffington did anything to corroborate that opinion.</p>
+
+<p>The letter from Mrs. Dormer-Smith was not shown to him. Mrs. Dobbs meant
+to keep the amount she was to pay for May a secret even from her
+faithful and trusted friend Jo. He might guess what he pleased, but she
+would not tell him. The means, too, by which she meant to raise the
+money would not, she knew, meet with his approval. And, since she had
+resolved to use those means, she thought it best to avoid vain
+discussion beforehand, and therefore said nothing about them.</p>
+
+<p>Accident, however, revealed a part of the secret in this way:</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Weatherhead, calling one afternoon at Laurel Villa to see Mrs.
+Simpson, who had been kept at home by a cold, found other visitors
+there. Miss Polly and Miss Patty Piper were drinking tea out of Mrs.
+Simpson's best cups and saucers, and chatting away with their usual
+cheerfulness and volubility. The Miss Pipers, as they would themselves
+have expressed it, "moved in a superior sphere" to that of the
+music-teacher and his wife; but they did not consider that they
+derogated from their gentility by occasionally drinking tea and having a
+chat with the Simpsons. They liked to condescend a little, and
+opportunities for condescension were rather rare. Then, too, they had a
+certain interest in Sebastian Bach Simpson, inherited from the long-ago
+days when Sebastian Bach's father played the organ in their father's
+church, and Miss Polly and Miss Patty wore white frocks and blue sashes
+at evening parties, and were the objects of a good deal of attention
+from the Reverend Reuben's curates. Besides the sisters there was
+present Dr. Hatch, who had come to pay a professional visit to Mrs.
+Simpson, and who was just going away. It was a peculiarity of Dr. Hatch
+to be always just going away. He had a very large practice, and was wont
+to aver that his professional duties scarcely left him time to eat or
+sleep. Yet Dr. Hatch's horses stood waiting through many a quarter of an
+hour during which their master was engaged in conversation not of a
+strictly professional nature.</p>
+
+<p>When Mr. Weatherhead entered the best parlour of Laurel Villa, Dr. Hatch
+had a cup of tea in one hand, and his watch in the other, and greeted
+the new arrival with a friendly nod, and the assurance that he was "just
+off." Mrs. Simpson shook hands with Mr. Weatherhead, and the Miss Pipers
+graciously bowed to him. He, too, was connected in their minds with old
+times. Miss Polly specially remembered seeing him on her visits to the
+Birmingham Musical Festivals, when her father would take the opportunity
+of turning over Weatherhead's stock of books, and making a few
+purchases. And once the Pipers had lodged during a Festival week in the
+rooms over Weatherhead's shop.</p>
+
+<p>"Glad to see you better, Mrs. Simpson," said Jo, taking a seat after
+having saluted the company.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes, thank you, I'm quite well now. I know Dr. Hatch will scold me
+if he hears me say so"&mdash;(with an arch glance baulked of its effect by
+the unsympathetic spectacles)&mdash;"because he tells me I still need great
+care. But my cough is gone. It is, really!"</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Simpson girlishly shook back her curls, and proceeded to pour out a
+cup of tea for Mr. Weatherhead.</p>
+
+<p>"And how is Simpson?" asked the latter.</p>
+
+<p>"Bassy is very well, only immensely busy. He has three new pupils for
+pianoforte and harmony; the daughters of Colonel &mdash;&mdash;,&mdash;tut, I forget
+his name,&mdash;recommended by that kind Major Mitton. Or at least it would
+be more proper to say that Major Mitton recommended Bassy to them! Not
+very polite to say that the young ladies were recommended&mdash;oh dear! I
+beg pardon. I'm afraid I've over-sweetened your tea?"</p>
+
+<p>She had, in fact, put in half a dozen lumps, one after the other. But
+Mr. Weatherhead fished the greater part of them out again with his
+teaspoon, and deposited them in the saucer, saying it was of no
+consequence.</p>
+
+<p>"I am so sadly absent-minded!" said Mrs. Simpson, smiling sweetly.
+"Bassy would scold me if he were here."</p>
+
+<p>"Serve you right, if he did!" said Dr. Hatch, rising from the table.
+"You should pay attention to what you're doing. I expect to hear that
+you have swallowed the embrocation and anointed your throat with syrup
+of squills."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, doctor! You do say the drollest things!" exclaimed the amiable
+Amelia, with an enjoying giggle.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, no; not the drollest! Thank Heaven, I hear a great many droller
+things than I say! That's what mainly supports me in my day's practice."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Simpson, not in the least understanding him, giggled again. Dr.
+Hatch had the reputation of being a wag; and Amelia Simpson was not the
+woman to defraud him of a laugh on any such selfish ground as not seeing
+the point of his joke.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Mr. Weatherhead," said Miss Patty Piper, blandly, "so we are to
+have your sister-in-law for a neighbour, I hear."</p>
+
+<p>Jo poked his nose forward, and pursed up his mouth. "O-ho! my
+sister-in-law, Mrs. Dobbs? How do you mean, ma'am, 'as a neighbour'?"</p>
+
+<p>"We understand that Mrs. Dobbs has been looking after Jessamine Cottage;
+the little white house with a garden on the Gloucester Road," returned
+Miss Patty. Dr. Hatch paused with his hand on the latch of the parlour
+door to hear.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh dear no," said Jo Weatherhead decisively. "Quite a mistake. Sarah
+Dobbs is too wedded to her old home. Nothing would induce her to leave
+Friar's Row. You must have been misinformed, ma'am."</p>
+
+<p>"As to leaving Friar's Row," put in Miss Polly, "she must do that in any
+case; for she has let the premises as offices; and at a high rent, too,
+I hear. Friar's Row is considered a choice position for business
+purposes."</p>
+
+<p>Jo had opened his mouth to protest once more, when a sudden idea made
+him shut it again without speaking. "Oh!" he gasped, and then made a
+little pause before proceeding. "Ah, well&mdash;she&mdash;it wasn't quite settled
+when I heard last. Would you mind stating your authority, ma'am?"</p>
+
+<p>"The best&mdash;Mr. Bragg told us himself. His managing man at the works has
+made the arrangement. Mr. Bragg has been looking out for a more central
+office for some time."</p>
+
+<p>"I told Mrs. Dobbs long ago that she was living at an extravagant rental
+by sticking to Friar's Row," observed Dr. Hatch, turning the handle of
+the door. "Depend on it, she has let it at a swinging rent; and quite
+right, too. Now I really <i>am</i> off."</p>
+
+<p>Jo Weatherhead sat very still after the doctor's departure, with his cup
+of tea in his hand, and a pondering expression of face. The Miss Pipers
+were not sufficiently interested in him to observe his demeanour very
+closely. If they did chance to notice that he was unusually silent, that
+was accounted for by his sense of the superior company he found himself
+in. They always spoke of him as "a good, odd creature, with sound
+principles&mdash;a very respectable man, who knew his station." As for Amelia
+Simpson, she was habitually unobservant, with an inconvenient faculty,
+however, of suddenly making clear-sighted remarks when they were least
+expected.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sure this is very good news for us!" she exclaimed. "Jessamine
+Cottage is so near! At least, it <i>was</i> quite close to us when we lived
+in Marlborough Terrace."</p>
+
+<p>"It will be a good move for Mrs. Dobbs. The air in our neighbourhood is
+so much better than in her part of the town," said Miss Patty, with a
+certain complacency, as who should say, "The merit of this atmospheric
+superiority is all our own; but we are not proud."</p>
+
+<p>"And yet I am surprised, too, at Mrs. Dobbs moving," replied Amelia.
+"She always declared that she hated the suburbs, with their little
+slight-built houses."</p>
+
+<p>"That cannot apply to <i>our</i> house," said Miss Polly. "Garnet Lodge stood
+in its own ground many a long year before those new houses sprung up
+between Greenhill Road and the Gloucester Road."</p>
+
+<p>"But Mrs. Dobbs isn't going to live in Garnet Lodge!" returned Amelia,
+with one of her sudden illuminations of common sense. "And Jessamine
+Cottage is a mere bandbox."</p>
+
+<p>"I remember Mrs. Dobbs among the trebles in 'Esther,'" observed Miss
+Polly. "She had a fine clear voice, and could take the B flat in alt
+with perfect ease."</p>
+
+<p>"And her husband sold capital ironmongery. We have a coal-scuttle in the
+kitchen now which was bought at his shop&mdash;a thoroughly solid article,"
+added Miss Patty.</p>
+
+<p>These appreciative words about the Dobbses, which at another time would
+have gratified Jo Weatherhead, now fell on an unheeding ear. He took his
+leave very shortly, and walked straight to Friar's Row.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Sarah Dobbs," said he, on entering the parlour, "I didn't think
+you would steal a march on me like this! I did believe you'd have
+trusted me sooner than a parcel of strangers, after all these years!"</p>
+
+<p>He did not sit down in his usual place by the fireside, but remained
+standing opposite to his old friend, looking at her with a troubled
+countenance. Mrs. Dobbs gave him one quick, keen glance, and then said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"So you've heard it, Jo? Well, I didn't mean that you should hear it
+from any one but me. But who shall stop chattering tongues? They rage
+like a fire in the stubble. And the poorer and lighter the fuel, the
+bigger blaze it makes. It was settled only this very morning, too."</p>
+
+<p>"It <i>is</i> true, then, Sarah? I had a kind of a hankering hope that it
+might be only trash and chit-chat."</p>
+
+<p>"You mean about my letting my house, don't you? Yes; that's true."</p>
+
+<p>"And me never to know a word of it!&mdash;To hear it from strangers!"</p>
+
+<p>"Now look here, Jo; let us talk sensibly. Sit down, can't you?"</p>
+
+<p>But Jo would not sit down; and after a minute's pause, Mrs. Dobbs went
+on&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I'll tell you the truth. I didn't say a word to you of my plan
+beforehand, because I was afraid to&mdash;there!"</p>
+
+<p>"Afraid! You, Sarah Dobbs, afraid of <i>me</i>! That's a good one!" But his
+face relaxed a little from its pained, fixed look.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; afraid of what you'd say. I knew you wouldn't approve, and I knew
+why. You wouldn't approve for my sake. But, thinks I, when once it's
+done, Jo may scold a little, but he'll forgive his old friend. And I
+never thought of chattering jackdaws cawing the matter from the
+house-tops. I meant to tell you myself this very afternoon; I did
+indeed, Jo."</p>
+
+<p>Jo drew a little nearer to his accustomed chair, and put his hand on the
+back of it, keeping his face turned away from Mrs. Dobbs. "Of course,
+you're the mistress to do what you like with your own property," he
+muttered.</p>
+
+<p>"Nobody's mistress, or master either, to do what's wrong with their own
+property. I mean to do what's right if I can. I was never one to heed
+much what outside folks think of me; but I do heed what you think, Jo,
+and reason good. And I want you to know my feeling about the matter once
+for all, and then we can leave it alone."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Weatherhead here slid quietly into the armchair, and sat with his
+face still turned towards the fire.</p>
+
+<p>"You know," continued Mrs. Dobbs, "I told you some weeks ago that I was
+troubled about the child's position here. She is a real lady, and ought
+to be acknowledged as such. That's the only good that can come now from
+poor Susy's marriage, and I do hold to it. There was only one way, that
+I could see, of managing what I wanted. I could do it at a
+sacrifice&mdash;after all, a very small sacrifice."</p>
+
+<p>Jo Weatherhead shook his head emphatically.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, really and truly a very small sacrifice," persisted Mrs. Dobbs. "I
+don't see why I shouldn't be just as happy and comfortable in Jessamine
+Cottage as here&mdash;provided, of course, that my old friends don't cut me
+and sulk with me. I shall be lonely enough when once the child's gone;
+and you and me'll have to cheer each other up, and keep each other
+company, as well as we can. You won't refuse to do that, will you, Jo?
+Come, shake hands on it!"</p>
+
+<p>Jo slowly put out his hand and grasped her proffered one. He then took
+out, filled, and lighted his meerschaum, and smoked in silence for some
+quarter of an hour, Mrs. Dobbs, meanwhile, knitting in equal silence.
+All at once she said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Hark! There's May's step coming downstairs. Now you'll please to
+understand that when my moving from this house is mentioned to the
+child, it's because I find Friar's Row too noisy, and think the air in
+Greenhill Road will agree better with my health. I trust you for that,
+Jo Weatherhead, mind!"</p>
+
+<p>May at this moment came gaily into the room, and Mr. Weatherhead thus
+solemnly addressed her: "Miranda Cheffington, you have been to a
+first-rate school, and have read your Roman history and all that,
+haven't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not much, I'm afraid, Uncle Jo."</p>
+
+<p>"You have read about Lucretia, and Portia, and the mother of the
+Gracchi" (pronounced "Gratch-I;" for Jo's instruction had been chiefly
+taken in by the eye rather than the ear, in the shape of miscellaneous
+gleanings from his own stock-in-trade), "and other distinguished women
+of classical times, whose virtues were, in my opinion, not wholly
+unconnected with bounce?"</p>
+
+<p>Mary laughed and nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, allow me to tell you that there are Englishwomen at the present
+day whom I consider far superior, in all that makes a real good woman,
+to any Roman or Grecian of them all. Englishwomen to whom bounce in
+every form is foreign and obnoxious. Englishwomen who do good by stealth
+and never blush to find it Fame, because Fame is a great deal too busy
+with rascals and hussies ever to trouble herself about <i>them</i>! Your
+grandmother, Mrs. Sarah Dobbs, whom I'm proud to call my friend, is one
+of those women. And what's more&mdash;and I'll have you bear it in mind,
+Miranda Cheffington&mdash;I believe you'd be puzzled to find her equal in
+Europe, Asia, Africa, or America&mdash;not to mention Australasia and the
+'ole of the islands in the Pacific Ocean."</p>
+
+<p>With that, Mr. Weatherhead walked gravely out; his nose somewhat redder
+than usual, and his eyes glistening.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+
+<p>About a year before that dinner-party at which May Cheffington had made
+her <i>début</i> in Oldchester society, Mrs. Hadlow had begun to think it
+probable that Theodore Bransby might wish to marry her daughter, and to
+consider the desirability of his doing so. On the whole she did not
+disapprove the prospect. Constance was very handsome, but she was also
+very poor. Her ambition might not be satisfied by a match with Martin
+Bransby's son; but on the other hand, Theodore was a young man of good
+abilities, and apt to rise in the world. Moreover, he had sufficient
+property of his own to facilitate his rising&mdash;a little ballast of that
+sort being as useful in the <i>melée</i> of this world as the lead in a toy
+tumbler, and enabling a man, if not to strike the stars with his sublime
+head, at least to keep right side uppermost.</p>
+
+<p>Certainly Theodore had appeared much attracted by Miss Hadlow. Not only
+her beauty but her self-assertion approved itself to him; for a man's
+wife should be able to justify his taste; and there would be no
+distinction in winning a woman whose meekness made it doubtful whether
+she could have had the heart to say "No" to an inferior suitor. They had
+been playfellows in childhood, but school and Cambridge had separated
+them. But after Theodore began to read for the Bar, and, during the two
+last vacations, which he had spent chiefly at home, a great intimacy had
+sprung up between the young people. Theodore's frequent visits to the
+old house in College Quad did not pass unobserved. One or two persons
+thought his partiality for the Hadlows&mdash;especially when contrasted with
+the lukewarm politeness he bestowed on other families, such as Raynes
+the brewer, or the Burtons who lived in a park, and had had nothing to
+do with retail for two generations&mdash;was creditable to Theodore's heart.
+"He was not one to neglect old friends," said they, candidly confessing
+at the same time that it was more than they should have expected of him.
+But the majority felt sure that nothing short of being in love with
+Constance Hadlow could induce young Bransby to prefer the canon's
+old-fashioned parlour to Mrs. Raynes's red and gold drawing-room, or the
+Burtons' ćsthetic upholstery. Oldchester folks did not guess that
+Theodore intended to frequent a style of society in which neither the
+Rayneses nor the Burtons would be able to make any figure, nor did they
+know that he set a considerable value on Mrs. Hadlow's connections. That
+lady had been a Miss Rivers, and her family ranked among the oldest
+landed gentry in the kingdom. There were not many Oldchester magnates to
+whom Theodore Bransby thought it worth while to be more than coolly
+civil. Mr. Bragg was an exception, but then Mr. Bragg was a man of very
+great wealth; and as mere size is held in certain cases to be an element
+of grandeur, so money, Theodore thought, is capable in certain cases of
+inspiring veneration&mdash;that is to say, when there is enough of it.</p>
+
+<p>As to Miss Constance's state of mind about young Bransby, it was too
+complex to be described in a word. She liked Theodore, and thought him a
+superior person; if not quite so superior as he thought himself. She had
+faith, too, in his future. It would be agreeable to be the wife of a
+distinguished M.P. or Q.C., or perhaps of both combined in one person.
+Theodore would certainly settle nowhere but in London, and to live in
+London had been Constance's dream ever since she was fifteen. Her
+visions of what her life would be if she married Theodore Bransby
+concerned themselves chiefly with their joint-entry into some
+fashionable drawing-room, her presentation at Court, her name in the
+<i>Morning Post</i>, herself exquisitely dressed driving Theodore down to the
+House in a neat victoria, and returning the salutations of distinguished
+acquaintances as they passed along Whitehall. All more serious questions
+regarding their married life Constance set at rest by a few formulas. Of
+course, she should do her duty. Of course, Theodore would always behave
+like a gentleman. Of course, they should never condescend to vulgar
+wrangling. Of course, her husband would give way to her in any
+difference of opinion;&mdash;particularly since she was pretty sure to be
+always right. And then Constance knew herself to be so very charming,
+that a man of taste could not fail to delight in her society.</p>
+
+<p>Yet it must not be supposed that she had fully made up her mind to marry
+Theodore. That Theodore would be very glad to marry her she did not
+doubt at all. There had been a time&mdash;nay, there were moments still&mdash;when
+her visions of herself as Mrs. Theodore Bransby had been blurred by the
+disturbing element of her cousin Owen's presence. He had shown an
+attractive appreciation of her attractions; and had, to use Mr.
+Simpson's phrase, "dangled after his cousin" a good deal. Owen Rivers
+had reached the age of three and twenty without ever having earned a
+dinner, and without any serious preparation to enable him to earn one.
+He had had an expensive education, and had done fairly well at Oxford.
+His mother had died in his infancy; and his father, a country clergyman,
+had allowed the young man to lounge away his life at the parsonage,
+under the specious pretext of taking time to make up his mind what
+career he would follow. Owen had fished, and shot, and walked, and
+boated, and cricketed; but he had also read a good deal, having an
+intellectual appetite at once robust and discriminating. His friends and
+relatives agreed in thinking him very clever; and, when they reproached
+him with wasting his fine abilities and leading a purposeless existence,
+he would answer jestingly that he should be sorry to belie their
+judgment by subjecting his talents to the dangerous touchstone of
+action. His father died before he had determined on a profession. But,
+fortunately as he thought, and unfortunately as was thought by some
+other persons, including his Aunt Jane, he inherited wherewithal to live
+without working, and, with a hundred and fifty pounds per annum, could
+not lack bread and cheese. On his father's death he went to travel on
+the Continent. He walked wherever walking was possible, carrying his own
+knapsack, spending little, and seeing much. After more than two years'
+absence, he returned to England and made his way to Oldchester to see
+his Aunt Jane, with whom he had maintained an intermittent
+correspondence. There he found Constance, whom he last remembered as a
+sallow, self-sufficient schoolgirl, grown to a beautiful young woman.
+Her sallowness had turned into a creamy pallor, and her self-sufficiency
+was mitigated, to the masculine judgment, by the depth and softness of a
+pair of fine dark eyes. Owen, on his part, made a decidedly favourable
+impression on his cousin. He was not handsome&mdash;which mattered
+little&mdash;nor fashionably dressed&mdash;which mattered more; but he was well
+made, and had the grace which belongs to youthful health and strength.
+And he had, too, that indefinable tone of manner which ensured his
+recognition as an English gentleman. Constance was by no means
+insensible to this attraction. If she had not the sentiments which
+originate the finest manners, she had the perceptions which recognize
+them. When Mary Raynes and the Burnet girls criticized the roughness of
+Owen's demeanour, comparing it with Theodore Bransby's "polish," she
+knew they were wrong. Theodore always behaved with the greatest
+propriety; but between his manners and Owen's there was the same sort of
+difference as between a native and a foreigner speaking the same
+language. The foreigner may often be more accurately correct of the two
+on minor points, but it is an affair of conscious acquirement, and must
+inevitably break down now and then; whereas the native talks as
+naturally as he breathes, and can no more make certain mistakes than an
+oak tree can put forth willow leaves. Then Owen was very amusing company
+when he chose to be so,&mdash;and he usually did choose to be so when at his
+Aunt Jane's; and he had good old blood in his veins. This latter fact
+gave a certain piquancy, in Constance's opinion, to his political
+theories, which were opposed to the staunch Tory traditions of his
+family. Constance frequently took her cousin to task on this subject;
+but with the comfortable conviction to sweeten their controversy that a
+Rivers could afford to indulge in a little democratic heresy, just as
+Lord Castlecombe could afford to wear a shabbier coat than any of his
+tenants.</p>
+
+<p>All these considerations, together with the crowning circumstance that
+he evidently admired her a good deal, caused Owen to fill a large place
+in his cousin's mind. She even asked herself seriously more than once if
+she were in love with Owen, but failed to answer the question
+decisively. She did, however, arrive at the conviction that falling in
+love lay much more in one's own power than was commonly supposed; and
+that no Romeo-and-Juliet destiny could ever inspire <i>her</i> with an
+ungovernable passion for a man who possessed but a hundred and fifty
+pounds a year. Mrs. Hadlow had at one time felt some uneasiness&mdash;nearly
+as much on Owen's account as on her daughter's, to say the truth. But
+she had satisfied herself that there was nothing more than a fraternal
+kind of regard between the young people&mdash;wherein she was wrong; and that
+there was no danger of their imprudently marrying&mdash;wherein she was
+right.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hadlow had, indeed, made up her mind that Constance would accept
+Theodore Bransby whenever he should offer himself; and she privately
+thought it high time that the offer were made. What did Theodore wait
+for? His means (according to Mrs. Hadlow's estimate of things) were
+sufficient to allow him to marry at once. But even supposing that he did
+not choose to marry until he had fairly entered on his career as a
+barrister, still there ought to be at least some clear understanding
+between him and Constance. All Oldchester expected to hear of their
+engagement, and it was not fair to the girl to leave matters in their
+present uncertain condition. When, at the end of the vacation, young
+Bransby left Oldchester again without having made any declaration, Mrs.
+Hadlow was not only surprised, but uneasy; and she opened her mind to
+her husband on the subject, invading his study at an unusual hour for
+that purpose.</p>
+
+<p>"Edward," said Mrs. Hadlow, "don't you think that Theodore Barnsby ought
+to have spoken before he went to town this last time?"</p>
+
+<p>"Spoken, my dear?"</p>
+
+<p>"To Constance; or to us about Constance."</p>
+
+<p>The canon leaned his head on his hand, keeping the thumb of the other
+hand inserted between the pages of his Plato as a marker, and looked
+absently at his wife.</p>
+
+<p>"Well? Don't you think he ought?" she repeated impatiently.</p>
+
+<p>The good canon meditated for a few moments. Then he said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;I don't feel quite sure that I understand. What ought he to have
+said, Jane?"</p>
+
+<p>"Said! Goodness, Edward! He ought to have declared his intentions, of
+course. It is high time that something was understood clearly."</p>
+
+<p>The canon's gentle blue eyes lost their abstracted look, and a little
+sparkle came into them as he answered, "I hope&mdash;nay, I am sure&mdash;Jane,
+that you would not think of taking any step, or saying any word, which
+might compromise our dear child's dignity. Let it not appear that you
+are eager to put this interpretation on the young man's visits."</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Edward, Theodore has been paying Conny marked attentions for
+more than a year past; but during this last summer and autumn he has
+been in our house morning, noon, and night. He doesn't come for <i>our
+beaux yeux</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"H'm, h'm, h'm! But, Jane, an attachment of that sort between two young
+creatures should be treated with the greatest delicacy. It is shy and
+sensitive. Let us beware of pulling up our flower by the roots to see if
+it is growing."</p>
+
+<p>This trope by no means corresponded with Mrs. Hadlow's conception of the
+relations between Theodore Bransby and her daughter. She was an
+affectionate mother, but she did not delude herself into thinking
+Constance peculiarly sensitive or romantic. In fact, she was wont to say
+that her daughter was twenty years older than herself on some points.
+But the canon erroneously attributed to his daughter a quite poetical
+refinement of feeling. His views on most subjects were romantic and
+unworldly, and his ideas about women were peculiarly chivalrous. They
+frequently irked Constance. She was not without respect as well as
+affection for her father; and it was sometimes difficult to bring these
+sentiments into harmony with her deep-seated admiration for herself.
+However, she usually reconciled all discrepancies between what he
+expected of her and what she knew to be the fact, by declaring that
+"Papa was so old-fashioned!"</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me, Jane," said the canon, after a little pause, "do you think
+Conny's feelings are seriously engaged? Do you think this matter is
+likely to make her unhappy?"</p>
+
+<p>"Unhappy? Well, no; I hope not unhappy," answered Mrs. Hadlow slowly.</p>
+
+<p>"Then all is well. We will not let our spirits be troubled."</p>
+
+<p>"But, Edward, although she may not break her heart&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Heaven forbid! Break her heart, Jane?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I say of course there's no fear of that; but it <i>is</i> detrimental
+to a girl to have an affair of this kind dragging on in a vague sort of
+way. It might spoil her chance in other directions; and people will
+talk, you know."</p>
+
+<p>"Tut, tut! As to 'spoiling her chance'&mdash;which is a phrase very
+distasteful to me in this connection&mdash;if you mean that any eligible
+suitor would be discouraged from wooing Conny because another man is
+supposed to admire her too, that's all nonsense. Do you think I should
+have been frightened away from trying to win you, Jenny, by any such
+impalpable figment of a rival?"</p>
+
+<p>"You?" exclaimed Mrs. Hadlow, with a sudden flush and a proud smile.
+"Oh, that's a <i>very</i> different matter, Edward. I don't see any young men
+nowadays to compare with what you were."</p>
+
+<p>The canon laughed softly. "Thank you, my dear. No doubt your grandmother
+said much the same sort of thing once upon a time; and I hope your
+grand-daughter may say it too, some day. But set your heart at rest as
+to this matter. That Theodore Bransby, whom we have known from his
+birth, should be a frequent guest in our house, can surprise no one.
+There is youthful society to be found here. Without reckoning Constance,
+there's Owen Rivers, the Burton girls, little May&mdash;we may reasonably
+suppose this to be attractive to a young man who has no companions of
+his own age at home, without attributing to him any such intentions as
+you speak off. In fact," added the canon simply, "we must believe you
+are mistaken; since, if Theodore loved our daughter, there's nothing to
+prevent his saying so!"</p>
+
+<p>Of all which speech, two words chiefly arrested Mrs. Hadlow's attention
+and stuck in her memory&mdash;"little May." It was true, now she came to
+think of it, that the increased frequency of Theodore's visits coincided
+with May Cheffington's presence in Oldchester. Then she suddenly
+remembered it was by Theodore's influence that May had been invited to
+Mrs. Bransby's dinner-party, and many words and ways of his with
+reference to Miss Cheffington occurred to her in a new light. But then,
+again, came a revulsion, and she told herself that the idea was absurd.
+It was out of the question that Theodore Bransby, with his social
+ambition, should think seriously of marrying insignificant little May
+Cheffington, who was not even handsome (when compared with Constance),
+who had childish manners, no fortune&mdash;and, worst of all, was Mrs.
+Dobbs's grand-daughter! "Besides," said Mrs. Hadlow to herself, "he
+<i>must</i> be fond of Conny. It's quite an old attachment; and, though
+Theodore may not have very ardent feelings, I don't believe he is
+fickle."</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless, she was not entirely reassured. After Theodore's departure
+from Oldchester she observed her daughter solicitously for some time;
+but she finally convinced herself that Conny's peace of mind was in no
+danger. She had sometimes been provoked by Conny's matter-of-fact
+coolness, and had felt that young lady's worldly wisdom to be an
+anachronism. But she admitted that in the present case these gifts had
+their advantage; for, when Oldchester friends showed their interest or
+curiosity by hints and allusions to Theodore, which made Mrs. Hadlow
+quite hot and uncomfortable, Constance met them all with perfect
+calmness, and she discussed the young man's prospects with an almost
+patronizing air that puzzled people.</p>
+
+<p>In a few weeks more May Cheffington departed for London; Owen Rivers
+also went away, and life in the dark old house in College Quad resumed
+its usual quiet routine.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+
+
+<p>It was a raw, gusty afternoon towards the end of March when May and her
+grandmother arrived in London. There had been some difficulty about the
+journey, arising from Mrs. Dormer-Smith's objection to her niece's
+travelling alone, and insisting on her being properly attended. In reply
+to a suggestion that May would be quite safe in a ladies' carriage, and
+under the care of the guard, she wrote:&mdash;"It is not that I doubt her
+being safe; but I <i>cannot</i> let my servants see her arrive alone when I
+meet her at the station. Why not send a maid with her?" To which Mrs.
+Dobbs made answer that she could not send a maid, having only one
+servant-of-all-work, but that she herself would bring her grand-daughter
+to London. "I shall go up by one train, and come down by the next," said
+she to Jo Weatherhead. And when he remonstrated against her incurring
+that expense and fatigue, she answered, "Oh, we won't spoil the ship for
+a ha'porth of tar. If I make up my mind to part with the child, I'll
+start her as well as I can."</p>
+
+<p>The travellers found Mrs. Dormer-Smith awaiting them at the
+railway station. She greeted May affectionately, and Mrs. Dobbs
+amiably. "My servant has a cab here for the luggage," she said.
+"But"&mdash;hesitatingly&mdash;"how shall we manage about&mdash;&mdash;? I'm afraid the
+brougham is too small for three." Mrs. Dobbs settled the question by
+declaring that she did not purpose going to Mrs. Dormer-Smith's house.
+She would get some dinner at the station, and return to Oldchester by an
+evening train. "Oh dear, I'm afraid that will be very uncomfortable for
+you!" said Pauline, politely trying to conceal her satisfaction at this
+arrangement. "Will you not come and&mdash;and lunch with us?" But Mrs. Dobbs
+stuck to her own plan.</p>
+
+<p>While the footman was superintending the placing of May's luggage on the
+cab, her grandmother drew her into the waiting-room to say "good-bye."
+"God bless you, my dear, dear child! Write to me often, keep well, and
+be happy!" she said, folding the girl in her arms. Mrs. Dormer-Smith
+stood by, not unsympathetic, but at the same time relieved to know James
+was busy with the luggage, so that he could not witness the parting, nor
+hear May's exclamation, "Darling granny! darling granny!" Indeed, it
+might be hoped that he would never know the relationship between this
+stout, common-looking old woman and Miss Cheffington; nor be able to
+report it in the servants' hall. She felt that Mrs. Dobbs was behaving
+very properly, and said with gracious sweetness, "I'm sure we ought all
+to be very much obliged to you for the care you have taken of my niece.
+It was most good of you to undertake this tiresome journey."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dobbs looked up with a flash in her eyes. "I only hope," she
+returned hotly, "that you will take as good care of my grandchild as I
+have taken of your niece." The next moment she repented of her retort,
+and said quite humbly, "You will be kind to her, won't you? Poor
+motherless lamb! You will be kind to her, I'm sure!"</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed I will," answered Mrs. Dormer-Smith, with unruffled gentleness.
+"I have always wished for a daughter, and she shall be like my own
+daughter to me." And, with a motherly caress, she drew May to her side.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't be afraid for me, granny dear!" said May, smiling with tearful
+eyes. "I shall be very happy with Aunt Pauline. Besides, I shall see you
+again very soon."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dobbs laid her hand on the girl's shoulder and pushed her gently,
+but firmly, out of the waiting-room, standing herself in the doorway
+until May and her aunt had disappeared. Then she sat down by the fire,
+untied her bonnet-strings, pulled out her handkerchief, and sobbed
+unrestrainedly. The waiting-room attendant looked at her curiously; for
+she had noticed that Mrs. Dobbs did not belong to the same class as that
+elegantly dressed lady, attended by a servant in livery, with whom the
+young girl had gone away. Presently she drew near, on pretence of poking
+the fire, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"You're very fond of the young lady, ain't you? But don't take on so.
+You'll see her again very soon, I dare say. Don't cry, poor dear!"</p>
+
+<p>"I <i>have</i> cried," said Mrs. Dobbs, getting up and drying her eyes
+resolutely. "I have cried, and it's done me good. And now I'll go and
+get a bit of food."</p>
+
+<p>But she only trifled with the modest dinner set before her; and, as she
+sat in a corner of the second-class carriage which conveyed her back to
+Oldchester, her handkerchief was soaked with silent tears.</p>
+
+<p>To May the separation naturally seemed far less terrible than it did to
+Mrs. Dobbs. She had no idea that it was to be a long, much less a
+permanent, one. She found it agreeable to sit in the well-hung, neatly
+appointed brougham, with a cushion at her back and a hot-water tin under
+her feet, and to look through the clear glasses at the bustle and
+movement of London. Her aunt Pauline was very pleasant and sympathetic.
+May thought that she might come to love her father's sister very dearly.
+She admired her already. Mrs. Dormer-Smith's gentle manner, her soft,
+low voice, the quiet elegance of her dress, and even the delicate
+perfume of violets which hung about her, were all appreciated by May.</p>
+
+<p>"My cousin is not at home, is he, Aunt Pauline?" she asked after a
+little silence.</p>
+
+<p>"No; Cyril is at Harrow. There are only the children."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, children!" cried May, with brightening eyes. "I'm so glad! I love
+children. I didn't know you had any children besides Cyril."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dormer-Smith laughed her peculiar little guttural laugh, consisting
+of several ha, ha, ha's, slowly and softly uttered, and made no answer.</p>
+
+<p>"Are they boys or girls? How many are there? How old are they?"
+questioned May eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"Two little boys. Harold is&mdash;let me see&mdash;Harold is six, and Wilfred
+five. It is very awkward having two little things in the nursery so many
+years younger than their elder brother. Cyril is turned fifteen. It is
+like beginning all one's troubles over again," said Pauline plaintively.
+The birth of these two children was, indeed, a standing grievance with
+her.</p>
+
+<p>May thought this an odd way of talking, and said no more on the subject
+of her little cousins. But she looked forward to seeing them with
+pleasant expectation.</p>
+
+<p>The sight of the house in Kensington brought back vividly to her mind
+the day after the dowager's funeral, when she had arrived there from
+school, feeling very strange and forlorn. She remembered, too, the
+abrupt departure next morning with her father, and her impression that
+the Dormer-Smiths had not behaved well, and that her father was very
+angry with them. May was shown into a bedroom at the back of the house,
+overlooking some gardens. The maid, having asked if she could do
+anything for Miss Cheffington, and having mentioned that the
+luncheon-gong would sound in ten minutes, withdrew, and left May alone.
+She examined the room with girlish interest. It was very pretty, she
+thought. Perhaps, in point of solid comfort, the old-fashioned furniture
+of her room in Friar's Row might be superior; but in Friar's Row there
+was no such ample provision of looking-glasses as there was here. She
+was still contemplating herself from head to foot in a long swing
+mirror, which stood in a good light near the window, when the gong
+sounded.</p>
+
+<p>May ran downstairs, and in the dining-room she found her aunt and a
+heavy-looking man with grizzled, sandy hair, and dull blue eyes, who
+asked her how she did, and supposed she would hardly recognize him.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes, I do, Uncle Frederick!" she answered.</p>
+
+<p>And again an uncomfortable recollection of her father's angry departure
+from that house came over her. But whatever quarrels there might have
+been in those days, her aunt and uncle appeared to have forgotten all
+about them. Mr. Dormer-Smith told May more than once that he was pleased
+to see her.</p>
+
+<p>"You're not a bit like your father, my dear," said he, with an approving
+air not altogether flattering to Augustus.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes, Frederick!" interposed his wife. "There is a family
+expression."</p>
+
+<p>"It's an expression I have never seen on your brother's face. No, nor
+any approach to it."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dormer-Smith laughed the soft little laugh which was habitual with
+her when embarrassed or disconcerted, and changed the conversation. "I
+hope you like your room, May?" she said.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes, very much indeed, thank you, Aunt Pauline."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish I could have come upstairs with you. But I am obliged to
+<i>ménager</i> my strength as much as possible."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you not well, Aunt Pauline?" asked May with ready sympathy.</p>
+
+<p>"I am not <i>strong</i>, dear."</p>
+
+<p>"You would be better if you exerted yourself more," said Mr.
+Dormer-Smith. "Your system gets into a sluggish state from sheer
+inactivity."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, you don't understand, Frederick," answered his wife, with a
+plaintive smile.</p>
+
+<p>And May felt indignant at her uncle's want of feeling. But the next
+minute she relented towards him when he said, as he rose from table&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I'll go round to the chemist's myself for Willy's medicine, and bring
+it back with me, as I suppose you will be wanting James to go out again
+with the carriage by-and-by."</p>
+
+<p>"Is one of the little boys ill?" asked May.</p>
+
+<p>This time it was her aunt who replied calmly, "Oh no. The child has a
+little nervous cough; it is really more a trick than anything else."</p>
+
+<p>"Huggins doesn't think so lightly of it, I can assure you. He tells me
+great care is needed," said Mr. Dormer-Smith.</p>
+
+<p>"Can I&mdash;would you mind&mdash;might I see my little cousins?" asked May, with
+some hesitation. She was puzzled by these discrepancies of opinion
+between husband and wife.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Dormer-Smith turned round with a look almost of animation. "Come
+now, if you like. Come with me," he said. And May followed him out of
+the room, disregarding her aunt's suggestion that it would be better for
+her to lie down and rest after her journey.</p>
+
+<p>The nursery was a large room&mdash;in fact, an attic&mdash;at the top of the
+house. May noticed how rapidly the elegance and costliness of the
+furniture and appointments decreased as they mounted. If the dining-room
+and drawing-rooms represented tropical luxury, the bedrooms cooled down
+into a temperate zone; and the top region of all was arctic in its
+barrenness. The nursery looked very forlorn and comfortless, with its
+bare floor, cheap wall-paper dotted with coarse, coloured prints, and
+its small grate with a small fire in it, which had exhausted its
+energies in smoking furiously, as the smell in the room testified. At a
+table in the middle of the room sat a hard-featured young woman, with
+high cheek-bones, and a complexion like that of a varnished wooden doll,
+mending a heap of linen; and in one corner, where stood a battered old
+rocking-horse and a top-heavy Noah's Ark, two little boys were kneeling
+on the floor, building houses with wooden bricks. On their father's
+entrance, they looked up languidly; but when they saw who it was, they
+scrambled to their feet with some show of pleasure, and came to stand
+one on each side of him, holding his hands. They were both like him,
+blue-eyed and sandy-haired, and both looked pale and sickly. Harold, the
+elder, seemed the stronger of the two. Wilfred was a meagre,
+frail-looking little creature, with a half-timid, half-sullen expression
+of face. Their father kissed them both, and, sitting down, drew the
+younger child on his knee, whilst Harold stood pressing close against
+his shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, do you know who this is?" asked Mr. Dormer-Smith, pointing to
+May.</p>
+
+<p>Apparently they had no wish to know, for they nestled closer to their
+father, and sulkily rejected May's proffered caresses.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, come, you mustn't be shy," said their father. "This is your cousin
+May; kiss her, and say, 'How d'ye do?'"</p>
+
+<p>But nothing would induce either of the boys to give May his hand, nor
+even to look at her; and at length she begged her uncle not to trouble
+himself, and hoped they would all be very good friends presently.</p>
+
+<p>"And how do we get on with our lessons, ma'amselle?" asked Mr.
+Dormer-Smith of the hard-featured young woman, who, beyond rising from
+her chair when they came in, had hitherto taken no notice of them.</p>
+
+<p>"We haven't had no lessons to-day," put in Harold, with a lowering look
+at "ma'amselle."</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur, it has been impossible till now; I have had so much
+sewing to do for madame. See!" and she pointed to the heap of linen.
+"But we will have our lessons in the afternoon."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't want lessons; I want to go out with papa. Take me with you,
+papa," cried Harold. Whereupon little Wilfred lisped out that he too
+would go out with papa, and set up a peevish whine.</p>
+
+<p>"It is too cold for you, my man," said the father. "The sharp wind would
+make you cough. Harold will stay with you, and you can play together,
+and do your lessons afterwards, like good boys."</p>
+
+<p>But the children only wailed and cried the louder, whilst mademoiselle,
+with her eyes on her needlework, monotonously repeated in her
+Swiss-French, "What is this? Be good, my children," and apparently
+thought she was doing all that she was called upon to do under the
+circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>May thought her little cousins peculiarly disagreeable children; but she
+could not help feeling sorry for them and for their father, who looked
+quite helpless and distressed. "Would you like me to tell you a story?"
+she said. "I know some very pretty stories."</p>
+
+<p>A wail from Wilfred and a scowl from Harold were all the answer she
+received from them. But her uncle caught at the suggestion eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, that would be very kind of Cousin May," he said. "A pretty story!
+You'll like that, won't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I shan't! I want to go with papa," grumbled Harold.</p>
+
+<p>"I want to go wis papa," sobbed Wilfred.</p>
+
+<p>"It is always so when monsieur comes to the nursery," said the Swiss,
+coolly going on with her sewing. "The children are so fond of monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Poor little fellows!" cried May.</p>
+
+<p>Then kneeling down beside her uncle, she began softly to stroke
+Wilfred's hair, and to speak to him coaxingly. After a while, the child
+glanced shyly into her face, and ceased to sob. Presently he allowed
+himself to be transferred from his father's knee to May's. The Noah's
+Ark was brought into requisition. May ranged its inmates&mdash;all more or
+less dilapidated&mdash;on the floor, and began to perform a drama with them,
+making each animal's utterances in an appropriate voice. A smile dawned
+on Wilfred's pale little face, and Harold drew near to look and listen
+with evident interest.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Uncle Frederick, if you have to go out, I will stay and play with
+the children, until lesson-time. They are going to be very good now;
+ain't you, boys?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ve'y good now," assented Wilfred, his attention still absorbed by the
+Noah's Ark animals.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, if you'll make the pig grunt again, I will be good," said Harold,
+with a Bismarckian mastery of the <i>do ut des</i> principle.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Dormer-Smith's face beamed with satisfaction. "It's very good of
+you, my dear," said he. "If you don't mind, it would be very kind to
+stay with them a little while; that is, if you are not too tired by your
+journey?" And as he went away, he repeated, "It's very good of you, my
+dear; very good of you!"</p>
+
+<p>But May found that her aunt took a different view.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Dear</i> May," said she, when she learned where her niece had been
+spending the two hours after luncheon, "this is very imprudent! You
+should have lain down and taken a thorough rest instead of exerting
+yourself in that way."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I'm not in the least tired, Aunt Pauline."</p>
+
+<p>"Dear child, you may not think so; but a railway journey of three or
+four hours jars the nerves terribly."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I was very glad to amuse the children, Aunt Pauline. They were
+crying to go out with their father, so I tried to comfort them. They got
+quite merry before I left them."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dormer-Smith slowly shook her head and smiled. "You will find them
+extremely tiresome, poor things!" said she placidly. "They are by no
+means engaging children. Cyril was very different at their age."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Aunt Pauline! I think they might be made&mdash;I mean I think we shall
+come to be great friends. I couldn't bear to see them cry, poor mites!"</p>
+
+<p>"That is all very sweet in you, dear May, but I fancy it is best to
+leave their nursery governess to manage them. Her French is not all that
+I could wish. But a pure accent is not so vitally important for boys. It
+is much if an Englishman can speak French even decently. And Cecile
+makes herself very useful with her needle."</p>
+
+<p>Pauline then announced that she would not go out again that afternoon,
+but would devote herself to the inspection of May's wardrobe. "Of course
+you have no evening dresses fit to wear," she said; "but we will see
+whether we cannot manage to make use of some of your clothes. Smithson,
+my maid, is very clever."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, of course granny would not have sent me without proper clothes!"
+protested May, opening her eyes in astonishment. "And I <i>have</i> an
+evening frock&mdash;a very pretty white muslin, quite new."</p>
+
+<p>To this speech Aunt Pauline vouchsafed no answer beyond a vague smile.
+She scarcely heard it, in fact. Her mind was preoccupied with weighty
+considerations. As she seated herself in the one easy-chair in May's
+room, and watched her niece kneeling down, keys in hand, before her
+travelling trunk, she observed with heartfelt thankfulness that the
+girl's figure was naturally graceful, and calculated to set off well-cut
+garments to advantage.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!" exclaimed May suddenly, turning round and letting the keys fall
+with a clash as she clasped her hands, "above everything I must not miss
+the post! I want to send off a letter, so that granny may have it at
+breakfast time to-morrow for a surprise. Have I plenty of time, Aunt
+Pauline?"</p>
+
+<p>"No doubt," answered her aunt absently. She was debating whether the
+circumference of May's waist might not be reduced an inch or so by
+judicious lacing.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps I had better get my letter written first, Aunt Pauline. I
+wouldn't miss writing to granny for the world, and any time will do for
+the clothes."</p>
+
+<p>To which her aunt replied with solemnity, and with an appearance of
+energy which May had never witnessed in her before, "Your wardrobe, May,
+demands very serious consideration. April is just upon us. You are to be
+presented at the second Drawing-room. Dress is an important social duty,
+and we must not lose time in trifling."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+
+
+<p>It was a great comfort to Mrs. Dormer-Smith to find her niece so pretty
+("not a beauty," as she said to herself, "but extremely pleasing, and
+with capital points"), and so entirely free from vulgarisms of speech or
+manner. In fact, May's outward demeanour needed but very few polishing
+touches to make it all her aunt could desire. But a more intimate
+acquaintance revealed traits of character which troubled Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith a good deal.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose," she observed to her husband, with a sigh, "one had no right
+to expect that poor Augustus's unfortunate marriage should have left no
+trace in his children. But it is dreadfully disheartening to come every
+now and then upon some absolutely middle-class prejudice or scruple in
+May. Now, Augustus, whatever his faults may be, always had such a
+thoroughbred way of looking at things."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, no one can accuse your brother of having scruples," said
+Frederick.</p>
+
+<p>"Besides, it is terribly bad form in a girl of her age to set up for a
+moralist."</p>
+
+<p>"It doesn't seem much like May to set up for anything: she is always so
+childish and unpretending."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes; and that <i>ingénue</i> air is delicious: it goes so perfectly with
+her <i>physique</i>. But there are so many things which one cannot teach in
+words, but which girls brought up in a certain <i>monde</i> learn by
+instinct."</p>
+
+<p>"What sort of things do you mean?" asked her husband after a little
+pause.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, on Thursday, for instance, I was awfully annoyed. Mrs. Griffin
+was here, and seemed pleased with May, and talked to her a good deal.
+You know that is very important, because the duchess invites people or
+leaves them out pretty much as her mother dictates. So I was naturally
+very much gratified to see May making a good impression. In fact, Mrs.
+Griffin whispered to me, 'Charming! So fresh.' Presently Lady Burlington
+came in, and they began talking of those new people, the Aaronssohns,
+who have a million and a half a year. Lady Burlington had been at a big
+dinner there the night before, and she told us the most astonishing
+things of their vulgarity and their pushing ways. When she was gone Mrs.
+Griffin said, 'I do like Lady Burlington,' and began praising her
+manners and her air of <i>grande dame</i>. And, very kindly turning to May,
+she said, 'Do you know, little one, that that is one of the proudest
+women in England?' 'Is she?' said May. 'I should never have guessed that
+she was proud.' Something in her way of saying it caught Mrs. Griffin's
+attention; and she pressed her and cross-questioned her, until May
+blurted out that she thought it despicable to accept vulgar people's
+hospitality only because they were rich, and then to ridicule them for
+being vulgar. I never was so shocked; for, you know, the duchess and
+Mrs. Griffin both went to the Aaronssohns' ball last season. Now you
+know," pursued Mrs. Dormer-Smith almost tearfully, "that kind of thing
+will never do. You must allow that it will never do, Frederick."</p>
+
+<p>"It would be awkward," assented Frederick, looking grave. "Couldn't you
+tell her?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course, I spoke to her after Mrs. Griffin had gone away. But she
+only said, 'What could I do, Aunt Pauline? The old lady insisted on my
+answering her, and I couldn't tell her a story.' You see what a
+difficult kind of thing it will be to manage, Frederick."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Dormer-Smith had become a great partisan of May's. He was genuinely
+grateful for her kindness to his children, and would willingly have
+taken her part had it been possible. But he felt that his wife was
+right; it would really never do to carry into society an <i>enfant
+terrible</i> of such uncompromising truthfulness. And this feeling was much
+strengthened by the recollection of sundry remarks which May had
+innocently made to himself&mdash;remarks indicating an inconvenient
+assumption on her part that one's principles must naturally regulate
+one's practice. However, as he told his wife, they must trust to time
+and experience to correct this crudeness.</p>
+
+<p>"She is but a schoolgirl, after all," he said.</p>
+
+<p>Pauline did not pursue the subject, but she reflected within herself
+that there are schoolgirls and schoolgirls.</p>
+
+<p>There had been some discussion as to who should present May. Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith was of opinion that had there been a Viscountess
+Castlecombe, the office would properly have devolved on her ladyship;
+but old Lord Castlecombe had been a widower for many years. At length it
+was decided that May should be presented by her aunt.</p>
+
+<p>"I know it is a great risk for me to go out <i>décolletée</i> on an English
+spring day," said that devoted woman. "And Lady Burlington would do it
+if I asked her. But I wish to carry out the duty I have undertaken
+towards Augustus's daughter, as thoroughly as my strength will allow.
+Under all the circumstances of the case, it is important that she should
+be publicly acknowledged, and, as it were, identified with the family.
+Of course, I shall feel justified in buying my gown out of May's money."</p>
+
+<p>"May's money" had come to be the phrase by which the Dormer-Smiths spoke
+of the payment made by Mrs. Dobbs for her grand-daughter.</p>
+
+<p>But besides the comforting sense of duty fulfilled, there were other
+compensations in store for Mrs. Dormer-Smith. May's presentation dress
+was pronounced exquisite, and was ready in good time; and May herself
+profited satisfactorily by the instructions of a fashionable professor
+of deportment, in the difficult art of walking and curtsying in a train.
+To be sure, she had alarmed her aunt at first, by going into fits of
+laughter when describing Madame Melnotte's lessons, and imitating the
+impressive gravity with which the dancing-mistress went through the dumb
+show of a presentation at Court. But she did what she was told to do,
+not only with docility, but with an unaffected simplicity which Aunt
+Pauline's good taste perceived to be infinitely charming. And she said
+to her husband that she really began to hope May would be "a great
+success."</p>
+
+<p>The great day of the Drawing-room came and went, as do all days, great
+or small. But whether she had been a success or a failure, in her aunt's
+sense of the words, May had not the remotest idea. Indeed, the various
+feelings on the subject of her presentation which had filled her breast
+beforehand (including a genuine delight in her own appearance as she
+stood before the big looking-glass, while Smithson put the finishing
+touches to her head-dress), were all swallowed up in the supreme feeling
+of thankfulness that it was over; and that she had not disgraced herself
+by tumbling over her train, or otherwise shocking the eyes of august
+personages. Also, in a minor degree, she was thankful that Aunt
+Pauline's antique lace-flounce&mdash;a portion of the dowager's legacy lent
+for the occasion&mdash;had escaped destruction. On their drive homeward, she
+sat silent, trying to extricate some definite image from her confused
+impressions of the ceremony, and finding that her most distinct
+recollection recorded the pressure of a persistent and ruthless elbow
+against her ribs. Mrs. Dormer-Smith, too, was too much exhausted to say
+much. She leaned back in the carriage with closed eyes, wrapping her
+furs round her, and sniffing at a bottle of salts.</p>
+
+<p>But when refreshed by a glass of wine, and seated in a well-cushioned
+chair before a blazing fire, Mrs. Dormer-Smith felt very well satisfied
+with the result of the day. Mrs. Griffin had been there, and had nodded
+approvingly across a struggling crowd of bare shoulders; and Mrs.
+Griffin's approbation was worth having. Mr. Dormer-Smith came home from
+his club a full hour earlier than usual, in order to hear the report&mdash;a
+proof of interest which May, not being a whist-player, was unable fully
+to appreciate.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Pauline, with a kind of pious serenity, "we have
+accomplished this somewhat trying social duty."</p>
+
+<p>"Trying, indeed," exclaimed May. "I'm afraid you are dreadfully tired,
+Aunt Pauline. And the crowd and closeness made your head ache, I saw.
+How is your head now?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is better, dear, much better."</p>
+
+<p>"Well?" said Mr. Dormer-Smith, looking interrogatively with raised
+eyebrows at his wife.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes, Frederick; very nice indeed, very satisfactory. I was very much
+pleased. I <i>had</i> been a little anxious about the effect of the
+<i>corsage</i>, but Amélie has done herself great credit. And, mercifully,
+white suits our dear child to perfection. She really looked very well."</p>
+
+<p>"Did I, Aunt Pauline? Well, I'm sure it didn't much matter how I
+looked."</p>
+
+<p>"Didn't matter!" echoed Mrs. Dormer-Smith in a shocked tone.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, come, May!" cried her uncle. "I thought you were above that sort of
+nonsense. Do you mean to tell me that you don't care about looking
+pretty?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh no! I mean&mdash;well, I did think my dress was lovely when I looked at
+myself in the big glass upstairs; but in that crush who could see it?
+And I was awfully afraid that Aunt Pauline's lace flounce would be torn
+completely off the skirt."</p>
+
+<p>Her uncle laughed. "You don't appear to have altogether enjoyed your
+first appearance as a courtier," said he.</p>
+
+<p>"Enjoyed! Oh, who <i>could</i> enjoy it?" Then, fearful of seeming
+ungrateful, she added, "It was very, very kind of Aunt Pauline to take
+so much trouble, and to get me that beautiful dress."</p>
+
+<p>May had not been accustomed to think about ways and means. It had seemed
+a matter of course that her daily wants should be supplied, and she had
+hitherto bestowed no more thought on the matter than a young bird in the
+nest. But it was impossible for her to live as a member of the
+Dormer-Smiths' family without having the question of money brought
+forcibly to her mind. There were small pinchings and savings of a kind
+utterly unknown in Friar's Row; elaborate calculations were made as to
+the possibility of this or that expenditure; Aunt Pauline frequently
+lamented her poverty; and yet, withal, there was kept up an appearance
+of wealth and elegance. May was not long in discovering the seamy side
+of all the luxury which surrounded her; and it amazed her. Why should
+her aunt so arrange her life as to derive very little comfort from very
+strenuous effort? And what puzzled her most of all at first was the air
+of conscious virtue with which this was done: the strange way in which
+Aunt Pauline would mention some piece of meanness or insincerity as
+though it were an act of loftiest duty. On one or two occasions May had
+innocently suggested a straightforward way out of some social
+difficulty; such as wearing an old gown when a new one could not be
+afforded, or refusing an invitation which could only be accepted at the
+cost of much bodily and mental harass. But these childish suggestions
+had been met by an indulgent smile; and she had been told that such and
+such things must be done or endured in order to keep up the family's
+position in society. Once May had asked, "Then why <i>should</i> we keep up
+our position in society?" But her aunt had shown such genuine
+consternation at this impious inquiry, that the girl did not venture to
+repeat it.</p>
+
+<p>Another question, however, soon forced itself upon May&mdash;namely, how it
+came to pass that, under all the circumstances, so much money was spent
+on her dress. Besides the court train and petticoat, her aunt had
+provided for her a wardrobe which, to the young girl's inexperienced
+eyes, appeared absolutely splendid (for Pauline's conscience, although
+cramped and squeezed into artificial shape like a Chinese lady's foot,
+was alive and sentient; and she would on no account have failed to
+expend "May's money" for May's advantage): and yet all the while there
+were the two little boys in their comfortless nursery, wearing coarse
+clothing and shabby shoes; and there was Cecile toiling at needlework
+instead of attending to the children, in order that the cost of a
+seamstress might be saved! On this subject May felt that she had a right
+to interrogate her aunt; and accordingly she took courage to do so. Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith was considerably embarrassed, and made an attempt to fence
+off the subject. But May persisted.</p>
+
+<p>"It's very, very good of you and Uncle Frederick to do so much for me,"
+she said; "but I can't bear to take it all."</p>
+
+<p>"Nonsense, May! Remember you are a Cheffington. You <i>must</i> appear in the
+world properly equipped."</p>
+
+<p>"But, Aunt Pauline, it isn't fair to Harold and Wilfred!"</p>
+
+<p>"Harold and Wilfred?" echoed her aunt, opening wide her soft dark eyes.
+"What <i>do</i> you mean, May?"</p>
+
+<p>May coloured hotly, but stuck to her point. "Well," she said, "you know
+Uncle Frederick was saying the other day that Willy ought to have change
+of air; and you said you couldn't afford to send him to the seaside just
+now; and&mdash;and I think Cecile thinks they ought to have new walking
+suits; and all the while I have so many expensive new frocks. I can't
+bear it. It isn't really fair."</p>
+
+<p>Then Mrs. Dormer-Smith found herself compelled to assure her niece that
+no penny of the cost of her toilet came out of Uncle Frederick's pocket,
+and reading a further question in the girl's face, she hastened to
+anticipate it by adding, "The arrangements made for you here, May, are
+in entire accordance with your father's wishes. There has been a
+correspondence with him on the subject, and he wrote quite distinctly;
+otherwise your uncle and I would not have undertaken to bring you out."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope," said May, "that papa does not deprive himself of anything for
+me. He used not to be at all well off, I know. I can remember when I was
+a little thing in Bruges."</p>
+
+<p>"Augustus deprives himself of <i>nothing</i>," answered Mrs. Dormer-Smith
+softly, but emphatically. "Pray say no more on the subject, my dear.
+This sort of thing makes my head ache."</p>
+
+<p>Her conscience being thus relieved, May accepted and enjoyed her new
+finery and her new life. She found that "taking up one's position in
+society" involved pleasanter things than being presented at a
+Drawing-room. It was delightful to be tastefully and becomingly dressed.
+It was agreeable to be sure of plenty of partners at every dance. It was
+satisfactory to have so admirable a chaperon as Aunt Pauline. One could
+no more form a fair judgment of that lady from knowing her only in
+domestic life, than one could fully appreciate a swan from seeing it on
+dry land. In the congenial element of "society," her merits were
+exhibited to the utmost advantage. They were, indeed, greater than May
+had any idea of; Mrs. Dormer-Smith's tact in warding off ineligible
+partners, and securing as far as possible eligible ones for her niece,
+was masterly. But May admired her aunt's unruffled temper and gentle
+grace. She had been quick to find out&mdash;with some astonishment, but
+beyond the possibility of doubt&mdash;that fine people can be exceedingly
+rude on occasion; and she observed with pride that Aunt Pauline was
+never rude. Moreover, Aunt Pauline's softness of manner was a far more
+effectual protection against impertinence, than the <i>brusquerie</i>
+affected by sundry ladies who forgot the wisdom embodied in the homely
+saying, that "those who play at bowls must look out for rubbers;" and
+who were always liable to be vanquished by greater insolence than their
+own.</p>
+
+<p>May soon began to be reticent of her real sentiments and opinions in
+speaking to her aunt and uncle. She felt that nine times out of ten she
+was not understood; or, which was worse, was misunderstood. But in
+writing to her dear granny, she frankly and fully poured out all her
+heart. These letters were the joy and consolation of Mrs. Dobbs's life.
+Every minutest detail interested her. She laughed over May's description
+of the Drawing-room, and read it out aloud to Jo Weatherhead by way of a
+wholesome corrective to his Tory prejudices.</p>
+
+<p>But at the same time she secretly treasured a copy of the <i>Morning Post</i>
+containing Miss Miranda Cheffington's name, and a description of Miss
+Miranda Cheffington's toilet on that occasion. And she listened, with a
+complacency of which she was more than half ashamed, to Mrs. Simpson's
+ecstasies on the subject; and to the scraps of information which the
+good-natured Amelia quoted&mdash;generally incorrectly&mdash;from social gossip
+setting forth how Mrs. Dormer-Smith and her niece, Miss Miranda
+Cheffington, had been present at this or that grand entertainment. These
+things might appear frivolous; but was it not for this end, to put May
+in her right place in the world, to give her her birthright, that Mrs.
+Dobbs had made a great sacrifice? Jo Weatherhead understood this so
+well, that the "fashionable intelligence" in the local newspapers
+assumed a quite pathetic interest in his eyes. When he went to drink tea
+with his old friend in the parlour of her new abode with its trashy,
+stuccoed ceiling, miserably thin walls, and squeezed little fireplace,
+he felt it to be a positive comfort to pull from his pocket a copy of
+the <i>Court Journal</i> or other equally polite print, and read aloud to
+Sarah some paragraph in which May's name occurred. It was a consolation,
+too, to let himself be lectured and laughed at by Sarah for his absurd
+admiration of the aristocracy. And he took every opportunity of
+combating her Radicalism, in order that she might victoriously vindicate
+the steadfastness of her political principles.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Captain Cheffington saw the accounts of his daughter's
+appearance in the fashionable world, and began to think that he had been
+too easy in giving his consent to it. He had got nothing by it; and
+perhaps something might have been got. He wrote twice to Pauline,
+urgently requiring her to tell him what was the exact sum which Mrs.
+Dobbs paid for her grand-daughter's maintenance. That it was handsome he
+did not doubt; knowing by experience that the Dormer-Smiths would not
+contribute a shilling. Pauline had replied evasively to the first
+letter, and not at all to the second, with the result that Augustus's
+imagination absurdly exaggerated Mrs. Dobbs's wealth. The old woman must
+be rolling in money after all! Had May's allowance been a small one, his
+sister would not have hesitated to tell him the exact sum. It was clear
+to his mind that the Dormer-Smiths were making an uncommonly good thing
+of it, and he was decidedly disinclined to leave all the profit to them.
+He wrote off to Oldchester a demand for money on his own account. It was
+refused; and his anger was very bitter. He even began to cherish a
+grudge against May. Why should she be surrounded by luxury, enjoying all
+the gaieties of London, and taking a social position to which her only
+claim was the fact of being <i>his</i> daughter, whilst he lived the life of
+an outcast? He went so far as to threaten to come to England and bring
+away his daughter: having some idea that Mrs. Dobbs might ransom May,
+and pension him off. But the energy which might once upon a time have
+enabled Augustus Cheffington to take this strong step had waned long
+ago. He had grown inert. And, above all, the circumstances of his
+private life rendered such independent action difficult, if not
+impossible.</p>
+
+<p>It presently began to be reported amongst Mrs. Dormer-Smith's
+acquaintance, with other items of tea-table gossip, that "little May
+Cheffington had a rich old grandmother somewhere down in the country."
+Theodore Bransby, who was admitted as a familiar visitor at the
+Dormer-Smiths', and who made a parade of his intimacy with the
+Cheffingtons, was interrogated on the subject. He maintained a cautious
+reserve in his replies:&mdash;"He really could say nothing; he had no idea
+what the old lady's means might be; he could scarcely, in fact, be said
+to know her at all." Wishing, as he did, completely to ignore that
+objectionable old ironmonger's widow, it was irritating to find her
+existence known, and her means discussed, in London. To be sure, no one
+troubled himself to inquire "Who is she?" general interest being
+exclusively concentrated on the question, "What has she?" Theodore's
+reticence was by no means attributed to its real cause. People said that
+young Bransby was looking after the girl himself, and wanted to choke
+off possible rivals. Theodore did, indeed, push himself as far as
+possible into every house which May frequented. There were some still
+inaccessible to him; but he had patience and perseverance. And he was
+constantly meeting May in the course of the season. She was far more
+pleased to see him in London than she had ever been in Oldchester. He
+was associated with persons whom she loved: and on many occasions when
+ball-room lookers-on pronounced Miss Cheffington and young Bransby to be
+"spooning awfully," May was talking with animation of his half-brothers,
+Bobby and Billy, of the dear old canon and her friend Constance, or even
+of Mr. and Mrs. Sebastian Bach Simpson. Theodore had no relish for these
+topics; but it was better to talk with May of them, than not to talk
+with her at all. And to the girl, he seemed the only link between her
+present life and the dear Oldchester days.</p>
+
+<p>At the beginning of June, however, he ceased to have this exclusive
+claim on her attention. One fine day Aunt Pauline, returning from an
+afternoon drive with her niece, found a large visiting card with "The
+Misses Piper" engraved on it with many elaborate flourishes, whilst
+underneath was written in pencil "Miss Hadlow."</p>
+
+<p>"Piper!" said Pauline, languidly dropping her eyeglass, and looking
+round at May. "What can this mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, it means Miss Polly and Miss Patty and my schoolfellow Constance
+Hadlow!" cried May, clapping her hands. "Fancy Conny being in town! I
+dare say the Pipers invited her on a visit. I'm so glad!"</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dormer-Smith's countenance expressed anything but gladness; and she
+privately informed May that it would be impossible to do more than send
+cards to these ladies by the servant. "I <i>can't</i> have them here on my
+Thursdays, you know, May," she said plaintively, and with an injured
+air.</p>
+
+<p>Three months ago May would have indignantly protested against this tone,
+and would have pointed out that it would be unfeeling and ungrateful on
+her part to slight her old friends. But she had by this time learned to
+understand how unavailing were all such representations to convince Aunt
+Pauline, in whose code personal sentiments of goodwill towards one's
+neighbour had to yield to the higher law of duty towards "Society."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps," said May, after a pause, "if you cannot go yourself, Uncle
+Frederick would take me to Miss Piper's some Sunday after church, when
+we go for a walk with the children. You see they have written 'Sundays'
+on the corner of their card."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, do you think they would be satisfied with that sort of thing?"
+asked her aunt.</p>
+
+<p>"They are most kind, good-natured old ladies," pursued May. "They
+wouldn't mind the children at all. Indeed, they like children. And as to
+coming to your Thursdays, Aunt Pauline, I really don't think they would
+care to do it. Music is their great passion&mdash;at least, Miss Polly's
+great passion&mdash;and when they are in London I think they go to concerts
+morning, noon, and night. Miss Hadlow is different. Her grandpapa was a
+Rivers," added May, blushing at her own wiliness, "and she is very
+handsome, and sure to be asked out a great deal."</p>
+
+<p>But May's profound strategy did not end here. She coaxed Uncle Frederick
+by representing what a treat it would be to Harold and Wilfred to go out
+visiting with papa. Those young gentlemen, privately incited by hints of
+possible plum-cake, were soon all eagerness to go; and when, on the very
+next Sunday, May set off with her uncle and cousins to walk to Miss
+Piper's lodgings, she felt that she had achieved a diplomatic triumph.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Those Oldchester persons who considered Miss Piper's artistic tendencies
+responsible for her occasional freedom of speech would have been
+confirmed in their opinion as to the demoralizing tendency of Art and
+Continental travel had they known how the daughters of the late Reverend
+Reuben Piper employed Sunday afternoon in London. Miss Patty herself had
+been startled at first by the idea of not only receiving callers, but
+listening to profane music on that day; and the sisters had had some
+discussion about it. When Patty demurred to the suggestion, Polly
+inquired whether she truly and conscientiously considered that there was
+anything more intrinsically wrong in seeing one's friends and opening
+one's piano on a Sunday than on a Monday.</p>
+
+<p>"No; of course not <i>that</i>," answered Patty. "If I thought it wrong, I
+shouldn't discuss it even with you. I should simply refuse to have
+anything to do with it."</p>
+
+<p>"I know that, Patty," said her sister. "And I hope I am not altogether
+without a conscience either."</p>
+
+<p>"No, Polly; but would you do this in Oldchester?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly not."</p>
+
+<p>"Then that's what I say. We ought not to have two weights and two
+measures. If a thing is objectionable in Oldchester, it is objectionable
+in London."</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all. Circumstances alter cases. I may think it a good thing to
+take a sponge-bath every morning; but I should not take it in public."</p>
+
+<p>"Polly! How can you?"</p>
+
+<p>"What I mean is, that, so long as we are not a stumbling-block of
+offence to other people, we have a right to please ourselves in this
+matter."</p>
+
+<p>So Miss Polly's will prevailed, as it prevailed with her sister upon
+most occasions; and the Sunday receptions became an established custom.</p>
+
+<p>The house in which the Miss Pipers lodged when they came to London was
+in a street leading out of Hanover Square. The lower part of it was
+occupied by a fashionable tailor&mdash;a tailor so genteel and exclusive that
+he scorned any appeal to the general public, and merely had the word
+"Groll" (which was his name) woven into the wire blind that shaded his
+parlour window. The rooms above were sufficiently spacious, and were,
+moreover, lofty&mdash;a great point in Miss Polly's opinion, as being good
+for sound. They were furnished comfortably, albeit rather dingily. But a
+few flower-pots, photographic albums, and bits of crochet-work,
+scattered here and there, answered the purpose&mdash;if not of decoration, at
+least of showing decorative intention. A grand pianoforte, bestriding a
+large tract of carpet in the very middle of the front drawing-room,
+conspicuously asserted its importance over all the rest of the
+furniture.</p>
+
+<p>May and her uncle, accompanied by the two little boys, were shown
+upstairs, and, the door of the drawing-room being thrown open, they
+found themselves confronted by a rather numerous assembly. The last bars
+of a pianoforte-piece were being performed amidst the profound silence
+of the auditors, and the newly arrived party stood still near the door,
+waiting until the music should come to an end.</p>
+
+<p>At the piano sat a smooth-faced young gentleman playing a series of
+incoherent discords with an air of calm resolve. Immediately behind him
+stood an elderly man of gentleman-like appearance, whom May found
+herself watching, as one watches a person swallowing something nauseous,
+and involuntarily expecting him to "make a face" as each new dissonance
+was crashed out close to his ear. But his amiable countenance remained
+so serene and satisfied, that the doubt crossed her mind whether he
+might not possibly be deaf. In the embrasure of a window stood a very
+tall, thin man, whose bald head was encircled by a fringe of grizzled
+red hair, and whose eyes were fast shut. But as he stood up perfectly
+erect, with his hands folded in a prayerful attitude on his waistcoat,
+it was obvious that he was not asleep. Miss Piper was seated with her
+back towards the door and her face towards the pianist, so that May
+could not see it. But the composer of "Esther" nodded her head
+approvingly at every fresh harmonic catastrophe which convulsed the
+keyboard. Her satisfaction seemed to be shared by a stout lady of
+majestic mien, who sat near her and fired off exclamations of eulogium,
+such as "Charming!" "Wonderful modulation!" "Intensely wrought out," and
+so on&mdash;like minute guns; and with a certain air of suppressed
+exasperation, as though she suspected that there <i>might</i> be persons who
+didn't like it, and was ready to defy them to the death. A dark-eyed
+girl, very plainly dressed, and holding a little leather music-roll in
+her hand, occupied a modest place behind this lady. Sitting close to the
+dark-eyed girl was a man of about thirty-five years old, well-featured,
+short in stature, and with reddish blonde hair and moustaches. This
+personage's countenance expressed a singular mixture of audacity and
+servility. His smile was at once impudent and false, and he listened to
+the music with a pretentious air of knowledge and authority. The rest of
+the company, with Miss Patty, were relegated, during the performance, to
+the back drawing-room, where tea was served; and the folding-doors were
+closed, lest the clink of a teaspoon, or the sibillation of a whisper,
+should penetrate to the music-room. But, in truth, nothing less than a
+crash of all the crockery on the table, and a simultaneous bellow from
+all the guests, could have competed successfully with the
+pianoforte-piece then in progress.</p>
+
+<p>At length, with one final bang, it came to an end, and there was a
+general stir and movement among the company. The amiable-looking elderly
+man advanced towards Miss Piper with a most beaming smile, and said, in
+a soft refined voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"That is the right way, isn't it? One knows the sort of thing said by
+people who don't understand this school of music, the only music, in
+fact; but I have long been sure that this is the right way."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course, it is the right way," exclaimed the stout lady, breathing
+indignation, not loud but deep, against all heretics and schismatics.</p>
+
+<p>"We are so very, very much obliged to you, Mr. Turner," said the
+hostess. "That new composition of yours is really wonderful!" (And so,
+indeed, it was.)</p>
+
+<p>As Miss Piper went up to the young gentleman who had been playing the
+piano, and who remained quite cool and unmoved by the demonstrations of
+his audience, she caught sight of the group near the door, and hastened
+to welcome them. May was received with enthusiasm, and her uncle with
+one of Miss Piper's best old-fashioned curtsies. Mr. Dormer-Smith began
+to apologize for bringing his little boys, and to explain that he had
+not expected to find so numerous an assembly; but Miss Piper cut him
+short with hearty assurances that they were very welcome, and that her
+sister in particular was very fond of children. Then, the doors being by
+this time reopened, she ushered them all into the back room, crying&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Patty! Patty! Who do you think is here? May Cheffington!" and then Miss
+Patty added her welcome to that of her sister.</p>
+
+<p>Harold and Wilfred had been shyly dumb hitherto, although once or twice
+during the pianoforte-playing Wilfred had only saved himself from
+breaking into a shrill wail and begging to be taken home, by burying his
+face in the skirts of May's dress; but on beholding plum-cake and other
+good things set forth on the tea-table, they felt that life had
+compensations still. They took a fancy also to the Miss Pipers, finding
+their eccentric ornaments a mine of interest; and before three minutes
+had elapsed Harold was devouring a liberal slice of cake, and Wilfred,
+seated close to kind Miss Patty, was diversifying his enjoyment of the
+cake by a close and curious inspection of that lady's bracelet, taken
+off for his amusement, and endeavouring to count the various geological
+specimens of which it was composed.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as May appeared in the back drawing-room, Constance Hadlow rose
+from her seat in a corner behind the tea-table, and greeted her.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear Conny," cried May, "I am so glad to see you! Then you are staying
+with the Miss Pipers! I guessed you were."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Dormer-Smith was then duly presented to Miss Hadlow. Constance was
+in very good looks, and her beauty and the quiet ease of her manner made
+a very favourable impression on May's uncle.</p>
+
+<p>Miss Hadlow found a seat for him near herself; and then turned again to
+May, saying, "There is another Oldchester friend whom you have not yet
+spoken to. You remember my cousin Owen?"</p>
+
+<p>May's experience of society had not yet toned down her manner to "that
+repose which stamps the caste of Vere de Vere." She heartily shook hands
+with the young man, exclaiming, "This is a day of joyful surprises. I
+didn't expect to see you, Mr. Rivers. Now, if we only had the dear
+canon, and Mrs. Hadlow, and granny, I think I should be <i>quite</i> happy."</p>
+
+<p>"You are not a bit changed," said Owen Rivers, giving May his chair, and
+standing beside her in the lounging attitude so familiar to her in the
+garden at College Quad.</p>
+
+<p>"Changed! What should change me?"</p>
+
+<p>"The world."</p>
+
+<p>"What nonsense!" cried May, with her old schoolgirl bluntness. "As if I
+had not been living in the world all my life!"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Rivers raised his eyebrows with an amused smile.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, <i>isn't</i> it nonsense," pursued May, "to talk as if a few hundred
+or thousand persons in one town&mdash;though that town is London&mdash;made up the
+world?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is a phrase which every one uses, and every one understands."</p>
+
+<p>"But every one does not understand it alike."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps not."</p>
+
+<p>"What did you mean by it, just now?"</p>
+
+<p>"What could I mean but the world of fashion, <i>the</i> world par excellence?
+Rightly so-called, no doubt, since it affords the best field for the
+exercise of the higher and nobler human faculties. Those who are not in
+it exist, indeed; but with a half-developed, inferior kind of life, like
+a jelly-fish."</p>
+
+<p>May laughed her frank young laugh.</p>
+
+<p>"You're not changed either!" she said emphatically.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you enjoy the performance with which that young gentleman has been
+obliging us?" asked Rivers.</p>
+
+<p>"I only heard the end of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Very diplomatically answered."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you fond of music, Mr. Rivers?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, of <i>music</i>&mdash;very fond."</p>
+
+<p>"So am I; but I know very little about it. Granny is a good musician."</p>
+
+<p>"How fond you are of Mrs. Dobbs!" said Rivers.</p>
+
+<p>"I am very proud of her, too," answered May quickly.</p>
+
+<p>Owen Rivers looked at her with a singular expression, half-admiring,
+half-tenderly, pitying&mdash;as one might look at a child whose innocent
+candour is as yet "unspotted from the world."</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose you know all the people here," said May, looking round on the
+assembly.</p>
+
+<p>"I know who they are, most of them."</p>
+
+<p>"That gentleman who was standing by himself at the window&mdash;the tall
+gentleman&mdash;who is he?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Jawler, a great musical critic."</p>
+
+<p>"And the pleasant-faced man who seemed so delighted with the playing?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Sweeting. He is an enthusiastic admirer and patron of young
+Cleveland Turner, the pianist: a very kindly, amiable, courteous
+gentleman, with much money and leisure, as I am told."</p>
+
+<p>"That stout lady talking to Miss Piper seems to be musical also?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is Lady Moppett: a very good sort of woman, I dare say, but
+fanatical. She would bowstring all us dogs of Christians who believe in
+melody."</p>
+
+<p>"And who is that disagreeable little man in the corner?"</p>
+
+<p>"Disagreeable&mdash;&mdash;?"</p>
+
+<p>"The little man with moustaches. There. Close to the nice-looking,
+dark-eyed girl."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, that man? But he is not considered disagreeable by the world in
+general, Miss Cheffington! He is by way of being a rather fascinating
+individual: Signor Vincenzo Valli, singing-master, and composer of
+songs. I wonder why he condescends to favour Miss Piper with his
+presence."</p>
+
+<p>"Is it a condescension?"</p>
+
+<p>"A great condescension. Signor Valli is nothing, if not aristocratic."</p>
+
+<p>At this moment there was a general movement in the other room. The young
+pianist seated himself once more at the instrument. The various groups
+of talkers dispersed, and took their places to listen. May whispered
+nervously to Miss Patty, that perhaps she and her uncle had better go,
+and take away the children before the music commenced.</p>
+
+<p>"I am so afraid," she said naďvely, "that Willy may cry if that
+gentleman plays again."</p>
+
+<p>Miss Patty found a way out of the difficulty by taking the children away
+to her own room. It was no deprivation to her, she said, not to hear Mr.
+Turner play.</p>
+
+<p>So the two little boys, laden with good things, and further enticed by
+the promise of picture-books, trotted off very contentedly under Miss
+Patty's wing. Mr. Dormer-Smith had passed into the front drawing-room,
+where he was chatting with Lady Moppett, who proved to be an old
+acquaintance of his. May was following her uncle to explain to him about
+the children, when Miss Piper hurried up to her with an anxious and
+important mien.</p>
+
+<p>"Sit down, my dear," she said; "sit down. Cleveland Turner is going to
+play that fine Beethoven, the one in F minor, the opera 57, you know.
+Mr. Jawler particularly wishes to hear him perform it."</p>
+
+<p>May glanced round, and seeing no place vacant near at hand, returned to
+the other room, and took a seat close to the folding-doors, which were
+now left open.</p>
+
+<p>"What is our sentence?" asked Rivers.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean what is he going to play? A piece of Beethoven's."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! Well, at least he will have something to say this time. Remains to
+be seen whether he can say it."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Cleveland Turner performed the <i>sonata appassionata</i> correctly,
+although coldly, and with a certain hardness of style and touch. But the
+beauty of the composition made itself irresistibly felt, and when the
+piece was finished there was a murmur of applause. Mr. Jawler opened his
+eyes, inclined his head, opened his eyes again, and said, apparently to
+himself, "Yes, yes&mdash;oh yes!" which seemed to be interpreted as an
+expression of approval; for Miss Piper looked radiant, and even the icy
+demeanour of Mr. Cleveland Turner thawed half a degree or so. Signor
+Valli had applauded in a peculiar fashion&mdash;opening his arms wide, and
+bringing his gloved hands together with apparent force, but so as to
+produce no sound whatever. And as he went through this dumb show of
+applause, he was talking all the time to the dark-eyed girl near him,
+with a sneering smile on his face.</p>
+
+<p>Miss Piper bustled up to them. "Dear Miss Bertram," she said, "you must
+let us hear your charming voice. Mr. Jawler has heard of you. He would
+like you to sing something. Signor Valli," with clasped hands, "<i>might</i>
+I entreat you to accompany Miss Bertram in one of your own exquisite
+compositions? It would be such a treat&mdash;such a musical feast, I may
+say!"</p>
+
+<p>Miss Bertram unrolled her music-case in a business-like way, and spread
+its contents before the singing-master.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you going to sing, Clara?" asked Lady Moppett, turning her
+head over her shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>"Signor Valli will choose," answered the young lady quietly.</p>
+
+<p>Valli selected a song and offered his arm to Miss Bertram to lead her to
+the piano. She did not accept it instantly, being occupied in replacing
+the rest of her music in its case; and with a sudden, impatient gesture,
+Valli wheeled round and walked to the piano alone. Miss Bertram followed
+him composedly, and took her place beside him. May looked at her with
+interest, as she stood there during the few bars of introduction to the
+song.</p>
+
+<p>Clara Bertram was not beautiful, but she had a singularly attractive
+face. Her dark eyes were not nearly so large, nor so finely set, as
+Constance Hadlow's, but they were infinitely more expressive, and her
+rather wide mouth revealed a magnificent set of teeth when she smiled or
+sang. The song selected for her was one of those compositions which, if
+ill-sung, or even only tolerably sung, would pass unnoticed. But Miss
+Bertram sang it to perfection. Her voice was very beautiful, with
+something peculiarly pathetic in its vibrating tones, and she pronounced
+the Italian words with a pure, unaffected, and finished accent.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, how lovely!" exclaimed May, under her breath, when the song was
+over.</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't it?" said Miss Piper, who happened to be near enough to catch the
+words. "I am so glad you are pleased with her! Do you think Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith would like her to sing now and then at a <i>soirée</i>? She
+wants to get known in really good houses."</p>
+
+<p>Before May could answer the little woman had hurried off again, and in
+another minute was leading Miss Bertram up to Mr. Jawler, who spoke to
+the young singer with evident affability, keeping his eyes open for a
+full minute at a time.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Valli was left alone at the piano, and an ugly look came into
+his face as he glanced round and saw himself neglected. But his
+expression changed in an instant with curious suddenness when Miss
+Hadlow drew near, and, leaning on the instrument, addressed some words
+of compliment to him.</p>
+
+<p>"Will you not let us hear you sing, Signor Valli?" she said presently.</p>
+
+<p>Valli merely shook his head in answer, keeping his eyes fixed on Miss
+Hadlow's face with a look of bold admiration, and letting his fingers
+stray softly over the keys.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, that is a terrible disappointment!"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think so," replied the singing-master, speaking very good
+English.</p>
+
+<p>"It is, indeed."</p>
+
+<p>Again he shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"It is to me, at all events."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I shall sing for you; a little song <i>sotto voce</i>, all to
+ourselves."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, but that would be too selfish on my part, to enjoy your singing all
+to myself."</p>
+
+<p>"It is a very good plan to be selfish," returned Valli; and forthwith he
+began a little Neapolitan love-song&mdash;murmuring, rather than singing
+it&mdash;and still keeping his eyes fixed on Miss Hadlow.</p>
+
+<p>At the first sound of his voice, low and subdued though it was, Miss
+Piper held up her finger to bespeak silence. There was a general hush.
+Every one looked towards the piano, against which Constance was still
+leaning, with her back to the rest of the company. She made a little
+movement to withdraw to a seat, but Valli immediately ceased singing,
+and, under cover of a noisy <i>ritournelle</i> which he played on the piano,
+said to her, "I am singing for you. If you go away, my song will go away
+too."</p>
+
+<p>"But I can't stand here by myself, Signor Valli," protested Constance,
+by no means displeased. At this moment Miss Piper approached to implore
+the <i>maestro</i> to continue, and Constance whispered to her in a few words
+the state of the case.</p>
+
+<p>"Caprices of genius, my dear," said the little woman. "When you have
+seen as much of professional people as I have, you will not be
+astonished." Then to Valli, "Will you not continue that exquisite air?
+We are all dying to hear it."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; on condition that you both stay there and inspire me," answered
+he, with an unconcealed sneer.</p>
+
+<p>Miss Piper, however, took him at his word, and, linking her arm in
+Constance's, remained standing close to the instrument. Valli, upon
+this, resumed his song. He gave it now at the full pitch of his voice,
+addressing it ostentatiously to Miss Hadlow, and throwing an exaggerated
+amount of expression into the love passages. Miss Piper was enchanted,
+and led off the applause enthusiastically. Valli was soon surrounded by
+a group of admirers, Mr. Dormer-Smith among them. May was conscious of a
+painful impression, which destroyed any pleasure she might have had in
+the song. And that Owen Rivers shared this impression was proved by his
+walking up to the piano, and unceremoniously putting his cousin's hand
+on his arm to lead her away.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, don't take Conny away, Mr. Rivers," cried Miss Piper. "Signor Valli
+is going to favour us with some more of his delicious national airs."</p>
+
+<p>"Come and sit down, Constance," said Owen authoritatively. "Let me get
+you a seat also, Miss Piper," he added. "It can scarcely be necessary
+for the due exhibition of this gentleman's national airs to keep two
+ladies standing."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh no, no; please don't mind me. I'm quite comfortable," said Miss
+Piper, with a shade of vexation on her good-humoured round face.</p>
+
+<p>Constance remained perfectly calm and self-possessed; only a faint smile
+and a sparkle in her eyes revealed a gratified vanity as she took the
+chair near May, to which her cousin conducted her.</p>
+
+<p>Miss Piper shrugged up her shoulders and pursed up her mouth. "He has no
+idea what artists are," she whispered in Lady Moppett's ear. "And,
+besides, poor dear young man, he's so desperately in love with his
+cousin that he can't bear her to be even looked at. I only hope Signor
+Valli won't take offence."</p>
+
+<p>But Valli, finding himself now the object of general attention, was very
+gracious. He sang song after song without the inspiration of Miss
+Hadlow's handsome face opposite to him; and he sang far better than
+before;&mdash;with less exaggeration, and managing his naturally defective
+voice with singular skill and <i>finesse</i>. But the praise and flattery
+which his hearers poured forth unstintingly did not seem quite to
+satisfy him. His glance wandered restlessly, as though in search of
+something; and finally, after a very clever rendering of an old air by
+Carissimi, he addressed himself suddenly to Miss Bertram, who was
+standing somewhat apart in the background, and asked, in Italian&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Is the Signorina content?"</p>
+
+<p>"I always like your singing of that aria," she answered, in a quiet,
+matter-of-fact tone.</p>
+
+<p>"Like it, indeed!" exclaimed Lady Moppett, with her severest manner. "I
+should think you did like it, Clara! And you ought to profit by it. To
+hear singing so finished&mdash;of such a perfect school&mdash;is a lesson for
+you."</p>
+
+<p>Valli, upon this, made a low bow to Lady Moppett&mdash;a bow so low as to
+seem almost burlesque. As he raised his face again he turned it towards
+Miss Bertram with a subtle smile, saying, "Miladi is such a judge! Her
+praise is very precious." Clara, however, kept an impassive countenance,
+and declined to meet the glance he shot at her. Then Valli made a second
+and equally low bow to the hostess, and, cutting short her ecstatic
+compliments and thanks, left the room without further ceremony.</p>
+
+<p>The party now broke up. Lady Moppett departed with Miss Bertram and Mr.
+Jawler, to whom she offered a seat in her carriage. Mr. Cleveland Turner
+and his patron, Mr. Sweeting, went away together. In a few minutes there
+remained Mr. Dormer-Smith, with his niece, and Owen Rivers. Miss Patty
+bustled in with the two children.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear me," said she. "Is the music all over? Well, now let us be
+comfortable."</p>
+
+<p>But Mr. Dormer-Smith declared he must reluctantly bring his visit to an
+end. "I don't know how to thank you," said he to Miss Patty, "for your
+kindness to my children. I hope you will forgive me for bringing them."</p>
+
+<p>Miss Patty heartily assured him that there was nothing to forgive, and
+that she hoped he would bring them again. She had gathered from the
+artless utterances of Harold and Wilfred an idea of their home life,
+which made her feel compassionately towards them.</p>
+
+<p>As for Miss Polly, she was in the highest spirits. Mr. Jawler and Signor
+Valli, both stars of considerable magnitude in the musical world, had
+shone for her with unclouded lustre. It had been, she thought, a highly
+successful afternoon. So also thought Harold and Wilfred. And perhaps
+these were the only three persons who had enjoyed themselves thoroughly
+and unaffectedly.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The London season proceeded with its usual accumulation of engagements,
+its usual breathless chase after half-hours that have got too long a
+start ever to be recaptured, its usual fleeting satisfactions and
+abiding disappointments, its snubs, sneers, smiles, follies, falsehoods,
+and flirtations. The rushing current of fashionable life in London
+carried little May Cheffington on its surface, together with many brazen
+vessels of a very different kind. Constance Hadlow observed
+half-enviously to her friend that she was thoroughly "in the swim," a
+phrase which May found singularly inappropriate in her own case, feeling
+that there was no more question of a swim than in shooting Niagara! To
+her, especially, the whirl of society was confusing, phantasmagoric, and
+unreal. All the faces were new to her, most of the names awoke no
+associations in her mind. On the other hand, this peculiar inexperience
+gave freshness to her impressions and keenness to her insight. She had
+none of those social traditions which, nine times out of ten, supply the
+place of private judgment. She found her impression of many personages
+startlingly at variance with the label which the world had agreed to
+affix to them. It is possible to be at once simple and shrewd, just as
+it is possible to be both <i>rusé</i> and dull-witted.</p>
+
+<p>May's simplicity was not of the blundering thick-skinned type; and her
+ingenuous freshness was admired by a great many persons, among whom was
+Mrs. Griffin. Far from being offended by May's moral indignation against
+those who accepted the hospitality of vulgar people, and then ridiculed
+them for being vulgar, Mrs. Griffin entirely approved her sentiments.
+Mrs. Griffin herself deplored, as she often said, "the servility towards
+mere money, which was degrading the tone of society." And whenever any
+new instance of it came to her knowledge, she would shake her head, and
+exclaim, softly, "Oh, Mammon, Mammon!" But this did not, of course,
+apply to her daughter the duchess, who sometimes went to the
+Aaronssohns'. Her daughter was so very great a lady as to be above
+ordinary restrictions. Other people worshipped Mammon; the duchess only
+patronized Mammon&mdash;which was, surely, a very different thing!</p>
+
+<p>Aunt Pauline, however, derived no gratification from May's
+unconventional frankness. It was, on the contrary, a source of constant
+anxiety to her; and she felt daily more and more that it would be a
+relief to get May off her hands. Introducing her niece into
+society&mdash;even although the niece was a pretty girl, and a Cheffington to
+boot&mdash;had not proved so pleasing a task as she had anticipated. There
+was, to her thinking, a strange perversity in the girl's character,
+which made her callous where she should be sensitive, and sensitive
+where she might well be indifferent. For instance, she showed culpable
+coolness about her great-uncle Castlecombe and his family, and provoking
+warmth about her Oldchester friends. Not that May was apt to speak much
+of her life in Oldchester. In the natural course of things she would
+have talked freely and eagerly about her dear granny; but very soon
+after her arrival in London, her affectionate loquacity on this subject
+received a check. Aunt Pauline had hinted, with her usual mild
+politeness, that it would be desirable not to speak of Mrs. Dobbs before
+Smithson or any of the servants. Seeing the startled look in May's eyes,
+and the indignant flush on May's cheeks, her aunt added diplomatically,
+"Your father would not like it, May. I am trying to carry out his
+expressed wishes. That ought to be enough for you."</p>
+
+<p>It was enough, at all events, to close May's lips. Her love and pride
+combined to make her silent. She tried to persuade herself that her
+father, at all events, had some good and reasonable motive for this
+prohibition, and that he, at least, was not ashamed of Mrs.
+Dobbs&mdash;ashamed of granny! The very thought made her hot with anger. But
+that Aunt Pauline was ashamed of her was too clear to May's honest mind.
+Painful as this conviction was, however, she came by degrees to hold it
+rather in sorrow than in anger, and to regard her aunt with something of
+the same indulgent toleration that Mrs. Dobbs had once expressed to Jo
+Weatherhead. For Mrs. Dormer-Smith's worldliness was not at all of a
+cynical sort. It was rather in the nature of a deep-rooted superstition
+conscientiously held.</p>
+
+<p>To some points of her worldly creed Pauline clung with religious
+fervour. One of these was the duty incumbent on a dowerless young lady
+to marry well. To marry <i>very</i> well was to marry a man with birth and
+money; but to secure a husband with money only&mdash;provided there were
+enough of it&mdash;she allowed to be marrying well. She did not look at the
+matter with vulgar flippancy. It was, no doubt, a sacrifice for a
+well-born woman to become the wife of an underbred man, however wealthy.
+But well-born women were no less called upon than their humbler sisters
+to make sacrifices in a good cause.</p>
+
+<p>None of the Castlecombes much frequented fashionable society, and Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith had hitherto resigned herself, without much difficulty, to
+seeing very little of her noble kinsfolk. But when May was introduced,
+her aunt thought it desirable to cultivate them. Lord Castlecombe's big,
+gloomy, family mansion in town had been let ever since his wife's death
+many years ago; and whenever his lordship came to London to give his
+vote in the House of Peers&mdash;which was almost the sole object that had
+power to bring him up from the country&mdash;he occupied furnished lodgings.
+Of his two sons, both bachelors, the elder was governor of a colony on
+the other side of the globe, and the younger held a permanent post under
+Government. This Lucius Cheffington occasionally met Mr. Dormer-Smith at
+the club, and exchanged a few words with him. Captain Cheffington, on
+his penultimate visit to England, when his ungrateful country declined
+to provide for him, had quarrelled with all the Castlecombes, and had
+made himself particularly obnoxious to Lucius; for Lucius, whom his
+cousin considered a solemn ass, held a lucrative place, whilst Augustus,
+who knew himself to be a remarkably clever fellow, with immense
+knowledge of the world, was relegated to poverty and obscurity. But
+Pauline had not quarrelled with them. She would not willingly have
+quarrelled with any one, least of all with her Uncle Castlecombe and his
+family. And as to Mr. Dormer-Smith, it chanced that the one point of
+sympathy between himself and his cousin-in-law Lucius was the latter's
+cordial dislike to Gus. Nevertheless, the dislike did not descend to
+Gus's daughter. Lucius was pleased to approve of his young kinswoman,
+none the less, perhaps, that it was evident her father troubled himself
+little about her.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Dormer-Smith knew very well that the most effectual way of winning
+Lord Castlecombe's goodwill for his grand-niece was to assure his
+lordship that he would not be called upon to do anything for her. He,
+therefore, confidentially informed Lucius that the girl's grandmother in
+Oldchester was defraying her expenses, and would, no doubt, eventually
+provide for her altogether. The sagacity of this course was proved soon
+afterwards, when Lucius announced that his father would come and dine
+with Pauline the next time he should be in town, and make Miranda's
+acquaintance.</p>
+
+<p>This was well. And even as to May's Oldchester friends matters turned
+out better than her aunt could have hoped. In the first place, the
+Misses Piper showed no disposition whatever to force themselves on Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith. That being the case, there was no objection to May's going
+to see them every Sunday with her uncle and the children. To Harold and
+Wilfred these Sunday visits were such a delightful break in the dull
+routine of their lives that their father would have endured considerable
+boredom and discomfort rather than deprive them of it. But, in fact, he
+was not bored. Whenever the music became too severe, he could withdraw
+into the tea-room, where he always found some one to chat with. Possibly
+he, too, felt these Sundays to be a break in the monotony of his daily
+life. There was a cordial, hearty tone about the hostesses which was
+decidedly pleasant, although he was aware that Pauline would pronounce
+it sadly underbred. But Pauline was not there to be shocked, and there
+were some red drops in Mr. Dormer-Smith's veins (he was not quite so
+blue-blooded as his wife) which warmed to this plebeian kindness.
+Sometimes even the moisture would come into his eyes when he watched his
+little boys clinging familiarly about Miss Patty as they never clung
+about their mother. The good-natured old maid had won the children's
+hearts completely. They were overheard one day in a lively discussion as
+to which was the prettier, Miss Patty or Cousin May: Wilfred inclining,
+on the whole, to award the palm of beauty to his cousin, but Harold
+powerfully arguing in favour of Miss Patty that she had such "beautiful
+curls" (an ingenuous, and probably unique, tribute to the ginger-bread
+coloured wig!) and a "shiny brooch like a butterfly."</p>
+
+<p>Then Constance Hadlow, whom Mrs. Dormer-Smith had unwillingly invited to
+lunch one day with her former schoolfellow, proved to be in every
+respect "most presentable," as Aunt Pauline herself candidly admitted.
+So presentable was she in fact, so handsome, self-possessed, and even
+(on the mother's side) well connected, that there might have arisen
+objections of a different sort against receiving her, as being a
+dangerous competitor for that solemn duty of marrying well. But a chance
+word of May's to the effect that young Bransby had long been an admirer
+of Constance, and that they were supposed by many persons in Oldchester
+to be engaged to each other, relieved Aunt Pauline's mind on that score.</p>
+
+<p>"It would be very suitable," she said approvingly. "I think Mr. Bransby
+a very nice person; so quiet."</p>
+
+<p>The subject of this glowing eulogium had not appeared at Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith's receptions for some time. He had been ordered into the
+country, to cure a violent cold by change of air; and although he much
+disliked leaving town at that moment, he never thought of neglecting his
+physician's advice. Theodore's mother had been consumptive; and the fear
+that he inherited her constitution made him anxiously careful of his
+health. Immediately on his return to London he presented himself, about
+half-past five o'clock one Thursday afternoon, in Mrs. Dormer-Smith's
+drawing-room, and experienced a shock of disagreeable surprise on
+finding Constance Hadlow seated near May at the tea-table. May,
+innocently supposing that she was doing him a good turn, gave him her
+place, and went to another part of the room. But Constance coolly
+greeted him with a "How d'ye do, Theodore?" in a tone of the politest
+insipidity, which he sincerely approved of. Nevertheless, he would
+rather not have found her there. On glancing round he was struck by
+several innovations. In the first place, the pianoforte&mdash;usually a dumb
+piece of furniture in Mrs. Dormer-Smith's house&mdash;stood open, with some
+loose sheets of music lying on it; and Signor Vincenzo Valli sat, teacup
+in hand, smiling his false smile beside Mrs. Griffin. Theodore knew
+perfectly well who Signor Valli was; and it needed not Mrs. Griffin's
+gracious demeanour to instruct this rising young man that Valli was
+sufficiently the fashion to be worth being civil to. But he was
+surprised to find him there. His surprises, however, were not at an end;
+for whom should he behold in familiar conversation with a gentleman at
+the opposite side of the room but Owen Rivers? And near them was&mdash;he
+could hardly believe his eyes&mdash;Mr. Bragg! It seemed to Theodore as if
+there had been a conspiracy amongst his acquaintance to make all sorts
+of fresh combinations on the social chess-board during his brief
+absence. He felt that it was necessary for him to take an accurate
+survey of the new positions. But he saw no immediate opportunity of
+doing so; for there was no one at hand to interrogate, except Constance
+Hadlow, who, of course, knew nothing. She must be spoken to, however;
+but he would cut the conversation as short as possible.</p>
+
+<p>Thoughts&mdash;even the weighty thoughts of a diplomatically-minded young
+gentleman&mdash;move quickly, and there was scarcely any perceptible pause
+between Constance's greeting and his gravely polite remark that it was
+quite an unexpected pleasure to see her there.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; I came up a few weeks ago with the Pipers."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! you are staying with <i>them</i>?" (This with a strong flavour of his
+superior manner; for the Pipers were really nobodies.)</p>
+
+<p>"And what have you been doing with yourself? I haven't seen you
+anywhere," said Constance coolly.</p>
+
+<p>"I have been out of town. But in any case we might possibly not have
+met. Have you been going out much?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, as much as most people, I suppose. I was at the Aaronssohns' dance
+last night."</p>
+
+<p>"The Aaronssohns!" exclaimed Theodore. (This time he was so astonished
+that he spoke quite naturally.) "I didn't know that you knew them."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I don't know them."</p>
+
+<p>"Then how did you get&mdash;I mean&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"How did I get there? Dear me, Theodore, your visit to the country has
+given you a refreshing buttercup-and-daisy kind of air! Do you suppose
+that the Aaronssohns' ball-room was filled with their personal friends
+and acquaintances? Mrs. Griffin got me an invitation."</p>
+
+<p>Now to be presented to Mrs. Griffin and to be invited to the
+Aaronssohns' were pet objects of Theodore Bransby's social ambition, and
+he had not yet compassed either of them.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, indeed!" said he, struggling, under the disadvantage of conscious
+ill-humour, to maintain that air of indifference to all things in heaven
+and earth which he imagined to be the completest manifestation of high
+breeding. "I suppose that was achieved through Mrs. Dormer-Smith's
+influence."</p>
+
+<p>"Not altogether. It was May Cheffington who first introduced me to Mrs.
+Griffin. She's just the same dear little thing as ever&mdash;I don't mean
+Mrs. Griffin! But Mrs. Griffin found out that she had known my
+grandfather Rivers. I believe they were sweethearts in their pinafores a
+hundred years ago; so she has been awfully nice to me."</p>
+
+<p>While Constance was speaking, Theodore's eye lighted on Mr. Bragg, solid
+and solemn, wearing that look of melancholy respectability which is
+associated with the British workman in his Sunday clothes.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, and Mr. Bragg was at the Aaronssohns', too," said Constance,
+following the young man's glance. "Fancy Mr. Bragg at a ball!"</p>
+
+<p>"Did Mrs. Griffin know <i>his</i> grandfather?" asked Theodore, with a sneer.</p>
+
+<p>It was clear to Constance that he had quite lost his temper. Otherwise
+he would not, she felt sure, have said anything in such bad taste. But
+she replied calmly&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think Mr. Bragg ever had a grandfather. But he is rich enough
+to do without one. It is poor persons like you and me who find
+grandfathers necessary&mdash;or, at all events, useful."</p>
+
+<p>Theodore understood the sarcasm of this quiet speech, and it helped him
+to master his growing irritation. There are some natures on which a
+moral buffet acts as a sedative.</p>
+
+<p>"Was it your friend Miss Piper who brought Mr. Bragg here?" he asked,
+showing no sign of having felt the blow, except a slight increase of
+pallor.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh dear, no! The Pipers have never been here themselves, except to
+leave a card at the door. This is not the kind of society they care for,
+you know. I saw Mr. Bragg come in to-day with May's cousin, Mr. Lucius
+Cheffington, but I can't say whether he first introduced him or not."</p>
+
+<p>"Is that Mr. Lucius Cheffington?"</p>
+
+<p>"That man talking to Owen?&mdash;Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Dormer-Smith has rather a mixed collection this afternoon. I see
+Valli over there. You know who I mean? That short, foreign man near&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes; Signor Valli is a great ally of mine. He's delightful, I think.
+His airs and graces are so amusing. I can tell you how <i>he</i> comes to be
+here, if you like," returned Constance placidly. She was secretly
+enjoying Theodore's discomfiture. He had expected to play the part of
+town mouse, and to patronize and instruct her. "The fact is," she
+continued, "that Lady Moppett begged Mr. Dormer-Smith to induce his wife
+to have her <i>protégée</i>, Miss Bertram, to sing here on Thursday
+afternoons, promising, as a kind of bait, to get Valli to come too. I
+don't think Mrs. Dormer-Smith particularly wished to have Miss Bertram;
+but she thought it would be nice to have Valli, who is run after by the
+best people, and is very difficult to get hold of. So the negotiation
+succeeded. It is too funny how one has to <i>ménager</i> and coax these
+professional people. If you don't want any more information just now, I
+think I will go and speak to Mrs. Griffin." Whereupon Constance glided
+away, self-possessed and graceful, and with a becoming touch of
+animation bestowed by the consciousness that she had been mistress of
+the situation.</p>
+
+<p>Theodore looked decidedly blank for the moment. No one bestowed any
+attention on him. As he sat watching, he was struck by the evidently
+familiar way in which Owen Rivers and Mr. Cheffington were talking
+together. He himself particularly desired to be introduced to Lucius
+Cheffington, but a secret, grudging feeling made him unwilling to owe
+the introduction to Rivers. Presently Rivers moved away to join May and
+Miss Bertram, who were turning over some music together, and Mr. Bragg
+took his place near Mr. Cheffington. This was the opportunity which
+Theodore had wished for. He at once rose and walked up to them.
+Theodore's manner was never servile, but there was an added gravity in
+his demeanour towards certain persons, intended to show that he thought
+them worth taking seriously; and this tribute he rendered to Mr. Bragg.
+For, although the young man had by no means forgotten Mr. Bragg's
+deplorable insensibility to an enlightened view of the currency
+question, yet he prided himself on thoroughly understanding that the
+great tin-tack maker's claims to consideration rested on a solid basis
+quite apart from culture or intelligence.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish," said Theodore, after the first salutations, "that you would do
+me the favour to make me known to Mr. Lucius Cheffington. I know so many
+members of his family, but I have not the pleasure of his personal
+acquaintance."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Bragg eyed him with his usual heavy deliberation. "Oh," said he
+slowly, "this is Mr.&mdash;I don't call to mind your Christian name&mdash;eh? Oh
+yes&mdash;Mr. Theodore Bransby."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lucius Cheffington made an unusually low bow, his pride being of the
+sort which manifests itself in the most ceremonious politeness.</p>
+
+<p>He was a small, lean man, with a pale face deeply lined by ill-health
+and a fretful temperament. He had closely shaven cheeks and chin; heavy,
+grizzled moustaches; and very thick, grizzled hair, which he wore rather
+long. His voice was harsh, though subdued, and he spoke very slowly,
+making such long pauses as occasionally tempted unwary strangers to
+finish his sentences for him. A double eyeglass with tortoise-shell rims
+was set astride his nose; and behind the glasses two dark, near-sighted
+eyes looked out, somewhat superciliously, upon a world which fell sadly
+short of what a Cheffington had a right to expect.</p>
+
+<p>"I have the pleasure of knowing your cousin, Captain Augustus
+Cheffington, very well indeed," said Theodore.</p>
+
+<p>Lucius bowed again and adjusted his eyeglass. A shade of surprise and
+annoyance passed over his face. His Cousin Augustus had been a sore
+subject with the family for years; and latterly such rumours as had
+reached England about him had not made the subject more agreeable.</p>
+
+<p>"I have often thought," pursued Theodore, quite unaware that his
+listener was regarding him with a mixture of astonishment and disfavour,
+"that it is a great pity a man of Captain Cheffington's abilities and
+accomplishments should live out of England; unless, indeed, he held some
+diplomatic appointment abroad. In my opinion these are times in which
+the great old families should hold fast by the public service. As I
+ventured to say to one of our county members the other day&mdash;&mdash;" And so
+on, and so on. Having thus happily launched himself, Theodore proceeded
+in his best Parliamentary style: holding forth with a power of
+self-complacent and steady boredom beyond his years. A sensitive person
+would have been petrified by the unsympathizing stare from behind those
+tortoise-shell-rimmed glasses; but Theodore was not sensitive to such
+influences: being fortified by the <i>ŕ priori</i> conviction that he must
+naturally make a favourable impression. And since Lucius Cheffington
+could not, compatibly with his own dignity, plainly tell him that he
+considered him a presumptuous young ass, there was nothing to check his
+flow of eloquence.</p>
+
+<p>But at length the cold stare was softened, and the pale, peevish,
+furrowed face turned to Theodore with a faint show of interest. Some
+casual word of this intrusive young man's seemed to show that he came
+from Oldchester.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know&mdash;a&mdash;Mrs.&mdash;a&mdash;Dobbs?" asked Lucius, speaking for the first
+time, and edging in this point-blank question between two of Theodore's
+neatly-turned sentences setting forth a political parallel between the
+late Lord Tweedledum and the present Right Honourable Tweedledee.</p>
+
+<p>It was a shock; but Theodore bore it stoically.</p>
+
+<p>"Not exactly. I have spoken with her. Mrs. Dobbs is not precisely&mdash;&mdash;in
+our set," he answered, with a slight smile at one corner of his mouth,
+intended to demolish Mrs. Dobbs.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought that, being a native of Oldchester, you might&mdash;a&mdash;be&mdash;&mdash;"
+begun Mr. Cheffington in his low, harsh tones.</p>
+
+<p>"Be acquainted with her? Really&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I thought that, being a native of Oldchester, you might&mdash;a&mdash;be able to
+tell me something about her."</p>
+
+<p>"Not much, I fear," replied Theodore. He felt tempted to add that in
+Oldchester there were natives and natives.</p>
+
+<p>"She's&mdash;a&mdash;rich, isn't she?" pursued Mr. Cheffington.</p>
+
+<p>"Not that I know of," answered Theodore, staring a little.</p>
+
+<p>"Rich is, perhaps, too much to say. At any rate, she is&mdash;a&mdash;quite
+well&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Well off? Oh, as to that&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"At any rate, she is quite well-to-do, I presume!"</p>
+
+<p>Theodore had never considered the question, but he said, "Oh yes," at a
+venture; and then suddenly a light flashed upon his mind. Perhaps Mrs.
+Dobbs <i>was</i> rich, after all. Though she lived in so humble a style she
+might, perhaps, have laid by money.</p>
+
+<p>"She appears to be a person of&mdash;a&mdash;great&mdash;good sense," said Mr. Lucius
+Cheffington, remembering how Mrs. Dormer-Smith had stated that she
+declined to give any money-assistance to Augustus. And after that he
+made a second very low bow, and brought the interview to an end.</p>
+
+<p>Little had Theodore Bransby expected to hear Mrs. Dobbs discussed and
+approved by a member of the noble house of Castlecombe. He had noticed
+that Mrs. Dormer-Smith systematically avoided any mention of the vulgar
+old woman. But then Mrs. Dormer-Smith was a person of the very finest
+taste. And, to be sure, it could scarcely be expected that Mr. Lucius
+Cheffington should feel Augustus's <i>mésalliance</i> as acutely as it was
+felt by Augustus's own sister. Besides, if, as really seemed possible,
+the ironmonger's widow turned out to be a moneyed person&mdash;&mdash;! But it
+must be recorded of Theodore, that not even the idea of her having money
+reconciled him to Mrs. Dobbs. He said to himself afterwards, when he was
+meditating on what he had heard, that nothing so convincingly proved how
+much he was in love with Miss Cheffington, as his being ready to forgive
+her even her grandmother!</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+
+
+<p>George Frederick Cheffington, fifth Viscount Castlecombe, was, in many
+ways, a very clever old man. He was extremely ignorant of most things
+which can be taught by books. But he had a thorough acquaintance with
+practical agriculture, considerable keenness in finance, and a quick eye
+to detect the weaknesses of his fellow men. On the other hand, his
+overweening self-esteem led him to think that what he knew comprised
+what was chiefly, if not solely, worth knowing, and his avarice
+occasionally overrode his native talent for business. In his youth he
+had been idle and extravagant. The former vice gave him the reputation
+of a dunce at school and college, and, by a reaction which belonged to
+his character, made him defiantly contemptuous of bookish men, with one
+single exception, presently to be noted. As to his extravagance, that
+was effectually cured by the death of his father. From the moment that
+he came into possession of the family estates, which he did at about
+thirty years of age, his income was administered with sagacious economy,
+and by the time his two sons arrived at manhood Lord Castlecombe was a
+very rich man.</p>
+
+<p>If he had a soft place in his heart, it was for his son Lucius, who
+resembled his dead mother in features, and also, unfortunately, in the
+delicacy of his constitution. George, his heir, was like
+himself&mdash;strong, tough, and hardy. Lord Castlecombe secretly admired
+Lucius's talents very much, and had been highly gratified when his
+second son took honours at his University. That this success had not
+been followed by any particularly brilliant results later, and that
+Lucius had, as it were, stuck fast in his career, had even decidedly
+failed in Parliament, and had finally been shelved in a Government post
+which, although lucrative, was inglorious, his lordship attributed to
+the increase of folly, incapacity, and roguery which he had observed in
+the world during the last twenty years or so. That a Cheffington of such
+abilities as Lucius should remain undistinguished was part of the
+general decadence. In politics Lord Castlecombe was a Whig of the old
+school; and though he continued to vote with his party, yet the only
+point on which he was thoroughly in sympathy with the Liberals&mdash;a word,
+by the way, which he had come greatly to dislike, as covering far too
+wide a field&mdash;was that they fought the Tories.</p>
+
+<p>The person whom Lord Castlecombe most detested in all the world was his
+nephew Augustus. He disliked his extravagance, his poverty, and the
+biting insolence of his tongue. This antipathy had latterly added
+poignancy to the old man's desire that his son should marry, and
+transmit the Castlecombe title and estates in the direct line; for
+Augustus was the next heir after his two cousins. It was true that the
+contingency of Captain Cheffington succeeding seemed remote enough.
+George Cheffington was only his senior by a couple of years, and Lucius
+was his junior. But neither of them had married; and they were well on
+in middle life. Lucius, indeed, seemed to have settled down into
+incorrigible old bachelorhood. And although George, in answer to his
+father's exhortations on the subject, always replied that he really
+would think seriously of looking for a wife on his next visit to England
+(persons suitable for that dignity not being to be found, it appeared,
+in the particular portion of the globe where his official duties lay),
+yet the years went by, and still there came no daughter-in-law, no
+grandson to inherit the coronet and enjoy the broad acres of
+Castlecombe. The idea that Augustus Cheffington might ever come to enjoy
+them was gall and wormwood to their present owner. But he had never
+breathed a word on this subject to any human being.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dormer-Smith was gratified by her uncle's gracious acceptance of an
+invitation to dine with her, soon after his arrival in town, about the
+middle of June. Lord Castlecombe did not visit her often; but that was
+from no ill-will on his part. In fact, he was rather fond of Pauline. He
+considered her a bit of a goose. But he thought it by no means
+unbecoming in a woman to be a bit of a goose. And she had thoroughbred
+manners, a gentle voice, and was still agreeable to look upon. The old
+lord disliked ugly women, and maintained that the sight of them
+disagreed with him like bad wine.</p>
+
+<p>This consideration influenced Pauline in the choice of her guests to
+meet her uncle. It was understood there was to be no large party. It had
+been agreed that they should invite Mr. Bragg, who had bought a good
+deal of land in Lord Castlecombe's county, was director of a company of
+which the noble viscount was chairman, and of whom his lordship was
+known to entertain a favourable opinion, as being a man who made no
+disguise about his humble origin, and was free from the offensive
+pretensions of many <i>nouveaux riches</i>. For, although Lord Castlecombe
+willingly admitted that money could buy everything on which most people
+valued themselves, he greatly disliked the notion that it could be
+supposed to buy the things on which <i>he</i> most valued himself.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, Frederick," said Mrs. Dormer-Smith, "that makes four men:
+my uncle, Lucius, Mr. Bragg, and yourself. Then May and I; and I thought
+of having that handsome Miss Hadlow. Uncle George likes to see pretty
+faces. We want another woman, but really I don't know who there is
+available at this moment. There are so few odd women who ain't frights,"
+pursued the anxious hostess plaintively. "If it were a man, now&mdash;&mdash;There
+are plenty of odd men to be had." Then, struck by a sudden inspiration,
+she said, "Why shouldn't we have an odd man instead of another woman?
+Uncle George gives me his arm, of course. You take Miss Hadlow, Mr.
+Bragg takes May, and Lucius and the odd man go in together. Positively,
+I think it would be the best arrangement of all."</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose Lucius wouldn't mind, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"It certainly would be the best arrangement for <i>me</i>, at all events; for
+if there are only those two girls, I can simply put my feet up on a sofa
+when we go into the drawing-room, shut my eyes, and be quiet for half an
+hour, which, of course, would be out of the question if there was any
+woman who required to have civilities paid her; and in all probability I
+shall be in a state of nervous prostration by Friday. This season with
+May has tried me severely."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Dormer-Smith offering no objection, there only remained to make
+choice of the "odd man," and, after a moment's reflection, Pauline
+decided on young Bransby.</p>
+
+<p>"Bransby!" exclaimed Mr. Dormer-Smith. "He's a dreadful prig."</p>
+
+<p>"I think he's very nice, Frederick. But really that is not the point.
+He's engaged, or wants to be engaged, or something of the sort, to Miss
+Hadlow, so of course&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"What? You don't mean to say that handsome girl would have such an
+insignificant fellow as Bransby?"</p>
+
+<p>"I mean to say nothing about it. The subject has only a faint interest
+for me, Frederick. But what <i>is</i> important is that, in any case, <i>he
+will help to take her off</i>."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Dormer-Smith stared; he understood his wife's phrase, but not her
+allusion. "Why, you don't suppose there's any danger of her setting her
+cap at Lucius?" said he.</p>
+
+<p>"I should have no objection to her doing so."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, there's nobody else."</p>
+
+<p>"We need not discuss it, Frederick. Please give your best attention to
+the wine; you know that Uncle George is terribly fastidious about his
+wine, and the worst is that if he is discontented, he will not hesitate
+to say so before everybody."</p>
+
+<p>That really did seem to her the worst. Most of the evils of life, she
+thought, might be more endurable if people would but be discreet, and
+say nothing about them.</p>
+
+<p>The evil of Uncle George's public reprobation of her wine did not,
+however, befall her. Lord Castlecombe was content with his dinner, and
+looked round him approvingly as he sat on his niece's right hand.</p>
+
+<p>"A couple of uncommonly pretty girls those," said his lordship. "They've
+got on pretty frocks, too; I like a good bright colour."</p>
+
+<p>Pauline had begged Miss Hadlow beforehand not to wear black, or any
+sombre hue, her uncle having a special dislike to such; and Constance,
+perfectly willing to please Lord Castlecombe by looking as brilliant as
+she could, had arrayed herself in her favourite maize-colour.</p>
+
+<p>"You have a very nice gown on, too, Pauline," added his lordship
+graciously.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dormer-Smith privately thought her own toilette detestable. It was
+a gaily-flowered brocade (a gift from her husband soon after Wilfrid's
+birth), which had been hidden from the light for several years. But she
+had self-denyingly caused Smithson to furbish it up for the present
+occasion, and was gratified that her virtue did not go unrewarded.</p>
+
+<p>"I knew you liked vivid colours, Uncle George," said she softly.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course I do. Everybody does, that has the use of his eyes. Don't
+believe the humbugs who tell you otherwise. Your upholsterer now will
+show you some wretched washed-out rag of a thing, and try to persuade
+you to cover your chairs with it, because it's <i>ćsthetic</i>! Parcel of
+fools! Not that the fellows who sell the things are fools. They know
+very well which side their bread is buttered." Then glancing across the
+table with his keen, sunken, black eyes, he continued, "That little
+Miranda&mdash;what is it you call her? May? Well, May is a very good name for
+her&mdash;is remarkably fresh and pretty. Good frank forehead. Not a bit like
+her father. Different type. But the other girl is the beauty. Uncommonly
+handsome, really."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad you think May nice," said Mrs. Dormer-Smith. "Of course I was
+anxious that you should like her. She is poor Augustus's only
+child&mdash;only surviving child. You know there were five or six of them,
+but the others all died in babyhood."</p>
+
+<p>Lord Castlecombe did know it, and remembered it now with grim
+satisfaction. At least Augustus had no male heir to come after him.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! Gus made a pretty hash of it altogether," said the old man.</p>
+
+<p>But he did not say it unkindly. He would not willingly have been harsh
+or brutal towards Pauline. She really was a very sweet creature, and
+had, he thought, almost every quality that he could desire in the women
+of his blood. For, it must be observed, Lord Castlecombe did not know
+that Pauline admired ćsthetic furniture, nor that she considered
+Augustus to have been rather hardly treated by the Castlecombes.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course," replied that gentle lady. "My poor brother's unfortunate
+marriage&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Ah! Yes. But that, at all events, seems to have turned out better
+than could have been expected. Lucius tells me there is a grandmother
+who has money, and is generous."</p>
+
+<p>"Not to Augustus, Uncle George; Mrs. Dobbs positively refuses to assist
+Augustus."</p>
+
+<p>"H'm!" grunted Uncle George, his opinion of Mrs. Dobbs's good sense
+taking a sudden leap upward. "Well, my dear, people have to think of
+their own interests, you know." Then, in a louder tone, "Frederick, send
+me that white Hermitage. It's a very fair wine, as times go&mdash;a very fair
+wine indeed."</p>
+
+<p>When the ladies had left the table, young Bransby felt what he would
+have called, in speaking of any one else, "a little out of it." My lord
+talked with Mr. Bragg, Lucius and Frederick were discussing some item of
+club politics, in the midst of which the host would now and again
+interpolate some parenthetical observations addressed to young Bransby,
+obviously as a matter of duty. At length, in declining the claret which
+Mr. Dormer-Smith pushed towards him, Theodore took the opportunity to
+say&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think I might venture to go upstairs? I have a message for Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith about a little commission with which she entrusted me."</p>
+
+<p>"No more wine, really? Oh, my wife will be charmed to see you," replied
+Frederick, with alacrity. And, thereupon, the young man quietly left the
+room.</p>
+
+<p>It was true that he had undertaken a commission for Mrs. Dormer-Smith;
+but he would not have prematurely withdrawn himself from the company of
+a peer and a millionaire, on that account. He was moved by a far
+weightier purpose. He had made up his mind to propose to Miss
+Cheffington; and, if the Fates favoured him, he might do it that very
+evening. For some time past&mdash;before May left Oldchester&mdash;Theodore had
+been sure that he wished to marry her. There were drawbacks. She had no
+money (or at all events he had not reckoned on her having any money),
+and she had connections of a very objectionable kind. But he rather
+dwelt on these things, as proving the disinterested nature of his
+attachment. He was so much in love with May, that he liked to fancy
+himself making some sacrifices on her account. As to her feelings
+towards him, he was not without misgivings. But he watched her in
+society at every opportunity, and had convinced himself that she was, at
+all events, fancy-free. She did not even flirt; but enjoyed herself with
+child-like openness:&mdash;or was bored with equal simplicity and sincerity.
+As to her aunt, Theodore did not doubt that his suit would be favourably
+received by Mrs. Dormer-Smith. She must, long ago, have perceived his
+intentions; and he felt that his being invited to that intimate little
+dinner&mdash;almost a family dinner&mdash;was strong encouragement.</p>
+
+<p>Theodore was fortifying himself with this reflection as he mounted the
+stairs to the drawing-room. His foot fell more and more lingeringly on
+the soft, soundless carpet as he neared the door. He was on an errand
+which can scarcely be undertaken with cool self-possession, even by a
+young gentleman holding the most favourable view of his own merits and
+prospects. One can never certainly reckon on one's soundest views being
+shared. A servant carrying coffee, preceded him, and opened the
+drawing-room door just as he arrived on the landing; and Theodore felt
+positively grateful to the man for, as it were, covering his entrance,
+and relieving him from the embarrassment of walking in alone. He entered
+close behind the footman, and was, for a few moments, unperceived by the
+ladies.</p>
+
+<p>The room was a little dim; all the lamps being shaded with rose-colour.
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith was reclining on a sofa, with closed eyes. But she was
+not asleep; for beside her in a low lounging-chair, and talking to her
+in a subdued voice, sat Constance Hadlow. May was at the other side of
+the room, leaning with both elbows on a little table which stood in a
+recess between the fireplace and a window, and apparently absorbed in a
+book. Theodore thought she made a charming picture, with the soft light
+falling on her fair young face and white dress; and his pulse, which had
+been beating a little quicker than usual all the way upstairs, became
+suddenly still more accelerated.</p>
+
+<p>May looked up.</p>
+
+<p>"Is that you?" she said. "Where are the others?"</p>
+
+<p>It was not a very warm or flattering welcome; but Theodore was scarcely
+conscious of her words. He was thinking what a fortunate chance it was
+which left May isolated, so far away from the other ladies as to be out
+of earshot, if one spoke in a suitably low tone. At the sound of her
+niece's voice Mrs. Dormer-Smith languidly turned her head.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, please don't move, Mrs. Dormer-Smith," said Theodore, speaking in a
+quick, confused way, very different from his accustomed manner. "If I am
+to disturb you, I must go away at once. But I&mdash;I don't take much wine,
+and he said&mdash;Mr. Dormer-Smith said he thought I might&mdash;if you don't mind
+my preceding the other men by a few minutes, I will be as quiet as a
+mouse."</p>
+
+<p>He crossed the room and sat down by May in the shadow of a heavy
+window-curtain.</p>
+
+<p>The hostess murmured a gracious word or two and then closed her eyes
+again. She had been a little vexed by the young man's premature arrival;
+but if he was content to be quiet, and whisper to May, she need not
+stand on ceremony with him. The fact was, she was listening with great
+interest to Constance's account of a feud which had arisen between Lady
+Burlington and Mrs. Griffin's daughter, the duchess. Constance had the
+details at first hand, from Mrs. Griffin herself, on the one side, and
+from Miss Polly Piper on the other: for the feud had arisen about Signor
+Vincenzo Valli. The fashionable singing-master had thrown over one of
+the great ladies for the other, on the occasion of some <i>soirée
+musicale</i>; and the quarrel had been espoused by various personages of
+distinction, whose sayings and doings with regard to it Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith considered to be at once important and entertaining. She
+mentally contrasted with a sigh the intelligence, tact, and correctness
+of judgment which Constance brought to bear on this matter, with the
+nonchalance&mdash;not to say downright levity and indifference&mdash;displayed by
+May. It was impossible to get May to interest herself in the bearings of
+the case. In fact, she had abandoned the discussion, and gone away to
+her book; whereas this provincial girl, with not one quarter of May's
+advantages, understood it perfectly, remembered the names of all the
+people concerned, had a very sufficient knowledge of their relative
+importance, and was able to impart to her hostess a variety of minute
+circumstances, narrated in a low, quiet tone, free from emphasis or
+emotion, which was delightfully soothing.</p>
+
+<p>May, for her part, was by no means pleased to have her reading
+interrupted; but politeness, and the sense that she was, in her degree,
+responsible for the hospitality of the house, impelled her to close her
+book at once, and to turn a good-humoured countenance towards her
+companion.</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't Uncle Frederick coming?" she asked, finding nothing better to say
+at the moment.</p>
+
+<p>"Presently. Are you in a great hurry to see him?" returned Theodore.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh no; I was amusing myself very well."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you angry with me, for interrupting you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh no," answered May again. But this second "Oh no" was not quite so
+hearty as the first.</p>
+
+<p>"May I see what you have been reading?"</p>
+
+<p>She pushed the book towards him.</p>
+
+<p>"'Mansfield Park.' Whose is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Good gracious! You don't mean to say that you don't know?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't read novels," said Theodore loftily, but not severely. It was
+all very well for women to have that weakness.</p>
+
+<p>"But this is an English classic! Mr. Rivers says so. You really ought to
+know who wrote 'Mansfield Park,' even if you have never read it. It is
+one of Jane Austen's works."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! Do you&mdash;do you like it?" said Theodore, scarcely knowing what he
+said. He was playing nervously with a little ivory paper-knife which lay
+on the table, and his whole aspect and manner&mdash;had not both been to some
+extent concealed by the shadow of the velvet curtain&mdash;would have
+betrayed to the most indifferent observer that he was agitated and
+unlike himself. He felt that the precious minutes of this chance
+<i>tęte-ŕ-tęte</i> were passing swiftly; he longed to profit by them; and
+yet, now that the moment had come, he feared to stand the hazard of the
+die, and kept deferring it by idle words.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes! I like it, of course," answered May. "Not so much, perhaps, as
+'Emma,' or 'Pride and Prejudice.' Mr. Rivers advised me to read it."</p>
+
+<p>It was the second time she had mentioned Rivers's name, and this fact
+stung Theodore unaccountably. It acted like a touch of the spur to a
+lagging horse. He burst out, still speaking almost in a whisper, but
+with some heat&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Rivers is a happy fellow! What would I give if you cared enough about
+me to follow my advice!"</p>
+
+<p>"You have only to advise me to do something which I like as much as
+reading Jane Austen," replied May archly. But his tone had struck her
+disagreeably. She peered at him furtively as he sat in the shadow,
+trying in vain to see his countenance clearly. The idea crossed her mind
+that he might have taken too much wine at dinner. But it was so
+repulsive an idea to her, that she felt she ought not to entertain it
+without better foundation.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a most fortunate chance for me to have this&mdash;this blessed
+opportunity," pursued Theodore. (He had hesitated for the epithet, and
+was not by any means satisfied with it when he had got it). "I have long
+been wanting to speak to you."</p>
+
+<p>"To me? Well, that need not have been very difficult," answered May,
+edging a little away, and trying to obtain a good view of his face.</p>
+
+<p>"Pardon me. It is not easy to have the privilege of a private word with
+Miss Cheffington. When we meet in society, you are surrounded, as is but
+too natural. And latterly, in your own home, you have been a good deal
+engrossed. I could not say what I have to say before&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>He glanced over at Constance Hadlow as he spoke. This was an immense
+relief to May who had been growing more and more uncomfortable, and
+vaguely apprehensive. She thought she understood it all now. Conny had
+been treating him with coolness and neglect. She herself had noticed
+this, and now he wanted to enlist the sympathies of Conny's friend.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I see!" she exclaimed. "It's something about Constance that you
+wish to say to me."</p>
+
+<p>"About Constance? Ah, May, you are cruel! You know too well your power!"
+he said, endeavouring to give a pathetic intonation to his voice, but
+producing only an odd, croaking, throaty sound. Then May decided, in her
+own mind, that he <i>had</i> been taking too much wine; and, angry and
+disgusted, she tried to rise from her chair and leave him. But she was
+hemmed in by the little table, and on her first movement, Theodore took
+hold of the skirt of her dress to detain her. May turned round upon him
+with a pale, indignant face, and flashing eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't touch my dress, if you please. I wish to go away."</p>
+
+<p>"Miss Cheffington&mdash;May&mdash;you must hear what I have to say now. You must
+know it without my saying, for I have loved you so long and so
+devotedly. But I have a right to be heard."</p>
+
+<p>May was thunderstruck. But she perceived in a moment that she had, in
+one sense, done him injustice&mdash;he had not drunk too much wine. But
+this&mdash;&mdash;! This was worse! How far easier it would have been to forgive
+Theodore if he had even got tipsy&mdash;just a little tipsy&mdash;instead of
+making such a declaration! She supposed she had no right to be
+disgusted; she had heard that properly behaved young ladies always took
+an offer of marriage to be a great honour. But she was disgusted,
+nevertheless; and so far from feeling honoured, she was conscious of a
+distressing sense of humiliation. She tried, however, to keep up her
+dignity, and at the same time to say what was right to this&mdash;this
+dreadful young man, who had suddenly presented himself in the odious
+light of wanting to make love to her.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, please don't say any more. I'm very much obliged to you. I mean I'm
+extremely sorry. But I beg you won't say another word, and forget all
+about it as quickly as possible."</p>
+
+<p>"Forget it! Nay, that is out of the question. I could not if I would."</p>
+
+<p>Theodore began to recover his self-command as May lost hers. She was
+agitated and trembling. Well, he would not have had her listen to his
+words unmoved. She was very young and inexperienced. And he had, it
+seemed, taken her by surprise.</p>
+
+<p>"Is it possible," he continued softly, "that you were quite unprepared
+to hear&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Quite unprepared. But that makes no difference. And you really must
+allow me to go away. I'm very sorry, indeed, but I can't stay here
+another moment."</p>
+
+<p>"Am I so repulsive?" said he, with a sentimental beseeching glance. But
+he met an expression in her face which made him add quickly, in quite
+another tone, "Well, well, I will prefer your wishes to my own," at the
+same time drawing himself and his chair to one side.</p>
+
+<p>She had looked almost capable of leaping over the table to escape. May
+brushed past him, and darted away out of the room without another word.</p>
+
+<p>Theodore seized hold of the book she had left behind her, and bent his
+head over it. He saw not one word on the printed page beneath his eyes,
+but it saved him from appearing as confused as he felt. Had he been
+rejected? And, if so, was it a rejection which he was bound to consider
+final? Or had he received no real answer at all? Gradually, as his
+throat grew less dry, his head less hot, and his brain more clear, he
+arrived at the conclusion that he had virtually had no answer. May was
+little more than a child, and he had startled her. Then he remembered
+that word of May's, "It is about Constance you wish to speak to me."
+Could she be under any misapprehension as to his position with regard to
+Constance? The idea was fraught with comfort. That, at least, he could
+set right, and without delay. He rose and walked across the room at once
+to Mrs. Dormer-Smith's sofa.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment the procession of men, headed by Lord Castlecombe,
+arrived from the dining-room. Constance glided away, leaving her vacant
+chair for Theodore, who immediately occupied it, thus cutting off Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith from the rest of the company. That lady looked anxiously
+across his shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Would</i> you," she said to Theodore, "would you be so very good as to
+ask my husband to inquire where Miss Cheffington is? My uncle would like
+to talk to her, I know; and&mdash;&mdash;Oh, there she is! Thanks. Don't trouble
+yourself."</p>
+
+<p>May had returned to the drawing-room; but instead of going near her
+noble grand-uncle, she perversely seated herself in a remote nook beside
+Mr. Bragg, with whom she presently began a conversation, keeping her
+face persistently turned away from every one else. Her noble grand-uncle
+did not seem to care. His lordship marched straight up to Miss Hadlow,
+and stood before her, coffee-cup in hand, with his curious air of
+perfectly knowing how to behave like a fine gentleman whenever he should
+think it worth while. Lucius and Frederick were continuing their club
+discussion, which possessed the advantage&mdash;for persons of leisure&mdash;of
+having neither beginning nor end, and of being indefinitely elastic.
+Pauline took in the whole room with one comprehensive glance, and then
+leant back against her cushions with a sigh, which, if not contented,
+was resigned. She made no effort to recall May to her duty towards Lord
+Castlecombe.</p>
+
+<p>"You must forgive me, Mr. Bransby," she said graciously, "if I have been
+selfish in engrossing Miss Hadlow. If you don't take care, my uncle will
+do the same! Lord Castlecombe admires her very much."</p>
+
+<p>Theodore cleared his throat, settled his cravat with a rather unsteady
+hand, and looked at her as solemnly as if he were about to commence an
+oration. But all he managed to say was&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"There has been a mistake, Mrs. Dormer-Smith."</p>
+
+<p>"A mistake?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. I have some reason to believe that you are under a wrong
+impression about me."</p>
+
+<p>His hostess faintly raised her eyebrows, and answered with a smile, "I
+hope not: for all my impressions of you are very pleasant."</p>
+
+<p>Theodore bowed gravely. "You are very kind," said he. "It is important
+to me to set this matter right. You perhaps imagine&mdash;some one may have
+told you that I and Miss Hadlow&mdash;there has been, I believe, some idle
+gossip coupling our names together."</p>
+
+<p>"Not very unnaturally," said Mrs. Dormer-Smith, still smiling. But she
+began to wonder what he could be driving at.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I do think it hard that one cannot be on friendly terms with a
+person one has known all one's life without being supposed to be engaged
+to her."</p>
+
+<p>"Or him," put in Pauline quietly.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course. I mean, of course, that it is particularly unfair to the
+lady. But it puts a man in a false position too. I have just been
+speaking to May&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Then, in an instant, the true state of the case flashed on Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith, to her unspeakable consternation. This, then, was her
+model young man, whom she had pronounced to be so "nice" and so "quiet;"
+and who, moreover, had always expressed the most proper sentiments on
+the subject of unequal marriages! She felt herself to be of all ladies
+the most persecuted by fate.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh," she said, coldly interrupting him; "it was scarcely necessary to
+say anything to Miss Cheffington on the subject."</p>
+
+<p>But Theodore was beyond taking heed of any snub or check of that kind.
+"One moment," he said, breathing quickly. "If you will allow me to
+finish what I was saying, you will see&mdash;&mdash;I am, as you must have
+perceived, deeply attached to your niece."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no," protested Mrs. Dormer-Smith faintly. "I never perceived it."</p>
+
+<p>"Then that must have been because you were looking in a wrong direction.
+You were misled about Constance Hadlow; otherwise, the nature of my
+attentions could scarcely have escaped you."</p>
+
+<p>"And you say that you have been speaking to&mdash;to my niece?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have this evening told her how devotedly I love her."</p>
+
+<p>"Good heavens!" whispered Mrs. Dormer-Smith, letting her head sink back
+among the sofa-cushions. "And what was her reply?"</p>
+
+<p>"Her reply was&mdash;well, practically, it was no reply at all. May was
+agitated and startled, and I think she had believed that foolish gossip
+about my engagement to Miss Hadlow. But I trust to you to explain&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Pray, Mr. Bransby, say no more. I regret extremely that this should
+have happened."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, but I don't know that I have any reason to despair," he answered
+naďvely.</p>
+
+<p>This was almost more than Pauline could endure. She got up from the
+sofa, and plaintively murmuring, "Say no more; pray say no more. I
+really am not equal to it at present," fairly walked away from him.</p>
+
+<p>That night when the guests were gone, Mrs. Dormer-Smith sent for her
+husband to her dressing-room, and revealed to him what young Bransby had
+said. His indignation at the young man's presumption was equal to her
+own: although not wholly on the same grounds.</p>
+
+<p>"You will have to talk to him, Frederick," she said. "When he went away
+he said something about requesting an early interview. <i>I</i> cannot stand
+any more of it. It upsets me too frightfully. Of course, you won't
+quarrel with him. Just give him politely to understand that it is out of
+the question. Fortunately, May appears to have been as much <i>outrée</i> by
+this preposterous proposal as I could desire. May behaved very nicely
+to-night altogether. I was pleased with her."</p>
+
+<p>"H'm! Oh yes; but I thought she might have paid a little more attention
+to your uncle. She never went near him after we came upstairs. I think
+she talked to old Bragg more than to any one else."</p>
+
+<p>"Frederick," said his wife slowly, "do you know that Lady Hautenville is
+making a dead set at Mr. Bragg for Felicia?"</p>
+
+<p>"Is she?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. Mrs. Griffin told me all about it. They are moving heaven and
+earth to catch him."</p>
+
+<p>"Really? Well, <i>bonne chance</i>!"</p>
+
+<p>"It would be <i>mauvaise chance</i> for him, poor man! Felicia has a
+frightful temper, and incredibly extravagant habits. She must be over
+her eyebrows in debt. But I fancy Mr. Bragg has better taste."</p>
+
+<p>Her meaning tone made her husband look at her with sudden earnestness.
+"What do you mean?" he asked brusquely.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dormer-Smith put her hand to her forehead. "Let me entreat you not
+to raise your voice!" she said. "I have had quite enough to try my
+nerves this evening. I mean that I think Mr. Bragg is interested in May.
+It would be a splendid match for her."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>What?</i>" cried Frederick, disregarding his wife's request, and raising
+his voice considerably. "Old Bragg!"</p>
+
+<p>Pauline turned on him impressively. "Frederick," she said, speaking with
+patient mildness, as one imparting higher lore to some untutored savage,
+"Mr. Bragg is barely fifty-four; and his income&mdash;entirely within his own
+control&mdash;is over sixty thousand a year."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Theodore did not take his rejection meekly. In his interview with Mr.
+Dormer-Smith he pressed hard to see May again, and insinuated that she
+was under undue influence. Moreover, he conveyed, with stiff civility,
+that he considered himself to have been badly treated by the whole
+family, who had first encouraged his attentions and then rejected them.</p>
+
+<p>"He really is a fearful young man!" said May to her aunt on hearing the
+report of the interview. "What does he mean by insisting on 'an answer
+from my own lips'? Could he not believe what Uncle Frederick said?
+Besides, he has had his answer from me. The truth is, he is so
+outrageously conceited that he can't believe any young woman would
+refuse him of her own free will."</p>
+
+<p>"The idea of his dreaming for an instant that <i>I</i> encouraged him is too
+preposterous," said Mrs. Dormer-Smith, shaking her head languidly. "I am
+sadly disappointed. I thought him quite a nice person. I fancied he had
+sufficient <i>savoir vivre</i> to understand&mdash;&mdash;However, it is one more proof
+that one can never reckon on half-bred people who don't know the world."</p>
+
+<p>It was privately a great relief to May to know that her aunt took her
+part in this affair. Aunt Pauline's motives and views were still very
+mysterious to May on many points. She did not even now fully understand
+the grounds of her aunt's virtuous indignation against Theodore Bransby,
+although she was thankful for it. "Aunt Pauline thought him good enough
+for Conny," said May to herself innocently; "and Conny is so beautiful,
+and so much admired!"</p>
+
+<p>It was true that&mdash;thanks, in the first place, to Mrs. Griffin&mdash;Constance
+had enjoyed a more brilliant season than she had ever ventured to dream
+of. Fashionable houses, of which she had read in the newspapers, but
+which had appeared to her as unattainable as though they were in another
+planet, had opened their doors to her; and old connections of her
+mother's family, finding her in the aforesaid houses, discovered that
+she was a charming girl, and were delighted to open <i>their</i> doors to
+her. She had accepted several invitations to country houses, and would
+probably not be at home again until late in the autumn.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Griffin watched this young lady's progress with considerable
+interest. She opined that Miss Hadlow was a shining instance of the
+advantages of "race."</p>
+
+<p>"In spite of having been brought up in the pokiest way in some
+provincial town, as I understand, that girl has a thoroughbred
+self-possession quite remarkable," said Mrs. Griffin. "She never makes a
+blunder. You are never nervous about her. She has no trace of that loud,
+bouncing style, which I detest, and which so many underbred-people take
+up nowadays, mistakenly imagining it to be the proper thing. She doesn't
+'go in' for anything. And," added Mrs. Griffin musingly, "there's a
+wonderful look of her grandfather, poor Charley Rivers, about the brow
+and eyes."</p>
+
+<p>The season was rapidly drawing to a close when Mrs. Dobbs received two
+letters; one from her grand-daughter, and the other from Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith. Jo Weatherhead, arriving one evening at his usual hour in
+Jessamine Cottage, was told by his old friend that she had had a letter
+from May, and that she meant to read him a portion of it. No proposition
+could have been more welcome to Mr. Weatherhead. He drew his chair up to
+the grate&mdash;filled now with fresh boughs instead of hot coals; but Jo
+kept his place in the chimney-corner winter and summer&mdash;and prepared to
+listen.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dobbs read as follows:&mdash;"You must know, dear granny, that I told
+Aunt Pauline yesterday that I really must go home at the end of this
+season. She has been very kind and so has Uncle Frederick; but granny is
+granny, and home is home."</p>
+
+<p>Here Mr. Weatherhead slapped his leg with his hand, and took his pipe
+out of his mouth as though about to speak; but on Mrs. Dobbs holding up
+her hand for silence, he put his pipe back again, and slowly drew his
+forefinger and thumb down the not inconsiderable length of his nose.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dobbs read on: "To my amazement, Aunt Pauline answered that it was
+my father's wish that I should remain with her altogether! That is not
+my wish. And it isn't yours&mdash;is it, granny dear? And if we two are
+agreed, I cannot think my father would object. I mean to write to him
+about it. I should have done so already, but I have not his address, and
+Aunt Pauline can't or won't give it to me. Please send it. I shall tell
+my father just what I feel. I don't care for what Aunt Pauline calls
+Society. I was happy enough as long as it was only like being at the
+play, with the prospect of going home when it was over, and living my
+real life. But to go on with this sort of thing and nothing else, year
+in, year out&mdash;it would be like being expected to live on wax fruit, or
+those glazed wooden turkeys I remember in a box of toys you gave me long
+ago. Please answer directly, directly. There's an invitation for me to
+go in August to a place in the Highlands, where Mrs. Griffin's daughter
+has a shooting-box. At least, I suppose it is Mrs. Griffin's daughter's
+husband who has the shooting-box. Only nobody talks much about the duke,
+and everybody talks a great deal about the duchess." ("Fancy our Miranda
+among the dukes and duchesses!" put in Jo Weatherhead, softly. And he
+smacked his lips as though the very sound of the words had a relish for
+him.) "Aunt Pauline wants to go to Carlsbad; Uncle Frederick is to join
+a fishing-party in Norway; the children are to be sent to a farmhouse;
+and Mrs. Griffin has offered to take care of me in the Highlands. But I
+would far, <i>far</i> rather come back to dear Oldchester, and be amongst
+people who know me, and care for me, and whom I love with all my heart.
+Do write and ask for me back, granny darling! And mind you give me
+papa's address. I am resolved to write to him, whatever Aunt Pauline may
+say. He is <i>my</i> father, and I have a right to tell him my feelings."</p>
+
+<p>"That's all of any consequence," said Mrs. Dobbs, slowly refolding the
+letter. "Oh, of course she writes at the end 'Love to Uncle Jo.' She
+never forgets that."</p>
+
+<p>There was a brief silence. Mr. Weatherhead, who was very tender-hearted,
+blew his nose and wiped his eyes unaffectedly. "Of course you'll have
+the child down, Sarah," said he; "anyway, for a time. She's pining,
+that's where it is; she's pining for a sight of you."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dobbs sat choking down her emotion. She had cried privately over
+that letter herself, but she was resolved to discuss it now with
+judicial calmness; and it was provoking that Jo endangered her judicial
+tone of mind by that foolish, soft-hearted way of his, which was
+terribly catching. But she loved Jo for it, nevertheless, and scolded
+him so as to let him know that she loved him.</p>
+
+<p>"It's a good thing your feelings are righter and kinder than most
+folks', Jo Weatherhead, for you're sadly led by 'em, my friend. If you'd
+wait and hear the whole case, you might help me with your advice." Then
+Mrs. Dobbs pulled another letter from her pocket, and handed it to her
+brother-in-law. This second epistle was from Mrs. Dormer-Smith, and ran
+thus:&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"<span class="smcap">Dear Mrs. Dobbs</span>,</p>
+
+<p>"I think it right to let you know how very important it is for
+May not to miss her visit to Glengowrie. There will be among
+the guests there a gentleman who has been paying her a good
+deal of attention&mdash;a man of princely fortune. I have some
+reason to think that May is disposed to look favourably on this
+gentleman; but he must be allowed time and opportunity to
+declare himself. No better opportunity could possibly be found
+than at Glengowrie; and I may tell you, <i>in confidence</i>, that
+the duchess has, at my friend Mrs. Griffin's request, invited
+them both <i>on purpose</i>. I trust, therefore, that, in my niece's
+interests, you will induce her not to relinquish this chance.
+As to her writing to her father, it is absurd, and would only
+irritate my brother after his giving me <i>carte blanche</i> to do
+the best I can for her. If the visit to Glengowrie turns out as
+we hope, I shall have procured for her a settlement which many
+a peer's daughter will envy. My husband and I have such
+confidence in your good sense, that we are sure you will second
+our efforts as far as you can. Of course you will consider this
+letter <i>strictly private</i>, and will not, above all, mention it
+to May.</p>
+
+<p>"I am, dear Mrs. Dobbs,</p>
+
+<p>"Yours very truly,</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">P. Dormer-Smith</span>."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>"You see that alters the case, Jo," said Mrs. Dobbs, when he had
+finished reading the letter.</p>
+
+<p>Jo nodded thoughtfully, and rubbed his nose. "Of course, what you want,
+Sarah, is for the child to be happy. That's the main thing," said he.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course I want her to be happy. And I want her to have her rights,"
+answered Mrs. Dobbs, setting her lips firmly.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! Yes, to be sure! Her rights, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"My son-in-law brought no good to any of us in himself. If his name can
+do any good to his daughter, she ought to have the benefit of it&mdash;and
+she shall."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, ay. Her rights, eh? To be sure. Only&mdash;only it ain't always quite
+easy to know what a person's rights are, is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"I know well enough what May's rights are," answered Mrs. Dobbs sharply.</p>
+
+<p>"Nor yet it ain't quite easy to be sure whether they'd enjoy their
+rights when they got 'em," pursued Jo, with a thoughtful air. "Everybody
+likes to be happy. There can be no manner of doubt about <i>that</i>. And
+somehow the dukes and duchesses don't seem to be enough to make Miranda
+quite&mdash;not <i>quite</i> happy, humph?"</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder you should confess so much of your dear aristocracy!" returned
+Mrs. Dobbs with some heat.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you see, Sarah, it may be&mdash;I only say it <i>may</i> be&mdash;that the way
+Miranda has been brought up, living here in the holidays in such a
+simple kind of style, and all that, makes her feel not altogether at
+home among these tip-top folks."</p>
+
+<p>"If you mean she isn't good enough for them, that's nonsense; downright
+nonsense. And I wonder at a man with your brains talking such stuff! If
+you mean they're not good enough for her, that's another pair of shoes.
+As to manners&mdash;why, do you imagine that that aunt of hers, who&mdash;though
+she <i>is</i> a fool, is a well-born fool, and a well-bred one&mdash;would be
+taking May about, presenting her at Court, and introducing her to the
+grandest society, if the child didn't do her credit? Not she! I'm
+astonished at you, Jo! I thought you knew the world a little bit better
+than that."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dobbs leant back in her chair, and fanned her flushed face with her
+handkerchief. Mr. Weatherhead, having smoked his pipe out, put it in its
+case, and then sat silent, slowly stroking his nose, and casting
+deprecating glances at his hostess. At length the latter resumed, in a
+calmer tone, "But May's future is what I've got to think of. I'm an old
+woman. I can leave her next to nothing when I die. I want her to marry.
+All women ought to marry. Nobody in my own walk of life would suit her.
+And what gentleman fit to match with her was ever likely to come and
+look for her in my parlour in Friar's Lane? You ought to know all about
+it, Jo Weatherhead. We've gone over the whole ground together often
+enough."</p>
+
+<p>They had done so. But Jo Weatherhead understood very well that his old
+friend was talking now, not to convince him, but herself. "Well, Sarah,"
+he said, "there seems a good chance for May to marry well, according to
+this good lady. 'Princely fortune,' she says. That sounds grand, don't
+it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! And it isn't a few thousands that Mrs. Dormer-Smith would call a
+princely fortune."</p>
+
+<p>"Not a few thousands you think, eh, Sarah? Tens of thousands I shouldn't
+wonder, humph?" And Mr. Weatherhead pursed up his mouth, and poked
+forward his nose eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a doubt of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Bless my stars! To think of our little Miranda!&mdash;and her aunt says that
+May is disposed to look favourably on the gentleman."</p>
+
+<p>"So she says. But I can tell you that May doesn't care a button for him
+at present."</p>
+
+<p>"Lord! How do you know, Sarah?"</p>
+
+<p>"How do I know? That's so like a man! No girl in love would give up the
+chance of meeting her lover, as May wants to give it up. If she'd rather
+come to Oldchester than go to Scotland, it is because&mdash;so far, at any
+rate&mdash;she doesn't care a button for him."</p>
+
+<p>"I never thought of that. But perhaps, Sarah, she doesn't know that he
+is to be invited."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dobbs seemed struck by this remark. "Well now, that's an idea, Jo!"
+said she, nodding her head. "It may be so. They seem to have had the
+sense not to talk to her about the matter. May's just the kind of girl
+to fling up her heels and break away, if she suspected any scheming to
+make a fine match for her. But she might come to care for him in time.
+There's no reason in nature why a rich man shouldn't be nice enough to
+be fallen in love with. And by his taking to May&mdash;and she without a
+penny&mdash;I'm inclined to think well of the young man."</p>
+
+<p>After some further consideration it was agreed that Mrs. Dobbs should
+write and propose a middle term: in the interval between her aunt's
+departure for Carlsbad, and the date of her invitation to Glengowrie,
+May should come down to Oldchester, on condition that she afterwards
+paid her visit to the Duchess. This arrangement would be a joy to Mrs.
+Dobbs, would satisfy May's affectionate longing, and could not prejudice
+the girl's future prospects. A letter to May was written, as well as one
+to Mrs. Dormer-Smith. This letter was very short, and may as well be
+given.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"<span class="smcap">Dear Mrs. Dormer-Smith</span>,</p>
+
+<p>"I have to acknowledge yours of the 5th. I agree with you that
+it would be a pity for my grand-daughter not to accept the
+invitation you speak of. Some good may come of it, and I do not
+think that any harm can come. If May spends the three or four
+weeks with me after you start for the Continent, I will
+undertake for her to meet the lady who is to take charge of her
+to Scotland, at any place that may be agreed upon. I wrote to
+May by this post, and she will tell you what I propose. With
+regard to her father's address, I have had none for some time
+past, except, 'Post-Office, Brussels.' This much I shall tell
+her, as I think she has a right to know it. You need not
+disturb yourself about her writing to her father, as I think,
+from what I know of Captain Cheffington, that he is not likely
+to answer her letter.</p>
+
+<p>"I am, dear Mrs. Dormer-Smith,</p>
+
+<p>"Yours truly,</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Sarah Dobbs</span>."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>The proposal was accepted, and within a fortnight after the despatch of
+this letter, May Cheffington was in Oldchester once more.</p>
+
+
+<h3>END OF VOL. I.</h3>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of That Unfortunate Marriage, Vol. 1(of 3), by 
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of That Unfortunate Marriage, Vol. 1(of 3), by
+Frances Eleanor Trollope
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: That Unfortunate Marriage, Vol. 1(of 3)
+
+Author: Frances Eleanor Trollope
+
+Release Date: April 24, 2011 [EBook #35943]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THAT UNFORTUNATE MARRIAGE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Delphine Lettau, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                     THAT UNFORTUNATE MARRIAGE.
+
+                     BY FRANCES ELEANOR TROLLOPE
+
+AUTHOR OF "AUNT MARGARET'S TROUBLE," "A CHARMING FELLOW," "LIKE SHIPS
+UPON THE SEA," ETC.
+
+
+    _IN THREE VOLUMES._
+    VOL. I.
+
+    LONDON:
+    RICHARD BENTLEY AND SON
+
+    Publishers in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen.
+
+    1888.
+
+    (_All rights reserved._)
+
+
+
+
+THAT UNFORTUNATE MARRIAGE.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+Augustus Cheffington had made an unfortunate marriage. That was admitted
+on all hands. When he was a Cornet in a cavalry regiment quartered in
+the ancient Cathedral City of Oldchester, he ran away with pretty Susan
+Dobbs, the daughter of his landlady. Augustus's friends and family--all
+the Cheffingtons, the Dormer-Smiths, the Castlecombes--deplored this
+rash step. It was never mentioned, either at the time or afterwards,
+without expressions of deep commiseration for him.
+
+Nevertheless, from one point of view there were compensations. This
+unfortunate marriage was made responsible for a great many shortcomings,
+which would otherwise have been attributed more directly to Augustus
+Cheffington himself. For example, it was said to account for his failure
+in his profession. He had chosen it chiefly because he very much liked
+the brilliant uniform of a certain crack regiment (it was in the days
+before competitive examinations); and he had no other aptitude for it
+than a showy seat on horseback, and a person well calculated to set off
+the works of the regimental tailor. But when years had passed, and he
+had remained undistinguished, his friends said, "What could one expect
+after Augustus's unfortunate marriage?"
+
+After a time he sold out of the Army, and went to live on the Continent,
+where very shortly he had squandered nearly all his money, and fallen
+into shady paths of life; and again there was a chorus of "I told you
+so!" and a general sense that all this was due to the unfortunate
+marriage.
+
+Finally, his wife died, leaving him with one little girl, the sole
+survivor of five children; and he came to England with the idea of
+securing some place which should be suited to his birth, his abilities,
+his habits, and his inclinations. No such place was found. Several
+members of the Peerage were applied to, to exert their influence with
+"Government" on behalf of so well-connected a personage as Augustus
+Cheffington. But "Government" behaved very badly, "Government" was
+insensible to his claims. His claims, it is true, were not small. They
+required a maximum of remuneration for a minimum of labour. He was
+unable, also, to furnish any proofs of his fitness for one or two posts
+which happened to be vacant, except the undeniable fact of his
+cousinship with all the Cheffingtons and Castlecombes in England; and to
+this kind of qualification "Government," it appeared, attached no
+importance at all.
+
+He paid a round of visits at country houses, and renewed his
+long-disused acquaintance with a score of more or less distant
+relations. But he was not popular. It has been observed that
+unsuccessful men very often are not popular. "Gus Cheffington has
+dropped out of the running," men said. "A fellow naturally gets
+forgotten when he has kept out of sight for years--and besides, he makes
+himself so deuced disagreeable! He's always grumbling."
+
+This latter accusation was true. If England had shown no maternal
+affection for her long-absent son, the son returned her hard-heartedness
+with interest. Indeed, in his case, it turned into active resentment. He
+got tired of country houses and town mansions where he was received but
+coolly. He was sarcastic and bitter on the failure of his connections to
+procure him a lucrative sinecure. He considered that the country was
+travelling downhill at break-neck speed, and, for his part, he did not
+feel inclined to move his little finger to impede that fatal course.
+Moreover, the black coffee was, nine times out of ten, utterly
+undrinkable. One day he shook the dust of England's inhospitable shores
+from off his feet, and returned to his shady haunts on the
+Continent--its irresponsibility, its _cafes_, its boulevards, and its
+billiards. And when he was fairly gone, all the Cheffingtons, and the
+Dormer-Smiths, and the Castlecombes were softened into sympathy; and
+with much shrugging of shoulders and shaking of heads declared that it
+was a heartrending spectacle to behold such a man as Augustus
+Cheffington ruined, crushed, eclipsed, destroyed by his unfortunate
+marriage.
+
+When he went back to Belgium, he left behind him at school in Brighton
+his little motherless girl Miranda, familiarly called May. The
+Honourable Mrs. Cheffington, Augustus's mother, had advised her son to
+give the little girl a first-rate education, so as to mitigate as far as
+possible one disastrous effect of the unfortunate marriage, which was,
+that May had a plebeian mother. Mrs. Cheffington, known throughout all
+the ramifications of the family as "the dowager," was a hard-featured,
+selfish old woman, with a black wig, a pale yellow skin, and frowning
+eyebrows. She lived on a pension which would cease at her death, and she
+was supposed by some of her relations to be making a purse. They thought
+it would turn out that the dowager had considerable savings to leave
+behind her; and they founded this supposition on her never giving away
+anything during her lifetime. Mrs. Dormer-Smith, Augustus Cheffington's
+sister, declared that her mother made one exception to her rule of
+refusing assistance to any of them. She believed that Augustus, who had
+always been her favourite child, profited by the dowager's indulgence,
+and managed to extract some money from her tightly-closed purse. And it
+certainly was true that the old lady had paid May's school bills--so far
+as they had been paid at all.
+
+But one day the Honourable Anne Miranda Cheffington took off her black
+wig for the last time, and relaxed her frowning eyebrows. The
+announcement of her death appeared in the first column of the _Times_,
+there was a brief obituary notice in a fashionable journal, and her
+place knew her no more.
+
+Augustus hastened home to England on the receipt of a telegram from his
+sister. That is to say, he said he hastened; but he did not arrive in
+town until some hours after the funeral was over. Mr. Dormer-Smith was
+somewhat irritated by this tardiness, and observed to his wife that it
+was just like Augustus to keep out of the way while there was any
+trouble to be taken, and only arrive in time to be present at the
+reading of the will. Any expectations that Augustus might have founded
+on his mother's reluctance to give during her lifetime were quite
+disappointed. The dowager had no money to bequeath. She had spent nearly
+the last shilling of her quarter's income. In fact, there was not enough
+to cover the expenses of the funeral, which were finally paid several
+months afterwards by Mr. Dormer-Smith.
+
+It seemed almost superfluous, under the circumstances, to have made a
+will at all. But the will was there. The chief item in it was a quantity
+of yellow old lace, extremely dirty, and much in need of mending, which
+was solemnly bequeathed by Mrs. Cheffington to her daughter, Pauline
+Augusta Clarissa Dormer-Smith. It was set forth at some length how that
+the lace, being an heirloom of the Cheffingtons, should have descended
+in due course to the wife of the eldest son, or, failing that, to the
+eldest daughter of the eldest son; and how this tradition was
+disregarded in the present case by reason of peculiar and unprecedented
+family circumstances. This was the dowager's Parthian dart at the
+unfortunate marriage. There was little other property, except the dingy
+old furniture of Mrs. Cheffington's house at Richmond, and a few books,
+treating chiefly of fortification and gunnery, which had belonged to
+Lieutenant-General the Honourable Augustus Vane Cheffington, the
+dowager's long-deceased husband.
+
+"What the----What on earth my mother did with her money _I_ can't
+conjecture!" exclaimed Augustus, staring out of the window of his
+brother-in-law's drawing-room the day after the funeral.
+
+"She didn't give it to us, Augustus," returned Mrs. Dormer-Smith
+plaintively. "Even when my boy Cyril went to see her at the end of the
+holidays, just before returning to Harrow, she never tipped him. Once I
+think she gave him five shillings. But it's a long time ago; he was a
+little fellow in petticoats."
+
+"Then what _did_ she do with her money?" repeated Augustus, with an
+increasingly gloomy scowl at the gardens of the Kensington square on
+which his eyes rested.
+
+"I believe that, with the exception of what she paid for May's
+schooling, she spent it on herself."
+
+"Spent it on herself? That's impossible! It was a very good income
+indeed for a solitary woman, and she lived very quietly."
+
+"You may get through a good deal of money even living quietly, when you
+don't deny yourself anything you can get. For instance, she never would
+drive one horse; she had been accustomed to a pair all her life."
+
+Augustus checked an oath on his very lips, and, instead of swearing
+according to his first impulse, observed with solemnity that he knew not
+how his mother had been able to reconcile such selfishness with her
+conscience, and hoped her last moments had not been troubled by remorse.
+
+"Oh, I don't think mamma felt anything of that kind," said Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith in her slow, gentle tones; "she was always complaining of
+other people's unreasonable expectations."
+
+The brother and sister fell silent for a while after this, each being
+immersed in private meditation. That very morning a circumstance had
+occurred which had put the last touch to Augustus's disappointment and
+exasperation. The Brighton schoolmistress had sent Miss Miranda
+Cheffington to London in the charge of a maid-servant, and the little
+girl had arrived at her aunt's house in a cab with her worldly
+possessions, namely, a small black trunk full of clothes, and a
+canary-bird in a cage. The schoolmistress wrote civilly, but firmly, to
+the effect that, after the lamented decease of the Honourable Mrs.
+Cheffington, she could not undertake to keep May any longer; feeling
+sure, by repeated experience, that all applications for payment made to
+Captain Cheffington would be in vain, and understanding that Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith declined to charge herself with her niece's education.
+Captain Cheffington had been violently angry, and had denounced the
+schoolmistress--Mrs. Drax--as an insolent, grasping, vulgar harpy. But
+Mrs. Drax was out of his reach, and there was May, thirteen years old,
+with a healthy appetite, and limbs rapidly outgrowing her clothes.
+
+Augustus continued to glare moodily at the square for some minutes. His
+sister leaned her cheek on her hand, and looked at the fire. At length
+Augustus, composing his face to a less savage expression, turned away
+from the window, sat down opposite to his sister, and said, pensively--
+
+"We must arrange something for May, Pauline."
+
+"You must, indeed, Augustus."
+
+"We ought to consider her future."
+
+"Yes; I think you ought, Augustus."
+
+"The girl is at a hobbledehoy age. It's a perplexing position. So
+difficult to know what to do with her."
+
+"There is no age at which it is so awkward to dress a girl. I have
+sometimes regretted not having daughters; but upon my word there must be
+a dreadful amount of harass about their clothes between twelve and
+fifteen--or in some cases sixteen."
+
+"It's impossible for me to have her with me in Brussels. The way I
+live--am obliged to live _malgre moi_--she'd upset all my arrangements
+and habits. In short, you can see for yourself, Pauline, that it would
+be out of the question."
+
+"No doubt it would be very bad for the girl."
+
+"Of course! That's what I mean. Wouldn't it be the best plan after all,
+Pauline, to leave her here with you? She could have private masters----"
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith shook her head.
+
+"At my expense, of course," added Augustus. "I must screw and scrape and
+make some sacrifices no doubt, but----"
+
+"It really won't do, Augustus. I assure you it won't do. Frederick will
+_not_ have it. He talked to me after luncheon. It isn't the least use."
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith continued plaintively to shake her head as she spoke,
+and to look with gentle melancholy at the fire.
+
+"H'm! Frederick is very kind. But let us discuss the thing in a friendly
+spirit. If I pay for her clothing and education, surely the expense of
+her board wouldn't ruin you and Frederick!"
+
+"No; but the butcher and the baker are the least part of the matter. It
+isn't as if May were the daughter of one's housekeeper or one's
+governess. She is a Cheffington, you know. So many things are required
+for a girl with her connections; and as to your paying for her masters,
+of course we know you wouldn't, Augustus."
+
+"Upon my soul you are civil and sisterly!"
+
+"Well, I dare say you would mean to pay, but you wouldn't. It would be
+sure to turn out so, don't you know? Things always have been like that
+with you, Augustus."
+
+"Then what the devil do you think I'm to do?"
+
+"Pray don't be violent! I really cannot bear any display of violence.
+You should remember that it is scarcely a week since poor mamma was
+taken from us."
+
+"I don't see what that has to do with it. Miranda hasn't been taken from
+us; that's the point."
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith making no answer, her brother continued, after a
+moment or two--
+
+"You are fertile in objections, but you don't seem to have any plan to
+suggest."
+
+"Well, an idea did occur to me. I don't know whether you would like it."
+
+"Like it! Probably not. But I am used to sacrifice my inclinations."
+
+"Well, I thought that you might put May into a school in France or
+Germany, or somewhere, letting her give lessons in English in return for
+her board and so on. There are plenty of schools where they do that sort
+of thing. It wouldn't so much matter abroad, because people wouldn't
+know who she was. You might tide over a year or two in that way."
+
+Augustus got up from his chair. "My daughter a drudge in a Continental
+school?" he exclaimed indignantly.
+
+"If you chose a place little frequented by English, I don't think people
+would know."
+
+There was a short silence. Then Augustus said angrily, "I'll take the
+girl back with me. She must share my home, such as it is. We will
+neither of us trouble you or Frederick much longer. I shall start for
+Ostend by the morning mail to-morrow." And he dashed out of the room
+emitting a muffled roll of oaths, and jarring the door in a way which
+made Mrs. Dormer-Smith clasp her forehead with both hands, and lean back
+shrinkingly in her chair.
+
+But when the morrow came, Captain Cheffington and his daughter did not
+go to Ostend. When they had got out of sight of the Dormer-Smiths'
+house, he ordered the cabman to drive to the Great Western Railway
+Station, and started by an express train for Oldchester.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+Amongst the minor grievances reckoned up by the deceased dowager as
+accruing from Augustus's unfortunate marriage was the fact that his wife
+had borne the plebeian name of Dobbs. One of her most frequent
+complaints against poor little May was that the child was "a thorough
+Dobbs." And when she was out of temper--which was very often--she would
+prefer this charge as indignantly as though Dobbs were synonymous with
+the most disgraceful epithets in the English language.
+
+And yet the sound of it awoke very different associations in the city of
+Oldchester, where Augustus's mother-in-law had lived all her life. Mrs.
+Dobbs was the widow of a tradesman. The ironmonger's business, which her
+husband had carried on, had long passed into other hands; but his name
+still met the eyes of his fellow-townsmen in the inscription, "J. Brown,
+late Dobbs," painted over the shop.
+
+Oldchester is a city in which two streams of life run side by side,
+mingling but little with each other. At a certain point in the existence
+of Oldchester, its ancient course of civil and ecclesiastical history
+had received a new tributary--a strong and ever-growing current of
+commerce. Commerce built wide suburbs, with villa residences in various
+stages of "detachment" and "semi-detachment" from one another. Commerce
+strewed the pleasant country paths and lanes with coal-dust, and
+blackened the air with smoke. Commerce set up Art schools, founded
+hospitals (and furnished patients for them), multiplied railways for
+miles round, and scored all the new streets, and some of the old, with
+tramway lines. Commerce bought estates in the neighbourhood, was
+conveyed to public worship in splendid equipages, sent its sons to Eton,
+and married its daughters into the Peerage. But, for all that, the fame
+of Oldchester continued to rest on its character as a cathedral city.
+The old current surpassed the new one in length and dignity, if in
+nothing else. The gray cathedral towers rose up majestically above the
+din and turmoil of forge and loom and factory, with a noble aspiration
+towards something above and beyond these; while the vibrations of their
+mellow chimes shed down sweet suggestions of peace and goodwill among
+the homes of the toilers.
+
+Mrs. Dobbs particularly loved the sounds of the cathedral chimes; and
+she sat with closed eyes listening to them in the twilight of a certain
+autumn evening. Her house was in a narrow street, called Friar's Row,
+which turned out of the High Street. A monastery had once stood on the
+site of it, but all trace of the ancient conventual buildings had long
+since disappeared. The houses were solid brick dwellings, from one to
+two hundred years old. Mrs. Dobbs's husband had bequeathed her a long
+lease of that which she occupied. Most of the other houses in Friar's
+Row were used as offices or warehouses, the wealthier kind of
+tradespeople who once lived in them having migrated to the suburbs. On
+her husband's death some of Mrs. Dobbs's friends had urged her to remove
+to a newer and more cheerful part of the town, but she had resisted the
+suggestion with some contempt.
+
+"I know what suits me," she would say. "And that's a knowledge the Lord
+doesn't bestow on all and sundry. This house suits me. It's
+weather-proof for one thing. And you needn't be afraid of putting your
+foot through the floor if you walk a little heavy, as I do. When I go to
+see the Simpsons in that bandbox they call Laurel Villa, I daren't lean
+my umbrella against the wall, for fear of bringing the whole concern
+down like a pack of cards."
+
+She might easily have increased her income by letting her house and
+removing to one in the suburbs; for its position was central, and the
+tenements in Friar's Row were in great request for business purposes.
+But she resisted this temptation. There were reasons of a more
+impalpable kind than the solidity of its floors and roofs, which made
+Mrs. Dobbs constant to her old home. She had lived there all the days of
+her married life. Her daughter had been born there. Her husband had died
+there. The somewhat narrow and dingy street had in her eyes the familiar
+aspect of a friendly face. She loved to hear the rattle and bustle of
+the High Street, slightly softened by distance. Those common sounds were
+full of voices from the past: the common sights around were associated
+with all the joys and sorrows of her life. Mrs. Dobbs never said
+anything to this effect, but she felt it. And so she stayed in Friar's
+Row.
+
+The parlour in which she sat was comfortably and substantially
+furnished. A competent observer would have perceived evidences of
+permanence and respectability in the solid, old-fashioned chairs and
+tables, the prints after Morland on the walls, and the corner cupboard
+full of fine old china. The bookshelves which filled one end of the room
+contained the accumulations of successive generations. There was a
+square pianoforte with a pile of old music-books on the top of it; and a
+big family Bible in massive binding had a place of honour all to itself
+on a side-table covered with green baize. On this special autumn
+evening, owing to the hour, and partly to the narrowness of the street,
+which shut out some of the lingering daylight, the parlour was very dim.
+A red fire glowed in the grate, a large tabby cat blinked and purred on
+the hearthrug, and in a spacious easy-chair at one side of the fireplace
+sat Mrs. Dobbs, listening with closed eyes to the cathedral chimes.
+
+Presently the door was softly opened, and there came into the room Mrs.
+Dobbs's life-long friend and crony, Mr. Joseph Weatherhead. This person
+was her brother-in-law, and a childless widower. He had carried on the
+trade of bookseller and stationer in Birmingham for many years; but had
+sold his business on the death of his wife, and come to live in
+Oldchester, near the Dobbs's. Mr. Weatherhead was a tall, lean man, with
+a benevolent, bald forehead, and mild eyes. The only remarkable feature
+in his face was the nose, which was large, slightly aquiline, brownish
+red in colour, and protruded from his face at a peculiar angle. The
+forehead above, and the chin below, sloped away from it rather rapidly.
+The nose had thus a singularly inquisitive air of being eagerly in the
+van, as though it thrust itself forward in quest of news.
+
+As he closed the door behind him, Mrs. Dobbs opened her eyes.
+
+"I thought you were asleep, Sarah," said Mr. Weatherhead.
+
+"Asleep!" ejaculated Mrs. Dobbs, with all the indignation which that
+accusation is so apt mysteriously to excite. "Nothing of the kind! I was
+listening to the chimes. They always make me think----"
+
+"Of poor Susy," interrupted Mr. Weatherhead, nodding. "Ah! And so they
+do me. Poor Susy! How pretty she was!"
+
+"She had better have been less pretty for her own happiness. The great
+misfortune of her life wouldn't have happened but for her pretty face."
+
+Mr. Weatherhead nodded again, and sat down opposite to Mrs. Dobbs in a
+corresponding armchair to her own. He then took from his pocket a black
+leather case, and from the case a meerschaum pipe, which he proceeded to
+fill and light and smoke.
+
+"What an infatuation!" sighed Mrs. Dobbs, pursuing her own meditations.
+"To think of Susy throwing herself away on that extravagant, selfish,
+good-for-nothing fellow without any principles to speak of, when she
+might have had an honest tradesman in a first-rate way of business! She
+had only to pick and choose."
+
+"Humph! Honest tradesmen are not as plentiful as blackberries, though,"
+observed Mr. Weatherhead, reflectively.
+
+Mrs. Dobbs ignored this parenthesis, and went on: "It was a bad day for
+me and mine when he first came swaggering into this house."
+
+From which speech it will be seen that the Dobbs side of the family
+coincided with the Cheffingtons in considering Augustus's to have been
+an unfortunate marriage; only each party arrived at the same conclusion
+by a different road.
+
+"Have you heard from him lately, Sarah?" asked Mr. Weatherhead, after a
+pause.
+
+"From my precious son-in-law? Not I!"
+
+"Oh!"
+
+"Not a word from him till he wants something. You may take your oath of
+that, Jo Weatherhead."
+
+"Oh, I thought you might have heard from him, because----"
+
+"Well?" (very sharply).
+
+"Well, because I see something has been putting old times into your
+head; and I thought it might be that."
+
+"Something been putting old times into my head? I should like to know
+when they're out of my head! Much you know about it!"
+
+Mr. Weatherhead apparently did know something about it; for after
+another long silence, during which he puffed at his pipe and stared into
+the fire, Mrs. Dobbs justified his penetration by saying--
+
+"The truth is, I _have_ been turning things over in my mind a good deal
+since yesterday."
+
+Mr. Weatherhead was too wary to expose himself to another snub, so he
+merely nodded two or three times in an oracular manner.
+
+"I'm worried out of my mind about that child. She went off yesterday as
+bright and happy as possible, and looking so pretty and genteel--fit for
+any company in the land."
+
+"Ah! She went off, you say, to----?"
+
+"To the Hadlows'. She is to stay there over Sunday."
+
+"Oh! But I don't quite see----"
+
+"Go on! What is it that you don't quite see?"
+
+"I don't quite see what there is to worry you in that. The Hadlows are
+very good sort of people."
+
+"I should think they _were_ very good sort of people! Canon Hadlow is
+one of the best men in Oldchester; or in all England, for the matter of
+that. And he's a gentleman to the marrow of his bones. But what sort of
+a position has my grand-daughter among the Hadlows and their
+belongings?"
+
+"A very nice position, I should say."
+
+"A very nice position!" exclaimed Mrs. Dobbs, who seemed determined to
+repeat all poor Mr. Weatherhead's speeches in a tone of disdainful
+irony. "That's so like you, Jo! _She_ thinks it a very nice position,
+too, poor lamb. She knows nothing of the world, bless her innocent
+heart. And, for all her seventeen years, she is the merest child in some
+things. But you might know better. You are not seventeen years old, Jo
+Weatherhead."
+
+"Certainly not," assented he emphatically.
+
+"The fact of the matter is that, whether by good luck or bad luck, May
+does not belong to my sphere or my class. She's a Cheffington. She has
+the ways of a lady, and the education of a lady, and she has a right to
+the position of a lady. If that father of hers gives her nothing else he
+might give her that; and he shall, if I can make him."
+
+"Perhaps it might have been better, after all, if you had not sent the
+child back to her old school, but just brought her up here, under your
+own eye, in a plain sort of way. It would have been better for _you_,
+anyhow."
+
+"I don't know that."
+
+"Why, you'd have been spared a good many sacrifices. There's not another
+woman in England would have done what you've done, Sarah."
+
+"Nonsense; there are plenty of women in England as big fools as me. Even
+that wooden old figurehead of a dowager--Lord forgive me, she's dead and
+gone!--had the grace to pay the child's schooling as long as she lived."
+
+"She!" exclaimed Jo Weatherhead, firing up suddenly, and tapping his
+meerschaum sharply against the hob. "That's a very different pair of
+shoes. She could afford it a precious sight better than you. What did
+_she_ ever deprive herself of? I say there's not another woman in
+England would have done what you've done, and it's no good your
+contradicting."
+
+"There, bless the man! Don't let us quarrel about it."
+
+"But I shall quarrel about it, unless you give in. Here's the case
+fairly put:--A young spark runs away with your only daughter, and pretty
+well breaks your heart. He takes her wandering about into foreign parts,
+and you only get news of her now and then, and never good news. He's too
+fine a gentleman to do a stroke of work for his family, but as soon as
+he has run through his bit of money he's not too fine a gentleman to
+fall into disreputable ways of life, nor yet to let who will look after
+his motherless little girl, and feed, and clothe, and educate her. When
+his own mother dies--leaving two quarters' school-bills unpaid, which
+you have to settle, by-the-by--the rest of the family, including his own
+sister, refuse to advance a sixpence to save the child from the
+workhouse."
+
+"I say, Jo, that's putting it a little too strong, my friend! There was
+no talk of the workhouse."
+
+"Let me finish summing up the case. I say they wouldn't spend sixpence
+to save that child from _starvation_--there, now! When the dowager is
+dead, and the rest of them button up their breeches' pockets, and the
+schoolmistress sends away the poor little girl because she can't afford
+to keep her and teach her for nothing, what does my gentleman do? Does
+he try in any one way to do his duty by his only child? Not he. He
+coolly shuffles off all trouble and responsibility on other folks'
+shoulders. He hasn't taken any notice of you for years, except writing
+once to borrow fifty pounds----"
+
+"Which he didn't get, Jo."
+
+"Which he didn't get because an over-ruling Providence had ordained that
+you shouldn't have it to lend him. Well, after years of silence and
+neglect, he turns up in Oldchester one fine morning, and walks into your
+house bringing his little girl 'on a visit to her dear grandmother.'
+Talk of brass! What sort of a material do you suppose that man's
+features are composed of?"
+
+"Gutta percha, very likely," returned Mrs. Dobbs, who now sat resting
+her head against the cushions of her chair, and listening to Mr.
+Weatherhead's eloquence with a half-humorous resignation; "that's a
+good, tough, elastic kind of stuff."
+
+"Tough! He had need have some toughness of countenance to come into this
+house as he did. And that's not the end. He swaggers about Oldchester
+for a week or two, using your house as an inn, neither more nor
+less--except that there's no bill;--and then one day he starts off for
+the Continent, leaving little May here, and promising to send for her as
+soon as he gets settled. From that day to this, and it's four years ago,
+you have had the child on your hands, and her precious father has never
+contributed one shilling towards her support. You sent the child back to
+school. You pinched, and saved, and denied yourself many little comforts
+to keep her there. You have never let her feel or guess that she has
+been a burthen on you in your old age. And I say again, Sarah Dobbs,
+that, considering all the circumstances of the case, there's not another
+woman in England would have done what you've done. No, nor in Europe!"
+
+"Well, having come to that, I hope you've finished, Jo Weatherhead."
+
+"I hope I have," returned Mr. Weatherhead, mopping his flushed face with
+a very large red pocket-handkerchief. "I hope I have, for the present.
+But if you attempt to contradict a word of what I have been saying, I'll
+begin again and go still further!"
+
+"There, there, then that's settled. But I am thinking of the future.
+Supposing I died to-morrow, what's to become of May? I have nothing to
+leave her. My bit of property goes back to Dobbs's family, and all right
+and fair, too. I've nothing to say against my husband's will. But people
+like the Hadlows, who invite May, and make much of her, have no idea
+that she has no one to look to but me. I don't say they'd give her the
+cold shoulder if they did know it; but it would make a difference. As it
+is, they talk to her about her aunt, Mrs. Dormer-Smith, and her cousin,
+Lord This, and her connection, Lady T'other, and a kind of a--what shall
+I say?--a sort of atmosphere of high folks hangs about her. She's Miss
+Miranda Cheffington, with fifty relations in the peerage. If she was
+known only as the grandchild of Mrs. Dobbs, the ironmonger's widow, she
+would seem mightily changed in a good many eyes. Sometimes it comes over
+me as if I was letting May go on under false pretences."
+
+"Why, she _has_ got fifty relations in the peerage, hasn't she?"
+
+"A hundred, for all I know. But folks are not aware that her father's
+family take no notice of her. She hardly knows it herself."
+
+"But her aunt, Mrs. Dormer-Smith, writes to her, doesn't she?"
+
+"Oh, a line once in a blue moon, to say she's glad to hear May is well,
+and to complain of the great expense of living in London."
+
+"The selfish meanness of that woman is beyond belief."
+
+"Well--I don't know, Jo. She's a poor creature, certainly. But I feel
+more a sort of pity for her than anything else."
+
+"_Do_ you? It's only out of contradiction, then."
+
+"Not altogether," said Mrs. Dobbs, laughing good-humouredly. "I made her
+out pretty well that time I took May up to London before she went back
+to school."
+
+"Ah! I remember. You tried if the aunt would do anything to help."
+
+"Yes, I tried. It was right to try. But I very soon saw that there was
+nothing to be hoped for from that quarter. Mrs. Dormer-Smith has been
+brought up to live for the world and the world's ways. To be sure her
+world is a funny, artificial little affair compared with God Almighty's:
+pretty much as though one should take a teaspoonful of Epsom salts for
+the sea. But, at any rate, I do believe she sincerely thinks it ought to
+be worshipped and bowed down to. It's no use to tell such a woman that
+she could do without this or that useless finery, and spend the money
+better. She'll answer you with tears in her eyes that it's _impossible_;
+and, what's more, she'll believe it. Why, if some Tomnoddy or other,
+belonging to what she calls "the best people," was to ordain to-morrow
+that nobody should eat his dinner unless he was waited on by a man with
+a long pigtail, that poor creature would know no peace, nor her meat
+would have no relish until a man with a pigtail stood behind her chair.
+That's Mrs. Dormer-Smith, Jo Weatherhead."
+
+Mr. Weatherhead drew up his lips into the form of a round O, as his
+manner was when considering any matter of interest, and appeared to
+meditate a reply. But the reply was never spoken; for a brisk ring at
+the street door gave a new turn to his thoughts and those of his
+sister-in-law.
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed Mrs. Dobbs, putting up her hands to settle her cap,
+and stretching out her feet with a sudden movement which made the old
+tabby on the hearthrug arch her back indignantly. "Why, that must be the
+Simpsons! I didn't think it was so late. Just light the candles, will
+you, Jo? I hope Martha has remembered the roasted potatoes."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+The Simpsons were old friends of Mrs. Dobbs. Mr. Simpson was organist of
+the largest parish church in Oldchester, where his father had been
+organist before him. To this circumstance he owed his singular Christian
+name. The elder Simpson, whose musical enthusiasm had run all into one
+channel, insisted on naming his son Sebastian Bach. Some men would have
+felt this to be a disadvantage for the profession of organist and
+music-teacher, as involving a suggestion of ridicule. But Mr. Sebastian
+Bach Simpson was not apt to be diffident about any distinguishing
+characteristic of his own. His wife had been a governess, and still gave
+daily lessons in sundry respectable Oldchester families. By an
+arrangement begun during her late husband's lifetime, this couple came
+every Saturday evening to sup with Mrs. Dobbs, and to play a game of
+whist for penny points before the meal.
+
+The two guests entered the parlour just as Mr. Weatherhead was lighting
+the candles.
+
+"Dear me," exclaimed Mrs. Simpson, "are we too early? I had no idea!
+Surely the choir practice was not over earlier than usual, Bassy?"
+
+She was a large stout woman of forty, with a pink-and-white complexion
+and filmy brown curls; and she wore spectacles. She had once been very
+slim and pretty, and still retained a certain girlishness of demeanour.
+It has been said that a man is as old as he feels, and a woman as old as
+she looks. Mrs. Simpson had innocently usurped the masculine privilege;
+and, not feeling herself to be either wiser or less trivial than she was
+at eighteen, had never thought of trying to bring her manners into
+harmony with her appearance. Her husband was a short, dark man, with
+quick black eyes, and thick, stubby, black hair. His voice was
+singularly rasping and dissonant, which seemed an unfortunate
+incongruity in a professor of music. Such as he was, however, his wife
+had a great admiration for him, and considered his talents to be
+remarkable. Her marriage, she was fond of saying, had been a love-match,
+and she had never got beyond the romantic stage of her attachment.
+
+"Good evening, Mrs. Dobbs," said the organist, advancing to shake hands,
+and taking no notice of his wife's inquiry.
+
+"How are you, Weatherhead? I suppose you were napping--having forty
+winks in the twilight, eh?"
+
+"No, Mr. Weatherhead and I were chatting," said Mrs. Dobbs.
+
+"Chatting in this kind of blind man's holiday, were you? I should have
+thought you could hardly see to talk!"
+
+"See to talk! Oh, Bassy, what an expression! You do say the drollest
+things!" exclaimed Mrs. Simpson with a giggle. "Doesn't he, Mrs. Dobbs?
+Did you ever hear----?"
+
+Mrs. Dobbs, for all reply, hospitably stirred the fire until it blazed,
+helped Mrs. Simpson to remove her bonnet and cloak, and placed her in a
+chair near her own. Mr. Simpson took his accustomed seat, and the four
+persons drew round the fire, whilst Martha, Mrs. Dobbs's middle-aged
+servant, set out a little card-table, and disposed the candles on it in
+two old-fashioned, spindle-shanked, silver candlesticks. It was all done
+according to long-established custom, which was seldom deviated from in
+any particular.
+
+"And how are you, dear Mrs. Dobbs?" asked Mrs. Simpson, taking her
+hostess's hand between both her own. "And dear May--where's May?"
+
+"May has been away from home on a visit since yesterday morning. She
+won't come back before Monday."
+
+"And may one ask where she is? It is not, I presume, a Mystery of
+Udolpho!"
+
+"She is at the Hadlows'."
+
+"The Hadlows'? Canon Hadlow's?" cried Mrs. Simpson, clasping her hands
+with a gesture of amazement. Then she added rather inconsistently,
+"Well, I'm not surprised. I know they have lately taken a great deal of
+notice of her. Miss Hadlow and she having been at school together, of
+course created an intimacy which--ah, the friendships of early youth,
+where they _are_ genuine, have a warmth, a charm----"
+
+"_Now_, Amelia!" interposed her husband's rasping voice. (This
+ejaculation was his habitual manner of recalling Mrs. Simpson's
+attention to the matter in hand, whatever it might be; for the good
+lady's mind was discursive.) "If you'll be kind enough to leave off your
+nonsense, we can begin our game. Come and cut for partners."
+
+An earnest whist player would have been outraged by the performances of
+the four persons who met weekly in Mrs. Dobbs's parlour. They chatted,
+they misdealt, they even revoked sometimes; and they overlooked each
+other's misdemeanours with unscrupulous laxity. In a word, they regarded
+the noble game of whist merely as a means and not as an end, and were
+scandalously bent on amusing themselves regardless of Hoyle. The only
+one of the party who had any pretensions to play tolerably was Mr.
+Weatherhead. But even his attention was always to be diverted from his
+cards by a new piece of gossip. And perhaps, it was as well that he did
+not take the game too much to heart--especially on the present occasion;
+for the fair Amelia fell to his lot as a partner, and her performances
+with the cards were calculated to drive a zealous player into a nervous
+fever.
+
+The first hand or two proceeded in decorous silence. But by degrees the
+players began to talk, throwing out first detached sentences, and at
+last boldly entering into general conversation.
+
+"Bassy had a great deal of trouble with the choir this evening," said
+Mrs. Simpson plaintively. "The sopranos were _so_ inattentive! And
+inattention is so particularly--oh dear, I beg pardon, I _have_ a
+diamond! Well, it does not much matter, for we couldn't have made the
+odd trick in any case."
+
+"A nice business at Sheffield with those Trades Unions," said Mr.
+Weatherhead. "Some severe measures ought to be taken; but they won't be.
+That's what your precious Liberalism comes to!--Your lead, Simpson."
+
+"Nonsense about Liberalism, Jo Weatherhead," replied Mrs. Dobbs. "I
+believe you'd like to accuse the Liberals of the bad weather.
+There!--Did you ever see such a hand? One trump! and that fell. Mrs.
+Simpson playing out her knave misled me."
+
+"Oh, if you reckon on Amelia's having any sufficient motive for playing
+one card more than another----" exclaimed Amelia's husband. "Have you
+heard, Mrs. Dobbs, that Mr. Bransby is getting better?"
+
+"What Bransby is that?" asked Mr. Weatherhead, thrusting his head
+forward inquiringly.
+
+"Cadell and Bransby, Solicitors to the Dean and Chapter."
+
+"Oh-o! He has been ill, then?"
+
+"Very ill. But I hear he was pronounced out of danger on Wednesday."
+
+"Is it not good news?" cried Mrs. Simpson. "Such a misfortune for his
+young family! I mean if he had died, you know."
+
+"But I suppose he's a warm man, isn't he? Cadell and Bransby--it's a
+fine business, isn't it?" asked Mr. Weatherhead.
+
+"It had need be," rejoined the organist, "to maintain that tribe of boys
+and girls, and an extravagant young wife into the bargain."
+
+"Oh, Bassy, but they are such pretty children! And Mrs. Bransby is so
+truly elegant and interesting. All her bonnets come from Paris, I am
+told. And indeed there is a certain style----Eh? You _don't_ mean to say
+that spades are trumps? What a disappointment! I thought I had all four
+honours."
+
+This ingenuous speech might have called forth some remonstrance from
+Mrs. Simpson's partner, but that the latter was too much interested in
+the subject of the Bransbys to attend to it.
+
+"The eldest son is provided for by his mother's fortune, isn't he?" he
+inquired.
+
+"Well--'provided for;' I don't know that it is very much. But it was all
+tightly settled. Otherwise Bransby's second marriage would have been a
+greater misfortune for the young man than it is," replied the organist.
+
+"I don't see that it is any misfortune at all," observed Mrs. Dobbs.
+"Theodore Bransby is quite well enough off for a young fellow. And why
+shouldn't his father marry again if he liked it?"
+
+"He is an extremely gentleman-like young man, is Mr. Theodore Bransby,"
+said Mrs. Simpson. "I have been imparting daily instruction to the
+younger children, and I saw him rather frequently when he was at home
+during the University vacation. He is now reading for the Bar, you know,
+and I believe----Was that _your_ knave, Mr. Weatherhead? Really! Then I
+have thrown away my queen. However," smiling amiably, "one can but take
+the trick. I believe that Mr. Theodore Bransby means to go into
+Parliament later. There is really something of the statesman about him
+already, _I_ think--a way of buttoning his coat to the chin, don't you
+know?"
+
+"Is Theodore Bransby in Oldchester now?" asked Mrs. Dobbs, sorting her
+cards.
+
+"Oh yes," replied Mr. Simpson. "I wonder you didn't know, for he is a
+great deal at Canon Hadlow's. They say he's making up to Miss Hadlow."
+
+"O-ho! But there's Mrs. Hadlow's nephew, young Rivers," put in Mr.
+Weatherhead. "_He's_ supposed to be dangling after his cousin, isn't
+he?"
+
+"I should think young Rivers had better dangle after an employment that
+will give him bread and cheese. Miss Constance Hadlow won't have a
+penny."
+
+"Oh, Bassy, but where there's real affection mercenary considerations
+must give way. True love--true love is above all!" As she uttered these
+words with great fervour, Mrs. Simpson flourished her arm
+enthusiastically, and in so doing swept off the table several coins
+which had served as counters to register her opponent's score. The
+silver discs rolled swiftly away into various inaccessible corners of
+the room, with the perversity usually observed in such cases.
+Fortunately the game had just come to an end, and Martha had announced
+that the supper was ready. This circumstance, and the fact that her
+husband was a winner, spared Mrs. Simpson a sharp reprimand.
+
+Mr. Simpson uttered, indeed, a few sarcastic croaks. "_Now_, Amelia!
+There you go! Always up to some nonsense or other." But he watched Mr.
+Weatherhead and Martha as they crawled about on hands and knees to
+recover the missing shillings and sixpences, with considerable
+equanimity; merely observing that Amelia ought to be ashamed of herself
+for giving so much trouble.
+
+When the supper was set on the table, three of the party, at least, were
+in high good humour, and disposed to enjoy it. Mr. Simpson had won, and
+was content. Mr. Weatherhead paid his losses without a murmur,
+conscious, no doubt, that they were due as much to his own wandering
+attention as to his partner's aberrations. As for Mrs. Simpson, the
+sweetness of her disposition was proof against far more souring
+circumstances than having spoiled Jo Weatherhead's game. She was not the
+least out of humour with him. Mrs. Dobbs alone was a little more silent
+and a little less genial than usual. The talk that evening with her old
+friend had awakened painful thoughts of the past and anxieties for the
+future. She very rarely mentioned her son-in-law's name, even to Mr.
+Weatherhead, who was thoroughly in her confidence; and, whenever she did
+speak of him, the result was invariably to irritate and depress her.
+However, her hospitable instincts roused her to shake off her cares in
+some degree, and to make her friends welcome to the fare set before
+them.
+
+When the more substantial part of the supper was disposed of, and a jug
+of hot punch steamed on the board, Mrs. Simpson, delicately tapping with
+her teaspoon on the edge of her tumbler, observed, with an air at once
+penetrating and amiable----
+
+"Well, I'm sure it will be very gratifying to Mrs. Dormer-Smith when she
+hears that dear May has been invited to the Hadlows'."
+
+"H'm! I don't think Mrs. Dormer-Smith will lose her wits with joy,"
+answered Mrs. Dobbs drily.
+
+"No? Oh, but surely----! She _must_ feel it agreeable that her niece
+should be noticed by persons of such eminent gentility."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs would have dismissed the subject with a smile and a shake of
+the head, avoiding, as she always did, any discussion or even mention of
+her son-in-law's family; but Mr. Simpson interposed magisterially--
+
+"If Mrs. Dormer-Smith isn't gratified, it must be because she is
+ignorant of the position held by Canon Hadlow's family in Oldchester."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs faced about upon this, and said bluntly, "My dear good man,
+all the best society of Oldchester put together would seem mighty small
+beer to Mrs. Dormer-Smith."
+
+"Oh, really!" returned Mr. Simpson, mortified and incredulous. "Such a
+very fine lady, is she? Well, 'Dormer-Smith' doesn't _sound_ very
+aristocratic; but it may be, of course."
+
+"Mrs. Dormer-Smith _is_ a fine lady, and accustomed to mix with still
+finer ladies. It's no use shutting one's eyes to facts. If we won't look
+at them, we only bump up against them, because they're there, all the
+same. As to opinions, that's different. I suppose I needn't say anything
+about mine at this time of day. I'm a staunch Radical--always was, and
+always will be."
+
+"Pooh, pooh! Call yourself a Radical!" said Mr. Weatherhead, laughing
+his peculiar laugh, which consisted of a series of guttural _ho, ho,
+ho's_. "You're convicted out of your own mouth of not being one. Whoever
+heard of a Radical that cared about facts?"
+
+Mrs. Simpson put out her hand, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Now,
+now; that's very naughty of you," she exclaimed. "Politics are strictly
+forbidden on Saturday evenings by the ancient statutes of our society.
+Isn't it so, Mr. Dobbs? I appeal to the chair." And she threatened Mr.
+Weatherhead playfully with her forefinger, at the same time casting an
+arch look through her spectacles. Glasses are not favourable to any
+effective play of the eyes, and usually screen the most expressive of
+glances behind a ghastly glitter, void of all speculation. But of this
+consideration Mrs. Simpson was habitually oblivious. Then, by way of
+turning the conversation into more agreeable channels, she continued,
+"And, _apropos_ of May, dear Mrs. Dobbs, when did you last hear from her
+papa?"
+
+This simple inquiry startled the company into absolute silence for a few
+moments. Mrs. Dobbs's resolute reserve on the subject of her son-in-law
+was so well known that none of her friends for several years past had
+ventured to mention him to her. Some refrained because they did not wish
+to hurt her; and many because they were afraid she might hurt them: for
+Mrs. Dobbs's uncompromising frankness of speech and force of character
+made her a hard hitter, when she did hit. But the specific levity of
+Mrs. Simpson's mind gave her a certain immunity from hard retorts--the
+immunity of a fly from a cannon ball. On the present occasion, however,
+she received no rebuke; for greatly to Jo Weatherhead's surprise, and
+somewhat to Mr. Simpson's, Mrs. Dobbs, after a brief pause, answered--
+
+"I have not heard lately from Captain Cheffington. He is a bad
+correspondent. But we shall soon be obliged to communicate with each
+other. May is seventeen, and various arrangements will have to be made
+about her future."
+
+"Goodness!" exclaimed Mrs. Simpson, clasping her hands. "You don't mean
+to say that May isn't to remain with you?"
+
+"That will depend on what is agreed on in the family. May must take her
+place in the world as Miss Cheffington, you know, and not as my
+grand-daughter."
+
+The Simpsons exchanged a glance of surprise. This was the first time
+they had heard Mrs. Dobbs assume any such position for her grandchild.
+Sebastian was inclined to resist her doing so now. But something in Mrs.
+Dobbs's manner checked him from expressing this feeling. It is generally
+found easier to criticize our friends' shortcomings when we are free
+from the disturbing element of their presence. The short remainder of
+the evening was passed in talking of other things. But on their way home
+Mr. and Mrs. Simpson discussed this new turn of affairs with some
+eagerness.
+
+The organist considered that the notion of the Hadlows not being good
+enough company for the Dormer-Smiths was preposterous; and he feared
+that Mrs. Dobbs was giving herself airs. In reply to his wife's
+observations that Mrs. Dobbs was a "dear old soul," he pointed out that,
+dear and good though she might be, yet her husband had kept an
+ironmonger's shop, and publicly sold hardware therein behind his
+counter, to the knowledge of all Oldchester. This retort depended for
+its cogency on the understanding of an ellipsis; which, however, Mrs.
+Simpson was perfectly able to supply, for she answered immediately--
+
+"Oh, I'm sure, Bassy, Mrs. Dobbs would never undervalue your position as
+a professional man. She knows very well that the Arts rank superior to
+trade."
+
+On the other hand, when Mrs. Simpson proceeded to opine that if May were
+taken up by her father's family she would become quite a grand
+personage, Mr. Simpson declared, with a good deal of heat, that for his
+part he thought Mrs. Dobbs quite as good any day as the Cheffingtons,
+about whom nothing certain was known in Oldchester except that they were
+shabby in their dealings and "stuck-up" in their pretensions.
+
+Mr. Weatherhead lingered behind the organist and his wife, to say a word
+to Mrs. Dobbs after their departure.
+
+"I can tell you one thing, Sarah; what you said about May will be all
+over Oldchester by Monday."
+
+"So I guess."
+
+"O-ho! Then you mean it to be talked about?"
+
+"I mean it to be known that May is to take her place in the world as
+Miss Cheffington."
+
+"But _is_ she? That's more than you can say, Sarah."
+
+"I shall have a try for it, Jo."
+
+Now whenever Mrs. Dobbs had said in that emphatic manner that she would
+"have a try" for anything, that thing, so far as Jo Weatherhead's
+experience went, had infallibly come to pass. But with all his faith in
+his old friend, he could not help doubting her success in the present
+case. He was eagerly curious to know how she intended to proceed; but
+Mrs. Dobbs refused to say any more on the subject, declaring that she
+must think things over quietly.
+
+"I don't see it," said Mr. Weatherhead to himself, poking forward his
+nose, and pursing up his lips as he walked homeward. "Sarah Dobbs is a
+wonderful woman, but even she can't gather grapes from thorns. And in
+respect of justice or generosity--not to mention common honesty--I'm
+afraid all the Cheffingtons are rather thorny."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+Among other features peculiar to itself, Oldchester possesses a
+quadrangular building with an inner cloister, commonly called College
+Quad. It is in the immediate neighbourhood of the cathedral, and is
+divided into small tenements inhabited by clergy forming part of the
+cathedral body. At the back of the houses on the south side of the
+quadrangle, pleasant gardens slope down towards the river Wend. The
+cloister is a very beautiful piece of Gothic work, with fretted roof and
+springing pillars. Peace and quiet reign within it. In summer there
+comes a sleepy sound of rooks from the Bishop's garden close at hand;
+and, towards sunrise and sunset, the chirp of innumerable sparrows
+mingled with the richer notes of thrush, blackbird, and nightingale in
+their season. At certain times of the day, too, the stillness is broken
+by the thrilling freshness of children's voices, as the scholars of the
+ancient Grammar School scatter themselves over the Cathedral Green,
+shouting and calling in the shrill silvery treble of boyhood. But these
+sounds are softened and subdued by distance and thick masonry before
+they penetrate within the precincts of College Quad. In autumn and
+winter there is a chill dampness on the greenish-gray paving-stones of
+the cloister, and the rain drips heavily from carven capitals into the
+resounding court. The very order and cleanliness of the place--its
+decorous, clerical, smooth-shaven air--seem sometimes under a watery
+sky, and when the winds are moaning and complaining, or thrumming like
+ghostly fingers on the fine resonant Gothic fret-work, to fill the mind
+with melancholy.
+
+A rich contrasting note is seldom wanting:--firelight and the glimpse of
+a crimson curtain seen through lozenge-shaped window-panes; or an open
+door sending out a gush of warmth and spicy smells from the kitchen, and
+the sound of friendly voices. Yet even within doors there seems to be a
+haunting sense of the old, old times when hands long crumbled into dust
+built up that dainty cloister, and when patient monkish feet, long
+stilled for ever, paced its stones. It is not a wholly sad feeling. It
+may even give zest to the glance of living eyes, and the warm pressure
+of dear hands. But it has a peculiar pathos:--a pathos which, perhaps,
+is felt peculiarly by northern people, as the sad-sweet twilight belongs
+to northern climates, and which many of those, to the manner born, would
+not exchange for the unbroken garishness of golden-blue days and
+silver-blue nights.
+
+The habitations on the south side of College Quad are considered the
+most desirable of all, by reason of the gardens before-mentioned running
+down to the Wend, although one or two houses on the west side may be a
+trifle larger. Canon Hadlow's family of three persons inhabited one of
+these coveted southern houses, and found it roomy enough for their
+needs; yet it was a small--a very small--dwelling. The front door opened
+on to the beautiful cloister. Immediately on entering the house you
+found yourself in a tiny entrance-hall, to the left of which a steep and
+narrow staircase of dark oak conducted to the one upper story. On the
+right, a massive oaken-door gave access to a long, low parlour, whose
+three latticed windows--darkened somewhat by a drooping fringe of
+jessamine and virginia-creeper--looked across the garden and the river
+to wide meadows. Opposite to the front door, a glass one, which in
+summer stood wide open all day long, led into the garden. In winter,
+swinging double-doors, covered with dark baize, shut out the cold air
+and the chill, damp mist which sometimes crept up from the river.
+
+The exterior of the houses in College Quad was coeval with the Gothic
+cloister; within, the passing centuries had somewhat modified their
+aspect. The main features, however, were ancient, and most of the
+inhabitants had chosen to preserve this general air of antiquity. Only
+in some few cases had disastrous attempts at modernizing been made with
+paint and French wall-papers. It would have been needless to tell any
+Oldchester person that no such sacrilegious innovations deformed the
+fine oak beams and wainscoting in Canon Hadlow's house. There was a dark
+tone all through it, which, however, was not chill. It was rather the
+rich darkness of Rembrandt's shadows, which seem to have a latent glow
+in the heart of them. A deep red curtain here and there, or a well-worn
+Turkey carpet, with its kaleidoscope of subdued tints, relieved the
+general sombreness. Flowers in all manner of receptacles--from a
+precious old china punch-bowl to the cheapest of glass goblets--adorned
+every room in the house throughout the year. Even in winter there was
+ivy to be had, and red-berried holly, and the coral clusters of the
+mountain ash, and pale chrysanthemums. The garden furnished an ample
+supply of stocks, roses, carnations, holly-hocks, china asters,
+sweetwilliams, wallflowers, and the like old-fashioned blossoms with
+homely names. But as Mrs. Hadlow herself quaintly remarked, she cared
+more for the sight and smell of a flower than its sound.
+
+One sacrifice the flowers cost; the Hadlows had no lawn-tennis ground.
+Mrs. Hadlow declared she could not spare the space. Her neighbours to
+the right and left boasted of lawns which, with their white lines,
+looked like tables chalked on the pavement for the popular street game
+of hop-scotch--and were very little bigger. But the Hadlows' garden was
+a mosaic of box-bordered flower-beds. Only quite at the lower end, where
+a clipped hedge divided it from a footpath on the river bank, there was
+a strip of green sward like a velvet carpet, spread completely across
+the garden. At one angle stood a yew-tree of fabulous age, and in its
+shadow were a garden bench and table, and a few rustic chairs. This was
+Mrs. Hadlow's drawing-room whenever the weather permitted her to be
+out-of-doors. There she sewed, and read, and received visits. The oak
+parlour, which served also as a dining-room, was the ordinary family
+living room. There was a small room called the study, lined with books
+from floor to ceiling; but drawing-room, properly so-called, there was
+none at all. Constance Hadlow was the only one of the family who
+regretted this circumstance. The canon was perfectly content with his
+abode. And as to Mrs. Hadlow, no one who valued her good opinion would
+have ventured to hint to her that her house lacked anything to make it
+convenient and delightful. An ill-advised stranger had once opined in
+her presence that the near neighbourhood of the river must make the
+south side of the College Quad damp and unhealthy during the autumn and
+winter, and Mrs. Hadlow's indignation had been boundless. That it was
+sometimes cold in College Quad she was willing to admit--just as it was
+sometimes cold on the Riviera or in Cairo. But that it could, under any
+circumstances, or for the shortest space of time, be damp, was what she
+would never be brought to acknowledge. As to the Wend, if any
+exhalations did arise from that gentle stream, they could not, she was
+sure, be unwholesome--_above bridge_. It was important to bear in mind
+this limitation, since below bridge, where the factories were, and where
+the poorer dwellings stood in crowded ranks, and the streets vibrated to
+the rumble of heavy waggons and tramway cars, the Wend must naturally
+incur such corruption of its good manners as came from evil
+communications. Mrs. Hadlow loved and admired Oldchester with
+enthusiasm. But Oldchester, in her mind, meant the cathedral and its
+immediate surroundings. Her admiration was bounded by the cathedral
+precincts; and, to judge from her words, so was her love also. But her
+heart was not to be imprisoned within any such confines. Prejudice might
+rule her speech, and warp her judgments, but her warm human sympathies
+went out towards those unfortunates who dwelt beyond the pale, even
+under the shadow of Bragg's factory chimney; nay, even in those vulgar
+suburban villas, with fine names, which were particularly abhorrent to
+Mrs. Hadlow's soul.
+
+The sun shone brightly on a group of persons assembled in Mrs. Hadlow's
+garden on the Monday forenoon after Mrs. Dobbs's supper-party. It was a
+sun more bright than warm; and a little crisp breeze fluttered now and
+then among the scarlet and gold leaves of the virginia-creeper which
+draped the back of the house. Constance Hadlow, wrapped in a fleecy
+shawl, and sitting in a patch of sunshine outside the shadow of the
+yew-tree, declared it was "bitterly cold." Her opinion was evidently
+shared by a black-and-tan terrier that shivered convulsively at
+intervals with a sort of ostentation, as though to hint to the less
+sensitive bipeds that it was high time to retire to the shelter of a
+roof and the comforts of the hearthrug. Mrs. Hadlow's round, rosy face
+seemed to shed a glow around it like a terrestrial sun, as she beamed
+from behind a great basket piled with grey woollen socks belonging to
+the canon: which socks were never darned by any other than his wife's
+fingers. Her nephew, Owen Rivers, lounged on the bench beside her.
+Seated on a low chair, May Cheffington was winding a ball of grey
+worsted for the socks; and standing opposite to her, with his shoulder
+against the trunk of the yew-tree, was Mr. Theodore Bransby. This young
+gentleman had just said something which had startled the assembled
+company. He was not given to saying startling things. He would probably
+have pronounced it "bad form" to do so:--a phrase which, to his mind,
+carried with it the severest condemnation. He had merely observed, "You
+will all be sorry to lose Miss Cheffington, shall you not, Mrs. Hadlow?"
+quite unconscious of saying anything to cause surprise. Surprise,
+however, was plainly expressed on every countenance, including that of
+Miss Cheffington herself.
+
+The fact was that rumour, speaking by the voices of Mr. and Mrs.
+Simpson, had already announced in Oldchester that May Cheffington was
+going away to live with her grand relations in London. The report had
+not yet penetrated College Quad, but it had been brought to the
+Bransbys' house that morning by Mrs. Simpson when she came to give her
+daily lesson to the children.
+
+"Lose her! What do you mean?" asked Mrs. Hadlow.
+
+"You're not going to be married, are you, May?" cried Miss Constance,
+dropping her parasol in order to look full at the other girl; while Mr.
+Rivers, on the other hand, raised himself on his elbow and stared at
+young Bransby.
+
+May laughed and coloured at her friend's question. "Certainly not that I
+know of, Constance," she answered.
+
+"Are you going away, then?"
+
+"You must ask Mr. Bransby. He seems to know; I don't."
+
+As she spoke, May turned a pair of bright hazel eyes full on the young
+gentleman in question, and smiled. The admixture of Dobbs blood with the
+noble strain of Cheffington had certainly not produced any physical
+deterioration of the race. Yet the dowager had been discontented with
+her grand-daughter's appearance, and had particularly lamented the
+absence of the Cheffington profile. Now the Cheffington profile was
+handsome enough in its way, in certain subjects and at a certain time of
+life; but with advancing years it was apt to resemble the profile of an
+owl: the nose being beaky, and the orbit of the eyes very large, with
+eyebrows nearly semi-circular; while the chin tended to disappear in
+hanging folds and creases of throat. The Cheffingtons, moreover, were
+sallow and dark-haired. May inherited her mother's fair skin and soft
+brown hair. Her slender young figure, not yet fully grown, was rather
+below than above the middle height. She had the healthy, though
+delicate, freshness of a field-flower; but, like the field-flower, she
+might easily pass unnoticed. There was nothing of high or dazzling
+beauty about May Cheffington, but she had that subtle attraction which
+does not always belong to beauty. A great many persons, however, thought
+she did not bear comparison with Constance Hadlow, her friend and
+schoolfellow. Besides a firm faith in her own beauty--which is a more
+powerful assistance to its recognition by others than is generally
+supposed--Miss Hadlow possessed a pair of fine dark eyes and eyebrows, a
+clear, pale skin, regular features, and white teeth. Those who were
+disposed to be critical observed that her face and head were rather too
+massive for her height; and that her figure, sufficiently plump at
+present, threatened to become too fat as she approached middle life. But
+at twenty years of age that would have appeared a very remote
+contingency to Constance Hadlow, supposing her to have ever thought
+about it. Although circumstances often prevented her from being dressed
+after the latest fashion, her hair--dark, wavy, and abundant--was always
+skilfully arranged in the prevalent mode, whatever that might be. It
+happened just then to be a becoming one to Miss Hadlow's head and face.
+The crimson colour of the shawl wrapped round her made a fine contrast
+with the creamy pallor of her skin and the vivid darkness of her eyes.
+Altogether, she looked handsome enough to excuse Owen Rivers for finding
+it difficult to remove himself from her society, supposing Mr. Simpson's
+statement to be true that the young man was "dangling after his cousin
+instead of minding his business."
+
+Theodore Bransby, on being called upon to explain himself, answered that
+he understood Miss Cheffington was shortly going to London to reside
+with her aunt, Mrs. Dormer-Smith.
+
+"Oh no, I'm not," said May promptly, before any one else could speak.
+"That is quite a mistake."
+
+"Indeed!"
+
+"Oh yes, indeed it is. I'm going to stay with granny."
+
+"Indeed!" said Theodore Bransby once more. Then he added, "Are you quite
+sure? Because I had it from a person who had it from Mrs. Dobbs
+herself."
+
+"From granny?" In her astonishment May let fall the ball of worsted. It
+rolled across the grass under the very nose of the toy terrier, who
+snapped at it, and then shivered more strongly than ever with an added
+sense of injury.
+
+"Very likely nothing is positively settled yet," continued Theodore.
+"Mrs. Dobbs was speaking of family arrangements for the future."
+
+"Then I suppose," said May, with an anxious look, "that she has heard
+from papa?"
+
+"Yes, I believe so; something was said about a communication from
+Captain Cheffington."
+
+There was a little pause. Then Mrs. Hadlow said, "Well, of course we
+shall be sorry to lose you, my dear, as Theodore says. But it is quite
+right that you should be amongst your own people, and be properly
+introduced."
+
+"Granny is my own people," returned May in a low voice.
+
+"Of course; and a most kind and excellent grandmother she is. But I
+mean--in short, since it is Mrs. Dobbs's own plan, we must suppose she
+thinks it best for you to go to town; and I must say I agree with her."
+
+"It is obviously necessary," said young Bransby. "Miss Cheffington will
+have, of course, to be presented."
+
+"Why, you look quite glum, May!" cried Constance laughing. "Oh, you
+little goose! I only wish I had the chance of going to town to be
+presented."
+
+Owen Rivers, who had hitherto been silent, now addressed May, and asked
+her if she disliked her aunt.
+
+"Dislike Aunt Pauline? Oh no; I don't dislike her at all. But I--I don't
+know her very well."
+
+"I thought," said Bransby, "that you had been in the habit of staying
+with Mrs. Dormer-Smith during the school vacations?"
+
+"No; before Grandmamma Cheffington died I used to go to Richmond, and I
+only saw Aunt Pauline now and then. Since that time I haven't seen her
+at all, for I've spent all my holidays with dear granny."
+
+Constance began to question young Bransby as to who had given him the
+news about May's departure; what it was that had been said; whether the
+time of her going away were positively fixed; and so forth. May rose,
+and, under cover of picking up her ball of worsted, walked away out of
+earshot.
+
+"Are you that phenomenon, a young lady devoid of curiosity, Miss
+Cheffington?" asked Owen Rivers, as she passed near him.
+
+"Oh, there's nothing to be curious about," returned the girl, flushing a
+little. "Granny and I shall talk it all over together this evening. I
+need not trouble myself about what other people may say or guess."
+
+Miss Hadlow had apparently forgotten that it was "bitterly cold:" for
+she continued to sit on the lawn talking with Theodore after the others
+had gone into the house. She moved at length from her seat at the
+summons of the luncheon-bell. Fox the terrier, more consistent, had
+availed himself of the breaking-up of the little party to hasten indoors
+and establish himself on the dining-room hearthrug:--a step which
+nothing but his unconquerable dislike to being alone, had prevented him
+from taking long ago.
+
+When the two loiterers at length entered the dining-room, Mrs. Hadlow
+announced that May had gone home. Her grandmother had sent the servant
+for her a little earlier than usual, and May had refused to remain for
+luncheon. The young girl's absence gave an opportunity for discussing
+her and her prospects; and they were discussed accordingly, as the party
+sat at table.
+
+Mrs. Hadlow expressed great satisfaction at hearing that May was to be
+received and accepted "as a Cheffington;" Constance inclined to think
+that May would not duly appreciate her good fortune; and Theodore
+Bransby observed stiffly, that Miss Cheffington's removal to town had
+always been inevitable, and that the date of it alone could have been
+matter for uncertainty to persons who knew anything of the Cheffington
+family.
+
+"Well," said Rivers, "I suppose Constance is the only one of us here
+present who possesses that knowledge."
+
+"No; I never knew much of them," answered his cousin. "I saw them
+occasionally when I was at school. Sometimes the dowager came down to
+stay at Brighton, and she used, now and then, to call for May in her
+carriage; but she never entered the doors. And once or twice Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith came. I remember we girls used to make game of old Mrs.
+Cheffington with her black wig and her airs."
+
+"She was thoroughly _grande dame_, I believe," said Theodore Bransby.
+
+"Very likely. The servants used to say she was dreadfully stingy, and
+call her an old cat. Mrs. Dormer-Smith had nice manners, and was always
+beautifully dressed."
+
+"Your information is somewhat sketchy, my dear Constance; but no doubt
+the outline is correct as far as it goes," observed Rivers.
+
+"Decidedly sketchy!" said Mrs. Hadlow, who was helping her guests to
+minced mutton.
+
+"Miss Hadlow, however, is _not_ the only one of us who knows anything
+about the Cheffingtons," said young Bransby, with his grave air.
+
+"Oh, dear me, I had forgotten!" interposed Mrs. Hadlow, after a quick
+glance at the young man's face. "To be sure, Theodore has visited the
+family in town. The fact is, Theodore has been a stranger himself so
+long, that we have had no opportunity of hearing his report. Tell us
+what the Dormer-Smiths are like, Theodore, since you know them."
+
+"Like? They are like people who move in the best society--like
+thoroughbred people," returned Theodore, drawing himself up, stiffly.
+
+"Poor little May!" said Mrs. Hadlow, thoughtfully. "She's a sweet little
+thing. I hope they'll be kind to her."
+
+"Do you know anything of Mrs. Dobbs, Aunt Jane?" asked Rivers. "I mean,"
+he added, "of course, you know _of_ her. But do you know her?"
+
+"Oh yes. Once, many years ago, the canon had a tough battle with Mrs.
+Dobbs, when he was helping to canvas for the city member. We couldn't
+get her husband's vote for the right side. But he was a worthy man, and
+sold very good ironmongery. When Constance first asked leave to invite
+her schoolfellow here, I had an interview with Mrs. Dobbs. She came to
+the point at once. She said, 'Mrs. Hadlow, you need not be uneasy. My
+friends and equals are not yours; but neither are they my
+grand-daughter's. She belongs by her father's family to a different
+class. As for me, I am too old to make any mistakes about my place in
+the world, and too proud to wish to change it."
+
+"Too proud!" repeated Bransby, with raised eyebrows.
+
+"I thought it was very well said," answered Mrs. Hadlow. "I only wish
+all the people of her class had the same honest pride. But Mrs. Dobbs is
+a woman of great good sense, and of the highest integrity. All the same,
+of course, now that May is grown up, the girl's position in that house
+is too anomalous. Captain Cheffington no doubt feels that. He probably
+left his daughter there so long out of tenderness to Mrs. Dobbs's
+feelings; and perhaps also to help out the old lady's income. But now,
+naturally, it must come to an end. He can't sacrifice May's future. That
+is how I explain the state of the case; and it seems to me to be
+creditable to all concerned."
+
+"At all events, it is creditable to Mrs. Dobbs, Aunt Jane," said Rivers.
+
+"And why not, pray, to Captain Cheffington too?" asked Constance. "But
+Captain Cheffington has the misfortune to be born a gentleman, so, of
+course, Owen disapproves of him."
+
+"Not at all, 'of course.' But I agree with you as to the misfortune--for
+the other gentlemen, at all events!"
+
+"I think you're a little mistaken about Captain Cheffington, Rivers,"
+said Theodore. "He's a friend of mine."
+
+"In that case I'm very sorry," answered Owen drily.
+
+Mrs. Hadlow here interposed, rising from the table with a show of
+cheerful bustle. "Come," said she, "you children must not loiter here
+all day. The canon comes home from Wendhurst by the three-forty train,
+and I am going to meet him; Constance has an engagement with the
+Burtons; and as for you two boys, I shall turn you out without
+ceremony."
+
+The kind lady's intention had been to break off the discourse between
+the two young men, which threatened to become disagreeable. But as
+Bransby and Rivers walked away side by side through the fretted cloister
+of College Quad, the former, with a certain quiet doggedness which
+belonged to him, returned to the subject.
+
+"You must understand," he said, "that I am not very intimate with
+Captain Cheffington; but I know him, and am his debtor for some
+courteous attentions. And I think you are a little--rash, if you don't
+mind my saying so, in condemning him."
+
+"I don't at all mind your saying so."
+
+"You see, there are a great many circumstances to be taken into account,
+in judging of Captain Cheffington's career. In the first place, there
+was his unfortunate marriage."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+When Augustus Cheffington had paid that sudden visit to his
+mother-in-law which resulted in leaving May on her hands, Theodore
+Bransby happened to be at home during a University vacation, and was
+flattered by Captain Cheffington's notice. The fact was that Augustus
+found himself greatly bored and out of his element in Oldchester, and
+was glad to accept a dinner or two from Mr. Bransby, the solicitor to
+the Dean and Chapter; for Mr. Bransby's port wine was unimpeachable. He
+had also condescended to play several games of billiards with Theodore
+upon a somewhat mangy old table in the Green Dragon Hotel; and to smoke
+that young gentleman's cigars without stint; and to hold forth about
+himself in the handsomest terms, pleased to be accepted, apparently,
+pretty much at his own valuation. Theodore Bransby was no fool. But he
+was young, and he had his illusions. These were not of a high-flown,
+ideal cast. He would have shrugged his shoulders at any one who should
+set up for philanthropy, or poetry, or socialism, or chivalry. But he
+was subdued by a display of nonchalant disdain for all the things and
+persons which he had been accustomed to look up to, from childhood. Mr.
+Bragg, the great tin-tack manufacturer, his father's wealthiest client,
+was dismissed by Augustus Cheffington in two words: "Damned snob!" and
+even the bishop he pronounced to be a "prosin' old prig," and spoke of
+the bishop's wife as "that vulgar fat woman." These indications of
+superiority, together with many references to the noble and honourable
+Castlecombes and Cheffingtons who composed Augustus's kith and kin, had
+greatly fascinated Theodore. And Augustus had completed his conquest
+over the young man by giving him a letter of introduction to his sister,
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith, which letter was delivered when young Bransby went to
+London to read for the Bar.
+
+Although the brother and sister had parted not on the best terms with
+each other, yet Augustus had not hesitated to give the introduction. He
+believed that his sister would be willing to honour his recommendation
+by showing civilities which cost her nothing; and, moreover, he was
+quite indifferent (being then on the point of saying a long farewell to
+Oldchester) as to whether the Dormer-Smiths snubbed young Bransby or
+not. They did not snub him. Mrs. Dormer-Smith rather approved of his
+manners; and it was quite clear that he wanted neither for means nor
+friends. She was therefore inclined to receive him with something more
+than politeness. And, in justice to Pauline, it must be said that she
+was really glad of the opportunity to please her brother. She was not
+without fraternal sentiments; and she strongly felt that an introduction
+from a Cheffington to a Cheffington was not a document to be lightly
+dishonoured. As for Mr. Dormer-Smith, although his feelings towards his
+brother-in-law--never very cordial--had been exacerbated by having to
+pay the bill for the dowager's funeral expenses, yet his resentment had
+been to some degree soothed by Augustus's abrupt departure, and by his
+withdrawal of May from her aunt's house. For many years past the
+attachment of Augustus's relations for him had increased in direct
+proportion to the distance which divided him from them. In Belgium he
+was tolerated and pitied; had he gone to the Antipodes he would
+doubtless have been warmly sympathized with; and it might safely be
+prophesied that, when he should finally emigrate from this planet
+altogether, the surviving members of the family would be penetrated by a
+glow of affection.
+
+"I think he's rather nice, Frederick," said Mrs. Dormer-Smith, with a
+little sigh of relief after young Bransby's first visit.
+
+"We may be thankful," returned her husband, "that Augustus has sent us a
+possible person. One never can reckon on what he may choose to do."
+
+"Mr. Bransby is quite possible. Indeed, I think he is nice. He shall
+have a card for my Thursdays."
+
+In this way Theodore had been received by Mrs. Dormer-Smith, and had
+established himself in her good opinion on further acquaintance. "He
+was," she said, "so quiet and so safe." At this time May Cheffington was
+still at school, being maintained there, as has been recorded, by her
+grandmother Dobbs; and Pauline would occasionally speak of her niece to
+young Bransby. She always spoke kindly, though plaintively, of the girl,
+over whom there hung the shadow of the unfortunate marriage.
+
+Theodore Bransby was an Oldchester person, and could not, therefore, be
+supposed to be ignorant of that lamentable event. The fact was, however,
+that he had never heard a word about it until he made Captain
+Cheffington's acquaintance in his native city. It had taken place before
+he was born; and, indeed, Oldchester had been less agitated by the
+marriage, even at the time when it happened, than any Cheffington or
+Castlecombe would have believed possible. But Pauline found young
+Bransby's sentiments on the subject all that they should be. No one
+could have expressed himself more shocked at the idea of a gentleman's
+marrying a person in Susan Dobbs's rank of life than did this
+solicitor's son. And Mrs. Dormer-Smith had not the least suspicion that
+he would have considered such a marriage quite as shocking a
+_mesalliance_ for himself as for Captain Cheffington. "Misunderstanding"
+is used as a synonym for "discord;" but, perhaps, a great deal of social
+harmony depends on misunderstandings.
+
+Theodore could not, of course, have the slightest personal interest in a
+schoolgirl whom he had never seen; but his sympathies were so entirely
+with the Cheffingtons on the question of the unfortunate marriage as to
+inspire him with an odd feeling of antagonism against Mrs. Dobbs, and a
+sense that she ought to be firmly kept in her place. He secretly thought
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith weakly indulgent in allowing Miss Cheffington to
+associate so freely with her grandmother, and was indignant at the idea
+of that plebeian exercising any authority over Lord Castlecombe's
+grand-niece. However, all that would doubtless come to an end when the
+girl left school, and was introduced into society under her aunt's
+protection. Theodore flattered himself that he thoroughly understood the
+position. As for Viscount Castlecombe, he certainly knew all about
+_him_--or, at least, what was chiefly worth knowing; for he had read
+about him in the Peerage.
+
+Primed with this varied knowledge, young Bransby held forth to Owen
+Rivers as they walked together through College Quad, across the open
+green beyond it, and up to the house of Mr. Bransby, senior, in the
+Cathedral Close. Here they parted. Rivers declined a polite invitation
+from the other to enter, and pursued his way alone towards the High
+Street; and Bransby, as he waited for the door to be opened, stood
+looking after him for a few moments.
+
+The two young men had known each other more or less all their lives, but
+theirs was a familiarity without real intimacy. The years had not made
+them more congenial to each other. People began to say that they were
+rivals in Constance Hadlow's good graces. But, whether this were so or
+not, the latent antagonism between them had existed long before they
+grew to be men. They had never quarrelled. The air is always still
+enough in a frost. They did not even know how much they disliked one
+another. As Theodore watched Owen's retreating figure, the thought
+uppermost in his mind was that his friend's shooting-coat was badly cut,
+and that he did not remember ever to have seen him wear gloves.
+
+The home of Mr. Martin Bransby, of the old-established firm of Cadell
+and Bransby, was a luxurious one. The house was an ancient substantial
+stone building, with a spacious walled garden behind it, contiguous to
+the bishop's. The present occupant had made considerable additions to
+it. It is perhaps needless to say that he had been severely criticized
+for doing so, there being no point on which it is more difficult to
+content public opinion than the expenditure of one's own money. Several
+of Mr. Bransby's acquaintances were unable to reconcile themselves to
+the fact that he was not satisfied with that which had satisfied his
+father and grandfather (for Martin Bransby was the third of his family
+who had successively held that house and the business of solicitor to
+the Dean and Chapter of Oldchester). It would have been better, they
+opined, if, instead of building new rooms, he had saved his money to
+provide for the young family rising around him. If it were observed to
+this irreconcilable party that the presence of a numerous family
+necessitated more space to lodge them in than the original house
+afforded, they would triumphantly retort, "Very well, then, what
+business had Martin Bransby to marry a second time? Or, if he must
+marry, why did he choose a young girl without a penny instead of some
+person nearer his own age and with a little property?" Martin Bransby,
+however, marrying rather to please himself than to earn the approval of
+his friends, had chosen a remarkably pretty girl of twenty, a Miss
+Louisa Lutyer, of a good Shropshire family, whom he had met in London.
+They had now been married twelve years, during which time five children
+had been born to them, and they had lived together in the utmost
+harmony. Those persons who disapproved of the match (solely in Mr.
+Bransby's interests, of course) could find nothing worse to say than
+that Martin was absurdly in love with his wife, and treated her with
+weak indulgence. In short, the irreconcilables were driven, year by
+year, to put off the date at which their unfavourable judgments were to
+be corroborated by facts, much as sundry popular preachers have been
+compelled by circumstances over which they had no control, to postpone
+the end of the world.
+
+Latterly they had had the mournful satisfaction of observing that Martin
+Bransby was looking far from well--harassed and aged. And when he was
+attacked by the severe illness which threatened his life, they solemnly
+hinted that the malady had been aggravated by anxiety about his young
+family; for although Martin had made, and was making, a great deal of
+money, yet, with three boys to put out in the world, two daughters to
+provide for, and an extravagant wife to maintain, even the excellent
+business of Cadell and Bransby _must_ be somewhat strained to supply his
+needs.
+
+At any rate, the evidences of wealth and comfort were as abundant as
+ever in the home which Theodore entered when he parted from his friend.
+There was plenty of solid furniture, dating from the dark ages before
+modern aestheticism had arisen to reform upholstery and teach us the
+original sinfulness of the prismatic colours. But these relics of the
+earlier part of the century were not to be found in the two spacious
+drawing-rooms, which had been arranged by the fashionablest of
+fashionable house-decorators from London. These rooms, together with a
+tiny cabinet behind them, which was styled "The Boudoir," were Mrs.
+Bransby's special domain. And here Theodore found her seated by the
+fireside. A book lay on her knees; but she was not reading it. She was
+resting in a position of complete repose, with her head leaning against
+the back of the chair, her hands carelessly crossed on her lap, and her
+feet supported on a cushion. She was enjoying the sense of bodily and
+mental rest which comes from the removal of a keen-edged anxiety; for
+during several weeks Mrs. Bransby had been the most devoted of
+sick-nurses, and had scarcely left her husband's room. But now the
+doctors had pronounced all danger to be over; the children's active feet
+and shrill voices were no longer hushed down by warning fingers; the
+housemaid sang over her brooms and dusters; and the mistress of the
+house had unpacked and put on a new "tea-gown," which had lain neglected
+for more than a fortnight in its brown-paper wrappings. From the
+golden-brown clusters of hair on her forehead to the tip of her dainty
+shoe every detail of her appearance was cared for minutely. Yet there
+was nothing of stiffness or affectation. She reminded one of an
+exquisitely-tended hothouse flower, and carried her beauty and her
+toilet with as perfect an air of unconscious refinement as the flower
+itself. Certainly Oldchester held no more lovely and graceful figure
+than Mrs. Bransby presented to the eyes of her stepson. Yet the eyes of
+her stepson rested on her with a glance of cool disapprobation. His
+manner of addressing her, however, was not more chilly than his manner
+of addressing most other persons--perhaps rather less so; and he was
+scrupulously polite.
+
+"Did Hatch give a good account of my father this morning?" he asked,
+seating himself by the fire opposite to Mrs. Bransby.
+
+"Excellent, thank goodness! He is to drive out on Wednesday, if the
+weather is favourable. I felt so soothed and comforted by Dr. Hatch's
+report, that I thought I would indulge myself with half an hour of
+perfect laziness," added Mrs. Bransby, with a deprecating glance at
+Theodore. She constantly reproved herself for assuming an apologetic
+attitude towards her stepson, but constantly recurred to it; she was so
+keenly conscious of his--always unexpressed--criticism.
+
+"Mrs. Hadlow desired to send word that the canon means to call on my
+father this afternoon, if he is well enough to see him."
+
+"Oh yes; a talk with Canon Hadlow will do him good." Then, after an
+instant's pause, Mrs. Bransby asked, "Have you been in College Quad,
+then?"
+
+"I lunched with Mrs. Hadlow. Rivers was there; I parted from him just
+now. And Miss Cheffington."
+
+"Oh, really? Mrs. Hadlow is very kind to that little May Cheffington."
+
+Theodore made no answer, but looked stiffly at the fire.
+
+Mrs. Bransby went on: "I saw her in the cathedral at afternoon service
+yesterday, with the Hadlows. It struck me she was growing quite pretty.
+Don't you think so?"
+
+"I should not call her _pretty_----" began Theodore slowly.
+
+Mrs. Bransby broke in: "Well, of course, she is eclipsed by Constance.
+Constance is so very handsome. But still----"
+
+"I should not describe Miss Cheffington as _pretty_," pursued Theodore,
+in an inflexible kind of way. "She is something more than pretty. She
+looks thoroughbred."
+
+"But that's exactly what she is _not_, isn't it?" exclaimed Mrs. Bransby
+impulsively.
+
+"I am not sure that I apprehend you."
+
+"I mean her mother was quite a common person, was she not?"
+
+"A woman takes her husband's rank."
+
+"Yes; but she doesn't inherit his ancestors. Besides, one really doesn't
+know much about the father, for that matter. To be sure, Simmy was
+making a great flourish about May's grand relations in London this
+morning. But then all poor dear Simmy's geese are swans." (The name of
+"Simmy" had been bestowed on Mrs. Simpson by the youngest little Bransby
+but one; and although the elder children were reproved for using it, the
+appellation had come to be that by which she was most familiarly known
+in the Bransby family.)
+
+"Mrs. Simpson is a silly person, but her information happens, in this
+case, to be correct," returned Theodore. "The relations with whom Miss
+Cheffington is going to live in London are friends of mine."
+
+"Oh! Then what Simmy said is true?" said Mrs. Bransby simply.
+
+Theodore proceeded, with a scarcely perceptible hesitation, "I think you
+might invite Miss Cheffington here before she goes to town. I--I should
+be obliged to you for the opportunity of showing her some attention, in
+return for the Dormer-Smiths' kindness to me in London."
+
+"Yes, I can ask the girl if you like," answered Mrs. Bransby, not quite
+as warmly as Theodore thought she ought to have answered such a
+suggestion from him; "but it will be rather stupid for her, I'm afraid.
+At the Hadlows' there is a young girl near her own age; but here, unless
+she likes to play with the children, I don't see how we are to amuse
+her."
+
+"I did not contemplate Miss Cheffington's playing with the children. I
+meant that you should invite her to a dinner-party, or something of that
+sort."
+
+"Invite May Cheffington to a dinner-party!" repeated Mrs. Bransby,
+opening her soft, brown eyes in astonishment.
+
+"My father spoke of giving a dinner before I go back to the Temple, and
+he said he thought he should be well enough to see his friends by the
+end of next week."
+
+"Yes. He talked of inviting the Pipers, and the Hadlows, and perhaps Mr.
+Bragg."
+
+"Could you not include Miss Cheffington? Perhaps if you allowed me to
+see your list I might help to arrange it."
+
+"Oh, I suppose one _could_; but wouldn't it seem a very strange thing to
+do?"
+
+A little colour came into Theodore's pale fair face, and his chin grew
+visibly more rigid above his cravat, as he answered, "I don't know. But
+the social _convenances_ are not to be measured by Oldchester's
+provincial ideas as to their strangeness. And--pardon me--I don't think
+you quite understand Miss Cheffington's position."
+
+And then he entered on an explanation of the "position," much as he had
+explained it to Owen Rivers; with only such suppressions and variations
+(chiefly regarding the private history of Augustus Cheffington) as he
+thought the difference between his hearers demanded.
+
+"Well, I'm sure if your father has no objection, I have none," said Mrs.
+Bransby at length. And so Theodore got his own way. It was a matter of
+course that he should get his own way so far as his step-mother was
+concerned. Mrs. Bransby had, indeed, successfully resisted him on many
+occasions; but always through the medium of her husband. If Theodore
+attacked her face to face, she never had the courage to oppose him. Not
+that in the present case she very much wished to oppose him. Nor, in
+truth, had their wills ever clashed seriously. But the secret
+consciousness of her weakness and timidity was mortifying: for Mrs.
+Bransby, although too gentle to fight, was not too gentle to wish she
+could fight. And after Theodore had left the room, she sat for some time
+imagining to herself various neat and pointed speeches which would
+doubtless have brought down her stepson's sententious, supercilious
+tone, if she had only had the presence of mind to utter them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+
+May Cheffington went back to her grand-mother's house, very eager to
+understand the origin of the rumours about herself which she had heard
+at the Hadlows'. Mrs. Dobbs had not calculated on this, and would have
+preferred to break the project to May herself, and in her own fashion.
+However, as it had been mentioned, she spoke of it openly. She merely
+cautioned her grand-daughter against rashly jumping at any conclusions:
+the future being very vague and unsettled.
+
+"There's one conclusion I _have_ jumped at, granny," said the girl, "and
+that is, that I don't mean to give you up for any aunts, or uncles, or
+cousins of them all. They are strangers to me, and I don't care a straw
+about them--how should I?--whilst _you_ are--granny!"
+
+"There is no question of giving me up, May. Perhaps I should not like
+that much better than you would. But if your father should think it
+right for you to stay for a while with his family, we mustn't oppose
+him. And I must tell you that I should think it right, too."
+
+"Oh, if it's only staying 'for a while'----!"
+
+"Well, at all events we needn't look beyond a 'while' and a short while,
+for the present."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs found it more difficult than she had anticipated to put
+before May the prospect of being removed from Oldchester altogether,
+and, now that the idea of losing May out of her daily life fully
+presented itself, she felt a grip at the heart which frightened her. But
+she had one of those strong characters whose instinct it is to hide
+their wounds and suffer silently; and she resolutely put aside her own
+pain at this prospect--or rather, put it off to the solitary hours to
+come.
+
+During the four years since her father had left her at Oldchester, May's
+life had been passed between her school at Brighton and her holidays in
+Oldchester. These had certainly been the happiest years she could
+remember in all her young life. Her grand-mother's house had been the
+first real home she had ever known. Her recollections of their life on
+the Continent were dim and melancholy. She remembered fragmentary scenes
+and incidents in certain dull Flemish towns; their strong-smelling
+gutters, their toppling gables, the _carillons_ sounding high up in some
+ancient cathedral belfry. She had a vision of her mother's face, very
+pale and thin, with large bright eyes, and streaks of gray in the brown
+hair. May, as the youngest of Susan Cheffington's children, had come in
+for the worst part of their Continental life. The earlier years, when
+there was still some money to spend, and fewer debts to be run away
+from, had not been quite devoid of brightness. But poor little May's
+conscious observation had little to take note of at home save poverty,
+sickness, domestic dissensions, and frequent migrations from one shabby
+lodging to another. Then her mother died, and some six or eight months
+afterwards she was brought to England, and--Fate and the dowager so
+willing it--was sent to school to Mrs. Drax in Brighton. The choice of
+this school proved to be a very fortunate one for the little motherless
+stranger. And perhaps the credit of it ought fairly to be assigned
+rather to Destiny than the dowager. The latter would have selected a
+more fashionable, pretentious, and expensive establishment had she
+consulted merely her idea of what was becoming and suitable for Miss
+Miranda Cheffington. But she soon found out that whatever was paid for
+that young lady's schooling must, sooner or later, come out of her own
+pocket, and she therefore preferred to honour Mrs. Drax with her
+patronage, rather than Madame Liebrecht, who had been governess for
+years in a noble family, and was supposed to accept no pupil who could
+not show sixteen quarterings; or, of course, their equivalent in cash.
+
+The choice made was, as has been said, very fortunate for May. Mrs. Drax
+had the manners of a gentlewoman, and more amiability than could perhaps
+have been reasonably expected to survive a long struggle with her
+special world--a world of parents and guardians, who held, for the most
+part, a liberal view of her duties and a niggardly one of her rights.
+Here little May Cheffington remained as a pupil for nearly eight years.
+During the first half of that time she sometimes spent her holidays with
+the dowager at Richmond, and sometimes in Brighton under the care of
+Mrs. Drax. She preferred the latter. Old Mrs. Cheffington did not treat
+the child with any active unkindness; but she showed her no tenderness.
+The little girl was usually left to the care of her grand-mother's
+maid--an elderly woman, to whom this young creature was merely an extra
+burthen not considered in her wages. The child passed many a lonely hour
+in the garden, or beside the dining-room fire with a book, unheeded. Her
+aunt Pauline she only saw at rare intervals. She had a confused sense of
+innocently causing much sorrow to Mrs. Dormer-Smith, who seemed always
+to be afflicted (why, May did not for several years understand) by the
+sight of her clothes; and who used to complain softly to the dowager
+that "the poor dear child was lamentably dressed." But, on the whole,
+she retained a rather agreeable impression of her aunt, as being pretty
+and gentle, and kissing her kindly when they met.
+
+Then came the dowager's death, the sudden journey to Oldchester, and the
+first acquaintance with that unknown Grandmother Dobbs, whose very name
+she had heard uttered only in a reproachful tone by the dowager, or in a
+hushed voice by the dowager's elderly maid, speaking as one who names a
+hereditary malady. And to this _taboo_ Grandmother Dobbs the neglected
+child soon gave the warm love of a very grateful and affectionate
+nature. May did not know or guess that she was a burthen on her
+grand-mother's means, nor would the knowledge have increased her
+gratitude at that time. It was the fostering affection which the child
+was thankful for. She nestled in it like a half-fledged bird in the warm
+shelter of the mother's wing. She was not timid or reserved by
+temperament; but the circumstances of her life had given her a certain
+repressed air. That disappeared now like hoar-frost in the sunshine. She
+was like a young plant whose growth had been arrested by a too chilly
+atmosphere. She burgeoned and bloomed into the natural joyousness of
+childhood, which needs, above all things, the warmth of love, and cannot
+be healthily nurtured by any artificial heat.
+
+In her school there was no influence tending to diminish May's
+attachment to her grandmother, or her perfect contentment with the
+simple _bourgeois_ home in Oldchester. Plain Mrs. Dobbs, who paid her
+bills punctually, and listened to reason, stood far higher in the
+schoolmistress's esteem than the Honourable Mrs. Cheffington, who was
+never contented, and required to be dunned for the payment of her just
+debts. As to her noble relations, May had no acquaintance with them, and
+never sighed to make it. She was ignorant of the very existence of many
+of them. When, at seventeen years of age, she was removed from school,
+she looked forward to living in the old house in Friar's Row, and she
+certainly desired no better home. Mrs. Drax, it has been said, had the
+manners of a gentlewoman, and she had not vulgarized May's natural
+refinement of mind by misdirecting her admiration towards ignoble
+things. The provincialisms in her grand-mother's speech, and the homely
+style of her grand-mother's household--although she clearly perceived
+both--neither shocked nor mortified May. On the other hand, she accepted
+it as a quite natural thing that she should be invited to Canon Hadlow's
+house as a guest on equal terms. As Mrs. Dobbs had said to Jo
+Weatherhead, May was very much of a child still, and understood nothing
+of the world. Her unquestioning acceptance of the situation as her
+grandmother presented it to her had something very child-like. She did
+not inquire how it came to pass that her aunt Pauline, who had taken
+very little notice of her during the past four years, should now desire
+to have her as an inmate of her home. She did not ask why her father,
+after so long a torpor on the subject, had suddenly awakened to the
+necessity of asserting his daughter's position in the world; neither did
+she, even in her private thoughts, reproach him for having delegated all
+the care and responsibility of her education to "granny." A
+healthy-minded young creature has deep well-springs of unquestioning
+faith in its parents, or those who stand in the place of parents.
+
+But there was one person not so easily contented with the first
+statement offered; and that person was Mr. Joseph Weatherhead. Mr.
+Weatherhead was very fond of May, and admired her very much. His social
+and political theories ought logically to have made him regard her with
+peculiar interest and consideration as coming of such very blue
+blood--at least on one side of the house. But it so happened that these
+theories had nothing on earth to do with his attachment to May. That
+arose, firstly, from her being Sarah Dobbs's grandchild (Jo would have
+loved and championed any creature, biped or quadruped, that belonged to
+Sarah Dobbs), and, secondly, from her being very lovable. The poor man
+was often embarrassed by the conflict between his curiosity and his
+principles. His curiosity, which was as insatiable and omnivorous as the
+appetite of a pigeon, would have led him to cross-question May minutely
+about all she knew or guessed respecting her own future, and the
+probable behaviour of her father's family towards her; but his
+conscience told him that it would not be right to put doubts and
+suspicions into the girl's trusting young soul. Certainly he himself
+cherished many doubts and suspicions as to the future conduct of May's
+papa. He questioned Mrs. Dobbs, indeed; but there was neither sport nor
+exercise for his sharp inquisitiveness in that. When Mrs. Dobbs did not
+choose to answer him, she said so roundly, and there was an end. She had
+told him that she was in correspondence with Captain Cheffington, and
+that she believed he would share her views about his daughter. Jo,
+however, entertained a rooted disbelief as to Captain Cheffington's
+holding any "views" which had not himself for their supreme object.
+
+"And this Mrs. Dormer-Smith, now, Sarah," said he. "What reason have you
+to suppose that she will be willing to take charge of her niece now,
+when she would have nothing to say to her before?"
+
+"A pretty girl of seventeen is a different charge from a lanky child of
+twelve, Jo. Mrs. Dormer-Smith couldn't have taken a schoolgirl in short
+frocks out into the world with her."
+
+"Humph! You don't _know_ that she will take May out into the world with
+her?"
+
+"I have written. I shall have an answer in a few days, I dare say. I
+don't expect matters to be settled like a flash of greased lightning, as
+Mr. Simpson says. There's a deal to be considered. Hold your tongue,
+now; here's May."
+
+Similar conversations took place between them nearly every day. And when
+they were not interrupted by any external circumstance, Mrs. Dobbs would
+resolutely put an end to them by declining to pursue the subject.
+
+One afternoon, about a week after May's return from her visit to the
+Hadlows', the young girl was seated at the old-fashioned square
+pianoforte, singing snatches of ballads in a fresh, untrained voice; Mr.
+Weatherhead had just taken his accustomed seat by the fireside; and Mrs.
+Dobbs was opposite to him in her own armchair, with the old tabby
+purring in the firelight at her feet, when Martha opened the parlour
+door softly, shut it quickly after her, and announced, with a slight
+tone of excitement in her usually quiet voice, that there was a
+gentleman in the passage asking for Miss May.
+
+"For me, Martha?" exclaimed May, turning round at the sound of her own
+name, with one hand still on the keys of the pianoforte. "Who is he?"
+
+"He said 'Miss Cheffington.' I don't know him, not by sight. But here's
+his card."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs took the card from the servant, and put on her spectacles,
+bending down to read the name by the firelight. "Bun--Brun--oh, Bransby!
+Mr. Theodore Bransby. Ask the gentleman to walk in, Martha."
+
+As Martha left the room, Mr. Weatherhead pointed to the door with one
+thumb, and whispered, "Wonder what _he_ wants!" To which Mrs. Dobbs
+replied by lifting her shoulders and slightly shaking her head, as much
+as to say, "I'm sure I can't guess." The next moment Mr. Theodore
+Bransby was ushered into the parlour.
+
+The room was rather dim, and Theodore did not immediately perceive May,
+who still sat at the piano. "Miss Cheffington?" he said interrogatively,
+with a stiff little gesture of the head towards Mrs. Dobbs, which might
+pass for a bow.
+
+Mrs. Dobbs had risen from her chair, and now motioned her visitor to be
+seated. "My grand-daughter is here. Pray sit down, Mr. Theodore
+Bransby," she said. Then May got up, and came forward, and shook hands
+with him.
+
+"I don't think you know my grandmother, Mrs. Dobbs," she said,
+presenting him.
+
+Theodore, upon this, began to hold out his hand rather slowly; but, as
+Mrs. Dobbs made no answering gesture, but merely pointed again to a
+chair, he was fain to bow once more--a good deal more distinctly, this
+time--and to sit down with the sense of having received a little check.
+
+"I hope I have not interrupted you, Miss Cheffington?" said he, clearing
+his throat and settling his chin in his shirt-collar. "You were
+singing."
+
+"Oh no; you haven't interrupted me at all. And, even if you had, it
+wouldn't matter. My singing is not worth much."
+
+"Pardon me if I decline to believe that. From some sounds which reached
+me through the door, I am sure you sing charmingly."
+
+May laughed. "Ah," said she, "the other side of the door is the most
+favourable position for hearing me. I really don't know how to sing. Ask
+granny."
+
+"No; May doesn't know how to sing," said Mrs. Dobbs quietly, but very
+decisively. (For she had caught an expression on Mr. Theodore Bransby's
+pale, smooth face, which seemed to wonder superciliously what on earth
+_she_ could know about it.) Whereupon his pale, smooth eyebrows raised
+themselves a hair's breadth more, but he said nothing.
+
+"My grandmother is a great judge of singing, you must know," went on May
+innocently. "She has heard all the best singers at the Oldchester
+Musical Festivals for years and years past, and she used to sing herself
+in the choruses of the oratorios."
+
+"Oh, I see!" said Theodore, with a little contemptuous air of
+enlightenment.
+
+Jo Weatherhead looked across at him uneasily. He had a half-formed
+suspicion that this young spark with the smooth, rather closely-cropped
+blonde head, severe shirt-collar, faultlessly-fitting coat, and slightly
+pedantic utterance, showed a tendency to treat Mrs. Dobbs with
+impertinence. But he checked the suspicion, for, he argued with himself,
+young Bransby had had the training of a gentleman. And what gentleman
+would be impertinent to a worthy and respected woman, and in her own
+house, too? He thought, as he looked at him, that Theodore bore very
+little resemblance to his father, Martin Bransby, who was altogether of
+a different and more massive type.
+
+"You don't favour your father much, sir," said Jo blandly.
+
+The young man turned his pale blue eyes upon him with a look studiously
+devoid of all expression. "I had the honour of knowing your worthy
+father well, some five-and-twenty--or it may be thirty--years ago."
+
+Theodore, continuing to stare at him stonily, said, "Oh, really?" in a
+low monotone.
+
+"Yes; I knew him in the way of business. He was a customer of mine when
+I was in the bookselling business at Brummagem, as we called it. Your
+father was, even at that time, very highly thought of by some of the
+leading legal luminaries. We had no assizes at Birmingham, as no doubt
+you're aware; but I used to go over to Warwick Assizes pretty reg'larly
+in those days, having some dealings there in the stationery line--which
+I afterwards gave up altogether, though that isn't to the point--and I
+used to frequent a good deal of legal company. Mr. Martin Bransby was
+thought a good deal of, among 'em, I can tell you, and was taken a great
+deal of notice of by some of the county families--quite the real old
+gentry," added Mr. Weatherhead, pursing up his mouth and nodding his
+head emphatically, like a man enforcing a statement which his hearers
+might reasonably hesitate to accept.
+
+"Oh, how is Mr. Bransby?" asked May.
+
+"Thanks; my father is going on very well indeed. He has driven out
+twice, and, in fact, is nearly himself again. He purposes asking some
+friends to dine with him next week. Indeed, that furnishes the object of
+my visit here. I--Mrs. Bransby--of course, you understand that my
+father's long illness has given her a great deal to do."
+
+"Truly it must!" broke in Mrs. Dobbs, thinking at once sympathetically
+of the wife and mother threatened with so cruel a bereavement, and now
+almost suddenly relieved from overwhelming anxiety. "I'm sure most folks
+in Oldchester have been feeling greatly for Mrs. Bransby."
+
+"And so," continued Theodore, addressing himself exclusively to May,
+"she has not really been--been able to see as much of you as she would
+have liked, Miss Cheffington."
+
+May looked at him in surprise. "Why of course?" said she. "Mrs. Bransby
+hasn't been thinking about _me_! How should she?"
+
+"That is the reason--I mean my father's illness, and all the occupations
+resulting from it--which has induced Mrs. Bransby to make me her
+ambassador on this occasion."
+
+As he spoke, Theodore took a little note from his pocket-book, and
+handed it to May. She glanced at it, and exclaimed with open
+astonishment, "It's an invitation to dinner! Look, granny!"
+
+Mr. Weatherhead poked forward his head to see. It was, in fact, a formal
+card requesting the pleasure of Miss Cheffington's company at dinner on
+the following Saturday. Mrs. Dobbs once more put on her spectacles and
+read the card.
+
+"I hope you will be disengaged," said Theodore, severely ignoring
+"granny."
+
+"Oh, I couldn't go to a grand dinner-party. It would be ridiculous!"
+
+"May! That's not a gracious fashion of receiving an invitation, anyhow,"
+said Mrs. Dobbs, smiling a little.
+
+"It's very kind indeed of Mr. and Mrs. Bransby, but I would much rather
+not, please," said May, endeavouring to amend her phrase.
+
+"Oh, that's dreadfully cruel, Miss Cheffington!"
+
+"You don't think I ought to go, do you, granny?"
+
+"That," replied Mrs. Dobbs, "depends on circumstances."
+
+"I assure you," said Theodore, turning round with his most imposing air,
+"that it would be quite proper for Miss Cheffington to accept the
+invitation. I should certainly not urge her to do so unless that were
+the case."
+
+Jo Weatherhead's suspicions as to this young spark's tendency to
+impertinence were rather vividly revived by this speech, and his
+forehead flushed as dark a red as his nose. But Mrs. Dobbs, looking at
+Theodore's fair young face made up into an expression of solemn
+importance, smiled a broad smile of motherly toleration, and answered in
+a soothing tone--
+
+"No, no; to be sure, you mean to do what's right and proper; only young
+folks don't look at everything as has to be considered. But youth has
+the best of it in so many ways, it can afford to be not quite so wise as
+its elders."
+
+This glimpse of himself, as Mrs. Dobbs saw him, was so totally
+unexpected as completely to dumfounder Theodore for a moment. Never,
+since he left off round jackets, had he been so addressed: for the
+behaviour of our acquaintances towards us in daily life is generally
+modified by their idea of what we think of ourselves.
+
+"I--I can assure you," he stammered; and then stopped, at a loss for
+words, in most unaccustomed embarrassment.
+
+"There, there, we ain't bound to say yes or no all in a minute," pursued
+Mrs. Dobbs. "Any way, we couldn't think of making you postman. That's
+all very well for your step-mother, of course; but May must send her
+answer in a proper way. Meanwhile, will you stay and have a cup of tea,
+Mr. Bransby? It's just our teatime. The tray will be here in a minute."
+
+Theodore had risen as if to go. He now stood hesitating, and looking at
+May, who certainly gave no answering look of encouragement. She wanted
+him gone, that she might "talk over" the invitation with her
+grandmother.
+
+With a pleasant clinking sound, Martha now brought in the tea-tray; and
+in another minute had fetched the kettle and placed it on the hob,
+where, after a brief interval of wheezing and sputtering, consequent on
+its sudden removal from the kitchen fire, it resumed its gurgling sound,
+and made itself cheerfully at home.
+
+If Mrs. Dobbs had urged him by another word,--if she had shown by any
+look or tone that she thought it would be a condescension in him to
+remain, Theodore would have refused. But she began placidly to scoop out
+the tea from the caddy, and awaited his reply with unfeigned equanimity.
+There was an unacknowledged feeling in his heart that, to go away then
+and so, would be to make a flat kind of exit disagreeable to think of.
+He would like to leave this obtuse old woman impressed with a sense of
+his superiority; and apparently it would still require some little time
+before that impression was made.
+
+"Thanks," he said. "If I am not disturbing you----"
+
+"Dear no! How could it disturb me? Martha, bring another cup and
+saucer."
+
+And then Theodore, laying aside his hat and gloves, drew a chair up to
+the table and accepted the proffered hospitality.
+
+Having found the method of supercilious reserve rather a failure, the
+young man now adopted a different treatment for the purpose of awaking
+Mrs. Dobbs, and that objectionably familiar person with the red nose, to
+a sense of his social distinction and general merits. He talked--not
+volubly, indeed: for that would have been out of his power, even had he
+wished it, but he talked--in a succession of short speeches, beginning
+for the most part with "I." His efforts were not, however, exclusively
+aimed at Mrs. Dobbs and Jo Weatherhead. He watched May a good deal, and
+spoke to her of the Dormer-Smiths as though that were a topic between
+themselves, from which the profane vulgar (especially profane
+ex-booksellers, with red noses) were necessarily excluded. As the others
+said very little--with the exception of an occasional question from Jo
+Weatherhead--Theodore's talk assumed the form of a monologue spoken to a
+dull audience.
+
+He was conscious, as he walked away from Friar's Row, of being a little
+surprised at his own conversational efforts, and half-repentant of his
+condescension. He had been obliged to take his leave without obtaining
+any definite answer to the dinner invitation. But, perhaps, the feeling
+uppermost in his mind was irritation at May's perfectly simple
+acceptance of her position as Mrs. Dobbs's grand-daughter, and her
+perfectly filial attachment to her grandmother. "It is really too bad!
+Cheffington ought never to have allowed his daughter to be got hold of
+by those people. Mrs. Dormer-Smith cannot have the least idea what sort
+of a _milieu_ her niece lives in!" he said to himself.
+
+The worst was that May was so evidently contented! If she had been at
+all distressed by her surroundings, Theodore could have better borne to
+see her there.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+
+Persons like the Simpsons, who knew Mrs. Dobbs intimately, allowed her
+to have a strong judgment, and asserted her to have a still stronger
+will. She was far too bent on her own way ever to take advice, they
+said. It certainly did not happen that she took theirs. But Mrs. Dobbs's
+judgment was stronger than they knew. It was strong enough to show her
+on what points other people were likely to know better than she did. She
+would undoubtedly have followed Amelia Simpson's counsels as to the best
+way of dressing the hair in filmy ringlets--if she had chanced to
+require that information.
+
+On the morning after Theodore Bransby's visit to her house, Mrs. Dobbs
+put on her bonnet and set off betimes to College Quad. There she had an
+interview with Mrs. Hadlow, who, it appeared, was going to the Bransbys'
+dinner-party, and willingly promised to take charge of May.
+
+"It seemed to me it wouldn't be the right thing for my grand-daughter to
+go alone to a regular formal party," said Mrs. Dobbs. "But, as I don't
+pretend to be much of an authority on such matters, I ventured to ask
+you to tell me."
+
+"Of course you were quite right, Mrs. Dobbs."
+
+"And you think she had better accept the invitation? She doesn't much
+want to do so herself, being shy of going amongst strangers. But, to be
+sure, if she may be under your wing, and in company with Miss Hadlow,
+that would make a vast difference."
+
+"Oh yes, let her go, Mrs. Dobbs. Sooner or later she will have to go
+into the world, and it may be well to begin amongst people she is used
+to. Is it true that she is to go to her aunt's house in London very
+soon?"
+
+"Nothing is settled yet. If there had been, you and Canon Hadlow should
+have been the first to know it--as it would be only my duty to tell you,
+after all your kindness to the child. Nothing is settled. But I am in
+favour of her going myself."
+
+"You take the sensible view, Mrs. Dobbs, as I think you always
+do--except at election time," added Mrs. Hadlow, smiling.
+
+The elder woman smiled back, with a little resolute setting of the lips,
+and begged her best respects to the canon as she took her leave. The
+canon was a great favourite with Mrs. Dobbs; and, on his part, their
+political struggle in that long past election had inspired him with a
+British respect for his adversary's pluck and fair play.
+
+The prospect of going with Mrs. Hadlow and Constance greatly reconciled
+May to the idea of the dinner-party. But she did not look forward to it
+with anticipations of enjoyment.
+
+"I would much rather dine in the nursery with the children," she said,
+unconsciously echoing Mrs. Bransby's suggestion.
+
+Mr. Weatherhead, who was present, took her up on this, and said, "Why,
+now, May, you will enjoy being in good society! Mr. Bransby is a very
+agreeable man, and used to some of the best company in the county. Mrs.
+Bransby, too, is very pleasant and very pretty; a Miss Lutyer she was, a
+regular beauty, and belonging to a good old Shropshire family. And young
+Theodore----" Jo Weatherhead pausing here, and hesitating for a moment,
+May broke in, "Come now, Uncle Jo," she exclaimed, "you can't say that
+_he's_ pretty or pleasant!"
+
+"He's not bad-looking," returned Mr. Weatherhead, rather doubtfully.
+"Though, to be sure, he isn't so fine a man as his father."
+
+"No; this lad is like his mother's family," said Mrs. Dobbs. "I remember
+his grandfather and grandmother very well."
+
+"Do you? Do you, Sarah? Who were they? What sort of people, now, eh?"
+
+"Common sort of people; Rabbitt, their name was. Old Rabbitt kept the
+Castlecombe Arms, a roadside inn over towards Gloucester way. He ran a
+coach between his own market-town and Gloucester before the branch
+railway was made, and they say he did a good deal of money-lending; any
+way, he scraped together a goodish bit, and his wife came in for a slice
+of luck by a legacy. So altogether their daughter--the first Mrs. Martin
+Bransby that was--had a nice fortune of her own. She was sent to a good
+school and well educated, and she was a very good sort of girl; but she
+had just the same smooth, light hair, and smooth, pale face as this
+young Theodore. Martin Bransby had money with his first wife--he's got
+beauty with his second."
+
+"O-ho!" exclaimed Jo Weatherhead, eager and attentive. "Rabbitt, eh? I
+never knew before who the first Mrs. Bransby was."
+
+"Not a many folks in Oldchester now do know. I happened to know from
+being often over at Gloucester, visiting Dobbs's family, when I was a
+girl. Many a day we've driven past the Castlecombe Arms in the chaise.
+Dear, dear, how far off it all seems, and yet so plain and distinct! I
+couldn't help thinking of those old times when the lad was here the
+other day; he _has_ such a look of old Rabbitt!"
+
+Thus Mrs. Dobbs, rather dreamily, with her eyes fixed on the opposite
+houses of Friar's Row--or as much of them as could be seen above a wire
+window-blind--and her fingers mechanically busy with her knitting. But
+she saw neither the quaint gables nor the gray stone-walls. Her mind was
+transported into the past. She was bowling along a smooth highroad in an
+old-fashioned chaise. A girl friend sat in the little seat behind her,
+and leaned over her shoulder from time to time to whisper some saucy
+joke. Beside her was the girl-friend's brother, young Isaac Dobbs:--A
+personable young fellow, who drove the old pony humanely, and seemed in
+no hurry to get home to Gloucester. She could feel the moist, sweet air
+of a showery summer evening on her cheek, and smell the scent of a
+branch of sweetbriar which Isaac had gallantly cut for her from the
+hedge.
+
+Theodore Bransby did not guess that Mrs. Dobbs had treated him with
+forbearance and indulgence; still less did he imagine that the
+forbearance and indulgence had been due to reminiscences of her
+girlhood, wherein his maternal grandfather figured as "Old Rabbit."
+
+The question of May's dress for the dinner-party gave rise to no debate.
+Mrs. Dobbs had been brought up in the faith that the proper garb for a
+young girl on all festive occasions was white muslin; and in white
+muslin May was arrayed accordingly. The delicate fairness of her arms
+and neck was not marred by the trying juxtaposition of that dead white
+material. It served only to give value to the soft flesh tints, and to
+the sunny brownness of her hair. When she had driven off in the roomy
+old fly with Mrs. Hadlow and the canon and Constance, who called to
+fetch her, Mrs. Dobbs and Mr. Weatherhead agreed that she looked lovely,
+and must excite general admiration. But the truth was that May's
+appearance did not seem to dazzle anybody. Mrs. Hadlow gave her a
+comprehensive and approving glance when she took her cloak off in the
+well-lighted hall of Mr. Bransby's house, and said, "Very neat. Very
+nice. Couldn't be better, May." Canon Hadlow--a white-haired venerable
+figure, with the mildest of blue eyes, and a sensitive mouth--smiled on
+her, and nodded in confirmation of his wife's verdict. Constance,
+brilliant in amber, with damask roses at her breast and in her hair,
+thought her friend looked very school-girlish, and wanting in style. But
+she had the good-nature to pay the one compliment which she sincerely
+thought was merited, and to say, "Your complexion stands even that
+blue-white book muslin, May. I should look absolutely mahogany-coloured
+in it!"
+
+May felt somewhat excited and nervous as she followed Mrs. Hadlow up the
+softly carpeted stairs to the drawing-room. But she had a wholesome
+conviction of her own unimportance on this occasion, and comforted
+herself with the hope of being left to look on without more notice from
+any one than mere courtesy demanded. Her first impression was one of
+eager admiration; for just within the drawing-room door stood Mrs.
+Bransby, looking radiantly handsome. May thought her the loveliest
+person she had ever beheld; and her dress struck even May's
+inexperienced eyes as being supremely elegant. Constance Hadlow's
+attire, with its unrelieved breadth of bright colour and its stiff
+outline, suddenly appeared as crude as a cheap chromo-lithograph beside
+a Venetian masterpiece. Behind his wife, seated in an easy-chair, was
+Martin Bransby, a fine, powerfully built man of sixty, with dark eyes
+and eyebrows, and a shock of grizzled hair. His naturally ruddy
+complexion was pallid from recent illness, and the lines under his eyes
+and round his mouth had deepened perceptibly during the last two months.
+Theodore stood near his father, stiffly upright, and with a cravat and
+shirt-front so faultlessly smooth and white as to look as though they
+had been cast in plaster of Paris. Standing with his back to the fire,
+was Dr. Hatch:--a familiar figure to May, as to most eyes in Oldchester.
+He was a short man, rather too broad for his height; with benevolent
+brown eyes, a wide, low forehead, and a wide, firm mouth, singularly
+expressive of humour when he smiled. No other guest had arrived when the
+Hadlows entered the drawing-room.
+
+After the first greetings, the party fell into little groups: the canon
+and Mr. Bransby, who were very old friends, conversing together in a low
+voice, whilst Theodore advanced to entertain Mrs. Hadlow with grave
+politeness, and Constance made a minute and admiring inspection of Mrs.
+Bransby's dress.
+
+May thus found herself a little apart from the rest, and sat down in a
+corner half hidden by the protruding mantelpiece of carved oak, which
+rose nearly to the ceiling; an elaborate erection of richly carved
+pillars, and shelves and niches holding blue-and-white china, in the
+most approved style.
+
+"Well, Miss May, and how are you?" asked Dr. Hatch, moving a little
+nearer to her, as he stood on the hearthrug.
+
+"Quite well, thank you, Dr. Hatch," said May, looking up with her bright
+young smile.
+
+"That's right! But don't mention to any member of the Faculty that I
+said so. There's a professional etiquette in these matters; and I
+shouldn't like to be quoted as having given any encouragement to rude
+health."
+
+"I'll take care," returned May, falling into his humour, and assuming a
+grave look. "And I will always bear witness for you that you gave me
+some _very_ nasty medicine when I had the measles, Dr. Hatch. I'm sure
+the other doctors would approve of that, wouldn't they?"
+
+"Nice child," murmured Dr. Hatch. "Understands a joke. It would be as
+much as my practice is worth to talk in that way to some young ladies I
+could mention. Well, and so this is your first entrance into the gay and
+festive scene, eh?"
+
+"Yes; I have never been to a regular dinner-party before. I am so glad
+Mr. Bransby is quite well again," said May, looking across the room at
+their host.
+
+"Are you? Well, I believe you are glad. Yes; it is much to be desired
+that he should be quite well again." Dr. Hatch's eyes had followed the
+girl's, and rested on Martin Bransby with a thoughtful look. Then, after
+a minute's pause, he went on: "Now, as you are not quite familiar here,
+I'll give you a map of the country, as the French say. Do you know who
+that is who has just come in? No? That is Mr. Bragg. He makes millions
+and billions of tin-tacks every week. You've heard of him, of course?"
+May nodded. "Of course you have. Couldn't live long in Oldchester
+without hearing of Mr. Bragg. That handsome, elderly man, now bowing to
+Mrs. Bransby, is Major Mitton, of the Engineers. Ever hear of _him_? Ah,
+well; I suppose not. He's a very good-natured, kindly gentleman, and an
+excellent soldier, who distinguished himself greatly in the Crimea. But
+no one will ever hear him say a word about that. What he _is_ proud of
+is his reputation as an amateur actor. I have known more reprehensible
+vanities. Ah, and here come the Pipers, Miss Polly and Miss Patty; and I
+think that makes up our number."
+
+Dr. Hatch did not think of asking May whether she had ever heard of the
+Miss Pipers. The fact was she had heard of them very often. They were
+Oldchester celebrities quite as much as Mr. Bragg was. But their fame
+had not extended beyond Oldchester; whereas Bragg's tin-tacks were daily
+hammered into the consciousness of the civilized world.
+
+Miss Mary and Miss Martha Piper (invariably called Polly and Patty) were
+old maids between fifty and sixty years old. They were not rich; they
+had never been handsome; they were not, even in the opinion of their
+most partial friends, brilliantly clever. What, then, was the cause of
+the distinction they undoubtedly enjoyed in Oldchester society? The
+cause was Miss Polly Piper's musical talent--or at least her reputation
+for musical talent, which, for social purposes, was the same thing. Miss
+Piper had once upon a time, no matter how many years ago, composed an
+oratorio, and offered it to the Committee of a great Musical Festival,
+for performance. It was not accepted--for reasons which Miss Piper was
+at no loss to perceive. The reader is implored not to conclude rashly
+that the oratorio was rejected because it failed to reach the requisite
+high standard. Miss Piper knew a great deal better than that. She had
+been accustomed to mix with the musical world from an early age. Her
+father, an amiable Oldchester clergyman, rector of the church in which
+Mr. Sebastian Bach Simpson was organist, was considered the best amateur
+violoncello player in the Midland Counties. When the great music meeting
+brought vocal and instrumental artists to Oldchester, the Reverend
+Reuben Piper's house was always open to several of them; and Miss Polly
+had poured out tea for more than one great English tenor, great German
+basso, and great Scandinavian soprano. So that, as she often said, she
+was clearly quite behind the scenes of the artistic world, and
+thoroughly understood its intrigues, its ambitions, and its jealousies.
+Thus she was less mortified and discouraged by the rejection of her
+oratorio than she would have been had she supposed it due to honest
+disapproval. The work, which was entitled "Esther," was played and sung,
+however;--not indeed by the great English tenor, German basso, and
+Scandinavian soprano, but by very competent performers. It was performed
+in the large room in Oldchester, used for concerts and lectures, and
+called Mercers' Hall. Admission was by invitation, and the hall was
+quite full, which, as Miss Patty triumphantly observed, was a very
+gratifying tribute on the part of the town and county. Miss Polly did
+not conduct her own music. Ladies had not yet wielded the conductor's
+_baton_ in those days. But she sat in a front row, with her father on
+one side of her and her sister Patty on the other, and bowed her
+acknowledgments to the executants at the end of each piece.
+
+It was a great day for the Piper family, and that one solitary fact (for
+the oratorio was never repeated) flavoured the rest of their lives with
+an odour of artistic glory, as one Tonquin bean will perfume a whole
+chest full of miscellaneous articles. Truly, the triumph was not cheap.
+The rehearsals and the performance had to be paid for, and it was said
+at the time that the Reverend Reuben had been obliged to sell some
+excellent Canal Shares in order to meet the expenses, and had thereby
+diminished his income by so many pounds sterling for evermore. But at
+least the expenditure purchased a great deal of happiness; and that is
+more than can be said of most investments which the world would consider
+wiser. From that day forth, Miss Polly held the position of a musical
+authority in certain circles. Long after a younger generation had grown
+up, to whom that famous performance of "Esther" was as vague an
+historical fact as the Heptarchy, people continued to speak of Miss
+Polly Piper as a successful composer. The lives of the two sisters were
+shaped by this tradition. They went every year to London for a month
+during the season; and, for a longer or shorter time, to some
+Continental city,--Leipsic, Frankfort, or Brussels: once, even, as far
+as Vienna,--whence they came back bringing with them the latest _dicta_
+in musical fashions, just as Mrs. Clarkson, the chief Oldchester
+milliner, announced every year her return from Paris with a large and
+varied assortment of bonnets in the newest styles. It has been written
+that "_they_" brought back with them the newest _dicta_ on musical
+matters; but it must not be supposed that Miss Patty set up to interpret
+the law on such points. She was, as to things musical, merely her
+sister's echo and mouthpiece. But sincerity, that best salt for all
+human communications, preserved Miss Patty's subservience from any taint
+of humbug. However extravagant might be her estimate of Polly's artistic
+gifts and attainments, you could not doubt that it was genuine.
+
+These circumstances were, broadly speaking, known to every one present.
+But May was acquainted with another aspect of the legend of Miss Piper's
+oratorio: a seamy side which the poor good lady did not even suspect.
+That famous oratorio had been a fertile source of mirth at the time to
+all the performers engaged in it. There were all sorts of stories
+current as to the amazing things Miss Piper did with her
+instrumentation: the impossible efforts she expected from the "wind,"
+and the anomalous sounds she elicited from the "wood." These were
+retailed with much gusto by Jo Weatherhead, who, in virtue of a high
+nasal voice, and a power (common enough in those parts) of reading music
+at sight, had sung with the tenors through many a Festival chorus, and
+known many professional musicians during his sojourn in Birmingham. One
+favourite anecdote was of a trombone player who at rehearsal, in the
+very climax and stress of the overture, when he was to have come in with
+a powerful effect, stretched out his arm at full length, and produced
+the most hideous and unearthly noise ever heard; and who, on being
+rebuked by the conductor, handed up his part for inspection, observing,
+amid the unrestrained laughter of the band, that that was the nearest
+_he_ could come to the note Miss Piper had written for him, which was
+some half octave below the usual compass of his instrument. Of this, and
+many another similar story, Miss Piper and Miss Piper's friends knew
+nothing. But May, remembering them, looked at the two old ladies as they
+marched into the room with an interest not so wholly reverential as
+might have been wished.
+
+They were both short, fat, snub-nosed little women, with wide smiling
+mouths, and double chins. Miss Patty was rather shorter, rather fatter,
+and rather more snub-nosed than her gifted sister. But the chief
+difference between the two, which struck one at first sight, was that
+whereas Miss Piper's own grey locks were disposed in a thick kind of
+curl, like a plethoric sausage, on each side of her face, Miss Patty
+wore a pale, gingerbread-coloured wig. Why, having all the wigmaker's
+stores to choose from, she should have chosen just that particular hue,
+May secretly wondered as she looked at her. But so it was. And if she
+had worn a blue wig, it could scarcely have been more innocent of any
+attempt to deceive the beholder. Both ladies wore good substantial silk
+gowns, and little lace caps with artificial flowers in them. But the
+remarkable feature in their attire was the extraordinary number of
+chains, beads, and bracelets with which they had festooned themselves.
+And, moreover, these were of a severely mineralogical character. Round
+Miss Patty's fat, deeply-creased throat, May counted three
+necklaces:--One of coral, one of cornelian, and the third a long string
+of grey pebble beads which dangled nearly to her waist. Miss Polly
+wore--besides a variety of other nondescript adornments which rattled
+and jingled as she moved--a set of ornaments made apparently of red
+marble, cut into polygonal fragments of irregular length. Their rings
+too, which were numerous, seemed to be composed for the most part of
+building materials; and each sister wore a mosaic brooch which looked,
+May thought, like a bit out of the tesselated pavement of the smart new
+Corn Exchange in the High Street.
+
+It did not take that young lady's quick perception long to make all the
+foregoing observations. Indeed, she had completed them within the minute
+and a half which elapsed between the Miss Pipers' arrival, and the
+announcement of dinner.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+
+The order of the procession to the dining-room had been pre-arranged not
+without some difficulty. Mrs. Bransby had pointed out to Theodore that
+his whim of inviting Miss Cheffington must cause a solecism somewhere in
+marshalling their guests.
+
+"Constance will, of course, expect you to take her," said Mrs. Bransby,
+"and then what is to be done with little Miss Cheffington? I really
+think I had better invite two more people, and get some young man to
+take her in to dinner. Perhaps Mr. Rivers would come."
+
+But Theodore utterly opposed this suggestion, and said that the simple
+and obvious course was for him to give his arm to Miss Cheffington, and
+for Dr. Hatch to escort Miss Hadlow.
+
+"Oh, well, if you don't mind," said Mrs. Bransby, looking a little
+surprised. And so it was settled. But at the last moment, in arranging
+her table and disposing the cards with the guest's name before each
+cover, Mrs. Bransby found that it would be necessary, for the sake of
+symmetrically alternating a lady and gentleman, to divide one couple,
+and place them on opposite sides of the table. She decided that Dr.
+Hatch and Miss Hadlow would endure this sort of divorce with equanimity;
+and thus it came to pass that when Theodore took his seat at table he
+found himself in the enviable and unexpected position of sitting between
+the two young ladies of the party--Constance and May.
+
+Mr. Bransby led out Mrs. Hadlow, the hostess bringing up the rear with
+Canon Hadlow. Major Mitton had the honour of escorting Miss Piper, while
+Miss Patty fell to Mr. Bragg. There was, as is usual on such occasions,
+very little conversation while the soup and fish were being eaten. Miss
+Piper, indeed, who was constitutionally loquacious, talked all the while
+to Major Mitton, though in a comparatively low tone of voice; but the
+rest of the company devoted themselves mainly to their plates; or at
+least said only a fragmentary sentence now and then. But by degrees the
+desultory talk swelled into a continuous murmur, across which bursts of
+laughter were wafted at intervals. May had the satisfaction she had
+hoped for, of being allowed to be quiet; for her neighbour on the one
+hand was the canon, who contented himself with smiling on her silently,
+whilst Theodore was greatly occupied by _his_ neighbour, Miss Hadlow.
+Being seated between him and Major Mitton, she monopolized the younger
+gentleman's attention with the undoubting conviction that he enjoyed
+being monopolized.
+
+Mr. Bragg, a heavy, melancholy-looking man, found Miss Patty Piper a
+congenial companion on a topic which interested him a good
+deal--cookery. Not that he was a _gastronome_. He had a grand French
+cook; but he confided to Miss Patty that he never tasted anything
+nowadays which he relished so much as he had relished a certain
+beef-steak pudding that his deceased "missis" used to make for him
+thirty years ago, and better. Miss Patty had, as it happened, some
+peculiar and special views as to the composition of a beef-steak
+pudding; and Mr. Bragg--borne backwards by the tide of memory to those
+distant days when his missis and he lodged in one room, and before he
+had learned the secret of transmuting tin-tacks into luxury and French
+cooks--enjoyed his reminiscences in a slow, sad, ruminating way.
+
+Presently, when the dessert was on the table, there came a little lull
+in the general conversation, and the husky contralto voice of Miss Piper
+was heard saying, "My dear Major, I tell you it was the same woman. You
+say you heard her at Malta fifteen years ago. Very well. That's no
+reason; for she might have been only sixteen or seventeen then. These
+Italians are so precocious."
+
+"More like six or seven-and-twenty, Miss Piper. Bless you, she
+had long outgrown short frocks and pinafores in those days.
+Fourteen--fifteen--yes; it must be fully fifteen years ago. It was the
+season that we got up the 'Honeymoon' for the garrison theatricals. I
+played the Duke. It has been one of my best parts ever since. And there
+was a scratch company of Italian opera-singers doing wretched business.
+We got up a subscription for them, poor things. But fancy 'La Bianca'
+still singing Rosina in the 'Barber!'"
+
+"She looked charming, I can tell you. I don't say that her voice may not
+be a little worn in the upper notes----"
+
+"I wonder there's a rag of it left," put in the Major.
+
+"Yes; a little worn. But she knows how to sing. If one must listen to
+such trivial, florid music, that's the only way to sing it."
+
+"Ah, there we shan't agree, Miss Piper! No, no; I always stand up for
+Rossini. I don't pretend to be a great swell at music, but I have an
+ear, and I like a toon. Give me a toon that I can remember and whistle,
+and I'll make you a present of Wagner and the other fellows, all
+howlings and growlings."
+
+"Major, Major," called out Dr. Hatch from the opposite side of the
+table, "this is terribly obsolete doctrine! We shall have you confessing
+next that you like sugar in your tea, and prefer a rose to a sunflower!"
+
+Mr. Bransby, wishing to avert any unpleasant shock of opinions on such
+high themes, here interposed. He turned the conversation back to the
+Italian singer, who could be abused without ruffling anybody's _amour
+proper_.
+
+"But who is this _prima donna_ you're talking of, Major?" said he.
+
+Miss Piper struck in before Major Mitton could reply. "It's a certain
+Moretti:--Bianca Moretti. We heard her last summer in a minor theatre at
+Brussels, with a strolling Italian Opera Company. Don't you remember,
+Patty?"
+
+"Moretti?" said Miss Patty, instantly breaking off in the middle of a
+sentence addressed to Mr. Bragg, at the sound of her sister's voice.
+
+"The woman with the fine eyes? Oh yes. I remember her particularly,
+because of the awful scandal there was afterwards about her and that
+Englishman."
+
+Several heads at the table were now turned towards Miss Patty, who shook
+her ginger-bread-coloured wig with a knowing air.
+
+"I was just telling the Major," said Miss Piper. "We might never have
+known of it, if it had not been for the Italian Consul, who was a friend
+of ours. It was quite a sensation! A bit out of a French novel, eh?--Oh
+yes; quite ready, Mrs. Bransby."
+
+The last words had reference to a telegraphic signal from the hostess,
+who immediately rose. Mrs. Hadlow had been looking across at her rather
+uneasily during the last minute or so. The fact was that the Miss Pipers
+were reputed in Oldchester to have a somewhat unconsidered and free way
+of talking. Some persons attributed this to their annual visit to the
+Continent: others thought it connected rather with Miss Piper's artistic
+experiences, which in some mysterious way were supposed to have had a
+tendency to make her "a little masculine." The implication would seem to
+be that to be "masculine" involves a lax government of the tongue. But
+as no Oldchester gentleman was ever known to protest against this
+imputation, it is not necessary to examine it here more particularly.
+"When she began to talk about a French novel, my dear, there was no
+knowing what she might say next," said Mrs. Hadlow afterwards to Mrs.
+Bransby. So the latter hurried the departure of the ladies as we have
+seen.
+
+When they rose to go away, May, of course, went out last; Theodore
+holding the door open with his air of superior politeness.
+
+"Who is that pretty little girl? I don't think I know her face," said
+Major Mitton, when the young man had resumed his seat, and the chairs
+were drawn closer together.
+
+"That is Miss Miranda Cheffington."
+
+"Cheffington? I knew a Cheffington once--a terrible black sheep. Very
+likely it's not the same family, though. What Cheffingtons does this
+young lady belong to?"
+
+"The family of Viscount Castlecombe."
+
+"The man I knew was a nephew of old Castlecombe. Gus Cheffington his
+name was, I remember now."
+
+Theodore moved a little uneasily on his seat, and, after a moment's
+reflection, said gravely, "Captain Augustus Cheffington is this young
+lady's father; he is a friend of mine. Miss Cheffington is going to town
+to be presented next season by her aunt, Mrs. Dormer-Smith. She is a
+very thoroughbred woman. Do you know the Dormer-Smiths, Major Mitton?
+They are in the best set."
+
+The Major did not know the Dormer-Smiths, and had no interest in
+pursuing the subject. He turned to join in the conversation going on
+between Mr. Bransby, the canon, and Dr. Hatch, and then Theodore slipped
+out of his place and went to sit nearer to Mr. Bragg, who was looking a
+little solitary. Mr. Bragg had a great many good qualities, but he was
+usually considered to be heavy in hand from a conversational point of
+view. Theodore, however, did not find him dull. He talked to Mr. Bragg
+with an agreeable sense of making an excellent figure in the eyes of
+that millionaire. Theodore had a strong memory, considerable powers of
+application, and had read a great many solid books. He favoured Mr.
+Bragg now with a speech on the subject of the currency, about which he
+had read all the most modern theories up to date. The currency, he felt,
+must be a peculiarly interesting subject to a man who sold millions and
+billions of tin-tacks in all the markets of the world. Mr. Bragg drank
+his wine, keeping his eyes on the table, and listened with silent
+attention. Theodore, warmed by a mental vision of himself speaking in a
+breathless House of Commons, rose to parliamentary heights of eloquence.
+He had already addressed Mr. Bragg as "Sir," and had sternly inquired
+what he supposed would be the consequence if the present movement in
+favour of bimetallism should be still further developed in the United
+States, when he was interrupted by his father's voice saying--
+
+"Come, shall we ask Mrs. Bransby for a cup of coffee?"
+
+Mr. Bragg lifted his eyes and rose from his chair, and Theodore and he
+moved towards the door side by side.
+
+"It ought to be boiled in a basin, oughtn't it?" said Mr. Bragg
+thoughtfully. "Ah, no; it wasn't you. I remember now, it was Miss Patty
+Piper who was mentioning--I'll ask her again when we get upstairs."
+
+Meanwhile the elder ladies had been deep in the discussion of Miss
+Piper's interrupted story. Constance and May had got close together near
+the pianoforte, and Mrs. Bransby asked Constance to play something "soft
+and pretty." Constance opened the instrument and ran her fingers over
+the keys in a desultory manner, playing scraps of waltzes or whatever
+came into her head, and continuing her chat with May to that running
+accompaniment. Mrs. Bransby, Mrs. Hadlow, and the Miss Pipers grouped
+themselves near the fireplace at the other end of the room, and carried
+on their talk also under cover of the music.
+
+"It was odd enough that on my happening to mention the name of the
+Moretti to Major Mitton he should remember her at Malta so many years
+ago," began Miss Piper.
+
+"Yes; and you see now that I was right, and she can't be so young as you
+thought her, Polly," said her sister.
+
+"Lord, what does that matter? I only said she looked young, and so she
+did. And besides, I dare say the Major exaggerates her age. When a woman
+becomes a celebrity, or comes before the public in any way, her age is
+sure to be exaggerated. Many people who only know me through my works
+suppose me to be eighty, I dare say. They never imagine a woman so young
+as I was at the time composing a serious work like 'Esther.'"
+
+"Is she handsome, this Signora Moretti?" asked Mrs. Bransby, who was
+always interested in, and attracted by, beauty.
+
+"Very handsome--in that Italian style. Great black eyes, and black
+eyebrows, and a fine profile. Too thin, though. But, oh yes; extremely
+handsome. And a very clever singer."
+
+"And a very worthless hussey," added Miss Patty severely.
+
+"What a pity!" exclaimed Mrs. Hadlow. "It does seem so sad when one
+finds great gifts, like talent and beauty, without goodness!"
+
+"Well, I don't know that she was so very bad either," replied Miss
+Piper.
+
+"Goodness, Polly! How can you talk so!" cried her sister. "Why, she was
+living openly with that Englishman!"
+
+"Some people said she was married to him, you know, Patty."
+
+"Stuff and nonsense!" returned Miss Patty, who, whilst undoubtedly
+accepting her sister's views about music, tenaciously reserved the right
+of private judgment as to the character of its professors, and was,
+moreover, chronically incredulous of the virtue of foreigners in
+general. "No sensible person could believe that. And as to her 'not
+being so very bad'--what do you make of that nice story of the gambling,
+and the police, and all the rest of it?"
+
+"The police!" echoed Mrs. Hadlow, in a low shocked voice.
+
+"What was that?" asked Mrs. Bransby.
+
+"Now, just let me tell it, Patty," said the elder sister. "If I am wrong
+you can correct me afterwards. But I believe I know more about it than
+you do. Well, there was an Italian Opera Company singing in a minor
+theatre of Brussels when we were there, and doing very well; for the
+_prima donna_, Bianca Moretti, was a great favourite. They had
+previously been making a tour through Belgium. One night we were in the
+theatre with some friends, expecting to hear her for the second time in
+the 'Barbiere,' when, some time after the curtain ought to have risen, a
+man came on to the stage, and announced that the Signora Moretti had
+been suddenly taken ill, and there would be no performance. But the next
+day we learned that the story of the Moretti's illness was only an
+excuse--or, at least, that if she was ill, it was only from the nervous
+shock of having her house searched by the police."
+
+"I think that was quite enough to make her ill! But why did they search
+her house?" said Mrs. Bransby.
+
+"Well, you see, it was in this way," continued Miss Piper, lowering her
+voice, and drawing a little nearer to her hostess, while Mrs. Hadlow
+cast a glance over her shoulder to assure herself that the girls were
+occupied with their own conversation. "It seems that a set of men were
+in the habit of meeting every night after the opera in her apartment to
+play cards. There was the Englishman, and a young Russian belonging to a
+grand family, and a Servian, or a Roumanian, or a Bulgarian, or
+something," said Miss Piper, whose ideas as to the national distinctions
+between the younger members of the European family were decidedly vague,
+"and others besides. Now this man, the--the Bulgarian, we may as well
+call him, was a thorough blackleg, and bore the worst of characters. He
+led on the Russian to play for very high stakes, and won large sums from
+him. Well, to make a long story short, one night there was a terrible
+scene. The Russian accused the other man of cheating. They came to
+blows, I believe, and there was a regular _esclandre_. And next day the
+Bulgarian was missing. He had got away with a good deal of plunder."
+
+"How shocking and disgraceful!" exclaimed Mrs. Hadlow, in whom this
+gossip excited far more disgust than interest; and who thought Polly
+Piper showed very bad taste in selecting such a topic.
+
+"But why did the police search the Italian singer's apartment? It was
+not _her_ fault, was it?" asked Mrs. Bransby.
+
+"Why, you see, the gambling had gone on in her rooms. And the Bulgarian
+turning out to be connected with a regular gang of swindlers, the search
+was made for any letters or papers of his that might be there. We were
+told that the Russian ambassador had something to say to it; for the
+young Russian was connected with _very_ high people indeed. Nothing was
+found, however."
+
+"Nothing was found that could be laid hold of," put in Miss Patty. "But
+there could be no question what sort of a person that woman was after
+all that!"
+
+"Well, really, Patty," said her sister, "it seems to me that the
+Englishman was a deal more to blame. Nobody pretended that the Moretti
+wanted to gamble for her own amusement, or profit either! It was the
+ruin of her in Brussels; at any rate for that season. There was a party
+made up to hiss her whenever she appeared; and there were disturbances
+in the theatre; and, in short, the performances had to cease. I was
+sorry for her."
+
+"Upon my word, Polly, I don't see why you should be," cried Miss Patty.
+"She deserved all she got. I have no patience with bestowing pity and
+sympathy on such creatures. If she had been an ugly washerwoman, instead
+of a painted opera-singer, nobody would have had a soft word for her."
+
+"Oh, surely there are plenty of people who would be gentle to an ugly
+washerwoman, if she needed gentleness," put in Mrs. Hadlow. "And you
+know, my dear Miss Patty, we are taught to pity all those who stray from
+the right path."
+
+"As to that, I hope I can pity error as well as my neighbours--in a
+_religious_ sense," returned Miss Patty with some sharpness. "But this
+is different. I was speaking as a member of society."
+
+"And the Englishman--was he implicated?" asked Mrs. Bransby, rather from
+a desire to divert the conversation from a direction fraught with danger
+to the general harmony than from any special curiosity on the subject.
+
+"No; not exactly implicated," replied Miss Piper. "That is to say, he
+was not suspected of any unfair play, or anything of that sort; but it
+was considered disgraceful for him to have been mixed up in these
+gambling transactions; especially as he was a much older man than the
+others. And then----"
+
+"And then," continued Miss Patty, "it was not considered exactly
+creditable, I believe--although perhaps Polly thinks it was; I'm sure I
+don't know,--it wasn't, most people would say, exactly creditable for a
+man of family, an English _gentleman_, to be strolling about the world
+with a parcel of foreign singers. And he had been doing just that. We
+heard of his being at Antwerp, and Ghent, and Ostend with them."
+
+"A man of family, do you say? A really well-born man?" said Mrs. Hadlow,
+sitting suddenly very upright in the energy of her feelings. "How
+shocking! That really seems to be the worst of all!"
+
+"Well, I suppose we must pity _his_ errors," observed Miss Patty, with
+some causticity. But Mrs. Hadlow was insensible to the sarcasm; or, at
+all events, her sense of it was swallowed up by a stronger feeling. "I
+do think it's a public misfortune," she went on, "when a person on whom
+Providence has bestowed gentle birth derogates from his rank and forgets
+his duties. It grieves me."
+
+"You must suffer a good deal in these days, I'm afraid," said Miss
+Patty, grimly.
+
+"Not on that account," replied Mrs. Hadlow. "No; truly not. There may be
+exceptions--I won't deny that there are some. But, on the whole, I
+thoroughly believe that _bon sang ne peut mentir_."
+
+"Well, perhaps Mr. Cheffington's blood is not so good as he says it is;
+that's all," said Miss Patty, with a short laugh.
+
+Mrs. Hadlow and Mrs. Bransby uttered a simultaneous exclamation of
+amazement; and then the former said in a breathless whisper, "Hush,
+hush, my dear, for mercy's sake! Did you say Cheffington? That
+is--Cheffington is the name of that girl! Don't turn your head."
+
+"Oh, it can't be the same!" said Mrs. Bransby, nervously.
+
+"No, no; I dare say not. But the name--it must, I fear, be a member of
+the family," answered Mrs. Hadlow.
+
+"How lucky it wasn't mentioned in her hearing," said Miss Piper. "Poor
+little thing, I wouldn't for the world----! She's very pretty and
+bright-looking. I don't think I ever saw her before."
+
+Mrs. Bransby hurriedly explained how May came to be there, and as much
+of her story as she was acquainted with--which was, in truth, very
+little. The Miss Pipers listened eagerly, and Mrs. Hadlow sat by with a
+cloud of anxious perplexity on her usually beaming face. They all
+admitted that of course the person spoken of _might_ be no relation of
+May's at all; but it was evident that no one believed that hypothesis.
+To the Miss Pipers the whole matter was simply a relishing morsel of
+gossip. They dwelt with _gusto_ on "the extraordinary coincidence" of
+Miss Cheffington's being there just that very evening, and "the singular
+circumstance" that Major Mitton should remember Bianca Moretti, and
+enjoyed it all very much. Mrs. Bransby's prevalent feeling was one of
+annoyance, and resentment against Theodore, who had brought this girl
+into the house. Mrs. Bransby detested a "fuss" of any sort; and shrank,
+with a sort of amiable indolence, from the conflict of provincial feuds
+and the excitement of provincial gossip. And now, she reflected, this
+story would be spread all over Oldchester, and she would be "worried to
+death" by questions on a subject about which she knew very little, and
+cared less.
+
+"We won't say another word about this horrid story," she said, looking
+appealingly at the Miss Pipers. "Silence is the only thing under the
+circumstances. Don't you think so? It would be so dreadful if the girl
+should overhear anything, and make a scene; wouldn't it?"
+
+Miss Polly and Miss Patty readily promised to be most guardedly
+silent--for that evening, and so long as May should be present;
+declaring quite sincerely that they would not for the world risk hurting
+the poor child's feelings. And then Mrs. Bransby began to flatter
+herself that the subject was done with, so far as she was concerned. But
+Fate had decided otherwise.
+
+When the gentlemen came into the drawing-room, Miss Hadlow was playing
+one of her most brilliant pieces, to which Miss Polly Piper was
+listening with an air of responsible attention, and gently nodding her
+head from time to time in an encouraging manner; Miss Patty Piper and
+May were looking over a large album full of photographs together; while
+Mrs. Bransby was narrating to Mrs. Hadlow, Bobby's latest witticisms,
+and Billy's extraordinary progress in the art of spelling:--these
+juvenile prodigies being her two younger children.
+
+Constance did not interrupt her performance on the entrance of the
+gentlemen, and Major Mitton went to stand beside the pianoforte,
+gallantly turning over the music leaves at the wrong moment, with the
+best intentions. Canon Hadlow sat down near Miss Piper; the host with
+Dr. Hatch crossed the room to speak to Mrs. Hadlow, and Mr. Bragg and
+Theodore approached the table, at which Miss Patty and May Cheffington
+were seated. Mr. Bragg drew up a chair close to Miss Patty at once, and
+began to talk with her in a low voice, and with more appearance of
+animation than his manner usually displayed. Theodore, as he observed
+this, remembered with satisfaction that his friend Captain Cheffington
+had formerly pronounced old Bragg to be a d----d snob. A man must indeed
+be on a low level who could prefer Miss Patty Piper's culinary
+conversation to a luminous exposition of the currency question as set
+forth by Mr. Theodore Bransby. He bent over May, who was still turning
+the leaves of the photograph book, and said, "I'm afraid you are not
+having a very amusing evening, Miss Cheffington."
+
+"Oh yes, thank you," returned May, making the queerest little grimace in
+her effort not to yawn. "I am very fond of looking at photographs."
+
+"I don't suppose there are many portraits there that you would
+recognize. A little out of your set," said Theodore. "In fact, I don't
+know many of them myself, I have been so much away. By the way, have you
+any commands for your people in town? I go up the day after to-morrow."
+
+"Shall you see Aunt Pauline?"
+
+"Certainly. I suppose Lord Castlecombe is not likely to be in town at
+this season?" went on Theodore, raising his tone a little so as to be
+heard by the others. Constance's playing had now come to an end, and
+there was a general lowering of voices, occasioned by the cessation of
+that pianoforte accompaniment.
+
+"I don't know, I'm sure. I don't know where he lives," answered May
+innocently.
+
+"Ahem! He is at this season, in all probability, at Combe Park, his
+place in Gloucestershire."
+
+May had never heard of her great-uncle's place in Gloucestershire; but
+now, when Theodore said the words, her thought flashed through a chain
+of associations to Mrs. Dobbs's mention of the Castlecombe Arms on the
+Gloucester Road, kept by "Old Rabbitt," and she blushed as though she
+had done something to be ashamed of.
+
+"The last time I had the pleasure of seeing your father, he was talking
+to me about Combe Park," continued Theodore, with a complacent sense of
+superiority to the rest of the company in these manifestations of
+familiar intercourse with members of the Castlecombe family. Lord
+Castlecombe was a very important personage in those parts. As May did
+not speak, Theodore went on: "Grand old place, Combe Park, isn't it?"
+
+"Is it?" returned May absently. She was looking with great interest at
+the portrait of a superb lace dress, surmounted by a distorted image of
+Mrs. Bransby's head and face, which were quite out of focus. But the
+lace flounces had "come out splendidly," as the photographer remarked.
+And, if the truth must be told, May admired them greatly.
+
+"Is it?" repeated Theodore, with a little smile. "But you have lived so
+long abroad, that you are quite a stranger to all these ancestral
+glories. I hope, however, that you have not the same preference for the
+Continent that your father has?"
+
+"Oh, I'm sure I should always love England best. But I don't know the
+most beautiful parts of the Continent--Switzerland or Italy. We were
+always in Belgium, and Belgium isn't beautiful. At least I don't
+remember any beautiful country."
+
+Thus May, with perfect simplicity, still turning over the photographs,
+and all unconscious that the Miss Pipers had simultaneously interrupted
+their own conversation, and were staring at her.
+
+"No; Belgium is not beautiful--except architecturally," replied
+Theodore. "But there is very nice society in Brussels, and a pleasant
+Court, I believe. No doubt that's one reason why Captain Cheffington
+likes it."
+
+"Is Brussels your home, then? Do you live there?" asked Miss Patty,
+leaning eagerly forward.
+
+May looked up, and perceived all at once that every one was gazing at
+her. The Miss Pipers' sudden attention to what she was saying had
+attracted the attention of the others--as one may collect a crowd in the
+street by fixedly regarding the most familiar object. In her
+inexperience she feared she had committed some breach of the etiquette
+proper to be observed at a "grown-up dinner party." Perhaps she ought
+not to have devoted so much attention to the photographs! She closed the
+book hurriedly as she answered--
+
+"No, _I_ don't live in Brussels, but papa does--at least, generally."
+
+Mrs. Bransby rose from her chair, and came rather quickly across the
+room. "My dear," she said, "I want to present our old friend, Major
+Mitton, to you;" and taking May by the arm, she led her away towards the
+pianoforte.
+
+Theodore observed this proceeding with a cool smile, and sense of inward
+triumph. Mrs. Bransby began to understand, then, what a very highly
+connected young lady this was, and was endeavouring, although a little
+late, to show her proper attention. Another time Mrs. Bransby would
+receive _his_ introduction and recommendation with more respect. In the
+same way, he felt gratification in the eager questions with which Miss
+Patty plied him. Miss Patty left the millionaire Mr. Bragg in the lurch,
+and began to catechize Theodore on the subject of the Cheffington
+family.
+
+That fastidious young gentleman said within himself that the snobbery of
+these Oldchester people was really too absurd; and mentally resolved to
+cut a great many of them, as he gained a firmer footing in the best
+London circles. Nevertheless he did not check Miss Patty's inquiries. On
+the contrary, he condescendingly gave her a great deal of information
+about his friends the Dormer-Smiths, the late lamented Dowager, the
+present Viscount Castlecombe, his two sons, the Honourable George and
+the Honourable Lucius, as well as some details respecting the more
+distant branch of the Cheffington family, who had intermarried with the
+Scotch Clishmaclavers, and were thus, not remotely, connected with the
+great ducal house of M'Brose.
+
+This was all very well; but Miss Patty was far more interested in
+getting some information about Captain Cheffington which would identify
+him with the hero of the Brussels story, than of following the genealogy
+of the noble head of the family into its remotest ramifications. And,
+notwithstanding that Theodore was much more reticent about the Captain,
+she did manage to find out that the latter had lived abroad for many
+years--chiefly in Belgium--and that his pecuniary circumstances were not
+flourishing.
+
+"I'm quite convinced it's the same man, Polly," she said afterwards to
+her sister. And, indeed, all the inquiries they made in Oldchester
+confirmed this idea. The Simpsons gave anything but a good character of
+May's absentee parent. And subsequent conversation with Major Mitton
+elicited the fact that Augustus Cheffington had been looked upon as a
+"black sheep" even by not very fastidious or strait-laced circles many
+years ago. The story of the Brussels scandal was not long in reaching
+the ears of every one in Oldchester who had any knowledge, even by
+hearsay, of the parties concerned.
+
+Theodore Bransby, who left Oldchester on the Monday following the
+dinner-party, and spent the intervening Sunday at home, was one of the
+few in the above-named category who did not hear of it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+
+The correspondence between Mrs. Dobbs and Mrs. Dormer-Smith on the
+subject of May's removal to London was not voluminous. It consisted of
+three letters: number one, written by Mrs. Dobbs; number two, written by
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith; and number three, Mrs. Dobbs's reply to that. Mrs.
+Dobbs always went straight to the point, both with tongue and pen; and
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith, although by no means so forcibly direct in her
+dealings, had a dislike to letter-writing, which caused her to put her
+meaning tolerably clearly on this occasion, so as to avoid the necessity
+of writing again.
+
+Mrs. Dobbs had proposed that May should become an inmate of her aunt's
+house in London--at all events for a time--in consideration of an annual
+sum to be paid for her board and dress. The said sum was to be
+guaranteed by Mrs. Dobbs, and was so ample as to make Pauline say
+plaintively to her husband, "Just fancy, Frederick, how deplorably
+imprudent Augustus has been in offending and neglecting this old woman
+as he has done! You see she has plenty of money. I had no idea what her
+means were; but it is clear that, for a person in her rank of life, she
+may be called rich. And Augustus might have obtained solid pecuniary
+assistance from her, I've no doubt, if he had played his cards with
+ordinary prudence. But there never was any one so reckless of his own
+interests as Augustus--beginning with that unfortunate marriage."
+
+Whereunto Mr. Frederick Dormer-Smith thus made reply, "I don't know what
+you may call 'solid pecuniary assistance,' but it seems to me pretty
+solid to keep Augustus's daughter, and clothe her, and pay for her
+schooling, for four years and upwards. As to Augustus's disregard of his
+own interests, it does not at any rate lie in the direction of
+refraining from borrowing money, or remembering to pay it back; that
+much I can vouch for."
+
+Pauline put a corner of her handkerchief to her eyes. "Oh, Frederick,"
+she said, "it pains me to hear you speak so harshly. Remember, Augustus
+is my only brother."
+
+"Mercifully! By George, if there was another of 'em I don't know what
+_would_ become of us."
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith declined to consider this hypothesis, but contented
+herself with saying that she should like to do something for poor
+Augustus's girl, and asking her husband if he didn't think they could
+manage to receive her. Mr. Dormer-Smith thought they could on the terms
+proposed, which, he frankly said, were handsome. And Pauline added
+softly--
+
+"Yes; and it is satisfactory that she offers to keep the arrangement
+strictly secret. It would scarcely do to let it be known that Mrs. Dobbs
+pays for May. It would be _inconvenable_. People would ask all sorts of
+questions. It would put the girl herself in an awkward position.
+'Grandmother!' people would say. 'What grandmother?' and the whole story
+of that wretched marriage would be raked up again. But, on the
+conditions proposed, I do think, Frederick, it could do no harm to
+receive May. I am glad you consent. It will be a comfort to me to feel
+that I am doing something for poor Augustus's girl, and acting as mamma
+would have wished."
+
+So a favourable reply was dispatched to Mrs. Dobbs's application. Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith suggested that May should come to town a little before the
+beginning of the season, so as to give time for preparing her
+wardrobe--a task to which her aunt looked forward with _dilettante_
+relish. And in answer to that, Mrs. Dobbs wrote the third and last
+letter of the series, assenting to the date proposed for May's arrival,
+and entering into a few minor details.
+
+She had also, meanwhile, received a letter from Captain Cheffington,
+elicited, after a long delay, by three successive urgent appeals for an
+immediate answer. It was a scrawl in a hasty, sprawling hand, and ran
+thus:
+
+     "Brussels, Nov. 1, 18--.
+
+     "DEAR MRS. DOBBS,
+
+     "I think it would be very desirable for Miranda to be presented
+     by her aunt, if she is to be presented at all, and to be
+     brought out properly. I have no doubt that my sister will
+     introduce her in the best possible way. Since you seem to press
+     for my consent, you have it herewith, although I hardly feel
+     that I can have much voice in the matter, being separated, as I
+     have been for years, from my country, my family, and my only
+     surviving child. I am a mere exile. It is not a brilliant
+     existence for a man born and brought up as I have been.
+     However, I must make the best of it.
+
+    "Yours always,
+
+    "A. C."
+
+This was sufficient for Mrs. Dobbs. She had made a point of obtaining
+Augustus's authority for his daughter's removal to town; not because she
+relied on his judgment, but because she knew him well enough to fear
+some trick, or sudden turn of feigned indignation, if, from any motive
+of his own, he thought fit to disapprove the step. As to the tone of his
+reply, that neither troubled nor surprised her. But Mr. Weatherhead was
+moved to great wrath by it. Mrs. Dobbs had tossed the note to him one
+day, saying--
+
+"There; there's my son-in-law's consent to May's going to town, in black
+and white. That's a document."
+
+Mr. Weatherhead eagerly pounced on it. "What a disgusting production!"
+he exclaimed, looking up over the rim of the double eyeglass which he
+had set astride his nose to read the note.
+
+"Is it?" returned Mrs. Dobbs carelessly.
+
+"Is it? Why, Sarah, you surprise me, taking it in that cool way. It is
+the most thankless, unfeeling, selfish production I ever read in my
+life."
+
+"Oh, is that all? Well, but that's just Augustus Cheffington. We know
+what _he_ is at this time of day, Jo Weatherhead. It 'ud be a deal
+stranger if he wrote thankfully, and feelingly, and unselfishly."
+
+But Mr. Weatherhead refused to dismiss the matter thus easily. He
+belonged to that numerous category of persons who, having established
+and proclaimed a conviction, appear to be immensely astonished at each
+confirmation of it. He had years ago pronounced Augustus Cheffington to
+be a heartless scoundrel. Nevertheless he was shocked and amazed
+whenever Augustus Cheffington did anything to corroborate that opinion.
+
+The letter from Mrs. Dormer-Smith was not shown to him. Mrs. Dobbs meant
+to keep the amount she was to pay for May a secret even from her
+faithful and trusted friend Jo. He might guess what he pleased, but she
+would not tell him. The means, too, by which she meant to raise the
+money would not, she knew, meet with his approval. And, since she had
+resolved to use those means, she thought it best to avoid vain
+discussion beforehand, and therefore said nothing about them.
+
+Accident, however, revealed a part of the secret in this way:
+
+Mr. Weatherhead, calling one afternoon at Laurel Villa to see Mrs.
+Simpson, who had been kept at home by a cold, found other visitors
+there. Miss Polly and Miss Patty Piper were drinking tea out of Mrs.
+Simpson's best cups and saucers, and chatting away with their usual
+cheerfulness and volubility. The Miss Pipers, as they would themselves
+have expressed it, "moved in a superior sphere" to that of the
+music-teacher and his wife; but they did not consider that they
+derogated from their gentility by occasionally drinking tea and having a
+chat with the Simpsons. They liked to condescend a little, and
+opportunities for condescension were rather rare. Then, too, they had a
+certain interest in Sebastian Bach Simpson, inherited from the long-ago
+days when Sebastian Bach's father played the organ in their father's
+church, and Miss Polly and Miss Patty wore white frocks and blue sashes
+at evening parties, and were the objects of a good deal of attention
+from the Reverend Reuben's curates. Besides the sisters there was
+present Dr. Hatch, who had come to pay a professional visit to Mrs.
+Simpson, and who was just going away. It was a peculiarity of Dr. Hatch
+to be always just going away. He had a very large practice, and was wont
+to aver that his professional duties scarcely left him time to eat or
+sleep. Yet Dr. Hatch's horses stood waiting through many a quarter of an
+hour during which their master was engaged in conversation not of a
+strictly professional nature.
+
+When Mr. Weatherhead entered the best parlour of Laurel Villa, Dr. Hatch
+had a cup of tea in one hand, and his watch in the other, and greeted
+the new arrival with a friendly nod, and the assurance that he was "just
+off." Mrs. Simpson shook hands with Mr. Weatherhead, and the Miss Pipers
+graciously bowed to him. He, too, was connected in their minds with old
+times. Miss Polly specially remembered seeing him on her visits to the
+Birmingham Musical Festivals, when her father would take the opportunity
+of turning over Weatherhead's stock of books, and making a few
+purchases. And once the Pipers had lodged during a Festival week in the
+rooms over Weatherhead's shop.
+
+"Glad to see you better, Mrs. Simpson," said Jo, taking a seat after
+having saluted the company.
+
+"Oh yes, thank you, I'm quite well now. I know Dr. Hatch will scold me
+if he hears me say so"--(with an arch glance baulked of its effect by
+the unsympathetic spectacles)--"because he tells me I still need great
+care. But my cough is gone. It is, really!"
+
+Mrs. Simpson girlishly shook back her curls, and proceeded to pour out a
+cup of tea for Mr. Weatherhead.
+
+"And how is Simpson?" asked the latter.
+
+"Bassy is very well, only immensely busy. He has three new pupils for
+pianoforte and harmony; the daughters of Colonel ----,--tut, I forget
+his name,--recommended by that kind Major Mitton. Or at least it would
+be more proper to say that Major Mitton recommended Bassy to them! Not
+very polite to say that the young ladies were recommended--oh dear! I
+beg pardon. I'm afraid I've over-sweetened your tea?"
+
+She had, in fact, put in half a dozen lumps, one after the other. But
+Mr. Weatherhead fished the greater part of them out again with his
+teaspoon, and deposited them in the saucer, saying it was of no
+consequence.
+
+"I am so sadly absent-minded!" said Mrs. Simpson, smiling sweetly.
+"Bassy would scold me if he were here."
+
+"Serve you right, if he did!" said Dr. Hatch, rising from the table.
+"You should pay attention to what you're doing. I expect to hear that
+you have swallowed the embrocation and anointed your throat with syrup
+of squills."
+
+"Oh, doctor! You do say the drollest things!" exclaimed the amiable
+Amelia, with an enjoying giggle.
+
+"Ah, no; not the drollest! Thank Heaven, I hear a great many droller
+things than I say! That's what mainly supports me in my day's practice."
+
+Mrs. Simpson, not in the least understanding him, giggled again. Dr.
+Hatch had the reputation of being a wag; and Amelia Simpson was not the
+woman to defraud him of a laugh on any such selfish ground as not seeing
+the point of his joke.
+
+"Well, Mr. Weatherhead," said Miss Patty Piper, blandly, "so we are to
+have your sister-in-law for a neighbour, I hear."
+
+Jo poked his nose forward, and pursed up his mouth. "O-ho! my
+sister-in-law, Mrs. Dobbs? How do you mean, ma'am, 'as a neighbour'?"
+
+"We understand that Mrs. Dobbs has been looking after Jessamine Cottage;
+the little white house with a garden on the Gloucester Road," returned
+Miss Patty. Dr. Hatch paused with his hand on the latch of the parlour
+door to hear.
+
+"Oh dear no," said Jo Weatherhead decisively. "Quite a mistake. Sarah
+Dobbs is too wedded to her old home. Nothing would induce her to leave
+Friar's Row. You must have been misinformed, ma'am."
+
+"As to leaving Friar's Row," put in Miss Polly, "she must do that in any
+case; for she has let the premises as offices; and at a high rent, too,
+I hear. Friar's Row is considered a choice position for business
+purposes."
+
+Jo had opened his mouth to protest once more, when a sudden idea made
+him shut it again without speaking. "Oh!" he gasped, and then made a
+little pause before proceeding. "Ah, well--she--it wasn't quite settled
+when I heard last. Would you mind stating your authority, ma'am?"
+
+"The best--Mr. Bragg told us himself. His managing man at the works has
+made the arrangement. Mr. Bragg has been looking out for a more central
+office for some time."
+
+"I told Mrs. Dobbs long ago that she was living at an extravagant rental
+by sticking to Friar's Row," observed Dr. Hatch, turning the handle of
+the door. "Depend on it, she has let it at a swinging rent; and quite
+right, too. Now I really _am_ off."
+
+Jo Weatherhead sat very still after the doctor's departure, with his cup
+of tea in his hand, and a pondering expression of face. The Miss Pipers
+were not sufficiently interested in him to observe his demeanour very
+closely. If they did chance to notice that he was unusually silent, that
+was accounted for by his sense of the superior company he found himself
+in. They always spoke of him as "a good, odd creature, with sound
+principles--a very respectable man, who knew his station." As for Amelia
+Simpson, she was habitually unobservant, with an inconvenient faculty,
+however, of suddenly making clear-sighted remarks when they were least
+expected.
+
+"I'm sure this is very good news for us!" she exclaimed. "Jessamine
+Cottage is so near! At least, it _was_ quite close to us when we lived
+in Marlborough Terrace."
+
+"It will be a good move for Mrs. Dobbs. The air in our neighbourhood is
+so much better than in her part of the town," said Miss Patty, with a
+certain complacency, as who should say, "The merit of this atmospheric
+superiority is all our own; but we are not proud."
+
+"And yet I am surprised, too, at Mrs. Dobbs moving," replied Amelia.
+"She always declared that she hated the suburbs, with their little
+slight-built houses."
+
+"That cannot apply to _our_ house," said Miss Polly. "Garnet Lodge stood
+in its own ground many a long year before those new houses sprung up
+between Greenhill Road and the Gloucester Road."
+
+"But Mrs. Dobbs isn't going to live in Garnet Lodge!" returned Amelia,
+with one of her sudden illuminations of common sense. "And Jessamine
+Cottage is a mere bandbox."
+
+"I remember Mrs. Dobbs among the trebles in 'Esther,'" observed Miss
+Polly. "She had a fine clear voice, and could take the B flat in alt
+with perfect ease."
+
+"And her husband sold capital ironmongery. We have a coal-scuttle in the
+kitchen now which was bought at his shop--a thoroughly solid article,"
+added Miss Patty.
+
+These appreciative words about the Dobbses, which at another time would
+have gratified Jo Weatherhead, now fell on an unheeding ear. He took his
+leave very shortly, and walked straight to Friar's Row.
+
+"Well, Sarah Dobbs," said he, on entering the parlour, "I didn't think
+you would steal a march on me like this! I did believe you'd have
+trusted me sooner than a parcel of strangers, after all these years!"
+
+He did not sit down in his usual place by the fireside, but remained
+standing opposite to his old friend, looking at her with a troubled
+countenance. Mrs. Dobbs gave him one quick, keen glance, and then said--
+
+"So you've heard it, Jo? Well, I didn't mean that you should hear it
+from any one but me. But who shall stop chattering tongues? They rage
+like a fire in the stubble. And the poorer and lighter the fuel, the
+bigger blaze it makes. It was settled only this very morning, too."
+
+"It _is_ true, then, Sarah? I had a kind of a hankering hope that it
+might be only trash and chit-chat."
+
+"You mean about my letting my house, don't you? Yes; that's true."
+
+"And me never to know a word of it!--To hear it from strangers!"
+
+"Now look here, Jo; let us talk sensibly. Sit down, can't you?"
+
+But Jo would not sit down; and after a minute's pause, Mrs. Dobbs went
+on--
+
+"I'll tell you the truth. I didn't say a word to you of my plan
+beforehand, because I was afraid to--there!"
+
+"Afraid! You, Sarah Dobbs, afraid of _me_! That's a good one!" But his
+face relaxed a little from its pained, fixed look.
+
+"Yes; afraid of what you'd say. I knew you wouldn't approve, and I knew
+why. You wouldn't approve for my sake. But, thinks I, when once it's
+done, Jo may scold a little, but he'll forgive his old friend. And I
+never thought of chattering jackdaws cawing the matter from the
+house-tops. I meant to tell you myself this very afternoon; I did
+indeed, Jo."
+
+Jo drew a little nearer to his accustomed chair, and put his hand on the
+back of it, keeping his face turned away from Mrs. Dobbs. "Of course,
+you're the mistress to do what you like with your own property," he
+muttered.
+
+"Nobody's mistress, or master either, to do what's wrong with their own
+property. I mean to do what's right if I can. I was never one to heed
+much what outside folks think of me; but I do heed what you think, Jo,
+and reason good. And I want you to know my feeling about the matter once
+for all, and then we can leave it alone."
+
+Mr. Weatherhead here slid quietly into the armchair, and sat with his
+face still turned towards the fire.
+
+"You know," continued Mrs. Dobbs, "I told you some weeks ago that I was
+troubled about the child's position here. She is a real lady, and ought
+to be acknowledged as such. That's the only good that can come now from
+poor Susy's marriage, and I do hold to it. There was only one way, that
+I could see, of managing what I wanted. I could do it at a
+sacrifice--after all, a very small sacrifice."
+
+Jo Weatherhead shook his head emphatically.
+
+"Yes, really and truly a very small sacrifice," persisted Mrs. Dobbs. "I
+don't see why I shouldn't be just as happy and comfortable in Jessamine
+Cottage as here--provided, of course, that my old friends don't cut me
+and sulk with me. I shall be lonely enough when once the child's gone;
+and you and me'll have to cheer each other up, and keep each other
+company, as well as we can. You won't refuse to do that, will you, Jo?
+Come, shake hands on it!"
+
+Jo slowly put out his hand and grasped her proffered one. He then took
+out, filled, and lighted his meerschaum, and smoked in silence for some
+quarter of an hour, Mrs. Dobbs, meanwhile, knitting in equal silence.
+All at once she said--
+
+"Hark! There's May's step coming downstairs. Now you'll please to
+understand that when my moving from this house is mentioned to the
+child, it's because I find Friar's Row too noisy, and think the air in
+Greenhill Road will agree better with my health. I trust you for that,
+Jo Weatherhead, mind!"
+
+May at this moment came gaily into the room, and Mr. Weatherhead thus
+solemnly addressed her: "Miranda Cheffington, you have been to a
+first-rate school, and have read your Roman history and all that,
+haven't you?"
+
+"Not much, I'm afraid, Uncle Jo."
+
+"You have read about Lucretia, and Portia, and the mother of the
+Gracchi" (pronounced "Gratch-I;" for Jo's instruction had been chiefly
+taken in by the eye rather than the ear, in the shape of miscellaneous
+gleanings from his own stock-in-trade), "and other distinguished women
+of classical times, whose virtues were, in my opinion, not wholly
+unconnected with bounce?"
+
+Mary laughed and nodded.
+
+"Well, allow me to tell you that there are Englishwomen at the present
+day whom I consider far superior, in all that makes a real good woman,
+to any Roman or Grecian of them all. Englishwomen to whom bounce in
+every form is foreign and obnoxious. Englishwomen who do good by stealth
+and never blush to find it Fame, because Fame is a great deal too busy
+with rascals and hussies ever to trouble herself about _them_! Your
+grandmother, Mrs. Sarah Dobbs, whom I'm proud to call my friend, is one
+of those women. And what's more--and I'll have you bear it in mind,
+Miranda Cheffington--I believe you'd be puzzled to find her equal in
+Europe, Asia, Africa, or America--not to mention Australasia and the
+'ole of the islands in the Pacific Ocean."
+
+With that, Mr. Weatherhead walked gravely out; his nose somewhat redder
+than usual, and his eyes glistening.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+
+About a year before that dinner-party at which May Cheffington had made
+her _debut_ in Oldchester society, Mrs. Hadlow had begun to think it
+probable that Theodore Bransby might wish to marry her daughter, and to
+consider the desirability of his doing so. On the whole she did not
+disapprove the prospect. Constance was very handsome, but she was also
+very poor. Her ambition might not be satisfied by a match with Martin
+Bransby's son; but on the other hand, Theodore was a young man of good
+abilities, and apt to rise in the world. Moreover, he had sufficient
+property of his own to facilitate his rising--a little ballast of that
+sort being as useful in the _melee_ of this world as the lead in a toy
+tumbler, and enabling a man, if not to strike the stars with his sublime
+head, at least to keep right side uppermost.
+
+Certainly Theodore had appeared much attracted by Miss Hadlow. Not only
+her beauty but her self-assertion approved itself to him; for a man's
+wife should be able to justify his taste; and there would be no
+distinction in winning a woman whose meekness made it doubtful whether
+she could have had the heart to say "No" to an inferior suitor. They had
+been playfellows in childhood, but school and Cambridge had separated
+them. But after Theodore began to read for the Bar, and, during the two
+last vacations, which he had spent chiefly at home, a great intimacy had
+sprung up between the young people. Theodore's frequent visits to the
+old house in College Quad did not pass unobserved. One or two persons
+thought his partiality for the Hadlows--especially when contrasted with
+the lukewarm politeness he bestowed on other families, such as Raynes
+the brewer, or the Burtons who lived in a park, and had had nothing to
+do with retail for two generations--was creditable to Theodore's heart.
+"He was not one to neglect old friends," said they, candidly confessing
+at the same time that it was more than they should have expected of him.
+But the majority felt sure that nothing short of being in love with
+Constance Hadlow could induce young Bransby to prefer the canon's
+old-fashioned parlour to Mrs. Raynes's red and gold drawing-room, or the
+Burtons' aesthetic upholstery. Oldchester folks did not guess that
+Theodore intended to frequent a style of society in which neither the
+Rayneses nor the Burtons would be able to make any figure, nor did they
+know that he set a considerable value on Mrs. Hadlow's connections. That
+lady had been a Miss Rivers, and her family ranked among the oldest
+landed gentry in the kingdom. There were not many Oldchester magnates to
+whom Theodore Bransby thought it worth while to be more than coolly
+civil. Mr. Bragg was an exception, but then Mr. Bragg was a man of very
+great wealth; and as mere size is held in certain cases to be an element
+of grandeur, so money, Theodore thought, is capable in certain cases of
+inspiring veneration--that is to say, when there is enough of it.
+
+As to Miss Constance's state of mind about young Bransby, it was too
+complex to be described in a word. She liked Theodore, and thought him a
+superior person; if not quite so superior as he thought himself. She had
+faith, too, in his future. It would be agreeable to be the wife of a
+distinguished M.P. or Q.C., or perhaps of both combined in one person.
+Theodore would certainly settle nowhere but in London, and to live in
+London had been Constance's dream ever since she was fifteen. Her
+visions of what her life would be if she married Theodore Bransby
+concerned themselves chiefly with their joint-entry into some
+fashionable drawing-room, her presentation at Court, her name in the
+_Morning Post_, herself exquisitely dressed driving Theodore down to the
+House in a neat victoria, and returning the salutations of distinguished
+acquaintances as they passed along Whitehall. All more serious questions
+regarding their married life Constance set at rest by a few formulas. Of
+course, she should do her duty. Of course, Theodore would always behave
+like a gentleman. Of course, they should never condescend to vulgar
+wrangling. Of course, her husband would give way to her in any
+difference of opinion;--particularly since she was pretty sure to be
+always right. And then Constance knew herself to be so very charming,
+that a man of taste could not fail to delight in her society.
+
+Yet it must not be supposed that she had fully made up her mind to marry
+Theodore. That Theodore would be very glad to marry her she did not
+doubt at all. There had been a time--nay, there were moments still--when
+her visions of herself as Mrs. Theodore Bransby had been blurred by the
+disturbing element of her cousin Owen's presence. He had shown an
+attractive appreciation of her attractions; and had, to use Mr.
+Simpson's phrase, "dangled after his cousin" a good deal. Owen Rivers
+had reached the age of three and twenty without ever having earned a
+dinner, and without any serious preparation to enable him to earn one.
+He had had an expensive education, and had done fairly well at Oxford.
+His mother had died in his infancy; and his father, a country clergyman,
+had allowed the young man to lounge away his life at the parsonage,
+under the specious pretext of taking time to make up his mind what
+career he would follow. Owen had fished, and shot, and walked, and
+boated, and cricketed; but he had also read a good deal, having an
+intellectual appetite at once robust and discriminating. His friends and
+relatives agreed in thinking him very clever; and, when they reproached
+him with wasting his fine abilities and leading a purposeless existence,
+he would answer jestingly that he should be sorry to belie their
+judgment by subjecting his talents to the dangerous touchstone of
+action. His father died before he had determined on a profession. But,
+fortunately as he thought, and unfortunately as was thought by some
+other persons, including his Aunt Jane, he inherited wherewithal to live
+without working, and, with a hundred and fifty pounds per annum, could
+not lack bread and cheese. On his father's death he went to travel on
+the Continent. He walked wherever walking was possible, carrying his own
+knapsack, spending little, and seeing much. After more than two years'
+absence, he returned to England and made his way to Oldchester to see
+his Aunt Jane, with whom he had maintained an intermittent
+correspondence. There he found Constance, whom he last remembered as a
+sallow, self-sufficient schoolgirl, grown to a beautiful young woman.
+Her sallowness had turned into a creamy pallor, and her self-sufficiency
+was mitigated, to the masculine judgment, by the depth and softness of a
+pair of fine dark eyes. Owen, on his part, made a decidedly favourable
+impression on his cousin. He was not handsome--which mattered
+little--nor fashionably dressed--which mattered more; but he was well
+made, and had the grace which belongs to youthful health and strength.
+And he had, too, that indefinable tone of manner which ensured his
+recognition as an English gentleman. Constance was by no means
+insensible to this attraction. If she had not the sentiments which
+originate the finest manners, she had the perceptions which recognize
+them. When Mary Raynes and the Burnet girls criticized the roughness of
+Owen's demeanour, comparing it with Theodore Bransby's "polish," she
+knew they were wrong. Theodore always behaved with the greatest
+propriety; but between his manners and Owen's there was the same sort of
+difference as between a native and a foreigner speaking the same
+language. The foreigner may often be more accurately correct of the two
+on minor points, but it is an affair of conscious acquirement, and must
+inevitably break down now and then; whereas the native talks as
+naturally as he breathes, and can no more make certain mistakes than an
+oak tree can put forth willow leaves. Then Owen was very amusing company
+when he chose to be so,--and he usually did choose to be so when at his
+Aunt Jane's; and he had good old blood in his veins. This latter fact
+gave a certain piquancy, in Constance's opinion, to his political
+theories, which were opposed to the staunch Tory traditions of his
+family. Constance frequently took her cousin to task on this subject;
+but with the comfortable conviction to sweeten their controversy that a
+Rivers could afford to indulge in a little democratic heresy, just as
+Lord Castlecombe could afford to wear a shabbier coat than any of his
+tenants.
+
+All these considerations, together with the crowning circumstance that
+he evidently admired her a good deal, caused Owen to fill a large place
+in his cousin's mind. She even asked herself seriously more than once if
+she were in love with Owen, but failed to answer the question
+decisively. She did, however, arrive at the conviction that falling in
+love lay much more in one's own power than was commonly supposed; and
+that no Romeo-and-Juliet destiny could ever inspire _her_ with an
+ungovernable passion for a man who possessed but a hundred and fifty
+pounds a year. Mrs. Hadlow had at one time felt some uneasiness--nearly
+as much on Owen's account as on her daughter's, to say the truth. But
+she had satisfied herself that there was nothing more than a fraternal
+kind of regard between the young people--wherein she was wrong; and that
+there was no danger of their imprudently marrying--wherein she was
+right.
+
+Mrs. Hadlow had, indeed, made up her mind that Constance would accept
+Theodore Bransby whenever he should offer himself; and she privately
+thought it high time that the offer were made. What did Theodore wait
+for? His means (according to Mrs. Hadlow's estimate of things) were
+sufficient to allow him to marry at once. But even supposing that he did
+not choose to marry until he had fairly entered on his career as a
+barrister, still there ought to be at least some clear understanding
+between him and Constance. All Oldchester expected to hear of their
+engagement, and it was not fair to the girl to leave matters in their
+present uncertain condition. When, at the end of the vacation, young
+Bransby left Oldchester again without having made any declaration, Mrs.
+Hadlow was not only surprised, but uneasy; and she opened her mind to
+her husband on the subject, invading his study at an unusual hour for
+that purpose.
+
+"Edward," said Mrs. Hadlow, "don't you think that Theodore Barnsby ought
+to have spoken before he went to town this last time?"
+
+"Spoken, my dear?"
+
+"To Constance; or to us about Constance."
+
+The canon leaned his head on his hand, keeping the thumb of the other
+hand inserted between the pages of his Plato as a marker, and looked
+absently at his wife.
+
+"Well? Don't you think he ought?" she repeated impatiently.
+
+The good canon meditated for a few moments. Then he said--
+
+"I--I don't feel quite sure that I understand. What ought he to have
+said, Jane?"
+
+"Said! Goodness, Edward! He ought to have declared his intentions, of
+course. It is high time that something was understood clearly."
+
+The canon's gentle blue eyes lost their abstracted look, and a little
+sparkle came into them as he answered, "I hope--nay, I am sure--Jane,
+that you would not think of taking any step, or saying any word, which
+might compromise our dear child's dignity. Let it not appear that you
+are eager to put this interpretation on the young man's visits."
+
+"My dear Edward, Theodore has been paying Conny marked attentions for
+more than a year past; but during this last summer and autumn he has
+been in our house morning, noon, and night. He doesn't come for _our
+beaux yeux_."
+
+"H'm, h'm, h'm! But, Jane, an attachment of that sort between two young
+creatures should be treated with the greatest delicacy. It is shy and
+sensitive. Let us beware of pulling up our flower by the roots to see if
+it is growing."
+
+This trope by no means corresponded with Mrs. Hadlow's conception of the
+relations between Theodore Bransby and her daughter. She was an
+affectionate mother, but she did not delude herself into thinking
+Constance peculiarly sensitive or romantic. In fact, she was wont to say
+that her daughter was twenty years older than herself on some points.
+But the canon erroneously attributed to his daughter a quite poetical
+refinement of feeling. His views on most subjects were romantic and
+unworldly, and his ideas about women were peculiarly chivalrous. They
+frequently irked Constance. She was not without respect as well as
+affection for her father; and it was sometimes difficult to bring these
+sentiments into harmony with her deep-seated admiration for herself.
+However, she usually reconciled all discrepancies between what he
+expected of her and what she knew to be the fact, by declaring that
+"Papa was so old-fashioned!"
+
+"Tell me, Jane," said the canon, after a little pause, "do you think
+Conny's feelings are seriously engaged? Do you think this matter is
+likely to make her unhappy?"
+
+"Unhappy? Well, no; I hope not unhappy," answered Mrs. Hadlow slowly.
+
+"Then all is well. We will not let our spirits be troubled."
+
+"But, Edward, although she may not break her heart----"
+
+"Heaven forbid! Break her heart, Jane?"
+
+"Well, I say of course there's no fear of that; but it _is_ detrimental
+to a girl to have an affair of this kind dragging on in a vague sort of
+way. It might spoil her chance in other directions; and people will
+talk, you know."
+
+"Tut, tut! As to 'spoiling her chance'--which is a phrase very
+distasteful to me in this connection--if you mean that any eligible
+suitor would be discouraged from wooing Conny because another man is
+supposed to admire her too, that's all nonsense. Do you think I should
+have been frightened away from trying to win you, Jenny, by any such
+impalpable figment of a rival?"
+
+"You?" exclaimed Mrs. Hadlow, with a sudden flush and a proud smile.
+"Oh, that's a _very_ different matter, Edward. I don't see any young men
+nowadays to compare with what you were."
+
+The canon laughed softly. "Thank you, my dear. No doubt your grandmother
+said much the same sort of thing once upon a time; and I hope your
+grand-daughter may say it too, some day. But set your heart at rest as
+to this matter. That Theodore Bransby, whom we have known from his
+birth, should be a frequent guest in our house, can surprise no one.
+There is youthful society to be found here. Without reckoning Constance,
+there's Owen Rivers, the Burton girls, little May--we may reasonably
+suppose this to be attractive to a young man who has no companions of
+his own age at home, without attributing to him any such intentions as
+you speak off. In fact," added the canon simply, "we must believe you
+are mistaken; since, if Theodore loved our daughter, there's nothing to
+prevent his saying so!"
+
+Of all which speech, two words chiefly arrested Mrs. Hadlow's attention
+and stuck in her memory--"little May." It was true, now she came to
+think of it, that the increased frequency of Theodore's visits coincided
+with May Cheffington's presence in Oldchester. Then she suddenly
+remembered it was by Theodore's influence that May had been invited to
+Mrs. Bransby's dinner-party, and many words and ways of his with
+reference to Miss Cheffington occurred to her in a new light. But then,
+again, came a revulsion, and she told herself that the idea was absurd.
+It was out of the question that Theodore Bransby, with his social
+ambition, should think seriously of marrying insignificant little May
+Cheffington, who was not even handsome (when compared with Constance),
+who had childish manners, no fortune--and, worst of all, was Mrs.
+Dobbs's grand-daughter! "Besides," said Mrs. Hadlow to herself, "he
+_must_ be fond of Conny. It's quite an old attachment; and, though
+Theodore may not have very ardent feelings, I don't believe he is
+fickle."
+
+Nevertheless, she was not entirely reassured. After Theodore's departure
+from Oldchester she observed her daughter solicitously for some time;
+but she finally convinced herself that Conny's peace of mind was in no
+danger. She had sometimes been provoked by Conny's matter-of-fact
+coolness, and had felt that young lady's worldly wisdom to be an
+anachronism. But she admitted that in the present case these gifts had
+their advantage; for, when Oldchester friends showed their interest or
+curiosity by hints and allusions to Theodore, which made Mrs. Hadlow
+quite hot and uncomfortable, Constance met them all with perfect
+calmness, and she discussed the young man's prospects with an almost
+patronizing air that puzzled people.
+
+In a few weeks more May Cheffington departed for London; Owen Rivers
+also went away, and life in the dark old house in College Quad resumed
+its usual quiet routine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+
+It was a raw, gusty afternoon towards the end of March when May and her
+grandmother arrived in London. There had been some difficulty about the
+journey, arising from Mrs. Dormer-Smith's objection to her niece's
+travelling alone, and insisting on her being properly attended. In reply
+to a suggestion that May would be quite safe in a ladies' carriage, and
+under the care of the guard, she wrote:--"It is not that I doubt her
+being safe; but I _cannot_ let my servants see her arrive alone when I
+meet her at the station. Why not send a maid with her?" To which Mrs.
+Dobbs made answer that she could not send a maid, having only one
+servant-of-all-work, but that she herself would bring her grand-daughter
+to London. "I shall go up by one train, and come down by the next," said
+she to Jo Weatherhead. And when he remonstrated against her incurring
+that expense and fatigue, she answered, "Oh, we won't spoil the ship for
+a ha'porth of tar. If I make up my mind to part with the child, I'll
+start her as well as I can."
+
+The travellers found Mrs. Dormer-Smith awaiting them at the
+railway station. She greeted May affectionately, and Mrs. Dobbs
+amiably. "My servant has a cab here for the luggage," she said.
+"But"--hesitatingly--"how shall we manage about----? I'm afraid the
+brougham is too small for three." Mrs. Dobbs settled the question by
+declaring that she did not purpose going to Mrs. Dormer-Smith's house.
+She would get some dinner at the station, and return to Oldchester by an
+evening train. "Oh dear, I'm afraid that will be very uncomfortable for
+you!" said Pauline, politely trying to conceal her satisfaction at this
+arrangement. "Will you not come and--and lunch with us?" But Mrs. Dobbs
+stuck to her own plan.
+
+While the footman was superintending the placing of May's luggage on the
+cab, her grandmother drew her into the waiting-room to say "good-bye."
+"God bless you, my dear, dear child! Write to me often, keep well, and
+be happy!" she said, folding the girl in her arms. Mrs. Dormer-Smith
+stood by, not unsympathetic, but at the same time relieved to know James
+was busy with the luggage, so that he could not witness the parting, nor
+hear May's exclamation, "Darling granny! darling granny!" Indeed, it
+might be hoped that he would never know the relationship between this
+stout, common-looking old woman and Miss Cheffington; nor be able to
+report it in the servants' hall. She felt that Mrs. Dobbs was behaving
+very properly, and said with gracious sweetness, "I'm sure we ought all
+to be very much obliged to you for the care you have taken of my niece.
+It was most good of you to undertake this tiresome journey."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs looked up with a flash in her eyes. "I only hope," she
+returned hotly, "that you will take as good care of my grandchild as I
+have taken of your niece." The next moment she repented of her retort,
+and said quite humbly, "You will be kind to her, won't you? Poor
+motherless lamb! You will be kind to her, I'm sure!"
+
+"Indeed I will," answered Mrs. Dormer-Smith, with unruffled gentleness.
+"I have always wished for a daughter, and she shall be like my own
+daughter to me." And, with a motherly caress, she drew May to her side.
+
+"Don't be afraid for me, granny dear!" said May, smiling with tearful
+eyes. "I shall be very happy with Aunt Pauline. Besides, I shall see you
+again very soon."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs laid her hand on the girl's shoulder and pushed her gently,
+but firmly, out of the waiting-room, standing herself in the doorway
+until May and her aunt had disappeared. Then she sat down by the fire,
+untied her bonnet-strings, pulled out her handkerchief, and sobbed
+unrestrainedly. The waiting-room attendant looked at her curiously; for
+she had noticed that Mrs. Dobbs did not belong to the same class as that
+elegantly dressed lady, attended by a servant in livery, with whom the
+young girl had gone away. Presently she drew near, on pretence of poking
+the fire, and said--
+
+"You're very fond of the young lady, ain't you? But don't take on so.
+You'll see her again very soon, I dare say. Don't cry, poor dear!"
+
+"I _have_ cried," said Mrs. Dobbs, getting up and drying her eyes
+resolutely. "I have cried, and it's done me good. And now I'll go and
+get a bit of food."
+
+But she only trifled with the modest dinner set before her; and, as she
+sat in a corner of the second-class carriage which conveyed her back to
+Oldchester, her handkerchief was soaked with silent tears.
+
+To May the separation naturally seemed far less terrible than it did to
+Mrs. Dobbs. She had no idea that it was to be a long, much less a
+permanent, one. She found it agreeable to sit in the well-hung, neatly
+appointed brougham, with a cushion at her back and a hot-water tin under
+her feet, and to look through the clear glasses at the bustle and
+movement of London. Her aunt Pauline was very pleasant and sympathetic.
+May thought that she might come to love her father's sister very dearly.
+She admired her already. Mrs. Dormer-Smith's gentle manner, her soft,
+low voice, the quiet elegance of her dress, and even the delicate
+perfume of violets which hung about her, were all appreciated by May.
+
+"My cousin is not at home, is he, Aunt Pauline?" she asked after a
+little silence.
+
+"No; Cyril is at Harrow. There are only the children."
+
+"Oh, children!" cried May, with brightening eyes. "I'm so glad! I love
+children. I didn't know you had any children besides Cyril."
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith laughed her peculiar little guttural laugh, consisting
+of several ha, ha, ha's, slowly and softly uttered, and made no answer.
+
+"Are they boys or girls? How many are there? How old are they?"
+questioned May eagerly.
+
+"Two little boys. Harold is--let me see--Harold is six, and Wilfred
+five. It is very awkward having two little things in the nursery so many
+years younger than their elder brother. Cyril is turned fifteen. It is
+like beginning all one's troubles over again," said Pauline plaintively.
+The birth of these two children was, indeed, a standing grievance with
+her.
+
+May thought this an odd way of talking, and said no more on the subject
+of her little cousins. But she looked forward to seeing them with
+pleasant expectation.
+
+The sight of the house in Kensington brought back vividly to her mind
+the day after the dowager's funeral, when she had arrived there from
+school, feeling very strange and forlorn. She remembered, too, the
+abrupt departure next morning with her father, and her impression that
+the Dormer-Smiths had not behaved well, and that her father was very
+angry with them. May was shown into a bedroom at the back of the house,
+overlooking some gardens. The maid, having asked if she could do
+anything for Miss Cheffington, and having mentioned that the
+luncheon-gong would sound in ten minutes, withdrew, and left May alone.
+She examined the room with girlish interest. It was very pretty, she
+thought. Perhaps, in point of solid comfort, the old-fashioned furniture
+of her room in Friar's Row might be superior; but in Friar's Row there
+was no such ample provision of looking-glasses as there was here. She
+was still contemplating herself from head to foot in a long swing
+mirror, which stood in a good light near the window, when the gong
+sounded.
+
+May ran downstairs, and in the dining-room she found her aunt and a
+heavy-looking man with grizzled, sandy hair, and dull blue eyes, who
+asked her how she did, and supposed she would hardly recognize him.
+
+"Oh yes, I do, Uncle Frederick!" she answered.
+
+And again an uncomfortable recollection of her father's angry departure
+from that house came over her. But whatever quarrels there might have
+been in those days, her aunt and uncle appeared to have forgotten all
+about them. Mr. Dormer-Smith told May more than once that he was pleased
+to see her.
+
+"You're not a bit like your father, my dear," said he, with an approving
+air not altogether flattering to Augustus.
+
+"Oh yes, Frederick!" interposed his wife. "There is a family
+expression."
+
+"It's an expression I have never seen on your brother's face. No, nor
+any approach to it."
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith laughed the soft little laugh which was habitual with
+her when embarrassed or disconcerted, and changed the conversation. "I
+hope you like your room, May?" she said.
+
+"Oh yes, very much indeed, thank you, Aunt Pauline."
+
+"I wish I could have come upstairs with you. But I am obliged to
+_menager_ my strength as much as possible."
+
+"Are you not well, Aunt Pauline?" asked May with ready sympathy.
+
+"I am not _strong_, dear."
+
+"You would be better if you exerted yourself more," said Mr.
+Dormer-Smith. "Your system gets into a sluggish state from sheer
+inactivity."
+
+"Ah, you don't understand, Frederick," answered his wife, with a
+plaintive smile.
+
+And May felt indignant at her uncle's want of feeling. But the next
+minute she relented towards him when he said, as he rose from table--
+
+"I'll go round to the chemist's myself for Willy's medicine, and bring
+it back with me, as I suppose you will be wanting James to go out again
+with the carriage by-and-by."
+
+"Is one of the little boys ill?" asked May.
+
+This time it was her aunt who replied calmly, "Oh no. The child has a
+little nervous cough; it is really more a trick than anything else."
+
+"Huggins doesn't think so lightly of it, I can assure you. He tells me
+great care is needed," said Mr. Dormer-Smith.
+
+"Can I--would you mind--might I see my little cousins?" asked May, with
+some hesitation. She was puzzled by these discrepancies of opinion
+between husband and wife.
+
+Mr. Dormer-Smith turned round with a look almost of animation. "Come
+now, if you like. Come with me," he said. And May followed him out of
+the room, disregarding her aunt's suggestion that it would be better for
+her to lie down and rest after her journey.
+
+The nursery was a large room--in fact, an attic--at the top of the
+house. May noticed how rapidly the elegance and costliness of the
+furniture and appointments decreased as they mounted. If the dining-room
+and drawing-rooms represented tropical luxury, the bedrooms cooled down
+into a temperate zone; and the top region of all was arctic in its
+barrenness. The nursery looked very forlorn and comfortless, with its
+bare floor, cheap wall-paper dotted with coarse, coloured prints, and
+its small grate with a small fire in it, which had exhausted its
+energies in smoking furiously, as the smell in the room testified. At a
+table in the middle of the room sat a hard-featured young woman, with
+high cheek-bones, and a complexion like that of a varnished wooden doll,
+mending a heap of linen; and in one corner, where stood a battered old
+rocking-horse and a top-heavy Noah's Ark, two little boys were kneeling
+on the floor, building houses with wooden bricks. On their father's
+entrance, they looked up languidly; but when they saw who it was, they
+scrambled to their feet with some show of pleasure, and came to stand
+one on each side of him, holding his hands. They were both like him,
+blue-eyed and sandy-haired, and both looked pale and sickly. Harold, the
+elder, seemed the stronger of the two. Wilfred was a meagre,
+frail-looking little creature, with a half-timid, half-sullen expression
+of face. Their father kissed them both, and, sitting down, drew the
+younger child on his knee, whilst Harold stood pressing close against
+his shoulder.
+
+"Well, do you know who this is?" asked Mr. Dormer-Smith, pointing to
+May.
+
+Apparently they had no wish to know, for they nestled closer to their
+father, and sulkily rejected May's proffered caresses.
+
+"Oh, come, you mustn't be shy," said their father. "This is your cousin
+May; kiss her, and say, 'How d'ye do?'"
+
+But nothing would induce either of the boys to give May his hand, nor
+even to look at her; and at length she begged her uncle not to trouble
+himself, and hoped they would all be very good friends presently.
+
+"And how do we get on with our lessons, ma'amselle?" asked Mr.
+Dormer-Smith of the hard-featured young woman, who, beyond rising from
+her chair when they came in, had hitherto taken no notice of them.
+
+"We haven't had no lessons to-day," put in Harold, with a lowering look
+at "ma'amselle."
+
+"No, monsieur, it has been impossible till now; I have had so much
+sewing to do for madame. See!" and she pointed to the heap of linen.
+"But we will have our lessons in the afternoon."
+
+"I don't want lessons; I want to go out with papa. Take me with you,
+papa," cried Harold. Whereupon little Wilfred lisped out that he too
+would go out with papa, and set up a peevish whine.
+
+"It is too cold for you, my man," said the father. "The sharp wind would
+make you cough. Harold will stay with you, and you can play together,
+and do your lessons afterwards, like good boys."
+
+But the children only wailed and cried the louder, whilst mademoiselle,
+with her eyes on her needlework, monotonously repeated in her
+Swiss-French, "What is this? Be good, my children," and apparently
+thought she was doing all that she was called upon to do under the
+circumstances.
+
+May thought her little cousins peculiarly disagreeable children; but she
+could not help feeling sorry for them and for their father, who looked
+quite helpless and distressed. "Would you like me to tell you a story?"
+she said. "I know some very pretty stories."
+
+A wail from Wilfred and a scowl from Harold were all the answer she
+received from them. But her uncle caught at the suggestion eagerly.
+
+"Oh, that would be very kind of Cousin May," he said. "A pretty story!
+You'll like that, won't you?"
+
+"No, I shan't! I want to go with papa," grumbled Harold.
+
+"I want to go wis papa," sobbed Wilfred.
+
+"It is always so when monsieur comes to the nursery," said the Swiss,
+coolly going on with her sewing. "The children are so fond of monsieur."
+
+"Poor little fellows!" cried May.
+
+Then kneeling down beside her uncle, she began softly to stroke
+Wilfred's hair, and to speak to him coaxingly. After a while, the child
+glanced shyly into her face, and ceased to sob. Presently he allowed
+himself to be transferred from his father's knee to May's. The Noah's
+Ark was brought into requisition. May ranged its inmates--all more or
+less dilapidated--on the floor, and began to perform a drama with them,
+making each animal's utterances in an appropriate voice. A smile dawned
+on Wilfred's pale little face, and Harold drew near to look and listen
+with evident interest.
+
+"Now, Uncle Frederick, if you have to go out, I will stay and play with
+the children, until lesson-time. They are going to be very good now;
+ain't you, boys?"
+
+"Ve'y good now," assented Wilfred, his attention still absorbed by the
+Noah's Ark animals.
+
+"Well, if you'll make the pig grunt again, I will be good," said Harold,
+with a Bismarckian mastery of the _do ut des_ principle.
+
+Mr. Dormer-Smith's face beamed with satisfaction. "It's very good of
+you, my dear," said he. "If you don't mind, it would be very kind to
+stay with them a little while; that is, if you are not too tired by your
+journey?" And as he went away, he repeated, "It's very good of you, my
+dear; very good of you!"
+
+But May found that her aunt took a different view.
+
+"_Dear_ May," said she, when she learned where her niece had been
+spending the two hours after luncheon, "this is very imprudent! You
+should have lain down and taken a thorough rest instead of exerting
+yourself in that way."
+
+"Oh, I'm not in the least tired, Aunt Pauline."
+
+"Dear child, you may not think so; but a railway journey of three or
+four hours jars the nerves terribly."
+
+"Oh, I was very glad to amuse the children, Aunt Pauline. They were
+crying to go out with their father, so I tried to comfort them. They got
+quite merry before I left them."
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith slowly shook her head and smiled. "You will find them
+extremely tiresome, poor things!" said she placidly. "They are by no
+means engaging children. Cyril was very different at their age."
+
+"Oh, Aunt Pauline! I think they might be made--I mean I think we shall
+come to be great friends. I couldn't bear to see them cry, poor mites!"
+
+"That is all very sweet in you, dear May, but I fancy it is best to
+leave their nursery governess to manage them. Her French is not all that
+I could wish. But a pure accent is not so vitally important for boys. It
+is much if an Englishman can speak French even decently. And Cecile
+makes herself very useful with her needle."
+
+Pauline then announced that she would not go out again that afternoon,
+but would devote herself to the inspection of May's wardrobe. "Of course
+you have no evening dresses fit to wear," she said; "but we will see
+whether we cannot manage to make use of some of your clothes. Smithson,
+my maid, is very clever."
+
+"Why, of course granny would not have sent me without proper clothes!"
+protested May, opening her eyes in astonishment. "And I _have_ an
+evening frock--a very pretty white muslin, quite new."
+
+To this speech Aunt Pauline vouchsafed no answer beyond a vague smile.
+She scarcely heard it, in fact. Her mind was preoccupied with weighty
+considerations. As she seated herself in the one easy-chair in May's
+room, and watched her niece kneeling down, keys in hand, before her
+travelling trunk, she observed with heartfelt thankfulness that the
+girl's figure was naturally graceful, and calculated to set off well-cut
+garments to advantage.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed May suddenly, turning round and letting the keys fall
+with a clash as she clasped her hands, "above everything I must not miss
+the post! I want to send off a letter, so that granny may have it at
+breakfast time to-morrow for a surprise. Have I plenty of time, Aunt
+Pauline?"
+
+"No doubt," answered her aunt absently. She was debating whether the
+circumference of May's waist might not be reduced an inch or so by
+judicious lacing.
+
+"Perhaps I had better get my letter written first, Aunt Pauline. I
+wouldn't miss writing to granny for the world, and any time will do for
+the clothes."
+
+To which her aunt replied with solemnity, and with an appearance of
+energy which May had never witnessed in her before, "Your wardrobe, May,
+demands very serious consideration. April is just upon us. You are to be
+presented at the second Drawing-room. Dress is an important social duty,
+and we must not lose time in trifling."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+
+It was a great comfort to Mrs. Dormer-Smith to find her niece so pretty
+("not a beauty," as she said to herself, "but extremely pleasing, and
+with capital points"), and so entirely free from vulgarisms of speech or
+manner. In fact, May's outward demeanour needed but very few polishing
+touches to make it all her aunt could desire. But a more intimate
+acquaintance revealed traits of character which troubled Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith a good deal.
+
+"I suppose," she observed to her husband, with a sigh, "one had no right
+to expect that poor Augustus's unfortunate marriage should have left no
+trace in his children. But it is dreadfully disheartening to come every
+now and then upon some absolutely middle-class prejudice or scruple in
+May. Now, Augustus, whatever his faults may be, always had such a
+thoroughbred way of looking at things."
+
+"Certainly, no one can accuse your brother of having scruples," said
+Frederick.
+
+"Besides, it is terribly bad form in a girl of her age to set up for a
+moralist."
+
+"It doesn't seem much like May to set up for anything: she is always so
+childish and unpretending."
+
+"Oh yes; and that _ingenue_ air is delicious: it goes so perfectly with
+her _physique_. But there are so many things which one cannot teach in
+words, but which girls brought up in a certain _monde_ learn by
+instinct."
+
+"What sort of things do you mean?" asked her husband after a little
+pause.
+
+"Well, on Thursday, for instance, I was awfully annoyed. Mrs. Griffin
+was here, and seemed pleased with May, and talked to her a good deal.
+You know that is very important, because the duchess invites people or
+leaves them out pretty much as her mother dictates. So I was naturally
+very much gratified to see May making a good impression. In fact, Mrs.
+Griffin whispered to me, 'Charming! So fresh.' Presently Lady Burlington
+came in, and they began talking of those new people, the Aaronssohns,
+who have a million and a half a year. Lady Burlington had been at a big
+dinner there the night before, and she told us the most astonishing
+things of their vulgarity and their pushing ways. When she was gone Mrs.
+Griffin said, 'I do like Lady Burlington,' and began praising her
+manners and her air of _grande dame_. And, very kindly turning to May,
+she said, 'Do you know, little one, that that is one of the proudest
+women in England?' 'Is she?' said May. 'I should never have guessed that
+she was proud.' Something in her way of saying it caught Mrs. Griffin's
+attention; and she pressed her and cross-questioned her, until May
+blurted out that she thought it despicable to accept vulgar people's
+hospitality only because they were rich, and then to ridicule them for
+being vulgar. I never was so shocked; for, you know, the duchess and
+Mrs. Griffin both went to the Aaronssohns' ball last season. Now you
+know," pursued Mrs. Dormer-Smith almost tearfully, "that kind of thing
+will never do. You must allow that it will never do, Frederick."
+
+"It would be awkward," assented Frederick, looking grave. "Couldn't you
+tell her?"
+
+"Of course, I spoke to her after Mrs. Griffin had gone away. But she
+only said, 'What could I do, Aunt Pauline? The old lady insisted on my
+answering her, and I couldn't tell her a story.' You see what a
+difficult kind of thing it will be to manage, Frederick."
+
+Mr. Dormer-Smith had become a great partisan of May's. He was genuinely
+grateful for her kindness to his children, and would willingly have
+taken her part had it been possible. But he felt that his wife was
+right; it would really never do to carry into society an _enfant
+terrible_ of such uncompromising truthfulness. And this feeling was much
+strengthened by the recollection of sundry remarks which May had
+innocently made to himself--remarks indicating an inconvenient
+assumption on her part that one's principles must naturally regulate
+one's practice. However, as he told his wife, they must trust to time
+and experience to correct this crudeness.
+
+"She is but a schoolgirl, after all," he said.
+
+Pauline did not pursue the subject, but she reflected within herself
+that there are schoolgirls and schoolgirls.
+
+There had been some discussion as to who should present May. Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith was of opinion that had there been a Viscountess
+Castlecombe, the office would properly have devolved on her ladyship;
+but old Lord Castlecombe had been a widower for many years. At length it
+was decided that May should be presented by her aunt.
+
+"I know it is a great risk for me to go out _decolletee_ on an English
+spring day," said that devoted woman. "And Lady Burlington would do it
+if I asked her. But I wish to carry out the duty I have undertaken
+towards Augustus's daughter, as thoroughly as my strength will allow.
+Under all the circumstances of the case, it is important that she should
+be publicly acknowledged, and, as it were, identified with the family.
+Of course, I shall feel justified in buying my gown out of May's money."
+
+"May's money" had come to be the phrase by which the Dormer-Smiths spoke
+of the payment made by Mrs. Dobbs for her grand-daughter.
+
+But besides the comforting sense of duty fulfilled, there were other
+compensations in store for Mrs. Dormer-Smith. May's presentation dress
+was pronounced exquisite, and was ready in good time; and May herself
+profited satisfactorily by the instructions of a fashionable professor
+of deportment, in the difficult art of walking and curtsying in a train.
+To be sure, she had alarmed her aunt at first, by going into fits of
+laughter when describing Madame Melnotte's lessons, and imitating the
+impressive gravity with which the dancing-mistress went through the dumb
+show of a presentation at Court. But she did what she was told to do,
+not only with docility, but with an unaffected simplicity which Aunt
+Pauline's good taste perceived to be infinitely charming. And she said
+to her husband that she really began to hope May would be "a great
+success."
+
+The great day of the Drawing-room came and went, as do all days, great
+or small. But whether she had been a success or a failure, in her aunt's
+sense of the words, May had not the remotest idea. Indeed, the various
+feelings on the subject of her presentation which had filled her breast
+beforehand (including a genuine delight in her own appearance as she
+stood before the big looking-glass, while Smithson put the finishing
+touches to her head-dress), were all swallowed up in the supreme feeling
+of thankfulness that it was over; and that she had not disgraced herself
+by tumbling over her train, or otherwise shocking the eyes of august
+personages. Also, in a minor degree, she was thankful that Aunt
+Pauline's antique lace-flounce--a portion of the dowager's legacy lent
+for the occasion--had escaped destruction. On their drive homeward, she
+sat silent, trying to extricate some definite image from her confused
+impressions of the ceremony, and finding that her most distinct
+recollection recorded the pressure of a persistent and ruthless elbow
+against her ribs. Mrs. Dormer-Smith, too, was too much exhausted to say
+much. She leaned back in the carriage with closed eyes, wrapping her
+furs round her, and sniffing at a bottle of salts.
+
+But when refreshed by a glass of wine, and seated in a well-cushioned
+chair before a blazing fire, Mrs. Dormer-Smith felt very well satisfied
+with the result of the day. Mrs. Griffin had been there, and had nodded
+approvingly across a struggling crowd of bare shoulders; and Mrs.
+Griffin's approbation was worth having. Mr. Dormer-Smith came home from
+his club a full hour earlier than usual, in order to hear the report--a
+proof of interest which May, not being a whist-player, was unable fully
+to appreciate.
+
+"Well," said Pauline, with a kind of pious serenity, "we have
+accomplished this somewhat trying social duty."
+
+"Trying, indeed," exclaimed May. "I'm afraid you are dreadfully tired,
+Aunt Pauline. And the crowd and closeness made your head ache, I saw.
+How is your head now?"
+
+"It is better, dear, much better."
+
+"Well?" said Mr. Dormer-Smith, looking interrogatively with raised
+eyebrows at his wife.
+
+"Oh yes, Frederick; very nice indeed, very satisfactory. I was very much
+pleased. I _had_ been a little anxious about the effect of the
+_corsage_, but Amelie has done herself great credit. And, mercifully,
+white suits our dear child to perfection. She really looked very well."
+
+"Did I, Aunt Pauline? Well, I'm sure it didn't much matter how I
+looked."
+
+"Didn't matter!" echoed Mrs. Dormer-Smith in a shocked tone.
+
+"Oh, come, May!" cried her uncle. "I thought you were above that sort of
+nonsense. Do you mean to tell me that you don't care about looking
+pretty?"
+
+"Oh no! I mean--well, I did think my dress was lovely when I looked at
+myself in the big glass upstairs; but in that crush who could see it?
+And I was awfully afraid that Aunt Pauline's lace flounce would be torn
+completely off the skirt."
+
+Her uncle laughed. "You don't appear to have altogether enjoyed your
+first appearance as a courtier," said he.
+
+"Enjoyed! Oh, who _could_ enjoy it?" Then, fearful of seeming
+ungrateful, she added, "It was very, very kind of Aunt Pauline to take
+so much trouble, and to get me that beautiful dress."
+
+May had not been accustomed to think about ways and means. It had seemed
+a matter of course that her daily wants should be supplied, and she had
+hitherto bestowed no more thought on the matter than a young bird in the
+nest. But it was impossible for her to live as a member of the
+Dormer-Smiths' family without having the question of money brought
+forcibly to her mind. There were small pinchings and savings of a kind
+utterly unknown in Friar's Row; elaborate calculations were made as to
+the possibility of this or that expenditure; Aunt Pauline frequently
+lamented her poverty; and yet, withal, there was kept up an appearance
+of wealth and elegance. May was not long in discovering the seamy side
+of all the luxury which surrounded her; and it amazed her. Why should
+her aunt so arrange her life as to derive very little comfort from very
+strenuous effort? And what puzzled her most of all at first was the air
+of conscious virtue with which this was done: the strange way in which
+Aunt Pauline would mention some piece of meanness or insincerity as
+though it were an act of loftiest duty. On one or two occasions May had
+innocently suggested a straightforward way out of some social
+difficulty; such as wearing an old gown when a new one could not be
+afforded, or refusing an invitation which could only be accepted at the
+cost of much bodily and mental harass. But these childish suggestions
+had been met by an indulgent smile; and she had been told that such and
+such things must be done or endured in order to keep up the family's
+position in society. Once May had asked, "Then why _should_ we keep up
+our position in society?" But her aunt had shown such genuine
+consternation at this impious inquiry, that the girl did not venture to
+repeat it.
+
+Another question, however, soon forced itself upon May--namely, how it
+came to pass that, under all the circumstances, so much money was spent
+on her dress. Besides the court train and petticoat, her aunt had
+provided for her a wardrobe which, to the young girl's inexperienced
+eyes, appeared absolutely splendid (for Pauline's conscience, although
+cramped and squeezed into artificial shape like a Chinese lady's foot,
+was alive and sentient; and she would on no account have failed to
+expend "May's money" for May's advantage): and yet all the while there
+were the two little boys in their comfortless nursery, wearing coarse
+clothing and shabby shoes; and there was Cecile toiling at needlework
+instead of attending to the children, in order that the cost of a
+seamstress might be saved! On this subject May felt that she had a right
+to interrogate her aunt; and accordingly she took courage to do so. Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith was considerably embarrassed, and made an attempt to fence
+off the subject. But May persisted.
+
+"It's very, very good of you and Uncle Frederick to do so much for me,"
+she said; "but I can't bear to take it all."
+
+"Nonsense, May! Remember you are a Cheffington. You _must_ appear in the
+world properly equipped."
+
+"But, Aunt Pauline, it isn't fair to Harold and Wilfred!"
+
+"Harold and Wilfred?" echoed her aunt, opening wide her soft dark eyes.
+"What _do_ you mean, May?"
+
+May coloured hotly, but stuck to her point. "Well," she said, "you know
+Uncle Frederick was saying the other day that Willy ought to have change
+of air; and you said you couldn't afford to send him to the seaside just
+now; and--and I think Cecile thinks they ought to have new walking
+suits; and all the while I have so many expensive new frocks. I can't
+bear it. It isn't really fair."
+
+Then Mrs. Dormer-Smith found herself compelled to assure her niece that
+no penny of the cost of her toilet came out of Uncle Frederick's pocket,
+and reading a further question in the girl's face, she hastened to
+anticipate it by adding, "The arrangements made for you here, May, are
+in entire accordance with your father's wishes. There has been a
+correspondence with him on the subject, and he wrote quite distinctly;
+otherwise your uncle and I would not have undertaken to bring you out."
+
+"I hope," said May, "that papa does not deprive himself of anything for
+me. He used not to be at all well off, I know. I can remember when I was
+a little thing in Bruges."
+
+"Augustus deprives himself of _nothing_," answered Mrs. Dormer-Smith
+softly, but emphatically. "Pray say no more on the subject, my dear.
+This sort of thing makes my head ache."
+
+Her conscience being thus relieved, May accepted and enjoyed her new
+finery and her new life. She found that "taking up one's position in
+society" involved pleasanter things than being presented at a
+Drawing-room. It was delightful to be tastefully and becomingly dressed.
+It was agreeable to be sure of plenty of partners at every dance. It was
+satisfactory to have so admirable a chaperon as Aunt Pauline. One could
+no more form a fair judgment of that lady from knowing her only in
+domestic life, than one could fully appreciate a swan from seeing it on
+dry land. In the congenial element of "society," her merits were
+exhibited to the utmost advantage. They were, indeed, greater than May
+had any idea of; Mrs. Dormer-Smith's tact in warding off ineligible
+partners, and securing as far as possible eligible ones for her niece,
+was masterly. But May admired her aunt's unruffled temper and gentle
+grace. She had been quick to find out--with some astonishment, but
+beyond the possibility of doubt--that fine people can be exceedingly
+rude on occasion; and she observed with pride that Aunt Pauline was
+never rude. Moreover, Aunt Pauline's softness of manner was a far more
+effectual protection against impertinence, than the _brusquerie_
+affected by sundry ladies who forgot the wisdom embodied in the homely
+saying, that "those who play at bowls must look out for rubbers;" and
+who were always liable to be vanquished by greater insolence than their
+own.
+
+May soon began to be reticent of her real sentiments and opinions in
+speaking to her aunt and uncle. She felt that nine times out of ten she
+was not understood; or, which was worse, was misunderstood. But in
+writing to her dear granny, she frankly and fully poured out all her
+heart. These letters were the joy and consolation of Mrs. Dobbs's life.
+Every minutest detail interested her. She laughed over May's description
+of the Drawing-room, and read it out aloud to Jo Weatherhead by way of a
+wholesome corrective to his Tory prejudices.
+
+But at the same time she secretly treasured a copy of the _Morning Post_
+containing Miss Miranda Cheffington's name, and a description of Miss
+Miranda Cheffington's toilet on that occasion. And she listened, with a
+complacency of which she was more than half ashamed, to Mrs. Simpson's
+ecstasies on the subject; and to the scraps of information which the
+good-natured Amelia quoted--generally incorrectly--from social gossip
+setting forth how Mrs. Dormer-Smith and her niece, Miss Miranda
+Cheffington, had been present at this or that grand entertainment. These
+things might appear frivolous; but was it not for this end, to put May
+in her right place in the world, to give her her birthright, that Mrs.
+Dobbs had made a great sacrifice? Jo Weatherhead understood this so
+well, that the "fashionable intelligence" in the local newspapers
+assumed a quite pathetic interest in his eyes. When he went to drink tea
+with his old friend in the parlour of her new abode with its trashy,
+stuccoed ceiling, miserably thin walls, and squeezed little fireplace,
+he felt it to be a positive comfort to pull from his pocket a copy of
+the _Court Journal_ or other equally polite print, and read aloud to
+Sarah some paragraph in which May's name occurred. It was a consolation,
+too, to let himself be lectured and laughed at by Sarah for his absurd
+admiration of the aristocracy. And he took every opportunity of
+combating her Radicalism, in order that she might victoriously vindicate
+the steadfastness of her political principles.
+
+Meanwhile, Captain Cheffington saw the accounts of his daughter's
+appearance in the fashionable world, and began to think that he had been
+too easy in giving his consent to it. He had got nothing by it; and
+perhaps something might have been got. He wrote twice to Pauline,
+urgently requiring her to tell him what was the exact sum which Mrs.
+Dobbs paid for her grand-daughter's maintenance. That it was handsome he
+did not doubt; knowing by experience that the Dormer-Smiths would not
+contribute a shilling. Pauline had replied evasively to the first
+letter, and not at all to the second, with the result that Augustus's
+imagination absurdly exaggerated Mrs. Dobbs's wealth. The old woman must
+be rolling in money after all! Had May's allowance been a small one, his
+sister would not have hesitated to tell him the exact sum. It was clear
+to his mind that the Dormer-Smiths were making an uncommonly good thing
+of it, and he was decidedly disinclined to leave all the profit to them.
+He wrote off to Oldchester a demand for money on his own account. It was
+refused; and his anger was very bitter. He even began to cherish a
+grudge against May. Why should she be surrounded by luxury, enjoying all
+the gaieties of London, and taking a social position to which her only
+claim was the fact of being _his_ daughter, whilst he lived the life of
+an outcast? He went so far as to threaten to come to England and bring
+away his daughter: having some idea that Mrs. Dobbs might ransom May,
+and pension him off. But the energy which might once upon a time have
+enabled Augustus Cheffington to take this strong step had waned long
+ago. He had grown inert. And, above all, the circumstances of his
+private life rendered such independent action difficult, if not
+impossible.
+
+It presently began to be reported amongst Mrs. Dormer-Smith's
+acquaintance, with other items of tea-table gossip, that "little May
+Cheffington had a rich old grandmother somewhere down in the country."
+Theodore Bransby, who was admitted as a familiar visitor at the
+Dormer-Smiths', and who made a parade of his intimacy with the
+Cheffingtons, was interrogated on the subject. He maintained a cautious
+reserve in his replies:--"He really could say nothing; he had no idea
+what the old lady's means might be; he could scarcely, in fact, be said
+to know her at all." Wishing, as he did, completely to ignore that
+objectionable old ironmonger's widow, it was irritating to find her
+existence known, and her means discussed, in London. To be sure, no one
+troubled himself to inquire "Who is she?" general interest being
+exclusively concentrated on the question, "What has she?" Theodore's
+reticence was by no means attributed to its real cause. People said that
+young Bransby was looking after the girl himself, and wanted to choke
+off possible rivals. Theodore did, indeed, push himself as far as
+possible into every house which May frequented. There were some still
+inaccessible to him; but he had patience and perseverance. And he was
+constantly meeting May in the course of the season. She was far more
+pleased to see him in London than she had ever been in Oldchester. He
+was associated with persons whom she loved: and on many occasions when
+ball-room lookers-on pronounced Miss Cheffington and young Bransby to be
+"spooning awfully," May was talking with animation of his half-brothers,
+Bobby and Billy, of the dear old canon and her friend Constance, or even
+of Mr. and Mrs. Sebastian Bach Simpson. Theodore had no relish for these
+topics; but it was better to talk with May of them, than not to talk
+with her at all. And to the girl, he seemed the only link between her
+present life and the dear Oldchester days.
+
+At the beginning of June, however, he ceased to have this exclusive
+claim on her attention. One fine day Aunt Pauline, returning from an
+afternoon drive with her niece, found a large visiting card with "The
+Misses Piper" engraved on it with many elaborate flourishes, whilst
+underneath was written in pencil "Miss Hadlow."
+
+"Piper!" said Pauline, languidly dropping her eyeglass, and looking
+round at May. "What can this mean?"
+
+"Oh, it means Miss Polly and Miss Patty and my schoolfellow Constance
+Hadlow!" cried May, clapping her hands. "Fancy Conny being in town! I
+dare say the Pipers invited her on a visit. I'm so glad!"
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith's countenance expressed anything but gladness; and she
+privately informed May that it would be impossible to do more than send
+cards to these ladies by the servant. "I _can't_ have them here on my
+Thursdays, you know, May," she said plaintively, and with an injured
+air.
+
+Three months ago May would have indignantly protested against this tone,
+and would have pointed out that it would be unfeeling and ungrateful on
+her part to slight her old friends. But she had by this time learned to
+understand how unavailing were all such representations to convince Aunt
+Pauline, in whose code personal sentiments of goodwill towards one's
+neighbour had to yield to the higher law of duty towards "Society."
+
+"Perhaps," said May, after a pause, "if you cannot go yourself, Uncle
+Frederick would take me to Miss Piper's some Sunday after church, when
+we go for a walk with the children. You see they have written 'Sundays'
+on the corner of their card."
+
+"Oh, do you think they would be satisfied with that sort of thing?"
+asked her aunt.
+
+"They are most kind, good-natured old ladies," pursued May. "They
+wouldn't mind the children at all. Indeed, they like children. And as to
+coming to your Thursdays, Aunt Pauline, I really don't think they would
+care to do it. Music is their great passion--at least, Miss Polly's
+great passion--and when they are in London I think they go to concerts
+morning, noon, and night. Miss Hadlow is different. Her grandpapa was a
+Rivers," added May, blushing at her own wiliness, "and she is very
+handsome, and sure to be asked out a great deal."
+
+But May's profound strategy did not end here. She coaxed Uncle Frederick
+by representing what a treat it would be to Harold and Wilfred to go out
+visiting with papa. Those young gentlemen, privately incited by hints of
+possible plum-cake, were soon all eagerness to go; and when, on the very
+next Sunday, May set off with her uncle and cousins to walk to Miss
+Piper's lodgings, she felt that she had achieved a diplomatic triumph.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+
+Those Oldchester persons who considered Miss Piper's artistic tendencies
+responsible for her occasional freedom of speech would have been
+confirmed in their opinion as to the demoralizing tendency of Art and
+Continental travel had they known how the daughters of the late Reverend
+Reuben Piper employed Sunday afternoon in London. Miss Patty herself had
+been startled at first by the idea of not only receiving callers, but
+listening to profane music on that day; and the sisters had had some
+discussion about it. When Patty demurred to the suggestion, Polly
+inquired whether she truly and conscientiously considered that there was
+anything more intrinsically wrong in seeing one's friends and opening
+one's piano on a Sunday than on a Monday.
+
+"No; of course not _that_," answered Patty. "If I thought it wrong, I
+shouldn't discuss it even with you. I should simply refuse to have
+anything to do with it."
+
+"I know that, Patty," said her sister. "And I hope I am not altogether
+without a conscience either."
+
+"No, Polly; but would you do this in Oldchester?"
+
+"Certainly not."
+
+"Then that's what I say. We ought not to have two weights and two
+measures. If a thing is objectionable in Oldchester, it is objectionable
+in London."
+
+"Not at all. Circumstances alter cases. I may think it a good thing to
+take a sponge-bath every morning; but I should not take it in public."
+
+"Polly! How can you?"
+
+"What I mean is, that, so long as we are not a stumbling-block of
+offence to other people, we have a right to please ourselves in this
+matter."
+
+So Miss Polly's will prevailed, as it prevailed with her sister upon
+most occasions; and the Sunday receptions became an established custom.
+
+The house in which the Miss Pipers lodged when they came to London was
+in a street leading out of Hanover Square. The lower part of it was
+occupied by a fashionable tailor--a tailor so genteel and exclusive that
+he scorned any appeal to the general public, and merely had the word
+"Groll" (which was his name) woven into the wire blind that shaded his
+parlour window. The rooms above were sufficiently spacious, and were,
+moreover, lofty--a great point in Miss Polly's opinion, as being good
+for sound. They were furnished comfortably, albeit rather dingily. But a
+few flower-pots, photographic albums, and bits of crochet-work,
+scattered here and there, answered the purpose--if not of decoration, at
+least of showing decorative intention. A grand pianoforte, bestriding a
+large tract of carpet in the very middle of the front drawing-room,
+conspicuously asserted its importance over all the rest of the
+furniture.
+
+May and her uncle, accompanied by the two little boys, were shown
+upstairs, and, the door of the drawing-room being thrown open, they
+found themselves confronted by a rather numerous assembly. The last bars
+of a pianoforte-piece were being performed amidst the profound silence
+of the auditors, and the newly arrived party stood still near the door,
+waiting until the music should come to an end.
+
+At the piano sat a smooth-faced young gentleman playing a series of
+incoherent discords with an air of calm resolve. Immediately behind him
+stood an elderly man of gentleman-like appearance, whom May found
+herself watching, as one watches a person swallowing something nauseous,
+and involuntarily expecting him to "make a face" as each new dissonance
+was crashed out close to his ear. But his amiable countenance remained
+so serene and satisfied, that the doubt crossed her mind whether he
+might not possibly be deaf. In the embrasure of a window stood a very
+tall, thin man, whose bald head was encircled by a fringe of grizzled
+red hair, and whose eyes were fast shut. But as he stood up perfectly
+erect, with his hands folded in a prayerful attitude on his waistcoat,
+it was obvious that he was not asleep. Miss Piper was seated with her
+back towards the door and her face towards the pianist, so that May
+could not see it. But the composer of "Esther" nodded her head
+approvingly at every fresh harmonic catastrophe which convulsed the
+keyboard. Her satisfaction seemed to be shared by a stout lady of
+majestic mien, who sat near her and fired off exclamations of eulogium,
+such as "Charming!" "Wonderful modulation!" "Intensely wrought out," and
+so on--like minute guns; and with a certain air of suppressed
+exasperation, as though she suspected that there _might_ be persons who
+didn't like it, and was ready to defy them to the death. A dark-eyed
+girl, very plainly dressed, and holding a little leather music-roll in
+her hand, occupied a modest place behind this lady. Sitting close to the
+dark-eyed girl was a man of about thirty-five years old, well-featured,
+short in stature, and with reddish blonde hair and moustaches. This
+personage's countenance expressed a singular mixture of audacity and
+servility. His smile was at once impudent and false, and he listened to
+the music with a pretentious air of knowledge and authority. The rest of
+the company, with Miss Patty, were relegated, during the performance, to
+the back drawing-room, where tea was served; and the folding-doors were
+closed, lest the clink of a teaspoon, or the sibillation of a whisper,
+should penetrate to the music-room. But, in truth, nothing less than a
+crash of all the crockery on the table, and a simultaneous bellow from
+all the guests, could have competed successfully with the
+pianoforte-piece then in progress.
+
+At length, with one final bang, it came to an end, and there was a
+general stir and movement among the company. The amiable-looking elderly
+man advanced towards Miss Piper with a most beaming smile, and said, in
+a soft refined voice--
+
+"That is the right way, isn't it? One knows the sort of thing said by
+people who don't understand this school of music, the only music, in
+fact; but I have long been sure that this is the right way."
+
+"Of course, it is the right way," exclaimed the stout lady, breathing
+indignation, not loud but deep, against all heretics and schismatics.
+
+"We are so very, very much obliged to you, Mr. Turner," said the
+hostess. "That new composition of yours is really wonderful!" (And so,
+indeed, it was.)
+
+As Miss Piper went up to the young gentleman who had been playing the
+piano, and who remained quite cool and unmoved by the demonstrations of
+his audience, she caught sight of the group near the door, and hastened
+to welcome them. May was received with enthusiasm, and her uncle with
+one of Miss Piper's best old-fashioned curtsies. Mr. Dormer-Smith began
+to apologize for bringing his little boys, and to explain that he had
+not expected to find so numerous an assembly; but Miss Piper cut him
+short with hearty assurances that they were very welcome, and that her
+sister in particular was very fond of children. Then, the doors being by
+this time reopened, she ushered them all into the back room, crying--
+
+"Patty! Patty! Who do you think is here? May Cheffington!" and then Miss
+Patty added her welcome to that of her sister.
+
+Harold and Wilfred had been shyly dumb hitherto, although once or twice
+during the pianoforte-playing Wilfred had only saved himself from
+breaking into a shrill wail and begging to be taken home, by burying his
+face in the skirts of May's dress; but on beholding plum-cake and other
+good things set forth on the tea-table, they felt that life had
+compensations still. They took a fancy also to the Miss Pipers, finding
+their eccentric ornaments a mine of interest; and before three minutes
+had elapsed Harold was devouring a liberal slice of cake, and Wilfred,
+seated close to kind Miss Patty, was diversifying his enjoyment of the
+cake by a close and curious inspection of that lady's bracelet, taken
+off for his amusement, and endeavouring to count the various geological
+specimens of which it was composed.
+
+As soon as May appeared in the back drawing-room, Constance Hadlow rose
+from her seat in a corner behind the tea-table, and greeted her.
+
+"Dear Conny," cried May, "I am so glad to see you! Then you are staying
+with the Miss Pipers! I guessed you were."
+
+Mr. Dormer-Smith was then duly presented to Miss Hadlow. Constance was
+in very good looks, and her beauty and the quiet ease of her manner made
+a very favourable impression on May's uncle.
+
+Miss Hadlow found a seat for him near herself; and then turned again to
+May, saying, "There is another Oldchester friend whom you have not yet
+spoken to. You remember my cousin Owen?"
+
+May's experience of society had not yet toned down her manner to "that
+repose which stamps the caste of Vere de Vere." She heartily shook hands
+with the young man, exclaiming, "This is a day of joyful surprises. I
+didn't expect to see you, Mr. Rivers. Now, if we only had the dear
+canon, and Mrs. Hadlow, and granny, I think I should be _quite_ happy."
+
+"You are not a bit changed," said Owen Rivers, giving May his chair, and
+standing beside her in the lounging attitude so familiar to her in the
+garden at College Quad.
+
+"Changed! What should change me?"
+
+"The world."
+
+"What nonsense!" cried May, with her old schoolgirl bluntness. "As if I
+had not been living in the world all my life!"
+
+Mr. Rivers raised his eyebrows with an amused smile.
+
+"Well, _isn't_ it nonsense," pursued May, "to talk as if a few hundred
+or thousand persons in one town--though that town is London--made up the
+world?"
+
+"It is a phrase which every one uses, and every one understands."
+
+"But every one does not understand it alike."
+
+"Perhaps not."
+
+"What did you mean by it, just now?"
+
+"What could I mean but the world of fashion, _the_ world par excellence?
+Rightly so-called, no doubt, since it affords the best field for the
+exercise of the higher and nobler human faculties. Those who are not in
+it exist, indeed; but with a half-developed, inferior kind of life, like
+a jelly-fish."
+
+May laughed her frank young laugh.
+
+"You're not changed either!" she said emphatically.
+
+"Did you enjoy the performance with which that young gentleman has been
+obliging us?" asked Rivers.
+
+"I only heard the end of it."
+
+"Very diplomatically answered."
+
+"Are you fond of music, Mr. Rivers?"
+
+"Yes, of _music_--very fond."
+
+"So am I; but I know very little about it. Granny is a good musician."
+
+"How fond you are of Mrs. Dobbs!" said Rivers.
+
+"I am very proud of her, too," answered May quickly.
+
+Owen Rivers looked at her with a singular expression, half-admiring,
+half-tenderly, pitying--as one might look at a child whose innocent
+candour is as yet "unspotted from the world."
+
+"I suppose you know all the people here," said May, looking round on the
+assembly.
+
+"I know who they are, most of them."
+
+"That gentleman who was standing by himself at the window--the tall
+gentleman--who is he?"
+
+"Mr. Jawler, a great musical critic."
+
+"And the pleasant-faced man who seemed so delighted with the playing?"
+
+"Mr. Sweeting. He is an enthusiastic admirer and patron of young
+Cleveland Turner, the pianist: a very kindly, amiable, courteous
+gentleman, with much money and leisure, as I am told."
+
+"That stout lady talking to Miss Piper seems to be musical also?"
+
+"That is Lady Moppett: a very good sort of woman, I dare say, but
+fanatical. She would bowstring all us dogs of Christians who believe in
+melody."
+
+"And who is that disagreeable little man in the corner?"
+
+"Disagreeable----?"
+
+"The little man with moustaches. There. Close to the nice-looking,
+dark-eyed girl."
+
+"Oh, that man? But he is not considered disagreeable by the world in
+general, Miss Cheffington! He is by way of being a rather fascinating
+individual: Signor Vincenzo Valli, singing-master, and composer of
+songs. I wonder why he condescends to favour Miss Piper with his
+presence."
+
+"Is it a condescension?"
+
+"A great condescension. Signor Valli is nothing, if not aristocratic."
+
+At this moment there was a general movement in the other room. The young
+pianist seated himself once more at the instrument. The various groups
+of talkers dispersed, and took their places to listen. May whispered
+nervously to Miss Patty, that perhaps she and her uncle had better go,
+and take away the children before the music commenced.
+
+"I am so afraid," she said naively, "that Willy may cry if that
+gentleman plays again."
+
+Miss Patty found a way out of the difficulty by taking the children away
+to her own room. It was no deprivation to her, she said, not to hear Mr.
+Turner play.
+
+So the two little boys, laden with good things, and further enticed by
+the promise of picture-books, trotted off very contentedly under Miss
+Patty's wing. Mr. Dormer-Smith had passed into the front drawing-room,
+where he was chatting with Lady Moppett, who proved to be an old
+acquaintance of his. May was following her uncle to explain to him about
+the children, when Miss Piper hurried up to her with an anxious and
+important mien.
+
+"Sit down, my dear," she said; "sit down. Cleveland Turner is going to
+play that fine Beethoven, the one in F minor, the opera 57, you know.
+Mr. Jawler particularly wishes to hear him perform it."
+
+May glanced round, and seeing no place vacant near at hand, returned to
+the other room, and took a seat close to the folding-doors, which were
+now left open.
+
+"What is our sentence?" asked Rivers.
+
+"Do you mean what is he going to play? A piece of Beethoven's."
+
+"Ah! Well, at least he will have something to say this time. Remains to
+be seen whether he can say it."
+
+Mr. Cleveland Turner performed the _sonata appassionata_ correctly,
+although coldly, and with a certain hardness of style and touch. But the
+beauty of the composition made itself irresistibly felt, and when the
+piece was finished there was a murmur of applause. Mr. Jawler opened his
+eyes, inclined his head, opened his eyes again, and said, apparently to
+himself, "Yes, yes--oh yes!" which seemed to be interpreted as an
+expression of approval; for Miss Piper looked radiant, and even the icy
+demeanour of Mr. Cleveland Turner thawed half a degree or so. Signor
+Valli had applauded in a peculiar fashion--opening his arms wide, and
+bringing his gloved hands together with apparent force, but so as to
+produce no sound whatever. And as he went through this dumb show of
+applause, he was talking all the time to the dark-eyed girl near him,
+with a sneering smile on his face.
+
+Miss Piper bustled up to them. "Dear Miss Bertram," she said, "you must
+let us hear your charming voice. Mr. Jawler has heard of you. He would
+like you to sing something. Signor Valli," with clasped hands, "_might_
+I entreat you to accompany Miss Bertram in one of your own exquisite
+compositions? It would be such a treat--such a musical feast, I may
+say!"
+
+Miss Bertram unrolled her music-case in a business-like way, and spread
+its contents before the singing-master.
+
+"What are you going to sing, Clara?" asked Lady Moppett, turning her
+head over her shoulder.
+
+"Signor Valli will choose," answered the young lady quietly.
+
+Valli selected a song and offered his arm to Miss Bertram to lead her to
+the piano. She did not accept it instantly, being occupied in replacing
+the rest of her music in its case; and with a sudden, impatient gesture,
+Valli wheeled round and walked to the piano alone. Miss Bertram followed
+him composedly, and took her place beside him. May looked at her with
+interest, as she stood there during the few bars of introduction to the
+song.
+
+Clara Bertram was not beautiful, but she had a singularly attractive
+face. Her dark eyes were not nearly so large, nor so finely set, as
+Constance Hadlow's, but they were infinitely more expressive, and her
+rather wide mouth revealed a magnificent set of teeth when she smiled or
+sang. The song selected for her was one of those compositions which, if
+ill-sung, or even only tolerably sung, would pass unnoticed. But Miss
+Bertram sang it to perfection. Her voice was very beautiful, with
+something peculiarly pathetic in its vibrating tones, and she pronounced
+the Italian words with a pure, unaffected, and finished accent.
+
+"Oh, how lovely!" exclaimed May, under her breath, when the song was
+over.
+
+"Isn't it?" said Miss Piper, who happened to be near enough to catch the
+words. "I am so glad you are pleased with her! Do you think Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith would like her to sing now and then at a _soiree_? She
+wants to get known in really good houses."
+
+Before May could answer the little woman had hurried off again, and in
+another minute was leading Miss Bertram up to Mr. Jawler, who spoke to
+the young singer with evident affability, keeping his eyes open for a
+full minute at a time.
+
+Meanwhile Valli was left alone at the piano, and an ugly look came into
+his face as he glanced round and saw himself neglected. But his
+expression changed in an instant with curious suddenness when Miss
+Hadlow drew near, and, leaning on the instrument, addressed some words
+of compliment to him.
+
+"Will you not let us hear you sing, Signor Valli?" she said presently.
+
+Valli merely shook his head in answer, keeping his eyes fixed on Miss
+Hadlow's face with a look of bold admiration, and letting his fingers
+stray softly over the keys.
+
+"Oh, that is a terrible disappointment!"
+
+"I don't think so," replied the singing-master, speaking very good
+English.
+
+"It is, indeed."
+
+Again he shook his head.
+
+"It is to me, at all events."
+
+"Well, I shall sing for you; a little song _sotto voce_, all to
+ourselves."
+
+"Oh, but that would be too selfish on my part, to enjoy your singing all
+to myself."
+
+"It is a very good plan to be selfish," returned Valli; and forthwith he
+began a little Neapolitan love-song--murmuring, rather than singing
+it--and still keeping his eyes fixed on Miss Hadlow.
+
+At the first sound of his voice, low and subdued though it was, Miss
+Piper held up her finger to bespeak silence. There was a general hush.
+Every one looked towards the piano, against which Constance was still
+leaning, with her back to the rest of the company. She made a little
+movement to withdraw to a seat, but Valli immediately ceased singing,
+and, under cover of a noisy _ritournelle_ which he played on the piano,
+said to her, "I am singing for you. If you go away, my song will go away
+too."
+
+"But I can't stand here by myself, Signor Valli," protested Constance,
+by no means displeased. At this moment Miss Piper approached to implore
+the _maestro_ to continue, and Constance whispered to her in a few words
+the state of the case.
+
+"Caprices of genius, my dear," said the little woman. "When you have
+seen as much of professional people as I have, you will not be
+astonished." Then to Valli, "Will you not continue that exquisite air?
+We are all dying to hear it."
+
+"Yes; on condition that you both stay there and inspire me," answered
+he, with an unconcealed sneer.
+
+Miss Piper, however, took him at his word, and, linking her arm in
+Constance's, remained standing close to the instrument. Valli, upon
+this, resumed his song. He gave it now at the full pitch of his voice,
+addressing it ostentatiously to Miss Hadlow, and throwing an exaggerated
+amount of expression into the love passages. Miss Piper was enchanted,
+and led off the applause enthusiastically. Valli was soon surrounded by
+a group of admirers, Mr. Dormer-Smith among them. May was conscious of a
+painful impression, which destroyed any pleasure she might have had in
+the song. And that Owen Rivers shared this impression was proved by his
+walking up to the piano, and unceremoniously putting his cousin's hand
+on his arm to lead her away.
+
+"Oh, don't take Conny away, Mr. Rivers," cried Miss Piper. "Signor Valli
+is going to favour us with some more of his delicious national airs."
+
+"Come and sit down, Constance," said Owen authoritatively. "Let me get
+you a seat also, Miss Piper," he added. "It can scarcely be necessary
+for the due exhibition of this gentleman's national airs to keep two
+ladies standing."
+
+"Oh no, no; please don't mind me. I'm quite comfortable," said Miss
+Piper, with a shade of vexation on her good-humoured round face.
+
+Constance remained perfectly calm and self-possessed; only a faint smile
+and a sparkle in her eyes revealed a gratified vanity as she took the
+chair near May, to which her cousin conducted her.
+
+Miss Piper shrugged up her shoulders and pursed up her mouth. "He has no
+idea what artists are," she whispered in Lady Moppett's ear. "And,
+besides, poor dear young man, he's so desperately in love with his
+cousin that he can't bear her to be even looked at. I only hope Signor
+Valli won't take offence."
+
+But Valli, finding himself now the object of general attention, was very
+gracious. He sang song after song without the inspiration of Miss
+Hadlow's handsome face opposite to him; and he sang far better than
+before;--with less exaggeration, and managing his naturally defective
+voice with singular skill and _finesse_. But the praise and flattery
+which his hearers poured forth unstintingly did not seem quite to
+satisfy him. His glance wandered restlessly, as though in search of
+something; and finally, after a very clever rendering of an old air by
+Carissimi, he addressed himself suddenly to Miss Bertram, who was
+standing somewhat apart in the background, and asked, in Italian--
+
+"Is the Signorina content?"
+
+"I always like your singing of that aria," she answered, in a quiet,
+matter-of-fact tone.
+
+"Like it, indeed!" exclaimed Lady Moppett, with her severest manner. "I
+should think you did like it, Clara! And you ought to profit by it. To
+hear singing so finished--of such a perfect school--is a lesson for
+you."
+
+Valli, upon this, made a low bow to Lady Moppett--a bow so low as to
+seem almost burlesque. As he raised his face again he turned it towards
+Miss Bertram with a subtle smile, saying, "Miladi is such a judge! Her
+praise is very precious." Clara, however, kept an impassive countenance,
+and declined to meet the glance he shot at her. Then Valli made a second
+and equally low bow to the hostess, and, cutting short her ecstatic
+compliments and thanks, left the room without further ceremony.
+
+The party now broke up. Lady Moppett departed with Miss Bertram and Mr.
+Jawler, to whom she offered a seat in her carriage. Mr. Cleveland Turner
+and his patron, Mr. Sweeting, went away together. In a few minutes there
+remained Mr. Dormer-Smith, with his niece, and Owen Rivers. Miss Patty
+bustled in with the two children.
+
+"Dear me," said she. "Is the music all over? Well, now let us be
+comfortable."
+
+But Mr. Dormer-Smith declared he must reluctantly bring his visit to an
+end. "I don't know how to thank you," said he to Miss Patty, "for your
+kindness to my children. I hope you will forgive me for bringing them."
+
+Miss Patty heartily assured him that there was nothing to forgive, and
+that she hoped he would bring them again. She had gathered from the
+artless utterances of Harold and Wilfred an idea of their home life,
+which made her feel compassionately towards them.
+
+As for Miss Polly, she was in the highest spirits. Mr. Jawler and Signor
+Valli, both stars of considerable magnitude in the musical world, had
+shone for her with unclouded lustre. It had been, she thought, a highly
+successful afternoon. So also thought Harold and Wilfred. And perhaps
+these were the only three persons who had enjoyed themselves thoroughly
+and unaffectedly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+
+The London season proceeded with its usual accumulation of engagements,
+its usual breathless chase after half-hours that have got too long a
+start ever to be recaptured, its usual fleeting satisfactions and
+abiding disappointments, its snubs, sneers, smiles, follies, falsehoods,
+and flirtations. The rushing current of fashionable life in London
+carried little May Cheffington on its surface, together with many brazen
+vessels of a very different kind. Constance Hadlow observed
+half-enviously to her friend that she was thoroughly "in the swim," a
+phrase which May found singularly inappropriate in her own case, feeling
+that there was no more question of a swim than in shooting Niagara! To
+her, especially, the whirl of society was confusing, phantasmagoric, and
+unreal. All the faces were new to her, most of the names awoke no
+associations in her mind. On the other hand, this peculiar inexperience
+gave freshness to her impressions and keenness to her insight. She had
+none of those social traditions which, nine times out of ten, supply the
+place of private judgment. She found her impression of many personages
+startlingly at variance with the label which the world had agreed to
+affix to them. It is possible to be at once simple and shrewd, just as
+it is possible to be both _ruse_ and dull-witted.
+
+May's simplicity was not of the blundering thick-skinned type; and her
+ingenuous freshness was admired by a great many persons, among whom was
+Mrs. Griffin. Far from being offended by May's moral indignation against
+those who accepted the hospitality of vulgar people, and then ridiculed
+them for being vulgar, Mrs. Griffin entirely approved her sentiments.
+Mrs. Griffin herself deplored, as she often said, "the servility towards
+mere money, which was degrading the tone of society." And whenever any
+new instance of it came to her knowledge, she would shake her head, and
+exclaim, softly, "Oh, Mammon, Mammon!" But this did not, of course,
+apply to her daughter the duchess, who sometimes went to the
+Aaronssohns'. Her daughter was so very great a lady as to be above
+ordinary restrictions. Other people worshipped Mammon; the duchess only
+patronized Mammon--which was, surely, a very different thing!
+
+Aunt Pauline, however, derived no gratification from May's
+unconventional frankness. It was, on the contrary, a source of constant
+anxiety to her; and she felt daily more and more that it would be a
+relief to get May off her hands. Introducing her niece into
+society--even although the niece was a pretty girl, and a Cheffington to
+boot--had not proved so pleasing a task as she had anticipated. There
+was, to her thinking, a strange perversity in the girl's character,
+which made her callous where she should be sensitive, and sensitive
+where she might well be indifferent. For instance, she showed culpable
+coolness about her great-uncle Castlecombe and his family, and provoking
+warmth about her Oldchester friends. Not that May was apt to speak much
+of her life in Oldchester. In the natural course of things she would
+have talked freely and eagerly about her dear granny; but very soon
+after her arrival in London, her affectionate loquacity on this subject
+received a check. Aunt Pauline had hinted, with her usual mild
+politeness, that it would be desirable not to speak of Mrs. Dobbs before
+Smithson or any of the servants. Seeing the startled look in May's eyes,
+and the indignant flush on May's cheeks, her aunt added diplomatically,
+"Your father would not like it, May. I am trying to carry out his
+expressed wishes. That ought to be enough for you."
+
+It was enough, at all events, to close May's lips. Her love and pride
+combined to make her silent. She tried to persuade herself that her
+father, at all events, had some good and reasonable motive for this
+prohibition, and that he, at least, was not ashamed of Mrs.
+Dobbs--ashamed of granny! The very thought made her hot with anger. But
+that Aunt Pauline was ashamed of her was too clear to May's honest mind.
+Painful as this conviction was, however, she came by degrees to hold it
+rather in sorrow than in anger, and to regard her aunt with something of
+the same indulgent toleration that Mrs. Dobbs had once expressed to Jo
+Weatherhead. For Mrs. Dormer-Smith's worldliness was not at all of a
+cynical sort. It was rather in the nature of a deep-rooted superstition
+conscientiously held.
+
+To some points of her worldly creed Pauline clung with religious
+fervour. One of these was the duty incumbent on a dowerless young lady
+to marry well. To marry _very_ well was to marry a man with birth and
+money; but to secure a husband with money only--provided there were
+enough of it--she allowed to be marrying well. She did not look at the
+matter with vulgar flippancy. It was, no doubt, a sacrifice for a
+well-born woman to become the wife of an underbred man, however wealthy.
+But well-born women were no less called upon than their humbler sisters
+to make sacrifices in a good cause.
+
+None of the Castlecombes much frequented fashionable society, and Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith had hitherto resigned herself, without much difficulty, to
+seeing very little of her noble kinsfolk. But when May was introduced,
+her aunt thought it desirable to cultivate them. Lord Castlecombe's big,
+gloomy, family mansion in town had been let ever since his wife's death
+many years ago; and whenever his lordship came to London to give his
+vote in the House of Peers--which was almost the sole object that had
+power to bring him up from the country--he occupied furnished lodgings.
+Of his two sons, both bachelors, the elder was governor of a colony on
+the other side of the globe, and the younger held a permanent post under
+Government. This Lucius Cheffington occasionally met Mr. Dormer-Smith at
+the club, and exchanged a few words with him. Captain Cheffington, on
+his penultimate visit to England, when his ungrateful country declined
+to provide for him, had quarrelled with all the Castlecombes, and had
+made himself particularly obnoxious to Lucius; for Lucius, whom his
+cousin considered a solemn ass, held a lucrative place, whilst Augustus,
+who knew himself to be a remarkably clever fellow, with immense
+knowledge of the world, was relegated to poverty and obscurity. But
+Pauline had not quarrelled with them. She would not willingly have
+quarrelled with any one, least of all with her Uncle Castlecombe and his
+family. And as to Mr. Dormer-Smith, it chanced that the one point of
+sympathy between himself and his cousin-in-law Lucius was the latter's
+cordial dislike to Gus. Nevertheless, the dislike did not descend to
+Gus's daughter. Lucius was pleased to approve of his young kinswoman,
+none the less, perhaps, that it was evident her father troubled himself
+little about her.
+
+Mr. Dormer-Smith knew very well that the most effectual way of winning
+Lord Castlecombe's goodwill for his grand-niece was to assure his
+lordship that he would not be called upon to do anything for her. He,
+therefore, confidentially informed Lucius that the girl's grandmother in
+Oldchester was defraying her expenses, and would, no doubt, eventually
+provide for her altogether. The sagacity of this course was proved soon
+afterwards, when Lucius announced that his father would come and dine
+with Pauline the next time he should be in town, and make Miranda's
+acquaintance.
+
+This was well. And even as to May's Oldchester friends matters turned
+out better than her aunt could have hoped. In the first place, the
+Misses Piper showed no disposition whatever to force themselves on Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith. That being the case, there was no objection to May's going
+to see them every Sunday with her uncle and the children. To Harold and
+Wilfred these Sunday visits were such a delightful break in the dull
+routine of their lives that their father would have endured considerable
+boredom and discomfort rather than deprive them of it. But, in fact, he
+was not bored. Whenever the music became too severe, he could withdraw
+into the tea-room, where he always found some one to chat with. Possibly
+he, too, felt these Sundays to be a break in the monotony of his daily
+life. There was a cordial, hearty tone about the hostesses which was
+decidedly pleasant, although he was aware that Pauline would pronounce
+it sadly underbred. But Pauline was not there to be shocked, and there
+were some red drops in Mr. Dormer-Smith's veins (he was not quite so
+blue-blooded as his wife) which warmed to this plebeian kindness.
+Sometimes even the moisture would come into his eyes when he watched his
+little boys clinging familiarly about Miss Patty as they never clung
+about their mother. The good-natured old maid had won the children's
+hearts completely. They were overheard one day in a lively discussion as
+to which was the prettier, Miss Patty or Cousin May: Wilfred inclining,
+on the whole, to award the palm of beauty to his cousin, but Harold
+powerfully arguing in favour of Miss Patty that she had such "beautiful
+curls" (an ingenuous, and probably unique, tribute to the ginger-bread
+coloured wig!) and a "shiny brooch like a butterfly."
+
+Then Constance Hadlow, whom Mrs. Dormer-Smith had unwillingly invited to
+lunch one day with her former schoolfellow, proved to be in every
+respect "most presentable," as Aunt Pauline herself candidly admitted.
+So presentable was she in fact, so handsome, self-possessed, and even
+(on the mother's side) well connected, that there might have arisen
+objections of a different sort against receiving her, as being a
+dangerous competitor for that solemn duty of marrying well. But a chance
+word of May's to the effect that young Bransby had long been an admirer
+of Constance, and that they were supposed by many persons in Oldchester
+to be engaged to each other, relieved Aunt Pauline's mind on that score.
+
+"It would be very suitable," she said approvingly. "I think Mr. Bransby
+a very nice person; so quiet."
+
+The subject of this glowing eulogium had not appeared at Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith's receptions for some time. He had been ordered into the
+country, to cure a violent cold by change of air; and although he much
+disliked leaving town at that moment, he never thought of neglecting his
+physician's advice. Theodore's mother had been consumptive; and the fear
+that he inherited her constitution made him anxiously careful of his
+health. Immediately on his return to London he presented himself, about
+half-past five o'clock one Thursday afternoon, in Mrs. Dormer-Smith's
+drawing-room, and experienced a shock of disagreeable surprise on
+finding Constance Hadlow seated near May at the tea-table. May,
+innocently supposing that she was doing him a good turn, gave him her
+place, and went to another part of the room. But Constance coolly
+greeted him with a "How d'ye do, Theodore?" in a tone of the politest
+insipidity, which he sincerely approved of. Nevertheless, he would
+rather not have found her there. On glancing round he was struck by
+several innovations. In the first place, the pianoforte--usually a dumb
+piece of furniture in Mrs. Dormer-Smith's house--stood open, with some
+loose sheets of music lying on it; and Signor Vincenzo Valli sat, teacup
+in hand, smiling his false smile beside Mrs. Griffin. Theodore knew
+perfectly well who Signor Valli was; and it needed not Mrs. Griffin's
+gracious demeanour to instruct this rising young man that Valli was
+sufficiently the fashion to be worth being civil to. But he was
+surprised to find him there. His surprises, however, were not at an end;
+for whom should he behold in familiar conversation with a gentleman at
+the opposite side of the room but Owen Rivers? And near them was--he
+could hardly believe his eyes--Mr. Bragg! It seemed to Theodore as if
+there had been a conspiracy amongst his acquaintance to make all sorts
+of fresh combinations on the social chess-board during his brief
+absence. He felt that it was necessary for him to take an accurate
+survey of the new positions. But he saw no immediate opportunity of
+doing so; for there was no one at hand to interrogate, except Constance
+Hadlow, who, of course, knew nothing. She must be spoken to, however;
+but he would cut the conversation as short as possible.
+
+Thoughts--even the weighty thoughts of a diplomatically-minded young
+gentleman--move quickly, and there was scarcely any perceptible pause
+between Constance's greeting and his gravely polite remark that it was
+quite an unexpected pleasure to see her there.
+
+"Yes; I came up a few weeks ago with the Pipers."
+
+"Oh! you are staying with _them_?" (This with a strong flavour of his
+superior manner; for the Pipers were really nobodies.)
+
+"And what have you been doing with yourself? I haven't seen you
+anywhere," said Constance coolly.
+
+"I have been out of town. But in any case we might possibly not have
+met. Have you been going out much?"
+
+"Oh, as much as most people, I suppose. I was at the Aaronssohns' dance
+last night."
+
+"The Aaronssohns!" exclaimed Theodore. (This time he was so astonished
+that he spoke quite naturally.) "I didn't know that you knew them."
+
+"Oh, I don't know them."
+
+"Then how did you get--I mean----"
+
+"How did I get there? Dear me, Theodore, your visit to the country has
+given you a refreshing buttercup-and-daisy kind of air! Do you suppose
+that the Aaronssohns' ball-room was filled with their personal friends
+and acquaintances? Mrs. Griffin got me an invitation."
+
+Now to be presented to Mrs. Griffin and to be invited to the
+Aaronssohns' were pet objects of Theodore Bransby's social ambition, and
+he had not yet compassed either of them.
+
+"Oh, indeed!" said he, struggling, under the disadvantage of conscious
+ill-humour, to maintain that air of indifference to all things in heaven
+and earth which he imagined to be the completest manifestation of high
+breeding. "I suppose that was achieved through Mrs. Dormer-Smith's
+influence."
+
+"Not altogether. It was May Cheffington who first introduced me to Mrs.
+Griffin. She's just the same dear little thing as ever--I don't mean
+Mrs. Griffin! But Mrs. Griffin found out that she had known my
+grandfather Rivers. I believe they were sweethearts in their pinafores a
+hundred years ago; so she has been awfully nice to me."
+
+While Constance was speaking, Theodore's eye lighted on Mr. Bragg, solid
+and solemn, wearing that look of melancholy respectability which is
+associated with the British workman in his Sunday clothes.
+
+"Oh, and Mr. Bragg was at the Aaronssohns', too," said Constance,
+following the young man's glance. "Fancy Mr. Bragg at a ball!"
+
+"Did Mrs. Griffin know _his_ grandfather?" asked Theodore, with a sneer.
+
+It was clear to Constance that he had quite lost his temper. Otherwise
+he would not, she felt sure, have said anything in such bad taste. But
+she replied calmly--
+
+"I don't think Mr. Bragg ever had a grandfather. But he is rich enough
+to do without one. It is poor persons like you and me who find
+grandfathers necessary--or, at all events, useful."
+
+Theodore understood the sarcasm of this quiet speech, and it helped him
+to master his growing irritation. There are some natures on which a
+moral buffet acts as a sedative.
+
+"Was it your friend Miss Piper who brought Mr. Bragg here?" he asked,
+showing no sign of having felt the blow, except a slight increase of
+pallor.
+
+"Oh dear, no! The Pipers have never been here themselves, except to
+leave a card at the door. This is not the kind of society they care for,
+you know. I saw Mr. Bragg come in to-day with May's cousin, Mr. Lucius
+Cheffington, but I can't say whether he first introduced him or not."
+
+"Is that Mr. Lucius Cheffington?"
+
+"That man talking to Owen?--Yes."
+
+"Mrs. Dormer-Smith has rather a mixed collection this afternoon. I see
+Valli over there. You know who I mean? That short, foreign man near----"
+
+"Oh yes; Signor Valli is a great ally of mine. He's delightful, I think.
+His airs and graces are so amusing. I can tell you how _he_ comes to be
+here, if you like," returned Constance placidly. She was secretly
+enjoying Theodore's discomfiture. He had expected to play the part of
+town mouse, and to patronize and instruct her. "The fact is," she
+continued, "that Lady Moppett begged Mr. Dormer-Smith to induce his wife
+to have her _protegee_, Miss Bertram, to sing here on Thursday
+afternoons, promising, as a kind of bait, to get Valli to come too. I
+don't think Mrs. Dormer-Smith particularly wished to have Miss Bertram;
+but she thought it would be nice to have Valli, who is run after by the
+best people, and is very difficult to get hold of. So the negotiation
+succeeded. It is too funny how one has to _menager_ and coax these
+professional people. If you don't want any more information just now, I
+think I will go and speak to Mrs. Griffin." Whereupon Constance glided
+away, self-possessed and graceful, and with a becoming touch of
+animation bestowed by the consciousness that she had been mistress of
+the situation.
+
+Theodore looked decidedly blank for the moment. No one bestowed any
+attention on him. As he sat watching, he was struck by the evidently
+familiar way in which Owen Rivers and Mr. Cheffington were talking
+together. He himself particularly desired to be introduced to Lucius
+Cheffington, but a secret, grudging feeling made him unwilling to owe
+the introduction to Rivers. Presently Rivers moved away to join May and
+Miss Bertram, who were turning over some music together, and Mr. Bragg
+took his place near Mr. Cheffington. This was the opportunity which
+Theodore had wished for. He at once rose and walked up to them.
+Theodore's manner was never servile, but there was an added gravity in
+his demeanour towards certain persons, intended to show that he thought
+them worth taking seriously; and this tribute he rendered to Mr. Bragg.
+For, although the young man had by no means forgotten Mr. Bragg's
+deplorable insensibility to an enlightened view of the currency
+question, yet he prided himself on thoroughly understanding that the
+great tin-tack maker's claims to consideration rested on a solid basis
+quite apart from culture or intelligence.
+
+"I wish," said Theodore, after the first salutations, "that you would do
+me the favour to make me known to Mr. Lucius Cheffington. I know so many
+members of his family, but I have not the pleasure of his personal
+acquaintance."
+
+Mr. Bragg eyed him with his usual heavy deliberation. "Oh," said he
+slowly, "this is Mr.--I don't call to mind your Christian name--eh? Oh
+yes--Mr. Theodore Bransby."
+
+Mr. Lucius Cheffington made an unusually low bow, his pride being of the
+sort which manifests itself in the most ceremonious politeness.
+
+He was a small, lean man, with a pale face deeply lined by ill-health
+and a fretful temperament. He had closely shaven cheeks and chin; heavy,
+grizzled moustaches; and very thick, grizzled hair, which he wore rather
+long. His voice was harsh, though subdued, and he spoke very slowly,
+making such long pauses as occasionally tempted unwary strangers to
+finish his sentences for him. A double eyeglass with tortoise-shell rims
+was set astride his nose; and behind the glasses two dark, near-sighted
+eyes looked out, somewhat superciliously, upon a world which fell sadly
+short of what a Cheffington had a right to expect.
+
+"I have the pleasure of knowing your cousin, Captain Augustus
+Cheffington, very well indeed," said Theodore.
+
+Lucius bowed again and adjusted his eyeglass. A shade of surprise and
+annoyance passed over his face. His Cousin Augustus had been a sore
+subject with the family for years; and latterly such rumours as had
+reached England about him had not made the subject more agreeable.
+
+"I have often thought," pursued Theodore, quite unaware that his
+listener was regarding him with a mixture of astonishment and disfavour,
+"that it is a great pity a man of Captain Cheffington's abilities and
+accomplishments should live out of England; unless, indeed, he held some
+diplomatic appointment abroad. In my opinion these are times in which
+the great old families should hold fast by the public service. As I
+ventured to say to one of our county members the other day----" And so
+on, and so on. Having thus happily launched himself, Theodore proceeded
+in his best Parliamentary style: holding forth with a power of
+self-complacent and steady boredom beyond his years. A sensitive person
+would have been petrified by the unsympathizing stare from behind those
+tortoise-shell-rimmed glasses; but Theodore was not sensitive to such
+influences: being fortified by the _a priori_ conviction that he must
+naturally make a favourable impression. And since Lucius Cheffington
+could not, compatibly with his own dignity, plainly tell him that he
+considered him a presumptuous young ass, there was nothing to check his
+flow of eloquence.
+
+But at length the cold stare was softened, and the pale, peevish,
+furrowed face turned to Theodore with a faint show of interest. Some
+casual word of this intrusive young man's seemed to show that he came
+from Oldchester.
+
+"Do you know--a--Mrs.--a--Dobbs?" asked Lucius, speaking for the first
+time, and edging in this point-blank question between two of Theodore's
+neatly-turned sentences setting forth a political parallel between the
+late Lord Tweedledum and the present Right Honourable Tweedledee.
+
+It was a shock; but Theodore bore it stoically.
+
+"Not exactly. I have spoken with her. Mrs. Dobbs is not precisely----in
+our set," he answered, with a slight smile at one corner of his mouth,
+intended to demolish Mrs. Dobbs.
+
+"I thought that, being a native of Oldchester, you might--a--be----"
+begun Mr. Cheffington in his low, harsh tones.
+
+"Be acquainted with her? Really----"
+
+"I thought that, being a native of Oldchester, you might--a--be able to
+tell me something about her."
+
+"Not much, I fear," replied Theodore. He felt tempted to add that in
+Oldchester there were natives and natives.
+
+"She's--a--rich, isn't she?" pursued Mr. Cheffington.
+
+"Not that I know of," answered Theodore, staring a little.
+
+"Rich is, perhaps, too much to say. At any rate, she is--a--quite
+well----"
+
+"Well off? Oh, as to that----"
+
+"At any rate, she is quite well-to-do, I presume!"
+
+Theodore had never considered the question, but he said, "Oh yes," at a
+venture; and then suddenly a light flashed upon his mind. Perhaps Mrs.
+Dobbs _was_ rich, after all. Though she lived in so humble a style she
+might, perhaps, have laid by money.
+
+"She appears to be a person of--a--great--good sense," said Mr. Lucius
+Cheffington, remembering how Mrs. Dormer-Smith had stated that she
+declined to give any money-assistance to Augustus. And after that he
+made a second very low bow, and brought the interview to an end.
+
+Little had Theodore Bransby expected to hear Mrs. Dobbs discussed and
+approved by a member of the noble house of Castlecombe. He had noticed
+that Mrs. Dormer-Smith systematically avoided any mention of the vulgar
+old woman. But then Mrs. Dormer-Smith was a person of the very finest
+taste. And, to be sure, it could scarcely be expected that Mr. Lucius
+Cheffington should feel Augustus's _mesalliance_ as acutely as it was
+felt by Augustus's own sister. Besides, if, as really seemed possible,
+the ironmonger's widow turned out to be a moneyed person----! But it
+must be recorded of Theodore, that not even the idea of her having money
+reconciled him to Mrs. Dobbs. He said to himself afterwards, when he was
+meditating on what he had heard, that nothing so convincingly proved how
+much he was in love with Miss Cheffington, as his being ready to forgive
+her even her grandmother!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+
+George Frederick Cheffington, fifth Viscount Castlecombe, was, in many
+ways, a very clever old man. He was extremely ignorant of most things
+which can be taught by books. But he had a thorough acquaintance with
+practical agriculture, considerable keenness in finance, and a quick eye
+to detect the weaknesses of his fellow men. On the other hand, his
+overweening self-esteem led him to think that what he knew comprised
+what was chiefly, if not solely, worth knowing, and his avarice
+occasionally overrode his native talent for business. In his youth he
+had been idle and extravagant. The former vice gave him the reputation
+of a dunce at school and college, and, by a reaction which belonged to
+his character, made him defiantly contemptuous of bookish men, with one
+single exception, presently to be noted. As to his extravagance, that
+was effectually cured by the death of his father. From the moment that
+he came into possession of the family estates, which he did at about
+thirty years of age, his income was administered with sagacious economy,
+and by the time his two sons arrived at manhood Lord Castlecombe was a
+very rich man.
+
+If he had a soft place in his heart, it was for his son Lucius, who
+resembled his dead mother in features, and also, unfortunately, in the
+delicacy of his constitution. George, his heir, was like
+himself--strong, tough, and hardy. Lord Castlecombe secretly admired
+Lucius's talents very much, and had been highly gratified when his
+second son took honours at his University. That this success had not
+been followed by any particularly brilliant results later, and that
+Lucius had, as it were, stuck fast in his career, had even decidedly
+failed in Parliament, and had finally been shelved in a Government post
+which, although lucrative, was inglorious, his lordship attributed to
+the increase of folly, incapacity, and roguery which he had observed in
+the world during the last twenty years or so. That a Cheffington of such
+abilities as Lucius should remain undistinguished was part of the
+general decadence. In politics Lord Castlecombe was a Whig of the old
+school; and though he continued to vote with his party, yet the only
+point on which he was thoroughly in sympathy with the Liberals--a word,
+by the way, which he had come greatly to dislike, as covering far too
+wide a field--was that they fought the Tories.
+
+The person whom Lord Castlecombe most detested in all the world was his
+nephew Augustus. He disliked his extravagance, his poverty, and the
+biting insolence of his tongue. This antipathy had latterly added
+poignancy to the old man's desire that his son should marry, and
+transmit the Castlecombe title and estates in the direct line; for
+Augustus was the next heir after his two cousins. It was true that the
+contingency of Captain Cheffington succeeding seemed remote enough.
+George Cheffington was only his senior by a couple of years, and Lucius
+was his junior. But neither of them had married; and they were well on
+in middle life. Lucius, indeed, seemed to have settled down into
+incorrigible old bachelorhood. And although George, in answer to his
+father's exhortations on the subject, always replied that he really
+would think seriously of looking for a wife on his next visit to England
+(persons suitable for that dignity not being to be found, it appeared,
+in the particular portion of the globe where his official duties lay),
+yet the years went by, and still there came no daughter-in-law, no
+grandson to inherit the coronet and enjoy the broad acres of
+Castlecombe. The idea that Augustus Cheffington might ever come to enjoy
+them was gall and wormwood to their present owner. But he had never
+breathed a word on this subject to any human being.
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith was gratified by her uncle's gracious acceptance of an
+invitation to dine with her, soon after his arrival in town, about the
+middle of June. Lord Castlecombe did not visit her often; but that was
+from no ill-will on his part. In fact, he was rather fond of Pauline. He
+considered her a bit of a goose. But he thought it by no means
+unbecoming in a woman to be a bit of a goose. And she had thoroughbred
+manners, a gentle voice, and was still agreeable to look upon. The old
+lord disliked ugly women, and maintained that the sight of them
+disagreed with him like bad wine.
+
+This consideration influenced Pauline in the choice of her guests to
+meet her uncle. It was understood there was to be no large party. It had
+been agreed that they should invite Mr. Bragg, who had bought a good
+deal of land in Lord Castlecombe's county, was director of a company of
+which the noble viscount was chairman, and of whom his lordship was
+known to entertain a favourable opinion, as being a man who made no
+disguise about his humble origin, and was free from the offensive
+pretensions of many _nouveaux riches_. For, although Lord Castlecombe
+willingly admitted that money could buy everything on which most people
+valued themselves, he greatly disliked the notion that it could be
+supposed to buy the things on which _he_ most valued himself.
+
+"Well, then, Frederick," said Mrs. Dormer-Smith, "that makes four men:
+my uncle, Lucius, Mr. Bragg, and yourself. Then May and I; and I thought
+of having that handsome Miss Hadlow. Uncle George likes to see pretty
+faces. We want another woman, but really I don't know who there is
+available at this moment. There are so few odd women who ain't frights,"
+pursued the anxious hostess plaintively. "If it were a man, now----There
+are plenty of odd men to be had." Then, struck by a sudden inspiration,
+she said, "Why shouldn't we have an odd man instead of another woman?
+Uncle George gives me his arm, of course. You take Miss Hadlow, Mr.
+Bragg takes May, and Lucius and the odd man go in together. Positively,
+I think it would be the best arrangement of all."
+
+"I suppose Lucius wouldn't mind, eh?"
+
+"It certainly would be the best arrangement for _me_, at all events; for
+if there are only those two girls, I can simply put my feet up on a sofa
+when we go into the drawing-room, shut my eyes, and be quiet for half an
+hour, which, of course, would be out of the question if there was any
+woman who required to have civilities paid her; and in all probability I
+shall be in a state of nervous prostration by Friday. This season with
+May has tried me severely."
+
+Mr. Dormer-Smith offering no objection, there only remained to make
+choice of the "odd man," and, after a moment's reflection, Pauline
+decided on young Bransby.
+
+"Bransby!" exclaimed Mr. Dormer-Smith. "He's a dreadful prig."
+
+"I think he's very nice, Frederick. But really that is not the point.
+He's engaged, or wants to be engaged, or something of the sort, to Miss
+Hadlow, so of course----"
+
+"What? You don't mean to say that handsome girl would have such an
+insignificant fellow as Bransby?"
+
+"I mean to say nothing about it. The subject has only a faint interest
+for me, Frederick. But what _is_ important is that, in any case, _he
+will help to take her off_."
+
+Mr. Dormer-Smith stared; he understood his wife's phrase, but not her
+allusion. "Why, you don't suppose there's any danger of her setting her
+cap at Lucius?" said he.
+
+"I should have no objection to her doing so."
+
+"Well, there's nobody else."
+
+"We need not discuss it, Frederick. Please give your best attention to
+the wine; you know that Uncle George is terribly fastidious about his
+wine, and the worst is that if he is discontented, he will not hesitate
+to say so before everybody."
+
+That really did seem to her the worst. Most of the evils of life, she
+thought, might be more endurable if people would but be discreet, and
+say nothing about them.
+
+The evil of Uncle George's public reprobation of her wine did not,
+however, befall her. Lord Castlecombe was content with his dinner, and
+looked round him approvingly as he sat on his niece's right hand.
+
+"A couple of uncommonly pretty girls those," said his lordship. "They've
+got on pretty frocks, too; I like a good bright colour."
+
+Pauline had begged Miss Hadlow beforehand not to wear black, or any
+sombre hue, her uncle having a special dislike to such; and Constance,
+perfectly willing to please Lord Castlecombe by looking as brilliant as
+she could, had arrayed herself in her favourite maize-colour.
+
+"You have a very nice gown on, too, Pauline," added his lordship
+graciously.
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith privately thought her own toilette detestable. It was
+a gaily-flowered brocade (a gift from her husband soon after Wilfrid's
+birth), which had been hidden from the light for several years. But she
+had self-denyingly caused Smithson to furbish it up for the present
+occasion, and was gratified that her virtue did not go unrewarded.
+
+"I knew you liked vivid colours, Uncle George," said she softly.
+
+"Of course I do. Everybody does, that has the use of his eyes. Don't
+believe the humbugs who tell you otherwise. Your upholsterer now will
+show you some wretched washed-out rag of a thing, and try to persuade
+you to cover your chairs with it, because it's _aesthetic_! Parcel of
+fools! Not that the fellows who sell the things are fools. They know
+very well which side their bread is buttered." Then glancing across the
+table with his keen, sunken, black eyes, he continued, "That little
+Miranda--what is it you call her? May? Well, May is a very good name for
+her--is remarkably fresh and pretty. Good frank forehead. Not a bit like
+her father. Different type. But the other girl is the beauty. Uncommonly
+handsome, really."
+
+"I'm glad you think May nice," said Mrs. Dormer-Smith. "Of course I was
+anxious that you should like her. She is poor Augustus's only
+child--only surviving child. You know there were five or six of them,
+but the others all died in babyhood."
+
+Lord Castlecombe did know it, and remembered it now with grim
+satisfaction. At least Augustus had no male heir to come after him.
+
+"Ah! Gus made a pretty hash of it altogether," said the old man.
+
+But he did not say it unkindly. He would not willingly have been harsh
+or brutal towards Pauline. She really was a very sweet creature, and
+had, he thought, almost every quality that he could desire in the women
+of his blood. For, it must be observed, Lord Castlecombe did not know
+that Pauline admired aesthetic furniture, nor that she considered
+Augustus to have been rather hardly treated by the Castlecombes.
+
+"Of course," replied that gentle lady. "My poor brother's unfortunate
+marriage----"
+
+"Oh! Ah! Yes. But that, at all events, seems to have turned out better
+than could have been expected. Lucius tells me there is a grandmother
+who has money, and is generous."
+
+"Not to Augustus, Uncle George; Mrs. Dobbs positively refuses to assist
+Augustus."
+
+"H'm!" grunted Uncle George, his opinion of Mrs. Dobbs's good sense
+taking a sudden leap upward. "Well, my dear, people have to think of
+their own interests, you know." Then, in a louder tone, "Frederick, send
+me that white Hermitage. It's a very fair wine, as times go--a very fair
+wine indeed."
+
+When the ladies had left the table, young Bransby felt what he would
+have called, in speaking of any one else, "a little out of it." My lord
+talked with Mr. Bragg, Lucius and Frederick were discussing some item of
+club politics, in the midst of which the host would now and again
+interpolate some parenthetical observations addressed to young Bransby,
+obviously as a matter of duty. At length, in declining the claret which
+Mr. Dormer-Smith pushed towards him, Theodore took the opportunity to
+say--
+
+"Do you think I might venture to go upstairs? I have a message for Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith about a little commission with which she entrusted me."
+
+"No more wine, really? Oh, my wife will be charmed to see you," replied
+Frederick, with alacrity. And, thereupon, the young man quietly left the
+room.
+
+It was true that he had undertaken a commission for Mrs. Dormer-Smith;
+but he would not have prematurely withdrawn himself from the company of
+a peer and a millionaire, on that account. He was moved by a far
+weightier purpose. He had made up his mind to propose to Miss
+Cheffington; and, if the Fates favoured him, he might do it that very
+evening. For some time past--before May left Oldchester--Theodore had
+been sure that he wished to marry her. There were drawbacks. She had no
+money (or at all events he had not reckoned on her having any money),
+and she had connections of a very objectionable kind. But he rather
+dwelt on these things, as proving the disinterested nature of his
+attachment. He was so much in love with May, that he liked to fancy
+himself making some sacrifices on her account. As to her feelings
+towards him, he was not without misgivings. But he watched her in
+society at every opportunity, and had convinced himself that she was, at
+all events, fancy-free. She did not even flirt; but enjoyed herself with
+child-like openness:--or was bored with equal simplicity and sincerity.
+As to her aunt, Theodore did not doubt that his suit would be favourably
+received by Mrs. Dormer-Smith. She must, long ago, have perceived his
+intentions; and he felt that his being invited to that intimate little
+dinner--almost a family dinner--was strong encouragement.
+
+Theodore was fortifying himself with this reflection as he mounted the
+stairs to the drawing-room. His foot fell more and more lingeringly on
+the soft, soundless carpet as he neared the door. He was on an errand
+which can scarcely be undertaken with cool self-possession, even by a
+young gentleman holding the most favourable view of his own merits and
+prospects. One can never certainly reckon on one's soundest views being
+shared. A servant carrying coffee, preceded him, and opened the
+drawing-room door just as he arrived on the landing; and Theodore felt
+positively grateful to the man for, as it were, covering his entrance,
+and relieving him from the embarrassment of walking in alone. He entered
+close behind the footman, and was, for a few moments, unperceived by the
+ladies.
+
+The room was a little dim; all the lamps being shaded with rose-colour.
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith was reclining on a sofa, with closed eyes. But she was
+not asleep; for beside her in a low lounging-chair, and talking to her
+in a subdued voice, sat Constance Hadlow. May was at the other side of
+the room, leaning with both elbows on a little table which stood in a
+recess between the fireplace and a window, and apparently absorbed in a
+book. Theodore thought she made a charming picture, with the soft light
+falling on her fair young face and white dress; and his pulse, which had
+been beating a little quicker than usual all the way upstairs, became
+suddenly still more accelerated.
+
+May looked up.
+
+"Is that you?" she said. "Where are the others?"
+
+It was not a very warm or flattering welcome; but Theodore was scarcely
+conscious of her words. He was thinking what a fortunate chance it was
+which left May isolated, so far away from the other ladies as to be out
+of earshot, if one spoke in a suitably low tone. At the sound of her
+niece's voice Mrs. Dormer-Smith languidly turned her head.
+
+"Oh, please don't move, Mrs. Dormer-Smith," said Theodore, speaking in a
+quick, confused way, very different from his accustomed manner. "If I am
+to disturb you, I must go away at once. But I--I don't take much wine,
+and he said--Mr. Dormer-Smith said he thought I might--if you don't mind
+my preceding the other men by a few minutes, I will be as quiet as a
+mouse."
+
+He crossed the room and sat down by May in the shadow of a heavy
+window-curtain.
+
+The hostess murmured a gracious word or two and then closed her eyes
+again. She had been a little vexed by the young man's premature arrival;
+but if he was content to be quiet, and whisper to May, she need not
+stand on ceremony with him. The fact was, she was listening with great
+interest to Constance's account of a feud which had arisen between Lady
+Burlington and Mrs. Griffin's daughter, the duchess. Constance had the
+details at first hand, from Mrs. Griffin herself, on the one side, and
+from Miss Polly Piper on the other: for the feud had arisen about Signor
+Vincenzo Valli. The fashionable singing-master had thrown over one of
+the great ladies for the other, on the occasion of some _soiree
+musicale_; and the quarrel had been espoused by various personages of
+distinction, whose sayings and doings with regard to it Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith considered to be at once important and entertaining. She
+mentally contrasted with a sigh the intelligence, tact, and correctness
+of judgment which Constance brought to bear on this matter, with the
+nonchalance--not to say downright levity and indifference--displayed by
+May. It was impossible to get May to interest herself in the bearings of
+the case. In fact, she had abandoned the discussion, and gone away to
+her book; whereas this provincial girl, with not one quarter of May's
+advantages, understood it perfectly, remembered the names of all the
+people concerned, had a very sufficient knowledge of their relative
+importance, and was able to impart to her hostess a variety of minute
+circumstances, narrated in a low, quiet tone, free from emphasis or
+emotion, which was delightfully soothing.
+
+May, for her part, was by no means pleased to have her reading
+interrupted; but politeness, and the sense that she was, in her degree,
+responsible for the hospitality of the house, impelled her to close her
+book at once, and to turn a good-humoured countenance towards her
+companion.
+
+"Isn't Uncle Frederick coming?" she asked, finding nothing better to say
+at the moment.
+
+"Presently. Are you in a great hurry to see him?" returned Theodore.
+
+"Oh no; I was amusing myself very well."
+
+"Are you angry with me, for interrupting you?"
+
+"Oh no," answered May again. But this second "Oh no" was not quite so
+hearty as the first.
+
+"May I see what you have been reading?"
+
+She pushed the book towards him.
+
+"'Mansfield Park.' Whose is it?"
+
+"Good gracious! You don't mean to say that you don't know?"
+
+"I don't read novels," said Theodore loftily, but not severely. It was
+all very well for women to have that weakness.
+
+"But this is an English classic! Mr. Rivers says so. You really ought to
+know who wrote 'Mansfield Park,' even if you have never read it. It is
+one of Jane Austen's works."
+
+"Ah! Do you--do you like it?" said Theodore, scarcely knowing what he
+said. He was playing nervously with a little ivory paper-knife which lay
+on the table, and his whole aspect and manner--had not both been to some
+extent concealed by the shadow of the velvet curtain--would have
+betrayed to the most indifferent observer that he was agitated and
+unlike himself. He felt that the precious minutes of this chance
+_tete-a-tete_ were passing swiftly; he longed to profit by them; and
+yet, now that the moment had come, he feared to stand the hazard of the
+die, and kept deferring it by idle words.
+
+"Oh yes! I like it, of course," answered May. "Not so much, perhaps, as
+'Emma,' or 'Pride and Prejudice.' Mr. Rivers advised me to read it."
+
+It was the second time she had mentioned Rivers's name, and this fact
+stung Theodore unaccountably. It acted like a touch of the spur to a
+lagging horse. He burst out, still speaking almost in a whisper, but
+with some heat--
+
+"Rivers is a happy fellow! What would I give if you cared enough about
+me to follow my advice!"
+
+"You have only to advise me to do something which I like as much as
+reading Jane Austen," replied May archly. But his tone had struck her
+disagreeably. She peered at him furtively as he sat in the shadow,
+trying in vain to see his countenance clearly. The idea crossed her mind
+that he might have taken too much wine at dinner. But it was so
+repulsive an idea to her, that she felt she ought not to entertain it
+without better foundation.
+
+"It is a most fortunate chance for me to have this--this blessed
+opportunity," pursued Theodore. (He had hesitated for the epithet, and
+was not by any means satisfied with it when he had got it). "I have long
+been wanting to speak to you."
+
+"To me? Well, that need not have been very difficult," answered May,
+edging a little away, and trying to obtain a good view of his face.
+
+"Pardon me. It is not easy to have the privilege of a private word with
+Miss Cheffington. When we meet in society, you are surrounded, as is but
+too natural. And latterly, in your own home, you have been a good deal
+engrossed. I could not say what I have to say before----"
+
+He glanced over at Constance Hadlow as he spoke. This was an immense
+relief to May who had been growing more and more uncomfortable, and
+vaguely apprehensive. She thought she understood it all now. Conny had
+been treating him with coolness and neglect. She herself had noticed
+this, and now he wanted to enlist the sympathies of Conny's friend.
+
+"Oh, I see!" she exclaimed. "It's something about Constance that you
+wish to say to me."
+
+"About Constance? Ah, May, you are cruel! You know too well your power!"
+he said, endeavouring to give a pathetic intonation to his voice, but
+producing only an odd, croaking, throaty sound. Then May decided, in her
+own mind, that he _had_ been taking too much wine; and, angry and
+disgusted, she tried to rise from her chair and leave him. But she was
+hemmed in by the little table, and on her first movement, Theodore took
+hold of the skirt of her dress to detain her. May turned round upon him
+with a pale, indignant face, and flashing eyes.
+
+"Don't touch my dress, if you please. I wish to go away."
+
+"Miss Cheffington--May--you must hear what I have to say now. You must
+know it without my saying, for I have loved you so long and so
+devotedly. But I have a right to be heard."
+
+May was thunderstruck. But she perceived in a moment that she had, in
+one sense, done him injustice--he had not drunk too much wine. But
+this----! This was worse! How far easier it would have been to forgive
+Theodore if he had even got tipsy--just a little tipsy--instead of
+making such a declaration! She supposed she had no right to be
+disgusted; she had heard that properly behaved young ladies always took
+an offer of marriage to be a great honour. But she was disgusted,
+nevertheless; and so far from feeling honoured, she was conscious of a
+distressing sense of humiliation. She tried, however, to keep up her
+dignity, and at the same time to say what was right to this--this
+dreadful young man, who had suddenly presented himself in the odious
+light of wanting to make love to her.
+
+"Oh, please don't say any more. I'm very much obliged to you. I mean I'm
+extremely sorry. But I beg you won't say another word, and forget all
+about it as quickly as possible."
+
+"Forget it! Nay, that is out of the question. I could not if I would."
+
+Theodore began to recover his self-command as May lost hers. She was
+agitated and trembling. Well, he would not have had her listen to his
+words unmoved. She was very young and inexperienced. And he had, it
+seemed, taken her by surprise.
+
+"Is it possible," he continued softly, "that you were quite unprepared
+to hear----"
+
+"Quite unprepared. But that makes no difference. And you really must
+allow me to go away. I'm very sorry, indeed, but I can't stay here
+another moment."
+
+"Am I so repulsive?" said he, with a sentimental beseeching glance. But
+he met an expression in her face which made him add quickly, in quite
+another tone, "Well, well, I will prefer your wishes to my own," at the
+same time drawing himself and his chair to one side.
+
+She had looked almost capable of leaping over the table to escape. May
+brushed past him, and darted away out of the room without another word.
+
+Theodore seized hold of the book she had left behind her, and bent his
+head over it. He saw not one word on the printed page beneath his eyes,
+but it saved him from appearing as confused as he felt. Had he been
+rejected? And, if so, was it a rejection which he was bound to consider
+final? Or had he received no real answer at all? Gradually, as his
+throat grew less dry, his head less hot, and his brain more clear, he
+arrived at the conclusion that he had virtually had no answer. May was
+little more than a child, and he had startled her. Then he remembered
+that word of May's, "It is about Constance you wish to speak to me."
+Could she be under any misapprehension as to his position with regard to
+Constance? The idea was fraught with comfort. That, at least, he could
+set right, and without delay. He rose and walked across the room at once
+to Mrs. Dormer-Smith's sofa.
+
+At this moment the procession of men, headed by Lord Castlecombe,
+arrived from the dining-room. Constance glided away, leaving her vacant
+chair for Theodore, who immediately occupied it, thus cutting off Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith from the rest of the company. That lady looked anxiously
+across his shoulder.
+
+"_Would_ you," she said to Theodore, "would you be so very good as to
+ask my husband to inquire where Miss Cheffington is? My uncle would like
+to talk to her, I know; and----Oh, there she is! Thanks. Don't trouble
+yourself."
+
+May had returned to the drawing-room; but instead of going near her
+noble grand-uncle, she perversely seated herself in a remote nook beside
+Mr. Bragg, with whom she presently began a conversation, keeping her
+face persistently turned away from every one else. Her noble grand-uncle
+did not seem to care. His lordship marched straight up to Miss Hadlow,
+and stood before her, coffee-cup in hand, with his curious air of
+perfectly knowing how to behave like a fine gentleman whenever he should
+think it worth while. Lucius and Frederick were continuing their club
+discussion, which possessed the advantage--for persons of leisure--of
+having neither beginning nor end, and of being indefinitely elastic.
+Pauline took in the whole room with one comprehensive glance, and then
+leant back against her cushions with a sigh, which, if not contented,
+was resigned. She made no effort to recall May to her duty towards Lord
+Castlecombe.
+
+"You must forgive me, Mr. Bransby," she said graciously, "if I have been
+selfish in engrossing Miss Hadlow. If you don't take care, my uncle will
+do the same! Lord Castlecombe admires her very much."
+
+Theodore cleared his throat, settled his cravat with a rather unsteady
+hand, and looked at her as solemnly as if he were about to commence an
+oration. But all he managed to say was--
+
+"There has been a mistake, Mrs. Dormer-Smith."
+
+"A mistake?"
+
+"Yes. I have some reason to believe that you are under a wrong
+impression about me."
+
+His hostess faintly raised her eyebrows, and answered with a smile, "I
+hope not: for all my impressions of you are very pleasant."
+
+Theodore bowed gravely. "You are very kind," said he. "It is important
+to me to set this matter right. You perhaps imagine--some one may have
+told you that I and Miss Hadlow--there has been, I believe, some idle
+gossip coupling our names together."
+
+"Not very unnaturally," said Mrs. Dormer-Smith, still smiling. But she
+began to wonder what he could be driving at.
+
+"Well, I do think it hard that one cannot be on friendly terms with a
+person one has known all one's life without being supposed to be engaged
+to her."
+
+"Or him," put in Pauline quietly.
+
+"Of course. I mean, of course, that it is particularly unfair to the
+lady. But it puts a man in a false position too. I have just been
+speaking to May----"
+
+Then, in an instant, the true state of the case flashed on Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith, to her unspeakable consternation. This, then, was her
+model young man, whom she had pronounced to be so "nice" and so "quiet;"
+and who, moreover, had always expressed the most proper sentiments on
+the subject of unequal marriages! She felt herself to be of all ladies
+the most persecuted by fate.
+
+"Oh," she said, coldly interrupting him; "it was scarcely necessary to
+say anything to Miss Cheffington on the subject."
+
+But Theodore was beyond taking heed of any snub or check of that kind.
+"One moment," he said, breathing quickly. "If you will allow me to
+finish what I was saying, you will see----I am, as you must have
+perceived, deeply attached to your niece."
+
+"No, no," protested Mrs. Dormer-Smith faintly. "I never perceived it."
+
+"Then that must have been because you were looking in a wrong direction.
+You were misled about Constance Hadlow; otherwise, the nature of my
+attentions could scarcely have escaped you."
+
+"And you say that you have been speaking to--to my niece?"
+
+"I have this evening told her how devotedly I love her."
+
+"Good heavens!" whispered Mrs. Dormer-Smith, letting her head sink back
+among the sofa-cushions. "And what was her reply?"
+
+"Her reply was--well, practically, it was no reply at all. May was
+agitated and startled, and I think she had believed that foolish gossip
+about my engagement to Miss Hadlow. But I trust to you to explain----"
+
+"Pray, Mr. Bransby, say no more. I regret extremely that this should
+have happened."
+
+"Oh, but I don't know that I have any reason to despair," he answered
+naively.
+
+This was almost more than Pauline could endure. She got up from the
+sofa, and plaintively murmuring, "Say no more; pray say no more. I
+really am not equal to it at present," fairly walked away from him.
+
+That night when the guests were gone, Mrs. Dormer-Smith sent for her
+husband to her dressing-room, and revealed to him what young Bransby had
+said. His indignation at the young man's presumption was equal to her
+own: although not wholly on the same grounds.
+
+"You will have to talk to him, Frederick," she said. "When he went away
+he said something about requesting an early interview. _I_ cannot stand
+any more of it. It upsets me too frightfully. Of course, you won't
+quarrel with him. Just give him politely to understand that it is out of
+the question. Fortunately, May appears to have been as much _outree_ by
+this preposterous proposal as I could desire. May behaved very nicely
+to-night altogether. I was pleased with her."
+
+"H'm! Oh yes; but I thought she might have paid a little more attention
+to your uncle. She never went near him after we came upstairs. I think
+she talked to old Bragg more than to any one else."
+
+"Frederick," said his wife slowly, "do you know that Lady Hautenville is
+making a dead set at Mr. Bragg for Felicia?"
+
+"Is she?"
+
+"Yes. Mrs. Griffin told me all about it. They are moving heaven and
+earth to catch him."
+
+"Really? Well, _bonne chance_!"
+
+"It would be _mauvaise chance_ for him, poor man! Felicia has a
+frightful temper, and incredibly extravagant habits. She must be over
+her eyebrows in debt. But I fancy Mr. Bragg has better taste."
+
+Her meaning tone made her husband look at her with sudden earnestness.
+"What do you mean?" he asked brusquely.
+
+Mrs. Dormer-Smith put her hand to her forehead. "Let me entreat you not
+to raise your voice!" she said. "I have had quite enough to try my
+nerves this evening. I mean that I think Mr. Bragg is interested in May.
+It would be a splendid match for her."
+
+"_What?_" cried Frederick, disregarding his wife's request, and raising
+his voice considerably. "Old Bragg!"
+
+Pauline turned on him impressively. "Frederick," she said, speaking with
+patient mildness, as one imparting higher lore to some untutored savage,
+"Mr. Bragg is barely fifty-four; and his income--entirely within his own
+control--is over sixty thousand a year."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+
+Theodore did not take his rejection meekly. In his interview with Mr.
+Dormer-Smith he pressed hard to see May again, and insinuated that she
+was under undue influence. Moreover, he conveyed, with stiff civility,
+that he considered himself to have been badly treated by the whole
+family, who had first encouraged his attentions and then rejected them.
+
+"He really is a fearful young man!" said May to her aunt on hearing the
+report of the interview. "What does he mean by insisting on 'an answer
+from my own lips'? Could he not believe what Uncle Frederick said?
+Besides, he has had his answer from me. The truth is, he is so
+outrageously conceited that he can't believe any young woman would
+refuse him of her own free will."
+
+"The idea of his dreaming for an instant that _I_ encouraged him is too
+preposterous," said Mrs. Dormer-Smith, shaking her head languidly. "I am
+sadly disappointed. I thought him quite a nice person. I fancied he had
+sufficient _savoir vivre_ to understand----However, it is one more proof
+that one can never reckon on half-bred people who don't know the world."
+
+It was privately a great relief to May to know that her aunt took her
+part in this affair. Aunt Pauline's motives and views were still very
+mysterious to May on many points. She did not even now fully understand
+the grounds of her aunt's virtuous indignation against Theodore Bransby,
+although she was thankful for it. "Aunt Pauline thought him good enough
+for Conny," said May to herself innocently; "and Conny is so beautiful,
+and so much admired!"
+
+It was true that--thanks, in the first place, to Mrs. Griffin--Constance
+had enjoyed a more brilliant season than she had ever ventured to dream
+of. Fashionable houses, of which she had read in the newspapers, but
+which had appeared to her as unattainable as though they were in another
+planet, had opened their doors to her; and old connections of her
+mother's family, finding her in the aforesaid houses, discovered that
+she was a charming girl, and were delighted to open _their_ doors to
+her. She had accepted several invitations to country houses, and would
+probably not be at home again until late in the autumn.
+
+Mrs. Griffin watched this young lady's progress with considerable
+interest. She opined that Miss Hadlow was a shining instance of the
+advantages of "race."
+
+"In spite of having been brought up in the pokiest way in some
+provincial town, as I understand, that girl has a thoroughbred
+self-possession quite remarkable," said Mrs. Griffin. "She never makes a
+blunder. You are never nervous about her. She has no trace of that loud,
+bouncing style, which I detest, and which so many underbred-people take
+up nowadays, mistakenly imagining it to be the proper thing. She doesn't
+'go in' for anything. And," added Mrs. Griffin musingly, "there's a
+wonderful look of her grandfather, poor Charley Rivers, about the brow
+and eyes."
+
+The season was rapidly drawing to a close when Mrs. Dobbs received two
+letters; one from her grand-daughter, and the other from Mrs.
+Dormer-Smith. Jo Weatherhead, arriving one evening at his usual hour in
+Jessamine Cottage, was told by his old friend that she had had a letter
+from May, and that she meant to read him a portion of it. No proposition
+could have been more welcome to Mr. Weatherhead. He drew his chair up to
+the grate--filled now with fresh boughs instead of hot coals; but Jo
+kept his place in the chimney-corner winter and summer--and prepared to
+listen.
+
+Mrs. Dobbs read as follows:--"You must know, dear granny, that I told
+Aunt Pauline yesterday that I really must go home at the end of this
+season. She has been very kind and so has Uncle Frederick; but granny is
+granny, and home is home."
+
+Here Mr. Weatherhead slapped his leg with his hand, and took his pipe
+out of his mouth as though about to speak; but on Mrs. Dobbs holding up
+her hand for silence, he put his pipe back again, and slowly drew his
+forefinger and thumb down the not inconsiderable length of his nose.
+
+Mrs. Dobbs read on: "To my amazement, Aunt Pauline answered that it was
+my father's wish that I should remain with her altogether! That is not
+my wish. And it isn't yours--is it, granny dear? And if we two are
+agreed, I cannot think my father would object. I mean to write to him
+about it. I should have done so already, but I have not his address, and
+Aunt Pauline can't or won't give it to me. Please send it. I shall tell
+my father just what I feel. I don't care for what Aunt Pauline calls
+Society. I was happy enough as long as it was only like being at the
+play, with the prospect of going home when it was over, and living my
+real life. But to go on with this sort of thing and nothing else, year
+in, year out--it would be like being expected to live on wax fruit, or
+those glazed wooden turkeys I remember in a box of toys you gave me long
+ago. Please answer directly, directly. There's an invitation for me to
+go in August to a place in the Highlands, where Mrs. Griffin's daughter
+has a shooting-box. At least, I suppose it is Mrs. Griffin's daughter's
+husband who has the shooting-box. Only nobody talks much about the duke,
+and everybody talks a great deal about the duchess." ("Fancy our Miranda
+among the dukes and duchesses!" put in Jo Weatherhead, softly. And he
+smacked his lips as though the very sound of the words had a relish for
+him.) "Aunt Pauline wants to go to Carlsbad; Uncle Frederick is to join
+a fishing-party in Norway; the children are to be sent to a farmhouse;
+and Mrs. Griffin has offered to take care of me in the Highlands. But I
+would far, _far_ rather come back to dear Oldchester, and be amongst
+people who know me, and care for me, and whom I love with all my heart.
+Do write and ask for me back, granny darling! And mind you give me
+papa's address. I am resolved to write to him, whatever Aunt Pauline may
+say. He is _my_ father, and I have a right to tell him my feelings."
+
+"That's all of any consequence," said Mrs. Dobbs, slowly refolding the
+letter. "Oh, of course she writes at the end 'Love to Uncle Jo.' She
+never forgets that."
+
+There was a brief silence. Mr. Weatherhead, who was very tender-hearted,
+blew his nose and wiped his eyes unaffectedly. "Of course you'll have
+the child down, Sarah," said he; "anyway, for a time. She's pining,
+that's where it is; she's pining for a sight of you."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs sat choking down her emotion. She had cried privately over
+that letter herself, but she was resolved to discuss it now with
+judicial calmness; and it was provoking that Jo endangered her judicial
+tone of mind by that foolish, soft-hearted way of his, which was
+terribly catching. But she loved Jo for it, nevertheless, and scolded
+him so as to let him know that she loved him.
+
+"It's a good thing your feelings are righter and kinder than most
+folks', Jo Weatherhead, for you're sadly led by 'em, my friend. If you'd
+wait and hear the whole case, you might help me with your advice." Then
+Mrs. Dobbs pulled another letter from her pocket, and handed it to her
+brother-in-law. This second epistle was from Mrs. Dormer-Smith, and ran
+thus:--
+
+     "DEAR MRS. DOBBS,
+
+     "I think it right to let you know how very important it is for
+     May not to miss her visit to Glengowrie. There will be among
+     the guests there a gentleman who has been paying her a good
+     deal of attention--a man of princely fortune. I have some
+     reason to think that May is disposed to look favourably on this
+     gentleman; but he must be allowed time and opportunity to
+     declare himself. No better opportunity could possibly be found
+     than at Glengowrie; and I may tell you, _in confidence_, that
+     the duchess has, at my friend Mrs. Griffin's request, invited
+     them both _on purpose_. I trust, therefore, that, in my niece's
+     interests, you will induce her not to relinquish this chance.
+     As to her writing to her father, it is absurd, and would only
+     irritate my brother after his giving me _carte blanche_ to do
+     the best I can for her. If the visit to Glengowrie turns out as
+     we hope, I shall have procured for her a settlement which many
+     a peer's daughter will envy. My husband and I have such
+     confidence in your good sense, that we are sure you will second
+     our efforts as far as you can. Of course you will consider this
+     letter _strictly private_, and will not, above all, mention it
+     to May.
+
+     "I am, dear Mrs. Dobbs,
+
+     "Yours very truly,
+
+     "P. DORMER-SMITH."
+
+"You see that alters the case, Jo," said Mrs. Dobbs, when he had
+finished reading the letter.
+
+Jo nodded thoughtfully, and rubbed his nose. "Of course, what you want,
+Sarah, is for the child to be happy. That's the main thing," said he.
+
+"Of course I want her to be happy. And I want her to have her rights,"
+answered Mrs. Dobbs, setting her lips firmly.
+
+"Ah! Yes, to be sure! Her rights, eh?"
+
+"My son-in-law brought no good to any of us in himself. If his name can
+do any good to his daughter, she ought to have the benefit of it--and
+she shall."
+
+"Ay, ay. Her rights, eh? To be sure. Only--only it ain't always quite
+easy to know what a person's rights are, is it?"
+
+"I know well enough what May's rights are," answered Mrs. Dobbs sharply.
+
+"Nor yet it ain't quite easy to be sure whether they'd enjoy their
+rights when they got 'em," pursued Jo, with a thoughtful air. "Everybody
+likes to be happy. There can be no manner of doubt about _that_. And
+somehow the dukes and duchesses don't seem to be enough to make Miranda
+quite--not _quite_ happy, humph?"
+
+"I wonder you should confess so much of your dear aristocracy!" returned
+Mrs. Dobbs with some heat.
+
+"Why, you see, Sarah, it may be--I only say it _may_ be--that the way
+Miranda has been brought up, living here in the holidays in such a
+simple kind of style, and all that, makes her feel not altogether at
+home among these tip-top folks."
+
+"If you mean she isn't good enough for them, that's nonsense; downright
+nonsense. And I wonder at a man with your brains talking such stuff! If
+you mean they're not good enough for her, that's another pair of shoes.
+As to manners--why, do you imagine that that aunt of hers, who--though
+she _is_ a fool, is a well-born fool, and a well-bred one--would be
+taking May about, presenting her at Court, and introducing her to the
+grandest society, if the child didn't do her credit? Not she! I'm
+astonished at you, Jo! I thought you knew the world a little bit better
+than that."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs leant back in her chair, and fanned her flushed face with her
+handkerchief. Mr. Weatherhead, having smoked his pipe out, put it in its
+case, and then sat silent, slowly stroking his nose, and casting
+deprecating glances at his hostess. At length the latter resumed, in a
+calmer tone, "But May's future is what I've got to think of. I'm an old
+woman. I can leave her next to nothing when I die. I want her to marry.
+All women ought to marry. Nobody in my own walk of life would suit her.
+And what gentleman fit to match with her was ever likely to come and
+look for her in my parlour in Friar's Lane? You ought to know all about
+it, Jo Weatherhead. We've gone over the whole ground together often
+enough."
+
+They had done so. But Jo Weatherhead understood very well that his old
+friend was talking now, not to convince him, but herself. "Well, Sarah,"
+he said, "there seems a good chance for May to marry well, according to
+this good lady. 'Princely fortune,' she says. That sounds grand, don't
+it?"
+
+"Ah! And it isn't a few thousands that Mrs. Dormer-Smith would call a
+princely fortune."
+
+"Not a few thousands you think, eh, Sarah? Tens of thousands I shouldn't
+wonder, humph?" And Mr. Weatherhead pursed up his mouth, and poked
+forward his nose eagerly.
+
+"Not a doubt of it."
+
+"Bless my stars! To think of our little Miranda!--and her aunt says that
+May is disposed to look favourably on the gentleman."
+
+"So she says. But I can tell you that May doesn't care a button for him
+at present."
+
+"Lord! How do you know, Sarah?"
+
+"How do I know? That's so like a man! No girl in love would give up the
+chance of meeting her lover, as May wants to give it up. If she'd rather
+come to Oldchester than go to Scotland, it is because--so far, at any
+rate--she doesn't care a button for him."
+
+"I never thought of that. But perhaps, Sarah, she doesn't know that he
+is to be invited."
+
+Mrs. Dobbs seemed struck by this remark. "Well now, that's an idea, Jo!"
+said she, nodding her head. "It may be so. They seem to have had the
+sense not to talk to her about the matter. May's just the kind of girl
+to fling up her heels and break away, if she suspected any scheming to
+make a fine match for her. But she might come to care for him in time.
+There's no reason in nature why a rich man shouldn't be nice enough to
+be fallen in love with. And by his taking to May--and she without a
+penny--I'm inclined to think well of the young man."
+
+After some further consideration it was agreed that Mrs. Dobbs should
+write and propose a middle term: in the interval between her aunt's
+departure for Carlsbad, and the date of her invitation to Glengowrie,
+May should come down to Oldchester, on condition that she afterwards
+paid her visit to the Duchess. This arrangement would be a joy to Mrs.
+Dobbs, would satisfy May's affectionate longing, and could not prejudice
+the girl's future prospects. A letter to May was written, as well as one
+to Mrs. Dormer-Smith. This letter was very short, and may as well be
+given.
+
+    "DEAR MRS. DORMER-SMITH,
+
+     "I have to acknowledge yours of the 5th. I agree with you that
+     it would be a pity for my grand-daughter not to accept the
+     invitation you speak of. Some good may come of it, and I do not
+     think that any harm can come. If May spends the three or four
+     weeks with me after you start for the Continent, I will
+     undertake for her to meet the lady who is to take charge of her
+     to Scotland, at any place that may be agreed upon. I wrote to
+     May by this post, and she will tell you what I propose. With
+     regard to her father's address, I have had none for some time
+     past, except, 'Post-Office, Brussels.' This much I shall tell
+     her, as I think she has a right to know it. You need not
+     disturb yourself about her writing to her father, as I think,
+     from what I know of Captain Cheffington, that he is not likely
+     to answer her letter.
+
+     "I am, dear Mrs. Dormer-Smith,
+
+     "Yours truly,
+
+     "SARAH DOBBS."
+
+The proposal was accepted, and within a fortnight after the despatch of
+this letter, May Cheffington was in Oldchester once more.
+
+
+END OF VOL. I.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of That Unfortunate Marriage, Vol. 1(of 3), by
+Frances Eleanor Trollope
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