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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hall and the Grange, by Archibald Marshall
+
+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: The Hall and the Grange
+       A Novel
+
+Author: Archibald Marshall
+
+Release Date: May 2, 2012 [EBook #39595]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HALL AND THE GRANGE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Annie McGuire. This book was produced from
+scanned images of public domain material from the Google
+Print archive.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE HALL AND THE GRANGE
+
+
+
+
+BY THE SAME AUTHOR
+
+
+  THE HOUSE OF MERRILEES
+  RICHARD BALDOCK
+  EXTON MANOR
+  THE SQUIRE'S DAUGHTER
+  THE ELDEST SON
+  THE HONOUR OF THE CLINTONS
+  THE GREATEST OF THESE
+  THE OLD ORDER CHANGETH
+  WATERMEADS
+  UPSIDONIA
+  ABINGTON ABBEY
+  THE GRAFTONS
+  THE CLINTONS, AND OTHERS
+  SIR HARRY
+  MANY JUNES
+  A SPRING WALK IN PROVENCE
+  PEGGY IN TOYLAND
+  THE HALL AND THE GRANGE
+
+
+
+
+THE HALL AND THE GRANGE
+
+A NOVEL
+
+
+BY
+ARCHIBALD MARSHALL
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+NEW YORK
+DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY
+1921
+
+
+
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1921
+BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, INC.
+
+
+
+
+TO
+WILLIAM LYON PHELPS
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+  CHAPTER                                                           PAGE
+       I THE HALL                                                      1
+      II THE GRANGE                                                   11
+     III NORMAN                                                       23
+      IV PAMELA                                                       40
+       V THE FAMILY                                                   53
+      VI BARTON'S CLOSE                                               67
+     VII YOUNG PEOPLE                                                 79
+    VIII WELLSBURY                                                    92
+      IX LETTERS                                                     108
+       X RECONCILIATION                                              122
+      XI A QUESTION OF LABOUR                                        139
+     XII NEW IDEAS                                                   154
+    XIII DISCUSSION                                                  169
+     XIV CHURCH AND AFTER                                            181
+      XV THE RIFT                                                    197
+     XVI CRISIS                                                      211
+    XVII HONOURS                                                     221
+   XVIII FRED COMFREY                                                234
+     XIX INVESTIGATION                                               249
+      XX A QUESTION OF FINANCE                                       262
+     XXI PERSHORE CASTLE                                             271
+    XXII A SUMMER AFTERNOON                                          285
+   XXIII APPROACHES                                                  302
+    XXIV ALMOST                                                      316
+     XXV MISS BALDWIN LOOKS ON                                       328
+    XXVI BEFORE CHRISTMAS                                            343
+   XXVII TWO YOUNG MEN                                               353
+  XXVIII AND THE THIRD                                               366
+    XXIX THE NEW CHAPTER                                             378
+     XXX THE TRODDEN WAY                                             388
+    XXXI AN ENDING AND A BEGINNING                                   401
+
+
+
+
+THE HALL AND THE GRANGE
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE HALL
+
+
+Colonel Eldridge was enjoying an afternoon doze, or a series of dozes,
+in the Sabbath peace of his garden. His enjoyment was positive, for he
+had a prejudice against sleeping in the day-time, and sat upright in his
+basket chair with no support to his head; so that when sleep began to
+overtake him he nodded heavily and woke up again. If he had provided
+himself with a cushion from one of the chairs or lounges by his side, he
+would have slumbered blissfully, but would have been lost to the charm
+of his surroundings.
+
+These included a great expanse of lawn, mown and rolled and tended to a
+sheeny perfection of soft rich colour; the deep shade of nobly branching
+trees in their dark dress of mid-July; bright flower-beds; the terraced
+front of a squarely built stone house of a comfortably established age.
+These were for the eye to rest upon after one of those heavy nods, and
+to carry their message of spacious seclusion and domestic well-being.
+For the other senses there were messages that conveyed the same
+meaning--the hot brooding peace of the July afternoon, tempered by the
+soft stirring of flower-scented breezes, the drone of bees and of
+insects less usefully employed, the occasional sweet pipe of birds still
+mindful of earlier courtships, the grateful and secure absence of less
+mundane sounds. The house was empty, except for servants, who obtruded
+themselves neither on sight nor hearing. The tennis net on the levelled
+space by the rose garden hung in idle curves. Colonel Eldridge had the
+whole wide verdurous garden to himself, and the house, too, if he cared
+to enter it. Though he liked to have his family around him as a general
+rule, he found it pleasant to keep his own company thus for an hour or
+so.
+
+He was just approaching the time when one of those droops which
+punctuated his light slumbers would wake him up to a more lively sense
+of well-being, and he would take up the book that lay on his knee, when
+his half-closed eyes took in a figure emerging from the trees among
+which the lawn lost itself at the lower end of the garden. He aroused
+himself and waved a welcoming hand, which meant among other things:
+"Here you have a wide-awake man reading a book on Sunday afternoon, but
+you need not be afraid of disturbing him." The grateful lassitude,
+however, which enveloped his frame prevented his rising to greet his
+brother, who came towards him with an answering wave of the hand, and
+took a seat by his side.
+
+There was not much difference in the age of the two brothers, which was
+somewhere in the fifties. In appearance, also, they were something
+alike, of the same height and build, and with the same air of wearing
+their years well. Colonel Eldridge had the military caste impressed upon
+him, with closely cropped hair underneath his straw hat, small grey
+moustache, and a little net-work of wrinkles about his keen blue eyes.
+His clothes were neat and unobtrusive, as of a man who gets the best
+tailoring and leaves it at that.
+
+Sir William Eldridge also, quite obviously, got the best tailoring. He
+wore a suit of soft brown, with boots polished to an enviable pitch; the
+narrow sleeves of his jacket, ornamented with four buttons, showed the
+doubled-over cuffs of his blue flannel shirt, fastened with enamelled
+links; a gay bandana tie heightened the agreeable contrast of blue and
+brown; his soft felt hat was of light grey, with a black band. With a
+new pair of chamois leather gloves he would have been beautifully
+dressed for any occasion that did not demand a silk hat and whatever
+should go with it. But he wore or carried no gloves for a walk of half a
+mile across the fields, by the river, from Hayslope Grange, where he
+lived, to Hayslope Hall, his brother's house. He had the same regularity
+of feature as his brother; his hair was a shade or two greyer, but he
+looked some years younger, with his fresh skin and his active figure.
+There was almost an exuberance about him. If Colonel Eldridge had
+allowed his hair to grow longer than convention demanded, it would only
+have looked as if it wanted cutting. If Sir William had done so it would
+have seemed natural to his type.
+
+"Been having a little nap?" he said, as he dropped into a chair by his
+brother's side.
+
+Colonel Eldridge flinched ever so little. His strict regard for truth
+forbade him to deny the charge, but it should not have been brought
+against him. "Couldn't have much of a nap sitting up in a chair like
+this," he said, rather brusquely.
+
+Sir William ignored this. "How jolly and peaceful it is here," he said.
+"Really, I don't know a more delicious garden than this anywhere. It
+would take a hundred years to produce just this effect at the Grange,
+though I've spent pots of money over the gardens there."
+
+"Gardening with a golden spade," said his brother. "You can't do
+everything with money."
+
+"You can do a good deal. And if you've got big trees you can do
+practically everything. The misfortune about the Grange is that there
+are no big trees immediately around the house. If there had been I
+should have aimed at something of this sort. I could have got the lawn
+all right. It's the best sort of garden to look out on--an expanse of
+lawn and shady trees--quiet and green and peaceful. You're quite right,
+Edmund. With all I've done, and all I've spent on my garden, it's fussy
+compared to this. You remember I wanted you to do certain things here,
+when I first got keen on the game. Well, I'm glad you didn't. If you
+had, I should have wanted you to undo them by this time."
+
+Colonel Eldridge smiled, his momentary pique forgotten. "Oh, well,
+people come miles to see your garden," he said. "It's worth seeing. But
+on the whole I'd rather have this one to live in."
+
+"Ah, that's it; you've just hit it. There's all the difference between a
+garden to look at and a garden to live in. I've come to see that, and I
+suppose you've always seen it. I generally do come around to your views
+in the long run, old fellow. In this matter of a lawn shaded by trees,
+I've come round so completely that I've got to have it, though I'm
+afraid I can't have it to walk straight out of the house onto, and to
+look at from my windows. But there's that four-acre field--Barton's
+Close--down by the wood. I want to bring that in--I suppose you'll have
+no objection. By thinning out a bit, so as to leave some of the bigger
+trees isolated, and planting judiciously, I can get the effect there."
+
+"Rather a pity to cut up old pasture, isn't it? And it must be half a
+mile from the house."
+
+"Oh, nothing like as much as that--not more than five hundred yards, I
+should say. I wish it were nearer; but it will be effective to lead down
+to it by a path through the corner of the wood. You'll come upon a
+charming, restful, retired place that you hadn't been expecting. I only
+wish the lake had been closer, so as to have brought that in; but I
+think we could get a vista by cutting down a few trees. I might ask you
+to consider that later on; but we'd better see how the lawn turns out
+first."
+
+"I don't think I should want to cut down trees there, William. Whatever
+distance Barton's Close may be from the Grange, the lake is certainly
+over a mile. You can't turn the whole place into a garden. As it is,
+it's overweighted. You've got to consider the future. It would have been
+all right if poor Hugo had lived. He'd have succeeded me here, and I
+suppose Norman would have gone on living at the Grange after you."
+
+"Oh, I know, old fellow, but--"
+
+"Let me finish. When I die, and you or Norman come here, Cynthia and the
+girls will have to live at the Grange. It's much too big a place for
+them already. I dare say you'd get a big rent for it; but that's not
+what they'll want. They would have had enough to live on there as it
+used to be; but with the way things are going now it'll be a place that
+will want a lot of keeping up. It will want a good deal more keeping up
+than this."
+
+"Of course you're right to think about the future, old fellow." Sir
+William spoke more slowly, leaning forward in his chair with his elbows
+on his knees and tapping his stick on the turf. "I've thought about it a
+good deal, too. Things are altered now--unfortunately. I come into it
+more, don't I?--I and Norman."
+
+"Oh, yes, of course. Still, I'm not an old man yet. And Cynthia.... It's
+not out of the question.... But we needn't think of that. The chances
+are you'll succeed me. But for a good many years yet--in the ordinary
+way--I shall be here at Hayslope, and--"
+
+He did not finish, and Sir William did not help him out. He frowned a
+little as he sat looking down on the grass and tapping his stick, but
+there was no alteration in the kindly tone of his speech when he said
+after a time: "If Cynthia bears you another son, nobody will be more
+pleased than I shall. Some people might think I didn't mean that, but
+you know better. That's why we can talk over the future between us
+without misunderstanding one another."
+
+Colonel Eldridge stirred in his seat. "Oh, yes, Bill," he said. "You
+don't want to step into my shoes yet a while. I know that well enough.
+You will step into them sooner or later. I know that, too. We shan't
+have any more children. And as for what's to come after us, Norman will
+make a better squire of Hayslope than poor Hugo could have done. I
+wouldn't say so to Cynthia--I don't know that I'd say it to anybody but
+you--but I've come to see that the poor fellow had made too much of a
+mess of things for us to have hoped that he'd ever pull up. I feel no
+bitterness against him--God knows. I did; but that's all wiped out. I
+loved him when he was a little fellow, and I never really left off
+loving him, though he brought me a lot of trouble. Now I'm free to love
+his memory. He did well at the end."
+
+"Oh, yes. You can be proud of him. There was lots of good in him, and it
+came out at the last. No need to think about all the rest. I haven't
+thought about it for a long time."
+
+"Well, I've got to think of it occasionally, I'm afraid. Things are
+still difficult because of poor Hugo. But--"
+
+"Look here, old fellow--why don't you let me wipe all that off? I can do
+it without bothering myself in the least."
+
+"Thanks, Bill, you're very good. But I'll bear my own burdens."
+
+"Between you and me--what is there to quibble about? I've been lucky in
+life. But you're a better man than I am, when all's said and done. And
+you're the head of the family. We ought to stand together--'specially
+now, when I'm almost in the same position towards you as Hugo was, you
+might say. Take it as done for Hayslope. In a way, I'm as much
+interested in the place as you are."
+
+"Thanks, William, but this is a personal matter. Most of my income comes
+from the place, but I'm only tenant for life. I've got to make good on
+my own account. It means a bit of skimping, but that's all. There's
+enough for me and Cynthia and the girls, and I'll hand over Hayslope to
+you, or whoever it may be, as I received it from our father."
+
+"Well, I won't press you. But you know at any time that the money's
+there if you want it, and you'll give me pleasure if you'll take it.
+What's money between you and me? I've been in the way of making it and
+you haven't. There you have it in a nutshell. But after all, I'm not a
+money-grubber. I only care for it for what it will bring. It's at your
+service any time, Edmund--five thousand, ten thousand--whatever you want
+to clear off that old trouble. Take it from me, that you'll be doing me
+a real pleasure if you'll ask for it at any time. Are you coming over to
+tea? I promised Eleanor I'd get back. I think there'll be some people
+from the Castle."
+
+He rose from his seat. Colonel Eldridge retained his. "I don't think
+I'll come, thanks," he said, with a slight frown. "I don't particularly
+care about meeting people from the Castle."
+
+Sir William looked away. There was a slight frown on his face now, but
+not of annoyance. "I know it's rather difficult for you," he said. "But
+wouldn't it be better to face it? You must meet them sooner or later.
+And as far as they are concerned, it's all over. There'd be no real
+awkwardness. As a matter of fact I don't think that the Crowboroughs are
+coming themselves. It's the Branchleys--who are staying with them. If
+they do come, there'd be more or less of a crowd--with all the young
+people. You'd get over the first meeting, and then it would all be
+buried."
+
+"I know I've got to meet them some time or other. I know that
+Crowborough did have cause for complaint against Hugo. But he went much
+too far, and I can never forget it, now the poor boy's dead."
+
+"You couldn't have forgotten it if he hadn't taken back the worst of
+what he accused Hugo of. I admit that. But he did take it back, didn't
+he?"
+
+"Well, did he? That's what I'm not so sure about. I've got to behave as
+if he did--I know that. If we were to have it out together again,
+there's likely to be such a row that we should be enemies for life. I
+don't want that, for the sake of Cynthia and the girls. I suppose he
+doesn't want it, either, or he wouldn't have tried to mend the row we
+did have."
+
+"But, surely--"
+
+"I know what you're going to say. He wrote and said he'd never intended
+to accuse Hugo of swindling young Horsham. It was the way I'd taken what
+he did say that made him lose his temper and go farther than he'd meant
+to. That's all very well. But he didn't withdraw the charge."
+
+There was a look of perplexity on Sir William's face as he stood by his
+brother, preparing to leave him, but not to leave the discussion into
+which they had so lightly drifted with a ragged edge of uncertainty.
+"Poor Hugo!" he said. "He made trouble for you, Edmund--for all of us.
+It's all forgiven and ought to be forgotten. But where it remains alive
+it ought to be faced, oughtn't it? He did lead Jim Horsham into bad
+ways. You've admitted as much as that."
+
+"Yes, I did admit it. It was bad enough. But to lay that a son of mine
+cheated a brother officer out of a large sum of money--! That was the
+accusation."
+
+"Crowborough made it when he was worked up about what he had discovered,
+and he withdrew it."
+
+It was Colonel Eldridge who ended the discussion, and allowed his
+brother to go free. "Well, that's what we began with," he said. "I'm
+ready to act on the supposition that he did withdraw it. But I don't
+feel inclined to meet him this afternoon, William. Thanks all the same."
+
+Sir William took his departure. His brother watched his smart, alert
+figure crossing the lawn, until it was lost among the trees at the
+bottom of the garden. Then he rose and sauntered slowly towards the
+house, and his face was thoughtful and disturbed--more disturbed than
+the previous conversation might have seemed to warrant.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE GRANGE
+
+
+Sir William Eldridge, with a step wonderfully light and quick for a man
+of his years and weight, came out of his brother's garden by a gate that
+led to a woodland path, and so down a long slope under the thick shade
+of trees, till the wood gave place to an open meadow bordered by a
+placid-flowing stream--almost a river. The meadow sloped up to the high
+woods which enclosed it in a long crescent, but on the other side of the
+stream was open grass-land, with lines of willows here and there, dykes,
+and little bits of wooden fences. Cattle were dotted all over it,
+feeding peacefully in the hot afternoon sunshine, or recumbent on the
+rich turf. In the distance were more woods, and where the river took a
+turn and followed the contour of the hill in front, it was seen to be
+flowing towards a lake of considerable size, to judge by the growth of
+the trees which encircled and hid all but the nearer end of it.
+
+The river path continued for a quarter of a mile or so, and then once
+more became a woodland path, turning sharply to the left and rising more
+steeply than it had dropped in the other wood. The exit there had been
+by a stile, not as firm as it might have been under the weight of a big
+man. But this entrance was by a closely fitting gate, and a new solid
+fence ran away to right and left of it, gate and fence alike carrying
+an elaborate wire defence against rabbits.
+
+Sir William climbed the steep path, slowly, but not, apparently, because
+of any necessity to save his breath. He looked to right and left of him
+with interest at the plantings of shrubs and flowers and ferns that had
+been made in clearings under the trees. On the outside this was a thick
+wood, as the other had been; but once through the gate it was seen to be
+a garden, full of interest and surprise. Little winding paths led off
+from the main ascent, and Sir William followed one or two of these to
+look at some treasure that he had established, and lingered over it as
+if his chief interest in life were the planting and the growth of
+flowers.
+
+The steep path became a rocky staircase, which emerged from the wood
+into an elaborate rock garden, so artfully constructed that it seemed
+almost a natural outcrop from the leafy soil. On the further side the
+trees closed in on it again, but they had been still further thinned out
+here and did not conceal the artificially flat expanse of tennis and
+croquet lawn upon which the path came somewhat too suddenly. Immediately
+beyond the lawn was a house--a long rambling structure of many-gabled
+red brick and tile, with rose-covered verandas, loggias, pergolas, and
+all the paraphernalia of a rich man's country cottage. The original
+house, of a date somewhere about the seventies, was ugly enough, and had
+never pretended to be a cottage; and the additions, though in much
+better architectural taste, were incongruous to it. But it might have
+been supposed, even from an outside view, that everything about this
+house would be of the highest possible convenience for a life of country
+pleasure, and that if anything should occur to its occupants that would
+improve its amenities in this respect it would promptly be supplied.
+
+Four young people were playing lawn tennis, and four older people were
+playing croquet, as Sir William came within sight of the lawn, and on
+the broad pillared veranda which finished off the house at this end
+other people were sitting, and servants were arranging tea-tables. House
+and garden seemed to be fulfiling their purpose with these groups of
+people laughing and talking and playing games in the summer afternoon,
+and everything at hand to enhance their enjoyment. Sir William's face
+lightened as he waved his greetings. He loved these lively gatherings of
+the summer time. He had something to offer at Hayslope Grange that
+people found it worth while to seek out and enjoy. There was more coming
+and going between the Grange and Pershore Castle, the Earl of
+Crowborough's seat five miles away, than between the Castle and Hayslope
+Hall, although the two families had run neck and neck in this part of
+the country for generations, and intimacy had established itself between
+their two houses almost to the exclusion of others.
+
+It was with Lord Crowborough that Sir William walked down to the meadow
+which he wanted to bring into his garden, while the rest of the party
+were still busy round the tea-tables. Lord Crowborough was a man of
+sixty, heavy in bulk and somewhat heavy in demeanour, though with a
+kindly expression of face and of speech that relieved him of the charge
+of pomposity. He was disturbed, it appeared, at the coolness that had
+arisen between him and his old friend and neighbour, Edmund Eldridge,
+and wanted a word about it alone with Sir William. "Such old friends!"
+was the burden of his regrets. And he enlarged on it: "Surely such old
+friends ought to be able to speak freely to one another--even lose their
+tempers; we both did that, but surely--"
+
+Sir William was more silent under the complaints than would have seemed
+to be natural to him. "It was the charge of swindling," he said rather
+shortly.
+
+"Oh, I know," said Lord Crowborough. "After all your kindness, one
+doesn't want--"
+
+"Never mind about that," Sir William interrupted him almost
+peremptorily. There was a hint in his manner that spoke of another man
+than the one who grew his flowers and welcomed his friends at Hayslope
+Grange. Lord Crowborough, some years older, and of greater apparent
+importance, seemed to bow to it. "I know it was never to be mentioned,"
+he said, apologetically. "Very well. But really, you know, William--!
+Well, the poor fellow's dead; but he was an out and out wrong 'un. I did
+do my best to hush it all up. Edmund must know that. If it had come out
+he'd have been kicked out of the regiment. I should think he must know
+that, too, if he thinks straight about it at all."
+
+"Perhaps he doesn't think quite straight about it, poor old chap! You
+can hardly blame him. As far as I'm concerned I'm going to do all I can
+to encourage him to think that Hugo was just sowing his wild oats, and
+that he'd have settled down to be a credit to his name. I'm afraid it
+isn't true, but surely it's a good thing if Edmund can think so."
+
+"Oh, yes, I quite agree. Poor old fellow! I'll ask him to dine. I
+remember him quite well as a little fellow--you too, of course. I
+believe I was even a sort of hero of his when I was a big boy and he was
+a little one."
+
+Sir William laughed. "Of course you were," he said. "I think that's the
+line to go on, you know. Old times, and all that. At least, I shouldn't
+mention the affair again, if I were you. Treat him with--well,
+affection. I know you feel that for him. The row will pass over. He's
+sore all round. He's sore about Hugo. He's a little sore about my
+stepping into the position of heir to him--though, goodness knows,
+_I've_ no wish to change places with him in any way."
+
+"No, you've made yourself a bigger man than he is."
+
+"Well, that's as may be. Anyhow, I'm in a different line altogether.
+He's nothing to be sore about there; and we stick together. I can help
+him in lots of ways, if he'll let me."
+
+"He's stiff about things; he's got stiffer as he's got older."
+
+"Yes, that's true. He's the military type; and going back to his old job
+during the war has brought it out in him, more than ever. Still, I know
+well enough how to deal with men of that sort--had lots of practice at
+it lately. And Edmund's my brother. I'm fond of him. In some ways I
+look up to him; he's straight and honest as the day. And he's
+affectionate, too, under his stiffness. You can't drive him, but you can
+lead him, if you're careful in the way you do it. Hold out a hand to
+him, Crowborough. He'll respond all right, and you'll soon git rid of
+_that_ soreness."
+
+They strolled back to the upper garden together, and Lord Crowborough
+lost no time in goading his wife into asking Mrs. Eldridge to dine. It
+was necessary to detach her from the side of Lady Eldridge and draw her
+a little aside, and it was plain to everybody that something in the way
+of pressure was being exercised. Lady Crowborough did not want to invite
+the Eldridges. She was more incensed against Colonel Eldridge than her
+husband, and had no memory of intimacies of early childhood to soften
+her towards him. However, she obeyed her husband, as a good wife should.
+She had not yet had any conversation with Mrs. Eldridge, and might even
+have been supposed to have avoided her. But she went straight up to her
+and said: "We haven't really seen anything of each other for months. I
+wish you and your husband and Pamela would come over and dine to-morrow
+evening. Lord and Lady Branchley aren't going until Tuesday, and I've
+asked the Hobkirks and one or two other people."
+
+Mrs. Eldridge looked up at her from the cushioned chair in which she was
+sitting, so very much at her ease, showing the neatest feet and ankles
+under her short-skirted summer frock. A wonderful woman for her age, it
+was the custom to say of her. Her age might have been forty-five, but
+she looked at least ten years younger than that, and on some occasions
+younger still. There was not a thread of grey in her rippling, lustrous
+brown hair; her cheeks were softly rounded, her skin was fresh. She wore
+a large flowery hat, which accentuated the graceful slimness of her
+form. She looked up at Lady Crowborough, looming profusely above her,
+out of untroubled blue eyes. "Thanks so much," she said. "I'm not sure
+what Edmund is doing to-morrow. Pamela and I could come. I could let you
+know if _he_ can't."
+
+Lady Crowborough grunted. She was a tall, upright woman with a
+decorative façade, and seemed to have been formed by nature to play the
+part of a great lady. But there was something lacking in her equipment.
+She was easily flustered, and when confronted with any difficulty seemed
+to lose even in physical bulk. "Crowborough particularly wanted me to
+ask Colonel Eldridge," she said in a tone that did not carry out the
+promise of the preliminary grunt.
+
+"So I saw," said Mrs. Eldridge, with unbaffled sweetness. "It was very
+good of him. I don't see in the least why he shouldn't come, but it's
+never safe to make promises for him. If you don't want me and Pamela
+without him--"
+
+"Oh, of course I do, if he _can't_ come. Yes, of course I shall be
+delighted. It's really ages since we saw anything of one another."
+
+She suddenly became friendly and confidential, dropping into a seat next
+to Mrs. Eldridge's, and demanding her ear for a low-spoken account of
+the trouble she had been going through with a laundry maid who had
+unwisely loved a Canadian soldier. Mrs. Eldridge was all sympathy, but
+managed to impart some lightness into an affair that Lady Crowborough
+had never thought to regard as anything but a gloomy tragedy. When she
+took leave of her Lady Crowborough's manner was intimately affectionate.
+She kissed her and called her "my dear," and said what a comfort it was
+to pour out one's troubles to an old friend.
+
+Afterwards, in conversation with her husband, she was a little doubtful
+whether she had not gone rather too far. "Of course I have known her for
+a good many years," she said. "And I've always liked her too. But the
+fact is, I like her better when I'm with her than when I'm away from
+her; I don't know why. She's got a sort of way with her."
+
+"She's a very charming woman," said Lord Crowborough. "I've nothing
+against her at all. I don't know why you shouldn't like her when you're
+away from her. Anyhow, I'm glad you made a bit of a fuss with her. And
+evidently she responded, from what you say. No doubt she wants this
+trouble ended. So do we. Poor old Edmund! I've forgiven him for what he
+said, though 'pon my word it was outrageous."
+
+"Well, I said I never would forget it," said Lady Crowborough. "And
+really, John, when I come to think of it, I'm not at all sure you're
+right in making it so plain that we are anxious to see Colonel Eldridge
+back on the old terms with us. Perhaps he'll even refuse my invitation,
+and we shall have given him a handle. If he does come, of course I shall
+be polite to him, but I've no intention of treating him in the same way
+as I have Cynthia."
+
+"Well, I don't suppose you'll kiss him; but I'm quite sure you won't
+treat him stiffly, my dear. You may begin like that, but you're
+incapable of keeping it up."
+
+Lady Crowborough sighed. "I _am_ like that," she admitted. "I get
+carried away."
+
+When the party from Pershore Castle had driven off, Lady Eldridge took
+her sister-in-law into the house, leaving the young people still at
+their games, and Sir William, who had changed into gleaming white,
+playing with them. Lady Eldridge was a handsome dark-eyed, dark-haired
+woman, very well preserved for her years, which were about the same as
+those of Mrs. Eldridge, but without the look of fragile youth that was
+the note of that lady's appearance in her most favourable moments. She
+had an agreeable, decisive manner of speech, and a straightforward,
+honest look. The two of them had been friends at school, and it was at
+Hayslope Hall that Lady Eldridge had first met her husband, at that time
+a young barrister, not entirely briefless, or he would not have been in
+a position to marry, but with nothing in his prospects to indicate the
+opulence that he now so much enjoyed.
+
+Lady Eldridge's special room was the most recent addition to the house,
+pleasing in its proportions and decoration, and beautifully but quietly
+furnished. Mrs. Eldridge sank into a deep cushioned chair, and said with
+a plaintive sigh: "I wish I could afford a room like this. You've made
+such a perfect success of it, Eleanor. I don't think it could possibly
+be nicer."
+
+"It's very sweet of you to say so, my dear. But I don't think you have
+any cause to grumble, with all the beautiful old things you have in your
+room. Of course these are mostly old, too, but then they have all been
+bought. I might easily have gone wrong, you know. You don't think it
+looks like just money, do you?"
+
+"Oh, no! Oh, no!" Mrs. Eldridge held up hands of expostulation. Then she
+dropped the subject. "The Crowboroughs want to bury the hatchet," she
+said. "I'm glad enough, I do hate rows, especially between old friends.
+But my poor old Edmund had a lot to put up with. I suppose Lord
+Crowborough means well. It's what everybody says of him. It's what they
+generally do say of thoroughly tiresome people, isn't it?--especially if
+they've got titles. Of course he is tiresome, and so is she, but both of
+them have their uses, so one puts up with it."
+
+Lady Eldridge laughed. Her laugh was agreeable to listen to, and always
+meant that she was amused. "What uses?" she asked.
+
+"Well, there's the Castle to go to, for one thing."
+
+"You used to bewail your lot in being expected to go so much to the
+Castle."
+
+"My dear, I've grown wiser, as well as a good deal poorer. Nobody can
+deny that the Castle is desperately dull, entirely owing to the people
+who inhabit it; for it's a fine enough house. But they do occasionally
+have people to stay, though I don't know whether you've noticed that the
+same people seldom come twice. It's a house to go to. To that I've
+come--that I'm thankful for an invitation to dine at Pershore Castle.
+I'm not sure that I didn't even angle for it. I certainly intimated that
+if Edmund didn't think it good enough, the invitation was on no account
+to be withdrawn from Pam and me. I made eyes at her, and she gave in at
+once. She thinks I'm a very sweet woman, until she goes away from me,
+and then she's not so sure about it. Am I a sweet woman, Eleanor, or a
+bit of a cat? I'm never quite certain."
+
+"You were a very sweet child," said Lady Eldridge, whose face had become
+rather serious during this speech. "I always loved you and always shall.
+And as long as you say everything you think to me...."
+
+"Oh, my dear, I shall always do that. You're one of the few comforts
+left to me in life. I can't grumble to Edmund, or the children. Besides,
+you're so generous. I should never have had my little bit of London this
+year but for you. How I should have missed it! And how I enjoyed it!
+There is no doubt that one does enjoy pleasures that come to one
+unexpectedly more than those that one takes as a matter of course."
+
+"Well, Cynthia, you know that until you have a house of your own again
+in London, ours is there for you to come to whenever you like. And for
+the girls too. It doesn't want saying, does it, dear? We've always been
+very close together. There was a time when I owed almost all my
+pleasures in life to you, and I don't forget how generous _you_ were.
+We've been fortunate, Bill and I, and at a time when so many people have
+had to alter their way of living. It's nice to think that our good
+fortune is of use not only to ourselves; that those we love can share it
+with us. I suppose there aren't many people who are so close together
+as you and Edmund and Bill and I. And our children too. I can't imagine
+anything that would come between us."
+
+"No," said Mrs. Eldridge. "I can't either. It's a great comfort to have
+you here. I don't know what we should do without you."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+NORMAN
+
+
+Norman Eldridge and his cousin Pamela detached themselves from the
+tennis players and strolled off through the bare blaze of the upper
+garden with its elaborate architecture of walls and steps and pavings
+and pergolas, and its bright, restless plantings, into the shade of the
+woods.
+
+They were close friends, these two, and had been so ever since Norman as
+a boy of eight had fallen in love with Pamela as a baby of two. It's a
+nice sort of boy who loves children, and Norman had been a very
+attractive small boy, high-spirited, energetic and mischievous, but
+never a source of anxiety with his mischievousness, as his cousin Hugo
+had been. Hugo was a year older than Norman, and always eager to make
+his seniority felt. In those early days Norman had paid visits from the
+little house in Hampstead where his parents then lived, to Hayslope
+Hall, and greatly enjoyed the ample life of the country house, with
+ponies to ride, the river to fish, later on rabbits and birds to shoot,
+and all the blissful freedom of the woods and fields. But Hugo, his
+constant companion in holiday activities, had spoilt a good deal of the
+pleasure of them. At first Norman had given way and been bullied. It
+seemed as if Hugo were unable to enjoy himself without being unpleasant.
+He was bigger and stronger than Norman, and had all the advantage of
+being on his own ground. In earlier visits, when both children had been
+under the eye of nurses and governess, there had been frequent quarrels,
+but Hugo had been forced more or less to behave himself. But during that
+month of Christmas holidays, when Hugo had come home from his first term
+at school, he had turned Norman's excitement and pleasure into a
+dragging unhappiness, which increased so much that he came to count the
+days before the end of his visit as eagerly as he had counted those
+which had brought him to it.
+
+Hugo, as a schoolboy, tyrannized over him, and yet he wanted him for his
+games, and hardly ever left him in peace. There was another boy, a year
+older than Hugo--Fred Comfrey, son of the Rector of Hayslope--who was
+constantly with them. He took his line from Hugo, and helped in the
+bullying. Poor little Norman used to cry himself to sleep every night,
+but it was his pride never to let his tormentors see how much they hurt
+him. His uncle and aunt were kind to him. It would sometimes come over
+him with a sense of bewilderment how little they knew of his real
+feelings; for everything seemed to be right when the boys were with
+them. No doubt they thought he was enjoying himself to the full, having
+everything that a boy could want to make him happy.
+
+It was at this time that he came to adore little Pamela, whose bright
+prattle and pretty, loving ways with him soothed his sore heart. But it
+was only now and then that he could forget himself, playing with her.
+The other boys were brutally scornful of his taste for the companionship
+of a baby.
+
+He did not go to Hayslope again until a year later. By that time he was
+a schoolboy himself. He had thought a good deal about his cousin Hugo,
+and about Fred Comfrey, in the interval, and come to the conclusion,
+assisted by an intimate friend of his own age to whom he had disclosed
+the matter, that he had been a bally ass to be put down by them.
+
+He had entered the republic of his school with unhappy anticipations of
+the life he would lead there, with forty tyrants to domineer over him
+instead of two. If it had not been for his experience with Hugo and
+Fred, he would have escaped months of anticipatory dread. But his fears
+proved groundless. This was a very good school for small boys, with a
+headmaster whose outstanding aim was to make friends of them all and to
+keep them happy. He was helped by his wife, who loved children and had
+none of her own. The forty boys were her family, and outside school
+hours they used the whole house as if it were their home. Under this
+happy rule there were no awkward fences for a little boy new to school
+life to surmount. He was welcomed as a member of the family, and one who
+was expected to do it credit. Everything was done to bring out whatever
+originality of character he had in him. The elder boys, taking their
+tone from the headmaster, his wife and assistants, were kind and
+protective. The only objection to the system was that a new boy of
+self-assertive habits occasionally made himself something of a nuisance.
+But the standards and ideals of school life soon told on all but the
+incorrigibles; the headmaster knew when and how to exercise severity on
+the rare occasions on which it was required; and if a boy had not
+submitted himself to the tone of the school by the end of his first year
+his parents were asked to remove him. That sometimes made trouble for
+the headmaster, but he was content to put up with that now and then for
+the sake of his beloved school.
+
+Norman, after a pause of bewilderment, expanded under this treatment. He
+was gay and bright and bubbling over with life; he was quick with his
+work and had an aptitude for the pursuits that are valued among boys. He
+was made much of from the first, but his native modesty prevented his
+being spoilt.
+
+It was this agreeable modesty of his that had led him to knuckle under
+to Hugo and Fred the year before, and they had taken advantage of it. He
+went down to Hayslope with his father and mother for Christmas with the
+determination to knuckle under in nothing, and rather enjoyed, though
+with some tremors, the prospect of making it quite plain where he stood,
+and where he intended to stand for the future. He had learnt to box a
+little at school, and thought it might come in useful. He didn't suppose
+that he was capable of taking on Hugo and Fred together, but if it
+should be necessary he was not averse from trying.
+
+To his immense surprise, however, Hugo greeted him affably, and seemed
+to have forgotten the disagreeables of the previous visit. They played
+together with no more than the normal amount of friction between small
+boys, and settled their differences as they arose without coming
+anywhere near to blows.
+
+Then Fred Comfrey, who had spent Christmas away from home, came on the
+scene. Now was the time for the three of them to take stock of one
+another. So far, Norman had been content to make friends with an
+apparently much improved Hugo, without bothering himself about whether
+he would have liked him if he had seen him in contact with other boys.
+In the give and take of school life a boy finds his level very quickly.
+He is known through and through, and sized up with an accuracy seldom at
+fault, though the rule by which he is measured is more rigid than any
+that is applied in after life. Outside, the rule is somewhat relaxed.
+Boys not acceptable to their fellows may find themselves liked by older
+people, and show themselves in an altogether different light. The
+ordinary courtesies of life, disregarded at school, have some sway.
+There is the softening influence of feminine and family society. A truce
+is called, and allowances unconsciously made. So it was with Hugo and
+Norman, who were not made to run together, but managed to find some
+community of interest in the pursuits of holiday time.
+
+But with the advent of the third party new adjustments had to be made.
+There was a pause of observation, and then the struggle began.
+
+The Rector's son was a stocky, dark-haired boy of considerable strength
+for his age. He was already at one of the minor public schools, where
+they took boys from the age of eleven. His manners were rough, as his
+school was, and his ideals did not include that of any sort of
+courtesy, though he was retiring enough in the company of his elders.
+
+Hugo was as tall as Fred, but not nearly so broad or strong. He was
+dark, too, and good-looking in boy fashion, though not remarkably so.
+His manners were agreeable in grown-up society, and Norman had lately
+found them inoffensive when not affected by outside influences. In a
+very short time it was to be proved whether he would keep up his
+new-found amity with his cousin or put himself on Fred's side against
+him. His character was weak, and a year before Fred had played upon it,
+ostensibly following his lead, because with unpleasant precocity he
+recognized his superiority of place, but actually pushing him into the
+attitude that suited his inclinations.
+
+Now came Norman's second surprise. During the pause of observation which
+came before the three of them settled down to the respective places
+which their characters and experience had earned for them, Fred seemed
+to realize that Norman partook in some measure of Hugo's superiority. It
+would have been marked enough to anybody who had seen the three of them
+together. The frankness of demeanour which had been encouraged by
+Norman's short experience of admirably conducted school life formed a
+significant contrast with Fred's clumsy diffidence in presence of his
+elders and his sniggering audacities when released from restraint. He
+was an unpleasant boy even at that early age, and Norman instinctively
+disliked him from the first moment of the second period of intimacy, and
+was inclined to hug his dislike.
+
+It was he who made the breach that presently came. Otherwise, Fred would
+have kept the peace, and they would have got on as long as they were
+together without an open quarrel.
+
+Three-year-old Pamela was the cause of it. Norman had found her more
+entrancing than ever, and had made no attempt to hide his love for her
+during the week before Fred had come on the scene. Hugo had grumbled
+sometimes when Norman had wanted to play with her, and he had wanted him
+to do something else, but there had been no repetition of the contempt
+that this unmanly preference for the society of a baby had previously
+called forth. Hugo was rather fond of his little sister, though he never
+put himself out to amuse her.
+
+On the third day after Fred's arrival he came up to the hall immediately
+after breakfast, all agog for the game devised the evening before.
+
+It had been snowing hard, then and through the night, and now it was a
+glorious, sparkling morning, with the garden and the park and the woods
+all muffled in white, under a frost which bound the whole landscape into
+gleaming, motionless beauty. The boys had found a pair of Canadian
+snowshoes in a lumber-room. They were to use them for a game of Indian
+trackers in the woods, and had agreed upon their several parts, not
+without some dispute, but on the whole amicably. Hugo and Fred were
+eager to be off at once. So was Norman, but he was rolling on the floor
+of the hall when Fred arrived, Pamela pursuing him with shrieks of
+laughter, and did not at once respond to Fred's urgings. When they were
+repeated with impatience he responded still less. He wasn't going to be
+ordered about by Fred, and his latent hostility impelled him to make it
+plain to him that the more insistent the summons the less quickly would
+it be obeyed. When Hugo added his impatient word, he said: "All right,
+you go out and begin, if you're in such a hurry. I'll come when I'm
+ready."
+
+The two boys flung off grumbling, and Norman played with Pamela until a
+nurse came to fetch her. Then he set out to join them, not without some
+tremors over the reception he would meet with. But there was something
+not altogether disagreeable about these tremors, and he grinned widely,
+though he was not in the least amused, as he turned the corner of the
+house and saw Hugo and Fred sitting on a snow-covered log at the edge of
+the wood some distance off. Curiously enough, this scene came back to
+him vividly ten years later as he was crouching under the lee of a
+trench in Flanders, waiting for the signal to attack a more formidable
+foe. And, though he didn't know it, there was actually the same grin on
+his face when the signal came.
+
+He walked slowly across the park towards them, stepping rather carefully
+in the footmarks that one of them had made in the snow. When he got
+within hailing distance of them he called out: "Haven't you tried the
+snowshoes yet?"
+
+There was no reply. They had their heads together and Fred was eyeing
+him balefully.
+
+When he got near them Fred rose from his seat, and said: "Look here,
+we're not going to stand this any longer."
+
+"Well, then sit it," replied Norman, rather pleased with the readiness
+of the repartee.
+
+Fred looked uglier than usual, but his next speech was more in the tone
+of reason than Norman had expected. "You're the youngest of the three of
+us," he said. "You're not going to keep us hanging about waiting for you
+when we've all settled on something to do. The cheek of it!"
+
+Norman glanced at Hugo, who still sat on the log. There was nothing in
+his face yet to show whether he was hostile or not. He looked more
+interested than anything, and it came home to Norman that if he got the
+better of Fred, Hugo need no longer be feared as an adversary.
+
+"Well, I'm sorry I kept you waiting," said Norman. "But I'm here now, so
+let's begin."
+
+Fred was still inclined for argument. "I'm the oldest," he said, "but
+we're both here to play with Hugo, I suppose. As you're staying with
+him, naturally he doesn't like to make too much fuss over your cheek.
+But--"
+
+"He didn't mind making a fuss last year," interrupted Norman, "and you
+sucked up to him and helped him. I was a bally ass to stand it then, and
+I'm not going to stand it now."
+
+Fred made a threatening gesture. "Sucking up!" he repeated. "You'd
+better be careful what you say."
+
+Hugo still held aloof, hunched up on the log, with his hands in his
+pockets. Somehow Norman felt it necessary to bring him in. "He does suck
+up to you," he said. "_I'm_ not going to, you know."
+
+Hugo stirred uneasily, and said: "It's quite true what he says. It's
+cheek keeping us waiting like this for a quarter of an hour."
+
+"To play with a baby," added Fred with scorn. It was the charge, so
+frequently brought, which had hurt him the year before. But it hurt him
+no longer. "I like playing with little Pam," he said. "So does Hugo
+sometimes, when you're not here. You'd like it too, if you weren't such
+a dirty scug."
+
+This was the turning-point. Fred made another gesture of attack, but did
+not follow it up. If he had done so the battle would have been short and
+sharp, and whoever had won--it must have been he--bad blood would have
+been let off and the three boys would have settled down together.
+Instead, he turned to Hugo. "Really, that's a bit too much!" he said
+angrily. "Shall I teach him his lesson?"
+
+Hugo rose. "Oh, let's chuck it," he said. "What's the good of scrapping
+when there's a game to play?"
+
+They played their game, which none of them enjoyed. The contest had
+seemed to be quite indecisive, but Norman had won it hands down. It was
+Hugo, the weakest character of the three, who was the decisive factor.
+Fred deferred to him, and lost ground by doing so. Norman made no effort
+to gain ascendancy over him, being content with equal terms, but his
+ascendancy none the less became marked. Because he disliked Fred,
+finding something in him antagonistic to all the clean ideals in which
+he had been reared, Hugo came rather to dislike him too. Fred met this
+attitude with deprecation, which made matters worse. He began to be
+cold-shouldered, and towards the end of the holidays his society was as
+much as possible dispensed with.
+
+The next time that Norman came to Hayslope, in the summer, Fred had made
+his ground good again, having become necessary to Hugo in the meantime.
+There was no quarrel this time, but Norman never liked Fred, and their
+intimacy was only on the surface. He didn't like Hugo much either, or
+wouldn't have liked him if he had known him at school among a lot of
+other boys. But there was some sense of relationship and he was part of
+Hayslope Hall and all its keen delights.
+
+As the years of boyhood went by, the cousins remained friends in some
+sort. But Norman's lead became more pronounced. Hugo went to Harrow,
+which was his father's school. William Eldridge by this time had left
+the Bar to engage in commerce, and was already beginning to make money.
+Norman was sent to Eton. When he had been there a year his foot was on
+the ladder. He was one of those boys to whom success in school life
+comes naturally, while Hugo was a potential rotter, destined to remain
+in the ruck, unless he should emerge from it for some discreditable
+reason.
+
+When Norman was fifteen and Fred nearly eighteen, the antagonism between
+them at last found its vent. Fred had grown into a lout of a boy, whose
+only saving grace was athleticism. He was already in his school eleven
+and fifteen, and Norman, though coming on well, was as yet far below
+those altitudes. Fred, uplifted by his successes, was not so careful now
+to conciliate him. He encouraged the worst side of Hugo, and had
+established an influence over him while Norman had been off the field.
+This always happened, but now Hugo did not gradually come over to
+Norman, as he had done before. His adolescence had brought him to Fred's
+unsavoury views of life and conduct. Fred was his chosen companion at
+Hayslope, in a way that Norman would never be.
+
+Norman, an attractive, light-hearted boy, in the early years of his
+school life, was not without experience of evil, to which he had shut
+his eyes as much as possible. The talk of the two older boys offended
+and troubled him, but he did not at first combat it. He was parted from
+them by more than years. Hitherto they had all been boys together; now
+the other two were essentially men, of the baser sort, and he remained a
+boy, with a boy's clean distaste for what was as yet none of his
+business. He fell silent when they pursued their promptings, and
+presently began to withdraw himself from them.
+
+Pamela had reached the age of nine. She was an engaging little
+sylph-like creature, with laughing, mischievous ways, and a bright
+intelligence beyond her years. She was quite fit to be a companion to
+Norman, and he took pleasure in her society. Judith was only a year
+younger, and companionable, too, in a more serious way. Alice and
+Isabelle were five and four. All of them loved Norman, who played
+childish games with them, and was entirely happy in doing so. But this
+brought on him some return of the treatment by which he had been made so
+unhappy during his first intercourse with Hugo and Fred together. It did
+not make him unhappy now, but contemptuous of them. Still, there was the
+fact that Norman's childhood still hung about him, while they had got
+rid of theirs; and no boy of fifteen likes having his youth emphasized,
+especially by those, rather older, with whom he desires to be on equal
+terms. Fred and Hugo held this advantage over him, which delayed the
+outbreak for some time.
+
+It came suddenly when it did come, and its beginnings were almost a
+repetition of the quarrel of years before. Norman was wanted to do
+something with the other two, and was not to be found. They came upon
+him by chance, with Pamela, in a retired part of the garden. They were
+sitting on a bench deep in conversation, for they found plenty to talk
+about that interested them, and Pamela was often very serious in these
+confabulations, when she laid aside the quick activities of her nature
+and was content to sit quietly and talk to a friend.
+
+The discovery was made an occasion of whooping triumph by Fred and Hugo,
+as if they had surprised some secret. Pamela flamed out against them for
+disturbing her and Norman, and told them to go away and leave them
+alone. Their interference stung Norman to a cold fury that was quite a
+new experience to him, and beyond what was natural to his years. He
+stood up with a white face and confronted Fred, whose eyes flickered for
+a moment before him. "I'll just go and get my cap," he said, "and then
+I'll come with you. Wait for me down by the wood."
+
+So he got Pamela away. She expostulated indignantly as they crossed the
+lawn together. "I hate Fred Comfrey," she said. "Why do you want to go
+with him instead of staying with me?"
+
+"Oh, we'd already arranged something. I'd forgotten," he said shortly.
+"I can't always be with you."
+
+It was beyond him altogether to affect indifference before her, and this
+unusual brusqueness served its turn. "You're ashamed of them finding you
+talking to a girl," she said hotly. "You're like that horrid Fred. Very
+well, then, you needn't pretend to be friends with me any more. Go with
+him."
+
+"Oh, don't be silly," he said, and left her.
+
+He went through the garden and across the park to where they were
+waiting for him. As he went he gave reign to his anger. Little Pamela!
+That coarse brute to jeer at their being together! And Hugo had stood
+by, grinning, if not even adding jeers of his own. His fist clenched as
+he walked up to them. "You're a foul swine," he said, stopping short
+within a yard of Fred, and added more, in language that seemed to come
+readily to his lips, though as a rule he avoided the grosser forms of
+schoolboy abuse.
+
+Fred was taken aback for the moment by the violence of the attack, and
+Norman turned to Hugo. "You're a swine, too," he said. "Fancy letting
+this filthy cad treat your own sister like that!"
+
+Fred began to say something; Norman did not wait to hear what. Fred's
+speech goaded him to action, and he dashed his fist in the other's face.
+Then they were at it. Fred's anger was loosed, too, and for a few
+moments it was a desperate scrimmage, with no science shown on either
+side. Norman, battered by the attack, was the first to gird himself to
+some self-possession, and by fighting warily delayed the end for a
+little. But he had no chance whatever against the much stronger and
+bigger boy, and was soon on the grass with the fight knocked out of him.
+
+He was struggling up to continue it, but Hugo intervened. "This is rot,"
+he said, more decisive than his wont. "Fred was only chaffing. He meant
+nothing by it."
+
+Norman was gasping and sobbing, the blood dripping from his nose. "He's
+a swine," he cried, "a filthy swine."
+
+Fred stood over him, breathing hard. Norman had marked him, but not
+enough to keep his blood hot. Already he was feeling some compunction at
+having let himself go to the full against a boy of Norman's size. "It
+was just chaff," he repeated; "nothing to get shirty about."
+
+Norman struggled to his knees and unsteadily to his feet, and with his
+handkerchief to his face went off into the wood away from them.
+
+Fred and Hugo looked at one another. "Better go after him," Hugo said.
+"There'll be a row if--"
+
+"No good my going," said Fred sulkily. Dread of what should happen began
+to take hold of him. "You'd better go. He won't want to sneak."
+
+Hugo caught Norman up. He was standing against a tree, sobbing. "You put
+up a jolly good fight against him," Hugo said awkwardly. "Better shake
+hands, now it's all over."
+
+"I shan't," cried Norman passionately. "He's a foul swine."
+
+"Well, you keep on saying that, but I think you're making too much of
+it. He didn't mean anything beastly about Pam. Naturally, I shouldn't
+stand that."
+
+"Yes, you would," said Norman, facing him. "You'd stand anything from
+that beast. You're just like you used to be with him. I'll tell you
+this--I stood it then, but I'm not going to stand it now. I won't have
+anything more to do with him, and when you have him here I won't have
+anything to do with you. You can go and be swines together. I'll play
+with the children instead. You can say what you like about it. I don't
+care what you say about it."
+
+He was still somewhat incoherent, but Hugo understood him. "I dare say
+it was rotten to chaff you about that," he said. "Anyhow, I apologize
+for it, and I'm sure Fred will. Now you've had a scrap, you ought not to
+keep it up against him."
+
+Norman turned away. "I'm going down to the river to wash my face," he
+said. "I don't want _you_."
+
+"Aren't you going to make it up with Fred?"
+
+"No, I'm not. I hate the beast, and I've had enough of him."
+
+"Well, you won't say anything--"
+
+Norman cut him short. "I'm not a cad," he said.
+
+Hugo went back to Fred. The result of their confabulation was that Fred
+kept away from the hall until Norman's visit was over. Norman did not
+see him again until years afterwards.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+PAMELA
+
+
+"Pam, I've got something to tell you."
+
+Norman had waited until they were away from the glare of the garden, and
+the green gloom of the summer woods was all about them, cool and secret
+and inviting to confidences.
+
+He had not changed much since those days of boyhood, though he was now
+nearly twenty-five, and the last years of the war had caught him, and
+taught him some things that he wanted to forget, as well as much that
+had strengthened the fibre of which he was made. There was a boyish
+atmosphere about him still. He was tall and slim, and his fair hair,
+which he tried to keep plastered to his head, was always breaking away
+from the bounds of its cosmetics and dropping a skein over his forehead.
+Nothing he had undergone had affected that bright light-hearted charm of
+his boyhood. He seemed to be rejoicing in his youth and his strength,
+and in all the world about him, which, in spite of the shadows that
+still hung over it, he at least found as good as the young men of a
+generation earlier had found their more untroubled world.
+
+Pamela was very young still, and very pretty. Her hair and her colouring
+were as fair as Norman's, whom she resembled in a cousinly way. Indeed
+the resemblances between them were more than superficial. They had the
+same eager pleasure in whatever life they found about them. They thought
+alike in most things to which they put their adventurous minds, and to
+neither of them did it seem odd that Pamela, who had not long since left
+the schoolroom, and had grown up under the shadow that had dulled and
+limited the life of her kind, should claim an equality of opinion with
+Norman, who was six years older, and knew so much more than the
+generality of young men had ever known before.
+
+One may pause for a moment to note this unexpected attribute of those
+whose early years of manhood, instead of being passed in the pursuits
+and interests, educative or otherwise, adapted to their youth, had been
+given to the war, of which they had borne the ultimate brunt. The years
+which divide us from it are passing away. The social phenomena of each
+successive stage of the long struggle, and those that have succeeded it,
+too familiar to call for much notice at the time, will become blurred,
+and half forgotten even by those who were part of them; and in after
+years they will be difficult to gauge. This, among them, is not likely
+to be seen as it was, when the years have increased, and later
+generations try to recapture the spirit of the great war: that the young
+men, and the older men too, who lived through it, and came out of it
+whole, or not too broken to make what they would of their lives, put it
+to all effective purposes out of their minds. While it was going on they
+did the work appointed to them as if it were no more than any other work
+proper to their years, and pursued their recreations with an added zest.
+And when at last they were released, they crowded back into the various
+ways of life open to them, and put it all behind them as just an
+experience like any other which might have come to them. It could never
+be forgotten, but it was not to come between them and the life to which
+they had returned; and the interests of that life were exactly what they
+would have been if it had never happened.
+
+So Norman Eldridge, who would have gone to a university in the ordinary
+way, but for the war, was at Cambridge now, three years later than his
+time, and with his three years of service behind him. His enjoyment of
+undergraduate life was even greater than it would have been in normal
+times, for it was a more conscious enjoyment, and he could gauge his
+opportunities better. Games, in which he excelled, though he had not
+quite succeeded in gaining his hoped-for Blue for cricket, did not take
+up even the greater part of his attention. He was a lover of the arts,
+and found Cambridge a delectable place in which to pursue them. He had
+plenty of money at his disposal, and social life was open to him at its
+widest. When term-time was over he could go where he liked, and enjoy
+himself as he pleased. And at this time he was enjoying himself to the
+full.
+
+"Pam, I've got something to tell you," he said as they went down into
+the wood together.
+
+"Is it the real thing this time?" she asked, with a quick smiling glance
+at his face.
+
+"Oh, none of the others have been anything--just fancies--boyish
+fancies, you know."
+
+He laughed gaily. He was very good to look at, with his close-cropped
+shapely head thrown back on the firm column of his neck. Pam smiled up
+at him again, with a sort of proprietary fondness. She admired him, as
+she had always admired him ever since she could remember, and had never
+met a young man whom she thought his equal. And it was a source of pride
+to her that he was one of her own family--to all intents and purposes a
+brother. Poor Hugo, over whose death she had cried, as something strange
+and unexpected and infinitely pathetic, had been a kind brother to
+her--she liked to remember that the last time she had said good-bye to
+him, never to see him again, he had given her ten pounds to spend as she
+liked--but he had never made a confidante of her, as Norman had always
+done. She had known very little of Hugo's life as it was spent away from
+Hayslope, but she thought she knew all about Norman's life. He had
+fallen in love once or twice, and had always told her everything about
+it. Hugo seemed to have gone through life without falling in love. Poor
+Hugo! She could not but believe, from her intimate talks with Norman,
+that he had died without acquiring the crown of his manhood. Norman was
+attractive under the influence of his love affairs, and she was not
+surprised that he had them continually, though she saw quite plainly
+that without some such guidance as she was fortunately able to give him
+he might have got into trouble with them. Men were so foolish where
+girls were concerned. Even the best of them, who had a lot to give--like
+Norman--fell in love with girls who were in no way their equals. But it
+never did to tell them so. Give them all sympathy and affection, and
+the affair died away of itself. So it had been three times with Norman
+already, and Pamela, who had been a little alarmed over the first
+affair, was confirmed in the belief that she had dealt most wisely with
+each situation as it had arisen. Still, the genuine lasting emotion must
+come into play sooner or later. There must be, somewhere, a girl who was
+worthy of such a rare prize as Norman's love, and Pamela had always told
+herself that when that girl was found she would welcome her
+whole-heartedly.
+
+"Yes, you've been in love with love," she said impressively; and they
+both laughed, for this was a quotation.
+
+"Trying my wings," said Norman. "They were all dears, but there wasn't
+enough _to_ them when it came down to the things one is interested in."
+
+"Well, now I'm free to speak," said Pamela, "I'll confess that they
+seemed to me a set of brainless idiots. I hope the new one has got
+_some_ intelligence. It would be such an advantage if you had to spend
+your life with her. She's pretty, of course. Have you got a photograph
+of her?"
+
+"Not a proper one. I'm not up to that point yet."
+
+"Worshipping at a distance?"
+
+"No, not exactly. We've danced together a lot in London, and been the
+greatest pals. Really, I've been rather clever about it. She's very
+young--only in her first season. She's out to have a jolly good time,
+but her life isn't only amusement. She's slogging hard at the piano.
+She'd like to be a pro, but of course her people won't let her."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Oh, well, her father's a Duke. She's Lady Margaret Joliffe. I dare say
+you've seen pictures of her in the papers. But they don't do her
+justice. She's perfectly lovely. Oh, I've got it terrible bad this time,
+Pam."
+
+"Yes, I've seen her pictures. She's very pretty indeed," said Pam. "And
+Jim knows her. He says she's very clever."
+
+The time seemed to have come at last, then. If Norman succeeded in
+winning a girl like this, nobody could say he was not getting as good as
+he gave, not even Pam, who thought that hardly anybody would be good
+enough for him. Yet she did not experience the quick sense of pleasure
+which she had persuaded herself would be her response whenever Norman
+did come to announce the real thing.
+
+"Oh, clever!" repeated Norman. "That's not the word for her. She
+_knows_. She's got extraordinary perceptions for a girl of her age. It
+isn't only music. It's books, and art--everything that's jolly and
+interesting. And she's such fun with it all. No more of a highbrow than
+you are. In fact, she's the only girl I've ever met who sees things in
+the way that you do."
+
+Pamela did feel some pleasure at this. "That's topping," she said. "Of
+course prettiness isn't everything. I suppose the others were pretty,
+except the girl with a squint; but they--"
+
+"Oh, come now, Pam, she hadn't got a squint. She--"
+
+"Well, a slight cast in the eye, then; and some people think it an
+added beauty. But they all seemed to have the brains of rabbits. I was
+beginning to think that you never _would_ fall in love with anybody that
+had got beyond Short Division. Of course I'm glad you've found somebody
+intelligent at last. But do you mean to say that you never got beyond
+talking about Hanbert and Ravel and Augustus John with her?"
+
+Norman looked at her with a slightly pained expression. "Pam dear!" he
+expostulated. "Why this acidulation?"
+
+Pamela laughed, and they began again. "Well, it's really rather
+exciting," she said. "Do tell me about it, Norman. You haven't told me
+anything yet. When did you catch fire?"
+
+His face took on a beatific expression. "Well, I'd held off just a
+trifle," he said. "We'd had a topping time together here and there. She
+always seemed to be pleased to see me, but--well, there was generally
+the old Duchess somewhere in the background; she's not really old, of
+course, but-- You see, it seemed to be flying a bit high for me. I was
+at school with Cardiff--her brother--and he was in the Regiment too for
+a bit."
+
+"Whose brother? The Duchess's?"
+
+"No. Margaret's."
+
+"Do you call her Margaret?"
+
+"Well, I was going to tell you. I lunched with them at the Harrow match.
+Duchess rather cordial. Duke ditto. He used to be a bit of a cricketer,
+and he knew I'd got my Eleven at Eton. I was feeling a bit bucked with
+myself--seemed to be getting a sort of domestic hold, you know. So I
+plumped myself down beside her, without being invited to do so, and she
+didn't turn me away. I made her laugh. I believe I made them all laugh
+at our end of the table. I was feeling good and happy, you know, and
+rather let myself go. So after lunch I asked her to perambulate with me;
+and we perambulated. I don't think it was quite in the bargain. I could
+amuse them as a bright young lad, while they were stuffing, but I
+mustn't take liberties. She gave a sort of quick look at the old Dutch,
+and said: 'Yes, come along; we'll run away.' The old Dutch caught us
+with her eye as we were twinkling off, and called out, 'Margaret!' But
+Margaret wasn't taking any, so we had a very pleasant half-hour
+together, and she gave me most of her dates."
+
+"Most of her dates!"
+
+"Oh, we weren't eating 'em out of a paper bag. I found out most of the
+places she was going to when they left London. I don't anticipate an
+invitation to Balmoral, or anything of that sort; but Goodwood's open to
+everybody, and there are one or two houses in Scotland I think I can
+wangle myself into later on, and there's a chance of her going to the
+Canterbury cricket week. If she does, Norman Eldridge will also take
+part in that festival. Oh, it's not over yet, by any means. By the time
+I have to resume my studies at Cambridge University, I hope--"
+
+"Yes, but what about--?"
+
+"Wait a minute. You're in such a hurry. I took her back to the Dukeries.
+They were in a box, and fortunately Cardiff was there. He'd been off on
+a little line of his own at lunch, and I hadn't seen him for some time.
+His welcome was obstreperous. He was feeling good and happy himself,
+owing to his own particular fairy smiling on him, I suppose. He'd
+brought her with him. She was some peach."
+
+"Oh, never mind about her. Stick to the point."
+
+"I did. I took advantage of the genial atmosphere, and brought the old
+Dutch into it. She didn't want to laugh at first, but I made her. I
+wanted to remove the impression that I was a sort of snatch-lady pirate,
+but only wanted to play with them all together. I could tell the point
+where I succeeded. Soon kind of unhitched herself generally, and--"
+
+"Oh, do come to the point, Norman. You're getting as long-winded as one
+of the old almshouse women. When did you call Margaret Margaret? That's
+the important thing."
+
+"Yes, I know it is. It was a thrill, Pam. I didn't do it as if I'd done
+it by accident. I did it loud and bold--at least, not loud; I thought it
+would try the old Dutch too much. But it was all quite simple. When we
+said good-bye, I looked at her straight, and said: 'Good-bye,
+Margaret.'"
+
+"I think it _was_ rather bold--if not crude."
+
+"No, dear; not crude. Not crude at all. I put a world of meaning into
+it--the auld hackneyed phrase, which may mean so little and may mean so
+much."
+
+Pamela laughed. "I don't believe you're in love with her at all, if you
+can make fun of it," she said.
+
+"How little you know, Pam! I jest to hide my emotions. I've fed on that
+sweet moment ever since."
+
+"You've told me of other moments rather like it. I suppose her eyes
+dropped before yours."
+
+"They did not. That's where she's different from all other girls--except
+you."
+
+"Thanks awfully, Norman. I'll try and keep my eyes from dropping if it
+ever happens to me. But from what you've said before I thought they
+ought to drop. What did she do then--or say?"
+
+"She looked at me straight, and said: 'Good-bye, Norman,' with a little
+half smile."
+
+Pamela considered this. "That was the end, then," she said.
+
+"Yes, but what an end, Pam! It was the beginning too. You can see what a
+thrill it was, can't you?"
+
+"Yes, I think I can," she said slowly.
+
+"Mind you, this was the very first time. Up to then there hadn't been a
+word or a sign. That's what makes it something to remember, you know.
+Oh, Pam! It's a heavenly feeling being in love. And it's such a score
+having somebody like you to tell it to. I don't know who I should have
+told if I hadn't had you--my tailor, I dare say; I shouldn't have been
+able to keep it to myself, and I owe him something which it isn't quite
+convenient to pay just yet. I told her about you, you know."
+
+"Did you?"
+
+"Oh, yes. I always do talk about you when I get really confidential."
+
+"What did you tell her? And what did she say?"
+
+"She was very sweet about you, and said you were just the sort of girl
+she would like to have for a friend. A lot of her friends were such
+ninnies."
+
+"I never meet that sort of girl now," said Pamela with a sigh. "If only
+I hadn't had flu when Auntie Eleanor asked me to stay with you in
+London, I suppose I should have met her."
+
+"Yes, that was jolly bad luck. We should all three have had a jolly good
+time together."
+
+Pamela laughed again. "Perhaps I should have had somebody of my own,"
+she said. "I'm old enough now, you know, Norman."
+
+"Of course you are. You're just the same age as Margaret, as a matter of
+fact. You'd have had 'em swarming. But there are precious few of them I
+should think good enough for you. I say, old girl, what about Jim
+Horsham?"
+
+"Well, what about him?"
+
+"I don't think _he's_ good enough, you know, though he _is_ a Viscount."
+
+"I like Jim. I've known him all my life."
+
+"He's a good chap, but he's a desperate dull dog. Don't go falling in
+love with Jim, Pam."
+
+"I'm not likely to fall in love with him."
+
+"It occurred to me this afternoon that he showed some slight inclination
+to fall in love with you. There was a sort of concentrated heaviness on
+him whenever he was with you. I suppose he'd sparkle if he could, under
+emotion, but as he can't, he's got to be duller than usual. Perhaps
+there's nothing in it. But I shouldn't blame him if he did fall in love
+with you. In fact, I should think it rather cheek, in a way, if he
+didn't. He's not likely to meet anybody more worth falling in love
+with. But it isn't good enough, Pam."
+
+"Well, I shouldn't worry about it, if I were you. Jim isn't my ideal,
+though he's a nice old thing, and I think you're too superior about him
+altogether. Did you know Fred Comfrey had come home?"
+
+"Fred Comfrey!" Norman frowned. "I shouldn't think you're likely to fall
+in love with _him_," he said.
+
+"Oh, bother falling in love! I'm leaving that to you at present. But
+there aren't many people to play with about here just now. He makes
+another one. He's much improved."
+
+"Oh, Pam, he's an awful creature. Surely, you're not going to have
+anything to do with him!"
+
+"I used to hate him; but he's quite different now. I should never have
+known him. You know he went out to China, before you came to live here,
+and he never came home until he joined up for the war. He did very well
+in the war--got his Commission quite soon, and the Military Cross. He
+was badly wounded too, and isn't fit yet. I'm sorry for him; and really,
+Norman, he's quite nice. Anyhow, we couldn't _not_ have him to play with
+us, because of Mr. and Mrs. Comfrey. I expect Auntie Eleanor will ask
+him here too. He only came yesterday."
+
+"Well, I suppose you've got to give everybody his chance. He was an
+unmitigated beast as a boy, but perhaps he's improved. He couldn't very
+well have got any worse. Still, it does rather stick in my gizzard that
+he should be making friends with you, as I suppose he'll want to. I
+should be a bit cautious if I were you, Pam. After all, one does know
+something of what a man is, when one has known him as a boy. I should
+say that Mr. Fred Comfrey was a nasty specimen, even if he has succeeded
+in disguising it, as he used not to. How long is he staying here?"
+
+"I think he may stay in England altogether. He has done very well in
+business in China, and thinks he may be able to carry on in London."
+
+"I wish he'd stayed in China. But how long is he staying in Hayslope?"
+
+"For some time, I think. He had to go back to China, directly he was
+demobbed, and hasn't had a holiday since the war. You ought to be nice
+to him, Norman. Poor Hugo liked him. He talked to me very nicely about
+Hugo this morning."
+
+"When did you see him?"
+
+"After church. Mother asked him to lunch, but he thought he'd better go
+home."
+
+"He wasn't at all a good friend for Hugo, you know."
+
+"Perhaps not; but that's so long ago. Hugo improved too, afterwards."
+
+Norman acquiesced perfunctorily. He knew that Hugo had not at all
+improved, afterwards, but also that Pamela didn't. "Well, I'll try to
+forget what he used to be like," he said. "But don't let's talk about
+him any more. Let's talk about Margaret."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE FAMILY
+
+
+Colonel Eldridge rode into his stable-yard and delivered up his horse to
+Timbs, who came hobbling out to receive it with a cheerful morning air
+and a general appearance of satisfaction with himself and his
+circumstances. Yet there were those who would have said that Timbs had
+no particular reason to be pleased with the way things had gone for him.
+
+He had come to Hayslope Hall as groom ten years before, and had
+succeeded the old coachman four years later. He might have considered
+himself lucky then, for he was only twenty-six years of age. He had half
+a dozen horses in his stables and two grooms under him. There was also a
+chauffeur for the big car and the little runabout. Timbs had a young
+wife and a new baby, and comfortable quarters in which to keep them. In
+fact there seemed nothing left for him to desire, unless it was another
+baby of a sex complementary to the first one.
+
+Then the war came. Timbs joined up among the first, and was turned into
+a good soldier, always cheerful and reliable, and diligent in writing
+home to the young wife who was being taken care of at Hayslope. Colonel
+Eldridge, who had gone back to soldiering himself, had exercised
+pressure, where it was required, as it was not in the case of Timbs,
+upon the able-bodied men on his estate to join the army, but had
+done his utmost to ensure their leaving their homes free of anxiety to
+those dependent upon them. So Mrs. Timbs and the baby prospered, while
+Timbs fought for his country; but Mrs. Timbs always wished that the war
+would end and Timbs would come home again, in which she differed from
+many wives in similar circumstances.
+
+Timbs did come home at last, and she did not have to wait for him until
+quite the end. His left leg was shattered, and he had been for a long
+time in a hospital before she was allowed to have him. About the time
+the armistice was signed he was ready for work again. But it was not in
+his master's power to give him the work he had done before the war.
+Hayslope Hall could no longer support a coachman, two or three grooms
+and a chauffeur. Timbs took the place of all of them. One horse was kept
+and both the cars, but the bigger one was seldom used because of the
+price of petrol and tires. Timbs turned himself into an efficient
+chauffeur, and liked the change in his duties. He had higher wages than
+before, but perhaps not quite so high as he could have got elsewhere if
+he hadn't preferred to stick to his old master. His quarters were the
+same, his wife was as devoted to him as ever, and his baby had grown
+into a pretty little girl of seven, who was the apple of his eye, and
+made a pet of by the young ladies. Timbs thought himself well off, even
+with his crooked leg; and perhaps he was, as things go nowadays.
+
+Timbs knew when the Colonel was in the mood for a little chat, and when
+it was wise to render quick service with a silent tongue. In the good
+old days the Colonel had seldom come in from his morning ride without a
+cheery word or two to this favourite servant of his. He loved his horses
+and found plenty to say about them, though most of it might have been
+said many times before. And he would have something to say to Timbs
+about what he might have seen in the course of his inspection of farms
+and fields, which he liked to undertake before breakfast in the summer.
+In the autumn there were early starts for cubbing, and then of course
+there was plenty to talk about on the return.
+
+The good days did not seem to have disappeared entirely when the war was
+over, though Hugo's death had made him more silent than before, and the
+reduction in stables and outdoor upkeep generally had already begun. But
+there was a season's hunting, and Pamela had made her first appearance
+in the field. Timbs, with one groom to help him, had been kept busy
+enough, but his first winter at home had seemed to him very good. This
+was what the Colonel and he had always looked forward to--the time when
+the young ladies would hunt regularly, one after the other. Miss Pamela
+was good company for her father. He would soon pick up his spirits, and
+everything would be as it had been again.
+
+But by the next season the economies had increased. There was no more
+hunting from Hayslope Hall. The Colonel kept one horse to get about on,
+and there was an old pony for pottering work on the place, which the
+younger children sometimes rode. That was what the war had brought to
+Colonel Eldridge in return for his services, which had included a year
+in the field, and after that four years of routine work in various
+provincial centres of industry. As a soldier he made no complaints. At
+his age he expected no reward other than the conviction of having done
+his duty where he could be made most useful. As a landowner he had many
+complaints to make, but kept them mostly to himself. He had passed for a
+rich man before the war; now he was a poor one. But one did not flaunt
+one's poverty before the world. That was why he had dropped hunting
+altogether; his old Caesar would have carried him well enough for a day
+or so a week, if he had cared to go on.
+
+The morning chats with Timbs were getting rarer. There would certainly
+be none this morning. After a look at his master's face Timbs led Caesar
+away without a word, and the Colonel went into the house. Something
+happened to put him out. Timbs's own face was overcast, and it was fully
+two minutes before he began to whistle at his work.
+
+It was a quarter past eight. Breakfast was at half-past, and as Colonel
+Eldridge would ride no more that day, he went upstairs to change his
+clothes. He came down as the gong sounded, and his expression had
+somewhat cleared. He held strong opinions about keeping an even temper
+before his family.
+
+An English family assembled for breakfast in an old-established country
+house--the nations of the earth may be invited to contemplation of it.
+Here at Hayslope Hall was an example that could have been multiplied by
+thousands at that hour, or at one a little later; for as a nation we are
+not early risers except on compulsion.
+
+The room was large, but not too large for an air of domesticity when
+there was only the family to use it. It had three long small-paned
+windows, which on this summer morning were open to the wide, yet
+secluded garden. The walls were hung with pictures, some good, some
+indifferent, and all so familiar that they were never looked at. Of the
+portraits none were older than the middle of the eighteenth century; but
+five or six generations of men and women of the same blood who have
+lived in the same house, and, allowing for differences of era, in much
+the same way, is already something substantial in the way of background.
+The furniture was not more than about a hundred years old, of that
+period of solid and dignified ugliness which was yet so much more
+satisfactory than the fashions succeeding it that by contrast with them
+it is now beginning to acquire merit. How it had come to replace the
+eighteenth century furniture which the periwigged gentlemen and hooped
+ladies on the walls had used when in the flesh was now forgotten; but it
+is only of late years that old furniture has been preferred to new, and
+there was nothing remarkable in this. The refurnishing of the
+dining-room might very well have been set in hand again since the last
+clearing out a hundred years before if it had not been thought that it
+would do very well as it was, and that there were more important rooms
+to spend money on, if money was to be spent in this way. As a setting
+for the family that now used it the room was eloquent of an ancestry
+already respectably established, and it told somehow of interests that
+were not markedly concerned with the decorations and appointments of a
+house. To the Eldridges, their dining-room was the place for the
+enjoyment of food and the sociability that went therewith, and it
+fulfilled all purposes that could be required of it. It was only in the
+matter of large assemblies, of which the great expanse of dark mahogany
+and the score or so of well-padded chairs seemed to make perpetual
+suggestion, that any incongruity might have been felt. The time for that
+was not now. But with the table lessened to the needs of family use and
+the space around it thus agreeably increased, the normal occupation of
+the room was sufficient for it. Here began the day with the assembling
+of those who would go their ways, some together and some apart,
+throughout its course, but all with a sense of the nearness of the rest;
+and here they would meet twice again before the day was done, to keep
+alive one of the best of the good things that English country life has
+cherished and made complete--the community of the family.
+
+Colonel Eldridge, after greeting his daughters with a mixture of
+formality and affection, occupied himself with his breakfast and the
+letters which lay in a little pile beside his plate. It had not been his
+habit to deal thus with his correspondence in the days before the war.
+He had been more ready to talk then. He would choose a few letters out
+of the pile and perhaps discuss them, as Mrs. Eldridge did with hers at
+the other end of the table, and leave the rest for afterwards. Now he
+went through them all, business letters as well as private, and,
+schooled as he was to hide his emotions, he could not always keep from
+his face some expression of annoyance, or even dismay. But it was only
+in his face that this showed, and his wife and daughters knew that it
+was not meant to show at all. By degrees they had learnt to ignore it.
+If they addressed him he would always respond, and he would have been
+annoyed if they had tried to suit themselves to his moods. He liked to
+hear them chattering gaily among themselves, though he was not always
+ready to join in their chatter. They were, indeed, the reward that all
+his anxieties and schemings brought him. It was the happiness and
+freedom of their lives in the home which it behooved him to keep intact
+about them that sweetened it to him. But for them there would have been
+no anxiety, but only some reduction of opportunities which would still
+have left the main interests of his life untouched.
+
+Colonel Eldridge was very neat in his suit of grey tweed, well-cut,
+well-brushed, but well-worn, his white stock creaseless, his figure thin
+and a little stiff, but not with the stiffness of age, his gold-rimmed
+glasses on the ridge of his thin, straight nose, his well-shaped nervous
+hands manipulating his papers or the implements of his meal. He was as
+different as possible, in outward appearance, from those ancestors of
+his whose pictures hung upon the walls; but probably he was very like
+them at root. Certainly there was not one who had been more attached to
+the house and acres which had been theirs and were now his. He had been
+a good soldier, of a limited kind, but he was above all a country
+gentleman, and looked thoroughly in his place in this room, which could
+only have been found, just as it was, in an English country house.
+
+Mrs. Eldridge also looked thoroughly in place behind the old silver and
+china of her equipage. She always came down to breakfast in a state of
+apparent content with herself and her surroundings, cool and unruffled
+both in dress and demeanour. In the time that was past there had been so
+much to look forward to in the day of which this gathering was the
+inauguration. Though not, presumably, attached to the life of the
+country by the same ties as bound her husband, and enjoying her life
+equally when the periodic moves were made to London, she would have
+chosen the country rather than the town for permanent residence. The
+choice had not been hers, but it had had to be made. Much had gone that
+had made life agreeable to her at Hayslope, but much remained. On these
+summer mornings it was not so unlike what it had always been to her.
+There was the pleasant meal with her husband and her children, whom she
+loved; the appointments of the table, in which she never failed to take
+pleasure, though she had used them regularly for over twenty years; the
+sense of being newly and becomingly dressed; the birds singing in the
+garden, which was so fresh and inviting, and with the windows open so
+much a part, as it were, of the room itself. Her letters never brought
+her worries, as her husband's sometimes brought him--only occasionally a
+mild regret for opportunities of which she could no longer take
+advantage. But at this time of the day she was not much inclined to want
+more than she had. Her domestic duties were immediately in front of her,
+and she enjoyed them. She enjoyed them even more than before, for with
+fewer servants more depended on her. Only half of her desired the
+distractions due to wealth; the rest of her was pure domesticity. She
+had never been happier than during the first few years of married life,
+before her husband had succeeded his father as Squire of Hayslope. She
+was happy now in much the same responsibilities as had then devolved
+upon her, had she but known it. In these early hours of the day the
+consciousness of what she had lost did not trouble her. Besides,
+something might always happen in the long hours before her. She was not
+so old as to have lost that sense of the unexpected.
+
+Pamela was happy too. She might grumble sometimes--to Norman--about the
+restrictions that had come to spoil the life of Hayslope Hall; but she
+loved it. And all the future was before her, golden and glamorous. It
+wrapped her in a sort of happy aura, which contained no definite point
+of desire. Anything might happen to her, in any one of these summer
+days, which began with the family meeting at breakfast. Something was
+bound to happen some day, and in the meantime life was sweet, and the
+shadow that had come to lie over her home hardly darkened at all the
+radiance in which she walked.
+
+Judith was as pretty as Pamela in her way, which was an entirely
+different way. She was the only dark member of the family, now that
+Hugo was dead. Some forgotten ancestress had bequeathed her her lustrous
+hair, of which the shadows were almost visibly blue, and her large,
+deep, solemn eyes, her very skin was dark, but with the bloom of youth
+on it, and the healthy blood that flowed beneath its soft surface, it
+was rich and delicate. At the age of eighteen she had not yet come into
+the full heritage of her beauty, which did not depend so much as
+Pamela's upon youth. She hardly even seemed aware of it, and clothes
+were not yet a matter of much interest to her. She had alternations of
+childish high spirits and brooding reflection. Out of doors she was
+still something of a tomboy, in her young and restless energy; but she
+would sit for hours over a book, and in those moods she was oblivious to
+everybody and everything around her. She seldom talked about what she
+read, and indeed her reading would have been a puzzle to anyone who had
+tried to draw inferences of literary taste from it. Pamela had once
+reported to Norman the books over which Judith had spent hours of a wet
+day. They were Grimm's Fairy Tales, "The Wide, Wide World," and Bacon's
+Essays, and she seemed to have spent about the same time over each.
+Pamela held that she had no literary taste whatever; Norman was inclined
+to treat her preferences as a touchstone of merit. If Judith liked
+something, it was probably good. This theory was strengthened when she
+said she liked a picture of Gaugin's, of which he submitted to her a
+reproduction, and weakened by her absorption in Martin Tupper's
+"Proverbial Philosophy," which she had found in the library and carried
+up to her room with her. She was quite ready to laugh with them over her
+tastes, but she would never give any explanation of them. "I like it,"
+or "I don't like it," was her sole contribution to literary criticism,
+and she would never be moved a hair's breadth by any consensus of
+opinion. Judith went her own way in everything, but her way at present
+was confined almost entirely to Hayslope, where she found everything
+that she wanted. Less than Pamela did she feel the loss of what had made
+the life of her home rich in interest before the war. She had grown up
+from childhood under the new conditions and was happy in them.
+
+The exceptional family beauty seemed to have stopped short at Judith.
+Alice and Isabelle, who were thirteen and twelve, respectively, had
+their abundant fair hair to recommend them, and their active youth, but
+nothing much else as yet in the way of looks. They were agreeable
+children, much alike in their eager interest in whatever went on around
+them, and their unerring pursuit of pleasure. They were always "the
+children" to the rest of the family, and what they thought was of small
+importance, though what they did sometimes obtruded itself upon their
+elders. Sitting at breakfast, one on either side of their mother, in
+their neat clothes, which would not be so neat later on in the day,
+their thick manes confined in heavy plaits, they seemed eminently _good_
+children, showing a healthy appetite, but no greediness, in the
+consumption of viands, taking a bright part in the conversation when it
+touched their orbit, but not obtruding themselves in such a way as to
+make their company noxious. Their presence at the breakfast table
+seemed, indeed, to heighten the effect of a family at one and at peace;
+for young children in a happy home have no desires outside it. Their
+parents, their brothers and sisters, even the servants and dependants
+who are also part of the family for the time being, are the chief
+characters in their little world. Not even their parents themselves are
+so bounded in their interests by the home they have made for them. And
+the wonderful imagination of children makes it the chief place of
+delight to them, even where its opportunities are small. Opportunities
+were not small at Hayslope Hall for these two, and they were as happy as
+children of their age could very well be.
+
+If Miss Baldwin, their governess, was not completely happy--as what
+woman living always in other people's houses can be?--she was as
+contented as the accidents of her lot in life could make her. She was a
+precise spinster of middle age, and sat very prim and mindful of her
+manners between Pamela and Alice, never speaking unless when spoken to,
+but then speaking with an attention to the composition of sentences and
+the correct enunciation of her vowels which was a lesson to everybody
+present, and intended to be so to at least two of them. Colonel Eldridge
+addressed her directly, at least once in the course of every meal at
+which she was present, out of politeness. Mrs. Eldridge always found it
+difficult to remember that she was there, but also addressed her
+occasionally; but her attention was apt to wander over the reply.
+
+Miss Baldwin had been at Hayslope for two years, but was no nearer to
+making one of the family circle than when she arrived. She was strict in
+the schoolroom and a good teacher in a limited way, but without any real
+interest in the subjects which she taught. Nobody would have thought,
+from her appearance and manner, that she was an incurable
+sentimentalist. She lived in a world of her own--a world of romance, of
+which the materials were sent her once a week in official-looking long
+envelopes with a typewritten address. Her time came when the children
+were in bed, and the life of the house, in which she had no wish to take
+part, was concentrated below. Then, in the large quiet schoolroom,
+sitting by the open window in the summer, or in winter time by the fire,
+she would be wafted away from the actual life about her, with all its
+restrictions for one of her age and class, to live richly and freely
+with the heroes and heroines of her chosen world. Baldness of narrative
+troubled her not at all. In the novels by authors of repute which she
+sometimes heard people discussing, there seemed no room for the play of
+imagination; the novelist would have it just so and not otherwise, and
+the characters to which he introduced his readers were so much like the
+characters one might meet at any time in the dull and sterile flesh.
+Those strong heroes of her favourite romances were as gods beside the
+emasculate earth-dwellers who stood for hero even in the best of stories
+bound between boards; the very virtue of their titles, if titles they
+had, seemed to be denied them. Nor did the heroines please her any
+better. She could never imagine herself one of them with any pleasure.
+If stately, they were never stately enough; if blushing and timid, they
+were merely passed by as of no account. Even Ouida, for whom she made an
+exception, having read some of her novels in early life, under a strong
+sense of immodesty, concerned herself with unessentials. Miss Baldwin
+wanted no pages of description, however poetic. She could get that in
+Wordsworth, duly annotated, so that there should be no mistake as to
+locality. If it was question of a garden in which a love scene was to be
+enacted, she only wanted to imagine it for herself--the most beautiful
+garden that ever was, not without indications of wealth on the part of
+its owners; or if a cottage garden, the mere mention of roses and
+honeysuckle would suffice. It was the people who mattered and what
+happened to them, and with them she smiled and wept, and felt, to the
+depths of her being.
+
+So perhaps Miss Baldwin was happy after all, if not in the circumstances
+of her daily life, which she went through conscientiously and
+efficiently, in that paradise the gates of which were always open to
+her, where men were as gods, and women were worshipped by them, and none
+of them ever behaved in the way that Miss Baldwin was always impressing
+upon her pupils was the only possible way to behave.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+BARTON'S CLOSE
+
+
+Such was the family party that sat round the breakfast table at Hayslope
+Hall on that summer morning. Colonel Eldridge was the only member of it
+upon whom a weight seemed to lie, and his disturbance of mind was
+guessed at by nobody but his wife, who threw occasional exploratory and
+sympathetic glances at him, but made no particular effort to lighten his
+mood, unless by being more than usually responsive to the chatter of the
+girls. Whatever it was that was troubling him, she would hear of it
+after breakfast, when she always went to his room with him before
+setting herself to the occupations that would keep them apart for the
+rest of the morning.
+
+She was a trifle apprehensive as to whether she herself might not have
+given him cause for displeasure. He had refused to dine at Pershore
+Castle two nights before, but she and Pamela had gone, and he had not
+objected to that. What he might possibly object to, however, was the
+invitation she had given to young Lord Horsham to lunch at Hayslope that
+very day. She had not told him yet that she had done so, for her reason
+for asking the young man had been quite clearly defined in her own mind,
+and she did not want him to guess at it. Perhaps Pamela had told him
+that Horsham was coming, he had guessed why, and was displeased about
+it.
+
+But no! She knew before breakfast was over that that was not the cause
+of his mood.
+
+Pamela said: "Jim is coming to lunch and I suppose he will want to play
+tennis afterwards. We'd better mow the lawn, Judy, and mark out the
+court again."
+
+Colonel Eldridge frowned, and Mrs. Eldridge's spirit drooped, but rose
+again when he said: "It isn't your business to mow lawns. That's one of
+the things that Perkins ought to see to."
+
+Poor dear man, he hated the idea of his daughters doing work that had
+always been done as a matter of course by servants. He was sore about
+all the things that they ought to have had and he could no longer give
+them, even when they were things that made no difference to them
+whatever.
+
+"Oh, we like doing it, Daddy," said Pamela. "It makes us feel that we've
+earned our games on it. Don't deprive us of the rewards of virtue."
+
+He left the subject. "You'd better ask Fred Comfrey to lunch, if Horsham
+is coming," he said. "You'll want a four, and I shan't be able to play
+this afternoon."
+
+So it was settled, to Mrs. Eldridge's relief. It was the first time that
+Horsham had been asked to Hayslope Hall since the disturbance in which
+he had been concerned, and her husband had made no comment on it. It was
+not that that was troubling him.
+
+Nevertheless, she made first mention of it when they went into his room
+together. "I'm glad you don't mind Jim coming here," she said. "I
+forgot to tell you that I'd asked him."
+
+"Mind him! Oh, no, I don't mind him. It wasn't he who behaved in any way
+that I could be annoyed over. And as for the Crowboroughs, I shan't keep
+it up against them any longer. I couldn't bring myself to go over there
+on Monday, but I'm glad you and Pamela went. We must get them over here
+some time. Cynthia, I'm extremely annoyed at something I've seen this
+morning."
+
+"Yes, dear? What is it?"
+
+She sat herself down by the window, while he stood by his writing table,
+or moved between it and the fireplace, while he unburdened himself.
+
+"William talked to me on Sunday about making an addition to his
+garden--a big addition, taking in a grazing meadow of four acres;
+Barton's Close, it's called--at the bottom of the wood."
+
+"Yes, dear, I know it, and William and Eleanor told me about it. You
+don't object, do you?"
+
+"Object! It means cutting up pasture, and he has no right to do that
+without my permission; no right whatever. It isn't a thing that ought to
+be done in these days. Besides, his garden is out and away too big as it
+is. This addition would make it double the size of our garden. It's
+quite unreasonable. The house isn't his. I let it to him as a country
+cottage, and never thought of it being turned into a large country house
+wanting a great deal of money to keep it up. I talked to him about all
+that on Sunday, and thought he understood. Certainly I didn't consent to
+cutting up Barton's Close, and he must have known I didn't. But I
+happened to go down there this morning, and they are already at
+work--his own gardeners and half a dozen labourers besides. Really, it's
+too bad. From what Coombe told me, it was all settled last week--design
+and everything, and the labour arranged for. So it was a mere pretence
+asking for my permission at all. I didn't give it; yet he goes straight
+away and puts the work in hand."
+
+"Did you say definitely that you wouldn't consent?" Mrs. Eldridge asked.
+She was rather taken aback. She knew all about those garden plans, and
+had even made suggestions of her own about them. William had mentioned
+once the necessity of asking a landlord's permission to cut up pasture,
+but it had been taken for granted that there would be no difficulty
+about that. She was not quite sure that she had not said herself that
+there would be no difficulty about that. Certainly it had never crossed
+her mind that there would be.
+
+"I objected," said her husband decisively. "Possibly I didn't say in so
+many words: 'No, you can't do it.' I shouldn't say that to William. I
+pointed out to him plainly why it was inadvisable, and he seemed to
+understand."
+
+"Is it very important, Edmund? There's plenty of pasture about there,
+isn't there?"
+
+"I don't know that there's more than can be made use of. But that wasn't
+the chief point. It's the enlarging and enlarging at the Grange that has
+become objectionable. It has gone beyond all reasonable grounds already.
+All very well, as long as William is there, and treats it as a toy on
+which to spend his money. But if anything happens, it will be a white
+elephant--a big house with no land to it, which nobody else is likely to
+want, and no longer any good as a second house on the place, which it
+has always been before. _You_ and the girls couldn't live there if
+anything happened to me."
+
+"I never thought of that," she said slowly. "I don't want to think of it
+either. Of course William has become very lavish; but he is so rich now
+that I suppose it doesn't matter. And it _is_ different, isn't it, dear,
+now that poor Hugo is dead?"
+
+"Oh, that's what he kept driving in on me. He'll come after me here. I'm
+not likely to forget it. Still, the place _is_ mine, as long as I'm
+alive, and I'm not going to hand over the reins to William. He's no
+_right_ to act in that way, as if I counted for nothing."
+
+"No," she said; "it's unfortunate. What are you going to do? I suppose
+you didn't tell Coombe to stop the work?"
+
+"No; I shouldn't put an affront upon William before his servants. Seems
+to me he's no objection to putting an affront upon me. Coombe knew well
+enough that I hadn't been consulted, and that I ought to have been. I
+don't like that fellow Coombe. He may be a very good head-gardener, but
+he doesn't come from these parts, and he doesn't seem to realize how
+things are. He's respectful enough in manner, but he was giving me to
+understand all the time that his master was a much bigger man than I
+was, and he wished I'd clear out and leave him to go on with his work.
+At one point I really did think of ordering him to knock it off. I
+_could_ have done it, and I think he'd have been rather surprised if I
+had."
+
+"I'm glad you didn't. It's tiresome, of course; but we don't want to
+quarrel with the Williams, do we? You're not going to tell him to stop
+it, are you?"
+
+"Oh, I suppose I shall have to swallow it. William is such a much bigger
+man than I am now. He's made a lot of money, and they've knighted him. I
+dare say they'll give him a peerage, if he makes much more. _I_ can't
+stand out against him. I'm only an old dug-out of a soldier, and don't
+matter."
+
+"Well, dear, you're Squire of Hayslope, which counts for something. As
+for me, I'd rather be Mrs. Eldridge of Hayslope Hall than Lady Eldridge
+of Hayslope Grange. I don't mean I'd rather be me than Eleanor, though
+of course I would. But _she_ isn't spoilt by all their money, and I
+certainly don't want to quarrel with her."
+
+"Oh, quarrel! I don't want to quarrel with William, either. We've been
+good friends all our lives, and nobody's more pleased with his success
+than I am. Still, what I feel, and feel strongly, is that he ought not
+to make his success an excuse for changing his attitude towards me. I'm
+his elder brother, and he has always treated me so until lately. He'd
+never have thought of doing a thing like this a few years ago, and he
+wants telling so. Then I dare say we shall get on as we ought to. This
+has got to be the last of it. Anything further I _shall_ veto. The
+Grange is mine as well as the Hall. When I'm dead he can do what he
+likes with both of them. Until then he must be content with what he
+has."
+
+"Oh, I think he will be. And he's sure to see your point, if you put it
+to him without irritation. Of course you _are_ irritated, dear, and it's
+only natural. I should be myself, though I'm not an irritable person. I
+flatter myself that I can see below the surface of things, and I'm sure
+William is really devoted to you, and looks up to you. He wouldn't want
+to do anything to displease you, and Eleanor would be horrified at the
+very idea. Eleanor is very level-headed. I have a great admiration for
+her, and I'm not a woman who gives her admiration to everybody. Just say
+something to William when they come down again, and I'll say something
+to Eleanor: and I'm sure everything will be all right for the future."
+
+"They are not coming down this week; and I have something else to write
+to William about. I shall write about this too, and if he takes what I
+say in the right spirit I shan't mention it again."
+
+Mrs. Eldridge rose. "Oh, I'm sure he will," she said, "especially if you
+don't show irritation, dear. It's always a mistake to show irritation.
+Now I must go and see about things. Lunch at half-past one. That will
+give us a nice long morning."
+
+She kissed him, as she always did, and went out. He had already lost
+some of the irritation which she had so deprecated. If he had sat down
+and written to his brother without further reflection, he would
+probably have made a mild protest against the gardening scheme and at
+the most reminded him of certain arguments that he had used to him
+already. But his pen never got started very easily. He had to think over
+the best way of putting the business affair upon which he had meant to
+write, and when that was decided his mind went back to the other
+question, and his anger rose again at the way in which he had been
+treated. When he did sit down to his table, it was with a face as dark
+as he had worn on riding into the stable-yard an hour before, and he
+embarked upon his protest at once.
+
+      "Dear William:--I was much annoyed this morning, and I must say
+      surprised too, to find that you had disregarded my wishes in the
+      matter of Barton's Close, and that there is a small army of men
+      there already, cutting it up. I don't want to go again into the
+      reasons I gave you on Sunday for my objection to turning the
+      greater part of your holding into an extravagant pleasure garden.
+      They seem to me to be eminently sound, and I do not remember your
+      bringing any counter-arguments that would affect them. What you
+      have done is simply to ignore them, and treat me on my own
+      property as if my undoubted rights in a matter of this sort could
+      be set aside with not even so much as a word of warning. I must
+      say now at least, that this sort of treatment must stop. However
+      superior your standing may be in the world outside, here at
+      Hayslope I am on my own ground, and you ought to show respect to
+      my position, as until lately you always have done."
+
+A pause came to the rapid scratching of the pen, and Colonel Eldridge
+looked up towards the garden outside, so quiet and green and happy, with
+the whirr of the mowing-machine already to be heard where the girls were
+busy with the lawn, and their young voices coming to him between their
+bursts of energy. His face had cleared. He had written a straightforward
+protest, without any beating about the bush. There was no need to say
+more, though more might very well have been said. In days gone by
+William had treated him with the respect due from a younger brother to
+the head of the family. There had been affection between them from their
+early childhood, but the elder brother had been the leading spirit, as
+was only right, and when it had been necessary to rebuke the younger he
+had done it in much the same way as this. William had accepted the
+rebuke and they had remained as good friends as before. This would be
+all that would be wanted. William could have his garden, which, after
+all, didn't so much matter with things as they were now--poor Hugo dead
+and he the one to come after--although--although--
+
+The frown returned faintly to his face, and he added another paragraph:
+
+      "You said on Sunday that in spite of all the money you had spent
+      on your garden, this was really a better one. Well, you know that
+      I have had to cut down labour in it, and at this moment Pamela and
+      Judith are at work on the tennis lawn, which they have to keep in
+      order themselves if they want to play on it. That's how it is
+      here at Hayslope Hall now, and the girls are happy enough, though
+      I can't spend what I used to on them, and what I should like to.
+      So it really isn't necessary, especially in these days, when
+      nearly everybody is feeling the pinch, to spend a fortune on a
+      garden to get pleasure out of it. If I may say so, I think there's
+      even a touch of vulgarity in it."
+
+Another pause. He didn't want his pen to run away with him. Didn't the
+last sentence go rather beyond what he could say to William without
+offence?
+
+No. They had had that out once, years before, in their father's time.
+Edmund Eldridge was at home on leave from the Curragh, and William on
+summer vacation from Cambridge. They were driving over to lunch at
+Pershore Castle, and William appeared for the expedition in a pair of
+lemon-coloured spats, a form of decorative summer attire then in its
+infancy. The cavalry subaltern, spick and span in a style of sober
+correctitude, objected to the lemon-coloured spats, and used the same
+word, vulgarity, in connection with them; and the undergraduate bowed
+meekly to his ruling and took them off.
+
+Better leave it at that, though. He had said quite enough to bring
+William to his bearings, and relieved his own mind of the annoyance that
+had irked it. It was with quite another feeling underlying his words
+that he went on to write about the estate affairs in which he was
+relying upon William's help to deal with the Government. But this was
+not a matter in which there could be much indication of any state of
+feeling, unless it was annoyance with the obliquity of the Department
+concerned; and his letter ended as his letters to William always did,
+whatever their subject: "Your affec. brother, Edmund Eldridge."
+
+He read the letter over again before dispatching it, but did not detach
+himself from the varying moods in which it had been written, and when
+Mrs. Eldridge asked him later what he had said to William, he told her
+that he had just said that it would be a mistake to enlarge the Grange
+garden any further, and had written chiefly about another matter.
+
+"You didn't say that he mustn't make _this_ enlargement, did you, dear?"
+she asked.
+
+"Oh, no. He can go on with that, as he has begun it. I must say that I
+think it _will_ be the best thing that he has done there. I can't say
+that I like to see the pasture broken up, but there's been such a lot of
+it during the war that perhaps it's not so much of a point as it was.
+One seems to have to change one's views about everything nowadays. I
+dare say I'm a bit old-fashioned. Got to recognize that I'm getting
+older, I suppose."
+
+"Dear man!" she said cooingly. "You'll never be old to me, and you don't
+look old either. Of the two I think you look younger than William,
+though he pays more attention to his appearance than you do. I hope I
+don't look _very_ old myself. I don't really feel it. Still, women
+_have_ to pay attention to their appearance when they reach the forties.
+Otherwise, people would leave off looking at them. Eleanor doesn't,
+much; but she's handsome in a different sort of way. I should think she
+would outlast me; but I shan't make a fuss about it. I love Eleanor;
+she's so reliable. I'm glad you don't really mind their having their
+extra garden, dear. It will suit Eleanor better than all the tiresome
+pergolas and things. She will be able to be quiet in it."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+YOUNG PEOPLE
+
+
+The day had advanced to a heat unusual in our temperate climate. All
+nature seemed to be holding its breath in an endeavour to support it.
+There was no sound of bird life, and even the insects had ceased their
+stir of activity. After one set, somewhat languidly pursued, the tennis
+players betook themselves to the seats disposed near at hand, in a shade
+almost as torrid as the sun-steeped open. Judith was the only member of
+the party who showed no manifest signs of being overheated. Her almost
+southern-looking beauty was enhanced by the heat. She laughed at the
+others, and said that it could never be too hot for her.
+
+Jim Horsham looked at her seriously, and said that in Australia he had
+experienced a heat of a hundred and twenty degrees, and at Christmas
+time, which made it all the more remarkable.
+
+Pamela's eyes twinkled, and she roused herself from an exhausted
+reclining to ask: "Why does it make it all the more remarkable?"
+
+"Well--Christmas time, you know," replied Jim, in the tone of one
+humouring an intellectually weaker vessel.
+
+"Yes, I see that, Jim. But aren't the seasons just the other way round
+in Australia?"
+
+"Well, of course they are. That's just what I was saying."
+
+She laughed, and subsided again. "It's too hot to argue," she said.
+
+"When were you in Australia?" asked Fred Comfrey.
+
+Horsham replied conscientiously, with dates of arrival and departure,
+and the further information that he had acted as A. D. C. to an uncle
+who was Governor of one of the States.
+
+"How informative you are, Jim!" said Pamela lazily. But Judith
+unexpectedly showed interest in Australia, and asked for exact details
+of the behaviour of the thermometer in that Dependency, which was given
+to her.
+
+"Oh, it's much too hot to listen to all this," said Pamela, springing up
+from her low chair with no appearance of any essential lack of energy,
+in spite of the heat. "Let's go for a stroll in the wood."
+
+This was said to Fred Comfrey, who responded with alacrity. His eyes had
+repeatedly rested upon Pamela, across the luncheon table, where she had
+talked and laughed with the gay freedom that was hers when she was
+feeling what Norman would have called good and happy, and during the
+game in which her light movements had been partnered with Horsham's
+responsible but slow-moving efforts, to their ultimate defeat. Horsham
+also looked at her as she rose, as if he would like to follow her; but
+his explanations to Judith were in full flood, and had to be carried to
+a conclusion. Pamela and Fred moved off together, and his eyes followed
+them until they were lost among the trees, though there was no faltering
+in his firm dealings with degrees Fahrenheit.
+
+"Jim's a dear old thing," said Pamela, when they were out of hearing,
+"but the idea sometimes crosses my mind that he's just a little bit of a
+bore. I hate to think it of him, so the best thing is to run away when
+he begins to show signs of it. We needn't run very far. There's a seat
+just out of hearing of them."
+
+It was the seat in which she and Norman had been surprised by Fred and
+Hugo years before, from which had followed that quarrel that she had
+never heard about. She had even forgotten the disturbance that led up to
+it, but it was fresh enough in Fred's mind, and impelled him to ask with
+some awkwardness. "What sort of a fellow has Norman grown into? I didn't
+see him when he was here last week."
+
+This brought her to a recollection of the hostility between them, and
+she answered a little stiffly: "He's just as much of a dear as ever."
+She had shared Norman's dislike of Fred in her childhood. She thought
+him improved, and wanted him to have a new chance with all of them. But
+she was on Norman's side--always, if it was a question of taking sides.
+
+The improvement in Fred, from the hobbledehoy of twelve years before,
+would have been remarked by anybody. He was still stocky of build, but
+his frame had become smartened, and his stature, rather below the
+average, only indicated its strength. The close-cropped moustache that
+he wore had improved his appearance, and there was a degree of
+self-confidence in his bearing which had not been there of old, when he
+had been alternately truculent and diffident. Whether or not he had
+improved in character was not so plain to see, but the years had brought
+him at least to a better understanding of the face that a man was
+expected to show before the world.
+
+He laughed, a shade nervously, with his fingers at his moustache. If
+Pamela had been looking at him at that moment she would have seen him
+more like he had been as a boy than she had seen him hitherto in his
+manhood. "Norman and I had a quarrel about you the very last time I saw
+him," he said.
+
+She did look at him then, with a hint of displeasure on her face.
+Recollection began to come to her. "Oh, yes," she said. "It was when you
+and Hugo found us here together."
+
+He saw that he had made a mistake, and hastened to retrieve it. "I've
+always been sorry for what happened then," he said. "I'm ready to tell
+Norman so when I see him. Probably he has remembered it against me. We
+didn't always get on very well as boys, but I always liked him,
+really--and admired him too, for his pluck."
+
+The slight frown had not yet left her face. "What did happen?" she
+asked.
+
+"Well, we fought," he said, greatly daring. "That's what I so much
+regret. I was much bigger and stronger than he was. It didn't last long,
+and I don't think I damaged him much, for I don't believe you or anybody
+knew. Still, I don't excuse it in any way. I know I was rather a beast,
+as a boy. When one goes out into the world, and gets some sense knocked
+into one, one becomes ashamed of a good many things, and some of them
+stick in one's mind. That did--that I fought a younger smaller boy, when
+I'd been in the wrong from the first. It's always been a sort of
+nightmare to me."
+
+He spoke quietly, and with apparent sincerity. Pamela had a sense of
+something underlying the quarrel of which he spoke that she did not want
+to explore, brought by his first words--that the quarrel had been about
+her. But it was possible to put that aside. Her youthful generosity was
+touched by his admission. It fitted in with her own observation of him
+that the man and the boy might be two quite different creations, and
+this fact seemed to have presented itself to her out of her own
+knowledge of life, upon which she prided herself. "I think horrid little
+boys often turn into quite nice men," she said with a laugh. "I suppose
+you were rather horrid as a boy, though I don't remember much about you.
+So was poor Hugo, sometimes, though he turned into a very nice man. The
+war altered him a lot, before he was killed--poor Hugo! That's the sad
+thing, I think--that so many young men who were really made better by
+what they were doing in the war were killed, after all."
+
+"Yes," he said. "It was a pretty hard school for some of us. But I had
+had a good deal of my schooling beforehand. I've always been glad that I
+was pitched out into the world when I was quite young. I had to fight
+for myself; and it wasn't fighting with boys younger than myself
+then--rather the other way about. I suppose that was what made me so
+ashamed of that business with Norman, and kept it alive in my mind."
+
+She had forgiven him for that now, as he seemed to have found it
+difficult to forgive himself. "I don't think Norman has kept up any
+feeling about it," she said. "I suppose the smaller boy doesn't, does
+he? When you were the smaller boy and had to fight, I suppose you rather
+enjoyed it."
+
+"Well, I did," he said. "It made a man of me. And it isn't over yet. I'd
+practically won my battle over there, and could go back and rest on my
+laurels. But I've a mind to begin it all again over here. There's
+something exhilarating in the fight itself; and if I win it the rewards
+will be greater."
+
+It sounded rather fine to her. She did not translate the symbolism into
+the struggle of a young man of considerable commercial astuteness to
+gain a footing for himself, and when he had done so to seek the best
+opportunity of enlarging it. He was worthy of respect, in having already
+made a success of his work at an early age, and having left it to fight
+for the great cause, in which he had also made good. There was stuff in
+him, as there had been in his boyhood, when he had done well at his
+school; and it showed up now, to the disguising of what might have
+turned her against him. She had no suspicion that he was rapidly falling
+under the spell of her bright charm, for he had learnt some wisdom and
+self-control, and knew that there was a long and difficult road to
+travel before she could be expected even to see him on her level. He was
+content now, after the first little mistake, the reception of which had
+given him warning, to arouse and keep alive her interest in him, and to
+establish terms of friendship with her, upon which there would be no
+suspicion of his presuming. She found it interesting to talk to him
+already, and was inclined to back him up with Norman, though not to the
+extent of turning herself into his champion. But he ought not to be held
+to the mistakes of his boyhood; and with all his faults he had been poor
+Hugo's friend, and had fought well in the war and been wounded, not
+lightly.
+
+She asked him about that, and he answered her questions, modestly
+enough, though not without the design of attracting her sympathy. And
+they talked a little about Hugo. He seemed to have seen more good in
+Hugo than Norman had ever done, though Norman had never criticized him
+to her. But Norman had never said, as Fred did, that Hugo was a
+thoroughly good fellow, who had been a bit wild, like a good many more,
+but no more than that; and of course his fine service in the war had
+wiped out those mistakes many times over.
+
+"Yes, that's what I feel," she said gratefully. "There was some trouble
+with Jim. I don't know what it was, but I know that Lord Crowborough
+made a fuss about it, and Dad was very angry. So it couldn't have been
+very bad. Besides, you can see what Jim is. If poor Hugo is supposed to
+have led him into mischief he couldn't have led him very far. _Nobody_
+could lead Jim very far into mischief. He wouldn't go."
+
+She laughed her tinkling laugh, which was delicious music in Fred's
+ears. He laughed too, but did not make the mistake of taking up her
+criticism of Horsham. "I heard something about that too," he said; "but
+I don't know any details either. I shouldn't think there could have
+been much in it. Naturally, Colonel Eldridge would have felt sore at his
+being criticized at all."
+
+Norman had always kept off this subject, and would answer no questions
+about it. But he had never exonerated Hugo, though he had said that Jim
+was ass enough for anything. Norman _was_ apt to be over-critical. He
+had nothing much to say in favour of Hugo, her own brother, who had been
+killed; he was contemptuous of Jim, who was only rather slow, and
+perhaps dull; and he was almost violent in his dislike of Fred, whom he
+hadn't seen for years. Of course he was head and shoulders above all
+three of them in everything that mattered, but perhaps he should have
+left it more to others to recognize that fact. At any rate, Fred was
+giving her something now which Norman withheld from her, and she was
+grateful for it.
+
+Judith, left alone with Horsham, showed no disposition to regard herself
+in the light of a sacrifice. It seemed as if she really did take an
+interest in his statistics, and though she did not talk much herself her
+attention had the effect of drawing him out to be more informative than
+ever. "I do like to hear about real things," she said. "Such a lot that
+you read is so--so fluffy: do you know what I mean?"
+
+"I suppose you mean poetry," he said.
+
+"Well, I like some poetry; but it doesn't seem to be the sort that
+people who think they know call good poetry." She laughed at herself,
+the low musical laugh that was all her own. "Pam and Norman are always
+making fun of my tastes."
+
+"Does Pamela like poetry?" Horsham asked, with a shade of anxiety.
+
+"Oh, yes," she said, and a hint of mischief showed itself in her eyes.
+"Can you repeat any by heart?"
+
+"Well, I don't know that I can, except the things I used to have to
+learn. I've never forgotten them. It seems as if I can't forget anything
+that I've once learnt. I could repeat 'The Wreck of the Hesperus,' which
+I learnt when I was five or six, I should think--you know, about the
+skipper had taken his little daughter to bear him company--I should
+think I could repeat that now, without a mistake."
+
+The dark eyes were dancing with mischief now. "Oh, yes, I know it," she
+said. "It's lovely. And funnily enough it's one of Pamela's favourite
+poems, and Norman's too."
+
+"Is it?" said Horsham doubtfully. "I didn't really think much of it
+myself; it was only that I did learn it once and couldn't forget it.
+Still, of course it is by Longfellow."
+
+"Yes, I know. I like Longfellow myself. Pam and Norman pretend they
+don't. But Pam loves that particular poem. If you'd say it over to
+her--!"
+
+"Well, I don't know that I should care about doing that. I expect she
+knows so much more poetry than I do."
+
+"You could get her to talk about poetry and then just bring it out
+casually. Say you think it's so salient--that's the way she and Norman
+talk--and then say it over. I think she'd be pleased at finding you
+liked something that she did."
+
+"Well, perhaps I might do that. What word did you say--salient?"
+
+"Yes, or basic. That's another word they use a good deal. Perhaps you
+might bring them both in."
+
+"Oh, I don't pretend to be learned in that sort of way. And as a matter
+of fact I don't really care much for poetry and all that sort of thing.
+I'm like you: I like facts."
+
+Judith, having laid her train, returned to serious conversation. "I
+don't know why one should be ashamed of it," she said. "But I do keep my
+actual tastes rather dark before Pam. Of course she's much cleverer than
+I am, and I don't mind her poking fun at me a bit; in fact I rather
+enjoy it. But you're the first person I've ever confessed to that I
+really like dates and things of that sort. I find them--refreshing. Do
+you feel that too?"
+
+Horsham's face lit up. It seemed that he did, and that he had never
+forgotten those of the Kings and Queens of England, which he had also
+learnt in childhood. They recited them together, with mutual pleasure,
+in a sort of measured chant, and laughed heartily when they had done so.
+
+"Of course, that capacity, which we both seem to have, is going to be
+very useful to me in my career," Horsham said. "If you can get facts at
+your fingers' ends, and keep them there--"
+
+"What career do you mean?" inquired Judith. "I didn't know you'd got
+one."
+
+"Oh, yes. Don't tell anybody, because it isn't _quite_ settled yet, but
+I'm going to be Private Secretary to--unpaid, of course--to--well,
+perhaps I'd better not mention his name, even to you; but he's a Cabinet
+Minister. Perhaps I shall try to get into Parliament by and by."
+
+"You can't, if you're a lord, can you?"
+
+He explained that difficulty away for her for ever, so exhaustively did
+he handle it. He was going to take politics seriously. He thought it his
+duty; but it would also be his pleasure. "I've played the fool a bit,"
+he confessed; "but that's all over now. I was young, and--"
+
+He broke off in some confusion. He had suddenly remembered Hugo, and
+didn't know how much she knew of the disturbance of three years before.
+
+She knew no more than Pamela, which was scarcely anything; but they had
+discussed it together. "You and Hugo played the fool together, didn't
+you?" she asked, with a slight frown.
+
+He was rather taken aback by her directness, but he spoke as directly,
+after a short pause of reflection. "Hugo was blamed for what was just as
+much my fault as his," he said stoutly. "He was older than me--that was
+all. It's all over long ago--poor fellow!--and we don't want to think
+about it any more."
+
+"I'm glad you've said it like that," she said with a glance of approval
+at him. "So will Pamela be. I shall tell her. But don't _you_ say
+anything to her about it."
+
+"You don't think--?"
+
+"No, I don't. What you've said is quite enough, and we don't want to
+talk about it any more at all. Let's go and find Pamela, and Fred. We
+might have another game before tea."
+
+Horsham was quite willing to go and find Pamela, though he had
+unexpectedly enjoyed his chat with Judith, who struck him as a girl of
+quite remarkable intelligence. He told her so, as they walked together.
+"Of course you were only a kid when I was here last," he said, making
+allowances for her, and for himself.
+
+"Yes," said Judith. "And you weren't much to write home about, either."
+
+He looked surprised at this speech, until she laughed, when he laughed
+too. "You and Pamela both like chaffing a fellow, don't you?" he said.
+"I suppose some fellows wouldn't see it, and be offended. But I'm rather
+quick at seeing things, and I don't mind."
+
+Judith suddenly felt an immense liking for him, compounded in a curious
+way of respect and tenderness. He was a heavily built young man, though
+his figure was upright, and had the activity of his youth. His face was
+neither handsome nor ugly, but there was a look of honesty and
+simplicity in it that gave it character. She felt a strong compunction
+at having prepared a trap for him. "I was chaffing you when I advised
+you to recite poetry to Pamela," she said hurriedly. "Don't you. At
+least, don't recite 'The Wreck of the Hesperus.' She'd think that tosh;
+and so do I."
+
+This disturbed him for a moment, but he soon recovered. "I was an ass
+not to see what you were driving at," he said. "But you must remember
+that _I_ never said I thought that was a fine poem."
+
+"No, you didn't," she said soothingly. "And I don't suppose either of us
+really care much for what _they_ would call fine poetry. What I do like
+of Longfellow's is his 'Psalm of Life'."
+
+"Do you mean that?" he asked; and when she said she did he repeated
+slowly and impressively, as they walked beneath the trees:
+
+  "'Life is real, life is earnest,
+    And the grave is not its goal.
+  Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
+    Was not spoken of the soul.'
+
+"Ah, yes. That's poetry. I don't envy people who can't see the beauty of
+that."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+WELLSBURY
+
+
+Sir William and Lady Eldridge were spending the week-end at a great
+country house, the seat of a Cabinet Minister with whom Sir William had
+worked arduously during the war, to the undoubted advantage of the
+Department of which Lord Chippenham had been the head, and also to the
+advantage of the British taxpayer. For this Department--or at least that
+part of its work for which Sir William had been responsible--had escaped
+those accusations of waste and extravagance which were so freely and so
+regrettably made. The work had been done quietly, resourcefully and
+economically, and there were few who knew anything about its details. In
+fact, but for the large number of people who were rewarded for services
+during the war of whom nobody had ever heard before their names appeared
+in the Honours List, Sir William's knighthood might have aroused
+speculation. He had deserved it, at least as well as most, but it was
+not generally known what he had done, and there were to be found here
+and there those who thought that he had made money out of the war, and
+that his knighthood had eventuated in some way out of the money he had
+made. As a matter of fact he had done five years' hard work for nothing,
+and would have been richer than he was if he had confined his energies
+to his own affairs. But that never troubled him. He was rich enough for
+all ordinary purposes as it was, even with the ruinous taxation to which
+his income was subjected; and now that his public work had been wound
+up, and he was free again to work for himself, he was likely to become
+richer still.
+
+There had been two flies in the ointment of his public success. One was
+that a K. B. E. was hardly a sufficient reward for his valuable
+services. He knew how valuable they had been, and that others who had
+done work that could not be compared with his had won regards far
+higher. He had asked for nothing, and had not breathed to a soul except
+his wife the disappointment he had felt at the closing of the chapter.
+Perhaps if he had advertised himself more-- But reflection always
+brought him the gratifying sense of having done his work not for the
+sake of reward, and he was too active and eager in pursuing the aims to
+which he had now returned to dwell upon the disappointment. At the same
+time his chief had also known the value of his work, and might, if he
+had exerted himself, have influenced a higher recognition of it.
+
+The other source of dissatisfaction was a much smaller affair. In fact
+he was rather ashamed of allowing it entrance to his mind, and had never
+mentioned it to his wife.
+
+Lord Chippenham was an eminent public servant. He was also--or rather
+Lady Chippenham was--an eminent personality in the social world. Sir
+William had worked with him over years, but had never become intimate
+with him. He had dined once or twice with him in London; but in those
+strenuous times of the war that meant nothing, and since the war, when
+social entertainments were beginning to take their normal course, he had
+not even done that. Indeed, Lord Chippenham seemed to have forgotten him
+altogether, and he could not help feeling a little sore about it.
+
+But then at last had come the invitation to Wellsbury, the famous
+Elizabethan house where it had been Lady Chippenham's pleasure to gather
+together parties of all that was most brilliant in the world, not only
+of fashion but of art and letters and whatever else could add variety
+and interest to her parties. The invitation gave him great pleasure,
+which he could not keep from his wife, who took it calmly enough. There
+were plenty of what are called "good houses" open to them, and if it had
+been their ambition to climb into the social prominence that is
+represented by mixing always with those who keep in the busy swim, there
+would have been no difficulty about it. That was no more of an end to
+him than it was to her; but Wellsbury was different. The climbers were
+not asked there; or if they were, their climbing ambitions were not the
+qualities most apparent in them. Also, you went to Wellsbury to enjoy
+yourself.
+
+Sir William enjoyed himself exceedingly. So did Lady Eldridge, who found
+people among the numerous guests whom she liked and who liked her. They
+were not all strangers either. The Eldridges had a large circle of
+acquaintance in London, which touched other circles, and was always
+enlarging itself. There were people at Wellsbury during that week-end
+who knew less of the world gathered there than they did.
+
+At least half the guests bore names that were well known, and some were
+of real eminence. And there were many young people, who made themselves
+merry, and were encouraged to do so, not only by their hostess, who was
+merry and high-spirited herself, but by the venerated Minister of State,
+who listened with a twinkling eye to the hubbub of talk and laughter
+that arose around him, and sometimes contributed to it. He spent much of
+his time during the day with the children who were collected there with
+the rest, and had a grandchild seated on either side of him at lunch on
+Sunday. He was a very charming benign old gentleman in his own lovely
+home; the word "harmless" might perhaps have been used to describe him
+as he showed himself there, and William Eldridge gained some amusement
+from the recollection of episodes in his official hours, when that
+epithet would not have seemed suitable.
+
+It did occur to Sir William once or twice during those lovely summer
+days to ask himself whether he had been invited to Wellsbury with any
+particular object. He and his wife had been received there almost as if
+they were habitués of the house; and yet it was over a year since he had
+had word with Lord Chippenham at all, and this private recognition of
+him was at least tardy. But there was so much to see and to do, in the
+great house, full of its wonderful treasures, and full, too, of
+agreeable and interesting people, that he gave himself up to the flow
+of it all, and put aside the idea of anything to come of the visit
+except the pleasure of the visit itself.
+
+Rain came on late on Sunday morning, and though it was not enough to
+keep everybody indoors and never looked like continuing, Sir William
+took the opportunity of writing a few letters after luncheon. There was
+a little panelled room off the billiard-room, which he had seen the
+evening before, with just one lovely early Dutch picture in it, and he
+went there rather than to his own room upstairs, partly because he
+wanted to look at the picture again, partly because of the satisfaction
+of making use of as many rooms as possible in this beautiful ancient
+house, in which for two days he was at home.
+
+There was nobody in the billiard-room, or in the inner room, which was
+open to it, but also in part concealed. He had been there for some
+little time when two young men came into the billiard-room and began to
+play. He recognized them by their voices as Nigel Byrne, Lord
+Chippenham's private secretary, and William Despencer, the youngest son
+of the house. He went on writing, being now immersed in what he was
+doing, as his habit was, and paid no further attention to them. It did
+not occur to him that they would not know that anybody was in the inner
+room; he did not think about it at all, concentrated as his mind was on
+his writing. The click of the balls and the voices of the young men, who
+were playing in desultory fashion and talking all the time, came to him
+as an accompaniment to his thoughts, but with no more meaning than the
+noises of traffic would have had if he had been writing in a room in
+London.
+
+But presently, as he leant back in his chair to consider something, a
+phrase struck upon his ear, and he woke up to the disagreeable fact that
+they were talking about him, and for all he knew might have been talking
+about him for the last ten minutes.
+
+"The Chief thinks a lot of him. He did extraordinarily good work in the
+war."
+
+"I know he did. These big business men did make themselves useful--some
+of them. Did pretty well out of it too."
+
+"Eldridge didn't."
+
+It was at this point that Sir William woke up to their speech, but what
+had come immediately before his name was mentioned, which his ears had
+taken in without conveying it to his brain, also turned itself into
+meaning.
+
+"Perhaps not; though you never know. Anyhow, he's a new man, and I think
+we've saddled ourselves with quite enough of them. I think we ought to
+get back to the old sort--the men who come of good stock. They've always
+been the backbone of our party, and--"
+
+The speaker was surprised by the appearance of the man he had been
+criticizing. Sir William stood in the arched recess at the end of the
+room, his pen in his hand, and a smile upon his face.
+
+"I'm awfully sorry," he said. "I've been writing in there, and have only
+just realized that you were talking about me."
+
+The young men stared at him in consternation, and he spoke again, with
+the air of one who meant to dominate the situation. That was exactly
+what he did mean. A sudden crisis always strung him up to the most
+effective control of his powers, and he had formed his decision in the
+few seconds that had elapsed between the mention of his name and his
+standing before them.
+
+"I really haven't been listening," he said. "I was too busy with what I
+was doing, or I'd have stopped you before. But I'm not exactly a new
+man, you know. You can look me up in a book, if you like. Eldridge of
+Hayslope, in Downshire. And I give you my word I haven't made a bob out
+of the war." Then he turned to go back to his writing.
+
+William Despencer had been collecting himself during this speech. He was
+a young man of a serious cast of mind, conspicuously honest and
+straightforward, though of an outlook not of the widest. "I'm sorry you
+overheard what we were saying," he said. "And I apologize for the
+mistake I seem to have made. I'm glad you corrected me."
+
+Sir William turned to him again, but Nigel Byrne broke in before he
+could speak. "You heard me defend you," he said with a pleasant smile,
+which, with his attractive appearance and ready speech was part of his
+qualification for the position he so admirably filled. "William was
+talking generally, and I happened to know that you weren't of the type.
+You'd have heard me say so when he came to the end of his speech; but
+he's always too long-winded."
+
+"Oh, I don't mind that a bit," said Sir William. "I've been doing the
+things that the new men do--and some of the old ones too--for some
+years past. It was a natural mistake. I'm only sorry I let you in for it
+by keeping quiet in here. To tell you the truth, I wasn't thinking of
+you. Perhaps I ought to apologize for that. Anyhow, please forget it."
+
+"We will," said Byrne. "No offence meant and none taken, eh? I was
+coming to look for you after William and I had had our little game. The
+Chief wants you to go for a stroll with him at half-past three, if it
+clears up, and if not, will you go and have a chat with him in his room?
+I'll take you to him."
+
+The invitation was so significant that it put out of Sir William's mind
+the awkwardness of the late occurrence, as he waited for the time when
+the great man should be ready for him. Perhaps it was only a mark of
+politeness to a guest, and there would be talk about this and that, but
+about nothing that would matter much to him. The work that they had been
+engaged upon together was over, and Lord Chippenham was not likely to
+want to go back to that. What could he want to see him about then? He
+hardly permitted himself to conjecture; but there was a sense of
+excitement hanging over him, and he looked many times at his watch as he
+went here and there in the house and examined the pictures and the other
+treasures of it, with appreciation, but not with all his attention.
+
+When he had left the billiard-room the two young men looked at one
+another and Nigel Byrne laughed. "He took it very well, I think," he
+said. "Quite a nice fellow!"
+
+William Despencer kept a grave face. "I wish I'd known he was there,"
+he said. "Why didn't he let us know he was there when we came in?"
+
+"Oh, I don't think he was eavesdropping. I say, let's look him up. I'm
+bound to say I never thought of him as anything but the usual rich city
+fellow, with no father to speak of."
+
+"Like Melchizedek. I thought you were going to defend him against my
+aspersions, if he'd given you time."
+
+"That was my famous tact, William. Eldridge of what, did he say? Ah,
+here it is."
+
+There were current books of reference on a table in the billiard-room,
+and Byrne had opened one which dealt faithfully with the County Families
+and their genealogies.
+
+"Oh, quite respectable!" he said, as they read the entry together. "He's
+next man in, too, do you see? Present man's only son killed in the war.
+He was at Harrow and Cambridge. We've done him an injustice, William. If
+at any time he likes to make a little contribution to party funds, and
+somebody or other recommends him for a peerage, he won't have to begin
+everything from the beginning like so many of them."
+
+"Is that the idea?"
+
+"Oh, I wouldn't say that. Peerages aren't bought and sold in the market,
+you know, William. You ought to know better than that."
+
+"Well, I still think the mistake was a natural one," said William
+Despencer, turning away. "He's too elaborate altogether. Those clothes!
+Just what a rich city fellow would wear who'd just discovered Saville
+Row."
+
+"They're no better than mine. He's a good-looking fellow and likes to
+keep his youth. The Chief thinks a lot of him, you know. He'd like to
+work with him too, if he was in Parliament."
+
+"His wife's a nice woman. I shall talk to her this evening. I'm sorry he
+heard me say what I did."
+
+The sun had come out by the time Lord Chippenham was ready for his
+afternoon walk. Sir William's expectations of a serious talk were a
+little dashed when he discovered that it was to be taken in the company
+of two little granddaughters and two little dogs, and as they went down
+through the gardens and across the park it seemed as if Lord
+Chippenham's attention would be chiefly taken up by the four of them.
+However, no other grown-up person had been invited to join the party,
+and presently the children and the dogs detached themselves, and only
+returned to their base now and then, when Lord Chippenham broke off in
+whatever he might have been saying and talked to them until they were
+off again.
+
+When the walk was over, and Sir William tried to give some concise
+account of what had happened to his wife, he found it difficult to put
+any particular point to it. Lord Chippenham seemed to want him in some
+undefined way, but had made no actual proposal. He ought to be in
+Parliament--perhaps as a preliminary to--to office? It almost seemed as
+if that were indicated; but it was all so vague, and the children were
+always interrupting at the most critical moments. At one time it almost
+seemed as if he were hinting that a seat in the House of Lords would be
+the simplest way to--to what? Really, it was impossible to say. The only
+definite thing that could be taken hold of was that when they had come
+in, Lord Chippenham, turning to go into his room, had said: "Well, I
+think we could do good work together again, and I hope we shall."
+
+The i's seemed to be dotted to some extent later on in the day by Nigel
+Byrne, who made himself agreeable to Lady Eldridge, and told her that
+the Chief thought a lot of her husband. "Of course, he ought to be in
+Parliament," he said. "Has he ever thought about it, do you know?"
+
+Eleanor thought that was intended as a preliminary to anything that
+might be preparing, though why Lord Chippenham or Mr. Byrne couldn't say
+so outright she couldn't think. And why had the constituency of West
+Loamshire been mentioned as a likely one, to her and not to William?
+Politics seemed to be a curiously mysterious game. Still, West
+Loamshire, where there was likely to be a vacancy shortly--though this
+was not to be repeated--_had_ been mentioned; and, "I suppose your
+husband knows George Weldon--the Whip, you know," had been one of the
+things said that she had to report. She supposed they were meant to put
+two and two together. Probably, if William went to see George Weldon, he
+would get on to a more direct path altogether.
+
+They talked it all over, motoring back to London the next morning.
+William had sometimes considered a parliamentary career, but not very
+seriously. He had been too busy with his affairs to take a great deal
+of interest in politics except where they touched his interests. It
+would be beginning something all over again, and the preliminary steps
+to candidature and election would take up a lot of time and money. But
+it would be different if the preliminaries were made easy for him, and
+there was something waiting for him that other men had to work up to
+through years. He was confident of being able to fill any position that
+might come to him, and had enough patriotism to make the prospect of
+doing something for his country that he could do better than other
+people attractive to him.
+
+Eleanor would encourage him too. She was quite as interested in the
+possibilities they discussed together as he was. He knew that she was
+not particularly interested in his financial career. It had already
+brought them to the point where they had everything they wanted that
+money would give them, and that was all that business meant to her. What
+was the good of going on for the rest of your life just making more
+money? But she had liked him to tell her about the work he had been
+doing during the war, and it would be the same if he took up public work
+again.
+
+They fell silent for a time, after they had talked it all over, and the
+big car carried them easily and swiftly along the country roads.
+Wellsbury was a two hours' run from London by the most direct route, but
+they were making it rather longer, so as to see more of the country and
+to avoid the straight high roads.
+
+Sir William never failed to enjoy a ride in this fine car of his, which
+he had recently acquired, at immense expense. He did thoroughly enjoy
+all the things that his money bought him, and liked spending it on them;
+and the point of satiety which lies somewhere ahead on that road was not
+yet in sight with him. He enjoyed the luxurious upholstery of his new
+car; and even the well-clothed back of his chauffeur, with the discreet
+figure of Eleanor's maid beside it, gave him satisfaction, as adding to
+the conveniences of his life and hers. He liked to feel well dressed
+too, and that Eleanor should also be so; and that she should be the kind
+of woman who carried off beautiful and expensive clothes. He thought
+that she looked the equal of any of the women who had been at Wellsbury,
+and he was proud of her, and of the notice that had been taken of her.
+
+Whatever might be the result of this visit, or if there should be no
+result of it, it stood as a source of completed gratification in itself.
+It seemed to have put the seal of success upon his career, and to have
+set him where he rightly belonged. It was not the sort of recognition
+that could have been gained by the possession of money, though in his
+case success in money-making had indirectly led up to it. His
+reflections were crossed by a momentary shadow at the remembrance of the
+mistake those two young men--or at least one of them--had made about him
+yesterday. Surely Lord Chippenham's son might have known that a merely
+new rich man would not have been made welcome at Wellsbury as he had
+been. There had been no one remotely resembling that breed among the
+guests of this party. Still, he had put that right, and it didn't really
+matter. He was perhaps aware in the background of his mind that
+exuberance was a note to be watchful of; his upbringing and the
+standards it had inculcated had made him careful to prune himself. He
+would not have been so careful if criticism from time to time had not
+shown him the necessity. Edmund, to whom as a young man he had looked up
+as the pattern of quiet, self-possessed good breeding, had criticized
+him on those grounds. He had never quite lost the feeling that Edmund
+was a finer type of gentleman than himself--until lately, when his own
+brilliant gifts had brought him into such prominence as Edmund would
+never attain to. Now he was a little impatient of that old feeling of
+slight inferiority to his brother, and whatever had survived of it
+seemed to have been wiped out by this visit to Wellsbury. Edmund would
+never have been invited to such a house unless it had happened to lie in
+his local zone of dignity as a landowner.
+
+Sir William considered, in the glow of his satisfaction, as he was
+carried along between the hedgerows and the full-blossomed trees, the
+stock from which he had sprung and the altitudes to which he had arisen,
+which wanted some adjustment if he were to be proud of both, as his
+inclination was.
+
+A family that went back two or three hundred years, and for most of the
+time as landowners in the same county, was something that only a small
+minority could claim. Yet the Eldridges had never really done anything
+that put them above the ruck of country squires. They had intermarried
+here and there with families of higher standing; they had kept their
+heads up in the world, and were in all the County Histories--as names,
+but little more. Their dignity had hardly extended beyond the head of
+the family for the time being. The younger sons were scarcely better off
+in that respect than the sons of other men, who could give them the
+right sort of education and start in life. He himself had begun life
+with no greater advantages than his contemporaries at school and
+university of birth not so good as his, and if he had not brought his
+own exceptional gifts into play he would have had just the position that
+his success at the Bar might have brought him, and no higher. Of course
+the altered circumstances brought about by the death of his brother's
+heir would have made a great difference to him, at least in prospect;
+but that loomed small now. But for the sentimental attachment which he
+felt towards the home of his fathers, he would not have cared much now
+to be Squire of Hayslope. It would not now be his chief claim to
+consideration, and if he had wished he could have bought himself a finer
+house than Hayslope and a larger property. Still, Hayslope did mean a
+good deal to him, and he was inclined to congratulate himself upon being
+content with the enlarged Hayslope Grange as his country house, and the
+consequent playing second fiddle to his brother, when he could so easily
+have been first somewhere else.
+
+He spoke some of the thoughts which were running through his mind when
+he broke the silence to say to his wife: "I'm afraid poor old Edmund is
+having a thin time at Hayslope. Hard luck that the owner of a property
+like that should be pinched, as most of them are in these days, and we
+who used to think ourselves so much less fortunate should have got
+quite past them!"
+
+She thought it nice of him to be thinking about his brother's
+difficulties at this time. She knew that he was exalted by the visit to
+Wellsbury, and the expectation of something to come out of it. He might
+have been thought to be full of his own affairs.
+
+"I've had them a good deal on my mind," she said--"Edmund and Cynthia
+too, and the girls. But we can do something for them, can't we? I think
+I've been able to do something for Cynthia already, and without making
+her seem under an obligation."
+
+"Oh, you can do things for Cynthia. But Edmund--he stands so on his
+dignity, you see. I think he's inclined to stand too much on his
+dignity, at least with me. After all, a country squire--I've come to be
+a good deal more than that, and I'm the one person whom he might accept
+help from."
+
+"Does he really need help?"
+
+"Oh, he can get along all right, of course. But it's a different life
+for him now. I suppose I couldn't expect him to accept money from me so
+that they could carry on in the way they did before the war. I'd give it
+him readily enough if he would, and be glad to. But there are ways in
+which I _could_ help him--one in particular. But one must take him as he
+is. We must do what we can for Cynthia and the girls, and I shall always
+be on the lookout to do something for him if I can. I've got on and he's
+stood still--or gone back, rather. I don't want him to go back any
+further."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+LETTERS
+
+
+The Eldridges arrived home in time for luncheon. They lived in a large
+house in Belgravia, old enough to have some character of space and
+dignity, but old enough also to have been exceedingly inconvenient if
+much money had not been spent in modernizing it. It had been their
+London home for about fifteen years, and was a trifle behind the latest
+fashion in furnishing and decoration. The latest of such fashions, it
+should be recognized, rests upon the recognition of the value of older
+fashions, which in its fulness dates from a very few years back. There
+was plenty of good old furniture in the Eldridges' house, some of it now
+of considerable value, but it would have welded itself into quite a
+different whole if the "doing up" and furnishing of the house had been
+taken in hand some years later than it was. The time was approaching
+when Sir William would acquire another, possibly still larger house, and
+begin all over again. He was already vaguely dissatisfied with this one;
+but it had qualities which pleased him too, and he had never quite lost
+the sense of satisfaction with which he had moved into it from a smaller
+house and spent money upon making it the place in which they should live
+the larger life that was then opening out before them. His own room,
+with its outlook upon a little square of walled-in garden, was a very
+refuge, and he and his wife sometimes sat there in the few evenings when
+they were at home together alone, in a grateful seclusion of green
+morocco and bright Turkey carpet, with books and prints on the
+Morris-decked walls, and only the huge and hideous American desk, of the
+palest possible growth of oak, to indicate the sterner purposes to which
+the room was primarily dedicated.
+
+Sir William went into this room on their arrival, and turned over the
+pile of letters and papers that were there awaiting him. He opened a few
+of them, and glanced over their contents, and then unlocked his desk,
+but only to put certain of the papers away. He was too excited to take
+up his immediate affairs in the short time that remained before
+luncheon, though on ordinary occasions he would have done so, for he
+hated wasting even a few minutes of his time.
+
+He had thought over what had happened, and what might happen during the
+journey to London. But, coming thus into his familiar room, he seemed to
+see it all with a new significance. He had the feeling that he had come
+back to this room a different man--a bigger man than the one who had
+used it before; and the feeling rather surprised him. For, after all, to
+spend a few days in a large country house was no new experience to him,
+he had been in close contact with Lord Chippenham before for many months
+upon end, and the idea of a seat in Parliament was not entirely a
+novelty. What had happened, he decided, as he walked up and down the
+room, or stood looking out upon the green and bright colour of the
+little paved square of garden, was that he had attained to recognition,
+when he had thought that the official chapter of his life was closed. It
+set a higher value on it, even to himself. He was not the same man as
+had for so long occupied this room, and thought of his public work as
+efficiently done for the good of his country, but as already a thing of
+the past. The chapter was not closed, but might lead to other chapters,
+beyond the present scope of his imagination. It had put him among the
+men of his time who counted for something. Lord Chippenham, whatever his
+stirring of expectation might have meant, undoubtedly thought of him as
+counting for something already. The last year, during which he had
+attended to his affairs, and spent as much of his time as he could spare
+from them at Hayslope, had only been a lull. His foot was already on the
+ladder of distinction, and he might mount on it higher than he had ever
+thought of mounting.
+
+He was summoned to luncheon, and took some of his as yet unopened
+letters in with him. He did not come to the one from his brother until
+he and his wife were alone together.
+
+"Well, I never--!"
+
+Lady Eldridge looked up, to see his face dark and angry. "Read that," he
+said, throwing the letter across to her; "the first part, I mean," and
+waited till she had done so, though phrases of indignation kept rising
+to his lips, which he stifled by occupying them with food and drink, too
+hastily consumed.
+
+He did not wait for her remarks, when she looked up again, with
+consternation on her face. "You heard what I said about Edmund only
+just this morning," he broke out. "I'm always thinking what I can do for
+him, and that's the way he treats me in return. Really, it's
+incredible!"
+
+"I must say I'm surprised," she said unwillingly as it seemed, and
+turned to the letter again.
+
+"It's beyond everything," he went on angrily. "'This treatment must
+stop'--what is it that he says? Haven't I always deferred to him at
+Hayslope, because he's my elder brother, and lately I've been sorry for
+him? What on earth can he mean by writing to me like that? _What_
+treatment, I should like to know! I've spent thousands of pounds on his
+property, and should never have got a penny of it back if it hadn't been
+for Hugo's death. His position on his own ground! What have I ever done
+to belittle it?"
+
+She looked up again. "I thought you did consult him about the garden,"
+she said.
+
+"Of course I did. I've never left anything of that sort undone, though
+under the circumstances in which we stand to one another most men
+wouldn't have expected it. But I know what he is where his rights are
+concerned."
+
+"But didn't he give his consent?"
+
+Sir William hesitated. "After that letter, I suppose one has to say that
+he didn't. But you can see how it was. There was absolutely no reason
+for his withholding it. I practically told him I was going to do it, and
+he put forward some objections, which I met. He didn't press them, and I
+went away thinking it was all understood. If you like to say so, perhaps
+I didn't ask his permission at all. It would have seemed absurd to do
+so."
+
+"I am very sorry that he has taken it like this. Of course his letter is
+unreasonable, but I think it is only meant to assert his rights. He
+doesn't mean to stop you going on."
+
+"Oh, I'm not going on in the face of that. I shall wire to Coombe to
+stop the work. Besides, he does mean that, doesn't he? Let me read it
+again."
+
+She handed over the letter. Her face was disturbed. "I don't think
+Cynthia can have seen it before it was sent," she said.
+
+"There's nothing about going on. I'm told that I've overstepped my
+rights, and 'this sort of treatment must now stop.' And fancy writing
+this! 'I think there's a touch of vulgarity in it.' Vulgarity! It's a
+most offensive letter. One would say that he was laying himself open to
+quarrel with me. I'm not going to quarrel with him; but I shall be
+precious careful not to give him a handle against me again."
+
+"I don't think he wants to quarrel. It's his way. He wouldn't think of
+the effect his words might have. I don't think he even wants to stop you
+making the garden."
+
+"Oh, I'm not going on with it now. For one thing, this would spoil all
+the pleasure of it. After all, I've got other things to think of besides
+garden-making at the Grange. It has just been a recreation, but now I
+dare say I shall be too much occupied to be able to pay so much
+attention to it. Really, you know, it's ridiculous for Edmund to give
+himself those airs of superiority over me. I've given way too much to
+them in the past. I wouldn't say so to anybody but you, but what _is_
+Edmund's position compared to mine? I'm the last man in the world to
+give myself airs because of what I've done in the world; and with him
+especially I've made nothing of it, because--well, because I've hated
+the idea of making a contrast between him and myself. But what I can't
+help feeling is that _he_ might consider all that too. I think if I were
+the elder brother I should have shown a good deal more pleasure than
+_he_ has ever done at whatever success I have had."
+
+"Perhaps he's a little bit jealous. I've thought that sometimes. I don't
+think Cynthia is, and perhaps such a feeling might be expected more from
+her than from him."
+
+"Of course he's jealous. That's at the root of it all. It's a very
+unworthy feeling from one brother to another."
+
+"I don't think he would recognize it as jealousy, and if he detected
+such a feeling in himself I think he would be ashamed of it. He _is_
+fond of you, there's no doubt about it, and he relies on you, perhaps
+more than he knows. He _can't_ mean to quarrel, and if you don't treat
+this letter as an offence it will all blow over."
+
+"My dear girl, what would you have me to do? I'm not going to sit down
+under it. My position at Hayslope would be impossible if I were to give
+in to this sort of thing."
+
+"No, dear, I don't think so. You know Edmund so well. You know that he
+is fond of you. You have always liked being near one another, and you've
+had little jars before, which have made no difference."
+
+"Nothing like this. I call a letter like that positively insulting."
+
+"It can't have been meant to be that. If you take it in the right way
+he'll be sorry for having written it. If you take it as an insult--"
+
+"What _is_ the right way of taking it then?"
+
+She thought for a moment, and said with slightly heightened colour: "You
+are bigger than Edmund. If he has made a mistake, you can afford not to
+make the same mistake."
+
+His face changed at that. "You always put me right," he said, with a
+smile at her. "Yes, of course. Poor old fellow! He's had a lot to try
+him. He doesn't get out into the world as I do, and of course he broods
+over his troubles. Any little thing upsets him."
+
+She smiled at him in her turn. "That's how I'm sure it is," she said.
+"If he does object to this garden plan, it isn't much to give it up, is
+it? Just a little extra amusement, as you said."
+
+He laughed, rather ruefully. "I don't like giving up something that I've
+set in hand," he said. "But if it will placate my respected brother--"
+
+"Perhaps he won't want you to, if you return him a soft answer."
+
+"I'll do that all right. If a thing's worth doing at all it's worth
+doing well. Besides, you've blown away my annoyance, and, after all,
+it's more in accordance with my nature to be generous than to be
+resentful--don't you think?"
+
+That was just what she did think. He was quick-tempered, but she had had
+abundant experience of the quick revulsion of feeling that came to him
+when his generosity was appealed to, and loved him for it. Her own
+impulsions drove her upon a more level course. He had no idea of the
+anger that his brother's letter had aroused in her mind, that had held
+her even while she was pleading for him, and that held her still, when
+by her prompting he had chased his away from him. Her accusation of
+jealousy had been the only sign of it in her speech, and she had
+entirely agreed with him when he had stigmatized that as a most unworthy
+feeling under the circumstances that had called it forth. It had cost
+her an effort to insist upon the ties that held the brothers together.
+To her mind, Colonel Eldridge, with his narrow outlook, and his claims
+of superiority, was undeserving of the affection which her husband
+constantly showed towards him, and showed little enough of it in return,
+though it was true that he relied upon his brother, and made use of him.
+
+Still, when she was alone and thought it all over, she was glad that she
+had spoken as she had, putting aside her own feelings, and playing, as
+she always could, upon his, which were so large and generous. There was
+Cynthia to be thought of, who was putting a brave face upon the
+restrictions that had so marred her life, and who expressed only to her,
+because she was her best-loved friend, what they meant to her. And there
+were the dear children, whom she loved, and the more because she had no
+daughter of her own. No, it would never have done to allow a breach to
+open, as might well have happened, if Edmund's crabbed obstinacy had
+been answered in the way it deserved. They were too much bound up
+together at Hayslope not to make all allowances for one another, even
+where no allowance was rightly due. Besides, the path of tolerance was
+always the right path, though it might not be easy to take it.
+
+To Sir William, that path had its allurements. His nature was generous
+and he recognized it. It was with a glow of self-gratulation that he sat
+down after luncheon to answer his brother's letter; and he enjoyed the
+art with which he brought to bear upon it, so that his meaning should be
+made plain, and also his large-minded tolerance.
+
+Beginning "My dear Edmund," he first of all wrote fully about the affair
+in which he was interesting himself on behalf of his brother. A good
+deal depended upon the way in which he dealt with it, and he showed that
+his interests were deeply engaged. In fact, something had already been
+done, for the Government Department concerned was that of which Mr.
+Vincent, one of his fellow guests at Wellsbury, was the head.
+
+"We have just returned from our visit to Wellsbury, and fortunately
+Henry Vincent was staying there. I had a talk with him about the
+principle of the thing, and I think I may say that I put the right idea
+into his head, and that he will act on it generally. I told him that
+there was a personal application of it which I wouldn't trouble him
+with, and he told me the right man to go to, and said that I could say
+he had done so. I shall follow it up to-morrow, and I hope everything
+will be satisfactorily arranged. It is fortunate that I was able to talk
+it over with Vincent. I had never happened to meet him before, and it
+didn't do me any harm to come first into contact with him at Wellsbury."
+
+That was that. Edmund would be pleased at the probability of this
+tiresome affair being settled, and perhaps impressed with the ease with
+which such settlements were arranged, when it was possible to approach
+the well-guarded head of a Department on equal terms.
+
+And now for the other matter! which should be dealt with shortly but
+decisively, and cleared out of the way altogether as a source of
+complaint.
+
+He considered it for a time. He was sincere in his desire to act
+generously in face of an unreasonable attack. But the offence was really
+considerable, pointed as it was by that disagreeable charge of
+vulgarity, and it was of no use to pretend it wasn't there. He would
+give way; but with a gesture. The gesture would be that it was not worth
+while bothering about so small an affair, which could best be expressed
+in a few lines. Edmund was not to suppose that he had given him
+annoyance; the annoyance was past--or nearly so. He clung to the idea of
+terseness, but lest it should be misunderstood, the atmosphere of
+friendliness might perhaps best be indicated by something more intimate
+coming before it.
+
+So he added a paragraph or two about the visit to Wellsbury, the
+magnificence of the house, and the illustriousness of the party gathered
+there. There was something also about Lord Chippenham in his private
+relations. "I had worked with him for nearly four years," he wrote,
+"without really knowing him intimately. He is extraordinary in the way
+he keeps his public and private lives apart, and one feels it an honour,
+even after all this time, to have been accepted on terms of personal
+friendship with him."
+
+The kernel of the letter immediately followed.
+
+"I am sorry that I inadvertently went against your wishes in the matter
+of Barton's Close. I didn't understand you actually withheld your
+consent to the garden-making, or of course I should not have set it in
+hand. I have wired to Coombe to stop the work."
+
+That was terse enough. The only thing was that it might settle it too
+completely. He didn't want to give up his garden if it could be avoided.
+Edmund ought not to be discouraged from asking that the work should go
+on, though he would not write anything to show that that was in his
+mind. He went on:
+
+"I was rather keen on this addition to the garden, and think it would
+have improved the property, if anything. But where Hayslope is
+concerned, my chief desire is to work in with your ideas, even where
+they differ from mine."
+
+Would Edmund recognize this note of large generosity? It was to be hoped
+so--and give way.
+
+He read his brother's letter again, and asked himself whether it was
+possible to ignore the rudeness of it. After careful consideration he
+added another paragraph.
+
+"I think, my dear Edmund, that your general charge against me of
+overriding your wishes and belittling your position at Hayslope can
+hardly be seriously made. Such an attitude would be very far from my
+intentions, and I cannot charge my memory with any single instance of my
+having done so. If I have given you any cause for such an accusation, as
+I suppose I must have done, or you would not have brought it against me,
+it can only have been because I have been so occupied with affairs
+outside Hayslope that I have perhaps treated Hayslope itself as of less
+importance than it naturally is to you. If so, I apologize. Hayslope
+still holds the warmest corner in my heart of any place in England, or
+out of it for that matter. But the world is a large place, and when one
+is taking a part, however modest, in dealing with the difficulties that
+it is now involved in, the affairs of one small corner of it do not bulk
+so large as if one could give all one's attention to them."
+
+He ended resolutely. The intended terseness had already been somewhat
+whittled away, and it was not his idea to read Edmund a lecture, or he
+might have read him a much longer one. This would suffice. In the future
+he might be more closely devoted to the task of putting the world
+straight again than he was now, and Hayslope would be of still less
+importance to him. If Edmund had his dignity as Squire of Hayslope so
+much at heart, it must strike even him that the dignity of a probable
+Cabinet Minister--so far had Sir William's aspiring thoughts led him in
+the last few hours--was considerably above it. On reading his letter, he
+thought that it might have been better to close with the sentence
+ending, "my having done so," and omit that beginning, "If I have given
+you any cause." But that would have involved rewriting four whole
+pages, and the _coda_ was really only a slight fault in the technique of
+his protest, and not in its intention. So he left the letter as it was,
+and presently posted it himself.
+
+Lady Eldridge also addressed a letter to Hayslope that afternoon, to her
+sister-in-law. She usually wrote to her once in the week, and knew that
+she would want to hear all about the visit to Wellsbury. But she did not
+begin with that.
+
+      "Dearest Cynthia:--I am sorry that Edmund is annoyed about the
+      garden. I am sure _you_ know that neither William nor I would want
+      to do anything at the Grange that he objected to, but I can't help
+      thinking that his putting a veto on it is rather unreasonable.
+      William has telegraphed for the work to be stopped, but I do hope
+      that Edmund doesn't really mean that the garden is not to be made.
+      It would be such a disappointment, for you know what fun we have
+      had in working it all out. William does love Hayslope, and all
+      that he has done at the Grange. Perhaps in the future he may have
+      more work to do, and Hayslope will be more of a recreation to him
+      than ever. So try to get it put right if you can. William thinks
+      so much of Edmund, and I'm sure Edmund does of William too. He
+      can't really want to put such a slight on him as this would be. I
+      think William has shown, by wiring at once for the work to be
+      stopped, that he doesn't want to go against Edmund. I'm not sure,
+      from his letter, that Edmund will even have expected that. If not,
+      do get him to withdraw. I can write this plainly to you, though
+      perhaps William couldn't to Edmund, after his letter. Men are more
+      unreasonable than we are, though they prefer to call it logical.
+      But we can't helping loving them all the same--those that we _do_
+      love."
+
+Then she went on to tell all about Wellsbury, and gave an amusing
+account of their visit, full of light descriptive detail of the men and
+women they had met there, with some descriptions from the inside of a
+house that was famous throughout the world. But she wrote nothing of
+what had been said to her about her husband, and gave no hint of
+anything that might be coming to him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+RECONCILIATION
+
+
+The Earl of Crowborough, though he lived in a Castle, and enjoyed a
+rent-roll which provided him with everything that was suitable to his
+rank in the way of elaborate living, yet shared many simple tastes with
+people of less exalted station. Among them was that of propelling
+himself about on a tricycle. He had acquired one of those machines in
+their early days of solid rubber tires, before the invention of the
+safety bicycle, and ridden it for many years, until it became almost a
+curiosity, or what the shops call an "antique." He would probably have
+continued to ride it until it could be repaired no longer; but riding
+through the village of Pershore one morning he had heard somebody--he
+never wished to inquire whom--call out: "Here comes that old fool on his
+bone-shaker!" After that he had bought a new tricycle of the latest
+pattern and its pneumatic tires and easy running had given him a new
+delight in his chosen form of exercise and locomotion; so that he could
+hardly be persuaded to drive in a motor-car or behind horses when he was
+in the country, and would have ridden his tricycle in London if he had
+not shrunk from the comments that might reach his ears.
+
+It was on his tricycle that he rode over to Hayslope one afternoon to
+look up his old friend, Colonel Eldridge. He did want this
+unpleasantness between them ended, and though he believed that he had
+been the chiefly injured party, his kindness of heart prompted him to
+have done with it all and forget it. He was a creature of habit, and
+Hayslope and the people who lived there had come into his life in the
+country ever since his childhood. At the height of the recent
+disturbances he had never got rid of the feeling of discomfort when
+custom had suggested to him that he should ride over to Hayslope, as he
+had so often been wont to do, and he had realized that the familiar road
+was closed to him. He had continued to visit the Grange, but it was not
+the same thing. The Grange was new, at least in its present aspect; the
+Hall was the same as he had always known it--a nice comfortable place
+full of old memories which kept alive old friendships. There was no
+other house within reach of his that he liked so much. And though he
+liked William Eldridge, it was Edmund towards whom his deeper feelings
+went out. They had been friends for nearly fifty years. Lord Crowborough
+did not possess many intimate friends, and there was no special
+community of taste between him and Colonel Eldridge, or even of
+interest, outside their common interests as neighbouring landowners. But
+a tie had grown up between them. Edmund Eldridge did not make the
+demands upon his substantial but slow moving intellect that William did;
+they were always at ease together.
+
+He could not do without his old friend. Speculation was alien to his
+habit of mind, but he did sometimes wonder, during the course of their
+estrangement, whether the same sense of blankness might not be working
+in Edmund as well. At last he decided to go over and see. He made no
+plans as to what he should do if he were received coldly, nor did he
+intend to make any appeal. He wanted Edmund again, and it was in his
+mind, though not consciously defined as an expectation, that Edmund
+would be glad to see him.
+
+Behold him, then, laboriously pedalling up the drive to Hayslope Hall on
+a warm afternoon, a not undignified figure, though his large form
+lurched and swayed as he took the rise, and his chosen form of country
+costume was a suit of pepper and salt and a high-crowned felt hat. But
+for his coloured tie, he might have been taken for a country parson of
+the older school, and he would not have been displeased at the
+comparison, for he was a pillar of the church on its official side, and
+had a greater regard for its religious significance than many of its
+supporters in that aspect.
+
+Life was pursuing its ordinary course at Hayslope Hall on a summer
+afternoon. In these leaner times lawn tennis was apt to be the chief of
+its recreations, and the excuse for the gathering together of
+neighbours. There were several of them in the garden as Lord Crowborough
+was convoyed across the lawn, mopping his super-heated brow, and wishing
+that his first appearance were a little less public. Colonel Eldridge
+was playing; but he left off immediately, and after greeting his old
+friend called to somebody else to take his place in the game, though
+Lord Crowborough begged him to continue it.
+
+Colonel Eldridge was not a man to show his emotions except occasionally
+that of annoyance, but they were strong within him as his eyes fell upon
+the familiar figure advancing towards him, and would have made it
+impossible for him to continue the game, though he was in the middle of
+his service.
+
+He had never realized until that moment--perhaps he had forbidden
+himself the realization--how warm a corner there was in his heart for
+this tall, bulky figure, and how empty that place had been of late. The
+last vestiges of resentment against him melted away completely. He was
+as glad to see him as he had ever been to see anybody.
+
+But nothing of this showed in his face, hardly even the pleasure, as he
+shook hands with him, and said: "Halloa! Tricycled over? Afraid you've
+got rather warm."
+
+A little later they were sitting together indoors, in grateful coolness,
+and there was a tumbler at Lord Crowborough's elbow, which, however,
+contained nothing alcoholic. No word had been said about the late
+dispute, but the two men were on their old terms. There was gratitude in
+the minds of both of them, but it did not show in their speech, which
+was level and unconcerned.
+
+They talked first chiefly about the land, and the difficulties of
+landlords, with special reference to Mr. Henry Vincent, and whether he
+knew anything about the conditions of landowning at all or was only out
+to screw as much as possible out of the unfortunate landlord. The
+question admitted of some doubt, and there were instances to be brought
+forward in support of either view. The matter that was engaging Colonel
+Eldridge's attention at this time, which also affected Lord Crowborough,
+was fully discussed, and Sir William's name came up in the course of
+discussion.
+
+"I don't think he knows Vincent," said Colonel Eldridge; "but I suppose
+it would be easy for him to get an introduction. He has the whole
+business at his fingers' ends, and is keen to get it settled on the
+lines we've agreed upon."
+
+"William's a very capable fellow," said Lord Crowborough. "If he throws
+himself into a question of this sort he's likely to get it put
+through--unless he puts their backs up."
+
+"Why should he do that?"
+
+"Well, I've a great admiration for William, and of course it has been a
+pleasure to me, knowing him ever since he was a boy, to see him climb up
+the ladder; he did extraordinary good work during the war; I've heard
+fellows say so. But I've met people who say that--well, that he does put
+people's backs up; that he's got a way of pushing his own ideas, and
+won't listen to anything against them. _I_ don't say it, mind you."
+
+"I think it's a very unfair accusation." Colonel Eldridge spoke warmly,
+and it delighted Lord Crowborough's heart to hear him. He even disposed
+himself to increase his indignation, because if they two could dispute
+upon a subject, as they always had done, and still remain fast friends,
+the larger dispute which had set them at enmity for a time must hold out
+no further danger.
+
+"Well, that's what a number of people do say," he said dogmatically.
+
+"Then you ought to contradict it if they say it to you. You know
+William."
+
+"Oh, yes; and I like William. Nobody likes William more than I do, but
+he does set great store by his own opinion. It's a very good thing, if
+you're running a business or whatever it may be. Make up your mind what
+you want done and don't listen to the people who want it done
+differently. I dare say that's all it really means. Still, that's the
+general opinion of William, and there's no good shutting your eyes to
+it. Besides, you must have had experience of it yourself. You and
+William get on very well here--better than most brothers would, I dare
+say--but if William wants his own way I'll bet he takes it."
+
+Lord Crowborough went rather beyond what he had grounds for saying here,
+for the sake of keeping up that mood of opposition which under the
+circumstances was gratifying to him, and was not prepared to give
+chapter and verse for his statement, as he was now requested to do.
+
+"Has anybody told you that? What do you mean by it exactly? Is there any
+gossip about any dispute between William and me? It would annoy me very
+much if it were so."
+
+"Oh, I don't say that, Edmund. You know best what's passing between you
+and William."
+
+Colonel Eldridge jumped to conclusions. "It's damnably annoying how
+things get put about, and exaggerated," he said. "William and I are the
+best of friends--always have been; but each of us has got his own way
+of looking at things and sometimes I don't say we don't have a little
+breeze, which makes no difference, or we shouldn't have chosen to live
+here close together for so many years."
+
+"That's true enough; though of course it's William who has chosen to
+live here, for you can't help yourself."
+
+"That's a foolish way of putting it. If I hadn't let William do what he
+liked with the Grange he wouldn't have wanted to live here; there
+wouldn't have been a house for him. It hasn't altogether suited me what
+he has done there, but I've let him do it because I like having him
+there."
+
+"I suppose as he and his boy will come after you it doesn't so much
+matter what he does. I must say I shouldn't like, myself, to have a
+house of that sort growing up within a stone's throw of my own. I should
+think the Grange is as big as this house now, isn't it? And with William
+I should never be surprised to see it a good deal bigger. He's a fellow
+who likes spending his money and never seems satisfied with what he's
+got."
+
+"There's some truth in what you say there, and as a matter of fact
+William and I have discussed that very question. He is making an
+addition to his garden there at this very minute. I dare say gossip has
+got about that I objected. Well, I did tell him that I thought it had
+gone quite far enough, and I shouldn't care for any further additions to
+be made."
+
+"But you didn't stop him making this one?"
+
+"Of course I didn't. I tell you that we understand one another
+thoroughly."
+
+"There you are then. In the long run it comes to this, that he does
+exactly what he likes, which is what I said at the beginning. Still,
+William's a good fellow, and I know he's devoted to you; I've reason to
+know it. I should like to have a brother of that sort myself, but my
+brother Alfred has always been a nuisance to me, with his schemes for
+making enormous fortunes which never came off. It's different when your
+brother has a lot more money than you have. It's a very good thing, with
+all the burdens they're heaping on land nowadays, to have money brought
+into a property from outside. I suppose William could buy another place
+now, if he wanted to. I rather admire him for sticking to Hayslope, and
+if it amuses him to spend money on the Grange--well, it's because he
+likes it better than any other place."
+
+Colonel Eldridge walked to the lodge gates with Lord Crowborough, who,
+mounted on his machine, suited his pace to his. They parted with much
+good will on either side, though with no more than a "Good-bye then for
+the present" to show it.
+
+As he walked slowly back to the house, his heart was tender within him.
+It was almost worth while to have quarrelled with this old friend to
+have him back on the old terms again. But quarrelling was never worth
+while. He had come rather near to quarrelling with William over that
+affair of Barton's Close. He remembered with some compunction that he
+had spoken angrily to his wife about it, and had written to William
+with more irritation than he now liked to think about; though he had
+shown in the latter part of his letter that the strength of his protest
+was not meant to go deeper than its expression. William had not yet
+answered his letter, as there would have been just time for him to do,
+which seemed to show that he had not taken it in offence; and the work
+of his garden was still going on. Colonel Eldridge had been inclined to
+take exception to that, although he was quite prepared for it to go on.
+It would have been better if William had written, saying that he had not
+understood his objection as serious, or something of that sort. It gave
+some colour to Crowborough's criticism of his way of pushing through his
+intentions. But it was true, what Crowborough had also said, that he
+loved Hayslope, and preferred to spend his money there rather than to
+make another place to his liking. Colonel Eldridge well knew that itch
+for improvement, and more improvement, and had acted upon it himself in
+the days when there had been money to spare for that sort of thing. He
+now thought of his protest as altogether exaggerated, and wished he
+hadn't made it. He was even inclined to be interested in the new garden
+that William had designed, and thought that he might be able to suggest
+some slight improvement in the details of the design when they came
+together on it, with the protest put aside and forgotten.
+
+As he walked slowly along on the grass by the drive, with the wide acres
+of his park surrounding him, the sheep and cattle feeding peacefully, or
+lying in the shade of the trees in which he took pride, he thought of
+himself as too apt to get annoyed about trifles.
+
+It had not always been so. He was rigid in the demands he made upon
+others, but he thought about them kindly too--even his servants, whom he
+treated with old-fashioned stiffness, but whose welfare he would take
+pains to promote; much more the members of his family, in whose
+happiness his was bound up. He was the head of his house, and that must
+be recognized by everybody around him. But his rule was not exercised
+for his own exclusive benefit, and it had been his pride not to make it
+irksome by indulgence in transitory moods.
+
+He was more at peace with himself at this moment than he had been since
+his troubles had come upon him. He saw that the trouble about money had
+loomed too large in his mind. There was enough money to have in the
+quiet way in which life had been going at Hayslope Hall, now for some
+time past. Cynthia was making herself happy in it; the children were
+happy. Why shouldn't he be? For the first time he caught a glimpse of a
+life lived more closely to the soil than it had come to be lived in such
+houses as his before the war. In the time of his great-grandfather,
+before a rich marriage had brought more money into the family, when a
+London house had been added to the country one, and the country house
+keyed up to a more elaborate style, Hayslope had been occupied for by
+far the greater part of the year, with a rare visit to London or Bath,
+or to the country houses of friends or relations. There were old letters
+and diaries in the library which told of the life that had centred at
+Hayslope in those days. It was far simpler than the life that he and his
+had lived there before the war, but it seemed to have contented those
+who lived it.
+
+They saw the seasons in and out, and each had its duties as well as
+pleasures. Guests would be entertained for weeks together, and live the
+daily life of their hosts; they seemed to see even more of their country
+neighbours, who lived in the same way as they did, with their recognized
+indoor and outdoor pursuits to fill the days, and their merry-makings in
+company, more eagerly looked forward to than the more frequent and
+elaborate amusements of to-day. The great charm of those days seemed in
+part actually to rest upon the difficulty of communication with the
+world outside, which concentrated the sweets of life upon the country
+home. And where the home was of the spacious and well-provided kind of
+Hayslope Hall, it must have been more cherished than if it were only
+resorted to for periods in the year, and even those periods broken up by
+frequent departures elsewhere.
+
+Perhaps that old stay-at-home life of the country house would come back
+of compulsion, now that so many people were straitened in circumstances.
+It would be a good thing in many ways if it did; if the men who owned
+the land lived more closely to it, and identified themselves with those
+who were bound to it. That was a larger question; but there was no doubt
+that it could be made a satisfying life, if the necessary changes were
+squarely faced and accepted, and the life was arranged on a new basis.
+It came to his mind, with a gratifying sense of discovery, that for him
+and his family that basis had already been found. It only remained to
+cease always casting back towards what had been before and could now be
+no longer. The best part remained, and life for him and his at Hayslope
+might be happy as it had ever been.
+
+And the other deeper trouble was clearing too. He was glad that it had
+been mentioned between him and his old friend, whom for a time it had
+parted. At the last, as they had gone down the drive together, Lord
+Crowborough had said to him, quite simply: "We fell out about your poor
+boy, Edmund. I don't want to go away and leave him as something that
+must never be mentioned between us. It was a sad business, but for him
+it was wiped out when he fought well and was killed. He was your only
+son, and you've lost him. I've been more lucky in keeping mine."
+
+That had put the finishing touch to their reconciliation. Hugo's lapses
+could be forgotten now, as they had been forgiven. They had been bad.
+For a long time after his death one trouble after another had come
+because of him, one revelation after another had been made. He had kept
+them nearly all to himself. Only his brother knew something of them, and
+he knew by no means all. His wife knew nothing. But an end seemed to
+have come to it at last. The burden on his mind was lifting, though it
+still lay heavy upon his purse, and would mean rigid economy for years
+to come.
+
+How good William had been about it all! A real consolation and support
+in his troubles, and willing, as he was able, to lift even the money
+burden of them from him. He blamed himself for having shown the
+irritability that had grown upon him, under the stress he had gone
+through, towards his brother. It was a poor return for what he had been
+so ready to do for him, to make a mountain out of that little molehill
+of irritation over Barton's Close. But William would not make too much
+of that. Perhaps the very best way to show him that it had been only a
+surface irritation, which did not affect the permanent tie of affection
+between them, would be to accept the help that he had so freely offered.
+Only pride had held him back, and that had prevented him from even
+acknowledging the generosity of the offer. He had simply put it aside.
+With that burden removed, scarcely any trouble would remain to him at
+all. He had already everything that was necessary to his own life for
+the remainder of his years. It was only upon Cynthia and the children
+that the economies which now had to be practised bore hardly. With this
+relief, which it was open to him to take at any time, he could give them
+more--if not all that he would have been able to give them but for the
+war. And he knew that William would be pleased if he were to go to him
+and say that he would accept his help. It would bind them together still
+more closely, for it would mean the merging of pride in affection.
+
+He saw it all in that moment of enlightenment and softer feeling, and
+lingered on his way back to the house to taste the serener air which his
+vision brought him. His well-loved home would be a source of delight to
+him once more, and no longer a source of anxiety, if he were to take the
+freedom that he could have at any time by a word of surrender. He looked
+about him before he entered the house, and the sunshine that steeped the
+wide spaces of the park seemed brighter and lovelier than before. There
+had lain a veil over the beauties of his home. But it only needed a
+gesture of his to have it removed altogether.
+
+The parlour-maid met him as he went into the hall. "Mr. Coombe, Sir
+William's gardener, would like to see you, sir."
+
+He went into his business room, where the man was waiting for him.
+
+"I've had this telegram from Sir William, sir."
+
+He handed over the pink sheet, and stood respectfully, cap in hand,
+while Colonel Eldridge read it. But his eyes rested upon him with an
+expression that had nothing pleasant in it.
+
+"Stop work on new garden at once; pay outside labourers week's wages and
+dismiss them."
+
+Colonel Eldridge's eyes, resting upon the paper, remained there longer
+than it required to take in its meaning. Coming immediately upon the
+thoughts with which his mind had been full, they gave him an unpleasant
+shock, the effect of which he could not entirely hide from the man who
+had administered it to him.
+
+"There's a mistake," he said shortly. "I never intended that the work
+should be stopped."
+
+Coombe did not take this up. "I've come to ask, sir," he said, "if
+anything can be done about the men I got in to help with the work. I
+had a good deal of difficulty in finding them, and I told them it was
+likely to be at least a two months' job. Sir William said I could count
+it as that. They're mostly men who've been in the army--unemployed.
+There's dissatisfaction among them, and I--"
+
+Colonel Eldridge had allowed him to go on because he wanted time to
+collect himself; but he now interrupted brusquely: "There's no need to
+make trouble at all. You can tell them there's been a mistake, and they
+can go on."
+
+Coombe's eyes dropped. He was a youngish man, with a self-confident air,
+but with something secretive in his appearance and demeanour which
+seemed to contradict his quiet respectful manner. "I've given them
+notice, sir, on that telegram," he said. "I couldn't do anything else."
+
+"You ought to have come and seen me first. It seems to me that you've
+been glad of the opportunity to make trouble."
+
+It was a relief to him to speak like this. He disliked the man who stood
+before him with his sleek, respectful air, which he suspected to hide
+hostility that would show itself in insolence if it dared.
+
+"I didn't come to see you about that, sir. My instructions are plain
+enough from that telegram, and I'd only got to carry them out."
+
+"Then why do you come to me at all?"
+
+"Because I thought you might be able to do something to keep these men
+from making trouble, sir, as Sir William isn't here. Only two of them
+belong to Hayslope--Jackson and Pegg. The others are lodging here. I've
+paid them their wages, as instructed, and with no work to do they're
+likely to get drinking and--"
+
+"Oh, it's out of consideration for the good behaviour of the village
+you've come to me, is it?"
+
+"Yes, sir. And because Sir William isn't here to deal with it."
+
+Colonel Eldridge was getting more and more annoyed with him. But his
+training prevented his showing more annoyance with men of this class
+than he could make effectual. "Sir William is your master," he said,
+"and you are quite right to take your orders from him. But you know
+perfectly well that it's for me as a magistrate to deal with anything of
+that sort, whether he is here or not."
+
+"Yes, sir, that's why I have come to you. I only meant that as the men
+are upset-like at Sir William's turning them off, he might have done
+something to quiet them."
+
+There was no offence apparent in this. Colonel Eldridge thought for a
+moment. "The best thing to do is to tell them that there has been a
+mistake," he said. "They can go back to their work. You can tell them
+that on my authority, and I'll make it right with Sir William."
+
+Coombe hesitated, and then came plump out with a refusal. "I can't do
+that, sir, without instructions from Sir William himself."
+
+There was a moment's pause. Coombe kept his eyes on the ground, but his
+face became a shade paler. Colonel Eldridge looked at him as if he would
+have annihilated him, and then turned away, and said quietly: "Very
+well, then. You can go."
+
+Coombe threw a glance at him, seemed as if he were going to say
+something further, but went out without a word.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+A QUESTION OF LABOUR
+
+
+So that was how William had taken his protest! No word to him, but
+this--it seemed like ill-tempered--order to put an end to the work. His
+anger was hot against Coombe, whom he accused in his mind of putting him
+in a hole for the sake of doing so, and then coming to see how he would
+take it. But towards William his feeling was more one of sorrow.
+
+He had been giving him credit for generosity and kindly feeling. Surely
+it was unworthy of him to behave in that way, even if he had allowed
+himself to be unduly annoyed over the tone of the protest made to him.
+What must have been his attitude when he sent that telegram to his
+servant, and sent no word to his brother? He must have known that to
+dismiss his labourers in that way at a moment's notice would make
+trouble--trouble that would affect his brother who was on the spot. Yet
+he had left him to find out the high-handed action he had taken for
+himself. Why couldn't he have given him an opportunity of withdrawing,
+if he really thought that he had vetoed the undertaking, which had been
+in hand for a week? He _couldn't_ have thought that; the letter written
+to him was not a prohibition.
+
+What was to be done now? If that confounded fellow Coombe had come to
+him before dismissing the men, he would have wired to William and put
+it all right. Yes, he would have done that, pocketing the hurt to his
+dignity; for he did recognize that he had given some cause for offence,
+though William had been in the wrong to take it in the way he had.
+
+Was it too late to do it even now? It was he who had induced the word to
+be given that had stopped the work, and it was for him to give the word
+for it to go on. It was simply Coombe's insolence that had refused to
+take it from him. Coombe would find that he had overstepped the bounds;
+for he had for the time made it impossible to take the course that his
+master must wish to have taken. If matters were to be put right, it
+could only be by sending a long telegram to William. He began to
+formulate it in his mind. He must say that his letter had not meant that
+he wished the work to be stopped; he must make it plain that he wanted
+it to go on; he must say that Coombe had already dismissed the outside
+labour before telling him of the orders he had received, and had refused
+to take orders from him to re-engage the men. It would be best to get
+William to wire to Coombe to act upon Colonel Eldridge's authority until
+he came to Hayslope himself.
+
+It would be a complete surrender on his part; but he was ready to make
+it. The mood in which he had entered the house still influenced him; if
+William chose to act in this way towards him, he would not accept it as
+an offence without giving him a chance to alter his attitude. They could
+have it out together when they met; that would be better than writing
+letters, which were apt to be misunderstood.
+
+He had sat down at his writing-table to compose his message, when the
+maid came in and said that some men had called to see him. Who were
+they? One was Jackson, from the Brookside cottages, and another was
+Pegg, from Crouch Lane. There were two more whom she didn't know. She
+was told to show them in.
+
+Jackson was an elderly man of good character well known to Colonel
+Eldridge, who had employed him himself for some years, until he had been
+obliged to reduce his labour bill. Pegg was a younger man, who had
+worked on various farms, and since the war, in which he had been
+wounded, had never remained long in one place, because his small
+pension, and the greatly increased wages for agricultural labour, had
+enabled him to indulge his taste for occasional spells of leisure. The
+other two men were younger still, and one of them wore a discoloured
+khaki tunic. Colonel Eldridge did not know either of them, but a shrewd
+glance told him that they were of the agricultural labourer class,
+probably smartened up a bit by their military service. They stood before
+him, Jackson slightly in advance.
+
+"Well, Jackson! Well, Pegg! Hope your leg hasn't been giving you any
+more trouble. Who are these two?"
+
+The man in the khaki tunic answered for himself, smartly. "Thomas Dell,
+Colonel, late of Second Battalion Downshire Regiment." The other
+followed suit. "Albert Chambers, Colonel, late of Army Service Corps."
+
+He asked them a few questions about themselves. They had served their
+country; the soldier in him must pay tribute to that first of all. They
+could be seen expanding in modest pride, as they exercised the mode of
+address they had learnt in the orderly room, standing before their
+officers as they now stood before him. He approved of them. Men who had
+served unwillingly in the army and taken their discharge would not have
+answered him in that way.
+
+"Well, what is it you want? Jackson!"
+
+"We were took on at Mr. William's, beg your pardon, Sir William's, sir,
+and now we're turned off. It don't seem hardly fair, and we thought we'd
+come to you about it."
+
+"How were you taken on? By the week?"
+
+"Yes, sir. But--"
+
+"Coombe has just been here, and told me that you've had a week's wages
+instead of notice. So there's nothing unfair in it."
+
+"Well, sir, we were told that it would be a two month's job. That's what
+Coombe told us."
+
+"Coombe took you on, I suppose; not Sir William?"
+
+"Yes, sir. It was like this--"
+
+"I've just heard all about it from Coombe. There has been a mistake.
+When you came in, I was just about to telegraph to Sir William. What
+you'd better do is to wait till I get an answer, and I've no doubt that
+to-morrow you'll be going on where you left off. You'll have had a day's
+holiday at full pay, and you won't have anything to grumble at, eh?"
+
+He said this with a smile. He liked old Jackson, and had often stopped
+to have a word with him, when he had been employed on estate work,
+mending a fence, clearing a drain, or whatever job it might be that had
+to do with the land on which he had worked since boyhood. He was full of
+homely wisdom; a true son of the soil, with few desires that were not
+connected with it. Such men appeal to the fatherly instinct that is born
+in the best type of landowner towards those dependent on him. Their
+simplicity must be respected; their reliance upon the justice of their
+"betters" must be met by the most careful consideration of their
+troubles.
+
+Old Jackson hesitated. "Well, sir," he said, "begging your pardon, we're
+not wishful to take on work again under Coombe. Sir William, he'd always
+treat us right, same as you would, if he wasn't too occupied to look
+after things himself, as I've told these others who've been working
+along of us. Pegg'll bear me out there."
+
+Pegg bore him out, with a mumble of acquiescence, and Colonel Eldridge
+waited for him to go on.
+
+"Coombe don't come from these parts," said old Jackson, and came to a
+stop.
+
+"That's nothing against him, if he acts as he should. What's the
+complaint against him?"
+
+But Jackson had come to the end of his powers of expression. He could
+only repeat: "He don't come from these parts."
+
+Dell, in the khaki jacket, took up the tale. "He's desirous of making
+mischief, sir. We were told, after you came down the other morning, that
+there'd be trouble about the work we were doing, and if we were turned
+off of a good job we'd better look to you for another one."
+
+Colonel Eldridge had not expected anything of this sort. But he was
+sitting in the seat of justice now, and the bearing of such a statement
+on himself must wait for consideration until later.
+
+"Who was that said to? Tell me the exact words that were said."
+
+Old Jackson found his tongue again. "That's how it was, sir," he said.
+"There was me and Pegg heard it, and Dell, and another who ain't here. I
+up and said myself that he'd no call to talk like that of you, and
+whatever Mr. William done with his land you'd stand by."
+
+"You were quite right there, of course. Was there anything more said, or
+only just that speech?"
+
+"He told me to go on with my work and not sauce him back, or I could lay
+down my tools and take myself off. I ain't used to being talked to in
+that way, sir; and Coombe don't belong to these parts."
+
+"He told Warner, one of the other men took on, sir, that you didn't like
+Sir William having more money nor what you've got--begging your pardon
+for reporting his true words--and that if you could stop the work what
+we was engaged on, you'd do it."
+
+This was from Chambers, the other ex-soldier, and Dell added: "That's
+right, sir. And he said we could see for ourselves that you were looking
+ugly about it, and meant mischief."
+
+"That's enough. I don't want to hear any more insolent speeches. If
+you've just come to repeat that sort of thing to me, I'd rather you had
+let it alone. Jackson and Pegg are my tenants, though neither of them
+work for me. I dare say they wouldn't like to stand by and let that go
+on without speaking up. But it would have been better to report it to
+Sir William, instead of to me. I don't see what it has to do with you
+two at all."
+
+They showed some surprise at that, for his anger was plain to see, and
+his gaze was directed straight at them. "I've told you," he said to
+Jackson, "that I was on the point of wiring to Sir William to ask him to
+give instructions to Coombe to proceed with the work. That would have
+meant taking you all on again. If you don't want to be taken on, I can't
+do anything more for you."
+
+Old Jackson seemed to have nothing further to say, and the two
+ex-soldiers were still under the influence of the rebuke administered to
+them. It was Pegg who spoke, with a preparatory clearing of the throat.
+"Jackson said you was thinking of mending the road through the park,
+sir."
+
+"Mending the road!"
+
+"It wants doing," said Jackson, speaking now in quite a different tone,
+as an expert, whose word carries weight. "It wants doing bad. Put it off
+any longer and 'twill mean laying a new foundation here and there, and
+steam-rolling and all, when take it in time and a bit of metal will
+serve. There's a hole by the three oaks that never ought to been allowed
+to get so. You can maybe patch it up to-day, but I wouldn't answer for
+what you could do with it to-morrow. Nothing's been done to the road for
+a matter of five years or more."
+
+"You may call it six," said Colonel Eldridge. "It was mended last in the
+winter before the war, and it was mostly your doing, Jackson."
+
+"Yes, sir. And there was a tidy bit of metal got out of the lower quarry
+what we didn't use all of. You'd only have to break it up and lead it;
+and lead some gravel to put on it. 'Tis true that I did say to Pegg and
+these two that us four 'ud make a good job of it in four weeks, maybe
+five--I wouldn't undertake not to make a tidy job of it in less. Put it
+off and it'll take longer."
+
+Colonel Eldridge sat considering, his eyes on the papers in front of
+him. "What about the other two who were taken on at the Grange?" he
+asked.
+
+"They've gone off, sir," said Dell. "They didn't like the job, and
+wouldn't have stayed anyhow."
+
+"They _have_ gone off? They're not hanging about the village?"
+
+"No, sir. They took their money, and went off by train to Southampton
+where they belong to the docks."
+
+"Where are you two lodging?"
+
+They told him, and he made no comment, except to say: "If I take you on,
+you'll have to work under Jackson, and you'll have to keep quiet in the
+village. A glass or two at the inn I don't mind, but we never have any
+trouble with drink at Hayslope, and I wouldn't put up with it."
+
+Chambers looked scandalized, and asserted himself to be a teetotaller.
+Dell said: "I'm a respectable man, Colonel, and if anybody's been
+putting it about that I'm otherwise that man's a liar, begging your
+pardon for the language."
+
+"Very well. I accept what you say. I'll take the four of you on from
+to-morrow, by the week. What wages were you getting at the Grange?"
+
+They told him, and he said they were too high. "You know that, Jackson.
+Wages have gone up enormously. I don't grudge them to men like you, who
+do your work as it ought to be done. But I'm not going to pay more than
+the current rate. If Coombe took you on at the Grange at the rate you
+say, he ought not to have done it."
+
+They expressed themselves in their various ways as satisfied with what
+he offered them, and old Jackson said: "Who am I to take my orders from,
+sir, now Bridger has gone?"
+
+"You'll take them from me. I'm my own bailiff now. Meet me in half an
+hour at the three oaks, and I'll settle with you what's to be done."
+
+He wanted a little time for consideration, and when the men had filed
+out of the room and left him alone, he rose and walked up and down, as
+his habit was when he had to think anything out.
+
+He wanted to be quite sure that he had done right. The cost of these
+repairs would be heavy, but the state of the drive would not admit of
+much further delay, as old Jackson had said, unless it were to become
+almost impassable here and there, and involve a larger expenditure later
+on. He had been ashamed of it only half an hour before, when Lord
+Crowborough had turned off on to the grass of the park to escape the
+worst place, and shown, by making no comment on it, that he knew why it
+had been left as it was. He was rather relieved at having had his hand
+forced about it, for it didn't do to shirk making necessary repairs out
+of unwillingness to spend money on them at the right time. Only bad
+landlords did that, and they suffered for it in the long run. The cost
+would be inconvenient at this moment, but it could be met. Jackson would
+do the work thoroughly, and he was glad to have the old fellow back in
+his employ. It might even be worth while to keep him on, for now that he
+had got rid of his bailiff there was nobody to whom he could delegate
+any overseeing, and he was more tied than he wanted to be. Pegg was a
+bit of a rolling stone, but would keep up to the mark as long as the job
+lasted. The other two seemed good sort of men, and would probably do as
+well as any.
+
+All that was satisfactory enough; but it wanted thinking about as it
+affected his relations with William.
+
+The idea of wiring to him in the terms he had intended must be given up.
+That had settled itself, for the extra labour he had employed was no
+longer available. Two of the men had gone off, and the other four had
+refused to continue with it. That was Coombe's fault, without any
+question. He had always suspected that fellow of being a mischief-maker,
+and now he stood revealed. The report with which he had come to him had
+been immediately proved to be absolutely groundless. Of the men of whom
+he had professed to be so suspicious that it was necessary to come and
+give a warning--for the good name of the village--two belonged to
+it--which he didn't--and were well known, two had already left it, and
+from the other two there was nothing to fear. The impudent readiness
+with which he had turned the few questions of the other morning into a
+mischievous attack showed him for what he was. Colonel Eldridge hardly
+felt indignation on account of it. The man had given himself away, and
+was as good as done with. Whatever their differences, William would
+never keep in his employ a man who had misbehaved in that way.
+
+Coombe was so patently the fount and origin of the break-up that had
+come upon William's plans that it was a little difficult to go back to
+what had given him his handle. When he turned his mind to it, he
+experienced a droop of spirit. It was his protest that had started the
+trouble, and he had no inclination to shirk that fact, though it was
+also true that if William had not received it in the spirit he had, no
+harm would have been done. He had some effort to put himself in
+William's place, and did arrive at the conclusion that he had probably
+not received his letter until his return from his visit that morning,
+and that he _had_ probably written in answer to it, which answer he
+would receive the next morning. That softened the effect of his
+peremptory order, but by no means justified it; for unless he had
+intended to show his annoyance by it, he would surely have sent him a
+wire at the same time.
+
+The result of his cogitations was that nothing could be done then to
+mend the matter. He must wait to see if there was a letter from William,
+and, whether there was or not, it would be better to write no more
+letters, but to wait further until William came down on Friday evening,
+which he usually did. The garden should be made somehow, with another
+than Coombe to direct it. He wanted to see the garden made now, almost
+as much as William did.
+
+He went out and made the arrangements with old Jackson, and then again
+returned to the house, slowly, and with very different thoughts from
+those which had borne him company on the same road an hour before. He
+did not want to think any more about the unpleasantness that had come
+upon him. No doubt it would work itself out, but he did not feel that he
+was free of it yet. And the vision of the larger freedom that had come
+to him had faded. He was in no mind now to go to William and ask him for
+the money that would settle all his difficulties.
+
+After supper, which had taken the place of dinner at Hayslope Hall on
+these long summer evenings, he walked with his wife in the garden, and
+told her of what had happened.
+
+She was more disturbed than he had been over William's telegram to
+Coombe, and his failure to communicate at the same time with him.
+"You're _sure_ you didn't actually forbid him to go on?" she asked.
+
+Yes, he was quite sure; but in answer to a further question he could not
+declare with such certainty that he had not written in a way that could
+arouse annoyance. "I'm afraid I did express myself rather strongly," he
+admitted. "But I always have said straight out what I meant to William,
+and he has never taken it like this. Besides, my impression is that I
+showed him, in what I wrote afterwards, that I didn't mean it
+seriously--or not so seriously as all that. I intended to, anyhow."
+
+"Ah!" she sighed. "You ought to have shown me the letter before you sent
+it. I could have told you whether it was right or not. I wonder if
+Eleanor saw this telegram before William sent it! I'm sure to hear from
+her to-morrow, and I think you are sure to hear from William."
+
+"William ought not to have done it," he said, in a tone of finality. "I
+can't think that he would have behaved like this a few years ago."
+
+"Oh, my dear, of course he wouldn't."
+
+"Why do you say that?" he asked in some surprise.
+
+"It's quite plain, isn't it? William was nobody much then, compared to
+you. Now he is a notable, and expects to be treated as such."
+
+"He has never shown that he expected us to treat him any differently."
+
+"Oh, as long as we keep our places, and don't presume."
+
+He did not smile at this. "I didn't know you felt like that about him,"
+he said. "You don't about Eleanor, do you?"
+
+"No. Eleanor has a more level head. I haven't really much fault to find
+with William either. I was only laughing at him. One does laugh at
+people who go up in the world, and show themselves so delighted with it,
+doesn't one? It's the best way to take them, especially if you're not
+going up in the world yourself. Or perhaps it isn't the best way. I'm
+not sure. Perhaps it shows you're a little jealous of them. But I'm
+certainly not jealous of Eleanor, and I'm sure you're not jealous of
+William. Poor William! I'm a little sorry for him."
+
+"Sorry for him!"
+
+"Ye--es. His success hasn't improved him. I don't like him as well as I
+did, and of course I'm sorry for the people I don't like, just as I'm
+rather inclined to envy the people I do like. I'll tell you what I think
+about all this bother. I don't believe William has the slightest
+intention of giving up his garden. He'll expect you to be overcome with
+remorse at having rebuked him, and beg him to go on. What does it matter
+to him, paying six men a week's wages, with no work done for it? Add
+there's no hurry, you know. They weren't going to plant in any case
+until October. There will be plenty of time to get new men to work at
+it, and get it finished in time."
+
+"Do you really think that is what he has in his mind? Something of the
+same sort occurred to me, but I don't want to think such a thing."
+
+"Well, dear, you had much better follow your own ideas about it than
+mine. You can't expect a woman to take the broad view of something that
+touches her that a man can. I dare say you're more likely to be right
+about William than I am. You have always treated him with great
+forbearance, and until now you have kept good friends with him."
+
+"You do think that--that I've treated him with forbearance?"
+
+She stopped, and with a light laugh, looking up at him, put her hands on
+his shoulders. "My dear kind-hearted conscientious old man!" she said.
+"I'll tell you what I think. If you don't make a stand now, William will
+very soon be everything at Hayslope, and you will be nothing."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+NEW IDEAS
+
+
+Summer rain was falling heavily, and a little party was gathered
+together in the schoolroom at Hayslope Hall. This was a large room on
+the second floor, with windows looking two ways, one on to the park, two
+on to the garden and the woods beyond. There was a glimpse from these
+windows, through the trees, of some of the roofs and chimneys of the
+Grange on its opposite hill; and across the park the tower of the church
+and part of the village could be seen, with a wide stretch of country
+beyond, and Pershore Castle some miles away, to give accent to a
+characteristic scene of wooded undulating country, not yet tainted with
+the blight of industrialism. It was sometimes said that this old
+nursery, now the schoolroom, was the nicest room in the house. There
+were no such views to be obtained from those of the lower floors, but
+the views did not make up the whole of its charm. It had that of all
+rooms in an old house that have been devoted to the use of children.
+Changes in furniture or decoration come to them slowly. Everything that
+they contain has made its indelible impression upon the minds of those
+who have occupied them in the most receptive years of their lives, and
+are woven into the texture of their memories. They have witnessed the
+troubles of childhood; but these fade away and are forgotten, or
+remembered only as part of the immensely significant and varied
+experiences of that age, merging into the rest and carry no sting. They
+do not associate themselves with graver troubles, and to those who came
+back to them they seem to be a refuge from all the ills of life, so
+innocent are the pursuits with which they are connected, so free are
+they from the cares and forebodings associated with other familiar
+rooms.
+
+This note of freedom and innocence was grateful to Fred Comfrey, who had
+been welcomed to this room by Alice and Isabelle, its present occupants,
+Miss Baldwin acquiescing. Fred had "taken notice" of Alice and Isabelle,
+for reasons not difficult to gauge. He had never cared much for
+children, and one would have said that he had no power to interest or
+attract them. But his absence of art probably recommended him to these
+two, who would not have liked him so well if he had been either jocular
+or condescending with them. He treated them in the same way as he
+treated Judith, who was grown up. Judith did not like him, but they did,
+and presently began to make use of him.
+
+On this wet Saturday morning, when there were no lessons to be done,
+they were engaged in restoring an old toy theatre, which had once
+belonged to Hugo. Alice had composed a play, which was to be acted by
+figures designed by Isabelle. These had been cut out with a fretsaw, and
+coloured; and together they had glued them on to their stands. But the
+theatre itself, after having lain hidden for years in a lumber room,
+needed more serious repair than came within their scope. Fred was a
+godsend in this predicament, and was doing all that was necessary, with
+a capable hand. Pamela and the children were helping, arrayed all three
+in blue overalls, which as worn by Pamela seemed to Fred to be the most
+attractive costume that a girl could wear. Miss Baldwin sat apart, busy
+with needlework on her own account. Her presence had no effect upon the
+flow of chatter. She hardly came into the children's lives except as a
+reminder and concomitant of duty, and they were well accustomed to
+ignore her when amusement was on foot. Judith also sat apart, curled up
+on the deep shabby old sofa with a book, and oblivious to everything
+around her. Her enjoyment probably was enhanced by the sense of being in
+company, or she would have betaken herself elsewhere.
+
+Miss Baldwin, however, was far more alive to what was going on than
+anybody there could have imagined. Unnoticed, she marked every look and
+every word. For romance was going on, here under her very eyes, and she
+could fit it all in to her ideas of how a story of romance should run.
+
+There was the sweet young girl brought up in the seclusion of her
+country home, untouched as yet by the wand of love; there were two men
+eager to break the spell that held her; and one of them was a lord.
+Pamela had no idea how much Miss Baldwin, prim and plain and scholastic,
+admired her. Judith she had taught for a year, and Judith was just a
+schoolgirl to her, like any other, although she was now grown up, and as
+beautiful in her way as Pamela. Pamela seemed to her the very type of
+well-born maidenhood, beautiful and gay, and kind and gentle in her
+speech and in her ways. She could weave stories around her, and longed
+for the time when the suitors should come thronging. Upon Norman's first
+appearance she had cast him for the part of hero, and well he would have
+filled it but for the fact of his cousinhood. He was young and gay and
+handsome too, and a soldier. But she soon saw him as taking the place
+towards the girls of their brother, who had been killed. He might come
+into the story later, but not as a suitor.
+
+Two suitors had now appeared on the field, almost at the same time. It
+might have been thought that Miss Baldwin would have favoured the lord,
+who, upon his first appearance at Hayslope, had actually ridden over on
+a horse, from his battlemented castle--or rather from his father's,
+which came to the same thing. But Horsham did not conform to her ideas
+of a lord, in spite of the horse and the castle. His looks were not on a
+level with Pamela's, and though he had youth on his side, she could not
+describe it to herself as gallant youth. He had addressed himself to her
+when he had first lunched at Hayslope, and with courtesy; but it had
+been to ask her whether she thought Edinburgh or Liverpool had the more
+easterly aspect. Suspecting some sort of catch, she had replied coldly
+in favour of Edinburgh, and it had appeared that she was wrong. That
+didn't matter; but the question seemed unworthy of one of his rank. She
+would rather that he had ignored her, as the meek silent drudge, in the
+family but not of it, and beneath the notice of such as he. He seemed to
+be well-meaning and well-educated--his conversation had been largely
+geographical. But Miss Baldwin was not content in a lord with qualities
+that would have graced a schoolmaster.
+
+Did she then favour the suit of Fred Comfrey, whose desires lay open to
+her? She did. He was a son of the vicarage, who had gone out into the
+world at an early age to carve his own way in it; and from what she had
+heard, he seemed to some extent already to have carved it. He had given
+up everything to fight in the war, had fought like a hero--as far as she
+knew--and received honourable wounds, from which he had not yet entirely
+recovered. His square ugly face and his broad frame spelt POWER. If he
+was not quite the strong silent man--for he talked a good deal, and
+rather nervously--he might become so, under trial. He was still young,
+though he had done so much. He paid attention to her, and rather
+embarrassed her by so doing; for she did not wish to be talked to in
+company, having little to say in reply. But his reasons for doing so
+were obvious, and she approved of them. If she could have brought
+herself to tell him that she saw everything and wished him well, her
+tongue might have been unloosed in a way to surprise him. But that, of
+course, was impossible, though she sometimes played with the idea of the
+unconsidered governess putting everything right by a bashfully whispered
+word to the ever-after-grateful hero.
+
+She did more than play with the idea of things going wrong. She expected
+and longed for it, but only as a preliminary to their eventually going
+right. Nobody but herself seemed yet to have awakened to what was going
+on. When they did, who could doubt that it would be the lord who would
+be preferred by the parents, and the other who would be sent about his
+business--perhaps with contumely? She rather hoped with contumely, for
+then he would have an opportunity of showing what stuff he was made of,
+and it would be so much more interesting. Oh, if only Pamela could have
+her eyes opened before the discovery came! If he had made no impression
+on her, she would, of course, accept his dismissal at the hands of her
+parents with complete equanimity, and the story would simply fizzle out.
+
+That was why Miss Baldwin watched the pair of them so closely, as with
+their heads almost touching they bent over their common task, and the
+talk flowed, with never a ripple that she could discern to disturb it,
+and give it a deeper meaning. There were signs in _his_ speech and looks
+of what she wanted to see, but she had got used to that by this time. It
+was like carrying on for too long with a chapter that had already told
+its tale. She wanted the next one, in which Pamela was to show the
+signs. Sometimes she thought it might be beginning; but it never did.
+Pamela had not even seen yet what had become so plain. Her friendliness
+could not be misunderstood. There was no hint of self-consciousness in
+it; or if Miss Baldwin sometimes thought that she caught a hint of her
+awakening, it soon died away again. She was forced to believe that
+Pamela was as yet fancy-free.
+
+But here, unexpectedly, was a factor introduced into the story of which
+she had lost sight. Sitting at the window, and looking up just at the
+right moment, she saw Norman come out into the garden, from the wood
+which lay between the Hall and the Grange. He was buttoned up at neck
+and sleeves in a rain-coat, and the brim of his soft felt hat was pulled
+down over his face. He carried an ash sapling, which he was swishing
+about as if he were conducting an orchestra. In imagination he may have
+been, for he was a musical enthusiast. He was walking very fast, and
+there was something in his appearance that appealed to Miss Baldwin's
+imagination, which within its limits had the same artistic enthusiasm as
+his. For a moment he presented himself to her as the third suitor, whose
+success--after vicissitudes to be undergone--was finally to be hoped
+for. But the idea was rejected as soon as formulated. There was no story
+in it, for it was difficult to see where the vicissitudes were to come
+from. Besides, the cousinship held. She could not see Norman and Pamela
+as lovers.
+
+There was material for Miss Baldwin in Norman's first meeting with Fred.
+He came into the room with a breezy, high-spirited air, which changed
+completely as he caught sight of Fred sitting at the table, intent upon
+his task, with Pamela's head very near to his, and Isabelle's still
+nearer. Only she saw this; for he had burst into the room unannounced,
+and by the time heads were raised his expression had changed again,
+though not to that of eager pleasure with which he had entered. He shook
+hands with Fred, if not cordially, with no marked hostility, and said a
+few words to him before answering the inquiries that were showered upon
+him by the others.
+
+No, they had not meant to come down to the Grange this week. His father
+had gone to stay with some old duffer who wanted to talk politics with
+him. His mother had been going too, but wasn't very fit. He had turned
+up the night before in London, and persuaded her to let him motor her
+down. He had come to ask if Aunt Cynthia and Pamela would come to
+luncheon.
+
+Miss Baldwin's eyes were on the strong silent man-to-be during this
+passage. He did not quite fulfil her expectations, for he looked almost
+as if he were ashamed at having been caught. This might mean that he
+knew he would have to face opposition from Pamela's cousin, which Miss
+Baldwin would not have expected him to divine at so early a stage. But
+she would have liked him to hold up his head higher, while for the
+moment he was apart from the centre of the scene. The silence was there,
+but not the strength; he looked merely awkward.
+
+She waited until attention was upon him again. Norman's first look of
+dislike had impressed her, and contained promise of drama. It looked as
+if these two had crossed each others' path before; but that could hardly
+be, for she knew by this time that Fred had been carving his way to
+fortune in foreign climes and had not for years visited the home-land.
+They had met in boyhood; but any differences of opinion they might have
+had then would not have amounted to crossing each other's path. She
+came, somewhat reluctantly, to the conclusion that there was nothing
+more in it than what she expected; dislike on the part of Pamela's
+relations to the idea of her being wooed by the vicar's self-made son,
+when once they woke up to the possibility of such a thing. Norman had
+apparently woke up to it instantly. Of that she gained assurance, as he
+talked to Fred about his experiences in the war, and other matters, in a
+way unlike his usual open sociable manner of speech, which showed
+plainly, to her at least, that dislike was behind it all. It seemed to
+her that Pamela was aware of the hostility, and deprecated it. She
+helped Fred, and pointed for him the modesty of some of his replies. She
+even seemed to suggest that he should be included in the invitation to
+luncheon; but Norman did not respond to the suggestion, and when she
+went off to find her mother he went with her, as if he did not want to
+be left with Fred; and when he said good-bye to him he made no proposal
+of their meeting again. His attitude, indeed, was so significant that
+even the children noticed it. For Alice said: "Norman seems to have
+something on his mind. I don't think he's liking us as much as usual."
+And Isabelle added: "Perhaps he's in love. It takes them like that,
+doesn't it, Miss Baldwin?"
+
+Miss Baldwin made a suitable reply, to the effect that Isabelle should
+go on with what she was doing, and not ask silly questions. The
+children, of course, knew of her taste for fiction, but were not enough
+interested in her to make it the subject of more than an occasional
+allusion of this sort, with which she could cope by assuming her rôle of
+instructress. Fred took his departure soon afterwards. Perhaps he had
+some hope of coming across Pamela in another part of the house. Perhaps
+he was too dispirited to go on with what he was doing with Pamela gone.
+There was a marked drop in his air of contentment during the short time
+he remained, and he did not respond to the chatter of the children with
+his usual complacency. Oh, no doubt the affair was in train of
+development now, and a new chapter might fairly be said to have begun.
+
+It was not until after luncheon that Norman and Pamela were alone
+together. Rain was still falling, and they went into the billiard-room,
+but did not immediately begin the game which they usually played on such
+occasions. Norman had recovered his spirits, never for very long
+obscured, but his first words, as he shut the door behind him, were: "I
+say, old girl, it was rather a shock to find that fellow making himself
+at home with you this morning. I don't think you ought to accept him
+into the bosom of the family in that way. Really, he's a most awful
+outsider."
+
+Perhaps Pamela had been giving the subject some consideration, in
+preparation for some such attack. She affected no surprise at it, but
+said: "I know you don't like him. I'm not particularly anxious that you
+should, or I might have been annoyed at the way you treated him this
+morning. But do leave us alone about him. We're going to be nice to him
+as long as he stays here. Father and mother want us to, for one thing.
+Anyhow, it's nothing to do with you. Now tell me about Margaret."
+
+"Oh, I'll tell you all about Margaret when the time comes. It's partly
+what I came down for. But, Pam dear, do take a word of warning about
+that fellow. It's easy enough to see that he's trying to worm himself
+in. It isn't exactly his technique, you know, to play the kind elder to
+children. Of course it's you he's after. Excuse my speaking plainly, but
+I do know about these things. It's calculated to make one sick--the idea
+of a creature like that making up to you."
+
+She replied, with slightly heightened colour, but in the same level
+kindly tone: "It's awfully sweet of you to be so careful about me,
+Norman dear; but your vivid imagination is running away with you.
+There's nothing of that sort going on, and if there were I could deal
+with it perfectly well myself."
+
+"No, you couldn't," he said firmly. "You think you know a lot, but you
+know very little. You don't know anything at all about a man of that
+sort, thank goodness! Of course I know that you're ratty at my talking
+about it at all, although you pretend not to be. So I won't go on. I've
+given you my warning, and if you're wise you'll pay attention to it."
+
+"It's very sweet of you, as I said before; and I'm not in the least
+ratty. And if I don't know something about all that sort of thing by
+this time, I ought to, for you never talk about anything else. Now talk
+about it in connection with Margaret."
+
+"Ah! You _are_ ratty. But you can't make _me_. If my wisdom and
+self-control weren't equal to my perceptions, supported by a life-time
+experience, I should reiterate my warnings. As it is, I stop short--like
+that!"
+
+He gave a snap of his fingers, and stood staring at her, his hand
+lifted, until she was obliged to laugh. "You're a donkey," she said.
+"Now tell me about Margaret."
+
+"Ah! Margaret!" he said. "You observe that I speak with a lingering
+intonation, Pam. It represents the tender emotion which stirs my bosom
+whenever I utter that sweet name. But unfortunately, I haven't seen her
+again; I have only been feeding on her memory--her sweet and ducal
+memory."
+
+"Oh, then that means that you have seen somebody else. I did think that
+it meant something at last--not a great deal, but still something. Who
+has cut her out?"
+
+"Pam dear, how crude you are! I should say coarse if it were anyone
+else. Cut her out! As if anybody could cut her out! No, she remains the
+one and only. Margaret! Her very name is music. But I told you, didn't
+I, that her father was a Duke?"
+
+"Oh, yes, you told me that. It is one of the few things I know about
+her--and that she's a sort of highbrow, though not devoid of good
+looks."
+
+"A highbrow! Sometimes I think you've no soul, Pam. Margaret is _not_ a
+highbrow, any more than you are. But she is the daughter of a Duke; and
+it has occurred to me that in pursuing the daughter of a Duke I may be
+laying myself open to misconceptions."
+
+"Yes, I see. But I wish you'd come to the point and tell me who the
+other girl is."
+
+They had been standing by the window. Norman turned away, and said in a
+different voice: "Let's sit down. I want to tell you something."
+
+They sat on a sofa by the fireplace. Norman lit a pipe. "I say, Pam," he
+said, "did you ever think of Dad as a sort of millionaire?"
+
+"What a funny question! What is a _sort_ of millionaire? I suppose I've
+always known that he has plenty of money. What is the bearing of the
+question?"
+
+"You know I've been having a week's sail on the Broads, with a couple of
+pals. We've had a topping time. I'll tell you about it later on. One of
+the fellows was Dick Baskerville, a son of Lord Ledbury, who's Minister
+for something or other--I've forgotten what--and the other was Eric
+Blundell, one of those blokes who seems to know everybody and everything
+that's going on. They were both at Eton with me, and both in the
+regiment. Dick's in it still, and Eric's at Cambridge. We'd always
+chaffed each other about our respective anginas, and...."
+
+"What do you mean--anginas?"
+
+"Heart troubles. Both of them had tumbled to Margaret, and brought her
+up against me. I didn't deny the soft impeachers; in fact I was rather
+pleased at it. When your time comes, you'll see how that works out. But
+by and by they began to talk about it as if it were something quite
+serious."
+
+"Sweet youths!" interpolated Pam.
+
+"Oh, there was nothing wrong with them. I mean that they began to talk
+about marriage, and the right sort of match, and all that sort of
+thing."
+
+"I should have thought you'd have been rather pleased with that."
+
+"Why? Because she's the daughter of a Duke? I shouldn't have thought
+_you_ would have taken that line."
+
+He looked pained. "I don't, really," said Pam soothingly. "Did they?"
+
+"Oh, not in any way that you could object to. I mean they wouldn't have
+thought I was making up to her because of that. But--well, the long and
+the short of it is that I seemed to present myself to their minds as the
+son of a man who's so rich that I can afford to make up to anybody.
+That's what's disturbing me."
+
+She bent her mind to it. "Really, I don't quite see," she said, with
+sympathy. "If it does come to that--that you want to marry her--wouldn't
+it make it easier?"
+
+"I suppose I should be glad that money didn't stand in the way. But I
+don't quite like it, all the same. Dad seems to be quite well known, as
+a man who has made pots of money, and may be made a peer himself, or
+anything he likes--not because of his money--I don't mean that
+exactly--but because he has made himself so useful to them. What I
+didn't like was the sort of suggestion that he made a pot during the
+war. I know he didn't, and I told them so. Of course they said that they
+had never imagined anything of that kind--seemed shocked at the very
+idea. But I'm pretty certain that the idea is going about, and I don't
+like it a bit. Anyhow, _I'm_ not going to exhibit myself as a joyous
+young bounder who thinks he can do anything he likes because he's the
+son of a rich man. I don't believe Dad _is_ as rich as all that, and I
+told them so. I said I supposed they were leading up to asking me to
+back bills for them. We left it on that note. But it's rather
+disturbing, isn't it?"
+
+"Not very, Norman dear. I shouldn't let it worry you. _I_ know perfectly
+well that you'd be just the same if Uncle Bill were as poor as a church
+mouse; and everybody would be just as pleased to see you."
+
+"Dear old girl! _You_ know that I shouldn't found myself on money; but
+everybody doesn't. I shall have to be a bit careful, if it's really like
+that. I think I shall put it to Dad myself. He's not like that, either.
+He likes work, and he's made a big success of it because he's so clever,
+and sound. It's hard luck if people have got hold of a wrong idea of
+him."
+
+"You're always telling me that I know nothing; but I do know as much as
+that--that rich people are apt to be misunderstood. Still, _we_ know
+him, so what does it matter? What is the bearing of it all upon
+Margaret?"
+
+"The bearing of it on Margaret--name that melts my very
+heart-strings--is that I shall go slow for a time, and see how things
+turn out. If she weren't a Duke's daughter, I should let myself rip. As
+it is, I'm not so sure."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+DISCUSSION
+
+
+Lady Eldridge was as direct in her speech and her ways as any woman
+could be. Yet it did not seem possible to her to embark directly upon
+the subject of which her mind was full, when Norman and Pamela had gone
+off, and she and her sister-in-law were left alone together. Clothes
+were the topic which Mrs. Eldridge seemed eager to discuss, and as if it
+were the one upon which she had only been waiting to unburden herself.
+Lady Eldridge allowed herself to drift with the stream, until some
+landing-place should appear upon which she could set her foot. She was
+used to humouring Cynthia in this way, who was not easily diverted from
+any subject in which she was interested, though she would pursue it with
+many amusing twists and turns, and never made her longest speeches
+tiresome to listen to. She seemed to be full of spirit this afternoon,
+and made Lady Eldridge laugh more than once, though she was increasingly
+anxious to come to terms with her upon the question which must surely be
+disturbing them both equally.
+
+For nothing had been heard from Hayslope in answer to William's letter.
+Coombe had written to say that he had paid off the labour, according to
+instructions, and that was all. She had summoned him that morning on her
+arrival at the Grange, about plants and flowers for the house, and he
+had volunteered the information that most of the men who had been
+working at the garden had been taken on by Colonel Eldridge. This had
+given her an unpleasant shock, but she had made no comment upon it to
+him, nor encouraged him to any further disclosures. She had divined from
+his manner that he was hostile to her brother-in-law, and did not want
+to hear about what had been happening from him first; nor to let him see
+that she knew nothing.
+
+At last she found an opening. "Cynthia dear," she said, "I must talk to
+you about the garden. You must remember that I know nothing yet of what
+has happened since William wrote."
+
+Mrs. Eldridge did not lay aside the light manner in which she had been
+carrying on the conversation. "Well, dear," she said, "if you must talk
+about it I suppose you must. But it's such a tiresome business
+altogether that I should have thought it would have been better to leave
+it to the two men. If they are going to fall out about such a thing, I'm
+sure you and I needn't; and of course they will come together again."
+
+Lady Eldridge thought for a moment. "Of _course_ you and I shan't fall
+out about it," she said with decision. "But it must have gone a good
+deal farther than it ought to have done for you to think of such a
+thing. Why didn't Edmund answer William's letter?"
+
+"Well, there's no difficulty in answering that. His first letter to
+William seemed to have been so misunderstood that he thought it better
+not to write any more, but to wait till he came down. Of course he
+didn't know that he wasn't coming down this week, or perhaps he _would_
+have written. I think he was quite right, you know. I advised him
+myself, when he wrote first of all, not to show irritation. I'm afraid
+the poor old darling must have done so, and unfortunately he didn't show
+me what he had written before he sent it. Oh, I think it's so much
+better _not_ to write letters which may be misunderstood. I didn't
+answer yours for the same reason, though I know _you_ wouldn't
+misunderstand. Well, perhaps that wasn't _quite_ the reason. I didn't
+want to mix myself up in it."
+
+Lady Eldridge's spirits had lightened during the course of this speech.
+"I'm so glad it was like that," she said. "I thought it must have been
+something of the sort. But do you mean that Edmund didn't want William
+to give up making the garden?"
+
+"Of course he didn't. He only thought he ought to have been consulted
+first. I'm bound to say I thought he had been, and I told him so. I was
+as much in it as you were, in a sort of way. I was interested in the
+scheme, as you know. _I_ certainly didn't want it given up, and I was
+disappointed when William threw it all over."
+
+"But--Edmund did object, you know; and pretty strongly. I saw his
+letter. William felt that he couldn't go on, in the face of that."
+
+"Ye--es. But Edmund would have told him that he hadn't meant him to
+stop, if he had been given the chance. Men do act hastily when they are
+a little upset with one another; but it was a pity that William took up
+the attitude he did, I think. With just a _little_ consideration for
+Edmund's feelings the trouble would have blown over entirely. Now I'm
+afraid there is quite a lot to put straight, and it has tried Edmund
+very much."
+
+"I don't understand it, Cynthia. William wired at once to have the work
+stopped, according to what he thought were Edmund's wishes. It was a
+good deal to do under the circumstances, and what could he have done
+more? Surely, Edmund could easily have put it all straight by firing
+back that William had misunderstood him, and then--"
+
+"Wiring back, dear! William didn't wire to Edmund. He took no notice of
+Edmund at all. The first Edmund knew was that Coombe came to tell him
+that he had dismissed the men. After that what _could_ he do?"
+
+"What he seems to have done was to take the men on himself."
+
+"I'm rather sorry he did do that, because of course he can't afford it,
+and it will only add to his worries, poor dear! Still, there they were
+dismissed at a moment's notice, in a fit of temper, you might say,
+and--"
+
+"Oh, _no_, Cynthia. It wasn't so. You mustn't say that."
+
+"My dear child, we must be reasonable on both sides if we are to talk it
+over at all. I've admitted quite frankly on my part that Edmund was
+hasty in what he first wrote to William, and you ought to admit on yours
+that William acted in the same way."
+
+"But, Cynthia dear, I _know_. William _was_ annoyed, but after he had
+talked it all over he got rid of his annoyance. I _know_ that it had
+passed when he wrote."
+
+"Very well, then. But if that is so you must admit that he took an
+unfortunate way of showing it. To dismiss the men off-hand by wire, to
+let Edmund hear of it first from Coombe, and then--"
+
+"I do admit that that was unfortunate. I'm quite sure that it never
+occurred to him--it didn't to me--that it would look as if--"
+
+"And then his letter the next morning! That put Edmund's back up more
+than anything."
+
+Lady Eldridge threw out her hands in a gesture of despair. "Oh, I give
+it up," she said. "Everything seems to have been taken in the wrong way.
+I did think that two brothers who have been so much to each other as
+Edmund and William ought to be able to settle an absurd dispute of this
+sort without all this misunderstanding."
+
+"That's exactly what I think. And if you and I are to mix ourselves up
+in it at all, we ought to try to clear up the misunderstandings."
+
+"Yes, I want to do that. Tell me _why_ William's letter should have put
+Edmund's back up more than anything."
+
+"It's rather difficult, you see. You mustn't be impatient with me. You
+know that I am very fond of William, but you can't expect me to see him
+in quite the same light as you do, any more than you can see Edmund in
+the same light as I do. And you must remember that I'm trying to make
+peace all the time. Still, I see things with Edmund's eyes to some
+extent, and after what had happened the day before I don't think it was
+unreasonable of him to object to being told in so many words that
+William couldn't be expected to take seriously things that _he_ thought
+so important, especially Hayslope, which was only a very small corner of
+the world."
+
+"Oh, Cynthia, what an absurd coil it all is! William _can't_ have
+written that. I know the mood he was in when he went away to write."
+
+"Well, dear, he did write it, and you must forgive me for saying that
+that attitude in him is continually coming out. This bother about the
+garden is only a symptom of it. It is the attitude itself that so annoys
+Edmund. I know that William is much higher up in the world now than my
+poor old man. But he ought not to want to rub it in, Eleanor. After all,
+Edmund _is_ the older brother, and the head of the family. You can't
+defend William telling _him_ that Hayslope is of very little importance.
+It's all he has in the world. Poor dear, he did his duty as a soldier
+during the war. I'm not saying he did _more_ than William; but just look
+at the difference in the rewards they have got! Edmund will be a poor
+man for the rest of his life, because of the war, while William is rich
+and honoured."
+
+"He isn't rich _because_ of the war."
+
+"Oh, no! I don't mean that at all. I should never say such a thing, or
+think it. And as for his knighthood, one knows that honours are given to
+the men who do the sort of work that he did, while a soldier's work is
+just taken as a matter of course. _You_ know that it would never occur
+to me to feel jealousy on that score, which is why I can put it quite
+plainly. Edmund doesn't feel it either, and he is proud of William's
+success; he has often said so. But still, _here_, Edmund ought not to be
+considered of less account than William. There! I have said it quite
+plainly, and you mustn't be offended."
+
+"No, I'm not offended; though it makes me rather sad that all that
+should have to be said, because it is practically the same as William
+says himself, and tries to act upon. He did so in this very matter of
+the garden; but see how it has turned out! Edmund takes it as an offence
+that he should instantly have carried out what he thought were his
+wishes."
+
+"But did he really mean to give up the garden, Eleanor? I will tell you
+frankly now, as we have gone so far, that Edmund's idea is that he hoped
+he would beg him not to. _You_ wrote to me, you know, asking me to
+influence Edmund to do that."
+
+"Not quite, Cynthia. At least--well--"
+
+"You did, dear; and I should have tried to make the peace in that way,
+if it hadn't gone so far. I'm afraid you must admit that William acted
+hastily--I don't say more than that--and if he _did_ expect Edmund to
+climb down, as Edmund believes--well, that's just exactly the spirit
+that I've been trying to point out to you is so objectionable to
+Edmund."
+
+"Oh, it's all so different, Cynthia, from what happened on our side.
+Climb down! There was no such idea in William's mind. _Can't_ we get it
+straight? Supposing William apologizes to Edmund for anything that may
+have displeased him! I believe he would be ready to do that. And you
+mustn't forget Edmund's first letter to him, which you have acknowledged
+yourself--and I saw--was very dictatorial, and even offensive, though
+perhaps it was not meant to be so."
+
+"Offensive! No, I shouldn't quite admit that."
+
+"You say you didn't see it, dear. Among other things, he accused William
+of vulgarity."
+
+"Vulgarity!" Mrs. Eldridge showed some surprise. "Well, of course that
+would be rather strong. But--"
+
+"William is careless about Edmund's position here, you say. Very well.
+He doesn't mean to be, and perhaps Edmund doesn't mean to be
+dictatorial. But he is, you know, towards William; and considering the
+high estimation in which William is held, and the kind of people he
+mixes with, upon equal terms, it _is_ sometimes rather difficult to put
+up with."
+
+"Isn't all that rather apt to be pressed home upon us, dear? Not by
+you--I don't mean that. Naturally you are proud of the estimation in
+which William is held. I should be myself if I were in your place. But
+Edmund feels, I think, that he might be spared some of William's
+reminders on that point. In the very letter he wrote about the garden,
+in which he said that Hayslope couldn't be expected to be of such
+importance to him as it was to Edmund, he prepared the way by telling
+him of all the great people he was consorting with--as you say, upon
+equal terms."
+
+"Which is exactly what I did, when I wrote to you after we had come back
+from Wellsbury. We _were_ there on equal terms, you know; we didn't dine
+in the servants' hall."
+
+"Oh, my dear, you mustn't take it in that way, or we may as well leave
+off talking about it altogether. _I_ didn't show annoyance when you
+accused Edmund just now of being dictatorial and offensive. Don't let
+_us_ fall out with one another, or _every_thing is lost."
+
+Lady Eldridge sat more erect in her chair. "We _must_ end it all," she
+said. "Neither you nor I want it to go on. Let us leave off finding
+faults in the other side, and admit that both sides have made mistakes.
+It _was_ unfortunate that William should have wired to Coombe, and sent
+no message to Edmund at the same time. It's easy enough to see that now;
+but at the time it didn't occur to me, who was very anxious that offence
+should not be given, and I'm sure it didn't occur to William. I have
+told you, anyhow, that his resentment over Edmund's letter had passed
+over; so _that_ can be cleared out of the way. Edmund need think no more
+about it. Now let us get William's mistake cleared out of the way. Tell
+Edmund that it was only carelessness on William's part that led to this
+new trouble, that _I_ much regret it, now it has been pointed out to me,
+and that I'm sure William will when he knows the effect it had. Will you
+do that, Cynthia?"
+
+"Yes, dear, of course I will. Don't let us have any more letters. Let us
+wait until you come down again next week, and then Edmund and William
+can talk it all over together, and I'm sure at the end of it they will
+be as good friends as before."
+
+Lady Eldridge breathed an audible sigh of relief, and smiled. "_We_ have
+talked pretty plainly to one another," she said. "I am so glad that we
+can. What a lot of trouble that unfortunate garden plan of ours has
+made! And it looked as if we were all going to amuse ourselves so much
+with it."
+
+"Oh, and I hope we shall. Do you know, I think Edmund is as much
+disappointed at the idea of its being given up as anybody. I haven't
+told you yet--we seem to have been talking about all sorts of outside
+things--that he _was_ going to send a long telegram to William asking
+him to go on with it, even _after_ Coombe had come to him and refused to
+take his orders."
+
+Lady Eldridge seemed quite at a loss. She stared at her and said
+quietly: "No, you never told me that. I didn't know that Coombe had been
+to Edmund at all."
+
+"How did you think he knew, then, that the men had been paid off? You
+haven't done my poor old Edmund quite justice, you know, Eleanor--but I
+don't want to begin on that again. He was naturally upset at hearing of
+it first from Coombe, and _yet_ he was going to wire to William. In
+fact, he was going to climb down."
+
+Lady Eldridge passed this by with a slight contraction of the brows.
+"What prevented him from writing?" she asked.
+
+"Oh, I haven't told you that. The labourers who had been dismissed came
+to him, and said they wouldn't go on working under Coombe. I'm afraid
+William will have to get rid of that man, Eleanor. The way he has
+behaved is perfectly outrageous. In fact, but for him, the garden might
+have been half finished by this time."
+
+There was a moment's pause. Then Lady Eldridge said: "This is something
+quite new again. You must tell me everything, please, Cynthia."
+
+"I don't know that there's much more to tell, dear. Coombe quite
+obviously came to Edmund to crow over him, though of course he
+_pretended_ to be respectful. But when Edmund told him that there had
+been a mistake and that the work was to go on, he said he had had his
+orders and must abide by them. So what else could he have come for?"
+
+"What did he say he had come for? I'm not defending him, but this is
+serious. I want to know exactly what happened."
+
+"Oh, he pretended that the men who had been dismissed might make a
+disturbance in the village. So ridiculous! Two of them are Edmund's own
+tenants, and the other two are most respectable men, and one of them is
+a teetotaller. Edmund says he has seldom had work better done than they
+are doing it now."
+
+"I wish William were here. Coombe has never given us any cause for
+dissatisfaction, and this is quite a new light on him."
+
+"And afterwards it came out that he had spoken in the most impertinent
+way about Edmund to these very men; so much so, that old Jackson
+wouldn't put up with it, and _all_ of them would have refused to go on
+working under him if he _had_ been told to go on--by William, I mean,
+for he had been told to go on by Edmund and had refused to do so. The
+fact is, I suppose he had got into a mess with his men, and thought he
+could shift the blame on to Edmund. You see, dear,--take it all
+round--it was really impossible that the work should be taken up again.
+Still, I quite hope that it may be, later, and be finished in time for
+the autumn planting. There isn't any violent hurry, is there?"
+
+"No. But whether the garden is made or not seems so unimportant now in
+the face of all these complications. I think I won't say anything to
+Coombe myself, but will wait until William comes down. What was it
+actually that he said to the men about Edmund?"
+
+"Oh, it was outrageous; but it shows the sort of feeling that has grown
+up with regard to Edmund and William. He told them that Edmund was
+desperately jealous of William on account of his title and his money,
+and that if this work they were doing was stopped they would have him to
+thank for it, for he hated William doing anything at Hayslope. Then of
+course he had been paying them more than the current rate of wages--I
+suppose William didn't know that--which made it difficult for Edmund
+when it came to employing them himself. But there they are, working for
+us at less than they were paid here, and refusing to go on under Coombe
+at the higher rate. So you see that Edmund _is_ still respected by the
+villagers and work-people, in spite of all the difficulties that have
+been made."
+
+Lady Eldridge arose somewhat abruptly. "We seem to have got back to
+general criticism," she said, "which I thought we had put behind us. I
+am not going on with that, Cynthia. I think we had better leave it alone
+altogether until William comes down. See, the rain has stopped. Let us
+go out."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+CHURCH AND AFTER
+
+
+There was nothing remarkable about Hayslope Church, unless it was its
+tower, which was large enough to make it a landmark for miles around,
+and its bells, whose full and mellow peal ringing out across the summer
+woods and fields, or in winter time over a landscape muffled white in
+snow, brought that sense of peaceful festivity which belongs especially
+to rural England, so many centuries old. The tower was of perpendicular
+architecture, the main body of the church, conceived with less largeness
+of aim, of an earlier date. But most of its character had been finally
+lost in the restoration to which it had been subjected in the latter
+half of the nineteenth century. Colonel Eldridge's grandfather had
+supplied the money for this work, as a thank-offering for the safe
+return of his son, who had been in the thick of the Indian Mutiny. The
+taste, which had seemed to him of the best, had been supplied by one or
+other of the ecclesiological malefactors of the time, whose baneful
+activities, carried on by their immediate successors, have left scarcely
+an old church in all England in which it is possible to feel the quiet
+and grateful influences of tradition. There were seats of pitch pine,
+varnished, a chancel paved with encaustic tiles, thinly lacquered metal
+work of a mean design, and a little triple reredos of oak underneath
+the distressing colours of the East window.
+
+And yet it was possible sometimes to catch the sense of the long past,
+which the restorers had done their mischievous best to destroy. Lady
+Eldridge, somewhat troubled in her mind, and anxious to lay hold of
+whatever composing influence the morning service could bring her, looked
+here and there during the progress of the sermon, and it came home to
+her--that soothing impression of age and use and wont, which is the
+rightful heritage of old churches, and especially of old country
+churches.
+
+The seats belonging to the Hall and the Grange were in what had once
+been the South Chapel, and were slightly raised above the rest. The side
+view of the altar, the choir-boys and handful of choirmen, backed by the
+garishly patterned organ pipes, held nothing for the eye to rest on with
+pleasure. But the high pulpit, of Jacobean oak, from which Mr. Comfrey
+was engaged in directing his flock, was consecrated by some centuries of
+use to that weekly exercise. Behind him, in a line from where she was
+sitting, was a window of little diamond panes of clear glass, through
+which the trees could be seen, and the birds flying to and fro. Perhaps
+it was this which first brought the sense of peace to her mind; for that
+outlook into the happy world of birds and trees had often freed her
+thoughts from the slight oppression caused by Mr. Comfrey's dialectics,
+which were concerned with nothing that seemed to bear upon the life that
+was all about him. But this morning it set her thinking of the past, as
+it hung about the familiar church, in which once or twice before she
+had caught at the skirts of time, and held them for a little.
+
+Underneath the tower, from the wooden ceiling behind the high-pointed
+arch, the stout bell-ropes hung down, thickened with worsted where the
+ringers held them. Behind them were the ponderous oak doors, from a
+chink between which streamed a thin plate of golden light, that fell
+upon the sombre tables of the law, which the renovators had banished
+from over the altar; and above the arch was a large square panel painted
+with the Royal Coat of Arms. Somehow, the sight of these things, which
+had nothing to do with the long-ago history of the church, was grateful
+to her. Her imagination, and her knowledge, were equal to reviving some
+vision of the church as it had been before the Reformation, when the
+same kind of country-folk as now resorted to it fixed their stolid gaze
+upon the priest before the altar, and knew him in his outside comings
+and goings as the villagers of to-day knew their Mr. Comfrey. But it was
+a life nearer to her own, and yet established for some generations past,
+of which the voice of the old church whispered to her this morning. By
+turning her head to the right she could see a large mural monument of
+white marble, filling the space of a blocked-up window, which
+commemorated the virtues of an early eighteenth century Eldridge, and
+those, less enlarged upon but possibly as exemplary, of his wife. Those
+were the times of which she liked to think, and the years that came
+after them, when her husband's forbears lived in the Hall, much as it
+was now, and came here every Sunday, to take part in the same prayers
+and psalms, and to listen, or otherwise, to sermons from the same
+pulpit. Some of them had lived through troublous times, but none,
+surely, in such a time of unrest as this, with the great catastrophe
+only just lifted, and its ultimate results not yet in any power to
+foresee. She herself had been less affected by it than many. She had
+lost no near relations; she had not to rearrange her life to meet
+reduced opportunities. But the weight of it hung over her all the same.
+It was a comfort to feel that here was something that went on, that came
+from a past not too remote, and was joined to her life by special ties.
+
+In the two seats in front of her sat the family from the Hall. They had
+not come unscathed out of the catastrophe. Yet the same sense of
+something stable and supporting in this Sunday habit of churchgoing hung
+about them. More even than herself they belonged here. Almost more than
+the house they inhabited, this place seemed to stand for continuity and
+settlement in the lives of such as they. For life in the house must
+alter from time to time, and might alter much; but what went on in the
+church altered little.
+
+Such a life as theirs seemed to her preferable to her own life, even
+with the restrictions that diminished means had brought them. Such
+restrictions would not have troubled her for herself, as long as the
+quiet round of daily duty and pleasure remained. She would have enjoyed
+it more than the life she led, chiefly in London. The days she spent at
+the Grange were the best days, but the Grange too seemed to echo the
+busy London life, so bound up in all its aspects with the spending of
+money. There was some restful feeling about it, surrounded as it was by
+the woods and fields, but it was not to compare with the restfulness of
+the Hall, which reflected only the life of the country, as it had been
+lived there for generations. It seemed to her that if she had been in
+Cynthia's place she would have been glad that the London house had had
+to be given up, for all her interests then would have been concentrated
+upon the house which was really the home. Cynthia did love her country
+home, she knew, and had accepted the change in her lot with admirable
+absence of complaint. But they were not made alike; Cynthia would have
+been completely happy if their positions in life had been changed.
+
+Colonel Eldridge sat upright in his seat, his closely-cropped grey head
+held erect, the brown skin of his neck and shaven cheek contrasting with
+the clean polished white of his stiff collar, his flat back and square
+shoulders clothed in dark creaseless serge. The rigid neatness of his
+appearance and attire went with his straight confined mind, in which
+there was little room for the leniencies that gave her the sense of
+something large and responsive in her husband. Her gaze rested on him,
+and she tried to imagine something of what he was thinking, as he sat so
+unmoved, his eyes bent down, and his ears, she was sure, not responsive
+to Mr. Comfrey's well-intentioned hair-splittings.
+
+It was probably this effort to put herself in his place that brought to
+her a rush of pity for him, so strong that moisture came to her eyes,
+and she looked away to the ribbons and daisies in Isabelle's hat,
+immediately in front of her.
+
+She had been hard to him in her thoughts, although she had worked upon
+her husband's more easily moved sensibilities to put aside the offence
+he had caused, and to treat him with generosity. She had even felt great
+impatience with Cynthia, though she hoped she had refrained from showing
+it. It had been difficult, the day before, to treat her with the
+customary affection, when they had laid aside their discussion, which
+was leading to no understanding, and spent an hour together out of
+doors. She believed Cynthia to be as anxious as she was that this
+unseemly dispute in which they had found themselves involved should end;
+but Cynthia had allowed herself to say many things that she would not
+have allowed to be said to her without taking great offence. She had
+been right to let them go by, but she was not so sure that she had not
+kept a spark of resentment over them alive in her mind. If so, she must
+put it out. Cynthia was her friend of many years, and did love her; of
+that she was assured. Friends ought to be able to speak plainly to one
+another, and if they did not agree upon a given subject, they must fall
+back upon the deeper agreement to which their friendship had brought
+them, tested by time and welded by affection.
+
+In this dispute there seemed to be nothing that could be done by
+discussing the rights and wrongs of it. Discussion seemed only to add
+new causes of complaint, which were already so numerous as to be
+swamping the original one. But the deeper tie was there, for all of
+them. She made up her mind definitely that she, for her part, would lean
+all her weight upon it, and not allow herself to be turned aside by any
+accidents of the moment. And she knew that William would be ready to act
+the large generosity that was his, even to the extent of accepting
+blame, where blame was not rightly due to him.
+
+What was it that really lay at the bottom of the feeling that seemed to
+be growing up to separate them? Not the question of the garden, which
+had been complicated by all sorts of little mistakes, or it would have
+been amicably settled long ago. Cynthia had been right when she had said
+that that was only a symptom, though she had applied it only to one
+side. Edmund complained of William overshadowing him at Hayslope. That
+was what it came to in the last resort. Well, William was a man of mark,
+and Edmund was not. And it was impossible for William to put the same
+value upon what was of most importance to Edmund, which was also a cause
+of complaint. Hayslope wasn't and couldn't be always in the forefront of
+his mind, with all the varied and thronging interests that were his.
+Edmund ought to be able to see that; but if he couldn't, or wouldn't,
+then it only remained for William to be more careful than ever not to
+upset his dignity, which should not be very difficult for him, with the
+affection that he had for Edmund. As for the dictatorial methods that
+Edmund was apt to adopt towards his younger brother, perhaps it had been
+a mistake to bring them up at all. It would be small-minded to keep them
+standing as a subject for resentment, and they meant nothing that
+mattered. William had put up with them comfortably for the greater part
+of his life, and she was sure he would go on putting up with them for
+the sake of keeping the peace.
+
+Without a doubt, when the balance was struck, there had been more
+offence against them than against Edmund. Very well, then; it was for
+them to make light of it. They could well afford to do so. They had so
+much more than Edmund now; they would even stand in Edmund's place some
+day, if they survived him, and would have that in addition which he had
+hoped to have handed on to his son. Poor Edmund; he had been very much
+tried. It would not cost much to give way to him in this affair, and
+carefully to avoid all occasions of offence in the future.
+
+The service came to an end, and the congregation streamed out into the
+bright sunlight. It was composed of the households from the Hall, the
+Grange, and the Vicarage, a few farmers and their families, villagers
+and labouring people. It had not filled half the church, for the country
+habit of churchgoing is lessening, along with the not so admirable habit
+of Sabbatarianism. At Hayslope, perhaps more people went to church than
+would be usual in a country village, because the gentry went regularly,
+and, although Colonel Eldridge would not have put pressure on any of his
+tenantry to follow his example, it was generally supposed that he liked
+to see as full a congregation as possible. It was his custom to linger
+in the churchyard after the service, to exchange salutations, and for a
+few words with one and another. Lady Eldridge, whose eyes and ears were
+open towards him, marked his pleasant courteous air with those to whom
+he spoke. It was plain that they liked to be singled out by him. He was
+an excellent Squire, of a kind that is fast disappearing. There was
+nobody there that morning of whom he did not know something more than
+their occupations about this estate. He could probably have put a name
+to all the children, and they bobbed, and touched their caps to him, not
+as if they had merely been taught to do so. It was not, after all, no
+small a thing to hold the respect and esteem of some few hundreds of
+people towards all of whom, directly or indirectly, he stood in a
+special position not invariably easy to maintain. Money could not have
+bought just that response; there were many rich landowners, generous
+according to their lights, who would not have been liked and respected
+in the way this one was, who might now be called poor.
+
+There was a gate leading from the churchyard to the Vicarage garden, but
+Fred Comfrey joined himself on to the Eldridges, who crossed the road
+and entered the park through the lodge gates, just opposite. He seemed
+to Norman, who watched him with an unfavouring eye, to do this with a
+hangdog air, as if he knew he was taking a liberty. At any rate, he
+should not walk with Pamela, if that was his object. Norman fastened
+upon her himself, and said: "Let's get away. I want to talk to you about
+something."
+
+"Wait half a minute," she said, her head turned towards the group behind
+her; and then she moved towards Fred, and said: "I've found that book at
+last. If you'll come up now I'll give it to you."
+
+Fred visibly brightened, before Norman's offended eyes, and seized upon
+her invitation as inclusive of her company during the walk home, for he
+put himself instantly by her side. She threw a half-glance at Norman,
+such as to absolve her in his mind from having intended this; but she
+shouldn't have given the bounder the opportunity of joining her in that
+way. Of course he would stick like a leech, if he got the smallest
+encouragement.
+
+Pamela said to Norman, trying to bring him into a conversation of three:
+"Do you remember that book, 'Jack o' the Mill' that Hugo used to be so
+fond of when he was a boy? I remember him showing me the pictures in it,
+when I was quite tiny. Fred reminded me of it, and I've found it for
+him."
+
+"No," said Norman, who remembered the book perfectly well. But "no" was
+the shortest word he could find. He wanted to hear Fred talk, and give
+himself away.
+
+Fred seemed to be quite ready to talk, and he did not follow Pamela's
+lead in trying to bring Norman into the conversation. He talked about
+Hugo, in a way that aroused Norman's contemptuous disgust. Really, one
+would have thought that the two of them together had been models of
+sweet and innocent boyhood, and that the one who was dead lived
+enshrined in the heart of the other as a tender memory that would never
+fade. Poor little Pam liked it, of course, and there was no objection to
+having Hugo turned into a plaster saint for her benefit. But the fellow
+was obviously out to recommend himself through this beatification, and
+to share the halo. He was trying now to bring Pamela herself into the
+picture of the blameless past, representing the three of them as having
+taken part in the sacred idyll. This afforded Norman food for sardonic
+amusement, remembering as he did how little Pamela had been considered
+by the hulking brute that Fred had been then, or even by Hugo, when he
+had been in Fred's company. At the third or fourth "Do you remember?" he
+could stand it no longer, and turned back to join the children and Miss
+Baldwin, who were immediately behind them. This was intended as a
+protest, but neither Pamela nor Fred, in the interest of their
+conversation, seemed to notice it.
+
+Fred did not stay to luncheon, although Norman heard his aunt invite
+him. He went off with his book, and Norman had his opportunity of
+talking to Pamela. It had been in his mind to begin upon the subject of
+Fred; but it was of no use just to repeat his warning of yesterday, and
+anything he might say about the conversation from which he had just
+retired in disgust would reflect upon Hugo. Hugo was becoming
+increasingly a subject not to be mentioned between him and Pamela.
+Besides, he _had_ something he wanted to say to her.
+
+She waited for him to speak first, as they turned towards the lawn, and
+possibly expected a rebuke, as before. "I say, Pam," he said. "This is a
+rotten business about the new garden."
+
+"What new garden?" she asked in surprise, for her parents were
+old-fashioned in respect of not discussing all and everything before
+their children, and no echo of what had been disturbing them had reached
+her.
+
+He was surprised in his turn. "What, don't you know?" he said. "Father
+had begun to make a garden in that field at the bottom of the wood, and
+Uncle Edmund stopped it."
+
+Then he gave her the story, as it had been told him by Coombe that
+morning, when he had gone down to Barton's Close, and found him in his
+Sunday clothes, musing over the havoc he had wrought. The story had lost
+nothing in the way of incrimination of Colonel Eldridge, and complete
+exculpation of himself.
+
+"I don't believe it," said Pam shortly. "If anything has happened, it
+wasn't like that."
+
+"Well, something _has_ happened, because the digging was stopped a week
+ago, and the men who were doing it are working at the drive here."
+
+"Yes, Dad did say, now I remember, that he had taken on some men, who
+had been working for Uncle Bill. What does Auntie Eleanor say about it?"
+
+"I haven't said anything to her. It seems to me, anyhow, as if our
+respective, and respected, parents had fallen out, and I want to know
+what line _we_ are going to take about it."
+
+"The line _I_ should take about it, if I had to take any, would be that
+if Dad and Uncle Bill disagreed about something, Dad would be in the
+right."
+
+"I say, Pam! Are you annoyed about anything?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Well, you're rather terse, aren't you? It's a pity, because you're
+looking particularly seraphic this morning. I noticed it first in
+church."
+
+"It was very sweet of you; and I believe it to be so. Everything seemed
+to go on right this morning. There _are_ days like that. You don't
+think that Dad and Uncle Bill have really quarrelled, do you? Of course
+I know the garden _was_ to be made, and it seems odd that it should have
+been left off like that."
+
+"Yes, it is odd. I don't like to think of their having a row. It would
+be very unlike them. Still, according to Coombe--"
+
+"_What_, according to Coombe? If he said what you say he did about Dad,
+you ought to have shut him up."
+
+"I did, as a matter of fact. But there must be _something_ in it."
+
+"I think we'd better wait and see what there is. If there's anything at
+all, it will blow over. I suppose you can't expect them always to agree
+about everything, and Uncle Bill is so much away, and so busy, that he
+might not always think enough of Dad's point of view, who is always
+here."
+
+"It might be something of that sort. Anyhow, _we_ needn't take sides."
+
+"Oh, _I_ should, if there was really a quarrel. I adore Uncle Bill, but
+if it was a question between him and Dad I should take Dad's side
+through thick and thin. And I should expect you to take Uncle Bill's. So
+I expect we should quarrel worse than they would."
+
+He laughed lightly. "Not much fear of our quarrelling," he said. "I say,
+Pam, have you seen Sunny Jim lately? I'm told that he is in residence at
+Pershore Castle, the seat of his father, the Earl of Crowborough, and a
+dull dog at that."
+
+"Yes, he has been over here once or twice. I should think he might
+quite possibly come over this afternoon. Do you want to see him?"
+
+"I don't know that I particularly want to; but I shall, no doubt. How is
+his affair progressing?"
+
+"What affair?"
+
+"His suit for the hand of Miss Eldridge, of Hayslope Hall. Is his ardour
+still undiminished, and has he had any encouragement yet?"
+
+Pamela laughed. "I'll tell you something, if you'll promise to keep it
+to yourself," she said.
+
+Norman promised.
+
+"Well, I don't think he knows it yet, but he is beginning to fall in
+love with Judith. She doesn't know it either, of course; but it's the
+greatest fun in the world to watch them."
+
+"Tell me about it. I shouldn't mind that at all. As a matter of fact, I
+think Jim ought to be kept in the family, dull as he is. As long as it
+isn't you!"
+
+"Judith doesn't find him dull. And you make a great deal too much of his
+dulness. He isn't interested in the things that we like; but he does
+know a lot, and I should think he was very sound in what he does know."
+
+"Let's hope he is. Oh, he's not a bad fellow, I like old Jim; and people
+liked him at school. It's only that one gets in the way of labelling a
+fellow. Judith's a funny bird; you never quite know how to take her.
+She's extraordinarily pretty, though, and ought to be prettier still
+when she's quite fledged. I don't wonder that Jim is beginning to see
+it."
+
+"Oh, but I don't think he is yet. As the danger is passing, I don't mind
+admitting now that I _was_ the attraction, and perhaps he still thinks
+I am. He-- Well, he behaves like that. But it's Judith who really
+interests him--I suppose because he interests her. They talk over all
+sorts of things together, and he tells her everything about himself, and
+what he is going to do. At _present_ he doesn't in the least mind a
+third person assisting in their confabulations; and of course _she_
+doesn't, except that--you know--she hates giving herself away. I keep
+quiet, and listen, putting in a word every now and then, so that I
+shan't appear to be just taking notes of them. It's awfully funny; and
+rather touching too, sometimes. I'm longing for the time to come when I
+shall be found _de trop_. When that happens, something else will happen
+very soon afterwards."
+
+"Rather exciting, isn't it? Have the parents tumbled to it yet, do you
+think?"
+
+"Not to Judith. Oh, look! There he is! I said he would be over to-day.
+Now, if you keep your mouth shut and your ears open you'll see that I'm
+right."
+
+Lord Horsham advanced across the lawn towards them, a smile of
+deprecation on his face. His apologies and explanations over having
+invited himself to lunch, delivered with looks directed straight at
+Pamela, seemed to furnish a contradiction to her late pronouncement. But
+when he had made them, and addressed a few words to Norman, he drew from
+under his arm a large Blue Book, and asked: "Where's Judith? I said I
+would bring this over to show her. It's about Rural Housing. You know we
+were talking about it the other day."
+
+"Yes," said Pam. "I know she wants to hear more about it. I think you'll
+find her in the library, Jim. I won't come in just now, because Norman
+and I have something to talk about."
+
+"Oh, I'm sorry I disturbed you. Yes, I'll go and find her. You're _sure_
+Mrs. Eldridge won't mind my inviting myself like this?"
+
+He was once more reassured, and went off. "You see!" said Pam, in a low
+voice. "I took a bright part in that conversation, but it's with Judy he
+wants to go on with it."
+
+"Oh, it's a cinch!" said Norman, with delight. "Dear old silly old
+solemn old Jim, and Judith with her golden hair a hanging down her back!
+What a lark, Pam! But I say, old girl, I don't quite like the idea of
+you getting left in this way. If everything else had failed I did think
+you could fall back upon the Viscountess Horsham. Are you sure you don't
+mind? You're not hiding rampant jealousy under a mask of indifference,
+are you? It is sometimes done, I know."
+
+"No, I'm not. It's an incubus lifted from me."
+
+"Well, it _would_ have been rather rotten. You're made for better
+things. What I have thought of doing is to bring relays of bright young
+fellows down to stay, and let you run your eye over them. What do you
+think of that? I'm rather tired of running about, and I thought I'd stay
+here for a bit, and do some work, and play with you."
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad, Norman. It is a little dull here sometimes without
+you. As for the bright young fellows, I shall be pleased to inspect
+them. I do enjoy a little male society occasionally."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE RIFT
+
+
+Dusk was beginning to fall as Colonel Eldridge took a last stroll round
+the garden he loved, smoking the pipe to which he had taken when he had
+decided that cigars were too expensive for him any longer. The rest of
+the family were at the Grange, except the two children, who were
+supposed to be in bed. Whether they actually were so or not their father
+allowed himself to doubt, with a smile at the corners of his mouth. They
+had been keeping him company until summoned by Miss Baldwin, and his
+thoughts were still upon them. He had a great love for young children,
+but some stiff reserved trait in his character prevented him from
+showing it, even to his own, when there was anyone else by. What he
+liked was to have them to himself, and listen to their prattle, which
+was all music in his ears, though he affected to exercise some control
+over it. He would rather stay at home with the children, he had said,
+than dine at the Grange; but Mrs. Eldridge had understood that he would
+not go there until the dispute between him and his brother was settled.
+Sir William was coming down late that evening, dining on the train.
+
+The children actually were in bed; for Miss Baldwin, always eager to get
+to her evening's reading, was strict in this matter. She was sitting by
+the window that faced on to the drive. She liked best the other
+windows, with their view across the lawn, but thought that Colonel
+Eldridge might look up and see her there, and feel that he was being
+watched. She did take an occasional surreptitious look at him. He was
+interesting her at this time, for she thought that he must soon come
+into the story which she was weaving around Pamela, and though she knew
+how he ought to act in order to advance the interest of the story, she
+was not sure that he would fulfil her expectations. It was more
+interesting so. One did not always want to look at pages ahead in an
+exciting story.
+
+Miss Baldwin was not so immersed in the printed story she was reading as
+to be quite oblivious to the beauty of the scene before her, in the
+fading light of the summer evening. She sometimes raised her eyes to it,
+with a grateful sense of its increasing her enjoyment in the pleasant
+hour that was all her own. The sky was an expanse of faint pulsing blue,
+passing to a delicate rose above the horizon; the distant country was
+losing its sharper details in the pale haze that enveloped it, but the
+heavy mass of Pershore Castle could still be seen in the middle
+distance, and kept alive in her mind that other story which she was
+making for herself.
+
+It was this state of awareness, no doubt, that suggested to her that the
+motor-car which she descried on the drive, upon one of her upward looks,
+was bringing one of Pamela's suitors to interview Pamela's father.
+Horsham had driven himself over a few evenings before, after dinner,
+with the offer of a joy-ride. She rose hastily and looked out of the
+other window. Colonel Eldridge was still there, looking at his roses
+now, in the garden nearest the drive. He would be seen by whoever was in
+the car, and it was probable that the ensuing conversation would take
+place under her eyes.
+
+The car could be seen more plainly when she went back, and it was a
+disappointment to recognize it as Sir William Eldridge's big touring
+Rolls-Royce, instead of the more modest and slightly out-of-date Rénault
+from Pershore Castle. It had purred up to the iron gate which divided
+the gravelled square in front of the house from the park by the time she
+had adjusted her mind to the disappointment, and while the chauffeur was
+opening the gate she looked out again at Colonel Eldridge, who by this
+time had heard it, and was moving towards where he could see who was
+coming. She saw Sir William hitch himself out of the driving-seat, and
+go across to his brother, with the light active step which she always
+admired in him, and heard his hearty greeting. "Well, Edmund, old
+fellow, I thought I'd come and have a word or two with you on my way
+home, though I wasn't sure that you wouldn't be dining at the Grange.
+Eleanor wrote that Cynthia and the girls were."
+
+It seemed to Miss Baldwin that Colonel Eldridge's reply to the greeting
+was lacking in the warmth which it invited. But his manner was never so
+free and open as Sir William's, who had the pleasantest way with him,
+even when he addressed himself to a retiring but appreciative governess.
+The words he used had no importance to impress themselves upon her, but
+Sir William's next speech, delivered in his clear voice, which carried
+them up to her, were: "I'm glad I've found you alone, then. Look here,
+old boy, let's get this tiresome business that we've been writing about
+out of the way." Here they moved off together on to the lawn. "The last
+thing in the world I want is to get up against you, and if I've done or
+written anything that has offended you, I'm sorry for it."
+
+There was a pause before Colonel Eldridge replied. His voice was in a
+lower key, and by this time they were out of hearing. Miss Baldwin, who
+had much delicacy of feeling, shut the two windows which looked on to
+the lawn, softly, while their backs were turned to her; but she did not
+forbid herself to conjecture what it was that had happened between them
+or to taste her own surprise that anything should have happened to bring
+forth that introductory speech. She did not connect it with the affair
+in which she was so interested, for she had not given Sir William a part
+in that story. Probably it was nothing of any consequence, and when they
+had talked it over, walking up and down the lawn, Colonel Eldridge with
+his pipe, Sir William with his cigar, they would go into the house, and
+Sir William would take a little refreshment before driving himself home
+to the Grange. The great car stood there below, its latent power ready
+to be put in motion at a moment's notice, and the chauffeur stood by it,
+as if he, at least, was not expecting to be kept there long.
+
+The two men walked up and down together for half an hour, until it
+became too dark to see their faces. Sometimes they stopped in their walk
+and stood still for a time, and then they would go on again. Sometimes
+Sir William made a gesture, but Colonel Eldridge hardly moved his hands,
+except to take his pipe out of his mouth, and once to fill and light it
+again. It was impossible for Miss Baldwin, who now watched them,
+fascinated by a sense of drama, and with no pretence to herself of not
+doing so, to avoid the conviction that their dispute was serious, and
+not easy of settlement. She thought she could tell from Sir William's
+movements that he was coming to feel more and more annoyance, and that
+Colonel Eldridge was also angry, though he was exercising control over
+himself.
+
+But surely, it must end some time! It was so dark now that she could
+only just see their forms in the shade of the trees, and Sir William's
+cigar glowed with a red point of light; and still they went on. She
+began to get alarmed lest Colonel Eldridge might look up at the windows
+of the schoolroom and notice that they were unlit, and it would be
+discovered that she had been watching them, sitting in the dark. But she
+dared not draw the curtains now, for that would be to attract attention.
+
+The end came suddenly, and in a way to make her draw her breath. They
+had been stationary for some time, and their voices had raised
+themselves slightly. She could hear them through the other window, which
+remained open, but not what they were saying. Sir William walked quickly
+across the lawn, and through the gate to where his car was standing. He
+got into his seat, and the twin lights in front of the car blazed out
+blindingly. The chauffeur ran to open the gate into the park, and it
+seemed to her that he hardly had time to jump on to the car as it went
+through it, swinging to behind them. She watched the radiance that moved
+with it, and the little point of red light behind it, until it
+disappeared over a dip, and then went again to the other window. Colonel
+Eldridge was lighting his pipe once more. When he had done so, he
+resumed his slow pacing of the lawn.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+They were playing Bridge at the Grange, Lady Eldridge and Pamela against
+Mrs. Eldridge and Norman. Judith, who did not care for Bridge, was deep
+in a big chair, reading a book. Her passion for facts, lately fostered
+by her friendship with Lord Horsham, had not driven her to choose this
+book, which was "Three Men in a Boat." She read it closely, turning over
+the pages at regular intervals, and never smiled once. But when she came
+to reproducing scraps of its wisdom after she had digested it and made
+it her own, she would make others laugh over it.
+
+Her mother's eyes were often upon her in the intervals of the game, with
+a sort of critical look, as if she were trying to see her in some new
+light. She made a picture to fill the eye, in her white frock, with the
+deep purple ribbons at her waist and in her dusky hair. The dark
+covering of the chair framed her young form, and threw up the delicate
+profile of her face, the long lashes veiling her eyes, the full red lips
+a little apart. She was a very beautiful girl, but childhood seemed to
+linger about her, emphasized by the way her hair was done, and the slim
+crossed ankles beneath her skirt, shorter than she would presently come
+to wear it. Was her mother trying to see her as already a woman? It
+would not be surprising if others did, though it was doubtful if she
+herself was yet ready to step out of the enchanted garden of her
+girlhood.
+
+A rubber was just finished, and Pamela and Norman were endeavouring to
+come to some agreement about the score, when sounds were heard outside
+which caused Lady Eldridge to rise from her chair. "That must be
+William," she said. "He's very late. I'll just go and see if he wants
+anything."
+
+She went out, and did not return. Pamela and Norman finished their
+calculations and leant back in their chairs. Mrs. Eldridge had already
+moved to a more comfortable one, and was sitting there in silence,
+looking out into the night, through the open French windows.
+
+Presently it became noticeable that they were left alone. Even Judith
+looked up from her book inquiringly, but turned again to Montmorency,
+relieved, perhaps, at having a few more minutes' respite. Norman said:
+"I wonder what they're doing?" Then he and Pamela began to play
+Patience, and so they all continued, but with expectancy.
+
+Ten minutes must have gone by before Lady Eldridge came in again. Her
+sister-in-law threw a sharp glance at her, but she showed no traces of
+anything having happened to disturb her, unless it was in an added
+seriousness of expression. "William sends his love, and hopes you will
+excuse his coming in," she said. "He has some letters to write before
+he goes to bed."
+
+Mrs. Eldridge got up. "It is time we were going," she said, and Lady
+Eldridge did not ask her to stay longer, though it was not later than
+half-past ten, and their parties did not usually break up so early.
+Norman looked quickly from one to the other, and said: "All right; I'll
+go and get the car. I shall be ready by the time you've got your bonnet
+and spencer on, Aunt Cynthia."
+
+Their light cloaks were in the hall. Pamela went out to get hers, and
+Judith followed her, Mrs. Eldridge lingering behind. "William went to
+see Edmund on his way home," Lady Eldridge said to her; "and they have
+quarrelled. Oh, Cynthia, do put it right! I'll do all _I_ can. We
+mustn't stay here now, or the girls will suspect something."
+
+She had spoken with great earnestness, though hurriedly, and immediately
+went into the hall, where she talked to Pamela and Judith until Norman
+came round with the car. Mrs. Eldridge said nothing; but when she kissed
+her sister-in-law good-night, she gave her a pressure of the hand, which
+was returned as warmly.
+
+Pamela sat in front with Norman. The car he was driving was half closed,
+and the screen behind them allowed them to talk without being overheard
+by Mrs. Eldridge and Judith. "Father has been with Uncle Edmund," he
+said, "for nearly an hour. I'm afraid they've had a row."
+
+Pamela had not imagined anything of the sort, and was disagreeably
+affected. "Oh, they can't have," she said. "Why do you think so?"
+
+"Well, it was odd, his not coming in. And why shouldn't mother have said
+that he had been at the Hall? And why should she have stayed out with
+him so long?"
+
+Depression seized upon Pamela. She was young enough to feel rather
+shocked at the idea of her elders quarrelling, which had never happened
+at home within her knowledge. The Hall and the Grange had been in such
+close contact for years past that her uncle and aunt shared something of
+the feeling that she had for her parents, who had not yet come to be
+criticized by their children. It was unpleasant to think of them as
+moved by temper, or more than on the surface by irritation, at least
+against one another. A rift would affect them all. A disagreeable
+impression had already been made by Uncle Bill not coming in to see
+them, for he had always given them such a welcome, and hurried to greet
+them as if they were a part of his own family, whom he was glad to see
+again after an absence.
+
+"I suppose it's about that beastly garden," said Norman. "But mother
+told me he had written to her about it, and said that he wasn't going on
+with it now. If he went to see Uncle Edmund on his way home, it can only
+have been to tell him so."
+
+The implied criticism of her father moved Pamela. "It's no use our
+imagining what it is," she said. "Let's wait until we know."
+
+"Yes; we can't do anything. I suppose mother and Aunt Cynthia can,
+though. _They_ don't want to quarrel."
+
+"Dad and Uncle William won't either. I should think Uncle Bill is more
+easily upset than Dad. If he is annoyed with him now, he will have got
+over it by to-morrow."
+
+There was a slight pause. "It's rather beastly, you know," Norman said.
+"Already, in the few words we've had about it, I've been looking at it
+from father's point of view and you from Uncle Edmund's. I suppose it's
+natural; but what I think is that it can't be anything serious, and
+there's no reason for us to take sides. I won't, anyhow. I dare say
+you're right, and father is more quick-tempered than Uncle Edmund.
+They're both jolly good sorts, and I don't think you'll often find two
+brothers of their age who get on so well together as they do. I suppose
+I'm rather like father myself. I've often said things you haven't liked,
+but I've been sorry for them afterwards."
+
+This touched her. It was one of the things that she loved about
+Norman--his quick reactions at the call of affection. She had sometimes
+been guilty of arousing his annoyance, so that she might see him come
+round to her again. "I'm sure we needn't worry ourselves," she said,
+with more agreement in her tone than she had used before. "Uncle Bill
+not coming in to see us was so unusual that we are making more of it
+than it can possibly mean. Supposing they were both angry with one
+another just now, it can't possibly last. Even if they didn't calm down
+at once themselves, mother and Auntie Eleanor wouldn't let them go on
+with it."
+
+Norman laughed at that. "And if they couldn't stop them, we should," he
+said. "We're all like one family. Nothing could separate us for long."
+
+When they came to the iron gate where the park ended, it was to find it
+open. "Oh, there's Dad!" said Pamela, and called out a greeting to him
+as they passed through. "I'm so glad, Norman. _He_ isn't keeping out of
+your way. He must have got over it already."
+
+She ran back to her father when the car stopped before the door, and put
+her arm through his. "Have you been lonely without us, darling?" she
+said. "I'll stay with you till Norman goes through again. I know he
+isn't coming in."
+
+It was in his usual rather expressionless voice that he asked her: "Had
+a good evening? The children and I practised archery, with some old bows
+and arrows they found upstairs. I think we must set that up properly."
+
+It was a great relief to her to find him like this. When Norman came
+back slowly through the gate, he thanked him for bringing them home, and
+bid him good-night in his usual way. She could see that Norman was
+relieved too. There had been if not an actual quarrel something very
+like it, but this was the way in which such unfortunate occurrences
+between elders should be treated, with nothing of it allowed to be seen
+by those who looked up to them. She could not help comparing his
+attitude with that of Uncle William, who had taken it in such different
+fashion. Her father's dignity and self-control seemed to her to exhibit
+itself plainly beside his unwillingness to show himself under his
+annoyance. It was not difficult to judge which of the two was more
+likely to have been in the right.
+
+They shut the gate and went back to the house. Colonel Eldridge kissed
+her good-night. "I'll go and have a word with mother," he said.
+
+Yes, something had happened, and her father and mother would talk it
+over together. And very soon it would all be put right. Uncle William
+and Auntie Eleanor were also probably talking it over, and she would
+certainly bring him to the right frame of mind. He was such a good
+sport, though without the essential wisdom that showed up so plainly in
+her father. He must have been in the wrong; but he was so generous and
+so affectionate that it would not take him long to see it and to say so.
+
+As for Norman, his uncle's greeting had removed his discomfort entirely.
+The best of friends were apt to fall out occasionally, and if that had
+happened between his father and his uncle, it was nothing to worry
+about. He dismissed them from his mind as he sped down the drive, until
+he had to slow up for that part of the road which was under repair, when
+it occurred to him that this was probably what the row was about. The
+workmen who had been engaged for work at the Grange had been snooped for
+work at the Hall. Really, that _was_ rather thick! There was no doubt
+that Uncle Edmund had an arbitrary way with him; but he was a thoroughly
+good old sort, all the same. Norman had many kindnesses to remember from
+him, from his early boyhood, when country pursuits had not come to him
+so readily as they did now, and during his visits to the Hall it had
+always been thoughtfully arranged that he should have all possible
+opportunities for enjoying himself.
+
+He did not accelerate to his former pace when he had passed over the
+loose stones but leant back in his seat and crawled along, so as to give
+himself up to the romance of the summer night, and all the moving
+thoughts that his surrender to it would bring him. The young moon had
+not long since risen, and bathed the undulating spaces of the park in a
+soft, silvery sheen. The night coolness after the heat of the day
+brought sweet, sharp scents to his nostrils. The still beauty of the
+night seemed to be inviting him to something more than a solitary
+appreciation of it. He wished he had suggested that they should go for a
+longer drive. He and Pam both loved the beauty of the earth, and would
+have expressed their love for this sweet aspect of it to one another,
+heightening their own appreciations, as they did with every new
+discovery they made about truth and beauty. Pam was a girl in a
+thousand. His thoughts dwelt upon her, though he had thought of inviting
+them to the contemplation of another figure. As an only child he was
+lucky to have these girl cousins at the Hall, in place of sisters, and
+especially Pam, whom he had loved since she was a tiny child, Pam, who
+had grown up to take so many of her ideas and opinions from him, as a
+girl should, with one much older, who had seen more of the world than
+she had. Pam was grown up now; sometimes she expressed ideas of her own,
+and was inclined to assert them, as she had not been wont to do. That
+made her more interesting, for he would not have had her a mere echo of
+himself; and he knew that, for all her little charming airs of
+independence, she still looked up to him and admired him, which was
+right too, for although there were many better fellows than himself, he
+had taught her to accept the right pattern. Pam would be throwing
+herself away if she chose from another one. He was glad that the danger
+from Horsham's incipient suit seemed to be over. It was odd that he
+should be coming to prefer Judith, who, in spite of her beauty, had none
+of the bright charm and cleverness of dear Pam; but Horsham certainly
+wasn't good enough for her, though he would do very well for Judith. As
+for that outsider, Fred Comfrey...!
+
+Norman accelerated here, and did not slow down again until he had
+reached the elaborate iron gates which gave access to the Grange. He had
+had the idea of a long moonlight drive by himself, with his thoughts to
+keep him company, but changed his mind now, and went in.
+
+As he entered the brightly lit hall, the remembrance of the occurrences
+of half an hour before returned to him. He hadn't seen his father yet,
+who would probably be in his room, for he never went to bed early. He
+would go in and find out all about it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+CRISIS
+
+
+Mrs. Eldridge was waiting for her husband in his room, where he usually
+sat for an hour or so after she had gone to bed. The lamps were lit and
+the curtains drawn. She was standing by the fireplace, and still wore
+her cloak over her evening gown. She looked amazingly young for her
+years as she stood there in her graceful evening guise, with an
+expression of almost childish alarm in her eyes, looking up at him
+expectantly.
+
+"Did you see William?" he asked her shortly.
+
+"No," she said. "He wouldn't come in to us. We came away about a quarter
+of an hour after he had come, without seeing him."
+
+"Ah!"
+
+He was very quiet in speech and manner, with an air as it struck her, of
+great depression. She could not be sure, until he had spoken, of what
+had happened, that he had not something deeply to regret upon his own
+part.
+
+"Better sit down," he said, "and I'll tell you about it. Until William
+apologizes to me for things he has said, and dismisses that man Coombe
+for his insolence, I won't see him or have anything to do with him. But
+I don't want you or the children to make any difference. Let's hope
+Eleanor will bring him to reason; I know she has a good influence over
+him. She may not want to meet me; I've thought of that. But I should
+like you to go to the Grange as usual. I don't want you to quarrel with
+William either. We'll leave the quarrelling to him, as he seems bent on
+it."
+
+"Tell me what happened, dear," she said. "He came here on his way home,
+didn't he?"
+
+"Oh, yes; with an air of coming to put everything right by making
+handsome concessions over something he doesn't care a hang about. If I
+was so unreasonable as to question anything he had done he would give it
+up--of course. I wasn't to be allowed to have had any reason on my side;
+it didn't matter even that he'd mistaken me, and that I hadn't wanted to
+stop what he was doing, and had tried to get it carried on. He waved all
+that aside--didn't want to talk about it. What he did want was very
+plain. He wanted to show himself as the large-minded man who could make
+all allowances for a narrow-minded fool of an elder brother always
+standing on his own petty dignity. However, he'd be careful not to tread
+on my corns in that way again. Let's forget all about it and begin
+afresh. I would have swallowed all that--I did swallow it--for there was
+some right feeling behind it; but...."
+
+"Edmund dear," she interrupted him, "before you go on--oughtn't we to
+keep that in front of us as the thing that really matters? William is
+fond of you, and you of him. When Eleanor and I have been talking it
+over, we...."
+
+"It has got beyond that now," he interrupted her in his turn. "What
+neither you nor Eleanor can see is that William is not the same man as
+he used to be. What really matters, you say! What really matters is what
+he founds himself upon; and what he founds himself upon now is his
+money, and the place he has made for himself in the world. Fond of me?
+Yes, I dare say he is. He'd like to do this or that to help me where
+things are difficult; but it's to be on the understanding that I knuckle
+under to him. I can't accept his help, or his--or his fondness on those
+terms. I'm fond of him, you say? Yes--or of what he was before his
+success spoilt him. When he returns to that, things shall be as they
+were between us. Until then, I've got to take him as he is now; and
+without loss of self-respect I can't do it and keep on terms with him."
+
+"What was it, then, that you quarrelled about?"
+
+He hesitated at the word. "William may call it quarrelling," he said. "I
+suppose it is just a quarrel to him. I shouldn't admit that I
+quarrelled. He got very excited, and I didn't. That's the plain truth. I
+didn't feel excited; I felt very sad."
+
+"My poor old darling!" she said tenderly. "It's too bad of William, with
+all the troubles you have had on you."
+
+He went on, in the same quiet, unemotional voice: "I accepted his good
+will. Yes, I did that, though his way of expressing it was distasteful
+to me. But I said that I didn't want the cause of complaint set aside
+like that. I thought that the reasons I had given against the extra
+garden-making were sound; but they didn't override other considerations
+and I should prefer it to go on. That didn't seem to suit him. In the
+mood he was in, I suppose he didn't want _me_ to be the one to make
+concessions. But I rather think, from something he let fall, that he has
+something new on hand to interest him, and the garden plan means nothing
+to him now; or at any rate that he would rather give it up, on the
+grounds of giving way to me, than go on with it because I have given way
+to him. That's one of the ways in which his money has spoilt him. When a
+man has a lot of money, and doesn't care for just piling it up, he's
+always looking about for ways of spending it; and the last way he has
+found is all important to him, until he finds another one; then his
+interest in it goes. I'm sure that's how it is with William. But I was
+firm about it. 'It may not interest you now as much as it did,' I said;
+'but the way in which it has been thrown over will reflect upon me, if
+it is given up altogether. For one thing, there's Barton's Close already
+cut up, and you can't leave it like that. You must either go on with the
+work or put it back as it was. It has been put about that I stopped the
+work, unreasonably; and the men who were doing it are now working for
+me. If you want to do justice to me, you'll remove all that talk, and
+you can only do it by going on. When the road has been mended,' I said,
+'you can take on that extra labour again, and get all the digging and so
+on done in time to plant!'"
+
+"Did he make any fuss about the men being taken on for the drive?"
+
+"It was one of the things that he had put aside, with a wave of the
+hand, as if I had done something that I ought not to have done, but he
+would overlook it with the rest. That was why I mentioned it. I wasn't
+going to justify myself about it, but I said: 'The men wouldn't have
+gone straight back to work for you after being sent away; but they will
+when the time comes, if I talk to them.' He didn't quite like that
+either. He was gradually losing his position as being entirely in the
+right, but giving way because it wasn't worth while to come up against
+me in something that didn't matter. It does matter, and I was determined
+not to close it up on those terms.
+
+"At last he agreed to go on, but by that time he had lost a good deal of
+his--what shall I say?--expansive manner, and gave in grudgingly. Then
+he was for going home, and if it could have been settled at that, there
+would have been an end of the affair. I had left Coombe out of it until
+then, for I didn't want it complicated by something that I thought would
+probably be new to him altogether. I said: 'There's one thing, William,
+that I must ask you to do and that is to send Coombe about his business.
+If it hadn't been for him the work would have been going on now. You can
+easily satisfy yourself about that,' I said, 'and I don't press it. But
+Coombe spoke of me openly with the grossest impertinence, and in a way
+that you would have resented just as much as if you had heard it. I've
+held my hand,' I said; 'I left it till you came down. But something has
+got to be done about it now.'"
+
+"You didn't tell me, dear, that you were going to say that Coombe must
+be sent away."
+
+"I didn't talk to you much about Coombe, did I? I took it for granted
+that William would dismiss him when he knew what sort of man he was.
+Servants may talk about you behind your back, and I dare say most of
+them do. But when it is brought to your notice you can't shut your eyes
+to it. If I had heard one of mine speaking of William in the way that
+fellow spoke of me, I should have sent him about his business in
+double-quick time, however useful he was to me."
+
+"Did William refuse to do it?"
+
+"He haggled about it. He had always found Coombe perfectly respectful.
+Surely I was mistaken. He couldn't have said what he was reported to
+have said. If I showed annoyance at all perhaps I showed it then; but I
+had myself in hand. I knew that if I got into the excited state that he
+was beginning to get into then, it was all up. Besides, I was determined
+that he should get rid of Coombe. For one thing, it will be a sort of
+test of his sincerity, for I don't deny that it will be of some
+inconvenience to him. Coombe is a good gardener, and they are not so
+easy to get now. But it's a monstrous idea that a man who has openly
+shown his hand in that way should be kept in the place. It would have a
+bad effect all round. William ought to be able to see that, and I told
+him so."
+
+"Did you tell him exactly what the man had said?"
+
+"I told him the worst of it. I said: 'One of the things that was
+repeated to me was that I was jealous of your money and your title, and
+I should stop you doing anything you wanted to do in Hayslope if I
+possibly could. Are you going to keep in your service a man who has said
+a thing like that about me?' I asked him. He said he didn't believe it
+had been said; somebody was trying to stir up mischief. I said: 'I'm
+afraid, William, that your money and your title have had an influence in
+this place that isn't exactly what you think it to be. This man Coombe
+has only let some of it out. Still,' I said, 'he's let it out in such a
+way that it can't be passed over. The only way you can possibly put it
+right is to show that _you_ are not going to stand that sort of talk,
+and the only way you can do that is to send Mr. Coombe marching. And
+that's what you'll do,' I said, 'if you mean what you have been saying
+about wanting to put things straight between us, and to work in with me
+here at Hayslope.'"
+
+"Yes," she said with a sigh, "I think you were right there."
+
+"I'm sorry to say that that was too much for him. It was the end of
+anything like reasonable talk on his part. Every now and then he seemed
+to be trying to pull himself together, as when he tried to get from me
+who had heard those words said; but when I told him, he said that I had
+only got them third-hand, and it wouldn't be fair on Coombe to sack him
+without giving him a chance to defend himself. I said I shouldn't expect
+him to do anything but deny it all. 'And with all respect to you,
+William,' I said, 'I'm not going to make you a judge between me and your
+servant. You can ask old Jackson, if you like, what happened; but even
+by doing that you'll be appearing to doubt my word, and you won't want
+to do it if you're ready to act rightly by me. As long as that man
+remains in your service,' I said, 'I'm not going near the Grange. You
+owe it to me to send him away.'"
+
+"Was that at the end of all?"
+
+"No. He wouldn't promise to do it without making inquiries for himself,
+and I said: 'Very well, then; you are putting yourself definitely
+against me here. I suppose you understand that. How do you propose that
+we shall go on living next door to one another with this between us? It
+will be known all over the place that Coombe has insulted me, that you
+have been told of it, and don't think it necessary to take any steps.
+It's an impossible position,' I said."
+
+"Surely he could see that, couldn't he?"
+
+"He had worked himself up into such a state then that he couldn't see
+anything. After that, until he went away, he was simply offensive. He
+justified everything that I have said about his attitude towards me and
+more. Oh, I don't want to go over it all. I should think he'd be sorry
+when some of the things he said come back to him. There was he, spending
+his life in the service of his country, and here was I, consumed with
+jealousy of him and thinking only how I could put spokes in his wheel.
+It's that accusation of jealousy that I won't put up with. He must
+withdraw it and apologize for it before I'll meet him again. It means a
+break, Cynthia. I had time to think it all over before you came home.
+I'm afraid it means a break. He brought Eleanor into it. He gave me to
+understand that she was up against me for what he was pleased to call my
+dictatorial ways; it wasn't only he who had suffered under them. If
+that's so, she won't try to put it straight, and that's really the only
+chance with what it has come to now."
+
+"Oh, my dear, she will. I know she will. She and I talked about it the
+other day. I know what is in her mind. She only meant that first letter
+you wrote, and she said that that was all wiped out now. I told you,
+didn't I? She is longing for it to be put right. She will do all she
+can, I know."
+
+"I hope so. It will be a very serious matter if it isn't put right. But
+I stand upon those two points. William must take back that accusation of
+jealousy. It's a wrong thing for one brother to say of another."
+
+"Oh, yes. If it was said in the heat of the moment...."
+
+"I'm afraid that what was said in the heat of the moment was only what
+has been building itself up in his mind for a long time past. It's a
+result of his deterioration. Because I don't treat him as I suppose
+other people do who worship success--and he has come to want that--I'm
+jealous of his success. He can't see straight any longer; he can't see
+me as I've always been, and am still. _That_ is what is between us, and
+it goes deeper than anything he has said or done. He isn't any longer
+the brother I used to have."
+
+She saw that he was deeply moved and that it was no time now to say
+anything to alter his mind. Besides, the one fact that she and Eleanor
+had both insisted on as lying behind everything--the affection between
+the brothers--seemed no longer to govern the situation. Their ways had
+widely diverged, and it looked as if they had drifted apart in spirit
+as well as in the interests they had once held in common.
+
+Her husband rose from his chair with a deep sigh, and said something
+that she was unprepared for. "Thank God, that I've still got you and the
+children left to me!"
+
+She broke down and shed tears, but dried them immediately, for she knew
+how he disliked the expression of emotion, and that his own had been
+wrung from him only by deep feeling. He kissed her good-night and said
+kindly: "Don't take it too much to heart. And if you and Eleanor can
+mend it between you, you won't find me implacable. I've gone a long way
+in trying to put it straight, and I'll go further if it's necessary."
+
+"If William will apologize?" she said, making a last effort.
+
+"I'll do without an apology. After all, it isn't words that I want. Let
+him dismiss Coombe, without any further to-do. I'll take that as
+covering everything. I dare say I said things to him that offended him
+as much as he offended me, though it is certain that I held myself more
+in hand than he did. No, I don't want any apology. But he must dismiss
+Coombe."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+HONOURS
+
+
+The difference between Colonel Eldridge's room at the Hall and his
+brother's at the Grange was a good deal more than the difference between
+a room in an old house and one devoted to like uses in a new. Indeed if
+you had averaged the age of their contents, the room at the Grange would
+have shown the earlier date. It had been one of the latest additions,
+when furniture and decoration had become a source of keen interest to
+its owner, and there had been no lack of money to carry out his tastes.
+
+There was no bright Turkey carpet or American desk here, as in Sir
+William's room in London. He wrote his letters at a Queen Anne Bureau,
+bought at Christie's for a sum that would have paid for everything in
+his brother's room and left a substantial amount over. There was no
+insistent colour, to detract from the rich subdued values of this and
+other fine pieces of furniture. A few pictures of the early Dutch
+school, which Sir William particularly affected, hung upon the walls,
+panelled in dark oak. The electric light glowed and sparkled from a
+lustre chandelier of Waterford glass. The few ornaments admitted were
+also mostly of old glass, and as many of them as were suitable held
+flowers. There was a beautiful soft-hued Persian carpet, and curtains of
+heavy brocade of no determinate hue. Only the books in the
+glass-fronted Sheraton bookcase were mostly new, many of them in rich
+bindings; and the easy chairs and sofa were of the latest word in
+comfort.
+
+The room was a success from first to last, and Sir William felt it to be
+so every time he entered it. And yet he still gained, whenever he went
+into his brother's room at the Hall, a sense of satisfaction for which
+he would perhaps have exchanged the different sort of pleasure that he
+took in his own creation. That room, with its old-fashioned furniture of
+no special value; its faded and threadbare carpet, and shabby easy
+chairs; the untidy books on the shelves; the paintings, prints and
+photographs that crowded the walls; the medley of ornaments and
+knicknacks on the mantelpiece and side-tables; the gun-cases,
+cartridge-cases, game-bags, golf-clubs, and all the litter of a
+sportsman's room; the very smell of it, compounded of tobacco smoke and
+leather, slightly musty paper, and slightly damp dog, with a reminder of
+ripe apples mysteriously underlying it all--it meant quiet and ease and
+a thousand associations of indoor and outdoor life, hardly any of which
+were represented in the room that was his. He had even been slightly
+ashamed of his room when he had first shown it to his brother, who had
+said: "It's very fine. I've never seen a finer, for a fellow who can
+live up to it. It wouldn't do for me, because I couldn't keep that old
+shooting-jacket of mine hanging up behind the door." That was it, Sir
+William decided afterwards. It was really a room for a man who liked to
+live in a drawing-room, and he didn't want, himself, to live always in a
+drawing-room, even a man's drawing-room. Still, he liked to have
+beautiful things about him, and with that taste you had to discriminate.
+You couldn't get the two kinds of attraction into the same room. He had
+the one, and must do without the other.
+
+It was this room that Norman entered when he returned from the Hall. He
+had none of the doubts about it that his father sometimes expressed. His
+appreciations were finer than his father's. Sir William had to possess a
+treasure of art for it to give him the acme of pleasure. Norman loved it
+for itself, and he loved the beautiful things in this room. His
+appreciation of it even affected him now, as he went in, though he was
+thinking of something else. His mother, in her evening gown, sitting
+near a great bowl of flowers, seemed to him to add to its value; his
+father, standing over her, in the light tweed suit in which he had been
+travelling, seemed slightly out of place. It was a room in which, if you
+occupied it in the evening, you ought to be dressed for the evening.
+
+This impression, however, was momentary, for a stronger one immediately
+took its place. He had expected to see his father considerably
+disturbed, and his mother disturbed too, but by this time less so than
+his sharp eyes had made her out to be when she had said good-bye to his
+aunt and cousins. For she was a queller of disturbance, in herself and
+others, and might by this be expected to have made her mark upon his
+father, though not perhaps to the extent of quieting him altogether.
+
+But there were no signs of disturbance upon their faces at all, nor in
+their manner. His father was leaning up against the mantelpiece,
+talking with some show of excitement, certainly, but with a smile upon
+his face; and she was looking up at him, not smiling, but with interest
+and sympathy.
+
+Sir William turned round, as he came into the room. "Ah, Norman!" he
+said. "Here you are! I've been waiting for you. You come into this
+little affair, as well as mother and me. You'll want to hear all about
+it."
+
+Norman sat himself down, with his hands in his pockets. "I always want
+to hear all about everything," he said.
+
+His father laughed. "It's rather exciting," he said. "I really hadn't
+been expecting anything of the sort. They've offered me a peerage."
+
+"Good business!" said Norman warmly.
+
+Sir William laughed again. "It will come to you some day," he said.
+"That's one reason why I feel pleased about it."
+
+"When the time comes," said Norman, "I shall grow a little tiny chin
+beard, like the peers in 'Iolanthe.' But I thought you were going to be
+a Member of Parliament, father."
+
+"Well, that is being a Member of Parliament--of the Upper House. Oh, it
+isn't--I've been telling mother--just a mark of honour for what I did
+during the war. They gave me a knighthood for that, which closed the
+account. They want me for something else now--a new business altogether.
+I won't go into the details of it now, but they want somebody in both
+Houses for it. It was just a question in which one I should be of most
+use, and it was decided finally that someone else--I won't mention his
+name yet--should look after it in the Commons, and I in the Lords. It
+will mean a lot of work, but I don't mind that. I like work, and I
+really think I can do something in this job they've given me. I know I
+did good work in the war, and I've had the feeling sometimes--though
+I've kept it to myself--that enough notice wasn't taken of it. I don't
+mean in the way of reward, for I didn't do it for reward; but I thought
+they might have found me of such use that they would want to give me
+something else to do, when there's so much that wants doing. Well, it
+seems that they haven't lost sight of me at all; they have only been
+waiting for an opportunity. And now it has come. Yes, I'm very well
+pleased about it."
+
+"So am I," said Norman. "And I'm jolly glad it has come in that way. If
+they had given you a peerage instead of making you a knight, people
+might have said you had paid out cash for it. They wouldn't have said it
+to you, but they might have said it to me. Fellows will say anything to
+you nowadays; it's the modern technique. I shall be an Honourable, I
+suppose. I shall have to put up with a lot because of that. But I shall
+live it down in time. When is it coming off, father?"
+
+Sir William did not smile at this speech. "There's a lot of nonsense
+talk about buying peerages," he said. "I've been saying to mother, only
+just now, that I doubt whether there has ever been a single instance of
+a man putting down so much money and getting a peerage for it, or even a
+baronetcy. Or, if things were ever done in that way, they're certainly
+not now. As far as I'm concerned, I'd just as soon have done what I'm
+going to do in the Commons as in the Lords. For many things I would much
+rather have been in the Commons. But it would have meant fighting an
+election, with a lot of time and energy wasted; and _that_ would have
+cost money. On the whole, I am glad it was settled as it has been.
+You're pleased too, Nell, aren't you? I wouldn't have taken it, you
+know, Norman, without first consulting your mother--and telling you. I
+haven't yet, as a matter of fact, though I promised to write, either
+accepting or declining, to-morrow."
+
+"Oh, I hope you won't decline, father. I didn't gather there was any
+chance of that. I've got rather keen on it now. Aren't you, Mum?"
+
+She smiled at him and then at her husband, looking up at him. "I'm very
+glad," she said, "that they want you again. And I know that you will do
+splendid work, as you did before. It will mean a lot more work for
+father, you know, Norman; but it will be work that he will do well and
+enjoy doing."
+
+"You never were a half-doer, were you, father?" said Norman. "I should
+think you would wake up the old Lords a bit. The general idea seems to
+be that they can do with it. What are you going to call yourself?"
+
+Sir William's face lost its brighter look. "There's a slight difficulty
+about that," he said. "In the ordinary way I should take the title of
+Hayslope. It would be the natural thing, as we've been here so long,
+and--and--considering that Hayslope is coming to me some day. The
+trouble is that it isn't mine yet, and I'm afraid the present owner
+might object. He'd have no reason to; but...."
+
+Norman's ears were disagreeably affected by that phrase "the present
+owner." The dispute, which he had forgotten until that moment, was
+serious, then.
+
+Lady Eldridge spoke, in her quiet firm voice. "I think you ought to
+know, Norman," she said, "that Uncle Edmund is showing himself hostile
+to your father. Father went to the Hall to tell him, first of all, about
+what has been happening, but there was a disagreement that had to be
+cleared out of the way first, and he found it impossible to do it."
+
+Sir William shifted his position. "I've done all I can," he said. "The
+dispute was about a twopenny halfpenny affair which I've been trying to
+put right ever since. I've given way upon all points--more than I ought
+to have done; but it's of no use. Nothing's of any use. He's determined
+on quarrelling. I can't do any more."
+
+"I suppose it's about that garden," said Norman. "What does Uncle Edmund
+want done about it?"
+
+"What does he want done about it? I wish to God you could find out.
+First of all he makes himself offensive because I began it. Very well! I
+overlook the offence and I stop it. But that doesn't do. I'm told I
+shall be damaging his position in the place if I don't begin all over
+again. Very well; I say I will, when he has finished with the men I took
+on for the work, and he took from me for _his_ work. Then I'm told that
+before I do anything else I've got to get rid of the man who has been
+doing it all. Something has come to his ears that Coombe is supposed to
+have said about him. A wise man would have shut his ears to that sort of
+gossip; but because of it, I'm to dismiss a man who has served me well,
+out of hand, and without giving him a chance of defending himself. I
+said I'd look into it; but he wouldn't have that. To ask questions of
+anybody would be to doubt his word, though all he has to go on is what
+somebody told somebody else who told him. It's perfectly childish; but
+I'm not going to bother about it any more. I've got far too much to do.
+If he wants to break with me, he must. _I_ don't want it, and I've gone
+all lengths to pacify him. But the fact is that he isn't a big enough
+man to be able to see me going ahead in the world while he's standing
+still. All his life he has considered himself my superior. He's my elder
+brother, and I've given in to him. I've given in to him over this, up to
+the limit. But now he asks too much. I shall just have to go on, and
+leave him out of account."
+
+"If we weren't all living at Hayslope," Lady Eldridge said, "it would be
+easy to keep apart for a time, and the friction would die down. What we
+must do is to make the best of it until Uncle Edmund becomes more
+reasonable. Neither you nor I, Norman, need take notice of it unless we
+are forced to. Father wants us to treat it in that way."
+
+"Oh, yes," said Sir William. "He can't visit my sins upon you; and I
+certainly don't want to visit his upon Cynthia and the girls. You must
+go on as much as possible as before. He won't come here, and I shan't go
+to the Hall. That's all the difference it need make, and when we have
+gone on for some time like that, I dare say he will come round--see he's
+been making a fool of himself." He paused for a moment. "I know you're
+not used to hearing me talk of him like that, but I really can't help
+myself. I've been sorry for him lately, and have done my best to help
+him over the troubles and difficulties he has had. But none of that
+seems to count for anything. He was so--so coldly and obstinately
+determined to have his own way this evening that it thoroughly upset me.
+He seems to have nothing in him to respond to the feeling I have always
+had for him--no kindness, no generosity. I'm not used to losing my
+temper, but I'm afraid I did lose it with him this evening--his
+arrogance worked me up to such an extent. No doubt that will all be
+brought up against me. Actually, I came away without telling him what I
+had gone there to tell him. That will be brought up against me too. I
+really can't cope with it any longer. It's an infernal nuisance that
+this place, which would be more than ever a recreation to me now, should
+only be turned into a worry. But I won't have it so. I'm not coming down
+here to be plunged into little local bothers, which take more settling
+than any of the big things I have to deal with. For the present he and I
+had better keep apart."
+
+"I'm afraid it's the only way--for the present," said Lady Eldridge.
+"But it is a very unhappy state of things."
+
+Norman had listened to his father's speech not without discomfort, which
+was increased by his mother's acceptance of it. "You and Uncle Edmund
+have always been good pals," he said. "I should have thought mother and
+Aunt Cynthia might do something together to put him right. I expect he
+would want to behave decently, if he saw the way."
+
+"I'm quite ready to leave it to them," said Sir William. "If they can
+bring him to reason I'll put it all aside--any time. It's all I want to
+do. But there's one thing I won't do, and that's to dismiss Coombe
+off-hand on his orders. I shall have him up to-morrow, and hear _his_
+story. And I shall ask that old Jackson what happened. I'm kindly
+permitted to do that. If I find Coombe has gone altogether too far, I
+shall consider what to do next. But I'm not going to be hectored and
+pressed to act hastily on a one-sided second or third hand statement.
+I've a pretty good idea of what did happen. Edmund goes down to find the
+men working at the garden; he examines Coombe about it in an arrogant
+sort of way, and shows him plainly that he's annoyed with _me_--he
+wouldn't mind that, though it's _lése majesté_ to breathe a word of
+criticism against _him_. Then when he's gone, Coombe, who after all owes
+loyalty to me and not to him, lets something drop before men who take it
+up and make mischief of it to score off him--perhaps because he was
+getting rid of them, though he was acting under orders there. Oh, it
+isn't worth while going into it all. I'm sick to death of the whole
+business. Here we are now, going over and over it, when there's
+something of real interest to ourselves to talk over. We'd better go to
+bed, I think. I'm afraid I've worked myself up again. To-morrow I dare
+say I shall be able to see it all more calmly. I can't to-night."
+
+When Norman went to his room he did not immediately get ready to go to
+bed. The window attracted him, open to all the loveliness of the summer
+night, and he went and leant out of it, taking into his nostrils the
+scent of the dew-steeped earth, and into his ears the little noises that
+a nature-lover can perceive and distinguish, where to others there is
+only silence.
+
+The world was so beautiful, and life was so full and interesting, that
+it was impossible for him to be affected overmuch by either of the
+factors that had just been introduced into it. The honour that was
+coming to his father he thought a very proper one, and he had seen that
+he was pleased about it, not only because of the work that it would
+enable him to do. Norman had no fault to find with that. It would be
+rather fun to call yourself Lord Something-or-other, though the thrill
+would probably pass off sooner than you expected. It would even be
+rather fun to be called "the Honourable" though that would no doubt pass
+off too--rather more quickly. That seemed to be about all there was to
+it; but there had been so many peerages created of late years that there
+had even come to be something to deprecate about such handles to your
+name. You were always coming across fellows you had never heard of
+before who called themselves, quite legitimately, "the Honourable." He
+would be one of them now, and he grinned to himself as he imagined the
+chaff to which he would be subjected on that account, and formulated a
+few of the replies he would make to it.
+
+But he had soon exhausted the subject, and his smile faded as that other
+troublesome affair took its place in his mind.
+
+He didn't like that at all. It seemed to contradict all the jolly things
+that were connected in his mind with his uncle, who was stiffer in
+manner than his father, but so kind-hearted underneath it all. He had
+never thought of him as he had been reflected in his father's speech,
+and it was difficult to think about him like that now, though he
+certainly seemed to be behaving in a way that could scarcely be
+defended.
+
+His window overlooked the wooded valley that lay between the two houses,
+and the opposite hill. A corner of the Hall could be seen from it. His
+thoughts went out to his cousins, asleep there, and especially to Pam,
+whom he loved more than the others. He and Pam were as close friends as
+they had always been. He couldn't do without Pam. He always wanted to
+tell her everything that had happened to him, as he supposed fellows who
+had favourite sisters did. But he was not quite so sure now of her
+always adopting his views. She was getting together a collection of
+views of her own. How would she take this?
+
+It was not necessary to accept seriously what she had said this evening
+about their backing up their respective parents in any dispute between
+them, and quarrelling with each other because of their quarrel. Her
+mother and his wouldn't do that. They would try to get at the rights of
+the case. There must be a right and a wrong somewhere, and it was
+probable that there was some of each on both sides. He had only heard
+his father's story so far, and Pam would only hear _her_ father's. They
+ought to put their heads together and balance the two.
+
+He thought over this for some time, and came to the conclusion that they
+were not likely to agree, which somewhat depressed him. Then he thought
+it over further still, and it seemed to him that the only thing to say
+to Pam was: "You and I can't get at the rights of it, so let's leave it
+alone altogether, and by and by it will right itself. And above all,
+don't let it make any difference to us."
+
+Would Pam accept that, as the course laid down by his superior wisdom? A
+year or two ago, she certainly would have done so. If she didn't now, it
+would seem as if he had lost some of his influence over her.
+
+Hoping that she would, but a little doubtful of it, Norman presently
+went to bed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+FRED COMFREY
+
+
+"Sir William Eldridge, who was recently raised to the peerage, has taken
+the title Lord Eldridge of Hayslope."
+
+Mr. Comfrey read out this item of information from his newspaper, as he
+sat at breakfast with his wife and his son, and expressed his
+satisfaction over it. "I'm glad it has been settled like that," he said.
+"He will simply be called Lord Eldridge, and there can't possibly be any
+objection to it. Lord Hayslope would have made a good title, but under
+the circumstances it would hardly have done."
+
+"I don't see why not," said Mrs. Comfrey. "It would be ridiculous of
+Colonel Eldridge to object, and he'd have no grounds for it either."
+
+Mr. Comfrey was a mild-mannered man, who took his opinions upon worldly
+affairs very much on his wife's recommendation; but as she took hers
+upon ecclesiastical affairs chiefly on his, he never felt his
+self-respect wounded by her somewhat peremptory methods. She was a
+short, broad woman with a somewhat masculine type of countenance, which,
+indeed, had been reproduced with surprising fidelity in her son. She
+might have been expected, from her appearance, to be immovable in
+whatever opinions she did hold, in face of whatever opposition. But she
+was very apt to weaken on them if they proved unwelcome to those with
+whom she wished to stand well. Perhaps if her husband had ever tried to
+controvert them he might have secured an occasional option upon views of
+his own; but he would have had to do so long before this, for by now she
+had established her ascendancy. Fred seemed to pay no respect to them at
+all, with the consequence that she often wavered before him. But they
+remained good friends. She admired her son, built in her own image, and,
+if he did not admire her, he liked her treatment of him since he had
+returned home, which was very different from what it had been when he
+was a boy.
+
+Fred's whole attitude towards his home had changed since his boyhood.
+Hayslope was a college living, and a small one at the best of times. Mr.
+Comfrey, who had gained no particular scholastic honour, would not have
+been offered it if its emoluments had been enough to attract a bigger
+gun. He had scarcely any money of his own to supplement them, but his
+wife had brought him a few hundred a year, with which they had managed
+to get along. There had never been enough for anything but a skimped
+existence, and Fred had not enjoyed the same advantages as those of
+other sons of the clergy in the parishes around Hayslope, still less of
+the well-endowed laity. He had been glad enough to get away, at an early
+age, and not for some years had had any desire to come back again.
+
+But after a time, his memories had softened. His home life had been dull
+and meagre, but the inconvenient, sparsely-furnished old house with its
+shady garden gradually grew upon him during his hard exile; and all
+around it was the country in which he had tasted some of the delights
+which better-endowed youth enjoyed so fully. When he did come back he
+had money of his own. His mother made no difficulty about accepting a
+substantial payment from him for his board, which removed the effect of
+scraping from the Vicarage household arrangements; and he did pretty
+well as he liked at home, which he had never been allowed to do before.
+It was pleasant enough to idle there during the months of his
+convalescence, and to feel that he need not hurry them.
+
+And there was the Hall, which had always provided him with an outlet
+into the kind of life denied to one of his parentage. If it had been a
+place of desire to him in his youth, it was a thousand times more so
+now, for it enshrined Pamela, who threw her sweet radiance upon
+everything about her.
+
+For one who had lived roughly, as he had, and mostly with men for years
+past, it was a revelation of quietness and happiness to be taken in upon
+intimate terms to such a life as was led at the Hall. It was happiness
+of a sort that he had never imagined for himself. It was not entirely
+because of Pamela that he hugged himself upon the memory of those hours
+he had spent in the schoolroom, helping the children with their games,
+or of other hours in other rooms of the quiet, spacious house and in the
+summer playground of the garden. Love had softened this young man, not
+cut out by nature, it would have seemed, to tread the gentler ways of
+life. Love had transformed for him even the shabby rooms and overshaded
+surroundings of his own home, since Pamela had enlightened them with her
+presence. He had thought of himself as staying there only so long as his
+health required it, and then leaving it again to plunge into the
+excitements of the career that he had marked out for himself. But still
+he lingered on, though now he was nearly strong again, and would soon be
+ready for the fray. He did not suppose that he would have any chance in
+the pursuit upon which his mind was set until he had something more
+definite than at present to lay before Pamela's parents; nor did he
+suppose himself as yet to have made any impression upon Pamela herself
+in the way he was determined upon. It would be better for him to go away
+for a time, and to come back every now and then with something done to
+recommend himself further to her and to her parents. But he could not
+bring himself to make plans to go away yet.
+
+"Colonel Eldridge has never been consulted on the matter," said Fred, in
+answer to his mother's speech. "To my mind he has every right to object
+to the way in which he has been treated."
+
+"It is difficult to get at the rights of the quarrel," said Mrs.
+Comfrey. "But we all know that Lord Eldridge, as I suppose we can call
+him now, isn't a quarrelsome man, and I'm sure nobody could call Lady
+Eldridge a quarrelsome woman."
+
+Mr. Comfrey chipped in before Fred could speak. "I think it's a pity,"
+he said, "to talk about a quarrel at all. There has been an unfortunate
+misunderstanding which I'm very sure will soon be cleared up."
+
+"There _has_ been a quarrel," Mrs. Comfrey pronounced, "and a pretty
+serious one. The two brothers are not on speaking terms. It's no good
+shutting your eyes to facts. I suppose we shall keep out of it as long
+as we can, but I think we shall have to take sides in it sooner or
+later, and I must say I'm inclined to take Lord Eldridge's side."
+
+"Oh, my dear," expostulated the Vicar. "Don't talk about taking sides.
+I'm _sure_ it isn't necessary. We've always been good friends with both
+families. Do let us remain so, I beg of you."
+
+"I agree with mother," said Fred, at which she brightened visibly, but
+drooped somewhat when he added: "There's enough to go on, and I'm on the
+side of the family at the Hall, all the way and all the time."
+
+"Well, of course," said Mrs. Comfrey, "you have had the Hall almost as
+your second home all your life, and I suppose it's natural that you
+should think more of it than of the Grange, which is new since you went
+away. But there's no doubt that the Grange is a more important house now
+than the Hall, which isn't what it used to be and won't be again until
+Lord Eldridge succeeds his brother there."
+
+Mr. Comfrey made a deprecatory gesture, and Fred said, rather roughly:
+"What do I care about all that?"
+
+"What I mean," Mrs. Comfrey hastened to explain herself, "is that with
+your way to make in business, Lord Eldridge may be very useful to you,
+and it would be a pity to go against him. Of course, if Hugo hadn't
+died...! What I mean is that Colonel Eldridge isn't the chief man in
+Hayslope any longer, and...."
+
+She tailed off ineffectively, but picked herself up to add: "Norman has
+taken the place that used to be Hugo's. You used to be great friends
+with Norman."
+
+"I hate Norman," said Fred, "and always did. I dare say Sir William may
+be of use to me when I get started. I haven't lost sight of that. But
+I'm not going to pay too high a price for his help. The people at the
+Hall are my friends, and I'm not going back on them."
+
+He was not offended by his mother's crudities, having nurtured himself
+on crudities and practised them, all his life. Nor was he going to make
+her partaker of his secret hopes, or even, if he could help it, give her
+cause for suspecting his desires. "Sir William was quite decent to me,
+when I saw him," he said, "and Lady Eldridge has asked me--once--to the
+Grange since I've been home. But look at the welcome they've given me at
+the Hall! I don't care much for female society; it's never been in my
+line. But as long as I'm living quietly here, I like to have the Hall to
+go to; and I believe Colonel Eldridge likes to see me there. I find
+plenty to talk to him about. No, I'm not going back on them."
+
+Mrs. Comfrey expressed her appreciation of the nobility of this
+attitude. It had occurred to her once or twice that Fred might be
+attracted by Pamela, but the idea had taken no firm hold of her mind.
+She knew that he was not a lady's man, as he would have expressed it,
+and besides, the difference in social status between the Eldridges and
+themselves had always been accepted by her, although she liked to make
+use of such phrases as, for instance, that the Hall had always been a
+second house to Fred. The Eldridges, living now in a far more restricted
+way than before, had come to have less value in her eyes; but they were
+still a good way above the level upon which Fred would be likely to look
+when thoughts of matrimony engaged him. His reference now to talks with
+Colonel Eldridge confirmed her view that he went to the Hall for the
+reasons that he said he did, and not for the sake of Pamela in
+particular. But she brought in Pamela's name, just to see how he would
+take it.
+
+"Pamela being so thick with Norman," she said, "I dare say they will do
+more to keep the peace than even Lady Eldridge and Mrs. Eldridge."
+
+"I shouldn't count too much on that if I were you," said Fred. "Pamela
+takes her father's side, and she's quite right too. I don't pretend to
+know what she thinks about it all, because I haven't asked her, but it's
+my opinion that she's getting a bit sick of Norman's swank. He's always
+been a sort of tin god to those girls, and now they're older they're
+getting tired of taking all their opinions from him. At least that's how
+it seems to me with Pam."
+
+Mr. Comfrey arose apologetically from the table. "I think I'll leave
+you, if you don't mind," he said, and as they did not mind, he left
+them.
+
+Fred's speech had been unconcerned enough until it had come to that last
+word. He had not been used to calling Pamela "Pam," and there was just a
+something in his voice to lead Mrs. Comfrey a little farther in her
+investigations. "Pamela has grown into a very pretty girl," she said. "I
+wonder if there is anything in what they say about her and Lord
+Horsham."
+
+"It's not at all unlikely," said Fred, in such a tone as to remove the
+last traces of suspicion from her, though for his own comfort he allowed
+himself to add: "I don't think _she_ has any idea of it yet though."
+
+"It would be a good match for her," said Mrs. Comfrey; which ended the
+conversation.
+
+Half an hour later, Fred made his way to the Hall. It had been hard work
+for him to conduct himself thus unconcernedly with his parents, for
+something exciting was before him, on which all his mind had been
+working ever since he had last seen Pamela the evening before.
+
+It was not true that he had not talked over the current affair with her.
+He had borne himself in such a way, with a mixture of reticence and
+sympathy, that she had first of all mentioned openly to him the fact of
+the dispute, which she had not intended to do, and had then discussed it
+with him in all its bearings. What he had told his mother of his being
+on the side of the Hall was entirely true, for he had shown himself such
+an ardent partisan that Pamela preferred him as a receptacle for her
+confidences to anybody else. So far, Colonel and Mrs. Eldridge had held
+to their custom of keeping their children out of such discussions. Their
+hold on it was already weakening, for it was becoming impossible to
+ignore the dispute altogether. Pamela and her mother had talked about
+it, but not yet without many reticences on Mrs. Eldridge's side. Pamela
+and Judith had agreed that it was a nuisance. The children were supposed
+to know nothing. Miss Baldwin didn't count.
+
+There remained Norman. Norman had behaved well about it, Pamela thought.
+At the very outset he had said to her that it was impossible for him and
+her to get at the rights of it, and that he didn't particularly want to.
+He looked up to his uncle almost as much as to his own father, and hated
+to think of either of them being discovered in the wrong. They, too, had
+better leave it out of account, and go on being pals as before. Then
+Norman had gone away on a visit, and had written to Pam, a long letter
+from a country house in which Lady Margaret Joliffe was also staying. He
+had written a good deal about her, but the most important of his
+statements was that there was another fellow there whose attritions she
+seemed to prefer to his. "My proud spirit won't brook rivalry," was his
+comment upon the situation. "I must be all or nothing. By the time I
+come home I shall be able to tell you whether I'm all or nothing." He
+had come home two days before, and had told her with a grin that his
+fate still hung in the balance; and she divined that that affair had
+passed its zenith, and would soon fade away like the rest.
+
+Oh, if only this unhappy cleavage could have been mended, how pleased
+she would have been to have Norman back at Hayslope for the full month
+he now intended to stay there! His letter had been very grateful to her.
+No mention had been made of the trouble at home. He had written with his
+old-time affection, as if she were the one person in the world to whom
+he could go with everything, and to whom he wanted to go with
+everything. At that distance away, what he omitted from his letters may
+have seemed of small importance, but when he returned it could not be
+so. It was bound to come up between them sooner or later, and when it
+did come up they could no longer be absolutely frank and outspoken
+together. Each of them must be very careful not to say anything that
+could arouse opposition in the other.
+
+For a fortnight had passed since the brothers had met and quarrelled,
+and nothing had been mended yet, though attempts had been made.
+
+Sir William had written to Colonel Eldridge the next day, telling him
+first of all of the honour that was to be conferred on him, which he
+said he had intended to do the evening before. He regretted exceedingly
+what had passed between them, and if he had said anything in the heat of
+the moment that had offended his brother he regretted that too, and
+apologized for it. He had given careful consideration to his brother's
+demand that he should dismiss his head gardener, and, as he understood
+the demand, without giving the man the chance of defending himself
+against the accusation brought against him, and had decided not to act
+in a way that he thought would be arbitrary and unjust. But he had
+examined Coombe upon what he was reported to have said and had no doubt
+that it had been much exaggerated. Something Coombe had admitted to have
+said that was not respectful to Colonel Eldridge, after he had come down
+to where he was working and expressed his annoyance at what was being
+done. Sir William hoped very much that his brother would take into
+consideration the fact, of which he seemed to have lost sight, that the
+slight put upon him, Sir William, in this expression of annoyance at
+what he was doing was considerable. He had not allowed Coombe to repeat
+to him what had actually been said to him, but had given him a pretty
+stiff rebuke for the disrespect he had admitted to. Might not this be
+allowed now to close the account? It was a most disagreeable thing for
+them to be at loggerheads in this way, after all the years of close
+intimacy that had existed between them and their families. For his part
+he was ready to forget all about it, the moment his brother gave him the
+chance.
+
+To which Colonel Eldridge had replied shortly that he congratulated his
+brother upon the honour he was about to receive, and that he must abide
+by the stipulation he had made before they could return to their old
+terms with one another.
+
+Then Lady Eldridge had gone to the Hall, and had a long conversation
+with him and his sister-in-law. Cynthia had seemed to want him to give
+way, but he had refused to do so, firmly though not with the slightest
+show of temper. He had, in fact, treated Lady Eldridge with the most
+courteous consideration, but he had put her in somewhat of a difficulty.
+"I don't think William sees the situation very clearly," he had said. "I
+haven't so many outside matters to occupy my thoughts as he has, and I
+do see it clearly. Have either of you ever expressed to one another this
+idea that I am jealous of William's success in life, which has been so
+much greater than mine?"
+
+She had cast down her eyes and there had been an awkward pause, which he
+had cut short by saying: "That feeling has never existed in my mind, and
+therefore I can't have shown it. That's what's between us, Eleanor--that
+unjust and damaging accusation. William sees nothing more than
+disrespect in what his servant said to me, but I see that accusation
+defended in him, and as long as he's here, allowed to spread unchecked.
+William can only put that right by dismissing Coombe. It's no good
+writing any more or talking any more until that's done."
+
+So Coombe remained the obstacle to at least a formal reconciliation. For
+he did remain, and it may be supposed that his tongue was not idle in
+the village, where, however, he was not liked. Colonel Eldridge was; far
+more liked than his brother, in spite of Sir William's open-handed ways.
+He was stiff, but he was kind. He lived among his people, and they knew
+that he was interested in all of them, though he was never
+hail-fellow-well-met with anybody. There was growing up a strong body of
+support for him, in a controversy into which the village folk had a far
+clearer insight than might have been supposed. If he had escaped the
+jealousy that had been laid to his charge, they had not, on his account.
+It was hard lines that the Squire at the Hall should have to give up
+this and that that he'd always been accustomed to, and Sir William at
+the Grange should be rolling in money. It didn't seem right somehow. And
+the Colonel had been out and fought in the war, and lost his only son
+too, while Sir William had stopped at home and made money. No, it didn't
+seem right, did it? And now they'd gone and made him lord and all; and
+when the Colonel died he would step into the Hall, and Mrs. Eldridge and
+the young ladies would be turned out. And so he'd have everything, which
+didn't hardly seem fair, whichever way you looked at it.
+
+That was the way the majority of opinion went, and when the affair at
+Barton's Close came to give point to it, crystallized into still sharper
+criticism. No wonder the Colonel had objected to that--money chucked
+away in cutting up good pasture, and more labour wanted for a garden
+that wouldn't be no use to anybody, while the garden at the Hall was run
+with two men short now, and the road through the park was getting into a
+dreadful state. It was generally supposed, and approved of, that Colonel
+Eldridge had peremptorily stopped the garden-making at Barton's Close.
+Quite right too! Time he stopped something! He hadn't thought of the men
+who'd lose their jobs by it; but see how he'd put that right! He hadn't
+wanted to spend the money on the road, but he wasn't one to see a man
+out of a job if he'd got one to give him. They'd work for him too, and
+at less wages than they could get working under a man like Coombe.
+Coombe ought to have been sent off for what he'd let out about the
+Colonel. It wasn't the way to talk, for a man who'd been brought into
+the place when there were other men there who could have done his job
+just as well as he could. Sir William would have sacked him too, if
+he'd done what he ought. They did say that he'd quarrelled with the
+Colonel for stopping him cutting up Barton's Close. Sir William was
+getting a bit too big for his boots. That was about the size of it, and
+it wouldn't do him any harm to be told so.
+
+Thus the commonalty of Hayslope, not knowing everything that had passed,
+and splitting no hairs, but ready to endorse in their Squire a more
+unreasoned attitude than he had actually yet taken. It was not
+suspected, either at the Hall or the Grange how keen was the interest in
+the dispute, or even that it was known that the brothers were keeping
+apart; for there was still coming and going between the two houses as
+before, and a great carefulness that no significant word should be
+dropped before the servants. But Pamela, going about in the village, had
+sensed the feeling of expectation. Coombe, she felt sure, was still
+making mischief. If only Uncle William would send him away, there might
+be a chance of their all settling down again.
+
+Treading very delicately, she put it to Norman. Couldn't they do
+something to find out what was going on? Uncle William wouldn't believe
+that Coombe had made mischief. But if it was proved to him that he had!
+
+Norman took refuge in their compact, but in defence of it made it plain
+that he thought her father's demand unreasonable. This warned her that
+she mustn't look to him for any help now. He was on his father's side,
+as she was on hers. She couldn't blame him, but it was good-bye, for the
+present, to the freedom and confidence that had always existed between
+them. She felt sad, when he had left her, but a little hurt with him
+too, because he had failed her.
+
+Fred wouldn't fail her. He showed himself eager to help her in any way
+that she might suggest. What they were going to do this morning was to
+see old Jackson together, and get from him exactly what had happened at
+first, and what was happening now.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+INVESTIGATION
+
+
+Old Jackson was in the gravel-pit, half a mile up the road from the
+lodge gates, which made a walk long enough for Fred to have thought over
+with fluttering anticipations, ever since Pamela had asked him to see
+Jackson with her. It was she who had suggested that it would be better
+to talk to him there rather than in the openness of the park, when the
+carts had brought down their loads.
+
+They started off across the park by a footpath which led to the road
+higher up the hill. It was not the first time that Fred had been alone
+with her, but they had not been for a walk together before, as this
+ostensibly was. "We're going for a little walk," Pamela said, her stick
+in her hand, as they met her father coming along that very path, and he
+seemed to see nothing to remark in the thrilling fact. "Come back to
+lunch," he said to Fred. "There's something I want to consult you
+about."
+
+Colonel Eldridge had treated Fred with a courtesy; that had gratified
+him exceedingly, and such an invitation would have given him food for
+pleasurable conjecture if his mind had not been full of something else.
+"Poor old Dad," said Pamela, when they left him and went on. "I suppose
+it's this horrid quarrel he wants to talk about. There's nobody he can
+unburden himself to about it. I shall be glad if he does to you. You
+must encourage him to talk quite freely."
+
+Yes, Fred would do that. Things were going extraordinarily well for him.
+It was a great deal to have Pamela confiding in him. He would hardly
+have been undergoing this moving intimate experience of a country walk
+with her, but for the disturbance in which Hayslope was involved. If
+they were also to bring him into close personal touch with her father,
+they would be doing him very good service.
+
+Pamela moved along beside him in the active grace of her young girlhood,
+talking to him quietly and confidentially. He answered her in the same
+tone, alert to make the response that she would have him make; but only
+a part of his mind was upon the subject that alone held hers. The rest
+of it was in a ferment of incredulous wonder and self-gratulation. He
+stole a glance at her every now and then and wondered afresh at finding
+himself in this sort of companionship. Everything about her was fresh
+and sweet and virginal. In all his mean experience of sex he had never
+thought to have been so moved by the mere proximity of such a girl as
+this; in all his selfish, uninspired experience of life he had never
+thought to have been thrilled by a pure emotion. She made him hate the
+thought of evil, and turn away with disgust from his baser self. If he
+was ready to plot and scheme to get her, and would not be too particular
+what weapons he used if it came to a fight, once having made her his
+own, he would tend the spiritual flame that she had lighted in him.
+Already he was a better man because of her. He knew it and rejoiced in
+it, who had not previously desired to be anything better than he was.
+
+They left the park and went for a short distance up the shady road, to
+where a track ran off among the trees to the shallow pit at the end of
+it. The rich red gravel lay in ruled banks and mounds where it had been
+dug out, and the men who were working at it were filling the two carts
+which were to carry it down to the park. Old Jackson was working as hard
+as anyone, as well as directing it all. He was a fine figure of a man,
+with his upright sinewy frame kept supple by use. His face had that
+delicacy of line and feature which is to be found among the true sons of
+the soil, perhaps as often as the result of generations of blue blood.
+His eyes were clear and keen, with a look in them not far removed from
+the innocent look of a child. Such men as he may take orders from others
+all their lives, but they never lose their dignity of manhood.
+
+The carts were nearly filled. Fred and Pamela waited until they were
+ready to be moved, and then Fred told Jackson that they wanted to speak
+to him. Would he send the carts on and stay behind for a few minutes?
+
+He gave the orders and returned to them, putting on his coat. "Have you
+got a pipe?" asked Fred, offering him his opened tobacco pouch; but with
+a glance at Pamela he refused. Fred put the pouch back into his pocket,
+and his own pipe with it, and began rather hurriedly: "Miss Eldridge
+wants to ask you a few questions. Perhaps you know that there's some
+misunderstanding between Colonel Eldridge and Sir William about Coombe,
+Sir William's gardener. If you can tell her exactly what happened when
+Colonel Eldridge came down to Barton's Close, she thinks she may be able
+to do something to straighten it all out. She'll see you don't suffer
+from anything you tell her."
+
+Some such opening had been agreed upon between them, but Pamela's brows
+came slightly together at the last sentence. "I do want to know exactly
+what Coombe did say," she added. "I know you didn't like his talking as
+he did about father, so I thought you'd help us about it if you could."
+
+The old man looked away. There was something pathetic in his expression
+of patience and slight puzzlement. "I told the Colonel," he said slowly.
+"He's always been a kind master to me, and I'm glad to be took on by him
+again."
+
+"Yes, you wouldn't like to hear him spoken against," said Fred. "Sir
+William wouldn't either, if he knew of it. But Coombe seems to be a
+clever sort of man in the mischief he makes, and he's persuaded Sir
+William that he didn't say anything that could be objected to. But you
+heard him, didn't you?"
+
+The blue eyes came slowly round to Fred and rested on him again, and did
+not leave him this time. "I don't know as I want to make that known to
+all and sundry," said old Jackson. "There's a many asks me, but I say to
+them as I say to you, that the Colonel's been a good master to me, and I
+don't like such things said."
+
+Pamela understood him and said quickly, before Fred could speak: "You
+don't want to repeat it, do you? I'm glad you don't. But...."
+
+"But there are others who heard it," said Fred. "And it must have been
+put about all over the place. You won't do Colonel Eldridge any harm by
+telling us."
+
+The old man's face changed slightly as he looked at Pamela. "Don't you
+go for to mix yourself up in it, Missy," he said. "Nobody scarcely don't
+pay attention to what that there Coombe says about the Colonel. He don't
+come from these parts, and we knows the Colonel." He turned to Fred
+again. He seemed to have found his speech now. "'Tain't for the likes of
+Miss Pamela to be mixed up in it. What comes to your ears here and there
+you keep to yourself, or say to others, and not to her. None of us who
+belongs to Hayslope don't want the young ladies mixed up in this."
+
+Fred ignored the rebuke, which struck him unpleasantly. "Well, I belong
+to Hayslope too, you know," he said, "though I've been away from it for
+a good many years."
+
+"What's for the likes of us ain't for the likes of her," returned the
+old man, looking full at him. Then he looked again at Pamela. "Don't you
+mix yourself up in it, Missy," he said, in the almost caressing tone
+which he had used towards her before. "I'll get along down to the road
+now."
+
+He took a step away from them and then turned round again. "I said to
+young Norman yesterday," he said, "'if you want to hear the rights of
+it,' I said, 'you can ask Dell or Chambers,' I said. _He'll_ tell you,
+Missy. 'I won't have nothing more to do with it,' I said. 'You can ask
+Dell or Chambers.'"
+
+Fred's face wore a disagreeable look as he frowned after the old man's
+broad back. As a boy he had played with the village lads, and held a
+sort of leadership among them, but more because of his athletic prowess
+than from any recognition on their part of his superior station. The
+elders of the village, recognizing his rough clay, had paid him hardly
+more respect than if he were one of their own sons. It was plain that
+Jackson considered that no more was owing to him now. If not quite one
+of themselves, he was not for a moment to be counted as of the elect.
+
+Had Pamela understood the snub that the old man had given him? He
+smoothed away the frown and turned quickly to her. But she was looking
+down, and on her face there was a frown too of perplexity.
+
+"Norman has been asking him questions," she said.
+
+"Norman," he said. "I wonder why. And I suppose he went to those other
+two men. Of course they'll tell him anything he wants to hear."
+
+She did not quite like this. She started to walk along the track, Fred
+at her side, his brain working quickly. "I think the old man is right,"
+he said. "You ought not to be mixed up in this--not in the way of asking
+questions yourself, I mean. Let me ask them for you. Very likely, if I'd
+had old Jackson alone, I could have got something out of him. I'm quite
+sure I can out of those other two, and it's important I should, now that
+the enemy has got to work."
+
+She looked at him with an expression that he had not seen on her face
+before, and instantly regretted having called up. "Norman isn't an
+enemy," she said. "If he has been asking questions, it is because he
+wants to get it all cleared up, as much as we do."
+
+"Oh, yes," he said evenly. "I didn't mean anything else. But it would be
+only natural that he should want to see his father justified. Much
+better get at it from another side. I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll see
+these men in their dinner hour. I don't suppose it will take very long
+to get it out of them. Then I'll come straight up to the Hall, and I
+shall be able to tell you before lunch."
+
+"I'm not sure I wouldn't rather see Norman first," she said; but she
+said it rather doubtfully. Norman might have told her that he was going
+to make inquiries on his own account, instead of saying that neither he
+nor she could do anything. Fred had offended her in calling him the
+enemy, but he was probably right in attributing some bias to Norman. She
+did not disguise from herself her own bias, and when Fred said again
+that it would be better to get the story for themselves, she acquiesced.
+
+"I'll go now," he said, when they came to the gate that led into the
+park. "It's nearly a quarter to twelve, and I shall catch them coming
+back. I want to go home first."
+
+It cost him something to leave her; there would have been plenty of time
+to walk with her to the Hall and back to the village by twelve o'clock.
+But he knew he could not trust himself to hide his antagonism to Norman,
+if she were to discuss his intervention further. He did not want to
+arouse that defensive and offended look in her face again. When he next
+met her he expected to have firmer ground under his feet. She was
+already a little doubtful of Norman. He wasn't in the least doubtful. Of
+course Norman was gathering material for his side; if not he would have
+told Pamela what he was going to do. Probably he would tell her, when he
+had done it; but Fred would have told her first. He had a score to wipe
+off against Norman.
+
+He did not go to the Vicarage, but to the Hayslope Arms, where he was
+quite accustomed to making himself at home. On his first arrival at
+Hayslope he had frequented it, picking up old acquaintances there, and
+establishing himself as one who had made his way in the world but had
+not become proud on that account. The men who had been boys with him
+liked him well enough, and he was free with his money. When all his
+thoughts had become centred on Pamela, he had left off going there; the
+contrast between what had satisfied him in the way of company and what
+was open to him at the Hall was too great. He felt some slight
+repugnance now as he entered the sanded bar; but he was keen in spite of
+it, for he realized that the book of the village gossip was open to him
+whenever he liked to dip into it, and that if he had not of late cut
+himself off from his old associates he might have had much material to
+manipulate. But it would be easy to pick it all up, and Norman had no
+such chances, though those who came in contact with him liked him.
+
+Pamela took a book into the garden, to a seat which commanded a view of
+the drive, and waited with what patience she could muster. She felt a
+little guilty, but allowed no patience with herself over that. It
+seemed to be she alone who could straighten out this tangle, which was
+making her father so sad that it wrung her heart to see him. His
+dejected look when he thought himself unobserved, still more his forced
+cheerfulness with his children--oh, it was sad to see! And she loved
+him; she thought she loved him better than anybody in the world, better
+even than her mother, over whom she was rather puzzled at this time. Her
+mother never allowed herself to be unduly perturbed about anything, and
+met her own troubles with a whimsical philosophy which Pamela had
+admired greatly, since she had been old enough to see that they were
+such as many women would have made themselves miserable over. Certainly
+she had lightened the burdens that her husband had had to bear, by
+showing herself happy with what was left to her, and encouraging her
+children to do the same. She and Pam had often talked that over
+together. They were never to let him see that they missed anything, and
+her mother would never acknowledge to her that she did miss anything.
+
+But in this new trouble that admirable spirit of cheerfulness hardly
+seemed adequate, or even suitable. Pam knew that her mother and her aunt
+had essayed to put it right, but not having been able to do so they
+seemed to accept it, and to want as much to be together as before. Pam
+was beginning to think that such an intimacy could only be possible if
+it was agreed that neither side was more worthy of blame than the other.
+Did her mother take that view? Pamela couldn't. There might be two sides
+to the quarrel, but what mattered was that it bore far more hardly upon
+the one than upon the other. She had seen that quite plainly for
+herself. Her father was depressed and saddened by it. Her uncle seemed
+to have put it aside altogether. He had been more than usually kind and
+affectionate to her on the one occasion on which she had been to the
+Grange since the split, obviously with the intention of showing himself
+so. But he had also been in more than usual high spirits. Of course he
+was pleased about his peerage and all that! And it was nice of
+him--perhaps--to want to show her that the quarrel had made no
+difference in his feelings towards any of them, except one. But she, at
+least, could not dissociate herself from that one; it seemed a
+disloyalty to go to the Grange and to be treated by Uncle William as if
+nothing had happened, while he stayed at home, alone and sad, because so
+much had happened. Uncle William was far more free with his expressions
+of affection than her father had ever been. His manner to his brother
+had always seemed to show great affection, and she had never doubted
+that he felt it towards him. But it was he who was showing himself
+almost unaffected by the estrangement, while her father was feeling it
+deeply.
+
+The decision was growing up in her mind to talk to her uncle herself.
+That was why she wanted to find out more than she knew already of what
+had actually happened. She knew that her father made a point of Coombe's
+dismissal. If she could go to him and tell him why she thought he ought
+to give way...! It would be greatly daring, on the ground she had always
+occupied with him, when apparently her mother, who must have made some
+appeal, had failed to move him. But she knew that her mother had taken
+no steps to find justification for her father's attitude. Nobody seemed
+to have thought of doing that except herself--unless it was Norman. But
+she could not be sure of Norman, yet, though she was quite unwilling to
+take Fred's view of his investigations.
+
+She saw Fred's figure top the little rise in the drive which hid the
+lodge from where she was sitting, and her eyes rested upon it as it
+approached and grew larger, with a gaze of inquiry, almost of
+exploration. She had not been unaffected by Norman's freely expressed
+dislike of Fred; but in a matter of this sort she must abide by her own
+knowledge and observation. Fred had been rather a horrid sort of boy,
+but that ought not to tell against him if he had turned himself into
+rather a good sort of man. She thought he had, though there seemed to be
+a common streak in him which slightly offended her sometimes. But surely
+a man who was not "nice," after all the hard experiences he had
+undergone, would not have shown himself so appreciative of the quiet
+domestic life that they lived at the Hall. She knew, of course, that he
+admired her, and probably frequented the Hall largely on her account.
+But his liking had never shown itself in a way to make her take counsel
+of herself; and that was another point in his favour. Her father liked
+him, and evidently trusted him, or he would not have wanted to consult
+him about something, as he was about to do. And he was whole-hearted in
+his defence of her father. That was more in his favour than anything
+else. It was enough, at any rate, for the present. She rose and went to
+meet him, not without eagerness.
+
+They went back to her seat and he told her what he had discovered, but
+not how or where he had discovered it.
+
+The gist of it--very carefully imparted, so that at no point could she
+take umbrage at it--was that Norman had been making his inquiries with
+the quite obvious intention of proving that nothing had been said that
+it was worth making such a fuss about. The two men, indeed, who did not
+belong to the village, now denied stoutly that Coombe had gone beyond a
+very mild protest at the work being stopped. They seemed to be in with
+Coombe again and it was quite likely that they were expecting well-paid
+work from him, when they had got through with their present job. Their
+denials had been so obviously insincere that it was scarcely worth while
+wasting time with them. Fred would not suggest who had primed them, but
+it was quite plain that they were saying only what they were expected to
+say, and would stick to it.
+
+"If it is so," Pam said, "it must be Coombe who is priming them. Of
+course he would want as little made of it as possible."
+
+Fred thought this very likely--with a reluctant air that seemed to
+indicate that he knew better, but didn't want to say so.
+
+"Pegg, the other man, tells a different story," he said, and repeated to
+her some of the things that had been said by Coombe about her father,
+which made her blush hot with resentment. "Did Norman talk to him?" she
+asked.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And did he tell him that?"
+
+"Well, no, he didn't."
+
+"Why not? Do tell me everything." She was becoming impatient over his
+hesitations.
+
+He plumped it out: "Because he saw that it wouldn't be well received.
+These men know on which side their bread's buttered, and they are not
+going to give themselves away. Even Old Jackson--he's working for your
+father now, and hopes to be kept on, but he doesn't want to offend Sir
+William. None of them do. Pegg hopes to be kept on here too, I think,
+and he doesn't mind giving Coombe away, but he isn't going to give him
+away to Norman. That's how it is, and it's no good hiding it. I don't
+know what Norman really wants, but it's quite plain what these men
+_think_ he wants, and that's to back up his side of the quarrel.
+Everybody knows there is a quarrel now, and nearly everybody is on our
+side. I've found that out. I think you must leave Norman out of it, if
+you're to do any good."
+
+She thought this over, but made no reply. "Is Coombe still making
+mischief?" she asked.
+
+"He's rather frightened, I think, and has kept his mouth shut lately;
+but everybody knows that he would do Colonel Eldridge any injury that he
+could. They think he ought to be got rid of. He's a bad influence in the
+place."
+
+Pamela rose. "It's nearly lunch time," she said. "Thank you very much
+for helping me. I must think what to do."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+A QUESTION OF FINANCE
+
+
+"I wanted to ask your advice."
+
+Colonel Eldridge stood in front of the empty fireplace, filling his
+pipe; Fred was in one of the shabby leather easy chairs, smoking a
+cigarette. The room was very quiet and retired, looking on to a corner
+of lawn surrounded by banked rhododendrons, under the shade of a great
+hornbeam.
+
+Colonel Eldridge seemed to have some difficulty in coming to the point.
+He put the lid carefully on his old lead tobacco box, and lit his pipe
+from a box of matches on the mantelpiece before he spoke again.
+
+"You and Hugo were friends together as boys," he said.
+
+"Oh, yes. And we wrote to one another once or twice after I went abroad.
+I only just missed him once when we were on the Somme. I wish I'd seen
+him before he was killed."
+
+"Well, I don't suppose you know that he gave us a lot of trouble, poor
+fellow. At least, you may have heard something. I needn't go into it
+all; it was mostly about money. He was very extravagant, and raced and
+gambled and all that. He was young; he'd have got over it in time, and
+settled down, I've no doubt. He did his job well enough; I've got a
+letter from his Colonel, which I was very glad to have."
+
+He went on for a time, again apparently finding it difficult to come to
+the point. He did so suddenly, and it was not exactly the point that
+Fred had anticipated, from his introduction.
+
+"The fact is, I want to raise some money," he said, "four hundred
+pounds."
+
+"Yes," said Fred, at random. "That ought to be easy enough."
+
+"Well, it isn't so easy in these days." He sat down in the chair
+opposite to Fred's, and spoke with more freedom now. "I've paid a good
+deal on Hugo's account," he said. "Claims have kept coming in, and I
+thought we had come to the end of them. But I had another a few days
+ago. I've been puzzling my head how I was to meet it. I've got to meet
+it, in fact I've undertaken to do so early next week. I don't want to go
+to my lawyers."
+
+He came to a stop again. Fred's thoughts were very busy. What was going
+to be asked of him? Why couldn't Colonel Eldridge go to his lawyers
+about a sum so small as this for a man of his property? He had no words
+at his command for the moment. His business instincts and habits were
+too strong for him not to feel slightly, though unwillingly, on the
+defensive.
+
+But fortunately none were required of him just yet. "I don't know what
+to tell you first," Colonel Eldridge said. "Perhaps I'd better tell you
+everything, though I'll keep back names."
+
+He took a letter out of his pocket, and opened it. Fred cast
+surreptitious glances, but the letter was held so that he could not see
+it.
+
+"This is from the mother of a brother officer of Hugo's, who was
+killed--some time after he was. She has found among his papers an
+I. O. U. of Hugo's for four hundred pounds; she encloses it. She writes
+quite nicely. She has kept it some time, not knowing quite what to do
+about it. She doesn't want the money; but she thinks it ought to be
+paid. She would give it to some charity in her son's name."
+
+"An I. O. U.?" said Fred. "I suppose you've satisfied yourself--"
+
+Colonel Eldridge cut him short. "Oh, I quite agree with her," he said.
+"I don't know her, by the by, and I suppose Hugo didn't either, or she
+would have said something about him--not only in connection with this, I
+mean. There's no need to ask what the transaction was. Very likely, I'm
+afraid, it was a card debt, or something of that sort. Anyhow, the money
+was owing from him, and is owing from me now. Her way of dealing with it
+is the best. I've promised to send her a cheque next week."
+
+It seemed to Fred foolish to have done so, but it was no good saying
+that. "There's nothing, I suppose, to come out to Hugo's detriment," he
+said. "If you pay it without question it ought to be understood that it
+isn't talked about."
+
+"As far as she is concerned, I should think she'd want it talked about
+as little as I should. If they were gambling together it might just as
+well have been her son who had owed it. But you've put your finger on
+the trouble, as it happens. _I_ don't want it talked about, outside this
+room. The fact is that poor Hugo's delinquencies have brought about a
+state of feeling towards him that gives me great pain. He did some very
+foolish things--bad things, you may say, if you like--and they've been
+exaggerated into things that he never would have done. I quarrelled with
+one of my oldest friends about it. He took back what he said, and we've
+come together again, I'm glad to say. I've got Hugo's good name to
+consider. My brother William has known everything so far, and he has
+been very good about it. I've had to raise money to pay off what has
+been owing--it's a very large sum in all--and I couldn't have done it
+without his co-operation, now that he's in remainder to this property.
+But I know quite well that he takes a worse view of Hugo than I think
+he's justified in taking. I can't--I simply can't go to him about this,
+though it's a mere flea-bite compared to what has had to be paid
+already."
+
+He seemed to have forgotten for the moment that he had cut himself off
+from going to his brother about anything. And he had not told Fred that
+the date upon the claim he had to meet was that same black date as had
+seen the transaction over which Lord Crowborough had brought his
+disgraceful accusations against Hugo--accusations which he had been
+forced to withdraw. The hornet's nest must not be stirred again. "No, he
+mustn't know of this," he said. "And my lawyers mustn't know of it, for
+if they did, he would."
+
+"You couldn't--?"
+
+"My dear Fred, I've been so confoundedly hit by the war, and all this
+coming on the top of it, that I simply couldn't raise a hundred pounds
+at this moment, let alone four hundred, without some sort of property
+adjustment. And that would mean disclosing everything, which I won't do
+if I can possibly help it. But I've thought of this. I'm always getting
+money-lender's circulars. You know the sort of things, of course. I'm
+not such a fool as to suppose that I can borrow money in that way on
+anything like an ordinary rate of interest. But I'd pay very heavily to
+get this money at once, with no security but my word for repayment. Have
+you ever had any dealings with these people? I know young fellows do. I
+might quite well have done it myself, but as a matter of fact I never
+did. Hugo did, and they fleeced him unmercifully. I don't want to be
+fleeced; but I can do what they always seem to want, and that is pay by
+regular instalments. My income is pretty well fixed now for some time to
+come. It's a tight fit already, and this will make it tighter, but what
+I can do is to pay two hundred a year until I've cleared it off, with
+the interest."
+
+Fred was ready with his answer. His brain worked quickly in questions of
+this kind, and he knew his man--or thought he did.
+
+"Don't go to those sharks," he said. "It's perfectly easy. I can find
+you the money at once. The interest would have to be ten per cent, I
+think, but--"
+
+"I don't want _you_ to lend me the money, you know."
+
+Fred had thought that he did, and thought so still. But, of course, a
+man in his position would want the decencies observed. "I hadn't thought
+of that," he said. "But as a matter of fact it would suit me very well
+to do it. I've got rather more than that lying idle--gratuities, and so
+on--and I couldn't get ten per cent on it without taking some trouble,
+and even then it would be more risky than this. Really, it would be the
+easiest way, sir, and I should be glad of the opportunity."
+
+"Oh, you could get more than ten per cent, lending money without
+security. I shouldn't offer security, you know. To do that, I should
+have to go to my lawyers."
+
+"Your word is security enough for me, sir. I couldn't have a better
+wherever I went, and I've been meaning to go somewhere for the last
+month or more. I'm a business man. I don't like having money doing
+nothing. This would be a business deal for me, and at ten per cent a
+good one. I say nothing about obliging you. It would give me great
+pleasure to do it, but I should think it rather cheek to offer it on
+that account."
+
+Under all the circumstances, known to Fred but unknown to Colonel
+Eldridge, it was considerable cheek as it was. One of the circumstances
+was that Fred hadn't got four hundred pounds lying idle, or even forty.
+He wasn't that kind of man.
+
+"It's kind of you to say that," said Colonel Eldridge. "Let me think it
+over for a moment."
+
+He sat upright in his chair, which was not a deep one like Fred's, and
+looked into the empty grate, with no expression on his face that could
+be interpreted. Fred's opinion of him lowered itself somewhat. What was
+the good of keeping up this farce? Of course he would accept. He was
+lucky to have such a chance offered him. And Fred was lucky to be able
+to offer it, to Pamela's father.
+
+Colonel Eldridge turned his quiet direct eyes upon him. "It's a very
+kind offer on your part," he said. "For which I'm grateful. But I don't
+see my way to accepting it."
+
+Fred did not understand in the least, but knew somehow that it would be
+waste of time to press his offer.
+
+"I'm sorry," he said. "But tell me how I can help you in any way."
+
+Again he looked away, considering. "I'm afraid," he said, with a little
+wry smile at Fred, "that I hadn't thought it out very clearly. You knew
+my poor Hugo. There's no one I can talk to about him quite plainly."
+
+Fred didn't understand the bearings of this either, but he recognized a
+call upon his sympathy, to which he made haste to respond. His feelings
+were cold towards the memory of Hugo; and he was stirred to no generous
+impulse towards the man who had given him a glimpse of his loneliness
+and come to him, of all people, to relieve it. But he had done well for
+himself, with Pamela, in taking her father's side, and was being given
+an opportunity of doing still better for himself with him.
+
+He said some nice things about Hugo in his boyhood, and laid stress upon
+the sacrifice he had made, which had wiped out all his errors. Colonel
+Eldridge accepted it all, but perhaps it wasn't quite what he wanted,
+for lack of the feeling behind it, which, if it had been true, would
+have brought balm to him. "Well, I don't want to throw his name into
+discussion again," he said. "Perhaps I shall have to. I don't think I
+could go to one of these people and bargain with him. I should make a
+poor hand of it. And I wouldn't pay the preposterous terms that they
+seem to demand when you do go to them. It wouldn't be right. I'd had
+some idea that as you know about business, and all that, you might be
+able to suggest something. But I hadn't thought of your offering to find
+the money. I couldn't--"
+
+"I won't press it," said Fred. "What I could do would be to find
+somebody who would advance it, on suitable terms. That wouldn't be
+difficult. You might have to pay a bit more than ten per cent, but I
+should try to get a loan for that, and I know I could get it for
+twelve."
+
+He had absolved him from having angled for the offer he had made, and
+thought that it had been refused because it did not consort with Colonel
+Eldridge's dignity to accept a loan from him. He "knew about business,
+and all that." He recognized the attitude of a man to whom all
+transactions outside those of which he had personal knowledge were a
+mystery known to the elect, of whom he was considered one. In face of
+that child-like ignorance it would be easy enough to arrange this
+affair.
+
+"I should consider myself lucky in getting a loan at twelve per cent, or
+even more. Do you mean that you really could make it a purely business
+transaction--get me an introduction, or something of that sort? I
+appreciate your very kind offer, of course; but it couldn't be purely a
+business transaction between you and me. Supposing I were to die, before
+it was paid off--one has to think of that--the claim would come upon my
+estate, and--well, you see it wouldn't do."
+
+Fred did see that, from Colonel Eldridge's point of view. It would be
+necessary, but not difficult, to hide his tracks. "All you would owe to
+me would be the recommendation," he said. "And I could put it through
+more quickly and easily than you could yourself. If you'll say the word
+I'll go up to-morrow and arrange it. I shall bring you down a paper to
+sign, and then you can deal straight with the man I shall introduce the
+business to. I shan't have anything more to do with it after that, and I
+needn't say I shall keep my mouth shut about it."
+
+Colonel Eldridge showed his relief. "I didn't think you'd lift the
+weight off my mind as readily as that," he said, smiling at Fred. "I'm
+very deeply grateful to you. Poor Hugo! It's the last trouble we shall
+have from him, I hope. It's odd, you know, that it doesn't make me love
+the boy less. It's as if he'd come to me himself and asked me to get him
+out of a mess. I should have wanted to keep it to myself then. I don't
+mind telling you, as you've been so kind, that there was one trouble I
+had to deal with that looked bad against him, and this last claim might
+have turned out to have some connection with that. He had got in with a
+wild lot--I dare say most of them are killed now, poor boys! It's right
+to keep their faults to oneself, if it's possible. I'm glad I can settle
+this matter promptly, and get it out of the way--thanks to you. I'm very
+grateful to you, Fred."
+
+He shook hands with him, and Fred left him, feeling rather ashamed of
+himself.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+PERSHORE CASTLE
+
+
+What was Norman doing? He did not come to the Hall on that day, nor on
+the next, and it was not until the third day that Pamela heard he had
+gone away the afternoon before. The close intercourse between the Hall
+and the Grange was lessening. Lady Eldridge had been left alone at the
+Grange, and she had not proposed herself to dine at the Hall, or asked
+any of them to keep her company. Pamela felt unhappy about it all. They
+seemed to be drifting apart, and nobody was doing anything to prevent
+it. If Fred was right about Norman, he was even acting in such a way as
+to make the breach wider. She had decided to say something to him about
+the inquiries he had been making, but he had kept away from her. That
+was very unlike him, and it was not in the bargain he had made with her.
+They two were to ignore the quarrel altogether, and be just as they had
+been before. He was not ignoring the quarrel, but apparently taking a
+hand in it, and he had gone away without a word to her, which she could
+not remember his ever having done. Perhaps he was annoyed with her for
+having admitted Fred into so much intimacy. Well, she had her own
+reasons for that, and to stand aloof from her himself wasn't the way to
+recommend his opinion to her. It was rather a relief to her that Fred
+had also gone away for a couple of days, for she had not decided yet
+what she should do with the information he had brought her, and she had
+no inclination to discuss her course of action with him.
+
+She went over to the Grange in the morning to see her aunt. She still
+had faith in her, and knew from her mother how troubled she was about
+the estrangement. But she had not talked with her about it herself. She
+thought she might, this morning, if she were given a chance.
+
+But Lady Eldridge did not give her a chance. She was in her pretty room,
+busy with a water-colour drawing of flowers. She was pleased to see Pam,
+and kept her to lunch with her. They played the piano together and sang,
+and cut flowers from the garden and arranged them. It was just such a
+quiet happy morning as Pam had often spent with her, except that it was
+not very happy. There was the shadow over both of them. Pamela could see
+that her aunt was sad about it, but also that she did not want it
+mentioned. The terms they were on did not permit of her breaking through
+the implied prohibition unless she had had a firmly fixed purpose in
+doing so. But no purpose was yet fixed in her.
+
+She learnt that Norman was coming back the next day, bringing two
+Cambridge friends with him, who were going to stay for a fortnight and
+read hard; also that her uncle was not coming down for the week-end. It
+was the third he had missed in a few weeks, and it was the time of year
+when he generally stayed at Hayslope altogether. It looked as if he were
+keeping away on purpose, and she thought that her aunt had mentioned
+his not being expected as an intimation that nobody need stay away from
+the Grange because of him. It was a sad pass for them to have come to,
+and Pamela was not encouraged, as she walked home, by the thought that
+her aunt seemed to accept it, though not without distress.
+
+The next day Colonel and Mrs. Eldridge, Pamela and Judith went over to
+lunch at Pershore Castle. There was a niece staying in the house, for
+whom the society of other young girls was desired. Pamela found her
+uninteresting. She was just a niece--of the sort who is to be found in
+most country houses, and unless deflected by matrimony develops in
+course of time into a cousin, of the sort who is to be found in most
+country houses. Some bright life was wanted for the benefit of the
+niece, who was bright herself in a niece-like way, and indeed seemed to
+possess all the attributes and attainments of a country-house niecehood.
+
+They lunched in a vaulted stone hall, decorated with armour and ancient
+weapons, but Lord and Lady Crowborough, though both descended from
+ancestors who might have worn the armour and wielded the weapons, made
+it appear rather commonplace. Lord Crowborough was genial, and rather
+heavily playful with the girls, and especially with the niece, who
+responded to him in the way required, and Lady Crowborough, who had
+begun by being stately, soon thawed into almost profuse friendship
+towards Colonel Eldridge on her right and Judith on her left. Horsham
+sat next to Judith, who was inclined to be silent. Pam was on the other
+side of the table, next to the niece, and his eyes were frequently
+attracted to her. He might possibly have told the niece how it was with
+him, for she made efforts to include them both in conversation. But it
+is more likely that, guided by some subtle instinct, she was, unknown to
+herself, preparing for the years of cousinship ahead, when Horsham would
+sit where his father sat now, and his wife, whoever she might be, would
+invite her to pay long visits to them.
+
+She took Judith off somewhere after lunch, and left Pamela with Horsham.
+This was not to Pamela's liking, but she soon discovered that it was to
+his. She did not pay much attention to his conversation, feeling a
+trifle drowsy after the half glass of Moselle which Lord Crowborough had
+insisted upon her drinking, until she woke up to the fact that he was
+endeavouring in a tentative and rather clumsy way to make love to her.
+She was inclined to be flattered, because she had now made up her mind
+that he liked Judith better than he liked her, though he might not be
+fully aware of it yet himself. But she did not want to be made love to
+for the moment, however tentatively. It was too hot, for one thing, and
+even half a glass of Moselle induces a disinclination to mental effort
+when your preference in fluids is for plain water.
+
+She staved off the pressure for a time by asking him exactly how far he
+thought it was from Hayslope to Pershore, and expressing doubt at his
+answer. If she had thought of it she would have asked him to fetch a
+map, and he would have done so willingly and proved that he was right.
+But he ended that discussion by saying: "Whatever the distance is, I
+wish it was less. Then I should see you oftener."
+
+This was no longer tentative, though it might be lacking in finesse. It
+was too much trouble to fence with it, only to have it pressed home.
+"Oh, my dear old Jim," she said, "I don't want you to say that sort of
+thing. Let's talk sensibly, if we must talk. But to tell you the truth,
+I feel rather sleepy. Couldn't we both drop off for a few minutes? These
+chairs are very comfortable."
+
+Horsham was sitting up in his. They were on a terrace edged with a
+battlemented wall, from which there was a fine spreading view of the
+country that this ancient castle had once dominated. Men at arms had
+paced up and down the flags upon which the wicker chairs and tables were
+now so invitingly displayed, and if a fair lady had ever been wooed
+there by the inheritor of all the power and wealth that had been
+represented by Pershore Castle, it would have been in very different
+terms from those now being used by his descendant.
+
+Nevertheless, Lord Horsham possessed, in addition to his quite modern
+tastes, habits and appearance, some sense, not to be confounded with
+vanity, of the dignities he had inherited, or would inherit, and a
+certain direct simplicity of purpose such as had probably had a good
+deal to do with advancing his ancestors to the summit of their desires.
+He passed over completely Pamela's very modern expression of humour, and
+said: "I hadn't thought of saying anything to you now because it's just
+a chance that we are here alone, and I don't know how much time there'll
+be. But there's no sense in keeping back what's there, and I know my
+own mind by this time. It's quite simple. You're the only girl I've ever
+seen that I should like to marry--I don't mean yet; but is there any
+chance of it?"
+
+This had been said, not altogether without intimations of nervousness,
+but with a weight that forbade the response of raillery. Pamela
+corrected herself, and replied: "I'm afraid not, Jim. I like you very
+much indeed. I always have and I always shall; but I don't want to marry
+you."
+
+"I suppose you mean that you don't love me."
+
+"Well--I suppose I do; at least not in that way."
+
+"I didn't think you did, you know," he said, not showing nervousness
+now. "But don't you think it would come? I don't know much about how
+these things work, because I've never gone about trying to fall in love,
+as some fellows seem to do. But I did read in a book somewhere that
+women often fell in love with men after they were married, though men
+didn't."
+
+Pamela allowed herself some relaxation in her attitude of seriousness
+and laughed. "I don't think it does to go by books in that sort of
+thing," she said. "Aren't you making a mistake in your feelings about
+me, Jim? I know you like me, and I'm very glad you do. I like you too.
+But we don't seem to be exactly cut out for one another. Really, you get
+on much better with Judith than you do with me. There's much more in
+common between you."
+
+"Oh, I know what you think about me and Judith," he said, surprisingly.
+"I do get on very well with Judith, but it isn't the same thing at all.
+You've often sent me off with Judith when I've wanted to be with you,
+and I've gone because I didn't want to worry you, before I'd said what
+I've said just now, which I've been meaning to say for some time. It's
+you I love, not Judith."
+
+This touched her a little. "I'm awfully grateful to you, Jim," she said.
+"But I can't say what you want. And I'm still not sure that you really
+do want it. Perhaps I ought not to say it--but we are such good friends,
+aren't we? And as we've mentioned Judith--I'm sure _she_ has no idea of
+such a thing, and of course she and I have never talked about you in
+that way--I really do believe that you like her much better than you
+think you do. She's a darling, and ever so much prettier than I am, and
+much more suited to you too. If you could once get me out of your head!"
+
+He listened gravely, and seemed to be weighing what she said. "I've
+never thought about Judith in that way at all," he said. "She's too
+young for one thing."
+
+"Oh, yes," she said hurriedly, blushing a little. "Perhaps it's rather
+horrid of me to talk of her like that. And of course I don't mean now.
+You're quite young too--not old enough to want to be married yet."
+
+"I shouldn't _aim_ at getting married yet," he confessed, "in the
+ordinary way, perhaps not for a few years. But there's no reason against
+it. When I've left Oxford, which will be in another year, I shall be
+settling down to work, and it has lately seemed to me that I could work
+much better if I was married--to somebody I love, as I love you, who
+would help me in everything I did."
+
+"Dear old Jim," she said affectionately. "Somehow, I think you've got
+hold of the right idea of marriage. With the right girl you would be
+happy, and I think you would make her happy too. But I'm sure _I'm_ not
+the right girl for you. We'll go on being friends, though, all the
+same."
+
+He heaved a sigh. "Well, I can see it's no good going on about it," he
+said. "All the same, I shan't give up the idea. I suppose there's nobody
+else you do want to marry, is there?"
+
+"No," she said shortly.
+
+"Well, then, I shall ask you again--when I've left Oxford, and am ready
+to start. Until then, I shan't bother you--not at all, and I shall be
+glad to go on being friends, as you say you will be. You won't tell
+anyone what I've asked you, will you?"
+
+She hesitated. "I'd rather you didn't tell Norman," he said. "I like
+Norman, and I don't mind his chaff a bit. But I'd rather not be chaffed
+about this, because I feel seriously about it."
+
+"No, Jim, I won't," she said. "I won't tell anybody until you say that I
+may."
+
+Lady Crowborough and Mrs. Eldridge had retired together after luncheon,
+into an upstairs drawing-room, which had a still finer view of the
+surrounding dappled country than the terrace below.
+
+Mrs. Eldridge was in a mood slightly mischievous. She had seen Lady
+Crowborough thaw towards her husband, whom she had probably designed to
+keep at arm's length. She had not yet thawed towards herself, and this
+retirement to a room not often used, instead of to one with a more
+intimate significance, seemed to mean that she would be treated with all
+courtesy and consideration due to her, but not admitted to any
+heart-felt intercourse.
+
+She talked politely, on the surface of things, and Lady Crowborough
+responded in the same tone, and as if this was exactly what she wished.
+She even appeared to be taking the stand of a great, but still affable,
+lady towards a country neighbour of less exalted position, which Mrs.
+Eldridge encouraged by due submission. But presently she seemed to be
+getting uneasy at the absence of the intimacy that had existed for years
+between her and this particular neighbour, and to be inviting a change
+in the tone of the conversation. Mrs. Eldridge did not respond to the
+invitation, but became rather more colourlessly polite than before.
+
+"I always think that you have such lovely views from here," she said,
+looking out of the window. "We have beautiful views from some of our
+windows at Hayslope--not all--and the Castle shows up so well from
+there. But of course you can't live in it and have it to look at too."
+
+"No," Lady Crowborough agreed, and added with a smile, as of one who was
+saying something rather clever: "Sometimes I wish we had it to look at
+instead of to live in. There seems no end to the expenses of living in a
+house as large as this, even when you live as simply as we do.
+_Everything_ has gone up since the war. _Everything._ Don't you find it
+so?"
+
+"Yes," said Mrs. Eldridge. "In our small way we do."
+
+"Even clothes," said Lady Crowborough. "I'm really glad not to be in
+London so much as we used to be. In the country one can wear old
+clothes, and it doesn't matter."
+
+"It wouldn't matter, of course, what _you_ wore," said Mrs. Eldridge,
+and wished Pamela had been there to hear the way she said it. "In our
+position we have to be more careful. I find it difficult to dress myself
+and the girls nicely without spending too much on it."
+
+"Oh, but you always look so _beautifully_ dressed," said Lady
+Crowborough. "And as for girls, I was only thinking at lunch how
+perfectly charming they looked. They really are the _sweetest_ looking
+girls, both of them; and so clever and taking too. Of course I always
+admired them as little girls; but pretty little girls don't always grow
+up so pretty. Both Pamela and Judith have. I'm not sure that Judith
+won't be even prettier than Pamela by and by."
+
+"Yes, I think they are pretty, both of them," said Mrs. Eldridge
+judicially. "And they are looking their best to-day. Excitement always
+improves young girls, and they have been so looking forward to coming
+here, ever since we had your kind note."
+
+Her artistic sense reproached her for having gone perhaps a trifle too
+far, but Lady Crowborough by now was extremely anxious to cast away the
+tiresome impediments of reserve. "Oh, you must bring them over more
+often," she said, "especially now we have my niece staying with us. I
+was saying to my husband only yesterday, we don't see _half_ enough of
+the Eldridges, and we've always been such close friends. There was a
+little trouble, I know, between my husband and yours, but that's all
+over now, and it never affected us, did it? Couldn't we arrange a little
+picnic together somewhere--just ourselves and your children? I should
+like Patricia to know Alice and Isabelle. They're not so pretty as
+Pamela and Judith, but they _are_ pretty, and they're such clever and
+amusing children. I often wish I had a daughter of my own. I think
+you're lucky in having four of them."
+
+Mrs. Eldridge allowed herself to relax. "Four daughters are rather a
+responsibility in these days," she said. "We couldn't do without one of
+ours, even Alice and Isabelle, who are perfectly hideous, but darlings
+all the same. Still, it's far less anxiety to have an only son, as you
+have; especially when he's so well-behaved, as Horsham."
+
+Lady Crowborough felt the change of atmosphere, and all her responsive
+petals unfolded to it. "I don't mind saying to such an old friend as
+you," she said confidentially, "that we were a little afraid of
+Horsham's becoming rather wild at one time. But that's all over. He is
+taking life quite seriously now, though I'm glad to say that it doesn't
+prevent his being bright and gay in a way that a young man ought to be."
+
+"Oh, no!" exclaimed Mrs. Eldridge, and again wished that Pamela were
+there to hear her--or if not Pamela, _somebody_ who could appreciate
+her.
+
+"I should like Horsham to marry early and settle down," said Lady
+Crowborough. "I don't approve of very early marriages as a rule, but in
+his case I think it would turn out well."
+
+"I'm sure he would make a good husband," said Mrs. Eldridge. "His wife
+would never have a moment's anxiety about him."
+
+"No, I don't think she would. And do you know, dear Mrs. Eldridge, I've
+a fancy in my head that he is thinking about it already."
+
+"Really? That's very interesting. Is it your niece? She seems a very
+nice girl."
+
+"Oh, no. Patricia and he get on very well together, but there's never
+likely to be anything of that sort between them. Patricia is going in
+for music; she has a very pretty little voice--you must hear her
+sing--and though she _needn't_ do anything, you never know with a girl,
+in these days. No, it isn't Patricia, dear. I wonder you haven't seen
+something yourself; you must look much nearer home."
+
+"One of _my_ girls?" she laughed, naturally. "Which one?" she asked.
+
+"Why, Pamela, of course. Judith is hardly grown up yet."
+
+"And Alice and Isabelle are too ugly, besides being still less grown up.
+Well, he does like coming over to us, and we're always very pleased to
+see him. But really, I don't think it has got as far as that yet. If it
+had I shouldn't have asked which of the girls you suspected. He seems to
+like them both equally--all four equally, I might almost say. If it
+_were_ Pamela, should you think she was quite good enough for him?"
+
+The artistic conscience approved of this question, as carrying over the
+earlier tone of the conversation into the later. But Lady Crowborough
+had quite done with that earlier tone. "Oh, my dear!" she said in
+expostulation. "We're not _worldly_. You ought to know us better than
+that by this time. Besides, Pamela might marry anybody. _You're_ not
+worldly either, I'm sure; but you would expect her to make what is
+called a good match, I should think. Besides--_your_ daughter!"
+
+Mrs. Eldridge forgave her everything. "It would be rather nice," she
+said. "I shall hate to lose Pam. It seems such a little time ago that
+she was a tiny child. I suppose she's a little more to me than the
+others, because she was the first girl. Still, I've got to lose her some
+time or other, and I should love it if she didn't go _very_ far away. At
+the same time, you know, I don't think it's going to happen."
+
+Lady Crowborough looked disappointed. She had always shown herself very
+much taken with Pamela, since her babyhood, and Mrs. Eldridge had known,
+all the time she was amusing herself with her attempted stand-offishness
+towards herself, that she had only to mention Pamela's name to turn it
+into entire friendliness. "I _should_ like it," she said. "And I suppose
+neither you nor Colonel Eldridge would object, would you?"
+
+"No, of course we shouldn't. One has to think of the sort of marriage
+one's daughters are likely to make, and we couldn't expect a more
+satisfactory one, for any of our girls."
+
+"Well, there is the position, of course," said Lady Crowborough, with a
+slight return to her great lady manner. "But nobody would fill it better
+than Pamela--as a _young_ wife, I mean."
+
+A glint appeared in Mrs. Eldridge's eyes. "You would be able to teach
+her what she didn't know," she said.
+
+"Oh, yes. There's nothing so very difficult about it, if you're of the
+right sort of birth to begin with. Well, there's no hurry. They're both
+quite young still. But I _should_ like it to happen, I must say; and I'm
+quite glad we've had a little talk about it. There'd be no harm in
+trying to help it on, would there? If you and I are agreed, we might do
+something, of course without showing our hands, you know."
+
+"Yes; you said something about a picnic just now."
+
+All Lady Crowborough's petals expanded to their utmost. "Ah!" she
+exclaimed ecstatically. "A picnic. Now do let us arrange a picnic!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+A SUMMER AFTERNOON
+
+
+Lord Crowborough and Colonel Eldridge had retired for their
+after-luncheon cigars to another lower terrace overlooking the garden
+slopes. Lord Crowborough felt it necessary to say something about Sir
+William's elevation to the Order which he himself adorned, but was not
+quite sure how his friend would take it. Vague rumours of a dispute had
+reached Pershore Castle, though nothing was known there as to the
+grounds of it. Perhaps Edmund Eldridge objected to his brother being
+elevated above himself. His prejudices were not always reasonable.
+
+"I'm sure William will be very useful to us," said Lord Crowborough,
+expansively. "He's made an extraordinary success of everything he has
+done so far. A very capable fellow, William! We've plenty of room for
+men like him. A man of family too! So many of the people they send to us
+don't know who their grandfathers were."
+
+"Or else they do know, and keep it dark."
+
+Lord Crowborough laughed appreciatively. "That's very good," he said.
+"Very good indeed! I must remember that. Or else they do know, and keep
+it dark. Yes, you've just about hit it. There was a fellow I met a short
+time ago--I forget his name, which I'd never heard of, or what he called
+himself--impossible to keep all these new titles in your head--but he
+told me himself that his grandfather had served behind the counter of a
+grocer's shop. Well, _he_ didn't keep it dark, to do him justice, and I
+think they'd only made him a baronet, now I come to think of it, and not
+a peer. But 'pon my word with half of 'em it's just paying down money,
+and up they go. Hardly any pretence of having _done_ anything to deserve
+it. Of course William _has_ made himself useful. Nothing to complain of
+there."
+
+"They wanted him either in the Lords or the Commons, as I understand.
+There's no question of _his_ buying a title."
+
+"Eh? Oh, no! Besides, such things aren't done. Nobody really _buys_ a
+title. There's always _some_ reason for it. With him there's a good
+one."
+
+"Yes, but-- People aren't saying that he has paid money for it, are
+they?"
+
+"Eh? Oh, I dare say he made a handsome subscription to Party funds, you
+know. He can afford it. He's a rich fellow, William. _That_ wouldn't be
+buying his title."
+
+"It wouldn't be far off. Is it the general opinion that he has done
+that?"
+
+"General opinion? My dear fellow, what does general opinion matter? If
+he's told you definitely that he hasn't--!"
+
+"Oh, he hasn't told me anything about it. I haven't seen him for a
+month."
+
+"Eh? I'm sorry to hear that, Edmund. I did hear something about you
+having fallen out. I hope it's nothing serious. You've always been such
+good friends, you and William. You're not annoyed about his peerage,
+are you?"
+
+"No. Why should I be annoyed about it? I should be if I thought he'd
+bought it--directly or indirectly--as you seem to hint. But I don't
+think he would do that."
+
+"Eh? No, I dare say not. I don't know anything about it. What are you
+going to do about shooting this year? You haven't preserved at all since
+the war, have you?"
+
+"No. William wanted to. We've run the shooting together for some years,
+you know. He was ready to pay to get it all going again, but I didn't
+care about that, and I can't afford to pay my share now. There'll be
+enough birds for a few days now and then, which is all I want."
+
+"Ah, then I suppose that's why William is going off to Suffolk."
+
+"Going off to Suffolk?"
+
+"You didn't know? I thought perhaps that might have had something to do
+with your falling out with him--cutting himself loose from Hayslope, now
+that he's more interested in it--or ought to be."
+
+"What we've fallen out about is-- But I don't want to go into it; it's a
+private affair. I've told you that I haven't seen him for weeks, and he
+hasn't been here as much as usual. I don't know anything about his
+movements."
+
+"Well, it came to me in rather a roundabout way, though as it happens I
+can vouch for it as far as it goes. I don't know whether I'm letting out
+any secrets; but a man I dined with at Brooks's the other night,
+talking about how the old estates were getting into the hands of--I
+mean, he happened to mention a place in Suffolk that belonged to a
+relation of his, and I understood that William was in negotiation for
+it. Of course I said I knew him, and he'd be all right as a neighbour;
+but I said that he had a place here, and a property coming to him by and
+by, and I was surprised to hear that he was thinking of buying another
+one. However, he assured me that it was so, but perhaps he was mistaken.
+He certainly said that William had been down to see the place, because
+his cousin had told him so. Nevill Goring it was--no harm in mentioning
+his name. I can't remember who he said his cousin was, or the name of
+the place, though he did mention them both, and I understood him to say
+it was practically fixed up. You see William is _known_. People talk
+about him now, and if he does anything it's known about; often gets into
+the papers too."
+
+"Yes, I suppose so. It's difficult to believe all the same, because he
+would hardly buy a big place without consulting his wife, and she's been
+down here for the last two or three weeks, without going away. We've
+seen her constantly, and she's never mentioned such a thing."
+
+"Oh, you still see her?"
+
+"Yes. There's no quarrel with her! There'd be no quarrel with William if
+he were what he used to be. However, I don't want to talk about it.
+He'll go his own way, I suppose. If it's really true that he's thinking
+of buying another place, I suppose his way and mine will diverge more
+than ever."
+
+"Well now, my dear Edmund, can't I do something about it? You're both
+friends of mine. You're more my friend than William is, but still you're
+both friends, of very long standing. I don't _like_ to see you at
+loggerheads, and I don't see any reason for it. Besides, it's an
+exceptionally bad thing in this case, because there's your property,
+very much reduced now I'm sure, like everybody's property, and there's
+William with a great deal of money--really a _great_ deal of money he
+must have made, or he wouldn't have been able to--well, he wouldn't be
+able to buy another big landed property, as apparently he's thinking of
+doing. You _ought_ to be working in together, you two, not drifting
+apart like this."
+
+"Yes; I know." He spoke rather sadly. "But as for William's money, I'm
+sick of his money, Crowborough. It seems to stand for everything. What
+we've actually quarrelled about is a very small thing. I know that, and
+I'm not going over it with you. No, you can't do anything; thank you,
+all the same. It began by William using his money in what I thought was
+an unjustifiable way. All the way through, at Hayslope, there am I
+adjusting things to the new conditions, as all landowners must nowadays,
+spending my life there, and doing more work than I've ever had to do for
+myself; and there's William just coming down now and then, and
+complicating everything with his money, throwing labour out of gear, not
+even consulting me in matters where I ought to be consulted, doing just
+what he pleases. He gets a peerage, and you tell me that the general
+idea is that _that's_ owing to his money. He's quarrelled with me, so
+Hayslope isn't agreeable to him any longer, I suppose, and he's got
+enough money to go and buy another big place, just to get away from it,
+though it will all be his some day. His money has altered William
+entirely. Now he's Lord Eldridge, and I'm just a nobody of a poor
+country gentleman, hard hit by the war. I don't mind that--not for
+myself, though I do for my wife and children; but you'd think he
+wouldn't want to be always ramming it down my throat--his elder brother,
+and the head of his family, in spite of his new peerage. If I were
+content to sit down and take his charity, I dare say we should get on
+very well together. I don't know how much money he has, but I dare say
+he could make me perfectly comfortable at Hayslope without feeling it.
+But I'm not taking his charity, or his patronage either. It isn't in me
+to do it, not even for the sake of my family, and I'd swallow a good
+deal for them to have what they ought to have."
+
+Lord Crowborough's face had become serious during this speech. "Well, I
+see how it is, Edmund," he said. "I see very plainly how it is; because
+I've always felt about William--though I've never said so--that with all
+his generosity--and I think there's no doubt he's a generous man; in
+fact I know he is--he's not quite--how shall I put it?--one of our sort.
+I don't know why, I'm sure, because he is by birth, and upbringing too.
+I suppose he's what they call a throwback. The fact is I don't think he
+could have made all that money, and still be making it, I suppose, if he
+weren't different--different altogether. The money-makers are a type
+apart, and they may make him a peer, and he may be a big
+landowner--anything you please--but the more he gets with that swim the
+more he resembles their type. That's what you're up against, at the
+bottom of it all, quarrel or no quarrel; and of course you're not at
+home with that type. But now, when you've said that, can't you make
+allowances? After all, he's your brother, and you've been good friends
+all your lives. Let me have a talk to William. Let me tell him that
+_you_ don't want to quarrel, and--"
+
+"Oh, you can do that if you like. I've no objection. But you've put it
+very plainly. He's approximating more and more to type. There's not much
+chance, I think, of our hitting it off again, as we used to. I stand
+where I did, and he's altered. Still, I agree that there's no need to
+quarrel with a man just because he isn't one's own sort. If you can get
+it on to those lines there may be a way out. I did stipulate that he
+should do something that I think he ought to have done of his own
+accord. He would have done it without question a year or two ago. But I
+don't care whether he does it or not now. It's gone beyond that. I shall
+never think of him again as I used to because he's not the same man. But
+there's no reason why we should live at daggers drawn--especially if
+he's going to withdraw from Hayslope. That's about the last straw. But
+I'm not going to make a fuss about it, or about anything else that he
+does. He can go his way, and I'll go mine. We're better apart now."
+
+"If you feel like that about him--! Well, I'll see him and talk to him.
+I don't think it's quite as bad as you think, Edmund. The fact is he's
+made a big position for himself in the world, and--"
+
+"Oh, yes, I know all that. So does he. That's the root of the trouble."
+
+The conversation was broken at that point by the incursion of several
+young people whose activities and sociabilities for the afternoon would
+radiate from this garden terrace. Norman Eldridge was among them, and
+with him were the two young men whom he had invited to Hayslope. These
+he had already presented to Pamela, and they were now on either side of
+her, while Horsham thus dispossessed, was making himself agreeable to
+other guests.
+
+The hot afternoon wore on to the coolness of evening. There was
+perpetual activity of white-clad youthful figures on the tennis courts;
+some inspection--mostly in couples--of the ancient Castle, which stood
+massive and grim overlooking the gay expanse of garden that surrounded
+it, and as if it would never quite adapt itself to its present peaceful
+and defenceless state; appreciation of garden beauties--also mostly in
+couples; general conversation from groups overlooking the courts; play
+of teacups on the terrace; and a general atmosphere of untroubled
+youthful enjoyment, tampered by the less vociferous contentment of the
+elders who watched or took some share in it.
+
+But youth is seldom altogether untroubled, even when in the mass it
+appears most delightfully free from care. Pamela, for instance, might
+have forgotten, for the happy afternoon, the cloud that hung over her
+home, as her parents whom it most concerned seemed to be doing; the
+experience of a first proposal had not greatly affected her, though
+probably when she came to think it over alone it would seem more
+important than it did now. But she was unhappy about Norman.
+
+Was he avoiding her? The idea came to her in the course of the
+afternoon, and grew. She was not entirely guiltless of a wish to avoid
+him, at first, or at least to appear to be doing so. She was not quite
+pleased with him, but her displeasure would melt if he sought her out,
+as he might be expected to do, and proved to her that she had nothing
+over which to disturb herself. He had more than one opportunity of
+securing a word or two with her apart. Almost invariably he had done so
+on such occasions as this, if only to share with her some laughing
+appreciation of the company in which they found themselves. He had
+produced for her inspection the first instalment of his promised supply
+of young men; the grin with which he had introduced them to her had
+shown that their conversation on that subject was in his mind, and he
+must have wanted to hear her observations, and to make some of his own.
+She was quite ready to oblige him, as a stepping-stone to an exchange of
+views upon a subject more serious, for her slight resentment against him
+soon disappeared in face of his evident wish to maintain the usual
+friendly relations. He did accompany her and one of his friends, who had
+expressed a desire to see the Castle--in Pamela's company--on a round of
+inspection, and was quite friendly and amusing. But when she was ready
+to make it easy for him to talk to her alone, he did not give her the
+opportunity, and by and by she became sure that he did not want to talk
+to her alone. Then she retired into her shell, and showed him that she
+was displeased with him. He didn't seem to mind that either, and
+pretended not to notice it. He did his best to make her laugh, and it
+was unfortunate that once at least he succeeded. This made her angry
+with herself, and she withdrew from the group which Norman was so
+successful in entertaining. One of his friends--the one who had
+inspected the Castle with them--withdrew with her, but he found that the
+wind had changed and the sun of her amiability no longer shone on him.
+She detached herself and went straight up to where Fred Comfrey was
+engaged in conversation with the Pershore niece, and presently Norman
+had the felicity of seeing her walk off with him towards the retirement
+of groves unseen. Though carefully refraining from a look in his
+direction, she was fully aware of the annoyance he immediately showed,
+and was glad of it.
+
+When she had got Fred alone she was inclined to be annoyed with herself
+for having been forced to that means of asserting herself, and wished
+she had chosen Horsham for a tête-à-tête. Her feelings were warm towards
+Horsham, who had behaved well under his rejection, and she had seen him
+eyeing her rather wistfully as she and Fred had passed him. Still,
+Norman would not have disliked that as much as this; and this needn't
+last long. Fred did not appear to such advantage here as at home at
+Hayslope, where his status was well understood and need not be taken
+into account. He did not seem to belong of right to the company
+assembled. He had, in fact, bicycled over to Pershore Rectory, with the
+faint hope that the Rector's daughters, whom he knew slightly, might be
+going to the Castle, where he knew that Pamela was to spend the
+afternoon, and would take him with them. His hopes had been fulfilled.
+The Rector's daughters were "getting on," and could neither send away a
+young man reported to be eligible on the plea of an engagement, or give
+up their afternoon's pleasure. But he was inclined to wish that his plan
+had not succeeded. He had been quite well received, but he was not in
+flannels and could not play tennis; so that he never merged with the
+rest, and there was a sort of air of apology about him which did not
+show him up to advantage. He had never been to Pershore Castle before,
+and was apologetic about that, to Pamela, explaining rather anxiously
+exactly how he came to be there, and giving her the very impression
+which his explanations were intended to remove--that he had got himself
+in there on her account. This did not please her at all; nor did his way
+of taking her invitation to a stroll apart. She divined a difference in
+his attitude towards her, though there was nothing in his speech at
+which she could take offence. Her invitation was made to appear a
+special mark of favour, and yet one to which he seemed to think he had
+some right. For the first time in her intercourse with him she was
+forced to take into account his admiration of her, which she had
+hitherto been able to set aside.
+
+She asked him, rather shortly, what it was that her father had talked to
+him about, for she had not seen him since that afternoon. To her
+surprise he said that it had nothing to do with the quarrel, and gave
+her to understand that there were subjects which men discussed between
+themselves and kept to themselves. He said this in a half-jocular
+manner, not in the best of taste, and she had an uneasy suspicion that
+she herself might have been the subject of their conversation, but
+immediately rejected it. Fred seemed, anyhow, to be less in awe of her
+father than he had shown himself until now, and she did not like that,
+for she thought that deference was due from him. She was in fact, coming
+very quickly round to Norman's stated opinion of Fred--that he might
+have made a success of his job, whatever it was, and done well in the
+war, but he was an outsider all the same. She had labelled this view as
+snobbery, and Norman had said: "All right, then, I'm a snob. Let's leave
+it at that."
+
+Perhaps Fred, not responsive to fine shades, but sharpened by his
+feeling for her, and under the uneasy influence of a false shame at
+being where he was, divined that he was losing ground in her estimation,
+for he suddenly plumped out; "Well, this is the last of holidays for me.
+I'm off to London to get into harness again."
+
+That changed the current of her thoughts about him. As a bold adventurer
+on the sea of life he was worthy of respect, and good wishes. She gave
+him her good wishes, and he stoically refrained from asking anything
+else of her, though he would have given a good deal for some word of
+regret that he was leaving so soon, or of desire for his return. Still,
+she was charmingly friendly again, and he took leave of her, and very
+soon afterwards of Pershore Castle, thinking that his appearance there
+had not turned out so badly after all. He had actually made no plans to
+go to London, or anywhere else, in the immediate future; his
+announcement of departure had been an inspiration of the moment. He
+would never get any further with her, hanging about Hayslope. Her tone
+towards him had shown him that plainly. He was a fool to have counted a
+little upon that surprising and gratifying invitation of hers to a few
+minutes of intimacy in the middle of a crowd, and to have tried to
+advance himself a step. And yet-- What had it meant but that she was
+beginning to want him--a little, sometimes--as he wanted her, always.
+She might not know it, and she had certainly not seemed to want him very
+much when she had got him apart; but the stirring of her heart towards
+him, surely it had begun! He would go away, as soon as possible, and
+plunge into work, and every now and then, at intervals not too close, he
+would come back, and tell her of what he had been doing. She would miss
+him. Would she miss him? He hoped so; he thought so. He was not an
+altogether unhappy young man as he pedalled himself back to Hayslope.
+
+But he had left behind him an unhappy young woman. Norman was furious
+with Pamela now, wouldn't look at her, much less speak to her. And she
+was without the conviction to uphold her that she had done right. Her
+eyes had been opened. She was ashamed of herself for having given Fred
+that mark of confidence. Norman was right. He wasn't of their sort, and
+it didn't do to go outside the pale for your friends. Neither of those
+young men whom Norman had introduced to her would have made her feel
+uncomfortable, as Fred had, if she had given them an ordinary mark of
+friendship. Pamela had burnt her fingers, for she had wanted Norman to
+take her invitation to Fred as rather more than an ordinary mark of
+friendship. He had done so, and she was not pleased with herself, nor
+with him, nor with Fred. But of course she wasn't going to show him
+that. She took no more notice of him for the rest of the afternoon than
+he did of her, but she made herself particularly agreeable to the more
+coming-on of his two friends. But this wasn't a great success either,
+for the friend told Norman that evening, with the attractive candour of
+a friend, that he thought his cousin was a peach, but somewhat hectic in
+her mirth, which was exactly what Pamela wasn't as a general rule.
+
+Horsham happened to be in Judith's company when Pamela went away with
+Fred. He found Judith's company soothing after the laceration of spirit
+he had lately undergone. He had conscientiously examined himself upon
+Pamela's statement to him about Judith, trying to look at her with the
+eyes that had been attributed to him, just to see if there was anything
+in it, as yet unknown to himself. Certainly she was a very pretty girl,
+and now he came to look at her more closely not really a child any
+longer. It would not be at all surprising if some fellow fell in love
+with her, pretty soon. But she did not arouse in him the feelings that
+Pamela did. She was a delightful companion, and as a sister, if he ever
+had the luck to marry Pamela, she would be very dear to him--he felt
+sure of that. Yes, in a way he really loved her already, but not in that
+way at all. He was sure of that also, and being sure of it allowed
+himself to take his usual pleasure in her society, honest fellow that he
+was, without any misgivings of danger.
+
+"I say," he said, "I don't much care for that fellow Comfrey. Pamela
+doesn't like him particularly, does she?"
+
+"I don't know," said Judith. "I don't."
+
+"You don't? Why?"
+
+"I don't know why," said Judith, "but I don't," which was a thoroughly
+Judithian speech.
+
+"Strikes me as rather a pushing sort of fellow," said Horsham. "I
+shouldn't have thought Pamela would have taken up with a fellow like
+that."
+
+"How high is that tower?" asked Judith. They were sitting on the lawn in
+view of the Castle, looming above them.
+
+Horsham told her. She seemed really to want to know. He thought rather
+sadly that Pamela had not really wanted to know how far it was from
+Hayslope to Pershore. Judith was sometimes more interesting to talk to
+than Pamela, or at least she was sometimes more easy to talk to. But
+perhaps that was because she was not so clever as Pamela. He knew _he_
+wasn't. But he had a good brain and was improving it all the time. He
+told Judith something about the course of study he was pursuing at
+Oxford, but she was disappointing about that. "I hate learning things,"
+she said; "at least I hate sitting down to learn something. I like
+finding things out for myself."
+
+"Well; that's the only way of finding them out, isn't it?--real stiff
+things, I mean."
+
+"I don't know. Perhaps it is. When did Napoleon die?"
+
+Such a question from Pamela might have made Horsham suspect that he was
+being chaffed. But Judith didn't chaff him in that way. He was obliged
+to confess that he was uncertain of the exact date, but would look it up
+for her if she wanted to know.
+
+"I don't want to know the exact date," she said. "But the Battle of
+Waterloo was in 1815, and I suppose he was getting on then. I didn't
+know till the other day that his wife was still alive."
+
+"His wife!"
+
+"Well, widow, then. The Empress Eugènie was the wife of Napoleon, and
+she's alive still, and lives in England."
+
+Horsham did not laugh, or even smile at her. He felt a little shocked,
+but would not have let her see it for anything. "Oh, she's the wife of
+Napoleon the Third," he said. "The Napoleon we defeated at Waterloo was
+Napoleon the First, you know."
+
+"Oh, I see," said Judith hurriedly. "Yes; of course, I ought to have
+known that. I'm glad I asked you, and not anybody else."
+
+This little episode remained in Horsham's memory. He was rather
+surprised that Judith's astonishing ignorance did not affect him more
+disagreeably. But of course a young girl might very well be ignorant of
+the course of modern history. He himself had not known the date of the
+great Napoleon's death until he had looked it up afterwards. Her mistake
+had had the contrary effect of making him feel rather tender towards
+her. He quite understood that she was ashamed of it, and would have
+hated to be laughed at because of it. She had known he wouldn't laugh at
+her. That was rather touching. It was pleasant to be understood, and
+trusted, in that way. Dear little Judith! If only Pamela would trust him
+like that! Perhaps she would some day. He loved her very much, and that
+must surely have some weight with her in time. They were a wonderful
+pair, she and Judith. It wasn't often you found two girls, quite
+different, as charming as those two. Oh, Pamela was worth waiting and
+hoping for.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+APPROACHES
+
+
+Lady Eldridge came over to the Hall the next morning. Mrs. Eldridge
+received her with bright amiability. On the surface they were friends as
+before, but the desire for one another's company was less. They had not
+quarrelled and would not quarrel, but each of them knew now that the
+other had espoused the quarrel, and that it was beyond their powers to
+end it.
+
+Lady Eldridge had brought news. William had taken a shooting in Suffolk,
+and she was going to join him there immediately, to get ready for their
+first party, to which, however, she had brought no invitation. "It has
+all been rather sudden," she said with a smile. "But William is like
+that. It is very good partridge country. He heard that the shoot was to
+be let, and ran down to see about it. It seemed to be just what he
+wanted, so he closed with them at once."
+
+"Lord Crowborough told Edmund yesterday that he was buying a place in
+Suffolk," said Mrs. Eldridge. "Well, my dear, it will be dreadful to
+lose you, but under the circumstances at present I'm afraid we shouldn't
+get much pleasure out of one another here. Perhaps it's the best thing.
+Are you going to move your furniture there?"
+
+"But William hasn't bought the place," said Lady Eldridge. "It is
+extraordinary what tales get about. He has only taken it for the
+season, furnished, of course. It's a very nice house, and his idea is
+that we shall go there this winter when we are not in London. But there
+is no idea of our giving up the Grange. I hope we shall be here next
+summer, and that everything will be happy again between us."
+
+"I hope it will be," said Mrs. Eldridge with a sigh; "and I wish we
+didn't have to wait until next summer for it. Little things always seem
+to be happening to put us farther apart, and nothing ever happens to
+bring us closer together."
+
+"There is one little thing that may help. William is sending Coombe up
+to Eylsham. A head gardener is wanted there, and he has got him the
+place. He won't come back here, even when our tenancy there ends."
+
+So there was that trouble removed, but too late for it to have much
+effect. Colonel Eldridge, when he heard of it, expressed a modified
+satisfaction. "I'm glad to get the fellow out of the place," he said,
+"though I think the mischief he may have done is at an end. People here
+have taken his measure, and he doesn't seem to have turned anybody
+against me. It has happened to suit William to clear him out of here; if
+he had meant to satisfy me by doing it he'd have done it in a different
+way."
+
+He expressed some doubt, also, as to whether Lord Crowborough's story
+wasn't true after all. "Eleanor hasn't seen him for a fortnight or
+more," he said. "She only knows what he has written to her. We know that
+the place _is_ on the market. Very likely he has taken it for a time to
+see how it suits him; and if it does he will buy it. He hasn't told
+Eleanor that yet. I don't know that I've any reason to complain about
+it, if it is so. I suppose he wants landed property to support his new
+title, and he wouldn't be content to wait for Hayslope. My life is
+pretty well as good as his. At any rate there's no definite point in
+dispute left now between us. There's no need for him to turn his back on
+me any longer."
+
+"Wouldn't he expect you to take the first step towards a reconciliation
+now?"
+
+"I dare say he would. But I'm not going to do it. What grounds should I
+have to go on? There aren't any. At the same time, if _he_ puts out any
+feelers, I shan't reject them. For one thing it is getting very tiresome
+to have to arrange things that he and I are both concerned in through
+lawyers, and absurdly expensive, too. Of course that doesn't matter to
+him, but every penny matters to me now. There are all sorts of little
+points that a few words between us would settle, and I've got to make a
+formal business of correspondence with all of them. If he no longer has
+any feeling for me as a brother, there's no reason for him to treat me
+as an enemy."
+
+He had not mentioned to his wife that Lord Crowborough was going to try
+to put matters straight between him and his brother, but it was very
+much in his mind. He was beginning to have an uneasy feeling that if he
+had held himself a little less stiffly no estrangement need have
+occurred. He had been right, he thought, in every point of their
+dispute, and his brother wrong, but looking back upon it all there was
+nothing that should have led to an actual state of enmity between them.
+The results of that state were pressing hardly upon him. There was a
+great deal of business in connection with the estate to which William
+was now the next heir that had been made easy by their meeting so often
+and being so of accord in what should be done. It had to be recognized
+too that, in spite of his determination to carry out his own obligations
+to the full, William had done much to grease the wheels. If he had never
+allowed him to pay money that was not actually due from him, a
+considerable saving had been made in his own expenditure by William's
+ready, open-handed ways. He was not sure, either, that William had not
+actually paid a good deal here and there that was not strictly due from
+him. He seemed to have been clever in getting over objections on his
+part, and making it all appear natural and business-like. You might say
+what you pleased about money not mattering much to him, and about his
+taking a pride in playing the bountiful; but it would be ungracious to
+look upon that side only, and to ignore the undoubted generosity of his
+dealings, and especially the impulse to cover it up. It was that
+generosity which Colonel Eldridge was missing now, even more than the
+tangible results of it, though the lack of them was making his days dark
+and anxious. In fact, he was beginning to miss William, though he had
+given Lord Crowborough to understand that he could do very well without
+him for the future.
+
+Lord Crowborough lost no time in putting his good intention to the
+proof. He was seriously disturbed at the state of things revealed to him
+by his old friend. He had not thought that the quarrel had gone nearly
+so far nor so deep. In talking it over with Lady Crowborough, he
+expressed himself doubtful about being able to do much to mend matters.
+"William has put Edmund's back up," he said, "and I'm not altogether
+surprised at it. Still, Edmund is ready to make friends if William gives
+him a chance. At least, he is quite willing to meet him again; and if
+they come together I expect they _will_ make friends."
+
+"I think it is all very absurd," said Lady Crowborough. "I feel quite
+sure that Colonel Eldridge is in the wrong from beginning to end, and I
+very nearly told him so this afternoon."
+
+"But, my dear, you didn't know anything about it this afternoon."
+
+"Oh, yes, I did. I knew there was something amiss. It was as much as I
+could do to be civil to Colonel Eldridge; he is so obstinate and
+wrong-headed. She backs him up, too, though she pretends to be all
+sweetness and reasonableness. I'm sorry for her though, for I'm afraid
+they have very little money now, and are going through a bad time. I was
+a good deal more friendly to her this afternoon than I felt like,
+because of that; and I must keep in with her because of Pamela."
+
+"Why because of Pamela?"
+
+"Well, I hadn't meant to say anything to you yet, but I don't seem to be
+able to keep anything to myself. Jim is in love with Pamela. She's a
+very sweet girl, though her parents are rather tiresome. I don't see
+any reason to object. Jim might marry somebody of higher rank or with
+more money, but we're not worldly, as I told Mrs. Eldridge, and if he
+has set his heart on Pamela I'm not sorry for it."
+
+"You told Mrs. Eldridge? You talked that over together?"
+
+"Well, and why not? Of course _she_ would like it. As she said, with
+four daughters and two of them grown up, it was time to think about
+marriage for them."
+
+"Did she really say that?"
+
+"Not in so many words, perhaps, but that was what she meant. You
+wouldn't object to Jim marrying Pamela, would you?"
+
+"No, I shouldn't object," said Lord Crowborough, after a pause of
+consideration. "I think I should be rather glad. Pamela is a very
+charming girl. But I doubt if there's anything in it all the same. I
+happened to notice that Jim wasn't much with her this afternoon. He was
+much more with little Judith, and they seemed to be getting on
+extraordinarily well together. Oddly enough, it did cross my mind that
+something might come out of that by and by."
+
+"It's curious you should say so, because that is what Mrs. Eldridge
+seemed to be hinting at. She never says anything straight out. However,
+we shall see. She was very anxious that we should get up a picnic. I
+think her idea was to help matters on, though she wouldn't have
+acknowledged that. I shouldn't have taken to the suggestion if I had
+seen any reason why matters shouldn't be helped on. I should be rather
+disappointed if it is Judith and not Pamela. But we shall see. I shall
+let Mrs. Eldridge have her picnic, and we shall see what comes of it.
+Then we shall know what to do."
+
+Lord Crowborough met Lord Eldridge in London by appointment. He went up
+for the day, on purpose to do so. It was a little unfortunate that Lord
+Eldridge's engagements prevented his accepting an invitation to lunch,
+for a more leisured conversation in a mellower atmosphere than that of
+his office in the City might have led to more satisfactory results.
+
+For the mission was a failure. "I shan't take any further steps," said
+Lord Eldridge; firmly. "It's very kind of you to want to bring us
+together again, and as far as I'm concerned I'm not going to keep up a
+feud. You can tell Edmund that, if you like. But it's he who has created
+the feud, and if he wants it ended it's for him to make the advance.
+I've done every mortal thing that he has wanted me to do, unreasonable
+as well as reasonable, and it has been of no use. There's nothing more
+left for me to do."
+
+"Well, there was something--he didn't tell me what it was--that he
+thought you might have done. But he said he didn't mind now whether you
+did it or not."
+
+"Yes, exactly. That's how it goes all the time. I don't wonder he didn't
+tell you what it was. _I_ don't mind telling you. I was to dismiss my
+head gardener, out of hand, at a word from him. I didn't see any reason
+to do it, when I had looked into the complaint, which I did do. But I
+have taken the man away from Hayslope, and got him another job, solely
+and entirely to remove that cause of complaint. And now I'm told he
+doesn't mind whether I do it or not. Why, he made it the final cause of
+the split between us! He wouldn't come to my house again as long as that
+man was there. I haven't seen him since, and really, Crowborough, I
+don't want to see him. I don't know what has come over him, but there's
+nothing one can do to placate him. I'm not going to take any more
+trouble about it." He turned sharply round in his chair. "What the devil
+_is_ it that he complains of?" he asked in a tone of strong irritation.
+"I'm just what I've always been to him. We've always got on well
+together up till now."
+
+"Well, he says that you're _not_ just the same," said Lord Crowborough,
+with weighty insistence. "And I'm not sure that you are, you know,
+William. Of course you've got a deal more money than most of us, and
+that seems to be complicating things at Hayslope."
+
+"Complicating things! I'll tell you this, that Edmund will find things a
+good deal more complicated without my money to help him along. He's got
+no head for business, not even estate business, which he thinks he knows
+all about. I don't think he has the least idea what a help I've been to
+him over that. I've been rather keen that he shouldn't know. But now
+that it will all be on his own shoulders I think he'll find his troubles
+increasing on him pretty heavily."
+
+"Well, do you want that, William? Do you want that?"
+
+Lord Crowborough had scored there. "No, I don't want it," said Lord
+Eldridge in a tone that was almost sulky. "At least, I don't want him
+to be pushed up into a corner. I don't think it will do him any harm to
+get some idea of what I've really done for him during these last few
+years, all the same."
+
+"I know how generous you have been, my dear fellow. I know that we were
+never to mention what you did over that unpleasant business of Hugo's
+with Horsham, but _I_ shall never forget it."
+
+"I saved Edmund trouble and disgrace over that, didn't I? I'd have done
+anything to prevent his knowing what a young scoundrel Hugo really was.
+I was going to say, what a lot of thanks I get for it; but of course he
+doesn't know. I haven't told you, because I haven't seen you since, that
+I had a reminder of that business the other day. I tried to warn Edmund
+of what might be coming, but he wouldn't even listen to me. Apparently
+nothing _has_ happened yet, and I hope nothing will."
+
+"What is it? I thought that was all over and done with."
+
+"So did I. But do you remember young Barrett, who was one of them that
+evening, and was killed at the same time as Hugo?"
+
+"I remember his name."
+
+"His mother wrote and asked me to go and see her. She thought Hugo was
+my son, as it turned out, fortunately for Edmund, or he would have had
+the story. She had found among his papers an I. O. U. of Hugo's for four
+hundred pounds, and a statement written by himself of exactly what had
+happened on that night. It was a pretty damaging indictment. Although I
+had known it all through, it made me ashamed to read it."
+
+"What kind of a woman can she be to want to show that to the boy's
+father, after he had been killed?"
+
+"Oh, I ought to have told you that she didn't show me the paper until
+she knew that I wasn't his father. It was the I. O. U. that she wanted
+to talk about. She's an emotional, I should say rather hysterical sort
+of woman. It's possible she might have shown Edmund the paper, if he had
+been there instead of me; but she hadn't meant to do so when she wrote.
+She didn't know what to do about the I. O. U. She had thought of
+destroying it, but couldn't make up her mind what to do. I offered to
+settle it then and there, but she wouldn't let me. She has plenty of
+money, and when it came to the point I think she was rather ashamed at
+the idea of taking it. I suppose she really wanted the luxury of a
+little fuss, and if she was going to behave generously about it, to let
+it be known, at any rate to Hugo's people. I couldn't do anything with
+her except that I think I made her understand that it wouldn't do her
+son's name any good to have it known. So I suppose she'll keep quiet. I
+tried to make her see that it would be a cruel thing, as you said just
+now, to trouble Hugo's father. I told her that he didn't know the worst,
+though I did, and you did, and that I had settled it, as far as it could
+be settled. She seemed to accept it all, and to be glad that her mistake
+had prevented her from doing something she might have regretted. But I
+can't feel sure about her. He was her only son; she wants to keep him
+alive in some way. I saw that she sent a subscription of a hundred
+pounds to some charity, in his name, only a few days ago. You never know
+where you are with a woman like that. I've done all that I can."
+
+"Poor old Edmund! It would be a sad thing if he had to know about it
+after all."
+
+"Yes; I don't think it will happen. I don't in the least think it will
+happen. She'll let me know if she wants the money. She practically
+promised me that. I'm rather glad now that Edmund did prevent my warning
+him about it. I had just come from her, and I felt doubtful as to what
+she would do. I shouldn't have told him everything--only something that
+would have broken the shock to him if it had come. But it's weeks ago
+now. She's apparently decided not to do anything. I think the danger is
+past."
+
+"It looks like it; and I'm very glad of it. Poor Edmund! He clings to
+that boy's memory, though I'm afraid he'd have given him nothing but
+trouble if he'd lived. You've been very good, William, in keeping the
+worst of it from him. You've done it even since you quarrelled with him.
+Now look here--can't you carry it a bit further and make friends with
+him again?"
+
+"Oh, I'm quite ready to make friends with him if he wants it. I've told
+you so. But as for taking the first step, which I suppose is what you
+want me to do, I tell you I'm tired of taking first steps. When this
+absurd dispute began, I put aside one offence after the other from him,
+and acted on what I thought was beneath it all--I mean the very thing
+you rely on--our always having got on well together as brothers and all
+that. _He_ didn't rely on that. Every step I took was made the basis of
+further offence. No, I'm not going out on that road again. If he wants
+me he knows well enough how to get me."
+
+"My dear fellow, I dare say you're in the right and he's in the
+wrong--all the way through if you like. But it's a question of acting
+generously."
+
+"I've tried to do that. But when your generosity is thrown back in your
+face time after time--! No, it's no good, Crowborough. I'm ready to put
+it all aside and begin again; but I'm not going to make any more
+advances."
+
+With this Lord Crowborough had to be content. He made the most of it to
+Colonel Eldridge. William was quite ready to return to their former
+relations, but he was still sore about the way in which his efforts at
+reconciliation had been rejected, as he considered. Couldn't Edmund
+himself write something that would put it right? He felt sure that
+William would respond.
+
+"I'll think about it," said Colonel Eldridge. "I'm not going to do
+anything in a hurry."
+
+He thought about it very carefully. He wanted to have it over. William
+had said he was ready to have it over; but did he really want it, in the
+same way, or didn't he much care? His whole attitude now seemed to show
+that he hardly cared at all. He was leaving Hayslope and all his
+interests there, which had been much to him. Now, besides all the other
+interests of his successful life, they counted for very little, and he,
+his brother, was just part of them. If he were to put aside his
+resentments, which still caused him acute annoyance when he remembered
+their successive occasions, and to make some advance towards
+reconciliation, wouldn't it be taken as just an indication that he had
+found himself unable to do without William's assistance and was ready to
+eat humble pie in order to get it again?
+
+No, he couldn't do it. William would no doubt respond effusively. He
+would pretend that nothing had ever happened, and behave with that
+excessive brotherliness which he had always found it difficult to
+respond to, though he had valued it as expressing the feeling which he
+had also cherished. With the memory of all that would have to be ignored
+still fresh in his mind, he knew that he could not meet that attitude
+graciously--not for some time to come. It would be a false intimacy to
+which he would be immediately invited; not false, perhaps, on William's
+part, because with all his late offences endorsed, and the excitements
+of his life taking up most of his attention, he would be relieved to be
+able to give his impulses play; but certainly false on his part, who
+must have time in which to get back to the old terms.
+
+What he would do--and it would be a great concession--would be to write
+directly to William upon some subject with which they had been dealing
+through their lawyers. That would be a beginning, from which they could
+gradually proceed to something more; and in time the past would be
+forgotten. It was the only way. Neither of them would be climbing down,
+and there would be no chance of still further misunderstandings, from a
+correspondence about a dispute upon which they would never agree.
+
+Yes, he would do that without delay. Perhaps the process towards
+complete reconciliation would not be too protracted. His spirits rose
+when he thought of that.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+ALMOST
+
+
+They had just finished lunch at the Hall. Pamela was wondering rather
+disconsolately what she should do with herself for the afternoon. The
+times seemed out of gear. There was the Grange half a mile away, to
+which she was accustomed to repair if there seemed to be nothing
+particular to do at home. Aunt Eleanor was there. She had come over this
+morning, but Pamela had not seen her, and she had made no suggestions
+for meeting later in the day. Norman was there, with his two friends. He
+might bring them over some time during the afternoon; she had half
+expected that he would do so during the morning; but perhaps they had
+been reading, as they called it. Eric Blundell, the one who had talked
+to her most the afternoon before at Pershore Castle had told her that
+they intended to read very hard during their stay at the Grange. Norman
+had been excessively annoyed with her when she had last seen him, but
+his annoyance seldom lasted long. He would surely want to have it out
+with her! She would rather enjoy that. Anything to escape from this
+deadly blight which seemed to be settling down on them all!
+
+She had stepped out of the window of the dining-room after lunch, and
+was standing there, when she saw Norman coming towards her from among
+the trees. He was alone. He must have hurried over his lunch, and left
+his friends upon some pretext. Perhaps he had done that so as to have it
+out with her. She brightened, but did not go forward to meet him.
+
+He waved his stick to her, in his usual manner, when he saw her, and
+there was no sign of annoyance on his face as he approached. That was
+one thing that was rather nice about Norman. If he ever lost his temper,
+as he did occasionally, he recovered it very quickly.
+
+"We're going off for a joy-ride," he called out, as he came up to her.
+"I've come to fetch you."
+
+"Who is going?" she asked, "and where?"
+
+"Just we three bright young sparks, and you. We're going in Eric
+Blundell's car. She's a flier, but she only holds four, sitting rather
+snug, or we'd have asked Judy. He wants to go and see some cousins who
+live at Medchester. It's about forty miles there and another forty back,
+so we ought to start at once. Are you on?"
+
+She was on; and soon they were walking down the wood together.
+
+"I say, old girl," said Norman, as soon as they started, "I was rather
+shirty with you yesterday, and I'm afraid I showed it. I'm sorry. You
+won't have it up against me, will you?"
+
+"You didn't like me taking notice of Fred Comfrey, I suppose."
+
+"You've hit it. I always say you can see a thing as quick as anybody,
+and I'll maintain that against all and sundry."
+
+He seemed to be in high spirits. It was grateful to Pamela to find him
+like that, and relieved some of her soreness. "Fred Comfrey is going
+away this afternoon," she said. "He came up to say good-bye this
+morning."
+
+"Did he? Well, we must try to bear up under it. Is he coming back
+to-morrow afternoon?"
+
+"No, he isn't. He's going to London to start work again. So you won't
+have to lose your temper any more because of him."
+
+"No. That's such an advantage, isn't it? I hate losing my temper,
+especially with you. It wastes such a lot of time."
+
+"You're very foolish to have done it at all. You know I don't really
+like him much; but I can't treat him rudely, just to please you."
+
+Norman became a shade graver. "I said to myself that you couldn't really
+like him," he said. "But I'm glad _you've_ said it too. You see, Pam,
+when you think a lot of a girl, as I do of you--I mean when you put her
+high--you don't like seeing her make friends with somebody miles below
+her. That's really how it was when I saw you going off with that
+creature; but of course I was an ass to get shirty about it. You see,
+old girl, it means nothing to you. I know that. But probably it means a
+good deal to him, and you give him a handle. You can't afford to give
+handles to people like that. At least--no; I didn't mean to say that.
+I'm not going to lecture you about it. You do exactly what you like, and
+I'm sure it will be all right."
+
+"Well, it's self-denying of you not to want to lecture me about it; and
+I think you can trust me too. Talking about it at all makes it of too
+much importance. So let's leave off. There are other things to talk
+about, and I shouldn't have been sorry to have had an opportunity of
+doing it yesterday."
+
+"Ah! Well, I wasn't ready to talk about those other things yesterday.
+Now I am. In fact it's what I came over to do, and I had some trouble to
+prevent those other lads from coming with me. We've got plenty of time.
+Let's sit down here and discuss the situation."
+
+They had come to the stile leading to the meadows. Norman perched
+himself upon it. Pamela stood in front of him, with some indecision in
+her face. She was not quite prepared for a full-dress debate, and the
+afternoon's pleasure was in front of her. "I thought you said we must
+start at once," she said.
+
+"That was camouflage. I told Castor and Pollux that we'd start in half
+an hour. I gave them two glasses of port each to keep them quiet. What
+I've got to tell you won't take long. It's chiefly that I investigated
+that business of Coombe for myself, as the governor didn't seem to be
+giving it enough attention. I think Uncle Edmund made a bit too much of
+it, because it hasn't really done him any harm; in fact, I think it has
+rallied the enlightened electorate of Hayslope to him. At the same time
+the fellow _had_ tried to make mischief, and I think the governor ought
+to have sent him away for it. I told him so, in a letter written under
+my own hand and seal, and I got his reply this morning. I'm glad to say
+that he had come to the same conclusion himself, and Mr. Coombe departs
+immediately. So that ought to end it, oughtn't it, Pam?"
+
+"I'm very glad you did that, Norman," said Pamela, looking down. "I knew
+you were trying to find out something, but-- Oh, I _am_ so glad." She
+looked up at him, smiling.
+
+"Dear old girl," he said affectionately. "You set Master Comfrey on to
+it, didn't you? Well, I'm not going to say any more about that. We can
+forget all the disagreeables now--I'm afraid I must continue to think
+Master Comfrey one of them--and be as we were. I think we ought to be
+moving on now, or Castor-oil and Pole-ax will be getting restive. I say,
+mother told you about the shoot in Suffolk, didn't she? It's a topping
+place. I expect the governor will want to ask Uncle Edmund to come up
+and blaze at 'em directly they've made it up. You'll have to come too.
+It's a good big house, and we shall be able to put up lots of bright
+spirits."
+
+"Oh, it will be heavenly to get all this trouble over," said Pamela, as
+they walked on together. "You can't think how glad I am. It's like a
+great weight lifted off me."
+
+"I know. They're both of them a bit touchy; but they're good sorts. I
+knew _we_ could put it right if we took it in hand. I wanted to tell you
+what I'd done yesterday; but I thought it would come better if I could
+tell you that it was all finished with."
+
+"Oh, Norman, I'm afraid I was rather horrid. I'm sorry. I'm sorry about
+asking Fred to help me too. But let's forget all about him, and about
+it, and enjoy ourselves. It will be rather fun this afternoon, won't it?
+I feel I can _really_ enjoy myself now."
+
+She chatted on gaily as they climbed up through the wood at the Grange
+garden, and hardly left off chattering and laughing as preparations and
+adjustments were made for their drive, and she was packed into the front
+seat beside the owner of the car. It was Norman's suggestion that she
+should keep company with his friend Blundellovitch on the outward
+journey and with his friend Pollocksky on the homeward. But he altered
+this arrangement on the return, and insisted upon sitting behind with
+her himself. "She's my cousin and not yours," was his argument, "and I
+find I've got a lot to say to her."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+For a good many months afterwards Pamela looked back upon that
+expedition as the last entirely happy time she had had. It seemed as if
+the troubles that had been darkening her home life increasingly of late
+had all been swept away, for she had no doubt then that her father and
+her uncle would immediately compose their differences, and the close
+intimacy between the two families would go on as before. It had not
+occurred to her that the Grange would be completely unoccupied. Her
+uncle and aunt had often been away, for many weeks together, and she had
+sometimes been with them, in the South of France or in Scotland, or
+elsewhere. It would be fun to go to the house in Suffolk; she had not
+been away from home for a long time, and change was agreeable to her,
+especially in that company.
+
+So she gave herself up to the enjoyment of the hour, and was sparkling
+and radiant with happiness. Mr. Blundellovitch, as he was called
+throughout the afternoon, was a stricken victim of her charms, and Mr.
+Pollocksky, though unrighteously deprived of his opportunities, was not
+behind him in admiration of her. They had a merry time in the house
+which they visited, and started homewards so late that it was dark long
+before they reached Hayslope. During the last half hour she and Norman
+talked quietly together, her hand in his. There had been
+misunderstandings between them, as between their parents, but they were
+done away with now, and they were as close together as they had ever
+been. It was not until then that she realized that the Grange was to be
+forsaken in two days' time, which induced a slight touch of melancholy,
+not unpleasing under the circumstances, which included a full moon, and
+a delicious astringent hint of autumn in the warm night air. Norman
+wasn't sure that even the partridges would make it worth while to
+exchange Hayslope for Eylsham; but Pamela said wisely that it would be
+better for their two families not to be so close to one another for a
+time. "When you're as old as Dad and Uncle Bill," she said, "it's more
+difficult to make up a quarrel. They'll like each other much better if
+they don't see so much of one another for a time."
+
+"Yes," said Norman, "I think that's true. They wouldn't be able to treat
+it as you and I should. We might have little rows occasionally, but we
+should always make them up, and when we had we should forget all about
+them at once. That's one of the advantages of being young. I like being
+young, don't you? It comes over me sometimes that I am, just as it used
+to come over me out there, 'I'm in France.' But I'm not in France now,
+and I shan't be young any longer in half a minute or so."
+
+"I don't know that I quite follow you," said Pamela politely.
+
+"Oh, I follow myself, all the way. Don't you see? Take the governor, for
+instance. He must have enjoyed himself as we're doing now when he was
+our age, and sometimes thought how jolly it was to be young. And being
+old seemed centuries off, or at least so far off that it didn't count.
+Yet here he is thirty years or so older, and it's what he's doing now
+that matters to him. It isn't that it's a short time or a long time.
+It's just that time doesn't seem to count somehow. Look at old Horace,
+we three Latinists were reading this morning. He was extraordinarily
+alive, and aware of himself, so to speak. But nearly two thousand years
+have slipped by since he got tight, or half tight, and played the goat
+generally. They don't count when you read him, and another few years
+won't count for us when we look back on to-day. We're here--now. That's
+all that seems to matter."
+
+"Yes, I think I see it dimly," said Pam. "Anyhow, I'm very glad that we
+are here now. It's a lovely world, and I think you _must_ enjoy it more
+when you're young."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The next day there was some coming and going between the Hall and the
+Grange, but the shadow of immediate departure lay over the Grange, and
+it was impossible not to take it as a departure more significant than it
+had hitherto appeared. Lady Eldridge might come down again for a day or
+two to finish her packings away for the winter. Norman said that he
+would come down before he went back to Cambridge. But the prospect of
+autumn and winter passing over the house emptied of its usual life could
+not be ignored, and as yet there were no signs of the complete
+reconciliation that Norman had announced. All the family from the Hall
+were at the Grange during the afternoon except Colonel Eldridge. Pamela
+had thought he would come with them and was disappointed because he
+didn't. Her mother and her aunt talked together, but, it seemed to
+Pamela, not in quite the same way as before.
+
+She had one more talk with Norman alone. They went down together to
+Barton's Close, not with any conscious intention of visiting the scene
+of so much disturbance, but probably led to it by some such impulse. The
+wide, wood-enclosed meadow lay quiet and deserted. The soil that had
+been dug up for the plantings over a considerable area had been grassed
+over again, with the sods cut from it, but the design of the garden, as
+far as it had gone, was plain to be seen. It would never be made now.
+That thought struck them both at the same time, for they had taken a
+modified interest in the project, and their imaginations had played
+about the garden that was to have been made here. It was almost as if it
+had been, and was now destroyed.
+
+"It's a pity," Norman said. "However, it doesn't really matter, if we
+can get rid of the bothers that came of it."
+
+For the first time, the thought came to Pamela that her father had been
+unreasonable. But she put it away from her. "It wasn't this that they
+really quarrelled about," she said, "though it began it. Norman, do you
+think that it is all over? I don't feel quite so sure as I did
+yesterday."
+
+Norman didn't feel quite so sure either. He had had a talk with his
+mother, and though she had agreed that there was nothing left now of the
+original grounds of the quarrel, she had not treated it as if they were
+back on the old terms yet. It had almost seemed to him that she didn't
+wish that particularly. She had been very quiet about it, but what had
+struck him most was that she was obviously glad that they were going
+away. He knew that she loved the home that she had made for herself at
+the Grange. She had not even seen the Suffolk house, which had not at
+first been talked of as if it were to provide them with more than a
+place for the entertainment of their shooting-parties. Some of those
+might very well have been for men only, and she might have preferred to
+come to the Grange at intervals instead of arranging for everything away
+from it, as she was doing now, hurriedly but completely.
+
+But he didn't want Pam to think that they were leaving Hayslope because
+of the quarrel. Better debit something to his father rather than that!
+
+"Well, all this sudden pushing off is rather like the governor, you
+know," he said. "He's kept himself young in that way. He gets a sudden
+idea into his head, and that's the great thing for the moment. I'm
+rather like that myself. Perhaps Uncle Edmund thinks it all rather
+funny; but--you'll see--when he's been up to Eylsham and shot a few
+birds and drunk a few glasses of good old tawny, they'll be as thick as
+thieves together again."
+
+"Do you think Uncle William will ask him to shoot with him?"
+
+"Why, of course he will." But as he said it Norman had some doubts of
+his own. Uncle Edmund was a difficult person. The disordered ground in
+front of them seemed to cry that aloud. His father was about fed up with
+it. If Uncle Edmund didn't respond graciously to this last attempt to
+satisfy his demands there might be no reconciliation at all. There was
+nothing more left to be done, and he would just have to be left alone
+till he came round of himself. If Norman read his mother aright, she was
+already preparing for that to be a long process.
+
+Moreover, he had asked if Pam couldn't be included in the first party,
+which his father had already made up. The guns were to be three of his
+father's friends, and Norman and Blundell and Pollock, who were
+proposing to pursue their course of reading in whatever intervals of
+leisure might be left to them at Eylsham. Only one man was bringing his
+wife. There would be plenty of room for Pam. But his mother had said
+that his father didn't want anybody from the Hall until they knew where
+they stood. There would be plenty of time later.
+
+So there was something that couldn't be said to her, and yet she must
+know that in ordinary times she would have been asked. Oh, it was all
+becoming difficult and beastly again. Why on earth couldn't Uncle Edmund
+do the proper generous thing for once and put an end to it all for good?
+Yesterday they had been as happy as larks because they had thought their
+elders had settled their quarrel. Perhaps they had, but it wasn't
+certain yet, and in the meantime here was poor little Pam getting sad
+about it again. And no wonder, with this beastly half-made and unmade
+garden in front of her eyes.
+
+"Oh, why did we come down here?" he said, turning away in impatience. "I
+hate the very sight of the place. Let's go back and find the others."
+
+They went back, and were cousinly to one another, but careful again now
+not to touch upon the awkward subject. The cord that had bound them
+together so closely the evening before was loosened.
+
+The next day the Grange was left empty, and the gardeners went down to
+Barton's Close with a horse-roller, and flattened down the places where
+the ground had been disturbed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+MISS BALDWIN LOOKS ON
+
+
+To Miss Baldwin, watching the progress of that story in real life which
+she found even more absorbing than her favourite fiction, it seemed that
+complicating influences were coming into play, as summer passed into
+autumn and autumn into winter. The story was made the more interesting,
+but that happy ending which she rigidly exacted from all stories that
+should earn her approbation, became increasingly obscured to her vision.
+In a written story, you know--if you dealt with fiction of the sort that
+you could trust--that the happy ending would come, and previous troubles
+to be passed through only threw it into greater relief when it did come.
+But in a story of real life you could not be so sure. In real life
+things sometimes went wrong and remained wrong, which was one reason for
+turning for relief to the right sort of fiction.
+
+Fred Comfrey, upon whose suit, it will be remembered, Miss Baldwin was
+inclined to look with favour, went away, rather suddenly. Watching
+Pamela with sharp but sympathetic eyes, she questioned whether
+"something" hadn't happened. There was some talk about Fred at breakfast
+and luncheon, which were Miss Baldwin's opportunities for getting into
+touch with family views. He was taking up a career in which he had
+already attained some success; and a still greater measure of success
+was expected of him now that he was ready to throw himself into it
+again. Colonel Eldridge seemed to believe in him, and to like him. Miss
+Baldwin could not interpret anything he said as a sign that he had any
+suspicion of Fred's hopes of winning Pamela. His references to the young
+man were hardly to be labelled as patronizing, but there was always a
+sense of difference in them; or so it seemed to Miss Baldwin, who was
+alive to such shades. She did not herself attach much social value to
+the Comfreys. The Vicar was the Vicar, ex-officio on an equality with
+her employers, and so treated by them, but he was obviously of a
+different clay from the Vicar of Blagrove, for instance, who with his
+family were of the intimates among the country neighbours. Mrs. Comfrey
+seemed hardly to consider herself, and certainly Miss Baldwin didn't
+consider her, on an equality with Mrs. Eldridge. If Fred were to be
+viewed only in the light of his origin, it would not be surprising that
+the idea of his aspiring to Pamela had not yet so much as entered the
+head of Pamela's father.
+
+But love takes small heed of such reckonings; otherwise, what would have
+become of half the stories that Miss Baldwin so much enjoyed? The strong
+devoted young man who was to fight his arduous way to an eminence which
+he might fitly invite the lady of his choice to share with him, would be
+greatly encouraged in his ascent if that lady's sympathies were with
+him. And they might be; for she would see in him from the beginning
+something of what he had it in him to become.
+
+Were Pamela's sympathies with Fred in his coming endeavours? Certainly
+they were. She agreed with everything that was said about the merit
+shown by a man with no initial advantages in making his way in the world
+by his own efforts and character. But there was no least little sign of
+a personal interest in the result. If there had been, Miss Baldwin could
+hardly have missed it. There seemed to be, instead, a tendency to close
+the subject, whenever it was opened, with some general or even
+platitudinous observation which, with other signs, persuaded Miss
+Baldwin that Pamela had acquired some distaste for Fred Comfrey. But she
+had been markedly friendly to him right up till the time he went away;
+so what could the reason be but that he had "said something to her?"
+
+Out of her expert knowledge of such subjects, Miss Baldwin had no
+difficulty in conjecturing what that "something" had been, or in
+interpreting the slight indications afforded by Pamela as proof of what
+she had always supposed. Pamela had given Fred her friendship, but never
+in the smallest degree her love, and the premature declaration of his
+love for her had come as an unpleasant shock to her.
+
+The effect of these conclusions upon Miss Baldwin herself was that from
+the moment she formed them her sympathies began to depart from Fred.
+This is easily explicable. Up until now he had been selected by her as
+the suitor towards whose success the story was directing itself. One
+allowed oneself those castings forward in the early stages of a story.
+But, when indications began to be dropped that a particular suitor was
+not intended for the prize, one put oneself upon the side of whoever
+else seemed likely to win it, thus preparing for full participation in
+the author's ultimate design. She had piled upon Fred virtues that were
+not too apparent as long as there seemed reasonable hope of his success;
+but now that Pamela, if she read her aright, had rejected the idea of
+him and his virtues, they seemed much less to her. He was not, unless
+Pamela chose to reckon him so, in any way to be considered her equal. He
+might, indeed, if the story should so run, quite adequately play some
+sort of villain's part, such as-- But it was too early to cast forward
+in that direction. The story was still progressing in its main lines,
+with another suitor to be observed, and an evident awareness on the part
+of all the characters who came within her view of what was going on.
+
+She had her opportunity with the rest of taking occasion to watch the
+trend of events, for Lady Crowborough, coming over to Hayslope on a day
+of early September to announce herself as the giver of an elaborate
+picnic entertainment, had graciously included Miss Baldwin, who happened
+to come within range of her vision, in the general invitation. Miss
+Baldwin hardly supposed that she would enjoy herself, when she accepted
+it; but she did, and not only because of the opportunities it gave her
+for observation. The whole affair was like a scene in a story--a story
+of high life--and her description of it, in letters to relatives were
+full, and within due limits enthusiastic.
+
+The numerous guests, drawn from the houses large and small within a
+fairly wide radius, assembled at the Castle at about eleven o'clock of
+a golden morning. They came mostly in cars of their own, but some
+driving, some riding bicycles, and a few on horseback. The horses seemed
+to give the expedition something of the flavour of a past time, though
+there were hardly enough of them to deserve the style of cavalcade, such
+as must often have set out from Pershore Castle in days not long gone
+by. Pamela rode on a horse provided for her from the Pershore stables,
+and so did young Lord Horsham. So did a niece of Lady Crowborough's
+staying in the house, who was the life and soul of the party, and seemed
+to be responsible for many of the arrangements. She had taken particular
+notice of Miss Baldwin herself, and arranged for her to drive in a
+carriage with an extremely nice clergyman and his wife and invalid
+daughter, who were spending their holidays at a farmhouse near.
+
+There were refreshments provided at the Castle before the start was
+made. Miss Baldwin described the Castle, as it had presented itself to
+her--one of the stately homes of England, of which she had been promised
+a more extended exploration at a future date. The noble owners had also
+struck her favourably, as true representatives of the aristocracy of our
+favoured land--stately, too, especially the Countess, but of the most
+courteous manner, and without a touch of condescension.
+
+The scene of the picnic was a tract of primeval forest some ten miles
+away. There were ancient gnarled trees of immense girth, with little
+secret lawns, and stretches of deep bracken; a purling stream, and an
+outcrop of rugged rocks, where the picnic feast was held. After having
+feasted and strolled, the party returned to the Castle, and then broke
+up, at a comparatively early hour. A simple entertainment, but quite
+delightful experience, with most of the best-known people in that part
+of the County attending and all expressing themselves as having obtained
+the acme of enjoyment from it.
+
+Miss Baldwin's letter did not disclose what seemed to her to have been
+the inspiration and intention of this highly appreciated entertainment.
+It was so much in matter of her own discovery that she hardly dared to
+lay stress on it, even in her own imaginings. And yet she thought she
+could not be mistaken. There was a round dozen of young girls there,
+some of them of more obvious social importance than Pamela; but the
+honours were hers. She was not mistaken there, for the nice clergyman's
+wife asked her who Pamela was, and seemed surprised to hear that there
+was no title attached to her, as there was to some of the others. And
+the nice clergyman's invalid daughter asked her pointblank whether
+Pamela was engaged to young Lord Horsham. Both Lord and Lady Crowborough
+appeared to treat her as if she were; but, as Miss Baldwin knew that she
+was not, this could only mean that they wanted her to be. Nor was it too
+much to suppose that, by treating her almost as the most honoured guest,
+they were willing that all these country neighbours whom they had
+gathered together should know that they wanted her to be.
+
+And yet nothing came of it. The few days, exciting to Miss Baldwin
+because of what she was expecting, which followed the picnic brought no
+announcement. Lord Horsham came over to the Hall the very next day, but
+nothing came of that, as might so confidently have been expected. He
+came over several times more before he went back to Oxford in October.
+He was the admitted friend of the family; there was no young person who
+was there more often, and no young man of those who came to the house
+who could be considered in the light of a rival, now that Fred Comfrey
+was off the scene. It seemed to Miss Baldwin that there was an air of
+expectation abroad; that both Colonel and Mrs. Eldridge were waiting for
+something. And the conviction grew upon her that there was a hitch
+somewhere.
+
+Where was it? There was no doubt about the young man's admiration for
+Pamela. He was the best of friends with Judith, and very nice to the
+children, as was natural, but it was Pamela who drew him. Her attitude
+towards him was frank and kind. Oh, she did like him, and was bright and
+gay when he was there, though not always so at other times. Could it be
+that she was, after all, casting thoughts back to that other? By this
+time Miss Baldwin was inclined to resent such an idea. Fred had taken
+his place in her scheme as the rejected suitor, and it now seemed to her
+that Pamela had never treated Fred with the same kind of friendliness as
+she treated Horsham. Couldn't she make up her mind about him? Or was
+there something else going on that delayed the wished-for climax?
+
+It came gradually to Miss Baldwin, as the months passed by, that there
+was a good deal going on at Hayslope of which she had not the key.
+
+Life was duller there, and sadder, than she had known it at any time
+during the two years she had been there, even during the last months of
+the war, when Colonel Eldridge had been mostly away, and the shadow of
+Hugo's death still lay over them. But during that first winter, when
+things were beginning to settle down, there had been a good deal going
+on that had interested Miss Baldwin in her first experience of the life
+of a country house. Very little of it went on now.
+
+What had become of all the visiting that seemed to play such a large
+part in the lives of such people as the Eldridge's? Colonel and Mrs.
+Eldridge never slept away from Hayslope during that autumn and early
+winter. Pamela went away twice, and Judith once. Pamela had a girl
+friend to stay with her for a week or so, and an aunt of Mrs.
+Eldridge's, who had been wont to spend the month of October at Hayslope
+for years past, came with her maid, but went back to Brighton, where she
+lived, after a week. It was then that Miss Baldwin first realized how
+everything was being cut down, more and more closely. The old lady was
+reported to have said that she didn't get enough to eat, which was of
+course ridiculous; what she didn't get was the elaborate provision that
+had struck Miss Baldwin herself when she had first come to Hayslope
+Hall. Nor did she get the service, except what her own pampered
+grumbling maid gave her. Nobody else came to the Hall, where there had
+been a constant succession of guests. There were only enough servants
+now to do the work of the house for the normal family life, which was
+also being reduced all the time, something here always being cut off or
+something there. The drawing-room was shut up, the billiard-room was
+never used. Mrs. Eldridge gave up her room and took to the morning-room,
+which all the family inhabited. More wood than coal was to be burnt in
+the schoolroom, and everywhere else. The outdoor staff was cut down to
+one man and a boy for the garden, and Timbs for stable and garage; but
+the cars were little used now. The light supper which had taken the
+place of dinner during the summer was continued, except for the week
+during which the old woman from Brighton was there.
+
+There was never any discussion of these and other economies, at least
+before Miss Baldwin, and there was no grumbling at them. Colonel
+Eldridge was far more silent than she had ever known him, and she
+thought he was ageing, and seemed now, when she saw him sometimes from
+the schoolroom window walking alone, always to have his eyes on the
+ground, and to stoop slightly, who had been so upright and active. Mrs.
+Eldridge was just the same, always unruffled, always well-dressed,
+though seldom in the beautiful clothes Miss Baldwin had been wont to
+admire. Pamela and Judith had taken to doing things that had been done
+before by servants, mostly out of doors. They looked after the poultry
+entirely, making a pastime of it to all appearance. And they had taken
+to making many of their own clothes; Mrs. Eldridge's maid, who had also
+looked after them, was much occupied in housework. No word ever fell
+from either of them to show that they were affected by the change in
+their circumstances, which by now had come to be a complete change from
+the way of life lived at Hayslope during that first winter after the
+war. Pamela was not nearly so bright as she had been; there was
+_something_ the matter with her, though it was not, apparently,
+discontent with home conditions. Judith was much the same as she had
+always been, sometimes silent, sometimes uproarious; half a child, half
+a woman; but Judith had not known the life that Pamela had known, after
+she was grown-up. Judith's life was altered chiefly by her emancipation
+from the schoolroom. Her home and what went on in it was enough for her,
+as it was for the children.
+
+The outstanding difference at Hayslope, greater even than the changes at
+the Hall, which, after all, did not affect the core of family life, was
+the Grange unoccupied. There it stood, a big, rich house, from which had
+radiated sociability and close intimacy, with all its rooms shut up, its
+chimneys cold, its windows shuttered. There were a man and his wife to
+caretake, and men still at work outside--more than there were now at the
+Hall, though their only task was to keep things just alive for future
+occupancy. It made a blank, even to Miss Baldwin and the children, who
+sometimes went through the gardens in their walks, and lamented its
+desolation, as remarkable by contrast as if it had been falling into
+complete disuse. Presently there seemed to grow up about its forsaken
+state something significant of a change more unhappy than was shown by
+a house from which life had only been removed for a time. What did it
+stand for in the story that Miss Baldwin was tracing out for herself
+from all the happenings around her?
+
+Neither Lord Eldridge nor Lady Eldridge, nor Norman, had come back since
+they had left Hayslope at the end of August. Nobody from the Hall had
+visited them, either in London or at the other house they had taken in
+the country.
+
+Miss Baldwin was not in the way of picking up rumours at Hayslope. She
+was not in close enough contact with the family in which she lived to
+get much from them, and she was in no closer contact with servants or
+with people outside. But she could not help knowing that there had been
+something of a split; and indeed that was now taken for granted. Alice
+and Isabelle knew it. "Father and Uncle William aren't very good friends
+now. I think Uncle William takes too much on himself now he is a Lord,
+and father doesn't quite like it. But they'll be friends again when
+Uncle William comes back to Hayslope." Isabelle had said that, as they
+were going through the Grange garden. Some of it she had been told, some
+of it she had probably made up for herself, for Alice had contradicted
+her. "I don't think it's anything to do with his being a lord. Auntie
+Eleanor is a Lady, and she's just the same; and so is Norman."
+
+But were they just the same? It looked as if the estrangement had
+affected both families by this time, though on the surface they
+maintained relations. Colonel Eldridge corresponded with his brother,
+for he sometimes mentioned, in Miss Baldwin's presence, that he had
+heard from him. Pamela, if no one else, had been asked to stay at
+Eylsham. Why hadn't she gone? That had never been disclosed. Norman
+wrote to her sometimes, from Cambridge, and she to him.
+
+What was the quarrel about? Money, thought Miss Baldwin, having come to
+this conclusion partly because in fiction it was generally money that
+brothers who had reached middle age quarrelled about, if they quarrelled
+at all, partly because of the now patent contrast between the wealth
+that exuded from Lord Eldridge and the lack of it that was increasingly
+in evidence at the Hall. She could find no simple explanation of why
+this state of things should have brought about a quarrel, but its
+effects were now remarkable enough. The younger brother was a rich man,
+and a lord, the elder, in spite of his large house and his estates, was
+seen to be a poor one. Surely the younger ought to have come to the
+assistance of the elder before this! He was not only not doing that; he
+was holding off from him. Dark work, somewhere!
+
+Early in December Fred Comfrey paid a visit to Hayslope, and Miss
+Baldwin's interest returned to Pamela and her story, which had fallen
+into the second place of late, because of what was happening otherwise.
+It seemed to her that Pamela's attitude towards him was entirely
+different from what it had been. She was friendly, but seemed on the
+alert not to be left alone with him. His dejection was plain to be seen.
+Colonel Eldridge seemed glad to see him; otherwise he would probably
+not have been asked to the house more than once, during the two days of
+his visit. He came on Saturday morning and stayed to lunch; and he came
+again to lunch on Sunday and stayed most of the afternoon. But Pamela
+had bicycled over after church to a house a few miles off, and did not
+return until he had gone.
+
+At supper on Sunday evening the veil was lifted for a moment from what
+had been puzzling Miss Baldwin; but what was revealed only puzzled her
+more.
+
+Colonel Eldridge talked about Fred, and said: "He has been doing
+business with William--seen quite a lot of him."
+
+Pamela looked up surprised. "He never told me that," she said.
+
+That was all. The veil was dropped again immediately. Lord Eldridge was
+mentioned sometimes before Miss Baldwin, perhaps to keep up appearances;
+but she was not to hear anything about him that mattered. All that she
+gathered from this was that Colonel Eldridge saw nothing to object to in
+a business connection between Lord Eldridge and Fred Comfrey, and that
+Pamela was surprised, and apparently displeased at it. Or perhaps her
+displeasure was only at Fred's not having told her. But she hadn't given
+him much opportunity of telling her anything. It was all very difficult;
+but what seemed to be plain was that Fred Comfrey could now be ruled out
+as a suitor, though he might not yet consider himself so.
+
+This was quite what Miss Baldwin wished by this time, and her
+satisfaction was increased when Lord Horsham soon afterwards reappeared
+on the scene. He was received in a very different way. It really seemed
+at last as if something were going to happen. Miss Baldwin had come to
+hold a high opinion of Lord Horsham, as a young man of sober, steady
+habits who would make an excellent husband even for so fine a flower of
+girlhood as Pamela, and this altogether apart from the rich gilding of
+his title and inheritance. But he had not, previously, presented himself
+to her as one whose coming might be expected to enliven a whole
+household. That, however, was the effect of his frequent visits during
+the early part of his Christmas vacation. And what could Colonel and
+Mrs. Eldridge's lively welcome of him mean but that they also thought
+something might be about to happen? What could Pamela's lighter spirits
+mean but that she was getting ready for something to happen? Judith and
+the children might not yet have had their eyes opened to the
+possibilities of the happening, but they all three made much of Lord
+Horsham. That might partly be accounted for by the rarity of such visits
+as his in these days; but on his side there seemed to be a conscious
+desire to stand well with them, and a success in the endeavour which was
+agreeable to watch. If Pamela did marry him, her family might be
+expected to share some of the tangible fruits of the alliance. They
+could hardly be said to have gone down in the world--that dreadful
+phrase which sometimes suggested itself to Miss Baldwin--if the eldest
+son of an Earl, who lived in an ancient Castle, took his bride from
+their house.
+
+Miss Baldwin went home for three weeks' holiday at Christmas, hoping
+that on her return a new chapter in the romance would be ready for her
+perusal. It had reached the point at which developments of some sort
+could not long be delayed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+BEFORE CHRISTMAS
+
+
+Christmas had always been a great family occasion at Hayslope. For years
+before the William Eldridges had come to live at the Grange they had
+spent their Christmases at the Hall, and there had sometimes been other
+relations there. This year an indeterminate spinster cousin of Mrs.
+Eldridge's was coming, but no other guests. Lord Eldridge would be
+entertaining a party at Eylsham Hall, duly announced in the press.
+
+It was this announcement that seemed to Pamela to complete and establish
+the breach between the two families. "Why is it?" she asked her mother.
+"I thought that father and Uncle William were more or less friends again
+now. They write to each other. Uncle William sent his love to us in a
+letter he wrote the other day."
+
+"Oh, yes," said Mrs. Eldridge, with a sigh. "But there it begins and
+ends. Father would have been quite willing to make it up any time during
+the last few months; but Uncle William doesn't seem to want to. He's got
+quite away from us, you see. He's in the big world, and we're not. I
+suppose he doesn't think about us any more."
+
+"But Auntie Eleanor! She writes to you, mother."
+
+"Oh, yes," she said again. "_We_'ve never quarrelled."
+
+"But won't it _ever_ end, mother? Just look at the difference--what
+happy Christmases we used to spend all together! And now there's no idea
+of our being together at all. Didn't you ask them to come here for
+Christmas?"
+
+"Well, I didn't tell father, but I wrote to Auntie Eleanor and asked her
+if they would come if we did ask them. I thought it might bring us all
+together again. But of course it would have been worse if we had asked
+them and they had refused. She wrote very nicely, as she always does;
+but William had already made up his party, or some of it. I dare say
+what happened was that he found he could get somebody that he
+particularly wanted then, and asked the rest to meet him--or her, or
+them. I don't know. When people once begin to chase other people, for
+their names or their positions or whatever it is that attracts them,
+it--well, it becomes a habit. Other sociabilities have to give way to
+it."
+
+This was rather painful to Pamela. "But Auntie Eleanor isn't like that,
+mother dear."
+
+It was half a question. "No," said Mrs. Eldridge, quite decisively. "She
+and I have often talked that over. At least, we used to, before we
+settled it between us, for good and all. It simply isn't worth while to
+make friends with anybody for any other reason than because you like
+them for themselves, and not for what they've got. Now you're grown up,
+darling, I don't mind telling you that I was rather inclined at one
+time--oh, years and years ago--to want to get myself in everywhere. It's
+easy enough, if you have a certain position to begin with, and enough
+money. And I was quite good-looking, when I was first married, and--"
+
+"You are now, mother darling," said Pamela, with a laugh: "but do go
+on."
+
+"I don't say that there's not some fun to be got out of it," Mrs.
+Eldridge continued. "Of course I don't mean just the vulgar sort of
+climbing; but it's amusing to feel that you _belong_ to everything, and
+people want--you, instead of your wanting them. Still, it's never worth
+while in the long run. Eleanor saw that quite clearly, from the
+beginning, and she made me see it. It's one of the things that I have to
+thank her for."
+
+"Oh, mother, it's dreadful that you have to be apart now. Don't you feel
+it very much?"
+
+"Of course I do. But not so much as I should have done a few years ago.
+You're grown up now, you see. Besides, I've got used to the quiet life.
+I don't really want anything else now, as long as one can live without
+too much anxiety. I only discovered that a short time ago. Eleanor was
+always preaching it to me; but now she's getting farther away from it
+herself, poor dear. I'm sorry for her."
+
+Pamela's direct mind was apt to be a little puzzled by her mother. It
+was not always easy to recognize the source of her speeches, or whether
+she was serious or only amusing herself. "Do you mean that you're really
+sorry for her?" she asked. "I suppose she needn't get away from the sort
+of life she likes, if she doesn't want to."
+
+"She can't help herself. She loves William. I love father, and I want
+what he wants. It's the same with her. But what he wants happens to be
+more satisfying than what William wants. It's only rather tiresome that
+just as I have discovered that for myself it's beginning to be difficult
+to have anything at all that one wants. I've been wanting to tell you
+something for some time, Pam darling, but I've put it off because I went
+on hoping that it might not be necessary. Don't tell the others yet, but
+I'm afraid it has to come. We can't afford to go on living here."
+
+Pamela looked down. "Poor old Daddy!" she said.
+
+"Yes, it's for him I feel it more than for ourselves. It seems to be
+impossible for a country gentleman to live in his own house nowadays,
+unless he has an income apart from it. Daddy never had much that wasn't
+tied up, and what he did have is all gone now. I don't think we can get
+expenses down any farther here; it is just coming to be a great anxiety.
+It was I who said I thought we ought to go. He could hardly have brought
+himself to propose it before it became absolutely impossible, as it
+isn't quite, yet."
+
+"Do you mean he is going to sell Hayslope, mummy?"
+
+"No, darling, he couldn't do that; he only has a life interest. He'll
+try to let the house and the shooting. It's just that we can't afford to
+keep up a house of this size, for ourselves to live in. We should be
+quite well off in a smaller house, and with the rent for this coming in,
+if it can be let."
+
+"Where should we go, mother?"
+
+"That's the difficulty. Father wants to be here, to look after the
+property. If the Grange hadn't been enlarged to such an extent, we
+could have gone there; but there's no good thinking of that. It would
+cost as much to live there now as to live here. We have thought of Town
+Farm. It was a Manor house at one time, but it would take a lot of money
+to put it back now, and make it nice to live in. I'm afraid it's either
+that, or going quite away. But there's no need to hurry anything. We
+shan't go away just yet. Don't tell Judith, or the children yet."
+
+"No, mother, of course not. Don't you think I could go out and do
+something? So many girls do now. I'm sure I could make my own living if
+I tried."
+
+"There's no necessity, darling. And I think father would hate that more
+than anything. I know he would like you to stay at home until you
+marry."
+
+Was this an invitation to her to unburden herself? Her mother had never
+mentioned marriage to her before. If it was, she did not take it up.
+"There are lots of things I can do at home," she said. "And Judith, too.
+You know we'll do all we can, mother dear."
+
+"Oh, yes, darling. I think that if we can find a nice house somewhere in
+the country, much smaller than this, but big enough for us to be happy
+in, it will lift a good deal of the burden. Poor Daddy is getting more
+and more depressed about everything, though he is trying to keep it from
+us all the time. It's very hard that it should be like this now for men
+who have done what he has. It all comes from the horrible war; and yet
+there are some people who have done nothing but thrive on it."
+
+There was no need to dot the i's of that speech. Pamela didn't want to
+talk about her uncle, even to her mother. There was no satisfaction to
+be gained from blaming him, but she did blame him now in her heart, and
+she thought that her mother did too. Would he stand by and see them
+leave their home without doing anything? Of course he could do
+something, if he wanted to. But he didn't seem to care now. Did her aunt
+care? She was sure that she did, but she had apparently resigned herself
+to the new unhappy state of things between them. Did Norman care?
+
+He had written to Pamela from Cambridge, not less frequently than during
+previous terms, and in much the same way. Some of his letters had made
+her laugh, but not with the old light-hearted appreciation of his
+humour. What mattered to her most just now he never mentioned. Once he
+had represented himself as on the verge of another love affair, with the
+daughter of a Don of another college, to which he said he was thinking
+of migrating. But she did not smile at all at that. She was beginning to
+be impatient of Norman's love affairs, which never lasted more than a
+few weeks. This one didn't last so long as that apparently, for he did
+not allude to it again. If he had done so, Pamela would have written him
+a letter in which she would have said that she didn't want to hear any
+more about his philanderings, and she was inclined to regret that the
+opportunity was denied her. Norman never said anything about Christmas,
+though in previous years his letters had been full of anticipations. He
+seemed to be quite content at the prospect of their spending it apart.
+
+Oh, life was unhappy now. But there remained the duty of hiding
+unhappiness as much as possible. Pamela was a good deal with her father
+in these days, and she knew that he liked to have her with him, though
+he never talked to her about his troubles. Well, it was something to be
+able to remove his mind from them. She was able to do that, though she
+seemed to be of so little use otherwise.
+
+The usual preparations for Christmas went on, though on a smaller scale
+than before. The children mustn't know that for their elders all such
+preparations were something of an extra burden instead of a pleasure.
+Even Judith refused to be exhilarated by them. "What's the good of holly
+and mistletoe," she said, "with only old Cousin Annie coming? I think
+Uncle William's a beast. I never liked him, and now I hate him."
+
+Pamela protested. Judith had been as fond of Uncle William as all the
+rest of them. "Perhaps I was when I was little," she admitted. "But I
+haven't liked him at all since he has been Lord Eldridge. Father ought
+to have been Lord Eldridge, if anybody had to be. But I hate lords,
+except Jim; and he isn't like a lord."
+
+Pamela laughed. "What is he like then?" she asked.
+
+Judith did not reply to this. "I think you ought to marry him," she
+said, with her sometimes disconcerting abruptness. "He wants you to, and
+you couldn't get anybody better. Besides, father and mother would like
+it. With four of us, and being rather poor now, of course they would
+like us to get married."
+
+"How do you know Jim would like me to marry him?" asked Pamela.
+
+"Because he told me so."
+
+This was rather surprising news. Pamela would have liked to ask if he
+had told Judith of his proposal, but Judith saved her the trouble. "It
+was quite plain what he wanted," she said, "so I asked him about it. You
+needn't tell him that I told you so. I like Jim, and I want to see him
+properly treated. Besides, if you married Jim, I could come and stay
+with you."
+
+"Well, you could come and stay with me whoever I married; but I don't
+see why you shouldn't marry yourself, as soon as I do. What did Jim say
+when you asked him?"
+
+"He said there was nothing he wanted more; but he knew you didn't want
+it yet. I thought that was rather nice of him. Jim has a very nice sort
+of modesty. Most young men nowadays think such a lot of themselves."
+
+Pamela laughed at this. "What young men?" she asked.
+
+"Well, Norman for one. I like Norman all right, but he isn't modest,
+like Jim. And I don't think he's behaving very well now. _He_ could come
+and see us, if he wanted to. I suppose he couldn't very well come for
+Christmas, and leave all the lords and ladies they are going to have to
+stay with them; but he might come some time. He left Cambridge long
+ago."
+
+"Only just over a week ago," said Pam. But she thought herself that
+Norman might have come. He was staying with some friends in Ireland now.
+There were several young girls in the family, or in the party. Perhaps
+he was falling in love with one of them. As he had been there for some
+days, and was going to stay for another week, there would almost be time
+to fall in love with two, successively. Pamela was rather pleased with
+that idea, and thought she would write and suggest it to him. She was
+always on the lookout for little opportunities of scoring off Norman
+now.
+
+But Norman redeemed his character altogether for the time being by
+writing to propose himself for Christmas at the Hall. Preparations went
+on with more gaiety then. With Norman there, this Christmas wouldn't be
+so different from others, after all.
+
+In the week before Christmas, Colonel Eldridge went up to London, for
+the first time for many months, and while he was there telegraphed home
+that General and Mrs. Wilton were coming down with him for the week-end.
+This, too, was like old times. It was some time since the house had been
+managed in such a way as to involve no special preparation for guests of
+this kind, but these were old friends who had been at Hayslope before,
+and it was a pleasure to get ready for them, though it was somewhat of a
+surprise that they should be asked. "But I think I know why," Mrs.
+Eldridge said to Pam, "and I don't know whether to be glad or sorry.
+General Wilton sold his place in Ireland not long ago, and they only
+have a London house now. Perhaps he is thinking of taking this."
+
+So it proved. Colonel Eldridge told Pamela about it himself, after they
+had gone. "They are going to the South of France after Christmas," he
+said, "and don't want to make any plans till they come back in the
+spring. But I think he'll take it. I'd rather have him here than
+anybody, if I've got to let the place. Shall you mind very much, do you
+think, Pam?"
+
+"Dear old Daddy," said Pam, slipping her hand under his arm--they were
+walking together--"I shall only mind because it's so beastly for you.
+But it will be a weight off you, won't it, not to have to keep it all
+up?"
+
+"Yes. I shan't mind as much as I thought I should, because of that. If
+you've got something that you can't keep going, it hardly seems to
+belong to you. I shall be better away from Hayslope now, and we'll find
+something somewhere that we shall like. We shan't have to clear out for
+some months, anyhow. We'll enjoy it as much as we can in the meantime."
+
+"Does Uncle William know you are going to let the house?" she asked.
+
+"No," he said shortly, but added after a time: "It's no good thinking of
+that, you know. We've got to stand on our own feet."
+
+"Oh, yes, of course," she said, but thought all the time that Uncle
+William might stop the letting of the house, if he were so minded. And
+surely, he must be so minded! He didn't seem to care much about Hayslope
+himself now, leaving his own house there empty for all these months; but
+he couldn't want to see them leave it too. She wondered what Norman
+would say when he heard of it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+TWO YOUNG MEN
+
+
+Colonel Eldridge was sitting in his room over the fire, which was
+unusual with him in the middle of the morning. But the weather was
+atrocious, and he had the beginnings of a cold on him, which disinclined
+him for activity either physical or mental. The door opened, and Fred
+Comfrey was announced. He was a little surprised to see him, for though
+he had frequented the Hall when at Hayslope he had not come straight to
+him; and this was his first appearance in the Christmas holidays. But
+his visit was not unwelcome. Colonel Eldridge was not used to sitting
+idle, and a little chat would be agreeable to him.
+
+"Well, and how's the world using you?" he asked. "I hope you've been
+making a success of it."
+
+It seemed that Fred had been making a considerable success of it. He had
+been given a partnership, which he had not expected for a year at least,
+and his firm had just as much business as they could tackle. "My job is
+to organize ourselves for taking on more still," he said, "and it's
+taking me all my time. I hardly thought I should be able to get down
+here for more than just Christmas Day. But I said I must have three or
+four days off. Fortunately I'm in a position to do what I please now. I
+couldn't have insisted three months ago."
+
+"Oh, well, it's an advantage to be your own master. Very few of us are.
+There's generally something to prevent us doing what we like. I hope it
+means a good income to you. It seems to me you must be in business of
+some sort nowadays to make enough to live on."
+
+Fred enlarged upon what it meant to him in the way of income--a quite
+substantial one in the present, and the certainty of a big one in the
+future. He went into more detail than seemed necessary, and at
+considerable length. Colonel Eldridge said: "Well, I like to hear of a
+young man making good. You seem to be well up on the ladder already, and
+you're what?--twenty-eight? You were just a year older than Hugo,
+weren't you? You'll have to think of getting married and settling down
+soon."
+
+Fred's colour deepened, and he gave a little catch of the breath, but
+said in a fairly steady voice: "That's what I've come to see you about.
+I want your permission to ask Pamela."
+
+Colonel Eldridge sat absolutely still, and his face showed nothing. But
+his voice did, when he said, after a pause: "That's an entirely new idea
+to me. Have you any reason to suppose that Pamela would--would be
+prepared for such a declaration?"
+
+The ice was broken, and Fred spoke more easily, but with his eyes fixed
+on the fire. "I've never tried to make love to her," he said. "I didn't
+think I had a right to. I've hoped that I should be in a position to
+come to you like this some day, but I didn't think the time would come
+so soon. I should have to make my own way with her, and I shouldn't
+expect to do it at once. But I thought I ought to satisfy you first
+that I shall be in a position to give her what you would have a right to
+expect for her."
+
+Colonel Eldridge's eyes had rested on him during the progress of this
+speech. He saw before him a young man with a face of some power, but
+little or no refinement; with a strong-growing crest of thick dark hair;
+with a sturdy frame in clothes that contrasted somewhat with his own old
+but well-cut suit of tweeds, neatly-laced thick-soled boots, and
+neatly-adjusted collar and tie. The hands that lay on his knee, or
+grasped the arm of his chair, were broad and short-fingered, and their
+nails were not quite clean.
+
+"You don't think, then, that what I've a right to expect for my daughter
+goes beyond an income large enough to support her?"
+
+Fred stirred uncomfortably. He must have felt the latent hostility. But
+his voice did not change. "I don't think that," he said. "I only meant
+that you'd have a right to expect that first of all. I suppose I
+couldn't expect you--never have expected you--to welcome the idea,
+exactly. I didn't begin life with the same advantages as you might
+expect from anyone who wanted to marry your daughter; but I've made good
+already, as you've said, and if I may say so without boasting, I'm going
+farther than most men. I'm determined to; and if I could look forward
+to--I mean I should have an added incentive, and I don't think there's
+much I couldn't do in the world. In ten years' time, or less, I don't
+think you'd have reason to be ashamed of me, as a son-in-law."
+
+"Oh, ashamed! There's no need to talk like that. And one can't take up
+the position that fathers used to take up over their daughters'
+marriages. I don't know that you're not right, and the only thing one is
+entitled to stipulate for nowadays is an assured and sufficient income.
+Even that seems to have been considered unreasonable in lots of the
+marriages one has seen take place during the war."
+
+"Yes, I know. But I've waited until I could assure you of a sufficient
+income, and I've come to you first, as I suppose I shouldn't have done
+if I hadn't recognized that I was aiming higher than what might be
+considered my deserts."
+
+"Well, what is it that you want of me exactly? I've no reason to be
+offended at your coming to me, you know. I've known you for most of your
+life, and you've been welcomed into my family. I treated you as a
+friend, myself, only the other day."
+
+"Oh, that was nothing," said Fred. "I was only too glad to be able to be
+of use to you. I should have been anyhow."
+
+Colonel Eldridge winced a little. "I'll say quite plainly," he said, in
+a slightly harder voice, "that, from my own point of view, I should be
+disappointed if my daughter didn't make what would be called a better
+marriage; but I say it without meaning any offence to you. If she chose
+to accept you, I shouldn't--I shouldn't refuse my permission, though I
+think--yes, I think I should stipulate for a certain time to elapse.
+Will that satisfy you?"
+
+Perhaps it was rather more than Fred had expected, though it was not
+precisely encouraging. Colonel Eldridge seemed a good deal farther from
+him than on the last occasion he had talked to him in this room. "I want
+my chance with her," he said.
+
+"Well, what do you mean by that? You mustn't go to her, you know, saying
+that I'm in favour of your--your suit, or whatever you like to call it.
+How far have you got with her? I say again that this is a complete
+surprise to me, and I shouldn't have thought that she could have given
+you any encouragement to go upon."
+
+"I don't know that she has. One has one's own private hopes. We have
+been friends; I think I can say as much as that. I was a friend of
+Hugo's; she's been a sort of inspiration to me all my life. Especially
+lately, it has made a different man of me to think of her. I've been a
+rough sort of fellow--had to be, in some ways, in the fight I've had to
+put up. I'm not good enough for her; of course I'm not. But who is?"
+
+Colonel Eldridge's face had grown a little softer. "You talk of her in
+the right sort of way," he said. "Well, I must leave it to her. If she
+says yes, I shan't say no."
+
+"Thank you," said Fred gratefully. "I'm glad I came to you first of all.
+It seemed the right thing to do, though it wasn't very easy."
+
+He laughed awkwardly, and, also rather awkwardly, got himself out of the
+room. When he had left it Colonel Eldridge walked up and down, as his
+habit was when he was disturbed in his mind. He was very disturbed now,
+as the frown on his face and his impatient actions testified. Presently
+he made as if to go out, but turned again irresolutely, and then rang
+the bell. He asked the maid who answered it whether Mr. Comfrey was
+still in the house. Yes, he was in the schoolroom, with the young
+ladies. His reception of that piece of news probably gave the maid
+material for talk afterwards, though he was not aware of having shown
+any feeling. Then he went to the morning-room to find his wife.
+
+She was alone there, and he told her of what had happened. She laughed,
+unconcernedly. "With a pushing young man of that sort," she said, "I
+thought it would come to a proposal sooner or later. But I didn't think
+he would be so foolish as to go to you first."
+
+He didn't understand this. "Why foolish?" he asked, with some
+impatience. "Surely you haven't seen this coming and done nothing to
+stop it?"
+
+"What was there to stop? We couldn't not have him in the house because
+he was likely to fall in love with Pamela. Now we needn't have him more
+than we want to."
+
+"What do you mean? I said I shouldn't refuse, if Pamela wanted him. He
+wouldn't be my choice, or yours; but if she...."
+
+"If Pamela wanted him! My dear! Wait till he's gone--I shan't ask him to
+stay to lunch--and ask Pamela if she wants him."
+
+Pamela came into the room at that moment. Colonel Eldridge bent his
+brows upon her. He couldn't quite get it out of his head that she must
+have given encouragement.
+
+"Where is Fred?" asked Mrs. Eldridge.
+
+"In the schoolroom," said Pamela, and went to the bookcase, which she
+opened.
+
+"He has just been with father," said Mrs. Eldridge; but Colonel Eldridge
+stopped her. "I don't think that anything ought to be said," he began.
+
+Mrs. Eldridge laughed. "You didn't promise to say nothing, I suppose,"
+she said.
+
+"No; but--"
+
+"He came to father, Pam, to ask if he had any objection to his marrying
+you, supposing _you_ had no objection."
+
+Pamela blushed deeply, but after a glance at her father said calmly: "I
+hope you told him that you had, Daddy."
+
+Colonel Eldridge, standing in front of the fire, straightened himself,
+and smiled. "I told him it wasn't the sort of marriage I expected for
+you," he said, "but it was for you to decide and not me. I say, I didn't
+mean to discuss it like this, ten minutes afterwards, with him actually
+in the house."
+
+"Perhaps we had better wait until he has gone," said Mrs. Eldridge.
+"Were you going back to the schoolroom, Pam?"
+
+"Well, I wasn't," said Pam; "but I can, if you like."
+
+"There!" said Mrs. Eldridge. "Now I think you can go back to your room,
+dear, and wait a little, without too much anxiety."
+
+Later on there was another short confabulation, the result of which was
+that Colonel Eldridge wrote a note to Fred to say that he had talked to
+his daughter, who had told him that it was quite impossible that she
+should ever come to look upon him in the way he desired. They would be
+pleased to see him again, on the terms on which he had come to the Hall
+before, but it would perhaps be as well to let a little time elapse.
+After which he returned to his easy chair in front of the fire, rather
+inclined to be puzzled at the suddenness of this new episode, and the
+celerity with which it had been brought to an end. What Fred thought
+about it was not made clear, for he did not answer the note, and was not
+in church on Christmas morning, though he was known to be still at the
+Vicarage.
+
+All this passed on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, which was Christmas Eve,
+Norman came.
+
+Norman was in bright spirits, and the whole house responded to them,
+although Colonel Eldridge, still under the influence of his cold, kept
+mostly to his room. He was anxious, however, not to give Norman reason
+to think that he was keeping out of his way, and asked him in for a talk
+during the afternoon, when he told him how glad he was that he had come,
+and in such a way as to give the impression that he was thanking him for
+coming.
+
+"Well, I simply had to, Uncle Edmund," said Norman. "I couldn't have
+stuck it anywhere else, not even at home. They've got rather a ponderous
+lot up there this time, and they can do without me all right, though I
+said I'd go back there the day after Christmas. I think mother would
+have liked to come too, but of course she's got to play hostess to all
+the magnates. You wouldn't have thought you could have got so many
+magnates away from their own turkeys at Christmas time, but the shoot is
+really awfully good. We had a great day yesterday."
+
+He gave corroborative detail, and they were soon in the midst of a talk
+on sport, in which Colonel Eldridge took his part almost with
+enthusiasm. Nothing was said about the estrangement, but what was
+perfectly clear was that neither Lady Eldridge nor Norman considered it
+as having altered anything of their affection for the family at the
+Hall. No change, however, seemed to be indicated in the attitude of Lord
+Eldridge. Norman did not eschew mention of him, when his name would
+naturally have come into the conversation, but there was nothing to show
+that he had been sent on an errand of reconciliation.
+
+Norman hastened to assure Pamela, in answer to inquiries, that his
+joyous state of mind was not due to his having at last found the right
+girl in the Irish country house. "No," he said. "There were some bright
+spirits among them, but not one that I could have gone through life
+with. I am far more exacting than I was. I told you about Donna Clara,
+didn't I?"
+
+"I don't think so. At least I don't remember her name for the moment.
+Could you afford to give me a card index for a Christmas present? I was
+reading an advertisement the other day, and I think it is just the thing
+I want, to be able to refer to any of them at a moment's notice."
+
+Norman laughed freely. "That's jolly good, Pam," he said. "Jolly good.
+If I could only find somebody who could say that sort of thing. Of
+course she'd have to be as pretty as you too, and you don't find 'em
+like that in every basket of peaches. Margaret came nearest to you,
+but--"
+
+"What has become of Margaret? I did think something might happen there,
+when it had gone on for a fortnight. Or was it only ten days?"
+
+"That's not quite so good, Pam. I saw Margaret last week. We met at a
+play, and had a word together between the acts. Rather moving, it was. I
+think we both felt that a chapter in our long-past lives, though closed,
+would always remain as a tender and delicate memory. In years to come,
+when she's a duchess on her own, and I'm a minor middle-aged lord, with
+a chin-beard and a tummy, we shall get rather sentimental with one
+another. Perhaps we shall fix up a match between my Clarence and her
+Ermyntrude. But I was going to tell you about Donna Clara. I call her
+that because her father is a Don of Clare, not because she's Spanish or
+Portugese, because she isn't. She's a peach; I will say that for her;
+and dances a treat. But I'm no longer thinking of migrating to Clare
+College on her account."
+
+"Why not? Is she _quite_ brainless? You don't seem to mind them having
+scarcely any, but I suppose it would be an objection if she hadn't got
+beyond words of one syllable."
+
+"Don't try too hard, Pam. Something good will slip out if you wait for
+it. So far from being brainless, Donna Clara-- But why pursue these
+futile recriminations? She's the last. I shan't go about looking for it
+any more. Perhaps I shall live and die a bachelor. I recognized all the
+symptoms with Donna Clara. I was taken with her. I _did_ lean out of my
+window and think about her when I got home; only it was so damn cold
+that I shut it again directly. I _did_ take all the trouble in the world
+to see her again. But when I did, that was the end of it. I _could_ have
+gone on, but I didn't. I saw that I should be suffering from an
+agreeable sort of fever for a few weeks, and then I should recover, and
+have it all to go through again. Pam dear, it isn't good enough."
+
+"Well, I'm not sorry you've come to that conclusion," said Pam. "It came
+home to me when the affair with Margaret fizzled out. I think the whole
+business is rather tiresome. You've got lots of other things to do. I
+suppose a man can go pottering on like that, playing with his emotions.
+A girl would be rather a beast if she did it. But even in a man I think
+it's spoiling something or other. I think you're quite right to give it
+up, if you really mean to."
+
+Norman showed himself a trifle offended over this. "I don't know that
+you need take it as solemnly as all that," he said. "We've had larks
+together about it, but I can keep it to myself, if you'd rather."
+
+Pam's eyes filled with tears, which surprised her as much as they did
+Norman when he saw them. "Oh, don't let's quarrel, even in fun," she
+said. "It's all unhappy enough without that." Then she broke down and
+cried, but dried her eyes immediately, angry with herself. "I've had a
+horrid thing happen to me," she said. "I didn't mean to tell you about
+it, but I always have told you everything, almost."
+
+He took her hand. "Dear little Pam," he said. "I know everything is
+perfectly beastly for you now. I can't do anything about it yet, but you
+know I hate it as much as you do. I've really come here because of
+that--at least, you know I should hate not being with you at Christmas.
+I determined I'd be as merry and bright as possible, but I haven't
+always felt like it when I've thought about you. If you want to talk
+over things quietly I'm quite ready."
+
+She gave his hand a squeeze, and withdrew hers. "It isn't about leaving
+here," she said. "I mind that for poor old Daddy's sake, and it's all
+part of the general horridness which makes everything different. I
+suppose I shouldn't mind about this if it weren't for being unhappy
+about other things."
+
+Then she told him about Fred. "I suppose I did give him some
+encouragement," she said, "though of course I never meant to." She
+smiled ruefully. "Perhaps it was that afternoon at Pershore Castle that
+brought it on me. I was annoyed with you rather, and did it to make you
+annoyed with me, which you were."
+
+"Oh, yes, I quite understood that," he said. "But why do you let it
+worry you, Pam dear? You've got rid of the fellow--pretty easily too.
+You might have had to get rid of him yourself."
+
+"I know. I'm glad I was saved that. I don't know why I feel it as I do,
+though I've tried to find out. I can't really blame Fred. Why should I
+blame him for wanting me? And he didn't even bother me. He went to
+father."
+
+"And I expect he wishes he hadn't now. I can tell you why you feel it,
+without looking up any words in a dictionary. He's so far beneath you in
+every way that it's like a degradation to have him even thinking about
+you in that way. As for bringing it on--I don't think you could have
+helped it--a pushing common bounder like that, who wouldn't understand
+your just being friendly with him. It would have had to come, sooner or
+later."
+
+"Perhaps you're right, though I don't feel it quite like that. I think
+I've got myself to blame somewhere. Still, I'm well out of it, and I
+dare say I shall get over the horrid feeling in time. I hope I shan't
+have to see him again--not for a long time."
+
+"Of course you'll get over it; and you needn't see him any more,
+ever--in any way that will matter to you. I wish I could say the same
+for myself; but the odd thing is that he's got himself in with the
+governor--in business. He says he's good at it, and a nice enough
+fellow, who did well in the war. I'm all for treating fellows well who
+did well in the war, but you do get a bit fed up with some of them, whom
+you'd never have known but for the old war. I don't suppose Mr. Comfrey
+would have dared to think about you, before the war. Oh, we've got a lot
+up against the Kaiser. Let's forget about him, Pam, and forget all about
+the other bothers, and have a jolly Christmas."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+AND THE THIRD
+
+
+On the afternoon of Christmas Day Norman went out to take the air. There
+was a cold drizzle of rain, and nobody was inclined to accompany him. He
+was not sorry to be alone, for he had a good deal to think about, and
+his thoughts flowed freely as he strode along, buttoned up in his rain
+coat and rather enjoying the bleak inclemency of the weather, so unlike
+that of the traditional Christmas. But the Christmas atmosphere was
+abundantly alive at the Hall, and he carried it with him as he tramped
+through the mud.
+
+He came back as dusk was falling through the wood at the lower end of
+the park, and some association of place brought sharply back to his
+memory the fight he had had with Fred Comfrey down here, years before.
+He could see Fred and Hugo sitting on the log as he went towards them
+across the park, and there came to him a return of the feelings with
+which he had approached them. He came out of the wood at the place where
+the fallen log had been. It had gone now, but there was Fred, his
+old-time enemy, standing under a tree, with his eyes fixed upon the
+Hall, the windows of which were showing their welcoming lights that no
+longer welcomed him.
+
+He started in surprised affront, as Norman came upon him. It was an
+awkward meeting, for his reason for being there was apparent, and he
+could not help knowing that it was so to Norman. He hunched his
+shoulders and turned away in offence, without a greeting. Norman, who
+had been thinking of him with cherished aversion, had an impulse of pity
+towards him, and obeyed the impulse instantly, as his custom was. "Merry
+Christmas!" he said. "I heard you were down here."
+
+It was the first thing that came into his head to say, and was only
+meant as a disclaimer of enmity. But Fred took it as a jeer, and turned
+on him, his face flaming with antagonism. "I dare say you did," he said.
+"Damn you! I say something in confidence, and it's told to everybody at
+once; and I'm kicked out because of it. A merry Christmas!" There
+followed an oath directed against Norman, and he turned his back on him
+again.
+
+Norman's impulsion of pity still held him. He had disliked Fred, in
+their boyhood, but before their final quarrel there had been times in
+which they had been companions, without hostility between them. That old
+contact was present to his mind; and Fred was down now; he couldn't
+triumph over him. "I didn't mean any offence," he said. "I do know what
+happened, but there's no offence in that either."
+
+Fred turned on him again. "I'm not good enough for her," he said. "No
+offence in showing me that in the beastliest sort of way, I suppose! I
+do the straight thing, and it's immediately used as a weapon against me.
+Yet Eldridge was ready enough to come to me for help in his blasted
+money difficulties. If he doesn't mind telling everybody my affairs I
+don't mind telling his."
+
+Again he turned away, leaving Norman at a loss. He took a few steps, and
+threw over his shoulder: "You make her think she's everything to you,
+and behave as if she was nothing. I'd have given her more than you ever
+will." Then he went away, leaving Norman with something more to think
+about, as he walked slowly back across the park in the chilly dusk to
+where the warmth and light of the house was awaiting him.
+
+The next day he went away, and the Hall settled down again to the quiet
+life that had been brightened by his coming.
+
+The weather cleared after Christmas, and on the first day on which the
+roads were dry enough Lord Crowborough came tricycling over to Hayslope
+Hall, and, in the same state of heat as before and with the same means
+of allaying it by his side, sat talking to his old friend.
+
+He had heard of the decision to let the Hall, and was full of sympathy.
+At the same time, he couldn't quite understand it. What did William say
+about it? Surely--!
+
+Colonel Eldridge cut him short. "There's no enmity now between me and
+William," he said. "We've practically agreed to go our separate ways,
+though that has never been put into words. William doesn't come into
+this, and wouldn't have come into it if we had never fallen out. All he
+could have done would have been to subsidize me here, and I dare say he
+would have been quite ready to do it. But of course I couldn't have
+accepted that in any case."
+
+"No. I can see that, if you put it in that way. But there ought to be a
+way out, Edmund. He will succeed you here, and I am pretty certain that
+if you both wanted to you could arrange things."
+
+"Not in any way that wouldn't come round in the long run to my staying
+here as William's pensioner. The property could be resettled by him and
+me and Norman agreeing; but there's nothing in it for me beyond my life
+interest and my wife's jointure. No; I am ready to go now, for some
+years at least. It's possible that after a time, when I've cleared off
+certain encumbrances on my income, I might be able to come back. But it
+isn't time to think of that yet. I shan't be sorry to go, if I can find
+something suitable to go to. This place has become a burden, and all the
+pleasure of living in it has departed. The nuisance is that there's no
+house here for me to go to. The Grange is out of the question, and
+there's no other house that would do for us without a lot of money spent
+upon it. I haven't got any money for such purposes."
+
+"It seems hard lines that William should have spoilt the only house in
+the place that would suit you; and now he doesn't even live in it
+himself."
+
+"Oh, well; that's done, and there's no good dwelling on it. Things have
+gone his way and they haven't gone mine. They haven't been going the way
+of us landowners for a long time, and the war has about finished us. I
+sometimes wish I'd been born a generation earlier. My father used to
+grumble sometimes; but look at the difference between those times and
+these. Oh, no; it's time I cleared out. There's no room in the world
+that's coming for people like me."
+
+"Oh, my dear fellow, you mustn't talk like that. There's always room in
+the world for people like you. We shouldn't have won the war without
+'em, for one thing."
+
+"It doesn't seem to have done us much good winning the war. Nothing's
+the same as it was, and it will get worse. However, we needn't talk
+about that. We shall have to stick it out, whatever's in store for us. I
+don't suppose I've got more to grumble about than most. If I can let
+this house well, as I think I can, and find another somewhere, we shall
+be all right. I suppose the girls will marry in time. Cynthia and I will
+have enough, for as long as remains to us."
+
+"I think I might find you a house, Edmund. I've been turning it over in
+my mind since I heard that you wanted something near here. Give me a few
+days longer. But I want to know--you didn't tell me. What _does_ William
+say about your leaving Hayslope?"
+
+"I don't suppose he knows. I haven't told him. I dare say Norman has by
+this time."
+
+"I see Norman was here for Christmas, wasn't he? He's a nice boy, that.
+I'm glad it shouldn't have made a difference to him."
+
+"So am I--very glad. Yes; he's a very nice boy. He's like a brother to
+my girls, and I'm glad they've got him, now their own brother is dead.
+He'll look after them, if they ever want looking after."
+
+"They're dear girls, all of them, Edmund. You won't have them all with
+you for very long, I expect. I've had a sort of hope lately that--I
+don't see why such old friends as we are shouldn't talk over these
+things--I've a fancy that my boy thinks there's nobody in the world like
+your Pamela. Well, my wife says it's Pamela; I had a sort of idea myself
+that it was little Judith. It's one of 'em, or I'll eat my hat. Would
+that be agreeable to you, if it came off some day?"
+
+Colonel Eldridge laughed. "It would be very agreeable to me," he said.
+"I've had things put to me that weren't so agreeable. Fathers don't seem
+to have much of a say in these matters nowadays. But, thank goodness, my
+girls weren't old enough to run all those risks of war-time. Yes, John,
+if that arrangement would suit you, it would certainly suit me. I've
+been wondering, quite lately what sort of marriage Pamela would
+make--realizing that she was old enough to get married, which I suppose
+doesn't come into a father's head about his eldest girl until it's put
+there."
+
+"No; or with a son either. But Jim is my only one, and I should like him
+to marry early, and see my grandson growing up, if I'm spared so long. I
+shouldn't care for my brother Alfred's boys to come into the succession.
+However, that's a long way ahead yet. Jim's a steady fellow now, and
+inclined to take his life seriously--more seriously, perhaps, than we
+did when we were young fellows; but it's not a bad thing either. What I
+mean is that I think it would be a good thing for him to marry, and with
+such a wife as your Pamela--well, he'd be a very lucky fellow, and
+she'd get him on in the world. There's still something to do for a man
+in the position he'll have to fill, and the right sort of wife would
+help him no end."
+
+When Lord Crowborough had pedalled himself away, Colonel Eldridge went
+back to his room, and sat there in front of the fire, with pleasanter
+thoughts to keep him company than he had had for some time. The episode
+with Fred Comfrey had made its mark upon him, though it had come and
+gone so quickly that he had suffered little distress because of it. He
+could hardly help thinking of himself as having come down in the world,
+since he was no longer able to support the modest dignity that had been
+his as the head of an old-established family living in the large house
+in the middle of his acres in which his fathers had lived before him.
+Fred Comfrey's proposal had seemed to mark that descent, for it had not
+been from among men such as he that the daughters of the house had taken
+their husbands. Now this so different proposal wiped out the effect of
+that one. If only Pamela...!
+
+When he told his wife about it, he found that it was no new idea to her.
+"I didn't want to talk about it," she said, "because one is naturally
+careful about not appearing to rush at a marriage of that sort. There
+will be plenty of people to say that we have been angling for it--or
+that I have--if it does happen. I do think that there's no doubt about
+Jim. In fact, I shouldn't be in the least surprised if he hadn't put it
+to Pam already."
+
+"What--do you mean to say that they have come to an understanding?"
+
+"I'm afraid not. If he has asked her, she has refused him. I don't know,
+because she has said nothing to me; but one has a sort of instinct with
+one's own daughters. Perhaps it's more likely that she won't give him an
+answer yet. They are as good friends as ever. I don't think he would
+come here in the way he does if she had refused him definitely."
+
+This rather dashed him. "Crowborough said something about Judith," he
+said. "He'd had an idea that she was the attraction; but her ladyship
+seems to have chased that idea out of his head."
+
+Mrs. Eldridge laughed, and said: "For once I agree with her. I was
+inclined to think it was Judith at one time myself, though I'd hardly
+come to think of her as more than a child. They get on splendidly
+together, and really I think she'd be more suited to him than Pam.
+However, there's no good thinking of that, for it is Pam, and there's no
+doubt about it. Darling Pam! I do wish she would come round to it. She
+is taking our present troubles hardly, and it would be good for her to
+be lifted out of them. Perhaps she will, in time. But there's no good in
+pressing her; we must just leave it."
+
+"Oh, pressing her! Good heavens, no! I shouldn't like her to marry him
+for the reasons that would appeal to us, either. I believe in a love
+match, for everybody; but there ought to be something behind it too."
+
+Mrs. Eldridge leant over his chair and kissed him on the forehead.
+"We've never regretted our love match, have we?" she said.
+
+He reached up and took her hand in his. "We hardly thought it was going
+to bring us to this pass towards the close of our lives," he said. "But
+it won't part us, so it's not so bad. Crowborough said he might be able
+to find a house for us. There are several nice little places on his
+property. If one of them fell vacant, I could carry on here from it.
+Otherwise, I don't see anything for it but to put in an agent, and only
+come down now and then. I think now we've made up our minds, the worst
+is over. I wish William had written, though. He couldn't do anything to
+help us, perhaps; but I should have thought it must have meant something
+to him--our having to clear out. Norman must have told him, and there
+would have been time to hear from him by now."
+
+"If there's nothing he could do," she said, "perhaps it's as well that
+he should leave it alone. We don't want the contrast between us made
+plainer than it is."
+
+With that she left him. She could not trust herself to talk with him
+about his brother, against whom her anger was hot within her. She knew
+with what a weight the estrangement was lying upon him now; that the
+irritation he had felt against William had all disappeared; and that he
+was inclined to blame himself for all that had happened, to the
+justification of the man who was pursuing his eager successful course
+without an apparent thought of the troubles from which he had cut
+himself loose. She had hoped something from William until now. Looking
+back upon the whole course of the quarrel, she did recognize that he
+had made efforts to end it, and shown here and there the generosity
+which had always been a mark of his character. But, after all, his
+generosity had been easy to exercise. They had all lived in close
+contact for years, and he had got as good as he had given, in the
+affection which had prompted his generosity. Now that had fallen into
+the second place with him; he was in pursuit of associations other than
+the ties of family, and it was to further them that his openhandedness
+would be used. What did they matter to him at Hayslope? He had run away
+from the place in which so many of his interests had been bound up,
+rather than face the awkwardness of a situation which he could have
+ended at any time by a little patience and consideration. Even their
+leaving it was nothing to him now. Four days had gone by since he must
+have been told of it. He was not away, for Norman had written to Pam
+only the day before, and mentioned him. It must be accepted now that he
+didn't care. It would be as well that her husband should come to
+recognize that, and then he would cease longing for what was over and
+done with, and rely only upon those who loved him so dearly for his
+solace in life.
+
+But she couldn't hasten the time. He must be made sadder yet before he
+could put away his sadness, and accept the new conditions.
+
+She talked to Pamela that night. No pressure was to be put on her, she
+had said. She put all the pressure of which she was capable, being very
+careful to disguise the fact that she was putting any pressure at all.
+She loved Pamela more than her other girls; she was making more and more
+of a companion of her; she would hate giving her up to the best of
+husbands. But to please her own husband, to get for him, something that
+would lift from him some of the weight under which he was drooping, she
+would have pushed her daughter into a marriage with less prospects of
+happiness in it than this held out. She was ruthless with her, while
+talking to her with a sort of cooing tenderness and sympathy, and
+searching among half confessions and confidences for the point upon
+which she could concentrate to move her. Her father was mentioned but
+rarely. There was no plea to sacrifice herself for his sake. But it was
+inherent in everything that she said that submission on Pamela's part
+would bring something to him that nothing else could in these shadowed
+days. She did not place before her any of the advantages that would
+accrue to her from a marriage that would bring her wealth and station.
+She mentioned them only to make light of them. _They_ knew, she and
+Pamela, that those were not the best things in life, though one was
+better off with them than without them. What were the best things? They
+seemed to be summed up in Horsham, according to her opinion, though she
+did not overpraise him.
+
+No disagreement was possible with anything that she said. She put
+herself apparently into complete accord with Pamela, and made it
+difficult for her so much as to say that she didn't love Horsham; for
+that would have been the answer to an invitation that was never made, in
+so many words. The respect and even affection that Pamela was made to
+acknowledge as representing her feelings towards Horsham were taken as
+the most satisfactory with which to start upon married life. That was
+apparently agreed on all hands, and was hardly worth discussing. The
+question of "falling in love" was lightly touched upon. It sometimes
+happened before marriage, sometimes afterwards. The marriages that began
+with youthful raptures didn't always turn out the most satisfactory. It
+seemed to be indicated that there was something almost indelicate in a
+girl's looking out for those raptures; she would have no fear of such a
+desire in a daughter of hers.
+
+They ended their long talk under the supposition that Pamela wouldn't
+marry for years to come, and discussed the future hopefully. It would be
+splendid if Lord Crowborough did find them a nice house, near enough to
+Hayslope for father to be able to look after things from there. They
+could furnish a house of three or four sitting-rooms and eight or ten
+bedrooms beautifully from the Hall, and leave quite enough behind them.
+They could have a lovely garden, and there would probably be enough land
+for a little farmery, in which they would all interest themselves. "I'm
+sure we should be much happier than we are here now," Mrs. Eldridge
+said. "I think even father has come to see that, and if he gets rid of
+his worries we shall have him with us for many years to come, just as he
+used to be. He is more cheerful now than he has been for a long time,
+though he isn't well. I do think there's a brighter time coming for us
+at last."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+THE NEW CHAPTER
+
+
+Miss Baldwin came back to Hayslope after the Christmas holidays not
+without hopes of developments having taken place during her absence,
+which would introduce the new chapter she was longing for. Her return
+after holidays was always greeted with welcoming chatter by Alice and
+Isabelle, who were of an age when even the arrival of a governess to
+whom they were not greatly attached was something of an excitement. Miss
+Baldwin never seemed to take much interest in the news they poured out
+to her, and she asked very few questions; but she had gathered a good
+deal by the time her charges were in bed and her time was her own to
+think it over.
+
+The coming move was the most important piece of news. The excitement of
+the children over any change was enough in this instance at least to
+balance their regrets at leaving Hayslope. It was not quite settled yet,
+but it was almost certain that they were going some time in the spring
+to live at that dear old farmhouse which you passed on the road to
+Pershore, about half a mile before you came to the Castle. Miss Baldwin
+remembered it quite well, and the news gave her rather a shock, though
+the children seemed to be delighted with the idea. It was an old
+stone-built house standing very near the road, with its farmstead
+adjoining it--hardly a gentleman's residence, in her opinion, and a
+great come down from Hayslope Hall. But it was the farm buildings, which
+would go with it, that made it attractive in the eyes of Alice and
+Isabelle. And they were to have ponies. That would have made up for more
+than they would actually lose by the move. Lord Crowborough was going to
+do a good deal to the house before they went to it. It was bigger than
+it looked from the outside, and there was a lovely great attic running
+the whole length of the house where they would be able to play.
+
+So the children were satisfied, and Miss Baldwin had gathered from the
+talk at supper that their elders thought themselves fortunate in finding
+such a house for themselves. There was talk of panelled rooms and a fine
+oak staircase, and of restorations that were to be made to bring it back
+to the state from which it had somewhat fallen. It was a house of the
+same quality as Town Farm at Hayslope. Colonel Eldridge's chief regret
+seemed to be that he could not restore his own house in the same way,
+instead of renting one from somebody else.
+
+To Miss Baldwin's observant eyes, Colonel Eldridge seemed to have aged
+since she had last seen him. He had been unwell, and was not quite
+himself yet, though he wouldn't acknowledge it. But the change in him
+didn't come from that. He was depressed and silent, and made fewer
+efforts to conceal his mood before his family than was his custom. Miss
+Baldwin wondered whether his family knew everything that was behind this
+somewhat startling change in his life. Was he hiding anything from
+them? Was he a secret gambler, with a chapter to come in which his
+horses would be led away from the door, and his wife would lean over a
+ruined man with bent head and nervous fingers clutching a pack of cards?
+But she rejected the idea. Colonel Eldridge only had one horse, and an
+old pony, and he could hardly be induced to make a four at family
+Bridge, with stakes of threepence a hundred. The estrangement from his
+brother still continued; she had gathered that. There was something
+there to wonder about, perhaps a recently discovered will, perhaps the
+change of an heir at birth. Time would show. There was not enough yet to
+alter the interest of a love story into one of mystery.
+
+She divined, with some special sense that she had, that Fred Comfrey was
+a definitely rejected suitor; though the children had hardly mentioned
+his name and the others not at all. But it could not have been that
+which made Pamela almost as silent and sad-looking as her father, in
+spite of her efforts to behave with her usual brightness, and especially
+so to him. It was only at odd moments that Miss Baldwin caught the look
+on her face which told her so much; and the silence was for when her
+father and mother were not there.
+
+What was it then that was troubling her? Miss Baldwin formed many
+conjectures, but recognized that she must wait for further material in
+order to set her thoughts to one of them.
+
+The occasion that she wanted came two days after she had returned to
+Hayslope. Lord Horsham came over to lunch, and stayed for the
+afternoon. He was going back to Oxford the next day.
+
+Pamela's spirits had come back to her. She laughed and chattered in her
+old way. Lord Horsham had never had such a reception from her in Miss
+Baldwin's recollection, though all of them were brought into it, and
+there was no time that Miss Baldwin knew of when she was alone with him
+during that lively afternoon. When he had gone, she relapsed into her
+listless mood, which was even more marked than it had been before.
+
+So now Miss Baldwin knew. Pamela loved Lord Horsham, and any separation
+from him lay heavy upon her spirits. She wondered what had brought the
+change, for Pamela had certainly not been in love with him a month ago.
+As for him, there was no doubt about it. He was head over ears, and
+showed it plainly. It could not be long now before that chapter, and
+with it the whole story, was satisfactorily closed.
+
+Colonel Eldridge had a great deal of estate work to do now, which had
+fallen somewhat into arrears during the days he had been laid up.
+Besides hours spent in his office, where there was now only a clerk to
+help him, he had to be out constantly, and in all weathers. Mrs.
+Eldridge tried to dissuade him from going about so much, but he was not
+a man who would respond to such dissuasion, with the result that he
+caught another bad cold and had to take to his bed. There she had him to
+some extent at her mercy, but she could not prevent him worrying himself
+over what ought to have been done, but couldn't be done, or from busying
+himself with papers, when he ought to have been lying still doing
+nothing.
+
+He began to mend on the third day, and proposed to get up on the next.
+She took up his breakfast herself, and his letters, and then went down
+to her own. When she went up again, he was lying still, with very little
+breakfast eaten and half his letters unopened. She persuaded him to eat
+a little more, and he talked to her for a time, and then said he should
+like a message sent over to ask Lord Crowborough to come and see him. He
+thought he would go to sleep in the meantime; there wouldn't be much to
+do this morning; better take full advantage of his last day in bed. He
+smiled at her and said that she was not to come bothering him until Lord
+Crowborough came. He wanted to see him about something particularly.
+Perhaps she'd better send the car for him, and a note. No, he would
+write the note himself. She was to go down and order the car, while he
+wrote it.
+
+An hour or so later Lord Crowborough was ushered into his room, with a
+face of concern. This was apparently on account of Colonel Eldridge's
+illness, for he was quite cheerful with Mrs. Eldridge until she left
+them, with instructions not to interrupt their confabulation, which
+might take some time. But when the door had been shut behind her his
+face was more concerned than ever as he came to the bedside, and said:
+"You've had some bad news, Edmund. I'm very sorry to hear that. And
+you're not in a fit state for it, either. I can see that."
+
+Colonel Eldridge handed him a letter. "You're the only man, I suppose,
+who knows all about it," he said. "Is it true?"
+
+Lord Crowborough read the letter through, with pursing of the lips, and
+a deepening frown. Colonel Eldridge watched his face anxiously for a
+time, and then turned his eyes away, and lay quite still until he had
+finished.
+
+Lord Crowborough glanced at him, when he had come to the end, and waited
+a moment before speaking. Then he folded the letter and said: "Yes,
+Edmund, it's true, in all essentials; but what a wicked thing to send it
+to you! The woman must be mad."
+
+Colonel Eldridge roused himself. "Oh, you see what she says. It has been
+lying on her conscience.... Spiritualism, and all that.... She wants
+excitement, of course. We needn't bother about her; she's had the money,
+thank goodness. She can't do anything more, except put it about, which I
+dare say she will do, though she swears she won't. It's you I'm thinking
+of, John. I quarrelled with you for saying it; I behaved badly to you.
+I...."
+
+Lord Crowborough lifted hands of deprecation. "Oh, my dear Edmund; my
+dear fellow! I ought not to have taken the line I did about it. I
+regretted it very much afterwards, when the poor boy was killed. Don't
+think anything more about that. And don't let it affect you towards his
+memory. He'd gone wrong; yes, more than you knew; but he made up for it
+in the end. I've thought kindly of him, you know, for a long time past,
+and I knew it all the time. Perhaps it would have been better if you had
+known it at the first. It's a blow, coming now. But nothing is changed
+by it. You must put it aside. You will, in time. It's all forgiven."
+
+There was silence for a time. Then Colonel Eldridge said: "You're kind
+and good about it, John. I knew you would be, when I sent for you. And
+you've been kind all along. I know now that my son--cheated--yours out
+of a large sum of money, besides pushing him into something that he'd
+never have taken up, if he had been left to himself. I know Horsham well
+enough to say that; and my son was an older man, who ought to have
+looked after him--coming into the Regiment as a boy--the son of one of
+my oldest friends. It was very bad. I can't quite bring my mind to it.
+But the first thing to be done is to arrange for the payment--"
+
+Lord Crowborough had tried to break in once or twice, and now did so
+decisively. "My dear Edmund, the money was paid. William knew, and he
+insisted on doing it. I couldn't refuse. Whatever I might have done, if
+I'd been left to myself, I don't deserve the credit of that. There's
+nothing more to be done there."
+
+"William paid, you say?"
+
+"Yes. Fortunately I told him all about it--you knew that, didn't you? It
+was when I was still very angry, and had let out to you what I did, that
+you took such exception to. I hope I should have done afterwards what I
+did do, and draw back from what I had said, so as to keep the knowledge
+of it from you. But it was William who showed me that it was the right
+thing to do, and almost directly afterwards the poor boy was killed, and
+then I can tell you I was very glad that I hadn't pressed it with you.
+William saw it at once. He made me take a cheque for the--for the loss,
+then and there, and promise never to mention it again, even to him. I've
+wished lately...."
+
+He broke off. "You've wished lately that I'd known that," said Colonel
+Eldridge quietly. "So do I. One doesn't quarrel with men who treat one
+like that."
+
+Lord Crowborough didn't quite understand him. "I don't think you need
+consider it as an extra obligation," he said. "I know it was over and
+done with, for William, when he wrote his cheque, and made me promise to
+say nothing about it. I've talked to him since, as you know, and he was
+extremely irritated against you--no sense in pretending he wasn't--but
+_that_ never came up. I'm sure he's never grudged it, whatever has
+happened since."
+
+"I wasn't thinking about the money. I've thought too much about
+William's money, and talked too much about it, to you among others. His
+money made it easy for him, perhaps, to pay what had to be paid; but it
+had nothing to do with his taking pains to keep me from knowledge of my
+son's disgrace."
+
+Lord Crowborough brightened. "Oh, I'm so glad you've said that, Edmund,"
+he said. "You've both misunderstood each other, and you've drifted
+apart. My dear fellow, if this brings you together again-- Oh, I shall
+be so glad of that."
+
+Again there was silence for a time. Then Colonel Eldridge said: "Horsham
+knows, I suppose. He and this--this woman's son joined together, didn't
+they? It was plain to all of them."
+
+Lord Crowborough had forgotten for the moment what a shock the certain
+knowledge of his son's disgrace must have been to him, and set himself
+to remove the effects of it from his mind. Colonel Eldridge accepted
+what he said, listlessly, but it was evident that no words could heal
+the wound that had been dealt him. Only time could do that. Even the
+knowledge of his brother's action, which had changed the current of his
+thoughts for a time seemed to have brought him only temporary relief. He
+seemed hardly interested in it now. There was an air of hopeless
+depression on him that Lord Crowborough was quite unable to remove.
+
+He roused himself to agree upon what steps to take. There was little
+that could be done. Lord Crowborough himself answered the letter then
+and there. He wrote on behalf of his friend, who was ill. His own son
+had been concerned in the affair about which Mrs. Barrett had written to
+Colonel Eldridge, and all the facts were known to him. Until now they
+had not been known to Colonel Eldridge. He would not pretend that he
+understood the motives which had led her to deliver such a blow to a man
+who had lost his only son, and thus immeasurably increase his grief. He
+would only beg of her to let the story go no farther.
+
+He directed and closed the letter without offering to show it to Colonel
+Eldridge, who made no request that he should do so. Then he burnt the
+letter that had worked such mischief, and soon afterwards he went away,
+very disturbed in his mind at what had taken place, and what its effects
+might be.
+
+Colonel Eldridge lay in bed all that day, doing nothing, and not wishing
+to talk. The next day he got up, and went about his business as usual,
+though Mrs. Eldridge begged him to stay in the house.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+THE TRODDEN WAY
+
+
+It was a wild night of wind and rain. Mrs. Eldridge and Pamela sat in
+the morning-room, waiting. Every now and then Mrs. Eldridge would go
+upstairs, and creep quietly into her husband's room, to see if he was
+still asleep. Then she would come down again, and they would sit still,
+talking very little, while the big clock in the corner ticked on, and
+the gusts of rain blew against the window-panes.
+
+Colonel Eldridge had come in the evening before, shivering, and had gone
+to bed. In the morning his temperature was high, but he said he felt
+better, and refused to have a doctor sent for. Mrs. Eldridge, however,
+took that matter into her own hands, and sent for one, who came towards
+the end of the morning. He took a grave view of the case, and feared
+pneumonia. He would come again in the evening, and bring a nurse with
+him. It might be late before he came. There was a lot of illness about,
+and nurses were difficult to get.
+
+There was no telephone at the Hall, but there was one at the Grange.
+Pamela and Judith had spent most of the afternoon there. At last the
+doctor had telephoned that a nurse was coming down from London by the
+last train. He would meet her and bring her himself.
+
+The train arrived at a quarter past eleven, and it was half an hour's
+motor-run to the Hall. On such a night as this it might take longer.
+
+The time crept on. Soon after half-past eleven Pamela sprang up from her
+chair. "I'm sure I heard a motor," she said, and ran to the window.
+
+"It's too early yet," Mrs. Eldridge said; but Pamela had drawn back the
+curtains. The strong headlights of a big car were already swinging round
+to the hall door.
+
+They went out, and Mrs. Eldridge opened the door, as the bell rang. It
+was Lord Eldridge who was standing there, already unfastening his heavy
+fur coat.
+
+He slipped it off as he came in. He was in his evening clothes. "How is
+he?" he asked, without any other greeting. "Has the nurse come yet?"
+
+Many emotions crossed Mrs. Eldridge's mind, but the chief of them, in
+spite of her disappointment, and the resentment she had nurtured against
+him, was relief at his appearance; for it seemed to her that if anything
+ought to be done, he could do it.
+
+When he heard of the nurse expected, he considered, watch in hand,
+whether it would be worth while to motor back in his fast car towards
+the station, but decided against it. In a few minutes the doctor and the
+nurse would be coming. He went into the morning-room with Pamela, while
+Mrs. Eldridge went upstairs again.
+
+"I only got your message just before nine o'clock," he said. "They
+didn't know where to find me."
+
+She stood before him, looking up into his face. "I haven't told mother
+I tried to get you," she said, "in case you couldn't come. I knew you
+would if you could, Uncle Bill."'
+
+"Oh, my dear, of course. Poor dear fellow! But he'll get over it. We'll
+pull him round between us."
+
+There was such an air of energy and resource about him that it seemed as
+if he could do more than a nurse or a doctor. He was wiping his face,
+which was red, and wet with the rain. He told her hurriedly that he had
+come up from Suffolk only that afternoon, and had gone to his club for
+the night. He had dined out, and her message had passed to and fro until
+it had found him, when he had come straight away. "If I'd only gone
+home, as I might have done," he said, "I should have been here hours
+ago, and might have brought a nurse down with me."
+
+He put his arm round her as she bent her head to hide her tears. "There,
+there, my dear!" he said consolingly. "Don't worry. It will be all right
+now."
+
+She dried her eyes. "I don't want mother to see me upset," she said;
+"but I've been so frightened. Father has hardly ever been ill, until
+lately. He has been so worried and unhappy, I suppose he couldn't throw
+it off. I'm sure it will be the best thing for him that you have come at
+once, like this."
+
+A shade passed over his face. "I'd have come before if I'd thought he
+would want me," he said. "It's been an unhappy business, but it's all
+over now. It _shall_ be all over. I've taken offence too readily. I
+won't take offence at anything now."
+
+"I'm sure there'll be nothing to take offence at," she said, a little
+stiffly. "When you see him, you'll only be sorry for him."
+
+Mrs. Eldridge came in at that moment. "He's awake," she said. "He had
+heard the car and I had to tell him it was you who had come, William. He
+wants to see you. I don't know--"
+
+"If he wants it!" he said, preparing to go. "I shan't upset him,
+Cynthia. And the doctor ought to be here directly."
+
+She took him upstairs. "He's very ill," she said, in a colourless voice.
+"I know he is, though he says he isn't. I'm sure he mustn't be excited.
+But I had to tell him you were here, and he would see you at once."
+
+"I shan't excite him," he said shortly.
+
+They went into the room. Colonel Eldridge was lying in his bed in a
+corner of the room, with a shaded reading-lamp by his side. He hardly
+looked ill, and he greeted his brother in his ordinary voice. "Well,
+Bill, I'm glad you've come, though it's a beastly night to get you out.
+You didn't walk through the wood, did you?"
+
+His brother understood at once that he was light-headed. "No, old boy,"
+he said, taking his hand in his. "I came in the car. I thought I must
+look in and see how you were. You'll have the doctor here in a minute.
+I'll keep you company till he comes."
+
+He sat down by the bed, while Mrs. Eldridge stood, not knowing what to
+do. "You can leave me and Bill for a bit," her husband said. "I want to
+talk to him about that four acre field at Barton's Close. I don't think
+it's much good for pasture where it is. I thought he might like to take
+it into his garden. Just see if you can find the big estate map in my
+room."
+
+She went out slowly. "That's a good idea, Edmund," William said in a
+quiet voice. "We can talk it over when you're better. I shouldn't think
+about it now, if I were you. Let me make you a bit more comfortable."
+
+He rearranged the bedclothes, which his brother had thrown off, talking
+in a soothing voice as he did so. Colonel Eldridge was in a high fever.
+He thought it was his father who was with him, and said: "William didn't
+want to get into the punt. It was me who made him."
+
+What strange things come to the surface of the mind when it is no longer
+under control! Years ago, when they were children, they had been upset
+from a shooting punt, into which they had been forbidden to go. It was
+one of countless such pranks that had been forgotten, or at least never
+brought to memory. It came to William now that his brother had always
+taken blame on himself for any of them that had turned out
+unfortunately, and touched him acutely. It was his elder brother who was
+lying there, until lately the person most looked up to in all his world.
+His heart was constricted with a poignant emotion, and his voice
+trembled as he said words that would calm the rapid flow of his speech,
+now becoming more incoherent. Oh, if only they could pull him through
+this, he would never allow himself again to treat him as anything but
+the elder brother, whom he could uphold, but must not gainsay. What
+would it matter if he was sometimes unreasonable? There was no one else
+in the world to whom it was so worth while to give in; no one who
+carried with him that sense of rightful authority, even of protection.
+He had been borne down by his troubles. Were any of them his brother's
+making?
+
+The doctor and the nurse came in. William was sent out of the room at
+once.
+
+By the next day they seemed to have settled down to the struggle for a
+life, as if nothing else in the world mattered. Lord Eldridge, after a
+few hours' sleep, had motored back to London, to find and bring down
+another nurse. He had sent for his wife to come to the Grange, and set
+in hand all arrangements for their staying there, and for the carrying
+on of such of his work as could not be left undone. He was back at the
+Hall before mid-day, looking as if he had been doing nothing out of the
+usual run, but with a deep gravity underlying his capable
+confidence-bearing demeanour. His contact with Mrs. Eldridge was almost
+impersonal. She relied on him, and talked with him about what was to be
+done without any sense of awkwardness. Her resentments were not solved;
+they were just put aside. But for the girls the estrangement was over
+and done with. They clung to his authority and resource, and to his warm
+supporting affection, which he showed towards them so abundantly.
+
+Soon after he had returned, Mrs. Eldridge came to him and said that her
+husband wanted to see him. He was quite himself now. The nurse had said
+that he had better have his way, but Lord Eldridge must be careful not
+to excite him, and must not stop in the room long.
+
+The weight of past trouble was upon Mrs. Eldridge now. She hesitated and
+faltered, and it was plain that she disliked being the bearer of this
+message.
+
+"My dear Cynthia," he said, "if he wants to see me, it is because he
+wants our dispute to be put an end to, once for all. I want that too,
+and you can trust me to think of nothing but to set his mind at rest.
+Don't think of me as an enemy any longer."
+
+She made no reply, but led him up to the room.
+
+His brother's eyes were upon him, as he went in, with an expression that
+was sorrowful, but also welcoming. "Well, William," he said, in a low
+but audible voice, "it does me good to see you here. I seem to be worse
+than I thought I was, but we can have a little chat. It was good of you
+to come, after all that has happened."
+
+"My dear old fellow, don't let's talk about what has happened. I've been
+very much to blame; but you have always had a lot to put up with in my
+ways of doing things. Yet we've been friends all our lives, and nothing
+is ever going to part us again."
+
+He had taken his hand, and given it a gentle pressure. His brother held
+it in his for an appreciable time, and then grasped it with a meaning
+that was plain enough without further words. William sat down by his
+side, with a sensation of choking in his throat. Their quarrel was at an
+end.
+
+"There's a lot to settle," Colonel Eldridge said. "I may not be fit to
+talk to you again. If I don't get over this, you'll look after Cynthia
+and the children. They'll have enough, but I've always directed all our
+affairs; she'll be lost at first."
+
+William forced himself with a great effort to speak naturally and
+evenly. "You'll get over it, my dear old fellow," he said confidently;
+"but I agree that it's best to be prepared. We've been like one family,
+until lately, and that's what we are again now. You were quite right in
+saying that I had spoilt the Grange for them, or I'd have looked after
+them there. They shall stay here, dear Edmund. The old place will be
+more like it has always been with them in it, and as I like it to be,
+than with us living in it. I'm committed to another sort of life now,
+and it's too late to go back. But we shall be down here often, in the
+old way. They'll have us to depend upon, in whatever they can't do for
+themselves."
+
+"You haven't bought that other place?"
+
+"No. I did think of it; but I shall give it up after this season,
+anyhow. If all goes well, as I'm sure it will, if you set your mind to
+getting better, we shall come back here, to the Grange, and you must let
+me join you in a closer partnership. You'll be here to look after the
+place in a way I couldn't do; you'll go on running it in your own way,
+which couldn't be bettered, but under all the new conditions there's
+room for capital and business methods in estate management, which I'm in
+a position to bring in. We can do better with Hayslope if we work
+together; we can get as much out of it as ever."
+
+Colonel Eldridge sighed. "It is what ought to have been done," he said.
+"And you have always been ready to do it, I know. You'll do better for
+the place than I could now, and for my family. I've thought of them
+always; but I've not done the best for them that could have been done. I
+think I did before, but I've been too slow to see that it wasn't in my
+power any longer. I shall leave it all to you, William, and go with a
+quiet mind, if I have to go. Thank God, you can do what I couldn't and
+that I've come round to trusting to you for it before it's too late.
+Perhaps all the girls won't be here at home much longer. I should have
+liked to know that Pamela would be happily married; but that can't be
+hurried. There are other things to settle, William. We mustn't lose
+time. Poor Hugo ... there's something I want to tell you ... you know
+something of it. Oh, and Crowborough told me what you'd done, when it
+first came out. I haven't thanked you for that. There's such a lot to
+talk about."
+
+He was getting restless. William put a quietening hand upon him. "I know
+everything," he said. "Don't let's waste time over that. I know about
+Mrs. Barrett, and the money. Young Comfrey told me of the new demand. He
+ought not to have done it, but I'm very glad he did. I can take all that
+on me now, Edmund. You won't want to hold out any longer, will you? I
+know you won't. I'm _very_ sorry, dear old fellow, for the resentment
+I've been keeping up; and ashamed of it. If you leave it all to me, and
+put it out of your mind once for all, you'll give me more comfort and
+pleasure than you could in any other way."
+
+He seemed to be controlling his mind to a new idea. "Yes," he said, at
+last, and more quietly. "It's one of the many things that you'll do for
+me. You've been generous all through, and I've been stiff and
+ungrateful."
+
+The nurse and Mrs. Eldridge came in. William took his brother's hand in
+his, and they looked into one another's faces. It was a momentary look,
+but there was nothing to interrupt the message it carried, of
+understanding, and affection, and trust.
+
+William went downstairs, and found Pamela there. He was much moved, and
+could not hide his emotion from her. She loved him the better for it.
+"You don't think he's worse, do you, Uncle Bill?" she asked him. "He
+_will_ get better, won't he?"
+
+"One always thinks of strong people you've never seen ill worse than
+they are," he said, to explain his emotion. "Yes, I think he'll get
+better now. I've had very little time with him, but I've been able to
+relieve his mind of some things that have lain heavy on it. I think
+there's nothing he need worry about now; and I shall be able to talk to
+him again. It's been a sad business, Pam--our quarrel. I've been very
+much to blame, but it's all over now. I don't want to think too much
+about it, as he won't, any longer. The way has been made clear for us to
+help each other in what we want done. You won't be leaving Hayslope, my
+dear. That's settled, at any rate."
+
+"I shall be very glad of that, if he gets better," she said quietly.
+"Uncle Bill, I wish you'd send for Lord Crowborough."
+
+"My dear, you mustn't get thinking that he won't recover. I'm not going
+to let myself think it. I believe, somehow, that if we fight against
+that idea in our minds, it will help him to fight through himself."
+
+"Oh, yes, I know. But if he doesn't! I've made Nurse Mary tell me, if he
+doesn't get better, it can't last very long. I think he would like to
+see Lord Crowborough; he has depended on him a good deal lately, and he
+has always cheered him up when he has been over. Do send for him, will
+you, Uncle Bill?"
+
+He was a little surprised at her earnestness, but promised to do what
+she wished. "I'll telephone over directly I get to the Grange," he said.
+
+"He isn't at the Castle," she said. "They went up to London a few days
+ago. You'll telephone to him there, won't you? I know he will come down,
+if he knows how ill father is. Tell him that I asked you to."
+
+He promised to do that, and left her. She stood at the window, and saw
+him go across the lawn and under the bare branches of the trees down
+into the wood. She stood there for a long time, after he had
+disappeared, and when she turned back to the room her face was sad but
+composed.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The illness ran its quick course, which seemed to drag interminably to
+those who could do little but watch it. There were slight fluctuations,
+but never much hope of recovery, at least to those who had had
+experience of such an illness. To his children, who saw him sometimes
+for a few minutes when he was at his best, it seemed impossible that he
+should be nearing his end. He would smile at them, and say a few words.
+They were always words that they would remember afterwards--as if he
+had thought out what he could say in so short a time, that would not
+sadden them with the idea that he expected to die, and yet would not
+waste the precious time he had still to be with them. He sent for Timbs
+and old Jackson, and one or two more of the servants and the villagers.
+To all of these he had something definite to say which was not a
+farewell; but they would count it so afterwards.
+
+Lord Crowborough had left London for Bath. He wired to say he was coming
+on the fourth day, by the train which arrived in the middle of the
+afternoon. It was doubtful whether he would be able to see Colonel
+Eldridge that day; but it had been arranged that he was to stay at the
+Grange.
+
+Lord Eldridge's car had been sent to the station. It might be back at
+any time now. Pamela was alone in the morning-room. It had come to be
+recognized that it was she who had pressed for him to come, and pressed
+again when it had seemed impossible to get him. It was she who was to
+receive him; she had asked that she should.
+
+She sat motionless in front of the fire, except that once or twice she
+turned her head to listen. The big car made very little noise; she was
+on the alert to catch the first sounds of it.
+
+At last it came--the crunching of the wet gravel, heard as soon as the
+purring of the engine. She sprang up, as if she would go out to meet the
+arrival, but stood still, as if, after all, she was unable to stir. Her
+hand went to her heart, and there was a look almost of fright on her
+face, as she stood in front of the fire, looking towards the door.
+
+It opened, but she could not move. Then her face changed altogether,
+with a breaking up of its expression of strain, and she gave a little
+cry. For it was not Lord Crowborough, but Norman who came quickly into
+the room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+AN ENDING AND A BEGINNING
+
+
+Pamela was sobbing in Norman's arms when Lord Crowborough came into the
+room almost immediately after him. She controlled herself with a great
+effort, and found herself able to talk to Lord Crowborough, while Norman
+went to find his father and mother, who were both in the house.
+
+Lord Crowborough was in great distress, but he had to explain fully why
+he had not been able to come earlier, and to express his regret at the
+delay. Perhaps his deliberate detailed speech calmed her. She would not
+acknowledge to him that hope was small. "When he is well enough it will
+be a great pleasure to him to see you," she said. "I knew he would want
+to, and that anything that cheers him up must be good for him. That's
+why I persuaded Uncle William to go on until he got you. I knew you
+would come if you could."
+
+"Oh, yes, my dear; oh, yes. It's dreadfully sad. I should never have
+forgiven myself if I hadn't come in time. Poor, dear fellow! It gave me
+a great shock to get the news. Dear, dear! I can't believe it now."
+
+He was not consoling, in his evident expectation of the worst, but
+Pamela seemed to have strength enough to combat his pessimism. "He will
+get better," she said confidently. "He was better this morning.
+To-morrow I am sure he will be able to see you."
+
+Lord Crowborough found it necessary to explain why his wife had been
+unable to come with him. "But I've sent for Jim," he said. "He'll be
+here to-morrow. I wish I'd sent for him before. Norman left Cambridge
+this morning, he tells me."
+
+She showed a momentary confusion, but said: "I think father will be
+pleased to see Jim too, if he is well enough. We're all very fond of
+Jim."
+
+He looked at her and cleared his throat preparatory to some speech of
+special meaning, as it seemed; but fortunately for her Lord and Lady
+Eldridge came into the room before he could utter it. Norman was with
+them, and as their elders engaged in greetings he and Pamela slipped
+away together.
+
+They went into Colonel Eldridge's room, which was being used now,
+perhaps with the idea of keeping it alive and expectant of him. Norman
+took her two hands into his, and said: "Pam darling, it has been you all
+the time, but I've only just found it out."
+
+She allowed her tears to fall then. "I've wanted you dreadfully,
+lately," she said. "If only father gets better, we shall all be very
+happy now."
+
+That was almost the extent of their love-making. They had known each
+other for so long. What was in the mind of each gained instant response
+from the other. Pamela could take refuge from her deep trouble in his
+love; joy in their new discovery could wait.
+
+The discovery itself, however, must not be kept to themselves. Lord
+Crowborough was the only person whom it seemed somewhat to disconcert,
+but he joined with the rest in the desire to make it known to Pamela's
+father. They would get his blessing upon it, which would be a happiness
+to them to remember in after years. And it would please and comfort him.
+
+Lord Eldridge, still cherishing determined hope, expected much from it.
+Whether he was abundantly pleased himself, or only moderately so, did
+not appear, for he seemed to accept it only as it might affect his
+brother. But he did accept it; and Lady Eldridge made it plain to
+Pamela, with a warm embrace, what it meant to her. Poor Mrs. Eldridge,
+who hardly left the sickroom now, treated it as unimportant. But she had
+greeted her sister-in-law in a way to show that the late estrangement
+was not now in her mind; and she no longer held herself aloof in any way
+from her brother-in-law. Perhaps unconsciously she took it as bringing
+them all more closely together. She wanted all the support now that
+family affection and sympathy could give her.
+
+Pamela stood with Norman by her father's bedside the next morning, and
+he smiled at them with full knowledge, and whispered a word to her as
+she kissed him. He saw no one else but his wife that day, and on the
+afternoon of the next he died. All his family were around him, but he
+did not know them. There was none of whom he had not already taken
+leave, and he had left them with no trouble on his mind on their behalf,
+except the great sorrow of his loss, which time would change into a most
+loving memory.
+
+Time had already softened the sorrow when Spring came treading its
+flowery way over the gardens of Hayslope and the country round them. If
+there were still tears shed at the Hall there was sometimes laughter
+too, from the young people whose life lay all before them, and on whom
+no burden of loss could rest forever. And care was lifted from the
+house, though at a very heavy price.
+
+Mrs. Eldridge sometimes asked herself if it was possible that she should
+ever come to enjoy life again, the question being prompted not by the
+desire to do so, but by an uneasy suspicion of disloyalty because she
+was beginning to find these bright soft spring days pleasant, in the
+house and in the garden. She need not have feared, for she never had
+that sensation of grateful expectancy which is spring's message and
+bright consolation without an immediate pang to follow it. She had not
+made herself his constant companion in the comings and goings of his
+days, but never for very long together had she been without the sense of
+his being there. When she had most seemed to be taking her own way, her
+life in its ultimate ends had yet been lived with reference to him. Now
+she had to adopt a life not so very different from that which she had
+led before at Hayslope to a new impulsion. The life was pleasant enough
+in itself, but at present it seemed to count for nothing. The days came,
+ran their quiet course, and ended. Each one carried her a little farther
+from the time when she had had him with her. And she would live them for
+years to come, with nothing to look forward to. So it seemed to her
+when she thought about it; and presently she found it was better not to
+think about it, but to take the days as they came. Then her spirit
+quieted itself by degrees, and her grief became less bewildering.
+
+She and Lady Eldridge were close friends again now. There had been a
+time, after her husband's death, when she had put it down to the trouble
+through which he had gone on account of his brother. Then she had held
+herself aloof from them. But the feeling had faded away. What did it
+matter now? He was dead. Keeping up the quarrel in her mind would not
+bring him back. And he had been so glad to have it ended. He had given
+her and his children over to his brother's keeping, in solemn words to
+her, almost the last of any he had spoken. Her mind was too tired to
+think it out. She just let go of the feeling, and presently it died.
+
+William was very good to her, and she recognized that his goodness came
+from his love for his brother, whose wishes in anything to do with
+Hayslope it was his guiding principle to follow. He took all money
+affairs into his hands. He had assured her that the substantial income
+she had to spend was due to her, and not supplemented by him, except
+that he asked her to live at the Hall, as long as it suited her, and she
+paid no rent for it. He professed great frankness with her, and told her
+that the lines upon which he was dealing with her income enabled him to
+make more of it. She did not ask how it was done; she was content, for
+herself and her girls, to live quietly for the present at Hayslope,
+under his protective influence. They were all one family again now,
+though its headship had shifted.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+One windy day of early April, when the daffodils were gleaming and
+swaying under the trees, and all the air was clean and sweet, Norman and
+Pamela walked together in the garden and down through the wood. Norman
+had just come home from Cambridge. He and Pamela had been very little
+together since the discovery of their love for one another, under the
+sorrow that had prompted it but forbidden that absorption in themselves
+which is the usual effect of such discoveries. Perhaps their love was
+all the deeper because of the sorrow. Pamela had clung to Norman in her
+grief, and had aroused in him the strongest emotion to pity and
+protection towards her. Their love had struck deep roots during that sad
+time.
+
+Then had followed the constant interchange of letters, in which all the
+marvellous phenomena of their mutual attraction had been minutely
+explored with one hurried week-end visit from Norman, just to assure
+himself that Pamela was real flesh and blood, and that she loved him as
+much as she said she did. Now they would be together for a month, before
+Norman's final term at Cambridge. Already Pamela's sorrow had become
+gentler. They would often talk very seriously and soberly together; but
+they were very young, and they were going to be very happy. It would not
+be forbidden them to be light-hearted during that Easter vacation.
+
+They were discussing the future now. It involved, immediately, a great
+deal of work for Norman's final examinations, and a visit from Pamela to
+Cambridge when their tyranny should be overpast, and more lightsome
+pursuits would follow. After that?
+
+Well, Cambridge term ends when summer is still young. Wouldn't this be
+the happiest time for a honeymoon? They would go abroad, to the most
+beautiful places they could find, within the restricted area which the
+war had left in Europe for searchers after summer beauty. Then they
+would come back to England, at the time when England--or perhaps
+Scotland--offered more than any other country. And some time in the
+autumn they would make a home for themselves, which gave them more to
+talk about even than the prospective travels.
+
+Their first home was to be that Town Farm which Colonel Eldridge had so
+wished he could afford to restore for his own occupation. The visits of
+the best available architect, and consultation over plans, would very
+pleasurably occupy the weeks of the vacation. The work would go on while
+they were abroad, and be finished in the late summer, if the conditions
+of the building trade permitted. Then there would be the house to
+furnish, and the garden to make anew. Here was something to dwell upon!
+
+But Pamela had a trifle of doubt in the corner of her mind. "Of course
+it will be perfectly heavenly living there together," she said. "But I
+shouldn't like you to lead an altogether idle life."
+
+He laughed at her. "Darling old thing!" he said. "I shall be as busy as
+the day is long. I had a talk with father last night, which I wanted to
+tell you about; but there are so many things to say that you've just got
+to take them as they come. He says I needn't work with the idea of
+earning my living. It seems that he has been watching me, when I thought
+he was so busy about other things that I was out of the orbit of his
+eagle eye. I hardly know how to tell you this without blushing; but he
+says that if I'd shown myself any sort of a waster he'd have dumped me
+down on an office stool and seen that I stuck to it, or made me do
+something equally beastly until I'd made good for myself. He was quite
+frank, as only a father can be, and said that he had sometimes thought I
+was a bit too passionate in the pursuit of pleasure. But he'd come to
+the conclusion that on the whole I had made whatever I had to do for the
+time being the chief thing. So he thought I could be trusted not to
+abuse the freedom he was going to give me. And this is where _you_
+blush, Pam--he thought you were just the right sort of girl to temper my
+wayward tendencies. He wasn't sure what I could do best in the world,
+because I seemed to like doing such lots of things that if he gained an
+idea of anything special one moment he had to give it up the next. But
+with you to steady me, I ought to be able to do _something_. He's a wise
+bird--the Lord Eldridge of Hayslope. He knows how happy we are going to
+be together, and he's going to let us be as happy as ever we can. Make
+people happy, and you'll make 'em good."
+
+"He has been very good to us," said Pamela. "I wasn't quite sure that he
+was really pleased, at first. It was very sweet of him to talk like
+that about me. I'm sure there are heaps of things you will do, darling,
+better than other people; and you know I'll do every mortal thing I can
+to help you. Uncle Bill shan't be disappointed in me."
+
+"Adorable angel," said Norman. "Father's as pleased as he can be about
+us. He said he saw it coming all the time. So did mother. It seems so
+extraordinary that _we_ didn't."
+
+The conversation then took a lighter turn. Pamela threw a quick look at
+him, and said: "Well, you were rather busy looking out for somebody
+else, weren't you? I often used to wonder who it would be, and I'm bound
+to say that I never thought it would be me. I can't be blamed. It would
+have looked so very unlikely."
+
+"Now, Pam, we've had that out before. If I hadn't told you all about all
+of them as they came and went--especially as they went--I might be
+inclined to wince at your reminder. But I suppose you only want me to
+say again that I could never have loved anybody but you for more than a
+few minutes, and that what I felt for all those charmers put together
+wasn't a drop in the ocean compared to what I feel for you. Oh, Lord!
+What a discovery it was! Pam darling, could I have just one? It would be
+such a refreshment."
+
+There was a short interlude, and then Pam said: "I don't think I really
+feel jealous about Margaret and Company--Unlimited. It will give us
+something to talk about in future years. Still, I'm glad that I didn't
+go about falling in love myself."
+
+"So am I, darling. But people would soon have begun to fall in love
+with you. There was poor old Jim already."
+
+She turned her head away, and a blush came to her face. "I'd rather that
+you didn't talk about him and me like that," she said. "For one thing,
+he will almost certainly marry Judith some day."
+
+"I suppose so. How are they getting on together? Has he been over since
+he came down?"
+
+"Yes. It's rather touching to see them. Poor little Ju! She has been
+frightfully sad, and she's kept it so much to herself. Jim seems to have
+just the right way with her. She talks about father to him, I know. And
+he was so nice about us, Norman. I think there's something really fine
+about Jim, and we've been rather prigs about him. He hasn't got our sort
+of interests; but Judith hasn't either, and nobody could call her dull.
+Jim is simple in a large sort of way; and it's a very good quality."
+
+"Yes, I think it is. And he _has_ behaved well, for it must have been a
+bit of a knock for him to come and find you and me as we were. You do
+think he and Judy will fix it up between them, do you?"
+
+"Not yet. But I think it will come. They're rather like you and me. Each
+of them is what the other wants, and they'll find it out all of a
+sudden."
+
+"What has become of Mr. Fred Comfrey, Pam? I haven't seen him since
+father found out what sort of a fellow he was, and wouldn't have
+anything more to do with him."
+
+Her face grew shadowed again. "He doesn't come here," she said. "Mrs.
+Comfrey thinks it is my fault. At least, she'll hardly speak to me; and
+I suppose it is that. I'm not sure that I ought not to have given him my
+answer myself, instead of leaving it to Daddy."
+
+"Oh, my dear child, it was infernal impudence of him to think about you
+at all--a creature like that!"
+
+"Well, I suppose you have always been right about him. But he showed his
+best side to me. There was a lot that was good and kind in him."
+
+"Nobody is all bad, I suppose; and even a beast like that rises to
+something, when he's thinking about somebody else, and not always about
+himself. The trouble is, though, that it doesn't always last. I've seen
+it in marriages made in a hurry during the war. What's so heavenly about
+us, Pam, is that we do know each other; and yet there's always something
+new, somehow. I don't believe there's anybody in the world loves
+somebody else more than I love you. And I love you more and more every
+day. I may have made one or two half-hearted experiments before, but
+there was never anything like this."
+
+"Not even when Margaret said 'Good-bye, Norman'?"
+
+"That was a thrill, I admit. But what a faint thrill, after all! Nothing
+like what I get every time you come into a room. But there's something
+more than thrills in it. The thrills are only the ripples on the
+surface. The real love is the quiet deep water underneath. That's what
+we've got, darling. It will last us all our lives."
+
+They had come down to Barton's Close, where the thick grass had already
+hidden all signs of the disturbance to which it had been subjected.
+They found a bank on the edge of it bright with primroses, upon which
+the sun was shining, and sat there for a time. Looking over the rich
+green carpet of the meadow, it was natural that they should fall into
+talk of the disturbances that had had their rise here; for there was no
+subject that they shirked, and this one had affected them deeply.
+
+"Of course it was nothing in itself," Norman said. "If it hadn't been
+for an accident here and there, they would have settled it at once.
+Father says that. It began with their writing letters to one another,
+instead of talking it over. Then when they did talk the quarrel had gone
+too far."
+
+"Does Uncle Bill talk about it still?"
+
+"He talked about it yesterday. He feels it very much still."
+
+"Poor Uncle Bill! But I've thought about it a lot, and I don't love him
+any less because of it. If he weren't sorry about it himself, I suppose
+it would make a difference. But I know he did love my darling Daddy;
+they loved one another underneath it all. They both knew it at the last.
+When father couldn't speak any more, and Uncle Bill took my hand in his,
+and said he would look after me and all of us, I could tell by the way
+he looked at him that that was what he wanted. Oh, they did love one
+another, I know. If only that quarrel hadn't come between them, almost
+at the last! Why do people quarrel who love one another?"
+
+"I think that we ought not to make too much of it, Pam darling. I've
+thought about it too. It's because poor Uncle Edmund died that it seems
+so important. If he had lived they would have made it up. They couldn't
+have helped themselves, because of what they really were to one another.
+Then it would all have been forgotten very quickly; and I should think
+they would both have been careful that it shouldn't happen again."
+
+"Yes, I dare say that's true. But it just shows that it doesn't do for
+people who love one another to let themselves quarrel at all. We never
+will, will we?"
+
+They agreed upon that, and upon many other things. Then they walked
+slowly back to the Hall together, hand in hand part of the way. Miss
+Baldwin, from her watch tower of the schoolroom window, saw them under
+the trees before they came out on to the lawn as separate units. She had
+seen few signs of the emotion she had craved for between them, and to
+catch that glimpse of them together pleased her. It was the right ending
+of the story whose vicissitudes she had watched with such interest. Its
+later chapters had been sadder than she had anticipated, and her
+sympathies had of late been more human than literary with the family
+with whom she lived. But the shadow of loss seemed to be lifting, in
+these sunny spring days. It was not forbidden to her now to weave her
+tales around them. Already she scented another absorbing romance to
+unfold itself before her eyes. And with this one, the interest of which
+she might have expected to come to an end with the approaching pealing
+of wedding bells, she found herself still looking forward. For if you
+could take leave of the heroes and heroines of fiction at the church
+door, with no wish to follow their fortunes further, it was not so with
+those with whom you had come to feel a living sympathy. For them a new
+story was beginning, from which as much happiness was to be looked for
+as from the one that had led up to it.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Hall and the Grange, by Archibald Marshall
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