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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2d94980 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #67606 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67606) diff --git a/old/67606-0.txt b/old/67606-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d71e591..0000000 --- a/old/67606-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5716 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Slaves of Society, by Allen Upward - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Slaves of Society - A Comedy in Covers - -Author: Allen Upward - -Release Date: March 11, 2022 [eBook #67606] - -Language: English - -Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, Access Services at Purdue - University Library, West Lafayette, Indiana, and the Online - Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This - file was produced from images generously made available by - The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SLAVES OF SOCIETY *** - - - - - - THE SLAVES - OF SOCIETY - - A Comedy in Covers - - _By_ THE MAN WHO - HEARD SOMETHING - - [Illustration] - - NEW YORK AND LONDON - HARPER & BROTHERS - 1900 - - - - -Copyright, 1900, by HARPER & BROTHERS. - -_All rights reserved._ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - SCENE PAGE - - I. A MOTHER’S CARES 1 - - II. THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE 19 - - III. THE SLAVE OF ALDERMAN DOBBIN 28 - - IV. THE NOTORIOUS BELLE YORKE 55 - - V. A PERSON OF IMPORTANCE 82 - - VI. WHAT PEOPLE SAID 98 - - VII. A QUESTION OF CHEMISTRY 115 - - VIII. CINDERELLA 128 - - IX. AND THE PRINCE 143 - - X. “A MARRIAGE HAS BEEN ARRANGED” 158 - - XI. “AND WILL SHORTLY TAKE PLACE” 172 - - XII. THE LONG ARM OF MR. DESPENCER 189 - - XIII. THE MARCHIONESS AT BAY 214 - - XIV. PISTOLS FOR TWO 224 - - XV. A MISFORTUNE FOR SOCIETY 237 - - - - -THE SLAVES OF SOCIETY - - - - -SCENE I - -A MOTHER’S CARES - - -“After all,” sighed the marchioness, as she conveyed a three-cornered -piece of muffin from the silver chafing-dish to her mouth, and nibbled -delicately at one of the corners--“after all, what are we but slaves of -society?” - -Mr. Despencer extended a hand almost as white and slender as the -marchioness’s own, and abstracted a small cube of sugar from the -porcelain basin, of the thinness and transparency of a sea-shell, on -the marchioness’s silver tray, while he meditated a becoming response. - -“Yes,” he exclaimed, giving his head a slow, mournful movement from -side to side, “you are right. We are no better off than prisoners on -the treadmill. Even you are but a bird of paradise held captive in a -gilded cage.” - -The bird of paradise removed the piece of muffin from its beak to -turn a pair of bright, steel-blue eyes on the speaker, gazing at him -for some moments as though in doubt whether to accept this beautiful -sentiment as a tribute or to rebuke it as a familiarity. - -The cage so feelingly referred to was one of a set of drawing-rooms on -the first floor of a mansion in Berkeley Square--that is to say, in -the heart of that restricted area within which society requires its -bond-servants to reside during the spring and early summer. The gilding -consisted in a mural decoration of the very latest and most artistic -design, representing a number of Japanese dragons going through a kind -of dragon drill, apparently adapted to develop their tail muscles -according to the system of Mr. Sandow; in curtains of lemon-colored -silk on each side of the window and other curtains of lemon-colored -plush across the doorways; in a carpet of that rich but chaotic pattern -which has been compared to the poetical style of the late Robert -Montgomery, and in a thicket of fantastic and inconvenient chairs, -of china-laden cabinets and palms in Satsuma jars, which would have -rendered it extremely hazardous for the gymnastic dragons to have come -down from the walls and transferred their exercises to the floor of the -apartment. - -The inhabitant of this dungeon was a handsome young woman of forty, -or possibly forty-five, with the fresh complexion and vivacious -expression of a girl, united with a certain massiveness of outline, the -inseparable distinction of the British matron. Just at this moment, -moreover, her features were hardened into that business-like aspect -which the British matron assumes when she is engaged in doing that duty -which England expects of her no less than of its sea-faring population. - -Her companion looked even younger than the marchioness. A rather pale -face, set off by a carefully cultivated black mustache, gave him that -air of concealed wickedness which women find so interesting. His attire -was a little too elegant to be in perfect taste. His bow was tied with -an artistic grace repugnant to the feelings of an English gentleman. -He was a typical specimen of that class of man whom men instinctively -taboo and women instinctively confide in; who are blackballed in the -best clubs and invited to all the best country-houses, who have no male -friends, and are on intimate terms with half our peeresses. Sometimes -these men end by getting found out, and sometimes they marry a dowager -countess with money--and a temper. As yet neither fate had overtaken -Mr. Despencer. - -The marchioness decided that her companion had been familiar. - -“Don’t be ridiculous!” she said, with some sharpness. “I sent for you -because I want your assistance.” - -Despencer meekly submitted to the reproof. - -“You know I am always at your disposal,” he murmured. - -The marchioness glanced at him with a questioning air, much as King -John may be supposed to have glanced at Hubert before proceeding to -introduce the subject of Prince Arthur’s eyes. - -“They tell me you are horribly wicked,” she remarked, in the tone of -one who pays a distinguished compliment, “so I feel I can rely on you.” - -“In that case I must positively ask you to go into another room,” -returned Despencer, with his best smile. “In your presence I find my -better instincts overpower me.” - -The marchioness leaned back in her chair, and half closed her eyes with -an expression of well-bred fatigue. - -“Please don’t begin to say clever things. I want to talk sensibly.” -She reopened her eyes. “You see, I can’t speak to the marquis -because--well, he is rather old-fashioned in some of his ideas; so I -have to fall back on you.” - -Despencer slightly shrugged his shoulders. - -“Lord Severn is certainly a trifle out of date. He belongs to the -solid-tire period.” - -“Exactly!” exclaimed the marchioness, with some eagerness. The next -moment she recollected herself and frowned. Even the fireside cat will -sometimes protrude its claws from under their velvet caps, and the -marchioness was not quite sure that she had not felt a scratch. She -frowned beautifully--the marchioness’s frown was celebrated. Then she -observed: “Though I think it is extremely impertinent of you to say so. -Please to remember that the marquis is my husband.” - -“Ah! to be sure he is. I apologize. It is so difficult to keep in mind -these legal distinctions.” - -This time the marchioness felt certain she had been scratched. She -glanced furtively at her companion, who preserved the composure of -entire innocence as he set down his empty teacup on a small ebony -stool, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and made himself more at ease by -drawing back into his chair and crossing his superbly trousered legs. -After a little pause, she asked suddenly: - -“You know Mr. Hammond?” - -“No.” The word was spoken with a touch of disdain. - -“Not know Mr. Hammond! Why, I thought Hammond’s ales were drunk in all -the clubs?” - -“It doesn’t follow that you know a man because you drink his beer. But -I have heard of him. Isn’t he rather an outsider?” - -The marchioness looked indignant. - -“He is run after by all the best people,” she remonstrated. - -“Yes, but is he worth it?” returned Despencer. - -“He is worth two millions,” retorted the marchioness. - -Despencer sat up in his chair and glanced at her. - -“Rather a loud kind of man, they tell me,” he observed. - -“They tell me it is the thing to be loud now,” said his companion. - -“The sort of man that takes ballet-girls to Richmond?” - -“The sort of man that every mother in England would welcome as a -son-in-law.” - -Despencer smiled compassionately and leaned back in his chair again. - -“Oh, quite so. There could be no possible objection to him as a -son-in-law. I thought you meant as an acquaintance.” - -“Don’t be so insolent,” said the marchioness; “but listen. A man like -that ought to marry, and to marry well. If he were to fall into the -clutches of some vulgar adventuress, I should regard it as a misfortune -for society.” - -“This is very noble of you,” murmured her companion. - -She went on: “We are all so wretchedly poor in society now that we -can’t afford to lose two millions. Besides, with his money and a seat -in Parliament, they are sure to make him a peer.” - -“I should think that very likely. The House of Lords is the one club in -London where you can’t be blackballed.” - -The marchioness condescended to smile. - -“How wretchedly jealous and spiteful you are to-day! To come to the -point. I have determined to do my duty to society by marrying Victoria -to this man.” - -“Congratulations! Let me see, ought I to call you a Spartan mother, or -a Roman one? I really forget.” - -The marchioness raised her hand in languid remonstrance. - -“I begged you just now not to be clever. Unfortunately, there is an -obstacle in the way.” - -“Ah! I think I have heard something about a gallant cousin?” Despencer -suggested. - -“No, no. Victoria has far too much sense for that sort of thing. -Besides, I don’t allow Gerald here now. No, the obstacle I mean is not -a man, but a woman.” - -“Ah! now I see it is going to be serious. Who is she?” - -“Belle Yorke.” - -“Belle Yorke!” Even Despencer’s careful training did not enable him -to hide his stupefaction on hearing the name. “The celebrated Belle -Yorke?” he asked, staring hard at the marchioness. - -“The notorious Belle Yorke,” was the scornful answer. “I understand she -is all the rage at the music-halls just now, and Mr. Hammond is among -her admirers.” - -“He is not the only one,” said Despencer, dryly. - -“Why do you look like that?” demanded the marchioness. “Is there some -mystery about Belle Yorke?” - -“Oh no! Oh, dear no! Very little mystery, I should say,” and Despencer -smiled. - -The marchioness detected a history in the smile. - -“Then there is some scandal?” she asked, eagerly, lowering her voice as -people do when they do not wish to be overheard by their conscience. “I -felt sure of it. I read in a paper only the other day that all those -people on the stage were alike. Ahem! Mr. Despencer--what do people -_say_?” - -Despencer gave another light shrug. He shrugged consummately. -Despencer’s shrugs were as celebrated as the marchioness’s frowns. - -“What do people generally say? It is the usual story: the usual little -cottage at Hammersmith, the usual widowed mother, and the usual friend -who pays the rent.” - -The marchioness’s look of horror would have deceived experts. - -“How utterly depraved and shocking! I never dreamed it was so bad as -that! I almost wish you hadn’t told me anything about it. Ahem! Mr. -Despencer--what do they say is the friend’s name?” - -“Oh, really!” For a moment Despencer looked startled, then he smiled -queerly. “That is not at all a nice question. I really don’t think you -ought to ask me that. I have such a dislike for scandal.” - -“So have I, except when I am listening to it in the interest of -propriety,” was the firm answer. “I insist on knowing the friend’s -name.” - -“Well, I have heard the lease is in the name of a Mr. Brown.” - -“Brown? Nonsense! That must be an assumed name.” - -“Very likely. In these cases I believe it is not usual to put the -gentleman’s real name in the lease.” - -“Then--then--Mr. Despencer, what is the real name?” - -“Oh, marchioness!” Despencer drew back and shook his head -reproachfully. “Really, you will bore me if you go on. I couldn’t even -guess the gentleman’s real name. It might be anything--Smith, or Jones, -or President Kruger. It might be Hammond.” - -The marchioness shook her head with conviction. - -“It isn’t Hammond. I see you don’t understand the situation.” An -ironical smile played for a moment on her companion’s face. “No, if it -were only idle folly, I should try to shut my eyes to it. But I haven’t -told you the worst. I hear that Mr. Hammond’s admiration for this -person is perfectly honorable.” - -“That does sound bad!” Despencer returned, gravely. “But I warned you -against the man. I told you he was an outsider.” - -“You are not to be so flippant,” said the marchioness, crossly. -“Remember, you are talking to a mother whose child’s happiness is at -stake, and tell me what I am to do. You see, the poor man evidently -believes that this girl is perfectly proper.” - -“Oh, he won’t believe _that_ long, you may be quite sure.” - -“The question is, who will undertake to open his eyes? It will really -be doing him a kindness.” - -“Yes; but people are so ungrateful for kindness,” objected the other. -“Does this man Hammond know the marquis?” he asked, after a little -hesitation. - -“I expect so. But it is quite useless to think of him. He mustn’t be -brought into it.” - -Despencer smiled discreetly, as if he thought it might be rather -difficult to keep the marquis out. - -“Now, Mr. Despencer, you are my only hope,” pursued the marchioness. “I -appeal to you in the interests of society.” - -“You know I am your slave, marchioness. But it will be a difficult -thing to manage. I almost think--” - -Despencer broke off, and gazed thoughtfully at his companion. - -“Well, what is it? What do you suggest?” - -“I fancy that the best thing you can do, if you wish to bring matters -to a head, is to have Miss Yorke here.” - -“Mr. Despencer!” - -“Why not? You see, it isn’t as though she weren’t quite respectable. -There may be rumors about her, but then there are rumors about -everybody. If we paid attention to rumors, we should all have to shut -ourselves up like hermits; except you, there is not a woman in London -whom I could visit. As long as nothing is _known_ about her, you will -be quite safe in having her here--of course, I mean professionally.” - -The marchioness looked a little relieved. - -“That doesn’t sound quite so bad,” she admitted. “I could have her -at my concert, and let her sing something. I suppose she wouldn’t be -altogether too frightfully improper?” - -“Oh, dear no! you needn’t fear anything of that kind. Improper songs -are quite gone out at the halls now. All Belle Yorke’s are about -seamstresses who starve to death in the East End, and ragged boys who -insist on taking off their jackets to wrap them round their little -sisters on doorsteps in the snow. She makes people cry like anything. I -have seen a stockbroker sobbing in the stalls of the Empire as if his -heart would break when the ragged boy gets frozen to death, and the -little sister wonders why he doesn’t answer her any more.” - -“How sweetly touching! I shall insist on her singing that one here. I -am sure I shall cry.” The marchioness lifted a small gold watch, the -size of a bean, that swung from a brooch on her left shoulder. “Can you -reach the bell? I must speak to Victoria before anybody comes.” - -Despencer rose, and walked across the room to press a small malachite -knob placed in the wall beside the fireplace, in accordance with -that mysterious law of connection which every one must have observed, -though we believe it has never been decided whether the bell is an -acquired characteristic of the fireplace, or the fireplace an acquired -characteristic of the bell. - -A perfectly constructed machine, bearing considerable resemblance to -a human being, attired in a chocolate-colored suit relieved with pink -braid, opened the door, and glided noiselessly into the room, stopping -with a slight jerk, as though the clockwork had run down, at about -three paces inside. - -“That is settled, then,” the marchioness was saying when the machine -entered. “I shall get her here, and see what she is like.” Her ladyship -turned to the machine. “Go and find Lady Victoria, and tell her I want -to speak to her.” - -The machine made an inclination, revolved on its castors, and -noiselessly disappeared. The marchioness continued: - -“I must have Mr. Hammond here as well, I suppose?” - -“That is indispensable,” was the answer. “And, by the way, I think it -will be better not to say anything beforehand to Lord Severn.” - -The marchioness looked surprised. - -“Why?” she demanded. - -Despencer gave another shrug. - -“I thought we agreed just now that he was a trifle Early Victorian in -some of his ideas. He may have heard the rumors, you know.” - -The marchioness had caught a step approaching. She raised her hand with -a warning gesture. - -“Not a word before Victoria!” - - - - -SCENE II - -THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE - - -While the marchioness was confiding her maternal anxieties to Mr. -Despencer’s sympathetic ear, her daughter, Lady Victoria Mauleverer, -was engaged in calmly defying her affectionate parent’s behests. - -She was now in the adjoining room; but the dust which yet lingered -on her small and delicately made shoes of dark green kid would have -revealed to the eye of one of those marvels of astuteness who formerly -flourished, and, for aught we know, flourish still in the pages of the -popular monthlies, that she had recently returned from out of doors. -Her perfectly plain skirt, not quite long enough to conceal the shoes -already mentioned, might have suggested further that the excursion -had not been wholly unconnected with a bicycle. Further incriminating -evidence was supplied by a dark cloth jacket, similar in design to that -worn by the steward on board a yacht, but ornamented with a number of -oxidized steel buttons of the size of crown pieces, and by a straw hat -indistinguishable from those ordinarily worn by undergraduates. - -In spite of these evidences of that removal of the barrier between the -sexes which is the crowning triumph of our civilization, Lady Victoria -was a most attractive girl. She was not quite so youthful as the -marchioness, but that could hardly have been expected. At twenty, one -is usually a hardened woman of the world; at forty, one begins to be an -innocent little thing. - -We have hinted that Lady Victoria had just returned from a bicycle -ride. It is necessary to add that she had not returned alone. - -The companion who had escorted her, not only to the door of the house, -but up-stairs, to that of the drawing-room, was a tall, fine-looking -man of twenty-eight or thirty, whose whole surface, from his boots to -his forehead, gleamed with that excess of physical polish which is the -religion of the British soldier. It is not the only religion which -demands some intellectual sacrifice on the part of its votaries. - -As soon as the two were inside the room, Lady Victoria turned to her -companion. - -“How can you be so imprudent, Gerald! Do you know my mother is in the -next room?” - -Captain Mauleverer walked boldly forward, and sat down without waiting -to be asked. - -“Certainly,” he answered, coolly. “That is the reason why I have come -into this room. It was not my aunt whom I wanted to see. You know, we -are barely on speaking terms.” - -“You needn’t tell me that. I assure you my mother has taken good care -to let me know her opinion of you. I warn you plainly that if she -comes in and finds you here, I shall abandon you to her.” - -Captain Mauleverer tried to look unconcerned. - -“I didn’t think you were such a coward as that, Vick,” he remonstrated. -“But, after all, I don’t see that I have done anything so very -dreadful. She can’t forbid me the house altogether, you know. I’m her -own husband’s nephew.” - -Lady Victoria smiled with good-natured scorn. - -“That’s nothing. You don’t know my mother. She wouldn’t hesitate to -forbid her husband the house, if she wanted to. Husbands occupy a very -uncertain position in society nowadays; they are only tolerated.” - -“Is that a warning for me, I wonder?” - -Something in her cousin’s tone, and the look with which he accompanied -the question, brought out an impatient frown on Victoria’s face. She -walked over to the window, and stood tapping her foot against the -floor. - -“Don’t be ridiculous, Gerald! You know as well as I do that it is not -the slightest use for this sort of thing to go on.” - -She kept her back turned on him while she spoke. There was a touch of -softness in his voice as he answered: - -“It has gone on a long time, Vick, hasn’t it?” - -“A great deal too long,” was the reply, spoken with decision. “You know -it is perfectly hopeless. You can’t afford me; I have told you so over -and over again. Why on earth don’t you go and invest yourself in a -pork-butcher’s daughter from Chicago, like everybody else?” - -She turned on him with some fierceness as she put the question. The -captain looked up at her reproachfully as he exclaimed: - -“What a hateful girl you are to talk like that! You know perfectly well -that you love me.” - -“Don’t be vulgar, Gerald!” was the sharp rebuke. “What has that to do -with the question? You know I am for sale, just like the Zulu women. I -don’t know exactly how many cows I am worth, but I know I am one of the -most expensive girls in London.” - -Captain Mauleverer pulled his mustache, gazing at her with -ill-concealed admiration. - -“Well, anyway, that is no reason why I shouldn’t look in at the -shop-window,” he retorted, cheerfully. - -It was at this moment that the machine despatched by the marchioness -entered the room to summon Victoria to her mother’s presence. - -“Is there any one with the marchioness?” she inquired. - -The machine believed that Mr. Despencer was with her ladyship. - -“Very good; I’ll come.” - -As soon as the machine had withdrawn to its subterranean abode, Captain -Mauleverer asked, in the tone of a man who really desires information: - -“Who on earth _is_ that man?” - -Victoria looked blandly surprised. - -“Mr. Despencer, do you mean? I haven’t the slightest idea.” - -It was the captain’s turn to look surprised. - -“Why, I thought he was constantly in the house.” - -Victoria lifted her shoulders with fine disgust. - -“Yes, but I don’t know him. He is not anybody, you know. I call him the -Ladies’ Journal. He is not received; he circulates. My mother takes him -in, but I don’t.” - -“Is he one of those writing chaps?” inquired the captain, with military -contempt. - -“I dare say. He may be the Poet Laureate for aught I know. But you must -really go away now, or there will be a row.” - -“And when may I come back?” - -“It would be much better if you didn’t come back at all.” - -Captain Mauleverer shook his head as he rose reluctantly. - -“It’s no good talking like that, Vick. You have got to put up with me, -so you may as well make the best of it.” - -“Gerald! what nonsense!” Victoria spoke as though she were exceedingly -cross. “Go away directly; do you hear?” - -“You haven’t told me when I may see you again yet,” returned the -obstinate Gerald. - -“I am not going to do anything of the kind.” - -“Then I shall stay here and compromise you,” said Gerald, preparing to -sit down again. - -“Well”--she lowered her voice, with a glance towards the door of -communication with the next room--“my mother has a concert on Thursday -night.” - -Captain Mauleverer brightened up. - -“But if you come to it, I sha’n’t let you speak to me.” - -“Won’t you?” He walked slowly towards her. - -As Captain Mauleverer went out of the room by one door to go -down-stairs and out of the house, Lady Victoria went through the other -into the presence of her mother and Mr. Despencer. - - - - -SCENE III - -THE SLAVE OF ALDERMAN DOBBIN - - -“Yes, mother?” - -Lady Victoria bowed slightly to Despencer, who had risen at her -entrance, and walked across to where the marchioness was seated. - -The marchioness gazed at her daughter as if she had been a -chimney-sweeper. - -“You dreadful child! You know this is my day, and you come in like -that! Have you no regard for people’s feelings?” - -Victoria smiled disdainfully. - -“I suppose you mean Mr. Despencer’s feelings?” she observed. - -“I mean the feelings of society,” returned her mother sternly. “You are -more like an anarchist than a well-bred girl.” - -Lady Victoria indulged in the tiniest of yawns. - -“I think the anarchists are very interesting people,” she remarked. -“If it weren’t for them, there would be nothing to read about in the -papers.” - -“There would be China,” returned the marchioness in a shocked voice. - -The marchioness considered herself a politician. Her husband had once -been Master of the Deerhounds. - -“Bother China!” said Lady Victoria, dropping into a chair. “Is that -what you sent for me about?” - -The marchioness raised her eyes in mute appeal to the ceiling. - -“I sent for you because I wanted to speak to you privately before -anybody comes.” - -Despencer, who had been about to sit down again, stood up, and moved -towards the door. The marchioness recalled him. - -“Where are you going?” - -“I thought you wanted to be alone.” - -“Don’t be absurd! I don’t count you.” - -“Perhaps Lady Victoria does,” Despencer suggested, with a rather -nervous glance in her direction. - -Lady Victoria did not condescend to return the look. - -“Pray, don’t trouble yourself about me, Mr. Despencer,” she said, -negligently. “I assure you I never know that you are in the room.” - -“Don’t be rude, Victoria!” said her mother, more crossly than she had -spoken yet. “Mr. Despencer is one of your best friends.” - -“I suppose that means he has been saying something unpleasant about -me?” was the retort. - -Despencer ventured to interpose. - -“I may be a poet, but my imagination doesn’t carry me so far as that,” -he said, in his most insinuating tones. - -Lady Victoria gave him one crushing look, and turned to the marchioness. - -“My dear mother, I wish you wouldn’t train Mr. Despencer to say these -silly things. Surely he is not a suitor for my hand?” - -“Be quiet, Victoria!” said her indignant parent. “From the way you -treat him he might be your husband. But I’m sure it isn’t a thing for -you to joke about. Do you remember that this is your third season, and -that you are nearly twenty?” - -Her daughter smiled in good-tempered derision. - -“I think, as there is only Mr. Despencer here, I may as well remember -that it is my fourth season, and that I am over twenty-one.” - -The marchioness passed over the correction. - -“All the more reason that you should seriously consider your position. -The question is whether you really intend to be married or not.” - -“Surely it isn’t a question of my intentions. You had better ask the -men theirs. I presume they know I am in stock by this time.” - -“It is idle to talk like that. I have offered you three men already, -and you found fault with each of them.” The marchioness spoke with real -feeling. “There was Sir Humphrey Bewley, a most eligible man, who quite -raved about you. You complained that he was too old.” - -“Old! He was prehistoric. He used to get excited about the Conquest.” - -“Then you shouldn’t have encouraged him. You let him spend a fortune in -jewelry for you.” - -“That was because I mistook his intentions. I thought he wanted to -adopt me.” - -The marchioness gasped. - -“Don’t talk like that! Then there was the Earl of Mullet. You objected -to him because he was a Scotchman.” - -“And took snuff. Put down the snuff.” - -“He wouldn’t have made you take it. And last year you refused Mr. -Jacobson, whose father owns three gold mines. You said he was a Jew.” - -“No, excuse me, I merely said his father had been one.” - -The marchioness shook herself impatiently. - -“The Jews are most respectable,” she proclaimed, “when they are rich -enough. They go everywhere.” - -“Except to the Holy Land, marchioness.” - -The interruption came from Despencer. If he threw in the remark with -the hope of propitiating Lady Victoria it was a failure. That young -lady took not the slightest notice. Her mother glared at the traitor -for an instant, and continued as though he had not spoken. - -“It is high time you made up your mind. Now, there is Mr. Hammond, -who has promised to come here this afternoon. He has been paying you -attentions for some time. You can’t say anything against him.” - -Victoria had changed color slightly at the mention of this name. But -she responded, in the same tone of languid indifference: - -“I have nothing to say against him, except that so far his intentions -have not been very oppressive. He has danced with me three times, and -he once peeled me an orange, but you can hardly found a breach of -promise case on that.” - -“I’m not sure,” ventured the unabashed Despencer. “I fancy something -might be made out of the orange.” - -Before the marchioness could proceed with her lecture, the door opened, -and the voice of the machine announced, “Mr. Hammond!” - -“Bother the man!” muttered the marchioness, impatiently, as she rose to -receive him. “He is a quarter of an hour too soon. This is so good of -you!” she exclaimed, in an altered voice, as the form of the visitor -appeared in the doorway. - -Mr. Hammond entered. - -About his personal appearance there was nothing remarkable. It is bad -form to look remarkable, and much of John Hammond’s life had been -devoted to avoiding everything in the way of bad form. His attire was -in every respect a perfect replica of that of any other hundred men to -be met between Waterloo Place and Hyde Park Corner of an afternoon in -the London season. He was clean-shaven, and his clear-cut features were -those of an able man, not yet entered upon middle age, who has been -accustomed to have the world at his feet, and whose only anxieties have -been caused to him by his own ambition. - -John Hammond was a favorable representative of the class which is -gradually replacing the last remains of our feudal aristocracy. The -Hammond fortune had been created by his father, so that he was not -a self-made man. In the sense in which the word is used to-day, he -was undoubtedly a gentleman. He had been educated at the best public -school--that is to say, the most expensive--in England, and in the most -fashionable college of the most fashionable university. He had been -in the best set, both at school and at college, an advantage which -his smartness as a wicket-keeper and his inherited millions perhaps -contributed about equally to procure. He had taken a good degree; he -now took a cold bath every morning, rode to hounds, and sat in the -House of Commons as a Conservative. - -But John Hammond lacked one thing, which neither money nor merit could -procure. He had not been born and reared in an ancestral mansion, built -in the days of the Tudors or the Stuarts, on the site of a Norman keep. -He had not wandered as a child through dusty galleries from whose -oak-panelled walls looked down the portraits of dead generations of his -name. He had not heard from his nurse the story of the loyal ancestor -who fought for King Charles, and of the wicked ancestor who killed his -rival in a duel, and of the beautiful ancestress in whose praise poems -had been written by Waller or by Davenant. He had not roamed as a boy -through hereditary woodlands, and bullied the keepers’ sons whose -forefathers had served his from time immemorial. He had not grown up -with the feeling in his blood that all this was part of him, and he was -part and lord of it. He was only lord of a brewery, in which his father -had once brewed with his own hands. - -If John Hammond had been brought up in that other environment, he might -not have set store by it. If his lot had not cast him among those to -whom such things were matter of course he might not have felt the -deprivation. He knew well enough that he had advantages which, in the -world’s estimation, far outweighed those which he was without. He knew -that he lived in an age when the homage which birth pays to wealth is -open and unashamed. He had seen peers bringing their wives to wait in -the halls of African Jews. He had heard of mysterious checks received -by men of Norman lineage from millionaires who sprang up in a night -like monstrous toadstools, and decayed, leaving the air poisoned all -around them. He had seen the noblest blood of England in the dock, and -the oldest blood of Scotland warned off the turf. - -His reason told him that he was immensely the superior of such men; but -no man’s beliefs, any more than his actions, are governed by reason. -The acute logician who has failed to prove to himself the existence -of a God takes refuge in the infallibility of a man. John Hammond’s -instinct told him that the boasts of low-born poets were not altogether -truth, that the blood of the Howards did not lose all its virtues even -in the veins of sots and slaves, that a gentleman was as much above -a king’s might as an honest man was, and that neither kind heart nor -simple faith could take the place of one drop of Norman blood. - -Every man’s character has its weak spot, and this was the weak spot -in John Hammond’s. There were moments when he despised himself for -the halo with which his imagination encircled the heads of the caste -into which he had not been born. There were other moments when he felt -inclined to marry the Lady Victoria Mauleverer. - -Mr. Hammond entered. - -“I’m afraid you find me brutally punctual, marchioness,” he said, in -a vigorous, masculine voice that seemed to go through the atmosphere -of the drawing-room like a breath of fresh air. “That is the worst of -business habits. I wanted to wait down in the hall till somebody else -came, but they wouldn’t let me.” - -The marchioness smiled graciously, with a horrible inward misgiving -that Mr. Hammond had overheard her rash protest against his arrival. - -“But you needn’t talk to me unless you like,” he added, remorselessly, -as he finished shaking hands with the two women. “I will sit still and -look at photographs. Is this a new one of Lord Severn?” - -“You are not a moment too soon,” the dismayed marchioness hastened to -say. “Do you know Mr. Cyril Despencer, Mr. Hammond?” The two men bowed -with mutual distrust. “I assure you we were absolutely dying when you -came.” - -“Really! I must apply for a medal from the Royal Humane Society for -saving life.” He turned to Victoria, who had dropped into her chair -again with an elaborate assumption of being bored to distraction. “Lady -Victoria, you are looking remarkably well for a corpse.” - -He laid down the marquis’s photograph, and placed himself in a chair -beside the young woman. She barely raised her head. - -“Thanks. I will tell my maid what you say. She will be glad of a little -encouragement, poor thing!” - -The marchioness gave a low moan. - -“Victoria! I hope you are accustomed to the modern girl, Mr. Hammond.” - -“The modern girl is my particular hobby,” was the grave answer. “I -may say that I collect her. I keep an album at home, in which I get -young ladies to record their most secret thoughts and yearnings for my -especial benefit. It is such interesting reading.” He turned again to -the scornful beauty beside him. “Mayn’t I put you in my album?” - -“I hardly know. I am afraid I should shock you; I am so perfectly -depraved,” drawled Victoria. “You would have to keep me apart, like -those very select works of which only a hundred copies are printed on -hand-made paper and sold by private subscription to scholars.” - -“Victoria!” There was a note of real distress in the marchioness’s -voice. “What are you talking about?” - -“I dare say Mr. Hammond knows,” was the reply, in the same unmoved tone. - -“Perhaps Mr. Hammond collects those works as well. They are generally -written by young ladies,” Despencer interposed. - -Hammond turned and looked at him as if a dog had barked. - -“Yes; but I think I have got a volume of yours on the same shelf, if -you are the author of _Fig Leaves_.” - -Despencer became loftily indifferent. - -“I remember writing a book with that name when I was a boy. Do people -still read it?” - -“No; but they still look at the illustrations.” - -The marchioness came to the rescue of her satellite. - -“Ah! but Mr. Despencer has reformed since then,” she said, with -unction. “He is writing a novel in favor of marriage.” - -“How daring!” Hammond answered. “Of course it will be refused by the -libraries.” - -“Come, I sha’n’t allow you to say that marriage is improper,” said the -marchioness, with an earnestness that was slightly clumsy. “We still -marry in society.” - -“You don’t say so!” Hammond pretended to exclaim. “I fancied it had -quite gone out. Isn’t it considered a rather middle-class thing to do?” - -The marchioness refused to be baffled. - -“How horrid and cynical of you to talk like that! You know that you -ought to get married yourself. Society expects it of you.” - -Hammond shook his head. - -“My dear marchioness, the views of society are the last thing I think -of considering. My life is ordered by the views of Alderman Dobbin.” - -“Alderman Dobbin? That person you asked me to send a card to? Who is -he?” - -“Really, this ignorance is discreditable to you, marchioness. Alderman -Dobbin is the autocrat of the constituency I have the honor to -represent, the Chairman of the Tooting Conservative Association. In me -you behold Alderman Dobbin’s slave. He is my moral mentor and political -taskmaster. Since I sat for Tooting I have ceased to be a free citizen -with thoughts or ideas of my own. I am a mere puppet, the strings of -which are pulled by him. The lips may be the lips of Hammond, but the -voice is the voice of Alderman Dobbin.” - -Lady Victoria raised her head with an appearance of interest during -this speech. She now remarked: - -“From what you say, I am sure he is a charming person. You have made me -quite in love with him. I shall flirt with him when he comes.” - -Hammond gazed at her with stern reproach. - -“Lady Victoria, you commit yourself most painfully. Alderman Dobbin -is married. Alderman Dobbin is the father of a large family. Alderman -Dobbin, moreover, is a church-warden, and in the High Street of Tooting -the sinner trembles when he passes the shop which bears Alderman -Dobbin’s name and superscription.” - -“Don’t you see that you are simply making me more determined by all -this?” returned Victoria. “I shall feel like the loreley, or whatever -they call it, luring the well-conducted fisherman to his destruction.” - -“Did you say he kept a shop?” put in the marchioness, who already began -to see in the alderman a possible ally. “What does he sell?” - -“Boots. Since I was returned for Tooting my unworthy feet have been -clothed in Alderman Dobbin’s handiwork. The shoes which I have on are -made of a substance which he supposes to be patent leather. They are -his choice, not mine. I am as wax in his hands. If he required me to -wear Wellingtons, I should obey. At his bidding I have changed my -tailor and discharged my groom; and if ever I want to choose a wife I -shall first have to ask Alderman Dobbin’s consent.” - -“I have no doubt he is a very sensible man, and you could not do -better than take his advice,” said the marchioness, who was quite -serious. “I am very glad he is coming here. We don’t see nearly enough -of the--er--the other classes. When my husband was Master of the -Deerhounds, I once gave a thing they called a Primrose Tea down at our -place in Worcestershire, but I didn’t speak to any of the creatures -that came to it, except one dreadful person, who, they told me, was -a justice of the peace. He called me ‘My lady,’ exactly like that -delightful character who wants to murder everybody in one of somebody’s -novels.” - -“I expect the alderman will call you ‘ma’am,’” observed Hammond, -reflectively. - -“I once knew a solicitor in a Welsh town,” said Despencer, slowly, -“where they had just elected a peer of royal descent as mayor, and this -solicitor urged that they should return another solicitor, who happened -to be a Jubilee knight, to the town council, in order that his lordship -might have some one of his own rank to talk to.” - -This time it was the marchioness who administered a snub to the unlucky -speaker. She observed severely: - -“As soon as any gentleman, in whatever position, has received the -accolade of his sovereign, he ceases, in my opinion, to be a proper -subject for ridicule.” - -Just as this rebuke was ended the door opened quickly, and a small, -insignificant-looking man in a rather shabby lounge suit strolled into -the room. On catching sight of the group round the marchioness he -stopped short, and looked as if meditating flight. - -The marchioness promptly took him into custody. - -“Pray come in, George! This is quite too charmingly domestic and -suburban,” she observed, addressing the company generally. “My husband -has actually come home to tea.” - -The Marquis of Severn, who was generally supposed to haunt a small dark -room somewhere near the kitchen stairs, called by courtesy the library, -was plainly disconcerted by the position in which he found himself. - -“I’m really very sorry, Jane; but I didn’t know you had a party on.” -By this time he had succeeded in recognizing the two men. He gave -Despencer a careless nod, and walked across the room to shake hands -with Hammond. “How d’ye do? I see you know my women,” he remarked. - -“My dear father,” Victoria remonstrated, “if you are not careful you -will wake up some day and find yourself covered with moss. Mr. Hammond -and I are all but engaged.” - -“Victoria!” came in tones of stifled anguish from the marchioness. - -“Don’t you believe her, Severn,” laughed Hammond. “I haven’t given your -daughter the slightest encouragement--as yet.” - -“Well, you should have my consent, if it counted for anything,” said -the marquis, beginning to make his retreat from the room. - -Again his wife’s voice arrested him. - -“George, now you have come in, you must stay, you know. I should -consider it very marked if you went away.” - -“You don’t want me, Jane; I should only be in the way,” he objected, -feebly. - -“You underrate your social powers, George. Besides, I don’t ask you to -talk to any one. I only want you to show yourself.” - -“If that’s all, I’m sure I needn’t stay. But I leave you my photograph.” - -With these words Lord Severn made a bolt for it, and succeeded in -getting out of hearing before his wife could launch a fresh injunction. - -The marchioness bit her lip in some embarrassment. Despencer caught her -eye and managed to infuse a certain meaning into his look, as he asked -aloud: - -“Who are you going to have to sing on Thursday night?” - -The marchioness took her cue with the dexterity of an old diplomatist. -She leaned back in her chair with an air of utter unconcern, as she -responded: - -“I have almost forgotten. Some people they recommended to me at the -music-seller’s.” She raised her hand to her brow, as though studying to -recollect. “Let me see. Oh yes, there is one woman who I believe is -perfectly charming. They told me that at the music-halls all the young -men were dying for her.” - -Hammond moved his head rather abruptly to look at the speaker. - -“Do you remember her name?” he asked. - -“I think she calls herself Belle Yorke. Why, have you seen her?” - -The marchioness’s expression was one of innocent surprise at the strong -interest plainly depicted on her listener’s countenance. - -Before he could reply to her, the conversation was again interrupted. -The machine had brought a Dowager Lady Rollox and an Honorable Edith -Rollox to see his mistress. - -The marchioness seized the occasion with the instinct of a match-maker. - -“Come and help me to talk to these stupid people,” she breathed -hurriedly in Despencer’s ear, as she rose and went to meet the -newcomers. Despencer meekly obeyed. - -The little piece of by-play between her mother and Despencer had not -been lost on the Lady Victoria Mauleverer. As soon as she and Hammond -were left together she inquired, with an air of doubt: - -“Do you know anything about this Belle Yorke?” - -Hammond roused himself with a start from his reflections. - -“I? Belle Yorke? Yes, yes. I know something about her.” - -“I hope there’s nothing wrong about her coming here?” pursued Victoria, -with superb coolness. “She won’t do anything dreadful, will she?” - -Hammond braced himself up. - -“I have the honor of being a friend of Miss Yorke’s, and I respect her -as much as any other lady of my acquaintance,” he said firmly. - -“I beg your pardon,” Victoria said, lightly. “I only asked because my -mother is so very indiscreet. She makes me quite giddy sometimes. One -meets such very queer people in this house--the Ladies’ Journal, for -instance.” - -“Meaning?” - -“Oh, don’t you know? It’s what we call Mr. Despencer behind his back. -He is so well informed, you know, on certain subjects.” - -“I wonder what you call me behind my back.” - -“Oh, we think very highly of you, I can tell you. I believe my mother -is quite anxious that I should marry you.” - -“Let me see, I rather fancy I am engaged just now, but I shall be -charmed to break it off.” - -“I hope Alderman Dobbin will approve of me.” - -Hammond affected to shake his head in doubt. - -“You will have to satisfy him as to your moral character.” - -“That will be rather difficult,” Victoria admitted. “Perhaps you had -better not let him know that I cycle.” She glanced down at her costume -as she spoke. “But I must really go and put on decent things before -anybody else comes, or the alderman may hear of it. We shall see you at -the concert, I suppose?” - -“Yes, and the alderman,” said Hammond. - -He was slipping away a few minutes later, when he found himself -intercepted in the doorway by Despencer. - -Despencer addressed him in a confidential tone. - -“I say, you heard what the marchioness said just now. Do you think any -one ought to give a hint to Lord Severn?” - -“Why, what about?” asked Hammond, surprised. - -“About Belle Yorke. She oughtn’t to come here, you know.” - -“Why not?” demanded Hammond, frowning angrily. - -“Didn’t you know?” Despencer’s expression became that of a man who -finds he has innocently committed himself. “Perhaps I ought not to have -spoken to you about it; but I thought the story was public property.” - -“What story? I wish you would speak out.” - -Despencer glanced round cautiously, and lowered his voice. - -“Of course it may be only idle rumor. But they say that she is living -under his protection.” - -“That is false!” said Hammond. - - - - -SCENE IV - -THE NOTORIOUS BELLE YORKE - - -Miss Yorke was out, but the servant, whose dishevelled coiffure -indicated that she had been interrupted in the midst of her afternoon -toilette, thought that Miss Yorke would be in directly. Would the -gentleman like to step in and wait? - -The gentleman accepted the invitation, giving his name as Hammond. He -found himself in one of those curious apartments characteristic of the -suburbs of London, and known as parlors, a word believed to be derived -from the French. Like the rooms of state in Buckingham Palace, the -parlor does not enter into the daily life of the household, but is -reserved for occasions of ceremony, and more particularly, as its name -indicates to the learned, for interviews with visitors. The parlor of -the notorious Belle Yorke was more old-fashioned in appearance than -most rooms of its class. The furniture was veneered in rosewood. There -was a round table in the centre, covered with a cloth over which the -deadly gift-book and the paralyzing parlor-game were disposed with a -carelessness which spoke of greater care. There was a sofa, attired -in a chintz dressing-gown. There were two easy-chairs flanking the -fireplace, one with arms for the gentleman, and one without for the -lady, as in old crinoline days, and there were six little chairs to -match, all irresistibly suggestive of one of those ancient tombs on -which the father and mother are represented kneeling opposite each -other, each with a row of children behind. There was a species of -disguised wash-stand, called a chiffonnier, ranged against one side of -the room, and a piano against another. The walls were hung with prints, -chiefly Scriptural subjects, among which the place of honor was taken -by an engraving representing the marriage of the Prince and Princess of -Wales. It was a scene of primeval simplicity and Nonconformist peace. - -Hammond looked about him with a sense of intrusion, as he found himself -for the first time in Belle Yorke’s home. It was utterly unlike -anything he had expected to find. Belle Yorke lived in that part of -Hammersmith which had not yet succeeded in covering itself with flats -and calling itself West Kensington. The house outside was small and -unpretentious; but so are the outsides of many houses which are gay -enough within. Miss Yorke’s appearance on the boards was too recent -for her yet to have furnished a miniature palace and set up a brougham -on the proceeds of the public favor. But the domestic, old-fashioned -air which pervaded the whole place came on Hammond as a surprise and a -rebuke. - -The servant who had just shown him in asked a question which further -opened his eyes. - -“Would you like to see Mrs. Yorke, sir?” - -Hammond started. - -“Is that Miss Yorke’s mother?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“Does she live here?” - -The servant opened her eyes. - -“Lor’, yes, sir! This is ’er ’ouse!” - -Hammond considered for a minute. - -“Well, you can tell Mrs. Yorke I am here, if you like.” - -The servant nodded and went out, leaving him to his reflections. - -In love, as in war, there is an armed neutrality when the period -of friendship has passed away, but neither side is yet ready for a -declaration. Just such a stage had been reached in the joint history of -John Hammond and Belle Yorke. - -He had met her in Bohemia, that pleasant country which the passing -tourist sees only in its brightest garb, when the trees are green -in the valleys and the vines are ripening in the warm sunshine. The -manners of Bohemia are freer than those of other lands, and among -that friendly folk the course of acquaintanceship between a man and a -woman is not curbed and governed and interpreted quite as it is in the -dominions of society. - -So the millionaire had drifted into a friendship with the music-hall -singer without any after-thought; and when the after-thought had -gradually grown up of its own accord, he had found it the most -comfortable plan to shut his eyes to it and make believe it was not -there. - -If he had been ten years younger, the Marchioness of Severn might have -despaired of her son-in-law. But he had come to that age when life -begins to change its aspect; when the white blossom of romance with -which it tempts the eye of youth begins to shed its petals, and the red -fruit of ambition is disclosed. John Hammond was still young enough to -love, but he was old enough to count the cost. - -For some time he had been doing his best to convince himself that he -had not the slightest intention of marrying Belle Yorke. He had grown -more and more assured of this; and, naturally, the more confident he -became of his resolution to give her up, the more her charm for him -increased. He set up the old, old debtor-and-creditor account between -prudence and inclination. He did penance for his friendship with Belle -Yorke by his flirtation with Lady Victoria Mauleverer, and repaid -himself for his attentions to Lord Severn’s daughter with a smile from -the singer. - -To a man in such a state of self-deception Despencer’s poison came as -a tonic. His wrath at hearing her attacked, and the necessity he felt -of being able to rebut the accusation, were the measure of his love for -the woman he had resolved never to love. - -It was twenty-four hours since the little episode at the Marchioness of -Severn’s. Hammond’s blunt contradiction had glided harmless off the -imperturbable Despencer, who had murmured some vague apology and made -his escape, leaving his sting behind. There was no wisdom in rubbing it -in then. It was better to let it rankle during the interval before the -concert. It was then that Despencer intended to play out his winning -cards. - -Despencer’s words had been the first intimation to Hammond of the -existence of any such ill report. Promptly as he had spurned it, the -incident had served to remind him roughly of how little he really knew -of this girl who had come to hold such a large place in his life. He -had seen much of her in Bohemia, enough for those lookers-on who always -see our motives and aims so much more clearly than we do ourselves to -write him down her lover. But then no one lives altogether in Bohemia. -Even the oldest inhabitants are only migratory; like the swallows, -they have their seasons of coming and of flight, and who knows in -what strange lands they spend the other periods of their existence! -Intimate as they were in that sunlit region, Hammond felt that there -were reserves in the singer’s life. One of those reserves was her home, -which she had steadily avoided showing him. He knew as little of her -private life, indeed, as any stranger in the stalls who heard her sing. - -He had come away from the house in Berkeley Square resolving to dismiss -the slander from his mind. He spent the next night and morning in the -vain effort, and in the afternoon he came to Belle Yorke’s house. It -was not till he found himself waiting alone in the little parlor, -surrounded by the Scriptural prints and parlor games, that Hammond -began to ask himself what madness had brought him to such a place with -any thought of evil in his heart. - -He was not left alone for very long. He heard steps outside, and the -sound of the door-handle turning in the lock. He rose to his feet, -expecting to see Belle Yorke’s mother. Instead there entered a small -boy in knickerbockers, apparently about twelve or thirteen years of age. - -The boy seemed to be quite as much surprised to see Hammond as Hammond -was to see him. He stood in the doorway, frankly staring at the -visitor. Hammond had time to notice that he wore a black cloth band on -the sleeve of his plain homespun jacket. - -“Come in, my boy; don’t be afraid,” he said, with that awkward -patronage by which grown-up people render themselves so supremely -ridiculous to the intelligent modern child. - -“I’m not afraid,” the boy replied, boldly, advancing into the room. -“Why should I be afraid of you?” - -It was not a question which the man found it easy to reply to. He -smiled, and then asked, rather lamely: - -“And what might your name be?” - -The justly offended youth retorted mercilessly: - -“It might be Napoleon Bonaparte, but, as it happens, it’s Robert -Mainwaring Yorke.” - -Hammond felt that he had put himself in the wrong. He tried to address -the boy like one on his own level. - -“I called here to see Miss Belle Yorke. She is your sister, I suppose?” - -Robert Mainwaring Yorke had not yet lost his sense of irritation. - -“Well, you don’t think she’s my mother, do you?” he replied, with -severity. “She’s my eldest sister,” he condescended to explain. - -“Oh, then there are several of you?” said Hammond, wonderingly. It was -the first time he had ever heard of Belle Yorke’s family. - -“What do you think?” returned the boy. “There’s Lizzie--that’s -my second sister; and Arthur--he’s a year younger than me; and -Reggie--he’s a year younger; and the kid--he’s only four. Anything else -you’d like to know?” - -“And who is Mr. Yorke?” asked Hammond. - -“I’m Mr. Yorke.” - -“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Hammond began, and then, catching -sight of the black band, stopped, as though he had bitten his tongue. - -“Father’s dead,” Mr. Yorke explained, unconcernedly. “He died last -winter, and I’m the head of the family.” - -“I didn’t know; I beg your pardon. Your sister is not in mourning.” - -“He wasn’t her father. Belle’s only my half-sister. Her father died -when she was a kid.” - -“I see. And I suppose your mother married again?” - -“I suppose so, or I shouldn’t be here.” - -A fresh thought occurred to Hammond. If what the boy said was true, -he did not even know Belle Yorke’s real name. He was on the point of -putting a question to the boy, but restrained himself. He had no right -to seek that information from any one but Belle Yorke herself. - -Mr. Yorke seized the opportunity to put in a word for the absent. - -“Mind you, I look on Belle as just as good as a whole sister,” he -remarked. “I don’t make any difference.” - -Hammond smiled. - -“She is kind to you, then?” At least he might have the pleasure of -listening to Belle Yorke’s praise. - -“Well, I don’t know that you can call it kind,” said the boy, with -another touch of resentment at the implied inferiority. “She’s just -like any other sister. She knits my stockings for me, and does whatever -I want her to. She’s not a bad sort.” - -“She must be fond of you,” observed the man, gazing at the ungrateful -little wretch with wondering amusement. - -“Yes, oh, she’s fond of me! When I had the chicken-pox she took me to -Brighton for a fortnight, all at her own expense, and stayed with me -all the time, and wouldn’t go out anywhere, though she had lots of -invitations. Belle’s very good in that way.” - -The man felt a strong inclination to shake Belle Yorke’s callous -brother, as he thus grudgingly praised her. It was with an uneasy, -self-reproachful feeling that he put the next question: - -“Your sister must make a good many friends by her singing?” - -Mr. Yorke nodded superciliously. - -“Yes; but she doesn’t care much for that lot; they’re not very -respectable, we think. We don’t like her going on the stage at all; but -she wanted to do something to earn her living. As soon as ever I’m a -man, and get rich, I’m going to take her out of that and have her live -with me.” - -Hammond looked up, pleased. - -“Why, the little chap’s a brick, after all!” he mentally ejaculated. - -“She’ll make a very good housekeeper,” concluded Mr. Yorke. - -Hammond started to his feet. - -“I can’t question this child,” he said to himself. And turning to the -boy, he said, abruptly: “Will you ask your mother if I can see her?” - -Mr. Yorke instantly responded to the tone of authority and became -respectful. - -“Yes, sir,” he answered, and promptly went out of the room. - -“By Heaven, I have a great mind to bolt!” exclaimed Hammond as the door -closed. “I feel like a miserable spy.” - -Before he could act on his impulse the door opened again, and Belle -Yorke’s mother came in. - -Hammond rose. He saw before him a woman who had once been eminently -handsome. She was dressed in the deep mourning of a widow, and to this -fact, perhaps, was due the impression of melancholy produced by her -appearance. She looked at him with large, apprehensive eyes, as she -murmured the conventional expressions which people exchange when they -meet. But she did not offer him her hand. - -As soon as both were seated, Mrs. Yorke said: - -“I understand you have called to see my daughter?” - -“Yes. Perhaps she has mentioned my name to you some time?” - -“She has. She has often spoken of you. But she didn’t tell me that you -were coming here.” - -Hammond bit his lip. - -“You mean, she told you that I was not coming--that she had discouraged -me from visiting her?” - -“No, no; I didn’t mean that,” Mrs. Yorke stammered. “I am sure that -there is no one whom my daughter would be more pleased to see here than -you, if she received any visitors at all outside our friends in the -neighborhood. But she has made it a fixed rule not to invite any of the -acquaintances she makes on the stage to come here.” - -Hammond listened to this explanation with a feeling of relief. It -was something to find that if he were excluded the exclusion was not -personal to him. - -“Please deal frankly with me, Mrs. Yorke,” he said. “If you think Miss -Yorke would consider my visit an intrusion, tell me so, and I will go -away before she comes.” - -“Not an intrusion; that is scarcely the word. But I am afraid she will -be disturbed at finding you here.” - -“But why? Surely there is no harm in a friend like myself calling on -her beneath her own mother’s roof?” - -Mrs. Yorke gave a questioning glance at him. - -“I hardly know what to say to you, Mr. Hammond. You call yourself my -daughter’s friend, but what do you really know about her?” - -Hammond was silenced. He recalled the discovery that he had just made, -that he did not even know the true name of the girl whom he had come -to question, and he began to feel vaguely uncomfortable. He answered, -rather lamely: - -“I can only say that it is my greatest ambition that you and your -daughter should include me among your friends.” - -Mrs. Yorke shook her head with a resolution that had a certain sadness -in it. - -“How can you be our friend? What is there in common between you and us? -It would have been better if you had not come here, Mr. Hammond.” - -“Why do you say that?” he protested. “Why should you think it necessary -to keep me at arm’s length like this?” - -“Surely you must see that for yourself. You know well enough what the -world thinks of such friendships between a gentleman in your position -and a singer on the music-hall stage. What impression would it make on -your mind, if you found my daughter receiving the visits of one of -your society friends?” - -Hammond was staggered by this unconscious reference to his own doubts. -He could only reply: - -“That would depend on many things--for instance, whether I believed him -to be actuated by the same motives as myself.” - -“I do not see what difference his motives could make. It is impossible -for me to look upon attentions from one in your position as likely to -lead to any good result.” - -“But why not?” Hammond pleaded, earnestly. “It is true that, as you -say, I know but little of Miss Yorke. But that little has been enough -to make me wish to know more. Is there any reason why I should not? I -will be plain with you, on condition that you will be plain with me. Is -there any reason why you should not allow me to visit your house on the -footing of one who means to ask you for your daughter’s hand?” - -Mrs. Yorke recoiled. Instead of showing common surprise at the -question, or that gratification which the ordinary mother feels when -such words are addressed to her by a man far her child’s superior in -wealth and station, an anxious, frightened look came into her eyes. - -“No, you must not think of that!” she exclaimed, hastily; and then -added, in a calmer tone: “Such a marriage would be impossible. The -difference between her and you is too great.” - -“It has been crossed before now,” returned Hammond. “If you have no -better reason for your refusal than that, I shall stay.” And he settled -himself firmly in his chair. - -Mrs. Yorke wrung her hands. - -“Why do you compel me like this? I have another reason--don’t ask me -what it is!--for telling you that this cannot be.” - -Hammond started, and gazed at her with a new apprehension, not less -than her own. He could scarcely muster up courage to put his next -question. - -“I must ask you. You have gone too far, and I have gone too far, to -draw back now.” - -“I cannot tell you.” - -“Then I shall ask your daughter herself.” - -“No, anything but that!” She rose to her feet, trembling. “I beg you, I -ask you as a gentleman, to go, and leave us.” - -Hammond rose dismayed. He had taken two steps towards the door when it -was thrown open and Belle Yorke stood revealed on the threshold. - -The notorious Belle Yorke did not look the part. People said it was her -air of bright, girlish innocence, so foreign to the footlights, which -was the secret of her success. When she tripped on to the stage from -behind the painted side scenes, looking as if she had just come out -of some rustic cottage in that far-off land called “the country,” and -began singing one of her simple ballads, in a voice clear and fresh as -the tinkle of a brook among the hills, they said it was the contrast -with all her surroundings which caused such a thrill of emotion to go -through the jaded audience. Of course no one believed that it was real -innocence and real freshness. Belle Yorke was simply a little more -clever than her professional sisters, and had thought out a “turn” -which had the advantage of novelty; that was all. But it was very well -done, so well that some quite hardened men of the world were ashamed -afterwards to recall how far they had yielded to the spell. They -declared that she made up better than any other woman on the stage, and -that hers was the art which conceals art, except, of course, from such -complete judges as themselves. - -Those who had met her off the stage found, to their surprise, perhaps -to their disappointment, that Belle Yorke seen close at hand was -very much like Belle Yorke upon the boards. She was not to be found -drinking brandy in the bar while she was waiting for her turn to go -on. She did not go from the music-hall to a fashionable restaurant, -and sit in public with a group of male admirers round her. She was -generally seen slipping out quietly and going off on foot, or, if she -found herself threatened with companionship, she took refuge in a cab. -There was clearly some mystery underneath such conduct, and the mystery -could be of only one kind. - -Belle Yorke was friendly but not familiar with her stage associates. -Perhaps there is no course which gives more offence than that. It is -much easier to forgive downright rudeness than the perfect courtesy -which makes others keep their distance. Some of the affronted ones were -women, and the charity of women for women, as a rule, is not of the -kind which covereth a multitude of sins. The eyes that began to watch -Belle Yorke were robbed of sleep by jealousy. Something like a throb -of exultation went through the ranks of those to whom Belle Yorke’s -innocence was a stumbling-block when it was discovered that Belle Yorke -had a friend. - -Mr. Despencer, to do him justice, had not invented, nor had he -originated, the report which he had mentioned to the marchioness, and -repeated to Hammond. It goes without saying that he believed it to be -true. Such reports are like Euclid’s axioms: no one requires to have -them demonstrated. It had not even occurred to him that he was doing -an injury to Belle Yorke in repeating it; nor did it injure her in the -eyes of the public, nor in those of the managers of the music-halls. -What a woman loses in reputation she gains in celebrity. As soon as -Belle Yorke’s manager heard that she was protected by the Marquis of -Severn he rubbed his hands and silently raised her salary. - -When Belle Yorke opened the door and saw who was in her mother’s parlor -she stood still, betrayed into a stifled cry and a blush that would not -be stifled. Then she stepped in slowly, and laid down on the table -some paper bags which she was carrying in her hands. - -A pang of compunction shot through Hammond’s breast as she raised her -eyes to his. There was something in Belle Yorke’s eyes which touched -most people. They were always laughing, and yet somehow it always -seemed as though they were laughing in order to keep themselves from -tears. Looking into their clear depths, the man felt ashamed of his -errand, and ashamed of his presence there, and he stood before her -unable to speak. - -It was she who found words first. - -“This is too bad of you, Mr. Hammond! You had no business to come here. -You know I don’t allow it.” - -But there was something in the voice that undid the reproach of the -words. Hammond’s courage came back to him again. - -“I have no defence to make,” he answered, in the same light vein. “The -temptation was too strong for me, and I yielded to it. I plead the -First Offenders’ Act.” - -Belle turned gayly to her mother, who had concealed, by a strong -effort, all traces of her recent agitation. - -“What punishment shall we give him? I think, sir, you shall be -sentenced to stay to tea.” - -She opened the paper bags, and produced a store of those fearful and -wonderful delicacies variously named crumpets, or pikelets, and said to -have been invented by a member of the medical profession. - -“You see you are in luck. To-day is Bobby’s birthday, and we are going -to have a cake and all sorts of luxuries.” - -Hammond began to feel like a man in a dream. He had walked straight -out of tragedy into comedy. He had come to Hammersmith in search of an -answer to the most terrible question which can present itself to a man -who loves a woman, and he found himself in the midst of a children’s -tea-party. Perhaps this was the answer, the best of answers, to the -doubt which had striven to effect a lodgment in his mind. Sitting -there, in the midst of Belle Yorke’s little brothers and sisters, as -they trooped into the feast, watching her feed the hungry swarm, he -found his dark thoughts dying away of themselves. Such an atmosphere -was fatal to them; they could not live in it. - -So the millionaire forgot his millions and his marchionesses and his -ambitions, and threw himself into the spirit of the festival with such -cordiality that he won the children’s hearts. Mr. Yorke, forgetting -his former animosity, cut him the biggest slice of the birthday-cake -with his own hands, and edified him with a full, true, and particular -account of his exploits on the football field in that famous match -between the Hammersmith Juniors and the Brook Green Stars, which is now -matter of history. Master Reginald Yorke insisted on sitting on the -stranger’s knee, and sharing with him the contents of a paper of brown -sweetmeats, highly flavored with peppermint, which he called bull’s -eyes. Belle’s grateful looks repaid him for his submission to these -outrages, and when he rose reluctantly to go away he felt there was a -new tie between them, stronger than there had been before. - -“May I come to tea again, some time?” he pleaded, as she went with him -to the door. - -“When you are asked,” said Belle. - - - - -SCENE V - -A PERSON OF IMPORTANCE - - -In a substantially-built house in the important suburb of Tooting, in -a dining-room full of substantial furniture in that school of design -which is the glory of Britain and the stupefaction of surrounding -nations, sat Alderman Dobbin, J. P., reading the _Church Gazette_, and -breathing Protestantism at every pore. - -The person of Alderman Dobbin was not less substantial than the chair -which supported it. It was the hour of three in the afternoon; the -alderman had just achieved a dinner of solid and ample materials, and -a gentle flush which overspread his broad face was due perhaps equally -to the silent struggle going on in the region of his waistcoat and to -indignation at the insidious practices of Rome. - -It is not till a gigantic public evil begins to affect us personally -that we become really in earnest for its redress. Alderman Dobbin had -long marked the stealthy encroachment of ritual in the Church from -afar with inward misgiving. But when the arising of a new vicar of the -most lawless school brought the mischief to the door of the alderman’s -own pew, when the audacious cleric presumed to burn frankincense or -some such idolatrous drug under the alderman’s own nostrils, then, in -his own words, he realized that we were on the verge of a revolution. -It was fortunate indeed for the offender that the ordinary justice -of the peace has no jurisdiction in ecclesiastical causes. Alderman -Dobbin did not brawl in the church--such a man could not brawl; but -he wrote a letter to the paper, and he intimated to his vicar in the -privacy of the vestry that he should reconsider his attitude towards -disestablishment. - -To the culprit, standing on the great peaks of Catholic verity, -clasping hands with sixty generations of apostles, fathers, saints, and -bishops, his rebellious church-warden naturally mattered no more than a -gnat buzzing round the altar. His spiritual predecessors had cast down -emperors from their thrones, and given away largess of kingdoms. Was -he to surrender the Œcumenical splendors of the Church at the bidding -of an obscure suburban tradesman? If this impertinent boot-maker -represented the feelings of the laity, so much the worse for the laity. -The Church could get on without _them_, but not without its apostolic -priesthood. - -Such disdain, to the worthy alderman, was at once an outrage and a -revelation. It is possible that there are social circles in which even -an alderman is not removed beyond the reach of rivalry; but in the -meridian of Tooting, where Alderman Dobbin had passed his life, and -where his high office, together with his equally high moral character, -had hitherto secured him universal deference, he felt himself to be an -important personage. After all, importance is a question of standpoint. -Every one has some one to look up to him. Though you be but a youth of -lowly birth, engaged in mercantile pursuits, with a stipend of no more -than thirty weekly shillings, yet to the landlady who tolls you in a -moiety of that sum you are a power whose favor is to be conciliated, -and whose wrath is to be dreaded. To the drudge in the basement who -blacks your boots and watches you through the area railings as you -issue forth of a morning you are as a god moving on Olympus; the -conductor who takes you to your work in his omnibus holds you for an -undoubted member of the aristocracy; and the drunken artisan on the -roof, earning his pound a day on every day that he can spare from the -public-house, hates you for your pride and luxury. - -Novelists, it is said, are thought much of by young reporters on the -provincial press. The secret of true happiness is to turn away from -beholding those who are better off than ourselves, and keep the gaze -steadily fixed on those who are worse off; and this secret Alderman -Dobbin had mastered. Free from that itching to grovel to some one above -him which torments so many unfortunate people, he was satisfied with -being grovelled to by his inferiors. Thus it was that he had been able -to live in the enjoyment of his own greatness without envying that of -others. There might be such persons as dukes and archbishops in the -world--he was Alderman Dobbin. - -So much the greater was the shock administered to his mind by the -unveiled disrespect of the vicar. The alderman’s evangelical zeal -had received a new edge; and, at the same time, by a natural chain -of cause and effect, he was in a mood peculiarly susceptible to the -blandishments of one of those magnates of the earth before whom even -Oxford divines are but as dust. Such a one was even now approaching -the aldermanic dwelling. - -A sound of horses’ hoofs and carriage wheels aroused the nodding -alderman, and drew him hastily to the window. He beheld a carriage and -pair of the most brilliant lustre drawing up in front of his door, -and a woman of stately presence looking out, while a liveried footman -ascended the steps and rang the bell. The excited master of the house -could scarcely refrain from bursting out into the hall, to anticipate -the lagging motions of the housemaid. At last that young female, having -arranged her cap to her satisfaction, could be heard flouncing past -the dining-room door. A short colloquy followed, and the occupant of -the carriage emerged, attended by a fashionably dressed gentleman, and -entered the house. There was a sound of doors opening and shutting. -Finally, the housemaid came to her impatient master. - -“A lady by the name of Seven, and a gentleman, to see you, sir.” - -“Seven?” The alderman reflected for a moment, and then his eye fell -on a card of invitation which had occupied a prominent place on the -mantel-piece and in his thoughts for several days past. “You mean Lady -Severn,” he cried out--“the Marchioness of Severn!” - -“Yes, sir; ‘Lady Severn’ was what she said, sir.” - -The alderman cast a glance of despair at his trousers. - -“Run and get me the clothes-brush. No--I must change--there isn’t time! -Here, run up-stairs and get me my Sunday coat, while I brush these -things.” - -The marchioness and her companion, seated in the drawing-room, were -aware of a commotion outside. - -“I am afraid we have thrown the establishment into confusion,” the -gentleman remarked. - -“These sort of people always lose their heads if any one comes to see -them unexpectedly,” the marchioness responded. “I suppose they never -visit each other; their houses are too small.” - -“Probably it is because they would only bore each other to death if -they did. No one in the middle classes ever breaks the moral law, I -understand, and so they have nothing interesting to talk about.” - -The marchioness frowned severely. - -“Silence! Remember you are on your good behavior. You are not to shock -this dear, good person.” - -The “dear, good person” interrupted the conversation by his appearance. -He advanced to the marchioness, and shook hands with so much real -regard that her rings were crushed into the flesh. - -“I’m delighted to see your ladyship--delighted! It’s so kind of you to -come.” He turned to her companion. “And you, my lord.” - -In Tooting it is not the custom for married ladies to drive about -paying visits with gentlemen other than their husbands or near -relations. The marchioness forced a somewhat unnatural smile as she -explained: - -“Er--let me--Mr. Despencer, a friend of mine.” - -A look of hopeless bewilderment appeared on the alderman’s speaking -countenance. Despencer skilfully put in: - -“A friend of Mr. Hammond’s as well. The marchioness thought it better -for me to come here with her.” - -The tension was relieved. Alderman Dobbin seated himself facing his -visitors, while the marchioness opened the conversation. - -“I have taken the liberty of coming here, Mr. Dobbin, without waiting -till you came to my house, because I wanted to have a private chat with -you. You know how difficult it is to get five minutes’ conversation -with any one in those crushes.” - -The alderman bowed, much gratified at being supposed to know anything -whatever on the subject. - -“Of course, what I am going to say to you is in confidence,” the -marchioness proceeded. “I am sure you would not dream of mentioning to -Mr. Hammond that we had been here.” - -“Certainly not. Your ladyship may trust me absolutely. Not a soul shall -know of it.” - -“I have heard Mr. Hammond speak of you so often that I feel you are -quite an old friend. No doubt he has talked of us to you?” - -The alderman smiled feebly. He would have given a good deal to be able -to say yes, but could not quite bring himself to it. - -“Perhaps I ought to say he has talked of my daughter, Lady Victoria?” - -Alderman Dobbin had never heard of such a person as Lady Victoria. His -smile became feebler still. The marchioness coughed discreetly, and -glanced towards Despencer. He came gallantly to the rescue. - -“It has been understood for some time that Mr. Hammond was likely to -marry Lady Victoria, as, of course, you know.” - -“Yes, of course; quite so,” jerked out the alderman, deeply ashamed of -his ignorance on the point. - -The marchioness heaved a sigh. - -“I need not ask if the match had your approval, Mr. Dobbin, because -I am sure that you, as a friend of Mr. Hammond’s, must see what an -advantage such a connection would be to him in his political career.” - -“Certainly, your ladyship. Nothing could be better. It would go a long -way in Tooting.” - -“Ah! And now, do you know, I am almost afraid that the idea will have -to be abandoned. I hesitate whether I ought to allow my daughter to -think of Mr. Hammond any longer.” - -“Dear me! I am very sorry to hear your ladyship say that.” - -Her ladyship shook her head sadly. - -“Yes. I have no doubt you understand the reason.” - -The alderman’s face again clearly betraying that he had not the -remotest idea of the reason, Despencer came to his assistance once -more. - -“The marchioness refers to Mr. Hammond’s attentions to this music-hall -singer, Belle Yorke.” - -Alderman Dobbin sat horror-struck. He was not acquainted with Belle -Yorke by name, but of music-hall singers as a class his ideas could -only have been expressed in language severely Biblical. The marchioness -hastened to drive the nail home. - -“All his friends must share the same feelings about this unfortunate -attachment,” she observed, in a tone of sympathetic condolence. “What -effect, in your opinion, Mr. Dobbin, would his marrying a girl of that -kind have on his position here?” - -“He would never get in for Tooting again. The Liberals have got a -very strong candidate--Sir Thomas Huggins, a baronet. I dare say your -ladyship knows him?” - -Her ladyship was not quite sure whether she had met Sir Thomas Huggins. - -“His social influence here is very strong. His wife, Lady Huggins, -gives a garden-party every summer, and many Primrose Dames go to it. We -are beginning to be afraid for the seat, as it is.” - -“Then you consider, speaking as a judge of the political situation, -that if Mr. Hammond were to marry beneath him, instead of making such -a match as it is in his power to do, it would seriously affect his -prospects?” - -“It would be fatal to them, my lady.” - -The marchioness looked up at the ceiling. - -“What a pity he has no wise and candid friend to point this out to him, -and remonstrate with him on behalf of the--er--the party!” - -Curiously enough, there was just such a wise and candid friend in the -room ready and willing to undertake the task. - -“Your ladyship may leave it to me,” said the eager alderman. “I will -take it on myself to point out to Mr. Hammond the--the--” - -“Political situation,” suggested Despencer. - -The marchioness threw a smile of admiration at the wise and candid -friend. - -“The very thing!” she exclaimed, with a fine assumption of having been -taken entirely by surprise. “No one else could do this so well. I have -no doubt that a few judicious words from you will be sufficient to open -Mr. Hammond’s eyes. Ahem! Have the--er--the rumors about this young -woman reached you?” - -“What rumors, my lady? I haven’t heard anything about her.” - -The marchioness raised her eyebrows, and then appealed by an eloquent -look to Mr. Despencer. Despencer shook his head with the air of a good -man whose righteous soul was vexed by the bare recollection of others’ -iniquity. - -“I see you don’t know the worst,” he remarked, gravely. “If there were -nothing more against Miss Yorke than the mere fact of her being on the -music-hall stage it would not matter so much. But--” - -Another head-shake completed the sentence, and told the horrified -alderman far more than any words could have done. - -“Poor girl! let us hope it is not all true,” murmured the marchioness, -with Christian compassion. - -A minute or two later she rose to go. The alderman, aware from sundry -creaking sounds overhead that his wife was hurrying through a frantic -toilet up-stairs, remonstrated. - -“Won’t your ladyship stay and have a cup of tea? I expect Mrs. Dobbin -to come in every minute.” - -“I am _so_ sorry. I particularly wish to make Mrs. Dobbin’s -acquaintance, but I am afraid I cannot stay another moment. Some other -day, if you will allow me, I hope to come out and call on her. But -you see this is quite a confidential visit. What a charming situation -you have here! Quite rural, I declare! It reminds me of our place in -Worcestershire.” - -Mr. Despencer added his testimony that it was very like the Marquis of -Severn’s place in Worcestershire--indeed it was, for there were grass -and laurel-bushes in both. - -The visitors tore themselves away at last, and disappeared, a vision -of varnished panels and gleaming harness and tossing horses’ heads and -flying dust. And what did Alderman Dobbin do when they were gone? - -He did what every other well-conducted alderman in his situation would -have done. He went forth into the town and bought a peerage. - -Then he shut himself up in his counting-house, and sat down to write a -letter. - - - - -SCENE VI - -WHAT PEOPLE SAID - - -“Mr. Hammond!” - -Thus proclaimed the machine stationed outside the door of the principal -drawing-room in Berkeley Square. It was the night of the marchioness’s -concert, and a stream of splendidly clad dames, rustling in silk and -velvet, and flashing in pearls and diamonds, and of meanly clad men, -disguised as waiters, except for an occasional red or blue ribbon, -slightly suggestive of that worn by a pet cat, was flowing up the -stairs, and through the doorway, where the machine checked them off -one by one like an automatic turnstile. And the proclamations were by -no means a mere empty ceremony, for without them the marchioness would -have been quite ignorant of the names of at least half of those with -whom she was shaking hands on the other side of the threshold. - -The hygienic regulations by which every Board-School child is entitled -to a fixed number of cubic feet of space do not apply to the guests -of marchionesses, and it was becoming difficult to move through the -concert-room without inflicting physical injury on others. The wiser of -the late arrivals, or those more familiar with the locality, backed out -as soon as they had mumbled the necessary formula of greeting to their -hostess, and took refuge in a smaller drawing-room, where the Lady -Victoria was holding a levee of her own particular friends. It was to -this room that Hammond made his way after bowing over the marchioness’s -hand. - -Directly he lifted the curtain which screened the open doorway, Lady -Victoria, clad in white, with a string of turquoise forget-me-nots -round her bared neck, deserted a group of half a dozen other admirers, -and came towards him with a frankness which would have jarred harshly -on her mother’s notions of finesse. - -“That is right, Mr. Hammond. I am so glad you have come into this room. -It is cool, it is comfortable, and, what is better, you can’t hear a -note of the music.” - -“You have forgotten to mention that you are in this room,” replied -Hammond. “But I share your views about the music. If we have got to -pretend to enjoy art, why can’t it be painting or poetry, or something -that won’t positively annoy us?” - -“It wouldn’t do for my mother to hear me,” said Victoria, “but I may as -well confess to you that I have absolutely no accomplishments. I don’t -play the violin, I don’t model in clay, and I don’t even write answers -to questions on etiquette in the _Young Ladies’ Journal_.” - -“Surely you kodak?” Hammond pleaded. - -Before Lady Victoria could clear herself from the charge, the voice of -the machine sounded through the curtain: - -“_The Dean of Colchester!_” - -Hammond turned pale. - -“Whatever is the dean doing here?” he gasped. - -Victoria shrugged her shoulders. - -“My mother likes to have the higher clergy at her parties. She thinks -their costume gives variety.” - -“Whenever I meet that man he asks me for a subscription,” Hammond was -beginning, when the dean himself, forewarned by some preternatural -intuition, turned aside from the reception-room and came through the -curtain. - -A glad light beamed out on his face as he bore down upon the pair. - -“And how is Lady Victoria? I need not ask. Mr. Hammond, this is -fortunate!” - -Hammond gave a smile, like that of Mr. Charles Hawtrey on the stage -when his stage mother-in-law enters and announces that she has come to -spend a stage-day with him. - -“How much this time, dean?” - -The Dean of Colchester drew back; then he put his head on one side and -smiled indulgently on his victim. - -“He is too bad, isn’t he?” This was to Lady Victoria. “But, do you -know, I really was going to write to you this week.” - -“How much?” Hammond repeated, drearily. - -“Lady Victoria, I appeal to you. I am sure you must think me quite -mercenary.” - -“Hadn’t you better tell him?” suggested the matter-of-fact Victoria. - -The dean shook his head in protest. - -“I am actually silenced. The fact is that we are just raising a fund to -restore the north tower of the Cathedral, and I thought that, as you -had been so generous before, you might possibly see your way to give us -some assistance.” - -“How much?” - -“No, really! But if you did feel disposed to do something, however -small--” - -The voice of the machine was again heard in the offing: - -“_Mr. Septimus Jones!_” - -“You had better make haste,” said Victoria to the dean. - -The dean cast an imploring look at Hammond. - -“I am so ashamed! May I really throw myself on your generosity?” - -“How much?” - -“I couldn’t possibly--” The curtain was lifted from outside. “Well, -fifty pounds?” Hammond took out a pocket-book and began to scribble -a memorandum in it. “This is too good of you. I assure you I never -expected it.” - -The curtain had admitted a pale youth, with light-colored hair, parted -in the middle, who held a pair of gloves furtively in one hand, having -plainly just made the discovery that no one else had brought gloves, -and being distracted in consequence by a desire to smuggle them into a -pocket unperceived. - -Victoria greeted him with suspicious cordiality. - -“It is too bad of you to come so late, Mr. Jones. I haven’t enjoyed -myself a bit.” - -“No, Lady Victoria, you mustn’t blame me.” At this point he made an -effort to slip the hand which contained the gloves into a tail-pocket, -but catching the unconscious eye of the dean fixed, as he supposed, on -the offending articles, he drew them out again hastily. “I couldn’t get -here sooner. My brougham wasn’t ready.” - -“You should have come in a cab.” - -“No, Lady Victoria, I am sure you don’t mean that I could have come in -a horrid cab. I would as soon walk.” - -“Don’t you ride a bicycle?” - -“Oh yes, Lady Victoria, of course I ride a bicycle--in the morning, in -the Park, you know, but not in the streets. You don’t mean that I could -have come here on a bicycle, do you?” - -By this time he had dexterously transferred the gloves to his other -hand, and was again cautiously feeling his way round to his coat-tails, -when a sudden movement of Hammond’s, who had just completed his -business with the dean, caused the unfortunate youth to take fright and -once more relinquish his half-executed design. - -“I am afraid you are not in earnest, Mr. Jones.” - -“Oh yes, Lady Victoria, I am very earnest. Everybody says I am very -earnest. I take life quite seriously--I do, indeed. I go to all sorts -of lectures and that kind of thing, you know, to improve my mind.” - -“You will have to be careful, then,” put in Hammond as he came up, “or -they will make you give them a testimonial, and advertise you in all -the papers as a marvellous cure.” - -Mr. Jones shrank back. - -“Ah, now, Hammond, I am afraid of you, because you are so sarcastic. He -was sarcastic then, wasn’t he, Lady Victoria?” - -“Not very,” replied the person appealed to. The next instant she gave -an imperceptible start. - -“_Captain Mauleverer!_” - -“But if you two are going to quarrel I shall go into the next room,” -Victoria went on, quickly, beginning to move away. - -“Oh no, Lady Victoria,” Mr. Jones remonstrated; “I never quarrel. I am -a subscriber to the Peace Society--I really am.” - -The Dean of Colchester looked round. - -“Then I can leave you in perfect safety,” retorted Victoria, gliding -off. - -“Dear me! I am afraid that Lady Victoria is sarcastic, too,” Mr. Jones -observed, sagaciously, looking after her. “Don’t you think so, Hammond?” - -“I have suspected her of it sometimes; but she never admits it, and it -is so difficult to prove these things.” - -“I will ask the dean; I am sure he is not sarcastic--are you, dean?” - -“My dear fellow,” Hammond interrupted, “I am surprised that you should -ask such a question. A sarcastic dean would be a moral outrage. You -might as well speak of a malicious cathedral.” - -The dean thought of his fifty pounds, and smiled like an early -Christian martyr commencing an interview with a sharp-set lion. - -At this point Hammond’s attention was diverted by the entrance of -the latest arrival. As he turned away to greet him, the dean laid a -caressing hand on Mr. Jones’s arm. - -“Did I hear you say just now that you were a subscriber to--” - -Mr. Jones gave a glance round. He was alone with the dean, and the -dean was on the wrong side of him. There was no human eye to see the -deed. With one swift movement he succeeded in depositing his gloves in -their long-sought hiding-place, and then suffered himself to fall an -unresisting prey to the north tower of the Colchester Cathedral. - -Captain Mauleverer’s face wore a decidedly cross expression as he came -into the room. At the sight of Hammond it lighted up, and the two -shook hands like old friends. - -“So you patronize my aunt’s menagerie?” the captain observed, -disrespectfully. - -“Well, yes.” - -“I should have thought you had too much sense.” - -“My dear fellow, you are here yourself,” returned Hammond. - -The captain gave an impatient shrug. - -“I know, but I shouldn’t be if I could help it. It’s a beastly bore. -You can’t smoke, and you can’t drink, and you are expected to sit -beside some sentimental woman of fifty and let her gush to you over -some beastly novel you haven’t read, and wouldn’t understand if you -had.” - -Hammond shook his head with a reproving smile. - -“Yes, but you should remember that we are not here to please ourselves. -We are here to please society.” - -“Why should you care about society? You’re not a damned pauper like -me. You have everything you want.” - -“No one on the face of the earth has everything he wants,” Hammond -retorted. “But I see what it is; you are out of sorts. What’s the -matter?” - -Mauleverer’s only answer was a despairing shrug. - -“Been backing a horse?” - -“No, it’s not that.” - -“What is it, then? Cards?” - -“No.” - -“Not drink?” in a tone of incredulity. - -“No, no.” - -“Tell me.” - -The captain hesitated for a moment before he gave the answer: - -“Girl.” - -Hammond let a mild exclamation of surprise escape him. Then he looked -at his friend with a certain air of sympathy. - -“What should you say if I were to tell you that you and I were in the -same boat, old man?” - -“You?” The other stared at him in amazement. “You don’t mean to say -that there is any girl in England who would refuse you?” - -“Suppose there were a girl whom I hadn’t the courage to ask, not -because I was afraid of her refusing me, but because I was afraid of -her accepting me?” - -“I don’t understand.” - -“Suppose I had to choose between her and my ambition? Suppose I knew -that if I were to ask her to be my wife I might have to abandon my -whole career, because society would forbid the banns?” - -“I never thought of that,” murmured his friend. - -“This very morning,” Hammond went on, “I had a letter from a man who -thinks he is acting in my interests to warn me against the woman I -love.” - -“That is rather rough on you, old man.” - -Hammond smiled bitterly. - -“You see, even a damned millionaire can’t have everything he wants.” - -“_Miss Yorke!_” - -The name caused a sensation. Heads were turned from all directions, and -the Dean of Colchester and his victim hurried back to the neighborhood -of the doorway where Hammond and Mauleverer were standing. At the -same time Mr. Despencer slipped in from the next room, and stealthily -approached the group. - -“What Miss Yorke is that?” asked Mauleverer, innocently. - -“_The_ Miss Yorke, I believe, popularly known as Belle Yorke,” -Despencer took it on himself to answer. He affected to keep his eyes -turned away from Hammond. - -“Belle Yorke!” exclaimed Mr. Septimus Jones, with enthusiasm. “Oh, I -dote upon her! I think she is perfectly lovely--don’t you, Hammond?” - -“Yes.” - -The Dean of Colchester gave a sound like an ecclesiastical purr. - -“Now, this is very fortunate! I have so often wished to see her, but, -of course, I daren’t go to those places where she sings. It is so -thoughtful of the marchioness to bring her here. Ahem! isn’t there -something or other _said_ about her?” - -“They say plenty of things about her, but God knows how much of it is -true,” remarked Mauleverer. - -“Oh, but Mauleverer,” Mr. Jones burst in, “you know when people say so -much it must be some of it true, mustn’t it?” - -Hammond turned and looked at the three men, one after the other, and -then his eyes wandered to Despencer, who was standing by, with a sneer -on his thin lips. Here were these four men all looking at the matter -from different points of view, none of them apparently with any reason -to wish ill to Belle Yorke, two of them evidently friendly towards -her, and yet they all doubted her alike. - -Before he could speak he saw a sudden change come over their faces. -A man had just come hurriedly through the doorway leading from the -reception-room. It was the Marquis of Severn; and he was in full dress, -with the blue ribbon of the Garter across his shirt-front. He caught -sight of his nephew, and strode up to him, his face working with -emotion. - -“Here, Gerald, come this way; I want to speak to you!” he exclaimed, -without heeding the presence of the others. - -He seized Mauleverer’s arm, and half led, half thrust him out of -the room. One or two of the by-standers saw what was happening, and -smiled. Hammond turned sharply on Despencer, whose smile was peculiarly -malicious. - -“I shall be obliged if you can come with me into the conservatory for -five minutes. I wish to speak to you privately,” he said. - -Despencer bowed with an air of bland unconcern, and followed him, while -the voice outside sounded again: - -“_Alderman Dobbin!_” - - - - -SCENE VII - -A QUESTION OF CHEMISTRY - - -In order to reach the conservatory Hammond and Despencer had to thread -their way through the concert-room. But their task was rendered easier -by the fact that Belle Yorke was just standing up to sing. The mob, -attracted partly by her reputation as a singer, and partly by the story -in circulation about her and their host, whose hurried exit on her -appearance had not gone unremarked, were crowding towards that end of -the saloon where the piano stood, and thus the two men were able to -make their way round the wall at the deserted end. - -As Hammond had anticipated, they found the conservatory empty. It was -little more than a long, narrow balcony, roofed over with glass, and -running along the side of the house. - -Hammond was the first to reach it, but he stood back to allow Despencer -to enter. Despencer walked past him after a deprecating shrug and bow, -and then turned to meet his questioner, who came in quickly, shutting -the door behind them. - -For a moment the two men stood face to face, scrutinizing each other -like two duellists who are uncertain of each other’s play. Hammond’s -gaze was stern and threatening. Despencer’s, equally unflinching, was -that of a man who does not quite know what is required of him, but has -nothing to fear or to conceal. - -The situation was exactly what he had foreseen and desired. His former -reference to Belle Yorke had had the appearance of being accidental. He -had been far too clever to seek to press it home at the time. Now, if -Hammond himself chose to revive the subject of his own accord, anything -that Despencer might say would appear to be dragged out of him against -his will. He felt perfectly satisfied with his play, so far. He still -held all his best cards in reserve, and he had thrown the lead into his -adversary’s hands. - -“Well, what is the mystery?” he said, lightly, after waiting some time -for Hammond to speak. - -“I want to ask you for some explanation of what you said the other -afternoon.” - -Despencer was mildly amazed. - -“What did I say? I really don’t remember,” he murmured. - -“About Miss Yorke. You referred to some story about her--some report -connecting her name with Lord Severn’s.” - -Despencer drew back; his manner became reproachful. - -“Oh, but, my dear sir, you must see that that was pure inadvertence on -my part. I was not to know that the lady was a friend of yours.” - -It was impossible to quarrel with a man who showed himself so perfectly -polite and, at the same time, so perfectly indifferent. Hammond’s tone -lost some of its hostility. - -“That is not the point. Till you spoke, I had never heard of the -existence of this--slander.” The momentary hesitation before the word -did not escape the watchful Despencer. “You have spoken, fortunately or -unfortunately, and, now I have heard of it, I cannot rest till I know -more.” - -“Is that necessary?” - -The tone in which the question was put made it a friendly remonstrance, -as much as if Despencer had said: “My dear fellow, you want to think -well of this woman. Why persist in making me undeceive you?” - -Hammond felt the implied warning in all its force. Nevertheless he -answered: - -“Yes, it is necessary. The matter cannot end like this; I have a motive -for pursuing it. You heard what those other men said when Miss Yorke -was announced. I must be able to satisfy myself that this statement is -without foundation.” - -Despencer could not quite resist a sneer. - -“I should think that was easy enough. You have only to ask the lady if -she knows Lord Severn.” - -Hammond frowned impatiently as he said, aloud, but rather to himself -than to Despencer: - -“And what will be her answer?” - -Despencer smiled compassionately. - -“Judging from my own experience in such cases, I should say that the -lady’s answer would be ‘No.’” - -For a minute Hammond stood irresolute. Despencer’s sneer had shown him -where he stood. Instead of silencing a slanderer, he was discussing the -truth of the slander with the man who had uttered it. If he had really -had confidence in the woman he had undertaken to defend, it was to her, -not to this cynical stranger, that he ought to have been addressing his -inquiries. He felt bitterly conscious of his false position, yet he -could not resist going on. - -“Where did you hear this rumor?” he asked, after a brief pause, during -which Despencer had closely watched every shade of expression on his -face. - -“I can hardly tell you, I have heard it from so many quarters,” was the -careless reply. “I thought everybody knew it.” - -“Do you mean by that that everybody believes it?” demanded Hammond. - -“Yes; but that is no reason why you should, if you would rather not. -Take my advice, treat it as a mere passing calumny, and forget all -about it.” - -Hammond glanced at him questioningly. - -“And you, Despencer--of course, you believe this?” - -“Well, yes; but I shall be happy to withdraw it.” - -Despencer’s mocking smile was lost upon Hammond. He muttered: - -“I must get at the truth.” - -“Far better not,” observed the cynic. “The truth is sometimes very -disagreeable. I myself much prefer to be told pleasant falsehoods.” - -“And to tell them, I suppose?” - -Despencer did not wince. - -“I am always anxious to oblige,” he answered, pointedly. - -“You have no prejudice against Miss Yorke?” was Hammond’s next question. - -“I have no prejudices at all, I can assure you. I am a most -broad-minded person.” - -“It would make no difference to you, I suppose, if this report were -true? It wouldn’t injure her in your opinion?” - -“On the contrary, it would greatly increase my respect for her.” - -Hammond seemed to be trying to sound the depths of his companion’s -character. - -“I congratulate you. But you wouldn’t marry her?” - -Despencer drew back, and shook his head with an amused air. - -“Oh no! I am afraid I am not broad-minded enough for that.” - -“Why not?” - -“I couldn’t outrage decency, you know. Society would think me worse -than the marquis.” - -“Damn society!” - -“Oh, it is damned already,” said Despencer, quickly. “But even down -below there are certain regulations which must be respected. There is -an etiquette of Pandemonium.” - -Hammond gave him another thoughtful look. - -“You are a very clever man, Despencer, but, do you know, you almost -make immorality tedious. If you are not careful, people will begin to -get bored by vice, and virtue will become the fashion.” - -“That is not a bad idea. There is always something attractive in -novelty.” - -Again Hammond reflected for a minute, and again he resumed his -questioning. - -“Tell me, has the marchioness heard this rumor?” - -Despencer had not been expecting this question, and it nearly threw him -off his guard. His eye met Hammond’s for a moment before he answered. - -“I should hardly think so, or she wouldn’t have had her here. That -would have been too daring, even for her.” - -“It would be equally daring for her to come here if there were anything -in it. Surely her very presence here proves her innocence?” - -“Yes; but what about Lord Severn’s absence? You saw him hurry out the -moment she arrived?” - -“My God, yes!” The words were dragged from Hammond in a burst of -anguish. “There is some damned mystery in this!” he muttered between -his teeth. - -“Of course, it may be a mere coincidence,” the tempter threw in, -artfully. “But I am always so suspicious of coincidences.” - -Hammond was not listening. A new idea had occurred to him. - -“I have a great mind to go to Severn himself, and put myself in his -hands. But, then, of course, one couldn’t trust him,” he added, -regretfully. - -“He is a man of honor,” objected the other. - -“And when the good name of a woman is at stake, men of honor always -lie,” was the stern retort. “Oh would to Heaven you had either never -told me this, or else proved it up to the very hilt.” - -“I didn’t speak out of any zeal for morality, you may be sure. I had -simply heard the common talk, and I naturally assumed that it was true.” - -“Why?” - -Despencer gave a delicate, self-satisfied smile. - -“When there is any doubt, I always believe the worst. I find I am -seldom wrong.” - -Hammond stepped back, with an indignant gesture. He was beginning to -feel ashamed of the discussion. - -“And you can stand like that and smile away a reputation!” he -exclaimed. “I wonder what they made you of.” - -“I believe a chemical analysis of me would yield the ordinary results,” -returned Despencer, with unruffled composure. “I rather think that -hydrogen is the principal ingredient.” - -Hammond gave a short laugh. - -“Despencer, I begin actually to respect you. It can be no easy thing to -attain to such a height of perfect brutality as yours. You must have -taken great pains with yourself.” - -“You may say what you like, Hammond, as long as you are not violent. I -always draw the line at violence.” - -“Do you have to draw it often?” - -Even the trained and admirable temper of Despencer gave way under this -taunt, and a red flush suffused his pale cheeks. - -“Hammond, do you mean to be insulting?” - -“Why, do you mind much? I should have thought the hydrogen would have -stood it.” - -The words were drowned in a sudden crash of music and hand-clapping as -the door behind them opened, and Captain Mauleverer came through with -Belle Yorke on his arm. - -Despencer drew to one side with a bow as they approached. - -“Ah, captain, taking Lord Severn’s place, I see,” he remarked, with a -sarcastic emphasis intended for Hammond’s ear, and passed back into the -concert-room. - -Mauleverer stared after him as if he had been some noxious animal. - -“What has that damned cad--beg pardon, Miss Yorke--been doing here?” he -demanded of Hammond. - -“Oh, only taking away some one’s character.” - -“Not mine, I hope,” said Belle, with a smile. - -“No, not in Hammond’s hearing, I’ll swear,” said the loyal captain. - -“It was too bad of you to go outside just as I was going to sing,” -said Belle to the silent Hammond. “I shall expect an explanation.” - -“I have been waiting here to give it to you,” was the grave answer. - -“You seem quite serious about it. I am sure Mr. Despencer has been -saying something against me.” - -Captain Mauleverer put in a word. - -“I can’t let you give your explanation now, because Miss Yorke has -promised to sit out this next piece with me. You must wait your turn, -old fellow.” - -“What does Miss Yorke say?” asked the other. - -“I say what they say at the libraries about the book of the season. You -shall have me when the captain has done with me.” She turned merrily -to the captain. “But you mustn’t skip, you know. I shall allow you -fourteen minutes for perusal.” - -“I want to read you through,” said Hammond. And he went out. - - - - -SCENE VIII - -CINDERELLA - - -“How very sober Mr. Hammond seems to-night! I hope he isn’t going to be -cross.” - -Though she spoke gayly enough, a vague sense of ill was stealing over -her. She sat down on a low cane settee, over which flowering shrubs -made a sort of canopy, and a sadness seemed to breathe in the heavy -scent of tuberose and stephanotis. - -Captain Mauleverer placed himself beside her, and looked at her with a -certain respectful pity as he answered: - -“That isn’t likely. I’m sure it wouldn’t be easy to be cross with you, -Miss Yorke.” - -Belle detected something in his voice which increased her foreboding. - -“You look as grave as Mr. Hammond. Is anything the matter?” - -“Yes, I’m afraid there is.” - -The moment he had spoken the words he wished them unuttered. The light -faded out of the beautiful eyes, and a pathetic sadness took its place. - -“Oh, please don’t tell me that!” she pleaded. “I am enjoying myself so -much this evening.” - -“Are you? I am glad of that,” said Mauleverer, tugging uneasily at his -mustache. - -“Yes; I have never been to a place like this before, you know, and -it is all so strange and beautiful. I am a little bit afraid of the -Marchioness of Severn, but every one else has been so kind that -I haven’t felt myself a stranger. I feel almost like the little -chimney-sweep who wandered by accident into the state bedroom of the -castle, and turned out to be the rightful heir. Please don’t send me -back to my chimney.” - -The captain swallowed something in his throat. - -“I wish I hadn’t promised to, but the fact is I have undertaken to give -you a message.” - -This time Belle turned to him with a look of something like alarm. - -“Can’t you put it off till to-morrow? Do let me have my dream out -to-night.” - -Mauleverer shook himself. - -“Hang it! I have a great mind to,” he exclaimed. - -“Please do, if it is an unkind message. I didn’t think I had any -enemies.” - -“You have none--at least, I don’t believe you have. It isn’t that. What -I have promised to tell you is something about yourself, something you -ought to know.” - -“Something about myself! Oh, what do you mean? I haven’t been doing -anything wrong, have I?” - -Captain Mauleverer bit his lip and looked more than half inclined to -run away. Then he said, slowly: - -“Perhaps I should have said--something about your father.” - -“My father!” She gazed at him in astonishment. “But he is dead! He died -before I was born.” - -“No!” - -The answer struck her dumb. She sat still and pressed her hand against -her heart. The man replied to her unspoken questions with a grave shake -of the head. - -“My father is not dead? Oh, Captain Mauleverer, what are you saying? -What do you know about him?” - -“I wish I didn’t have to speak to you like this. Your father is alive.” - -“And they have always told me he was dead! My mother-- Captain -Mauleverer, are you _sure_ of what you say?” - -“I am. I know your father.” - -“Then why--” She broke off in the midst of the question and wrung her -hands. “Ah! I begin to understand. My father has done something that -has made them hide his existence from me. And you are going to tell me -what it is.” - -“I--well, I promised that I would.” - -She gave a half-sob. - -“You may go on now. I find that I am only the little chimney-sweeper -after all. But stay!” A fresh thought struck her with overwhelming -force. “Perhaps this is some mistake after all. You say my father is -alive, but did you know that my mother had been married again?” - -The captain clenched his fists. - -“God forgive me--I _can’t_ tell you!” - -“Then--then there is only one explanation, Captain Mauleverer.” She hid -her face in her hands for a minute, and then raised it again and looked -him bravely in the face. “Is that it? Tell me the truth.” - -Mauleverer sprang from his seat. - -“No, I’m damned if I do!” - -A burst of music and a babble of tongues told them that the door had -opened again, and some one else was coming in. It was the Marchioness -of Severn, and she was alone. - -Belle rose from her seat dry-eyed. - -“Ah, Miss Yorke, they told me I should find you here. That will do, -Gerald. Miss Yorke and I are going to have a little talk. Pray sit down -again.” - -Belle resumed her seat in silence, with an inward dread of what was -in store for her next, while Captain Mauleverer walked off with the -hang-dog air of a man who feels he has made a brute of himself. - -The marchioness sat down beside her guest. - -“I have to thank you for a most delightful evening. You sang most -charmingly. I almost wish I hadn’t asked you for that one called -‘Little Willy,’ though. I am so sensitive. You almost made me cry--you -did, indeed.” - -Belle stole a timid glance at her. - -“It is very kind of you to praise me so much. That song of mine has -always been a favorite.” - -“I don’t wonder at it. Dear, sweet little thing, freezing to death -like that! Why didn’t some one give him a seal-skin jacket? And do you -really sing things like that at those dreadful places in Leicester -Square?” - -Belle began to feel uncomfortable. The patronage it was difficult to -resent, but the hinted disparagement roused her courage. - -“I am sorry you think them dreadful,” she said, modestly but quite -firmly, “because, you know, I have to sing there for my living.” - -The marchioness’s determined good-nature was not to be turned aside. - -“No, no; of course, I ought not to have called them that before you. -But one reads such shocking things about them in the newspapers when -they apply for their licenses to the County Council. I’m sure I hope it -isn’t half of it true.” - -“I hope you won’t be offended if I stand up for them,” Belle persisted, -bravely. “I must be loyal to my own profession, mustn’t I?” - -“Of course! Of course! Most properly. I hope--in fact, I am sure, -that they have done you no harm. But I have heard so much about these -places, and the life, that it makes me feel the very gravest doubt. I -take an interest in you, Miss Yorke, and I should be so sorry if you -were to lower yourself by your connection with the music-halls.” - -Still bleeding from the wound dealt her in all respectful kindness by -the man who had been with her just before, Belle roused herself to ward -off the more envenomed stabs of the woman who was with her now. - -“I don’t intend to lower myself, or to let myself be lowered, by any -place I may go to,” she said, with dignity, looking the marchioness in -the face. - -The marchioness smiled on her like a mother. - -“That is right. I am so glad to hear you say that. But you can’t be too -careful, you know. The world is so censorious. Society has very keen -ears for the least whisper against a woman’s name.” - -This time Belle realized that there was some serious purpose beneath -her persecutor’s moralizing. She turned on her indignantly. - -“I hope you don’t mean that society has been listening to any whispers -against my name!” she cried. - -The marchioness put out her hands with a soothing gesture. - -“Oh, no--not yet, at all events. Still, as I say, you cannot be too -careful in your unfortunate position. I thought I ought to take the -opportunity of giving you a friendly warning. It is so easy to check a -thing of this kind at the outset, but afterwards it may be too late.” - -“I am afraid I don’t understand you yet,” said Belle, in a carefully -measured voice which would have betrayed the rising anger to a duller -ear than the Marchioness of Severn’s. “Do you mean to say that there -is anything for me to check?” - -The marchioness, becoming slightly nervous, tried to beat about the -bush. - -“No, no; I won’t go so far as that. I don’t put it in that way--merely -a possibility, that is all. Of course, it is very natural that the men -who go to such places should admire you, with your voice and figure; -only don’t let one particular man admire you more openly than the rest. -You understand me?” - -Belle’s voice became cold and metallic. - -“Do you mean that there is some one whose name has been associated with -mine as an admirer more than the rest?” - -The marchioness bowed and smiled. - -“That is just it. You have put it very nicely.” - -“May I ask you to tell me his name?” - -The marchioness threw a glance of mild reproach at her young friend. - -“Surely, my dear Miss Yorke, you must know that! Every one tells me -that his attentions have been most marked--Mr. Hammond.” - -The marchioness brought out the name with a jerk, watching her victim -keenly the while. But Belle gave her no assurance, by so much as the -flutter of an eyelid, that the shaft had gone home. - -“Mr. Hammond’s attentions to me have always been perfectly respectful.” - -The marchioness positively bubbled over with shame at the implied -suggestion that she had thought otherwise. - -“Of course! Naturally! But you _know_, my dear girl, that society will -take a _very_ different view. Society is _so_ incredulous. It _never_ -believes that a man’s friendship for a woman is perfectly respectful.” - -“Not when he asks her to become his wife?” Belle could not resist the -question. - -“That is quite different.” The marchioness suddenly became the great -lady. “We are not talking of that, as you know. Mr. Hammond is not one -of those foolish young men who marry a girl out of their own class and -regret it ever afterwards. You must put that idea out of your head at -once, believe me. I am speaking as your friend and as a woman of the -world.” - -Belle looked at her friend for a moment with a silence that had -something satirical in it. - -“What is Mr. Hammond’s class?” - -“Don’t you know? Mr. Hammond is a millionaire. He moves in the very -best society. He could marry almost any woman in England, except -royalty. I know dukes, even, who would feel honored by an alliance with -Mr. Hammond.” - -All this time it had not occurred to Belle, in her simplicity, that she -could possibly be regarded by the great lady beside her as a rival, and -a dangerous rival, to her own daughter. She only felt that something -very dear to her was at stake, and she wrestled for it blindly. - -“Is that simply because he is rich?” she demanded, with the scorn -which youth always feels for wealth. - -“Not entirely,” the marchioness answered, mildly, “though, of course, -that has a great deal to do with it. But Mr. Hammond comes of a most -respectable family, I believe. I have heard that his father was quite a -gentleman towards the end of his life. And then he has a fine political -career before him; he is in Parliament, and may be in the Cabinet. You -can’t expect him to throw all that away to marry you, my dear.” - -Belle began to fear that she was going to be beaten. - -“And would he? Would it be such a very great disgrace?” she murmured -below her breath. - -“_I_ don’t say that it would,” replied her deeply sympathizing friend; -“but society would consider it so. You see, we can none of us do all -that we like. There are many things that I should like to do, but I -dare not. We all feel inclined to rebel sometimes and gratify our own -inclinations, but we are restrained by a higher law.” - -“What higher law is there than the loyal instinct of our own hearts?” -demanded Belle, with a flash of indignation. - -“My dear, the prejudices of society! Its feelings must be respected. We -have to mould our lives accordingly.” - -“Why? Why should we obey such a code? Why should we cringe to this -bogie you call society? Why should we make ourselves slaves to one -another’s shadows?” - -The marchioness drew herself up and regarded her young friend with real -pain. - -“Miss Yorke, you quite surprise me. I am shocked to hear you use such -language. Do you realize what you are saying? You called society a -bogie!” - -“I was wrong. It is something more.” - -“It is true that its dictates sometimes appear harsh and unreasonable, -but that is the same for all of us. Why should you expect to be an -exception to the rule more than others?” - -“Shall I tell you?” All the bitterness of her newly acquired knowledge -rang out in Belle’s voice. “Because I am one of the victims of society; -because it placed its brand upon me before ever I was born. Society has -made me an outlaw, and therefore I owe it no allegiance, and I will -give it none. You tell me that because I am a public singer I have no -right to the friendship of an honorable man; that there are whispers in -circulation against my name already. Let them whisper! I have done with -all that. I shall not abandon my friends at society’s bidding, and I -won’t give up the man I love because it tells me--I won’t do it!” - -The marchioness rose, deeply shocked and grieved. - -“Really, I can’t stay here--” - -Again the sudden loudness of the sounds from the concert-room. Again -the door stood open, and John Hammond in the doorway. - - - - -SCENE IX - -AND THE PRINCE - - -The moment she saw who had come into the conservatory the marchioness -sat down again promptly, and with a decision which spoke volumes for -her intention to remain. - -Hammond advanced, and recognized the marchioness with a look of wonder. - -“Where is Mauleverer?” he inquired. - -“I sent Gerald away,” replied the marchioness, with an intonation which -plainly added: “And I should like to send you away, too.” - -“That was considerate of you,” retorted Hammond, with a pleasant smile. - -There was a vacant space on the seat between the two women, and he took -possession of it with a cool deliberateness which appeared to cause the -marchioness some dismay. - -“I wanted to have a little private chat with Miss Yorke,” she observed, -stiffly. - -“The very thing I wanted, too. You have done me out of my turn, -hasn’t she, Miss Yorke? You are positively quite a cuckoo, my dear -marchioness.” - -The marchioness made a painful effort to smile. - -“I am not at all sure that I shall allow you to speak to Miss Yorke,” -she responded, trying to look past him at Belle herself. - -On Hammond’s entrance Belle had shrunk back with a certain apprehension -which had afforded secret satisfaction to her hostess. She now waited -in silence, nervously plucking at the leaves of a camellia which -brushed her shoulder where she sat. - -“Now she is under my roof,” pursued the marchioness, “I feel in the -position of her guardian. I regard you as a very dangerous character.” - -A smile of bitter irony gleamed for a moment on Hammond’s lips. - -“I rather think you must be right. I don’t know why it is, but I am -feeling in a peculiarly lawless mood this evening. If Miss Yorke were -not here, I am not at all sure that your diamonds would be safe.” - -Something in the manner of this speech, rather than in the words, -caused the marchioness to move several inches farther off along the -settee. It was a distinct shock to her to hear the Severn diamonds made -the subject of coarse jocularity. The one in the centre of her bosom -had been given to the first Mauleverer by King John as a reward for -resisting the agitation for Magna Charta. Those in the tiara above her -forehead had been brought into the family by a left-handed daughter of -John of Gaunt. The value of the whole was nearly a year’s income of the -much-mortgaged Severn estates. - -“Really, Mr. Hammond, you speak so strangely that if I didn’t know you -so well I should think something was the matter with you.” - -It was necessary to let her ladyship see clearly that she was out of -place. Hammond cast on her a look which she had not seen in his eyes -before. - -“Do you know me well? Does any of us know another well? Don’t we, most -of us, drift through life with our eyes half closed, ignorant of our -aims, ignorant of our very natures, till some shock comes to awaken us, -and in the moment of trial we find out for the first time who and what -we really are?” - -A subtle instinct told him, before he had finished speaking, that his -words were being eagerly followed by the girl who sat on his right -hand. On the marchioness they fell with something of the effect of a -cold spray. She shivered and got up. - -“Ah, yes, of course, all that is very true, no doubt,” she murmured, -hastily. “But I must really be going back to look after the people.” -She turned a feline glance on Belle. “I wouldn’t sit out here too long -if I were you, Miss Yorke; you may catch cold.” - -“Thank you; I am not afraid of that,” was the quiet answer. - -The marchioness turned her eyes from one to the other, pursed up her -lips with severity, and reluctantly retreated. - -Hammond watched her exit with a sarcastic smile. - -“I am afraid the marchioness believes I have been drinking,” he -observed. - -The cynicism jarred on Belle as harshly as the seriousness had jarred -on the marchioness. There is no woman who can respond to a man through -all his moods, not even she who loves him best. - -“I wonder how much truth there is in what you said just now?” - -Hammond turned and fixed an earnest gaze on her. He saw her for the -first time in his experience with a troubled brow, but he never guessed -the cause. There is no man who can follow a woman through all her -moods, not even he who loves her best. - -“That is what I wanted to ask you,” he said, in answer to her -question. “We two have known each other for some time, haven’t we; but -how much do I know of you, or you of me?” - -Belle felt what was coming. She saw it in his eye, she heard it in his -voice. Desperately she resolved to meet it half-way. - -“I have been finding that out this evening. Since I have come here I -have understood for the first time what you are and what I am. Mr. -Hammond, after this evening we must not meet again.” - -“Belle! Why do you say that?” - -There was a note of anguish in his voice. He had been fighting a battle -with himself all this time. It had never occurred to him that there -might be another to overcome besides. - -She looked him steadily in the face. - -“Why do you call me Belle?” - -“I thought we were friends,” he said. But he blushed as he said it. - -“What kind of friends? Would your friendship with Lady Victoria -allow you to call her by her Christian name? Don’t you see that the -difference between her and me makes our friendship impossible?” - -“Don’t you trust me, then?” asked the man. - -“You have no right to ask me for my trust. You and I belong to -different worlds. Where there is no equality there can be no -friendship. It would have been better if we had never met.” - -She spoke with a certain rigidity which baffled him. He did not know -that the poor girl was but repeating the bitter lesson which had just -been taught to her. - -“But why,” he eagerly demanded--“why should you suddenly take this tone -with me? I was going to ask you for your confidence. I meant to beg you -to let me take your part against your enemies, and you rebuff me at the -outset like this.” - -“Have I enemies? I didn’t know that.” She spoke with a pathetic -resignation. She had heard too much within the last half-hour to be -much moved by any new disclosure. “But there is all the more reason -that I should give them no handle against me. Consider what society -is likely to think of such a friendship as ours--you, a public man, -wealthy, ambitious, honored by the world, with a great career before -you, and I a humble singer, whose very calling makes her name a mark -for every spiteful tongue.” - -“Why should we be afraid of what society thinks or says?” - -“You can afford to ask that. You are a man, and can defy society; I am -a woman, and to me its breath means life or death.” - -Hammond sat silent for a minute; he felt that all this conversation was -insincere. It was but the preface to what he had come there to say. How -was he to pave the way for the questions he had resolved to put? - -“Tell me,” he said, earnestly, “have I ever given you cause to think of -me as other than an honorable man?” - -Belle turned and looked at him. - -“No,” was all she said. - -“Will you let me tell you something--something that it may be painful -for you to hear?” - -Belle’s eyes opened wide. The apprehension of what was coming shone -out in them, and Hammond, mistaking the meaning of that apprehension, -faltered in his purpose. - -“Speak! What is it?” she commanded. - -“It is something which concerns yourself.” - -Was he going to repeat to her the gossip at which the marchioness -had only hinted, to tell her to her face that their names had been -joined in the world’s calumnious breath? She gazed at him in absolute -bewilderment. - -“Tell it me--quickly!” she breathed. - -“I am ashamed to repeat such a slander. Yet, since it is in -circulation, it is only right that you should know it, if only that you -may cause it to be crushed.” - -“Yes; please go on.” - -“They say--they pretend--they connect your name with--” - -“With yours, sir?” She sat upright, with flashing eyes. - -“Great heavens, no!” He stared back at her with little less amazement -than her own. - -She sank slowly down again, the anger in her face changing to deepest -scorn. - -“With whose, then?” - -“With the Marquis of Severn’s.” - -“What!” She started up again in sheer astonishment. “Who dares? I have -never seen nor spoken to him in my life!” - -“Thank God!” - -Not till he had heard the denial did the man realize what a burden it -had lifted from his heart; and yet he believed that he loyally loved -this woman. - -“Who dares to slander me? Who dares to smirch my name with falsehoods?” -Come what might, he should not go away doubting her. - -“It was that man Despencer who told me first.” - -“And you listened to him--you, an honorable man, and my friend?” - -Hammond bowed his head. He thought he could bear her reproaches now. - -“Go on; you can say nothing to me that I have not said already to -myself. I have been a brute, a fool; I know it. I did give him the lie -once, but his words rankled in my mind, and I could not rest till I had -had the charge disproved.” - -“If you are satisfied, go.” - -Hammond started and shivered. He had not heard that tone before; he had -not seen that deeply resolute expression, in which Belle’s face was set -like stone. - -“Oh, not like this! You will forgive me, Belle? You must! This lie has -tortured me far worse than you.” - -He might have made the excuse that he had only repeated the slander -for her sake, and not for the satisfaction of his own doubts. But he -scorned to stoop to subterfuge with her. - -“Why should I? Your good opinion or your friendship are nothing to me -any longer.” - -“My good opinion--friendship! Ah, it is more than that! You know, you -must know, that I have loved you all the time!” - -“So much the worse. For you to speak of love to me is only another -insult.” - -“I did not mean to insult you,” was the humble answer. “I meant to -offer you the love that a man offers to his betrothed.” - -“Does a man cast suspicions on his betrothed?” - -“I have not cast suspicions. My worst fault is to have listened to -those of others. There is no love without jealousy.” - -“There is no love without perfect trust. If a man really loves a woman, -does he set himself to doubt her, to gather up the malicious tattle -of her enemies, and carry it to her, like an accusing judge, and ask -her to clear herself? Ah, no! If he loves her, he first crushes the -slander and the enemy together, and then comes to tell her what he has -done.” - -“Listen to me.” - -“Wait! But I cannot expect to be treated like that. My good name is -of no importance to me; I am public property. There would be nothing -to talk about in the club smoking-rooms if we poor singers were to be -respected. It is natural that we should be bad. And so you come to me -and repeat the accusations which you had not the courage to despise. -And that is your love!” - -“I implore you--” - -“No! With us poor girls it is different. We have not your prudence and -self-restraint. Where we love we do not ask for references. We give our -hearts without reserve, and from the moment we have given them, instead -of searching for stains on the character of the man we love, we set -ourselves to see only the good in him; we shut our eyes to the evil; -we screen his faults; if others attack him, we defend him; and if the -world casts him out, we cling to him all the more.” - -Her voice sank down and ended in a sob. Hammond clasped his hands -together in despair. - -“Why did I ever hesitate? I was a coward. I dreaded the idea of even a -whisper being raised against my wife. Forgive me.” - -“And you were right. Yes, I forgive you.” - -The answer came softly, and the man’s heart was thrilled to the core. - -“And something more,” he pleaded passionately. “Tell me that you love -me like that.” - -Belle slowly, gently shook her head. - -“No. Why do you make it so hard for me? Leave me, I entreat you.” - -Hammond turned faint. - -“You do not love me, then?” he gasped. - -She gave him a despairing look, and answered passionately: - -“No! I don’t love you--I don’t love you!” - -He rose up, without another word, and went away from her. The next -instant, as the door closed behind him, Belle sank down on the seat, -like a flower whose stem is broken, and the tears began to come like -rain. - -A door at the far end of the conservatory softly opened, and a man -stepped through and came towards her, with his finger on his lips. - -It was the Marquis of Severn. - - - - -SCENE X - -“A MARRIAGE HAS BEEN ARRANGED” - - -The most secluded place in the house in Berkeley Square was the -picture-gallery. The most secluded spot in the picture-gallery was the -Lovers’ Window. - -The gallery itself ran across the back of the house on the second -floor, and was thus outside the legitimate bounds within which the -concert guests were entitled to wander. It was approached by a door -at each end, giving on to the staircase, and the walls were hung with -pictures, chiefly of the faded, washed-out schools of Lawrence and -Constable. - -The window was a deep and lofty bay, almost a little room, in the -centre of the gallery. A cushioned seat, like a divan, ran round -the bay, and on either side of the opening hung a thick curtain of -dark-purple velvet. - -In this sequestered nook no sound of the concert going on below could -be heard. It was no doubt for this reason that the Lady Victoria -Mauleverer had come thither, and was now reclining on the divan, with -one beautiful white elbow resting on the sill of the open window. - -As it happened, she was not alone. Captain Gerald Mauleverer, guided -possibly by some cousinly instinct, had also sought a refuge from the -music in the same spot. He was sitting near her, and regarding her with -a reproachful countenance. - -“Do you know what my aunt has been telling me about you?” he began. - -Victoria gave a shrug of the most supreme indifference. - -“No; but I have no doubt it was something interesting. My mother has so -much imagination.” - -“She told me that you were as good as engaged.” - -“Did she? Ah, well, I suppose she has found a purchaser for me at last.” - -“How can you!” Gerald stamped his foot. “Who is it?” - -“She did tell me his name, but I have forgotten it,” drawled Victoria. -“I can tell you his income, though.” - -Her cousin looked at her, half angry and half pleased. - -“Thank Heaven, you don’t care for him! I believe I have your heart, -after all.” - -“My what?” asked Victoria, in a tone of surprised curiosity. - -“Your heart, you hateful creature.” - -“What childish words you use, Gerald! I couldn’t understand what you -meant. No; I suppose I shall be bought complete, with all fittings, but -I don’t fancy a heart is mentioned in the inventory.” - -“Have you really promised to marry this man, Vick?” - -His cousin put her head on one side and considered. - -“It hasn’t got quite to that point. The customer hasn’t actually given -the order yet, but my mother is an expert saleswoman, and I have no -doubt that by the next time you see me I shall have the usual ticket on -to show that I am disposed of.” - -The captain gnawed his mustache as his eyes sought in vain to fix those -of the insolent beauty. - -“Hang it! don’t you care a little bit? I have loved you for years. Does -it all go for nothing with you?” - -Victoria sat up and became business-like. - -“Stupid fellow, why can’t you look at it rationally, like I do? There, -I will give in to you so far as to say that I would much rather you -bought me than anybody else. I would even give a discount in your -case; you should have me at store prices. But what is the use? We -couldn’t live together. You know they separate married couples in the -workhouse.” - -“I have eight hundred a year,” the man protested. - -“That would pay for my frocks. Any debts?” - -“Well, I have a little paper out,” he reluctantly admitted. - -“So I thought. Small income, large debts--” - -“No, not large debts.” - -“Several thousands, I have no doubt. Large debts, no occupation--” - -“Don’t you count the army?” he interrupted. - -“Certainly not,” was the firm answer. “I mean an occupation by which -you can earn a living. No occupation, idle habits, expensive tastes--” - -“No, Vick!” His tone became one of honest indignation. “No, you can’t -charge me with that, you know. I may be idle, but you can’t charge me -with extravagance.” - -“What do you pay for your cigars?” the merciless inquisitor demanded. - -“A shilling. I get them at a little shop in Jermyn Street that nobody -else knows of, and they are worth double the money.” - -“Gerald!” - -“No, really, Vick, you have no right to talk to me like that. -If there’s one thing that I do pride myself on, it is that I am -economical.” - -“What is the use of being economical on nothing?” She turned and looked -him full in the face. “I will be serious with you, Gerald. If you had -any means at all, any real income or prospect of it, I would throw -over all the millionaires in Christendom to-morrow, but as it is--!” A -despairing gesture completed the sentence. - -“Why can’t you wait for me, then?” exclaimed the desperate captain. -“Give me a chance, and I will go out and raid the Transvaal, or do -something desperate.” - -“I didn’t know there was anything very desperate in raiding the -Transvaal,” retorted Victoria, resuming her cynical vein. “I thought -the worst thing you exposed yourself to was to have poetry written -about you in the papers.” - -A door opened at the end of the gallery, and Gerald hastily rose to his -feet. - -“Ah! I felt sure we should be interrupted,” said Victoria. “I believe -my mother has me shadowed. Don’t go, Gerald,” she added, loudly enough -for her parent to hear as she bore down upon the pair, the faithful -Despencer following in the wake. - -The marchioness came to a full stop at the opening, with a dramatic -start. - -“Victoria! I thought I had forbidden you to behave like this!” - -Her daughter gave an amused smile. - -“My dear mother, I thought we agreed only the other day that I was of -age.” - -The marchioness turned on her nephew as a less dangerous adversary. - -“As for you, Gerald, I am surprised at you. You ought to know better -than to come and sit here with your cousin.” - -Victoria gallantly came to his rescue. - -“If you and Mr. Despencer want to sit here, we will go away,” she -offered, sweetly. - -The marchioness recoiled, and gazed at her like King Lear listening to -Goneril’s complaints about his knights. - -“When you are married I shall wash my hands of you, and if your -unfortunate husband likes to let you carry on an open flirtation with -your cousin, he may,” she said, viciously. “But while you are on my -hands I am determined to put a stop to these clandestine doings. You -hear me, Gerald?” - -Gerald felt that he must stand by his cousin. - -“Yes, aunt,” he said, with unlooked-for courage; “but I don’t see how -our flirtation can be open and yet clandestine at the same time. It -must be one or the other, you know.” - -As the action was becoming general, the marchioness with a look brought -up her light cavalry in the person of Despencer. - -“I don’t know that,” he interposed. “There is no better concealment -sometimes than a parade of openness.” - -“Really, mamma, this won’t do!” Victoria protested. “I have schooled -myself to bear Mr. Despencer’s compliments, but I really don’t think I -can stand him as a moralist. I must draw the line somewhere.” - -The marchioness threw her broad shield over her luckless ally. - -“Mr. Despencer was not speaking to you, and I will not allow you to -talk like that when he is only acting in your true interests.” - -“Well, then, I wish he wouldn’t,” was the rebellious answer. “One’s -true interests are always so singularly unpleasant. How should you like -it if Gerald or somebody were to begin acting in your true interests?” - -The marchioness looked alarmed. - -“There, that will do,” she said, hurriedly. “Understand me, Gerald, I -particularly wish to speak to Victoria for a minute by herself. You -won’t refuse a mother’s request?” - -“Not when she is a woman,” returned the reckless youth. And he strolled -off. - -The marchioness watched him safely through the door of the gallery, and -then seated herself by her daughter’s side. - -“Thank Heaven, we have got rid of him in time!” - -“Why, is anything particular going to happen?” Victoria inquired, -carelessly. - -The marchioness glowed with triumph. - -“Mr. Hammond is coming here to propose to you!” - -“Is that all?” said Victoria. - -Despencer was becoming anxious to withdraw before being favored with -any more of Lady Victoria’s sarcasms. The only way to escape was to -take her part against the marchioness. He therefore remarked: - -“A most simple occurrence, which might happen to anybody.” - -His patroness turned to him indignantly. - -“Mr. Despencer, do you wish to encourage her?” - -“I fancy Lady Victoria requires no encouragement from me. She appears -to face the situation with admirable nerve. Breeding will tell.” - -“Go away, directly!” ordered the marchioness. - -“Yes; where to?” - -The marchioness hesitated a moment. - -“To the end of the gallery.” Despencer began to move away. “And wait -there for me.” - -“Am I not always waiting for you, marchioness?” - -And with a graceful bow to both ladies, he retired to the opposite door -to that by which they had just entered. - -“Aren’t you a little rough with the poor creature?” asked Victoria, in -a tone of compassion as he disappeared. “You will break him some day.” - -“Do you realize what I have just told you?” said her mother, ignoring -the remark. - -“I have forgotten. Wasn’t it something about an offer of marriage? Who -did you say it was this time?” - -“You will drive me distracted! Now, listen to me; this may be your last -chance. If you refuse Mr. Hammond you may never get another offer.” - -“There is always Gerald to fall back upon.” - -“Another decent offer, I mean,” was the stern retort. “Of course, you -can always marry. I dare say a dean or a county court judge, or some -one of that sort, would be willing to take you with nothing but your -clothes. But this is the last respectable match I shall offer you. I -have taken the greatest pains to bring this man to the point, and if -you refuse him now I sha’n’t try again.” - -“You frighten me, mother. I hope you haven’t been resorting to extreme -measures against Mr. Hammond! You haven’t been putting pressure on him -by threatening to reveal his past?” - -The marchioness shook her head impatiently. - -“Answer me plainly, Victoria: do you intend to accept him?” - -“Are you sure he is going to propose?” - -“Morally sure. He just asked me where he was likely to find you, and I -told him I thought you would be here about this time.” - -“How did you know that?” asked Victoria, with interest. - -“Because I meant to look for you myself and send you here,” was the -resolute answer. “In these matters I leave nothing to chance.” - -“You _have_ taken pains!” exclaimed her daughter, with genuine -admiration. “But you don’t know that he is going to propose. He may -only be going to say good-bye.” - -“Nonsense! I know perfectly well. I can always tell when a man is going -to propose. My judgment has never been deceived.” - -Victoria affected to conceal a yawn. - -“Well, I am much obliged to you for warning me. I shall be prepared.” - -“And you will accept him, won’t you, like a good girl?” pleaded the -marchioness, with maternal tenderness. - -“I haven’t the slightest idea what I shall do,” was the callous reply. -“I hope he won’t be sentimental over it.” - -“Victoria! Do you refuse to do your duty to society and to your -parents?” - -Victoria was mildly annoyed. - -“There, now _you_ are going to be sentimental!” she protested. - -The marchioness rose to her feet in real anger. - -“You shameful, depraved, ungrateful child! You wish to break your -mother’s heart!” - -Victoria darted a strange look at her mother, which the marchioness was -unable to meet. Then she observed, quietly: - -“Don’t you think the less we say about hearts the better, mamma?” - -The marchioness was opening her lips to reply, when her face suddenly -changed, a beautiful smile replacing the angry frown. Hammond had just -entered the gallery. - - - - -SCENE XI - -“AND WILL SHORTLY TAKE PLACE” - - -It is generally the first impulse of a man who has been rejected by the -woman he loves to offer himself to the woman who loves him. When the -sun has set the light of the moon becomes precious. - -John Hammond did not believe that the Lady Victoria Mauleverer did him -the honor to love him after the fashion in which he loved Belle Yorke. -But the frankness with which she conducted their mutual flirtation made -him think of her as more sincere than the over-innocent maidens who -pretended to turn shy at his approach, and practised the blushes which -they had been taught by a Bond Street professor at a guinea a blush. He -felt that there was something flattering to him in her disdain of the -small arts of cajolery, and he told himself that the preference which -she so plainly showed for him must needs be genuine. - -It does not require very much to convince a man of any self-confidence -that he possesses a woman’s regard. The very cynicism with which -Victoria discussed their relations might be the cloak of a deeper -feeling, which she was too proud to confess until its return was -assured. In his present mood, however, Hammond felt no desire to -penetrate beneath that surface good-comradeship, which was all that -either he or Victoria had yet shown to the other. He could not have -gone from his interview with Belle to make love to another woman. He, -no more than Victoria, desired to be sentimental. Nevertheless, it -soothed him to think that this woman, who was willing to meet him in -his own spirit of indifference, might be secretly more fond of him than -he was of her. - -It seemed to him that the die was cast, and that he could not too soon -put it out of his own power to recall the throw. He had fought out the -struggle between Love and Ambition, and in the moment of surrendering -to Love, Love had failed him. Well, Ambition was left. The marchioness -had correctly diagnosed the symptoms, though she had little idea of -their cause. John Hammond had come to propose to Victoria. - -It only remained for the forethoughtful parent to get herself out of -the way. - -“It is too bad of you, Mr. Hammond!” she exclaimed, with the -playfulness of a boa-constrictor. “I believe you knew I was here, and -waited down below on purpose for me to go away.” - -Hammond smiled rather wearily. - -“Now, that is very artful of you, marchioness. The truth is that you -are going away just because I have come.” - -“You are perfectly right, Mr. Hammond,” remarked Victoria. - -Her mother wrenched her lips into the similitude of a smile. - -“I see what it is,” she said, with immense slyness. “You two have an -understanding, and you want to get rid of me. Very well, I sha’n’t -interfere with your little plans. I always know when I am in the way. -Good-bye. Good-bye.” - -The devoted parent nodded and smiled herself out of the gallery, -consumed with a frantic inward longing to take her stubborn child by -the shoulders and shake her into a more becoming frame of mind. - -It was fortunate that she could not hear that child’s first remark -after she had gone. - -“My poor mother amuses me very much. She thinks she is such a deep -schemer, and she is so transparent all the time.” - -“You mustn’t ask me to take sides with an undutiful daughter,” -responded Hammond. “May I sit down? I am lucky in finding you here.” - -“There isn’t much luck about it,” said Victoria, bluntly, as she made -way for him to sit beside her. “My mother knew you were coming, and -ordered me to remain here to meet you.” - -“The marchioness is very considerate,” replied Hammond, fairly taken -aback by this extraordinary confidence. - -“Yes, but I find it a little embarrassing sometimes,” Victoria -remarked. “She is so very barefaced, you know. She positively throws me -at eligible men. I hope you don’t mind having me thrown at you?” - -“On the contrary, I find it rather agreeable than otherwise. You don’t -hurt at all.” - -“I am so glad. Tell me when you are tired, and I will make her leave -off and throw me at some one else.” - -“Isn’t there another alternative?” Hammond saw a faint color come into -Victoria’s cheeks as he spoke, and went on quietly. “Do you know, I -wanted to see you, to consult you about a letter that I received this -morning.” - -He put his hand into his breast pocket and drew out a blue envelope of -the inconvenient oblong shape still in use by so-called business men. -Victoria continued to recline in the same lazy attitude on the divan, -but she watched him keenly out of the corner of her eyes. - -“How interesting!” she murmured, as he drew out a closely written sheet -and unfolded it. “I hope it is an anonymous letter taking away my -character.” - -“No; curiously enough, it is from one who has a very high opinion of -you.” - -Victoria became more languid still. - -“I am dying to hear it.” - -“You shall.” He began to read aloud: - - “‘BOOT AND SHOE EMPORIUM, - “HIGH STREET, TOOTING.’” - -“I know who it is from!” Victoria exclaimed, eagerly. “That delightful -alderman!” - -“Don’t interrupt, please. ‘_My dear Mr. Hammond--_’” - -“How sweetly friendly!” - -“Hush! ‘_It is with considerable reluctance that I have consented, at -the request of many of your leading supporters in the Division, to -address you on a subject of great delicacy and importance--_’” - -“Mysterious creature!” - -“‘_I refer to the question of your marriage--_’” - -“This is most interesting!” - -Hammond frowned sternly at the fair interrupter. - -“Wait! ‘_Some time ago it was generally rumored in the constituency -that you were likely to lead to the altar Lady Victoria Hildegonde Jane -Beauchamp-Mauleverer_, only _daughter of the most noble the Marquis of -Severn, K.G.--_’” - -“He must have looked me up in Whitaker’s ‘Titled Persons.’” - -“‘_And the news gave us the greatest satisfaction, as it was felt that -by so doing you would greatly strengthen your social prestige, and -thereby deprive the Liberals of their advantage in having secured a -baronet as their candidate--_’” - -“He quite crushes you there.” - -“‘_But I regret to state that a report has now reached us that this -marriage is not likely to come off, and your enemies have the audacity -to allege that you are contemplating a union with a singer on the -music-hall stage whose name has been a target for the breath of -scandal. Your friends have, of course, indignantly denied the rumor, -but we think it would be desirable in your interest that you should -at once write me a formal contradiction, which could be inserted, if -necessary, in the local press. Trusting you will see your way to do -this, and apologizing for the liberty I have taken, with very kind -regards, I am, yours sincerely_, - - “‘EDWARD DOBBIN.’” - - -“He gets rather prosy towards the end, doesn’t he?” commented Victoria, -who had listened in silence to that part of the letter. - -“You haven’t heard the postscript,” said Hammond. “‘P.S.--_If you -could at the same time authorize me to announce your engagement to Lady -Beauchamp-Mauleverer, we consider it would have an excellent effect._’” - -“Artful old thing! He is almost as bad as my mother.” - -Hammond folded up the letter and put it back in his pocket. - -“Well, now, what do you advise me to do?” - -“Oh, send the contradiction, by all means.” - -“And what about the further announcement?” - -Their eyes met seriously for the first time. Victoria answered, in the -same light tone: - -“Well, it seems a pity to disappoint him.” - -“Then you won’t contradict it?” - -“No, I never write to the papers.” - -Hammond bent forward respectfully. - -“Thank you. May I kiss your hand?” - -“If you will promise not to be sentimental,” said Victoria, yielding -gracefully. - -“I think I can promise that,” said Hammond, with secret bitterness. -And he bowed over the white fingers, wondering if this woman really -wished to be his wife, while Victoria wondered in her turn why on earth -this man wanted to marry her. - -They were not left long in their mutual embarrassment. The marchioness -was burning with impatience to learn the result of her arduous -campaign, and as soon as she thought she had given the lovers time -enough to adjust matters she returned to the spot, Despencer being -admitted to share the anticipated triumph. - -“So you are still here!” the mother exclaimed, with innocent surprise. -“I hope that girl has not been shocking you very much, Mr. Hammond?” - -“Well, she has, rather,” he answered, dryly. “She has promised to be my -wife!” - -“My dear child!” The loving mother rushed to fold her daughter in a -close embrace, to which Victoria submitted with silent scorn. “This -is sudden, but I cannot say it takes me altogether by surprise. -A mother’s eye sees so much,” added the marchioness, plaintively, -implying that she had long watched over her child’s secret love and -seen it grow from day to day. - -Despencer stood viewing the touching scene with an ironical smile. “She -will overdo this if she isn’t careful,” was his unspoken comment. - -The marchioness turned to her new son. - -“I give her to you, John, because I know you will make her happy. If -I had had the choice of a son-in-law, there is no one I should have -preferred to you.” - -As a bald matter of fact, there had been a slight element of choice -about it. - -Hammond bowed with due gratitude. - -“Let me offer my congratulations, too, if I may,” Despencer put in. -“This sort of thing quite touches me.” - -“Thank you,” said Hammond, curtly. “I hope to have the pleasure of -speaking to the marquis in the morning,” he added to the marquis’s -wife. - -“I will prepare him for it. I am sure you will find him ready to -welcome you as a son,” responded the marchioness, with enthusiasm. - -Victoria rose from her seat. - -“There, that will do, mother. You are not good at domestic sentiment; -it isn’t in your line. Can’t we go and bill and coo somewhere else?” -she said to her betrothed. - -“What a child!” murmured her parent, still deeply affected. “Take care -of her, John.” - -John intimated his disposition to do so by a bow, and the marchioness -and Despencer found themselves alone. The latter hastened to console -his companion. - -“Don’t mind her, marchioness. You did that very well, indeed. The -maternal embrace was perfect.” - -The marchioness sat down on the divan and heaved a deep sigh of -satisfaction. - -“You may be as rude as you like now,” she observed, mildly, “because -you have been so clever and wicked in managing this for me. I suppose -it is quite settled now. He won’t go back to that horrid girl again?” - -Despencer placed himself on the seat beside the marchioness at the -exact distance which he thought safe, as he replied: - -“I think not. The game is not quite finished yet. I am still waiting to -play my ace of trumps.” - -The marchioness was too full of her triumph to heed the last words. - -“We had better announce this in the papers at once,” she remarked, -pursuing her own line of thought. “One cannot make too sure.” - -“You will have to wait till he has seen Lord Severn,” suggested the -prudent Despencer. - -The marchioness made a grimace. - -“I suppose so. How tiresome all this etiquette is! I sometimes wish I -could go and be a curate’s wife in the country.” - -This pathetic yearning failed to move the callous listener. He retorted: - -“I believe there is no more rigid code of etiquette than that which -obtains among curates’ wives in the country. I used to know three -curates’ wives and one rector’s, but they have all dropped me. I never -knew why.” - -“I am afraid you must have a dreadful reputation,” said the -marchioness, admiringly. “I positively don’t think I ought to stay here -alone with you. Do you know they call this the Lovers’ Window?” - -Despencer’s eyes fell on the marchioness, and he ventured two and a -half inches nearer. - -“What a romantic situation! You ought not to have told me that. -Remember that I am a poet.” - -“I am afraid you are only mocking me,” said the marchioness, lowering -her eyes with a bashfulness which, regarded as a work of art, was -beautiful. “I believe you are a heartless cynic.” - -Despencer moved an inch nearer along the divan as he protested-- - -“No, you are quite wrong. You must not judge me by outward appearances, -or you will be deceived. The fact is, I am a hypocrite. I pretend to -be more worldly and wicked than I really am. If you could look into my -heart you would be surprised.” - -“I have no doubt of that. But you are not going to persuade me that I -should find much innocence there.” - -“Ah! but, my dear marchioness, why speak of it like that? Think how -uninteresting innocence is. Believe me, innocence has been sadly -overpraised by people who knew very little about it. For my part, I -much prefer experience. One is a blank page, the other is a romance, -generally of the kind that is not allowed on the railway book-stalls.” - -The marchioness was not insensible to the subtle flattery. Her voice -became actually soft. - -“You are not going to pretend to me that there is anything romantic -about an old woman who will soon be forty.” (The marchioness’s own age -in society was thirty-seven.) - -Despencer moved six inches closer. But there was no softening in his -voice; that was where he had the advantage over the marchioness. - -“Every woman is romantic when she is seated in the Lovers’ Window with -a man,” he murmured in her ear. - -What might have happened next it is impossible even to imagine. What -did happen was that both started violently apart, and rose to their -feet at the same time, the marchioness exclaiming, in a tone of subdued -consternation, “Of all men in the world, my husband!” - -The Marquis of Severn had come in very quietly by the door at the -farther end of the gallery. As his wife and her companion came rather -awkwardly out on to the floor of the gallery, he walked past them into -the window, scarcely heeding their presence, and stood with his back -towards them, looking out at the slowly rising moon. - -Throwing an impatient frown behind her, the marchioness led the way out -by the other door. Just as they reached it it was opened from without, -revealing on the threshold Belle Yorke. - -The marchioness stopped abruptly, and directed an astonished and -inquisitive glance from Belle to her husband, and from her husband -to Belle. Then she took hold of Despencer’s arm and marched off in -formidable silence. - - - - -SCENE XII - -THE LONG ARM OF MR. DESPENCER - - -George, Marquis of Severn, was one of those unfortunate men who are out -of sympathy with the class into which they have been born. As a yeoman, -farming his own land, he would have been contented; as a marquis, he -was miserable. His rank was irksome to him, he was bored by dignity, he -took no interest in politics, and detested what is called society. - -If his lot had lain in a humbler sphere of life, he would have had a -wife of his own choice, and been a good husband and father. As it was, -he had married a woman selected for him by his people, and with whom -he had not a thought in common. She was not his wife--she was merely -his marchioness. He felt himself a stranger in his own household; his -very children grew up to regard him with good-natured contempt, and the -people with whom Lady Severn surrounded herself were hardly conscious -that there was such a person as Lord Severn in existence. - -By natural disposition George Mauleverer was the reverse of a -libertine. He was fitted for domestic happiness as it is understood -by the middle classes. The irony of his fate compelled him to seek it -away from his own hearth, under conditions fatal to its permanence. The -woman whom he had taken as his second wife, and whom he would willingly -have continued to treat as such, was too much like himself to rest -satisfied in a life which outraged the social and moral prejudices of -her class. She could not find satisfaction any more than he in that -restless, artificial form of existence which is known as a life of -pleasure. She hated the gay sisterhood of St. John, and yearned after -the respectability in which she had been reared. To these motives for -breaking off the connection was added, after a few years, the decisive -one of religion. A sermon convicted her of living in sin, and she -resolved to return to the paths of righteousness. - -George Mauleverer could not oppose her determination. He sorrowfully -recognized that she was in the right, and assisted her efforts to -regain her natural place in the world. In due course she found a -husband, and from that moment all intercourse between the two came to -an end. - -The only right which the man reserved to himself was that of watching -over the child of their former union. He had done this under an -assumed name, and in the character of a godfather. Neither he nor -the mother had contemplated the necessity of revealing the truth to -their daughter. But they had reckoned without the world. Just as Belle -was growing into womanhood her stepfather died, and her mother was -threatened with disastrous poverty. In that strait she would not -consent to take money from her old lover. As a lesser evil, she allowed -her daughter to turn her talents to account on the stage. - -It had occurred neither to her nor to Belle’s father that the secret -which had been kept so successfully while Belle remained in the -obscurity of middle-class life might be endangered by the publicity -which she must now incur. The father continued to associate with his -daughter under the name by which she knew him. But Belle’s comings and -goings now fell under the eyes of more than one who knew the Marquis -of Severn. London is not such a large place as some of us are apt to -suppose; or, rather, within the small area covered by a dozen theatres -and restaurants which some of us are apt to mistake for London, there -is not much more real privacy than in a village for those whose doings -happen to be of interest to the lookers-on. - -It did not take long for the world of Piccadilly Circus to discover -the identity of the quiet, badly dressed, middle-aged man who was seen -from time to time in the company of the celebrated Belle Yorke. Further -than that the world could hardly be expected to inquire. It drew its -own conclusions, and very naturally judged others by itself. - -No whisper of the discovery had yet reached the ears of the Marquis -of Severn. When he heard his daughter’s name announced in his wife’s -drawing-room, he had realized for the first time the danger and falsity -of his position. At once he made up his mind that it was necessary for -Belle to know the truth. The merest accident, the sight of one of his -portraits, might lead to a scandal. He dared not run the risk of going -up to her himself before the crowd. He escaped into another room, and, -finding his nephew there, resolved to intrust him with the task of -speaking to Belle. - -Gerald had always had a loyal regard for his homely and despised -uncle. He listened to his confession with sympathy, and undertook to -warn Belle that she was in her father’s house. But he had carried -out his task imperfectly. The marquis realized that he must himself -complete the revelation which Gerald had begun. He had found Belle for -a moment by herself, and had arranged this meeting in a spot where he -expected to be free from interruption. - -“Why should the marchioness look at you like that?” asked Belle, in -perfect innocence, as she came towards the window, where her father was -waiting for her. - -“That is one of the things that I have to tell you,” he answered, -gravely. “But sit down, my dear, sit down.” - -She obeyed, and gazed up at him wonderingly as he stood before her. - -“I thought it better to bring you here,” he explained. “We might have -been disturbed down-stairs, but no one ever comes here except the -members of the family.” - -Belle opened her eyes. - -“Are you, then--what about you? Are you a member of the same family as -the Marchioness of Severn?” - -The marquis bowed his head. - -“Yes, I am a member of the family. That is what I want to speak to you -about. I want to tell you a family secret.” - -“But why? Why should you tell me?” she gasped, with something like -dismay. “I don’t belong to the Marquis of Severn’s family.” - -Her father stifled a groan. - -“Suppose I were to tell you that you did?” he said in a low voice. - -The recollection of her interview with Captain Mauleverer rushed over -Belle. She shrank back and raised her hands as though for protection. - -“No; this--this isn’t the secret, is it?” she whispered. - -“Listen,” was the answer. “I have just spoken to Gerald, and he tells -me that he only delivered half of the message he was to have given you -this evening. Do you think you can bear to hear the rest?” - -Again she held up her hands with that pathetic, deprecating gesture. - -“Wait! Don’t tell it to me too quickly! Give me time to think a little, -won’t you?” - -“Poor child!” - -He turned away his head, unable to face the sight of her distress, and -silence reigned for a minute. Belle was the first to speak. - -“Captain Mauleverer told me that my father was still alive. That is -true, then?” - -“Yes, that is true.” - -“And that--that-- Oh, tell it me as kindly as you can!” - -The marquis caught his breath. - -“Your father is a damned villain!” he cried out. - -“Don’t speak so harshly as that!” she implored. “Don’t make him out -worse than you can help. Remember, I am his daughter, after all.” - -“You are too good for him, Belle. He doesn’t deserve that you should -call yourself his daughter.” - -She looked up quickly. - -“You know him, then?” - -“Yes, I know him.” - -“Then--is he a relation of Lord Severn’s?” - -“He is Lord Severn.” - -“Ah!” In the midst of her astonishment a bitter thought came into her -mind. “Now I begin to understand. So that is why Lord Severn left the -house the moment I arrived, without seeing me.” - -“Yes, that is the reason.” - -“And why was I asked to come here, then? Why did he let his wife bring -me here to sing for hire in my own father’s house? Oh, it was cruel, -cruel!” - -The marquis shook beneath the reproach. - -“He did not know; the marchioness arranged it without telling him. Your -father knew nothing of it till you were here.” - -“And the marchioness?” she demanded, with sudden fire. - -“The marchioness has never heard that you are his daughter. It has been -kept a secret from every one.” - -The expression of Belle’s face became hard. - -“I see. Lord Severn is a great nobleman, I suppose, and he was ashamed -of the poor little music-hall singer whom he had cast off as soon -as she was born, and whom he never wished to see. So that is why he -ordered his nephew to speak to me, to warn me off the premises, lest -I should embarrass him before his noble wife and daughter. And now he -has sent you to complete the work.” She rose to her feet in bitter -indignation. “Well, you may tell my father that he has no need to fear. -I will not trouble him; I will go.” - -Every word stung the marquis like the knot of a lash. - -“Stop!” he cried, passionately. “What are you thinking of? You cannot -go like this.” - -“And do you think,” said Belle, turning on him with flashing eyes, -“that now I know the truth I will stop another moment beneath the roof -of a father who considers me a disgrace to him? I will go, if I should -have to walk the whole way home barefoot!” - -“No, stay; you don’t understand! My God, that you should take it like -this! Your father is not ashamed of you, but of himself. It is he who -disgraces you, not you him. He went away because he had not the courage -to meet you, and to tell you with his own lips the injury he had done -you.” - -“Is that the truth?” She gazed at him in doubt, a half-formed suspicion -beginning to struggle faintly for entrance to her mind. “Then why has -he never come near me since I was born? Why has he let me grow up in -ignorance that I had a father? Why has he never cast one glance of pity -towards his nameless child?” - -The marquis stood silent, eager to answer, and yet afraid. She went on -with increasing vehemence: - -“No, I am not his child; the Lady Victoria is his child. She has sat -upon his knee; I never have. She bears his name, and is protected by -his rank; I bear a name to which I have no right, and have no one to -protect me. She has been reared in her father’s house, among riches -and splendor; I have grown up in obscurity, and have had to go out to -battle with the world. She meets in her father’s drawing-room the men -whom I meet in the street. No; you are wrong in telling me that Lord -Severn is my father. I have no father. Lady Victoria is his daughter, -but I am only his orphan.” - -The marquis broke down. - -“Belle, don’t make it too hard for me,” he said, humbly. “Your father -has not been quite so bad as that. He has watched over you, but, like a -coward, in disguise.” - -For a minute she stood with heaving breast gazing at him, while his -own eyes were cast down before her. - -“Father! You!” The words escaped slowly from her lips at last. - -Her father gave a bitter sigh. - -“If we men could foresee these moments in our lives, we should not sin -so lightly. Yes, I have done you the greatest injury that a father can -do his child. I have tried all these years to persuade myself that the -best atonement I could make was to keep you in ignorance of the truth; -but now the truth has been forced from me, and you see me ashamed to -look you in the face.” - -“Don’t speak like that!” said his daughter, gently; “don’t look away -from me! Why, I thought I had no father, but now--” - -He looked up swiftly, a new hope in his eyes. - -“You are going to forgive me, my child?” he said, and trembled. - -“No,” said Belle, simply, “I am going to love you.” - -He uttered a cry, and clasped her to him. - -“After all,” she said presently with a tearful smile, “I was only -a poor little music-hall singer before. It isn’t as if I had much -character to lose, is it?” - -“You are very good to me, my child. If you knew how often I have wanted -to tell you who I was, and been afraid to do it! The Fates prepare some -rough places for us, but the beds we make for ourselves are the hardest -to lie on.” - -“Does any one else know of this, father?” Belle asked. - -“No one knows it except Gerald, and I can trust him. This must be a -secret between us two, Belle. It is the one favor I have to ask of you; -and I don’t ask it for my own sake, but for the sake of my family.” - -“For the sake of the Marchioness of Severn. I understand.” There was a -touch of resentment in her voice. “She has been good enough to speak to -me since I came to this house; she has explained to me the gulf that -separates her world from mine.” - -“My child! If you knew how bitter it is to me not to be able to spare -you such things! But what motive could she have had for speaking to you -like that? She can have no suspicion of the truth, surely?” - -“Oh, no. She simply wished to point out to me how unworthy I was to -receive the honorable addresses of a gentleman such as her daughter -might accept.” - -“What man is that?” - -“Mr. John Hammond.” - -The marquis started. It was the first time he had heard Hammond’s name -in connection with Belle’s, and he was not ignorant of his wife’s -designs on behalf of Victoria. - -“The very man!” he exclaimed. “And you--what have you done?” - -“I have taken her ladyship’s good advice,” said Belle, proudly. “I have -refused Mr. Hammond.” - -Her father stood and gazed at her in consternation. This rivalry -between his two daughters, the rich one and the poor one, came on him -as an unexpected shock. Suddenly there came a sound of the door opening -at the end of the gallery. - -“We must not be seen!” burst from his lips; and, without pausing to -consider the possible consequences, he seized hold of the curtains and -drew them across the opening. - -There had been two persons outside the door, and they entered together. -One was Despencer, the other was John Hammond. - -It was not in Despencer’s nature to be revengeful, but he had not been -left entirely unmoved by Hammond’s biting taunts during their interview -in the conservatory. But for them he might have been satisfied with the -success already achieved. His only motive in denouncing Belle Yorke -in the first place had been to bring about the engagement which he -had just seen ratified. It was Hammond’s insulting treatment of him -which had given him a personal interest in the affair. He yielded to -the temptation of proving himself right and scoring off the man who -had disbelieved him. As soon as he could manage his escape from the -marchioness, he went to seek Hammond and bring him to the spot where he -had left the marquis and Belle Yorke together. - -Hammond at first refused to listen. Belle had assured him with her -own lips that she had never even seen the man with whom her name was -coupled. But Despencer’s statement compelled him to action. Wondering, -reluctant, and dismayed, he allowed himself to be dragged into the -gallery. - -Both men as they entered glanced eagerly in the direction of the -window. The next instant both stopped abruptly, and their eyes met. -Despencer’s filled with malicious triumph, Hammond’s with the deepest -mortification. - -The curtains were closed. Who was behind them? - -“Now, if you wish to know the truth, draw that curtain,” the tempter -whispered. Then he walked slowly out of the gallery, watching Hammond -as he went. - -Left to himself, Hammond stood in silent anguish, his gaze fixed on the -velvet folds which spared him the sight of the falsehood of the woman -he loved. Fresh from his betrothal to Victoria, he had forgotten her -already, so much greater was the bitterness of finding that his love -was misplaced than the bitterness of having it rejected. He thought he -could hear that Belle should not love him, but he found he could not -bear that she should love another. - -Face to face with that curtain, there seemed to be no more room for -doubt. Despencer might not be a man of honor, but he could not, he -dared not, have brought Hammond there unless he were sure of the -result. What inducement had Despencer to lie? None. And Belle? Alas! it -was evident that she had only too much. - -He took a step towards the curtain, and then drew back. What right -had he to lift it? What right had he, the promised husband of Lady -Victoria, to test the faith of the woman who had just refused his hand? -Reason bade him go away, satisfied with the silent testimony of that -damning screen. - -But reason is a mere lawyer, whose client is passion. John Hammond -could no more leave that gallery without drawing the curtain than -the steel can detach itself from the magnet. It did not take long to -reason himself into the belief that to go away now would be disloyalty -to Belle herself; it would be to accept Despencer’s word against hers -without inquiry. He stepped forward again, and his hand was stretched -out towards the curtain, when he was arrested by the entrance of a man -at the opposite door. - -Captain Mauleverer had taken advantage of his dismissal by the -marchioness to wander off to a nook at the top of his uncle’s house and -indulge in a quiet smoke. Returning through the gallery, where he had -half hoped to find Victoria waiting for him, he was surprised to find -himself in the presence of Hammond. - -“Why, Hammond, what are you doing here all by yourself?” he exclaimed -as he came up. - -Hammond drew back a few steps from the curtain. - -“What am I doing?” He raised his voice and glanced towards the purple -folds as though he would have looked through them to see the effect of -his words. “I am wondering why it is that we men are ever fools enough -to expect truth from the lips of a woman.” - -“Is that all?” returned Mauleverer, his own mood in harmony with his -friend’s. “I didn’t know that any sensible man ever did. I’m sure I -don’t.” - -“Why, what is wrong with you?” asked the other, incredulously. “You -haven’t been deceived by the woman you trusted?” - -“It seems to me we all have,” was the bitter answer. “Don’t you -remember what I was telling you about down-stairs?” - -“Ah, yes; I had forgotten it. You mean that girl? Why, have you just -discovered that she really loves another man?” - -“Not that exactly. She loves me, or she pretends to, but she has sold -herself to the other man.” - -“She doesn’t love you!” The words were pronounced with an emphasis -which Mauleverer could not understand, and which was not meant for his -ears. “They all pretend, if not in words, in looks and actions. It is -their occupation, like politics with us. I knew a woman once who made -me think she loved me. She never said so, you understand, but led me -on, and laughed at me in her sleeve all the while. Depend upon it, this -girl of yours is like her. She has some secret lover in the background, -some man whom she has sworn to you that she has never seen.” - -There were three listeners to that savage outburst--two men and a -woman; but only the woman understood. - -The captain remonstrated. - -“I don’t think that of her. No; hang it! the girl is straight enough. -She doesn’t think me worth deceiving; I am too poor.” - -“I see. Then it is the other man she is deceiving, and you are the -lover in the background. You see, it comes to the same thing. I told -you they were all alike.” - -“It’s not her fault, damn it!” said the loyal Gerald. “She has got to -marry the brute; her people have driven her into it.” - -“Why?” - -“You needn’t ask. Money. It’s some infernal millionaire like you.” - -Hammond started. For the first time he turned his attention from the -unseen listeners to this dialogue to the man who was speaking to him. - -“Who? What did you say? Who is this man?” - -“I don’t know his name; she wouldn’t tell me,” replied the suspicious -captain. “What does it matter to me who he is?” - -“Do I know the girl?” - -“Yes. I don’t mind telling you, old man; it’s my cousin Victoria.” - -“What!” The word burst from Hammond like a bullet. His eyes sought the -curtain. “Are all women traitors?” he cried. - -And striding to the curtains, he dragged them back. There in the light -of the moon stood the two who had overheard every word. The marquis had -his arm round Belle’s neck, and her face was hidden in her father’s -breast. - -“It is true!” gasped Hammond. - -A tremendous silence followed. How long it lasted none of the four -could tell. At length the marquis broke it. - -“Well, sir?” he said, looking Hammond full in the face with a certain -dignity for which the other had not been prepared. - -“I beg your pardon, marquis. I was told that you and this lady were -strangers, and I believed it, like a fool.” - -He had turned on his heel to withdraw, when he was made aware that some -one else was coming on the scene. He glanced towards the door, and then -with a bow of silent apology drew the curtains across again as he had -found them. This done, he turned round and stood facing whoever might -come in. - -He had expected Despencer, and he was right. But Despencer had not come -alone. He had had another object in view all this time, and what that -object was was now revealed. Having arranged for what promised to be a -stormy scene between Hammond and the Marquis of Severn, having fired -his train and calculated the time required for it to reach the mine, he -had now brought the marchioness to witness the explosion. - -The marchioness entered quickly, her face alight with suspicion. -Despencer had skilfully aroused her expectations, without committing -himself to any definite statement. Her eye instantly fell on the -curtain, and she divined that it concealed a mystery. - -“Why is that curtain closed?” she demanded, advancing towards it. “Is -there any one in the window?” - -There was just one instant in which Hammond hesitated, nearly carried -away by the temptation to let her draw back the curtain and overwhelm -those two by whom he deemed that he had been deceived. Then, just as -the horrified Gerald was about to step forward, Hammond planted himself -right in front of the marchioness. - -“No!” he said, firmly. “There is no one there.” - -She stopped unwillingly and looked at him. He looked at her, and to -that look she yielded. - -A moment afterwards he was leading her out of the gallery on his arm, -while Captain Mauleverer escorted Despencer in the rear. - - - - -SCENE XIII - -THE MARCHIONESS AT BAY - - -“Has anything happened?” - -“The worst has happened.” - -It was the morning after the concert, and the sedulous Despencer had -called upon his exacting patroness, as in duty bound. The marchioness -had only just descended; she had made a hurried toilette, and in -consequence the pearl powder was not quite so delicately shaded off -round her neck as usual, and her waist was at least half an inch wider -than its wont. - -Such touching traces of maternal anxiety were not lost on the observant -Despencer. There is no eye like that of love. - -“Why, what is it? You alarm me,” he said, lazily sinking into a chair -in front of the marchioness. They were in her boudoir, an apartment -which ladies reserve for the reception of gentlemen who do not happen -to be married to them. The Marquis of Severn had not been in his wife’s -boudoir for ten years. - -“That man Hammond has had the audacity to send a note to Victoria -this morning asking her to release him from their engagement,” the -marchioness announced. - -“Why on earth has he done that?” - -“He says he finds he has mistaken the nature of his feelings for her,” -said the marchioness, with fine scorn. - -“What a ridiculous idea! As if his feelings had anything to do with it! -The man must be a scoundrel.” - -“He is worse,” said the marchioness with conviction; “he is a fool. Oh, -if I had only sent the announcement to the papers last night; then they -could neither of them have backed out of it.” - -“What does Lady Victoria say?” inquired her friend, cautiously. - -“She pretends to be perfectly indifferent. She treats the affair as if -it were more my concern than hers. That is what is so hard. If she only -took a proper interest in her own position, I should not be afraid; but -when I have to deal with a man who says he doesn’t want to marry my -daughter, and a daughter who says she doesn’t want to marry him, what -am I, as a mother, to do?” - -She gazed plaintively at Despencer, who considerately shook his head. - -“It is a difficult position, certainly, but I don’t despair,” he -remarked, encouragingly. “I have the very greatest confidence in you, -marchioness. I shall be quite interested to see how you get on.” - -“Don’t be so heartless and unfeeling! I consider this is as much your -business as mine. You helped to bring about the engagement, and now you -ought to support me in holding this man to his word.” - -“Well, if you are going to bring an action, I shall be delighted to -give evidence, but I don’t see what else I can do.” He paused a moment, -and then asked, in a different tone: “Have you any idea of the cause -of this sudden change? I thought everything was going so smoothly last -night.” - -The marchioness gave an emphatic nod. - -“That is just what I want to know. I suspect that it has something to -do with that scene in the picture-gallery, and I am determined to get -at the truth about it.” - -“Really!” Despencer regarded her with an amused smile. “Do you know, I -quite envy you. You are so energetic, and so hopeful.” - -“You mean by that, I suppose, that you don’t think I shall succeed?” - -He shrugged his shoulders with bland deprecation. - -“Well, I can only say that in the course of my experience I have -several times tried to get at the truth where a man and a woman were -concerned, and _I_ never succeeded. You may be more fortunate.” - -The marchioness darted a suspicious look at him. - -“One thing I mean to know anyway, and that is, who were behind that -curtain.” - -Despencer stole a glance at her sideways. - -“There I think you are unwise. It is always so much better _not_ to -know who are behind the curtain.” - -The marchioness sat up and frowned in earnest. - -“That shows that you think it was my husband and Belle Yorke. Mr. -Despencer, I can see that there is some connection between those two, -and that you know all about it.” - -Despencer smiled pleasantly, with the satisfaction of a general who -sees the enemy march straight into the ambush he has prepared. He could -even afford to play with his victim. - -“Oh, my dear marchioness, what do you take me for?” he returned, with -an insincerity not intended to deceive. “Am I a necromancer? Am I the -author of ‘Who’s Who’?” - -But, much to his inward disappointment, he was saved from further -questioning by the entrance at this juncture of the marchioness’s -nephew, to whom she had sent an urgent summons before Despencer’s -arrival. - -Captain Mauleverer came in looking very guilty and ashamed, though he -made a poor bravado of ignorance. - -“Yes, aunt, what is it?” he inquired, scarcely troubling to acknowledge -Despencer’s presence by a nod. - -“Sit down, please,” ordered the marchioness. “I want you to tell me -exactly what passed in the picture-gallery last night before I came in.” - -Gerald sat down with ill-concealed reluctance. - -“I am afraid there is nothing I can tell you,” he stammered. - -“Oh, yes, there is,” his aunt retorted. “What were you and Mr. Hammond -doing there?” - -“I am not aware that we were doing anything,” was the sullen answer. -“We met there by accident, and we fell into conversation.” - -“What was the conversation about?” pursued the relentless examiner. - -“I’m afraid I can’t even tell you that.” - -“Do you know that Mr. Hammond is engaged to your cousin Victoria?” - -“I gathered something of the kind from what he said.” - -The marchioness pounced on the admission. - -“So much the better. You hear that, Mr. Despencer?” - -“Certainly. Most damaging evidence. He can’t possibly get out of that,” -murmured the faithful one. - -“My dear aunt!” exclaimed the startled captain, “surely you don’t -anticipate any trouble with Hammond, do you?” - -“Never mind. You say that he has made the engagement a subject of -conversation among his friends, and that is sufficient to bind him as -an honorable man.” - -“But, good heavens! I didn’t say that,” protested her unfortunate -nephew. - -The marchioness turned coldly to her ally. - -“Mr. Despencer, you heard?” - -“Most distinctly,” said the witness. “Nothing could be clearer.” - -The captain became desperate. He tried to explain: - -“No--but really, it was from Victoria that I heard of it first, only -she didn’t mention Hammond’s name.” - -The marchioness smiled cruelly. - -“Very good. Then I shall be able to tell him that she has also -announced the engagement among _her_ friends.” She turned to Despencer. -“What do you say to that?” - -“It is absolutely conclusive. It doesn’t leave him a single loop-hole.” - -The miserable captain writhed helplessly, like a victim in the hands of -the Holy Office, finding every answer twisted into a fresh heresy. - -“Look here, do you mean to say that there is a chance of his breaking -it off?” he asked the marchioness. - -“Not the very slightest,” was the grim response; “but he may try to.” -All at once her manner became coaxing. “Now, I trust to you, Gerald, -as a gentleman, not to stand in your cousin’s way. You can’t marry her -yourself, as you know perfectly well, and therefore you ought not to -prevent her making a good match.” - -“I am not likely to,” he answered, gloomily. “As long as Vick and -Hammond are engaged, I am out of it altogether.” - -The marchioness looked extremely relieved. - -“That is right,” she said, approvingly. “I knew I could rely on your -good feelings not to let two millions go out of the family. But now, -are you quite sure, Gerald, that you said nothing to Mr. Hammond last -night that might have led him to suspect that there was something -between you and Victoria?” - -Gerald, conscious of having assured Hammond with considerable -earnestness that Victoria loved himself, turned red as he stammered: - -“Oh--er--well--I don’t know; the fact is, you see, I didn’t -understand--” - -His aunt came to his relief. - -“Exactly. I thought as much. Now, Gerald, I shall be seeing Mr. Hammond -this morning, and I leave it to your sense of honor to go and speak to -him and put things right first. You understand me?” - -The wretched Mauleverer rose to go out. On his way to the door he -caught Despencer’s mocking smile, and longed to kick him. As soon as he -was gone, the other, unconscious of the peril he had run, uttered the -words: - -“Marchioness, you are a great woman!” - - - - -SCENE XIV - -PISTOLS FOR TWO - - -John Hammond, although a bachelor, lived in a very good house, in the -same neighborhood as Lord Severn’s, and, strange as it may appear to -the author of _The Christian_, he possessed more than one teaspoon. -When he had hospital nurses of doubtful character to tea, which was -extremely seldom, he did not even wait on them himself; he kept -servants for that very purpose. Possibly those extraordinary facts may -be accounted for by his not being a wicked lord, nor even a misguided -baronet. - -John Hammond was seated at home on the morning after the concert, -considering his position. Immediately after the scene in the -picture-gallery overnight he had come away, feeling as if his world -had crumbled into ruin around him. He had saved the woman he loved from -the marchioness’s scorn; he could not save her from his own. And the -other woman, whom he had considered his friend, to whom he had offered -himself in all good-will, believing that she had affection to give him, -if not love--he had discovered that her heart was engaged, and that she -regarded marriage with him as a hateful necessity. - -He had sent her a note, brief, courteous, and dignified. In it he had -not used one word that might seem to accuse her; he had taken the -entire blame upon himself. He had stated simply that he found he could -not offer her the love of a husband, and he had placed himself in her -hands. Now he was waiting for her answer. - -But though he was waiting to hear from Lady Victoria, he was thinking -of Belle Yorke. There are two kinds of misfortune which sometimes come -upon a man at the same time; and one makes a public arrival, and -it harasses him a great deal, but the other comes in silence and in -secrecy, and it wrecks his life. - -There was a knock at the door, and a footman announced Captain -Mauleverer. - -For the first time in the history of their friendship the two men faced -each other with mutual embarrassment. The captain, like a sensible man, -went straight at his fence. - -“Look here, Hammond, I am awfully sorry I made such an ass of myself -last night. I’m afraid I have given you a wrong impression about -Victoria.” - -“No. Why should you say that?” Hammond replied in a tone of -indifference. - -Mauleverer looked at him anxiously. - -“I’m afraid I have led you to think there was something between us, -that she--well, in fact, that she cared about me.” - -Hammond gave a weary shrug. - -“What of it? What does it matter?” - -“It’s very decent of you to take it so well,” said the puzzled captain. -“I was afraid that I might have unwittingly injured her in your mind.” - -“No, oh no; don’t think that. There was no hypocrisy about Lady -Victoria, I can assure you. She didn’t pretend to be in love with me, -and I didn’t pretend to be in love with her.” - -“You asked her to marry you,” observed the other, in a tone of -remonstrance. - -“I know; I did it to please my constituents, as she was aware. A public -man has to do that sort of thing.” - -“Surely you expected her to care for you in time?” - -“No; I merely expected her to canvass for me.” - -Mauleverer began to feel baffled by this cynical indifference. - -“You seem to take a very curious tone,” he said, after a moment. “Of -course, you understand that, whatever feeling I may have had for her -in the past, I shall never think of her again except as a cousin.” - -In spite of his own inward trouble, Hammond could not resist a smile at -the honest captain’s efforts to plead against himself. He gave him an -amused glance as he retorted: - -“I am afraid that is rather ambiguous. I have known cousins who were -very much attached to each other.” - -“Hammond, do you doubt me when I tell you that from this moment -Victoria will be perfectly indifferent to me?” - -“Well, you piled it on pretty strongly last night, you know. I can’t -help thinking that you are rather more fond of her than you pretend. -But there is no need to get excited about it; it makes no difference to -me.” - -Mauleverer gazed at him in dismay. - -“Is that the way in which you speak about your future wife?” - -“No,” said Hammond, shaking his head decidedly. - -“Hammond, what does this mean? You say that my attachment to Victoria -makes no difference to you, and yet you no longer wish to marry her?” - -“It means that I have made a mistake, and that I have to get out of it -the best way I can.” - -“Old man, this is my doing. This is because of what I said to you last -night.” - -“No.” Hammond became earnest for the first time. “I am very glad you -said what you did, because if I had had the vanity to think that Lady -Victoria cared twopence about me, you would have undeceived me. But the -reason why I have determined not to marry her is not merely because -I believe she loves you, but because I have discovered that I love -another woman too well ever to marry any one besides.” - -“Great heavens! Is that it?” Mauleverer exclaimed. He recalled the -scene of last night, and began dimly to understand it. - -Hammond proceeded to enlighten him. - -“Did you think that I was jealous of you? Why, man, if I had loved -your cousin with one-hundredth part of the love I have for that other, -I should have taken you by the throat last night when you said what you -did. Jealous of you? No, but of that man whose years protect him from -my anger, though they have not protected youth and innocence from him. -It is Lord Severn, not you, who has robbed me of the woman I love; and -let me tell you that if I had no other reason for breaking the hollow, -lying pledge I gave last night, I would sooner cut off this hand than -give it to the daughter of the man who is guilty of Belle Yorke’s -betrayal!” - -“My God!” - -Mauleverer sat transfixed as the whole truth of the situation burst -upon him. Twice he opened his lips to speak, and twice he recollected -that the secret had been intrusted to his honor. He was on the point of -springing to his feet to go, when the door opened and the footman came -in. - -“A Mr. Yorke, sir, wishes to see you. He is in the hall,” announced -the stately creature with icy impassibility. - -“Mr. Yorke?” repeated Hammond, bewildered. - -“He is a rather young man, sir.” The information was vouchsafed with a -crushing absence of emotion. “I should judge him to be about thirteen.” - -Hammond started and changed color. Then he said with quiet emphasis: - -“Show the young gentleman in.” - -If ever footman permitted himself to show human feelings, assuredly a -faint gleam of something resembling surprise played across the visage -of that footman as he withdrew. - -“Who is it?” asked Mauleverer, amused. - -“Belle Yorke’s brother.” - -The footman threw open the door. With perfect self-control, with a -beautiful unconsciousness of whether he was announcing a member of the -royal family or a detective with a warrant for his master’s arrest, he -uttered the words: - -“Mr. Yorke.” - -The captain saw a rather undersized boy in knickerbockers, with his -fists tightly clenched and a flush of excitement on his cheeks, who -walked boldly into the centre of the room, and there stood still. - -Hammond, who had already risen, went towards the boy with extended -hand. Mr. Yorke drew back, and kept his own hands down by his side. - -“I’d rather not shake hands with you, please, Mr. Hammond.” - -The man started, and dropped his hand with a strange look. - -“Will you sit down?” he asked, quietly. - -“I’d rather not, please.” - -Hammond bowed, and remained standing himself. - -“I’ve come to see you about my sister. Miss Belle Yorke. She hasn’t any -father, you know, so I’m her protector.” - -“Yes, my boy, I’m sure you are,” said Hammond, very gently. - -Mr. Yorke went on, with a certain feverish energy: - -“It’s rather difficult for me to speak to you, because I don’t know -exactly what you’ve done to Belle; but I know it’s your doing, whatever -it is, because you used to be her sweetheart, and now she says she -shall never see you any more. You’ve broken her heart, and she wouldn’t -eat any breakfast this morning, and mother says she will give up the -stage; and I believe she’s been crying, though she won’t own to it. And -I don’t think you’re a gentleman, Mr. Hammond.” - -Hammond’s head was drooping on his breast. - -“God knows that!” he muttered. - -“So I have come here to tell you that I consider you’ve no right to -treat Belle like that, and I’m not going to stand it. And as soon as -I’m old enough, I’m going to challenge you to a duel.” - -“My child!” - -The exclamation burst from the man unawares. Mr. Yorke turned very red. - -“I think it’s very offensive of you to call me that,” he said, -wrathfully, “and it isn’t treating me as you ought to.” - -“I beg your pardon,” said the man, humbly. - -“And if you think,” Mr. Yorke went on fiercely, “that you can take -advantage of my being young to refuse me satisfaction, I shall think -you’re not very honorable, because you knew Belle had only me to -protect her when you broke her heart. And I’ve come here to ask you, -as a gentleman, to wait till I am twenty-one, so that I can fight you. -It’s only eight years and two months, and I expect you to give me your -word of honor that you will wait till then.” - -“I will wait.” - -“Thank you, sir.” Mr. Yorke became more friendly. “It’s only fair -for me to tell you that I’m going to save up and buy a revolver and -practise every day, so you had better do the same. I don’t want to -take any advantage of you.” - -“You’re a brave fellow,” said Hammond. - -“Then I think that’s all. Good-morning, Mr. Hammond.” - -“Good-morning, Mr. Yorke.” - -Hammond rang the bell, and advanced to open the door of the room. Mr. -Yorke was half-way out when he paused in the doorway. - -“I say, Mr. Hammond,” he said, his manner suddenly changing to thorough -boyishness, “do you mind promising me, as a great favor, that you -won’t tell mother or Belle about this, or they mightn’t let me buy the -revolver?” - -Hammond bowed kindly. - -“I promise.” - -The footman appeared outside. - -“Show Mr. Yorke out.” - -Mr. Yorke, regaining his dignity, made his exit in state, leaving the -two men looking at each other. - -“By Jove! that was a little trump!” Mauleverer burst out as the door -closed. “Not much the matter with the modern child, after all.” - -Hammond nodded as he cast himself wearily into a chair. - -“Do you mind going now, old man?” he said, bluntly. - -Mauleverer sprang up with a sudden recollection, hurried out on to the -pavement, hailed the nearest cab, and dashed off to Berkeley Square. - - - - -SCENE XV - -A MISFORTUNE FOR SOCIETY - - -Hammond was not left to himself for very long. The marchioness waited -to give her nephew time to clear the way, and then took the field in -person. - -When he heard her name, a sardonic smile crossed Hammond’s lips. He -stood up to receive her, a very different man to the one whom Belle -Yorke’s brother had encountered. - -The marchioness walked in with an angry gleam in her eyes. Hammond at -once proceeded to draw first blood. - -“Show Mr. Despencer in!” he called out to the footman, looking out -through the door as if in the expectation of seeing that gentleman -outside. - -“Mr. Despencer is not with me, Mr. Hammond,” said the marchioness -shortly, biting her lips. - -Mr. Hammond affected to be surprised. - -“I apologize!” he exclaimed, as the footman withdrew. “But this is very -good of you, marchioness. Where will you sit?” - -The marchioness planted herself in an arm-chair. - -“I suppose you know, Mr. Hammond, why I have called?” - -Hammond seated himself comfortably in another easy-chair opposite, and -crossed his legs. - -“No, unless it’s about that unfortunate affair last evening.” - -“Mr. Hammond!” The marchioness darted a glance of withering rebuke at -the recalcitrant suitor. “Is that the way in which you refer to the -fact that you are engaged to my daughter Victoria?” - -“_Was_ engaged, excuse me, marchioness,” he corrected, with easy -good-nature. “Didn’t you know that I had written to Lady Victoria to -beg off?” - -“It is in consequence of your extraordinary letter that I have come -here,” said the marchioness, scowling. “I trust you will have the good -sense and right feeling to withdraw it before my daughter is compelled -to give it any reply.” - -“I am afraid I can’t oblige you.” - -The answer was given quietly enough, but the marchioness looked in his -face and saw something there which she did not like. - -“Have you considered the effect of such a step as this on my daughter’s -reputation?” she demanded, with dignity. - -“I don’t see that it need go beyond ourselves,” Hammond replied. -“Nobody else knows of it but Mr. Despencer, and your influence with -him--” - -The marchioness interrupted, breathing angrily: - -“You are utterly wrong there. The engagement is public property. I -understand you yourself have freely mentioned it to your friends.” - -“I? Never!” - -He stared at her in amazement. - -“Pardon me, I have proof of what I say,” she affirmed. “And Victoria -has done the same. She has mentioned it to her friends.” - -“I am sorry to hear that.” - -The marchioness began to hope. - -“You must see that, under the circumstances, you have no alternative, -as a gentleman, but to withdraw your letter.” - -“I am afraid I don’t see it. I would much rather leave myself in Lady -Victoria’s hands.” - -“Have you no regard for her feelings, pray?” - -“Every regard. If she tells me that she still wishes to marry me, I -shall keep my word.” - -“You have no right whatever to throw the decision on her. Have you no -consideration for her parents?” - -Hammond’s lip curled. - -“I’m afraid I haven’t.” - -The marchioness glared at him. - -“Mr. Hammond, are you a gentleman?” - -“Well, it is rather a question, isn’t it?” he responded, with a -cheerful smile which drove her frantic. - -“Do you know that our family is one of the oldest in Great Britain?” -she demanded, after a moment’s pause. - -“Precisely. And mine is one of the newest. It would really have been a -_mésalliance_, my dear marchioness.” - -The marchioness could hardly believe her ears. - -“Have you _no_ regard for descent?” she gasped. “My daughter has royal -blood in her veins, Mr. Hammond.” - -“Ah! there you have me at a disadvantage,” he returned. “All my female -ancestors were respectable married women.” - -The marchioness turned crimson. It was well known that the royal blood -in the house of Mauleverer had entered it by irregular channels. - -“I am not accustomed to this kind of language,” she proclaimed, rising. -“I shall request the marquis to call on you.” - -“That will suit me a great deal better. I shall be able to talk to the -marquis,” was the grim answer. - -The marchioness swept towards the door. - -“I see I have made a mistake in coming here. I begin to ask myself -whether you were really aware of what you were doing yesterday.” - -Hammond smiled pleasantly. - -“Ah, now, that sounds like rather a good explanation. I can say I was -intoxicated, can’t I?” - -“Well--” - -The marchioness broke off short, her eyes fixed in stony horror on the -doorway. - -“Lady Victoria Mauleverer and Mr. Despencer!” - -Victoria had been still considering how to deal with the letter she -had received from Mr. Hammond, when the treacherous Despencer had come -and informed her that her mother was on the way to her lover’s house to -bring him to book. Her mind was instantly made up. She put on a hat, -impressed Despencer into the service, ordered a hansom, and drove off -on the track of her parent. - -The two newcomers were in the room, and the door had closed on the -departing footman, before the marchioness recovered herself. - -“Victoria, you will oblige me by leaving this house immediately. I -order it.” - -Victoria laughed negligently. - -“How absurd you are this morning, mother! You keep forgetting that I -am over twenty-one,” she remarked. Then, crossing over to Hammond, she -held out her hand with frank good-will. “Good-morning, Mr. Hammond!” - -The sight of her daughter calmly shaking hands with the man who had -jilted her, as if nothing had happened, nearly turned her mother’s hair -gray. Fortunately it was from the best maker, and could not turn gray. - -“Victoria,” she said, in a suffocated voice, “if you have no respect -for yourself, perhaps you will have some respect for me! Mr. Hammond -has grossly insulted me. Mr. Despencer, will you be good enough to take -me to my carriage?” - -“No, he can’t do that yet,” interposed Victoria. “I brought him here as -my chaperon, and I haven’t done with him.” - -Despencer glanced from the daughter to the mother. The contest was -between fear and love. - -“I apologize for being so badly constructed,” he murmured, “but I don’t -take in halves. Will it do if I give somebody my visiting-card?” - -“I shall not go till you do, Victoria. I decline to leave you alone -with Mr. Hammond again,” the marchioness said, spitefully. - -“Please don’t be impressive,” was Victoria’s unkind reply. Then, -turning to Hammond and speaking rapidly, she went on: “I got that -amusing note of yours. I came round to tell you that of course I quite -understood that it was all a joke last night. We ought not to have -said anything to my mother, because she is so easily taken in, and -she believed we were quite serious. But I enjoyed the fun myself very -much, and I mean to make Gerald awfully jealous about you when we are -married.” - -The marchioness blinked her eyes as though a sword had flashed before -them, as she saw herself thus shamefully discarded and her last hope -gone by the board. As for Despencer, he regarded Victoria with the -admiring glance of an artist for a brilliant piece of work, in a kind -which he understands. - -Hammond bowed gratefully. - -“Lady Victoria, you can do anything you like with Mauleverer and me -except make us quarrel.” - -The marchioness came to herself. - -“What do you mean by talking about marrying Gerald?” she demanded. - -“My dear mother, I suppose we must marry some time. We have been -engaged long enough.” - -“Engaged!” the poor marchioness could only ejaculate. - -“Well, I thought everybody in London knew that,” said Victoria, calmly. -“I am sure Mr. Hammond did.” - -“Excellent!” Despencer murmured to himself. “She has come off with -flying colors.” - -“Engaged to a pauper!” the marchioness exclaimed, tragically. “And, -pray, what do you propose to live on?” - -“Oh, that is quite settled,” her daughter answered. “I have arranged to -open a milliner’s shop in Piccadilly.” - -“I thought everybody in London knew that,” remarked Despencer -heartlessly. - -It was the stab of Brutus. The marchioness turned a look on the traitor -that should have rooted him to the floor. - -“Mis-ter De-spencer!” - -“Yes, marchioness?” - -There had been a sound of wheels below. A carriage had driven up to the -door. Captain Mauleverer had not been idle during the hour which had -elapsed since his departure. Footsteps ascended the staircase; the door -leading into an adjoining room was opened and shut. Then-- - -“_The Marquis of Severn!_” - -As the marquis entered the room which his wife and daughter were in -already, Hammond took a step forward, looking very pale and determined. -Lady Victoria drew quietly towards a window, followed by Despencer. The -marchioness, standing in the centre of the room, addressed her husband: - -“George! Do you know what has happened?” - -The marquis, after his first momentary surprise at finding them there, -had taken no notice of any one but Hammond, on whom his eyes were fixed -with an expression of mingled reproach and excuse. The excuse Hammond -thought he understood, but the reproach puzzled him. - -“I know too much,” the marquis began. “Hammond, I have something to say -to you.” - -“Hadn’t we better wait till we are by ourselves?” said Hammond, with a -significant look. “I have something to say to you as well.” - -The marquis glanced round, first at his wife and then at Despencer. - -“No, I cannot have too many listeners, for I have to crush a slander -and to make a reparation.” He stepped to the door and opened it. “Come -in, Gerald!” - -Captain Mauleverer came in, but not alone. Clinging to his arm, with -downcast head, as if she almost feared to see her lover’s remorse, came -Belle. - -“Great God!” As the oath burst from him all the blood in his veins -surged up to Hammond’s heart, and ebbed away again, leaving him white -and faint. It needed not for Belle’s father to speak, the mere sight of -her convicted him. - -The marquis spoke, drawing Belle to him, and facing each of his -listeners in turn with a brave dignity. - -“I have just learned, within the last hour, that this young lady has -been made the victim of one of the blackest falsehoods ever uttered, a -falsehood in which my name is connected with hers. It is true that she -and I are connected. We have been connected for nearly twenty years, -and all that time I have endeavored, rightly or wrongly, to keep the -fact of our connection a secret from the world. How that secret has -been penetrated I do not know; but now that I do know the damnable -interpretation which has been placed upon my conduct, I am determined -to proclaim the truth to the whole world. I cannot atone for the injury -I have done her in the past, but I will at least do my best to guard -her in the present. Hammond, this is my daughter.” - -A profound silence succeeded. The marchioness was frightened. Despencer -was conscious of a faint emotion to which he had long been a stranger, -and which he supposed to be honest shame. Hammond was too much moved -to speak. Victoria hesitated only for an instant, then she went up to -Belle impulsively and kissed her on the cheek. - -“Lord Severn,” said Hammond, slowly, as soon as he could master -himself, “you have done me the greatest service one man can do to -another, and you have crushed me.” - -“George!” ventured the marchioness. - -Her husband frowned. - -“Go home, Jane!” he said, curtly. - -And that great woman walked out of the room as crestfallen as a small -urchin that has been caught doing mischief and spanked. - -Despencer followed of his own accord, without doing more than whisper -to Hammond as he passed: - -“I never apologize, and I never commit suicide, but I mean to be very -firm with that marchioness.” - -Victoria took her cousin’s arm. - -“And I couldn’t think why Mr. Hammond jilted me this morning,” she -laughed. - -“I can’t think why he ever proposed to you,” retorted Gerald, smartly. - -And they, too, went out. - -The marquis stood silent for a minute, his daughter leaning on his arm. -She had not yet dared to look up at Hammond. - -“Is there anything else that you would like to say?” - -Hammond started at the question. The color began slowly to return to -his face. - -“I should like you to beg your daughter to forgive me--if she ever can.” - -The marquis looked down at Belle and gently patted the head that rested -on his arm. - -“What do you say?” he asked her. - -The eyes remained downcast. The answer came, very soft and low: - -“Tell him that it wasn’t his fault, and, if it was, I had forgiven him -already.” - -Her father looked back again at Hammond. - -“Anything else?” - -Hammond began to tremble. There was color enough, and to spare, in his -face now. - -“Yesterday evening your daughter told me that she did not love me. I -should like you to ask her if there is any hope that she will ever -change her mind.” - -“Well, my dear?” - -It was Belle’s turn to tremble. - -“Tell him--tell him that I shall never change my mind. But”--she raised -her eyes at last, with that look which only comes into a woman’s eyes -once in her life, and which only one man sees there--“but--that I don’t -always speak the truth.” - -The Marquis of Severn went out quietly, leaving them together. - - -THE END - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - - - Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. - - Archaic or alternate spelling has been retained from the original. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SLAVES OF SOCIETY *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Slaves of Society</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>A Comedy in Covers</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Allen Upward</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: March 11, 2022 [eBook #67606]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, Access Services at Purdue University Library, West Lafayette, Indiana, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SLAVES OF SOCIETY ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/cover.jpg" width="40%" alt="" /></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_title.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> -<h1>THE SLAVES<br /> -OF SOCIETY</h1> - -<p><span class="large"><span class="antiqua">A Comedy in Covers</span></span></p> - -<p><span class="xlarge"><i>By</i> THE MAN WHO<br /> -HEARD SOMETHING</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_titlelogo.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<p><span class="xlarge">NEW YORK AND LONDON<br /> -HARPER & BROTHERS<br /> -1900</span></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center">Copyright, 1900, by <span class="smcap">Harper</span> & <span class="smcap">Brothers</span>.</p> - - -<p class="center"><i>All rights reserved.</i></p> - -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" summary="table"> - - -<tr><td class="tdr"><small>SCENE</small></td><td class="tdr" colspan="2"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">I.</td><td> <span class="smcap">A Mother’s Cares</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1"> 1</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">II.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Course of True Love</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_19"> 19</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">III.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Slave of Alderman Dobbin</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_28"> 28</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">IV.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Notorious Belle Yorke</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_55"> 55</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">V.</td><td> <span class="smcap">A Person of Importance</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_82"> 82</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">VI.</td><td> <span class="smcap">What People Said</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_98"> 98</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">VII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">A Question of Chemistry</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_115"> 115</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">VIII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Cinderella</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_128"> 128</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">IX.</td><td> <span class="smcap">And the Prince</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_143"> 143</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">X.</td><td> “<span class="smcap">A Marriage Has Been Arranged</span>” </td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_158"> 158</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XI.</td><td> “<span class="smcap">And Will Shortly Take Place</span>”</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_172"> 172</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Long Arm of Mr. Despencer</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_189"> 189</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XIII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Marchioness at Bay</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_214"> 214</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XIV.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Pistols for Two</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_224"> 224</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XV.</td><td> <span class="smcap">A Misfortune for Society</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_237"> 237</a></td></tr> -</table> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[1]</span> - -<p class="ph2">THE SLAVES OF SOCIETY</p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SCENE I<br /> - - -<small>A MOTHER’S CARES</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">After</span> all,” sighed the marchioness, as -she conveyed a three-cornered piece of muffin -from the silver chafing-dish to her mouth, -and nibbled delicately at one of the corners—“after -all, what are we but slaves of -society?”</p> - -<p>Mr. Despencer extended a hand almost as -white and slender as the marchioness’s own, -and abstracted a small cube of sugar from -the porcelain basin, of the thinness and transparency -of a sea-shell, on the marchioness’s -silver tray, while he meditated a becoming -response.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[2]</span>“Yes,” he exclaimed, giving his head a -slow, mournful movement from side to side, -“you are right. We are no better off than -prisoners on the treadmill. Even you are -but a bird of paradise held captive in a gilded -cage.”</p> - -<p>The bird of paradise removed the piece of -muffin from its beak to turn a pair of bright, -steel-blue eyes on the speaker, gazing at him -for some moments as though in doubt whether -to accept this beautiful sentiment as a tribute -or to rebuke it as a familiarity.</p> - -<p>The cage so feelingly referred to was one -of a set of drawing-rooms on the first floor of -a mansion in Berkeley Square—that is to -say, in the heart of that restricted area within -which society requires its bond-servants to -reside during the spring and early summer. -The gilding consisted in a mural decoration -of the very latest and most artistic design, -representing a number of Japanese dragons -going through a kind of dragon drill, apparently -adapted to develop their tail muscles<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[3]</span> -according to the system of Mr. Sandow; in -curtains of lemon-colored silk on each side -of the window and other curtains of lemon-colored -plush across the doorways; in a carpet -of that rich but chaotic pattern which has -been compared to the poetical style of the late -Robert Montgomery, and in a thicket of fantastic -and inconvenient chairs, of china-laden -cabinets and palms in Satsuma jars, which -would have rendered it extremely hazardous -for the gymnastic dragons to have come -down from the walls and transferred their -exercises to the floor of the apartment.</p> - -<p>The inhabitant of this dungeon was a -handsome young woman of forty, or possibly -forty-five, with the fresh complexion and vivacious -expression of a girl, united with a -certain massiveness of outline, the inseparable -distinction of the British matron. Just -at this moment, moreover, her features were -hardened into that business-like aspect which -the British matron assumes when she is engaged -in doing that duty which England<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[4]</span> -expects of her no less than of its sea-faring -population.</p> - -<p>Her companion looked even younger than -the marchioness. A rather pale face, set off -by a carefully cultivated black mustache, -gave him that air of concealed wickedness -which women find so interesting. His attire -was a little too elegant to be in perfect taste. -His bow was tied with an artistic grace repugnant -to the feelings of an English gentleman. -He was a typical specimen of that -class of man whom men instinctively taboo -and women instinctively confide in; who are -blackballed in the best clubs and invited to -all the best country-houses, who have no -male friends, and are on intimate terms with -half our peeresses. Sometimes these men -end by getting found out, and sometimes they -marry a dowager countess with money—and -a temper. As yet neither fate had overtaken -Mr. Despencer.</p> - -<p>The marchioness decided that her companion -had been familiar.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[5]</span>“Don’t be ridiculous!” she said, with some -sharpness. “I sent for you because I want -your assistance.”</p> - -<p>Despencer meekly submitted to the reproof.</p> - -<p>“You know I am always at your disposal,” -he murmured.</p> - -<p>The marchioness glanced at him with a -questioning air, much as King John may be -supposed to have glanced at Hubert before -proceeding to introduce the subject of Prince -Arthur’s eyes.</p> - -<p>“They tell me you are horribly wicked,” -she remarked, in the tone of one who pays a -distinguished compliment, “so I feel I can -rely on you.”</p> - -<p>“In that case I must positively ask you to -go into another room,” returned Despencer, -with his best smile. “In your presence I find -my better instincts overpower me.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness leaned back in her chair, -and half closed her eyes with an expression -of well-bred fatigue.</p> - -<p>“Please don’t begin to say clever things.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[6]</span> -I want to talk sensibly.” She reopened her -eyes. “You see, I can’t speak to the marquis -because—well, he is rather old-fashioned -in some of his ideas; so I have to fall -back on you.”</p> - -<p>Despencer slightly shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p>“Lord Severn is certainly a trifle out of -date. He belongs to the solid-tire period.”</p> - -<p>“Exactly!” exclaimed the marchioness, -with some eagerness. The next moment she -recollected herself and frowned. Even the -fireside cat will sometimes protrude its claws -from under their velvet caps, and the marchioness -was not quite sure that she had -not felt a scratch. She frowned beautifully—the -marchioness’s frown was celebrated. -Then she observed: “Though I think it is -extremely impertinent of you to say so. -Please to remember that the marquis is my -husband.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! to be sure he is. I apologize. It is -so difficult to keep in mind these legal distinctions.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span>This time the marchioness felt certain she -had been scratched. She glanced furtively -at her companion, who preserved the composure -of entire innocence as he set down his -empty teacup on a small ebony stool, inlaid -with mother-of-pearl, and made himself more -at ease by drawing back into his chair and -crossing his superbly trousered legs. After -a little pause, she asked suddenly:</p> - -<p>“You know Mr. Hammond?”</p> - -<p>“No.” The word was spoken with a touch -of disdain.</p> - -<p>“Not know Mr. Hammond! Why, I -thought Hammond’s ales were drunk in all -the clubs?”</p> - -<p>“It doesn’t follow that you know a man because -you drink his beer. But I have heard -of him. Isn’t he rather an outsider?”</p> - -<p>The marchioness looked indignant.</p> - -<p>“He is run after by all the best people,” -she remonstrated.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but is he worth it?” returned Despencer.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[8]</span>“He is worth two millions,” retorted the -marchioness.</p> - -<p>Despencer sat up in his chair and glanced -at her.</p> - -<p>“Rather a loud kind of man, they tell me,” -he observed.</p> - -<p>“They tell me it is the thing to be loud -now,” said his companion.</p> - -<p>“The sort of man that takes ballet-girls to -Richmond?”</p> - -<p>“The sort of man that every mother in -England would welcome as a son-in-law.”</p> - -<p>Despencer smiled compassionately and -leaned back in his chair again.</p> - -<p>“Oh, quite so. There could be no possible -objection to him as a son-in-law. I thought -you meant as an acquaintance.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t be so insolent,” said the marchioness; -“but listen. A man like that -ought to marry, and to marry well. If he -were to fall into the clutches of some vulgar -adventuress, I should regard it as a misfortune -for society.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span>“This is very noble of you,” murmured her -companion.</p> - -<p>She went on: “We are all so wretchedly -poor in society now that we can’t afford to -lose two millions. Besides, with his money -and a seat in Parliament, they are sure to -make him a peer.”</p> - -<p>“I should think that very likely. The -House of Lords is the one club in London -where you can’t be blackballed.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness condescended to smile.</p> - -<p>“How wretchedly jealous and spiteful you -are to-day! To come to the point. I have -determined to do my duty to society by marrying -Victoria to this man.”</p> - -<p>“Congratulations! Let me see, ought I to -call you a Spartan mother, or a Roman one? -I really forget.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness raised her hand in languid -remonstrance.</p> - -<p>“I begged you just now not to be clever. -Unfortunately, there is an obstacle in the -way.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span>“Ah! I think I have heard something -about a gallant cousin?” Despencer suggested.</p> - -<p>“No, no. Victoria has far too much sense -for that sort of thing. Besides, I don’t allow -Gerald here now. No, the obstacle I mean -is not a man, but a woman.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! now I see it is going to be serious. -Who is she?”</p> - -<p>“Belle Yorke.”</p> - -<p>“Belle Yorke!” Even Despencer’s careful -training did not enable him to hide his stupefaction -on hearing the name. “The celebrated -Belle Yorke?” he asked, staring hard -at the marchioness.</p> - -<p>“The notorious Belle Yorke,” was the -scornful answer. “I understand she is -all the rage at the music-halls just -now, and Mr. Hammond is among her admirers.”</p> - -<p>“He is not the only one,” said Despencer, -dryly.</p> - -<p>“Why do you look like that?” demanded<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span> -the marchioness. “Is there some mystery -about Belle Yorke?”</p> - -<p>“Oh no! Oh, dear no! Very little mystery, -I should say,” and Despencer smiled.</p> - -<p>The marchioness detected a history in the -smile.</p> - -<p>“Then there is some scandal?” she asked, -eagerly, lowering her voice as people do when -they do not wish to be overheard by their -conscience. “I felt sure of it. I read in a -paper only the other day that all those people -on the stage were alike. Ahem! Mr. Despencer—what -do people <i>say</i>?”</p> - -<p>Despencer gave another light shrug. He -shrugged consummately. Despencer’s shrugs -were as celebrated as the marchioness’s -frowns.</p> - -<p>“What do people generally say? It is the -usual story: the usual little cottage at Hammersmith, -the usual widowed mother, and -the usual friend who pays the rent.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness’s look of horror would -have deceived experts.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span>“How utterly depraved and shocking! I -never dreamed it was so bad as that! I -almost wish you hadn’t told me anything -about it. Ahem! Mr. Despencer—what do -they say is the friend’s name?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, really!” For a moment Despencer -looked startled, then he smiled queerly. -“That is not at all a nice question. I really -don’t think you ought to ask me that. -I have such a dislike for scandal.”</p> - -<p>“So have I, except when I am listening to -it in the interest of propriety,” was the firm -answer. “I insist on knowing the friend’s -name.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I have heard the lease is in the -name of a Mr. Brown.”</p> - -<p>“Brown? Nonsense! That must be an -assumed name.”</p> - -<p>“Very likely. In these cases I believe it -is not usual to put the gentleman’s real name -in the lease.”</p> - -<p>“Then—then—Mr. Despencer, what is the -real name?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span>“Oh, marchioness!” Despencer drew back -and shook his head reproachfully. “Really, -you will bore me if you go on. I couldn’t -even guess the gentleman’s real name. It -might be anything—Smith, or Jones, or -President Kruger. It might be Hammond.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness shook her head with conviction.</p> - -<p>“It isn’t Hammond. I see you don’t understand -the situation.” An ironical smile -played for a moment on her companion’s -face. “No, if it were only idle folly, I should -try to shut my eyes to it. But I haven’t told -you the worst. I hear that Mr. Hammond’s -admiration for this person is perfectly honorable.”</p> - -<p>“That does sound bad!” Despencer returned, -gravely. “But I warned you against -the man. I told you he was an outsider.”</p> - -<p>“You are not to be so flippant,” said the -marchioness, crossly. “Remember, you are -talking to a mother whose child’s happiness<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span> -is at stake, and tell me what I am to do. You -see, the poor man evidently believes that this -girl is perfectly proper.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, he won’t believe <i>that</i> long, you may -be quite sure.”</p> - -<p>“The question is, who will undertake to -open his eyes? It will really be doing him a -kindness.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; but people are so ungrateful for -kindness,” objected the other. “Does this -man Hammond know the marquis?” he -asked, after a little hesitation.</p> - -<p>“I expect so. But it is quite useless to think -of him. He mustn’t be brought into it.”</p> - -<p>Despencer smiled discreetly, as if he -thought it might be rather difficult to keep -the marquis out.</p> - -<p>“Now, Mr. Despencer, you are my only -hope,” pursued the marchioness. “I appeal -to you in the interests of society.”</p> - -<p>“You know I am your slave, marchioness. -But it will be a difficult thing to manage. I -almost think—”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span>Despencer broke off, and gazed thoughtfully -at his companion.</p> - -<p>“Well, what is it? What do you suggest?”</p> - -<p>“I fancy that the best thing you can do, -if you wish to bring matters to a head, is to -have Miss Yorke here.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Despencer!”</p> - -<p>“Why not? You see, it isn’t as though -she weren’t quite respectable. There may -be rumors about her, but then there are rumors -about everybody. If we paid attention -to rumors, we should all have to shut ourselves -up like hermits; except you, there is -not a woman in London whom I could visit. -As long as nothing is <i>known</i> about her, you -will be quite safe in having her here—of -course, I mean professionally.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness looked a little relieved.</p> - -<p>“That doesn’t sound quite so bad,” she -admitted. “I could have her at my concert, -and let her sing something. I suppose she -wouldn’t be altogether too frightfully improper?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span>“Oh, dear no! you needn’t fear anything -of that kind. Improper songs are quite gone -out at the halls now. All Belle Yorke’s are -about seamstresses who starve to death in the -East End, and ragged boys who insist on -taking off their jackets to wrap them round -their little sisters on doorsteps in the snow. -She makes people cry like anything. I have -seen a stockbroker sobbing in the stalls of -the Empire as if his heart would break when -the ragged boy gets frozen to death, and the -little sister wonders why he doesn’t answer -her any more.”</p> - -<p>“How sweetly touching! I shall insist on -her singing that one here. I am sure I shall -cry.” The marchioness lifted a small gold -watch, the size of a bean, that swung from -a brooch on her left shoulder. “Can you -reach the bell? I must speak to Victoria before -anybody comes.”</p> - -<p>Despencer rose, and walked across the -room to press a small malachite knob placed -in the wall beside the fireplace, in accordance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span> -with that mysterious law of connection which -every one must have observed, though we believe -it has never been decided whether the -bell is an acquired characteristic of the fireplace, -or the fireplace an acquired characteristic -of the bell.</p> - -<p>A perfectly constructed machine, bearing -considerable resemblance to a human -being, attired in a chocolate-colored suit -relieved with pink braid, opened the door, -and glided noiselessly into the room, stopping -with a slight jerk, as though the -clockwork had run down, at about three -paces inside.</p> - -<p>“That is settled, then,” the marchioness -was saying when the machine entered. “I -shall get her here, and see what she is like.” -Her ladyship turned to the machine. “Go -and find Lady Victoria, and tell her I want -to speak to her.”</p> - -<p>The machine made an inclination, revolved -on its castors, and noiselessly disappeared. -The marchioness continued:</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span>“I must have Mr. Hammond here as well, -I suppose?”</p> - -<p>“That is indispensable,” was the answer. -“And, by the way, I think it will be better -not to say anything beforehand to Lord -Severn.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness looked surprised.</p> - -<p>“Why?” she demanded.</p> - -<p>Despencer gave another shrug.</p> - -<p>“I thought we agreed just now that he was -a trifle Early Victorian in some of his ideas. -He may have heard the rumors, you know.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness had caught a step approaching. -She raised her hand with a warning -gesture.</p> - -<p>“Not a word before Victoria!”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SCENE II<br /> - - -<small>THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">While</span> the marchioness was confiding her -maternal anxieties to Mr. Despencer’s sympathetic -ear, her daughter, Lady Victoria -Mauleverer, was engaged in calmly defying -her affectionate parent’s behests.</p> - -<p>She was now in the adjoining room; but -the dust which yet lingered on her small and -delicately made shoes of dark green kid -would have revealed to the eye of one of -those marvels of astuteness who formerly -flourished, and, for aught we know, flourish -still in the pages of the popular monthlies, -that she had recently returned from out of -doors. Her perfectly plain skirt, not quite -long enough to conceal the shoes already -mentioned, might have suggested further<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span> -that the excursion had not been wholly unconnected -with a bicycle. Further incriminating -evidence was supplied by a dark -cloth jacket, similar in design to that worn -by the steward on board a yacht, but ornamented -with a number of oxidized steel buttons -of the size of crown pieces, and by a -straw hat indistinguishable from those ordinarily -worn by undergraduates.</p> - -<p>In spite of these evidences of that removal -of the barrier between the sexes which is the -crowning triumph of our civilization, Lady -Victoria was a most attractive girl. She was -not quite so youthful as the marchioness, -but that could hardly have been expected. -At twenty, one is usually a hardened woman -of the world; at forty, one begins to be an -innocent little thing.</p> - -<p>We have hinted that Lady Victoria had -just returned from a bicycle ride. It is -necessary to add that she had not returned -alone.</p> - -<p>The companion who had escorted her, not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span> -only to the door of the house, but up-stairs, to -that of the drawing-room, was a tall, fine-looking -man of twenty-eight or thirty, whose -whole surface, from his boots to his forehead, -gleamed with that excess of physical polish -which is the religion of the British soldier. -It is not the only religion which demands -some intellectual sacrifice on the part of its -votaries.</p> - -<p>As soon as the two were inside the room, -Lady Victoria turned to her companion.</p> - -<p>“How can you be so imprudent, Gerald! -Do you know my mother is in the next -room?”</p> - -<p>Captain Mauleverer walked boldly forward, -and sat down without waiting to be asked.</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” he answered, coolly. “That -is the reason why I have come into this -room. It was not my aunt whom I wanted -to see. You know, we are barely on speaking -terms.”</p> - -<p>“You needn’t tell me that. I assure you -my mother has taken good care to let me<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span> -know her opinion of you. I warn you plainly -that if she comes in and finds you here, I -shall abandon you to her.”</p> - -<p>Captain Mauleverer tried to look unconcerned.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t think you were such a coward as -that, Vick,” he remonstrated. “But, after -all, I don’t see that I have done anything so -very dreadful. She can’t forbid me the house -altogether, you know. I’m her own husband’s -nephew.”</p> - -<p>Lady Victoria smiled with good-natured -scorn.</p> - -<p>“That’s nothing. You don’t know my -mother. She wouldn’t hesitate to forbid her -husband the house, if she wanted to. Husbands -occupy a very uncertain position in -society nowadays; they are only tolerated.”</p> - -<p>“Is that a warning for me, I wonder?”</p> - -<p>Something in her cousin’s tone, and the -look with which he accompanied the question, -brought out an impatient frown on -Victoria’s face. She walked over to the window,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span> -and stood tapping her foot against the -floor.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be ridiculous, Gerald! You know -as well as I do that it is not the slightest use -for this sort of thing to go on.”</p> - -<p>She kept her back turned on him while -she spoke. There was a touch of softness -in his voice as he answered:</p> - -<p>“It has gone on a long time, Vick, hasn’t -it?”</p> - -<p>“A great deal too long,” was the reply, -spoken with decision. “You know it is perfectly -hopeless. You can’t afford me; I have -told you so over and over again. Why on -earth don’t you go and invest yourself in a -pork-butcher’s daughter from Chicago, like -everybody else?”</p> - -<p>She turned on him with some fierceness as -she put the question. The captain looked -up at her reproachfully as he exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“What a hateful girl you are to talk like -that! You know perfectly well that you love -me.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span>“Don’t be vulgar, Gerald!” was the sharp -rebuke. “What has that to do with the question? -You know I am for sale, just like the -Zulu women. I don’t know exactly how -many cows I am worth, but I know I am one -of the most expensive girls in London.”</p> - -<p>Captain Mauleverer pulled his mustache, -gazing at her with ill-concealed admiration.</p> - -<p>“Well, anyway, that is no reason why I -shouldn’t look in at the shop-window,” he -retorted, cheerfully.</p> - -<p>It was at this moment that the machine -despatched by the marchioness entered the -room to summon Victoria to her mother’s -presence.</p> - -<p>“Is there any one with the marchioness?” -she inquired.</p> - -<p>The machine believed that Mr. Despencer -was with her ladyship.</p> - -<p>“Very good; I’ll come.”</p> - -<p>As soon as the machine had withdrawn to -its subterranean abode, Captain Mauleverer<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span> -asked, in the tone of a man who really desires -information:</p> - -<p>“Who on earth <i>is</i> that man?”</p> - -<p>Victoria looked blandly surprised.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Despencer, do you mean? I haven’t -the slightest idea.”</p> - -<p>It was the captain’s turn to look surprised.</p> - -<p>“Why, I thought he was constantly in the -house.”</p> - -<p>Victoria lifted her shoulders with fine disgust.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but I don’t know him. He is not -anybody, you know. I call him the Ladies’ -Journal. He is not received; he circulates. -My mother takes him in, but I don’t.”</p> - -<p>“Is he one of those writing chaps?” inquired -the captain, with military contempt.</p> - -<p>“I dare say. He may be the Poet Laureate -for aught I know. But you must really go -away now, or there will be a row.”</p> - -<p>“And when may I come back?”</p> - -<p>“It would be much better if you didn’t -come back at all.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span>Captain Mauleverer shook his head as he -rose reluctantly.</p> - -<p>“It’s no good talking like that, Vick. You -have got to put up with me, so you may as -well make the best of it.”</p> - -<p>“Gerald! what nonsense!” Victoria spoke -as though she were exceedingly cross. “Go -away directly; do you hear?”</p> - -<p>“You haven’t told me when I may see -you again yet,” returned the obstinate -Gerald.</p> - -<p>“I am not going to do anything of the -kind.”</p> - -<p>“Then I shall stay here and compromise -you,” said Gerald, preparing to sit down -again.</p> - -<p>“Well”—she lowered her voice, with a -glance towards the door of communication -with the next room—“my mother has a concert -on Thursday night.”</p> - -<p>Captain Mauleverer brightened up.</p> - -<p>“But if you come to it, I sha’n’t let you -speak to me.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span>“Won’t you?” He walked slowly towards -her.</p> - -<p>As Captain Mauleverer went out of the -room by one door to go down-stairs and out -of the house, Lady Victoria went through -the other into the presence of her mother -and Mr. Despencer.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SCENE III<br /> - - -<small>THE SLAVE OF ALDERMAN DOBBIN</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Yes</span>, mother?”</p> - -<p>Lady Victoria bowed slightly to Despencer, -who had risen at her entrance, -and walked across to where the marchioness -was seated.</p> - -<p>The marchioness gazed at her daughter as -if she had been a chimney-sweeper.</p> - -<p>“You dreadful child! You know this is -my day, and you come in like that! Have -you no regard for people’s feelings?”</p> - -<p>Victoria smiled disdainfully.</p> - -<p>“I suppose you mean Mr. Despencer’s feelings?” -she observed.</p> - -<p>“I mean the feelings of society,” returned -her mother sternly. “You are more like an -anarchist than a well-bred girl.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span>Lady Victoria indulged in the tiniest of -yawns.</p> - -<p>“I think the anarchists are very interesting -people,” she remarked. “If it weren’t for -them, there would be nothing to read about -in the papers.”</p> - -<p>“There would be China,” returned the -marchioness in a shocked voice.</p> - -<p>The marchioness considered herself a politician. -Her husband had once been Master -of the Deerhounds.</p> - -<p>“Bother China!” said Lady Victoria, dropping -into a chair. “Is that what you sent -for me about?”</p> - -<p>The marchioness raised her eyes in mute -appeal to the ceiling.</p> - -<p>“I sent for you because I wanted to speak -to you privately before anybody comes.”</p> - -<p>Despencer, who had been about to sit down -again, stood up, and moved towards the door. -The marchioness recalled him.</p> - -<p>“Where are you going?”</p> - -<p>“I thought you wanted to be alone.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span>“Don’t be absurd! I don’t count you.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps Lady Victoria does,” Despencer -suggested, with a rather nervous glance in -her direction.</p> - -<p>Lady Victoria did not condescend to return -the look.</p> - -<p>“Pray, don’t trouble yourself about me, -Mr. Despencer,” she said, negligently. “I assure -you I never know that you are in the -room.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t be rude, Victoria!” said her mother, -more crossly than she had spoken yet. “Mr. -Despencer is one of your best friends.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose that means he has been saying -something unpleasant about me?” was the retort.</p> - -<p>Despencer ventured to interpose.</p> - -<p>“I may be a poet, but my imagination -doesn’t carry me so far as that,” he said, in -his most insinuating tones.</p> - -<p>Lady Victoria gave him one crushing look, -and turned to the marchioness.</p> - -<p>“My dear mother, I wish you wouldn’t<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span> -train Mr. Despencer to say these silly things. -Surely he is not a suitor for my hand?”</p> - -<p>“Be quiet, Victoria!” said her indignant -parent. “From the way you treat him he -might be your husband. But I’m sure it -isn’t a thing for you to joke about. Do you -remember that this is your third season, and -that you are nearly twenty?”</p> - -<p>Her daughter smiled in good-tempered derision.</p> - -<p>“I think, as there is only Mr. Despencer -here, I may as well remember that it is my -fourth season, and that I am over twenty-one.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness passed over the correction.</p> - -<p>“All the more reason that you should seriously -consider your position. The question -is whether you really intend to be married -or not.”</p> - -<p>“Surely it isn’t a question of my intentions. -You had better ask the men theirs. I presume -they know I am in stock by this time.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span>“It is idle to talk like that. I have offered -you three men already, and you found fault -with each of them.” The marchioness spoke -with real feeling. “There was Sir Humphrey -Bewley, a most eligible man, who quite -raved about you. You complained that he -was too old.”</p> - -<p>“Old! He was prehistoric. He used to -get excited about the Conquest.”</p> - -<p>“Then you shouldn’t have encouraged -him. You let him spend a fortune in jewelry -for you.”</p> - -<p>“That was because I mistook his intentions. -I thought he wanted to adopt me.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness gasped.</p> - -<p>“Don’t talk like that! Then there was -the Earl of Mullet. You objected to him because -he was a Scotchman.”</p> - -<p>“And took snuff. Put down the snuff.”</p> - -<p>“He wouldn’t have made you take it. And -last year you refused Mr. Jacobson, whose -father owns three gold mines. You said he -was a Jew.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span>“No, excuse me, I merely said his father -had been one.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness shook herself impatiently.</p> - -<p>“The Jews are most respectable,” she proclaimed, -“when they are rich enough. They -go everywhere.”</p> - -<p>“Except to the Holy Land, marchioness.”</p> - -<p>The interruption came from Despencer. If -he threw in the remark with the hope of propitiating -Lady Victoria it was a failure. That -young lady took not the slightest notice. Her -mother glared at the traitor for an instant, -and continued as though he had not spoken.</p> - -<p>“It is high time you made up your mind. -Now, there is Mr. Hammond, who has promised -to come here this afternoon. He has -been paying you attentions for some time. -You can’t say anything against him.”</p> - -<p>Victoria had changed color slightly at the -mention of this name. But she responded, in -the same tone of languid indifference:</p> - -<p>“I have nothing to say against him, except<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span> -that so far his intentions have not been -very oppressive. He has danced with me -three times, and he once peeled me an orange, -but you can hardly found a breach of promise -case on that.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not sure,” ventured the unabashed -Despencer. “I fancy something might be -made out of the orange.”</p> - -<p>Before the marchioness could proceed with -her lecture, the door opened, and the voice -of the machine announced, “Mr. Hammond!”</p> - -<p>“Bother the man!” muttered the marchioness, -impatiently, as she rose to receive him. -“He is a quarter of an hour too soon. This is -so good of you!” she exclaimed, in an altered -voice, as the form of the visitor appeared -in the doorway.</p> - -<p>Mr. Hammond entered.</p> - -<p>About his personal appearance there was -nothing remarkable. It is bad form to look -remarkable, and much of John Hammond’s -life had been devoted to avoiding everything -in the way of bad form. His attire was in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span> -every respect a perfect replica of that of any -other hundred men to be met between Waterloo -Place and Hyde Park Corner of an afternoon -in the London season. He was clean-shaven, -and his clear-cut features were those -of an able man, not yet entered upon middle -age, who has been accustomed to have the -world at his feet, and whose only anxieties -have been caused to him by his own ambition.</p> - -<p>John Hammond was a favorable representative -of the class which is gradually replacing -the last remains of our feudal aristocracy. -The Hammond fortune had been -created by his father, so that he was not a -self-made man. In the sense in which the -word is used to-day, he was undoubtedly a -gentleman. He had been educated at the -best public school—that is to say, the most -expensive—in England, and in the most -fashionable college of the most fashionable -university. He had been in the best set, -both at school and at college, an advantage<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span> -which his smartness as a wicket-keeper and -his inherited millions perhaps contributed -about equally to procure. He had taken a -good degree; he now took a cold bath every -morning, rode to hounds, and sat in the -House of Commons as a Conservative.</p> - -<p>But John Hammond lacked one thing, -which neither money nor merit could procure. -He had not been born and reared in -an ancestral mansion, built in the days of -the Tudors or the Stuarts, on the site of a -Norman keep. He had not wandered as a -child through dusty galleries from whose -oak-panelled walls looked down the portraits -of dead generations of his name. He had -not heard from his nurse the story of the -loyal ancestor who fought for King Charles, -and of the wicked ancestor who killed his -rival in a duel, and of the beautiful ancestress -in whose praise poems had been written -by Waller or by Davenant. He had not -roamed as a boy through hereditary woodlands, -and bullied the keepers’ sons whose<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span> -forefathers had served his from time immemorial. -He had not grown up with the -feeling in his blood that all this was part of -him, and he was part and lord of it. He -was only lord of a brewery, in which his -father had once brewed with his own hands.</p> - -<p>If John Hammond had been brought up -in that other environment, he might not have -set store by it. If his lot had not cast him -among those to whom such things were matter -of course he might not have felt the deprivation. -He knew well enough that he had -advantages which, in the world’s estimation, -far outweighed those which he was without. -He knew that he lived in an age when the -homage which birth pays to wealth is open -and unashamed. He had seen peers bringing -their wives to wait in the halls of African -Jews. He had heard of mysterious checks -received by men of Norman lineage from -millionaires who sprang up in a night like -monstrous toadstools, and decayed, leaving -the air poisoned all around them. He had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span> -seen the noblest blood of England in the -dock, and the oldest blood of Scotland warned -off the turf.</p> - -<p>His reason told him that he was immensely -the superior of such men; but no man’s beliefs, -any more than his actions, are governed -by reason. The acute logician who has failed -to prove to himself the existence of a God -takes refuge in the infallibility of a man. -John Hammond’s instinct told him that the -boasts of low-born poets were not altogether -truth, that the blood of the Howards did not -lose all its virtues even in the veins of sots -and slaves, that a gentleman was as much -above a king’s might as an honest man was, -and that neither kind heart nor simple faith -could take the place of one drop of Norman -blood.</p> - -<p>Every man’s character has its weak spot, -and this was the weak spot in John Hammond’s. -There were moments when he despised -himself for the halo with which his -imagination encircled the heads of the caste<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span> -into which he had not been born. There -were other moments when he felt inclined to -marry the Lady Victoria Mauleverer.</p> - -<p>Mr. Hammond entered.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid you find me brutally punctual, -marchioness,” he said, in a vigorous, masculine -voice that seemed to go through the atmosphere -of the drawing-room like a breath -of fresh air. “That is the worst of business -habits. I wanted to wait down in the hall -till somebody else came, but they wouldn’t -let me.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness smiled graciously, with -a horrible inward misgiving that Mr. Hammond -had overheard her rash protest against -his arrival.</p> - -<p>“But you needn’t talk to me unless you -like,” he added, remorselessly, as he finished -shaking hands with the two women. “I will -sit still and look at photographs. Is this a -new one of Lord Severn?”</p> - -<p>“You are not a moment too soon,” the dismayed -marchioness hastened to say. “Do<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span> -you know Mr. Cyril Despencer, Mr. Hammond?” -The two men bowed with mutual -distrust. “I assure you we were absolutely -dying when you came.”</p> - -<p>“Really! I must apply for a medal from -the Royal Humane Society for saving life.” -He turned to Victoria, who had dropped into -her chair again with an elaborate assumption -of being bored to distraction. “Lady -Victoria, you are looking remarkably well for -a corpse.”</p> - -<p>He laid down the marquis’s photograph, -and placed himself in a chair beside the -young woman. She barely raised her head.</p> - -<p>“Thanks. I will tell my maid what you -say. She will be glad of a little encouragement, -poor thing!”</p> - -<p>The marchioness gave a low moan.</p> - -<p>“Victoria! I hope you are accustomed to -the modern girl, Mr. Hammond.”</p> - -<p>“The modern girl is my particular hobby,” -was the grave answer. “I may say that I -collect her. I keep an album at home, in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span> -which I get young ladies to record their most -secret thoughts and yearnings for my especial -benefit. It is such interesting reading.” -He turned again to the scornful beauty beside -him. “Mayn’t I put you in my album?”</p> - -<p>“I hardly know. I am afraid I should -shock you; I am so perfectly depraved,” -drawled Victoria. “You would have to keep -me apart, like those very select works of -which only a hundred copies are printed on -hand-made paper and sold by private subscription -to scholars.”</p> - -<p>“Victoria!” There was a note of real distress -in the marchioness’s voice. “What are -you talking about?”</p> - -<p>“I dare say Mr. Hammond knows,” was -the reply, in the same unmoved tone.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps Mr. Hammond collects those -works as well. They are generally written -by young ladies,” Despencer interposed.</p> - -<p>Hammond turned and looked at him as if -a dog had barked.</p> - -<p>“Yes; but I think I have got a volume of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span> -yours on the same shelf, if you are the author -of <i>Fig Leaves</i>.”</p> - -<p>Despencer became loftily indifferent.</p> - -<p>“I remember writing a book with that name -when I was a boy. Do people still read it?”</p> - -<p>“No; but they still look at the illustrations.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness came to the rescue of her -satellite.</p> - -<p>“Ah! but Mr. Despencer has reformed -since then,” she said, with unction. “He -is writing a novel in favor of marriage.”</p> - -<p>“How daring!” Hammond answered. “Of -course it will be refused by the libraries.”</p> - -<p>“Come, I sha’n’t allow you to say that -marriage is improper,” said the marchioness, -with an earnestness that was slightly clumsy. -“We still marry in society.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t say so!” Hammond pretended -to exclaim. “I fancied it had quite gone -out. Isn’t it considered a rather middle-class -thing to do?”</p> - -<p>The marchioness refused to be baffled.</p> - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span>“How horrid and cynical of you to talk -like that! You know that you ought to get -married yourself. Society expects it of you.”</p> - -<p>Hammond shook his head.</p> - -<p>“My dear marchioness, the views of society -are the last thing I think of considering. -My life is ordered by the views of Alderman -Dobbin.”</p> - -<p>“Alderman Dobbin? That person you -asked me to send a card to? Who is he?”</p> - -<p>“Really, this ignorance is discreditable to -you, marchioness. Alderman Dobbin is the -autocrat of the constituency I have the honor -to represent, the Chairman of the Tooting -Conservative Association. In me you behold -Alderman Dobbin’s slave. He is my moral -mentor and political taskmaster. Since I sat -for Tooting I have ceased to be a free citizen -with thoughts or ideas of my own. I am a -mere puppet, the strings of which are pulled -by him. The lips may be the lips of Hammond, -but the voice is the voice of Alderman -Dobbin.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span>Lady Victoria raised her head with an appearance -of interest during this speech. She -now remarked:</p> - -<p>“From what you say, I am sure he is a -charming person. You have made me quite -in love with him. I shall flirt with him when -he comes.”</p> - -<p>Hammond gazed at her with stern reproach.</p> - -<p>“Lady Victoria, you commit yourself most -painfully. Alderman Dobbin is married. -Alderman Dobbin is the father of a large -family. Alderman Dobbin, moreover, is a -church-warden, and in the High Street of -Tooting the sinner trembles when he passes -the shop which bears Alderman Dobbin’s -name and superscription.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you see that you are simply making -me more determined by all this?” returned -Victoria. “I shall feel like the loreley, or -whatever they call it, luring the well-conducted -fisherman to his destruction.”</p> - -<p>“Did you say he kept a shop?” put in the -marchioness, who already began to see in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span> -the alderman a possible ally. “What does -he sell?”</p> - -<p>“Boots. Since I was returned for Tooting -my unworthy feet have been clothed in Alderman -Dobbin’s handiwork. The shoes -which I have on are made of a substance -which he supposes to be patent leather. They -are his choice, not mine. I am as wax in -his hands. If he required me to wear Wellingtons, -I should obey. At his bidding I -have changed my tailor and discharged my -groom; and if ever I want to choose a wife -I shall first have to ask Alderman Dobbin’s -consent.”</p> - -<p>“I have no doubt he is a very sensible man, -and you could not do better than take his advice,” -said the marchioness, who was quite -serious. “I am very glad he is coming here. -We don’t see nearly enough of the—er—the -other classes. When my husband was Master -of the Deerhounds, I once gave a thing -they called a Primrose Tea down at our place -in Worcestershire, but I didn’t speak to any<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span> -of the creatures that came to it, except one -dreadful person, who, they told me, was a -justice of the peace. He called me ‘My -lady,’ exactly like that delightful character -who wants to murder everybody in one of -somebody’s novels.”</p> - -<p>“I expect the alderman will call you -‘ma’am,’” observed Hammond, reflectively.</p> - -<p>“I once knew a solicitor in a Welsh town,” -said Despencer, slowly, “where they had just -elected a peer of royal descent as mayor, and -this solicitor urged that they should return -another solicitor, who happened to be a Jubilee -knight, to the town council, in order that -his lordship might have some one of his own -rank to talk to.”</p> - -<p>This time it was the marchioness who administered -a snub to the unlucky speaker. -She observed severely:</p> - -<p>“As soon as any gentleman, in whatever -position, has received the accolade of his sovereign, -he ceases, in my opinion, to be a proper -subject for ridicule.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span>Just as this rebuke was ended the door -opened quickly, and a small, insignificant-looking -man in a rather shabby lounge suit -strolled into the room. On catching sight -of the group round the marchioness he -stopped short, and looked as if meditating -flight.</p> - -<p>The marchioness promptly took him into -custody.</p> - -<p>“Pray come in, George! This is quite too -charmingly domestic and suburban,” she observed, -addressing the company generally. -“My husband has actually come home to -tea.”</p> - -<p>The Marquis of Severn, who was generally -supposed to haunt a small dark room -somewhere near the kitchen stairs, called by -courtesy the library, was plainly disconcerted -by the position in which he found himself.</p> - -<p>“I’m really very sorry, Jane; but I didn’t -know you had a party on.” By this time he -had succeeded in recognizing the two men. -He gave Despencer a careless nod, and walked<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span> -across the room to shake hands with Hammond. -“How d’ye do? I see you know my -women,” he remarked.</p> - -<p>“My dear father,” Victoria remonstrated, -“if you are not careful you will wake up -some day and find yourself covered with -moss. Mr. Hammond and I are all but -engaged.”</p> - -<p>“Victoria!” came in tones of stifled anguish -from the marchioness.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you believe her, Severn,” laughed -Hammond. “I haven’t given your daughter -the slightest encouragement—as yet.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you should have my consent, if it -counted for anything,” said the marquis, -beginning to make his retreat from the room.</p> - -<p>Again his wife’s voice arrested him.</p> - -<p>“George, now you have come in, you must -stay, you know. I should consider it very -marked if you went away.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t want me, Jane; I should only -be in the way,” he objected, feebly.</p> - -<p>“You underrate your social powers, George.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span> -Besides, I don’t ask you to talk to any one. I -only want you to show yourself.”</p> - -<p>“If that’s all, I’m sure I needn’t stay. But -I leave you my photograph.”</p> - -<p>With these words Lord Severn made a bolt -for it, and succeeded in getting out of hearing -before his wife could launch a fresh injunction.</p> - -<p>The marchioness bit her lip in some embarrassment. -Despencer caught her eye and -managed to infuse a certain meaning into his -look, as he asked aloud:</p> - -<p>“Who are you going to have to sing on -Thursday night?”</p> - -<p>The marchioness took her cue with the -dexterity of an old diplomatist. She leaned -back in her chair with an air of utter unconcern, -as she responded:</p> - -<p>“I have almost forgotten. Some people -they recommended to me at the music-seller’s.” -She raised her hand to her brow, as -though studying to recollect. “Let me see. -Oh yes, there is one woman who I believe is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span> -perfectly charming. They told me that at -the music-halls all the young men were dying -for her.”</p> - -<p>Hammond moved his head rather abruptly -to look at the speaker.</p> - -<p>“Do you remember her name?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“I think she calls herself Belle Yorke. -Why, have you seen her?”</p> - -<p>The marchioness’s expression was one of -innocent surprise at the strong interest plainly -depicted on her listener’s countenance.</p> - -<p>Before he could reply to her, the conversation -was again interrupted. The machine -had brought a Dowager Lady Rollox and an -Honorable Edith Rollox to see his mistress.</p> - -<p>The marchioness seized the occasion with -the instinct of a match-maker.</p> - -<p>“Come and help me to talk to these stupid -people,” she breathed hurriedly in Despencer’s -ear, as she rose and went to meet the newcomers. -Despencer meekly obeyed.</p> - -<p>The little piece of by-play between her -mother and Despencer had not been lost on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span> -the Lady Victoria Mauleverer. As soon as -she and Hammond were left together she -inquired, with an air of doubt:</p> - -<p>“Do you know anything about this Belle -Yorke?”</p> - -<p>Hammond roused himself with a start from -his reflections.</p> - -<p>“I? Belle Yorke? Yes, yes. I know -something about her.”</p> - -<p>“I hope there’s nothing wrong about her -coming here?” pursued Victoria, with superb -coolness. “She won’t do anything dreadful, -will she?”</p> - -<p>Hammond braced himself up.</p> - -<p>“I have the honor of being a friend of Miss -Yorke’s, and I respect her as much as any -other lady of my acquaintance,” he said -firmly.</p> - -<p>“I beg your pardon,” Victoria said, lightly. -“I only asked because my mother is so very -indiscreet. She makes me quite giddy sometimes. -One meets such very queer people in -this house—the Ladies’ Journal, for instance.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span>“Meaning?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t you know? It’s what we call -Mr. Despencer behind his back. He is so -well informed, you know, on certain subjects.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder what you call me behind my -back.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, we think very highly of you, I can -tell you. I believe my mother is quite anxious -that I should marry you.”</p> - -<p>“Let me see, I rather fancy I am engaged -just now, but I shall be charmed to break it -off.”</p> - -<p>“I hope Alderman Dobbin will approve of -me.”</p> - -<p>Hammond affected to shake his head in -doubt.</p> - -<p>“You will have to satisfy him as to your -moral character.”</p> - -<p>“That will be rather difficult,” Victoria -admitted. “Perhaps you had better not let -him know that I cycle.” She glanced down -at her costume as she spoke. “But I must -really go and put on decent things before<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span> -anybody else comes, or the alderman may -hear of it. We shall see you at the concert, I -suppose?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and the alderman,” said Hammond.</p> - -<p>He was slipping away a few minutes later, -when he found himself intercepted in the -doorway by Despencer.</p> - -<p>Despencer addressed him in a confidential -tone.</p> - -<p>“I say, you heard what the marchioness -said just now. Do you think any one ought -to give a hint to Lord Severn?”</p> - -<p>“Why, what about?” asked Hammond, -surprised.</p> - -<p>“About Belle Yorke. She oughtn’t to -come here, you know.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?” demanded Hammond, frowning -angrily.</p> - -<p>“Didn’t you know?” Despencer’s expression -became that of a man who finds he has -innocently committed himself. “Perhaps I -ought not to have spoken to you about it; -but I thought the story was public property.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span>“What story? I wish you would speak -out.”</p> - -<p>Despencer glanced round cautiously, and -lowered his voice.</p> - -<p>“Of course it may be only idle rumor. -But they say that she is living under his -protection.”</p> - -<p>“That is false!” said Hammond.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SCENE IV<br /> - - -<small>THE NOTORIOUS BELLE YORKE</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Miss Yorke</span> was out, but the servant, -whose dishevelled coiffure indicated that she -had been interrupted in the midst of her afternoon -toilette, thought that Miss Yorke -would be in directly. Would the gentleman -like to step in and wait?</p> - -<p>The gentleman accepted the invitation, -giving his name as Hammond. He found -himself in one of those curious apartments -characteristic of the suburbs of London, and -known as parlors, a word believed to be derived -from the French. Like the rooms of -state in Buckingham Palace, the parlor does -not enter into the daily life of the household, -but is reserved for occasions of ceremony, and -more particularly, as its name indicates to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span> -the learned, for interviews with visitors. The -parlor of the notorious Belle Yorke was more -old-fashioned in appearance than most rooms -of its class. The furniture was veneered in -rosewood. There was a round table in the -centre, covered with a cloth over which the -deadly gift-book and the paralyzing parlor-game -were disposed with a carelessness which -spoke of greater care. There was a sofa, attired -in a chintz dressing-gown. There were -two easy-chairs flanking the fireplace, one -with arms for the gentleman, and one without -for the lady, as in old crinoline days, and -there were six little chairs to match, all irresistibly -suggestive of one of those ancient -tombs on which the father and mother are -represented kneeling opposite each other, -each with a row of children behind. There -was a species of disguised wash-stand, called -a chiffonnier, ranged against one side of the -room, and a piano against another. The -walls were hung with prints, chiefly Scriptural -subjects, among which the place of honor<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span> -was taken by an engraving representing -the marriage of the Prince and Princess of -Wales. It was a scene of primeval simplicity -and Nonconformist peace.</p> - -<p>Hammond looked about him with a sense -of intrusion, as he found himself for the first -time in Belle Yorke’s home. It was utterly -unlike anything he had expected to find. -Belle Yorke lived in that part of Hammersmith -which had not yet succeeded in covering -itself with flats and calling itself West -Kensington. The house outside was small -and unpretentious; but so are the outsides of -many houses which are gay enough within. -Miss Yorke’s appearance on the boards was -too recent for her yet to have furnished a -miniature palace and set up a brougham on -the proceeds of the public favor. But the domestic, -old-fashioned air which pervaded the -whole place came on Hammond as a surprise -and a rebuke.</p> - -<p>The servant who had just shown him in asked -a question which further opened his eyes.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span>“Would you like to see Mrs. Yorke, sir?”</p> - -<p>Hammond started.</p> - -<p>“Is that Miss Yorke’s mother?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Does she live here?”</p> - -<p>The servant opened her eyes.</p> - -<p>“Lor’, yes, sir! This is ’er ’ouse!”</p> - -<p>Hammond considered for a minute.</p> - -<p>“Well, you can tell Mrs. Yorke I am here, -if you like.”</p> - -<p>The servant nodded and went out, leaving -him to his reflections.</p> - -<p>In love, as in war, there is an armed neutrality -when the period of friendship has -passed away, but neither side is yet ready for -a declaration. Just such a stage had been -reached in the joint history of John Hammond -and Belle Yorke.</p> - -<p>He had met her in Bohemia, that pleasant -country which the passing tourist sees only -in its brightest garb, when the trees are -green in the valleys and the vines are ripening -in the warm sunshine. The manners of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span> -Bohemia are freer than those of other lands, -and among that friendly folk the course of -acquaintanceship between a man and a woman -is not curbed and governed and interpreted -quite as it is in the dominions of society.</p> - -<p>So the millionaire had drifted into a friendship -with the music-hall singer without any -after-thought; and when the after-thought -had gradually grown up of its own accord, he -had found it the most comfortable plan to -shut his eyes to it and make believe it was -not there.</p> - -<p>If he had been ten years younger, the Marchioness -of Severn might have despaired of -her son-in-law. But he had come to that age -when life begins to change its aspect; when -the white blossom of romance with which it -tempts the eye of youth begins to shed its -petals, and the red fruit of ambition is disclosed. -John Hammond was still young -enough to love, but he was old enough to -count the cost.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span>For some time he had been doing his best -to convince himself that he had not the slightest -intention of marrying Belle Yorke. He -had grown more and more assured of this; -and, naturally, the more confident he became -of his resolution to give her up, the more her -charm for him increased. He set up the old, -old debtor-and-creditor account between prudence -and inclination. He did penance for -his friendship with Belle Yorke by his flirtation -with Lady Victoria Mauleverer, and -repaid himself for his attentions to Lord -Severn’s daughter with a smile from the -singer.</p> - -<p>To a man in such a state of self-deception -Despencer’s poison came as a tonic. His -wrath at hearing her attacked, and the necessity -he felt of being able to rebut the accusation, -were the measure of his love for the woman -he had resolved never to love.</p> - -<p>It was twenty-four hours since the little -episode at the Marchioness of Severn’s. -Hammond’s blunt contradiction had glided<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span> -harmless off the imperturbable Despencer, -who had murmured some vague apology -and made his escape, leaving his sting behind. -There was no wisdom in rubbing it -in then. It was better to let it rankle during -the interval before the concert. It was then -that Despencer intended to play out his winning -cards.</p> - -<p>Despencer’s words had been the first intimation -to Hammond of the existence of any -such ill report. Promptly as he had spurned -it, the incident had served to remind him -roughly of how little he really knew of this -girl who had come to hold such a large place -in his life. He had seen much of her in Bohemia, -enough for those lookers-on who always -see our motives and aims so much more -clearly than we do ourselves to write him -down her lover. But then no one lives altogether -in Bohemia. Even the oldest inhabitants -are only migratory; like the swallows, -they have their seasons of coming and of -flight, and who knows in what strange lands<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span> -they spend the other periods of their existence! -Intimate as they were in that sunlit -region, Hammond felt that there were reserves -in the singer’s life. One of those reserves was -her home, which she had steadily avoided -showing him. He knew as little of her private -life, indeed, as any stranger in the stalls -who heard her sing.</p> - -<p>He had come away from the house in Berkeley -Square resolving to dismiss the slander -from his mind. He spent the next night and -morning in the vain effort, and in the afternoon -he came to Belle Yorke’s house. It was -not till he found himself waiting alone in the -little parlor, surrounded by the Scriptural -prints and parlor games, that Hammond -began to ask himself what madness had -brought him to such a place with any -thought of evil in his heart.</p> - -<p>He was not left alone for very long. He -heard steps outside, and the sound of the -door-handle turning in the lock. He rose -to his feet, expecting to see Belle Yorke’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span> -mother. Instead there entered a small boy -in knickerbockers, apparently about twelve -or thirteen years of age.</p> - -<p>The boy seemed to be quite as much surprised -to see Hammond as Hammond was -to see him. He stood in the doorway, frankly -staring at the visitor. Hammond had -time to notice that he wore a black cloth band -on the sleeve of his plain homespun jacket.</p> - -<p>“Come in, my boy; don’t be afraid,” he -said, with that awkward patronage by which -grown-up people render themselves so supremely -ridiculous to the intelligent modern -child.</p> - -<p>“I’m not afraid,” the boy replied, boldly, -advancing into the room. “Why should I -be afraid of you?”</p> - -<p>It was not a question which the man found -it easy to reply to. He smiled, and then -asked, rather lamely:</p> - -<p>“And what might your name be?”</p> - -<p>The justly offended youth retorted mercilessly:</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span>“It might be Napoleon Bonaparte, but, -as it happens, it’s Robert Mainwaring -Yorke.”</p> - -<p>Hammond felt that he had put himself in -the wrong. He tried to address the boy like -one on his own level.</p> - -<p>“I called here to see Miss Belle Yorke. -She is your sister, I suppose?”</p> - -<p>Robert Mainwaring Yorke had not yet lost -his sense of irritation.</p> - -<p>“Well, you don’t think she’s my mother, -do you?” he replied, with severity. “She’s -my eldest sister,” he condescended to explain.</p> - -<p>“Oh, then there are several of you?” said -Hammond, wonderingly. It was the first -time he had ever heard of Belle Yorke’s family.</p> - -<p>“What do you think?” returned the boy. -“There’s Lizzie—that’s my second sister; -and Arthur—he’s a year younger than me; -and Reggie—he’s a year younger; and the -kid—he’s only four. Anything else you’d -like to know?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span>“And who is Mr. Yorke?” asked Hammond.</p> - -<p>“I’m Mr. Yorke.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Hammond -began, and then, catching sight of the -black band, stopped, as though he had bitten -his tongue.</p> - -<p>“Father’s dead,” Mr. Yorke explained, unconcernedly. -“He died last winter, and I’m -the head of the family.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know; I beg your pardon. Your -sister is not in mourning.”</p> - -<p>“He wasn’t her father. Belle’s only my -half-sister. Her father died when she was -a kid.”</p> - -<p>“I see. And I suppose your mother married -again?”</p> - -<p>“I suppose so, or I shouldn’t be here.”</p> - -<p>A fresh thought occurred to Hammond. -If what the boy said was true, he did not -even know Belle Yorke’s real name. He -was on the point of putting a question to the -boy, but restrained himself. He had no<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span> -right to seek that information from any one -but Belle Yorke herself.</p> - -<p>Mr. Yorke seized the opportunity to put in -a word for the absent.</p> - -<p>“Mind you, I look on Belle as just as good -as a whole sister,” he remarked. “I don’t -make any difference.”</p> - -<p>Hammond smiled.</p> - -<p>“She is kind to you, then?” At least he -might have the pleasure of listening to Belle -Yorke’s praise.</p> - -<p>“Well, I don’t know that you can call it -kind,” said the boy, with another touch of -resentment at the implied inferiority. “She’s -just like any other sister. She knits my -stockings for me, and does whatever I want -her to. She’s not a bad sort.”</p> - -<p>“She must be fond of you,” observed the -man, gazing at the ungrateful little wretch -with wondering amusement.</p> - -<p>“Yes, oh, she’s fond of me! When I had -the chicken-pox she took me to Brighton for -a fortnight, all at her own expense, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span> -stayed with me all the time, and wouldn’t go -out anywhere, though she had lots of invitations. -Belle’s very good in that way.”</p> - -<p>The man felt a strong inclination to shake -Belle Yorke’s callous brother, as he thus -grudgingly praised her. It was with an uneasy, -self-reproachful feeling that he put the -next question:</p> - -<p>“Your sister must make a good many -friends by her singing?”</p> - -<p>Mr. Yorke nodded superciliously.</p> - -<p>“Yes; but she doesn’t care much for that -lot; they’re not very respectable, we think. -We don’t like her going on the stage at all; -but she wanted to do something to earn her -living. As soon as ever I’m a man, and get -rich, I’m going to take her out of that and -have her live with me.”</p> - -<p>Hammond looked up, pleased.</p> - -<p>“Why, the little chap’s a brick, after all!” -he mentally ejaculated.</p> - -<p>“She’ll make a very good housekeeper,” -concluded Mr. Yorke.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span>Hammond started to his feet.</p> - -<p>“I can’t question this child,” he said to -himself. And turning to the boy, he said, -abruptly: “Will you ask your mother if I -can see her?”</p> - -<p>Mr. Yorke instantly responded to the tone -of authority and became respectful.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” he answered, and promptly went -out of the room.</p> - -<p>“By Heaven, I have a great mind to bolt!” -exclaimed Hammond as the door closed. “I -feel like a miserable spy.”</p> - -<p>Before he could act on his impulse the -door opened again, and Belle Yorke’s mother -came in.</p> - -<p>Hammond rose. He saw before him a -woman who had once been eminently handsome. -She was dressed in the deep mourning -of a widow, and to this fact, perhaps, -was due the impression of melancholy -produced by her appearance. She looked -at him with large, apprehensive eyes, as -she murmured the conventional expressions<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span> -which people exchange when they -meet. But she did not offer him her -hand.</p> - -<p>As soon as both were seated, Mrs. Yorke -said:</p> - -<p>“I understand you have called to see my -daughter?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Perhaps she has mentioned my -name to you some time?”</p> - -<p>“She has. She has often spoken of you. -But she didn’t tell me that you were coming -here.”</p> - -<p>Hammond bit his lip.</p> - -<p>“You mean, she told you that I was not -coming—that she had discouraged me from -visiting her?”</p> - -<p>“No, no; I didn’t mean that,” Mrs. Yorke -stammered. “I am sure that there is no -one whom my daughter would be more -pleased to see here than you, if she received -any visitors at all outside our friends in -the neighborhood. But she has made it -a fixed rule not to invite any of the acquaintances<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span> -she makes on the stage to come -here.”</p> - -<p>Hammond listened to this explanation with -a feeling of relief. It was something to find -that if he were excluded the exclusion was -not personal to him.</p> - -<p>“Please deal frankly with me, Mrs. Yorke,” -he said. “If you think Miss Yorke would -consider my visit an intrusion, tell me so, -and I will go away before she comes.”</p> - -<p>“Not an intrusion; that is scarcely the -word. But I am afraid she will be disturbed -at finding you here.”</p> - -<p>“But why? Surely there is no harm in a -friend like myself calling on her beneath her -own mother’s roof?”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Yorke gave a questioning glance at -him.</p> - -<p>“I hardly know what to say to you, Mr. -Hammond. You call yourself my daughter’s -friend, but what do you really know -about her?”</p> - -<p>Hammond was silenced. He recalled the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span> -discovery that he had just made, that he did -not even know the true name of the girl -whom he had come to question, and he began -to feel vaguely uncomfortable. He answered, -rather lamely:</p> - -<p>“I can only say that it is my greatest ambition -that you and your daughter should -include me among your friends.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Yorke shook her head with a resolution -that had a certain sadness in it.</p> - -<p>“How can you be our friend? What is -there in common between you and us? It -would have been better if you had not come -here, Mr. Hammond.”</p> - -<p>“Why do you say that?” he protested. -“Why should you think it necessary to keep -me at arm’s length like this?”</p> - -<p>“Surely you must see that for yourself. -You know well enough what the world thinks -of such friendships between a gentleman in -your position and a singer on the music-hall -stage. What impression would it make on -your mind, if you found my daughter<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span> -receiving the visits of one of your society -friends?”</p> - -<p>Hammond was staggered by this unconscious -reference to his own doubts. He -could only reply:</p> - -<p>“That would depend on many things—for -instance, whether I believed him to be actuated -by the same motives as myself.”</p> - -<p>“I do not see what difference his motives -could make. It is impossible for me to look -upon attentions from one in your position as -likely to lead to any good result.”</p> - -<p>“But why not?” Hammond pleaded, earnestly. -“It is true that, as you say, I -know but little of Miss Yorke. But that -little has been enough to make me wish to -know more. Is there any reason why I -should not? I will be plain with you, on -condition that you will be plain with me. -Is there any reason why you should not -allow me to visit your house on the footing -of one who means to ask you for your -daughter’s hand?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span>Mrs. Yorke recoiled. Instead of showing -common surprise at the question, or that -gratification which the ordinary mother feels -when such words are addressed to her by a -man far her child’s superior in wealth and -station, an anxious, frightened look came -into her eyes.</p> - -<p>“No, you must not think of that!” she exclaimed, -hastily; and then added, in a calmer -tone: “Such a marriage would be impossible. -The difference between her and you is -too great.”</p> - -<p>“It has been crossed before now,” returned -Hammond. “If you have no better -reason for your refusal than that, I shall -stay.” And he settled himself firmly in his -chair.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Yorke wrung her hands.</p> - -<p>“Why do you compel me like this? I have -another reason—don’t ask me what it is!—for -telling you that this cannot be.”</p> - -<p>Hammond started, and gazed at her with -a new apprehension, not less than her own.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span> -He could scarcely muster up courage to put -his next question.</p> - -<p>“I must ask you. You have gone too far, -and I have gone too far, to draw back -now.”</p> - -<p>“I cannot tell you.”</p> - -<p>“Then I shall ask your daughter herself.”</p> - -<p>“No, anything but that!” She rose to her -feet, trembling. “I beg you, I ask you as a -gentleman, to go, and leave us.”</p> - -<p>Hammond rose dismayed. He had taken -two steps towards the door when it was -thrown open and Belle Yorke stood revealed -on the threshold.</p> - -<p>The notorious Belle Yorke did not look the -part. People said it was her air of bright, -girlish innocence, so foreign to the footlights, -which was the secret of her success. When -she tripped on to the stage from behind the -painted side scenes, looking as if she had -just come out of some rustic cottage in that -far-off land called “the country,” and began -singing one of her simple ballads, in a voice<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span> -clear and fresh as the tinkle of a brook among -the hills, they said it was the contrast with -all her surroundings which caused such a -thrill of emotion to go through the jaded -audience. Of course no one believed that -it was real innocence and real freshness. -Belle Yorke was simply a little more clever -than her professional sisters, and had thought -out a “turn” which had the advantage of -novelty; that was all. But it was very well -done, so well that some quite hardened men -of the world were ashamed afterwards to -recall how far they had yielded to the spell. -They declared that she made up better than -any other woman on the stage, and that hers -was the art which conceals art, except, of -course, from such complete judges as themselves.</p> - -<p>Those who had met her off the stage found, -to their surprise, perhaps to their disappointment, -that Belle Yorke seen close at hand -was very much like Belle Yorke upon the -boards. She was not to be found drinking<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span> -brandy in the bar while she was waiting for -her turn to go on. She did not go from the -music-hall to a fashionable restaurant, and -sit in public with a group of male admirers -round her. She was generally seen slipping -out quietly and going off on foot, or, if she -found herself threatened with companionship, -she took refuge in a cab. There was -clearly some mystery underneath such conduct, -and the mystery could be of only one -kind.</p> - -<p>Belle Yorke was friendly but not familiar -with her stage associates. Perhaps there is -no course which gives more offence than that. -It is much easier to forgive downright rudeness -than the perfect courtesy which makes -others keep their distance. Some of the affronted -ones were women, and the charity of -women for women, as a rule, is not of the kind -which covereth a multitude of sins. The eyes -that began to watch Belle Yorke were robbed -of sleep by jealousy. Something like a throb -of exultation went through the ranks of those<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span> -to whom Belle Yorke’s innocence was a stumbling-block -when it was discovered that Belle -Yorke had a friend.</p> - -<p>Mr. Despencer, to do him justice, had not -invented, nor had he originated, the report -which he had mentioned to the marchioness, -and repeated to Hammond. It goes without -saying that he believed it to be true. Such -reports are like Euclid’s axioms: no one requires -to have them demonstrated. It had -not even occurred to him that he was doing -an injury to Belle Yorke in repeating it; nor -did it injure her in the eyes of the public, nor -in those of the managers of the music-halls. -What a woman loses in reputation she gains -in celebrity. As soon as Belle Yorke’s manager -heard that she was protected by the Marquis -of Severn he rubbed his hands and -silently raised her salary.</p> - -<p>When Belle Yorke opened the door and saw -who was in her mother’s parlor she stood still, -betrayed into a stifled cry and a blush that -would not be stifled. Then she stepped in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span> -slowly, and laid down on the table some paper -bags which she was carrying in her hands.</p> - -<p>A pang of compunction shot through Hammond’s -breast as she raised her eyes to his. -There was something in Belle Yorke’s eyes -which touched most people. They were always -laughing, and yet somehow it always -seemed as though they were laughing in -order to keep themselves from tears. Looking -into their clear depths, the man felt ashamed -of his errand, and ashamed of his presence -there, and he stood before her unable to speak.</p> - -<p>It was she who found words first.</p> - -<p>“This is too bad of you, Mr. Hammond! -You had no business to come here. You -know I don’t allow it.”</p> - -<p>But there was something in the voice that -undid the reproach of the words. Hammond’s -courage came back to him again.</p> - -<p>“I have no defence to make,” he answered, -in the same light vein. “The temptation -was too strong for me, and I yielded to it. I -plead the First Offenders’ Act.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span>Belle turned gayly to her mother, who had -concealed, by a strong effort, all traces of her -recent agitation.</p> - -<p>“What punishment shall we give him? I -think, sir, you shall be sentenced to stay to -tea.”</p> - -<p>She opened the paper bags, and produced -a store of those fearful and wonderful delicacies -variously named crumpets, or pikelets, -and said to have been invented by a member -of the medical profession.</p> - -<p>“You see you are in luck. To-day is -Bobby’s birthday, and we are going to have -a cake and all sorts of luxuries.”</p> - -<p>Hammond began to feel like a man in a -dream. He had walked straight out of tragedy -into comedy. He had come to Hammersmith -in search of an answer to the most terrible -question which can present itself to a -man who loves a woman, and he found himself -in the midst of a children’s tea-party. -Perhaps this was the answer, the best of answers, -to the doubt which had striven to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span> -effect a lodgment in his mind. Sitting there, -in the midst of Belle Yorke’s little brothers -and sisters, as they trooped into the feast, -watching her feed the hungry swarm, he -found his dark thoughts dying away of themselves. -Such an atmosphere was fatal to -them; they could not live in it.</p> - -<p>So the millionaire forgot his millions and -his marchionesses and his ambitions, and -threw himself into the spirit of the festival -with such cordiality that he won the children’s -hearts. Mr. Yorke, forgetting his former animosity, -cut him the biggest slice of the birthday-cake -with his own hands, and edified him -with a full, true, and particular account of his -exploits on the football field in that famous -match between the Hammersmith Juniors -and the Brook Green Stars, which is now -matter of history. Master Reginald Yorke -insisted on sitting on the stranger’s knee, -and sharing with him the contents of a paper -of brown sweetmeats, highly flavored with -peppermint, which he called bull’s eyes.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span> -Belle’s grateful looks repaid him for his -submission to these outrages, and when he -rose reluctantly to go away he felt there was -a new tie between them, stronger than there -had been before.</p> - -<p>“May I come to tea again, some time?” he -pleaded, as she went with him to the door.</p> - -<p>“When you are asked,” said Belle.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SCENE V<br /> - - -<small>A PERSON OF IMPORTANCE</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">In</span> a substantially-built house in the important -suburb of Tooting, in a dining-room -full of substantial furniture in that school -of design which is the glory of Britain and -the stupefaction of surrounding nations, sat -Alderman Dobbin, J. P., reading the <i>Church -Gazette</i>, and breathing Protestantism at every -pore.</p> - -<p>The person of Alderman Dobbin was not -less substantial than the chair which supported -it. It was the hour of three in the afternoon; -the alderman had just achieved a -dinner of solid and ample materials, and a -gentle flush which overspread his broad face -was due perhaps equally to the silent struggle -going on in the region of his waistcoat and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span> -to indignation at the insidious practices of -Rome.</p> - -<p>It is not till a gigantic public evil begins -to affect us personally that we become really -in earnest for its redress. Alderman Dobbin -had long marked the stealthy encroachment -of ritual in the Church from afar with inward -misgiving. But when the arising of a new -vicar of the most lawless school brought the -mischief to the door of the alderman’s own -pew, when the audacious cleric presumed to -burn frankincense or some such idolatrous -drug under the alderman’s own nostrils, -then, in his own words, he realized that we -were on the verge of a revolution. It was -fortunate indeed for the offender that the ordinary -justice of the peace has no jurisdiction -in ecclesiastical causes. Alderman Dobbin -did not brawl in the church—such a man -could not brawl; but he wrote a letter to the -paper, and he intimated to his vicar in the -privacy of the vestry that he should reconsider -his attitude towards disestablishment.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span>To the culprit, standing on the great peaks -of Catholic verity, clasping hands with sixty -generations of apostles, fathers, saints, and -bishops, his rebellious church-warden naturally -mattered no more than a gnat buzzing -round the altar. His spiritual predecessors -had cast down emperors from their thrones, -and given away largess of kingdoms. Was -he to surrender the Œcumenical splendors of -the Church at the bidding of an obscure suburban -tradesman? If this impertinent boot-maker -represented the feelings of the laity, -so much the worse for the laity. The Church -could get on without <i>them</i>, but not without its -apostolic priesthood.</p> - -<p>Such disdain, to the worthy alderman, was -at once an outrage and a revelation. It is -possible that there are social circles in which -even an alderman is not removed beyond the -reach of rivalry; but in the meridian of Tooting, -where Alderman Dobbin had passed his -life, and where his high office, together with -his equally high moral character, had hitherto<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span> -secured him universal deference, he felt -himself to be an important personage. After -all, importance is a question of standpoint. -Every one has some one to look up to him. -Though you be but a youth of lowly birth, -engaged in mercantile pursuits, with a stipend -of no more than thirty weekly shillings, -yet to the landlady who tolls you in a moiety -of that sum you are a power whose favor is to -be conciliated, and whose wrath is to be dreaded. -To the drudge in the basement who -blacks your boots and watches you through -the area railings as you issue forth of a morning -you are as a god moving on Olympus; -the conductor who takes you to your work in -his omnibus holds you for an undoubted -member of the aristocracy; and the drunken -artisan on the roof, earning his pound a day -on every day that he can spare from the public-house, -hates you for your pride and luxury.</p> - -<p>Novelists, it is said, are thought much of -by young reporters on the provincial press.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span> -The secret of true happiness is to turn away -from beholding those who are better off than -ourselves, and keep the gaze steadily fixed -on those who are worse off; and this secret -Alderman Dobbin had mastered. Free from -that itching to grovel to some one above him -which torments so many unfortunate people, -he was satisfied with being grovelled to by -his inferiors. Thus it was that he had been -able to live in the enjoyment of his own greatness -without envying that of others. There -might be such persons as dukes and archbishops -in the world—he was Alderman -Dobbin.</p> - -<p>So much the greater was the shock administered -to his mind by the unveiled disrespect -of the vicar. The alderman’s evangelical -zeal had received a new edge; and, at the -same time, by a natural chain of cause and -effect, he was in a mood peculiarly susceptible -to the blandishments of one of those magnates -of the earth before whom even Oxford -divines are but as dust. Such a one was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span> -even now approaching the aldermanic dwelling.</p> - -<p>A sound of horses’ hoofs and carriage -wheels aroused the nodding alderman, and -drew him hastily to the window. He beheld -a carriage and pair of the most brilliant lustre -drawing up in front of his door, and a woman -of stately presence looking out, while a liveried -footman ascended the steps and rang -the bell. The excited master of the house -could scarcely refrain from bursting out into -the hall, to anticipate the lagging motions of -the housemaid. At last that young female, -having arranged her cap to her satisfaction, -could be heard flouncing past the dining-room -door. A short colloquy followed, and -the occupant of the carriage emerged, attended -by a fashionably dressed gentleman, -and entered the house. There was a sound -of doors opening and shutting. Finally, the -housemaid came to her impatient master.</p> - -<p>“A lady by the name of Seven, and a -gentleman, to see you, sir.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span>“Seven?” The alderman reflected for a -moment, and then his eye fell on a card of -invitation which had occupied a prominent -place on the mantel-piece and in his thoughts -for several days past. “You mean Lady -Severn,” he cried out—“the Marchioness of -Severn!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir; ‘Lady Severn’ was what she -said, sir.”</p> - -<p>The alderman cast a glance of despair at -his trousers.</p> - -<p>“Run and get me the clothes-brush. No—I -must change—there isn’t time! Here, -run up-stairs and get me my Sunday coat, -while I brush these things.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness and her companion, seated -in the drawing-room, were aware of a commotion -outside.</p> - -<p>“I am afraid we have thrown the establishment -into confusion,” the gentleman remarked.</p> - -<p>“These sort of people always lose their -heads if any one comes to see them unexpectedly,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span> -the marchioness responded. “I suppose -they never visit each other; their houses -are too small.”</p> - -<p>“Probably it is because they would only -bore each other to death if they did. No one -in the middle classes ever breaks the moral -law, I understand, and so they have nothing -interesting to talk about.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness frowned severely.</p> - -<p>“Silence! Remember you are on your -good behavior. You are not to shock this -dear, good person.”</p> - -<p>The “dear, good person” interrupted the -conversation by his appearance. He advanced -to the marchioness, and shook hands -with so much real regard that her rings were -crushed into the flesh.</p> - -<p>“I’m delighted to see your ladyship—delighted! -It’s so kind of you to come.” He -turned to her companion. “And you, my -lord.”</p> - -<p>In Tooting it is not the custom for married -ladies to drive about paying visits with gentlemen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span> -other than their husbands or near relations. -The marchioness forced a somewhat -unnatural smile as she explained:</p> - -<p>“Er—let me—Mr. Despencer, a friend of -mine.”</p> - -<p>A look of hopeless bewilderment appeared -on the alderman’s speaking countenance. -Despencer skilfully put in:</p> - -<p>“A friend of Mr. Hammond’s as well. The -marchioness thought it better for me to come -here with her.”</p> - -<p>The tension was relieved. Alderman Dobbin -seated himself facing his visitors, while -the marchioness opened the conversation.</p> - -<p>“I have taken the liberty of coming here, -Mr. Dobbin, without waiting till you came to -my house, because I wanted to have a private -chat with you. You know how difficult it is -to get five minutes’ conversation with any one -in those crushes.”</p> - -<p>The alderman bowed, much gratified at -being supposed to know anything whatever -on the subject.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span>“Of course, what I am going to say to you -is in confidence,” the marchioness proceeded. -“I am sure you would not dream of mentioning -to Mr. Hammond that we had been here.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly not. Your ladyship may trust -me absolutely. Not a soul shall know of it.”</p> - -<p>“I have heard Mr. Hammond speak of -you so often that I feel you are quite an old -friend. No doubt he has talked of us to you?”</p> - -<p>The alderman smiled feebly. He would -have given a good deal to be able to say yes, -but could not quite bring himself to it.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps I ought to say he has talked of -my daughter, Lady Victoria?”</p> - -<p>Alderman Dobbin had never heard of such -a person as Lady Victoria. His smile became -feebler still. The marchioness coughed discreetly, -and glanced towards Despencer. He -came gallantly to the rescue.</p> - -<p>“It has been understood for some time -that Mr. Hammond was likely to marry Lady -Victoria, as, of course, you know.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, of course; quite so,” jerked out the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span> -alderman, deeply ashamed of his ignorance -on the point.</p> - -<p>The marchioness heaved a sigh.</p> - -<p>“I need not ask if the match had your approval, -Mr. Dobbin, because I am sure that -you, as a friend of Mr. Hammond’s, must see -what an advantage such a connection would -be to him in his political career.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly, your ladyship. Nothing could -be better. It would go a long way in Tooting.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! And now, do you know, I am almost -afraid that the idea will have to be abandoned. -I hesitate whether I ought to allow -my daughter to think of Mr. Hammond any -longer.”</p> - -<p>“Dear me! I am very sorry to hear your -ladyship say that.”</p> - -<p>Her ladyship shook her head sadly.</p> - -<p>“Yes. I have no doubt you understand -the reason.”</p> - -<p>The alderman’s face again clearly betraying -that he had not the remotest idea of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span> -the reason, Despencer came to his assistance -once more.</p> - -<p>“The marchioness refers to Mr. Hammond’s -attentions to this music-hall singer, -Belle Yorke.”</p> - -<p>Alderman Dobbin sat horror-struck. He -was not acquainted with Belle Yorke by -name, but of music-hall singers as a class -his ideas could only have been expressed in -language severely Biblical. The marchioness -hastened to drive the nail home.</p> - -<p>“All his friends must share the same feelings -about this unfortunate attachment,” she -observed, in a tone of sympathetic condolence. -“What effect, in your opinion, Mr. Dobbin, -would his marrying a girl of that kind have -on his position here?”</p> - -<p>“He would never get in for Tooting again. -The Liberals have got a very strong candidate—Sir -Thomas Huggins, a baronet. I -dare say your ladyship knows him?”</p> - -<p>Her ladyship was not quite sure whether -she had met Sir Thomas Huggins.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span>“His social influence here is very strong. -His wife, Lady Huggins, gives a garden-party -every summer, and many Primrose -Dames go to it. We are beginning to be -afraid for the seat, as it is.”</p> - -<p>“Then you consider, speaking as a judge -of the political situation, that if Mr. Hammond -were to marry beneath him, instead of -making such a match as it is in his power to -do, it would seriously affect his prospects?”</p> - -<p>“It would be fatal to them, my lady.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness looked up at the ceiling.</p> - -<p>“What a pity he has no wise and candid -friend to point this out to him, and remonstrate -with him on behalf of the—er—the -party!”</p> - -<p>Curiously enough, there was just such a -wise and candid friend in the room ready -and willing to undertake the task.</p> - -<p>“Your ladyship may leave it to me,” said -the eager alderman. “I will take it on myself -to point out to Mr. Hammond the—the—”</p> - -<p>“Political situation,” suggested Despencer.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span>The marchioness threw a smile of admiration -at the wise and candid friend.</p> - -<p>“The very thing!” she exclaimed, with a -fine assumption of having been taken entirely -by surprise. “No one else could do this so -well. I have no doubt that a few judicious -words from you will be sufficient to open Mr. -Hammond’s eyes. Ahem! Have the—er—the -rumors about this young woman reached -you?”</p> - -<p>“What rumors, my lady? I haven’t heard -anything about her.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness raised her eyebrows, and -then appealed by an eloquent look to Mr. Despencer. -Despencer shook his head with the -air of a good man whose righteous soul was -vexed by the bare recollection of others’ iniquity.</p> - -<p>“I see you don’t know the worst,” he remarked, -gravely. “If there were nothing -more against Miss Yorke than the mere fact -of her being on the music-hall stage it would -not matter so much. But—”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span>Another head-shake completed the sentence, -and told the horrified alderman far -more than any words could have done.</p> - -<p>“Poor girl! let us hope it is not all true,” -murmured the marchioness, with Christian -compassion.</p> - -<p>A minute or two later she rose to go. The -alderman, aware from sundry creaking -sounds overhead that his wife was hurrying -through a frantic toilet up-stairs, remonstrated.</p> - -<p>“Won’t your ladyship stay and have a cup -of tea? I expect Mrs. Dobbin to come in every -minute.”</p> - -<p>“I am <i>so</i> sorry. I particularly wish to -make Mrs. Dobbin’s acquaintance, but I am -afraid I cannot stay another moment. Some -other day, if you will allow me, I hope to come -out and call on her. But you see this is quite -a confidential visit. What a charming situation -you have here! Quite rural, I declare! -It reminds me of our place in Worcestershire.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Despencer added his testimony that it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span> -was very like the Marquis of Severn’s place -in Worcestershire—indeed it was, for there -were grass and laurel-bushes in both.</p> - -<p>The visitors tore themselves away at last, -and disappeared, a vision of varnished panels -and gleaming harness and tossing horses’ -heads and flying dust. And what did Alderman -Dobbin do when they were gone?</p> - -<p>He did what every other well-conducted -alderman in his situation would have done. -He went forth into the town and bought a -peerage.</p> - -<p>Then he shut himself up in his counting-house, -and sat down to write a letter.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SCENE VI<br /> - - -<small>WHAT PEOPLE SAID</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Mr. Hammond!</span>”</p> - -<p>Thus proclaimed the machine stationed -outside the door of the principal drawing-room -in Berkeley Square. It was the night -of the marchioness’s concert, and a stream -of splendidly clad dames, rustling in silk and -velvet, and flashing in pearls and diamonds, -and of meanly clad men, disguised as waiters, -except for an occasional red or blue ribbon, -slightly suggestive of that worn by a -pet cat, was flowing up the stairs, and through -the doorway, where the machine checked -them off one by one like an automatic turnstile. -And the proclamations were by no -means a mere empty ceremony, for without -them the marchioness would have been quite<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span> -ignorant of the names of at least half of those -with whom she was shaking hands on the -other side of the threshold.</p> - -<p>The hygienic regulations by which every -Board-School child is entitled to a fixed number -of cubic feet of space do not apply to the -guests of marchionesses, and it was becoming -difficult to move through the concert-room -without inflicting physical injury on -others. The wiser of the late arrivals, or -those more familiar with the locality, backed -out as soon as they had mumbled the -necessary formula of greeting to their hostess, -and took refuge in a smaller drawing-room, -where the Lady Victoria was holding -a levee of her own particular friends. It -was to this room that Hammond made his -way after bowing over the marchioness’s -hand.</p> - -<p>Directly he lifted the curtain which screened -the open doorway, Lady Victoria, clad in -white, with a string of turquoise forget-me-nots -round her bared neck, deserted a group<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span> -of half a dozen other admirers, and came -towards him with a frankness which would -have jarred harshly on her mother’s notions -of finesse.</p> - -<p>“That is right, Mr. Hammond. I am so -glad you have come into this room. It is -cool, it is comfortable, and, what is better, -you can’t hear a note of the music.”</p> - -<p>“You have forgotten to mention that you -are in this room,” replied Hammond. “But -I share your views about the music. If we -have got to pretend to enjoy art, why can’t -it be painting or poetry, or something that -won’t positively annoy us?”</p> - -<p>“It wouldn’t do for my mother to hear me,” -said Victoria, “but I may as well confess to -you that I have absolutely no accomplishments. -I don’t play the violin, I don’t model -in clay, and I don’t even write answers to -questions on etiquette in the <i>Young Ladies’ -Journal</i>.”</p> - -<p>“Surely you kodak?” Hammond pleaded.</p> - -<p>Before Lady Victoria could clear herself<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[101]</span> -from the charge, the voice of the machine -sounded through the curtain:</p> - -<p>“<i>The Dean of Colchester!</i>”</p> - -<p>Hammond turned pale.</p> - -<p>“Whatever is the dean doing here?” he -gasped.</p> - -<p>Victoria shrugged her shoulders.</p> - -<p>“My mother likes to have the higher clergy -at her parties. She thinks their costume -gives variety.”</p> - -<p>“Whenever I meet that man he asks me -for a subscription,” Hammond was beginning, -when the dean himself, forewarned by some -preternatural intuition, turned aside from the -reception-room and came through the curtain.</p> - -<p>A glad light beamed out on his face as he -bore down upon the pair.</p> - -<p>“And how is Lady Victoria? I need not -ask. Mr. Hammond, this is fortunate!”</p> - -<p>Hammond gave a smile, like that of Mr. -Charles Hawtrey on the stage when his stage -mother-in-law enters and announces that she -has come to spend a stage-day with him.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span>“How much this time, dean?”</p> - -<p>The Dean of Colchester drew back; then -he put his head on one side and smiled indulgently -on his victim.</p> - -<p>“He is too bad, isn’t he?” This was to -Lady Victoria. “But, do you know, I really -was going to write to you this week.”</p> - -<p>“How much?” Hammond repeated, drearily.</p> - -<p>“Lady Victoria, I appeal to you. I am -sure you must think me quite mercenary.”</p> - -<p>“Hadn’t you better tell him?” suggested -the matter-of-fact Victoria.</p> - -<p>The dean shook his head in protest.</p> - -<p>“I am actually silenced. The fact is that -we are just raising a fund to restore the north -tower of the Cathedral, and I thought that, -as you had been so generous before, you -might possibly see your way to give us some -assistance.”</p> - -<p>“How much?”</p> - -<p>“No, really! But if you did feel disposed -to do something, however small—”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span>The voice of the machine was again heard -in the offing:</p> - -<p>“<i>Mr. Septimus Jones!</i>”</p> - -<p>“You had better make haste,” said Victoria -to the dean.</p> - -<p>The dean cast an imploring look at Hammond.</p> - -<p>“I am so ashamed! May I really throw -myself on your generosity?”</p> - -<p>“How much?”</p> - -<p>“I couldn’t possibly—” The curtain was -lifted from outside. “Well, fifty pounds?” -Hammond took out a pocket-book and began -to scribble a memorandum in it. “This is -too good of you. I assure you I never expected -it.”</p> - -<p>The curtain had admitted a pale youth, -with light-colored hair, parted in the middle, -who held a pair of gloves furtively in one -hand, having plainly just made the discovery -that no one else had brought gloves, and being -distracted in consequence by a desire to -smuggle them into a pocket unperceived.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[104]</span>Victoria greeted him with suspicious cordiality.</p> - -<p>“It is too bad of you to come so late, Mr. -Jones. I haven’t enjoyed myself a bit.”</p> - -<p>“No, Lady Victoria, you mustn’t blame -me.” At this point he made an effort to slip -the hand which contained the gloves into a -tail-pocket, but catching the unconscious eye -of the dean fixed, as he supposed, on the -offending articles, he drew them out again -hastily. “I couldn’t get here sooner. My -brougham wasn’t ready.”</p> - -<p>“You should have come in a cab.”</p> - -<p>“No, Lady Victoria, I am sure you don’t -mean that I could have come in a horrid cab. -I would as soon walk.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you ride a bicycle?”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes, Lady Victoria, of course I ride -a bicycle—in the morning, in the Park, you -know, but not in the streets. You don’t mean -that I could have come here on a bicycle, do -you?”</p> - -<p>By this time he had dexterously transferred<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[105]</span> -the gloves to his other hand, and was again -cautiously feeling his way round to his coat-tails, -when a sudden movement of Hammond’s, -who had just completed his business -with the dean, caused the unfortunate youth -to take fright and once more relinquish his -half-executed design.</p> - -<p>“I am afraid you are not in earnest, Mr. -Jones.”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes, Lady Victoria, I am very earnest. -Everybody says I am very earnest. I take -life quite seriously—I do, indeed. I go to -all sorts of lectures and that kind of thing, -you know, to improve my mind.”</p> - -<p>“You will have to be careful, then,” put in -Hammond as he came up, “or they will make -you give them a testimonial, and advertise -you in all the papers as a marvellous cure.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Jones shrank back.</p> - -<p>“Ah, now, Hammond, I am afraid of you, -because you are so sarcastic. He was sarcastic -then, wasn’t he, Lady Victoria?”</p> - -<p>“Not very,” replied the person appealed to.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[106]</span> -The next instant she gave an imperceptible -start.</p> - -<p>“<i>Captain Mauleverer!</i>”</p> - -<p>“But if you two are going to quarrel I -shall go into the next room,” Victoria went -on, quickly, beginning to move away.</p> - -<p>“Oh no, Lady Victoria,” Mr. Jones remonstrated; -“I never quarrel. I am a subscriber -to the Peace Society—I really am.”</p> - -<p>The Dean of Colchester looked round.</p> - -<p>“Then I can leave you in perfect safety,” -retorted Victoria, gliding off.</p> - -<p>“Dear me! I am afraid that Lady Victoria -is sarcastic, too,” Mr. Jones observed, -sagaciously, looking after her. “Don’t you -think so, Hammond?”</p> - -<p>“I have suspected her of it sometimes; but -she never admits it, and it is so difficult to -prove these things.”</p> - -<p>“I will ask the dean; I am sure he is not -sarcastic—are you, dean?”</p> - -<p>“My dear fellow,” Hammond interrupted, -“I am surprised that you should ask such a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[107]</span> -question. A sarcastic dean would be a moral -outrage. You might as well speak of a malicious -cathedral.”</p> - -<p>The dean thought of his fifty pounds, and -smiled like an early Christian martyr commencing -an interview with a sharp-set lion.</p> - -<p>At this point Hammond’s attention was -diverted by the entrance of the latest arrival. -As he turned away to greet him, the dean -laid a caressing hand on Mr. Jones’s arm.</p> - -<p>“Did I hear you say just now that you -were a subscriber to—”</p> - -<p>Mr. Jones gave a glance round. He was -alone with the dean, and the dean was on -the wrong side of him. There was no human -eye to see the deed. With one swift -movement he succeeded in depositing his -gloves in their long-sought hiding-place, -and then suffered himself to fall an unresisting -prey to the north tower of the Colchester -Cathedral.</p> - -<p>Captain Mauleverer’s face wore a decidedly -cross expression as he came into the room.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[108]</span> -At the sight of Hammond it lighted up, and -the two shook hands like old friends.</p> - -<p>“So you patronize my aunt’s menagerie?” -the captain observed, disrespectfully.</p> - -<p>“Well, yes.”</p> - -<p>“I should have thought you had too much -sense.”</p> - -<p>“My dear fellow, you are here yourself,” -returned Hammond.</p> - -<p>The captain gave an impatient shrug.</p> - -<p>“I know, but I shouldn’t be if I could help -it. It’s a beastly bore. You can’t smoke, -and you can’t drink, and you are expected -to sit beside some sentimental woman of -fifty and let her gush to you over some beastly -novel you haven’t read, and wouldn’t understand -if you had.”</p> - -<p>Hammond shook his head with a reproving -smile.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but you should remember that we -are not here to please ourselves. We are -here to please society.”</p> - -<p>“Why should you care about society?<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[109]</span> -You’re not a damned pauper like me. You -have everything you want.”</p> - -<p>“No one on the face of the earth has everything -he wants,” Hammond retorted. “But -I see what it is; you are out of sorts. What’s -the matter?”</p> - -<p>Mauleverer’s only answer was a despairing -shrug.</p> - -<p>“Been backing a horse?”</p> - -<p>“No, it’s not that.”</p> - -<p>“What is it, then? Cards?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“Not drink?” in a tone of incredulity.</p> - -<p>“No, no.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me.”</p> - -<p>The captain hesitated for a moment before -he gave the answer:</p> - -<p>“Girl.”</p> - -<p>Hammond let a mild exclamation of -surprise escape him. Then he looked -at his friend with a certain air of sympathy.</p> - -<p>“What should you say if I were to tell you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[110]</span> -that you and I were in the same boat, old -man?”</p> - -<p>“You?” The other stared at him in amazement. -“You don’t mean to say that there -is any girl in England who would refuse -you?”</p> - -<p>“Suppose there were a girl whom I hadn’t -the courage to ask, not because I was afraid -of her refusing me, but because I was afraid -of her accepting me?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t understand.”</p> - -<p>“Suppose I had to choose between her and -my ambition? Suppose I knew that if I were -to ask her to be my wife I might have to abandon -my whole career, because society would -forbid the banns?”</p> - -<p>“I never thought of that,” murmured his -friend.</p> - -<p>“This very morning,” Hammond went on, -“I had a letter from a man who thinks he is -acting in my interests to warn me against the -woman I love.”</p> - -<p>“That is rather rough on you, old man.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[111]</span>Hammond smiled bitterly.</p> - -<p>“You see, even a damned millionaire can’t -have everything he wants.”</p> - -<p>“<i>Miss Yorke!</i>”</p> - -<p>The name caused a sensation. Heads -were turned from all directions, and the -Dean of Colchester and his victim hurried -back to the neighborhood of the doorway -where Hammond and Mauleverer were standing. -At the same time Mr. Despencer slipped -in from the next room, and stealthily approached -the group.</p> - -<p>“What Miss Yorke is that?” asked Mauleverer, -innocently.</p> - -<p>“<i>The</i> Miss Yorke, I believe, popularly -known as Belle Yorke,” Despencer took it -on himself to answer. He affected to -keep his eyes turned away from Hammond.</p> - -<p>“Belle Yorke!” exclaimed Mr. Septimus -Jones, with enthusiasm. “Oh, I dote upon -her! I think she is perfectly lovely—don’t -you, Hammond?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[112]</span>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>The Dean of Colchester gave a sound like -an ecclesiastical purr.</p> - -<p>“Now, this is very fortunate! I have so -often wished to see her, but, of course, I -daren’t go to those places where she -sings. It is so thoughtful of the marchioness -to bring her here. Ahem! isn’t -there something or other <i>said</i> about -her?”</p> - -<p>“They say plenty of things about her, but -God knows how much of it is true,” remarked -Mauleverer.</p> - -<p>“Oh, but Mauleverer,” Mr. Jones burst in, -“you know when people say so much it must -be some of it true, mustn’t it?”</p> - -<p>Hammond turned and looked at the three -men, one after the other, and then his eyes -wandered to Despencer, who was standing -by, with a sneer on his thin lips. Here -were these four men all looking at the matter -from different points of view, none of -them apparently with any reason to wish<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[113]</span> -ill to Belle Yorke, two of them evidently -friendly towards her, and yet they all doubted -her alike.</p> - -<p>Before he could speak he saw a sudden -change come over their faces. A man had -just come hurriedly through the doorway -leading from the reception-room. It was the -Marquis of Severn; and he was in full dress, -with the blue ribbon of the Garter across his -shirt-front. He caught sight of his nephew, -and strode up to him, his face working with -emotion.</p> - -<p>“Here, Gerald, come this way; I want to -speak to you!” he exclaimed, without heeding -the presence of the others.</p> - -<p>He seized Mauleverer’s arm, and half led, -half thrust him out of the room. One or two -of the by-standers saw what was happening, -and smiled. Hammond turned sharply on -Despencer, whose smile was peculiarly malicious.</p> - -<p>“I shall be obliged if you can come -with me into the conservatory for five<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[114]</span> -minutes. I wish to speak to you privately,” -he said.</p> - -<p>Despencer bowed with an air of bland unconcern, -and followed him, while the voice -outside sounded again:</p> - -<p>“<i>Alderman Dobbin!</i>”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[115]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SCENE VII<br /> - - -<small>A QUESTION OF CHEMISTRY</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">In</span> order to reach the conservatory Hammond -and Despencer had to thread their way -through the concert-room. But their task -was rendered easier by the fact that Belle -Yorke was just standing up to sing. The -mob, attracted partly by her reputation as a -singer, and partly by the story in circulation -about her and their host, whose hurried exit -on her appearance had not gone unremarked, -were crowding towards that end of the saloon -where the piano stood, and thus the two men -were able to make their way round the wall -at the deserted end.</p> - -<p>As Hammond had anticipated, they found -the conservatory empty. It was little more -than a long, narrow balcony, roofed over with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span> -glass, and running along the side of the -house.</p> - -<p>Hammond was the first to reach it, but he -stood back to allow Despencer to enter. Despencer -walked past him after a deprecating -shrug and bow, and then turned to meet his -questioner, who came in quickly, shutting -the door behind them.</p> - -<p>For a moment the two men stood face to -face, scrutinizing each other like two duellists -who are uncertain of each other’s play. -Hammond’s gaze was stern and threatening. -Despencer’s, equally unflinching, was that of -a man who does not quite know what is required -of him, but has nothing to fear or to -conceal.</p> - -<p>The situation was exactly what he had -foreseen and desired. His former reference -to Belle Yorke had had the appearance of -being accidental. He had been far too clever -to seek to press it home at the time. Now, -if Hammond himself chose to revive the subject -of his own accord, anything that Despencer<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[117]</span> -might say would appear to be dragged -out of him against his will. He felt perfectly -satisfied with his play, so far. He still -held all his best cards in reserve, and he -had thrown the lead into his adversary’s -hands.</p> - -<p>“Well, what is the mystery?” he said, lightly, -after waiting some time for Hammond to -speak.</p> - -<p>“I want to ask you for some explanation -of what you said the other afternoon.”</p> - -<p>Despencer was mildly amazed.</p> - -<p>“What did I say? I really don’t remember,” -he murmured.</p> - -<p>“About Miss Yorke. You referred to -some story about her—some report connecting -her name with Lord Severn’s.”</p> - -<p>Despencer drew back; his manner became -reproachful.</p> - -<p>“Oh, but, my dear sir, you must see that -that was pure inadvertence on my part. I -was not to know that the lady was a friend -of yours.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[118]</span>It was impossible to quarrel with a man who -showed himself so perfectly polite and, at the -same time, so perfectly indifferent. Hammond’s -tone lost some of its hostility.</p> - -<p>“That is not the point. Till you spoke, I -had never heard of the existence of this—slander.” -The momentary hesitation before -the word did not escape the watchful Despencer. -“You have spoken, fortunately or -unfortunately, and, now I have heard of it, I -cannot rest till I know more.”</p> - -<p>“Is that necessary?”</p> - -<p>The tone in which the question was put -made it a friendly remonstrance, as much as -if Despencer had said: “My dear fellow, you -want to think well of this woman. Why -persist in making me undeceive you?”</p> - -<p>Hammond felt the implied warning in all -its force. Nevertheless he answered:</p> - -<p>“Yes, it is necessary. The matter cannot -end like this; I have a motive for pursuing -it. You heard what those other men said -when Miss Yorke was announced. I must<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[119]</span> -be able to satisfy myself that this statement -is without foundation.”</p> - -<p>Despencer could not quite resist a sneer.</p> - -<p>“I should think that was easy enough. -You have only to ask the lady if she knows -Lord Severn.”</p> - -<p>Hammond frowned impatiently as he said, -aloud, but rather to himself than to Despencer:</p> - -<p>“And what will be her answer?”</p> - -<p>Despencer smiled compassionately.</p> - -<p>“Judging from my own experience in such -cases, I should say that the lady’s answer -would be ‘No.’”</p> - -<p>For a minute Hammond stood irresolute. -Despencer’s sneer had shown him where he -stood. Instead of silencing a slanderer, he -was discussing the truth of the slander with -the man who had uttered it. If he had really -had confidence in the woman he had undertaken -to defend, it was to her, not to this -cynical stranger, that he ought to have been -addressing his inquiries. He felt bitterly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[120]</span> -conscious of his false position, yet he could -not resist going on.</p> - -<p>“Where did you hear this rumor?” he -asked, after a brief pause, during which -Despencer had closely watched every shade -of expression on his face.</p> - -<p>“I can hardly tell you, I have heard it from -so many quarters,” was the careless reply. -“I thought everybody knew it.”</p> - -<p>“Do you mean by that that everybody believes -it?” demanded Hammond.</p> - -<p>“Yes; but that is no reason why you -should, if you would rather not. Take my -advice, treat it as a mere passing calumny, -and forget all about it.”</p> - -<p>Hammond glanced at him questioningly.</p> - -<p>“And you, Despencer—of course, you believe -this?”</p> - -<p>“Well, yes; but I shall be happy to withdraw -it.”</p> - -<p>Despencer’s mocking smile was lost upon -Hammond. He muttered:</p> - -<p>“I must get at the truth.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[121]</span>“Far better not,” observed the cynic. “The -truth is sometimes very disagreeable. I myself -much prefer to be told pleasant falsehoods.”</p> - -<p>“And to tell them, I suppose?”</p> - -<p>Despencer did not wince.</p> - -<p>“I am always anxious to oblige,” he answered, -pointedly.</p> - -<p>“You have no prejudice against Miss -Yorke?” was Hammond’s next question.</p> - -<p>“I have no prejudices at all, I can assure -you. I am a most broad-minded person.”</p> - -<p>“It would make no difference to you, I suppose, -if this report were true? It wouldn’t injure -her in your opinion?”</p> - -<p>“On the contrary, it would greatly increase -my respect for her.”</p> - -<p>Hammond seemed to be trying to sound -the depths of his companion’s character.</p> - -<p>“I congratulate you. But you wouldn’t -marry her?”</p> - -<p>Despencer drew back, and shook his head -with an amused air.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[122]</span>“Oh no! I am afraid I am not broad-minded -enough for that.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?”</p> - -<p>“I couldn’t outrage decency, you know. -Society would think me worse than the marquis.”</p> - -<p>“Damn society!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it is damned already,” said Despencer, -quickly. “But even down below there -are certain regulations which must be respected. -There is an etiquette of Pandemonium.”</p> - -<p>Hammond gave him another thoughtful -look.</p> - -<p>“You are a very clever man, Despencer, -but, do you know, you almost make immorality -tedious. If you are not careful, people -will begin to get bored by vice, and virtue -will become the fashion.”</p> - -<p>“That is not a bad idea. There is always -something attractive in novelty.”</p> - -<p>Again Hammond reflected for a minute, -and again he resumed his questioning.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[123]</span>“Tell me, has the marchioness heard this -rumor?”</p> - -<p>Despencer had not been expecting this -question, and it nearly threw him off his -guard. His eye met Hammond’s for a moment -before he answered.</p> - -<p>“I should hardly think so, or she wouldn’t -have had her here. That would have been -too daring, even for her.”</p> - -<p>“It would be equally daring for her to -come here if there were anything in it. Surely -her very presence here proves her innocence?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; but what about Lord Severn’s absence? -You saw him hurry out the moment -she arrived?”</p> - -<p>“My God, yes!” The words were dragged -from Hammond in a burst of anguish. -“There is some damned mystery in this!” -he muttered between his teeth.</p> - -<p>“Of course, it may be a mere coincidence,” -the tempter threw in, artfully. “But I am always -so suspicious of coincidences.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[124]</span>Hammond was not listening. A new idea -had occurred to him.</p> - -<p>“I have a great mind to go to Severn himself, -and put myself in his hands. But, then, -of course, one couldn’t trust him,” he added, -regretfully.</p> - -<p>“He is a man of honor,” objected the -other.</p> - -<p>“And when the good name of a woman is -at stake, men of honor always lie,” was the -stern retort. “Oh would to Heaven you had -either never told me this, or else proved it up -to the very hilt.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t speak out of any zeal for morality, -you may be sure. I had simply heard -the common talk, and I naturally assumed -that it was true.”</p> - -<p>“Why?”</p> - -<p>Despencer gave a delicate, self-satisfied -smile.</p> - -<p>“When there is any doubt, I always believe -the worst. I find I am seldom wrong.”</p> - -<p>Hammond stepped back, with an indignant<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[125]</span> -gesture. He was beginning to feel ashamed -of the discussion.</p> - -<p>“And you can stand like that and smile -away a reputation!” he exclaimed. “I wonder -what they made you of.”</p> - -<p>“I believe a chemical analysis of me would -yield the ordinary results,” returned Despencer, -with unruffled composure. “I rather -think that hydrogen is the principal ingredient.”</p> - -<p>Hammond gave a short laugh.</p> - -<p>“Despencer, I begin actually to respect you. -It can be no easy thing to attain to such a -height of perfect brutality as yours. You -must have taken great pains with yourself.”</p> - -<p>“You may say what you like, Hammond, -as long as you are not violent. I always -draw the line at violence.”</p> - -<p>“Do you have to draw it often?”</p> - -<p>Even the trained and admirable temper of -Despencer gave way under this taunt, and a -red flush suffused his pale cheeks.</p> - -<p>“Hammond, do you mean to be insulting?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[126]</span>“Why, do you mind much? I should have -thought the hydrogen would have stood it.”</p> - -<p>The words were drowned in a sudden crash -of music and hand-clapping as the door behind -them opened, and Captain Mauleverer -came through with Belle Yorke on his arm.</p> - -<p>Despencer drew to one side with a bow -as they approached.</p> - -<p>“Ah, captain, taking Lord Severn’s place, -I see,” he remarked, with a sarcastic emphasis -intended for Hammond’s ear, and passed -back into the concert-room.</p> - -<p>Mauleverer stared after him as if he had -been some noxious animal.</p> - -<p>“What has that damned cad—beg pardon, -Miss Yorke—been doing here?” he demanded -of Hammond.</p> - -<p>“Oh, only taking away some one’s character.”</p> - -<p>“Not mine, I hope,” said Belle, with a smile.</p> - -<p>“No, not in Hammond’s hearing, I’ll -swear,” said the loyal captain.</p> - -<p>“It was too bad of you to go outside just<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[127]</span> -as I was going to sing,” said Belle to the -silent Hammond. “I shall expect an explanation.”</p> - -<p>“I have been waiting here to give it to -you,” was the grave answer.</p> - -<p>“You seem quite serious about it. I am -sure Mr. Despencer has been saying something -against me.”</p> - -<p>Captain Mauleverer put in a word.</p> - -<p>“I can’t let you give your explanation -now, because Miss Yorke has promised to -sit out this next piece with me. You must -wait your turn, old fellow.”</p> - -<p>“What does Miss Yorke say?” asked the -other.</p> - -<p>“I say what they say at the libraries about -the book of the season. You shall have me -when the captain has done with me.” She -turned merrily to the captain. “But you -mustn’t skip, you know. I shall allow you -fourteen minutes for perusal.”</p> - -<p>“I want to read you through,” said Hammond. -And he went out.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[128]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SCENE VIII<br /> - - -<small>CINDERELLA</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">How</span> very sober Mr. Hammond seems -to-night! I hope he isn’t going to be -cross.”</p> - -<p>Though she spoke gayly enough, a vague -sense of ill was stealing over her. She sat -down on a low cane settee, over which flowering -shrubs made a sort of canopy, and a sadness -seemed to breathe in the heavy scent of -tuberose and stephanotis.</p> - -<p>Captain Mauleverer placed himself beside -her, and looked at her with a certain respectful -pity as he answered:</p> - -<p>“That isn’t likely. I’m sure it wouldn’t be -easy to be cross with you, Miss Yorke.”</p> - -<p>Belle detected something in his voice which -increased her foreboding.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[129]</span>“You look as grave as Mr. Hammond. Is -anything the matter?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I’m afraid there is.”</p> - -<p>The moment he had spoken the words he -wished them unuttered. The light faded out -of the beautiful eyes, and a pathetic sadness -took its place.</p> - -<p>“Oh, please don’t tell me that!” she pleaded. -“I am enjoying myself so much this -evening.”</p> - -<p>“Are you? I am glad of that,” said -Mauleverer, tugging uneasily at his mustache.</p> - -<p>“Yes; I have never been to a place like -this before, you know, and it is all so strange -and beautiful. I am a little bit afraid of the -Marchioness of Severn, but every one else has -been so kind that I haven’t felt myself a -stranger. I feel almost like the little chimney-sweep -who wandered by accident into -the state bedroom of the castle, and turned -out to be the rightful heir. Please don’t send -me back to my chimney.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[130]</span>The captain swallowed something in his -throat.</p> - -<p>“I wish I hadn’t promised to, but the fact -is I have undertaken to give you a message.”</p> - -<p>This time Belle turned to him with a look -of something like alarm.</p> - -<p>“Can’t you put it off till to-morrow? Do -let me have my dream out to-night.”</p> - -<p>Mauleverer shook himself.</p> - -<p>“Hang it! I have a great mind to,” he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Please do, if it is an unkind message. I -didn’t think I had any enemies.”</p> - -<p>“You have none—at least, I don’t believe -you have. It isn’t that. What I have promised -to tell you is something about yourself, -something you ought to know.”</p> - -<p>“Something about myself! Oh, what do -you mean? I haven’t been doing anything -wrong, have I?”</p> - -<p>Captain Mauleverer bit his lip and looked -more than half inclined to run away. Then -he said, slowly:</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[131]</span>“Perhaps I should have said—something -about your father.”</p> - -<p>“My father!” She gazed at him in astonishment. -“But he is dead! He died before -I was born.”</p> - -<p>“No!”</p> - -<p>The answer struck her dumb. She sat -still and pressed her hand against her heart. -The man replied to her unspoken questions -with a grave shake of the head.</p> - -<p>“My father is not dead? Oh, Captain -Mauleverer, what are you saying? What -do you know about him?”</p> - -<p>“I wish I didn’t have to speak to you like -this. Your father is alive.”</p> - -<p>“And they have always told me he was -dead! My mother— Captain Mauleverer, -are you <i>sure</i> of what you say?”</p> - -<p>“I am. I know your father.”</p> - -<p>“Then why—” She broke off in the midst -of the question and wrung her hands. “Ah! -I begin to understand. My father has done -something that has made them hide his existence<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[132]</span> -from me. And you are going to tell me -what it is.”</p> - -<p>“I—well, I promised that I would.”</p> - -<p>She gave a half-sob.</p> - -<p>“You may go on now. I find that I am -only the little chimney-sweeper after all. But -stay!” A fresh thought struck her with overwhelming -force. “Perhaps this is some mistake -after all. You say my father is alive, -but did you know that my mother had been -married again?”</p> - -<p>The captain clenched his fists.</p> - -<p>“God forgive me—I <i>can’t</i> tell you!”</p> - -<p>“Then—then there is only one explanation, -Captain Mauleverer.” She hid her -face in her hands for a minute, and then -raised it again and looked him bravely -in the face. “Is that it? Tell me the -truth.”</p> - -<p>Mauleverer sprang from his seat.</p> - -<p>“No, I’m damned if I do!”</p> - -<p>A burst of music and a babble of tongues -told them that the door had opened again,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[133]</span> -and some one else was coming in. It was the -Marchioness of Severn, and she was alone.</p> - -<p>Belle rose from her seat dry-eyed.</p> - -<p>“Ah, Miss Yorke, they told me I should -find you here. That will do, Gerald. Miss -Yorke and I are going to have a little talk. -Pray sit down again.”</p> - -<p>Belle resumed her seat in silence, with an -inward dread of what was in store for her -next, while Captain Mauleverer walked off -with the hang-dog air of a man who feels -he has made a brute of himself.</p> - -<p>The marchioness sat down beside her guest.</p> - -<p>“I have to thank you for a most delightful -evening. You sang most charmingly. I almost -wish I hadn’t asked you for that one -called ‘Little Willy,’ though. I am so sensitive. -You almost made me cry—you did, -indeed.”</p> - -<p>Belle stole a timid glance at her.</p> - -<p>“It is very kind of you to praise me so -much. That song of mine has always been -a favorite.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[134]</span>“I don’t wonder at it. Dear, sweet little -thing, freezing to death like that! Why -didn’t some one give him a seal-skin jacket? -And do you really sing things like that at -those dreadful places in Leicester Square?”</p> - -<p>Belle began to feel uncomfortable. The -patronage it was difficult to resent, but the -hinted disparagement roused her courage.</p> - -<p>“I am sorry you think them dreadful,” -she said, modestly but quite firmly, “because, -you know, I have to sing there for my -living.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness’s determined good-nature -was not to be turned aside.</p> - -<p>“No, no; of course, I ought not to have -called them that before you. But one reads -such shocking things about them in the newspapers -when they apply for their licenses to -the County Council. I’m sure I hope it isn’t -half of it true.”</p> - -<p>“I hope you won’t be offended if I stand up -for them,” Belle persisted, bravely. “I must -be loyal to my own profession, mustn’t I?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[135]</span>“Of course! Of course! Most properly. I -hope—in fact, I am sure, that they have done -you no harm. But I have heard so much -about these places, and the life, that it -makes me feel the very gravest doubt. I -take an interest in you, Miss Yorke, and -I should be so sorry if you were to lower -yourself by your connection with the music-halls.”</p> - -<p>Still bleeding from the wound dealt her -in all respectful kindness by the man who -had been with her just before, Belle roused -herself to ward off the more envenomed -stabs of the woman who was with her -now.</p> - -<p>“I don’t intend to lower myself, or to let -myself be lowered, by any place I may go -to,” she said, with dignity, looking the marchioness -in the face.</p> - -<p>The marchioness smiled on her like a -mother.</p> - -<p>“That is right. I am so glad to hear you -say that. But you can’t be too careful, you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[136]</span> -know. The world is so censorious. Society -has very keen ears for the least whisper -against a woman’s name.”</p> - -<p>This time Belle realized that there was -some serious purpose beneath her persecutor’s -moralizing. She turned on her indignantly.</p> - -<p>“I hope you don’t mean that society has -been listening to any whispers against my -name!” she cried.</p> - -<p>The marchioness put out her hands with -a soothing gesture.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no—not yet, at all events. Still, as -I say, you cannot be too careful in your unfortunate -position. I thought I ought to take -the opportunity of giving you a friendly warning. -It is so easy to check a thing of this -kind at the outset, but afterwards it may be -too late.”</p> - -<p>“I am afraid I don’t understand you yet,” -said Belle, in a carefully measured voice -which would have betrayed the rising anger -to a duller ear than the Marchioness of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[137]</span> -Severn’s. “Do you mean to say that there -is anything for me to check?”</p> - -<p>The marchioness, becoming slightly nervous, -tried to beat about the bush.</p> - -<p>“No, no; I won’t go so far as that. I don’t -put it in that way—merely a possibility, that -is all. Of course, it is very natural that the -men who go to such places should admire -you, with your voice and figure; only don’t -let one particular man admire you more openly -than the rest. You understand me?”</p> - -<p>Belle’s voice became cold and metallic.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean that there is some one whose -name has been associated with mine as an -admirer more than the rest?”</p> - -<p>The marchioness bowed and smiled.</p> - -<p>“That is just it. You have put it very -nicely.”</p> - -<p>“May I ask you to tell me his name?”</p> - -<p>The marchioness threw a glance of mild -reproach at her young friend.</p> - -<p>“Surely, my dear Miss Yorke, you must -know that! Every one tells me that his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[138]</span> -attentions have been most marked—Mr. -Hammond.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness brought out the name -with a jerk, watching her victim keenly the -while. But Belle gave her no assurance, by -so much as the flutter of an eyelid, that the -shaft had gone home.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Hammond’s attentions to me have -always been perfectly respectful.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness positively bubbled over -with shame at the implied suggestion that -she had thought otherwise.</p> - -<p>“Of course! Naturally! But you <i>know</i>, -my dear girl, that society will take a <i>very</i> -different view. Society is <i>so</i> incredulous. It -<i>never</i> believes that a man’s friendship for a -woman is perfectly respectful.”</p> - -<p>“Not when he asks her to become his wife?” -Belle could not resist the question.</p> - -<p>“That is quite different.” The marchioness -suddenly became the great lady. “We -are not talking of that, as you know. Mr. -Hammond is not one of those foolish young<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span> -men who marry a girl out of their own class -and regret it ever afterwards. You must put -that idea out of your head at once, believe -me. I am speaking as your friend and as -a woman of the world.”</p> - -<p>Belle looked at her friend for a moment -with a silence that had something satirical -in it.</p> - -<p>“What is Mr. Hammond’s class?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you know? Mr. Hammond is a -millionaire. He moves in the very best society. -He could marry almost any woman -in England, except royalty. I know dukes, -even, who would feel honored by an alliance -with Mr. Hammond.”</p> - -<p>All this time it had not occurred to Belle, -in her simplicity, that she could possibly be -regarded by the great lady beside her as a -rival, and a dangerous rival, to her own -daughter. She only felt that something -very dear to her was at stake, and she wrestled -for it blindly.</p> - -<p>“Is that simply because he is rich?” she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[140]</span> -demanded, with the scorn which youth always -feels for wealth.</p> - -<p>“Not entirely,” the marchioness answered, -mildly, “though, of course, that has a great -deal to do with it. But Mr. Hammond comes -of a most respectable family, I believe. I -have heard that his father was quite a gentleman -towards the end of his life. And then -he has a fine political career before him; he -is in Parliament, and may be in the Cabinet. -You can’t expect him to throw all that away -to marry you, my dear.”</p> - -<p>Belle began to fear that she was going to be -beaten.</p> - -<p>“And would he? Would it be such a very -great disgrace?” she murmured below her -breath.</p> - -<p>“<i>I</i> don’t say that it would,” replied her -deeply sympathizing friend; “but society -would consider it so. You see, we can none -of us do all that we like. There are many -things that I should like to do, but I dare not. -We all feel inclined to rebel sometimes and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[141]</span> -gratify our own inclinations, but we are restrained -by a higher law.”</p> - -<p>“What higher law is there than the loyal -instinct of our own hearts?” demanded Belle, -with a flash of indignation.</p> - -<p>“My dear, the prejudices of society! Its -feelings must be respected. We have to mould -our lives accordingly.”</p> - -<p>“Why? Why should we obey such a code? -Why should we cringe to this bogie you call -society? Why should we make ourselves -slaves to one another’s shadows?”</p> - -<p>The marchioness drew herself up and regarded -her young friend with real pain.</p> - -<p>“Miss Yorke, you quite surprise me. I am -shocked to hear you use such language. Do -you realize what you are saying? You called -society a bogie!”</p> - -<p>“I was wrong. It is something more.”</p> - -<p>“It is true that its dictates sometimes appear -harsh and unreasonable, but that is the -same for all of us. Why should you expect to -be an exception to the rule more than others?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[142]</span>“Shall I tell you?” All the bitterness of -her newly acquired knowledge rang out in -Belle’s voice. “Because I am one of the victims -of society; because it placed its brand -upon me before ever I was born. Society has -made me an outlaw, and therefore I owe it no -allegiance, and I will give it none. You tell -me that because I am a public singer I have -no right to the friendship of an honorable -man; that there are whispers in circulation -against my name already. Let them whisper! -I have done with all that. I shall not -abandon my friends at society’s bidding, and -I won’t give up the man I love because it tells -me—I won’t do it!”</p> - -<p>The marchioness rose, deeply shocked and -grieved.</p> - -<p>“Really, I can’t stay here—”</p> - -<p>Again the sudden loudness of the sounds -from the concert-room. Again the door stood -open, and John Hammond in the doorway.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[143]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SCENE IX<br /> - - -<small>AND THE PRINCE</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> moment she saw who had come into -the conservatory the marchioness sat down -again promptly, and with a decision which -spoke volumes for her intention to remain.</p> - -<p>Hammond advanced, and recognized the -marchioness with a look of wonder.</p> - -<p>“Where is Mauleverer?” he inquired.</p> - -<p>“I sent Gerald away,” replied the marchioness, -with an intonation which plainly added: -“And I should like to send you away, too.”</p> - -<p>“That was considerate of you,” retorted -Hammond, with a pleasant smile.</p> - -<p>There was a vacant space on the seat between -the two women, and he took possession -of it with a cool deliberateness which appeared -to cause the marchioness some dismay.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[144]</span>“I wanted to have a little private chat with -Miss Yorke,” she observed, stiffly.</p> - -<p>“The very thing I wanted, too. You have -done me out of my turn, hasn’t she, Miss -Yorke? You are positively quite a cuckoo, -my dear marchioness.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness made a painful effort to -smile.</p> - -<p>“I am not at all sure that I shall allow you -to speak to Miss Yorke,” she responded, trying -to look past him at Belle herself.</p> - -<p>On Hammond’s entrance Belle had shrunk -back with a certain apprehension which had -afforded secret satisfaction to her hostess. -She now waited in silence, nervously plucking -at the leaves of a camellia which brushed -her shoulder where she sat.</p> - -<p>“Now she is under my roof,” pursued the -marchioness, “I feel in the position of her -guardian. I regard you as a very dangerous -character.”</p> - -<p>A smile of bitter irony gleamed for a moment -on Hammond’s lips.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[145]</span>“I rather think you must be right. I don’t -know why it is, but I am feeling in a peculiarly -lawless mood this evening. If Miss Yorke -were not here, I am not at all sure that your -diamonds would be safe.”</p> - -<p>Something in the manner of this speech, -rather than in the words, caused the marchioness -to move several inches farther off -along the settee. It was a distinct shock to -her to hear the Severn diamonds made the -subject of coarse jocularity. The one in the -centre of her bosom had been given to the -first Mauleverer by King John as a reward -for resisting the agitation for Magna Charta. -Those in the tiara above her forehead had -been brought into the family by a left-handed -daughter of John of Gaunt. The value of -the whole was nearly a year’s income of the -much-mortgaged Severn estates.</p> - -<p>“Really, Mr. Hammond, you speak so -strangely that if I didn’t know you so well I -should think something was the matter with -you.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[146]</span>It was necessary to let her ladyship see -clearly that she was out of place. Hammond -cast on her a look which she had not seen in -his eyes before.</p> - -<p>“Do you know me well? Does any of us -know another well? Don’t we, most of us, -drift through life with our eyes half closed, -ignorant of our aims, ignorant of our very -natures, till some shock comes to awaken us, -and in the moment of trial we find out for the -first time who and what we really are?”</p> - -<p>A subtle instinct told him, before he had -finished speaking, that his words were being -eagerly followed by the girl who sat on his -right hand. On the marchioness they fell -with something of the effect of a cold spray. -She shivered and got up.</p> - -<p>“Ah, yes, of course, all that is very true, -no doubt,” she murmured, hastily. “But I -must really be going back to look after the -people.” She turned a feline glance on Belle. -“I wouldn’t sit out here too long if I were you, -Miss Yorke; you may catch cold.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[147]</span>“Thank you; I am not afraid of that,” was -the quiet answer.</p> - -<p>The marchioness turned her eyes from one -to the other, pursed up her lips with severity, -and reluctantly retreated.</p> - -<p>Hammond watched her exit with a sarcastic -smile.</p> - -<p>“I am afraid the marchioness believes I -have been drinking,” he observed.</p> - -<p>The cynicism jarred on Belle as harshly as -the seriousness had jarred on the marchioness. -There is no woman who can respond -to a man through all his moods, not even she -who loves him best.</p> - -<p>“I wonder how much truth there is in what -you said just now?”</p> - -<p>Hammond turned and fixed an earnest -gaze on her. He saw her for the first time -in his experience with a troubled brow, but -he never guessed the cause. There is no -man who can follow a woman through all her -moods, not even he who loves her best.</p> - -<p>“That is what I wanted to ask you,” he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[148]</span> -said, in answer to her question. “We two -have known each other for some time, haven’t -we; but how much do I know of you, or you -of me?”</p> - -<p>Belle felt what was coming. She saw it -in his eye, she heard it in his voice. Desperately -she resolved to meet it half-way.</p> - -<p>“I have been finding that out this evening. -Since I have come here I have understood for -the first time what you are and what I am. -Mr. Hammond, after this evening we must not -meet again.”</p> - -<p>“Belle! Why do you say that?”</p> - -<p>There was a note of anguish in his voice. -He had been fighting a battle with himself -all this time. It had never occurred to him -that there might be another to overcome besides.</p> - -<p>She looked him steadily in the face.</p> - -<p>“Why do you call me Belle?”</p> - -<p>“I thought we were friends,” he said. But -he blushed as he said it.</p> - -<p>“What kind of friends? Would your<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[149]</span> -friendship with Lady Victoria allow you to -call her by her Christian name? Don’t you -see that the difference between her and me -makes our friendship impossible?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you trust me, then?” asked the -man.</p> - -<p>“You have no right to ask me for my trust. -You and I belong to different worlds. Where -there is no equality there can be no friendship. -It would have been better if we had never -met.”</p> - -<p>She spoke with a certain rigidity which -baffled him. He did not know that the poor -girl was but repeating the bitter lesson which -had just been taught to her.</p> - -<p>“But why,” he eagerly demanded—“why -should you suddenly take this tone with me? -I was going to ask you for your confidence. -I meant to beg you to let me take your part -against your enemies, and you rebuff me at -the outset like this.”</p> - -<p>“Have I enemies? I didn’t know that.” -She spoke with a pathetic resignation. She<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span> -had heard too much within the last half-hour -to be much moved by any new disclosure. -“But there is all the more reason that I should -give them no handle against me. Consider -what society is likely to think of such a -friendship as ours—you, a public man, -wealthy, ambitious, honored by the world, -with a great career before you, and I a humble -singer, whose very calling makes her -name a mark for every spiteful tongue.”</p> - -<p>“Why should we be afraid of what society -thinks or says?”</p> - -<p>“You can afford to ask that. You are a -man, and can defy society; I am a woman, -and to me its breath means life or death.”</p> - -<p>Hammond sat silent for a minute; he felt -that all this conversation was insincere. It -was but the preface to what he had come there -to say. How was he to pave the way for the -questions he had resolved to put?</p> - -<p>“Tell me,” he said, earnestly, “have I ever -given you cause to think of me as other than -an honorable man?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[151]</span>Belle turned and looked at him.</p> - -<p>“No,” was all she said.</p> - -<p>“Will you let me tell you something—something -that it may be painful for you to -hear?”</p> - -<p>Belle’s eyes opened wide. The apprehension -of what was coming shone out in them, -and Hammond, mistaking the meaning of -that apprehension, faltered in his purpose.</p> - -<p>“Speak! What is it?” she commanded.</p> - -<p>“It is something which concerns yourself.”</p> - -<p>Was he going to repeat to her the gossip -at which the marchioness had only hinted, -to tell her to her face that their names had -been joined in the world’s calumnious -breath? She gazed at him in absolute bewilderment.</p> - -<p>“Tell it me—quickly!” she breathed.</p> - -<p>“I am ashamed to repeat such a slander. -Yet, since it is in circulation, it is only right -that you should know it, if only that you may -cause it to be crushed.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[152]</span>“Yes; please go on.”</p> - -<p>“They say—they pretend—they connect -your name with—”</p> - -<p>“With yours, sir?” She sat upright, with -flashing eyes.</p> - -<p>“Great heavens, no!” He stared back at -her with little less amazement than her own.</p> - -<p>She sank slowly down again, the anger in -her face changing to deepest scorn.</p> - -<p>“With whose, then?”</p> - -<p>“With the Marquis of Severn’s.”</p> - -<p>“What!” She started up again in sheer -astonishment. “Who dares? I have never -seen nor spoken to him in my life!”</p> - -<p>“Thank God!”</p> - -<p>Not till he had heard the denial did the -man realize what a burden it had lifted from -his heart; and yet he believed that he loyally -loved this woman.</p> - -<p>“Who dares to slander me? Who dares -to smirch my name with falsehoods?” Come -what might, he should not go away doubting -her.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[153]</span>“It was that man Despencer who told me -first.”</p> - -<p>“And you listened to him—you, an honorable -man, and my friend?”</p> - -<p>Hammond bowed his head. He thought -he could bear her reproaches now.</p> - -<p>“Go on; you can say nothing to me that -I have not said already to myself. I have -been a brute, a fool; I know it. I did give -him the lie once, but his words rankled in -my mind, and I could not rest till I had had -the charge disproved.”</p> - -<p>“If you are satisfied, go.”</p> - -<p>Hammond started and shivered. He had -not heard that tone before; he had not seen -that deeply resolute expression, in which -Belle’s face was set like stone.</p> - -<p>“Oh, not like this! You will forgive me, -Belle? You must! This lie has tortured me -far worse than you.”</p> - -<p>He might have made the excuse that he -had only repeated the slander for her sake, -and not for the satisfaction of his own doubts.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[154]</span> -But he scorned to stoop to subterfuge with -her.</p> - -<p>“Why should I? Your good opinion or -your friendship are nothing to me any -longer.”</p> - -<p>“My good opinion—friendship! Ah, it is -more than that! You know, you must know, -that I have loved you all the time!”</p> - -<p>“So much the worse. For you to speak -of love to me is only another insult.”</p> - -<p>“I did not mean to insult you,” was the -humble answer. “I meant to offer you the -love that a man offers to his betrothed.”</p> - -<p>“Does a man cast suspicions on his betrothed?”</p> - -<p>“I have not cast suspicions. My worst -fault is to have listened to those of others. -There is no love without jealousy.”</p> - -<p>“There is no love without perfect trust. -If a man really loves a woman, does he set -himself to doubt her, to gather up the malicious -tattle of her enemies, and carry it to her, -like an accusing judge, and ask her to clear<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[155]</span> -herself? Ah, no! If he loves her, he first -crushes the slander and the enemy together, -and then comes to tell her what he has done.”</p> - -<p>“Listen to me.”</p> - -<p>“Wait! But I cannot expect to be treated -like that. My good name is of no importance -to me; I am public property. There would -be nothing to talk about in the club smoking-rooms -if we poor singers were to be respected. -It is natural that we should be bad. And so -you come to me and repeat the accusations -which you had not the courage to despise. -And that is your love!”</p> - -<p>“I implore you—”</p> - -<p>“No! With us poor girls it is different. -We have not your prudence and self-restraint. -Where we love we do not ask for references. -We give our hearts without reserve, and -from the moment we have given them, instead -of searching for stains on the character -of the man we love, we set ourselves to see -only the good in him; we shut our eyes to -the evil; we screen his faults; if others attack<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[156]</span> -him, we defend him; and if the world -casts him out, we cling to him all the more.”</p> - -<p>Her voice sank down and ended in a sob. -Hammond clasped his hands together in despair.</p> - -<p>“Why did I ever hesitate? I was a coward. -I dreaded the idea of even a whisper being -raised against my wife. Forgive me.”</p> - -<p>“And you were right. Yes, I forgive you.”</p> - -<p>The answer came softly, and the man’s -heart was thrilled to the core.</p> - -<p>“And something more,” he pleaded passionately. -“Tell me that you love me like -that.”</p> - -<p>Belle slowly, gently shook her head.</p> - -<p>“No. Why do you make it so hard for -me? Leave me, I entreat you.”</p> - -<p>Hammond turned faint.</p> - -<p>“You do not love me, then?” he gasped.</p> - -<p>She gave him a despairing look, and answered -passionately:</p> - -<p>“No! I don’t love you—I don’t love you!”</p> - -<p>He rose up, without another word, and went<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[157]</span> -away from her. The next instant, as the -door closed behind him, Belle sank down on -the seat, like a flower whose stem is broken, -and the tears began to come like rain.</p> - -<p>A door at the far end of the conservatory -softly opened, and a man stepped through -and came towards her, with his finger on his -lips.</p> - -<p>It was the Marquis of Severn.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[158]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SCENE X<br /> - - -<small>“A MARRIAGE HAS BEEN ARRANGED”</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> most secluded place in the house in -Berkeley Square was the picture-gallery. -The most secluded spot in the picture-gallery -was the Lovers’ Window.</p> - -<p>The gallery itself ran across the back of -the house on the second floor, and was thus -outside the legitimate bounds within which -the concert guests were entitled to wander. -It was approached by a door at each end, -giving on to the staircase, and the walls -were hung with pictures, chiefly of the faded, -washed-out schools of Lawrence and Constable.</p> - -<p>The window was a deep and lofty bay, -almost a little room, in the centre of the gallery. -A cushioned seat, like a divan, ran<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[159]</span> -round the bay, and on either side of the -opening hung a thick curtain of dark-purple -velvet.</p> - -<p>In this sequestered nook no sound of the -concert going on below could be heard. It -was no doubt for this reason that the Lady -Victoria Mauleverer had come thither, and -was now reclining on the divan, with one -beautiful white elbow resting on the sill of -the open window.</p> - -<p>As it happened, she was not alone. Captain -Gerald Mauleverer, guided possibly by -some cousinly instinct, had also sought a -refuge from the music in the same spot. He -was sitting near her, and regarding her with -a reproachful countenance.</p> - -<p>“Do you know what my aunt has been -telling me about you?” he began.</p> - -<p>Victoria gave a shrug of the most supreme -indifference.</p> - -<p>“No; but I have no doubt it was something -interesting. My mother has so much -imagination.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[160]</span>“She told me that you were as good as engaged.”</p> - -<p>“Did she? Ah, well, I suppose she has -found a purchaser for me at last.”</p> - -<p>“How can you!” Gerald stamped his foot. -“Who is it?”</p> - -<p>“She did tell me his name, but I have forgotten -it,” drawled Victoria. “I can tell you -his income, though.”</p> - -<p>Her cousin looked at her, half angry and -half pleased.</p> - -<p>“Thank Heaven, you don’t care for him! -I believe I have your heart, after all.”</p> - -<p>“My what?” asked Victoria, in a tone of -surprised curiosity.</p> - -<p>“Your heart, you hateful creature.”</p> - -<p>“What childish words you use, Gerald! -I couldn’t understand what you meant. No; -I suppose I shall be bought complete, with -all fittings, but I don’t fancy a heart is mentioned -in the inventory.”</p> - -<p>“Have you really promised to marry this -man, Vick?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[161]</span>His cousin put her head on one side and -considered.</p> - -<p>“It hasn’t got quite to that point. The -customer hasn’t actually given the order yet, -but my mother is an expert saleswoman, and -I have no doubt that by the next time you -see me I shall have the usual ticket on to -show that I am disposed of.”</p> - -<p>The captain gnawed his mustache as his -eyes sought in vain to fix those of the insolent -beauty.</p> - -<p>“Hang it! don’t you care a little bit? I -have loved you for years. Does it all go for -nothing with you?”</p> - -<p>Victoria sat up and became business-like.</p> - -<p>“Stupid fellow, why can’t you look at it -rationally, like I do? There, I will give in -to you so far as to say that I would much -rather you bought me than anybody else. I -would even give a discount in your case; -you should have me at store prices. But -what is the use? We couldn’t live together.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[162]</span> -You know they separate married couples in -the workhouse.”</p> - -<p>“I have eight hundred a year,” the man -protested.</p> - -<p>“That would pay for my frocks. Any -debts?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I have a little paper out,” he reluctantly -admitted.</p> - -<p>“So I thought. Small income, large -debts—”</p> - -<p>“No, not large debts.”</p> - -<p>“Several thousands, I have no doubt. -Large debts, no occupation—”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you count the army?” he interrupted.</p> - -<p>“Certainly not,” was the firm answer. “I -mean an occupation by which you can earn -a living. No occupation, idle habits, expensive -tastes—”</p> - -<p>“No, Vick!” His tone became one of honest -indignation. “No, you can’t charge me -with that, you know. I may be idle, but you -can’t charge me with extravagance.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[163]</span>“What do you pay for your cigars?” the -merciless inquisitor demanded.</p> - -<p>“A shilling. I get them at a little shop in -Jermyn Street that nobody else knows of, -and they are worth double the money.”</p> - -<p>“Gerald!”</p> - -<p>“No, really, Vick, you have no right to -talk to me like that. If there’s one thing -that I do pride myself on, it is that I am economical.”</p> - -<p>“What is the use of being economical on -nothing?” She turned and looked him full -in the face. “I will be serious with you, -Gerald. If you had any means at all, any -real income or prospect of it, I would throw -over all the millionaires in Christendom to-morrow, -but as it is—!” A despairing gesture -completed the sentence.</p> - -<p>“Why can’t you wait for me, then?” exclaimed -the desperate captain. “Give me a -chance, and I will go out and raid the Transvaal, -or do something desperate.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know there was anything very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[164]</span> -desperate in raiding the Transvaal,” retorted -Victoria, resuming her cynical vein. “I -thought the worst thing you exposed yourself -to was to have poetry written about you in -the papers.”</p> - -<p>A door opened at the end of the gallery, -and Gerald hastily rose to his feet.</p> - -<p>“Ah! I felt sure we should be interrupted,” -said Victoria. “I believe my mother has me -shadowed. Don’t go, Gerald,” she added, -loudly enough for her parent to hear as she -bore down upon the pair, the faithful Despencer -following in the wake.</p> - -<p>The marchioness came to a full stop at the -opening, with a dramatic start.</p> - -<p>“Victoria! I thought I had forbidden you -to behave like this!”</p> - -<p>Her daughter gave an amused smile.</p> - -<p>“My dear mother, I thought we agreed -only the other day that I was of age.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness turned on her nephew as -a less dangerous adversary.</p> - -<p>“As for you, Gerald, I am surprised at you.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[165]</span> -You ought to know better than to come and -sit here with your cousin.”</p> - -<p>Victoria gallantly came to his rescue.</p> - -<p>“If you and Mr. Despencer want to sit -here, we will go away,” she offered, sweetly.</p> - -<p>The marchioness recoiled, and gazed at her -like King Lear listening to Goneril’s complaints -about his knights.</p> - -<p>“When you are married I shall wash my -hands of you, and if your unfortunate husband -likes to let you carry on an open flirtation -with your cousin, he may,” she said, viciously. -“But while you are on my hands -I am determined to put a stop to these clandestine -doings. You hear me, Gerald?”</p> - -<p>Gerald felt that he must stand by his cousin.</p> - -<p>“Yes, aunt,” he said, with unlooked-for -courage; “but I don’t see how our flirtation -can be open and yet clandestine at the same -time. It must be one or the other, you know.”</p> - -<p>As the action was becoming general, the -marchioness with a look brought up her light -cavalry in the person of Despencer.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[166]</span>“I don’t know that,” he interposed. “There -is no better concealment sometimes than a -parade of openness.”</p> - -<p>“Really, mamma, this won’t do!” Victoria -protested. “I have schooled myself to bear -Mr. Despencer’s compliments, but I really -don’t think I can stand him as a moralist. I -must draw the line somewhere.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness threw her broad shield -over her luckless ally.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Despencer was not speaking to you, -and I will not allow you to talk like that -when he is only acting in your true interests.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then, I wish he wouldn’t,” was the -rebellious answer. “One’s true interests are -always so singularly unpleasant. How -should you like it if Gerald or somebody -were to begin acting in your true interests?”</p> - -<p>The marchioness looked alarmed.</p> - -<p>“There, that will do,” she said, hurriedly. -“Understand me, Gerald, I particularly wish -to speak to Victoria for a minute by herself. -You won’t refuse a mother’s request?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[167]</span>“Not when she is a woman,” returned the -reckless youth. And he strolled off.</p> - -<p>The marchioness watched him safely -through the door of the gallery, and then -seated herself by her daughter’s side.</p> - -<p>“Thank Heaven, we have got rid of him in -time!”</p> - -<p>“Why, is anything particular going to -happen?” Victoria inquired, carelessly.</p> - -<p>The marchioness glowed with triumph.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Hammond is coming here to propose -to you!”</p> - -<p>“Is that all?” said Victoria.</p> - -<p>Despencer was becoming anxious to withdraw -before being favored with any more of -Lady Victoria’s sarcasms. The only way to -escape was to take her part against the marchioness. -He therefore remarked:</p> - -<p>“A most simple occurrence, which might -happen to anybody.”</p> - -<p>His patroness turned to him indignantly.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Despencer, do you wish to encourage -her?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[168]</span>“I fancy Lady Victoria requires no encouragement -from me. She appears to face -the situation with admirable nerve. Breeding -will tell.”</p> - -<p>“Go away, directly!” ordered the marchioness.</p> - -<p>“Yes; where to?”</p> - -<p>The marchioness hesitated a moment.</p> - -<p>“To the end of the gallery.” Despencer -began to move away. “And wait there for -me.”</p> - -<p>“Am I not always waiting for you, marchioness?”</p> - -<p>And with a graceful bow to both ladies, he -retired to the opposite door to that by which -they had just entered.</p> - -<p>“Aren’t you a little rough with the poor -creature?” asked Victoria, in a tone of compassion -as he disappeared. “You will break -him some day.”</p> - -<p>“Do you realize what I have just told you?” -said her mother, ignoring the remark.</p> - -<p>“I have forgotten. Wasn’t it something<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[169]</span> -about an offer of marriage? Who did you -say it was this time?”</p> - -<p>“You will drive me distracted! Now, listen -to me; this may be your last chance. If -you refuse Mr. Hammond you may never get -another offer.”</p> - -<p>“There is always Gerald to fall back upon.”</p> - -<p>“Another decent offer, I mean,” was the -stern retort. “Of course, you can always -marry. I dare say a dean or a county court -judge, or some one of that sort, would be willing -to take you with nothing but your clothes. -But this is the last respectable match I shall -offer you. I have taken the greatest pains -to bring this man to the point, and if you refuse -him now I sha’n’t try again.”</p> - -<p>“You frighten me, mother. I hope you -haven’t been resorting to extreme measures -against Mr. Hammond! You haven’t been -putting pressure on him by threatening to -reveal his past?”</p> - -<p>The marchioness shook her head impatiently.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[170]</span>“Answer me plainly, Victoria: do you intend -to accept him?”</p> - -<p>“Are you sure he is going to propose?”</p> - -<p>“Morally sure. He just asked me where -he was likely to find you, and I told him I -thought you would be here about this time.”</p> - -<p>“How did you know that?” asked Victoria, -with interest.</p> - -<p>“Because I meant to look for you myself -and send you here,” was the resolute -answer. “In these matters I leave nothing -to chance.”</p> - -<p>“You <i>have</i> taken pains!” exclaimed her -daughter, with genuine admiration. “But -you don’t know that he is going to propose. -He may only be going to say good-bye.”</p> - -<p>“Nonsense! I know perfectly well. I can -always tell when a man is going to propose. -My judgment has never been deceived.”</p> - -<p>Victoria affected to conceal a yawn.</p> - -<p>“Well, I am much obliged to you for warning -me. I shall be prepared.”</p> - -<p>“And you will accept him, won’t you, like<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[171]</span> -a good girl?” pleaded the marchioness, with -maternal tenderness.</p> - -<p>“I haven’t the slightest idea what I shall -do,” was the callous reply. “I hope he won’t -be sentimental over it.”</p> - -<p>“Victoria! Do you refuse to do your duty -to society and to your parents?”</p> - -<p>Victoria was mildly annoyed.</p> - -<p>“There, now <i>you</i> are going to be sentimental!” -she protested.</p> - -<p>The marchioness rose to her feet in real -anger.</p> - -<p>“You shameful, depraved, ungrateful child! -You wish to break your mother’s heart!”</p> - -<p>Victoria darted a strange look at her -mother, which the marchioness was unable -to meet. Then she observed, quietly:</p> - -<p>“Don’t you think the less we say about -hearts the better, mamma?”</p> - -<p>The marchioness was opening her lips to -reply, when her face suddenly changed, a -beautiful smile replacing the angry frown. -Hammond had just entered the gallery.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[172]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SCENE XI<br /> - - -<small>“AND WILL SHORTLY TAKE PLACE”</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> is generally the first impulse of a man -who has been rejected by the woman he loves -to offer himself to the woman who loves him. -When the sun has set the light of the moon -becomes precious.</p> - -<p>John Hammond did not believe that the -Lady Victoria Mauleverer did him the honor -to love him after the fashion in which he loved -Belle Yorke. But the frankness with which -she conducted their mutual flirtation made -him think of her as more sincere than the -over-innocent maidens who pretended to turn -shy at his approach, and practised the -blushes which they had been taught by a -Bond Street professor at a guinea a blush. -He felt that there was something flattering<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[173]</span> -to him in her disdain of the small arts of cajolery, -and he told himself that the preference -which she so plainly showed for him -must needs be genuine.</p> - -<p>It does not require very much to convince a -man of any self-confidence that he possesses -a woman’s regard. The very cynicism with -which Victoria discussed their relations -might be the cloak of a deeper feeling, which -she was too proud to confess until its return -was assured. In his present mood, however, -Hammond felt no desire to penetrate -beneath that surface good-comradeship, -which was all that either he or Victoria -had yet shown to the other. He could -not have gone from his interview with -Belle to make love to another woman. He, -no more than Victoria, desired to be sentimental. -Nevertheless, it soothed him to -think that this woman, who was willing -to meet him in his own spirit of indifference, -might be secretly more fond of him -than he was of her.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[174]</span>It seemed to him that the die was cast, -and that he could not too soon put it out of -his own power to recall the throw. He had -fought out the struggle between Love and -Ambition, and in the moment of surrendering -to Love, Love had failed him. Well, -Ambition was left. The marchioness had -correctly diagnosed the symptoms, though -she had little idea of their cause. John -Hammond had come to propose to Victoria.</p> - -<p>It only remained for the forethoughtful -parent to get herself out of the way.</p> - -<p>“It is too bad of you, Mr. Hammond!” she -exclaimed, with the playfulness of a boa-constrictor. -“I believe you knew I was here, -and waited down below on purpose for me to -go away.”</p> - -<p>Hammond smiled rather wearily.</p> - -<p>“Now, that is very artful of you, marchioness. -The truth is that you are going away -just because I have come.”</p> - -<p>“You are perfectly right, Mr. Hammond,” -remarked Victoria.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[175]</span>Her mother wrenched her lips into the similitude -of a smile.</p> - -<p>“I see what it is,” she said, with immense -slyness. “You two have an understanding, -and you want to get rid of me. Very well, -I sha’n’t interfere with your little plans. I -always know when I am in the way. Good-bye. -Good-bye.”</p> - -<p>The devoted parent nodded and smiled herself -out of the gallery, consumed with a frantic -inward longing to take her stubborn child -by the shoulders and shake her into a more -becoming frame of mind.</p> - -<p>It was fortunate that she could not hear -that child’s first remark after she had gone.</p> - -<p>“My poor mother amuses me very much. -She thinks she is such a deep schemer, and -she is so transparent all the time.”</p> - -<p>“You mustn’t ask me to take sides with an -undutiful daughter,” responded Hammond. -“May I sit down? I am lucky in finding -you here.”</p> - -<p>“There isn’t much luck about it,” said<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[176]</span> -Victoria, bluntly, as she made way for him to -sit beside her. “My mother knew you were -coming, and ordered me to remain here to -meet you.”</p> - -<p>“The marchioness is very considerate,” replied -Hammond, fairly taken aback by this -extraordinary confidence.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but I find it a little embarrassing -sometimes,” Victoria remarked. “She is so -very barefaced, you know. She positively -throws me at eligible men. I hope you don’t -mind having me thrown at you?”</p> - -<p>“On the contrary, I find it rather agreeable -than otherwise. You don’t hurt at all.”</p> - -<p>“I am so glad. Tell me when you are -tired, and I will make her leave off and throw -me at some one else.”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t there another alternative?” Hammond -saw a faint color come into Victoria’s -cheeks as he spoke, and went on quietly. -“Do you know, I wanted to see you, to consult -you about a letter that I received this -morning.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[177]</span>He put his hand into his breast pocket and -drew out a blue envelope of the inconvenient -oblong shape still in use by so-called business -men. Victoria continued to recline in the same -lazy attitude on the divan, but she watched -him keenly out of the corner of her eyes.</p> - -<p>“How interesting!” she murmured, as he -drew out a closely written sheet and unfolded -it. “I hope it is an anonymous letter taking -away my character.”</p> - -<p>“No; curiously enough, it is from one who -has a very high opinion of you.”</p> - -<p>Victoria became more languid still.</p> - -<p>“I am dying to hear it.”</p> - -<p>“You shall.” He began to read aloud:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verseright">“‘<span class="smcap">Boot and Shoe Emporium,</span></div> -<div class="verseright">“<span class="smcap">High Street, Tooting.</span>’”</div> -</div></div> - -<p>“I know who it is from!” Victoria exclaimed, -eagerly. “That delightful alderman!”</p> - -<p>“Don’t interrupt, please. ‘<i>My dear Mr. -Hammond—</i>’”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[178]</span>“How sweetly friendly!”</p> - -<p>“Hush! ‘<i>It is with considerable reluctance -that I have consented, at the request of -many of your leading supporters in the Division, -to address you on a subject of great -delicacy and importance—</i>’”</p> - -<p>“Mysterious creature!”</p> - -<p>“‘<i>I refer to the question of your marriage—</i>’”</p> - -<p>“This is most interesting!”</p> - -<p>Hammond frowned sternly at the fair interrupter.</p> - -<p>“Wait! ‘<i>Some time ago it was generally -rumored in the constituency that you were -likely to lead to the altar Lady Victoria Hildegonde -Jane Beauchamp-Mauleverer</i>, only -<i>daughter of the most noble the Marquis of Severn, -K.G.—</i>’”</p> - -<p>“He must have looked me up in Whitaker’s -‘Titled Persons.’”</p> - -<p>“‘<i>And the news gave us the greatest satisfaction, -as it was felt that by so doing you -would greatly strengthen your social prestige, -and thereby deprive the Liberals of their advantage<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[179]</span> -in having secured a baronet as their -candidate—</i>’”</p> - -<p>“He quite crushes you there.”</p> - -<p>“‘<i>But I regret to state that a report has now -reached us that this marriage is not likely to -come off, and your enemies have the audacity -to allege that you are contemplating a union -with a singer on the music-hall stage whose -name has been a target for the breath of scandal. -Your friends have, of course, indignantly -denied the rumor, but we think it would be -desirable in your interest that you should at -once write me a formal contradiction, which -could be inserted, if necessary, in the local press. -Trusting you will see your way to do this, and -apologizing for the liberty I have taken, with -very kind regards, I am, yours sincerely</i>,</p> - -<p class="right">“‘<span class="smcap">Edward Dobbin</span>.’”</p> - - -<p>“He gets rather prosy towards the end, -doesn’t he?” commented Victoria, who had -listened in silence to that part of the letter.</p> - -<p>“You haven’t heard the postscript,” said<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[180]</span> -Hammond. “‘P.S.—<i>If you could at the -same time authorize me to announce your engagement -to Lady Beauchamp-Mauleverer, -we consider it would have an excellent effect.</i>’”</p> - -<p>“Artful old thing! He is almost as bad -as my mother.”</p> - -<p>Hammond folded up the letter and put it -back in his pocket.</p> - -<p>“Well, now, what do you advise me to do?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, send the contradiction, by all means.”</p> - -<p>“And what about the further announcement?”</p> - -<p>Their eyes met seriously for the first time. -Victoria answered, in the same light tone:</p> - -<p>“Well, it seems a pity to disappoint -him.”</p> - -<p>“Then you won’t contradict it?”</p> - -<p>“No, I never write to the papers.”</p> - -<p>Hammond bent forward respectfully.</p> - -<p>“Thank you. May I kiss your hand?”</p> - -<p>“If you will promise not to be sentimental,” -said Victoria, yielding gracefully.</p> - -<p>“I think I can promise that,” said Hammond,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[181]</span> -with secret bitterness. And he bowed -over the white fingers, wondering if this -woman really wished to be his wife, while -Victoria wondered in her turn why on earth -this man wanted to marry her.</p> - -<p>They were not left long in their mutual -embarrassment. The marchioness was burning -with impatience to learn the result of her -arduous campaign, and as soon as she -thought she had given the lovers time enough -to adjust matters she returned to the spot, -Despencer being admitted to share the anticipated -triumph.</p> - -<p>“So you are still here!” the mother exclaimed, -with innocent surprise. “I hope -that girl has not been shocking you very -much, Mr. Hammond?”</p> - -<p>“Well, she has, rather,” he answered, dryly. -“She has promised to be my wife!”</p> - -<p>“My dear child!” The loving mother -rushed to fold her daughter in a close embrace, -to which Victoria submitted with silent -scorn. “This is sudden, but I cannot<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[182]</span> -say it takes me altogether by surprise. A -mother’s eye sees so much,” added the marchioness, -plaintively, implying that she had -long watched over her child’s secret love -and seen it grow from day to day.</p> - -<p>Despencer stood viewing the touching -scene with an ironical smile. “She will -overdo this if she isn’t careful,” was his unspoken -comment.</p> - -<p>The marchioness turned to her new -son.</p> - -<p>“I give her to you, John, because I know -you will make her happy. If I had had the -choice of a son-in-law, there is no one I should -have preferred to you.”</p> - -<p>As a bald matter of fact, there had been a -slight element of choice about it.</p> - -<p>Hammond bowed with due gratitude.</p> - -<p>“Let me offer my congratulations, too, if -I may,” Despencer put in. “This sort of -thing quite touches me.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” said Hammond, curtly. “I -hope to have the pleasure of speaking to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[183]</span> -marquis in the morning,” he added to the -marquis’s wife.</p> - -<p>“I will prepare him for it. I am sure you -will find him ready to welcome you as a son,” -responded the marchioness, with enthusiasm.</p> - -<p>Victoria rose from her seat.</p> - -<p>“There, that will do, mother. You are not -good at domestic sentiment; it isn’t in your -line. Can’t we go and bill and coo somewhere -else?” she said to her betrothed.</p> - -<p>“What a child!” murmured her parent, -still deeply affected. “Take care of her, -John.”</p> - -<p>John intimated his disposition to do so by -a bow, and the marchioness and Despencer -found themselves alone. The latter hastened -to console his companion.</p> - -<p>“Don’t mind her, marchioness. You did -that very well, indeed. The maternal embrace -was perfect.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness sat down on the divan -and heaved a deep sigh of satisfaction.</p> - -<p>“You may be as rude as you like now,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[184]</span> -she observed, mildly, “because you have been -so clever and wicked in managing this for -me. I suppose it is quite settled now. He -won’t go back to that horrid girl again?”</p> - -<p>Despencer placed himself on the seat beside -the marchioness at the exact distance -which he thought safe, as he replied:</p> - -<p>“I think not. The game is not quite finished -yet. I am still waiting to play my ace -of trumps.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness was too full of her triumph -to heed the last words.</p> - -<p>“We had better announce this in the papers -at once,” she remarked, pursuing her -own line of thought. “One cannot make too -sure.”</p> - -<p>“You will have to wait till he has seen -Lord Severn,” suggested the prudent Despencer.</p> - -<p>The marchioness made a grimace.</p> - -<p>“I suppose so. How tiresome all this etiquette -is! I sometimes wish I could go and -be a curate’s wife in the country.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[185]</span>This pathetic yearning failed to move the -callous listener. He retorted:</p> - -<p>“I believe there is no more rigid code of -etiquette than that which obtains among -curates’ wives in the country. I used to -know three curates’ wives and one rector’s, -but they have all dropped me. I never knew -why.”</p> - -<p>“I am afraid you must have a dreadful -reputation,” said the marchioness, admiringly. -“I positively don’t think I ought to stay -here alone with you. Do you know they call -this the Lovers’ Window?”</p> - -<p>Despencer’s eyes fell on the marchioness, -and he ventured two and a half inches nearer.</p> - -<p>“What a romantic situation! You ought -not to have told me that. Remember that I -am a poet.”</p> - -<p>“I am afraid you are only mocking me,” -said the marchioness, lowering her eyes with -a bashfulness which, regarded as a work of -art, was beautiful. “I believe you are a -heartless cynic.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[186]</span>Despencer moved an inch nearer along the -divan as he protested—</p> - -<p>“No, you are quite wrong. You must not -judge me by outward appearances, or you -will be deceived. The fact is, I am a hypocrite. -I pretend to be more worldly and -wicked than I really am. If you could look -into my heart you would be surprised.”</p> - -<p>“I have no doubt of that. But you are -not going to persuade me that I should find -much innocence there.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! but, my dear marchioness, why speak -of it like that? Think how uninteresting -innocence is. Believe me, innocence has been -sadly overpraised by people who knew very -little about it. For my part, I much prefer -experience. One is a blank page, the other is -a romance, generally of the kind that is not -allowed on the railway book-stalls.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness was not insensible to the -subtle flattery. Her voice became actually -soft.</p> - -<p>“You are not going to pretend to me that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[187]</span> -there is anything romantic about an old -woman who will soon be forty.” (The -marchioness’s own age in society was thirty-seven.)</p> - -<p>Despencer moved six inches closer. But -there was no softening in his voice; that -was where he had the advantage over the -marchioness.</p> - -<p>“Every woman is romantic when she is -seated in the Lovers’ Window with a man,” -he murmured in her ear.</p> - -<p>What might have happened next it is impossible -even to imagine. What did happen -was that both started violently apart, and -rose to their feet at the same time, the marchioness -exclaiming, in a tone of subdued -consternation, “Of all men in the world, my -husband!”</p> - -<p>The Marquis of Severn had come in very -quietly by the door at the farther end of the -gallery. As his wife and her companion -came rather awkwardly out on to the floor of -the gallery, he walked past them into the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[188]</span> -window, scarcely heeding their presence, and -stood with his back towards them, looking -out at the slowly rising moon.</p> - -<p>Throwing an impatient frown behind her, -the marchioness led the way out by the other -door. Just as they reached it it was opened -from without, revealing on the threshold -Belle Yorke.</p> - -<p>The marchioness stopped abruptly, and -directed an astonished and inquisitive glance -from Belle to her husband, and from her -husband to Belle. Then she took hold of -Despencer’s arm and marched off in formidable -silence.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[189]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SCENE XII<br /> - - -<small>THE LONG ARM OF MR. DESPENCER</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">George, Marquis of Severn</span>, was one -of those unfortunate men who are out of sympathy -with the class into which they have -been born. As a yeoman, farming his own -land, he would have been contented; as a -marquis, he was miserable. His rank was -irksome to him, he was bored by dignity, he -took no interest in politics, and detested what -is called society.</p> - -<p>If his lot had lain in a humbler sphere of -life, he would have had a wife of his own -choice, and been a good husband and father. -As it was, he had married a woman -selected for him by his people, and with -whom he had not a thought in common. -She was not his wife—she was merely his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[190]</span> -marchioness. He felt himself a stranger -in his own household; his very children -grew up to regard him with good-natured -contempt, and the people with whom Lady -Severn surrounded herself were hardly conscious -that there was such a person as -Lord Severn in existence.</p> - -<p>By natural disposition George Mauleverer -was the reverse of a libertine. He was fitted -for domestic happiness as it is understood -by the middle classes. The irony of his fate -compelled him to seek it away from his own -hearth, under conditions fatal to its permanence. -The woman whom he had taken as -his second wife, and whom he would willingly -have continued to treat as such, was too -much like himself to rest satisfied in a life -which outraged the social and moral prejudices -of her class. She could not find satisfaction -any more than he in that restless, -artificial form of existence which is known -as a life of pleasure. She hated the gay sisterhood -of St. John, and yearned after the respectability<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[191]</span> -in which she had been reared. -To these motives for breaking off the connection -was added, after a few years, the -decisive one of religion. A sermon convicted -her of living in sin, and she resolved -to return to the paths of righteousness.</p> - -<p>George Mauleverer could not oppose her -determination. He sorrowfully recognized -that she was in the right, and assisted her -efforts to regain her natural place in the -world. In due course she found a husband, -and from that moment all intercourse between -the two came to an end.</p> - -<p>The only right which the man reserved to -himself was that of watching over the child -of their former union. He had done this -under an assumed name, and in the character -of a godfather. Neither he nor the mother -had contemplated the necessity of revealing -the truth to their daughter. But they had -reckoned without the world. Just as Belle -was growing into womanhood her stepfather -died, and her mother was threatened<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[192]</span> -with disastrous poverty. In that strait she -would not consent to take money from her -old lover. As a lesser evil, she allowed -her daughter to turn her talents to account -on the stage.</p> - -<p>It had occurred neither to her nor to Belle’s -father that the secret which had been kept so -successfully while Belle remained in the obscurity -of middle-class life might be endangered -by the publicity which she must now -incur. The father continued to associate with -his daughter under the name by which she -knew him. But Belle’s comings and goings -now fell under the eyes of more than one who -knew the Marquis of Severn. London is not -such a large place as some of us are apt to -suppose; or, rather, within the small area -covered by a dozen theatres and restaurants -which some of us are apt to mistake for London, -there is not much more real privacy than -in a village for those whose doings happen -to be of interest to the lookers-on.</p> - -<p>It did not take long for the world of Piccadilly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[193]</span> -Circus to discover the identity of the -quiet, badly dressed, middle-aged man who -was seen from time to time in the company -of the celebrated Belle Yorke. Further -than that the world could hardly be expected -to inquire. It drew its own conclusions, -and very naturally judged others by -itself.</p> - -<p>No whisper of the discovery had yet reached -the ears of the Marquis of Severn. When -he heard his daughter’s name announced in -his wife’s drawing-room, he had realized for -the first time the danger and falsity of his -position. At once he made up his mind that -it was necessary for Belle to know the truth. -The merest accident, the sight of one of his -portraits, might lead to a scandal. He dared -not run the risk of going up to her himself before -the crowd. He escaped into another -room, and, finding his nephew there, resolved -to intrust him with the task of speaking to -Belle.</p> - -<p>Gerald had always had a loyal regard for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[194]</span> -his homely and despised uncle. He listened -to his confession with sympathy, and undertook -to warn Belle that she was in her father’s -house. But he had carried out his task imperfectly. -The marquis realized that he must -himself complete the revelation which Gerald -had begun. He had found Belle for a moment by herself, -and had arranged this meeting -in a spot where he expected to be free -from interruption.</p> - -<p>“Why should the marchioness look at you -like that?” asked Belle, in perfect innocence, -as she came towards the window, where her -father was waiting for her.</p> - -<p>“That is one of the things that I have to -tell you,” he answered, gravely. “But sit -down, my dear, sit down.”</p> - -<p>She obeyed, and gazed up at him wonderingly -as he stood before her.</p> - -<p>“I thought it better to bring you here,” -he explained. “We might have been disturbed -down-stairs, but no one ever comes -here except the members of the family.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[195]</span>Belle opened her eyes.</p> - -<p>“Are you, then—what about you? Are -you a member of the same family as the -Marchioness of Severn?”</p> - -<p>The marquis bowed his head.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I am a member of the family. That -is what I want to speak to you about. I -want to tell you a family secret.”</p> - -<p>“But why? Why should you tell me?” -she gasped, with something like dismay. “I -don’t belong to the Marquis of Severn’s -family.”</p> - -<p>Her father stifled a groan.</p> - -<p>“Suppose I were to tell you that you did?” -he said in a low voice.</p> - -<p>The recollection of her interview with Captain -Mauleverer rushed over Belle. She -shrank back and raised her hands as though -for protection.</p> - -<p>“No; this—this isn’t the secret, is it?” she -whispered.</p> - -<p>“Listen,” was the answer. “I have just -spoken to Gerald, and he tells me that he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[196]</span> -only delivered half of the message he was -to have given you this evening. Do you -think you can bear to hear the rest?”</p> - -<p>Again she held up her hands with that -pathetic, deprecating gesture.</p> - -<p>“Wait! Don’t tell it to me too quickly! -Give me time to think a little, won’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Poor child!”</p> - -<p>He turned away his head, unable to face -the sight of her distress, and silence reigned -for a minute. Belle was the first to speak.</p> - -<p>“Captain Mauleverer told me that my -father was still alive. That is true, then?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, that is true.”</p> - -<p>“And that—that— Oh, tell it me as kindly -as you can!”</p> - -<p>The marquis caught his breath.</p> - -<p>“Your father is a damned villain!” he -cried out.</p> - -<p>“Don’t speak so harshly as that!” she implored. -“Don’t make him out worse than -you can help. Remember, I am his daughter, -after all.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[197]</span>“You are too good for him, Belle. He -doesn’t deserve that you should call yourself -his daughter.”</p> - -<p>She looked up quickly.</p> - -<p>“You know him, then?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I know him.”</p> - -<p>“Then—is he a relation of Lord Severn’s?”</p> - -<p>“He is Lord Severn.”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” In the midst of her astonishment -a bitter thought came into her mind. “Now -I begin to understand. So that is why Lord -Severn left the house the moment I arrived, -without seeing me.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, that is the reason.”</p> - -<p>“And why was I asked to come here, then? -Why did he let his wife bring me here to sing -for hire in my own father’s house? Oh, it -was cruel, cruel!”</p> - -<p>The marquis shook beneath the reproach.</p> - -<p>“He did not know; the marchioness arranged -it without telling him. Your father -knew nothing of it till you were here.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[198]</span>“And the marchioness?” she demanded, -with sudden fire.</p> - -<p>“The marchioness has never heard that -you are his daughter. It has been kept a -secret from every one.”</p> - -<p>The expression of Belle’s face became hard.</p> - -<p>“I see. Lord Severn is a great nobleman, -I suppose, and he was ashamed of the poor -little music-hall singer whom he had cast off -as soon as she was born, and whom he never -wished to see. So that is why he ordered -his nephew to speak to me, to warn me off -the premises, lest I should embarrass him -before his noble wife and daughter. And -now he has sent you to complete the work.” -She rose to her feet in bitter indignation. -“Well, you may tell my father that he has -no need to fear. I will not trouble him; I -will go.”</p> - -<p>Every word stung the marquis like the -knot of a lash.</p> - -<p>“Stop!” he cried, passionately. “What are -you thinking of? You cannot go like this.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[199]</span>“And do you think,” said Belle, turning on -him with flashing eyes, “that now I know -the truth I will stop another moment beneath -the roof of a father who considers -me a disgrace to him? I will go, if I -should have to walk the whole way home -barefoot!”</p> - -<p>“No, stay; you don’t understand! My -God, that you should take it like this! Your -father is not ashamed of you, but of himself. -It is he who disgraces you, not you him. He -went away because he had not the courage -to meet you, and to tell you with his own lips -the injury he had done you.”</p> - -<p>“Is that the truth?” She gazed at him in -doubt, a half-formed suspicion beginning to -struggle faintly for entrance to her mind. -“Then why has he never come near me since -I was born? Why has he let me grow up -in ignorance that I had a father? Why has -he never cast one glance of pity towards his -nameless child?”</p> - -<p>The marquis stood silent, eager to answer,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[200]</span> -and yet afraid. She went on with increasing -vehemence:</p> - -<p>“No, I am not his child; the Lady Victoria -is his child. She has sat upon his -knee; I never have. She bears his name, -and is protected by his rank; I bear a name -to which I have no right, and have no one to -protect me. She has been reared in her -father’s house, among riches and splendor; -I have grown up in obscurity, and have had -to go out to battle with the world. She -meets in her father’s drawing-room the -men whom I meet in the street. No; -you are wrong in telling me that Lord -Severn is my father. I have no father. -Lady Victoria is his daughter, but I am -only his orphan.”</p> - -<p>The marquis broke down.</p> - -<p>“Belle, don’t make it too hard for me,” he -said, humbly. “Your father has not been -quite so bad as that. He has watched over -you, but, like a coward, in disguise.”</p> - -<p>For a minute she stood with heaving breast<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[201]</span> -gazing at him, while his own eyes were cast -down before her.</p> - -<p>“Father! You!” The words escaped slowly -from her lips at last.</p> - -<p>Her father gave a bitter sigh.</p> - -<p>“If we men could foresee these moments -in our lives, we should not sin so lightly. -Yes, I have done you the greatest injury -that a father can do his child. I have tried -all these years to persuade myself that the -best atonement I could make was to keep you -in ignorance of the truth; but now the truth -has been forced from me, and you see me -ashamed to look you in the face.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t speak like that!” said his daughter, -gently; “don’t look away from me! Why, -I thought I had no father, but now—”</p> - -<p>He looked up swiftly, a new hope in his -eyes.</p> - -<p>“You are going to forgive me, my child?” -he said, and trembled.</p> - -<p>“No,” said Belle, simply, “I am going to -love you.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[202]</span>He uttered a cry, and clasped her to -him.</p> - -<p>“After all,” she said presently with a tearful -smile, “I was only a poor little music-hall -singer before. It isn’t as if I had much character -to lose, is it?”</p> - -<p>“You are very good to me, my child. If -you knew how often I have wanted to tell -you who I was, and been afraid to do it! -The Fates prepare some rough places for -us, but the beds we make for ourselves are -the hardest to lie on.”</p> - -<p>“Does any one else know of this, father?” -Belle asked.</p> - -<p>“No one knows it except Gerald, and I -can trust him. This must be a secret between -us two, Belle. It is the one favor I -have to ask of you; and I don’t ask it for my -own sake, but for the sake of my family.”</p> - -<p>“For the sake of the Marchioness of Severn. -I understand.” There was a touch of -resentment in her voice. “She has been -good enough to speak to me since I came to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[203]</span> -this house; she has explained to me the gulf -that separates her world from mine.”</p> - -<p>“My child! If you knew how bitter it is -to me not to be able to spare you such things! -But what motive could she have had for -speaking to you like that? She can have no -suspicion of the truth, surely?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no. She simply wished to point out -to me how unworthy I was to receive the -honorable addresses of a gentleman such as -her daughter might accept.”</p> - -<p>“What man is that?”</p> - -<p>“Mr. John Hammond.”</p> - -<p>The marquis started. It was the first time -he had heard Hammond’s name in connection -with Belle’s, and he was not ignorant of -his wife’s designs on behalf of Victoria.</p> - -<p>“The very man!” he exclaimed. “And -you—what have you done?”</p> - -<p>“I have taken her ladyship’s good advice,” -said Belle, proudly. “I have refused Mr. -Hammond.”</p> - -<p>Her father stood and gazed at her in consternation.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[204]</span> -This rivalry between his two -daughters, the rich one and the poor one, -came on him as an unexpected shock. Suddenly -there came a sound of the door opening -at the end of the gallery.</p> - -<p>“We must not be seen!” burst from his -lips; and, without pausing to consider the -possible consequences, he seized hold of the -curtains and drew them across the opening.</p> - -<p>There had been two persons outside the -door, and they entered together. One was -Despencer, the other was John Hammond.</p> - -<p>It was not in Despencer’s nature to be -revengeful, but he had not been left entirely -unmoved by Hammond’s biting taunts during -their interview in the conservatory. But -for them he might have been satisfied with -the success already achieved. His only motive -in denouncing Belle Yorke in the first -place had been to bring about the engagement -which he had just seen ratified. It -was Hammond’s insulting treatment of him -which had given him a personal interest in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[205]</span> -the affair. He yielded to the temptation of -proving himself right and scoring off the -man who had disbelieved him. As soon as -he could manage his escape from the marchioness, -he went to seek Hammond and -bring him to the spot where he had left the -marquis and Belle Yorke together.</p> - -<p>Hammond at first refused to listen. Belle -had assured him with her own lips that she -had never even seen the man with whom her -name was coupled. But Despencer’s statement -compelled him to action. Wondering, -reluctant, and dismayed, he allowed himself -to be dragged into the gallery.</p> - -<p>Both men as they entered glanced eagerly -in the direction of the window. The next -instant both stopped abruptly, and their -eyes met. Despencer’s filled with malicious -triumph, Hammond’s with the deepest mortification.</p> - -<p>The curtains were closed. Who was behind -them?</p> - -<p>“Now, if you wish to know the truth,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[206]</span> -draw that curtain,” the tempter whispered. -Then he walked slowly out of the gallery, -watching Hammond as he went.</p> - -<p>Left to himself, Hammond stood in silent -anguish, his gaze fixed on the velvet folds -which spared him the sight of the falsehood -of the woman he loved. Fresh from his -betrothal to Victoria, he had forgotten her -already, so much greater was the bitterness -of finding that his love was misplaced than -the bitterness of having it rejected. He -thought he could hear that Belle should not -love him, but he found he could not bear that -she should love another.</p> - -<p>Face to face with that curtain, there -seemed to be no more room for doubt. Despencer -might not be a man of honor, but -he could not, he dared not, have brought -Hammond there unless he were sure of the -result. What inducement had Despencer to -lie? None. And Belle? Alas! it was evident -that she had only too much.</p> - -<p>He took a step towards the curtain, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[207]</span> -then drew back. What right had he to lift -it? What right had he, the promised husband -of Lady Victoria, to test the faith of -the woman who had just refused his hand? -Reason bade him go away, satisfied with -the silent testimony of that damning screen.</p> - -<p>But reason is a mere lawyer, whose client -is passion. John Hammond could no more -leave that gallery without drawing the curtain -than the steel can detach itself from the -magnet. It did not take long to reason himself -into the belief that to go away now would -be disloyalty to Belle herself; it would be to -accept Despencer’s word against hers without -inquiry. He stepped forward again, and his -hand was stretched out towards the curtain, -when he was arrested by the entrance of a -man at the opposite door.</p> - -<p>Captain Mauleverer had taken advantage -of his dismissal by the marchioness to wander -off to a nook at the top of his uncle’s -house and indulge in a quiet smoke. Returning -through the gallery, where he had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[208]</span> -half hoped to find Victoria waiting for him, -he was surprised to find himself in the presence -of Hammond.</p> - -<p>“Why, Hammond, what are you doing -here all by yourself?” he exclaimed as he -came up.</p> - -<p>Hammond drew back a few steps from the -curtain.</p> - -<p>“What am I doing?” He raised his voice -and glanced towards the purple folds as -though he would have looked through them -to see the effect of his words. “I am wondering -why it is that we men are ever fools -enough to expect truth from the lips of a -woman.”</p> - -<p>“Is that all?” returned Mauleverer, his -own mood in harmony with his friend’s. “I -didn’t know that any sensible man ever did. -I’m sure I don’t.”</p> - -<p>“Why, what is wrong with you?” asked -the other, incredulously. “You haven’t been -deceived by the woman you trusted?”</p> - -<p>“It seems to me we all have,” was the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[209]</span> -bitter answer. “Don’t you remember what -I was telling you about down-stairs?”</p> - -<p>“Ah, yes; I had forgotten it. You mean -that girl? Why, have you just discovered -that she really loves another man?”</p> - -<p>“Not that exactly. She loves me, or she -pretends to, but she has sold herself to the -other man.”</p> - -<p>“She doesn’t love you!” The words were -pronounced with an emphasis which Mauleverer -could not understand, and which was -not meant for his ears. “They all pretend, -if not in words, in looks and actions. It is -their occupation, like politics with us. I -knew a woman once who made me think -she loved me. She never said so, you understand, -but led me on, and laughed at me -in her sleeve all the while. Depend upon -it, this girl of yours is like her. She has -some secret lover in the background, some -man whom she has sworn to you that she -has never seen.”</p> - -<p>There were three listeners to that savage<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[210]</span> -outburst—two men and a woman; but only -the woman understood.</p> - -<p>The captain remonstrated.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think that of her. No; hang it! -the girl is straight enough. She doesn’t -think me worth deceiving; I am too poor.”</p> - -<p>“I see. Then it is the other man she is -deceiving, and you are the lover in the background. -You see, it comes to the same thing. -I told you they were all alike.”</p> - -<p>“It’s not her fault, damn it!” said the -loyal Gerald. “She has got to marry the -brute; her people have driven her into it.”</p> - -<p>“Why?”</p> - -<p>“You needn’t ask. Money. It’s some infernal -millionaire like you.”</p> - -<p>Hammond started. For the first time he -turned his attention from the unseen listeners -to this dialogue to the man who was speaking -to him.</p> - -<p>“Who? What did you say? Who is this -man?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know his name; she wouldn’t<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[211]</span> -tell me,” replied the suspicious captain. -“What does it matter to me who he is?”</p> - -<p>“Do I know the girl?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I don’t mind telling you, old man; -it’s my cousin Victoria.”</p> - -<p>“What!” The word burst from Hammond -like a bullet. His eyes sought the curtain. -“Are all women traitors?” he cried.</p> - -<p>And striding to the curtains, he dragged -them back. There in the light of the moon -stood the two who had overheard every word. -The marquis had his arm round Belle’s neck, -and her face was hidden in her father’s breast.</p> - -<p>“It is true!” gasped Hammond.</p> - -<p>A tremendous silence followed. How long -it lasted none of the four could tell. At -length the marquis broke it.</p> - -<p>“Well, sir?” he said, looking Hammond -full in the face with a certain dignity for -which the other had not been prepared.</p> - -<p>“I beg your pardon, marquis. I was told -that you and this lady were strangers, and I -believed it, like a fool.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[212]</span>He had turned on his heel to withdraw, -when he was made aware that some one else -was coming on the scene. He glanced -towards the door, and then with a bow of -silent apology drew the curtains across again -as he had found them. This done, he turned -round and stood facing whoever might -come in.</p> - -<p>He had expected Despencer, and he was -right. But Despencer had not come alone. -He had had another object in view all this -time, and what that object was was now revealed. -Having arranged for what promised -to be a stormy scene between Hammond -and the Marquis of Severn, having -fired his train and calculated the time required -for it to reach the mine, he had now -brought the marchioness to witness the -explosion.</p> - -<p>The marchioness entered quickly, her face -alight with suspicion. Despencer had skilfully -aroused her expectations, without committing -himself to any definite statement.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[213]</span> -Her eye instantly fell on the curtain, and she -divined that it concealed a mystery.</p> - -<p>“Why is that curtain closed?” she demanded, -advancing towards it. “Is there -any one in the window?”</p> - -<p>There was just one instant in which Hammond -hesitated, nearly carried away by the -temptation to let her draw back the curtain -and overwhelm those two by whom he deemed -that he had been deceived. Then, just as the -horrified Gerald was about to step forward, -Hammond planted himself right in front of -the marchioness.</p> - -<p>“No!” he said, firmly. “There is no one -there.”</p> - -<p>She stopped unwillingly and looked at -him. He looked at her, and to that look -she yielded.</p> - -<p>A moment afterwards he was leading her -out of the gallery on his arm, while Captain -Mauleverer escorted Despencer in the rear.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[214]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SCENE XIII<br /> - - -<small>THE MARCHIONESS AT BAY</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Has</span> anything happened?”</p> - -<p>“The worst has happened.”</p> - -<p>It was the morning after the concert, and -the sedulous Despencer had called upon his -exacting patroness, as in duty bound. The -marchioness had only just descended; she -had made a hurried toilette, and in consequence -the pearl powder was not quite so -delicately shaded off round her neck as usual, -and her waist was at least half an inch wider -than its wont.</p> - -<p>Such touching traces of maternal anxiety -were not lost on the observant Despencer. -There is no eye like that of love.</p> - -<p>“Why, what is it? You alarm me,” he -said, lazily sinking into a chair in front of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[215]</span> -marchioness. They were in her boudoir, an -apartment which ladies reserve for the reception -of gentlemen who do not happen to be -married to them. The Marquis of Severn -had not been in his wife’s boudoir for ten -years.</p> - -<p>“That man Hammond has had the audacity -to send a note to Victoria this -morning asking her to release him from -their engagement,” the marchioness announced.</p> - -<p>“Why on earth has he done that?”</p> - -<p>“He says he finds he has mistaken the -nature of his feelings for her,” said the marchioness, -with fine scorn.</p> - -<p>“What a ridiculous idea! As if his feelings -had anything to do with it! The man -must be a scoundrel.”</p> - -<p>“He is worse,” said the marchioness with -conviction; “he is a fool. Oh, if I had only -sent the announcement to the papers last -night; then they could neither of them have -backed out of it.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[216]</span>“What does Lady Victoria say?” inquired -her friend, cautiously.</p> - -<p>“She pretends to be perfectly indifferent. -She treats the affair as if it were more my -concern than hers. That is what is so hard. -If she only took a proper interest in her own -position, I should not be afraid; but when I -have to deal with a man who says he doesn’t -want to marry my daughter, and a daughter -who says she doesn’t want to marry him, -what am I, as a mother, to do?”</p> - -<p>She gazed plaintively at Despencer, who -considerately shook his head.</p> - -<p>“It is a difficult position, certainly, but I -don’t despair,” he remarked, encouragingly. -“I have the very greatest confidence in you, -marchioness. I shall be quite interested to -see how you get on.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t be so heartless and unfeeling! I -consider this is as much your business as -mine. You helped to bring about the engagement, -and now you ought to support -me in holding this man to his word.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[217]</span>“Well, if you are going to bring an action, -I shall be delighted to give evidence, but I -don’t see what else I can do.” He paused a -moment, and then asked, in a different tone: -“Have you any idea of the cause of this -sudden change? I thought everything was -going so smoothly last night.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness gave an emphatic nod.</p> - -<p>“That is just what I want to know. I suspect -that it has something to do with that -scene in the picture-gallery, and I am determined -to get at the truth about it.”</p> - -<p>“Really!” Despencer regarded her with -an amused smile. “Do you know, I quite -envy you. You are so energetic, and so -hopeful.”</p> - -<p>“You mean by that, I suppose, that you -don’t think I shall succeed?”</p> - -<p>He shrugged his shoulders with bland deprecation.</p> - -<p>“Well, I can only say that in the course -of my experience I have several times tried -to get at the truth where a man and a woman<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[218]</span> -were concerned, and <i>I</i> never succeeded. You -may be more fortunate.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness darted a suspicious look -at him.</p> - -<p>“One thing I mean to know anyway, and -that is, who were behind that curtain.”</p> - -<p>Despencer stole a glance at her sideways.</p> - -<p>“There I think you are unwise. It is always -so much better <i>not</i> to know who are -behind the curtain.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness sat up and frowned in -earnest.</p> - -<p>“That shows that you think it was my -husband and Belle Yorke. Mr. Despencer, -I can see that there is some connection between -those two, and that you know all -about it.”</p> - -<p>Despencer smiled pleasantly, with the satisfaction -of a general who sees the enemy -march straight into the ambush he has prepared. -He could even afford to play with -his victim.</p> - -<p>“Oh, my dear marchioness, what do you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[219]</span> -take me for?” he returned, with an insincerity -not intended to deceive. “Am I a -necromancer? Am I the author of ‘Who’s -Who’?”</p> - -<p>But, much to his inward disappointment, -he was saved from further questioning by -the entrance at this juncture of the marchioness’s -nephew, to whom she had sent an -urgent summons before Despencer’s arrival.</p> - -<p>Captain Mauleverer came in looking very -guilty and ashamed, though he made a -poor bravado of ignorance.</p> - -<p>“Yes, aunt, what is it?” he inquired, -scarcely troubling to acknowledge Despencer’s -presence by a nod.</p> - -<p>“Sit down, please,” ordered the marchioness. -“I want you to tell me exactly what -passed in the picture-gallery last night before -I came in.”</p> - -<p>Gerald sat down with ill-concealed reluctance.</p> - -<p>“I am afraid there is nothing I can tell -you,” he stammered.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[220]</span>“Oh, yes, there is,” his aunt retorted. -“What were you and Mr. Hammond doing -there?”</p> - -<p>“I am not aware that we were doing anything,” -was the sullen answer. “We met -there by accident, and we fell into conversation.”</p> - -<p>“What was the conversation about?” pursued -the relentless examiner.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid I can’t even tell you -that.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know that Mr. Hammond is engaged -to your cousin Victoria?”</p> - -<p>“I gathered something of the kind from -what he said.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness pounced on the admission.</p> - -<p>“So much the better. You hear that, -Mr. Despencer?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly. Most damaging evidence. He -can’t possibly get out of that,” murmured the -faithful one.</p> - -<p>“My dear aunt!” exclaimed the startled<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[221]</span> -captain, “surely you don’t anticipate any -trouble with Hammond, do you?”</p> - -<p>“Never mind. You say that he has made -the engagement a subject of conversation -among his friends, and that is sufficient to -bind him as an honorable man.”</p> - -<p>“But, good heavens! I didn’t say that,” -protested her unfortunate nephew.</p> - -<p>The marchioness turned coldly to her -ally.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Despencer, you heard?”</p> - -<p>“Most distinctly,” said the witness. “Nothing -could be clearer.”</p> - -<p>The captain became desperate. He tried -to explain:</p> - -<p>“No—but really, it was from Victoria that -I heard of it first, only she didn’t mention -Hammond’s name.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness smiled cruelly.</p> - -<p>“Very good. Then I shall be able to tell -him that she has also announced the engagement -among <i>her</i> friends.” She turned -to Despencer. “What do you say to that?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[222]</span>“It is absolutely conclusive. It doesn’t -leave him a single loop-hole.”</p> - -<p>The miserable captain writhed helplessly, -like a victim in the hands of the Holy Office, -finding every answer twisted into a fresh -heresy.</p> - -<p>“Look here, do you mean to say that there -is a chance of his breaking it off?” he asked -the marchioness.</p> - -<p>“Not the very slightest,” was the grim response; -“but he may try to.” All at once -her manner became coaxing. “Now, I trust -to you, Gerald, as a gentleman, not to stand -in your cousin’s way. You can’t marry her -yourself, as you know perfectly well, and -therefore you ought not to prevent her making -a good match.”</p> - -<p>“I am not likely to,” he answered, gloomily. -“As long as Vick and Hammond are -engaged, I am out of it altogether.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness looked extremely relieved.</p> - -<p>“That is right,” she said, approvingly. “I -knew I could rely on your good feelings not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[223]</span> -to let two millions go out of the family. But -now, are you quite sure, Gerald, that you -said nothing to Mr. Hammond last night that -might have led him to suspect that there was -something between you and Victoria?”</p> - -<p>Gerald, conscious of having assured Hammond -with considerable earnestness that -Victoria loved himself, turned red as he -stammered:</p> - -<p>“Oh—er—well—I don’t know; the fact is, -you see, I didn’t understand—”</p> - -<p>His aunt came to his relief.</p> - -<p>“Exactly. I thought as much. Now, -Gerald, I shall be seeing Mr. Hammond -this morning, and I leave it to your sense -of honor to go and speak to him and put -things right first. You understand me?”</p> - -<p>The wretched Mauleverer rose to go out. -On his way to the door he caught Despencer’s -mocking smile, and longed to kick him. As -soon as he was gone, the other, unconscious -of the peril he had run, uttered the words:</p> - -<p>“Marchioness, you are a great woman!”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[224]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SCENE XIV<br /> - - -<small>PISTOLS FOR TWO</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">John Hammond</span>, although a bachelor, -lived in a very good house, in the same -neighborhood as Lord Severn’s, and, strange -as it may appear to the author of <i>The Christian</i>, -he possessed more than one teaspoon. -When he had hospital nurses of doubtful -character to tea, which was extremely seldom, -he did not even wait on them himself; -he kept servants for that very purpose. -Possibly those extraordinary facts may be -accounted for by his not being a wicked lord, -nor even a misguided baronet.</p> - -<p>John Hammond was seated at home on -the morning after the concert, considering -his position. Immediately after the scene in -the picture-gallery overnight he had come<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[225]</span> -away, feeling as if his world had crumbled -into ruin around him. He had saved the -woman he loved from the marchioness’s -scorn; he could not save her from his own. -And the other woman, whom he had considered -his friend, to whom he had offered himself -in all good-will, believing that she had -affection to give him, if not love—he had -discovered that her heart was engaged, and -that she regarded marriage with him as a -hateful necessity.</p> - -<p>He had sent her a note, brief, courteous, -and dignified. In it he had not used one -word that might seem to accuse her; he had -taken the entire blame upon himself. He -had stated simply that he found he could not -offer her the love of a husband, and he had -placed himself in her hands. Now he was -waiting for her answer.</p> - -<p>But though he was waiting to hear from -Lady Victoria, he was thinking of Belle -Yorke. There are two kinds of misfortune -which sometimes come upon a man at the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[226]</span> -same time; and one makes a public arrival, -and it harasses him a great deal, but the -other comes in silence and in secrecy, and it -wrecks his life.</p> - -<p>There was a knock at the door, and a -footman announced Captain Mauleverer.</p> - -<p>For the first time in the history of their -friendship the two men faced each other -with mutual embarrassment. The captain, -like a sensible man, went straight at his -fence.</p> - -<p>“Look here, Hammond, I am awfully -sorry I made such an ass of myself last -night. I’m afraid I have given you a wrong -impression about Victoria.”</p> - -<p>“No. Why should you say that?” Hammond -replied in a tone of indifference.</p> - -<p>Mauleverer looked at him anxiously.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid I have led you to think there -was something between us, that she—well, -in fact, that she cared about me.”</p> - -<p>Hammond gave a weary shrug.</p> - -<p>“What of it? What does it matter?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[227]</span>“It’s very decent of you to take it so well,” -said the puzzled captain. “I was afraid that -I might have unwittingly injured her in your -mind.”</p> - -<p>“No, oh no; don’t think that. There was -no hypocrisy about Lady Victoria, I can assure -you. She didn’t pretend to be in love -with me, and I didn’t pretend to be in love -with her.”</p> - -<p>“You asked her to marry you,” observed -the other, in a tone of remonstrance.</p> - -<p>“I know; I did it to please my constituents, -as she was aware. A public man has to do -that sort of thing.”</p> - -<p>“Surely you expected her to care for you -in time?”</p> - -<p>“No; I merely expected her to canvass -for me.”</p> - -<p>Mauleverer began to feel baffled by this -cynical indifference.</p> - -<p>“You seem to take a very curious tone,” he -said, after a moment. “Of course, you understand -that, whatever feeling I may have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[228]</span> -had for her in the past, I shall never think -of her again except as a cousin.”</p> - -<p>In spite of his own inward trouble, Hammond -could not resist a smile at the honest -captain’s efforts to plead against himself. -He gave him an amused glance as he retorted:</p> - -<p>“I am afraid that is rather ambiguous. I -have known cousins who were very much -attached to each other.”</p> - -<p>“Hammond, do you doubt me when I -tell you that from this moment Victoria will -be perfectly indifferent to me?”</p> - -<p>“Well, you piled it on pretty strongly last -night, you know. I can’t help thinking that -you are rather more fond of her than you -pretend. But there is no need to get excited -about it; it makes no difference to me.”</p> - -<p>Mauleverer gazed at him in dismay.</p> - -<p>“Is that the way in which you speak -about your future wife?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Hammond, shaking his head -decidedly.</p> - -<p>“Hammond, what does this mean? You<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[229]</span> -say that my attachment to Victoria makes -no difference to you, and yet you no longer -wish to marry her?”</p> - -<p>“It means that I have made a mistake, -and that I have to get out of it the best way -I can.”</p> - -<p>“Old man, this is my doing. This is -because of what I said to you last night.”</p> - -<p>“No.” Hammond became earnest for the -first time. “I am very glad you said what -you did, because if I had had the vanity to -think that Lady Victoria cared twopence -about me, you would have undeceived me. -But the reason why I have determined not -to marry her is not merely because I believe -she loves you, but because I have discovered -that I love another woman too well ever to -marry any one besides.”</p> - -<p>“Great heavens! Is that it?” Mauleverer -exclaimed. He recalled the scene of last -night, and began dimly to understand it.</p> - -<p>Hammond proceeded to enlighten him.</p> - -<p>“Did you think that I was jealous of you?<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[230]</span> -Why, man, if I had loved your cousin with -one-hundredth part of the love I have for -that other, I should have taken you by the -throat last night when you said what you -did. Jealous of you? No, but of that man -whose years protect him from my anger, -though they have not protected youth and -innocence from him. It is Lord Severn, not -you, who has robbed me of the woman I love; -and let me tell you that if I had no other reason -for breaking the hollow, lying pledge I -gave last night, I would sooner cut off this -hand than give it to the daughter of the man -who is guilty of Belle Yorke’s betrayal!”</p> - -<p>“My God!”</p> - -<p>Mauleverer sat transfixed as the whole -truth of the situation burst upon him. Twice -he opened his lips to speak, and twice he -recollected that the secret had been intrusted -to his honor. He was on the point of springing -to his feet to go, when the door opened -and the footman came in.</p> - -<p>“A Mr. Yorke, sir, wishes to see you. He<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[231]</span> -is in the hall,” announced the stately creature -with icy impassibility.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Yorke?” repeated Hammond, bewildered.</p> - -<p>“He is a rather young man, sir.” The -information was vouchsafed with a crushing -absence of emotion. “I should judge -him to be about thirteen.”</p> - -<p>Hammond started and changed color. -Then he said with quiet emphasis:</p> - -<p>“Show the young gentleman in.”</p> - -<p>If ever footman permitted himself to show -human feelings, assuredly a faint gleam of -something resembling surprise played across -the visage of that footman as he withdrew.</p> - -<p>“Who is it?” asked Mauleverer, amused.</p> - -<p>“Belle Yorke’s brother.”</p> - -<p>The footman threw open the door. With -perfect self-control, with a beautiful unconsciousness -of whether he was announcing a -member of the royal family or a detective -with a warrant for his master’s arrest, he -uttered the words:</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[232]</span>“Mr. Yorke.”</p> - -<p>The captain saw a rather undersized boy -in knickerbockers, with his fists tightly -clenched and a flush of excitement on his -cheeks, who walked boldly into the centre -of the room, and there stood still.</p> - -<p>Hammond, who had already risen, went -towards the boy with extended hand. Mr. -Yorke drew back, and kept his own hands -down by his side.</p> - -<p>“I’d rather not shake hands with you, -please, Mr. Hammond.”</p> - -<p>The man started, and dropped his hand -with a strange look.</p> - -<p>“Will you sit down?” he asked, quietly.</p> - -<p>“I’d rather not, please.”</p> - -<p>Hammond bowed, and remained standing -himself.</p> - -<p>“I’ve come to see you about my sister. -Miss Belle Yorke. She hasn’t any father, -you know, so I’m her protector.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, my boy, I’m sure you are,” said -Hammond, very gently.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[233]</span>Mr. Yorke went on, with a certain feverish -energy:</p> - -<p>“It’s rather difficult for me to speak to you, -because I don’t know exactly what you’ve -done to Belle; but I know it’s your doing, -whatever it is, because you used to be her -sweetheart, and now she says she shall never -see you any more. You’ve broken her heart, -and she wouldn’t eat any breakfast this -morning, and mother says she will give -up the stage; and I believe she’s been -crying, though she won’t own to it. And -I don’t think you’re a gentleman, Mr. Hammond.”</p> - -<p>Hammond’s head was drooping on his -breast.</p> - -<p>“God knows that!” he muttered.</p> - -<p>“So I have come here to tell you that I -consider you’ve no right to treat Belle like -that, and I’m not going to stand it. And as -soon as I’m old enough, I’m going to challenge -you to a duel.”</p> - -<p>“My child!”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[234]</span>The exclamation burst from the man unawares. -Mr. Yorke turned very red.</p> - -<p>“I think it’s very offensive of you to call -me that,” he said, wrathfully, “and it isn’t -treating me as you ought to.”</p> - -<p>“I beg your pardon,” said the man, -humbly.</p> - -<p>“And if you think,” Mr. Yorke went on -fiercely, “that you can take advantage of my -being young to refuse me satisfaction, I shall -think you’re not very honorable, because you -knew Belle had only me to protect her when -you broke her heart. And I’ve come here to -ask you, as a gentleman, to wait till I am -twenty-one, so that I can fight you. It’s -only eight years and two months, and I expect -you to give me your word of honor that you -will wait till then.”</p> - -<p>“I will wait.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, sir.” Mr. Yorke became -more friendly. “It’s only fair for me to tell -you that I’m going to save up and buy a -revolver and practise every day, so you had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[235]</span> -better do the same. I don’t want to take -any advantage of you.”</p> - -<p>“You’re a brave fellow,” said Hammond.</p> - -<p>“Then I think that’s all. Good-morning, -Mr. Hammond.”</p> - -<p>“Good-morning, Mr. Yorke.”</p> - -<p>Hammond rang the bell, and advanced to -open the door of the room. Mr. Yorke was -half-way out when he paused in the doorway.</p> - -<p>“I say, Mr. Hammond,” he said, his manner -suddenly changing to thorough boyishness, -“do you mind promising me, as a great -favor, that you won’t tell mother or Belle -about this, or they mightn’t let me buy the -revolver?”</p> - -<p>Hammond bowed kindly.</p> - -<p>“I promise.”</p> - -<p>The footman appeared outside.</p> - -<p>“Show Mr. Yorke out.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Yorke, regaining his dignity, made -his exit in state, leaving the two men looking -at each other.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[236]</span>“By Jove! that was a little trump!” Mauleverer -burst out as the door closed. “Not -much the matter with the modern child, -after all.”</p> - -<p>Hammond nodded as he cast himself wearily -into a chair.</p> - -<p>“Do you mind going now, old man?” he -said, bluntly.</p> - -<p>Mauleverer sprang up with a sudden recollection, -hurried out on to the pavement, -hailed the nearest cab, and dashed off to -Berkeley Square.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[237]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SCENE XV<br /> - - -<small>A MISFORTUNE FOR SOCIETY</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Hammond</span> was not left to himself for very -long. The marchioness waited to give her -nephew time to clear the way, and then took -the field in person.</p> - -<p>When he heard her name, a sardonic -smile crossed Hammond’s lips. He stood -up to receive her, a very different man to -the one whom Belle Yorke’s brother had -encountered.</p> - -<p>The marchioness walked in with an angry -gleam in her eyes. Hammond at once proceeded -to draw first blood.</p> - -<p>“Show Mr. Despencer in!” he called out -to the footman, looking out through the door -as if in the expectation of seeing that gentleman -outside.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[238]</span>“Mr. Despencer is not with me, Mr. Hammond,” -said the marchioness shortly, biting -her lips.</p> - -<p>Mr. Hammond affected to be surprised.</p> - -<p>“I apologize!” he exclaimed, as the footman -withdrew. “But this is very good of you, -marchioness. Where will you sit?”</p> - -<p>The marchioness planted herself in an -arm-chair.</p> - -<p>“I suppose you know, Mr. Hammond, why -I have called?”</p> - -<p>Hammond seated himself comfortably in -another easy-chair opposite, and crossed his -legs.</p> - -<p>“No, unless it’s about that unfortunate affair -last evening.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Hammond!” The marchioness darted -a glance of withering rebuke at the recalcitrant -suitor. “Is that the way in which -you refer to the fact that you are engaged -to my daughter Victoria?”</p> - -<p>“<i>Was</i> engaged, excuse me, marchioness,” -he corrected, with easy good-nature. “Didn’t<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[239]</span> -you know that I had written to Lady Victoria -to beg off?”</p> - -<p>“It is in consequence of your extraordinary -letter that I have come here,” said the marchioness, -scowling. “I trust you will have -the good sense and right feeling to withdraw -it before my daughter is compelled to give it -any reply.”</p> - -<p>“I am afraid I can’t oblige you.”</p> - -<p>The answer was given quietly enough, but -the marchioness looked in his face and saw -something there which she did not like.</p> - -<p>“Have you considered the effect of such a -step as this on my daughter’s reputation?” -she demanded, with dignity.</p> - -<p>“I don’t see that it need go beyond ourselves,” -Hammond replied. “Nobody else -knows of it but Mr. Despencer, and your -influence with him—”</p> - -<p>The marchioness interrupted, breathing -angrily:</p> - -<p>“You are utterly wrong there. The engagement -is public property. I understand<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[240]</span> -you yourself have freely mentioned it to your -friends.”</p> - -<p>“I? Never!”</p> - -<p>He stared at her in amazement.</p> - -<p>“Pardon me, I have proof of what I say,” -she affirmed. “And Victoria has done the -same. She has mentioned it to her friends.”</p> - -<p>“I am sorry to hear that.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness began to hope.</p> - -<p>“You must see that, under the circumstances, -you have no alternative, as a gentleman, -but to withdraw your letter.”</p> - -<p>“I am afraid I don’t see it. I would much -rather leave myself in Lady Victoria’s -hands.”</p> - -<p>“Have you no regard for her feelings, -pray?”</p> - -<p>“Every regard. If she tells me that she -still wishes to marry me, I shall keep my -word.”</p> - -<p>“You have no right whatever to throw the -decision on her. Have you no consideration -for her parents?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[241]</span>Hammond’s lip curled.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid I haven’t.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness glared at him.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Hammond, are you a gentleman?”</p> - -<p>“Well, it is rather a question, isn’t it?” -he responded, with a cheerful smile which -drove her frantic.</p> - -<p>“Do you know that our family is one of -the oldest in Great Britain?” she demanded, -after a moment’s pause.</p> - -<p>“Precisely. And mine is one of the newest. -It would really have been a <i>mésalliance</i>, -my dear marchioness.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness could hardly believe her -ears.</p> - -<p>“Have you <i>no</i> regard for descent?” she -gasped. “My daughter has royal blood in -her veins, Mr. Hammond.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! there you have me at a disadvantage,” -he returned. “All my female ancestors -were respectable married women.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness turned crimson. It was -well known that the royal blood in the house<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[242]</span> -of Mauleverer had entered it by irregular -channels.</p> - -<p>“I am not accustomed to this kind of language,” -she proclaimed, rising. “I shall request -the marquis to call on you.”</p> - -<p>“That will suit me a great deal better. I -shall be able to talk to the marquis,” was the -grim answer.</p> - -<p>The marchioness swept towards the door.</p> - -<p>“I see I have made a mistake in coming -here. I begin to ask myself whether you -were really aware of what you were doing -yesterday.”</p> - -<p>Hammond smiled pleasantly.</p> - -<p>“Ah, now, that sounds like rather a good -explanation. I can say I was intoxicated, -can’t I?”</p> - -<p>“Well—”</p> - -<p>The marchioness broke off short, her eyes -fixed in stony horror on the doorway.</p> - -<p>“Lady Victoria Mauleverer and Mr. Despencer!”</p> - -<p>Victoria had been still considering how to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[243]</span> -deal with the letter she had received from -Mr. Hammond, when the treacherous Despencer -had come and informed her that her -mother was on the way to her lover’s house -to bring him to book. Her mind was instantly -made up. She put on a hat, impressed -Despencer into the service, ordered -a hansom, and drove off on the track of her -parent.</p> - -<p>The two newcomers were in the room, -and the door had closed on the departing -footman, before the marchioness recovered -herself.</p> - -<p>“Victoria, you will oblige me by leaving -this house immediately. I order it.”</p> - -<p>Victoria laughed negligently.</p> - -<p>“How absurd you are this morning, -mother! You keep forgetting that I am over -twenty-one,” she remarked. Then, crossing -over to Hammond, she held out her hand -with frank good-will. “Good-morning, Mr. -Hammond!”</p> - -<p>The sight of her daughter calmly shaking<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[244]</span> -hands with the man who had jilted her, -as if nothing had happened, nearly turned -her mother’s hair gray. Fortunately it -was from the best maker, and could not -turn gray.</p> - -<p>“Victoria,” she said, in a suffocated voice, -“if you have no respect for yourself, perhaps -you will have some respect for me! Mr. -Hammond has grossly insulted me. Mr. -Despencer, will you be good enough to take -me to my carriage?”</p> - -<p>“No, he can’t do that yet,” interposed Victoria. -“I brought him here as my chaperon, -and I haven’t done with him.”</p> - -<p>Despencer glanced from the daughter to -the mother. The contest was between fear -and love.</p> - -<p>“I apologize for being so badly constructed,” -he murmured, “but I don’t take in halves. -Will it do if I give somebody my visiting-card?”</p> - -<p>“I shall not go till you do, Victoria. I -decline to leave you alone with Mr. Hammond<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">[245]</span> -again,” the marchioness said, spitefully.</p> - -<p>“Please don’t be impressive,” was Victoria’s -unkind reply. Then, turning to Hammond -and speaking rapidly, she went on: -“I got that amusing note of yours. I came -round to tell you that of course I quite understood -that it was all a joke last night. -We ought not to have said anything to my -mother, because she is so easily taken in, -and she believed we were quite serious. But -I enjoyed the fun myself very much, and I -mean to make Gerald awfully jealous about -you when we are married.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness blinked her eyes as -though a sword had flashed before them, -as she saw herself thus shamefully discarded -and her last hope gone by the board. -As for Despencer, he regarded Victoria with -the admiring glance of an artist for a brilliant -piece of work, in a kind which he understands.</p> - -<p>Hammond bowed gratefully.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[246]</span>“Lady Victoria, you can do anything you -like with Mauleverer and me except make -us quarrel.”</p> - -<p>The marchioness came to herself.</p> - -<p>“What do you mean by talking about -marrying Gerald?” she demanded.</p> - -<p>“My dear mother, I suppose we must marry -some time. We have been engaged long -enough.”</p> - -<p>“Engaged!” the poor marchioness could -only ejaculate.</p> - -<p>“Well, I thought everybody in London -knew that,” said Victoria, calmly. “I am -sure Mr. Hammond did.”</p> - -<p>“Excellent!” Despencer murmured to -himself. “She has come off with flying -colors.”</p> - -<p>“Engaged to a pauper!” the marchioness -exclaimed, tragically. “And, pray, what do -you propose to live on?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that is quite settled,” her daughter -answered. “I have arranged to open a milliner’s -shop in Piccadilly.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[247]</span>“I thought everybody in London knew -that,” remarked Despencer heartlessly.</p> - -<p>It was the stab of Brutus. The marchioness -turned a look on the traitor that should -have rooted him to the floor.</p> - -<p>“Mis-ter De-spencer!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, marchioness?”</p> - -<p>There had been a sound of wheels below. -A carriage had driven up to the door. Captain -Mauleverer had not been idle during the -hour which had elapsed since his departure. -Footsteps ascended the staircase; the door -leading into an adjoining room was opened -and shut. Then—</p> - -<p>“<i>The Marquis of Severn!</i>”</p> - -<p>As the marquis entered the room which -his wife and daughter were in already, -Hammond took a step forward, looking -very pale and determined. Lady Victoria -drew quietly towards a window, followed -by Despencer. The marchioness, standing -in the centre of the room, addressed her -husband:</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[248]</span>“George! Do you know what has happened?”</p> - -<p>The marquis, after his first momentary -surprise at finding them there, had taken no -notice of any one but Hammond, on whom -his eyes were fixed with an expression of -mingled reproach and excuse. The excuse -Hammond thought he understood, but the -reproach puzzled him.</p> - -<p>“I know too much,” the marquis began. -“Hammond, I have something to say to -you.”</p> - -<p>“Hadn’t we better wait till we are by ourselves?” -said Hammond, with a significant -look. “I have something to say to you as -well.”</p> - -<p>The marquis glanced round, first at his -wife and then at Despencer.</p> - -<p>“No, I cannot have too many listeners, -for I have to crush a slander and to make a -reparation.” He stepped to the door and -opened it. “Come in, Gerald!”</p> - -<p>Captain Mauleverer came in, but not alone.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">[249]</span> -Clinging to his arm, with downcast head, -as if she almost feared to see her lover’s remorse, -came Belle.</p> - -<p>“Great God!” As the oath burst from -him all the blood in his veins surged up -to Hammond’s heart, and ebbed away again, -leaving him white and faint. It needed not -for Belle’s father to speak, the mere sight of -her convicted him.</p> - -<p>The marquis spoke, drawing Belle to him, -and facing each of his listeners in turn with -a brave dignity.</p> - -<p>“I have just learned, within the last hour, -that this young lady has been made the victim -of one of the blackest falsehoods ever -uttered, a falsehood in which my name is -connected with hers. It is true that she and -I are connected. We have been connected -for nearly twenty years, and all that time I -have endeavored, rightly or wrongly, to keep -the fact of our connection a secret from the -world. How that secret has been penetrated -I do not know; but now that I do know the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[250]</span> -damnable interpretation which has been -placed upon my conduct, I am determined to -proclaim the truth to the whole world. I -cannot atone for the injury I have done her -in the past, but I will at least do my best to -guard her in the present. Hammond, this -is my daughter.”</p> - -<p>A profound silence succeeded. The marchioness -was frightened. Despencer was -conscious of a faint emotion to which he -had long been a stranger, and which he -supposed to be honest shame. Hammond -was too much moved to speak. Victoria -hesitated only for an instant, then she went -up to Belle impulsively and kissed her on -the cheek.</p> - -<p>“Lord Severn,” said Hammond, slowly, as -soon as he could master himself, “you have -done me the greatest service one man can -do to another, and you have crushed me.”</p> - -<p>“George!” ventured the marchioness.</p> - -<p>Her husband frowned.</p> - -<p>“Go home, Jane!” he said, curtly.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[251]</span>And that great woman walked out of -the room as crestfallen as a small urchin -that has been caught doing mischief and -spanked.</p> - -<p>Despencer followed of his own accord, -without doing more than whisper to Hammond -as he passed:</p> - -<p>“I never apologize, and I never commit -suicide, but I mean to be very firm with -that marchioness.”</p> - -<p>Victoria took her cousin’s arm.</p> - -<p>“And I couldn’t think why Mr. Hammond -jilted me this morning,” she laughed.</p> - -<p>“I can’t think why he ever proposed to -you,” retorted Gerald, smartly.</p> - -<p>And they, too, went out.</p> - -<p>The marquis stood silent for a minute, -his daughter leaning on his arm. She had -not yet dared to look up at Hammond.</p> - -<p>“Is there anything else that you would -like to say?”</p> - -<p>Hammond started at the question. The -color began slowly to return to his face.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[252]</span>“I should like you to beg your daughter -to forgive me—if she ever can.”</p> - -<p>The marquis looked down at Belle and -gently patted the head that rested on his -arm.</p> - -<p>“What do you say?” he asked her.</p> - -<p>The eyes remained downcast. The answer -came, very soft and low:</p> - -<p>“Tell him that it wasn’t his fault, and, if -it was, I had forgiven him already.”</p> - -<p>Her father looked back again at Hammond.</p> - -<p>“Anything else?”</p> - -<p>Hammond began to tremble. There was -color enough, and to spare, in his face now.</p> - -<p>“Yesterday evening your daughter told me -that she did not love me. I should like you -to ask her if there is any hope that she will -ever change her mind.”</p> - -<p>“Well, my dear?”</p> - -<p>It was Belle’s turn to tremble.</p> - -<p>“Tell him—tell him that I shall never -change my mind. But”—she raised her eyes -at last, with that look which only comes into<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[253]</span> -a woman’s eyes once in her life, and which -only one man sees there—“but—that I don’t -always speak the truth.”</p> - -<p>The Marquis of Severn went out quietly, -leaving them together.</p> - - -<p class="center">THE END</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="transnote"> -<p class="ph1">TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:</p> - - - -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</p> - -<p>Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.</p> - -<p>Archaic or alternate spelling has been retained from the original.</p> -</div></div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SLAVES OF SOCIETY ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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