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diff --git a/old/68277-h/68277-h.htm b/old/68277-h/68277-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 6121458..0000000 --- a/old/68277-h/68277-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,13137 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<head> - <meta charset="UTF-8" /> - <title> - The Blood of the Vampire, by Florence Marryat—A Project Gutenberg eBook - </title> - <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover" /> - <style> /* <![CDATA[ */ - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; - text-indent: 1em; -} - -.p2 {margin-top: 2em;} -.p4 {margin-top: 4em;} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } -h1 {font-size: 250%; line-height: 1.5; word-spacing: .5em;} -hr.r45a {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%; margin-top: 6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em;} -hr.r45b {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%; margin-top: 0.1em; margin-bottom: 6em;} -hr.r5 {width: 5%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 47.5%; margin-right: 47.5%;} -h2 {font-size: 95%; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: .2em;} -.pfs150 {font-size: 150%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; word-spacing: 0.3em;} - -.lsp {letter-spacing: .2em;} -.lsp1 {letter-spacing: .4em;} -.lsp2 {letter-spacing: .6em;} -.bolded {font-weight: bold;} - -.pfs240 {font-size: 240%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; word-spacing: 0.3em;} -.pfs180 {font-size: 180%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; word-spacing: 0.3em;} -.pfs135 {font-size: 135%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; word-spacing: 0.3em;} -.pfs120 {font-size: 120%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; word-spacing: 0.3em;} -.pfs100 {font-size: 100%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; word-spacing: 0.3em;} -.pfs90 {font-size: 90%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; word-spacing: 0.3em;} -.pfs70 {font-size: 70%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; word-spacing: 0.3em;} -.fs80 {font-size: 80%; font-style: normal;} - -.wide30 {width: 30%;} -.wide50 {width: 50%;} - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} -table.autotable { border-collapse: collapse; } -table.autotable td, -table.autotable th { padding: 4px; } - -.tdl {text-align: left;} -.tdr {text-align: right;} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; - text-indent: 0; -} /* page numbers */ - -.bbox {border: 2px solid;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.allsmcap {font-variant: small-caps; text-transform: lowercase;} - -/* Images */ - -img { - max-width: 100%; - height: auto; -} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%; -} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - - /* ]]> */ </style> -</head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The blood of the vampire, by Florence Marryat</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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 <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:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The blood of the vampire</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Florence Marryat</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 10, 2022 [eBook #68277]</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: Emmanuel Ackerman and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Books project.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE ***</div> - -<div class="transnote"><h2>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE:</h2> - - The Table of Contents was created by the Transcriber - and is placed in the public domain.<br /> -<br /> - A number of typographical errors have been corrected. - A detailed list of the corrections and changes that were - made to the text can be found at the end of the ebook.</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/cover.jpg" width="450" alt="" /></div> - -<p class="p2 pfs70">EACH VOLUME SOLD SEPARATELY.</p> -<div class="bbox"> -<p class="p4 pfs150">COLLECTION</p> -<p class="pfs90">OF</p> -<p class="pfs240">BRITISH AUTHORS</p> -<p class="p2 pfs150">TAUCHNITZ EDITION.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="pfs120">VOL. 3245.</p> -<p class="p2 pfs135 bolded">THE BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE.</p> -<p class="pfs70">BY</p> -<p class="pfs120 bolded">FLORENCE MARRYAT.</p> -<p class="p2 pfs70 lsp2">IN ONE VOLUME.</p> -<p class="p2 pfs90">LEIPZIG: BERNHARD TAUCHNITZ.</p> - -<p class="p2 pfs70">PARIS: LIBRAIRIE C. REINWALD, 15, RUE DES SAINTS-PÈRES.</p> -<p class="pfs70">PARIS: THE GALIGNANI LIBRARY, 224, RUE DE RIVOLI,<br /> -AND AT NICE, 48, QUAI ST. JEAN BAPTISTE.</p><br /> -</div> - -<p class="pfs90"><i>This Collection<br /> -is published with copyright for Continental circulation, but -all purchasers are earnestly requested not to introduce the -volumes into England, or into any British Colony.</i> -</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p class="p4 pfs180">COLLECTION</p> -<p class="pfs70">OF</p> -<p class="pfs240 lsp">BRITISH AUTHORS</p> -<p class="pfs180">TAUCHNITZ EDITION.</p> -<p class="p2 pfs180">VOL. 3245.</p> -<p class="p2 pfs120 lsp">THE BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE.</p> -<p class="pfs90">BY</p> -<p class="pfs90">FLORENCE MARRYAT.</p> -<p class="p2 pfs90 lsp1">IN ONE VOLUME.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="TAUCHNITZ_EDITION">TAUCHNITZ EDITION.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="pfs90">By the same Author,</p> - -<table class="autotable"> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">LOVE’S CONFLICT</td> -<td class="tdr wide30">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">FOR EVER AND EVER</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">THE CONFESSIONS OF GERALD ESTCOURT</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">NELLY BROOKE</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">VÉRONIQUE</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">PETRONEL</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">HER LORD AND MASTER</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">THE PREY OF THE GODS</td> -<td class="tdr">1 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">LIFE OF CAPTAIN MARRYAT</td> -<td class="tdr">1 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">MAD DUMARESQ</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">NO INTENTIONS</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">FIGHTING THE AIR</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">A STAR AND A HEART</td> -<td class="tdr">1 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">THE POISON OF ASPS</td> -<td class="tdr">1 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">A LUCKY DISAPPOINTMENT</td> -<td class="tdr">1 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">“MY OWN CHILD”</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">HER FATHER’S NAME</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">A HARVEST OF WILD OATS</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">A LITTLE STEPSON</td> -<td class="tdr">1 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">WRITTEN IN FIRE</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">HER WORLD AGAINST A LIE</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">A BROKEN BLOSSOM</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">THE FAIR-HAIRED ALDA</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">WITH CUPID’S EYES</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">MY SISTER THE ACTRESS</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">PHYLLIDA.</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">HOW THEY LOVED HIM</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">FACING THE FOOTLIGHTS <span class="allsmcap">(WITH PORTRAIT)</span></td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">A MOMENT OF MADNESS, ETC.</td> -<td class="tdr">1 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">THE GHOST OF CHARLOTTE CRAY, ETC.</td> -<td class="tdr">1 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">PEERESS AND PLAYER</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">UNDER THE LILIES AND ROSES</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">THE HEART OF JANE WARNER</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">THE HEIR PRESUMPTIVE</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">THE MASTER PASSION</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">SPIDERS OF SOCIETY</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">DRIVEN TO BAY</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">A DAUGHTER OF THE TROPICS</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">GENTLEMAN AND COURTIER</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">ON CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">MOUNT EDEN.</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">BLINDFOLD</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">A SCARLET SIN</td> -<td class="tdr">1 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">A BANKRUPT HEART</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">THE SPIRIT WORLD</td> -<td class="tdr">1 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">THE BEAUTIFUL SOUL</td> -<td class="tdr">1 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">AT HEART A RAKE</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">HANNAH STUBBS</td> -<td class="tdr">1 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">THE DREAM THAT STAYED</td> -<td class="tdr">2 v.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">A PASSING MADNESS</td> -<td class="tdr">1 v.</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<h1>THE BLOOD<br /> -OF THE VAMPIRE</h1> -<p class="p2 pfs90">BY</p> -<p class="pfs120">FLORENCE MARRYAT,</p> -<p class="pfs70">AUTHOR OF</p> -<p class="pfs90">“LOVE’S CONFLICT,” “A PASSING MADNESS,” ETC.</p> -<p class="p4 pfs90"><i>COPYRIGHT EDITION.</i></p> -<p class="p4 pfs100">LEIPZIG<br /><br /> -BERNHARD TAUCHNITZ<br /><br /> -1897.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="TABLE_OF_CONTENTS">TABLE OF CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table class="autotable"> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"></td> -<td class="tdr wide50">page</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER I</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">5</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER II</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">21</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER III</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">36</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER IV</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">52</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER V</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">65</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER VI</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">87</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER VII</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">106</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER VIII</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">123</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER IX</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">137</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER X</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">156</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XI</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">178</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XII</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">196</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XIII</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">212</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XIV</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">230</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XV</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">248</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XVI</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">269</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XVII</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">285</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XVIII</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">304</a></td> -</tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</span> -<p class="pfs150">THE BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE.</p> - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</h2> - -<p>It was the magic hour of dining. The long Digue -of Heyst was almost deserted; so was the strip of loose, -yellow sand which skirted its base, and all the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tables -d’hôtes</i> were filling fast. Henri, the youngest waiter of -the Hôtel Lion d’Or, was standing on the steps between -the two great gilded lions, which stood rampant on either -side the portals, vigorously ringing a loud and discordant -bell to summons the stragglers, whilst the ladies, who -were waiting the commencement of dinner in the little -salon to the side, stopped their ears to dull its clamour. -Philippe and Jules were busy, laying white cloths and -glasses, etc., on the marble tables in the open balcony, -outside the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">salle à manger</i>, where strangers to the Hotel -might dine <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">à la carte</i>, if they chose. Inside, the long, -narrow tables, were decorated with dusty geraniums and -fuchsias, whilst each cruet stand had a small bunch of -dirty artificial flowers tied to its handle. But the visitors -to the Lion d’Or, who were mostly English, were too -eager for their evening meal, to cavil at their surroundings. -The Baroness Gobelli, with her husband on one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span> -side, and her son on the other, was the first to seat -herself at table. The Baroness always appeared with -the soup, for she had observed that the first comers received -a more generous helping than those who came -in last. No such anxiety occupied the minds of Mrs. -Pullen and her friend Miss Leyton, who sat opposite to -the Baroness and her family. They did not care sufficiently -for the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">potage aux croutons</i>, which usually formed -the beginning of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">table d’hôte</i> dinner. The long -tables were soon filled with a motley crew of English, -Germans, and Belgians, all chattering, especially the -foreigners, as fast as their tongues could travel. Amongst -them was a sprinkling of children, mostly unruly and -ill-behaved, who had to be called to order every now -and then, which made Miss Leyton’s lip curl with disgust. -Just opposite to her, and next to Mr. Bobby -Bates, the Baroness’s son by her first marriage, and -whom she always treated as if he had been a boy of -ten years old, was an unoccupied chair, turned up -against the table to signify that it was engaged.</p> - -<p>“I wonder if that is for the German Princess of -whom Madame Lamont is so fond of talking,” whispered -Elinor Leyton to Mrs. Pullen, “she said this morning -that she expected her this afternoon.”</p> - -<p>“O! surely not!” replied her friend, “I do not -know much about royalties, but I should think a Princess -would hardly dine at a public <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">table d’hôte</i>.”</p> - -<p>“O! a German Princess! what is that?” said Miss -Leyton, with a curled lip again, for she was a daughter -of Lord Walthamstowe, and thought very little of any -aristocracy, except that of her own country.</p> - -<p>As she spoke, however, the chair opposite was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span> -sharply pulled into place, and a young lady seated herself -on it, and looked boldly (though not brazenly) up -and down the tables, and at her neighbours on each -side of her. She was a remarkable-looking girl—more -remarkable, perhaps, than beautiful, for her beauty did -not strike one at first sight. Her figure was tall but -slight and lissom. It looked almost boneless as she -swayed easily from side to side of her chair. Her skin -was colourless but clear. Her eyes were long-shaped, -dark, and narrow, with heavy lids and thick black lashes -which lay upon her cheeks. Her brows were arched -and delicately pencilled, and her nose was straight and -small. Not so her mouth however, which was large, -with lips of a deep blood colour, displaying small white -teeth. To crown all, her head was covered with a mass -of soft, dull, blue-black hair, which was twisted in careless -masses about the nape of her neck, and looked as -if it was unaccustomed to comb or hairpin. She was -dressed very simply in a white cambric frock, but there -was not a woman present, who had not discovered in -five minutes, that the lace with which it was profusely -trimmed, was costly Valenciennes, and that it was -clasped at her throat with brilliants. The new-comer -did not seem in the least abashed by the numbers of -eyes which were turned upon her, but bore the scrutiny -very calmly, smiling in a sort of furtive way at everybody, -until the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrées</i> were handed round, when she -rivetted all her attention upon the contents of her plate. -Miss Leyton thought she had never seen any young -person devour her food with so much avidity and enjoyment. -She could not help watching her. The Baroness -Gobelli, who was a very coarse feeder, scattering her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span> -food over her plate and not infrequently over the table -cloth as well, was nothing compared to the young -stranger. It was not so much that she ate rapidly and -with evident appetite, but that she kept her eyes fixed -upon her food, as if she feared someone might deprive -her of it. As soon as her plate was empty, she called -sharply to the waiter in French, and ordered him to get -her some more.</p> - -<p>“That’s right, my dear!” exclaimed the Baroness, -nodding her huge head, and smiling broadly at the new-comer; -“make ’em bring you more! It’s an excellent -dish, that! I’ll ’ave some more myself!”</p> - -<p>As Philippe deposited the last helping of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrée</i> -on the young lady’s plate, the Baroness thrust hers -beneath his nose.</p> - -<p>“’Ere!” she said, “bring three more ’elpings for the -Baron and Bobby and me!”</p> - -<p>The man shook his head to intimate that the dish -was finished, but the Baroness was not to be put off -with a flimsy excuse. She commenced to make a row. -Few meals passed without a squabble of some sort, between -the Hotel servants and this terrible woman.</p> - -<p>“Now we are in for it again!” murmured Miss -Leyton into Mrs. Pullen’s ear. The waiter brought -a different <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrée</i>, but the Baroness insisted upon having -a second helping of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tête de veau aux champignons</i>.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Il n’y a plus, Madame!</i>” asseverated Philippe, with -a gesture of deprecation.</p> - -<p>“What does ’e say?” demanded the Baroness, who -was not good at French.</p> - -<p>“There is no more, mein tear!” replied her husband, -with a strong German accent.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span></p> - -<p>“Confound their impudence!” exclaimed his wife -with a heated countenance, “’ere, send Monsieur ’ere at -once! I’ll soon see if we’re not to ’ave enough to eat -in ’is beastly Hotel!”</p> - -<p>All the ladies who understood what she said, looked -horrified at such language, but that was of no consequence -to Madame Gobelli, who continued to call out -at intervals for “Monsieur” until she found the dinner -was coming to an end without her, and thought it would -be more politic to attend to business and postpone her -feud till a more convenient occasion. The Baroness -Gobelli was a mystery to most people in the Hotel. She -was an enormous woman of the elephant build, with a -large, flat face and clumsy hands and feet. Her skin -was coarse, so was her hair, so were her features. The -only things which redeemed an otherwise repulsive face, -were a pair of good-humoured, though cunning blue -eyes and a set of firm, white teeth. Who the Baroness -had originally been, no one could quite make out. It -was evident that she must have sprung from some low -origin from her lack of education and breeding, yet she -spoke familiarly of aristocratic names, even of Royal -ones, and appeared to be acquainted with their families -and homes. There was a floating rumour that she had -been old Mr. Bates’s cook before he married her, and -when he left her a widow with an only child and a -considerable fortune, the little German Baron had thought -that her money was a fair equivalent for her personality. -She was exceedingly vulgar, and when roused, exceedingly -vituperative, but she possessed a rough good -humour when pleased, and a large amount of natural -shrewdness, which stood her instead of cleverness. But<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span> -she was an unscrupulous liar, and rather boasted of the -fact than otherwise. Having plenty of money at her -command, she was used to take violent fancies to people—taking -them up suddenly, loading them with presents -and favours for as long as it pleased her, and then -dropping them as suddenly, without why or wherefore—even -insulting them if she could not shake them off -without doing so. The Baron was completely under -her thumb; more than that, he was servile in her presence, -which astonished those people, who did not know -that amongst her other arrogant insistences, the Baroness -laid claim to holding intercourse with certain supernatural -and invisible beings, who had the power to -wreak vengeance on all those who offended her. This -fear it was, combined with the fact that she had all the -money and kept the strings of the bag pretty close where -he was concerned, that made the Baron wait upon his -wife’s wishes as if he were her slave. Perhaps the -softest spot in the Baroness’s heart was kept for her -sickly and uninteresting son, Bobby Bates, whom she -treated, nevertheless, with the roughness of a tigress for -her cub. She kept him still more under her surveillance -than she did her husband, and Bobby, though -he had attained his nineteenth year, dared not say Boo! -to a goose, in presence of his Mamma. As the cheese -was handed round, Elinor Leyton rose from her seat -with an impatient gesture.</p> - -<p>“Do let us get out of this atmosphere, Margaret!” she -said in a low tone. “I really cannot stand it any longer!”</p> - -<p>The two ladies left the table, and went out beyond -the balcony, to where a number of painted iron chairs -and tables were placed on the Digue, for the accommodation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span> -of passing wayfarers, who might wish to rest awhile -and quench their thirst with <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">limonade</i> or lager beer.</p> - -<p>“I wonder who that girl is!” remarked Mrs. Pullen -as soon as they were out of hearing. “I don’t know -whether I like her or not, but there is something rather -distinguished-looking about her!”</p> - -<p>“Do you think so?” said Miss Leyton, “I thought -she only distinguished herself by eating like a cormorant! -I never saw anyone in society gobble her food in such -a manner! She made me positively sick!”</p> - -<p>“Was it as bad as that?” replied the more quiet -Mrs. Pullen, in an indifferent manner. Her eyes were -attracted just then by the perambulator which contained -her baby, and she rose to meet it.</p> - -<p>“How is she, Nurse?” she asked as anxiously as if -she had not parted from the infant an hour before. -“Has she been awake all the time?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Ma’am, and looking about her like anything! -But she seems inclined to sleep now! I thought it was -about time to take her in!”</p> - -<p>“O! no! not on such a warm, lovely evening! If she -does go to sleep in the open air, it will do her no harm. -Leave her with me! I want you to go indoors, and find -out the name of the young lady who sat opposite to me -at dinner to-day, Philippe understands English. He will -tell you!”</p> - -<p>“Why on earth do you want to know?” demanded -Miss Leyton, as the servant disappeared.</p> - -<p>“O! I don’t know! I feel a little curious, that is all! -She seems so young to be by herself!”</p> - -<p>Elinor Leyton answered nothing, but walked across -the Digue and stood, looking out over the sea. She was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span> -anticipating the arrival of her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fiancé</i>, Captain Ralph -Pullen of the Limerick Rangers, but he had delayed his -coming to join them, and she began to find Heyst -rather dull.</p> - -<p>The visitors of the Lion d’Or had finished their meal -by this time, and were beginning to reassemble on the -Digue, preparatory to taking a stroll before they turned -into one of the many <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">cafés-chantants</i>, which were situated -at stated intervals in front of the sea. Amongst them -came the Baroness Gobelli, leaning heavily on a thick -stick with one hand, and her husband’s shoulder with -the other. The couple presented an extraordinary appearance, -as they perambulated slowly up and down the -Digue.</p> - -<p>She—with her great height and bulk, towering a -head above her companion, whilst he—with a full-sized -torso, and short legs—a large hat crammed down upon -his forehead, and no neck to speak of, so that the brim -appeared to rest upon his shoulders—was a ludicrous -figure, as he walked beside his wife, bending under the -weight of her support. But yet, she was actually proud -of him. Notwithstanding his ill-shaped figure, the Baron -possessed one of those mild German faces, with pale -watery blue eyes, a long nose, and hair and beard of a -reddish-golden colour, which entitled him, in the estimation -of some people, to be called a handsome man, and -the Baroness was never tired of informing the public -that his head and face had once been drawn for that of -some celebrated saint.</p> - -<p>Her own appearance was really comical, for though -she had plenty of means, her want of taste, or indifference -to dress, made everyone stare at her as she passed.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span> -On the present occasion, she wore a silk gown which -had cost seventeen shillings a yard, with a costly velvet -cloak, a bonnet which might have been rescued from the -dustbin, and cotton gloves with all her fingers out. She -shook her thick walking-stick in Miss Leyton’s face as -she passed by her, and called out loud enough for everyone -to hear: “And when is the handsome Captain coming -to join you, Miss Leyton, eh? Take care he ain’t running -after some other gal! ‘When pensive I thought on -my L.O.V.E.’ Ha! ha! ha!”</p> - -<p>Elinor flushed a delicate pink but did not turn her -head, nor take any notice of her tormentor. She detested -the Baroness with a perfectly bitter hatred, and -her proud cold nature revolted from her coarseness and -familiarity.</p> - -<p>“Tied to your brat again!” cried the Baroness, as -she passed Margaret Pullen who was moving the perambulator -gently to and fro by the handle, so as to keep -her infant asleep; “why didn’t you put it in the tub as -soon as it was born? It would ’ave saved you a heap -of trouble! I often wish I had done so by that devil -Bobby! ’Ere, where are you, Bobby?”</p> - -<p>“I’m close behind you, Mamma!” replied the simple-looking -youth.</p> - -<p>“Well! don’t you get running away from your father -and me, and winking at the gals! There’s time enough -for that, ain’t there, Gustave?” she concluded, addressing -the Baron.</p> - -<p>“Come along, Robert, and mind what your mother -tells you!” said the Herr Baron with his guttural German -accent, as the extraordinary trio pursued their way down<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span> -the Digue, the Baroness making audible remarks on -everybody she met, as they went.</p> - -<p>Margaret Pullen sat where they had left her, moving -about the perambulator, whilst her eyes, like Elinor’s, -were fixed upon the tranquil water. The August sun -had now quite disappeared, and the indescribably faint -and unpleasant odour, which is associated with the -dunes of Heyst, had begun to make itself apparent. A -still languor had crept over everything, and there were -indications of a thunderstorm in the air. She was thinking -of her husband, Colonel Arthur Pullen, the elder -brother of Miss Leyton’s <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fiancé</i>, who was toiling out in -India for baby and herself. It had been a terrible blow -to Margaret, to let him go out alone after only one year -of happy wedded life, but the expected advent of her -little daughter at the time, had prohibited her undertaking -so long a journey and she had been compelled to -remain behind. And now baby was six months old, -and Colonel Pullen hoped to be home by Christmas, so -had advised her to wait for his return. But her thoughts -were sad sometimes, notwithstanding.</p> - -<p>Events happen so unexpectedly in this world—who -could say for certain that she and her husband would -ever meet again—that Arthur would ever see his little -girl, or that she should live to place her in her father’s -arms? But such a state of feeling was morbid, she knew, -and she generally made an effort to shake it off. The -nurse, returning with the information she had sent her -to acquire, roused her from her reverie.</p> - -<p>“If you please, Ma’am, the young lady’s name is -Brandt, and Philippe says she came from London!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span></p> - -<p>“English! I should never have guessed it!” observed -Mrs. Pullen, “She speaks French so well.”</p> - -<p>“Shall I take the baby now, Ma’am?”</p> - -<p>“Yes! Wheel her along the Digue. I shall come -and meet you by and by!”</p> - -<p>As the servant obeyed her orders, she called to -Miss Leyton.</p> - -<p>“Elinor! come here!”</p> - -<p>“What is it?” asked Miss Leyton, seating herself -beside her.</p> - -<p>“The new girl’s name is Brandt and she comes from -England! Would you have believed it?”</p> - -<p>“I did not take sufficient interest in her to make -any speculations on the subject. I only observed that -she had a mouth from ear to ear, and ate like a pig! -What does it concern us, where she comes from?”</p> - -<p>At that moment, a Mrs. Montague, who, with her -husband, was conveying a family of nine children over -to Brussels, under the mistaken impression, that they -would be able to live cheaper there than in England, -came down the Hotel steps with half a dozen of them, -clinging to her skirts, and went straight up to Margaret -Pullen.</p> - -<p>“O! Mrs. Pullen! What is that young lady’s name, -who sat opposite to you at dinner? Everybody is asking! -I hear she is enormously rich, and travelling alone. -Did you see the lace on her dress? Real Valenciennes, -and the diamond rings she wore! Frederick says they -must be worth a lot of money. She must be someone -of consequence I should imagine!”</p> - -<p>“On the contrary, my nurse tells me she is English -and her name is Brandt. Has she no friends here?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span></p> - -<p>“Madame Lamont says she arrived in company with -another girl, but they are located at different parts of -the Hotel. It seems very strange, does it not?”</p> - -<p>“And it sounds very improper!” interposed Elinor -Leyton, “I should say the less we have to say to her, -the better! You never know what acquaintances you -may make in a place like this! When I look up and -down the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">table d’hôte</i> menagerie sometimes, it makes -me quite ill!”</p> - -<p>“Does it?” rejoined Mrs. Montague, “I think it’s so -amusing! That Baroness Gobelli, for instance——”</p> - -<p>“Don’t mention her before me!” cried Miss Leyton, -in a tone of disgust, “the woman is not fit for civilised -society!”</p> - -<p>“She is rather common, certainly, and strange in her -behaviour,” said Mrs. Montague, “but she is very good-natured. -She gave my little Edward a louis yesterday. -I felt quite ashamed to let him take it!”</p> - -<p>“That just proves her vulgarity,” exclaimed Elinor -Leyton, who had not a sixpence to give away, herself, -“it shows that she thinks her money will atone for all -her other shortcomings! She gave that Miss Taylor who -left last week, a valuable brooch off her own throat. -And poor payment too, for all the dirty things she made -her do and the ridicule she poured upon her. I daresay -this <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">nouveau riche</i> will try to curry favour with us by -the same means.”</p> - -<p>At that moment, the girl under discussion, Miss -Brandt, appeared on the balcony, which was only raised -a few feet above where they sat. She wore the same -dress she had at dinner, with the addition of a little -fleecy shawl about her shoulders. She stood smiling,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span> -and looking at the ladies (who had naturally dropped -all discussion about her) for a few moments, and then -she ventured to descend the steps between the rampant -gilded lions, and almost timidly, as it seemed, took up -a position near them. Mrs. Pullen felt that she could -not be so discourteous as to take no notice whatever of -the new-comer, and so, greatly to Miss Leyton’s disgust, -she uttered quietly, “Good evening!”</p> - -<p>It was quite enough for Miss Brandt. She drew -nearer with smiles mantling over her face.</p> - -<p>“Good evening! Isn’t it lovely here?—so soft and -warm, something like the Island, but so much fresher!”</p> - -<p>She looked up and down the Digue, now crowded -with a multitude of visitors, and drew in her breath with -a long sigh of content.</p> - -<p>“How gay and happy they all seem, and how happy -I am too! Do you know, if I had my will, what I should -like to do?” she said, addressing Mrs. Pullen.</p> - -<p>“No! indeed!”</p> - -<p>“I should like to tear up and down this road as -hard as ever I could, throwing my arms over my head -and screaming aloud!”</p> - -<p>The ladies exchanged glances of astonishment, but -Margaret Pullen could not forbear smiling as she asked -their new acquaintance the reason why.</p> - -<p>“O! because I am free—free at last, after ten long -years of imprisonment! I am telling you the truth, I -am indeed, and you would feel just the same if you had -been shut up in a horrid Convent ever since you were -eleven years old!”</p> - -<p>At the word “convent”, the national Protestant horror -immediately spread itself over the faces of the three<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span> -other ladies; Mrs. Montague gathered her flock about -her and took them out of the way of possible contamination, -though she would have much preferred to hear the -rest of Miss Brandt’s story, and Elinor Leyton moved -her chair further away. But Margaret Pullen was interested -and encouraged the girl to proceed.</p> - -<p>“In a convent! I suppose then you are a Roman -Catholic!”</p> - -<p>Harriet Brandt suddenly opened her slumbrous eyes.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think so! I’m not quite sure what I am! -Of course I’ve had any amount of religion crammed -down my throat in the Convent, and I had to follow -their prayers, whilst there, but I don’t believe my parents -were Catholics! But it does not signify, I am my own -mistress now. I can be what I like!”</p> - -<p>“You have been so unfortunate then as to lose your -parents!”</p> - -<p>“O! yes! years ago, that is why my guardian, Mr. -Trawler, placed me in the Convent for my education. -And I’ve been there for ten years! Is it not a shame? -I’m twenty-one now! That’s why I’m free! You see,” -the girl went on confidentially, “my parents left me -everything, and as soon as I came of age I entered into -possession of it. My guardian, Mr. Trawler, who lives in -Jamaica,—did I tell you that I’ve come from Jamaica?—thought -I should live with him and his wife, when I left -the Convent, and pay them for my keep, but I refused. -They had kept me too tight! I wanted to see the world -and life—it was what I had been looking forward to—so -as soon as my affairs were settled, I left the West -Indies and came over here!”</p> - -<p>“They said you came from England in the Hotel!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span></p> - -<p>“So I did! The steamer came to London and I -stayed there a week before I came on here!”</p> - -<p>“But you are too young to travel about by yourself, -Miss Brandt! English young ladies never do so!” said -Mrs. Pullen.</p> - -<p>“I’m not by myself, exactly! Olga Brimont, who -was in the Convent with me, came too. But she is ill, -so she’s upstairs. She has come to her brother who is -in Brussels, and we travelled together. We had the -same cabin on board the steamer, and Olga was very -ill. One night the doctor thought she was going to die! -I stayed with her all the time. I used to sit up with -her at night, but it did her no good. We stopped in -London because we wanted to buy some dresses and -things, but she was not able to go out, and I had to go -alone. Her brother is away from Brussels at present -so he wrote her to stay in Heyst till he could fetch her, -and as I had nowhere particular to go, I came with her! -And she is better already! She has been fast asleep -all the afternoon!”</p> - -<p>“And what will you do when your friend leaves -you?” asked Mrs. Pullen.</p> - -<p>“O! I don’t know! Travel about, I suppose! I -shall go wherever it may please me!”</p> - -<p>“Are you not going to take a walk this evening?” -demanded Elinor Leyton in a low voice of her friend, -wishing to put a stop to the conversation.</p> - -<p>“Certainly! I told nurse I would join her and baby -by-and-by!”</p> - -<p>“Shall I fetch your hat then?” enquired Miss Leyton, -as she rose to go up to their apartments.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span></p> - -<p>“Yes! if you will, dear, please, and my velvet cape, -in case it should turn chilly!”</p> - -<p>“I will fetch mine too!” cried Miss Brandt, jumping -up with alacrity. “I may go with you, mayn’t I? I’ll -just tell Olga that I’m going out and be down again in -five minutes!” and without waiting for an answer, she -was gone.</p> - -<p>“See what you have brought upon us!” remarked -Elinor in a vexed tone.</p> - -<p>“Well! it was not my fault,” replied Margaret, “and -after all, what does it signify? It is only a little act of -courtesy to an unprotected girl. I don’t dislike her, -Elinor! She is very familiar and communicative, but -fancy what it must be like to find herself her own mistress, -and with money at her command, after ten years’ -seclusion within the four walls of a convent! It is -enough to turn the head of any girl. I think it would -be very churlish to refuse to be friendly with her!”</p> - -<p>“Well! I hope it may turn out all right! But you -must remember how Ralph cautioned us against making -any acquaintances in a foreign hotel.”</p> - -<p>“But I am not under Ralph’s orders, though you -may be, and I should not care to go entirely by the -advice of so very fastidious and exclusive a gentleman -as he is! My Arthur would never find fault with me, -I am sure, for being friendly with a young unmarried -girl.”</p> - -<p>“Anyway, Margaret, let me entreat you not to discuss -my private affairs with this new <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">protégée</i> of yours. I -don’t want to see her saucer eyes goggling over the news -of my engagement to your brother-in-law!”</p> - -<p>“Certainly I will not, since you ask it! But you hardly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span> -expect to keep it a secret when Ralph comes down here, -do you?”</p> - -<p>“Why not? Why need anyone know more than -that he is your husband’s brother?”</p> - -<p>“I expect they know a good deal more now,” said -Margaret, laughing. “The news that you are the Honourable -Elinor Leyton and that your father is Baron -Walthamstowe, was known all over Heyst the second -day we were here. And I have no doubt it has been -succeeded by the interesting intelligence that you are -engaged to marry Captain Pullen. You cannot keep -servants’ tongues from wagging, you know!”</p> - -<p>“I suppose not!” replied Elinor, with a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">moue</i> of contempt. -“However, they will learn no more through me -or Ralph. We are not ‘’Arry and ’Arriet’ to sit on the -Digue with our arms round each other’s waists.”</p> - -<p>“Still—there are signs and symptoms,” said Margaret, -laughing.</p> - -<p>“There will be none with us!” rejoined Miss Leyton, -indignantly, as Harriet Brandt, with a black lace hat -on, trimmed with yellow roses, and a little fichu tied -carelessly across her bosom, ran lightly down the steps -to join them.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>The Digue was crowded by that time. All Heyst -had turned out to enjoy the evening air and to partake -in the gaiety of the place. A band was playing on the -movable orchestra, which was towed by three skinny -little donkeys, day after day, from one end of the Digue -to the other. To-night, it was its turn to be in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span> -middle, where a large company of people was sitting on -green painted chairs that cost ten centimes for hire each, -whilst children danced, or ran madly round and round -its base. Everyone had changed his, or her, seaside -garb for more fashionable array—even the children were -robed in white frocks and gala hats—and the whole -scene was gay and festive. Harriet Brandt ran from one -side to the other of the Digue, as though she also had -been a child. Everything she saw seemed to astonish -and delight her. First, she was gazing out over the -calm and placid water—and next, she was exclaiming -at the bits of rubbish in the shape of embroidered -baskets, or painted shells, exhibited in the shop windows, -which were side by side with the private houses and -hotels, forming a long line of buildings fronting the -water.</p> - -<p>She kept on declaring that she wanted to buy that -or this, and lamenting she had not brought more money -with her.</p> - -<p>“You will have plenty of opportunities to select and -purchase what you want to-morrow,” said Mrs. Pullen, -“and you will be better able to judge what they are -like. They look better under the gas than they do by -daylight, I can assure you, Miss Brandt!”</p> - -<p>“O! but they are lovely—delightful!” replied the -girl, enthusiastically, “I never saw anything so pretty -before! Do look at that little doll in a bathing costume, -with her cap in one hand, her sponge in the other! She -is charming—unique! <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Tout ce qu’il y a de plus beau!</i>”</p> - -<p>She spoke French perfectly, and when she spoke -English, it was with a slightly foreign accent, that greatly -enhanced its charm. It made Mrs. Pullen observe:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span></p> - -<p>“You are more used to speaking French than English, -Miss Brandt!”</p> - -<p>“Yes! We always spoke French in the Convent, and -it is in general use in the Island. But I thought—I -hoped—that I spoke English like an Englishwoman! I -<em>am</em> an Englishwoman, you know!”</p> - -<p>“Are you? I was not quite sure! Brandt sounds -rather German!”</p> - -<p>“No! my father was English, his name was Henry -Brandt, and my mother was a Miss Carey—daughter of -one of the Justices of Barbadoes!”</p> - -<p>“O! indeed!” replied Mrs. Pullen. She did not know -what else to say. The subject was of no interest to -her! At that moment they encountered the nurse and -perambulator, and she naturally stopped to speak to her -baby.</p> - -<p>The sight of the infant seemed to drive Miss Brandt -wild.</p> - -<p>“O! is that your baby, Mrs. Pullen, is that really -your baby?” she exclaimed excitedly, “you never told -me you had one. O! the darling! the sweet dear little -angel! I love little white babies! I adore them. They -are so sweet and fresh and clean—so different from the -little niggers who smell so nasty, you can’t touch them! -We never saw a baby in the Convent, and so few English -children live to grow up in Jamaica! O! let me -hold her! let me carry her! I <em>must</em>!”</p> - -<p>She was about to seize the infant in her arms, when -the mother interposed.</p> - -<p>“No, Miss Brandt, please, not this evening! She is -but half awake, and has arrived at that age when she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span> -is frightened of strangers. Another time perhaps, when -she has become used to you, but not now!”</p> - -<p>“But I will be so careful of her, pretty dear!” persisted -the girl, “I will nurse her so gently, that she will -fall to sleep again in my arms. Come! my little love, -come!” she continued to the baby, who pouted her lips -and looked as if she were going to cry.</p> - -<p>“Leave her alone!” exclaimed Elinor Leyton in a -sharp voice. “Do you not hear what Mrs. Pullen says—that -you are not to touch her!”</p> - -<p>She spoke so acridly, that gentle Margaret Pullen -felt grieved for the look of dismay that darted into Harriet -Brandt’s face on hearing it.</p> - -<p>“O! I am sorry—I didn’t mean—” she stammered, -with a side glance at Margaret.</p> - -<p>“Of course you did not mean anything but what was -kind,” said Mrs. Pullen, “Miss Leyton perfectly understands -that, and when baby is used to you, I daresay -she will be very grateful for your attentions. But to-night -she is sleepy and tired, and, perhaps, a little cross. -Take her home, Nurse,” she went on, “and put her to -bed! Good-night, my sweet!” and the perambulator -passed them and was gone.</p> - -<p>An awkward silence ensued between the three women -after this little incident. Elinor Leyton walked somewhat -apart from her companions, as if she wished to -avoid all further controversy, whilst Margaret Pullen -sought some way by which to atone for her friend’s -rudeness to the young stranger. Presently they came -across one of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">cafés chantants</i> which are attached to -the seaside hotels, and which was brilliantly lighted up. -A large awning was spread outside, to shelter some<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span> -dozens of chairs and tables, most of which were already -occupied. The windows of the hotel salon had been -thrown wide open, to accommodate some singers and -musicians, who advanced in turn and stood on the threshold -to amuse the audience. As they approached the -scene, a tenor in evening dress was singing a love song, -whilst the musicians accompanied his voice from the -salon, and the occupants of the chairs were listening -with rapt attention.</p> - -<p>“How charming! how delightful!” cried Harriet -Brandt, as they reached the spot, “I never saw anything -like this in the Island!”</p> - -<p>“You appear never to have seen anything!” remarked -Miss Leyton, with a sneer. Miss Brandt glanced apologetically -at Mrs. Pullen.</p> - -<p>“How could I see anything, when I was in the Convent?” -she said, “I know there are places of entertainment -in the Island, but I was never allowed to go to -any. And in London, there was no one for me to go -with! I should so much like to go in there,” indicating -the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">café</i>. “Will you come with me, both of you I mean, -and I will pay for everything! I have plenty of money, -you know!”</p> - -<p>“There is nothing to pay, my dear, unless you call -for refreshment,” was Margaret’s reply. “Yes, I will go -with you certainly, if you so much wish it! Elinor, you -won’t mind, will you?”</p> - -<p>But Miss Leyton was engaged talking to a Monsieur -and Mademoiselle Vieuxtemps—an old brother and -sister, resident in the Lion d’Or—who had stopped to -wish her Good-evening! They were dear, good old -people, but rather monotonous and dull, and Elinor had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span> -more than once ridiculed their manner of talking and -voted them the most terrible bores. Mrs. Pullen concluded -therefore, that she would get rid of them as -soon as courtesy permitted her to do so, and follow her. -With a smile and a bow therefore, to the Vieuxtemps, -she pushed her way through the crowd with Harriet -Brandt, to where she perceived that three seats were -vacant, and took possession of them. They were not -good seats for hearing or seeing, being to one side of -the salon, and quite in the shadow, but the place was -so full that she saw no chance of getting any others. -As soon as they were seated, the waiter came round for -orders, and it was with difficulty that Mrs. Pullen prevented -her companion purchasing sufficient liqueurs and -cakes to serve double the number of their company.</p> - -<p>“You must allow me to pay for myself, Miss Brandt,” -she said gravely, “or I will never accompany you anywhere -again!”</p> - -<p>“But I have lots of money,” pleaded the girl, “much -more than I know what to do with—it would be a -pleasure to me, it would indeed!”</p> - -<p>But Mrs. Pullen was resolute, and three <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">limonades</i> -only were placed upon their table. Elinor Leyton had -not yet made her appearance, and Mrs. Pullen kept -craning her neck over the other seats to see where she -might be, without success.</p> - -<p>“She cannot have missed us!” she observed, “I -wonder if she can have continued her walk with the -Vieuxtemps!”</p> - -<p>“O! what does it signify?” said Harriet, drawing -her chair closer to that of Mrs. Pullen, “we can do very -well without her. I don’t think she’s very nice, do you?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span></p> - -<p>“You must not speak of Miss Leyton like that to -me, Miss Brandt,” remonstrated Margaret, gently, “because—she -is a great friend of our family.”</p> - -<p>She had been going to say, “Because she will be -my sister-in-law before long,” but remembered Elinor’s -request in time, and substituted the other sentence.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think she’s very kind, though,” persisted the -other.</p> - -<p>“It is only her manner, Miss Brandt! She does not -mean anything by it!”</p> - -<p>“But you are so different,” said the girl as she crept -still closer, “I could see it when you smiled at me at -dinner. I knew I should like you at once. And I want -you to like me too—so much! It has been the dream -of my life to have some friends. That is why I would -not stay in Jamaica. I don’t like the people there! I -want friends—real friends!”</p> - -<p>“But you must have had plenty of friends of your -own age in the Convent.”</p> - -<p>“That shows you don’t know anything about a convent! -It’s the very last place where they will let you -make a friend—they’re afraid lest you should tell each -other too much! The convent I was in was an Ursuline -order, and even the nuns were obliged to walk three -and three, never two, together, lest they should have -secrets between them. As for us girls, we were never -left alone for a single minute! There was always a sister -with us, even at night, walking up and down between -the rows of beds, pretending to read her prayers, but -with her eyes on us the whole time and her ears open -to catch what we said. I suppose they were afraid we -should talk about lovers. I think girls do talk about<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span> -them when they can, more in convents than in other -places, though they have never had any. It would be -so dreadful to be like the poor nuns, and never have a -lover to the end of one’s days, wouldn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“You would not fancy being a nun then, Miss Brandt!”</p> - -<p>“<em>I</em>—Oh! dear no! I would rather be dead, twenty -times over! But they didn’t like my coming out at all. -They did try so hard to persuade me to remain with -them for ever! One of them, Sister Féodore, told me I -must never talk even with gentlemen, if I could avoid it—that -they were all wicked and nothing they said was -true, and if I trusted them, they would only laugh at me -afterwards for my pains. But I don’t believe that, -do you?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly not!” replied Margaret warmly. “The -sister who told you so knew nothing about men. My -dear husband is more like an angel than a man, and -there are many like him. You mustn’t believe such -nonsense, Miss Brandt! I am sure you never heard your -parents say such a silly thing!”</p> - -<p>“O! my father and mother! I never remember hearing -them say anything!” replied Miss Brandt. She had -crept closer and closer to Mrs. Pullen as she spoke, and -now encircled her waist with her arm, and leaned her -head upon her shoulder. It was not a position that -Margaret liked, nor one she would have expected from -a woman on so short an acquaintance, but she did not -wish to appear unkind by telling Miss Brandt to move -further away. The poor girl was evidently quite unused -to the ways and customs of Society, she seemed moreover -very friendless and dependent—so Margaret laid -her solecism down to ignorance and let her head rest<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span> -where she had placed it, resolving inwardly meanwhile -that she would not subject herself to be treated in so -familiar a manner again.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you remember your parents then?” she asked -her presently.</p> - -<p>“Hardly! I saw so little of them,” said Miss Brandt, -“my father was a great doctor and scientist, I believe, -and I am not quite sure if he knew that he had a -daughter!”</p> - -<p>“O! my dear, what nonsense!”</p> - -<p>“But it is true, Mrs. Pullen! He was always shut -up in his laboratory, and I was not allowed to go near -that part of the house. I suppose he was very clever -and all that—but he was too much engaged in making -experiments to take any notice of me, and I am sure I -never wanted to see him!”</p> - -<p>“How very sad! But you had your mother to turn -to for consolation and company, whilst she lived, -surely?”</p> - -<p>“O! my mother!” echoed Harriet, carelessly. “Yes! -my mother! Well! I don’t think I knew much more of -her either. The ladies in Jamaica get very lazy, you -know, and keep a good deal to their own rooms. The -person there I loved best of all, was old Pete, the -overseer!”</p> - -<p>“The overseer!”</p> - -<p>“Of the estate and niggers, you know! We had -plenty of niggers on the coffee plantation, regular African -fellows, with woolly heads and blubber lips, and yellow -whites to their eyes. When I was a little thing of four -years old, Pete used to let me whip the little niggers for -a treat, when they had done anything wrong. It used<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span> -to make me laugh to see them wriggle their legs under -the whip and cry!”</p> - -<p>“O! don’t, Miss Brandt!” exclaimed Margaret Pullen, -in a voice of pain.</p> - -<p>“It’s true, but they deserved it, you know, the little -wretches, always thieving or lying or something! I’ve -seen a woman whipped to death, because she wouldn’t -work. We think nothing of that sort of thing, over there. -Still—you can’t wonder that I was glad to get out of the -Island. But I loved old Pete, and if he had been alive -when I left, I would have brought him to England with -me. He used to carry me for miles through the jungle -on his back,—out in the fresh mornings and the cool, -dewy eves. I had a pony to ride, but I never went -anywhere, without his hand upon my bridle rein. He -was always so afraid lest I should come to any harm. -I don’t think anybody else cared. Pete was the only -creature who ever loved me, and when I think of Jamaica, -I remember my old nigger servant as the one friend I -had there!”</p> - -<p>“It is very, very sad!” was all that Mrs. Pullen -could say.</p> - -<p>She had become fainter and fainter, as the girl -leaned against her with her head upon her breast. Some -sensation which she could not define, nor account for—some -feeling which she had never experienced before—had -come over her and made her head reel. She felt as if -something or someone, were drawing all her life away. -She tried to disengage herself from the girl’s clasp, but -Harriet Brandt seemed to come after her, like a coiling -snake, till she could stand it no longer, and faintly exclaiming:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span></p> - -<p>“Miss Brandt! let go of me, please! I feel ill!” she -rose and tried to make her way between the crowded -tables, towards the open air. As she stumbled along, -she came against (to her great relief) her friend, Elinor -Leyton.</p> - -<p>“O! Elinor!” she gasped, “I don’t know what is -the matter with me! I feel so strange, so light-headed! -Do take me home!”</p> - -<p>Miss Leyton dragged her through the audience, and -made her sit down on a bench, facing the sea.</p> - -<p>“Why! what’s the matter?” demanded Harriet -Brandt, who had made her way after them, “is Mrs. -Pullen ill?”</p> - -<p>“So it appears,” replied Miss Leyton, coldly, “but -how it happened, you should know better than myself! -I suppose it is very warm in there!”</p> - -<p>“No! no! I do not think so,” said Margaret, with a -bewildered air, “we had chairs close to the side. And -Miss Brandt was telling me of her life in Jamaica, when -such an extraordinary sensation came over me! I can’t -describe it! it was just as if I had been scooped hollow!”</p> - -<p>At this description, Harriet Brandt burst into a loud -laugh, but Elinor frowned her down.</p> - -<p>“It may seem a laughing matter to you, Miss Brandt,” -she said, in the same cold tone, “but it is none to me. -Mrs. Pullen is far from strong, and her health is not to -be trifled with. However, I shall not let her out of my -sight again.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t make a fuss about it, Elinor,” pleaded her -friend, “it was my own fault, if anyone’s. I think there -must be a thunderstorm in the air, I have felt so oppressed -all the evening. Or is the smell from the dunes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span> -worse than usual? Perhaps I ate something at dinner -that disagreed with me!”</p> - -<p>“I cannot understand it at all,” replied Miss Leyton, -“you are not used to fainting, or being suddenly attacked -in any way. However, if you feel able to walk, let us -go back to the Hotel. Miss Brandt will doubtless find -someone to finish the evening with!”</p> - -<p>Harriet was just about to reply that she knew no one -but themselves, and to offer to take Mrs. Pullen’s arm -on the other side, when Elinor Leyton cut her short.</p> - -<p>“No! thank you, Miss Brandt! Mrs. Pullen would, -I am sure, prefer to return to the Hotel alone with me! -You can easily join the Vieuxtemps or any other of the -visitors to the Lion d’Or. There is not much ceremony -observed amongst the English at these foreign places. -It would be better perhaps if there were a little more! -Come, Margaret, take my arm, and we will walk as -slowly as you like! But I shall not be comfortable until -I see you safe in your own room!”</p> - -<p>So the two ladies moved off together, leaving Harriet -Brandt standing disconsolately on the Digue, watching -their departure. Mrs. Pullen had uttered a faint Good-night -to her, but had made no suggestion that she -should walk back with them, and it seemed to the girl -as if they both, in some measure, blamed her for the -illness of her companion. What had she done, she -asked herself, as she reviewed what had passed between -them, that could in any way account for Mrs. Pullen’s -illness? She liked her so much—so very much—she -had so hoped she was going to be her friend—she would -have done anything and given anything sooner than put -her to inconvenience in any way. As the two ladies<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span> -moved slowly out of sight, Harriet turned sadly and -walked the other way. She felt lonely and disappointed. -She knew no one to speak to, and there was a cold -empty feeling in her breast, as though, in losing her hold -on Margaret Pullen, she had lost something on which -she had depended. Something of her feeling must have -communicated itself to Margaret Pullen, for after a minute -or two she stopped and said,</p> - -<p>“I don’t half like leaving Miss Brandt by herself, -Elinor! She is very young to be wandering about a -town by night and alone!”</p> - -<p>“Nonsense!” returned Miss Leyton, shortly, “a young -lady who can make the voyage from Jamaica to Heyst -on her own account, knocking about in London for a -week on the way, is surely competent to walk back to -the Hotel without your assistance. I should say that -Miss Brandt was a very independent young woman!”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps, by nature, but she has been shut up in a -convent for the best part of her life, and that is not -considered to be a good preparation for fighting one’s -way through the world!”</p> - -<p>“She’ll be able to fight her own battles, never fear!” -was Elinor’s reply.</p> - -<p>Just then they encountered Bobby Bates, who lifted -his cap as he hurried past them.</p> - -<p>“Where are you going so fast, Mr. Bates?” said -Elinor Leyton.</p> - -<p>“I am going back to the Hotel to fetch Mamma’s fur -boa!” he answered.</p> - -<p>They were passing a lighted lamp at the time, and -she noticed that the lad’s eyes were red, and his features -bore traces of distress.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span></p> - -<p>“Are you ill?” she enquired quickly, “or in any -trouble?”</p> - -<p>He halted for a minute in his stride.</p> - -<p>“No! no! not exactly,” he said in a low voice, and -then, as if the words came from him against his will, he -went on, “But O! I do wish someone would speak to -Mamma about the way she treats me. It’s cruel—to -strike me with her stick before all those people, as if I -were a baby, and to call me such names! Even the -servant William laughs at me! Do all mothers do the -same, Miss Leyton? Ought a man to stand it quietly?”</p> - -<p>“Decidedly not!” cried Elinor, without hesitation.</p> - -<p>“O! Elinor! remember, she is his mother,” remonstrated -Margaret, “don’t say anything to set him against -her!”</p> - -<p>“But I was nineteen last birthday,” continued the -lad, “and sometimes she treats me in such a manner, -that I can’t bear it! The Baron dare not say a word to -her! She swears at him so. Sometimes, I think I will -run away and go to sea!”</p> - -<p>“No! no! you mustn’t do that!” called Miss Leyton -after him, as he quickened his footsteps in the direction -of the Lion d’Or.</p> - -<p>“What an awful woman!” sighed Mrs. Pullen. -“Fancy! striking her own son in public, and with that -thick stick too. I believe he had been crying!”</p> - -<p>“I am <em>sure</em> he had,” replied her friend, “you can -see the poor fellow is half-witted, and very weakly into -the bargain. I suppose she has beaten his brains to a -pap. What a terrible misfortune to have such a mother! -You should hear some of the stories Madame Lamont -has to tell of her!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span></p> - -<p>“But how does she hear them?”</p> - -<p>“Through the Baron’s servant William, I suppose. -He says the Baroness has often taken her stick to him -and the other servants, and thinks no more of swearing -at them than a trooper! They all hate her. One day, -she took up a kitchen cleaver and advanced upon her -coachman with it, but he seized her by both arms and -sat her down upon the fire, whence she was only rescued -after being somewhat severely burned!”</p> - -<p>“It served her right!” exclaimed Margaret, laughing -at the ludicrous idea, “but what a picture she must have -presented, seated on the kitchen range! Where can the -woman have been raised? What sort of a person can -she be?”</p> - -<p>“Not what she pretends, Margaret, you may be sure -of that! All her fine talk of lords and ladies is so much -bunkum. But I pity the poor little Baron, who is, at all -events, inoffensive. How can he put up with such a wife! -He must feel very much ashamed of her sometimes!”</p> - -<p>“And yet he seems devoted to her! He never leaves -her side for a moment. He is her walking stick, her -fetcher and carrier, and her scribe. I don’t believe she -can write a letter!”</p> - -<p>“And yet she was talking at the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">table d’hôte</i> yesterday -of the Duke of This and the Earl of That, and hinting -at her having stayed at Osborne and Windsor. Of -course they are falsehoods! She has never seen the inside -of a palace unless it was in the capacity of a char-woman! -Have you observed her hair? It is as coarse -as a horse-tail! And her hands! Bobby informed me -the other day that his Mamma took nines in gloves! -She’s not a woman, my dear! She’s a female elephant!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span></p> - -<p>Margaret was laughing still, when they reached the -steps of the Lion d’Or.</p> - -<p>“You are very naughty and very scandalous, Elinor,” -she said, “but you have done me a world of good. My -unpleasant feelings have quite gone. I am quite capable -of continuing our walk if you would like to do so.”</p> - -<p>“No such thing, Madam,” replied Miss Leyton. “I -am responsible for your well-doing in Arthur’s absence. -Upstairs and into bed you go, unless you would like a -cup of coffee and a chasse first. That is the only indulgence -I can grant you.”</p> - -<p>But Mrs. Pullen declined the proffered refreshment, -and the two ladies sought their rooms in company.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>The next morning dawned upon a perfect August -day. The sun streamed brightly over every part of -Heyst, turning the loose dry yellow sand (from end to -end of which not a stone or boulder was to be seen), -into a veritable cloth of gold. The patient asses, carrying -their white-covered saddles, and tied to stakes, were -waiting in a row for hire, whilst some dozen Rosinantes, -called by courtesy, horses, were also of the company. -The sands were already strewn with children, their short -petticoats crammed into a pair of bathing-drawers, and -their heads protected by linen hats or bonnets, digging -away at the dry sand as if their lives depended on their -efforts. The bathing-machines, painted in gay stripes of -green, red, blue, or orange, were hauled down, ready for -action, and the wooden tents, which can be hired for the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span> -season at any foreign watering place, were being swept -out and arranged for the day’s use.</p> - -<p>Some of the more pretentious ones, belonging to -private families, were surmounted by a gilt coronet, the -proud possession of the Comte Darblaye, or the Herr -Baron Grumplestein—sported flags moreover of France -or Germany, and were screened from the eyes of the -vulgar, by lace or muslin curtains, tied up with blue -ribbons. On the balcony of the Lion d’Or, where the -visitors always took their breakfast, were arranged tables, -piled with dishes of crevettes, fresh from the sea, pistolets, -and beautiful butter as white and tasteless as cream. -It was a delight to breakfast on the open balcony, with -the sea breeze blowing in one’s face, and in the intervals -of eating prawns and bread and butter, or perusing the -morning papers, to watch the cheerful scene below.</p> - -<p>The Baroness was there, early of course. She, and -her husband, and the ill-used Bobby, occupied a table -to themselves, whence she addressed her remarks to -whomever she chose, whether they wished to listen, or -not, and the Baron shelled her crevettes and buttered -her pistolets for her. Margaret and Elinor were rather -later than usual, for Mrs. Pullen had not passed a good -night, and Miss Leyton would not have her disturbed.</p> - -<p>Harriet Brandt was there as they appeared, and beside -her, a pale, unhealthy-looking young woman, whom -she introduced as her friend, and travelling companion, -Olga Brimont.</p> - -<p>“Olga did not wish to come down. She thought -she would lie another day in bed, but I made her get -up and dress, and I was right, wasn’t I, Mrs. Pullen?”</p> - -<p>“I think the fresh air will do Mademoiselle Brimont<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span> -more good than the close bedroom, if she is strong -enough to stand it!” replied Margaret, with a smile. “I -am afraid you are still feeling weak,” she continued, to -the new-comer.</p> - -<p>“I feel better than I did on board the steamer, or -in London,” said Mademoiselle Brimont. She was an -under-sized girl with plain features, and did not shew off -to advantage beside her travelling companion.</p> - -<p>“Did you suffer so much from sea-sickness? I can -sympathise with you, as I am a very bad sailor myself!”</p> - -<p>“O! no! Madame, it was not the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mal de mer</i>. I -can hardly tell you what it was. Miss Brandt and I -occupied a small cabin together, and perhaps, it was -because it was so small, but I did not feel as if I could -breathe there—such a terrible oppression as though some -one were sitting on my chest—and such a general feeling -of emptiness. It was the same in London, though -Miss Brandt did all she could for me, indeed she sat up -with me all night, till I feared she would be ill herself—but -I feel better now! Last night I slept for the first -time since leaving Jamaica!”</p> - -<p>“That is right! You will soon get well in this lovely -air!”</p> - -<p>They all sat down at the same table, and commenced -to discuss their rolls and coffee. Margaret Pullen, glancing -up once, was struck by the look with which Harriet -Brandt was regarding her—it was so full of yearning -affection—almost of longing to approach her nearer, to -hear her speak, to touch her hand! It amused her to -observe it! She had heard of cases, in which young unsophisticated -girls had taken unaccountable affections for -members of their own sex, and trusted she was not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span> -going to form the subject for some such experience on -Miss Brandt’s part. The idea made her address her -conversation more to Mademoiselle Brimont, than to her -companion of the evening before.</p> - -<p>“I suppose you and Miss Brandt were great friends -in the Convent,” she said.</p> - -<p>“O! no, Madame, we hardly ever saw each other -whilst there, except in chapel. There is so much difference -in our ages, I am only seventeen, and was in the -lower school, whilst Miss Brandt did hardly any lessons -during the two last years she spent there. But I was -very glad to have her company across to England. My -brother would have sent for me last year, if he could -have heard of a lady to travel with me!”</p> - -<p>“Are you going on to join your brother soon?”</p> - -<p>“He says he will fetch me, Madame, as soon as he -can be spared from his business. He is my only relation. -My parents died, like Miss Brandt’s, in the West -Indies.”</p> - -<p>“Well! you must be sure and get your looks back -before he arrives!” said Margaret, kindly.</p> - -<p>The head waiter now appeared with the letters from -England, amongst which was one for Miss Leyton in a -firm, manly handwriting, with a regimental crest in blue -and gold upon the envelope. Her face did not change -in the least as she broke the seal, although it came from -her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fiancé</i>, Captain Ralph Pullen. Elinor Leyton’s was -an exceptionally cold face, and it matched her disposition. -She had attractive features;—a delicate nose, -carved as if in ivory—brown eyes, a fair rose-tinted -complexion, and a small mouth with thin, firmly closed -lips. Her hair was bronze-coloured, and it was always<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span> -dressed to perfection. She had a good figure too, with -small hands and feet—and she was robed in excellent -taste. She was pre-eminently a woman for a man to be -proud of as the mistress of his house, and the head of -his table. She might be trusted never to say or do an -unladylike thing—before all, she was cognisant of the -obligations which devolved upon her as the daughter of -Lord Walthamstowe and a member of the British aristocracy. -But in disposition she was undoubtedly cold, -and her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fiancé</i> had already begun to find it out. Their -engagement had come about neither of them quite knew -how, but he liked the idea of being connected with an -aristocratic family, and she was proud of having won a -man, for whom many caps had been pulled in vain. He -was considered to be one of the handsomest men of his -generation, and she was what people called an unexceptional -match for him. She was fond of him in her -way, but her way was a strange one. She called the -attitude she assumed towards him, a proper and ladylike -reserve, but impartial spectators, with stronger feelings, -would have deemed it indifference.</p> - -<p>However, like the proverbial dog in the manger, -whether she valued her rights in Captain Pullen or not, -Miss Leyton had no intention of permitting them to be -interfered with. She would have died sooner than admit -that he was necessary to her happiness,—at the same time -she considered it due to her dignity as a woman, never -to give in to his wishes, when they opposed her own, -and often when they did not.</p> - -<p>She displayed no particular enthusiasm when they -met, nor distress when they parted—neither was she -ever troubled by any qualms lest during their frequent<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span> -separations, he should meet some woman whom he might -perchance prefer to herself. They were engaged, and -when the proper time came they would marry—meanwhile -their private affairs concerned no one but themselves. -In short, Elinor Leyton was not what is termed -“a man’s woman”—all her friends (if she had any) were -of her own sex.</p> - -<p>Having perused her letter, she refolded and replaced -it in its envelope without a glance in the direction of -Mrs. Pullen. Margaret thought she had a right to be -informed of her brother-in-law’s movements. She had -invited Miss Leyton to accompany her to Heyst at his -request, and any preparations which might be requisite -before he joined them, would have to be made by herself.</p> - -<p>“Is that from Ralph? What does he say?” she -enquired in a low voice.</p> - -<p>“Nothing in particular!”</p> - -<p>“But when may we expect him at Heyst?”</p> - -<p>“Next week, he says, in time for the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Bataille des -Fleurs</i>!”</p> - -<p>“Are you not pleased?”</p> - -<p>“Of course I am!” replied Elinor, but without a -sparkle or blush.</p> - -<p>“O! if it were only my Arthur that were coming!” -exclaimed Margaret, fervently, “I should go mad with joy!”</p> - -<p>“Then it is just as well perhaps that it is <em>not</em> your -Arthur!” rejoined her companion, as she put the letter -into her pocket.</p> - -<p>“Now, Bobby,” announced the strident tones of the -Baroness Gobelli from the other side of the balcony, -“leave off picking the shrimps! You’ve ’ad more than<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span> -enough! Ain’t bread and butter good enough for you? -What’ll you want next?”</p> - -<p>“But, Mamma,” pleaded the youth, “I’ve only had a -few! I’ve been shelling Papa’s all this time!”</p> - -<p>“Put ’em down at once, I say!” reiterated the -Baroness, “’ere William, take Bobby’s plate away! He’s -’ad plenty for this morning!”</p> - -<p>“But I haven’t begun yet. I’m hungry!” remonstrated -Bobby.</p> - -<p>“Take ’is plate away!” roared the Baroness. “’Ang -it all! Can’t you ’ear what I say?”</p> - -<p>“Mein tear! mein tear!” ejaculated the Herr Baron -in a subdued voice.</p> - -<p>“Leave me alone, Gustave! Do you suppose I can’t -manage my own son? He ain’t yours! ’E’d make ’imself -ill if I didn’t look after him. Take ’is plate away, at -once!”</p> - -<p>The man-servant William lifted the plate of peeled -shrimps and bread and butter from the table, whilst -Bobby with a very red face rose from his seat and rushed -down the steps to the beach.</p> - -<p>“He! he! he!” cackled the Baroness, “that’ll teach -’im not to fiddle with ’is food another time! Bobby don’t -care for an empty belly!”</p> - -<p>“What a shame!” murmured Margaret, who was -nothing if she was not a mother, “now the poor boy will -go without his breakfast.”</p> - -<p>Presently, William was to be seen sneaking past the -Hotel with a parcel in his hands. The Baroness pounced -upon him like a cat upon a mouse.</p> - -<p>“William!” she cried from the balcony, “what ’ave -you got in your ’and?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span></p> - -<p>“Summat of my own, my lady!”</p> - -<p>“Bring it ’ere!”</p> - -<p>The man mounted the steps and stood before his -mistress. He held a parcel in his hands, wrapped up -in a table napkin.</p> - -<p>“Open that parcel!” said the Baroness.</p> - -<p>“Indeed, my lady, it’s only the shrimps as Master -Robert left behind him and I thought they would make -me a little relish on the sands, my lady!”</p> - -<p>“Open that parcel!”</p> - -<p>William obeyed, and disclosed the rolls and butter -and peeled shrimps just as Bobby had left them.</p> - -<p>“You were going to take ’em down to Bobby on the -beach!”</p> - -<p>“No, indeed, my lady!”</p> - -<p>“Confound you, Sir, don’t you lie to me!” exclaimed -the Baroness, shaking her stick in his face, “I’ve ways -and means of finding out things that you know nothing -of! Throw that stuff into the road!”</p> - -<p>“But, my lady——”</p> - -<p>“Throw it into the road at once, or you may take -your month’s warning! ’Ang it all! are you the mistress, -or am I?”</p> - -<p>The servant threw a glance of enquiry in the direction -of the Herr Baron but the Herr Baron kept his face -well down in his plate, so after a pause, he walked to -the side, and shook the contents of the napkin upon the -Digue.</p> - -<p>“And now don’t you try any more of your tricks -upon me or I’ll thrash you till your own mother won’t -know you! You leave Bobby alone for the future, or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span> -it’ll be the worst day’s work you ever did! Remember -that!”</p> - -<p>“Very good, my lady!” replied William, but as he -left the balcony he gave a look at the other occupants, -which well conveyed his feelings on the subject.</p> - -<p>“I should not be surprised to hear that that woman -had been murdered by her servants some day!” said -Margaret to Elinor Leyton.</p> - -<p>“No! and I should not be sorry! I feel rather like -murdering her myself. But let us go down to the sands, -Margaret, and try to find the disconsolate Bobby! I’m -not afraid of his mother if William is, and if he wants -something to eat, I shall give it him!”</p> - -<p>They fetched their hats and parasols, and having -left the Hotel by a side entrance, found their way down -to the sands. It was a pretty sight there, and in some -cases, a comical one. The bathing-machines were placed -some sixty or more feet from the water, according to the -tide, and their occupants, clad in bathing-costumes, had -to run the gauntlet of all the eyes upon the beach, as -they traversed that distance in order to reach the sea. -To some visitors, especially the English ones, this ordeal -was rather trying. To watch them open a crevice of -the machine door, and regard the expectant crowd with -horror;—then after some hesitation, goaded on by the -cries of the bathing women that the time was passing, -to see them emerge with reluctant feet, sadly conscious -of their unclothed condition, and of the unsightly corns -and bunions which disfigured their feet—to say nothing -of the red and blue tint which their skin had suddenly -assumed—was to find it almost impossible to refrain -from laughter. The very skinny and knuckle-kneed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span> -ones; the very fat and bulging ones; the little fair men -who looked like Bobby’s peeled shrimps, and the muscular -black and hairy ones who looked like bears escaped -from a menagerie,—these types and many others, our -ladies could not help being amused at, though they told -each other it was very improper all the time. But -everybody had to pass through the same ordeal and -everybody submitted to it, and tried to laugh off their -own humiliation by ridiculing the appearance of their -neighbours. Margaret and Elinor were never tired of -watching the antics of the Belgians and Germans whilst -they were (what they called) bathing. The fuss they -made over entering two feet of water—the way in which -they gasped and puffed as they caught it up in their -hands and rubbed their backs and chests with it—the -reluctance with which the ladies were dragged by their -masculine partners into the briny, as if they expected -to be overwhelmed and drowned by the tiny waves -which rippled over their toes, and made them catch -their breath. And lastly, when they were convinced -there was no danger, to see them, men and women, fat -and thin, take hands and dance round in a ring as if -they were playing at “Mulberry Bush” was too delightful. -But if one bather, generally an Englishman, more -daring than his fellows, went in for a good swim, the -coast-guardsmen ran along the breakwater, shouting -“Gare, gare!” until he came out again.</p> - -<p>“They are funnier than ever to-day,” remarked Margaret, -after a while, “I wonder what they will say when -they see Ralph swimming out next week. They will be -frightened to death. All the Pullens are wonderful -swimmers. I have seen Anthony Pennell perform feats<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span> -in the water that made my blood run cold! And Ralph -is famous for his diving!”</p> - -<p>The topic did not appear to interest Elinor. She -reverted to the subject of Anthony.</p> - -<p>“Is that the literary man—the cousin?”</p> - -<p>“Yes! Have you not met him?”</p> - -<p>“Never!”</p> - -<p>“I am sure you would like him! He is such a fine -fellow! Not such a ‘beauty man’ as Ralph, perhaps, -but quite as tall and stalwart! His last book was a -tremendous success!”</p> - -<p>“Ralph has never mentioned him to me, though I -knew he had a cousin of that name!”</p> - -<p>“Well!—if you won’t be offended at my saying so—Ralph -has always been a little jealous of Anthony, at -least so Arthur says. He outstripped him at school and -college, and the feeling had its foundation there. And -anyone might be jealous of him now! He has shewn -himself to be a genius!”</p> - -<p>“I don’t like geniuses as a rule,” replied Elinor, -“they are so conceited. I believe that is Bobby Bates -sitting out there on the breakwater! I will go and see -if he is still hungry!”</p> - -<p>“Give the poor boy a couple of francs to get himself -a breakfast in one of the restaurants,” said Margaret, -“he will enjoy having a little secret from his terrible -Mamma!”</p> - -<p>She had not been alone long before the nurse came -up to her, with the perambulator, piled up with toys, -but no baby. Margaret’s fears were excited at once.</p> - -<p>“Nurse! nurse, what is the matter? Where is the -baby?” she exclaimed in tones of alarm.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span></p> - -<p>“Nothing’s the matter, Ma’am! pray don’t frighten -yourself!” replied the servant, “it’s only that the young -ladies have got baby, and they’ve bought her all these -toys, and sent me on to tell you that they would be -here directly!”</p> - -<p>The perambulator was filled with expensive playthings -useless for an infant of six months’ old. Dolls, -woolly sheep, fur cats, and gaily coloured balls with a -huge box of chocolates and caramels, were piled one on -the top of the other. But Mrs. Pullen’s face expressed -nothing but annoyance.</p> - -<p>“You had no right to let them take her, Nurse—you -had no right to let the child out of your sight! Go -back at once and bring her here to me! I am exceedingly -annoyed about it!”</p> - -<p>“Here are the young ladies, Ma’am, and you had -better lay your orders on them, yourself, for they wouldn’t -mind me,” said the nurse, somewhat sullenly.</p> - -<p>In another minute Harriet Brandt, and Olga Brimont -had reached her side, the former panting under the -weight of the heavy infant, but with her face scarlet -with the excitement of having captured her.</p> - -<p>“O! Miss Brandt!” cried Margaret, “you have given -me such a fright! You must never take baby away from -her nurse again, please! As I told you last night, she -is afraid of strangers, and generally cries when they try -to take her! Come to me, my little one!” she continued, -holding out her arms to the child, “come to mother and -tell her all about it!”</p> - -<p>But the baby seemed to take no notice of the fond -appeal. It had its big eyes fixed upon Miss Brandt’s -face with a half-awed, half-interested expression.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span></p> - -<p>“O! no! don’t take her away!” said Harriet, eagerly, -“she is so good with me! I assure you she is not -frightened in the least bit, are you, my little love?” she -added, addressing the infant. “And nurse tells me her -name is Ethel, so I have ordered them to make her a -little gold bangle with ‘Ethel’ on it, and she must wear -it for my sake, darling little creature!”</p> - -<p>“But, Miss Brandt, you must not buy such expensive -things for her, indeed. She is too young to appreciate -them, besides I do not like you to spend so much money -on her!”</p> - -<p>“But why shouldn’t I? What am I to do with my -money, if I may not spend it on others?”</p> - -<p>“But, such a quantity of toys! Surely, you have not -bought all these for my baby!”</p> - -<p>“Of course I have! I would have bought the whole -shop if it would have pleased her! She likes the colours! -Little darling! look how earnestly she gazes at me with -her lovely grey eyes, as if she knew what a little beauty -I think her! O! you pretty dear! you sweet pink and -white baby!”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Pullen felt somewhat annoyed as she saw the -dolls and furry animals which were strewn upon the -sands, at the same time she was flattered by the admiration -exhibited of her little daughter, and the endearments -lavished upon her. She considered them all -well deserved (as what mother would not?)—and it -struck her that Harriet Brandt must be a kindhearted, -as well as a generous girl to spend so much money on -a stranger’s child.</p> - -<p>“She certainly does seem wonderfully good with -you,” she observed presently, “I never knew her so quiet<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span> -with anybody but her nurse or me, before. Isn’t it -marvellous, Nurse?”</p> - -<p>“It is, Ma’am! Baby do seem to take surprisingly -to the young lady! And perhaps I might go into the -town, as she is so quiet, and get the darning-wool for -your stockings!”</p> - -<p>“O! no! no! We must not let Miss Brandt get tired -of holding her. She is too heavy to be nursed for long!”</p> - -<p>“Indeed, indeed she is not!” cried Harriet, “do let -me keep her, Mrs. Pullen, whilst nurse goes on her -errand. It is the greatest pleasure to me to hold her. -I should like never to give her up again!”</p> - -<p>Margaret smiled.</p> - -<p>“Very well, Nurse, since Miss Brandt is so kind, -you can go!”</p> - -<p>As the servant disappeared, she said to Harriet,</p> - -<p>“Mind! you give her to me directly she makes your -arm ache! I am more used to the little torment than -you are.”</p> - -<p>“How can you call her by such a name, even in -fun? What would I not give to have a baby of my -very own to do what I liked with? I would never part -with it, night nor day, I would teach it to love me so -much, that it should never be happy out of my sight!”</p> - -<p>“But that would be cruel, my dear! Your baby -might have to part with you, as you have had to part -with your mother!”</p> - -<p>At the mention of her mother, something came into -Miss Brandt’s eyes, which Margaret could not define. -It was not anger, nor sorrow, nor remorse. It was a -kind of sullen contempt. It was something that made -Mrs. Pullen resolve not to allude to the subject again.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span> -The incident made her examine Harriet’s eyes more -closely than she had done before. They were beautiful -in shape and colour, but they did not look like the eyes -of a young girl. They were deeply, impenetrably black—with -large pellucid pupils, but there was no sparkle -nor brightness in them, though they were underlaid by -smouldering fires which might burst forth into flame at -any moment, and which seemed to stir and kindle and -then go out again, when she spoke of anything that interested -her. There was an attraction about the girl, -which Mrs. Pullen acknowledged, without wishing to -give in to. She could not keep her eyes off her! She -seemed to hypnotise her as the snake is said to hypnotise -the bird, but it was an unpleasant feeling, as if -the next moment the smouldering fire would burst -forth into flame and overwhelm her. But watching her -play with, and hearing her talk to, her baby, Margaret -put the idea away from her, and only thought how -kindly natured she must be, to take so much trouble -for another woman’s child. It was not long before Miss -Leyton found her way back to them, and as her glance -fell upon Harriet Brandt and the baby, she elevated -her eyebrows.</p> - -<p>“Where is the nurse?” she demanded curtly.</p> - -<p>“She has gone to the shops to see if she can get -some darning-wool, and Miss Brandt was kind enough -to offer to keep baby for her till she returns. And O! -Elinor, look what beautiful toys Miss Brandt has bought -her! Isn’t she too kind?”</p> - -<p>“Altogether too kind!” responded Elinor. “By the -way, Margaret, I found our friend and transacted the -little business we spoke of! But he says his Mamma<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span> -has ordered him to remain here, till she comes down to -see him bathe, and dry him, I suppose, with her own -hands! And do I not descry her fairy feet indenting -the sands at this very moment, and bearing down in -our direction?”</p> - -<p>“You could hardly mistake her for anything else!” -replied Mrs. Pullen.</p> - -<p>In another minute the Baroness was upon them.</p> - -<p>“Hullo,” she called out, “you’re just in time to see -Gustave bathe! He looks lovely in his bathing costume! -His legs are as white as your baby’s, Mrs. Pullen, and -twice as well worth looking at!”</p> - -<p>“Mein tear! mein tear!” remonstrated the Baron.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be a fool, Gustave! You know it’s the -truth! And the loveliest feet, Miss Leyton! Smaller than -yours, I bet. Where’s that devil, Bobby? I’m going to -give ’im a dousing for his villainy this morning, I can -tell you! Once I get ’is ’ead under water, it won’t -come up again in a hurry! I expect ’e’s pretty ’ungry -by this time! But ’e don’t get a centime out of me -for cakes to-day. I’ll teach ’im not to stuff ’imself like -a pig again. Come, Gustave! ’ere’s a machine for you! -Get me a chair that I may sit outside it! Now, we’ll -’ave some fun,” she added, with a wink at Mrs. Pullen.</p> - -<p>“Let us move on to the breakwater!” said Margaret -to Elinor Leyton, and the whole party got up and walked -some little distance off.</p> - -<p>“Ah! you don’t hoodwink me!” screamed the -Baroness after them. “You’ve got glasses with you, -and you’re going to ’ave a good squint at Gustave’s -legs through ’em, I know! You’d better ’ave stayed -’ere, like honest women, and said you enjoyed the sight!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span></p> - -<p>“O! Margaret!” said Miss Leyton, with a look of -horror, “if it had not been for the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Bataille de Fleurs</i> -and ... the other thing ... I should have said, for -goodness’ sake, let us move on to Ostende or Blankenburghe, -with the least possible delay. That woman will -be the death of me yet! I’m sure she will!”</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding which, they could not help laughing -in concert, a little later on, to see the unwilling Bobby -dragged down by William to bathe, and as he emerged -from his machine, helpless and half naked, to watch his -elephantine mother chase him with her stout stick in -hand, and failing to catch him in time, slip on the wet -sand and flounder in the waves herself, from which -plight, it looked very much as though her servant instead -of rescuing her, did his best to push her further -in, before he dragged her, drenched and disordered, on -dry land again.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>The Baroness Gobelli’s temperament was as inconsistent -as her dress. Under the garb of jocose good-humour, -which often degenerated to horse-play, she concealed -a jealous and vindictive disposition, which would -go any lengths, when offended, to revenge itself. She -was wont to say that she never forgot, nor forgave an -injury, and that when she had her knife (as she termed -it) in a man, she knew how to bide her time, but that -when the time came, she turned it. These bloodthirsty -sentiments, coupled with an asseveration which was constantly -on her lips, that when she willed the death of -anyone, he died, and that she had powers at her command<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span> -of which no one was aware but herself, frightened -many timid and ignorant people into trying to propitiate -so apparently potent a mortal, and generally kow-towing -before her. To such votaries, so long as they pleased -her, Madame Gobelli was used to shew her favour by -various gifts of dresses, jewelry, or money, according to -their circumstances, for in some cases she was lavishly -generous, but she soon tired of her acquaintances and -replaced them by fresh favourites.</p> - -<p>The hints that she gave forth, regarding herself and -her antecedents, were too extraordinary to gain credence -except from the most ignorant of her auditors, but the -Baroness always spoke in parables, and left no proof of -what she meant, to be brought up against her. This -proved that if she were clever, she was still more cunning. -The hints she occasionally gave of being descended -from Royal blood, though on the wrong side of the -blanket, and of the connection being acknowledged -privately, if not publicly, by the existing members of the -reigning family, were received with open mouths by -people of her own class, but rejected with scorn by such -as were acquainted with those whom she affected to -know. It was remarkable also, and only another proof -that, whatever her real birth and antecedents, the -Baroness Gobelli was unique, that, notwithstanding her -desire to be considered noble by birth if not by law, -she never shirked the fact that the Baron was in trade—on -the contrary she rather made a boast of it, and -used to relate stories bringing it into ridicule with the -greatest gusto. The fact being that Baron Gobelli was -the head of a large firm of export bootmakers, trading -in London under the name of Fantaisie et Cie, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span> -boots and shoes of which, though professedly French, -were all manufactured in Germany, where the firm -maintained an enormous factory. The Baroness could -seldom be in the company of anyone for more than five -minutes without asking them where they bought their -boots and shoes, and recommending them to Fantaisie -et Cie as the best makers in London. She wanted to -be first in everything—in popularity, in notice, and in -conversation—if she could not attract attention by her -personality, she startled people by her vulgarity—if she -could not reign supreme by reason of her supposed -birth, she would do so by boots and shoes, if nothing -else—and if anybody slighted her or appeared to discredit -her statements, he or she was immediately marked -down for retaliation.</p> - -<p>Harriet Brandt had not been many days in Heyst -before the Baroness had become jealous of the attention -which she paid Mrs. Pullen and her child. She saw -that the girl was attractive, she heard that she was rich, -and she liked to have pretty and pleasant young people -about her when at home—they drew men to the house -and reflected a sort of credit upon herself—and she -determined to get Harriet away from Margaret Pullen -and chain her to her own side instead. The Baroness -hated Miss Leyton quite as much as Elinor hated her. -She was quick of hearing and very intuitive—she had -caught more than one of the young lady’s uncomplimentary -remarks upon herself, and had divined still -more than she had heard. She had observed her sympathy -with Bobby also, and that she encouraged him in -his boyish rebellion. For all these reasons, she “had -her knife” into Miss Leyton, and was waiting her opportunity<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span> -to turn it. And she foresaw—with the assistance -perhaps of the Powers of Darkness, of whose -acquaintance she was so proud—that she would be enabled -to take her revenge on Elinor Leyton through -Harriet Brandt.</p> - -<p>But her first advances to the latter were suavity itself. -She was not going to frighten the girl by shewing -her claws, until she had stroked her down the right way -with her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pattes de velours</i>.</p> - -<p>She came upon her one morning, as she sat upon -the sands, with little Ethel in her arms. The nurse was -within speaking distance, busy with her needlework, and -the infant seemed so quiet with Miss Brandt and she -took such evident pleasure in nursing it, that Mrs. Pullen -no longer minded leaving them together, and had gone -for a stroll with Miss Leyton along the Digue. So the -Baroness found Harriet, comparatively speaking, alone.</p> - -<p>“So you’re playing at nursemaid again!” she commenced -in her abrupt manner. “You seem to have -taken a wonderful fancy to that child!”</p> - -<p>“She is such a good little creature,” replied Harriet, -“she is no trouble whatever. She sleeps half the day!”</p> - -<p>Miss Brandt had a large box of chocolates beside -her, into which she continually dipped her hand. Her -mouth, too, was stained with the delicate sweetmeat—she -was always eating, either fruit or bonbons. She -handed the box now, with a timid air, to the Baroness.</p> - -<p>“Do you care for chocolate, Madame?” she asked.</p> - -<p>The Baroness did not like to be called “Madame” -according to the French fashion. She thought it derogated -from her dignity. She wished everyone to -address her as “my lady,” and considered she was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span> -cheated out of her rights when it was omitted. But she -liked chocolate almost as well as Harriet did.</p> - -<p>“Thank you! I’ll ’ave a few!” she said, grabbing -about a dozen in her huge hand at the first venture. -“What a liking for candies the Amurricans seem to ’ave -introduced into England! I can remember the time -when you never saw such a thing as sweets in the palace—I -don’t think they were allowed—and now they’re all -over the place. I shouldn’t wonder if Her Majesty hasn’t -a box or two in her private apartments, and as for the -Princesses, well!—”</p> - -<p>“The Palace!—Her Majesty!”—echoed Miss Brandt, -opening her dark eyes very wide.</p> - -<p>“As I tell ’em,” continued the Baroness, “they won’t -’ave a tooth left amongst the lot of ’em soon! What -are you staring at?”</p> - -<p>“But—but—do you go to the Queen’s palace?” demanded -Harriet, incredulously, as well she might.</p> - -<p>“Not unless I’m sent for, you may take your oath! -I ain’t fond enough of ’em for all that; besides, Windsor’s -’orribly damp and don’t suit me at all. But you mustn’t -go and repeat what I tell you, in the Hotel. It might -give offence in high places if I was known to talk of it. -You see there’s some of ’em has never seen me since I -married the Baron! Being in trade, they thought ’e -wasn’t good enough for me! I’ve ’eard that when Lady -Morton—the dowager Countess, you know—was asked -if she ’ad seen me lately, she called out loud enough for -the whole room to ’ear, ‘Do you mean the woman that -married the boot man? No! I ’aven’t seen ’er, and I -don’t mean to either!’ Ha! ha! ha! But I can afford -to laugh at all that, my dear!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span></p> - -<p>“But—I don’t quite understand!” said Harriet Brandt, -with a bewildered look.</p> - -<p>“Why! the Baron deals in shoe-leather! ’Aven’t -you ’eard it? I suppose we’ve got the largest manufactory -in Germany! Covers four acres of ground, I give -you my word!”</p> - -<p>“Shoe-leather!” again ejaculated Harriet Brandt, not -knowing what to say.</p> - -<p>“Why, yes! of course all the aristocracy go in for -trade now-a-days! It’s the fashion! There’s the Viscountess -Gormsby keeps a bonnet-shop, and Lord Charles -Snowe ’as a bakery, and Lady Harrison ’as an old curiosity-shop, -and stands about it, dusting tables and chairs, all -day! But how can you know anything about it, just -coming from the West Indies, and all those ’orrid blacks! -Ain’t you glad to find yourself amongst Christians again?”</p> - -<p>“This is the first time I ever left Jamaica,” said Miss -Brandt, “I was born there.”</p> - -<p>“But you won’t die there, or I’m much mistaken! -You’re too good to be wasted on Jamaica! When are -you going back to England?”</p> - -<p>“Oh! I don’t know! I’ve hardly thought about it -yet! Not while Mrs. Pullen stays here, though!”</p> - -<p>“Why! you’re not tied to ’er apron-string, surely! -What’s she to you?”</p> - -<p>“She is very kind, and I have no friends!” replied -Miss Brandt.</p> - -<p>The Baroness burst into a coarse laugh.</p> - -<p>“You won’t want for friends, once you shew your -face in England, I can tell you. I’d like to ’ave you at -our ’ouse, the Red ’Ouse, we call it. Princess—but -there, I mustn’t tell you ’er name or it’ll go through the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span> -Hotel, and she says things to me that she never means -to go further—but she said the other day that she preferred -the Red ’Ouse to Windsor! And for comfort, -and cheerfulness, so she may!”</p> - -<p>“I suppose it is very beautiful then!” observed Harriet.</p> - -<p>“You must judge for yourself,” replied the Baroness, -with a broad smile, “when you come to London. You’ll -be your own mistress there, I suppose, and not so tied -as you are here! I call it a shame to keep you dancing -attendance on that brat, when there’s a nurse whose -business it is to look after ’er!”</p> - -<p>“O! but indeed it is my own wish!” said the girl, -as she cuddled the sleeping baby to her bosom, and -laid her lips in a long kiss upon its little mouth. “I asked -leave to nurse her! She loves me and even Nurse cannot -get her off to sleep as I can! And it is so beautiful to -have something to love you, Madame Gobelli! In the -Convent I felt so cold—so lonely! If ever I took a -liking to a girl, we were placed in separate rooms! It is -what I have longed for—to come out into the world and -find someone to be a friend, and to love me, only me, -and all for myself!”</p> - -<p>Madame Gobelli laughed again.</p> - -<p>“Well! you’ve only got to shew those eyes of yours, -to get plenty of people to love you, and let you love -them in return—that is, if the men count in your estimation -of what’s beautiful!”</p> - -<p>Harriet raised her eyes and looked at the woman -who addressed her!</p> - -<p>There was the innocence of Ignorance in them as -yet, but the slumbering fire in their depths proved of -what her nature would be capable, when it was given<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span> -the opportunity to shew itself. Hers was a passionate -temperament, yearning to express itself—panting for the -love which it had never known—and ready to burst -forth like a tree into blossom, directly the sun of Desire -and Reciprocity shone upon it. The elder woman, who -had not been without her little experiences in her day, -recognised the feeling at once, and thought that she -would not give a fig for the virtue of any man who was -subjected to its influence.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think that you’ll confine your attentions to -babies long!” quoth the Baroness, as she encountered -that glance.</p> - -<p>“How do you know?” said her young companion.</p> - -<p>“Ah! it’s enough that I <em>do</em> know, my dear! I ’ave -ways and means of knowing things that I keep to myself! -I ’ave friends about me too, who can tell me -everything—who can ’elp me, if I choose, to give Life -and Fortune to one person, and Trouble and Death to -another—and woe to them that offend me, that’s all!”</p> - -<p>But if the Baroness expected to impress Miss Brandt -with her hints of terror, she was mistaken. Harriet did -not seem in the least astonished. She had been brought -up by old Pete and the servants on her father’s plantation -to believe in witches, and the evil eye, and “Obeah” -and the whole cult of Devil worship.</p> - -<p>“I know all about that,” she remarked presently, -“but you can’t do me either good or harm. I want -nothing from you and I never shall!”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you be too sure of that!” replied Madame -Gobelli, nodding her head. “I’ve brought young women -more luck than enough with their lovers before now—yes! -and married women into the bargain! If it ’adn’t<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span> -been for me, Lady—there! it nearly slipped out, didn’t -it?—but there’s a certain Countess who would never -’ave been a widow and married for the second time to -the man of ’er ’eart, if I ’adn’t ’elped ’er, and she knows -it too! By the way, ’ow do you like Miss Leyton?”</p> - -<p>“Not at all,” replied Harriet, quickly, “she is not a -bit like Mrs. Pullen—so cold and stiff and disagreeable! -She hardly ever speaks to me! Is it true that she’s the -daughter of a lord, as Madame Lamont says, and is it -that makes her so proud?”</p> - -<p>“She’s the daughter of Lord Walthamstowe, but -that’s nothing. They’ve got no money. ’Er people live -down in the country, quite in a beggarly manner. A gal -with a fortune of ’er own, would rank ’eads and ’eads -above ’er in Society. There’s not much thought of beside -money, nowadays, I can tell you!”</p> - -<p>“Why does she stay with Mrs. Pullen then? Are -they any relation to each other?” demanded Harriet.</p> - -<p>“Relation, no! I expect she’s just brought ’er ’ere -out of charity, and because she couldn’t afford to go to -the seaside by ’erself!”</p> - -<p>She had been about to announce the projected relationship -between the two ladies, when a sudden thought -struck her. Captain Ralph Pullen was expected to arrive -in Heyst in a few days—thus much she had ascertained -through the landlady of the Lion d’Or. She knew -by repute that he was considered to be one of the handsomest -and most conceited men in the Limerick Rangers, -a corps which was noted for its good-looking officers. It -might be better for the furtherance of her plans against -the peace of Miss Leyton’s mind, she thought, to keep -her engagement to Captain Pullen a secret—at all events,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span> -no one could say it was her business to make it public. -She looked in Harriet Brandt’s yearning, passionate eyes, -and decided that it would be strange if any impressionable -young man could be thrown within their influence, -without having his fidelity a little shaken, especially if -affianced to such a cold, uninteresting “bit of goods” as -Elinor Leyton. Like the parrot in the story, though she -said nothing, she “thought a deal” and inwardly rumbled -with half-suppressed laughter, as she pictured the discomfiture -of the latter young lady, if by any chance she -should find her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fiancé’s</i> attentions transferred from herself -to the little West Indian.</p> - -<p>“You seem amused, Madame!” said Harriet presently.</p> - -<p>“I was thinking of you, and all the young men who -are doomed to be slaughtered by those eyes of yours,” -said the Baroness. “You’d make mischief enough amongst -<em>my</em> friends, I bet, if I ’ad you at the Red ’Ouse!”</p> - -<p>Harriet felt flattered and consciously pleased. She -had never received a compliment in the Convent—no one -had ever hinted that she was pretty, and she had had -no opportunity of hearing it since.</p> - -<p>“Do you think I am handsome then?” she enquired -with a heightened colour.</p> - -<p>“I think you’re a deal worse! I think you’re -dangerous!” replied her new friend, “and I wouldn’t -trust you with the Baron any further than I could see -you!”</p> - -<p>“O! how can you say so?” exclaimed the girl, -though she was pleased all the same to hear it said.</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t, and that’s the truth! Gustave’s an -awful fellow after the gals. I ’ave to keep a tight ’old<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span> -on ’im, I can tell you, and the more you keep out of ’is -way, the better I shall be pleased! You’ll make a grand -match some day, if you’re only sharp and keep your -eyes open.”</p> - -<p>“What do you call a grand match?” asked Harriet, -as she let the nurse take the sleeping child from her -arms without remonstrance.</p> - -<p>“Why! a Lord or an Honourable at the very least! -since you ’ave money of your own. It’s money they’re -all after in these times, you know—why! we ’ave dooks -and markisses marrying all sorts of gals from Amurrica—gals -whose fathers made their money in oil, or medicine, -or electricity, or any other dodge, so long as they -made it! And why shouldn’t you do the same as the -Amurrican gals? You have money, I know—and a -goodish lot, I fancy—” added the Baroness, with her -cunning eyes fixed upon the girl as if to read her -thoughts.</p> - -<p>“O! yes!” replied Harriet, “Mr. Trawler, my trustee, -said it was too much for a young woman to have under -her own control, but I don’t know anything about the -value of money, never having had it to spend before. I -am to have fifteen hundred pounds every year. Is that -a good deal?”</p> - -<p>“Quite enough to settle you in life, my dear!” exclaimed -the Baroness, who immediately thought what a -good thing it would be if Miss Brandt could be persuaded -to sink her capital in the boot trade, “and all -under your own control too! You are a lucky young -woman! I know ’alf-a-dozen lords,—not to say Princes—who -would jump at you!”</p> - -<p>“Princes!” cried Harriet, unable to believe her ears.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span></p> - -<p>“Certainly! Not English ones of course, but German, -which are quite as good after all, for a Prince is a Prince -any day! There’s Prince Adalbert of Waxsquiemer, and -Prince Harold of Muddlesheim, and Prince Loris of -Taxelmein, and ever so many more, and they’re in and -out of the Red ’Ouse, twenty times a day! But don’t -you be in an ’urry! Don’t take the first that offers, Miss -Brandt! Pick and choose! Flirt with whom you like -and ’ave your fun, but wait and look about you a bit -before you decide!”</p> - -<p>The prospect was too dazzling! Harriet Brandt’s -magnificent eyes were opened to their widest extent—her -cheeks flushed with expectation—both life and light -had flashed into her countenance. Her soul was expanding, -her nature was awakening—it shone through -every feature—the Baroness had had no idea she was -so beautiful! And the hungry, yearning look was more -accentuated than before—it seemed as if she were on -the alert, watching for something, like a panther awaiting -the advent of its prey. It was a look that women -would have shrunk from, and men welcomed and eagerly -responded to.</p> - -<p>“I should like to go and see you when I go to England—very -much!” she articulated slowly.</p> - -<p>“And so you shall, my dear! The Baron and me -will be very glad to ’ave you on a visit. And you -mustn’t let that capital of yours lie idle, you know! If -it’s in your own ’ands, you must make it yield double to -what it does now! You consult Gustave! ’E’s a regular -business man and knows ’ow many beans make five! -’E’ll tell you what’s best to be done with it—’e’ll be a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span> -good friend to you, and you can trust ’im with everything!”</p> - -<p>“Thank you!” replied the girl, but she still seemed -to be lost in a kind of reverie. Her gaze was fixed—her -full crimson lips were slightly parted—her slender -hands kept nervously clasping and unclasping each other.</p> - -<p>“Well, you are ’andsome and no mistake!” exclaimed -the Baroness. “You remind me a little of the -Duchess of Bewlay before she was married! The first -wife, I mean—the second is a poor, pale-faced, sandy-’aired -creature. (’Ow the Dook can stomach ’er after -the other, I can’t make out!) The first Duchess’s mother -was a great flame of my grandfather, the Dook of—however, -I mustn’t tell you that! It’s a State secret, and I -might get into trouble at Court! You’d better not say -I mentioned it.”</p> - -<p>But Harriet Brandt was not in a condition to remember -or repeat anything. She was lost in a dream -of the possibilities of the Future.</p> - -<p>The bell for <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">déjeuner</i> roused them at last, and -brought them to their feet. They resembled each other -in one particular ... they were equally fond of the -pleasures of the table.</p> - -<p>The little Baron appeared dutifully to afford his -clumsy spouse the benefit of his support in climbing the -hillocks of shifting sand, which lay between them and -the hotel, and Miss Brandt sped swiftly on her way -alone.</p> - -<p>“I’ve been ’aving a talk with that gal Brandt,” -chuckled the Baroness to her husband, “she’s a regular -green-’orn and swallows everything you tell ’er. I’ve -been stuffing ’er up, that she ought to marry a Prince,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span> -with ’er looks and money, and she quite believes it. -But she ain’t bad-looking when she colours up, and I expect -she’s rather a warm customer, and if she takes a -fancy to a man, ’e won’t well know ’ow to get out of it! -And if he tries to, she’ll make the fur fly. Ha! ha! ha!”</p> - -<p>“Better leave it alone, better leave it alone!” said -the stolid German, who had had more than one battle -to fight already, on account of his wife’s match-making -propensities, and considered her quite too clumsy an -artificer to engage in so delicate a game.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>There was a marked difference observable in the -manner of Harriet Brandt after her conversation with the -Baroness. Hitherto she had been shy and somewhat -diffident—the seclusion of her conventual life and its -religious teachings had cast a veil, as it were, between -her and the outer world, and she had not known how -to behave, nor how much she might venture to do, on -being first cast upon it. But Madame Gobelli’s revelations -concerning her beauty and her prospects, had torn -the veil aside, and placed a talisman in her hands, -against her secret fear.</p> - -<p>She was beautiful and dangerous—she might become -a Princess if she played her cards well—the knowledge -changed the whole face of Nature for her. She became -assured, confident, and anticipatory. She began to frequent -the company of the Baroness, and without neglecting -her first acquaintances, Mrs. Pullen and her baby, -spent more time in the Gobelli’s private sitting-room<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span> -than in the balcony, or public salon, a fact for which -Margaret did not hesitate to declare herself grateful.</p> - -<p>“I do not know how it is,” she confided to Elinor -Leyton, “I rather like the girl, and I would not be unkind -to her for all the world, but there is something -about her that oppresses me. I seem never to have -quite lost the sensation she gave me the first evening -that she came here. Her company enervates me—I get -neuralgia whenever we have been a short time together—and -she leaves me in low spirits and more disposed -to cry than laugh!”</p> - -<p>“And no wonder,” said her friend, “considering that -she has that detestable school-girl habit of hanging upon -one’s arm and dragging one down almost to the earth! -How you have stood it so long, beats me! Such a delicate -woman as you are too. It proves how selfish -Miss Brandt must be, not to have seen that she was -distressing you!”</p> - -<p>“Well! it will take a large amount of expended force -to drag Madame Gobelli to the ground,” said Margaret, -laughing, “so I hope Miss Brandt will direct that portion -of her attention to her, and leave me only the residue. -Poor girl! she seems to have had so few people to love, -or to love her, during her lifetime, that she is glad to -practise on anyone who will reciprocate her affection. -Did you see the Baroness kissing her this morning?”</p> - -<p>“I saw the Baroness scrubbing her beard against -Miss Brandt’s cheek, if you call that ‘kissing’?” replied -Elinor. “The Baroness never kisses! I have noticed -her salute poor Bobby in the morning exactly in the -same manner. I have a curiosity to know if it hurts.”</p> - -<p>“Why don’t you try it?” said Margaret.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span></p> - -<p>“No, thank you! I am not so curious as all that! -But the Gobellis and Miss Brandt have evidently struck -up a great friendship. She will be the recipient of the -Baroness’s cast-off trinkets and laces next!”</p> - -<p>“She is too well off for that, Elinor! Madame -Lamont told me she has a fortune in her own right, of -fifteen hundred a year!”</p> - -<p>“She will want it all to gild herself with!” said Elinor.</p> - -<p>Margaret Pullen looked at Miss Leyton thoughtfully. -Did she really mean what she said, or did her jealousy -of the West Indian heiress render her capable of uttering -untruths? Surely, she must see that Harriet Brandt -was handsome—growing handsomer indeed, every day, -with the pure sea air tinting her cheeks with a delicate -flush like the inside of a shell—and that her beauty, -joined to her money, would render her a tempting morsel -for the men, and a formidable rival for the women.</p> - -<p>“I do not think you would find many people to -agree with your opinion, Elinor!” she said after a pause, -in answer to Miss Leyton’s last remark.</p> - -<p>“Well! I think she’s altogether odious,” replied her -friend with a toss of her head, “I thought it the first -time I saw her, and I shall think it to the last!”</p> - -<p>It was the day that Captain Ralph Pullen was expected -to arrive in Heyst and the two ladies were preparing -to go to the station to meet him.</p> - -<p>“The Baroness has at all events done you one good -turn,” continued Miss Leyton, “she has delivered you -for a few hours from your ‘Old Man of the Sea.’ What -have you been doing with yourself all the morning! I -expected you to meet me on the sands, after I had -done bathing!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span></p> - -<p>“I have not stirred out, Elinor. I am uneasy about -baby! She does not seem at all well. I have been -waiting your return to ask you whether I had not better -send for a doctor to see her. But I am not sure if -there is such a thing in Heyst!”</p> - -<p>“Sure to be, but don’t send unless it is absolutely -necessary. What is the matter with her?”</p> - -<p>The nurse was sitting by the open window with -little Ethel on her lap. The infant looked much the -same as usual—a little paler perhaps, but in a sound -sleep and apparently enjoying it.</p> - -<p>“She does not seem ill to me,” continued Elinor, -“is she in any pain?”</p> - -<p>“Not at all, Miss,” said the nurse, “and begging the -mistress’s pardon, I am sure she is frightening herself -without cause. Baby is cutting two more teeth, and she -feels the heat. That’s all!”</p> - -<p>“Why are you frightened, Margaret?” asked Miss -Leyton.</p> - -<p>“Because her sleep is unnatural, I am sure of it,” -replied Mrs. Pullen, “she slept all yesterday, and has -hardly opened her eyes to-day. It is more like torpor -than sleep. We can hardly rouse her to take her bottle -and you know what a lively, restless little creature she -has always been.”</p> - -<p>“But her teeth,” argued Elinor Leyton, “surely her -teeth account for everything! I know my sister, Lady -Armisdale, says that nothing varies so quickly as teething -children—that they’re at the point of death one -hour and quite well the next, and she has five, so she -ought to know!”</p> - -<p>“That’s quite right, Miss,” interposed the nurse, respectfully,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span> -“and you can hardly expect the dear child -to be lively when she’s in pain. She has a little fever -on her too! If she were awake, she would only be fretful! -I am sure that the best medicine for her is sleep!”</p> - -<p>“You hear what Nurse says, Margaret, but if you -are nervous, why not send for a doctor to see her! We -can ask Madame Lamont as we go downstairs who is -the best here, and call on him as we go to the station, -or we can telegraph to Bruges for one, if you think it -would be better!”</p> - -<p>“O! no! no! I will not be foolish! I will try and -believe that you and Nurse know better than myself. I -will wait at all events until to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>“Where has baby been this morning?”</p> - -<p>“She was with Miss Brandt on the sands, Miss!” -replied the nurse.</p> - -<p>“Since you are so anxious about Ethel, Margaret, -I really wonder that you should trust her with a stranger -like Miss Brandt! Perhaps she let the sun beat on her -head.”</p> - -<p>“O! no, Elinor, Nurse was with them all the time. -I would not let Miss Brandt or anyone take baby away -alone. But she is so good-natured and so anxious to -have her, that I don’t quite know how to refuse.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps she has been stuffing the child with some -of her horrid chocolates or caramels. She is gorging -them all day long herself!”</p> - -<p>“I know my duty too well for that, Miss!” said the -nurse resentfully, “I wouldn’t have allowed it! The -dear baby did not have anything to eat at all.”</p> - -<p>“Well! you’re both on <em>her</em> side evidently, so I will -say no more,” concluded Miss Leyton, “At the same<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span> -time if <em>I</em> had a child, I’d sooner trust it to a wild beast -than the tender mercies of Miss Brandt. But it’s past -four o’clock, Margaret! If we are to reach the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrepôt</i> -in time we must be going!”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Pullen hastily assumed her hat and mantle, -and prepared to accompany her friend. They had opened -the door, and were about to leave the room when a -flood of melody suddenly poured into the apartment. It -proceeded from a room at the other end of the corridor -and was produced by a mandoline most skilfully played. -The silvery notes in rills and trills and chords, such as -might have been evolved from a fairy harp, arrested the -attention of both Miss Leyton and Mrs. Pullen. They -had scarcely expressed their wonder and admiration to -each other, at the skilful manipulation of the instrument -(which evinced such art as they had never heard before -except in public) when the strings of the mandoline -were accompanied by a young, fresh contralto voice.</p> - -<p>“O! hush! hush!” cried Elinor, with her finger on -her lip, as the rich mellow strains floated through the -corridor, “I don’t think I ever heard such a lovely voice -before. Whose on earth can it be?”</p> - -<p>The words of the song were in Spanish, and the -only one they could recognise was the refrain of, -“Seralie! Seralie!” But the melody was wild, pathetic, -and passionate, and the singer’s voice was touching beyond -description.</p> - -<p>“Some professional must have arrived at the Hotel,” -said Margaret, “I am sure that is not the singing of an -amateur. But I hope she will not practise at night, and -keep baby awake!”</p> - -<p>Elinor laughed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span></p> - -<p>“O! you mother!” she said, “I thought you were -lamenting just now that your ewe lamb slept too much! -For my part, I should like to be lulled to sleep each -night by just such strains as those. Listen, Margaret! -She has commenced another song. Ah! Gounod’s delicious -‘Ave Maria.’ How beautiful!”</p> - -<p>“I don’t profess to know much about music,” said -Margaret, “but it strikes me that the charm of that -singing lies more in the voice than the actual delivery. -Whoever it is, must be very young!”</p> - -<p>“Whoever it proceeds from, it is charming,” repeated -Elinor. “How Ralph would revel in it! Nothing -affects him like music. It is the only thing which -makes me regret my inability to play or sing. But I -am most curious to learn who the new arrival is. Ah! -here is Mademoiselle Brimont!” she continued, as she -caught sight of Olga Brimont, slowly mounting the steep -staircase, “Mademoiselle, do you happen to know who -it is who owns that lovely voice? Mrs. Pullen and I are -perfectly enchanted with it!”</p> - -<p>Olga Brimont coloured a little. She had never got -over her shyness of the English ladies, particularly of -the one who spoke so sharply. But she answered at once,</p> - -<p>“It is Harriet Brandt! Didn’t you know that she -sang?”</p> - -<p>Miss Leyton took a step backward. Her face expressed -the intensest surprise—not to say incredulity.</p> - -<p>“Harriet Brandt! Impossible!” she ejaculated.</p> - -<p>“Indeed it is she,” repeated Olga, “she always sang -the solos in the Convent choir. They used to say she -had the finest voice in the Island. O! yes, it is Harriet, -really.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span></p> - -<p>And she passed on to her own apartment.</p> - -<p>“Do <em>you</em> believe it?” said Elinor Leyton, turning almost -fiercely upon Mrs. Pullen.</p> - -<p>“How can I do otherwise,” replied Margaret, “in -the face of Mademoiselle Brimont’s assertion? But it -is strange that we have heard nothing of Miss Brandt’s -talent before!”</p> - -<p>“Has she ever mentioned the fact to you, that she -could sing?”</p> - -<p>“Never! but there has been no opportunity. There -is no instrument here, and we have never talked of such -a thing! Only fancy her possessing so magnificent a -voice! What a gift! She might make her fortune by -it if she needed to do so.”</p> - -<p>“Well! she ought to be able to sing with that mouth -of hers,” remarked Miss Leyton almost bitterly, as she -walked into the corridor. She was unwilling to accord -Harriet Brandt the possession of a single good attribute. -As the ladies traversed the corridor, they perceived that -others had been attracted by the singing as well as -themselves, and most of the bedroom doors were open. -Mrs. Montague caught Margaret by the sleeve as she -passed.</p> - -<p>“O! Mrs. Pullen, what a heavenly voice! Whose is -it? Fred is just mad to know!”</p> - -<p>“It’s only that girl Brandt!” replied Elinor roughly, -as she tried to escape further questioning.</p> - -<p>“Miss Brandt! what, the little West Indian! Mrs. -Pullen, is Miss Leyton jesting?”</p> - -<p>“No, indeed, Mrs. Montague! Mademoiselle Brimont -was our informant,” said Margaret.</p> - -<p>But at that moment their attention was diverted by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span> -the appearance of Harriet Brandt herself. She looked -brilliant. In one hand she carried her mandoline, a -lovely little instrument, of sandal-wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl,—her -face was flushed with the exertion she -had gone through, and her abundant hair was somewhat -in disorder. Mrs. Montague pounced on her at once.</p> - -<p>“O! Miss Brandt! you are a sly puss! We have -all been delighted—enchanted! What do you mean -by hiding your light under a bushel in this way? Do -come in here for a minute and sing us another song! -Major Montague is in ecstasies over your voice!”</p> - -<p>“I can’t stop, I can’t indeed!” replied Miss Brandt, -evidently pleased with the effect she had produced, “because -I am on my way down to dear Madame Gobelli. -I promised to sing for her this afternoon. I was only -trying my voice to see if it was fit for anything!”</p> - -<p>She smiled at Mrs. Pullen as she spoke and added,</p> - -<p>“I hope I have not disturbed the darling baby! I -thought she would be out this lovely afternoon!”</p> - -<p>“O! no! you did not disturb her. We have all -been much pleased, and surprised to think that you -have never told us that you could sing!”</p> - -<p>“How could I tell that anyone would care about -it?” replied Harriet, indifferently, with a shrug of her -shoulders. “But the Baron is very musical! He has -a charming tenor voice. I have promised to accompany -him! I mustn’t delay any longer! Good afternoon!”</p> - -<p>And she flew down the stairs with her mandoline.</p> - -<p>“It is all the dear Baroness and the dear Baron -now, you perceive,” remarked Elinor to Mrs. Pullen, as -they walked together to the railway-station, “you and -the baby are at a discount. Miss Brandt is the sort of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span> -young lady, I fancy, who will follow her own interests -wherever they may lead her!”</p> - -<p>“You should be the last to complain of her for that, -Elinor, since you have tried to get rid of her at any -cost,” replied her friend.</p> - -<p>Captain Ralph Pullen arrived punctually by the train -which he had appointed, and greeted his sister-in-law -and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fiancée</i> with marked cordiality.</p> - -<p>He was certainly a man to be proud of, as far as -outward appearance went. He was acknowledged, by -general consent, to be one of the handsomest men in -the British Army, and he was fully aware of the fact. -He was tall and well built, with good features, almost -golden hair; womanish blue eyes, and a long drooping -moustache, which he was always caressing with his left -hand. He regarded all women with the same languishing, -tired-to-death glance, as if the attentions shewn him -by the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">beau sexe</i> had been altogether too much for him, -and the most he could do now was to regard them with -an indolent, worn-out favour, which had had all the excitement, -and freshness, and flavour taken out of it long -before. Most women would have considered his method -of treatment as savouring little short of insult, but Elinor -Leyton’s nature did not make extravagant demands -upon her lover, and so long as he dressed and looked -well and paid her the courtesies due from a gentleman -to a gentlewoman, she was quite satisfied. Margaret, -on the other hand, had seen through her brother-in-law’s -affectations from the first, and despised him for them. -She thought him foolish, vain, and uncompanionable, -but she bore with him for Arthur’s sake. She would<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span> -have welcomed his cousin Anthony Pennell, though, with -twice the fervour.</p> - -<p>Ralph was looking remarkably well. His light grey -suit of tweed was fresh and youthful looking, and the -yellow rose in his buttonhole was as dainty as if he had -just walked out of his Piccadilly club. He was quite -animated (for him) at the idea of spending a short time -in Heyst, and actually went the length of informing -Elinor that she looked “very fit”, and that if it was not so -public a place he should kiss her. Miss Leyton coloured -faintly at the remark, but she turned her head away -and would not let him see that she was sorry the place -was so public.</p> - -<p>“Heyst seems to have done you both a lot of good,” -Captain Pullen went on presently, “I am sure you are -fatter, Margaret, than when you were in Town. And, -by the way, how is the daughter?”</p> - -<p>“Not very well, I am sorry to say, Ralph! She is -cutting more teeth. Elinor and I were consulting whether -we should send for a doctor to see her, only this afternoon.”</p> - -<p>“By the way, I have good news for you, or you will -consider it so. Old Phillips is coming over to join us -next week.”</p> - -<p>“Doctor Phillips, my dear old godfather!” exclaimed -Margaret, “O! I <em>am</em> glad to hear it! He will set baby -to rights at once. But who told you so, Ralph?”</p> - -<p>“The old gentleman himself! I met him coming out -of his club the other day and told him I was coming -over here, and he said he should follow suit as soon as -ever he could get away, and I was to tell you to get a -room for him by next Monday!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span></p> - -<p>“I shall feel quite happy about my baby now,” said -Mrs. Pullen, “I have not much faith in Belgian doctors. -Their pharmacopœia is quite different from ours, but -Doctor Phillips will see if there is anything wrong with -her at once!”</p> - -<p>“I hope you will not be disappointed with the Hotel -visitors, Ralph,” said Elinor, “but they are a terrible set -of riff-raff. It is impossible to make friends with any one -of them. They are such dreadful people!”</p> - -<p>“O! you mustn’t class them all together, Elinor,” -interposed Margaret, “I am sure the Montagues and the -Vieuxtemps are nice enough! And <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">du reste</i>, there is no -occasion for Ralph even to speak to them.”</p> - -<p>“Of course not,” said Captain Pullen, “I have come -over for the sake of your company and Margaret’s, and -have no intention of making the acquaintance of any -strangers. When is the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Bataille de Fleurs</i>? Next week? -that’s jolly! Old Phillips will be here by that time, and -he and Margaret can flirt together, whilst you and I are -billing and cooing, eh, Elinor?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t be vulgar, Ralph,” she answered, “you know -how I dislike that sort of thing! And we have had so -much of it here!”</p> - -<p>“What, billing and cooing?” he questioned. But -Elinor disdained to make any further remark on the -subject.</p> - -<p>The appearance of Ralph Pullen at the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">table d’hôte</i> -dinner naturally excited a good deal of speculation. -The English knew that Mrs. Pullen expected her brother-in-law -to stay with her, but the foreigners were all curious -to ascertain who the handsome, well-groomed, military-looking -stranger might be, who was so familiar with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span> -Mrs. Pullen and her friend. The Baroness was not behind -the rest in curiosity and admiration. She was -much before them in her determination to gratify her -curiosity and make the acquaintance of the new-comer, -whose name she guessed, though no introduction had -passed between them. She waited through two courses -to see if Margaret Pullen would take the initiative, but -finding that she addressed all her conversation to Captain -Pullen, keeping her face, meanwhile, pertinaciously turned -from the party sitting opposite to her, she determined to -force her hand.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Pullen!” she cried, in her coarse voice, “when -are you going to introduce me to your handsome friend?”</p> - -<p>Margaret coloured uneasily and murmured,</p> - -<p>“My brother-in-law, Captain Pullen—Madame Gobelli.”</p> - -<p>“Very glad to see you, Captain,” said the Baroness, -as Ralph bowed to her in his most approved fashion, -“your sister thought she’d keep you all to ’erself, I suppose! -But the young ladies of Heyst would soon make -mincemeat of Mrs. Pullen if she tried that little game -on them. We ’aven’t got too many good-looking young -men ’ereabouts, I can tell you. Are you going to stay -long?”</p> - -<p>Captain Pullen murmured something about “uncertain” -and “not being quite sure”, whilst the Baroness -regarded him full in the face with a broad smile on her -own. She always had a keen eye for a handsome young -man!</p> - -<p>“Ah! you’ll stay as long as it suits your purpose, -won’t you? I expect you ’ave your own little game to -play, same as most of us! And it’s a pretty little game,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span> -too, isn’t it, especially when a fellow’s young and good-looking -and ’as the chink-a-chink, eh?”</p> - -<p>“I fancy I know some of your brother officers, Mr. -Naggett, and Lord Menzies, they belong to the Rangers, -don’t they?” continued Madame Gobelli, “Prince Adalbert -of Waxsquiemer used to bring ’em to the Red ’Ouse! -By the way I ’aven’t introduced you to my ’usband, -Baron Gobelli! Gustave, this is Captain Ralph Pullen, -the Colonel’s brother, you know. You must ’ave a talk -with ’im after dinner! You two would ’it it off first-rate -together! Gustave’s in the boot trade, you know, Captain -Pullen! We trade under the name of Fantaisie et Cie! -The best boots and shoes in London, and the largest -manufactory, I give you my word! You should get your -boots from us. I know you dandy officers are awfully -particular about your tootsies. If you’ll come and see -me in London, I’ll take you over the manufactory, and -give you a pair. You’ll never buy any others, once -you’ve tried ’em!”</p> - -<p>Ralph Pullen bowed again, and said he felt certain -that Madame was right and he looked forward to the -fulfilment of her promise with the keenest anticipation.</p> - -<p>Harriet Brandt meanwhile, sitting almost opposite to -the stranger, was regarding him from under the thick -lashes of her slumbrous eyes, like a lynx watching its -prey. She had never seen so good-looking and aristocratic -a young man before. His crisp golden hair and drooping -moustaches, his fair complexion, blue eyes and -chiselled features, were a revelation to her. Would the -Princes whom Madame Gobelli had promised she should -meet at her house, be anything like him, she wondered—<em>could</em> -they be as handsome, as perfectly dressed, as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span> -fashionable, as completely at their ease, as the man before -her? Every other moment, she was stealing a veiled -glance at him—and Captain Pullen was quite aware of -the fact. What young man, or woman, is not aware -when they are being furtively admired? Ralph Pullen -was one of the most conceited of his sex, which is not -saying a little—he was <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">accomblé</i> with female attentions -wherever he went, yet he was not <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">blasé</i> with them, so -long as he was not called upon to reciprocate in kind. -Each time that Harriet’s magnetic gaze sought his face, -his eyes by some mystical chance were lifted to meet it, -and though all four lids were modestly dropped again, -their owners did not forget the effect their encounter -had left behind it.</p> - -<p>“’Ave you been round Heyst yet, Captain Pullen,” -vociferated Madame Gobelli, “and met the Procession? -I never saw such rubbish in my life. I laughed fit to -burst myself! A lot of children rigged out in blue and -white, carrying a doll on a stick, and a crowd of fools -following and singing ’ymns. Call that Religion? It’s -all tommy rot. Don’t you agree with me, Mrs. Pullen?”</p> - -<p>“I cannot say that I do, Madame! I have been -taught to respect every religion that is followed with -sincerity, whether I agree with its doctrine or not. Besides, -I thought the procession you allude to a very -pretty sight. Some of the children with their fair hair -and wreaths of flowers looked like little angels!”</p> - -<p>“O! you’re an ’umbug!” exclaimed the Baroness, -“you say that just to please these Papists. Not that I -wouldn’t just as soon be a Papist as a Protestant, but I -’ate cant. I wouldn’t ’ave Bobby ’ere, brought up in -any religion. Let ’im choose for ’imself when ’e’s a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span> -man, I said, but no cant, no ’umbug! I ’ad a governess -for ’im once, a dirty little sneak, who thought she’d get -the better of me, so she made the boy kneel down each -night and say, ‘God bless father and mother and all -kind friends, and God bless my enemies.’ I came on -’em one evening and I ’ad ’im up on his legs in a -moment. I won’t ’ave it, Bobby, I said, I won’t ’ave -you telling lies for anyone, and I made ’im repeat after -me, ‘God bless father and mother and all kind friends, -and d—n my enemies.’ The governess was so angry with me, that she gave -warning, he! he! he! But I ’ad my way, and Bobby -’asn’t said a prayer since, ’ave you, Bobby?”</p> - -<p>“Sometimes, Mamma!” replied the lad in a low voice. -Margaret Pullen’s kind eyes sought his at once with an -encouraging smile.</p> - -<p>“Well! you’d better not let me ’ear you, or I’ll give -you ‘what for’. I ’ate ’umbug, don’t you, Captain -Pullen?”</p> - -<p>“Unreservedly, Madame!” replied Ralph in a stifled -voice and with an inflamed countenance. He had been -trying to conceal his amusement for some time past, -greatly to the disgust of Miss Leyton, who would have -had him pass by his opposite neighbour’s remarks in -silent contempt, and the effort had been rather trying. -As he spoke, his eyes sought those of Harriet Brandt -again, and discovered the sympathy with his distress, -lurking in them, coupled with a very evident look of -admiration for himself. He looked at her back again—only -one look, but it spoke volumes! Captain Pullen -had never given such a glance at his <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fiancée</i>, nor received -one from her! It is problematical if Elinor<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span> -Leyton <em>could</em> make a telegraph of her calm brown eyes—if -her soul (if indeed she had in that sense a soul at all) -ever pierced the bounds of its dwelling-place to look -through its windows. As the dessert appeared, Margaret -whispered to her brother-in-law,</p> - -<p>“If we do not make our escape now, we may not -get rid of her all the evening,” at which hint he rose -from table, and the trio left the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">salle à manger</i> together. -As Margaret descended again, equipped for their evening -stroll, she perceived Harriet Brandt in the corridor also -ready, and waiting apparently for her. She took her -aside at once.</p> - -<p>“I cannot ask you to join us in our walk this evening, -Miss Brandt,” she said, “because, as it is the first -day of my brother’s arrival, we shall naturally have -many family topics to discuss together!”</p> - -<p>For the first time since their acquaintance, she observed -a sullen look creep over Harriet Brandt’s features.</p> - -<p>“I am going to walk with the Baron and Baroness, -thank you all the same!” she replied to Margaret’s remark, -and turning on her heel, she re-entered her room. -Margaret did not believe her statement, but she was -glad she had had the courage to warn her—she knew -it would have greatly annoyed Elinor if the girl she -detested had accompanied them on that first evening. -The walk proved after all to be a very ordinary one. -They paraded up and down the Digue, until they were -tired and then they sat down on green chairs and -listened to the orchestra whilst Ralph smoked his -cigarettes. Elinor was looking her best. She was -pleased and mildly excited—her costume became her—and -she was presumably enjoying herself, but as far as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span> -her joy in Captain Pullen went, she might have been -walking with her father or her brother. The conscious -looks that had passed between him and Harriet Brandt -were utterly wanting.</p> - -<p>They began by talking of home, of Elinor’s family, -and the last news that Margaret had received from -Arthur—and then went on to discuss the visitors to the -Hotel. Miss Leyton waxed loud in her denunciation of -the Baroness and her familiar vulgarity—she deplored -the ill fate that had placed them in such close proximity -at the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">table d’hôte</i>, and hoped that Ralph would not -hesitate to change his seat if the annoyance became too -great. She had warned him, she said, of what he might -expect by joining them at Heyst.</p> - -<p>“My dear girl,” he replied, “pray don’t distress yourself! -In the first place I know a great deal more about -foreign hotels than you do, and knew exactly what I -might expect to encounter, and in the second, I don’t -mind it in the least—in fact, I like it, it amuses me, I -think the Baroness is quite a character, and look forward -to cultivating her acquaintance with the keenest anticipations.”</p> - -<p>“O! <em>don’t</em>, Ralph, pray don’t!” exclaimed Miss -Leyton, fastidiously, “the woman is beneath contempt! -I should be exceedingly annoyed if you permitted her -to get at all intimate with you.”</p> - -<p>“Why not, if it amuses him?” demanded Margaret, -laughing, “for my part, I agree with Ralph, that her very -vulgarity makes her most amusing as a change, and it is -not as if we were likely to be thrown in her way when -we return to England!”</p> - -<p>“She is a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rara avis</i>,” cried Captain Pullen enthusiastically,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span> -“she certainly must know some good people -if men like Naggett and Menzies have been at her house, -and yet the way she advertises her boots and shoes is -too delicious! O! dear yes! I cannot consent to cut the -Baroness Gobelli! I am half in love with her already!”</p> - -<p>Elinor Leyton made a gesture of disgust.</p> - -<p>“And you—who are considered to be one of the most -select and fastidious men in Town,” she said, “I wonder -at you!”</p> - -<p>Then he made a bad matter worse, by saying,</p> - -<p>“By the way, Margaret, who was that beautiful girl -who sat on the opposite side of the table?”</p> - -<p>“The <em>what</em>,” exclaimed Elinor Leyton, ungrammatically, -as she turned round upon the Digue and confronted -him.</p> - -<p>“He means Miss Brandt!” interposed Margaret, -hastily, “many people think that she is handsome!”</p> - -<p>“No one could think otherwise,” responded Ralph. -“Is she Spanish?”</p> - -<p>“O! no; her parents were English. She comes from -Jamaica!”</p> - -<p>“Ah! a drop of Creole blood in her then, I daresay! -You never see such eyes in an English face!”</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter with her eyes?” asked Elinor -sharply.</p> - -<p>“They’re very large and dark, you know, Elinor!” -said Mrs. Pullen, observing the cloud which was settling -down upon the girl’s face, “but it is not everybody who -admires dark eyes, or you and I would come off badly!”</p> - -<p>“Well, with all due deference to you, my fair sister-in-law,” -replied Ralph, with the stupidity of a selfish -man who never knows when he is wounding his hearers,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span> -“most people give the preference to dark eyes in women. -Anyway Miss Brandt (if that is her name) is a beauty -and no mistake!”</p> - -<p>“I can’t say that I admire your taste,” said Elinor, -“and I sincerely hope that Miss Brandt will not force -her company upon us whilst you are here. Margaret -and I have suffered more than enough already in that -respect! She is only half educated and knows nothing -of the world, and is altogether a most uninteresting -companion. I dislike her exceedingly!”</p> - -<p>“Ah! don’t forget her singing!” cried Margaret, unwittingly.</p> - -<p>“Does she sing?” demanded the Captain.</p> - -<p>“Yes! and wonderfully well for an amateur! She -plays the mandoline also. I think Elinor is a little hard -on her! Of course she is very young and unformed, but -she has only just come out of a convent where she has -been educated for the last ten years. What can you -expect of a girl who has never been out in Society? I -know that she is very good-natured, and has waited on -baby as if she had been her servant!”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you think we have had about enough of Miss -Harriet Brandt?” said Elinor, “I want to hear what Ralph -thinks of Heyst, or if he advises our going on to Ostende. -I believe Ostende is much gayer and brighter than -Heyst!”</p> - -<p>“But we must wait now till Doctor Phillips joins us,” -interposed Margaret.</p> - -<p>“He could come after us, if Ralph preferred Ostende -or Blankenburghe,” said Elinor eagerly.</p> - -<p>“My dear ladies,” exclaimed Captain Pullen, “allow -me to form an opinion of Heyst first, and then we will<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span> -talk about other places. This seems pleasant enough in -all conscience to me now!”</p> - -<p>“O! you two are bound to think any place pleasant,” -laughed Margaret, “but I think I must go in to my -baby! I do not feel easy to be away from her too long, -now that she is ailing. But there is no need for you to -come in, Elinor! It is only just nine o’clock!”</p> - -<p>“I would rather accompany you,” replied Miss -Leyton, primly.</p> - -<p>“No! no! Elinor, stay with me! If you are tired -we can sit in the balcony. I have seen nothing of you -yet!” remonstrated her lover.</p> - -<p>She consented to sit in the balcony with him for a -few minutes, but she would not permit his chair to be -placed too close to hers.</p> - -<p>“The waiters pass backward and forward,” she said, -“and what would they think?”</p> - -<p>“The deuce take what they think,” replied Captain -Pullen, “I haven’t seen you for two months, and you -keep me at arms’ length as if I should poison you! -What do you suppose a man is made of?”</p> - -<p>“My dear Ralph, you know it is nothing of the kind, -but it is quite impossible that we can sit side by side -like a pair of turtle doves in a public Hotel like this!”</p> - -<p>“Let us go up to your room then?”</p> - -<p>“To my bedroom?” she ejaculated with horror.</p> - -<p>“To Margaret’s room then! she won’t be so prudish, -I’m sure! Anywhere where I can speak to you -alone!”</p> - -<p>“The nurse will be in Margaret’s room, with little -Ethel!”</p> - -<p>“Hang it all, then, come for another walk! Let us<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span> -go away from the town, out on those sand hills. I’m -sure no one will see us there!”</p> - -<p>“Dear Ralph, you must be reasonable! If I were -seen walking about Heyst alone with you at night, it -would be all over the town to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>“Let it be! Where’s the harm?”</p> - -<p>“But I have kept our engagement most scrupulously -secret! No one knows anything, but that you are Margaret’s -brother-in-law! You don’t know how they gossip -and chatter in a place like this. I could never consent -to appear at the public <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">table d’hôte</i> again, if I thought -that all those vulgarians had been discussing my most -private affairs!”</p> - -<p>“O! well! just as you choose!” replied Ralph Pullen -discontentedly, “but I suppose you will not object to <em>my</em> -taking another turn along the Digue before I go to bed! -Here, garçon, bring me a chasse! Good-night, then, if -you will not stay!”</p> - -<p>“It is not that I <em>will</em> not—it is that I <em>cannot</em>, Ralph!” -said Miss Leyton, as she gave him her hand. “Good-night! -I hope you will find your room comfortable, and -if it is fine to-morrow, we will have a nice walk in whichever -direction you prefer!”</p> - -<p>“And much good that will be!” grumbled the young -man, as he lighted his cigarette and strolled out again -upon the Digue.</p> - -<p>As he stood for a moment looking out upon the sea, -which was one mass of silvery ripples, he heard himself -called by name. He looked up. The Gobellis had a -private sitting-room facing the Digue on the ground floor, -and the Baroness was leaning out of the open window, -and beckoning to him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span></p> - -<p>“Won’t you come in and ’ave a whiskey and soda?” -she asked. “The Baron ’as ’is own whiskey ’ere, real -Scotch, none of your nasty Belgian stuff, ’alf spirits of -wine and ’alf varnish! Come along! We’ve got a jolly -little parlour, and my little friend ’Arriet Brandt shall -sing to you! Unless you’re off on some lark of your -own, eh?”</p> - -<p>“No! indeed,” replied Ralph, “I was only wondering -what I should do with myself for the next hour. Thank -you so much! I’ll come with pleasure.”</p> - -<p>And in another minute he was seated in the company -of the Baron and Baroness and Harriet Brandt.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>The day had heralded in the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Bataille de Fleurs</i> and -all Heyst was <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en fête</i>. The little furnished villas, hired -for the season, were all built alike, with a balcony, on -the ground floor, which was transformed into a veritable -bower for the occasion. Villa Imperatrice vied with Villa -Mentone and Villa Sebastien, as to which decoration -should be the most beautiful and effective, and the result -was a long line of arbours garlanded with every sort of -blossom. From early morning, the occupants were busy, -entwining their pillars with evergreens, interspersed with -flags and knots of ribbon, whilst the balustrades were -laden with growing flowers and the tables inside bore -vases of severed blooms. One balcony was decorated -with corn, poppies and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">bluets</i>, whilst the next would display -pink roses mixed with the delicate blue of the sea-nettle, -and the third would be all yellow silk and white -marguerites. The procession of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">charrettes</i>, and the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Bataille</i><span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span> -itself was not to commence till the afternoon, so -the visitors crowded the sands as usual in the morning, -leaving the temporary owners of the various villas, to toil -for their gratification, during their absence. Margaret -Pullen felt sad as she sat in the hotel balcony, watching -the proceedings on each side of her. She had intended -her baby’s perambulator to take part in the procession -of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">charrettes</i>, and had ordered a quantity of white field-lilies -with which to decorate it. It was to be a veritable -triumph—so she and Miss Leyton had decided between -themselves—and she had fondly pictured how lovely -little Ethel would look with her fluffy yellow hair, lying -amongst the blossoms, but now baby was too languid -and ill to be taken out of doors, and Margaret had given -all the flowers to the little Montagues, who were trimming -their mail-cart with them, in their own fashion. As she -sat there, with a pensive, thoughtful look upon her face, -Harriet Brandt, dressed in a costume of grass-cloth, with -a broad-brimmed hat, nodding with poppies and green -leaves, that wonderfully became her, on her head, entered -the balcony with an eager, excited appearance.</p> - -<p>“O! Mrs. Pullen! have you seen the Baroness?” she -exclaimed. “We are going to bathe this morning. Aren’t -you coming down to the sands?”</p> - -<p>“No! Miss Brandt, not to-day. I am unhappy about -my dear baby! I am sure you will be sorry to hear that -she has been quite ill all night—so restless and feverish!”</p> - -<p>“O! she’ll be all right directly her teeth come -through!” replied Harriet indifferently, as her eyes -scanned the scene before them. “There’s the Baroness! -She’s beckoning to me! Good-bye!” and without a word<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span> -of sympathy or comfort, she rushed away to join her -friends.</p> - -<p>“Like the way of the world!” thought Margaret, as -she watched the girl skimming over the sands, “but -somehow—I didn’t think she would be so heartless!”</p> - -<p>Miss Leyton and her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fiancé</i> had strolled off after -breakfast to take a walk, and Mrs. Pullen went back to -her own room, and sat down quietly to needlework. -She was becoming very anxious for Doctor Phillips’ arrival; -had even written to England to ask him to hurry -it if possible—for her infant, though not positively ill, -rejected her food so often that she was palpably thinner -and weaker.</p> - -<p>After she had sat there for some time, she took up -her field glasses, to survey the bathers on the beach. -She had often done so before, when confined to the -hotel—it afforded her amusement to watch their faces -and antics. On the present occasion, she had no difficulty -in distinguishing the form of the Baroness Gobelli, -looking enormous as, clad in a most conspicuous bathing -costume, she waddled from her machine into the water, -loudly calling attention to her appearance, from all assembled -on the sands, as she went. The Baron, looking -little less comical, advanced to conduct his spouse -down to the water, whilst after them flew a slight boyish -figure in yellow, with a mane of dark hair hanging down -her back, which Margaret immediately recognised as -that of Harriet Brandt.</p> - -<p>She was dancing about in the shallow water, shrieking -whenever she made a false step, and clinging hold -of the Baron’s hand, when Margaret saw another gentleman -come up to them, and join in the ring. She turned<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span> -the glasses upon him and saw to her amazement that it -was her brother-in-law. Her first feeling was that of -annoyance. There was nothing extraordinary or improper, -in his joining the Baroness’s party—men and -women bathed promiscuously in Heyst, and no one -thought anything of it. But that Ralph should voluntarily -mix himself up with the Gobellis, after Elinor’s particular -request that he should keep aloof from them, was a -much more serious matter. And by the way, that reminded -her, where was Elinor the while? Margaret -could not discern her anywhere upon the sands, and -wondered if she had also been persuaded to bathe. She -watched Captain Pullen, evidently trying to induce Miss -Brandt to venture further into the water, holding out -both hands for her protection,—she also saw her yield -to his persuasion, and leaving go of her hold on the -Herr Baron, trust herself entirely to the stranger’s care. -Mrs. Pullen turned from the window with a sigh. She -hoped there were not going to be any “ructions” between -Ralph and Elinor—but she would not have liked -her to see him at that moment. She bestowed a silent -benediction, “not loud but deep” on the foreign fashion -of promiscuous bathing, and walked across the corridor -to her friend’s room, to see if she had returned to the -Hotel. To her surprise, she found Miss Leyton dismantled -of her walking attire, soberly seated at her table, -writing letters.</p> - -<p>“Why! Elinor,” she said, “I thought you were out -with Ralph!”</p> - -<p>The young lady was quite composed.</p> - -<p>“So I was,” she answered, “until half an hour ago! -But as he then expressed his determination to bathe, I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span> -left him to his own devices and came back to write my -letters.”</p> - -<p>“Would he not have preferred your waiting on the -sands till he could join you again?”</p> - -<p>“I did not ask him! I should think he would hardly -care for me to watch him whilst bathing, and I am sure -I should not consent to do so!”</p> - -<p>“But everybody does it here, Elinor, and if you did -not care to go down to the beach, you might have waited -for him on the Digue.”</p> - -<p>“My dear Margaret, I am not in the habit of dancing -attendance upon men. It is their business to come after -me! If Ralph is eager for another walk after his dip, -he can easily call for me here!”</p> - -<p>“True! and he can as easily go for his walk with -any stray acquaintance he may pick up on the sands!”</p> - -<p>“O! if he should prefer it, he is welcome to do so,” -replied Elinor, resuming her scribbling.</p> - -<p>“My dear Elinor, I don’t think you quite understand -Ralph! He has been terribly spoilt, you know, and -when men have been accustomed to attention they will -take it wherever they can get it! He has come over -here expressly to be with you, so I think you should -give him every minute of your time. Men are fickle -creatures, my dear! It will take some time yet to despoil -them of the idea that women were made for their -convenience.”</p> - -<p>“I am afraid the man is not born yet for whose -convenience I was made!”</p> - -<p>“Well! you know the old saying: ‘Most women can -catch a man, but it takes a clever woman to keep him.’ -I don’t mean to insinuate that you are in any danger of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span> -losing Ralph, but I think he’s quite worth keeping, and, -I believe, you think so too!”</p> - -<p>“And I mean to keep him!” replied Miss Leyton, as -she went on writing.</p> - -<p>Margaret did not venture to give her any further -hints, but returned to her own room, and took another -look through her spyglass.</p> - -<p>The bathers in whom she was interested had returned -to their machines by this time, and presently -emerged, “clothed and in their right minds,” Miss Brandt -looking more attractive than before, with her long hair -hanging down her back to dry. And then, that occurred -which she had been anticipating. Captain Pullen, having -taken a survey of the beach, and seeing none of his -own party there, climbed with Harriet Brandt to where -they were high and dry above the tide, and threw himself -down on the hot, loose sand by her side, whilst the -Baron and Baroness with a laughing injunction to the -two young people, to take care of themselves, toiled up -to the Digue and walked off in another direction.</p> - -<p>When they all met at <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">déjeuner</i>, she attacked her -brother-in-law on the subject.</p> - -<p>“Have you been bathing all this while?” she said to -him, “you must have stayed very long in the water!”</p> - -<p>“O! dear no!” he replied, “I wasn’t in above a -quarter of an hour!”</p> - -<p>“And what have you been doing since?”</p> - -<p>“Strolling about, looking for you and Elinor!” said -Captain Pullen. “Why the dickens didn’t you come out -this lovely morning?”</p> - -<p>“I could not leave baby!” cried Margaret shortly.</p> - -<p>“And I was writing,” chimed in Elinor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span></p> - -<p>“Very well, ladies, if you prefer your own company -to mine, of course I have nothing to say against it! But -I suppose you are not going to shut yourselves up this -afternoon!”</p> - -<p>“O! no. It is a public duty to attend the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Bataille -de Fleurs</i>. Have you bought any confetti, Ralph?”</p> - -<p>“I have! Miss Brandt was good enough to show -me where to get them, and we are well provided. There -is to be a race between lady jockeys at the end of the -Digue too, I perceive!”</p> - -<p>“What, with horses?”</p> - -<p>“I conclude so. I see they have railed in a portion -of ground for the purpose,” replied Captain Pullen.</p> - -<p>“’Ow could they race without ’orses?” called out the -Baroness.</p> - -<p>Harriet Brandt did not join in the conversation, but -she was gazing all the while at Ralph Pullen—not -furtively as she had done the day before, but openly, -and unabashedly, as though she held a proprietary right -in him. Margaret noticed her manner at once and interpreted -it aright, but Miss Leyton, true to her principles, -never raised her eyes in her direction and ignored everything -that came from that side of the table.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Pullen was annoyed; she knew how angry Elinor -would be if she intercepted any telegraphic communication -between her lover and Miss Brandt; and she rose -from the table as soon as possible, in order to avert -such a catastrophe. She had never considered her -brother-in-law a very warm wooer, and she fancied that -his manner towards Miss Leyton was more indifferent -than usual. She took one turn with them along the -Digue to admire the flower-bedecked villas, which were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span> -in full beauty, and then returned to her nursery, glad of -an excuse to leave them together, and give Elinor a -chance of becoming more cordial and affectionate to -Ralph, than she had yet appeared to be. The lovers -had not been alone long, however, before they were -waylaid, to the intense disgust of Elinor, by Harriet -Brandt and her friend, Olga Brimont.</p> - -<p>Still further to her annoyance, Captain Pullen seemed -almost to welcome the impertinent interference of the -two girls, who could scarcely have had the audacity to -join their company, unless he had invited them to do so.</p> - -<p>“The <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">charrettes</i> are just about to start!” exclaimed -Harriet. “O! they are lovely, and such dear little children! -I am so glad that the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Bataille de Fleurs</i> takes place to-day, -because my friend’s brother, Alfred Brimont, is -coming to take her to Brussels the day after to-morrow!”</p> - -<p>“Brussels is a jolly place. Mademoiselle Brimont -will enjoy herself there,” said Ralph. “There are theatres, -and balls and picture-galleries, and every pleasure that -a young lady’s heart can desire!”</p> - -<p>“Have you been to Brussels?” asked Harriet.</p> - -<p>“Yes! when I was a nasty little boy in jacket and -trousers. I was placed at Mr. Jackson’s English school -there, in order that I might learn French, but I’m afraid -that was the last thing I acquired. The Jackson boys -were known all over the town for the greatest nuisances -in it!”</p> - -<p>“What did you do?”</p> - -<p>“What did we <em>not</em> do? We tore up and down the -rue Montagne de la Cour at all hours of the day, shouting -and screaming and getting into scrapes. We ran -up bills at the shops which we had no money to pay—we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span> -appeared at every place of amusement—and we made -love to all the school-girls, till we had become a terror -to the school-mistresses.”</p> - -<p>“What naughty boys!” remarked Miss Brandt, with -a side glance at Miss Leyton. She did not like to say -all she thought before this very stiff and proper young -English lady. “But Captain Pullen,” she continued, -“where are the confetti? Have you forgotten them? -Shall I go and buy some more?”</p> - -<p>“No! no! my pockets are stuffed with them,” he -said, producing two bags, of which he handed Harriet -one. Her thanks were conveyed by throwing a large -handful of tiny pieces of blue and white and pink paper -(which do duty for the more dangerous chalk sugar-plums) -at him and which covered his tweed suit and -sprinkled his fair hair and moustaches. He returned -the compliment by flying after her retreating figure, and -liberally showering confetti upon her.</p> - -<p>“O! Ralph! I do hope you are not going to engage -in this horse-play,” exclaimed Elinor Leyton, “because -if so I would rather return to the Hotel. Surely, we -may leave such vulgarities to the common people, and—Miss -Harriet Brandt!”</p> - -<p>“What nonsense!” he replied. “It’s evident you’ve -never been in Rome during the Carnival! Why, everyone -does it! It’s the national custom. If you imagine -I’m going to stand by, like a British tourist and stare at -everything, without joining in the fun, you’re very much -mistaken!”</p> - -<p>“But is it fun?” questioned Miss Leyton.</p> - -<p>“To me it is! Here goes!” he cried, as he threw<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span> -a handful of paper into the face of a passing stranger, -who gave him as good as she had got, in return.</p> - -<p>“I call it low—positively vulgar,” said Miss Leyton, -“to behave so familiarly with people one has never seen -before—of whose antecedents one knows nothing! I -should be very much surprised if the mob behaved in -such a manner towards me. Oh!”</p> - -<p>The exclamation was induced by the action of some -young <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">épicier</i>, or hotel <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">garçon</i>, who threw a mass of confetti -into her face with such violence as almost for the -moment to blind her.</p> - -<p>“Ha! ha! ha!” roared Ralph Pullen with his healthy -British lungs, as he saw her outraged feelings depicted -in her countenance.</p> - -<p>“I thought you’d get it before long!” he said, as she -attempted to brush the offending paper off her mantle.</p> - -<p>“It has not altered my opinion of the indecency of -the custom!” she replied.</p> - -<p>“Never mind!” he returned soothingly. “Here come -the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">charrettes</i>.”</p> - -<p>They were really a charming sight. On one cart -was drawn a boat, with little children dressed as fishermen -and fisherwomen—another represented a harvest-field, -with the tiny haymakers and reapers—whilst a third -was piled with wool to represent snow, on the top of -which were seated three little girls attired as Esquimaux. -The mail-carts, and perambulators belonging to -the visitors to Heyst were also well represented, and -beautifully trimmed with flowers. The first prize was -embowered in lilies and white roses, whilst its tiny inmate -was seated in state as the Goddess Flora, with a -wreath twined in her golden curls. The second was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span> -taken by a gallant Neapolitan fisherman of about four -years old, who wheeled a mail cart of pink roses, in -which sat his little sisters, dressed as angels with large -white wings. The third was a wheel-barrow hidden in -moss and narcissi, on which reposed a Sleeping Beauty -robed in white tissue, with a coronal of forget-me-nots.</p> - -<p>Harriet Brandt fell into ecstasies over everything she -saw. When pleased and surprised, she expressed herself -more like a child than a young woman, and became -extravagant and ungovernable. She tried to kiss each -baby that took part in the procession, and thrust coins -into their chubby hands to buy bonbons and confetti -with. Captain Pullen thought her conduct most natural -and unaffected; but Miss Leyton insisted that it was all -put on for effect. Olga Brimont tried to put in a good -word for her friend.</p> - -<p>“Harriet is very fond of children,” she said, “but -she has never seen any—there were no children at the -Convent under ten years of age, so she does not know -how to make enough of them when she meets them. -She wants to kiss every one. Sometimes, I tell her, I -think she would like to eat them. But she only means -to be kind!”</p> - -<p>“I am sure of that!” said Captain Pullen.</p> - -<p>“But she should be told,” interposed Elinor, “that -it is not the custom in civilised countries for strangers -to kiss every child they meet, any more than it is to -speak before being introduced, or to bestow their company -where it is not desired. Miss Brandt has a great -deal to learn in that respect before she can enter English -Society!”</p> - -<p>As is often the case when a woman becomes unjust<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span> -in abusing another, Miss Leyton made Captain Pullen -say more to cover her discourtesy, than, in other circumstances, -he would have done.</p> - -<p>“Miss Brandt,” he said slowly, “is so beautiful, that -she will have a great deal forgiven her, that would not -be overlooked in a plainer woman.”</p> - -<p>“That may be <em>your</em> opinion, but it is not mine,” -replied Miss Leyton.</p> - -<p>Her tone was so acid, that it sent him flying from -her side, to battle with his confetti against the tribe of -Montagues, who fortunately for the peace of all parties, -joined their forces to theirs, and after some time spent -on the Digue, they returned, a large party, to the Hotel.</p> - -<p>It was not until they had sat down to dinner, that -they remembered they had never been to see the lady -jockey race.</p> - -<p>“He! he! he!” laughed Madame Gobelli, “but <em>I</em> did, -and you lost something, I can tell you! We ’ad great -difficulty to get seats, but when we did, it was worth it, -wasn’t it, Gustave?”</p> - -<p>“<em>You</em> said so, mein tear!” replied the Baron, gravely.</p> - -<p>“And you <em>thought</em> so, you old rascal! don’t you tell -me! <em>I</em> saw your wicked eyes glozing at the gals in their -breeches and boots! There weren’t any ’orses, after all, -Captain Pullen, but sixteen gals with different-coloured -jackets on and top boots and tight white breeches—such -a sight you never saw! Gustave ’ere did ’ave a treat! -As for Bobby, when I found we couldn’t get out again, -because of the crowd, I tied my ’andkerchief over ’is -eyes, and made him put ’is ’ead in my lap!”</p> - -<p>“Dear! dear!” cried Ralph, laughing, “was it as bad -as that, Madame?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span></p> - -<p>“Bad! my dear boy! It was as bad as it could be! -It’s a mercy you weren’t there, or we shouldn’t ’ave -seen you ’ome again so soon! There were the sixteen -gals, with their tight breeches and their short racing -jackets, and a fat fellow dressed like a huntsman whipping -’em round and round the ring, as if they were so -much cattle! You should ’ave seen them ’op, when he -touched ’em up with the lash of ’is whip. I expect -they’ve never ’ad such a tingling since the time their -mothers smacked ’em! There was a little fat one, there! -I wish you could ’ave seen ’er, when ’e whipped ’er to -make ’er ’urry! It was comical! She ’opped like a -kangaroo!”</p> - -<p>“And what was the upshot of it all? Who won?” -asked Ralph.</p> - -<p>“O! I don’t know! I got Gustave out as soon as I -could! I wasn’t going to let ’im spend the whole afternoon, -watching those gals ’opping. There were ’is eyes -goggling out of ’is ’ead, and his lips licking each other, -as if ’e was sucking a sugar-stick—”</p> - -<p>“Mein tear! mein tear!” interposed the unfortunate -Baron.</p> - -<p>“You go on with your dinner, Gustave, and leave -me alone! <em>I</em> saw you! And no more lady jockey races -do you attend, whilst we’re in this Popish country. They -ain’t good for you.”</p> - -<p>“I’m very thankful that I have been saved such a -dangerous experiment,” said Captain Pullen, “though if -I thought that you would tie your handkerchief over my -eyes, and put my head in your lap, Madame, I should -feel tempted to try it as soon as dinner is over!”</p> - -<p>“Go along with you, you bad boy!” chuckled the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span> -Baroness, “there’s something else to see this evening! -They are going to ’ave a procession of lanterns as soon -as it’s dark!”</p> - -<p>“And it is to stop in front of every hotel,” added -Harriet, “and the landlords are going to distribute bonbons -and gâteaux amongst the lantern-bearers.”</p> - -<p>“O! we must not miss that on any account!” replied -Captain Pullen, addressing himself to her in reply.</p> - -<p>Margaret and Elinor thought, when the time came, -that they should be able to see the procession of lanterns -just as well from the balcony as when mingled -with the crowd, so they brought their work and books -down there, and sat with Ralph, drinking coffee and -conversing of all that had occurred. The Baroness had -disappeared, and Harriet Brandt had apparently gone -with her—a fact for which both ladies were inwardly -thankful.</p> - -<p>Presently, as the dusk fell, the procession of lanterns -could be seen wending its way from the further end of -the Digue. It was a very pretty and fantastical sight. -The bearers were not only children—many grown men -and women took part in it, and the devices into which -the Chinese lanterns had been formed were quaint and -clever. Some held a ring around them, as milkmaids -carry their pails—others held crosses and banners designed -in tiny lanterns, far above their heads. One, -which could be seen topping all the rest, was poised -like a skipping-rope over the bearer’s shoulders, whilst -the coloured lanterns swung inside it, like a row of bells. -The members of the procession shouted, or sang, or -danced, or walked steadily, as suited their temperaments, -and came along, a merry crowd, up and down the Digue,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span> -stopping at the various hotels for largesse in the shape -of cakes and sugar-plums.</p> - -<p>Ralph Pullen found his eyes wandering more than -once in the direction of the Baroness’s sitting-room, to -see if he could catch a glimpse of her or her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">protégée</i> -(as Harriet Brandt seemed to be now universally acknowledged -to be), but he heard no sound, nor caught a -glimpse of them, and concluded in consequence that -they had left the hotel again.</p> - -<p>“Whoever is carrying that skipping-rope of lanterns -seems to be in a merry mood,” observed Margaret after -a while, “for it is jumping up and down in the most -extravagant manner! She must be dancing! Do look, -Elinor!”</p> - -<p>“I see! I suppose this sort of childish performance -amuses a childish people, but for my own part, I think -once of it is quite enough, and am thankful that we are -not called upon to admire it in England!”</p> - -<p>“O! I think it is rather interesting,” remarked Margaret, -“I only wish my dear baby had been well enough -to enjoy it! How she would have screamed and cooed -at those bright-coloured lanterns! But when I tried to -attract her attention to them just now, she only whined -to be put into her cot again. How thankful I shall be -to see dear Doctor Phillips to-morrow!”</p> - -<p>The procession had reached the front of the Hotel -by this time, and halted there for refreshment. The -waiters, Jules and Phillippe and Henri, appeared with -plates of dessert and cakes and threw them indiscriminately -amongst the people. One of the foremost -to jump and scramble to catch the falling sweetmeats -was the girl who carried the lantern-skipping rope above<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span> -her head, and in whom Ralph Pullen, to his astonishment, -recognised Harriet Brandt. There she was, fantastically -dressed in a white frock, and a broad yellow -sash, with her magnificent hair loose and wreathed with -scarlet flowers. She looked amazingly handsome, like -a Bacchante, and her appearance and air of abandon, -sent the young man’s blood into his face and up to the -roots of his fair hair.</p> - -<p>“Surely!” exclaimed Margaret, “that is never Miss -Brandt!”</p> - -<p>“Yes! it is,” cried Harriet, “I’m having the most -awful fun! Why don’t you come too? I’ve danced the -whole way up the Digue, and it is so warm! I wish the -waiters would give us something to drink! I’ve eaten so -many bonbons I feel quite sick!”</p> - -<p>“What will you take, Miss Brandt?” asked Captain -Pullen eagerly, “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">limonade</i> or soda water?”</p> - -<p>“A <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">limonade</i>, please! You <em>are</em> good!” she replied, -as he handed her the tumbler over the balcony balustrades. -“Come along and dance with me!”</p> - -<p>“I cannot! I am with my sister and Miss Leyton!” -he replied.</p> - -<p>“O! pray do not let <em>us</em> prevent you,” said Elinor -in her coldest voice; “Margaret was just going upstairs -and I am quite ready to accompany her!”</p> - -<p>“No, no, Elinor,” whispered Mrs. Pullen with a shake -of her head, “stay here, and keep Ralph company!”</p> - -<p>“But it is nearly ten o’clock,” replied Miss Leyton, -consulting her watch, “and I have been on my feet all -day! and feel quite ready for bed. Good-night, Ralph!” -she continued, offering him her hand.</p> - -<p>“Well! if you two are really going to bed, I shall go<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span> -too,” said Captain Pullen, rising, “for there will be -nothing for me to do here after you’re gone!”</p> - -<p>“Not even to follow the procession?” suggested Miss -Leyton, with a smile.</p> - -<p>“Don’t talk nonsense!” he rejoined crossly. “Am I -the sort of man to go bobbing up and down the Digue -amongst a parcel of children?”</p> - -<p>He shook hands with them both, and walked away -rather sulkily to his own quarter of the hotel. But he -did not go to bed. He waited until some fifteen minutes -had elapsed, and then telling himself that it was impossible -to sleep at that hour, and that if Elinor chose -to behave like a bear, it was not his fault, he came -downstairs again and sauntered out on the sea front.</p> - -<p>It was very lonely there at that moment. The procession -had turned and gone down to the other end -again, where its lights and banners could be seen, waving -about in the still summer air.</p> - -<p>“Why shouldn’t the girl jump about and enjoy herself -if she chooses,” thought Ralph Pullen. “Elinor makes -no allowances for condition or age, but would have everyone -as prim and old-maidish as herself. I declare she -gets worse each time I see her! A nice sort of wife she -will make if this kind of thing goes on! But by Jingo! -if we are ever married, I’ll take her prudery out of her, -and make her—what? The woman who commences by -pursing her mouth up at everything, ends by opening it -wider than anybody else! There’s twice as much harm -in a prude as in one of these frank open-hearted girls, -whose eyes tell you what they’re thinking of, the first -time you see them!”</p> - -<p>He had been strolling down the Digue as he pondered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span> -thus, and now found himself meeting the procession -again.</p> - -<p>“Come and dance with me,” cried Harriet Brandt, -who, apparently as fresh as ever, was still waving her -branch of lanterns to the measure of her steps. He -took her hand and tried to stop her.</p> - -<p>“Haven’t you had about enough of this?” he said, -“I’m sure you must be tired. Here’s a little boy without -a lantern! Give him yours to hold, and come for -a little walk with me!”</p> - -<p>The touch of his cool hand upon her heated palm, -seemed to rouse all the animal in Harriet Brandt’s blood. -Her hand, very slight and lissom, clung to his with a -force of which he had not thought it capable, and he -felt it trembling in his clasp.</p> - -<p>“Come!” he repeated coaxingly, “you mustn’t dance -any more or you will overtire yourself! Come with me -and get cool and rest!”</p> - -<p>She threw her branch of lanterns to the boy beside -her impetuously.</p> - -<p>“Here!” she cried, “take them! I don’t want them -any more! And take me away,” she continued to Ralph, -but without letting go of his hand. “You are right! I -want—I want—rest!”</p> - -<p>Her slight figure swayed towards him as he led her -out of the crowd, and across a narrow street, to where -the road ran behind all the houses and hotels, and was -dark and empty and void. The din of the voices, and -the trampling of feet, and the echo of the songs still -reached them, but they could see nothing—the world -was on the Digue, and they were in the dusk and quietude -together—and alone.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span></p> - -<p>Ralph felt the slight form beside him lean upon his -shoulder till their faces almost touched. He threw his -arm about her waist. Her hot breath fanned his cheek.</p> - -<p>“Kiss me!” she murmured in a dreamy voice.</p> - -<p>Captain Pullen was not slow to accept the invitation -so confidingly extended. What Englishman would be? -He turned his face to Harriet Brandt’s, and her full red -lips met his own, in a long-drawn kiss, that seemed to -sap his vitality. As he raised his head again, he felt -faint and sick, but quickly recovering himself, he gave -her a second kiss more passionate, if possible, than the -first. Then the following whispered conversation ensued -between them.</p> - -<p>“Do you know,” he commenced, with his head close -to hers, “that you are the very jolliest little girl that I -have ever met!”</p> - -<p>“And you—you are the man I have dreamt of, but -never seen till now!”</p> - -<p>“How is that? Am I so different from the rest of -my sex?”</p> - -<p>“Very—very different! So strong and brave and -beautiful!”</p> - -<p>“Dear little girl! And so you really like me?”</p> - -<p>“I love you,” said Harriet feverishly, “I loved you -the first minute we met.”</p> - -<p>“And I love you! You’re awfully sweet and pretty, -you know!”</p> - -<p>“Do you really think so? What would Mrs. Pullen -say if she heard you?”</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Pullen is not the keeper of my conscience. -But she must not hear it.”</p> - -<p>“O! no! nor Miss Leyton either!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span></p> - -<p>“Most certainly not Miss Leyton. She is a terrible -prude! She would be awfully shocked!”</p> - -<p>“It must be a secret,—just between you and me!” -murmured the girl.</p> - -<p>“Just so! A sweet little secret, all our own, and -nobody else’s!”</p> - -<p>And then the fair head and the dark one came -again in juxtaposition, and the rest was lost in—Silence!</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>Doctor Phillips had not been in the Hôtel Lion -d’Or five minutes before Margaret Pullen took him upstairs -to see her baby. She was becoming terribly anxious -about her. They encountered Captain Ralph Pullen on -the staircase.</p> - -<p>“Hullo! young man, and what have <em>you</em> been doing -to yourself?” exclaimed the doctor.</p> - -<p>He was certainly looking ill. His face was chalky -white, and his eyes seemed to have lost their brightness -and colour.</p> - -<p>“Been up racketing late at night?” continued Doctor -Phillips. “What is Miss Leyton about, not to look after -you better?”</p> - -<p>“No, indeed, Doctor,” replied the young man with -a smile, “I am sure my sister-in-law will testify to the -good hours I have kept since here. But I have a headache -this morning—a rather bad one,” he added, with his -hand to the nape of his neck.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps this place doesn’t agree with you—it was -always rather famous for its smells, if I remember aright!<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span> -However, I am going to see Miss Ethel Pullen now, and -when I have finished with her, I will look after you!”</p> - -<p>“No, thank you, Doctor,” said Ralph laughing, as he -descended the stairs. “None of your nostrums for me! -Keep them for the baby!”</p> - -<p>“He is not looking well,” observed Doctor Phillips to -Margaret, as they walked on together.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think he is, now you point it out to me, -but I have not noticed it before,” replied Margaret. “I -am sure he has been living quietly enough whilst -here!”</p> - -<p>The infant was lying as she had now done for several -days past—quite tranquil and free from pain, but inert -and half asleep. The doctor raised her eyelids and -examined her eyeballs—felt her pulse and listened to -her heart—but he did not seem to be satisfied.</p> - -<p>“What has this child been having?” he asked abruptly.</p> - -<p>“Having, Doctor? Why! nothing, of course, but her -milk, and I have always that from the same cow!”</p> - -<p>“No opium—no soothing syrup, nor quackeries of -any kind?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly not! You know how often you have -warned me against anything of the sort!”</p> - -<p>“And no one has had the charge of her, except you -and the nurse here? You can both swear she has never -been tampered with?”</p> - -<p>“O! I think so, certainly, yes! Baby has never been -from under the eye of one or the other of us. A young -lady resident in the hotel—a Miss Brandt—has often -nursed her and played with her, but one of us has -always been there at the time.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span></p> - -<p>“A Miss—what did you say?” demanded the doctor, -sharply.</p> - -<p>“A Miss Brandt—a very good-natured girl, who is -fond of children!”</p> - -<p>“Very well then! I will go at once to the pharmacien’s, -and get a prescription made up for your baby, -and I hope that your anxiety may soon be relieved!”</p> - -<p>“O! thank you, Doctor, so much!” exclaimed Margaret -“I knew you would do her good, as soon as you -saw her!”</p> - -<p>But the doctor was not so sure of himself. He -turned the case over and over in his mind as he walked -to the chemist’s shop, wondering how such a state of -exhaustion and collapse could have been brought about.</p> - -<p>The baby had her first dose and the doctor had just -time to wash and change his travelling suit before they -all met at the dinner-table.</p> - -<p>Here they found the party opposite augmented by -the arrival of Monsieur Alfred Brimont, a young Brussels -tradesman, who had come over to Heyst to conduct his -sister home. He was trying to persuade Harriet Brandt -to accompany Olga and stay a few days with them, but -the girl—with a long look in the direction of Captain -Pullen—shook her head determinedly.</p> - -<p>“O! you might come, Harriet, just for a few days,” -argued Olga, “now that the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Bataille de Fleurs</i> is over, -there is nothing left to stay for in Heyst, and Alfred -says that Brussels is such a beautiful place.”</p> - -<p>“There are the theatres, and the Parc, and the -Quinçonce, and Wauxhall!” said young Brimont, persuasively. -“Mademoiselle would enjoy herself, I have no -doubt!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span></p> - -<p>But Harriet still negatived the proposal.</p> - -<p>“Why shouldn’t we make up a party and all go together,” -suggested the Baroness, “me and the Baron and -Bobby and ’Arriet? You would like it then, my dear, -wouldn’t you?” she said to the girl, “and you really -should see Brussels before we go ’ome! What do you -say, Gustave? We’d go to the Hôtel de Saxe, and see -everything! It wouldn’t take us more than a week or -ten days.”</p> - -<p>“Do as you like, mein tear,” acquiesced the Baron.</p> - -<p>“And why shouldn’t you come with us, Captain?” -continued Madame Gobelli to Ralph. “You don’t look -quite the thing to me! A little change would do you -good. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy! -’Ave you been to Brussels?”</p> - -<p>“I lived there for years, Madame, and know every -part of it!” he replied.</p> - -<p>“Come and renew your acquaintance then, and take -me and ’Arriet about!! The Baron isn’t much good -when it comes to sight-seeing, are you, Gustave? ’E -likes ’is pipe and ’is slippers too well! But you’re young -and spry! Well! is it a bargain?”</p> - -<p>“I really could not decide in such a hurry,” said -Ralph, with a glance at Margaret and Elinor, “but we -might all go on to Brussels perhaps, a little later on.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think you must buoy up the hopes of the -Baroness and Miss Brandt with that idea,” remarked -Miss Leyton, coldly, “because I am sure that Mrs. Pullen -has no intention of doing anything of the sort. If you -wish to accompany Madame Gobelli’s party, you had -better make your arrangements without any reference -to us!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span></p> - -<p>“All right! If you prefer it, I will,” he answered in -the same indifferent tone.</p> - -<p>“<em>Who</em> is that young lady sitting opposite, with the -dark eyes?” demanded Doctor Phillips of Mrs. Pullen.</p> - -<p>“The same I spoke to you of, upstairs, as having -been kind to baby—Miss Harriet Brandt!”</p> - -<p>“I knew a Brandt once,” he answered. “Has she anything -to do with the West Indies?”</p> - -<p>“O! yes! she comes from Jamaica! She is an orphan, -the daughter of Doctor Henry Brandt, and has been -educated in the Ursuline Convent there! She is a young -lady with an independent fortune, and considered to be -quite a catch in Heyst!”</p> - -<p>“And you and Miss Leyton are intimate with her?”</p> - -<p>“She has attached herself very much to us since -coming here. She has few friends, poor girl!”</p> - -<p>“Will you introduce me?”</p> - -<p>“Miss Brandt, my friend, Doctor Phillips, wishes for -an introduction to you.”</p> - -<p>The usual courtesies passed between them, and then -the doctor said,</p> - -<p>“I fancy I knew your father, Miss Brandt, when I -was quartered in Jamaica with the Thirteenth Lances. -Did he not live on the top of the Hill, on a plantation -called Helvetia?”</p> - -<p>“That was the name of our place,” replied Harriet, -“but I left it when I was only eleven. My trustee, Mr. -Trawler, lives there now!”</p> - -<p>“Ah! Trawler the attorney! I have no doubt he -made as much out of the property as he could squeeze.”</p> - -<p>“Do you mean that he cheated me?” asked Harriet, -naïvely.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span></p> - -<p>“God forbid! my dear young lady. But he was a -great crony of your father’s, and a d—d sharp lawyer, -and those sort of gentry generally feather their own nest -pretty well, in payment of their friendship.”</p> - -<p>“He can’t do me any harm now,” said Harriet, “for -I have my property in my own hands!”</p> - -<p>“Quite right! quite right! that is, if you’re a business -woman,” rejoined the doctor. “And are you travelling -all by yourself?”</p> - -<p>Harriet was about to answer in the affirmative, when -the Baroness took the words out of her mouth.</p> - -<p>“No, Sir, she ain’t! She came over with her friend, -Mademoiselle Brimont, and now she’s under my chaperonage. -She’s a deal too ’andsome, ain’t she? to be travelling -about the world alone, with her money-bags under -her arm. My name’s the Baroness Gobelli,—this is my -’usband, Baron Gustave Gobelli, and this is my little boy, -Bobby Bates—by my first ’usband, you’ll understand—and -when you return to London, if you like to come -and see Miss Brandt at our ’ouse—the Red ’Ouse, ’Olloway, -we shall be very pleased to see you!”</p> - -<p>“I am sure, Madame, you are infinitely kind,” replied -Doctor Phillips gravely.</p> - -<p>“Not at all! You’ll meet no end of swells there, -Prince Loris of Taxelmein, and Prince Adalbert of Waxsquiemer, -and ’eaps of others. But all the same we’re -in trade, the Baron and I—and we’re not ashamed of -it either. We make boots and shoes! Our firm is Fantaisie -et Cie, of Oxford Street, and though I say it, you -won’t find better boots and shoes in all London than -ours. No brown paper soles, and rotten uppers! Not a -bit of it! It’s all genuine stuff with us. You can take<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span> -any boot out of the shop and rip it to pieces, and -prove what I say! The best materials, and the best -workmen, that’s our principle, and it answers. We can’t -make ’em fast enough!”</p> - -<p>“I have no doubt of it,” again gravely responded the -old doctor.</p> - -<p>“Ah! you might send some of your patients to us, -Doctor, and we’ll pay back by recommending you to our -friends. Are you a Gout man? Prince Adalbert ’as the -gout awfully! I’ve rubbed ’is feet with Elliman’s Embrocation, -by the hour together, but nothing gives ’im relief! -Now if you could cure ’im your fortune would be -made! ’E says it’s all the English climate, but <em>I</em> say -it’s over-eating, and ’e’d attend more to a medical man, -if ’e told ’im to diet, than ’e will to me!”</p> - -<p>“Doubtless, doubtless!” said the Doctor, in a dreamy -manner. He seemed to be lost in a reverie, and Margaret -had to touch his arm to remind him that the meal -was concluded.</p> - -<p>She wanted him to join the others in a promenade -and see the beauties of Heyst, but he was strangely -eager in declining it.</p> - -<p>“No! no! let the youngsters go and enjoy themselves, -but I want to speak to you, <em>alone</em>.”</p> - -<p>“My dear doctor, you frighten me! Nothing about -baby, I hope!”</p> - -<p>“Not at all! Don’t be foolish! But I want to talk -to you where we cannot be overheard.”</p> - -<p>“I think we had better wait till the rest have dispersed -then, and go down upon the sands. It is almost -impossible to be private in a hotel like this!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span></p> - -<p>“All right! Get your hat and we will stroll off together.”</p> - -<p>As soon as they were out of earshot, he commenced -abruptly,</p> - -<p>“It is about that Miss Brandt! You seem pretty intimate -with her! You must stop it at once. You must -have nothing more to do with her.”</p> - -<p>Margaret’s eyes opened wide with distress.</p> - -<p>“But, Doctor Phillips, for what reason? I don’t see -how we could give her up now, unless we leave the -place.”</p> - -<p>“Then leave the place! You mustn’t know her, neither -must Miss Leyton. She comes of a terrible parentage. -No good can ever ensue of association with her.”</p> - -<p>“You must tell me more than this, Doctor, if you -wish me to follow your advice!”</p> - -<p>“I will tell you all I know myself! Some twelve or -thirteen years ago I was quartered in medical charge of -the Thirteenth Lances, and stationed in Jamaica, where -I knew of, rather than knew, the father of this girl, -Henry Brandt. You called him a doctor—he was not -worthy of the name. He was a scientist perhaps—a -murderer certainly!”</p> - -<p>“How horrible! Do you really mean it?”</p> - -<p>“Listen to me! This man Brandt matriculated in -the Swiss hospitals, whence he was expelled for having -caused the death of more than one patient by trying his -scientific experiments upon them. The Swiss laboratories -are renowned for being the foremost in Vivisection -and other branches of science that gratify the -curiosity and harden the heart of man more than they -confer any lasting benefit on humanity. Even there,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span> -Henry Brandt’s barbarity was considered to render him -unfit for association with civilised practitioners, and he -was expelled with ignominy. Having a private fortune -he settled in Jamaica, and set up his laboratory there, -and I would not shock your ears by detailing one hundredth -part of the atrocities that were said to take place -under his supervision, and in company of this man -Trawler, whom the girl calls her trustee, and who is one -of the greatest brutes unhung.”</p> - -<p>“Are you not a little prejudiced, dear Doctor?”</p> - -<p>“Not at all! If when you have heard all, you still -say so, you are not the woman I have taken you for. -Brandt did not confine his scientific investigations to the -poor dumb creation. He was known to have decoyed -natives into his Pandemonium, who were never heard of -again, which raised, at last, the public feeling so much -against him, that I am glad to say that his negroes revolted, -and after having murdered him with appropriate -atrocity, set fire to his house and burned it and all his -property to the ground. Don’t look so shocked! I repeat -that I am <em>glad</em> to say it, for he richly deserved his -fate, and no torture could be too severe for one who spent -his worthless life in torturing God’s helpless animals!”</p> - -<p>“And his wife—” commenced Margaret.</p> - -<p>“He had no wife! He was never married!”</p> - -<p>“Never married! But this girl Harriet Brandt—”</p> - -<p>“Has no more right to the name than you have! -Henry Brandt was not the man to regard the laws, either -of God or man. There was no reason why he should -not have married—for that very cause, I suppose, he -preferred to live in concubinage.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span></p> - -<p>“Poor Harriet! Poor child! And her mother, did -you know her?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t speak to me of her mother. She was not a -woman, she was a fiend, a fitting match for Henry Brandt! -To my mind she was a revolting creature. A fat, flabby -half-caste, who hardly ever moved out of her chair but -sat eating all day long, until the power to move had -almost left her! I can see her now, with her sensual -mouth, her greedy eyes, her low forehead and half-formed -brain, and her lust for blood. It was said that -the only thing which made her laugh, was to watch the -dying agonies of the poor creatures her brutal protector -slaughtered. But she thirsted for blood, she loved the -sight and smell of it, she would taste it on the tip of -her finger when it came in her way. Her servants had -some story amongst themselves to account for this lust. -They declared that when her slave mother was pregnant -with her, she was bitten by a Vampire bat, which are -formidable creatures in the West Indies, and are said -to fan their victims to sleep with their enormous wings, -whilst they suck their blood. Anyway the slave woman -did not survive her delivery, and her fellows prophecied -that the child would grow up to be a murderess. Which -doubtless she was in heart, if not in deed!”</p> - -<p>“What an awful description! And what became of -her?”</p> - -<p>“She was killed at the same time as Brandt, indeed -the natives would have killed her in preference to him, -had they been obliged to choose, for they attributed all -the atrocities that went on in the laboratory to her influence. -They said she was ‘Obeah’ which means diabolical -witchcraft in their language. And doubtless their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span> -unfortunate child would have been slaughtered also, had -not the overseer of the plantation carried her off to his -cabin, and afterwards, when the disturbance was quelled, -to the Convent, where, you say, she has been educated.”</p> - -<p>“But terrible as all this is, dear Doctor, it is not the -poor girl’s fault. Why should we give up her acquaintance -for that?”</p> - -<p>“My dear Margaret, are you so ignorant as not to -see that a child born under such conditions cannot turn -out well? The bastard of a man like Henry Brandt, cruel, -dastardly, Godless, and a woman like her terrible mother, -a sensual, self-loving, crafty and bloodthirsty half-caste—what -do you expect their daughter to become? She -may seem harmless enough at present, so does the tiger -cub as it suckles its dam, but that which is bred in -her will come out sooner or later, and curse those with -whom she may be associated. I beg and pray of you, -Margaret, not to let that girl come near you, or your -child, any more. There is a curse upon her, and it will -affect all within her influence!”</p> - -<p>“You have made me feel very uncomfortable, Doctor,” -replied Mrs. Pullen. “Of course if I had known all this -previously, I would not have cultivated Miss Brandt’s -acquaintance, and now I shall take your advice and -drop her as soon as possible! There will be no difficulty -with Miss Leyton, for she has had a strange dislike to -the girl ever since we met, but she has certainly been -very kind to my baby—”</p> - -<p>“For Heaven’s sake don’t let her come near your -baby any more!” cried Doctor Phillips, quickly.</p> - -<p>“Certainly I will not, and perhaps it would be as -well if we moved on to Ostende or Blankenburghe, as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span> -we have sometimes talked of doing. It would sever the -acquaintance in the most effectual way!”</p> - -<p>“By all means do so, particularly if the young lady -does not go to Brussels, as that stout party was proposing -at dinner time. What an extraordinary person -she appears to be! Quite a character!”</p> - -<p>“That is just what she is! But, Doctor, there is -another thing I should like to speak to you about, concerning -Miss Brandt, and I am sure I may trust you to -receive it in the strictest confidence. It is regarding my -brother-in-law, Ralph Pullen. I am rather afraid, from -one or two things I have observed, that he likes Miss -Brandt—O! I don’t mean anything particular, for (as -you know) he is engaged to be married to Elinor Leyton -and I don’t suspect him of wronging her, only—young -men are rather headstrong you know and fond of their -own way, and perhaps if you were to speak to Ralph—”</p> - -<p>“Tell me plainly, has he been carrying on with this -girl?”</p> - -<p>“Not in the sense you would take it, Doctor, but -he affects her company and that of the Gobellis a good -deal. Miss Brandt sings beautifully, and Ralph loves -music, but his action annoys Elinor, I can see that, and -since you think we should break off the intimacy——”</p> - -<p>“I consider it most imperatively necessary, for many -reasons, and especially in the case of a susceptible -young man like Captain Pullen. She has money, you -say—”</p> - -<p>“Fifteen hundred a year, so I am told!”</p> - -<p>“And Miss Leyton has nothing, and Ralph only his -pay! O! yes! you are quite right, such an acquaintanceship -is dangerous for him. The sense of honour is not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span> -so strong now, as it was when I was a boy, and gold -is a powerful bait with the rising generation. I will -take an early opportunity of talking to Captain Pullen -on the subject.”</p> - -<p>“You will not wound his feelings, Doctor, nor betray -me?”</p> - -<p>“Trust me for doing neither! I shall speak from -my own experience, as I have done to you. If he will -not take my advice, you must get someone with more -influence to caution him about it. I hardly know how -to make my meaning clear to you, Margaret, but Miss -Brandt is a <em>dangerous</em> acquaintance, for all of you. We -medical men know the consequences of heredity, better -than outsiders can do. A woman born in such circumstances—bred -of sensuality, cruelty, and heartlessness—cannot -in the order of things, be modest, kind, or sympathetic. -And she probably carries unknown dangers -in her train. Whatever her fascinations or her position -may be, I beg of you to drop her at once and for ever!”</p> - -<p>“Of course I will, but it seems hard upon her! She -has seemed to crave so for affection and companionship.”</p> - -<p>“As her mother craved for food and blood; as her -father craved for inflicting needless agony on innocent -creatures, and sneered meanwhile at their sufferings! I -am afraid I should have little faith in Miss Brandt craving -for anything, except the gratification of her own -senses!”</p> - -<p>They were seated on the lower step of the wooden -flight that led from the Digue to the sands, so that -whilst they could see what went on above them, they -were concealed from view themselves.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span></p> - -<p>Just then, Harriet Brandt’s beautiful voice, accompanied -by the silvery strains of the mandoline, was heard -to warble Gounod’s “Marguerite” from the open window -of the Baroness’s sitting-room. Margaret glanced up. -The apartment was brilliantly lighted—on the table -were bottles of wine and spirits, with cakes and fruit, -and Madame Gobelli’s bulky form might be seen leaning -over the dishes. She had assembled quite a little -party there that night. The two Brimonts were present, -and Captain Pullen’s tall figure was distinctly visible -under the lamplight. Harriet was seated on the sofa, -and her full voice filled the atmosphere with melody.</p> - -<p>“There’s something like a voice!” remarked the old -doctor.</p> - -<p>“That is the very girl we have been talking of!” replied -Mrs. Pullen. “I told you she had a lovely voice, -and was an accomplished musician.”</p> - -<p>“Is that so?” said Doctor Phillips, “then she is still -more dangerous than I imagined her to be! Those -tones would be enough to drag any man down to perdition, -especially if accompanied by such a nature as I -cannot but believe she must have inherited from her -progenitors!”</p> - -<p>“And see, Doctor, there is Ralph,” continued Margaret, -pointing out her brother-in-law! “I left him with -Miss Leyton. He must have got rid of her by some -means and crept up to the Gobellis. He cannot go for -<em>them</em>. He is so refined, so fastidious with regard to -people in general, that a woman like the Baroness must -grate upon his feelings every time she opens her mouth, -and the Baron never opens his at all. He can only -frequent their company for the sake of Harriet Brandt!<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span> -I have seen it for some time past and it has made me -very uneasy.”</p> - -<p>“He shall know everything about her to-morrow, and -then if he will not hear reason—” Doctor Phillips -shrugged his shoulders and said no more.</p> - -<p>“But surely,” said his companion, “you do not think -for a moment that Ralph could ever seriously contemplate -breaking his engagement with Elinor Leyton for -the sake of this girl! O! how angry Arthur would be -if he suspected his brother could be guilty of such a -thing—<em>he</em>, who considers that a man’s word should be -his bond!”</p> - -<p>“It is impossible to say, Margaret—I should not like -to give an opinion on the subject. When young men -are led away by their passions, they lose sight of everything -else—and if this girl is anything like her mother, -she must be an epitome of lust!”</p> - -<p>“O! you will speak to Ralph as soon as ever you -can,” cried Margaret, in a tone of distress. “You will -put the matter as strongly before him as possible, will -you not?”</p> - -<p>“You may depend on my doing all I can, Margaret, -but as there seems no likelihood of my being able to -interview the young gentleman to-night, suppose you and -I go to bed! I feel rather tired after my passage over, -and you must want to go back to your baby!”</p> - -<p>“Doctor,” said Margaret, in a timid voice, as they -ascended the hotel staircase together, “you don’t think -baby <em>very</em> ill, do you?”</p> - -<p>“I think she requires a great deal of care, Margaret!”</p> - -<p>“But she has always had that!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span></p> - -<p>“I don’t doubt it, but I can’t deny that there are -symptoms about her case that I do not understand. -She seems to have had all her strength drawn out of -her. She is in the condition of a child who has been -exercised and excited and hurried from place to place, -far beyond what she is able to bear. But it may arise -from internal causes. I shall be better able to judge -to-morrow when my medicine has had its effect. Good-night, -my dear, and don’t worry. Please God, we will -have the little one all right again in a couple of days.”</p> - -<p>But he only said the words out of compassion. In -his own opinion, the infant was dying.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Harriet having finished her songs, was -leaning out of the window with Ralph Pullen by her -side. She wore an open sleeve and as he placed his -hand upon her bare arm, the girl thrilled from head to -foot.</p> - -<p>“And so you are determined <em>not</em> to go to Brussels,” -he whispered in her ear.</p> - -<p>“Why should I go? You will not be there! The -Baroness wants to stay for a week! What would become -of me all that time, moping after you?”</p> - -<p>“Are you sure that you <em>would</em> mope? Monsieur -Brimont is a nice young man, and seems quite ready to -throw himself at your feet! Would he not do as well, -<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">pro tem</i>?”</p> - -<p>Harriet’s only answer was to cast her large eyes upwards -to meet his own.</p> - -<p>“Does that mean, ‘No’?” continued Captain Pullen. -“Then how would it do, if <em>I</em> joined you there, after a -couple of days? Would the Baroness be complaisant, -do you think, and a little short-sighted, and let us go<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span> -about together, and show each other the sights of the -town?”</p> - -<p>“O! I’m sure she would!” cried Harriet, all the -blood in her body flying into her face, “she is so very -kind to me! Madame Gobelli!” she continued, turning -from the window to the light, “Captain Pullen says that -if you will allow him to show us the lions of Brussels, -he will come and join us there in a couple of days—”</p> - -<p>“If I find I can manage it!” interposed Ralph, cautiously.</p> - -<p>“Manage it! Why, of course you can manage it,” -said the Baroness. “What’s to ’inder a young man like -you doing as ’e chooses? You’re not tied to your sister’s -apron-string, are you? Now mind! we shall ’old you -to it, for I believe it’s the only thing that will make -’Arriet come, and I think a week in Brussels will do us -all good! You’re not looking well yourself, you know, -Captain Pullen! You’re as white as ashes this evening, -and if I didn’t know you were such a good boy, I should -say you’d been dissipating a bit lately! He! he! he!”</p> - -<p>“The only dissipating I have indulged in, is basking -in the sunshine of your eyes, Madame!” replied Ralph -gallantly.</p> - -<p>“That’s a good ’un!” retorted the Baroness, “it is -more likely you’ve been looking too much in the eyes -of my little friend ’ere. You’re a couple of foxes, that’s -what you are, and I expect it would take all my time -to be looking after you both! And so I suppose it’s -settled, Miss ’Arriet, and you’ll come with us to Brussels -after all!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Madame, if you’ll take charge of me!” said -Miss Brandt.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span></p> - -<p>“We’ll do that for a couple of days, and then we’ll -give over charge. Are we to engage a room for you, -Captain, at the Hôtel de Saxe?”</p> - -<p>“I had better see after that myself, Madame, as the -date of my coming is uncertain,” replied Ralph.</p> - -<p>“But you <em>will</em> come!” whispered Harriet.</p> - -<p>“Need you ask? Would I not run over the whole -world, only to find myself by your side? Haven’t you -taken the taste out of everything else for me, Harriet?”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>Doctor Phillips was a man of sixty, and a bachelor. -He had never made any home ties for himself, and was -therefore more interested in Margaret Pullen (whose -father had been one of his dearest friends) than he might -otherwise have been. He feared that a heavy trial lay -before her and he was unwilling to see it aggravated by -any misconduct on the part of her brother-in-law. He -could see that the young man was (to say the least of -it) not behaving fairly towards his <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fiancée</i>, Elinor Leyton, -and he was determined to open his eyes to the true -state of affairs with regard to Harriet Brandt. He spent -a sleepless night, his last visit to Margaret’s suffering -child having strengthened his opinion as to her hopeless -condition, and he lay awake wondering how he should -break the news to the poor young mother. He rose -with the intention of speaking to Ralph without delay, -but he found it more difficult to get a word with him -than he had anticipated. The Gobelli party had decided -to start with the Brimonts that afternoon, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span> -Captain Pullen stuck to them the entire morning, ostensibly -to assist the Baroness in her preparations for departure, -but in reality, as anyone could see, to linger by -the side of Miss Brandt. Miss Leyton perceived her -lover’s defalcation as plainly as the rest, but she was too -proud to make a hint upon the subject, even to Margaret -Pullen. She sat alone in the balcony, reading a -book, and gave no sign of annoyance or discomfiture. -But a close observer might have seen the trembling of -her lip when she attempted to speak, and the fixed, -white look upon her face, which betrayed her inward -anxiety. It made Margaret’s kind heart ache to see her, -and Dr. Phillips more indignant with Ralph Pullen than -before.</p> - -<p>The party for Brussels had arranged to travel by -the three o’clock train, and at the appointed time the -doctor was ready in the balcony to accompany them to -the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrepôt</i>. There were no cabs in Heyst, the station -being in the town. Luggage was conveyed backwards -and forwards in hand carts drawn by the porters, and -travellers invariably walked to their destination. The -Baroness appeared dressed for her journey, in an amazing -gown of blue velvet, trimmed with rare Maltese lace, -with a heavy mantle over it, and a small hat on her -head, which made her round, flat, unmeaning face, look -coarser than before. She used the Herr Baron as a -walking-stick as usual, whilst Harriet Brandt, in a white -frock and large hat shading her glowing eyes under a -scarlet parasol, looked like a tropical bird skimming by -her side, with Captain Pullen in close attendance, carrying -a flimsy wrap in case she should require it before -she reached her journey’s end. The Brimonts, following<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span> -in the rear, were of no account beside their more -brilliant and important friends.</p> - -<p>Ralph Pullen did not look pleased when he saw -Doctor Phillips join the party.</p> - -<p>“Are you also going to the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrepôt</i>?” he exclaimed, -“what can you find to interest you there?—a dirty little -smutty place! I am going just to help the ladies over -the line, as there is no bridge for crossing.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps I am bent on the same errand,” replied -the doctor, “do you give me credit for less gallantry -than yourself, Pullen?”</p> - -<p>“That’s right, Doctor,” said the Baroness, “and I’ve -no doubt you’ll be very useful! My Bobby ain’t any -manner of good, and the Baron ’as so many traps to -carry that ’e ’asn’t got an arm to spare. I only wish -you were coming with us! Why don’t you make up -your mind to come over with Captain Pullen the day -after to-morrow, and ’ave a little ’oliday?”</p> - -<p>“I was not aware that Captain Pullen <em>was</em> going to -Brussels, madame! I fancy he will have to get Miss -Leyton’s consent first!”</p> - -<p>At the mention of Miss Leyton’s name in connection -with himself, Ralph Pullen flushed uneasily, and Harriet -Brandt turned a look of startled enquiry upon the -speaker.</p> - -<p>“O! ’ang Miss Leyton!” retorted the Baroness, graphically, -“she surely wouldn’t stop Captain Pullen’s fun, -just because ’e’s staying with ’is sister-in-law! I should -call that very ’ard. You can’t always tie a young man -to ’is relations’ apron-strings, Doctor!”</p> - -<p>“Not always, madame!” he replied, and dropped the -subject.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span></p> - -<p>“You wouldn’t let Miss Leyton or Mrs. Pullen keep -you from me!” whispered Harriet, to her cavalier.</p> - -<p>“Never!” he answered emphatically.</p> - -<p>They had reached the little station by this time, and -the porters were calling out vociferously that the train -was about to start for Brussels, so that in the hurry of -procuring their tickets, and conveying the ladies and the -luggage across the cinder-besprinkled line, to where the -train stood puffing to be off, there was no more time to -exchange sentimentalities, or excite suspicion. The party -being safely stowed away in their carriage, Ralph Pullen -and Doctor Phillips stood on the wooden platform with -their hats off, bowing their farewells.</p> - -<p>“Mind you don’t put off your coming after Thursday!” -screamed the Baroness to Ralph, as she filled up -the entire window with her bulky person, “we shall expect -you by dinner-time! And I shall bespeak a room -for you, whether you will or no! ’Arriet ’ere will break -’er ’eart if you don’t turn up, and I don’t want the responsibility -of ’er committing suicide on my ’ands!”</p> - -<p>“All right! all right!” responded Ralph, pretending -to turn it off as a joke, “None of you shall do that on -my account, I promise you!”</p> - -<p>“O! well! I ’ope you’re going to keep your word, -or we shall come back to ’Eyst in double quick time. -Good-bye! Good-bye!” and kissing her fat hand to the -two gentlemen, the Baroness was whisked out of Heyst.</p> - -<p>Ralph looked longingly after the departing line of -carriages for a minute, and then crossed the line again -to the road beyond.</p> - -<p>Doctor Phillips did not say a word till they were -well clear of the station, and then he commenced,</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span></p> - -<p>“Of course you’re not in earnest about following -these people to Brussels.”</p> - -<p>“Why should I not be? I knew Brussels well as a -lad, and I should enjoy renewing my acquaintance with -the old town.”</p> - -<p>“In proper company perhaps, but you can hardly -call that party a fit one for you to associate with!”</p> - -<p>“You’re alluding to the Baron and Baroness being -in trade. Well! as a rule I confess that I do not care -to associate intimately with bootmakers and their friends, -but one does things abroad that one would not dream -of doing in England. And for all her vulgarity, Madame -Gobelli is very good-natured and generous, and I -really don’t see that I lower my dignity by being on -friendly terms with her whilst here!”</p> - -<p>“I was not alluding to Madame Gobelli, though I do -not think that either she or the Brimonts are fit companions -for a man who belongs to the Limerick Rangers, -or is engaged to marry the daughter of Lord Walthamstowe. -Neither do I admire the spirit which would induce -you to hobnob with them in Heyst, when you -would cut them in Bond Street. But as far as I know -the Baron and his wife are harmless. It is Miss Harriet -Brandt that I would caution you against!”</p> - -<p>A quick resentment appeared on Ralph Pullen’s -features. His eyes darkened, and an ominous wrinkle -stood out on his brow.</p> - -<p>“And what may you have to say of Miss Brandt?” -he demanded, coldly.</p> - -<p>“A great deal more than you know, or can possibly -imagine! She is not a fit person for Elinor Leyton to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span> -associate with, and consequently, one whom it is your -duty to avoid, instead of cultivating.”</p> - -<p>“I think you exceed <em>your</em> duty, Doctor, in speaking -to me thus!”</p> - -<p>“I am sorry you should think so, Pullen, but your -anger will not deter me from telling you what is in my -mind. You must not forget how old a friend I am of -both sides of your family. Your brother Arthur is one -of my greatest chums, and his wife’s father was, without -exception, my dearest friend—added to this, I am on -intimate terms with the Walthamstowes. Knowing what -I do, therefore, I should hold myself criminal if I left -you in ignorance of the truth concerning this young -woman.”</p> - -<p>“Are you alluding, may I ask, to Miss Brandt?”</p> - -<p>“I am alluding to the girl who calls herself by that -name, but who is in reality only the bastard daughter of -Henry Brandt, one of the most infamous men whom God -ever permitted to desecrate this earth, and his half-caste -mistress.”</p> - -<p>“Be careful what you say, Doctor Phillips!” said -Ralph Pullen, with ill-suppressed wrath gleaming in his -blue eyes.</p> - -<p>“There is no need to be, my dear fellow, I can -verify everything I say, and I fear no man’s resentment. -I was stationed in Jamaica with my regiment, some fifteen -years ago, when this girl was a child of six years -old, running half naked about her father’s plantation, -uncared for by either parent, and associating solely with -the negro servants. Brandt was a brute—the perpetrator -of such atrocities in vivisection and other scientific -experiments, that he was finally slaughtered on his own<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</span> -plantation by his servants, and everyone said it served -him right. The mother was the most awful woman I -have ever seen, and my experience of the sex in back -slums and alleys has not been small. She was the -daughter of a certain Judge Carey of Barbadoes by one -of his slave girls, and Brandt took her as his mistress -before she was fourteen. At thirty, when I saw her, she -was a revolting spectacle. Gluttonous and obese—her -large eyes rolling and her sensual lips protruding as if -she were always licking them in anticipation of her prey. -She was said to be ‘Obeah’ too by the natives and they -ascribed all the deaths and diseases that took place on -the plantation, to her malign influence. Consequently, -when they got her in their clutches, I have heard that -they did not spare her, but killed her in the most torturing -fashion they could devise.”</p> - -<p>“And did the British Government take no notice of -the massacre?”</p> - -<p>“There was an enquiry, of course, but the actual -perpetrator of the murders could not be traced, and so -the matter died out. The hatred and suspicion in which -Brandt had been held for some time, had a great effect -upon the verdict, for in addition to his terrible experiments -upon animals—experiments which he performed -simply for his own gratification and for no use that he -made of them in treating his fellow creatures—he had -been known to decoy diseased and old natives into his -laboratory, after which they were never seen again, and -it was the digging up of human bones on the plantation, -which finally roused the negroes to such a pitch of indignation -that they rose <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en masse</i>, and after murdering -both Brandt and his abominable mistress, they set fire<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</span> -to the house and burned it to the ground. There is no -doubt but that, if the overseer of the plantation, an -African negro named Pete, had not carried off the little -girl, she would have shared the fate of her parents. -And who can say if it would not have been as well if -she had!”</p> - -<p>“I really cannot see what right you have to give vent -to such a sentiment!” exclaimed Captain Pullen. “What -has this terrible story got to do with Miss Brandt?”</p> - -<p>“Everything! ‘When the cat is black, the kitten is -black too!’ It’s the law of Nature!”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe it! Miss Brandt bears no trace in -feature or character of the parentage you ascribe to her!”</p> - -<p>“Does she not? Your assertion only proves your -ignorance of character, or characteristics. The girl is a -quadroon, and she shews it distinctly in her long-shaped -eyes with their blue whites and her wide mouth and -blood-red lips! Also in her supple figure and apparently -boneless hands and feet. Of her personal character, I -have naturally had no opportunity of judging, but I can -tell you by the way she eats her food, and the way in -which she uses her eyes, that she has inherited her half-caste -mother’s greedy and sensual disposition. And in -ten years’ time she will in all probability have no figure -at all! She will run to fat. I could tell that also at a -glance!”</p> - -<p>“And have you any more compliments to pay the -young lady?” enquired Captain Pullen, sarcastically.</p> - -<p>“I have this still to say, Pullen—that she is a woman -whom you must never introduce to your wife, and that -it is your bounden duty to separate her, as soon as possible, -from your <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fiancée</i> and your sister-in-law!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</span></p> - -<p>“And what if I refuse to interfere in a matter which, -as far as I can see, concerns no one but Miss Brandt -herself?”</p> - -<p>“In that case, I regret to say that I shall feel it <em>my</em> -duty, to inform your brother Colonel Pullen and your -future father-in-law, Lord Walthamstowe of what I have -told you! Come, my dear boy, be reasonable! This -girl has attracted you, I suppose! We are all subject -to a woman’s influence at times, but you must not let it -go further. You must break it off, and this is an excellent -opportunity to do so! Your sister’s infant is, I -fear, seriously ill. Take your party on to Ostende, -and send the Baroness a polite note to say that you are -prevented from going to Brussels, and all will be right! -You will take my advice—will you not?”</p> - -<p>“No! I’ll be hanged if I will,” exclaimed the young -man, “I am not a boy to be ordered here and there, as -if I were not fit to take care of myself. I’ve pledged -my word to go to Brussels and to Brussels I shall go. -If Miss Leyton doesn’t like it, she must do the other -thing! She does not shew me such a superfluity of -affection as to prevent the necessity of my seeking for -sympathy and friendship elsewhere.”</p> - -<p>“I am sorry to hear you speak like that, Pullen. It -does not augur well for the happiness of your married -life!”</p> - -<p>“I have thought more than once lately, that I shall -not be married at all—that is to Miss Leyton!”</p> - -<p>“No! no! don’t say so. It is only a passing infidelity, -engendered by the attraction of this other girl. -Consider what your brother would say, and what Lord -Walthamstowe would think, if you committed the great<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</span> -mistake at this late hour, of breaking off your engagement!”</p> - -<p>“I cannot see why my brother’s opinion, or Lord -Walthamstowe’s thoughts, should interfere with the -happiness of my whole life,” rejoined Ralph, sullenly. -“However, let that pass! The question on the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tapis</i> -is, my acquaintance with Miss Brandt, which you consider -should be put a stop to. For what reason? If -what you bring against her is true, it appears to me that -she has all the more need of the protection and loyalty -of her friends. It would be cowardly to desert a girl, -just because her father and mother happened to be -brutes. It is not <em>her</em> fault!”</p> - -<p>“I quite allow that! Neither is it the fault of a -madman that his progenitors had lunacy in their blood, -nor of a consumptive, that his were strumous. All the -same the facts affect their lives and the lives of those -with whom they come in contact. It is the curse of -heredity!”</p> - -<p>“Well! and if so, how can it concern anyone but -the poor child herself?”</p> - -<p>“O! yes, it can and it will! And if I am not greatly -mistaken, Harriet Brandt carries a worse curse with her -even than that! She possesses the fatal attributes of -the Vampire that affected her mother’s birth—that -endued her with the thirst for blood, which characterised -her life—that will make Harriet draw upon the -health and strength of all with whom she may be -intimately associated—that may render her love fatal to -such as she may cling to! I must tell you, Pullen, that -I fear we have already proofs of this in the illness of -your little niece, whom, her mother tells me, was at one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</span> -time scarcely ever out of Miss Brandt’s arms. I have -no other means of accounting for her sudden failure of -strength and vitality. You need not stare at me, as if -you thought I do not know what I am talking about! -There are many cases like it in the world. Cases of -persons who actually feed upon the lives of others, as -the deadly upas tree sucks the life of its victim, by lulling -him into a sleep from which he never wakens!”</p> - -<p>“Phillips, you must be mad! Do you know that -you are accusing Miss Brandt of murder—of killing the -child to whom she never shewed anything but the -greatest kindness. Why! I have known her carry little -Ethel about the sands for a whole afternoon.”</p> - -<p>“All the worse for poor little Ethel! I do not say -she does harm intentionally or even consciously, but -that the deadly attributes of her bloodthirsty parents -have descended on her in this respect, I have not a -shadow of doubt! If you watch that young woman’s -career through life, you will see that those she apparently -cares for most, and clings to most, will soonest fade out -of existence, whilst she continues to live all the stronger -that her victims die!”</p> - -<p>“Rubbish! I don’t believe it!” replied Ralph sturdily. -“You medical men generally have some crotchet in your -brains, but this is the most wonderful bee that ever -buzzed in a bonnet! And all I can say is, that I should -be quite willing to try the experiment!”</p> - -<p>“You <em>have</em> tried it, Pullen, in a mild form, and it -has had its effect on you! You are not the same fellow -who came over to Heyst, though by all rules, you should -be looking better and stronger for the change. And -Margaret has already complained to me of the strange<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</span> -effect this girl has had upon her! But you must not -breathe a suspicion to her concerning the child’s -illness, or I verily believe she would murder Miss -Brandt!”</p> - -<p>“Putting all this nonsense aside,” said Ralph, “do -you consider Margaret’s baby to be seriously ill?”</p> - -<p>“Very seriously. My medicines have not had the -slightest effect upon her condition, which is inexplicable. -Her little life is being slowly sapped. She may cease -to breathe at any moment. But I have not yet had the -courage to tell your sister the truth!”</p> - -<p>“How disappointed poor Arthur will be!”</p> - -<p>“Yes! but his grief will be nothing to the mother’s. -She is quite devoted to her child!”</p> - -<p>By mutual consent, they had dropped the subject of -Harriet Brandt, and now spoke only of family affairs. -Ralph was a kind-hearted fellow under all his conceit, -and felt very grave at the prospect held out in regard -to his baby niece.</p> - -<p>The fulfilment of the prophecy came sooner than -even Doctor Phillips had anticipated. As they were all -sitting at dinner that evening, Madame Lamont, her eyes -over-brimming with tears, rushed unceremoniously into -the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">salle à manger</i>, calling to Margaret.</p> - -<p>“Madame! Madame! please come up to your room -at once! The dear baby is worse!”</p> - -<p>Margaret threw one agonised glance at Doctor Phillips -and rushed from the room, followed by himself and -Elinor Leyton. The high staircase seemed interminable—more -than once Margaret’s legs failed under her and -she thought she should never reach the top. But she -did so all too soon. On the bed was laid the infant<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</span> -form, limp and lifeless, and Martin the nurse met them -at the door, bathed in tears.</p> - -<p>“Oh! Ma’am!” she cried, “it happened all of a -minute! She was lying on my lap, pretty dear, just as -usual, when she went off in a convulsion and died.”</p> - -<p>“Died, died!” echoed Margaret in a bewildered -voice, “Doctor Phillips! <em>who</em> is it that has died?”</p> - -<p>“The baby, Ma’am, the dear baby! She went off -like a lamb, without a struggle! O! dear mistress, do -try to bear it!”</p> - -<p>“Is my baby—<em>dead</em>?” said Margaret in the same -dazed voice, turning to the doctor who had already -satisfied himself that the tiny heart and pulse had ceased -to beat.</p> - -<p>“No! my dear child, she is not dead—she is living—with -God! Try to think of her as quite happy and -free from this world’s ill.”</p> - -<p>“O! but I <em>wanted</em> her so—I <em>wanted</em> her,” exclaimed -the bereaved mother, as she clasped the senseless form -in her arms, “O! baby! baby! why did you go, before -you had seen your father?”</p> - -<p>And then she slid, rather than sank, from the bedside, -in a tumbled heap upon the floor.</p> - -<p>“It is better so—it will help her through it,” said -Doctor Phillips, as he directed the nurse to carry the -dead child into Elinor Leyton’s room, and placed Margaret -on her own bed. “You will not object, Miss -Leyton, I am sure, and you must not leave Mrs. Pullen -to-night!”</p> - -<p>“Of course I shall not,” replied Elinor; “I have been -afraid for days past that this would happen, but poor -Margaret would not take any hints.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</span></p> - -<p>She spoke sympathetically, but there were no tears in -her eyes, and she did not caress, nor attempt to console -her friend. She did all that was required of her, but -there was no spontaneous suggestion on her part, with -regard either to the mother, or the dead child, and as -Doctor Phillips noted her coolness, he did not wonder -so much at Ralph’s being attracted by the fervour and -warmth of Harriet Brandt.</p> - -<p>As soon as poor Margaret had revived and had her -cry out, he administered a sleeping draught to her, and -leaving her in charge of Elinor Leyton, he went downstairs -again to consult Captain Pullen as to what would -be the best thing for them to do.</p> - -<p>Ralph was very much shocked to hear of the baby’s -sudden death, and eager to do all in his power for his -brother’s wife. There was no Protestant cemetery in -Heyst, and Doctor Phillips proposed that they should at -once order a little shell, and convey the child’s body -either to Ostende or England, as Margaret might desire, -for burial. The sooner she left the place where she had -lost her child, he said, the better, and his idea was that -she would wish the body to be taken to Devonshire and -buried in the quiet country churchyard, where her husband’s -father and mother were laid to sleep. He left -Ralph to telegraph to his brother in India and to anyone -the news might concern in England—also to settle -all hotel claims and give notice to the Lamonts that they -would leave on the morrow.</p> - -<p>“But supposing Margaret should object,” suggested -Ralph.</p> - -<p>“She will not object!” replied the Doctor, “she might -if we were not taking the child’s body with us, but as it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</span> -is, she will be grateful to be thought, and acted, for. She -is a true woman, God bless her! I only wish He had -not seen fit to bring this heavy trial on her head!”</p> - -<p>Not a word was exchanged between the two men -about Harriet Brandt. Ralph, remembering the hint the -doctor had thrown out respecting her being the ultimate -cause of the baby’s illness, did not like to bring up her -name again—felt rather guilty with respect to it, indeed—and -Doctor Phillips was only too glad to see the -young man bestirring himself to be useful, and losing -sight of his own worry in the trouble of his sister-in-law. -Of course he could not have refused, or even demurred, -at accompanying his party to England on so mournful -an errand—and to do him justice, he did not wish it to -be otherwise. Brussels, and its anticipated pleasures, -had been driven clean out of his head by the little -tragedy that had occurred in Heyst, and his attitude -towards Margaret when they met again, was so quietly -affectionate and brotherly that he was of infinite comfort -to her. She quite acquiesced in Doctor Phillips’ decision -that her child should be buried with her father’s family, -and the mournful group with the little coffin in their -midst, set out without delay for Devonshire.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>Harriet Brandt set off for Brussels in the best of -spirits. Captain Pullen had pledged himself to follow -her in a couple of days, and had sketched with a free -hand the pleasure they would mutually enjoy in each -other’s company, without the fear of Mrs. Pullen, or Miss -Leyton, popping on them round the corner. Madame<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</span> -Gobelli also much flattered her vanity by speaking of -Ralph as if he were her confessed lover, and prospective -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fiancé</i>, so that, what with the new scenes she was passing -through, and her anticipated good fortune, Harriet was -half delirious with delight, and looked as “handsome as -paint” in consequence.</p> - -<p>Olga Brimont, on the contrary, although quietly -happy in the prospect of keeping house for her brother, -did not share in the transports of her Convent companion. -Alfred Brimont, observed, more than once, that -she seemed to visibly shrink from Miss Brandt, and took -an early opportunity of asking her the reason why. But -all her answer was conveyed in a shrug of the shoulders, -and a request that he would not leave her at the Hotel -de Saxe with the rest of the party, but take her home -at once to the rooms over which she was to preside for -him. In consequence, the two Brimonts said good-bye -to the Gobellis and Harriet Brandt at the Brussels station, -and drove to their apartments in the rue de Vienne, -after which the others saw no more of them. The -Baroness declared they were “a good riddance of bad -rubbish,” and that she had never liked that pasty-faced -Mademoiselle Brimont, and believed that she was jealous -of the brilliancy and beauty of her dear ’Arriet. The -Baroness had conceived one of her violent, and generally -short-lived, fancies for the girl, and nothing, for the time -being, was too good for her. She praised her looks and -her talents in the most extravagant manner, and told -everyone at the Hotel that the Baron and she had known -her from infancy—that she was their ward—and that -they regarded her as the daughter of the house, with -various other falsehoods that made Harriet open her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</span> -dark eyes with amazement, whilst she felt that she could -not afford to put a sudden end to her friendship with -Madame Gobelli, by denying them. Brussels is a very -pretty town, full of modern and ancient interest, and -there was plenty for them to see and hear during their -first days there. But Harriet was resolved to defer -visiting the best sights until Captain Pullen had joined -them.</p> - -<p>She went to the concerts at the Quinçonce and -Wauxhall, and visited the Zoological Gardens, but she -would not go to the Musée nor the Académie des Beaux -Arts, nor the Cathedral of Sainte Gudule, whilst Ralph -remained in Heyst. Madame Gobelli laughed at her for -her reticence—called her a sly cat—said she supposed -they must make up their minds to see nothing of her -when the handsome Captain came to Brussels—finally -sending her off in company of Bobby to walk in the -Parc, or visit the Wiertz Museum. The Baroness was -not equal to much walking at the best of times, and had -been suffering from rheumatism lately, so that she and -the Baron did most of their sight-seeing in a carriage, -and left the young people to amuse themselves. Bobby -was very proud to be elected Miss Brandt’s cavalier, and -get out of the way of his formidable Mamma, who made -his <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">table-d’hôte</i> life a terror to him. He was a well-grown -lad and not bad-looking. In his blue eyes and -white teeth, he took after his mother, but his hair was -fair, and his complexion delicate. He was an anæmic -young fellow and very delicate, being never without a -husky cough, which, however, the Baroness seemed to -consider of no consequence. He hardly ever opened his -mouth in the presence of his parents, unless it were to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</span> -remonstrate against the Baroness’s strictures on his appearance, -or his conduct, but Harriet Brandt found he -could be communicative enough, when he was alone with -her. He gave her lengthy descriptions of the Red House, -and the treasures which it contained—of his Mamma’s -barouche lined with satin—of the large garden which -they had at Holloway, with its greenhouses and hot-houses, -and the numbers of people who came to visit -them there.</p> - -<p>“O! yes!” rejoined Harriet, “the Baroness has told -me about them, Prince Adalbert and Prince Loris and -others! She said they often came to the Red House! I -should like to know them very much!”</p> - -<p>The youth looked at her in a mysterious manner.</p> - -<p>“Yes! they do come, very often, and plenty of other -people with them; the Earl of Watherhouse and Lord -Drinkwater, and Lady Mountacue, and more than I know -the names of. But—but—did Mamma tell you <em>why</em> -they come?”</p> - -<p>“No! not exactly! To see her and the Baron, I -suppose!”</p> - -<p>“Well! yes! for that too perhaps,” stammered Bobby. -“But there is another reason. Mamma is very wonderful, -you know! She can tell people things they never -knew before. And she has a room where—but I had -better not say any more. You might repeat it to her -and then she would be so angry.” The two were on -their way to the Wiertz Museum at the time, and Harriet’s -curiosity was excited.</p> - -<p>“I will not, I promise you, Bobby,” she said, “what -has the Baroness in that room?”</p> - -<p>Bobby drew near enough to whisper, as he replied,</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</span></p> - -<p>“O! I don’t know, I daren’t say, but horrible things -go on there! Mamma has threatened sometimes to make -me go in with her, but I wouldn’t for all the world. -Our servants will never stay with us long. One girl -told me before she left that Mamma was a witch, and -could raise up the dead. Do you think it can be true—that -it is possible?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” said Harriet, “and I don’t want to -know! There are no dead that <em>I</em> want to see back again, -unless indeed it were dear old Pete, our overseer. He -was the best friend I ever had. One night our house -was burned to the ground and lots of the things in it, -and old Pete wrapped me up in a blanket and carried -me to his cabin in the jungle, and kept me safe until -my friends were able to send me to the Convent. I -shall never forget that. I should like to see old Pete -again, but I don’t believe the Baroness could bring him -back. It wants ‘Obeah’ to do that!”</p> - -<p>“What is ‘Obeah,’ Miss Brandt?”</p> - -<p>“Witchcraft, Bobby!”</p> - -<p>“Is it wicked?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. I know nothing about it! But let -us talk of something else. I don’t believe your Mamma -can do anything more than other people, and she only -says it to frighten you. But you mustn’t tell her I said -so. Is this the Wiertz Museum? I thought it would be -a much grander place!”</p> - -<p>“I heard father say that it is the house Wiertz lived -in, and he left it with all his pictures to the Belgian -Government on condition they kept it just as it was.”</p> - -<p>They entered the gallery, and Harriet Brandt, although -not a great lover of painting in general, stood enwrapt<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</span> -before most of the pictures. She passed over the -“Bouton de Rose” and the sacred paintings with a cursory -glance, but the representation of Napoleon in Hell, -being fed with the blood and bones of his victims—of -the mother in a time of famine devouring her child—and -of the Suicide between his good and evil angels, -appeared to absorb all her senses. Her eyes fixed themselves -upon the canvasses, she stood before them, entranced, -enraptured, and when Bobby touched her arm -as a hint to come and look at something else, she drew -a long breath as though she had been suddenly aroused -from sleep. Again and again she returned to the same -spot, the pictures holding her with a strange fascination, -which she could not shake off, and when she returned -to the Hotel, she declared the first thing she should do -on the following morning, would be to go back to the -Wiertz Museum and gaze once more upon those inimitable -figures.</p> - -<p>“But such ’orrid subjects, my dear,” said the Baroness, -“Bobby says they were all blood and bones!”</p> - -<p>“But I like them—I <em>like</em> them!” replied Harriet, -moving her tongue slowly over her lips, “they interest -me! They are so life-like!”</p> - -<p>“Well! to-morrow will be Thursday, you know, so I -expect you will have somebody’s else’s wishes to consult! -You will ’ave a letter by the early post, you may depend -upon it, to say that the Captain will be with us by dinner-time!”</p> - -<p>Harriet Brandt flushed a deep rose. It was when -the colour came into her usually pale cheeks, and her -eyes awakened from their slumbers and sparkled, that -she looked beautiful. On the present occasion as she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</span> -glanced up to see Bobby Bates regarding her with steadfast -surprise and curiosity, she blushed still more.</p> - -<p>“You’ll be ’aving a fine time of it together, you -two, I expect,” continued the Baroness facetiously, “and -Bobby, ’ere, will ’ave to content ’imself with me and his -Papa! But we’ll all go to the theatre together to-morrow -night. I’ve taken five seats for the Alcazar, which -the Captain said was the house he liked best in Brussels.”</p> - -<p>“How good you are to me!” exclaimed Harriet, as -she wound her slight arms about the uncouth form of -the Baroness.</p> - -<p>“Good! Nonsense! Why! Gustave and I look upon -you as our daughter, and you’re welcome to share everything -that is ours. You can come and live altogether -at the Red ’Ouse, if you like! But I don’t expect we -shall keep you long, though I must say I should be -vexed to see you throw yourself away upon an army -Captain before you have seen the world a bit!”</p> - -<p>“O! don’t talk of such a thing, pray don’t!” said -the girl, hiding her face in the Baroness’s ample bosom, -“you know there is nothing as yet—only a pleasant -friendship.”</p> - -<p>“He! he! he!” chuckled Madame Gobelli, “so that’s -what you call a pleasant friendship, eh? I wonder -what Captain Pullen calls it! I expect we shall ’ear in -a few days. But what ’e thinks is of no consequence, -so long as <em>you</em> don’t commit yourself, till you’ve looked -about you a little. I do want you to meet Prince -Adalbert! ’Is ’air’s like flax—such a nice contrast to -yours. And you speaking French so well! You would -get on first-rate together!”</p> - -<p>Bobby did not appear to like this conversation at all.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</span></p> - -<p>“I call Prince Adalbert hideous,” he interposed. -“Why! his face is as red as a tomato, and he drinks -too much. I’ve heard Papa say so! I am sure Miss -Brandt wouldn’t like him.”</p> - -<p>“’Old your tongue,” exclaimed the Baroness, angrily, -“’Ow dare you interrupt when I’m speaking to Miss -Brandt? A child like you! What next, I wonder! -Just mind your own business, Bobby, or I’ll send you -out of the room. Go away now, do, and amuse yourself! -We don’t want any boys ’ere!”</p> - -<p>“Miss Brandt is going into the Parc with me,” said -Bobby sturdily.</p> - -<p>“Ah! well, if she is going to be so good, I ’ope you -won’t worry ’er, that’s all! But if you would prefer to -come out in the carriage with the Baron and me, my -dear, we’ll take a drive to the Bois de Cambres.”</p> - -<p>“All right, if Bobby can come too,” acquiesced -Harriet.</p> - -<p>“Lor! whatever do you want that boy to come with -us for? ’E’ll only take up all the room with ’is long -legs.”</p> - -<p>“But we mustn’t leave him alone,” said the girl, -kindly, “I shouldn’t enjoy my drive if we were to do so!”</p> - -<p>The lad gave her a grateful glance through eyes -that were already moist with the prospect of disappointment.</p> - -<p>“Very well then,” said Madame Gobelli, “if you will -’ave your own way, ’e may come, but you must take all -the trouble of ’im, ’Arriet, mind that!”</p> - -<p>Bobby was only too happy to accompany the party, -even in these humiliating circumstances, and they all set -out together for the Bois de Cambres. The next day<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</span> -was looked forward to by Harriet Brandt as one of -certain happiness, but the morning post arrived without -bringing the anticipated notice from Ralph Pullen that -he should join them as arranged in the afternoon. The -piteous eyes that she lifted to the Baroness’s face as -she discovered the defalcation, were enough to excite -the compassion of anyone.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right!” said her friend, across the breakfast -table, “’E said ’e would come, so there’s no need of -writing. Besides, it was much safer not! ’E couldn’t -stir, I daresay, without one of those two cats, Mrs. -Pullen or Miss Leyton, at ’is elbow, so ’e thought they -might find out what ’e was after, and prevent ’is starting. -Say they wanted to leave ’Eyst or something, just -to keep ’im at their side! You mark my words, I’ve -means of finding out things that you know nothing of, -and I’ve just seen it written over your ’ead that ’e’ll be -’ere by dinner time, so you can go out for your morning’s -jaunt in perfect comfort!”</p> - -<p>Harriet brightened up at this prophecy, and Bobby -had never had a merrier time with her than he had -that morning.</p> - -<p>But the prophecy was not fulfilled. Ralph Pullen -was by that time in England with his bereaved sister-in-law, -and the night arrived without the people in -Brussels hearing anything of him. He had not even -written a line to account for his failure to keep his engagement -with them. The fact is that Captain Pullen, -although as a rule most punctilious in all matters of -courtesy, felt so ashamed of himself and the folly into -which he had been led, that he felt that silence would -be the best explanation that he had decided to break<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</span> -off the acquaintanceship. He had no real feeling for -Harriet Brandt or anybody (except himself)—with him -“out of sight” was “out of mind”—and the sad occurrence -which had forced him to return to England -seemed an excellent opportunity to rid himself of an -undesirable entanglement. But Harriet became frantic -at the nonfulfilment of his promise. Her strong feelings -could not brook delay. She wanted to rush back to -Heyst to demand the reason of his defalcation—and in -default of that, to write, or wire to him at once and -ascertain what he intended to do. But the Baroness -prevented her doing either.</p> - -<p>“Look ’ere, ’Arriet!” she said to the girl, who was -working herself up into a fever, “it’s no use going on -like this! ’E’ll come or ’e won’t come! Most likely -you’ll see ’im to-morrow or next day, and if not, it’ll be -because ’is sister won’t let ’im leave ’er, and the poor -young man doesn’t know what excuse to make! Couldn’t -you see ’ow that Doctor Phillips was set against the -Captain joining us? ’E went most likely and told Mrs. -Pullen, and she ’as dissuaded her brother from coming -to Brussels. It’s ’ard for a man to go against ’is own -relations, you know!”</p> - -<p>“But he should have written,” pleaded Harriet, “it -makes me look a fool!”</p> - -<p>“Not a bit of it! Captain Pullen thinks you no fool. -’E’s more likely to be thinking ’imself one. And, after -all, you know, we shall be going back to ’Eyst in a -couple more days, and then you can ’ave ’im all to -yourself in the evenings and scold ’im to your ’eart’s -content!”</p> - -<p>But the girl was not made of the stuff that is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</span> -amenable to reason. She pouted and raved and denounced -Ralph Pullen like a fury, declaring she would -not speak to him when they met again,—yet lay awake -at night all the same, wondering what had detained him -from her side, and longing with the fierceness of a -tigress for blood, to feel his lips against her own and to -hear him say that he adored her. Bobby Bates stood -by during this tempestuous time, very sorrowful and -rather perplexed. He was not admitted to the confidence -of his mother and her young friend, so that he -did not quite understand why Harriet Brandt should -have so suddenly changed from gay to grave, just because -Captain Pullen was unable to keep his promise to -join them at Brussels. He had so enjoyed her company -hitherto and she had seemed to enjoy his, but now she -bore the gloomiest face possible, and it was no pleasure -to go out with her at all. He wondered if all girls were -so—as capricious and changeable! Bobby had not -seen much of women. He had been kept in the schoolroom -for the better part of his life, and his Mamma had -not impressed him with a great admiration for the sex. -So, naturally, he thought Harriet Brandt to be the most -charming and beautiful creature he had ever seen, -though he was too shy to whisper the truth, even to -himself. He tried to bring back the smiles to her face -in his boyish way, and the gift of an abnormally large -and long <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">sucre de pomme</i> really did achieve that object -better than anything else. But the defalcation of Captain -Pullen made them all lose their interest in Brussels, -and they returned to Heyst a day sooner than they had -intended.</p> - -<p>As the train neared the station, Harriet’s forgotten<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</span> -smiles began to dimple her face again, and she peered -eagerly from the windows of the carriage, as if she expected -Ralph Pullen to be on the platform to meet -them. But from end to end, she saw only cinders, -Flemish country women with huge baskets of fish or -poultry on their arms, priests in their <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">soutanes</i> and -broad-brimmed hats, and Belgians chattering and screaming -to each other and their children, as they crossed the -line. Still, she alighted with her party, expectant and -happy, and traversed the little distance between the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entrepôt</i> and the Hotel, far quicker than the Baroness -and her husband could keep up with her. She rushed -into the balcony and almost fell into the arms of the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">proprietaire</i>, Madame Lamont.</p> - -<p>“Ah! Mademoiselle!” she cried, “welcome back to -Heyst, but have you heard the desolating news?”</p> - -<p>“What news?” exclaimed Harriet with staring eyes -and a blanched cheek.</p> - -<p>“Why! that the English lady, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">cette Madame, si -tranquille, si charmante</i>, lost her dear <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">bébé</i> the very -day that Mademoiselle and Madame la Baronne left the -Hotel!”</p> - -<p>“Lost,” repeated Harriet, “do you mean that the -child is <em>dead</em>?”</p> - -<p>“Ah! yes, I do indeed,” replied Madame Lamont, -“the dear <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">bébé</i> was taken with a fit whilst they were all -at dinner, and never recovered again. <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">C’était une perte -irréparable!</i> Madame was like a creature distracted -whilst she remained here!”</p> - -<p>“Where is she then? Where has she gone?” cried -Harriet, excitedly.</p> - -<p>“Ah! that I cannot tell Mademoiselle. The dear<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</span> -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">bébé</i> was taken away to England to be buried. Madame -Pullen and Mademoiselle Leyton and Monsieur Phillippe -and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">le beau Capitaine</i> all left Heyst on the following -day, that is Wednesday, and went to Ostende to take -the boat for Dover. I know no more!”</p> - -<p>“Captain Pullen has gone away—he is not here?” -exclaimed Miss Brandt, betraying herself in her disappointment. -“Oh! I don’t believe it! It cannot be true! -He has gone to Ostende to see them on board the -steamer, but he will return—I am sure he will?”</p> - -<p>Madame Lamont shrugged her shoulders.</p> - -<p>“Monsieur paid everything before he went and gave -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">douceurs</i> to all the servants—I do not think he has any -intention of returning!”</p> - -<p>At that juncture the Baron and Baroness reached -the hotel. Harriet flew to her friend for consolation.</p> - -<p>“I cannot believe what Madame Lamont says,” she -exclaimed; “she declares that they are all gone for good, -Mrs. Pullen and Miss Leyton and Captain Pullen and -the doctor! They have returned to England. But he -is sure to come back, isn’t he? after all his promises to -meet us in Brussels! He couldn’t be so mean as to run -off to England, without a word, or a line, unless he intended -to come back.”</p> - -<p>She clung to Madame Gobelli with her eyes wide -open and her large mouth trembling with agitation, until -even the coarse fibre of the Baroness’s propriety made -her feel ashamed of the exhibition.</p> - -<p>“’Ould up, ’Arriet!” she said, “you don’t want the -’ole ’ouse to ’ear what you’re thinking of, surely! Let -me speak to Madame Lamont! What is all the row about, -Madame?” she continued, turning to the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">proprietaire</i>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</span></p> - -<p>“There is no ‘row’ at all, Madame,” was the reply, -“I was only telling Mademoiselle Brandt of the sad -event that has taken place here during your absence—that -that <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chère</i> Madame Pullen had the great misfortune -to lose her sweet <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">bébé</i>, the very day you left Heyst, -and that the whole party have quitted in consequence -and crossed to England. I thought since Mademoiselle -seemed so intimate with Madame Pullen and so fond of -the dear child, that she would be <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">désolée</i> to hear the -sad news, but she appears to have forgotten all about it, -in her grief at hearing that the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">beau Capitaine</i> accompanied -his family to England where they go to bury the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">petite</i>.”</p> - -<p>And with rather a contemptuous smile upon her face, -Madame Lamont re-entered the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">salle à manger</i>.</p> - -<p>“Now, ’Arriet, don’t make a fool of yourself!” said -the Baroness. “You ’eard what that woman said—she’s -laughing at you and your Captain, and the story will be -all over the Hotel in half an hour. Don’t make any -more fuss about it! If ’e’s gone, crying won’t bring ’im -back. It’s much ’arder for Mrs. Pullen, losing her baby -so suddenly! I’m sorry for ’er, poor woman, but as for -the other, there’s as good fish in the sea as ever came -out of it!”</p> - -<p>But Harriet Brandt only answered her appeal by -rushing away down the corridor and up the staircase to -her bedroom like a whirlwind. The girl had not the -slightest control over her passions. She would listen to -no persuasion, and argument only drove her mad. She -tumbled headlong up the stairs, and dashing into her -room, which had been reserved for her, threw herself -tumultuously upon the bed. How lonely and horrible<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</span> -the corridor, on which her apartment opened, seemed. Olga -Brimont, Mrs. Pullen, Miss Leyton, and Ralph, all gone! -No one to talk to—no one to walk with—except the -Baroness and her stupid husband! Of course this interpreted -simply, meant that Captain Pullen had left the -place without leaving a word behind him, to say the why -or wherefore, or hold out any prospect of their meeting -again. Of course it was impossible but that they must -meet again—they <em>should</em> meet again, Harriet Brandt said -to herself between her closed teeth—but meanwhile, -what a wilderness, what a barren, dreary place this detestable -Heyst would seem without him!</p> - -<p>The girl put her head down on the pillow, and taking -the corner of the linen case between her strong, -white teeth, shook it and bit it, as a terrier worries a -rat! But that did not relieve her feelings sufficiently, -and she took to a violent fit of sobbing, hot, angry tears -coursing each other down her cheeks, until they were -blurred and stained, and she lay back upon the pillow -utterly exhausted.</p> - -<p>The first dinner bell rang without her taking any -notice of it, and the second was just about to sound, -when there came a low tap at her bedroom door. At -first she did not reply, but when it was repeated, though -rather timidly, she called out,</p> - -<p>“Who is it? I am ill. I don’t want any dinner! I -cannot come down!”</p> - -<p>A low voice answered.</p> - -<p>“It is <em>I</em>, dear Miss Brandt, Bobby! May I come in? -Mamma has sent me to you with a message!”</p> - -<p>“Very well! You can enter, but I have a terrible -headache!” said Harriet.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</span></p> - -<p>The door opened softly, and the tall lanky form of -Bobby Bates crept silently into the room. He held a -small bunch of pink roses in his hand, and he advanced -to the bedside and laid them without a word on the -pillow beside her hot, inflamed cheek. They felt deliciously -cool and refreshing. Harriet turned her face towards -them, and in doing so, met the anxious, perturbed -eyes of Bobby.</p> - -<p>“Well!” she said smiling faintly, “and what is your -Mamma’s message?”</p> - -<p>“She wishes to know if you are coming down to -dinner. It is nearly ready!”</p> - -<p>“No! no! I cannot! I am not hungry, and my eyes -are painful,” replied Harriet, turning her face slightly -away.</p> - -<p>The lad rose and drew down the blind of her window, -through which the setting sun was casting a stream of -light, and then captured a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">flacon</i> of eau de Cologne -from her toilet-table, and brought it to her in his hand.</p> - -<p>“May I sit beside you a little while in case you need -anything?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“No! no! Bobby! You will want your dinner, and -your Mamma will want you. You had better go down -again at once, and tell her that if my head is better, I -will meet her on the Digue this evening!”</p> - -<p>“I don’t want any dinner, I could not eat it whilst -you lie here sick and unhappy. I want to stay, to see -if I can help you, or do you any good. I wish—I <em>wish</em> -I could!” murmured the lad.</p> - -<p>“Your roses have done me good already,” replied -Harriet, more brightly. “It was sweet of you to bring -them to me, Bobby.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</span></p> - -<p>“I wish I had ten thousand pounds a year,” said -Bobby feverishly, “that I might bring you roses, and -everything that you like best!”</p> - -<p>He laid his blonde head on the pillow by the side of -hers and Harriet turned her face to his and kissed him.</p> - -<p>The blood rushed into his face, and he trembled. It -was the first time that any woman had kissed him. And -all the feelings of his manhood rushed forth in a body -to greet the creature who had awakened them.</p> - -<p>As for Harriet Brandt, the boy’s evident admiration -flattered and pleased her. The tigress deprived of -blood, will sometimes condescend to milder food. And -the feelings with which she regarded Captain Pullen were -such as could be easily replaced by anyone who evinced -the same reciprocity. Bobby Bates was not a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">beau -sabreur</i>, but he was a male creature whom she had -vanquished by her charms, and it interested her to watch -his rising passion, and to know that he could never possibly -expect it to be requited. She kissed and fondled -him as he sat beside her with his head on the pillow—calling -him every nice name she could think of, and -caressing him as if he had been what the Baroness chose -to consider him—a child of ten years old.</p> - -<p>His sympathy and entreaties that she would make -an effort to join them on the Digue, added to his lovelorn -eyes, the clear childish blue of which was already -becoming blurred with the heat of passion, convinced -her that all was not lost, although Ralph Pullen <em>had</em> been -ungrateful and impolite enough to leave Heyst without -sending her notice, and presently she persuaded the lad -to go down to his dinner, and inform the Baroness that -she had ordered a cup of tea to be sent up to her bedroom,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</span> -and would try to rise after she had taken it, and -join them on the Digue.</p> - -<p>“But you will keep a look-out for me, Bobby, won’t -you?” she said in parting. “You will not let me miss -your party, or I shall feel so lonely that I shall come -straight back to bed!”</p> - -<p>“Miss you! as if I would!” exclaimed the boy -fervently, “why, I shall not stir from the balcony until -you appear! O! Miss Brandt! I love you so. You cannot -tell—you will never know—but you seem like part -of my life!”</p> - -<p>“Silly boy!” replied Harriet, reproachfully, as she -gave him another kiss. “There, run away at once, and -don’t tell your mother what we’ve been about, or she -will never let me speak to you again.”</p> - -<p>Bobby’s eyes answered for him, that he would be -torn to pieces before he let their precious secret out of -his grasp, as he took his unwilling way down to the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">table d’hôte</i>.</p> - -<p>“Well! you <em>’ave</em> made a little fool of yourself, and -no mistake,” was the Baroness’s greeting, as Harriet -joined her in the balcony an hour later, “and a nice lot -of lies I’ve ’ad to tell about you to Mrs. Montague and -the rest. But luckily, they’re all so full of the poor child’s -death, and the coffin of white cloth studded with silver -nails that was brought from Bruges to carry the body to -England in, that they ’ad no time to spare for your -tantrums. Lor! that poor young man must ’ave ’ad -enough to do, I can tell you, from all accounts, without -writing to you! Everything was on ’is ’ands, for Mrs. -Pullen wouldn’t let the doctor out of ’er sight! ’E ’ad -to fly off to Bruges to get the coffin and to wire half<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</span> -over the world, besides ’aving the two women to tow -about, so you mustn’t be ’ard on ’im. ’E’ll write soon, -and explain everything, you may make sure of that, and -if ’e don’t, why, we shall be after ’im before long! -Aldershot, where the Limerick Rangers are quartered, is -within a stone’s throw of London, and Lord Menzies and -Mr. Nalgett often run over to the Red ’Ouse, and so can -Captain Pullen, if he chooses! So you just make yourself -’appy, and it will be all right before long.”</p> - -<p>“O! I’m all right!” cried Harriet, gaily, “I was only -a little startled at the news, so would anyone have been. -Come along, Bobby! Let us walk over the dunes to the -next town. This cool air will do my head good. Good-bye, -Baroness! You needn’t expect us till you see us! -Bobby and I are going for a good long walk!”</p> - -<p>And tucking the lad’s arm under her own, she walked -off at a tremendous pace, and the pair were soon lost -to view.</p> - -<p>“I wish that Bobby was a few years older,” remarked -the Baroness thoughtfully to her husband, as -they were left alone, “she wouldn’t ’ave made a bad -match for him, for she ’as a tidy little fortune, and it’s -all in Consols. But perhaps it’s just as well there’s no -chance of it! She ain’t got much ’eart—I couldn’t ’ave -believed that she’d receive the news of that poor baby’s -death, without a tear or so much as a word of regret, -when at one time she ’ad it always in ’er arms. She -quite forgot all about it, thinking of the man. Drat the -men! They’re more trouble than they’re worth, but ’e’s -pretty sure to come after ’er as soon as ’e ’ears she’s at -the Red ’Ouse!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</span></p> - -<p>“But to what good, mein tear,” demanded the Baron, -“when you know he is betrothed to Miss Leyton?”</p> - -<p>“Yes! and ’e’ll marry Miss Leyton, too. ’E’s not the -sort of man to let the main chance go! And ’Arriet will -console ’erself with a better beau. I can read all that -without your telling me, Gustave. But Miss Leyton won’t -get off without a scratch or two, all the same, and that’s -what I’m aiming at. I’ll teach ’er not to call me a -female elephant! I’ve got my knife into that young -woman, and I mean to turn it! Confound ’er impudence! -What next?”</p> - -<p>And having delivered herself of her feelings, the -Baroness rose and proceeded to take her evening -promenade along the Digue.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>The Red House at Holloway was, like its owner, a -contradiction and an anomaly. It had lain for many -years in Chancery, neglected and uncared-for, and the -Baroness had purchased it for a song. She was very -fond of driving bargains, and sometimes she was horribly -taken in. She had been known to buy a house for two -thousand pounds for a mere caprice, and exchange it, -six months afterwards, for a dinner service. But as a -rule she was too shrewd to be cheated, for her income -was not a tenth part of what she represented. When -she had concluded her bargain for the Red House, which -she did after a single survey of the premises, and -entered on possession, she found it would take double -the sum she had paid to put it into proper repair. It -was a very old house of the Georgian era standing in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</span> -its own grounds of about a couple of acres, and containing -thirty rooms, full of dust, damp, rats, and decay. -The Baroness, however, having sent for a couple of workmen -from the firm, to put the tangled wilderness which -called itself a garden, into something like order, sent in -all her household gods, and settled down there, with -William and two rough maid servants, as lady of the -Manor. The inside of the Red House presented an incongruous -appearance. This extraordinary woman, who -could not sound her aspirates and could hardly write -her own name, had a wonderful taste for old china and -pictures, and knew a good thing from a bad one. Her -drawing-room was heaped with valuables, many of them -piled on rickety tables which threatened every minute to -overturn them upon the ground. The entrance hall was -dingy, bare, and ill-lighted, and the breakfast-room to the -side was furnished with the merest necessities. Yet the -dressing-table in the Baroness’s sleeping apartment was -draped in ruby velvet, and trimmed with a flounce of -the most costly Brussels lace, which a Princess might not -have been ashamed to wear. The bed was covered with -a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">duvet</i> of the thickest satin, richly embroidered by her -own hand, whilst the washing-stand held a set of the -commonest and cheapest crockery. Everything about -the house was on the same scale; it looked as though it -belonged to people who had fallen from the utmost -affluence to the depths of poverty. Harriet Brandt was -terribly disappointed when she entered it, Bobby’s accounts -of the magnificence of his home having led her -to expect nothing short of a palace.</p> - -<p>The Baroness had insisted on her accompanying -them to England. She had taken one of her violent<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</span> -fancies to the girl, and nothing would satisfy her but -that Harriet should go back with her husband and herself -to the Red House, and stay there as long as she -chose.</p> - -<p>“Now look ’ere,” she said in her rough way, “you -must make the Red ’Ouse your ’ome. Liberty ’All, as -I call it! Get up and go to bed; go out and come in, -just when you see fit—do what you like, see what you -like, and invite your friends, as if the ’ouse was your -own. The Baron and I are often ’alf the day at the -boot shop, but that need make no difference to you. I -daresay you’ll find some way to amuse yourself. You’re -the daughter of the ’ouse, remember, and free to do as -you choose!”</p> - -<p>Harriet gladly accepted the offer. She had no friends -of her own to go to, and the prospect of living by herself, -in an unknown city, was rather lonely. She was -full of anticipation also that by means of the Red House -and the Baroness’s influence, she would soon hear of, or -see, Captain Pullen again—full of hope that Madame -Gobelli would write to the young man and force him to -fulfil the promises he had made to her. She did not -want to know Prince Adalbert or Prince Loris—at the -present moment, it was Ralph and Ralph only, and none -other would fill the void she felt at losing him. She -was sure there must be some great mistake at the bottom -of his strange silence, and that they had but to meet, to -see it rectified. She was only too glad then, when the -day for their departure from Heyst arrived. Most of -the English party had left the Lion d’Or by that time. -The death of Mrs. Pullen’s child seemed to have frightened -them away. Some became nervous lest little Ethel<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</span> -had inhaled poisonous vapours from the drainage—others -thought that the atmosphere was unhealthy, or that it -was getting too late in the year for the seaside, and so -the visitors dwindled, until the Baroness Gobelli found -they were left alone with foreigners, and elected to return -to England in consequence.</p> - -<p>Harriet had wished to write to Captain Pullen and -ask for an explanation of his conduct, but the Baroness -conjured her not to do so, even threatened to withdraw -her friendship, if the girl went against her advice. The -probabilities were, she said, that the young man was -staying with his sister-in-law wherever she might be, and -that the letter would be forwarded to him from the -Camp, and fall into the hands of Mrs. Pullen, or Miss -Leyton. She assured Harriet that it would be safer to -wait until she had ascertained his address, and was sure -that any communication would reach him at first hand.</p> - -<p>“A man’s never the worse for being let alone, -’Arriet,” she said. “Don’t let ’im think ’e’s of too much -consequence and ’e’ll value you all the more! Our -fellows don’t care for the bird that walks up to the gun. -A little ’olesome indifference will do my gentleman all -the good in the world!”</p> - -<p>“O! but how <em>can</em> I be indifferent, when I am burning -to see him again, and to hear why he never wrote -to say that he could not come to Brussels,” exclaimed -Harriet, excitedly. “Do you think it was all falsehoods, -Madame Gobelli? Do you think that he does not want -to see me any more?”</p> - -<p>Her eyes were flashing like diamonds—her cheeks -and hands were burning hot. The Baroness chuckled -over her ardour and anxiety.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</span></p> - -<p>“He! he! he! you little fool, no, I don’t! Anyone -could see with ’alf an eye, that he took a fancy for -you! You’re the sort of stuff to stir up a man and -make ’im forget everything but yourself. Now don’t you -worry. ’E’ll be at the Red ’Ouse like a shot, as soon -as ’e ’ears we’re back in London. Mark my words! it -won’t be long before we ’ave the ’ole lot of ’em down -on us, like bees ’umming round a flower pot.”</p> - -<p>After this flattering tale, it was disheartening to arrive -in town on a chilly September day, under a pouring -rain, and to see the desolate appearance presented by -the Red House.</p> - -<p>It was seven in the evening before they reached -Holloway, and drove up the dark carriage drive, clumped -by laurels, to the hall door.</p> - -<p>After the grand description given by Bobby of his -Mamma’s barouche lined with olive green satin, Harriet -was rather astonished that they should have to charter -cabs from the Victoria Station to Holloway, instead of -being met by the Baroness’s private carriage. But she -discovered afterwards that though there was a barouche -standing in the coach-house, which had been purchased -in a moment of reckless extravagance by Madame Gobelli, -there were no horses to draw it, and the only -vehicle kept by the Baroness was a very much patched, -not to say disreputable looking Victoria, with a spavined -cob attached to it, in which William drove the mistress -when she visited the boot premises.</p> - -<p>The chain having been taken down, the hall door -was opened to them by a slight, timid looking person, -whom Harriet mistook for an upper housemaid.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</span></p> - -<p>“Well, Miss Wynward,” exclaimed the Baroness, as -she stumped into the hall, “’ere we are, you see!”</p> - -<p>“Yes! my lady,” said the person she addressed, “but -I thought, from not hearing again, that you would travel -by the night boat! Your rooms are ready,” she hastened -to add, “only—dinner, you see! I had no orders about it!”</p> - -<p>“That doesn’t signify,” interrupted the Baroness, -“send out for a steak and give us some supper instead! -’Ere William, where are you? Take my bag and Miss -Brandt’s up to our rooms, and, Gustave, you can carry -the wraps! Where’s that devil Bobby? Come ’ere at -once and make yourself useful! What are you standing -there, staring at ’Arriet for? Don’t you see Miss Wynward? -Go and say ‘’ow d’ye do’ to ’er?”</p> - -<p>Bobby started, and crossing to where Miss Wynward -stood, held out his hand. She shook it warmly.</p> - -<p>“How are you, Bobby?” she said. “You don’t look -much stronger for your trip. I expected to see you -come back with a colour!”</p> - -<p>“Nonsense!” commenced the Baroness testily, “what -rubbish you old maids do talk! What should you know -about boys? ’Ow many ’ave <em>you</em> got? ’Ere, why don’t -you kiss ’im? You’ve smacked ’im often enough, <em>I</em> know!”</p> - -<p>Miss Wynward tried to pass the coarse rejoinder off -as a joke, but it was with a very plaintive smile that -she replied,</p> - -<p>“I think Bobby is growing rather too tall to be -kissed, and he thinks so too, don’t you, Bobby?”</p> - -<p>Bobby was about to make some silly reply, when his -Mamma interrupted him,</p> - -<p>“Oh! does he? ’E’ll be wanting to kiss the gals soon,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</span> -so ’e may as well practise on you first! Come! Bobby, -do you ’ear what I say? Kiss ’er!”</p> - -<p>But Miss Wynward drew up her spare figure with -dignity.</p> - -<p>“No! my lady!” she said quietly, “I do not wish it!”</p> - -<p>“He! he! he!” giggled the Baroness, as she commenced -to mount the stairs, “’e ain’t old enough for you, -that’s what’s the matter! Come along, ’Arriet, my dear! -I’m dog-tired and I daresay you’re much the same! Let -us ’ave some ’ot water to our rooms, Miss Wynward!”</p> - -<p>Harriet Brandt was now ushered by her hostess into -a bedroom on the same floor as her own, and left to -unpack her bundles and boxes as she best might. It -was not a badly furnished room, but there was too much -pomp and too little comfort in it. The mantelshelf was -ornamented with some rare old Chelsea figures, and a -Venetian glass hung above them, but the carpet was -threadbare, and the dressing-table was inconveniently -small and of painted deal. But as though to atone for -these discrepancies, the hangings to the bed were of satin, -and the blind that shaded the window was edged with -Neapolitan lace. Harriet had not been used to luxuries -in the Convent, but her rooms in the Lion d’Or had -been amply provided with all she could need, and she -was a creature of sensual and indolent temperament, -who felt any rebuff, in the way of her comfort, terribly.</p> - -<p>There was an un-homelike feeling in the Red House -and its furniture, and a coldness in their reception, -which made the passionate, excited creature feel inclined -to sit down and burst into tears. She was on -the very brink of doing so, when a tap sounded on the -door, and Miss Wynward entered with a zinc can of hot<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</span> -water, which she placed on the washing-stand. Then -she stood for a moment regarding the girl as though -she guessed what was in her mind, before she said,</p> - -<p>“Miss Brandt, I believe! I am so sorry that the -Baroness never wrote me with any certainty regarding -her arrival, or things would have been more comfortable. -I hope you had a good dinner on board!”</p> - -<p>“No!” said Harriet, shaking her head, “I felt too -ill to eat. But it does not signify, thank you!”</p> - -<p>“But you are looking quite upset! Supper cannot -be ready for another hour. I will go and make you a -cup of tea!”</p> - -<p>She hurried from the room again, and presently returned -with a small tray on which was set a Sèvres cup -and saucer and Apostle teaspoon, with an earthenware -teapot that may possibly have cost sixpence. But Harriet -was too grateful for the tea to cavil whence it came, -and drinking it refreshed her more than anything else -could have done.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, thank you so much,” she said to Miss -Wynward, “I think the long journey and the boat had -been too much for me. I feel much better now!”</p> - -<p>“It is such a melancholy house to come to when one -is out of sorts,” observed her companion, “I have felt -that myself! It will not give you a good impression of -your first visit to London. Her ladyship wrote me you -had just come from the West Indies,” she added, timidly.</p> - -<p>“Yes! I have not long arrived in Europe,” replied -Harriet. “But I thought—I fancied—the Baroness gave -me the idea that the Red House was particularly gay -and cheerful, and that so many people visited her here!”</p> - -<p>“That is true! A great many people visit here! But—not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</span> -such people, perhaps, as a young lady would care -for!”</p> - -<p>“O! I care for every sort,” said Harriet, more gaily, -“and you,—don’t you care for company, Miss Wynward?”</p> - -<p>“I have nothing to do with it, Miss Brandt, beyond -seeing that the proper preparations are made for receiving -it. I am Bobby’s governess, and housekeeper to the -Baroness!”</p> - -<p>“Bobby is getting rather tall for a governess!” laughed -Harriet.</p> - -<p>“He is, poor boy, but his education is very deficient. -He ought to have been sent to school long ago, but her -ladyship would not hear of it. But I never teach him -now. He is supposed to be finished!”</p> - -<p>“Why don’t you find another situation then?” demanded -Harriet, who was becoming interested in the -ex-governess.</p> - -<p>She was a fragile, melancholy looking woman of perhaps -five-and-thirty, who had evidently been good-looking -in her day and would have been so then but for her -attenuation, and shabby dress. But she was evidently -a gentlewoman, and far above the menial offices she appeared -to fill in the Red House. She gazed at Harriet -for a minute in silence after she had put the last question -to her, and then answered slowly:</p> - -<p>“There are reasons which render it unadvisable. -But you, Miss Brandt, have you known the Baroness -before?”</p> - -<p>“I never saw her till we met at Heyst and she invited -me here,” replied the girl.</p> - -<p>“O! why did you come? Why did you come?” exclaimed -Miss Wynward, as she left the room.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</span></p> - -<p>Harriet stood gazing at the door as it closed behind -her. <em>Why had she come?</em> What an extraordinary question -to ask her! For the same reason that other people -accepted invitations to them by their friends—because -she expected to enjoy herself, and have the protection -of the Baroness on first entering English society! But -why should this governess—her dependant, almost her -servant—put so strange a question to her? Why had -she come? She could not get it out of her mind. She -was roused from her train of speculation by hearing the -Baroness thumping on the outside panels of her door -with her stick.</p> - -<p>“Come along,” she cried, “never mind dressing! -The supper’s ready at last and I’m as ’ungry as an ’unter.”</p> - -<p>Hastily completing her toilet, Harriet joined her -hostess, who conducted her down to a large dining-room, -wrapt in gloom. The two dozen morocco chairs -ranged against the wall, looked sepulchral by the light -of a single lamp, placed in the centre of a long mahogany -table, which was graced by a fried steak, a huge -piece of cheese, bread and butter, and lettuces from the -garden. Harriet regarded the preparations for supper -with secret dismay. She was greedy by nature, but it -was the love of good feeding, rather than a superfluity -of food, that induced her to be so. However, when the -Baron produced a couple of bottles of the very best -Champagne to add to the meal, she felt her appetite -somewhat revive, and played almost as good a knife and -fork as the Baroness. Bobby and Miss Wynward, who -as it appeared, took her meals with the family, were the -only ones who did not do justice to the supper.</p> - -<p>The lad looked worn-out and very pale, but when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</span> -Miss Wynward suggested that a glass of champagne -might do him good, and dispel the exhaustion under -which he was evidently labouring, his mother vehemently -opposed the idea.</p> - -<p>“Champagne for a child like ’im,” she cried, “I never -’eard of such a thing. Do you want to make ’im a -drunkard, Miss Wynward? No! thank you, there ’ave -been no ’ard drinkers in <em>our</em> family, and ’e shan’t begin -it! ’Is father was one of the soberest men alive! -’E never took anything stronger than toast and water all -the time I knew ’im.”</p> - -<p>“Of course not, your ladyship,” stammered Miss -Wynward, who seemed in abject fear of her employer, -“I only thought as Bobby seems so very tired, that a -little stimulant——”</p> - -<p>“Then let ’im go to bed,” replied Madame Gobelli. -“Bed is the proper place for boys when they’re tired! -Come, Sir, off to bed with you, at once, and don’t let -me ’ear anything more of you till to-morrow morning!”</p> - -<p>“But mayn’t I have some supper?” pleaded Bobby.</p> - -<p>“Not a bit of it!” reiterated the Baroness, “if you’re -so done up that you require champagne, your stomach -can’t be in a fit state to digest beef and bread! Be off -at once, I say, or you’ll get a taste of my stick.”</p> - -<p>“But, my lady—” said Miss Wynward, entreatingly.</p> - -<p>“It’s not a bit of good, Miss Wynward, I know more -about boys’ insides than you do. Sleep’s the thing for -Bobby. Now, no more nonsense, I say—”</p> - -<p>But Bobby, after one long look at Harriet Brandt, -had already quitted the room. This episode had the -effect of destroying Miss Wynward’s appetite. She sat -gazing at her plate for a few minutes, and then with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</span> -some murmured excuse of its being late, she rose and -disappeared. The Baroness was some time over her -meal, and Harriet had an opportunity to examine the -apartment they sat in, as well as the dim light allowed -her to do. The walls were covered with oil paintings -and good ones, as she could see at a glance, whilst at -the further end, where narrow shelves were fixed from -the floor to the ceiling, was displayed the famous -dinner service of Sèvres, for which the Baroness was -said to have bartered the two thousand lease of her -house.</p> - -<p>Harriet glanced from the pictures and the china -upon the walls to the steak and bread and cheese upon -the table, and marvelled at the incongruity of the whole -establishment. Madame Gobelli who, whilst at the Lion -d’Or, had appeared to think nothing good enough for -her, was now devouring fried steak and onions, as if -they had been the daintiest of fare. But the champagne -made amends, on that night at least, for the solids which -accompanied it, and the girl was quite ready to believe -that the poverty of the table was only due to the fact -that they had arrived at the Red House unexpectedly. -As they reached the upper corridor, her host and hostess -parted with her, with much effusion, and passing into -their own room, shut the door and locked it noisily. As -Harriet gained hers, she saw the door opposite partly -unclose to display poor Bobby standing there to see her -once again.</p> - -<p>He was clothed only in his long night-shirt, and -looked like a lanky ghost, but he was too childish in -mind to think for one moment that his garb was not a -suitable one for a lover to accost his mistress in. She<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</span> -heard him whisper her name as she turned the handle -of her own door.</p> - -<p>“Why, Bobby,” she exclaimed, “not in bed yet?”</p> - -<p>“Hush! hush!” he said in a low voice, “or Mamma -will hear you! I couldn’t sleep till I had seen you again -and wished you good-night!”</p> - -<p>“Poor dear boy! Are you not very hungry?”</p> - -<p>“No, thanks. Miss Wynward is very kind to me. -She has seen after that. But to leave without a word -to you. That was the hard part of it!”</p> - -<p>“Poor Bobby!” ejaculated Harriet again, drawing -nearer to him. “But you must not stay out of bed. -You will catch your death of cold!”</p> - -<p>“Kiss me then and I will go!”</p> - -<p>He advanced his face to the opening of the door, -and she put her lips to his, and drew his breath away -with her own.</p> - -<p>“Good-night! good-night!” murmured Bobby with a -long sigh. “God bless you! good-night!” and then he -disappeared, and Harriet entered her own room, and -her eyes gleamed, as she recognised the fact that Bobby -also was going to make a fool of himself for her sake.</p> - -<p>The next morning she was surprised on going downstairs -at about nine o’clock, to find a cloth laid over only -part of the dining table, and breakfast evidently prepared -for one person. She was still gazing at it in -astonishment, and wondering what it meant, when Miss -Wynward entered the room, to express a hope that -Miss Brandt had slept well and had everything that she -required.</p> - -<p>“O! certainly yes! but where are we going to have -breakfast?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</span></p> - -<p>“Here, Miss Brandt, if it pleases you. I was just -about to ask what you would like for your breakfast.”</p> - -<p>“But the Baron and Baroness—”</p> - -<p>“O! they started for the manufactory two hours ago. -Her ladyship is a very early riser when at home, and -they have some four miles to drive.”</p> - -<p>“The manufactory!” echoed Harriet, “do you mean -where they make the boots and shoes?”</p> - -<p>“Yes! There is a manufactory in Germany, and another -in England, where the boots and shoes are finished -off. And then there is the shop in Oxford Street, -where they are sold. The Baron’s business is a very -extensive one!”</p> - -<p>“So I have understood, but what good can Madame -Gobelli do there? What can a woman know about such -things?”</p> - -<p>Miss Wynward shrugged her shoulders.</p> - -<p>“She looks after the young women who are employed, -I believe, and keeps them up to their work. -The Baroness is a very clever woman. She knows -something about most things—and a good deal that were -better left unknown,” she added, with a sigh.</p> - -<p>“And does she go there every morning?”</p> - -<p>“Not always, but as a rule she does. She likes to -have a finger in the pie, and fancies that nothing can -go on properly without her. And she is right so far that -she has a much better head for business than the Baron, -who would like to be out of it all if he could!”</p> - -<p>“But why can’t he give it up then, since they are so -very rich?” demanded Harriet.</p> - -<p>Miss Wynward regarded her for a moment, as if she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</span> -wondered who had given her the information, and then -said quietly,</p> - -<p>“But all this time we are forgetting your breakfast, -Miss Brandt! What will you take? An egg, or a piece -of bacon?”</p> - -<p>“O! I don’t care,” replied Harriet, yawning, “I never -can eat when I am alone! Where is Bobby? Won’t he -take his breakfast with me?”</p> - -<p>“O! he had his long ago with his Mamma, but I daresay -he would not mind a second edition, poor boy!”</p> - -<p>She walked to the French windows which opened -from a rustic porch to the lawn, and called “Bobby! -Bobby!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Miss Wynward,” replied the lad in a more -cheerful tone than Harriet remembered to have ever -heard him use before, “what is it?”</p> - -<p>“Come in, my dear, and keep Miss Brandt company, -whilst she takes her breakfast!”</p> - -<p>“Won’t I!” cried Bobby, as he came running from -the further end of the disorderly garden, with a bunch -of flowers.</p> - -<p>“They are for you!” he exclaimed, as he put them -into Harriet’s hand, “I gathered them on purpose!”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Bobby,” she replied. “It <em>was</em> kind of -you!”</p> - -<p>She felt cheered by the simple attention. For her -hostess to have left her on the very first morning, without -a word of explanation, had struck her as looking -very much (notwithstanding all the effusive flattery and -protestations of attachment with which she had been -laden) as if she were not wanted at the Red House.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</span></p> - -<p>But when her morning meal was over, and she had -been introduced to every part of the establishment under -the chaperonage of Bobby—to the tangled, overgrown -garden, the empty stables, Papa’s library, which was -filled with French and German books, and Mamma’s -drawing-room, which was so full of valuable china that -one scarcely dared move freely about it—the burning -thirst to see, or hear something of Ralph Pullen returned -with full force upon Harriet, and she enquired eagerly -of Miss Wynward when her hostess might be expected -to return.</p> - -<p>Miss Wynward looked rather blank as she replied,</p> - -<p>“Not till dinner time, I am afraid! I fancy she will -find too much to enquire about and to do, after so long -an absence from home. I am so sorry, Miss Brandt,” -she continued, noting the look of disappointment on the -girl’s face, “that her ladyship did not make this plain -to you last night. Her injunctions to me were to see -that you had everything you required, and to spare no -trouble or expense on your account. But that is not -like having her here, of course! Have you been into the -library? There are some nice English works there, and -there is a piano in the drawing-room which you might -like to use. I am afraid it is not in tune, on account -of the rain we have had, and that I have not opened it -myself during the Baroness’s absence, and indeed it is -never used, except to teach Bobby his music lessons on, -but it may amuse you in default of anything else.”</p> - -<p>“O! I daresay I shall find something to amuse myself -with,” replied Harriet rather sullenly, “I have my -own instrument with me, and my books, thank you! But -is no one likely to call this afternoon, do you think?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</span></p> - -<p>“This afternoon,” echoed Miss Wynward, “are you -expecting any of your own friends to see you?”</p> - -<p>“O! no! I have no friends in England,—none at -least that know I have returned from Heyst. But the -Baroness told me—she said the Red House was always -full of guests—Prince Adalbert and Prince Loris, and a -lot of others—do you think they may come to-day to -see her?”</p> - -<p>“O! not in September,” replied her companion, “it -is not the season now, Miss Brandt, and all the fashionable -people are out of town, at the foreign watering-places, -or shooting in the country. Her ladyship could -never have intended you to understand that the people -you have mentioned would come here at any time except -between May and July! They <em>do</em> come here then—sometimes—but -not I expect, as <em>you</em> think—not as -friends, I mean!”</p> - -<p>“Not as <em>friends</em>! What as, then?” demanded Harriet.</p> - -<p>“Well!” returned Miss Wynward, dubiously, “many -of them have business with her ladyship, and they come -to see her upon it! I generally conduct them to her -presence, and leave them alone with her, but that is all -I see of them! They have never come here to a party, -or dinner, to my knowledge!”</p> - -<p>“How very extraordinary!” cried Harriet. “What do -they come for then?”</p> - -<p>“The Baroness must tell you that!” replied the -other, gravely, “I am not in her confidence, and if I -were, I should not feel justified in revealing it.”</p> - -<p>This conversation drove Harriet to her room to indite -a letter to Captain Pullen. If she were to be deprived -of the society of dukes and princes, she would<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</span> -at least secure the company of one person who could -make the time pass pleasantly to her. As she wrote to -him, rapidly, unadvisedly, passionately, her head burned -and her heart was fluttering. She felt as if she had -been deceived—cheated—decoyed to the Red House -under false pretences, and she was in as much of a -rage as her indolent nature would permit her to be. -The revelations of Miss Wynward had sunk down into -her very soul. No parties, no dinners, with princes -handing her into the dining-room and whispering soft -nothings into her ears all the time! Why had Madame -Gobelli so often promised to console her for the loss of -Captain Pullen by this very means, and it was a dream, -a chimera, they only came to the Red House on business—business, -horrid unromantic word—and were shut -up with the Baroness. <em>What</em> business, she wondered! Could -it be about boots and shoes, and if so, why did they -not go to the shop, which surely was the proper place -from which to procure them! The idea that she had -been deceived in this particular, made her write far -more warmly and pleadingly perhaps, than she would -otherwise have done. A bird in the hand was worth -two in the bush—Harriet was not conversant with the -proverb, but she fully endorsed the sentiment. When -her letter was written and addressed to the Camp at -Aldershot, and she had walked out with Bobby to post -it in the pillar box, she felt happier and less resentful. -At all events she was her own mistress and could leave -the Red House when she chose, and take up her abode -elsewhere. A hot sun had dried the garden paths and -grass, and she spent the rest of the afternoon wandering -about the unshaven lawn with Bobby, and lingering<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</span> -on the rotten wooden benches under the trees, with the -boy’s arm round her waist, and his head drooping on -her shoulder.</p> - -<p>Bobby was blissfully happy, and she was content. -If we cannot get caviare, it is wise to content ourselves -with cod’s roe. They spent hours together that afternoon, -until the dusk had fallen and the hour of dining -had drawn nigh. They talked of Heyst and the pleasures -they had left behind them, and Harriet was astonished -to hear how manly were some of Bobby’s ideas and -sentiments, when out of sight of his Mamma.</p> - -<p>At last, the strident tones of the Baroness’s voice -were heard echoing through the grounds. Harriet and -Bobby leaped to their feet in a moment.</p> - -<p>“’Ere, ’Arriet! Bobby! where are you? You’re a -nice son and daughter to ’ide away from me, when I’ve -been toiling for your benefit all the day.”</p> - -<p>She came towards them as she spoke, and when -Harriet saw how fatigued she looked, she almost forgave -her for leaving her in the lurch as she had done.</p> - -<p>“I suppose you thought we were both dead, didn’t -you?” she continued. “Well, we are, almost. Never -’ad such a day’s work in my life! Found everything -wrong, of course! You can’t turn your back for five -minutes but these confounded workmen play old ’Arry -with your business! I sent off ten fellows before I’d -been in the factory ten minutes, and fined as many -girls, and ’ave been running all over London since to -replace ’em. It’s ’ard work, I can tell you!”</p> - -<p>She plumped down upon the rotten seat, nearly -bringing it to the ground, as she spoke, and burst out -laughing.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</span></p> - -<p>“You should ’ave seen one man, you would ’ave -died of laughing! ‘Get out,’ I said to ’im, ‘not another -day’s work do you do ’ere!’ ‘Get out of the factory -where I’ve worked for twenty years?’ ’e said, ‘Well, -then, I shan’t, not for you! If the governor ’ad said -so, it might be a different thing, but a woman ’as no -right to come interfering in business as she knows nothing -about!’ ‘That’s the way the wind lies,’ I replied, -‘and you want a man to turn you out! We’ll soon see -if a woman can’t do it!’ and I took my stick and laid -it on his back till he holload again. He was out of the -place before you could say Jack Robinson! ‘’Ow will -that do?’ I said to the others, ‘who else wants a taste -of my stick before ’e’ll go!’ But they all cleared out -before I ’ad done speaking! I laughed till I was ill! -But come along, children! It’s time for dinner!” As -they returned to the house, she accosted Harriet,</p> - -<p>“I ’ope you’ve amused yourself to-day! You’ll ’ave -to look after yourself whenever I’m at the factory! But -a ’andsome gal like you won’t want long for amusement. -We’ll ’ave plenty of company ’ere, soon! Miss Wynward,” -she continued, as they entered the dining-room, -“Mr. Milliken is coming to-morrow! See that ’is room -is ready for ’im!”</p> - -<p>“Very good, my lady!” replied Miss Wynward, but -Harriet fancied she did not like the idea of Mr. Milliken -staying with them.</p> - -<p>The dinner proceeded merrily. It was more sumptuous -than the day before, consisting of several courses, -and the champagne flowed freely. Harriet, sitting at -her ease and thoroughly enjoying the repast, thought -that it atoned for all the previous inconvenience. But<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</span> -a strange incident occurred before the meal was over. -The Baron, who was carver, asked Bobby twice if he -would take some roast beef, and received no answer, -which immediately aroused the indignation of the Baroness.</p> - -<p>“Do you ’ear what your father is saying to you, -Bobby?” she cried, shrilly. “Answer ’im at once or -I’ll send you out of the room! Will you ’ave some beef?”</p> - -<p>But still there was no reply.</p> - -<p>“My lady! I think that he is ill,” said Miss Wynward -in alarm.</p> - -<p>“Ill! Rubbish!” exclaimed the Baroness. Being so -coarse-fibred and robust a woman herself, she never had -any sympathy with delicacy or illness, and generally declared -all invalids to be humbugs, shamming in order -to attract the more attention. She now jumped up -from her seat, and going round to her son’s chair, shook -him violently by the shoulder.</p> - -<p>“’Ere, wake up! what are you about?” she exclaimed, -“if you don’t sit up at once and answer your -father’s question, I’ll lay my stick about your back!”</p> - -<p>She was going to put her argument into effect, when -Harriet prevented her.</p> - -<p>“Stop! stop! Madame Gobelli!” she exclaimed; -“can’t you see, he has fainted!”</p> - -<p>It was really true! Bobby had fainted dead away -in his chair, where he lay white as a sheet, with closed -eyes, and limp body. Miss Wynward flew to her pupil’s -assistance.</p> - -<p>“Poor dear boy! I was sure he was not well directly -he entered the house,” she said.</p> - -<p>“Not well!” replied the Baroness, “nonsense! what -should ail ’im? ’Is father was one of the strongest men<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</span> -on God’s earth! He never ’ad a day’s illness in ’is -life. ’Ow should the boy, a great ’ulking fellow like ’im, -’ave got ill?”</p> - -<p>She spoke roughly, but there was a tremor in her -voice as she uttered the words, and she looked at Bobby -as though she were afraid of him.</p> - -<p>But as he gradually revived under Miss Wynward’s -treatment, she approached nearer, and said with some -tenderness in her tones,</p> - -<p>“Well! Bobby, lad, and ’ow do you feel now?”</p> - -<p>“Better, Mamma, thank you! only my head keeps -going round!”</p> - -<p>“Had I not better help him up to his bed, my -lady?” asked Miss Wynward.</p> - -<p>“O! yes! but I ’ope ’e isn’t going to make a fool of -’imself like this again, for I don’t ’old with boys fainting -like hysterical gals!”</p> - -<p>“I couldn’t help it, Mamma!” said Bobby faintly.</p> - -<p>“O! yes! you could, if you ’ad any pluck! You -never saw <em>me</em> faint. Nor Gustave either! It’s all ’abit! -Trundle ’im off to bed, Miss Wynward. The sooner ’e’s -there, the better!”</p> - -<p>“And I may give him a little stimulant,” suggested -Miss Wynward timidly, recalling the scene of the evening -before, “a little champagne or brandy and water—I -think he requires it, my lady!”</p> - -<p>“O! yes! Coddle ’im to your ’eart’s content, only -don’t let me ’ear of it! I ’ate a fuss! Good-night, -Bobby! Mind you’re well by to-morrow morning!”</p> - -<p>And she brushed the lad’s cheek with her bristly chin.</p> - -<p>“Good-night!” replied Bobby, “good-night to all!”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</span> -as he was supported from the room on the arm of Miss -Wynward.</p> - -<p>The Baroness did not make any further remarks -concerning her son, but Harriet noticed that her appetite -disappeared with him, and declaring that she had tired -herself too much to eat, she sat unoccupied and almost -silent for the remainder of the meal.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>Mr. Alexander Milliken arrived punctually upon -the morrow.</p> - -<p>He was a tall, gaunt, weak-kneed man, with a prominent -nose and eyes that required the constant use of -glasses. Harriet Brandt could not at first determine his -relationship to the Baroness, who received him with one -of the rough kisses she was wont to bestow on Bobby -and herself.</p> - -<p>He established himself in the Red House as if he -had been a member of the family, and Harriet frequently -surprised him engaged in confidential talk with -their hostess, which was immediately stopped on her -arrival. She perceived that Miss Wynward had an -evident dislike for the new-comer, and never addressed -him but in the most formal manner and when it was -strictly necessary. The Baroness did not go so often to -the manufactory after Mr. Milliken’s arrival, but often -shut herself up with him in a room with locked doors, -after which Mr. Milliken would be much occupied with -secretarial work, writing letters with his short-sighted -eyes held close to the paper. He was a source of much -curiosity to Harriet Brandt, but he need not have been.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</span> -He was only that very common and unclean animal—the -jackal to Madame Gobelli’s lion.</p> - -<p>He was poor and she was rich, so he did all the -dirty work which she was unable, or afraid, to do for -herself. Mr. Milliken called himself an author and an -actor, but he was neither. On account of his accidental -likeness to a popular actor, he had once been engaged -to play the part of his double at a West-end theatre, but -with the waning of the piece, Mr. Milliken’s fame evaporated, -and he had never obtained an engagement since. -His assumed authorship was built on the same scale. -He had occasionally penned anonymous articles for newspapers, -which had been inserted without pay, but no -one in the literary or any other world knew him by -name or by fame. Of late he had attached himself to -Madame Gobelli, writing her letters for her (of doing -which she was almost incapable), and occasionally dabbling -in dirtier work, which she was too cunning to do -for herself. Miss Wynward could have told tales of -abusive epistles which had been sent through his hand -to people, whom the Baroness considered had offended -her—of anonymous letters also, which if traced would -have landed them both in the County Court. But Mr. -Milliken was out at elbows. He found it very convenient -to hang about the Red House for weeks together, to the -saving of his pocket—receiving douceurs sometimes in -actual coin of the realm at the hands of his benefactress, -and making himself useful to her in any way in return. -Lately, notwithstanding her grand promises to Harriet -Brandt of introductions to lords, and princes, the Baroness -had thought it would be a very good thing for her -favourite jackal if the young heiress took a fancy for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</span> -him, and gave him full leave in consequence to go in -and conquer if he could. She would praise his appearance -and his qualities to the girl, before his very face—calling -attention to the fact of what a clever creature -he was, and what a fine figure he possessed, and how -well he was connected, and advising her in her coarse -fashion to cultivate his acquaintance better. She even -descended to having visions in the broad daylight, and -prophesying the future, for them both.</p> - -<p>“’Arriet!” she would suddenly exclaim, “I see a -man standing be’ind you!”</p> - -<p>“O! gracious!” the girl would reply, jumping in her -seat, “I wish you would not say such things, Madame!”</p> - -<p>“Rubbish! Why shouldn’t I say ’em, if they’re -there? Stop a bit! Let me see ’im plainly! ’E’s got -dark ’air, slightly sprinkled with grey—a fine nose—deep-set -eyes, with bushy eyebrows—no ’air on ’is face—a -tall figure, and long ’ands and feet! ’E’s living in -this world too! Do you know anybody that answers to -the description?”</p> - -<p>“No!” replied the girl, though she recognised it at -once as being meant for Mr. Milliken.</p> - -<p>“Well! if you don’t know ’im now, you will before -long, but it’s my belief you’ve met. And mark my words! -you and ’e will be closely connected in life! I shouldn’t -wonder if ’e turns out to be your future ’usband!”</p> - -<p>“O! nonsense!” exclaimed Harriet, trying to speak -lightly, “I’m not going to marry anybody, thank you, -Madame Gobelli, unless it’s one of the princes you promised -to introduce me to.”</p> - -<p>“O! princes are all rubbish!” replied the Baroness, -forgetting her former assertions, “they’ve none of them<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</span> -got any money, and yours wouldn’t go far enough for -’em. <em>They</em> want a gal with something like five thousand -a year at ’er back. I’d rather ’ave an Englishman any -day, than a dirty little German prince!”</p> - -<p>But Harriet Brandt was not the sort of woman to be -forced into an intimacy against her will. Born under -an hereditary curse, as she undoubtedly had been, and -gifted with the fatal propensity of injuring, rather than -benefiting those whom she took a fancy for, she was an -epicure in her taste for her fellow creatures, and would -not have permitted Mr. Alexander Milliken to take a -liberty with her, had he been the last man left upon the -earth. She avoided his society as much as it was possible -to do, without being rude to her hostess, but as -the Baroness was continually calling her to her side, it -was difficult to do so. Meanwhile the days went on -very differently from what she had anticipated when -coming to the Red House. Bobby was languid and indifferent -to everything but hanging about the place -where she might have located herself—sitting on the -sofa beside her, with his heavy head on her shoulder, -and his weak arm wound about her waist. Miss Wynward -feared he must have contracted some species of -malaria at the seaside, and Harriet could see for herself -that the lad was much altered from the time when they -first met—the Baroness alone, either from ignorance or -obstinacy, declaring that nothing ailed him but laziness, -and she would give him the stick if he didn’t exert himself -more. Sometimes Harriet took him out with her—for -a drive into the country, or to a concert or <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">matinée</i> -in London, but what was that compared to the entertainment -of Royalty and Aristocracy, which she had been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</span> -promised. And she had not heard a word from Captain -Pullen, though her first letter of appeal had been -succeeded by two or three more. Such a rebuff would -have driven another girl to despondency or tears, but -that was not the effect it had on Harriet Brandt. If -you throw a bone to a tigress and then try to take it -away, she does not weep—she fights for her prey. Harriet -Brandt, deprived of the flatteries and attentions of -Captain Pullen, did not weep either, but set her pretty -teeth together, and determined in her own mind that if -she were to give him up she would know the reason -why. She was reckless—she did not care what she did -to obtain it, but she would learn the truth of his defalcation -if she travelled down to Aldershot for the purpose. -She was in this mood one day, when the maidservant -who answered the door came to tell her that a lady was -in the drawing-room, and desired to see her. The -Baroness had gone out that afternoon and taken Mr. -Milliken with her, so that Harriet was alone. She -eagerly demanded the name of her visitor.</p> - -<p>“The lady didn’t give me her name,” replied the -servant, “but she asked if Miss Brandt was at home, -plain enough!”</p> - -<p>“Go back and say that I will be with her in a -minute!” said Harriet.</p> - -<p>She had decided in her own mind that the stranger -must be Margaret Pullen, bringing her, doubtless, some -news of her brother-in-law. She only stayed to smoothe -her hair, which was rather disordered from Bobby laying -his head on her shoulder, before, with a heightened -colour, she entered the drawing-room. What was her -surprise to encounter, instead of Mrs. Pullen, Miss Leyton—Miss<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</span> -Leyton, who had been so reserved and proud -with her at Heyst, and who even though she had sought -her out at the Red House, looked as reserved and proud -as before. Harriet advanced with an extended hand, -but Elinor Leyton did not appear to see the action, as -she coldly bowed and sank into her chair again.</p> - -<p>Harriet was rather taken aback, but managed to -stammer out,</p> - -<p>“I am very glad to see you, Miss Leyton! I thought -you and Mrs. Pullen had forgotten all about me since -leaving Heyst.”</p> - -<p>“We had not forgotten, Miss Brandt,” replied Elinor, -“but we had a great deal of trouble to encounter in the -death of Mrs. Pullen’s baby, and that put everything else -for a while out of our minds. But—but—lately, we -have had reason to remember your existence more -forcibly than before!”</p> - -<p>She spoke slowly and with an evident effort. She -was as agitated as it was in her nature to be the while, -but she did not show it outwardly. Elinor Leyton had -at all times the most perfect command over herself. -She was dressed on the present occasion with the utmost -neatness and propriety, though she had left her -home labouring under a discovery which had pierced -her to the very soul. She was a woman who would -have died upon the scaffold, without evincing the -least fear.</p> - -<p>“Reason to remember my existence!” echoed Harriet, -“I do not understand you.”</p> - -<p>“I think you soon will!” said Elinor, as she took -three letters from her hand-bag and laid them on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</span> -table, “I do not think you can fail to recognise that -handwriting, Miss Brandt!”</p> - -<p>Harriet stooped down and read the address upon -the envelopes. They were her own letters to Captain -Pullen.</p> - -<p>“How did you get these?” she demanded angrily, -as she seized them in her hand. “Is thieving one of -your proclivities, Miss Leyton?”</p> - -<p>“No, Miss Brandt, thieving, as you elegantly put it, -is not one of my proclivities! But Captain Pullen has -been staying in the house of my father, Lord Walthamstowe, -at Richmond, and left those letters behind him—thrown -in the empty grate just as they are, a proof of -how much he valued them! One of the housemaids, -whilst setting his room in order after his departure, -found them and brought them to me. So I determined -that I would return them to your hands myself!”</p> - -<p>“And have you read them?” demanded Harriet.</p> - -<p>“I have read them! I considered it my duty!”</p> - -<p>“Your duty!” replied the other, scornfully, “what -duty is there in a mean, dishonourable action like that? -What right had you to interfere with things that don’t -belong to you? These letters concern myself and Captain -Pullen alone!”</p> - -<p>“I deny that, Miss Brandt! They concern me quite -as much, if not more—Captain Pullen is my affianced -husband! We are to be married in the spring!”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe it!” cried Harriet, starting to her -feet. “A woman who would read letters not addressed -to her, would say anything! You are <em>not</em> engaged to -be married to Captain Pullen!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</span></p> - -<p>“Indeed! And on what grounds do you refuse to -believe my statement?”</p> - -<p>“Because he made love to me all the time he was -in Heyst! Because he used to kiss me and tell me -again and again that I was the only woman who had -ever touched his heart! Because he had arranged to -follow the Baroness’s party to Brussels, only to be near -me, and he would have done so, had <em>you</em> not prevented -him!”</p> - -<p>Her great eyes were blazing with indignation and -mortified vanity—her slender hands were clenched—she -looked as if she were about to spring upon her rival and -tear her to pieces—whilst Miss Leyton sat there, calm -and collected—and smiled at her ravings.</p> - -<p>“You are quite mistaken,” she said after a pause, -“I have never mentioned your name to Captain Pullen—I -had no idea, until those letters fell into my hands, -that he had so far forgotten what he owes to me, as to -address you in any terms but those of mere acquaintanceship. -But now that I <em>do</em> know, it must of course -be put a stop to at once and for ever! It was to tell -you so, that I came here this afternoon.”</p> - -<p>“Put a stop to! Do you imagine that I am going to -give up Captain Pullen at your request? You are vastly -mistaken!”</p> - -<p>“But you must—you <em>shall</em>!” exclaimed Elinor, getting -(for her) quite excited. “He is engaged to marry -me, and I will not allow him to keep up any communication -with you! My decision is final, and you will be -good enough to respect it!”</p> - -<p>“Your decision is <em>final</em>!” cried Harriet in mocking -tones. “Oh! indeed, is it? And what about Ralph’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</span> -decision? Does that count for nothing? What if Ralph -refuses to give me up?”</p> - -<p>Elinor rose to her feet, trembling with indignation at -the other’s boldness.</p> - -<p>“You shall not call him ‘Ralph’,” she exclaimed. -“How dare you speak of a man who is nothing to you, -in such familiar terms?”</p> - -<p>“But <em>is</em> he nothing to me?” retorted Harriet, “and -am I nothing to him? We must have that question answered -first. Ralph told me to call him by his name, -and he calls me Hally. How can you prevent our doing -so? He loves me—he has told me so—and I shall -write to him as often as I choose—yes! and I will take -him from you, if I choose, and keep him into the bargain! -What do you say to that?”</p> - -<p>“I say that you are a bold, brazen girl, not fit for -me to associate with, and that I refuse to be contaminated -by your presence any longer! Let me go!”</p> - -<p>She made an effort to gain the door, as she spoke, -but Harriet barred her exit.</p> - -<p>“No, no, Miss Leyton,” she said, “you don’t come -here to insult me, and then leave before you have heard -all I have to say to you! In the first place your assurance -to-day is the first I ever heard of your being engaged -to marry Captain Pullen. <em>He</em> didn’t take the trouble to -make it public. He never mentioned you except to say -what a cold, reserved, unpleasant nature you had, and -how impossible it would be for a man with any human -feeling to get on with you! That is what <em>he</em> thought! -And he said it too, when he had his arm round my -waist, and his face close to mine. And now he has -come to England, I suppose he is afraid to carry on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</span> -with me any more, for fear that you should hear of it! -But I don’t mean to let him off so easily, I can tell you! -He shall answer those letters, which you <em>say</em> he threw -away in the grate, but which you are just as likely to -have pilfered from his desk, before he is many days -older!”</p> - -<p>“You cannot <em>make</em> him answer them,” said Elinor, -proudly, “whatever you may affirm!”</p> - -<p>“Not on paper perhaps, but by word of mouth! -I will take them back to him at Aldershot, and see -whether he can deny what I have told when he is face -to face with me!”</p> - -<p>“Surely!—surely!—you would never proceed to so -unmaidenly an extremity,” exclaimed Elinor, losing sight -for a moment of her indignation in her horror at the -idea. “You must not think of such a thing! You would -create a scandal in the Camp! You would be despised -for it ever after!”</p> - -<p>“I can take care of myself!” replied Harriet, boldly, -“you need not fear for me! And if even you <em>do</em> get -your own way about this matter, you will have the -satisfaction all your married life of knowing that your -husband was a coward and a traitor to you, even during -your engagement, and that you will never be able to -trust him further than you can see him, to the end! If -you can care for such a husband, take him, for I’m sure -I wouldn’t. But he shall answer to me for all that!”</p> - -<p>“Oh! Miss Brandt, let me go, pray let me go!” said -Elinor in a tone of such unmistakeable pain, that the -other involuntarily drew back, and let her push her way -past her to the door.</p> - -<p>As Miss Leyton disappeared, Harriet Brandt commenced<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</span> -to pace up and down the length of the drawing-room. -It was not the swaying walk of disappointment -and despair; it was determined and masterful, born of -anger and a longing for revenge. All the Creole in her, -came to the surface—like her cruel mother, she would -have given over Ralph Pullen to the vivisecting laboratory, -if she could. Her dark eyes rolled in her passion; her -slight hands were clenched upon each other; and her -crimson lips quivered with the inability to express all -she felt. Bobby, glancing in upon her from the French -windows which opened on the garden, crept to her side -and tried to capture her clenched hands, and to keep -her restless body still. But she threw him off, almost -brutally. At that moment she <em>was</em> brutal.</p> - -<p>“Leave me alone,” she exclaimed impatiently, “don’t -touch me! Go away!”</p> - -<p>“O! Hally,” the boy replied, sympathetically, “what -is the matter? Has anyone offended you? Let me -know! Let me try to comfort you! Or tell me what I -shall do to help you.”</p> - -<p>“<em>Do!</em>” cried the girl, contemptuously, “what could -you do?—a baby tied to your mother’s apron-string! -Leave me to myself, I say! I don’t want you, or anyone! -I want to be alone! Boys are of no use! It requires a -<em>man</em> to revenge a woman’s wrong!”</p> - -<p>The lad, after one long look of bitter disappointment, -walked quietly away from the spot, and hid his grief in -some sequestered part of the garden. Hally despised -him—she, who had kissed him and let him lay his head -upon her shoulder and tell her all his little troubles—said -he was of no use, when she stood in need of help -and comfort! When, if she only knew it, he was ready<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</span> -to stand up in her defence against twenty men, if need -be, and felt strong enough to defeat them all! But she -had called him a baby, tied to his mother’s apron-strings. -The iron entered into his very soul.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Elinor Leyton, having blindly found her -way out of the Red House, hailed a passing hansom, -and gave the driver directions to take her to a certain -number in Harley Street, where Margaret Pullen was -staying with her godfather, Doctor Phillips. She knew -no one else to whom she could go in this great trouble, -which made her feel as if her life had suddenly been -cut in two. Yet she made no outward moan. Most -young women having kept a bold front, as she had -done, towards the enemy, would have broken down, as -soon as they found themselves alone. But Elinor Leyton -was not in the habit of breaking down. As soon as she -had started for her destination, she leaned her head -upon the back of the cab, closed her eyes and set her -teeth fast together. Her face grew deadly pale, and an -observer would have noted the trembling of her lips, -and the ball which rose and fell in her throat. But she -uttered no sound, not even a sigh—her misery was too -deep for words.</p> - -<p>Since she had returned to London, Margaret Pullen -had stayed with Doctor Phillips, for he had insisted that -it should be so. The telegram which had conveyed to -Colonel Pullen the news of his little daughter’s death, -had been answered by one to say that he had applied -for immediate leave, and should join his wife as soon -as he received it. And Margaret was now expecting -his arrival, every day—almost every hour. She looked -very sad in her deep mourning dress, as she came forward<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</span> -to greet Elinor, but as soon as she caught sight -of her visitor’s face, she forgot her own trouble in her -womanly sympathy for her friend.</p> - -<p>“My dear Elinor!” she exclaimed, “what has brought -you to town? You have bad news for me—I can read -it in your eyes. Nothing wrong with Ralph, I hope!”</p> - -<p>She kissed the girl affectionately, and held her hand, -but Elinor did not answer. She turned her white face -towards her friend, and bit her lips hard, but the words -would not come.</p> - -<p>“You are suffering, my poor dear,” went on Margaret, -tenderly, as she made her sit down, and removed her -hat and cloak. “Can’t you trust me with your trouble? -Haven’t I had enough of my own? Ah! cry, that’s better. -God sends us tears, in order that our hearts may not -break! And now, what is it? Is anyone ill at home?”</p> - -<p>Elinor shook her head. The tears were rolling -slowly one by one, down her marble cheeks, but she -jerked them away as they came, as though it were a -shame to weep.</p> - -<p>After a long pause, she swallowed something in her -throat and commenced in a husky voice:</p> - -<p>“It concerns Ralph, Margaret! He has been untrue -to me! All is over between us!”</p> - -<p>“Oh! surely not!” said Margaret, “have you had a -full explanation with him? Who told you he had been -untrue? Has Ralph asked for a release from his engagement?”</p> - -<p>“No! but he shall have it!”</p> - -<p>She then went on to tell the story of the finding of -Harriet Brandt’s letters in Captain Pullen’s grate—and -of the interview she had had with the girl that afternoon.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</span></p> - -<p>“She did not attempt to deny it,” continued Elinor. -“On the contrary she declared that he had made love -to her all the time he was at Heyst—that he had said -she was the only woman who had ever touched his -heart, and that no man with human feelings could be -happy with such a cold, reserved nature as mine! And -if you could see her letters to him, Margaret—I wish I -had not given them to her, but she snatched them from -my hand—they were <em>too</em> dreadful! I never read such -letters from a woman to a man. I did not know they -could be written.”</p> - -<p>“But, Elinor, it strikes me that all this time, you -have only heard one side of the question. What does -it signify what Miss Brandt may say? The only thing of -importance to you is, what Ralph will say.”</p> - -<p>“But there were her letters—they told their own -story! They were full of nothing but ‘dearests’ and -‘darlings,’ and reminders of how he had embraced her -in one place, and what he had said to her in another—such -letters as I could not write to a man, if it were to -save my life!”</p> - -<p>“I can quite understand that! Miss Brandt and you -possess two totally different natures. And cannot you -understand that a girl like that, half educated, wholly -ignorant of the usages of society, with a passionate undeveloped -nature and a bold spirit, might write as you -have described her doing, against the wishes of the -recipient of her letters? You say that Ralph threw her -epistles in the grate just as they were. Does that look -as if he valued them, or felt himself to be guilty concerning -their reception?”</p> - -<p>“But, Margaret, you know he <em>did</em> make himself conspicuous<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</span> -with the Gobellis and Miss Brandt at Heyst! -I think everyone noticed their intimacy!”</p> - -<p>“I noticed it also, and I was very sorry for it, but, -Elinor, my dear, it was partly your own fault! You -were so much opposed to the idea of your engagement -to Ralph being made public, that I feared it might lead -to some <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">contretemps</i>. And then,” she continued gently, -“don’t be offended if I say that your reserve with him, -and your objection to anything like love-making on his -part is in itself calculated to drive a young man to -society he cares less for!”</p> - -<p>“But—but—still—I love him!” said poor Elinor, -with a tremendous effort.</p> - -<p>“I know you do,” replied Margaret, kissing her -again, “and better and more faithfully, perhaps, than -half the women who show their love so openly—yet, -men are but men, Elinor, and as a rule they do not -believe in the affection which is never expressed by -caresses and fond words.”</p> - -<p>“Well! whether I have been right or wrong, it is -over now,” said Miss Leyton, “and Ralph can go to -Miss Brandt or anyone else he chooses for amusement. -I shall never stand in his way, but I cannot brook an -affront, so I shall write and release him from his promise -to me at once!”</p> - -<p>“No, no, Elinor, you must not do anything so rash! -I beg—I implore you, to do nothing, until Ralph has -had an opportunity of denying the charges brought -against him by this girl. They may be utterly untrue! -She may be simply persecuting him. Depend upon it, -you have only to ask him for an explanation of those -letters, and everything will be satisfactorily cleared up.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</span></p> - -<p>“You have more belief in him than I have, Margaret. -Miss Brandt has great confidence in her cause. She -told me that she had not only taken him from me, but -she meant to keep him, and expressed her intention of -going down to Aldershot and confronting Ralph with the -letters she had written him!”</p> - -<p>At this intelligence, Margaret grew alarmed for her -friend’s peace of mind.</p> - -<p>“No! no! that must never be,” she exclaimed, “that -girl must not be permitted to make a scandal in the -Camp, and get your name perhaps mixed up with it! -It must be prevented.”</p> - -<p>“I fancy you will find that a difficult task,” said -Elinor; “she seems the most determined young woman -I have ever come across. She became so vehement at -last, that she frightened me, and I was only too glad to -get out of the house.”</p> - -<p>“Elinor,” said Mrs. Pullen suddenly, “will you leave -this matter in my hands to settle in my own way?”</p> - -<p>“What do you intend to do? See Miss Brandt yourself? -I advise you not! She will only insult you, as she -did me.”</p> - -<p>“No! I shall not see her myself, I promise you that, -but I will send a proper ambassador to interview Miss -Brandt and the Baroness. This sort of thing must not -be allowed to go on, and unless Ralph comes forward -to second the girl’s assertions (which I am sure he will -never do), she and her friend Madame Gobelli must be -made to understand that if they don’t behave themselves, -the law will be called into requisition to enforce -obedience. I should not be at all surprised if the -Baroness were not at the bottom of all this.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</span></p> - -<p>“At anyrate, it has ruined my life!” said Elinor, -mournfully.</p> - -<p>“Nonsense! my dear girl, no such thing! It is only -an unpleasant episode which will soon be forgotten. But -let it make you a little more careful for the future, Elinor. -Ralph is a very conceited man. He has been spoilt by -the women all his life, ‘<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pour l’amour de ses beaux yeux</i>.’ -He has been used to flattery and attention, and when -he doesn’t get it he misses it, and goes where it is to -be found. It is rather a contemptible weakness, but -he shares it in common with most of his sex, and you -have promised, remember, to take him for better or -worse!”</p> - -<p>“Not yet, thank goodness!” retorted Elinor, with -something of her usual spirit. “He and father got talking -together about the marriage, the other day, when he -was down at Richmond, and fixed it, I believe, for the -spring, but they will have to unfix it again now, if I am -not mistaken.”</p> - -<p>“No such thing,” replied Margaret, “and now you -have consented—have you not?—to leave the settlement -of this other affair in my hands.”</p> - -<p>“If you wish it, Margaret! But, remember, no compromise! -If Ralph has really promised this girl what -she says, let him keep his promises, for I will have none -of him. And now I must go home or they will wonder -what has become of me!”</p> - -<p>Margaret was not sorry to see her depart, for she -was most anxious to summon Anthony Pennell, her husband’s -cousin, to her aid, and ask his advice as to what -was best to be done in the circumstances.</p> - -<p>She had great faith in Anthony Pennell, not only in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</span> -his genius, which was an accepted thing, but in his good -sense, which is not usually found associated with the -higher quality. He was a man of about thirty, with a -grand intellect—a sound understanding—a liberal mind, -and a sympathetic disposition. He had been originally -intended for the Bar, but having “taken silk,” and made -a most promising debut, he had suddenly blossomed -into an author, and his first novel had taken London -by storm.</p> - -<p>He had accomplished the rare feat of being lifted -up at once on the waves of public opinion and carried -over the heads of all his fellows.</p> - -<p>Since his first success, he had continued writing—had -given up the law in consequence—and was now -making a large and steady income.</p> - -<p>But Anthony Pennell’s great charm lay in his unassuming -manner and modest judgment of his own work. -His triumphs were much more astonishing to him than -to his friends. In person, he was less handsome than -his cousin Ralph Pullen, but much more manly looking, -having been a distinguished athlete in his College days, -and still finding his best recreation on the cricket field -and the golf ground. He was very fair, with a white -skin, embrowned here and there by sun and outdoor -exercise—short, curly hair—a fine figure, standing six -foot high, and the bluest of blue eyes. He was smoking -in his own chambers late that afternoon, when he received -a telegram from Margaret Pullen, “Can you come -over this evening?” and as soon as he had changed his -lounging coat, he obeyed her summons.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>Anthony Pennell was a very fresh, pleasant, and -good-looking presentment of a young English gentleman, -as he entered the room where Margaret was sitting with -Doctor Phillips that evening. It had been arranged between -them beforehand, that as little as need be should -be confided to him of Harriet Brandt’s former history. -All that was necessary for him to know, was the danger -that threatened to blast the future happiness of Ralph -Pullen and Elinor Leyton.</p> - -<p>“Well! Mrs. Pullen,” he said, as he shook hands -cordially with Margaret and the doctor, “and what important -business is it, that you want to consult me upon? -I thought, at the very least, that I should meet my cousin -Arthur here!”</p> - -<p>“If I had had Arthur, perhaps I should not have -needed you,” replied Margaret, with a faint smile. “But -really, Mr. Pennell, I am in want of advice sorely, and -the Doctor agreed with me that you would be the best -person to whom I could apply!”</p> - -<p>“I am at your service, Madam!” said the young man, -gaily, as he seated himself.</p> - -<p>Then she told him the story of Harriet Brandt—how -Ralph had met her at the Lion d’Or, and devoted his -time to her—and how she was persecuting him with -letters, and had threatened to follow him to the Camp -and interview him there.</p> - -<p>“And it must be put a stop to, you know, Mr. Pennell,” -she concluded, “not only for Ralph’s sake and -Elinor’s, but for the sake of the Walthamstowes and my<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</span> -husband. I am sure that Arthur would be exceedingly -annoyed at any scandal of that sort, and especially as -Lord Walthamstowe is so old a friend of his family!”</p> - -<p>Anthony Pennell had looked very grave during her -recital. After a pause he said,</p> - -<p>“Are you sure that Ralph has not given this young -lady good cause to run after him?”</p> - -<p>“I think not—I hope not! There was very little -amusement in Heyst, and this girl, and the people with -whom she is now staying—a Baron and Baroness Gobelli, -they call themselves—were amongst the visitors to the -Lion d’Or. Miss Leyton is rather a stickler for the -proprieties, and used to refuse to walk out with Ralph -alone in the evenings, and I was too much occupied with -my poor darling baby to accompany them,” said Margaret, -in a faltering voice, “so Ralph took to going to -the Baroness’s private rooms instead, and became intimate -with Miss Brandt!”</p> - -<p>“You acknowledge then, that he <em>was</em> intimate with -her!”</p> - -<p>“I think he must have been—because it appears that -he had agreed to join their party at Brussels, when—when—my -great trouble obliged him to return to England -with us instead.”</p> - -<p>“Did you know this young lady, Mrs. Pullen?”</p> - -<p>“I did, and at one time I was rather intimate with -her, that is, before the Baroness took her up, when she -passed almost all her time with them.”</p> - -<p>“She is, I suppose, very attractive in person?”</p> - -<p>“O! dear no, not at all!” cried Margaret, with a -woman’s dull appreciation of the charms of one of her -own sex, “she has fine eyes, and what men would, I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</span> -suppose, call a good figure, but no complexion and an -enormous mouth. Not at all pretty, but nice-looking at -times,—that is all!”</p> - -<p>“Clever?” said Pennell, interrogatively.</p> - -<p>“I do not think so! She had just come out of a -Convent school and was utterly unused to society. But -she has a very good voice and plays well on the mandoline!”</p> - -<p>“Ladies are not always the best judges of their own -sex,” remarked Anthony, turning to Doctor Phillips, “what -do <em>you</em> say, Doctor? Had you an opportunity of appraising -Miss Brandt’s beauties and accomplishments for -yourself?”</p> - -<p>“I would rather say nothing, Mr. Pennell,” replied -the Doctor. “The fact is, I knew her parents in the -West Indies, and could never believe in anything good -coming from such a stock. Whatever the girl may be, -she inherits terrible proclivities, added to black blood. -She is in point of fact a quadroon, and not fit to marry -into any decent English family!”</p> - -<p>“O! dear!” exclaimed Mr. Pennell laconically.</p> - -<p>“And how do you expect me to help you?” he enquired, -after a pause.</p> - -<p>“I want you to see the Baroness, or Miss Brandt, -and tell them that this girl must cease all communication -with Captain Pullen,” said Margaret, “tell them that he -is engaged to marry Miss Leyton—that the marriage is -fixed to take place next spring, and that the Walthamstowe -family will be excessively annoyed if any scandal -of this sort occurs to break it off.”</p> - -<p>“Do they not know that such an engagement exists?”</p> - -<p>“No! that is the unfortunate part of it! Elinor Leyton<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</span> -is so absurdly scrupulous that she will not have the -fact made public, and forbade me to tell Miss Brandt -about it! Elinor went to the Red House where Miss -Brandt is staying this morning and had a most stormy -interview with her. She came here afterwards in a most -distressed state of mind. Harriet Brandt had told her -that she had secured Ralph Pullen and meant to keep -him—that he had told her he loved her—and that Miss -Leyton was too cold and prudish a nature for any man -to be happy with! Of course Elinor was terribly upset. -She seldom shows her feelings, but it was quite impossible -for her to disguise them to-day. I begged her to -leave the matter in my hands, and she consented to do -so. That is why I telegraphed for you.”</p> - -<p>“It is rather an awkward predicament!” said Anthony -Pennell, thoughtfully, “you will forgive me for saying, -Mrs. Pullen, that Ralph is so very likely to have done -this sort of thing, that I feel one might be treading on -very delicate ground—in fact, putting one’s foot in it—by -interfering. You know what Ralph is—selfish and -indolent and full of vanity. He considers it far too -much trouble to make love (as it is called) to a woman, -but he will accept any amount of love that is offered -him, so long as it gives him no trouble. If this Miss -Brandt is all that you and the doctor here say of her, -she may possibly have drawn Ralph on, and taken his -languid satisfaction as proof that he agreed to all she -said and did. But it will make the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">dénouement</i> just as -unpleasant. Besides, how will Ralph himself take my -interference in the matter? He may have some designs -on this girl—some ideas in the future connected with her—and -will ask what business I had to come between them.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</span></p> - -<p>“O! no! Did I not tell you that he had left her -letters in his grate!”</p> - -<p>“That might be part of his indolent carelessness, or -they may have been left there by design, as a means of -breaking the ice between himself and Miss Leyton. Is -not he, after all, the most proper person to appeal to? -Why not wait till your husband returns, and let him -speak to his brother?”</p> - -<p>“I am so afraid in that case, that Ralph might consider -that he had gone too far with Miss Brandt, and -honour demanded that he should marry her! And, Mr. -Pennell, Doctor Phillips could tell you things, if he chose, -to prove to you that Harriet Brandt is not a fit wife for -any decent man.”</p> - -<p>Anthony Pennell thought again for a few minutes—sitting -silent with his hand caressing his smooth chin. -Then he said:</p> - -<p>“If you are very much bent on my doing what I can -in this matter, I see only one way to accomplish it. I -must enter the Red House under a flag of truce. Did -you know this Baroness Gobelli? Can you tell me what -sort of woman she is? I never heard the name before!”</p> - -<p>“She is quite a character,” replied Margaret; “I believe -her husband <em>is</em> a German Baron, but she was a -Mrs. Bates, and is an extraordinary Baroness. A strange -mixture also, of vulgarity and refined tastes. She drops -all her aspirates, yet talks familiarly of aristocratic and -royal titles, she dresses like a cook out on Sundays, and -yet has a passion for good paintings and old china.”</p> - -<p>At the last words, Anthony Pennell pricked up his -ears.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</span></p> - -<p>“A passion for old china!” he exclaimed, “then there -must be some good in her! Cannot you give me an -introduction to the Red House on the plea that I am a -connoisseur and am desirous of seeing her collection?”</p> - -<p>“Of course I can, but how can you approach these -people in amity, with a censure of Miss Brandt’s conduct -in your hand? Madame Gobelli is infatuated with -Harriet Brandt! I was telling poor Elinor only this afternoon, -that I should not be at all surprised if she were -at the bottom of all this unpleasantness.”</p> - -<p>“She could not be at the bottom of anything unless -Ralph had given her cause,” replied Mr. Pennell, who -had never had a good opinion of his cousin’s straightforward -dealing, “and however it may turn out, I should -think he would have a heavy reckoning to settle with -Miss Leyton! This is not the first time, remember! -You have not forgotten the trouble Arthur had to get -him out of that scrape with the laundress’s girl at Aldershot, -the year before last!”</p> - -<p>“Yes! Arthur told me about it,” replied Margaret. -“But you are going to help us, this time, Mr. Pennell, -are you not?”</p> - -<p>“In so far as procuring an introduction to the Baroness, -and taking my opportunity to let her know the true state of -affairs with Miss Leyton, yes,” said Mr. Pennell, “but there, -my responsibility must cease. Should Ralph have committed -himself in writing, or anything of that sort, you -must promise to let them fight it out their own way. I -daresay there will be no trouble about the matter. I -can see how it has occurred at a glance. Ralph has -been merely amusing himself with the girl, and she has -taken his philandering in earnest. But I wish he would<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</span> -leave that sort of thing off. It will ruin his married life -if he does not!”</p> - -<p>“Yes! indeed, and Elinor Leyton really loves him, -more, I am sure, than he imagines. She declared this -afternoon, that if it were not put a complete stop to, she -should break off her engagement. And I think she -would be right!”</p> - -<p>“So do I,” acquiesced Anthony Pennell. “Well! if -these people are ordinarily decent, they will, as soon as -they hear the truth, prevent their young friend interfering -with another woman’s rights. Write me the introduction, -Mrs. Pullen, and I will pay the Red House a -visit as soon as its owner gives me leave. And now let -us talk of something pleasanter. How soon do you expect -Arthur to arrive?”</p> - -<p>“Any day,” replied Margaret, “and I am longing so -for him to come!”</p> - -<p>“Of course you are! Will he remain long in England?”</p> - -<p>“Only a few weeks! He has taken three months’ -leave. Then, I shall return with him to Hosur.”</p> - -<p>“And you like the idea of India?”</p> - -<p>“O! anything—anything—to find myself with him -again,” she answered feverishly.</p> - -<p>The conversation turned upon more indifferent subjects, -and armed with the note of introduction to the -Baroness, Anthony Pennell presently took his leave. He -did not like the task imposed upon him, and he hardly -knew how he should set about it, but on consideration -he thought he could do no harm by having a look at -the young lady, who had taken the fancy of his fickle-minded -cousin Ralph, and leaving his future action to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</span> -be decided by the interview. He sat down therefore before -turning into bed, and wrote a note to the Baroness, -enclosing the introduction from Mrs. Pullen, and asking -permission to call and inspect her rare collection of china, -of which he had heard so much.</p> - -<p>His letter reached the Red House on the following -morning, at an unfortunate moment, when Madame Gobelli -was giving full display to the worst side of her eccentric -character.</p> - -<p>The Baroness was not a lover of animals, either dogs -or horses. She was merciless to the latter and the former -she kicked whenever they came in her way. It was considered -necessary, however, for the safety of the Red -House, that it should be guarded by a watch-dog, and -a miserable retriever, which answered to that name, -lived in a rotten cask in the stable yard. This unhappy -animal, which had neither sufficient food, exercise, nor -straw to lie on, was in the habit of keeping up a continuous -baying at night, in remonstrance at the cruelty -of its treatment, which was a cause of annoyance to the -neighbours, who had often written to the Baroness about -it in vain.</p> - -<p>On the morning in question, a Captain Hill, who -lived on one side of the Red House, with his parents, sent -in his card to Madame Gobelli and asked for an interview. -She admitted him at once. She liked men of all -sorts, and particularly if they were young and she could -kiss them with impunity, under the pretence that she -was old enough to be their mother.</p> - -<p>She therefore welcomed Captain Hill quite amiably. -She came in from the garden to receive him, attired in -a Genoa velvet dress that trailed half a yard on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</span> -damp ground behind, and a coarse Zulu hat perched on -her large bullet head. She was attended by Harriet -Brandt, who had been making a tour of the premises -with her, and was always eager to see anybody who -might call at the Red House. Miss Wynward also, who -was dusting the china with a feather brush as the visitor -was announced, continued her occupation, and without -apologising for doing so, or asking leave.</p> - -<p>Harriet had not yet been able to determine the exact -place which this lady held in the Baroness’s household, -for she was treated as one of the family, and yet degraded -at times to the position of a servant.</p> - -<p>The Baroness expected her to cook, or dust rooms, -or darn stockings, or do anything required of her, whilst -she introduced her to all her friends as if on a perfect -equality with themselves. As she entered the drawing-room -through one of the French windows, she shook -hands familiarly with Captain Hill, and introduced him -to both her companions.</p> - -<p>“Well!” she went on, “and so you’ve come to see -us at last! I thought you were going to live and die in -that tumble-down old place of yours, without so much as -a shake of the ’and! I ’ope you’re all well at ’ome!”</p> - -<p>The stranger did not seem to know how to receive -these civilities. He had not seated himself, but stood -in the centre of the room with his hat in his hand, as -though he found a difficulty in stating his errand at the -Red House.</p> - -<p>“Take a chair,” said Madame Gobelli in her rough -way, “there’s enough and to spare, and my young friend -’ere won’t eat you!”</p> - -<p>Still Captain Hill deliberated about accepting her offer.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</span></p> - -<p>“Thank you,” he commenced, “but I shall not detain -you above a few moments. I came to speak to you -about your dog, Madame Gobelli. My parents are both -very old, and my mother especially delicate—indeed, I -fear that she may never rise from her bed again!”</p> - -<p>Here his voice faltered a little, but quickly recovering -himself he went on,</p> - -<p>“She sleeps very little, and that little has now become -impossible to her on account of the incessant -barking of your yard dog. I am here to-day by the -wish of my mother’s medical attendant, Doctor Parker, -to tell you that the noise is seriously affecting her health, -and to beg that you will adopt some measures to have -the annoyance stopped.”</p> - -<p>As the Baroness understood the reason for which -her neighbour had called upon her, her countenance -palpably changed. The broad smile faded from her face -and was replaced by an ominous frown. If there was -one thing which she resented above another, it was being -called to task for any disturbance in her household. Without -taking any notice apparently of Captain Hill’s complaint, -she turned to Miss Wynward and said,</p> - -<p>“Miss Wynward, come ’ere! Does that dog bark at -night?”</p> - -<p>“Sometimes, my lady,” replied the governess dubiously.</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe it! You’re lying! ’Arriet, does -Nelson ever bark so as to disturb anyone?”</p> - -<p>“He barks whenever there is a ring at the bell, or -a stranger enters the grounds, Madame,” said Harriet, -with politic evasion.</p> - -<p>“Oh! I assure you he does more than that!” interposed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</span> -the visitor, “the poor animal howls without ceasing. -Either he is ill, or the servants do not give him -sufficient food!”</p> - -<p>But at this censure cast upon her domestics whom -she bullied from morning till night, the Baroness’s uncontrolled -temper burst forth.</p> - -<p>“’Ow dare you come ’ere,” she exclaimed loudly, -“and bring false accusations against my servants? No -one in this ’ouse is kept short of food. What do you -mean—a rubbishing fellow like you—by coming ’ere, -and accusing the Baron of starving ’is animals? There’s -more money spent upon our animals, I bet, than goes -in your poverty-stricken ’ouse-’old in a year!”</p> - -<p>Captain Hill was now offended, as he well might be.</p> - -<p>“I do not know what knowledge you may possess -of the exigencies of my parents’ household, Madam,” he -replied, “but what I came here to tell you is this—that -from whatever cause it may arise, the howling and whining -of your dog is a public nuisance and it must be -stopped!”</p> - -<p>“Must, must!” exclaimed Madame Gobelli, shaking -her stick at him, “and pray ’oo’s to make me stop it?”</p> - -<p>“<em>I</em> will,” said Captain Hill, “the noise is endangering -the life of my mother, and I shall insist upon the -animal being destroyed, or taken elsewhere. If you cannot -take a friendly hint—if you have so callous a nature -that the sufferings of an aged and invalid lady cannot -excite your sympathy, the law shall teach you that, whatever -you may fail to feel, you cannot annoy your neighbours -with impunity!”</p> - -<p>“Fine neighbours indeed!” cried the Baroness, her -whole face trembling and contorted with passion. “A<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</span> -beggarly lot of half-pay officers and retired parsons! -I’ll soon see if you’ll be allowed to come riding the ’igh -’orse over me! Confound your impudence! Do you -know ’oo I am?”</p> - -<p>“A Billingsgate fishwoman, I should imagine, from -your language! Certainly not a gentlewoman!” said -Captain Hill, his eyes blazing with his wrath.</p> - -<p>“’Ang you! I’ll soon teach you ’ow to insult a lady -that’s connected with Royalty!”</p> - -<p>At that, the stranger burst into a derisive laugh.</p> - -<p>“Down the back stairs!” he muttered to himself, but -Madame Gobelli caught the words.</p> - -<p>“Get out of my ’ouse,” she cried. “’Ere, Miss Wynward, -see this fellow out at the front door, and never -you let ’im in again, or I’ll give you a month’s warning! -Down the back stairs indeed! Confound you! If you -don’t clear out this very minute, I’ll lay my stick across -your back! You’ll make me destroy my dog, will you, -and just because your trumpery mother don’t like ’is -barking! Go ’ome and tell ’er to ’old ’er own row! -And you accuse my servants of not giving ’im enough to -eat. You’d be glad enough to see ’is dinner on your -own table once or twice a week. Out with you, I say—out -with you at once, and don’t let me see your ugly -mug and your carroty ’ead in ’ere again, or I’ll set the -dog you don’t like upon you.”</p> - -<p>Captain Hill had turned white as a sheet with anger.</p> - -<p>“You’ll hear more of this, Madam, and from my -solicitor next time,” he said. “Heartless, unfeeling -woman! How can you call yourself a mother, when -you have no pity for a son’s grief at his mother’s illness? -Pray God you may not have occasion to remember this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</span> -morning, when you have to part from your own -son!”</p> - -<p>He rushed from the room as he spoke, and they -heard the hall door slam after him. For a minute after -he left, there was a dead pause between the three women. -His last words seemed to have struck the Baroness as -with a two-edged sword. She stood silent, staring into -vacancy, and breathing hard, whilst Harriet Brandt and -Miss Wynward regarded each other with furtive dismay. -The silence was broken by Madame Gobelli bursting -into a harsh laugh.</p> - -<p>“I don’t fancy ’e will show ’is face in my ’ouse again, -in an ’urry,” she exclaimed. “It was as good as a play -to watch ’im, trying to brave it out! Confound ’is old -mother! Why don’t she die and ’ave done with it! I’ve -no patience with old people ’anging on in that way, and -worrying the ’ole world with their fads! Well! what is -it?” she continued to a maid who brought her a -letter.</p> - -<p>“By the post, my lady!”</p> - -<p>The Baroness broke the seal. There was such a -look of scare upon her features, that some people might -have thought she was glad to have anything to do that -should hide it from her companions. The letter was -from Anthony Pennell, whose name was familiar to her, -as to all the world.</p> - -<p>As she finished its perusal, her manner entirely -altered. The broad smile broke out on her countenance—her -eyes sparkled—one would have thought she could -never be in anything but a beaming good temper.</p> - -<p>“’Olloa! ’Arriet!” she exclaimed, “’ere’s news for -you! ’Oo do you think this letter’s from?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</span></p> - -<p>“How can I guess?” replied the girl, though her -thoughts had flown at once to Ralph Pullen.</p> - -<p>“From Mr. Anthony Pennell, the great author, you -know, and own cousin to that rapscallion, Captain Pullen! -Now we shall ’ear all about the ’andsome Captain! Mr. -Pennell says ’e wants to come ’ere and see my china, -but I know better! ’E’s bringing you a message from ’is -cousin, mark my words! I can see it written up be’ind -you!”</p> - -<p>Harriet’s delicate face flushed with pleasure at the -news.</p> - -<p>“But why shouldn’t Captain Pullen have come himself?” -she asked, anxiously.</p> - -<p>“I can’t tell you that! Perhaps ’e is coming, be’ind -the other, and this is only a feeler! There’s wheels within -wheels in these big families, sometimes, you know, and -the Pullens are connected with a lot of big-wigs! But -we’ll ’ave some news, anyway! You just sit down, my -dear, and write Mr. Pennell a pretty note in my name—you -write a prettier ’and than I do—and say we shall -be very pleased to see ’im to-morrow afternoon, if convenient, -and I ’ope ’e will stay to dinner afterwards and -be introduced to the Baron—will you?”</p> - -<p>“O! yes, of course, Madame, if you wish it!” replied -the girl, smiles dimpling her face at the thought of her -triumph over Elinor Leyton.</p> - -<p>“Now, Miss Wynward, we must ’ave a first-rate -dinner to-morrow for Mr. Pennell, and you and Bobby -’ad better dine at one o’clock, or you’ll spoil the table. -Let me see! We’ll ’ave——”</p> - -<p>But turning to enforce her orders, the Baroness discovered -that Miss Wynward had quitted the room.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</span></p> - -<p>“Why! where ’as the woman gone? Did you see ’er -leave the room, ’Arriet?”</p> - -<p>“I did not! I was too much occupied listening to -you,” replied the girl from the table, where she was inditing -the answer to Anthony Pennell’s note.</p> - -<p>“’Ere, Miss Wynward! Miss Wynward!” screamed -the Baroness from the open door, but no reply came to -her call.</p> - -<p>“I must go and see after ’er!” she said, as she -stumped from the room, as intent upon procuring a good -dinner for one young man, as she had been in insulting -the other, and turning him from her doors.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Captain Hill, hot and angry, was striding -away in the direction of his own home, when he heard -a soft voice calling his name in the rear. He turned to -encounter the spare, humiliated form of Miss Wynward.</p> - -<p>“Captain Hill,” she ejaculated, “I beg your pardon, -but may I speak to you for a moment?”</p> - -<p>Recognising her as having been in the room, when -the Baroness had so grossly insulted him, he waited -rather coldly for her to come up with him.</p> - -<p>“Don’t think me impertinent or interfering,” faltered -Miss Wynward, “but I was so shocked—so distressed—I -could not let you go without saying how grieved and -sorry I am!”</p> - -<p>“I do not quite understand you,” replied Captain -Hill.</p> - -<p>“O! yes, surely, did you not see me in the room just -now! I felt as if I should die of shame! But if you -knew what it is to be dependent—to be unable to speak -or to expostulate—you would guess perhaps——”</p> - -<p>“Yes! Yes! I think I can understand. But pray don’t<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</span> -distress yourself about it! It was my own fault! I should -have addressed her first through my solicitor. But I -thought she was a gentlewoman!”</p> - -<p>“It is her temper that gets the better of her,” said -Miss Wynward in an apologetic tone, “she is not always -so bad as she was this morning!”</p> - -<p>“That is fortunate for the world at large,” replied -Captain Hill, gravely. “I could have forgiven her -vulgarity, but not her heartlessness. I can only think -that she is a most terrible woman.”</p> - -<p>“That is what everybody says,” answered his companion, -“but she will admit of no remonstrance. She -<em>will</em> have her own way, and the Baron is as powerless -to refrain her, as you, or I. But that she should so insult -a gentleman like yourself, even descending to oaths -and personalities—O! I cannot tell you how much I felt -it—how ashamed I was, and how anxious that you should -not confound me with anything the Baroness said, or did!”</p> - -<p>“Indeed,” said Captain Hill, holding out his hand, -“you need have no fear on that score. I hope I know -a gentlewoman when I see her! But tell me, since your -eyes are open to all this, how is it that a lady like yourself -can stay under the roof of so terrible a person? -There are plenty of other situations to be had! Why do -you not leave her, and go elsewhere?”</p> - -<p>He was struck by the look of mingled anxiety and -fear with which she regarded him.</p> - -<p>“O! Captain Hill, there are reasons that are difficult -to explain—that I could not tell to anyone on so short -an acquaintance. But the Baroness possesses great -power—she could ruin me, I believe she could <em>kill</em> if -she chose!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</span></p> - -<p>“She threatens you then!”</p> - -<p>“Yes!” came from Miss Wynward’s lips, but in almost -a whisper.</p> - -<p>“Well! this is hardly the time and place to discuss -such a question,” said Captain Hill, “but I should much -like to see more of you, Miss Wynward! If you have any -time at your disposal, will you come over and see my -old mother? She is quite confined to her room, but I -know it would please her to have a quiet talk with you!”</p> - -<p>A light glistened in Miss Wynward’s washed-out eyes, -and a smile stole over her countenance.</p> - -<p>“Do you really mean it, Captain Hill?”</p> - -<p>“I never say anything that I do not mean,” he answered, -“I am sure both my parents would be glad to -give you their advice, and my dear father, who is a -clergyman, though past an active ministry, may be able -to be of use to you in a more practical way. At anyrate, -you will come and see us. That is a bargain!” -and he held out his hand to her again in farewell.</p> - -<p>“O! I will—I will, indeed,” exclaimed Miss Wynward, -gratefully, “and thank you so very much for the permission. -You have put a little hope into my life!”</p> - -<p>She seized the hand he proffered her, and kissed it, -as an inferior might have done, and then hurried back -to the Red House, before he had had time to remonstrate -with her on the proceeding.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>When Anthony Pennell received the Baroness’s invitation, -penned in the delicate foreign handwriting of -Harriet Brandt, he accepted it at once. Being out of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</span> -the season, he had no engagement for that evening, but -he would have broken twenty engagements, sooner than -miss the chance, so unexpectedly offered him, of meeting -in an intimate family circle, the girl who appeared -to have led his cousin Ralph’s fancy astray. He pictured -her to himself as a whitey-brown young woman with -thick lips and rolling eyes, and how Ralph, who was so -daintily particular where the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">beau sexe</i> was concerned, -could have been attracted by such a specimen, puzzled -Anthony altogether. The knowledge that she had money -struck him unpleasantly, for he could think of no other -motive for Captain Pullen having philandered with her, -as he evidently had done. At anyrate, the idea that -there was the least chance of allying herself with their -family, must be put out of her head, at once and for ever.</p> - -<p>Mr. Pennell amused himself with thinking of the scare -he should create at the dinner table, by “springing” the -news of Ralph’s intended marriage upon them, all at -once. Would the young lady have hysterics, he wondered, -or faint away, or burst into a passion of tears? He -laughed inwardly at the probability! He felt very cruel -over it! He had no pity for the poor quadroon, as -Doctor Phillips had called her. It was better that she -should suffer, than that Elinor Leyton should have to -break off her engagement. And, by Margaret Pullen’s -account, Miss Brandt had been both defiant and insulting -to Miss Leyton. She must be a brazen, unfeeling -sort of girl—it was meet that she paid the penalty of -her foolhardiness.</p> - -<p>It was in such a mood that Anthony Pennell arrived -at the Red House at five o’clock in the afternoon, that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</span> -he might have the opportunity to inspect the collection -of china that had gained him an entrance there.</p> - -<p>The Baroness had promised to be home in time to -receive him, but he was punctual and she was not. -Harriet Brandt was loitering about the garden, which -was still pleasant enough on fine days in the middle of -September, when the news that Mr. Pennell was in the -drawing-room was brought to her by Miss Wynward. -Harriet had been very eager to meet Anthony Pennell—not -because she was pining after his cousin, but because -her feminine curiosity was strong to discover <em>why</em> Ralph -had deserted her, and if he had been subjected to undue -influence to force him to do so. But now that the time -had come, she felt shy and nervous. Suppose he, Mr. -Pennell, had seen Miss Leyton meanwhile, and heard all -that had taken place between them, when she visited the -Red House. And suppose he should take Miss Leyton’s -part! Harriet’s mind was full of “supposes” as she -turned to Miss Wynward and said,</p> - -<p>“O! I can’t go and receive him, Miss Wynward! -Mr. Pennell has come to see the Baroness, not me! -Cannot you entertain him until she comes home? She -will not be long now!”</p> - -<p>“Her ladyship’s last words to me, Miss Brandt, were, -that if she had not returned from the factory by the -time Mr. Pennell arrived, you were to receive him and -give him afternoon tea in her stead! I hope you will -do as her ladyship desired!”</p> - -<p>“Well! I suppose I must then,” replied Harriet, -screwing up her mouth, with a gesture of dissatisfaction, -“but do send in the tea, quickly, please!”</p> - -<p>“It shall be up, Miss Brandt, as soon as I can get<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</span> -back to make it! Mr. Pennell seems a very pleasant -gentleman! I wouldn’t mind if I were you!”</p> - -<p>Miss Wynward hurried back to the house, as she -spoke, and Harriet walked slowly over the lawn towards -the drawing-room windows.</p> - -<p>Anthony Pennell, who had been bending over some -rare specimens of old Chelsea, looked up suddenly as -she approached, and was struck dumb with admiration. -She had improved wonderfully in looks since she had -been in Europe, though the women who lived with her -continually, were slow to perceive it. Her delicate complexion -had acquired a colour like that of a blush rose, -which was heightened by contrast with her dark, glowing -eyes, whilst her hair, by exposure to the rays of the sun, -had caught some of its fire and showed ruddily, here -and there, in streaks of auburn. Her figure, without -having lost its lissom grace, was somewhat fuller, and -her manner was altogether more intelligent, and less -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">gauche</i> than it had been. But the dark eyes were still -looking for their prey, and the restless lips were incessantly -twitching and moving one over the other. She -was beautifully dressed that evening—she had not been -in London for a month, without finding a way to spend -her money—and Anthony Pennell, like most artistic -natures, was very open to the influence of dress upon a -woman. Harriet wore a frock of the palest lemon colour, -cut quite plain, but perfect in every line and pleat and -fold, and finished off at the throat with some rare lace, -caught up here and there with tiny diamond pins.</p> - -<p>“By Jove! what a beautiful girl!” was Mr. Pennell’s -inward ejaculation as he saw her drawing nearer the -spot where he stood. It was strange that his first<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</span> -judgment of Harriet Brandt should have been the same -as that of his cousin, Ralph Pullen, but it only proves -from what a different standpoint men and women judge -of beauty. As Harriet walked over the grass, Anthony -Pennell noted each line of her swaying figure—each tint -of her refined face—with the pretty little hands hanging -by her side, and the slumbrous depths of her magnificent -eyes. He did not, for one moment, associate her with -the idea which he had formed of the West Indian heiress -who was bent on capturing his cousin Ralph. He concluded -she was another young friend who might be -partaking of the Baroness’s hospitality. He bowed low -as she entered through the open French window looking -as a Georgian or Cashmerian houri might have looked, -he thought, if clad in the robes of civilisation. Harriet -bowed in return, and said timidly,</p> - -<p>“I am so sorry that Madame Gobelli is not here to -receive you, but she will not keep you waiting more than -a few minutes, I am sure. She particularly said that -she would not be later than five o’clock.”</p> - -<p>“She has left a very charming substitute in her -place,” replied Pennell, with another bow.</p> - -<p>“I believe you have come to see the china,” continued -Harriet, “I do not know much about it myself, -but Miss Wynward will be here in a minute, and she -knows the name of every piece, and where it came -from!”</p> - -<p>“That will be eminently satisfactory,” rejoined Anthony -Pennell, “but I happen to be a connoisseur in -such things myself. I have one or two charming bits -of old Sèvres and Majolica in my chambers, which I -think the Baroness would like to see if she will honour<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</span> -me with a visit to my little place. A lonely bachelor -like myself must take up some hobby, you know, to fill -his life, and mine happens to be china. Madame Gobelli -appears to have some lovely Chelsea there. I would -like to steal one or two of those groups on the cabinet. -Will you hold the door open for me, whilst I run away -with them?”</p> - -<p>At this sally, Harriet laughed, and Mr. Pennell thought -she looked even handsomer when she laughed than -when she was pensive.</p> - -<p>“Here is the tea!” she cried nervously, as Miss Wynward -appeared with the tray. “O! Miss Wynward, surely -Madame cannot be much longer now! Have you looked -down the road to see if she is coming?”</p> - -<p>“The carriage has just turned into the stable yard,” -replied Miss Wynward, and in another minute, the doorway -was filled with the ample proportions of the Baroness.</p> - -<p>“’Olloa! Mr. Pennell, and so you’ve stolen a march -upon me!” was her first greeting, “’ow are you?” extending -her enormous hand, “’ave you been looking at -the china? Wait till I’ve ’ad my tea; I’ll show you one -or two bits that’ll make your mouth water! It’s my -’obby! I used to save my pocket money when I was a -little gal to buy china. I remember my grandfather, the -Dook of—but there, I ’aven’t known you long enough -to let you into family secrets. Let’s ’ave our tea and -talk afterwards! I ’ope ’Arriet ’as entertained you well!”</p> - -<p>“This young lady—” commenced Anthony Pennell, -interrogatively.</p> - -<p>“To be sure, Miss ’Arriet Brandt! ’Asn’t she introduced -’erself to you? She’s like a daughter of the ’ouse -to us! We look upon ’er as one of our own, Gustave<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</span> -and me! Miss Brandt from Jamaica! And she knew -your cousin, Captain Pullen, too, at Heyst, we all did, -and we’re dying to ’ear what ’as become of ’im, for ’e’s -never shown ’is face at the Red ’Ouse!”</p> - -<p>The murder was out now, and Harriet waited tremblingly -for the result! What did Mr. Pennell know? -What would he say?</p> - -<p>But Mr. Pennell said nothing—he was too much -startled to speak. <em>This</em>, Harriet Brandt—this lovely girl, -the quadroon of whom both Doctor Phillips and Mrs. -Pullen had spoken so disparagingly?—of whom they had -said that she was not fit to be the wife of any decent -man? Oh! they must be fools and blind—or he was -dreaming! The Baroness was not slow to see the look -upon his face and to interpret it rightly.</p> - -<p>“Are you surprised? You needn’t look so incredulous! -I give you my word that this is ’Arriet Brandt—the -same young lady that knew Mrs. Pullen and her brother-in-law -and Miss Leyton over at Heyst. What sort of a -character ’ave they been giving ’er be’ind ’er back?”</p> - -<p>“Indeed, I assure you, Madame—” commenced Mr. -Pennell, deprecatingly.</p> - -<p>“You needn’t take the trouble to tell any tarradiddles -about it! I can see it in your face! I didn’t think -much of that cousin of yours from the beginning; ’e’s -got a shifty sort of look, and as for that cold bit of -goods, Miss Leyton, well, all I say is, God ’elp the man -that marries ’er, for she’s enough to freeze the sun himself! -But I liked Mrs. Pullen well enough, and I was -sorry to ’ear that she ’ad lost ’er baby, for she was -quite wrapt up in it! But I daresay she’ll soon ’ave -another!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</span></p> - -<p>Without feeling it incumbent on him to enter into -an argument as to the probability of the Baroness’s last -suggestion, Anthony Pennell was glad of the digression, -as it gave him an opportunity of slurring over the -dangerous subject of Ralph Pullen’s character.</p> - -<p>“The loss of her child was a very great blow to my -poor cousin,” he replied, “and she is still suffering from -it, bitterly. Else, I have no doubt that you would have -seen something of her—and the others,” he added in a -lower tone. After a slight interval, he ventured to raise -his eyes and see how the girl opposite to him had taken -what was said, but it did not appear to have made -much impression on her—she was, on the contrary, -gazing at him with that magnetic glance of hers as -though she wanted to read into his very soul.</p> - -<p>“Don’t go and say that I want to see ’em,” said the -Baroness as, having devoured enough cake and bread -and butter to feed an ordinary person for a day, she -rose and led the way into another room. “I don’t want -to see anybody at the Red ’Ouse that doesn’t want to -come, and I ’aven’t expected the ladies. But as for -Captain Pullen, ’oo made an engagement to follow our -party to Brussels, and then never took the trouble to -write a line to excuse ’imself for breaking ’is word, why, -I say ’e’s a jerry sneak, and you may tell ’im so if you -like! <em>We</em> didn’t want ’im. ’E proposed to come ’imself, -and I engaged ’is room and everything, and then ’e -skedaddled without a word, and I call it beastly be’aviour. -You mustn’t mind my plain speaking, Mr. Pennell. -I always say what I think! And I would like to -break my stick over Captain Pullen’s back and that’s -the truth.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</span></p> - -<p>They were walking along the passage now, on their -way to the Baron’s library—the Baroness in front with -her hand leaning heavily on Pennell’s shoulder, and -Harriet lingering a little behind. Anthony Pennell -pondered awhile before he replied. Was this the time -to announce Ralph’s intended marriage. How would the -girl behind them take it?</p> - -<p>He turned slightly and looked at her face as the -thought passed through his mind. Somehow the eyes -that met his reassured him. He began to think it must -be a mistake—that she did not care for Ralph as much -as Mrs. Pullen had supposed—that she was only offended -perhaps (as her hostess evidently was) by the curt and -uncivil manner in which he had treated them both. So -he replied,</p> - -<p>“I have not the slightest excuse to make for my -cousin’s conduct, Madame Gobelli. It appears to me -that he has treated you with very scant civility, and he -ought to be ashamed of himself. But as you know, his -little niece’s death was very sudden and unexpected, -and the least he could do was to escort his sister-in-law -and Miss Leyton back to England, and since then——”</p> - -<p>“Well! and what since then?” demanded the Baroness, -sharply.</p> - -<p>“Lord Walthamstowe and he have come to an arrangement,” -said Pennell, speaking very slowly, “that his -marriage with Miss Elinor Leyton shall take place sooner -than was at first intended. The Limerick Rangers are -under orders for foreign service, and Captain Pullen -naturally wishes to take his wife out with him, and -though, of course, all this is no excuse for his omitting -to write you a letter, the necessary preparations and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</span> -consequent excitement <em>may</em> have put his duty out of -his head. Of course,” he continued, “you know that -Ralph is engaged to marry Miss Leyton?”</p> - -<p>“I ’eard something of it,” replied the Baroness reluctantly, -“but one never knows what is true and what -is not. Anyway, Captain Pullen didn’t give out the -news ’imself! ’E seemed ’appy enough without Miss -Leyton, didn’t ’e, ’Arriet?”</p> - -<p>But turning round to emphasise her words, she found -that Harriet had not followed them into the library. -Whereupon she became confidential.</p> - -<p>“To tell you the truth, Mr. Pennell,” she continued, -“’e just be’aved like a scoundrel to our little ’Arriet -there. ’E ran after the gal all day, and spent all ’is -evenings in our private sitting-room, gazing at ’er as if -’e would eat ’er, whilst she sang and played to ’im. ’E -never said a word about marrying Miss Leyton. It was -all ‘’Ally, ’Ally, ’Ally’ with ’im. And if the gal ’adn’t -been a deal too clever for ’im, and wise enough to see -what a vain zany ’e is, she might ’ave broken ’er ’eart -over it. The conceited jackanapes!”</p> - -<p>“But she has not fretted,” said Anthony Pennell -eagerly.</p> - -<p>“Not she! I wouldn’t let ’er! She’s meat for Captain -Pullen’s master! A gal with fifteen ’undred a year -in ’er own ’ands, and with a pair of eyes like that! Oh! -no! ’Arriet can pick up a ’usband worth two of your -cousin any day!”</p> - -<p>“I should think so indeed,” replied Mr. Pennell -fervently, “I have heard Mrs. Pullen mention Miss Brandt, -but she did not prepare me for meeting so beautiful a -girl. But I can hardly wonder at my cousin running<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</span> -away from her, Madame Gobelli. Knowing himself to -be already engaged, Miss Brandt must have proved a -most dangerous companion. Perhaps he found his heart -was no longer under his own control, and thought discretion -the better part of valour. You must try and -look upon his conduct in the best light you can!”</p> - -<p>“Oh! well! it don’t signify much anyway, for ’e’s no -miss at the Red ’Ouse, I can tell you, and ’Arriet could -marry to-morrow if she chose, and to a man worthy of -’er. But now you must look at my Spode.”</p> - -<p>She walked up to a tall cabinet at one end of the -room, which was piled with china, and took up a fragile -piece in her hands.</p> - -<p>“Do you see that?” she said, turning up the plate -and showing the mark upon the bottom, “there it is, you -see! There’s the M. These five pieces are said to be -the oldest in existence. And here’s a cup of Limoges. -And that’s Majolica. Do you know the marks of Majolica? -They’re some of the rarest known! A cross on -a shield. The first real bit of china I ever possessed -was a Strasbourg. Have you ever seen any Dutch Pottery—marked -with an A.P.? I picked that up at an -old Jew’s shop in the market in Naples. And this Capo -di Monte, strange to say, in a back alley in Brighton. -There’s nothing I like better than to grub about back -slums and look for something good. Some of my best -pieces ’ave come out of pawnbrokers’ shops. That plate -you’re looking at is old Flemish—more than two ’undred -years, I believe! It came out of the rag market at -Bruges. There used to be first-rate pickings to be ’ad -at Bruges and Ghent and in Antwerp some years ago, -but the English ’ave pretty well cleared ’em out.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</span></p> - -<p>“I never saw a better private collection, Madame -Gobelli,” said Anthony Pennell, as he gloated over the -delicate morsels of Sèvres and Limoges and Strasbourg. -“The Baron should have had an old curiosity and bric-a-brac -establishment, instead of anything so prosaic as -boots and shoes.”</p> - -<p>“O! I couldn’t ’ave ’ad it!” exclaimed the Baroness, -“it would ’ave gone to my ’eart to sell a good bargain -when I ’ad made it! My cups and saucers and plates -and teapots are like children to me, and if I thought my -Bobby would sell ’em when I was gone, I believe I -should rise from my grave and whack ’im.”</p> - -<p>The woman became almost womanly as her eyes -rested lovingly on her art treasures. It seemed incongruous -to Pennell, to watch her huge coarse hands, with -their thick stumpy fingers and broad chestnut nails, -fingering the delicate fabric with apparent carelessness. -Cup after cup and vase and plate she almost tossed -over each other, as she pushed some away to make -room for others, and piled them up on the top of one -another, until he trembled lest they should all come -toppling down together.</p> - -<p>“You are more used to handle these treasures than -I am,” he remarked presently, “I should be too much -afraid of smashing something, to move them so quickly -as you do.”</p> - -<p>“I never broke a bit of china in my life,” returned -the Baroness energetically. “I’ve broken a stick over a -man’s back, more than once, but never ’ad an accident -with my plates and dishes. ’Ow do you account for -that?”</p> - -<p>“You must have a flow of good luck!” said Mr.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</span> -Pennell, “I am so fearful for mine that I keep all the -best under glass!”</p> - -<p>“I ’ave more friends to ’elp me than perhaps you -know of,” said the Baroness, mysteriously, “but it ain’t -only that! I never let a servant dust it! Miss Wynward -does it, but she’s too much afraid to do more than -touch ’em with the tip of her feather brush. They come -to me sometimes and complain that the china is dirty. -‘Let it be dirty,’ I say, ‘<em>that</em> won’t break it, but if you -clean it, you will!’ Ha! ha! ha!”</p> - -<p>At that moment Harriet Brandt entered the room, -moving sinuously across the carpet as a snake might -glide to its lair. Anthony Pennell could not take his -eyes off that gliding walk of hers. It seemed to him -the very essence of grace. It distracted all his attention -from the china.</p> - -<p>“The Baron has just come in,” observed Harriet to -her hostess.</p> - -<p>“Oh! well! come along and leave the rest of the china -till after dinner,” said Madame Gobelli. “Gustave likes -to ’ave ’is dinner as soon as ’e comes ’ome.”</p> - -<p>She thrust her arm through that of Anthony Pennell, -and conducted him to the dining-room, where the Baron -(without having observed the ceremony of changing his -coat or boots) was already seated just as he had come -in, at the table. He gave a curt nod to the visitor as -Mr. Pennell’s name was mentioned to him, and followed -it up immediately by a query whether he would -take fish. Mr. Pennell sat out the meal with increasing -amazement at every course. He, who was accustomed, -in consequence of his popularity, to sit at the tables of -some of the highest in the land, could liken this one to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</span> -nothing but a farmhouse dinner. Course succeeded -course, in rapid succession, and there was no particular -fault to find with anything, but the utter want of -ceremony—the mingling of well-known and aristocratic -names with the boot and shoe trade—and the way in -which the Baron and Baroness ate and drank, filled -him with surprise. The climax was reached when Mr. -Milliken, who was late for dinner, entered the room, and -his hostess, before introducing him to the stranger, saluted -him with a resounding smack on either cheek.</p> - -<p>Pennell thought it might be his turn next, and shuddered. -But the wine flowed freely, and the Baroness, -being in an undoubted good humour, the hospitality was -unlimited. After dinner, the Baron having settled to -sleep in an armchair, Madame Gobelli proposed that -the party should amuse themselves with a game of -“Hunt the slippers.”</p> - -<p>She was robed in an expensive satin dress, but she -threw herself down on the ground with a resounding -thump, and thrusting two enormous feet into view, offered -her slipper as an inducement to commence the -game.</p> - -<p>Pennell stood aloof, battling to restrain his laughter -at the comical sight before him. The Baroness’s foot, -from which she had taken the shoe, was garbed in a -black woollen stocking full of holes, which displayed a -set of bare toes. But, apparently quite unaware of the -ludicrous object she presented, she kept on calling out -for Harriet Brandt and Miss Wynward to come and -complete the circle at which only Mr. Milliken and herself -were seated. But Harriet shrank backwards and -refused to play.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</span></p> - -<p>“No! indeed, Madame, I cannot. I do not know -your English games!” she pleaded.</p> - -<p>“Come on, we’ll teach you!” screamed Madame -Gobelli, “’ere’s Milliken, ’e knows all about it, don’t you, -Milliken? ’E knows ’ow to look for the slipper under -the gal’s petticoats. You come ’ere, ’Arriet, and sit -next me, and Mr. Pennell shall be the first to ’unt. -Come on!”</p> - -<p>But Miss Brandt would not “come on”. She remained -seated, and declared that she was too tired to -play and did not care for <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">les jeux innocents</i>, and she -had a headache, and anything and everything, before -she would comply with the outrageous request preferred -to her.</p> - -<p>Madame Gobelli grumbled at her idleness and called -her disobliging, but Anthony admired the girl for her -steadfast refusal. He did not like to see her in the -familiar society of such a woman as the Baroness—he -would have liked still less to see her engaged in such a -boisterous and unseemly game as “Hunt the slipper.”</p> - -<p>He took the opportunity of saying,</p> - -<p>“Since you are disinclined for such an energetic -game, Miss Brandt, perhaps you would oblige me by -singing a song! I should so much like to hear the -mandoline. Mrs. Pullen has spoken to me of your efficiency -on it.”</p> - -<p>“If Madame Gobelli wishes it, I have no objection,” -replied Harriet.</p> - -<p>“Oh! well! if you are all going to be so disagreeable -as not to play a good game,” said the Baroness, as Mr. -Milliken pulled her on her feet again, “’Arriet may as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</span> -well sing to us! But a good romp first wouldn’t ’ave -done us any ’arm!”</p> - -<p>She adjourned rather sulkily to a distant sofa with -Mr. Milliken, where they entertained each other whilst -Harriet tuned her mandoline and presently let her rich -voice burst forth in the strains of “Oh! ma Charmante.” -Anthony Pennell was enchanted. He had a passion for -music, and it appealed more powerfully to him than -anything else. He sat in rapt attention until Harriet’s -voice had died away, and then he implored her to sing -another song.</p> - -<p>“You cannot tell what it is for me, who cares more -for music than for anything else in this world, to hear a -voice like yours. Why! you will create a perfect <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">furore</i> -when you go into society. You could make your fortune -on the stage, but I know you have no need of that!”</p> - -<p>“Oh! one never knows what one may have need of,” -said Harriet gaily, as she commenced “Dormez, ma -belle”, and sang it to perfection.</p> - -<p>“You must have had a very talented singing-master,” -observed Pennell when the second song was finished.</p> - -<p>“Indeed no! My only instructress was a nun in -the Ursuline Convent in Jamaica. But I always loved -it,” said the girl, as she ran over the strings of her mandoline -in a merry little tarantelle, which made everyone -in the room feel as if they had been bitten by the spider -from which it took its name, and wanted above all other -things to dance.</p> - -<p>How Pennell revelled in the music and the performer! -How he longed to hear from her own lips that -Ralph’s treatment had left no ill effects behind it.</p> - -<p>When she had ceased playing, he drew nearer to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</span> -her, and under the cover of the Baroness’s conversation -with Mr. Milliken and the Baron’s snores, they managed -to exchange a few words.</p> - -<p>“How can I ever thank you enough for the treat -you have given me!” he began.</p> - -<p>“I am very glad that you liked it!”</p> - -<p>“I was not prepared to hear such rare talent! My -experience of young ladies’ playing and singing has not -hitherto been happy. But you have great genius. Did -you ever sing to Mrs. Pullen whilst in Heyst?”</p> - -<p>“Once or twice.”</p> - -<p>“And to my cousin, Ralph Pullen?”</p> - -<p>“Yes!”</p> - -<p>“I cannot understand his having treated the Baroness -with such scant courtesy. And you also, who had been -kind enough to allow him to enjoy your society. You -would not have found me so ungrateful. But you have -heard doubtless that he is going to be married shortly!”</p> - -<p>“Yes! I have heard it!”</p> - -<p>“And that has, I suppose, put everything else out -of his head! Perhaps it may be as well, especially for -his future wife. There are some things which are -dangerous for men to remember—such as your lovely -voice, for example!”</p> - -<p>“Do you think so?” Harriet fixed her dark eyes -on him, as she put the question.</p> - -<p>“I am sure it will be dangerous for me, unless you -will give me leave to come and hear it again. I shall -not be able to sleep for thinking of it. Do you think -the Baroness will be so good as to enrol me as a visitor -to the house?”</p> - -<p>“You had better ask her!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</span></p> - -<p>“And if she consents, will you sing to me sometimes?”</p> - -<p>“I am always singing or playing! There is nothing -else to do here. The Baron and Baroness are almost -always out, and I have no company but that of Bobby -and Miss Wynward. It is terribly dull, I can tell you. -I am longing to get away, but I do not know where -to go.”</p> - -<p>“Have you no friends in England?”</p> - -<p>“Not one, except Mr. Tarver, who is my solicitor!”</p> - -<p>“That sounds very grim. If you will let me count -myself amongst your friends, I shall be so grateful.”</p> - -<p>“I should like it very much! I am not so ignorant -as not to have heard your name and to know that you -are a celebrated man. But I am afraid I shall prove a -very stupid friend for you.”</p> - -<p>“I have no such fear, and if I may come and see -you sometimes, I shall count myself a very happy man.”</p> - -<p>“I am generally alone in the afternoon,” replied Miss -Brandt, sophistically.</p> - -<p>In another minute Mr. Pennell was saying good-night -to his hostess and asking her permission to repeat his -visit at some future time.</p> - -<p>“And if you and Miss Brandt would so far honour -me, Madame Gobelli, as to come and have a little lunch -at my chambers in Piccadilly, I shall feel myself only -too much indebted to you. Perhaps we might arrange -a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">matinée</i> or a concert for the same afternoon, if it -would please you? Will you let me know? And pray -fix as early a date as possible. And I may really avail -myself of your kind permission to come and see you -again. You may be sure that I shall not forget to do<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</span> -so. Good-night! Good-night, Baron! Good-night, Miss -Brandt!” and with a nod to Mr. Milliken he was gone.</p> - -<p>“Ain’t ’e a nice fellow? Worth two of that conceited -jackanapes, ’is cousin,” remarked the Baroness as -he disappeared, “what do you think of ’im, ’Arriet?”</p> - -<p>“Oh! he is well enough,” replied Miss Brandt with a -yawn, as she prepared also to take her departure, “he -is taller and broader and stronger looking than Captain -Pullen—and he must be very clever into the bargain.”</p> - -<p>“And ’e never said a word about ’is books,” exclaimed -Madame Gobelli, “only fancy!”</p> - -<p>“No! he never said a word about his books,” echoed -Harriet.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>Anthony Pennell had promised to let Margaret -Pullen hear the result of his visit to the Red House, and -as he entered her presence on the following evening, she -saluted him with the queries,</p> - -<p>“Well! have you been there? Have you seen her?”</p> - -<p>To which he answered soberly,</p> - -<p>“Yes! I have been there and I have seen her!”</p> - -<p>“And what do you think of her? What did she -say? I hope she was not rude to you!”</p> - -<p>“My dear Mrs. Pullen,” said Pennell, as he seated -himself, and prepared for a long talk, “you must let me -say in the first place, that I should never have recognised -Miss Brandt from your description of her! You led me -to expect a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">gauche</i> schoolgirl, a half-tamed savage, or a -juvenile virago. And I am bound to say that she struck -me as belonging to none of the species. I sent your<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</span> -note of introduction to Madame Gobelli, and received a -very polite invitation in return, in accordance with which -I dined at the Red House yesterday.”</p> - -<p>“You <em>dined</em> there!” exclaimed Margaret with renewed -interest. “Oh! do tell me all about it, from the -very beginning. What do you think of that dreadful -woman, the Baroness, and her little humpty Baron, and -did you tell Miss Brandt of Ralph’s impending marriage?”</p> - -<p>“My dear lady, one question at a time, if you please. -In the first place I arrived there rather sooner than I -was expected, and Madame Gobelli had not returned -from her afternoon drive, but Miss Harriet Brandt did -the honours of the tea-table in a very efficient manner, -and with as much composure and dignity as if she had -been a duchess. We had a very pleasant time together -until the Baroness burst in upon us!”</p> - -<p>“Are you chaffing me?” asked Margaret, incredulously. -“What do you really think of her?”</p> - -<p>“I think she is, without exception, the most perfectly -beautiful woman I have ever seen!”</p> - -<p>“<em>What!</em>” exclaimed his companion.</p> - -<p>She had thrown herself back in her armchair, and -was regarding him as if he were perpetrating some mysterious -joke, which she did not understand.</p> - -<p>“How extraordinary; how very extraordinary!” she -exclaimed at length, “that is the very thing that Ralph -said of her when they first met.”</p> - -<p>“But why extraordinary? There are few men who -would not endorse the opinion. Miss Brandt possesses -the kind of beauty that appeals to the senses of animal -creatures like ourselves. She has a far more dangerous -quality than that of mere regularity of feature. She<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</span> -attracts without knowing it. She is a mass of magnetism.”</p> - -<p>“O! do go on, Mr. Pennell! Tell me how she received -the news you went to break to her!”</p> - -<p>“I never broke it at all. There was no need to do -so. Miss Brandt alluded to the magnificent Captain -Pullen’s marriage with the greatest nonchalance. She -evidently estimates him at his true value, and does not -consider him worth troubling her head about!”</p> - -<p>“You astonish me! But how are we to account then -for the attitude she assumed towards Miss Leyton, and -the boast she made of Ralph’s attentions to her?”</p> - -<p>“Bravado, most likely! Miss Leyton goes to the Red -House all aflame, like an angry turkey cock, and accuses -Miss Brandt of having robbed her of her lover, -and what would you have the girl do? Not cry Peccavi, -surely, and lower her womanhood? She had but one -course—to brave it out. Besides, you have heard only -one side of the question, remember! I can imagine -Miss Leyton being very ‘nasty’ if she liked!”</p> - -<p>“You forget the letters which Miss Brandt wrote to -Ralph and which were found in his empty grate at -Richmond!”</p> - -<p>“I do not! I remember them as only another proof -of how unworthy he is of the confidence of any woman.”</p> - -<p>“Really, Mr. Pennell, you seem to be all on Miss -Brandt’s side!”</p> - -<p>“I am, and for this reason. If your ideas concerning -her are correct, she displayed a large amount of -fortitude whilst speaking of your brother-in-law yesterday. -But my own belief is, that you are mistaken—that -Miss Brandt is too clever for Ralph, or any of you—and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</span> -that she cares no more for him in that way than -you do. She considers doubtless that he has behaved -in a most ungentlemanly manner towards them all, and -so do I. I did not know what excuse to make for -Ralph! I was ashamed to own him as a relation.”</p> - -<p>“Harriet Brandt <em>did</em> then confide her supposed -wrongs to you!”</p> - -<p>“Not at all! When she mentioned Ralph’s name, it -was like that of any other acquaintance. But when she -was out of the room, the Baroness told me that he had -behaved like a scoundrel to the girl—that he had never -confided the fact of his engagement to her, but run after -her on every occasion, and then after having promised -to join their party in Brussels, and asked Madame -Gobelli to engage his room for him, he left for England -without even sending her a line of apology, nor has he -taken the least notice of them since!”</p> - -<p>“Ah! but you know the reason of his sudden departure!” -cried Margaret, her soft eyes welling over -with tears.</p> - -<p>“My dear Mrs. Pullen,” said Anthony Pennell, sympathetically, -“even at that sad moment, Ralph might -have sent a telegram, or scratched a line of apology. -We have to attend to such little courtesies, you know, -even if our hearts are breaking! And how can you excuse -his not having called on them, or written since? -No wonder the Baroness is angry. She did not restrain -her tongue in speaking of him yesterday. She said she -never wished to see his face again.”</p> - -<p>“Does she know that Elinor went to the Red -House?”</p> - -<p>“I think not! There was no mention of her name!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</span></p> - -<p>“Then I suppose we may at all events consider the -affair <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">une chose finie</i>?”</p> - -<p>“I hope so, sincerely! I should not advise Master -Ralph to show his face at the Red House again. The -Baroness said she longed to lay her stick across his back, -and I believe she is quite capable of doing so!”</p> - -<p>“Oh! indeed she is,” replied Margaret, smiling, “we -heard a great many stories of her valour in that respect -from Madame Lamont, the landlady of the Lion d’Or. -Has Miss Brandt taken up her residence altogether with -Madame Gobelli?”</p> - -<p>“I think not! She told me her life there was very -dull, and she should like to change it.”</p> - -<p>“She is in a most unfortunate position for a young -girl,” remarked Margaret, “left parentless, with money -at her command, and in a strange country! And with -the strange stigma attached to her birth—”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe in stigmas being attached to one’s -birth,” returned Pennell hastily, “the only stigmas worth -thinking about, are those we bring upon ourselves by -our misconduct—such a one, for instance, as my cousin -Ralph has done with regard to Miss Brandt! I would -rather be in her shoes than his. Ralph thinks, perhaps, -that being a stranger and friendless she is fair game—”</p> - -<p>“Who is that, taking my name in vain?” interrupted -a languid voice at the open door, as Captain Pullen -advanced into the room.</p> - -<p>Margaret Pullen started and grew very red at being -detected in discussing her brother-in-law’s actions, but -Anthony Pennell, who was always ruffled by his cousin’s -affected walk and drawl, blurted the truth right out.</p> - -<p>“<em>I</em> was,” he replied, hardly touching the hand which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</span> -Captain Pullen extended to him, “I was just telling Mrs. -Pullen of the high estimation in which your name is held -at the Red House!”</p> - -<p>It was now Ralph’s turn to grow red. His fair face -flushed from chin to brow, as he repeated,</p> - -<p>“The Red House! what Red House?”</p> - -<p>“Did they not mention the name to you? I mean -the residence of Madame Gobelli. I was dining there -yesterday.”</p> - -<p>“Dining there, were you? By Jove! I didn’t know -you were acquainted with the woman. Isn’t she a queer -old party? Baroness Boots, eh? Fancy your knowing -them! I thought you were a cut above that, Anthony!”</p> - -<p>“If the Gobellis were good enough for you to be -intimate with in Heyst, I suppose they are good enough -for me to dine with in London, Ralph! I did not know -until last evening, however, that you had left them to -pay for your rooms in Brussels, or I would have taken -the money over with me to defray the debt.”</p> - -<p>Ralph had seated himself by this time, but he looked -very uneasy and as if he wished he had not come.</p> - -<p>“Did the old girl engage rooms for me?” he stammered. -“Well! you know the reason I could not go to -Brussels, but of course if I had known that she had -gone to any expense for me, I would have repaid her. -Did she tell you of it herself?” he added, rather -anxiously.</p> - -<p>“Yes! and a good many more things besides. As -you have happened to come in whilst we are on the -question, I had better make a clean breast of it. Perhaps -you have heard that Miss Leyton has been to the -Red House and had an interview with Miss Brandt!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</span></p> - -<p>“Yes! I’ve just come from Richmond, where we’ve -had a jolly row over it,” grumbled Ralph, pulling his -moustaches.</p> - -<p>“Your family all felt that sort of thing could not go -on—that it must end one way or the other—and therefore -I went to the Red House, ostensibly to view Madame -Gobelli’s collection of china, but in reality to -ascertain what view of the matter she and Miss Brandt -took—and to undeceive them as to your being in a -position to pursue your intimacy with the young lady -any further.”</p> - -<p>“And what the devil business have you to meddle -in my private affairs?” demanded Captain Pullen rousing -himself.</p> - -<p>“Because, unfortunately, your mother happened to -be my father’s sister,” replied Pennell sternly, “and the -scrapes you get in harm me more than they do yourself! -One officer more or less, who gets into a scrape -with women, goes pretty well unnoticed, but I have attained -a position in which I cannot afford to have my -relations’ names bandied about as having behaved in a -manner unbecoming gentlemen.”</p> - -<p>“Who dares to say that of me?” cried Ralph angrily.</p> - -<p>“Everybody who knows of the attention you paid -Miss Brandt in Heyst,” replied Anthony Pennell, boldly, -“and without telling her that you were already engaged -to be married. I do not wonder at Miss Leyton being -angry about it! I only wonder she consents to have -any more to do with you in the circumstances.”</p> - -<p>“O! we’ve settled all that!” said Ralph, testily, “we -had the whole matter out at Richmond this afternoon, -and I’ve promised to be a good boy for the future, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</span> -never speak to a pretty woman again! You need not -wonder any more about Elinor! She is only glad enough -to get me back at any price!”</p> - -<p>“Yes? And what about Miss Brandt?” enquired -Pennell.</p> - -<p>“Is she worrying about this affair?” asked Captain -Pullen, quickly.</p> - -<p>“Not a bit! I think she estimates your attentions -at their true value. I was alluding to the opinion she -and her friends must have formed of your character as -an officer and a gentleman.”</p> - -<p>“O! I’ll soon set all that right! I’ll run over to the -Red House and see the old girl, if you two will promise -not to tell Elinor!”</p> - -<p>“I should not advise you to do that! I am afraid -you might get a warm reception. I think Madame -Gobelli is quite capable of having you soused in the -horse-pond. You would think the same if you had heard -the names she called you yesterday.”</p> - -<p>“What did she call me?”</p> - -<p>“Everything she could think of. She considers you -have behaved not only in a most ungentlemanly manner -towards her, but in a most dishonourable one to Miss -Brandt. She particularly told me to tell you that she -never wished to see your face again.”</p> - -<p>“Damn her!” exclaimed Captain Pullen, wrathfully, -“and all her boots and shoes into the bargain. A vulgar, -coarse old tradesman’s wife! How dare she——”</p> - -<p>“Stop a minute, Ralph! The Baroness’s status in -society makes no difference in this matter. You know -perfectly well that you did wrong. Let us have no more -discussion of the subject.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</span></p> - -<p>Captain Pullen leaned back sulkily in his chair.</p> - -<p>“Well! if I <em>did</em> flirt a little bit more than was -prudent with an uncommonly distracting little girl,” he -muttered presently, “I am sure I have had to pay for -it! Lord Walthamstowe insists that if I do not marry -Elinor before the Rangers start for Malta the engagement -shall be broken off, so I suppose I must do it! But it -is a doosid nuisance to be tied up at five-and-twenty, -before one has half seen life! What the dickens I am -to do with her when I’ve got her, I’m sure I don’t -know!”</p> - -<p>“O! you will find married life very charming when -you’re used to it!” said Pennell consolingly, “and Miss -Leyton is everything a fellow could wish for in a wife! -Only you must give up flirting, my boy, or if I mistake -not, you’ll find you’ve caught a tartar!”</p> - -<p>“I expect to have to give up everything,” said the -other with a sour mouth.</p> - -<p>As soon as he perceived a favourable opportunity, -Anthony Pennell rose to take his leave. He did not -wish to quarrel with Ralph Pullen about a girl whom he -had only seen once, at the same time he feared for his -own self-control, if his cousin continued to mention the -matter in so nonchalant a manner. Pennell had always -despised Captain Pullen for his easy conceit with regard -to women, and it seemed to him to have grown more -detestably contemptible than before. He was anxious -therefore to quit the scene of action. But, to his -annoyance, when he bade Margaret good-evening, Ralph -also rose and expressed his wish to walk with him in -the direction of his chambers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</span></p> - -<p>“I suppose you couldn’t put me up for the night, -old chappie!” he said with his most languid air.</p> - -<p>“Decidedly not!” replied Pennell. “I have only my -own bedroom, and I’ve no intention of your sharing it. -Why do you not go back to Richmond, or put up at an -hotel?”</p> - -<p>“Doosid inhospitable!” remarked Captain Pullen, -with a faded smile.</p> - -<p>“Sorry you think so, but a man cannot give what he -does not possess. You had better stay and keep your -sister-in-law company for a little while. I have work to -do and am going straight home!”</p> - -<p>“All right! I’ll walk with you a little way,” persisted -Ralph, and the two young men left the house -together.</p> - -<p>As soon as they found themselves in the street, Captain -Pullen attacked his cousin, eagerly.</p> - -<p>“I say, Pennell, what is the exact direction of the -Red House?”</p> - -<p>“Why do you want to know?” enquired his companion.</p> - -<p>“Because I feel that I owe the Baroness a visit. I -acknowledge that I was wrong not to write and make -my apologies, but you must know what it is—with a -deuce of a lot of women to look after, and the whole -gang crying their eyes out, and everything thrown on -my shoulders, coffin, funeral, taking them over from -Heyst to England, and all—it was enough to drive -everything else out of a man’s head. You must acknowledge -that.”</p> - -<p>“You owe no excuses to me, Pullen, neither do I -quite believe in them. You have had plenty of time<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</span> -since to remedy your negligence, even if you did forget -to be courteous at the moment!”</p> - -<p>“I know that, and you’re quite right about the other -thing. I had more reasons than one for letting the -matter drop. You are a man and I can tell you with -impunity what would set the women tearing my eyes -out. I <em>did</em> flirt a bit with Harriet Brandt, perhaps more -than was quite prudent in the circumstances—”</p> - -<p>“You mean the circumstance of your engagement to -Miss Leyton?”</p> - -<p>“Yes and No! If I had been free, it would have -been all the same—perhaps worse, for I should not have -had a loophole of escape. For you see Miss Brandt is -not the sort of girl that any man could marry.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?” demanded Pennell with some asperity.</p> - -<p>“Oh! because—well! you should hear old Phillips -talk of her and her parents. They were the most awful -people, and she has black blood in her, her mother was -a half-caste, so you see it would be impossible for any -man in my position to think of marrying her! One -might get a piebald son and heir! Ha! ha! ha! But -putting all that aside, she is one of the demndest -fascinating little women I ever came across—you would -say so too, if you had seen as much of her as I did—I -can’t tell you what it is exactly, but she has a drawing -way about her, that pulls a fellow into the net before -he knows what he is about. And her voice, by Jove!—have -you heard her sing?”</p> - -<p>“I have, but that has nothing to do that I can see -with the subject under discussion. You, an engaged -man, who had no more right to philander with a girl, -than if you had been married, appear to me to have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</span> -followed this young lady about and paid her attentions, -which were, to say the least of them, compromising, -never announcing the fact, meanwhile, that you were -bound to Miss Leyton. After which, you left her, without -a word of explanation, to think what she chose of your -conduct. And now you wish to see her again, in order -to apologise. Am I right?”</p> - -<p>“Pretty well, only you make such a serious matter -out of a little fun!”</p> - -<p>“Well, then, I repeat that if you are wise, you will -save yourself the trouble, Ralph! Miss Brandt is happily -too sensible to have been taken in by your pretence of -making love to her. She estimates you at your true -value. She knows that you are engaged to Elinor Leyton—that -you were engaged all the time she knew you—and, -I think, she rather pities Miss Leyton for being -engaged to you!”</p> - -<p>But this point of view had never presented itself -before to the inflated vanity of Ralph Pullen.</p> - -<p>“<em>Pities</em> her!” he exclaimed, “the devil!”</p> - -<p>“I daresay it seems incomprehensible to you that -any woman should not be thankful to accept at your -hands the crumbs that may fall from another’s table, -but with regard to Miss Brandt, I assure you it is true! -And even were it otherwise, I am certain Madame -Gobelli would not admit you to her house. You know -the sort of person she is! She can be very violent if -she chooses, and the names she called you yesterday, -were not pretty ones. I had much trouble, as your -relative, to stand by and listen to them quietly. Yet I -could not say that they were undeserved!”</p> - -<p>“O well! I daresay!” returned Ralph, impatiently.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</span> -“Let us allow, for the sake of argument, that you are -right, and that I behaved like a brute! The matter lies -only between Hally Brandt and myself. The old woman -has nothing to do with it! She never met the girl till -she went to Heyst. What I want to do is to see Hally -again and make my peace with her! You know how -easily women are won over. A pretty present—a few -kisses and excuses,—a few tears—and the thing is -done. I shouldn’t like to leave England without making -my peace with the little girl. Couldn’t you get her to -come to your chambers, and let me meet her there? -Then the Baroness need know nothing about it!”</p> - -<p>“I thought you told us just now, that you had had a -reconciliation with Miss Leyton on condition that you -were to be a good boy for the future. Does that not -include a surreptitious meeting with Miss Brandt?”</p> - -<p>“I suppose it does, but we have to make all sorts -of promises where women are concerned. A nice kind -of life a man would lead, if he consented to be tied -to his wife’s apron-strings, and never go anywhere, nor -see anyone, of whom she did not approve. I swore to -everything she and old Walthamstowe asked me, just -for peace’s sake,—but if they imagine I’m going to be -hampered like that, they must be greater fools than I -take them for!”</p> - -<p>“You must do as you think right, Pullen, but I am -not going to help you to break your word!”</p> - -<p>“Tell me where the Red House is! Tell me whereabouts -Hally takes her daily walks!” urged Captain -Pullen.</p> - -<p>“I shall tell you nothing—you must find out for -yourself!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</span></p> - -<p>“Well! you are damned particular!” exclaimed his -cousin, “one would think this little half-caste was a -princess of the Blood Royal. What is she, when all’s -said and done? The daughter of a mulatto and a man -who made himself so detested that he was murdered by -his own servants—the bastard of a——”</p> - -<p>“Stop!” cried Pennell, so vehemently that the -passers-by turned their heads to look at him, “I don’t -believe it, and if it is true, I do not wish to hear it! -Miss Brandt may be all that you say—I am not in a -position to contradict your assertions—but to me she -represents only a friendless and unprotected woman, -who has a right to our sympathy and respect.”</p> - -<p>“A friendless woman!” sneered Captain Pullen, “yes! -and a doosid good-looking one into the bargain, eh, my -dear fellow, and much of your sympathy and respect -she would command if she were ugly and humpbacked. -O! I know you, Pennell! It’s no use your coming the -benevolent Samaritan over me! You have an eye for -a jimper waist and a trim ancle as well as most men. -But I fancy your interest is rather thrown away in this -quarter. Miss Brandt has a thorny path before her. -She is a young lady who will have her own way, and -with the glorious example of the Baroness the way is -not likely to be too carefully chosen. To tell the truth, -old boy, I ran away because I was afraid of falling into -the trap. The girl wishes intensely to be married, and -she is not a girl whom men will marry, and so—we -need go no further. Only, I should not be surprised -if, notwithstanding her fortune and her beauty, we should -find Miss Harriet Brandt figuring before long, amongst -the free lances of London.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</span></p> - -<p>“And you would have done your best to send her -there!” replied Anthony Pennell indignantly, as he stopped -on the doorstep of his Piccadilly chambers. “But I am -glad to say that your folly has been frustrated this time, -and Miss Brandt sees you as you are! Good-night!” -and without further discussion, he turned on his heel -and walked upstairs.</p> - -<p>“By Jove!” thought Ralph, as he too went on his -way, “I believe old Anthony is smitten with the girl himself, -though he has only seen her once! That was the -most remarkable thing about her—the ease with which -she seemed to attract, looking so innocent all the while, -and the deadly strength with which she resisted one’s -efforts to get free again. Perhaps it is as well after all -that I should not meet her. I don’t believe I could -trust myself, only speaking of her seems to have revived -the old sensation of being drawn against my will—hypnotised, -I suppose the scientists would call it—to be -near her, to touch her, to embrace her, until all power -of resistance is gone. But I do hope old Anthony is not -going to be hypnotised. He’s too good for that.”</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Pennell, having reached his rooms, lighted -the gas, threw himself into an armchair, and rested his -head upon his hands.</p> - -<p>“Poor little girl!” he murmured to himself. “Poor -little girl!”</p> - -<p>Anthony Pennell was a Socialist in the best and truest -sense of the world. He loved his fellow creatures, both -high and low, better than he loved himself. He wanted -all to share alike—to be equally happy, equally comfortable—to -help and be helped, to rest and depend upon -one another. He knew that the dream was only a dream—that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</span> -it would never be fulfilled in his time, nor any -other; that some men would be rich and some poor as -long as the world lasts, and that what one man can do -to alleviate the misery and privation and suffering with -which we are surrounded, is very little. What little -Pennell could do, however, to prove that his theories -were not mere talk, he did. He made a large income -by his popular writings and the greater part of it went -to relieve the want of his humbler friends, not through -governors and secretaries and the heads of charitable -Societies, but from his own hand to theirs. But his -Socialism went further and higher than this. Money was -not the only thing which his fellow creatures required—they -wanted love, sympathy, kindness, and consideration—and -these he gave also, wherever he found that there -was need. He set his face pertinaciously against all -scandal and back-biting, and waged a perpetual warfare -against the tyranny of men over women; the ill-treatment -of children; and the barbarities practised upon dumb -animals and all living things. He was a liberal-minded -man, with a heart large enough and tender enough to -belong to a woman—with a horror of cruelty and a great -compassion for everything that was incapable of defending -itself. He was always writing in defence of the -People, calling the attention of those in authority to their -misfortunes; their evil chances; their lack of opportunity; -and their patience under tribulation. For this purpose -and in order to know them thoroughly, he had gone and -lived amongst them; shared their filthy dens in Whitechapel, -partaken of their unappetising food in Stratford; -and watched them at their labour in Homerton. His -figure and his kindly face were well-known in some of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</span> -the worst and most degraded parts of London, and he -could pass anywhere, without fear of a hand being lifted -up against him, or an oath called after him in salutation. -Anthony Pennell was, in fact, a general lover—a lover of -Mankind.</p> - -<p>And that is why he leant his head upon his hand -as he ejaculated with reference to Harriet Brandt, “Poor -little girl.”</p> - -<p>It seemed so terrible in his eyes that just because -she was friendless, and an orphan, just because her -parents had been, perhaps, unworthy, just because she -had a dark stream mingling with her blood, just because -she needed the more sympathy and kindness, the more -protection and courtesy, she should be considered fit -prey for the sensualist—a fit subject to wipe men’s feet -upon!</p> - -<p>What difference did it make to Harriet Brandt herself, -that she was marked with an hereditary taint? Did -it render her less beautiful, less attractive, less graceful -and accomplished? Were the sins of the fathers ever -to be visited upon the children?—was no sympathetic -fellow-creature to be found to say, “If it is so, let us -forget it! It is not your fault nor mine! Our duty is -to make each other’s lives as happy as possible and -trust the rest to God.”</p> - -<p>He hoped as he sat there, that before long, Harriet -Brandt would find a friend for life, who would never -remind her of anything outside her own loveliness and -loveable qualities.</p> - -<p>Presently he rose, with a sigh, and going to his -bookcase drew thence an uncut copy of his last work, -“God and the People.” It had been a tremendous success,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</span> -having already reached the tenth edition. It dealt -largely, as its title indicated, with his favourite theory, -but it was light and amusing also, full of strong nervous -language, and bristling every here and there, with wit—not -strained epigrams, such as no Society conversationalists -ever tossed backward and forward to each other—but -honest, mirth-provoking humour, arising from the -humorous side of Pennell’s own character, which ever -had a good-humoured jest for the oddities and comicalities -of everyday life.</p> - -<p>He regarded the volume for a moment as though he -were considering if it were an offering worthy of its destination, -and then he took up a pen and transcribed -upon the fly leaf the name of Harriet Brandt—only her -name, nothing more.</p> - -<p>“She seems intelligent,” he thought, “and she may -like to read it. Who knows, if there is any fear of the -sad destiny which Ralph prophesies for her, whether I -may not be happy enough to turn her ideas into a worthier -and more wholesome direction. With an independent -fortune, how much good might she not accomplish, -amongst those less happily situated than herself! But -the other idea—No, I will not entertain it for a moment! -She is too good, too pure, too beautiful, for so horrible -a fate! Poor little girl! Poor, poor little girl!”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>The holiday season being now over, and the less -fashionable people returned to town, Harriet Brandt’s -curiosity was much excited by the number of visitors -who called at the Red House, but were never shewn -into the drawing-room. As many as a dozen might arrive -in the course of an afternoon and were taken by -Miss Wynward straight upstairs to the room where Madame -Gobelli and Mr. Milliken so often shut themselves -up together. These mysterious visitors were not objects -of charity either, but well-dressed men and women, some -of whom came in their own carriages, and all of whom -appeared to be of the higher class of society. The -Baroness had left off going to the factory, also, and -stayed at home every day, apparently with the sole -reason of being at hand to receive her visitors.</p> - -<p>Harriet could not understand it at all, and after -having watched two fashionably attired ladies accompanied -by a gentleman, ascend the staircase, to Madame -Gobelli’s room, one afternoon, she ventured to sound -Miss Wynward on the subject.</p> - -<p>“Who were the ladies who went upstairs just now?” -she asked.</p> - -<p>“Friends of the Baroness, Miss Brandt!” was the -curt reply.</p> - -<p>“But why do they not come down to the drawing-room<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</span> -then? What does Madame Gobelli do with them -in that little room upstairs? I was passing one day just -after someone had entered, and I heard the key turned -in the lock. What is all the secrecy about?”</p> - -<p>“There is no secrecy on my part, Miss Brandt. You -know the position I hold here. When I have shewn the -visitors upstairs, according to my Lady’s directions, my -duty is done!”</p> - -<p>“But you must know why they come to see her!”</p> - -<p>“I know nothing. If you are curious on the subject, -you must ask the Baroness.”</p> - -<p>But Harriet did not like to do that. The Baroness -had become less affectionate to her of late—her fancy -was already on the wane—she no longer called the attention -of strangers to her young friend as the “daughter -of the house”—and Harriet felt the change, though she -could scarcely have defined where it exactly lay. She -had begun to feel less at home in her hostess’s presence, -and her high spirit chafed at the alteration in her manner. -She realised, as many had done before her, that she had -out-stayed her welcome. But her curiosity respecting the -people who visited Madame Gobelli upstairs was none -the less. She confided it to Bobby—poor Bobby who -grew whiter and more languid ever day—but her playful -threat to invade the sacred precincts and find out what -the Baroness and her friends were engaged upon, was -received by the youth with horror. He trembled as he -begged her not to think of such a thing.</p> - -<p>“Hally, you mustn’t, indeed you mustn’t! You don’t -know—you have no idea—what might not happen to -you, if you offended Mamma by breaking in upon her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</span> -privacy. O! don’t, pray don’t! She can be so terrible -at times—I do not know what she might not do or -say!”</p> - -<p>“My dear Bobby, I was only in fun! I have not -the least idea of doing anything so rude. Only, if you -think that I am frightened of your Mamma or any other -woman, you are very much mistaken. It’s all nonsense! -No one person can harm another in this world!”</p> - -<p>“O! yes, they can—if they have <em>help</em>,” replied the -boy, shaking his head.</p> - -<p>“Help! what help? The help of Mr. Milliken, I -suppose! I would rather fight him than the Baroness -any day—but I fear neither of them.”</p> - -<p>“O! Hally, you are wrong,” said the lad, “you -must be careful, indeed you must—for my sake!”</p> - -<p>“Why! you silly Bobby, you are actually trembling! -However, I promise you I will do nothing rash! And I -shall not be here much longer now! Your Mamma is -getting tired of me, I can see that plainly enough! She -has hardly spoken a word to me for the last two days. -I am going to ask Mr. Pennell, to advise me where to -find another home!”</p> - -<p>“No! no!” cried the lad, clinging to her, “you shall -not leave us! Mr. Pennell shall not take you away! I -will kill him first!”</p> - -<p>He was getting terribly jealous of Anthony Pennell, -but Harriet laughed at his complaints and reproaches -as the emanations of a love-sick schoolboy. She was -flattered by his feverish longing for her society, and his -outspoken admiration of her beauty, but she did not -suppose for one moment that Bobby was capable of a -lasting, or dangerous, sentiment.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</span></p> - -<p>Mr. Pennell had become a familiar figure at the Red -House by this time. His first visit had been speedily -succeeded by another, at which he had presented -Harriet Brandt with the copy of his book—an attention, -which had he known it, flattered her vanity more than -any praises of her beauty could have done. A plain -woman likes to be told that she is good-looking, a handsome -one that she is clever. Harriet Brandt was not -unintelligent, on the contrary she had inherited a very -fair amount of brains from her scientific father—but no -one ever seemed to have found it out, until Anthony -Pennell came her way. She was a little tired of being -told that she had lovely eyes, and the most fascinating -smile, she knew all that by heart, and craved for something -new. Mr. Pennell had supplied the novelty by -talking to her as if her intellect were on a level with his -own—as if she were perfectly able to understand and -sympathise with his quixotic plans for the alleviation of -the woes of all mankind—with his Arcadian dreams of -Liberty, Equality and Fraternity,—and might help them -also, if she chose, not with money only, but by raising -her own voice in the Cause of the People. Harriet had -never been treated so by anyone before, and her ardent, -impetuous, passionate nature, which had a large amount -of gratitude in its composition, fixed itself upon her new -friend with a vehemence which neither of them would -find it easy to overcome—or to disentangle themselves -from. Her love (eager to repair the void left by the -desertion of Captain Pullen) had poured itself, by means -of looks and sighs and little timid, tender touches upon -Anthony Pennell like a mountain torrent that had burst -its bounds, and he had been responsive—he had opened<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</span> -his arms to receive the flood, actuated not only by the -admiration which he had conceived for her from the -first, but by the intense, yearning pity which her loneliness -and friendlessness had evoked in his generous, -compassionate nature. In fact they were desperately in -love with each other, and Harriet was expecting each -time he came, to hear Anthony Pennell say that he -could no longer live without her. And Bobby looked -on from a little distance—and suffered. The next time -that Mr. Pennell came to see her, Harriet confided to -him the mystery of the upstairs room, and asked his -opinion as to what it could possibly mean.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps they are people connected with the boot -trade,” suggested Anthony jestingly, “does Madame keep -a stock of boots and shoes up there, do you think?”</p> - -<p>“O! no! Mr. Pennell, you must not joke about it! -This is something serious! Poor Bobby grew as white -as a sheet when I proposed to make a raid upon the -room some day and discover the mystery, and said that -his mother was a terrible woman, and able to do me -great harm if I offended her!”</p> - -<p>“I quite agree with Bobby in his estimate of his -Mamma being a terrible woman,” replied Mr. Pennell, -“but it is all nonsense about her being able to harm -you! <em>I</em> should soon see about that!”</p> - -<p>“What would you do?” asked Harriet, with downcast -eyes.</p> - -<p>“What would I <em>not</em> do to save you from anything -disagreeable, let alone anything dangerous. But the -Baroness is too fond of you, surely, to do you any -harm!”</p> - -<p>Harriet pursed up her lips.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</span></p> - -<p>“I am not so sure about her being fond of me, Mr. -Pennell! She used to profess to be, I know, but lately -her manner has very much altered. She will pass half -a day without speaking a word to me, and they have -cut off wine and champagne and everything nice from -the dinner table. I declare the meals here are sometimes -not fit to eat. And I believe they grudge me the -little I consider worthy my attention.”</p> - -<p>“But why do you stay here, if you fancy you are -not welcome?” asked Pennell, earnestly, “you are not -dependent on these people or their hospitality.”</p> - -<p>“But where am I to go?” said the girl, “I know no -one in London, and Miss Wynward says that I am too -young to live at an hotel by myself!”</p> - -<p>“Miss Wynward is quite right! You are far too -young and too beautiful. You don’t know what wicked -men and women there are in the world, who would -delight in fleecing an innocent lamb like you. But I -can soon find you a home where you could stay in respectability -and comfort, until—until——”</p> - -<p>“Until <em>what</em>,” asked Harriet, with apparent ingenuousness, -for she knew well enough what was coming.</p> - -<p>They were seated on one of those little couches -made expressly for conversation, where a couple can sit -back to back, with their faces turned to one another. -Harriet half raised her slumbrous black eyes as she put -the question, and met the fire in his own. He stretched -out his arms and caught her round the waist.</p> - -<p>“Hally! Hally! you know—there is no need for me -to tell you! Will you come home to me, dearest? -Don’t ever say that you are friendless again! Here is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</span> -your friend and your lover and your devoted slave for -ever! My darling—my beautiful Hally, say you will be -my wife—and make me the very happiest man in all -the world!”</p> - -<p>She did not shrink from his warm wooing—that -was not her nature! Her eyes waked up and flashed -fire, responsive to his own; she let her head rest on his -shoulder, and turned her lips upwards eagerly to meet -his kiss, she cooed her love into his ear, and clasped -him tightly round the neck as if she would never let -him go.</p> - -<p>“I love you—I love you,” she kept on murmuring, -“I have loved you from the very first!”</p> - -<p>“O! Hally, how happy it makes me to hear you say -so,” he replied, “how few women have the honesty -and courage to avow their love as you do. My sweet -child of the sun! The women in this cold country have -no idea of the joy that a mutual love like ours has the -power to bestow. We will love each other for ever and -ever, my Hally, and when our bodies are withered by -age, our spirits shall still go loving on.”</p> - -<p>He—the man whose whole thoughts hitherto had -been so devoted to the task of ameliorating the condition -of his fellow-creatures, that he had had no time -to think of dalliance, succumbed as fully to its pleasures -now, as the girl whose life had simply been a ripening -process for the seed which had burst forth into flower. -They were equally passionate—equally loving—equally -unreserved—and they were soon absorbed in their own -feelings, and noticed nothing that was taking place -around them.</p> - -<p>But they were not as entirely alone as they imagined.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</span> -A pale face full of misery was watching them through -one of the panes in the French windows, gazing at what -seemed like his death doom, too horribly fascinated to -tear himself away. Bobby stood there and saw Hally—<em>his</em> -Hally, as he had often fondly called her, without -knowing the meaning of the word—clasped in the arms -of this stranger, pressing her lips to his, and being released -with tumbled hair and a flushed face, only to -seek the source of her delight again. At last Bobby -could stand the bitter sight no longer, and with a low -moan, he fled to his own apartment and flung himself, -face downward on the bed. And Anthony Pennell and -Harriet Brandt continued to make love to each other, -until the shadows lengthened, and six o’clock was near -at hand.</p> - -<p>“I must go now, my darling,” he said at last, “though -it is hard to tear myself away. But I am so happy, -Hally, so very, very happy, that I dare not complain.”</p> - -<p>“Why cannot you stay the evening?” she urged.</p> - -<p>“I had better not! I have not been asked in the -first instance, and if what you say about the Baroness’s -altered demeanour towards yourself be true, I am afraid -I should find it difficult to keep my temper. But we -part for a very short time, my darling! The first thing -to-morrow, I shall see about another home for you, -where I can visit you as freely as I like! And as soon -as it can ever be, Hally, we will be married—is that a -promise?”</p> - -<p>“A promise, yes! a thousand times over, Anthony! -I long for the time when I shall be your wife!”</p> - -<p>“God bless you, my sweet! You have made my -future life look all sunshine! I will write to you as soon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</span> -as ever I have news and then you will lose no time in -leaving your present home, will you?”</p> - -<p>“Not an instant that I can help,” replied Harriet, -eagerly; “I am longing to get away. I feel that I have -lost my footing here!”</p> - -<p>And with another long embrace, the lovers parted. -As soon as Anthony had left her, Harriet ran up to her -room, to cool her feverish face and change her dress -for dinner. She was really and truly fond of the man -she had just promised to marry, and if anything could -have the power to transform her into a thinking and -responsible woman, it would be marriage with Anthony -Pennell. She was immensely proud that so clever and -popular a writer should have chosen her from out the -world of women to be his wife, and she loved him for -the excellent qualities he had displayed towards his fellow -men, as well as for the passionate warmth he had -shewn for herself. She was a happier girl than she had -ever been in all her life before, as she stood, flushed -and triumphant, in front of her mirror and saw the -beautiful light in her dark eyes, and the luxuriant -growth of her dusky hair, and the carmine of her lips, -and loved every charm she possessed for Anthony’s -sake. She felt less vexed even with the Baroness than -she had done, and determined that she would not -break the news of her intended departure from the Red -House, that evening, but try to leave as pleasant an impression -behind her as she could! And she put on the -lemon-coloured frock, though Anthony was not there to -see it, from a feeling that since he approved of her, she -must be careful of her appearance for the future, to do -justice to his opinion.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</span></p> - -<p>Madame Gobelli appeared to be in a worse temper -than usual that evening. She stumped in to the dining-room -and took her seat at table without vouchsafing a -word to Harriet, although she had not seen her since -luncheon time. She found fault with everything that -Miss Wynward did, and telling her that she grew -stupider and stupider each day, ordered her to attend -her upstairs after dinner, as she had some friends -coming and needed her assistance. The ex-governess -did not answer at first, and the Baroness sharply demanded -if she had heard her speak.</p> - -<p>“Yes! my lady,” she replied, slowly, “but I trust -that you will excuse my attendance, as I have made an -engagement for this evening!”</p> - -<p>Madame Gobelli boiled over with rage.</p> - -<p>“Engagement! What do you mean by making an -engagement without asking my leave first? You can’t -keep it! I want you to ’elp me in something and you’ll -’ave to come!”</p> - -<p>“You must forgive me,” repeated Miss Wynward, -firmly, “but I cannot do as you wish!”</p> - -<p>Harriet opened her eyes in amazement. Miss Wynward -refusing a request from Madame Gobelli. What -would happen next?</p> - -<p>The Baroness grew scarlet in the face. She positively -trembled with rage.</p> - -<p>“’Old your tongue!” she screamed. “You’ll do as I -say, or you leave my ’ouse.”</p> - -<p>“Then I will leave your house!” replied Miss Wynward.</p> - -<p>Madame Gobelli was thunderstruck! Where was -this insolent menial, who had actually dared to defy her,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</span> -going? What friends had she? What home to go to? -She had received no salary from her for years past, but -had accepted board and lodging and cast-off clothes in -return for her services. How could she face the world -without money?</p> - -<p>“You go at your peril,” she exclaimed, hoarse with -rage, “you know what will ’appen to you if you try to -resist me! I ’ave those that will ’elp me to be revenged -on my enemies! You know that those I ’ate, <em>die</em>! -And when I ’ave my knife in a body, I turn it! You -’ad better be careful, and think twice about what you’re -going to do.”</p> - -<p>“Your ladyship cannot frighten me any longer,” replied -Miss Wynward, calmly, “I thank God and my -friends that I have got over that! Nor do I believe any -more in your boasted powers of revenge! If they are -really yours, you should be ashamed to use them.”</p> - -<p>“Gustave!” shrieked the Baroness, “get up and put -this woman from the door. She don’t stop in the Red -’Ouse another hour! Let ’er pack up ’er trumpery and -go! Do you ’ear me, Gustave? Turn ’er out of the room!”</p> - -<p>“Mein tear! mein tear! a little patience! Miss Wynward -will go quietly! But the law, mein tear, the law! -We must be careful!”</p> - -<p>“Damn the law!” exclaimed the Baroness. “’Ere, -where’s that devil Bobby? Why ain’t ’e at dinner? -What’s the good of my ’aving a ’usband and a son if -neither of ’em will do my bidding!”</p> - -<p>Then everyone looked round and discovered that -Bobby was not at the table.</p> - -<p>“Where’s Bobby?” demanded the Baroness of the -servant in waiting.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</span></p> - -<p>“Don’t know, I’m sure,” replied the domestic, who -like most of Madame Gobelli’s dependents, talked as -familiarly with her as though they had been on an -equality. “The last time I saw ’im was at luncheon.”</p> - -<p>“I will go and look for him,” said Miss Wynward -quietly, as she rose from table.</p> - -<p>“No! you don’t!” exclaimed the Baroness insolently, -“you don’t touch my child nor my ’usband again whilst -you remain under this roof. I won’t ’ave them polluted -by your fingers. ’Ere, Sarah, you go upstairs and see -if Bobby’s in ’is room. It’ll be the worse for ’im if ’e -isn’t.”</p> - -<p>Sarah took her way upstairs, in obedience to her -employer’s behest, and the next minute a couple of -shrieks, loud and terrified, proceeded from the upper -story. They were in Sarah’s voice, and they startled -everyone at the dinner table.</p> - -<p>“Oh! what is that?” exclaimed Harriet, as her face -grew white with fear.</p> - -<p>“Something is wrong!” said Miss Wynward, as she -hastily left the room.</p> - -<p>The Baroness said nothing, until Miss Wynward’s -voice was heard calling out over the banisters,</p> - -<p>“Baron! will you come here, please, at once!”</p> - -<p>Then she said,</p> - -<p>“Gustave! ’elp me up,” and steadying herself by -means of her stick, she proceeded to the upper story, -accompanied by her husband and Harriet Brandt. They -were met on the landing by Miss Wynward, who addressed -herself exclusively to the Baron.</p> - -<p>“Will you send for a doctor at once,” she said -eagerly, “Bobby is very ill, very ill indeed!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</span></p> - -<p>“What is the matter?” enquired the stolid German.</p> - -<p>“It’s all rubbish!” exclaimed Madame Gobelli, forcing -her way past the ex-governess, “’ow can ’e be ill -when ’e was running about all the morning? ’Ere, -Bobby,” she continued, addressing the prostrate figure -of her son which was lying face downward on the bed, -“get up at once and don’t let’s ’ave any of your nonsense, -or I’ll give you such a taste of my stick as you’ve -never ’ad before! Get up, I say, at once now!”</p> - -<p>She had laid hold of her son’s arm, and was about -to drag him down upon the floor, when Miss Wynward -interposed with a face of horror.</p> - -<p>“Leave him alone!” she cried, indignantly. “Woman! -cannot you see what is the matter? Your son has left -you! He is <em>dead</em>!”</p> - -<p>The Baroness was about to retort that it was a lie -and she didn’t believe it, when a sudden trembling overtook -her, which she was powerless to resist. Her whole -face shook as if every muscle had lost control, and her -cumbersome frame followed suit. She did not cry, nor -call out, but stood where the news had reached her, immovable, -except for that awful shaking, which made her -sway from head to foot. The Baron on hearing the intelligence -turned round to go downstairs and dispatch -William, who was employed in the stables, in search of -a medical man. Miss Wynward took the lifeless body -in her arms and tenderly turned it over, kissing the -pallid face as she did so—when Harriet Brandt, full of -mournful curiosity, advanced to have a look at her dead -playmate. Her appearance, till then unnoticed, seemed -to wake the paralysed energies of the Baroness into life.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</span> -She pushed the girl from the bed with a violence that -sent her reeling against the mantelshelf, whilst she exclaimed -furiously,</p> - -<p>“Out of my sight! Don’t you dare to touch ’im! -This is all <em>your</em> doing, you poisonous, wicked creature!”</p> - -<p>Harriet stared at her hostess in amazement! Had -she suddenly gone mad with grief?</p> - -<p>“What do you mean, Madame?” she cried.</p> - -<p>“What I say! I ought to ’ave known better than to -let you enter an ’ouse of mine! I was a fool not to ’ave -left you be’ind me at Heyst, to practise your devilish -arts on your army captains and foreign grocers, instead -of letting you come within touch of my innocent child!”</p> - -<p>“You are mad!” cried Harriet. “What have I done? -Do you mean to insinuate that Bobby’s death has anything -to do with me?”</p> - -<p>“It is <em>you</em> ’oo ’ave killed ’im,” screamed the Baroness, -shaking her stick, “it’s your poisonous breath that ’as -sapped ’is! I should ’ave seen it from the beginning. -Do you suppose I don’t know your ’istory? Do you -think I ’aven’t ’eard all about your parents and their vile -doings—that I don’t know that you’re a common bastard, -and that your mother was a devilish negress, and your -father a murderer? Why didn’t I listen to my friends -and forbid you the ’ouse?”</p> - -<p>“Miss Wynward!” said Harriet, who had turned -deadly white at this unexpected attack, “what can I say? -What can I do?”</p> - -<p>“Leave the room, my dear, leave the room! Her -ladyship is not herself! She does not know what she -is saying!”</p> - -<p>“Don’t I?” screamed Madame Gobelli, barring the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</span> -way to the door, “I am telling ’er nothing but the truth, -and she doesn’t go till she ’as ’eard it! She has the -vampire’s blood in ’er and she poisons everybody with -whom she comes in contact. Wasn’t Mrs. Pullen and -Mademoiselle Brimont both taken ill from being too intimate -with ’er, and didn’t the baby die because she -carried it about and breathed upon it? And now she -’as killed my Bobby in the same way—curse ’er!”</p> - -<p>Even when reiterating the terrible truth in which she -evidently believed, Madame Gobelli showed no signs of -breaking down, but stood firm, leaning heavily on her -stick and trembling in every limb.</p> - -<p>Harriet Brandt’s features had assumed a scared expression.</p> - -<p>“Miss Wynward!” she stammered piteously, “Oh! -Miss Wynward! this cannot be true!”</p> - -<p>“Of course not! Of course not!” replied the other, -soothingly, “her ladyship will regret that she has spoken -so hastily to you to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>“I shan’t regret it!” said the Baroness sturdily, “for -it is the truth! Her father and her mother were murderers -who were killed by their own servants in revenge -for their atrocities, and they left their curse upon this -girl—the curse of black blood and of the vampire’s -blood which kills everything which it caresses. Look -back over your past life,” she continued to Harriet, -“and you’ll see that it’s the case! And if you don’t -believe me, go and ask your friend Dr. Phillips, for ’e -knew your infamous parents and the curse that lies upon -you!”</p> - -<p>“Madame! Madame!” cried Miss Wynward, “is this -a moment for such recrimination? If all this were true,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</span> -it is no fault of Miss Brandt’s! Think of what lies here, -and that he loved her, and the thought will soften your -feelings!”</p> - -<p>“But it don’t!” exclaimed the Baroness, “when I -look at my dead son, I could kill ’er, because she has -killed ’im.”</p> - -<p>And in effect, she advanced upon Harriet with so -vengeful a look that the girl with a slight cry, darted -from the room, and rushed into her own.</p> - -<p>“For shame!” said Miss Wynward, whose previous -fear of the Baroness seemed to have entirely evaporated, -“how dare you intimidate an innocent woman in the -very presence of Death?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you try to browbeat me!” replied the Baroness.</p> - -<p>“I will tell you what I think,” said Miss Wynward -boldly, “and that is, that you should blush to give way -to your evil temper in the face of God’s warning to -yourself! You accuse that poor girl of unholy dealings—what -can you say of your own? You, who for years -past have made money by deceiving your fellow creatures -in the grossest manner—who have professed to hold -communication with the spiritual world for their satisfaction -when, if any spirits have come to you, they must -have been those of devils akin to your own! And because -I refused to help you to deceive—to take the -place of that miserable cur Milliken and play cheating -tricks with cards, and dress up stuffed figures to further -your money-getting ends, you threatened me with loss of -home and character and friends, until, God forgive me, -I consented to further the fraud, from fear of starving. -But now, thank Heaven, I have no more fear of you!<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</span> -Yes! you may shake your stick at me, and threaten to -take my life, but it is useless! <em>This</em>,” pointing to the -dead boy upon the bed, “was the only tie I had to the -Red House, and as soon as he is dressed for his grave, -I shall leave you for ever!”</p> - -<p>“And where would you go?” enquired the Baroness. -The voice did not sound like her own; it was the cracked -dry voice of a very old woman.</p> - -<p>“That is no concern of yours, my lady,” replied -Miss Wynward, as she prepared to quit the room. “Be -good enough to let me pass! The inexcusable manner -in which you have insulted that poor young lady, Miss -Brandt, makes me feel that my first duty is to her!”</p> - -<p>“I forbid you—” commenced Madame Gobelli in her -old tone, but the ex-governess simply looked her in the -face and passed on. She made the woman feel that her -power was gone.</p> - -<p>Miss Wynward found Harriet in her own room, tossing -all her possessions into her travelling trunks. There -was no doubt of her intention. She was going to leave -the Red House.</p> - -<p>“Not at this time of night, my dear,” said Miss -Wynward, kindly, “it is nearly nine o’clock.”</p> - -<p>“I would go if I had to walk the street all night!” -replied Harriet, feverishly.</p> - -<p>Her eyes were inflamed with crying, and she shook -like an aspen leaf.</p> - -<p>“Oh! Miss Wynward, such awful things to say! What -could she mean? What have I done to be so cruelly -insulted? And when I am so sorry for poor Bobby -too!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</span></p> - -<p>She began to cry afresh as she threw dresses, -mantles, stockings, and shoes one on the top of the -other, in her endeavour to pack as quickly as possible.</p> - -<p>“Let me help you, dear Miss Brandt! It is cruel -that you should be driven from the house in this way! -But I am going too, as soon as the doctor has been and -dear Bobby’s body may be prepared for burial. It is a -great grief to me, Miss Brandt; I have had the care of -him since he was five years old, and I loved him like -my own. But I am glad he is dead! I am glad he -has escaped from it all, for this is a wicked house, a -godless, deceiving and slanderous house, and this trouble -has fallen on it as a Nemesis. I will not stay here a moment -longer now he has gone! I shall join my friends -to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>“I am glad you have friends,” said Harriet, “for I -can see you are not happy here! Do they live far off? -Have you sufficient money for your journey? Forgive -my asking!”</p> - -<p>Miss Wynward stooped down and kissed the girl’s -brow.</p> - -<p>“Thank you so much for your kind thought, but -it is unnecessary. You will be surprised perhaps,” continued -Miss Wynward, blushing, “but I am going to be -married.”</p> - -<p>“And so am I,” was on Harriet’s lips, when she laid -her head down on the lid of her trunk and began to -cry anew. “Oh! Miss Wynward, what did she mean? Can -there be any truth in it? Is there something poisonous -in my nature that harms those with whom I come in -contact? How can it be? <em>How</em> can it be?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</span></p> - -<p>“No! no! of course not!” replied her friend, “Cannot -you see that it was the Baroness’s temper that made -her speak so cruelly to you? But you are right to go! -Only, where are you going?”</p> - -<p>“I do not know! I am so ignorant of London. Can -you advise me?”</p> - -<p>“You will communicate with your friends to-morrow?” -asked Miss Wynward anxiously.</p> - -<p>“Oh! yes! as soon as I can!”</p> - -<p>“Then I should go to the Langham Hotel in Portland -Place for to-night at all events! There you will -be safe till your friends advise you further. What can -I do to help you?”</p> - -<p>“Ask Sarah or William to fetch a cab! And to -have my boxes placed on it! There is a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">douceur</i> for -them,” said Harriet, placing a handsome sum in Miss -Wynward’s hand.</p> - -<p>“And you will not see the Baroness again?” asked -her companion.</p> - -<p>“No! no! for God’s sake, no. I could not trust myself! -I can never look upon her face again!”</p> - -<p>In a few minutes the hired vehicle rolled away from -the door, bearing Harriet Brandt and her possessions to -the Langham Hotel, and Miss Wynward returned to the -room where Bobby lay. Madame Gobelli stood exactly -where she had left her, gazing at the corpse. There -were no tears in her eyes—only the continuous shaking -of her huge limbs.</p> - -<p>“Come!” said Miss Wynward, not unkindly, “you -had better sit down, and let me bring you a glass of -wine! This terrible shock has been too much for -you.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</span></p> - -<p>But the Baroness only pushed her hand away, impatiently.</p> - -<p>“Who was that driving away just now?” she enquired.</p> - -<p>“Miss Brandt! You have driven her from the house -with your cruel and unnecessary accusations. No one -liked Bobby better than she did!”</p> - -<p>“Has the doctor arrived?”</p> - -<p>“I expect so! I hear the Baron’s voice in the hall -now!”</p> - -<p>Almost as she spoke, the Baron and the doctor -entered the room. The medical man did what was required -of him. He felt the heart and pulse of the -corpse—turned back the eyelids—sighed professionally, -and asked how long it was since it had happened.</p> - -<p>He was told that it was about an hour since they -had found him.</p> - -<p>“Ah! he has been dead longer than that! Three -hours at the least, maybe four! I am afraid there must -be an inquest, and it would be advisable in the interests -of science to have a post mortem. A great pity, a fine -grown lad—nineteen years old, you say—shall probably -detect hidden mischief in the heart and lungs. I will -make all the necessary arrangements with the Baron. -Good evening!”</p> - -<p>And the doctor bowed himself out of sight again.</p> - -<p>“It is quite true then,” articulated the Baroness -thickly. “He is gone!”</p> - -<p>“Oh! yes, my lady, he is gone, poor dear boy! I -felt sure of that!”</p> - -<p>“It is quite certain?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</span></p> - -<p>“Quite certain! The body is already stiffening!”</p> - -<p>The Baroness did not utter a sound, but Miss Wynward -glancing at her, saw her body sway slowly backwards -and forwards once or twice, before it fell heavily -to the ground, stricken with paralysis.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>Doctor Phillips was a great favourite with the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">beau -sexe</i>. He was so mild and courteous, so benevolent -and sympathetic, that they felt sure he might be trusted -with their little secrets. Women, both old and young, -invaded his premises daily, and therefore it was no -matter of surprise to him, when, whilst he was still -occupied with his breakfast on the morning following -Harriet Brandt’s flight from the Red House, his confidential -servant Charles announced that a young lady -was waiting to see him in his consulting room.</p> - -<p>“No name, Charles?” demanded the doctor.</p> - -<p>“No name, Sir!” replied the discreet Charles without -the ghost of a smile.</p> - -<p>“Say that I will be with her in a minute!”</p> - -<p>Doctor Phillips finished his cutlet and his coffee before -he rose from table. He knew what ladies’ confidences -were like and that he should not have much -chance of returning to finish an interrupted meal.</p> - -<p>But as he entered his consulting room, his air of -indifference changed to one of surprise. Pacing restlessly -up and down the carpet, was Harriet Brandt, but -so altered that he should hardly have recognised her. -Her face was puffy and swollen, as though she had -wept all night, her eyelids red and inflamed, her whole -demeanour wild and anxious.</p> - -<p>“My dear young lady—is it possible that I see Miss -Brandt?” the doctor began.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</span></p> - -<p>She turned towards him and coming up close to -his side, grasped his arm. “I must speak to you!” she -exclaimed, without further preliminary, “you are the -only person who can set my doubts at rest.”</p> - -<p>“Well! well! well!” he said, soothingly, for the girl -looked and spoke as though her mind were disordered. -“You may rely that I will do all I can for you! But -let us sit down first!”</p> - -<p>“No! no!” cried Harriet, “there is no time, I cannot -rest; you must satisfy my mind at once, or I shall -go mad! I have not closed my eyes all night—the -time was interminable, but how could I sleep! I seemed -to be torn in pieces by ten thousand devils!”</p> - -<p>“My dear child,” said Doctor Phillips, as he laid -his hand on hers and looked her steadily in the face, -“you are over-excited. You must try to restrain yourself.”</p> - -<p>He went up to a side table and, pouring out some -cordial, made her drink it. Harriet gulped it down, -and sank back exhausted in a chair. She was weak -and worn-out with the excitement she had passed through.</p> - -<p>“Come! that is better,” said the doctor, as he saw -the tears stealing from beneath her closed eyelids, “now, -don’t hurry yourself! Keep quiet till you feel strong -enough to speak, and then tell me what it is that brings -you here!”</p> - -<p>The allusion appeared to stir up all her misery -again. She sat upright and grasped the doctor by the -arm as she had done at first.</p> - -<p>“You must tell me,” she said breathlessly, “you -must tell me all I want to know. They say you knew -my father and mother in Jamaica! Is that true?”</p> - -<p>The old doctor began to feel uncomfortable. It is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</span> -one thing to warn those in whom you are interested -against a certain person, or persons, and another to be -confronted with the individual you have spoken of, and -forced to repeat your words. Yet Doctor Phillips was -innocent of having misjudged, or slandered anyone.</p> - -<p>“I <em>did</em> know your father and mother—for a short -time!” he answered cautiously.</p> - -<p>“And were they married to each other?”</p> - -<p>“My dear young lady, what is the use of dragging -up such questions now? Your parents are both gone -to their account—why not let all that concerned them -rest also?”</p> - -<p>“No! no! you forget that I live—to suffer the effects -of their wrong-doing! I <em>must</em> know the truth—I will -not leave the house until you tell me! Were they -married? Am I a—a—bastard?”</p> - -<p>“If you insist upon knowing, I believe they were not -married—at least it was the general opinion in the Island. -But would not Mr. Tarver be the proper person -to inform you of anything which you may wish to know?”</p> - -<p>Harriet seized his hand and carried it to her forehead—it -was burning hot.</p> - -<p>“Feel that!” she exclaimed, “and you would have -me wait for weeks before I could get any satisfaction -from Mr. Tarver, and not then perhaps! Do you think -I could live through the agony of suspense. I should -kill myself before the answer to my letter came. No! -you are the only person that can give me any satisfaction. -Madame Gobelli told me to ask you for the truth, -if I did not believe her!”</p> - -<p>“Madame Gobelli,” reiterated the doctor in surprise.</p> - -<p>“Yes! I was staying with her at the Red House<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</span> -until last night, and then she was so cruel to me that -I left. Her son Bobby is dead, and she accused me of -having killed him. She said that my father was a -murderer and my mother a negress—that they were -both so wicked that their own servants killed them, and -that I have inherited all their vices. She said that it -was <em>I</em> who killed Mrs. Pullen’s baby and that I had -vampire blood in me, and should poison everyone I -came in contact with. What does she mean? Tell me -the truth, for God’s sake, for more depends upon it -than you have any idea of.”</p> - -<p>“Madame Gobelli was extremely wrong to speak in -such a manner, and I do not know on what authority -she did so. What can she know of your parents or -their antecedents?”</p> - -<p>“But you—you—” cried Harriet feverishly, “what -do <em>you</em> say?”</p> - -<p>Doctor Phillips was silent. He did not know what -to say. He was not a man who could tell a lie glibly -and appear as if he were speaking the truth. Patients -always guessed when he had no hope to give them, however -soothing and carefully chosen his words might be. -He regarded the distracted girl before him for some moments -in compassionate silence, and then he answered:</p> - -<p>“I have said already that if a daughter cannot hear -any good of her parents, she had better hear nothing -at all!”</p> - -<p>“Then it is true—my father and mother were people -so wicked and so cruel that their names are only fit for -execration. If you could have said a good word for -them, you would! I can read that in your eyes!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</span></p> - -<p>“The purity and charity of your own life can do -much to wipe out the stain upon theirs,” said the doctor. -“You have youth and money, and the opportunity of -doing good. You may be as beloved, as they were——”</p> - -<p>“Hated,” interposed the girl, “I understand you -perfectly! But what about my possessing the fatal -power of injuring those I come in contact with! What -truth is there in that? Answer me, for God’s sake! -Have I inherited the vampire’s blood? Who bequeathed -to me that fatal heritage?”</p> - -<p>“My dear Miss Brandt, you must not talk of such -a thing! You are alluding only to a superstition!”</p> - -<p>“But have I got it, whatever it may be?” persisted -Harriet. “Had I anything to do with the baby’s death, -or with that of Bobby Bates? I loved them both! Was -it my love that killed them? Shall I always kill everybody -I love? I <em>must</em> know—I <em>will</em>!”</p> - -<p>“Miss Brandt, you have now touched upon a subject -that is little thought of or discussed amongst medical -men, but that is undoubtedly true. The natures of -persons differ very widely. There are some born into -this world who nourish those with whom they are associated; -they <em>give out</em> their magnetic power, and their -families, their husbands or wives, children and friends, -feel the better for it. There are those, on the other -hand, who <em>draw</em> from their neighbours, sometimes making -large demands upon their vitality—sapping their physical -strength, and feeding upon them, as it were, until they -are perfectly exhausted and unable to resist disease. -This proclivity has been likened to that of the vampire -bat who is said to suck the breath of its victims. And<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</span> -it was doubtless to this fable that Madame Gobelli -alluded when speaking to you.”</p> - -<p>“But have I got it? Have I got it?” the girl demanded, -eagerly.</p> - -<p>The doctor looked at her lustrous glowing eyes, at -her parted feverish lips; at the working hands clasped -together; the general appearance of excited sensuality, -and thought it was his duty to warn her, at least a little, -against the dangers of indulging such a temperament as -she unfortunately possessed. But like all medical men, -he temporised.</p> - -<p>“I should certainly say that your temperament was -more of the <em>drawing</em> than the <em>yielding</em> order, Miss -Brandt, but that is not your fault, you know. It is a -natural organism. But I think it is my duty to warn -you that you are not likely to make those with whom -you intimately associate, stronger either in mind or body. -You will always exert a weakening and debilitating effect -upon them, so that after a while, having sapped their -brains, and lowered the tone of their bodies, you will -find their affection, or friendship for you visibly decrease. -You will have, in fact, <em>sucked them dry</em>. So, if I may -venture to advise you I would say, if there is any one -person in the world whom you most desire to benefit -and retain the affection of, let that be the very person -from whom you separate, as often as possible. You -must never hope to keep anyone near you for long, -without injuring them. Make it your rule through life -never to cleave to any one person altogether, or you will -see that person’s interest in you wax and wane, until it -is destroyed!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</span></p> - -<p>“And what if I—marry?” asked Harriet, in a strained -voice.</p> - -<p>“If you insist upon my answering that question, I -should advise you seriously <em>not</em> to marry! I do not -think yours is a temperament fitted for married life, nor -likely to be happy in it! You will not be offended by -my plain speaking, I hope. Remember, you have forced -it from me!”</p> - -<p>“And that is the truth, medically and scientifically—that -I must not marry?” she repeated, dully.</p> - -<p>“I think it would be unadvisable, but everyone must -judge for himself in such matters. But marriage is not, -after all, the ultimatum of earthly bliss, Miss Brandt! -Many married couples would tell you it is just the reverse. -And with a fortune at your command, you have -many pleasures and interests quite apart from that very -over-rated institution of matrimony. But don’t think I -am presuming to do more than advise you. There is -no real reason—medical or legal—why you should not -choose for yourself in the matter!”</p> - -<p>“Only—only—that those I cling to most nearly, will -suffer from the contact,” said Harriet in the same strained -tones.</p> - -<p>“Just so!” responded the doctor, gaily, “and an old -man’s advice to you is, to keep out of it as he has -done! And now—if there is anything more—” he continued, -“that I can do for you——”</p> - -<p>“Nothing more, thank you,” replied the girl rising, -“I understand it all now!”</p> - -<p>“Will you not see your old friend, Mrs. Pullen, before -you go?” asked the doctor. “She and her husband -are staying with me!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh! no, no,” cried Harriet, shrinking from the idea, -“I <em>could</em> not see her, I would rather go back at once!”</p> - -<p>And she hurried from the consulting-room as she -spoke.</p> - -<p>Doctor Phillips stood for a while musing, after her -departure. Had he done right, he thought, in telling -her, yet how in the face of persistent questioning, could -he have done otherwise? His thoughts were all fixed -upon Ralph Pullen and the scenes that had taken place -lately with him, respecting this girl. He did not dream -she had an interest in Anthony Pennell. He did not -know that they had met more than once. He thought -she might still be pursuing Ralph; still expecting that he -might break his engagement with Miss Leyton in order -to marry herself; and he believed he had done the -wisest thing in trying to crush any hopes she might have -left concerning him.</p> - -<p>“A most dangerous temperament,” he said to himself -as he prepared to receive another patient, “one that -is sufficient to mar a man’s life, if not to kill him entirely. -I trust that she and Captain Pullen may never -meet again. It was evident that my remarks on marriage -disappointed the poor child! Ah! well, she will -be much better without it!”</p> - -<p>And here the discreet Charles softly opened the -door and ushered in another lady.</p> - -<p>An hour later, Anthony Pennell, who had projected -a visit to the Red House that afternoon, received a note -by a commissionaire instead, containing a few, hurried -lines. “Come to me as soon as you can,” it said, “I -have left Madame Gobelli. I am at the Langham Hotel, -and very unhappy!” Needless to say that ten minutes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</span> -after the reception of this news, her lover was rushing -to her presence, as fast as hansom wheels could take him.</p> - -<p>He was very desperately and truly in love with -Harriet Brandt. Like most men who use their brains -in fiction, his work, whilst in course of progression, occupied -his energies to such an extent that he had no -time or thought for anything else. But the burden once -lifted, the romance written, the strain and anxiety removed, -the pendulum swung in the other direction, and -Anthony Pennell devoted all his attention to pleasure -and amusement. He had been set down by his colleagues -as a reserved and cold-blooded man with regard -to the other sex, but he was only self-contained and -thoughtful. He was as warm by nature, as Harriet herself, -and once sure of a response, could make love with -the best, and as he flew to her assistance now, he resolved -that if anything unpleasant had occurred to drive her -from the Red House, and launch her friendless on the -world, he would persuade her to marry him at once, -and elect him her protector and defence.</p> - -<p>His fair face flushed with anticipation as he thought -of the joy it would be to make her his wife, and take her -far away from everything that could annoy or harass her.</p> - -<p>Having arrived at the Langham and flung a double -fare to the cab-driver, he ran up the high staircase -with the light step of a boy, and dashed into Harriet’s -private room. The girl was sitting, much as she had -done since returning from her interview with the doctor—silent, -sullen, and alone, at war with Heaven and -Destiny and all that had conduced to blight the brightest -hopes she had ever had.</p> - -<p>“Hally, my darling, why is this?” exclaimed Pennell,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</span> -as he essayed to fold her in his arms. But she pushed -him off, not unkindly but with considerable determination.</p> - -<p>“Don’t touch me, Tony!—don’t come near me. You -had better not! I might harm you!”</p> - -<p>“What is the matter? Are you ill? If so, you know -me too well to imagine that I should fear infection.”</p> - -<p>“No! no! you do not understand!” replied Harriet, -as she rose from her seat and edged further away from -him, “but I am going to tell you all! It is for that I -sent for you!”</p> - -<p>Then, waving him from her with her hand, she -related the whole story to him—what the Baroness had -accused her of, and what Doctor Phillips had said in -confirmation of it, only that morning. Pennell had heard -something of it before, through Margaret Pullen, but he -had paid no attention to it, and now, when Harriet repeated -it in detail, with swollen eyes and quivering lips, -he laughed the idea to scorn.</p> - -<p>“Pooh! Nonsense! I don’t believe a word of it,” -he exclaimed, “it is a parcel of old woman’s tales. -Phillips should be ashamed of himself to place any -credence in it, far more to repeat it to you! Hally, -my darling! you are surely not going to make yourself -unhappy because of such nonsense. If so, you are not -the sensible girl I have taken you for!”</p> - -<p>“But, Tony,” said the girl, still backing from his -advances, “listen to me! It is not all nonsense, indeed. -I know for myself that it is true! Having been shut up -for so many years in the Convent dulled my memory -for what went before it, but it has all come back to me -now! It seems as if what Madame Gobelli and Doctor -Phillips have said, had lifted a veil from my eyes, and I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</span> -can recall things that had quite escaped my memory before. -I can remember now hearing old Pete say, that -when I was born, I was given to a black wet nurse, and -after a little while she was taken so ill, they had to send -her away, and get me another, and the next one—<em>died</em>! -Pete used to laugh and call me the puma’s cub, but I -didn’t know the meaning of it, then. And—Oh! stop a -moment, Tony, till I have done—there was a little white -child, I can see her so plainly now. They called her -little Caroline, I think she must have belonged to the -planter who lived next to us, and I was very fond of -her. I was quite unhappy when we did not meet, and -I used to creep into her nursery door and lie down in -the cot beside her. Poor little Caroline! I can see her -now! So pale and thin and wan she was! And one -night, I remember her mother came in and found me -there and called to her husband to send the ‘Brandt -bastard’ back to Helvetia. I had no idea what she -meant, but I cried because she sent me home, and I -asked Pete what a bastard was, but he would not tell -me. And,” went on Harriet in a scared tone, “little -Caroline <em>died</em>! Pete carried me on his shoulder to see -the funeral, and I would not believe that Caroline could -be in the narrow box, and I struck Pete on the face for -saying so!”</p> - -<p>“Well! my darling! and if you did, are these childish -reminiscences to come between our happiness? Why -should they distress you, Hally? Madame Gobelli’s insolence -must have been very hard to bear—I acknowledge -that, and I wish I had been by to prevent it, but -you must make excuses for her. I suppose the poor -creature was so mad with grief that she did not know<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</span> -what she was saying! But you need never see her again, -so you must try to forgive her!”</p> - -<p>“But, Anthony, you do not understand me! What -the Baroness said was <em>true</em>! I see it now! <em>I killed -Bobby!</em>”</p> - -<p>“My dearest, you are raving! <em>You killed Bobby!</em> -What utter, utter folly! How could you have killed Bobby?”</p> - -<p>Harriet passed her hand wearily across her brow, as -if she found it too hard to make her meaning plain.</p> - -<p>“Oh! yes, I did! We were always together, in the -garden or the house! And he used to sit with his head -on my shoulder and his arm round my waist, I should -not have allowed it! I should have driven him away! -But he loved me, poor Bobby, and it will be the same, -Doctor Phillips says, with everybody I love! I shall only -do them harm!”</p> - -<p>“Hally! I shall begin to think in another moment -that you are ill yourself—that you have a fever or something, -and that it is affecting your brain!”</p> - -<p>“There was a sister at the Convent, Sister Theodosia, -who was very good to me when I first went -there,” continued the girl in a dreamy voice, as if she -had not heard his words; “and she used to sit with me -upon her lap for hours together, because I was sad. -But she grew ill and they had to send her away up to -the hill, where they had their sanatorium. That made -the fourth in Jamaica!”</p> - -<p>“Now! I will not have you talk any more of this -nonsense,” said Pennell, half annoyed by her perseverance, -“and to prove to you what a little silly you are to -imagine that everyone who falls ill, or dies, or who comes -within the range of your acquaintance, owes it to your<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</span> -influence, tell me how it is that your father and mother, -who must have lived nearer to you than anybody else, -did not fall sick and die also.”</p> - -<p>“My parents saw less of me than anybody,” replied -Harriet, sadly, “they were ashamed of their ‘bastard’, I -suppose! But old Pete loved me, and took me with him -everywhere, and he didn’t get sick,” she concluded, with -a faint smile.</p> - -<p>“Of course not! See! what rubbish you have been -talking—making yourself and me unhappy for nothing -at all! So now let me take you in my arms and kiss -the remembrance of it away!”</p> - -<p>He was about to put his suggestion into execution, -but she still shrank from him.</p> - -<p>“No! no! indeed you must not! It is all true! I -cannot forget Olga Brimont, and Mrs. Pullen, and the -baby, and poor Bobby! It is true, indeed it is, and I -have been accursed from my birth.”</p> - -<p>And she burst into a torrent of passionate tears.</p> - -<p>Pennell let her expend some of her emotion, before -he continued,</p> - -<p>“Well! and what is to be the upshot of it all!”</p> - -<p>“I must part from you,” replied the girl, “Indeed, -indeed I must! I cannot injure you as I have done -others! Doctor Phillips said I was not fit for marriage—that -I should always weaken and hurt those whom I -loved most—and that I should draw from them, physically -and mentally, until I had sapped all their strength—that -I have the blood of the vampire in me, the vampire -that sucks its victims’ breaths until they die!”</p> - -<p>“Doctor Phillips be damned!” exclaimed Pennell, -“what right has he to promulgate his absurd and untenable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</span> -theories, and to poison the happiness of a girl’s -life, with his folly? He is an old fool, a dotard, a senseless -ass, and I shall tell him so! Vampire be hanged! -And if it were the truth, I for one could not wish for a -sweeter death! Come along, Hally, and try your venom -upon me! I am quite ready to run the risk!”</p> - -<p>He held out his arms to her again, as he spoke, and -she sank on her knees beside him.</p> - -<p>“Oh! Tony! Tony! cannot you read the truth? I love -you, dear, I love you! I never loved any creature in -this world before I loved you. I did not know that it -was given to mortals to love so much! And my love has -opened my eyes! Sooner than injure you, whom I would -die to save from harm, I will separate myself from you! -I will give you up! I will live my lonely life without you, -I <em>could</em> do that, but I can never, never consent to sap -your manhood and your brains, which do not belong to -me but to the world, and see you wither, like a poisoned -plant, the leaves of which lie discoloured and dead upon -the garden path.”</p> - -<p>Never in the course of their acquaintanceship had -Harriet Brandt seemed so sweet, so pathetic, so unselfish -to Anthony Pennell as then. If he had resolved -not to resign her from the first, he did so a thousand -times more now. He threw his arms around her kneeling -figure and lowered his head until it lay upon the -crown of her dusky hair.</p> - -<p>“My darling! my darling! my own sweet girl!” he -murmured, “our destinies are interwoven for ever! No -one and nothing shall come between us! You cannot -give me up unless you have my consent to doing so. I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</span> -hold your sacred promise to become my wife, and I -shall not release you from it!”</p> - -<p>“But if I harmed you?” she said fearfully.</p> - -<p>“I do not believe in the possibility of your harming -me,” he replied, “but if I am to die, which is what I -suppose you mean, I claim my right to die in your -arms. But whenever it happens, you will have neither -hastened, nor retarded it!”</p> - -<p>“Oh! if I could only think so!” she murmured.</p> - -<p>“You must! Why cannot you trust my judgment -as much as that of Madame Gobelli or old Phillips—a -couple of mischief-makers. And now, Hally, when -shall it be?”</p> - -<p>“When shall ‘what’ be?” she whispered.</p> - -<p>“You know what I mean as well as I do! When -shall we be married? We have no one to consult but ourselves! -I am my own master and you are alone in the -world! These things are very easily managed, you know. -I have but to go to Doctors’ Commons for a special -license to enable us to be married at a registrar’s office -to-morrow. Shall it be to-morrow, love?”</p> - -<p>“Oh! no! no! I could not make up my mind so soon!”</p> - -<p>“But why not? Would you live in this dull hotel -all by yourself, Hally?”</p> - -<p>“I do not know! I am so very unhappy! Leave -me, Anthony, for God’s sake, leave me, whilst there is -time! You do not know the risk you may be running -by remaining by my side! How can I consent to let -you, whom I love like my very life, run any risk for my -sake! Oh! I love you—I love you!” cried the impassioned -girl, as she clung tightly to him. “You are my -lord and master and my king, and I will never, <em>never</em><span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</span> -be so selfish as to harm you for the sake of my own -gratification. You must go away—put the seas between -us—never see me, never write or speak to me more—only -save yourself, my beloved, save yourself!”</p> - -<p>He smiled compassionately, as he would have smiled -at the ravings of a child, as he raised her from her lowly -position and placed her in a chair.</p> - -<p>“Do you know what I am going to do, little woman?” -he said cheerfully. “I am going to leave you all alone -to think this matter over until to-morrow. By that time -you will have been able to compare the opinions of two -people who do not care a jot about you, with those of -mine who love you so dearly. Think well over what -they have said to you, and I have said to you, and you -have said to me! Remember, that if you adhere to your -present determination, you will make both yourself and -me most unhappy, and do no one any good. As for -myself, I venture to say that if I lose you my grief and -disappointment will be so great, that, in all probability, -I shall never do any good work again. But be a sensible -girl—make up your mind to marry me, and give -the lie to all this nonsense, and I’ll write a book that -will astonish the world! Come, Hally, is it to be ruin or -success for me?—Ruin to spend my life without the only -woman I have ever cared for, or success to win my wife -and a companion who will help me in my work and -make my happiness complete?”</p> - -<p>He kissed her tear-stained face several times, and -left her with a bright smile.</p> - -<p>“This time to-morrow, remember, and I shall come -with the licence in my pocket.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>Doctor Phillips did not meet Margaret and her -husband until luncheon time and then they were full of -an encounter which they had had during their morning -walk.</p> - -<p>“Only fancy, Doctor!” exclaimed Margaret, with -more animation than she had displayed of late, “Arthur -and I have been shopping in Regent Street, and whom -do you think we met?”</p> - -<p>“I give it up, my dear,” replied the doctor, helping -himself to cold beef. “I am not good at guessing -riddles.”</p> - -<p>“Ralph and Elinor! They had just come from some -exhibition of pictures in New Bond Street, and I never -saw them so pleased with each other before. Ralph -was looking actually ‘spooney’, and Elinor was positively -radiant.”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Souvent femme varie</i>,” quoted Doctor Phillips, -shrugging his shoulders.</p> - -<p>“Oh! but, Doctor, it made Arthur and me so glad -to see them. Elinor is very fond of Ralph, you know, -although she has shewn it so little. And so I have no -doubt is he of her, and there would never have been -any unpleasantness between them, if it had not been for -that horrid girl, Harriet Brandt.”</p> - -<p>“It is not like you, my dear Margaret, to condemn<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</span> -anyone without a hearing. Perhaps you have not heard -the true case of Miss Harriet Brandt. Although I am -glad that Ralph has disentangled himself from her, I still -believe that he behaved very badly to both the young -ladies, and whilst I am glad to hear that Miss Leyton -smiles upon him again, I think it is more than he deserves!”</p> - -<p>“And I agree with you, Doctor,” interposed Colonel -Pullen, “I have never seen this Miss Brandt, but I know -what a fool my brother is with women, and can quite -understand that he may have raised her hopes just to -gratify his own vanity. I have no patience with him.”</p> - -<p>“Well! for Miss Leyton’s sake let us hope that this -will be his last experience of dallying with forbidden -pleasures. But what will you say when I tell you that -one of my visitors this morning has been the young lady -in question—Miss Brandt!”</p> - -<p>“Harriet Brandt!” exclaimed Margaret, “but why—is -she ill?”</p> - -<p>“Oh! no! Her trouble is mental—not physical.”</p> - -<p>“She is not still hankering after Ralph, I hope.”</p> - -<p>“You are afraid he might not be able to resist the -bait! So should I be. But she did not mention Captain -Pullen. Her distress was all about herself!”</p> - -<p>“Oh! do tell me about it, Doctor, if it is not a secret! -You know I have a kind of interest in Harriet Brandt!”</p> - -<p>“When she does not interfere with the prospects of -your family,” observed the doctor, drily, “exactly so! -Well, then, the poor girl is in great trouble, and I had -very little consolation to give her! She has left Madame -Gobelli’s house. It seems that the old woman insulted -her terribly and almost turned her out.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh! that awful Baroness!” cried Margaret; “it is only -what might have been expected! We heard dreadful -stories about her at Heyst. She has an uncontrollable -temper and, when offended, a most vituperative tongue. -Her ill-breeding is apparent at all times, but it must be -overwhelming when she is angry. But how did she insult -Miss Brandt?”</p> - -<p>“You remember what I told you of the girl’s antecedents! -It appears that the Baroness must have got -hold of the same story, for she cast it in her teeth, accusing -her moreover of having caused the death of her -son.”</p> - -<p>“Madame Gobelli’s son? What! Bobby—Oh! you do -not mean to say that Bobby—is <em>dead</em>?”</p> - -<p>“Yes! There was but one son, I think! He died -yesterday, as I understood Miss Brandt. And the mother -in her rage and grief turned upon the poor girl and told -her such bitter truths, that she rushed from the house -at once. Her visit to me this morning was paid in order -to ascertain if such things were true, as the Baroness, -very unjustifiably I think, had referred her to me for -confirmation.”</p> - -<p>“And what did you tell her?”</p> - -<p>“What could I tell her? At first I declined to give -an opinion, but she put such pertinent questions to me, -that unless I had lied, I saw no way of getting out of it. -I glossed over matters as well as I could, but even so, -they were bad enough. But I impressed it upon her -that she must not think of marrying. I thought it the -best way to put all idea of catching Captain Pullen out -of her mind. Let him once get safely married, and she -can decide for herself with regard to the next. But at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</span> -all hazards, we must keep Ralph out of her way, for -between you and me and the post, she is a young woman -whom most men would find it difficult to resist.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! yes! she and Ralph must not meet again,” said -Margaret, dreamingly. Her thoughts had wandered back -to Bobby and Heyst, and all the trouble she had encountered -whilst there. What despair had attacked her -when she lost her only child, and now Madame Gobelli—the -woman she so much disliked—had lost her only -child also.</p> - -<p>“Poor Madame Gobelli!” she ejaculated, “I cannot -help thinking of her! Fancy Bobby being—<em>dead</em>! And -she used to make him so unhappy, and humiliate him -before strangers! How she must be suffering for it now! -How it must all come back upon her! Poor Bobby! -Elinor will be sorry to hear that he is gone! She used -to pity him so, and often gave him fruit and cakes. -Fancy his being dead! I cannot believe it.”</p> - -<p>“It is true, nevertheless! But it is the common lot, -Margaret! Perhaps, as his mother used to treat him so -roughly, the poor lad is better off where he is.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! of course, I have no doubt of that! But he was -all she had—like me!” said Margaret, with her eyes -over-brimming. Her husband put his arms round her, -and let her have her cry out on his shoulder.</p> - -<p>Then, as he wiped her tears away she whispered,</p> - -<p>“Arthur, I should like to go and see her—the Baroness, -I mean! I can sympathise so truly with her, I might be -able to say a few words of comfort!”</p> - -<p>“Do as you like, my darling,” replied Colonel Pullen, -“that is, if you are sure that the woman won’t insult you, -as she did Miss Brandt!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh! no! no! I am not in the least afraid! Why -should she? I shall only tell her how much I feel for -her own our common loss——”</p> - -<p>She could not proceed, and the doctor whispered to -the Colonel.</p> - -<p>“Let her do as she wishes! The best salve for our -own wounds is to try and heal those of others.”</p> - -<p>Margaret rose and prepared to leave the room.</p> - -<p>“I shall go at once,” she said, “I suppose there is -no chance of my meeting Harriet Brandt there!”</p> - -<p>“I think not! She told me she had left the Red -House for good and all, but she did not say where she -was staying! Though, after all, I think she is in most -want of comfort of the two.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! no!” replied Margaret, faintly, “there is no grief -like that of—of—” She did not finish her sentence, -but left the room hastily in order to assume her walking -things.</p> - -<p>“Will she ever get over the loss of her child?” demanded -Colonel Pullen, gloomily. The doctor regarded -him with a half-amused surprise.</p> - -<p>“My dear fellow, though it is useless to preach the -doctrine to a bereaved mother, the loss of an innocent -baby is perhaps the least trying in the category of human -ills. To rear the child, as thousands do, to be unloving, -or unsympathetic, or ungrateful, is a thousand times -worse. But it is too soon for your dear wife to acknowledge -it. Let her go to this other mother and let them -cry together. It will do her all the good in the world!”</p> - -<p>And the doctor, having finished his luncheon, put -on his top-coat and prepared to make a round of professional -calls.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</span></p> - -<p>Margaret came back ready for her visit.</p> - -<p>“I shall not offer to go with you, darling,” said the -Colonel, “because my presence would only be inconvenient. -But mind you keep the cab waiting, or you -may find some difficulty in getting another in that district. -What address shall I give the driver?”</p> - -<p>“First to our florist in Regent Street that I may get -some white flowers.”</p> - -<p>In another minute she was off, and in about an hour -afterwards, she found herself outside the Red House, -which looked gloomier than ever, with all the blinds -drawn down. Margaret rang the front door bell, which -was answered by Miss Wynward.</p> - -<p>“Can I see Madame Gobelli?” commenced Margaret, -“I have just heard the sad news, and came to condole -with her!”</p> - -<p>Miss Wynward let her into the hall and ushered her -into a side room.</p> - -<p>“You will excuse my asking if you are a friend of -her ladyship’s,” she said.</p> - -<p>“I can hardly call myself a friend,” replied Margaret, -“but I stayed with her in the same hotel at Heyst last -summer, and I knew the dear boy who is dead. I was -most grieved to hear of his death, and naturally anxious -to enquire after the Baroness. But if she is too upset -to see me, of course I would not think of forcing my -presence upon her!”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think her ladyship would object to receiving -any friend, but I am not sure if she would recognise -you!”</p> - -<p>“Not recognise me? It is not three months since -we parted.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</span></p> - -<p>“You do not understand me! Our dear boy’s death -was so sudden—I have been with him since he was five -years old, so you will forgive my mentioning him in -such a fashion—that it has had a terrible effect upon -his poor mother. In fact she is paralysed! The medical -men think the paralysis is confined to the lower limbs, -but at present they are unable to decide definitely, as -the Baroness has not opened her lips since the event -occurred.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! poor Madame Gobelli!” cried Margaret, tearfully, -“I felt sure she loved him under all her apparent -roughness and indifference!”</p> - -<p>“Yes! I have been with them so long, that I know -her manner amounted at times to cruelty, but she did -not mean it to be so! She thought to make him hardy -and independent, instead of which it had just the opposite -effect! But she is paying bitterly for it now! I -really think his death will kill her, though the doctors -laugh at my fears!”</p> - -<p>“I—I—too have lost my only child, my precious -little baby,” replied Margaret, encouraged by the sympathetic -tenderness in the other woman’s eyes, “and I -thought also at first that I must die—that I could not -live without her—but God is so good, and there is such -comfort in the thought that whatever we may suffer, our -darlings have missed all the bitterness and sin and disappointments -of this world, that at last—that is, sometimes—one -feels <em>almost</em> thankful that they are safe with -Him!”</p> - -<p>“Ah! Madame Gobelli has not your hope and trust, -Madam!” said Miss Wynward, “if she had, she would -be a better and happier woman. But I must tell you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</span> -that she is in the same room as Bobby! She will not -be moved from there, but lies on the couch where we -placed her when she fell, stricken with the paralysis, -gazing at the corpse!”</p> - -<p>“Poor dear woman!” exclaimed Margaret.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps you would hardly care to go into that -room!”</p> - -<p>“Oh! I should like it! I want to see the dear boy -again! I have brought some flowers to put over him!”</p> - -<p>“Then, what name shall I tell her ladyship?”</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Pullen, say Margaret Pullen whose little baby -died at Heyst—then I think she will remember!”</p> - -<p>“Will you take a seat, Mrs. Pullen, whilst I go upstairs -and see if I can persuade her to receive you?”</p> - -<p>Margaret sat down, and Miss Wynward went up to -the chamber which had once been Bobby’s. On the bed -was stretched the body of the dead boy, whilst opposite -to it lay on a couch a woman with dry eyes, but palsied -limbs, staring, staring without intermission at the silent -figure which had once contained the spirit of her son. -She did not turn her head as Miss Wynward entered -the room.</p> - -<p>“My lady,” she said, going up to her, “Mrs. Pullen -is downstairs and would like to see you! She told me -to say that she is Margaret Pullen whose baby died in -Heyst last summer, and she knew Bobby and has brought -some flowers to strew over his bed. May she came up?”</p> - -<p>But she received no answer. Madame Gobelli’s features -were working, but that was the only sign of life which -she gave.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Pullen is so very sorry for your loss,” Miss -Wynward went on, “she cried when she spoke of it,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</span> -and as she has suffered the same, I am sure she will -sympathise with you. May I say that you will see her?”</p> - -<p>Still there was no response, and Miss Wynward went -down again to Margaret.</p> - -<p>“I think you had better come up without waiting for -her consent,” she said, “if seeing you roused her, even -to anger, it would do her good. Do you mind making -the attempt?”</p> - -<p>“No,” replied Margaret, “but if the Baroness gets -very angry, you must let me run away again. I am -quite unequal to standing anything like a scene!”</p> - -<p>“You will have but to quit the room. Whatever her -ladyship may say she cannot move from her couch. She -attacked poor Miss Brandt most unwarrantably last evening, -but that was in the first frenzy of her grief. She -is quite different now!”</p> - -<p>“Poor woman!” again ejaculated Margaret, as she -followed Miss Wynward, not without some inward qualms, -to the presence of Madame Gobelli. But when she -caught sight of the immovable figure on the couch, all -her fear and resentment left her, overcome by a mighty -compassion. She went straight up to the Baroness and -bending down tenderly kissed her twitching face.</p> - -<p>“Dear Madame,” she said, “I am—we all are—so -truly sorry for your grievous loss. It reminds me of the -bitter time, not so long ago, you may remember, when -I lost my darling little Ethel, and thought for the while -that my life was over! It is so hard, so unnatural, to -us poor mothers, to see our children go before ourselves! -I can weep with you tear for tear! But do remember—try -to remember—that he is safe—that though you remain -here with empty arms for a while, death can no<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</span> -more take your boy from you, than a veil over your face -can take God’s light from you. He is there, dear Madame -Gobelli—just in the next room with the door -closed between you, and though I know full well how -bitter it is to see the door closed, think of the time -when it will open again—when you and I will spring -through it and find, not only our dear Bobby and Ethel, -but Christ our Lord, ready to give them back into our -arms again!”</p> - -<p>The Baroness said nothing, but two tears gathered -in her eyes and rolled down her flabby cheeks. Margaret -turned from her for a minute and walking up to -the bed, knelt down beside it in prayer.</p> - -<p>“Dear Christ!” she said, “Thou Who knowest what -our mothers’ hearts are called upon to bear, have pity on -us and give us Thy Peace! And open our eyes that we -may gather strength to realise what our dear children -have escaped by being taken home to Thee—the sin, -the trouble, the anxiety, the disappointment—and make -us thankful to bear them in their stead, and give us -grace to look forward to our happy meeting and reunion -in the Better Land.”</p> - -<p>Then she rose and bent over the dead boy.</p> - -<p>“Dear Bobby!” she murmured, as she kissed the -cold brow, and placed the white blossoms in his hands -and round his head. “Good-bye! I know how happy -you must be now, in company with the spirits of all -those whom we have loved and who have gone home -before us—how grateful you must feel to the dear Redeemer -Who has called you so early—but don’t forget -your poor mother upon earth! Pray for her, Bobby,—never -cease to ask our dear Lord to send her comfort<span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</span> -and peace and joy in believing. For His own dear sake. -Amen!”</p> - -<p>When she turned again, the Baroness’s cheeks were -wet with tears and she was stretching forth her arms -towards her.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” she gasped, as Margaret reached her side, “I -am a godless woman—I am a godless woman!”</p> - -<p>“No! no! my dear friend, we are none of us godless,” -replied Margaret, “we may think we are, but God -knows better! We may forsake Him, but He never forsakes -us! We should never be saved if we waited till -we wanted to be so. It is <em>He</em> Who wants <em>us</em>—that is -our great safeguard! He wanted our two dear children—not -to spite us, but to draw us after them. Try to -look at it in that light, and then Bobby’s death will -prove your greatest gain.”</p> - -<p>“I am a godless woman,” repeated the Baroness, -“and this is my punishment!” pointing to the bed. “I -loved him best of all! My ’eart is broken!”</p> - -<p>“So much the better, if it was a hard heart,” rejoined -Margaret, smiling. “Who was it that said, ‘If -your heart is broken, give the pieces to Christ and He -will mend it again’? Never think of Bobby, dear Madame -Gobelli, except as with Christ—walking with Him, -talking with Him, learning of Him and growing in grace -and the love of God daily! Never disassociate the two -memories, and in a little while you would hate yourself -if you could separate them again. God bless you! I -must go back to my husband now!”</p> - -<p>“You will come again?” said the Baroness.</p> - -<p>“I am afraid I shall have no time! We sail for -India on Saturday, but I shall not forget you. Good-bye,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</span> -Bobby,” she repeated, with a last look at the corpse, -“remember your mother and me in your prayers.”</p> - -<p>As Miss Wynward let her out of the Red House, -she remarked,</p> - -<p>“I could never have believed that anyone could -have had so much influence over her ladyship as you -have, Mrs. Pullen. I hope you will come again.”</p> - -<p>“I shall not be able to do so. But Madame Gobelli -will have you to talk to her! You live here altogether, -do you not?”</p> - -<p>“I have lived here for many years, but I am on the -point of leaving. Bobby was my only tie to the Red -House, or I should have gone long ago.”</p> - -<p>“But now that the Baroness is so helpless surely you -will delay your departure until she no longer needs you.”</p> - -<p>“I shall not leave her until she has secured a better -woman in my stead. But to tell you the truth, I am -going to be married, Mrs. Pullen, and I consider my first -duty is towards my future husband and his parents who -are very old!”</p> - -<p>“Oh! doubtless! May I ask his name?”</p> - -<p>“Captain Hill! He lives in the next house to this—Stevenage! -You are surprised, perhaps, that a man -who has been in the army should marry a poor governess -like myself. That is his goodness. I know that I am -worn and faded and no longer young—thirty-three on -my last birthday—but he is good enough to care for me -all the more for the troubles I have passed through. -Mine has been a chequered life, Mrs. Pullen, but I have -told Captain Hill everything, and he still wishes to make -me his wife! I ought to be a happy woman for the -future, ought I not?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</span></p> - -<p>“Indeed yes,” said Margaret, heartily, “and I sincerely -hope that you may be so! But I can’t help thinking of -poor Madame Gobelli! Is the Baron good to her?”</p> - -<p>“Pretty well!” answered Miss Wynward, “but he is -very stolid and unsympathetic! It is strange to think -that her heart must have been bound up in that boy, -and yet at times she was positively cruel to him!”</p> - -<p>“It has all been permitted for some good purpose,” -said Margaret, as she bade her farewell, “perhaps her -remorse and self-accusation are the only things which -would have brought her down upon her knees.”</p> - -<p>She returned home considerably saddened by what -she had seen, but in three days she was to accompany -her husband to India, and in the bustle of preparation, -and the joy of knowing that she was not to be separated -from him again, her heart was comforted and at peace. -Never once during that time did she give one thought -to Harriet Brandt. Miss Wynward had hardly mentioned -her name, and no one seemed to know where she had -gone. The girl had passed out of their lives altogether.</p> - -<p>Margaret only regretted one thing in leaving England—that -she had not seen Anthony Pennell again. -Colonel Pullen had called twice at his chambers, but -had each time found him from home. Margaret wanted -to put in a good word for the Baroness with him. She -thought perhaps that he might see her, after a while, and -speak a few words of comfort to her. But she was -obliged to be content with writing her wishes in a farewell -letter. She little knew how hardened Anthony -Pennell felt, at that moment, against anyone who had -treated the woman he loved in so harsh a manner.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</span></p> - -<p>Harriet Brandt spent the time, after her lover had -left her to think over and decide upon their mutual fate, -in walking up and down the room. She was like a -restless animal; she could not stay two moments in the -same place. Even when night fell, and the inhabitants -of the Langham Hotel had retired to rest, she still kept -pacing up and down the room, without thinking of undressing -herself or seeking repose, whilst her conscience -wrestled in warfare with her inclinations. Her thoughts -took her far, far back to the earliest remembrance of -which her mind was capable. She thought of her hard, -unfeeling, indifferent father—of her gross, flabby, sensual -mother—and shuddered at the remembrance! What -had <em>she</em> done?—she said to herself—wherein had <em>she</em> -sinned, that she should have been cursed with such -progenitors? How had they <em>dared</em> to bring her into the -world, an innocent yet hapless child of sin—the inheritor -of their evil propensities—of their lust, their cruelty, their -sensuality, their gluttony—and worst of all, the fatal -heritage that made her a terror and a curse to her -fellow-creatures? How dared they? <em>How dared they?</em> -Why had God’s vengeance not fallen upon them before -they had completed their cruel work, or having accomplished -it, why did He not let her perish with them—so -that the awful power with which they had imbued -her, might have been prevented from harming -others?</p> - -<p>Harriet thought of little Caroline; of her two nurses; -of Sister Theodosia—of Mrs. Pullen’s baby; of Bobby -Bates; until she felt as though she should go mad. No! -no! she would never bring that curse upon her Beloved; -he must go far away, he must never see her again, or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</span> -else she would destroy herself in order that he might -escape!</p> - -<p>But if she persuaded Anthony to consent to her -wishes—if she insisted upon a total separation between -them, what would become of her? What should she do? -She had no friends in England; Madame Gobelli had -turned against her—she was all alone! She would live and -die alone. How should she ever get to know people, or -to obtain an entrance to Society. She would be a pariah -to the end of her life! And if she did surmount all -these obstacles, what would be the result, except a repetition -of what had gone before? Strangers would come -to know her—to like her—would grow more intimate, -and she would respond to their kindness—with the same -result. They would droop and fail, die perhaps, like -Bobby and the baby—find out that she was the cause, -and shun her ever after.</p> - -<p>“Oh! God!” cried Harriet in her perplexity and -anguish, “I am accursed! My parents have made me -not fit to live!”</p> - -<p>She passed that night through the agonies of Death—not -the death that overtakes the believer in a God -and a Future—but the darkness and uncertainty that -enwraps the man who knows he is full of sin and yet -has no knowledge that His Lord has paid his debt to -the uttermost farthing—the doubt and anxiety that beset -the unbeliever when he is called upon to enter the dark -Valley. The poor child saw her destiny entangling her -as in a net—she longed to break through it, but saw no -means of escape—and she rebelled against the cruel lot -that heredity had marked out for her.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</span></p> - -<p>“Why am <em>I</em> to suffer?” she exclaimed aloud; “I -have youth and health and good looks, and money—everything, -the world would say, calculated to make my -life a pleasant one, and yet, I am tortured by this awful -thought—that I must keep aloof from everybody, that I -am a social leper, full of contagion and death! Doctor -Phillips said that the more I loved a person, the more I -must keep away from him! It is incredible! unheard-of! -Could he have had any motive in saying such a thing?”</p> - -<p>The remembrance of her flirtation with Ralph Pullen -recurred to her mind, and she seized it, as a drowning -man clutches at a straw.</p> - -<p>“Was it a plant, after all? Did the old man want to -put me off the track of Captain Pullen? Margaret Pullen -is staying in the house—he said so—had she asked him -to get rid of me if possible? After all, am I torturing -myself by believing the story of my fatal power to be -true, when it was only a ruse to get rid of me? The -Baroness said the same thing, but she was mad about -poor Bobby and would have said anything to annoy me—and, -after all, what does it amount to? The baby -died in teething—heaps of babies do—and Bobby was -consumptive from the first—I have heard Miss Wynward -say so, and would have died anyway, as he grew to be -a man and had larger demands made upon his physical -strength. And for the others—what happened to them, -happens to all the world. It is <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fortune de guerre</i>; -people drop every day like rotten sheep;—everyone -might accuse himself of causing the death of his neighbour. -I have been frightening myself with a chimera. -Anthony said so, and he must know better than I! And<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</span> -I can’t give up Tony—<em>I can’t, I can’t, I can’t!</em> It is of -no use thinking of it! Besides, he wouldn’t let me! He -would never leave me alone, until I had consented to -marry him, so I may as well do it at the first as at the -last.”</p> - -<p>But the tide of triumphant feeling would be succeeded -by a wave of despondency, which threatened to -upset all her casuistry.</p> - -<p>“But if—<em>if</em>—it should be true, and Anthony should—should—Oh! -God! Oh! God! I dare not think of it! -I will kill myself before it shall occur.”</p> - -<p>When the morning dawned it found her quite undecided—lamenting -her unfortunate fate one instant, and -declaring that she could never give up her lover the -next. She tore off her clothes and took a cold bath, -and re-robed herself, but she was looking utterly ill and -exhausted when Pennell burst in upon her at eleven -o’clock.</p> - -<p>“Well, darling,” he exclaimed, “and have you made -up your mind by this time? Which death am I to die?—suffocated -in your dear embrace, or left to perish of -cold and hunger outside?”</p> - -<p>“O! Tony,” she cried, throwing herself into his -arms, “I don’t know what to say! I have not closed my -eyes all night, trying to decide what will be for the best. -And I am as far off as ever—only I can never, <em>never</em> -consent to do anything that shall work you harm!”</p> - -<p>“Then I shall decide for you,” exclaimed her lover, -“and that is that you make me and yourself happy, and -forget all the rubbish these people have been telling you! -Depend upon it, whatever they may have said was for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</span> -their own gratification, and not yours, and that they -would be quick enough to accept the lot that lies before -you, were it in their power!”</p> - -<p>“I have been so lonely and friendless all my life,” -said Harriet, sobbing in his arms, “and I have longed -for love and sympathy so much, and now that they have -come to me, it is hard, Oh! <em>so</em> hard, to have to give -them up.”</p> - -<p>“So hard, Hally, for <em>me</em>, remember, as well as yourself, -that we will not make the attempt. Now, I want -you to place yourself in my hands, and start for Paris -to-night!”</p> - -<p>“To-night?” she cried, lifting such a flushed, startled, -happy face from his breast, that he had no alternative -but to kiss it again.</p> - -<p>“Yes! to-night! What did I tell you yesterday—that -I should come with the ring and the license in my pocket! -I am as good as my word, and better—for I have given -notice to the registrar of marriages in my district, that -he is to be ready for us at twelve o’clock to-day. Am -I not a good manager?”</p> - -<p>“Tony! Tony! but I have not made up my mind!”</p> - -<p>“I have made it up for you, and I will take no -refusal! I have calculated it all to a nicety! Married at -twelve—back here at one for lunch—a couple of hours -to pack up, and off by the four o’clock train for Dover—sleep -at the Castle Warden, and cross to-morrow to -Paris! How will that do, Mrs. Pennell, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Oh! ought I to do it, ought I to do it?” exclaimed -Harriet, with a look of despair.</p> - -<p>“If you don’t I’ll shoot myself. I swear it!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</span></p> - -<p>“No! no! darling, don’t say that! It is of you alone -that I am thinking! God forgive me if I am doing wrong, -but I feel that I cannot refuse you! Take me and do -with me as you think best.”</p> - -<p>After which it came to pass, that Mr. and Mrs. -Anthony Pennell started in very high spirits for Dover, -by the four o’clock train that afternoon.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>A fortnight afterwards, the married couple found -themselves at Nice. Much as has been said and sung -of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">lune de miel</i>, none ever surpassed, if it ever -reached, this one in happiness. Harriet passed the time -in a silent ecstasy of delight. Her cup of bliss was filled -to overflowing; her satisfaction was too deep for words. -To this girl, for whom the world had been seen as yet -only through the barred windows of a convent—who had -never enjoyed the society of an intellectual companion -before; who had viewed no scenery but that of the -Island; seen no records of the past; and visited no foreign -capital—the first weeks of her married life were a -panorama of novelties, her days one long astonishment -and delight.</p> - -<p>She could not adore Anthony Pennell sufficiently for -having afforded her the opportunity of seeing all this, -and more especially of feeling it. The presents he -lavished upon her were as nothing in her eyes, compared -to the lover-like attentions he paid her; the -bouquets of flowers he brought her every morning; the -glass of lemonade or milk he had ready to supply her -need when they were taking their excursions; the warm -shawl or mantle he carried on his arm in the evenings, -lest the air should become too chilly for her delicate -frame after sunset. Money Harriet had no need of, but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</span> -love—love she had thirsted for, as the hart thirsts for -the water-streams, yet had never imagined it could be -poured out at her feet, as her husband poured it now.</p> - -<p>And Pennell, on the other hand, though he had been -much sought after and flattered by the fair sex for the -sake of the fame he had acquired and the money he -made, had never lost his heart to any woman as he had -done to his little unknown wife. He had never met anyone -like Hally before. She combined the intelligence of -the Englishwoman with the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">espièglerie</i> of the French—the -devotion of the Creole with the fiery passion of the -Spanish or Italian. He could conceive her quite capable -of dying silently and uncomplainingly for him, or anyone -she loved; or on the other hand stabbing her lover without -remorse if roused by jealousy or insult.</p> - -<p>He was hourly discovering new traits in her character -which delighted him, because they were so utterly unlike -any possessed by the women of the world, with whom -he had hitherto associated. He felt as though he had -captured some beautiful wild creature and was taming -it for his own pleasure.</p> - -<p>Harriet would sit for hours at a time in profound -silence, contemplating his features or watching his actions—crouched -on the floor at his feet, until he was fain to -lay down his book or writing, and take to fondling her -instead. She was an ever-constant joy to him; he felt -it would be impossible to do anything to displease her -so long as he loved her—that like the patient Griselda -she would submit to any injustice and meekly call it -justice if from <em>his</em> hand. And yet he knew all the while -that the savage in her was <em>not</em> tamed—that at any -moment, like the domesticated lion or tiger, her nature<span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</span> -might assert itself and become furious, wild and intractable. -It was the very uncertainty that pleased him; -men love the women of whom they are not quite certain, -all the more. From Nice they wandered to Mentone, -but the proximity of the Monte Carlo tables had no -charm for Anthony Pennell. He was not a speculative -man: his brain was filled with better things, and he only -visited such places for the sake of reproduction. Although -the autumn was now far advanced, the air of Mentone -was too enervating to suit either of them, and Pennell -proposed that they should move on to Italy.</p> - -<p>“I must show you Venice and Rome before we return -home, Hally,” he said, “and when I come to think of it, -why should we return to England at all just yet? Why -not winter in Rome? Richards is always advising me to -take a good, long holiday. He says I overwork my brain -and it reacts upon my body—what better opportunity -could we find to adopt his advice? Hitherto I have -pooh-poohed the idea! Wandering over a foreign country -in solitary grandeur held no charms for me, but with -you, my darling, to double the pleasure of everything, -any place assumes the appearance of Paradise! What -do you say, little wife? Shall we set up our tent South -until the spring?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you feel well, Tony?” asked Harriet, anxiously.</p> - -<p>“Never better in my life, dear! I am afraid you will -not make an interesting invalid out of me. I am as fit -as a fiddle. But I fancy my next novel will deal with -Italy, and I should like to make a few notes of the spots -I may require to introduce. It is nothing to take me -away from you, darling. We will inspect the old places<span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</span> -together, and your quick eye and clear brain shall help -me in my researches. Is it a settled thing, Hally?”</p> - -<p>“O! yes, darling!” she replied, “anywhere with you! -The only place I shall ever object to, will be the one -where I cannot go with you.”</p> - -<p>“That place does not exist on this earth, Hally,” -said Pennell, “but if you are willing, we may as well -start to-morrow, for if we leave it till too late, we shall -find all the best winter quarters pre-engaged.”</p> - -<p>He left the room, as she thought rather hurriedly, -but as he gained the hotel corridor he slightly staggered -and leaned against the wall. He had told his wife that -he was quite well, but he knew it was not the truth. -He had felt weak and enervated ever since coming to -Mentone, but he ascribed it to the soft mild atmosphere.</p> - -<p>“Confound this dizziness!” he said inwardly, as the -corridor swam before his eyes, “I think my liver must be -out of order, and yet I have been taking plenty of -exercise. It must be this mild moist air. Heat never -did agree with me. I shall be glad to get on. We -shall find Florence cold by comparison.”</p> - -<p>He descended to the bureau and announced his intention -of giving up his rooms on the morrow, and then -ordered a carriage and returned to take Hally out for a -drive.</p> - -<p>In Florence they procured rooms in a grand old -palazzo, furnished with rococo chairs and tables, placed -upon marble floors. Harriet was charmed and astonished -by the ease with which they got everything <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en route</i>, as -though they possessed Aladin’s lamp, she told Pennell, -and had but to wish to obtain.</p> - -<p>“Ah! Hally!” said her husband, “we have something<span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</span> -better than the genie’s lamp—we have money! <em>That</em> is -the true magician in this century. I am very thankful -that you have a fortune of your own, my dearest, because -I know that whatever happens, my girl will be -able to hold her own with the world!”</p> - -<p>Harriet grew pale.</p> - -<p>“What <em>could</em> happen?” she stammered.</p> - -<p>“My silly little goose, are we immortal?” he replied, -“I make a first-rate income, my dear, but have not laid -by enough as yet to leave you more than comfortably -off, but with your own money——”</p> - -<p>“Don’t speak of it, pray don’t speak of it!” she exclaimed, -with ashen lips, and noting her distress, Pennell -changed the subject.</p> - -<p>“You are a lucky little woman,” he continued, “I -wonder what some people would give to possess your -income—poor Margaret Pullen for instance.”</p> - -<p>“Why Mrs. Pullen in particular, Tony? Are they -poor?”</p> - -<p>“Not whilst Colonel Pullen is on active service, but -he has nothing but his pay to depend upon, and whilst -he can work, he must. Which means a residence in -India, and perhaps separation from his wife and children—if -he should lose his health, a compulsory retirement; -and if he keeps it, toiling out there till old age, and -then coming home to spin out the remainder of his life -on an inadequate pension. A man who accepts service -in India should make up his mind to live and die in -the country, but so many accidents may prevent it. -And at the best, it means banishment from England and -all one’s friends and relations. Poor Margaret feels that -severely, I am sure!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</span></p> - -<p>“Has Mrs. Pullen many relations then?”</p> - -<p>“She has a mother still living, and several brothers -and sisters, besides her husband’s family. What a sweet, -gentle woman she is! She was kind to you, Hally, was -she not, whilst you were abroad?”</p> - -<p>By mutual agreement they never spoke of Heyst, or -the Red House, or anything which was associated with -what Pennell called his wife’s infatuation regarding herself.</p> - -<p>“Yes! she was very kind—at first,” replied Harriet, -“until—until—it all happened, and they went to England. -Oh! do not let us talk of it!” she broke off suddenly.</p> - -<p>“No! we will not! Have you unpacked your mandoline -yet, Hally? Fetch it, dear, and let me hear your -lovely voice again! I shall get you to sing to me when -I am in the vein for composing! You would bring me -all sorts of beautiful ideas and phantasies!”</p> - -<p>“Should I? should I?” exclaimed the girl joyfully. -“Oh! how lovely! I should do a part of your work then, -shouldn’t I, Tony?—I should inspire you! Why, I would -sing day and night for that!”</p> - -<p>“No! no! my bird, I would not let you tire yourself! -A few notes now and then—they will help me -more than enough. I must draw from you for my next -heroine, Hally! I could not have a fairer model!”</p> - -<p>“Oh! Tony!”</p> - -<p>She rushed to him in the extremity of her delight -and hid her face upon his breast.</p> - -<p>“I am not good enough, not pretty enough! Your -heroines should be perfect!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</span></p> - -<p>“I don’t think so! I prefer them to be of flesh and -blood, like you!”</p> - -<p>He stooped his head and kissed her passionately.</p> - -<p>“Hally! Hally!” he whispered, “you draw my very -life away!”</p> - -<p>The girl got up suddenly, almost roughly, and walked -into the next room to fetch her mandoline.</p> - -<p>“No! no!” she cried to herself with a cold fear, -“not that, my God, not that!”</p> - -<p>But when she returned with the instrument, she did -not revert to the subject, but played and sang as usual -to her husband’s admiration and delight.</p> - -<p>They “did” Florence very thoroughly during the first -week of their stay there, and were both completely tired.</p> - -<p>“I must really stay at home to-morrow,” cried Hally -one afternoon on returning to dinner, “Tony, I am -regularly fagged out! I feel as if I had a corn upon -every toe!”</p> - -<p>“So do I,” replied her husband, “and I cannot have -my darling knocked up by fatigue! We will be lazy to-morrow, -Hally, and lie on two sofas and read our books -all day! I have been thinking for the last few days -that we have been going a little too fast! Let me see, -child!—how long have we been married?”</p> - -<p>“Six weeks to-morrow,” she answered glibly.</p> - -<p>“Bless my soul! we are quite an old married couple, -a species of Darby and Joan! And have you been -happy, Hally?”</p> - -<p>The tears of excitement rushed into her dark eyes.</p> - -<p>“<em>Happy!</em> That is no word for what I have been, -Tony; I have been in Heaven—in Heaven all the while!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</span></p> - -<p>“And so have I,” rejoined her husband.</p> - -<p>“I met some nuns whilst I was out this morning,” -continued Hally, “the sisters of the Annunciation, and -they stopped and spoke to me, and were so pleased to -hear that I had been brought up in a convent. ‘And -have you no vocation, my child?’ asked one of them. -‘Yes! Sister,’ I replied, ‘I have—a big, strong, handsome -vocation called my husband.’ They looked quite -shocked, poor dears, at first, but I gave them a subscription -for their orphan schools—one hundred francs—and -they were so pleased. They said if I was sick -whilst in Florence, I must send for one of them, and -she would come and nurse me! I gave it as a thanksgiving, -Tony—a thanksgiving offering because I am so -very happy. I am not a good woman like Margaret -Pullen, I know that, but I love you—<em>I love you!</em>”</p> - -<p>“Who said that you were not a good woman?” asked -Pennell, as he drew her fondly to his side, and kissed -away the tears that hung on her dark lashes.</p> - -<p>“Oh! I know I am not. Besides, you once said -that Margaret Pullen was the best woman you had ever -known.”</p> - -<p>“I think she is very sweet and unselfish,” replied -Pennell musingly, “she felt the loss of her infant terribly, -Doctor Phillips told me, but the way in which she -struggled to subdue her grief, in order not to distress -others, was wonderful! Poor Margaret! how she mourns -little Ethel to this day.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t! <em>don’t!</em>” cried Harriet in a stifled voice, “I -cannot bear to think of it!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</span></p> - -<p>“My darling, it had nothing to do with you! I have -told you so a thousand times!”</p> - -<p>“Yes! yes! I know you have—but I loved the little -darling! It is dreadful to me to think that she is -mouldering in the grave!”</p> - -<p>“Come, child, you will be hysterical if you indulge -in any more reminiscences! Suppose we go for a stroll -through the Ghetto or some other antiquated part of -Florence. Or shall we take a drive into the country? I -am at your commands, Madam!”</p> - -<p>“A drive, darling, then—a drive!” whispered his -wife, as she left him to get ready for the excursion.</p> - -<p>It was three hours before they returned to their -rooms in the old palazzo. Harriet was dull and somewhat -silent, and Anthony confessed to a headache.</p> - -<p>“I am not quite sure now,” he said, as they were -dining, “whether a trip to Australia or America would -not do us both more good than lingering about these -mild, warm places. I think our constitutions both require -bracing rather than coddling. Australia is a grand -young country! I have often contemplated paying her -a visit. What would you say to it, Hally?”</p> - -<p>“I should enjoy it as much as yourself, Tony! You -so often have a headache now! I think the drainage -of these southern towns must be defective!”</p> - -<p>“Oh! shocking! They are famous for typhoid and -malarial fevers. They are not drained at all!”</p> - -<p>“Don’t let us stay here long then! What should I -do if you were to fall ill?”</p> - -<p>“You are far more liable to fall sick of the two, my -darling,” returned her husband, “I do not think your<span class="pagenum" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</span> -beautiful little body has much strength to sustain it. -And then what should <em>I</em> do?”</p> - -<p>“Ah! neither of us could do without the other, -Tony!”</p> - -<p>“Of course we couldn’t, and so we will provide -against such a contingency by moving on before our -systems get saturated with miasma and mistral. Will -you sing to me to-night, Hally?”</p> - -<p>“Not unless you very much wish it! I am a little -tired. I feel as if I couldn’t throw any expression into -my songs to-night!”</p> - -<p>“Then come here and sit down on the sofa beside -me, and let us talk!”</p> - -<p>She did as he desired, but Pennell was too sleepy to -talk. In five minutes he had fallen fast asleep, and it -was with difficulty she could persuade him to abandon -the couch and drag his weary limbs up to bed, where -he threw himself down in a profound slumber. Harriet -was also tired. Her husband was breathing heavily as -she slipped into her place beside him. His arm was -thrown out over her pillow, as though he feared she -might go to sleep without remembering to wish him -good-night! She bent over him and kissed him passionately -on the lips.</p> - -<p>“Good-night, my beloved,” she whispered, “sleep -well, and wake in happiness!”</p> - -<p>She kissed the big hand too that lay upon her pillow -and composed herself to sleep while it still encircled -her.</p> - -<p>The dawn is early in Florence, but it had broken -for some time before she roused herself again. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</span> -sun was streaming brightly into the long, narrow, uncurtained -windows, and everything it lighted on was -touched with a molten glory. Harriet started up in bed. -Her husband’s arm was still beneath her body.</p> - -<p>“Oh! my poor darling!” she exclaimed, as though the -fault were her own, “how cramped he must be! How -soundly we must have slept not to have once moved -through the night!”</p> - -<p>She raised Tony’s arm and commenced to chafe it. -How strangely heavy and cold it felt. Why! he was -cold all over! She drew up the bedclothes and tucked -them in around his chin. Then, for the first time, she -looked at his face. His eyes were open.</p> - -<p>“Tony, Tony!” she exclaimed, “are you making fun -of me? Have you been awake all the time?”</p> - -<p>She bent over his face laughingly, and pressed a -kiss upon his cheek.</p> - -<p>How stiff it felt! My God! what was the matter? -Could he have fainted? She leapt from the bed, and -running to her husband’s side, pulled down the bedclothes -again and placed her hand upon his heart. The -body was cold—cold and still all over! His eyes were -glazed and dull. His mouth was slightly open. In one -awful moment she knew the truth. Tony was—<em>dead</em>!</p> - -<p>She stood for some moments—some hours—some -months—she could not have reckoned the time, silent -and motionless, trying to realise what had occurred. -Then—as it came upon her, like a resistless flood which -she could not stem, nor escape, Harriet gave one fearful -shriek which brought the servants hurrying upstairs to -know what could be the matter.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</span></p> - -<p>“I have killed my husband—I have killed him—it -was I myself who did it!” was all that she would say.</p> - -<p>Of course they did not believe her. They accepted -the unmeaning words as part of their mistress’s frenzy -at her sudden and unexpected loss. They saw what -had happened, and they ran breathlessly for a doctor, -who confirmed their worst fears—the Signor was dead!</p> - -<p>The old palazzo became like a disturbed ant-hill. -The servants ran hither and thither, unknowing how to -act, whilst the mistress sat by the bedside with staring, -tearless eyes, holding the hand of her dead husband. -But there were a dozen things to be done—half a hundred -orders to be issued. Death in Florence is quickly -followed by burial. The law does not permit a mourner -to lament his Dead for more than four-and-twenty hours.</p> - -<p>But the signora would give no orders for the funeral -nor answer any questions put to her! She had no -friends in Florence—for ought they knew, she had no -money—what were they to do? At last one of them -thought of the neighbouring Convent of the Annunciation -and ran to implore one of the good sisters to come to -their mistress in her extremity.</p> - -<p>Shortly afterwards, Sister Angelica entered the bedroom -where Harriet sat murmuring at intervals, “It is <em>I</em> -who have killed him,” and attempted to administer comfort -to the young mourner. But her words and prayers -had no effect upon Harriet. Her brain could hold but -one idea—she had killed Tony! Doctor Phillips was -right—it was she who had killed Margaret Pullen’s baby -and Bobby Bates, and to look further back, little Caroline, -and now—now, her Tony! the light of her life, the passion -of her being, the essence of all her joy—her hope<span class="pagenum" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</span> -for this world and the next. She had killed him—<em>she</em>, -who worshipped him, whose pride was bound up in him, -who was to have helped him and comforted him and -waited on him all his life—she had killed him!</p> - -<p>Her dry lips refused to say the words distinctly, -but they kept revolving in her brain until they dazed -and wearied her. The little sister stood by her and -held her hand, as the professional assistants entered the -death chamber and arranged and straightened the body -for the grave, finally placing it in a coffin and carrying -it away to a mortuary where it would have to remain -until buried on the morrow, but Harriet made no resistance -to the ceremony and no sign. She did not -even say “Good-bye” as Tony was carried from her -sight for ever! Sister Angelica talked to her of the -glorious Heaven where they must hope that her dear -husband would be translated, of the peace and happiness -he would enjoy, of the reunion which awaited them when -her term of life was also past.</p> - -<p>She pressed her to make the Convent her refuge -until the first agony of her loss was overcome—reminded -her of the peace and rest she would encounter within -the cloisters, and how the whole fraternity would unite -in praying for the soul of her beloved that he might -speedily obtain the remission of his sins and an entrance -into the Beatific Presence.</p> - -<p>Harriet listened dully and at last in order to get rid -of her well-intentioned but rather wearisome consoler, -she promised to do all that she wished. Let the sister -return to the Convent for the present, and on the morrow -if she would come for her at the same time, she might -take her back with her. She wanted rest and peace—she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</span> -would be thankful for them, poor Harriet said—only -to-night, this one night more, she wished to be alone. -So the good little sister went away rejoicing that she had -succeeded in her errand of mercy, and looking forward -to bearing the poor young widow to the Convent on the -morrow, there to learn the true secret of earthly happiness.</p> - -<p>When she had gone and the old palazzo was quiet -and empty, the bewildered girl rose to her feet and -tried to steady her shaking limbs sufficiently, to write -what seemed to be a letter but was in reality a will.</p> - -<p>“I leave all that I possess,” so it ran, “to Margaret -Pullen, the wife of Colonel Arthur Pullen, the best woman -Tony said that he had ever met, and I beg her to accept -it in return for the kindness she showed to me when -I went to Heyst, a stranger. Signed, <span class="smcap">Harriet Pennell</span>.”</p> - -<p>She put the paper into an envelope, and as soon as -the morning had dawned, she asked her servant Lorenzo -to show her the way to the nearest notary in whose -presence she signed the document and directed him to -whom it should be sent in case of her own death.</p> - -<p>And after another visit to a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pharmacien</i>, she returned -to the palazzo and took up her watch again in the now -deserted bedchamber.</p> - -<p>Her servants brought her refreshments and pressed -her to eat, without effect. All she desired, she told -them, was to be left alone, until the sister came for her -in the afternoon.</p> - -<p>Sister Angelica arrived true to her appointment, and -went at once to the bedchamber. To her surprise she -found Harriet lying on the bed, just where the corpse -of Anthony Pennell had lain, and apparently asleep.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</span></p> - -<p>“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Pauvre enfant!</i>” thought the kind-hearted nun, “grief -has exhausted her! I should not have attended to her -request, but have watched with her through the night! -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Eh, donc! ma pauvre</i>,” she continued, gently touching -the girl on the shoulder, “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">levez-vous! Je suis là.</i>”</p> - -<p>But there was no awakening on this earth for Harriet -Pennell. She had taken an overdose of chloral and -joined her husband.</p> - -<p>When Margaret Pullen received the will which Harriet -had left behind her, she found these words with it, -scribbled in a very trembling hand upon a scrap of -paper.</p> - -<p>“Do not think more unkindly of me than you can -help. My parents have made me unfit to live. Let me -go to a world where the curse of heredity which they -laid upon me may be mercifully wiped out.”</p> - -<p class="p4 pfs90">THE END.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> -<hr class="r45a" /> -<p class="pfs90">PRINTING OFFICE OF THE PUBLISHER.</p> -<hr class="r45b" /> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p class="pfs120">November 1897.</p> -<p class="pfs150">Tauchnitz Edition.</p> -<hr class="r5" /> -<p class="pfs120">Latest Volumes:</p> -<p class="pfs150">The Ways of Life.</p> -<p class="pfs90">Two New Stories by <b>Mrs. Oliphant</b>.<br /> -1 vol.</p> -<p class="pfs150">Uncle Bernac.</p> -<p class="pfs90">A New Novel by <b>A. Conan Doyle</b>.<br /> -1 vol.</p> -<p class="pfs150">Dear Faustina.</p> -<p class="pfs90">A New Novel by <b>Rhoda Broughton</b>.<br /> -1 vol.</p> -<p class="pfs150">Mrs. Crichton’s Creditor.</p> -<p class="pfs90">A New Novel by <b>Mrs. Alexander</b>.<br /> -1 vol.</p> -<p class="pfs150">Poor Little Bella.</p> -<p class="pfs90">A New Novel by <b>F. C. 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A complete Catalogue of the Tauchnitz -Edition is attached to this work.</i></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<div class="transnote"><h2>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE:</h2> -frontmatter: moved one page (beginning of publisher’s list of Latest Volumes) to the end and joined with the rest of the list for continuity<br /><br /> - -page 10: ‘dared not say Bo!’ changed to ‘dared not say Boo!’<br /><br /> - -page 53: ‘and generally kow-tooing’ changed to ‘and generally kow-towing’<br /><br /> - -page 80: joined paragraphs of the same person speaking removing closing quotation mark at ‘The governess was so angry’<br /><br /> - -page 124: ‘carrying a flimsey wrap’ changed to ‘carrying a flimsy wrap’<br /><br /> - -page 202: ‘return with him to Hoosur’ changed to ‘return with him to Hosur’<br /><br /> - -page 227: ‘who care more’ changed to ‘who cares more’<br /><br /> - -page 285: ‘CHAPTER XVI’ changed to ‘CHAPTER XVII’<br /><br /> - -page 285: ‘it it had not been for that’ changed to ‘if it had not been for that’<br /><br /> - -page 317: ‘she returned to the Palazzo’ changed to ‘she returned to the palazzo’ for uniformity<br /><br /> - -along with a few silent corrections to punctuation. 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