CHAPTER IX.
I was quite well; the fever had entirely departed, and my ankle was asstrong and sound as ever. I moved about freely, with a keen enjoymentof life, an enjoyment intensified by the happiness which I believed tobe in store for me. Four weeks had passed since Lauretta had utteredthe names of Eric and Emilius, and I had seen nothing of them. Notonly had they not visited the house, but I was convinced they were notin the village. My jealous fears were dead. The hopes in which Iindulged were strengthened by Doctor Louis's behavior towards me.There had been a short conversation between us on the subject of whathad passed while he was endeavouring to mesmerise me on the first dayof my convalescence. It was I who, to his manifest relief, broachedthe subject.
"I remember everything perfectly," I said, "every phase of mysensations, every word that was spoken, every thought that occurred tome. Although my eyes were sealed, I saw you plainly, and it seemed tome that I could _see_ what was passing through your mind."
"It is frank of you," said Doctor Louis, "to say so much. Was I inerror in supposing that you were resisting me?"
"Not entirely in error," I replied. "I was aware of your design, and Istrove to exercise over you, to some extent, a power similar to thatyou were exercising over me. If I did nothing else, I gave you pause."
"Yes," he said, "you compelled me to wait your pleasure, and now andthen, instead of being dictated to, dictated. That, to me, was a newcondition of a psychic force at present in its infancy, but which, atsome not too distant time, will be the means of producing marvellousrevealments."
"What brought us into harmony," I observed, "was the fact that thesubject was one which commanded our entire and undivided sympathies."
"My daughter."
"Yes, your daughter Lauretta."
"You obtained a promise from me which was to be confirmed I infer insuch a conversation as we are holding now. I confirm it. And you, onyour part, will abide by the engagement into which you entered with merespecting Lauretta."
"Assuredly."
We clasped hands, and directed our conversation into another channel.The agreement we had made necessitated certain action with respect tomy residence in Nerac during the period of probation. I felt that itwould be scarcely right for me to continue to live in the doctor'shouse; even were a closer tie not in contemplation, it would have beenindelicate on my part to encroach upon the hospitality of thesegenerous friends. It was for me to make the first move in the matter,and I did so when we were sitting together after the evening meal.
"I have had it for some time in my mind," I said, "to endeavour toexpress my heartfelt thanks for all the kindness you have shown me;but although I am not usually at a loss for words, I am at a loss tocarry out my wish in a fitting manner."
"It is enough," said Lauretta's mother, with a gentle inclination ofher head. "Having said so much, there is no need for anything more. Donot distress yourself. What has been done has been cheerfully andwillingly done, and your restoration to health is the best return youcould make for the slight service we have been able to render you."
"There was a time," I remarked, "when I myself might have regarded thesaving of my life a slight service; that was when I deemed life oflittle value, when I thought there was little in the world worthcaring for. But it is different now; my life is precious to me, andthe world is very beautiful."
"It is," said Doctor Louis, "all a question of the liver. The world isbright or dark according to the state of our digestions."
He often interjected these pleasant discordances, upon which we placedtheir proper value, knowing that they were introduced chiefly for thepurpose of giving a healthy turn to the conversation. This did not,however, detract from the wisdom of his utterances, which were nutswith sound kernels within.
"Therefore," I continued, smiling at the doctor, and becoming graveimmediately afterwards, "what you have done for me is of inestimablevalue, and cannot be priced. There is only one way of showing mygratitude, and that way lies in the future, not in the present. Itshall be my endeavour to prove to you that your precious kindness hasnot been wasted."
Lauretta's mother nodded and looked kindly at me, and then turned hereyes of full love upon her daughter, who was sitting by her side.Between me and Lauretta's mother no words had been exchanged withreference to the dear wish of my heart, but without being told I knewthat Doctor Louis had imparted to his wife all the particulars of whathad passed between us, and that she was aware that I stood in theposition of one who desired to win their Home Rose for my wife. Therewas a new tenderness and solicitude in the mother's looks which deeplymoved me.
"Then there is another matter," I said, "upon which I hope we shall bein accord. I am mustering up courage to leave you."
"I feared, mother," said Lauretta, and it delighted me to note thather voice was tremulous, "that he was growing weary of us. I told himso a little while since, I think."
"And my reply was," I said, "that I should be content to remain herefor ever; but that can scarcely be. I have no intention of leavingNerac, however."
"Of course not, of course not," said Doctor Louis; "the air here is sofine, so much finer than it is anywhere else--"
"Very much finer," I said.
"And the fruit is so delicious, so much more delicious than it isanywhere else--"
"Much more delicious," I said.
"And the skies are so bright, so much brighter than they are anywhereelse--"
"Much brighter."
"And the flowers are so much lovelier, and the stars are so much morebrilliant--"
"The doctor and I," I said, entering into his mood, and addressing hiswife and daughter, "so perfectly agree."
They smiled, but in Lauretta's smile there was a tender wistfulness.
"Then the people," continued Doctor Louis; "they are so much superior,so much more refined, so much higher--"
"Indeed," I said, with a touch of earnestness, "that has been trulyproved to me."
"No, no," said Doctor Louis, "I am not to be turned from the track bysentiment. It has been left to our young friend to discover--allhonour to him--that, taking us altogether, we in the little village ofNerac here are a very exceptional lot. Now, I have only to make thispublic to bring us an inch nearer to the sun. The least we can do forhim is to present him with a testimonial."
"Which he is ready to accept," I said gaily; "but, doctor, you omittedto mention one important thing."
"What is it?"
"My health; it will take a considerable time to establish it, and itcannot be established elsewhere."
"A poor compliment to my skill," observed Doctor Louis, quizzically."Ah, I always thought I was a pretender, but until this moment no onehas had the courage to tell me so to my face."
"Be serious, Louis," said his wife.
"I am dumb," he rejoined, with a comical look.
I then unfolded my plan. It was my desire to take a house in Nerac,not at too great a distance from the house of Doctor Louis, in which Icould reside, with two or three servants to attend to it and me. I hadseen such a house on the borders of a forest about a mile and a halfaway, which appeared to me to have been long uninhabited. The groundsin which it was built and the gardens by which it was surrounded hadbeen neglected by man, but there was much wild beauty in them, and alittle care and attention would soon bring them into order. The placehad attracted me, and I had spent an hour in wandering through thegrounds, and had attempted, also, to enter the house to examine it,but the doors were locked. Attached to the house was a cottage, whichI supposed had been the gardener's cottage. This little dwelling wasliterally imbedded in climbing wild roses, which had grown inwonderful luxuriance upon all its walls. There were stables also,which I judged would afford accommodation for half a dozen horses.
In some respects the estate reminded me of Rosemullion, which,considering the kind of life I had passed therein, might not have beenconsidered an attraction; nevertheless, I found myself insensiblydrawn towards it. Its points
of resemblance were that the house stoodalone, and could not be overlooked; that it was at some distance fromother habitations; and that it was on the borders of a wood. In onerespect it was pleasantly dissimilar. No stone walls surrounded it;there was not even a fence; the fine trees around it had been soarranged by man or nature as to form an intelligible barrier, which,however, any person was at liberty to pass. The gloom of Rosemulliondid not, therefore, pervade it, and, living there, I should not feelas if I were cut off from communion with my fellows.
I had visited it on a bright day; the sun was shining, the birds weresinging in the trees; and when I visited it, and as I wandered throughthe grounds, I was thinking of Lauretta. But when, indeed, was I notthinking of her? She was my sun, my light, my life. All aspects ofnature were rendered beautiful by thought of her; she was to me theessence of joy; through her, and through her only, my heart was agarden. Through her I discovered beauties even in nature's sad moods;her spiritual presence was never absent from me. She moved by my sidewhen I strolled unaccompanied through the quaint little thoroughfaresof the village and the sweet and solemn woods in the valleys of whichit lay; alone in my chamber she was ever with me; she was not onlylife of my life, she was my religion--I who had had no religion, andto whom the sacred peace of church or chapel had never come. My fatherhad never taken me by the hand and led me to a place of worship; I hadread the Bible, not as a religious study, but for the most part as acollection of amusing, improbable romances. There was certainly onecharacter in it which had deeply impressed me--the character ofIsaiah, for whose wild prophetic life I entertained a profoundadmiration. Otherwise, the book simply entertained me. It wasdifferent now. Not that I read the Bible in a newer light, or indeedthat I read it at all, but that, through Lauretta, I became amenableto certain influences of a religious nature. I sat with her in thepretty chapel of the village in which Father Daniel officiated, andthe hushed air within the building, and the voices of the choir ofchildren, and the tender, sacred music, had upon me a purifyinginfluence. The music was Lauretta's; the angel voices were Lauretta's;the tender peace was Lauretta's; the priest's consoling, compassionateadmonitions were Lauretta's. What mystic thoughts of a higher futurestate these matters brought dimly to my mind were inspired byLauretta. It was she for whose sweet sake I gave Father Daniel moneyfor his poor. Through her I saw "good in everything;" through her Iinhaled it.
The money I gave to Father Daniel was given privately, but I did notthink of laying an injunction of secrecy upon him, and it becameknown. I was guiltless of any wish to earn praise for my actions inthat or in any other respect, but a reward most disproportionate, butmost sweet, was bestowed upon me by words and looks from Lauretta andher mother.
"It is good of you," said Lauretta's mother.
"You almost make me ashamed," I said.
"Why?" asked Lauretta's mother. "It gladdens us. I am learning notonly to know you but to love you."
Precious were those words from her lips; but afterwards, when Ioffered my contributions to Father Daniel I asked him not to speak ofthem. I think he respected my wish, but nevertheless I gained areputation for charity in Nerac which did me no harm.
To return to the conversation respecting the house I desired to take.
It was well known to Doctor Louis and his family, and of course to allin the village, and one reason why it had remained for so long a timeuninhabited was that it was a gentleman's house, and no person richenough had desired to become its tenant.
"It is filled with old furniture," said Doctor Louis, "and a man witha large family could be tolerably comfortable there, no doubt. Therewere gay doings in it once upon a time. A nobleman inhabited it formany years, and entertained shoals of visitors. He was not a favouritein Nerac, and took no pains to make himself one, looking down upon usas somewhat too common for intimate association; and as we have apride of our own, we returned his scornful opinion of us in kind. Hedied there, and his affairs were found to be hopelessly involved.Since then the house has been empty. The agents, a firm of lawyers,live a hundred miles away, but there will be no difficulty incommunicating with them if you are really serious in wishing to occupyit."
"I am quite serious," I said.
"You will be lonely there," said Lauretta's mother.
"You must remember," I said, "that until I came here I have lived alife of solitude."
"Have we not cured you of that?" she asked.
"Of the desire for a life of solitude? Yes. It is only that I amaccustomed to it, and that it is not so irksome to me as it would beto others. But why talk of my being lonely unless you have decided tobanish me from your society?"
"We shall be happy to have you here as often as you care to come,"said Lauretta's mother. "Meanwhile you will remain with us, and we canbe of assistance to you in settling yourself. Left to your own devicesin arranging matters, you would make, I am afraid, a sad bungle ofthem."
It was settled so, and in a few days the keys of the house arrived,and we all set out together to inspect it. We found it charming, butvery musty. Some of the rooms were spacious, some small and cosy. Ofbedrooms there were at least a dozen, all amply furnished; butLauretta's mother shook her head when she examined the linen, anddeclared that it would occupy some time and much labour to put it inorder. I asked her to take direction of the affair, and she consentedto do so. We decided which rooms were to be locked up and which used,and in which way the furniture was to be disposed of. The agents, inreply to my letter, had sent an inventory, which I would have takenfor granted, but Lauretta's mother would not have it so, and chided mefor my easiness.
"What would you have?" said Doctor Louis. "It was his misfortune to beborn a man, and what does he knows of sheets and curtains andfootstools?"
"He will not want footstools," said Lauretta's mother.
"Indeed I shall," I declared, "and everything feminine. Am I to beshut up here alone, without ever a visit from my friends?"
"Oh," said Lauretta's mother, "we will come and see you if you inviteus."
"Therefore, footstools," said I gravely.
There was, indeed, a great deal to be done, and it did not surprise meto discover that Lauretta's mother was thoroughly practical in allhousehold matters. Lauretta herself gave her opinion and advice,timidly and shyly, and not a word she said was lost upon me.Subsequently, when the work was done and I was duly installed in mynew residence, she was delighted to see that every hint she had givenhad been acted upon.
"The first necessary thing," said Lauretta's mother, "is to hire someone to take care of the place and look after it while the workmen areemployed. It should be a gardener, who could usefully employ his time,and who, perhaps, might afterwards be permanently engaged, if he givessatisfaction."
"I know the very man," said Doctor Louis. "Martin Hartog, who isseeking employment. A faithful fellow, and capable."
"He has a daughter, too," said Lauretta's mother, "who could lookafter--"
"The footstools," said Doctor Louis.
"His character is excellent," said Lauretta's mother; "it is a pity heis so eccentric."
"His eccentricity," said Doctor Louis to me, "consists in his havingopinions. For instance, he does not believe in kings and queens; hebelieves in the universal equality of man. For another instance, he issupposed to be a materialist; yet I never heard of his doing wrong toa fellowman, and I am sure he would scorn to rob even the rich. For mypart, I have a respect for Martin Hartog, and so has my wife, whoseonly sorrow with respect to him is that she cannot convert him."
"He is a conscientious man," said Lauretta's mother, "and willfaithfully perform any duty he undertakes."
"As good an epitaph," said Doctor Louts, "as could be graven upon anytombstone."
The next day Martin Hartog was engaged, but when I spoke to him abouthis daughter he declined to allow her to enter service. He had alwaysmaintained her, and he hoped to be always able to do so. She couldlive with him in the gardener's cottage attached to the house, and hepromised that I should never find
her in my way. If I objected to herliving with him in the cottage he would remain where he was, and cometo his work every morning, and if that would not do, why, he could notaccept the employment I offered him. What particularly struck me inhim was the tender tones in which he spoke of his daughter; she wasevidently the treasure of his life. In the course of a day or two,when I saw her--for Martin was engaged upon his own conditions, whichwere quite suitable to me--I was not surprised at this, for she was amaiden of singular beauty.
I pass over all further details with respect to the house of which Ibecame the tenant. It will be sufficient to say that the workproceeded satisfactorily, though its complete execution occupied alonger time than I expected. I spared no money, and insisted upon theappointments, within and without, being of such an order as to beworthy of the dear friends whom I hoped to receive often as myguests. The association between me and the members of Doctor Louis'sfamily grew closer and more binding in its intimate relationship;perfect confidence was established between us, and it made me glad tothink that they regarded me almost as one of themselves. I faithfullyobserved the contract into which I had entered with Doctor Louis;nearly three months of the twelve belonged to the past, and nothinghad occurred to disturb my tranquillity.
Before the end of the week I expected to remove from Doctor Louis'shouse. He and I were frequently together when he went to visit thoseof his patients who lived at a distance, and on one occasion at thisperiod we had arranged to ride in company to a village situatedsixteen miles from Nerac, and on our return to dine at an inn, andvisit some caves which had just been discovered, and which were saidto contain, among other relics of the past, bones and skeletons ofanimals now strange to the district.
On our way out of Nerac we met the village postman, who gave DoctorLouis a letter. He glanced at it, and saying "Ah, a letter fromEmilius," opened and read it as we ambled along the soft forest track.
A Secret Inheritance (Volume 1 of 3) Page 9
