CHAPTER XIII. A TREATY REJECTED
Forester's recovery was slow, at least so his friends in the capitalthought it, for to each letter requiring to know when he might beexpected back again, the one reply forever was returned, "As soon ashe felt able to leave Gwynne Abbey." Nor was the answer, perhaps,injudiciously couched.
From the evening of his first introduction to Lady Eleanor and herdaughter, his visits were frequent, sometimes occupying the entiremorning, and always prolonged far into the night. Never did an intimacymake more rapid progress; so many tastes and so many topics were incommon to all, for while the ladies had profited by reading and study inmatters which he had little cultivated, yet the groundwork of an earlygood education enabled him to join in discussions, and take partin conversation which both interested at the time, and suggestedimprovement afterward; and if Lady Eleanor knew less of the late eventswhich formed the staple of London small-talk, she was well informed onthe characters and passages of the early portion of the reign, whichgave all the charm of a history to reminiscences purely personal.
With the wits and distinguished men of that day she had lived in greatintimacy, and felt a pride in contrasting the displays of intellectualwealth, so common then, with the flatter and more prosaic habita sinceintroduced into society. "Eccentricities and absurdities," she wouldsay, "have replaced in the world the more brilliant exhibitions ofcultivated and gifted minds, and I must confess to preferring the socialqualities of Horace Walpole to the exaggerations of Bagenal Daly, or theludicrous caprices of Buck Whaley."
"I think Mr. Daly charming, for my part," said Helen, laughing. "I'mcertain that he is a miracle of truth, as he is of adventure; ifeverything he relates is not strictly accurate and matter of fact, it isbecause the real is always inferior to the ideal. The things _ought_ tohave happened as he states."
"It is, at least, _ben trovato_," broke in Forester; "yet I go further,and place perfect confidence in his narratives, and truly I have heardsome strange ones in our morning rides together."
"I suspected as much," said Lady Eleanor, "a new listener is such aboon to him; so, then, you have heard how he carried away the Infanta ofSpain, compelled the Elector of Saxony to take off his boots, madethe Doge of Venice drunk, and instructed the Pasha of Trebizond in themysteries of an Irish jig."
"Not a word of these have I heard as yet."
"Indeed! then what, in all mercy, has he been talking of,--India, China,or North America, perhaps?"
"Still less; he has never wandered from Ireland and Irish life, and Imust say, as far as adventure and incident are concerned, it would havebeen quite unnecessary for him to have strayed beyond it."
"You are perfectly right there," said Lady Eleanor, with someseriousness in the tone; "our home anomalies may shame all foreignwonders: he himself could scarcely find his parallel in any land."
"He has a sincere affection for Lionel, Mamma," said Helen, in an accentof deprecating meaning.
"And that very same regard gave the bias to Lionel's taste for everyspecies of absurdity! Believe me, Helen, Irish blood is too stimulatingan ingredient to enter into a family oftener than once in fourgenerations. Mr. Daly's has been unadulterated for centuries, and theconsequence is, that, although neither deficient in strong sense orquick perception, he acts always on the impulse that precedes judgment,and both his generosity and his injustice outrun the mark."
"I love that same rash temperament," said Helen, flushing as she spoke;"it is a fine thing to see so much of warm and generous nature surviveall that he must have seen of the littleness of mankind."
"There! Captain Forester, there! Have I not reason on my side? Youthought me very unjust towards poor Mr. Daly,--I know you did; but itdemands all my watchfulness to prevent him being equally the model formy daughter, as he is for my son's imitation."
"There are traits in his character any might well be proud toimitate," said Helen, warmly; "his life has been a series of generous,single-minded actions; and," added she, archly "if Mamma thinks itprudent and safe to warn her children against some of Mr. Daly'seccentricities, no one is more ready to acknowledge his real worth thanshe is."
"Helen is right," said Lady Eleanor; "if we could always be certainthat Mr. Daly's imitators would copy the truly great features of hischaracter, we might forgive them falling into his weaknesses; and now,can any one tell me why we have not seen him for some days past? He isin the Abbey?"
"Yes, we rode out together yesterday morning to look at the wreck nearthe Sound of Achill; strange enough, I only learned from a chance remarkof one of the sailors that Daly had been in the boat, the night before,that took the people off the wreck."
"So like him!" exclaimed Helen, with enthusiasm.
"He is angry with me, I know he is," said Lady Eleanor, musingly."I asked his advice respecting the answer I should send to a certainletter, and then rejected the counsel. He would have forgiven me had Irun counter to his opinions without asking; but when I called him intoconsultation, the offence became a grave one."
"I declare, Mamma, I side with him; his arguments were clear, strong,and unanswerable, and the best proof of it is, you have never had thecourage to follow your own determination since you listened to him."
"I have a great mind to choose an umpire between us. What say you,Captain Forester, will you hear the case? Helen shall take Mr. Daly'sside; I will make my own statement."
"It's a novel idea," said Helen, laughing, "that the umpire should beselected by one of the litigating parties."
"Then you doubt my impartiality, Miss Darcy?"
"If I am to accept you as a judge, I 'll not prejudice the Court againstmyself, by avowing my opinions of it," said she, archly.
"When I spoke of your arbitration, Captain Forester," said Lady Eleanor,"I really meant fairly, for upon all the topics we have discussedtogether, politics, or anything bordering on political opinions, havenever come uppermost; and, up to this moment, I have not the slightestnotion what are your political leanings, Whig or Tory."
"So the point in dispute is a political one?" asked Forester,cautiously.
"Not exactly," interposed Helen; "the policy of a certain reply to acertain demand is the question at issue; but the advice of any party inthe matter might be tinged by his party leanings, if he have any."
"If I judge Captain Forester aright, he has troubled his head verylittle about party squabbles," said Lady Eleanor; "and in any case,he can scarcely take a deep interest in a question which is almostpeculiarly Irish."
Forester bowed,--partly in pretended acquiescence of this speech, partlyto conceal a deep flush that mounted suddenly to his cheek; for he feltby no means pleased at a remark that might be held to reflect on hispolitical knowledge.
"Be thou the judge, then," said Lady Eleanor. "And, first of all, readthat letter." And she took from her work-box her cousin Lord Netherby'sletter, and handed it to Forester.
"I reserve my right to dispute that document being evidence," saidHelen, laughing; "nor is there any proof of the handwriting being LordNetherby's. Mamma herself acknowledges she has not heard from him fornearly twenty years."
This cunning speech, meant to intimate the precise relation of the twoparties, was understood at once by Forester, who could with difficultycontrol a smile, although Lady Eleanor looked far from pleased.
There was now a pause, while Forester read over the long letter with dueattention, somewhat puzzled to conceive to what particular portion of itthe matter in dispute referred.
"You have not read the postscript," said Helen, as she saw him foldingthe letter, without remarking the few concluding lines.
Forester twice read over the passage alluded to, and at once whateverhad been mysterious or difficult was revealed before him. LordNetherby's wily temptation was made manifest, not the less palpably,perhaps, because the reader was himself involved in the very samescheme.
"You have now seen my cousin's letter," said Lady Eleanor, "and thewhole question is whether the reply should be limited to a su
itableacknowledgment of its kind expressions, and a grateful sense of thePrince's condescension, or should convey--"
"Mamma means," interrupted Helen, laughingly,--"Mamma means, that wemight also avow our sincere gratitude for the rich temptation offered inrequital of my father's vote on the 'nion.'"
"No minister would dare to make such a proposition to the Knight ofGwynne," said Lady Eleanor, haughtily.
"Ministers are very enterprising nowadays, Mamma," rejoined Helen;"I have never heard any one speak of Mr. Pitt's cowardice, and LordCastlereagh has had courage to invite old Mr. Hickman to dinner!"
Forester would gladly have acknowledged his relationship to theSecretary, but the moment seemed unpropitious, and the avowal would havehad the semblance of a rebuke; so he covered his confusion by a laugh,and said nothing.
"We can scarcely contemn the hardihood of a Government that has madeCrofton a bishop, and Hawes a general," said Helen, with a flashingeye and a lip curled in superciliousness. "Nothing short of a profoundreliance on the piety of the Church and the bravery of the Army wouldsupport such a policy as that!"
Lady Eleanor seemed provoked at the hardy tone of Helen's speech; butthe mother's look was proud, as she gazed on the brilliant expression ofher daughter's beauty, now heightened by the excitement of the moment.
"Is it not possible, Miss Darcy," said Forester, in a voice atonce timid and insinuating,--"is it not possible that the measurecontemplated by the Government may have results so beneficial as to morethan compensate for evils like these?"
"A Jesuit, or a Tory, or both," cried Helen. "Mamma, you have chosenyour umpire most judiciously; his is exactly the impartiality needed."
"Nay, but hear me out," cried the young officer, whose cheek wascrimsoned with shame. "If the measure be a good one,--well, let me begthe question, if it be a good one--and yet, the time for propounding itis either inopportune or unfortunate, and, consequently, the support itmight claim on its own merits be withheld either from prejudice,party connection, or any similar cause,--you would not call a ministryculpable who should anticipate the happy working of a judicious Act, bysecuring the assistance of those whose convictions are easily wonover, in preference to the slower process of convincing the men of moreupright and honest intentions."
"You have begged so much in the commencement, and assumed so much inthe conclusion, sir, that I am at a loss to which end of your speech toaddress my answer; but I will say this much: it is but sorry evidenceof a measure's goodness when it can only meet with the approval of thevenal. I don't prize the beauty so highly that is only recognized by theblind man."
"Distorted vision, Miss Darcy, may lead to impressions more erroneousthan even blindness."
"I may have the infirmity you speak of," said she, quickly, "butassuredly I'll not wear Government spectacles to correct it."
If Forester was surprised at finding a young lady so deeply interestedin a political question, he was still more so on hearing the tone ofdetermination she spoke in, and would gladly, had he known how, havegiven the conversation a less serious turn.
"We have been all the time forgetting the real question at issue," saidLady Eleanor. "I 'm sure I never intended to listen to a discussion onthe merits or demerits of the Union, on which you both grow so eloquent;will you then kindly return to whence we started, and advise me as tothe reply to this letter."
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"I do not perceive any remarkable difficulty, madam," said Forester,addressing himself exclusively to Lady Eleanor. "The Knight of Gwynnehas doubtless strong opinions on this question; they are either in favorof, or adverse to, the Government views: if the former, your reply iseasy and most satisfactory; if the latter, perhaps he would condescendto explain the nature of his objections, to state whether it be toanything in the detail of the measure he is adverse to, or to theprinciple of the Bill itself. A declaration like this will open a doorto negotiation, without the slightest imputation on either side. Aminister may well afford to offer his reasons for any line of policy toone as eminent in station and ability as the Knight of Gwynne, and Itrust I am not indiscreet in assuming that the Knight would not bederogating from that station in listening to, and canvassing, suchexplanations."
"Lord Castlereagh, 'aut---,'" said Helen, starting up from her seat, andmaking a low courtesy before Forester, who, feeling himself in a measuredetected, blushed till his face became scarlet.
"My dear Helen, at this rate we shall never--But what is this?--who havewe here?"
This sudden exclamation was caused by the appearance of a smallfour-wheeled carriage drawn up at the gate of the flower-garden, fromwhich old Hickman's voice could now be heard, inquiring if Lady Eleanorwere at home.
"Yes, Sullivan," said she, with a sigh, "and order luncheon." Then, asthe servant left the room, she added, "I am always better pleased whenthe visits of that family are paid by the old gentleman, whom I preferto the son or the grandson. They are better performers, I admit, but heis an actor of nature's own making."
"Do you know him, Captain Forester?" asked Helen.
But, before he could reply, the door was opened, and Sullivan announced,by his ancient title, "Doctor Hickman."
Strange and grotesque as in every respect he looked, the venerablecharacter of old age secured him a respectful, almost a cordial,reception; and as Lady Eleanor advanced to him, there was that urbanityand courtesy in her manner which are so nearly allied to the expressionof actual esteem. It was true, there was little in the old man'snature to elicit such feelings towards him; he was a grasping miser,covetousness and money-getting filled up his heart, and every avenueleading to it. The passion for gain had alone given the interest to hislife, and developed into activity any intelligence he possessed. Whilehis son valued wealth as the only stepping-stone to a position ofeminence and rank, old Hickman loved riches for their own sake. The bankwas, in his estimation, the fountain of all honor, and a strong creditthere better than all the reputation the world could confer. These wereharsh traits. But then he was old; long years of infirmity were bringinghim each hour closer to the time when the passion of his existence mustbe abandoned; and a feeling of pity was excited at the sight of thatwithered, careworn face, to which the insensate cravings of avarice lentan unnatural look of shrewdness and intelligence.
"What a cold morning for your drive, Mr. Hickman," said Lady Eleanor,kindly. "Captain Forester, may I ask you to stir the fire? Mr.Hickman--Captain Forester."
"Ah, Miss Helen, beautiful as ever!" exclaimed the old man, as, with alook of real admiration, he gazed on Miss Darcy. "I don't know howit is, Lady Eleanor, but the young ladies never dressed so becominglyformerly. Captain Forester, your humble servant; I'm glad to see youabout again,--indeed, I did n't think it very likely once that you'dever leave the library on your own feet; Mac-Donough 's a dead shot theytell me--ay, ay!"
"I hope your friends at 'The Grove' are well, sir?" said Lady Eleanor,desirous of interrupting a topic she saw to be particularly distressingto Forester.
"No, indeed, my Lady; my son Bob--Mr. Hickman O'Reilly, I mean--Godforgive me, I'm sure they take trouble enough to teach me thatname--he's got a kind of a water-brash, what we call a pyrosis. I tellhim it's the French dishes he eats for dinner, things he never wasbrought op to, concoctions of lemon juice, and cloves, and saffron, andgarlic, in meat roasted--no, but stewed into chips."
"You prefer our national cookery, Mr. Hickman?"
"Yes, my Lady, with the gravy in it; the crag-end,--if your Ladyshipknows what's the crag-end of a--"
"Indeed, Mr. Hickman," said Lady Eleanor, smiling, "I'm deplorablyignorant about everything that concerns the household. Helen affects tobe very deep in these matters; but I suspect it is only a superficialknowledge, got up to amuse the Knight."
"I beg, Mamma, you will not infer any such reproach on my skill in_menage_. Papa called my _omelette a la cure_ perfect."
"I should like to hear Mr. Hickman's judgment on it," said Lady Eleanor,with a sly smile.
"If it's a plain j
oint, my Lady, boiled or roasted, without spices ordevilment in it, but just the way Providence intended--"
"May I ask, sir, how you suppose Providence intended to recommend anyparticular kind of cookery?" said Helen, seriously.
"Whatever is most natural, most simple, the easiest to do," stammeredout Hickman, not over pleased at being asked for an explanation.
"Then the Cossack ranks first in the art," exclaimed Forester; "fornothing can be more simple or easier than to take a slice of a live oxand hang it up in the sun for ten or fifteen minutes."
"Them's barbarians," said Hickman, with an emphasis that made thelisteners find it no easy task to keep down a laugh.
"Luncheon, my Lady," said old Tate Sullivan, as with a reverential bowhe opened the folding-doors into a small breakfast parlor, where anexquisitely served table was laid out.
"Practice before precept, Mr. Hickman," said Lady Eleanor; "willyou join us at luncheon, where I hope you may find something to yourliking?"
As the old man seated himself at the table, his eye ranged over thecabinet pictures that covered the walls, the richly chased silver on thetable, and the massive wine-coolers that stood on the sideboard, with aneye whose brilliancy betokened far more the covetous taste of the miserthan the pleased expression of mere connoisseurship; nor could herecall himself from their admiration to hear Forester's twice-repeatedquestion as to what he would eat.
"'T is elegant fine plate, no doubt of it," muttered he, below hisbreath; "and the pictures may be worth as much more--ay!"
The last monosyllable was the only part of his speech audible, and beinginterpreted by Forester as a reply to his request, he at once helped theold gentleman to a very highly seasoned French dish before him.
"Eh! what's this?" said Hickman, as he surveyed his plate with unfeignedastonishment; "if I did n't see it laid down on your Ladyship's table, I'd swear it was a bit of Gal way marble."
"It's a _gelatine truffee_, Mr. Hickman," said Forester, who was wellaware of its merits.
"Be it so, in the name of God!" said Hickman, with resignation, asthough to say that any one who could eat it might take the trouble tolearn the name. "Ay, my Lady, that 's what I like, a slice of Kerrybeef,--a beast made for man's eating."
"Mr. Hickman's pony is more of an epicure than his master," saidForester, as he arose from his chair and moved towards the glass-doorthat opened on the garden; "he has just eaten the top of yourlemon-tree."
"And by way of dessert, he is now cropping my japonica," cried Helen,as she sprang from the room to rescue her favorite plant. Foresterfollowed her, and Lady Eleanor was left alone with the doctor.
"Now, my Lady, that I have the opportunity,--and sure it was luckgave it to me,--would you give me the favor of a little privateconversation?"
"If the matter be on business, Mr. Hickman, I must frankly own I shouldprefer your addressing yourself to the Knight; he will be home earlynext week."
"It is--and it is not, my Lady--but, there! they're coming back, now,and it is too late;" and so he heaved a heavy sigh, and lay back in hischair, as though worn out and disappointed.
"Well, then, in the library, Mr. Hickman," said Lady Eleanor,compassionately, "when you've eaten some luncheon."
"No more, my Lady; 'tis elegant fine beef as ever I tasted, and thegravy in it, but I'm not hungry now."
Lady Eleanor, without a guess as to what might form the subject ofhis communication, perceived that he was agitated and anxious; and so,requesting Forester and her daughter to continue their luncheon, sheadded: "And I have something to tell Mr. Hickman, if he will give fiveminutes of his company in the next room."
Taking a chair near the fire, Lady Eleanor motioned to the doctor tobe seated; but the old man was so engaged in admiring the room and itsfurniture that he seemed insensible to all else. As his eye wanderedover the many objects of taste and luxury on every side, his lipsmuttered unceasingly, but the sound was inarticulate.
"I cannot pledge myself that we shall remain long uninterrupted, Mr.Hickman," said Lady Eleanor, "so pray lose no time in the communicationyou have to make."
"I humbly ask pardon, my Lady," said the old man, in a voice ofdeep humility; "I'm old and feeble now, and my senses none of theclearest,--but sure it's time for them to be worn out; ninety-one I'll be, if I live to Lady-day." It was his habit to exaggerate hisage; besides, there was a tremulous pathos in his accents to which LadyEleanor was far from feeling insensible, and she awaited in silence whatwas to follow.
"Well, well," sighed the old man, "if I succeed in this, the last act ofmy long life, I 'm well content to go whenever the Lord pleases." Andso saying, he took from his coat-pocket the ominous-looking old leathercase to which we have already alluded, and searched for some time amidits contents. "Ay! here it is--that is it--it is only a memorandum, myLady, but it will show what I mean." And he handed the paper to LadyEleanor.
It was some time before she had arranged her spectacles and adjustedherself to peruse the document; but before she had concluded, her handtrembled violently, and all color forsook her cheek. Meanwhile; thedoctor sat with his filmy eyes directed towards her, as if watchingthe working of his spell; and when the paper fell from her fingers, heuttered a low "Ay," as though to say his success was certain.
"Two hundred thousand pounds!" exclaimed she, with a shudder; "thiscannot be true."
"It is all true, my Lady, and so is this too;" and he took from his hata newspaper and presented it to her.
"The Ballydermot property! The whole estate lost at cards! This is acalumny, sir,--the libellous impertinence of a newspaper paragraphist.I'll not believe it."
"''T 's true, notwithstanding, my Lady. Harvey Dawson was there himself,and saw it all; and as for the other, the deeds and mortgages are atthis moment in the hands of my son's solicitor."
"And this may be foreclosed--"
"On the 24th, at noon, my Lady," continued Hickman, as he folded thememorandum and replaced it in his pocket-book.
"Well, sir," said she, as, with a great effort to master her emotion,she addressed him in a steady and even commanding voice, "the next thingis to learn what are your intentions respecting this debt? You have notpurchased all these various liabilities of my husband's without somedefinite object. Speak it out--what is it? Has Mr. Hickman O'Reilly'sambition increased so rapidly that he desires to date his letters fromGwynne Abbey?"
"The Saints forbid it, my Lady," said the old man, with a pious horror."I 'd never come here this day on such an errand as that. If it was notto propose what was agreeable, you 'd not see me here--"
"Well, sir, what is the proposition? Let me hear it at once, for mypatience never bears much dallying with."
"I am coming to it, my Lady," muttered Hickman, who already felt reallyashamed at the deep emotion his news evoked. "There are two ways ofdoing it--" A gesture of impatience from Lady Eleanor stopped him, but,after a brief pause, he resumed: "Bear with me, my Lady. Old age andinfirmity are always prolix; but I'll do my best."
It would be as unfair a trial of the reader's endurance as it proved toLady Eleanor's, were we to relate the slow steps by which Mr. Hickmanannounced his plan, the substance of which, divested of all his owncircumlocution and occasional interruptions, was simply this: a promisehad been made by Lord Castlereagh to Hickman O'Reilly that if, throughhis influence, exercised by means of moneyed arrangements or otherwise,the Knight of Gwynne would vote with the Government on the "Union,"he should be elevated to the Peerage, an object which, howeverinconsiderable in the old man's esteem, both his son and grandson hadset their hearts upon. For this service they, in requital, would extendthe loan to another period of seven years, stipulating only for sometrifling advantages regarding the right of cutting timber, some coastfisheries, and other matters to be mentioned afterwards,--points which,although evidently of minor importance, were recapitulated by the oldman with a circumstantial minuteness.
It was only by a powerful effort that Lady Eleanor could control herrising indignation at this
proposal, while the very thought of HickmanO'Reilly as a Peer, and member of that proud "Order" of which her ownhaughty family formed a part, was an insult almost beyond endurance.
"Go on, sir," said she, with a forced composure which deceived oldHickman completely, and made him suppose that his negotiation wasproceeding favorably.
"I 'm sure, my Lady, it 's little satisfaction all this grandeur wouldgive me. I 'd rather be twenty years younger, and in the back parlor ofmy old shop at Loughrea than the first peer in the kingdom."
"Ambition is not your failing, then, sir," said she, with a glancewhich, to one more quick-sighted, would have conveyed the full measureof her scorn.
"That it is n't, my Lady; but they insist upon it."
"And is the Peerage to be enriched by the enrolment of your name amongits members? I thought, sir, it was your son."
"Bob--Mr. Hickman, I mean--suggests that I should be the first lord inthe family, my Lady, because then Beecham's title won't seem so new whenit comes to him. 'T is the only use they can make of me now--ay!" andthe word was accented with a venomous sharpness that told the secretanger he had himself awakened by his remark.
"The Knight of Gwynne," said Lady Eleanor, proudly, "has often regrettedto me the few opportunities he had embraced through life of serving hiscountry; I have no doubt, sir, when he hears your proposal, that he willrejoice at this occasion of making an _amende_. I will write to him bythis post. Is there anything more you wish to add, Mr. Hickman?" saidshe, as, having risen from her chair, she perceived that the old manremained seated.
"Yes, indeed, my Lady, there is, and I don't think I 'd have the heartfor it, if it was n't your Ladyship's kindness about the other business;and even now, maybe, it would take you by surprise."
"You can scarcely do that, sir, after what I have just listened to,"said she, with a smile.
"Well, there 's no use in going round about the bush, and this is whatI mean. We thought there might be a difficulty, perhaps, about the vote;that the Knight might have promised his friends, or said something orother how he 'd go, and would n't be able to get out of it so easily,so we saw another way of serving his views about the money. You see, myLady, we considered it all well amongst us."
"We should feel deeply grateful, sir, to know how far this family hasoccupied your kind solicitude. But proceed."
"If the Knight does n't like to vote with the Government, of coursethere is no use in Bob doing it; so he 'll be a Patriot, my Lady,--andwhy not? Ha! ha! ha! they 'll be breaking the windows all over Dublin,and he may as well save the glass!--ay!"
"Forgive me, sir, if I cannot see how this has any reference to myfamily."
"I'm coming to it--coming fast, my Lady. We were thinking then how wecould help the Knight, and do a good turn to ourselves; and the way wehit upon was this: to reduce the interest on the whole debt to five percent, make a settlement of half the amount on Miss Darcy, and then, ifthe young lady had no objection to my grandson, Beecham--"
"Stop, sir," said Lady Eleanor; "I never could suppose you meant tooffend me intentionally,--I cannot permit of your doing so throughinadvertence or ignorance. I will therefore request that thisconversation may cease. Age has many privileges, Mr. Hickman, but thereare some it can never confer: one of these is the right to insult a ladyand--a mother."
The last words were sobbed rather than spoken: affection and pride, bothoutraged together, almost choked her utterance, and Lady Eleanor satdown trembling in every limb, while the old man, only half conscious ofthe emotion he had evoked, peered at her in stolid amazement through hisspectacles.
Any one who knew nothing of old Hickman's character might well havepitied his perplexity at that moment; doubts of every kind and sortpassed through his mind as rapidly as his timeworn faculties permitted,and at last he settled down into the conviction that Lady Eleanor mighthave thought his demand respecting fortune too exorbitant, althoughnot deeming the proposition, in other respects, ineligible. To thisconclusion the habits of his own mind insensibly disposed him.
"Ay, my Lady," said he, after a pause, "'tis a deal of money, no doubt;but it won't be going out of the family, and that's more than could besaid if you refuse the offer."
"Sir!" exclaimed Lady Eleanor, in a tone that to any one less obtuselyendowed would have been an appeal not requiring repetition; but the oldman had only senses for his own views, and went on:--
"They tell me that Mr. Lionel is just as free with his money as hisfather; throws it out with both hands, horse-racing and high play, andevery extravagance he can think of. Well, and if that's true, my Lady,sure it 's well worth while to think that you 'll have a decent house toput your head under when your daughter's married to Beecham. He has nowasteful ways, but can look after the main chance as well as any boyever I seen. This notion about Miss Helen is the only thing likeexpense I ever knew him take up, and sure"--here he dropped his voice tosoliloquy--"sure, maybe, that same will pay well, after all--ay!"
"My head! my head is bursting with blood," sighed Lady Eleanor; but thelast words alone reached Hickman's ears.
"Ay! blood's a fine thing, no doubt of it, but, faith, it won't payinterest on a mortgage; nor I never heard of it staying the execution ofa writ! 'T is little good blood I had in my veins, and yet I contrivedto scrape a trifle together notwithstanding--ay!"
"I do not feel myself very well, Mr. Hickman," said Lady Eleanor; "mayI request you will send my daughter to me, and excuse me if I wish you agood morning."
"Shall I hint anything to the young lady about what we were saying?"said he, in a tone of most confidential import.
"At your peril, sir!" said Lady Eleanor, with a look that at once seemedto transfix him; and the old man, muttering his adieu, hobbled fromthe room, while Lady Eleanor leaned back in her chair, overcome by theconflict of her emotions.
"Is he gone?" said Lady Eleanor, faintly, as her daughter entered.
"Yes, Mamma; but are you ill? You look dreadfully pale and agitated."
"Wearied--fatigued, my dear, nothing more. Tell Captain Forester I mustrelease him from his engagement to us to-day; I cannot come to dinner."And, so saying, she covered her eyes with her hand, and seemed lost indeep thought.
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