'Fools' paradise!' thought Theodora, as she silently mounted the steps.
'That is a remarkably pretty little hat,' said Miss Gardner. Theodora made a blunt affirmative sound.
'No doubt she is highly pleased to sport it. The first time of wearing anything so becoming must be charming at her age. I could envy her.'
'Poor old pony!' was all Theodora chose to answer.
'There, they are leaving off,' as Arthur led away the pony, and Violet began to ascend the steps, turning her head to look after him.
Miss Gardner came to meet her, asking how she liked riding.
'Oh, so much, thank you.'
'You are a good scholar?'
'I hope I shall be. He wants me to ride well. He is going to take me into the woods to-morrow.'
'We have been admiring your hat,' said Miss Gardner. 'It is exactly what my sister would like. Have you any objection to tell where you bought it?'
'I'll ask him: he gave it to me.'
'Dressing his new doll,' thought Theodora; but as Violet had not been personally guilty of the extravagance, she thought amends due to her for the injustice, and asked her to come into the gardens.
'Thank you, I should like it; but will he, will Mr.--will Arthur know what has become of me?'
'He saw you join us,' said Theodora, thinking he ought to be relieved to have her taken off his hands for a little while.
'Have you seen the gardens?' asked Jane.
'Are not these the gardens?' said Violet, surprised, as they walked on through the pleasure-ground, and passed a screen of trees, and a walk trellised over with roses.
There spread out before her a sweep of shaven turf, adorned with sparkling jets d'eau of fantastic forms, gorgeous masses of American plants, the flaming or the snowy azalea, and the noble rhododendron, in every shade of purple cluster among its evergreen leaves; beds of rare lilies, purely white or brilliant with colour; roses in their perfection of bloom; flowers of forms she had never figured to herself, shaded by wondrous trees, the exquisite weeping deodara, the delicate mimosa, the scaly Himalaya pines, the feathery gigantic ferns of the southern hemisphere.
Violet stood gazing in a silent trance till Arthur's step approached, when she bounded back to him, and clinging to his arm exclaimed, so that he alone could hear, 'Oh, I am glad you are come! It was too like enchanted ground!'
'So you like it,' said Arthur, smiling.
'I did not know there could be anything so beautiful! I thought the pleasure-ground finer than anything--so much grander than Lord St. Erme's; but this! Did you keep it to the last to surprise me!'
'I forgot it,' said Arthur, laughing to see her look shocked. 'It is not in my line. The natives never have any sport out of a show-place.'
'It is simply a bore,' said Theodora, 'a self-sacrifice to parade.'
'To the good of visitors,' replied Miss Gardner, smiling, to Violet, who, fearing her own admiration was foolish, was grateful to hear her say, 'And in that capacity you will allow Mrs. Martindale and me to enjoy.'
'Did not I bring you to make the grand tour!' said Theodora. 'Come, prepare to be stifled. Here are all the zones up to the equator,' and she led the way into the conservatory.
Arthur's protection and his satisfaction in Violet's pleasure set her at ease to enter into all the wonders and beauties; but he did not know one plant from another, and referred all her inquiries to his sister, who answered them in a cold matter-of-fact way that discouraged her from continuing them, and reduced her to listening to the explanations elicited by Jane Gardner, until a new-comer met them, thus greeted by Arthur--'Ah! here is the authority! Good morning, Harrison. Mrs. Martindale wants to know the name of this queer striped thing.'
He bowed politely, and Violet, as she bent and smiled, supposed they were too familiar for the hand-shake, while he went on to name the plant and exhibit its peculiarities. Her questions and remarks seemed to please him greatly, and while he replied graciously with much curious information, he cut spray after spray of the choicest flowers and bestowed them upon her, so that when the tour was completed, and he quitted them, she said, with smiling gratitude, 'It is the most exquisite bouquet I ever saw.'
'A poor thing, 'was the proud humility answer, 'but honoured by such hands!'
'Well done, Harrison!' ejaculated Arthur, as soon as he was out of ear- shot.
'Who is he?' asked Violet, still blushing; then, as the truth dawned on her, 'can he be the gardener? I thought him some great botanist allowed to study here.'
'Pray tell Miss Piper, Theodora,' said Arthur. 'If it goes round to him, Violet will never want for flowers.'
'It is so exactly what he considers himself,' said Jane.
'Except his being allowed,' said Arthur. ''Tis we that are there on sufferance.'
Miss Piper was seen advancing on the same walk, and Violet was uncomfortable, dreading to see her treated as an inferior; but to her great satisfaction, Arthur addressed the little lady in his cordial manner, and Theodora congratulated her on being out of doors on this fine evening.
'Mrs. Nesbit wished me to ask Mr. Harrison for a frond of the new Trichomanes,' said Miss Piper.
'You will find him somewhere near the forcing-house,' said Theodora; 'but pray don't hurry in. I am going to my aunt's room, and you should go and look at the Japan lilies, they are fine enough to make even me admire them.' Then running after her to enforce her words, 'mind you stay out--be quite at rest till dinner-time--I have scarcely been with my aunt to-day. I am sure a walk will do you good.'
The kind solicitude went deep into the affections of the lonely little woman. Violet longed for anything like such notice; then, in a state between wonder, delight, and disappointment, went to her room to attempt a description of the fairy land which she had been visiting, and to enjoy the splendours by thinking how much it would gratify her mother and sisters to hear of her sharing them.
Mrs. Nesbit greeted Theodora with exclamations on Miss Piper's tardiness, and she explained in the authoritative way which she alone ventured to use towards her aunt; then, in a tone of conciliation, spoke of the garden and the beauty of the Japan lilies.
'Harrison grows too many; they are losing their rarity, and look like a weed.'
'They are hardy, are they not?' said Theodora, maliciously. 'I shall get some for my school garden.'
'That is your way of making everything common, and depreciating all that is choice.'
'No,' said Theodora, 'I would have beauty as widely enjoyed and as highly appreciated as possible.'
'And pray, if all privileges are extended to the lower classes, what is left to the higher orders?'
'Themselves,' said Theodora, proudly. 'No, aunt, we only lower ourselves by exclusiveness. It is degrading to ourselves and our tastes to make them badges of vanity. Let them be freely partaken, we shall be first still. The masses cannot mount higher without raising us.'
'A levelling theory,' said Mrs. Nesbit.
'No, exalting. Has Latin and Greek made Harrison a gentleman? Can even dress in better taste make Pauline look as much a lady as Miss Piper?'
'There is a good deal in that,' said Mrs. Nesbit. 'Even Lady Elizabeth Brandon cannot hide her good blood, though she does her best to do so.'
'And so does Emma,' said Theodora.
'Foolish girl,' said Mrs. Nesbit, 'I would have given anything to see her attractive.'
'Too late now!' said Theodora, with a look of repressed scorn and triumph.
'Too late for ARTHUR,' replied Mrs. Nesbit, with emphasis. 'And you'll never, never succeed in the other quarter!'
'Young people always have those fancies. I know what you would say, but John is not so young now. It is just the time of life when men take a turn. Depend upon it, now he has had his boy's romance, he is not going to play the disconsolate lover for the rest of his life. No! that girl shall never be Lady Martindale.'
'Well, I shan't dispute' said Theodora; 'but--'
'Believe when you see, said Mrs. Nesbit.
> 'And so you mean it to be Emma Brandon,' said Theodora, with the same sarcastic incredulity.
'Let me tell you there are things more unlikely. John thinks much of Lady Elizabeth, and is just one of the men to marry a plain quiet girl, fancying she would be the more domestic; and for yourself, you would find Emma very accommodating--never in your way.'
'No indeed,' said Theodora.
'Nothing could give your mother more pleasure. It is more than ever important now. What have you seen of Arthur's piece of wax? He seems to have been playing with her all day long.'
'Yes, poor fellow,' said Theodora, sighing. 'However, it might have been worse. I believe she is an innocent child, and very ladylike.'
'There is an instance of the effect of your dissemination notions! This would never have happened if every country attorney did not bring up his daughters to pass for ladies!'
'I am glad she is nothing outwardly to be ashamed of.'
'I had rather that she was than for her to have the opportunity of worming herself into favour! Those modest airs and her way of peeping up under her eyelashes seem to make a great impression,' said Mrs. Nesbit, with a sneer.
'Really, I think she is simple and shy.'
Mrs. Nesbit laughed. 'You, too! What has she to do with shyness? She has had her lesson; but you are like the rest! Your mamma actually proposing to take her likeness, but I told her it was not to be thought of. There will be plenty to fill her with presumption.'
'And papa--what does he think?' said Theodora, who was wont to obtain the family politics from her aunt.
'Oh! men are sure to be caught by a pretty face, and they cannot make enough of her. I thought your father had more sense, but since John has had his ear, everything has been past my management. I cannot bear to see Arthur's cool way--but no wonder. There will be no end to their expectations, treated as they are.'
'Then papa means to do something for them?'
'I cannot tell. He may do as he pleases. It is no affair of mine. They cannot touch my property. Your father may try how he likes supporting them.'
'He will then?'
'He cannot help it, after having invited them here.'
Theodora could no longer bear to hear Arthur thus spoken of, and began to read aloud, relieved in some degree by finding Arthur was not to suffer poverty. If he had been persecuted, she must have taken his part; now she could choose her own line. However, the world must not suppose that she disapproved of his wife, and she was grateful to the unmeaning words amiable and ladylike, especially when she had to speak to Mr. Wingfield. He observed on the lady's beauty, and hoped that the affair was as little unsatisfactory as possible under the circumstances, to which she fully agreed. They proceeded to parish matters, on which they had so much to say to each other, that Violet thus reflected--'Ah! it is just as Mr. Martindale used to sit with me in the window at home! She is going to give up all her grandeur for the sake of this good clergyman! How good she is! If she could only like me one little bit.'
For the present this mattered the less to Violet, as she was extremely happy out of doors with her husband, who took up her time so exclusively, that she scarcely saw the rest, except at meals and in the evening. Then, though less afraid of 'solecisms in etiquette,' she made no progress in familiarity, but each day revealed more plainly how much too lowly and ignorant she was to be ever one of the family.
Mrs. Nesbit was always formidable and sarcastic, alarming her the more because she could not understand her irony, though conscious it was levelled against her; Lady Martindale always chilling in condescending courtesy, and daily displaying more of the acquirements that frightened Violet by their number and extent; Theodora always gravely and coldly polite and indifferent. Miss Gardner was her great resource. Her pleasant manners and ready conversation were universally liked, and more than once she dexterously helped Violet out of a state of embarrassment, and made a connecting link, through which she ventured to talk to the other ladies.
With the gentlemen she was happier. Lord Martindale was kind in manner, and she improved in the power of speaking to him, while John was, as she knew, her best friend; but she saw very little of him, he lived apart from the family, often not meeting them till dinner-time, and she began to understand Arthur's surprise at his doings at Winchester, when she found that his usual habits were so solitary that his father was gratified if he joined him in a ride, and his mother esteemed it a favour if he took a turn in the garden with her.
The parish church was so distant that the carriage was always used to convey thither the ladies, except Theodora, who ever since her fourteenth year had made it her custom to walk early to the school, and to remain there in the interval between the services. It was believed that she enjoyed a wet Sunday, as an occasion for proving her resolution, now so well established that no one thought of remonstrance, let the weather be what it might. The first Sunday of Violet's visit happened to be showery, and in the afternoon, Lord Martindale had gone to John's room to dissuade him from going to church a second time, when, as the door stood open, they heard Arthur's voice in the gallery.
'Hollo! you are not setting out in these torrents!'
'Do let me, please!' returned the pleading note.
'Why, the avenue is a river, and you are not a real goose yet, you know.'
'We never did miss church for weather, and it is further off at Wrangerton.'
'Nobody is going, I tell you. It is not in common sense. You are as bad as Theodora, I declare.'
'I don't mean to be wilful!' said she, piteously; 'I won't go if you tell me not, but please don't. I have no Sunday-book, and nothing to do, and I should feel wrong all the week.'
'To be sure you can't smoke a cigar,' said Arthur, in a tone of commiseration; 'so wilful will to water! Now for an aquatic excursion!'
Their steps and voices receded, and the father and brother looked amused. 'A good honest child!' 'She will do something with him after all!' and Lord Martindale (for Arthur had made too broad an assertion in declaring no one was going) followed them down, and showed positively paternal solicitude that Violet should be guarded from the rain, even sending to Pauline for a cloak of Miss Martindale's.
It was early when they reached the village, and Lord Martindale, saying he must speak to a workman, took them through a pretty garden to a house, the front rooms of which were shut up; they entered by the back door, and found themselves in a kitchen, where a couple of labouring people were sitting, in church-going trim. While Violet shook off the rain, and warmed herself at the fire, Lord Martindale spoke to the man; and then opening a door, called her and Arthur to look.
There were several rooms, without trace of ever having been inhabited, and not looking very inviting. The view of the park, which Violet would fain have admired, was one gush of rain.
'This might be made something of,' said Lord Martindale. 'It was built at the same time as the house. There was some idea of Mrs. Nesbit's living here; and of late years it has been kept empty for poor John.'
He broke off. Violet wondered if it was to be her abode, and whether those empty rooms could ever be as pleasant as the parlour at Winchester; but no more passed, and it was time to go into church.
After this, Lord Martindale pressed to have their stay prolonged; which Arthur could not persuade his wife to believe a great compliment to her, though she was pleased, because he was, and because she hoped it was a sign that she was tolerated for his sake. Personally, she could have wished that his leave of absence might not be extended, especially when she found that by the end of the next two months it was likely that the regiment would be in London, so that she had seen the last of her dear Winchester lodging; but she had so little selfishness, that she reproached herself even for the moment's wish, that Arthur should not remain to be happy at his own home.
It was a great loss to her that Miss Gardner was going away, leaving her to the unmitigated coldness and politeness of the other ladies. She grieved the more when, on the last morning, Jane made positiv
e advances of friendship, and talked affectionately of meeting in London.
'My home is with my sister, and we shall be delighted to see you. You will be fixed there, no doubt.'
'Thank you. I cannot tell; but I shall be so glad to see you!'
'And I shall be delighted to introduce you to my sister. I know you will be great friends. What a season it will be! Two such sisters as Mrs. and Miss Martindale making their appearance together will be something memorable.'
Violet blushed excessively, and made some inarticulate disavowals. She felt it presumption to let her name be coupled with Miss Martindale's, and there was a sense of something dangerous and wrong in expecting admiration.
Miss Gardner only smiled encouragingly at her youthfulness. 'I will not distress you, though I look forward to what I shall hear. I shall feel that I have a right to be proud of you, from priority of acquaintance.'
'You are very kind; but, please, don't talk so. It is bad, I know, for me.'
'You are very right, I quite agree with you. No doubt it is the wisest way; but so very few feel as you do. I wish more were like you, or, indeed, like Theodora, who is positively displeased with me for speaking of her making a sensation.'
'Oh! of course she does not care,' said Violet. 'So very good as she is.'
'Appallingly so, some people say,' returned Jane, with a peculiar look; 'but, I know her well, though she was more my sister's friend than mine.'
'Then you have known her a long time?'
'All her life. We used to meet every day in London, when she and my sister were two madcaps together, playing endless wild pranks. We used to tell her she ruled the governesses, and no one could control her-- nor can--'
'But she is very good,' repeated Violet, puzzled.
'Ah! she took a serious turn at about fourteen, and carried it out in her own peculiar way. She has worked out a great deal for herself, without much guidance. She has a standard of her own, and she will not acknowledge a duty if she does not intend to practise it.'
Heartsease or Brother's Wife Page 6
