The Bramleighs of Bishop's Folly Part 70

"But for which he never would have a.s.sumed the tone of dictation he has used towards me. Lord Culduff, I remember, said, 'The first duty of a man on coming to his property is to change his agent, and his next to get rid of the old servants.' I do not like the theory, George; but from a certain point of view it is not without reason."

"I suspect that neither you nor I want to look at life from that point of view," said L'Estrange, with some emotion.

"Not till we can't help, I 'm sure; but these crafty men of the world say that we all arrive at their _modus operandi_ in the end; that however generously, however trustfully and romantically, we start on the morning of life, before evening we come to see that in this game we call the world it is only the clever player that escapes ruin."

"I don't--that is, I won't believe that."

"Quite right, George. The theory would tell terribly against fellows like us; for, let us do our very best, we must be bunglers at the game.

What a clever pair of hacks are those yonder! that gray the lady is on has very showy action."

"Look at the liver chestnut the groom is riding--there's the horse for my money--so long and so low--a regular turnspit, and equal to any weight. I declare, that's Lady Augusta, and that's Pracontal with her.

See how the Frenchman charges the ox-fences; he 'll come to grief if he rides at speed against timber."

The party on horseback pa.s.sed in a little dip of the ground near them at a smart canter, and soon were out of sight again.

"What a strange intimacy for her, is it not?"

"Julia says, the dash of indiscretion in it was the temptation she could n't resist, and I suspect she's right. She said to me herself one day, 'I love skating, but I never care for it except the ice is so thin that I hear it giving way on every side as I go.'"

"She gave you her whole character in that one trait. The pleasure that was n't linked to a peril had no charm for her. She ought, however, to see that the world will regard this intimacy as a breach of decency."

"So she does; she's dying to be attacked about it; at least, so Julia says."

"The man, too, if he be an artful fellow, will learn many family details about us, that may disserve us. If it went no further than to know in what spirit we treat his claim--whether we attach importance to his pretensions or not--these are all things he need not, should not be informed upon."

"Cutbill, who somehow hears everything, told us t'other morning, that Pracontal is 'posted up'--that was his phrase--as to the temper and nature of every member of your family, and knows to a nicety how to deal with each."

"Then I don't see why we should meet."

"Julia says it is precisely for that very reason; people are always disparaged by these biographical notices, their caprices are a.s.sumed to be tastes, and their mere humors are taken for traits of character; and she declares that it will be a good service to the truth that bringing you together. Don't take my version, however, of her reasons, but ask her to give them to you herself."

"Isn't that the wall of the city? I declare we are quite close to Rome already. Now then, first to leave my name for Lady Augusta--not sorry to know I shall not find her at home, for I never understood her, George.

I never do understand certain people, whether their levity means that it is the real nature, or simply a humor put on to get rid of you; as though to say, rather than let you impose any solemnity upon me, or talk seriously, I 'll have a game at shuttlec.o.c.k!"

"She always puzzled me," said L'Estrange, "but that wasn't hard to do."

"I suspect, George, that neither you nor I know much about women."

"For _my_ part, I know nothing at all about them."

"And I not much."

After this frank confession on either side, they walked along, each seemingly deep in his own thought, and said little till they reached the city. Leaving them, then, on their way to Lady Augusta's house, where Bramleigh desired to drop his card, we turn for a moment to the little villa at Albano, in front of which a smart groom was leading a lady's horse, while in the distance a solitary rider was slowly walking his horse, and frequently turning his looks towards the gate of the villa.

The explanation of all this was, that Lady Augusta had taken the opportunity of being near the L'Estranges to pay a visit to the Bramleighs, leaving Pracontal to wait for her till she came out.

"This visit is for you, Nelly," said Julia, as she read the card; "and I 'll make my escape."

She had but time to get out of the room when Lady Augusta entered.

"My dear child," said she, rushing into Nelly's arms, and kissing her with rapturous affection. "My dear child, what a happiness to see you again, and how well you are looking; you 're handsomer, I declare, than Marion. Yes, darling--don't blush; it's perfectly true. Where's Augustus? has he come with you?"

"He has gone in to Rome to see you," said Nelly, whose face was still crimson, and who felt flurried and agitated by the flighty impetuosity of the other.

"I hope it was to say that you are both coming to me? Yes, dearest, I 'll take no excuse. It would be a town-talk if you stopped anywhere else; and I have such a nice little villa--a mere baby-house; but quite large enough to hold you; and my brother-in-law will take Augustus about, and show him Rome, and I shall have you all to myself. We have much to talk of, haven't we?"

Nelly murmured an a.s.sent, and the other continued,--

"It's all so sudden, and so dreadful--one doesn't realize it; at least, _I_ don't. And it usually takes me an hour or two of a morning to convince me that we are all ruined; and then I set to work thinking how I 'm to live on--I forget exactly what--how much is it, darling? Shall I be able to keep my dear horses? I 'd rather die than part with Ben Azir; one of the Sultan's own breeding; an Arab of blue blood, Nelly, think of that! I've refused fabulous sums for him; but he is such a love, and follows me everywhere, and rears up when I scold him--and all to be swept away as if it was a dream. What do you mean to do, dearest? Marry, of course. I know that--but in the mean while?"

"We are going to Cattaro. Augustus has been named consul there."

"Darling child, you don't know what you are saying. Is n't a consul a horrid creature that lives in a seaport, and worries merchant seamen, and imprisons people who have no pa.s.sports?"

"I declare I have n't a notion of his duties," said Nelly, laughing.

"Oh, I know them perfectly. Papa always wrote to the consul about getting heavy baggage through the customhouse; and when our servants quarrelled with the porters, or the hotel people, it was the consul sent some of them to jail; but are you aware, darling, he is n't a creature one knows. They are simply impossible, dear, impossible." And as she spoke she lay back in her chair, and fanned herself as though actually overcome by the violence of her emotion.

"I must hope Augustus will not be impossible;" and Nelly said this with a dry mixture of humor and vexation.

"He can't help it, dearest. It will be from no fault of his own. Let a man be what he may, once he derogates there's an end of him. It sounds beautifully, I know, to say that he will remain gentleman and man of station through all the accidents of life; so he might, darling, so long as he did nothing--absolutely nothing. The moment, however, he touches an _emploi_ it's all over; from that hour he becomes the Customs creature, or the consul, or the factor, or whatever it be, irrevocably.

Do you know that is the only way to keep men of family out of small official life? We should see them keeping lighthouses if it were not for the obloquy."

"And it would be still better than dependence."

"Yes, dearest, in a novel--in a three-volume thing from Mudie--so it would; but real life is not half so accommodating. I 'll talk to Gusty about this myself. And now, do tell me about yourself. Is there no engagement? no fatal attachment that all this change of fortune has blighted? Who is he, dearest? tell me all! You don't know what a wonderful creature I am for expedients. There never was the like of me for resources. I could always pull any one through a difficulty but myself."

"I am sorry I have no web to offer you for disentanglement."

"So then he has behaved well; he has not deserted you in your change of fortune?"

"There is really no one in the case," said Nelly, laughing. "No one to be either faithful or unworthy."

"Worse again, dearest. There is nothing so good at your age as an unhappy attachment. A girl without a grievance always mopes; and," added she, with a marked acute-ness of look, "moping ages one quicker than downright grief. The eyes get a heavy expression, and the mouth drags at the corners, and the chin--isn't it funny, now, such a stolid feature as the chin should take on to worry us?--but the chin widens and becomes square, like those Egyptian horrors in the Museum."

"I must look to that," said Nelly, gravely. "I'd be shocked to find my chin betraying me."

"And men are such wretches. There is no amount of fretting they don't exact from us; but if we show any signs of it afterwards--any hard lines about the eyes, or any patchiness of color in the cheek--they cry out, 'Is n't she gone off?' That's their phrase. 'Is n't she gone off?'"

"How well you understand; how well you read them!"

"I should think I do; but after all, dearest, they have very few devices: if it was n't that they can get away, run off to the clubs and their other haunts, they would have no chance with us. See how they fare in country houses, for instance. How many escape there! What a nice stuff your dress is made of!"

"It was very cheap."

"No matter; it's English. That's the great thing here. Any one can buy a 'gros.' What one really wants is a nameless texture and a neutral tint.

You must positively walk with me on the Pincian in that dress. Roman men remark everything. You 'll not be ten minutes on the promenade till every one will know whether you wear two b.u.t.tons on your gloves or three."

"How odious!"