Vellenaux A Novel by Edmund William Edmund William (e book reader pc TXT) 📕

Antecedents.

Mr. Fraudhurst Had Been A Lawyer Of Some Standing In The Village Of

Vellenaux; He Was Reported Wealthy,  And When On The Shady Side Of Fifty

Married The Niece Of His Housekeeper,  Much To The Disgust Of The Said

Housekeeper,  And Several Maiden Ladies Of Doubtful Ages Who Resided In

The Neighbourhood,  Who Had Each In Her Own Mind Marked Him As Her

Especial Property,  To Be Gobbled Up At The First Opportunity He Or

Chance Might Afford Them For So Doing,  And They Waxed Wrath And Were

Very Bitter Against Her Who Had Secured The Prize And Carried It Off

When As They Thought It Just Within Their Grasp. The Lawyer And The

Baronet Had Been Upon Terms Of Intimacy For Several Years Prior To The

Marriage,  And Sir Jasper Being A Bachelor Saw No Objection To His

Friend'S Wife Visiting Vellenaux,  Although She Had,  As He Would

Facetiously Observe,  Risen From The Ranks.

The Lady In Question Was,  At Eighteen,  Tall,  Pretty And Ambitious. She

Had At An Early Age Determined To Rise Above The Station In Which She

Was Born,  And For That Object She Had Studied Most Assiduously At The

Village School,  Where She Attained The Reputation Of Being The Most Apt

Scholar Of Her Class. A Few Years Residence With A Relative London

Served To Develop Her Natural Abilities,  And She Lost No Opportunity Of

Pursuing Her Studies Or Of Affecting The Tone And Fashion Of Persons

Moving In a Far Higher Circle Than Her Own.

Education And Application She Knew Would Doubtless Do Much To Elevate

Her In The Social Scale,  But The Position She So Earnestly Sought For

Was To Become The Wife Of Some Man Of Good Standing In Society,  Whose

Means Would Be Sufficient To Support Her In That Style To Which Her

Ambition Led Her To Hope For,  And For This She Strove Hard And Was

Rewarded For Her Perseverance By Becoming The Wife Of A Reputed Wealthy

Barrister Some Thirty Years Her Senior,  And For A Few Years Enjoying The

Position She Had Attained,  Visiting And Visited By The Uppercrusts Of

The Place And Not Unfrequently Dining At Vellenaux And Otherwise

Enjoying The Hospitality Of Its Owner.

When Little Edith Was About Seven Years Old,  Mr. Fraudhurst Was Gathered

To His Fathers,  And The Sorrowing Widow Was Left In a Very Different

Position Than Was Anticipated Either By Herself Or Others Who Took Any

Interest In Such Matters; The House And Grounds Which She Fully Believed

To Be Her Own Property,  Passed Into The Hands Of A Distant Relative Of

The Deceased Barrister,  And With The Exception Of The Furniture And Some

Three Hundred Pounds In cash,  She Was No Better Off Than She Had Been

Prior To Her Marriage; But,  Being A Woman Of Great Tact,  She Contrived

To Keep This Circumstance From The Knowledge Of The Enquiring

Neighbours,  And Having Applied To The New Owner Of The Premises She

Obtained Permission To Occupy Them For A Period Of Six Months.

On The Baronet Calling To Pay His Visit Of Condolence The Lady,  Who Had

Previously Arranged What She Should Say And Do On The Occasion,  Unfolded

To Sir Jasper Her Real Position And Out Of Friendship For Her Late

Husband Claimed His Advice And Assistance. The Worthy Old Bachelor

Declared His Willingness To Assist Her If She Could Only Point Out The

Way; As To Advice He Could Realty Give None On So Difficult A Matter.

"Oh! Sir Jasper," Exclaimed The Widow,  In a Voice So Excellently

Modulated To Suit The Occasion,  That The Old Bachelor Was Beginning To

Feel A Real Interest In Her Affairs,  "So Like Yourself,  So Good Of You

To Allow Me To Suggest The Way In Which You Can Best Serve Me In My

Peculiar And,  I May Say,  Awkward Position."

"There Is A Way,  My Dear Sir Jasper,  (And Here The Widow Bent Over And

Placed Her Soft White Hand On His Arm) In Which I Believe You Can

Materially Serve Me,  And At The Same Time Advance The Interest Of One

Who Is,  Without Doubt,  More Dear To You Than Any Living Being; I Allude

To Dear Little Edith." At The Mention Of His Niece'S Name He Looked Up

Enquiringly As If Not Quite Catching The Meaning Of Her Words.

"You Must Understand,  Sir Jasper," She Continued,  "That The Little

Darling Is Now Of An Age That Will Require Some Person To Guide And

Direct The Development Of Her Young Mind And Superintend Her Studies. Of

Course,  Old Nurse Simms Is An Excellent And Worthy Woman,  But Not Such

An One As The Future Heiress Of Vellenaux Should Be Entrusted To,  As She

Advances From Childhood To Maturity. It Is An Important And Responsible

Position,  And Should Only Be Undertaken By Those Who Have Already Passed

Through The Struggles And Trials Of The World,  And Drank Of The Cup Of

Affliction." Here A Pearly Tear Fell Upon The Hand Of The Good-Natured

Baronet,  And Here She Applied Her White Laced Cambric To Her Eyes.

This Was The _Coup De Main_ That Carried The Day. The Soft-Hearted

Bachelor Was Not Proof Against This,  Besides There Was Truth And Reason

In Her Suggestions For His Darling Little Niece,  And He Did Not See How

He Could,  For The Present,  Do Better Than To Offer To Mrs. Fraudhurst

The Charge Of Edith,  And Before He Took Leave It Was Arranged That The

Widow Should Call At Vellenaux Daily And Endeavor To Gain The Confidence

Of The Child,  And At The End Of The Six Months She Should Give Up

Housekeeping And Be Installed As Governess And Companion For Edith; And

So Well Did She Play Her Cards That She Had Scarcely Been There Twelve

Months When She Ruled The Household As Though She Were Its Legitimate

Mistress; Always Heading The Table When Sir Jasper Entertained His

Bachelor Friends,  And Thus,  We May Say,  For Several Years Lived In

Clover. Her Chief Duties Consisted In educating Edith And Arthur,  Which,

For Several Years,  Was A Task Which Did Not Require Much Mental

Endowment Or Physical Exertion. It Was,  In Fact,  More Of A Pastime Than

Otherwise,  And As She Always Accompanied Edith When Visiting The

Neighboring Families,  There Was But Little Monotony To Complain Of.

She Had A Double Object In becoming An Inmate Of Vellenaux. First,  That

Of Securing A Comfortable Home For Several Years. But Her Grand Scheme

Was That Of Making Herself So Necessary To The Baronet,  That She Could,

In Time,  Undermine The Defences,  Carry The Citadel By Stratagem,  And

Finally Become The Envied Mistress Of Vellenaux. But A Few Months

Residence Under The Same Roof Served To Convince Her Of The Fallacy Of

The Project; For There Were Two Grand Difficulties That She Could Not

Overcome; His Strong Objection To Matrimony,  And His Affection For His

Niece. Therefore,  The Shrewd And Cautious Widow Had To Relinquish Her

Attack In That Direction; And As Edith Advanced Towards Womanhood,  Her

Position Became More Precarious. There Were Two Events To Be Dreaded,

And In either Case She Believed Her Occupation Gone,  And These Were The

Death Of Sir Jasper Or Edith'S Marriage. Her Income During The Years Of

Her Residence With Sir Jasper Had Been A Handsome One,  And Being At

Little Or No Expense,  She Managed To Accumulate A Goodly Sum At Her

Bankers; But The Idea Of Losing Her Present Abode Was To Her

Disagreeable In The Extreme,  And Her Busy Mind Was Continually At Work

To Devise How This Could Be Averted,  And This Was The Way Matters Stood

With Her On The Morning Alluded To.

"He Is Coming Home From College Next Month Not Again To Return,  And She

Loves Him,  Though She May Not At Present Realize The Fact,  But That

Knowledge Will Come,  And I Fear Much Too Soon. Sir Jasper Will Not

Object,  And The Youth Will Hardly Refuse To Accept Vellenaux And Twenty

Thousand A Year,  Although There Be An Incumbrance In The Shape Of A Wife

Attached To The Bargain. Yes,  I See It All,  They Will Marry And I Shall

Be Thrown Out In The Cold Unless I Have Wit Enough To Prevent It Without

Appearing To Interest Myself In any Way With What Ought Not To Concern

Me. But Arthur Carlton Must Not Remain Here. He Must Be Sent Abroad,  To

America,  India,  Anywhere,  It Matters Not Where,  So That They Be

Separated,  And That Ere Long." These Were The Thoughts That Chased Each

Other Through The Active Brain Of Mrs. Fraudhurst,  As She Sat Alone In

The Library. Half An Hour Had Elapsed Ere She Had Quite Made Up Her Mind

As To What Course She Should Pursue To Avoid The Impending Evil. Then,

At Length,  Seeming To Grasp The Difficulty,  She Took Up Her Pen And

Wrote What She Thought Was Likely To Transpire At Vellenaux Should There

Be No One Sufficiently Interested In The Matter To Prevent The Estate

(Which Had Been In The Coleman Family For Several Generations) From

Passing Into Other Hands. This She Sent To One Whom She Had Every Reason

To Believe (For She Had Observed Him Well) Would Not Scruple To Use Any

Means To Gain Possession Of The Broad Lands Of Vellenaux. This Letter

The Cautious Widow Posted With Her Own Hands,  To Prevent The Possibility

Of The Address Being Noticed By Either Sir Jasper Or Edith. The Matter

Being Thus Satisfactorily Arranged,  She Patiently Awaited The

Developments Of The First Fruits Of The Plot Against Young Carlton.

It May Be Remarked,  And With A Great Deal Of Truth,  That The Chapters Of

A Novel Bear A Certain Resemblance To Those Pleasing Illusions Known As

Dissolving Views,  Where One Scene Glides Almost Imperceptibly Into

Another. The Reader Has Been Gazing Mentally On Woods,  Landscapes And

Water In The South Of England,  When Lo! In The Twinkling Of An Eye,  The

Busy Haunts Of Men In The World'S Great Capitol,  London,  Stands Unveiled

Before Him. It Must,  However,  Be Admitted That,  So Far As Scenic Effect

Is Concerned,  The Change Is At Times Less Pleasing Than The One Just

Fading From View. Yet If We Wish To Realize The Plot Of The Story,  The

Dark And Uncertain Shades Of The Picture Should Be Looked On,  From Time

To Time,  As They Present Themselves.

On A Door,  Which Stood Partially Open,  In The Last Of A Row Of Gloomy

Looking Houses Situated In One Of Those Dark And Narrow Paved Courts

Leading From Chancery Lane To Lincoln Inn Field'S,  Was Painted In black

Letters On A White Ground--"Ralph Coleman,  Attorney-At-Law."

In The Ill Lit Passage To The Right Was A Door That Opened Into The

Front Office,  Where,  Seated At An Old-Fashioned Desk,  Was A Youth,  Tall,

Thin And Pale,  Busily Engaged Engrossing Some Legal Documents. A Short,

Quick Step Was Heard Coming Up The Court,  The Handle Turned,  The Door

Opened,  And A Man About The Middle Height With A Slight Tendency To Be

Corpulent,  And About Thirty-Five Years Of Age,  Entered. "Are Those

Papers Ready," Enquired Mr. Coleman Of The Young Clerk,  Who Had Ceased

Writing On The Entrance Of His Employer.

"I Am Finishing The Last One Now," Was The Ready Reply.

"Good; And My Letters?"

"They Are In The Usual Place,  On Your Desk," Answered The Youth,

Re-Commencing His Work. The Attorney Moved Away And Entered His Private

Office,  And Seating Himself In His Old Leathern Chair,  Commenced In a

Methodical Way To Open And Peruse His Letters.

Ralph Coleman Commenced Life With Very Fair Prospects. He Came Of A Good

Old Family And Had Received A University Education,  And Studied For The

Bar Very Assiduously For Three Or Four Years,  But On The Death Of His

Father He Came In For Five Thousand Pounds. He Then Neglected His

Profession,  And,  For A Time,  Led A Very Fast Life In London. When He Had

Run Through About Half Of His Money He Went Abroad,  And While There

Married A Lady Who Had A Tolerable Fortune. They Travelled Together Over

The European Continent,  And For Several Years Enjoyed What Is Termed

Life.

An