A Terrible Temptation (Fiscle Part 3) by Charles Reade (best ereader for manga TXT) 📕

"You Are A Clever Girl," Said Bassett. "He Would Have Turned You Out Of

The House If He Had Known Who You Were."

She Disappointed Him In One Thing; She Was Bad At Answering Questions.

Morally She Was Not Quite So Great An Egotist As Himself,  But

Intellectually A Greater. Her Volubility Was All Egotism. She Could

Scarcely Say Ten Words,  Except About Herself. So,  When Bassett

Questioned Her About Sir Charles And Lady Bassett,  She Said "Yes," Or

"No," Or "I Don't Know," And Was Off At A Tangent To Her Own Sayings

And Doings.

Bassett,  However,  By Great Patience And Tact,  Extracted From Her At

Last That Sir Charles And Lady Bassett Were Both Sore At Not Having

Children,  And That Lady Bassett Bore The Blame.

"That Is A Good Joke," Said He. "The Smoke-Dried Rake! Polly,  You Might

Do Me A Good Turn. You Have Got Her Ear; Open Her Eyes For Me. What

Might Not Happen?" His Eyes Shone Fiendishly.

The Young Woman Shook Her Head. "Me Meddle Between Man And Wife! I'm

Too Fond Of My Place."

"Ah,  You Don't Love Me As I Love You. You Think Only Of Yourself."

"And What Do You Think Of? Do You Love Me Well Enough To Find Me A

Better Place,  If You Get Me Turned Out Of Huntercombe Hall?"

"Yes,  I Will; A Much Better."

"That Is A Bargain."

Mary Wells Was Silly In Some Things,  But She Was Very Cunning,  Too; And

She Knew Richard Bassett's Hobby. She Told Him To Mind Himself,  As Well

As Sir Charles,  Or Perhaps He Would Die A Bachelor,  And So His Flesh

And Blood Would Never Inherit Huntercombe. This Remark Entered His

Mind. The Trial,  Though Apparently A Drawn Battle,  Had Been Fatal To

Him--He Was Cut; He Dared Not Pay His Addresses To Any Lady In The

County,  And He Often Felt Very Lonely Now. So Everything Combined To

Draw Him Toward Mary Wells--Her Swarthy Beauty,  Which Shone Out At

Church Like A Black Diamond Among The Other Women; His Own Loneliness;

And The Pleasure These Stolen Meetings Gave Him. Custom Itself Is

Pleasant,  And The Company Of This Handsome Chatterbox Became A Habit,

And An Agreeable One. The Young Woman Herself Employed A Woman's Arts;

She Was Cold And Loving By Turns Till At Last He Gave Her What She Was

Working For,  A Downright Promise Of Marriage. She Pretended Not To

Believe Him,  And So Led Him Further; He Swore He Would Marry Her.

He Made One Stipulation,  However. She Really Must Learn To Read And

Write First.

When He Had Sworn This Mary Became More Uniformly Affectionate; And As

Women Who Have Been In Service Learn Great Self-Government,  And Can

Generally Please So Long As It Serves Their Turn,  She Made Herself So

Agreeable To Him That He Began Really To Have A Downright Liking For

Her--A Liking Bounded,  Of Course,  By His Incurable Selfishness; But As

For His Hobby,  That Was On Her Side.

Now Learning To Read And Write Was Wormwood To Mary Wells; But The

Prize Was So Great; She Knew All About The Huntercombe Estates,  Partly

From Her Sister,  Partly From Bassett Himself. (He Must Tell His Wrongs

Even To This Girl.) So She Resolved To Pursue Matrimony,  Even On The

Severe Condition Of Becoming A Scholar. She Set About It As Follows:

One Day That She Was Doing Lady Bassett's Hair She Sighed Several

Times. This Was To Attract The Lady's Attention,  And It Succeeded.

"Is There Anything The Matter,  Mary?"

"No,  My Lady."

"I Think There Is."

"Well,  My Lady,  I Am In A Little Trouble; But It Is My Own People's

Fault For Not Sending Of Me To School. I Might Be Married To-Morrow If

I Could Only Read And Write."

"And Can You Not?"

"No,  My Lady."

"Dear Me! I Thought Everybody Could Read And Write Nowadays."

"La,  No,  My Lady! Not Half Of Them In Our Village."

"Your Parents Are Much To Blame,  My Poor Girl. Well,  But It Is Not Too

Late. Now I Think Of It,  There Is An Adult School In The Village. Shall

I Arrange For You To Go To It?"

"Thank You,  My Lady. But Then--"

"Well?"

"All My Fellow-Servants Would Have A Laugh Against Me."

"The Person You Are Engaged To,  Will He Not Instruct You?"

"Oh,  He Have No Time To Teach Me. Besides,  I Don't Want Him To Know,

Either. But I Won't Be His Wife To Shame Him." (Another Sigh.)

"Mary," Said Lady Bassett,  In The Innocence Of Her Heart,  "You Shall

Not Be Mortified,  And You Shall Not Lose A Good Marriage. I Will Try

And Teach You Myself."

Mary Was Profuse In Thanks. Lady Bassett Received Them Rather Coldly.

She Gave Her A Few Minutes' Instruction In Her Dressing-Room Every Day;

And Mary,  Who Could Not Have Done Anything Intellectual For Half An

Hour At A Stretch,  Gave Her Whole Mind For Those Few Minutes. She Was

Quick,  And Learned Very Fast. In Two Months She Could Read A Great Deal

More Than She Could Understand,  And Could Write Slowly But Very

Clearly.

Now By This Time Lady Bassett Had Become So Interested In Her Pupil

That She Made Her Read Letters And Newspapers To Her At Those Parts Of

The Toilet When Her Services Were Not Required.

Mary Wells,  Though A Great Chatterbox,  Was The Closest Girl In England.

Limpet Never Stuck To A Rock As She Could Stick To A Lie. She Never

Said One Word To Bassett About Lady Bassett's Lessons. She Kept Strict

Silence Till She Could Write A Letter,  And Then She Sent Him A Line To

Say She Had Learned To Write For Love Of Him,  And She Hoped He Would

Keep His Promise.

Bassett's Vanity Was Flattered By This. But,  On Reflection,  He

Suspected It Was A Falsehood. He Asked Her Suddenly,  At Their Next

Meeting,  Who Had Written That Note For Her.

"You Shall See Me Write The Fellow To It When You Like," Was The Reply.

Bassett Resolved To Submit The Matter To That Test Some Day. At

Present,  However,  He Took Her Word For It,  And Asked Her Who Had Taught

Her.

"I Had To Teach Myself. Nobody Cares Enough For Me To Teach Me. Well,

I'll Forgive You If You Will Write Me A Nice Letter For Mine."

"What! When We Can Meet Here And Say Everything?"

"No Matter; I Have Written To You,  And You Might Write To Me. They All

Get Letters,  Except Me; And The Jades Hold 'Em Up To Me: They See I

Never Get One. When You Are Out,  Post Me A Letter Now And Then. It Will

Only Cost You A Penny. I'm Sure I Don't Ask You For Much."

Bassett Humored Her In This,  And In One Of His Letters Called Her His

Wife That Was To Be.

This Pleased Her So Much That The Next Time They Met She Hung Round His

Neck With A Good Deal Of Feminine Grace.

Richard Bassett Was A Man Who Now Lived In The Future. Everybody In The

County Believed He Had Written That Anonymous Letter,  And He Had No

Hope Of Shining By His Own Light. It Was Bitter To Resign His Personal

Hopes; But He Did,  And Sullenly Resolved To Be Obscure Himself,  But The

Father Of The Future Heirs Of Huntercombe. He Would Marry Mary Wells,

And Lay The Blame Of The Match Upon Sir Charles,  Who Had Blackened Him

In The County,  And Put It Out Of His Power To Win A Lady's Hand.

He Told Wheeler He Was Determined To Marry; But He Had Not The Courage

To Tell Him All At Once What A Wife He Had Selected.

The Consequence Of This Half Confession Was That Wheeler Went To Work

To Find Him A Girl With Money,  And Not Under County Influence.

One Of Wheeler's Clients Was A Retired Citizen,  Living In A Pretty

Villa Near The Market Town. Mr. Wright Employed Him In Little Matters,

And Found Him Active And Attentive. There Was A Miss Wright,  A Meek

Little Girl,  Palish,  On Whom Her Father Doted. Wheeler Talked To This

Girl Of His Friend Bassett,  His Virtues And His Wrongs,  And Interested

The Young Lady In Him. This Done,  He Brought Him To The House,  And The

Girl,  Being Slight And Delicate,  Gazed With Gentle But Undisguised

Admiration On Bassett's _Torso._ Wheeler Had Told Richard Miss Wright

Was To Have Seven Thousand Pounds On Her Wedding-Day,  And That Excited

A Corresponding Admiration In The Athletic Gentleman.

After That Bassett Often Called By Himself,  And The Father Encouraged

The Intimacy. He Was Old,  And Wished To See His Daughter Married Before

He Left Her And This Seemed An Eligible Match,  Though Not A Brilliant

One; A Bit Of Land And A Good Name On One Side,  A Smart Bit Of Money On

The Other. The Thing Went On Wheels. Richard Bassett Was Engaged To

Jane Wright Almost Before He Was Aware.

Now He Felt Uneasy About Mary Wells,  Very Uneasy; But It Was Only The

Uneasiness Of Selfishness.

He Began To Try And Prepare; He Affected Business Visits To Distant

Places,  Etc.,  In Order To Break Off By Degrees. By This Means Their

Meetings Were Comparatively Few. When They Did Meet (Which Was Now

Generally By Written Appointment),  He Tried To Prepare By Telling Her

He Had Encountered Losses,  And Feared That To Marry Her Would Be A Bad

Job For Her As Well As For Him,  Especially If She Should Have Children.

Mary Replied She Had Been Used To Work,  And Would Rather Work For A

Husband Than Any Other Master.

On Another Occasion She Asked Him Quietly Whether A Gentleman Ever

Broke His Oath.

"Never," Said Richard.

In Short,  She Gave Him No Opening. She Would Not Quarrel. She Adhered

To Him As She Had Never Adhered To Anything But A Lie Before.