Elster's Folly by Mrs. Henry Wood (buy e reader .TXT) 📕

"Fortified" Herself Against Infection By Eating And Drinking More Than

Ever.

Nothing Else Was Said: She Shunned Allusion To It When She Could: And

Presently She And Maude Left The Dining-Room. "You Won't Be Long,

Hartledon?" She Observed,  Sweetly,  As She Passed Him. Val Only Bowed In

Answer,  Closed The Door Upon Them,  And Rang For Hedges.

"Is There Much Alarm Regarding This Fever At The Rectory?" He Asked Of

The Butler.

"Not Very Much,  I Think,  My Lord. A Few Are Timid About It; As Is Always

The Case. One Of The Other Servants Has Taken It; But Mr. Hillary Told Me

When He Was Here This Morning That He Hoped It Would Not Spread Beyond

The Rectory."

"Was Hillary Here This Morning? Nobody's Ill?" Asked Lord Hartledon,

Quickly.

"No One At All,  My Lord. The Countess-Dowager Sent For Him,  To Ask What

Her Diet Had Better Be,  And How She Could Guard Against Infection More

Effectually Than She Was Doing. She Did Not Allow Him To Come In,  But

Spoke To Him From One Of The Upper Windows,  With A Cloak And Respirator

On."

Lord Hartledon Looked At His Butler; The Man Was Suppressing A Grim

Smile.

"Nonsense,  Hedges!"

"It's Quite True,  My Lord. Mrs. Mirrable Says She Has Five Bowls Of

Disinfectant In Their Rooms."

Lord Hartledon Broke Into A Laugh,  Not Suppressed.

"And In The Courtyard,  Looking Towards The Rectory,  As May Be Said,

There's Several Pitch-Pots Alight Night And Day," Added Hedges. "We Have

Had A Host Of People Up,  Wanting To Know If The Place Is On Fire."

"What A Joke!" Cried Val--Who Was Not Yet Beyond The Age To Enjoy Such

Jokes. "Hedges," He Resumed,  In A More Confidential Tone,  "No Strangers

Have Been Here Inquiring For Me,  I Suppose?"

He Alluded To Creditors,  Or People Acting For Them. To A Careless Man,  As

Val Had Been,  It Was A Difficult Matter To Know Whether All His Debts

Were Paid Or Not. He Had Settled What He Remembered; But There Might Be

Others. Hedges Understood; And His Voice Fell To The Same Low Tone: He

Had Been Pretty Cognizant Of The Embarrassments Of Mr. Percival Elster.

"Nobody At All,  My Lord. They Wouldn't Have Got Much Information Out Of

Me,  If They Had Come."

Lord Hartledon Laughed. "Things Are Changed Now,  Hedges,  And They May

Have As Much Information As They Choose. Bring Me Coffee Here; Make

Haste."

Coffee Was Brought,  And He Went Out As Soon As He Had Taken It,  Following

The Road To The Rectory. It Was A Calm,  Still Night,  The Moon Tolerably

Bright; Not A Breath Of Wind Stirred The Air,  Warm And Oppressive For

October; Not By Any Means The Sort Of Night Doctors Covet When Fever Is

In The Atmosphere.

He Turned In At The Rectory-Gates,  And Was Crossing To The House,  When A

Rustling Of Leaves In A Shrubbery Path Caused Him To Look Over The Dwarf

Laurels,  And There Stood Anne. He Was At Her Side In An Instant. She Had

Nothing On Her Head,  As Though She Had Just Come Forth From The Rooms For

A Breath Of Air. As Indeed Was The Case.

"My Darling!"

"I Heard You Had Come," She Whispered,  As He Held Both Her Hands In His,

And Her Heart Bounded With An Exquisite Flutter Of Delight.

"How Did You Hear That?" He Said,  Placing Her Hand Within His Arm,  That

He Might Pace The Walk With Her.

"Papa Heard It. Some One Had Seen You Walking Home From The Train: I

Think It Was Mr. Hillary. But,  Percival,  Ought You To Have Come Here?"

She Added In Alarm. "This Is Infected Ground,  You Know."

"Not For Me. I Have No More Fear Of Fever Than I Have Of Moonstroke.

Anne,  I Hope _You_ Will Not Take It," He Gravely Added.

"I Hope Not,  Either. Like You,  I Have No Fear Of It. I Am So Glad Arthur

Is Away. Was It Not Wrong Of That Landlady To Let Her Rooms To Us When

She Had Fever In Them?"

"Infamously Wrong," Said Lord Hartledon Warmly.

"She Excused Herself Afterwards By Saying,  That As The People Who Had The

Fever Were In Quite A Different Part Of The House From Ours,  She Thought

There Could Be No Danger. Papa Was So Angry. He Told Her He Was Sorry The

Law Did Not Take Cognizance Of Such An Offence. We Had Been A Week In The

House Before We Knew Of It."

"How Did You Find It Out?"

"The Lady Who Was Ill With It Died,  And Matilda Saw The Coffin Going Up

The Back Stairs. She Questioned The Servants Of The House,  And One Of

Them Told Her All About It Then,  Bit By Bit. Another Lady Was Lying Ill,

And A Third Was Recovering. The Landlady,  By Way Of Excuse,  Said The

Greatest Wrong Had Been Done To Herself,  For These Ladies Had Brought The

Fever Into Her House,  And Brought It Deliberately. Fever Had Broken Out

In Their Own Home,  Some Long Way Off,  And They Ran Away From It,  And Took

Her Apartments,  Saying Nothing; Which Was True,  We Found."

"Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right," Observed Lord Hartledon. "Their Bringing

The Fever Into Her House Was No Justification For Receiving You Into It

When It Was There. It's The Way Of The World,  Anne: One Wrong Leading To

Others. Is Matilda Getting Over It?"

"I Hardly Know. She Is Not Out Of Danger; But Mr. Hillary Has Hopes Of

Her. One Of The Other Servants Has Taken It,  And Is Worse Than Matilda.

Mr. Hillary Has Been With Her Three Times To-Day,  And Is Coming Again.

She Was Ill When I Last Wrote To You,  Val; But We Did Not Know It."

"Which Of Them Is It?" He Asked.

"The Dairymaid; A Stout Girl,  Who Has Never Had A Day's Illness Before.

I Don't Suppose You Know Her. There Was Some Trouble With Her. She Would

Not Take Any Medicine; Would Not Do Anything She Ought To Have Done,  And

The Consequence Is That The Fever Has Got Dangerously Ahead. I Am Sure

She Is Very Ill."

"I Hope It Will Not Spread Beyond The Rectory."

"Oh,  Val,  That Is Our One Great Hope," She Said,  Turning Her Earnest Face

To Him In The Moonlight. "We Are Taking All Possible Precautions. None Of

Us Are Going Beyond The Grounds,  Except Papa,  And We Do Not Receive Any

One Here. I Don't Know What Papa Will Say To Your Coming."

He Smiled. "But You Can't Keep All The World Away!"

"We Do--Very Nearly. Mr. Hillary Comes,  And Dr. Beamish From Garchester,

And One Or Two People Have Been Here On Business. If Any One Calls At The

Gate,  They Are Not Asked In; And I Don't Suppose They Would Come In If

Asked. Jabez Gum's The Most Obstinate. He Comes In Just As Usual."

"Lady Kirton Is In An Awful Fright," Said Val,  In An Amused Tone.

"Oh,  I Have Heard Of It," Cried Anne,  Clasping Her Hands In Laughter.

"She Is Burning Tar Outside The House; And She Spoke To Mr. Hillary This

Morning Through The Window Muffled Up In A Cloak And Respirator. What A

Strange Old Thing She Is!"

Val Shrugged His Shoulders. "I Don't Think She Means Badly _Au Fond_; And

She Has No Home,  Poor Creature."

"Is That Why She Remains At Hartledon?"

"I Suppose So. Reigning At Hartledon Must Be Something Like A Glimpse Of

Paradise To Her. She Won't Quit It In A Hurry."

"I Wonder You Like To Have Her There."

"I Know I Shall Never Have Courage To Tell Her To Go," Was The Candid And

Characteristic Answer. "I Was Afraid Of Her As A Boy,  And I'm Not Sure

But I'm Afraid Of Her Still."

"I Don't Like Her--I Don't Like Either Of Them," Said Anne In A Low Tone.

"Don't You Like Maude?"

"No. I Am Sure She Is Not True. To My Mind There Is Something Very False

About Them Both."

"I Think You Are Wrong,  Anne; Certainly As Regards Maude."

Miss Ashton Did Not Press Her Opinion: They Were His Relatives. "But I

Should Have Pitied Poor Edward Had He Lived And Married Her," She Said,

Following Out Her Thoughts.

"I Was Mistaken When I Thought Maude Cared For Edward," Observed Lord

Hartledon. "I'm Sure I Did Think It. I Used To Tell Edward So; But A Day

Or Two After He Died I Found I Was Wrong. The Dowager Had Been Urging

Maude To Like Him,  And She Could Not,  And It Made Her Miserable."

"Did Maude Tell You This?" Inquired Anne; Her Radiant Eyes Full Of

Surprise.

"Not Maude: She Never Said A Word To Me Upon The Subject. It Was The

Dowager."

"Then,  Val,  She Must Have Said It With An Object In View. I Am Sure Maude

Did Love Him. I Know She Did."

He Shook His Head. "You Are Wrong,  Anne,  Depend Upon It. She Did Not Like

Him,  And She And Her Mother Were At Variance Upon The Point. However,  It

Is Of No Moment To Discuss It Now: And It Might Never Have Come To An

Issue Had Edward Lived,  For He Did Not Care For Her; And I Dare Say Never

Would Have Cared For Her."

Anne Said No More. It Was Of No Moment As He Observed; But She Retained

Her Own Opinion. They Strolled To The End Of The Short Walk In Silence,

And Anne Said She Must Go In.

"Am I Quite Forgiven?" Whispered Lord Hartledon,  Bending His Head Down To

Her.

"I Never Thought I Had Very Much To Forgive," She Rejoined,  After A

Pause.

"My Darling! I Mean By Your Father."

"Ah,  I Don't Know. You Must Talk To Him. He Knows We Have Been Writing To

Each Other. I Think He Means To Trust You."

"The Best Plan Will Be For You To Come Soon To Hartledon,  Anne. I Shall

Never Go Wrong When Once You Are My Wife."

"Do You Go So Very Wrong Now?" She Asked.

"On My Honour,  No! You Need Not Doubt Me,  Anne; Now Or Ever. I Have Paid

Up What I Owed,  And Will Take Very Good Care To Keep Out Of Trouble For

The Future. I Incurred Debts For Others,  More Than For Myself,  And Have

Bought Experience Dearly. My Darling,  Surely You Can Trust Me Now?"

"I Always Did Trust You," She Murmured.

He Took A Long,  Fervent Kiss From Her Lips,  And Then Led Her To The Open

Lawn And Across To The House.

"Ought You To Come In,  Percival?"

"Certainly. One Word,  Anne; Because I May Be Speaking To The Rector--I

Don't Mean To-Night. You Will Make No Objection To Coming Soon To

Hartledon?"

"I Can't Come,  You Know,  As Long As Lady Kirton Is Its Mistress," She

Said,  Half Seriously,  Half Jestingly.

He Laughed At The Notion. Lady Kirton Must Be Going Soon Of Her Own

Accord; If Not,  He Should Have To Pluck Up Courage And Give Her A Hint,

Was His Answer. At Any Rate,  She'd Surely Take Herself Off Before

Christmas. The Old Dowager At Hartledon After He Had Anne There! Not If

He Knew It,  He Added,  As He Went On With Her Into The Presence Of Dr. And

Mrs. Ashton. The Rector Started From His Seat,  At Once Telling Him That

He Ought Not To Have Come In. Which Val Did Not See At All,  And Decidedly

Refused To Go Out Again.

Meanwhile The Countess-Dowager And Maude Were Wondering What Had Become

Of Him. They Supposed He Was Still Sitting In The Dining-Room. The Old

Dowager Fidgeted About,  Her Fingers Ominously Near The Bell. She Was

Burning To Send To Him,  But Hardly Knew How He Might Take The Message: It

Might Be That He Would Object To Leading Strings,  And Her Attempt To Put

Them On Would Ruin All. But The Time Went On; Grew Late; And She Was

Dying For Her Tea,  Which She Had Chosen Should Wait Also. Maude Sat

Before The Fire In A Large Chair; Her Eyes,  Her Hands,  Her Whole Air

Supremely Listless.

"Don't You Want Tea,  Maude?" Suddenly Cried Her Mother,  Who Had Cast

Innumerable Glances At Her From Time To Time.

"I Have Wanted It For Hours--As It Seems To Me."

"It's A Horrid Custom For Young Men,  This Sitting Long After Dinner. If

He Gets Into It--But You Must See To That,  And Stop It,  If Ever You Reign

At Hartledon. I Dare Say He's Smoking."

"If Ever I Reign At Hartledon--Which I Am Not Likely To Do--I'll Take

Care Not To Wait Tea For Any One,  As You Have Made Me Wait For It This

Evening," Was Maude's Rejoinder,  Spoken With Apathy.

"I'll Send A Message To Him," Decided Lady Kirton,  Ringing Rather

Fiercely.

A Servant Appeared.

"Tell Lord Hartledon We Are Waiting Tea For Him."

"His Lordship's Not In,  My Lady."

"Not In!"

"He Went Out Directly After Dinner,  As Soon As He Had Taken Coffee."

"Oh," Said The Countess-Dowager. And She Began To Make The Tea With

Vehemence--For