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

Name--Thomas Carr. Lord Hartledon Once Called Him The Greatest Friend He

Possessed On Earth. He Had Been Wont To Fly To Him In His Past Dilemmas,

And The Habit Was Strong Upon Him Still. A Mandate That Would Have Been

Peremptory,  But For The Beseeching Terms In Which It Was Couched,  Had

Reached Mr. Carr On Circuit; And He Had Hastened Across Country To Obey

It,  Reaching Hartledon The Previous Evening. That Something Was Wrong,

Mr. Carr Of Course Was Aware; But What,  He Did Not Yet Know. Lord

Hartledon,  With His Natural Vacillation,  His Usual Shrinking From The

Discussion Of Unpleasant Topics Relating To Himself,  Had Not Entered Upon

It At All On The Previous Night; And When Breakfast Was Over That

Morning,  Mr. Carr Had Craved An Hour Alone For Letter-Writing. It Was The

First Time Mr. Carr Had Visited His Friend At His New Inheritance; Indeed

The First Time He Had Been At All At Hartledon. Lord Hartledon Seated

Himself On The Gate; The Barrister Leaned His Arms On The Top Bar Whilst

He Talked To Him.

"What Is The Matter?" Asked The Latter.

"Not Much."

"I Have Finished My Letters,  So I Came Out To Look For You. You Are Not

Changed,  Elster."

"What Should Change Me In So Short A Time?--It's Only Six Months Since

You Last Saw Me," Retorted Hartledon,  Curtly.

"I Alluded To Your Nature. I Had To Worm The Troubles Out Of You In The

Old Days,  Each One As It Arose. I See I Shall Have To Do The Same Now.

Don't Say There's Not Much The Matter,  For I Am Sure There Is."

Lord Hartledon Jerked His Handkerchief Out Of His Pocket,  Passed It Over

His Face,  And Put It Back Again.

"What Fresh Folly Have You Got Into?--As I Used To Ask You At Oxford. You

Are In Some Mess."

"I Suppose It's Of No Use Denying That I Am In One. An Awful Mess,  Too."

"Well,  I Have Pulled You Out Of Many A One In My Time. Let Me Hear It."

"There Are Some Things One Does Not Like To Talk About,  Carr. I Sent For

You In My Perplexity; But I Believe You Can Be Of No Use To Me."

"So You Have Said Before Now. But It Generally Turned Out That I Was Of

Use To You,  And Cleared You From Your Nightmare."

"All Those Were Minor Difficulties; This Is Different."

"I Cannot Understand Your 'Not Liking' To Speak Of Things To Me. Why

Don't You Begin?"

"Because I Shall Prove Myself Worse Than A Fool. You'll Despise Me To

Your Heart's Core. Carr,  I Think I Shall Go Mad!"

"Tell Me The Cause First,  And Go Mad Afterwards. Come,  Val; I Am Your

True Friend."

"I Have Made An Offer Of Marriage To Two Women," Said Hartledon,

Desperately Plunging Into The Revelation. "Never Was Such A Born Idiot

In The World As I Have Been. I Can't Marry Both."

"I Imagine Not," Quietly Replied Mr. Carr.

"You Knew I Was Engaged To Miss Ashton?"

"Yes."

"And I'm Sure I Loved Her With All My"--He Seemed To Hesitate For A

Strong Term--"Might And Main; And Do Still. But I Have Managed To Get

Into Mischief Elsewhere."

"Elster's Folly,  As Usual. What Sort Of Mischief?"

"The Worst Sort,  For There Can Be No Slipping Out Of It. When That Fever

Broke Out At Doctor Ashton's--You Heard Us Talking Of It Last Night,

Carr--I Went To The Rectory Just As Usual. What Did I Care For Fever?--It

Was Not Likely To Attack Me. But The Countess-Dowager Found It Out--"

"Why Do They Stay Here So Long?" Interrupted Thomas Carr. "They Have Been

Here Ever Since Your Brother Died."

"And Before It. The Old Woman Likes Her Quarters,  And Has No Settled

Home. She Makes A Merit Of Stopping,  And Says I Ought To Feel Under

Eternal Obligation To Her And Maude For Sacrificing Themselves To A

Solitary Man And His Household. But You Should Have Heard The Uproar

She Made Upon Discovering I Had Been To The Rectory. She Had My Room

Fumigated And My Clothes Burnt."

"Foolish Old Creature!"

"The Best Of It Was,  I Pointed Out By Mistake The Wrong Coat,  And

The Offending One Is Upstairs Now. I Shall Show It Her Some Day. She

Reproached Me With Holding Her Life And Her Daughter's Dirt-Cheap,  And

Wormed A Promise Out Of Me Not To Visit The Rectory As Long As Fever Was

In It."

"Which You Gave?"

"She Wormed It Out Of Me,  I Tell You. I Don't Know That I Should Have

Kept It,  But Dr. Ashton Put In His Veto Also; And Between The Two I Was

Kept Away. For Many Weeks Afterwards I Never Saw Or Spoke To Anne. She

Did Not Come Out At All,  Even To Church; They Were So Anxious The Fever

Should Not Spread."

"Well? Go On,  Val."

"Well: How Does That Proverb Run,  About Idleness Being The Root Of All

Evil? During Those Weeks I Was An Idle Man,  Wretchedly Bored; And I Fell

Into A Flirtation With Maude. She Began It,  Carr,  On My Solemn Word Of

Honour--Though It's A Shame To Tell These Tales Of A Woman; And I Joined

In From Sheer Weariness,  To Kill Time. But You Know How One Gets Led On

In Such Things--Or I Do,  If You,  You Cautious Fellow,  Don't--And We Both

Went In Pretty Deep."

"Elster's Folly Again! How Deep?"

"As Deep As I Well Could,  Short Of Committing Myself To A Proposal. You

See The Ill-Luck Of It Was,  Those Two And I Being Alone In The House. I

May As Well Say Maude And I Alone; For The Old Woman Kept Her Room Very

Much; She Had A Cold,  She Said,  And Was Afraid Of The Fever."

"Tush!" Cried Thomas Carr Angrily. "And You Made Love To The Young Lady?"

"As Fast As I Could Make It. What A Fool I Was! But I Protest I Only Did

It In Amusement; I Never Thought Of Her Supplanting Anne Ashton. Now,

Carr,  You Are Looking As You Used To Look At Oxford; Get Your Brow Smooth

Again. You Just Shut Up Yourself For Weeks With A Fascinating Girl,  And

See If You Wouldn't Find Yourself In Some Horrible Entanglement,  Proof

Against Such As You Think You Are."

"As I Am Obliged To Be. I Should Take Care Not To Lay Myself Open To The

Temptation. Neither Need You Have Done It."

"I Don't See How I Was To Help Myself. Often And Often I Wished To Have

Visitors In The House,  But The Old Woman Met Me With Reproaches That I

Was Forgetting The Recent Death Of My Brother. She Won't Have Any One Now

If She Knows It,  And I Had To Send For You Quietly. Did You See How She

Stared Last Night When You Came In?"

Mr. Carr Drew Down His Lips. "You Might Have Gone Away Yourself,  Elster."

"Of Course I Might," Was The Testy Reply. "But I Was A Fool,  And Didn't.

Carr,  I Swear To You I Fell Into The Trap Unconsciously; I Did Not

Foresee Danger. Maude Is A Charming Girl,  There's No Denying It; But

As To Love,  I Never Glanced At It."

"Was It Not Suspected In Town Last Year That Lady Maude Had A Liking For

Your Brother?"

"It Was Suspected There And Here; I Thought It Myself. We Were Mistaken.

One Day Lately Maude Offended Me,  And I Hinted At Something Of The Sort:

She Turned Red And White With Indignation,  Saying She Wished He Could

Rise From His Grave To Refute It. I Only Wish He Could!" Added The

Unhappy Man.

"Have You Told Me All?"

"All! I Wish I Had. In December I Was Passing The Rectory,  And Saw It

Dismantled. Hillary,  Whom I Met,  Said The Family Had Gone To Ventnor. I

Went In,  But Could Not Learn Any Particulars,  Or Get The Address. I

Chanced A Letter,  Written I Confess In Anger,  Directing It Ventnor Only,

And It Found Them. Anne's Answer Was Cool: Mischief-Making Tongues Had

Been Talking About Me And Maude; I Learned So Much From Hillary; And Anne

No Doubt Resented It. I Resented That--Can You Follow Me,  Carr?--And I

Said To Myself I Wouldn't Write Again For Some Time To Come. Before That

Time Came The Climax Had Occurred."

"And While You Were Waiting For Your Temper To Come Round In Regard To

Miss Ashton,  You Continued To Make Love To The Lady Maude?" Remarked Mr.

Carr. "On The Face Of Things,  I Should Say Your Love Had Been Transferred

To Her."

"Indeed It Hadn't. Next To Anne,  She's The Most Charming Girl I Know;

That's All. Between The Two It Will Be Awful Work For Me."

"So I Should Think," Returned Mr. Carr. "The Ass Between Two Bundles Of

Hay Was Nothing To It."

"He Was Not An Ass At All,  Compared With What I Am," Assented Val,

Gloomily.

"Well,  If A Man Behaves Like An Ass--"

"Don't Moralize," Interrupted Hartledon; "But Rather Advise Me How To Get

Out Of My Dilemma. The Morning's Drawing On,  And I Have Promised To Ride

With Maude."

"You Had Better Ride Alone. All The Advice I Can Give You Is To Draw Back

By Degrees,  And So Let The Flirtation Subside. If There Is No Actual

Entanglement--"

"Stop A Bit,  Carr; I Had Not Come To It," Interrupted Lord Hartledon,  Who

In Point Of Fact Had Been Holding Back What He Called The Climax,  In His

Usual Vacillating Manner. "One Ill-Starred Day,  When It Was Pouring Cats

And Dogs,  And I Could Not Get Out,  I Challenged Maude To A Game At

Billiards. Maude Lost. I Said She Should Pay Me,  And Put My Arm Round Her

Waist And Snatched A Kiss. Just At That Moment In Came The Dowager,  Who I

Believe Must Have Been Listening--"

"Not Improbably," Interrupted Mr. Carr,  Significantly.

"'Oh,  You Two Dear Turtle-Doves,' Cried She,  'Hartledon,  You Have Made Me

So Happy! I Have Seen For Some Weeks What You Were Thinking Of. There's

Nobody Living I'd Confide That Dear Child To But Yourself: You Shall Have

Her,  And My Blessing Shall Be Upon You Both.'

"Carr," Continued Poor Val,  "I Was Struck Dumb. All The Absurdity Of The

Thing Rose Up Before Me. In My Confusion I Could Not Utter A Word. A Man

With More Moral Courage Might Have Spoken Out; Acknowledged The Shame And

Folly Of His Conduct And Apologized. I Could Not."

"Elster's Folly! Elster's Folly!" Thought The Barrister. "You Never Had

The Slightest Spark Of Moral Courage," He Observed Aloud,  In Pained

Tones. "What Did You Say?"

"Nothing. There's The Worst Of It. I Neither Denied The Dowager's

Assumption,  Nor Confirmed It. Of Course I Cannot Now."

"When Was This?"

"In December."

"And How Have Things Gone On Since? How Do You Stand With Them?"

"Things Have Gone On As They Went On Before; And I Stand Engaged To

Maude,  In Her Mother's Opinion; Perhaps In Hers: Never Having Said Myself

One Word To Support The Engagement."

"Only Continued To 'Make Love,' And 'Snatch A Kiss,'" Sarcastically

Rejoined Mr. Carr.

"Once In A Way. What Is A Man To Do,  Exposed To The Witchery Of A Pretty

Girl?"

"Oh,  Percival! You Are Worse Than I Thought For. Where Is Miss Ashton?"

"Coming Home Next Friday," Groaned Val. "And The Dowager Asked Me

Yesterday Whether Maude And I Had Arranged The Time For Our Marriage.

What On Earth I Shall Do,  I Don't Know. I Might Sail For Some Remote Land

And Convert Myself Into A Savage,  Where I Should Never Be Found Or

Recognized; There's No Other Escape For Me."

"How Much Does Miss Ashton Know Of This?"

"Nothing. I Had A Letter From Her This Morning,  More Kindly Than Her

Letters Have Been Of Late."

"Lord Hartledon!" Exclaimed Mr. Carr,  In Startled Tones. "Is It Possible

That You Are Carrying On A Correspondence With Miss Ashton,  And Your

Love-Making With Lady Maude?"

Val Nodded Assent,  Looking Really Ashamed Of Himself.

"And You Call Yourself A Man Of Honour! Why,  You Are The Greatest

Humbug--"

"That's Enough; No Need To Sum It Up. I See All I've Been."

"I Understood You To Imply That Your Correspondence With Miss Ashton Had

Ceased."

"It Was Renewed. Dr. Ashton Came Up To Preach One Sunday,  Just Before

Christmas,  And He And I Got Friendly Again; You Know I Never Can Be

Unfriendly With Any One Long. The Next Day I Wrote To Anne,  And We Have

Corresponded Since; More Coolly Though Than We Used To Do. Circumstances

Have Been Really Against Me. Had They Continued At Ventnor,  I Should Have

Gone Down And Spent My Christmas With Them,  And Nothing Of This Would

Have Happened; But They Must Needs Go To Dr. Ashton's Sister's In

Yorkshire For Christmas; And There They Are Still. It Was In That

Miserable Christmas Week That The Mischief Occurred. And Now You Have

The Whole,  Carr. I Know I've Been A Fool; But What Is To Be Done?"

"Lord Hartledon," Was The Grave Rejoinder,  "I Am Unable