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

After The Surgeon's Departure,  She Went Down To Her Husband,  Meeting

Hedges On The Stairs,  Who Was Coming To Inquire After The Patient For His

Master,  For About The Fiftieth Time. Hartledon Was In The Library,  Pacing

About Incessantly In The Darkness,  For The Room Was Only Lighted By The

Fire. Anne Closed The Door And Approached Him.

"Percival,  I Do Not Bring You Very Good Tidings," She Said; "And Yet They

Might Be Worse. Mr. Brook Tells Me He Is In Great Danger,  But Thinks He

Sees A Gleam Of Hope."

Lord Hartledon Took Her Hand Within His Arm And Resumed His Pacing; His

Eyes Were Fixed On The Carpet,  And He Said Nothing.

"Don't Grieve As Those Without Hope," She Continued,  Her Eyes Filling

With Tears. "He May Yet Recover. I Have Been Praying That It May Be So."

"Don't Pray For It," He Cried,  His Tone One Of Painful Entreaty. "I Have

Been Daring To Pray That It Might Please God To Take Him."

"Percival!" She Exclaimed,  Starting Away From Him.

"I Am Not Mad,  Anne. Death Would Be A More Merciful Fate For My Boy Than

Life. Death Now,  Whilst He Is Innocent,  Safe In Christ's Love!--Death,  In

Heaven's Mercy!"

And Anne Crept Back To The Upper Chamber,  Sick With Terror; For She Did

Think That The Trouble Of His Child's State Was Affecting Her Husband's

Brain.

Lord And Lady Hartledon Were Entertaining A Family Group. The Everlasting

Dowager Kept To Them Unpleasantly; Making Things Unbearable,  And Wearing

Out Her Welcome In No Slight Degree,  If She Had Only Been Wise Enough To

See It. She Had Escaped Scarlet-Fever And Other Dreaded Ills; And Was

Alive Still. For That Matter,  The Little Lord Elster Had Come Out Of It

Also: _Not_ Unscathed; For The Boy Remained A Sickly Wreck,  And There Was

Very Little Hope That He Would Really Recover. The Final Close Might Be

Delayed,  But It Was Not To Be Averted. Before Easter They Had Left London

For Hartledon,  That He Might Have Country Air. Lord Hartledon's Eldest

Sister,  Lady Margaret Cooper,  Came There With Her Husband; And On This

Day The Other Sister,  Lady Laura Level,  Had Arrived From India. Lady

Margaret Was An Invalid,  And Not An Agreeable Woman Besides; But To Laura

And Anne The Meeting,  After So Many Years' Separation,  Was One Of Intense

Pleasure. They Had Been Close Friends From Childhood.

They Were All Gathered Together In The Large Drawing-Room After Luncheon.

The Day Was A Wet One,  And No One Had Ventured Out Except Sir James

Cooper. Accustomed To The Scotch Mists,  This Rain Seemed A Genial Shower,

And Sir James Was Enjoying It Accordingly. It Was A Warm,  Close Day,  In

Spite Of The Rain; And The Large Fire In The Grate Made The Room

Oppressive,  So That They Were Glad To Throw The Windows Open.

Lying On A Sofa Near The Fire Waas All The

More Sorry Because It Was My Own Fault."

Mr. Fairfax Was Silent For A Few Minutes After This Bold Confession. He

Had Interdicted Any Communication With The Forest,  As Mr. Carnegie

Prevised. He Did Not,  However,  Consider It Necessary To Provoke Bessie's

Ire By Telling Her That He Was Responsible For Her Immense

Disappointment. He Let That Pass,  And When He Spoke Again It Was To Draw

Her Out On The More Important Subject Of What Progress Mr. Cecil

Burleigh Had Made In Her Interest. It Was Truly Vexatious,  But As Bessie

Told Her Simple Tale She Was Conscious That Her Color Rose And Deepened

Slowly To A Burning Blush. Why? She Vehemently Assured Herself That She

Did Not Care A Straw For Mr. Cecil Burleigh,  That She Disliked Him

Rather Than Otherwise,  Yet At The Mere Sound Of His Name She Blushed.

Perhaps It Was Because She Dreaded Lest Anybody Should Suspect The

Mistake Her Vanity Had Made Before. Her Grandfather Gave Her One Acute

Glance,  And Was Satisfied That This Business Also Went Well.

"Mr. Cecil Burleigh Left The Yacht At Ryde. It Was The First Day Of The

Regatta When We Anchored There,  And We Landed And Saw The Town," Was All

Bessie Said In Words,  But Her Self-Betrayal Was Eloquent.

"We--What Do You Mean By _We_? Did Your Uncle Frederick Land?" Asked The

Squire,  Not Caring In The Least To Know.

"No--Only Mr. Cecil Burleigh And Myself. We Went To The House Of Some

Friends Of His Where We Had Lunch; And Afterward Mrs. Gardiner And One

Of The Young Ladies Took Me To The Arcade. My Uncle Never Landed At All

From The Day We Left Caen Till We Arrived At Scarcliffe. Mrs. Betts Went

Into Harwich With Me. That Is A Very Quaint Old Town,  But Nothing In

England Looks So Battered And Decayed As The French Cities Do."

Mr. Fairfax Knew All About Miss Julia Gardiner,  And Elizabeth's

Information That Mr. Cecil Burleigh Had Called On The Family In Ryde

Caused Him To Reflect. It Was Very Imprudent To Take Elizabeth With

Him--Very Imprudent Indeed; Of Course,  The Squire Could Not Know How

Little He Was To Blame. To Take Her Mind Off The Incident That Seriously

Annoyed Himself,  He Asked What Troubles Caen Had Seen,  And Bessie,

Thankful To Discourse Of Something Not Confusing,  Answered Him Like A

Book:

"Oh,  Many. It Is Very Impoverished And Dilapidated. The Revocation Of

The Edict Of Nantes Ruined Its Trade. Its Principal Merchants Were

Huguenots: There Are Still Amongst The Best Families Some Of The

Reformed Religion. Then In The Great Revolution It Suffered Again; The

Churches Were Desecrated,  And Turned To All Manner Of Common Uses; Some

Are Being Restored,  But I Myself Have Seen Straw Hoisted In At A Church

Window,  Beautiful With Flamboyant Tracery In The Arch,  The Shafts Below

Being Partly Broken Away."

Mr. Fairfax Remarked That France Was Too Prone To Violent Remedies; Then

Reverting To The Subjects Uppermost In His Thoughts,  He Said,  "Elections

And Politics Cannot Have Much Interest For You Yet,  Elizabeth,  But

Probably You Have Heard That Mr. Cecil Burleigh Is Going To Stand For

Norminster?"

"Yes; He Spoke Of It To My Uncle Frederick. He Is A Very Liberal

Conservative,  From What I Heard Him Say. There Was A Famous Contest For

Hampton When I Was Not More Than Twelve Years Old: We Went To See The

Members Chaired. My Father Was Orange--The Carnegies Are Almost

Radicals; They Supported Mr. Hiloe--And We Wore Orange Rosettes."

"A Most Unbecoming Color! You Must Take Up With Blue Now; Blue Is The

Only Wear For A Fairfax. Most Men Might Wear Motley For A Sign Of Their

Convictions. Let Us Return To The Octagon Parlor; It Is Cheerful With A

Fire After Dinner. At Abbotsmead There Are Not Many Evenings When A Fire

Is Not Acceptable At Dusk."

The Fire Was Very Acceptable; It Was Very Composing And Pleasant. Bright

Flashes Of Flame Kindled And Reddened The Fragrant Dry Pine Chips And

Played About The Lightly-Piled Logs. Mr. Fairfax Took His Own

Commodious Chair On One Side Of The Hearth,  Facing The Uncurtained

Windows; A Low Seat Conf Edward," Returning To The

Other Subject,  "I Thought You Meant The Boy."

Lady Laura Shook Her Head. "He Will Never Get Well,  Anne. Death Is

Written On His Face."

"You Would Say So,  If You Saw Him Some Days. He Is Excitable,  And Your

Coming Has Roused Him. I Never Saw Any One Fluctuate So; One Day Dying,

The Next Better Again. For Myself I Have Very Little Hope,  And Mr.

Hillary Has None; But I Dare Not Say So To Margaret And The Dowager."

"Why Not?"

"It Makes Them Angry. They Cannot Bear To Hear There's A Possibility Of

His Death. Margaret May See The Danger,  But I Don't Believe The Dowager

Does."

"Their Wishes Must Blind Them," Observed Lady Laura. "The Dowager Seems

All Fury And Folly. She Scarcely Gave Herself Time To Welcome Me This

Morning,  Or To Inquire How I Was After My Long Voyage; But Began

Descanting On A Host Of Evils,  The Chief Being That Her Grandson Should

Have Had Fever."

"She Would Like Him To Bear A Charmed Life. Not For Love Of Him,  Laura."

"What Then?"

"I Do Not Believe She Has A Particle Of Love For Him. Don't Think Me

Uncharitable; It Is The Truth; Val Will Tell You The Same. She Is Not

Capable Of Experiencing Common Affection For Any One; Every Feeling Of

Her Nature Is Merged In Self-Interest. Had Her Daughter Left Another Boy

She Would Not Be Dismayed At The Prospect Of This One's Death; Whether He

Lived Or Died,  It Would Be All One To Her. The Grievance Is That Reginald

Should Have The Chance Of Succeeding."

"Because He Is Your Son. I Understand. A Vain,  Puffed-Up Old Thing! The

Idea Of Her Still Painting Her Face And Wearing False Curls! I Wonder You

Tolerate Her In Your House,  Anne! She's Always Here."

"How Can I Help Myself? She Considers,  I Believe,  That She Has More Right

In This House Than I Have."

"Does She Make Things Uncomfortable?"

"More So Than I Have Ever Confessed,  Even To My Husband. From The Hour Of

My Marriage She Set The Two Children Against Me,  And Against My Children

When They Came; And She Never Ceases To Do So Still."

"Why Do You Submit To It?"

"She Is Their Grandmother,  And I Cannot Well Deny Her The House. Val

Might Do So,  But He Does Not. Perhaps I Should Have Had Courage To

Attempt It,  For The Children's Own Sake,  It Is So Shocking To Train Them

To Ill-Nature,  But That He Appears To Think As She Does. The Petty

Disputes Between The Children Are Frequent--For My Two Elder Ones Are

Getting Of An Age To Turn Again When Put Upon--But Their Father Never

Corrects Edward And Maude,  Or Allows Them To Be Corrected; Let Them Do

What Wrong They Will,  He Takes Their Part. I Believe That If Edward

_Killed_ One Of My Children,  He Would Only Caress Him."

Lady Laura Turned Her Eyes On The Speaker's Face,  On Its Flush Of Pain

And Mortification.

"And Val Loved You: And Did _Not_ Love Maude! What Does It Mean,  Anne?"

"I Cannot Tell You. Things Altogether Are Growing More Than I Can Bear."

"Margaret Has Been With You Some Time; Has She Not Interfered,  Or Tried

To Put Things Upon A Right Footing?"

Anne Shook Her Head. "She Espouses The Dowager's Side; Upholds The Two

Children In Their Petty Tyranny. No One In The House Takes My Part,  Or My

Children's."

"That Is Just Like Margaret. Do You Remember How You And I Used To Dread

Her Domineering Spirit When We Were Girls? It's Time I Came,  I Think,  To

Set Things Right."

"Laura,  Neither You Nor Any One Else Can Set Things Right. They Have Been

Wrong Too Long. The Worst Is,  I Cannot See What The Evil Is,  As Regards

Val. If I Ask Him He Repels Me,  Or Laughs At Me,  And Tells Me I Am

Fanciful. That He Has Some Secret Trouble I Have Long Known: His Days Are

Unhappy,  His Nights Restless; Often When He Thinks Me Asleep I Am

Listening To His Sighs. I Am Glad You Have Come Home; I Have Wanted A

True Friend To Confide These Troubles To,  And I Could Only Speak Of Them

To One Of The Family."

"It Sounds Like A Romance," Cried Laura. "Some Secret Grief! What Can It

Be?"

They Were Interrupted By A Commotion. Maude Had Been Threading A Splendid

Ring All The Colours Of The Rainbow,  And Now Exhibited It For The Benefit

Of Admiring Beholders.

"Papa--Aunt Margaret--Look At My Ring."

Lord Hartledon Nodded Pleasantly At The Child From His Distant Seat; Lady

Margaret Appeared Not To Have Heard; And Maude Caught Up A Soft Ball And

Threw It At Her Aunt.

Unfortunately,  It Took A Wrong Direction,  And Struck The Nodding Dowager

On The Nose. She Rose Up In A Fury And Some Commotion Ensued.

"Make Me A Ring,  Maude," Little Anne Lisped When The Dowager Had Subsided

Into Her Chair Again. Maude Took No Notice; Her Finger Was Still Lifted

With The Precious Ornament.

"Can You See It From Your Sofa,  Edward?"

The Boy Rose