The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope (best fiction novels of all time .TXT) 📕

to fly at her. And he would have struck her with his stick but that he was stopped by John Crumb.

“Don’t hit the girl, no gate, Mr. Ruggles.”

“Domm her, John; she breaks my heart.” While her lover held her grandfather Ruby escaped, and seated herself on the bedside, again afraid to undress, lest she should be disturbed by her grandfather. “Ain’t it more nor a man ought to have to bear;⁠—ain’t it, Mr. Crumb?” said the grandfather appealing to the young man.

“It’s the ways on ’em, Mr. Ruggles.”

“Ways on ’em! A whipping at the cart-tail ought to be the ways on her. She’s been and seen some young buck.”

Then John Crumb turned red all over, through the flour, and sparks of anger flashed from his eyes. “You ain’t a meaning of it, master?”

“I’m told there’s been the squoire’s cousin aboot⁠—him as they call the baronite.”

“Been along wi’ Ruby?” The old man nodded at him. “By the mortials I’ll baronite him;⁠—I wull,” said John seizing his hat and stalking off through the back kitchen after his friend.

XXXIV Ruby Ruggles Obeys Her Grandfather

The next day there was great surprise at Sheep’s Acre farm, which communicated itself to the towns of Bungay and Beccles, and even affected the ordinary quiet life of Carbury Manor. Ruby Ruggles had gone away, and at about twelve o’clock in the day the old farmer became aware of the fact. She had started early, at about seven in the morning; but Ruggles himself had been out long before that, and had not condescended to ask for her when he returned to the house for his breakfast. There had been a bad scene up in the bedroom overnight, after John Crumb had left the farm. The old man in his anger had tried to expel the girl; but she had hung on to the bedpost and would not go; and he had been frightened, when the maid came up crying and screaming murder. “You’ll be out o’ this tomorrow as sure as my name’s Dannel Ruggles,” said the farmer panting for breath. But for the gin which he had taken he would hardly have struck her;⁠—but he had struck her, and pulled her by the hair, and knocked her about;⁠—and in the morning she took him at his word and was away. About twelve he heard from the servant girl that she had gone. She had packed a box and had started up the road carrying the box herself. “Grandfather says I’m to go, and I’m gone,” she had said to the girl. At the first cottage she had got a boy to carry her box into Beccles, and to Beccles she had walked. For an hour or two Ruggles sat, quiet, within the house, telling himself that she might do as she pleased with herself⁠—that he was well rid of her, and that from henceforth he would trouble himself no more about her. But by degrees there came upon him a feeling half of compassion and half of fear, with perhaps some mixture of love, instigating him to make search for her. She had been the same to him as a child, and what would people say of him if he allowed her to depart from him after this fashion? Then he remembered his violence the night before, and the fact that the servant girl had heard if she had not seen it. He could not drop his responsibility in regard to Ruby, even if he would. So, as a first step, he sent in a message to John Crumb, at Bungay, to tell him that Ruby Ruggles had gone off with a box to Beccles. John Crumb went open-mouthed with the news to Joe Mixet, and all Bungay soon knew that Ruby Ruggles had run away.

After sending his message to Crumb the old man still sat thinking, and at last made up his mind that he would go to his landlord. He held a part of his farm under Roger Carbury, and Roger Carbury would tell him what he ought to do. A great trouble had come upon him. He would fain have been quiet, but his conscience and his heart and his terrors all were at work together⁠—and he found that he could not eat his dinner. So he had out his cart and horse and drove himself off to Carbury Hall.

It was past four when he started, and he found the squire seated on the terrace after an early dinner, and with him was Father Barham, the priest. The old man was shown at once round into the garden, and was not long in telling his story. There had been words between him and his granddaughter about her lover. Her lover had been accepted and had come to the farm to claim his bride. Ruby had behaved very badly. The old man made the most of Ruby’s bad behaviour, and of course as little as possible of his own violence. But he did explain that there had been threats used when Ruby refused to take the man, and that Ruby had, this day, taken herself off.

“I always thought it was settled they were to be man and wife,” said Roger.

“It was settled, squoire;⁠—and he war to have five hun’erd pound down;⁠—money as I’d saved myself. Drat the jade.”

“Didn’t she like him, Daniel?”

“She liked him well enough till she’d seed somebody else.” Then old Daniel paused, and shook his head, and was evidently the owner of a secret. The squire got up and walked round the garden with him⁠—and then the secret was told. The farmer was of opinion that there was something between the girl and Sir Felix. Sir Felix some weeks since had been seen near the farm and on the same occasion Ruby had been observed at some little distance from the house with her best clothes on.

“He’s been so little here, Daniel,” said the squire.

“It goes as tinder and a spark o’ fire, that does,” said the farmer. “Girls