Dame Halliburt made her appearance at Downside early the next morning to
enquire after May. Miss Pemberton, who had expected the good woman,
begged her to step into her dispensary, as she called the small room in
which she received her poorer visitors, that they might talk over the
matter.
The dame said that she should have come up the previous evening, but
that Jacob had not returned till late at night, when he told her what
had happened. He had been on the look-out for young Gaffin to bring him
to account for his conduct, but had been unable to find him.
"I am sorry for that," said Miss Jane. "I charged him to use no
violence towards the young man."
"Lord bless you, marm," answered the dame, "our Jacob is as gentle as a
lamb. I don't think he could use violence towards any man, though to be
sure if he had fallen in with that impudent young chap he would have
given him a pretty sound drubbing."
"I fear that your son's style of drubbing would be a pretty strong act
of violence," observed Miss Jane. "Judging from the appearance of his
arm, it possesses sufficient strength to fell an ox, and one blow from
it might injure the youth for life."
"I don't doubt but that our Jacob could hit pretty hard if his spirit
was up," observed the dame with a smile of maternal pride. "I cannot
say, however, but what I am glad he didn't find young Gaffin."
"One thing is certain, we must not let our May run the chance of being
spoken to again by this young fellow. If he is stopping at the inn he
probably will not remain long in the place, and she will soon be able to
go to and fro from your house as usual. Indeed, I hope from the proper
way she treated him that he will not again make the attempt to speak to
her."
"Fellows of his sort are not so easily put down as you may suppose, Miss
Jane, and if he is the miller's son, he may be as audacious as he is
impudent," observed the dame.
"Whatever he is, we will take good care that he has no opportunity of
exhibiting his audacity," said Miss Pemberton; "and I beg that you will
charge your son to take no further notice of the affair. If your
husband could see the young man and warn him of the consequences of his
conduct, he might induce him to behave properly in future. Now you will
like to see May."
Miss Jane went out, and sent May into the room.
The dame received her with a warm embrace, but as the subject of young
Gaffin was a disagreeable one, she did not speak much about it.
"Have you told the ladies about the grand doings to take place at
Texford?" asked the dame.
May confessed that she had forgotten all about it.
"Then while I am here I will just put in a word. A little change will
do you good, and if I tell them I'll keep you by my side all the time, I
don't think they will object."
"We will think about it," was Miss Jane's answer, when the dame told
her. "I am not an admirer of fetes and fantastic worldly doings such as
I conclude will take place at Texford. I fear there is more harm done
than pleasure obtained."
"The scene may amuse her, as she has seen nothing of the sort," observed
Miss Mary. "Far be it from me to countenance even indirectly the
follies of worldly people, but as this fete is intended to afford
amusement to the tenantry and labourers, it must be kindly meant, and if
May herself desires to accompany Dame Halliburt, I think that we ought
not to deny her the amusement."
"Thank you," said May, simply. "I should like to go, very much."
The dame returned home satisfied that May was not likely to receive any
further annoyance from young Gaffin, and well pleased that there would
be no difficulty about her attending the fete.
Jacob arrived in the evening at Downside with a basket of shells. May
could not help asking him whether he had seen young Gaffin, and again
entreated him not to interfere.
"I have not seen him, but I know where he is," answered Jacob; "and I
don't think he will show his nose outside the house without having me at
his heels."
Every day before going off for the night's fishing in the _Nancy_, Jacob
managed to find time to get up to Downside.
He would have been a bold man who would have ventured to encounter the
young fisherman with any intention of annoying Maiden May. Honest love,
when the object loved is to be benefited, wonderfully sharpens the wits.
Jacob, who would never have thought of such a thing under other
circumstances, had set a boy to watch the inn, and bring him word of
Miles's movements. When he was away, the lad was to inform his mother.
Miles, either in obedience to his father's directions, or because he had
found out that he was watched, kept himself a prisoner, and did not
venture beyond the precincts of the garden at the back of the house,
where he spent most of the day sauntering up and down, smoking his pipe,
and forming plans for winning the young lady in spite of the obstacles
in his way. Though unable to appreciate any higher qualities, he had
been really struck by her beauty, and was as much in love as it was in
his nature to be. He was thus perfectly ready to enter into any scheme
which his father might propose for gaining her, either by fair means or
foul.
"I would not hurt her feelings if I could help it," he said to himself;
"but I am pretty sure I have a rival in that young fellow Halliburt. I
guessed that when she took his arm and ran off from me. She knows well
enough that he is not her brother, though they have been brought up
together, and girls are generally apt to admire those big,
sturdy-looking chaps who have done them a service, more than
well-dressed, gentlemanly young men like myself," and Miles glanced
approvingly on his new and fashionable costume. "If she still turns a
cold eye upon me that worthy dad of mine must manage to get the young
fisherman out of the way--it won't do to have him interfering--and with
a clear stage I shall not have insuperable difficulties to overcome, I
flatter myself."
Still Miles had to remain inactive some days longer. At last he
received a note from his father telling him to go, if he pleased, to the
fete at Texford, and simply state, if asked, that he was the son of a
tenant, saying that he was spending a few days at Hurlston, and had come
instead of his father, who was unable to attend. "I find that Dame
Halliburt is going, and I have no doubt she will take her daughter, as
she calls her, with her," he added. "You will thus have an opportunity
of meeting the girl under more favourable circumstances than before, and
if you mind your P's and Q's it will be your own fault if you do not
work yourself into her good graces."
Miles received this communication with intense satisfaction. Having a
thoroughly good opinion of himself, he had now little doubt that he
should succeed in his enterprise.