“So! you’re old acquaintances, it seems!” observed Leicester, who had
overheard the conversation following upon Lewis’s introduction to Lord
Bellefield. “Frere told me about the dog business, but I never knew till
now that it had been Bellefield who offered you money for him. I can see
you were annoyed about it. Belle fancies money can buy everything (which
is pretty true in the long run), and a dog is a dog to him and nothing
more. He’d never dream of making a friend of one; in fact, he votes
friendship a bore altogether; so you must not heed his insult to Herr
Faust. What are people going to do this afternoon? I wish somebody would
settle something. Annie, just attend to me a minute, will you--what are
we going to do?”
“Papa talked of a skating party on the lake,” returned Annie, “but
I’ve had no definite orders. Where can papa be? Do go and look for him,
Charles.”
“Is he in the house, think you?” inquired Charles, rising languidly and
gazing round with a look of dreamy helplessness.
“I saw General Grant cross the lawn with a gentleman--Mr. De
Grandeville, I believe--not five minutes since,” observed Lewis.
“Exactly; then as you know where to find him, Arundel, and I don’t, I
dare say you’ll be kind enough to tell him that--what was it, Annie?”
said Leicester, reseating himself in an easy-chair with an expression of
intense relief.
“Charley, how idle you are! I am quite ashamed of you,” exclaimed Annie
vehemently; then, turning to Lewis, she continued, “If you would be so
kind, Mr. Arundel, as to ask papa whether the lake scheme holds good,
and if we are to walk or drive there, I should be so much obliged to
you.”
Lewis signified his willingness to execute her wishes, and calling to
Walter to accompany him, left the room.
“Well, Annie, how do you like Lewis Arundel by this time?” inquired her
cousin. “Wasn’t I right in telling you he was quite a catch?”
“Yes, indeed,” returned Annie warmly; “and he is so kind and clever
about that poor Walter, I don’t know what we should do without him. I
think it is quite delightful to see his manner towards him, poor boy! it
combines all the tenderness of a woman with the firmness of a man, he is
so patient and forbearing; but it must in some degree repay him for his
trouble to see the improvement he has effected, and the strong affection
he has inspired. Walter absolutely seems to dote upon him.”
“A most desirable acquisition, certainly, the affection of an idiot,”
observed Lord Bellefield with a satirical curl of the lip.
“I never despise real affection of any kind,” returned Annie quickly.
“I am delighted to hear you say so, _belle cousine_,” replied Lord
Bellefield, fixing his bold, roving eyes on her with an expression
intended to be fascinating, but which was simply disagreeable.
Annie looked annoyed, and saying she must warn Miss Livingstone of the
intended expedition, rose and quitted the apartment.
When the brothers were left together, Charles, after a minute’s pause,
began--“I say, Bellefield, I wish you’d try and be a little more civil
to young Arundel. You annoyed him by the way in which you offered money
for his dog, just after he had risked his life to save it, and I don’t
think you mended matters by what you added to-day. Recollect he’s a
gentleman by birth, and has the feelings of one.”
“Curse his feelings!” was the unamiable rejoinder; “he’s a proud,
insolent young puppy. If he’s a gentleman by birth, he’s a beggar by
position, and requires pulling down to his proper level. I’ve no notion
of dependents giving themselves such airs, and shall let him know my
opinion some of these days.”
Charley Leicester regarded his elder brother with a half-sleepy look of
serio-comic disgust, then slightly shrugging his shoulders, he drew
on his glove, placed his hat on his head, arranged his curls to his
satisfaction at a mirror, and lounged gracefully out of the room.
Scarcely had he done so when the late subject of their conversation
entered by another door which opened into the conservatory, and glanced
round the apartment as if in quest of some one. Apparently the object of
his search was not to be discerned, for turning to Lord Bellefield, he
inquired “whether he could direct him where to find Miss Grant?”
The person addressed favoured him for some seconds with a supercilious
stare ere he answered, “And what might you want with that young lady,
pray?”
Lewis paused for a moment before he dared trust himself to reply, for
the tone in which the question had been asked was most insolent. At
length he said, “I can have no objection to gratify your lordship’s
curiosity. The General wished me to inform Miss Grant that he had
arranged a skating party on the lake for this afternoon, and that
carriages would be at the door in ten minutes to transport those of the
company thither who might prefer driving to walking.”
“Really, you must possess a wonderful memory, Mr. Arundel; I dare swear
those were the General’s very words. As, however, I can scarcely imagine
it consistent with your onerous duties to play the part of squire to
dames, I’ll save you the trouble for once, by delivering your message
myself.” And with an irritating smile, as he remarked the anger his
words had produced, Lord Bellefield turned and quitted the apartment.
Lewis stood for a moment gazing after the retreating figure, his chest
heaving and his nostrils expanded, like those of some hunted animal;
then pacing the room (his invariable custom when labouring under strong
excitement), he gave vent to the following broken sentences:--
“He meant to insult me--his words, his look, everything proves it--and
I did not resent it. Perhaps he thinks I fear him--if I believed so,
I’d follow him, and before them all fix on him the blow of shame that he
must avenge, or own himself a coward.” As he spoke he took two or three
hasty strides towards the door; checking himself, however, as his eye
accidentally fell upon Walter, who had entered with him, and who stood
regarding him with looks of stupid amazement, he continued: “But I must
not think of myself only; the interests of others are at stake--Rose--my
Mother--that poor boy--I dare not sacrifice them.” He flung himself into
a chair, and pressing his hand against his burning brow, resumed,
“Oh, why am I called upon to bear this?--how have I sinned, that this
degradation should be forced upon me?--the coward! he knows I am bound
hand and foot, or he dare not thus insult me; it is like striking a
fettered man--” He paused, then added, “Well, a time may come when I may
meet him more as an equal; at all events, now it is my duty to bear as
much as human nature can, and I’ll do it.” He remained silent for a few
minutes, with his hand over his eyes, waiting till the excitement should
pass away. From this state he was aroused by feeling something touch
him, and looking up, he perceived the idiot, half kneeling, half sitting
by his side, gazing up into his face with looks of wonder and sympathy.
This mute evidence of affection acted as a balm to his wounded spirit,
and laying his hand kindly on the boy’s shoulder, he said, “Walter,
my poor fellow, have I frightened you? I was not angry with _you_, you
know. Come, we will walk down to the lake and see the skating. What has
become of Faust, I wonder? We must take him with us, of course.”
“Who was that who went away just now?” returned Walter. “He with the
hair over his mouth, I mean?”
“That was Lord Bellefield, your friend Mr. Leicester’s brother.”
“He’s a bad man, isn’t he?”
“Why should you think so, Walter?”
The boy paused for a few moments in reflection, then answered, “His eyes
look wicked and frighten me; besides, he made you angry--I hate him.”
“You should not say that, Walter; you know it is not right to hate any
one,” returned Lewis, feeling dreadfully hypocritical; then linking his
arm in that of his pupil, they passed out through the conservatory.
As the sound of their retreating footsteps died away a figure peeped
timidly into the apartment, and seeing it was untenanted, entered and
gazed after them long and fixedly. It was Annie Grant, who, returning
to learn the result of Lewis’s embassy to her father, had involuntarily
overheard both the insult and the burst of wounded feeling which it had
called forth.
In that short five minutes were sown seeds that, as they grew to
maturity, bore sleepless nights and weary days, and the tearless sorrow
of a breaking heart, as a portion of their bitter fruit.
The lake in Broadhurst Park presented a gay scene on the afternoon
in question. The General, anxious to propitiate the good-will of the
voters, had ordered the park to be thrown open to all who might choose
to witness or join in the amusement of skating. A sharp frost, which had
continued without intermission for several days, had covered the water
with a firm coating of ice, which afforded a surface as smooth as
glass for the evolutions of the skaters. The sun was shining brightly,
bringing out beautiful effects of light and shade on the steep and
rugged banks, and causing the hoar-frost on the feathery branches of a
young birch plantation to glitter like sprays of diamonds. On the side
approached by the drive from the house a tent had been pitched, in such
a direction that any of the party who feared to expose themselves to the
cold might witness the performances of the skaters and yet be sheltered
from the troublesome intrusion of the north wind.
As Lewis and Walter came in sight of the spot (on which several groups
of well-dressed people, together with a considerable number of a lower
class, were already assembled) the latter uttered an exclamation of
delight, and roused out of his usual state of apathy by the novel
excitement, bounded gaily forward till he reached the side of Charles
Leicester, to whom he had taken an extreme fancy.
“Mr. Arundel is going to teach me how to skate, Mr. Leicester, and you
are to help,” he exclaimed, as soon as he had recovered breath after his
run.
“Am I?” returned Leicester with a good-natured smile “How do you know
that I will help you?”
“Because Mr. Arundel said so; and everybody minds him--Faust and all.”
“Is that true, Arundel? Am I to do just as you tell me?” inquired
Leicester, as the individual alluded to joined them.
“It is quite right that Walter should think so, at all events,” returned
Lewis; “but I told him to ask you, as a favour, whether you would lend
us your assistance. Walter is anxious to learn to skate, and to save his
cranium from getting a few artificial bumps suddenly developed upon it,
I propose that you and I should each take one of his arms and keep him
from falling, till he learns to stand safely upon his skates without
assistance.”
Leicester gave vent to a deep sigh of resignation, then muttered,
“Well, I should certainly never have dreamed of undergoing such an
amount of exertion on my own account; but I suppose Walter fancies
it will be very charming, and he has not a great many pleasures, poor
fellow!” he continued aside. And so, like a good-natured, kind-hearted
creature, as, despite his affectation, he really was, he performed
the service required of him, and actually exerted himself till his
complexion became, as he expressed it, “redder than that of some
awful ploughboy.” After a time Walter grew tired with the unaccustomed
exercise, and taking off his skates, the trio proceeded to join the
party at the tent. As they approached, Annie tripped up to Leicester,
and seizing his arm, said, “Where have you been all this time? I wanted
you particularly.” She then added something in a low voice which had
the effect of heightening her cousin’s unromantic complexion to a still
greater degree, and elicited from him the incredulous ejaculation,
“Nonsense!”
“I knew you’d be surprised,” returned Annie, laughing. “She is going to
remain here till the party breaks up, so you’ll have plenty of time
to make yourself agreeable, if it’s not ‘too much trouble,’ or ‘such a
bore,’” she continued, mimicking Charles’s languid drawl.
“How was this matter brought about, pray?” inquired her cousin; “and why
on earth do you fancy it concerns me in any way?”
“It was all my doing,” returned Annie. “I was not blind when we were in
Scotland; and after you left us I made a point of cultivating the young
lady, and fortunately for you, approving of her, I asked papa to let me
invite her to Broadhurst.”
“Of course, with that discretion which is such a striking characteristic
of your amiable sex, imparting to him all your views in doing so.”
“Now, Charley, you are very cross and unkind and disagreeable. I asked
her merely because I thought it would give you pleasure; and though I
like sometimes to tease you a little myself, of course I never dreamed
of saying anything to my father which could annoy you.”
“Well, you are a dear, good little cousin, I know, so I won’t scold
you,” was the reply, and they entered the tent together.
A few minutes afterwards Lewis was engaged in pointing out to Walter one
of the skaters who was performing some very intricate figure with
great success, when he heard a female voice exclaim, “Surely I am
not mistaken--that is Mr. Arundel!” and turning at the sound, beheld,
leaning on the arm of Charles Leicester, Miss Laura Peyton, the young
lady who had penetrated his disguise at Lady Lombard’s party. Not to
return her bow was impossible; but at the recollection of all that had
passed on that evening his cheek flushed and his features assumed a
cold, haughty expression, the result of mingled pride and vexation,
under which he strove to conceal his annoyance. Annie, who was not aware
that Lewis and her friend had ever met before, glanced from one to the
other with looks of the greatest astonishment, which was by no means
diminished when Miss Peyton continued, “Now let me inquire after the
Prince of Persia. I hope you left his Highness in the enjoyment of good
health.”
While Lewis was striving to frame a suitable reply, Annie, who
could restrain herself no longer, exclaimed, in a tone of the utmost
bewilderment, “The Prince of Persia! My dear Laura, are you out of your
senses?”
The only reply her friend was able for some minutes to return was
rendered inaudible by a fit of laughing, in which Leicester, and at last
even Lewis himself, could not resist joining.
“Now I call that abominable,” continued Annie; “you are all enjoying
some excellent joke, and I am left to pine in ignorance. Laura, what
_are_ you laughing at?”
“Ask Mr. Leicester,” returned Miss Peyton, breathless with laughter.
“Charles, what is it all about?”
“Ask Arundel,” was the reply; “he is the proper person to explain.”
“Mr. Arundel, you _must_ tell me!”
“Really, I must beg you to excuse me,” began Lewis. “Miss Peyton--that
is--Mr. Leicester--in fact, it is utterly impossible for me to tell you.
Come, Walter, you’ve rested quite long enough, you’ll catch cold sitting
still, after making yourself so hot;” and as he spoke he took his
pupil’s arm and hastily quitted the tent.
Of course as soon as he was out of earshot, Annie reiterated her demand
that the mystery should be explained, and of course Laura begged Charles
to relate the affair, and then, woman-like, interrupted him before he
had uttered half-a-dozen words, and being once fairly off, did not stop
till she had told the whole history from beginning to end, which she did
with much spirit and drollery; then, in her turn, she had to be informed
of the position Lewis held in the General’s family; how wonderfully
Walter had improved under his care, and how much everybody liked him.
When they had fully discussed these matters, they were joined by Lord
Bellefield, who escorted them across the ice to witness more closely the
proceedings of the skaters.
Later in the afternoon a party of young men had undertaken to skate a
quadrille. This being something new, people hurried from all sides to
witness the performance, and a crowd speedily collected. Walter had
expressed a wish to see it, and Lewis, pleased at the unusual interest
he took in all that was going forward, which he rightly regarded as
a proof of the decided progress his intellect was making, willingly
complied.
The crowd still continued to thicken as the quadrille proceeded, and it
had just occurred to Lewis that the weight of so many people collected
in one spot would try the strength of the ice pretty severely, when
a slight cracking sound confirmed his suspicions, and induced him to
withdraw Walter from the group. It was fortunate that he did so, for
scarcely were they clear of the crowd when a sharp crack, like the
report of a pistol, rang in his ears, followed in rapid succession
by one or two similar explosions. Then came a rush of many feet,
accompanied by the shrill screaming of women, and on looking round Lewis
perceived that a portion of the ice had given way, and that several
persons were struggling in the water.