DRESSING FOR DINNER
AND, whilst poor Jenny was pursuing her lonely way through the
darkness, one whom she deemed her enemy was in a very different
case--Miss Tina Gillan, at that moment dressing for the evening, in an
apartment of Mr Lee’s house at the top of Lindum Hill. It was a large
room that had been prepared for her, the darkness and lights of the
valley were hidden by closed blinds, there was a blazing fire which
made cheerful, dancing radiance, and her dress for the evening was laid
out upon the bed. After the cold, dark drive in an open carriage from
the village, this seemed a haven of warmth, and rest, and peace. Only
Tina was not quite pleased that no maid had been provided--it would
have been so luxurious to have a lady’s maid!
She stood now in the centre of the large, lighted room, with a
crimson wrapper beneath her rippling hair, and surveyed all the place
with her bright, glancing eyes, and then threw herself in the armchair
to make trial of it. Everything was complete, and of the best and
softest--armchair, bed, sofa--there was no fault to be found. And
she had been admitted to her uncle’s house at last, and this was the
beginning of luxury. Only she was glad that the closed blinds shut out
the valley, its lights and its blackness displeased her, though she did
not know why they should.
And yet--oh! was it not natural that she should wish to turn from the
wide-reaching blackness pierced by many points of light, now that she
was at last in the shelter she had longed for, far removed from old
hardships and wanderings? Every glance at the room told of comfort and
riches--and comfort and riches meant everything else as well--they
meant ease, safety, soft living, daintiness, rich dresses, fine lovers,
theatres, music, all the rest! All sorts of possibilities were between
her hands. It would be at length of some use to be beautiful! The old
life of shabbiness, hardships, shifts, and recklessness might be cast
on one side--it could be discarded now.
Who was that woman who had asked to see her brother, as they started,
and for the sake of whom James had left her with the carriage, and had
gone back into the yard, returning to her with a face so dark and
terrible that she had not dared even to speak to him until they reached
the town. It could not be _that one_, because he had already seen her,
and had come to some understanding with her--so he said--but it might
be some relation, indignant and suspicious, some reptile who knew they
were going and who wished to have a bribe! James always made a
pretence of being soft and kind, but she did not believe he could be
outwitted easily; in all that she knew of his dealings, especially with
women, she had found him to be still more unscrupulous than herself. He
had indulged himself from his childhood onwards, and it is impossible
to do so without being unscrupulous. This most recent, most wretched
entanglement might have been easily avoided, if during their time of
probation he had possessed the slightest self-restraint.
Indeed the habitual recklessness of the brother and the sister had
never been more displayed than during those few months of village
life--that short time of waiting upon the pleasure of their uncle,
during which they had every inducement to be cautious and
self-restrained. Ah, bah! that was true, thought Tina; but those
village months were over, they had left that ‘detestable hamlet, that
pest-house of the Fens’--and now that they found themselves in the
midst of pleasures it would be more natural to be self-controlled. At
length they were really in the house of Mr Lee; it would not be easy
for them to be removed; every day would make it more difficult as each
day would make less anxious the dangers that their imprudence had
gathered round their feet. Mr Lee once charmed! that was the whole
brunt of the matter, and Tina had never been without skill in charming
men!
She rose to her feet, and stood upright, pretty Tina! her arms clasped
behind her back, and her face very slightly raised, whilst her
eyes appeared to be flooded with eager light and hope, in which there
was only the least trace of terror left. Upon the bed lay her new black
evening dress, her black silk slippers, and her great, embroidered
fan--her cheeks were so brilliant and burning that they would need no
touch of rouge, nor her dark eyes the slightest assistance to make them
bright enough. Was that the drawing-room door? there were sounds of
footsteps, voices!--how strange that the least noise was enough to make
her start! She would be quick, and dress, and go downstairs for the
evening, it would be better for her brother to have her woman’s wit by
his side. This evening once over, this dear, nervous, terrible evening,
their position would be more certain, and they could feel secure.
So she thought, but whilst she hastened to get ready, and whilst
downstairs James Gillan sat by Mr Lee, and whilst he was making
apologies for the lateness of their arrival the door of the
drawing-room opened unexpectedly. It was the servant who entered, but
before she could make any explanation, she was preceded by an intruder
who had followed behind her unperceived--a poor woman, poorly dressed,
quiet, and shabby, who stood in the midst of the room and courtseyed
there. Mr Lee rose to receive her with annoyance on his face; and
behind him, unperceived by him, James Gillan also rose--with a pang at
his heart that smote, that stabbed his breath, and for the moment
took away the power of speech. The sword had fallen!--he felt that
it had fallen--he had not time to consider how ruin might be averted
even then.