How frail, how cowardly is woman's mind!
Yet when strong jealousy inflames the soul,
The weak will roar, and calms to tempests roll.
LEE'S RIVAL QUEENS.
But we must now follow up the motions of Mr Rainscourt, who quitted the
castle, and travelling with great diligence, once more trod the pavement
of the metropolis, which he had quitted in equal haste, but under very
different circumstances. The news of his good fortune had preceded him,
and he received all that homage which is invariably shown to a man who
has many creditors, and the means of satisfying all their demands. As
he had prophesied, the little gentleman in black was as obsequious as
could be desired, and threw out many indirect hints of the pleasure he
should have in superintending Mr Rainscourt's future arrangements; and
by way of reinstating himself in his good graces, acquainted him with a
plan for reducing the amount of the demands that were made upon him.
Rainscourt, who never forgave, so far acceded to the lawyer's wishes, as
to permit him to take that part of the arrangements into his hands; and
after Mr J--- had succeeded in bringing the usurers to reasonable
terms--when all had been duly signed and sealed, not only were his
services declined for the future, but the servants were desired to show
him the street-door.
As his wife had remarked, Rainscourt found no difficulty in making
friends of all sorts, and of both sexes--and he had launched into a
routine of gaiety and dissipation, in which he continued for several
months, without allowing his wife and daughter to interrupt his
amusements, or to enter his thoughts. He had enclosed an order upon the
banker at --- soon after his arrival in London, and he considered that
he had done all that was requisite. Such was not, however, the opinion
of his wife--to be immured in a lonely castle in Ireland, was neither
her intention nor her taste. Finding that repeated letters were
unanswered, in which she requested permission to join him, and pointed
out the necessity that Emily, who was now nearly twelve years old,
should have the advantages of tuition which his fortune could command,
she packed up a slender wardrobe, and in a week arrived in London with
Emily, and drove up to the door of the hotel, to which Rainscourt had
directed that his letters should be addressed.
Rainscourt was not at home when she arrived; announcing herself as his
wife, she was shown upstairs into his apartments, a minute survey of
which, with their contents, was immediately made; and the notes and
letters, which were carelessly strewed upon the tables, and all of which
she took the liberty to peruse, had the effect of throwing Mrs
Rainscourt into a transport of jealousy and indignation. The minutes
appeared hours, and the hours months, until he made his appearance,
which he at last did, accompanied by two fashionable _roues_ with whom
he associated.
The waiters, who happened not to be in the way as he ascended the
stairs, had not announced to him the arrival of his wife, who was
sitting on the sofa in her bonnet and shawl, one hand full of notes and
letters, the superscriptions of which were evidently in a female hand--
and the other holding her handkerchief, as if prepared for a scene. One
leg was crossed over the other, and the foot of the one that was above
worked in the air, up and down, with the force of a piston of a
steam-engine, indicative of the propelling power within--when
Rainscourt, whose voice was heard all the way upstairs, arrived at the
landing-place, and, in answer to a question of one of his companions,
replied--
"Go and see her! Not I--I'm quite tired of her--By Jove, I'd as soon
see my wife;" and as he finished the sentence, entered the apartment,
where the unexpected appearance of Mrs Rainscourt made him
involuntarily exclaim, "Talk of the devil--"
"And she appears, sir," replied the lady, rising, and making a profound
courtesy.
"Pooh, my dear," replied Rainscourt, embarrassed, and unwilling that a
scene should take place before his companions--"I was only joking."
"Good morning, Rainscourt," said one of his friends--"I'm afraid that I
shall be _de trop_."
"And I'm off too, my dear fellow, for there's no saying how the joke may
be taken," added the other, following his companion out of the room.
Emily ran up to her father, and took his hand; and Rainscourt, who was
as much attached to his daughter as his selfish character would permit,
kissed her forehead. Both parties were for a short time silent. Both
preferred to await the attack, rather than commence it; but in a trial
of forbearance of this description, it may easily be supposed that the
gentleman gained the victory. Mrs Rainscourt waited until she found
that she must either give vent to her feelings by words, or that her
whole frame would explode; and the action commenced on her side with a
shower of tears, which ended in violent hysterics. The first were
unheeded by her husband, who always considered them as a kind of scaling
her guns previous to an engagement; but the hysterics rather baffled
him. In his own house, he would have rung for the servants and left
them to repair damages; but at an hotel, an eclat was to be avoided, if
possible.
"Emily, my dear, go to your mother--you know how to help her."
"No, I do not, papa," said the child, crying; "but Norah used to open
her hands."
Rainscourt's eyes were naturally directed to the fingers of his wife, in
which he perceived a collection of notes and letters. He thought it
might be advisable to open her hand, if it were only to recover these
out of her possession. What affection would not have induced him to do,
interest accomplished. He advanced to the sofa, and attempted to open
her clenched hands; but whether Mrs Rainscourt's hysterics were only
feigned, or of such violence as to defy the strength of her husband, all
his efforts to extract the letters proved ineffectual, and, after
several unavailing attempts, he desisted from his exertions.
"What else is good for her, Emily?"
"Water, papa, thrown in her face--shall I ring for some?"
"No, my dear--is there nothing else we can do?"
"Oh, yes, papa, unlace her stays."
Rainscourt, who was not very expert as a lady's maid, had some
difficulty in arriving at the stays through the folds of the gown, _et
cetera_, the more so as Mrs Rainscourt was very violent in her
movements, and he was not a little irritated by sundry pricks which he
received from those indispensable articles of dress, which the fair sex
are necessitated to use, pointing out to us that there are no roses
without thorns. When he did arrive at the desired encasement, he was
just as much puzzled to find an end to what appeared, like the Gordian
knot, to have neither beginning nor end. Giving way to the natural
impatience of his temper, he seized a penknife from the table, to divide
it _a l'Alexandre_. Unfortunately, in his hurry, instead of inserting
the knife on the inside of the lace, so as to cut _to_ him, he cut down
upon it, and not meeting with the resistance which he expected, the
point of the knife entered with no trifling force into the back of Mrs
Rainscourt, who, to his astonishment, immediately started on her legs,
crying, "Would you murder me, Mr Rainscourt?--help, help!"
"It was quite accidental, my dear," said Rainscourt, in a soothing tone,
for he was afraid of her bringing the whole house about her ears. "I
really am quite shocked at my own awkwardness."
"It quite recovered you though, mamma," observed Emily, with great
simplicity, and for which remark, to her astonishment, she was saluted
with a smart box on the ear.
"Why should you be shocked, Mr Rainscourt?" said the lady, who, as her
daughter had remarked, seemed wonderfully recovered from the
phle-_back_-omy which had been administered,--"why should you be shocked
at stabbing me in the back? Have I not wherewithal in my hand to stab
me a thousand times in the heart? Look at these letters, all of which I
have read! You had, indeed, reason to leave me in Galway; but I will
submit to it no longer. Mr Rainscourt, I insist upon an immediate
separation."
"Why should we quarrel, then, my dear, when we are both of one mind?
Now do me the favour to sit down, and talk the matter over quietly.
What is it that you require?"
"First, then, Mr Rainscourt, an acknowledgment on your part, that I am
a most injured, and most ill-treated woman."
"Granted, my dear, if that will add to your happiness; I certainly have
never known your value."
"Don't sneer, sir, if you please. Secondly, a handsome allowance,
commensurate with your fortune."
"Granted, with pleasure, Mrs Rainscourt."
"Thirdly, Mr Rainscourt, an extra allowance for the education and
expenses of my daughter, who will remain under my care."
"Granted, also."
"Further, Mr Rainscourt, to keep up appearances, I wish one of the
mansions on your different estates in England to be appropriated for our
use. Your daughter ought to be known, and reside on the property of
which she is the future heiress."
"A reasonable demand, which I accede to. Is there anything further?"
"Nothing of moment; but, for Emily's sake, I should wish that you should
pay us an occasional visit, and, generally speaking, keep up appearances
before the world."
"That I shall be most happy to do, my dear, and shall always speak of
you, as I feel, with respect and esteem. Is there anything more, Mrs
Rainscourt?"
"There is not; but I believe that if I had been ten times more
exorbitant in my demands," replied the lady, with pique, "that you would
have granted them--for the pleasure of getting rid of me."
"I would, indeed, my dear," replied Rainscourt; "you may command me in
anything, except my own person."
"I require no _other_ partition, sir, than that of your fortune."
"And of that, my dear, you shall, as I have declared, have a liberal
share. So now, Mrs Rainscourt, I think we can have no further occasion
for disagreement. The property in Norfolk, where Admiral De Courcy
resided, is a beautiful spot, and I request you will consider it as your
head-quarters. Of course you will be your own mistress when you feel
inclined to change the scene. And now, as all may be considered as
settled, let us shake hands, and henceforward be good friends."
Mrs Rainscourt gave her hand and sealed the new contract, but,
ill-treated as she had been,--at variance with her husband for years,--
and now convinced that she had been outraged in the tenderest point,
still her heart leaned towards the father of her child. The hand that
now was extended in earnest of future separation, reminded her of the
day when she had offered it in pledge of future fidelity and love, and
had listened with rapture to his reciprocal obligation. She covered her
face with her handkerchief, which was soon moistened with her tears.
Such is woman! To the last moment she cherishes her love, pure as an
emanation from the Deity. In the happy days of confidence and truth, it
sheds a halo round her existence;--in those of sorrow and desertion,
memory, guided by its resistless power, like the gnomon of the dial,
marks but those hours which were sunny and serene.
However, Mrs Rainscourt soon found out that an unlimited credit upon
the banker was no bad substitute for a worthless husband; and, assisted
by her pride, she enjoyed more real happiness and peace of mind than she
had done for many years. During her stay in London, Rainscourt
occasionally paid his respects, behaved with great kindness and
propriety, and appeared not a little proud of the expanding beauty of
his daughter. Mrs Rainscourt not only recovered her spirits, but her
personal attractions; and their numerous acquaintance wondered what
could possess Mr Rainscourt to be indifferent to so lively and so
charming a woman. In a few weeks the mansion was ready to receive them,
and Mrs Rainscourt, with Emily, and a numerous establishment, quitted
the metropolis, to take up their abode in it for the ensuing summer.