HOW VERY MUCH HE LOVED HER.
We have seen how Mr. Traffick was finally turned out of his
father-in-law's house;--or, rather, not quite finally when we last
saw him, as he continued to sleep at Queen's Gate for two or three
nights after that, until he had found shelter for his head. This he
did without encountering Sir Thomas, Sir Thomas pretending the while
to believe that he was gone; and then in very truth his last pair
of boots was removed. But his wife remained, awaiting the great
occurrence with all the paternal comforts around her, Mr. Traffick
having been quite right in surmising that the father would not expose
his daughter in her delicate condition to the inclemencies of the
weather.
But this no more than natural attention on the part of the father and
grandfather to the needs of his own daughter and grandchild did not
in the least mitigate in the bosom of the Member of Parliament the
wrath which he felt at his own expulsion. It was not, as he said to
himself, the fact that he was expelled, but the coarseness of the
language used. "The truth is," he said to a friend in the House,
"that, though it was arranged I should remain there till after my
wife's confinement, I could not bear his language." It will probably
be acknowledged that the language was of a nature not to be borne.
When, therefore, Captain Batsby went down to the House on the day
of Tom's departure to see his counsellor he found Mr. Traffick full
rather of anger than of counsel. "Oh, yes," said the Member, walking
with the Captain up and down some of the lobbies, "I spoke to him,
and told him my mind very freely. When I say I'll do a thing, I
always do it. And as for Tringle, nobody knows him better than I. It
does not do to be afraid of him. There is a little bit of the cur
about him."
"What did he say?"
"He didn't like it. The truth is--. You know I don't mind speaking to
you openly."
"Oh, no," said Batsby.
"He thinks he ought to do as well with the second girl as he has
done with the first." Captain Batsby at this opened his eyes, but
he said nothing. Having a good income of his own, he thought much
of it. Not being the younger son of a lord, and not being a Member
of Parliament, he thought less of the advantages of those high
privileges. It did not suit him, however, to argue the question at
the present moment. "He is proud of his connection with our family,
and looks perhaps even more than he ought to do to a seat in the
House."
"I could get in myself if I cared for it," said Batsby.
"Very likely. It is more difficult than ever to find a seat just now.
A family connection of course does help one. I had to trust to that a
good deal before I was known myself."
"But what did Sir Thomas say?"
"He made himself uncommonly disagreeable;--I can tell you that. He
couldn't very well abuse me, but he wasn't very particular in what he
said about you. Of course he was cut up about the elopement. We all
felt it. Augusta was very much hurt. In her precarious state it was
so likely to do a mischief."
"It can't be undone now."
"No;--it can't be undone. But it makes one feel that you can't make
a demand for money as though you set about it in the other way. When
I made up my mind to marry I stated what I thought I had a right
to demand, and I got it. He knew very well that I shouldn't take a
shilling less. It does make a difference when he knows very well that
you've got to marry the girl whether with or without money."
"I haven't got to marry the girl at all."
"Haven't you? I rather think you have, old fellow. It is generally
considered that when a gentleman has gone off with a girl he means to
marry her."
"Not if the father comes after her and brings her back."
"And when he has gone afterwards to the family house and proposed
himself again in the mother's presence." In all this Mr. Traffick
received an unfair advantage from the communications which were made
to him by his wife. "Of course you must marry her. Sir Thomas knows
that, and, knowing it, why should he be flush with his money? I never
allowed myself to say a single word they could use against me till
the ready-money-down had been all settled."
"What was it he did say?" Batsby was thoroughly sick of hearing his
counsellor tell so many things as to his own prudence and his own
success, and asked the question in an angry tone.
"He said that he would not consider the question of money at all till
the marriage had been solemnised. Of course he stands on his right.
Why shouldn't he? But, rough as he is, he isn't stingy. Give him his
due. He isn't stingy. The money's there all right; and the girl is
his own child. You'll have to wait his time;--that's all."
"And have nothing to begin with?"
"That'll be about it, I think. But what does it matter, Batsby? You
are always talking about your income."
"No, I ain't; not half so much as you do of your seat in
Parliament,--which everybody says you are likely to lose at the next
election." Then, of course, there was a quarrel. Mr. Traffick took
his offended dignity back to the House,--almost doubting whether it
might not be his duty to bring Captain Batsby to the bar for contempt
of privilege; and the Captain took himself off in thorough disgust.
Nevertheless there was the fact that he had engaged himself to the
young lady a second time. He had run away with her with the object
of marrying her, and had then, according to his own theory in such
matters,--been relieved from his responsibility by the appearance of
the father and the re-abduction of the young lady. As the young lady
had been taken away from him it was to be supposed that the intended
marriage was negatived by a proper authority. When starting for
Brussels he was a free man; and had he been wise he would have
remained there, or at some equally safe distance from the lady's
charms. Then, from a distance, he might have made his demand for
money, and the elopement would have operated in his favour rather
than otherwise. But he had come back, and had foolishly allowed
himself to be persuaded to show himself at Queen's Gate. He had
obeyed Traffick's advice, and now Traffick had simply thrown him over
and quarrelled with him. He had too promised, in the presence both of
the mother and the married sister, that he would marry the young lady
without any regard to money. He felt it all and was very angry with
himself, consoling himself as best he might with the reflection that
Sir Thomas's money was certainly safe, and that Sir Thomas himself
was a liberal man. In his present condition it would be well for him,
he thought, to remain inactive and see what circumstances would do
for him.
But circumstances very quickly became active. On his return to his
lodgings, after leaving Mr. Traffick, he found a note from Queen's
Gate. "Dearest Ben,--Mamma wants you to come and lunch to-morrow.
Papa has taken poor Tom down to Liverpool, and won't be back till
dinner-time.--G." He did not do as he was bid, alleging some
engagement of business. But the persecution was continued in such
a manner as to show him that all opposition on his part would be
hopeless unless he were to proceed on some tour as prolonged as that
of his future brother-in-law. "Come and walk at three o'clock in
Kensington Gardens to-morrow." This was written on the Saturday after
his note had been received. What use would there be in continuing a
vain fight? He was in their hands, and the more gracefully he yielded
the more probable it would be that the father would evince his
generosity at an early date. He therefore met his lady-love on the
steps of the Albert Memorial, whither she had managed to take herself
all alone from the door of the family mansion.
"Ben," she said, as she greeted him, "why did you not come for me to
the house?"
"I thought you would like it best."
"Why should I like it best? Of course mamma knows all about it.
Augusta would have come with me just to see me here, only that she
cannot walk out just at present." Then he said something to her about
the Monument, expressed his admiration of the Prince's back, abused
the east wind, remarked that the buds were coming on some of the
trees, and suggested that the broad road along by the Round Pond
would be drier than the little paths. It was not interesting, as
Gertrude felt; but she had not expected him to be interesting. The
interest she knew must be contributed by herself. "Ben," she said,
"I was so happy to hear what you said to mamma the other day."
"What did I say?"
"Why, of course, that, as papa has given his consent, our engagement
is to go on just as if--"
"Just as if what?"
"As if we had found the clergyman at Ostend."
"If we had done that we should have been married now," suggested
Batsby.
"Exactly. And it's almost as good as being married;--isn't it?"
"I suppose it comes to the same thing."
"Hadn't you better go to papa again and have it all finished?"
"He makes himself so very unpleasant."
"That's only because he wants to punish us for running away. I
suppose it was wrong. I shall never be sorry, because it made me know
how very, very much you loved me. Didn't it make you feel how very,
very dearly I loved you,--to trust myself all alone with you in that
way?"
"Oh, yes; of course."
"And papa can't bite you, you know. You go to him, and tell him that
you hope to be received in the house as my,--my future husband, you
know."
"Shall I say nothing else?"
"You mean about the day?"
"I was meaning about money."
"I don't think I would. He is very generous, but he does not like to
be asked. When Augusta was to be married he arranged all that himself
after they were engaged."
"But Traffick demanded a certain sum?" This question Captain Batsby
asked with considerable surprise, remembering what Mr. Traffick had
said to him in reference to Augusta's fortune.
"Not at all. Septimus knew nothing about it till after the
engagement. He was only too glad to get papa's consent. You mustn't
believe all that Septimus says, you know. You may be sure of
this,--that you can trust papa's generosity." Then, before he landed
her at the door in Queen's Gate, he had promised that he would make
another journey to Lombard Street, with the express purpose of
obtaining Sir Thomas's sanction to the marriage,--either with or
without money.
"How are you again?" said Sir Thomas, when the Captain was for the
third time shown into the little back parlour. "Have you had another
trip to the continent since I saw you?" Sir Thomas was in a good
humour. Tom had gone upon his travels; Mr. Traffick had absolutely
taken himself out of the house; and the millions were accommodating
themselves comfortably.
"No, Sir Thomas; I haven't been abroad since then. I don't keep on
going abroad constantly in that way."
"And what can I do for you now?"
"Of course it's about your daughter. I want to have your permission
to consider ourselves engaged."
"I explained to you before that if you and Gertrude choose to marry
each other I shall not stand in your way."
"Thank you, Sir."
"I don't know that it is much to thank me for. Only that she made a
fool of herself by running away with you I should have preferred to
wait till some more sensible candidate had proposed himself for her
hand. I don't suppose you'll ever set the Thames on fire."
"I did very well in the army."
"It's a pity you did not remain there, and then, perhaps, you would
not have gone to Ostend with my daughter. As it is, there she is. I
think she might have done better with herself; but that is her fault.
She has made her bed and she must lie upon it."
"If we are to be married I hope you won't go on abusing me always,
Sir Thomas."
"That's as you behave. You didn't suppose that I should allow such a
piece of tomfoolery as that to be passed over without saying anything
about it! If you marry her and behave well to her I will--" Then he
paused.
"What will you do, Sir Thomas?"
"I'll say as little as possible about the Ostend journey."
"And as to money, Sir Thomas?"
"I think I have promised quite enough for you. You are not in a
position, Captain Batsby, to ask me as to money;--nor is she. You
shall marry her without a shilling,--or you shall not marry her at
all. Which is it to be? I must have an end put to all this. I won't
have you hanging about my house unless I know the reason why. Are you
two engaged to each other?"
"I suppose we are," said Batsby, lugubriously.
"Suppose is not enough."
"We are," said Batsby, courageously.
"Very well. Then, from this moment, Ostend shall be as though there
weren't such a seaport anywhere in Europe. I will never allude to the
place again,--unless, perhaps, you should come and stay with me too
long when I am particularly anxious to get rid of you. Now you had
better go and settle about the time and all that with Lady Tringle,
and tell her that you mean to come and dine to-morrow or next day,
or whenever it suits. Come and dine as often as you please, only do
not bring your wife to live with me pertinaciously when you're not
asked." All this Captain Batsby did not understand, but, as he left
Lombard Street, he made up his mind that of all the men he had ever
met, Sir Thomas Tringle, his future father-in-law, was the most
singular. "He's a better fellow than Traffick," said Sir Thomas to
himself when he was alone, "and as he has trusted me so far I'll not
throw him over."
The Captain now had no hesitation in taking himself to Queen's Gate.
As he was to be married he might as well make the best of such
delights as were to be found in the happy state of mutual affection.
"My dear, dearest Benjamin, I am so happy," said Lady Tringle,
dissolved in tears as she embraced her son-in-law that was to be.
"You will always be so dear to me!" In this she was quite true.
Traffick was not dear to her. She had at first thought much of Mr.
Traffick's position and noble blood, but, of late, she too had
become very tired of Mr. Traffick. Augusta took almost too much upon
herself, and Mr. Traffick's prolonged presence had been an eyesore.
Captain Batsby was softer, and would be much more pleasant as a
son-in-law. Even the journey to Ostend had had a good effect in
producing a certain humility.
"My dear Benjamin," said Augusta, "we shall always be so happy to
entertain you as a brother. Mr. Traffick has a great regard for
you, and said from the first that if you behaved as you ought to do
after that little journey he would arrange that everything should go
straight between you and papa. I was quite sure that you would come
forward at once as a man."
But Gertrude's delight was, of course, the strongest, and Gertrude's
welcoming the warmest,--as was proper. "When I think of it," she said
to him, "I don't know how I should ever have looked anybody in the
face again,--after our going away with our things mixed up in that
way."
"I am glad rather now that we didn't find the clergyman."
"Oh, certainly," said Gertrude. "I don't suppose anybody would have
given me anything. Now there'll be a regular wedding, and, of course,
there will be the presents."
"And, though nothing is to be settled, I suppose he will do
something."
"And it would have been very dreadful, not having a regular
trousseau," said Gertrude. "Mamma will, of course, do now just as she
did about Augusta. He allowed her £300! Only think;--if we had been
married at Ostend you would have had to buy things for me before
the first month was out. I hadn't more than half-a-dozen pair of
stockings with me."
"He can't but say now that we have done as he would have us," added
the Captain. "I do suppose that he will not be so unnatural as not to
give something when Augusta had £200,000."
"Indeed, she had not. But you'll see that sooner or later papa will
do for me quite as well as for Augusta." In this way they were happy
together, consoling each other for any little trouble which seemed
for a while to cloud their joys, and basking in the full sunshine of
their permitted engagement.
The day was soon fixed, but fixed not entirely in reference to the
wants of Gertrude and her wedding. Lucy had also to be married
from the same house, and the day for her marriage had already been
arranged. Sir Thomas had ordered that everything should be done for
Lucy as though she were a daughter of the house, and her wedding had
been arranged for the last week in May. When he heard that Ayala and
Colonel Stubbs were also engaged he was anxious that the two sisters
should be "buckled," as he called it, on the same occasion,--and he
magnanimously offered to take upon himself the entire expense of the
double arrangement, intimating that the people in Kingsbury Crescent
had hardly room enough for a wedding. But Ayala, acting probably
under Stalham influences, would not consent to this. Lady Albury, who
was now in London, was determined that Ayala's marriage should take
place from her own house; and, as Aunt Margaret and Uncle Reginald
had consented, that matter was considered as settled. But Sir Thomas,
having fixed his mind upon a double wedding, resolved that Gertrude
and Lucy should be the joint brides. Gertrude, who still suffered
perhaps a little in public estimation from the Ostend journey, was
glad enough to wipe out that stain as quickly as possible, and did
not therefore object to the arrangement. But to the Captain there was
something in it by which his more delicate feelings were revolted.
It was a matter of course that Ayala should be present at her
sister's wedding, and would naturally appear there in the guise
of a bridesmaid. She would also, now, act as a bridesmaid to
Gertrude,--her future position as Mrs. Colonel Stubbs giving her, as
was supposed, sufficient dignity for that honourable employment. But
Captain Batsby, not so very long ago, had appeared among the suitors
for Ayala's hand; and therefore, as he said to Gertrude, he felt a
little shamefaced about it. "What does that signify?" said Gertrude.
"If you say nothing to her about it, I'll be bound she'll say nothing
to you." And so it was on the day of the wedding. Ayala did not say
a word to Captain Batsby, nor did Captain Batsby say very much to
Ayala.
On the day before his marriage Captain Batsby paid a fourth visit to
Lombard Street in obedience to directions from Sir Thomas. "There,
my boy," said he, "though you and Gertrude did take a little journey
on the sly to a place which we will not mention, you shan't take her
altogether empty-handed." Then he explained certain arrangements
which he had made for endowing Gertrude with an allowance, which
under the circumstance the bridegroom could not but feel to be
liberal. It must be added, that, considering the shortness of time
allowed for getting them together, the amount of wedding presents
bestowed was considered by Gertrude to be satisfactory. As Lucy's
were exhibited at the same time the show was not altogether mean.
"No doubt I had twice as much as the two put together," said Mrs.
Traffick to Ayala up in her bedroom, "but then of course Lord
Boardotrade's rank would make people give."