JEALOUSY.
Miss Linisfarne recovered from her swoon to find that her machinations
had proved unsuccessful. She had lied in saying that Meg was engaged
to be married, and she had humiliated herself at the feet of a man who
scorned her. These things were sufficient in themselves to cause her
to repent of her folly, but, in place of learning a lesson from such
rebuffs, she became still more inflamed against the girl whom she
professed to love. Enraged by her failure and humiliation, she cast
about for some means whereby to punish Meg, whom she unjustly regarded
as the cause of her sufferings. No one was more prone than Miss
Linisfarne to lay the burden of her follies on others.
The reference by Dan to her lover of twenty years before, led her to
fancy that he knew more about her life than was actually the case. She
began to believe that this unknown man was well acquainted with the
shameful history which had led to her retirement, and had come down to
Farbis for the express purpose of recalling it to her mind. Ignorant
of the identity of Dr. Merle with Mallard, she could not conceive how
Dan had learned her secret, since she had confided it to no one in
Farbis. Yet it was known to him, as was apparent from his utterance of
the name, and he had used it in order to humiliate her to the dust.
Her mad love for him gave place to rage and resentment, and she longed
to find an opportunity to punish him for his disdain and knowledge.
On calm reflection, she saw that, by parting him from Meg, she could
render him miserable, and so resolved to see the girl, and, by lying
to her as she had to Dan, to effectually prevent their marriage. Well
aware that by her own acts she had prevented Meg from visiting at the
Court, she resolved to go in person to Dr. Merle's house and see her
rival. Her plan of action was not clear in her mind, but all she
wanted was to achieve a lifelong separation between the pair. With
this amiable object she repaired that same afternoon, alone and on
foot, to the house of the doctor.
It had been Dan's intention to speak personally to Meg; to demand from
her own lips a refutation of the lies uttered by Miss Linisfarne. But
on arriving at his camp he found a messenger from the vicar,
requesting him to come down to the village on that evening, and this
invitation Dan readily obeyed, as he was anxious to make a confidant
of the vicar, and to ask his advice with regard to the revelations
made by Tinker Tim, by Dr. Merle, and by Miss Linisfarne. He,
therefore, deemed it politic to postpone his visit to Meg until he had
seen the vicar, as in his future course he thought it would be wise to
be guided by the strong common sense of Jarner. Had he suspected Miss
Linisfarne's intention of poisoning the mind of Meg, he might have
altered his plans; but, as it was, he was ignorant of her schemes and
quite unprepared to counteract her wiles. So far Fortune declared
itself in favour of the enemy.
When Miss Linisfarne was announced as waiting for an interview, Meg
was in the dark room with her father. She was astonished at the visit,
as she could not think what reason her benefactress could have for
calling on her. Dr. Merle was also surprised and very much alarmed, as
he thought that this unexpected appearance of the woman he loved was
due to a use made of his indiscreet revelations to Dan. With much
agitation he implored Meg not to let Miss Linisfarne see him, though,
with characteristic feebleness, he assigned merely selfish reasons for
this strange request.
"I am ill--very ill; she will only disturb me," he reiterated
peevishly. "Why does she come here?"
"It is impossible to say, father," said Meg, reflectively. "Perhaps
she is sorry she has treated me so ill, and wants me to return to the
Court."
"Go, if she asks you, Meg; consent to anything, but do not let her see
me."
"Don't trouble yourself, father! I shall not let her enter this room."
"She may force her way in," replied Merle, in a terrified whisper;
"keep her away. Go and stop her."
Meg departed as desired, not without some wonderment at the anxiety
displayed by her father. She put it down to his retiring disposition;
for, strange as it may appear, she knew nothing of Merle's indulgence
in laudanum-drinking. He was ashamed to exhibit this vice before his
only child, and always locked himself in his room when indulging in a
debauch. Meg only knew these frequent retirements as caused by a
mysterious illness, and never for a moment suspected that they were
due to his own vices. Indeed, had she been told she would have been
none the wiser, as she was unacquainted with even the name of
laudanum. Merle's refusal to see Miss Linisfarne was quite in keeping
with his usual habits; so, after a momentary wonder at his agitation,
Meg dismissed the subject from her mind, and went into the next room
to see her visitor.
Miss Linisfarne, arrayed in black, and thickly veiled, arose to meet
her, but did not come forward with any greeting. On the contrary, she
stood still as any statue, and looked steadily at the splendid beauty
of the young girl. It was so undeniable that she recognized the
inferiority of her faded charms at once, and sank back in her chair
with a sigh. This Meg interpreted as a sign of sorrow that they had
been parted, and with great tenderness took the hand of--as she deemed
her to be--her friend. The situation was not without a suspicion of
irony.
"I am so glad to see you, Miss Linisfarne," she said, kissing the
elder woman. "I was afraid you were angry with me, and so kept away
from the Court."
"It was for your own good, Meg, that I was angry."
"For my own good!" repeated Meg, rather astounded at this assertion.
"What do you mean, Miss Linisfarne? Did I disobey you in anyway, that
you banished me from Farbis Court? Was my conduct distasteful to you,
that you so reproved me? What do you mean by saying your anger was for
my own good?"
Miss Linisfarne smiled under her veil at the indignation of the girl,
and uttered only one word in reply. It had not the effect she
anticipated.
"Dan!" she said, with much significance.
"What about Dan?" demanded Meg, in a puzzled tone.
"It was on his account I wished you to keep away from the Court."
"I don't understand!"
"No, poor child!" said Miss Linisfarne, in a pitying tone. "How can
you, with your youth and innocence and provincial education, be
expected to understand the baseness of man?"
"If you mean that Dan is base," replied Meg, bluntly, "I don't believe
it. He is as good a man as Mr. Jarner."
"I am afraid not, Meg."
"You need not be afraid, Miss Linisfarne. I have seen Dan daily for
the last three months, and every day I have grown to like him better."
"Are you in love with him?" sneered Miss Linisfarne.
Meg laughed heartily. Such an idea had never entered her mind, and she
thought Miss Linisfarne was joking.
"Of course I am not in love with him," she said, smiling; "why, we are
like brother and sister."
"You think so, but he does not. I tell you, Meg, he is a dishonourable
man."
"And I tell you he is not!"
"He has a brave defender, I see! But what do you say of a man who
professes to love two women at the same time?"
"I should call him a scoundrel. But such a thing is impossible. No one
can love two women at once."
"Dan can," retorted Miss Linisfarne, in a taunting manner; "he loves
you, and professes to love me."
"Stop, stop!" cried Meg, with a bewildered expression of countenance.
"What do you say? Dan loves me?"
"Yes!"
"That is impossible! He has never, in any way, hinted at such a
thing."
"No! Because he was afraid of my anger."
"Of your anger!"
"Yes! He came to Farbis Court yesterday and declared that he loved
me--that he wished to make me his wife."
"Oh, I cannot believe it," said Meg, jealously.
"Nevertheless, it is true! He proposed to marry me; but I refused his
offer with scorn."
"Why did you do that?"
Miss Linisfarne raised her veil, and showed a face inflamed with
anger. Having once committed herself, she did not measure her words,
and raged on without considering the harm she was doing. The belief
Meg had in Dan enraged her, and she was determined to blacken his
character in the girl's eyes, so that any tenderness Meg might have
towards him should be crushed in its infancy.
"Why did I do that?" she cried, with rapid speech. "Because his offer
was an insult. He said that he loved you; in every action he has shown
that he loved you. Fool that you are, do you think a man would stay in
this place for weeks and weeks had he not been influenced by your
presence? He was in love with me also--the base, dishonourable
villain!"
"If so, why did he ask you to be his wife?" said Meg, calmly, though
her heart was beating wildly.
"Because he is a base and dishonourable man. He loved you for your
looks, child, but he wished to marry me for my money."
"No, no!"
"I tell you it is true," resumed Miss Linisfarne, vehemently. "Why
should I, who have been a mother to you, tell a falsehood? This man
has insulted us both. Now that I have repelled him he will come to you
with loving words, and you--what will you say?"
"If he has done what you say, I shall treat him with scorn."
"Do you not believe me?"
"No, Miss Linisfarne, I do not," replied Meg, facing round with great
indignation. "I do not believe your story. If Dan proposed to you he
does not love me. If he loves me as you say, he did not propose to
you. I shall know the truth from his own lips."
"Will you ask him?" demanded Miss Linisfarne, rather alarmed at the
turn affairs had taken.
"Of course I shall ask him. And, what is more, I shall believe his
answer."
"You love him, girl--you love him!"
"I do. Until you spoke I only felt like a sister to him, but now you
have put his conduct in a new light, and I feel what I never felt
before. I do love him, and on his answer shall depend the happiness or
the misery of my life."
Thus Miss Linisfarne, by her jealousy, had brought about the very
catastrophe she desired to avoid. She recognized that her wiles were
worse than useless before the honest character of the girl, and
silently admitted that she was again beaten. She had failed with Dan,
now she failed with Meg. Only retreat remained.
"You fool!" she said cruelly. "Ask him, and believe his lies. Your
misery dates from that moment."
She swept from the room with a haughty carriage, and left Meg
bewildered and afraid.