THE BOUDOIR.
It was the morning after the events related in the last chapter.
The scene changes to a beautiful little villa in the environs of Upper
Clapton.
This charming retreat, which consisted of a main building two storeys
high, and wings each containing only one apartment, was constructed of
yellow bricks that had retained their primitive colour, the dwelling
being too far from the metropolis to be affected by its smoky
exhalations.
The villa stood in the midst of a small garden, beautifully laid out in
the French style of Louis XV.; and around it--interrupted only by the
avenue leading to the front door of the dwelling--was a grove of
evergreens. This grove formed a complete circle, and bounded the garden;
and the entire enclosure was protected by a regular paling, painted
white.
This miniature domain, consisting of about four acres, was one of the
most beautiful spots in the neighbourhood of London; and behind it--far
as the eye could reach--stretched the green fields, smiling and
cultivated like those of Tuscany.
In front of the villa was a small grass plot, in the centre of which was
a basin of clear and pellucid water, upon whose surface floated two
noble swans, and other aquatic birds of a curious species.
Every now and then the silence of the morning was broken by the bay of
several sporting-dogs, which occupied, in the rear of the building,
kennels more cleanly and more carefully attended upon than the dwellings
of many millions of Christians.
And yet the owner of that villa wanted not charity: witness the poor
woman and two children who have just emerged from the servants' offices
laden with cold provisions, and with a well-filled bundle of other
necessaries.
At the door of a stable a groom was seen dismounting from the back of a
thorough-bred chestnut mare, which had just returned from an airing, and
upon which he cast a glance of mingled pride and affection.
The windows of the villa were embellished with flowers in pots and vases
of curious workmanship; and outside the casements of the chambers upon
the first floor were suspended cages containing beautiful singing birds.
To the interior of one of those rooms must we direct the attention of
the reader. It was an elegant _boudoir_: and yet it could scarcely
justify the name; for by a _boudoir_ we understand something completely
feminine, whereas this contained articles of male and female use and
attire strangely commingled--pell-mell--together.
Upon a toilet-table were all the implements necessary for the decoration
and embellishment of female beauty; and carelessly thrown over a chair
were a coat, waistcoat, and trousers. A diminutive pair of
patent-leather Wellington boots kept company with delicate morocco
shoes, to which sandals were affixed. A huge press, half-open, disclosed
an array of beautiful dresses--silk, satin, and precious stuffs of all
kinds; and on a row of pegs were hung a scarlet hunting-coat, a
shooting-jacket, a jockey-cap, and other articles of attire connected
with field sports and masculine recreations. Parasols, foils,
single-sticks, dandy-canes, and hunting-whips, were huddled together in
one corner of that bureau. And yet all the confusion of these various
and discrepant objects was so regular in appearance--if the phrase can
be understood--that it seemed as if some cunning hand had purposely
arranged them all so as to strike the eye in a manner calculated to
encourage the impression that this elegant boudoir was inhabited by a
man of strange feminine tastes, or a woman of extraordinary masculine
ones.
[Illustration]
There was no pompous nor gorgeous display of wealth in this boudoir: its
interior, like that of the whole villa throughout, denoted competence
and ease--elegance and taste, but no useless luxury nor profuse
expenditure.
The window of the boudoir was half open. A bowl of chrystal water,
containing gold and silver fish, stood upon a table in the recess of the
casement. The chirrup of the birds echoed through the room, which was
perfumed with the odour of sweet flowers.
By the wall facing the window stood a French bed, on the head and foot
of which fell pink satin curtains, flowing from a gilt-headed arrow
fixed near the ceiling.
It was now nine o'clock, and the sun shed a flood of golden light
through the half-open casement upon that couch which was so voluptuous
and so downy.
A female of great beauty, and apparently about five-and-twenty years of
age, was reading in that bed. Her head reposed upon her hand, and her
elbow upon the pillow: and that hand was buried in a mass of luxuriant
light chestnut hair, which flowed down upon her back, her shoulders, and
her bosom; but not so as altogether to conceal the polished ivory
whiteness of the plump fair flesh.
The admirable slope of the shoulders, the swan-like neck, and the
exquisite symmetry of the bust, were descried even amidst those masses
of luxuriant and shining hair.
A high and ample forehead, hazel eyes, a nose perfectly straight, small
but pouting lips, brilliant teeth, and a well rounded chin, were
additional charms to augment the attractions of that delightful picture.
The whole scene was one of soft voluptuousness--the birds, the flowers,
the vase of gold and silver fish, the tasteful arrangements of the
boudoir, the French bed, and the beautiful creature who reclined in that
couch, her head supported upon the well-turned and polished arm, the
dazzling whiteness of which no envious sleeve concealed!
From time to time the eyes of that sweet creature were raised from the
book, and thrown around the room in a manner that denoted, if not mental
anxiety, at least a state of mind not completely at ease. Now and then,
too, a cloud passed over that brow which seemed the very throne of
innocence and candour; and a sigh agitated the breast which the sunbeams
covered as it were with kisses.
Presently the door was opened softly, and an elderly female, well but
simply dressed, and of placid and reserved aspect, entered the room.
"Mr. Stephens is below," said the servant; "I told him you had not risen
yet, and he says he will await your convenience."
"I know not how it is," exclaimed the lady impatiently, "but I never
felt less disposed for the visit of him whom I regard as my benefactor.
Ah! Louisa," she added, a cloud overspreading her entire countenance, "I
feel as if one of those dreadful attacks of despondency--one of those
fearful fits of alarm and foreboding--of presentiment of evil, were
coming on; and----"
"Pray calm yourself," interrupted the servant, speaking in a kind and
imploring tone. "Remember that the very walls have ears; that a word
spoken in too high a tone may betray your secret; and heaven alone knows
what would be the result of such an appalling discovery!"
"Yes, it is that horrible mystery," ejaculated the lady, "which fills me
with the most acute apprehensions. Compelled to sustain a constant
cheat--to feel that I am a living, a breathing, a moving falsehood, a
walking lie;--forced to crush all the natural amenities--ay, and even
the amiable weaknesses of my sex; governed by an imperious necessity
against which it is now impossible to rebel,--how can I do otherwise
than experience moments of unutterable anguish!"
"You must still have patience--patience only for a few months--three
short months,--and the result of all this suspense--the end of all this
anxiety, will be no doubt as advantageous--as immensely important and
beneficial--as we are led to believe."
"True: we are bound to believe a man who seems so serious in all his
actions with regard to me," said the lady, after a short pause, during
which she seemed to be wrapped up in a deep reverie. "But why does he
keep me in the dark with regard to the true nature of that grand result?
Why does he not trust me, who have placed such unbounded, such implicit
confidence in him?"
"He is afraid lest an unguarded moment on your part should betray what
he assures us to be of the most vital--the last importance," answered
the domestic, in a kindly remonstrative tone. "And really, my dearest
girl," she added, affectionately,--"pardon me for calling you so----"
"Ah! Louisa, you are my dearest friend!" said the lady energetically.
"You, and you alone, have supported my courage during the four years and
a half that this horrible deceit has already lasted; your kindness----"
"I have only done my duty, and acted as my heart dictated," mildly
replied the female dependant. "But as I was observing, you are so very
imprudent, as it is; and can you expect that Mr. Stephens will reveal to
you the minute details of a scheme, which----"
"Imprudent!" hastily exclaimed the lady: "how am I imprudent? Do I not
follow all _his_ directions--all _your_ advice? Have I not even learned
to talk to the very groom in his own language about the horses and the
dogs? and do I not scamper across the country, upon my chestnut mare,
with him following upon the bay horse at my heels, as if we were both
mad? And then you say that I am imprudent, when I have done all I can to
sustain the character which I have assumed? And with the exception of
these rides, how seldom do I go abroad? Half-a-dozen names include all
my acquaintances: and no one--no one ever comes here! This is, indeed, a
hermit's dwelling! How can you say that I am imprudent?"
"Without going out of this very room," began Louisa, with a smile, "I
could----"
"Ah! the eternal remonstrances against these habiliments of my sex!"
exclaimed the lady, drawing back the satin curtain at the head of the
bed with her snow-white arm, and glancing towards the bureau which
contained the female dresses: "ever those remonstrances! Alas! I should
die--I could not support this appalling deceit--were I not to gratify my
woman's feelings from time to time? Do you think that I can altogether
rebel against nature, and not experience the effects? And, in
occasionally soothing my mind with the occupations natural to my sex,
have I ever been imprudent? When I have dressed my hair as it should
ever be dressed--when I have put on one of those silk or muslin robes,
merely to see myself reflected in my mirror--and, oh! what a pardonable
vanity under such circumstances!--have I ever been imprudent enough to
set foot outside this retreat--this boudoir, to which you alone are ever
admitted? Do I ever dress with the blinds of the windows raised? No: I
have done all that human being can do to support my spirits during this
sad trial, and sustain the character I have assumed. But if it be
desired that I should altogether forget my sex--and cling to the garb of
a man; if I may never--not even for an hour in the evening--follow my
fantasy, and relieve my mind by resuming the garb which is natural to
me--within these four walls--unseen by a soul save you----"
"Yes, yes, you shall have your way," interrupted Louisa soothingly. "But
Mr. Stephens waits: will you not rise and see him?"
"It is my duty," said the lady resignedly. "He has surrounded me with
every comfort and every luxury which appetite can desire or money
procure; and, however he may ultimately benefit by this proceeding, in
the meantime my gratitude is due to him."
"The delicacy of his conduct towards you equals his liberality,"
observed Louisa pointedly.
"Yes; notwithstanding the peculiarity of our relative position, not a
word, not a look disrespectful towards me from the first moment of our
acquaintance! He faithfully adheres to his portion of the contract, and
I will as religiously observe mine."
"You speak wisely and consistently," said Louisa; "and the result of
your honourable conduct towards Mr. Stephens will no doubt be a
recompense which will establish your fortunes for life."
"That hope sustains me. Oh! how happy, thrice happy shall I be, when,
the period of my emancipation being arrived, I may escape to some
distant part of my own native country, or to some foreign clime, resume
the garb belonging to my sex, and live in a way consistent with nature,
and suitable to my taste. It is in anticipation of those golden moments
that I from time to time retire into the impenetrable mystery of this
boudoir, and dress myself in the garb which I love, and which is my own.
And when that elysian age shall come, oh! how shall I divert my mind
with a retrospection upon these long weary weeks and months, during
which I have been compelled to study habits opposed to my taste and
feeling--to affect a love of horses and dogs, that a manly predilection
may avert attention from a feminine countenance,--and to measure each
word that falls from my lips, to study each attitude which my form
assumes, and to relinquish pursuits and occupations which my mind
adores."
The lady threw herself back upon her pillow and gave way to a delicious
reverie. Louisa did not attempt to disturb her for some minutes. At
length she murmured something about "keeping Mr. Stephens waiting rather
longer than usual;" and her mistress, acting by a sudden impulse, rose
from her couch.
Then followed the mysterious toilet.
Stays, curiously contrived, gave to that exquisitely modelled form as
much as possible the appearance of the figure of a man. The swell of the
bosom, slightly compressed, was rendered scarcely apparent by padding
skilfully placed, so as to fill up and flatten the undulating bust. The
position of the waist was lowered; and all this was effected without
causing the subject of so strange a transformation any pain or
uneasiness.
The semi-military blue frock coat, buttoned up to the throat, completed
the disguise; and as this species of garment is invariably somewhat
prominent about the chest, the very fashion of its make materially aided
an effectual concealment, by averting surprise at the gentle
protuberance of the breast, in the present instance.
Louisa arranged the luxuriant and flowing hair with particular
attention, bestowing as much as possible a masculine appearance upon
that which would have been a covering worthy of a queen.
The toilet being thus completed, this strange being to whom we have
introduced our readers, descended to a parlour on the ground floor.
When Louisa left the boudoir she carefully locked the door and consigned
the key to her pocket.