WYVIS BRAND'S IDEAL.
Everything was satisfactorily settled. Cuthbert was put on his
probation; Nora was instructed in the prospect that lay before her, and
was allowed to correspond with her "semi-betrothed," as he insisted on
calling himself. Mrs. Colwyn was radiant with reflected glory, for
although she despised and hated Mrs. Brand, she was not blind to the
advantages that would accrue to herself through connection with a County
family. She was not, however, as fully informed in the details of the
little love-affair as she imagined herself to be. Janetta's share in
bringing about a _dénouement_ and retarding its further development was
quite unknown to her. The delay, which some of Mr. Colwyn's old friends
urged with great vigor, was ascribed by her chiefly to the hostile
influences of Wyvis Brand, and she made a point of being openly uncivil
to that gentleman when, on fine mornings, he brought his boy to Gwynne
Street or fetched him away on a bright afternoon. For it had been
decided that little Julian should not only come every day at ten, but on
two days of the week should stay until four o'clock in the afternoon, in
order to enjoy the advantages of Tiny's society. He had been living so
unchild-like a life of late that Janetta begged to keep him for play as
well as for lessons with other children.
Nora went back to her school somewhat sobered by the unexpected turn of
events, and rather ashamed of her assumption (dispelled by Janetta) that
Cuthbert Brand had given drawing lessons at Mrs. Smith's in order to be
near her. Mr. Cuthbert Brand discontinued these lessons, but opened a
class in Beaminster at the half-deserted Art School, and made himself
popular wherever he went. Janetta was half inclined to doubt the
genuineness of his affection for Nora when she heard of his innocent,
but quite enthusiastic, flirtations with other girls. But he always
solemnly assured her that Nora had his heart, and Nora only; and as long
as he made Nora happy Janetta was content. And so the weeks passed on.
She had more to do now that Julian came every day, but she got no new
music pupils, and she heard nothing about the evening parties at Lady
Ashley's. She concluded that Sir Philip and his mother had forgotten
her, but such was not the case. There had been a death in the family,
and the consequent period of mourning had prevented Lady Ashley from
giving any parties--that was all.
For some little time, therefore, Janetta's life seemed likely to flow on
in a very peaceful way. Mrs. Colwyn "broke out" only once between
Christmas and Easter, and was more penitent and depressed after her
outbreak than Janetta had ever seen her. Matters went on more quietly
than ever after this event. Easter came, and brought Nora and Georgie
home again, and then there was a period of comparative excitement and
jollity, for the Brands began to come with much regularity to the little
house in Gwynne Street, and there were merry-makings almost every day.
But when the accustomed routine began again, Janetta, in her
conscientious way, took herself seriously to task. She had not been
governing herself, her thoughts, her time, her temper, as she conceived
that it was right for her to do. On reflection, it seemed to her that
one person lately filled up the whole of her mental horizon. And this
person she was genuinely shocked to find was Wyvis Brand.
Why should she concern herself so much about him? He was married; he had
a child; his mother and brother lived with him, and supplied his need of
society. He went out into the world about Beaminster more than he used
to do, and might have been fairly popular if he had exerted himself, but
this he would never do. There were fewer reports current about his bad
companions, or his unsteady way of life; and Janetta gathered from
various sources that he had entirely abandoned that profane and
reckless method of speech for which she had rebuked him. He was
improving, certainly. Well, was that any reason why she should think
about him so much, or consider his character and his probable fate so
earnestly? She saw no reason in it, she told herself; and perhaps she
was right.
There was another reason even more potent for making her think of him.
He had had an unsatisfactory, troublous sort of life; he had been
unfortunate in his domestic relations, and he was most decidedly an
unhappy man. Many a woman before Janetta has found reasons of this kind
suffice for love of a man. Certainly, in Janetta's case, they formed the
basis of a good deal of interest. She told herself that she could not
help thinking of him. He came very often, on pretext of bringing or of
fetching Julian--especially on the days when Julian stayed until four
o'clock, for then he would stray in and sit down to chat with Janetta
and her mother until it was sheer incivility not to offer him a cup of
tea. Softened by the pleasures of hospitality, Mrs. Colwyn would be
quite gracious to him at these times. But now and then she left him to
be entertained by Janetta, saying rather sharply that she did not care
to meet the man who chose to behave "so brutally to her darling Nora."
So that Janetta got into the way of sitting with him, talking with him
on all subjects, of giving him her sage advice when he asked for it, and
listening with interest to the stories that he told her of his past
life. It was natural that she should think about him a good deal, and
about his efforts to straighten the tangled coil of his life, and to
make himself a worthier father for his little son than his own father
had been to him. There was nothing in the world more likely than this
sort of intercourse to bring these two kinsfolk upon terms of closest
friendship. And as Janetta indignantly told herself--there was
nothing--nothing more.
She always remembered that his wife was living; she never forgot it for
a moment. He was, of course, not a man whom she ever thought of
loving--she was angry with herself for the very suggestion--but he was
certainly a man who interested her more than any one whom she had ever
met. And he was interested in her too. He liked to talk to her, to ask
her advice and listen to her pet theories. She was friend, comrade,
sister, all in one. Nothing more. But the position was, whether they
knew it or not, a rather dangerous one, and an innocent friendship might
have glided into something closer and more harmful had not an unexpected
turn been given to the events of both their lives.
For some time Janetta had seen little of the Adairs. They were very much
occupied--visiting and receiving visits--and Margaret's lessons were not
persevered in. But one afternoon, shortly after Easter, she called at
Mrs. Colwyn's house between three and four, and asked when she might
begin again. Before the day was settled, however, they drifted into talk
about other things, and Margaret was soon deeply engaged in an account
of her presentation at Court.
"I thought you were going to stay in town for the season?" Janetta
asked.
Margaret shook her head. "It was so hot and noisy," she murmured. "Papa
said the close rooms spoiled my complexion, and I am sure they spoiled
my temper!" She smiled bewitchingly as she spoke.
She was charmingly dressed in cream-colored muslin, with a soft
silk sash of some nondescript pink hue tied round her waist, and a
bunch of roses at her throat to match the Paris flowers in her
broad-brimmed, slightly tilted, picturesque straw hat. A wrap for the
carriage-fawn-colored, with silk-lining of rose-pink toned by an
under-tint of grey--carried out the scheme of color suggested by her
dress, and suited her fair complexion admirably. She had thrown this
wrap over the back of a chair and removed her hat, so that Janetta might
see whether she was altered or not.
"You are just a trifle paler," Janetta confessed.
As a matter of fact there were some tired lines under Margaret's eyes,
and a distinct waning of the fresh faint bloom upon her cheek--changes
which made of her less the school girl than the woman of the world. And
yet, to Janetta's thinking, she was more beautiful than ever, for she
was acquiring a little of the dignity given by experience without losing
the simple tranquillity of the exquisite child.
"I am a little tired," Margaret said. "One sees so much--one goes to so
many places. I sighed for Helmsley Court, and dear mamma brought me
home."
At this moment a crash, as of some falling body, resounded through the
house, followed by a clatter of breaking crockery, and the cries of
children. Janetta started up, with changing color, and apologized to her
guest.
"Dear Margaret, will you excuse me for a moment? I am afraid that one of
the children must have fallen. I will be back in a minute or two."
"Go, dear, by all means," said Margaret, placidly. "I know how necessary
you are."
Janetta ran off, being desperately afraid that Mrs. Colwyn had been the
cause of this commotion. But here she was mistaken. Mrs. Colwyn was safe
in her room, but Ph[oe]be, the charity orphan, had been met, while
ascending the kitchen stair with the tea-tray in her hands, by a raid of
nursery people--Tiny and Curly and Julian Brand, to wit--had been
accidentally knocked down, had broken the best tea-set and dislocated
her own collar-bone; while Julian's hand was severely cut and Curly's
right eye was black and blue. Tiny had fortunately escaped without
injury, and it was she, therefore, who was sent to Margaret with a
modified version of the disaster.
"Please, Janetta says, will you stay for a little minute or two till she
comes back again? Curly's gone for the doctor because Ph[oe]be's done
something to one of her bones; and Janetta's tying up Julian's thumb
because it's bleeding so dreadfully."
"I have never seen you before, have I?" said Margaret, smiling at the
slim little girl with the delicate face and great blue eyes. "You are
Tiny; I have often heard of you. Do you know me?"
"Yes," said Tiny. "You are the beautiful lady who sends us flowers and
things--Janetta's friend."
"Yes, that is right. And how long will Janetta be?"
"Oh, not long, she said; and she hoped you would not mind waiting for a
little while?"
"Not at all. Is that the doctor?" as a knock resounded through the
little house.
"I dare say it is," said Tiny, running to the door; and then after a
moment's pause, she added, in a rather disappointed tone, "No, it's
Julian's father. It's Mr. Brand."
"Mr. Brand!" said Margaret, half-astonished and half-amused. "Oh, I have
heard of him." And even as she spoke, the door opened, and Wyvis Brand
walked straight into the room.
He gave a very slight start as his eyes fell upon Margaret, but betrayed
no other sign of surprise. Tiny flew to him at once, dragged at his
hand, and effected some sort of informal introduction, mingled with an
account of the accident which had happened to Julian.
"Don't you want to go and ascertain the amount of the injury?" said
Margaret, with a little smile.
"Not at all," said Wyvis, emphatically, and took up his position by the
mantel-piece, whence he got the best view of her graceful figure and
flower-like face. Margaret felt the gaze and was not displeased by it,
admiration was no new thing to her; she smiled vaguely and slightly
lowered her lovely eyes. And Wyvis stood and looked.
In spite of his apparent roughness Wyvis Brand was an impressionable
man. He had come into the room cold, tired, not quite in his usual
health, and more than usually out of humor; and instead of the ordinary
sight of Janetta--a trim, pleasant, household-fairy sort of sight, it
was true, but not of the wildly exciting kind--he found a vision, as it
seemed to him, of the most ethereal beauty--a woman whose every movement
was full of grace, whose exquisitely modulated voice expressed
refinement as clearly as her delicately moulded features; whose whole
being seemed to exhale a sort of perfume of culture, as if she were in
herself the most perfect product of a whole civilization.
Wyvis had been in many drawing-rooms and known many women, more or less
intimately, but he had never, in all his purposeless Bohemian life, come
across exactly this type of woman--a type in which refinement counts for
more than beauty, culture for more than grace. With a sudden leap of
memory, he recalled some scenes of which he had been witness years
before, when a woman, hot, red, excited with wine and with furious
jealousy, had reviled him in the coarsest terms, had struck him in the
face and had spat out foul and vindictive words of abuse. That
woman--ah, that woman was his wife--had been for many years to him the
type of what women must always be when stripped of the veneer of
society's restraints. Janetta had of late shaken his conviction on this
point; it was reserved for Margaret Adair to shatter it to the winds.
She looked so fair, so dainty, so delicate--he would have been a marvel
amongst men who believed that her body was anything but "an index to a
most fair mind"--that Wyvis said to himself that he had never seen any
woman like her. He was fascinated and enthralled. The qualities which
made her so different from his timid, underbred, melancholy mother, or
his coarse and self-indulgent wife, were those in which Margaret showed
peculiar excellence. And before these--for the first time in his
life--Wyvis Brand fell down and worshipped.
It was unfortunate; it was wrong; but it was one of those things that
will happen sometimes in everyday life. Wyvis was separated from his
wife, and hated as much as he despised her. Almost without knowing what
he did, he laid his whole heart and soul, suddenly and unthinkingly, at
Margaret's feet. And Margaret, smiling and serene, utterly ignorant of
his past, and not averse to a little romance that might end more
flatteringly than Sir Philip's attentions had done, was quite ready to
accept the gift.
Before Janetta had bound up Julian's hand, and made some fresh tea,
which she was obliged to carry upstairs herself, Mr. Brand had obtained
information from Margaret as to the day and hour on which she was likely
to come to Janetta for her singing-lesson, and also as to several of her
habits in the matter of walks and drives. Margaret gave the information
innocently enough; Wyvis had no direct purpose in extracting it; but the
attraction which the two felt towards each other was sufficient to make
such knowledge of her movements undesirable, and even dangerous for
both.