JOHN JR. AND MABEL.
Time and absence had gradually softened John Jr.’s feelings toward
Nellie. She was not married to Mr. Wilbur—possibly she never would
be—and if on her return to America he found her the same, he would lose
no time in seeing her, and, if possible, secure her to himself. Such
was the tenor of his thoughts, as on one bright morning in June he took
his way to Lexington, whither he was going on business for his father.
Before leaving the city, he rode down to the depot, as was his usual
custom, reaching there just as the cars bound for Frankfort were
rolling away. Upon the platform of the rear car stood an acquaintance
of his, who called out, “Halloo, Livingstone, have you heard the news?”
“News, no. What news?” asked John Jr., following after the fast moving
train.
“Bob Wilbur and Nellie Douglass are married,” screamed the young man,
who, having really heard of Mr. Wilbur’s marriage, supposed it must of
course be with Nellie.
John Jr. had no doubt of it, and for a moment his heart fainted beneath
the sudden blow. But he was not one to yield long to despair, and soon
recovering from the first shock, he raved in uncontrollable fury,
denouncing Nellie as worthless, fickle, and good for nothing, mentally
wishing her much joy with her husband, who in the same breath he hoped
“would break his confounded neck,” and ending his tirade by solemnly
vowing to offer himself to the first girl he met, whether black or
white!
Full of this resolution he put spurs to Firelock and sped away over the
turnpike, looking neither to the right nor the left, lest a chance
should offer for the fulfillment of his vow. It was the dusk of evening
when he reached home, and giving his horse into the care of a servant,
he walked with rapid strides into the parlor, starting back as he saw
_Mabel Ross_, who, for a few days past, had been visiting at Maple
Grove.
“There’s no backing out,” thought he. “It’s my destiny, and I’ll meet
it like a man. Nellie spited me, and I’ll let her know how good it
feels.”
“Mabel,” said he, advancing toward her, “will you marry me? Say yes or
no quick.”
This was not quite the kind of wooing which Mabel had expected. ’Twas
not what she read of in novels, but then it was in keeping with the
rest of John Jr.’s conduct, and very frankly and naturally she answered
“Yes.”
“Very well,” said he, beginning to feel better already, and turning to
leave the room—“Very well, you fix the day, and arrange it all
yourself, only let it be very soon, for now I’ve made up my mind, I’m
in a mighty hurry.”
Mabel laughed, and hardly knowing whether he were in earnest or not,
asked “if she should speak to the minister, too.”
“Yes, no,” said he. “Just tell mother, and she’ll fix it all right.
Will you?”
And he walked away, feeling nothing, thinking nothing, except that he
was engaged. Engaged! The very idea seemed to add new dignity to _him_,
while it invested Mabel with a charm she had not hitherto possessed.
John Jr. liked everything that belonged to him exclusively, and Mabel
now was his—his wife she would be—and when next he met her in the
drawing-room, his manner toward her was unusually kind, attracting the
attention of his mother, who wondered at the change. One after another
the family retired, until there was no one left in the parlor except
Mabel and Mrs. Livingstone, who, as her husband chanced to be absent,
had invited her young visitor to share her room. When they were alone,
Mabel, with many blushes and a few tears, told of all that had
occurred, except, indeed, of John’s manner of proposing, which she
thought best not to confide to a third person.
Eagerly Mrs. Livingstone listened, mentally congratulating herself upon
the completion of her plan without her further interference, wondering
the while how it had been so suddenly brought about, and half trembling
lest it should prove a failure after all. So when Mabel spoke of John
Jr.’s wish that the marriage should be consummated immediately, she
replied, “Certainly—by all means. There is no necessity for delay. You
can marry at once, and get ready afterwards. It is now the last of
June. I had thought of going to Saratoga in July, and a bride is just
the thing to give eclat to our party.”
“But,” answered Mabel, who hardly fancied a wedding without all the
usual preparations, which she felt she should enjoy so much, “I cannot
think of being married until October, when Nellie perhaps will be
here.”
Nellie’s return was what Mrs. Livingstone dreaded, and very ingeniously
she set herself at work to put aside Mabel’s objections, succeeding so
far that the young girl promised compliance with whatever she should
think proper. The next morning, as John Jr. was passing through the
hall, she called him into her room, delicately broaching the subject of
his engagement, saying she knew he could not help loving a girl
possessed of so many excellent qualities as Mabel Ross. Very patiently
John Jr. heard her until she came to speak of love. Then, in much
louder tones than newly engaged men are apt to speak of their
betrothed, he exclaimed, “Love! Fudge! If you think I’m marrying Mabel
for love, you are greatly mistaken, I like her, but love is out of the
question.”
“Pray what are you marrying her for? Her property?”
“Property!” repeated John, with a sneer, “I’ve seen the effect of
marrying for property, and I trust I’m not despicable enough to try it
for myself. No, madam, I’m not marrying her for money—but to spite
Nellie Douglass, if you must know the reason. I’ve loved her as I shall
never again love womankind, but she cheated me. She’s married to Robert
Wilbur, and now I’ve too much spirit to have her think _I_ care. If she
can marry, so can I—she isn’t the only girl in the world—and when I
heard what she had done, I vowed I’d offer myself to the first female I
saw. As good or bad luck would have it, ’twas Mabel, who you know said
yes, of course, for I verily believe she likes me far better than I
deserve. What kind of a husband I shall make, the Lord only knows, but
I’m in for it. My word is passed, and the sooner you get us tied
together the better, but for heaven’s sake, don’t go to making a great
parade. Mabel has no particular home. She’s here now, and why not let
the ceremony take place here. But fix it to suit yourselves, only don’t
let me hear you talking about it, for fear I’ll get sick of the whole
thing.”
This was exactly what Mrs. Livingstone desired. She had the day before
been to Frankfort herself, learning from Mrs. Atkins of Mr. Wilbur’s
marriage with the English girl. She knew her son was deceived, and it
was highly necessary that he should continue so. She felt sure that
neither her daughters, Mabel, nor ’Lena knew of Mr. Wilbur’s marriage,
and she resolved they should not. It was summer, and as many of their
city friends had left Frankfort for places of fashionable resort, they
received but few calls; and by keeping them at home until the wedding
was over, she trusted that all would be safe in that quarter. Durward,
too, was fortunately absent, so she only had to deal with Mabel and
John Jr. The first of these she approached very carefully, casually
telling her of Mr. Wilbur’s marriage, and then hastily adding, “But
pray don’t speak of it to any one, as there are special reasons why it
should not at present be discussed. Sometime I may tell you the
reason.”
Mabel wondered why so small a matter should be a secret, but Mrs.
Livingstone had requested her to keep silence and that was a sufficient
reason why she should do so. The next step was to win her consent for
the ceremony to take place there, and in the course of three weeks,
saying that it was her son’s wish. But on this point she found more
difficulty than she had anticipated, for Mabel shrank from being
married at the house of his father.
“It didn’t look right,” said she, “and she knew Mr. Douglass would not
object to having it there.”
Mrs. Livingstone knew so, too, but there was too much danger in such an
arrangement, and she replied, “Of course not, if you request it, but
will it be quite proper for you to ask him to be at all that trouble
when Nellie is gone, and there is no one at home to superintend?”
So after a time Mabel was convinced, thinking, though, how differently
everything was turning out from what she expected. Three weeks from
that night was fixed upon for the bridal, to which but few were to be
invited, for Mrs. Livingstone did not wish to call forth remark.
“Everything should be done quietly and in order,” she said, “and then,
when autumn came, she would give a splendid party in honor of the
bride.”
Mr. Douglass, when told of the coming event by Mrs. Livingstone, who
would trust no one else, expressed much surprise, saying he greatly
preferred that the ceremony should take place at his own house.
“Of course,” returned the oily-tongued woman, “of course you had, but
even a small wedding party is a vast amount of trouble, and in Nellie’s
absence you would be disturbed. Were she here I would not say a word,
but now I insist upon having it my own way, and indeed, I think my
claim upon Mabel is the strongest.”
Silenced, but not quite convinced, Mr. Douglass said no more, thinking,
meanwhile, that if he only _could_ afford it, Mabel should have a
wedding worthy of her. But he could not; he was poor, and hence Mrs.
Livingstone’s arguments prevailed the more easily. Fortunately for her,
John Jr. manifested no inclination to go out at all. A kind of torpor
seemed to have settled upon him, and day after day he remained at home,
sometimes in a deep study in his own room, and sometimes sitting in the
parlor, where his very unlover-like deportment frequently brought tears
to Mabel’s eyes, while Carrie loudly denounced him as the most clownish
fellow she ever saw.
“I hope you’ll train him, Mabel,” said she, “for he needs it. He ought
to have had Nellie Douglass. She’s a match for him. Why didn’t you have
her, John?”
With a face dark as night, he angrily requested Carrie “to mind her own
business,” saying “he was fully competent to take charge of himself,
without the interference of either wife or sister.”
“Oh, what if he should look and talk so to me!” thought Mabel,
shuddering as a dim foreboding of her sad future came over her.
’Lena who understood John Jr. better than any one else, saw that all
was not right. She knew how much he had loved Nellie; she believed he
loved her still; and why should he marry another? She could not tell,
and as he withheld his confidence from her, appearing unusually moody
and cross, she dared not approach him. At last, having an idea of what
she wanted, and willing to give her a chance, he one day, when they
were alone, abruptly asked her what she thought of his choice.
“If you ask me what I think of Mabel,” said she, “I answer that I
esteem her very highly, and the more I know her the better I love her.
Still, I never thought she would be your wife.”
“Ah—indeed!—never thought she would, hey?” answered John, beginning to
grow crusty, and elevating his feet to the top of the mantel. “You see
now what _thought_ did; but what is your objection to her?”
“Nothing, nothing,” returned ’Lena. “Mabel is amiable, gentle, and
confiding, and will try to be a good wife.”
“What the deuce are you grumbling for, then?” interrupted John Jr. “Do
you want me yourself? If you do, just say the word, and it shall be
done! I’m bound to be married, and I’d sooner have you than anybody
else. Come, what do you say?”
’Lena smiled, while she disclaimed any intention toward her cousin,
who, resuming the position which in his excitement he had slightly
changed, continued: “I have always dealt fairly with you, ’Lena, and
now I tell you truly, I have no particular love for Mabel, although I
intend making her my wife, and heartily wish she was so now.”
’Lena started, and clasping John’s arm, exclaimed, “Marry Mabel and not
love her! You cannot be in earnest. You will not do her so great a
wrong—you shall not.”
“I don’t know how you’ll help it, unless you meddle with what does not
concern you,” said John. “I am doing her no wrong, I never told her I
loved her—never acted as though I did, and if she is content to have me
on such terms, it’s nobody’s business. She loves me half to death, and
if the old adage be true that love begets love, I shall learn to love
her, and when I do I’ll let you know.”
So saying, the young man shook down his pants, which had become
disarranged, and walked away, leaving ’Lena to wonder what course she
had better pursue. Once she resolved on telling Mabel all that had
passed between them, but the next moment convinced her that, as he had
said, she would be meddling, so she decided to say nothing, silently
hoping that affairs would turn out better than she feared.
It was Mabel’s wish that ’Lena and Anna should be her bridesmaids,
Durward and Malcolm officiating as groomsmen, and as Mr. Bellmont was
away, she wrote to him requesting his attendance, but saying she had
not yet mentioned the subject to ’Lena. Painful as was the task of
being thus associated with ’Lena, Durward felt that to refuse might
occasion much remark, so he wrote to Mabel that “he would comply with
her request, provided Miss Rivers were willing.”
“Of course she’s willing,” said Mabel to herself, at the same time
running with the letter to ’Lena, who, to her utter astonishment, not
only refused outright, but also declined giving any particular reason
for her doing so. “Carrie will suit him much better than I,” said she,
but unfortunately, Carrie, who chanced to be present, half hidden in
the recess of a window, indignantly declined “going Jack-at-a-pinch”
with any one, so Mabel was obliged to content herself with Anna and Mr.
Everett.
But here a new difficulty arose, for Mrs. Livingstone declared that the
latter should not be invited, and Anna, in a fit of anger, insisted
that if _he_ were not good enough to be present, neither was she, and
she should accordingly remain in her own room. Poor Mabel burst into
tears, and when, a few moments afterward, John Jr. appeared, asking
what ailed her, she hid her face in his bosom and sobbed like a child.
Then, frightened at her own temerity, for he gave her no answering
caress, she lifted up her head, while with a quizzical expression John
Jr. said, “So-ho, Meb, seems to me you’ve taken to crying on my jacket
a little in advance. But what’s the matter?”
In a few words Mabel told him how everything went wrong, how neither
’Lena, Carrie, nor Anna would be her bridesmaids, and how Anna wouldn’t
see her married because Malcolm was not invited.
“I can manage that,” said John Jr. “Mr. Everett _shall_ be invited, so
just shut up crying, for if there’s anything I detest, it’s a woman’s
sniveling;” and he walked off thinking he had begun just as he meant to
hold out.