When Lawrence and his companion reached the house, they found on the
porch Mrs Keswick and her nephew; and, after a little general
conversation, the latter remarked to Mr Croft that he had found it would
not be in his power to attend to that matter he had spoken of; to which
Croft replied that he was very much obliged to him for thinking of it,
and that it was of no consequence at all, as he would probably make
other arrangements. He then stated that he would be obliged to return to
the Green Sulphur Springs that day, and that, as it was a long ride, he
would like to start as soon as his horse could be brought to him. But
this procedure was condemned utterly by the old lady, who insisted that
Mr Croft should not leave until after dinner, which meal should be
served earlier than usual in order to give him plenty of time to get to
the Springs before dark, and as Lawrence had nothing to oppose to her
very urgent protest, he consented to stay. Before dinner was ready he
found out why the protest was made. The old lady took him aside and made
inquiries of him in regard to Mr Null. He had already informed her that
he was not acquainted with that gentleman, but she thought, as Mr Croft
seemed to be going about the country a good deal, he might possibly meet
with her niece's husband; and, if he should do so, she would be very
glad to have him become acquainted with him.
To this Lawrence replied with much gravity that he would be happy to do
so.
"Mr Null has not yet come to my house," said Mrs Keswick, "and it is
very natural that one should desire to know the husband of her only
niece who is, or should be, the same as a daughter to her."
"A very natural wish indeed," said Lawrence.
"I am not quite sure in what business Mr Null is engaged," she
continued, "and, although I asked my niece about it, she answered in a
very evasive way, which makes me think his occupation is one she is not
proud of. I have reason to suppose, however, that he is an agent for
the sale of some fertilizing compound."
At this Lawrence could not help smiling very broadly.
"It may appear very odd and ridiculous to you," she said, "that a person
connected with my family should be engaged in a business like that, for
those fertilizers, as you ought to know, are all humbugs of the vilest
kind. The only time I bought any it took my whole wheat crop to pay for
it, and as for the clover I got afterward, a grasshopper could have
eaten the whole of it. I am afraid he didn't tell her his business
before he married her, and I'm glad she's ashamed of it. As far as I can
find out, it does not seem as if Mr Null has any intention of coming
here for some time; and, as I said before, I do very much want to know
something about him--that is from a disinterested outsider. One cannot
expect a recently married young woman to give a correct account of her
husband."
"I do not believe," said Mr Croft, "that there is any probability that I
shall ever meet the gentleman--our walks in life being so different."
"I should hope so, indeed!" interrupted Mrs Keswick. "But people of all
sorts do run across each other."
"But if I do meet with him," he continued, "I shall take great pleasure
in giving you my impressions by letter, or in person, of your
nephew-in-law." "Don't call him that!" exclaimed the old lady with
much asperity. "I don't acknowledge the title. But I won't say any more
about him," with a grim smile, "or you may think I don't like him."
"Some of these days," he said, "you may come to be of the opinion that
he is exactly the husband you would wish your niece to have."
"Never!" she cried. "If he were an angel in broadcloth. But I mustn't
talk about these things. I mentioned Mr Null to you because you are the
only person of my acquaintance who, I suppose, is likely to meet with
him. In regard to that little company I spoke of to you, I have not
quite made up my mind about it, and, therefore, haven't mentioned it;
but if I carry out the plan I will write to you at the Springs, and
shall certainly expect you to be one of us." "That would give me great
pleasure," said Lawrence, in a tone which indicated to the quick brain
of the old lady that he would like to make a condition, but was too
polite to do so.
"If Miss March should agree to come," she said, "it might be pleasant
for you to make one of her party and ride over at the same time.
However, I'll let you know if she is coming, and then you can join her
or not, as suits your convenience."
"Thank you very much," said Lawrence, in a tone which betrayed no
reserves.
As he rode away that afternoon, Lawrence Croft, as his habit was on
such occasions, revolved in his mind what he had heard and said and done
during this little visit to the Keswick family. "Nothing could have
turned out better," he thought. "To be sure the young man could not or
would not be of any assistance to me, which is probably what I ought to
have expected, but the strong-tempered old lady, his aunt, promises to
be of tenfold more service than he could possibly be. As to that very
odd young lady, Mrs Keswick's niece, I imagine that she does not regard
me very favorably, for she was quite cool after I refused to let her
into the secret of my desire to find her cousin, but as I did not ask
for her confidences, she had no right to expect a return for them. And,
by-the-way, it's odd how many confidences have been reposed in me since
I've been down here. Keswick begins it; then old Brandon takes up the
strain; after that Mr Candy's ex-cashier tells me the story of her life,
and entrusts me with the secret of her marriage with a man of wind--that
most useful Mr Null; after that, her aunt makes me understand how much
she hates Mr Null, and how she would like me to find out something
disreputable about him; and then--, by George! I forgot the old negro
woman in the cabin!" At this he put his hand in the side-pocket of his
coat, and drew out the pair of little blue shoes. "Why in the name of
common sense did the old hag give me these? And why should she suppose
that Mrs Keswick intended me a harm? The old lady never saw or heard of
me until yesterday, and her manner certainly indicated no dislike of me.
But, of course, Aunt Patsy's brain is cracked, and she didn't know what
she was talking about. I shall keep the shoes, however, and if ever the
venerable purple sun-bonnet runs afoul of me, I shall hold them up before
it and see what happens."
And so, very well satisfied with the result of his visit to Hewlett's,
he rode on to the Green Sulphur Springs.
On the afternoon of the next day Miss March received an invitation from
Mrs Keswick to spend a few days with her, and make the acquaintance of
her niece who had recently returned to the home of her childhood. The
letter, for it was much more than a note of invitation, was cordial, and
in parts pathetic. It dwelt upon the sundered pleasant relations of the
two families, and expressed the hope that Mr Brandon's visit to her
might be the beginning of a renewal of the old intimacy. Mrs Keswick
took occasion to incidentally mention that the house would be
particularly dull for her niece just now, as Junius was on the point of
starting for Washington, where he would be detained some weeks on
business; and she hoped, most earnestly, that Miss Roberta would accept
this invitation to make her acquaintance and that of her niece; and she
designated Thursday of the following week as the day on which she would
like her to come.
As may reasonably be supposed, this letter greatly astonished Miss
March, who carried it to her uncle, and asked him to explain, if he
could, what it meant. The old gentleman was a good deal surprised when
he read it; but it delighted him in a far greater degree. He perceived
in it the first fruits of his diplomacy. Mrs Keswick saw that it would
be to her interest, for a time at least, to make friends with him; and
this was the way she took to do it. She would not come to Midbranch
herself, and bring the niece, but she would have Roberta come to her. In
the pathos and cordiality Mr Brandon believed not at all. What the old
hypocrite probably wanted was to enlist his grateful sympathy in that
ridiculous divorce case. But, whatever her motives might be, he would be
very glad to have his niece go to her; for if anything could make an
impression upon that time-hardened and seasoned old chopping-block of a
woman, it was Roberta's personal influence. If Mrs Keswick should come
to know Roberta, that knowledge would do more than anything else in the
world to remove her objections to the marriage he so greatly desired.
He said nothing of all this to his niece; but he most earnestly
counselled her to accept the invitation and make a visit to the two
ladies. Of course Roberta did not care to go, but as her uncle appeared
to take the matter so much to heart, she consented to gratify him, and
wrote an acceptance. She found, also, when she had thought more on the
matter, that she had a good deal of curiosity to see this Mrs Keswick,
of whom she had heard so much, and who had had such an important
influence on her life.