The Small House at Allington
frame of mind even while he was yet at Allington, and his ideas on
the subject had become stronger during his sojourn at Courcy. But the
self-immolation had not been completed, and he now began to think
that he could save himself. I need hardly say that this was not all
triumph to him. Even had there been no material difficulty as to his
desertion of Lily,--no uncle, cousin, and mother whose anger he must
face,--no vision of a pale face, more eloquent of wrong in its
silence than even uncle, cousin, and mother, with their indignant
storm of words,--he was not altogether heartless. How should he tell
all this to the girl who had loved him so well; who had so loved him,
that, as he himself felt, her love would fashion all her future life
either for weal or for woe? "I am unworthy of her, and will tell
her so," he said to himself. How many a false hound of a man has
endeavoured to salve his own conscience by such mock humility? But
he acknowledged at this moment, as he rose from his seat to dress
himself, that the die was cast, and that it was open to him now to
say what he pleased to Lady Alexandrina. "Others have gone through
the same fire before," he said to himself, as he walked downstairs,
"and have come out scatheless." And then he recalled to himself the
names of various men of high repute in the world who were supposed to
have committed in their younger days some such little mistake as that
into which he had been betrayed.
In passing through the hall he overtook Lady Julia De Guest, and
was in time to open for her the door of the drawing-room. He then
remembered that she had come into the billiard-room at one side, and
had gone out at the other, while he was standing with Alexandrina at
the window. He had not, however, then thought much of Lady Julia; and
as he now stood for her to pass by him through the door-way, he made
to her some indifferent remark.
But Lady Julia was on some subjects a stern woman, and not without
a certain amount of courage. In the last week she had seen what had
been going on, and had become more and more angry. Though she had
disowned any family connection with Lily Dale, nevertheless she now
felt for her sympathy and almost affection. Nearly every day she had
repeated stiffly to the countess some incident of Crosbie's courtship
and engagement to Miss Dale,--speaking of it as with absolute
knowledge, as a thing settled at all points. This she had done to the
countess alone, in the presence of the countess and Alexandrina, and
also before all the female guests of the castle. But what she had
said was received simply with an incredulous smile. "Dear me! Lady
Julia," the countess had replied at last, "I shall begin to think you
are in love with Mr. Crosbie yourself; you harp so constantly on this
affair of his. One would think that young ladies in your part of the
world must find it very difficult to get husbands, seeing that the
success of one young lady is trumpeted so loudly." For the moment,
Lady Julia was silenced; but it was not easy to silence her
altogether when she had a subject for speech near her heart.
Almost all the Courcy world were assembled in the drawing-room as
she now walked into the room with Crosbie at her heels. When she
found herself near the crowd she turned round, and addressed him in
a voice more audible than that generally required for purposes of
drawing-room conversation. "Mr. Crosbie," she said, "have you heard
lately from our dear friend, Lily Dale?" And she looked him full in
the face, in a manner more significant, probably, than even she had
intended it to be. There was, at once, a general hush in the room,
and all eyes were turned upon her and upon him.
Crosbie instantly made an effort to bear the attack gallantly, but he
felt that he could not quite command his colour, or prevent a sudden
drop of perspiration from showing itself upon his brow. "I had a
letter from Allington yesterday," he said. "I suppose you have heard
of your brother's encounter with the bull?"
"The bull!" said Lady Julia. And it was instantly manifest to all
that her attack had been foiled and her flank turned.
"Good gracious! Lady Julia, how very odd you are!" said the countess.
"But what about the bull?" asked the Honourable George.
"It seems that the earl was knocked down in the middle of one of his
own fields."
"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Alexandrina. And sundry other exclamations were
made by all the assembled ladies.
"But he wasn't hurt," said Crosbie. "A young man named Eames seems to
have fallen from the sky and carried off the earl on his back."
"Ha, ha, ha, ha!" growled the other earl, as he heard of the
discomfiture of his brother peer.
Lady Julia, who had received her own letters that day from Guestwick,
knew that nothing of importance had happened to her brother; but she
felt that she was foiled for that time.
"I hope that there has not really been any accident," said Mr.
Gazebee, with a voice of great solicitude.
"My brother was quite well last night, thank you," said she. And then
the little groups again formed themselves, and Lady Julia was left
alone on the corner of a sofa.
"Was that all an invention of yours, sir?" said Alexandrina to
Crosbie.
"Not quite. I did get a letter this morning from my friend Bernard
Dale,--that old harridan's nephew; and Lord De Guest has been worried
by some of his animals. I wish I had told her that his stupid old
neck had been broken."
"Fie, Mr. Crosbie!"
"What business has she to interfere with me?"
"But I mean to ask the same question that she asked, and you won't
put me off with a cock-and-bull story like that." But then, as she
was going to ask the question, dinner was announced.
"And is it true that De Guest has been tossed by a bull?" said the
earl, as soon as the ladies were gone. He had spoken nothing during
dinner except what words he had muttered into the ear of Lady
Dumbello. It was seldom that conversation had many charms for him in
his own house; but there was a savour of pleasantry in the idea of
Lord De Guest having been tossed, by which even he was tickled.
"Only knocked down, I believe," said Crosbie.
"Ha, ha, ha!" growled the earl; then he filled his glass, and allowed
some one else to pass the bottle. Poor man! There was not much left
to him now in the world which did amuse him.
"I don't see anything to laugh at," said Plantagenet Palliser, who
was sitting at the earl's right hand, opposite to Lord Dumbello.
"Don't you?" said the earl. "Ha, ha, ha!"
"I'll be shot if I do. From all I hear De Guest is an uncommon good
farmer. And I don't see the joke of tossing a farmer merely because
he's a nobleman also. Do you?" and he turned round to Mr. Gazebee,
who was sitting on the other side. The earl was an earl, and was also
Mr. Gazebee's father-in-law. Mr. Plantagenet Palliser was the heir to
a dukedom. Therefore, Mr. Gazebee merely simpered, and did not answer
the question put to him. Mr. Palliser said nothing more about it, nor
did the earl; and then the joke died away.
Mr. Plantagenet Palliser was the Duke of Omnium's heir--heir to
that nobleman's title and to his enormous wealth; and, therefore,
was a man of mark in the world. He sat in the House of Commons, of
course. He was about five-and-twenty years of age, and was, as yet,
unmarried. He did not hunt or shoot or keep a yacht, and had been
heard to say that he had never put a foot upon a race-course in his
life. He dressed very quietly, never changing the colour or form of
his garments; and in society was quiet, reserved, and very often
silent. He was tall, slight, and not ill-looking; but more than this
cannot be said for his personal appearance--except, indeed, this,
that no one could mistake him for other than a gentleman. With his
uncle, the duke, he was on good terms--that is to say, they had never
quarrelled. A very liberal allowance had been made to the nephew; but
the two relatives had no tastes in common, and did not often meet.
Once a year Mr. Palliser visited the duke at his great country seat
for two or three days, and usually dined with him two or three times
during the season in London. Mr. Palliser sat for a borough which was
absolutely under the duke's command; but had accepted his seat under
the distinct understanding that he was to take whatever part in
politics might seem good to himself. Under these well-understood
arrangements, the duke and his heir showed to the world quite a
pattern of a happy family. "So different to the earl and Lord
Porlock!" the people of West Barsetshire used to say. For the
estates, both of the duke and of the earl, were situated in the
western division of that county.
Mr. Palliser was chiefly known to the world as a rising politician.
We may say that he had everything at his command, in the way of
pleasure, that the world could offer him. He had wealth, position,
power, and the certainty of attaining the highest rank among,
perhaps, the most brilliant nobility of the world. He was courted by
all who could get near enough to court him. It is hardly too much
to say that he might have selected a bride from all that was most
beautiful and best among English women. If he would have bought
race-horses, and have expended thousands on the turf, he would have
gratified his uncle by doing so. He might have been the master
of hounds, or the slaughterer of hecatombs of birds. But to none
of these things would he devote himself. He had chosen to be
a politician, and in that pursuit he laboured with a zeal and
perseverance which would have made his fortune at any profession
or in any trade. He was constant in committee-rooms up to the very
middle of August. He was rarely absent from any debate of importance,
and never from any important division. Though he seldom spoke, he was
always ready to speak if his purpose required it. No man gave him
credit for any great genius--few even considered that he could become
either an orator or a mighty statesman. But the world said that he
was a rising man, and old Nestor of the Cabinet looked on him as one
who would be able, at some far future day, to come among them as a
younger brother. Hitherto he had declined such inferior offices as
had been offered to him, biding his time carefully; and he was as yet
tied hand and neck to no party, though known to be liberal in all his
political tendencies. He was a great reader--not taking up a book
here, and another there, as chance brought books before him, but
working through an enormous course of books, getting up the great
subject of the world's history--filling himself full of facts--though
perhaps not destined to acquire the power of using those facts
otherwise than as precedents. He strove also diligently to become a
linguist--not without success, as far as a competent understanding of
various languages. He was a thin-minded, plodding, respectable man,
willing to devote all his youth to work, in order that in old age he
might be allowed to sit among the Councillors of the State.
Hitherto his name had not been coupled by the world with that of any
woman whom he had been supposed to admire; but latterly it had been
observed that he had often been seen in the same room with Lady
Dumbello. It had hardly amounted to more than this; but when it was
remembered how undemonstrative were the two persons concerned--how
little disposed was either of them to any strong display of
feeling--even this was thought matter to be mentioned. He certainly
would speak to her from time to time almost with an air of interest;
and Lady Dumbello, when she saw that he was in the room, would be
observed to raise her head with some little show of life, and to
look round as though there were something there on which it might be
worth her while to allow her eyes to rest. When such innuendoes were