The Small House at Allington, Anthony Trollope [best ebook reader for chromebook .txt] 📗

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 doorway, 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 someone else to pass the bottle. Poor man! There was not much left