"I hope you will not object to my remaining at home, sir?" he said,after rising to go; "I shall have a sufficient salary to pay for my board, asof course I should wish to do."
"Board be hanged!" said Mr. Vincy, recovering himself in his disgustat the notion that Fred's keep would be missed at his table. "Of courseyour mother will want you to stay. But I shall keep no horse for you, youunderstand; and you will pay your own tailor. You will do with a suit ortwo less, I fancy, when you have to pay for 'em."
Fred lingered; there was still something to be said. At last it came.
"I hope you will shake hands with me, father, and forgive me thevexation I have caused you."
Mr. Vincy from his chair threw a quick glance upward at his son,who had advanced near to him, and then gave his hand, sayinghurriedly, "Yes, yes, let us say no more."
Fred went through much more narrative and explanation with hismother, but she was inconsolable, having before her eyes what perhapsher husband had never thought of, the certainty that Fred would marryMary Garth, that her life would henceforth be spoiled by a perpetualinfusion of Garths and their ways, and that her darling boy, with hisbeautiful face and stylish air "beyond anybody else's son inMiddlemarch," would be sure to get like that family in plainness ofappearance and carelessness about his clothes. To her it seemed thatthere was a Garth conspiracy to get possession of the desirable Fred, butshe dared not enlarge on this opinion, because a slight hint of it hadmade him "fly out" at her as he had never done before. Her temper wastoo sweet for her to show any anger, but she felt that her happiness hadreceived a bruise, and for several days merely to look at Fred made hercry a little as if he were the subject of some baleful prophecy. Perhapsshe was the slower to recover her usual cheerfulness because Fred hadwarned her that she must not reopen the sore question with his father,who had accepted his decision and forgiven him. If her husband hadbeen vehement against Fred, she would have been urged into defence ofher darling. It was the end of the fourth day when Mr. Vincy said toher—
"Come, Lucy, my dear, don't be so down-hearted. You always havespoiled the boy, and you must go on spoiling him."
"Nothing ever did cut me so before, Vincy," said the wife, her fairthroat and chin beginning to tremble again, "only his illness."
"Pooh, pooh, never mind! We must expect to have trouble with ourchildren. Don't make it worse by letting me see you out of spirits." "Well, I won't," said Mrs. Vincy, roused by this appeal and adjustingherself with a little shake as of a bird which lays down its ruffledplumage.
"It won't do to begin making a fuss about one," said Mr. Vincy,wishing to combine a little grumbling with domestic cheerfulness."There's Rosamond as well as Fred."
"Yes, poor thing. I'm sure I felt for her being disappointed of herbaby; but she got over it nicely."
"Baby, pooh! I can see Lydgate is making a mess of his practice, andgetting into debt too, by what I hear. I shall have Rosamond coming tome with a pretty tale one of these days. But they'll get no money fromme, I know. Let his family help him. I never did like that marriage. Butit's no use talking. Ring the bell for lemons, and don't look dull anymore, Lucy. I'll drive you and Louisa to Riverston to-morrow."
CHAPTER LVII.
They numbered scarce eight summers when a name
Rose on their souls and stirred such motions there
As thrill the buds and shape their hidden frame
At penetration of the quickening air:
His name who told of loyal Evan Dhu,
Of quaint Bradwardine, and Vich Ian Vor,
Making the little world their childhood knew
Large with a land of mountain lake and scaur,
And larger yet with wonder love belief
Toward Walter Scott who living far away
Sent them this wealth of joy and noble grief.
The book and they must part, but day by day,
In lines that thwart like portly spiders ran
They wrote the tale, from Tully Veolan.
The evening that Fred Vincy walked to Lowick parsonage (he hadbegun to see that this was a world in which even a spirited young manmust sometimes walk for want of a horse to carry him) he set out at fiveo'clock and called on Mrs. Garth by the way, wishing to assure himselfthat she accepted their new relations willingly.
He found the family group, dogs and cats included, under the greatapple-tree in the orchard. It was a festival with Mrs. Garth, for hereldest son, Christy, her peculiar joy and pride, had come home for ashort holiday—Christy, who held it the most desirable thing in the worldto be a tutor, to study all literatures and be a regenerate Porson, andwho was an incorporate criticism on poor Fred, a sort of object-lessongiven to him by the educational mother. Christy himself, a square-browed, broad-shouldered masculine edition of his mother not muchhigher than Fred's shoulder—which made it the harder that he should beheld superior—was always as simple as possible, and thought no more ofFred's disinclination to scholarship than of a giraffe's, wishing that hehimself were more of the same height. He was lying on the ground nowby his mother's chair, with his straw hat laid flat over his eyes, while Jimon the other side was reading aloud from that beloved writer who hasmade a chief part in the happiness of many young lives. The volume was"Ivanhoe," and Jim was in the great archery scene at the tournament, butsuffered much interruption from Ben, who had fetched his own old bowand arrows, and was making himself dreadfully disagreeable, Lettythought, by begging all present to observe his random shots, which noone wished to do except Brownie, the active-minded but probablyshallow mongrel, while the grizzled Newfoundland lying in the sunlooked on with the dull-eyed neutrality of extreme old age. Letty herself,showing as to her mouth and pinafore some slight signs that she hadbeen assisting at the gathering of the cherries which stood in a coral-heap on the tea-table, was now seated on the grass, listening open-eyedto the reading.
But the centre of interest was changed for all by the arrival of FredVincy. When, seating himself on a garden-stool, he said that he was onhis way to Lowick Parsonage, Ben, who had thrown down his bow, andsnatched up a reluctant half-grown kitten instead, strode across Fred'soutstretched leg, and said "Take me!"
"Oh, and me too," said Letty.
"You can't keep up with Fred and me," said Ben.
"Yes, I can. Mother, please say that I am to go," urged Letty, whoselife was much checkered by resistance to her depreciation as a girl.
"I shall stay with Christy," observed Jim; as much as to say that hehad the advantage of those simpletons; whereupon Letty put her hand upto her head and looked with jealous indecision from the one to the other. "Let us all go and see Mary," said Christy, opening his arms.
"No, my dear child, we must not go in a swarm to the parsonage.And that old Glasgow suit of yours would never do. Besides, your fatherwill come home. We must let Fred go alone. He can tell Mary that youare here, and she will come back to-morrow."
Christy glanced at his own threadbare knees, and then at Fred'sbeautiful white trousers. Certainly Fred's tailoring suggested theadvantages of an English university, and he had a graceful way even oflooking warm and of pushing his hair back with his handkerchief.
"Children, run away," said Mrs. Garth; "it is too warm to hang aboutyour friends. Take your brother and show him the rabbits."
The eldest understood, and led off the children immediately. Fredfelt that Mrs. Garth wished to give him an opportunity of sayinganything he had to say, but he could only begin by observing—
"How glad you must be to have Christy here!"
"Yes; he has come sooner than I expected. He got down from thecoach at nine o'clock, just after his father went out. I am longing forCaleb to come and hear what wonderful progress Christy is making. Hehas paid his expenses for the last year by giving lessons, carrying on hardstudy at the same time. He hopes soon to get a private tutorship and goabroad."
"He is a great fellow," said Fred, to whom these cheerful truths had amedicinal taste, "and no trouble to anybody." After a slight pause, headded, "But I fear you will think that I am going to be a great deal oftrouble to Mr. Garth."
"Caleb likes taking trouble: he is one of those men who always domore than any one would have thought of asking them to do," answeredMrs. Garth. She was knitting, and could either look at Fred or not, asshe chose—always an advantage when one is bent on loading speechwith salutary meaning; and though Mrs. Garth intended to be dulyreserved, she did wish to say something that Fred might be the betterfor.
"I know you think me very undeserving, Mrs. Garth, and with goodreason," said Fred, his spirit rising a little at the perception of somethinglike a disposition to lecture him. "I happen to have behaved just theworst to the people I can't help wishing for the most from. But while twomen like Mr. Garth and Mr. Farebrother have not given me up, I don'tsee why I should give myself up." Fred thought it might be well tosuggest these masculine examples to Mrs. Garth.
"Assuredly," said she, with gathering emphasis. "A young man forwhom two such elders had devoted themselves would indeed be culpableif he threw himself away and made their sacrifices vain."
Fred wondered a little at this strong language, but only said, "I hopeit will not be so with me, Mrs. Garth, since I have some encouragementto believe that I may win Mary. Mr. Garth has told you about that? Youwere not surprised, I dare say?" Fred ended, innocently referring only tohis own love as probably evident enough.
"Not surprised that Mary has given you encouragement?" returnedMrs. Garth, who thought it would be well for Fred to be more alive tothe fact that Mary's friends could not possibly have wished thisbeforehand, whatever the Vincys might suppose. "Yes, I confess I wassurprised."
"She never did give me any—not the least in the world, when I talkedto her myself," said Fred, eager to vindicate Mary. "But when I asked Mr.Farebrother to speak for me, she allowed him to tell me there was ahope."
The power of admonition which had begun to stir in Mrs. Garth hadnot yet discharged itself. It was a little too provoking even for her self-control that this blooming youngster should flourish on thedisappointments of sadder and wiser people—making a meal of anightingale and never knowing it—and that all the while his familyshould suppose that hers was in eager need of this sprig; and hervexation had fermented the more actively because of its total repressiontowards her husband. Exemplary wives will sometimes find scapegoats inthis way. She now said with energetic decision, "You made a greatmistake, Fred, in asking Mr. Farebrother to speak for you."
"Did I?" said Fred, reddening instantaneously. He was alarmed, butat a loss to know what Mrs. Garth meant, and added, in an apologetictone, "Mr. Farebrother has always been such a friend of ours; and Mary,I knew, would listen to him gravely; and he took it on himself quitereadily."
"Yes, young people are usually blind to everything but their ownwishes, and seldom imagine how much those wishes cost others," saidMrs. Garth She did not mean to go beyond this salutary general doctrine,and threw her indignation into a needless unwinding of her worsted,knitting her brow at it with a grand air.
"I cannot conceive how it could be any pain to Mr. Farebrother," saidFred, who nevertheless felt that surprising conceptions were beginning toform themselves.
"Precisely; you cannot conceive," said Mrs. Garth, cutting her wordsas neatly as possible.
For a moment Fred looked at the horizon with a dismayed anxiety,and then turning with a quick movement said almost sharply—
"Do you mean to say, Mrs. Garth, that Mr. Farebrother is in lovewith Mary?"
"And if it were so, Fred, I think you are the last person who ought tobe surprised," returned Mrs. Garth, laying her knitting down beside herand folding her arms. It was an unwonted sign of emotion in her that sheshould put her work out of her hands. In fact her feelings were dividedbetween the satisfaction of giving Fred his discipline and the sense ofhaving gone a little too far. Fred took his hat and stick and rose quickly.
"Then you think I am standing in his way, and in Mary's too?" hesaid, in a tone which seemed to demand an answer.
Mrs. Garth could not speak immediately. She had brought herselfinto the unpleasant position of being called on to say what she really felt,yet what she knew there were strong reasons for concealing. And to herthe consciousness of having exceeded in words was peculiarly mortifying.Besides, Fred had given out unexpected electricity, and he now added,"Mr. Garth seemed pleased that Mary should be attached to me. Hecould not have known anything of this."
Mrs. Garth felt a severe twinge at this mention of her husband, thefear that Caleb might think her in the wrong not being easily endurable.She answered, wanting to check unintended consequences—
"I spoke from inference only. I am not aware that Mary knowsanything of the matter."
But she hesitated to beg that he would keep entire silence on asubject which she had herself unnecessarily mentioned, not being used tostoop in that way; and while she was hesitating there was already a rushof unintended consequences under the apple-tree where the tea-thingsstood. Ben, bouncing across the grass with Brownie at his heels, andseeing the kitten dragging the knitting by a lengthening line of wool,shouted and clapped his hands; Brownie barked, the kitten, desperate,jumped on the tea-table and upset the milk, then jumped down againand swept half the cherries with it; and Ben, snatching up the half-knitted sock-top, fitted it over the kitten's head as a new source ofmadness, while Letty arriving cried out to her mother against thiscruelty—it was a history as full of sensation as "This is the house thatJack built." Mrs. Garth was obliged to interfere, the other young onescame up and the tete-a-tete with Fred was ended. He got away as soon ashe could, and Mrs. Garth could only imply some retractation of herseverity by saying "God bless you" when she shook hands with him.
