mr. penrose was the uncle of mary and winnie, their mother’s only brother. mrs. seton had come from liverpool originally, and though herself very “nice,” had not been, according to aunt agatha’s opinion, “of a nice class.” and her brother shared the evil conditions, without sharing the good. he was of his class, soul and body, and it was not a nice class—and, to tell the truth, his nieces had been brought up to ignore rather than to take any pleasure in him. he was not a man out of whom, under the best circumstances, much satisfaction could be got. he was one of the men who always turn up when something about money is going on in the house. he had had to do with all the wills and settlements in the family, though they were of a very limited description; but mr. penrose did not despise small things, and was of opinion, that even if you had only a hundred pounds; you ought to know all about it, and how to take care of it. and he had once been very kind to aunt agatha, who was always defective in her arithmetic, and who, in earlier days, while she still thought of a possible change in her condition, had gone beyond the just limit of her income, and got into difficulties. mr. penrose had interfered at that period, and had been very kind, and set her straight, and had given her a very telling address upon the value of money; and though miss seton was not one of the people who take a favour as an injury, still she could have forgiven him a great many ill turns sooner than that good one. he had been very kind to her, and had ruffled all her soft plumes, and rushed up against her at all her tender points; and the very sound of his name was a lively irritant to aunt agatha. but he had to be acquainted with winnie’s engagement, and when he received the information, he lost no time in coming to see about it. he was a large, portly, well-to-do man, with one of his hands always in his pocket, and seemed somehow to breathe money, and to have no ideas which did not centre in it; and yet he had a good many ideas, and was a clever man in his way. with him, as with many people in the world, there was one thing needful, and that one thing was money. he thought it was a duty to possess something—a duty which a man owed absolutely to himself, and to all who belonged to him—and if he did not acquit himself well on this point, he was, in mr. penrose’s opinion, a very indifferent sort of person. there is something immoral to most people in the fact of being poor, but to mr. penrose it was a crime. he was very well off himself, but he was not a man to communicate of his goods as he did of his advice; and then he had himself a family, and could not be expected to give anything except advice to his nieces—and as for that one good thing, it was at their command in the most liberal way. he came to the cottage, which was so especially a lady’s house, and pervaded the whole place with his large male person, diffusing through it that moral fragrance which still betrays the englishman, the man of business, the liverpool man, wherever he may happen to bless the earth. perhaps in that sweet-smelling dainty place, the perfume which breathed from mr. penrose told more decidedly than in the common air. as soon as you went in at the garden-gate you became sensible that the atmosphere was changed, and that a man was there. perhaps it may be thought that the presence of a man in aunt agatha’s maiden bower was not what might be called strictly proper, and miss seton herself had doubts on the subject; but then, mr. penrose never asked for any invitation, and it would have been very difficult to turn him out; and mary was there, who at least was a married lady. he came without any invitation, and asked which was his room as if it had been his own house—and he complained of what he called “the smell” of the roses, and declared he would tear down all the sickly jasmine from the side of the house if it belonged to him. all this miss seton endured silently, feeling it her duty, for winnie’s sake, to keep all her connexions in good humour; but the poor lady suffered terribly under the process, as everybody could see.
“i hope it is only a conditional sort of engagement,” mr. penrose said, after he had made himself comfortable, and had had a good dinner, and came into the drawing-room the first evening. the lovers had seized the opportunity to escape to kirtell-side, and mary was with her boys in the garden, and poor aunt agatha, a martyr of civility, was seated alone, awaiting the reappearance of her guest, and smiling upon him with anxious politeness. he threw himself into the largest and most solid chair he could find, and spread himself, as it seemed, all over the room—a man, coarse and undisguised, in that soft feminine paradise. poor sir edward’s graceful presence, and the elegant figure of captain percival, made no such impression. “i hope you have not settled it all without consulting anybody. to be sure, that don’t matter very much; but i know you ladies have a summary way of settling such affairs.”
“indeed, i—i am afraid—i—i hope—it is all settled,” said aunt agatha, with tremulous dignity. “it is not as if there was a great deal of money to settle. they are not—not rich, you know,” she added, nervously. this was the chief thing to tell, and she was anxious to get it over at once.
“not rich?” said mr. penrose. “no, i suppose not. a rich fellow would not have been such a fool as to entangle himself with winnie, who has only her pretty face; but he has something, of course. the first thing to ascertain is, what they will have to live on, and what he can settle upon her. i suppose you have not let it go so far without having a kind of idea on these points?”
“oh, yes,” said aunt agatha, with a very poor pretence at composure; “oh, yes, mr. penrose, that is all quite right. he has very nice expectations. i have always heard that mrs. percival had a charming little property; and sir edward is his godfather, and very fond of him. you will see it will come all right about that.”
“yes,” said mr. penrose, who was nursing one of his legs—a colossal member, nearly as big as his hostess—in a meditative way, “i hope it will when i come to look into it. but we must have something more than expectations. what has he of his own?—and what do his mother and sir edward mean to do for him? we must have it in pounds, shillings, and pence, or he shan’t have winnie. it is best that he should make up his mind about that.”
aunt agatha drew a frightened, panting breath; but she did not say anything. she had known what she would have to brave, and she was aware that winnie would not brave it, and that to prevent a breach with her darling’s only rich relation, it was necessary and expedient as long as she was alone to have it all out.
“let me see,” said mr. penrose, “you told me what he was in your letter—captain, ain’t he? as for his pay, that don’t count. let us go systematically to work if we are to do any good. i know ladies are very vague about business matters, but still you must know something. what sort of a fellow is he, and what has he got of his own?”
“oh, he is very nice,” cried aunt agatha, consoled to find a question she could answer; “very, very nice. i do think you will like him very much; such a fine young fellow, and with what you gentlemen call no nonsense about him,” said the anxious woman; “and with excellent connexions,” she added, faltering again, for her enthusiasm awoke no answer in mr. penrose’s face.
“my dear miss agatha,” he said in his offensive way—and he always called her miss agatha, which was very trying to her feelings—“you need not take the trouble to assure me that a handsome young fellow who pays her a little attention, is always very nice to a lady. i was not asking whether he was nice; i was asking what were his means—which is a very much more important part of the subject, though you may not think so,” mr. penrose added. “a charming little house like this, for instance, where you can have everything within yourself, and can live on honey and dew i suppose, may be kept on nothing—though you and i, to be sure, know a little different——”
“mr. penrose,” said aunt agatha, trembling with indignation, “if you mean that the dinner was not particular enough——”
“it was a charming little dinner,” said mr. penrose, “just what it ought to have been. nothing could have been nicer than that white soup; and i think i am a judge. i was speaking of something to live on; a pretty house like this, i was saying, is not an analogous case. you have everything within yourself—eggs, and vegetables, and fruit, and your butter and milk so cheap. i wish we could get it like that in liverpool; and—pardon me—no increase of family likely, you know.”
“my niece mary and her three children have come to the cottage since you were last here, mr. penrose,” said aunt agatha, with a blush of shame and displeasure. “it was the only house of all her relations that she could come to with any comfort, poor dear—perhaps you don’t call that an increase of family; and as for the milk and butter——”
“she must pay you board,” said mr. penrose, decisively; “there can be no question about that; your little money has not always been enough for yourself, as we both know. but all this is merely an illustration i was giving. it has nothing to do with the main subject. if these young people marry, my dear miss agatha, their family may be increased by inmates who will pay no board.”
this was what he had the assurance to say to an unmarried lady in her own house—and to laugh and chuckle at it afterwards, as if he thought it a capital joke. aunt agatha was struck dumb with horror and indignation. such eventualities might indeed, perhaps must, be discussed by the lawyers where there are settlements to make; but to talk of them to a maiden lady when alone, was enough to make her drop through the very floor with consternation. she made no attempt to answer, but she did succeed in keeping her seat, and to a certain extent her self-possession, for winnie’s sake.
“it is a different sort of thing altogether,” said the family adviser. “things may be kept square in a quiet lady’s house—though even that is not always the case, as we are both aware; but two young married people, who are just as likely as not to be extravagant and all that—— if he has not something to settle on her, i don’t see how i can have anything to do with it,” mr. penrose continued; “and you will not answer me as to what he has of his own.”
“he has his—his pay,” said poor aunt agatha. “i am told it is a great deal better than it used to be; and he has, i think, some—some money in the funds. i am sure he will be glad to settle that on winnie; and then his mother, and sir edward. i have no doubt myself, though really they are too young to marry, that they will do very well on the whole.”
“do you know what living means, miss agatha?” asked mr. penrose, solemnly, “when you can speak in this loose way? butchers’ bills are not so vague as your statements, i can tell you; and a pretty girl like that ought to do very well, even though she has no money. it is not her fault, poor thing,” the rich uncle added, with momentary compassion; and then he asked, abruptly, “what will sir edward do for them?” as if he had presented a pistol at his companion’s head.
“oh, mr. penrose!” cried aunt agatha, forgetting all her policy, and what she had just said. “surely, surely, you would not like them to calculate upon sir edward! he is not even a relation. he is only edward’s godfather. i would not have him applied to, not for the world.”
“then what have you been talking to me all this while about?” cried mr. penrose, with a look and sense of outraged virtue. and aunt agatha, seeing how she had betrayed her own position, and weary of the contest, and driven to her wits’ end, gave way and cried a little—which at that moment, vexed, worried, and mortified as she was, was all she could do.
and then mr. penrose got up and walked away, whistling audibly, through the open window, into the garden, leaving the chintz cover on his chair so crumpled up and loosened out of all its corners, that you could have told a mile off that a man had been there. what he left behind him was not that subtle agreeable suggestion of his presence which hung around the footsteps of young percival, or even of sir edward, but something that felt half like an insult to the feminine inhabitants—a disagreeable assertion of another kind of creature who thought himself superior to them—which was an opinion which they did not in the least share, having no illusions so far as he went. aunt agatha sank back into her chair with a sense of relief, which she afterwards felt she ought not to have entertained. she had no right to such a feeling, for she had done no good; and instead of diverting the common enemy from an attack upon winnie or her lover, had actually roused and whetted him, and made him more likely than ever to rush at those young victims, as soon as ever he should have the chance. but notwithstanding, for the moment to be rid of him, and able to draw breath a little, and dry her incipient tears, and put the cover straight upon that ill-used chair, did her good. she drew a long breath, poor soul, and felt the ease and comfort of being left to herself; even though next moment she might have to brace herself up and collect all her faculties, and face the adversary again.
but in the meantime he had gone out to the garden, and was standing by mary’s side, with his hand in his pocket. he was telling mary that he had come out in despair to her, to see if she knew anything about this sad business—since he found her aunt agatha quite as great a fool about business matters as she always was. he wanted to know if she, who knew what was what, could give him any sort of a reasonable idea about this young fellow whom winnie wanted to marry—which was as difficult a question for mrs. ochterlony as it had been for miss seton. and then in the midst of the conversation the two culprits themselves appeared, as careless about the inquiring uncle as they were about the subject of his anxiety. winnie, who was not given to the reticences practised by her aunt and her sister, had taken care to convey a very clear idea of her uncle penrose, and her own opinion of him, to the mind of percival. he was from liverpool, and not “of a nice class.” he was not winnie’s guardian, nor had he any legal control over her; and in these circumstances it did not seem by any means necessary to either of the young people to show any undue attention to his desires, or be disturbed by his interference; for neither of them had been brought up to be dutiful to all the claims of nature, like their seniors. “go away directly, that he may not have any chance of attacking you,” winnie had said to her lover; for though she was not self-denying or unselfish to speak of, she could be so where percival was concerned. “we can manage him among us,” she added, with a laugh—for she had no doubt of the cooperation of both her aunt and sister, in the case of uncle penrose. and in obedience to this arrangement, captain percival did nothing but take off his hat in honour of mary, and say half a dozen words of the most ordinary salutation to the stranger before he went away. and then winnie came in, and came to her sister’s side, and stood facing mr. penrose, in all the triumph and glory of her youth. she was beautiful, or would be beautiful, everybody had long allowed; but she had still retained a certain girlish meagreness up to a very recent date. now all that had changed, like everything else; she had expanded, it appeared, like her heart expanded and was satisfied—everything about her looked rounder, fuller, and more magnificent. she came and stood before the liverpool uncle, who was a man of business, and thinking of no such vanities, and struck him dumb with her splendour. he could talk as he liked to aunt agatha, or even to mary in her widow’s cap, but this radiant creature, all glowing with love and happiness, took away his breath. perhaps it was then, for the first time in his life, that mr. penrose actually realized that there was something in the world for which a man might even get to be indifferent about the balance at his banker’s. he gave an involuntary gasp; and though up to this moment he had thought of winnie only as a child, he now drew back before her, and stopped whistling, and took his hand out of his pocket, which perhaps was as decided an act of homage as it was in him to pay.
but of course such a manifestation could not last. after another moment he gave a “humph” as he looked at her, and then his self-possession came back. “so that was your captain, i suppose?” he said.
“yes, uncle, that was my captain,” said the dauntless winnie, “and i hope you approve of him; though it does not matter if you don’t, for you know it is all settled, and nobody except my aunt and his mother has any right to say a word.”
“if his mother is as wise a judge as your aunt——” said mr. penrose; but yet all the same, winnie’s boldness imposed upon him a little. it was impossible to imagine that a grand creature like this, who was not pale nor sentimental, nor of agatha seton’s kind, could contemplate with such satisfaction any captain who had asked her to marry him upon nothing a year.
“that is all very fine,” mr. penrose added, taking courage; “you can make your choice as you please, but it is my business to look after the money. if you and your children come to me starving, twenty years hence and ask how i could possibly let you marry such a——”
“do you think you will be living in twenty years, uncle penrose?” said winnie. “i know you are a great deal older than aunt agatha;—but if you are, we will not come, i promise you. we shall keep our starvation to ourselves.”
“i can’t tell how old your aunt agatha is,” said mr. penrose, with natural offence; “and you must know, miss winnie, that this is not how you should talk to me.”
“very well, uncle,” said the daring girl; “but neither is your way the way to talk to me. you know i have made up my mind, and that everything is settled, and that it does not matter the least to me if edward was a beggar; and you come here with your money, as if that was the only thing to be thought of. what do i care about money?—and you might try till the end of the world, and you never would break it off,” she cried, flashing into a brilliant glow of passion and vehemence such as mr. penrose did not understand. he had expected to have a great deal of difficulty, but he had never expected to be defied after this fashion; and the wildness of her womanish folly made the good man sad.
“you silly girl!” he said, with profound pathos, “if you only knew what nonsense you were speaking. there is nobody in this world but cares about money; you can do nothing without it, and marry least of all. and you speak to me with such an example before your eyes; look at your sister mary, how she has come with all those helpless children to be, most likely, a burden on her friends——”
“uncle penrose!” cried winnie, putting up her two beautiful hands to stop his mouth; but mr. penrose was as plain-spoken as winnie herself was, though in a different way.
“i know perfectly well she can hear me,” he said, “and she ought to hear me, and to read you a lesson. if mary had been a sensible girl, and had married a man who could make proper settlements upon her, and make a provision for his family, do you think she would have required to come here to seek a shelter—do you think——”
“oh, mary, he is crazy; don’t mind him!” cried winnie, forgetting for the moment all about her own affairs, and clinging to her sister in real distress.
and then it was mrs. ochterlony’s turn to speak.
“i did not come to seek a shelter,” she said; “though i know they would have given it me all the same. i came to seek love and kindness, uncle, which you cannot buy with money: and if there was nothing more than want of money between winnie and captain percival——”
“mary!” cried winnie, impetuously, “go in and don’t say any more. you shall not be insulted while i am here; but don’t say anything about edward. leave me to have it out with uncle penrose, and go away.”
and somehow mary obeyed. she would not have done it a month ago; but she was wearied of contention, and broken in spirit, and, instead of standing still and defending herself, she withdrew from the two belligerents, who were both so ready to turn their arms against her, and went away. she went to the nursery, which was deserted; for her boys were still outside in the lingering daylight. none of them were able to advise, or even to sympathize with their mother. they could give her their childish love, but nothing else in the world. the others had all some one to consult, some one to refer to, but mary was alone. her heart beat dull and low, with no vehement offence at the bitter words she had just heard, but with a heavy despondency and sense of solitude, which her very attitude showed—for she did not sit down, or lie down, or try to find any fictitious support, but stood up by the vacant fire-place with her eyes fixed upon nothing, holding unconsciously the little chain which secured her watch, and letting its beads drop one by one from her fingers. “mary has come home to be a burden on her friends,” said uncle penrose. she did not resent it wildly, as she might have done some time before, but pondered with wondering pain and a dull sense of hopelessness. how did it happen that she, of all women, had come to such a position? what correspondence was there between that and all her past? and what was the future to be? which, even now, she could make no spasmodic changes in, but must accept and endure. this was how mary’s mind was employed, while winnie, reckless and wilful, defied uncle penrose in the garden. for the time, the power of defying any one seemed to have died out of mary’s breast.
