of course it was soon known in the vicarage that mary lowther had accepted the squire’s hand. she had left him standing in the drawing-room;—had left him very abruptly, though she had condescended to kiss his hand. perhaps in no way could she have made a kinder reply to his petition for mercy. in ordinary cases it is probably common for a lady, when she has yielded to a gentleman’s entreaties for the gift of herself, to yield also something further for his immediate gratification, and to submit herself to his embrace. in this instance it was impossible that the lady should do so. after the very definite manner in which she had explained to him her feelings, it was out of the question that she should stay and toy with him;—that she should bear the pressure of his arm, or return his caresses. but there had come upon her a sharp desire to show her gratitude before she left him,—to show her gratitude, and to prove, by some personal action towards him, that though she had been forced to tell him that she did not love him,—that she did not love him after the fashion in which his love was given to her,—that yet he was dear to her, as our dearest friends are dear. and therefore, when he had stretched out his hand to her in sign of the offer which he was making her, she had raised it to her lips and kissed it.
very shortly after she had left the room mrs. fenwick came to him. “well, harry,” she said, coming up close to him, and looking into his eyes to see how it had fared with him, “tell me that i may wish you joy.”
“she has promised that she will be my wife,” he said.
“and is not that what you have so long wished?”
“yes, indeed.”
“then why are you not elated?”
“i have no doubt she will tell you all. but do not suppose, mrs. fenwick, that i am not thankful. she has behaved very well,—and she has accepted me. she has explained to me in what way her acceptance has been given, and i have submitted to it.”
“now, harry, you are going to make yourself wretched about some romantic trifle.”
“i am not going to make myself miserable at all. i am much less miserable than i could have believed to be possible six months ago. she has told me that she will be my wife, and i do not for a moment think that she will go back from her word.”
“then what is it?”
“i have not won her as other men do. never mind;—i do not mean to complain. mrs. fenwick, i shall trust you to let me know when she will be glad to see me here.”
“of course you will come when you like and how you like. you must be quite at home here.”
“as far as you and frank are concerned, that would be a matter-of-course to me. but it cannot be so—yet—in regard to mary. at any rate, i will not intrude upon her till i know that my coming will not be a trouble to her.” after this it was not necessary that mrs. fenwick should be told much more of the manner in which these new betrothals had been made.
mary was, of course, congratulated both by the vicar and his wife, and she received their congratulations with a dignity of deportment which, even from her, almost surprised them. she said scarcely a word, but smiled as she was kissed by each of them and did whisper something as to her hope that she might be able to make mr. gilmore happy. there was certainly no triumph; and there was no visible sign of regret. when she was asked whether she would not wish that he should come to the vicarage, she declared that she would have him come just as he pleased. if she only knew of his coming beforehand she would take care that she would be within to receive him. whatever might be his wishes, she would obey them. mrs. fenwick suggested that gilmore would like her to go up to the privets, and look at the house which was to be her future home. she promised that she would go with him at any hour that he might appoint. then there was something said as to fixing the day of the wedding. “it is not to be immediately,” she replied; “he promised me that he would give me time.” “she speaks of it as though she was going to be hung,” the vicar said afterwards to his wife.
on the day after her engagement she saw gilmore, and then she wrote to her aunt to tell her the tidings. her letter was very short, and had not miss marrable thoroughly understood the character of her niece, and the agony of the struggle to which mary was now subjected, it would have seemed to be cold and ungrateful. “my dear aunt,” said the letter, “yesterday i accepted mr. gilmore’s offer. i know you will be glad to hear this, as you have always thought that i ought to do so. no time has been fixed for the wedding, but it will not be very soon. i hope i may do my duty to him and make him happy; but i do not know whether i should not have been more useful in remaining with my affectionate aunt.” that was the whole letter, and there was no other friend to whom she herself communicated the tidings. it occurred to her for a moment that she would write to walter marrable;—but walter marrable had told her nothing of edith brownlow. walter marrable would learn the news fast enough. and then, the writing of such a letter would not have been very easy to her.
on the sunday afternoon, after church, she walked up to the privets with her lover. the engagement had been made on the previous thursday, and this was the first occasion on which she had been alone with him for more than a minute or two at a time since she had then parted from him. they started immediately from the churchyard, passing out through the gate which led into mr. trumbull’s field, and it was understood that they were to return for an early dinner at the vicarage. mary had made many resolutions as to this walk. she would talk much, so that it might not be tedious and melancholy to him; she would praise everything, and show the interest which she took in the house and grounds; she would ask questions, and display no hesitation as to claiming her own future share of possession in all that belonged to him. she went off at once as soon as she was through the wicket gate, asking questions as to the division of the property of the parish between the two owners, as to this field and that field, and the little wood which they passed, till her sharp intelligence told her that she was over-acting her part. he was no actor, but unconsciously he perceived her effort; and he resented it, unconsciously also, by short answers and an uninterested tone. she was aware of it all, and felt that there had been a mistake. it would be better for her to leave the play in his hands, and to adapt herself to his moods.
“we had better go straight up to the house,” he said, as soon as the pathway had led them off lord trowbridge’s land into his own domain.
“i think we had,” said she.
“if we go round by the stables it will make us late for fenwick’s dinner.”
“we ought to be back by half-past two,” she said. they had left the church exactly at half-past twelve, and were therefore to be together for two hours.
he took her over the house. the showing of a house in such circumstances is very trying, both to the man and to the woman. he is weighted by a mixed load of pride in his possession and of assumed humility. she, to whom every detail of the future nest is so vitally important, is almost bound to praise, though every encomium she pronounces will be a difficulty in the way of those changes which she contemplates. but on the present occasion mary contemplated no change. marrying this man, as she was about to do, professedly without loving him, she was bound to take everything else as she found it. the dwelling rooms of the house she had known before; the dining-room, the drawing-room, and the library. she was now taken into his private chamber, where he sat as a magistrate, and paid his men, and kept his guns and fishing-rods. here she sat down for a moment, and when he had told her this and that,—how he was always here for so long in the morning, and how he hoped that she would come to him sometimes when he was thus busy, he came and stood over her, putting his hand upon her shoulder. “mary,” he said, “will you not kiss me?”
“certainly i will,” she said, jumping up, and offering her face to his salute. a month or two ago he would have given the world for permission to kiss her; and now it seemed as though the thing itself were a matter but of little joy. a kiss to be joyful should be stolen, with a conviction on the part of the offender that she who has suffered the loss will never prosecute the thief. she had meant to be good to him, but the favour would have gone further with him had she made more of it.
then they went up stairs. who does not know the questions that were asked and that were answered? on this occasion they were asked and answered with matter-of-fact useful earnestness. the papers on the walls were perhaps old and ugly; but she did not mind it if they were so. if he liked to have the rooms new papered, of course it would be nice. would she like new furniture? did she object to the old-fashioned four-post bedsteads? had she any special taste about hangings and colours? of course she had, but she could not bring herself to indulge them by giving orders as to this or that. she praised everything; was satisfied with everything; was interested in everything; but would propose no changes. what right had she, seeing that she was to give him so little, to ask him to do this or that for her? she meant on this occasion to do all that she could for his happiness, but had she ordered new furniture for the whole house, begged that every room might be fresh papered, and pointed out that the panelling was old and must be altered, and the entire edifice re-painted inside and out, he would have been a happier man. “i hope you will find it comfortable,” he said, in a tone of voice that was beyond measure lugubrious.
“i am sure that i shall,” she replied. “what more can any woman want than there is here? and then there are so many comforts to which i have never been used.”
this passed between them as they stood on the steps of the house, looking down upon green paddocks in front of the house; “i think we will come and see the gardens another day,” he said.
“whenever you like,” she answered. “perhaps if we stay now we shall be keeping them waiting.” then, as they returned by the road, she remembered an account that janet fenwick had given her of a certain visit which janet had made to the vicarage as miss balfour, and of all the joys of that inspection. but what right had she, mary lowther, to suppose that she could have any of the same pleasure? janet balfour, in her first visit to the vicarage, had been to see the home in which she was to live with the man to whom her whole heart had been given without reserve.
