| Chapter: XXXIII., XXXIV., XXXV., XXXVI., XXXVII., XXXVIII., XXXIX., XL., XLI., XLII., XLIII., XLIV., XLV., XLVI., XLVII., XLVIII. |
A HOUSE
DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF
BYMRS OLIPHANT
IN THREE VOLUMES
VOL. III.
WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
MDCCCLXXXVI
A HOUSE DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Lady Markham received young Gaunt with the most gracious kindness: hadhis mother seen him seated in the drawing-room at Eaton Square, withFrances hovering about him full of pleasure and questions, and hermother insisting that he should stay to luncheon, and Markham’s hansomjust drawing up at the door, she would have thought her boy on thehighway to fortune. The sweetness of the two ladies—the happy eagernessof Frances, and Lady Markham’s grace and graciousness—had a soothingeffect upon the young man. He had been unwilling to come, as he was{2}unwilling to go anywhere at this crisis of his life; but it soothed him,and filled him with a sort of painful and bitter pleasure to be thussurrounded by all that was most familiar to Constance,—by her motherand sister, and all their questions about her. These questions, indeed,it was hard upon him to be obliged to answer; but yet that pain was thebest thing that now remained to him, he said to himself. To hear hername, and all those allusions to her, to be in the rooms where she hadspent her life—all this gave food to his longing fancy, and wrung, yetsoothed, his heart.
“My dear, you will worry Captain Gaunt with your questions; and I don’tknow those good people, Tasie and the rest: you must let me have my turnnow. Tell me about my daughter, Captain Gaunt. She is not a very goodcorrespondent. She gives few details of her life; and it must be so verydifferent from life here. Does she seem to enjoy herself? Is she happyand bright? I have longed so much to see some one, impartial, whom Icould ask.{3}”
Impartial! If they only knew! “She is always bright,” he said with asuppressed passion, the meaning of which Frances divined suddenly,almost with a cry, with a start and thrill of sudden certainty, whichtook away her breath. “But for happy, I cannot tell. It is not goodenough for her, out there.”
“No? Thank you, Captain Gaunt, for appreciating my child. I was afraidit was not much of a sphere for her. What company has she? Is thereanything going on——?”
“Mamma,” said Frances, “I told you—there is never anything go