Barnetmused。’Yes,’headmitted,’thereisagrainoftruthinthat。ItisbecauseofthatIoftentrytomakepeaceathome。
Lifewouldbetolerablethenatanyrate,evenifnotparticularlybright。’
’Ihavethoughtmorethanonceofproposingalittleplantoyou,’
saidDownewithsomehesitation。’Idon’tknowwhetheritwillmeetyourviews,buttakeitorleaveit,asyouchoose。Infact,itwasmywifewhosuggestedit:thatshewouldbeverygladtocallonMrs。Barnetandgetintoherconfidence。SheseemstothinkthatMrs。Barnetisratheraloneinthetown,andwithoutadvisers。Herimpressionisthatyourwifewilllistentoreason。Emilyhasawonderfulwayofwinningtheheartsofpeopleofherownsex。’
’Andoftheothersextoo,Ithink。Sheisacharmingwoman,andyouwerealuckyfellowtofindher。’
’Well,perhapsIwas,’simperedDowne,tryingtowearanaspectofbeingthelastmanintheworldtofeelpride。’However,shewillbelikelytofindoutwhatrufflesMrs。Barnet。Perhapsitissomemisunderstanding,youknow——somethingthatsheistooproudtoaskyoutoexplain,orsomelittlethinginyourconductthatirritatesherbecauseshedoesnotfullycomprehendyou。Thetruthis,EmilywouldhavebeenmorereadytomakeadvancesifshehadbeenquitesureofherfitnessforMrs。Barnet’ssociety,whohasofcoursebeenaccustomedtoLondonpeopleofgoodposition,whichmadeEmilyfearfulofintruding。’
Barnetexpressedhiswarmestthanksforthewell-intentionedproposition。TherewasreasoninMrs。Downe’sfear——thatheowned。
’Butdolethercall,’hesaid。’ThereisnowomaninEnglandI
wouldsosoontrustonsuchanerrand。Iamafraidtherewillnotbeanybrilliantresult;stillIshalltakeitasthekindestandnicestthingifshewilltryit,andnotbefrightenedatarepulse。’
WhenBarnetandDownehadparted,theformerwenttotheTownSavings-Bank,ofwhichhewasatrustee,andendeavouredtoforgethistroublesinthecontemplationoflowsumsofmoney,andfiguresinanetworkofredandbluelines。Hesatandwatchedtheworking-
peoplemakingtheirdeposits,towhichatintervalshesignedhisname。BeforeheleftintheafternoonDowneputhisheadinsidethedoor。
’EmilyhasseenMrs。Barnet,’hesaid,inalowvoice。’ShehasgotMrs。Barnet’spromisetotakeherforadrivedowntotheshoreto-
morrow,ifitisfine。Goodafternoon!’
BarnetshookDownebythehandwithoutspeaking,andDownewentaway。
Thenextdaywasasfineasthearrangementcouldpossiblyrequire。
Asthesunpassedthemeridiananddeclinedwestward,thetallshadowsfromthescaffold-polesofBarnet’srisingresidencestreakedthegroundasfarastothemiddleofthehighway。Barnethimselfwasthereinspectingtheprogressoftheworksforthefirsttimeduringseveralweeks。Abuildinginanold-fashionedtownfive-and-thirtyyearsagodidnot,asinthemodernfashion,risefromthesodlikeaboothatafair。Thefoundationsandlowercourseswereputinandallowedtosettleformanyweeksbeforethesuperstructurewasbuiltup,andawholesummerofdryingwashardlysufficienttodojusticetotheimportantissuesinvolved。Barnetstoodwithinawindow-nichewhichhadasyetreceivednoframe,andthencelookeddownaslopeintotheroad。Thewheelsofachaisewereheard,andthenhishandsomeXantippe,inthecompanyofMrs。
Downe,drovepastontheirwaytotheshore。Theyweredrivingslowly;therewasapleasinglightinMrs。Downe’sface,whichseemedfaintlytoreflectitselfuponthecountenanceofhercompanion——thatpolitesseducoeurwhichwassonaturaltoherhavingpossiblybegunalreadytoworkresults。Butwhateverthesituation,Barnetresolvednottointerfere,ordoanythingtohazardthepromiseoftheday。Hemightwellaffordtotrusttheissuetoanotherwhenhecouldneverdirectitbuttoillhimself。
Hiswife’sclenchedrein-handinitslemon-colouredglove,herstifferectfigure,cladinvelvetandlace,andherboldly-outlinedface,passedon,exhibitingtheirownerasonefixedforeverabovethelevelofhercompanion——sociallybyherearlybreeding,andmateriallybyherhighercushion。
Barnetdecidedtoallowthemapropertimetothemselves,andthenstrolldowntotheshoreanddrivethemhome。Afterlingeringonatthehouseforanotherhourhestartedwiththisintention。Afewhundredyardsbelow’ChateauRingdale’stoodthecottageinwhichthelatelieutenant’sdaughterhadherlodging。Barnethadnotbeensofarthatwayforalongtime,andasheapproachedtheforbiddengroundacuriouswarmthpassedintohim,whichledhimtoperceivethat,unlesshewerecareful,hemighthavetofightthebattlewithhimselfaboutLucyoveragain。Atenthofhispresentexcusewould,however,havejustifiedhimintravellingbythatroadto-day。
Hecameoppositethedwelling,andturnedhiseyesforamomentaryglanceintothelittlegardenthatstretchedfromthepalingstothedoor。Lucywasintheenclosure;shewaswalkingandstoopingtogathersomeflowers,possiblyforthepurposeofpaintingthem,forshemovedaboutquickly,asifanxioustosavetime。Shedidnotseehim;hemighthavepassedunnoticed;butasensationwhichwasnotinstrictunisonwithhisprevioussentimentsthatdayledhimtopauseinhiswalkandwatchher。Shewentnimblyroundandroundthebedsofanemones,tulips,jonquils,polyanthuses,andotherold-
fashionedflowers,lookingaverycharmingfigureinherhalf-
mourningbonnet,andwithanincompletenosegayinherlefthand。
Raisingherselftopulldownalilacblossomsheobservedhim。
’Mr。Barnet!’shesaid,innocentlysmiling。’Why,IhavebeenthinkingofyoumanytimessinceMrs。Barnetwentbyinthepony-
carriage,andnowhereyouare!’
’Yes,Lucy,’hesaid。
Thensheseemedtorecallparticularsoftheirlastmeeting,andhebelievedthatsheflushed,thoughitmighthavebeenonlythefancyofhisownsupersensitivenesss。
’Iamgoingtotheharbour,’headded。
’Areyou?’Lucyremarkedsimply。’Agreatmanypeoplebegintogotherenowthesummerisdrawingon。’
Herfacehadcomemoreintohisviewasshespoke,andhenoticedhowmuchthinnerandpaleritwasthanwhenhehadseenitlast。
’Lucy,howwearyyoulook!tellme,canIhelpyou?’hewasgoingtocryout——’IfIdo,’hethought,’itwillbetheruinofusboth!’
Hemerelysaidthattheafternoonwasfine,andwentonhisway。
Ashewentasuddenblastofaircameoverthehillasifincontradictiontohiswords,andspoiltthepreviousquietofthescene。Thewindhadalreadyshiftedviolently,andnowsmeltofthesea。
Theharbour-roadsoonbegantojustifyitsname。Agapappearedintherampartofhillswhichshutoutthesea,andontheleftoftheopeningroseaverticalcliff,colouredaburningorangebythesunlight,thecompanioncliffontherightbeinglividinshade。
Betweenthesecliffs,liketheLibyanbaywhichshelteredtheshipwreckedTrojans,wasalittlehaven,seeminglyabeginningmadebyNatureherselfofaperfectharbour,whichappealedtothepasser-byasonlyrequiringalittlehumanindustrytofinishitandmakeitfamous,thegroundoneachsideasfarbackasthedaisiedslopesthatboundedtheinteriorvalleybeingamerelayerofblownsand。ButthePort-Bredyburgessesamileinlandhad,inthecourseoftencenturies,respondedmanytimestothatmuteappeal,withtheresultthatthetideshadinvariablychokeduptheirworkswithsandandshingleassoonascompleted。Therewerebutfewhouseshere:
aroughpier,afewboats,somestores,aninn,aresidenceortwo,aketchunloadingintheharbour,werethechieffeaturesofthesettlement。Ontheopengroundbytheshorestoodhiswife’spony-
carriage,empty,theboyinattendanceholdingthehorse。
WhenBarnetdrewnearer,hesawanindigo-colouredspotmovingswiftlyalongbeneaththeradiantbaseoftheeasterncliff,whichprovedtobeamaninajersey,runningwithallhismight。HehelduphishandtoBarnet,asitseemed,andtheyapproachedeachother。
Themanwaslocal,butastrangertohim。
’Whatisit,myman?’saidBarnet。
’Aterriblecalamity!’theboatmanhastilyexplained。Twoladieshadbeencapsizedinaboat——theywereMrs。DowneandMrs。Barnetoftheoldtown;theyhaddrivendowntherethatafternoon——theyhadalighted,anditwassofine,that,afterwalkingaboutalittlewhile,theyhadbeentemptedtogooutforashortsailroundthecliff。Justastheywereputtingintotheshore,thewindshiftedwithasuddengust,theboatlistedover,anditwasthoughttheywerebothdrowned。Howitcouldhavehappenedwasbeyondhismindtofathom,forJohnGreenknewhowtosailaboataswellasanymanthere。
’Whichisthewaytotheplace?’saidBarnet。
Itwasjustroundthecliff。
’Runtothecarriageandtelltheboytobringittotheplaceassoonasyoucan。ThengototheHarbourInnandtellthemtoridetotownforadoctor。Havetheybeengotoutofthewater?’
’Oneladyhas。’
’Which?’
’Mrs。Barnet。Mrs。Downe,itisfeared,hasfleetedouttosea。’
Barnetranontothatpartoftheshorewhichthecliffhadhithertoobscuredfromhisview,andtherediscerned,alongwayahead,agroupoffishermenstanding。Assoonashecameuponeortworecognizedhim,and,notlikingtomeethiseye,turnedasidewithmisgiving。Hewentamidstthemandsawasmallsailing-boatlyingdraggledatthewater’sedge;and,ontheslopingshinglebesideit,asoakedandsandywoman’sforminthevelvetdressandyellowglovesofhiswife。