第41章

“Whatengagements？Whatthedevildoyoumean？

Youdon’tmean。”Mr。Osbornecontinued，gatheringwrathandastonishmentasthethoughtnowfirstcameuponhim；“youdon’tmeanthathe’ssuchad——foolastobestillhankeringafterthatswindlingoldbankrupt’sdaughter？You’venotcomeherefortomakemesupposethathewantstomarryHER？MarryHER，thatIS

agoodone。Mysonandheirmarryabeggar’sgirloutofagutter。D——him，ifhedoes，lethimbuyabroomandsweepacrossing。Shewasalwaysdanglingandoglingafterhim，Irecollectnow；andI’venodoubtshewasputonbyheroldsharperofafather。”

“Mr。Sedleywasyourverygoodfriend，sir。”Dobbininterposed，almostpleasedatfindinghimselfgrowingangry。”Timewasyoucalledhimbetternamesthanrogueandswindler。Thematchwasofyourmaking。

Georgehadnorighttoplayfastandloose——“

“Fastandloose！”howledoutoldOsborne。”Fastandloose！Why，hangme，thosearetheverywordsmygentlemanusedhimselfwhenhegavehimselfairs，lastThursdaywasafortnight，andtalkedabouttheBritisharmytohisfatherwhomadehim。What，it’syouwhohavebeenasettingofhimup——isit？andmyservicetoyou，CAPTAIN。It’syouwhowanttointroducebeggarsintomyfamily。Thankyoufornothing，Captain。MarryHERindeed——he，he！whyshouldhe？Iwarrantyoushe’dgotohimfastenoughwithout。”

“Sir。”saidDobbin，startingupinundisguisedanger；

“nomanshallabusethatladyinmyhearing，andyouleastofall。”

“O，you’rea-goingtocallmeout，areyou？Stop，letmeringthebellforpistolsfortwo。Mr。Georgesentyouheretoinsulthisfather，didhe？”Osbornesaid，pullingatthebell-cord。

“Mr。Osborne。”saidDobbin，withafalteringvoice。”it’syouwhoareinsultingthebestcreatureintheworld。

Youhadbestspareher，sir，forshe’syourson’swife。”

Andwiththis，feelingthathecouldsaynomore，Dobbinwentaway，Osbornesinkingbackinhischair，andlookingwildlyafterhim。Aclerkcamein，obedienttothebell；andtheCaptainwasscarcelyoutofthecourtwhereMr。Osborne’sofficeswere，whenMr。Chopperthechiefclerkcamerushinghatlessafterhim。

“ForGod’ssake，whatisit？”Mr。Choppersaid，catchingtheCaptainbytheskirt。”Thegovernor’sinafit。

WhathasMr。Georgebeendoing？”

“HemarriedMissSedleyfivedaysago。”Dobbinreplied。

“Iwashisgroomsman，Mr。Chopper，andyoumuststandhisfriend。”

Theoldclerkshookhishead。”Ifthat’syournews，Captain，it’sbad。Thegovernorwillneverforgivehim。”

DobbinbeggedChoppertoreportprogresstohimatthehotelwherehewasstopping，andwalkedoffmoodilywestwards，greatlyperturbedastothepastandthefuture。

WhentheRussellSquarefamilycametodinnerthatevening，theyfoundthefatherofthehouseseatedinhisusualplace，butwiththatairofgloomonhisface，which，wheneveritappearedthere，keptthewholecirclesilent。

Theladies，andMr。Bullockwhodinedwiththem，feltthatthenewshadbeencommunicatedtoMr。Osborne。

HisdarklooksaffectedMr。Bullocksofarastorenderhimstillandquiet：buthewasunusuallyblandandattentivetoMissMaria，bywhomhesat，andtohersisterpresidingattheheadofthetable。

MissWirt，byconsequence，wasaloneonhersideoftheboard，agapbeingleftbetweenherandMissJaneOsborne。NowthiswasGeorge’splacewhenhedinedathome；andhiscover，aswesaid，waslaidforhiminexpectationofthattruant’sreturn。Nothingoccurredduringdinner-timeexceptsmilingMr。Frederick’sflaggingconfidentialwhispers，andtheclinkingofplateandchina，tointerruptthesilenceoftherepast。Theservantswentaboutstealthilydoingtheirduty。MutesatfuneralscouldnotlookmoreglumthanthedomesticsofMr。OsborneTheneckofvenisonofwhichhehadinvitedDobbintopartake，wascarvedbyhiminperfectsilence；buthisownsharewentawayalmostuntasted，thoughhedrankmuch，andthebutlerassiduouslyfilledhisglass。

Atlast，justattheendofthedinner，hiseyes，whichhadbeenstaringateverybodyinturn，fixedthemselvesforawhileupontheplatelaidforGeorge。Hepointedtoitpresentlywithhislefthand。Hisdaughterslookedathimanddidnotcomprehend，orchoosetocomprehend，thesignal；nordidtheservantsatfirstunderstandit。

“Takethatplateaway。”atlasthesaid，gettingupwithanoath——andwiththispushinghischairback，hewalkedintohisownroom。

BehindMr。Osborne’sdining-roomwastheusualapartmentwhichwentinhishousebythe