第51章

“MydearCaptainGeorge！”criedlittleRebeccainanecstasy。”Howgoodofyoutocome。TheGeneralandI

weremopingtogethertete-a-tete。General，thisismyCaptainGeorgeofwhomyouheardmetalk。”

“Indeed。”saidtheGeneral，withaverysmallbow；“ofwhatregimentisCaptainGeorge？”

Georgementionedthe——th：howhewishedhecouldhavesaiditwasacrackcavalrycorps。

“ComehomelatelyfromtheWestIndies，Ibelieve。

Notseenmuchserviceinthelatewar。Quarteredhere，CaptainGeorge？”——theGeneralwentonwithkillinghaughtiness。

“NotCaptainGeorge，youstupidman；CaptainOsborne。”

Rebeccasaid。TheGeneralallthewhilewaslookingsavagelyfromonetotheother。

“CaptainOsborne，indeed！AnyrelationtotheL——

Osbornes？”

“Webearthesamearms。”Georgesaid，asindeedwasthefact；Mr。OsbornehavingconsultedwithaheraldinLongAcre，andpickedtheL——armsoutofthepeerage，whenhesetuphiscarriagefifteenyearsbefore。TheGeneralmadenoreplytothisannouncement；buttookuphisopera-glass——thedouble-barrelledlorgnonwasnotinventedinthosedays——andpretendedtoexaminethehouse；butRebeccasawthathisdisengagedeyewasworkingroundinherdirection，andshootingoutbloodshotglancesatherandGeorge。

Sheredoubledincordiality。”HowisdearestAmelia？

ButIneedn’task：howprettyshelooks！Andwhoisthatnicegood-naturedlookingcreaturewithher——aflameofyours？O，youwickedmen！AndthereisMr。Sedleyeatingice，Ideclare：howheseemstoenjoyit！General，whyhavewenothadanyices？”

“ShallIgoandfetchyousome？”saidtheGeneral，burstingwithwrath。

“LetMEgo，Ientreatyou。”Georgesaid。

“No，IwillgotoAmelia’sbox。Dear，sweetgirl！Givemeyourarm，CaptainGeorge“；andsosaying，andwithanodtotheGeneral，shetrippedintothelobby。ShegaveGeorgethequeerest，knowingestlook，whentheyweretogether，alookwhichmighthavebeeninterpreted。”Don’tyouseethestateofaffairs，andwhatafoolI’mmakingofhim？”Buthedidnotperceiveit。Hewasthinkingofhisownplans，andlostinpompousadmirationofhisownirresistiblepowersofpleasing。

ThecursestowhichtheGeneralgavealowutterance，assoonasRebeccaandherconquerorhadquittedhim，weresodeep，thatIamsurenocompositorwouldventuretoprintthemweretheywrittendown。TheycamefromtheGeneral’sheart；andawonderfulthingitistothinkthatthehumanheartiscapableofgeneratingsuchproduce，andcanthrowout，asoccasiondemands，suchasupplyoflustandfury，rageandhatred。

Amelia’sgentleeyes，too，hadbeenfixedanxiouslyonthepair，whoseconducthadsochafedthejealousGeneral；

butwhenRebeccaenteredherbox，sheflewtoherfriendwithanaffectionaterapturewhichshoweditself，inspiteofthepublicityoftheplace；forsheembracedherdearestfriendinthepresenceofthewholehouse，atleastinfullviewoftheGeneral’sglass，nowbroughttobearupontheOsborneparty。Mrs。RawdonsalutedJos，too，withthekindliestgreeting：sheadmiredMrs。O’Dowd’slargeCairngormbroochandsuperbIrishdiamonds，andwouldn’tbelievethattheywerenotfromGolcondadirect。

Shebustled，shechattered，sheturnedandtwisted，andsmileduponone，andsmirkedonanother，allinfullviewofthejealousopera-glassopposite。Andwhenthetimefortheballetcame(inwhichtherewasnodancerthatwentthroughhergrimacesorperformedhercomedyofactionbetter)，sheskippedbacktoherownbox，leaningonCaptainDobbin’sarmthistime。No，shewouldnothaveGeorge’s：hemuststayandtalktohisdearest，best，littleAmelia。

“Whatahumbugthatwomanis！”honestoldDobbinmumbledtoGeorge，whenhecamebackfromRebecca’sbox，whitherhehadconductedherinperfectsilence，andwit