第84章

Hewasafineopen-facedboy，withblueeyesandwavingflaxenhair，sturdyinlimb，butgenerousandsoftinheart，fondlyattachinghimselftoallwhoweregoodtohim——tothepony——toLordSouthdown，whogavehimthehorse(heusedtoblushandglowalloverwhenhesawthatkindyoungnobleman)——tothegroomwhohadchargeofthepony——toMolly，thecook，whocrammedhimwithghoststoriesatnight，andwithgoodthingsfromthedinner——toBriggs，whomheplaguedandlaughedat——andtohisfatherespecially，whoseattachmenttowardstheladwascurioustootowitness。Here，ashegrewtobeabouteightyearsold，hisattachmentsmaybesaidtohaveended。Thebeautifulmother-visionhadfadedawayafterawhile。Duringneartwoyearsshehadscarcelyspokentothechild。Shedislikedhim。Hehadthemeaslesandthehooping-cough。Heboredher。Onedaywhenhewasstandingatthelanding-place，havingcreptdownfromtheupperregions，attractedbythesoundofhismother’svoice，whowassingingtoLordSteyne，thedrawingroomdooropeningsuddenly，discoveredthelittlespy，whobutamomentbeforehadbeenraptindelight，andlisteningtothemusic。

Hismothercameoutandstruckhimviolentlyacoupleofboxesontheear。HeheardalaughfromtheMarquisintheinnerroom(whowasamusedbythisfreeandartlessexhibitionofBecky’stemper)andfleddownbelowtohisfriendsofthekitchen，burstinginanagonyofgrief。

“Itisnotbecauseithurtsme。”littleRawdongaspedout——“only——only“——sobsandtearswoundupthesentenceinastorm。Itwasthelittleboy’sheartthatwasbleeding。”Whymayn’tIhearhersinging？Whydon’tsheeversingtome——asshedoestothatbaldheadedmanwiththelargeteeth？”Hegaspedoutatvariousintervalstheseexclamationsofrageandgrief。Thecooklookedatthehousemaid，thehousemaidlookedknowinglyatthefootman——theawfulkitcheninquisitionwhichsitsinjudgementineveryhouseandknowseverything——

satonRebeccaatthatmoment。

Afterthisincident，themother’sdislikeincreasedtohatred；theconsciousnessthatthechildwasinthehousewasareproachandapaintoher。Hisverysightannoyedher。Fear，doubt，andresistancesprangup，too，intheboy’sownbosom。Theywereseparatedfromthatdayoftheboxesontheear。

LordSteynealsoheartilydislikedtheboy。Whentheymetbymischance，hemadesarcasticbowsorremarkstothechild，orglaredathimwithsavage-lookingeyes。

Rawdonusedtostarehiminthefaceanddoublehislittlefistsinreturn。Heknewhisenemy，andthisgentleman，ofallwhocametothehouse，wastheonewhoangeredhimmost。OnedaythefootmanfoundhimsquaringhisfistsatLordSteyne’shatinthehall。ThefootmantoldthecircumstanceasagoodjoketoLordSteyne’scoachman；thatofficerimpartedittoLordSteyne’sgentleman，andtotheservants’hallingeneral。

Andverysoonafterwards，whenMrs。RawdonCrawleymadeherappearanceatGauntHouse，theporterwhounbarredthegates，theservantsofalluniformsinthehall，thefunctionariesinwhitewaistcoats，whobawledoutfromlandingtolandingthenamesofColonelandMrs。

RawdonCrawley，knewabouther，orfanciedtheydid。

Themanwhobroughtherrefreshmentandstoodbehindherchair，hadtalkedhercharacteroverwiththelargegentlemaninmotley-colouredclothesathisside。BonDieu！itisawful，thatservants’inquisition！Youseeawomaninagreatpartyinasplendidsaloon，surroundedbyfaithfuladmirers，distributingsparklingglances，dressedtoperfection，curled，rouged，smilingandhappy——Discoverywalksrespectfullyuptoher，intheshapeofahugepowderedmanwithlargecalvesandatrayofices——withCalumny(whichisasfatalastruth)behindhim，intheshapeofthehulkingfellowcarryingthewafer-

biscuits。Madam，yoursecretwillbetalkedoverbythosemenattheirclubatthepublic-houseto-night。JeameswilltellC