第91章

Iamananchorite。Ho！ho！You’llbeaskedtodinnernextweek。Andgareauxfemmes，lookoutandholdyourown！Howthewomenwillbullyyou！”ThiswasaverylongspeechforamanoffewwordslikemyLordSteyne；

norwasitthefirstwhichheutteredforBecky’sbenefitonthatday。

Briggslookedupfromthework-tableatwhichshewasseatedinthefartherroomandgaveadeepsighassheheardthegreatMarquisspeaksolightlyofhersex。

“Ifyoudon’tturnoffthatabominablesheep-dog。”saidLordSteyne，withasavagelookoverhisshoulderather，“Iwillhaveherpoisoned。”

“Ialwaysgivemydogdinnerfrommyownplate。”

saidRebecca，laughingmischievously；andhavingenjoyedforsometimethediscomfitureofmylord，whohatedpoorBriggsforinterruptinghistete-a-tetewiththefairColonel’swife，Mrs。Rawdonatlengthhadpityuponheradmirer，andcallingtoBriggs，praisedthefinenessoftheweathertoherandbadehertotakeoutthechildforawalk。

“Ican’tsendheraway。”Beckysaidpresently，afterapause，andinaverysadvoice。Hereyesfilledwithtearsasshespoke，andsheturnedawayherhead。

“Youoweherherwages，Isuppose？”saidthePeer。

“Worsethanthat。”saidBecky，stillcastingdownhereyes；“Ihaveruinedher。”

“Ruinedher？Thenwhydon’tyouturnherout？”thegentlemanasked。

“Mendothat。”Beckyansweredbitterly。”Womenarenotsobadasyou。Lastyear，whenwewerereducedtoourlastguinea，shegaveuseverything。Sheshallneverleaveme，untilweareruinedutterlyourselves，whichdoesnotseemfaroff，oruntilIcanpayhertheutmostfarthing。”——

it，howmuchisit？”saidthePeerwithanoath。

AndBecky，reflectingonthelargenessofhismeans，mentionednotonlythesumwhichshehadborrowedfromMissBriggs，butoneofnearlydoubletheamount。

ThiscausedtheLordSteynetobreakoutinanotherbriefandenergeticexpressionofanger，atwhichRebeccahelddownherheadthemoreandcriedbitterly。”Icouldnothelpit。Itwasmyonlychance。Idarenottellmyhusband。HewouldkillmeifItoldhimwhatIhavedone。Ihavekeptitasecretfromeverybodybutyou——andyouforceditfromme。Ah，whatshallIdo，LordSteyne？forIamvery，veryunhappy！”

LordSteynemadenoreplyexceptbybeatingthedevil’stattooandbitinghisnails。Atlastheclappedhishatonhisheadandflungoutoftheroom。Rebeccadidnotrisefromherattitudeofmiseryuntilthedoorslammeduponhimandhiscarriagewhirledaway。Thensheroseupwiththequeerestexpressionofvictoriousmischiefglitteringinhergreeneyes。Sheburstoutlaughingonceortwicetoherself，asshesatatwork，andsittingdowntothepiano，sherattledawayatriumphantvoluntaryonthekeys，whichmadethepeoplepauseunderherwindowtolistentoherbrilliantmusic。

Thatnight，therecametwonotesfromGauntHouseforthelittlewoman，theonecontainingacardofinvitationfromLordandLadySteynetoadinneratGauntHousenextFriday，whiletheotherenclosedaslipofgraypaperbearingLordSteyne’ssignatureandtheaddressofMessrs。Jones，Brown，andRobinson，LombardStreet。

RawdonheardBeckylaughinginthenightonceortwice。ItwasonlyherdelightatgoingtoGauntHouseandfacingtheladiesthere，shesaid，whichamusedherso。Butthetruthwasthatshewasoccupiedwithagreatnumberofotherthoughts。ShouldshepayoffoldBriggsandgiveherherconge？ShouldsheastonishRagglesbysettlinghisaccount？Sheturnedoverallthesethoughtsonherpillow，andonthenextday，whenRawdonwentouttopayhismorningvisittotheClub，Mrs。Crawley(inamodestdresswithaveilon)whippedoffinahackney-coachtot