第11章

MissBlanche——takingnonoticeofherstep-mother’sreproof，orofheruncle’scommentaryonit——pointedtoatableonwhichcroquetmalletsandballswerelaidready，andrecalledtheattentionofthecompanytothematterinhand。

“Iheadoneside，ladiesandgentlemen，“sheresumed。“AndLadyLundieheadstheother。Wechooseourplayersturnandturnabout。Mammahastheadvantageofmeinyears。Somammachoosesfirst。“

Withalookatherstep-daughter——which，beinginterpreted，meant，“Iwouldsendyoubacktothenursery，miss，ifI

could!“——LadyLundieturnedandranhereyeoverherguests。Shehadevidentlymadeuphermind，beforehand，whatplayertopickoutfirst。

“IchooseMissSilvester，“shesaid——withaspecialemphasislaidonthename。

Atthattherewasanotherpartingamongthecrowd。Tous(whoknowher)，itwasAnnewhonowappeared。Strangers，whosawherforthefirsttime，sawaladyintheprimeofherlife——aladyplainlydressedinunornamentedwhite——whoadvancedslowly，andconfrontedthemistressofthehouse。

Acertainproportion——andnotasmallone——ofthemenatthelawn-partyhadbeenbroughttherebyfriendswhowereprivilegedtointroducethem。Themomentsheappearedeveryoneofthosemensuddenlybecameinterestedintheladywhohadbeenchosenfirst。

“That’saverycharmingwoman，“whisperedoneofthestrangersatthehousetooneofthefriendsofthehouse。“Whoisshe？“

Thefriendwhisperedback。

“MissLundie’sgoverness——that’sall。“

ThemomentduringwhichthequestionwasputandansweredwasalsothemomentwhichbroughtLadyLundieandMissSilvesterfacetofaceinthepresenceofthecompany。

Thestrangeratthehouselookedatthetwowomen，andwhisperedagain。

“Somethingwrongbetweentheladyandthegoverness，“hesaid。

Thefriendlookedalso，andanswered，inoneemphaticword：

“Evidently!“

Therearecertainwomenwhoseinfluenceovermenisanunfathomablemysterytoobserversoftheirownsex。Thegovernesswasoneofthosewomen。Shehadinheritedthecharm，butnotthebeauty，ofherunhappymother。Judgeherbythestandardsetupintheillustratedgift-booksandtheprint-shopwindows——andthesentencemusthaveinevitablyfollowed。“Shehasnotasinglegoodfeatureinherface。“

TherewasnothingindividuallyremarkableaboutMissSilvester，seeninastateofrepose。Shewasoftheaverageheight。Shewasaswellmadeasmostwomen。Inhairandcomplexionshewasneitherlightnordark，butprovokinglyneutraljustbetweenthetwo。Worseeventhanthis，therewerepositivedefectsinherface，whichitwasimpossibletodeny。Anervouscontractionatonecornerofhermouthdrewupthelipsoutofthesymmetricallyrightline，when，theymoved。Anervousuncertaintyintheeyeonthesamesidenarrowlyescapedpresentingthedeformityofa“cast。“Andyet，withtheseindisputabledrawbacks，herewasoneofthosewomen——theformidablefew——whohavetheheartsofmenandthepeaceoffamiliesattheirmercy。Shemoved——andtherewassomesubtlecharm，Sir，inthemovement，thatmadeyoulookback，andsuspendyourconversationwithyourfriend，andwatchhersilentlywhileshewalked。Shesatbyyouandtalkedtoyou——andbehold，asensitivesomethingpassedintothatlittletwistatthecornerofthemouth，andintothatnervousuncertaintyinthesoftgrayeye，whichturneddefectintobeauty——whichenchainedyoursenses——whichmadeyournervesthrillifshetouchedyoubyaccident，andsetyourheartbeatingifyoulookedatthesamebookwithher，andfeltherbreathonyourface。Allthis，letitbewellunderstood，onlyhappenedifyouwereaman。

Ifyousawherwiththeeyesofawoman，theresultswereofquiteanotherkind。Inthatcaseyoumerelyturnedtoyournearestfemalefriend，andsaid，withunaffectedpityfortheothersex，“What_can_themenseeinher!“

Theeyesoftheladyofthehouseandtheeyesofthegovernessmet，withmarkeddistrustoneitherside。Fewpeoplecouldhavefailedtoseewhatthestrangerandthefriendhadnoticedalike——thattherewassomethingsmolderingunderthesurfacehere。MissSilvesterspokefirst。

“Thankyou，LadyLundie，“shesaid。“Iwouldrathernotplay。“

LadyLundieassumedanextremesurprisewhichpassedthelimitsofgood-breeding。

“Oh，indeed？“sherejoined，sharply。“Consideringthatweareallhereforthepurposeofplaying，thatseemsratherremarkable。Isanythingwrong，MissSilvester？“

AflushappearedonthedelicatepalenessofMissSilvester’sface。Butshedidherdutyasawomanandagoverness。Shesubmitted，andsopreservedappearances，forthattime。

“Nothingisthematter，“sheanswered。“Iamnotverywellthismorning。ButIwillplayifyouwishit。“

“Idowishit，“answeredLadyLundie。

MissSilvesterturnedasidetowardoneoftheentrancesintothesummer-house。Shewaitedforevents，lookingoutoverthelawn，withavisibleinnerdisturbance，markedoverthebosombytheriseandfallofherwhitedress。

ItwasBlanche’sturntoselectthenextplayer。

Insomepreliminaryuncertaintyastoherchoiceshelookedaboutamongtheguests，andcaughttheeyeofagentlemaninthefrontranks。HestoodsidebysidewithSirPatrick——astrikingrepresentativeoftheschoolthatisamongus——asSirPatrickwasastrikingrepresentativeoftheschoolthathaspassedaway。

Themoderngentlemanwasyoungandflorid，tallandstrong。ThepartingofhiscurlySaxonlocksbeganinthecenterofhisforehead，traveledoverthetopofhishead，andended，rigidly-central，attheruddynapeofhisneck。Hisfeatureswereasperfectlyregularandasperfectlyunintelligentashumanfeaturescanbe。Hisexpressionpreservedanimmovablecomposurewonderfultobehold。Themusclesofhisbrawnyarmsshowedthroughthesleevesofhislightsummercoat。Hewasdeepinthechest，thinintheflanks，firmonthelegs——intwowordsamagnificenthumananimal，wroughtuptothehighestpitchofphysicaldevelopment，fromheadtofoot。ThiswasMr。GeoffreyDelamayn——commonlycalled“thehonorable；“andmeritingthatdistinctioninmorewaysthanone。Hewashonorable，inthefirstplace，asbeingtheson(secondson)ofthatonce-risingsolicitor，whowasnowLordHolchester。Hewashonorable，inthesecondplace，ashavingwonthehighestpopulardistinctionwhichtheeducationalsystemofmodernEnglandcanbestow——hehadpulledthestroke-oarinaUniversityboat-race。Addtothis，thatnobodyhadeverseenhimreadanythingbutanewspaper，andthatnobodyhadeverknownhimtobebackwardinsettlingabet——andthepictureofthisdistinguishedyoungEnglishmanwillbe，forthepresent，complete。

Blanche’seyenaturallyrestedonhim。Blanche’svoicenaturallypickedhimoutasthefirstplayeronherside。

“IchooseMr。Delamayn，“shesaid。

AsthenamepassedherlipstheflushonMissSilvester’sfacediedaway，andadeadlypalenesstookitsplace。Shemadeamovementtoleavethesummer-house——checkedherselfabruptly——andlaidonehandonthebackofarusticseatatherside。A

gentlemanbehindher，lookingatthehand，sawitclenchitselfsosuddenlyandsofiercelythatthegloveonitsplit。Thegentlemanmadeamentalmemorandum，andregisteredMissSilvesterinhisprivatebooksas“thedevil’sowntemper。“

MeanwhileMr。Delamayn，byastrangecoincidence，tookexactlythesamecoursewhichMissSilvesterhadtakenbeforehim。He，too，attemptedtowithdrawfromthecominggame。

“Thanksverymuch，“hesaid。“Couldyouadditionallyhonormebychoosingsomebodyelse？It’snotinmyline。“

Fiftyyearsagosuchananswerasthis，addressedtoalady，wouldhavebeenconsideredinexcusablyimpertinent。Thesocialcodeofthepresenttimehaileditassomethingfranklyamusing。

Thecompanylaughed。Blanchelosthertemper。

“Can’tweinterestyouinanythingbutseveremuscularexertion，Mr。Delamayn？“sheasked，sharply。“Mustyoualwaysbepullinginaboat-race，orflyingoverahighjump？Ifyouhadamind，youwouldwanttorelaxit。Youhavegotmusclesinstead。Whynotrelax_them？“_

TheshaftsofMissLundie’sbitterwitglidedoffMr。GeoffreyDelamaynlikewateroffaduck’sback。

“Justasyouplease，“hesaid，withstolidgood-humor。“Don’tbeoffended。Icameherewithladies——andtheywouldn’tletmesmoke。Imissmysmoke。IthoughtI’dslipawayabitandhaveit。Allright!I’llplay。“

“Oh!smokebyallmeans!“retortedBlanche。“Ishallchoosesomebodyelse。Iwon’thaveyou!“

Thehonorableyounggentlemanlookedunaffectedlyrelieved。Thepetulantyoungladyturnedherbackonhim，andsurveyedtheguestsattheotherextremityofthesummer-house。

“WhoshallIchoose？“shesaidtoherself。

Adarkyoungman——withafaceburnedgipsy-brownbythesun；withsomethinginhislookandmannersuggestiveofarovinglife，andperhapsofafamiliaracquaintancewiththesea——advancedshyly，andsaid，inawhisper：

“Chooseme!“

Blanche’sfacebrokeprettilyintoacharmingsmile。Judgingfromappearances，thedarkyoungmanhadaplaceinherestimationpeculiarlyhisown。

“You!“shesaid，coquettishly。“Youaregoingtoleaveusinanhour’stime!“

Heventuredastepnearer。“Iamcomingback，“hepleaded，“thedayafterto-morrow。“

“Youplayverybadly!“

“Imightimprove——ifyouwouldteachme。“

“Mightyou？ThenIwillteachyou!“Sheturned，brightandrosy，toherstep-mother。“IchooseMr。ArnoldBrinkworth，“shesaid。