第13章

“ItalkasifIwasastrangerhere，doI？“heresumed。“That’sexactlywhatIam。LadyLundieandIcorrespondonexcellentterms；butwerunindifferentgrooves，andweseeeachotherasseldomaspossible。Mystory，“continuedthepleasantoldman，withacharmingfranknesswhichleveledalldifferencesofageandrankbetweenArnoldandhimself，“isnotentirelyunlikeyours；thoughI_am_oldenoughtobeyourgrandfather。Iwasgettingmyliving，inmyway(asacrustyoldScotchlawyer)，whenmybrothermarriedagain。Hisdeath，withoutleavingasonbyeitherofhiswives，gavemealiftintheworld，likeyou。

HereIam(tomyownsincereregret)thepresentbaronet。Yes，tomysincereregret!AllsortsofresponsibilitieswhichIneverbargainedforarethrustonmyshoulders。Iamtheheadofthefamily；Iammyniece’sguardian；Iamcompelledtoappearatthislawn-party——and(betweenourselves)Iamascompletelyoutofmyelementasamancanbe。Notasinglefamiliarfacemeets_me_amongallthesefinepeople。Doyouknowanybodyhere？“

“IhaveonefriendatWindygates，“saidArnold。“Hecameherethismorning，likeyou。GeoffreyDelamayn。“

Ashemadethereply，MissSilvesterappearedattheentrancetothesummer-house。Ashadowofannoyancepassedoverherfacewhenshesawthattheplacewasoccupied。Shevanished，unnoticed，andglidedbacktothegame。

SirPatricklookedatthesonofhisoldfriend，witheveryappearanceofbeingdisappointedintheyoungmanforthefirsttime。

“Yourchoiceofafriendrathersurprisesme，“hesaid。

Arnoldartlesslyacceptedthewordsasanappealtohimforinformation。

“Ibegyourpardon，Sir——there’snothingsurprisinginit，“hereturned。“Wewereschool-fellowsatEton，intheoldtimes。AndIhavemetGeoffreysince，whenhewasyachting，andwhenIwaswithmyship。Geoffreysavedmylife，SirPatrick，“headded，hisvoicerising，andhiseyesbrighteningwithhonestadmirationofhisfriend。“Butforhim，Ishouldhavebeendrownedinaboat-accident。Isn’t_that_agoodreasonforhisbeingafriendofmine？“

“Itdependsentirelyonthevalueyousetonyourlife，“saidSirPatrick。

“ThevalueIsetonmylife？“repeatedArnold。“Isetahighvalueonit，ofcourse!“

“Inthatcase，Mr。Delamaynhaslaidyouunderanobligation。“

“WhichIcanneverrepay!“

“Whichyouwillrepayoneofthesedays，withinterest——ifIknowanythingofhumannature，“answeredSirPatrick。

Hesaidthewordswiththeemphasisofstrongconviction。TheywerebarelyspokenwhenMr。Delamaynappeared(exactlyasMissSilvesterhadappeared)attheentrancetothesummer-house。He，too，vanished，unnoticed——likeMissSilvesteragain。Buttheretheparallelstopped。TheHonorableGeoffrey’sexpression，ondiscoveringtheplacetobeoccupied，was，unmistakablyanexpressionofrelief。

Arnolddrewtherightinference，thistime，fromSirPatrick’slanguageandSirPatrick’stones。Heeagerlytookupthedefenseofhisfriend。

“Yousaidthatratherbitterly，Sir，“heremarked。“WhathasGeoffreydonetooffendyou？“

“Hepresumestoexist——that’swhathehasdone，“retortedSirPatrick。“Don’tstare!Iamspeakinggenerally。YourfriendisthemodelyoungBritonofthepresenttime。Idon’tlikethemodelyoungBriton。Idon’tseethesenseofcrowingoverhimasasuperbnationalproduction，becauseheisbigandstrong，anddrinksbeerwithimpunity，andtakesacoldshowerbathalltheyearround。ThereisfartoomuchglorificationinEngland，justnow，ofthemerephysicalqualitieswhichanEnglishmanshareswiththesavageandthebrute。Andtheillresultsarebeginningtoshowthemselvesalready!Wearereadierthanweeverweretopracticeallthatisroughinournationalcustoms，andtoexcuseallthatisviolentandbrutishinournationalacts。Readthepopularbooks——attendthepopularamusements；andyouwillfindatthebottomofthemallalesseningregardforthegentlergracesofcivilizedlife，andagrowingadmirationforthevirtuesoftheaboriginalBritons!“

Arnoldlistenedinblankamazement。HehadbeentheinnocentmeansofrelievingSirPatrick’smindofanaccumulationofsocialprotest，unprovidedwithanissueforsometimepast。“

Howhotyouareoverit，Sir!“heexclaimed，inirrepressibleastonishment。

SirPatrickinstantlyrecoveredhimself。Thegenuinewonderexpressedintheyoungman’sfacewasirresistible。

“Almostashot，“hesaid，“asifIwascheeringataboat-race，orwranglingoverabetting-book——eh？Ah，weweresoeasilyheatedwhenIwasayoungman!Let’schangethesubject。Iknownothingtotheprejudiceofyourfriend，Mr。Delamayn。It’sthecantoftheday，“criedSirPatrick，relapsingagain，“totakethesephysically-wholesomemenforgrantedasbeingmorally-wholesomemenintothebargain。Timewillshowwhetherthecantofthedayisright——SoyouareactuallycomingbacktoLadyLundie’safteramereflyingvisittoyourownproperty？I

repeat，thatisamostextraordinaryproceedingonthepartofalandedgentlemanlikeyou。What’stheattractionhere——eh？“

BeforeArnoldcouldreplyBlanchecalledtohimfromthelawn。

Hiscolorrose，andheturnedeagerlytogoout。SirPatricknoddedhisheadwiththeairofamanwhohadbeenansweredtohisownentiresatisfaction。“Oh!“hesaid，“_that’s_theattraction，isit？“

Arnold’slifeatseahadlefthimsingularlyignorantofthewaysoftheworldonshore。Insteadoftakingthejoke，helookedconfused。Adeepertingeofcolorreddenedhisdarkcheeks。“I

didn’tsayso，“heanswered，alittleirritably。

SirPatrickliftedtwoofhiswhite，wrinkledoldfingers，andgood-humoredlypattedtheyoungsailoronthecheek。

“Yesyoudid，“hesaid。“Inredletters。“

Thelittlegoldlidintheknoboftheivorycaneflewup，andtheoldgentlemanrewardedhimselfforthatneatretortwithapinchofsnuff。AtthesamemomentBlanchemadeherappearanceonthescene。

“Mr。Brinkworth，“shesaid，“Ishallwantyoudirectly。Uncle，it’syourturntoplay。“

“Blessmysoul!“criedSirPatrick，“Iforgotthegame。“Helookedabouthim，andsawhismalletandballleftwaitingonthetable。“Wherearethemodernsubstitutesforconversation？Oh，heretheyare!“Hebowledtheballoutbeforehimontothelawn，andtuckedthemallet，asifitwasanumbrella，underhisarm。

“Whowasthefirstmistakenperson，“hesaidtohimself，ashebrisklyhobbledout，“whodiscoveredthathumanlifewasaseriousthing？HereamI，withonefootinthegrave；andthemostseriousquestionbeforemeatthepresentmomentis，ShallI

getthroughtheHoops？“

ArnoldandBlanchewerelefttogether。

AmongthepersonalprivilegeswhichNaturehasaccordedtowomen，therearesurelynonemoreenviablethantheirprivilegeofalwayslookingtheirbestwhentheylookatthemantheylove。

WhenBlanche’seyesturnedonArnoldafterherunclehadgoneout，noteventhehideousfashionabledisfigurementsoftheinflated“chignon“andthetiltedhatcoulddestroythetriplecharmofyouth，beauty，andtendernessbeaminginherface。

Arnoldlookedather——andremembered，ashehadneverrememberedyet，thathewasgoingbythenexttrain，andthathewasleavingherinthesocietyofmorethanoneadmiringmanofhisownage。

TheexperienceofawholefortnightpassedunderthesameroofwithherhadprovedBlanchetobethemostcharminggirlinexistence。Itwaspossiblethatshemightnotbemortallyoffendedwithhimifhetoldherso。Hedeterminedthathe_would_tellhersoatthatauspiciousmoment。

ButwhoshallpresumetomeasuretheabyssthatliesbetweentheIntentionandtheExecution？Arnold’sresolutiontospeakwasasfirmlysettledasaresolutioncouldbe。Andwhatcameofit？

Alasforhumaninfirmity!Nothingcameofitbutsilence。

“Youdon’tlookquiteatyourease，Mr。Brinkworth，“saidBlanche。“WhathasSirPatrickbeensayingtoyou？Myunclesharpenshiswitoneverybody。Hehasbeensharpeningiton_you？“_

Arnoldbegantoseehisway。Atanimmeasurabledistance——butstillhesawit。

“SirPatrickisaterribleoldman，“heanswered。“Justbeforeyoucameinhediscoveredoneofmysecretsbyonlylookinginmyface。“Hepaused，ralliedhiscourage，pushedonatallhazards，andcameheadlongtothepoint。“Iwonder，“heasked，bluntly，“whetheryoutakeafteryouruncle？“

Blancheinstantlyunderstoodhim。Withtimeatherdisposal，shewouldhavetakenhimlightlyinhand，andledhim，byfinegradations，totheobjectinview。ButintwominutesorlessitwouldbeArnold’sturntoplay。“Heisgoingtomakemeanoffer，“thoughtBlanche；“andhehasaboutaminutetodoitin。

He_shall_doit!“

“What!“sheexclaimed，“doyouthinkthegiftofdiscoveryrunsinthefamily？“

Arnoldmadeaplunge。

“Iwishitdid!“hesaid。

Blanchelookedthepictureofastonishment。

“Why？“sheasked。

“IfyoucouldseeinmyfacewhatSirPatricksaw——“